In many first-person shooters, crafting a great multiplayer experience is something that's become more and more important. Eurogamer reports, however, that EA is taking that one step further by stating that Battlfield 3's criticized single-player campaign serves more as training for "new players ramp into the game," with "the game" referring to the multiplayer component of BF3.
Here's what EA executive Frank Gibeau had to say today during a conference call.
"We consider Battlefield an online service...The single play experience is important. It's a great way to get fans into the experience, have them train up and get ready for multiplayer. And a lot of fans just enjoy having that single player experience. So I think you have to have both."
"Clearly the multiplayer is the richer opportunity for us because of the services opportunity in keeping customers engaged 365 [days a year]. Fortunately, Battlefield, as a franchise, since the late '90s has been configured around multiplayer and I think that's why you're seeing such popularity around the design."
FPS games are my genre of choice. And while I'm certainly somewhat in the minority, I generally always look forward more to a shooter's single-player offering over its multiplayer. I value both SP and MP, but the idea that it's somehow less important to deliver a solid single-player campaign than the multiplayer is disconcerting.
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Top 8 Facebook Sim Games
Simulator games, or "sims," are an exceptional common genre represented on the Facebook platform. Anything you can think of that could possibly make a sim game is probably out on the Facebook platform somewhere. Fancy starting a new religion? Check. How about running a town full of gnomes? Check. Becoming a millionaire from running a lemonade stand business? Check. The trouble with sim games, as it always is with Facebook games, is finding games that are actually any good. Here are eight that we love.
M-Rated Jaws Game on 3DS Has Gore, Killer Shark
Set 35 years after Spielberg's terrifying feature film, Jaws: Ultimate Predator looks to reintroduce the Great White aquatic assassin, and make a whole new generation of gamers afraid to ever go swimming. Seriously, I saw Jaws when I was about six years-old, and you can't pay me to go near water. I don't care how shallow it is; there's at least a 0.001% chance that there's a shark in there just waiting to bite my legs off. And I need those. For, you know, walking and "kicking it" and such.
M-Rated Jaws Game on 3DS Has Gore, Killer Shark
Anyway, Jaws: Unleashed -- to reiterate, an M-rated Jaws game on the 3DS (the Wii iteration is rated "T for Teen," so pshhh to that) will allow players to chomp up swimmers and scuba divers, battle "armed civilians and deadly deep-sea bosses," and essentially re-terrorize Amity Island all over again, leading me to believe that they should really just shut that place down, as it might stop these kinds of things from happening. You'd think, huh? Maybe in a perfect world.
There's no official release date yet, but hey, it's a Jaws game that has a pretty good shot at making us forget about Jaws: Unleashed. Oops, I just remembered it. Well, there's a chance it'll be pretty good regardless.
M-Rated Jaws Game on 3DS Has Gore, Killer Shark
Anyway, Jaws: Unleashed -- to reiterate, an M-rated Jaws game on the 3DS (the Wii iteration is rated "T for Teen," so pshhh to that) will allow players to chomp up swimmers and scuba divers, battle "armed civilians and deadly deep-sea bosses," and essentially re-terrorize Amity Island all over again, leading me to believe that they should really just shut that place down, as it might stop these kinds of things from happening. You'd think, huh? Maybe in a perfect world.
There's no official release date yet, but hey, it's a Jaws game that has a pretty good shot at making us forget about Jaws: Unleashed. Oops, I just remembered it. Well, there's a chance it'll be pretty good regardless.
Review: Just Dance 3 (360)
Sometimes I wonder why I'm such a terrible dancer. I have rhythm. I'm not in bad shape. But dance games like Just Dance 3 remind me that it takes more than coordination and a love for catchy pop songs to effectively pop and lock. Fortunately, being good isn't a requirement for enjoying Just Dance 3; besides, the worse you are, the more fun it is for everyone watching you.
This is the first time the game's been made available on Xbox 360, but despite the Kinect's motion sensing controls, things feel pretty similar to previous Wii versions. You dance along with the same motion-capped silouhettes (though they look better than ever in HD). The tracklist (which you can check out most of here) offers a wide-range of catchy pop tunes. And although you're not holding a controller, the game only really seems to track your arm movements.
That last item is my biggest complaint with the game, and it's the same reason I never enjoyed Just Dance as much on Wii: even on the higher difficulty settings, just waving your arms around in a vague approximation of what's happening on-screen will register more perfect moves than giving the game an honest try with some active, sweaty dance moves. When it's easier to cheat and make broad arm movements to keep your score up, rather than to actually dance, what's the incentive to dancing?
In that sense, I prefer Dance Central 2. Harmonix's game feels like a full-body motion tracker; when I have one foot out of line, that game punishes me with a lower score. Just Dance just seems happy that I'm standing up in front of my TV. And the moves (and corresponding dance cards that tell you what to expect), are nowhere near as consistent or easy to anticipate as Dance Central's. That's partly because Just Dance's choeography is more varied, but it's also because the game doesn't telegraph your next move very well. In Dance Central, once you've got most of the moves down, you can glance at what's coming up next in preparation and know what to expect. In Just Dance, you're going to have to go through the song a time or two before you really know what's going on.
However, when I play Just Dance with multiple people, it approaches Rock Band levels of fun. The four-person choreography in certain songs, even if the scoring never feels entirely accurate, is an amazing way to loosen up a group. As long as you have the living room space and some willing friends, the familiar tracks and attractive visuals beat out Dance Central as a game to trot out at parties for your non-Kinect owning friends. It may not earn you a higher score, but dancing with other people just makes you more inclined to try and match what you see on-screen. And the lack of a controller makes you feel like everything you're doing corresponds one-for-one with what you see on-screen.
Review: Just Dance 3 (360/PS3)
I'm far less-inclined to play Just Dance on my own, and even the recording features, while nifty, don't feel quite as helpful for learning songs as Dance Central's tutorials. And I don't have any interest in recording my own dances to share with friends (though that option's there). But Just Dance's setlist presents the most fun and approachable of any other dance game today. And the multiplayer modes, especially the four-person independent choreography, is infectious (even if your actual moves and score aren't terribly important). While I think of Dance Central as a better video game (and Just Dance doesn't come close to matching the game's choreography tracking) I'd still rather play Just Dance whenever I have friends over.
This is the first time the game's been made available on Xbox 360, but despite the Kinect's motion sensing controls, things feel pretty similar to previous Wii versions. You dance along with the same motion-capped silouhettes (though they look better than ever in HD). The tracklist (which you can check out most of here) offers a wide-range of catchy pop tunes. And although you're not holding a controller, the game only really seems to track your arm movements.
That last item is my biggest complaint with the game, and it's the same reason I never enjoyed Just Dance as much on Wii: even on the higher difficulty settings, just waving your arms around in a vague approximation of what's happening on-screen will register more perfect moves than giving the game an honest try with some active, sweaty dance moves. When it's easier to cheat and make broad arm movements to keep your score up, rather than to actually dance, what's the incentive to dancing?
In that sense, I prefer Dance Central 2. Harmonix's game feels like a full-body motion tracker; when I have one foot out of line, that game punishes me with a lower score. Just Dance just seems happy that I'm standing up in front of my TV. And the moves (and corresponding dance cards that tell you what to expect), are nowhere near as consistent or easy to anticipate as Dance Central's. That's partly because Just Dance's choeography is more varied, but it's also because the game doesn't telegraph your next move very well. In Dance Central, once you've got most of the moves down, you can glance at what's coming up next in preparation and know what to expect. In Just Dance, you're going to have to go through the song a time or two before you really know what's going on.
However, when I play Just Dance with multiple people, it approaches Rock Band levels of fun. The four-person choreography in certain songs, even if the scoring never feels entirely accurate, is an amazing way to loosen up a group. As long as you have the living room space and some willing friends, the familiar tracks and attractive visuals beat out Dance Central as a game to trot out at parties for your non-Kinect owning friends. It may not earn you a higher score, but dancing with other people just makes you more inclined to try and match what you see on-screen. And the lack of a controller makes you feel like everything you're doing corresponds one-for-one with what you see on-screen.
Review: Just Dance 3 (360/PS3)
I'm far less-inclined to play Just Dance on my own, and even the recording features, while nifty, don't feel quite as helpful for learning songs as Dance Central's tutorials. And I don't have any interest in recording my own dances to share with friends (though that option's there). But Just Dance's setlist presents the most fun and approachable of any other dance game today. And the multiplayer modes, especially the four-person independent choreography, is infectious (even if your actual moves and score aren't terribly important). While I think of Dance Central as a better video game (and Just Dance doesn't come close to matching the game's choreography tracking) I'd still rather play Just Dance whenever I have friends over.
This is What Battlefield 3 Looks Like in Ridiculously High-Definition
A gamer has uploaded a video that shows just how pretty you can make the PC version of EA's Battlefield 3 look. The ultra high-res video above was taken with a PC rig powered by 2 GTX 580 in SLI in 1920 X 1080.
Blizzard President Apologizes for Anti-Gay Insults at BlizzCon
During the closing ceremony of this year's BlizzCon, the Blizzard employee band Level 90 Elite Tauren Chieftain took to the stage, accompanied by guest singer George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher of death metal outfit Cannibal Corpse. L90ETC's set was preceded by a video of Fisher expressing his love for World of Warcraft -- specifically, the Horde -- using some somewhat colorful language. His swearing, homophobic insults and expressions of desire that Alliance players should "die" were bleeped out, but many people took offense, and quite rightly so. The uncut, massively NSFW video, can be found here.
Discussion erupted on the Blizzard forums criticizing the company for endorsing a video encouraging the abuse and death of a considerable proportion of its player base. Blizzard later noted that the video was framed as a joke, and the band also claimed that the video was "never intended to be taken seriously" but that they were sorry they offended anyone.
This wasn't enough for some people, who were personally upset by Fisher's verbal abuse -- particularly the use of homophobic slurs. In response, Mike Morhaime, president of Blizzard, posted a personal apology which reads thus:
Dear members of the Blizzard community,
I have read your feedback and comments about this year's BlizzCon, and I have also read the feedback to the apology from Level 90 Elite Tauren Chieftain. I'd like to respond to some of your feedback here.
As president of Blizzard, I take full responsibility for everything that occurs at BlizzCon.
It was shortsighted and insensitive to use the video at all, even in censored form. The language used in the original version, including the slurs and use of sexual orientation as an insult, is not acceptable, period. We realize now that having even an edited version at the show was counter to the standards we try to maintain in our forums and in our games. Doing so was an error in judgment, and we regret it.
The bottom line is we deeply apologize for our mistakes and for hurting or offending anyone. We want you to have fun at our events, and we want everyone to feel welcome. We're proud to be part of a huge and diverse community, and I am proud that so many aspects of the community are represented within Blizzard itself.
As a leader of Blizzard, and a member of the band, I truly hope you will accept my humblest apology.
- Mike Morhaime President, Blizzard Entertainment
Good on Blizzard for responding to this in a classy and timely manner -- but this should never have happened in the first place. Alienating a significant proportion of the player base of your community/social interaction-based game is not a smart move.
Discussion erupted on the Blizzard forums criticizing the company for endorsing a video encouraging the abuse and death of a considerable proportion of its player base. Blizzard later noted that the video was framed as a joke, and the band also claimed that the video was "never intended to be taken seriously" but that they were sorry they offended anyone.
This wasn't enough for some people, who were personally upset by Fisher's verbal abuse -- particularly the use of homophobic slurs. In response, Mike Morhaime, president of Blizzard, posted a personal apology which reads thus:
Dear members of the Blizzard community,
I have read your feedback and comments about this year's BlizzCon, and I have also read the feedback to the apology from Level 90 Elite Tauren Chieftain. I'd like to respond to some of your feedback here.
As president of Blizzard, I take full responsibility for everything that occurs at BlizzCon.
It was shortsighted and insensitive to use the video at all, even in censored form. The language used in the original version, including the slurs and use of sexual orientation as an insult, is not acceptable, period. We realize now that having even an edited version at the show was counter to the standards we try to maintain in our forums and in our games. Doing so was an error in judgment, and we regret it.
The bottom line is we deeply apologize for our mistakes and for hurting or offending anyone. We want you to have fun at our events, and we want everyone to feel welcome. We're proud to be part of a huge and diverse community, and I am proud that so many aspects of the community are represented within Blizzard itself.
As a leader of Blizzard, and a member of the band, I truly hope you will accept my humblest apology.
- Mike Morhaime President, Blizzard Entertainment
Good on Blizzard for responding to this in a classy and timely manner -- but this should never have happened in the first place. Alienating a significant proportion of the player base of your community/social interaction-based game is not a smart move.
Nintendo Investor Briefing: 3DS' Challenges, eShop Overhaul, Final Model Wii U to Appear Next E3
Following some dreadful financial results, Nintendo clearly needs to think quickly to recover. President Satoru Iwata has addressed his company's investors and noted that he feels "greatly accountable" for the poor performance.
Iwata accepts that the 3DS sales since launch have not met expectations, but notes that the price markdown has improved pace somewhat. Throughout November, he anticipates that some keenly-awaited 3DS titles will give the ailing platform a further boost in the year-end season. He also plans to re-adopt the DS and Wii strategy of "working on new genres of software that may attract people who are not particularly interested in video games" for the 3DS, specifically pointing to titles such as Brain Training and Wii Fit as examples of the sort of titles we can expect. Perhaps we should be watching out for a "Touch Generations 3D" range soon.
Iwata also noted that the 3DS needed to have more software with a long tail -- that is, titles which sell for up to as long as the system's lifespan. He believes that Nintendogs+cats, Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7 all hold potential for this protracted period of sales -- previous entries in this series certainly achieved this, but on a platform which was more popular than the 3DS. Iwata noted that slow initial sales of a new game isn't necessarily cause for concern, however -- 81% of Mario Kart DS' total lifetime sales came after the year in which it was launched. As such, if the company can encourage more widespread adoption of the 3DS is a viable, desirable platform, these titles are likely to succeed over the long term.
Iwata also announced that the eShop for 3DS would be getting a makeover. A new update will allow DLC for games and demo versions. The facility to download titles while the 3DS is in sleep mode is also proposed, as is a web interface to access content via PC or smartphone. Iwata notes that part of the reason for this is to integrate the 3DS more tightly with social media, allowing for viral promotion of eShop titles rather than relying purely on user reviews within the 3DS-based eShop interface itself.
Finally, Iwata said that the final model of the Wii U would be showed at E3 next year. He notes that the company has learned "a bitter lesson" with the launch of the 3DS, and intends to "take every possible measure so that the Wii U will have a successful launch."
Iwata accepts that the 3DS sales since launch have not met expectations, but notes that the price markdown has improved pace somewhat. Throughout November, he anticipates that some keenly-awaited 3DS titles will give the ailing platform a further boost in the year-end season. He also plans to re-adopt the DS and Wii strategy of "working on new genres of software that may attract people who are not particularly interested in video games" for the 3DS, specifically pointing to titles such as Brain Training and Wii Fit as examples of the sort of titles we can expect. Perhaps we should be watching out for a "Touch Generations 3D" range soon.
Iwata also noted that the 3DS needed to have more software with a long tail -- that is, titles which sell for up to as long as the system's lifespan. He believes that Nintendogs+cats, Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7 all hold potential for this protracted period of sales -- previous entries in this series certainly achieved this, but on a platform which was more popular than the 3DS. Iwata noted that slow initial sales of a new game isn't necessarily cause for concern, however -- 81% of Mario Kart DS' total lifetime sales came after the year in which it was launched. As such, if the company can encourage more widespread adoption of the 3DS is a viable, desirable platform, these titles are likely to succeed over the long term.
Iwata also announced that the eShop for 3DS would be getting a makeover. A new update will allow DLC for games and demo versions. The facility to download titles while the 3DS is in sleep mode is also proposed, as is a web interface to access content via PC or smartphone. Iwata notes that part of the reason for this is to integrate the 3DS more tightly with social media, allowing for viral promotion of eShop titles rather than relying purely on user reviews within the 3DS-based eShop interface itself.
Finally, Iwata said that the final model of the Wii U would be showed at E3 next year. He notes that the company has learned "a bitter lesson" with the launch of the 3DS, and intends to "take every possible measure so that the Wii U will have a successful launch."
Monday, October 24, 2011
Show Us Your Haiku Skills, Win EscapeVektor
Aussie indie devs Nnooo recently released escapeVektor and critics everywhere have praised the game for its originality and cleverness. If you’d like to treat your Wii (and yourself) to a copy of the game, all we need is something original and clever from you — in a haiku.
Watch the video above. From that, come up with a haiku that sums up the game and post it in the comments below. And that’s it! We’re allowing one entry per person (so make it a good one!), and you have until midnight tomorrow to enter. Five of our favourite entries will receive a copy of escapeVektor for the Wii.
So what’s a haiku, you ask? A traditional haiku consists of three lines of text made up of five, seven, and five syllables respectively. Here’s an example of one we wrote ourselves:
Yay, a WiiWare game!
But is it worth our money?
Of course, it’s by Nnooo!
If you ask me, I consider that haiku to be absolute poetry. You may beg to differ. Anyway, have a quick read of the terms and conditions and show us what you’ve got! Be creative and have fun with it.
Watch the video above. From that, come up with a haiku that sums up the game and post it in the comments below. And that’s it! We’re allowing one entry per person (so make it a good one!), and you have until midnight tomorrow to enter. Five of our favourite entries will receive a copy of escapeVektor for the Wii.
So what’s a haiku, you ask? A traditional haiku consists of three lines of text made up of five, seven, and five syllables respectively. Here’s an example of one we wrote ourselves:
Yay, a WiiWare game!
But is it worth our money?
Of course, it’s by Nnooo!
If you ask me, I consider that haiku to be absolute poetry. You may beg to differ. Anyway, have a quick read of the terms and conditions and show us what you’ve got! Be creative and have fun with it.
The Vita’s ModNation Racers Is Now ModNation Racers: Road Trip
Sony’s been making a big deal out of ModNation Racers on their upcoming handheld, the Vita. I still shudder to think about the 10 minute stretch of their E3 press conference when (very nice, I should say) ModNation guys came onstage to demonstrate how to build a track and customise things in the game. I just wanted to fall asleep/watch Jane’s Addiction already!
Anyhow, according to the PlayStation Blog, the Vita game has been rechristened Modnation Racers: Road Trip. Which seems fitting. Rejected fan-suggested names include “In-A-Gotta-Mod-Vita,” “Honey I Shrunk the ModNation Racers,” and “Steve.” I think I like “Steve” the best of all of those.
Hmm, another of the top five suggestions is “ModNation racers: Purple Monkey Dishwasher.” What makes me think that they only got five suggestions to begin with?
ModNation Monday: Our Official Title Revealed! [PlayStation Blog]
Anyhow, according to the PlayStation Blog, the Vita game has been rechristened Modnation Racers: Road Trip. Which seems fitting. Rejected fan-suggested names include “In-A-Gotta-Mod-Vita,” “Honey I Shrunk the ModNation Racers,” and “Steve.” I think I like “Steve” the best of all of those.
Hmm, another of the top five suggestions is “ModNation racers: Purple Monkey Dishwasher.” What makes me think that they only got five suggestions to begin with?
ModNation Monday: Our Official Title Revealed! [PlayStation Blog]
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Play Battlefield 3 Before Your Mates, If You Live Near The JB Hi-Fi In Albany, NZ
If you’re in NZ and insanely eager to play Battlefield 3 before your Kiwi compartiots, the JB Hi-Fi in Westfield Albany will be holding a special event on October 26, starting from 6pm, where you can play the game six hours prior to its official release.
The store made the announcement via its Facebook page, and they included a list of deals that will be running during the event. We’ve replicated them here, to minimise your clicking requirements.
- 10% Off TVs (excludes Soniq)
- 15% Off Cameras
- 10% Off ALL Dell & Alienware
- 10% Off Computers (excludes Apple & iPad)
- 20% Off Audio & Speakers
- 20% Off Car Audio (excludes In-Car Navigation)
- 10% Off ALL CDs, DVDs & Blu-Rays
- 10% Off Phones (excludes iPhone)
The store made the announcement via its Facebook page, and they included a list of deals that will be running during the event. We’ve replicated them here, to minimise your clicking requirements.
- 10% Off TVs (excludes Soniq)
- 15% Off Cameras
- 10% Off ALL Dell & Alienware
- 10% Off Computers (excludes Apple & iPad)
- 20% Off Audio & Speakers
- 20% Off Car Audio (excludes In-Car Navigation)
- 10% Off ALL CDs, DVDs & Blu-Rays
- 10% Off Phones (excludes iPhone)
Kinect To Finally Learn Australian Next Wednesday?Invites sent out on Friday for a special Microsoft Australia event on October 26 boldly state that those who attend will “receive a gift enabling them to experience the promise of voice control”. No further details are provided, such as a date for regular folk to experience said promise, but I’m sure that will be forthcoming. TechAU kindly provided a snap of the invite (below), where it’s easy enough to read all the Kinect-related words, especially the ones that say “Kinect”. While the event will have a broader multimedia focus, attendees will be able to try out Kinect’s long sought after voice control functionality, funny accents and all. I’m guessing Mark and/or Tracey have the invitations sitting in their inboxes waiting to be read, so they should be able to confirm what the official deal is by, well, attending.
Invites sent out on Friday for a special Microsoft Australia event on October 26 boldly state that those who attend will “receive a gift enabling them to experience the promise of voice control”. No further details are provided, such as a date for regular folk to experience said promise, but I’m sure that will be forthcoming.
TechAU kindly provided a snap of the invite (below), where it’s easy enough to read all the Kinect-related words, especially the ones that say “Kinect”. While the event will have a broader multimedia focus, attendees will be able to try out Kinect’s long sought after voice control functionality, funny accents and all.
I’m guessing Mark and/or Tracey have the invitations sitting in their inboxes waiting to be read, so they should be able to confirm what the official deal is by, well, attending.
TechAU kindly provided a snap of the invite (below), where it’s easy enough to read all the Kinect-related words, especially the ones that say “Kinect”. While the event will have a broader multimedia focus, attendees will be able to try out Kinect’s long sought after voice control functionality, funny accents and all.
I’m guessing Mark and/or Tracey have the invitations sitting in their inboxes waiting to be read, so they should be able to confirm what the official deal is by, well, attending.
Should You Buy Deus Ex: The Missing Link? No.
This week, Eidos released the first downloadable content for their acclaimed role-playing game Deus Ex: Human Revolution, titled The Missing Link. We’re all looking forward to some more Deus Ex, but is The Missing Link worthy of the brand? It’s time to ask our guts what they think.
Kirk Hamilton, who has written more about Deus Ex than anyone else at Kotaku: So here we are with a big huge flaming “No” at the top of this post and now you’re probably wondering why I hate The Missing Link. But I don’t hate it! I just don’t recommend paying $US15 for it.
The Missing Link picks up near the end of Human Rvolution, with protagonist Adam Jensen stowed away in cryo-sleep aboard a transport ship run by Bell Tower security. In the proper game, Jensen goes into the sleep-tank and then wakes up at his destination, slightly disoriented but ready to kick arse. In the Missing Link, he is discovered mid-trip by the crew and goes on an adventure to uncover and stop a nefarious Bell Tower plot.
Missing Link stands as a separate entity from Human Revolution — items gathered in the game don’t carry across to your proper save, and all of Adam’s augmentations are stripped away at the very start of the mission. Fortunately, the game gives you a handful of Praxis kits at the outset, which allow you to power up and specialise your character somewhat. The points are limited, however, so you won’t be able to create a godlike uber-Jensen like you may have had in the game — you’ll have to choose between strength, stealth, etc.
It’s cool in theory — one of the shortcomings of Human Revolution was that Jensen could become too versatile, and dealing with each branching situation was more a matter of preference than necessity. Not so in The Missing Link. Especially in the first part of the story, you’ll only be able to deal with situations in the ways that your augments allow.
Luke Plunkett, Fellow Human Revolution Fan: Missing Link is yet another disjointed, opportunistic piece of singleplayer downloadable content that drops you back in a story you’ve already finished in a world you’ve already saved/doomed/whatever. There’s just no point to this! Remove the consequences of your actions and the context of your mission and Deus Ex is a very slow and very boring game. Making this a very slow and boring piece of DLC. No.
Okay this sounds pretty good, so why isn’t it worth $US15? Basically, it’s uninspired. The opening hours are all corridor-sneaking aboard a rain-swept ship, with none of the open-room office desk creeping that was so enjoyable in the first game. It feels like an homage to Metal Gear Solid 2, but in setting only. It’s flat, the environments are enclosed and constantly reused, and nothing is particularly exciting.
The hallways all look the same, the challenges are the same repetitive mix of computers, laser-grids, patrolling guards and locked doors. The enemies’ voice-over performances are flat even by Deus Ex standards. And as a result of the closed nature of the story, there are so many possible solutions offered to every problem that things somehow feel false in a way that they never did in Human Revolution, almost like Jensen has been inserted into a Deus Ex simulator.
Most of the guards are carrying pocket secretaries loaded with codes and passwords — they’re much more prevalent than in the main game. Most of the time, I’d go to hack a keypad only to find that I already had the code. Every room has the requisite alternate entrances, every camera can be bypassed in the same multiple ways. There’s just nothing new going on — it feels like more of the same assets and systems from the main game.
I haven’t finished The Missing Link, so take this for what it is — a gut check, me answering the question “Do I think you should spend your $US15 on this?” As much as I loved Human Revolution, I just can’t give this first DLC the same recommendation. As a part of an eventual GOTY collection, sure. If it goes on sale for $US5? Sure. But there are better things you could spend your $US15 on, especially this time of year.
Given the rumours that two entire hub-worlds (Montreal and Dubai) were withheld from Human Revolution, I’m optimistic that we’ll be seeing more substantive Deus Ex DLC soon. I’d say save your money and wait for that.
Kirk Hamilton, who has written more about Deus Ex than anyone else at Kotaku: So here we are with a big huge flaming “No” at the top of this post and now you’re probably wondering why I hate The Missing Link. But I don’t hate it! I just don’t recommend paying $US15 for it.
The Missing Link picks up near the end of Human Rvolution, with protagonist Adam Jensen stowed away in cryo-sleep aboard a transport ship run by Bell Tower security. In the proper game, Jensen goes into the sleep-tank and then wakes up at his destination, slightly disoriented but ready to kick arse. In the Missing Link, he is discovered mid-trip by the crew and goes on an adventure to uncover and stop a nefarious Bell Tower plot.
Missing Link stands as a separate entity from Human Revolution — items gathered in the game don’t carry across to your proper save, and all of Adam’s augmentations are stripped away at the very start of the mission. Fortunately, the game gives you a handful of Praxis kits at the outset, which allow you to power up and specialise your character somewhat. The points are limited, however, so you won’t be able to create a godlike uber-Jensen like you may have had in the game — you’ll have to choose between strength, stealth, etc.
It’s cool in theory — one of the shortcomings of Human Revolution was that Jensen could become too versatile, and dealing with each branching situation was more a matter of preference than necessity. Not so in The Missing Link. Especially in the first part of the story, you’ll only be able to deal with situations in the ways that your augments allow.
Luke Plunkett, Fellow Human Revolution Fan: Missing Link is yet another disjointed, opportunistic piece of singleplayer downloadable content that drops you back in a story you’ve already finished in a world you’ve already saved/doomed/whatever. There’s just no point to this! Remove the consequences of your actions and the context of your mission and Deus Ex is a very slow and very boring game. Making this a very slow and boring piece of DLC. No.
Okay this sounds pretty good, so why isn’t it worth $US15? Basically, it’s uninspired. The opening hours are all corridor-sneaking aboard a rain-swept ship, with none of the open-room office desk creeping that was so enjoyable in the first game. It feels like an homage to Metal Gear Solid 2, but in setting only. It’s flat, the environments are enclosed and constantly reused, and nothing is particularly exciting.
The hallways all look the same, the challenges are the same repetitive mix of computers, laser-grids, patrolling guards and locked doors. The enemies’ voice-over performances are flat even by Deus Ex standards. And as a result of the closed nature of the story, there are so many possible solutions offered to every problem that things somehow feel false in a way that they never did in Human Revolution, almost like Jensen has been inserted into a Deus Ex simulator.
Most of the guards are carrying pocket secretaries loaded with codes and passwords — they’re much more prevalent than in the main game. Most of the time, I’d go to hack a keypad only to find that I already had the code. Every room has the requisite alternate entrances, every camera can be bypassed in the same multiple ways. There’s just nothing new going on — it feels like more of the same assets and systems from the main game.
I haven’t finished The Missing Link, so take this for what it is — a gut check, me answering the question “Do I think you should spend your $US15 on this?” As much as I loved Human Revolution, I just can’t give this first DLC the same recommendation. As a part of an eventual GOTY collection, sure. If it goes on sale for $US5? Sure. But there are better things you could spend your $US15 on, especially this time of year.
Given the rumours that two entire hub-worlds (Montreal and Dubai) were withheld from Human Revolution, I’m optimistic that we’ll be seeing more substantive Deus Ex DLC soon. I’d say save your money and wait for that.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Who is moderating N4G?
Read the comments. Can the mods honestly label all of those comments as "Trolling" and "Off Topic"? I think this is a joke. I think it is fair that if a post is moderated, there should be a required tagline that says "This post was moderated by..."
I really think the amount of posts that get deleted on this site is ridiculous. At least 3/4ths of the posts marked are not bad at all, and most of the posts made by trolls are allowed to remain.
I really think the amount of posts that get deleted on this site is ridiculous. At least 3/4ths of the posts marked are not bad at all, and most of the posts made by trolls are allowed to remain.
Top 10 games that need a remake
10. Halo: Combat Evolved (Xbox)
Halo was arguably the first first person shooter. It utilized the concept of dual analog sticks. One to control the person, and one to control camera. While this game is old it still has decent graphics. In my opinion this is still the best of the Halo games.
9. Legend of the Dragoon (PS1)
Legend of the Dragoon came out about the same time as Final Fantasy VII. This game got blown under the radar by the release of Final Fantasy VII. This was a similar RPG to Final Fantasy VII. It had better graphics and a more cinematic combat style. It was also a much harder RPG than Final Fantasy VII which might add to the reason VII is more popular. I would like to see this game remade o n the PS3.
8. Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War (PS2)
I personally feel that this is the best Ace Combat game, and arguably the best flight combat game ever. The story is incredible and you really get attached to the characters. The graphics are still very good. After watching the new Ace Combat trailer I would really like to see Ace Combat 5 remade using the same graphics.
7. Final Fantasy IV (NES)
Naturally Final Fantasy would be on this list, however this isn't the Final Fantasy that most people would imagine. IV is arguably the best Final Fantasy to date. It has already been remade twice. Once on the Gameboy Advance, and one on the DS. I would like to see a third remake go multi-platform and use Final Fantasy XIII's graphics.
6. Golden Eye (N64)
I really don't need to say much about this game. Most people fully understand and have played this game. It was a great game. This was the first real first person shooter. It had split screen multiplayer and an awesome campaign. There is a remake on the Wii but I don't think that it will fully capture the spirit of the game. Remaking it on multi-platform would make it a sure fire hit.
5. Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64)
How could anyone make a list of games that need to be remade and not include the fan decided best Zelda game. This was the first 3 dimensional Zelda game. Every game before that had been in two dimensions. With the transfer to 3 dimensions fans went crazy and named Ocarina of Time the best Zelda game. It would be great to see this remade, but not until Nintendo releases HD console.
4. Metal Gear Solid 1 (PS1)
Metal Gear Solid is one of the greatest game series ever. No other game series has sparked so much controversy as the Metal Gear Solid series. Some gamers will argue that they are incredible, some will say that they are just to many cutscenes and not enough gameplay. Either way every gamer who likes Metal Gear Solid likes Metal Gear Solid 1 and 3. Almost every time you hear someone talk about game remakes this game is spoken.
3. Starwars: Knights of the Old Republic (Xbox)
Starwars games have had a long history of being terrible. Knights of the old Republic started a riot among starwars fans. Gamers, Starwars fans, Rpg fans, everyone loved the game. After watching the trailers for the Old Republic MMO it would be incredible to see this gem of a game released with those graphics.
2. Final Fantasy VII (PS1)
When ever I make a top ten list I try to avoid using the same series twice. But it would be impossible to make this list without adding there next two games. How could I or anyone make a list about games that needed to be remade without including Final Fantasy VII. This is the most demanded game remake I think I’ve ever seen. There are countless articles online about gamers wanting VII to be remade. Square caused this epidemic among gamers when they remade the first cutscene to showcase the power of the PS3's graphical capabilities. Gamers went crazy and to this day four years later gamers are still hoping that Square remakes this game.
1. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (PS2)
Again like I said I try not to reuse the same series. MGS3 it still one of the highest rated game of the last generation. Personally it is my favorite game ever. I would love to see Hideo Kojima remake it using MGS4's graphics and camera system. Hideo showed off a sample remake at E3 2010 on the 3DS called the Naked Sample. I would like to see a remake both on the 3DS and on the PS3.
Halo was arguably the first first person shooter. It utilized the concept of dual analog sticks. One to control the person, and one to control camera. While this game is old it still has decent graphics. In my opinion this is still the best of the Halo games.
9. Legend of the Dragoon (PS1)
Legend of the Dragoon came out about the same time as Final Fantasy VII. This game got blown under the radar by the release of Final Fantasy VII. This was a similar RPG to Final Fantasy VII. It had better graphics and a more cinematic combat style. It was also a much harder RPG than Final Fantasy VII which might add to the reason VII is more popular. I would like to see this game remade o n the PS3.
8. Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War (PS2)
I personally feel that this is the best Ace Combat game, and arguably the best flight combat game ever. The story is incredible and you really get attached to the characters. The graphics are still very good. After watching the new Ace Combat trailer I would really like to see Ace Combat 5 remade using the same graphics.
7. Final Fantasy IV (NES)
Naturally Final Fantasy would be on this list, however this isn't the Final Fantasy that most people would imagine. IV is arguably the best Final Fantasy to date. It has already been remade twice. Once on the Gameboy Advance, and one on the DS. I would like to see a third remake go multi-platform and use Final Fantasy XIII's graphics.
6. Golden Eye (N64)
I really don't need to say much about this game. Most people fully understand and have played this game. It was a great game. This was the first real first person shooter. It had split screen multiplayer and an awesome campaign. There is a remake on the Wii but I don't think that it will fully capture the spirit of the game. Remaking it on multi-platform would make it a sure fire hit.
5. Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64)
How could anyone make a list of games that need to be remade and not include the fan decided best Zelda game. This was the first 3 dimensional Zelda game. Every game before that had been in two dimensions. With the transfer to 3 dimensions fans went crazy and named Ocarina of Time the best Zelda game. It would be great to see this remade, but not until Nintendo releases HD console.
4. Metal Gear Solid 1 (PS1)
Metal Gear Solid is one of the greatest game series ever. No other game series has sparked so much controversy as the Metal Gear Solid series. Some gamers will argue that they are incredible, some will say that they are just to many cutscenes and not enough gameplay. Either way every gamer who likes Metal Gear Solid likes Metal Gear Solid 1 and 3. Almost every time you hear someone talk about game remakes this game is spoken.
3. Starwars: Knights of the Old Republic (Xbox)
Starwars games have had a long history of being terrible. Knights of the old Republic started a riot among starwars fans. Gamers, Starwars fans, Rpg fans, everyone loved the game. After watching the trailers for the Old Republic MMO it would be incredible to see this gem of a game released with those graphics.
2. Final Fantasy VII (PS1)
When ever I make a top ten list I try to avoid using the same series twice. But it would be impossible to make this list without adding there next two games. How could I or anyone make a list about games that needed to be remade without including Final Fantasy VII. This is the most demanded game remake I think I’ve ever seen. There are countless articles online about gamers wanting VII to be remade. Square caused this epidemic among gamers when they remade the first cutscene to showcase the power of the PS3's graphical capabilities. Gamers went crazy and to this day four years later gamers are still hoping that Square remakes this game.
1. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (PS2)
Again like I said I try not to reuse the same series. MGS3 it still one of the highest rated game of the last generation. Personally it is my favorite game ever. I would love to see Hideo Kojima remake it using MGS4's graphics and camera system. Hideo showed off a sample remake at E3 2010 on the 3DS called the Naked Sample. I would like to see a remake both on the 3DS and on the PS3.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
3DS The good, and the unknown
If you haven't read my blog on the NGP then make sure you do that as well, but let's talk about the 3DS. The 3DS is Nintendo's new Portable, and it's a DS with Gamecube graphics (maybe Wii) and 3D. With the announcement of the NGP and iPhone/tablet games getting 3rd party developer support like Epic and id Tech, the 3DS graphics don't seem as impressive as they were during their E3 announcement, so all they have to stand on is 3D and games. Fortunately the 3DS has games, as you know Nintendo's firsty party is lining up franchise after franchise to make it's way over to the portable, and for once Nintendo finally has great 3rd party developer support. But is 3D enough to put the handheld away from the competition?
The good.
3D. 3D is the selling point of the 3DS, no other device let's you play 3D games in the palm of your hand. It's a nice gimmick that makes way for unique game development if developers take the time out to make a 3D game and not just slap it on. Puzzle games come to mind off the back when think of games that will benefit from the 3DS. The 3D drains the battery life of the console, but fortunately there's a slider that let's you dial in the amount of 3D you use, which when off can bring the battery life up to 8 hours. The early titles haven't shown much of what you gain from 3D, but the tech demos have, and we'll just have to wait and see.
Predecessor. The DS is the best selling handheld/console in history (I say handheld, because if we count anything that plays games as a console then phones have to be on the list as well). The DS has sold over 150 million units and counting. All the 3DS has to do is tie into the success of it's predecessor, and they can expect to rack them up for another round of 3D, DS gaming fun.
3DS to 3DS interaction. Street Pass mode lets your 3DS interact with other 3DS in the area, and literally play itself while tucked away in your pocket. The surprise factor of winning a game you didn't even have to play should be interesting.
It comes with stuff. Supposedly the 3DS comes with 2 free games and a 2GB SD card. The
Wii Features. The 3DS has Wii Ware and Motion Controls. On Wii Ware you can buy games and supposedly movies will be thrown into the mix, hopefully in 3D(even though the majority of it is garbage, and the store is awful to navigate, at least you'll be able to play classics). The 3DS also has motion and tilt controls, and with 3D that can lead to some some unique titles.
3D camera. This will be nice Day 1, after that ummmm.
Charging Cradle. That was cute to have instead of a connector.
AR Games. This seems interesting. It's concept is like Eye Pet (PS3) except you play little mini games. If they can go beyond mini games then this will be a nice feature, but so far the game look like those little box internet games where you click on the clown to punch it and it takes you to some advertisement.
Now the worries
I think the 3DS has a lot going against it, and unfortunately it's between a rock and a hard place.
Cell phones and tablets competition. They're games are practically identical to what you get on the current Nintendo DS, and cost $1 - $10 compared to the 3DS rumored $40 - $50. This is a problem. The 3DS has Mario, and Nintendo's other franchises, but every other game can easily be ported over to these devices since they're more than capable of running anything the DS and even 3DS can (minus the 3D). Another problem is there's a cell phone that can already do 3D without glasses, so expect more phones and tablets to come in 2012 taking away Nintendo's only glory.
3D. 3D is the selling point, but how do you show that in commercials? They need to Have SKU's in as many stores as they can by the holiday so people can see and play the device.
Price. $250 is too much for what parent consider a child's toy. It does come with 2 games and a 2GB SD card, but I and many other would rather have $199 over the 2 games and 2GB SD. Nintendo fans will pick it up Day 1, while core gamers will twinkle in over time, while some wait for the inevitable 3DS lite with better battery, giving the platform a better library of games, and a more compact size. Parents however, will look at this price, and say, no billy you're going to have to wait. Which brings me to my next point.
The name and look. Everyone has a DS, and when kids ask for a 3DS parents are going to say, Don't you already have a DS. That's not what you want when selling a new product. Parents are going to look at this like, I can buy this current DS for $100 or I can buy this 3DS for $250...SAVINGS and get the current DS. In Japan the name is fine because everyone buys the new DS no matter what, but America good luck.
Battery Life. This is going to put off a lot of core gamers. 3 - 5 hours sucks especially when it's caused by your main selling point "3D".
NGP causes a double whammy. The NGP has just crowned itself as the hardcore's portable, and while some will eventually come to the 3DS realm, the NGP will be taken away some core market from the 3DS, while cell phones and tablets take away casual. The NGP is a problem, it's everything a console gamer wants in a portable, and if the price is right, if the battery is right (4 - 6 hours is expected), and if the games are right then it's going to be a huge problem for Nintendo this holiday.
Parents. Parents are going to be Nintendo's blockade to selling tons of 3DS like they did with the DS. There are too many variables for them to encounter, and if not enlightened, will be a loss of a sell. Unfortunately most parents are dumb when it comes to games, and that poor child is going to suffer because of it.
With that being said I think the 3DS is going to sell more than the NGP simply because of it's child friendly image, at least until the kids grow up and want a NGP.
That's it. I think the 3DS will be a good platform, but Nintendo has a lot of work to do to make it happen. They need to demonstrate, clean up their message on what makes a 3DS different from a DS, find a way to compete with cell phones and the NGP, get the price down to casual friendly numbers, blow core gamers away at E3 with what's coming out for the holiday. It's just so much, and they don't have much time. I haven't seen one 3DS commercial here in the states and it comes out in a little over a month, that's a problem. Shortages are confirmed, and that's with every launch (I don't get it, but whatever) so I guess they're only selling to the core until the holiday. Anywho it's not going to be all happy days and sunshine for Nintendo this time. They're going to have to get down and work for the 3DS to be a success, and if the Gamecube is anything to go by, they're not going to fight as hard as they should.
The good.
3D. 3D is the selling point of the 3DS, no other device let's you play 3D games in the palm of your hand. It's a nice gimmick that makes way for unique game development if developers take the time out to make a 3D game and not just slap it on. Puzzle games come to mind off the back when think of games that will benefit from the 3DS. The 3D drains the battery life of the console, but fortunately there's a slider that let's you dial in the amount of 3D you use, which when off can bring the battery life up to 8 hours. The early titles haven't shown much of what you gain from 3D, but the tech demos have, and we'll just have to wait and see.
Predecessor. The DS is the best selling handheld/console in history (I say handheld, because if we count anything that plays games as a console then phones have to be on the list as well). The DS has sold over 150 million units and counting. All the 3DS has to do is tie into the success of it's predecessor, and they can expect to rack them up for another round of 3D, DS gaming fun.
3DS to 3DS interaction. Street Pass mode lets your 3DS interact with other 3DS in the area, and literally play itself while tucked away in your pocket. The surprise factor of winning a game you didn't even have to play should be interesting.
It comes with stuff. Supposedly the 3DS comes with 2 free games and a 2GB SD card. The
Wii Features. The 3DS has Wii Ware and Motion Controls. On Wii Ware you can buy games and supposedly movies will be thrown into the mix, hopefully in 3D(even though the majority of it is garbage, and the store is awful to navigate, at least you'll be able to play classics). The 3DS also has motion and tilt controls, and with 3D that can lead to some some unique titles.
3D camera. This will be nice Day 1, after that ummmm.
Charging Cradle. That was cute to have instead of a connector.
AR Games. This seems interesting. It's concept is like Eye Pet (PS3) except you play little mini games. If they can go beyond mini games then this will be a nice feature, but so far the game look like those little box internet games where you click on the clown to punch it and it takes you to some advertisement.
Now the worries
I think the 3DS has a lot going against it, and unfortunately it's between a rock and a hard place.
Cell phones and tablets competition. They're games are practically identical to what you get on the current Nintendo DS, and cost $1 - $10 compared to the 3DS rumored $40 - $50. This is a problem. The 3DS has Mario, and Nintendo's other franchises, but every other game can easily be ported over to these devices since they're more than capable of running anything the DS and even 3DS can (minus the 3D). Another problem is there's a cell phone that can already do 3D without glasses, so expect more phones and tablets to come in 2012 taking away Nintendo's only glory.
3D. 3D is the selling point, but how do you show that in commercials? They need to Have SKU's in as many stores as they can by the holiday so people can see and play the device.
Price. $250 is too much for what parent consider a child's toy. It does come with 2 games and a 2GB SD card, but I and many other would rather have $199 over the 2 games and 2GB SD. Nintendo fans will pick it up Day 1, while core gamers will twinkle in over time, while some wait for the inevitable 3DS lite with better battery, giving the platform a better library of games, and a more compact size. Parents however, will look at this price, and say, no billy you're going to have to wait. Which brings me to my next point.
The name and look. Everyone has a DS, and when kids ask for a 3DS parents are going to say, Don't you already have a DS. That's not what you want when selling a new product. Parents are going to look at this like, I can buy this current DS for $100 or I can buy this 3DS for $250...SAVINGS and get the current DS. In Japan the name is fine because everyone buys the new DS no matter what, but America good luck.
Battery Life. This is going to put off a lot of core gamers. 3 - 5 hours sucks especially when it's caused by your main selling point "3D".
NGP causes a double whammy. The NGP has just crowned itself as the hardcore's portable, and while some will eventually come to the 3DS realm, the NGP will be taken away some core market from the 3DS, while cell phones and tablets take away casual. The NGP is a problem, it's everything a console gamer wants in a portable, and if the price is right, if the battery is right (4 - 6 hours is expected), and if the games are right then it's going to be a huge problem for Nintendo this holiday.
Parents. Parents are going to be Nintendo's blockade to selling tons of 3DS like they did with the DS. There are too many variables for them to encounter, and if not enlightened, will be a loss of a sell. Unfortunately most parents are dumb when it comes to games, and that poor child is going to suffer because of it.
With that being said I think the 3DS is going to sell more than the NGP simply because of it's child friendly image, at least until the kids grow up and want a NGP.
That's it. I think the 3DS will be a good platform, but Nintendo has a lot of work to do to make it happen. They need to demonstrate, clean up their message on what makes a 3DS different from a DS, find a way to compete with cell phones and the NGP, get the price down to casual friendly numbers, blow core gamers away at E3 with what's coming out for the holiday. It's just so much, and they don't have much time. I haven't seen one 3DS commercial here in the states and it comes out in a little over a month, that's a problem. Shortages are confirmed, and that's with every launch (I don't get it, but whatever) so I guess they're only selling to the core until the holiday. Anywho it's not going to be all happy days and sunshine for Nintendo this time. They're going to have to get down and work for the 3DS to be a success, and if the Gamecube is anything to go by, they're not going to fight as hard as they should.
MAG: The Top 10 Things We Love and Hate About Snipers
Being an effective sniper in any FPS is a defining characteristic of a gamer. Certainly we all have that one friend who is so good at sniping it boggles your mind. How they rack up 50+ kills and 0 deaths is completely beyond you. Maybe you're one of those lucky few exceptionally gifted at subtle, quick, and swift joystick motions, with the impeccable ability to lead your prey from extreme distances. If you are, then you know how gratuitously satisfying it is. Perhaps you aren't aware however, that your victims loathe you with the most purest form of divine hatred. We will now tally off the top 10 reasons what we like best about picking you off, and why you get immense joy out of killing us.
Sniper vs sniper combat:
"I know he's in there, I see the f***er shooting. Why can't I hit him? Wtf?!" Alright, I'll just lean in closer to the tv, see if I can see a pixel move or something... "Gah, wtf, how did he see me, I can't even see him, I was looking right there!
Sitting Ducks:
Nothing says "yeah motherf***er, got you and all your butt buddies, what you gonna snipe now?" like sneaking up behind a whole row of 5 or 6 opposing snipers and thrusting your shotgun into each of their blind sides.
I didn't say you could get back up:
It may seem cruel to purposely snipe someone in the chest, so you can incapacitate them, instead of kill them completely just to snipe them again when they get res'd by a teammate, and again, and again, and again. My personal record is 5.
The more the merrier:
Even the most calmest of snipers may find themselves hesitating to shoot when they are peering down the scope at a rather large group of enemies. Usually we have to pick out the best shots, we're not used to so many targets at once. "Holy sh**! What do I do? They're everywhere!" Dude, shoot!
Helpless:
The primary cause of broken tvs and controllers: Getting sniped more than 3 times in a row while trying to land your parachute.
The anti-sniper:
You take full advantage of the knowledge that no matter how many times you snipe a sniper, some of them will continue to go back into the same exact spot every single time. Some people never learn.
Super spawn camper:
Everyone hates campers, even campers hate campers. Cause no camper likes being camped. Snipers, who camp your spawn 150m away, scope affixed to the door which you and all your teammates spawn in are hated in the highest regard.
Hehehe:
You know that feeling. The one you get when the +5 appears on your screen because of that claymore you set on a popular snipers perch. I do.
Fatal position:
It's a snipers dream. You shoot the enemy once, and out of panic, they dive prone to the ground, head pointed directly towards you. They might as well just commit suicide.
Sniper vs sniper combat:
"I know he's in there, I see the f***er shooting. Why can't I hit him? Wtf?!" Alright, I'll just lean in closer to the tv, see if I can see a pixel move or something... "Gah, wtf, how did he see me, I can't even see him, I was looking right there!
Sitting Ducks:
Nothing says "yeah motherf***er, got you and all your butt buddies, what you gonna snipe now?" like sneaking up behind a whole row of 5 or 6 opposing snipers and thrusting your shotgun into each of their blind sides.
I didn't say you could get back up:
It may seem cruel to purposely snipe someone in the chest, so you can incapacitate them, instead of kill them completely just to snipe them again when they get res'd by a teammate, and again, and again, and again. My personal record is 5.
The more the merrier:
Even the most calmest of snipers may find themselves hesitating to shoot when they are peering down the scope at a rather large group of enemies. Usually we have to pick out the best shots, we're not used to so many targets at once. "Holy sh**! What do I do? They're everywhere!" Dude, shoot!
Helpless:
The primary cause of broken tvs and controllers: Getting sniped more than 3 times in a row while trying to land your parachute.
The anti-sniper:
You take full advantage of the knowledge that no matter how many times you snipe a sniper, some of them will continue to go back into the same exact spot every single time. Some people never learn.
Super spawn camper:
Everyone hates campers, even campers hate campers. Cause no camper likes being camped. Snipers, who camp your spawn 150m away, scope affixed to the door which you and all your teammates spawn in are hated in the highest regard.
Hehehe:
You know that feeling. The one you get when the +5 appears on your screen because of that claymore you set on a popular snipers perch. I do.
Fatal position:
It's a snipers dream. You shoot the enemy once, and out of panic, they dive prone to the ground, head pointed directly towards you. They might as well just commit suicide.
TRINITY: SOULS OF ZILL O'll PS3 Demo Playthrough
Hey everyone this is the playthrough of Trinity: Souls of Zill O'll. It's an ok game. but definetly needs a bit of work. its a hack and slash with a few RPG elements. Anyway take a look and let me know how you feel about this game.
Resistance 3 Impressions--Am I the only one?
Am I the only one who is a little upset about the recent gameplay footage floating around from Resistance 3? Hold on before you "WTFuXORS!", don't get me wrong, the game looked absolutely beautiful. It just didn't look like Resistance, it looked like Killzone with Chimera. And to all the people saying it does look like Killzone and liking this, are huge hypocrites.
When it comes to Killzone, fans love the feeling, look, and art design behind it. They will give you a lingual lashing if they even hear about anything CODish going into the game, because they want Killzone to have it's own identity. So why then do I feel Resistance has lost it's identity from the gameplay footage?
They even took the red hit box straight out of Killzone. And Resistance now has a true ADS, which angers me in some sense with some of the comments I seen on an article. Where people said "Resistance always had ADS" proving to me that most people putting their input on franchises similar to this one are not true fans of the game.
Resistance's ADS was never a true ADS, it was more of a "zoom" mode where there was still a corsair since Resistance is more of an arcadey game. Which is one of the several reasons why I was so fond of Resistance. It had it's own identity, a dying breed in my opinion in that before FPS's usually had their own play style, etc.
Point of all this, is I'd like my Killzone to be Killzone and my Resistance to be Resistance. Not one of the same, if I want to play a realistic shooter I'll pop in Killzone, if I want an arcadey halo-style game I'll pop in Resistance. They may have brought back the weapon wheel (yay!) but it looks like they completely dumped their art style and gameplay.
Another thing that worries me is the graphics, I mean holy crap did it look fan-freakin'-tastic, but is the graphics going to be able to handle the huge scale battles the resistance games are known for? Or are they dropping the huge scale for a more in your face type of gameplay? If so, I personally would of liked this game to be more of a spin off game rather than a full fledged sequel. Again making my case for not feeling and/or looking like Resistance.
If they put Helghast in that video I would of thought it was Killzone with no hesitation.
When it comes to Killzone, fans love the feeling, look, and art design behind it. They will give you a lingual lashing if they even hear about anything CODish going into the game, because they want Killzone to have it's own identity. So why then do I feel Resistance has lost it's identity from the gameplay footage?
They even took the red hit box straight out of Killzone. And Resistance now has a true ADS, which angers me in some sense with some of the comments I seen on an article. Where people said "Resistance always had ADS" proving to me that most people putting their input on franchises similar to this one are not true fans of the game.
Resistance's ADS was never a true ADS, it was more of a "zoom" mode where there was still a corsair since Resistance is more of an arcadey game. Which is one of the several reasons why I was so fond of Resistance. It had it's own identity, a dying breed in my opinion in that before FPS's usually had their own play style, etc.
Point of all this, is I'd like my Killzone to be Killzone and my Resistance to be Resistance. Not one of the same, if I want to play a realistic shooter I'll pop in Killzone, if I want an arcadey halo-style game I'll pop in Resistance. They may have brought back the weapon wheel (yay!) but it looks like they completely dumped their art style and gameplay.
Another thing that worries me is the graphics, I mean holy crap did it look fan-freakin'-tastic, but is the graphics going to be able to handle the huge scale battles the resistance games are known for? Or are they dropping the huge scale for a more in your face type of gameplay? If so, I personally would of liked this game to be more of a spin off game rather than a full fledged sequel. Again making my case for not feeling and/or looking like Resistance.
If they put Helghast in that video I would of thought it was Killzone with no hesitation.
Nick Jr., MTVN expand in Asia
Rugrats and music fans in Singapore and Malaysia will be able to tune in to “Dora the Explorer” and 24-hour music videos, docus and concerts with the launch of Viacom’s Nick Jr. and MTVN HD in the territories in coming weeks.
Nick Jr Games. will bow on Singapore’s Starhub from May 18, while MTVN HD will air on Telekom Malaysia Berhad’s HyppTV in Malaysia from June 1.
Nick Jr. will be available on the StarHub TV’s Kids Basic Upsize Group, while MTVNHD will be available to existing StarHub TV’s Entertainment Basic Group customers who are subscribed to the Basic HD Upsize group.
TM will offer the two channels a la carte to its subscribers on HyppTV, Malaysia’s newest pay TV service.
Nick Jr Games. will bow on Singapore’s Starhub from May 18, while MTVN HD will air on Telekom Malaysia Berhad’s HyppTV in Malaysia from June 1.
Nick Jr. will be available on the StarHub TV’s Kids Basic Upsize Group, while MTVNHD will be available to existing StarHub TV’s Entertainment Basic Group customers who are subscribed to the Basic HD Upsize group.
TM will offer the two channels a la carte to its subscribers on HyppTV, Malaysia’s newest pay TV service.
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.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Phineas And Ferb 3D Game – Disney XD Games 63
New Disney Game – Phineas and Ferb
Disney released a new game. Phineas and Ferb 3D online game. Klick here to read the complete review.
The new game is available at the Disney XD discovery channel. Get ahead of the game before its officially released next week!
Disney is introducing the brand new DisneyXD game. Phineas and Ferb in: The Transport inators of Doooom!
Doofenschmitz is up to his old tricks again, and who has gone missing? Phineas! Help Ferb find his brother and try to help Agent P thwarth Doofenschmitz evil plans!
Check out this new exciting Disney XD online game before all others do at the Disney Cartoon network games website!
Check out Disney’s cartoon network to find a lot of amazing games and news. Disney offers a lot of cartoon games on their site. So head over to the Disney XD site and play the new Phineas and Ferb – The Transport-inators of Doooom! game!
Have Fun!
Disney released a new game. Phineas and Ferb 3D online game. Klick here to read the complete review.
The new game is available at the Disney XD discovery channel. Get ahead of the game before its officially released next week!
Disney is introducing the brand new DisneyXD game. Phineas and Ferb in: The Transport inators of Doooom!
Doofenschmitz is up to his old tricks again, and who has gone missing? Phineas! Help Ferb find his brother and try to help Agent P thwarth Doofenschmitz evil plans!
Check out this new exciting Disney XD online game before all others do at the Disney Cartoon network games website!
Check out Disney’s cartoon network to find a lot of amazing games and news. Disney offers a lot of cartoon games on their site. So head over to the Disney XD site and play the new Phineas and Ferb – The Transport-inators of Doooom! game!
Have Fun!
5 Things the eShop Needs Now
When Nintendo announced the eShop people got really excited. But then it opened. And while it is definately an improvement and Nintendo fans don't mind. I don't think that someone who owns a PSP would want to go from the PS Store to the eShop. So here are the things Nintendo should add to grab people's attention.
1). Linked Accounts Between Systems
Unlike Xbox Live and PSN Nintendo has never made people create a specific account. But they need to change their ways. The eShop is the perfect way to start. What if they revamped Club Nintendo to be like Live or PSN so it was their whole system they used? Connecting this to your screen name online would also be good outside of the eShop making it easier to add friends by means of Club Nintendo. Please Nintendo, if not this than a variation of it.
2). More Elaborate Virtual Console
Remember when Nintendo preomised more than Gameboy for Virtual Console. Well we're still waiting and even once it happens it won't have a ton of consoles. Why not go past portables? Bring the whole catalogue from the Wii over in one swoop. And then bring Club Nintendo (#1 coming back in) into play by letting people share the Virtual Console games between the Wii and 3DS.
3). Original Games
Where are the original games? These are a given and the eShop lacks them. DSiWare and 3D Classics won't cut it. Some have been announced but we need a good flow of them every week to seperate the DSiWare from the next generation. Make DSiWare more like PS Minis and let the original games take the spotlight.
4). DS Games Brought Back
The Nintendo DS has an amazing catalogue of games. Why not bring them back? Chances are you've probably missed out on a few great games so why not let us download them to our 3DS's SD Card? Don't stop there either. Do something like Sony does on the PSP and offer some retail 3DS games on the eShop. That would be a great way to make the 3DS extremely portable.
5). Movies
The PS3 and the PSP have it. It could even be a seperate shop. But add a shop or a section where we can buy or rent movies and TV shows to watch on our 3DS. I would love to buy 3D movies to watch on my Nintendo 3DS. Make it a multimedia machine. Alot of people will be willing to buy a 3DS if it means 3D entertainment. Some people don't buy them for the games.
While not all of these are neccessary for Nintendo, if Nintendo wants to have the top store to download content these will deffinately be sellers. Nintendo, I hope your listening because this is what you need.
1). Linked Accounts Between Systems
Unlike Xbox Live and PSN Nintendo has never made people create a specific account. But they need to change their ways. The eShop is the perfect way to start. What if they revamped Club Nintendo to be like Live or PSN so it was their whole system they used? Connecting this to your screen name online would also be good outside of the eShop making it easier to add friends by means of Club Nintendo. Please Nintendo, if not this than a variation of it.
2). More Elaborate Virtual Console
Remember when Nintendo preomised more than Gameboy for Virtual Console. Well we're still waiting and even once it happens it won't have a ton of consoles. Why not go past portables? Bring the whole catalogue from the Wii over in one swoop. And then bring Club Nintendo (#1 coming back in) into play by letting people share the Virtual Console games between the Wii and 3DS.
3). Original Games
Where are the original games? These are a given and the eShop lacks them. DSiWare and 3D Classics won't cut it. Some have been announced but we need a good flow of them every week to seperate the DSiWare from the next generation. Make DSiWare more like PS Minis and let the original games take the spotlight.
4). DS Games Brought Back
The Nintendo DS has an amazing catalogue of games. Why not bring them back? Chances are you've probably missed out on a few great games so why not let us download them to our 3DS's SD Card? Don't stop there either. Do something like Sony does on the PSP and offer some retail 3DS games on the eShop. That would be a great way to make the 3DS extremely portable.
5). Movies
The PS3 and the PSP have it. It could even be a seperate shop. But add a shop or a section where we can buy or rent movies and TV shows to watch on our 3DS. I would love to buy 3D movies to watch on my Nintendo 3DS. Make it a multimedia machine. Alot of people will be willing to buy a 3DS if it means 3D entertainment. Some people don't buy them for the games.
While not all of these are neccessary for Nintendo, if Nintendo wants to have the top store to download content these will deffinately be sellers. Nintendo, I hope your listening because this is what you need.
Thursday, October 13, 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.
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.
Disney-branded Facebook games coming in 2012, Playdom head says
Can we all just say, “finally?” During a panel named “The Rise of Social Games” at the f8 Facebook Developers Conference in San Francisco, Disney Interactive and Playdom head John Pleasants revealed that two to four Facebook games surrounding Disney xd brands will hit Facebook in 2012. The general topic of the panel was the fact that branded social games are taking off.
Pleasants was joined on the panel by Kabam CEO Kevin Chou, EA Interactive head Barry Cottle and Zynga CBO Owen Van Natta. Facebook director of games partnerships Sean Ryan moderated the panel with the preface that branded games will take over the Facebook platform. And he might be right: EA just released The Sims Social, Zynga will soon re-brand its new Adventure World with Indiana Jones and Kabam recently announced The Godfather: Five Families.
Playdom, which Disney acquired in July 2010 for a whopping $740 million, is ahead of the pack with two branded games on Facebook: ESPNU College Town and ESPN Sports Bar & Grill. Both games performed well, thanks to advertising through the ESPN TV network. While Disney owns the ESPN brand, notice how neither of those actually involve the insanely popular Disney characters we’ve come to love.
Honestly, we’re surprised this didn’t happen sooner. Consider this: Disney has its own cable TV channel through which it could, in theory, advertise whatever it wants. Pleasants didn’t get into why it’s taken this long for disney channel games to throw its cast of characters into Facebook games, but did reveal the power of the Disney name.
Gnome Town, which Playdom launched in the summer–and we enjoyed quite a bit–peaked at 530,000 daily players. But just plopping the Disney logo on top of the existing one made users more likely to spend in the game just through trust of the company’s name, according to Pleasants. “We think it’s an advantage, if you put game play first,” Pleasants said.
It’s comforting to hear this emphasized by these developers. (Kabam’s Chou shared the same sentiment.) Branded games on Facebook are OK in my book, but the last thing anyone wants to see is the genre become a branding machine.
Pleasants was joined on the panel by Kabam CEO Kevin Chou, EA Interactive head Barry Cottle and Zynga CBO Owen Van Natta. Facebook director of games partnerships Sean Ryan moderated the panel with the preface that branded games will take over the Facebook platform. And he might be right: EA just released The Sims Social, Zynga will soon re-brand its new Adventure World with Indiana Jones and Kabam recently announced The Godfather: Five Families.
Playdom, which Disney acquired in July 2010 for a whopping $740 million, is ahead of the pack with two branded games on Facebook: ESPNU College Town and ESPN Sports Bar & Grill. Both games performed well, thanks to advertising through the ESPN TV network. While Disney owns the ESPN brand, notice how neither of those actually involve the insanely popular Disney characters we’ve come to love.
Honestly, we’re surprised this didn’t happen sooner. Consider this: Disney has its own cable TV channel through which it could, in theory, advertise whatever it wants. Pleasants didn’t get into why it’s taken this long for disney channel games to throw its cast of characters into Facebook games, but did reveal the power of the Disney name.
Gnome Town, which Playdom launched in the summer–and we enjoyed quite a bit–peaked at 530,000 daily players. But just plopping the Disney logo on top of the existing one made users more likely to spend in the game just through trust of the company’s name, according to Pleasants. “We think it’s an advantage, if you put game play first,” Pleasants said.
It’s comforting to hear this emphasized by these developers. (Kabam’s Chou shared the same sentiment.) Branded games on Facebook are OK in my book, but the last thing anyone wants to see is the genre become a branding machine.
Phineas And Ferb 3D Game – Disney XD Games 63
New Disney Game – Phineas and Ferb
Disney released a new game. Phineas and Ferb 3D online game. Klick here to read the complete review.
The new game is available at the Disney XD discovery channel. Get ahead of the game before its officially released next week!
Disney is introducing the brand new DisneyXD game. Phineas and Ferb in: The Transport inators of Doooom!
Doofenschmitz is up to his old tricks again, and who has gone missing? Phineas! Help Ferb find his brother and try to help Agent P thwarth Doofenschmitz evil plans!
Check out this new exciting Disney XD online game before all others do at the Disney Cartoon network games website!
Check out Disney’s cartoon network to find a lot of amazing games and news. Disney offers a lot of cartoon games on their site. So head over to the Disney XD site and play the new Phineas and Ferb – The Transport-inators of Doooom! game!
Have Fun!
Disney released a new game. Phineas and Ferb 3D online game. Klick here to read the complete review.
The new game is available at the Disney XD discovery channel. Get ahead of the game before its officially released next week!
Disney is introducing the brand new DisneyXD game. Phineas and Ferb in: The Transport inators of Doooom!
Doofenschmitz is up to his old tricks again, and who has gone missing? Phineas! Help Ferb find his brother and try to help Agent P thwarth Doofenschmitz evil plans!
Check out this new exciting Disney XD online game before all others do at the Disney Cartoon network games website!
Check out Disney’s cartoon network to find a lot of amazing games and news. Disney offers a lot of cartoon games on their site. So head over to the Disney XD site and play the new Phineas and Ferb – The Transport-inators of Doooom! game!
Have Fun!
Play the Scary Maze Game With Your Friends!
Have you ever played the Scary Maze Game 8 now? If not, brotha you haven’t lived!!! This maze game is the most awesome game on earth! But in order to play it you MUST have a partner in the room with you. So go find a friend, co-hort, or even an enemy – it doesn’t matter! Then match your wits and your mouse skills with the game and see if you’re awesome enough to win the BIG prize at the end!
Chinese Couple Sells All Three Kids to Play Online Games
A young Chinese couple has sold all three of their children in exchange for money to play online Nick jr games at Internet cafes, reports a southern Chinese newspaper.
According to Sanxiang City News, the couple met in an Internet cafe back in 2007 and bonded over their obsession with online video games. A year later, the parents — who are both under 21 — welcomed their first child, a son. Days after his birth, they left him home alone while they went to play online agame at an Internet cafe 30 km away.
In 2009, Li Lin and Li Juan welcomed their second child, a baby girl, and came up with the idea to sell her for money to fund their online game obsession. They did so, receiving RMB 3,000 (less than $500), which they spent entirely shortly after. The couple then proceeded to sell their first child and got 10 times as much for him — RMB 30,000, or about $4600.
Upon having their third child — another boy — the parents followed in their previous footsteps and also got RMB 30,000 for him.
They were finally turned into authorities when Li Lin’s mother found out what her son and his girlfriend had done.
When asked if they missed their children, the parents answered, “We don’t want to raise them, we just want to sell them for some money.”
Sanxiang City Newsreports the couple didn’t know they were breaking the law.
According to Sanxiang City News, the couple met in an Internet cafe back in 2007 and bonded over their obsession with online video games. A year later, the parents — who are both under 21 — welcomed their first child, a son. Days after his birth, they left him home alone while they went to play online agame at an Internet cafe 30 km away.
In 2009, Li Lin and Li Juan welcomed their second child, a baby girl, and came up with the idea to sell her for money to fund their online game obsession. They did so, receiving RMB 3,000 (less than $500), which they spent entirely shortly after. The couple then proceeded to sell their first child and got 10 times as much for him — RMB 30,000, or about $4600.
Upon having their third child — another boy — the parents followed in their previous footsteps and also got RMB 30,000 for him.
They were finally turned into authorities when Li Lin’s mother found out what her son and his girlfriend had done.
When asked if they missed their children, the parents answered, “We don’t want to raise them, we just want to sell them for some money.”
Sanxiang City Newsreports the couple didn’t know they were breaking the law.
Official Pokemon Game Coming To Smartphones
The Pokemon Company is set to bring an official Pokemon Online game to smartphone devices, marking the first time that an official Nintendo-copyrighted app will be available on the iOS and Android.
Called Pokemon Iie Tap (rougly Pokemon: Say Tap?), the app appears to be a rhythm game where players “tap on Pokemon indigo trading cards to the beat of a song from the anime,” according to a translation by consumer video game site GamesRadar.
According to the game’s official announcement, it will be available for most iOS devices, as well as Android devices running version 2.1 of the platform.
Though this is the first iOS or Android application to carry an official Nintendo copyright, it is not the first mobile app of any kind: a Pokemon mobile phone game called Pokemate was released in Japan in 2006.
Though it is a rarity, Nintendo does have a history of releasing official games on platforms that are not its own, including a promotional Flash game to promote its Tingle character.
A release outside of Japan has not been announced.
Called Pokemon Iie Tap (rougly Pokemon: Say Tap?), the app appears to be a rhythm game where players “tap on Pokemon indigo trading cards to the beat of a song from the anime,” according to a translation by consumer video game site GamesRadar.
According to the game’s official announcement, it will be available for most iOS devices, as well as Android devices running version 2.1 of the platform.
Though this is the first iOS or Android application to carry an official Nintendo copyright, it is not the first mobile app of any kind: a Pokemon mobile phone game called Pokemate was released in Japan in 2006.
Though it is a rarity, Nintendo does have a history of releasing official games on platforms that are not its own, including a promotional Flash game to promote its Tingle character.
A release outside of Japan has not been announced.
Nick Jr., MTVN expand in Asia
Rugrats and music fans in Singapore and Malaysia will be able to tune in to “Dora the Explorer” and 24-hour music videos, docus and concerts with the launch of Viacom’s Nick Jr. and MTVN HD in the territories in coming weeks.
Nick Jr Games. will bow on Singapore’s Starhub from May 18, while MTVN HD will air on Telekom Malaysia Berhad’s HyppTV in Malaysia from June 1.
Nick Jr. will be available on the StarHub TV’s Kids Basic Upsize Group, while MTVNHD will be available to existing StarHub TV’s Entertainment Basic Group customers who are subscribed to the Basic HD Upsize group.
TM will offer the two channels a la carte to its subscribers on HyppTV, Malaysia’s newest pay TV service.
The services will roll out to the rest of the region at a date to be announced.
Nick Jr Games. will bow on Singapore’s Starhub from May 18, while MTVN HD will air on Telekom Malaysia Berhad’s HyppTV in Malaysia from June 1.
Nick Jr. will be available on the StarHub TV’s Kids Basic Upsize Group, while MTVNHD will be available to existing StarHub TV’s Entertainment Basic Group customers who are subscribed to the Basic HD Upsize group.
TM will offer the two channels a la carte to its subscribers on HyppTV, Malaysia’s newest pay TV service.
The services will roll out to the rest of the region at a date to be announced.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Cat (User) * NetworkManager * 10 bubbles * 67 in CRank * Score: 1592635 "Check the N4G blog for previews, interviews and contests! http://n4g.com/user/blog/cat/all/1" PM Add as friend Track Ignore Report N4G War of the Immortals Beta Key Giveaway
Only a limited number of players are allowed into the closed beta, and N4G has the keys to make you one of the first to play War of the Immortals!
War of the Immortals is Perfect World’s latest chapter in the Immortals universe following its hit action-MMORPG, Battle of the Immortals. Built with Perfect World’s latest Cube graphics engine, players can look forward to destructible, interactive environments with 3D textures and monsters that bring the game to life.
To get your closed beta key:
1. PM Cat. http://n4g.com/user/home/ca...
A beta key will be sent within 12 hours (worst case scenario, the internet catches on fire, Cat takes a nap, that sort of thing ;) ) to your N4G PM inbox.*
INSTRUCTIONS FOR KEY REDEMPTION:
1. Go to http://www.perfectworld.com...
2. Login using your Perfect World Entertainment username and password (or register for a free Perfect World account)
3. Click on the "My Account" link.
4. Click on "Redeem Beta Keys".
5. Enter your closed beta key. Closed Beta begins October 25.
*Giveaway will run until we are out of keys, at which point Cat will update this post!*
War of the Immortals is Perfect World’s latest chapter in the Immortals universe following its hit action-MMORPG, Battle of the Immortals. Built with Perfect World’s latest Cube graphics engine, players can look forward to destructible, interactive environments with 3D textures and monsters that bring the game to life.
To get your closed beta key:
1. PM Cat. http://n4g.com/user/home/ca...
A beta key will be sent within 12 hours (worst case scenario, the internet catches on fire, Cat takes a nap, that sort of thing ;) ) to your N4G PM inbox.*
INSTRUCTIONS FOR KEY REDEMPTION:
1. Go to http://www.perfectworld.com...
2. Login using your Perfect World Entertainment username and password (or register for a free Perfect World account)
3. Click on the "My Account" link.
4. Click on "Redeem Beta Keys".
5. Enter your closed beta key. Closed Beta begins October 25.
*Giveaway will run until we are out of keys, at which point Cat will update this post!*
Gaming Immaturity: One Big Reason Why The Industry Is Not Taken Seriously
Every gamer is aware that conventional media harbours disdain for the gaming industry, often stating that the industry is primarily geared to create products and titles for children to waste their time on when school breaks. It is a view that can draw ire from the older contingent of gamers who feel they are forced into a demographic they do not belong in, a form of discrimination if you will.
One of the most prominent sources of such criticism comes from the newspaper media and more notably, for example, the United Kingdom's Daily Mail. If there was one name that drew universal feelings of hatred from the gaming community, regardless of any allegiance or not to a certain manufacturer, it is that news distributor.
But what was the cause that made the Daily Mail look upon the gaming industry as a business model designed for children? Well there could be some truth in what critics of the Daily Mail say when they point out that the Chief Editor prefers to highlight and keep alive long gone stereotypes and has an unhealthy taste for over-exaggerating problems in any topic, not something a broadsheet should be known for but instead a tabloid. Yet despite being the most infamous for such views, they are not the only ones to report about gaming in such a demeaning way.
Having close ties to somebody who is involved in such an industry I had the opportunity to find out why newspapers take this view, a family member of mine is married to a reporter for a national newspaper in the United Kingdom. I shall not be naming anybody but be rest assured this particular journalist does not draw the ire of gamers, because he is one himself. He is perfectly placed to explain what is happening.
The biggest reason the mainstream media treat you and me as they do is because of the media entities involved in gaming itself. HOLD! IGN? Eurogamer? News 4 Gamers?
I can already feel the rage from the quiet majority who are reading this, telling their computer screen that they said it all along. Others will similarly be screaming that the Daily Mail don't know a thing about gaming. And yet, the mainstream journalists get their opinion on gaming from what they see on the internet and what they see is a disjointed community fuelled by immaturity, which in turn see's the places providing those communities with journalists who cater to exactly that. It is considered immature because of the myriad of comments being made by what is perceived to only possibly come from the over excited finger tapping of pre-teen/teen boy. And those mainstream journalists can see that the likes of the IGN, Euroamer and N4G websites are feeding it such a culture and similarly feed off it themselves.
This brings us to point of the immaturity of gaming industry itself because if the words the outside world reads is riddled with bickering readers and writing skills that would guarantee a lowly F- in the SATS tests taken by 10 year olds, how does that relate to the online media companies that allow such vulgar and hate filled comments to become so prevalent?
Well that is the real bad thing about the gaming industry. The mainstream media, all across the planet, put the blame solely on those websites like IGN, Eurogamer and N4G. It is because of the lack of professionalism shown by those portals in keeping order in their own domain that the industry simply hasn't matured enough to be taken seriously, it is those sites that are seen as breeding grounds for problems facing gaming in becoming a truly respected and accepted form of digital entertainment to compete with movies, music and digital books.
Naturally I thought that was that and it was simply a case of journalistic snobbery and a sense that the gaming media were regarded as being glorified blogs in how the kept discipline across it's viewers. But I was then informed about a more concerning problem that see's the gaming industry being unable to command the same respect as it's more established forms of entertainment.
The journalist I was speaking to informed me that the national newspaper he works for has on every occasion ruled out employing these gaming journalists after reading through the articles they have been writing, for the reason of unprofessional and inconsistent standards amongst their very own work. In short, there appears to be no standard model for any reviewer to use when reviewing a title which means they appear to make it up as they go along, changing what is good and what is bad on a game by game basis. The result is bad games getting good reviews and good games getting average reviews, an ire of many a gamer you might be saying.
Now the bloke does have a point there and nobody who reads both newspaper article/reviews and gaming article/reviews can deny that. The papers believe the editors, authors and reviewers at sites like IGN and Eurogamer quite simply need to grow up because they do not doubt these people could become balanced, fair and competent journalists, the problem they see is their attitude and that will be hard to change.
It would appear that only way the stereotypical view on gaming being an industry for children is going to be reversed and given the same good press that it's more established forms of entertainment enjoys, is for the gaming media itself to enter some form of Golden Age and drastically change way they are run and change their target audience. They will need to start acting professionally to be given respect by the professionals.
This is not a question of the mainstream media's stereotypical view on us, but a question of the gaming media feeding itself off the premise that they encourage such stereotypical actions via the readers that comment on their portal, and the practices they use for the articles/reviews they create to satisfy that culture.
One business analyst this journalist works with believes this has caused a loss of over 50% revenue for gaming developers, had the media part of gaming matured professionally in the 1990's the mainstream media would have got in on the act themselves and provided their own, fully qualified and professional journalists covering everything gaming. That in turn could have shown games purely based on story telling being given a fair review despite not being named Call of Duty or Mario Kart, the gaming audience would have been massively bigger.
But as things stand a newspaper whose parent company is stock listed cannot justify paying the expense of hiring a full team of journalists and analyst just for gaming when the upper echelons, that is the shareholders, can only see that the comments are akin to what children write and they know children do not read newspapers. It is an incompatible idea and business model, and they will only move in to gaming when they see more mature comments and that ultimately is the responsibility of moderators to control.
IGN, Eurogamer and their ilk it would appear are the big reason you are stereotyped. And that is a worrying thought for you, Sony, Microsoft and all other gaming companies to face up to. You cannot stop someone writing vitriol in the comments section, but the moderators can. You can't introduce a more professional culture amongst gaming articles, but the gaming website editor can.
Will they change? The basic answer is we do not know because the current culture they promote is quite possibly quite lucrative in that these websites are likely to draw fairly large sums of money from advertisers. It is ironic though that the people who pay for those advertisements are the gaming developers themselves, or more accurately, the publishers.
It is those who make the games that find themselves in somewhat a catch-twenty-two scenario because if just one of them ceased funding, it would draw criticism from the review sites and could even affect the scores of potential games they may want to release. It is indeed possible that as many as ten different publishers acting together would not force the change, there many others who would see this as any opportunity to cash in by getting on the good side of such editors.
The answer would not be wishing for an established news company buying out such websites because IGN is owned by none other than Rupert Murdoch's News International so there is no doubt those websites are making money, would they ever see a reason to change to benefit the industry as a whole?
That might seem contradictory in that a newspaper would not want to employ these gaming journalists but the biggest gaming news site of them all is owned by a news distributor, the biggest of them all actually, but let's not confuse a money making machine with the decision of a team leader which is ultimately the editor at, for instance, the Daily Mail. Perhaps all the major game publishers should tackle this issue together and be united on this issue, because it is their revenue that looks to suffer while IGN's, Eurogamer's and News 4 Gamer's looks to increase. And perhaps then the stereotype will finally fade away into oblivion.
One of the most prominent sources of such criticism comes from the newspaper media and more notably, for example, the United Kingdom's Daily Mail. If there was one name that drew universal feelings of hatred from the gaming community, regardless of any allegiance or not to a certain manufacturer, it is that news distributor.
But what was the cause that made the Daily Mail look upon the gaming industry as a business model designed for children? Well there could be some truth in what critics of the Daily Mail say when they point out that the Chief Editor prefers to highlight and keep alive long gone stereotypes and has an unhealthy taste for over-exaggerating problems in any topic, not something a broadsheet should be known for but instead a tabloid. Yet despite being the most infamous for such views, they are not the only ones to report about gaming in such a demeaning way.
Having close ties to somebody who is involved in such an industry I had the opportunity to find out why newspapers take this view, a family member of mine is married to a reporter for a national newspaper in the United Kingdom. I shall not be naming anybody but be rest assured this particular journalist does not draw the ire of gamers, because he is one himself. He is perfectly placed to explain what is happening.
The biggest reason the mainstream media treat you and me as they do is because of the media entities involved in gaming itself. HOLD! IGN? Eurogamer? News 4 Gamers?
I can already feel the rage from the quiet majority who are reading this, telling their computer screen that they said it all along. Others will similarly be screaming that the Daily Mail don't know a thing about gaming. And yet, the mainstream journalists get their opinion on gaming from what they see on the internet and what they see is a disjointed community fuelled by immaturity, which in turn see's the places providing those communities with journalists who cater to exactly that. It is considered immature because of the myriad of comments being made by what is perceived to only possibly come from the over excited finger tapping of pre-teen/teen boy. And those mainstream journalists can see that the likes of the IGN, Euroamer and N4G websites are feeding it such a culture and similarly feed off it themselves.
This brings us to point of the immaturity of gaming industry itself because if the words the outside world reads is riddled with bickering readers and writing skills that would guarantee a lowly F- in the SATS tests taken by 10 year olds, how does that relate to the online media companies that allow such vulgar and hate filled comments to become so prevalent?
Well that is the real bad thing about the gaming industry. The mainstream media, all across the planet, put the blame solely on those websites like IGN, Eurogamer and N4G. It is because of the lack of professionalism shown by those portals in keeping order in their own domain that the industry simply hasn't matured enough to be taken seriously, it is those sites that are seen as breeding grounds for problems facing gaming in becoming a truly respected and accepted form of digital entertainment to compete with movies, music and digital books.
Naturally I thought that was that and it was simply a case of journalistic snobbery and a sense that the gaming media were regarded as being glorified blogs in how the kept discipline across it's viewers. But I was then informed about a more concerning problem that see's the gaming industry being unable to command the same respect as it's more established forms of entertainment.
The journalist I was speaking to informed me that the national newspaper he works for has on every occasion ruled out employing these gaming journalists after reading through the articles they have been writing, for the reason of unprofessional and inconsistent standards amongst their very own work. In short, there appears to be no standard model for any reviewer to use when reviewing a title which means they appear to make it up as they go along, changing what is good and what is bad on a game by game basis. The result is bad games getting good reviews and good games getting average reviews, an ire of many a gamer you might be saying.
Now the bloke does have a point there and nobody who reads both newspaper article/reviews and gaming article/reviews can deny that. The papers believe the editors, authors and reviewers at sites like IGN and Eurogamer quite simply need to grow up because they do not doubt these people could become balanced, fair and competent journalists, the problem they see is their attitude and that will be hard to change.
It would appear that only way the stereotypical view on gaming being an industry for children is going to be reversed and given the same good press that it's more established forms of entertainment enjoys, is for the gaming media itself to enter some form of Golden Age and drastically change way they are run and change their target audience. They will need to start acting professionally to be given respect by the professionals.
This is not a question of the mainstream media's stereotypical view on us, but a question of the gaming media feeding itself off the premise that they encourage such stereotypical actions via the readers that comment on their portal, and the practices they use for the articles/reviews they create to satisfy that culture.
One business analyst this journalist works with believes this has caused a loss of over 50% revenue for gaming developers, had the media part of gaming matured professionally in the 1990's the mainstream media would have got in on the act themselves and provided their own, fully qualified and professional journalists covering everything gaming. That in turn could have shown games purely based on story telling being given a fair review despite not being named Call of Duty or Mario Kart, the gaming audience would have been massively bigger.
But as things stand a newspaper whose parent company is stock listed cannot justify paying the expense of hiring a full team of journalists and analyst just for gaming when the upper echelons, that is the shareholders, can only see that the comments are akin to what children write and they know children do not read newspapers. It is an incompatible idea and business model, and they will only move in to gaming when they see more mature comments and that ultimately is the responsibility of moderators to control.
IGN, Eurogamer and their ilk it would appear are the big reason you are stereotyped. And that is a worrying thought for you, Sony, Microsoft and all other gaming companies to face up to. You cannot stop someone writing vitriol in the comments section, but the moderators can. You can't introduce a more professional culture amongst gaming articles, but the gaming website editor can.
Will they change? The basic answer is we do not know because the current culture they promote is quite possibly quite lucrative in that these websites are likely to draw fairly large sums of money from advertisers. It is ironic though that the people who pay for those advertisements are the gaming developers themselves, or more accurately, the publishers.
It is those who make the games that find themselves in somewhat a catch-twenty-two scenario because if just one of them ceased funding, it would draw criticism from the review sites and could even affect the scores of potential games they may want to release. It is indeed possible that as many as ten different publishers acting together would not force the change, there many others who would see this as any opportunity to cash in by getting on the good side of such editors.
The answer would not be wishing for an established news company buying out such websites because IGN is owned by none other than Rupert Murdoch's News International so there is no doubt those websites are making money, would they ever see a reason to change to benefit the industry as a whole?
That might seem contradictory in that a newspaper would not want to employ these gaming journalists but the biggest gaming news site of them all is owned by a news distributor, the biggest of them all actually, but let's not confuse a money making machine with the decision of a team leader which is ultimately the editor at, for instance, the Daily Mail. Perhaps all the major game publishers should tackle this issue together and be united on this issue, because it is their revenue that looks to suffer while IGN's, Eurogamer's and News 4 Gamer's looks to increase. And perhaps then the stereotype will finally fade away into oblivion.
Metro Last Light to surpass Battlefield 3 graphics and even Toy Story 1 ???
Angry Birds, Angry Birds research, app research, aytm.com, Brent Hecht, casual gaming research, Dan MacIsaac, David Kelly, DFKI, dfki.de, Zoom in the grasses or leaves of this image:
http://xbox360.ign.com/dor/...
Then zoom in the leaves of this image
http://bf3blog.com/wp-conte...
What you see is that leaves in Battlefield 3 occupy two dimensional planes , where they bend , they bend suddenly in order to reduce polygon count but that does not happen in Metro Last Light
Now zoom in the branches of this image
http://xbox360.ign.com/dor/...
Then zoom in the brances of Battlefield 3 trees in the previous image, The branches in Metro spread out in different directions , another example of the extreme geometric detail used in Metro Last Light
Zoom in the shoe of the man in this image
http://xbox360.ign.com/dor/...
then zoom in the shoe of the man in this image
http://ps3.ign.com/dor/obje...
It speaks for itself
According to calculations shown here :
http://n4g.com/user/blogpos...
we need a game that properly utilizes 7.14 teraflops of power and run at 25 frames per second at 1526x922 using supersampling at the same rate of Toy Story to surpass its graphical quality.
Metro 2033 runs at around 50 frames per second at 2560X1600 resolution with a 580GTX in quad SLI. Now say if it were more optimized it could have run at (2X1526)X(2X922) resolution on the same system with nearly the same frame rate.
A 580gtx quad sli provides around 6.5 teraflops of power. Slightly overclocked it will give 7.14 teraflops. Now it is possible that Metro 2033 with the improved 4A engine can run at 50 frames per second at (2X1526)X(2X922)resolution on an overclocked setup. But there is a catch Toy Story used supersampling and in no way used less than 4X supersampling.
Anything more will imply it had lower graphical fidelity and more power was used in antialiasing in case of Toy Story 1 . Now 4X supersampling will allow metro 2033 run at (2X1526)X(2X922)/4 = 1526X922 resolution at 50 frames per second on the mentioned system.
Now if Metro Last Light is twice as hardware demanding as Metro 2033 it would run at 25 frames per second at 4X supersampling at 1526X922 resolution on a slightly overclocked 580gtx quad sli system . Thus theoretically is suppose to be equal to Toy Story. Now according to NVIDIA Kepler will have 3 times the floating point capability than 580GTX so Metro Last Light running at 25 frames per second at those settings on a Quad SLI is not impossible as Kepler will give much higher frame rates.
Now zoom in at the face of the boy in this picture ( remember who he is ?)
http://www.fernbyfilms.com/...
Now zoom in at the face of the man in this picture
http://xbox360.ign.com/dor/...
Considering Metro Last Light is at its pre-alpha, are we close or have surpassed the Milestone I mean the first fully animated cgi movie Toy Story 1 ???
http://xbox360.ign.com/dor/...
Then zoom in the leaves of this image
http://bf3blog.com/wp-conte...
What you see is that leaves in Battlefield 3 occupy two dimensional planes , where they bend , they bend suddenly in order to reduce polygon count but that does not happen in Metro Last Light
Now zoom in the branches of this image
http://xbox360.ign.com/dor/...
Then zoom in the brances of Battlefield 3 trees in the previous image, The branches in Metro spread out in different directions , another example of the extreme geometric detail used in Metro Last Light
Zoom in the shoe of the man in this image
http://xbox360.ign.com/dor/...
then zoom in the shoe of the man in this image
http://ps3.ign.com/dor/obje...
It speaks for itself
According to calculations shown here :
http://n4g.com/user/blogpos...
we need a game that properly utilizes 7.14 teraflops of power and run at 25 frames per second at 1526x922 using supersampling at the same rate of Toy Story to surpass its graphical quality.
Metro 2033 runs at around 50 frames per second at 2560X1600 resolution with a 580GTX in quad SLI. Now say if it were more optimized it could have run at (2X1526)X(2X922) resolution on the same system with nearly the same frame rate.
A 580gtx quad sli provides around 6.5 teraflops of power. Slightly overclocked it will give 7.14 teraflops. Now it is possible that Metro 2033 with the improved 4A engine can run at 50 frames per second at (2X1526)X(2X922)resolution on an overclocked setup. But there is a catch Toy Story used supersampling and in no way used less than 4X supersampling.
Anything more will imply it had lower graphical fidelity and more power was used in antialiasing in case of Toy Story 1 . Now 4X supersampling will allow metro 2033 run at (2X1526)X(2X922)/4 = 1526X922 resolution at 50 frames per second on the mentioned system.
Now if Metro Last Light is twice as hardware demanding as Metro 2033 it would run at 25 frames per second at 4X supersampling at 1526X922 resolution on a slightly overclocked 580gtx quad sli system . Thus theoretically is suppose to be equal to Toy Story. Now according to NVIDIA Kepler will have 3 times the floating point capability than 580GTX so Metro Last Light running at 25 frames per second at those settings on a Quad SLI is not impossible as Kepler will give much higher frame rates.
Now zoom in at the face of the boy in this picture ( remember who he is ?)
http://www.fernbyfilms.com/...
Now zoom in at the face of the man in this picture
http://xbox360.ign.com/dor/...
Considering Metro Last Light is at its pre-alpha, are we close or have surpassed the Milestone I mean the first fully animated cgi movie Toy Story 1 ???
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.”
Cat (User) * NetworkManager * 10 bubbles * 67 in CRank * Score: 1592635 "Check the N4G blog for previews, interviews and contests! http://n4g.com/user/blog/cat/all/1" PM Add as friend Track Ignore Report 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.
Which goes back to my question. Where are my PC ports Sony? 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. 1 Comment
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.
Which goes back to my question. Where are my PC ports Sony? 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. 1 Comment
Monday, October 10, 2011
Android gaming gets smurfalicious, Smurfs' Village launches Sept. 28
The Smurfs Village
Android owners, did you really think you could survive the blue wave for long? Capcom's Beeline Interactive announced that Smurfs' Village will launch on select Android devices for free on Sept. 28. Originally released for the iPhone and iPad in late 2010, the mobile social game skyrocketed in popularity and even resulted in one hilarious lesson in child rearing in 2011.
The game plays out much like mobile Zynga games like CityVille Hometown in that players are tasked (by Papa Smurf) to build up their very own--you guessed it--village. But this time, it's for the Smurfs to dwell in as the evil Gargamel seeks them out. During your time expanding the Smurfs' miniature empire, you'll gain access to some of the more popular Smurfs and their special abilities.
Namely, many of these blue buggers will unlock mini games for you to enjoy and find additional resources with like Greedy Smurf's Baking Game or Papa Smurf's Potion Mixing Game. Of course, players can also share their experiences with their friends on Facebook through Facebook Connect. According to Capcom, Smurfs' Village consistently ranks as a top grossing app worldwide. (We think we have an idea of how that happened back in the day.)
Most recently, Capcom and Beeline released Smurfs' Grabber to iPhone and iPad, which will soon integrate directly with Smurfs' Village. (Not to mention that Ubisoft released a full-blown Smurfs game for Facebook.) We imagine that, with the heaping gold mine that the Smurfs property has proven to be for Capcom, it won't be long before you're grabbing for goodies in Smurfs' Village with Smurfs' Grabber on Android devices, too. Until then, just focus on building your blue buddies some comfy mushroom houses.
Click here to find The Smurfs' Village on the Android Market >
Are you a fan of the recent mobile and social takes on the Smurfs in smartphones and on Facebook? Will we ever get enough of the smurfing? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment
Android owners, did you really think you could survive the blue wave for long? Capcom's Beeline Interactive announced that Smurfs' Village will launch on select Android devices for free on Sept. 28. Originally released for the iPhone and iPad in late 2010, the mobile social game skyrocketed in popularity and even resulted in one hilarious lesson in child rearing in 2011.
The game plays out much like mobile Zynga games like CityVille Hometown in that players are tasked (by Papa Smurf) to build up their very own--you guessed it--village. But this time, it's for the Smurfs to dwell in as the evil Gargamel seeks them out. During your time expanding the Smurfs' miniature empire, you'll gain access to some of the more popular Smurfs and their special abilities.
Namely, many of these blue buggers will unlock mini games for you to enjoy and find additional resources with like Greedy Smurf's Baking Game or Papa Smurf's Potion Mixing Game. Of course, players can also share their experiences with their friends on Facebook through Facebook Connect. According to Capcom, Smurfs' Village consistently ranks as a top grossing app worldwide. (We think we have an idea of how that happened back in the day.)
Most recently, Capcom and Beeline released Smurfs' Grabber to iPhone and iPad, which will soon integrate directly with Smurfs' Village. (Not to mention that Ubisoft released a full-blown Smurfs game for Facebook.) We imagine that, with the heaping gold mine that the Smurfs property has proven to be for Capcom, it won't be long before you're grabbing for goodies in Smurfs' Village with Smurfs' Grabber on Android devices, too. Until then, just focus on building your blue buddies some comfy mushroom houses.
Click here to find The Smurfs' Village on the Android Market >
Are you a fan of the recent mobile and social takes on the Smurfs in smartphones and on Facebook? Will we ever get enough of the smurfing? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment
Zynga publishes Mafia Wars 2 comic, sets the stage for Las Vegas intrigue
Mafia Wars 2 has remained a mystery since the word leaked in January. The only follow-up the public has gotten from Zynga is last week's 'badass' trailer. But the game's official fan page announced a Mafia Wars 2 digital comic last night, titled with the game's much bandied about tagline, "Being Bad Never Felt So Good". The comic presents the glamorous yet dangerous world of the game, which is set in Las Vegas, and drops just enough exposition for the reader to meet the cast -- including whose shoes players will be stepping into once the game launches.
This eight-page comic was created by UDON Entertainment, a Canadian comics studio that specializes in Asian-inspired art, lending the story a manga flair in the character designs and paneling layout. UDON (named after the Japanese noodle) isn't a new entrant in games comics either. They're best known for their work with major Japanese games maker Capcom, drawing and publishing comics and artbooks for the Street Fighter series.
Mafia Wars 2 characters
So far, Zynga seems intent on keeping quiet about Mafia Wars 2's gameplay (except for the fact that it'll be a "vast 3-D world"), but they've been very big on establishing the game's world and its characters, the latter of which actually have detailed backstories available on the official website. A focus on characters and narratives is a rare thing in Facebook games. The last time this was done, and to a much greater extent, was Qunify's CLASH: Rise of the Heroes, which is heavily based on superhero comics. One of Zynga's developers, Mike Humphrey, has said that "I'm really looking forward to finally seeing how Mafia Wars 2 is received; it's unlike most games on Facebook right now, and I think it pushes the envelope of what people can expect from games on the platform." Let's hope they keep pushing until the day of the launch.
To check out the comic yourself, click here and follow the directions to 'Like' the game's official Facebook fan page.
How do you like the comic so far? Are you enjoying what appears to be Zynga's move towards more in-depth, story-driven Facebook games? Sound off in the comments. 4 Comments
This eight-page comic was created by UDON Entertainment, a Canadian comics studio that specializes in Asian-inspired art, lending the story a manga flair in the character designs and paneling layout. UDON (named after the Japanese noodle) isn't a new entrant in games comics either. They're best known for their work with major Japanese games maker Capcom, drawing and publishing comics and artbooks for the Street Fighter series.
Mafia Wars 2 characters
So far, Zynga seems intent on keeping quiet about Mafia Wars 2's gameplay (except for the fact that it'll be a "vast 3-D world"), but they've been very big on establishing the game's world and its characters, the latter of which actually have detailed backstories available on the official website. A focus on characters and narratives is a rare thing in Facebook games. The last time this was done, and to a much greater extent, was Qunify's CLASH: Rise of the Heroes, which is heavily based on superhero comics. One of Zynga's developers, Mike Humphrey, has said that "I'm really looking forward to finally seeing how Mafia Wars 2 is received; it's unlike most games on Facebook right now, and I think it pushes the envelope of what people can expect from games on the platform." Let's hope they keep pushing until the day of the launch.
To check out the comic yourself, click here and follow the directions to 'Like' the game's official Facebook fan page.
How do you like the comic so far? Are you enjoying what appears to be Zynga's move towards more in-depth, story-driven Facebook games? Sound off in the comments. 4 Comments
RockYou partner Peak Games raises $11.5M for social game projects
For those of you (like myself) who are kind of tired of seeing the western world dominate Facebook games, this news should come as breath of fresh air. VentureBeat reports that Istanbul-based company Peak Games has raised $11.5 million and purchased two companies in efforts to become a power player in Facebook games. The developers in question, Umaykut and Erlikhan, were bought in what Peak Games calls "talent acquisitions." Sound familiar?
This move speaks to the rapid growth of Facebook games in regions like Turkey, the Middle East, North Africa, Mexico and South America. As we already know, Peak Games will work with growing publisher RockYou to distribute and localize its games in those regions. At the moment, Peak Games is the 18th most popular developer on Facebook, according to AppData, beating out notables like CrowdStar and Digital Chocolate in daily players.
Its most popular internally-created game is Okey, a social puzzle board game. And if you count its fans across all social networks including Facebook, Peak Games welcome 4 million daily players and 16 million monthly players, according to VentureBeat. Peak Games has made a name for itself in localizing social games from national companies for its audience, which is the the fourth largest on Facebook.
"Our goal is to be the dominant provider of games for emerging markets," Peak Games CSO Rina Onur, told VentureBeat. "The growth has been huge in the last six months. These regions are growing super fast and they are very hungry for games."
Facebook gaming is huge in regions other than the U.S.--companies like DeNA and Gree in Japan, Tencent in China and wooga in Europe are testament to that. But what we're more interested in is seeing creators like Peak Games create successful games for a global audience. Perhaps an injection of cash (from Hummingbird Ventures, Earlybird Venture Capital and an anonymous strategic investor) and talent will make that happen--Peak Games has an office in San Francisco, after all.
Would you like to see more Facebook games from these regions? Do you think Peak Games has a good chance at climbing up the ladder? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
This move speaks to the rapid growth of Facebook games in regions like Turkey, the Middle East, North Africa, Mexico and South America. As we already know, Peak Games will work with growing publisher RockYou to distribute and localize its games in those regions. At the moment, Peak Games is the 18th most popular developer on Facebook, according to AppData, beating out notables like CrowdStar and Digital Chocolate in daily players.
Its most popular internally-created game is Okey, a social puzzle board game. And if you count its fans across all social networks including Facebook, Peak Games welcome 4 million daily players and 16 million monthly players, according to VentureBeat. Peak Games has made a name for itself in localizing social games from national companies for its audience, which is the the fourth largest on Facebook.
"Our goal is to be the dominant provider of games for emerging markets," Peak Games CSO Rina Onur, told VentureBeat. "The growth has been huge in the last six months. These regions are growing super fast and they are very hungry for games."
Facebook gaming is huge in regions other than the U.S.--companies like DeNA and Gree in Japan, Tencent in China and wooga in Europe are testament to that. But what we're more interested in is seeing creators like Peak Games create successful games for a global audience. Perhaps an injection of cash (from Hummingbird Ventures, Earlybird Venture Capital and an anonymous strategic investor) and talent will make that happen--Peak Games has an office in San Francisco, after all.
Would you like to see more Facebook games from these regions? Do you think Peak Games has a good chance at climbing up the ladder? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
Entertainment Games looks to revive soap operas in Facebook games
FarmVille may have killed the daytime soap opera, but it seems like soaps might have their heyday after all. Langhorne, Penn.-based Entertainment Games announced that it hired Michael Fairman (pictured below), a leading expert on daytime soaps (bet you didn't know such a job existed, eh?) to help the company develop a soap opera game with Heyday Games.
Working toward this announcement, the company has been surprisingly busy. Entertainment Games bought social games maker Heyday Games in late June. Then in August, the company changed the name it's had since 1992. Two weeks ago, the company struck a licensing deal with intellectual rights management firm CMG Worldwide to use pictures of celebrities for some "retro-based social game for Facebook, Google+, mobile devices and the open web."
Aside from admittedly banking on nostalgia, there are a few clues as to what type of game the company looks to make. Entertainment Games wants to harness Fairman's two decades of experience in the industry. The company wants his help to create a game that Entertainment Games's CCO F.J. Lennon says will "deliver a ground-breaking social gaming experience that both the gaming and soap opera industries will take note of."
Michael Fairman soap opera expertSince Facebook games came along, games and daytime soaps had been inadvertently at war over the same audience, namely, 25 to 54-year-old women. Unfortunately for soaps fans, Zynga's "television audience destruction machine" won the battle over All My Children and One Life to Live. But Entertainment Games isn't the only company looking to capitalize on this obvious demographic.
In an effort to generate more revenue, UK soap opera Coronation Street was turned into a Facebook social game called "Corrie Nation". Unfortunately, the game didn't last a year before it was taken down for a complete rehaul, with ATV network looking for a new game developer to take on the job. With soap operas dying and the first (and only) Facebook soap opera game ever made, out of commission, you'd think that no one would bother with another attempt, right? Well, here comes Entertainment Games, Inc. to prove us wrong.
From the sound of things, soap operas can find new life after television as Facebook games. On top of that, they're going to return vying for the same demographic as they once did against Zynga, but this time, they'll be on the same playing field.
Do you think soap opera social games have a chance at being the next big hit? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
Working toward this announcement, the company has been surprisingly busy. Entertainment Games bought social games maker Heyday Games in late June. Then in August, the company changed the name it's had since 1992. Two weeks ago, the company struck a licensing deal with intellectual rights management firm CMG Worldwide to use pictures of celebrities for some "retro-based social game for Facebook, Google+, mobile devices and the open web."
Aside from admittedly banking on nostalgia, there are a few clues as to what type of game the company looks to make. Entertainment Games wants to harness Fairman's two decades of experience in the industry. The company wants his help to create a game that Entertainment Games's CCO F.J. Lennon says will "deliver a ground-breaking social gaming experience that both the gaming and soap opera industries will take note of."
Michael Fairman soap opera expertSince Facebook games came along, games and daytime soaps had been inadvertently at war over the same audience, namely, 25 to 54-year-old women. Unfortunately for soaps fans, Zynga's "television audience destruction machine" won the battle over All My Children and One Life to Live. But Entertainment Games isn't the only company looking to capitalize on this obvious demographic.
In an effort to generate more revenue, UK soap opera Coronation Street was turned into a Facebook social game called "Corrie Nation". Unfortunately, the game didn't last a year before it was taken down for a complete rehaul, with ATV network looking for a new game developer to take on the job. With soap operas dying and the first (and only) Facebook soap opera game ever made, out of commission, you'd think that no one would bother with another attempt, right? Well, here comes Entertainment Games, Inc. to prove us wrong.
From the sound of things, soap operas can find new life after television as Facebook games. On top of that, they're going to return vying for the same demographic as they once did against Zynga, but this time, they'll be on the same playing field.
Do you think soap opera social games have a chance at being the next big hit? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
Bubble Saga maker King.com hires Microsoft exec as marketing head
Can none resist the dollar signs allure of Facebook games? King.com, maker of Facebook game ports like Bubble Saga, announced that it has hired ex-Microsoft exec Alex Dale as its chief marketing officer. Dale joins King.com after overseeing Microsoft's marketing efforts on products including Bing, Internet Explorer and Windows Phone.
"We have made several strategic hires recently in an effort continue this growth and even take it one step further, becoming a clear leader in the space," King.com co-fonder and CEO Riccardo Zacconi said in a release. "We are confident that Alex will be instrumental in helping us further grow our global user- and partnership-base and are thrilled to have him on board."
Dale joins a list of executives that have found themselves in the social games space. Sean Ryan, director of Facebook games partnerships, was at one time the CEO of now-defunct social network LiveJournal. Zynga head of mobile games David Ko comes from Yahoo, and most recently Flickr founder Stewart Butterfield moved on to make his own social game, Glitch.
King.com, which most recently launched Bubble Witch Saga on Facebook, now joins the ranks of companies like Zynga in its willingness to source talent from other industries. And King.com says in the announcement that Dale will be at helm of the companies global expansion. It seems that the company is looking abroad to reach the top five game makers on AppData--it sits pretty at number seven with just over 17 million monthly players.
Do you think King.com, making hires like this, can become an even bigger competitor in Facebook games? What do you think of games like Bubble Witch Saga? Sound off in the comments. 2 Comments
"We have made several strategic hires recently in an effort continue this growth and even take it one step further, becoming a clear leader in the space," King.com co-fonder and CEO Riccardo Zacconi said in a release. "We are confident that Alex will be instrumental in helping us further grow our global user- and partnership-base and are thrilled to have him on board."
Dale joins a list of executives that have found themselves in the social games space. Sean Ryan, director of Facebook games partnerships, was at one time the CEO of now-defunct social network LiveJournal. Zynga head of mobile games David Ko comes from Yahoo, and most recently Flickr founder Stewart Butterfield moved on to make his own social game, Glitch.
King.com, which most recently launched Bubble Witch Saga on Facebook, now joins the ranks of companies like Zynga in its willingness to source talent from other industries. And King.com says in the announcement that Dale will be at helm of the companies global expansion. It seems that the company is looking abroad to reach the top five game makers on AppData--it sits pretty at number seven with just over 17 million monthly players.
Do you think King.com, making hires like this, can become an even bigger competitor in Facebook games? What do you think of games like Bubble Witch Saga? Sound off in the comments. 2 Comments
Thursday, October 6, 2011
FarmVille Pic of the Day: Farmer Jack B's surreal farm creation
Folks, I'll be honest, I don't know what's going on in this farm. What I do know, is that I'm a fan. I'm not quite sure what FarmVille artist Farmer Jack B set out to create when he began designing this, but it certainly came out very nice.
Most striking of course is the bizarre optical illusions. Usually farmers use that kind of 3D effect to build walls, hills, mountains, or something concrete. In this case, Farmer Jack B has created some kind of strange wall, with animals, trees, and other structures build in to them. You have to admit, it's pretty cool. Also worth noting is the really nice water effect created using hay bales.
Pro Tip: If you're struggling to create a stream of water as nice as Farmer Jack B's, notice how he lines his river with trees. That way, the edge of the hay bales is obscured and gives the river a clean, natural look.
Of course, I would be in no position to review farm art if I didn't bring up the very impressive collection of crop and animal mastery signs lining the south end of the farm. Well done Farmer Jack B, you've created a bizarre abstract farm that definitely earns a spot amongst our top FarmVille designs.
What do you make of Farmer Jack B's bizarre farm?
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!
Most striking of course is the bizarre optical illusions. Usually farmers use that kind of 3D effect to build walls, hills, mountains, or something concrete. In this case, Farmer Jack B has created some kind of strange wall, with animals, trees, and other structures build in to them. You have to admit, it's pretty cool. Also worth noting is the really nice water effect created using hay bales.
Pro Tip: If you're struggling to create a stream of water as nice as Farmer Jack B's, notice how he lines his river with trees. That way, the edge of the hay bales is obscured and gives the river a clean, natural look.
Of course, I would be in no position to review farm art if I didn't bring up the very impressive collection of crop and animal mastery signs lining the south end of the farm. Well done Farmer Jack B, you've created a bizarre abstract farm that definitely earns a spot amongst our top FarmVille designs.
What do you make of Farmer Jack B's bizarre farm?
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!
Pioneer Trail Crop Mastery Goals: Everything you need to know
Many of you are likely already planting the foundations of your 3F Mastery Gardens in Pioneer Trail. But while you're at it, scurrying to get your hands on the spankin' new Crop Mastery feature, you might notice that Zynga has threw in a number of repeatable missions for players to take a crack at.
These Crop Mastery Goals allow players to beef up their Mastery ratings on crops more easily, and score some extra reward while they're at it. Just click on the finished 3F Mastery Garden to access a bevy of Goals to occupy yourself with. So, here's everything you need to know about the Crop Mastery Goals in Pioneer Trail:
3F Missions 1
The Clover Grower
* Harvest 80 Clover
* Tend 20 Sheep
* Collect 15 Loam
To harvest 80 Clover, you'll need 800 Coins and at least five minutes. If you don't own 20 Sheep to tend, they cost 280 Coins, while the 15 Loam are found through friend requests. For completing this Goal, enjoy 25 Clover Mastery and 10 Super Clover Seeds.
The Grandeur of Grapes
* Harvest 55 Grapes
* Collect 15 White Roses
* Collect 15 Loam
The 55 Grapes will cost you 12,375 Coins and take at least 12 hours to grow. As for the the 15 White Roses, you will need 200 Coins and at least 10 hours before they grow. Again, the 15 Loam come from friend requests. Your reward for finishing this Goal includes 85 Grape Mastery and 10 Super Grape Seeds.
The Corn Collector
* Harvest 40 Corn
* Harvest 40 Blue Corn
* Collect 15 Healthy Soil
To harvest 40 Corn, you will need 9,000 Coins, and those crops take 12 hours to grow. The 40 Blue Corn, on the other hand, will cost 9,120 Coins and take another 12 hours to grow. Healthy Soil is another item you must request from your friends. Enjoy 35 Corn Mastery and 10 Super Corn Seeds as your reward.
The Eggplant Expert
* Harvest 70 Eggplants
* Collect Three Inn Bonuses
* Collect 15 Healthy Soil
Harvesting 70 Eggplant will cost a whopping 32,750 Coins and take just two hours to grow. Since you need to collect three Inn Daily Bonuses, this Goal will take at least three days to complete. Ask you friends for 15 Healthy Soil, and 70 Eggplant Mastery and 10 Super Eggplant Seeds are yours.
The Mighty Melon
* Harvest 65 Melons
* Collect Three 3F Garden Bonuses
* Collect 15 Loam
Melons are found through the Free Gifts page, so acquiring 65 of them will take some time. To speed things up, put them on your Wish List so that your friends know that you're in need of them. Again, the Loam comes from your friends through requests, and this Goal will take three days at the very least, because of the Daily Bonus requirements. You'll score 140 Melon Mastery and 10 Super Melon Seeds as a reward.
3F MIssions 2
The Pineapple Professional
* Harvest 60 Pineapples
* Chop 20 Trees down
* Collect 15 Healthy Soil
These 60 Pineapples will cost you 11,400 Coins and take a minimum of 10 hours to grow. If you've completed the recent Baby Bunyan Goals, then chopping down 20 Trees should be even easier. Again, ask your friends directly for 15 Healthy Soil. A nice 100 Pineapple Mastery and 10 Super Pineapple Seeds are yours for completing this Goal.
The Potato Producer
* Harvest 60 Potatoes
* Collect Three General Store Bonuses
* Collect 15 Loam
The 60 Potatoes for this Goal will require you to have 5,400 Coins and to wait at least four hours for them to harvest. This Goal will also take three days with the Daily Bonus requirement, which should give you time to find 15 friends willing to put up Loam. You'll receive 50 Potato Mastery and 10 Super Potato Seeds for your efforts.
The Regal Roses
* Harvest 20 Red Roses
* Harvest 30 Pink Roses
* Collect 15 Healthy Soil
Harvesting 20 Red Roses will cost you 8,000 Coins and will take at least a whopping one day and 12 hours to ripen. The 30 Pink Roses, however, will cost a total of 9,000 Coins and take just 14 hours to harvest. You should know where the 15 Healthy Soil come from by now. An impressive 125 Rose Mastery and 10 Super Rose Seeds await you as a reward.
The Superior Strawberries
* Harvest 40 Strawberries
* Collect Three School House Bonuses
* Collect 15 Healthy Soil
To harvest 40 Strawberries, make sure you have reached The High Plains on the Pioneer Trail and unlocked access to the Wild Strawberries crop with enough Trail Points. The School House Daily Bonuses will take three days to complete, while the Healthy Soil comes, again, from friend requests. Your rewards for this Goal are 160 Strawberry Mastery and 10 Super Strawberry Seeds.
The Wheat Winner
* Harvest 35 Wheat
* Tend 15 Adult Cows
* Collect 15 Loam
The 35 Wheat will cost you 12,775 Coins and take a minimum of one day to grow. If you don't own 15 Adult Cows, they cost 765 Coins apiece in the Market. Find 15 Loam through asking your friends, and you'll receive a hefty 110 Wheat Mastery and 10 Super Wheat Seeds. Remember, these Goals are repeatable, so they might prove a lucrative alternative to approaching Crop Mastery ratings directly.
[Source and Image Credit: Zynga]
Have you attempted any of these repeatable Missions yet? What tips do you have to complete them even more quickly? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
These Crop Mastery Goals allow players to beef up their Mastery ratings on crops more easily, and score some extra reward while they're at it. Just click on the finished 3F Mastery Garden to access a bevy of Goals to occupy yourself with. So, here's everything you need to know about the Crop Mastery Goals in Pioneer Trail:
3F Missions 1
The Clover Grower
* Harvest 80 Clover
* Tend 20 Sheep
* Collect 15 Loam
To harvest 80 Clover, you'll need 800 Coins and at least five minutes. If you don't own 20 Sheep to tend, they cost 280 Coins, while the 15 Loam are found through friend requests. For completing this Goal, enjoy 25 Clover Mastery and 10 Super Clover Seeds.
The Grandeur of Grapes
* Harvest 55 Grapes
* Collect 15 White Roses
* Collect 15 Loam
The 55 Grapes will cost you 12,375 Coins and take at least 12 hours to grow. As for the the 15 White Roses, you will need 200 Coins and at least 10 hours before they grow. Again, the 15 Loam come from friend requests. Your reward for finishing this Goal includes 85 Grape Mastery and 10 Super Grape Seeds.
The Corn Collector
* Harvest 40 Corn
* Harvest 40 Blue Corn
* Collect 15 Healthy Soil
To harvest 40 Corn, you will need 9,000 Coins, and those crops take 12 hours to grow. The 40 Blue Corn, on the other hand, will cost 9,120 Coins and take another 12 hours to grow. Healthy Soil is another item you must request from your friends. Enjoy 35 Corn Mastery and 10 Super Corn Seeds as your reward.
The Eggplant Expert
* Harvest 70 Eggplants
* Collect Three Inn Bonuses
* Collect 15 Healthy Soil
Harvesting 70 Eggplant will cost a whopping 32,750 Coins and take just two hours to grow. Since you need to collect three Inn Daily Bonuses, this Goal will take at least three days to complete. Ask you friends for 15 Healthy Soil, and 70 Eggplant Mastery and 10 Super Eggplant Seeds are yours.
The Mighty Melon
* Harvest 65 Melons
* Collect Three 3F Garden Bonuses
* Collect 15 Loam
Melons are found through the Free Gifts page, so acquiring 65 of them will take some time. To speed things up, put them on your Wish List so that your friends know that you're in need of them. Again, the Loam comes from your friends through requests, and this Goal will take three days at the very least, because of the Daily Bonus requirements. You'll score 140 Melon Mastery and 10 Super Melon Seeds as a reward.
3F MIssions 2
The Pineapple Professional
* Harvest 60 Pineapples
* Chop 20 Trees down
* Collect 15 Healthy Soil
These 60 Pineapples will cost you 11,400 Coins and take a minimum of 10 hours to grow. If you've completed the recent Baby Bunyan Goals, then chopping down 20 Trees should be even easier. Again, ask your friends directly for 15 Healthy Soil. A nice 100 Pineapple Mastery and 10 Super Pineapple Seeds are yours for completing this Goal.
The Potato Producer
* Harvest 60 Potatoes
* Collect Three General Store Bonuses
* Collect 15 Loam
The 60 Potatoes for this Goal will require you to have 5,400 Coins and to wait at least four hours for them to harvest. This Goal will also take three days with the Daily Bonus requirement, which should give you time to find 15 friends willing to put up Loam. You'll receive 50 Potato Mastery and 10 Super Potato Seeds for your efforts.
The Regal Roses
* Harvest 20 Red Roses
* Harvest 30 Pink Roses
* Collect 15 Healthy Soil
Harvesting 20 Red Roses will cost you 8,000 Coins and will take at least a whopping one day and 12 hours to ripen. The 30 Pink Roses, however, will cost a total of 9,000 Coins and take just 14 hours to harvest. You should know where the 15 Healthy Soil come from by now. An impressive 125 Rose Mastery and 10 Super Rose Seeds await you as a reward.
The Superior Strawberries
* Harvest 40 Strawberries
* Collect Three School House Bonuses
* Collect 15 Healthy Soil
To harvest 40 Strawberries, make sure you have reached The High Plains on the Pioneer Trail and unlocked access to the Wild Strawberries crop with enough Trail Points. The School House Daily Bonuses will take three days to complete, while the Healthy Soil comes, again, from friend requests. Your rewards for this Goal are 160 Strawberry Mastery and 10 Super Strawberry Seeds.
The Wheat Winner
* Harvest 35 Wheat
* Tend 15 Adult Cows
* Collect 15 Loam
The 35 Wheat will cost you 12,775 Coins and take a minimum of one day to grow. If you don't own 15 Adult Cows, they cost 765 Coins apiece in the Market. Find 15 Loam through asking your friends, and you'll receive a hefty 110 Wheat Mastery and 10 Super Wheat Seeds. Remember, these Goals are repeatable, so they might prove a lucrative alternative to approaching Crop Mastery ratings directly.
[Source and Image Credit: Zynga]
Have you attempted any of these repeatable Missions yet? What tips do you have to complete them even more quickly? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
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