| Ragnarok Online 2 beta IP locked to Asia Jan 3rd 2013, 01:56 English language open beta for MMO sequel launches on January 3; IP locked to Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. 
Ragnarok Online 2: The Legend of the Second's open beta is finally here, but only if you happen to be living in Southeast Asia. The beta, which was originally scheduled to go live on December 27, 2012, has been pushed back, and is now set to launch on January 3. The delay was apparently due to high traffic and server congestion experienced on the original beta date, which forced the South East Asian distributor of Ragnarok Online 2--Asiasoft--to delay the launch. All character data accumulated between December 27 and January 3 will also be wiped when the official open beta begins. And while the beta goes live today, it will only be available to Asiasoft's target countries in Southeast Asia. According to a post on the game's Facebook page, only gamers from Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam will be able to access the game due to Asiasoft's "licence agreement with the game's developer, Gravity Co." Asiasoft's launch of the game is the first English-language version of the MMO sequel to be released worldwide. For more information on Ragnarok Online 2, check out our Now Playing of the closed beta below. Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
|  | Connecticut town collecting and destroying games Jan 2nd 2013, 22:16 In the wake of deadly school shooting, Southington group encouraging families to get rid of violent games in exchange for gift certificates. 
Following the massacre in Newtown, Conn. that left 20 children and six adults dead on December 14, community leaders in the nearby town of Southington (about 35 minutes away) are planning to collect and destroy violent video games, as well as CDs and DVDs. The Hartford Courant reports that volunteers will assemble at the Southington Drive-In on January 12 to accept any video games parents or children wish to get rid of. These games will be destroyed, and each family will receive a gift certificate to a local restaurant, the Lake Compounce amusement park, or a bowling alley. "We want to stop the violence in our community," Southington board president of the chamber of commerce said Charlie Cocuzza said. "Those games can cost $60 or $70. So we want to give families a certificate to do something fun and family-oriented, something where they can spend a couple of hours together instead." The initiative is being spearheaded by the Southing SOS community group. The organization made clear it is not linking violent games directly to the killings at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Instead, they suggest that now is a suitable time for parents to engage their children in discussions about whether or not playing violent games is appropriate. "We're not saying the use of video games causes people to become murderers, but there's evidence that it causes increases in aggressiveness, fear, anxiety and desensitization about actions of violence," said director of community services Susan Saucier. National Rifle Association vice president Wayne LaPierre said at a press conference last month that violent video games like Bulletstorm and Mortal Kombat were partially to blame for December 14's deadly shooting in Connecticut. California senator Leland Yee called this claim "mind-boggling." Earlier in December, West Virginia senator Jay Rockefeller introduced a bill to Congress that would direct the National Academy of Sciences to investigate how violent games and other such programming affect children. Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
| | Pikmin 3 to bring 'stress' back to series Jan 2nd 2013, 21:40 Shigeru Miyamoto says it's "back to basics" for upcoming Wii U entry in real-time strategy series. 
Pikmin 3 for Wii U will be a "back-to-basics" Pikmin game that aims to return "stress" to the series. That's according to designer Shigeru Miyamoto, who told United Kingdom magazine GamesMaster (via Official Nintendo Magazine) that Pikmin 3 aims to capture the essence of the first game. "First of all, by looking at Pikmin 1 we noticed that it wasn't a very easy game for people to play, and from time to time they had to feel some stress," Miyamoto said. "Our main aim in Pikmin 2 was to get rid of any stress as much as possible, so that it would be very user-friendly. Well, I myself couldn't agree with that direction perfectly. That kind of nature of Pikmin 1 was exactly what I wanted to reproduce and I was actually intentionally doing so, so that Pikmin 1 could be a strategic game." Miyamoto explained that when Nintendo began to conceive Pikmin 3, he gathered the core developers from Pikmin 2 and instructed them that it was important to return to the basics of Pikmin 1. This did not come easy, he said. "Or I should say that half of my job at that time wasn't just to talk, but rather to persuade them to understand what I intended to do and to agree to my idea," Miyamoto said. Pikmin 3--recently delayed to the April-June quarter--was announced during Nintendo's 2012 Electronic Entertainment Expo briefing in June. It is a direct sequel to 2004's GameCube title Pikmin 2 and introduces new features like a Rock Pikmin, which can be used to destroy hard objects. The game is fully playable with just the Wii U GamePad, but can also be directed with a Wii MotionPlus controller. Miyamoto previously explained that the game skipped online multiplayer because having numerous small creatures onscreen at once would present problems when syncing up over an Internet connection. For more on Pikmin 3, check out GameSpot's preview from E3 2012. Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
| | Same-sex romance confirmed for Star Wars: The Old Republic Jan 2nd 2013, 20:45 BioWare producer says same-gender options with some NPCs--but not companions--will be available with upcoming expansion. 
Same-sex romance is coming to Star Wars: The Old Republic. BioWare executive producer Jeff Hickman penned a "State of the Game" blog entry today, in which he confirmed that the massively multiplayer online role-playing game will add same-gender romance options with the upcoming Rise of the Hutt Cartel expansion. At first, same-sex romance will be limited to "some" NPCs on the new planet Makeb, though more options will be available in the future, Hickman said. Same-sex romance in Star Wars: The Old Republic has been a long time coming. Hickman apologized that this feature is "taking so long," and said implementing such a system is proving a taller task that originally thought. Hickman explained that same-sex incorporation into The Old Republic was put on the back burner as BioWare focused on implementing the changes necessary to add a free-to-play option. The Rise of the Hutt Cartel add-on increases the massively multiplayer online role-playing game's level cap to 55, adds a new planet called Makeb, and features fully-voiced conversations. Star Wars: The Old Republic launched just over a year ago behind generally favorable reviews, selling 2 million copies in its first three months. Subscriber figures fell and the game added a free-to-play option last month. For more, check out GameSpot's review of Star Wars: The Old Republic. Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
| | FIFA 13 named AbleGamers Game of the Year Jan 2nd 2013, 20:16 Charitable foundation selects EA Sports' soccer game as the most accessible mainstream title for its control scheme and AI and PC settings. 
The AbleGamers Foundation today announced that EA Sports' soccer simulator FIFA 13 is the recipient of the charity's Accessible Mainstream Game of the Year award. The foundation praised FIFA 13 for how it allows players to control the entire game with only a mouse, among other features. AbleGamers editor-in-chief Steve Spohn specifically praised FIFA 13's remappable keys, customizable color options, high-contrast and "intuitive" menus, visual cues, and "high socializing replayability," which all helped the soccer sim take home the award. "For disabled gamers with Muscular Dystrophy, Cerebral Palsy, Multiple Sclerosis, and even one-handed gamers, the ability to play such a sophisticated sports game with simple controls that can be handled by a trackball or mouse mean gamers who may not have been able to enjoy iconic sporting activities like baseball, football, hockey or soccer can now take part in the fun," Spohn said. The top reason FIFA 13 was awarded the Accessible Mainstream Game of the Year accolade, however, was the game's AI and PC settings, which allow disabled players to tweak to the game to their needs. Spohn pointed out that FIFA 13 can be slowed down. This, he said, allows gamers with cognitive disorders and motor impairments to set an appropriate rate of speed. 2K Games' XCOM: Enemy Unknown was called out as an honorable mention for the top award based on its remappable keys, the ability to play with the keyboard or only the mouse, its subtitles, and colorblind mode. Call of Duty: Black Ops II and Dishonored were also called out as games making strides toward accessibility in 2012. Overall, Spohn said 2012 was a "very encouraging year" for game accessibility, with some of the most disability-friendly titles to date releasing during the year. Though the year was generally positive, some games moved backwards, Spohn said, including Forza Horizon. This entry, released in October, removed "many of the most crucial accessibility features" that were present in 2010 award-winner Forza MotorSport 3, Spohn said. Last year's Accessible Mainstream Game of the Year award was given to Star Wars: The Old Republic for incorporating accessibility features like colorblind options, full subtitles, and control options. The AbleGamers Foundation is a public charity with a stated mission of promoting accessibility in games with a goal to "ensure that all people, regardless of their disability, can use gaming as a tool to have enriched social experiences with friends, family, and the world at large." More information is available at the group's official website. Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
| |
Niciun comentariu:
Trimiteți un comentariu