October 5, 2007

Blizzard Blizzard has a new batch of candy for our eyes to chew on - they've added new official wallpapers and equally official fanart on their website.

Blizzard updates their site every so often so if you're a follower of any of their games like World of Warcraft and StarCraft II you should check out the site and see if you find an image you can pimp your desktop out with.

You might also want to take a peek at the wallpapers for their classic (and timeless) games such as Diablo and Warcraft III. They've also updated their fanart page for World of Warcraft which features the more offbeat, the fanciful and the flavorful world that is Warcraft.

October 1, 2007

THE original Halo game from Bungie Studios put Microsoft's first Xbox on the games console map, as the device struggled against the well-established Sony PlayStation 2.

Skirmishes and tough firefights with an enemy that can outthink you keep you revved The follow-up Halo 2 kept the Xbox cause alive, and the long-awaited and just-released Halo 3 for the second-generation Xbox 360, turns the tables right around.

As Sony's PlayStation 3 waits for developers to really get to grips with the machine's innards, the 360 is swimming in strong titles such as Bioshock, Gears of War and now Halo 3, a big, value-packed first-person shooter with a beautifully paced, intriguing single-player game coupled with enough multi-player enticements to keep hard-core fans occupied for months, if not years.

Coming into Christmas 2007, it's hard to see who among 360 players won't buy a copy of Halo 3, while it's easy to see many holdout owners of the old Xbox stumping up for a 360 just to get their hands on Halo 3 and, to quote the game's lead-in hype, "Finish the fight", that began with Halo 1.

After surfacing from playing through the disturbing, but splendid, Bioshock the first 20 minutes of Halo 3's single-player game were underwhelming.

Running along a forest trail and blasting away a few baddies barely raised a sweat.

This was with the difficulty level set to Heroic, one step less than Halo 3's super-tough Legendary level.

The high-definition graphics in this early stage of Halo 3 looked like a generational step-up on the eye candy that came with the first two original Xbox Halo games, but then so they should.

Then came the first tough firefight, which forced me to really think about weapons and tactics, followed by some fast-paced fire and manoeuvring around a river landing coupled with a shimmering first look at a new Covenant (one set of resident baddies in Halo) drop ship.

I was hooked, and time began to slip away. Excellent pace is what makes Halo 3's single-player game so good.

It flows along just right from cut scene story setting to exploration of the various worlds in Halo 3 to quick-moving skirmishes and then hard core, slam-you-down firefights in which the enemy AI is good enough to get your teeth gnashing.

A first-class 3D soundtrack complements the action and the enemy chatter in battle sequences is very well done.

There's a bunch of new weapons and vehicles in Halo 3, including my favourite, the gravity hammer, a close-range mega-chopper that sunders enemies and sends their corpses flying.

Speaking of aviation, a replay flying camera feature makes it possible to fly around and view a scene from any angle.

Then there's the online, multiplayer side of the game, which includes set-piece maps and the usual online game variations such as capture-the-flag and a newie called Infection, in which players can deal out death by disease.

The multi-player biggie in the latest iteration of Halo is a feature called the Forge, in which online players can take a multiplayer map and tweak it to their heart's content, adding and deleting features while fragging one another.

While the game's graphics are solid rather than sensational, the pace and challenge of the final third of the Halo franchise should suck in old Haloites and newbies alike.

Add that to a great game soundtrack and a deep multiplayer game and it's easy to see why Halo 3 has, in its first week on the market, already sold itself into history.

September 30, 2007

Seasoned fans of the hugely popular World of Warcraft online game can now log-on to an internet TV show about their hobby.

Web media company On Networks is making its On Warcraft TV show available via the internet and through video-on-demand services such as Apple's iTunes.

The show is targeted at any of level of player, from casual gamers to serious raiders, who want to immerse themselves in World of Warcraft even further.

Hosts Arwen Lietz and Marc Majcher will provide viewers with an "informative play-by-play commentary on how to navigate through the Warcraft universe".

The TV show also features gameplay footage and screenshots, as Lietz and Majcher arm viewers with tools designed to guide them through world instances and boss fights from Azeroth to the Outlands.

"The debut of On Warcraft is sure to appeal to the legions of World of Warcraft players," said the show's producer Cliff Wildman.

"On Warcraft is for any player who wants to enhance their gameplay and maximise their efficiency."

September 29, 2007

Men no longer allowed to create female avatars in Shanda's King of the World

Technology, a subsidiary of Chinese gaming company Shanda Entertainment, has frozen the accounts of all male gamers playing female characters in its King of the World online game.

The company said that all gamers who want to play female characters in King of the World will have to verify their gender via webcam before being allowed to create a female avatar.

It remains unclear how the verification system will operate, but commentators have already criticised the decision because it hinders one of the fundamental attractions of such games: the ability to be someone or something else.

Interestingly, the ban does not yet apply to women who play as male characters. According to reports around 17,000 accounts will be affected by the ban.

Shanda Entertainment is one of the biggest players in the Asian online gaming market, boasting around 460 million subscribers across a wide variety of games.

September 30, 2007

As the Fall season begins, it's a good time to look at the changes that have been going on for Lineage II, as well as what is in store for the coming months. First off, I look around and see a couple of different faces on the team. Omega and I have stepped up to new roles, but bring years of experience on the project to the table. Alyra and Twinmoon are two new additions to the team that have quickly become accustomed to their community and marketing roles, respectively. It's always a good feeling knowing that Spam is at his post leading the customer support team and helping to make the overall product better.

One of our current goals is to interact more with the player base and get some really good feedback on the game and services of Lineage II. I think Alyra has done an excellent job so far in talking with everyone on the message boards and forwarding key points to me and the rest of the team. Another goal of ours is to try to be more open and provide timely information to our players. We've been using the monthly newsletter to give everyone a sneak peak at what's going on in the upcoming month. We are also trying to participate in an increased number of interviews and developer chats so that players can get those burning questions answered. I've recently been able to meet up with a number of players at both the Penny Arcade Expo, and the NCsoft meet and greet here in Austin. I really enjoyed meeting players and listening to their feedback. I was truly amazed at the diversity of both the requests and the people.

So what is coming up for Lineage II? Well the obvious big news is the approaching update. I'm really excited about what's coming in Lineage?II: The Chaotic Throne - The 1st Throne: The Kamael? We will be featuring a new race called the Kamael. I'm sure I'll be creating at least one when the servers go live! Other things that I'm looking forward to are the new hunting areas of Oracle Isle and Hellbound, new items and item slots, and especially Fortress Battles. I really think Fortress Battles will solidify our status as the premier PvP MMO. Groups and small clans will be able to battle 24/7 for fortresses, and earn the right to use specific skills by claiming them. I'm currently looking at launching the live update before the year ends. PTS will open up in a couple of months and we'll be sure to let everyone know as soon as we have a more concrete date.

Next on the list is Paid Services. Included in these services is the highly anticipated Character Server Transfer. I don't have a ton to say about these services yet, but I do want to let people know that there will of course be rules on when and where characters can transfer as well as restrictions on what items and how much Adena a character can transfer with. More details to come in the near future, but I'm targeting the launch day of Chaotic Throne 1 as the same launch day for paid services.

Finally, we have at least three more major in game events planned for the rest of the year. I really think that everyone is going to enjoy the next one that is coming up. We've got it slated for late October and it's sure to push out some really cool head accessories into the world.

I really do appreciate people taking time out to visit our booth at PAX and those who came out to Austin. I'd also like to thank our dedicated official fan sites for playing such an integral role in the Lineage II Community. Right now I'm seeing what I can and can't do from what's been asked. Please continue to write in constructive feedback on the boards. I want to ensure our community that we as a team are actively working to make Lineage II the best product it can be, and to continue to make it an enjoyable experience for all who take part in it.