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Archive of "PC" Category
War of the Immortals Beta Keys
Giving away keys to War of the Immortals closed beta over on N4G, hustle your buns over to get one!
PixelJunk Monsters Alpha Testing
Over the weekend I got to participate in the PixelJunk Monsters Alpha test – testing out the browser-based version of the game. It’s an Alpha, so there were some bugs and server struggles, but overall I was impressed with where the game is at. Of course, the PJM gameplay is a solid foundation!
Fun changes add new strategic elements, and smart changes make Monsters compatible with its future browser home. The only towers available in the test were the arrow and canon, so we’ll have to wait and see about future tower power…
Hands-On With the Fourth Dimension
Trying to make sense of Marc ten Bosch’s genius Miegakure.
Relatedly unrelated: Talking and writing about games, sometimes it’s like hitting a wall – you know, when you’re super-excited about the awesomeness of a gameplay experience, and try as you might there’s just no getting the gamers around you as fired up as you think they should be! Certain games just resonate more with some people than others, and the phenomenon is even more frustrating when it comes to indie titles like Miegakure, or Go Home Dinosaurs!, or Spy Party.
Great indie games aren’t about being weird, stubbornly different or the first on the scene (though I get why that might hold a certain appeal in a world of “First!” ;) ), these games are bringing new game experiences to our grubby little hands – independently.
A lot of the games I write about – AAA or indie – for N4G and this blog are games that I like. I realize that may make it seem as though I’m sunshine and daffodils about too many things, that my taste isn’t discriminating, but here’s the truth: I hate writing about games I don’t like, it feels like a waste of time. When writing about a game that is unenjoyable to me, the same wall-hitting principle applies: there will be people with whom the game does resonate, and my opinion means squat.
No, I would rather take the time (it does take time!) to write about games that are experiences worth sharing, and only write about the ickies when I’ve gotta.
Star Trek Online Goes Free-to-Play
Try and act surprised!
Cryptic Studios, Inc., the team behind MMORPG Star Trek Online, was recently acquired by Perfect World Entertainment. It shouldn’t be too shocking, then, that the masters of free-to-play are bringing STO to that end of the pricing model.
The game will launch as free-to-play in 2011, with a closed beta “coming soon”. Already a subscriber? Players can access additional features a la carte or become Gold Members by continuing to subscribe at $14.99/month. New players will have the option to upgrade to this Gold status, as well, for the same price.
Borderlands 2
Going live today on N4G are both my interview with Gearbox Art Director Jeramy Cooke and my preview of Borderlands 2. The PAX takeaway: the Gearbox team’s appreciation for their fans is off the charts.
Here’s a pretty picture of Salvador:
What game should I play next…
Have you ever posted a forum thread like this? Do you have trouble deciding which socks to wear or when to blink? Penny Arcade’s Decide-o-tron is on its way – and will help you with at least one of those things.
The gist: build a library of games “you like and own” and then it tells you what you should play next. You may never have to assume responsibility for anything ever again.
Here’s hoping it works better than those Amazon suggestions, which seem to work like, “You just bought underpants? You, sir, are a connoisseur of underpants! You must want to buy MORE UNDERPANTS! Here is a virtual blizzard of underpants for you to choose from!!”*
*Note from my Sense of Feminine Pride: I borrowed this example from my husband. I have never bought underpants on Amazon.
3 Indies, One Booth
Spy Party, at the time in Alpha build, was a favorite at PAX Prime 2010 and will be back this weekend (and with an unlimited play station!). Booth 3002 is packing more than Spy Party punch as both Saturday and Sunday morning will feature two additional indie titles – the as yet unannounced title from Fat Princess dev Carbon Games and Miegakure, Marc ten Bosch’s 4D puzzle platformer.
Add this to your PAX calendars:
Chris Hecker’s Spy Party, Booth 3002 all darn PAX -y weekend
Carbon Games (game TBA): Saturday, 10-11 a.m.
Marc ten Bosch’s Miegakure: Sunday, 10-11 a.m.
See you there!
Mac Lion Roar
There were two things I couldn’t cope with in Lion: the natural scrolling and autocorrect. Admittedly, I didn’t even bother going through any kind of trial or adjustment period with the natural scrolling. Lion arrived, I swapped it back in some kind of quasi-Luddite rejection of change.
Autocorrect has had its chance, but I’m over it. Instead of proofreading once, I find myself having to proofread twice just to make sure I caught the [auto]corrections. It’s a bit like the “pubic/public” spell check problem, only somehow “snooty” becomes “syphilis”. It happened.
If you, too, want to uncheck that autocorrect preference:
System Preferences > Language & Text > Text (Correct Spelling Automatically is in the upper right)
Permadeath’s Economy
Because really, who can be fussed to remember “Salem” when it’s “that MMO with permadeath”! With the free-to-play MMORPG market already burgeoning with options – and potential players with increasingly limited temporal currency – Salem’s gimmick is definitely attention grabbing. In theory, wouldn’t it be a blast to form your own gang of thieves and assassins and go around wreaking havoc? In practice, the white knight RPG syndrome may bleed right on through into some sort of Salem Police hall monitor task force…
Provided you’ve already thought all that through, here’s some info on the game’s economy from Björn Johannessen, Creative Director, out of gamescom:
The economy will be based around a store owned by the “game” that players can trade and purchase items from. When trading you’ll receive silver based on the value of the resource traded. With this silver you can then buy inaccessible resources or ones you don’t want to spend time gathering. The store will also offer the option to buy silver with real world currency. It’s key for us that all items will be purchasable with the in-game silver only, so all players, whether playing for free or not, can buy any item for sale .
Rusty Hearts Beta Keys and Phase 2
Just a heads up from PWE for those of you in the Beta, the Rusty Hearts server will go offline on August 17 at 3pm PT/5pm CT until August 24 to make preparations for Phase 2 of closed Beta testing. They’ll be making some changes and adding some content based on the feedback thus far.
If you’re not in the Beta yet, but want to be, we still have some keys – just contact me here. Even if you redeem during the offline period you will be in the Beta – and will receive an email about Phase 2 like the rest of your Beta testing comrades!
L.A. Noire on Ur PC
Further evidence that Red Dead Redemption‘s absence from PC is an aberration, L.A. Noire will be on PC this fall.
The PC version of L.A. Noire was developed by Rockstar Leeds. It will run on a wide range of PCs and feature customization, including keyboard remapping and gamepad functionality to both optimize and customize the performance and user experience. Along with increased fidelity and improved graphical enhancements, the PC version will feature 3D support for an even greater sense of interaction and immersion within a painstakingly detailed 1940s Los Angeles.
The rest of the release is non-PC specific jargon-y goodness about the merits of all things L.A. and Noire. Just about done with the game, and it’s an action-adventure game that could do without the action sequences.
Rusty Hearts Closed Beta Keys
Christine Yeo sent me a ton of Rusty Hearts keys for the July Beta, you can get yours here.
My preview based on my time with the game at E3 isn’t live yet, but in the meantime: hack-and-slash, dungeon crawling, loot, puzzles.
Skull Eating
In Skulls of the Shogun it’s important to ingest the skulls of your enemies. What more do you need to know?
Bioshockingly Infinite
Bioshock Infinite is worth getting excited about – especially if, like some other me-shaped people, you found the first games in the series too absolutely terrifying to play without full daylight in a brightly lit room while surrounded by puppies.
If you’re more afraid of preview content than splicers, then don’t read this.
Desktop Dungeons at E3
The IndieCade booth had lots on offer – like Desktop Dungeons! Read my preview, fall in love, then play the Alpha build for free. If that doesn’t have you clicking “pre-order”, you’re hopeless.
Photo evidence
About
I’m Community Manager for N4G and Admin for the NewsBoiler Network, home to N4G, TechSpy, AnimeShinbun, FilmWatch and 11×2. There’s more words strung together on the N4G Blog.
Check out my about.me profile!
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