Free 2 Play

Free game #4: Savage 2 - A Tortured Soul

2011-12-02T00:42:00.000-08:00

Games Background:

Savage 2 - A Tortured Soul is a very diverse game, Savage 2 combines RTS, FPS and RPG aspects into its gameplay. The game is developed by S2 Games, the company that made Heroes of Newerth (HoN). Savage 2 is the sequel to Savage: The Battle for Newerth and was officially released on January 16, 2008. On December 9, 2008 S2 Games announced that the game was officially freeware, with a paid "Premium Account" option that expanded certain aspects of the game.

The game was released through Steam on July 13, 2008, for download. On December 13, 2008, the game was released as freeware

Gameplay:

Savage 2 is multiplayer based game and there is no campaign, but trust me the multiplayer is more than enough. The game is played with 2 teams (the Legion of Man and the Beast Horde) fighting against each other on a large playing field in an attempt to eventually destroy the durable command center of the enemy team, thereby winning the game. The game is played in rounds, and no benefits carry over from each match, despite the RPG elements present in each match. Within the command center the team's commander is located (also one of the players), who has a birds eye perspective on the battlefield like a standard RTS, he can use certain abilities to buff his teammates and more importantly he gets to build structures (towers, spawn points, upgrade centers, mines) from which the team will benefit. The rest of the players are the soldiers them self's, and there's quite a lot of soldier types to choose from. The soldiers experience a first person shooter (FPS) gameplay, with a lot of RPG elements like choosing what upgrades you should take pre-game and encountering a decent number of NPC within the match itself, this game is really like no other. The maps are humongous, positioning and team play is essential to winning a match. Overall the game plays quite fluently, and the experience is really fun especially if you are connected with your friends trough TeamSpeak, Ventrilo, or Skype.

Get the game here : http://www.savage2.com/en/main.php

Trailer:

Free game #3: Team Fortress 2

2011-11-30T10:51:00.000-08:00

Today I will talk about Team Fortress 2, another epic game that you can get on Steam for free. Team Fortress 2 is a multiplayer First person shooter made by Valve, a game corporation that many praise as one of the best. The original Team Fortress game was a mod on the popular Quake engine. Team Fortress 2 debuted on October 10, 2007 as a part of the game compilation Orange Box on PC. The got released as a stand alone game on April 9, 2008. Team Fortress 2 went "free to play" June, 2011.
Now I've played the game quite a lot and can assure you that it has a great gameplay for an FPS game, and the cartoony graphics and looks of the game combined with the personality each class has gives the game a unique humor to it. There are 9 classes of which you can choose. Each with an original feel and gameplay to it.

The classes in TF2:

There are quite a lot of items in TF2 and there are multiple ways of getting them, some are rewards for completing achievements, for others you will just have to be lucky and hope you'll get them while playing (there are random item drops in the game). And for those who're just too lazy and not so lucky there is an item store to buy all of these cool items. Also TF2 unique inventory system allows you to craft rare items by sacrificing other common items.

The graphics like I said have a cartoon feel to it which really suits the game, it looks superb and everything runs fluently. I achieve up to 200+ frames per second with vertical sync off with everything maxed out so you really shouldn't have any problem with the game freezing up to you.

The game sounds great as well. The game has it's own soundtrack, and they've really done great job with how their characters sound, something you can notice while playing the game.

The game doesn't really have an Official trailer but Valve did released a mini-series called "Meed the..." showcasing all of their classes.

Check them out:

"Meet the Sniper"

"Meet the Spy"

"Meet the Medic"

"Meet the Heavy"

"Meet the Soldier"

"Meet the Engineer"

"Meet the Demoman"

"Meet the Scout"

The mysterious Pyro still hasn't got it's own "Meet the"... I'm hoping they'll release one for him soon!

Finally to get this game for Free visit the Official Team Fortress 2 website.

And as always don't forget to leave a comment telling me for what should I write next!

Cheers Iv40!

Free game #2: Alien Swarm

2011-11-29T14:23:00.000-08:00

Alien Swarm is a free downloadable game on Steam. It's a third person game with an isometric view (meaning you see the game from, top something like Magicka and Diablo) which is quite fun. In a few words the story goes something like this. you and three more space marines (who can be played by your friends) are sent to a planet where an alien infestation has happened so the planet is crawling with alien bugs who you need to kill in order to save the day. The game doesn't have too much depth to it but there still is a bit more than it meets the eye. There are 4 types of marines or classes (up to 2 players can be the same type of marine) from which you and your friends can choose from. Every marine has a special trick up their sleeve. There is a commander, a heavy gunner, a medic and a tech marine. Every one of them has different perks who are needed in order to pass the level. The game has a lot of weapons and quite a large number of difficulty settings, but the campaign it self is quite short.

The thing i found quite strange when playing this game was after finishing it on "normal" difficulty i was level 9 and i believe you can go as far as level 30 unlocking more and more weapons along the way.

So the game is meant to be played like an arcade game trying to beat your old record and set a new one, and the difficulty levels are just ridiculous on this game.

The game has a couple of flaws, I would love to have seen a bit more maps and levels, and setting up a game and getting everyone in was a bit difficult but nothing you guys can't handle.

Bottom line this game does it's purpose delivering an awesome arcade style of gameplay with a lot of chaos and action which is always nice in this kind of a game. This game is a must try for co-op fanatics and arcade game lovers.

To watch the trailer and get the game for free visit the Alien Swarm official website now!

I leave you with a gameplay video of the game and as always comment telling me what kind of a game you would like to see next time

Free game #1: Mari0

2011-11-29T13:47:00.000-08:00

Since I decided that I'll write to you guys about free games you can get off the internet, I think I will start counting them from now on. So for #1 I got a really cool game to share with you. It's a flash games called Mari0

made from the Stabyourself guys, it's a mix from the classic Nintendo game Super Mario Bros. and Valve's epic Portal. When I first saw this I was amazed, to make a game this original and incredible is awesome hats off to the guys from Stabyourself . Sadly this game isn't out yet but they did said on their YouTube channel that they'll be releasing it to the end of 2011, so it won't be too long from now.

This is a video that was released not too long ago of the infamous game! Pretty awesome check it out.

Play with as many players as you can connect joypad on your PC (+1 for the keyboard/mouse)

That's all guys hoped you found this useful, give me a thought on what you think about the game and what kind of a game you would like to see in the future!

Cheers, Iv40

A game changer!

2011-11-29T10:07:00.000-08:00

Guys, for the few who follow me I have a big news. I made a post 2 days ago about games that are free to play. I realized had a lot to share on that topic and since my blog doesn't seem to get any attention I realized I'm doing something wrong so I've decide to change the name and URL of my blog, and to focus writing on a single topic, the topic being games that all of you can get off the internet for free!. I do this hoping it will increase the number of my readers cause as things stand i have more than 10 posts and less than 100 views.

So here's to a new beginning! Hope you guys will like my decision, I sure could use some support.
I'll start posting on this topic really soon, I'd appreciate if you guys leave a comment is this a good decision or not... Thanks for reading!

Facebook vs Twitter

2011-11-28T10:29:00.000-08:00

I barely use both, but I can notice that both Facebook and Twitter are really popular right now, both social media who promote your life more or less. The only difference I can think of is that Facebook presents your life as a whole, where as Twitter focuses on what are you doing a the moment, that and the various Facebook apps.
Want to learn more about Twitter and Facebook, then take a look at this infographic:

Amazing free to play games! Pt.1

2011-11-27T10:11:00.000-08:00

The Gaming industry is currently at it's peak, games get better and better, they look superb, they tell a better story, and overall they offer a better experience. This being said it's no surprise to us that their price has grown quite a bit as well, and not all of us have the money to buy every game we want, so no wonder a lot of game developers decide to make their game "Free 2 Play".

Today we'll be looking at some of the most fun Free 2 play games out there who are worth a try.

Free games on STEAM (note: you'll need a Steam Client to play the next 3 games I'm going to talk about):

- Team Fortress 2 (Fun Multiplayer FPS)

Let me just start of by saying that this game is awesome! It's a first person shooter made by Valve (a game developer which never fails to produce an awesome game) with quite a large community backing it up. The game is based on the classic shooter game genre, so when joining into a game you can choose one of the two teams Blue or Red. Every team has the same 9 classes which players can choose from. Every class has a special role in the team and special items. The character customization in this game is quite awesome for a first person shooter as well, there are numerous hats and badges in the store that you can buy. There is also a huge amount of maps, and mods for this game (after all this is Valve we're talking about).
I personally play this game and would recommend it to anyone who wants to have a great fun and likes FPS games (with or without friends) . The only thing bad about this game I can think of is that sometimes finding a decent server takes too long.

Visit the offical Team Fortress 2 webpage to register and start playing now :
http://www.teamfortress.com/

Another awesome Free 2 Play game on STEAM is:

-Alien Swarm (4 player Co-op campaign game)

This is a third person game with an isometric view (meaning you see the game from top something like Magicka and Diablo) which is quite fun. In a few words the story goes something like this you and three more space marines (who can be played by your friends) are sent to a planet where an alien infestation is happening so the planet is crawling with alien bugs who you need to kill in order to save the day. The game doesn't have too much depth to it but there still is a bit more then it meets the eye. There are 4 types of marines (up to 2 players can be same type of marine) from which you and your friends can choose from. Every marine has a special trick up their sleeve. There is a commander, a heavy gunner, a medic and a tech marine. Every one of the has different perks who are needed in order to pass the level. The game has a lot of weapons and quite a large number of difficulty settings, but the campaign it self is quite short. The thing i found quite strange when playing this game was after finishing it on "normal" difficulty i was level 9 and i believe you can go as far as level 30 unlocking more and more weapons along the way. So the game is meant to be played like an arcade game trying to beat your old record and set a new one, and the difficulty levels are just ridiculous on this game. The bad things about this game are a couple, like I said I would love to have seen a bit more maps and levels, and setting up a game was a bit difficult but nothing you guys can handle.
Bottom line this game does it's purpose delivering an awesome arcade style of gameplay with a lot of chaos but in a good way. This game is a must try for co-op fanatics and arcade game lovers.

To look at the game's trailer and to get it for FREE visit: http://www.alienswarm.com/

But there is more you can get on STEAM for free like:

-TrackMania Nations Forever (A multiplayer racing game)

There is not a lot I can talk about this game. It's a free racing game with a lot of history. You drive in a formula on maps that are mostly custom made and will leave you out of breath every time you drive trough one. It's a very competitive game and everything is based on rankings and you get rewarded for every race you finish. So if you want a new to experience a new type of racing for FREE this is the game to get.

Cons: The graphics are not the best but, they are far from bad as well.
To get the game for free visit http://store.steampowered.com/app/11020/ and download the game for free.

Next I will talk about a few Free 2 play MOBA games. MOBA games are based on the DOTA.
You can find out more on this here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dota_(genre)

- League of Legends (Great MOBA game)

This is the game I play the most these days.
If you like DOTA then you can't go wrong with this one. It's RIOT GAMES (company's name) only game so they update it every second week so this game won't get old for quite some time. With over 30 million registered users this game has one of the largest communities out there. If you ask me this is the best MOBA game that is out at the moment. Only thing bad about it is that when you have a community this large you are bound to run into a lot of players who simply put are hard to play with but other than that the game is perfect. I talked about the size of the game and i think this infographic might help you understand the true volume of this game.
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/51052489/riot_lol_infographic_full.jpg

To play League of Legends for Free! click on the link below to register your own account:
http://signup.leagueoflegends.com/?ref=4ed3ced690b2a486696626

Sometime next week I'll release "Best free to play gmaes! Pt. 2" so stay up to date!

Hope this was helpful guys, bye!

The 5 best smartphones of 2011

2011-11-26T15:33:00.000-08:00

Mobile phones have come a long way since the first hand-held phone made on April 1973 by Motorla, then the cell phones were quite large and had only one purpose dialing and receiving calls. These days their application in every day life has greatly increased and they have become an every day accessory.

In this post we'll be reviewing 5 of the best smartphones released in 2011 :

The HTC Rezound (Verzion Wireless)

While it may have a hefty build, the HTC Rezound's beautiful display, commendable performance, and multimedia-rich features make it a top phone for Verizon customers.

Pros: The HTC Rezound has a gorgeous 4.3-inch 720p HD display, a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, an 8-megapixel rear camera with dual-LED flash, a 2-megapixel front-facing camera, and Verizon's 4G/LTE speeds. It ships with a pair of Beats earbuds along with a Beats Audio algorithm designed to enhance audio quality.

Cons:The HTC Rezound is quite bulky and call quality could be better. The Beats Audio software can only be toggled in the Music app.

Price - 299,99 $

The iPhone 4S

The iPhone 4S isn't the king of cell phones, but it's part of the royal family nonetheless. Even without 4G and a giant screen, this phone's smart(ass) voice assistant, Siri, the benefits of iOS 5, and its spectacular camera make it a top choice for anyone ready to upgrade.

Pros: Apple's iPhone 4S has a faster processor and an upgraded camera, all the benefits of iOS 5, and a useful and immensely fun voice assistant. Call quality on the Sprint model is admirable, and the data speeds, while certainly not 4G, get the job done.

Cons: It's about time we get a larger screen. The screen the iPhone currently has is too small when you take in consideration what the other smartphones offer.

Prices - 399.99 $

Motorola Droid Razr (Verzion wireless)

With its razor-thin design, jam-packed features, and blazing speed, the Motorola Droid Razr is easily one of the year's top Android smartphones.

Pros: The Motorola Droid Razr has an attractive, slim, and lightweight design that is also water repellent and scratch resistant. It has a fantastic 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Advanced display, a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, Verizon's 4G/LTE speeds, plenty of multimedia features, corporate and government grade security, Webtop functionality, and decent battery life.

Cons:The Motorola Droid Razr's large size might feel awkward in small hands; we expected better picture quality from its 8-megapixel camera; and the battery is not removable.

Price - 799.99 $

Samsung Galaxy S II (AT&T)

With its dual-core processor, vibrant display, and great performance, the sleek and powerful Samsung Galaxy S II rises as AT&T's top Android smartphone.

Pros: The Samsung Galaxy S II boasts a beautiful display and a thin design. With a dual-core processor, the Gingerbread device delivers fast performance, as well as good battery life. Camera quality is excellent.

Cons: Some parts of the phone feel flimsy.

Price - 199.99 $

Samsung Galaxy Nexus

The Samsung Galaxy Nexus is a big step forward for Android, but it's not the giant leap you may have been expecting. As impressive as it is, Ice Cream Sandwich can be messy, and without it, the Galaxy Nexus is just another Android device.

Pros:The Samsung Galaxy Nexus brings a ton of new and very welcome features with Ice Cream Sandwich. The design is sharp, the screen is gorgeous, and the internal performance is fantastic.

Cons:Ice Cream Sandwich has eliminated some of Android's learning curve in some aspects, just to re-create it in others. There was some static on calls, and like other Samsung Galaxy devices, the Galaxy Nexus feels rather fragile.

Price - 869.99 $

How much do we use cell phones?

2011-11-26T14:17:00.000-08:00

The answer is a too much? If that's not enough check out this infograhpic about the vast amount of cell phones on a global level and their usage.
To view this awesome infographic right click it and click on "open image in new tab" from there you can easily zoom in and further analyze it.

Thank you and good bye!

Microsoft's TellMe vs Apples' Siri

2011-11-26T13:49:00.000-08:00

Microsoft and Apple have been a life long competitors in almost every technological field there is. So when one comes up with an idea that works and the same idea gets accepted by the masses then the other company tries to make the same thing in a different way.

So when the new iPhone 4S was unveiled at Apples' "Let's talk iPhone" event back in October 4, 2011 with it came Siri, a new built in application based on voice commands (now mind you, this wasn't the first voice commands application / tool for a phone but Siri was a lot more intelligent and efficient than all before it, you will see it still is in the video we'll show you).

The iPhone 4S wasn't that huge of a success with the Apple fans and iPhone users but the application that redeemed this iPhone was the one and only Siri. This voice command based application soon won the hearths of millions tech fans with it's intelligent design and huge efficiency level and soon became a must have tool for a lot of people.
Noticing the great success Apple had with Siri Microsoft decided to make a voice command app of their own and integrate it in their next cell phone unit, so TellMe came to be.
What's the difference between these two you ask, well watch this video and decide for yourself.

The evolution of video games!

2011-11-26T08:08:00.000-08:00

Video games have come a long way since the first official video game got released in 1972 "pong" which was played on televisions connected with the Magnavox Odyssey (the very first gaming console). Now games not only that they look astonishing but they have a great story behind them.

To help you understand the history of video games and all the gaming consoles that have been used to play these games is a very useful and user-friendly infographic:

What's the best tablet for you?

2011-11-26T06:00:00.000-08:00

These days there are a lot of tablets out there and making the right choice when buying one will really make a difference in your life.

Here's an interesting infographic chart about the tablets out there:

But I did found that this is a bit out-dated chart so in order to make the right choice you can use the review found here :

http://reviews.cnet.com/tablets/

To view the infochart graph right-click on it and choose "open link in new tab" or "open image in new tab" from there you can easily zoom in and further analyze the graph!

Parkour and Freerunning

2011-11-26T02:57:00.000-08:00

Hi guys, today I'll talk about Parkour, what it means and how can it change your life. I know there are a lot of posts about Parkour and Freerunning but i guess i just wanted to add my two cents to it and tell you guys how it changed my life...

Parkour (defined by Wikipedia) is a method of movement focused on moving around obstacles with speed and efficiency. Originally developed in France, the main purpose of the discipline is to teach participants how to move through their environment by vaulting, rolling, running, climbing and jumping.

Simplified, Parkour is a movement technique used to get from point A to point B as soon as posible, leaping over obstacles, cover high walls etc.
The people who practice Parkour are called traceurs and their number has lately greatly increased. Parkour has become a global sport practiced by milions of people.
The origin of this movement technique leads back to the beginning of the 20th century, but the one who made Parkour what it is today is David Belle. A Frenchman (born 29 April 1973) who used his gymnastics and martial arts skills to create a sport who he later names "Parkour"

More on David Belle here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Belle

Soon after Parkour had it's global fame a new, very similar movement appeared which looked quite same to Parkour but it wasn't the same, I'm talking about Freerunning. Freerunning unlike Parkour (which is based on movement and efficiency ) is based on (well put in blunt) looking as awesome as you can while moving. Actually unlike traceurs (who tend find the fastest way to get from point A to point B) free runners take their time and tend to do a lot more tricks than traceurs. You can say freerunning is more creative, and it uses a lot more skills like acrobatics, tricking even street dancing.

These days Parkour and Freerunning is trained as one, and the very best practitioners use the very perfect middle of this two to do what they do best.

Now i said that i'll tell you what Parkour and Freerunning means to me and how can it change your life. By starting this sport like any other you exercise and strengthen your body, so in a short amount of time you'll get very fit ( i know i did). Second and a lot more importantly, Parkour gives you a new perspective to life and your surroundings. Let me explain, when I see a new surrounding I start to break it down and analyze every part of it, measuring a certain wall's height and asking myself "can i jump over this", or "can i do this".
Parkour is all about conquering your fear, I know how i felt the first time i did a hard move outside, it took me 30 minutes to beat my fear and do it, but once I did it, I felt a giant rush of adrenaline and pleasure unlike any other. So for those of you who still hesitate on trying out Parkour listen to me "try it don't hesitate" if it's not your thing then quit, but don't miss out on at least trying this out.

Finally let me finish this post with this awesome Parkour / Freerunning video from the Storm freerunning team which is one of the best I have ever seen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHy9W9LpvlQ

The best budget PC!

2011-11-25T16:10:00.000-08:00

The technology involving computers these days, changes over night, and so do their prices, so being on top of the new components that are manufactured by the large PC companies is crucial!

Now if you're interested in a steady office / browsing PC then this is what the place to visit:
http://www.techspot.com/articles/lowendpc/index.shtml

Those computers are more commonly known in the PC industry as low end PCs or low budget PCs

Then we move on to the mid-end of the computers...
http://www.custompcguide.com/mid-range.html

This is the PC most people get, it's very good for everyday tasks: from watching movies, listening to music, browsing the internet, and most importantly they are capable of playing most of the games that are out perfectly...

The i5-2500k Intel processor is mentioned as a mid-end component here, this is the same processor i use and i have to say i'm really pleased with it there hasn't been a game i can't play to the max, and it's price is just amazing.
Not to get off topic here is a bit more on the i5-2500k and it's bigger brother the i7-2600k (both excellent processors)
http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/intel_corei7_2600k_and_corei5_2500k/

And finally the high-end PCs, this babies can cost up to 4,000 $ and more, i don't need to tell you these aren't for anyone...
But with this price come a lot of perks. To help you decide whether you should or shouldn't buy this kind of a PC the guys from TechSpot wrote a nice article about this. And for those of you who will buy it I can assure you that you won't regret it!

The article, check it out:http://www.techspot.com/guides/41-highend-pc-buying-guide-200701/