General gaming

General gaming


OP-ED: Why Ignoring Achievements Was the Smartest Thing I Ever Did

Posted: 02 Mar 2012 05:24 PM PST

PSN Trophies

Like many others, I have both loved and hated Achievements and Trophies at different points in time. I now sit at a point where I care about them far less than I have in the past, and I could not be more thankful for that.

The PlayStation Blog today published a list of the most Platinum'd games on PlayStation 3. Platinum Trophies, contained within many but not all games, are handed out for earning every Trophy a game has to offer. The difficulty and amount of time required to earn a Platinum varies from game to game; generally speaking it's a fairly significant accomplishment to earn one. I've never managed to pick one up myself, though that is due in part to playing most multiplatform games on Xbox 360 and PC.

Pokemon Black & White 2 Predictions: What's in Store For The First Numbered Pokemon Sequel?

Posted: 02 Mar 2012 04:30 PM PST

When Nintendo officially took the wraps off of Pokemon Black & White 2 last weekend, 1UP alum Ray Barnholt joked on Twitter that Nintendo had officially run out of colors. He may be closer to the truth than he realizes.

As the first numbered Pokemon sequel to ever be released, Game Freak and Nintendo seem to be moving away from the typical "Crystal/Emerald/Platinum" approach and trying something entirely new, but what could it be? Here are a few things I'm expecting to see in Pokemon Black & White 2.

OP-ED: Staying Shepard: Character Consistency Within Mass Effect

Posted: 02 Mar 2012 11:27 AM PST

Though it's not advertised as such, Mass Effect may be the most successful episodic series ever made. Since we saw the last Half-Life episode, BioWare's entire space trilogy has played out over three successful installments, each one refining the flaws of the past. Of course, Mass Effect is a bit different than Half-Life in that you play a character wholly defined by your own choices; Shepard's status as a no-nonsense renegade or a peaceful paragon hinges on countless player decisions both critical and trivial throughout the games.

Assassin's Creed III: Our Hopes And Fears

Posted: 02 Mar 2012 11:20 AM PST

It's safe to say that the Assassin's Creed III floodgates have officially opened. Aside from Ubisoft officially releasing the game's cover image, additional art assets and screenshots have leaked onto the internet. As we previously speculated, ACIII places you in the role of a Native American during the Revolutionary War. While we wait for the first official trailer to hit on March 5, we combed the images and began to hypothesize on how this new setting and character may change one of gaming's biggest franchises.

Marty Sliva: If you read what I said a few weeks ago, it's obvious that I'm stoked about the new setting for AC3. From the various pieces of art that have been released over the past few hours, it's clear that the game takes place during the Revolutionary War, features some form of interaction with George Washington, and has you playing as a protagonist who is at least some part Native American. An exact year is still uncertain, but the flag that makes an appearance in each piece of art is the Betsy Ross, which didn't become prominent until 1777. Take that as you will, but this would place it at least two years into the war itself. Aside from parsing this tidbit, I've spent a lot of time analyzing the images and have come up with a few theories.

The Calculus of Death in Mass Effect 2

Posted: 02 Mar 2012 10:43 AM PST

Feature

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The Calculus of Death in Mass Effect 2

How one man beat the odds and survived Mass Effect 2's suicide mission through lore, character building, role-playing, and happenstance.

By: Thierry Nguyen March 2, 2012

"It's a suicide mission -- everyone can die. We tell you that from the beginning. You better make good decisions." That was Mass Effect series executive producer Casey Hudson's warning to me when I started playing Mass Effect 2. He elaborated that every one of my squad mates would live or die based on how I playd through the entire game. Such a statement inspired me to play something besides my usual "critical path only and just move on" approach and instead appealed to the min-max player hidden deep within me. If I'm assembling an intergalactic Dirty Dozen, then I want all of them to live, dammit.

As a refresher, the Omega 4 Relay serves as ME2's Rubicon -- once you fly through the Relay, a hidden formula begins tracking specific decisions you've made, derives some numbers, and then crunches said numbers to determine who lives, who dies, and when and how they go. After I finished the game and asked Hudson in a later interview about who on the development team can break down the formula and how it works, he told me that was impossible. "You can't just talk to one guy about how the endgame works," he said. "You'd have to sit down with the five or six people spread across different teams and disciplines to get the full picture of how it works."

MMORPG News

MMORPG News


Heroes Of Newerth: RTSGuru | Heroes of Newerth Code Give Away

Posted: 02 Mar 2012 08:16 AM PST

RTSGuru | Heroes of Newerth Code Give Away

RTSGuru.com is giving away 25 codes for Heroes of Newerth's newest hero. Each special code will unlock the newest hero, Kinesis, for all accounts.

Dominus: Message Board Warts

Posted: 02 Mar 2012 04:59 AM PST

Message Board Warts

Message boards are both bane and boon to gamers everywhere. In today's Developer Perspectives, we take a look at some of the forum denizens in their natural habitats and offer some thoughts. See what you think then leave your comments.

Guild Wars 2: The Mesmer Preview

Posted: 01 Mar 2012 12:23 PM PST

The Mesmer Preview

In our continuing look at all things Guild Wars 2, we take a look at the Mesmer, one of the professions that players are instantly familiar with due to its presence in the original Guild Wars. Read on!

PlanetSide 2: The Hardcore Interview

Posted: 01 Mar 2012 07:49 AM PST

The Hardcore Interview

We recently ran an interview with PlanetSide 2 Creative Director Matt Higby that prompted a lot of the game's fans to ask further questions. We submitted those questions to Matt and have his answers for our readers today. Check it out!

MMOGaming News

MMOGaming News


Now Your Nightmare Lasts Forever

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Now Your Nightmare Lasts Forever


I prefer call it Update No.17.1 version for this update, coz we get nothing new this week actually. Two weeks updates included only one hero and the same change logs for stable Dota 2 client. What's shame! I though the 3 new heroes would join in this week! Fine, it's better than nothing, though. Basically, they did some changes to the test version.

Spirit Tales Closed Beta Testing Kicks off on March 15

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Spirit Tales Closed Beta Testing Kicks off on March 15


KoramGame Ltd. announced today that the closed beta test phase for Spirit Tales, a cute 3D fantasy MMORPG developed by X-Legend, will launch on March 15.

TERA Video Introduces You to the Elin Race

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TERA Video Introduces You to the Elin Race


Blue Hole and En Masse have released a new video for TERA showing of the MMO's Elin race.

Upcoming MMOs in March

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Upcoming MMOs in March


It's TERA month, isn't it? TERA simultaneously enter massively beta test in NA and EU when it's still face the risk of legal issue. Whatever, TERA will definitely shade other MMOs in this month and after a bunch of close beta tests, we are able to get to check it out deeply. The each test period is pretty short, though.

Continue reading Upcoming MMOs in March.

SOE Sunsets EverQuest Online Adventures and 3 Other Games

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SOE Sunsets EverQuest Online Adventures and 3 Other Games


Sony Online Entertainment announced that they would close game services for EQOA, Cosmic Rift, Infantry, and Star Chamber: The Harbinger Saga.

Is Action MMOG C9 Just An Imitation of Vindictus and Dragon Nest?

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Is Action MMOG C9 Just An Imitation of Vindictus and Dragon Nest?


Many of you know that Continent of the Ninth Seal (C9) recently launched its very first VIP Test on February 4th.

Lime Odyssey: Korean Servers to Shut down after 100 Days OBT

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Lime Odyssey: Korean Servers to Shut down after 100 Days OBT


Today I heard a really shocked news that merely 100 days after the OBT launch, JCE announced that the Korean servers for Lime Odyssey will be shutting down on March 30, at the end of this month.

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