Gaming blog

No Half-Life 3 At This Year's E3

2012-05-03T01:58:00.000+02:00

No new Portal or Left 4 Dead announcements either. Valve is attending the annual games conference, but won't be showing any new games, the company confirmed today.

Gabe said a while back that they would be showing off something related to the number 3 at this year's E3, thus hinting at them showing a game with 3 somewhere in the title.

Valve is one of the most frustrating studios to be a fan of. But they payoff is worth it.

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance won't be on Vita

2012-04-28T20:36:00.003+02:00

For a brief moment there was speculation that Konami Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance would developped for the PlayStation Vita. Sony now informed us that this game is not on their list of games to appear for the Vita

After the PC version was removed the Vita-gamers are now screwed. Let's hope that the team behind the game are working full time on the console version of the game to make a gem of a game to. Metal Gear Rising: Vengeance does not appear until late this year for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

Resident Evil 6's story will be up to three times longer than the fifth Resident Evil

2012-04-12T01:40:00.001+02:00

According to Game Director Eiichiro Sasaki, Resident Evil 6's story mode will be up to three times as long as that of Resident Evil 5.The man confirmed to NowGamer that the three campaigns will contain a total of 30 hours of gameplay.

The three characters have their own story and you can even choose which character you would prefer to follow the story, Sasaki said.

Regarding the length, if you look at each story then they are each slightly shorter than Resident Evil 5. If you put them together it adds up, however, you care a lot more for your money. Though the story of each character stands alone, all the characters stay in the same area, namely in China. that means there will be some overlap present.

Sasaki also confirmed his fascination with The Walking Dead and Dead Space, which has gained inspiration for Resident Evil 6. Sasaki designed a new look for the Dead Space floating HUD.

The title will come a month earlier than expected, on 2 October. (My birthday)

New blog - Unusual phobias

2012-04-07T06:35:00.002+02:00

Hi again. I've made yet a new blog!

http://morbidfear.blogspot.com/

An educational blog about unusual and weird phobias - There are a lot of them.

Some posts that might interest you:

-Dikigorosophobia (Fear of a lawyer or lawyers)

-Scholionophobia (Fear of a university or universities, school, day care, ...)

-Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia (Fear of long words)

-Triskaidekaphobia (Fear of the number 13)

-Introduction and what are phobias?

Assassin’s Creed 3 will have “more Desmond than you’ve ever had before”

2012-04-05T02:15:00.000+02:00

Desmond. We don't play as him very often. Well, actually, we play as him all the time. In the Animus, that is. But for many he is still a "nobody", but now we’ll be seeing a lot of him in Assassin’s Creed 3. In fact, writer Matt Turner tells CVG that we’re “going to experience more Desmond than you’ve ever had before.”

“It’s a big part of our story and I don’t really want to give too many details away because I want people to experience what that is. But rest assured, you’re going to see a lot of Desmond. More so than in any past game.”

“We’re spending more time on the present than we have in past games,” he adds.

DLC sucks!

2012-04-01T06:12:00.002+02:00

Downloadable Content or DLC has been getting very popular in the past 5 or so years. It's a nice concept, but there are way more cons than pros, and that's why they suck.

Why do they suck? I've made a small list.

Most are overpriced
This is mostly in FPS games (who are the most to have DLC in the first place). In the newer Call of Duty games, 15 euros for a pack of 4 maps is extremely pricey. A game nowadays (here) costs about 65 euros on consoles. You pay 1/4th of the game for a pack of four maps.
Let's not forget that in a few months, another pack will come out and by the time the new game comes out you've spent a total of 120/150 euros on a single game.

I'd rather have mesothelioma than do this.

Many of the items sold on sites like Xbox Live Marketplace are not downloadable content at all
but are instead content keys used to unlock content already on the game disk, people feel as if they are
paying to unlock content they already purchased when they bought the game itself.For instance, criticism arose over the downloadable "Versus Mode" for Resident Evil 5 : on Xbox live the total file size of the pack was 2 Megabytes, leading people to believe that the Mode was already on the game disc but Capcom chose to offer it as an added extra and request a fee in order for it to be unlocked.

The points system sucks!
if someone wants to purchase a $15 item, they are forced to spend $20 just to buy enough currency to buy the $15 item. 5$ isn't worth alot in the DLC world

You can't resell DLC
Where a normal software disc can have its license sold or traded, DLC is locked to a specific user or console and does not come with the ability to transfer that license to another user. And that sucks!

"Free DLC"
can also provide revenue at the expense of users' convenience. For example, Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm for the Playstation 3, was shipped with certain features disabled. However, users can freely download packs to re enable the missing content from the Playstation Store. Users are exposed to advertisements and potential purchases. For this, you're fucked if you don't have an internet connection. There is also the additional marketing benefit that users may believe that there is continuing support for the product if there is an apparent flow of such patches.

Exclusive DLC
I hate the exclusivity of downloadable contents, as some of these contents are frequently added to new disc version of the game. If you buy Resident Evil 5 : Gold Edition, you would have access to contents previously exclusives as downloadable content without having to pay any extra fee. In other cases, a disc exclusive feature can be release afterwards as a DLC, at the expense of customers. In 2009, several missions were released as downloadable content for Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. These levels, in addition to a new Hoth level, were repackaged as the Ultimate Sith Edition and sold again for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC. LucasArts made it clear that the Hoth level was exclusive to the Ultimate Sith Edition and would never be released as a downloadable content, forcing the most die-hard gamers to purchase the new edition (despite already owning the original version and all other DLC). Shortly afterwards, LucasArts announced that, in fact, the Hoth level would be released independently as a DLC, to the outrage of many fans who purchased the new game solely for it.

Total War currently not coming to consoles.

2012-03-30T13:49:00.001+02:00

Although there has been hard work to get the Total War series to the mobile platforms, We won't have any Total War game on consoles this generation of consoles.

The reason is that the current generation consoles are not powerful enough for a Total War game to show in all its glory. Once the new generation of console arrive, Creative Assembly will certainly make the transition to the consoles.

"The technical limitations of this generation are really the only thing holding us back."

CS:GO Italy gameplay

2012-03-23T11:20:00.002+01:00

Here's some gameplay footage in the classic CS map, cs_italy
There are some things that old (, and, heck, even new) Counter Strike players are going to miss.
Here's what they should fix in my opinion

-The new buying menu, this makes the game look like it's a console port.

-Pavarotti. WHERE IS HE. It was the map's 'signature'. Even if lots of people dislike Opera. The 'ambient' music sucks.

-The huge info popup just to tell us if we'd switched firing modes. It's obnoxious.

-You faster than the previous games. This might not be a bad thing, but when looking down a sniper's scope it's way too fast.

Got something else? Let me know with a comment, you can comment anonymously if you don't have a blogger account. :)

I'm sure most of this can be fixed with mods. Maybe even in the final version of the game.

It's not all bad, though. The maps in general are much more detailed and the new guns seem interesting.

Maybe I should stop talking and play 1.6 or CSS.

Yeah, I'll go do that.

Info on World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria

2012-03-20T02:42:00.001+01:00

A lot has been anounced during a press tour for the new World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria., the new extension of the famous MMO.

With an eleventh character slot included, we can expect nine heroics of level 90 and three raids with fourteen bosses have been announced.

There are also a new arena and two new battlegrounds, while the number of zones was increased to seven. There are no new race models announced, but there is already told that Warlocks will get the largest number of adjustments in terms of their class. The Tiller-faction will be able to run their own farm.

The map.

&lt;p&gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;CC&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;

Go here for more info

Winners BAFTA Video Game Awards 2012 announced

2012-03-17T05:22:00.000+01:00

Today the winners of the British Academy Video Games Awards were announced.

Strikingly, among other popular titles, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim were given no price, when Portal 2 got three, including awards for best game.

Battlefield 3 won the coveted Audience Award.

Best story: Portal 2
Best original music: LA Noire
Best audio use: Battlefield 3
Best design: Portal 2
Best Technical Innovation: Little Big Planet 2
Best Strategy Game: Total War: Shogun 2
Best handheld game: Peggle HD
Audience GAME: Battlefield 3
Best Action Game: Batman: Arkham City
Best browser based game: Monster Mind
Best artistic achievement: Rayman Origins
BAFTA Special Award: Markus "Notch" Persson
Best sports game: Kinect Sports Season 2
Best online multiplayer: Battlefield 3
Best debut: Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet
Best family game: LittleBigPlanet 2
Best voice actor: Mark Hamill as The Joker in Batman: Arkham City
Best Game: Portal 2

I know I'm slow. But.

2012-03-07T01:26:00.000+01:00

I just noticed.

Valve console: Valve Controller?

2012-03-05T17:55:00.000+01:00

Gabe Newell already once said in an interview that Valve also wanted to make hardware, but it wasn't sure if that would ever happen, He said that they definitely wanted to do that someday.

Here's a patent that's been applied in may 2011.The patent is held by three employees of Valve.

Special to the controller is that it is "modular". You could plug in different devices. A traditional joystick, a touch pad, a trackball or a microphone, for example.

It also seems that had filed a patent four months earlier for a controller with biofeedback. Perhaps that technology could be used in one of those devices.

It is also a patent in the name of three people and the controller consists of three parts. If we look at Valve's experience with the number 3, we might now decide that this controller will never appear?

New AC3 screenshots!

2012-03-03T04:27:00.002+01:00

I can't really talk right now, I'm that amazed!

I'll just leave this here.

2012-03-02T01:15:00.000+01:00

That is all.

Get your Team Fortress 2 action figures and life sized portal gun this summer!

2012-02-26T07:43:00.001+01:00

They're not dolls, they're action figuuuures!
NECA will also be releasing a line of Left 4 Dead, Team Fortress 2 and Half-Life action figures, a few of which were shown off at the NYC Toy Fair.

The portal gun will have a $130 price tag attached.

Fill in this survey and you might win a Counter Strike:GO beta KEY!

2012-02-23T01:22:00.001+01:00

http://blog.counter-strike.net/index.php/2012/02/survey/

Copy and paste this code steam://takesurvey/2/ to begin the survey.

“Over the coming months we will make selections from the survey participants. Sometimes we might add experienced players, other times new players. Sometimes 1.6 players, sometimes CSS players, sometimes people who have played neither.”

"Check back later this week for our analysis on the recoil change and a new update this Friday."

What I'm buying this month

2012-02-18T05:47:00.003+01:00

Hey again, just updating you with what I'm planning to get this month with my adsense cheque.

ASUS GTX 560 TI

Price: € 219

AMD Phenom II X4 965 3.4 GHz Black Edition

Price: € 134,90

Nothing too crazy. I might do this every month or so. I didn't pick a 6 core cpu because not many games actually use 6 cores at the moment.

At the moment I have an ATI Radeon HD 5670, an AMD Phenom x4 925. Any other suggestions, maybe?
I only have 350 euros to spend.

[Boardgame] Monopoly: World of Warcraft & Risk: Starcraft

2012-02-12T08:34:00.001+01:00

Blizzard has signed a contract with USAopoly that means that World of Warcraft will be released in Monopoly version and a Starcraft version of Risk. The games will introduce several new game elements. They will be introduced at a games fair today, Sunday, February 12, in New York.

Monopoly: World of Warcraft works with a Horde and Alliance-dice. Your real estate markets are the Twilight Highlands and The Swamp of Sorrows. It will be available in May in North America.

In RISK: Starcraft you can of course choose to play as Terran, Protoss or Zerg. There are six unique heroes for your army to enter. The winner is the player with the best military strategy. The game will include nearly 300 components, including of course a lot of units in Starcraft 2. The game will be released somewhere in the summer.

It's cool that videogames are getting more implemented in the board game world, but yet another version of these two old-fashioned games, were we really waiting for those?

Paradox Interactive announces three new games

2012-02-09T00:37:00.000+01:00

Mystery works very well in creating curiosity.
Paradox Interactive realizes that very well. They let us know that next month three new games will be proposed and gave with each one some info.

The first project, JFK, is being developed by Arrowhead Game Studios, the makers of Magicka. It is described as "a multiplayer game with a very fast tempo, where you have to murder your friends as cool as possible.

Revenge, developed by Critical Studio, is an action game and a "murder hole for both heroes and children."

Finally, there is Silverado, where the team of Zeal Game Studio is working on.
This game is said to be not only a mix of a shooter and an RTS but also contains elements of both science fiction and war board games.

All these games will be previewed at the Game Developers Conference in San Fransisco.
It is clear that until then Paradox will say nothing much about these games.

The studio has also let us know that the games War of the Roses and A Game of Dwarves will also be presented.

This is why I've bought Skyrim on PC - Creation Kit preview

2012-02-02T02:52:00.000+01:00

Bethesda uploaded this video today and it shows us the Creation Kit and the Skyrim Workshop.

User generated content can be much better than what you already get, so it's really cool of Bethesda to provide us with a kit.

This is exactly why I bought Skyrim on PC.

Steam coming to iOS and Android

2012-01-27T01:09:00.000+01:00

Valve have just announced that a Steam app is incoming for iOS and Android. It’ll support chat, groups and screenshots. You’ll even be able to purchase games when on the move.

“Seeing which of your friends are online and playing a game, sending quick messages, looking at screenshots for an upcoming game, or catching a sale – these are all features customers have requested. Mobile is changing way people interact, play games and consume media, and the Steam app is part of our commitment to meet customer demands and expand the service functionality of Steam to make it richer and more accessible for everyone.”

Currently, the app is still in closed Beta. Download the app for iOS or Android, then log into your account from within. Valve will send out more invites as the “service ramps up.”

Minecraft Lego is official!

2012-01-25T21:46:00.000+01:00

LEGO are now in the process of developing Minecraft sets to be sold worldwide!

“we are now developing a concept that celebrates the best aspects of building with the LEGO system and in Minecraft and we can’t wait to show it to you — but we aren’t ready just yet.” -Lego

Mojang will receive 1% of any profits gathered by the Lego sets bearing its branding, which they plan to give to charity.

“I could never imagine this a couple of years ago, but it’s really cool. And it’s something I’m really excited about because Lego’s so like super friendly. Both the brand, the way they do stuff and as a company, everything there is just friendly and nice. So to have Minecraft go in a nice direction, like the brand, is something I’m looking forward to.” - Notch

I'm excited to see what they're going to come up with!
What about you? Post a comment (anonymously if you don't have a blogger account)!

Are Mojang still indie developers?

2012-01-23T22:22:00.001+01:00

With 4,733,940 copies sold, An Xbox 360 port incoming, Android/iOS ports already here, and even Minecraft LEGO incoming, we begin to wonder if Notch is still an indie developer.

The hard part, though, is defining what an indie developer actually is.

“These days it’s become hip to pay for indie games. That’s partly down to people charging for it, like with the Humble Indie Bundle, and partly because of Steam doing awesome stuff,” Notch told PC Gamer last week.

“I don’t think [Mojang] are indie in the sense of how I used to work any more, because we have a payroll to worry about and we need to do stuff to ensure the company lasts,” he continued.

“We have other stuff which influences what we do other than trying to focus on the games. We make sure me and Jacob are only focusing on game development so the founders are still developing. But as a company, I don’t think we are indie in the sense that I used to mean it. But in the other sense of indie – as in we make games we want to play without having any external dependencies – then yeah, we’re indie.”

Share your opinion, you can use Anonymous commenting.

The New Alienware X51

2012-01-18T13:24:00.000+01:00

Alienware has just launched the new X51, which is a console sized gaming PC.
X51 comes with either NVIDIA’s GeForce GT 545 graphics in the cheaper model, or GTX 555 in the top end specs. Prices start at £699 (no US price has been confirmed yet) which is just ridiculous for what you're getting.

Everything is upgradeable just like a regular PC, but will it run as quiet?

If you're interested in buying one (may god help you), you can get them here, and customize them.
http://www.dell.com/uk/p/alienware-x51/fs

Mojang is working on three new games

2012-01-14T00:36:00.000+01:00

Mojang recently published their first third party game, Cobalt, and say that they have plans for three new releases, two of which could arrive in the first half of this year.

Mojang CEO Carl Manneh says that these new games will have a big impact on Mojang over the next year.“We have NDAs with companies,” he says. “We want to be very transparent about everything we do, but in this case we can’t.”

Scrolls isn't one of them. It includes something new from Notch aswel.

While Notch’s next game still has a long way to go, the other two games will be revealed, and may even be released, in the first half of this year.

I'm certainly very excited to see Notch and the Mojang crew working on something different.

Scrolls, Cobalt, and three unannounced games. 2012 will be a good year