Star Trek Online

Trek fans everywhere were finally able to get there hands on Cryptic Studios’ MMO RPG Star Trek Online as of yesterday, unless you pre-ordered it, at which point you got to explore the final frontier starting back on January 29th. Star Trek Online thrusts players into the universe envisioned by Gene Roddenberry which is now torn by war pitting players in a battle between the United Federation of Planets and the Klingon Empire. STO is the first MMO RPG set in the Star Trek universe and takes place 30 years after the events seen in Star Trek: Nemesis.

Players will become the captain of his/her very own ship under either the Klingon Empire or the United Federation of Planets. The Klingon faction is made up of the Klingon Defense Force, the Gorn Hegemony, the Nausicaan civilization and the Orion civilization. Play style for the Klingons is mainly combat oriented, as many fans of the series will appreciate. The Klingon faction is able to pursue tactical, scientific and engineering careers though they are still expected to combat their enemies and bring glory to their houses. Character customization with the Klingons is vast allowing you to full tweak any aspect of your Klingon Captain’s look, dress, equipment etc… Playing as the United Federation of Planets, characters can play as many different factions that include (but are not limited to) Humans, Bolians, Andolians and Bajorans. Gameplay for the Federation is broken up into themed “seasons” which feature episodic missions which help to develop STO’s story. The three seasons that are available at the launch of the game include Klingon, Romulan and Borg storylines that eventually weave into a compelling plot.

Combat takes place in both space and on the ground of distant planets. Ground combat can go one of two ways. You can either blitz right into the enemy guns blazing or try and make a more tactical plan by flanking and setting up key choke points etc… Definitely the easiest way is the run and gun blitz style which takes really no skill or planning. However players will be happy to know that tactical attack is always an option. Space combat focuses on ship to ship combat. Players will need to focus on managing your ship’s shield energy levels while simultaneously maintaining a consistent barrage of fire on your enemy’s weak spots. One on one fighting is said to be somewhat bland but most of the time you will be facing off against multiple ships at one time which makes space battles have a fast paced and epic feel. Looking at the STO website I found a listing of all the Federation ships which are separated into 3 main categories which each have their own sub-categories and ships. The 3 main categories consist of Federation Cruisers, Escorts and Science Vessels. The Cruiser class is made up of the normal cruiser which consists of the Constitution, Excalibur and Vesper ship models, the Heavy Cruiser which consists of the Constellation, Stargazer and Dakota models, the Exploration Cruiser which consists of the Galaxy, Celestial and Envoy models, and finally the Battle Cruiser which consists of the Sovereign, Noble and Majestic models.

Escorts include the normal Escort class with the Saber, Rapier and Ushaan models, the Heavy Escort with the Akira, Zephyr and Oslo models, the Tactical escort with the Defiant, Vigilant and Gallant models and the Fleet Escort made up of the Prometheus, Phoenix and Cerberus models. Finally there is the Science Vessels which are comprised of Science Vessels made up of the Nova, Aurora and Quasar models, Research Vessels made up of the Olympic, Hope and Horizon models, Long Range Vessels made up of the Intrepid, Cochrane and Discovery models and Deep Space Vessels made up of the Luna, Sol and Polaris models. Overall that makes up 36 different ships at your disposal all with their own unique customization options, and that is just the Federation!

There is a grouping system in STO which is to say that every time you enter a zone you are automatically grouped with other players. This system could be either good or bad depending on your point of view. While playing with other actual people is way more fun than playing alone there are also instances where you will be beamed down to a planet that honestly has absolutely no need for grouping which may become tiresome to some gamers.

Many players reported that there were several bugs and glitches in the beta but recent reports after the game’s official release all seem to say that all the major bugs and glitches have been fixed. While exploring the vast reaches of space, you will use your scanner and different equipment to collect things like anomalous materials that can be used in trade for special weapons and ship upgrades. There are also some pretty cool little features that have been added to the game for hardcore Star Trek enthusiasts. Leonard Nimoy provides the voice work for a lot of the game including your character’s introduction when you begin in the Federation. Zachary Quinto, who portrayed a younger Spock in the newest Star trek film, is also adding his voice talents to the game and it’s storyline.

The episodic missions are enjoyable and the PvP battles are immersive, intense and feel significant to the player. Being able to join up with other players online and engage in the war between the Federation and the Klingon Empire delivers a gameplay experience that is sure to appeal to hardcore fans of the Star Trek fiction as well as other players who just want to enjoy playing the game. The game has already been released in the United States and comes with a $49.99 price tag as well as a $14.99 monthly subscription fee with the first month being free upon purchasing the game. If you are a fan of Star Trek then you will definitely appreciate hopping in the captains seat of your very own star ship and commanding your crew to victory.

Microsoft’s SideWinder X4 Anti-Ghosting Keyboard

Anybody who considers themselves a hardcore PC gamer understands that precise control on the keyboard is essential for the best gaming experience. Well, Microsoft has heard the call of the troubled gamer and has introduced a keyboard designed to give you more control while gaming, the SideWinder X4. The Applied Sciences Group over at Microsoft is using the industry’s most advanced anti-ghosting technology to ensure that the gamer’s most complex key combinations will be recognized by the computer to keep the game in action.

The anti-ghosting technology designed by the Applied Sciences Group was created with gamers in mind. Microsoft has really taken it to the next level with the Side Winder X4. The keyboard will allow you to press up to 26 keys at once because each key is scanned independently by the keyboard hardware. “We are always looking for new and novel ways to enhance people’s interactions with their PCs,” said Research Manager of the Applied Sciences Group at Microsoft Steven Bathiche. “We know that ghosting can be a problem for gamers, so we wanted to develop a way to eliminate this issue and improve the overall gaming experience, and we’ve succeeded with the new anti-ghosting technology in the SideWinder X4 keyboard.”

The X4 offers some pretty awesome features that any gamer will find useful. The X4 has Macro recording which lets the you string together multiple moves into a single button press making incredibly long or difficult combos able to be performed flawlessly. Another cool feature is the new automatic macro repetition feature. This allows you to repeat the macro over and over again as many times as needed with one key. There is also mode and profile switching which provides an easy way to customize the keyboard for different games and adjustable backlighting also adds to the customization allowing you to tweak the settings as you desire.

The SideWinder won’t be available until sometime in March 2010 for around $59.95. But if you can’t wait to get one and you need it so bad then you can pre-order one on Amazon.com later this week. And don’t worry about your X4 breaking or anything because even if it does it is backed by a worldwide 3 year limited hardware warranty. Definitely be on the lookout for this keyboard when it debuts in March.

Mass Effect 2

Mass Effect was a bold new vision from Bioware when it was released back in November of 2007. The game attempted to fuse incredibly detailed RPG elements with fast paced action and fighting like you would see in any third-person shooter and, for the most part, they succeeded. Despite it’s flaws, the original Mass Effect was truly a standout game and one that left quite an impression on games of its genre. So fans of the game were obviously ecstatic to hear that not only would the highly successful game receive a sequel, but that it would in fact be the first installment in what is to become an epic space trilogy.

Well the second game in the Mass effect trilogy was released yesterday and the gaming community is already erupting into a frenzy over the new game and how it has improved over the first one. Mass Effect 2 starts off exactly where Mass effect left off with our hero Commander Shepard hunting down the remains of the sentient AI known as the Geth. The first game’s storyline involved your character hunting down a rogue Specter named Saren and his army of Geth. The second game is slightly different. All across the galaxy, human colonies are just disappearing with no signs of what happened and it is up to Shepard to figure out what is going on.

Shepard is joined by an all new squad of teammates to aid him in his missions. There have been a total of 10 characters revealed that Shepard can add to his squad. Only two character from the original game will be returning as part of Shepard’s crew with other characters possibly returning as NPCs. From the original game you will team up with the Quarian Tali’Zorah nar Rayya who has renamed herself Tali’Zorah vas Normandy after she joins Shepard’s crew. Turian Agent Garrus Vakarian also returns to team up with Shepard after Shepard helps him out. The 8 new characters include Jacob Taylor, a human member of the pro-human group Cerebus, Miranda Lawson, a human member of Cerebus, Thane Krios, a Drell assassin, Grunt, an in-vitro birthed Krogan bodyguard, Jack (a.k.a. Subject Zero), a human female test subject of Cerebus, Mordin Solus, a Salarian scientist, Samara, a powerful Asari biotic andLegion, a “naturally-evolved” Geth that is obsessed with Shepard. In addition, Bioware is releasing one additional character as a part of free DLC named Zaeed Messani, a human and the galaxy’s most feared bounty hunter.

Bioware has made some massive improvements in comparison with the first game. First off, Bioware has completely tweaked every aspect of the combat system. Most people who played the first game know that although the combat wasn’t terrible by any means, some of the micro-management became tedious and took away from the real-time gameplay Bioware was trying to enforce. In ME2, combat is still designed to be played in real-time though there is less management of everything, especially with your other two squad members. Gun combat with your squad mates is completely automated and you no longer have to open up the power wheel to select Shepard’s, or any squad member’s, biotic powers. Another addition to the combat is precision controls and region-specific damage. The number of weapons in each class has been significantly reduced. This is extremely good news for fans of the first game who had to endure those wretched inventory screens and the hours it took to clean it out. But not only are there less weapons, when your character actually does get an upgraded weapon, you can actually tell the difference.

Each Tech and Biotic skill has a clear advantage on the battlefield even when they are in their beginning stages. One notable difference to the way the powers are used is that if you use one, you can not use another one until your cool down time has finished. Putting restrictions like this on your powers adds an overall more strategic approach to the gameplay. It is such a satisfying feeling to shoot at a large group of enemies and then blasting them with a huge biotic power without ever having to pause the action. But these are just a small part in the improvements of the game.

You characters path in the game has also been tweaked significantly to give you more variety in how you play. Skill points are still used to upgrade Shepard and his squad with traditional things like biotic and tech abilities with one generic slot that encompasses health, shields and your paragon/renegade stance. The simplified skill tree makes it easier for you to plan out the growth and development of your character. Your weapon and armor upgrades come from researching and scanning specific objects in the game or by purchasing new the knowledge at certain stores in the galaxy. You have to mine metals and such from different planets which is turned into money, or credits. Many players in the first game will remember turning every piece of useless inventory into credits one at a time. Well that has been improved upon in the greatest possible way. Now, whenever you acquire something that is useless to you, it is transferred into credits INSTANTANEOUSLY! That’s right, no more scouring your inventory for useless items because they are taken out for you. In addition to the other customizable options, you can also full customize how your guns and armor look. For me, nothing sucked worse in ME1 than finding an armor suit that was hands down better than the one I had and putting it on to find out it was pink and white. You can now make any of your armor pieces look just the way you want them too.

A big part of the original game was the dialogue options. You had immersive conversations with almost every character you met and each dialogue option you chose had some kind of impact whether it be positive (shifting your alignment towards Paragon) or negative (shifting your alignment towards Renegade). But one thing that was somewhat dull about the dialogue was that all the characters stood in place while talking which made for some boring conversations sometimes. Well in Mass Effect 2, your characters have the ability to walk and talk at the same time adding a greater cinematic concept to the game. Your positive and negative dialogue options also have a different effect on your character’s physical appearance as well. Anybody who played the original Xbox game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is familiar with how your physical appearance became darker and more disfigured as your alignment shifted. Well, the same goes for ME2. All of your decisions will have a physical consequence on your character’s appearance.

The biggest innovation in the ME2 is the ability to transfer your saved game data from ME1 into the second game, allowing you to continue your story from the first game with the exact same character. This mechanic has not been seen in games and seems to be an amazing concept. I personally know what it is like trying to recreate the same character for sequels of a game but in ME2, the game does it for me which allows you to fully immerse yourself in the Mass Effect universe and provides a truly cinematic and personal experience.

With all the incredible tweaks, improvements and innovations to Mass Effect 2 there is one solitary fault with the game: the mining system. To upgrade your tech, weapons and armor you need minerals and metals. In the first game you mined these resources but they didn’t really do anything for you. Well in ME2 they help you get things, but at a cost. To mine a metal you must first scan a planet by holding in the left trigger and delicately moving the analog stick over the planet. Then you must send out a probe which mines the metals from the deposits you find. Calling the process tedious is an understatement but we can see why it is here. To upgrade your character and make him more powerful, you have to mine metals. The process is tedious and not enjoyable to keep players from doing it too much and making their characters too powerful too quickly.

All of the shortcomings of the first Mass Effect have been fixed in Mass Effect 2 and the game is just an all around incredible experience. The combat is quick, intense and satisfying and the story telling is a masterpiece unlike anything we typically see in games today. If you loved the first one then you can not go without playing this one. In my opinion, this game is definitely one of the best games to come out in recent history and one everybody should try. The game is available now for the PC and Xbox 360.

NVIDIA GeForce 300M Series Graphics Processors

NVIDIA slipped its all new 300M mobile GPUs out to consumers over the new year transition with little publicity behind it, and for understandable reasons. Many people have been wondering exactly what is going on in the fight against really crappy graphics in otherwise all around awesome laptops. Laptop gamers have been waiting to see how things will pan out and with NVIDIA’s release of their 300M Series GPUs, we finally have an answer: not much.

The 300M Series comes with three different categories: “High Performance”, “Performance” and “Mainstream”. The GeForce GTS 360M and GTS 350M make up the “High Performance” category with the GeForce GTS 335M, GTS 330M and GTS 325M making up the “Performance” category and the GeForce GTS 310M and GTS 305M making up the “Mainstream” category.

One of the reasons that the 300M Series isn’t getting people excited is because even the top tier GTS 360M has the exact same number of processing cores (96) as the older 260M as well as the same 2GHz memory clock and an identical 128-bit memory interface. This is true throughout the entire 300M Series. Though there are some good things that come with the 300M Series. The 300M GPUs support accelerated video and image processing applications that were built with Microsoft’s new DirectCompute API. The GPUs also have older technology in them like DirectX10, CUDA, PhysX and PureVideo as well as support for two-way SLI. There are only two notebook models on the United States market that currently feature the GeForce 300M Series from NVIDIA, the Qosmio X505-Q875 from Toshiba and the X505-Q870 also from Toshiba. Both of these laptops feature the “High Performance” GTS 360M GPU.

One thing many people may be happy to notice is that there is a complete omission of any GeForce GTX models in the new 300M Series. Some people see this as a sign that the mobile PC gaming market will occupied by Fermi-shaped chips this March which is what a lot of people have been waiting for since December. The 40nm GPU was pushed back to a March 2010 release date back in December according to NVIDIA.

While the 300M Series from NVIDIA isn’t the greatest upgrade in mobile graphics it does seem to get the job done, at least as good if not slightly better than the current GPU’s on the market. And at least it will be a good hold over until the highly anticipated Fermi-shaped 40nm GPU’s come out in March, which is only less than two months away.

MMO Gender Verification System: No More Guys Playing as Girls

You’ve done it, your friends have done it and I’ll bet that nearly every single person who has ever played an MMO has done it. In practically every MMO game, players are tasked with a simple choice right from the very second you begin to play and that is choosing whether or not your character will be either male or female. A very simple choice indeed and one that, for a majority of games, does not have that big of an impact on what happens in the games. Now in MMO games, what sex your character will have wasn’t necessarily your individual sex. What I mean is that guy players could play as a girl character and vice versa. But does anybody really have a problem playing against or with a female game character that in reality is a dude? Doubtful, unless you are with the Chinese MMO King of the World.

For King of the World, guys playing as female characters is just flat out unacceptable. In fact, the Chinese MMO hates it so much that they are even going as far as to place an actual ban on male gamers playing as female characters. Right about now you are probably wondering “how in the world are they going to figure out if I’m a guy playing as a girl?” Are they going to track down the address of every female game character and go to the players house to make sure they are a girl? Almost. What the MMO plans on doing is to introduce a new Gender Identity System. The system scans players faces by way of webcam and then determines if you are male or female. Should the system determine you are a male playing as a female character you will simply be banned outright.

What surprises many people is that this crazy, and highly intrusive, technology is being developed by Aurora Technology, the company behind Aion and Dungeons and Dragons Online. Aurora has released in a statement that this technology is being implemented to end gender-bending “cheaters”. Aurora also believes that requiring people to play as their own sex will help to make female players feel more respected. How a guy playing as a girl character disrespects women is beyond me. One factor in this that is really astonishing is that there is absolutely no word that female players trying to play as male characters will be screened and/or banned. Why that wouldn’t be equally “offensive” doesn’t really make sense.

The good news is that this technology, for now, is just in China and only for the Chinese MMO King of the World so every single other person in the world doesn’t have much to worry about and probably won’t have anything to worry about anytime soon.

Games You Can Play On Your Netbook

 

If you’re like everyone else in the world, you probably bought a Netbook in the last year due to its low-cost and light weight.  It’s a handy little tool, great for travel and checking your email, but it’s not exactly known as a gaming computer with its lower quality graphics and processor. 

But let’s face it, any true gamer is going to be itching to play some type of game whether they’re on their Netbook or not.   That’s why CNET decided to find out just what games are easily played on those trendy little laptops.  The games range in price and range from web-based casual games to the new and fast-growing social media gaming that so many people are participating in on Facebook.  

Below is the list of games and according to CNET, they will run on any Netbook with Windows 7 or XP, 1GB of RAM, and an Intel Atom N270 or 280 processor.    A few of them also require you to have Nvidia’s Ion graphics.

1.  Torchlight:  RPG game that even has a “netbook mode” setting.  Available online from various sources. 

2.  Plants:  Casual tower defense game available for $9.99 from PopCap.

3.  World of Warcraft: This MMO is available for download and isn’t exactly great for Netbooks but runs OK if you turn the graphics settings down.

4.  Quake Live:  A free web-based game that plays on almost any PC and can be downloaded from QuakeLife.com.

5.  Alien Shooter 2/Zombie Shooter 2: A new 2D RPG that is easy to play and available for $5.99 – 9.99 at Steam.  

6.  Fallout/Fallout 2:  They aren’t Fallout 3 but fun all the same.  Both are available for $5.99 at Good Old Games. 

7.  Farmville:  If you’re already on Facebook, you probably love or hate this one, but regardless, it’s 70 million players strong and one of the most popular online games of all time.  Plus, it’s free!  Go to Farmville.com for more info. 

8.  Gothic II:  The folks at CNET compare this RPG to Dragon Age (which won’t run on a Netbook).  Available for $9.99 at Good Old Games.

9.  Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast: Available for $9.99 from Steam, this is a first-person shooter Star Wars game. 

10.  Mafia Wars:  Another game that is big on Facebook (it’s also available on iPhones and MySpace). 

11.  Bejeweled Twist: This match-three game is available everywhere it seems but the web-based version is fun and easy to get just about anywhere. 

12.  Sanitarium: A classic point-and-click adventure that’s been recently re-released and is available for$9.99 at Good Old Games.

13.  Nancy Drew Series: These games will run on any PC and despite not really changing their graphics over the last decade have remained popular.  They are available from $14.99 – $19.99 on Steam. 

14.  Beneath a Steel Sky:  Another point-and-click game from the 90’s, it’s free to download from Gold Old Games. 

15.  Braid:  This game is available for PCs and Xbox 360 and is available for $9.99 on Steam.

16.  Peggle:  Download from PopCap or play a web-based version, it’s addictive and almost anyone can play. 

17.  Bloons Tower Defense:  This game is another tower defense game that is full of well, balloon-popping and monkeys.  Play it for free, online, at Ninja Kiwi. 

18.  Grand Theft Auto 2:  Rockstar Games is making some of its classic games available as free downloads and this is just one of them.  

19.  Petville:  Another one of the social networking games that is becoming popular on Facebook.  Sort of like a virtual pet. 

20.  Duke Nukem 3D:  Another classic game that is full of fun and pop culture.  Available for $5.99 at Good Old Games.

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Alienware TactX Gaming Mouse and Keyboard

Alienware is known primarily for their gaming technology, always pushing what we can do with PC gaming to the edge and their new TactX gaming mouse and keyboard are no different. For hardcore gamers out there, having the best mouse and keyboard can be the difference in smoking your competition or getting powned like a noob. Alienware wants to help you on your road to gaming greatness and offers you two new tools to assist you in your efforts with the TactX gaming mouse and TactX gaming keyboard.

The TactX gaming keyboard is a full-size keyboard that comes with 6 customizable macro keys and all 6 keys have three different modes giving you up to 18 different keys. Each key can be programmed to replicate individual keys, launch applications or even perform multi-key macros. On top of that, the keyboard features a game mode switch which disables your windows and context menu keys. Along with the 6 customizable keys, the TactX features WASD gaming cluster and anti-ghosting technology. Customization is a big thing with Alienware so its not a surprise to see some customization options on the TactX. The keyboard comes with removable palm rests and color lighting options for two different zones on the keyboard with 20 different color choices thanks to AlienFX.

The TactX gaming mouse has just as many features as the keyboard. It comes with FTM features which help to enhance your MMORPG games and also a differentiator for Alienware gaming systems. The mouse comes with an on-board memory which allows you to setup, customize and save macros to your liking. The mouse has a dual mode scroll wheel allowing for both vertical and horizontal scrolling. The TactX also gives you the option of storing up to 5 different mouse settings profiles to the on-board memory. On the bottom of the mouse is a Profile Selection button which allows you to easily switch between profiles. This mouse also has a 5000 DPI Laser Engine complete with on-the-fly DPI switching as well as 9 customizable buttons. Like the TactX keyboard, the TactX mouse also comes with AlienFX, allowing you to fully customize it with a multitude of colors and effects.

To get a truly unique gaming experience on your PC, check out the new TactX gaming mouse and keyboard from Alienware. You can also make it a full package by adding on the TactX gaming headset for the full on TactX experience. Both the mouse and the keyboard come with a 6-foot USB cable and both support USB 2.0 and have Windows 7 compatibility. You can pick both of these great gaming tools for $100 a piece.

By: Zack Duncan

Borderlands

It seems that post-apocalyptic worlds ruled by legions of outlaw gangs is something many people are into these days. People love the lawlessness, the gun play, the gangs and everything that goes along with it and that is exactly what Borderlands delivers. This game is first and foremost a loot hunting game, much like Blizzard’s huge hit Diablo. This game doesn’t ease you into it either, right off the bat you are thrust into this open world environment with a handful of quests and mass amounts of gang members that are trying to keep you from killing their beloved leader.

When you start off, your weapons are, to put it nicely, less than desirable. They are old, rusted and don’t work too well. But they don’t last long as you find new weapons that have better functionality, better fire power and a better appearance. The farther into the game you go the better weapons you get like shotguns, handguns, sub-machine guns sniper rifles and even rocket launchers that glow with an elemental fury like fire or lightning or even ones that shoot a corrosive substance that literally eats your enemies alive! And that’s only the human weapons, there are crazy alien weapons later on in the game that are even more insane. The more you use a weapon the better your character becomes with it, allowing you to better become a more intense fighter blasting, shattering and burning your way through any obstacle that obstructs your path.

This game is an action RPG which means you will be leveling up and upgrading your character the entire time. each time you level up you will want to swap out gear and weapons for better ones so you are always outfitted with the best stuff. There are four different character classes and each class gets one and only one primary action skill. The soldier class can drop down a sentry turret to assist in a firefight, the Berserker class can charge forward and smash foes with fists of fury, the Hunter Class throws out a bird to attack from a distance and the Siren class can enter a temporary state of invisibility. As you level up your selected character, you will earn points that are attributed to your skill tree. Your skill tree changes how much damage you can do, how much damage you can take and helps make your action skill even deadlier, and they mean deadlier. The Siren has a phasewalk ability that can be upgraded with shock damage and can also drastically shorten the abilities cool down period or turn into a contagious inferno after every kill made.

While the skills and level progression are great, this game’s true call to glory is the weaponry. This game feels, plays and moves like an FPS and you spend most of your time shooting people and experiencing fast-paced gameplay. You have a variety of different enemies to fight against and dispose of in your own sick and demented way. When you begin you will face off against your typical, low-class bandit type enemies who bounce between cover and shoot back at you. Then you will come across some bruiser characters, some of which carry bigger, badder weapons and others you just charge straight at you, sometimes while on fire, trying to take you out with blunt, rusty weapons. Some of the smaller bandits, who carry shotguns, get thrown on their back with each shot and some snipe from a distance. Others have shields and then again some do not. The way all the enemies move around during a firefight is frantic and chaotic which makes it exciting to be a part of. Sometimes, however, the fighting can be unrealistic, especially when you are standing toe-to-toe with a group of enemies unleashing head shots galore and not taking down a single one. But that’s what you get when yuo take health bars over realism.

If you get bored of taking down the crazy humans in the game, then you can take a stab at taking out the crazy, spiky skags, dog-like creatures that jump, spit, slash and overall make your life difficult. There are also winged beasts that soar high above the world before swooping down to gauge your eyes out. In addition to these there are worms that burrow underground as well as armored insects that hurl projectiles at you and roll across the battlefield at high speeds. Overall there is a very nice mix of enemies in Borderlands. They also have a tendency to attack in large groups, which makes defeating the lot of them by switching weapon types and activating action skills in one all out charge extremely satisfying. If, by now, you are thinking that fighting these little humans and weird creatures is going to get old then slow your role because there are some pretty intense boss fights in this game as well. The bosses are totally monstrous and include things like a gigantic, lumbering quadruped and even a flying, fire-breathing behemoth. These fights serve as a welcome change of pace in the game and some of the bosses even drop unique loot that you can’t get anywhere else in the game.

Some of the environments feel similar to each other but then you come up on a boggy swamp, dockyard or clustered urban environment which gives you a nice sense of variety. There is a nice transportation system that has quick-spawn vehicles or a rapid transit system to help you traverse the world better. The vehicles in the game do help you travel faster and some can be outfitted with rockets or machine guns to help kill annoying foes but running over or into things is much easier. Two people can man a vehicle, with one driving and the other manning the turret. Which brings us to one of the best features of Borderlands, the multiplayer.

While you are completely capable of exploring the game, finishing quests and fighting off enemies alone and have a great time doing it, you receive some of the best entertainment by playing with other people. As more players join your game, your enemies get stronger and drop more valuable loot. This makes you want to bring in as many of your friends as possible so you have a better chance at getting better stuff. Praise needs to be thrown on Gearbox, developers of the game, because they created it so that all of your quests you completed, items you received and experience gained from playing in a friends game is carried over to your game when you switch back. Assuming you and the person you are playing with are at the same point in the game, it is possible to do the same quest together. Up to four of you can go out and venture the game world together. Players should give the four player scenario a try due to the mass chaos that ensues when playing. It is suggested, however, that you play with people you know and trust because there are no looting rules in Borderlands. Any item that drops is free game to whoever can get to it first. A statistical pop-up appears whenever you pan over an item in range showing you how it rates according to your skills and other weapons. If you get a weapon you don’t want, then you can always sell it at one of the games many vending machines or just drop it back on the ground for another teammate to acquire.

Gearbox took replay value into great consideration with this game. After you complete your first play through, you will probably be in your mid 30’s with character level out of a possible level 50. You can start a new game with your current character with everything other than quest progression carrying over. The best part is that your starting enemies will be upgraded to fit your character’s level, so you are not just going through slaughtering ridiculously weak enemies. After you and everybody you know has maxed out to level 50, it will be time to see which of you is better. The game gives you the option of melee attacking a teammate and trying to initiate a duel. After that it is possible to head to special dungeons for some player on player combat. This mode is strictly for fun and adds a nice mechanic of seeing how your weapons and armor stack up against another actual player.

Borderlands is a surprisingly accessible game although gamers who are not familiar with loot drop games may need to take a little extra time to get used to the game’s mechanics. There isn’t a punishment system either for when you die. Before you die, you enter a bleed-out-state where you can kill your attacker and then come back to life. On the other hand, if you are playing with other people, they can simply come over and revive you with no need of special healing skills. However, should you actually bleed out and die, the game restarts you at a convenient respawn point and only deducts a small amount of cash from your inventory. You do not lose any skills, weapons or armor. Some other great features of this game include the visuals. The sharp and stylish visuals make the gameplay interesting and entertaining. However, the framerate on the console versions can be a bit jittery with large scale fights. Enemies also react realistically when being shot. Their head snaps back, the get sent reeling and occasionally trigger some nice elemental deaths. The large open, environments have very nice detail as well as the large variety of weapon designs. The game also has a nice humorous aspect to it. Some of the recurring characters in the game offer witty and snappy remarks which make for an enjoyable experience.

This game plays like a shooter but is built on statistical progression, character customization and holds item acquisition high above everything else. Borderlands doesn’t lack in content with four player co-op, four different classes, an insane amount of weapons and around 20+ hours of content with the ability to restart your game after completion with stronger weapons and enemies. Convenient and accessible, Borderlands offers action-RPG gamers a solid title to sink their teeth into. A definite game to try this year. Borderlands is available now for the PC, Xbox 360 ans PS3.

By: Zack Duncan

Sims 3 World Adventures Expansion Pack

The Sims 3 may still be relatively new to the game world but that hasn’t stopped Electronic Arts from announcing the game’s first expansion pack: Sims 3 World Adventures.  The EP will ship to stores on November 16.  For the first time, in the world of Sims, your game will go international. 

They will be able to explore new fictional cities based on real-world destinations.  Learn martial arts in Shang Simla, discover a romantic getaway in Champs Les Sims, France, or explore ancient tombs in Al Simhara, Egypt.  Your Sims take part in various adventures along the way.  Accept challenges to find secret treasures, learn new skills, look for personal opportunities,  meet new, unique Sims personalities and Sims of different nationalities, discover new styles and of course share your Sims’ adventures with photographs, movies and stories. 

One revelation is the appearance of mummies that will be playable in the game.  The mummies can awaken from their sarcophagus and curse your Sims, causing the Sim to die in two weeks’ time if you do not perform a certain ritual.  Sims can also become mummies, but the details on what their abilities would be have not yet been released. 

It also looks as though the EP will come with 1,000 SimPoints to use for downloading exclusive content from the Sims 3 store, if you register your game.  The Sims 3 store is filled with a variety of hairstyles, outfits, furniture, home decor and architecture which can be downloaded by the item or in sets such as Steampunk, Jet Set, or UltraLounge.   In addition, you’ll have the opportunity to check out secret hints and clues to adventures, and download new, exclusive Explorer’s Loot content.  

The game will also feature new music in Simlish (the game’s language) by some fairly well-known artists including Nelly Furtado, Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head, LeAnn Rimes, Matt & Kim, Pixie Lott, Katie Melua, Manchester Orchestra, Evan Taubenfeld, Young Punx, and Borken Hearts Club.

Will Wright’s New Project

After creating The Sims, SimCity, and Spore – some of the most successful and best-selling PC games of all time, you would think 49-year-old Will Wright would be sitting back and taking it easy.  Not so fast.  The Atlanta native, who has become something of a legacy in the PC game world, has a new project up his sleeves.  According to an interview with the LA Times, he wants to “build things that people would want to play with.”  So what is Wright’s latest project?  Well, he wouldn’t say, but he did drop a few hints that are sure to get wheels spinning in the tech world and maybe even the toy world?  

First of all, the new project is a toy, though Wright says calling it a toy exactly makes it too specific.  “All of our projects have crossover elements,” he tells the LA Times. In February, Wright will deliver a speech entitled “The Evolution of Entertainment: A Toy’s Place” at Engage! in New York City.  He will also be bringing his new concept along.  According to the Times, Engage! is a “conference on the convergence of toys, the Internet, virtual worlds, games and social media.”  

Not surprisingly, the new concept involves games – something Wright knows a little bit about.  His games (The Sims, Sim City, and Spore) have generated over $1 billion for his previous employer, Electronic Arts.  In the spring of 2009, Wright broke away from EA and started his own company, Stupid Fun Club, of which EA is a principal shareholder.  

Wright also says the project will have robotic components, something Wright has been fascinated with since childhood.   It will also have online components.  This is not unusual for today’s world as many popular toys also have virtual worlds where kids (and grown-ups) can play. 

Wright let a few more hints slip – you can read mor here: Will Wright, creator of The Sims, talks toys | Technology | Los Angeles Times - but the hints were elusive and it’s really hard to narrow his new project down.  Even so, with a creative genius like Wright behind the wheel, the new project will most likely be just as popular as his past ones, and probably just as anticipated!