Tag: PC Gaming

A Game of Thrones: Genesis Launch Trailer and Screens

I miss A Game of Thrones. Like a lot. The HBO series is over until next year. I’m done with the last book. What’s a Game of Thrones fanboy supposed to do?!? Thankfully Cyanide Studios’ PC game, A Game of Thrones: Genesis, comes out next week. While it doesn’t look breathtaking or anything, I’m looking forward to learning more about the events that led to George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire. Plus, I really, really just want to go adventuring in Westeros!

Here are more details from the press release, followed by some screens:

Served by a well-developed single player campaign written under supervision of the author George R.R. Martin, “A Game of Thrones – Genesis” is a strategy game for PC that immerses you into the heart of the battles and intrigues between the Houses that shaped the Kingdom of Westeros. Live the origins of the A Song of Ice and Fire saga through more than 1000 years of History, and take part in Westeros’ founding events and largest battles such as Aegon the Conqueror’s invasion on the continent or the War of the Usurper.

Plunge into the heart of the continent of Westeros for a minute, while a Targaryen king is preparing to battle the Houses seeking to claim his Iron Throne. From the kingdom of Dorne in the South, to Winterfell and the famous Wall in the North, many will be the people he will have to subject to his rule. Military conquests, treachery, or diplomacy… all strategies are conceivable. What king will you choose to be?

Any of you interested in picking up this game? May a white walker bite your hand off if you’re not! (I’m kidding.)

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Coffee Talk #401: Heavy Characterization vs. Transparency

Do you prefer videogame protagonists with deep characterization or ones that are more transparent? The former allows for characters with richer backgrounds and back stories, while the latter allows you to slip into…

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, mixers that go well with top-shelf tequila, your AL East Champion New York Yankees, or looking forward to a large birthday steak, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Do you prefer videogame protagonists with deep characterization or ones that are more transparent? The former allows for characters with richer backgrounds and back stories, while the latter allows you to slip into the hero’s armor, space battle suit, bell bottoms, etc. I’m sure you’ve enjoyed both styles in several games, but I’m also sure you have a preference. Which one is it?

Let’s use the Dragon Age games as an example. In Dragon Age: Origins, you could select from a variety of relatively transparent characters. Yes, they all had back stories, but for the most part you could transpose your personality on the lead character. In Dragon Age II, you played as an established character named Hawke. Yes, you could make him/her really good, really sarcastic, or somewhat evil, but the choice were much more limited. In terms of plot and characterization, it’s a huge difference (and one of the reasons the second game is so polarizing).

I enjoyed Origins tremendously. It was fun marching around Ferelden through different perspectives. Whether I was a human, dwarf, Dalish elf, or city elf, I enjoyed molding my hero to fit my personality. I also enjoyed Dragon Age II. It was fun learning about Hawke, his history, his family, etc. Instead of the enjoyment of transposing myself onto the hero, I enjoyed learning about a character’s background and taking his/her life in new directions.

For the most part, I enjoy characters that are heavily written. Don’t get me wrong; I definitely enjoy transparent characters too, but as a writer I prefer experiencing characters other people have written instead of ones I imagine myself to be. I suppose some of that stems from being a comic-book geek. I just love learning about and adventuring with other people’s characters (you down with O.P.C.?!?).

And you? Do you prefer characters with heavily scripted backgrounds and personalities? Or do you prefer transparent characters that let you imagine what it’s like to be the hero?

What Do You Think of the Facebook Redesign?

You go out for some drinks, enjoy a nice sleep, and wake up to find that Facebook has gone “full retard“. I really don’t understand what Facebook’s design team was thinking. The redesign is awful. It’s way too busy and it makes it hard to focus on content. The only way this makes sense is if the redesign was the work of a Google plant that infiltrated Facebook in order to make Google+ appear more elegant than ever.

Of course none of the complaining matters. Like millions of other people, I still have to use Facebook as a promotional tool. Millions of people will bitch, but few of them will leave. In the immortal words of General Akbar, “It’s a trap!”

I mostly hate the Facebook redesign. The one reason I like it is that it’s making a few of my friends use Google+ more and I greatly prefer that social network. What do you guys and dolls think of the Facebook redesign?

DC Universe Online Moving to Free-to-Play Model

Sony Online Entertainment has announced that DC Universe Online will be switching to a free-to-play model featuring three tiers. Between the attractiveness of being “freemium” and the popularity of DC Comics’ “The New 52“, the game stands to catch another wave of success. Here are some more details from executive director of development Lorin Jameson via PlayStation Blog:

  • Free Access – Just like it sounds. Download and play the game for free. You also get all ongoing game updates (except DLC packs).
  • Premium Access – This next level of access opens up to you if you spend at least $5 in the in-game store. Premium Access grants you additional benefits that improve your experience in the game, such as more inventory slots, more character slots, bank slots and more free Vault tickets. So all you have to do is pick up some cool items in the store or buy a DLC pack and you unlock Premium Access. The best part? Once you unlock Premium Access you keep it for the life of your account.
  • Legendary Access – With Legendary Access you can unlock the maximum level of features and benefits. To unlock Legendary Access you can pay for a $14.99 per month game pass, or save big with a discounted multi-month pass. Lifetime members are automatically granted Legendary access. Legendary Access also includes all DLC packs at no extra charge.

I haven’t touched DCUO in months, but I’d be interested in giving it another go if any of you are down. So how about it? Any of you guys and dolls thinking of playing DCUO when it becomes free-to-play?

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Windows 8 Metro UI Looks Like the Wii Interface???

You know, I always thought there was something familiar about Windows 8’s Metro user interface. I just couldn’t put my finger on it. Thankfully PC Magazine’s John Dvorak used his age and wisdom to point it out to me — it’s just like the Nintendo Wii interface! In a recent column Dvorak wrote:

First of all, the interface should be renamed Microsoft “Kiosk,” because that seems to be the source of its inspiration. Then again, it reminds me of the Nintendo Wii, only with higher resolution. It also looks like it wants to blast ads at you.

He’s totally right! I can’t believe I didn’t see it right away. Now I feel bad about all those times my fellow PC Magazine Labs analysts and I would send him hate mail from random PCs in the lab. On second thought, that still cracks me up. I blame RPadholic irontoes. He’s the one that registered the email address dvoraksucks@hotmail.com. I was just watching. Really.

Anyway, what do you think? Does the Metro UI resemble the Wii interface? Or is Dvorak nuts on this one?

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Two Videos of Xbox Live on Windows 8

Here are a couple of videos that show the Xbox Live functionality baked into Windows 8. The video above was posted by WinRumors, while the video below was posted by GeekWire. Between the two clips, you should get a good idea of the type of Xbox Live integration in the next version of Windows.

When you’re done checking out the clips, kindly revisit this discussion on whether Xbox Live on Windows 8 will take Microsoft’s social gaming service to a new level.

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

I’ve been so caught up with digital comics, potential jobs, and the looming return of Amazon’s affiliate program to California that I haven’t thought about what I want to play this weekend. To be completely honest, I’ve also been extremely jealous of my friends attending Tokyo Game Show 2011. *sigh* I miss having a travel budget. I think I’ll just cuddle up with my iPad 2, alternating between games of Civilization: Revolution and Quarrel Deluxe.

How about you? What’s on your weekend playlist? Anyone else out there ducking RPadholic N8R in Mortal Kombat???

Will Xbox Live Blow Up on Windows 8?

At Microsoft’s BUILD developer conference, the company revealed that Windows 8 will featuring heavy Xbox Live integration. Xbox Live functionality has already stepped out of the Xbox 360 through the Windows Phone mobile platform. With Windows 8, the service stands to get bigger than ever. Before I get into that, here’s the official word from Microsoft’s Major Nelson:

We are confirming that we will be bringing Xbox Live to the PC with Xbox Live on Windows. We are very excited about Xbox Live coming to Windows 8. Xbox Live brings your games, music, movies, and TV shows to your favorite Microsoft and Windows devices. Bringing Xbox Live to Windows 8 is part of our vision to bring you all the entertainment you want, shared with the people you care about, made easy. At BUILD we are showing that it is easy for developers to create games for Windows 8 that take advantage of the power of Xbox Live. We have much more detail to share about the capabilities of Xbox Live on Windows and look forward to the opportunity to do so in the near future.

Xbox Live is one of the best features of Xbox 360 and a huge part of why the console has been so successful. Adding a substantial social layer to gaming and having games “live on” after players have stopped playing them is huge. When I first heard about these features way back in 2005, I knew they’d be killer. Having the social aspects of Xbox Live integrated into an operating system is a brilliant move that will almost definitely take the service to new heights.

A lot of you use social media services like Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. They’re all great service, but none of them are integrated on the OS level. It takes effort to set up these services and to get the most out of them. Microsoft appears to be making Xbox Live on Window 8 easy as pie (preferably pecan). Being integrated into an upstart mobile OS like Windows Phone is one thing, but being integrated into what will be the most popular operating system on the market — one that will be used on desktop, laptop, and tablet computers — is tremendous. I believe the children are our future that being part of Windows 8 will increase Xbox Live use among existing users and help draw new players into the mix.

While I’m not too high on Windows 8 (yet), I’m loving the enormous potential of Xbox Live on Windows 8. What do you guys and gals think? Is it something you’d use? Do you think that OS-level integration will help the service blow up? Or am I just enamored with the potential and ignoring the realities of the concoction?

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Coffee Talk #397: Wacky Videogame Names

At Nintendo’s Tokyo Game Show 2011 presser, Square Enix announced Bravely Default: Flying Fairy for 3DS. The rest of TGS 2011 should be cancelled, because it’s not getting better than that. I love the name of…

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Novak Djokovic’s remarkable season (tennis), playing “I Hope I Get It” over and over again, or Korean girls in skimpy sleepwear, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

At Nintendo’s Tokyo Game Show 2011 presser, Square Enix announced Bravely Default: Flying Fairy for 3DS. The rest of TGS 2011 should be cancelled, because it’s not getting better than that. I love the name of this game! It’s cute and dopey and oh-so-Japanese. I loved this game before I knew anything about it. That’s how awesomely powerful the name Bravely Default: Flying Fairy is. After I learned that the excellent Akihiko Yoshida is creating art for the game, I loved it even more.

I haven’t had this much fun saying a game’s name since Drag-On Dragoon. Sadly, Square Enix renamed that game Drakengard in America. Hopefully the company won’t butcher the glory that is Bravely Default: Flying Fairy. Just say it thrice. It’s so much fun!!!

Are there any strange or unusual videogame titles that have stuck in your? Anything crack you up as much as Bravely Default: Flying Fairy cracks me up? Post the weirdest game name you can think of in the comments section (please)!

Coffee Talk #396: Bomb Threats, Gadgets, and You

Last Saturday my apartment complex was evacuated due to a bomb threat. Details were scarce. One minute the police were calling for one building to be evacuated. A short time later, my building was being…

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Serena Williams displaying bad sportsmanship again, Klatch’s El Salvador Las Mercedes, or Korean girls in skimpy sleepwear, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Last Saturday my apartment complex was evacuated due to a bomb threat. Details were scarce. One minute the police were calling for one building to be evacuated. A short time later, my building was being evacuated. My initial thought was, “Where’s my phone?!?” This was quickly followed by, “Where’s my iPad?!?” and, “Should I nab my 3DS and PSP?!?” In the end, I decided to just grab my phone and quickly leave the building. If it were a bomb threat on any other day than September 11 then I would have taken more time and packed more gear with me.

How would you react in a similar situation? How precious are your gadgets and pieces of gaming gear? Would you try to pack as many precious geek goodies in a bag before evacuation? Or is it safety first? What do you think your answer says about you?