MMOGaming News

MMOGaming News


LOTRO's Tale of a Shipwrecked Mariner Event Returns

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LOTRO's Tale of a Shipwrecked Mariner Event Returns


The Lord of the Rings Online gets a little pirate lovin this week with the return of the annual Tale of the Shipwrecked Mariner event.

C9 5th Continent's Map, Screenshots, Concept arts

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C9 5th Continent's Map, Screenshots, Concept arts


The 4th continent was just released to Global version this month, how is your adventure in the continent? Here are the 5th continent map, screenshots, concept arts, which is coming to CN version, take a glimpse of it first! XD

The Secret World's Digging Deeper Update 1.2 Goes Live

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The Secret World's Digging Deeper Update 1.2 Goes Live


Digging Deeper is a big update which introduces the first of many Auxiliary weapons – the Rocket Launcher and the completely new Auxiliary ability wheel.

EverQuest II: Sleepers Tomb, Chapter 1 Updates

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EverQuest II: Sleepers Tomb, Chapter 1 Updates


SOE today launched the prelude update to the Chains of Eternity expansion with Sleeper's Tomb, Chapter 1, which will help you to pave the way for the ninth expansion later this year.

Darkfall Unholy Wars is Scheduled to Launch on November

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Darkfall Unholy Wars is Scheduled to Launch on November


Today Aventurine announces Darkfall Unholy Wars, the next episode of the Darkfall saga. Unholy Wars delivers the fast paced, full loot player vs. player action, and the brutal, persistent clan warfare, to a new legion of highly skilled gamers.

DN CN level 55 EX skills and new screens coming with new patch

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DN CN level 55 EX skills and new screens coming with new patch


They're adding the new floor for dark lairand at the bottom it talks about crafting ex skill books system so looks like we may be getting them in the next couple of days. Ladder is also coming back and... looks like you can do derby for goddess /arena medals now.

PlanetSide 2 Closed Beta First Look and Huge Night Battle

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PlanetSide 2 Closed Beta First Look and Huge Night Battle


Battles take place not between dozens of troops, but thousands; with air and ground vehicles slugging it out alongside squads of troops in open fields, tightly-packed urban centers or enormous structures.

TERA Battleground Guide

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TERA Battleground Guide


The Battlegrounds system within TERA allows players to take part in PvP within an instanced setting. This is available on both PvE servers and PvP servers, and allows a way to do a little bit of PvP without worry of any loss whatsoever (other than time). Along with this, it also grants special rewards! Through this guide we're going to look at the available battleground, how it works and some strategy surrounding it.

Continue reading TERA Battleground Guide.

City of Heroes: Impending Shutdown and Refund Policy Released

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City of Heroes: Impending Shutdown and Refund Policy Released


Being long silent for City of Heroes, NCsoft has finally posted an update, one that promises sunset events hosted in the game, although exact times and dates will be shared shortly. There are several details about the policy for VIP status and the refund policy for players who had recently purchased Paragon Points.

Fiesta Online Goes Gangnam Style

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Fiesta Online Goes Gangnam Style


Gangnam Style! Don't tell me you haven't heard about this, the MV with 200 million YouTube views has made the whole world going crazy with this South Korean pop star sensation Psy. You've seen him on Saturday Night Live. You've seen him on The Today Show. You've even seen him on Ellen with Britney Spears.

Patch 5.0.5 Hotfixes September 18

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Patch 5.0.5 Hotfixes September 18


September 18, World of Warcraft Patch 5.0.5 Hotfixes

MechWarrior Online Previews: The Legend Returns

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MechWarrior Online Previews: The Legend Returns


MechWarrior has been part of the gaming consciousness for nearly thirty years. Hundreds of thousands of fans have played the tabletop games as well as checked out the various video game titles.

Warhammer Online Celebrates 4th Anniversary with Bonus and Gift

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Warhammer Online Celebrates 4th Anniversary with Bonus and Gift


It's hard to believe that it's already been four years since the first shouts of Waaaarr went out calling players to action in Warhammer Online.

[PAX Prime 2012] Look At Phantasy Star Online 2

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[PAX Prime 2012] Look At Phantasy Star Online 2


Phantasy Star Online 2 is the hottest game in Japan, and we have a feeling that it will become the same in North America.

Jeff Strain on State of Decay and Zombies

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Jeff Strain on State of Decay and Zombies


Undead Labs studio founder Jeff Strain recently sat down for a chat with Game Informer about the upcoming zombie survival game, State of Decay.

Guild Wars 2 Is Available For Mac Now

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Guild Wars 2 Is Available For Mac Now


Yes, you read that right. Guild Wars 2 is available for Mac -- now.The Mac Beta client is available immediately for all Guild Wars 2 players. While the Mac version is still in testing and being optimized, it shares the same features and connects to the same live game servers as the PC client. Anyone who purchases Guild Wars 2 can now play it on both PC and Mac.

Schubert to Dissect Meridian 59 at GDC Online

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Schubert to Dissect Meridian 59 at GDC Online


A GDC press release says that Meridian 59 was the first MMO to charge a monthly fee and use 3-D graphics and that it "began an era that set the stage for the MMORPG genre as we know it."

Urban Warfare FPS District 187: Sin Streets Kicks Off Closed Beta

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Urban Warfare FPS District 187: Sin Streets Kicks Off Closed Beta


CJ Games Global today announced the start of the closed beta testing for free-to-play first-person shooter District 187: Sin Streets, developed by CJ GameLab.Select active Netmarble players have been granted access into the closed beta and can play starting today. Players align with the righteous (S.W.A.T.) or side with the nefarious (Gangster) in the urban jungles of District 187.

TERA Unveiled More Events with More Variety Update Plan

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TERA Unveiled More Events with More Variety Update Plan


TERA is rolling out further content updates starting with the return of crafting quests and a large-scale Berserker update.

The Torchlight II Soundtrack: Free to Download

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The Torchlight II Soundtrack: Free to Download


Fans of Torchlight II now can download the game's full soundtrack completely for free off the official site, all 28 tracks mastered in professional quality for anyone who wants them.

MMORPG Reviews

MMORPG Reviews


Darkfall announces its new episode Unholy Wars

Posted: 19 Sep 2012 01:08 AM PDT

Aventurine announces the next episode of the Darkfall saga, Darkfall Unholy Wars.  Unholy Wars delivers fast paced, full loot player vs. player action, with a brutal, persistent clan warfare Countless centuries have passed and the brutal, fantasy world of Agon has changed; the war-torn races face their grimmest hour yet. Trapped for countless centuries between [...]

Guild Wars 2 is going to be avaliable on Mac OS X

Posted: 18 Sep 2012 09:03 AM PDT

NCsoft and ArenaNet have announced today that Guild Wars 2 is going to support Mac OS X. The game will be available for Mac in a beta version for anyone who have the game. The Guild Wars 2 Mac version is still optimizing and is connected to the current game servers, which allows PC and [...]

Fiesta Online celebrates a new dance contest

Posted: 18 Sep 2012 08:10 AM PDT

OutSpark has announced a new dance style (roumen style) for Fiesta Online, and is going to celebrate this release with a dance contest between the servers of the game. Inspired by the boom of the Korean pop star Psy, Gangnam Style, they have launched a new video where you can see the characters of the [...]

Take a look to this video that the Neverwinter team showed during the PAX prime

Posted: 18 Sep 2012 02:37 AM PDT

Today we bring you a video that the Neverwinter team showed during the PAX prime, in which you can see the Blackdagger Keep zone, and also shows a recap of what players got to check out on the show floor.

Dragon Saga launches the Ragnarok Collide update

Posted: 18 Sep 2012 01:51 AM PDT

Gravity Interactive, has released a new content update for Dragon Saga that brings the world of Ragnarok to the game. The new update arrives with new quests, rewards, clothes and dungeons among many other innovations. The WarpPortals have opened connecting the world of Dragon Saga with the world of the MMO Ragnarok Online. Players must [...]


General Gaming Article

General Gaming Article


OCZ Faces Question of Sale Versus Relaunch Following CEO's Resignation

Posted: 18 Sep 2012 12:28 PM PDT

OCZ HeadquartersThere's been quite the shakeup in Silicon Valley this week. After learning that AMD's CFO Thomas Seifert has resigned to pursue other opportunities, we now find out that OCZ Technology's head honcho and founder, Ryan Petersen, has stepped down as CEO, effective immediately. Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Alex Mei, is taking Petersen's place on an interim basis, but the question OCZ faces is whether it would be better off finding new management or selling its operations.

OCZ's share price has fallen nearly 6 percent to around $4.16 following news of Petersen's departure, and 33 percent so far this year. There's been chatter that OCZ is having trouble securing enough NAND flash memory chips for its storage and memory products.

"Our sense is, given the numerous challenges still facing the company, that an organized sale would be an easier route for investors and employees alike," Sterne Agee analysts Alex Kurtz and Amelia Harris wrote in a note.

The circumstances of Petersen's departure aren't yet known at this time, though Kurtz and Harris believe it's likely due to to the recent revenue miss along with ongoing frustrations related to securing a NAND deal. Such things are now Mr. Mei's problem.

Alex Mei
Alex Mei, OCZ's interim CEO

"I'm honored that the Board has selected me to lead OCZ on an interim basis. We have dedicated and talented employees, extremely competitive technology, and product roadmaps that we believe will enable us to continue to provide industry-leading solid state storage solutions to our growing customer base," Mr. Mei said in a statement. "As one of the longest tenured employees, I've been fortunate to have had a front-row seat to what OCZ's amazing employees are capable of achieving for nearly a decade. I'm confident that our team will continue to execute the core strategies we've previously communicated to investors."

OCZ has been a long-time player in the component business. In the early days, OCZ made a name for itself selling enthusiast grade RAM. In 2011, OCZ ditched the DRAM market to focus on the more profitable solid state drive sector.

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Daily Deals 9/17/12: 20% off Logitech G600, 20% off 120GB Intel 520 and More

Posted: 18 Sep 2012 12:00 PM PDT

Logitech G600 MMO Gaming Mouselogic buy

Top Deal

If you're still using the old PS2 mouse your dad gave you and are in need of an upgrade, check out today's daily deal: The Logitech G600 MMO Gaming Mouse. At $63.99 with free shipping (normally $79.99 - use 20% coupon code: BIGDEALS), Logitech's gaming mouse offers a whopping 20 buttons (because, you know, 19 buttons simply aren't enough). On your left thumbside alone, there are 12 buttons (which work great for spell casting in an MMO).

In terms of sensitivity, the G600 offers a range between 200 to 8,200 DPI that you can change on the fly. Allowing you to take advantage of your tweaked sensitvity settings is the mouse's low-friction feet. Tying everything together to your computer is a braided USB cable. 

For more information on our daily deal, check out our detailed writeup of the mouse here

Desktops:

Dell XPS 8500 Core i7 Ivy Bridge Desktop w/2TB hard drive, 8GB DDR3 RAM, Wireless-N, 1GB Radeon HD 7570 graphics for $749 with free shipping (normally $850 - use $100 coupon code: V48PR?HP99J3D?). 

Computing Hardware & Peripherals: 

120GB Intel 520 Series 2.5" SATA 6GB/s SSD (SSDSC2CW120A3K5) for $119.99 with free shipping (normally $149.99 - use 20% coupon code: BIGDEALS). 

180GB Intel 520 Series 2.5" SATA 6GB/S SSD for $167.99 with free shipping (normally $185 at Amazon.com). 

Logitech Wireless Wave Mouse & Keyboard MK550 for $47.99 with free shipping (normally $79.99). 

Amped Wireless AP20000G Wireless Router Promises Up to 7,500 Square Feet of Coverage

Posted: 18 Sep 2012 10:25 AM PDT

Amped Wireless AP20000GIs there anything more frustrating than dealing with a wireless dead zone in your home or office building? Sure there are, but no matter how it compares to other unfortunate events, dealing with weak Wi-Fi signals can be a maddening affair. Amped Wireless set about solving this problem with its new AP20000G dual-band Wi-Fi access point. According to Amped Wireless, this high power device will extend the range of your Wi-Fi coverage by up to 7,500 square feet.

The AP20000G works its Wi-Fi extending mojo with a 620MHz processor, premium high power Wi-Fi 600mW 2.4GHz amplifiers, high power 5GHz amplifiers, and two detachable dual-band high gain antennas. Just connect it to your home router (wired or wirelessly) and the AP20000G will do the rest, Amped Wireless says.

Amped Wireless Graphic

In addition to improved Wi-Fi coverage, the AP20000G sports a USB 2.0 port for file sharing, support for advanced security protocols, up to eight Wi-Fi networks for guess access, plug-and-play setup, and four Gigabit wired ports.

Amped Wireless has the AP20000G up for pre-order for $170. Shipments will begin September 26, 2012.

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Microsoft Reveals Pricing Info for Office 365 Subscriptions

Posted: 18 Sep 2012 09:26 AM PDT

Office 365 LogoWe finally have some pricing details to share regarding Microsoft's cloud-based Office 365 platform. In a recent blog post, the software giant laid out the details for both consumers and businesses. On the consumer side, an Office 365 Premium subscription will start at $8.33 per month, billed annually at $99.99, which covers up to five users. It will be available in both physical and online stores across 227 markets worldwide, Microsoft says. There will also be a free 30-day trial available.

"With this release, we're modernizing Office, and an important part of that is the introduction of new subscriptions," Microsoft said. "Subscriptions open a host of possibilities, and subscribing to Office 365 will be the best choice for many - especially families, people with multiple devices and small businesses."

The above mentioned Office 365 Premium subscription comes with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Access, and Publisher. It can be installed on up to 5 PCs or Macs and shared among all users in the home. It will come with nearly three times the amount of SkyDrife storage with an additional 20GB over the 7GB you already get for free, as well as 60 minutes of Skype world calling per month.

Office 365

Office 365 Small Business Premium runs $12.50 per month ($149.99 billed annually) and adds a 25GB Outlook mailbox, 10GB of professional grade cloud storage for the organization plus 500MB per user, the ability to host online meetings in HD, and a public-facing website without any additional hosting fees.

If you're not feeling the cloud-subscription model, don't worry, Microsoft says you'll still be able to buy traditional Office suites. Prices will start at $139.99 for Office Home and Student 2013 editions, and go up from there. For those who purchase Office 2010 on or after October 19, they'll be eligible to download a year of Office 365 Home Premium or the equivalent Office 2013, for free.

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AMD CFO Thomas Seifert Resigns, Company Stock Takes a Hit

Posted: 18 Sep 2012 08:11 AM PDT

Thomas SeifertAnother high profile executive has fled Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). Thomas Seifert, previously the Sunnyvale chip designer's Chief Financial Officer (CFO), has resigned "to pursue other opportunities." Taking his place is Devinder Kumar, senior vice president and corporate controller. Kumar assumes the position on an interim basis as AMD seeks a permanent replacement.

According to AMD, Seiftert's announced departure doesn't carry any unnecessary drama. It was not decided based on any disagreement with the company or over AMD's accounting principles or practice, the chip designer said. Simply put, Seifert felt it was time to move on.

"We thank Thomas for his many contributions to AMD and for serving as interim CEO in 2011," said Rory Read, AMD president and CEO. "Thomas' personal commitment to the highest standards of accountability and financial integrity has helped define how AMD does business today. Devinder is an experienced financial executive whose financial expertise and semiconductor experience developed during his 28 year tenure at AMD is an asset to the company."

As amicable as this departure seems to be, it's the latest in a long string of high profile resignations at AMD that spans the past few years. AMD lost Eric Demers, former graphics Chief Technology Officer, back in February of this year, Before that, high profile resignations include Dirk Meyer (former CEO), Rick Bergman (former Products Group GM), Nigel Dessau (former CMO), Emilio Ghilardi (former Senior VP and Chief Sales Officer), and Godfrey Cheng (former Director of Client Technologies and 12-year employee at AMD). All of these departures occured no earlier than 2011.

Whether the result of the cumulative effect of losing so many high-level executives or simply a reaction to Seifert specifically, investors hit the panic button after news hit the wire, sending AMD's share price down nearly 12 percent in extended trading hours.

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Cooler Master TPC 812 Review

Posted: 18 Sep 2012 08:00 AM PDT

Vertical vapor chamber—blowing hot air?

We have been anxious to test Cooler Master's TPC 812 since we saw a prototype at this year's CES—or was it last year's? Regardless, the company piqued our interest with its talk of "vertical vapor chamber cooling," and we finally have our hands on the TPC 812, a massive air cooler with six heat pipes and two vertical vapor chambers.

The TPC 812 is 6.4 inches high, 4.1 inches deep (with fan), and 5.4 inches wide, and weighs over two pounds, four ounces. Unlike Cooler Master's wildly successful Hyper 212 coolers, the TPC 812 doesn't have direct-contact heat pipes. Or direct-contact vapor chambers. Instead, its six heat pipes are soldered to the (nickel-coated) copper heatsink, and the bottoms of the vapor chambers rest atop the heat pipes. The heat pipes and vapor chambers rise through a large stack of aluminum fins. The TPC 812 ships with one 12cm PWM fan with a set of plastic mounting clips, beefier versions of the ones that ship with the Hyper 212 Evo (April 2012), as well as a set of clips for attaching an additional fan. The cooler also ships with a resistor cable if you prefer to run your fan at lower rpms, which you might, given its noise at full throttle.

The TPC 812 mounts to the motherboard with the same sort of mounting bracket we've seen on the Hyper 212 series coolers: an X-shaped crossbar with spring-screws at the ends, which mounts to four posts in the motherboard's cooler mounting holes. The posts are either screwed directly into the integrated backplate (LGA2011) or into a universal backplate (all other sockets).

The TPC 812 cooled our overclocked i7-3960X to 71.2 C—47.2 C above the 24 C ambient temperature in the room. By contrast, the Xigmatek Aegir, our champion at this price/size range, got the CPU down to 69.2 C in a 25.6 C room (43.6 C difference), and the CM Hyper 212 Evo, our favorite budget cooler, got the CPU to 70.2 C while the room was 25.7 C (44.5 C difference). The TPC 812 isn't a bad cooler—its performance is still impressive. It's just not enough to dethrone the Hyper 212 Evo or the Xigmatek Aegir. Both, incidentally, are direct-contact coolers, and the Evo is half the price of the TPC 812.

Those massive heat pipes protruding from the top of the cooler? They're decorative caps, sitting on the real (and smaller) heat pipes.

We're not sure why Cooler Master chose to use vapor chambers at all on this cooler, given that a vapor chamber is essentially a wide, flat heat pipe. They're useful in space-constrained applications like videocards, but the TPC 812 hardly has that problem, and putting vapor chambers atop the six heat pipes the cooler already has feels like an afterthought, or a gimmick.

Given that this is the only vertical vapor chamber cooler we've tested, we're not ready to dismiss the technology outright, and the TPC 812 is a fine cooler, but compared to cheaper, lighter direct-contact coolers, the TPC 812 can't win.

Asustek's Windows 8 Tablets May Be Priced Out of Contention

Posted: 18 Sep 2012 05:56 AM PDT

During an investors conference last month, Asustek president Jerry Shen had said that if Microsoft launched its Surface tablet at the then much-rumored $199 price point, it would effectively jeopardize the survival of the Taiwanese PC vendor's own Windows 8-based tablets. Now, a new report suggests Asus may have found a rather ingenious way of preventing Microsoft from doing so.

ZDNet claims to have gotten its hands on a leaked roadmap document (below) that shows the tablets Asustek has lined up for the holidays. But the most interesting thing contained in this allegedly leaked document is the pricing of these tablets, which, if true, suggests that the Taiwanese company has decided if anyone is going to threaten Windows 8 tablets out of contention, it is going to be Asus itself.

The slide published by ZDNet lists three tablets: the Tegra 3-powered Vivo Tab RT, the Intel Atom Z2760-based Vivo Tab, and the dual-screen Taichi. If the document  is genuine, the 10.1-inch Vivo Tab RT and the 11.6-inch Vivo Tab will start at $599 and $799 respectively. As for the Taichi, it could end up costing as much as $1,299.

Image Credit: ZDnet

MMO and SEO News from Gameforumer.com

MMO and SEO News from Gameforumer.com


Review: Thirty Flights of Loving

Posted: 18 Sep 2012 06:30 PM PDT

You won’t get very far on your escapades through the Internet without someone complaining about how much “games these days do nothing but hold your hand.” This phrase is most often used when referring to gameplay, but the same can easily be said about how stories are told throughout the medium. There has been a [...]

Transformers: Fall of Cybertron Review

Posted: 18 Sep 2012 02:20 AM PDT

Oh, we've got trouble, right here in Autobot city There's some magical quality about the Transformers brand, a wonderful beauty in the idea that giant, walking Rock 'Em Sock 'Em robots—who absolutely hate each other, we note—can transform into the coolest of cars, the heaviest of machinery, the biggest of guns… or even larger, walking [...]

Review: Astro A50

Posted: 17 Sep 2012 06:32 PM PDT

It doesn’t take much to really improve the gaming experience. Better seating, better lighting, better company, etc. are sometimes all it takes to go from an utterly insufferable trek through your simulated world of choice to a magical journey that will keep you coming back for hours on end. Upgrading your audio setup is often one of [...]

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