Modern Warfare 2 Pirate Caught

Category: Gaming
Posted: November 7, 2009 07:31AM
Author: Nick Harezga

Gamers have a lot to complain about when it comes to Modern Warfare 2, but that doesn't justify breaking the law. Two friends who stole several Xbox 360 bundles containing the game thought it would be a good idea to sell them on Craigslist before the game was released. Activision got wind of the ad, and contracted a private investigator. The two sellers were turned over to the loss prevention staff at the retailer where one of them worked. However, one of the systems was sold to an 18 year old from Miami who intended to release the game online and sell illegal copies in his hometown. Police set up a sting operation and arrested the pirate, who is currently incarcerated. The game has still found its way to file sharing sites, and sales of the game may suffer as a result.

More Bad News for Modern Warfare 2

Category: Gaming
Posted: November 5, 2009 03:07PM
Author: Nick Harezga

PC gamers already had enough to be mad about with Modern Warfare 2 and the lack of dedicated servers, but it appears to be worse. An online chat with Infinity Ward representatives revealed that gamers may have more to gripe about. The maximum number of players per game will be set at 18, and the ability to lean has also been removed. Both of these were done to prevent game balance from being ruined. Also removed from this game is the ability to use console commands to modify game settings, or even record your gameplay. In the new matchmaking system, users also won't be able to kick problem users or those that are hacking. In addition, there is a five second delay any time the host needs to change. The most interesting aspect in my opinion is that Infinity Ward admitted that it is basically a direct port from the console. The lone exception is that “PC has custom stuff like mouse control, text chat in game, and graphics settings.” Its not all bad PC gamers, at least you can still use a mouse.

Quake Coming to the iPhone

Category: Gaming
Posted: November 4, 2009 07:40AM
Author: Nick Harezga

John Carmack of id Software has revealed that the company is working on Quake Classic for the iPhone. This comes shortly after the company released Doom for the iPhone, which can be purchased for $6.99. In the Doom port, players have access to 36 levels from the original games, and can also play over the internet. Carmack stated that there will be 2 people at id dedicated to creating software for the iPhone, and that he hopes to get his hands dirty as well. No official release date has been set for the game.

Massive Number of Modern Warfare 2 Copies Pre-ordered

Category: Gaming
Posted: November 3, 2009 03:11PM
Author: Nick Harezga

Retailer GameStop has announced that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has broken the record for number of game pre-orders. The game will be released on Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and PC a week from today. Gamers who pre-order the game will be entered into a drawing for several great prizes, including a snowmobile and a Hummer H2. The game had been in the news recently with some publicity that wasn't quite as good after Infinity Ward announced that no dedicated servers would be available on PC. Many gamers planned to boycott the game and some even started a petition, but it clearly wasn't enough to get this game off track.

Team Fortress 2 Halloween Special

Category: Gaming
Posted: October 29, 2009 01:19PM
Author: Nick Harezga

Team Fortress 2 players will be able to enjoy their favorite game a little differently for Halloween. From October 29 to November 2, TF2 will feature the Haunted Halloween Special. Featured in the update will be new hats, achievements, and a new map. The hats can be obtained by completing the new achievements. The new map is Harvest and is a King of the Hill map. But it wouldn't be a Halloween update without something scary right? Well, Valve has that covered as the new map is haunted by a ghost.

Shattered Horizon Available for Pre-Order

Category: Gaming
Posted: October 28, 2009 01:59AM
Author: Daryn Govender

Futuremark's upcoming space shooter game, Shattered Horizon is now available for pre-order ahead of its release on November 4. It will be priced at US$19.95/€19.95/£14.95 which is a nice surprise for gamers. In order to entice more sales Futuremark is offering a 10% discount for pre-orders of the game and 25% off for beta testers of the game through Steam. Futuremark Game Studios also say that there will be new levels and features available for free in DLC (downloadable content) packs. There will also be dedicated servers in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand after the lauch of the game. The server code will be made public shortly after the game's release. I think that it's good to see some studios staying loyal and true to the PC community.

You can pre-order Shattered Horizon here.

Civilization Invading Facebook in 2010

Category: Gaming
Posted: October 21, 2009 04:59PM
Author: ClayMeow

Nowadays, it seems everyone and their mother, literally, are joining social networking behemoth Facebook. With over 300 million active users, it's no wonder companies have been getting into the mix as well. According to Facebook's published statistics, more than 8 billion minutes are spent on Facebook each day, and there's no doubt a lot of that time is spent on the multitude of games available on the site. So it should come as no surprise that a big time developer would want to get in on the action, right?

Earlier today, in a Facebook post, Civilization creator Sid Meier, Director of Creative Development at Firaxis Games, announced a new project dubbed Civilization® Network™. Available next year on Facebook, Civilization® Network™ "will offer everything you enjoy in Civ in a fully persistent environment." Best of all, it will be free to play, though I wouldn't be surprised if it has some form of micro-transactions. It'll be interesting to see how this pans out. One thing's for sure, though – if this is a success, you can bet other big names in gaming will try to capitalize on Facebook's huge user base as well.

Game Developers Have Mixed Feelings About Steam

Category: Gaming
Posted: October 20, 2009 02:24PM
Author: Nick Harezga

Randy Pitchford, CEO of Gearbox, has recently stated that he doesn't trust Valve. The developer behind the upcoming Borderlands feels that Valve's position of developer and distributor could cause a conflict of interest. He feels that Valve could use its position to exploit third party developers. However, numerous other developers that use Steam have expressed the exact opposite feelings. Independent developers behind hits such as World of Goo and Audiosurf have expressed that Valve was key in the success of their games. The digital distribution model coupled with the large install base provided them with an optimal way to get the games out.

Rock Band Goes Mobile

Category: Gaming
Posted: October 19, 2009 07:25AM
Author: Nick Harezga

Rock Band is now available for iPhone and iPod Touch users, and will set users back $9.99. Up to 4 players can create a band using Bluetooth. The app integrates with Facebook, allowing users to invite friends to join the party through Facebook Connect. All instruments in the console version of the game are available, and will be controlled by tapping on the screen of your device. The game comes with 20 tracks that have been featured in the console versions of the game, and additional tracks can be purchased from an in-game store. The song list has some good tunes, but playing on a handheld device will probably lack some of the fun that you have by actually jamming with your friends.

Infinity Ward to Abolish Dedicated Servers in Modern Warfare 2 PC

Category: Gaming
Posted: October 18, 2009 12:23AM
Author: Daryn Govender

Infinity Ward's Community Manager Robert Bowling today announced that the PC version of Modern Warfare 2 will include a matchmaking service created in conjunction with Steam called IWNet for online multiplayer, in a webcast over at BASHandSlash.com. Bowling says that IWNet makes multiplayer "more accessible" to Modern Warfare 2's PC community, completely replacing the need for player hosted and owned dedicated servers. After he made the announcement a lull of silence could be heard, with one BASHandSlash moderator saying "The silence you hear is because we've got a community right now structured in such a way that it relied on having dedicated servers" to which another later replied "You're definitely reshaping the way the community has been set up." Bowling acknowledged these comments by responding with one word: "definitely."

Robert Bowling went on to say that with the new IWNet matchmaking system "you can get in and play with players your same rank" but "You're completely reliant on IWNet and there is no dedicated server or server list. You rely on IW Net for matchmaking and your games, but you still have your private matches." With this announcement the future is unclear for the existence of "traditional" clans and hosting modded games or maps on a dedicated server, although all signs point to a bad outcome for gamers who rely on these mainstays. "This is the first time we've ever done something like this, obviously," Bowling continued, "and I know the team has huge plans for what IWNet develops into, and this is just the beginning. It's hard for me to speak personally toward IWNet, because that is a code heavy project."

He also urged gamers that this new multiplayer catalyst gives Infinity Ward "a lot more control and structure for the PC version. From a development standpoint, it's very good on how we can access and update the PC community." Josh Pickler from planetmedalofhonor.com said "The server community is what's made us. It's what defined us" and "IW.NET is getting the PC community to turn into consoles. You're trying to re-write our history." Robert responded by saying "It's definitely going to be a change. It's going to be a very different setup than what we're previously used to in the Call of Duty franchise for the PC. In the long term it's going to help the community. It changes the way and how we're able to update and support the PC version."

Two petitions have already been setup to protest this decision, one on Infinity Ward's Official Forums and another at petitiononline. Both have strong support from the PC gaming community. The webcast which started this outcry can be heard at USTREAM (Robert Bowling starts talking at 1:39:00 [1 hour and 39 minutes]).

I think that as different consoles have different capabilities, strengths and uses, the gamers which play them do too. I think that PC gamers have grown accustomed to playing on dedicated servers over the internet, at a LAN party or in a clan. To take these away from Modern Warfare 2 is a big move especially without prior consultation with the end-users. I think that this decision should be made by the people most affected by it, the Call of Duty Community.

Gordon Freeman Voted All Time Greatest Game Hero!

Category: Gaming
Posted: October 17, 2009 11:27AM
Author: ClayMeow

It started over one month ago, and after six battles (including an epic third round battle against Snake, in which Freeman won by a mere 119 votes), the PC's own Gordon Freeman became GameSpot's "All Time Greatest Game Hero". In the championship battle against Mario, Freeman received 107,581 votes to capture 55.8% and become the victor. In honor of this huge accomplishment, Valve is offering all Half-Life games at 55.8% off!

Half-Life and Half-Life 2 are on many people's top ten lists, if not top five, so if you haven't played them, now may be a good time to do so. However, if you think you may enjoy other Valve games, such as Team Fortress 2, Portal or Left 4 Dead, you may want to wait for the release of Left 4 Dead 2 and purchase the Valve Complete Pack after Valve updates it. Either way, you owe it to yourself to play these games and experience why 55.8% of gamers view Gordon Freeman as the All Time Greatest Game Hero.

Valve Details Left 4 Dead 2 Demo

Category: Gaming
Posted: October 15, 2009 03:43PM
Author: Nick Harezga

Valve has officially announced the details of the demo for the upcoming first person shooter, Left 4 Dead 2. The demo takes place in “The Parish”, a stage set in New Orleans. The demo will be available for both Xbox 360 and PC, and will allow up to four players to play locally or over the internet. Featured in the demo will be all new melee weapons and all of the new special infected. Gamers who pre-order the game will get access to the demo on October 27. The demo will then be made available to all gamers, except those with a regular Xbox Live account, on November 3.

Dungeons and Dragons Online Free Once Again

Category: Gaming
Posted: October 13, 2009 02:33PM
Author: Nick Harezga

The Dungeons and Dragons MMO has been available since 2006, but the $15 per month subscription coupled with the initial purchase price turned many users off. However, players can now get access to the game for free once again. Subscriptions are no longer necessary, and players can experience nearly all aspects of the game without a subscription. Users can earn Turbine points through playing the game or by purchasing them, and can then use them to unlock various items and content packs. By making the game free, Turbine has been able to get the game out to a wider audience, an audience that it has found is willing to pay. Subscriptions have been up since the game went free, and some people are even spending more money per month than $15. This seems like something for people not willing to shell out the monthly fees to check out.

Modern Warfare 2 Delayed on PC?

Category: Gaming
Posted: October 5, 2009 04:32AM
Author: Daryn Govender

Call of Duty fans eager to purchase Modern Warfare 2 on PC may be in for an unexpected surprise. Apparently Electronic Theatre can confirm that the PC version of Modern Warfare 2 has suffered a delay and will launch on November 24, two weeks after its console counterparts. There is no official reason for the delay yet, although it is speculated that it is due to insufficient manufacturing output to have enough PC copies ready by November 10 to meet demand or that Infinity Ward wants to implement more stringent copy-protection to combat piracy. Whatever the reason, if this delay is true I think that it's unfair for all us PC gamers have to wait longer to get what I call "the game everybody's waiting for". Although bear in mind that these reports have not been officially confirmed by Infinity Ward yet, so maybe there's nothing to worry about!

There Is An App For That, And That, And That, And That...

Category: Mobile, Gaming, Music / Video Players, Software, Gadgets
Posted: September 29, 2009 05:43PM
Author: d3bruts1d

If you've seen any of Apple's commercials for the iPhone or iPod Touch, you've probably heard Apple's key phrases "there is an app for that" and "there is an app for just about anything". Now that Apple's App Store has passed two billion app downloads, they are out to prove that there really is an app for anything with the new "Apps for Everything" section on their website.

The new website is broken down into "Apps for..." categories, such as Cooks, Music, Fun and Games, managing money and more. Each section is then broken down into more specific areas, and a few apps are listed. Also available are the top 10 free and paid apps for the category.

While Apple says there is an app for just about everything, we know that there are certain things that there are not apps available for. Porn, downloading or managing torrents, Google Voice, Adobe Flash, wallpapers on the home screen or quickly switching system setting.

Valve Plans for Appeal

Category: Gaming
Posted: September 27, 2009 07:02PM
Author: Brentt Moore

About a week ago, it was reported that Australia was going to ban the selling of the popular upcoming title, Left 4 Dead 2, due to its extreme violence. Oddly enough, Australia does not have a mature rating for people over eighteen years of age, and the title was not deemed fit for anyone to play the game who is under that age. Valve is taking the issue very seriously, and plans to follow up the announcement with an appeal; stating that the game could be rated at the highest maturity rating, with added notices on the box. The original Left 4 Dead was sold in such a manner, and Valve is hoping that with its appeal being filed, it will be able to sell its upcoming title for everyone to be able to play.

Nintendo Wii Gets a Price Cut Too

Category: Gaming
Posted: September 24, 2009 03:56PM
Author: Nick Harezga

The Nintendo Wii will now be priced at $199.99, a $50 price cut. This comes after the PS3 was reduced in price to coincide with the PS3 Slim release, and the recently announced price cut on the Xbox 360. The Wii, which has sold like crazy since its release, is looking to expand its install base even further. There won't be a new bundle however, and new owners will still get Wii Sports with the console. With many exciting releases in the pipeline, the price cut seems to have come at a perfect time. For those that recently paid full price for a Wii, some retailers are even offering a $50 credit.

PowerColor to Include Special Character With Battle Forge Edition HD4890 Cards

Category: Video Cards, Gaming
Posted: September 21, 2009 04:04PM
Author: Dale Shuck

PowerColor has developed a pair of HD 4890 videocards featuring a Battleforge theme that include a full version of the game along some something extra - a Fallen Skyelf rare card inside the box. Battleforge is a card-based real-time strategy game where gamers can assemble their own army with collectible trading cards.

PowerColor offers two models of the HD4890 Battle Forge Edition card - the HD4890 PCS+ overclocked version (950MHz core/1100MHz(4.4Gbps) memory) and the standard HD 4890 version (850MHz core/975MHz(3.9Gbps) memory). Both versions come with the game which includes a standard set of cards, but PowerColor has added the Fallen Skyelf special card that has the ability to make the target more susceptible to damage, making it a good way to detonate an unwary enemy’s Unstable Demon. With full DirectX 10.1, Battleforge offers superior image quality and cinematic gaming at HD resolutions which can be enjoyed fully with the HD 4890 cards.

Aussies Won't Be Able to Play Left 4 Dead 2

Category: Gaming
Posted: September 20, 2009 07:24AM
Author: Nick Harezga

Australia's Classification Board has made Left 4 Dead 2 unable to be sold in Australia in its current form. The game wasn't assigned a rating as it was deemed unfit for anyone under the age of 18 to play. Games that don't fall into the ratings categories cannot be sold in the country. Some members of the board felt the game could have been classified under the Mature/15+ rating, which would have allowed it to sell. Fallout 3 almost faced a similar ban when it was released, and Valve may create a censored version to allow Aussies to play the game.

NVIDIA says DirectX 11 Won't Define Graphics Sales

Category: Video Cards, Gaming
Posted: September 17, 2009 07:17AM
Author: redtigerdragon

A few years ago, NVIDIA was the first and only company to release DirectX 10 (DX 10) compliant hardware. At that time, the company said there was every reason to get a DX 10 compliant card to complete the Vista experience. But now, at a time when the company has no new DX 11 compliant cards on the horizon, while ATI is preparing to release the 5000 series which is DX 11 compatible, the company is switching tunes. At the Deutsche Bank Securities Technology Conference, NVIDIA's VP of investor relations said:

“DirectX 11 by itself is not going be the defining reason to buy a new GPU. It will be one of the reasons. This is why Microsoft is in work with the industry to allow more freedom and more creativity in how you build content, which is always good, and the new features in DirectX 11 are going to allow people to do that. But that no longer is the only reason, we believe, consumers would want to invest in a GPU.”

The company has also change position on what will drive the market forward. Whereas before, the company saw software that relies on the raw computational power of GPUs (eg: media transcoding software) as the future, it now sees advanced visual effects that a new generation API brings with it (in games and CGI applications) as what will the deciding factor in purchasing a graphics card, as seen by this quote:

“Graphics industry, I think, is on the point that microprocessor industry was several years ago, when AMD made the public confession that frequency does not matter anymore and it is more about performance per watt. I think we are the same crossroad with the graphics world: framerate and resolution are nice, but today they are very high and going from 120fps to 125fps is not going to fundamentally change end-user experience. But I think the things that we are doing with Stereo 3D Vision, PhysX, about making the games more immersive, more playable is beyond framerates and resolutions. Nvidia will show with the next-generation GPUs that the compute side is now becoming more important that the graphics side.”

Interesting to see that ATI has shaken things up so much, and should be interesting to see what comes...

PS3 Selling Like Hotcakes in the UK

Category: Gaming
Posted: September 7, 2009 07:18AM
Author: Nick Harezga

Sales of the new PS3 Slim are way up this week in the UK, 1000 percent over the previous week. This can likely be attributed to the fact that it is a newer model with a larger hard drive, and more importantly a lower price. The PS3 Slim even managed to outsell the other two major consoles and the DS Lite by a 3 to 1 ratio. Though the important question is whether the demand will stay up or if this was just a one time spike. Also, it is unknown how many units were purchased by new customers rather than existing customers looking to upgrade.

OnLive is Online...Sort of

Category: Gaming
Posted: September 4, 2009 06:50AM
Author: redtigerdragon

OnLive, a new way to play your favorite games by streaming them directly to your TV or PC, has gone into public Beta testing. So for some of you who signed up here (and there is still time to sign up), you may be contacted to start helping out. Only certain people will be picked, as when you sign up you provide some details about your internet connection and PC. If you pass round one, they first send you an invitational email asking you to " run a detailed Performance Test on your network connection and your computer configuration", and then if you fit in to one of their test groups (and thus pass round two), they will send you another email allowing you to install the OnLive plug-in into your browser. From there on out it's fun sailing, testing out the available games and reporting bugs. For more info on OnLive, you can check out their website here.

Valve Takes Action Against Team Fortress 2 Idlers

Category: Gaming
Posted: September 3, 2009 03:34PM
Author: Nick Harezga

Ever since hats became available in the Spy and Sniper update, TF2 players have coveted them above all other items. The hats were extremely rare, and users who racked up the hours were left hatless. Someone got a little tired of not having a hat and created an idling program which would allow users to appear to be playing the game when they actually weren't. Valve officially announced that it was taking a stand against these idlers. Any items accrued through the use of the idler will be deleted from the players inventory. Future offenses will result in all items being removed, even if they weren't obtained through idling. Players who didn't use the idler will be receiving a free hat in their inventories soon. I opened TF2 to find an Engineer's Cap, but most users reported receiving a halo.

New Playstation 3 Firmware About To Be Released

Category: Gaming
Posted: September 1, 2009 03:23AM
Author: kingdingeling

As detailed at the Gamescon 2009, Sony is readying a firmware update for the Playstation 3. Going along with the release of the 120GB Playstation 3 today, Sony will launch the v3.00 firmware shortly. PS3 users can be looking forward to something called "What's new" that will replace the Information Board, a new Status Indicator, a redesigned friends list, some new shortcuts to the Playstation Store, options to personalize your Playstation themes and last but not least, a new way of displaying your hard earned trophies!

Patriot to Bundle Street Fighter IV (PC) With Select Products

Category: Memory, Gaming
Posted: August 26, 2009 08:03PM
Author: Dale Shuck

Patriot has announced it has signed an exclusive licensing deal with Capcom that allows it to bundle Street Fighter IV for the PC with certain of its memory and storage products. Patriot has said it will begin marketing 'Capcom Action Packs' by including SF4 with its 128GB Xporter Magnum and 32GB Xporter Boost USB drives, its complete series of Torqx solid state drives and three of the company's top DDR2 and DDR3 gaming modules. There will be a total of eight new part numbers across these products but Patriot has yet to announce availability or pricing.

News From First Day of Blizzcon

Category: Gaming
Posted: August 21, 2009 01:11PM
Author: Nick Harezga

On the first day of Blizzcon, Blizzard gave millions of gamers a new expansion for World of Warcraft, Cataclysm. The third expansion pack will bump the level cap to 85 and introduce one new playable race for each faction. Goblins will be added to the Horde, and Worgen will be added to the Alliance. Players will also be able to embark on plenty of new quests, explore new dungeons, and get access to new raid areas. The title of Cataclysm is in reference to the stark changes made to the game world by the arrival of Deathwing in Azeroth. No release date or price has been set.

The fourth character class for the upcoming Diablo 3, the Monk, was also announced. A trailer accompanied the announcement, showing the Monk being lured into a trap. After escaping the trap, the Monk confronts the demon that lead him there and defeats him in combat. From the gameplay footage shown of the Monk, he appears to be an attack class with access to some magical abilities as well.

PS3 Slim: No PS2 Games

Category: Gaming, General News
Posted: August 19, 2009 06:06PM
Author: JifDaKiwi

After the worst kept secret in the gaming industry was finally announced, it has surfaced that the new PS3 Slim will have no PS2 backwards compatibility. Lack of backwards compatibility is nothing new, but has been a bit of a disappointment since the 40GB PS3 Fat model was released. John Koller, SCEA's director of marketing says that 80 to 90 percent of PS3 owners purchased the console to play PS3 games, which is fair enough, but it looks like people will be keeping their PS2's around to appease their Jak & Daxter addictions. It is not mentioned, but assumed that the PS3 Slim will be backwards compatible with PS1 games, so your Final Fantasy VII missions are safe.

Slim PS3 Confirmed

Category: Gaming
Posted: August 18, 2009 02:39PM
Author: Nick Harezga

Sony has officially confirmed the upcoming release of a slimmed down PS3. The system was featured in ads from both Kmart and Sears today, revealing both the looks and the $299 price tag. In addition to being smaller and cheaper, the Slim PS3 will feature a 120GB hard drive. The current model PS3 will also be lowered in price to $299, but will likely be hampered by the 80GB hard drive. The decrease in size, and likely change in components, will also cut the power consumption to 250 watts. The Slim PS3 will become available on September 1, and will be accompanied with version 3.0 of the system software. The ability to install an alternate OS will no longer be available, but users will gain the ability to sync with their Sony Bravia television.

Blizzard Reveals Some Details For Starcraft 2

Category: Gaming
Posted: August 18, 2009 02:37PM
Author: Nick Harezga

Select press were invited by Blizzard to an unveiling of some Starcraft 2 single player details on July 20, with some interesting details about the game being revealed. Those of you that played the original Starcraft will remember the linear mission structure. The new game will allow you to choose which missions to attempt, with each offering unique rewards, from new units to cash. With the cash, players can hire mercenaries to fight alongside their armies. One of the missions revealed had both day and night scenarios with different challenges to be faced in each.

Redbox Now Features Game Rentals

Category: Gaming, General News
Posted: August 16, 2009 07:03PM
Author: Brentt Moore

Movie rentals usually come to mind when the name Redbox comes up in a conversation, and concerning movies, it is a good deal to rent a flick for just $1 a night from the kiosk service. The different locations around the United States make sure that consumers are satisfied for the most part on wherever they go. Redbox is now debuting video game rentals beside its movie rental service, and will be charging approximately $2 a night for games. The cost per night is actually not all too pricey compared to other places like Blockbuster and even Family Video, who seem to charge a premium for the most part. Currently the video game rental part of Redbox is only available in Reno, Nevada, and selection for titles is fairly limited. Hopes are high though for more games getting added to the catalog, along with the new game rental service coming to a more broad selection of cities and states.