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APB beta "weeks not months away"
APB, the cops-and-robbers MMO by Crackdown creators Realtime Worlds, will go into closed beta testing within "weeks", a spokesman told Eurogamer at last weekend's Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle.
"We're weeks rather than months away from starting closed beta," community officer Chris Collins told our Tom after showing him an extensive demo of, according to Tom, "slick" gameplay.
APB beta registration is open if you want to stand a chance of trying out some open-world multiplayer driving, shooting, thieving and customising.
APB is due for release on PC "early" next year, with console versions under consideration but unconfirmed for release (as is so often the case with MMOs). EA is handling publishing duties. The game won't require a subscription to play.
You can read more about it in our E3 preview - or wait a couple of days for Tom's full report on the PAX demo, including an unexpected dose of the hot Mark Rein action we know you all like so much.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
APB: Beta News
Friday, September 4, 2009
Aion: Letter from Aion Producer Brian Knox on Open Beta
Letter from Aion Producer Brian Knox on Open Beta
September 3, 2009 2:07 PMHello!
Welcome to the Open Beta Test for Aion in both Europe and North America.Below you will find a list of the major changes and additions to Aion since you last participated in our Closed Beta Test. We have done our best to provide a comprehensive list of changes. The Open Beta brings the game content up to the 1.5 patch that is available in Korea; the same updates that were made to the Korean live servers are being implemented here, as well. While there may be some differences when comparing the official NA/EU notes to fan site translations of Korea's official notes, the game content is the same.
Not only does Open Beta bring a number of game improvements and additions, you'll also notice that we had a major terminology overhaul to complete our effort of Westernizing the game. Many skills and items have changed since the Closed Beta Test and should be a welcome surprise as you explore the world.
While we feel the Open Beta version will provide a complete experience, we wanted to note that this is not our final update before launch. Our launch version is in internal testing, and it will continue to flesh out the 1.5 update with the help of your feedback and experiences in Open Beta.Please remember this is an Open Beta Test, and while our goal is to provide you with a flawless Aion experience, there are behind-the-scenes infrastructure tests happening to prepare for launch. One very important area that will affect everyone is that we will be balancing races as folks rush to log into the servers. As a result, you may get a "This race cannot be created" message because that server is starting to become unbalanced. It's important to us that we try and keep a balance of the races during the Open Beta of Aion. If you come across this message, please feel free to try another server or wait until the server balance has tipped back.
Another hot topic has been our Web site and whether we will be bringing over some of the services that Korea has provided to their community. The short answer is yes! Just like the PowerWiki, we will be bringing some of these services to our own site. We hope to begin rolling them out in the coming weeks.
Overall, we are very excited for Open Beta - it is a culmination of a lot of effort and the feedback of our community. For example, one of the most requested features during Closed Beta testing was a suggestion to use the left mouse button to change the camera. We also added more content both in the persistent game world and in instanced dungeons. You'll see this change and many others were added in this game update, including:1. New Areas: Theobomos (Elysea) and Brusthonin (Asmodae)
2. New Instances!
3. Over 40 new default faces have been added to character creation.
4. Increased PvPvE rewards
5. UI changes (click-to-move has been disabled by default)
6. New items!
7. New skills + increased balance
8. Tons of new quests.
9. Advanced Stigma Stone System
10. Chat Channels
a. Class
b. Region
c. Looking For Group
d. LanguagesFind a full list of patch notes here.
With this update there is a lot of great content and a very fun world to explore, and we hope that during Open Beta you will experience the magic that is Aion.
Open Beta starts 9 a.m. PDT (5 p.m. BST, 6 p.m. CEST) on Sunday, September 6th.
Brian Knox
Producer, Aion
You Play Like A Girl
I was playing a little COD4 the other day on Vacant when all a sudden some heated bitching about a noobtuber scrolls up on my screen:
"You fuckin' noobtubing pussy."
To those familiar with FPSes, pillow talk like that is pretty normal and actually, pretty tame faire, especially for the COD4 crowd. But for those of you who prefer MMOs and aren't familiar with FPS terminology, a noobtube is usually an over powered but easily accessible weapon that takes little to no skill to use (for example, a rocket launcher or grenade launcher with sexy splash damage that you kinda' sorta' mabbe' aim in a general direction and rack up kills with.)
I don't think much about it, since I've heard much better and much more original insults with that one, usually involving someone's mother, a donkey and some cheese.
"You can't aim so you gotta' fuckin' use the noobtube, you fuckin' noob?"
I check the score. The noobtuber's only rank 14/55. He probably hasn't been playing very long, and when you start, you pretty much got the noobtube and nothing else perk wise.
I continue playing, hear some more bitching and drop an Airstrike on B since lots of idiots like to hide there in them weeds. Score! Here comes my Chopper.
And then, something that catches my attention.
"You play like a fuckin' girl."
Whoa whoa whoa whoa.
I check the leader boards.
I'm second. Where are they? Ohhh, both somewhere on the bottom on a 32 man server.
And oddly enough, I get ticked. Ticked enough to speak out.
At the end of the game I type, "You just lost to a "shitty" girl, moron."
(I know I know, not the wittiest come back, but you don't have a lot of time to type between rounds!)
* * *
Some believe that women gamers simply don't exist, a myth like the mighty Chupacabra. But in truth, WE ARE OUT THERE--we're simply stealthy and elusive. Like a Ninja (or should I say Kunoichi), or better yet, the magnificent Jackalope.
You see, the majority of competent female players tend to keep quiet, going about our business whether it be topping the DPS charts, dropping air strikes on vital choke points or "melting your face" without ramming our gender down your throat. We are "gamers" just like anyone else as opposed to "ZOMGZ TEE HEE grrl gamers," and the few that you do encounter telling people to "LOL Stop shoting, I'm a girl," or "My DPS is low because I'm PMSing ^^" are the vocal minority that give us all a bad name.
We are confident in our skills and don't need to use gender as a crutch, we can get our own Epics, and we aren't just cannon fodder for your AK-74u.
So the next time you're online someone calls you a "girl" think about it.
Is it really THAT bad to play like a winner?
XD
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
WOW: Faction Change Service Now Available
Sass: http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=19717481652&sid=1&pageNo=1
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MW2: "Leaked" Co-op & Single Player Game Play
Herky jerky, but still sekasi!
Go go fellow gamer geeks cheering in the audience. (But kinda' sad.)
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Stallone readies for fifth 'Rambo'
Source: Variety
John Rambo's officially readying for a fifth mission.WTS Wheelchair sporting a .50 Cal.Nu Image/Millennium Films has greenlit the franchise's fifth installment, with Sylvester Stallone starring and directing, repeating his duties from 2008's "Rambo."
The upcoming project's storyline revolves around Rambo fighting his way through human traffickers and drug lords to rescue a young girl abducted near the U.S.-Mexico border. Production will start in the spring.
The film will be produced by Avi Lerner, Kevin King Templeton and John Thompson. Danny Dimbort, Trevor Short and Boaz Davidson will exec produce.
Stallone had indicated in interviews that a fifth Rambo was in the works. He teamed with Nu Image/Millennium on the 2008 project, which grossed $42 million domestically and $113 million overseas.
Nu Image/Millennium is in post-production on "Expendables," starring Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li and Mickey Rourke. The actioner's set for release on April 23 through Lionsgate.
Rambo first appeared in the 1982 pic "First Blood," followed in 1985 by "First Blood II" and in 1988 by "Rambo III."
MW2: New MP Game Play Vid
WOWOWWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWWOWOWOW.
Soooo hot. SO FUCKIN' HOT. I cannot wait for this.
