MMORPG Blog: Online Games MMO

Gala Networks Europe and Gala-Net, have announced that Allods Online: Volume 5: Game of Gods, has gone live on all English language servers. The update brings a huge amount of new content including a new player archetype, a new PvP battleground system, a new raid and a new level cap. Also launching with Volume 5 [...]

City of Steam is celebrating a Sneak peek key giveaway

Posted: 20 Feb 2012 04:00 AM PST

Mechanist games with FREE MMORPG and MMO Reviews, is giving away 300 Sneak Peek Keys for City of Steam. The next February 28th is the official Sneak Peak of City of Steam. Now, you may scratch your head and be asking yourself, "what's the difference between a Sneak Peak and an Alpha Test?” Well, leave [...]

EVE Online has released a new trailer titled Awakening

Posted: 20 Feb 2012 12:32 AM PST

CCP has released a new trailer for EVE Online titled “Awakening“. The trailer shows the rebirth of a pilot into the universe of the immortal elite and utilizes a mix of live action and in-game footage.

General Gaming Article

Intel Mashes Wi-Fi And CPU Together, Working On Solar-Powered Chips
Details of AMD's Mid-range 'Pitcairn' GPU Exposed to the Web
Researchers: 'Bleak Future' Awaits Flash-based Solid State Drives
Next Generation Chromebooks Will Run Faster, Be More Secure, Google Says
Barnes & Noble Reportedly Prepping 8GB Nook Tablet with Lower Price Tag
Asus Warranty Doesn't Cover Damage Caused by 'Space Invasions'
Samsung Series 9 Ultra-Thin and Light Notebook Now Available for Pre-Order

Intel Mashes Wi-Fi And CPU Together, Working On Solar-Powered Chips

Posted: 20 Feb 2012 10:02 AM PST

When it comes to mobile technology, the push to make things better, faster and smaller is non-stop and all consuming. The more functions you can cram onto a single chip, the better! Plenty of companies have thrown their proverbial hat into the convergence ring, but as the 800 lb. gorilla in the room, all eyes tend to gravitate towards Intel for trend-setting processor news. And who is Intel to disappoint? The company's already announced plans for a mobile SoC with built-in 4G, and it recently showed off new "Rosepoint" chips that combine Atom CPUs and Wi-Fi radios.

The breakthrough is made possible thanks to the digital revolution, Wired explains. Traditional analog Wi-Fi chips are bulky and difficult to downsize, so Intel whipped up a new digital type of Wi-Fi chip, instead. The digital chip's teeny-tiny size means the 2.4GHz radio can fit on the same silicon as a dual-core Atom CPU.

CPUs and Wi-Fi radios are kind of like teenage siblings, though; each one normally interferes in the other's business. To stop that from happening, Intel created noise canceling and anti-radiation technology for use with the Rosepoint processors. That helps give Rosepoint great signal quality, and mixing Wi-Fi with the CPU results in excellent power efficiency, Intel claims.

The technology is still in its infant stages: Wired says we won't see Rosepoint chips until at least "the middle of the decade."

As if that isn't nifty enough, Intel has also been working on light-powered CPUs, with plans to expand the technology into graphics and memory markets. The company plans on talking more about the tech at the International Solid-State Circuits Conference in San Francisco this week. The Pentium-derived "Claremont" chips have already successfully ran Windows and Linux PCs using the light from a desk lamp, TechWorld explains. Expect to hear more about Claremont once Intel outs it further.

Image credit: Intel via Wired.com

Details of AMD's Mid-range 'Pitcairn' GPU Exposed to the Web

Posted: 20 Feb 2012 07:11 AM PST

In the coming weeks, AMD will flesh out its Radeon HD 7000 lineup with its mid-range 7800 Series based on the Sunnyvale chip maker's Pitcairn GPU. Pitcairn slips neatly in between Cape Verde (Radeon HD 7700 Series) and Tahiti (Radeon HD 7900 Series) and will likely consist of three separate videocards, according to information that was leaked to the Web over the weekend.

Chinese website Expreview.com has the skinny on Pitcairn, which will manifest in Radeon HD 7870 and two Radeon HD 7850 graphics cards with 1GB or 2GB of onboard memory. According to the leaked info, AMD's HD 7870 (Pitcairn XT) will feature 22 Core Next compute units, 1,408 stream processors, 88 texture units, 24 ROPs, and 2GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit memory bus clocked at 1,375MHz (5,500 MHz effective). The GPU will be clocked at 950MHz.

Sitting one rung lower is the HD 7850 (Pitcairn Pro) with 20 CUs, 1,280 stream processors, 80 texture units, 24 ROPs, and 1GB or 2GB of GDDR5 memory clocked at 1,250MHz (also on a 256-bit bus). The GPU will run at 900MHz.

These three cards are expected to debut in March with prices ranging from around $220 to $300 (possibly lower in the U.S.), followed by a $360 Radeon HD 7890 sometime in the second quarter of 2012. According to Expreview, the 7890 will feature a different core than the other two and will possibly be a gimped version of Tahiti.

Image Credit: Expreview.com

Researchers: 'Bleak Future' Awaits Flash-based Solid State Drives

Posted: 20 Feb 2012 06:46 AM PST

The average selling price of mechanical hard drives has risen ever since severe floods in Thailand wreaked havoc on HDD manufacturing plants, and on the opposite end of the storage spectrum, the cost of solid state drives (SSDs) has been steadily decreasing as the technology matures. With that being the case, why in the world would researchers from the University of California in San Diego (UCSD) declare the future of NAND flash memory and SSDs as being bleak?

It's a good question, and one that's answered by Steven Swanson (director of UCSD's Non-Volatile Systems Laboratory), Laura Grupp (a graduate student at UCSD), and John Davis (Researcher in Microsoft Research's Silicon Valley lab) in a paper (PDF) titled "The Bleak Future of NAND Flash Memory."

"In recent years, flash-based SSDs have grown enormously both in capacity and popularity," the paper begins. "In high-performance enterprise storage applications, accelerating adoption of SSDs is predicated on the ability of manufacturers to deliver performance that far exceeds disks, while closing the gap in cost per gigabyte. However, while flash density continues to improve, othe metrics such as reliability, endurance, and performance are all declining."

The researchers laid out data collected from 45 flash chips from 6 manufacturers, which they analyzed to predict the performance and cost characteristics of future SSDs. What they found is that the rapid increase in density -- which is necessary to continue improving upon storage space and costs -- has a negative impact for flash memory when it comes to performance, program/erase endurance, and energy efficiency.

So, when is the end of the world for SSDs set to take place?

"It's not going to be viable to go past 6.5nm... 2024 is the end," Grupp said at the 10th Usenix Conference on File and Storage Technologies, according to ComputerWorld.

Next Generation Chromebooks Will Run Faster, Be More Secure, Google Says

Posted: 20 Feb 2012 06:20 AM PST

Google tried to change the way we think about computing when it launched its Chromebook platform. These devices are the result of a three-way between a laptop, netbook, and the almighty cloud, the end result of which is an 11.6-inch or 12.1-inch notebook with just enough lower end components to scrape by living in the cloud. The next generation of Chromebooks, however, will be better spec'd for improved performance, among other things.

Today's limited selection of Chromebooks feature an Intel Atom N570 processor clocked at 1.66GHz, 2GB of DDR3 memory, 16GB solid state drive, Intel GMA 3150 graphics, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, 1.3MP webcam, and various other odds and ends. And what about Chromebooks of tomorrow? With Ultrabooks all the rage, does Google even care about the platform anymore?

"We remain very excited about Chromebooks," Sundar Pichai, senior vice president of Chrome, told CNet in an interview. "We got a lot of positive feedback, and we are really looking forward to the next generation of Chromebooks. We will improve on the dimensions of speed, simplicity, and security."

He didn't go on to offer any specifics, but one possibility is that the next generation of Chromebooks could follow the same upgrade path as netbooks by incorporating Intel's Cedar Trail platform. It's an upgrade path that would allow Google and its partners (Acer and Samsung) to maintain the same or similar price points, but offer improved performance, along with other promised upgrades (simplicity and security) that could be delivered through continued tweaking of the Chrome OS.

Image Credit: Google

Barnes & Noble Reportedly Prepping 8GB Nook Tablet with Lower Price Tag

Posted: 20 Feb 2012 06:02 AM PST

Barnes & Noble's Nook Tablet costs $249 while Amazon's Kindle Fire sells for $199. There are other differences between these two competing 7-inch tablets, of course, but for many consumers, the only one that matters is the $50 price discrepancy. In the eyes of the average shopper, both of these slates are capable of doing the same thing, so why pay 25 percent more for the Nook Tablet? Tech savvy users can answer that question by running their fingers down the spec sheets, but at the end of the day, Amazon's Kindle Fire, now the second most popular tablet in the world behind the mighty iPad, is the one people are buying. If the Nook Tablet was also priced at $199, would that still be the case?

It appears Barnes & Noble aims to find out. The Verge claims to have come across documentation that reveals a new Nook Tablet SKU with 8GB of onboard storage, the same as the Kindle Fire and half the amount of the current Nook Tablet. It's set to launch on Wednesday (February 22, 2012) at Walmart for an undisclosed price, but considering it has less memory and will be sold at Wally World, you can bet it will carry a lower price tag.

Here's how things stack up now. Both the Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet are 7-inch slates featuring IPS panels with 1024x600 resolutions (169 pixels per inch). They both sport TI OMAP 4 dual-core 1GHz processors, and both run Android. That's where the similarities end. The Nook Tablet has more onboard storage (16GB plus a microSD card slot versus 8GB and no expandable storage) and twice the amount of memory (1GB versus 512MB). It also has hardware controls and a microphone, both of which the Kindle Fire lacks, and a more traditional Android interface, which can viewed as a plus or minus.

Keeping in mind that the Nook Tablet only reserves 1GB of storage space for user for non-Barnes & Noble content (like your own video and music files), would a lower priced version with 8GB of onboard storage tempt you to choose it over the Kindle Fire?

Asus Warranty Doesn't Cover Damage Caused by 'Space Invasions'

Posted: 20 Feb 2012 05:31 AM PST

A couple of years back, British cosmologist Stephen Hawking caused quite a stir around the globe when he advised mankind against contacting aliens, for it could lead to a highly advanced alien species paying us a rather hostile visit. In case his fears aren't entirely unwarranted as some contend, it might already be too late for us to prevent them from contacting us. As it turns out, our planet is surrounded by an ever-expanding radio emission bubble over 100 light-years in diameter. While the possibility of an alien invasion has been probed umpteen times in science fiction, its impact on product warranties has been entirely overlooked. Hit the jump for more.

As you know, product warranties are limited by certain exclusions. For instance, they don't usually cover any damage caused by natural disasters. But what if an alien species invades planet Earth and intentionally or unintentionally damages your laptop or tablet in the process? For the sake of this article, we are going to assume that you will be in a position to pick up the pieces of your life after the invasion and that few of those pieces will be from an Asus product still under warranty.

Well in that case, you can forget all about making a warranty claim because the Taiwanese vendor is farsighted enough to expressly exclude space invasions from "your ASUS Warranty Extension Program." This is probably another good reason for us to avoid contact with intelligent extraterrestrials.

Image Credit: BitSnipe

Samsung Series 9 Ultra-Thin and Light Notebook Now Available for Pre-Order

Posted: 20 Feb 2012 04:58 AM PST

This year's Consumer Electronics Show saw a deluge of ultrabooks. Samsung was one of the vendors that unveiled their ultrabook contenders at the event. But not only did it unveil the Series 5 ultrabook back then, it also used the opportunity to announce the second generation Series 9 ultra-thin and light notebook. The latter is now available for pre-order online. Hit the jump for more.

The 13.3-inch variant of the second generation Series 9 has every right to be incensed at being denied the ultrabook tag, for it's actually thinner and lighter than both the 13.3-inch and 14-inch Series 5 models currently on the market. Not that the 15-inch Series 9 is obscenely corpulent. The 13.3-incher is 12.7mm thick and weighs 2.43 lbs, where as its 15-inch counterpart is 16.25 mm at its thickest and weighs just 3.50 lbs.

Both the models are now available for pre-order on online retailer J&R. They have the following specs:

Processor: Intel Core i5-2467M 1.60GHz Processor with Turbo Boost Technology up to 2.3GHz
Memory: 4GB DD3 SDRAM (13"); 8GB DDR3 SDRAM (15")
Storage 128GB mSATA Solid state Hard Drive (SSD)
Display: LED Backlit Anti-glare Display (1600 x 900)
Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 3000
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n WLAN, Bluetooth V3.0 HS and 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN
Camera: 1.3 Megapixel HD Webcam
Keyboard: Backlit Keyboard & Touch Pad with Gesture UI
Sound: Integrated Stereo Speakers (1.5W x 2) with HD Audio and SoundAlive
Connections: 1 x USB 3.0, 1 x USB 2.0, Headphone/Microphone Combo, Micro HDMI (optional accessory), RJ-45 (LAN)

The 13-incher is listed for $1,399.99, whereas its elder brother carries a $1,499.99 price tag. However, the listings don't mention any shipping date.

MMO Updates

Leaderboard: Leveling vs. endgame
Captain's Log: The 2800: Of Bajor is as immersive as it gets
MV Guide: February 20-26, 2012
Massively's Guild Wars 2 closed beta impressions
The Daily Grind: Are heirloom items bad for MMOs?
MMO Week in Review: Necronews
EVE Evolved: How to fit the Enyo and Ishkur
Third Origins of Malu race revealed

Leaderboard: Leveling vs. endgame

Posted: 20 Feb 2012 09:00 AM PST

Filed under: Polls, Culture, Opinion, Miscellaneous, Leaderboard

It's the eternal debate that's occupied our attention on so many episodes of Massively Speaking that we had to bring it to you, the impartial judges and juries of the MMO world. What is better and more enjoyable: The leveling journey or the endgame activities?

In my opinion, it's all about the journey up through the levels. You're constantly traveling through new regions and vistas, watching your character increase in power and abilities. It's almost like a movie, where the young inexperienced hero heads out for a life-changing quest.

But others claim that the endgame is where the true MMO experience lies. It's here that your character finally has a full range of his/her/its abilities and is able to tackle the toughest challenges and most epic confrontations in the game.

So let's see how this pans out in the public arena. Which aspect of MMOs gets your motor running? Which is where the true spirit of gaming rests? Vote, and live a life free of regrets!

Continue reading Leaderboard: Leveling vs. endgame

Leaderboard: Leveling vs. endgame originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 20 Feb 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Captain's Log: The 2800: Of Bajor is as immersive as it gets

Posted: 20 Feb 2012 08:00 AM PST

Filed under: Sci-fi, PvE, Opinion, Star Trek Online, Free-to-play, Captain's Log

If you have not yet played the newest episode in Star Trek Online's The 2800 series and you do not appreciate spoilers, then hold off reading this column.

At first I thought I was going to split this column and discuss two different things: the new DS9 Bundle offered by Cryptic Studios in the Star Trek Online C-Store and the newest featured episode, The 2800: Of Bajor.

Although there still is a lot to talk about the bundle, after playing today's episode, I realized that it would be impossible to write about both and that I needed to concentrate on one.

To that end, if you consider yourself a Deep Space Nine fan, you owe it to yourself to check out the bundle that caters to your tastes. It includes the new Vedek robes and Admiral uniforms as well as a completely new environment for the Defiant class ship (including a bridge, crew, engineering, mess, sickbay, and many other rooms). Also included are two new Bajoran weapons, three unique duty officers, and a playable shuttlecraft which makes it a really good deal for 1800 C-Store points.

But first, let's concentrate on the newest featured episode, Of Bajor...

Continue reading Captain's Log: The 2800: Of Bajor is as immersive as it gets

Captain's Log: The 2800: Of Bajor is as immersive as it gets originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 20 Feb 2012 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MV Guide: February 20-26, 2012

Posted: 20 Feb 2012 07:00 AM PST

Filed under: Hands-on, Livestream, MV Guide

MV Guide is a weekly rundown of the MMO gaming events planned on Massively TV.

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 our streamed 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, streaming is 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: February 20-26, 2012

MV Guide: February 20-26, 2012 originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 20 Feb 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Massively's Guild Wars 2 closed beta impressions

Posted: 20 Feb 2012 06:00 AM PST

Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Screenshots, Video, New titles, Opinion, Guild Wars 2, Hands-on

This last weekend, ArenaNet invited a few dozen members of the gaming press into their highly anticipated MMO, Guild Wars 2. The game is still in its closed beta testing stage, but the reveal of this event is an opportunity for the public to finally see what this game is all about.

Our Guild Wars columnist Elisabeth Cardy and I spent a good part of this weekend exploring as much as we could in the game, ready for today's embargo lift. Read along for each of our impressions below, and be sure to watch our beta montage video at the end of each article.

Elisabeth's impressions | Shawn's Impressions

Massively's Guild Wars 2 closed beta impressions originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 20 Feb 2012 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: Are heirloom items bad for MMOs?

Posted: 20 Feb 2012 05:00 AM PST

Filed under: Economy, MMO industry, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous

I may have chosen this image because it provided me the opportunity to make a 'you have a dead bird on your head' joke in the alt text

In its Wrath of the Lich King expansion, World of Warcraft introduced a new class of items: the heirloom. Heirlooms can be transferred between all of the characters on your account, even your alts belonging to "enemy" factions. While a cloth-bedecked caster can't exactly wear the heavy platemail of his older Paladin brother, the hand-me-downs are pretty useful for twinking if you plan it out a bit.

The trouble is that heirlooms effectively level up with the player, so an alt who has a truckload of heirlooms has no need to take part in the player market. Why would he need to buy a crafted staff from a Weaponsmith? He's got one that he can use for 80 (85, now) levels. And in that case, why bother crafting as a lowbie Weaponsmith at all?

What do you think -- do the conveniences of heirloom items outweigh their negative impact on MMO economies?

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 heirloom items bad for MMOs? originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 20 Feb 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MMO Week in Review: Necronews

Posted: 19 Feb 2012 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. If you missed a big MMO or WoW Insider story last week, you've come to the right post.

This week, we learned that ArenaNet is (still) working on a console version of Guild Wars 2, which is either old news or not news at all or possibly the worst news ever, depending on whom you ask. We also got a peek at the game's world-vs.-world PvP, and our newest columnist investigated the final leg of Guild Wars' Winds of Change content.

The remainder of this week's top MMO stories lies just behind the cut.

Continue reading MMO Week in Review: Necronews

MMO Week in Review: Necronews originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 19 Feb 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE Evolved: How to fit the Enyo and Ishkur

Posted: 19 Feb 2012 03:00 PM PST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Game mechanics, PvP, PvE, Opinion, EVE Evolved, Guides, Sandbox

When tech 2 ships were first introduced to EVE Online, the first models off the production line were interceptors and assault ships. Interceptors served as agile tacklers with unmatched speed and maneuverability, while assault ships provided a slower but tankier option. Each race's assault ship had a bonus to its racial resistances, making it an incredible tank against certain damage types. This made it great for ninja-ratting in nullsec or tackling larger ships of a particular race. When subsequently released ships were also given this racial resistance bonus, the assault frigate lost part of what made it so useful. Players have begged for an assault ship buff for years, and in Crucible, it finally arrived.

The Gallente Ishkur and Enyo have always been capable PvE ships for speed-running low-level missions or ninja-ratting in nullsec, but with Crucible, they've become absolute monsters in both PvE and PvP. With the maneuverability and signature radius of a frigate but more tank and damage output than a tech 1 cruiser, both ships are incredibly fun to fly. Drone users will probably prefer the Ishkur, but the Enyo's raw damage output and buffer tank are truly terrifying.

In this week's EVE Evolved, I offer PvE and PvP setups for the Gallente Ishkur and Enyo to help you get the most out of these incredible revamped ships.

Continue reading EVE Evolved: How to fit the Enyo and Ishkur

EVE Evolved: How to fit the Enyo and Ishkur originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 19 Feb 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Third Origins of Malu race revealed

Posted: 19 Feb 2012 11:00 AM PST

Filed under: Fantasy, Sci-fi, Galleries, Screenshots, Lore, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Races, Sandbox

Origins of Malu - Qulinta transformation

Origins of Malu has been flying under the radar of late, but the team at Burning Dog Media has just updated its website with the game's third playable race.

On the surface, the Qulinta appear to be rather benign (if not cute and cuddly), but it would be a mistake to underestimate them on the battlefield. Burning Dog says that Qulinta undergo a stark transformation when threatened, one that manifests as an "ethereal ghost-like appearance with dark energy emanating from their bodies."

The Qulinta people are known for their xenophobia, and they are one of the oldest races in the Origins mythos. You can read more about their history at the game's official website, but don't forget to look at the new concept art in the gallery below.

Gallery: Origins of Malu

Third Origins of Malu race revealed originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 19 Feb 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: Qulinta lore

Latest Gaming and MMORPG Updates

Dear Esther Review
How to Map Right Analog Stick Controls on PlayStation Vita
Game of Thrones RPG Slated for an Early 2012 Release
Eden Eternal (CN)
Black Ops 2 Gives Treyarch the Chance to Own Call of Duty
Blade & Soul

Dear Esther Review

Posted: 20 Feb 2012 08:34 AM PST

Dear Esther is an odd one. Best described as a first person walk-em-up, it's an overhauled and expanded remake of a Source mod from a few years ago.

There's no set goal as such, no ham fisted epic intro explaining that you're a bull-necked killing machine in a world gone wrong. You're a lonely chap, a castaway wandering slowly and solemnly through an overcast island in the Hebrides.

Immediately you get a sense of the atmosphere the game is trying to convey. It's not oppressive as such, just…resigned. You can't interact with any objects or open doors, and despite appearing to be quite open, you're funnelled through the island down a serious of disguised, fecund corridors.

Your only accompaniment is a narrator reading details to the mysterious Esther in a somewhat dispassionate, stern timbre, and some cryptic clues as to the plot sprawled around the place.

Dear Esther is a fine-looking game. The Source engine really is the engine that keeps on chugging along. Everything from the windy plains to the dripping, dank caves to the moonlit cliffs looks appropriately downcast and detailed, and makes your despondent pilgrimage through the world that much more interesting and satisfying.

As you toddle along, small bits of minimalist, appropriately tasteful music will chime in too, reinforcing the sense of hopelessness that the game has.

There's a supernatural element to Dear Esther which thankfully, is never explained. There's definitely something a bit Edgar Allen Poe about the narrative too, and in tandem with the visuals and soundtrack, it creates a compelling little game.

Why are you here? How did you get here? Who's leaving these clues everywhere and blimey, is there someone looking at me over there? Dear Esther leaves it up to you to interpret, and in a medium largely content with spoon-feeding you 'epic' narratives and stupid set pieces, it's a comparative masterpiece in subtlety.

There are issues. The writing – though good – is a bit overdone, and not nearly as affecting as it thinks. You'll be done with Dear Esther in less than two hours too, and despite promising differences on subsequent playthroughs, it's hard to imagine mustering up the enthusiasm to immediately take another slow traipse through the island again.

You'll also occasionally wander into the odd dead end, and silently curse as you slowly wander all the way back to where the path actually is.

Dear Esther will also be accused of being pretentious by some, and fair enough, it does seem a bit pleased with itself. However, if it weren't for people daring to think outside the box and be a bit 'pretentious', we'd all be listening to Stereophonics, reading Dan Brown and looking forward to nothing but constant Transformer movie lobotomies.

The fact is, Dear Esther does what it aims to do. It's beautifully presented, hints at a sad story, and trusts you, the player to work it out for yourself. Dear Esther is refreshing to play. It's something that doesn't involve relentless smiting, and it'd be nice if other games could take a cue from its presentation and storytelling, so we never have to get embarrassingly wistful about Aeris' death ever again. 7/10

Posted by: admin in Gaming News
Find related article at: http://www.totalpcgaming.com/reviews/dear-esther-review/

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How to Map Right Analog Stick Controls on PlayStation Vita

Posted: 20 Feb 2012 02:34 AM PST

The PlayStation Vita introduces support for a second analog stick to a catalogue of great PSP games. But how exactly do you use it? After scratching out heads for a few minutes to figure it out, Bob and I got together and recorded this guerrilla-style video to show you how. In it, we play Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker — a brilliant portable entry in the tactical espionage action series and one that benefits nicely from Vita’s added stick support.

Check out the video for more impressions and how tos, or head over to our Vita hub for everything you need to read on Sony’s new system.

Posted by: admin in Gaming News
Find related article at: http://www.1up.com/news/map-analog-stick-controls-playstation-vita

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Game of Thrones RPG Slated for an Early 2012 Release

Posted: 20 Feb 2012 01:26 AM PST

Game of Thrones RPG

Cyanide hasn’t hid the fact that it’s working on a multiplaform RPG based on George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series — it just hasn’t said much about it. That was understandable with its RTS based on the same franchise, A Game of Thrones: Genesis, in development. With that now out on PC, it’s opened up on the subject of its next project.

The Paris, France-based Cyanide obtained the rights to produce multiple games based on the series back in 2009. It’s had a listing for a Game of Thrones RPG on its website for some time now, but beyond the two screenshots seen in this story and platforms listed as PC and consoles, there wasn’t much to go on. Kotaku today spoke with studio director Yves Bordeleau who revealed some of the first details about the project which, like Genesis, is coming much sooner than you might expect.

The game is described as being a Mass Effect-style RPG set during the time of the first book, A Game of Thrones. Its story follows two different characters who don’t come from the book or TV show, though you will have the chance to run into some established characters. Combat uses an “active pause system” similar to that of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. The game was compared with KotOR and the first Mass Effect; it features “less action than Mass Effect 2” and is instead “all about the storyline,” which can be affected by your decisions.

Game of Thrones Tyrion

A publisher has yet to be revealed, yet Cyanide plans to have the game out early next year. That’ll come as a surprise to fans who haven’t heard anything about it before now, much in the same way that Cyanide didn’t know about the TV series far in advance. Fortunately, unspecified characters and locations from the TV series are being used in the game, and some of the actors will reprise their roles as voice actors for the game.

“We entered the agreement [with HBO] late in the game, unfortunately, but we managed to have a lot of characters and locations modeled [after the series],” Bordeleau said.

Given how terrific he was as Tyrion Lannister, it would be especially disappointing if Peter Dinklage wasn’t among those to appear in the game, and ditto for Sean Bean as Ned Stark and Iain Glen as Jorah Mormont. Of course, we don’t know for sure that any of these characters will even be in the game, so it might be a moot point anyway.

Early 2012 can be interpreted in quite a few ways, but presumably that means it’s only about six to seven months away. In that case, we should find out a great deal more as we approach the new year.

Game of Thrones RPG

Posted by: admin in Gaming News
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Eden Eternal (CN)

Posted: 19 Feb 2012 08:33 PM PST

Known as Finding Neverland Online (FNO) in the Asian market and Eden Eternal (link) in the English one, the China server of this game is currently in the process of being ported to Apple iPads. This is actually the handy work of the China publisher, Kunlun Games, hence it seems this will be China-exclusive only. Kunlun Games is currently in the midst of a massive global expansion, with its international English portal Koram Game recently publishing Glory Destiny Online.

And yes, iPads only, not any other device for now as the platform currently aimed is iOS 5.0.Though not stated, the game will most probably run on cloud technology. Given the ever improving speed and internet infrastructure in major China cities, mobile gaming is indeed the next big thing.

Posted by: admin in Gaming News
Find related article at: http://www.mmoculture.com/2012/02/eden-eternal-cn-tablet-version-in-works.html

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Black Ops 2 Gives Treyarch the Chance to Own Call of Duty

Posted: 19 Feb 2012 02:32 PM PST

Look up the word “workmanlike” in the dictionary and you might see a boxshot of Treyarch’s Call of Duty: World at War. The game earned good, if not astounding, ratings from critics and sold amazingly well — just not enough to match Call of Duty 4. Treyarch has spent the better part of the past decade in the shadow of that game’s creators, Infinity Ward, listening to fans and media refer to them as the “B-team” in charge of the “off-year” Call of Duty games, but this year’s game, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, marks the first chance the studio has ever had to truly own the Call of Duty series.

Call of Duty: Black Ops

Getting their start with the series in 2005 with Call of Duty 2: Big Red One, Treyarch truly stepped into the spotlight with Call of Duty 3 in 2006. Receiving merely average reviews, the team couldn’t quite capture the magic of Call of Duty 2. When Infinity Ward reinvented the series in 2007 with CoD 4, fans expected Treyarch’s follow-up to continue on in the same vein as the early games in the series, and World at War’s WWII setting enhanced that perception. WaW certainly trumped CoD 3, but couldn’t quite hit the heights that IW turned out every two years.

2010 opened with the firing of IW leaders Jason West and Vince Zampella. With the future of the series’ founding studio uncertain, Treyarch released Call of Duty: Black Ops, break Modern Warfare 2‘s sales records– making it clear that the studio was no longer the “B-team.” As far as most of the world was concerned Black Ops was as much a Call of Duty game as Modern Warfare. The next year began with Sledgehammer Games canceling or delaying their own game to help the weakened IW and almost every other Activision FPSs studio finish Modern Warfare 3 — which couldn’t quite match the critical reception of their last two titles.

With IW publicly partnering with other studios and Treyarch coming fresh off of the success of their last title, 2012′s CoD game — most likely called Black Ops 2 — will be the studio’s first chance to own the series in the eyes of fans and critics in the same way IW once did. Before 2012 the coming of every new series entry from Treyarch came with the presumed caveat in the minds of fans that as good as they game might be, it simply can’t reach the same level as an IW CoD game. The wild success of Black Ops came as a surprise to perhaps everyone by Treyarch themselves. Free of the presumption that the studio can’t rival IW, Treyarch now find themselves free to use innovation to shape Black Ops 2 and the Call of Duty series going forward.

MW3 should mark the end of the current iteration of CoD. The fundamental mechanics have reached a point where the law of diminishing returns makes further honing of extant gameplay systems a poor investment — reworked perks and kill streaks can only wow an audience so many times. Black Ops 2 could significantly shape the future of a series that needs change but has every reason to stay the same. The ever increasing commercial success of the series won’t come to an end this year, and a safe, conservative CoD game could certainly exceed MW3′s records if paired with the right setting and marketing. However, Treyarch has demonstrated an increase in confidence and talent with each iteration, and Black Ops 2 represents the best chance the studio has had in seven years to make the series its own.

Posted by: admin in Gaming News
Find related article at: http://www.1up.com/news/black-ops-2-treyarch-chance

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Blade & Soul

Posted: 19 Feb 2012 01:28 PM PST

(Source) According to an official press release made public earlier today, the CEO of NCsoft Japan and Global Marketing Director of NCsoft Korea, Mr Kim Taek Hun (below), confirmed that Blade Soul Japan is currently in the works. This comes after the China (link) and Taiwan (link) servers were confirmed earlier this year.

In the statement made, Mr Kim talked about how he has had successes leading Lineage II in Japan since the game started services in 2003, and that he is currently traveling between Japan, Taiwan and Korea to prepare the 3 Blade Soul services for launch. Although there is nothing said about a simultaneous launch, it does seem possible currently.

日本のオンラインゲームファンの皆様、こんにちは。
私は韓国NCsoftグローバルビジネス部門長及び8月1日付でエヌ・シー・ジャパン株式会社代表取締役に就任致しましたキムテクホンです。
エヌ・シー・ジャパンの代表取締役になったのも今回で2回目になりますが、1回目は2003年「リネージュ2」のサービス立ち上げの際ご縁があり、当時ファンの皆様に応援を頂き「リネージュ2」は大成功いたしました。
その後も多くのお客様に愛されるタイトルに成長し、今でも「リネージュ2」は当社の主軸のサービスのひとつとなっております。
現在、私は日本・韓国・台湾を行き来しながら「Blade＆Soul』の各国でのサービス準備に注力しています。
韓国では2回目のクローズドβサービスを行いましたが、予想以上の反響と好評をいただいている状況です。
日本での「Blade＆Soul」のサービス開始準備も着々と進められております。
『Blade＆Soul』は韓国だけでなく、日本でもオンラインゲーム業界に新たな歴史を刻み込む作品になると信じています。
私も、皆様にいち早く楽しいゲームをご提供できるよう、8年前のような初心に戻って「Blade＆Soul」のサービス準備をしていくつもりです。
是非とも日本での「Blade＆Soul」のサービス開始が訪れる日を楽しみにしていて下さい。
エヌ・シー・ジャパン株式会社代表取締役兼
NCsoft グローバルマーケティングディレクター
キムテクホン

Below are some awesome screenshots taken from the Closed Beta phases of Blade Soul Korea. For more videos and game footage, visit my YouTube Blade Soul collection here (link).

Posted by: admin in Gaming News
Find related article at: http://www.mmoculture.com/2011/10/blade-soul-japan-server-confirmed.html

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General gaming

Black Ops 2 Gives Treyarch the Chance to Own Call of Duty

Posted: 19 Feb 2012 11:48 AM PST

Look up the word "workmanlike" in the dictionary and you might see a boxshot of Treyarch's Call of Duty: World at War. The game earned good, if not astounding, ratings from critics and sold amazingly well -- just not enough to match Call of Duty 4. Treyarch has spent the better part of the past decade in the shadow of that game's creators, Infinity Ward, listening to fans and media refer to them as the "B-team" in charge of the "off-year" Call of Duty games, but this year's game, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, marks the first chance the studio has ever had to truly own the Call of Duty series.

Getting their start with the series in 2005 with Call of Duty 2: Big Red One, Treyarch truly stepped into the spotlight with Call of Duty 3 in 2006. Receiving merely average reviews, the team couldn't quite capture the magic of Call of Duty 2. When Infinity Ward reinvented the series in 2007 with CoD 4, fans expected Treyarch's follow-up to continue on in the same vein as the early games in the series, and World at War's WWII setting enhanced that perception. WaW certainly trumped CoD 3, but couldn't quite hit the heights that IW turned out every two years.

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