Monday, December 28, 2009
Magic World Online Celebrates Christmas
Magic World Online Celebrates Christmas
Christmas is drawing near. It is the holiday for people to receive
gifts and embrace the future. How would MWO miss the opportunity to
send out the surprise for the players? So MWO is goanna share the
happiness of the holiday with all the MWO players in the game!
MWO will open two new awesome maps named Execrative Sanctuary and Wailing Stronghold around Christmas. Players can get valuable and groovy Deva items and lvl 80 Skill Books from killing the bosses there.
MWO will open two new awesome maps named Execrative Sanctuary and Wailing Stronghold around Christmas. Players can get valuable and groovy Deva items and lvl 80 Skill Books from killing the bosses there.
Besides, another event called Naughty Christmas Pig sending you the Christmas Present will be hold from 2009-12-17 to 2010-1-7. Those little pigs possess Santa Claus Blessing and his stockings which contain many shiny and tempting materials that players can get by killing the Naughty Christmas Pigs.
What’s more, MWO will open Double EXP from 2009-12-24 to 2009-12-27 and from 2010-1-1 to 2010-1-3. It will be a great thruster for junior players to level up and senior players to go for the top level in game!
DiRT 2 Review
On the PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360, Dirt 2 is an off-road racing
game that's difficult to fault, but sadly, that's not the case on the
Wii. There are some great course designs, and there's definitely fun to
be had racing on them. That fun is short-lived, though, and the lack of
longevity combined with subpar visuals, choppy frame rates, and
inconsistent opponent AI make the Wii version of Dirt 2 difficult to
recommend.
In addition to split-screen support for up to four players, Dirt 2
offers three different modes for solo play. World Tour is a career mode
in which you start out as a clubman driver and progress up through the
amateur, pro-am, and professional racing ranks. Arcade mode lets you
race individual events and championships without the constraints of the
World Tour structure. Challenges are where Dirt 2 gets some much-needed
variety in the form of Last Man Standing, Powerslide, Airtime, and
Gatecrasher events. The problem is that none of these event types,
including the regular races, are very good.
Races in Dirt 2 involve only four drivers, and on the default difficulty setting, you can generally expect to be leading the field by the time you exit the second or third corner and then not give your opposition a second thought until the next race. That's because AI drivers, while occasionally very quick and aggressive, have a habit of slowing down for corners far more than necessary. They also seem oblivious to your existence at times, so if you make a mistake that affords them an opportunity to catch up, there's a good chance they'll crash straight into the back of you rather than make an intelligent attempt to overtake. Raising the difficulty level makes things a little more challenging, but switching up to the pro setting doesn't make your opposition significantly more formidable. Rather, the clubman, amateur, and pro settings merely determine how many driving aids are behind the scenes making your car easier to handle.
The best thing that can be said about the racing is that the course
designs offer some interesting and varied challenges. The UK track is
recognizable as a caricature of the twisting rallycross that graced
other versions of Dirt 2, but other locales, such as Japan and China,
feature very different layouts. There's also a hilly Iceland circuit
where you spend some time racing on snow and ice, which isn't radically
different from racing on sand but at least provides a change of
scenery. Unfortunately, no matter where you're racing, Dirt 2 is never
easy on the eyes. Cars and trucks all look good, and it's neat that
they get dirty as races progress. The same can't be said for the
environments that you're racing through, though, which can all be
described as either "ugly" or "uglier."
Getting through the World Tour mode should only take you three or four hours, and it's made easier by the fact that once you unlock the somewhat overpowered Mk II Ford Escort, you have the option to use it in every subsequent race--even those between buggies and trophy trucks. None of the World Tour races are so good that you're likely to revisit them in Arcade mode, so that just leaves Challenge mode. There are five different types of challenges, but only four of each in which to earn bronze, silver, or gold trophies. The weakest of these challenges are Trailblazer events, which are just time trials with target times to beat; and Last Man Standing races, which eliminate the last-place driver at the end of each lap until only one remains. Better than those are the Gatecrasher races, which force you to drive well so that you can pass through gates at required speeds; and Powerslide events, in which your score is based solely on how long you spend drifting. Airtime challenges that score you according to how much time you spend in the air after hitting ramps that are scattered all over the courses sound like fun on paper, but it's far too easy to attain gold scores for them in solo play.
Split-screen multiplayer support doesn't add much to Dirt 2. Your
opposition is more believable and some of the challenges are more fun,
but the visuals get even worse. And the sound effects--which are at
least inoffensive during solo play--crescendo into a confusing mess
when they're playing for three or four drivers simultaneously. The
dozen or so licensed songs on the soundtrack are a good fit at least.
When you add an infrequent but irritating bug that causes your car to
stop and respawn when you clearly haven't strayed out of bounds to this
already undesirable mix, you're left with a racing game that's
definitely best avoided.
Read More
Close, competitive racing like this doesn't last for long against the AI.
Races in Dirt 2 involve only four drivers, and on the default difficulty setting, you can generally expect to be leading the field by the time you exit the second or third corner and then not give your opposition a second thought until the next race. That's because AI drivers, while occasionally very quick and aggressive, have a habit of slowing down for corners far more than necessary. They also seem oblivious to your existence at times, so if you make a mistake that affords them an opportunity to catch up, there's a good chance they'll crash straight into the back of you rather than make an intelligent attempt to overtake. Raising the difficulty level makes things a little more challenging, but switching up to the pro setting doesn't make your opposition significantly more formidable. Rather, the clubman, amateur, and pro settings merely determine how many driving aids are behind the scenes making your car easier to handle.
London has rarely looked more depressing than it does during this race festival.
Getting through the World Tour mode should only take you three or four hours, and it's made easier by the fact that once you unlock the somewhat overpowered Mk II Ford Escort, you have the option to use it in every subsequent race--even those between buggies and trophy trucks. None of the World Tour races are so good that you're likely to revisit them in Arcade mode, so that just leaves Challenge mode. There are five different types of challenges, but only four of each in which to earn bronze, silver, or gold trophies. The weakest of these challenges are Trailblazer events, which are just time trials with target times to beat; and Last Man Standing races, which eliminate the last-place driver at the end of each lap until only one remains. Better than those are the Gatecrasher races, which force you to drive well so that you can pass through gates at required speeds; and Powerslide events, in which your score is based solely on how long you spend drifting. Airtime challenges that score you according to how much time you spend in the air after hitting ramps that are scattered all over the courses sound like fun on paper, but it's far too easy to attain gold scores for them in solo play.
It only takes a few hours to reach the pro stages of the World Tour mode.
Shippin' Out December 20-26: Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles
Square Enix's Crystal Bearers for the Wii leads a light release slate including the retail launch of Guitar Hero: Van Halen.
'Twas the week before (and including) Christmas, and all through the
lands, not a game was releasing, except for a pair of big brands.
Tortured poetry aside, this week sees just two big retail releases:
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers for the Wii and
Guitar Hero: Van Halen on a handful of platforms.
Square Enix is intentionally releasing a game in the last week of the year. Is the publisher crazy or brilliant?
The release plans of this week's other title are almost as unconventional. Months ago, Square Enix chose the day after Christmas to launch its latest Wii installment in the Final Fantasy franchise. While other major games have launched in the last week of the year before (Dead or Alive 4 for the Xbox 360 released December 29, 2005), it's more common for that to happen by delay rather than by design.
Release dates are based on retailer listings and are subject to change.
MONDAY, DECEMBER 21
No new releases announced.
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 22
Guitar Hero: Van Halen--PS3, X360, Wii, PS2--Activision
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 23
No new releases announced.
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24
No new releases announced.
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 25
No new releases announced.
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 26
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers--WII--Square Enix
Revenge of the Wounded Dragons Review
Revenge of the Wounded Dragons? More like Revenge of Double Dragon. Artificial Mind & Movement's new side-scrolling beat-'em-up is a love letter to the original kung-fu fighter from 1987, right down to the Karate Kid-style brother protagonists in cheesy red and blue fighting togs. And like all good mash notes, this one includes a little bit of creativity: the developers have added some platform jumping, minigames, and basic puzzles to all of the punching-people-out stuff. So even though this downloadable game may be aimed straight at your nostalgia gene, it mixes in enough innovation to hold your interest through the moments that your brain tells you that you've done all this before. And for just $10, that's a good deal.
Pipes, baseball bats, sacks of rice, fish--just about anything can be used as a weapon in Revenge of the Wounded Dragons.
The action is fast and furious, although brawling is on the simple side. You can kill most enemy goons with basic button-mashing punches, messing around only occasionally with kicking or ducking to wallop the heck out of the groins of guys who know how to protect their faces but not the more tender portions of their anatomy. While you can pull off combos, most are simple punch and kick variations that come up routinely in the course of button mashing. Scraps are just long enough to get your blood pumping without stretching into boring, please-die-soon territory. Controls are good and fluid for the most part, only feeling a touch stiff in spots when climbing ladders or leaping to grab ledges. The only minor irritation when punching it out is the lengthy pause when you get knocked down. This delay is long enough to allow baddies to get in close and then hammer you again as soon as you stagger to your feet, unless you immediately leap out of harm's way.
A few frills spice up the fisticuffs. Levels are littered with all sorts of cool ways to create mayhem, from the genre-standard baseball bats, knives, and shotguns, to more esoteric options like kendo sticks and sacks of rice. Basic attacks and power-ups also charge your chi bar, which can be used to activate a Dragon Rage freak-out that ups your speed and damage for a limited time. Stunned enemies can be finished off with special attacks, like the Iron Fist head-butt you can deliver to foes on the ground. Enemies don't vary much, aside from cosmetic changes to outfits, so you don't have to alter your tactics. Bad guys include fat slobs with cleavers and leaping karate masters in satin jumpsuits, but you can cut them down to size with some fast punching and kicking. Even the level bosses don't mix things up. Most are just bigger and tougher variations on the standard thugs, equipped with a goofy name and some sort of special weapon, like a chain or throwing knives. If you ever do get into a tough spot against a gang of thugs or a boss, you can usually grab a nearby weapon to help even the odds.
Gorgeous scenery can be found in every level.
Even better, the backdrop does more than just sit there like a painting. Much of it is interactive. Instead of just walking straight left to right across levels, you go up and down via ladders and various jumping challenges and puzzles, explore hidden areas, collect special items like golden statues, and even occasionally deal with 3D threats like a spiked log that swings out of the background at you. Minigames are also unlocked as you proceed through the story, allowing you to take on various challenges, like avoiding fire traps while jumping around to grab hanging green lanterns. With that said, there isn't anything revolutionary here. It's tough to finish some of the minigames once, even when going up against a friend, let alone contemplate going back for seconds. But the little platform concepts add up and do a great job of livening up the standard side-scrolling action.
If you are at a "been there, done that" stage with side-scrolling fighters, you don't want to bother with Revenge of the Wounded Dragons. But if you have even the tiniest bit of room in your life for a new game that seems a lot like an old friend all snazzied up for a night on the town, this is a good way to get reacquainted with the many fine points of the old-fashioned button-mash beatdown.
PSN gets MAG beta, Savage Moon PSP
PlayStation Store Update: Client arrives for online
shooter and portable tower defense title debuts as Sony slashes prices
on an array of downloadable titles.
This week's retail release list for Sony systems is embarrassingly
light, consisting entirely of Guitar Hero: Van Halen for the
PlayStation 3. However, the PlayStation maker is compensating with an
assortment of new releases and seasonal deals on its downloadable
storefront.
MAG is almost here.
PS3 owners looking for more immediate gratification have a number of new options at their disposal, starting with the fighting game Battle Fantasia from Arc System Works ($19.99). Although this marks the game's domestic debut for the PS3, Battle Fantasia was originally released on the Xbox 360 last year and on both platforms internationally.
The PlayStation Store is also adding the new PS3 block-based puzzler Polar Panic ($9.99) to its catalog, as well as a $19.99 PixelJunk bundle that includes the developer's first three games: PixelJunk Racers, PixelJunk Monsters, and PixelJunk Eden.
Sony is also padding out its selection of original PlayStation games with the 1997 port of the space combat game Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom. It turns out The Price of Freedom is $5.99, which buys a version of the game playable on the PS3, as well as the PSP, and features a cutscene-intensive storyline with live-action footage featuring the likes of Mark Hamill and Malcolm McDowell. The game's emphasis on video can be seen in its 2.25GB file size (nearly twice the size of Battle Fantasia).
Gamers on the go for the holidays can also check the PlayStation Store for new PSP releases, led by a portable edition of the tower defense game Savage Moon. The $9.99 download lets players protect a mining colony from vicious buglike creatures with the strategic placement of defenses. The PSP catalog is also bolstered by the arrival of Me & My Katamari ($19.99), Football Manager Handheld 2010 ($23.99), and Aedis Eclipse ($9.99).
Sony is also getting into the holiday spirit with price breaks throughout the PlayStation Store until January 7. Sega and Electronic Arts in particular have cut prices on many of their offerings, from add-on packs to full game downloads for both PS3 and PSP. A full list of the week's deals, new PlayStation Store content, including themes, wallpapers, demos, and add-on content is available on the official PlayStation Blog.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Green Day: Rock Band coming next year
For decades, music fans have asked who the next Beatles would be. When
it comes to the Rock Band franchise, the answer is Green Day. In a taped appearance on tonight's VGAs ceremony,
the members of Green Day announced that there will be an entire Rock
Band game dedicated to their music a la The Beatles: Rock Band.
Ironically, tonight's announcement was the second time the San
Francisco Bay Area band had revealed Green Day: Rock Band. Although
Harmonix and MTV Games wouldn't confirm the news at the time, Green Day
lead singer Billy Joe Armstrong told a radio station in June that a Rock Band dedicated to the group's music was due later in 2009. Armstrong was mistaken, but only about one thing; it is actually set for 2010.
When it arrives, Green Day: Rock Band will feature the band's music, "favorite venues," and on-stage imagery. A handful of gameplay clips accompanied the address, featuring virtual representations of the band performing "American Idiot" amid the familiar trapping of Rock Band's four-player interface.
Unlike The Beatles, Green Day's dedicated game won't mark its debut in rhythm games. Three of the band's songs from 21st Century Breakdown have already been added to the Rock Band downloadable catalog, and another three from the album are set to debut December 15.
[UPDATE] In a subsequent press release, MTV Games said Green Day: Rock Band was in development for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii. The game's song list will be fully exportable, allowing its songs to be played in Rock Band and Rock Band 2.
Want to be an American Idiot?
When it arrives, Green Day: Rock Band will feature the band's music, "favorite venues," and on-stage imagery. A handful of gameplay clips accompanied the address, featuring virtual representations of the band performing "American Idiot" amid the familiar trapping of Rock Band's four-player interface.
Unlike The Beatles, Green Day's dedicated game won't mark its debut in rhythm games. Three of the band's songs from 21st Century Breakdown have already been added to the Rock Band downloadable catalog, and another three from the album are set to debut December 15.
[UPDATE] In a subsequent press release, MTV Games said Green Day: Rock Band was in development for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii. The game's song list will be fully exportable, allowing its songs to be played in Rock Band and Rock Band 2.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker due May 25
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker due May 25
PSP installment in Konami and Hideo Kojima's stealth action series gets a North American release date, UK launch set for May 28.
Another piece of the puzzling Metal Gear Solid series plotline is about
to fall into place. Konami today announced that Metal Gear Solid: Peace
Walker is set to launch in North America on May 25, 2010. It will ship
three days later in the UK.
No matter where you go, there you are. And there, and there, and there.
One of the big new additions to Peace Walker is cooperative multiplayer action for up to four players. Gamers can pick from one of four Snakes, each with its own equipment and focus on stealth, combat, or a mix of the two.
Peace Walker also plays with the standard structure of past Metal Gear games. Players will be able to revisit previously completed missions, and Konami is borrowing a page from its recent Metroid-inspired Castlevania games to give them a reason to. Snake will earn new abilities as he progresses through the game, enabling him to reach secret areas from earlier levels on a repeat visit.
Take-Two shares lose 30%, analysts react
After the close of trading Thursday, Take-Two Interactive delayed Max Payne 3 by a few months and gave investors a grim outlook
on its current fiscal year. The effect in after-hours trading was
immediate, as shares in the publisher lost 21 percent of their value in
a matter of minutes. That was just the beginning, as shares of Take-Two
have continued sliding, down $3.34 (31 percent) at press time from
yesterday's closing price of $10.92.
One
difference between last night's trading and this morning's is that a
handful of industry analysts have now weighed in with their reactions
to Take-Two's negative announcements. While the response was mixed,
some industry watchers didn't bother mincing words.
Saying his confidence in Take-Two management "can not get any lower," Pacific Crest Securities Evan Wilson blasted the publisher's leadership for the 14th and 15th game delays since it took over in mid-2007 and for failing to make the company profitable without relying on Grand Theft Auto.
"We believe there are better ways to invest in video games via names that are not inextricably tied to a single franchise with a management team that has not established an investable track record," Wilson wrote.
Wilson acknowledged that delaying a game to make it better can be a preferable alternative to releasing an unfinished game on time but said if delays happen "to nearly every game released, structural problems likely exist at the company. Take-Two seems to remind investors every quarter that it falls into this category."
Janco Partners' Mike Hickey was similarly disappointed in Take-Two's announcement, retracting his previous "Buy" rating on the stock and placing it under review. He also expressed frustration at the publisher's reluctance to detail development expenses or reveal how many copies games would need to sell to achieve profitability.
"We are astonished at the level of disconnect between street expectations and management's guidance," Hickey said, "suggesting a profound misunderstanding of the company's profitability potential. Management credibility has been meaningfully compromised, in our view; although ultimate performance is product-centric, we remain alarmed provided the lack of clarity."
Not all analysts were so down on the company. Wedbush Morgan Securities' Michael Pachter maintained his "Neutral" rating on the stock but saw a variety of factors the publisher could have working in its favor.
"With no profitability in sight, investors may again conclude that Take-Two is a 'one-hit wonder' with GTA and little else," Pachter said. "We disagree and think that the company has at least eight bona fide franchises, with the potential for 10 or 12. We perceive the problem to be an overly ambitious development schedule, with high expectations and high quality standards leading to inevitable delays."
He also expressed frustration with Take-Two's reluctance to detail its future plans for Grand Theft Auto but said the company could still succeed even with one new installment every three years. If Take-Two generated $3 earnings per share in years when proper Grand Theft Auto installments came out, Pachter said the publisher could easily weather off-years with $0.50 losses per share and still grow the business. (Take-Two's expectations for fiscal 2010 are between $0.40 and $0.60 losses per share.)
"Perhaps next year, things will be different."
Saying his confidence in Take-Two management "can not get any lower," Pacific Crest Securities Evan Wilson blasted the publisher's leadership for the 14th and 15th game delays since it took over in mid-2007 and for failing to make the company profitable without relying on Grand Theft Auto.
"We believe there are better ways to invest in video games via names that are not inextricably tied to a single franchise with a management team that has not established an investable track record," Wilson wrote.
Wilson acknowledged that delaying a game to make it better can be a preferable alternative to releasing an unfinished game on time but said if delays happen "to nearly every game released, structural problems likely exist at the company. Take-Two seems to remind investors every quarter that it falls into this category."
Janco Partners' Mike Hickey was similarly disappointed in Take-Two's announcement, retracting his previous "Buy" rating on the stock and placing it under review. He also expressed frustration at the publisher's reluctance to detail development expenses or reveal how many copies games would need to sell to achieve profitability.
"We are astonished at the level of disconnect between street expectations and management's guidance," Hickey said, "suggesting a profound misunderstanding of the company's profitability potential. Management credibility has been meaningfully compromised, in our view; although ultimate performance is product-centric, we remain alarmed provided the lack of clarity."
Not all analysts were so down on the company. Wedbush Morgan Securities' Michael Pachter maintained his "Neutral" rating on the stock but saw a variety of factors the publisher could have working in its favor.
"With no profitability in sight, investors may again conclude that Take-Two is a 'one-hit wonder' with GTA and little else," Pachter said. "We disagree and think that the company has at least eight bona fide franchises, with the potential for 10 or 12. We perceive the problem to be an overly ambitious development schedule, with high expectations and high quality standards leading to inevitable delays."
He also expressed frustration with Take-Two's reluctance to detail its future plans for Grand Theft Auto but said the company could still succeed even with one new installment every three years. If Take-Two generated $3 earnings per share in years when proper Grand Theft Auto installments came out, Pachter said the publisher could easily weather off-years with $0.50 losses per share and still grow the business. (Take-Two's expectations for fiscal 2010 are between $0.40 and $0.60 losses per share.)
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