Archive | October, 2008
Filed under: Mac, PC, RPGs, MMO Blizzard plans to have a few special midnight signing events for the Wrath of the Lich King's launch on Nov. 13. Blizzard developers and executives are expected to attend, but no details have been given on who will be where. There are four events scheduled in the United States, but similar signings are planned for major metropolitan areas around the globe.With World of Warcraft currently claiming 11 million souls subscribers, it comes as no surprise that there are hundreds (more likely thousands) of midnight openings expected for the box that will grant access to Northrend. We've asked a couple retailers (and Blizzard itself) for a list of known midnight opening locations and we'll be sure to post those when we get them. The four US locations holding signing events can be found after the break.[Via Big Download]Continue reading Wrath of the Lich King special midnight launchesWrath of the Lich King special midnight launches originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 30 Oct 2008 13:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: PC, Action While it still won't operate on our trusty Macintosh Performa 5200, PC gamers with less-than-stellar rigs will be pleased to know that Valve recently lowered the previously announced system requirements for Left 4 Dead. Well, okay -- the only thing they lowered was the video card memory requirement from 256 MB to 128 MB, but we imagine that this will allow access to a much larger number of casually outfitted PCs. To find out if you'll be able to join in all the zombified reindeer games upon Left 4 Dead's Nov. 18 release, check out the full list of requirements we've posted after the jump.Continue reading Valve lowers system requirements for Left 4 Dead
Filed under: Culture, Mac, PC GameTrailers' excellent retrospective series is back this week with two new installments for different game franchises. The first new series its premiering is the Warcraft Retrospective, which has its debut episode (in the four-part series) covering the original two installments in the Warcraft RTS series. It's hard to recall Warcraft ever being a humble RTS series considering the behemoth World of Warcraft has become.GT will also premiere a one-part Fallout retrospective this Saturday, Oct. 25. The episode will cover the evolution of the series from its days at Interplay to the current, Bethesda-helmed Fallout 3. The first episode in the Warcraft Retrospective can be found after the break.Continue reading Warcraft Retrospective: Part I up now, Fallout Retrospective this Saturday
Filed under: Culture, Mac, PC GameTrailers' excellent retrospective series is back this week with two new installments for different game franchises. The first new series its premiering is the Warcraft Retrospective, which has its debut episode (in the four-part series) covering the original two installments in the Warcraft RTS series. It's hard to recall Warcraft ever being a humble RTS series considering the behemoth World of Warcraft has become.GT will also premiere a one-part Fallout retrospective this Saturday, Oct. 25. The episode will cover the evolution of the series from its days at Interplay to the current, Bethesda-helmed Fallout 3. The first episode in the Warcraft Retrospective can be found after the break.Continue reading Warcraft Retrospective: Part I up now, Fallout Retrospective this Saturday
Filed under: Culture, Features, PC, MMO Joystiq's sister site Massively.com has all the news you'll need about MMOs. Here's the best, brightest, and most interesting stuff from the last week, all in one convenient place for your MMO minute. Star Wars MMO announced as The Old RepublicWe've waited for it for a long time, we knew it was coming: BioWare has announced the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic-inspired MMO at last: the title is Star Wars: The Old Republic! Commence rejoicing with Ewoks and Gungans in the streets! WAR has only just begun to compete with WoW, declares Mark JacobsIf you've been following this particular exchange you'll know the score, but let's recap: Blizzard's Jeff Kaplan just like turned around and said some stuff about Warhammer Online, about how he wasn't even in the Beta and stuff, and Mark Jacobs was like whoa, and he totally turned around and said some stuff about World of Warcraft, and now Mark Jacobs is all, like, dude, bring it, and everybody's like, ohmygawd, it is so on. Blizzard: Next MMO won't be WoW 2Go ahead a strike the possibility of a World of Warcraft 2 off your list of possible next-gen Blizzard MMOs because it's officially not happening. In an interview with Wired, Blizzard's recently talkative Mike Morhaime flat out said that their next MMO project isn't a sequel to their first. Of course, he wouldn't divulge exactly what it was either or this would be an entirely different sort of news post. Massively in Metropolis: Making friends with SupermanIf you blow off Superman by ignoring his pleas for help, he'll be cranky at you. Meanwhile, Batman will be spending his time just waiting for you to turn on him and his family ... poised to take you down. Some discussion of quests with personality, plus exploration of the DCUO faction system called 'causes' below the cut! State of the Game reveals Blazing Sun Knights, Black Guards coming to WARIt's been a full month since the launch of Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning, and general manager for Mythic Entertainment Mark Jacobs has now offered up the 'first annual' State of the Game address to players. Continue reading Massively week in Review
Filed under: Mac, PC, Meta (about Joystiq) If you take a look at our weekly roundup feature you might be able to figure out that the Big Download team is a little short of breath; it's been a very busy last seven days, and we can prove it right now:Exclusive features BlizzCon and related features: We have out our hands-on impressions of Diablo III and Starcraft II from the show floor along with coverage of the Diablo III Art and Lore panel. Our Boot Disk feature this week is related to BlizzCon as we look back at Diablo II and our Alt-Tab op-ed column takes a look at how the Activision-Blizzard merger might affect Blizzard the developer Reviews: Big Download has our final word on Civilization IV: Colonization and the indie game hit World of Goo. Previews: We have an exclusive hands-on preview of the next chapter in American McGee's Grimm Interviews: Take your pick this week as we chat with the creators of Project Aftermath, Atmosphir, Sins of a Solar Empire Entrenchment and Blood Bowl along with a quick Q&A about this week's purchase of Gamecock by Southpeak. Neverware: Cancelled PC Games Part Two: It's baack. Take a look at the many PC games that you will never get to play. Video Game Cosplay Gallery: It's October so that means we are looking at all of the costumes made by fans and pros for their favorite video game characters. Mac Monday: Our weekly look at Mac gaming takes a look at the title Droid Assault MODMonday: Our weekly mod feature takes a look (again) at a Max Payne total conversion, the Half-Life influenced Max Freeman. Big Iron: Our hardware column this week takes a look at how hardware can't improve gameplay. Big Ideas: The weekly look at game concepts takes a gander at the double-jump. Really. Freeware Friday: Our look at free PC games is all about the impressive strategy game P.U.R.E. Virtual Bargain Bin: Our look at cheap PC games is about the classic Ubisoft title Beyond Good and Evil. BigCast: After a week off, our BigCast podcast is revamped with a new format. Check it out. Contest: You have a chance to win one of three copies of the PC version of Dead Space. Continue reading The Best Of Big Download: October 13-19
Filed under: PC, MMO Warhammer Online players will soon have to make room in their groups (and their hearts) for two new tank classes: Empire's Knights of the Blazing Sun and the Dark Elven Black Guards. If you're familiar with the game, the fact that those are similar to the Ironbreaker and Chosen respectively will mean something to you. If you're not familiar with the game ... well, why are you still reading this?There's no firm date set for the new additions, but our friends at Massively tell us that EA and Mythic are aiming for December. Oh, and you can put your gold coins away, the additions will be free of charge.
Filed under: Mac, PC, RPGs, MMO Shortly after our earlier post on the release of World of Warcraft patch 3.0.2 "Echoes of Doom" went up, we started receiving tips that the patch notes we linked to were inaccurate. Turns out they are ... because, as our friends at WoW Insider report, Blizzard yanked a number of major class changes prior to its release.In the run-up to next month's Wrath of the Lich King launch, Blizzard is evidently making changes to the game's balance on what seems to be a second-by-second basis, with the developer stating that patch 3.0.2 was balanced at level 80 with all of the intended changes but ... not so much at 70. Rather than make things messier, it went with what worked.Blizzard says that all players should get the (for now) shelved changes by the time WotLK launches on Nov. 13. It also expects there to be numerous hot fixes at that point, asking its fans to hold strong during this (hopefully brief) period of hectic pre-launch scuttering about.[Via WoW Insider]
Filed under: Mac, PC, Adventure, Online, RPGs, Video, GalleriesHere's the piping-hot new cinematic video for the Wizard class in Diablo III, straight from BlizzCon. This leads us to suspect that each class will get its own cinematic, possibly as they approach the Sanctuary instance near the beginning of the game. There are several Wizard-specific CGI moments and gameplay shots in a sort of "coming up this season on Diablo III" format.Below you can check out the new gallery of screenshots from Diablo III, featuring new shots of the Wizard, Barbarian, and Witch Doctor. Enjoy the goodies, and keep checking back for more info.Gallery: BlizzCon 2008: Diablo 3
Filed under: Mac, PC, Adventure, RPGs var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/pc_games/Diablo_3_will_be_playable_at_BlizzCon'; Our cohorts at WoW Insider just called to brag that, according to the official BlizzCon paperwork, Diablo 3 will be playable at demo stations this weekend. If you're one of the lucky ones to get through the ticketing process, we have a good feeling what line you'll be waiting in the longest. Stay tuned for more coverage from this weekend's Blizzard Extravaganza.Gallery: Diablo III
Filed under: PC, Business What's left of Sierra after the great Activision/Vivendi merger recently announced that it will shut down 21 game servers on Nov. 1. The list is populated by titles that are from a few years back, but there are some goodies on there. No reason was given for the closure, but obviously Activision-Blizzard didn't want to pay the electric bill for them anymore. The full list of titles scheduled for online closure can be found after the break.[Via Eurogamer]Continue reading Servers for 21 Sierra games shutting down
Filed under: Nintendo DS, Features, Strategy, Galleries Age of Empires: Mythologies follows the style of the DS Age of Kings, turning the PC real-time strategy into a portable, turn-based title. We checked out the game a the Nintendo Media Summit and found a lot of depth in the transition. While you'll only choose from Greek, Norse, or Egyptian armies, there's still ample Age of Empires inside.Gallery: Age of Empires: MythologiesContinue reading Joystiq impressions: Age of Empires: Mythologies
Filed under: Features, Mac, PC, Nintendo Wii, Adventure, Galleriesclick to enlarge We played Cave Story at the Nintendo Media Summit, and other than controlling the game with the Wii Remote - old-school sideways, natch' - it's nearly the same as the free PC and Mac game. The retro look and gameplay make this seem like an overlooked garage-sale find, for good or bad. (Usually good.)Gallery: Cave Story (WiiWare)Continue reading Joystiq impressions: Cave Story (WiiWare)
Filed under: Mac, PC, Meta (about Joystiq) As we head into the month that has both Octoberfest and Halloween we don't know whether to be scared or to get our party on. Ok, we can do both. But first check out Big Download's highlights from the past week:Exclusive Features Reviews: This week check out our final verdicts on Warhammer Online and Lego Batman. Also we have a look at several PC gaming hardware products from SteelSeries. Crysis and Crysis Warhead performance comparisons: Did Crytek really optimize Crysis Warhead? We check out their claims in our benchmark test. Is a broadband cap a threat to the game industry?: ISPs are beginning to put limits on how much you can download? Could you go over by downloading large game files? The PC Game Vaporware Vault: Which games are we still waiting to be released after years of promises? Quite a few actually. The College Try: Failed PC Ports of Console Games: Sometimes a great console game doesn't make a great PC game. Mac Monday: Our look at Mac gaming takes on the Wild Tangent online RPG Fate. MODMonday: Our mod column continues its look at Max Payne mods with a look at the Kung Fu total conversion. Independent Minds: Our look at indie games takes a different turn as we examine how social networking can help indie game developers. Boot Disk: Our look at classic PC game takes a gander at the original Interplay RPG Fallout. Big Ideas: Our look at big PC gaming trends examines the whole idea of user generated content. Big Iron: Our hardware column this week takes a look at the importance of frame rate in games Alt-Tab: What qualities does a good PC game need to have? We have an answer in our latest installment. Freeware Friday: Our look at games you can get for free gets a load of the arcade shooter Gunroar. Virtual Bargain Bin: Our look at games on the cheap takes a look at Steam's id Super Pack and X-Com Complete Pack. BigCast: It's our regular weekly podcast as the team debates all matters related to PC games. Continue reading The Best of Big Download: Sept. 29-Oct. 5
Filed under: PC, Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Action Buhbuhbuh it's EA, Joystiq! Though we'll save our most obnoxious we-told-you-sos for the more comprehensive metareview ... we did tell you so. Our E3 Game of Show has scooped up its first (and hopefully not last) set of review accolades, scoring 91% in the pages of Xbox World 360. The review reportedly suggests that EA could teach Capcom "a thing or three about survival horror," with Dead Space boasting ferocious foes that make others in the genre seem "decidedly average." Oh, but there is one thing that worries us: the game's "film-worthy" script. Have they not been to the cinema recently? With rare exception, a poorly formatted paragraph describing a pair of voluptious breasts ramping a Porsche over an explosion would have to be dumbed down by a script doctor. Too arty.[Via X3F and Twitter, which apparently works in outer space]
Thursday, October 30, 2008
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