General Gaming Article

General Gaming Article

Special Edition Star Wars Xbox 360 Coming This Spring

Posted: 07 Feb 2012 03:07 PM PST

sw 360On April 3rd of this very year, we know exactly where you can find the droids you're looking for. Microsoft is releasing a special edition Xbox 360 console done up to look like the iconic droids from the Star Wars movies. The system was first teased at last year's Comic Con. The bundle comes with the system and a few Kinect-related extras for $449.

Buyers will get a 320GB console painted to resemble R2-D2, and a controller with a C-3PO gold finish. The box also includes a Kinect sensor and two games; Star Wars Kinect and Kinect Adventures. The latter has been around for since the Kinect launched, but Star Wars Kinect has five game modes plucked from the Star Wars saga. There are podraces, lightsaber duels, Galactic Dance-off (for some reason), and more. 

The Xbox 360 is coming toward the end of its life cycle, so the wisdom of getting a new console now is dubious at best. Although, if you're going to get one, this might be justifiable for the Star Wars fans out there. 

Microsoft to Sell Lumia 800 Unlocked in $899 Bundle

Posted: 07 Feb 2012 02:52 PM PST

lumiaIf you're got a hankering for a Nokia Lumia Windows Phone and don't want to wait for the Lumia 900 to drop on AT&T, Microsoft might have you covered very shortly. Microsoft will reportedly be selling Lumia 800 bundles in its retail stores on February 14th for a whopping $899. While that's a big number, users get more than the phone in the deal.

The Lumia 800 is the international Nokia flagship device. The screen is slightly smaller than the 900, and it lacks a front-facing camera, but the 800 will be unlocked in the bundle. In addition to the phone, buyers will get a Nokia Play 360 wireless speaker, a Purity HD headset, and a Bluetooth earpiece. Unlocked devices regularly clock in at $600 or more, so it's not that bad of a deal for those interested in a contract-free unlocked device. 

At this time, Microsoft has not plans to sell the Lumia 800 sans bundle deal. If $899 is too steep, you'll have to pick up a Lumia 900 from AT&T on contract, or wait for the price to come down. Anyone biting on this?

RIM's App World Numbers Not as Great as Reported

Posted: 07 Feb 2012 02:38 PM PST

bbAt RIM's BlackBerry DevCon in Amsterdam today, new CEO Thorsten Heins made a bit of a splash by throwing out some statistics on BlackBerry App World. According to Heins, RIM's app ecosystem is not in such bad shape after all. The problem is that the numbers were presented in a way that allowed misinterpretations, and that's just what happened. Let's clear that up really fast.

It was reported that App World was more profitable for developers than the Android Market or the App Store. What Heins actually said, was that a higher percentage of App World devs make over $100,000, 13% in all. This is what you would expect with a smaller pool of developers for users to buy from. The other number that caught people off guard was the assertion that there are 43% more daily downloads per app on BlackBerry than on iOS. This was reported as '43% more app downloads,' but it's only saying that each app is downloaded 43% more often. Again, this is what you would expect in a smaller app store with fewer choices. 

Despite the fuzzy reporting, the numbers cited do at least show that App World isn't withering on the vine. It's not as big as the App Store or Android market, but developers can still make a living making BlackBerry apps. For how long we cannot say.

Solid State Shakeup: Intel 520 vs Patriot Pyro SE vs OCZ Octane

Posted: 07 Feb 2012 02:35 PM PST

Let's play a little game. We have three solid state drives—one each from Patriot, OCZ, and Intel. Two of them are powered by the ubiquitous SandForce SF-2281 controller, and the other marks the consumer debut of a new 6Gb/s SATA controller. Guess which drive has the new controller? 

If you guessed the Intel drive, time for a spit-take. It's the OCZ drive that's got the new controller, and the Intel drive which is SandForce-powered. What in the name of the MLC gods is going on?

Patriot Pyro SE 240GB 

Can the Pyro SE's speeds match its fiery nomenclature?

Back in October 2011, we reviewed the 120GB Patriot Wildfire, the company's first SF-2281-based SSD. With 32nm Toshiba asynchronous NAND, the Wildfire was a solid, if unremarkable, drive—awesome compared to nearly every other drive, but not quite up to the standard set by Corsair's Force GT, OCZ's Vertex 3, or OWC's Mercury Extreme Pro. With the Pyro SE, Patriot hopes to change that.

The Force GT, Vertex 3, and Mercury Extreme Pro have one thing in common that the Wildfire lacked: 25nm synchronous NAND. Now a Patriot drive has the same stuff. The 240GB Patriot Pyro SE uses 16 128Gb modules of Micron 25nm synchronous NAND. Can the smaller process and synchronous NAND help the Pyro SE keep pace with the best SF-2281 SSDs on the market?

Patriot Pyro SE
For such a speedy drive, the Pyro SE's exterior is pretty pedestrian.

Yes. The better NAND pushes the Pyro SE past its stablemate and into the rarified air at the top of the SandForce-powered heap. With sequential read and write speeds at 482MB/s and 300MB/s, respectively, as measure by CrystalDiskMark, the Pyro SE is about as fast as the OWC Mercury Extreme Pro, and its 4KB random write speed, at over 91,000 IOPS, is the fastest we've ever seen from a 6Gb/s SATA drive. The synchronous NAND makes the most impact on sequential write speeds, offering a 40–50MB/s boost over the asynchronous NAND in the Wildfire.

As with all top-tier SandForce SF-2281-powered drives, the Pyro SE is optimized for small random write cycles; in sequential tests, Samsung's 830 Series SSD holds the crown.

The Pyro SE is priced competitively with other drives that use the same NAND and controller, like the OWC Mercury Extreme Pro, and it performs competitively, too. If you're looking for a top-tier SSD with a SandForce controller and speedy 25nm synchronous NAND, the sparkly gray Pyro SE is just as good as the sparkly blue OWC drive. So get whichever one matches your rig better. 

$450, www.patriotmemory.com

Patriot Pyro SE 240GB
MEET THE PYRO

Performance identical to top-tier SandForce drives..

MEET THE MEAT

Sequential speeds can't match Samsung 830.

score:9ka

 

Intel 520 Series 240GB

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em 

For every season, there is a spin. Intel's first consumer SSDs, the X-25M series, didn't have the fastest performance, but they gained a reputation for reliability. We had high hopes for Intel's 320 Series SSDs, which turned out to be really great 3Gb/s SATA drives, at a time when everyone else was shipping 6Gb/s drives. When Intel did ship a 6Gb/s SATA drive, the 510 Series, it used a Marvell controller, not an Intel one. Well, Intel's finally released its second 6Gb/s consumer SSD series, and it's powered by… SandForce?

Yep. The 520 Series may ship in Intel's familiar 7mm aluminum chassis with a 2mm black spacer, but inside it's running the same SandForce SF-2281 as everyone else. It does use 25nm Intel synchronous NAND and Intel-validated firmware, which Intel says make it better, faster, and more reliable than plain-Jane SF-2281-based drives. 

Intel 520 Series SSD
Same as it ever was: Intel's drive enclosure. Very different: the controller inside.

We'll have to wait and see if the reliability claim is accurate, but the "better and faster" is, well, kinda true. The 520 Series is certainly faster than SF-2281 drives that use asynchronous NAND. Compared to other drives with 25nm synchronous NAND, like Patriot's Pyro SE above, the differences are smaller. The 520's CrystalDiskMark sustained read speed of 470MB/s, for example, is 12MB/s slower than the Pyro SE, and in Iometer the 520 gets 4,000 fewer IOPS on our random write test. Real-world scores in PCMark 7 and Premiere Pro are virtually identical to the Pyro SE, while the Intel drive lags behind in PCMark Vantage, an older test. 

Intel reassures us it hasn't given up on its own controllers, and Intel's upcoming 20nm IFMT tech should offer big improvements in NAND density and performance in the second half of the year. So we have that to look forward to.

The 520 series may not be very special, but at least it's up to current-gen standards, and it replaces the kinda crappy Marvell-powered 510 series. On the other hand, $510 for a 240GB drive is a lot, considering the Patriot Pyro SE is $50 cheaper and just as good. Intel's betting its reputation for reliability still means something to SSD buyers. We think it does, but does it mean they'll pony up an extra fifty bucks?

 

$510, www.intel.com

Intel 520 Series 240GB
FIVE GOLD RINGS

Fast SF-2281 controller and 25nm NAND; Intel reliability

FOUR COLLY BIRDS

$50 more expensive than near-identical drives from Patriot, OCZ

score:9

 

OCZ Octane

The first fruits of OCZ's acquisition of Indilinx 

Remember Indilinx? The company's Barefoot SSD controller was the first really good solid-state controller. It was one of the first controllers to offer TRIM support, as well as sustained read and write speeds near 200MB/s, and it ruled the roost until SandForce's SF-1200 controller leapt ahead of Barefoot's capabilities. The company's next-gen controller was delayed, and in March 2011 OCZ bought the company. It's been nearly a year, but OCZ finally has a consumer drive with the new Indilinx Everest controller. Was it worth the wait?

The 512GB Octane drive OCZ sent us contains 16 256Gb 25nm Intel synchronous NAND modules, two 2Gb Micron DDR3 SDRAM cache modules (512MB total), and of course the Indilinx Everest controller, all in standard 2.5-inch SSD form factor. In CrystalDiskMark, it averaged 445MB/s sustained reads (35–40MB/s slower than the SandForce drives we've tested) and 315MB/s sustained writes (15MB/s faster). Its single-queue-depth 4KB random writes were competitive at around 5,600 IOPS, but at QD32, it only put out 22,000 IOPS—Samsung's 830 Series does 35,000 and the Patriot Pyro SE does over 90,000. The Octane's maximum response time in Iometer, at 429ms, is a bit worrying, too—its competitors have max response times of around 40ms. The Octane's video encoding performance was within seconds of the other drives, and its PCMark Vantage and PCMark 7 scores, though lower than the rest, weren't too shabby.

OCZ Octane

We're not 100 percent sure OCZ knows what "infused" means.

So where does that put the Octane among today's 6Gb/s SATA SSDs? It's better than drives with the Marvell 9174 controller, like Plextor's M2 and Crucial's M4, and even some SandForce-powered SSDs with cheaper asynchronous NAND. But aside from a slight write-speed advantage, the OCZ Octane falls behind SandForce drives with synchronous NAND in most benchmarks, and its random write speeds at depth are much, much lower. 

The biggest problem with the OCZ Octane is Samsung's 830 Series, which is available in the same capacities (aside from the Octane's unmatched 1TB model), is faster in every single benchmark, and is cheaper than the Octane—by $100, at the 512GB capacity. The Octane has more-than-reasonable performance and we like the fact that it has the new Indilinx controller, but given its price and the existence of cheaper, better alternatives, it's not the best bang for your buck.

 

$900, www.ocztechnology.com

OCZ Octane 512GB
OCTOROK

New controller, plenty of cache; decent speeds; strong writes

OCTOMOM

Low random IOPS; not the best value

score:8

 

Benchmarks
Patriot Pyro SE Intel 520 Series OCZ Octane Samsung 830 Series SSD
Capacity 240GB 240GB 512GB 256GB
CrystalDiskMark      
    Sustained Read (MB/s) 482 470.6 445.4 506.4*
    Sustained Write (MB/s) 300.3 299 315.5 398.5*
AS SSD    
    Seq. Read (MB/s) 506.7*

502.6

 432.2 502.6
    Seq. Write (MB/s) 295.2 288.3 285.9 164.1
    4KB Read (IOPS) 4,986 5,655* 5,546 5,513
    4KB Write (IOPS) 14,179* 14,123 10,417 12,800
ATTO    
    64KB File Read (MB/s) 443.24* 422.81 408.57 405.85
    64KB File Write (MB/s) 515.05* 255.12 446.47 515.05*
IOMETER        
    4KB Random Write 91,171.26* 87,713.73 22,073.97 35,329.48
    Max Access Time (ms) 41 39 429 31*
Premiere Pro Encode Write (sec) 424 423 425 420*
PCMark Vantage x64 HDD 61,686 49,622 57,030 62,168*
PCMark 11 x64 SST 5,305 5,312 4,945 5,257

Asterisk (*) denotes highest score. Our current test bed is a 3.1GHz Core i3-2100 processor on an Asus P8 P67 Pro (B3 chipset) running Windows 7 Professional 64-bit. All tests used onboard 6Gb/s SATA ports with latest Intel drivers.

Motorola Droid 4 Drops at Verizon on Friday for $200

Posted: 07 Feb 2012 12:02 PM PST

With such a steady clip of Droid devices marching into the smartphone marketplace, eventually you're bound to find the Droid you're looking for. Maybe it's Motorola's Droid 4 you've been holding out for, a 4G LTE smartphone with a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, five-row QWERTY keyboard, and a 4-inch qHD display with scratch and scrape resistant glass. If so, you only have to wait a few more days.

The Droid 4 lands at Verizon on February 10, 2012 for $200 with a two-year service agreement. In addition to the above mentioned specs, the Droid 4 also boasts an 8MP rear-facing camera with 1080p video capture, 1.3MP front-facing camera for video chat. 16GB of internal storage, a microSD card slot for up to an additional 32GB of storage space, a generous heaping of 1GB of RAM, and the usual assortment of goodies like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

So what's the verdict, is the Droid you've been looking for, or are you waiting on something else?

Acer Initiates Legal Action Against Former Chief Lanci for Joining Lenovo

Posted: 07 Feb 2012 11:35 AM PST

The breakup between Acer and its former Chief Executive Officer, Gianfranco Lanci, was mildy tense, but swift and free of any drama when the two parted ways almost a year ago. And it probably would have stayed that way too, except Lanci accepted a gig with Lenovo, a move that prompted Acer to file a lawsuit in Italy for an alleged breache of a non-compete clause Lanci signed with his former company.

Lanci joined Lenovo as a consultant in September of last year, and then was brought in on a permanent basis in January 2012 to head the company's new Europe, Middle East, and Africa division. None of that has been sitting well with Acer, which claims Lanci was bound by a 12-month non-compete agreement, the Financial Times reports.

Acer brought Lanci on board in 1997. Over the course of the next decade and beyond, Lanci proved instrumental in Acer's rise to the near top. But things came to a head when he and Acer's board disagreed on a product strategy in the emerging mobile handset landscape, and specifically the amount of focus that should be put on smartphones and tablets.

"On the company's future development, Lanci held different views from a majority of the board members, and could not reach a consensus following several months of dialog," Acer said in a written statement.

The Legality Of "Used" MP3 Sales Is Headed To Court

Posted: 07 Feb 2012 11:27 AM PST

Courts have said it again and again: consumers have the right to resell their used physical media. That's why used game sales are booming at GameStop and you can pick up old Michael Jackson CDs at a buck a pop down at your local flea market. But do those same rights apply to digital versions? Can you "resell" an iTunes track? We'll know soon enough, as the concept is slated to have its day in court soon.

At the heart of the matter is a lawsuit EMI tossed at ReDigi, CNET explains. ReDigi resells digital music tracks; if you want to ditch a song, ReDigi peeks through your hard drive, copies the track, and wipes the original from your PC. In return, you're given 20 cents worth of credit towards buying "used" music through ReDigi, which normally cost $0.79 a track.

ReDigi doesn't offer new music of its own; the only tracks available for purchase are "used" tracks uploaded by users. When a "used" MP3 is sold, it's wiped from ReDigi's servers. Because of that, ReDigi claims its sales are protected by the "First Sale" doctrine that allows you to legally sell your Wilco vinyl back to your indie record store.

EMI claims that First Sale doesn't apply here because ReDigi isn't selling the original music file, but what EMI asserts is an illegal copy of the original file. The company was hoping the court would issue an injunction to immediately bar ReDigi from conducting business, but the presiding judge declined and said that he wants the "fascinating" issue to hit trial. He said the trial would decide whether the sale of "used" MP3s is legal or "just Napster with an in-between step," the New York Times reports.

What do you think? Should you be able to sell "used" iTunes tracks, or is EMI correct in calling the files illegal copies?

Image credit: redigi.com

Android Ice Cream Sandwich Gets Delicious Chrome Topping

Posted: 07 Feb 2012 10:46 AM PST

Depending on whose market share numbers you believe, Google Chrome is the second or third most popular browser on the desktop, by a hair either way. Now you can download Chrome on your Android smartphone or tablet, but only if you're running Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich). It's available as a beta app in the Android Market, and just like the desktop version, Google said it focused on speed and simplicity.

Chrome for Android sports the same V8 JavaScript engine found in the desktop build, but was constructed from the ground up for mobile devices.

"We reimagined tabs so they fit just as naturally on a small-screen phone as they do on a larger screen tablet," Google said in a blog post. "You can flip or swipe between an unlimited number of tabs using intuitive gestures, as if you're holding a deck of cards in the palm of your hands, each one a new window to the Web."

Chrome for Android makes clicking on links easier by zooming in and presenting a "Link Preview." If you sign in to Chrome, you can sync your bookmarks and view tabs you have open on your computer. And of course there's the ever popular Incognito mode for, uh, shopping surprise gifts for your significant other.

You can download Chrome for Android here.

Image Credit: Google

$35 Home Theater-Friendly Raspberry Pi PC To Start Shipping Soon

Posted: 07 Feb 2012 10:45 AM PST

The delay of the Raspberry Pi PC has had geeks hankering for some serious on-the-cheap computing action pulling out their hair in frustration. The charity foundation offering the $25/$35 Pi has been teasing us with videos of its awesomeness for months, showing off the PC's chops at playing 1080p video and Quake 3, shifting media via AirPlay technology, running XBMC and loads more. Unfortunately, the Pi missed its initial launch window. But don't worry: the Raspberry Pi foundation just committed to a new manufacturing date and even released a datasheet for the Broadcom SoC powering the Pi.

The first round of 10,000 Raspberry Pi PCs are set to finish manufacturing in China on February 20th. After that, they'll be shipped to the U.K, where the foundation hopes to start shipping out orders by the end of February. The reason for the delay? The quartz crystals used in the Pi were readily abundant in England, where the PC was designed, but a newer, cheaper crystal had helped to dry up supplies of the component in China. The team reports the problem is now taken care of and everything is ready to go.

The foundation also coaxed Broadcom into releasing a 205 page datasheet detailing nitty-gritty about the BCM2835 SoC that supplies the brawn for the Raspberry Pi. Dive in here (PDF) if you want, but be warned: the water's deep, dense and difficult to swim through if you don't know the tech inside and out.

Be sure to check out this article showing Raspberry Pi in action, and thanks to Geek.com for pointing this out!

MIT Scientist Offers $100k Prize To Anyone Able To Prove Quantum Computing Is Useless

Posted: 07 Feb 2012 10:17 AM PST

We've heard you snickering in the corner. Quantum computing is definitely a solid theory; scientists have been able to make a couple of electrons dance to the same proverbial tune for a while now. But what use is that? Critics say that quantum theory is mostly a mind exercise and will never be able to scale up for useful applications. Well, one MIT quantum scientist is sick of hearing that crap, and Scott Aaronson is putting his money where his mouth is in the form of a $100,000 prize to anyone able to demonstrate that "scalable quantum computing is impossible in the physical world."

Basically, you'd need to prove that quantum computers will never be able to do anything useful.

Critics have already jumped out of the woodwork to accuse Aaronson of the equivalent of trying to disprove Bigfoot, but he disagrees. "To me, though, that completely misses the point," he writes. "Whether Bigfoot exists is a question about the contingent history of evolution on Earth.  By contrast, whether scalable quantum computing is possible is a question about the laws of physics."

Scientifically disproving the scalability of quantum computing would be a gargantuan task -- and it would also render Aaronson's ongoing work moot. Still, Aaronson isn't worried. (If he was, he wouldn't be ponying up $100k of his personal money.) Plus, he notes, if this inspires someone to scientifically cast quantum computing into the fires of Mordor, Aaronson's cash will be a drop in the bucket compared to the Nobel prize money the recipient would likely receive for one of the most important physics discoveries in a long time.

Aaronson's blog has all the details, and he's been very responsive to answering questions from commenters. Or, if you want to brush up about recent happenings on the QC front, feel free to check out our articles about the "World's First Programmable Quantum Photonic Chip," entangling ions with microwaves, or breaking the laws of single-particle physics with ultrapure gallium arsenide semiconductor crystals. Oh, and thanks to Popular Science for pointing the contest out!

Image credit: cacm.acm.org
Posted by Shri Krishna

MMO News

MMO News

Thirst of Night

Posted: 07 Feb 2012 02:14 PM PST

Thirst of Night is a futuristic, vampire styled MMORTS game.  Thirst of Night gives you the chance to build a new civilization, raise a gargoyle to defend your people, defeat humans and rival vampires alike and form alliances to crush all opposition!  Thirst of Night also offers a fully browser based experience, with nothing to download or install, putting you immediately into the action.

thirst-of-night-world-map

Publisher: Kabam
Playerbase: Medium
Graphics: Medium
Type: MMO
EXP Rate: ??
PvP: Open
Filesize: N/A

Pros: +Unique setting. +Gargoyle system introduces new element of strategy. +Helpful tutorials.

Cons: -Very similar to other browser-based strategy games. -Emphasis on cash shop purchases.

Overview

Thirst of Night Overview

Thirst of Night takes a different approach when it comes to vampires.  Set after the destruction of human society, vampires now control a world wrapped in perpetual twilight.  Players have several quests that help with resources and army development, join alliances, and develop their gargoyle that will assist them in combat.  Players will also face off against human remnants and other vampire clans bent on defeating your regime.

Thirst of Night Screenshots

Full Review

Thirst of Night Full Review

Coming Soon…

Screenshots

Thirst of Night Screenshots

Coming Soon…

Links

Thirst of Night Links

Official Game Page

System Requirements

Thirst of Night System Requirements

Coming Soon…

Chapter 7.5 coming soon to Pockie Ninja

Posted: 07 Feb 2012 12:47 PM PST

NGames has announced that Pockie Ninja will receive its next update, Chapter 7.5, on February 13.

The update raises the level cap to 100, introducing new content, quests, and a level 96 Valhalla instance. The outfit class system will now allow players to reach higher outfit synthesis levels, while high level players can also access a new Equipment Exchange system to upgrade level 80 items to level 90 items. The game also gains a new Equipment Extraction system to allow players to extract Inscribed, Enhanced, and Slotted Items by using special Talismans.

Level 80+ players will also be treated to weekly cross-server battles. The weekly tournaments will first pit players on each server against each other to determine a champion. These champions will then go on to face off in a cross-server tournament. The winner will be able to defend their title the following week, and all participants will earn prizes.

pockie-ninja-bbg

Pockie Ninja Gameplay Screenshot

Source:

Pockie Ninja: Chapter 7.5 announced for Feb 13th launch

Brawler’s level cap hits 100 with new equipment, quests and weekly cross-server fights

Naruto and Bleach inspired browser-based brawler, Pockie Ninja will be unleashing the Chapter 7.5 update on February 13th. The update will add massive cross-server fights to the game and raise the level cap to 100.

The popular free-to-play MMO will treat players to brand new equipment, auto combat options and fresh content as they quest their way to level 100, including a brutal Level 96 Valhalla instance and cross-server fights that promise to challenge Pockie Ninja’s most steeled ninjas.

The Chapter 7.5 update will see Pockie Ninja’s unique outfit class system upgraded to allow higher outfit synthesis levels affording more control over how players shape their characters.

High level players will also be able to use the new Equipment Exchange system to exchange existing level 80 items to level 90, offering an instant, powerful upgrade on selected equipment sets.

Meanwhile, a brand new Equipment Extraction system will give players more freedom over how they manage their equipment load outs. Players can use this new system to extract special Inscribed, Enhanced or Slotted items by feeding in selected Talisman’s and choosing the exact item they wish to obtain after extraction.

War of Ninja Cross-server Fights!

Level 80+ players are about to experience their biggest battles to date – brand new, weekly War of Ninja showdowns.

Every week, Pockie Ninja’s servers will go head-to-head in a furious battle to determine the greatest ninja of all.
Each server will first host its own battles to determine a champion fighter, with the server champions then going head-to-head in a gritty cross-server tournament. The winner will be crowned the best in game for a whole week, with the chance to defend their title the following week.

The system will feature both individual and group matches, and prizes will be handed out to all participants.

Optimizations and bug fixes

Publisher NGames have also optimized the current content and fixed a host of bugs for the Chapter 7.5 update.

Bloodsouls can now be auto synthesized, the gem removal fee has been cut in half, players can finally hide their equipment’s attributes, and a Card House has been added to Angel City.

HP and damage problems have also been addressed for the update, and the Las Noches Challenges has been fixed to offer a smoother gameplay experience.

All of this new content and more will be unleashed when Pockie Ninja: Chapter 7.5 is released on February 13th.
Sign up and play Pockie Ninja for free: http://www.pockieninja.com

Scarlet Legacy & Asda 2 release Valentine’s Events

Posted: 07 Feb 2012 11:57 AM PST

GamesCampus has announced Valentine’s events for two of its games: Scarlet Legacy and Asda 2.

Scarlet Legacy will receive several new event quests: players can help villagers in the Friendly Spring Village map for a package of premium items, collect special collection items for a Valentine’s themed costume piece and title, or earn more tokens and costumes by exchanging items with players of the opposite gender. The game is also still celebrating the Year of the Dragon with rare items, high level skill books, and fireworks to be collected.

In Asda 2, players can also find special tokens between February 14 and March 13, which can be exchanged for Valentine’s vanity items. Soul mates can enter into a special raffle, and players can daily choose an NPC to become Valentines for useful items in return. Players can also dig up the letters “L” “O” “V” “E” for a pet booster set, gift lower level players for a title, and more events found in the game’s community.

asda2-2011-08-02-15-11-53-10

Asda 2 Gameplay Screenshot

Source:

GAMESCAMPUS IS FEELING THE LOVE IN SCARLET LEGACY AND ASDA 2

Valentine’s Events Abound In The Popular MMORPG’s

Sunnyvale, Calif. (February 07, 2012)- Less than three <3! Leading online game publisher GamesCampus.com (www.GamesCampus.com) announced today its romantic gift offerings to their Scarlet Legacy and Asda 2 communities this month with a bevy of events. From now until March 13th, players can indulge their romantic aspirations in both games with special activities, sales, quests and more! For more information lovebirds can fly over to http://www.gamescampus.com/

Scarlet Legacy celebrates the season of affection with a number of new event quests! Enter the Friendly Spring Village map to find possessed villagers – free them from this demonic influence and receive a package of premium items. Turn in special collection items to receive a Valentine’s themed costume piece and a rare event title. While you’re visiting the Village, help soldiers defeat their rivals for the love of the beautiful girls of their dreams. Find a player of the opposite gender to trade items with, and collect even more event tokens and special costumes!

Spirits will remain high with a second set of events, dedicated to the Year of the Dragon! Gain access to a limited time map with increased item drops, bonus exp, and find the precious Gold Ingot drops that can be traded in for titles, high level skill books, and rare equipment. In addition, all monsters in Scarlet Legacy will have a chance to drop fireworks; collect these fiery treasures to trade in for powerful recovery items and a unique costume set, but hurry – these will only last until March 6th.

Asda 2 is no stranger to love, as the game relies on strong partnerships to compete and succeed. Starting February 14th and running until March 13th, players will be able to gain and spend special event tokens to acquire a number of vanity items themed for the season. Join up with your soul mate for the chance at a special title and entry in to a raffle. Choose one of 4 NPCs to be your Valentine each day and receive a variety of useful items. Participate in the Gifting Event, where high level players can grant new players a unique costume, pet and more to receive a special title in return. Grab a shovel and dig up the letters ‘L’, ‘O’, ‘V’, and ‘E’ to receive a booster filled with items for your loyal pet companions. Plus, don’t miss out on several artistic and community contests to win great prizes!
Posted by Shri Krishna

Latest Gaming and MMORPG Updates

Latest Gaming and MMORPG Updates

Review: Shank 2 Feels More Like a Great Remake Rather Than a Great Sequel

Posted: 07 Feb 2012 07:19 AM PST

If the impending conclusion to the NFL season is giving you a case of the crazy eyes, it might be a good idea to take your aggression out on NFL Blitz, EA’s addition to (formerly) Midway’s hyperviolent football series. This downloadable title features the same frantic action that fans of the franchise have loved for the past decade — seriously, the exact same action. It’s so faithful that playing it takes me back to the halcyon days of 1998 when we had dial-up internet, a Clinton in the White House, and Chumbawamba had a bright future ahead of them. The only thing missing from this iteration is the post play grab-assing which allowed you to brawl for a few moments before the play selection screen reappeared. Evidently the NFL didn’t want their sport — which is built upon the pillars of violence — to be marred by such behavior. Minutia aside, fans of the original home or arcade versions of NFL Blitz will be pleased to know that this current outing does the series justice.

The basic game is still a fast paced, violently simplified take on the Sunday tradition, and this downloadable entry surprises with an impressive level of polish. The HUD and transition effects — things too often ignored — get presented with a certain sheen and flourish that enhances even the simplest menu navigation. Likewise, the announcers have just enough wit to keep me from muting my television — which is a rarity for sports games. While the core mechanics of the game may be carried over from the late ’90s, the presentation makes it clear that this is a Blitz for today’s gamer. This fact is further pronounced in the plethora of different modes. The Blitz Gauntlet charges you with climbing a ladder of opponents similar to how you would in a classic Mortal Kombat title. Every few victories against NFL teams rewards you with a Boss Fight: four quarters against a squad comprised of hot dogs, Neanderthals, and other assorted macho warriors. These specific matches take a page from NBA Jam by adorning the field with various power-ups, making the games even more frantic.


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Hawken confirmed as free-to-play, launches in December

Posted: 07 Feb 2012 07:19 AM PST

Adhesive Games have confirmed the Meteor Entertainment division will indeed publish Hawken as a Free To Play game.

The news comes several weeks after NowGamer.com revealed a job advert for  a Marketing Manager that said the : "Responsible for the marketing of forth-coming FTP FPS Mech Video game to core PC gamers and to leverage its cross over appeal to gain awareness from, and monetize against, a broader gaming audience."

The release date is currently set as 12/12/12 and you can find full details about Hawken's closed beta at www.playhawken.com.

 


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Review: Burnout Crash is a Bad Console Game (But Would be Awesome on iOS)

Posted: 07 Feb 2012 01:26 AM PST

It’s funny what a mix of good and bad timing can do for a game. Take Radiant Silvergun, for instance: originally an arcade game and then a relatively limited Japanese Saturn release in 1998, the game became a favorite among the ultra-hardcore, import-happy crowd… assuming they could get the game. Due to its short life on the shelf and the general fervor over its developer Treasure, Silvergun quickly gained triple-digit price tags. Some would suggest that not playing Radiant Silvergun doesn’t make you a real gamer. Well, it’s not that good, but now it’s back and better and easier to get than ever.

Radiant Silvergun is definitely a shooter from 1998. It requires a different kind of skill than today’s arcade shoot-em-ups, where the number one strategy is knowing when to tip-toe between curtains of bullets. Here, enemies are typically small and everywhere, bosses and midbosses are frequent, and they all have tricky patterns that can throw you off if you don’t learn them or don’t kill the boss before they get really tricky. On top of that, the game has an orthodox emphasis on weaponry. You have three basic attack types — vulcan, homing, or spread — that can be combined to make different combinations, like a vulcan cannon that fires from both ends of the ship, or a homing laser that goes for any enemy in your radius. Oh, and a “radiant sword” that you can swing around or use it to absorb certain pink bullets and charge up a super slash. In this version, you can map the combinations to any button you want, but the tower of button icons on the side of the screen when playing can still look a little intimidating. Nevertheless, it’s a feast of firepower.


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Continent of the Ninth (KR)

Posted: 07 Feb 2012 01:18 AM PST


(English website) Continent of the Ninth, more affectionately known as C9 in the online gaming world, recently added the new Bullet Shooter class into the official Korean servers. ThisIsGame uploaded a game footage of this new class, showing how it can be effective both in a group or when soloing. Note that the English server is currently having its VIP test right now!


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Sakura Samurai’s Charming Style Can’t Mask Its Unforgiving Nature

Posted: 06 Feb 2012 07:18 PM PST

In a season riddled with life-changing mega-sequels, Corpse Party couldn’t have arrived at a worse time — especially on a platform so ravaged by the deadly tag team of piracy and disinterest. With its distinctly fan-made presentation and digital-only availability, XSEED’s latest isn’t going to turn heads like the Uncharteds and Modern Warfares of the world; though, in the case of Corpse Party, this lack of attention just might be for the best. While most of our modern gaming blockbusters seek to offer either awkwardly bloodless violence for the sake of the coveted catch-all Teen rating or Bruckheimer-esque glorification of combat, the folks at Team GrisGris obviously didn’t suffer under these same publisher pressures. Corpse Party doesn’t seek to cast the widest net possible with a series of escapist power fantasies that gently nudge players down a path of rewards; from the outset, the game wears its heartlessness on its sleeve, dispatching characters in ways that have yet to debut in your nightmares (but soon will). This glorified visual novel may resemble a B-tier Super Nintendo game on the surface, but nothing else I’ve played over the past 25 years has been so relentlessly brutal, bleak, and terrifying.

Though Corpse Party looks like an ancient JRPG, trappings like hit points, an inventory, and tile-based movement only exist as lip service; the “game” portions of Corpse Party act solely as a conduit for the narrative. Like Phoenix Wright and 999, Corpse Party is a visual novel, though it looks and plays decidedly more “gamey” than other entries in the genre. Instead of transitioning from static scene to static scene from a first-person perspective — typical of the genre — the game employs 2D sprites and an overhead perspective, providing players with a more familiar means of input. And since you’re tasked with controlling a group of defenseless teens, combat simply isn’t an option; the few foes found in the game most often kill with a single touch, making their presence more disturbing than any turn-based ghost battles ever could.


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Diablo III

Posted: 06 Feb 2012 01:28 PM PST


(Official website) So, everyone is raging about the public Closed Beta for Diablo III which went live recently. How many of you got in? Well, I sure didn’t. With tons of footage being uploaded and the experience limited to level 13 content (after killing King Leoric), I guess not that much is lost. So, to join in the festive mood, here is a small armor gallery I found on some Chinese gaming forums where they are debating about the Korean MMO-design elements found in them.


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Posted by Shri Krishna

MMO Updates

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Massively Speaking episode 185: Bree-to-play

Posted: 07 Feb 2012 09:00 AM PST

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Massively Speaking
Massively Speaking Episode 185 marks the debut of the Justin and Bree show as the microphone is passed on to a new generation. Many Bothans died to bring you this broadcast, so show some respect, you scruffy-looking nerfherder! Today we talk about RIFT's new trial, MMO anniversaries, and why Star Wars: The Old Republic may not be dying fast enough for everyone's taste.

Have a comment for the podcasters? Shoot an email to podcast@massively.com. We may just read your email on the air!

Get the podcast:
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Listen here on the page:



Read below the cut for the full show notes.

Continue reading Massively Speaking episode 185: Bree-to-play

MassivelyMassively Speaking episode 185: Bree-to-play originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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    Derek Smart's Line of Defense shows off battle environments

    Posted: 07 Feb 2012 08:00 AM PST

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    Line of Defense
    Last year we got our first look at Line of Defense, a new MMOFPS from Derek Smart and his team at 3000AD. The title is looking good so far and the devs are certainly eager to show off their progress. As such, 3000AD delivered five brand-new screenshots showcasing the environments and outfits that players will experience, including desert and snowy terrains.

    Line of Defense takes place in the same game universe as Smart's Battlecruiser 3000AD series, and promises to deliver "open-world FPS mayhem" from the depths of the ocean to the heights of space and everything in-between. You can check out the new screenies in the gallery below, and make sure to catch up on our Derek Smart interview about Line of Defense if you haven't already!

    [Source: Evolve PR press release]

    Gallery: Line of Defense screens

    MassivelyDerek Smart's Line of Defense shows off battle environments originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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      Studios join forces to form Gamer Safety Alliance

      Posted: 07 Feb 2012 07:00 AM PST

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      Gamer Safety Alliance logo
      This week is Gamer Safety Week, and before you laugh at the thought of getting injured while playing your favorite MMO, we should point out that the safety has more to do with your accounts than your person.

      Nine major game companies have joined forces to form the Gamer Safety Alliance, an organization that seeks "to break down traditional competitive barriers and share information and best practices within the computer and video game industry."

      Participating firms include Electronic Arts, Microsoft, Turbine, NCsoft, Nexon, Square Enix, Sony Online Entertainment, MindCandy, and En Masse Entertainment. SOE leads things off with a lengthy article on how to protect yourself from account fraud.

      MassivelyStudios join forces to form Gamer Safety Alliance originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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      CCP confirms keyboard and mouse control for DUST 514

      Posted: 07 Feb 2012 06:30 AM PST

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      DUST 514 - dropsuit
      DUST 514 may be a PlayStation 3 exclusive for the moment, but CCP has confirmed that the title will offer USB keyboard and mouse control options. CCP Jian broke the news late last night on his Twitter account, though there's no word as of yet on whether using a keyboard/mouse combo will translate to an edge over players who are using a PS3 controller.

      DUST is a sci-fi MMOFPS set in CCP's New Eden universe, and it is directly connected to the long-running EVE Online MMORPG. Players take on the role of ground-based mercenaries who fight for territory control and share the universal economy with EVE's capsuleers.

      MassivelyCCP confirms keyboard and mouse control for DUST 514 originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 07 Feb 2012 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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      Battle.net Balance boots up

      Posted: 07 Feb 2012 06:00 AM PST

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      Battle.net
      Diablo III may not be out yet, but that's no good reason not to be filling up your virtual coffers for the day that it hits the streets! Blizzard has thrown the switch on Battle.net Balance, activating its online payment service that allows players to charge up their Battle.net funds to purchase various Blizzard game services.

      The new Balance system can be used to buy World of Warcraft game time (although you can't set up a recurring subscription with it), in-game pets and mounts, paid account services in WoW such as character transfers, digital copies of Blizzard titles, and the opportunity to buy and sell items on Diablo III's auction house. It's important to note that not all regions will be able to participate in Diablo III's real-money transactions, however.

      Once real money has been funneled into Battle.net Balance, it cannot be converted back into cash. Blizzard does state that in some regions, players will have an option to get cash back on Diablo III auction sales via PayPal. The company also mentioned that there is a cap on how much any player can have in his or her Balance account and that there are potentially region-specific expiration dates for Balance funds.

      MassivelyBattle.net Balance boots up originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 07 Feb 2012 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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      The Daily Grind: Do you have too many alts?

      Posted: 07 Feb 2012 05:00 AM PST

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      EverQuest II - Qeynos flyby
      I've been playing a lot of EverQuest II lately, and one thing that the game has in abundance is choice. Whether we're talking about combat vs. non-combat activities, group vs. solo content, or a huge class roster, Sony Online Entertainment's fantasy sequel is pretty ridiculous when it comes to play options.

      There's so much choice, in fact, that it's occasionally difficult to decide what to do next. Take the aforementioned classes as an example. Thanks to the introduction of the Beastlord in last December's Age of Discovery expansion, the game now has a whopping 25 classes to choose from, and I have 13 of them sitting in various stages of advancement on my character select screen.

      Which one should I play? Should I make one of the other 12? These are the times that try men's souls! OK, not really, but it can be a tough call. What about you, Massively readers? Do you have too many alts?

      Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!

      MassivelyThe Daily Grind: Do you have too many alts? originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 07 Feb 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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        En Masse 'communicating directly with retailers' over TERA pre-order blunders

        Posted: 06 Feb 2012 07:15 PM PST

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        TERA - Collector's Edition retail package
        Those of you who've been waiting to pull the trigger on a TERA pre-order because of the uncertainty over retail collector's edition versions of the game will have to wait a little longer. En Masse Entertainment's Evan "Scapes" Berman posted an official statement on the TERA website a short time ago that basically says the company is aware of the problem but has no time-table for fixing it.

        In a nutshell, the En Masse website has been advertising physical collector's edition packages for the better part of a week, but when gamers go to the various retail partner websites listed on the page, the CEs are nowhere to be found. Some TERA fans are a bit anxious because pre-ordering guarantees a slot in the fast-approaching closed beta period, and the only alternative thus far is to buy a digital version of the game directly from En Masse.

        MassivelyEn Masse 'communicating directly with retailers' over TERA pre-order blunders originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 06 Feb 2012 22:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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        Not So Massively: D3 cuts death animations and HoN releases another broken hero

        Posted: 06 Feb 2012 05:00 PM PST

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        Not So Massively title image
        Diablo III delivered 100,000 beta keys to North American fans this week, but it also revealed that the epic death animations from the game's first gameplay reveal were actually faked and won't be in the final game. Upcoming online FPS Blacklight: Retribution has challenged players to play 20 ranked matchmaking games by Thursday to win an exclusive golden helmet, and Massively still has beta keys if you'd like to get involved.

        Heroes of Newerth released its potentially overpowered new hero Berzerker this week, placing Artesia into the free hero pool for legacy accounts a week early. League of Legends introduced its updated AI, adding 40 champions to the bot roster for both Summoner's Rift and Dominion co-op games. Dota 2 released a new test version to trial experimental changes without interrupting balance testing, and dungeon crawler Path of Exile showed off two new screenshots of its upcoming 0.9.6 patch. Finally, Bloodline Champions increased all XP gains by 50% this week in patch 2.3 and has launched a hilarious new photo content that's sure to get some questionable entries.

        Continue reading Not So Massively: D3 cuts death animations and HoN releases another broken hero

        MassivelyNot So Massively: D3 cuts death animations and HoN releases another broken hero originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 06 Feb 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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          ChangYou reports record profits for the year

          Posted: 06 Feb 2012 03:00 PM PST

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          Don't chang us, we'll chang you?
          If you live in China and play online, you know the name ChangYou. The company is a bit less well-known over in the US, but it's still made a name for itself with quirky titles like Zentia and Duke of Mount Deer. It's also apparently making a massive amount of money. According to the company's fourth quarter financial report, ChangYou wound up with a total gross revenue of $435.5 million, with profits surging to $248 million.

          CEO Tao Wang says the company can thank a variety of games for its success -- the aforementioned Duke of Mount Deer, an expansion for Tian Long Ba Bu, and the browser-based DDTank. The success of the company in the online market is just part of the ever-expanding Chinese marketplace, which generated over $5 billion dollars last year alone. That's good news for ChangYou and its fans, since the company will enter the next year with plenty of money to generate more games.

          MassivelyChangYou reports record profits for the year originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 06 Feb 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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          Age of Empires Online ventures north with the Celts

          Posted: 06 Feb 2012 02:00 PM PST

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          Screenshot -- Age of Empires Online
          Age of Empires Online has been bringing free-to-play RTS action to the masses since August of last year, but so far players have had access to just three civilizations: Greek, Egyptian, and Persian. All of that is about to change, though, so ready your shillelaghs as the Celts join the battle. This new civilization, which seems to draw inspiration predominantly from Irish and Scottish folklore, will bring players a variety of new units and strategies with which to drive the opposition to its knees. Whether you're wreaking havoc with the speedy Woad Raiders or sacrificing a deer with the druidic Augur, the Celts will certainly bring new twists to any playstyle.

          And of course, a new civilization also means new quests. The Celts' quests will have players battling it out in the frigid north, where the icy weather will slowly sap the health of any unit caught in the elements. The Celts will also introduce stealth missions, such as infiltrating an enemy fortress without waking the sleeping guards. To see the new civilization in action, just click past the cut for a bagpipe-filled teaser video, then head on over to the game's official site to get in on the action for yourself. Sláinte!

          Continue reading Age of Empires Online ventures north with the Celts

          MassivelyAge of Empires Online ventures north with the Celts originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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          RIFT devs on Russian revolution, improved itemization, and solo success

          Posted: 06 Feb 2012 01:00 PM PST

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          RIFT
          RIFT Live Producer Hal Hanlin and Systems Producer Adam Gershowitz were flagged down by fansite Magelo to tackle a grab bag of various questions about the game, including the process of injecting this title into the hearts of the Russian populace. According to Hanlin, the Russian release of RIFT was "very smooth," and he credits Trion Worlds' partner in the region, GFI, with assisting in that.

          Even as itemization improvements continue to roll into RIFT, the devs state that they're constantly monitoring damage output. For the next patch, Warriors will see a buff to their DPS as attack power will be tweaked to boost the pain.

          Hanlin promises that "soloable content is very important to us" and pointed at the success of Instant Adventures and the Chronicles of Telara as proof that Trion has responded to the desire for such content in the game.

          The devs touch on small details from the recent patch and their vision for expert dungeons as well.

          MassivelyRIFT devs on Russian revolution, improved itemization, and solo success originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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          SOE announces in-game Valentine's activities

          Posted: 06 Feb 2012 12:00 PM PST

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          EverQuest II - The Shard of Love
          Valentine's Day is just around the corner, and aside from mad dashes to the Hallmark store for cards and boxes of chocolate, the season is also typified by various MMO events. This year is no different, and Sony Online Entertainment is queuing up a couple of noteworthy shindigs in EverQuest II and Free Realms.

          Norrathians will be celebrating Erollisi Day from February 7th through the 20th, and there are plenty of contests, quests, and love-soaked goings-on to keep everyone happy. Free Realms' Festival of Hearts lasts a bit longer (February 7th through March 8th to be exact), during which time players may partake of Valentine's Day-themed environments, quests, and reward items.

          Finally, Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures is re-introducing a few Valentine's Day items to its StationCash markeplace, and you'll find more info on each game's celebration events at their respective official sites.

          [Source: SOE press release]

          MassivelySOE announces in-game Valentine's activities originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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            Wings Over Atreia: The top 19 ways to get your dungeon crawl on

            Posted: 06 Feb 2012 10:00 AM PST

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            Wings Over Atreia header
            You know 'em -- those places shrouded away from the everyday grind of the world where you can chill-out without being interrupted (excepting spouse aggro), a private nook where you know there is a definite beginning and end to your adventure, one that offers the best possible loot. They are areas often steeped in lore.

            They are... the instanced dungeon.

            There are actually 19 separate PvE dungeons currently in Aion where Daevas can get their dungeon crawl on. If you include the Fortress instances, you can add another 10 dungeons to this list. Adding PvP instances raises the number even higher. However, since fort instances are seriously lacking in lore and fort ownership is required (so availability is not assured), we will forego including them. We'll also omit the Dredgions and PvP arenas to keep the list PvE focused -- after all, there are times you really may not want to bother with fighting the enemy!

            This week, Wings Over Atreia explores the first half of the dungeon list for the benefit of both young whippersnappers and old-timer Daevas alike. Why would veterans need it? Because dungeons aren't just for certain levels anymore. For a change of pace or to break out of a rut, grab yourself some lowbies, mentor down, and check out one instance a day -- you'll pass two weeks before ever repeating. You might even have fun, meet new friends, and renew your enthusiasm for Aion.

            Continue reading Wings Over Atreia: The top 19 ways to get your dungeon crawl on

            MassivelyWings Over Atreia: The top 19 ways to get your dungeon crawl on originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 06 Feb 2012 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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              Posted by Shri Krishna
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