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The Secret World “State Of The Game” Update Promises Continued Content, Despite Developer Difficulties
It’s no secret that The Secret World has been facing some troubled times. Developer Funcom laid off half their staff earlier this month, which would seem to make the promised monthly content updates more challenging to release on time. However, in his August, 2012 State of the Game announcement, Ragnar Tørnquist, the game’s creative director…
By Kate Cox -
Steam Greenlight Is A Good Idea, But Makes Its Buried Treasures Very Hard To Find
After one day of poking around Steam Greenlight, I feel like I have seen this all before. And then I realize: in a way, Steam’s suddenly going all Kickstarter. It’s a big new platform that the little guys—and not-so-little-guys—can use to get their project in front of millions. And it’s a bit of a mess.…
By Kate Cox -
This Paranoid Conspiracy Theorist Might Be The Most Fun Mass Effect Marketing I’ve Seen
I still haven’t had a chance to play the new “Leviathan” DLC for Mass Effect 3, but I’m kind of loving the alternate reality advertising going on for it. The Alliance News Network Twitter stream, in the persona of reporter Emily Wong, “live” broadcast the invasion of Earth back in March when the Reapers hit.…
By Kate Cox -
Video Game Heroes Try to Convince Kids to Read In These Cool Fan Posters
If your school library was anything like mine, then it had a ring of old posters around the perimeter, high on the wall where no librarian could reach to change them, trying to convince children that reading is cool. I was a voracious reader, but I never did like those posters. (Half of them featured…
By Kate Cox -
Gorgeous Lord of the Rings-Themed Skyrim Mod Project Ends After Cease & Desist Order From Warner Brothers
The Middle Earth Roleplaying Project is a rather glorious Skyrim mod, designed meticulously to recreate Tolkien’s world. Alas, the project—which began as an Oblivion mod, and has been in progress for years—may never be finished. The team behind the project has apparently received a Cease & Desist letter from Warner Brothers, and as a result…
By Kate Cox -
Three Reasons Most Video Game Movies Don’t Work, and One Why I Hope a Metal Gear Solid Movie Will
Film adaptations of popular games are almost as inevitable as game adaptations of films—and often, just as terrible. Early this morning, we learned that Konami once again have plans to take Metal Gear Solid to the silver screen. The film seems to be in the very early planning stages, so it’s too soon to say…
By Kate Cox -
This Long-Lost Nintendo Knitting Machine Would Have Let You Make Sweaters With Your NES
Nintendo launched several peripherals for the NES back in the 1980s. Most of us remember, or at least heard of, the power glove and the light gun. But then, there were the stranger attempts, like Nintendo Knitting Machine, designed to help you make those oh-so-delightful ’80s sweaters. And no, I am not making this up.…
By Kate Cox -
Hulk Smash Puny Gaming PC, Make Gaming PC Look Badass
I’ve never wondered what a computer would look like after the Incredible Hulk had smashed it. If I’d ever thought about it, I would probably have imagined a sad little pancake of sparking, flattened circuitry and aluminum. One master modder, however, has a different interpretation. This beautiful brute of a PC made an appearance at…
By Kate Cox -
Guild Wars 2, Log One: I Cannot Rest Until I Have Explored All The Things.
In just five days of play, Guild Wars 2 has managed to wreak havoc on my usually-sharp ability to make up my damn mind. Those five days, beginning with Saturday’s head start access, have seen me create one character after another. It’s not because I’m dissatisfied with any of them. Quite the contrary, in fact.…
By Kate Cox -
There Are New Mounts Coming to Mists of Pandaria. Like Dragons.
Want a pony? How very old-fashioned of you. This isn’t 2006, you know. It’s time to upgrade to demanding a dragon, and World of Warcraft has you covered. Blizzard has just shown off all the new mounts coming with Mists of Pandaria‘s launch next month, and there’s not a pony to be seen among the…
By Kate Cox -
Pre-Panda Patch Brings Cross-Realm Zones, New Areas, and New Class Abilities to World of Warcraft
It’s one of those little things I never thought about until the first time I tried a game that had it as a feature, maybe a year ago. One of those little, tiny, quality-of-life features that nobody knew, back in 2004, that we would all want so very badly by 2012. And so, it comes…
By Kate Cox -
I Learned How to Share My Toys By Kindergarten, But Modern Gaming Makes It Really Hard to Do
There are a few dozen games in our home that I haven’t really ever been able to play. The same goes for my spouse. It’s not a lack of interest, time, or ability that keeps each of us from experiencing these games; it’s Steam. Although Steam is hardly the only culprit, of course. Origin now…
By Kate Cox -
Reasons You May Be Suspended From Guild Wars 2: Holocaust ‘Jokes’, Racist Insults, Etc.
Guild Wars 2 has only just officially launched today, but ever since the head start began on Saturday, ArenaNet has been busily suspending users whose names or behavior violate policy. Many users who have been suspended have taken exception to their punishment. So ArenaNet has taken to Reddit, to answer users’ innocent and not-so-innocent questions.…
By Kate Cox -
EsportsLeague of Legends Pro Gamers Stripped of Winnings for Scheming on the Side
The Major League Gaming (MLG) summer championship events took place this past weekend, in Raleigh, North Carolina. Teams competed in several games, including StarCraft II, Mortal Kombat, and Soul Calibur V. But the biggest upset happened in the League of Legends tournament, which found both the first and second place winning teams disqualified and the…
By Kate Cox -
The History Of Tyria Is Written Into Every Square Inch Of Guild Wars 2
I jumped into Guild Wars 2 on Saturday afternoon, re-creating for myself the Human thief I’d been missing since the first beta weekend back in May. But then I remembered my earlier promise to myself: I needed to step outside of my comfort zone. That’s where the Asura engineer came from. Engineers aren’t too far…
By Kate Cox -
Researchers Make a Video Game for Fish, Because Serious Science Can Be Very Silly Sometimes
Somehow it just seems inevitable, really. There have been virtual worlds for mice and iPad games for cats So sure, why not: science has now taken video games to sleep with the fishies. The BBC reports that a team of researchers from Princeton University designed a video game to use to research behavior patterns in…
By Kate Cox -
The Subscription MMO Is Dead
The era of the subscription-based online game has well and truly ended in 2012. It had a good run, really. Fifteen years is quite a long time for anything to stay static in the land of gaming. Ultima Online introduced the idea back in 1997, when those of us who had internet access were mostly…
By Kate Cox -
Only A Truly Devious Villain Would Make You Solve Riddles To Destroy Him
I was the sort of child who always had a bunch of brain-teaser and riddle books lying around in her room, and I grew into the sort of adult who enjoys Professor Layton games. The Curse, for me, is a natural extension of that impulse to solve everything. In fact, The Curse could be considered…
By Kate Cox -
Stories From the Future, Racing Squirrels, And Bopping Your Friends On The Head All Featured In This Year’s IndieCade Nominees
IndieCade 2012, an annual festival celebrating independent games development, will be taking place in Culver City, California this October. The festival showcases a shortlist of nominated games, a number of which we saw at E3 this year. The festival also hosts an award gala. Last year, Fez and Johann Sebastian Joust were big winners. This…
By Kate Cox
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