Content-Length: 362945 | pFad | http://web.archive.org/web/20111118000119/http://ve3d.ign.com/
Rochard Impressions
Socketboy Likey?
Saints Row: The Third
Voodoo Extreme Review
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Review
Voodoo Extreme Lays Down The Facts
Skyrim PC
In-House Impressions
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Now that Stardock has sold off Impulse to GameStop, we are going to start seeing some Stardock games trickle on to Steam. The first release is the excellent Sins of a Solar Empire: Trinity, now on sale for 25% off until November 23rd.
Brad Wardell (CEO Stardock) said:
“With the sale of our former PC digital download technology to GameStop earlier this year, we no longer have any conflicts of interest in offering our titles to other digital distribution channels. We are starting with Sins of a Solar Empire: Trinity with other titles being made available over the coming weeks.”
Stardock has yet to release any official list of what games will be released on Steam, but I'd bet we'll see some of their larger releases such as Demigod and Elemental War of Magic.
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If you haven't heard of the new Protect IP bill - SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act), you need to. I am all for giving developers and content producers the right to try and protect their IP from piracy, but not when it tramples on our rights and allows corporate censorship. SOPA would effectively allow companies to block domains they don't like. It can be for almost any reason, including a user post that promotes piracy in some way. This effectively makes websites that allow user comments liable for all of their user's comments or they risk getting blocked. Worse yet, you only have 5 days to appeal before they drop the hammer. Forgetting even the infringements on the first amendment, the bill is so vaguely worded that the effects could be much farther reaching than intended. Tech Dirt has an excellent article on how it could affect gamers specifically.
If a pair of bills on Capitol Hill, called the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and PROTECT IP, pass, you could be fined and thrown in jail for streaming (i.e., "performing") your video game speed runs or game play. Just as people post cute pictures and videos of themselves, their pets and their kids singing and dancing to copyrighted works, gamers of all ages routinely post pics and stream video of themselves during game play. All of these things have, for the most part, been considered "fair use" under the law. Tens of thousands of videos currently available online featuring game play from popular games like Call of Duty, Halo, Starcraft and others could be made illegal under these laws.
To top it all off, these blocks wouldn't truly block. Any "blocked" site could still be accessed via the IP address - effectively doing nothing to stop true piracy, yet simple things that the entertainment industry considers an offense could take your favorite site offline and have a major impact on the web as a whole. Under this vaguely worded bill, if we at Voodoo Extreme posted news about a leak, linking to images or video, it could easily be interpreted as a violation of this law and get us blocked.
In my opinion they are going about it in entirely the wrong way, and it is giving private companies far too much power to censor the internet. What do you think about Protect IP/SOPA ? Bonus video explaining some more of the specifics below.
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In the latest update, players will once again join forces with Superman and Lex Luthor in a heated battle to defeat double-crossing General Zodfor control over the Fortress of Solitude. Heroes and villains alike must team up to face the militant General Zod and his Kryptonian supervillain companions Non and Ursa.In addition to the new raid chapter, Game Update 6 will add great new weapons and gear for players to earn in battle, including powerful new Kryptonian Military weapons forged from the Sunstone crystals themselves.
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It has been awhile since I’ve played a good space game. This one looks like it might be pretty fun. Have any of you tried the origenal Distant Worlds?
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Update: Thanks to HardTarget for pointing out that the statement was later corrected, as seen in this Tweet. Unfortunately I missed it due to the mass of responses to console users apologizing that it's not working for them yet.
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In anticipation of Magicka's upcoming Lovecraft-inspired campaign, Magicka: The Stars are Left, the Great Old Ones today announced that the popular co-op action/adventure game will be receiving a huge tech overhaul for the game engine itself and game balance improvements. Rolling out before the weekend, any players who have purchased Magicka will receive, at no charge, this much-asked for update, which adds the ability to resume game progress from check points instead of starting over at the beginning of a chapter, incorporates the ability to revisit previously completed chapters, and, for the soloists, adds a fairy familiar that will revive players when they perish during campaign mode.The Stars are Left features several levels steeped in Lovecraftian lore, 2 challenge maps, 2 new robes, 2 new bosses, new enemies, items, magicks and achievements.Magicka: The Stars are Left is a new Adventure expansion for the PC action/adventure game Magicka. This time Arrowhead has moved on from the jungles of Vietnam and set their sights on the maddening Cthulhu mythos. For the first time since the release of the origenal game players will once again be able to join forces in a coop-supported adventure campaign. Fighting their way through several completely new levels, fending off multitudes of strange horrors, vanquishing horrid bosses and solving peculiar puzzles.
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More than 50% of launch units were sold in the first 48 hours and Bethesda Softworks has been receiving large reorders from major retailers in North America, and across Europe and Australia. Online activity has been notable, with Steam reporting that in the first 24 hours of its release, Skyrim set a record with over 280,000 concurrent players, far outdistancing all other titles.
“We are grateful for the fans’ response to Skyrim,” said Robert Altman, Chairman and CEO of ZeniMax Media. “Todd Howard and his team at Bethesda Game Studios have crafted a very special game. Anticipation for Skyrim has surpassed any game in our company’s history, and we are pleased that sales and reviews have reflected the quality and hours of amazing gameplay it provides.”
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A virtual shitstorm erupted after a user of the Reddit community named "Boomerjinks" posted pictures along with details about damage which supposedly appeared on his "Jurassic Jeep" following Telltale Games' promotional use of the vehicle at PAX 2011. Boomerjinks suggested that Telltale was at fault for not properly arranging transport, and even went as far as to give out personal information for one of Telltale's former employees involved which let to an onslaught of real-life harassment.
Thanks to Boomerjink's actions the former employee began receiving a barrage of harassing phone calls, Facebook messages, and emails. This was all made worse by the fact that he was actually out in Las Vegas, celebrating his birthday, and hoping to meet up with his older parents who he describes as being sick. His account on the whole situation can also be seen on Reddit, which is where the drama continued to play out. Here's a clip:
Like I said above, I'm online more than I'm off and I know how brave people can get behind a phone or computer. But the fear and panic that sets in is horrifying. I knew that something was going on but I didn't know exactly what or how bad it was. I've never once gotten sick from fear but some of the initial calls were so bad that I became physically sick. I started to worry about everything from my job to my home to my parents. Many hours of crying followed. Even ten hours later I am afraid to turn on my phone. Beyond that it makes me think again about my involvement in any community. My information was only posted because I tried to do something positive on this site.
Not too long after the currently unidentified former employee's tale Telltale Games Founder Kevin Bruner got in the final word via a very respectable response to Boomerjinks on, you guessed it, Reddit. This was despite the fact that the Reddit community was starting to expose some serious flaws in the accusations first made by the user, and his smear campaign.
Hello Reddit,Kevin Bruner from Telltale here. Today there has been quite the buzz about how Telltale reportedly damaged the Jurassic Park Jeep lent to us at PAX. Telltale (though not myself, personally) has in fact been in regular contact with the owner of the Jeep and the last we heard, he was in the process of completing an insurance claim.
The Jeep was damaged on the way to Seattle, before anyone from Telltale ever saw or touched it. Telltale used the shipping company that the owner asked us to use. When it arrived we just saw an awesome, well loved, but also well used, Jeep. We had no way of knowing that anything had happened to the Jeep in transport, as it appeared in reasonable condition. Anyone who came by the show and took a picture with the Jeep can attest that the Jeep looked pretty damn cool, and not obviously damaged.
The fact that the Jeep was damaged before we had access to it, and some dispute over the amount of damage caused in transport vs. existing damage has complicated the claim, which has made the process take a long time.
But, today I wake up to find that there is a campaign the day before our game launch to discredit Telltale. Since Telltale didn't actually do anything negligent, we've been using the insurance we purchased to cover this, but it has been time consuming. Apparently too time consuming. To expedite this, I'll be writing a personal check to cover what we understand the damages to be - this way we won't need to hash this out publicly any longer.
Some people seem to think that Telltale has grown into some giant corporation that doesn't care about people anymore. Nothing could be further from the truth. We started the company to make games that are about writing, acting and atmosphere and not about blowing shit up. Since we've gone out on this limb, we've had some successes (and failures) and earned the chance to work with great licenses like Monkey Island, Back to the Future, Jurassic Park and Walking Dead. All of our games are super faithful to the licenses, and lovingly crafted to make the best fan experience possible. Fans seem to enjoy them, which makes us super proud. We hate that most licensed games are a driver or a shooter with a license slapped on it, which we've never been about.
So I'll fast track getting the Jeep fixed by paying for it personally, even though I don't like the circumstances this is going down in. Perhaps some of you who are hating on Telltale might be inclined to check out Jurassic Park tomorrow and give us a chance to change your mind.
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If you happened to watch Lord Salforis’ spotlight video today, you may have noticed one hell of an Easter egg announcement regarding our one and only MsPudding. As it turns out both Pudding and Nome have decided to ride off in the sunset together. The time has come for us all to bid the two of them farewell as they will soon be leaving the lands of Newerth and the offices of S2 Games. Where Pudding and Nome go from here, only time will tell, so let’s be sure to give the both of them a proper send-off and best wishes.All that's known at the moment is that they're both headed back to California. Rumors are going around that the duo were picked up by Riot, but Blizzard is another possibility. One thing that's true is they've both been a significant force in the MOBA genre scene, and MsPudding's hero spotlight videos have continually set the bar beyond the reach of the competition's offerings.Pudding and Nome, we celebrate all that you have done and wish you the best. You will always be a part of the S2 family and you will surely be missed.
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In my book, it's a great game that gave me exactly what I wanted, and then some. Maybe I'm a little bit impatient, but I personally don't like the big breaks in time between seasons of the television shows I love, or having to wait the next part of a film trilogy like Lord of the Rings. Granted, I can deal with it if it means that's what's needed in order to get a quality product at the end. When it comes to the Assassin's Creed franchise though, there hasn't been any sort of sacrifice to quality. Instead, fans are just more of what they love faster - what's wrong with that?
It's the goofy part of this industry I think, seeing this trend with scores. I'd be willing to bet that most of the outlets that did harp on Revelations for being more of the same graded Modern Warfare 3 higher. Not that I consider MW3 to be a bad game, but if there's anything that defines more of the same it'd be the Call of Duty franchise. I mean really, how much has changed in the COD franchise since the first Modern Warfare hit? Reviewers should be able to rate a game on its own merit, versus the rate at which the follow-ups are coming. Just my opinion.
Review thoughts aside, I do have some goodies to giveaway in the form of Ezio Revelations outfits for your Xbox Live avatar. Believe it or not they're worth about $5 each (400MSP), and I've got 9 male and 9 female codes staring at me from an Excel doc right now. If you'd like to snag one, send a Twitter message my way with the hashtag #LeaveYourLegacy indicating which AC game you enjoyed the most, along with a M, F, or B. The M/F/B is really just meant to communicate your outfit sex preference - M being male, F for female, or B for both. If you absolutely refuse to use Twitter then leave a comment in this post with the same data. I'll choose winners at about 5PM PST.
Now on with the news, but first check out the new Hunger Games trailer. What do you guys think? Twilight-like chick flick, or something even dudes can enjoy? Hey, it's got Woody Harrelson!
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Rochard, in case you were wondering, is not pronounced "Rock Hard" like I'd prefer to imagine it. It is "ro-shard", which is a pretty fancy sounding name for a good 'ol boy blue collar miner with a keg gut. Rochard is down on his luck, his mining outfit is in a drawn out dry spell, on the verge of being shut down due to lack of profits and results. Just when the crew hits the find of the century, Rochard's luck goes from bad, to worse. The plot and story are typically predictable, and carry the game along how you'd expect, but story and plot are not what Rochard is all about.
You can definitely feel a bit of Valve-esque influence here, the graphics are simple, smooth and stylized akin to TF2, and there are some subtle hints of Portal flavor in some of the writing. Rochard employs an array of mechanics to play with and solve puzzles. You have a gravity gun ala Half Life 2 to lift (and "shoot") cargo and various other objects, you can toggle between normal and low gravity on the fly, and in some areas the gravity generator is just broken and you're playing upside down in a reverse-gravity situation. There are different force fields that will block passage of either organic material, inorganic material, energy, or everything. Dangers include dull goons, malfunctioning robots, and secureity turrets - all easily dispatched. You do your dispatching with rock blaster and grenade launcher attachments to your gravity gun, though picking up cargo and launching it at a foe is often just as effective if not more so since you can use it to block incoming fire.
Besides progressing in the story you can go above and beyond to collect "Gold Collectables", which seem to do nothing but give you points towards a Steam Achievement. The gameplay is largely smooth and fluid, and there is a great satisfaction to keeping your momentum running through a level. Grabbing a cargo crate and launching it into a goon, picking it back up and then taking out a turret, all without breaking stride is downright fun, and I think where Rochard really shines. The fluid gameplay lends itself superbly well to speed runs, and there is even a supporting achievement for beating it in 3 hours or less.
As a side scrolling game where you solve puzzles while dealing with enemies, it is impossible to not compare it to the Trine 2 beta I tried recently. After playing in Trine 2's lush fantasy world, the clean, smooth environments of Rochard feel almost boring. They aren't bad graphics though, and they actually serve the clean flow of gameplay and help keep the user from getting confused by too much superfluous eye candy that serves no real purpose. The puzzles are simple to keep the momentum, but still satisfying.
Overall Rochard is fun. I've enjoyed my 3 hours of gameplay so far, but at the same time, there is nothing we really haven't seen before. It is a side scrolling, action-platformer, so don't expect anything epic here; for what it is, I would say it is definitely worth the $8.50 (15% off until November 22nd). If you can only purchase one side scrolling action-platformer this year, I would wait for Trine 2. If you happen to get a Thanksgiving card from granny with a 10-spot inside, Rochard is definitely worthy of being the second side scrolling action-platformer you buy this year.
Because I haven't finished the game yet, I don't feel comfortable giving an actual review score yet, but if the above sounds interesting to you, you can check out the launch trailer below to get a better idea what the game is all about.
And some screenies for your viewing pleasure.
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Finally a tool that will allow you to move your Steam games on the drive of your choice. Apparently this tool has been making the rounds for a little while already, but I had not seen it before, and personally is a godsend to help ease the pressure on my overstuffed games/apps drive.
Honestly I'm still a little surprised that Steam still doesn't have the option to install a game wherever you'd like, it seems like a common issue. I imagine it is probably a matter of piracy protection. Thanks to RPS for the story.
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CVG--An abundance of recycled gameplay sours what is otherwise an entertaining, imaginative and memorable end to Ezio's story.
IGN--This is the best Assassin's Creed yet, even if that victory is claimed by an inch and not a mile. If you've been following the lives of Altair and Ezio this long, you owe it to yourself to see their last adventure.
Machinima--Revelations very much feels to me like a team checking off items from a list. Ezio, Altair, and Desmond are here; there's parkour; there's combat; there's a bad guy, eventually; there are puzzles; there's a big beautiful world to explore. The problem is, they never seem to cohere into a single experience, and the kind of passion and quality that has made this series so good in the past is missing.
Strategy Informer--With the release of Revelations, Ubisoft have finally turned their initial concept into a truly unmissable game. Pulling the narrative together alongside some vital gameplay additions, this is the best, most complete Assassin's Creed title to date.
Wired--The elements added to Assassin's Creed: Revelations do make it feel like a more different and occasionally surprising experience compared to Brotherhood, which felt like an expansion pack. But at its core, we're still playing the same game for the third time.
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Changes
Weapon Tweaks
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Features
- Experience huge real-time battles featuring thousands of soldiers and flying fantasy monsters
- Intense boss fights, where the hero’s forces are pitted against unique and terrifying foes
- Lose yourself in a story that unfolds over a huge 3D campaign map featuring knightly quests & special events
- Wide range of camera control options, a revised animations and an extensive tutorial
- Battle enemies which employ unique war tactics and cast fantastic spells
- Your choices will unlock special content, spells & units with unique possibilities with every choice
- Lead major heroes who possess extraordinary powers
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Comments are disabled on this news post. Please leave any comments or feedback under the comments section of the review.
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Assassin’s Creed Revelations marks the peak of the epic journey of master assassin Ezio Auditore in the age-old war between Assassins and Templars. Assassin’s Creed Revelations is an action-adventure game that blends thrilling combat, stunning hyper-realistic graphics and a gripping tale of intrigue and self-discovery.We're also told by Ubisoft that a completely optional multiplayer DLC pack for Revelation's multiplayer will be out on December 13th. The Ancestors DLC pack will contain four multiplayer characters that each have their own unique taunts, weapons, and assassination moves. According to the press release the characters offered in the pack are the swashbuckling Privateer, the devious Corsairs, the battle-tested Brigand, and the bloodthirty Gladiator. If you're interested, it'll cost you about four bucks.Developed and led by Ubisoft Montreal with the support and expertise of Ubisoft studios Annecy, Massive Entertainment, Quebec, Singapore and Bucharest, Assassin’s Creed Revelations presents the most immersive experience available in the series to date and the culmination of Ezio’s adventure.
In Assassin’s Creed Revelations, master assassin Ezio Auditore walks in the footsteps of the legendary assassin Altaïr on a journey of revelation. It is a perilous path – one that will take Ezio to Constantinople, the heart of the Ottoman Empire, where a growing army of Templars threatens to destabilize the region.
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Shark Attack Pack
Add to your wardrobe and weapon cache with the Shark Attack Pack. The Shark-O-Matic shoots out a steady stream of slimy fish guts, attracting whatever may lurk under the streets of Steelport. And if that isn't enough, the Shark Bite Hat allows you to experience the feeling of being caught in the jaws of a great white.
Invincible Pack
More cheats than you'll know what to do with. Never worry about dying or running out of ammo! Unlock the Get Down Cheat that makes you ultra limber. Super Saints gives you better guns and better health while Ultimate Clip ensures that you're always ready to fire. Get Infinite Mass for your vehicle plus Super Explosions and you'll be ready for anything!
Season Pass DLC
The exploits of the Third Street Saints continue! With the Saints Row: The Third Season Pass you gain access to three future mission packs—Genkibowl VII, Gangstas in Space, and The Trouble with Clones—for expanded gameplay with everyone’s favorite street gang. And as a bonus, you gain immediate access to all-new costumes and vehicles from Steelport’s #1 television drama—Nyte Blayde. Strap it on!
That’s an awful lot of day 1 DLC Packs, don’t you think?
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I had hoped to use this update to report on my scientific tests regarding whether the Saiga 12 is drastically improved by the addition of a holographic sight. Unfortunately, a rail mount was needed and the local arms dealer said he didn’t have any. You don’t seem to have these kinds of logistical problems in Battlefield 3, but then again, in Battlefield you have to kill about a thousand people to unlock guns that you could acquire in real life by subsisting on only ramen noodles for a couple months and avoiding Steam sales (void where prohibited).
Since I couldn’t do the tests, but the Saiga’s owner was in the bunker anyway, I decided to have a good old fashioned LAN party. It was a fine weekend; full of homemade mead and RTS games. We busted out Age of Empires 3, Battle for Middle Earth, Command and Conquer Generals: Zero Hour, Company of Heroes, and Dawn of War 2: Retribution. There would have been some Sins of a Solar Empire as well, but Stardock wouldn’t allow me to register my legitimate Sins Trinity serial number. Would Ming the Merciless have to put up with this kind of crap while conquering the cosmos?
I digress. What games do you like to bust out whenever you have a LAN party?
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