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September 23, 2010
Game Review - Halo:Reach
Bungie's last Halo is out, offering everything we've come to expect from a Halo game. Full-fledged multiplayer, added and upgraded game types, as well as a solid campaign. Bungie hasn't been sitting idle in a vacuum of their own ideas, they've obviously been taking notes to improve the game we love, , Halo, but is Halo: Reach the best?
While the conclusion of Halo: Reach is known before hand, it doesn't mean the game is incapable of packing a wallop. If you're familiar with the Halo universe then you should already know what happens on Reach, the humans fail to defend it. The Covenant's invasion of Reach is successful. The narrative backdrop keeps the game consuming, the future grim, and the battles constant.
Since the outcome is known, Bungie had to focus on the delivery and making it compelling despite that. In Halo: Reach you play as Nobel Six, the sixth member of Nobel Team, a group of Spartans that work in unison of a larger army. The
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September 23, 2010
Industry News - Steve Wiebe wins again!
Steve Wiebe reigns again! Twin Galaxies has officially releases a press release statement regarding the newest Donkey Kong arcade record. As of August 30, Washington state's Steve Wiebe now holds the world record once again with a score of 1,062,800, besting Billy Mitchell's July 31 title.
What a competition. King of Kong star Wiebe has not held the title since he made his mark in the spring of 2007, shown in the documentary "King of Kong"Â. Mitchell pulled ahead shortly within a few months. In March, Hank Chien of New York pulled ahead to one-up Mitchell's previous three year held record. However, Mitchell fiercely regained the title this past July. Now, the down to earth family man Wiebe has set the new world record, officially verified as of today.
This is the third time in this year alone the world record has been shattered, the most changes to the official record made in a single year. Although he puts vast effort into
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September 21, 2010
Games - Air Jordan to return in digital form!
Control is the name of the game. Being able to fake left and go right. For all the NBA fans, NBA 2k11 is bringing control right to your hands. Players will be able to control their favorites like Kobe Bryant, Lebron James and Dwayne Wade like they never have before. If you want to side step before you crossover, spin-move then go behind the back or step back for a pull up jump shot, YOU CAN! NBA fans should be excited for this game; I mean Michael Jordan is on the cover this year. When was the last time we saw Jordan attached to a video game? Most sports games are very repetitive and rarely have any new and better features then the previous year, but with NBA 2k11 that will change. NBA 2k11 will be released October 5th.
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September 20, 2010
Girl Gaming - Down a percentage
A recent UK study observed at female presence in the games industry and showed a drastic decrease within the past four years. 12% of gamers in 2006 were female, compared to only 4% today. The survey, conducted by Liverpool PhD student Julie Prescott surveyed 450 UK women. The results showed the rise in females in business as a major factor.
32% of the sample claimed to work over 45 hours a week, with 22% that worked between 6 and 55 hours a week, and 10% that worked more than 56 hours. 43% of surveyed women said their long work hours negatively impacted their well-being.
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September 18, 2010
Industry News: Increase in Gold Accounts for XBOX LIVE
It's easy to be angry with Microsoft and easier to not care, assuming you have the funds, but the $10 price hike on Xbox Live is both a warning to consumers and a wake-up call to Sony. As a consumer we've got two options, renew when our subscriptions are over (for $10 more) or to play all of our games online with the PS3. Neither option makes us happy. We got used to paying $49.99 and were happily complacent about it. So why the price hike now?
Microsoft isn't one to throw free money away, their board meetings must have agreed on one thing, they were going to make more money from the people that would renew for 10 extra bones then they were going to lose from people being offended by the cost increase. Essentially, they know we're hooked. So as consumers we'd be silly not to watch Microsoft for service improvements, because our $10 dollars should be going to something.
As for Sony, they can't feel great knowing
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September 16, 2010
Game Reviews - Halo: Reach Online Experience
Multiplayer for Halo Reach will give players options they have not had before. Reach will give players the options of "loadouts"Â a feature that allows player to choose a predefined choice of weaponry when they spawn. This feature is a dramatic change gamers will love. Gamers will be able to choose between having a jetpack, sprinting faster, camouflage or having an energy shield when playing against others. This feature will completely change how gamers play with one another. Competitive gamers will need to use the different loadouts for strategic purposes against other teams. Gamers will be able to choose their Spartan gender and customize their armor as they play and obtain experience. The multiplayer for Reach will have the standard Slayer, but new games have been added. In "Headhunter", players drop skulls upon death, which other players can pick up and deposit at special zones for points. When a player dies all their accumulated
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September 15, 2010
Games - Demanded Firefight is in Halo: Reach
Halo: Reach comes out tomorrow with a significant amount of improvements, but the mode I'm most excited about, is Firefight. When Halo 3: ODST came out about a year ago we weren't playing an elite soldier like we'd been used, but rather a combat rookie. The lead character in ODST was an interesting method of revealing the truth about the Halo universe "€œ if you aren't Master Chief, if you aren't a Spartan, you're a glass cannon at best.
All of the tools of destruction were there, but with a health bar that wouldn't recharge,
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September 14, 2010
GAME REVIEW - REACH IS HERE!
Reach is finally here for all of the Halo fans! Halo Reach will be Bungie's last Halo game as they give the rights to Microsoft to continue the series if they choose too. Bungie went back and put some thought into creating their last installment on the series. Halo Reach is about the Spartan's home planet, Reach. Master Chief is gone! Players will be playing as Noble 6, a super soldier part of a unit fighting the Covenant. Halo Reach is the ultimate prequel and gives gamers options they never had before. The game is still a first person shooter, with co-op, online multiplayer and firefight modes. Reach takes Halo to an entire new level. Halo Reach campaign mode is said to be the most difficult compared to the other Halo's. With difficulty increasing as you add players for co-op makes the game a bit more interesting. Also there is a credit system involved in the game. As your player collects credit they will be able to upgrade and customize their character
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August 28, 2010
Rumors in Games - Bioshock 2 No Multiplayer for you!
Ken Levine, the original creator of Bioshock has been leaning towards to removing online multiplayer in the next chapter of the epic series. Bioshock Infinite, which is to take place in the roaring 1910s and most likely a prequel, is going to be in the ranks of Metroid Prime, where being in a series that had multiplayer in one title of its series, then didn't have it in the next. While this isn't really set into stone for Bioshock Infinite, Ken Levine stated that adding multiplayer on games are both not all that interesting and can be a bit of a financial drain. He says
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August 28, 2010
Gamer News - More Marvel vs. Capcom 3 characters revealed!
As if Capcom couldn't give us more of an excuse to get us fighting game fans to bulk up our fingers and prepare our Evil thumbsticks, just as of this past weekend, at Gamescom in Germany, it is revealed that both Viewtiful Joe (from Viewitful Joe) and Dormammu (the nemesis of Marvel's Dr. Strange) are going to be in the release of Marvel vs. Capcom 3. In addition, if you were to search back, the confirmation of Dormammu has significance in the leaked possibility of the Silver Surfer for Marvel vs. Capcom 3.
Back around the end of July, in a Japanese video game magazine's interview with the producer of Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Ryoto Niitsuma, the magazine accidentally revealed Dr. Doom (already confirmed a week or two ago), Dormammu (just confirmed now), and Silver Surfer. If Dr. Doom and Dormammu are already confirmed then most likely the Silver Surfer is probably now 95% confirmed. I left five percent, because the