Sacred 2, Fallen Angel

Sacred 2, Fallen Angel is a RPG game for PC. If you played and liked the first one, dont miss the 2nd part of Sacred. If you dont know this game, following the story for this second part.
T energy has been flowing through Ancaria since the planet is born, this mysterious power creates the beginning of all life, the source of all magic and the origin of all thought. During an era, Seraphim watched over the T Energy and to let the high elves benefit from it, they passed their knowledge to them. But the High Elves let the power over T Energy tear their society apart creating war and strife. Moreover, the T Energy went out of control, turning negative and creating destructive evil in the land.
Heroes have been arised to avert this war and to regain control over the T Energy. Now the question is, those heroes will prevent the chaos to take over Ancaria or they will deepen it with their actions ?
To know the answer, we will have to wait until february 10, 2009.

Red Alert 2: A Great RTS Game

Red alert 2 is one of the great real time strategy games that i have played so far. It is a war based game in which you have to build up your base and army and then defeat the other team. You get money by harvesting gold which is used to buy army units and building your base. You also have to maintain your base power by building power plants. There are two teams both with their different campaigns. One is the US and the other is Soveit Union. You can even play this game online with your friends or on LAN. The game can run on an average PC and you don’t require a high end graphics card for this game. The learning curve is not more than half an hour. Over all i think its a must have game for RTS fans. I will give it 8.5 out of 10.

Old game, still scares the crap out of me: Alien vs. Predator

Remember that time before it was all about photo-realistic graphics, cinematic special effects, life-like physics? This is a game from that time, but it sets itself apart by actually excelling in the areas just listed, albeit with slightly subdued adjectives.

Alien vs. Predator (Gold) is the first in a series of FPS games and was revolutionary in the detail and quality it displayed. Despite the now outdated graphics, the sheer atmosphere created sets you in the centre of the Alien, Predator, Human conflict. You simply cannot go wrong when DARKNESS is the essential style element. Slipping into the role of any of the species, each with their abilities faithfully recreated, you stumble into convoluted bases and caverns, always anticipating to have your skull torn off by the next enemy. This game is scary, you are always on edge, the encounters are not preprogrammed, so you cannot just hide somewhere and destroy until they stop coming. No, you have to push forward, realize that you are vastly outnumbered, and survive.

The game is so well thought of that even the fish-eye vision and their ability to walk on walls is recreated. Strategically sophisticated players can even shoot out lights to disorient enemies as you lay in ambush.

Where the game especially shines is in multiplayer mode. There is nothing more fun than turning on your heat vision as a Predator, and destroying pesky humans limb by limb, especially if your helpless buddies are those humans.

This game can be found for mere cents in an used games store. I strongly recommend it.

Free Trial PC Games

Nowadays, people were exposed to technologies. Computers are everywhere. Machines conquered to help mankind. Computers have different functions. But for me, it’s my form of entertainment and communication.

When you browse in one of the search engine like Yahoo!, you can see the category Games there. Just click it and there it goes! You can now choose which games you want to play. There’s an image and a short descriptions about the game to help you pick.

You can play it for free. Yes, just by downloading it and have a 60 minutes trial.But if you exceeds, you have now to pay for you to play. But the catch there is, at least you enjoy playing even in an hour. Why not try?

I tried the games Luxor, Sally Salon, Mystery Files, Jeopardy and Jojo’s Fashion Week. Among these, my favorite is Luxor. I like how it’s being played, its graphics, and especially the sound effects. Because the sounds added thrills to the game.

My partner wants Jeopardy to be played by us. It’s a competition game on which one should win the game. You have to answer the trivia questions correctly. It’s the same concept with the one on TV.

I really enjoy to have free trial PC games. Aside from entertainment it brings, it can also keep people closer together. It can be an activity for family or friends to be bond.

Microsoft builds Gears of War heat with cheap edition

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to state that Microsoft has perfected the art of marketing gigantic titles. Last year, Microsoft’s elaborate Halo 3 marketing campaign saw the game make a mockery of many video game sales records and now it is geared up to do the same with Epic’s Gears of Wars 2. The game is scheduled for a November 03, 2008 release but Microsoft, the game’s publisher, has already announced two new Gears of Wars editions - not Gears of War 2. There will soon be a two-disc collector’s edition and a generic game disc at a discounted price. The discounted copy will be priced $39.99 for the 360 and 29.99 for the PC, while the collector’s edition will lighten your pockets by $39.99.The collector’s edition will include previous GOW downloads and special GOW 2 content.

Detective Games

A post on VGViews compares old mystery games (Laura Bow) with new mystery games (Nick Bounty). The Nick Bounty games stack up very well, and the reasons are interesting.

One of the problems with Laura Bow, and with Sierra games in general, was the many ways to accidentally kill yourself. Getting into the elevator? Oh, sorry, you didn’t say you checked to see if it was on your floor. You fall down the elevator shaft and die. Crossing the road? You’re hit by a bus and die. Petting a cat? You contract a particularly virulent strain of rabies and die. Eating some candy? Well, you get the picture.

…

A few days ago, I discovered the Nick Bounty mysteries, flash games(or free downloads) from the independant Pinhead Games company. The first mystery is called “A Case Of The Crabs” and the second “The Goat In The Gray Fedora”, which gives you an idea of the seriousness. (I think Laura’s boyfriend in one story was a dockworker called Steve Door)

Nick Bounty is a bit more campy, with black-and-white sketch graphics, and sarcastic comments and narration, imitating hardboiled detective novels.

Read the whole article here.

HiPiHi: more than Chinese Second Life

A post on VGViews discusses HiPiHi, China’s answer to Second Life:

HiPiHi is pretty new, and so it’s struggling to get out of the shadow of Second Life. The similarities are pretty strong, but I think there’s enough interest in virtual worlds to keep both going. Also, China’s market share in MMORPGs is growing by the minute, so there are more and more online citizens, which are all potential HiPiHi-ers.

Chinese MMORPGs are collossal, with just huge numbers of subscribers. They’re also huge in another way, as the casual online gamer is pretty rare in China. (Which isn’t to say casual gamers are rare, just they they’re more likely to play a game on their cellphone or handheld.) Marathon gaming sessions are nothing new to Chinese high schoolers, who have been prepared for such long hours in front of the PC by marathon cramming sessions. So I don’t think HiPiHi will have any trouble getting subscribers!

Still, HiPiHi will need more than just bodies to distinguish themselves from Second Life.

Read the whole post on VGViews or check out HiPiHi’s English page.

PC Casual Games: Hidden Object Games

Do you spend a lot of time playing PC games? What kind of games do you usually play? How long do you usually spend playing PC games? Do you play for a few minutes just to kill your boredom or you are an addict and play the games continuously for several hours?

I usually like to play for just a few minutes. The games perfect for these are casual games. Casual games are characterized by having simple rules and are relatively easy to finish. You won’t have to spend a lot of hours to get to another level and wish you had saved because you’re stuck in a difficult spot.

A sub-genre of Casual games are Hidden Object Games. The objective of these games is already obvious from its name. You would have to find several objects blended into a big picture. What makes it a bit more challenging is the fact that the objects are camouflaged into the pictures. Most objects are not placed “logically” in a picture so you could find a floating gem, apple, or knives imposed on a wall. You would really have to look closely to find these items.

In some games, there is a bigger plot which will be solved once you have played till the end of the game. But, you can also play these games again because there are literally thousands of hidden objects in more than 15 scenes or pictures. Sometimes, there are even mini-games that can be played in between these scenes.

One of the best hidden object games is Mystery Case Files: Madame Fate. This is the best game because it has wonderful graphics, a nice plot, many different levels, a lot of mini-puzzles to solve and innovative puzzles. This really is the ultimate hidden object game!

Casual Game Watch: Lotso Deluxe!

One casual game that is currently at the top of my playing list is Lotso Deluxe! It’s a simple game but is very fun to play. Although it’s single player, it still packs a good time in a small amount of playing time.

In Lotso Deluxe, your goal is to take the Losto balls and place them onto your scratch cards. Some cards will have wild spots while some Lotso balls can be any number. When you have place all of the lotso balls on a card, it flips over and you play the mini game. Some are scratch until you match two numbers while others are scratch until you uncover the stopper.

Through the game, you play through eight casino-like venues. You clear a level or place when you have met the goals. You will have to score so many points, play so many charity cards, etc. Each game consists of 10 rounds. Lotso balls are shaken pretty much like Bingo with six balls falling into the playing area. If you can place all six balls then you receive a 50 point bonus. There are also lotso balls you can use to gain an advantage over one of your opponents like the amnesia ball that prevents a player from placing any more balls that round.

Lotso Deluxe is a fun casual game. It’s easy to learn, and you can play each round in under 10 minutes. It has all the elements of a great casual game including an hour long free demo.

Desperate Housewives The Video Game

I have to confess that I do watch Desperate Housewives and I really enjoy the show and all the twisted dirty laundry that is aired every week. However I can’t say that I was especially excited when I heard that they were having a SIMS style video game coming out.

I reserved judgement until I played the game and I have and I still don’t like it. I do have to say that I have not been into these sort of sims games for a few years so that could be the reason as well. Bottom line I’ll stick to the tv show and avoid the video game.

You don’t Know Jack - game tips and hidden entertainment …

Are you a fan of the game show PC game “You Don’t Know Jack”?

Well, if you are … try a few of these to add some excitement to your game strategy and entertainment at your next party.

* Stay close to your button and hit it even if you don’t know it, it really doesn’t hurt that much to guess …
* Don’t forget to screw your neighbor
* Have fun with the announcer by typing in “f*ck you” up to a maximum of 3 times per game, each time you’ll get a different response from the announcer and something might happen to you such as giving you a new name. Its a fun addition if played at a party.
* For the fiber optic fieldtrip: If you get a gibberish question on question 3 or 4, you’ll get a field trip on question 7 and 8, respectively.

Enjoy!

Tycoon Video Games For Pc

I am not a big fan of most video games. I don’t like shooters, sports, flying or even most driving games. I do however love walk-through games like Spyro or The Sims and my top favorite is Tycoon games such as Rollercoaster Tycoon.

The latest crop of games I’ve been playing are from a company called PlayFirst. I play a variety of games from including:

Diner Dash

In Diner Dash you escape from a mundane office job, find a run down, small building and decide to open your own restaurant. As you complete your rounds and tasks, you make enough money to fix up the place by getting more tables, adding some nice scenery and snacks to keep your customers happy. Some rounds can be hard, since you have to end them with a certain amount of money, but once you get the hang of it and learn how to ring up those bonus points, you’ll love it. I was pretty disappointed when the game was over, but went back to play because after you get the amount of money needed to move to the next round, you can keep playing for the bonus amount until closing time. I was happy to notice that Diner Dash 2 has been released and now comes with a family and crying baby. =)

Cake Mania

I only began playing Cake Mania a week ago but it’s a lot of fun trying to run your own bakery. Jill comes home and sees that her grandparents bakery has gone out of business because of a mean old big company that come to town. Jill decides to run her own small bakery and try to make enough money so that her family can reopen.

Plantasia

Little Fairy Holly has to grant a wish to become a full fledged fairy with magic powers and everything. Jack doesn’t like people and just said anything to get rid of her. He wished that she would fixed his old, weed and bug covered gardens. Holly gets started on the first of 5 gardens and along the way falls just a little bit in love. I like this game but I am still in the process of ripping my hair out as I’m stuck on level 5 and can’t get past round 8. Hit me up with any tips =).

Hidden Prison In Second Life Revealed

Although not playing the game as often as I used to, I still keep up at regular intervals with what happens in the world of Second Life. A few days ago, Tony Walsh at Clickable Culture posted an interesting article about the hidden prison of the ‘Corn Field’:

Nimrod Yaffle, a resident of the virtual world Second Life, has revealed details of a bizarre and dark prison Second Life’s maker Linden Lab is now using to lock up criminal avatars. Dubbed the “The Corn Field,” the moonlit environment contains only rows of corn, two television sets, an aging tractor and a one-way teleport terminal allowing no escape. It exists as an alternative to standard disciplinary measures, which traditionally prevent access to Second Life completely.

While this isn’t new in the little corner of MMORPGs (I know of at least one other game that makes use of a ‘jail’ to help unruly residents to calm down), there hadn’t been confirmation until recently of the rumor about the Corn Field, and lots of people simply were unaware of its existence. The prison is used as an alternative to standard measures, such as short-term ban. If a player ends up permanently banned from the game, s/he won’t have acces to it at all anymore, including the Corn Field.

The TV set in the prison only displays one “movie”, communications with the main grid are cut off, and one cannot create objects there. Of course, I suppose that nothing prevents the player from logging off and doing something else (I don’t know how long the punishment is meant to last–it probably depends on the offense itself). I’m not sure myself of what might get out of the use of such a simulator (as the article mentions it, people in Second Life are one bunch of curious fellows, and it indeed wouldn’t be that surprising to see some commit an “offense” just to be sent there and see the place with their own eyes!). At least it’s an original enough setting, in a way.

Conquer Online: Who Wants To Move From Kylin Server?

This is the latest announcement currently up on the Conquer Online website, and it may be of interest to anyone playing on the (overpopulated) Kylin server:

To ease the population of the Kylin server, we give the option for our players on Kylin server to move their characters to the new server named Saturn in Galaxy Group.

If you wish to participate, visit http://account.conqueronline.com/enzf/split/Kylin/ to learn the details and start the process!

After you submit your move decision, please remember to check your move status by selecting “I wish to check My Current Move Decision. Here is my Conquer account ID and password” at http://account.conqueronline.com/enzf/split/Kylin.

The new server will be named “Saturn”. Be aware, though, that you need to make your decision before Jan 17, 2006 9:59pm PST. After this date, the move won’t be possible anymore.

In the case of move, the characters’ guild, spouses, friends and enemies will be transferred along onto the new server. However, if the others players don’t follow this move and remain on Kylin, one won’t be able to meet them anymore, will find oneself in a guild without a leader, and so on. Better think the decision over, indeed!

(Source: MMORPG.com)

No Oblivion For Christmas?

Much to my and many friends’ dismay, it seems that The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, expected at first to be available for Christmas, won’t be out for this year in the end, but for a yet undefined date, somewhere between February and April 2006. This is bad news for those who were awaiting it with impatience, and a hard blow for MicroSoft, the game being one of the big titles planned for the launch of the Xbox 360.

Take-Two said that the game won’t be released until it’s fiscal Q2, which means some time between February and April of 2006. The company’s President and CEO, Paul Eibeler, says that the delay is to ensure quality of the product. According to Eibeler, the game’s developer, Bethesda Softworks, requires “additional development time to ensure the title meets gamers’ high expectations for this popular franchise”.

Rendez-vous next year, as we say in my country. And now, I need to find another Christmas gift for my boyfriend. Drats.

World of Warcraft: Expansion Pack

Several years have passed since the Burning Legion’s defeat at Mount Hyjal and the races of Azeroth have continued to rebuild their once shattered lives. With renewed strength, the heroes of the Horde and Alliance have begun to explore new lands and broken through the Dark Portal to investigate the realms beyond the known world. Will these heroes find friends or foes? What dangers and rewards lie in wait beyond the Dark Portal? And what will they do when they discover that the demons they thought vanquished have returned to renew their terrible Burning Crusade?

World of Warcraft’s first expansion pack, titled The Burning Crusade, has now been officially announced. Players won’t have to get it to enjoy all of its features, but for some of them, such as the new races, it will obviously be a necessity.

Here are some of the new features and add-ons you’ll find in it:

• Two new playable races, including the magical Blood Elves
• The entire new continent of Outland, reachable through the Dark Portal
• Many new high-level dungeons to explore in Azeroth, Outland, and elsewhere
• New flying mounts in Outland
• New quests and items
• A new profession: Jewelcrafting

Game Developer Lists Top 20 Publishers

For the third year in a row, Electronic Arts has taken top honors in Game Developer magazine’s list of the top 20 game publishers, according to a news release. EA reached revenue of more than $3 billion this year.

Activision, Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony rounded out the top five. Microsoft slipped from No. 2 last year, but hopes the release of XBox 360 will improve the company’s revenues as well as its stature among game publishers. Activision jumped up from No. 7, thanks in part to popular titles such as X-Men Legends and the Tony Hawk’s Underground series.

Atari slipped to No. 13, while a strong year for Bandai, LucasArts and Capcom have helped the companies secure spots on the list, knocking Koei and Empire of the list.

The guide will be available on newsstands through Nov. 14, or check it out on Game Developer’s website.

Special Offer on Irth Online

The game itself looks interesting for some of its announced features (non-instanced player housing, open skill system not involving levels…), even though it seems to me like one of the “calssical fantasy-types MMORPGs” out there, but one thing is certain: it never harms when one can subscribe to a MMORPG while benefitting from a few discounts.

Therefore, for anyone who would be interested in subscribing to Irth Online when it goes live on November 1st, Magic Hat Software, its conceptor, has announced a pre-launch special offer going from October 15th to October 31st:

The Pre-Launch Special Offer allows gamers to purchase Irth Online for $19.95, a 33% discount off the at-launch price of $29.95. The pre-order subscription fee will be $9.95 per month for the first six months, representing a 30% savings over the at-launch fee of $13.95 per month. Pre-Launch Special Offer orders may be placed online only at www.irthonline.com which explains the ordering procedure and payment options.
[…]
If those who pre-order Irth Online choose the option of paying in advance for three months of subscription fees, they will receive an additional, fourth month for free. This offer will not be available after Irth Online is launched.

The offer is valid for the three types of distribution (download, CD and DVD), but won’t be anymore, of course, once the game is officially launched.

If you’re among those who would’ve subscribed anyway from the start, it looks like something to keep tabs on.

Greek Houses in The Sim’s University

In playing the Sim’s University Expansion pack, I got a little confused when I wanted to join a Greek house. Each source I went to said that all I needed to do was click the phone and choose “Join a Greek House”. I found out that this was not an option: when I clicked the phone, that option was not listed…the wheels in my head started to turn…I thought, “there isn’t yet a Greek house in my University.” Proving the theory that you can’t live in a Greek house if there is not a Greek house to live in. Here’s how to create and manage a Greek house!

Here are the steps for creating a Greek house:
1.) Have some Sims move into their own residence (a house not a dorm).
2.) Click the phone and select “College”, then select “Apply for House Charter”, which costs only about $10.
3.) You are now a Greek house. Place your Greek letter somewhere inside or outside of your house.
Note: If a Sim selects house letter it can get your house’s statistics: # of members, # of pledges, # of friends, house rank, etc.. Your house ranking is dependent upon how many friends your house members have.

Here are the steps for joining a Greek house:
1.) Once you have a Greek house created, if you are playing as a Sim in another dorm/house, you can click the phone and select the “Join a Greek house” option.
2.) They won’t let you in automatically. The Greek house members will come over to your present residence in togas and size you up. You must impress them for them to give you entry into the house. Essentially, it helps for you to build a relationship with them. (Tip: Become friends with several of the house members before “Joining the House”. It will make the process much easier.)
3.) Once you’ve met their standards, you will be admitted as a house member, which doesn’t mean that you have to live in the house.

If you do want to live in the actual Greek house once you are a member:
1.) A resident of your Greek house must invite you, so switch control to a resident of the Greek house.
2.) Invite the prospective resident over (as you would any person, by calling them on the phone).
3.) Then “Propose” that he “Move In”.

Here are the steps for getting pledges:
1.) To have a person pledge, you must be controlling a Sim who is already a Greek house member.
2.) Invite the Sim you want to pledge to the Greek house.
3.) Then “Ask to Pledge”.
4.) Depending on how well you know the Sim, asking a Sim to pledge could be successful or not. I suggest becoming friends with him first.
5.) Once you’ve gotten a pledge, you can pretty much boss them around for a couple days (the pledge period): you can make them, do assignments, cook, write your term paper, clean, etc.. This setup is very cool indeed.
6.) After the “pledge period” is over they will become a house member.

Check out the Sims 2 University Site

(Keep in mind that house membership does not require house residency. House members can live all over campus.)

Renaissance Kingdoms

For these moments when you want to play a game online but don’t have much time to dedicate to it everyday, here’s one of these little “management/roleplay” games that will only demand you a few minutes of your time: Renaissance Kingdoms (also available in French at Les Royaumes Renaissants). It’s free (unless you want to take a paying account, in which case the character will be a Noble), it’s played online in a simple web browser, and you don’t need to do more than your share if you don’t want to.

The basics are simple: your character starts as a peasant in the Renaissance setting. The first goal is to feed him/her (simple bread is the poor peasant’s friend when starting!), and to find ways of earning money, the most common being hiring yourself at a mine, as soldier in the local army, or by cultivating your little parcel of soil. More interaction with other players and within the game is of course possible: you can put offers to hire people to work for you, craft items and sell them later on when you reach a certain level, chat with other players in the various taverns where you can also buy food, and so on.

So, as said, not very complex, not very demanding, you can stop whenever you want, and it can be fun to give it five minutes here and there (if you plan on not playing for several days, park the character at a church: at least he’ll be fed and you won’t find him dead from starvation!). At least it has lasted me for more than one week already, which isn’t that bad at all for such a little thing.

Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

Everybody remembers Arena, Daggerfall and Morrowind? Yes? No? You should! Not only have these games marked their time, but the fourth opus of the Elder Scrolls series is now to come soon… very soon… on our beloved machines. I’ve seen a pretty snazzy demo of the game recently, and both my boyfriend and I were in awe while watching it. Not only were the graphisms stunning, but they also leave room to much interaction with the background and the items pertaining to it (even animals, too; the demo showed one NPC ’shooting’ her dog with some kind of calming spell, and it was quite funny to watch).

In any case, for more information about this sure-to-be monster of gaming, here’s what IGN published about it yesterday:

We played through much of the same areas we saw at X05, which is basically the training area for Oblivion. At the start you’ll pick your race and customize your character’s appearance, eventually you’ll pick a birth sign, and a little while after that you’ll be charged with selecting your major skills and attributes. When you go to pick all your final attributes you’ll also be given the choice to change any of the conditions you’d previously selected, right down to your character’s name.

As you select what kind of character you want to be you can pick warrior or thief presets from a list, modify them, or create and name your own class, much like in Morrowind. Unlike Morrowind, Oblivion gives you the chance to try out some of the game’s skills before you finalize everything.

On our way through the training catacombs we were able to pick locks. These sequences switch to a different screen where you’re tasked with tapping tumblers into an unlocked position. As the tumblers move upward you need to press A at their apex to correctly fix them in place so you can open the container or door. Your security skill determines how difficult the tumblers are to manipulate and how many tumblers you’ll need to tap. You can also tell the game to automatically resolve the lockpick sequence instead of doing it manually, but this seemed to result more often than not in broken picks.

An article a tad bit technical, about the various character and skills possibilities, but doesn’t it make you wish that it was already available? For me, it sure does.

Question: The Sims 2 & University Expansion Pack…are they worth the dough?

Answer: Every Penny!
Elaboration: I have played many a computer game in my life: ranging from extremely dynamite to ultra poor. The Sims 2 as well as the Sims 2 University Expansion Pack rate on the extremely dynamite end of that scale.

This game is very engaging and quite addictive. Don’t buy this game if you don’t want to be tempted of the devil to play it all day long. If you are okay with that type of addiction, feel very good about making the investment to buy this game.

The original Sims game is very good; it kept me hooked for about a month or so. However, the Sims 2 is 20 times better, and I’ll tell you why: The added sense of realism.

In the original Sims game, you would control your characters seeing them prosper with a successful carrer. You would accumulate wealth, buy the house on the hill, have several children, and then you would enter a world like unto Bill Murray’s Groundhog Day–everyday is the same, your Sim and his children stay the exact same age, and the only entertainment you get out of the game is having your Sim play the piano so that you could hear “The Flight of the Bumble Bee”.

With the Sims 2, you can now follow your Sim through his life. You can see him grow up from a baby to a teenager, to an adult, all the way to an old fogey. You can then follow their children through their lives, and so on (the game never ends, it’s like looking into mirror that is infront of another mirror…mindnumbingly cool).

Also, each Sim has a life-goal/ambition. If your Sim’s ambition is to have a family, he will enjoy spending time with his wife and children. If your Sim’s ambition is Fortune, he will enjoy success in his career and earning money, etc.. You also have the option to persue knowledge, popularity, or romance. Also, you have the option to change your Sim’s life-ambition at different points in your Sim’s life (for example, once you’ve matured a bit, you may not be quite as girl crazy as you were in highschool and college; you may now be after $$$, but the choice is up to you).

The additions to this game are astounding. You can build wonderfully elaborate stores for your Sims to shop in: they can try on their clothes in clothing stores, buy groceries in grocery stores, or buy video games in video game stores. You can learn how to cook different types of meals–salmon, hamburgers, turkey, mac n’ cheese–and watch your Sim prepare the meal as they would in real life (just at a faster pace).

The University Expansion pack allows your Sims to go to college. As college is one of the funnest parts of your life, it is also the funnest part of this game. My pappy always said, “don’t let going to class get in the way of your education,” and if you are playing this game you should let that line be your mantra: throw some parties, get to “know” some girls, join a Greek house, and if you can get your Sim to get up by 9:00 am, send him to class as well.

To sum up, the game is extrodinarily fun. It is better than the old Sims because it more realistic and the game never gets boring. You almost develop a relationship with your Sims; each Sim grows on you and has his own personality. It is a great game, and very addictive.

Worms 4 Mayhem Coming to America

Or at least on PC and Xbox, since a PS2 version isn’t in the works, according to GameSpot:

Worms 4: Mayhem expands on the oddball invertebrate warfare of its predecessors. Players will be able to create their own six-worm team to do battle in a variety of terrain created by a random level generator. Players will also be able to customize their worm teams’ look, sound, and fighting style. Furthermore, they will be able to equip said worms with new customized items from a weapons factory, including the tail nail, poison arrow, and sniper rifle.

Worms 4: Mayhem will also support several modes of play, including a 25-mission story mode for single players. Owners of Xbox and PC versions of the game can engage in online multiplayer bouts of up to four players. But if you own a PlayStation 2, you’ll miss out on more than Worms 4: Mayhem’s online play–the game isn’t being released in North America for the console.

The game will be available this upcoming fall, although no date has been announced yet. Let’s hope this will soon be done, as fall is almost upon us now, or so I’m told by my friend the calendar.

In any case, it’s worth a try. Worms is always fun to try with a bunch of friends, after all.

The End of Asheron’s Call 2

Following a short but to the point announcement on the official Asheron’s Call 2 website, GameSpot has published an article about the scheduled closure of Turbine’s MMORPG on December30th, 2005:

In a posting on the official Asheron’s Call 2 Web site, Jeffrey Anderson, CEO of developer and publisher Turbine Entertainment, has announced the impending death of the massively multiplayer online role-playing game.

“In spite of our hard work and the launch of [Asheron’s Call 2 expansion pack] Legions, AC2 has reached the point where it no longer makes sense to continue the service,” Anderson wrote. “We will be officially closing the Asheron’s Call 2 service on 12/30/05. Until then, we plan to run live events, but we will not be adding any content or features.”

A Turbine spokesperson confirmed for GameSpot that the title was no longer profitable, and will be shut down in all existing markets. All staffers previously working on Asheron’s Call 2 have been reassigned.

It very likely feels weird and sad, when a game one has played for long suddenly shuts down with only a meager four month’s notice (it’s better than nothing, at least). Perhaps the negative reactions on the AC2 forums may seem exagerated to an outsider, but anyone who’s played and liked a MMORPG knows that you can’t just erase the game and the friends you made through it in a simple matter of minutes.

(Source: http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/08/25/news_6131975.html)

Interview of Martin Klima About UFO: Aftershock

RPG Vault publishes an interview with Martin Klima, Lead Designer on the upcoming UFO: Aftershock game. Aftershock is the sequel to Aftermath (note that this could be expected), and […] takes place some five decades later, in the year 2054. The events of the first title left Earth largely if not completely uninhabitable. The remnants of humankind departed to a huge flying island, the Laputa. Sadly, life on this ostensible sanctuary proved considerably less than idyllic. Corrupt, unbending leaders created a festering discontent that eventually flared into open hostilities. Perhaps inevitably, the airborne platform itself was destroyed. Ironically, a new generation of survivors was left with no choice but to reclaim the very surface their forebears had abandoned.

There would be no point in posting it word by word, but I’m going to encourage you to read it, if only because it’s always extremely interesting, at least in my opinion, to know about the ropes behind the development of a game.

And because an image is often worth a thousand words, you can also see quite an amount of screenshots and download materials at Cenega Publishing.

UFO: Aftershock is bound for release on October 7th.

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