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Star Trek Online Open Beta Plans, Videos

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 21:57:56 +0000

Atari and Cryptic have set a schedule for the open beta test of Star Trek Online, which will run for two weeks from January 12 to January 26, 2010. There aren't many details in the press release, but I assume that they're using the same sign-up form as for the closed beta, and that closed beta applicants will be considered for open beta. Videos of the game have been coming out at a rapid pace, the most revealing of which are likely Starship Tactics Part 1 and Part 2. It's apparent that they're going for RPG-style combat mechanics, and the class structure also seems to have the familiar "tank, damage dealer, support" dynamic.

Star Trek Online Open Beta Plans, Videos originally appeared on About.com Internet Games on Saturday, November 21st, 2009 at 21:57:56.

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Top Multiplayer RTS Games

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:42:19 +0000

There's nothing quite like breaching your enemy's fortifications with a catapult, or swarming their inferior base with an inpenetrable wall of mammoth tanks. Every year there seems to be several good titles added to this genre, which included Dawn of War II and Men of War in 2009. If you or someone you know might enjoy a frenzied multiplayer skirmish this holiday season, here's a list of real-time strategy games that you should consider.

Top Multiplayer RTS Games originally appeared on About.com Internet Games on Wednesday, November 18th, 2009 at 12:42:19.

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Left 4 Dead 2 Released

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:18:25 +0000

The sequel to Valve's hit zombie blaster is now in stores and unlocked on Steam, where there is also a demo available. Now you can bash them with frying pans, cut them up with chain saws, and club them with baseball bats, among other things. Left 2 Dead 2 also features improvements to the AI Director, which made co-op play very popular in the original.

Left 4 Dead 2 Released originally appeared on About.com Internet Games on Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 at 14:18:25.

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Second Modern Warfare 2 PC Petition

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 10:16:39 +0000

Although Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has been breaking all sorts of sales records on consoles, PC gamers are still, for the most part, bitter about missing features they've come to expect from the series, notably dedicated servers for multiplayer. The first petition over this, which began before the game's release, reached 215 thousand "signatures," but not surprisingly, there were a few duplicates in there. Now that the game is out, someone decided a second, more concise petition is in order, and they're asking that you only sign it once. They would like Infinity Ward to patch the following features into the PC version of the game:

Support for an in-game console
Support for the "/record" feature
Support for the lean feature
Support for auto-balancing
Support for multiple profiles
Support for better Graphics and FOV control
Support for actual ping readouts in ms (not graphs)
Support for a tournament game type (like Promod)
Support for mod tools and modded Dedicated Servers
Support for Punkbuster enabled Dedicated Servers
Support for Dedicated Server admins to choose player numbers (Max: 50)
Support for PC gamers to choose if they wish to connect to an IWNet P2P server or a Dedicated Server (hosted by clans/individuals, etc)

It's interesting to note that hackers have allegedly already found ways to access the console and change key game settings, although that sort of thing could result in a permanent ban from Steam.

Second Modern Warfare 2 PC Petition originally appeared on About.com Internet Games on Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 at 10:16:39.

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Bloons Tower Defense 4

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 23:43:22 +0000

The balloon-popping fun continues with Bloons Tower Defense 4, the latest in NinjaKiwi's Bloons Tower Defense series. Along with improved graphics come nifty new defenses like a monkey ace that circles the path in a plane, shooting and dropping pineapple bombs, as well as ships which can be placed in water areas. Premium upgrades are sold for MochiCoins, but there is plenty of fun to be had without them.

Bloons Tower Defense 4 originally appeared on About.com Internet Games on Sunday, November 15th, 2009 at 23:43:22.

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Scams Target Social Games

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:45:19 +0000

Given the huge popularity of some social games on Facebook and MySpace, it was inevitable that scammers and spammers would start digging up ways to abuse the system. Deceptive advertising is part of the problem. One common scam offers in-game currency for filling out a survey and requests a mobile phone number the results can be texted to. The user then finds themselves with a $10/month subscription billed to their phone until they cancel. Sometimes details about these charges are buried deep in Terms of Service that people rarely read. A recent TechCrunch article examines the problem and the implications it has for honest game developers in considerable detail. At least one of the industry leaders, Zynga, has responded by cracking down on some of these scams, but if social game currency ends up anything like MMORPG currency, things will likely get worse, so be careful with your phone and credit card numbers.

More: Protecting Your Game Passwords

Scams Target Social Games originally appeared on About.com Internet Games on Thursday, November 12th, 2009 at 18:45:19.

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Star Trek Online Release Date Announced

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:21:09 +0000

Cryptic Studios has set a release date for Star Trek Online, confirming rumors that it will be available early next year. The game will launch on February 2 2010 in North America, and February 5 2010 in Europe. Closed beta is currently underway and they are still accepting beta applications on the official site. Here are some recent Star Trek Online screenshots.

Star Trek Online Release Date Announced originally appeared on About.com Internet Games on Monday, November 9th, 2009 at 18:21:09.

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Blabbelon Launches

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:39:38 +0000

Nope, it's not a game - it's a new way to voice chat while you're online. Blabbelon is a Web-based voice chat solution hoping to supplant popular programs like Ventrilo and TeamSpeak. Unlike the latter services that require the host to run a server, Blabbelon simply requires you to log onto their site and create a room (or a "Blab"), which other users can then join. It's free and uses a push-to-talk system that can handle thousands of chatters. Blabbelon also employs Skype's SILK super wideband audio codec, so the sound quality should be quite good. The press release is available on Business Wire.

Blabbelon Launches originally appeared on About.com Internet Games on Thursday, November 5th, 2009 at 17:39:38.

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Aion Review (PC)

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:22:14 +0000

The market for fantasy MMORPGs has become quite crowded in recent years, with scores of free titles flowing out of Asia on top of a flurry of North American and European efforts. Some of these games garnered considerable interest at launch, but they haven't been able to turn that into ongoing success. Aion is NCsoft's lastest offering in this genre, building on their vast experience with earlier MMORPGs such as the Lineage series.

Aion Review (PC) originally appeared on About.com Internet Games on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 at 00:22:14.

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Star Wars: The Old Republic Jedi Info

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 21:24:24 +0000

There has been a steady trickle of details about Star Wars: The Old Republic coming from the official site, and the latest class to receive the "HoloNet" treatment is the Jedi Knight, which is bound to be a favorite. The video clips show off some of the Jedi's combat moves, like the Force Push and the, uh... Lightsaber Boomerang? I've also posted a few new screenshots of this upcoming MMORPG.

Star Wars: The Old Republic Jedi Info originally appeared on About.com Internet Games on Saturday, October 31st, 2009 at 21:24:24.

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