General Gaming Article

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• Bad PC Ports Need to Go Away: Dead Rising 3 Edition
• NFL Announcers Slip on $400 Million Surface Deal, Calls Microsoft's Tablets iPads
• U.S. Department of Justice Fines HP $108 Million for Foreign Bribery Scandal
• Leaked Press Photo of GeForce GTX 970 Suggests Nvidia is Skipping 800 Series
• Grand Theft Auto V Headed to PC January 27, 2015 with Prettier Graphics and New Weapons
• Newegg Daily Deals: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 Ti Dual Classified, F.E.A.R. Complete Pack, and More!

Bad PC Ports Need to Go Away: Dead Rising 3 Edition Posted: 12 Sep 2014 03:39 PM PDT Column: Now I know why they call it the Apocalypse Edition PC games are buggy, and console games just work right out of the box – that's at least the stigma that console gamers place on the PC. The truth is that PC gaming is miles ahead of the consoles, but I do have to admit that that there are grains of truth to the stigma. When Dead Rising 3 launched on the PC on September 5th, I encouraged my console-playing friend to play the game cooperatively with me on Steam. So we both got on Skype and fired it up. Immediately upon booting it up, however, I noticed the astonishingly long load times. To be fair, I did install it on my hard drive as opposed to my SSD, but these boot times were abnormally long and my friend noticed the same on his machine. The long boot times would be the least of my problems with the game, however. When I actually got into the game, something was definitely not right, and I'm not talking about the game's impending zombie apocalypse. It felt like I was playing more of a slideshow than a game. The framerate performance was terrible, which I thought was odd considering I was playing on my high-end i7 rig coupled with a GeForce GTX Titan. Sure I was trying to run the game maxed out, but considering I was using a $1,000 GPU on what essentially is a console port, max settings should have been a cakewalk.  More like "Dead Rising 3: Bad Port Edition" And my friend's more humble PC equipped with a modest 560 Ti GPU? Well, it started sweating bullets on medium. "This is why I'm not into PC gaming," my friend exclaimed. The comment stung a little and we both decided to tone down our graphics settings. I noticed a bump in performance when I ran the game at medium settings, but it still ran like crap. Upon doing some research, I found out that Capcom had capped the game to run at 30FPS. D'oh! Contrary to what console gamers might say, 30FPS is not enough, and friends don't let friends play at 30FPS. To be fair to Capcom, apparently the company did warn PC gamers that the game would be locked to 30FPS prior to Dead Rising 3's launch, but still, a warning does not excuse a crime. That's like someone telling you, "Sorry, but I'm going to punch you" right before punching you. In other words, it doesn't really help. The straight truth of the matter is that Dead Rising 3 on the PC is a lazy port, and trust us when we say we know a thing or two about a bad port as we've done a roundup of the worst offenders. At this point, we'd have to say Dead Rising 3 is a dead ringer to be on that list (see what I did there?). On the brightside, yes, there is an easy .ini fix to remove the 30FPS cap, but even Capcom advises against this because the company suggest that users 1)might need really beefy hardware and 2) it could potentially cause "issues." Furthermore, I'm personally a little afraid that the tweak might conflict with a future update down the road. In addition, this fan-made patch reinforces the negative stereotype that PC gamers need to manually tweak their games just to play them properly. The least Capcom could have done here is to include an in-game menu option to remove the 30FPS limit with perhaps a warning that it might cause some instability on lower-end systems. After all, if we're smart enough to choose PC gaming, we're smart enough to toggle a menu switch. In addition, some of us do in fact have super beefy hardware and would like the option to use it on an occasion such as this. *cough* Terrible performance issues aside, Dead Rising's framerate is hardly the most pressing issue with the game at the moment. When my friend and I were slugging our way through the co-op campaign, the game crashed on me multiple times and booted my friend out of the online instance as well. I was hoping to play the game all night with my buddy, to show him the joys of Steam and PC gaming, but after four game crashes in an hour, even I had to admit defeat. Over the next few days, I found out that my situation was not an isolated incident and that TONS of users are reporting game crashes. To Capcom's credit, the company has acknowledged the crashes and are attempting to do something about it, but only time will tell if this specific matter gets resolved.  I haven't given up on Dead Rising 3 and was able to enjoy the game, well, at least from the little that I was able to play of it, but I'd much prefer to return to the zombie apocalypse when the bugs are ironed out. Because really, who likes fighting bugs and zombies at the same time? However, the bigger thing I want to say to Capcom and other game developers is this: PLEASE STOP THE LAZY PC PORTS! These buggy, unoptimized ports do nothing to bolster the sales of your games. But more importantly, your rush job gives PC gaming an undue bad rep.

NFL Announcers Slip on $400 Million Surface Deal, Calls Microsoft's Tablets iPads Posted: 12 Sep 2014 11:02 AM PDT Can the NFL get anything right these days? Not only did the NFL mishandle a major situation with Ray Rice's domestic abuse incident, but even comparatively minor tasks are turning into fumbles. Before the season began, Microsoft inked a $400 million deal with the NFL to make its Surface the official tablet of the league for the next five years. Under normal circumstances, that would be a sound (and even savvy) advertising deal on Microsoft's part, except for one little thing -- NFL announcers couldn't help but to refer to the Surface tablets as iPads. Something like that should draw an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, but if you're Apple, you'll take the free exposure. As for Microsoft, it had to endure at least two television announcers making the same mistake during the first week of the season, including one that occurred during Monday Night Football. According to Business Insider, ESPN's Trent Dilfer cracked a joke saying he wondered how long it took Arizona Cardinals assistant head coach Tom Moore to "learn how to use the iPad to scroll through pictures." The other known incident happened when New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees was seen by Fox commentator John Lynch using the Surface on the sideline. Lynch joked that Brees was "not watching movies on his iPad." Funny stuff, though Microsoft would undoubtedly prefer if NFL announcers would spend less time cracking jokes and more time learning the difference between a Surface and an iPad. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

U.S. Department of Justice Fines HP $108 Million for Foreign Bribery Scandal Posted: 12 Sep 2014 09:45 AM PDT HP and its subsidiaries face a hefty fine for felony violations of corruption After pleading guilty to felony violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), Hewlett-Packard and its subsidiaries have been ordered to pay a total of $108 million in criminal and regulatory penalties, the U.S. Department of Justice announced this week. Specifically, HP was caught bribing Russian government officials to secure a large and lucrative technology contract. According to the Principal Deputy Assistant General Miller, HP's Russian subsidiary spent millions of dollars in bribes from a secret slush fund to secure the government contract. He called it a "sham transaction" and said that it was equally perturbing that it involved Russia's top prosecutor's office. "For more than a decade HP Russia business executives participated in an elaborate scheme that involved paying bribes to government officials in exchange for large contracts," said FBI Assistant Director in Charge McCabe. "There is no place for bribery in any business model or corporate culture. Along with the Department of Justice, the IRS and international law enforcement partners, the FBI is committed to investigating corrupt backroom deals that threaten our global commerce." According to the DoJ, HP Russia created excess profit margins to finance the slush fund through an elaborate buy-back deal scheme. That involved HP subsidiaries selling computer hardware and other technology products under contract to a Russian channel partner and then buying the same products back from an intermediary at around a $10 million markup with an additional $5.4 million in purported services. HP Russia then sold the same products to the Office of the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation at the increased price. The three HP entities involved will pay over $76 million in criminal penalties and forfeiture, plus more than $31.4 million in disgorgement, prejudgement interest, and civil penalties, bringing the grand total to over $108 million. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Leaked Press Photo of GeForce GTX 970 Suggests Nvidia is Skipping 800 Series Posted: 12 Sep 2014 09:13 AM PDT Thank you Zotac for the confirmation! Supposed benchmarks of Nvidia's forthcoming GeForce GTX 980, GTX 970, and GTX 980M GPUs were leaked to the web earlier this week, and presuming they were real, it would seem that Nvidia is planning to skip right over the 800 Series and jump right into the 900s. Lest there be any lingering doubt, what looks to be an official press image of Zotac's GeForce GTX 970 graphics card is making its way through cyberspace. We spotted the image over at Fudzilla, which led us over to VideoCardz.com. The site says the image was leaked by a Philippine store called PCHUB that was content to consider it a "sneak peek," though we're sure Zotac (and Nvidia) aren't super thrilled about it. In any event, the GeForce GTX 970 is rumored to feature 1,664 CUDA cores, 138 TMUs, and 32 ROPs with a 1051MHz GPU base clockspeed and 1178MHz GPU boost clockspeed. The Zotac card will have 4GB of GDDR5 memory, presumably clocked at 7012MHz on a 256-bit bus. We can also see that Zotac is deviating from the reference cooler in favor of its own custom solution. Since all we have is a photo to go on, there's no word yet of a price or release date, though it's rumored the 900 Series will launch on September 19. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Grand Theft Auto V Headed to PC January 27, 2015 with Prettier Graphics and New Weapons Posted: 12 Sep 2014 08:54 AM PDT Yes, this release date is real With all due respect to the PC gamers who, after waiting so long for Grand Theft Auto V to be ported to Windows with nary a peep from Rockstar Games, have understandably lost interest, this is a big day. At long last, Rockstar has finally picked a release date for GTA V on PC -- January 27, 2015 -- and I couldn't be more excited. Why? Partially because I've played the game with delight on the Xbox 360 and was totally drawn in, and also because I'm anxious to see the improved graphics and new features. What about the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One? Rockstar's obvious preference for consoles has GTA V arriving on the PS4 and Xbox One on November 18, 2014, more than two months ahead of the PC launch. Whatever, let's not act surprised that the PC is last line -- a familiar place with Rockstar. As to the game, all three platforms will see a "range of major visual and technical upgrades" that will make Los Santos and Blaine County prettier and more immersive than they've ever been. You can expect increased draw distances, a higher resolution, and a handful of new additions such as new weapons, vehicles, and activities, more wildlife, denser traffic, a new foliage system, enhanced damage and weather effects, and more. Those who pre-order will receive $1,000,000 of in-game currency, half of which you can spend in GTA V and the other half allocated to GTA Online. If you've already been playing GTA Online, you'll be able to transfer your character and progression to PC (or PS4 or Xbox One). There's no arguing it's been a long wait, and with still four months to go, Rockstar is undoubtedly alienating some PC gamers. To tide you over -- assuming you're still interested -- check out the new trailer below (taken from a PS4) and a bunch of new screenshots on Rockstar's website. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Newegg Daily Deals: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 Ti Dual Classified, F.E.A.R. Complete Pack, and More! Posted: 12 Sep 2014 08:25 AM PDT Top Deal: Everybody knows that it's a losing proposition to take a knife to a gun fight, and by that same token, why arm yourself with an integrated GPU when the virtual world may depend on your dominance? Pshaw! Sometimes you have to show up to the scene heavily armed, and if that's what you're looking to do, well, you've come to the right place. Today's top deal is for an EVGA GeForce GTX Ti Dual Classified Graphics Card w/ ACX Cooler for $656 with free shipping (normally $690 - use coupon code: [EMCPAWW85]; Free Borderlands the Pre-Sequel w/ purchase, limited offer; additional $30 mail-in-rebate). Not only is this card exceedingly fast and sporting a custom cooling solution, it also comes with Borderlands the Pre-Sequel (be sure to add it to your cart). While you're at it, be sure and check out today's secondary deal, Borderlands 2 + Borderlands: Game of the Year Bundle Pack [Online Game Codes - Steam Required] for $11 (normally $13 - use coupon code: [EMCPAWW78]). So much gaming goodness -- looks like that term paper will have to wait! Other Deals: Asus GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card for $418 with free shipping (normally $440 - use coupon code: [EMCPAWW27]; additional $20 Mail-in rebate) F.E.A.R Complete Pack (1 + 2 + 3 + Reborn DLC) [Online Game Codes] for $13 (normally $14 - use coupon code: [EMCPAWW35]) GTA IV/ GTA SA Bundle [Online Game Code] for $5 with (normally $5)

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MMORPG News

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• Glitch: Revival Possible Thanks to Volunteer 'Glitchen'
• Destiny: Review in Progress Part 1
• ArcheAge: Head Start Patch Reverts Labor Potion Cooldown
• Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn: Latest Letter from the Producer Live Digest Published
• Elder Scrolls Online: ESO Live! Live Stream Set to Debut Tomorrow
• Gigantic: Alpha Begins -- Are You Signed Up?
• General: 7 Signs You’re a Filthy Casual
• Guild Wars 2: Colin Johanson Takes to Forums to Allay Concerns
• WildStar: Key Attunement Changes Ease Raid Play
• Line of Defense: Early Access Packages Detailed
• Dragons and Titans: Microtransactions End, Game Content Available for One Price
• The Secret World: The Last Pagan Series of Missions Debuts
• General: Zombies, Monsters, Robots - They Shall Not Escape!
• General: Will Ferrell's SuperMegaBlastMax Gamer Challenge
• Mortal Online: City Building Feature Released
• Life is Feudal: Alpha to Launch September 19th
• General: Video Game Cosplay: Is It for You?
• Legend of Edda: Vengeance: Ready to Make a Comeback
• General: Pumpkin Online - Inspired by Animal Crossing & Harvest Moon

Glitch: Revival Possible Thanks to Volunteer 'Glitchen' Posted: 12 Sep 2014 08:17 AM PDT It appears that an all volunteer group calling themselves "Glitchen" are working with original developer Tiny Speck to see the game brought back to life under a new name, "Eleven". According to Eleven's site, the Glitchen will use the released code and additional tools presented to them by Tiny Speck.

Destiny: Review in Progress Part 1 Posted: 10 Sep 2014 05:17 PM PDT Earlier this week Destiny officially released to tremendous commercial success. Lauded by Activision Blizzard as the biggest franchise launch yet in video game history, it achieved $500 million shipped on day one. These sales are to retailers and digital distributors not to the end users but it is pretty safe to bet at this point that Destiny is on a fast track to be Activision's third billion dollar franchise joining Call of Duty and Skylanders.

ArcheAge: Head Start Patch Reverts Labor Potion Cooldown Posted: 12 Sep 2014 03:46 AM PDT The folks at Trion are listening it appears. On the eve of Head Start for ArcheAge's North American and EU launch, some new patch notes have appeared . A number of tweaks is present, most notably the shift of Labor Potion cooldowns back to 12 hours. Read on for the full notes.

Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn: Latest Letter from the Producer Live Digest Published Posted: 11 Sep 2014 04:47 PM PDT The Final Fantasy XIV forum has been updated with the digest version from the latest Letter from the Producer LIVE that took place earlier this month. Among other things, Yoshi-P answered questions regarding time consuming systems, whether or not more information is ready to be revealed about a new race and if there are plans for more cross-game collaboration events.

Elder Scrolls Online: ESO Live! Live Stream Set to Debut Tomorrow Posted: 11 Sep 2014 04:36 PM PDT The Elder Scrolls Online team has posted on the game's Facebook page that a new weekly live stream show called ESO Live! will officially kick off on Friday, September 12th on Twitch.tv. The show will feature chats with developers, fans and players and will cover a wide variety of topics. You can check out the first episode tomorrow at the times listed below.

Gigantic: Alpha Begins -- Are You Signed Up? Posted: 11 Sep 2014 04:26 PM PDT Motiga has announced that the alpha test for its upcoming MOBA, Gigantic, has now begun. Those interested in participating in the next several months' worth of testing can head to the Gigantic site to get signed up.

General: 7 Signs You’re a Filthy Casual Posted: 11 Sep 2014 10:47 AM PDT Have you ever wondered just how hardcore you really are? If you could run with the big boys and look down your nose at the rest of the world for not being as cool as you are? How about just whether you're casual or not? If so, this list is for you! This week, Chris hands the reigns over to Johnny P. Hardcore so he can dig deep into the top 7 signs you might be a filthy casual. You won't want to miss it.

Guild Wars 2: Colin Johanson Takes to Forums to Allay Concerns Posted: 11 Sep 2014 02:15 PM PDT Arena.Net's Colin Johanson has taken to the Guild Wars 2 forums to talk with players about concerns and misconceptions that are being discussed regarding this week's "quality of life" update, most specifically about the new player experience. In the post, Johanson acknowledges some oversights and bugs that are currently being ironed out, and addresses the notion that the new player experience is properly designed to give new players a good sense of progression and reward.

WildStar: Key Attunement Changes Ease Raid Play Posted: 11 Sep 2014 01:52 PM PDT WildStar players have long voiced concern over the difficult task to enter Veteran raids. In a new update, the WildStar team has detailed changes to the attunement system and announced that the requirement for Veteran raids has been lowered to bronze.

Line of Defense: Early Access Packages Detailed Posted: 11 Sep 2014 11:59 AM PDT 3000 A.D. has announced that early access packages for its forthcoming game, Line of Defense, are now available via Steam. Players can purchase LoD in one of three different tiers: Commander ($99.99), Ambassador ($69.99) and Emissary ($39.99). Each package will contain a series of in-game rewards as well.

Dragons and Titans: Microtransactions End, Game Content Available for One Price Posted: 11 Sep 2014 11:37 AM PDT Wyrmbyte has announced that it is doing away with the microtransaction model for its MOBA, Dragons & Titans. The initiative is a way to combat the "stigmata" regarding Pay to Win. The entire game and all of its content, the "Titan Pass", can be purchased for $19.99.

The Secret World: The Last Pagan Series of Missions Debuts Posted: 11 Sep 2014 11:14 AM PDT The Secret World has a series of new missions for players in the just-released "Side Stories: The Last Pagan". The six missions are said to bring hours of new game play opportunities into TSW and, on completion, will reward players with a Deep Mystery Box and a spiffy teleport item called the "Lorenzian Fabricator".

General: Zombies, Monsters, Robots - They Shall Not Escape! Posted: 10 Sep 2014 03:55 PM PDT In the latest patch from En Masse's intense third-person shooter Zombies Monsters Robots, a new Tower Defense Style mode called "Threshold Defense" has been added. Unlike the other modes we have seen, the monsters are less interested in you, at least until you attack them, as they are trying escape out a portal. Wave upon wave is thrown at you until either you succeed at suppressing 10 waves or you allow 30 monsters to escape, so be sure to KILL EVERYTHING!

General: Will Ferrell's SuperMegaBlastMax Gamer Challenge Posted: 11 Sep 2014 08:55 AM PDT Will Farrell hates cancer. He hates it so much that he's started an IndieGogo campaign to raise $375,000 to assist in children's cancer research. Folks who donate may score a game play session with Mr. Farrell himself. The campaign began on September 10th and is expected to run for the next month.

Mortal Online: City Building Feature Released Posted: 11 Sep 2014 07:30 AM PDT Star Vault has sent word that one of the most comprehensive patches for Mortal Online has been released into the game. The most notable feature in the update is the City Building ability that allows guilds to build a tower, own land, collect taxes, black-list undesirables and more. To show off the capabilities of the City Building feature, Star Vault has released a new trailer.

Life is Feudal: Alpha to Launch September 19th Posted: 11 Sep 2014 07:25 AM PDT Bitbox has let us know that the Life is Feudal Steam page is now live in preparation for the alpha launch of the game on September 19th.

General: Video Game Cosplay: Is It for You? Posted: 10 Sep 2014 02:57 PM PDT If you've ever been to Dragon Con, you know that costuming is a big deal at the Atlanta-based convention. This year broke another record with a reported 63,000 attendees paying tribute to their favorite sci-fi and fantasy genres of pop culture, and the costumes seem to get better each year.

Legend of Edda: Vengeance: Ready to Make a Comeback Posted: 11 Sep 2014 07:09 AM PDT JCPlanet will be bringing back Legend of Edda in a new global form. LoE closed down recently when GamesCampus gave up the licensing. According to press information, will be available beginning September 24th with a special character creation event that will kick off on September 22nd.

General: Pumpkin Online - Inspired by Animal Crossing & Harvest Moon Posted: 11 Sep 2014 06:51 AM PDT Pumpkin Online is nearly funded with a few days left to complete the stated goals. The game is inspired by both Animal Crossing and Harvest Moon and seeks to create a virtual world that supports love equality and combines farming and dating into something completely new and unique.

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