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Saturday, October 22, 2011
Well That Was Quick, Here's The Battlefield 4 Teaser Trailer
- 8 Comments
Actual Gameplay Footage... NOT. I have to admit, the sniper footage was pretty badass.

Manastorm: Lust For Guts - Delightful First Trailer
- 6 Comments
Manastorm: Lust For Guts is an indie game that's been developed by 6 students for their final year project. To say that it looks fun as hell would be a painful understatement. Here are a collection of inspiring words from the game's creators and the official trailer, for good measure.

Listen up, puny newtlings!

When Manastorm arrives, you will no longer be maggots. You will be wizards. And you will be damn good wizards. You will be wizards capable of impaling a man on a two-inch shard of ice. You will summon a ball of God damn fire from the heavens, for the sole purpose of creating a human barbeque. You will crush, burn, slice, freeze, maim, disembowel and decapitate any unfortunate entity in possession of a heartbeat within a three mile radius. You will screw a man in holes he didn't even know he had.

You will be supernatural superagents. Magical majors. Sorcerous soldiers. You. Will. Be. Badass.

So prepare yourselves, ladies: MANASTORM IS COMING.

Blizzard DOTA: Cost & Accessibility
- 4 Comments
Eurogamer talked to Blizzard's DOTA production director, Chris Sigaty, about the costs that may or may not be involved in their rival to Valve's DotA 2, alongside some changes that they're making to the game.

Differences in capitalisation aside, Blizzard's offering will include free access to the game via a "Starter Edition" similar to the one currently available for StarCraft 2. However, "if you come in through the Starter Edition, there will definitely be some costs". Exactly how these costs will manifest remains to be seen; Sigaty says that they haven't yet talked about exactly how the game will be monetised.

Further information about the game itself includes the news that average game-time has been reduced from 45-90 minutes to 20-30 minutes, with various changes and simplifications taking place that aim to garner greater "accessibility". Apparently, Sigaty felt that "the deep systems in other DOTA games weren't compatible with a fast-paced competitive game." Hm. You can read more about the changes in the Eurogamer article.

Hard Reset: 50% Off At Green Man Gaming
- 4 Comments
Hard Reset is available for 50% off at Green Man Gaming. It'll activate on your Steam account and fulfill all of your robot-blasting requirements. Socketboy wrote a review of the game last month and, receding further back into the mists of time, I wrote a preview, too. £10/$15 is a pretty sweet spot.
Blizzcon's Song Contest Winner
- 2 Comments
More shrapnel from Blizzcon; this little ditty won first prize in the annual Song Contest. They really need to expand the Contest element of the show - dragon-based sand art and cake craft are both excellent suggestions that I expect full credit for at next year's Blizzcon.

World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria Announced
- 15 Comments
BlizzCon 2011 has brought about news of Mists of Pandaria, a new expansion for World of Warcraft. Pandaria is an ancient realm with fighting pandas. Yup, new playable race - the Pandaren, and new playable class - Monk. Also featured in the expansion will be a Pet Battle System, Challenge Modes, level cap increase and more.


BlizzCon 2011 Cosplay, Panels & Other Assorteds!
- 3 Comments
Things have been hot and heavy at BlizzCon 2011 this weekend and there are a few bits of info, videos and some pictures making their way out to the non-attending masses. Head to the official BlizzCon site for a brief recap on some of the panels and the day to day events.

Check below for the winning costume from the BlizzCon costume contest, it's totally insane. I can only imagine how many nerds splooged in the general vicinity of that thing. You can grab a look at other costume contest and cosplay pics below, as well as on GeForce.com. There are also a bunch of random images available on the NVIDIA Flickr and their Day One Recap can be found here.


Official Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Launch Trailer
- 19 Comments
Here's the official Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 launch trailer, complete with big guns 'n stuff.

Reviews, Interviews, Previews 'n Stuff
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Hardware & Tech Roundup
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Good Morrow! Blizzcon & The Incomprehensibility Of Starcraft 2
- 14 Comments
The nebulous live-streaming of an internet-based event is being shot haphazardly and bandwidthfully into bedrooms around the world - it's Blizzcon.

Scandalously, I've never played a game by Blizzard (aside from extremely occasional and brief forays into their RTS games), but still I'm weirdly compelled to watch it unravel. I'm forever fascinated by these internet-events, even when they don't prescribe themselves specifically in my interest-direction. There's always some sort of endearing, slightly amateurish air to them; it's not TV, spit-shined into a blinding gloss. Nobody really understands how to do things well on the internet because so many variables are introduced and it's such a vicious, untamed beast anyway. It's compelling watching big companies with lots of money and muscle trying to do battle with it in a way that best suits whatever image it is they're trying to create or uphold.

I tuned in for the 90-minute World Of Warcraft presentation, despite my interest in that actually being represented in negative numbers, and stuck around for the StarCraft happenings too.

I've caught various snippets of StarCraft 2 tournaments since the game was released. I'm familiar enough with the format to have developed a genuine fondness for the shoutcasting escapades of Tasteless & Artosis, but the actual game segments are essentially incomprehensible to me due to the fact I haven't really played it (I've developed a weird mental-block about RTS's the way some people do about mathematics).

I understand it well enough when one group of dudes is attacking another group of dudes - I'm accustomed to the generalities of battling to the death - but to me, all the twiddly in-betweeny parts are indistinguishable from random chaos. Instead of monkeys on typewriters, it's Koreans on mechanical keyboards. The annoying thing is, I realise that I won't ever fully understand what it is that compels thousands of people to watch this stuff so intently until the day I actually learn to play the game myself. And that infuriates me beyond measure.

Impotent infuriation aside, here's a clip Artosis' brief transformation into a teenage schoolgirl at the hands of Tasteless. I laugh like an idiot every single time it hits the 00:35 timestamp, so I feel slightly hypocritical in mocking him for it, but fortunately a camera isn't pointed at my face.

By the way, if you didn't catch it live, I highly suggest you scope the Youtubes for footage of the annual Blizzcon Dance Contest, where astounding excellence inadvertently seeped from every awkward pore. Obviously nothing quite matched up to last year's undead male breaking his leg on stage, but I don't think anything ever will.

Friday, October 21, 2011
Orcs Must Die! DLC: Artifacts of Power
- 6 Comments

Orcs Must Die! has some new DLC on the way (October 25th). Artifacts of Power will give you some new weapons and traps to put down those nasty Orcs with. Whether you're busting out the new Floor Scorchers or wielding the Vampiric Gauntlets, it will only cost you $2.49 for the pack. I had a lot of fun with the demo, and have been wanting to try the full game. Maybe they'll offer a bundle? Preview the new tools you'll be gaining in Artifacts of Power below!

Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm Trailer
- 5 Comments

Straight outta Compton, I mean Anaheim from Blizzcon comes the Heart of the Swarm trailer, the first expansion to Blizzard's Starcraft II. Heart of the Swarm is set to include several new units per faction, and continue the story where Starcraft II left off. Check it out below!

Blizzard Unleashes Diablo 3 Black Soulstone Cinematic
- 21 Comments
It's pretty amazing what the guys at Blizzard are capable of when it comes to cinematics. How much more realistic can we get at this point?

Red Orchestra 2 Oct 21st Patch Released
- 3 Comments
Tripwire Interactive has just released a 220MB patch for Red Orchestra 2. Most of the features relate to Clan or Competitive matches.

Fresh Out Of Blizzcon - Blizzard DoTA Trailer
- 11 Comments
Following last year's release of the Starcraft 2 Dota mod, Blizzard went back to the drawing board to put together more of a serious competitor to the likes of League of Legends, Heroes of Newerth, and Valve's upcoming Dota 2. The trailer Blizzard Dota trailer which ran just a little bit ago at Blizzcon is now up on Youtube. Take a peek, and let us know what you think.

Future Portal 2 Update Will Feature An In-Game Editor
- 6 Comments
We've just received a press release from Valve regarding a future update to Portal 2. The new update will feature an in-game map editor. Read on for the press release.

Valve, creators of best-selling game franchises (such as Half-Life, Left 4 Dead, Team Fortress, and Counter-Strike) and leading technologies (such as Steam and Source), today announced the second game add-on for the year's highest rated multiplatform game, Portal 2, is in development and targeted for release early next year.

This major update will feature an easy-to-use in-game map editor that will let users design, build and share their own single-player and co-op test chambers with the community, who will be able to view, play and vote on them with a simple click.

Portal 2 was released April 19, and currently holds a Metacritic score of 95%, making it the top-rated multiplatform game of 2011. Its first content update, "Peer Review", came out two weeks ago.

A hilariously mind-bending adventure that challenges you to use wits over weaponry in a funhouse of diabolical science, Portal 2 features expansive single and cooperative multiplayer game modes. For more information on Portal 2 and its downloadable content, please visit http://www.thinkwithportals.com/

That sounds like a pretty cool update to me. What are your thoughts?

Edit: We just got some images too.


Batman: Arkham City System Requirements Released
- 7 Comments
Nvidia has just revealed the system requirements for Batman: Arkham City. They've also posted a GPU Analyzer "that can quickly scan your system and tell you if your video card is adequate for the game, and what level of visual fidelity you will receive."
    Minimum System Requirements
  • Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP, Vista or 7
  • CPU: Dual-Core CPU 2.4 Ghz
  • RAM: 2GB
  • Graphics Card: NVIDIA 8800 or ATI 3800 with 512MB of VRAM
  • Sound: Microsoft Windows XP/Vista or 7 compatible sound card (100% DirectX 9.0c-compatible)
  • DVD-ROM: Quad-speed (4x) DVD-ROM drive
  • Hard Drive: 17.5GB free disk space
  • Input Devices: 100% Windows XP/Vista or 7 compatible mouse and keyboard
    Recommended System Requirements
  • Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7
  • CPU: Dual-Core CPU 2.5 GHz
  • RAM: 4GB
  • Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 or ATI Radeon HD 6850 with 768MB+ of VRAM (DirectX 11 compatible)
  • Sound: Microsoft Windows XP/Vista or 7 compatible sound card (100% DirectX 9.0c-compatible)
  • DVD-ROM: Quad-speed (4x) DVD-ROM drive
  • Hard Drive: 17.5 GB free disk space
  • Input Devices: 100% Windows XP/Vista or 7 compatible mouse and keyboard or Xbox 360 Controller for Windows

Additionally, Nvidia has provided three new screenshots for the game, which you may view below.


Postal 3 Release Date Set
- 16 Comments
Gbase.ch, a Swiss gaming site, recently got a scoop on Postal 3's release date. I've done my best to translate the original article for you all.
There will be an official release party for Postal 3: Catharsis in Cologne, Germany on the 10th of December. We were told this by Running with scissors CEO Vince Desi, who had just returned from a trip to Moscow. The anarcho-shooter will finally come out in December one month after it appears on the Russian market. Below are the system requirements, which we have known about since March 2011. We are not quite sure if they still meet the current status of the project.

Required:Single core CPU with 3 GHz, 1 GB RAM (XP), 2 GB RAM (Vista / 7), GeForce 6600 or Radeon X800 with 128 MB, 7.5 GB hard disk space

Recommended: dual-core CPU with 2.4 GHz, 2 GB RAM (XP), 4 GB RAM (Vista / 7), GeForce 7600 or Radeon X1600

It's also unclear if the console versions will come out simultaneously with the PC versions. This should clear up in the near future.

Thanks to Daniel Boll, gbase.ch's PC Editor, for the heads up.

So, any of you up for more Postal?


Dungeon Defenders Patch Released
- 7 Comments
Steam has posted some notes on a new patch for Dungeon Defenders, and here they are!

  • Input Configuration now supports Mouse "Thumb" buttons 4 and 5
  • Third Person Shooter-style offset Chase Camera for ranged classes, for better aiming
  • Fix for a Mission Progression data bug, which could cause an issue with not having levels unlocked that you should have.
  • Chat box no longer will close when pressing an alpha-numeric chat button while typing if bound to it
  • You are now given the tutorial achievement in Ranked mode, so that you can progress towards Legendary Defender
  • Ability Hotkeys 5-0 can now be bound in the Game Config Tool
  • More TrendyNet client-side tweaks to further decrease Ranked disconnections
  • Issues with Steam Cloud in Local Play should be resolved
  • Local data automatic backup system
  • Gamepad can now properly control the "Choose Multiplayer Mode" UI
  • Improved Monk DPS Ramp
BlizzCon 2011 Begins Today
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BlizzCon 2011 kicks off today, and some free live streams will be available for viewing. The freebie streams will cover the opening ceremony and the tournament stages. DIRECTV subscribers in the US can watch the opening ceremony on the Audience Network. Pre-show coverage begins today at 10:30 AM PST, with the opening ceremony scheduled to start at 11:00 AM PST. BlizzCon Virtual Tickets are still available for those that want to watch in HD and catch the whole show. There's supposed to be over 50 hours of coverage including panels, costume contest and the closing concert with Foo Fighters. If you get a virtual ticket you also receive this year's WoW pet, and a yet-to-be-revealed StarCraft II in-game gift.

NVIDIA is going to be there to gear up BlizzCon. They'll be holding workshops for the WoW nubs that don't know how to use computers yet (ah-ha! ?) and they'll have some uber-PCs playing Blizzard games at the NVIDIA booth for attendees to mess with. Actually that's kind of putting it mildly, since NVIDIA is providing 1,000 GeForce GTX graphics cards to demonstrate the unparalleled experience of playing Blizzard games on a GeForce GTX-equipped PC. You can stop by NVIDIA's BlizzCon page for scoops!

Battlefield 3 Launch Trailer
- 27 Comments

Ace Combat Assault Horizon DLC Shots & Storytelling Trailer
- 3 Comments
Just released to console last week, it sounds like Ace Combat Assault Horizon is already getting some DLC. I think this is the one that's supposed to feature new aircraft including the fictional ASF-X Shinden II and CFA-44 Nosferatu, alongside the real-world Su-37 Terminator, Tornado GR.4, AV-8B Harrier II Plus, YF-23 Black Widow II, F-15S/MTD and Ka-50 Hokum. You can check those out in the screenshots, and the video below is a behind-the-scenes type deal on storytelling.


Rayman Origins Does Business In A Purple Dragon
- 1 Comment
The latest trailer for Rayman Origins features Rayman creator Michel Ancel. Rayman Origins heads to most platforms this holiday season in HD and featuring 4-player co-op.

Spoil Yourself With Opening Ten Minutes Of Battlefield 3
- 11 Comments
Someone managed to get their hands on a legit copy of Battlefield 3 for the Playstation 3, and have begun capturing (extremely shitty) video from the single player campaign. Here's the first ten minutes if you want to see how the game gets rolling.

Jimmie Johnson's "Hazzard Hicks" Trailer
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Looks like in Jimmie Johnson's Anything with an Engine, players will definitely get their fill of redneck-hick jokes. Look out Hank Hill, Jimmie Johnson's mower is souped and it's coming for you this month!

Jimmie Johnson’s Anything With An Engine will allow players to race unconventional vehicles created from the most unlikely of everyday objects such as shopping carts and dumpsters, armed with powerful side rams and front and rear custom weapons. The game introduces an eccentric group of characters – including Hazzard Mower, who uses his souped-up lawnmower to cut down the competition and Megaton, a former military officer who barrels around the track on a high-speed bomb – and features progressively challenging tracks complete with pyrotechnics, hazards, traps and jumps.

Aion "Crucible Coliseum" Video
- 0 Comments
Version 2.7 of Aion has launched, and with it comes the addition of the Crucible Coliseum. Here are a few patch highlights:

  • The new Crucible Coliseum PvP Arena, which includes two PvP inspired Instanced Dungeons!
    • The Arena of Discipline features one on one death matches in four different stages--brandish weapons and spells to dominate opponents, and earn crucible insignias and medals at their expense!
    • The Arena of Chaos features a frenzied ten Daeva free-for-all in six different stages--run, hide, and strike when opponents are at their most vulnerable to succeed in this ruthless environment, and earn crucible insignias and medals for wreaking carnage.
  • The new Padmarashka's Cave Alliance Instanced Dungeon, a reimagining of the Padmarashka encounter with new Quests, loot, and a few twists!
  • Numerous refinements to PvP in Balaurea, including improved Platinum Medal Quests, and retuned Mastarius and Veille encounters, offering additional rewards!
  • New rewards from the merchants in the Kaisinel Academy and Marchutan Priory, including powerful PvP equipment purchasable with currencies from the Crucible Coliseum.
  • Numerous refinements to existing skills, including reductions in the cooldowns and DP cost of several abilities.

Richard Garriot's McMansion Can Be Yours For A Cool $4.1 Mil
- 15 Comments
Have you ever wanted to live like royalty? OK, not real royalty, but the virtual kind. Richard Garriot aka Lord British of Ultima fame has officially listed his 3 bedroom 5 bathroom 5,900 sq ft home with RE/MAX, which includes a 360 degree observatory w/telescope, a pool, grotto, waterfall, detached studio, barn, and separate guest quarters. The asking price? $4,100,000.

The home was featured on MTV Cribs, and it's the famous spot where Garriot himself had to hold off a crazed fan by firing off a warning shot with an Uzi until police could arrive. If the pictures of the home and surroundings aren't enough to get you to open up your bank account, then perhaps a virtual tour will do.


EA Pays Respect To Classic Syndicate With Origins Trailer
- 11 Comments
Get ready for a serious dose of nostalgia my friends. EA actually took the time to give some of the newbie gamers out there a peek at some classic Syndicate gameplay.

Zombie Apocalypse Never Die Alone Trailer
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Zombie Apocalypse Never Die Alone is the sequel to 2009’s Zombie Apocalypse, for 360 and PS3, getting ready for release this month. Reporting from Halfaux Island, Canada, "Population Panicked; Gamers Stoked, "This is what we've been training for!". Ain't that the truth!

Ezio To Appear As Playable Character In Soul Calibur V
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I used to play Soul Calibur so much on my Dreamcast that I'm surprised the laser didn't wear out. I was starting to feel a little bit fried out on fighting games after Super Street Fighter IV and Mortal Kombat, but now that Ezio has been announced for Soul Calibur V I'm not sure how I can avoid picking up a copy at launch.

Blah... "Dark Souls: Not So Great Greatsword" Edition
- 16 Comments
I spent so much time the past two evenings trying to score a Moonlight Greatsword off this scaleless dragon in Dark Souls, only to find out that the thing wasn't a weapon I'd normally wield at all. So far as a magic user my weapon picks have been pretty crappy, it's a tad bit annoying. With the exception of my armor, I'm still rocking gear that I've had since earlier stages in the game. For whatever reason spears are my weapon of choice this time around - I alternate between a +5 Magic Winged Spear and a +2 Lightning Spear. In Demon's Souls I was hooked to slash based swords, not so much in Dark Souls.

I'd like to think that I'm just about done with the game at this point, now all I have to do is finish off the last four bosses. It's definitely living up to be as difficult if not more difficult than Demon's Souls. I'm not sure I'd want to put myself through this kind of game more than once every 2-3 years though, so hopefully From Software will give me a little bit of a break before releasing a follow-up of any kind.

Since it's the last weekend really before big releases start swarming in try to take it easy, and enjoy the outdoors, because odds are if you're an addict like me then the rest of your year is going to be spent on your butt in front of your monitor / TV. Let's see who can get the most blood clots!

Video of the day - Harrison Ford playing Uncharted 3 for some Japanese advertisement.