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No LAN Support for StarCraft 2

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 18:27:48 +0000

Blizzard certainly ruffled a few feathers recently by confirming that StarCraft 2 won't have LAN support. Given the popularity of the original StarCraft at LAN tournaments and parties, most of us took for granted that StarCraft 2 would be LAN ready. The word is that all multiplayer will go through Blizzard's revamped Battle.net, in part to reduce piracy. LAN play probably isn't as common as it used to be, but it's still fun to have a get-together with a few computers on a lag-free network.

China Prohibits Real Money Trade

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 15:13:43 +0000

The Chinese Government has taken steps to curtail the selling of virtual goods for real money. Their main concern, according to the press release, is the remarkably popular "QQ coin" issued by Tencent.com, which has about 220 million registered users. The ruling makes it illegal to use virtual currency to purchase real items, although people will still be able to exchange virtual money for virtual items. Since gold farmers in games like World of Warcraft frequently trade virtual goods for cash, the measure is bound to have some effect on them, but it's hard to say whether even the Chinese Government can effectively squash the gold trade industry, or force it to move elsewhere. (Thanks Gamasutra.)

Battlefield Heroes Open Beta

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 12:44:06 +0000

EA's light-hearted shooter, Battlefield Heroes, is now in open beta and freely available to anyone who wants to give it a try. If you haven't already heard, this is a major departure from earlier Battlefield releases. It has a cartoon-inspired look, comical characters, and installs through a Web browser. They're hoping it will appeal to a more casual audience than hardcore shooter fans, so they've kept system requirements low and made Heroes very accessible. It remains to be seen whether or not they can make it pay.

Mythic and BioWare Merge

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 17:17:06 +0000

In a surprise restructuring move, EA has decided to combine Mythic Entertainment and Bioware into a new RPG/MMO development team, led by Ray Muzyka of Bioware. We also learn from the announcement on the Warhammer Online Herald that Mark Jacobs, who co-founded Mythic back in 1995, is leaving the company. Given that both of these studios are working on MMOs, it likely makes sense to merge them, but there could be implications for some of their games, particularly WAR, which is losing its Lead Designer.

Top Free Online Tower Defense Games

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 19:58:46 +0000

Tower defense games have been growing in popularity at a rapid rate ever since the success of Flash Element Tower Defense and Desktop Tower Defense in 2007. Of course, the basic concept for these games goes back much further than that, bearing many similarities to old arcade games and mods made for StarCraft. Essentially, you have to destroy multiple waves of oncoming hostiles (creeps) by placing defensive towers on the map. These towers can typically be upgraded and in some games, used to force the enemy to take a longer path. Here are my favorite free browser-based tower defense games.

America's Army 3 Released

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 18:02:08 +0000

This week the U.S. Army launched America's Army 3, the third installment of their free shooter designed to introduce possible recruits to military training and combat. The latest version has updated graphics using Unreal Engine 3 and can downloaded over Steam. Oddly enough, the development team was disbanded the following day, along with the closure of the studio based Emeryville, California. Apparently future development of America's Army will take place at the program office in Redstone Arsenal, Alabama. They've already put out a patch for AA3 addressing some performance issues and bugs.

New Battleground Coming to WoW

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 16:12:54 +0000

The next content patch for World of Warcraft will include a new 80-player Battleground called The Isle of Conquest. Blizzard has put up a preview on the official site, and the word is, "To win, your team will need to make use of the island's unique strategic locations including an oil derrick, a siege workshop, and a fully equipped airship hangar. You will deploy devastating siege weaponry on the field; Light have mercy on anyone caught between you and your ultimate target, the general holed up in the enemy keep." It's nice to hear that they're adding another large Battleground to the game, but I hope the mechanics of it work a little better than Alterac Valley.

Free Realms Reaches 3 Million Registered

Sat, 13 Jun 2009 14:09:52 +0000

SOE seems to be pushing all the right buttons with Free Realms, as they've just announced that the game/social network has surpassed 3 million registered users. Of course, as per its title, it is free (although there are optional subscription elements), but 3 million sign-ups less than 7 weeks after the game's launch is still an impressive accomplishment. Free Realms is aimed at the younger crowd and it's brimming with cuteness. You can fight monsters, kart race, socialize, or jump into the collectible card game. It's a different sort of online world, with an unusual array of classes ranging from Ninja to Postman.

Dungeons & Dragons Online Going Free

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 15:54:02 +0000

Turbine has revealed their plans to make Dungeons & Dragons Online available for free. Later this summer they are going to release DDO Unlimited, a free download with unlimited free play, in conjuction with a DDO Store. The store will accept Turbine Points, which can be purchased or earned in the game. Optional subscriptions will also be provided for those who want unlimited access to all of the content in DDO.

_{Image © 2009 Turbine Entertainment}

Steam Group Boycotts Left 4 Dead 2

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 16:30:58 +0000

Among the deluge of game news that came out of E3 2009 was Valve's announcement that they are working on a sequel to Left 4 Dead, and not everyone is happy about it. In fact, a Steam Group of active L4D players have started a boycott of Left 4 Dead 2. They are concerned that a sequel will dilute the L4D community, that the content promised for L4D2 does not warrant a full-priced sequel, and that the original game should be better supported. The group has been growing by leaps and bounds, currently numbering over 18,000 boycotters.