General gaming

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• Batman: Arkham City Reaffirms Itself as The Best Superhero Game
• September NPDs: Madden, Gears 3, and Xbox 360 the Top Sellers
• Deus Ex: Human Revolution's Missing Link DLC Out Next Week for $15
• Original World of Warcraft Server Blade Auctions to Support Charity
• Explore the Majestic World of Cyrodil with 1UP's Oblivion Webcomic Game
• South Park Returns to XBLA in Tenorman's Revenge
• New Men in Black Game to Release Alongside Third Film
• Infinity Blade Soon Headed to 46-inch Arcade Screens
• Grand Theft Auto III Ported to iOS, Android for 10-Year Anniversary

Batman: Arkham City Reaffirms Itself as The Best Superhero Game Posted: 14 Oct 2011 06:16 AM PDT Despite this review's headline, Batman: Arkham City confirms a train of thought that originated when I saw Batman Begins: It's not just a superhero action game, it's also an inverse-horror game. Consider this situation: Four buddies hanging out in what can be considered a haunted steel mill. They talk about mundane things like what they did earlier that day, or their bets on which local community leader-type person will ultimately gain control of the area. In the tradition of horror movies, they stupidly split up. One of them hears a strange whooshing noise and runs off to investigate. One glimpses the quick movement of shadow around the corner. Then things get weirder. At this point, random machines start turning; their guns suddenly jam up for no apparent reason; mines prematurely detonate; and walls suddenly explode. Amid all of these jump scares, the guys start disappearing. The one who ran to investigate the random sound gets found strung up above. The one who walked too close to a weak wall gets caught in said wall's explosive collapse. The third one panics, fires his gun only to see it has been rendered ineffective, and while running to get a new firearm, finds himself locked in a sleeper hold. The last fellow thinks he's clever by using his thermal imaging goggles to look up and around, but even he succumbs to sheer terror when he sees a man-sized bat in front -- followed by smoke appearing all around him, his gun getting yanked away. And when the smoke clears, he doesn't see that the shadowy man is about to land on him feet-first with full force.

September NPDs: Madden, Gears 3, and Xbox 360 the Top Sellers Posted: 13 Oct 2011 06:24 PM PDT As was already announced by Microsoft, Gears of War 3 managed to sell more than 3 million units worldwide in its first week. The portion of those copies sold in the United States were enough to make it September's second best-selling game behind only Madden NFL 12 (likely due to Madden benefiting from being available on Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PS2, and PSP). Although Madden was released in August, it wasn't accounted for in the August NPD numbers because of when the reporting period ended. September's numbers cover August 28 through October 1. Resistance 3 was the PS3's big exclusive in September; it came in at number seven. The multiplatform Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine, which also debuted last month, came in at number ten. No doubt thanks to Madden's launch being counted in September, videogame software sales were up three percent as compared with September 2010. Hardware and accessories were down nine and 14 percent, respectively.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution's Missing Link DLC Out Next Week for $15 Posted: 13 Oct 2011 12:35 PM PDT

Original World of Warcraft Server Blade Auctions to Support Charity Posted: 13 Oct 2011 12:07 PM PDT World of Warcraft fans are some of the most rabid around, and the opportunity to own one of the original server blades that housed the game's many realms will be an exciting proposition for many of them. The opportunity to bid on one of these items should be good enough, but to make things even better, a worthy charity will be benefiting from the money they bring in. About 2,000 original server blades will be auctioned off on eBay beginning on October 17. This will continue through November 14, with the net proceeds going to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. These servers are no longer in use; WoW's infrastructure has been upgraded since it first launched in 2004. They are HP ProLiant servers that were used to host hundreds of realms for North America and Europe. Each one comes inside a windowed case with the WoW logo and a plaque signed by the WoW development team.

Explore the Majestic World of Cyrodil with 1UP's Oblivion Webcomic Game Posted: 13 Oct 2011 11:37 AM PDT Feature Share it: Tweet

South Park Returns to XBLA in Tenorman's Revenge Posted: 13 Oct 2011 11:27 AM PDT The second Xbox Live Arcade-exclusive South Park game has been officially announced and is planned for release next spring. Following South Park: Let's Go Tower Defense Play's release in 2009, we learned earlier this year that Microsoft has a deal for a pair of XBLA-exclusive South Park games. The newest one has a much shorter and more reasonable (albeit less amusing) title than its predecessor. South Park: Tenorman's Revenge is a platformer being developed by Other Ocean Interactive, best known for several of the ports it's handled like Castlevania: Symphony of the Night on XBLA, Ultimate Mortal Kombat on DS, and Super Monkey Ball on DS.

New Men in Black Game to Release Alongside Third Film Posted: 13 Oct 2011 10:42 AM PDT Perhaps you were unaware that Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones were planning to save the world again. A release for Men in Black III was announced last month as May 25, 2012, and now Activision has revealed plans to launch a game around that same time. Today's press release promises the game -- simply titled Men in Black, at least for now -- "will feature action-packed, yet light-hearted gameplay mixed with edge-of-your-seat shooting excitement from the universe's most elite peacekeeping force." Activision Publishing executive VP David Oxford expanded upon that by claiming it will be a "genre-bending" experience with Hollywood-level production values. "More details," which is to say, any details, will be announced soon along with details on characters. It wasn't mentioned if Smith and Jones would be voicing their characters of Agents J and K, respectively. Hopefully Rip Torn would also reprise his role if he can take some time away from breaking into banks while intoxicated and armed with a gun.

Infinity Blade Soon Headed to 46-inch Arcade Screens Posted: 13 Oct 2011 09:17 AM PDT Joining the likes of Flight Control and Fruit Ninja, another iOS hit is being blown up for arcades. Infinity Blade FX was announced today by Adrenaline Amusements, which will be bringing the game to a 46-inch touchscreen designed for arcades. It'll debut at the 2011 Gaming and Electronic Expo in Salt Lake City this weekend before showing up in Dave & Buster's locations across the United States starting on October 28. The setup supports the use of two hands to play, as well as two-screen multiplayer. Multiplayer was introduced to the iOS game as part of a free update back in May. These FX devices already exist for Flight Control and Fruit Ninja, as mentioned above. The Infinity Blade arcade game will end up being located in more than just Dave & Buster's -- Adrenaline's Marc-Antoine Pinard said as a part of today's announcement, "Like Fruit Ninja, TouchFX versions of Infinity Blade FX will also be seen in FEC, arcade, and amusements park locations around the world."

Grand Theft Auto III Ported to iOS, Android for 10-Year Anniversary Posted: 13 Oct 2011 08:44 AM PDT It was ten years ago this month that Grand Theft Auto III was released. It was preceded by two games and two expansion packs, yet it wasn't until III that the series became the influential juggernaut it's known as today. Its open-world action led to countless clones and essentially started a new genre; now you'll have the chance to play that monumental game on your phone. Rockstar has announced it plans to bring GTA III to a select number of iOS and Android devices. On iOS, only iPad 2 and iPhone 4S will be compatible. Supported Android phones include the Droid X2, HTC Evo 2, LG Optimus 2X, Motorola Atrix, Samsung Galaxy S2, while Android tablets include the Acer Iconia, Asus Eee Pad, Motorola Xoom, Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. These are only the devices that will be supported when the game launches later this fall; more may be added later. There is a Grand Theft Auto game on the iOS App Store already, Chinatown Wars, but that uses the top-down perspective seen in the first two GTA games. To think we're at a point where a phone can play a game my PC used to struggle mightily with (unless I kept the camera pointed at the ground at all times) is incredible.

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MMORPG News

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• Star Trek Online: Tribble Spotlight Shines on Starships
• World of Warcraft: Own History
• Requiem: Bloodymare: Latest Update Features Level Cap Increase
• The Secret World: PvP and World Domination
• General: Unbound Gamer: What Kind of Gamer Are YOU?
• General: Developer Perspectives: Start Ups - Do It Youself
• Rise of Immortals: Talia, Queen of the Undead Arrives
• Castle Empire: Mug Giveaway!
• Aika: Fun For a Certain Crowd
• Star Wars: The Old Republic: You Got Your Story in My World PVP
• General: Guild Sores: It's All About Pants
• City of Heroes: Halloween Event Arrives October 20th
• The Secret World: Funcom to Participate in Extra Life Fundraiser
• Wakfu: Sufokia Nation to Be Added
• Final Fantasy XIV: New Roadmap Details Significant Changes Incoming
• Transformers Universe: Vote to Name Decepticon & Autobot In-Game Class
• Transformers Universe: A Pre-NYComicon Sneak Peek
• 4Story: Attendance Rewards Detailed
• Final Fantasy XIV: Working List of Changes Coming in v1.19a
• Lineage 2: October Bonanza Yields Big Rewards
• Hedone: Closed Beta Key Give Away at FPSGuru
• Tales of Pirates II: New Adventures in Shaitan
• A Mystical Land: Retail Release Arriving with a Bang
• General: GDC Online Award Recipients Shine

Star Trek Online: Tribble Spotlight Shines on Starships Posted: 14 Oct 2011 08:15 AM PDT In the latest entry into the Star Trek Online blog series, "The Road to F2P", starships are detailed. The blog post starts with the announcement that the Tribble test server is "experimenting with some line-up changes to the starships for both the Federation and Klingon Defense Force."

World of Warcraft: Own History Posted: 14 Oct 2011 08:06 AM PDT Blizzard has announced a new auction featuring the original World of Warcraft computer hardware to raise funds for St. Jude's Children's Hospital.

Requiem: Bloodymare: Latest Update Features Level Cap Increase Posted: 14 Oct 2011 08:00 AM PDT WarpPortal has revealed details about the latest Requiem update. Among the usual bug fixes and enhancements is the news that the level cap has been increased along with new gear and quests.

The Secret World: PvP and World Domination Posted: 14 Oct 2011 07:46 AM PDT Funcom has released the latest developer diary covering the Player-versus-Player (PvP) conflict and the ongoing war for world domination in The Secret World. Check it out!

General: Unbound Gamer: What Kind of Gamer Are YOU? Posted: 14 Oct 2011 07:43 AM PDT In a new piece on network site Unbound Gamer, the question is posed, "What kind of gamer are you?" The article then details several gamer types helping readers to identify themselves. It's a great read that just may surprise you. Check it out at UnboundGamer.com!

General: Developer Perspectives: Start Ups - Do It Youself Posted: 14 Oct 2011 07:23 AM PDT In a new Developer Perspectives series, Pitchblack Studios' Sanya Weathers offers her thoughts about the dev side of things. Today, Sanya talks start up companies and what it means to work at one. Sanya is currently the Director of Community for Pitchblack Games, a startup MMO company working on Prime Battle For Dominus. She has been working in the MMO industry since 2000, either as a journalist, a writer, or a community weenie. Read on!

Rise of Immortals: Talia, Queen of the Undead Arrives Posted: 14 Oct 2011 07:12 AM PDT Just in time to create some extra thrills and chills, the Rise of Immortals team has introduced Talia, Queen of the Undead into the game.

Castle Empire: Mug Giveaway! Posted: 14 Oct 2011 12:10 AM PDT MMORPG.com and Ubisoft have partnered up to give away 5 brand spanking new beer mugs based on Castle Empire, the browser based free-to-play multiplayer strategy game developed by the folks behind The Settlers.

Aika: Fun For a Certain Crowd Posted: 13 Oct 2011 12:02 PM PDT One of the most touted entries into the exploding free to play market, Aika Online arrived a bit over a year ago. In our latest review at MMORPG.com, Som Pourfarzaneh takes a look at Aika Online and offers this compelling thought: "we can easily recommend trying it if you're interested in an Eastern-themed fantasy MMO with a heavy emphasis on PvP." Check out Som's thoughts about Aika Online. Played it? Let us know what you think in the comments.

Star Wars: The Old Republic: You Got Your Story in My World PVP Posted: 13 Oct 2011 12:23 PM PDT In a new article related to Star Wars: The Old Republic, MMORPG.com's Som Pourfarzaneh checks in with what is known about PvP yet wonders a bit about how world PvP will play out in the game and how it will differ from open PvP. Check out what Som means by "You got your story in my world PvP" and then leave us a comment or two.

General: Guild Sores: It's All About Pants Posted: 13 Oct 2011 12:36 PM PDT Sometimes real life and in-game comfort come together in a perfect storm. In today's Guild Sores, MMORPG.com's David North takes a look at the gang's first face-to-face encounter with folks who want their guild to mirror their real life in an...interesting way. Check it out!

City of Heroes: Halloween Event Arrives October 20th Posted: 14 Oct 2011 07:04 AM PDT NCSoft and the City of Heroes team has revealed the details behind the annual Halloween in-game event. This year's spookfest includes new quest and rewards.

The Secret World: Funcom to Participate in Extra Life Fundraiser Posted: 14 Oct 2011 06:58 AM PDT Funcom has announced its support of the upcoming Extra Life fundraiser scheduled for October 15th. Extra Life is a 24-hour gaming marathon that raises funds for the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals.

Wakfu: Sufokia Nation to Be Added Posted: 14 Oct 2011 06:52 AM PDT Square Enix has announced that a new nation will be added to Wakfu with the next patch. Called Sufokia, the zone features brand new quests, monsters and regions to explore. The update with Sufokia embedded is scheduled to be released on October 26th.

Final Fantasy XIV: New Roadmap Details Significant Changes Incoming Posted: 14 Oct 2011 06:44 AM PDT Square Enix President and CEO, Yoichi Wada has written an overview for a comprehensive series of articles detailing the future of Final Fantasy XIV. The downloadable articles feature a peek ahead at art, system and content changes coming down the road in the next year as well as solidifies the team's determination to see the PS3 version of the game go live, with combined service being the hallmark of 2.0 in late 2012.

Transformers Universe: Vote to Name Decepticon & Autobot In-Game Class Posted: 13 Oct 2011 02:12 PM PDT MMORPG.com and Jagex have teamed up to give our users an exclusive opportunity to help name both an Autobot and Decepticon in-game class. We've got a special voting page set up for readers to check out the class description and to vote for or suggest their favorite class name.

Transformers Universe: A Pre-NYComicon Sneak Peek Posted: 13 Oct 2011 11:10 AM PDT MMORPG.com Community Manager Mike Bitton is one of the lucky few to get an advanced look at Jagex's Transformers Universe a day ahead of the annual New York Comicon. Check out what Mike discovered during this press event and then let us know what you think in the comments.

4Story: Attendance Rewards Detailed Posted: 13 Oct 2011 09:37 AM PDT Zemi Interactive and the 4Story development team have announced a series of rewards to be doled out to players simply for attending the game for sequential days. The longer the string of attendance, the better the rewards.

Final Fantasy XIV: Working List of Changes Coming in v1.19a Posted: 13 Oct 2011 09:26 AM PDT The Final Fantasy XIV team has posted the working notes for the upcoming v1.19a patch. The team will be addressing several key features including the Battle system, adding a new Grand Company side quest, adjusting prices on some NPC vendor items, system adjustments and important bug fixes.

Lineage 2: October Bonanza Yields Big Rewards Posted: 13 Oct 2011 09:20 AM PDT The Lineage II team has announced the arrival of the October Bonanza packed with Subscription Rewards, Thank You Letters, and Commendations.

Hedone: Closed Beta Key Give Away at FPSGuru Posted: 13 Oct 2011 08:54 AM PDT FPSGuru.com wants to hook you up with some of the baddest MMOFPS action out there with their Hedone Closed Beta Key Give Away. Simply head to FPSGuru.com to grab yours right now to get in on the action in Acony's latest title.

Tales of Pirates II: New Adventures in Shaitan Posted: 13 Oct 2011 08:50 AM PDT Brave adventurers are sailing off for mystical mythical Shaitan in Tales of Pirates II. Landing on the shores of Shaitan reveals an unexplored land packed with enemies in the form of the Black Dragon Army.

A Mystical Land: Retail Release Arriving with a Bang Posted: 13 Oct 2011 08:45 AM PDT The team behind A Mystical Land has announced that the indie title will be leaving its beta phase of development at the end of the month. Subsequent to that, the game will receive a big update that will include some much-asked for features.

General: GDC Online Award Recipients Shine Posted: 13 Oct 2011 08:20 AM PDT The GDC Online awards have been handed out with several notable MMOs taking home top honors from this week's event.

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