tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18375647724478575812024-02-19T06:09:43.020-08:00Game Set BloggityxMukuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11477137109020327199noreply@blogger.comBlogger149125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1837564772447857581.post-45566765770472306852013-01-30T23:35:00.000-08:002013-01-30T23:35:07.913-08:00Starting Back Up! All New Youtube Channel!Hey!<br />
<br />
It's been about a couple years now since I have done any updates on this blog, mostly because I moved to a northrend land with shitty internet.<br />
<br />
Either way I have decided to start it back up linking it with my YouTube channel where I do game commentaries, let plays, etc.<br />
<br />
I'm not sure if any of the followers are still active but we will see. On this blog I plan to still do reviews and little tidbits about the game industry as a whole instead of specific topics like I do on my channel.<br />
<br />
Look forward to creating some content!<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/km6N0Ct9dG4?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
xMukuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11477137109020327199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1837564772447857581.post-15860859578441528962011-04-19T23:34:00.001-07:002011-04-19T23:34:55.009-07:00Diablo III Interview With Atomic Gamer<div style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">esurgence as of late. From the popularity of <i>Torchlight</i> on Xbox Live Arcade, to all those little <i>Diablo</i> clones popping up in the iPhone’s App store, dungeon-crawling fans have had ample opportunity to loot, level and lay the smack-down on oversized rats. Higher profile titles, like fresh takes on classic formulas (<i>Dungeon Siege III</i>) and brand-new heirs to the hacking-and-slashing throne (<i>Lord of the Rings: War in the North</i>) will soon see the genre taking center stage in a generation that’s been more interested in pulling triggers than swinging swords.</span></div><div class="screenshot" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #e0e0e0; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; float: left; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 2px; margin-left: 2px; margin-right: 2px; margin-top: 2px; padding-bottom: 2px; padding-left: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-top: 2px; width: 160px;"><a class="box" href="http://www.atomicgamer.com/screenshots/game-4171/116407-800.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><img border="0" src="http://www.atomicgamer.com/screenshots/game-4171/116407-160.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" width="160" /></span></a></div><div style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Of course, the undisputed granddaddy of the genre, <i>Diablo</i>, is also set to make its return--maybe even by the end of the year. We recently caught up with one of the keepers of <i>Diablo III</i>‘s kingdom, Lead Content Designer Kevin Martens, to discuss what players can expect from their next trip to the dark fantasy world of Sanctuary. While Martens was expectedly cryptic about the title’s release date and rumored console port (even under the threat of our Berserker Sword, he refused to give up the goods), he did provide plenty of insight on the state of the genre, its place in today’s frag-obsessed market and, yes, even some details on the game itself.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><b>AtomicGamer</b>: So why do you think we haven’t seen many triple-A action RPGs this generation?</span></div><div class="alternative" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><b>Kevin Martens</b>: Well, I think there’s a couple of things going on. Firstly, the action and RPG genres are bleeding together a lot more than they used to. You have games like <i>The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion</i> that’s a good example of a great RPG that also has good action systems. Furthermore, a lot of action games are adding RPG elements as well, like<i>BioShock</i>. One of my favorite RPG games of the previous generation was <i>Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas</i>. That had really compelling RPG stuff, but was marketed and sold and seen as an action game. So that one element of it is that the two genres are sharing a lot more things together. RPGs are inherently compelling in their level-up systems and character customization ability, etc., so that stuff is coming into action play. Now, if we’re going to talk specifically about action-RPG, the genre mold of <i>Diablo</i>, I think it’s really a game that’s randomized like that, it has a bunch of different classes. Those games are just really hard to make. <i>Diablo II</i> was a king of that genre, and it’s still for sale everywhere over 10 years later.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><b>AG</b>: Yes, even after all these years people keep coming back to it. What do you think the appeal of the genre is?</span></div><div class="screenshot" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #e0e0e0; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; float: right; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 2px; margin-left: 2px; margin-right: 2px; margin-top: 2px; padding-bottom: 2px; padding-left: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-top: 2px; width: 160px;"><a class="box" href="http://www.atomicgamer.com/screenshots/game-4171/116405-800.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><img border="0" src="http://www.atomicgamer.com/screenshots/game-4171/116405-160.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" width="160" /></span></a></div><div class="alternative" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><b>KM</b>: I think one of the best things is the low barrier of entry for games like these. By having that action front end, in the case of <i>Diablo</i>, you just start clicking on things. It’s not that complex. You have a couple of simple powers and a potion and so on. It’s not that hard to understand how to play them. Many more people are willing to try them when they have sort of an action feel to them. I think that some people are scared to try certain RPGs because they come across as really complex or confusing.</span></div><div class="alternative" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">I think that’s why action tends to be an easier genre than RPG, so by merging the action gameplay and then taking all the elements of RPG, like map customization, randomness, etc., we have found this thing is still enduring. That’s why something like <i>Diablo II</i>, with all the polish put on it, when you add all that up, that’s why it’s played 11 years later.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><b>AG</b>: Do you feel this decade-old formula is enough to appease today’s gamers? What does the <i>Diablo</i> franchise need to do to appeal to this generation, aside from offering what the series has already done so well?</span></div><div class="alternative" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><b>KM</b>: In that sense, we’re really going to make a lot of improvements to a lot of different systems. The main thing is that, as you said, there’s not a lot of games in this type of genre, this type of action-RPG genre. If we deliver a really compelling re-playable game like this and we do it with a newer engine, but we keep the system specs low, and we couple it with something like our new Battle.net experience, which makes it widely accessible and very easy to play with your friends, you know, that strong co-op multiplayer element, it’s hard to see how people aren’t going to love this game.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><b>AG</b>: Can you talk about some of the more defining features <i>Diablo III</i> is bringing to the series?</span></div><div class="screenshot" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #e0e0e0; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; float: left; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 2px; margin-left: 2px; margin-right: 2px; margin-top: 2px; padding-bottom: 2px; padding-left: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-top: 2px; width: 160px;"><a class="box" href="http://www.atomicgamer.com/screenshots/game-4171/98819-800.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><img border="0" src="http://www.atomicgamer.com/screenshots/game-4171/98819-160.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" width="160" /></span></a></div><div class="alternative" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><b>KM</b>: The first thing of all the new stuff that we can talk about is that of the five classes we have, four are brand new to the universe. They have a lot of new play styles involved with that. Furthermore, when you have all these classes, there’s a lot of diversity, not just which powers you choose or which type of wizard you’re going to be, but whether you’re going to go with disintegration, fire, etc. But even within those, we have this system called “runes”, where you can take these powers and do just crazy stuff with them. You can take a witchdoctor power called “Plague of Toads“, and turn you into a giant toad. It literally swallows the enemy and spits out the gold inside of them and so on. So the customization is extraordinarily huge. It’s astonishingly re-playable. We have a lot more areas of the world that no one has seen before, so we’re changing the universe. The quest system itself is way better; the quest and the stories are much deeper and probably more re-playable than <i>Diablo II</i> as well. So that’s some of the new things that we’ve done. Additionally, I think that the co-op multiplayer is better than ever; Battle.net is going to become the new standard for multiplayer systems online.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><b>AG</b>: A lot of gamers will be introduced to <i>Diablo</i> for the first time with <i>Diablo III</i>. Is Blizzard looking to expand its audience and introduce <i>Diablo</i> to new players, or are you satisfied just to please the hardcore guys who have been with you since the beginning?</span></div><div class="alternative" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><b>KM</b>: I think there’s elements of both. We try to keep the barrier to entry really low from every angle. We try to keep the system specs as low as possible. You don’t have to buy a new computer to play the game. We want all people to be able to play it. So, first, it’s successful that lots of people can play it. After that, we make the barrier to entry when you start playing it very low. All Blizzard games have a very good system of rounding up the complexity. When you first start playing, everything is very simple. The playability and all the options…they can gain from the systems as much as they want</span></div><div style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><b>AG</b>: What would you say really separates <i>Diablo III</i> from other upcoming games in the genre?</span></div><div class="screenshot" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #e0e0e0; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; float: right; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 2px; margin-left: 2px; margin-right: 2px; margin-top: 2px; padding-bottom: 2px; padding-left: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-top: 2px; width: 160px;"><a class="box" href="http://www.atomicgamer.com/screenshots/game-4171/95446-800.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><img border="0" src="http://www.atomicgamer.com/screenshots/game-4171/95446-160.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" width="160" /></span></a></div><div class="alternative" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><b>KM</b>: I think, primarily, the randomness. So the fact that we have random dungeons, random monsters, random loops, pretty much random everything. Every time you go around a corner in a dungeon, you don’t know if you’re going to see a brand new quest that you’ve never seen before. You might see the same monster, but with totally new powers. You might see a totally different monster. That aspect of it is one of the things that <i>Diablo</i> is most well-known for, and I think that we do that better than anyone. I think that’s the feather in our cap, that and Battle.net. A lot of RPGs, unfortunately, don’t even have co-op at all; as a huge co-op player myself, it’s always disappointing when they don’t, but it’s really hard to do. We built this game from the ground up with co-op in mind. That is just as important as any other element of the game because that’s one that has to be seamless. You can be playing along in your single-player game, and at any time, your friends can join and they can drop out. All of that should be really easy for both them and you to be able to handle. A game should very elegantly handle the addition of new players and level of difficulty.</span></div><div class="alternative" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><br />
</span></div><div class="alternative" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"></span></div><div style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><b>AG</b>: In terms of the engine the game is built on and what it can do as far as visuals and special effects, are players going to see a real boost over <i>Diablo II</i>?</span></div><div class="alternative" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><b>KM</b>: Yes. You know, when we first started making the game, we tried a lot of different experiments with changing the camera angle and everything from first person to different zoom-ins and so on. We ended up keeping this old school <i>Diablo II</i>-style isometric camera because we found out very quickly that this was so integral to the way the game felt and played, and we wanted to keep that. So I think we’ve got a really neat and retro-cool thing going on here that we can push the video cards and everything and have a lot of fancy features with the higher-end cards, but it’s part of our policy to lower system specs as much as possible. When you have everything at the lowest setting, and you mix that with these hand-painted textures that we have, it looks like a painting that’s come to life. I think that’s a great way to avoid looking old. It looks retro-cool instead of old school.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><b>AG</b>: Speaking of the camera angle, other updated action RPGs, specifically the upcoming<i>Dungeon Siege III</i>, are offering two options, an isometric and an over-the-shoulder view. Did you guys ever consider doing something similar?</span></div><div class="screenshot" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #e0e0e0; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; float: left; margin-bottom: 2px; margin-left: 2px; margin-right: 2px; margin-top: 2px; padding-bottom: 2px; padding-left: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-top: 2px; width: 160px;"><a class="box" href="http://www.atomicgamer.com/screenshots/game-4171/67205-800.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><img border="0" src="http://www.atomicgamer.com/screenshots/game-4171/67205-160.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" width="160" /></span></a></div><div class="alternative" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><b>KM</b>: We tried, but honestly, everyone will find that the game plays differently with different camera angles. If you want to experience something as highly polished as we want to put out there, you’ve got to pick one or the other to do a fabulous job with it because everything is tweaked to that angle. The challenge for us was picking the right one. <i>In Diablo II</i>, the isometric view was definitely the right choice. We are making sure that every move and ability and every strategic, tactical decision you make works perfectly with that camera. A second camera angle makes everything play differently.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><b>AG</b>: Is there anything specifically from <i>Diablo II</i> that the team felt needed improvement and wanted to tweak for <i>Diablo III</i>?</span></div><div class="alternative" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><b>KM</b>: The questing and story. I think we’ve added way more quests, more variety of quests. We’ve randomized the quests, and have these sort of quests that are self contained. For example, if you enter a dungeon in <i>Diablo III</i>, there might be somebody standing at the entrance, like a treasure hunter, saying, “Hey, I heard stories about the Idol of Rygnar is hidden somewhere in this dungeon. Help me find it and you can share in the reward.” Then you go through the dungeon and protect this guy. Then you’ll find the idol and you’ll get the reward. People will turn on you…you’re never quite sure what is going to happen. We’re adding all those random elements all over the world. There is way more quest content overall than <i>Diablo II</i>, period. Also, I think we wanted to do a much better job on the storytelling aspects, not just the cinematics, which are fantastic, but also in the storytelling itself, like more twists and turns, more interesting quests, more variety of experiences. That’s what we spent a lot of time on, and making the co-op nature of it better as well.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><b>AG</b>: What do you guys think of all the popular “<i>Diablo</i> clones”, such as the <i>Dungeon Hunter</i> and <i>Underworlds</i> series, finding success on the iPhone?</span></div><div class="screenshot" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #e0e0e0; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; float: right; margin-bottom: 2px; margin-left: 2px; margin-right: 2px; margin-top: 2px; padding-bottom: 2px; padding-left: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-top: 2px; width: 160px;"><a class="box" href="http://www.atomicgamer.com/screenshots/game-4171/86977-800.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><img border="0" src="http://www.atomicgamer.com/screenshots/game-4171/86977-160.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" width="160" /></span></a></div><div class="alternative" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><b>KM</b>: A lot of us play iPhone games. The most common time iPhone games are played here at Blizzard is when you’re waiting in a meeting for someone more important than you to arrive…everybody on the team is pulling out their iPhones and playing some game, whether it be <i>Angry Birds</i> or something hardcore like <i>Dungeon Hunter</i> or <i>Hero of Sparta</i>. I think some of those games that have evolved from <i>Diablo</i> are very flattering.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><b>AG</b>: Do you see a <i>Diablo</i> spin-off coming to the iPhone or iPad? I mean, it’s a popular platform right now, and guys like id are putting stuff on there. Would you ever consider this?</span></div><div class="alternative" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><b>KM</b>: Yes, that would be cool, but I think we have a big enough challenge just getting<i>Diablo III</i> out right now. We are exploring options of moving a <i>Diablo</i>-style game onto consoles. We’re looking for console people right now to see if that’s feasible, but we just want to make the best Diablo PC game right now.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><b>AG</b>: What are the chances we’ll actually see <i>Diablo III</i> on consoles in the near future?</span></div><div class="screenshot" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #e0e0e0; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; float: left; margin-bottom: 2px; margin-left: 2px; margin-right: 2px; margin-top: 2px; padding-bottom: 2px; padding-left: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-top: 2px; width: 160px;"><a class="box" href="http://www.atomicgamer.com/screenshots/game-4171/68776-800.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><img border="0" src="http://www.atomicgamer.com/screenshots/game-4171/68776-160.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" width="160" /></span></a></div><div class="alternative" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><b>KM</b>: We’re definitely looking into it. We’re seriously considering it. I would say that the whole system specs thing is one of the cool things about Blizzard. You’re always hearing in interviews with us about the death of the PC gaming. We’re always like, “What death?” I think one part of that secret…you know, quality and polish and all of that as well…but part of that is keeping the system specs low. Everybody had a PC, even if they just use it for nothing but e-mail and web surfing. Almost everyone has one, so we do have a pretty giant install base. That said, gaming systems like Xbox and PS3 and so on… <i>Diablo</i> is one of the more natural hits for a Blizzard title to go on those, so I think that’s why we are looking at it pretty seriously.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><b>AG</b>: Okay, I have to ask: Are you still shooting for a 2011 release for <i>Diablo III</i> on PC?</span></div><div class="alternative" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><b>KM</b>: Yes, we haven’t announced a date yet, and the standard answer always applies, which is “It’s ready when it’s ready.”</span></div><div style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Thanks to Blizzard’s Kevin Martens for stealing some precious development time from one of 2011’s--but probably 2012’s--most anticipated titles to sit down and talk with us.</span></div>xMukuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11477137109020327199noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1837564772447857581.post-75565955469857260002011-04-19T10:41:00.001-07:002011-04-19T10:42:07.064-07:00Iphone Game You Can Only Play Once<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Liberation Serif', serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"></span><br />
<h1 class="headline title" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; clear: both; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 24px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0.4em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The iPhone Game You Can Only Play Once</h1><div class="post-body" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="color: #222222;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="pm_byline" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a class="noHrefOverride" href="http://kotaku.com/people/Plunkett/" rel="nofollow" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #d61538; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Luke Plunkett"><img class="avatar CommenterImage" height="26" src="http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/commenter/50000/58522_32.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; float: none; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 4px; margin-top: -3px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: middle;" width="26" /> </a><a class="pm_link author noHrefOverride" href="http://kotaku.com/people/Plunkett/" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #d61538; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Click here to read posts written by Luke Plunkett">Luke Plunkett</a> — </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-color: initial; border-style: initial; font-style: inherit; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial;"><a href="http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/9/2011/04/onelife.jpg" rel="lytebox" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></a></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">One Single Life is an iPhone game you can only play once. Not because it's short, or because it's crap, but because once you play it and die, the application never lets you play it again.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Drastic! Yet it's also nerve-racking. One Single Life is essentially Canabalt, sans the aliens, and comprises of ten levels. Each of those levels consists of a single jump. If you clear it, you can move onto the next one. If you die, you're dead, and you can never ever play the game again.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">By the time I met my demise on level 9, I was a <em style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">wreck</em>, the gravity of the situation well and truly having taken hold. And by the end it does mean something, because the game looks great and has Canabalt's same appeal of trying to pull off some manic timing.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Oh, and as you'd hope, it's free.</span></div></div>xMukuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11477137109020327199noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1837564772447857581.post-10159564279485017862011-04-14T20:04:00.000-07:002011-04-14T20:04:05.672-07:003DS New Pervy Game<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"></span><br />
<center><img src="http://www.1up.com/media?id=3891278&type=lg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; display: block;" /></center><br clear="all" />Nintendo may've come a bit short of its stated goal of <a href="http://www.1up.com/news/nintendo-expects-4-million-3ds-sales-first-month" style="color: #0066cc; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;">selling 4 million Nintendo 3DSes</a> in the first month, but all that is about to change really quick, no doubt. Why? Because with Marvelous Entertainment's new boob-tastic action game <b>Senran Kagura</b>, every girl-game fan in Japan and worldwide is going to buy as many 3DS consoles as they can get their sticky hands on.<div style="margin-top: 10px;">Featuring a scenario written by <a href="http://www.1up.com/games/wii/428-blocked-city-shibuya/" style="color: #0066cc; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;">428's</a> Yukinori Kitajima and art by girl-game veteran Nan Yaegashi (sample art above), Senran Kagura tells the tale of a team of five sexy female ninjas as they face off against a looming threat to their school. Largely it's a side-scrolling action game, but it offers a few features you don't usually see in such titles -- the heroes can get their clothing ripped up, there are mini-games that emphasize their...erm...assets, and a special mode lets you view all the ladies from any angle you like.</div><div style="margin-top: 10px;">Senran Kagura is due out this summer in Japan. Don't hold your breath for an overseas release. </div>xMukuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11477137109020327199noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1837564772447857581.post-38321404891407250732011-04-10T23:17:00.001-07:002011-04-10T23:19:08.109-07:00Just Something Nice<object id="flashObj" width="480" height="270" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,47,0"><param name="movie" value="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1&isUI=1" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="flashVars" value="videoId=876532300001&linkBaseURL=http%3A%2F%2Fgamevideos.1up.com%2Fvideo%2Fid%2F33320&playerID=635383662001&playerKey=AQ~~,AAAABUoMVlk~,Q5X7TGpy-_mNT9cYHA3KsQGGRANgbASB&domain=embed&dynamicStreaming=true" /><param name="base" value="http://admin.brightcove.com" /><param name="seamlesstabbing" value="false" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="swLiveConnect" value="true" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><embed src="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1&isUI=1" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashVars="videoId=876532300001&linkBaseURL=http%3A%2F%2Fgamevideos.1up.com%2Fvideo%2Fid%2F33320&playerID=635383662001&playerKey=AQ~~,AAAABUoMVlk~,Q5X7TGpy-_mNT9cYHA3KsQGGRANgbASB&domain=embed&dynamicStreaming=true" base="http://admin.brightcove.com" name="flashObj" width="480" height="270" seamlesstabbing="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullScreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" swLiveConnect="true" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash"></embed></object><br />
<br />
<br />
<object id="flashObj" width="480" height="270" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,47,0"><param name="movie" value="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1&isUI=1" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="flashVars" value="videoId=897689825001&linkBaseURL=http%3A%2F%2Fgamevideos.1up.com%2Fvideo%2Fid%2F33320&playerID=635383662001&playerKey=AQ~~,AAAABUoMVlk~,Q5X7TGpy-_mNT9cYHA3KsQGGRANgbASB&domain=embed&dynamicStreaming=true" /><param name="base" value="http://admin.brightcove.com" /><param name="seamlesstabbing" value="false" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="swLiveConnect" value="true" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><embed src="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1&isUI=1" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashVars="videoId=897689825001&linkBaseURL=http%3A%2F%2Fgamevideos.1up.com%2Fvideo%2Fid%2F33320&playerID=635383662001&playerKey=AQ~~,AAAABUoMVlk~,Q5X7TGpy-_mNT9cYHA3KsQGGRANgbASB&domain=embed&dynamicStreaming=true" base="http://admin.brightcove.com" name="flashObj" width="480" height="270" seamlesstabbing="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullScreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" swLiveConnect="true" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash"></embed></object>xMukuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11477137109020327199noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1837564772447857581.post-87034383018349228622011-04-09T09:40:00.001-07:002011-04-09T09:40:23.282-07:00Mass Effect Movie<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"></span><br />
<center><img alt="Mass Effect 2" height="225" src="http://www.1up.com/media?id=3813169&type=lg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; display: block;" width="400" /></center><br clear="all" />BioWare has announced it is collaborating with FUNimation Entertainment on a <a href="http://www.1up.com/games/xbox360/mass-effect-2/" style="color: #0066cc; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;">Mass Effect</a>-based anime feature film, production of which is already underway.<div style="margin-top: 10px;">Mass Effect executive producer Casey Hudson will serve in the same capacity on the film, which is being co-produced by T.O Entertainment, Inc. FUNimation is the same company responsible for the<a href="http://www.1up.com/games/pc/dragon-age-2" style="color: #0066cc; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;">Dragon Age</a> anime movie that's currently in the works for release later this year.</div><div style="margin-top: 10px;">"Over the last few years, we have revealed different pieces of the Mass Effect world through different media. Extending the story through an anime medium is another amazing opportunity for us," said Hudson in a press release. "Partnering with FUNimation ensures that we will bring this rich universe to life with the utmost quality and the same attention to detail that the Mass Effect games are known for."</div><div style="margin-top: 10px;">The Mass Effect anime is expected to be released during summer 2012. Like the Dragon Age anime, it'll be a direct-to-video affair, so don't make plans to see it in theaters.</div><div style="margin-top: 10px;">Those who are still holding out for a proper live-action Mass Effect movie aren't necessarily out of luck. BioWare <a href="http://www.1up.com/news/tremendous-interest-mass-effect-movie" style="color: #0066cc; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;">claimed</a> early last year that there had been a "tremendous amount of interest" from Hollywood in making a Mass Effect movie before Legendary Pictures picked up the <a href="http://www.1up.com/news/legendary-pictures-picks-mass-effect" style="color: #0066cc; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;">rights</a>. </div>xMukuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11477137109020327199noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1837564772447857581.post-91802169286625389012011-04-07T06:37:00.000-07:002011-04-07T06:37:02.594-07:00Portal 2 Turret Trailer<object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,47,0" height="270" id="flashObj" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1&isUI=1" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="flashVars" value="videoId=888603397001&linkBaseURL=http%3A%2F%2Fgamevideos.1up.com%2Fvideo%2Fid%2F33286&playerID=635383662001&playerKey=AQ~~,AAAABUoMVlk~,Q5X7TGpy-_mNT9cYHA3KsQGGRANgbASB&domain=embed&dynamicStreaming=true" /><param name="base" value="http://admin.brightcove.com" /><param name="seamlesstabbing" value="false" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="swLiveConnect" value="true" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><embed src="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1&isUI=1" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashVars="videoId=888603397001&linkBaseURL=http%3A%2F%2Fgamevideos.1up.com%2Fvideo%2Fid%2F33286&playerID=635383662001&playerKey=AQ~~,AAAABUoMVlk~,Q5X7TGpy-_mNT9cYHA3KsQGGRANgbASB&domain=embed&dynamicStreaming=true" base="http://admin.brightcove.com" name="flashObj" width="480" height="270" seamlesstabbing="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullScreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" swLiveConnect="true" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash"></embed></object><br />
<br />
Enjoy!xMukuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11477137109020327199noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1837564772447857581.post-20324488030736051442011-04-05T22:28:00.000-07:002011-04-05T22:28:13.462-07:00Sony Beware<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4izQwMTTKVgZ88KHh8QreiaariaT3uG0jO-VhTuAGiCFc3yrN_3_sDvghtPtVKFHeASZY5KXhzzyFTUPiA_VaxDH0U0100KeJqWrWJlAqrOd2zYE1j2JsoAZ1VPvYSRfGlZCgzVdpnGq-/s1600/FTR-PS3-Jailbreak-Hacked.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="125" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4izQwMTTKVgZ88KHh8QreiaariaT3uG0jO-VhTuAGiCFc3yrN_3_sDvghtPtVKFHeASZY5KXhzzyFTUPiA_VaxDH0U0100KeJqWrWJlAqrOd2zYE1j2JsoAZ1VPvYSRfGlZCgzVdpnGq-/s320/FTR-PS3-Jailbreak-Hacked.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">As a result of Sony's <a href="http://www.1up.com/news/sony-suing-hackers-dismantled-ps3" style="outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;">legal action</a> against individuals like <a href="http://www.1up.com/news/ps3-hackers-respond-sony-lawsuit" style="outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;">GeoHot</a>, the online hacker group Anonymous has announced that it has targeted the PlayStation maker over what it believes is an abuse of the judicial system.</span></span><br />
<div style="margin-top: 10px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Coinciding with the announcement was word from the official PlayStation help and support Twitter account <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/AskPlayStation/statuses/54945167689515008" style="outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">claiming</a>, "PSN currently undergoing sporadic maintenance. Access to the PSN may be interrupted throughout the day. We apologize for any inconvenience." Whether or not that happens to be a coincidence, <a href="http://www.us.playstation.com/" style="outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">PlayStation.com</a> and other sites under its domain name (including the<a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/" style="outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">PlayStation Blog</a>) are currently unreachable. Sony.com, on the other hand, is fine.</span></div><div style="margin-top: 10px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">After declaring that the attack is a result of Sony's litigation involving GeoHot, Anonymous'<a href="http://anonnews.org/?p=press&a=item&i=787" style="outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">statement</a> declares, "You have abused the judicial system in an attempt to censor information about how your products work. You have victimized your own customers merely for possessing and sharing information, and continue to target those who seek this information. In doing so you have violated the privacy of thousands of innocent people who only sought the free distribution of information. Your suppression of this information is motivated by corporate greed and the desire for complete control over the actions of individuals who purchase and use your products, at least when those actions threaten to undermine the corrupt stranglehold you seek to maintain over copywrong, oops, 'copyright.'</span></div><div style="margin-top: 10px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">"Your corrupt business practices are indicative of a corporate philosophy that would deny consumers the right to use products they have paid for, and rightfully own, in the manner of their choosing. Perhaps you should alert your customers to the fact that they are apparently only renting your products? In light of this assault on both rights and free expression, Anonymous, the notoriously handsome rulers of the internet, would like to inform you that you have only been 'renting' your web domains. Having trodden upon Anonymous' rights, you must now be trodden on."</span></div><div style="margin-top: 10px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Sony is in the processing of suing George "GeoHot" Hotz, a 21-year-old hacker who <a href="http://www.1up.com/news/hacker-claims-ps3-root-key" style="outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;">uncovered</a> (and subsequently shared online) the PlayStation 3's root key. The case has yet to go to trial, with Sony doing all it can to have the case tried in California despite Hotz residing in New Jersey. Sony has<a href="http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2011/03/fleeing-sabotaged-hard-drives-hotzs-lawyer-responds-to-sony.ars" style="outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">alleged</a> that Hotz fled to South America in order to avoid the courts and had sabotaged hard drives, claims that he has denied.</span></div><div style="margin-top: 10px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Anonymous has previously targeted the likes of anti-WikiLeaks organizations, anti-piracy groups, and more. This latest campaign against Sony appears to be a spin-off of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Payback" style="outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Operation Payback</a>, which was a retaliation against distributed denial of service attacks that were made on torrent websites. The FBI has been actively <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-31001_3-20022264-261.html" style="outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">investigating</a> the group since the United States Copyright Office was<a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-ddos-takes-down-the-united-states-copyright-office-101103/" style="outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">taken down</a> last year, if not earlier.</span></div><div style="margin-top: 10px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">We've contacted Sony for comment on the situation and will report back if the company decides to make any announcements. </span></div><div style="color: #333333;"><br />
</div>xMukuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11477137109020327199noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1837564772447857581.post-898884588780091832011-04-04T20:06:00.000-07:002011-04-04T20:06:45.420-07:00Black Gamers Spend the Most Time Playing Consoles<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Liberation Serif', serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><img alt="Nielsen Survey Finds Black Gamers Spend the Most Time Playing Consoles" class="editorial above" src="http://fastcache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/9/2011/04/medium_nielsenrace.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; float: right; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: -2px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline; z-index: 2;" title="Nielsen Survey Finds Black Gamers Spend the Most Time Playing Consoles" width="300" /></span><br />
<div class="post-body" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222;"><br />
</span><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="pm_byline" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a class="noHrefOverride" href="http://kotaku.com/people/owengood/" rel="nofollow" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #d61538; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Owen Good"><img class="avatar CommenterImage" height="26" src="http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/commenter/360000/364769_32.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; float: none; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 4px; margin-top: -3px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: middle;" width="26" /> </a><a class="pm_link author noHrefOverride" href="http://kotaku.com/people/owengood/" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #d61538; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Click here to read posts written by Owen Good">Owen Good</a> — </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Nielsen, the folks who measure every single thing that is or could possibly be done <a href="http://kotaku.com/#!5785426/what-room-is-your-gaming-console-in" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">with a television set</a>, have released an analysis of gaming habits by ethnicity, finding that African-Americans game the most per day, on average, Asian-Americans the least.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Black gamers spent an average of 16 minutes a day using a TV to play video games, Nielsen said, <a href="http://nielsen.com/us/en/insights/reports-downloads/2011/tv-trends-by-ethnicity.html" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">according to a study</a> conducted in November of Americans aged 18 to 49. White gamers spent 13 minutes per day, on average; Hispanic gamers 10 minutes and Asian gamers 9. Overall, Americans spend an average of 13 minutes a day using a TV to play video games.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Game time on a TV is a tiny fraction of the set's overall usage, on average, representing about 4 percent of the 5 hours and 11 minutes a TV is on in an American household each day. But it is comparable to the 15 minutes of time a day, on average, Americans spend watching a DVD through their television.</span></div></div>xMukuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11477137109020327199noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1837564772447857581.post-52189349699788396632011-04-03T22:08:00.000-07:002011-04-03T22:10:02.946-07:00Madden Creator Suing EA<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"></span><br />
<br />
<center style="color: #333333;"><img alt="Madden NFL 11" height="225" src="http://www.1up.com/media?id=3834527&type=lg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; display: block;" width="400" /></center><br clear="all" /><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><b>Update:</b> EA has issued a statement to 1UP on the lawsuit. Tiffany Steckler said, "The complaint and its 20 year-old claim are utterly without merit."</span><br />
<div style="margin-top: 10px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><b>Original Story:</b> Electronic Arts already has to contend with both an NFL lockout that could seriously<a href="http://www.1up.com/news/today-gaming-kinect-helps-blind-madden-lockout-concerns" style="outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;">impede</a> sales of <a href="http://www.1up.com/games/xbox360/madden-nfl-12" style="outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;">Madden NFL 12</a> and activists <a href="http://www.1up.com/news/possible-madden-cover-star-michael-vick-served-his-time" style="outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;">upset</a> with a potential cover athlete for the game, and now one of the series' original creators has filed a lawsuit against the company alleging that it owes him millions of dollars in royalties.</span></div><div style="margin-top: 10px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Robin Antonick's lawsuit was filed this week requesting a jury trial in California, <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/01/us-media-madden-idUSTRE7305Y620110401" style="outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Reuters</a> reports. According to him, he signed a contract with EA in 1986 that dictated he be owed royalties on derivative versions of the game. He claims that he helped to develop the original game, John Madden Football, which was released in 1988 for Apple II, Commodore 64, and MS-DOS. Despite the increasing complexity of the series (it might still be football, but it's a <i>much</i> different game), Antonick believes the series continues to build on his creation.</span></div><div style="margin-top: 10px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">"Only recently, as a result of publicity surrounding the 20th Anniversary of the 'Madden' videogame did Antonick become aware that Electronic Arts did not independently develop subsequent versions of its Madden NFL software," the complaint states. "Instead, according to recent statements by Electronic Arts founder Trip Hawkins, the current generation of software apparently derived from software developed by Antonick."</span></div><div style="margin-top: 10px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Antonick says his last royalty payment came in 1992 and that he had been unaware "Electronic Arts decided that it did not want to share profits with him even though he was responsible for the development of virtually all of the ground-breaking technology at the heart of the game."</span></div><div style="margin-top: 10px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Confidential negotations are said to have taken place in recent years, the Reuters story notes. With those talks apparently having failed, he is now seeking tens of millions in royalties. He's also after disgorgement, which is a fancy way of saying that EA would be forced to submit profits that it has obtained illegally or unethically. </span></div>xMukuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11477137109020327199noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1837564772447857581.post-25179747019248554882011-04-02T20:53:00.001-07:002011-04-02T20:57:08.753-07:00April Fools Pranks<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtDnkgZ0GU86PVos8k3y8LFJjcMKpC3uPk5i6yixWswgDcXWfL7eggrsrX7pfPW0oa7DktGoxs4aFD8tBLJZpeWha8KoyGF2q3XrDGiUCOBLad7SXJ2rql-fdO7e15iXgTFsnVyCqdVKEL/s1600/1271702136-aprilfoolsday9.jpg.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtDnkgZ0GU86PVos8k3y8LFJjcMKpC3uPk5i6yixWswgDcXWfL7eggrsrX7pfPW0oa7DktGoxs4aFD8tBLJZpeWha8KoyGF2q3XrDGiUCOBLad7SXJ2rql-fdO7e15iXgTFsnVyCqdVKEL/s1600/1271702136-aprilfoolsday9.jpg.gif" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Just like the pranks themselves, it's become a tradition each and every year to <i>complain</i> about the pranks and the ensuing confusion that results from trying to determine if <a href="http://gamevideos.1up.com/video/id/28723" style="outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;">Pokemon Kart Wii</a> is real. In order to make sure you aren't falling into the trap of believing that you can play StarCraft with Kinect or can throw feces in Duke Nukem Forever (actually, we're not so sure about that one), we've compiled a list of this year's pranks (along with links) below. We'll be updating the story throughout the day to make sure you stay apprised of what's a prank and what's not. If we've missed any, feel free to drop a link in the comments to let us know. Enjoy!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><a href="http://www.1up.com/news/1up-april-fools-11-pranks-round-up">http://www.1up.com/news/1up-april-fools-11-pranks-round-up</a></span>xMukuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11477137109020327199noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1837564772447857581.post-36025924469458115342011-03-31T22:25:00.000-07:002011-04-01T08:18:12.606-07:00Friday Night Movies<div style="text-align: center;">I've decided to link a few torrents to movies for Friday. Hopefully you share the same taste.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Action Themed As Well.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Enjoy!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjt6Dz89B4hqFBT_vw-qameOGMAtwP9P7A4hanqpch7BC4GQCH6a_QTqbi8K8YvxVb5yT5waBGBFoVNTzGMPZqOFEWqL6LCDvZsO0X8zCfSrY133kO33Ja06f6yz2AdDYFku1bGb5UXtjP/s1600/Tron-Legacy-Poster-Cycle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjt6Dz89B4hqFBT_vw-qameOGMAtwP9P7A4hanqpch7BC4GQCH6a_QTqbi8K8YvxVb5yT5waBGBFoVNTzGMPZqOFEWqL6LCDvZsO0X8zCfSrY133kO33Ja06f6yz2AdDYFku1bGb5UXtjP/s320/Tron-Legacy-Poster-Cycle.jpg" width="226" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ca.isohunt.com/download/277720341/jaybob.torrent"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Tron Legacy</span></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPI43oL5IGj7rNGOWgSDJD2AkBp_zox_FG_V44CQMn_JqsdYowRAtrUTLNN17JjcjsWNSqqLFICWxmFX4Roz-klrwFAPl6Y8Z23IW5jz4NMx9kBlr9f_zXQRrmeV47_IEHVUBBIDVSaanO/s1600/law-abiding-citizen-poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPI43oL5IGj7rNGOWgSDJD2AkBp_zox_FG_V44CQMn_JqsdYowRAtrUTLNN17JjcjsWNSqqLFICWxmFX4Roz-klrwFAPl6Y8Z23IW5jz4NMx9kBlr9f_zXQRrmeV47_IEHVUBBIDVSaanO/s320/law-abiding-citizen-poster.jpg" width="214" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ca.isohunt.com/download/150015421/jaybob.torrent"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Law Abiding Citizen</span></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXS2byB2JD3TcR2zyl7MhAvkjwwMv5wFdmEN11KmF1fOb-r7KiOu35zoWccGPUcppxjepOIsn7hU8y2xcGXimoo6jFRR5a0LSf7Jtf8nSPGPgIJQVare6QZHwDjkKbIJYPpdlkc1x3DQvj/s1600/mpazombielandposterb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXS2byB2JD3TcR2zyl7MhAvkjwwMv5wFdmEN11KmF1fOb-r7KiOu35zoWccGPUcppxjepOIsn7hU8y2xcGXimoo6jFRR5a0LSf7Jtf8nSPGPgIJQVare6QZHwDjkKbIJYPpdlkc1x3DQvj/s320/mpazombielandposterb.jpg" width="215" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ca.isohunt.com/download/147864925/jaybob.torrent"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Zombieland</span></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjixQERoJoaC5rPz8TJHrdu44fjfZIpxUGrobLVqcb2zVg-tHRonhc22oXXff0OiWc9LJQgmJED8K5tEUDPetAgn2Fydi70dDn1kcD2lRDm7TlZqcKY5Kge4680Uq3I1nIiU9DVKQGYM7PI/s1600/predators_3_poster_02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjixQERoJoaC5rPz8TJHrdu44fjfZIpxUGrobLVqcb2zVg-tHRonhc22oXXff0OiWc9LJQgmJED8K5tEUDPetAgn2Fydi70dDn1kcD2lRDm7TlZqcKY5Kge4680Uq3I1nIiU9DVKQGYM7PI/s320/predators_3_poster_02.jpg" width="215" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="http://ca.isohunt.com/download/216456945/jaybob.torrent">Predators</a></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikqMqXqriswR3KH9Xh27iuYPEwWqj7wwGeDi_Kqu0qIchDboTrmgf-9RS2hv132KG-guO3ur_hoNTTknvh579kunHbib8sGXZccjrc0vaRFWpYINGBfquCcR9cACqK3yQ6O_xXbHmLnpl0/s1600/Red+Poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikqMqXqriswR3KH9Xh27iuYPEwWqj7wwGeDi_Kqu0qIchDboTrmgf-9RS2hv132KG-guO3ur_hoNTTknvh579kunHbib8sGXZccjrc0vaRFWpYINGBfquCcR9cACqK3yQ6O_xXbHmLnpl0/s320/Red+Poster.jpg" width="219" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<a href="http://isohunt.com/torrent_details/265272825/?tab=summary"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Red</span></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">And just for bonus here is a DVD Rip is the Harry Potter Deathly Hallows Part 1:</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSYrL4zNkZlgfjQ54s2Q_iQ7w3h2T6BgGEKeH2VqJvTS2CHz0kSujKqu89H57SdLJnC3spHZtPAhIAWvBzW9xyh54WbN6QHnkq_pxND7MBsvSs-eBUrnvo4ulE6cJfcmoJC-wB0nWlNFjR/s1600/deathly-hallows-poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSYrL4zNkZlgfjQ54s2Q_iQ7w3h2T6BgGEKeH2VqJvTS2CHz0kSujKqu89H57SdLJnC3spHZtPAhIAWvBzW9xyh54WbN6QHnkq_pxND7MBsvSs-eBUrnvo4ulE6cJfcmoJC-wB0nWlNFjR/s320/deathly-hallows-poster.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="http://ca.isohunt.com/download/283641949/jaybob.torrent">Harry Potter</a></span></div>xMukuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11477137109020327199noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1837564772447857581.post-42347404800085887072011-03-30T08:43:00.001-07:002011-03-30T08:43:32.576-07:00New Disc Format<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-color: rgb(196, 196, 196); border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(196, 196, 196); border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-color: rgb(196, 196, 196); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Microsoft is gearing up for the next Xbox 360 system update, but it needs gamers' help testing a few things out. The company today announced a new System Update Preview Program for US-based Xbox 360 owners to help test a new disc format for the system.</span></div><div class="embscreen" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #656565; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-left-color: rgb(196, 196, 196); border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(196, 196, 196); border-right-width: 1px; border-style: initial; border-top-color: rgb(196, 196, 196); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; clear: both; float: right; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 5px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 182px;"><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/images/6306298/microsoft-updating-xbox-360-disc-format/1/?path=2010%2F209%2Fxbox360S_61082_screen.jpg&caption=Are%2Bthere%2Bthree%2Bmore%2Bexciting%2Bwords%2Bin%2Bthe%2BEnglish%2Blanguage%2Bthan%2B%2522new%2Bdisc%2Bformat%2522%253F&blog=1&cvr=gyl." style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-color: rgb(196, 196, 196); border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(196, 196, 196); border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-color: rgb(196, 196, 196); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><img alt="" class="thumb" src="http://image.gamespotcdn.net/gamespot/images/2010/209/xbox360S_61082_embed.jpg" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /></span></a><br />
<div class="caption" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-color: rgb(196, 196, 196); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-color: rgb(196, 196, 196); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(196, 196, 196); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-color: rgb(196, 196, 196); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; line-height: 11px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/images/6306298/microsoft-updating-xbox-360-disc-format/1/?path=2010%2F209%2Fxbox360S_61082_screen.jpg&caption=Are%2Bthere%2Bthree%2Bmore%2Bexciting%2Bwords%2Bin%2Bthe%2BEnglish%2Blanguage%2Bthan%2B%2522new%2Bdisc%2Bformat%2522%253F&blog=1&cvr=gyl." style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-color: rgb(196, 196, 196); border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(196, 196, 196); border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-color: rgb(196, 196, 196); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Are there three more exciting words in the English language than "new disc format"?</span></a></div></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-color: rgb(196, 196, 196); border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(196, 196, 196); border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-color: rgb(196, 196, 196); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">By signing up at the <a href="http://connect.microsoft.com/xboxliveupdate" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-color: rgb(196, 196, 196); border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(196, 196, 196); border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-color: rgb(196, 196, 196); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="new">Microsoft Connect website</a>and filling out a survey, US gamers can volunteer to take part in the preview program. Multiple thousands of gamers will be chosen to participate, with Xbox Live Gold members receiving priority over their nonpaying Xbox Live Silver counterparts.</span></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-color: rgb(196, 196, 196); border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(196, 196, 196); border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-color: rgb(196, 196, 196); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Participants will receive a copy of Halo: Reach (and possibly other rewards as well) for their trouble, but the program is not without risk. During the registration process, Microsoft warns that due to the nature of prerelease software updates, there's a chance participants could wind up with nonfunctioning systems. The agreement makes no mention of Microsoft repairing systems broken as a result of the update.</span></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-color: rgb(196, 196, 196); border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(196, 196, 196); border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-color: rgb(196, 196, 196); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">When asked what security or storage benefits the new disc format might bring, a Microsoft representative told GameSpot there were no additional details to share at this time.</span></div>xMukuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11477137109020327199noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1837564772447857581.post-44263615329779441772011-03-28T12:23:00.000-07:002011-03-28T12:23:29.185-07:003DS Black Screen Of Death<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Liberation Serif', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"></span><br />
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><img height="225" src="http://fastcache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/9/2011/03/bsod.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="400" /></span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="pm_byline" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a class="noHrefOverride" href="http://kotaku.com/people/Plunkett/" rel="nofollow" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #d61538; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Luke Plunkett"><img class="avatar CommenterImage" height="26" src="http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/commenter/50000/58522_32.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; float: none; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 4px; margin-top: -3px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: middle;" width="26" /> </a><a class="pm_link author noHrefOverride" href="http://kotaku.com/people/Plunkett/" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #d61538; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Click here to read posts written by Luke Plunkett">Luke Plunkett</a> — </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Now that the 3DS is in the hands of customers across the Western world, people are finally playing the thing in large numbers. Large enough, it seems, to have found a "black screen of death" error affecting the handheld.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">It doesn't seem terribly widespread, so don't<em style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">panic</em>. But those who <em style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">have</em> encountered the error have stated it has appeared playing a multitude of titles (including Ghost Recon, Street Fighter, Monkey Ball and Lego Star Wars) and at various times; sometimes while engaged in online play, other times using the menu system, and other times simple...playing.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">While in some cases the suggested reboot has worked for some, others have reportedly had to return their consoles to Nintendo after repeated error messages.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Whether this is affecting 2% or 0.0002% of users, we don't know. All I know is, trust a Nintendo console to get a failure state that has such a cheeky, charming name.</span></div>xMukuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11477137109020327199noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1837564772447857581.post-80891308497217821202011-03-27T09:15:00.001-07:002011-03-27T09:15:19.664-07:00Game Deals<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"></span><br />
<br />
<center><img alt="The Witcher" height="249" src="http://www.1up.com/media?id=3888186&type=lg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; display: block;" width="400" /></center><br clear="all" /><br />
Even if you're not interested in the 3DS, there's no shortage of great deals this week. On Direct2Drive, <a href="http://www.1up.com/games/pc/blur" style="color: #0066cc; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;">Blur</a> is $9.95, <a href="http://www.1up.com/games/pc/need-for-speed" style="color: #0066cc; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;">Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit</a> is $14.95, and <a href="http://www.1up.com/games/pc/cod-black-ops" style="color: #0066cc; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;">Call of Duty: Black Ops</a> is $44.95. Or if none of the specific deals are interesting to you, you can get 20% off any game -- including pre-orders. Another noteworthy sale is Steam offering <a href="http://www.1up.com/games/pc/the-witcher-ee" style="color: #0066cc; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;">The Witcher</a>: Extended Edition Director's Cut for $9.99, which is an absolute steal for such a quality (and lengthy) RPG.<br />
<div style="margin-top: 10px;">If the 3DS <i>is</i> something you're looking to pick up this weekend, check out the full list of 3DS launch deals <a href="http://www.1up.com/news/3ds-launch-deals-guide" style="color: #0066cc; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;">here</a>. For the rest of this week's deals, read on.</div><div style="margin-top: 10px;"></div><h3 style="color: #333333; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Amazon</h3><div style="margin-top: 10px;"></div><ul><li>$25 3DS credit with system purchase</li>
<li>Free 3DS accessory with system purchase</li>
<li>$10 3DS game credit with 3DS game purchase</li>
</ul><div style="margin-top: 10px;"></div><h3 style="color: #333333; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Direct2Drive</h3><div style="margin-top: 10px;"></div><ul><li>Save 20% on any game (including pre-orders) -- use promo 'marchmadness'</li>
<li>Dirt 2 -- $4.95 (from $19.99)</li>
<li>Call of Duty: Black Ops -- $44.95 (from $59.95)</li>
<li>Batman: Arkham Asylum -- $7.50 (from $29.95)</li>
<li>Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit -- $14.95 (from $29.95)</li>
<li>SplitSecond -- $7.50 (from $29.95)</li>
<li>Alpha Protocol -- $5.95 (from $29.95)</li>
<li>Crazy Taxi -- $2.25 (from $8.95)</li>
<li>Test Drive Unlimited -- $4.95 (from $19.95)</li>
<li>Blur -- $9.95 (from $19.95)</li>
<li>Need for Speed: Shift -- $9.95 (from $19.95)</li>
<li>F1 2010 -- $19.95 (from $39.95)</li>
<li>Grid -- $9.95 (from $39.95)</li>
<li>Aliens vs. Predator -- $4.95 (from $19.95)</li>
<li>Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing -- $4.95 (from $19.95)</li>
<li>Football Manager 2011 -- $19.95 (from $39.95)</li>
<li>Need for Speed World -- $9.95 (from $19.95)</li>
<li>Race 07 -- $19.95 (from $24.95)</li>
<li>GTR Evolution Complete -- $31.95 (from $39.95)</li>
<li>STCC The Game Complete -- $31.95 (from $39.95)</li>
</ul><div style="margin-top: 10px;"></div><h3 style="color: #333333; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">GamersGate</h3><div style="margin-top: 10px;"></div><ul><li>Age of Booty -- $5.00 (from $9.99)</li>
<li>Batlefield: Bad Company 2 -- $9.98 (from $19.95)</li>
<li>Blood Bowl: Legendary Edition -- $29.96 (from $39.95)</li>
<li>Brothers in Arms Road to Hill 30 -- $4.98 (from $9.95)</li>
<li>Call of Jurarez: Bound in Blood -- $9.98 (from $19.95)</li>
<li>Cities XL -- $9.98 (from $19.95)</li>
<li>Crash Time 2 -- $3.74 (from $14.95)</li>
<li>Drive to Survive -- $3.75 (from $14.99)</li>
<li>Far Cry 2 Fortune Edition -- $7.48 (from $14.95)</li>
<li>Football Manager 2011 -- $19.98 (from $39.95)</li>
<li>Lead and Gold: Gangs of the Wild West -- $2.48 (from $9.95)</li>
<li>Lylian: Episode One - Paranoid Friendship -- $3.50 (from $6.99)</li>
<li>Obulis -- $1.99 (from $7.95)</li>
<li>Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus -- $2.48 (from $4.95)</li>
<li>Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee -- $2.48 (from $4.95)</li>
<li>Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee -- $4.98 (from $9.95)</li>
<li>Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath -- $7.48 (from $14.95)</li>
<li>The Oddboxx -- $12.48 (from $24.95)</li>
<li>Peter Jackson's King Kong -- $5.00 (from $9.99)</li>
<li>RUSE: The Art of Deception -- $14.98 (from $29.95)</li>
<li>Syberia -- $5.00 (from $9.99)</li>
<li>Syberia 2 -- $5.00 (from $9.99)</li>
<li>Titan Quest -- $5.08 (from $14.95)</li>
<li>Titan Quest: Immortal Throne -- $5.08 (from $14.95)</li>
<li>Rainbow Six Vegas 2 -- $7.48 (from $14.95)</li>
<li>Tomb Raider Anniversary -- $6.00 (from $14.99)</li>
<li>Tomb Raider: Underworld -- $7.98 (from $19.95)</li>
<li>World in Conflict -- $7.48 (from $14.95)</li>
</ul><div style="margin-top: 10px;"></div><h3 style="color: #333333; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Good Old Games</h3><div style="margin-top: 10px;"></div><ul><li><a href="http://www.gog.com/en/promo/enlight_games/" style="color: #0066cc; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Enlight games bundle 60% off; 40% off individually</a></li>
</ul><div style="margin-top: 10px;"></div><h3 style="color: #333333; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Impulse</h3><div style="margin-top: 10px;"></div><ul><li>THQ Ultimate Bundle -- $99.99 (from $294.83)</li>
<li>Gray Matter -- $19.99 (from $29.99)</li>
<li>Edna and Harvey: The Breakout -- $14.99 (from $19.99)</li>
<li>Black Mirror II: Reigning Evil -- $14.99 (from $19.99)</li>
<li>Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit -- $14.97 (from $29.95)</li>
<li>MinerWars 2081 -- $13.95 (from $46.50)</li>
<li>Dragon Age Origins - Ultimate Edition -- $24.97 (from $49.95)</li>
<li>GTI Racing -- $4.99 (from $9.99)</li>
<li>Astral Masters -- $9.97 (from $19.95)</li>
<li>Storm Over the Pacific -- $29.99 (from $49.99)</li>
<li>Air Aces - Pacific -- $19.99 (from $49.99)</li>
<li>The Stalin Subway -- $7.49 (from $14.99)</li>
<li>The Stalin Subway: Red Veil -- $7.49 (from $14.99)</li>
<li>Full Spectrum Warrior - Complete Pack -- $9.99 (from $19.99)</li>
<li>Jets'n'Guns Gold -- $10.18 (from $29.95)</li>
</ul><div style="margin-top: 10px;"></div><h3 style="color: #333333; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Steam</h3><div style="margin-top: 10px;"></div><ul><li>Sega Genesis Classics Collection -- $9.99 (from $29.96)</li>
<li>Hoard -- $7.49 (from $9.99)</li>
<li>Dreamcast Collection -- $14.99 (from $29.99)</li>
<li>Call of Duty: Black Ops -- $44.99 (from $59.99)</li>
<li>Neverwinter Nights 2 - Platinum -- $9.99 (from $19.99)</li>
<li>F1 2010 -- $19.99 (from $39.99)</li>
<li>Lead and Gold: Gangs of the Wild West -- $2.50 (from $9.99)</li>
<li>The Witcher: Enhanced Edition Director's Cut -- $9.99 (from $19.99)</li>
<li>Arcadia -- $2.49 (from $4.99)</li>
<li>Ghostbusters: The Videogame -- $9.99 (from $19.99)</li>
<li>Sacred 2: Fallen Angel</li>
</ul>xMukuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11477137109020327199noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1837564772447857581.post-36637763239016468332011-03-25T08:52:00.000-07:002011-03-25T08:52:29.880-07:00New Demon Hunter Art From Diablo III<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-bcqlRkpVkCC2_YBU_FuAzPYlo9k0jCjGTipc0vvTtJz73HENAeuaqHh-QVeFNIs24AZfazJgEyup_8A-OZxgodtHIoTSk1omVqtLnbXq7Qfd85KNy0W26awq8LeXRZLNYfiI3cvprpKL/s1600/Diablo3_0012-300x187.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-bcqlRkpVkCC2_YBU_FuAzPYlo9k0jCjGTipc0vvTtJz73HENAeuaqHh-QVeFNIs24AZfazJgEyup_8A-OZxgodtHIoTSk1omVqtLnbXq7Qfd85KNy0W26awq8LeXRZLNYfiI3cvprpKL/s1600/Diablo3_0012-300x187.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz9lVLifewnckN3GXNwSyqKp4eLARcq6fq32XdzwoAI3ooWgB1GaRpeFvGf9mXHCmBupov20gntNM2zmPUKxzanjRRa9qCPr8gtnqCBaC_uEvI_fJT8jMtn_yKhtD5-fjBEy3XCfT4cuz3/s1600/Diablo3_0033-300x271.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz9lVLifewnckN3GXNwSyqKp4eLARcq6fq32XdzwoAI3ooWgB1GaRpeFvGf9mXHCmBupov20gntNM2zmPUKxzanjRRa9qCPr8gtnqCBaC_uEvI_fJT8jMtn_yKhtD5-fjBEy3XCfT4cuz3/s1600/Diablo3_0033-300x271.jpg" /></a></div><div style="color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">The <a href="http://www.facebook.com/Diablo" style="color: white; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><strong>Diablo III Facebook</strong></a> reached 725,000 “Likes”. This week it has been a pretty quick and consecutive waves of fans liking Diablo III concept art and screenshots. This week alone has gotten over 75,000 likes. Fans are catching up with the challenge to reach a million “Likes”.</div><div style="color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Today we have the high resolution images of what looks like a new Demon Hunter female gadget spell or rune effect variation. We’ll know for sure once Bashiok post them on Facebook. Two zombies are chained together by the Demon Hunter, and she is about to finish them up with what looks like Xena’s Chakram weapon.</div><div style="color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">The concept art looks awesome. The Witch Doctor skill: Horrify. Visit the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150128640501641&set=a.213243671640.137416.157102206640&theater" style="color: white; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><strong>Facebook page</strong></a> to “Like” it. Help us reach the one million “Likes” milestone.</div><div style="color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 1.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">To date, it is unknown what Blizzard Entertainment will share with fans as the final reward when the Diablo III Facebook reaches a million “Likes”. Should we build expectations? In my wish list, I would personally love more gameplay videos, and some lore tease about the Acts.</div>xMukuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11477137109020327199noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1837564772447857581.post-4562287359447064582011-03-23T08:46:00.001-07:002011-03-23T08:46:31.087-07:00Resident Evil 4, Code: Veronica to Modern Consoles<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"></span><br />
<center><img alt="Resident Evil" src="http://www.1up.com/media?id=3642455&type=lg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; display: block;" /></center><div style="margin-top: 10px;">If you were jonesing for some Resident Evil and a PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360 is the only thing you've ever owned, then Capcom has some good news for you.</div><div style="margin-top: 10px;">This week's issue of <i>Famitsu</i> magazine in Japan brings word of something called <b>Biohazard: Revival Selection</b> for the PS3 and 360. Details on this release are still slim as of this writing, but apparently the game combines <a href="http://www.1up.com/games/ps2/resident-evil-4" style="color: #0066cc; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;">Resident Evil 4</a> and the Dreamcast's <a href="http://www.1up.com/games/gc/resident-evil-code-veronica" style="color: #0066cc; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;">Resident Evil Code: Veronica</a>into a single package. The graphics on both are being fully remastered, with <i>Famitsu</i> showing off comparison screenshots between the original and HD editions.</div><div style="margin-top: 10px;">No release date was announced for the release in Japan, so it'll likely be a while out yet. Stick around for more details. </div>xMukuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11477137109020327199noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1837564772447857581.post-37768620608061251662011-03-22T09:30:00.000-07:002011-03-22T09:31:18.861-07:00PC Gamer's Preview Of Skyrim<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 13px;"></span><br />
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">You’re nobody – a prisoner rotting in a cell for some unnamed crime. That’s true at the start of every main Elder Scrolls game. But this time it’s a cell in Skyrim, the freezing Nordic nation between Oblivion’s sunny Cyrodiil and the weird Dark Elf land of Morrowind.</div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">You’re released. Why, we don’t know yet. But you’re released into a nation that’s tearing itself apart. It’s a land governed by nine holds, regions that are traditionally each controlled by a single ruling family. But the system hasn’t lasted – many holds are now governed by elected councils, some have been overthrown, and they’re on the brink of war with each other. And as the conflict reaches crisis point, the dragons show up.</div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">That’s the setting for the fifth game in Bethesda’s open-ended RPG series The Elder Scrolls. It uses a new engine, a new combat system, a whole new kind of magic, and an awful lot of snow.<span id="more-38970" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></div><div class="wp-caption alignnone" id="attachment_38708" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;"><a href="http://media.pcgamer.com/files/2011/02/The-Elder-Scrolls-V-Skyrim-DARGON.jpg" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #d30a1a; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" class="size-thumbnail wp-image-38708" height="224" src="http://media.pcgamer.com/files/2011/02/The-Elder-Scrolls-V-Skyrim-DARGON-590x331.jpg" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: url(http://static.pcgamer.com/wp-content/themes/pcgamer/style/images/tiles/light-hatch-tile.gif); background-origin: initial; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim DARGON" width="400" /></a><br />
<div class="wp-caption-text" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: black; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; bottom: 20px; color: white; display: inline; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; left: 20px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 2px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 2px; position: absolute; vertical-align: baseline;">Yep, OK, the new engine does look kind of amazing.</div></div><h2 style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Phenomenal lineage</h2><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Nords aren’t the only ones in trouble. The Empire has lost many of its territories in the Dark Elf lands, and a crucial family of rulers have finally died out.</div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">200 years ago, in Oblivion, a prisoner much like yourself saved the world by finding the dead emperor’s illegitimate son Martin.</div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Oblivion was the commercial hit the series always deserved, but it’s also a game you can rarely mention without hearing someone’s top three gripes about it. A lot of Skyrim’s features are direct responses to those complaints, but a few almost seem intentionally defiant.</div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Martin and his heirs are long gone, and without the Septims – the ruling family around whom all the other Elder Scrolls games revolve – the world is vulnerable to terrible forces.</div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Septims are Dragonborns, mortals whose bloodline gives them the power to use dragon magic. The Dragonfires you were trying to light in Oblivion used that magic to protect the mortal realm from the demons of Oblivion. That’s why Martin was so important: as the last blood relative of a Septim, only he could keep them burning and the world safe.</div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">When the Dragonborns die out 200 years later, it’s not the demons of Oblivion that break through – it’s actual dragons. They’re already ravaging the world, and they’re nothing compared to what’s next. Alduin, the biggest and baddest of the long-lost species, is coming. The Elder Scrolls foretold it, and only a Dragonborn can stop it.</div><div class="wp-caption alignnone" id="attachment_38712" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;"><a href="http://media.pcgamer.com/files/2011/02/The-Elder-Scrolls-V-Skyrim-Magic-Skill-Tree.jpg" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #d30a1a; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" class="size-thumbnail wp-image-38712" height="224" src="http://media.pcgamer.com/files/2011/02/The-Elder-Scrolls-V-Skyrim-Magic-Skill-Tree-590x331.jpg" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: url(http://static.pcgamer.com/wp-content/themes/pcgamer/style/images/tiles/light-hatch-tile.gif); background-origin: initial; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim Magic Skill Tree" width="400" /></a><br />
<div class="wp-caption-text" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: black; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; bottom: 20px; color: white; display: inline; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; left: 20px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 2px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 2px; position: absolute; vertical-align: baseline;">In the interface, your stats are now written in the stars.</div></div><h2 style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Shout out</h2><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Which brings us back to our nobody – you. It turns out you are a Dragonborn, perhaps the only one left. In story terms, obviously, that means any world-saving is going to have to be done by you – once you’re done arsing around with sidequests and guilds. In game terms, it means you have access to a whole new kind of magic the Elder Scrolls games haven’t given us before.</div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Dragon Shouts are three-word phrases, uttered in the dragon tongue, which function as powerful spells. For them to work, you first need to defeat a dragon and take its soul: that gives you the potential to learn its shout. But the words themselves don’t come easily: they’re written in the dragon’s own language on the walls of crumbling ruins all over Skyrim. The dragon’s soul gives you the ability to spot power words among the scratchy ancient glyphs.</div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">There are more than twenty shouts to learn, from one that’s effectively ‘Force Push’, to one you whisper to teleport yourself silently toward an enemy.</div><div class="wp-caption alignnone" id="attachment_38716" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;"><a href="http://media.pcgamer.com/files/2011/02/The-Elder-Scrolls-V-Skyrim-Tower.jpg" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #d30a1a; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" class="size-thumbnail wp-image-38716" height="224" src="http://media.pcgamer.com/files/2011/02/The-Elder-Scrolls-V-Skyrim-Tower-590x331.jpg" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: url(http://static.pcgamer.com/wp-content/themes/pcgamer/style/images/tiles/light-hatch-tile.gif); background-origin: initial; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim Tower" width="400" /></a><br />
<div class="wp-caption-text" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: black; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; bottom: 20px; color: white; display: inline; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; left: 20px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 2px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 2px; position: absolute; vertical-align: baseline;">Three bedrooms, great views, extremely detached.</div></div><h2 style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Enchantment?</h2><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Dragon Shouts are separate from ‘conventional’ magic, the type any chump with a pointy hat can do. That stuff has been tweaked a bit. The Elder Scrolls games have always split their spells into themed sets called Schools – Destruction, for example, lets you cast all the attacking spells but counts as a single skill as you improve it with practise.</div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">That system is still in, but the schools themselves have changed a little. The school of Mysticism, which has always seemed a little too miscellaneous to count as a themed set, is gone. Its best spells are now part of other schools like Alteration, making that one in particular more worthwhile – its spell set was a little skimpy in Oblivion.</div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">That leaves Destruction (damage-dealing), Restoration (healing and buffs), Conjuration (summoning minions and equipment), Illusion (stealth and confusion), Alteration (utility spells), and Enchantment.</div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Enchantment is a magical skill last seen in Morrowind, which lets you imbue your favourite weapon or armour with any spell effect you know. In that game, though, it was rarely worth trying it yourself when vendors could do it for you with no risk of failure. Which is probably why Oblivion removed it as a player skill: there’s just a pedestal in the Imperial University that does it for you perfectly every time. Since it’s always been one of the most powerful and useful abilities in the world, having it as a player skill in Skyrim could be really interesting.</div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Destruction spells are now more flexible tools: a fire spell is not just a fireball, it can also be used as a flamethrower or to place fire traps on the ground. And Bethesda say they’re hoping to let you combine them with one another when you wield different spells in each hand, though exactly how won’t be nailed down until they’re sure they can do it.</div><h2 style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Picking a fight</h2><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The most important change to magic is that spells are no longer separated from weapons. Oblivion’s system meant that everyone, from a pure mage to a brainless fighter, had to wield both a weapon and a spell at all times. Skyrim is much more freeform: you have two hands, and it’s up to you whether to ready two spells, one spell in both hands, a spell in one and a weapon in the other, or even dual-wield any two single-handed weapons.</div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://media.pcgamer.com/files/2011/02/The-Elder-Scrolls-V-Skyrim-One-in-Each-Hand.jpg" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #d30a1a; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-thumbnail wp-image-39001" height="359" src="http://media.pcgamer.com/files/2011/02/The-Elder-Scrolls-V-Skyrim-One-in-Each-Hand-557x500.jpg" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: url(http://static.pcgamer.com/wp-content/themes/pcgamer/style/images/tiles/light-hatch-tile.gif); background-origin: initial; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim One in Each Hand" width="400" /></a></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">If Bethesda can make that look and feel convincing in combat, it’ll be among the most flexible and interesting equipment systems we’ve yet seen in a roleplaying game.</div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Elder Scrolls’ relationship with combat has always been an interesting one – it’s never really been an action game, yet the fact that its combat is physical and reaction-based is one of the main things that sets it apart from the more dice-roll and turn-based RPGs.</div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">With Skyrim they’re shifting the focus a little: Oblivion’s combat model was all about the sluggishness and difficulty of combat with large, heavy weapons. Skyrim’s is more energetic and fast – there are gruesome finishing moves for each weapon and enemy type. It’s also more tactical: you can no longer run backwards to get away from a fight while still defending yourself. Your reverse movement is much slower, so you have to decide: stay and fight, or turn and flee?</div><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 13px;"></span><br />
<h2 style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Sapling sniper</h2><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">If you did a lot of running backwards in Oblivion, you probably played an archer. Bows felt good to fire in that game, but after level one they would never actually kill anyone in a single hit. So players made mods to address that, most notably Better Bows, tweaking all ranged weaponry to be more deadly without becoming entirely unbalanced.</div><div class="wp-caption alignnone" id="attachment_38709" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;"><a href="http://media.pcgamer.com/files/2011/02/The-Elder-Scrolls-V-Skyrim-Dragon.jpg" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #d30a1a; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" class="size-thumbnail wp-image-38709" height="224" src="http://media.pcgamer.com/files/2011/02/The-Elder-Scrolls-V-Skyrim-Dragon-590x331.jpg" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: url(http://static.pcgamer.com/wp-content/themes/pcgamer/style/images/tiles/light-hatch-tile.gif); background-origin: initial; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim Dragon" width="400" /></a><br />
<div class="wp-caption-text" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: black; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; bottom: 20px; color: white; display: inline; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; left: 20px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 2px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 2px; position: absolute; vertical-align: baseline;">Yeah, might wanna roll a ranged character next time.</div></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Bethesda played those mods, and ate humble pie. Lethal archery works, and they couldn’t ignore it. So bows in Skyrim are balanced like sniper rifles – or more appropriately, like the Huntsman for Team Fortress 2’s Sniper class. One or two shots kill, but arrows are generally in short supply. It’s a more thoughtful and satisfying combat option for tricky situations, rather than a shot-spamming way of life.</div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">One problem with Oblivion’s combat was to do with the way you built your character: you had to guess which skills would be most useful, and your rate of leveling up would forever be tied to the ones you chose. If you picked non-combat skills and used them, you levelled up quickly and so did the world around you. Soon you faced threats you couldn’t fight. But if you picked non-combat skills and didn’t use them, you could easily become too powerful for your level – your sword skill could sky rocket without your level, or that of the world around you, getting any higher.</div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Skyrim’s system is much simpler and more forgiving. You pick nothing, you just get better at whatever you do. All of it counts towards levelling you up, so you’ll progress at a similar rate whatever you spend your time doing. And you don’t have to guess what’s going to be useful or suitable for your play style: you just try everything and stick at what you like.</div><div class="wp-caption alignnone" id="attachment_38714" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;"><a href="http://media.pcgamer.com/files/2011/02/The-Elder-Scrolls-V-Skyrim-River.jpg" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #d30a1a; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" class="size-thumbnail wp-image-38714" height="224" src="http://media.pcgamer.com/files/2011/02/The-Elder-Scrolls-V-Skyrim-River-590x331.jpg" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: url(http://static.pcgamer.com/wp-content/themes/pcgamer/style/images/tiles/light-hatch-tile.gif); background-origin: initial; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim River" width="400" /></a><br />
<div class="wp-caption-text" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: black; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; bottom: 20px; color: white; display: inline; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; left: 20px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 2px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 2px; position: absolute; vertical-align: baseline;">Skyrim isn't all snow - there's a lot of variety.</div></div><h2 style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">General practice</h2><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The series has always toyed with this learn-by-doing system, but it’s previously hedged its bets slightly: each game couples it with some form of intentional player choice, which is the tradition in RPGs. Skyrim’s only nod to that is a choice of whether to boost your health, magicka or stamina when you level – the three basic resources you need to survive, cast spells and fight.</div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">It’s balanced so that increasing your Blade skill from 70 to 71 gets you much closer to your next level-up than levelling Destruction from 1 to 2. In other words, it’s weighted towards acknowledging your strongest suit: it reflects that someone who’s amazing at one skill is more powerful than someone with the same amount of experience split over a dozen of different abilities.</div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Making your character-level reflect your power is important, because like all Bethesda’s open-world RPGs, Skyrim adjusts some of its content to your current level. If you hated that in Oblivion, don’t worry. There it was widespread and heavy handed, which sometimes felt artificial. Bethesda say Skyrim’s scaling will be used more like Fallout 3’s: that game was much subtler when it tailored enemies to your abilities, and most areas weren’t tailored at all.</div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Another thing Skyrim takes from Fallout 3 is the concept of perks. You level around twice as quickly as in Oblivion, and each time you do, you can choose a single unique improvement to your character. Fallout’s perks included the ability to silently kill anyone who’s asleep, extra manipulative dialogue options with characters of the opposite sex, and the ability to paralyse with your unarmed attacks. Given that the maximum character level is now 50 rather than 25, you’ll be picking a lot of these. Skill progression doesn’t even stop there – it only slows.</div><div class="wp-caption alignnone" id="attachment_38715" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;"><a href="http://media.pcgamer.com/files/2011/02/The-Elder-Scrolls-V-Skyrim-Skeletons.jpg" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #d30a1a; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" class="size-thumbnail wp-image-38715" height="224" src="http://media.pcgamer.com/files/2011/02/The-Elder-Scrolls-V-Skyrim-Skeletons-590x331.jpg" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: url(http://static.pcgamer.com/wp-content/themes/pcgamer/style/images/tiles/light-hatch-tile.gif); background-origin: initial; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim Skeletons" width="400" /></a><br />
<div class="wp-caption-text" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: black; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; bottom: 20px; color: white; display: inline; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; left: 20px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 2px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 2px; position: absolute; vertical-align: baseline;">Dungeons will apparently be more varied this time.</div></div><h2 style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Looking radiant</h2><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">So Skyrim won’t scale everything to your character level, but it will tweak its content in a different way as you play: to your choices, rather than your overall power. If you’ve already explored the cave complex that would normally be the setting for a sidequest you get later on, the game will secretly change the setting to a dungeon you haven’t been to yet. Conversely, the target of an assassination quest might be picked from the characters you’ve spent most time with, rather than a perfect stranger, to make the decision to kill them more interesting. If it works, you’ll have no idea this stuff is happening, you’ll just be having a more interesting experience.</div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The system is called Radiant Story, which ought to raise an eyebrow for those with long memories. Radiant AI was the routine- and need-driven AI system for Oblivion that sounded like a nerd fever dream before release, then seemed to have very little relevance to what we got up to in the game once it was out.</div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Radiant AI is still in, and supposedly improved, and Radiant Story is there to configure exactly how quests interact with the characters governed by it. But it’s not meant to generate the whole game’s plot – the main quest and even most elements of the side quests are hand-written, prescripted stuff. It’ll just be tweaked to make it more interesting for you.</div><div class="wp-caption alignnone" id="attachment_38707" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;"><a href="http://media.pcgamer.com/files/2011/02/The-Elder-Scrolls-V-Skyrim-Busty-Wench.jpg" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #d30a1a; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" class="size-thumbnail wp-image-38707" height="224" src="http://media.pcgamer.com/files/2011/02/The-Elder-Scrolls-V-Skyrim-Busty-Wench-590x331.jpg" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: url(http://static.pcgamer.com/wp-content/themes/pcgamer/style/images/tiles/light-hatch-tile.gif); background-origin: initial; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim" width="400" /></a><br />
<div class="wp-caption-text" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: black; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; bottom: 20px; color: white; display: inline; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; left: 20px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 2px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 2px; position: absolute; vertical-align: baseline;">In the new engine, NPCs have gone from apes to supermodels.</div></div><h2 style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Face lift</h2><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The more tangible improvement with Skyrim’s characters is how they look and talk – as you’ll see in the screenshots, the tragic epidemic of Puffy Monkey Face is over at last. There’s nothing stunning about the way humans look now, but just being believable and somewhat handsome is a big improvement. And even the ugly ones shouldn’t bother us too much – you’re no longer terrifyingly sucked into someone’s face in extreme close-up when you speak to them. They’ll just keep talking to you as they go about their daily business.</div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">That daily business is something you can even join in with. You can head down the mines with the locals to chip out some ore, then head to the forge and smith it into your own homebrew weaponry. You can farm, do woodwork, or if you’re feeling particularly adventurous, <em style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">save the goddamn world from the goddamn dragons, asshole!</em></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">That part is what we won’t know until we play it – is the main quest actually going to be compelling? It all sounds epic in the traditional sense of the word, but the Elder Scrolls games have sometimes struggled to make the prophecy-waffle feel personal and engaging.</div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Nothing they’re talking about so far suggests Skyrim will change that, but I’m not worried. Oblivion’s main quest had its moments, but it’s not what the game was about. It’s the irrelevant stuff, the tangential stuff, and the personal stuff that excites me about The Elder Scrolls. The idea of doing all that in a frosty new world, with overhauled combat and magic, is irresistible.</div><br />
Yep, OK, the new engine does look kind of amazing.<br />
Phenomenal lineage<br />
The Nords aren’t the only ones in trouble. The Empire has lost many of its territories in the Dark Elf lands, and a crucial family of rulers have finally died out.<br />
<br />
200 years ago, in Oblivion, a prisoner much like yourself saved the world by finding the dead emperor’s illegitimate son Martin.<br />
<br />
Oblivion was the commercial hit the series always deserved, but it’s also a game you can rarely mention without hearing someone’s top three gripes about it. A lot of Skyrim’s features are direct responses to those complaints, but a few almost seem intentionally defiant.<br />
<br />
Martin and his heirs are long gone, and without the Septims – the ruling family around whom all the other Elder Scrolls games revolve – the world is vulnerable to terrible forces.<br />
<br />
The Septims are Dragonborns, mortals whose bloodline gives them the power to use dragon magic. The Dragonfires you were trying to light in Oblivion used that magic to protect the mortal realm from the demons of Oblivion. That’s why Martin was so important: as the last blood relative of a Septim, only he could keep them burning and the world safe.<br />
<br />
When the Dragonborns die out 200 years later, it’s not the demons of Oblivion that break through – it’s actual dragons. They’re already ravaging the world, and they’re nothing compared to what’s next. Alduin, the biggest and baddest of the long-lost species, is coming. The Elder Scrolls foretold it, and only a Dragonborn can stop it.<br />
<br />
In the interface, your stats are now written in the stars.<br />
Shout out<br />
Which brings us back to our nobody – you. It turns out you are a Dragonborn, perhaps the only one left. In story terms, obviously, that means any world-saving is going to have to be done by you – once you’re done arsing around with sidequests and guilds. In game terms, it means you have access to a whole new kind of magic the Elder Scrolls games haven’t given us before.<br />
<br />
Dragon Shouts are three-word phrases, uttered in the dragon tongue, which function as powerful spells. For them to work, you first need to defeat a dragon and take its soul: that gives you the potential to learn its shout. But the words themselves don’t come easily: they’re written in the dragon’s own language on the walls of crumbling ruins all over Skyrim. The dragon’s soul gives you the ability to spot power words among the scratchy ancient glyphs.<br />
<br />
There are more than twenty shouts to learn, from one that’s effectively ‘Force Push’, to one you whisper to teleport yourself silently toward an enemy.<br />
<br />
Three bedrooms, great views, extremely detached.<br />
Enchantment?<br />
Dragon Shouts are separate from ‘conventional’ magic, the type any chump with a pointy hat can do. That stuff has been tweaked a bit. The Elder Scrolls games have always split their spells into themed sets called Schools – Destruction, for example, lets you cast all the attacking spells but counts as a single skill as you improve it with practise.<br />
<br />
That system is still in, but the schools themselves have changed a little. The school of Mysticism, which has always seemed a little too miscellaneous to count as a themed set, is gone. Its best spells are now part of other schools like Alteration, making that one in particular more worthwhile – its spell set was a little skimpy in Oblivion.<br />
<br />
That leaves Destruction (damage-dealing), Restoration (healing and buffs), Conjuration (summoning minions and equipment), Illusion (stealth and confusion), Alteration (utility spells), and Enchantment.<br />
<br />
Enchantment is a magical skill last seen in Morrowind, which lets you imbue your favourite weapon or armour with any spell effect you know. In that game, though, it was rarely worth trying it yourself when vendors could do it for you with no risk of failure. Which is probably why Oblivion removed it as a player skill: there’s just a pedestal in the Imperial University that does it for you perfectly every time. Since it’s always been one of the most powerful and useful abilities in the world, having it as a player skill in Skyrim could be really interesting.<br />
<br />
Destruction spells are now more flexible tools: a fire spell is not just a fireball, it can also be used as a flamethrower or to place fire traps on the ground. And Bethesda say they’re hoping to let you combine them with one another when you wield different spells in each hand, though exactly how won’t be nailed down until they’re sure they can do it.<br />
<br />
Picking a fight<br />
The most important change to magic is that spells are no longer separated from weapons. Oblivion’s system meant that everyone, from a pure mage to a brainless fighter, had to wield both a weapon and a spell at all times. Skyrim is much more freeform: you have two hands, and it’s up to you whether to ready two spells, one spell in both hands, a spell in one and a weapon in the other, or even dual-wield any two single-handed weapons.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
If Bethesda can make that look and feel convincing in combat, it’ll be among the most flexible and interesting equipment systems we’ve yet seen in a roleplaying game.<br />
<br />
<br />
The Elder Scrolls’ relationship with combat has always been an interesting one – it’s never really been an action game, yet the fact that its combat is physical and reaction-based is one of the main things that sets it apart from the more dice-roll and turn-based RPGs.<br />
<br />
With Skyrim they’re shifting the focus a little: Oblivion’s combat model was all about the sluggishness and difficulty of combat with large, heavy weapons. Skyrim’s is more energetic and fast – there are gruesome finishing moves for each weapon and enemy type. It’s also more tactical: you can no longer run backwards to get away from a fight while still defending yourself. Your reverse movement is much slower, so you have to decide: stay and fight, or turn and flee?<br />
<br />
Original Article: <a href="http://www.pcgamer.com/2011/03/18/elder-scrolls-v-skyrim-preview/">http://www.pcgamer.com/2011/03/18/elder-scrolls-v-skyrim-preview/</a>xMukuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11477137109020327199noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1837564772447857581.post-47605605417151308382011-03-21T16:11:00.000-07:002011-03-21T16:11:40.955-07:00Duke Nukem, Girls Kissing.<object style="height: 390px; width: 640px"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/J8FD0lV5M9c?version=3"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/J8FD0lV5M9c?version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="510" height="390"></object><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Liberation Serif', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"></span><br />
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="pm_byline" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a class="noHrefOverride" href="http://kotaku.com/people/Plunkett/" rel="nofollow" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #d61538; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Luke Plunkett"><img class="avatar CommenterImage" height="26" src="http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/commenter/50000/58522_32.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; float: none; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 4px; margin-top: -3px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: middle;" width="26" /> </a><a class="pm_link author noHrefOverride" href="http://kotaku.com/people/Plunkett/" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #d61538; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Click here to read posts written by Luke Plunkett">Luke Plunkett</a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"> —</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Duke Nukem Forever There are times when Duke Nukem Forever, a game that was supposed to be out in the 20th century, looks brand new! And there are other times, like this NSFW clip, where it really shows its age.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">I don't mean in terms of the graphics, or the guns, or anything like that. I mean those kissing schoolgirls! Some will call them a little tasteless, others just an example of the kind of thing a Duke Nukem game should have, but whichever camp you're in, they look like they fell straight out of the 1999 <a href="http://kotaku.com/Duke%20Nukem%20Forever" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Yearbook</a> of What's Cool For <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Pie_%28film%29" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Horny Teenagers</a>.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Duke Nukem Forever began development in 1997, and over a decade later was presume dead when its developers went bust. It's now back on the menu thanks to Gearbox, and <em style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">should</em> be out on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 in May.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><br />
</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><br />
</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><br />
</span></div>xMukuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11477137109020327199noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1837564772447857581.post-5988698695334961612011-03-16T10:27:00.001-07:002011-03-16T10:29:16.103-07:00Hacker Gets Job At SCEA<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Liberation Serif', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"></span><br />
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="pm_byline" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a class="noHrefOverride" href="http://kotaku.com/people/Plunkett/" rel="nofollow" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #d61538; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Luke Plunkett"><img class="avatar CommenterImage" height="26" src="http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/commenter/50000/58522_32.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; float: none; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 4px; margin-top: -3px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: middle;" width="26" /> </a><a class="pm_link author noHrefOverride" href="http://kotaku.com/people/Plunkett/" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #d61538; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Click here to read posts written by Luke Plunkett">Luke Plunkett</a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">— </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-color: initial; border-style: initial; font-style: inherit; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial;"><a href="http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/9/2011/03/ps3piracy.jpg" rel="lytebox" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></a></span></span>Koushik Dutta, a noted hacker (and mobile developer), has posted what he claims is an email exchange between himself and an employee of Sony Computer Entertainment America. In which Sony offers the man a job.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">The alleged email, from Sarah McRae in SCEA's Talent Acquisition Department, offers Dutta a position as a Software Engineer with the division's Research & Development Department.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Which, you should know, is actually not that uncommon. From consoles to bank vaults, when you want to have something protected, often the best people to approach are the ones who are in the business of attacking said protection. In this case, a hacker.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Dutta's response is worth a look, though.</span></div><blockquote style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-left-width: 4px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 20px; margin-top: 20px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 1px; padding-left: 10px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 10px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">Hi Sarah, I appreciate that you reached out to me. The opportunity does sound very interesting! However, due to Sony's recent treatment of a fellow hacker, George Hotz, I could not in good conscience work at Sony.</span></div></blockquote><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Remember: it's totally OK for Sony <a href="http://kotaku.com/#!5733293/ps3-hacker-being-sued-for-making-sony-mad" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">to sue people hacking the PS3</a>, but if you hack <em style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">other</em>company's devices, you get offered a job!</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">A copy of the email exchange in question is below. We've contacted Sony for confirmation, and will update if we hear back.</span></div>xMukuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11477137109020327199noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1837564772447857581.post-40663385421010762582011-03-15T20:25:00.001-07:002011-03-15T20:25:56.308-07:00Bigger Boobs With 3DS<object style="height: 390px; width: 640px;"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/50LUXgjnx9o?version=3"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/50LUXgjnx9o?version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="510" height="390"></object><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Liberation Serif', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"></span><br />
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">The 3DS augmented reality cards are being used to make mountains out of molehills, as evident in his video. This trick isn't limited to the 3DS only — any AR camera set-up could conceivably make this happen.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Don't stop at flat chests! As website Tiny Cartridge points out, feel free to put boobs on just about <em style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">anything</em>.</span></div>xMukuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11477137109020327199noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1837564772447857581.post-92161914119555861592011-03-14T11:40:00.000-07:002011-03-14T11:40:03.434-07:00Scary Game - Deep Sea<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"></span><br />
<center><a href="http://www.joystiq.com/2011/03/12/deep-sea-the-scariest-game-ever/" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #0299d2; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img border="1" height="264" hspace="0" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.joystiq.com/media/2011/03/deepsea312.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none !important; border-color: initial !important; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none !important; border-right-style: none !important; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none !important; border-width: initial !important; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-left: 0px !important; margin-right: 0px !important; margin-top: 0px !important; padding-bottom: 1.4em; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" vspace="0" width="400" /></a></center>I don't even know if Wraughk Audio Design's <a href="http://www.wraughk.com/show.php?title=DeepSea" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #0299d2; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Deep Sea</em></a> is intended to be scary, but it's more effective at generating <em style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">real fear </em>than any game I've ever seen. And it does so with no graphics at all.<br />
<br />
The <a href="http://www.indiepubgames.com/contest.php?contestId=2&show=info" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #0299d2; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Independent Propeller Award</a> finalist is daunting from the outset: first, the player is helped into the gas mask contraption seen above, with blacked out eyes. Then, noise-canceling headphones are lowered onto your face, and your hand is guided to a flight-stick style joystick.<br />
<br />
The game is simple: you use recorded audio direction from an AI character, and directional audio cues, to locate enemies underwater, then "ping" them with your sonar to target them. You'll get feedback from the AI commander character when you ping: things like "It's far to the left," essentially. And that's it!<br />
<br />
What makes it terrifying is the combination of instant claustrophobia due to the oppressive mask, and the helplessness of total sensory deprivation. Being scared to death actually makes the game harder, as it tracks your breathing and plays exaggerated "breathing" sound effects over the audio, drowning out commands. I've never considered myself a claustrophobic person, but panic set in immediately upon playing this game.<br />
<br />
This seems like one of those games best suited for a proof of concept, or an experience to be had at events. I doubt Wraughk is going to be selling blackout gas masks to anyone. I hope that doesn't happen<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">Original Article: </span></span><a href="http://www.joystiq.com/2011/03/12/deep-sea-the-scariest-game-ever/">http://www.joystiq.com/2011/03/12/deep-sea-the-scariest-game-ever/</a>xMukuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11477137109020327199noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1837564772447857581.post-53215117513875441512011-03-12T11:16:00.000-08:002011-03-12T11:16:17.281-08:00Sony Returns Consoles To Europe<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"></span><br />
<br />
<center><img alt="PlayStation 3" height="226" src="http://www.1up.com/media?id=3800516&type=lg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; display: block;" width="400" /></center><br clear="all" /><br />
A court decision made today will allow the large quantity of PlayStation 3 systems that had been seized upon their arrival in Europe to be freed. Sony will be allowed to continue their distribution to retailers. This latest court order follows February's move that <a href="http://www.1up.com/news/playstation-3-shipments-seized-europe" style="color: #0066cc; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">blocked</a> the importation of PS3s into the Netherlands (where all European PS3 imports come through), leading to the seizure of what's said to be around 300,000 systems.<br />
<div style="margin-top: 10px;">LG alleged that Sony had violated certain LG-owned Blu-ray patents, so a court granted the temporary block. Today's decision doesn't mean Sony is necessarily in the right. According to blog<a href="http://fosspatents.blogspot.com/2011/03/lg-achieved-seizure-of-300000.html" style="color: #0066cc; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">FOSS Patents</a>, lifting the seizure order was done because "this kind of measure didn't seem fair given the history of negotiations between the parties."</div><div style="margin-top: 10px;">Sony's potential guilt will be decided at a later date. For now, PS3s will stop being seized in Europe (good news for any Europeans planning to pick up a PS3 in a few weeks' time) and LG will be forced to pay a little more than $179,000 to cover legal fees. An additional fine of more than $275,000 will be levied for each day that it fails to comply.</div><div style="margin-top: 10px;">The roughly 300,000 systems that have been seized are valued at more than $59 million. That figure would have increased greatly had the seizure not been lifted, as nearly 180,000 additional systems are currently en route to the Netherlands.</div><div style="margin-top: 10px;">Regarding the potential royalties Sony would be forced to pay if it is ultimately found guilty of violating patents, LG reportedly wants between $2.50 and $2.55 for each device sold. By those figures, $150-180 million would be owed for devices sold in the past, and with future payments, LG would look to receive in excess of $350 million. Whether it will ever see a penny is a matter that remains to be seen. </div><div><br />
</div><div>Original Article : <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"><a href="http://www.1up.com/news/playstation-3-set-free-europe">http://www.1up.com/news/playstation-3-set-free-europe</a></span></div>xMukuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11477137109020327199noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1837564772447857581.post-13966833115615629552011-03-11T12:14:00.000-08:002011-03-11T12:14:53.533-08:00PC Making Consoles Look Out Of Date<div id="articleContainer"><div id="container-3col-leftcol" style="float: left; font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; width: 485px;"><div id="contentDiv-3col" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.6em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div id="articleIntroText" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.6em; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><h2 style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span id="ctl00_ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder_BigColumn_MainArticle_IntroTextLabel">As console hardware ages game developers are again turning to the PC to showcase the jaw-dropping visuals that next generation games will be capable of.</span></h2></div><span class="BodyTextLink" id="ctl00_ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder_BigColumn_MainArticle_pageContentLabel">Over the years the annual Game Developers Conference in San Francisco has morphed from a developer focused gathering to a kind of mini-E3, where games are announced and the internet gets flooded with developer interviews and game previews. However the real core of GDC is still development, and it often delivers a fantastic insight into where games are headed.<br />
<br />
What has been clear from this year’s GDC is that consoles are beginning to show their age. We are currently experiencing the longest lifespan in console history, and with the hardcore gamers truly sated both Microsoft and Sony have focused efforts on increasing their user base with more casually focused interaction through Kinect and Move.<br />
<br />
This isn’t to say that the first person shooter conveyor belt will grind to a halt. After all Activision still hasn’t managed to run Call of Duty into the ground like it did with the once unassailable Tony Hawk Pro Skater and Guitar Hero franchises. We also haven’t seen the last of the big console shooters like Halo, THQ are going large with Homefront and EA is determined to turn Medal of Honor back into a winning brand.<br />
<br />
But no matter how fancy these titles look, they will be running on graphics hardware that was deemed cutting edge six years ago. In PC terms this is four Moore’s Law cycles, and in that time PC graphics hardware has not only gotten cheaper but has also increased exponentially in power and complexity.<br />
<br />
PC owners haven’t really been able to take advantage of this because the majority of AAA gaming titles have been developed with consoles as the target platform. Usually PC owners will get options for higher resolution or better image processing, but a lot of the time games are barely taxing the capabilities of PC hardware because they were developed with consoles as the focus.<br />
<br />
Enter GDC, where the companies that make graphics engines come to show off the next level of eye candy. By now they have squeezed all they can out of the current generation of consoles, and naturally are working on the next generation of their engines. In the past this would have meant ones designed for the next iteration of console hardware, but with nothing beyond a possible Nintendo update on the horizon, they have turned their eyes to the PC.<br />
<br />
Epic showed off a version of its Unreal engine that it jokingly dubbed version 3.97. This was designed to give an idea what would be expected from the next generation of consoles, and was running on three GeForce GTX 580 cards. In lieu of an official video we have embedded a shakycam version we have found on Youtube, but even with the less than optimal viewing conditions it is an amazing piece of realtime rendering.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="269" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/n3XeCHywNYM" title="YouTube video player" width="425"></iframe><br />
<br />
Next cab of the rank was Crytek, who has famously moved from its bar-setting PC exclusive Crysis to the impending multiplatform Crysis 2. We still use Crysis as our go-to 3D graphics benchmark, and it is still capable of taxing modern systems. Interviews in the leadup to Crysis 2’s launch were laden with references to how low the minimum system requirements would be thanks to the consoles, but also indicated that the game would scale as PC hardware advanced.<br />
<br />
Crysis 2 is still to launch so apart from a multiplayer demo we haven’t really seen just how the engine will scale with hardware, but this video from GDC shows off just what Cryengine 3 is capable of on the PC. This video is largely focused at developers, showing how they can preview their work in realtime using the engine, but they manage to nail the best looking trees that this writer has encountered in over a decade of looking at 3D engines and the associated hardware.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="269" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/YHNWj8HmWwQ" title="YouTube video player" width="425"></iframe><br />
<br />
The third entrant in this triumvirate of eye candy is the DICE’s Frostbite 2 engine. First shown off as part of EA’s Battlefield 3 reveal, and using ingame footage rather than the demos seen above, it is another title where the PC is being used as the demo platform. DICE has already announced that the PC version is the target platform, and the game will be scaled down for consoles. The following footage is from a pre-alpha version of the game, is taken from the actual campaign and is being played on a PC. Even in its early state it shows a level of visual fidelity that consoles are incapable of.<br />
<br />
<object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,47,0" height="412" id="flashObj" width="486"><embed allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" base="http://admin.brightcove.com" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashvars="@videoPlayer=810974979001&playerID=15253964001&playerKey=AQ~~,AAAAAFiRrus~,m1kMQiNjWmFHvuRG3RmDbrYX8g-s3R3n&domain=embed&dynamicStreaming=true" height="412" name="flashObj" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash" seamlesstabbing="false" src="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1" swliveconnect="true" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="486"></object><br />
There are many other indicators that the PC is coming back as a gaming platform. But considering that these leaps in eye candy are only possible with the current state of PC graphics we wonder how long consoles will be the target platform for development of blockbuster games.<br />
<br />
The PC simply has more of a visual wow-factor than the long in the tooth consoles, and is only going to get better while we wait for the next generation. And if the latest Microsoft jobs ads are any indication, this is still a while off. The company has only just started the hiring process for the engineering leads needed to drive the evaluation and eventual implementation of the next generation of Xbox – a process that takes many years to complete.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;"><a href="http://www.pcandtechauthority.com.au/" style="color: #ad1007; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Copyright © Australian PC & Tech Authority</a>. All rights reserved.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">Original Article: </span><a href="http://www.pcauthority.com.au/News/250462,opinion-how-the-pc-is-making-consoles-look-out-of-date.aspx">http://www.pcauthority.com.au/News/250462,opinion-how-the-pc-is-making-consoles-look-out-of-date.aspx</a></span></div></div><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><br />
</span></span></div></div><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 12px;"><span id="ctl00_ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder_BigColumn_MainArticle_SourceLabel"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 12px;"><span id="ctl00_ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder_BigColumn_MainArticle_SourceLabel"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 12px;"><span id="ctl00_ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder_BigColumn_MainArticle_SourceLabel"><br />
</span></span>xMukuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11477137109020327199noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1837564772447857581.post-31162098258778720532011-03-10T11:17:00.000-08:002011-03-10T11:17:20.319-08:00Babes of Duke Nukem<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSwzbk2MNKm6wmFIUKf95YmqVisnFLRozaifzoOpvrGJxAA2wEM_sQUBmZPB55-wrDJk7BSVRPvtCXj-qjv6EQ6nacszEwQmPR-5evFryMy5cmlrPO3_9O2kSvOGNmccE_b0-BpiDPxkK3/s1600/duke_nukem_and_babe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSwzbk2MNKm6wmFIUKf95YmqVisnFLRozaifzoOpvrGJxAA2wEM_sQUBmZPB55-wrDJk7BSVRPvtCXj-qjv6EQ6nacszEwQmPR-5evFryMy5cmlrPO3_9O2kSvOGNmccE_b0-BpiDPxkK3/s320/duke_nukem_and_babe.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>The Babes of Duke Nukem are going to toss on some slutty clothing and entertain the horny teenage masses for Spring Break! They say they want to party with you, but we know that can't possibly be true. In fact, they will probably have to get severely loaded to perform their Spring Break duties. If you can make it to one of the Spring Break Events then you can have your picture taken with the DNF babes and grab some swag in the process.<br />
Duke's Booty Shake Contest:<br />
<br />
Panama City, March 11 – 24, 3 PM daily<br />
<br />
The Babe's of Duke Tour Schedule<br />
<br />
Look for Duke's hummers and his babes every afternoon and evening in the following cities.<br />
<br />
East Coast<br />
<br />
New Orleans, LA – March 5, 2011 – March 8, 2011<br />
Panama City Beach, FL -- March 11 – March 17<br />
Daytona, FL – March 19<br />
West Coast<br />
<br />
Las Vegas, NV – March 6 – March 9<br />
South Padre Island, TX – March 13 – March 16<br />
Lake Havasu, AZ – March 20 – March 23<br />
Check in at www.facebook.com/dukegame and www.twitter.com/2kgames for Duke Spring Break Albums, giveaways, and more!xMukuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11477137109020327199noreply@blogger.com5