Leap Day 2012 wasn’t just about airplane simulators and Avengers. Microsoft’s latest version of their popular OS also launched a publicly available beta today. If you want to try out Windows 8, head on over to the Microsoft download page. In order to run the preview, your computer must match the following minimum system requirements:
1GHz processor
1GB (32-bit) / 2 GB (64-bit) of RAM
16GB (32-bit) / 20 GB (64-bit) available disk space
DirectX 9 graphics with WDDM 1.0 or higher
1024 x 768 minimum screen resolution
If you downloaded it and tried it out, be sure to leave a comment telling us about your experience.
Well, this is some unexpected news. UK retailer GAME (a video game store obviously) has revealed that they won’t be selling Mass Effect 3 when the game is released next week. In fact, they are even cancelling all pre-orders for upcoming EA titles which include FIFA Street, Tiger Woods 13, and Sims 3 Showtime.
This news comes from an internal memo which was acquired by Eurogamer. In this memo Game channel Director Tom Devine wrote “”Last week we held an event for our publishers in the industry and explained the challenges we are facing in the short term – and we asked for their support. We will not stock products if the terms are not right for our business – a position we believe is critical to our long term health as a business – we have taken the very difficult decision to not stock EA’s March releases, including Mass Effect 3.”
Microsoft’s latest flight simulator launched today. This free to play version of the game allows you to fly all over the island of Hawaii in a limited variety of planes at no cost. However, extra locales and planes will cost you some money, and it is almost guaranteed that Microsoft will be releasing more premium content later on. Nevertheless, for the price of free, you do get a pretty good experience.
Fly on over to the Microsoft Flight download page to take off. Don’t forget to check out the official launch trailer below either. If you have tried the game, leave us a comment with your impressions.
EA has revealed that they will be releasing the next piece of DLC for Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning on March 20th and this time around it is going to be called The Legend of Dead Kel. The DLC will cost 800 MSP or $9.99 on all other platforms.
EA is claiming that this DLC will add 15% more space to the overall world map of Reckoning, which is already quite expansive. The areas will include new enemy types, dungeon areas and loot as well as the introduction of Gravehal Keep. No details were given as to what fans of the game can expect in ways of story, but it will likely have to do with something undead…
Sony has pulled a little trick when it comes to the PlayStation Vita and its games. Most if not all Vita game carts will lock themselves onto one save data per PSN account, which means that if you buy the game used, rent it, or borrow it from a friend you won’t be able to unlock Trophies unless you sign in on the original account.
Thankfully, Pocket Gamer has already found a way to avoid this little piece of annoying security through a simple three step method.
Click “No” when you get the warning message telling you that you can’t earn Trophies with the current application.
Touch and hold the Vita home screen until you can rearrange icons. Press the “…” bubble attached to the icon of the game you want to play. Choose to format the card, which will wipe the data on it.
If you get the message warning you that the data shall be deleted, you should be golden. Boot up the game and it’ll now be tethered to your account.
Performing this method won’t hinder or undo the Trophy progress of the previous owner, making it very simple for people who buy used games to continue to earn Trophies like any other normal person.
While everybody went to bed last night expecting February 29th to be just a regular day, the Avengers movie had other plans. A new trailer for the movie has just been released, and it looks incredible.
Check out the trailer on the Applewebsite and then let us know what you think of it. Will you be going to see it on opening night, or will you wait until it comes to Redbox?
The Avengers movie has a release date of May 4, and will be coming to 3D, real 3D, IMAX 3D and regular theaters in America. Australians will be able to watch the Avengers on April 25.
Cult classic Another World, originally released in 1991, was re-released for iOS last year to celebrate it’s 20th anniversary; and from March 16th, it will also be available on Android devices. You play Lester Chaykin, escaping the alien forces that held him prisoner, picking up weapons and gadgets along the way.
The new version features remastered HD graphics and audio. You can use a d-pad as with the original game, or use the new intuitive touch controls. The game even has OpenFeint integration, and will be available in 5 languages: English, French, Italian, German, and Spanish.
StarWars: The Old Republic Publisher: Electronic Arts Developer: Bioware Platform: PC Release Date: 1/3/2012 Price: $79.90 (Digital Standard), 89.90 (Digital Deluxe) – Buy Here
Overview
Star Wars: The Old Republic is the latest MMORPG set in the Star Wars universe. It is also the second MMORPG set in the Star Wars universe. We shouldn’t let this game only take first and second place though, at third place, this game is also the third video game installment of the Old Republic era in the Star Wars mythos.
Set 300 or so years after the events of Knights of the Old Republic 2, the game picks up in a galaxy far far away, with a backdrop of war and an invasion from the Sith Empire. It’s war between the Republic and the Empire and each player has a role to play in this intergalactic exchange of blasters, swords and sorcery.
Story
Star Wars: The Old Republic follows the individual tale of each player character inhabiting the game within the games universe. This means that players will get a more personalised experience from the games story, unlike other MMORPGs that seem to skimp in this department.
Using the warring galaxy as a backdrop, the game thrusts players on a personal quest that is, while similar for each class, personal to each player. I found that the story experience is enhanced by the fact that there are other players playing alongside you and that they can influence the way your story progresses (to a degree).
Take Flashpoints for instance (these are like the games version of dungeons), these can be undertaken by a group of players. In these, yours and your groups behaviours towards dialogue can have an impact on your own personal story (assuming you don’t do the Flashpoint again, or ignore your actions in subsequent visits), which gives you a greater connection to your player character on a more personal level. It’s kind of hard to describe, but it’s like ‘this is my character, and these are the actions that I have undertaken with him’.
However, the thing that will impact on your personal story the most are the actions you take during dialogue sequences on storyline missions. These missions comprise certain sections of an Act within the story and everything you do can influence the direction of an Act. However, all the Acts are static in their successive progression.
This game is incredibly interesting from a story standpoint and fans of Bioware’s story-telling will absolutely love the way the story has been integrated into this particular MMORPG. Fans of story based video-games will definitely be overjoyed with the amount of story progression available to them within Star Wars: The Old Republic.
Gameplay
Star Wars: The Old Republic plays very similarly to other games in the MMO and RPG genre. What I mean here is that a lot of the mechanics were lifted and slightly enhanced from other games, such as World of Warcraft and Single-player RPGs such as Mass Effect and Dragon Age 2.
Over the course of the game, you will be conversing with a plethora of Non Player Characters that will all be fully voiced and moderately interacted with. Whilever you are conversing with an NPC, you will be given a selection of dialogue options in a manner similar to the conversational wheel featured in Mass Effect and Dragon Age 2. However, in this game, it is a lot more streamlined and you can’t expand on a conversation as far as you could in either of those two games. While this is barely an issue (like really barely), it still would have been nice to have those kinds of extensions in most instances of conversations with Non Player Characters.
Further, in conversational periods, you will be given opportunities to make important Light and Dark side decisions for your character. For an added bonus, you can turn the games Light and Darkside hints off and on in the Settings Menu. Anyway, I often found that what I thought was the right thing to do given the situation was not always the correct (Lightside) option to take. This has left my own character down the middle path of the alignment ladder. I think that Roleplayers in particular will love this feature as it will allow them to play out their character to the fullest, and with having the hints on, they can ensure that they don’t accidentally make a Darkside mistake.
Combat-wise, Star Wars: The Old Republic plays very similarly to other hot-key based MMORPGs (like WoW), only slightly different. The main difference in the combat is that your character doesn’t sit back and auto-attack. This means that you have to keep mashing hotkeys to continuously keep on the offensive. I found that this gives you a much better flow and makes you feel that much involved with the game than sitting behind a boss and occasionally hitting Mutilate and Envenom.
The first game from Initials Video Games, Super Lemonade Factory is set for release Mid-March 2012; just a matter of weeks away. You play Andre and his wife, Liselot. Andre’s father offers them his Lemonade Factory, on the sole condition they travel through the whole factory, a task easier said than done. Along the way you’ll meet a colourful cast of characters, including the foreman, chef, food inspector, and a general looking for liquid-based supplies for his army.
This single player platformer features using the married couple’s complimentary abilities to navigate through levels and solve puzzles to reach the exit. As a whole the art style is bubbly and bright, underlying tones of labour relations and the moral dilemmas of running a business in wartime will seep into conversations, giving the title that hint of maturity about it.
There are 3 “worlds” – warehouse, factory, and office – with 12 levels a-piece, adding up to 72 total! The game also includes an unlockable “hardcore” mode and 12 extra levels available by collecting all the lemonade bottles. With 8-bit pixel-art by Miguelito, and an original chip-tune soundtrack by Easyname, Super Lemonade Factory looks to be a great, indie-developed experience!
It’s set for release Marh 2012 on iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. So set your calendars!
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has revealed new details of a further update to The Lord of the Rings Online coming at a later date. The latest update to the free-to-play MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game) developed by Turbine, opens up seven entirely new areas to players, including Thinglad, Parth Celebrant, Eorlsmead, Wailing Hills, Limlight Gorge, Brown Lands and The Rushgore.
Further information on each new area can be found below:
Thinglad
Story or Primary Theme:
Assist the sentinels of Lothlórien in patrolling their southern border and mediate relations between the Galadhrim and the Rohirrim of Stangard who have recently been clashing during patrols. At the same time, heroes are needed to scatted Orcs and Wargs that have moved into the area before they become a larger threat to the region.
Geography:
Thinglad is defined by its tall, grey trees with twisted, roots that drink deeply from the Great River. The forest is misty and shadowed while the skies are pale and as cheerless as the land itself.
Lore:
Once part of the Golden Wood, Thinglad has become a no man’s land between Lothlórien and Rohan in the last 200 years.
Parth Celebrant
Story or Primary Theme: Confront troubles both living and undead upon the fields of Parth Celebrant where a great treason once befell Gondor. Bring redemption to the traitorous shades so they may rest or destroy them if they are beyond aid.
Geography: The ruins of an ancient Gondorian keep, where brave soldiers once kept watch, stand at the southern edge of Parth Celebrant, overlooking the green plains.
Lore: The site of the fiercest fighting during the Battle of the Fields of Celebrant, Parth Celebrant is also the site of a terrible betrayal. Gondorian soldiers allowed their fortress to fall to the enemy in exchange for safety and Eastern riches, condemning their countrymen to death.
Eorlsmead
Story or Primary Theme: Though the soldiers of Stangard are strong and fiercely loyal to their king, the village has fallen on hard times and hope is in short supply. Lift spirits by helping with shortages of food and supplies and thinning the numbers of hostile beasts in the area. Root out the source of mistrust and discontent amongst the council.
Geography: Established on the highest rise in the rolling plains of Eorlsmead, the Rohirrim village of Stangard keeps its watch over the region.
Lore: Though many men who serve at Stangard have been sent as punishment for recent, petty crimes, the village remains fiercely loyal to Rohan and Théoden, their king.
Wailing Hills
Story or Primary Theme: Many years have passed since the height of Rohan’s strength along the Great River and Orcs and spiders have returned to the Wailing Hills. Drive out the Orcs and prevent them from allying themselves with the White Hand.
Geography: The Wailing Hills are defined by the steep, rocky outcroppings, called tors, which stretch out from the Misty Mountains like long fingers. Statues of Cirion of Gondor and Eorl the Young rise from the earth as ancient symbols of friendship but Orcs, growing bolder, have begun to defile them.
Lore: Hundreds of years ago, the forefathers of Rohan destroyed a great Easterling army in the deep valleys of the Wailing Hills to save the forces of Cirion, Steward of Gondor. The name of the land itself comes from the Rohirric word wael meaning “slaughter.”
Limlight Gorge
Story or Primary Theme: Descend into the Limlight Gorge, where an unnatural storm has cast the land into deep shadow. Hunt fearsome trolls from the Misty Mountains who wander freely, no longer fearing the sun, and investigate the mysterious grove spreading at the base of the cliff beneath Fangorn Forest.
Geography: Caught between the rugged Misty Mountains and the northern reaches of Fangorn Forest, Limlight Gorge is a dangerous and untamed wilderness. Here, the Limlight River gushes forth over falls and rapids as it flows eastward to join the Anduin.
Lore: The appearance of the unnatural storms from the North and the encroachment of Fangorn from the South gives the area an uneasy feeling as unseen forces seem to fight for dominance over the canyon.
Brown Lands
Story or Primary Theme: Contend with an invading host within the desolate Brown Lands. Here the Rohirrim struggle to keep an old foe at bay while fortifying against their enemies’ mysterious new allies.
Geography: Ravaged thousands of years ago during a terrible war, the Brown Lands are nearly inhospitable and are filled with withered scrub and stones as far as the eye can see.
Lore: It is believed that the Brown Lands were devastated by the power of Sauron himself nearly 3,000 years ago during the War of the Last Alliance. Before that, many beautiful gardens were tended here though little evidence of them now remains.
The Rushgore
Story or Primary Theme: Within the murky marshland of the Rushgore, ruthless brigands, once only a nuisance, have become a threat to the region. Pursue these brigands to reclaim priceless relics of Rohan and Gondor and extend aid to woodsmen who have found themselves overwhelmed while travelling north and now cannot leave.
Geography: A treacherous marshland, the Rushgore serves as the buffer between the fields of Parth Celebrant and the bleak Brown Lands. The eastern end of the Rushgore is one of the few places at which the Anduin can be crossed without the aid of boats.
Lore: Little is now known of the Rushgore and was known has been lost to time.
