Thứ Tư, 26 tháng 10, 2011
Diablo III a No-Mods Land
If Blizzard have their way, Diablo III won’t be moddable in the slightest. Not only are they not supporting user-created mods – ostensibly due to the game’s requirement for an persistent internet connection – but they’re also actively discouraging the idea. Why? Because they just don’t them around. Chatting away with GameFront out of BlizzCon, technical artist Julian Love was adamant that the dev has other goals in mind that will “supersede modding.”
Skyrim Bonanza: New Gameplay Footage + System Reqs
Today, I think, we shalt christen Toby Spoils Ya Wednesday. Pity this didn’t go down on Tuesday because I love me a bit of alliteration, but to make up for my noticeable absence the day before (you did notice, right? Right? Someone…?) I bring to you double the Skyrim, with double the good news: This new gameplay footage rules, and it definitely looks like your humble hunk of junk will be able to play this game. Let’s ride.
Kinect Finally Learns How to Speak Australian
When Kinect launched in Australia, it didn’t come packing the same voice recognition that our American counterparts have been enjoying [citation needed] since November 2010. Why? Essentially, it couldn’t understand our funny little accents. It’s been taking a few lessons in local larrikinism, though, and Microsoft Australia have just announced that Kinect voice recognition will finally be available Down Under around the middle of December.
At least they’re delivering on their vague promises. Microsoft’s local product marketing manager Steve Blackburn did say we’d be getting the update “before December 31st” this year, and here it comes. Thing is, I don’t know anyone with a Kinect. Sure the price dropped off by about $50 in September, but there seems to be a distinct lack of decent gaming on offer for the fancy all-body motion device. I thought Rise of Nightmares looked alright, but our own Matt Williams put paid to those girlish hopes and dreams.
At least they’re delivering on their vague promises. Microsoft’s local product marketing manager Steve Blackburn did say we’d be getting the update “before December 31st” this year, and here it comes. Thing is, I don’t know anyone with a Kinect. Sure the price dropped off by about $50 in September, but there seems to be a distinct lack of decent gaming on offer for the fancy all-body motion device. I thought Rise of Nightmares looked alright, but our own Matt Williams put paid to those girlish hopes and dreams.
Virtual Vinyl: World of Goo
Look, I’m going to be honest with you: Your cologne smells like pure gasoline. Also, I’ve never played World of Goo. I just think it has a funny name. Yes, yes, I’m wildly immature and I should know better, but come on: I was raised in the digital wilds by the internet, a perverse maternal guide if ever there was one. Pleasingly, World of Goo has quite the quirky little soundtrack – and it’s free. That’s pretty goo-d. Haha, you like that one? No? Okay.
Thứ Ba, 25 tháng 10, 2011
Virgin Admits They’re Not The Best For Online Gaming
Virgin Media was told it can no longer run broadband ads claiming that their UK internet service is the best for online gaming.
The Advertising Standards Authority said in their censure that the Virgin ads were likely going to lead gamers to think that Virgin’s broadband service was better than other UK internet services for gaming. But even the company admitted that wasn’t the case.
“The ASA noted Virgin’s comments that the “best for online gaming” claims had been included in ad (a) in error and would not be included in future ads,” according to the judgement.
The investigation was spurred by a complaint that Virgin’s service suffered from “significant jitter” which caused gaming issues.
This is just the latest in a series of rulings by different government agencies holding broadband providers accountable for how they handle online access for gaming.
The Advertising Standards Authority said in their censure that the Virgin ads were likely going to lead gamers to think that Virgin’s broadband service was better than other UK internet services for gaming. But even the company admitted that wasn’t the case.
“The ASA noted Virgin’s comments that the “best for online gaming” claims had been included in ad (a) in error and would not be included in future ads,” according to the judgement.
The investigation was spurred by a complaint that Virgin’s service suffered from “significant jitter” which caused gaming issues.
This is just the latest in a series of rulings by different government agencies holding broadband providers accountable for how they handle online access for gaming.
Star Wars Machinima A Clone Apart Returns
What a wretched, wonderful fictional construct the Star Wars universe has become. While many people hate how George Lucas’s fiddling continues to dilute the memories of the folks who love it most, the Skywalker saga remains a rich playground for all
Three years ago, the crew at Illusive Entertainment created A Clone Apart, centered on the adventures of hapless clone trooper Danson Delta-40 I was sceptical about this trailer machinima at first, but the line about what happened to all the Jedi made me laugh. To go from thousands of Jedi to nearly none must seem weird if you’re time-traveling.
A Clone Apart uses the Battlefront Engine to make its magic, which just reminds me that I’d really like to be fighting in a giant Star Wars battle.
Three years ago, the crew at Illusive Entertainment created A Clone Apart, centered on the adventures of hapless clone trooper Danson Delta-40 I was sceptical about this trailer machinima at first, but the line about what happened to all the Jedi made me laugh. To go from thousands of Jedi to nearly none must seem weird if you’re time-traveling.
A Clone Apart uses the Battlefront Engine to make its magic, which just reminds me that I’d really like to be fighting in a giant Star Wars battle.
The Spies And Sexy Ladies Of Splinter Cell: Conviction
Ubisoft’s Splinter Cell: Conviction lived two very public lives. The first had Sam Fisher looking like the sexiest homeless man on the planet. That version was binned. The second version, the one that was actually released, was more “traditional”.
This art, from Ubisoft’s Bruno Gauthier Leblanc, is of this second Sam Fisher. And loads of the people he either helps of shoots along his travels.
Leblanc spent 10 months working on the project, during which time he did mostly character art, though you’ll see a few objects and installations sprinkled through the gallery as well.
To see more of Bruno’s work, head to his personal site.
Fine Art is a celebration of the work of video game artists.
This art, from Ubisoft’s Bruno Gauthier Leblanc, is of this second Sam Fisher. And loads of the people he either helps of shoots along his travels.
Leblanc spent 10 months working on the project, during which time he did mostly character art, though you’ll see a few objects and installations sprinkled through the gallery as well.
To see more of Bruno’s work, head to his personal site.
Fine Art is a celebration of the work of video game artists.
Chủ Nhật, 23 tháng 10, 2011
When Street Fighter Met GI Joe, The World Suffered
The year was 1993. Street Fighter was one of the biggest things on the planet, and venerable toy franchise GI Joe…wasn’t. In an effort to boost Joe’s sales, Hasbro figured creating action figures based on Street Fighter would be a really good idea!
It wasn’t.
Between 1993 and 1994, Capcom and Hasbro teamed up to release a couple of lines of GI Joe figures that were branded, and sculpted, to look like Street Fighter characters.
While this seems like a bizarre coupling today, you’ve got to remember, Street Fighter was everywhere in the early 90s. It had cartoons, a movie, rap songs, t-shirts, anime adaptations, comics, the works. So a series of action figures, even ones sitting uncomfortably within the universe of the Great American Hero, seemed totally normal. At the time.
It wasn’t.
Between 1993 and 1994, Capcom and Hasbro teamed up to release a couple of lines of GI Joe figures that were branded, and sculpted, to look like Street Fighter characters.
While this seems like a bizarre coupling today, you’ve got to remember, Street Fighter was everywhere in the early 90s. It had cartoons, a movie, rap songs, t-shirts, anime adaptations, comics, the works. So a series of action figures, even ones sitting uncomfortably within the universe of the Great American Hero, seemed totally normal. At the time.
Arkham City Is (Maybe) Mark Hamill’s Last Performance As The Joker
Arkham City is pretty damn special, so the fact it’s out this week is good news. That good news has been tempered with a little sadness, though, as it could be the last time we’ll ever hear Mark Hamill lend his voice to The Joker.
The star of General Hospital and The Big Red One (oh, and Star Wars) first played the part of the Dark Knight’s arch enemy in the 1992 Batman animated series, and has been popping up to reprise the role ever since. He, along with many of the cartoon’s other cast members, was involved in Batman: Arkham Asylum, leading to his wonderful performance in Arkham City as the very ill, very tired Joker.
While the above tweet reads very much like a farewell, Hamill played it coy a few months back when he seemingly retired from the role – again, over Twitter – only to later step back from the abyss.
Here’s hoping he’s just fucking with us. Again. A Joker without Mark Hamill is, to many fans under the age of 40, just a strange man in a fancy suit.
Mark Hamill [Twitter]
The star of General Hospital and The Big Red One (oh, and Star Wars) first played the part of the Dark Knight’s arch enemy in the 1992 Batman animated series, and has been popping up to reprise the role ever since. He, along with many of the cartoon’s other cast members, was involved in Batman: Arkham Asylum, leading to his wonderful performance in Arkham City as the very ill, very tired Joker.
While the above tweet reads very much like a farewell, Hamill played it coy a few months back when he seemingly retired from the role – again, over Twitter – only to later step back from the abyss.
Here’s hoping he’s just fucking with us. Again. A Joker without Mark Hamill is, to many fans under the age of 40, just a strange man in a fancy suit.
Mark Hamill [Twitter]
Games Masters Heading To Melbourne
This one is for folks who claim that all the good game stuff is in Sydney. Games Masters is a new exhibition focusing on the history of video games and its most influential titles, and it’s set to take place next year at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image.
The exhibition will feature over 150 playable games dotted throughout the extensive timeline of gaming, reports Screenplay, and profiles 40 of gaming’s most influential designers, such as Fumito Ueda, Warren Spector, and Tim Schafer. Firemint’s Rob Murray will be amongst the developers profiled.
Peter Molyneux (sadly not Peter Molydeux) is also set to attend the launch next year. The exhibition will remain on display from June 28 until October 28, 2012.
Games Masters coming to Australia [Screenplay]
The exhibition will feature over 150 playable games dotted throughout the extensive timeline of gaming, reports Screenplay, and profiles 40 of gaming’s most influential designers, such as Fumito Ueda, Warren Spector, and Tim Schafer. Firemint’s Rob Murray will be amongst the developers profiled.
Peter Molyneux (sadly not Peter Molydeux) is also set to attend the launch next year. The exhibition will remain on display from June 28 until October 28, 2012.
Games Masters coming to Australia [Screenplay]
Thứ Bảy, 22 tháng 10, 2011
Disney XD Games
Disney Friends for Change Games
To support the “Disney Friends for Change Games” on Disney Channel and Disney XD, Disneychannelgames.biz has launched an online destination at Disneyxd.biz, where kids and families can take part in the Games from home and help the planet — by making personal pledges of their own, playing online versions of the Games, and making art that matters! When kids play online versions of the Games at Disneyxd.biz, they can donate the points they earn to one of the four charities involved. At the end of the Games, the charity with the most points given by the Disney.com online community will receive $100K.
Friends for Change
Courtesy of Disney
In addition to playing online games for charity, kids can view exclusive video content and participate in a number of funonline activities. Kids can create online art on the Friends for Change Group Wall at Disneyxd.biz, where they can see the transformative power of friends everywhere pitching in to make a difference. The Disneyxd.biz site will also feature exclusive videos from the “Disney Friends for Change Games,” including a special wrap-up show hosted by Tiffany Thorntonand Jason Earles. Kids can also download the official 2011 Friends for Change anthem “We Can Change the World” featuring Bridgit Mendler on Disneyxd.biz
Friends for Change
Courtesy of Disney
Over 30 Disney Channel Games and Disney XD Games stars from around the globe will compete in “Disney Friends for Change Games.” Four teams will play on behalf of a global charity — Fauna and Flora International, World Wildlife Fund, Ocean Conservancy and UNICEF. For five weeks beginning Friday, June 24, Disney Channelwill present “Disney Friends for Change Games” in interstitials during its Friday, Saturday and Sunday primetime original series programming, and Disney XD will present a special episode from the games Monday nights beginning June 27 (9:30 p.m., ET/PT). The Games will culminate with a special half-hour episode Sunday, July 31 on Disney Channel.
Friends for Change
Courtesy of Disney
About Disney’s Friends for Change
Disney’s Friends for Change is a multi-platform initiative that helps inspire kids and families to join together and make a positive impact on their world (and the people and animals that live there). Through PSAs on-air and online tool-kits, the program aims to provide useful information to help kids make small changes that add up to big differences. As part of the program, Disney donates $1 million dollars annually to fund projects all around the globe and has funded over 41 projects that help the planet ranging from educational & community programs to species & habitat protection. Friends for Change currently has over 4 million actions taking place from kids in 33 countries throughoutthe United States, Europe, Latin America, Japan, India and China. For more information, please visit Disneyxd.biz.
- Disney XD gets its game on
Astral-owned Disney XD Canada is delving deeper into the gaming space in a month-long promotion that will see the multi-platform brand take viewers behind the scenes of June’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), offer up two new games on DisneyXD.biz every week and give away five video game consoles to Disney XD viewers.
The Level Up contest runs through the month of September and is set to feature the star of What’s, Up Warthogs!, Eduard Witzke, reporting from this year’s E3 in eight short interstitial reports entitled Ed’s E3. New episodes of Ed’s E3 will premiere every Tuesday and Thursday from September 1 and will air throughout the Disney XD schedule. Additionally, a weekly entry word will appear in each episode, which can be used to enter the Level Up contest online to win one of five game consoles.
On top of entering the Level Up contest on DisneyXD.ca, viewers can explore a dedicated minisite to re-watch episodes of Ed’s E3 as well as test their skills on brand-new Disney XD games. Two new games will be unveiled each week with a bonus game available for those who can work out the special DisneyXD.biz game code.
To support the “Disney Friends for Change Games” on Disney Channel and Disney XD, Disneychannelgames.biz has launched an online destination at Disneyxd.biz, where kids and families can take part in the Games from home and help the planet — by making personal pledges of their own, playing online versions of the Games, and making art that matters! When kids play online versions of the Games at Disneyxd.biz, they can donate the points they earn to one of the four charities involved. At the end of the Games, the charity with the most points given by the Disney.com online community will receive $100K.
Friends for Change
Courtesy of Disney
In addition to playing online games for charity, kids can view exclusive video content and participate in a number of funonline activities. Kids can create online art on the Friends for Change Group Wall at Disneyxd.biz, where they can see the transformative power of friends everywhere pitching in to make a difference. The Disneyxd.biz site will also feature exclusive videos from the “Disney Friends for Change Games,” including a special wrap-up show hosted by Tiffany Thorntonand Jason Earles. Kids can also download the official 2011 Friends for Change anthem “We Can Change the World” featuring Bridgit Mendler on Disneyxd.biz
Friends for Change
Courtesy of Disney
Over 30 Disney Channel Games and Disney XD Games stars from around the globe will compete in “Disney Friends for Change Games.” Four teams will play on behalf of a global charity — Fauna and Flora International, World Wildlife Fund, Ocean Conservancy and UNICEF. For five weeks beginning Friday, June 24, Disney Channelwill present “Disney Friends for Change Games” in interstitials during its Friday, Saturday and Sunday primetime original series programming, and Disney XD will present a special episode from the games Monday nights beginning June 27 (9:30 p.m., ET/PT). The Games will culminate with a special half-hour episode Sunday, July 31 on Disney Channel.
Friends for Change
Courtesy of Disney
About Disney’s Friends for Change
Disney’s Friends for Change is a multi-platform initiative that helps inspire kids and families to join together and make a positive impact on their world (and the people and animals that live there). Through PSAs on-air and online tool-kits, the program aims to provide useful information to help kids make small changes that add up to big differences. As part of the program, Disney donates $1 million dollars annually to fund projects all around the globe and has funded over 41 projects that help the planet ranging from educational & community programs to species & habitat protection. Friends for Change currently has over 4 million actions taking place from kids in 33 countries throughoutthe United States, Europe, Latin America, Japan, India and China. For more information, please visit Disneyxd.biz.
- Disney XD gets its game on
Astral-owned Disney XD Canada is delving deeper into the gaming space in a month-long promotion that will see the multi-platform brand take viewers behind the scenes of June’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), offer up two new games on DisneyXD.biz every week and give away five video game consoles to Disney XD viewers.
The Level Up contest runs through the month of September and is set to feature the star of What’s, Up Warthogs!, Eduard Witzke, reporting from this year’s E3 in eight short interstitial reports entitled Ed’s E3. New episodes of Ed’s E3 will premiere every Tuesday and Thursday from September 1 and will air throughout the Disney XD schedule. Additionally, a weekly entry word will appear in each episode, which can be used to enter the Level Up contest online to win one of five game consoles.
On top of entering the Level Up contest on DisneyXD.ca, viewers can explore a dedicated minisite to re-watch episodes of Ed’s E3 as well as test their skills on brand-new Disney XD games. Two new games will be unveiled each week with a bonus game available for those who can work out the special DisneyXD.biz game code.
The Internet's Top 5 JRPG Gripes
Following on from a post I made a few weeks ago defending the turn based element of JRPGs and why I feel they should never die ( http://dontteasetheoctopus.... I started to read articles pertaining mainly to the downfall of JRPGs and why they are losing favour in the West. Many writers and forum contributors have hypothesised over why and how they need to be fixed and how pretty much every other genre in gaming, particularly WRPGs, have left the JRPG floundering in their wake for a last gasp phoenix down, in an attempt to prevent them from being totally wiped out by the BioBethehemoth.
There are stats and commentary to back these claims up. PSM3 posted an article on Gamesradar back in March ( http://www.gamesradar.com/p... which told us that the Japanese software market has slumped a staggering 40% from 537 billion yen (£4 billion) to 326 billion yen (£2.5 billion) between 1997 and 2009. Whether this slump is solely down to one genre of Japanese games or the growth of the gaming market in other areas of the world is debatable. I lean towards the latter personally.
At one point the Japanese gaming market represented 50% of the global gaming market and enjoyed what many observers describe as a 'Golden Age' during the PS1 era. The thing is, Japanese developers, particularly JRPG developers, have for the most part, only ever made games they thought Japanese people would enjoy, a notion backed up by Hirokazu Hamamura, president of Enterbrain, the publisher of Famitsu, in a recent interview with Mark Cieslak of the BBC ( http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/...
"The Japanese don't like shooting and war games very much. They prefer playing in fantasy worlds and battling with swords. I think there is very little interest in fighting with guns and this sort of combat game."
Catering to the Western market has only recently become a major concern for Japanese publishers as gamers and critics alike round on the JRPG genre with accusations of 'Galapagosization', and undoubtedly, some of them haven't gone about making their Western move in the best way. Square Enix being a case in point. Acquiring Eidos was hypothetically, a masterstroke as they inherited two of the most recognisable brands in the Western gaming market in Tomb Raider and Hitman. Combining Square Enix's expertise in the cinematic and emotionally attached gaming experience with Eidos' successful IPs , on paper, was a fantastic match which would allow the Japanese publisher to gain a foothold in the Western gaming market. Mixing JRPGs and Western developers together though is a tricky balancing act.
Front Mission Evolved, a treasured Squaresoft licence from back in the day was handed over to Double Helix Games for development, why? Double Helix are an amalgamation of Shiny Entertainment and The Collective, Inc. who between them are responsible for some of my favourite games: Buffy the Vampire Slayer on Xbox, Earthworm Jim on SNES and MDK. However, were they well placed to take a traditional JRPG IP like Front Mission and er...evolve it? Well, despite good intentions and some nice ideas the reviewers would say no...( http://www.metacritic.com/g...
GRIN were also left out in the cold, allegedly, from this hybridisation of the lauded Square Enix IP and the Western development studio. They were rumoured to be working on a Final Fantasy XII spinoff called Fortress, as reported by Kotaku ( http://kotaku.com/5341365/g... and numerous other reputable sources shortly after GRIN went out of business in 2009. Again, allegedly, I must stress this because to my knowledge this speculation is nothing more than internet fodder and CV snooping, they were expecting a large sum of money for the development of this title but that it was taken back in house due to Square Enix issues with the quality. Why a Final Fantasy licence was given to anyone outside of the core SE development studio is anyone's guess, especially since it's one of the most successful Japanese titles in the West anyway.
Sufficed to say, it doens't make any sense to me as a fan of Japanese games, to have a Western studio develop titles which fall into that category of IP and it doens't ring true for the fans either, this is gripe #1. Look at the backlash Ninja Theory received ( http://www.escapistmagazine... when it came to light they would be developing the new Devil May Cry game. Great studio, one of the few that could probably pull this off but the fans remain extremely sceptical. This is one of the internet's few JRPG gripes I can get on board with, I wouldn't want Square Enix developing Mass Effect 3 and I wouldn't want BioWare developing FFXV. Fans of JRPGs and WRPGs appreciate the differences and enjoy each for their respective strengths. There's absolutely no need to mix them up.
Another thing that seems to piss gamers off about JRPGs are their 'cliched' storylines, gripe #2. The reluctant hero is apparently all of a sudden an alien concept to some people who presumably have grown up watching Terminator 2 on repeat to be deluded into thinking that all heroes love what they do. In many JRPG cases, you're a reluctant hero, thrown into the fray by circumstances outside of your control. A giantbomb.com blog post bemoaned this at length earlier this year ( http://www.giantbomb.com/pr... I think the thing people forget, all too often, is that this isn't a narrative device limited only to JRPGs. A reluctant hero is part and parcel of the monomyth and common to all kinds of narrative from various cultures all over the world since, well, forever.
Amnesia has become a dirty word in the JRPG despite the fact that Fallout: New Vegas uses it as a plot device as does Shadowrun from Australian developers, Beam Software for the SNES way back in 1993.
The hero's family being killed at an early age or the hero being the last of his kind for some reason in some JRPGs never happens in WRPGs because they're so cutting edge and fresh. *cough* Baldur's Gate *cough* Divinity 2.
Waking up one morning to discover you've come of age all of a sudden and were special for some reason with a duty to save the world never happened in Neverwinter Nights, or Dragon Age, or Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion or countless other WRPGs of the same ilk did it? Actually it did so I get frustrated when I hear that JRPG storylines are cliched. Most game storylines are cliched to some extent, so sorry internet, but you're going to have to come up with a better reason for hating JRPG storylines. Here's a tip: they're too melodramatic. I'll give you that one.
So what else, ah yes, gripe #3: 'uh, how cum i can juz wlk in2 sum1s house and steal dere stuff an no1 says nuffin dats juz dumb. jprgs suck lolz lolz lolz lolz. wrpgs ftw.' I'm not going to dwell on the looting point too much because it's so ludicrous but FALLOUT! ELDER SCROLLS! NEVERWINTER! BALDUR'S GATE! ETC ETC ETC ETC to INFINITY! Not only will you nick people's stuff but you will become encumbered with some of the most pointless loot EVER seen in videogames! I loved all the above games, loved them, but would frequently have to clear my inventory of cups, plates, goblets and other pointless things that I had found in chests or people's houses.
Gripe #4 is a pretty obvious one and probably the only one I'm going to categorically agree with. Random battles. They're tired, they're annoying and dozens of JRPGs have shown us a better way of doing things by having the enemies on the map for you to engage and avoid at your leisure. Some would argue that without random battles, players won't be ready to engage some challenges further down the line as they won't be levelled up enough but I think games like Demon's Souls have shown us that gamers learn through dying. It's fairly obvious that if something wipes you easily, you'll need to go and level up before trying again.
Silly haircuts. This is gripe #5. Ignoring the fact that Commander Shepherd wears pyjamas with shoulder pads in them or that everyone in Dragon Age has exactly the same pants on, I guess I can see why the Japanese aesthetic catering towards Japanese people is something that needs to be fixed in Japanese games...
This goes back to what I was saying earlier regarding Japanese developers making games for Japanese people. We are dealing with two essentially, very different cultures with a different idea of everyday entertainment.
Ryoei Mikage, president of breakaway Tales development studio, Imageepoch, sums this up nicely in a recent interview with Famitsu summarised on 1up.com ( http://www.1up.com/news/ima... regarding his new ventures and his plans to bring the JRPG up to date without losing or fixing the things that make JRPGs, JRPGs:
"Lately you see a lot of overseas gamers write on the net about the 'weird aspects' of JRPGs, but would 'fixing' those aspects make Japanese users happy? Not necessarily, no. I think you only see real quality in JRPGs when they're created by Japanese people, for Japanese people. People overseas talk about the 'Galapagosization' of the Japanese game industry, but they've been saying that for the past decade about every aspect of entertainment. Instead of getting into a panic about that, we want to lay the groundwork for what we need to grow in the future."
"We want to be in a perfect position to make JRPGs for Japan, and once we achieve that, then we can look for ways to get foreigners interested in JRPGs as well. Level-5's Professor Layton series is well-regarded worldwide for being an innovative new adventure. By several years from now, I want to see a JRPG from us that similarly breaks the mold and shows both Japan and the world that JRPGs don't have to all be fantasy RPGs."
Essentially, I think what Mikage is saying, is that JRPGs need to go back to basics before being welcomed back into the consoles of a wider Western audience and that is what he wants to do. Go back to making JRPGs without being overly concerned by catering to Western audiences. This notion is perhaps backed up by the critical and commercial success of DQIX, a JRPG that at no point pretends it's anything other than just that.
I'm inclined to agree with him. As a long time fan of the genre I, and many others like me, will continue to consume JRPGs with the same fervour I would consume any WRPG, and in fact the more traditional (read cliched to critics) they are, the better. Providing a RPG has a well told story, interesting characters and a good combat system then it will be enjoyed regardless of the cliches and inconsistencies which run riot in both genres. I think it's just strange at the moment to see how people are rounding on JRPGs. I often see gamers say that all JRPGs are either medieval fantasy or steampunk based. I'll take that and raise you this: all FPSs are set during a 20th century war or in space. All WRPGs are set in a medieval fantasy world except Mass Effect. None of these statements are true (actually, I'm wracking my brains here...the last one might be!?).
There are stats and commentary to back these claims up. PSM3 posted an article on Gamesradar back in March ( http://www.gamesradar.com/p... which told us that the Japanese software market has slumped a staggering 40% from 537 billion yen (£4 billion) to 326 billion yen (£2.5 billion) between 1997 and 2009. Whether this slump is solely down to one genre of Japanese games or the growth of the gaming market in other areas of the world is debatable. I lean towards the latter personally.
At one point the Japanese gaming market represented 50% of the global gaming market and enjoyed what many observers describe as a 'Golden Age' during the PS1 era. The thing is, Japanese developers, particularly JRPG developers, have for the most part, only ever made games they thought Japanese people would enjoy, a notion backed up by Hirokazu Hamamura, president of Enterbrain, the publisher of Famitsu, in a recent interview with Mark Cieslak of the BBC ( http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/...
"The Japanese don't like shooting and war games very much. They prefer playing in fantasy worlds and battling with swords. I think there is very little interest in fighting with guns and this sort of combat game."
Catering to the Western market has only recently become a major concern for Japanese publishers as gamers and critics alike round on the JRPG genre with accusations of 'Galapagosization', and undoubtedly, some of them haven't gone about making their Western move in the best way. Square Enix being a case in point. Acquiring Eidos was hypothetically, a masterstroke as they inherited two of the most recognisable brands in the Western gaming market in Tomb Raider and Hitman. Combining Square Enix's expertise in the cinematic and emotionally attached gaming experience with Eidos' successful IPs , on paper, was a fantastic match which would allow the Japanese publisher to gain a foothold in the Western gaming market. Mixing JRPGs and Western developers together though is a tricky balancing act.
Front Mission Evolved, a treasured Squaresoft licence from back in the day was handed over to Double Helix Games for development, why? Double Helix are an amalgamation of Shiny Entertainment and The Collective, Inc. who between them are responsible for some of my favourite games: Buffy the Vampire Slayer on Xbox, Earthworm Jim on SNES and MDK. However, were they well placed to take a traditional JRPG IP like Front Mission and er...evolve it? Well, despite good intentions and some nice ideas the reviewers would say no...( http://www.metacritic.com/g...
GRIN were also left out in the cold, allegedly, from this hybridisation of the lauded Square Enix IP and the Western development studio. They were rumoured to be working on a Final Fantasy XII spinoff called Fortress, as reported by Kotaku ( http://kotaku.com/5341365/g... and numerous other reputable sources shortly after GRIN went out of business in 2009. Again, allegedly, I must stress this because to my knowledge this speculation is nothing more than internet fodder and CV snooping, they were expecting a large sum of money for the development of this title but that it was taken back in house due to Square Enix issues with the quality. Why a Final Fantasy licence was given to anyone outside of the core SE development studio is anyone's guess, especially since it's one of the most successful Japanese titles in the West anyway.
Sufficed to say, it doens't make any sense to me as a fan of Japanese games, to have a Western studio develop titles which fall into that category of IP and it doens't ring true for the fans either, this is gripe #1. Look at the backlash Ninja Theory received ( http://www.escapistmagazine... when it came to light they would be developing the new Devil May Cry game. Great studio, one of the few that could probably pull this off but the fans remain extremely sceptical. This is one of the internet's few JRPG gripes I can get on board with, I wouldn't want Square Enix developing Mass Effect 3 and I wouldn't want BioWare developing FFXV. Fans of JRPGs and WRPGs appreciate the differences and enjoy each for their respective strengths. There's absolutely no need to mix them up.
Another thing that seems to piss gamers off about JRPGs are their 'cliched' storylines, gripe #2. The reluctant hero is apparently all of a sudden an alien concept to some people who presumably have grown up watching Terminator 2 on repeat to be deluded into thinking that all heroes love what they do. In many JRPG cases, you're a reluctant hero, thrown into the fray by circumstances outside of your control. A giantbomb.com blog post bemoaned this at length earlier this year ( http://www.giantbomb.com/pr... I think the thing people forget, all too often, is that this isn't a narrative device limited only to JRPGs. A reluctant hero is part and parcel of the monomyth and common to all kinds of narrative from various cultures all over the world since, well, forever.
Amnesia has become a dirty word in the JRPG despite the fact that Fallout: New Vegas uses it as a plot device as does Shadowrun from Australian developers, Beam Software for the SNES way back in 1993.
The hero's family being killed at an early age or the hero being the last of his kind for some reason in some JRPGs never happens in WRPGs because they're so cutting edge and fresh. *cough* Baldur's Gate *cough* Divinity 2.
Waking up one morning to discover you've come of age all of a sudden and were special for some reason with a duty to save the world never happened in Neverwinter Nights, or Dragon Age, or Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion or countless other WRPGs of the same ilk did it? Actually it did so I get frustrated when I hear that JRPG storylines are cliched. Most game storylines are cliched to some extent, so sorry internet, but you're going to have to come up with a better reason for hating JRPG storylines. Here's a tip: they're too melodramatic. I'll give you that one.
So what else, ah yes, gripe #3: 'uh, how cum i can juz wlk in2 sum1s house and steal dere stuff an no1 says nuffin dats juz dumb. jprgs suck lolz lolz lolz lolz. wrpgs ftw.' I'm not going to dwell on the looting point too much because it's so ludicrous but FALLOUT! ELDER SCROLLS! NEVERWINTER! BALDUR'S GATE! ETC ETC ETC ETC to INFINITY! Not only will you nick people's stuff but you will become encumbered with some of the most pointless loot EVER seen in videogames! I loved all the above games, loved them, but would frequently have to clear my inventory of cups, plates, goblets and other pointless things that I had found in chests or people's houses.
Gripe #4 is a pretty obvious one and probably the only one I'm going to categorically agree with. Random battles. They're tired, they're annoying and dozens of JRPGs have shown us a better way of doing things by having the enemies on the map for you to engage and avoid at your leisure. Some would argue that without random battles, players won't be ready to engage some challenges further down the line as they won't be levelled up enough but I think games like Demon's Souls have shown us that gamers learn through dying. It's fairly obvious that if something wipes you easily, you'll need to go and level up before trying again.
Silly haircuts. This is gripe #5. Ignoring the fact that Commander Shepherd wears pyjamas with shoulder pads in them or that everyone in Dragon Age has exactly the same pants on, I guess I can see why the Japanese aesthetic catering towards Japanese people is something that needs to be fixed in Japanese games...
This goes back to what I was saying earlier regarding Japanese developers making games for Japanese people. We are dealing with two essentially, very different cultures with a different idea of everyday entertainment.
Ryoei Mikage, president of breakaway Tales development studio, Imageepoch, sums this up nicely in a recent interview with Famitsu summarised on 1up.com ( http://www.1up.com/news/ima... regarding his new ventures and his plans to bring the JRPG up to date without losing or fixing the things that make JRPGs, JRPGs:
"Lately you see a lot of overseas gamers write on the net about the 'weird aspects' of JRPGs, but would 'fixing' those aspects make Japanese users happy? Not necessarily, no. I think you only see real quality in JRPGs when they're created by Japanese people, for Japanese people. People overseas talk about the 'Galapagosization' of the Japanese game industry, but they've been saying that for the past decade about every aspect of entertainment. Instead of getting into a panic about that, we want to lay the groundwork for what we need to grow in the future."
"We want to be in a perfect position to make JRPGs for Japan, and once we achieve that, then we can look for ways to get foreigners interested in JRPGs as well. Level-5's Professor Layton series is well-regarded worldwide for being an innovative new adventure. By several years from now, I want to see a JRPG from us that similarly breaks the mold and shows both Japan and the world that JRPGs don't have to all be fantasy RPGs."
Essentially, I think what Mikage is saying, is that JRPGs need to go back to basics before being welcomed back into the consoles of a wider Western audience and that is what he wants to do. Go back to making JRPGs without being overly concerned by catering to Western audiences. This notion is perhaps backed up by the critical and commercial success of DQIX, a JRPG that at no point pretends it's anything other than just that.
I'm inclined to agree with him. As a long time fan of the genre I, and many others like me, will continue to consume JRPGs with the same fervour I would consume any WRPG, and in fact the more traditional (read cliched to critics) they are, the better. Providing a RPG has a well told story, interesting characters and a good combat system then it will be enjoyed regardless of the cliches and inconsistencies which run riot in both genres. I think it's just strange at the moment to see how people are rounding on JRPGs. I often see gamers say that all JRPGs are either medieval fantasy or steampunk based. I'll take that and raise you this: all FPSs are set during a 20th century war or in space. All WRPGs are set in a medieval fantasy world except Mass Effect. None of these statements are true (actually, I'm wracking my brains here...the last one might be!?).
4 unfair reasons people will take your bubbles.
N4G has a great system to reward people who make good comments and punish people who troll and make bad comments. This bubble system for the most part works well but when bias and spit come into the picture, the bubble system becomes corrupted.
4.Personal grudge.
Sometimes someone will hit the bubble down button on you just because they can. You made a simple comment to them that was pure blasphemy in their eyes and now they put you closer to a bubble down in rank. How often does this happen? Hard to say but it does happen. Sometimes people dont need a reason to bubble someone down. They just need to take out their anger on someone and you just happened to be in their way at the wrong time.
3.You commented first.
No matter how objective or politically correct your post was, if it was first, it will get attacked with disagrees, which is a pretty good indicator that people are taking bubbles from you too. You see, n4g is a big congregation of gamers with many different views on gaming, and some people here are more reasonable than others. Putting up a first comment might was well be like painting a bullseye on your chest. No matter what you posted, someone will hit disagree and possibly take your bubble. Sad? Yes. Common? Sadly yes.
2.You have an opinion (that differs from the other guy).
So lets say there is a really hyped game coming out. Everyone thinks it will be great but you have your doubts and you go to post why you think this game may not be as good as its hyped up to be. All of a sudden, you are bombarded with hate comments about how wrong you are and you have been slammed with disagrees and bubble losses. On N4G, if your opinion does not match the majority, you are on the majority's shit list. Nothing you ever do will get you bubbles and you will be shunned from the comments just because they want their subjective views to be law.
1.You are not a Sony fanboy.
Look at any first comment that has to do with praising PS3. Now look at any fist comment that has to do with praising Xbox 360. You will notice that in popular news, each comment has 100 agrees to about 40 disagrees for the positive Sony comment and vice- versa for the positive 360 comment. That means that Sony fanboys make up the greatest majority of N4G and like I mentioned in #2, majority rules. If you don't like Sony, you better not get too attached to your bubbles because posting anything Sony negative, even if its just an opinion and you are not trying to troll will be the fastest and most unfair way to lose your bubbles.
4.Personal grudge.
Sometimes someone will hit the bubble down button on you just because they can. You made a simple comment to them that was pure blasphemy in their eyes and now they put you closer to a bubble down in rank. How often does this happen? Hard to say but it does happen. Sometimes people dont need a reason to bubble someone down. They just need to take out their anger on someone and you just happened to be in their way at the wrong time.
3.You commented first.
No matter how objective or politically correct your post was, if it was first, it will get attacked with disagrees, which is a pretty good indicator that people are taking bubbles from you too. You see, n4g is a big congregation of gamers with many different views on gaming, and some people here are more reasonable than others. Putting up a first comment might was well be like painting a bullseye on your chest. No matter what you posted, someone will hit disagree and possibly take your bubble. Sad? Yes. Common? Sadly yes.
2.You have an opinion (that differs from the other guy).
So lets say there is a really hyped game coming out. Everyone thinks it will be great but you have your doubts and you go to post why you think this game may not be as good as its hyped up to be. All of a sudden, you are bombarded with hate comments about how wrong you are and you have been slammed with disagrees and bubble losses. On N4G, if your opinion does not match the majority, you are on the majority's shit list. Nothing you ever do will get you bubbles and you will be shunned from the comments just because they want their subjective views to be law.
1.You are not a Sony fanboy.
Look at any first comment that has to do with praising PS3. Now look at any fist comment that has to do with praising Xbox 360. You will notice that in popular news, each comment has 100 agrees to about 40 disagrees for the positive Sony comment and vice- versa for the positive 360 comment. That means that Sony fanboys make up the greatest majority of N4G and like I mentioned in #2, majority rules. If you don't like Sony, you better not get too attached to your bubbles because posting anything Sony negative, even if its just an opinion and you are not trying to troll will be the fastest and most unfair way to lose your bubbles.
Thứ Năm, 20 tháng 10, 2011
Mass Effect 3: Suggestions to Improve Shepard's Future
Mass Effect has become a great success for BioWare. Though, they are no stranger to similar or greater success with the Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. The biggest difference being that this time it's an IP over which BioWare has full control.
The first Mass Effect was a sci-fi RPG fest, placing the player into the role of Commander Shepard for the first time. An introduction into a vast world of not just races with their own goals, but a look into the past that will help lead you and your team members into the future. An ending with an ominous message, the Reapers are coming to wipe out everything... again.
Mass Effect 2 opened up a little after the end of the first, and combined with some major gameplay changes to make the game more appealing to a wider audience than just roleplayers, Shepard is killed and reborn. With a wider party, fewer weapons and armor options, and a darker storyline that focused just as much on the individual stories of your party members. And this time, the game went everywhere it could. Beyond the Omega 4 Relay and even to where many thought it would never go, the PlayStation 3.
We know that the third, and supposed final, story of Commander Shepard is coming at the end of this year. And, based on the teaser trailer, we also know that the destruction of all the races, including those of Earth, are all at stake. But, while we have an idea of what we will be facing, there are things that can be done to, in my humble opinion, improve the gameplay of the game. Some of it from looking back at the first game and integrating it with the improvements from the second game.
[Author's Note: I wanted to write more, but it seems I'm greatly limited by a character limit. Pardon the brief explanations for my suggestions]
== Exploration ==
Mass Effect 3 needs to give the player back the feeling that they aren't being funneled towards their goals at all times and that with their own desires they can find more to do than just survey some planets, land, and run down dedicated paths to a goal.
An example of how it could be improved is not necessarily by bringing back driving around planets, though at least one level where you can do as such would be very nice. A great example of a good direction for exploration was shown in the Lair of the Shadow Broker DLC, where in one part you are in a cab, chasing after another Spectre. Illium and other cities are only seen from a very small area, cornered off and only a glimpse into what the city holds. It would be great to see the players with the ability to explore cities, drive through them and find new locations, new people, new side quests, and even more history that will help you with your primary goal of saving everyone. The exploration and attachment to these cities will also make the players feel more attached to them and thereby care more about their survival. Or, perhaps even care less about it in some instances (Oops, did Omega accidentally get taken out? I thought I had done everything I could to ensure its survival... /s).
== More Equipment ==
While the first game had many weapons, the weapon choices in the second game were extremely limited. I'm not asking for the system to revert to the first game, but I believe many would agree that they would love to see more options. Especially options that could be useful in one situation or another, rather than a single weapon that you stand by from the point that you receive it. Scoped versions of various weapons, ammo of different types (electrical, explosive rounds, multi-shooting, area effect, etc.).
If not more weapon options, then at least a weapon modding system that allows us to add special features as mentioned above to the various weapons.
== Keep to the Main Story More ==
Mass Effect 2 spent a lot of the time collecting and gaining the loyalty of your party members. And by a lot, we mean almost half the time. None of this really pertained to the main storyline, which was find and stop the Collectors and thereby hinder the Reavers. In Mass Effect 3, almost all that you do should pertain to stopping the Reavers. It's not a time for assuaging the personal issues of your party members, but saving the galaxy.
Sure, there will be a few new characters introduced. It's unlikely we won't see any and they'll need to be introduced, but let's not have it drown out the overall story, which should be at its peak.
== No More Unnecessary Asset Management ==
Oh, the fun of spending hours mining planets just so you can upgrade your weapons and spec or respect your abilities. It was mindless, annoying, and just did nothing to improve the gameplay. I'm not saying to remove the need for ores, but how about integrating them more into the gameplay. Instead of going out to resurvey the same planets you did from Mass Effect 2, why not instead using some of those that you help result in an investment over time of similar resources. If you help a fairly "biotic" focused group, why not get resources to help improve such abilities in return? Anything that helps to keep the focus on developing the storyline and doing more enjoyable activities than watching lines on your screen is always good.
== XP/Rewards by Kill ==
I'm not saying remove rewards for completing a quest/mission, but there is so much more to feeling like each kill you get has an impact. Bring back getting experience for each kill made and don't make it just a bucket of experience at the end. Make it so you don't have to find and kill every enemy, so that people can choose to get more experience or just move on with the game. The bucket method really, IMHO, detracted from the thrill of the kill, however harsh that may seem.
Furthermore, get some sort of drops on at least the hard and boss enemies. Don't have everyone drop something, but at least make the harder battles result in some sort of reward. A new piece of armor, a weapon mod/upgrade, some sort of collectible, something.
== Improved NG+ Experience ==
One of the things I and many others hated was that need to focus on leveling up your weapons, of which you knew you have to redo in the new game, and easily hitting the level 30 cap and having no room for advancement beyond this. People who want to play your game more than one time through should be rewarded with new features and not set to the beginning.
Allow the player to find upgraded models of the weapons that they currently have. I think this method would encourage players to play through the various difficulty levels and allow for some imaginative upgrades to existing weapons. A double-barrel version of one gun, a scoped version of another, a long range version of the flamethrower (fireball-thrower), and more. Heck, some people would be happy with just seeing increased ammo capacity, increased firing rate, and increased reload rates. The same should happen with armor pieces.
In addition, don't hinder gamers with a level cap that can be maxed in a single play through of the game. Instead, keep it so that the growth can be maintained through multiple play throughs. The system already implements an increased cost of powers as they are advanced, continuing this upward won't result in power gains at each level, as it doesn't in the current system, but will continue that feeling of progressing rather than being capped and unable to go further.
== New Appearance Options ==
Mass Effect 2 not only improved by giving us casual wear options, but also showed us some other options that were only available to NPCs. I would love to see the various NPC-only wardrobe options from Mass Effect 2 make their way to Shepard's closet along with more options and the ability to set colors for them similar to how you can set them for your armor.
The first Mass Effect was a sci-fi RPG fest, placing the player into the role of Commander Shepard for the first time. An introduction into a vast world of not just races with their own goals, but a look into the past that will help lead you and your team members into the future. An ending with an ominous message, the Reapers are coming to wipe out everything... again.
Mass Effect 2 opened up a little after the end of the first, and combined with some major gameplay changes to make the game more appealing to a wider audience than just roleplayers, Shepard is killed and reborn. With a wider party, fewer weapons and armor options, and a darker storyline that focused just as much on the individual stories of your party members. And this time, the game went everywhere it could. Beyond the Omega 4 Relay and even to where many thought it would never go, the PlayStation 3.
We know that the third, and supposed final, story of Commander Shepard is coming at the end of this year. And, based on the teaser trailer, we also know that the destruction of all the races, including those of Earth, are all at stake. But, while we have an idea of what we will be facing, there are things that can be done to, in my humble opinion, improve the gameplay of the game. Some of it from looking back at the first game and integrating it with the improvements from the second game.
[Author's Note: I wanted to write more, but it seems I'm greatly limited by a character limit. Pardon the brief explanations for my suggestions]
== Exploration ==
Mass Effect 3 needs to give the player back the feeling that they aren't being funneled towards their goals at all times and that with their own desires they can find more to do than just survey some planets, land, and run down dedicated paths to a goal.
An example of how it could be improved is not necessarily by bringing back driving around planets, though at least one level where you can do as such would be very nice. A great example of a good direction for exploration was shown in the Lair of the Shadow Broker DLC, where in one part you are in a cab, chasing after another Spectre. Illium and other cities are only seen from a very small area, cornered off and only a glimpse into what the city holds. It would be great to see the players with the ability to explore cities, drive through them and find new locations, new people, new side quests, and even more history that will help you with your primary goal of saving everyone. The exploration and attachment to these cities will also make the players feel more attached to them and thereby care more about their survival. Or, perhaps even care less about it in some instances (Oops, did Omega accidentally get taken out? I thought I had done everything I could to ensure its survival... /s).
== More Equipment ==
While the first game had many weapons, the weapon choices in the second game were extremely limited. I'm not asking for the system to revert to the first game, but I believe many would agree that they would love to see more options. Especially options that could be useful in one situation or another, rather than a single weapon that you stand by from the point that you receive it. Scoped versions of various weapons, ammo of different types (electrical, explosive rounds, multi-shooting, area effect, etc.).
If not more weapon options, then at least a weapon modding system that allows us to add special features as mentioned above to the various weapons.
== Keep to the Main Story More ==
Mass Effect 2 spent a lot of the time collecting and gaining the loyalty of your party members. And by a lot, we mean almost half the time. None of this really pertained to the main storyline, which was find and stop the Collectors and thereby hinder the Reavers. In Mass Effect 3, almost all that you do should pertain to stopping the Reavers. It's not a time for assuaging the personal issues of your party members, but saving the galaxy.
Sure, there will be a few new characters introduced. It's unlikely we won't see any and they'll need to be introduced, but let's not have it drown out the overall story, which should be at its peak.
== No More Unnecessary Asset Management ==
Oh, the fun of spending hours mining planets just so you can upgrade your weapons and spec or respect your abilities. It was mindless, annoying, and just did nothing to improve the gameplay. I'm not saying to remove the need for ores, but how about integrating them more into the gameplay. Instead of going out to resurvey the same planets you did from Mass Effect 2, why not instead using some of those that you help result in an investment over time of similar resources. If you help a fairly "biotic" focused group, why not get resources to help improve such abilities in return? Anything that helps to keep the focus on developing the storyline and doing more enjoyable activities than watching lines on your screen is always good.
== XP/Rewards by Kill ==
I'm not saying remove rewards for completing a quest/mission, but there is so much more to feeling like each kill you get has an impact. Bring back getting experience for each kill made and don't make it just a bucket of experience at the end. Make it so you don't have to find and kill every enemy, so that people can choose to get more experience or just move on with the game. The bucket method really, IMHO, detracted from the thrill of the kill, however harsh that may seem.
Furthermore, get some sort of drops on at least the hard and boss enemies. Don't have everyone drop something, but at least make the harder battles result in some sort of reward. A new piece of armor, a weapon mod/upgrade, some sort of collectible, something.
== Improved NG+ Experience ==
One of the things I and many others hated was that need to focus on leveling up your weapons, of which you knew you have to redo in the new game, and easily hitting the level 30 cap and having no room for advancement beyond this. People who want to play your game more than one time through should be rewarded with new features and not set to the beginning.
Allow the player to find upgraded models of the weapons that they currently have. I think this method would encourage players to play through the various difficulty levels and allow for some imaginative upgrades to existing weapons. A double-barrel version of one gun, a scoped version of another, a long range version of the flamethrower (fireball-thrower), and more. Heck, some people would be happy with just seeing increased ammo capacity, increased firing rate, and increased reload rates. The same should happen with armor pieces.
In addition, don't hinder gamers with a level cap that can be maxed in a single play through of the game. Instead, keep it so that the growth can be maintained through multiple play throughs. The system already implements an increased cost of powers as they are advanced, continuing this upward won't result in power gains at each level, as it doesn't in the current system, but will continue that feeling of progressing rather than being capped and unable to go further.
== New Appearance Options ==
Mass Effect 2 not only improved by giving us casual wear options, but also showed us some other options that were only available to NPCs. I would love to see the various NPC-only wardrobe options from Mass Effect 2 make their way to Shepard's closet along with more options and the ability to set colors for them similar to how you can set them for your armor.
Explosive New LittleBigPlanet 2 Level
Hi im new to N4G.com and to start with i would like to review a new amazing and explosive level i was granted access to over the weekend, the name of the level is The Side Stories 4 Sack Edition BY F&K Productions. The level will be published with a normal edition on fromhell5's planet, it will include a freaky but fun zombie co-op mode with 4 maps to destroy endless amounts of zombies, an explosive single player campaign where you will be placed behind enemy lines with one objective, to stop the Vietnamese taking leadership in the cold east of Russia and an amazing and beautiful multiplayer mode packed with 4 maps featured in the campaign.
The normal edition of the level will not have zombies as it is a sack edition exclusive. To receive the sack edition you must send a message on PSN to fromhell5 or kamran-96.
Important Info:
The Side Stories 4 Open Beta out now!
If you are chosen for the sack edition of the game you will be automatically entered into the beta faze of the game.
Developers -
fromhell5,
kamran-96,
FxKproductions and
The-Skill-Virus
Publisher -
F&K Productions
Music By -
Lil' Wayne,
Usher and over publishers from LittleBigPlanet and LittleBigPlanet 2.
Normal Edition Release Date - TBA (Expected around the start of April).
Sack Edition Release Date - March 25th (Possible Delay)
open Beta (Sack Edition) Release Date - OUT NOW
Sack Edition Includes -
Beta level link for upcoming level Super Heroes 1,
A box full of goodies so you can create your own war inspired game or level,
A chance to join one of the best creating groups on LittleBigPlanet 2 (F&K Productions).
And much, much more.
The normal edition of the level will not have zombies as it is a sack edition exclusive. To receive the sack edition you must send a message on PSN to fromhell5 or kamran-96.
Important Info:
The Side Stories 4 Open Beta out now!
If you are chosen for the sack edition of the game you will be automatically entered into the beta faze of the game.
Developers -
fromhell5,
kamran-96,
FxKproductions and
The-Skill-Virus
Publisher -
F&K Productions
Music By -
Lil' Wayne,
Usher and over publishers from LittleBigPlanet and LittleBigPlanet 2.
Normal Edition Release Date - TBA (Expected around the start of April).
Sack Edition Release Date - March 25th (Possible Delay)
open Beta (Sack Edition) Release Date - OUT NOW
Sack Edition Includes -
Beta level link for upcoming level Super Heroes 1,
A box full of goodies so you can create your own war inspired game or level,
A chance to join one of the best creating groups on LittleBigPlanet 2 (F&K Productions).
And much, much more.
Thứ Tư, 19 tháng 10, 2011
Disney XD News
DISNEY XD TO PREMIERE “FORT BOYARD – ULTIMATE CHALLENGE,” A REALITY ADVENTURE SERIES ON MONDAY, OCTOBER 17
Geno Segers (Disney XD’s “Pair of Kings”) and popular British television presenter Laura Hamilton (“Dancing On Ice”) host an exciting competition requiring brainpower, courage and teamwork, “Fort Boyard – Ultimate Challenge,” a 10-part series premiering MONDAY, OCTOBER 17 (8:30-9:00 p.m., ET/PT), with a thrilling finale MONDAY, NOVEMBER 7 (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET/PT) on Disney XD. Based on the international game show phenomenon “Fort Boyard,” the series is set in a 19th century sea fort off the coast of France. It introduces six teams — 24 teens from the United States and the United Kingdom — who team up for a tournament where only one team will ultimately get the key to unlock the historic fort’s hidden treasures and win the honor of calling themselves “the conquerors of Fort Boyard.”
The reality adventure series marks the first kids’ version of the popular game show which premiered more than 20 years ago and has since been produced in over 38 countries worldwide.
In the premiere episode, team members from the Red Vipers and Yellow Scorpions compete in the first round of challenges to find out which team has what it takes to move on to become the conquerors of the fort.
“Fort Boyard – Ultimate Challenge” is produced by Zodiak Media Group’s production companies The Foundation and Adventure Line Productions, who created the concept for the original “Fort Boyard” and have been producing the series for 22 years.
The executive producers are Nigel Pickard and Ged Allen for The Foundation, Pierre Godde for Adventure Line Productions and Jamila Metran for CiTV. The producer is Steve Pinhay.
The series will be televised on Disney XD cable and satellite channels around the world (excluding France and the Nordics) and CiTV in the UK.
About “Fort Boyard”
“Fort Boyard” is the most successful adventure game show in the world, having sold to over 30 territories, while dominating France 2′s primetime summer schedule every year since 1990. The action takes place in an imposing fortress built in the middle of the ocean. This provides the perfect backdrop for strenuous, against-the-clock physical challenges and mind-boggling riddles, featuring strange characters and fearsome animals. All this and more awaits those attempting to reach the Treasure Room! Only the fittest and most intelligent contestants can hope to conquer Fort Boyard.
About Disney XD:
Disney XD is a basic cable channel and multi-platform brand showcasing a compelling mix of live-action and animated programming for Kids age 6-14, hyper-targeting boys and their quest for discovery, accomplishment, sports, adventure and humor. Disney XD branded content spans television, online, mobile and VOD platforms. The programming includes series, movies and short-form, as well as sports-themed programming developed with ESPN. In the U.S., Disney XD is seen on a 24-hour, advertiser supported network that reaches over 78 million households via its basic cable and satellite affiliates. There are 22 other Disney XD Games channels around the world.
Geno Segers (Disney XD’s “Pair of Kings”) and popular British television presenter Laura Hamilton (“Dancing On Ice”) host an exciting competition requiring brainpower, courage and teamwork, “Fort Boyard – Ultimate Challenge,” a 10-part series premiering MONDAY, OCTOBER 17 (8:30-9:00 p.m., ET/PT), with a thrilling finale MONDAY, NOVEMBER 7 (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET/PT) on Disney XD. Based on the international game show phenomenon “Fort Boyard,” the series is set in a 19th century sea fort off the coast of France. It introduces six teams — 24 teens from the United States and the United Kingdom — who team up for a tournament where only one team will ultimately get the key to unlock the historic fort’s hidden treasures and win the honor of calling themselves “the conquerors of Fort Boyard.”
The reality adventure series marks the first kids’ version of the popular game show which premiered more than 20 years ago and has since been produced in over 38 countries worldwide.
In the premiere episode, team members from the Red Vipers and Yellow Scorpions compete in the first round of challenges to find out which team has what it takes to move on to become the conquerors of the fort.
“Fort Boyard – Ultimate Challenge” is produced by Zodiak Media Group’s production companies The Foundation and Adventure Line Productions, who created the concept for the original “Fort Boyard” and have been producing the series for 22 years.
The executive producers are Nigel Pickard and Ged Allen for The Foundation, Pierre Godde for Adventure Line Productions and Jamila Metran for CiTV. The producer is Steve Pinhay.
The series will be televised on Disney XD cable and satellite channels around the world (excluding France and the Nordics) and CiTV in the UK.
About “Fort Boyard”
“Fort Boyard” is the most successful adventure game show in the world, having sold to over 30 territories, while dominating France 2′s primetime summer schedule every year since 1990. The action takes place in an imposing fortress built in the middle of the ocean. This provides the perfect backdrop for strenuous, against-the-clock physical challenges and mind-boggling riddles, featuring strange characters and fearsome animals. All this and more awaits those attempting to reach the Treasure Room! Only the fittest and most intelligent contestants can hope to conquer Fort Boyard.
About Disney XD:
Disney XD is a basic cable channel and multi-platform brand showcasing a compelling mix of live-action and animated programming for Kids age 6-14, hyper-targeting boys and their quest for discovery, accomplishment, sports, adventure and humor. Disney XD branded content spans television, online, mobile and VOD platforms. The programming includes series, movies and short-form, as well as sports-themed programming developed with ESPN. In the U.S., Disney XD is seen on a 24-hour, advertiser supported network that reaches over 78 million households via its basic cable and satellite affiliates. There are 22 other Disney XD Games channels around the world.
Thứ Bảy, 15 tháng 10, 2011
Angry Birds for PC
Finally, those birds that everybody likes has arrived on PC. After iPhone, iPad, Android and other mobile versions, also iPhone cases and toys, Angry Birds has finally arrived on the PC thanks to the Intel App Up store. It’ll work fine and dandy on laptops and netbooks and will cost you only $4.99 to download. Nice price for this lovely game.
Angry Birds is a global phenomenon in mobile gaming and the top grossing iPhone app of 2010. So if you’re not a smart-phone wielding hipster, you no longer have an excuse not to be part of this franchise.
Overall it’s pretty much an identical game play experience to the iPhone app, with some minor differences. It’s snappy, gorgeous, and it sounds amazing. On the netbook version you use a mouse or trackpad instead of touch. There is an open hand icon when the mouse is in hover state, and a closed hand icon when you are clicking or dragging. This visible clue when pulling the slingshot is a nice aid. It allows you to fine tune shots more than just observing the angle of the slingshot band.
Angry Birds for PC
Larger screen means more visibility in the game. On many levels you can see the target that can’t be seen on the iPhone. The previous shot trail is more easily seen, allowing fine tuning of your next shot. Overall the animations and physics seem to have more fluidity.
In terms of features, options, menu etc it’s pretty close to the original. On the netbook the replay level icon has been added to the game space. So you don’t need to pause first then replay. If you start off with bad shot, just click the replay icon, then you can start over. Saving a click is nice. There is a Menu button in the Pause menu that gets you back to the Start screen. There are some things not in play on the netbook version. The leader board and achievements are not available in the main menu. The Golden Eggs are there.
Angry Birds strikes an interesting balance of repetitive, simple tasks and challenging game play working for the many scenarios. So, if you liked this game on your iPhone or Android phone, you’ll sure like it on your big PC screen. If you are new player, don’t hesitate and join the fun now.
You must know and recognize the game from the Rovio, Angry Birds.
This game consists of seven birds with super abilities are different. By using slingshots, you can control the jump and the height of ill-tempered birds to tear down the building where the collection of green pork fat is shelter.
Where is a funny collection of birds swelled, turned into a grumpy group of birds which destroy the kingdom of lustful pigs these cunning thieves.
Angry Birds now not only for the iPhone, Android OS, PS3 and PSP. even Angry Birds has been available in Ovi Store for Nokia. And now Angry Birds have been available for Windows XP and Windows 7
Free Angry Birds for PC
Plenty of dodgy website owners want to rip off Google and push traffic towards their sites on the bogus promise of the free version of Angry Birds for PC. This is only a scam but in fact there exists a download free Angry Birds for PC nevertheless, you will need to move quickly to take advantage of that offer
Finland games producer Rovio Mobile has produced their very 1st version of Angry Birds Game for the Apple iPhone. This particular game was immediately caught by the iPhonesters, and Rovio understood that they will become successful. That has been fine. However, Rovio needed to get going by recoding Angry Birds Games for several programs, which become easier for small companies to get done.
Several weeks went by and finally, the Nokia and Android users could get themselves the Angry Birds Game. After that, the RovioMobile switched their attentions to the huge users of the PSP or the Play Station Portable and the PS3. That has been an additional huge porting project for Rovio operations.
During that time, the PC users have been reading and hearing rumors regarding Angry Birds for PC. Ultimately, in January, Angry Birds for PC was released, and downloading is not for free. However, not everybody is willing to pay for $5 for just a game, even if they will enjoy playing with it. These days, several users have grown to be familiar of getting some thing for free, so there are many who are on the lookout for a totally free Angry Birds for PC download. It can be downloaded via Windows 7 and Windows XP and Vista, or Mac support. But downloading can only be downloaded if you have an internet connection for the process to activate successfully.
Angry Birds pc is one of the well-known games that have taken the popularity with over 200 million downloads. The availability of this game is taking place in almost all of the popular platforms. In addition to playing the game online in the browser you can now download it on your laptop and take it wherever you may go to enjoy the amazing games, enabling you to play whenever, wherever you go. Take it to your workplace or even in the park, while resting and basting under the sun. Probably launching the Angry Birds for PC the wisest and the best move the game maker ever made. This availability made for the millions of platform owners, even made the popularity of Angry Birds known to more video-gaming enthusiasts more than over.
Incoming search terms:
* angry birds for pc
* activate free angry birds for pc
* angry birds FLASH SCAM
* angry-birds-online scam
* free angry birds games full version for window xp
*
- Angry Birds PC Updated
The PC version was updated last week which we talked about in this post. This update will finally include all episodes of Ham ‘Em High and the two chapters of Mine and Dine. I’m sure this is welcome news for all the PC players who have been feeling left out. It shouldn’t have taken this long to get all the episodes out but that’s in the past now so lets just get to playing. Since all the chapters are available you also have access to all of the golden eggs. You can finally complete your collection!
As a side note because I didn’t want to do an entire post about the subject, have you all seen the Angry Birds bra? It’s available over on etsy you should go check it out. I personally don’t know anyone who would wear it but i’m sure there is someone out there who would. I don’t recommend buying this for you girlfriend or wife unless she really loves angry birds.
Angry Birds is a global phenomenon in mobile gaming and the top grossing iPhone app of 2010. So if you’re not a smart-phone wielding hipster, you no longer have an excuse not to be part of this franchise.
Overall it’s pretty much an identical game play experience to the iPhone app, with some minor differences. It’s snappy, gorgeous, and it sounds amazing. On the netbook version you use a mouse or trackpad instead of touch. There is an open hand icon when the mouse is in hover state, and a closed hand icon when you are clicking or dragging. This visible clue when pulling the slingshot is a nice aid. It allows you to fine tune shots more than just observing the angle of the slingshot band.
Angry Birds for PC
Larger screen means more visibility in the game. On many levels you can see the target that can’t be seen on the iPhone. The previous shot trail is more easily seen, allowing fine tuning of your next shot. Overall the animations and physics seem to have more fluidity.
In terms of features, options, menu etc it’s pretty close to the original. On the netbook the replay level icon has been added to the game space. So you don’t need to pause first then replay. If you start off with bad shot, just click the replay icon, then you can start over. Saving a click is nice. There is a Menu button in the Pause menu that gets you back to the Start screen. There are some things not in play on the netbook version. The leader board and achievements are not available in the main menu. The Golden Eggs are there.
Angry Birds strikes an interesting balance of repetitive, simple tasks and challenging game play working for the many scenarios. So, if you liked this game on your iPhone or Android phone, you’ll sure like it on your big PC screen. If you are new player, don’t hesitate and join the fun now.
You must know and recognize the game from the Rovio, Angry Birds.
This game consists of seven birds with super abilities are different. By using slingshots, you can control the jump and the height of ill-tempered birds to tear down the building where the collection of green pork fat is shelter.
Where is a funny collection of birds swelled, turned into a grumpy group of birds which destroy the kingdom of lustful pigs these cunning thieves.
Angry Birds now not only for the iPhone, Android OS, PS3 and PSP. even Angry Birds has been available in Ovi Store for Nokia. And now Angry Birds have been available for Windows XP and Windows 7
Free Angry Birds for PC
Plenty of dodgy website owners want to rip off Google and push traffic towards their sites on the bogus promise of the free version of Angry Birds for PC. This is only a scam but in fact there exists a download free Angry Birds for PC nevertheless, you will need to move quickly to take advantage of that offer
Finland games producer Rovio Mobile has produced their very 1st version of Angry Birds Game for the Apple iPhone. This particular game was immediately caught by the iPhonesters, and Rovio understood that they will become successful. That has been fine. However, Rovio needed to get going by recoding Angry Birds Games for several programs, which become easier for small companies to get done.
Several weeks went by and finally, the Nokia and Android users could get themselves the Angry Birds Game. After that, the RovioMobile switched their attentions to the huge users of the PSP or the Play Station Portable and the PS3. That has been an additional huge porting project for Rovio operations.
During that time, the PC users have been reading and hearing rumors regarding Angry Birds for PC. Ultimately, in January, Angry Birds for PC was released, and downloading is not for free. However, not everybody is willing to pay for $5 for just a game, even if they will enjoy playing with it. These days, several users have grown to be familiar of getting some thing for free, so there are many who are on the lookout for a totally free Angry Birds for PC download. It can be downloaded via Windows 7 and Windows XP and Vista, or Mac support. But downloading can only be downloaded if you have an internet connection for the process to activate successfully.
Angry Birds pc is one of the well-known games that have taken the popularity with over 200 million downloads. The availability of this game is taking place in almost all of the popular platforms. In addition to playing the game online in the browser you can now download it on your laptop and take it wherever you may go to enjoy the amazing games, enabling you to play whenever, wherever you go. Take it to your workplace or even in the park, while resting and basting under the sun. Probably launching the Angry Birds for PC the wisest and the best move the game maker ever made. This availability made for the millions of platform owners, even made the popularity of Angry Birds known to more video-gaming enthusiasts more than over.
Incoming search terms:
* angry birds for pc
* activate free angry birds for pc
* angry birds FLASH SCAM
* angry-birds-online scam
* free angry birds games full version for window xp
*
- Angry Birds PC Updated
The PC version was updated last week which we talked about in this post. This update will finally include all episodes of Ham ‘Em High and the two chapters of Mine and Dine. I’m sure this is welcome news for all the PC players who have been feeling left out. It shouldn’t have taken this long to get all the episodes out but that’s in the past now so lets just get to playing. Since all the chapters are available you also have access to all of the golden eggs. You can finally complete your collection!
As a side note because I didn’t want to do an entire post about the subject, have you all seen the Angry Birds bra? It’s available over on etsy you should go check it out. I personally don’t know anyone who would wear it but i’m sure there is someone out there who would. I don’t recommend buying this for you girlfriend or wife unless she really loves angry birds.
El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron Demo is as Awesome as its Title is Long.
El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron is an action platformer whose visuals are reminiscent of Okami and whose gameplay is reminiscent of Devil May Cry. This is not surprising considering Sawaki Takeyasu, the art director for both, is the mastermind behind El Shaddai.
According to the official site, the main character, Enoch, is a scribe from heaven trying to prevent a great flood by capturing renegade, probably corrupted angels. Enoch narrates a bit to himself at the beginning, but the rest of the dialog of the demo is taken by an archangel named Lucifel (Lucifer), who speaks on the phone as you pass and is not afraid to break the fourth wall to introduce a boss to you (though you do not get to fight the boss in the demo). It is a rather Clover/Platinum Games-esque narrative, and considering their track record, I am one-hundred percent okay with this.
One can tell from the first playable moment that this game is some kind of art—the whole world looks like a negative, with black surrounding and a white protagonist surrounded by trees made of flame-like clouds or cloud-like flame. Take a few steps forward and a drawn face floats across the screen accompanied by a laughing voice. The world shifts and changes around the character and it never gets boring just to look at. I found myself wanting to rush forward just to see how the environment would shift or just to see what the next screen looked like, since despite the dark silhouette motif everything remains interesting to look at. The demo goes back and forth between 3D eight-way movement and 2D side-scrolling. Platforming exists in both, but the 3D scenes tend to be more combat-focused while the 2D were entirely jumping and moving. It is the side-scrolling segments in which the environment changes the most drastically, in some cases having swirling, wave-like clouds rise from the bottom of the screen to act as solid ground for platforming. It is nothing short of cool to look at, and makes the simple task of walking forward something more than just a way to get from one in-game event to the next. Few times during the demo did I find myself staring at a static world—there is almost always some kind of movement.
Combat is smooth and fluid, and much like the environment, is fun just to look at and explore. There are really only four button commands in the demo: jump (x), attack ([_]), block (R1), and disarm/charge (L1). Though there is only one attack button, or perhaps because there is only one attack button, stringing combos together is smooth, fluid, and simple. The different attacks and strings of attacks are based on the timing of the button presses, such as how long of a pause is taken between attacks and how long the button is held down. There is a sort of rhythm to making strong combos. Enoch's attacks are fun to explore and watch, for despite the one-button system there are all kinds of cool things you can do, and discovering a new attack was always satisfying. You start off unarmed, but once you wound an enemy enough you can disarm it with L1, which permanently takes their weapon. You can hold on to it as long as you want, or you can switch it out with another one, but weapons get weaker with use, and every so often must be “charged” by holding L1, leaving Enoch vulnerable for a bit. It forces players to think a bit before just spamming the basic attack combo over and over, as it will exhaust the weapon quickly, and encourages them to find more efficient ways to use the weapons. At first I thought it might get annoying to have to charge the weapon, but since you can still attack enemies with a worn weapon to knock them away and deal a little damage, it just made combat more tense. Hopefully this affect will not be lost in the full game. There are only two weapoins in the demo: a sort of arched blade thing and a halo with eight floating arrowheads. Both are nothing short of awesome, but I fell in love with the halo weapon almost as soon as I saw it. Its attacks are all beautiful projectiles that you can whip around and fling and spin all over the place. Everything they do leaves a glowing trail behind, and I doubt I will ever get bored with it.
Music is always hard to do justice with words. Put simply, the music fits. It is not some swelling orchestra, nor any sort of instrument, nor is it chip-noises. It is made up entirely of sounds, some of them sound choir-like, but they can not really be described as anything but sounds, and they are always appropriate. Ambient is the best way to categorize it. While platforming between fights, the ambient sound is calm and subtle. During combat, it of course picks up, but it stood out to me because it was not loud or distracting. I cannot stress enough how important that is. Despite the connection and resemblance to Devil May Cry, El Shaddai's music is exactly the opposite of the music of DMC.
Overall, the demo kept me engaged the whole way through (as demos are wont to do), and I would strongly recommend it to anyone who enjoys action games, pretty games, or generally awesome things. As a final note, when this game hits shelves I hope there is an option to turn on Japanese voices, because the main character's voice in the demo is exactly what I expected it to be.
According to the official site, the main character, Enoch, is a scribe from heaven trying to prevent a great flood by capturing renegade, probably corrupted angels. Enoch narrates a bit to himself at the beginning, but the rest of the dialog of the demo is taken by an archangel named Lucifel (Lucifer), who speaks on the phone as you pass and is not afraid to break the fourth wall to introduce a boss to you (though you do not get to fight the boss in the demo). It is a rather Clover/Platinum Games-esque narrative, and considering their track record, I am one-hundred percent okay with this.
One can tell from the first playable moment that this game is some kind of art—the whole world looks like a negative, with black surrounding and a white protagonist surrounded by trees made of flame-like clouds or cloud-like flame. Take a few steps forward and a drawn face floats across the screen accompanied by a laughing voice. The world shifts and changes around the character and it never gets boring just to look at. I found myself wanting to rush forward just to see how the environment would shift or just to see what the next screen looked like, since despite the dark silhouette motif everything remains interesting to look at. The demo goes back and forth between 3D eight-way movement and 2D side-scrolling. Platforming exists in both, but the 3D scenes tend to be more combat-focused while the 2D were entirely jumping and moving. It is the side-scrolling segments in which the environment changes the most drastically, in some cases having swirling, wave-like clouds rise from the bottom of the screen to act as solid ground for platforming. It is nothing short of cool to look at, and makes the simple task of walking forward something more than just a way to get from one in-game event to the next. Few times during the demo did I find myself staring at a static world—there is almost always some kind of movement.
Combat is smooth and fluid, and much like the environment, is fun just to look at and explore. There are really only four button commands in the demo: jump (x), attack ([_]), block (R1), and disarm/charge (L1). Though there is only one attack button, or perhaps because there is only one attack button, stringing combos together is smooth, fluid, and simple. The different attacks and strings of attacks are based on the timing of the button presses, such as how long of a pause is taken between attacks and how long the button is held down. There is a sort of rhythm to making strong combos. Enoch's attacks are fun to explore and watch, for despite the one-button system there are all kinds of cool things you can do, and discovering a new attack was always satisfying. You start off unarmed, but once you wound an enemy enough you can disarm it with L1, which permanently takes their weapon. You can hold on to it as long as you want, or you can switch it out with another one, but weapons get weaker with use, and every so often must be “charged” by holding L1, leaving Enoch vulnerable for a bit. It forces players to think a bit before just spamming the basic attack combo over and over, as it will exhaust the weapon quickly, and encourages them to find more efficient ways to use the weapons. At first I thought it might get annoying to have to charge the weapon, but since you can still attack enemies with a worn weapon to knock them away and deal a little damage, it just made combat more tense. Hopefully this affect will not be lost in the full game. There are only two weapoins in the demo: a sort of arched blade thing and a halo with eight floating arrowheads. Both are nothing short of awesome, but I fell in love with the halo weapon almost as soon as I saw it. Its attacks are all beautiful projectiles that you can whip around and fling and spin all over the place. Everything they do leaves a glowing trail behind, and I doubt I will ever get bored with it.
Music is always hard to do justice with words. Put simply, the music fits. It is not some swelling orchestra, nor any sort of instrument, nor is it chip-noises. It is made up entirely of sounds, some of them sound choir-like, but they can not really be described as anything but sounds, and they are always appropriate. Ambient is the best way to categorize it. While platforming between fights, the ambient sound is calm and subtle. During combat, it of course picks up, but it stood out to me because it was not loud or distracting. I cannot stress enough how important that is. Despite the connection and resemblance to Devil May Cry, El Shaddai's music is exactly the opposite of the music of DMC.
Overall, the demo kept me engaged the whole way through (as demos are wont to do), and I would strongly recommend it to anyone who enjoys action games, pretty games, or generally awesome things. As a final note, when this game hits shelves I hope there is an option to turn on Japanese voices, because the main character's voice in the demo is exactly what I expected it to be.
Used Games - Win the battle. Lose the war?
A fable 3 developer recently stated that "secondhand sales cost us more in the long run than piracy these days."
While no further explanation was given, the focus on used games has much to do with the fact that despite the best of efforts, piracy cannot be stopped. The sale of used games seems a more attractive battle to developers, one that they may actually be
able to win. While i understand the frustration surrounding the gamestop economics of selling used games for $5 less than a new one, the fight against used sales may be a bit short-sighted.
These are a few things that may be worth considering.
PAY IT FORWARD
When i was younger, used games were all that i could afford. Without this market, i would not be the gamer i am today. A gamer that spends hundreds of dollars a year on my favorite hobby. While used sales may not be good for the
individual publisher at times, it may be good for the industry as a whole. Without these bargain bin items, we may lose the youth of today to the vices of reading and physical exercise.
FREE MARKETING
A few years back, i skipped on purchasing Assassins Creed at launch as reviews from friends were less than stellar. A month before the sequel, i picked it up for cheap, and while i agreed with what was said of the game, i enjoyed it. One month later, i bought the sequel at full price, which i would not have done without that cheap used predecessor.
TRICKLE UP ECONOMICS
This one is simple. i can buy say 4 new games per year. My friend can't afford gaming as a hobby at $60 a pop (utters some incoherent rubbish about a social life). He buys my games, and i buy more new ones. Publishers are trying to apply the same logic of piracy induced lost sales to used games. In their minds, every used game represents lost income. They like to reason that every downloaded game represents lost income. The fact of the matter is, that without used sales, a lot of people would have to simply find another way to pass time. Not everyone agrees that $60 for a game is a good use for their cash. Don't let them confuse you with their reason and logic. Just run.
ITS A KEEPER
Ever notice how the games Nintendo make rarely decline much in price? Price fixing allegations aside, there are other good reasons for this. They make a quality product, something that you want to keep even though you may never play it again. Why? The same reason people collect and display books. It says something about you as a gamer, about your tastes and style. So instead of making "generic space marine shooter #55", you may want to produce something of worth. My copy of ICO is not going anywhere.
While no further explanation was given, the focus on used games has much to do with the fact that despite the best of efforts, piracy cannot be stopped. The sale of used games seems a more attractive battle to developers, one that they may actually be
able to win. While i understand the frustration surrounding the gamestop economics of selling used games for $5 less than a new one, the fight against used sales may be a bit short-sighted.
These are a few things that may be worth considering.
PAY IT FORWARD
When i was younger, used games were all that i could afford. Without this market, i would not be the gamer i am today. A gamer that spends hundreds of dollars a year on my favorite hobby. While used sales may not be good for the
individual publisher at times, it may be good for the industry as a whole. Without these bargain bin items, we may lose the youth of today to the vices of reading and physical exercise.
FREE MARKETING
A few years back, i skipped on purchasing Assassins Creed at launch as reviews from friends were less than stellar. A month before the sequel, i picked it up for cheap, and while i agreed with what was said of the game, i enjoyed it. One month later, i bought the sequel at full price, which i would not have done without that cheap used predecessor.
TRICKLE UP ECONOMICS
This one is simple. i can buy say 4 new games per year. My friend can't afford gaming as a hobby at $60 a pop (utters some incoherent rubbish about a social life). He buys my games, and i buy more new ones. Publishers are trying to apply the same logic of piracy induced lost sales to used games. In their minds, every used game represents lost income. They like to reason that every downloaded game represents lost income. The fact of the matter is, that without used sales, a lot of people would have to simply find another way to pass time. Not everyone agrees that $60 for a game is a good use for their cash. Don't let them confuse you with their reason and logic. Just run.
ITS A KEEPER
Ever notice how the games Nintendo make rarely decline much in price? Price fixing allegations aside, there are other good reasons for this. They make a quality product, something that you want to keep even though you may never play it again. Why? The same reason people collect and display books. It says something about you as a gamer, about your tastes and style. So instead of making "generic space marine shooter #55", you may want to produce something of worth. My copy of ICO is not going anywhere.
N4G Quality Control?
User blog
N4G have to started advertising external Hard drives bundled with PS3 pirated games.
It seems a little hypocritical considering the communities stance of piracy. Of course I know N4G is website run by massive hypocrites profiting from the "console wars" and generally just helping to create a horrible gaming culture.
But is that a step to far, they're now bringing in advertisement revenue from piracy websites. I know many of you feel very strongly about Piracy ain't it about time N4G starts worrying about it's quality control?
Instead of just leeching off the fanboy gaming culture to squeeze as much profit from it's users as possible, you decide.
N4G have to started advertising external Hard drives bundled with PS3 pirated games.
It seems a little hypocritical considering the communities stance of piracy. Of course I know N4G is website run by massive hypocrites profiting from the "console wars" and generally just helping to create a horrible gaming culture.
But is that a step to far, they're now bringing in advertisement revenue from piracy websites. I know many of you feel very strongly about Piracy ain't it about time N4G starts worrying about it's quality control?
Instead of just leeching off the fanboy gaming culture to squeeze as much profit from it's users as possible, you decide.
Thứ Sáu, 14 tháng 10, 2011
Disc Swapping and the Variable of Choice
We’ve all seen the argument before, a game comes out on PS3 and Xbox with the latter version arriving on multiple discs spurring the ‘system fundamentalists’ into an immature back and forth flame fest. The likelihood of somebody mentioning RROD or lack of cross-game chat growing exponentially by the second and, as tempers soar and IQs dip, chances are high that innocent commenter’s will end up covered in the sticky residue of ignorance.
The aforementioned argument has seen more than its fair share of ridiculous comments and, although I think offering a logical resolution would prove futile, I’d like to try and clear up some points in the hope that I can provide a metaphorical wet-wipe to future N4G readers.
It all comes down to one word, a word that is incredibly important but so often taken for granted, choice. When you need to make a decision you weigh up the pros and cons in your mind or even make a list, if you’re that way inclined. For some the choice is simple they have ’heavy’ reason to make one choice over another; small minded people find themselves in this situation often as they tend to remove variables from any thought they have to do. Do you see where I’m going with this? That’s right, as with religion and politics, fanboyism is one big choice that removes the need to make more, just as important, choices down the road. Unfortunately the people that make the choice to remove choice need to ‘block out’ any reference of opposing points of view or risk having to actually think or worse, admit that they were wrong.
Anyway, the point and decision I want to analyze today is the choice of console on which to purchase you next multi-platform game. Let’s go back to the weighing analogy for a second and imagine you have your scales, with PS3 on one side and 360 on other. Assuming you aren’t tainted by irrational bias, when a game approaches release that is identical on both platforms the scales should be exactly even right? OK, now imagine the developer announces the game is coming on 3 DVDs on 360 and 1 Bluray on PS3, would the rational mind consider this a ‘weight’ to be used for the PS3? Of course it would, who wants to get up to change discs, even if it is only once in 40+ hours of gaming. Not only that, multiple discs just give off this air of inferiority, as if technology hasn’t advanced since 1995, although that’s more of a personal side note.
However, this ‘weight’ is often over exaggerated in comments sections to the point that it would make any other factor redundant. This is just as much a statement of ignorance, from the overly zealous hater of choice, as dismissing it altogether. In the end all it boils down to is another variable in a, sometimes complicated, equation of choice, which, should you choose to dismiss, will skew your final result. It’s like my mother always said to me...
“Your life is the sum of a remainder of an unbalanced equation inherent to the programming of the matrix. You are the eventuality of an anomaly, which despite my sincerest efforts I have been unable to eliminate from what is otherwise a harmony of mathematical precision. While it remains a burden assiduously avoided, it is not unexpected, and thus not beyond a measure of control.”
The aforementioned argument has seen more than its fair share of ridiculous comments and, although I think offering a logical resolution would prove futile, I’d like to try and clear up some points in the hope that I can provide a metaphorical wet-wipe to future N4G readers.
It all comes down to one word, a word that is incredibly important but so often taken for granted, choice. When you need to make a decision you weigh up the pros and cons in your mind or even make a list, if you’re that way inclined. For some the choice is simple they have ’heavy’ reason to make one choice over another; small minded people find themselves in this situation often as they tend to remove variables from any thought they have to do. Do you see where I’m going with this? That’s right, as with religion and politics, fanboyism is one big choice that removes the need to make more, just as important, choices down the road. Unfortunately the people that make the choice to remove choice need to ‘block out’ any reference of opposing points of view or risk having to actually think or worse, admit that they were wrong.
Anyway, the point and decision I want to analyze today is the choice of console on which to purchase you next multi-platform game. Let’s go back to the weighing analogy for a second and imagine you have your scales, with PS3 on one side and 360 on other. Assuming you aren’t tainted by irrational bias, when a game approaches release that is identical on both platforms the scales should be exactly even right? OK, now imagine the developer announces the game is coming on 3 DVDs on 360 and 1 Bluray on PS3, would the rational mind consider this a ‘weight’ to be used for the PS3? Of course it would, who wants to get up to change discs, even if it is only once in 40+ hours of gaming. Not only that, multiple discs just give off this air of inferiority, as if technology hasn’t advanced since 1995, although that’s more of a personal side note.
However, this ‘weight’ is often over exaggerated in comments sections to the point that it would make any other factor redundant. This is just as much a statement of ignorance, from the overly zealous hater of choice, as dismissing it altogether. In the end all it boils down to is another variable in a, sometimes complicated, equation of choice, which, should you choose to dismiss, will skew your final result. It’s like my mother always said to me...
“Your life is the sum of a remainder of an unbalanced equation inherent to the programming of the matrix. You are the eventuality of an anomaly, which despite my sincerest efforts I have been unable to eliminate from what is otherwise a harmony of mathematical precision. While it remains a burden assiduously avoided, it is not unexpected, and thus not beyond a measure of control.”
Play Games, Win Swag
At the end of this week N4Gers and beyond are going to be playing games to benefit their local Children's Miracle Network Hospitals. http://n4g.com/user/blogpos...
...and you have two ways to win a ton of swag!
1) Join the N4G team to play games and pick up a few sponsors of your own
2) Donate $24 or more to any member of the team
...and you have two ways to win a ton of swag!
1) Join the N4G team to play games and pick up a few sponsors of your own
2) Donate $24 or more to any member of the team
Where are my PC ports sony?
This generation has seen the biggest divide among gamers since Mario vs. Sonic. But in a place where you would think there would be a shift to unite there has been no move made.
That place? The PC. Sony came in to this generation wanting an all in one experience and as such went from calling their system a "Computer Entertainment System" opposed to "Videogame entertainment system."
But if this is the case why has Sony not used the PC to further implement this strategy. Outside of everquest and DC online there aren't many games I can think of that Sony has published on the PC.
But why? Their system as built is as close to a PC as the home console has ever been. Standard HDD, multiple ports to allow sharing of files (original fat anyways newer systems are more streamlined) an internet browser and they started off by allowing a Linux OS to be installed (again OG fats). So how is it that we have yet to see an Uncharted or Resistance grace a platform which it so much emulates?
What does Sony have to lose? The one thing I can think about is piracy, nobody wants to work on a game only for people to play it for free while others are stuck paying $60 a pop. The other thing I can think about as well is the initial investment, developing a game for multiple platforms is more expensive than solely developing for 1, but one can argue more money can be made if it sells well.
But what does Sony have to gain? I think depending on the game a whole lot. Games no matter what system they are developed for, are made on PC, so developing a PS3/PC is not really too far of a stretch and think about the possibilities. Take the upcoming Uncharted 3. 11/1/11 is the day most PS3 gamers are waiting for (I am) this series is one of my favorites, but having to explain the game to some of my PC buddies is a bummer, because most will never invest into getting a PS3, because as far as they are concerned its only one game and they are not going to shell out $300+ for a 1 game system. Now lets imagine on 6/1/12 the launch of Uncharted 3 takes place on PC. Now there is no longer that divide, now what you spent talking to your buddies about 7 months ago can be experienced by them and most likely at a cheaper price, either the standard $50 or now that they are getting along, on Valve's Steam service for $40 or below.
Now all of sudden you have just widen you audience, people who potentially wrote off the PS3 may start looking more into it wondering what else they might be missing out on. But this goes further than a few games, this goes into the area of providing a somewhat different experience of the same title if done correctly. Imagine playing Uncharted 3 on a dedicated server! I mean for me its a big plus. I would potentially buy the game twice if I really liked the MP. I would buy it on PS3 to play it close to release with a controller, the only way to play it, and if dedicated server support was active for the PC port I would buy it again to play a game with a lot less lag. Warhawk comes to mind when thinking of games that would succeed as a PS3/PC game. PS3 Warhawk ran on dedicated servers and the game played great when playing in North America (my region) I got pings as low as 20 when playing on my basic cable line, I can only imagine how good that number would be with my upgraded connection. I was playing games with Euro players with a ping of 100-160 which is fantastic considering the distance.
So with is all this, I am left wondering where are my PC ports? I don't think it would be much of a loss to release big name exclusive for the PC, especially now with valve being super supportive. From personal experience, I don't own a X360 so some games that are console exclusives like fable 3, Splinter Cell:Conviction (started off exclusive) were always missed out on because I didn't own a X360, but when taxes rolled around I took my refund invested in a rig and was able to play these games thanks to them being on PC. Same effect can be had with Sony games. If you to think the last line is the reason why Sony wouldn't publish their games for PC here is some food for thought. I really want to play Gears of War 3, but I really don't have a need to own a X360, I played the first Gears when it was ported over to PC, about 4 years ago and I haven't touched the series again since, even though I have this urge to play Gears 2 and 3. Point? As much as I want to play Gears its not enough for me to pay for a X360 and at this point I don't think there is any game that can be released that will make me buy a X360. But, if a Gears of War trilogy collection were set to release on PC I would buy it on release day. So that I can experience the series.
That place? The PC. Sony came in to this generation wanting an all in one experience and as such went from calling their system a "Computer Entertainment System" opposed to "Videogame entertainment system."
But if this is the case why has Sony not used the PC to further implement this strategy. Outside of everquest and DC online there aren't many games I can think of that Sony has published on the PC.
But why? Their system as built is as close to a PC as the home console has ever been. Standard HDD, multiple ports to allow sharing of files (original fat anyways newer systems are more streamlined) an internet browser and they started off by allowing a Linux OS to be installed (again OG fats). So how is it that we have yet to see an Uncharted or Resistance grace a platform which it so much emulates?
What does Sony have to lose? The one thing I can think about is piracy, nobody wants to work on a game only for people to play it for free while others are stuck paying $60 a pop. The other thing I can think about as well is the initial investment, developing a game for multiple platforms is more expensive than solely developing for 1, but one can argue more money can be made if it sells well.
But what does Sony have to gain? I think depending on the game a whole lot. Games no matter what system they are developed for, are made on PC, so developing a PS3/PC is not really too far of a stretch and think about the possibilities. Take the upcoming Uncharted 3. 11/1/11 is the day most PS3 gamers are waiting for (I am) this series is one of my favorites, but having to explain the game to some of my PC buddies is a bummer, because most will never invest into getting a PS3, because as far as they are concerned its only one game and they are not going to shell out $300+ for a 1 game system. Now lets imagine on 6/1/12 the launch of Uncharted 3 takes place on PC. Now there is no longer that divide, now what you spent talking to your buddies about 7 months ago can be experienced by them and most likely at a cheaper price, either the standard $50 or now that they are getting along, on Valve's Steam service for $40 or below.
Now all of sudden you have just widen you audience, people who potentially wrote off the PS3 may start looking more into it wondering what else they might be missing out on. But this goes further than a few games, this goes into the area of providing a somewhat different experience of the same title if done correctly. Imagine playing Uncharted 3 on a dedicated server! I mean for me its a big plus. I would potentially buy the game twice if I really liked the MP. I would buy it on PS3 to play it close to release with a controller, the only way to play it, and if dedicated server support was active for the PC port I would buy it again to play a game with a lot less lag. Warhawk comes to mind when thinking of games that would succeed as a PS3/PC game. PS3 Warhawk ran on dedicated servers and the game played great when playing in North America (my region) I got pings as low as 20 when playing on my basic cable line, I can only imagine how good that number would be with my upgraded connection. I was playing games with Euro players with a ping of 100-160 which is fantastic considering the distance.
So with is all this, I am left wondering where are my PC ports? I don't think it would be much of a loss to release big name exclusive for the PC, especially now with valve being super supportive. From personal experience, I don't own a X360 so some games that are console exclusives like fable 3, Splinter Cell:Conviction (started off exclusive) were always missed out on because I didn't own a X360, but when taxes rolled around I took my refund invested in a rig and was able to play these games thanks to them being on PC. Same effect can be had with Sony games. If you to think the last line is the reason why Sony wouldn't publish their games for PC here is some food for thought. I really want to play Gears of War 3, but I really don't have a need to own a X360, I played the first Gears when it was ported over to PC, about 4 years ago and I haven't touched the series again since, even though I have this urge to play Gears 2 and 3. Point? As much as I want to play Gears its not enough for me to pay for a X360 and at this point I don't think there is any game that can be released that will make me buy a X360. But, if a Gears of War trilogy collection were set to release on PC I would buy it on release day. So that I can experience the series.
BBCW launches CBeebies games app
Games based on popular CBeebies Games series Charlie & Lola, Teletubbies, 3rd & Bird and Numberjacks are available through a new app launched by BBC Worldwide.
CBeebies On The Go is available for free on the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad to pre-school children in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka and South Korea.
Developed by Tag Apps, it includes matching pairs picture games for the Teletubbies and Charlie & Lola, a Kerwhizz jigsaw game and a 3rd & Bird tap-the-fruit challenge. It also holds a number of short video clips from popular shows.
Director of CBeebies investment at BBCW, Henrietta Hurford-Jones, said the team had “worked hard to build a product that upholds the core values of learning through play”.
She added: “This new kids’ app is a first for the Channels business, so the learnings from this pilot phase will help shape any future plans to roll CBeebies Games On The Go out to new territories and different devices.”
More than 53m homes have access to the CBeebies channel worldwide.
CBeebies On The Go is available for free on the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad to pre-school children in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka and South Korea.
Developed by Tag Apps, it includes matching pairs picture games for the Teletubbies and Charlie & Lola, a Kerwhizz jigsaw game and a 3rd & Bird tap-the-fruit challenge. It also holds a number of short video clips from popular shows.
Director of CBeebies investment at BBCW, Henrietta Hurford-Jones, said the team had “worked hard to build a product that upholds the core values of learning through play”.
She added: “This new kids’ app is a first for the Channels business, so the learnings from this pilot phase will help shape any future plans to roll CBeebies Games On The Go out to new territories and different devices.”
More than 53m homes have access to the CBeebies channel worldwide.
Angry Birds for PC
Finally, those birds that everybody likes has arrived on PC. After iPhone, iPad, Android and other mobile versions, also iPhone cases and toys, Angry Birds has finally arrived on the PC thanks to the Intel App Up store. It’ll work fine and dandy on laptops and netbooks and will cost you only $4.99 to download. Nice price for this lovely game.
Angry Birds is a global phenomenon in mobile gaming and the top grossing iPhone app of 2010. So if you’re not a smart-phone wielding hipster, you no longer have an excuse not to be part of this franchise.
Overall it’s pretty much an identical game play experience to the iPhone app, with some minor differences. It’s snappy, gorgeous, and it sounds amazing. On the netbook version you use a mouse or trackpad instead of touch. There is an open hand icon when the mouse is in hover state, and a closed hand icon when you are clicking or dragging. This visible clue when pulling the slingshot is a nice aid. It allows you to fine tune shots more than just observing the angle of the slingshot band.
Angry Birds for PC
Larger screen means more visibility in the game. On many levels you can see the target that can’t be seen on the iPhone. The previous shot trail is more easily seen, allowing fine tuning of your next shot. Overall the animations and physics seem to have more fluidity.
In terms of features, options, menu etc it’s pretty close to the original. On the netbook the replay level icon has been added to the game space. So you don’t need to pause first then replay. If you start off with bad shot, just click the replay icon, then you can start over. Saving a click is nice. There is a Menu button in the Pause menu that gets you back to the Start screen. There are some things not in play on the netbook version. The leader board and achievements are not available in the main menu. The Golden Eggs are there.
Angry Birds strikes an interesting balance of repetitive, simple tasks and challenging game play working for the many scenarios. So, if you liked this game on your iPhone or Android phone, you’ll sure like it on your big PC screen. If you are new player, don’t hesitate and join the fun now.
You must know and recognize the game from the Rovio, Angry Birds.
This game consists of seven birds with super abilities are different. By using slingshots, you can control the jump and the height of ill-tempered birds to tear down the building where the collection of green pork fat is shelter.
Where is a funny collection of birds swelled, turned into a grumpy group of birds which destroy the kingdom of lustful pigs these cunning thieves.
Angry Birds now not only for the iPhone, Android OS, PS3 and PSP. even Angry Birds has been available in Ovi Store for Nokia. And now Angry Birds have been available for Windows XP and Windows 7
Free Angry Birds for PC
Plenty of dodgy website owners want to rip off Google and push traffic towards their sites on the bogus promise of the free version of Angry Birds for PC. This is only a scam but in fact there exists a download free Angry Birds for PC nevertheless, you will need to move quickly to take advantage of that offer
Finland games producer Rovio Mobile has produced their very 1st version of Angry Birds Game for the Apple iPhone. This particular game was immediately caught by the iPhonesters, and Rovio understood that they will become successful. That has been fine. However, Rovio needed to get going by recoding Angry Birds Games for several programs, which become easier for small companies to get done.
Several weeks went by and finally, the Nokia and Android users could get themselves the Angry Birds Game. After that, the RovioMobile switched their attentions to the huge users of the PSP or the Play Station Portable and the PS3. That has been an additional huge porting project for Rovio operations.
During that time, the PC users have been reading and hearing rumors regarding Angry Birds for PC. Ultimately, in January, Angry Birds for PC was released, and downloading is not for free. However, not everybody is willing to pay for $5 for just a game, even if they will enjoy playing with it. These days, several users have grown to be familiar of getting some thing for free, so there are many who are on the lookout for a totally free Angry Birds for PC download. It can be downloaded via Windows 7 and Windows XP and Vista, or Mac support. But downloading can only be downloaded if you have an internet connection for the process to activate successfully.
Angry Birds pc is one of the well-known games that have taken the popularity with over 200 million downloads. The availability of this game is taking place in almost all of the popular platforms. In addition to playing the game online in the browser you can now download it on your laptop and take it wherever you may go to enjoy the amazing games, enabling you to play whenever, wherever you go. Take it to your workplace or even in the park, while resting and basting under the sun. Probably launching the Angry Birds for PC the wisest and the best move the game maker ever made. This availability made for the millions of platform owners, even made the popularity of Angry Birds known to more video-gaming enthusiasts more than over.
Incoming search terms:
* angry birds for pc
* activate free angry birds for pc
* angry birds FLASH SCAM
* angry-birds-online scam
* free angry birds games full version for window xp
*
- Angry Birds PC Updated
The PC version was updated last week which we talked about in this post. This update will finally include all episodes of Ham ‘Em High and the two chapters of Mine and Dine. I’m sure this is welcome news for all the PC players who have been feeling left out. It shouldn’t have taken this long to get all the episodes out but that’s in the past now so lets just get to playing. Since all the chapters are available you also have access to all of the golden eggs. You can finally complete your collection!
As a side note because I didn’t want to do an entire post about the subject, have you all seen the Angry Birds bra? It’s available over on etsy you should go check it out. I personally don’t know anyone who would wear it but i’m sure there is someone out there who would. I don’t recommend buying this for you girlfriend or wife unless she really loves angry birds.
Angry Birds is a global phenomenon in mobile gaming and the top grossing iPhone app of 2010. So if you’re not a smart-phone wielding hipster, you no longer have an excuse not to be part of this franchise.
Overall it’s pretty much an identical game play experience to the iPhone app, with some minor differences. It’s snappy, gorgeous, and it sounds amazing. On the netbook version you use a mouse or trackpad instead of touch. There is an open hand icon when the mouse is in hover state, and a closed hand icon when you are clicking or dragging. This visible clue when pulling the slingshot is a nice aid. It allows you to fine tune shots more than just observing the angle of the slingshot band.
Angry Birds for PC
Larger screen means more visibility in the game. On many levels you can see the target that can’t be seen on the iPhone. The previous shot trail is more easily seen, allowing fine tuning of your next shot. Overall the animations and physics seem to have more fluidity.
In terms of features, options, menu etc it’s pretty close to the original. On the netbook the replay level icon has been added to the game space. So you don’t need to pause first then replay. If you start off with bad shot, just click the replay icon, then you can start over. Saving a click is nice. There is a Menu button in the Pause menu that gets you back to the Start screen. There are some things not in play on the netbook version. The leader board and achievements are not available in the main menu. The Golden Eggs are there.
Angry Birds strikes an interesting balance of repetitive, simple tasks and challenging game play working for the many scenarios. So, if you liked this game on your iPhone or Android phone, you’ll sure like it on your big PC screen. If you are new player, don’t hesitate and join the fun now.
You must know and recognize the game from the Rovio, Angry Birds.
This game consists of seven birds with super abilities are different. By using slingshots, you can control the jump and the height of ill-tempered birds to tear down the building where the collection of green pork fat is shelter.
Where is a funny collection of birds swelled, turned into a grumpy group of birds which destroy the kingdom of lustful pigs these cunning thieves.
Angry Birds now not only for the iPhone, Android OS, PS3 and PSP. even Angry Birds has been available in Ovi Store for Nokia. And now Angry Birds have been available for Windows XP and Windows 7
Free Angry Birds for PC
Plenty of dodgy website owners want to rip off Google and push traffic towards their sites on the bogus promise of the free version of Angry Birds for PC. This is only a scam but in fact there exists a download free Angry Birds for PC nevertheless, you will need to move quickly to take advantage of that offer
Finland games producer Rovio Mobile has produced their very 1st version of Angry Birds Game for the Apple iPhone. This particular game was immediately caught by the iPhonesters, and Rovio understood that they will become successful. That has been fine. However, Rovio needed to get going by recoding Angry Birds Games for several programs, which become easier for small companies to get done.
Several weeks went by and finally, the Nokia and Android users could get themselves the Angry Birds Game. After that, the RovioMobile switched their attentions to the huge users of the PSP or the Play Station Portable and the PS3. That has been an additional huge porting project for Rovio operations.
During that time, the PC users have been reading and hearing rumors regarding Angry Birds for PC. Ultimately, in January, Angry Birds for PC was released, and downloading is not for free. However, not everybody is willing to pay for $5 for just a game, even if they will enjoy playing with it. These days, several users have grown to be familiar of getting some thing for free, so there are many who are on the lookout for a totally free Angry Birds for PC download. It can be downloaded via Windows 7 and Windows XP and Vista, or Mac support. But downloading can only be downloaded if you have an internet connection for the process to activate successfully.
Angry Birds pc is one of the well-known games that have taken the popularity with over 200 million downloads. The availability of this game is taking place in almost all of the popular platforms. In addition to playing the game online in the browser you can now download it on your laptop and take it wherever you may go to enjoy the amazing games, enabling you to play whenever, wherever you go. Take it to your workplace or even in the park, while resting and basting under the sun. Probably launching the Angry Birds for PC the wisest and the best move the game maker ever made. This availability made for the millions of platform owners, even made the popularity of Angry Birds known to more video-gaming enthusiasts more than over.
Incoming search terms:
* angry birds for pc
* activate free angry birds for pc
* angry birds FLASH SCAM
* angry-birds-online scam
* free angry birds games full version for window xp
*
- Angry Birds PC Updated
The PC version was updated last week which we talked about in this post. This update will finally include all episodes of Ham ‘Em High and the two chapters of Mine and Dine. I’m sure this is welcome news for all the PC players who have been feeling left out. It shouldn’t have taken this long to get all the episodes out but that’s in the past now so lets just get to playing. Since all the chapters are available you also have access to all of the golden eggs. You can finally complete your collection!
As a side note because I didn’t want to do an entire post about the subject, have you all seen the Angry Birds bra? It’s available over on etsy you should go check it out. I personally don’t know anyone who would wear it but i’m sure there is someone out there who would. I don’t recommend buying this for you girlfriend or wife unless she really loves angry birds.
Thứ Ba, 11 tháng 10, 2011
Family Feud maker iWin hires Loot Drop's Laralyn McWilliams
Before the studio released even its first Facebook game, Cloudforest Expedition, social game exec Laralyn McWilliams has left Loot Drop and joined iWin as its VP of Creative, Inside Social Games reports. After mere months with seasoned designer John Romero's Loot Drop, McWilliams joins Dragons of Atlantis developer Nick Rush and mobile developer Randy Angle at iWin.
Best known for its social renditions of popular game shows like Family Feud and 1 vs 100, iWin looks to use these strategic hires to get its list of casual downloadable games onto social and mobile platforms. Before joining Loot Drop for a short time and now iWin, McWilliams worked with Sony Online Entertainment on Free Realms and a number of Facebook games that were unfortunately axed before release.
"I had a change of heart and wound up accepting at iWin," McWilliams explained to ISG. "There's a great gift with iWin's brands in that they've been tested [and] there's a wealth of content and learning. The greatest challenge is taking the brands an extending them into some of the new spaces - like [making] a Jewel Quest mobile game, for example. That's what appeals to me about this role. I'm always interested in new frontiers."
ISG reports that Rush and Angle will focus on social and mobile, respectively, and we imagine they will report to McWilliams in some capacity. McWilliams, while she couldn't confirm to the website whether iWin originals like Jewel Quest would come to Facebook, doubts that iWin will ignore them in its increased social and mobile efforts. You know, because we certainly don't have enough match-three games on Facebook already.
Do you think iWin could become a worthy competitor to the standing Facebook game giants with its game show offerings and upcoming original properties? How do you think this move might affect Loot Drop as it tries to get its first game out the gate? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
Best known for its social renditions of popular game shows like Family Feud and 1 vs 100, iWin looks to use these strategic hires to get its list of casual downloadable games onto social and mobile platforms. Before joining Loot Drop for a short time and now iWin, McWilliams worked with Sony Online Entertainment on Free Realms and a number of Facebook games that were unfortunately axed before release.
"I had a change of heart and wound up accepting at iWin," McWilliams explained to ISG. "There's a great gift with iWin's brands in that they've been tested [and] there's a wealth of content and learning. The greatest challenge is taking the brands an extending them into some of the new spaces - like [making] a Jewel Quest mobile game, for example. That's what appeals to me about this role. I'm always interested in new frontiers."
ISG reports that Rush and Angle will focus on social and mobile, respectively, and we imagine they will report to McWilliams in some capacity. McWilliams, while she couldn't confirm to the website whether iWin originals like Jewel Quest would come to Facebook, doubts that iWin will ignore them in its increased social and mobile efforts. You know, because we certainly don't have enough match-three games on Facebook already.
Do you think iWin could become a worthy competitor to the standing Facebook game giants with its game show offerings and upcoming original properties? How do you think this move might affect Loot Drop as it tries to get its first game out the gate? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
Dungeons & Dragons: Heroes of Neverwinter goes live on Facebook
Released previously only in a private beta, Dungeons & Dragons Heroes of Neverwinter has now officially gone live on Facebook. Developed by Atari and set in the Neverwinter realm, the game already has 166,000 monthly players from its time in beta, but if you'd like to join them, here's a taste of what you can expect.
When first starting Heroes of Neverwinter, you'll be allowed to create a character using either set templates of a Fighter, Wizard, Cleric or Rogue (each with their own stats and specialties), or can create a custom character to customize your gender, stats, class, race and more. In this, the game can immediately start out being as complex or as straightforward as you like.
Upon launching into the game proper, you're met with a story of amnesia and will be introduced to Edrick, a scout that was guiding you on your way to Neverwinter before a pack of Goblins knocked you unconscious. Through this introduction, you're told of Neverwinter, a place of hope and civilization that has survived the Ruining, and that you had originally wanted to travel there to purchase a home and earn your fortune. With this as a base, you're sent on your way.
Movement is achieved on a grid, with this turn-based game automatically allowing you to move at the beginning of each turn. When commanding a party, you'll be able to complete multiple actions, including attacking or opening your inventory with each character before needing to manually end their turn and start over with the next character. Once each "adventure" in the game is complete, you'll receive experience points for the battles you won and the tasks you completed in the process. For immediate prizes, you'll sometimes be able to loot your fallen enemies, selecting a prize from a list of ten. You can choose randomly from ten cards, or can use a potion to reveal items before you choose.
In terms of actual combat, you'll have a wide variety of options, depending on the classes of characters in your party. You might be able to attack an enemy from far away, eliminating them before they ever become a threat, or surround an enemy with multiple characters, giving everyone a combat advantage. There's enough strategy here to keep more hardcore players satisfied, but the initial sections of gameplay are incredibly simple and work well to help an unfamiliar player get up to speed.
Gallery: Dungeons & Dragons Heroes of Neverwinter on Facebook
Back in Neverwinter proper, you can access a variety of buildings including the Adventure Board where you'll accept new Adventures (Adventures require energy and have multiple difficulty levels), the Tavern where you can purchase energy potions or Adventure boosts to your stats, the Trade house where you'll purchase similar potions or new equipment items, and even your own home, which you'll be able to fill with treasures as you complete different achievements or tasks within the game (collecting a certain amount of gold, for instance).
That being said, the main focus here (understandably) is in the Adventures themselves. There are plenty of them to undertake, each with an additional focus on bringing your friends in to help you (early on, it's entirely possible to fail even the most basic of Adventures by simply going it alone). The lore within the game is presented through text boxes at the beginning and end of most scenes and encounters, and will likely satisfy current D&D fans. Still, this isn't the first game of its kind of Facebook, so hopefully the D&D name alone will help draw more followers into the fray.
Will D&D Heroes of Neverwinter win over the "Zynga" crowd with its fairly in-depth, and somewhat slow-going gameplay? Likely not, but there's plenty of content here for fans who go out specifically in search for it.
Play Heroes of Neverwinter on Facebook -->
Have you tried Heroes of Neverwinter on Facebook? What did you think of it? Sound off in the comments.
When first starting Heroes of Neverwinter, you'll be allowed to create a character using either set templates of a Fighter, Wizard, Cleric or Rogue (each with their own stats and specialties), or can create a custom character to customize your gender, stats, class, race and more. In this, the game can immediately start out being as complex or as straightforward as you like.
Upon launching into the game proper, you're met with a story of amnesia and will be introduced to Edrick, a scout that was guiding you on your way to Neverwinter before a pack of Goblins knocked you unconscious. Through this introduction, you're told of Neverwinter, a place of hope and civilization that has survived the Ruining, and that you had originally wanted to travel there to purchase a home and earn your fortune. With this as a base, you're sent on your way.
Movement is achieved on a grid, with this turn-based game automatically allowing you to move at the beginning of each turn. When commanding a party, you'll be able to complete multiple actions, including attacking or opening your inventory with each character before needing to manually end their turn and start over with the next character. Once each "adventure" in the game is complete, you'll receive experience points for the battles you won and the tasks you completed in the process. For immediate prizes, you'll sometimes be able to loot your fallen enemies, selecting a prize from a list of ten. You can choose randomly from ten cards, or can use a potion to reveal items before you choose.
In terms of actual combat, you'll have a wide variety of options, depending on the classes of characters in your party. You might be able to attack an enemy from far away, eliminating them before they ever become a threat, or surround an enemy with multiple characters, giving everyone a combat advantage. There's enough strategy here to keep more hardcore players satisfied, but the initial sections of gameplay are incredibly simple and work well to help an unfamiliar player get up to speed.
Gallery: Dungeons & Dragons Heroes of Neverwinter on Facebook
Back in Neverwinter proper, you can access a variety of buildings including the Adventure Board where you'll accept new Adventures (Adventures require energy and have multiple difficulty levels), the Tavern where you can purchase energy potions or Adventure boosts to your stats, the Trade house where you'll purchase similar potions or new equipment items, and even your own home, which you'll be able to fill with treasures as you complete different achievements or tasks within the game (collecting a certain amount of gold, for instance).
That being said, the main focus here (understandably) is in the Adventures themselves. There are plenty of them to undertake, each with an additional focus on bringing your friends in to help you (early on, it's entirely possible to fail even the most basic of Adventures by simply going it alone). The lore within the game is presented through text boxes at the beginning and end of most scenes and encounters, and will likely satisfy current D&D fans. Still, this isn't the first game of its kind of Facebook, so hopefully the D&D name alone will help draw more followers into the fray.
Will D&D Heroes of Neverwinter win over the "Zynga" crowd with its fairly in-depth, and somewhat slow-going gameplay? Likely not, but there's plenty of content here for fans who go out specifically in search for it.
Play Heroes of Neverwinter on Facebook -->
Have you tried Heroes of Neverwinter on Facebook? What did you think of it? Sound off in the comments.
Thứ Năm, 6 tháng 10, 2011
Alright, So What Do You Realize About Angry Birds?
Angry Birds is actually a video game produced by the company Rovio Mobile situated in Finland. After its very first launch, more than twelve million copies have been sold. This particular overpowering result caused the designers to generate other versions of the video game to appeal to specific devices such as Symbian as well as Android devices. This permits millions of users all over the world have fun with the game and become amazed about its fantastic and fascinating levels.
The overall game involves having a slingshot to release different types of birds at pigs which are on or within certain structures. The goal is to hit all the pigs using the birds without leaving any pig before the available birds run out. The particular constructions when the pigs are stationed are tough to eliminate on occasion. Thus, you might need to launch a number of birds before you get to eliminate all of them. When you proceed to the next levels in the game, different kinds of birds appear with absolutely new unique capabilities. Their expertise will help you eradicate the constructions as well as the pigs much more quickly.
There are 3 special versions in the game namely the Angry Birds Seasons, Angry Birds Rio, and Angry Birds Magic. Angry Birds Seasons was created to fit the different occasions of the season for example Halloween night, Christmas, as well as Valentine’s. Angry Birds Rio is really a stand-alone release in which the characters happens to be in Rio de Janeiro and interact with characters in the film. The actual response of this edition has been very positive. It’s been purchased by millions since its very first launch. New comers immediately created an Angry Birds Rio to help beginners understand the new edition of the game. These kinds of cheats have become popular.
The overall game involves having a slingshot to release different types of birds at pigs which are on or within certain structures. The goal is to hit all the pigs using the birds without leaving any pig before the available birds run out. The particular constructions when the pigs are stationed are tough to eliminate on occasion. Thus, you might need to launch a number of birds before you get to eliminate all of them. When you proceed to the next levels in the game, different kinds of birds appear with absolutely new unique capabilities. Their expertise will help you eradicate the constructions as well as the pigs much more quickly.
There are 3 special versions in the game namely the Angry Birds Seasons, Angry Birds Rio, and Angry Birds Magic. Angry Birds Seasons was created to fit the different occasions of the season for example Halloween night, Christmas, as well as Valentine’s. Angry Birds Rio is really a stand-alone release in which the characters happens to be in Rio de Janeiro and interact with characters in the film. The actual response of this edition has been very positive. It’s been purchased by millions since its very first launch. New comers immediately created an Angry Birds Rio to help beginners understand the new edition of the game. These kinds of cheats have become popular.
6waves Lolapps puts up $10 million for indie social game developers
Is 6waves Lolapps looking to find the next FarmVille? It's possible, but what's more important is that the new found publisher-meets-developer duo is looking to give the little guy a chance. The company just announced that it has raised $10 million in what it calls the 6L Fund. With it, the publisher will grant independent social and mobile game creators the financial resources and support they need to (hopefully) create the next big thing on Facebook or elsewhere.
"There are game teams at all stages in the creative process that have fresh and potentially groundbreaking ideas," said SVP of Publishing at 6waves Lolapps Jim Ying in a statement. "With the capital and the resources that only 6waves Lolapps can deliver, they could help shape the future of social gaming."
The resources Ying referred to include cross promotion, funded user acquisition (essentially paying for more players through advertising), product management, localization, hosting, and the FLISO Game Engine. The latter is enhanced Flash--software game developers commonly use to create Facebook games--technology acquired by 6waves earlier this year.
Independent developers might want to bite, considering that 6waves Lolapps reaches about 38 million collective monthly players, according to AppData--that technically puts the company just under Diamond Dash maker wooga's over 41 million monthly players. Most importantly, this potentially gives indie social game makers a chance on Facebook, which some argue has otherwise all but dried up.
Starting Sept. 27, developers can submit their applications for the 6L Fund, and hopefully we'll see the fruits of their labor sometime next year. Who knows, maybe it's time for another indie developer to enjoy wild success. Just think, what was Rovio before Angry Birds?
What do you think of 6waves Lolapps looking to indie game creators for the next social or mobile hit? Do you think this strategy could result in the next big Facebook game? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
"There are game teams at all stages in the creative process that have fresh and potentially groundbreaking ideas," said SVP of Publishing at 6waves Lolapps Jim Ying in a statement. "With the capital and the resources that only 6waves Lolapps can deliver, they could help shape the future of social gaming."
The resources Ying referred to include cross promotion, funded user acquisition (essentially paying for more players through advertising), product management, localization, hosting, and the FLISO Game Engine. The latter is enhanced Flash--software game developers commonly use to create Facebook games--technology acquired by 6waves earlier this year.
Independent developers might want to bite, considering that 6waves Lolapps reaches about 38 million collective monthly players, according to AppData--that technically puts the company just under Diamond Dash maker wooga's over 41 million monthly players. Most importantly, this potentially gives indie social game makers a chance on Facebook, which some argue has otherwise all but dried up.
Starting Sept. 27, developers can submit their applications for the 6L Fund, and hopefully we'll see the fruits of their labor sometime next year. Who knows, maybe it's time for another indie developer to enjoy wild success. Just think, what was Rovio before Angry Birds?
What do you think of 6waves Lolapps looking to indie game creators for the next social or mobile hit? Do you think this strategy could result in the next big Facebook game? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
Angry Birds creator wants to publish indie games, Rovio exec says
It makes you wonder: Could Rovio be just a little bit scared that it might not strike gold again? Chief marketing officer for the creator of Angry Birds Peter Vesterbacka (pictured) said to Develop in an interview that the developer is planning to open a publishing label.
"We have some plans for this area, but not ready to announce yet," Vesterbacka told Develop. "If we do something in the publishing area, you can expect it to be a bit different."
However, it seems as if the maker of your favorite annoyed avians wants to keep things 1.) indie (independently developed) and 2.) mobile. According to Develop, Rovio has already approached several mobile game studios to form a foundation for the new business. While the Finnish company's other ventures have arguably been leaps of faith--cookbooks ... seriously?--it certainly has experience in the publishing business.
Well, at least from the other end. Angry Birds made it to the US in 2009 though Chillingo, a mobile games publisher that is now owned by EA. Of course, Rovio was able to back out of deal once the acquisition occurred, but the company is currently in another publisher relationship with Twentieth Century Fox, through which it nabbed the rights to create Angry Birds Rio.
And honestly, it would be a no-brainer for an indie game developer to team up with Rovio. For one, if the company claims to be worth at least as much as Zynga, it at least has considerable resources to offer. And seriously, could you go wrong with a team that has somehow successfully hyped up slingshotting birds into pigs for two years running? I think not.
[Via TouchArcade]
What do you think of Rovio potentially becoming an indie games publisher? Would you try a new iPhone game just knowing it was published by the creator of Angry Birds? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
"We have some plans for this area, but not ready to announce yet," Vesterbacka told Develop. "If we do something in the publishing area, you can expect it to be a bit different."
However, it seems as if the maker of your favorite annoyed avians wants to keep things 1.) indie (independently developed) and 2.) mobile. According to Develop, Rovio has already approached several mobile game studios to form a foundation for the new business. While the Finnish company's other ventures have arguably been leaps of faith--cookbooks ... seriously?--it certainly has experience in the publishing business.
Well, at least from the other end. Angry Birds made it to the US in 2009 though Chillingo, a mobile games publisher that is now owned by EA. Of course, Rovio was able to back out of deal once the acquisition occurred, but the company is currently in another publisher relationship with Twentieth Century Fox, through which it nabbed the rights to create Angry Birds Rio.
And honestly, it would be a no-brainer for an indie game developer to team up with Rovio. For one, if the company claims to be worth at least as much as Zynga, it at least has considerable resources to offer. And seriously, could you go wrong with a team that has somehow successfully hyped up slingshotting birds into pigs for two years running? I think not.
[Via TouchArcade]
What do you think of Rovio potentially becoming an indie games publisher? Would you try a new iPhone game just knowing it was published by the creator of Angry Birds? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
FarmVille Pic of the Day: Myhomefarm23's angular English countryside
Today's featured farm was created by FarmVille Forums member, Myhomefarm23. This FarmVille English Countryside plot is a great example of intelligent farm design. Sure it's a farm art masterpiece, but it's also functional!
Myhomefarm23 went about creating this absurd tree design without a single orchard, laughing at anyone who squishes their beautiful trees into storage bins. Breathtaking rows of fruit trees line the path leading up to the Eiffel Tower located at the center of the farm, creating a truly spectacular effect. Not only that, but if you look closely, where there isn't trees, the farm is full of animals! This, folks, is an exceptional sheep and pig breeding design. If harvested consistantly, this farm could turn a huge profit! Just looking at this excellent farm makes me wish I was Myhomefarm23's neighbor, just so I could reap some of the rewards :)
I just hope Myhomefarm23 has plenty of Farm Hands and Arborists saved up or they're in for a lot of clicking!
What do you think of this great English Countryside design?
If you have an AWESOME FarmVille farm that you want to see featured on Games.com, please email a picture to editors@games.com, Include a few words about the inspiration for your design and maybe a few tips for people who need an assist!
Myhomefarm23 went about creating this absurd tree design without a single orchard, laughing at anyone who squishes their beautiful trees into storage bins. Breathtaking rows of fruit trees line the path leading up to the Eiffel Tower located at the center of the farm, creating a truly spectacular effect. Not only that, but if you look closely, where there isn't trees, the farm is full of animals! This, folks, is an exceptional sheep and pig breeding design. If harvested consistantly, this farm could turn a huge profit! Just looking at this excellent farm makes me wish I was Myhomefarm23's neighbor, just so I could reap some of the rewards :)
I just hope Myhomefarm23 has plenty of Farm Hands and Arborists saved up or they're in for a lot of clicking!
What do you think of this great English Countryside design?
If you have an AWESOME FarmVille farm that you want to see featured on Games.com, please email a picture to editors@games.com, Include a few words about the inspiration for your design and maybe a few tips for people who need an assist!
Tagged bulks up for a bout with Facebook, acquires WeGame
The imminent battle between Facebook and Google+ over social games domination has a potential, scrappy third contender. People often forget about Tagged, the San Francisco-based social network with a considerable 100 million plus users. Video games, our favorite thing to talk about, might change all that, as the company announced that it has purchased WeGame.
WeGame is a cross between a social network for gamers in vein of services like Raptr and an online store with digital copies of games. Of course, terms of the deal weren't disclosed, and it's unclear exactly how the social network will make use of its new gaming network-meets-game store.
This news is especially striking considering the fact that Tagged already offers social games to its users. In fact, the company hired former Pogo VP Andrew Pederson to oversee its social gaming efforts. Perhaps that venture hasn't produced results, or Tagged simply looks to further bolster its social gaming efforts. Unfortunately, we currently haven't a clue.
According to TechCrunch, Tagged will reveal the details of how WeGame's technology will be incorporated "in the coming months." The company in question is run by a mere four employees, so we imagine there is a good amount of automation going on there, something Tagged could be looking to take advantage of.
It's also worth noting that WeGame is heavily skewed toward the hardcore crowd, offering a number of games for sale that only fans of franchises like World of WarCraft might recognize. That said--and this is pure speculation--Tagged could be looking in a completely different direction than Facebook is and Google+ appears to be: the proverbial Call of Duty player. Hey, if the social network has found strong enough of a niche to thrive in the shadow of Facebook, perhaps it has found another.
Are you either a Tagged or WeGame user? What do you think of Tagged picking up another games service when it already offers games? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment
WeGame is a cross between a social network for gamers in vein of services like Raptr and an online store with digital copies of games. Of course, terms of the deal weren't disclosed, and it's unclear exactly how the social network will make use of its new gaming network-meets-game store.
This news is especially striking considering the fact that Tagged already offers social games to its users. In fact, the company hired former Pogo VP Andrew Pederson to oversee its social gaming efforts. Perhaps that venture hasn't produced results, or Tagged simply looks to further bolster its social gaming efforts. Unfortunately, we currently haven't a clue.
According to TechCrunch, Tagged will reveal the details of how WeGame's technology will be incorporated "in the coming months." The company in question is run by a mere four employees, so we imagine there is a good amount of automation going on there, something Tagged could be looking to take advantage of.
It's also worth noting that WeGame is heavily skewed toward the hardcore crowd, offering a number of games for sale that only fans of franchises like World of WarCraft might recognize. That said--and this is pure speculation--Tagged could be looking in a completely different direction than Facebook is and Google+ appears to be: the proverbial Call of Duty player. Hey, if the social network has found strong enough of a niche to thrive in the shadow of Facebook, perhaps it has found another.
Are you either a Tagged or WeGame user? What do you think of Tagged picking up another games service when it already offers games? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment
CrowdStar, others dock in Sibblingz Spaceport for mobile social games
If we haven't driven home yet that mobile will be massive in the future of social games, we clearly haven't done our job. Luckily, news like the fact that Sibblingz has signed on It Girl creator CrowdStar and a number of other developers to use its Spaceport service helps us make good on that.
TechCrunch reports that--in addition to CrowdStar--BitRhymes, IKIGames, LuckyLabs, Fortune Planet and DeezGames have signed on to use Spaceport to create mobile versions of their Facebook games. Spaceport is Sibblingz's cloud-based game development platform that allows developers like CrowdStar to create mobile games that work on both iOS and Android devices.
Essentially, it allows developers to create a mobile game once and have it run on multiple mobile devices. The platform makes use of coding languages like Javascript and HTML5, but neither of which are known for making robust or fully-featured games on iPhones or Android phones. However, Sibblingz claims that games built on Spaceport feature an app-like experience.
What Sibblingz means is that, while these games are built using simpler code languages, they will perform like, say CityVille Hometown by Zynga. That game was built using tools specifically for iOS devices and is thus more visually impressive and feature-rich than mobile browser games. However, according to TechCrunch, developers can even create games specifically for iPhones and iPads through Spaceport.
Sibblingz also says that developers can make games for Facebook's worst-kept secret, Project Spartan--an initiative to bring Facebook to mobile devices through browsers using HTML5 complete with full-featured apps and games--through Spaceport. Jeez, on paper it sounds like Spaceport can do anything but make the cash flow.
Regardless, what's important to take away here is that social game developers realize that mobile is where it's at. Frankly, it's one area where clear winners have yet to be defined, much unlike Facebook (ahem, Zynga and EA). At this point, anyone could come out a winner on mobile, and perhaps the companies that embrace cross-platform game creation like CrowdStar will have the upper hand.
Do you think these developers have a chance at winning the mobile race these social game creators are running with Spaceport? Who do you think will ultimately win the mobile social gaming war? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
TechCrunch reports that--in addition to CrowdStar--BitRhymes, IKIGames, LuckyLabs, Fortune Planet and DeezGames have signed on to use Spaceport to create mobile versions of their Facebook games. Spaceport is Sibblingz's cloud-based game development platform that allows developers like CrowdStar to create mobile games that work on both iOS and Android devices.
Essentially, it allows developers to create a mobile game once and have it run on multiple mobile devices. The platform makes use of coding languages like Javascript and HTML5, but neither of which are known for making robust or fully-featured games on iPhones or Android phones. However, Sibblingz claims that games built on Spaceport feature an app-like experience.
What Sibblingz means is that, while these games are built using simpler code languages, they will perform like, say CityVille Hometown by Zynga. That game was built using tools specifically for iOS devices and is thus more visually impressive and feature-rich than mobile browser games. However, according to TechCrunch, developers can even create games specifically for iPhones and iPads through Spaceport.
Sibblingz also says that developers can make games for Facebook's worst-kept secret, Project Spartan--an initiative to bring Facebook to mobile devices through browsers using HTML5 complete with full-featured apps and games--through Spaceport. Jeez, on paper it sounds like Spaceport can do anything but make the cash flow.
Regardless, what's important to take away here is that social game developers realize that mobile is where it's at. Frankly, it's one area where clear winners have yet to be defined, much unlike Facebook (ahem, Zynga and EA). At this point, anyone could come out a winner on mobile, and perhaps the companies that embrace cross-platform game creation like CrowdStar will have the upper hand.
Do you think these developers have a chance at winning the mobile race these social game creators are running with Spaceport? Who do you think will ultimately win the mobile social gaming war? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
Thứ Ba, 4 tháng 10, 2011
Adventure World Cheats and Tips: A Tool Upgrades Guide
There may not be another Zynga game in which Energy is more important than in Adventure World. Every switch thrown, every puzzle solved and beastie whacked costs you the Facebook game juice. Players often find themselves without Energy minutes into an Expedition. But this isn't the time for whining--it's time to show you the value of upgrading your Tools and how to do it.
Tools: The Game Changer
If you noticed, each piece of debris and monster has a life bar, and normally take multiple hits with your Whip or Machete to whittle down. This, of course, quickly becomes a waste in later Expeditions purely due to the amount of obstacles in your path. But increasing the amount of damage your various Tools inflict against said baddies could considerably reduce the Energy spend in-game.
For instance, say a Snake has three hit points and is Level 5. Since monsters can hit back in this game, it could take three to five Energy before an enemy goes down. Now, imagine if you had upgraded your Whip to Level 2. Offing that Snake would take just two to four Energy with a beefier Whip. The same situation applies to Tools like the Machete.
Adventure World Tool Shop inside
And Now For Your How-To
Adventure World Tool Shop outsideUpgrading your Tools in Adventure World is simple. All you need to do is head back to Base Camp from an Expedition, and look for a makeshift hut that should already be in place in your headquarters. When you click on the Tool Shop, a window will appear featuring all the Tools you've found thus far on your journeys. Click on the Tool you wish to upgrade.
Once you click on a Tool to upgrade, you'll notice that each Tool costs Coins to upgrade. That's it--no asking friends to help you out with materials or farming certain crops for special items. Just the goods you find during your travels in search of El Dorado. However, Coins are actually quite rare in this game, so you'll need to save and spend wisely.
When you have enough Coins for an upgrade, just click on the appropriate icon to pay up. Tool upgrades are also level-locked, meaning you must reach a certain level for most Tools before being able to upgrade them using Coins. If you're feeling impatient, you could always unlock access to those higher level Tools early using Adventure Cash.
Just One Small Catch...
However, some Tool upgrades do require an extra boost: your Tool Shop. Yes, the building itself can be upgraded, too. And this time, you will need items from your friends. (Just think of how things work in CityVille.) Luckily, you only have to do this about twice to unlock access to all of the game's Tools. Then, it's back onto leveling up to access new upgrades for Coins.
Adventure World Tool Shop Upgrade
Upgraded Tools are hands-down the way to go, if you want to save precious Energy for the good stuff, that is. You know, exploring ... uncovering the secrets of El Dorado? That kind of stuff. Your wallet might thank us later.
Click here to find all of our Adventure World Tips in one spot >
[Source: Zynga]
Have you upgraded your Tools in Adventure World yet? What other Energy-saving tips might you have for your fellow adventurers? Sound off in the comments. 3 Comments
Tools: The Game Changer
If you noticed, each piece of debris and monster has a life bar, and normally take multiple hits with your Whip or Machete to whittle down. This, of course, quickly becomes a waste in later Expeditions purely due to the amount of obstacles in your path. But increasing the amount of damage your various Tools inflict against said baddies could considerably reduce the Energy spend in-game.
For instance, say a Snake has three hit points and is Level 5. Since monsters can hit back in this game, it could take three to five Energy before an enemy goes down. Now, imagine if you had upgraded your Whip to Level 2. Offing that Snake would take just two to four Energy with a beefier Whip. The same situation applies to Tools like the Machete.
Adventure World Tool Shop inside
And Now For Your How-To
Adventure World Tool Shop outsideUpgrading your Tools in Adventure World is simple. All you need to do is head back to Base Camp from an Expedition, and look for a makeshift hut that should already be in place in your headquarters. When you click on the Tool Shop, a window will appear featuring all the Tools you've found thus far on your journeys. Click on the Tool you wish to upgrade.
Once you click on a Tool to upgrade, you'll notice that each Tool costs Coins to upgrade. That's it--no asking friends to help you out with materials or farming certain crops for special items. Just the goods you find during your travels in search of El Dorado. However, Coins are actually quite rare in this game, so you'll need to save and spend wisely.
When you have enough Coins for an upgrade, just click on the appropriate icon to pay up. Tool upgrades are also level-locked, meaning you must reach a certain level for most Tools before being able to upgrade them using Coins. If you're feeling impatient, you could always unlock access to those higher level Tools early using Adventure Cash.
Just One Small Catch...
However, some Tool upgrades do require an extra boost: your Tool Shop. Yes, the building itself can be upgraded, too. And this time, you will need items from your friends. (Just think of how things work in CityVille.) Luckily, you only have to do this about twice to unlock access to all of the game's Tools. Then, it's back onto leveling up to access new upgrades for Coins.
Adventure World Tool Shop Upgrade
Upgraded Tools are hands-down the way to go, if you want to save precious Energy for the good stuff, that is. You know, exploring ... uncovering the secrets of El Dorado? That kind of stuff. Your wallet might thank us later.
Click here to find all of our Adventure World Tips in one spot >
[Source: Zynga]
Have you upgraded your Tools in Adventure World yet? What other Energy-saving tips might you have for your fellow adventurers? Sound off in the comments. 3 Comments
Cafe World High Tea Party Catering Order: Everything you need to know
Last week, we brought you a rundown of the British section of festivities taking place in Cafe World as part of the game's two-year-anniversary event. At the time, something was always missing from that equation (the catering order), but now, the Catering Order has officially been launched. Are you ready for high tea?
The High Tea Party catering order has a three day time limit, and isn't exactly easy. You'll be required to serve Yorkshire Pudding 500 times, Shepherd's Pie 30 times and Bangers and Mash 120 times. Do those recipes look familiar? They should, as they're part of the prize list that can be earned by completing the Winston's Royals goals in the game. However, you'll need to complete these goals multiple times to unlock all of the prizes associated with this event, so I can only imagine just how few chefs actually have all three of these dishes available to cook/serve. Luckily, you can bring 18 of your friends in on this order with you, so hopefully a few of them can take care of most of (if not all of) the cooking for you. Just remember to say thank you with free gifts!
On top of all of this, you'll need to collect 12 Fancy Hats and 12 Food Trays by sending out individual request to friends. If you can complete all of these tasks in under three days' time, you'll receive the three-star rating, 12 Catering Points, 3,200 Cafe Points, 70,000 coins and the 2-Year Anniversary cake recipe.
Unfortunately, you must finish in under three days in order to walk away with this new recipe. If you can't manage to do that, but still finish within five days (I have to admit that still sounds like it would be hard), you'll receive two stars, 8 Catering Points, 2,300 Cafe Points and 50,000 coins. Finally, if you finish at any point after the fifth day, you'll receive just a single star, 4 Catering Points, 1,400 Cafe Points and 30,000 coins.
As an extra bonus (since this catering order goes along with the two-year-anniversary event), if you can finish with three stars, you'll also walk away with 10,000 free Travel Passes, which are used to enter yourself (automatically) into contests for in-game prizes like stoves, but also real world trips around the world! Good luck to all those who enter, along with all those who tackle this High Tea Party catering order itself.
What do you think of this High Tea Party order? Have you unlocked all three of these dishes in your own cookbook, or are you being forced to rely on your friends to finish this one in time? Sound off in the comments.
The High Tea Party catering order has a three day time limit, and isn't exactly easy. You'll be required to serve Yorkshire Pudding 500 times, Shepherd's Pie 30 times and Bangers and Mash 120 times. Do those recipes look familiar? They should, as they're part of the prize list that can be earned by completing the Winston's Royals goals in the game. However, you'll need to complete these goals multiple times to unlock all of the prizes associated with this event, so I can only imagine just how few chefs actually have all three of these dishes available to cook/serve. Luckily, you can bring 18 of your friends in on this order with you, so hopefully a few of them can take care of most of (if not all of) the cooking for you. Just remember to say thank you with free gifts!
On top of all of this, you'll need to collect 12 Fancy Hats and 12 Food Trays by sending out individual request to friends. If you can complete all of these tasks in under three days' time, you'll receive the three-star rating, 12 Catering Points, 3,200 Cafe Points, 70,000 coins and the 2-Year Anniversary cake recipe.
Unfortunately, you must finish in under three days in order to walk away with this new recipe. If you can't manage to do that, but still finish within five days (I have to admit that still sounds like it would be hard), you'll receive two stars, 8 Catering Points, 2,300 Cafe Points and 50,000 coins. Finally, if you finish at any point after the fifth day, you'll receive just a single star, 4 Catering Points, 1,400 Cafe Points and 30,000 coins.
As an extra bonus (since this catering order goes along with the two-year-anniversary event), if you can finish with three stars, you'll also walk away with 10,000 free Travel Passes, which are used to enter yourself (automatically) into contests for in-game prizes like stoves, but also real world trips around the world! Good luck to all those who enter, along with all those who tackle this High Tea Party catering order itself.
What do you think of this High Tea Party order? Have you unlocked all three of these dishes in your own cookbook, or are you being forced to rely on your friends to finish this one in time? Sound off in the comments.
FarmVille Lighthouse Cove Come Ashore Goals: Everything you need to know
As part of today's launch of the Lighthouse Cove farm in FarmVille to every farmer that's interested (whether they paid for admittance or not), a new goal series has been launched in the game, allowing even those new players a chance to become acquainted with their new farm, while also earning prizes. There are six goals in this new series, and they're limited edition, being available for the next seven days (or just a week).
Come Ashore!
* Get 3 Piles of Hay
* Harvest 10 Chandler Blueberries
* Improve the Cove to Level 1
You'll need to earn the Piles of Hay by asking your friends to send them to you. As for the Chandler Blueberries, they take eight hours to grow, so even though you're not required to grow very many, that doesn't necessarily mean you'll be done with this one quickly. As for the Lighthouse Cove, you can repair it by collecting Logs, Stones and Steel Beams. For finishing this first goal, you'll receive 100 XP, the Restaurant, a Red Tractor and 2,500 coins. Hopefully you haven't already purchased a Restaurant for your new farm, as this will of course be worthless.
A Beach to Walk on
* Get 6 Supply Boxes
* Harvest 45 Darrow Blueberries
* Place the Restaurant
Hopefully, if you are one of those users that placed the Restaurant before receiving these goals, it will automatically detect that it's present on your farm and complete this task for you. As for the Supply Boxes - you guessed it - just have your friends send you some. Darrow Blueberries, meanwhile, take just four hours to grow. Finish this goal and you'll receive 200 XP, a Sailor Cow (a cow in an adorable little sailor's hat and "tie"), a Yellow Seeder and 2,500 coins.
A Quick Tour
* Harvest Lighthouse Cove
* Complete 1 Wildlife Habitat
* Make the Creamed Corn Recipe 1 Time
The Creamed Corn recipe is made inside the Restaurant, and it requires three Butter & Sugar Corn, three Tarragon and one Pepper Bushels. The Butter & Sugar Corn and Tarragon crops are new to the Lighthouse Cove farm, while you might already have some Pepper bushels on hand from your other farms. As for the Wildlife Habitat, you're given the frame of one for free when landing in the cove, and can then complete it by gathering Fence Posts, Shrubs and Grazing Grasses. Check out our complete guide to the Wildlife Habitat right here. Once you finish this third goal, you'll receive 300 XP, a White Cedar Tree, a Blue Harvester and 2,500 coins.
After finishing these first three goals, you will have walked away with a complete farm vehicle set (save for the Combine) that will allow you to complete all of the farming tasks required on your new farm. Of course, you can always purchase a Combine Chassis from the store for that three-in-one farming convenience, but at least you'll have these vehicles to rely on while you're waiting for the Vehicle Parts to pour in.
Check out the rest of our FarmVille Cheats & Tips right here.
What do you think of these Lighthouse Cove goals? How far have you made it into the trio? Sound off in the comments.
Come Ashore!
* Get 3 Piles of Hay
* Harvest 10 Chandler Blueberries
* Improve the Cove to Level 1
You'll need to earn the Piles of Hay by asking your friends to send them to you. As for the Chandler Blueberries, they take eight hours to grow, so even though you're not required to grow very many, that doesn't necessarily mean you'll be done with this one quickly. As for the Lighthouse Cove, you can repair it by collecting Logs, Stones and Steel Beams. For finishing this first goal, you'll receive 100 XP, the Restaurant, a Red Tractor and 2,500 coins. Hopefully you haven't already purchased a Restaurant for your new farm, as this will of course be worthless.
A Beach to Walk on
* Get 6 Supply Boxes
* Harvest 45 Darrow Blueberries
* Place the Restaurant
Hopefully, if you are one of those users that placed the Restaurant before receiving these goals, it will automatically detect that it's present on your farm and complete this task for you. As for the Supply Boxes - you guessed it - just have your friends send you some. Darrow Blueberries, meanwhile, take just four hours to grow. Finish this goal and you'll receive 200 XP, a Sailor Cow (a cow in an adorable little sailor's hat and "tie"), a Yellow Seeder and 2,500 coins.
A Quick Tour
* Harvest Lighthouse Cove
* Complete 1 Wildlife Habitat
* Make the Creamed Corn Recipe 1 Time
The Creamed Corn recipe is made inside the Restaurant, and it requires three Butter & Sugar Corn, three Tarragon and one Pepper Bushels. The Butter & Sugar Corn and Tarragon crops are new to the Lighthouse Cove farm, while you might already have some Pepper bushels on hand from your other farms. As for the Wildlife Habitat, you're given the frame of one for free when landing in the cove, and can then complete it by gathering Fence Posts, Shrubs and Grazing Grasses. Check out our complete guide to the Wildlife Habitat right here. Once you finish this third goal, you'll receive 300 XP, a White Cedar Tree, a Blue Harvester and 2,500 coins.
After finishing these first three goals, you will have walked away with a complete farm vehicle set (save for the Combine) that will allow you to complete all of the farming tasks required on your new farm. Of course, you can always purchase a Combine Chassis from the store for that three-in-one farming convenience, but at least you'll have these vehicles to rely on while you're waiting for the Vehicle Parts to pour in.
Check out the rest of our FarmVille Cheats & Tips right here.
What do you think of these Lighthouse Cove goals? How far have you made it into the trio? Sound off in the comments.
DC Universe Online: Pound on bad guys for free starting next month
If you've always wanted to try out Sony Online Entertainment's DC Universe online (on either PS3 or PC), but didn't want to pay actual money to do so, you'll be happy to know that you'll soon be able to access "the entire game" for free starting next month. As reported by PCWorld, this switch to a freemium pricing plan will still allow users to purchase premium content, but all of the open world gameplay, missions, game updates and patches will be free.
To be specific, DC Universe Online will have three different levels of access. The first and completely free level, gives players access to create just two characters and join a league with other players. From there, the Premium level of users requires that a player spend at least $5 in real money in the game's store to be given that Premium player status for life. This gives them access to larger inventory space, the ability to create more characters and the ability to trade items with others. Finally, if you still want the subscription plan, you can be a Legendary player, paying around $15 a month for access to even more character and inventory slots, along with access to the game's DLC packages at no additional cost. There are plenty of other differences between the three gameplay levels; head over here to check them out.
DC Universe Online is just the latest of many once entirely paid-sub games to go free-to-play in some form. While the most noteworthy case has arguably been World of Warcraft's free-to-play setup for users up to level 20, this is just another case where social and casual players are given an opportunity to break away from Facebook simulators and jump into the world of true MMOs. While the two worlds are (for the most part) entirely different, a bigger selection is definitely not a bad thing.
Will you try out DC Universe Online when it goes free-to-play next month? Let us know in the comments.
To be specific, DC Universe Online will have three different levels of access. The first and completely free level, gives players access to create just two characters and join a league with other players. From there, the Premium level of users requires that a player spend at least $5 in real money in the game's store to be given that Premium player status for life. This gives them access to larger inventory space, the ability to create more characters and the ability to trade items with others. Finally, if you still want the subscription plan, you can be a Legendary player, paying around $15 a month for access to even more character and inventory slots, along with access to the game's DLC packages at no additional cost. There are plenty of other differences between the three gameplay levels; head over here to check them out.
DC Universe Online is just the latest of many once entirely paid-sub games to go free-to-play in some form. While the most noteworthy case has arguably been World of Warcraft's free-to-play setup for users up to level 20, this is just another case where social and casual players are given an opportunity to break away from Facebook simulators and jump into the world of true MMOs. While the two worlds are (for the most part) entirely different, a bigger selection is definitely not a bad thing.
Will you try out DC Universe Online when it goes free-to-play next month? Let us know in the comments.
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