Gaming and Tech Network

Classic Games That Will Never Die

Alexandria Howell — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 03:51:29 +0000

Today, we’re putting a little spin on the reviews and taking a somewhat nostalgic look at games that will never die. Now, I know what you’re thinking… ‘Great… here comes another write-up on why Zelda is amazing’, but, hopefully this will surprise you.Here recently we’ve seen the re-release of several classic games that have remained popular over the years. We still see Starcraft and Warcraft tournaments. Hey, they are even coming out with DOTA2 soon, but, what about the games that are so original and so popular that they don’t require a re-release to still sell copies. Hundreds and thousands of people still compete at these games yearly with ages ranging from the really young to the really old. Thats right, ladies and gents, I’m talking about Classic board games.

CHECKERS

No one is quite sure when Checkers was officially released into the gaming community, but it is known for a fact that this game has been around since 1400 B.C and was a frequently played game of the ancient Egyptians. Many an author has also published rule sets for this classic board game dating back as far as 1500 A.D. Known as Checkers to the Americans and Draught ( pronounced draft) to the Europeans, this classic game got its first electronic debut in 1952, and has been on computers ever since. This strategy based game is one that is popular world-wide and has tournaments held nearly every month in just about every place imaginable.

CHESS

Not near as old as Checkers, but certainly just as popular (if not more so), Chess is another classic game that will never die. First seen in the gaming community around 500 A.D., Chess was developed in India. By 1400 A.D. chess had evolved into the game that we now know, in Europe. By the 19th century, Chess had reached new heights for game popularity and the first World Chess Championship was held in 1886. Chess tournaments have been held around the world nearly weekly ever since. in the 1970′s this game got its first electronic debut on the computer. Chess even has its own organization known as the World Chess Federation.

CHINESE CHECKERS

Despite the name, this classic board game is not a variation of Checkers, nor did it originate in China or any part of Asia. This game hit the gaming community in Germany in 1892. First released under the name Stern-Halma. This multiplayer game supports up to six players. While not quite as popular as Chess and Checkers this game still has a lot of world popularity, and while it may be harder to find live tournaments for this classic board game, you can find many an online tournament.

Diablo III Preview: Part III – The Monk

Alexandria Howell — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 03:54:20 +0000

As the intro trailer suggests, The Diablo III Monk is every bit the expert melee combatant that you would expect.

The Monk uses Spirit as a resource pool which is slowly regenerated by attacking enemies.

Utilizing the Elements and the power of the Gods, the Monk uses martial arts to combat its foes. Attacks such as Fists of Thunder do an alarming amount of damage as the Monk’s fists now use the power of lightning to smite foes and to gain Spirit. Coupled with Blinding Flash, which is as it sounds, any attacking enemy can quickly be dealt with.

The Monk also utilizes several Mantras that offer the Monk and all nearby allies different types of protection. For instance, the Mantra of Evasion grants all allies within forty yards a twenty-five percent chance to dodge an incoming attack.

Whether the Monk is using Holy powers for protection through Mantras or extending the reach of their strikes, this Holy Warrior definitely packs a punch against the forces of evil that plague the land.

Diablo III Preview: Part II – The Witch Doctor

Alexandria Howell — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 02:07:48 +0000

As mentioned in Part I, Diablo III will be adding in a few new classes and one of the most interesting classes added to the third addition to this classic dungeon crawler is the Witch Doctor.

For those not yet included in the closed beta testing of Diablo III, the easiest way to describe the Witch Doctor would be to say that its the equivalent of an Affliction Warlock combined with a Frost Mage.

With abilities like Grasp of the Dead, which slows groups of enemies by a considerable amount in an eight yard area, coupled with things like Haunt, which is a devestating Damage Over Time spell that transfers between enemies in groups for a period of time, the Witch Doctor is virtually unstoppable.

If controlling haunting spirits to do your bidding isn’t quite your thing, you always have the option to summon a small pack of Zombie Dogs ( who doesn’t want a pet Zombie?) and destroy your enemies with other spells such as the Skull of Flame, which is exactly what it sounds like with a little explosive kick for flare.

Finally, if this is not enough to fill your Witch Doctor needs, send your enemies back the the flaming depths of Hell in true Biblical style as you create Plagues of Toads and Locust Swarms.

Are Arcades Making A Comeback?

Alexandria Howell — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 01:02:42 +0000

For many, the mention of an arcade throws us into a nostalgic look back on gaming. From the days of Pac-Man and the original Mortal Kombat and Tekken, the arcade is something that any gamer will always appreciate. Despite the popularity with the gaming community, however, due to the ease of access and the affordability of gaming consoles, many arcades fell to the wayside and closed.

Recently though it would seem that their is some shred of luck for the many twenty-something year olds who fondly remember the arcade. As gaming takes back the popularity that it had in olden days, we have seen a huge increase of arcade style bars such as Gameworks and Dave & Buster’s.

What makes these places so special? Both Gameworks and Dave & Buster’s have ingeniously combined the Sports Bar with the Arcade. Most of these venues have two to three stories of arcade games ranging from the old school nostalgic Pac-Mans and Space Invaders to new-age games such as Dance Dance Revolution and even some foreign games like Technika that have only found their ways into such arcades.

So, are arcades making a comeback? I for one am more than willing to to go out on the weekends with a few friends, down a few drinks, and spend a bit of cash in the arcade (while attempting to hold my own against the local DDR prodigy).

Angry Birds Space Is Coming Next Month

Kieffer Wilson — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 16:41:34 +0000

It’s been a while since we have seen a full game from Rovio on our mobile phones. The last game that was a full release was Angry Birds Rio which was a based of the movie released at the time called “Rio”. But one cannot say that Rovio does not keep their games updated as seasons practically becomes a new game every time a holiday runs around and we are introduced to a new bird every couple of months. But now Rovio has announced the new game that will keep you glued to your phone for a hours which is Angry Birds Space! Part of the angry birds website has teased at this game with a slingshot in space which makes it pretty obvious, not to mention the image above. We can only hope that Wheatley is the next angry bird…

Bundles, Bundles and More Bundles!

Kieffer Wilson — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 18:53:59 +0000

Since the recent growth in Steam we have seen indie games become more and more popular. Games such as Dungeon Defenders and Super Meat Boy have seriously hit it off with the market by making as much profit as a normal retail game in some cases. We love these indie games because of the innovation that seems to be drained from the mainstream publishers, we see brand new ideas from hundreds of different studios that would never have the chance if we didn’t have distribution services such as Steam and the popularity of social networks today. One of the greatest things about indie games though are the prices, and by prices I don’t mean the regular price you pay when the game is released. When I talk about prices I mean bundles, indie bundles to be exact! If you have not learned of this growing phenomenon the basic idea is that a group of developers donate keys to a website for a good cause such as Child’s Play and the website sells these group of games in a bundle for what ever amount you decide to pay. That’s right, they are practically giving their game away. But that is not the point of the bundles, the point is to give what you think the games are worth and how much you appreciate the developers making these games, so you can donate anywhere from 1 dollar to 1000 and it’s all up to you. The most popular bundles seem to be The Humble Indie Bundle, Indie Royale and The Indie Gala.

If you are looking to start participating in this growing trend then there is no stopping you! The current bundles running right now are listed below.

The Be Mine Bundle - Games included are Xotic, Sideway New York, Wasteland Angel, Beep, The Ball, Nikopol: Secrets of the Immortals and The Be Mine Special EP

The Indie Gala - This bundle is different from the others as there are three different bundles and the more you pay the more games you get, if you pay for the highest bundle, which is 9.61 or more, you get Roboblitz, inMomentum, Bunch of Heroes, Your Doodles are Bugged, Greed Corp, Critical Mass, Fortix 2, Hacker Evolution, Hacker Evolution: Untold, Hacker Evolu

The Humble Bundle Mojam - This is also another unique bundle as Humble Bundle inc has teamed up with Mojang, the creators of Minecraft and the upcoming Scrolls, to bring you a new form of bundle. Over this weekend Mojang asked people’s opinion of what type of game they would like to see made. The most popular answer and the least popular answer were chosen to be put together to make a game over this weekend and put into a bundle. The game is an Egyptian Steam Punk RTS Beat ‘em up and only has 2 hours left. So if you want to grab this game don’t waste anymore time!tion: Duality and nine albums from indie artists.

2nd official Max Payne 3 trailer released

AJ — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 17:36:35 +0000

Rockstar Games have released the 2nd official trailer for Max Payne 3 today. It shows us a bit more about why he’s fighting the criminals and gangs in Brazil. Max is trying to locate and take back the kidnapped wife of wealthy real estate mogul Rodrigo Branco. The trailer shows lots of shooting, explosions and guns, “just another day at the office” as Max would say. There’s still no indication as to why he shaved his full head of hair though, maybe it was too hot in Sao Paulo.

The game is coming out on May 15th 2012 in North America and May 18th 2012 in Europe on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 with the PC version launching on May 29th 2012 in North America and June 1st 2012 in Europe. For more information see the official website: http://www.rockstargames.com/maxpayne3

Far Cry 3 Stranded trailer released

AJ — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 16:19:25 +0000

Ubisoft have today released a new trailer for their upcoming game, Far Cry 3. Title “Stranded” it follows the main protagonist, Jason Brody, his girlfriend and friend as they go from backpacking on the Far Cry 3 to being kidnapped and running for his life from the ever so slightly mad Vaas. It’s clearly a trailer designed to set up the backstory for the game. If it keeps up this level of action and intensity throughout the game Ubisoft could be onto a sure winner.

You’ll be able to play the game on September 7th 2012. Let’s just hope Ubisoft don’t package their awful always-on-DRM with the PC version.

For more information on Far Cry 3 check out the official website: http://far-cry.ubi.com/far-cry-3/en-GB/home/

Playing Dead is no game, but The Walking Dead is

AJ — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 19:15:52 +0000

Telltale games, developers behind the Back to the Future, Jurrasic Park and Sam and Max episodic adventure games, have announced Playing Dead, a new 9 part behind the scenes series counting down to the first episode for their The Walking Dead game.

The videos are hosted by AJ LoCascio, the voice of Marty McFly in Back to the Future: The Game, and will offer an insight into the development of the game. Fans will be able to see interviews with special guests including The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman and Gary Whitta, screenwriter for The Book of Eli, writer for Gears of War and story consultant for their game. As well as exclusive interviews and development information, fans can expect to have their questions answered in a Q&A segment exclusive to the game’s official site.

You can check out the first episode and three newly released in-game screenshots below:

For more information on The Walking Dead game check out the official website: www.thewalkingdeadgame.com

Sonic The Hedgehog 4: Episode 2 New Screens

Kieffer Wilson — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 16:49:44 +0000

New screens for the downloadable Sequel in the Sonic series is starting to look more and more like the Genesis sequel.

This time around we are seeing purple sonics, Tail’s and his plane and even dual abilities? There seems to be a couple of similarities with this game and the sequel to the original Sonic, we even get that fun 3D mini games for the chaos emeralds! You can check out the gallery over at destructoid.