R.I.P Duke Nukem Forever
Peace.
Source: Duke Nukem Developer 3D Realms Shuts Down (Update 3)
Image source: NeoGaf
WoW patch 3.1 is finally out
After months of teasing and waiting for new gear, World of Warcraft poopsockers players are able to head into Ulduar to conquer new content.
Here’s a small trailer showing what awaits:
In addition to Ulduar, the patch brings a huge number of changes to the game, from fundamental ones such as allowing ground mounts to swim (yes!) to balance tweaks for each class. Given the amount of time this has been in testing, I can only hope that class balance has improved since the last time I played the game.
The full patch notes can be found over at Blizzard’s patch notes page.
Blizzard, Mountain Dew partner to bring more addiction to the masses
Blizzard and Mountain dew will partner to bring gamers World of Warcraft-themed Game Fuel, in Alliance and Horde flavors.
Since MMO addiction and caffeine addiction go hand in hand, it was really just a matter of time. The pristine and beatiful Alliance get the Wild Fruit flavor, while the Horde gets Citrus Cherry (the same flavor of the Halo 3 Game Fuel).
There’s no release date on the special sodas yet, but if I were to speculate, I’d guess “summer.”
Starsiege: Tribes coming to a browser near you
Instantaction.com will bring a web-based version of the classic FPS Starsiege: Tribes to GDC next week. The news comes almost 9 months after the launch of Fallen Empire: Legions, the spiritual successor to the Tribes series.
The relaunched Starsiege: Tribes includes better graphics and more mod support as a result of being integrated into InstantAction.com. View the first screenshots here:
WoW Armory integration comes to GGL
Want to show your GGL friends how much you own at your favorite games or how great your World of Warcraft character is?
You’re in luck. We’ve just updated our stat and score tracking system to better showcase your skills, and added everyone’s favorite MMO (World of Warcraft) into the mix.
Stat and score integration is currently enabled for Warhawk, Guitar Hero World Tour, MLB 08: The Show, and World of Warcraft.
Once you’re done, just go play. Your scores, stats and WoW character progress will automatically filter back into your profile.
Rage will NOT be out this year
id Software’s post-apocalyptic driving-shooter-mutant-hunter Rage will not be out this year, according to CEO Todd Hollenshead.
Speaking in an interview with GametrailersTV, Hollenshead said the game “won’t be out this year,” a definitive statement if there ever was one, but some controversy erupted as to whether or not Hollenshead said “will” or “won’t.”
Luckily interviewer and show host Geoff Keighley stepped in through Twitter, saying: “Todd said the game won’t be out this year.”
And there you have it. The game will be released “when it’s fun and when it’s done,” according to Tim Willits.
GGL opens MLB 2k9 ladders
To keep up with the brisk pace of releases in March, we’ve opened MLB 2k9 1v1 ladders for you to to outsmart, out-pitch and out-hit baseball wannabees on three platforms.
Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC gamers alike are invited to join our ladders. All of the ladders can be accessed on the MLB 2k9 game page, but
Click here to join our Xbox 360 MLB 2k9 ladder.
Click here to join our PlayStation 3 MLB 2k9 ladder.
Click here to join our PC MLB 2k9 ladder.
GGL Quake Live ladders launch, announcement hits Wired
Just as a reminder to all Quake Live players out there, GGL’s ladders for the new game are live to coincide with the launch of the Quake Live open beta.
We’re running four ladders, all of which can be found on our Quake Live community homepage:
- Quake Live beta TDM ladder
- Quake Live beta 1v1 ladder
- Quake Live beta CTF ladder
- Quake Live beta Clan Arena ladder
Keep in mind that you can play against some of the most storied Quake players of all time on these ladders, with Jason “Unholy” Carlton, Amir “hakeem” Haleem and Jared “cha0ticz” Cugno joining in the battle.
There’s a 30,000 person queue for beta keys, and to join in, you can visit www.quakelive.com.
Blizzard dishes on WoW dual specs
Blizzard poster Nethaera intereviewed…Blizzard poster Ghostcrawler today on the upcoming dual spec feature in World of Warcraft, which will allow players to switch talents and roles in game far more easily than before.
Ghostcrawler answered perhaps the most important question on gamers’ minds here:
Nethaera: How do you switch between specs?
Ghostcrawler: Players will be able to switch between their talent specs by visiting any Lexicon of Power provided they’ve paid for the ability to have a secondary spec. Lexicons of Power will be available in major cities, and inscribers will also be able to create a new item that summons one. Anyone can purchase this item, but it requires a ritual of several players to summon it for use by the party. It’s similar to a repair bot in that it will exist in the world for a short duration. It’s important to keep in mind that you will not be able to switch specs while in combat or Arenas. While you won’t be able to switch your spec without the Lexicon, you will still be able to look at your secondary spec whenever you want to.
Ultimately it will be more convenient to switch specs, but probably not as convenient as some players would like (at will when entering a dungeon or arena). Any portable item created by inscribers is going to cost someone money, too. GC also let loose this info about gear management, potentially obsoleting several gear management addons for the game:
Nethaera: Will you be able to switch gear easily to match your spec?
Ghostcrawler: At the same time we implement dual specs, we will also be setting up a gear system. The feature is called “Gear Manager.” It can also be used to just swap weapons or trinkets or put on that tuxedo to strut around town. It will not automatically switch your gear when you change your talent spec, but it will allow for an easy gear change between them. The feature may not be fully functional immediately in the PTR, but we’ll have more information to share about it before too much longer.
StarCraft II beta, new Battle.net ‘in the next few months’
Today’s Activision-Blizzard earnings call was a whopper. Blizzard COO Paul Sams revealed that the StarCraft II beta and updated Battle.net will be released “in the next few months.”
Unfortunately, no release date was given for the game, but you can be sure it’ll see release “when it’s done.”
Additionally, a 4th quarter release date has been confirmed for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, and Blizzard’s unannounced MMO title is in the “no comment” stages.
Lastly, ATVI “won’t be distracted by any layoffs” according to CEO Bobby Kotick as it outperformed industry predictions, returning 31 cents per share instead of 29 cents.
Surprise! Unannounced WoW 3.09 patch goes live this week
A previously unannounced patch for World of Warcraft will go live this week, bringing the game to version 3.09. This will bridge the gap between the current version, 3.08, and the significantly more massive 3.1 patch, which is far from release.
3.09 includes a few major changes, namely:
Paladins:
- The duration on all Seals has been increased to 30 minutes and can no longer dispelled.
- Divine Plea: The amount healed by your spells is reduced by 50% (up from 20%) but the effect can no longer be dispelled.
Mages:
- Arcane Power now increases damage and mana cost by 10%, cooldown reduced to 1 minute. (Note: The spell is actually different in game and increases damage and mana costs by 20% with a 2 minutes cooldown. However it would probably be better to wait until servers are online to confirm that.)
- Arcane Power and Presence of Mind now share a category cooldown. Arcane Power causes a 15 second cooldown. Presence of Mind, once consumed, causes a 1.5 second cooldown.
MMO-Champion has a full breakdown of the changes, but the Divine Plea and AP/PoM changes are huge nerfs for Holy Paladins and Arcane Mages, which appear to be well-deserved in light of current PVP standings. Holy Paladins are by far the best PVP healers due to being clad in plate armor, while Mages have, according to many players, the single most ridiculous burst damage in the game.
With 3.09 in effect Wednesday, Mages no longer have 11,000 or more burst damage on hand with a single click, reducing their obscene damage significantly.
We’ll see how this all plays out as the weeks follow into 3.1, but it seems Blizzard is serious about balancing the huge amount of PvP DPS running around after all.
The Doom 4 mo-cap interview: First production shots revealed!
Interview removed by request of id Software.