General gaming

General gaming


New York Comic-Con's Cutest Cosplayers Photo Gallery

Posted: 21 Oct 2011 06:00 PM PDT

Feature

New York Comic-Con's Cutest Cosplayers

Move over, costumed nerds! The next generation just made you obsolete.

By: 1UP Staff October 21, 2011

New York Comic-Con's Cutest Cosplayers

Everyone loves cosplay galleries -- at least, if the amount of traffic, comments, and links they get is any indication. And hey, why not? The amount of attention some people put into their costumes is admirable, sometimes maybe even borderline-crazy. But when you've been doing this as long as we have, all those costumes start to blur together. Girls in lovingly detailed but inappropriately skimpy spandex thongs, folks wearing cardboard armor, scrawny guys trying to pass themselves off as muscular slabs of superheroism, hefty dudes straining the stitching on their Char Aznable uniforms... it's the same show after show. After a while, you just need a fresh take on it all.

Weekend Deals: Grand Theft Auto, Rift, and Arkham Asylum

Posted: 21 Oct 2011 04:13 PM PDT

Grand Theft Auto III

Existing OnLive members should have been notified by now that they can get any full PlayPass title for $1. That's thanks to a Facebook promotion to get 10,000 new Likes, which was easily accomplished. Should enough Likes continue to be gathered, new OnLive members will also have the chance to get in on the deal and pick up any game on the service for just a buck.

In terms of specific sales, with Grand Theft Auto III celebrating its 10-year anniversary this week, a number of places are offering it and other GTA games for cheap. The best GTA deal is GamersGate and Steam offering the Complete Pack for $12.50 and $12.49, respectively. That consists of every numbered GTA game, San Andreas, Vice City, and the two expansion packs for IV. For such a low price, that is a phenomenal deal even if you already own chunks of the series. And if you do, the PC versions could offer something new for you with the extensive mod support that's out there.

New Battlefield 3 Buyers Get Mass Effect 3 Demo Early

Posted: 21 Oct 2011 02:04 PM PDT

Mass Effect 3

Ahead of the Mass Effect trilogy wrapping up in March, fans will have a chance to try out Mass Effect 3's single-player and multiplayer in January.

Plans to launch a demo in January have been announced by BioWare. An exact date for its release is to be announced in late November according to an FAQ posted on the BioWare forums. The multiplayer portion will be available earlier to a select group of people, including those who redeem an online pass for Battlefield 3 (which comes free with new copies of the game).

Portal 2's Next DLC Features an In-Game Map Editor

Posted: 21 Oct 2011 12:54 PM PDT

Portal 2

With the first Portal 2 downloadable content pack released earlier this month, Valve now has its sights set on the next add-on for the game. Rather than simply providing new test chambers itself, Valve will instead deliver an "easy-to-use in-game map editor" for players to create and share their own test chambers.

Tools do already exist for players to create test chambers, character skins, sound effects, music, and more. The catch is they aren't especially easy to use; if you're just an average gamer with an idea for how a chamber could work, it's not a simple matter of throwing something together. The new editor -- based on the very simple description Valve provided -- sounds as if it should make creating a chamber much more approachable.

Mists of Pandaria is the Fourth World of Warcraft Expansion

Posted: 21 Oct 2011 11:56 AM PDT

Mists of Pandaria was rumored a while back to be the name of the next expansion pack for World of Warcraft. Blizzard countered by saying Pandaria and the Pandaren weren't the sort of material to expect from the fourth expansion. It turns out that was a bit of misdirection, as those panda-like creatures are precisely what we're going to see a great deal of in the newest expansion.

The announcement were set up by Blizzard's Chris Metzen talking about how previous expansions all dealt with a big new enemy who threatened everyone. He explained that the new expansion focuses on war and conflict between the Alliance and Horde before a trailer for Mists of Pandaria was shown.

No Release Date for Diablo III Yet, So Here's the Collector's Edition

Posted: 21 Oct 2011 11:39 AM PDT

Diablo III box art

In typical Blizzard fashion, Diablo III will be done when it's done. At this point it doesn't look like a release date is going to be announced during BlizzCon. On the bright side, we do know what the box art will look like for both the standard and collector's edition versions of the game, as well as the contents of the latter.

No price for the collector's edition was mentioned (its weight was jokingly pegged at 3,000 pounds), but here's what you can expect to find inside of it: an art book, soundtrack, behind the scenes DVD and Blu-ray two-disc set, Diablo skull, 4GB USB key (with Diablo II and Lord of Destruction pre-installed on it), exclusive in-game content for three games (Diablo III gets aesthetic artifacts, WoW gets the Fetish Shaman pet, and StarCraft II gets new Battle.net portraits), and of course the game itself.

Commit to a Year of WoW, Get Diablo III for Free

Posted: 21 Oct 2011 11:27 AM PDT

Diablo III

We're still without a date for Diablo III as of yet, but we do know about a way you'll be able to get it for free upon release.

Blizzard co-founder and president Mike Morhaime announced during the BlizzCon opening ceremony just now plans to launch the World of Warcraft Annual Pass. Available as of now on the WoW website, an Annual Pass is essentially a commitment to a one-year subscription to WoW that can be billed monthly.

Uncharted Concept Art Gallery

Posted: 21 Oct 2011 10:56 AM PDT

GALLERY

Uncharted Concept Art Gallery

Check out a selection of Naughty Dog's concept art from the original Uncharted.

VIEW AS:   List Slideshow

Viewing: Page 1 / 2  

Uncharted Concept Art Gallery


Amazon Finding Ruins

Handful of New StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm Units Revealed

Posted: 21 Oct 2011 10:40 AM PDT

StarCraft II Heart of the Swarm units

With BlizzCon kicking off today, an onslaught of Blizzard news is on the way. The Opening Ceremony is still a short time away and already we have our first glimpse of something new in the form of several units for StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm.

As you can see in the images here, a poster devoted to each race shows off images, names, and brief details on each new multiplayer unit. A list of all eight follows below:

Playable Ezio Auditore, Release Date Confirmed for Soul Calibur V

Posted: 21 Oct 2011 10:14 AM PDT


A leaked screenshot earlier this week allegedly showed the character selection screen from Soul Calibur V. The most noteworthy thing about what it showed was Ezio Auditore, star of the past several Assassin's Creed games, as a playable character. Whether you thought it was a fake or not -- and the image did look somewhat questionable -- we now have confirmation that Ezio is playable in Namco Bandai's new fighter.

The trailer above features some footage of Ezio fighting with his various weaponry including his trusty hidden blade. He'll be available in both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the game, so there's no need to worry about being left out if you only own one console or the other.

Ezio is the latest guest appearance in a Soul Calibur game following the likes of Yoda, Darth Vader, the Apprentice, Link, Spawn, and Heihachi.

MMORPG Videos

MMORPG Videos


Darkfall: 2 Year Project Trailer

Posted: 11 Oct 2011 01:29 PM PDT

Darkfall 2 year project trailer.

Firefall: Firefall: The Dreadnought

Posted: 19 Oct 2011 08:15 AM PDT

Red5 and the Firefall development team have released a terrific new trailer showing off the Dreadnought, the fifth Battleframe. The Dreadnought possesses some serious firepower. Check it out!

MMORPG Reviews

MMORPG Reviews


Fiesta Online is celebrating Halloween until November 4th

Posted: 21 Oct 2011 08:38 AM PDT

Gamigo's fantasy MMORPG Fiesta Online is inviting everyone to join its Halloween Celebration until November 4th. New Halloween elements will be added to the game each week and there are plenty of tricks and treats in store for players. More treats than tricks, but considering the spirit of the time, there is no telling what [...]

Pirate Galaxy is going to receive the new update, The Sirius Singularity, the next October 31

Posted: 21 Oct 2011 07:55 AM PDT

Splitscreen Studios is going to release the newest update of the free 3D browser game Pirate Galaxy, 'The Sirius Singularity' the next October 31. On the other side of the unexplored wormhole in the Draconis system, both familiar and numerous new enemies, new resources and exciting challenges await the players. The makers of Pirate Galaxy [...]

Lagoonia give away for free the official soundtrack of the game

Posted: 21 Oct 2011 07:20 AM PDT

InnoGames has released the official soundtrack of its new Browser game, Lagoonia, free to download just here. The various background music and sound effects can be set individually to users' tastes, and adapt to the locations on the island, from the pacifying beaches, to the dark depths of the jungle. Lagoonia is currently in a [...]

Vindictus latest update, Song of Doom, Just in Time for Halloween

Posted: 21 Oct 2011 06:38 AM PDT

Today Nexon America's action MMORPG Vindictus has received the Song of Doom content update, which adds all new features, challenges, and Halloween themed events. Players will be able to experience an additional dungeon on Hero mode, uncover the mystery in the new area Albey Ruins, and fight four fearsome new bosses that hold the materials [...]

MapleStory is receiving this month a new update Rise of the Fellowship

Posted: 21 Oct 2011 05:30 AM PDT

MapleStory, the Nexon 2D side-scrolling MMOG is receiving this month the Rise of Fellowship update, which adds a Sidekick System and Monster Familiars to everyday battle in Maple World. The new Sidekick System will give them the opportunity to boost the stats and level up speed of the low level players when questing with more [...]

Perfect World Entertaintment has released a new Developer diary of Blacklight Retribution

Posted: 21 Oct 2011 04:33 AM PDT

Perfect World Entertaintment has presented a new developer diary for Blacklight Retribution. In this developer diary, you can hear the folks of Zombie Studios describe the concepts behind the visual and sound design of Blacklight Retribution, everything from the grimy look of a post-modern Tokyo, to the turbulent shriek of an airstrike.

Land of Chaos Online (LOCO) has unveiled its biggest update to the date, LOCO: Evolution

Posted: 21 Oct 2011 03:44 AM PDT

Alaplaya, has announced that its popular tactical MOBA-RPG, Land of Chaos Online (LOCO), will be transforming into a new form, LOCO: Evolution. Additions and improvements are coming with this new evolution that includes an all-new persistent city, a new faction, new characters, new modes of play, a greatly improved tutorial and UI which will make [...]

Dofus has presented a new PvP battle system, The Kolossium

Posted: 21 Oct 2011 03:13 AM PDT

DOFUS has presented a new PvP battle system, The Kolossium that offers balanced fights to all players with at least, one level 50 character or greater. The Kolossium has been conceived as a viable alternative mode for the characters´ progression. The Kolossium is a system that organizes 3Vs3 battles, between players of equivalent level. Players [...]

Spiral Knights has presented a new series of battle zones, the Shadow Lairs

Posted: 21 Oct 2011 02:39 AM PDT

SEGA of America, Inc. and SEGA Europe,Ltd. have presented Shadow Lairs, a series of perilous boss-monster battle zones, for Spiral Knights. Players who recover and open Iron Lockboxes from the depths of Cradle now have a chance of finding "Shadow Keys" inside. These unique keys, when brought to the deepest Clockwork Terminal in the Clockworks, [...]

Digimon Masters is going to be launched the next October 25

Posted: 21 Oct 2011 01:57 AM PDT

Joymax, has announced today that Digimon Masters is officially launching for gamers next week on Tuesday, October 25. The game is available across the world in English for the first time. Digimon Masters' faithful recreation of the Digimon universe, as featured in the anime series Digimon Data Squad, has achieved great success in Korea and [...]


General Gaming Article

General Gaming Article


Amazon Announces HTML5-Based Kindle Format 8

Posted: 21 Oct 2011 02:46 PM PDT

fireAmazon has made small tweaks to its Kindle e-book format over the years, but now the retailer has surprised the industry again by announcing a new HTML5 version of the Kindle format called Format 8. This approach leverages a toolset that already has wide support and allows a richer experience -- perfect for magazines and comics.

The new HTML5 Kindle format will essentially make books into webpages, with robust handling of images, fonts, and other adaptable content. Amazon has a full list of supported HTML tags, but video and audio tags are not among them, for now at least. So all this is great for the Fire, but what about eInk Kindles? Amazon says that the most recent generation of devices will gain access to Format 8 in the coming months. The Kindle publishing tool will make a copy in the old format for use on legacy devices. Tablets and PC clients will also have access to the HTML5 format. 

Some pundits expected that Amazon was planning a move to the open EPUB format, but this new format likely puts to rest that idea. Do you think the Kindle platform will benefit from Format 8?

Android 4.0 Includes Stylus Support

Posted: 21 Oct 2011 02:26 PM PDT

htcOne of the less reported features in Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich is going to be big for a certain subgroup of users. The new OS will support stylus input at the system level with features like pressure sensitivity, hover tracking, and detection of pen versus finger touch events. This should streamline implementation of this feature for OEMs, which seem to be chomping at the bit to roll it out.

Devices like the HTC Flyer and Samsung Galaxy Note both have the ability to use stylus input, but both are based on capacitive technologies and OEM modifications to Android. The Google API demos in the Android SDK even contains a TouchPaint app that can be used to test stylus input. Of course, all this is contingent on having the necessary hardware in a device. 

Both Samsung and HTC have been hoping other companies would adopt their stylus technology and internal APIs, but that's starting to look less likely. Although, with the HTC Scribe stylus running as much as $80, that didn't seem likely anyway.

Sprint Dropping Unlimited Tethering Data in November

Posted: 21 Oct 2011 02:12 PM PDT

4gIt looks like mobile broadband use is about to get a bit more pricey on what used to be the last bastion of unlimited data, Sprint. The carrier has confirmed rumors that it plans to move away from truly unlimited 4G data for its Wi-Fi hotspot and tethering plans. Most users will be subject to a 5GB cap starting in November

Unlike other carriers that have moved to tiered data, Sprint seems to be applying the new policy to existing and new customers alike. There will no longer be the separation of 3G and 4G data for mobile broadband cards, but users will get tiers of 3, 5, or 10GB total usage depending on how much 3G data their plan previously included (WiMAX was previously unlimited). 

Sprint has opted not to do overages in chunks like AT&T does, but rather to charge per megabyte. On-network overages will be billed at $0.05 per MB, and roaming will be $0.25 per MB. Sprint users feel free to rage down below.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus Wi-Fi Lands November 13th for $400

Posted: 21 Oct 2011 01:48 PM PDT

Samsung today officially announced the upcoming availability of its Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus tablet featuring the Peel Smart Remote TV appliation. The 7-inch slate will hit retailers on November 13th for $400, four days before Amazon's Kindle Fire tablet starts shipping. Those who want to get a jump start can put their pre-orders in beginning October 23rd.

The Peel Smart Remote TV application will allow users to instantly find and watch TV shows and discover new shows based on their preferences, all with the tap of a screen, Samsung says. It will display personalized programming recommendations in a content-driven GUI, negating the need to scroll through traditional channel-listing grids.

As for the hardware, the Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus measures 9.96mm thin and weighs 345g. It has a 7-inch LCD display with a 1024x600 resolution, 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 3MP rear-facing camera capable of recording in 720p, 2MP front-facing camera, and Android 3.2 (Honeycomb).

Pricing is for the 16GB Wi-Fi version. Samsung didn't mention when it plans to ship a 32GB model or for how much (likely $500 if we had to guess).

Image Credit: Samsung

16 Memorable OSes and UIs From the Big Screen

Posted: 21 Oct 2011 01:45 PM PDT

Hollywood has a way with computer tech that makes an impression, whether we laugh out loud or cry with envy.

Hollywood has always had a way with the OSes and UIs it shows on the big screen. Sometimes they're so far-fetched, all you can do is laugh, other times they're eerily accurate portrayals of future technology, and then there are the few that just make you jealous with envy. Here are a few of our favorites that Hollywood has given use, but give us some slack on what constitutes an OS or UI...Hollywood isn't always clear about that. Be sure to add your own in the comments, too.

 

ECS X79R-AX Black Extreme and Deluxe Photo Gallery

Posted: 21 Oct 2011 01:26 PM PDT

We've seen a whole lot of teaser shots of soon-to-be-released motherboards built around Intel's X79 (Sandy Bridge-E) platform this week, culminating earlier today in EVGA's dual-socket Super Record 3 (SR3) mainboard. How do you follow something like that? You don't, really -- it's kind of like that scene in Great Balls of Fire! where Jerry Lee Lewis (played by Dennis Quaid) finished his crowd pleasing set by lighting his piano on fire and quipping to Chuck Berry, "Follow that, killer!" But just as Chuck Berry is a legend in his own right, ECS wants to remind everyone that it too knows a thing or two about motherboards.

ECS shared a handful of photos of its upcoming X79-AX Black Extreme and Deluxe motherboards, and while these aren't dual-socket boards, ECS figured it would hire a model to get people's attention instead (note that the model and motherboard are not to scale, though that would be pretty awesome if they were).

Both boards have a pair of DDR3 DIMM slots on each side of the CPU socket. You can also spot onboard power and reset buttons (Extreme), PCI-Express 3.0 ports, USB 3.0, and some other goodies.

Check out our photo gallery below.

Image Credit: ECS

Cool Site of the Week: Encyclopedia of Life

Posted: 21 Oct 2011 11:27 AM PDT

eolAs of 2010, scientists have managed to find and catalog 1.7 million different species of life. Sounds like a lot, right? Not when you consider that the very same lab geeks feel it's possible that there may still be another five million species out there that we haven't stumbled across yet. Before depriving anymore of those lifeforms of their habitats for the sake of a new strip mall or a few rolls of toilet paper, maybe we'd do well to get to know them a little bit better (you know, just in case the planet finally decides to rise up and rebel against us). To this end, we're declaring Encyclopedia of Life our Cool Site of the Week.

 Encyclopedia of Life (EOL) provides visitors with a wealth of information concerning the diverse biological treasures our planet has to offer. At last count, EOL had cataloged over 750,000 different lifeforms with 448,007 images. Information on the site is gathered from experts, educators, museums, and citizen scientists who all share one thing in common: a passion for the stunning variety of life our planet has to offer. EOL's database is designed to be useable by both laymen and experts, so searching for 'Black Bear' or 'Urus Americanus' will bring you to the same page on the site.

Not looking for something dangerous and furry? No problem: EOL has you covered, as its database contains entries on every form of life under the sun. Need to know a few factoids about Brittle Waternymph or a tidbit concerning Actinopterygians? Simply type and ye shall receive. 

Be sure to check in every Friday for another edition of Maximum PC's Cool Site of the Week.

 

 

Google Engineer Says Company Will Release Ice Cream Sandwich Source Code

Posted: 21 Oct 2011 10:49 AM PDT

How many licks does it take to get to the center of a delicious Ice Cream Sandwich? Not even smarmy owls know the answer to that question – yet. Android developers will have a leg up on Tootsie Pop-packing birds sometime soon, as a Google engineer has confirmed that the ICS code will be released once users are able to wrap their hands around Ice Cream Sandwich-enabled phones and tablets.

"We plan to release the source for the recently-announced Ice Cream Sandwich soon, once it's available on devices," Android engineer Dan Morrill wrote on the "Android Building" Google group. That sound you hear? An exasperated sigh of relief from the open source community. Earlier this year, Google refused to release the source code for the tablet-optimized Honeycomb version of Android over fears that clueless developers would shove it onto phones, too.  Some were worried that it was the start of a new, proprietary trend for Android, but the release of the Ice Cream Sandwich source code (which was written for both tablets and smartphones) should lay those doubts to rest.

The recently unveiled ICS-packing Samsung Galaxy Nexus should hit the streets in November.

Microsoft Giving Windows Phones To Tech Gurus With Klout

Posted: 21 Oct 2011 10:27 AM PDT

Are you a mover and a shaker? What's that, you're not sure? If you were on Klout, there wouldn't be any doubt in your mind. The service keeps track of your activity across the social networks and assigns you a numerical score that lets you know, basically, whether you're hot or you're not. If you've got Klout, you might get a Mango-packing Windows Phone, too; Microsoft's giving away 500 of the devices – along with passes to VIP launch parties – through the Klout Perks rewards program.

The barrier to entry is nothing to sneeze at, though. You'll need to be 21 years old and have a Klout tech score of a whopping 55 or higher. You can see if you qualify by clicking this link. The first VIP party will take place in New York, and then move around the country to Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.

"Top influencers are trusted by their audience to share their real opinions and more and more brands are recognizing this power," the Klout blog post announcing the deal crows. "Klout Perks is quickly becoming the best way to launch new products."

What do you guys think of this social movers and shakers-focused marketing technique?

Report: Don't Expect Ivy Bridge Before March

Posted: 21 Oct 2011 10:08 AM PDT

Intel's spiffy Sandy Bridge processors haven't even been available for a year yet, and already their doomsday clock is ticking. Ivy Bridge, the slimmer, trimmer 22nm next generation version of Intel's 32nm Sandy Bridge processors, are barreling down fast. So fast, in fact, that you can already pick up motherboards built to accommodate Ivy Bridge's PCIe 3.0 support. But when is Ivy Bridge actually going to hit? Intel will only say "Early 2012," but one source claims to know a more specific time frame.

DigiTimes (and its as-always anonymous sources) says
that we can expect to see Ivy Bridge hit the streets by March at earliest. No January CES-timed launches this time around, folks. If the report is true, the inclusion of Intel's energy efficient tri-gate transistor technology has paid off: the same sources report that quad-core Ivy Bridge processors will use just 45W, 65W and 77W of thermal design power. Smaller dual-core processors, on the other hand, will allegedly run at 35W and 55W.

Total Pageviews

statcounter

View My Stats