General Gaming Article

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• Unlocked Nokia N9 Available in US, Just $690
• HTC Edge Superphone Leaked: Quad-Core Tegra 3 Processor
• Google+ Pages Rolls Out For Businesses And Brands
• Build It: A First-Class Gaming & Media PC for the Living Room
• Just What Exactly is EVGA's GeForce GTX 560 Ti 2Win Card, Anyway?
• OCZ RevoDrive 3 X2 Max IOPS Edition is a Silly Fast Drive for Multithreaded Applications
• Chrome Web App of the Week: Guinness World Records - Record Player
• Best Buy Shuts Down UK Big Box Stores
• Strong Game Portfolio Push Game Sales 14 Percent in October, Says Wedbush
• Firefox 8 Available For Download

Unlocked Nokia N9 Available in US, Just $690 Posted: 07 Nov 2011 02:57 PM PST Despite officially moving away from a Symbian/MeeGo focus last Spring, Nokia went ahead with its final MeeGo-based device and put of the N9 just a few months ago. Although the device was never supposed to arrive on American shores, unlocked device reseller Expansys has a brand-new Nokia N9 with your name on it, if you roll that way. This doomed device, will set you back $690, but you so get free shipping. Many users have noted how depressing it is that Nokia appears to have gotten MeeGo right just before abandoning it for Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 platform. The N9 has almost the same body as the recently announced Lumia 800, but with a slightly larger FWVGA resolution screen. The phone packs in Nokia's signature penta-band 3G HSPA radio, so it will work on both AT&T and T-Mobile in the US.  Significant updates are unlikely on this device, and the app ecosystem is virtually non-existent. You have to truly respect what the N9 is right now to pick one up, especially for this exorbitant price. Anyone out there tempted?

HTC Edge Superphone Leaked: Quad-Core Tegra 3 Processor Posted: 07 Nov 2011 02:38 PM PST On the heels of HTC's recent announcement of the Rezound smartphone for Verizon Wireless, a new device has been leaked that may give any potential phone-buyer a case of cold feet. The HTC Edge is a monster of an Android device with a 720p screen at 4.7-inches, 1GB of RAM, and a crazy Nvidia Tegra 3 processor with four 1.5GHz ARM Cortex-A9 cores. The Rezound only has a dual-core chip. This is the first quad-core phone to be leaked that we suspect actually exists. The choice of processor is actually very interesting, if accurate. HTC has always used Qualcomm parts in its phones, and the new Krait-based Snapdragons are on the horizon. This could be a sign that Nvidia is really stepping it up to get phone makers on board. No mention of LTE capability was made in the leak, just HSPA+ at this point. As for software, the Edge is expected to bring a new version of HTC Sense, but it is unclear if it will be based on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. We have to believe so, as the phone is not expected until late Q1 or early Q2 of 2012. Another thing to note, the HTC Edge render shows the phone with buttons, which is a very un-ICS design.

Google+ Pages Rolls Out For Businesses And Brands Posted: 07 Nov 2011 02:13 PM PST Google has been attempting to quiet discontent over the exclusion of business and brands on the Google+ social network, but no more apologies. Google+ Pages has launched to a small test group, but all users will have the option of creating Pages on Google+ soon. In essence, this isn't much different than what is done on Facebook, but the people behind businesses and brands have all the Google+ tools at their disposal like Circles, hangouts, +1, and a new Direct Connect feature. Google+ pages will let businesses add users to Circles, and allow users to Circle businesses they love. Similar to Facebook's Like system, Google+ Pages will let user +1 them for a running tally of how popular a business is. TO increase exposure of Google+ Pages, two additions have been made to Google search. The first is straight forward in the form of Pages showing up in search results, which seems like a no-brainer. The new Direct Connect feature which allows users to get to a business page faster. Just search for "+" and the name of the page, and you will be directed right to it. Now we see clearly why the standard "+" operator was removed recently. Do you think Google+ Pages will be a hit?

Build It: A First-Class Gaming & Media PC for the Living Room Posted: 07 Nov 2011 01:05 PM PST Get Gaming on an HTPC I don't want to watch cable TV. I don't want to use a controller. I just want to watch 3D Blu-rays and frag people with a mouse and keyboard, all on a box that fits on my entertainment center. Is that too much to ask? We've built our fair share of home theater PCs in the past, with all sorts of different use cases in mind. Our August 2010 HTPC was a stunner built for 3D, with passively cooled GPU, CPU, and PSU, as well as a four-channel CableCard tuner and Blu-ray 3D support. In June 2011, Gordon tried to make a small-form-factor HTPC that could cut out the previous build's bulk (and CableCard) while still supporting Blu-ray 3D. Both of those rigs handled their respective tasks well, but what if I don't care about cable but do care about gaming? This month's task is to create a kick-ass gaming rig in an HTPC form factor—one that can handle modern games, as well as 3D Blu-ray and Dolby TrueHD audio, without sounding like a jet engine. The Right Tools for the Job When building a PC for the living room, the first thing to consider is the chassis. After testing many cases, including Lian Li's PC-P50 and Silverstone's oldie-but-goodie CW02, I settled on the Silverstone GD06, a microATX case with three 12cm cooling fans, front-panel USB 3.0 ports (with internal header!), and two hot-swap SATA bays. The other cases were roomier, but I wanted to keep the footprint as small as possible. The videocard needs to be able to handle Blu-ray 3D and support HDMI 1.4a for true lossless HD audio. That's the easy part. It also has to have the power to play today's games, and the GTX 560Ti has that. MSI's Twin Frozr II version is speedy, factory-overclocked, quiet, and doesn't draw a lot of power. For Blu-ray playback, we're hitting up an old favorite: Plextor's PX320-SA. The GD06's front panel latches when not in use to prevent miscreants from waltzing off with your drives. We're not crippling this rig with an Atom or Fusion board. Asus's Maximus IV Gene-Z combines a powerful Z68 gaming platform with easy overclocking, two PCIe x16 slots, onboard 6Gb/s SATA, and X-Fi-branded onboard audio using Realtek codecs. Intel's Core i5-2500K brings four unlocked processors at 3.3GHz. I picked a speedy 6Gb/s SATA SSD for an OS drive, and a large-capacity drive for media storage. The case's front hot-swap SATA bays make it easy to add more storage later. Ingredients Case Silverstone GD06 $130 PSU Silverstone Strider Essential ST70F-E 700W $85 Motherboard Asus Maximus IV Gene-Z $180 CPU Intel 3.3GHz Core i5-2500k $220 Cooling Stock Intel Cooler $0 GPU MSI Twin Frozr II GTX 560 Ti $240 RAM 2x 4GB Corsair Dominator DDR3/1600 $100 Optical Drive Blu-ray Combo Drive Plextor PX-B320SA $110 SSD 120GB Corsair Force GT $220 HDD 3TB WD Caviar Green $115 OS Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (OEM) $100 Total   $1,500 Step 1: Prep the Case Remove the three screws securing the top cover of the GD06, then slide the cover off of the case. Unlock and open the front-panel bezel. Take out the four little screws securing the optical drive bay, and remove the bay. Do the same with the four screws holding the HDD trays. Lift out the bays and set them aside (image below). Step 2: Install the PSU Stick the four rubber feet that ship with the case onto the underside of the PSU (the side with the intake fan). Mount the PSU with the fan pointing to the bottom of the case. Step 3: Install the CPU, Cooler, and RAM Open the CPU gate and remove the plastic socket protector. Align the CPU with the socket and gently lower it into place (image below, left). Lower the gate and secure the CPU. Since we're using the stock cooler, all you have to do is remove the plastic cover, make sure the stock thermal pads are in place, and align the four posts on the heatsink with the mounting holes in the motherboard. Press down firmly on two opposite pins at a time until you hear a firm click, then repeat for the other two pins (image below, right). Make sure the cooler is firmly attached; it shouldn't wobble. Connect the CPU fan to the CPU_FAN header. Mount the RAM in either the red slots or the black slots.     Step 4: Mount the Motherboard Install the motherboard I/O shield in the case, then put a motherboard standoff into the rightmost center hole (when viewed from the rear of the case)—this is the only standoff you need for microATX that isn't preinstalled in the chassis. Slide the motherboard into the case (image below), aligning the I/O ports with the I/O shield, and screw the motherboard screws into the standoffs. Step 5: Connect Cables The trickiest part of this build is the wiring. As you perform each step, keep the next steps in mind. Plan ahead and make sure to coil excess cable and secure it to tiedowns when possible.     Connect one end of a black SATA cable to one of the four gray SATA ports on the motherboard. Connect the PSU's 24-pin ATX power connector to the board. Run the 8-pin ATX power cable along the bottom edge of the motherboard, and then up behind the I/O ports to the AUX input (image above, left). Set aside a SATA power cable, the dual-6-pin PCI Express power cable, and a 4-pin Molex power cable, and tie the remaining PCI Express and SATA power cables down in front of the motherboard (image above, right) using the cable ties included with the case. Coil the front-panel connectors until they're just long enough to reach the pins, then connect them to the motherboard's pinout. Install the pinout onto the board (image above). Tie down the excess cable. Attach the front-panel audio and USB 3.0 headers, pulling excess cable below the optical drive bay. Plug the system fans into fan headers on the motherboard. Step 6: Install the GPU Remove the two PCI expansion slot covers closest to the I/O ports and install the GPU, making sure to run the ATX auxiliary power cable beneath it. Plug the two PCI-E 6-pin plugs into the ports on the end of the card (image below). Step 7: Install the Drives Attach the SSD to the underside of the hard drive bracket using the four SSD screws (image below, left). Plug a 6Gb/s SATA cable into the SSD. Plug the two SATA cables from the hot-swap bays to two of the mobo's gray SATA ports, and attach the other end of the SATA cable from the SSD into one of the red ports.     Attach the two 4-pin Molex connectors from the hot-swap bays to two of the 4-pin connectors from the PSU (image above, right). Attach the end SATA data connector from the cable you moved over earlier. Replace the hard drive tray and reattach the four screws that hold it in place. Slide your mass storage drive into one of the hot-swap bays and close the door. Step 8: Install the Blu-ray Drive Attach the optical drive to the optical drive tray (image below), making sure the mounting holes on the drive are aligned with the front set of mounting holes on the tray. Attach with four optical-drive mounting screws and plug in the SATA power and SATA data cables you previously routed to the area. Reinstall the drive bay using the four screws you removed in Step 1. Step 9: Wrap it Up Slot the storage drive into one of the front hot-swap bays, and then replace the case's top cover. Install OS and drivers, and away you go! It's Got Game! I worried that an actively cooled gaming rig in an HTPC chassis would be too noisy, especially compared to passively cooled rigs like our August 2011 machine. But all builds involve compromises, and I wasn't willing to give up gaming performance in exchange for a few decibels. Fortunately, the GD06's fans are pretty quiet, and MSI's Twin Frozr II cooler makes the GTX 560 Ti run quietly, as well. The rig only really got loud when I was installing driver updates from the optical drive. The drive runs much more quietly when playing a movie. And to my relief, the system is pretty speedy. Our zero-point machine is an aging-but-still-powerful overclocked Core i7-920 with a dual-GPU videocard. The Sandy Bridge processor and GTX 560 Ti helped the gaming HTPC hold its own reasonably well in the benchmarks despite a stock-clocked processor sans Hyper-Threading. The tight quarters of the GD06 don't leave much room for a fancy wiring job, but the positive air pressure generated by its three 12cm intake fans ensures that the components stay cool. The rig plays 3D Blu-ray and offers a protected Dolby TrueHD audio path via the videocard's 1.4a-compatible Mini HDMI port—essential elements in a home theater PC. If you must have cable, you can drop in Ceton's InfiniTV tuner and a CableCard. If you must have a dedicated soundcard, you can add in one of those. If you're really crazy, you can add both. I prefer to go without either and save the $650. I still have access to Netflix, Hulu Plus, and anything I can stream over my home network. It's also great for games. Some of us like gaming on a giant screen, and we want to use a mouse and keyboard when we do. And now we can, with a box that's far more powerful than any console. If you're curious about the rest of an HTPC setup—recommended remotes, peripherals, sound systems, TVs, and more—check out our guide to the Ultimate 3D HTPC from last year. The peripheral recommendations still stand, though 3D-compatible TVs have only gotten easier to come by. There's more than one way to skin a cat (eww), and my gaming HTPC isn't the same as yours. What would you change? What essential part did I miss? What totally unnecessary expense did I incur? Email your critiques, build suggestions, and more to comments@maximumpc.com! Benchmarks Zero Point PC Gaming HTPC Vegas Pro 9 (sec) 3,049 3,411 (-11%) Lightroom 2.6 (sec) 356 312 Proshow 4 (sec) 1,112 986 Reference 1.6 (sec) 2,113 2,258 (-6%) STALKER (fps) 42.0 34.1 (-19%) Far Cry 2 (fps) 114.4 91.9 (-20%) Our current desktop test bed consists of a quad-core 2.66GHz Core i7-920 overclocked to 3.5GHz, 6GB of Corsair DDR3/1333 overclocked to 1,750MHz, on a Gigabyte X58 motherboard. We are running an ATI Radeon HD 5970 graphics card, a 160GB Intel X25-M SSD, and 64-bit Windows 7 Ultimate.

Just What Exactly is EVGA's GeForce GTX 560 Ti 2Win Card, Anyway? Posted: 07 Nov 2011 11:54 AM PST There are multiple correct answers to our question above, one of them being, "A massive 16-syllable graphics card, if counting EVGA into the equation (and 12 syllables if not)." But more than a long-winded name, the 560 Ti 2Win edition is a dual-GPU graphics card EVGA claims is 30 percent faster than a single GTX 580, and supports 3D surround to boot. Packed underneath the three-fan cooling shroud are two GTX 560 Ti GPUs that, according to EVGA's own internal benchmarking, are capable of posting a score of nearly 8,000 in Futuremark's 3DMark 11 benchmark (EVGA's testbed consisted of an Intel 975 processor, EVGA X58 Classified motherboard, 3GB of DDR3 memory, and Windows 7). The two GPUs are clocked at 850MHz, the shader clockspeed is 1700MHz, and the memory clockspeed is 4008MHz. It has three DVI ports for Nvidia 3D Surround plus a mini HDMI output. Price and availability? EVGA is selling the card for $520 with a free copy of 3DMark 11 Advanced Edition thrown in. Not too bad if it's really faster than a GTX 580, which streets for around $490 and up (before rebates). Image Credit: EVGA

OCZ RevoDrive 3 X2 Max IOPS Edition is a Silly Fast Drive for Multithreaded Applications Posted: 07 Nov 2011 11:36 AM PST OCZ's new RevoDrive 3 X2 Max IOPS solid state drive should come with a warning label that reads: Warning, may cause whiplash, extreme giddiness, and feelings of euphoria -- these feelings will not subside. No such warning exists on OCZ's latest RevoDrive line, but that's how we'd market a PCI Express SSD capable of the silly fast numbers OCZ plastered on the spec sheet. Let's start with the X2 (OCZ also announced a 'regular' RevoDrive 3 Max IOPS edition SSD). The X2 is a workstation-class storage device available in 240GB, 480GB, and 960GB capacities and rated for up to 245,000 random write 4KB (aligned) IOPS. Only the 240GB model is rated lower, and that one's capable of a more than respectable 230,000 IOPS. The 960GB model also boasts read and write speeds of up to 1900MB/s and 1725MB/s, respectively, while the 240GB and 480GB offer the same reads and only slightly lower writes (1700MB/s). All three are full height PCI-E cards with MLC NAND flash memory, 128-bit and 256-bit AES encryption, and OCZ's proprietary Virtualized Controller Architecture (VCA) 2.0 flash virtualization layer. If you don't need quite that much speed or upper end capacity, the non-X2 version is available in 120GB, 240GB, and 480GB capacities. These drives come rated at up to 140,000 IOPS (135,000 IOPS on the 120GB) and read and write speeds up to 1025MB/s and 950MB/s on the 480GB, 1000MB/s and 950MB/s on the 240GB, and 1000MB/s and 900MB/s on the 120GB. No word on price or availability. OCZ RevoDrive 3 Max IOPS Product Page OCZ RevoDrive 3 X2 Max IOPS Product Page Image Credit: OCZ

Chrome Web App of the Week: Guinness World Records - Record Player Posted: 07 Nov 2011 11:28 AM PST Before 1954, no one could say with any authority how many hotdogs a human being could consume in one five minute sitting. This, we're sure you'll agree, was unacceptable. Were it not for a friendly argument between the managing director the Guinness Breweries and one of his hunting buddies in 1951, we still might not have any solid data on the issue today. Fortunately for time wasters and bet placers around the globe, the failure to resolve that argument 60 years ago led to the creation of The Guinness Book of World Records. Thanks to Guinness World Records-Record Player, our Chrome Web App of the Week, computer users don't have to read about new records being made or discover that old ones have been broken. Instead, they can turn to the internet and watch all the action in glorious color.  No matter whether you're looking to resolve an argument over the mundane, be entertained, or waste your time in style, Guinness World Records has got you covered. Videos can be browsed individually, or searched by date, category or what's most popular with other users of the web app. Each video comes along with commentary on what world record it chronicles, as well as a paragraph's worth of commentary about what you're about to watch. If you stumble across a video that you feel the need to share, the app even provides Twitter and Facebook integration, making it easy to get the word out to your friends and followers.  Be sure to check back every Monday for another edition of Maximum PC's Chrome Web App of the Week.

Best Buy Shuts Down UK Big Box Stores Posted: 07 Nov 2011 11:22 AM PST Best Buy may be the big box electronics retailer of choice in the US, but it hasn't been quite as successful on the other side of the pond – at least not as Americans know it. In fact, Best Buy Europe is built primarily around "small box" phone-based technology stores and only launched its familiar big box-format UK flagship stores in April 2010. They should've stuck to what they knew; today, Best Buy announced that was closing all 11 of the big-box stores it opened in the UK in order to focus on the small picture. The company hopes to shift the 1,100 workers affected by the change into the small box stores, a Best Buy spokesman told ZDNet. Best Buy Europe is a 50/50 joint venture between Best Buy and Carphone Warehouse and is the number-one mobile phone retailer in Europe thanks to its 2,500 "Carphone Warehouse" and "Phone House" small box stores. With the closure of the big box stores, Best Buy Europe plans on expanding the capabilities of the small box stores and convert them into their "Wireless World" format, which focuses on all aspects of mobile technology – such as tablets – rather than phones alone. Meanwhile, back in North America, Best Buy bought out Carphone Warehouse's 50 percent share in the Best Buy Mobile brand. It sure is complicated jig those multinational corporations dance!

Strong Game Portfolio Push Game Sales 14 Percent in October, Says Wedbush Posted: 07 Nov 2011 11:07 AM PST If Wedbush's Michael Pachter has the numbers right, then game sales in the U.S. shot way up in October and will tally $690 million once his firm crunches all the digits. That's a 14 percent jump in year-over-year sales compared to the $605 million game makers collected one year prior, and it's because of titles like Battlefield 3, Batman: Arkham City, and NBA 2K12. According to Pachter, Battlefield 3 played a particularly big role and is the reason Electronic Arts is expected to notch $230 million in game revenue in October all by itself, CNet reports. These numbers bode well for the game industry, as do upcoming titles like Skyrim, GTA V, and Modern Warfare 3. In fact, Pacther called the game lineup for October and November this year "one of the strongest in history," Gamastura said. While software sales are up, sales of Nintendo's game console are way down. Pachter believes Nintendo only moved 180,000 Wii consoles in October, a drop of 22 percent year-over-year, and well below that of Microsoft's Xbox 360 sales (350,000 units, up 8 percent) and Sony's PS3 (265,000 units, up 6 percent).

Firefox 8 Available For Download Posted: 07 Nov 2011 10:49 AM PST Ancient people used the sun to calculate the passing of time. That isn't necessarily the most accurate time-keeping method around now – especially with the whole daylight savings time thing – but fortunately, us modern types have something just as reliable to keep track of the days: Firefox's new rapid-release schedule. Six weeks after Firefox 7 launched, Firefox 8 is now available for download – but you'll need to scrounge around a bit for it. That's because the official download page on the Firefox website still points to a version 7 download. Expect that to be changed tomorrow (November 8), the official six-week anniversary date of the release of Firefox 7. For now, early adopters can download Firefox 8 from Firefox's FTP release page, although the 64-bit Windows version has yet to be uploaded. So what can you expect from the new iteration? Well, perhaps most importantly it will put a halt to third-party programs installing Firefox add-ons without explicit user authorization, as we've already covered. Additionally, Twitter has been added to the search bar options. There's also the standard bug fixes and minor improvements. If you're in the United States, you'll want to nab the "en-US" version for your chosen operating system, by the way. Or just wait for tomorrow, when -- as we said -- the official download page will likely be changed over to Firefox 8.

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MMO News

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• Tribes Ascend
• Aeria Games announces beta signups for Repulse
• LEGO Universe shutting down

Tribes Ascend Posted: 07 Nov 2011 02:42 PM PST Tribes Ascend is an upcoming 3d FPS with MMO components and unique movement through the use of  jetpacks and “skiing”. Publisher: Hi-Rez Studios Playerbase: ?? Graphics: High Quality Type: MMO FPS EXP Rate: ?? PvP: Various modes Filesize: ?? Pros: +Based on an already popular FPS series. +Unique  movement style. Cons: -Limited information available.  -Steep learning curve may turn some away. This is a Preview. This page will be updated when the game is fully released. Overview Tribes Ascend Overview Coming Soon… Tribes Ascend Screenshots Coming Soon Tribes Ascend Featured Video Click here to view the embedded video. Full Review Tribes Ascend Review Coming soon… Screenshots Tribes Ascend Screenshots Coming soon… Videos Tribes Ascend Videos Tribes Gameplay Footage Click here to view the embedded video. Links Tribes Ascend Links Tribes Ascend Official Page System Requirements Tribes Ascend Requirements (estimates) Minimum Requirements: OS: Windows Vista / Windows 7 CPU: Intel Pentium 4 2.0 Ghz RAM:  1 GB HDD: 1 GB Free Graphics Card: nVidia 6600 Recommended Specification: OS: Windows Vista / 7 CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo or better RAM: 2 GB or more HDD: 2 GB Free Graphics Card: Geforce 8600 GT or better

Aeria Games announces beta signups for Repulse Posted: 07 Nov 2011 02:27 PM PST Aeria Games has announced that its newest MMOFPS, Repulse, is now accepting beta applications at repulse.aeriagames.com. Repulse is a relaunch of Genesis A.D. , previously published and shut down by ijji. The game offers three classes (Sniper, Engineer, and Assault) which can be swapped between respawns; multiple game modes including deathmatch, demolition, and capture-the-flag; customizable equipment and weaponry, some of which grant the player unique abilities. Aeria Games also publishes Combat Arms and Realm of the Titans. Repulse Gameplay Screenshot Source: Aeria Games Launches Closed Beta Registration for New Sci-Fi MMOFPS Repulse SANTA CLARA, Calif.  – Nov. 4, 2011 – Aeria Games, a leading global publisher of free-to-play online games, today announced that closed beta registration has begun for Repulse, a new 3D sci-fi massively multiplayer online first-person shooter (MMOFPS). Set in a dystopian future where the citizens of Earth have polluted the planet beyond repair, Repulse unfolds an epic sci-fi inspired tale where humans must journey to a new world to continue their existence. Unfortunately, the current inhabitants of mankind's new home planet harbor a different idea…  Deploy high-tech weaponry and powerful battle maneuvers in highly-tactical, twitch-based combat to perform a hostile takeover and save the future of mankind. Repulse features: Change Class During Battle – Switch freely between the Sniper, Engineer and Assault class as you wait to re-spawn in battle. Thrilling Game Modes – Engage in 16-player death matches, destroy your opponents' bases in demolition missions, stave off player-controlled alien hordes, or test your mettle in fast-paced capture the flag (CTF) missions. Twitch-Based Combat – Tactical strategy and a fast reaction time are key to your victory, soldier. Calibrate your combat maneuvers with high-tech weaponry and powerful gear. Tons of Gear – Experiment with numerous types of weapons, armor, and ultramodern equipment. Special equipment grants you unique abilities. Repulse will be free to download and free to play.  Interested players can learn more and sign up to participate in the upcoming closed beta test at: http://repulse.aeriagames.com.

LEGO Universe shutting down Posted: 07 Nov 2011 01:40 PM PST LEGO Universe has announced that its service will be going offline on January 31, 2012. The game’s closure is due to low membership numbers. Despite having two million players, the game has been unable to generate enough revenue. 115 jobs will be lost as the teams handling LEGO Universe will be let go, gamesindustry.biz reported. Subscribers will receive a free month of play if they are still subscribed on December 31, 2011. LEGO Universe Gameplay Screenshot Source: Hello Adventurers, We are very sad to announce that LEGO Universe will be closing on Janurary 31, 2012. This was a very difficult decision to make, but unfortunately LEGO Universe has not been able to attract the number of members needed to keep the game open. We are thankful to have had the opportunity to share this adventure wiith an amazing community of players. We hope you will continue to enjoy LEGO Universe for the last few months. As a thank you, if you are a paying subscriber on December 31, 2011, we will provide you the full game for the final month for free. Click here for the details. Again, we want to thank the fantastic community of players who made LEGO Universe such a vibrant, fun and creative experience. (You can discuss this article on the message boards) Sincerely, The LEGO Universe Team

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MMO Updates

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• Flameseeker Chronicles: C-C-C-Combo maker
• Wings Over Atreia: Too much of a good thing
• Leaderboard: Champions Online's Defender vs. City of Heroes' Statesman
• MV Guide: November 7-13, 2011
• The Daily Grind: Are alts and mules a form of cheating?
• MMO Week in Review: Don't call them robots
• EVE Evolved: Gallente and hybrid balance
• New ArcheAge video shows off combat moves, giant mobs
• Rise and Shiny recap: Warriors Saga
• The joys of scripting the apocalypse: A behind-the-scenes look at Fallen Earth

Flameseeker Chronicles: C-C-C-Combo maker Posted: 07 Nov 2011 09:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Classes, Opinion, Guild Wars 2, Flameseeker Chronicles Sing hallelujah, for the Guild Wars 2 news drought is over! (The information gates may now slam shut for another excruciating period of time, but I'm choosing not to think about that.) Jon Peters brought us all sorts of exciting information on pets, Engineer changes, and cross-profession combos last week on the ArenaNet blog. Now that we've had some time to absorb the news and talk it over, I wanted to take some time to look at it more closely, particularly the cross-profession combos. Follow along after the jump and let's get started! Continue reading Flameseeker Chronicles: C-C-C-Combo maker Flameseeker Chronicles: C-C-C-Combo maker originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 07 Nov 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Wings Over Atreia: Too much of a good thing Posted: 07 Nov 2011 08:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Aion, Opinion, Wings Over Atreia Seriously NCsoft, enough is enough! Now, I know that in the not-even-too-distant past, I openly admitted how much I liked the shiny surveys that popped up occasionally in Aion. Whether they were during events or just out of the blue, the surveys were like a random present just because. And who doesn't like presents? Sometimes you would know what you were getting; other times it would be a complete surprise. I love clicking that little icon and being rewarded with dyes, pets, emotion cards, and other assorted relatively harmless fluff. Yes, I also hoarded the platinum medals and ancient crowns that sprang up infrequently with a near maniacal glee. But there reaches a point when you really can have too much of a good thing (sadly, much like decadent cheesecake) and actually encounter negative repercussions. Last week I mentioned that the leveling rewards, at least under level 25, got to be a little much. But that doesn't compare to the glut of goods available to every player who logged in during the month of October. I was initially appreciative of getting a few of the "October Special" (stacks of multiple scrolls and power shards). However, the surveys got out of hand before long. Click past the cut for (no, not a free gift!) Wings over Atreia's look at how over-gifting can actually be damaging to Aion. Continue reading Wings Over Atreia: Too much of a good thing Wings Over Atreia: Too much of a good thing originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 07 Nov 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Leaderboard: Champions Online's Defender vs. City of Heroes' Statesman Posted: 07 Nov 2011 07:00 AM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Super-hero, City of Heroes, Opinion, Champions Online, Leaderboard Both superheroes were forged in the depths of Cryptic's MMO factory and both are the "Superman" of their games, but that's where the similarities end. One is the child of an established IP, brought in to anchor the product and establish credible connections to the pen-and-paper version. The other is the ego of Jack Emmert made manifest, an indomitable presence watching over Paragon City. But what if these two heroes did an epic crossover and engaged in one massive PvP session? Let's go to the board. Champions Online's Defender is the Iron Man of his franchise, a gifted man who built a powerful suit of armor and gadgets to fight crime. With it, Defender has the powers of flight, super strength, energy blasts, and portable artillery -- not to mention being incredibly tough to take out. City of Heroes' Statesman, on the other hand, possesses innate powers of strength, invulnerability, flight, super-speed, and the ability to shoot a lightning bolt up a criminal's bum if the whim strikes him. Who would win in this theoretical battle? Hit the jump to vote, and head down to the comments to back your vote up with crazy superhero logic! Continue reading Leaderboard: Champions Online's Defender vs. City of Heroes' Statesman Leaderboard: Champions Online's Defender vs. City of Heroes' Statesman originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 07 Nov 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

MV Guide: November 7-13, 2011 Posted: 07 Nov 2011 06:00 AM PST Filed under: Livestream, Miscellaneous, MV Guide MV Guide is a weekly rundown of the MMO gaming events planned on Massively's Livestream channel. Every week, the Massively staff logs in to play various MMOs live and in person, and we'd love for you to drop by the channel and visit. We have a combination of regular weekly games and new surprises, so you'll find a variety of titles to take a look at. During livestream events, you can participate in the live chat, ask questions to learn about the game, and simply spend some time with Massively staff and readers. (Of course, livestream events are subject to the whims of outside forces like server-side gremlins once in a while.) Follow along after the jump to see what's on this week's schedule! Continue reading MV Guide: November 7-13, 2011 MV Guide: November 7-13, 2011 originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 07 Nov 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Daily Grind: Are alts and mules a form of cheating? Posted: 07 Nov 2011 05:00 AM PST Filed under: Culture, Game mechanics, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous In response to Beau's recent Free For All column on the topic of botters and cheaters, reader Keith wrote in to suggest that there's another form of cheating much more common and pervasive: the use of alternate characters. In games like EVE Online or Star Wars Galaxies, which limit the number of characters players can create, extra accounts are manipulated to allow a single player access to more skills through alts ("skill mules"), more storage space ("bank mules" and "auction mules"), or more avenues for safe PvP scouting. But the problem occurs in alt-friendly games too, like World of Warcraft, where it's not uncommon to see someone five-boxing an entire team of Shamans, or Ultima Online, where it's standard practice for every player to have a "craft mule" who loads up on tradeskills (to the detriment of the player economy). What do you think? Are alts and mules just another form of cheating, one that allows players with excess character slots or extra accounts unfair advantages? Or are "slave" characters just a natural and necessary part of online gaming? 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! The Daily Grind: Are alts and mules a form of cheating? originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 07 Nov 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

MMO Week in Review: Don't call them robots Posted: 06 Nov 2011 05:00 PM PST Filed under: Massively Meta, Week in Review, Miscellaneous At the end of every week, we round up the best and most popular news stories, exclusive features, and insightful columns published on Massively and then present them all in one convenient place. Miss a big MMO or WoW Insider story last week? You've come to the right post. This week, Mech fans went nuts for the news that a MechWarrior MMO will finally make its way to our screens in the form of Piranha Games' F2P MechWarrior Online. It's also been another sad week for MMO studios; we learned that both LEGO Universe and Troy Online have been doomed to an early sunset and that Gameforge has laid off 100 employees and canceled two games of its own. Lumber on past the cut for a peek at this week's other top MMO stories. Continue reading MMO Week in Review: Don't call them robots MMO Week in Review: Don't call them robots originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 06 Nov 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

EVE Evolved: Gallente and hybrid balance Posted: 06 Nov 2011 03:00 PM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Expansions, Game mechanics, Patches, PvP, PvE, Opinion, EVE Evolved, Sandbox It's been another week filled with announcements and positive news for EVE Online, with CCP showing off EVE's new nebulae and revealing the Amarr and Caldari tier 3 battlecruisers. For Gallente pilots, no news was celebrated more than the rebalancing of hybrid weapons and ships that specialise in their use. Short-range blasters can technically deliver the highest damage output of any turret, but their extremely short optimal range means they deal a smaller fraction of their maximum damage in most fights than other ships. Blaster ships have to spend valuable travel time closing into weapons range, and once up close, targets are hard to track. Although railguns were designed by the Caldari, they're hybrid weapons just like blasters, and so they are the long-range weapon of choice for Gallente sniping and mission-running ships. They have good range and tracking speed but have always suffered from slightly worse damage output and alpha strike than beam lasers and artillery cannons of the same size. Countless suggestions for fixes to blasters and railguns have appeared on the forum over the years, but until now they've remained unchanged. As a Gallente pilot and avid Thorax and Dominix fan, I'm very excited by the hybrid balance changes coming this winter. In this week's EVE Evolved, I take a break from the new player experience experiment to take a look at the impact of the upcoming hybrid balance patch and why the announced changes are needed. Continue reading EVE Evolved: Gallente and hybrid balance EVE Evolved: Gallente and hybrid balance originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 06 Nov 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

New ArcheAge video shows off combat moves, giant mobs Posted: 06 Nov 2011 01:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, News items, PvE, ArcheAge While much has been made of ArcheAge's non-combat gameplay, the upcoming fantasy sandpark is no slouch when it comes to pew pew and sticking the pointy end into the other man. A newly released video compilation shows off many of the game's melee moves and spell-casting animations as well as a good cross-section of PvE mobs ranging from the mundane to the spectacular. Apparently size matters to the devs at XL Games, as more than a few of the creatures on display dwarf the player characters taking them on. Whether you're into giant flying crabs, fearsome tree monsters, or hordes of undead, there's a little something for everyone in ArcheAge's newest combat clip. Check it out after the cut. Continue reading New ArcheAge video shows off combat moves, giant mobs New ArcheAge video shows off combat moves, giant mobs originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 06 Nov 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: YouTube

Rise and Shiny recap: Warriors Saga Posted: 06 Nov 2011 11:00 AM PST Filed under: Video, New titles, Opinion, Free-to-play, Browser, Hands-on, Casual, Humor, Rise and Shiny, Livestream It's unfortunate when my normal Rise and Shiny decision-making process bites me in the butt. I generally try to find games semi-randomly, but there really is no random choice for a guy who is pretty aware of almost any title coming out in the U.S., like I am. When I saw Warriors Saga splashed across the front page of Massively, I decided to take a chance and Rise and Shiny the heck out of it. Well, nearly a week later and several hours into the game, I can tell you that there is so much that still needs to be done to the title that it is almost not fair to give you my first impressions. But alas, I have the super-seriously tough job of playing games for a living, so click past the cut and I'll tell you all about it. Continue reading Rise and Shiny recap: Warriors Saga Rise and Shiny recap: Warriors Saga originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 06 Nov 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The joys of scripting the apocalypse: A behind-the-scenes look at Fallen Earth Posted: 06 Nov 2011 09:00 AM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Fallen Earth, Interviews, Lore, Free-to-play, Humor, Sandbox What's it like to have a post-apocalyptic landscape as your writing canvas? According to Marie Croall, it's pure heaven. Fallen Earth's lead designer opened up to Rock, Paper, Shotgun about the joys of writing and designing the myriad of quests for the game, as well as the free-to-play transition, plans for PvP, and the dynamic world events. Croall is part of a slimmed-down team of 12 developers who currently develop Fallen Earth's content. Saying that the team is always trying to "push the envelope" when it comes to the stories told, she notes that each area contains the imbued spirit of each writer: "I worked on a lot of the conflict towns early on and we knew that this was a place for people to kill each other, so a lot of the missions ended up being really thinly veiled insults." One of the aspects of Fallen Earth that Croall loves is how crazy the team can get. In one instance, the team decided to redo the starter town of Boneclaw by dropping a missile right into it. "We killed off all the players that were there, all the NPCs, and left it as a radiation zone for a good two months, while we made the new town. We flat out nuked it because it wasn't doing what we wanted it to do. Boom!" While Fallen Earth skirts the line between sandbox and theme park, Croall says the team is devoting a great deal of resources to beefing up the former. "The more features we add, the more ways for players to drive themselves, it makes the world better, it makes it feel like what we saw it as," she said. The joys of scripting the apocalypse: A behind-the-scenes look at Fallen Earth originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 06 Nov 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Rock Paper Shotgun

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MMORPG News

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General: Call of Thrones Looking for Beta Testers Posted: 07 Nov 2011 05:41 AM PST YeepGames has announced that it is seeking closed beta testers for the latest addition to its stable of free to play games. Players signing up for Call of Thrones will be automatically granted VIP status and gifted with several premium items for the browser-based title.

Eudemons Online: Trumpet of the Legionnaire Announced Posted: 07 Nov 2011 05:35 AM PST The Eudemons Online team has announced the name of the latest expansion to the game. Called "Trumpet of the Legionnaire", the expansion is slated to be released in December.

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