General gaming

General gaming


Weekly Deals: Child of Eden, R.U.S.E., and Freedom Force

Posted: 15 Jul 2011 06:20 PM PDT

Child of Eden

Although Steam's summer camp sale wrapped up at the beginning of the week, Direct2Drive and Impulse (and, by extension, GameStop) have summer sales going on right now, as does Good Old Games. GOG is offering up an older title from BioShock maker Irrational Games, Freedom Force vs. The Third Reich, for just $2.39 right now. That deal will be expiring tomorrow, so you'll want to jump on it quickly if interested.

GameStop is offering up a $25 gift card with purchases of Kinect, and to go with it, several Kinect games have been discounted to $29.99. Among them is Child of Eden, a game that -- despite its poor sales in June -- is most definitely worth your money at full price, let alone for $30.

Also of note is GamersGate, which is home to discounts on a number of Tom Clancy, Assassin's Creed, and Prince of Persia titles right now. If you're looking to dive into any of those franchises, that's the place to visit this week.

Steam Improves its Content Delivery System

Posted: 15 Jul 2011 04:50 PM PDT

Steam

If you've ever struggled to download a new game on launch day from Steam, you'll be pleased to hear that Valve has upgraded its content delivery system. This should make it easier and quicker to download new titles that are in high demand, improve download speeds worldwide, and allow for more games to be shipped through Steam.

For those who are stuck with an ISP that has a monthly bandwidth cap (you poor thing), Steam will no longer force you to download unnecessary amounts of data when a game is updated. Instead, you'll simply download whatever has been changed, rather than the entirety of the files that have been updated. Updates can now also make their way onto Steam more quickly in the first place, thanks to a simpler process for developers.

Valve's announcement revealed some upcoming features Steam will be getting through client updates, including download scheduling, bandwidth throttling, and the ability to both prioritize the order that games are downloaded in and download updates for a game while playing it (the update won't be applied until after you're done playing).

Star Wars, Videogames, and a 20-Foot Screen Equal This Amazing Student Project

Posted: 15 Jul 2011 03:03 PM PDT


A Star Wars themed game made by a graduate student attending the University of Illinois at Chicago might be the coolest game the franchise has ever seen. What was originally an attempt to adapt a real-time strategy game to a tabletop, multi-touch interface has become a Star Wars themed RTS played on a 20-foot wide multi-touch LCD screen.

After originally starting out as something called Planetary Defender in 2009, creator Arthur Nishimoto has since decided to drop certain elements in favor of focusing on "the fleet battle aspects," which amounts to combat featuring Star Wars ships, music, and sound effects.

Many of the bigger things, like Star Destroyers, were taken from Star Wars: Empire at War, while smaller units (fighters, bombers) were drawn in Paint.

Kojima Doesn't Have Time for a New Snatcher, But Would Love if Someone Else Made it

Posted: 15 Jul 2011 01:48 PM PDT


Snatcher hasn't really been touched in quite a long time. One of Hideo Kojima's earliest games, it didn't sell particularly well in North America, where it was only ever available on Sega CD. Kojima, who is better known for his work on the Metal Gear series, recently announced that he would be moving forward with his Suda 51 collaboration, a radio drama based on Snatcher called Sdatcher.

Inevitably, people wondered why Kojima didn't instead decide to make a Snatcher sequel. According to him, it's a matter of time. Just because he can't work on it himself, though, doesn't mean he wouldn't like to see it made.

Asked recently by the PlayStation Blog if games like L.A. Noire and Deus Ex: Human Revolution showed that there is a market for a new Snatcher, Kojima said, "L.A. Noire is a game that I really like, but unfortunately I have not played it. I think it is coming out in Japan today, so when I return, I intend to play it.

Minecraft is Now (Unofficially) on DS

Posted: 15 Jul 2011 01:00 PM PDT


PC sandbox title Minecraft is on its way to both Xperia Play and Xbox Live Arcade, but it won't stop there. We've seen modders make the game playable with a Wii Remote, and now modder smealum has taken the entire game and moved it to a Nintendo platform.

As the video above demonstrates, a working, but very basic version of Minecraft is up and running on DS. Games can't be saved, and it's the Classic version, meaning you're free to build without having to worry about running into enemies. The basic functionality of adding and removing blocks is there, as is basic terrain generation. According to smealum, maps stream from the file, "meaning really big maps can be used (1024x1024 maps are fully playable)."

The 161kb file can be downloaded here. You'll need a way to get your file onto your DS; not just anyone will be able to play it. The inability to save is a real downer, as the beauty of Minecraft is building your world over time -- it's not necessarily the sort of thing you'd want to play from scratch every time. This is, of course, a modder's project and not an official release, so its omission is excusable. The fact that it works at all is very impressive.

Neither Child of Eden Nor Shadows of the Damned Had a Big June

Posted: 15 Jul 2011 12:17 PM PDT


Yesterday's release of the NPD figures for June featured a distinct lack of two of the month's most original titles, Child of Eden and Shadows of the Damned. Rockstar's L.A. Noire was unsurprisingly still at the top of the charts, followed by Duke Nukem Forever -- by many accounts a bad game that perhaps benefited from all of the negative coverage. But where were Ubisoft and EA's original titles? As it turns out, neither was anywhere close to ranking inside the top ten.

Child of Eden, the spiritual successor to Rez, managed to sell 34,000 copies, good enough to rank it as the 83rd best seller in June, the NPD Group revealed to Joystiq. To be fair, it was available only on Xbox 360 and came out halfway through the month. Hopefully the PS3 release and positive word of mouth will help it to sell well as time goes on as it is, in my estimation, a terrific game.

Shadows of the Damned, the collaboration between Goichi "Suda51" Suda and Shinji Mikami, faired even more poorly, selling 24,000 copies total on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. It had even less time on store shelves than Child of Eden, although its problem may have been a lack of marketing -- its release was met with more than a few, "Wait, that's out?" comments, which is never a good sign.

This Week in the 1UP Community 7/11/11

Posted: 15 Jul 2011 11:51 AM PDT

Let's not let Google+ take over all the limelight here! There's plenty of stuff provided by the 1UP Community to distract you from sifting through which friends belong in which circles and wrapping your heads around that buggy little hangout thing. Forget what all the other kids are talking about because all the cool ones are hanging out here!

Black Ops Annihilation Map Pack Out July 28 on PS3 and PC

Posted: 15 Jul 2011 11:45 AM PDT

Call of Duty: Black Ops Annihilation

The Annihilation map pack is slated to be released on PC and PlayStation 3 later this month, exactly one month after it came out on Xbox 360. While PS3 owners have to wait a bit longer before being allowed into the Elite beta (PC players don't get in at all), the new map pack will provide Call of Duty players with something new to do on July 28.

This is the third map pack release for Black Ops. Like the others, it contains four competitive multiplayer maps (in this case, Hangar 18, Drive-In, Silo, and Hazard) and a new Zombies level (Shangri-La) for $15.

If World at War, Treyarch's last CoD game, is any indication, this will be the final map pack for Black Ops. That hasn't been announced officially, but with less than four months to go before Modern Warfare 3 is out, that doesn't leave time for much more. As it stands, those who have picked up the game at full price and every map pack have spent $105 before tax on Black Ops thus far.

Ubisoft Adopts the $10 Online Pass Model, Restricting Online Multiplayer

Posted: 15 Jul 2011 11:06 AM PDT

Driver San Francisco

Just as Sony recently did, Ubisoft today announced its intentions to begin shipping games with an online pass similar to what's used by Electronic Arts, Codemasters, THQ, and Warner Bros.

Known as Uplay Passport, the plan is to include a one-time use code with "many of Ubisoft's popular core games" that will grant users access to certain content that will otherwise remain locked. Among that content is online multiplayer, which has been the most frequently restricted component with these online passes.

The first game to include Uplay Passport will be Driver: San Francisco, which ships on August 30. Ubisoft's other big core release this year will be Assassin's Creed: Revelations. That seems like as good a target as any for Passport, as it'll likely be Ubisoft's best selling core game of the year. At this point, however, that isn't confirmed.

Five Games We'd Like to See from Telltale

Posted: 15 Jul 2011 08:48 AM PDT

Feature

Header

Five Games We'd Like to See from Telltale

Franchises Telltale Games should tackle now that they've made the adventure genre their own.

By: Bob Mackey July 15, 2011

Telltale Games knows what they're doing; over the course of seven years, they've transformed from a low-budget virtual Texas Hold 'Em developer to the company responsible for the newest video game adaptations of blockbuster franchises like Jurassic Park and Back to the Future. And with titles based on both The Walking Dead and Fables coming in the near future, we're all wondering what popular property Telltale will get their hooks into next. Lucky for Telltale, we have a few ideas of our own they should definitely think about picking up on -- though 1UP is in no way responsible if any of the following brainstorms drive Telltale into intractable bankruptcy. Just covering our bases, here.

The Goonies

MMOGaming News

MMOGaming News


WEBZEN: CBT of 3D Action RPG C9 Started in Japan

Posted:

WEBZEN Inc. (WWW.WEBZEN.COM), developer of C9(Continent of the 9th), announced that Closed Beta Test of 3D Action RPG, C9 started in Japan on July 14, 2011).

Summer Update: RIFT into the Future!

Posted:

This is the general report from RIFT Development Team about the in-game experience recently, and they talk more about the future. Trion sincere words will be effective to attract more players to join RIFT.

[Topic] What Game do You Like that Barely Anyone has Heard of?

Posted:

So, I was looking for games the other day...one game popped up on a forum thread called Precursors, a game with arcade-like space combat and sci-fi combat on the ground. Can go on different planets (either 6 or 7, plus space stations and I think moons)...and at least on the first planet, you can drive around and shoot stuff with your combat vehicle.

[Hot Blog] STEPS Evolution Overture Mode

Posted:

Last July 5, 2011, STEPS Evolution has just unleashed its latest dance mode, The Overture. This feature will surely give you a better rhythmic experience which makes you not limited to the typical "up down left right" routine.

[Part 2]RO2's 2nd CBT Preview: Upcoming New Contents

Posted:

As RO2 (Ragnarok Online 2) which was rated high after the first CBT will enter its second CBT stage soon, I got to try it out ahead of time and took a sneak peek at the wholly new game systems and cores. We have previewed the brand-new evolution in progress in last article. Today, we will continue to talk about the upcoming new contents.

Firefall Will Unveil $1 Million Firefall Theme Statue at Chinajoy 2011

Posted:

Red 5 Studios will unveil Firefall theme statue at Chinajoy 2011. The statue is designed and made by Steve Wang, who is the designer of Illidan Stormrage (World of Warcraft) and Queen of Blades Sarah Kerrigan (Starcraft II).

Take-Two Cooperates with Nexon and XL Games to Enter MMO Market

Posted:

Take-Two Interactive, which is one of the three biggest video game companies in the word, and also the creator of Civilization, GTA, BioShock, MLB2K and other popular franchises, will enter MMO market by developing cooperation with Nexon and XL Games.

Scarlet Legacy Details Unique Aid Systems For All Players

Posted:

GamesCampus.com today announced the details behind the inherent Aid Systems build right into its upcoming MMORPG, Scarlet Legacy. Intended to provide some important help for newcomers to the genre and allow veterans to automate certain rote activities, martial artists will be able to automate activation of multiple game systems based on specified combat contingencies to perfect their gameplay.

MMORPG Videos

MMORPG Videos


MapleStory: Exclusive "Age of Battle" PvP Trailer

Posted: 14 Jul 2011 11:27 PM PDT

This latest MapleStory trailer shows off PvP in the Age of Battle, one part of a series of summer content updates called Chaos.

MMORPG Reviews

MMORPG Reviews


Allods Online has launched Patch 2.0.04: Rise of the Gods

Posted: 15 Jul 2011 09:22 AM PDT

Gala-Net has announced that the next update to Allods Online, Patch 2.0.04: Rise of the Gods, is now live. Patch new features: · New zones for high level players – High level characters can now venture to the Cave of Tka-Rik and Twilight Isle to learn more about the secret history of Sarnaut. The zones [...]

S4 League has unveiled a new espansion, “Iron Eyes”

Posted: 15 Jul 2011 08:25 AM PDT

Alaplaya, has revealed a new expansion for S4 League later this month. The new season, entitled "Iron Eyes," will be the second installment in a series of major updates to the action-packed title, and will feature a new game mode, maps, weapons, and costumes. Players who want to test their mettle against all that Iron [...]

Rusty Hearts releases a new Developer Diary and its third character presentation

Posted: 15 Jul 2011 06:33 AM PDT

Rusty Hearts has launched this developer diary that combines intense combat scenes, beautiful cel-shaded art style, as well as details about the core gameplay and interesting character identities to give players insight on which character they’d like to play as, the pros and cons of using a keyboard or controller, and presents Frantz, the third [...]

Exclusive Luvinia Online Trial Cave dungeon video

Posted: 15 Jul 2011 05:04 AM PDT

Today we present you this exclusive video of Luvinia Online showing the dungeon “Trial Cave”. Remeber that you can get a Closed beta Key Here The world of Luvinia beckons players into a realm where humans, orcs, gnomes and dwarves once co-existed in peace; however, destiny never stands still. The stars that once shined brightly [...]

Microvolts presents its new patch, Summer Recharge

Posted: 15 Jul 2011 03:49 AM PDT

Rock Hippo Productions Ltd has announced the release of the “Summer Recharge” patch for MicroVolts. The patch includes a brand new map, new weapons and all new content for the summer season. A new trailer and screenshots presents the new map and feature the characters sporting the new weapons, parts and accessories that are now [...]

Athuria Closed Beta key giveaway

Posted: 15 Jul 2011 01:50 AM PDT

Athuria with FREE MMORPG and MMO Reviews, invite the players to join Athuria and get a Closed beta key and 2000 coins. To get your Closed Beta key you only have to register at Athuria webpage to create an closed beta account, in the process, the game requires the Closed beta key code. When you [...]


General Gaming Article

General Gaming Article


26 Awesome, Unusual and Interactive Online Maps

Posted: 15 Jul 2011 04:42 PM PDT

What did we do before the widespread adaptation of Google Maps and GPS? Well, if you're anything like me, you probably got lost. A lot. But maps are good for a lot more than finding your way around - especially if they're online, where they can also be a way to track trends and crimes, help find you a new apartment, search the night sky and test your knowledge of world geography.

The integration with maps and photography can help to tell a story, or create art. In honor of a long standing appreciation for cartrography in its many forms, we present to you twenty-six awesome (and mostly interactive) maps. Enjoy - and be sure to share your favorite maps in the comments!

Cool Site of the Week: Gojee

Posted: 15 Jul 2011 02:00 PM PDT

Deciding on what to make for dinner can be as daunting a task as actually cooking it. Every day, we stand in front of our refrigerators, freezers and cupboards, waiting for inspiration, and in the end, typically end up making the same meals over and over again--provided the right ingredients for our favorite dishes are all in the house at the same time. When they're not, many of us would just as soon head out to a restaurant for an expensive meal than sit down to noodle out a new home cooked recipe with the ingredients we have on hand.  Fortunately, our Cool site of Site of the week has your gastronomical back. It's called Gojee and it's here to make sure we never go hungry again.

While there are thousands of recipe sites floating around the internet, Gojee stands apart in that it suggests recipes to you based on the ingredients you have on hand. Just enter what food you've got left in the house and Gojee will tell you what sorts of dishes you can whip up with it and what you might need to complete the recipe. If you've got a food allergy or despise a particular ingredient, you can add it to a list of disliked foods and Gojee will adjust its list of ingredients and subsequent list of recipes accordingly.

Gojee even allows you to mark your favorite recipes so that you can return to them time after time. What could be better? Be sure to check back every Friday for another addition of Maximum PC's Cool Site of the Week.

Those ChromeBooks? People Are Buying Them

Posted: 15 Jul 2011 01:34 PM PDT

chromeDespite predictions of doom and gloom, consumers seem to be optimistic about the prospects for Google's ChromeOS in its current form. The ChromeBooks from Acer and Samsung are selling briskly on Amazon, Cnet reports. The cheapest model, the $349 Wi-Fi only Acer is currently number 4 in the laptop category. 

Even more expensive models like the $499 Samsung version has a place in the top 10, but just barely. All these devices run the first official release of Google's ChromeOS, and will be updated over the air. One DisplaySearch analyst called ChromeBooks, "what a Netbook should have been."

These 12-inch Atom-based machines aren't without their issues, though. ChromeOS is mostly useless without an Internet connection. Additionally, some tasks like photo and video editing are difficult. Still, a few years ago would we have ever considered the possibility that people would be buying computers in sizable numbers that didn't run Windows or OSX?

French Copyright Cops Feeling Overwhelmed

Posted: 15 Jul 2011 01:13 PM PDT

jrFrance instituted a controversial "three-strikes" law earlier this year and according to some numbers release by Hadopi, the agency that implements the system, they're getting swamped.  More than 18 million copyright complaints have been filed since the system was opened up to content owners. 

With that huge volume of work, the ISPs have only managed to get about 470,000 notices sent out to users. 20,000 or so of those are second notices, and just about 10 users have gotten their third strike. After the third strike, a user can experience serious penalties under the law, including disconnection from the Internet, and prosecution. 

Part of the issue is that ISPs have to sort out who was assigned an IP address during a particular time the infringement was noted. Hadopi has only passed the IPs for 1 million complaints to ISPs, though. Of the processed notices, 7% of users responded to the first notice, and 15% to the second. Reportedly, most users didn't understand the software they were using was p2p. American ISPs might want to take some notes on this mess before the US "graduated response" system kicks in. 

University Researchers Whip Up Mushy, Jello-Like Memory Device

Posted: 15 Jul 2011 11:47 AM PDT

What do you think about when the term "memory device" gets tossed around? Kingston DRAM and Corsair's 16GB DDR3/1600 Vengeance kit in the 2011 Dream Machine pops into our head. Now, sadly, we're going to have pictures of Bill Cosby's wrinkled, funny face dancing around in our skulls whenever memory springs to mind. Curse you, NC State researchers! A team from the University created a new type of memory designed to work in soggy situations, and the chip's reminiscent of everybody's favorite animal-based desert.

"We've created a memory device with the physical properties of Jell-O," Dr. Michael Dickey said. How'd they do that? By using "a liquid alloy of gallium and indium metals set into water-based gels." Rather than being hard and brittle like standard electronic components, the new memory devices are soft, mushy and perfect for use in wet environments. If you want to learn the hard details of how it works, be sure to check out the press release.

What does the team hope to achieve with the new technology? Something that would fit into Bioshock? Not quite. "These properties may be used for biological sensors or for medical monitoring," Dickey said. The researchers envision the mushy memory eventually being used in the human body, acting as an interface for electronics to communicate with cells or tissues. And since the Jell-O memory device doesn't mind moist environments, it could more easily be inserted into the moist lump of organics known as the human brain.

Image credit: NC State University. Thanks to Engadget for pointing this out!

Oops! Microsoft Lets Possible Social Media Plans Slip

Posted: 15 Jul 2011 10:58 AM PDT

As far as social media is concerned, Microsoft's more of an awkward wallflower than the fun-loving center of the party. They've toed the waters before, sure – Bing Social, the "awesome" Skype announcement and the company's 1.6-percent stake in Facebook are all proof that Microsoft's at least eyeing the field. But a slip-up on the Microsoft-owned socl.com hints that the boys and girls from Redmond may be considering wading in the social network pool, if not quite jumping in head first.

Fusible.com noticed that Microsoft owned the socl.com domain while researching the transaction history of social.com and decided to swing by the site. What they found surprised them – a landing page for what they call a "social search"-type site named Tulalip. "With Tulalip you can Find what you need and Share what you know easier than ever," the page boasted. Fusible reports there were sign-on buttons for both Facebook and Twitter, as well as some other links, but none of them worked.

Want to check it out for yourself? It's too late. Microsoft pulled the page almost immediately, and now traveling to the socl.com website only nets you an apologetic message: "Thanks for stopping by. Socl.com is an internal design project from a team in Microsoft Research which was mistakenly published to the web. We didn't mean to, honest."

So whaddaya think? Is Tulalip a design project markup, a ploy to make Google nervous, or could it actually be a glimpse at Microsoft's plans for the future?

PS: While we're being Social, happy fifth birthday, Twitter!

Image credit: Fusible.com

Pentagon Unveils New Cyber Strategy After Hackers Pilfer 24,000 Files

Posted: 15 Jul 2011 10:31 AM PDT

The US's cyber strategy sucks – just ask the Pentagon. They're not shy about the problem, and in fact, just yesterday they were all too ready to provide an example; earlier this spring, "foreign intruders" managed to get hold of over 24,000 Pentagon files in one of the worst security breaches in US military history.

Deputy Defense Secretary William J. Lynn didn't go into details about the breach other than to say that foreign hackers got the information from a defense contractor that works with the Pentagon. Maybe it had something to do with duplicate SecurID electronic keys? The Guardian reports Lynn as saying that critical files "including plans for missile-tracking systems, satellite navigation, surveillance drones and even jet fighters have been stolen from systems" in the past year.

The announcement wasn't a random burst of openness by the normally closed-lip organization, but rather part of a speech leading up to the unveiling of the Pentagon's new cyber strategy. The Pentagon wants to transition from its current reactionary plans and instead focus on "denying the benefit of an attack" by using a mixture of sensors, software and code to create a more active defense. The idea is to identify and halt attacks before they result in a critical breach.

"Rather than rely on the threat of retaliation alone to deter attacks in cyberspace, we aim to change our adversaries' incentives in a more fundamental way," Deputy Secretary Lynn told the Washington Post. "If an attack will not have its intended effect, those who wish us harm will have less reason to target us through cyberspace in the first place."

Image Credit: Daily Galaxy

DHK Storage PopDrive POP-500 Review

Posted: 15 Jul 2011 10:21 AM PDT

A good idea hamstrung by complex softaware

The basic idea behind the PopDrive is a good one: a sleek, portable external enclosure that holds two 2.5-inch drives in RAID 1, to protect against the risk of data loss due to drive failure. Add in support for user notification emails, hotswap drive bays, and a relatively speedy 3Gb/s eSATA port, and it sounds like you've got yourself a winner. And you might, eventually.

The PopDrive includes a slim, aluminum dual-bay chassis, 5V AC adapter, and USB 2.0 and eSATA ports at the rear of the chassis. If the PopDrive's 1.2x3.9x6.4-inch aluminum chassis looks familiar, that's because it's the same casing as Silverstone's DS221 dual-bay RAID drive. Silverstone's device, though, uses a mechanical switch to change between RAID 0, RAID 1, and JBOD, while the PopDrive's configuration is all done via software. And what a joy that software is.

Just kidding. Configuring the PopDrive is a pain in the booty. First you install the included SiliconImage 57xx SteelVine volume management tool. Then you restart your computer, slot the two included 2.5-inch drives (two 500GB WD Scorpio Blue drives, in our review model) into the PopDrive, and connect it to your computer via USB 2.0 or eSATA.

If only the PopDrive's configuration software was as sleek as its aluminum chassis.

At this point it's necessary to consult the 64-page user manual, as the SteelVine software isn't optimized or configured at all for the PopDrive. It gives many more options than the PopDrive actually supports, which you wouldn't know unless you've read the manual. Of the six configuration options—listed as JBOD, SAFE (RAID 1), BIG, SAFE33, SAFE50, and FAST (RAID 0)—the latter three are listed as "not recommended for the PopDrive" in the manual. From there, it's a simple matter of choosing RAID 1, saving the array configuration, applying the configuration, and then waiting a minute or so while the instructions percolate down to the device level and the software lets you know the array has begun to build. Then, for 10 or 12 hours, you play the waiting game.

Once the array is configured, you can create and format a partition in Disk Management and assign a drive letter; thereafter the drive appears as a single volume, which can be used normally. When connected over eSATA, the PopDrive showed sequential read and write speeds of 76MB/s and 65MB/s, respectively—a little slower than the raw disk speeds of the 2.5-inch 500WD Scorpio Blue 5400rpm drives included with our PopDrive review unit, but certainly respectable.

The one advantage provided by the PopDrive's use of the SteelVine software is that software's ability to send email notifications upon critical events. This is useful for the hypothetical IT consultant that DHK told us in an email is their ideal client—someone who sets up the PopDrive in a small business environment so they can rotate out drives for offsite backup. However, IT managers have many other speedier, easier-to-configure, and more robust backup systems at their disposal—NAS devices come to mind. For home users, the drive management software is much too complex.

To its credit, DHK claims that a simpler software interface for the PopDrive is forthcoming this summer. That can't come soon enough.

If DHK had waited to put its device on the market until a good software backend was in place, it would have scored higher. It also would have scored higher with a USB 3.0 interface instead of USB 2.0. Sure, eSATA is nice, but not everyone has an eSATA port, and using a USB 2.0 connection with this device removes the hotswap capability, drops the speed down to 30MB/s or so, and makes the disconnecting process much harder. As it is, the PopDrive's software is too complicated for home users and its hardware is too limited for most business users. Other eSATA RAID 1 bays aren't quite as slim and sleek, but are easier to configure, offer more storage space, and are more robust.

$250, www.popdrive.com

Thermaltake Launches Three New Liquid Cooling Products

Posted: 15 Jul 2011 09:13 AM PDT

Feeling wet behind the ears when it comes to liquid cooling? If so, Thermaltake's hoping to ease your trepidation with a new line of liquid cooling products that includes a special version of its Level 10 GT case and two additions to its Bigwater line. All three products are self-contained, all-in-one units that are purportedly easy to install.

First up is the Level 10 GT LCS case. It's the Level 10 GT just as you know it, only with a built-in specialized liquid cooling system that consists of a new generation drive bay unit and interconnecting waterblock with a pure copper base.

The Bigwater A80 is an all-in-device for those who already own a case. It's pre-filled with coolant and outfitted with a low evaporation tube so you needn't worry about refilling it, making it maintenance free. According to Thermaltake, it's also dead simple to install and works with all modern Intel and AMD sockets.

Finally there's the Bigwater 760 Plus, which is a new 2U drive bay liquid cooling system. Thermaltake says it's intended for "advanced LCS lovers." It consists of a quiet pump that pushes 500L/H, 12cm blue LED fan (1600-2400RPM), and water reservoir.

All three will be available in August. No word yet on price.

Image Credit: Thermaltake

Survey: IT Night Shift Workers Overweight and Undersexed

Posted: 15 Jul 2011 08:43 AM PDT

A survey released this week by Men's Health Network reveals that male IT workers who burn the midnight oil through overnight shifts, as well as others who work non-traditional hours, feel their shift is having a direct impact on their poor health.

Nearly half (47 respondents) complained of low energy levels, while 43 percent say their non-traditional shift has a negative impact on weight, and almost a third (30 percent) said work was screwing up their sex lives. Considering all this, it comes as no surprise that 51 percent reported feeling frustrated and drained in the last week. In addition, 42 percent reported being irritable in the last week, 36 percent anxious, and 32 percent downright angry.

"While the physical and emotional toll that shift workers are reporting is certainly of great concern, to me the most alarming finding of the survey is that a great majority of shift worker respondents (72 percent) seem to think that being tired is 'just a part of the job' and do not consider speaking with their physician about their symptoms," said Jean J.E. Bonhomme, M.D., MPH, spokesperson for Men's Health Network and Cephalon. "What we know is that people who work non-traditional hours may be suffering from a real medical condition called shift work disorder. This can be diagnosed and the symptoms can be treated by a doctor, if only they mention issues caused by their work schedule during visits to their healthcare professional."

The online survey was taken by 1,565 shift workers between May 25th and June 1st of this year.

MMO News

MMO News


League of Legends Gameplay Video #4

Posted: 15 Jul 2011 12:54 PM PDT

To Learn More About the Game, Check out our League of Legends Page.

League of Legends is a 3D multiplayer online battle arena MMO published by Riot Games. Gameplay wise it is remarkably similar to Warcraft III’s enormously popular custom game ‘Defense of the Ancients (DotA)’ as well as S2 Game’s Heroes of Newerth. Other free to play MOBA style games include Realm of the Titans, Avalon Heroes and Rise of Immortals. The video above is a full match with commentary (Heads up, it’s a cool 40+ mins). The game has an enormous amount of variety there are over 75 playable heroes with many more in development. In addition, players can further ‘customize’ their characters through the game’s ‘mastery’ system. Anyone who has played and enjoyed DotA will almost certainly love League of Legends, as the game offers much more than it’s Warcraft III counterpart. In the videos above, I simply joined a game and played through it. To learn more about League of Legends check out the official MMOHut League of Legends page, which includes a detailed review, tons of screenshots, and additional videos.

Luvinia – Closed Beta Preview

Posted: 15 Jul 2011 11:06 AM PDT

Luvinia – Closed Beta Preview

The latest game to arrive from Outspark – publishers of Fiesta and Secret of the Solstice – is Luvinia. This free fantasy MMORPG with a multi-path class system promises to be a charming addition to their line up, and we had a chance to take a tour and get a personal introduction to the game.

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The Look

Luvinia has anime-style graphics, and features a three-quarters (top-down) camera. The camera can be adjusted to look at the world from most angles, including a full top-down, but cannot be used to "look up" toward the sky. Fitting its whimsical style (silly costumes and weapons are not uncommon here), the color palette of the game is bright and colorful. The interface here is also pretty standard, and very easy to navigate. Areas can often be creative – in just the tutorial area alone, there’s an underwater area where characters swim about as they fight, and an area up in the stars where they fight celestial beings.

Choosing a Nation

Character creation in Luvinia is a simple starting process. Players must first select which faction they would like to join: the Empire, focused on central government, or the Federation, which believes in the freedom of the people. Both factions have three nations (for a total of six), each of which has its own starting city and special area maps, leading to most players spending time among their own nation while remaining connected to the rest of their faction.

In addition to selecting gender, face style, hair style, and hair color, players must also choose a constellation. At this time in Luvinia, a player’s constellation has little bearing on their play; later on, constellations will add small special effects and stat bonuses. Outspark noted that when constellations gain this power, players will be allowed to select a constellation again to properly benefit their class choice and play style. It’s also interesting to note that character creation also requests the selection of a character voice – Outspark took the time to do voice overs for all the characters in the game, and players can select among a few voices to add a little more immersion to their gameplay.

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Geneway College

The starting area for Luvinia takes players through Geneway College, where they will participate in their final exams. The college was founded after the end of a great war between the dwarves, elves, orcs, and humans, in order to train new recruits to help keep the peace among the nations.

If you noticed classes were missing from character creation, don’t panic – Geneway College is where you choose your starting class (Warrior, Rogue, or Mage) so that you can get a feel for different fighting styles before you commit to a class at level 10 – but more on this system later.

Geneway is where players will learn with guided tutorials how to get used to the game’s controls, all of which are really simple. Combat is a skill-bar based system, where players can use skills off their bar based on the class they choose, and once a combat ability is selected, it can remain automatically on, triggering each time it comes off cooldown – reducing the need to mash skill buttons along the way. Loot drops off the enemy onto the ground below, but can be picked up easily with space, and belongs to the person who killed the mob to avoid loot stealing.

You’ve Got Class

Warriors, Rogues, and Mages: these form the three basic archetypes players can pursue with classes, starting with their first official choice at level 10. These archetypes then begin to split out into subclasses, similiar in ways to the system seen in Ragnarok Online. At level 40, players can pick their secondary class, from among two options within each class (for a total of six secondary classes), each of which fills a specific role. At a later level (not yet unlocked), players can then unlock a third set of classes, again having a choice between two options based on their second class. A nice touch to this system is that players retain the skills of their previous classes as they level up, giving them a full range of skills from their early classes on until their final classes.

Because of the class system, players will find that they level up in two different ways. The first way – through experience – gains players their regular levels, which lets them power up their character in more general ways. As players play their class, however, they will also add class experience, which can be used to upgrade skills within that class.

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Empire versus Federation

We caught a little glimpse of PvP by battling a GM in the arena. While the game does have a two- faction system, players are offered a wide variety of PvP flags and protections, allowing them to control what situations they are willing to PvP in very precisely. Players will be able to participate in open world PvP if they allow themselves to be flagged and fight the opposing nation, but there will also be PvP maps at higher levels for players to battle it out on. There are also griefing penalties in place to punish players who prey on lower level targets.

And The Other Stuff

Luvinia features plenty of maps – over 50 – and each of these maps may feature one or more small instances. These instances are put in place to help reduce server load. There are also multiple channels available on a server to allow players to switch to less crowded areas.

There’s a lot of other features to Luvinia we were shown. There are plenty of mounts, which can be upgraded among three grades to change their appearance (but not their speed); weapons can be crafted to add + modifiers and weapon glow; and there are plenty of costumes available on a temporary or permanent basis. The game will also offer daily quests, plus a daily calendar of events, for players to partake in and earn extra rewards while getting away from the grind.

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Final Impressions

There’s a lot about Luvinia you’d expect from a fantasy MMORPG. That reliability will offer the game a stable platform to branch out in other areas. The game is definitely easy on the system, easy on the eyes, and forgiving to newer players with a simple control system. From what we hear about higher levels – with a working constellation system, creative game design, and a branched class system – Luvinia looks to be promising.

By, Jaime Skelton

Luvinia Beta Screenshots

PlaySpan Partners with World of Tanks to Offer Tank Giveaway

Posted: 15 Jul 2011 09:22 AM PDT

PlaySpan, a Visa company specialized in monetization solutions for digital media, online games, and mobile apps, today announced that its UltimatePay engine will be partnered with World of Tanks to process transactions.

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World of Tanks Customization Screenshot

“PlaySpan’s UltimatePay allows us to monetize World of Tanks, our first ever free-to-play online game, said Victor Kislyi, CEO of Wargaming.net."With the recent announcement of World of Tanks’ availability to North American gamers, we feel we have made the decision taht will serve the most users in the most markets.”

World of Tanks is celebrating this business partnership by offering a free M3 Stuart Tank for anyone who redeems their PlaySpan Ultimate Game Card between the dates of July 15th and August 31st! The Ultimate Game Card, the world's first pre-paid game card, makes it convenient for you to play over 1000 popular online games. The Ultimate Game Card is available in over 55,000 stores across North America and thousands more worldwide including Walmart and Target.

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World of Tanks Gameplay Screenshot

For those unfamiliar with their World War II history, The M3 Stuart Tank was an extensively used United States light armor tank that turned the tides of many battles. Its 37MM guns fire quickly, accurately, and with little heating issues. Speed and stealth are the two key factors of survival as a light armored tank in World of Tanks and the M3 Stuart provides you with both.

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