Archive - 2012

BenQ Teams Up With MLG Pro Circuit

2012/03/21

IRVINE, Calif. — March 21, 2012 — BenQ America Corp. today announced that it is the official gaming monitor sponsor of Major League Gaming (MLG), the world’s largest competitive video game league for the 2012 MLG Pro Circuit season. Kicking off March 23-25 at the 2012 MLG Winter Championships in Columbus, Ohio, top PC gamers from around the world will compete using BenQ’s RL2450HT monitor, designed specifically for professional gaming and engineered to meet the specific needs of eSports athletes as well as deliver a supreme real-time strategy (RTS) gaming experience. Console games will be played on the BenQ GL2450HM monitor.

More than 1000 players will compete for their share of $200,000 in prizes and tens of thousands of spectators will watch the tournament at the Columbus Convention Center. Hundreds of thousands of fans will view the competition online at www.majorleaguegaming.com via six live HD streams.

“We are truly proud to be a part of the 2012 MLG Pro Circuit and to support prominent players from all over the world,” said Lars Yoder, President of BenQ America Corp. “This is a great opportunity to show our commitment to the gaming community with our professional gaming monitors. The RL Series monitors were built based on the latest display technologies and BenQ-exclusive gaming features that meet the unique demands of eSports tournaments, as well as participating athletes. We can’t wait to see them in action as gamers put them to the ultimate test in this world-class tournament.”

“Our RL and GL Series monitors have already earned their stripes at tournaments in the U.S. and abroad, but this major championship puts them front and center in a high-stakes, high-profile competition,” added Bob Wudeck, Director of Retail and e-Commerce at BenQ America Corp. “We’re excited to bring out the RL2450HT 24-inch-wide LED monitor and show off its cutting-edge features designed specifically for the pro gamer.”

The RL2450HT was engineered in conjunction with ZOWIE GEAR, a manufacturer of high-end professional gaming gear, as well as with input from the world-class StarCraft® II professional gaming team, STARTALE, which is sponsored by BenQ. The resulting monitor provides unprecedented levels of command, control, accuracy, and enjoyment for top-level RTS gamers.

The BenQ RL2450HT was built exclusively for gaming with a 60Hz refresh rate for smooth movement, an LED light engine for great color and low power consumption, and a 2ms GtG response time with 12 million to 1 contrast ratio. Proprietary BenQ enhancements on the RL Series professional gaming monitors give gamers a competitive edge over players on other gaming monitors. The RL Series RTS Mode maximizes StarCraft II visibility and optimizes color, while its Black eQualizer enables total visibility by allowing gamers to adjust the screen brightness without over-exposing white levels, in turn revealing critical combat details with improved visibility in darkened areas. The RL Series Display Mode allows gamers to interchange between monitor screen sizes, while the Smart Scaling feature gives them the freedom to manually scale the screen to any custom size, from 17 to 24 inches, depending on their preferences. In addition, the unit’s adjustable height stand allows for optimal screen positioning.

The 24-inch-wide GL2450HM monitor is an ideal choice for console gaming platforms, featuring brilliant LED backlighting, a dynamic contrast ratio of 12 million to 1, and a 2ms GtG response time that yields high dynamic videos without ghosting or other artifacts.

Supporting competitive gaming, BenQ will offer the monitors used in the tournament at a special price to fans, with the RL2450HT models being available at $249 (regularly $329) and the GL2450HM models at $179 (regularly $249).

Additional information on the MLG Winter Championships is available at www.majorleaguegaming.com/competitions/30.

Information on the full line of BenQ gaming monitors is available at gaming.benq.com.

Yesterday – A Review (PC)

2012/03/21

Ripper71

News, Reviews

I was fortunate enough to get to play the preview for Yesterday and in a very short section of the game I learned it was one of the most twisted point and click games I have ever seen. The characters were disturbed at best, the items you point and clicked together were unusual and it didn’t take long to realize that the subject of who was the “good guys” was blurry at best. And the preview left off at a total “wtf?” moment that had me playing through a few more times to make sure I saw what I thought I saw. So when my esteemed Editor In Chief asked if I might want to play the game itself I jumped at it and had it downloading before the email could go through.

The game is a point and click, picking up items from your environment, combining them or using them on each other, then trying to figure out what to do with them next. There are also dialogue choices for the storyline to click on with different responses for each. Figuring out what to click on can sometimes be the hardest part because some objects you click on multiple times to interact with them in different ways. And sometimes items are just red herrings, you can pick them up but they wind up serving no purpose other than to fill your inventory. Point and click games can vary from obvious choices aimed at a younger audience to real puzzlers that have you scratching your head for quite a while before the cartoon light bulb appears over your head. This one is harder and for good reason, this games puzzles and most definitely it’s themes are aimed at an older audience and your actions as well as the storyline can be downright disturbing.

The story revolves around a few main characters and even divulging who they are would give too much of it away. But you find out in the beginning 30 seconds of the game that homeless people are being burned alive and the first character you are going to play is a volunteer for a reach out program trying to get the homeless off the streets so they aren’t murdered. All normalcy is lost around this point as a story of lunacy, Satan worship and post traumatic stress disorder all work together to create a very messed up story. Though certain elements can be said to have been seen in this movie or this other game there is some very original story telling going on with excellent twists. For every plot development you guess another will hit you out of the blue and some are sheer stunners. I locked myself in a room with no interruptions and played the game on a marathon run in the same night, not because of deadlines or distractions but because I wanted to make sure I was getting the full experience because it became obvious early on that things weren’t as they seemed and plot twists might hang on the simplest of statements. I think I could have enjoyed this as well if I had watched somebody else play it or even if it had been turned into a movie or a mini series because the story is just that strong.

One last thing that needs to be noted and might slip past the casual observer is the very nicely stylistic artwork used in the graphics. The game seems to purposely stay away from straight lines, even in the sides of buildings or door jams as if not only are all the characters in the game slightly off or plain twisted so is everything in the very world they inhabit. The voice acting is great, music is good but next to the storyline it is the twists in graphic style that I think is most notable.

Last Call:

It is hard to write a review about a mystery game where the twists start right at the beginning and keep up until the end leaving very little to talk about that isn’t a spoiler. This is a great story, an excellent game and a challenging point and click puzzler where you really need to pay attention if you want to get through the game without using the hints. The answers are there but you have to be to to get them. When it came to Yesterday I started for the game but marathon played for the storyline.

Mainland China to Still Play WoW

2012/03/21

Jerry Paxton

News

SHANGHAI–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Blizzard Entertainment (NASDAQ: ATVI) and NetEase.com (NASDAQ: NTES) today announced that they will continue their existing cooperation on Blizzard Entertainment’s World of Warcraft® in mainland China. The new license will continue for an additional three years following the expiration of the current license agreement.

The companies have been working together to bring World of Warcraft to Chinese gamers since 2009. In that time, they have successfully launched Wrath of the Lich King® and Cataclysm®, the game’s second and third expansion sets, in mainland China, and earned the enthusiastic support of gamers across the country. In addition to World of Warcraft, Blizzard Entertainment and NetEase’s existing partnership covers Blizzard Entertainment’s Warcraft® III and StarCraft® II, as well as the Battle.net® gaming platform.

The extended license agreement further reinforces the existing partnership between Blizzard Entertainment and NetEase and lays the groundwork to bring Mists of Pandaria™, the upcoming fourth expansion to World of Warcraft, to mainland China. First unveiled at BlizzCon® 2011, Mists of Pandaria features a variety of elements influenced by Eastern culture and introduces a new playable race (the pandaren), a new class (the monk), an expansive new continent to explore, an all-new pet battle system, scenarios, challenge modes, and more.

“We’re grateful for the tremendous enthusiasm Chinese gamers have shown for World of Warcraft over the years, and we’re pleased to be renewing our agreement for the game in China,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. “We look forward to working with NetEase to deliver all of the new features and content of Mists of Pandaria to Chinese players as soon as possible.”

“We are excited to continue our partnership with Blizzard Entertainment after three years of highly effective cooperation on World of Warcraft,” stated William Ding, CEO of NetEase. “Both companies have complementary business strategies and share a similar corporate culture. I am confident that with Blizzard Entertainment’s expertise in developing world-class games and NetEase’s experience in local game operation, we will be able to provide the best gaming experiences for players in China.”

ESPN and EA Sports Unveil Players Up for Madden NFL 13 Cover Vote

2012/03/21

Jerry Paxton

News

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., – March 21, 2012 – Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) and ESPN announced today the 32 fan-selected NFL players who will advance in the EA SPORTS™ Madden NFL 13 Cover Vote. The announcement follows a two week play-in round, during which time fans voted between two teammates in matchups for each NFL team on the SportsNation Facebook page. Today, winners from each matchup moved on to the official cover vote bracket. Fans can vote for their favorite cover athlete candidate from their computer or mobile phones at ESPN.com/MaddenVote through April 25.

To kick off the Madden NFL 13 Cover Vote bracket debate, a SportsNation “Madden Cover Vote Special” will air tonight on ESPN 2 from 6-7 p.m. ET. Every Wednesday throughout the campaign, fans can tune in to SportsNation at 5 p.m. ET for an in-depth discussion about the latest voting results and to see which players have advanced to the next round. The tournament will culminate with the reveal of the Madden NFL 13 cover athlete on SportsNation on April 25, the night before the 2012 NFL Draft.

The results of the Madden NFL 13 Cover Vote play-in round are:

Play-In Round Winners
Arizona Cardinals	Larry Fitzgerald	Miami Dolphins	Reggie Bush
Atlanta Falcons	Matt Ryan	Minnesota Vikings	Jared Allen
Baltimore Ravens	Ray Rice	New England Patriots	Rob Gronkowski
Buffalo Bills	Stevie Johnson	New England Patriots	Brandon Lloyd*
Carolina Panthers	Cam Newton	New Orleans Saints	Drew Brees
Chicago Bears	Matt Forte	New York Giants	Victor Cruz
Cincinnati Bengals	A.J. Green	New York Jets	Darrelle Revis
Cleveland Browns	Joe Haden	Oakland Raiders	Sebastian Janikowski
Dallas Cowboys	DeMarcus Ware	Philadelphia Eagles	LeSean McCoy
Denver Broncos	Tim Tebow	Pittsburgh Steelers	Troy Polamalu
Detroit Lions	Calvin Johnson	San Diego Chargers	Antonio Gates
Green Bay Packers	Aaron Rodgers	San Francisco 49ers	Patrick Willis
Houston Texans	Arian Foster	Seattle Seahawks	Marshawn Lynch
Indianapolis Colts	Dwight Freeney	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	LeGarrette Blount
Jacksonville Jaguars	Maurice Jones-Drew	Tennessee Titans	Chris Johnson
Kansas City Chiefs	Dwayne Bowe	Washington Redskins	Brian Orakpo

*Entered the Madden NFL 13 Cover Vote play-in round representing the St. Louis Rams.

Among the 32 players are past Super Bowl winners including Victor Cruz and Aaron Rodgers; perennial Pro Bowl players Larry Fitzgerald and Drew Brees; and some of the most dominant players in the NFL such as Troy Polamalu and Jared Allen. During the first ever play-in round, fan voting resulted in upsets like LeSean McCoy surpassing Michael Vick who was a finalist in last year’s award-winning Madden NFL 12 Cover Vote competition.

“Every football fan has an opinion on who should be on the Madden NFL cover, which was highly visible given the overwhelming response and debate that ensued during last year’s campaign. We’re proud to once again put the fate of the game’s cover in our fans’ hands and let them decide who is worthy of becoming the Madden NFL 13 cover athlete,” said director of marketing Anthony Stevenson. “Our collaboration with ESPN and SportsNation helped elevate the campaign to new heights last year and we’re thrilled to team up again on this award-winning program.”

“Sports fans are embracing the new structure of the Madden NFL 13 cover vote and the response has been tremendous for the play-in round, which gives each team’s fans an increased voice in the player selected for the vote,” said Jamie Horowitz, Vice President, Original Programming and Production, ESPN. “SportsNation has the most engaged social audience across the ESPN network, and enabling them to share their votes across Facebook was an ideal way to tap into some of football’s most passionate fans.”

The Madden NFL 13 cover vote marks the third-consecutive year that EA SPORTS has asked fans to help shape the face of the Madden NFL franchise through a cover athlete voting campaign. It also marks the second year of its collaboration with ESPN and SportsNation. Last year, nearly 13 million votes were logged through ESPNSportsNation.com online and via the mobile web, the most ever for an ESPN cross-platform activation, which witnessed 10^th seeded Peyton Hillis (Browns, RB) winning the honor to grace the cover of Madden NFL 12.

To ensure their favorite player advances to the next round of this year’s competition, fans are encouraged to vote daily and tweet their picks using #MyMaddenCoverVote on Twitter. Beginning March 22 at 9:00 a.m. ET, fans can also visit the Madden NFL Facebook page to fill out their own Madden NFL 13 cover athlete bracket to compete against their friends for the chance to win Super Bowl tickets and copies of Madden NFL 13. Visit www.facebook.com/EASPORTSMaddenNFL for Official Rules.

The Walking Dead Pre-Order Offer

2012/03/21

Jerry Paxton

News

San Rafael, CA – March 20, 2012 – Telltale Games and Robert Kirkman, the Eisner Award-winning creator/writer of The Walking Dead for Skybound/Image, announced today that the first trailer for their upcoming game, The Walking Dead, is available to view on the games’ official website.

Created by animator and director Daniel M. Kanemoto, the trailer blends 2D and 3D imagery in stunning fashion as homage to the art of the original comic book world on which Telltale’s game is based. Kanemoto was asked by Telltale to create the trailer because of a “fan made” Walking Dead title sequence he had made, which can be seen at www.exmortisfilms.com.

The first of five monthly episodes of The Walking Dead is set for release in late April on the Xbox LIVE Marketplace for Xbox 360® for 400 Microsoft® Points, on PlayStation®Network for $4.99 and on PC and Mac as a season pass for $24.99 from the Telltale Online Store and other digital outlets. Information on additional formats will follow.

Telltale has also revealed details of a limited time pre-order offer available via their online store. Pre-order customers will get the chance to join the cast of the game in episode four, where they will be modeled as a human survivor before being killed and then returned to life as a ravenous zombie. Pre-ordering also qualifies customers for a 10% discount (get the 5 episode season for $22.49; normally $24.99).

“This trailer really shows off how our artists have managed to take the 2D art style of the comic books and create a 3D world allowing fans to truly interact with Robert Kirkman’s world for the very first time,” said Dan Connors, Telltale co-founder and CEO. “We hope that fans will like what they see and be excited by the chance to join the cast of the game; we promise they’ll die horribly!”

“Telltale has done a phenomenal job in making a game that meets the expectations of fans,” added Robert Kirkman, creator of The Walking Dead. “Running around with a gun isn’t what The Walking Dead is about; it’s about is how people caught in an apocalypse deal with facing their own death every day, and the horrible choices they have to make to survive. Telltale’s game series has captured the spirit of the comic books perfectly.”

The Walking Dead is set in the world of Robert Kirkman’s award-winning comic book series. Lee Everett, a convicted criminal, has been given a chance for redemption in a world devastated by the undead. Players will experience events, meet people and visit locations that foreshadow the story of Deputy Sheriff Rick Grimes. The Walking Dead offers a tailored game experience – player actions, choices and decisions affect how the story plays out across the entire series

The Walking Dead is rated ‘M’ (Mature) for Blood and Gore, Intense Violence and Strong Language by the ESRB.

For more information on the game, visit the official website, Facebook and follow us on Twitter (@telltalegames). For more information on The Walking Dead comic books, visit www.skybound.com.

Trailer

Confrontation Release Date, Screenshots

2012/03/21

Jerry Paxton

News

Focus Home Interactive has announced that Confrontation, the video game adaptation of the fantasy miniature wargame by Rackham, will be released for PC on April 5th, in both retail stores and digital download! To celebrate this upcoming event, new screenshots have been released revealing more of this tactical role-playing game developed by Cyanide (Blood Bowl, Game of Thrones).

Screenshots

Halo 4 First Look Trailer

2012/03/20

Jerry Paxton

News

Microsoft and 343 Industries have released an interesting new first-look trailer at Halo 4 – enjoy!

Trailer

RiotZone Update Brings New Daily Mission

2012/03/20

Jerry Paxton

News

Hamburg, March 19th 2012. Mail.Ru Games, publisher of the successful browser games Legend: Legacy of the Dragons, Allods Online and Juggernaut, presents some fresh features for their free2play browser game RiotZone. In the daily mission “Picnic at the lakeside” commanders fight the dictator’s elite sniper unit “Black Panthers”. In addition, the clan interface has received some updates. From now on players have the opportunity to see what their fellow members did while they were away. Finally, Commanders who love shopping can take a look at the boots that have just arrived in the store.

Femmes fatales

Reconnaissance troops have spotted the dictator’s elite unit “Black Panthers” taking a rest at the lakeside of “El Lago”. This all-female squad may consist of beautiful and kind-looking women, but commanders are not easily fooled: these women know neither regret nor mercy. Rumor has it, that even the legendary members Clara and Rosa are taking part in the little picnic. For those successful in defeating the “Black Panthers” tokens promise new equipment.

With the quest “Picnic at the lakeside” all other daily special missions like “Dr. Valentino” and “Anniversary of the revolution” will end. Captured tokens from these quests can still be exchanged for gear.

Fighting for a better world

Two factions fight over supremacy in the new browser game RiotZone. The Red Alliance and the Coalition of the Crown are trying to put an end to the reign of the evil dictator who rules war-torn Merania to establish a new government. As Commander of a mercenary troop, players choose which side they would like to fight on. Missions like laying ambushes and fighting the dictator’s troops in order to weaken his defenses demand exact timing and strategic thinking. The right gear is crucial for winning this war, so players have to account for their troops and expand their camp. From level five on they engage in PvP battles of different kinds: Gathering resources, fighting in teams or raiding enemy territory.

Apple Sells Over 3 Million iPad 3s

2012/03/20

Jerry Paxton

News

CUPERTINO, California―March 19, 2012―Apple® today announced it has sold three million of its incredible new iPad®, since its launch on Friday, March 16. The new iPad features a stunning new Retina™ display, Apple’s new A5X chip with quad-core graphics, a 5 megapixel iSight® camera with advanced optics for capturing amazing photos and 1080p HD video, and still delivers the same all-day 10 hour battery life* while remaining amazingly thin and light. iPad Wi-Fi + 4G supports ultrafast 4G LTE networks in the US and Canada, and fast networks around the world including those based on HSPA+ and DC-HSDPA.**

“The new iPad is a blockbuster with three million sold―the strongest iPad launch yet,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “Customers are loving the incredible new features of iPad, including the stunning Retina display, and we can’t wait to get it into the hands of even more customers around the world this Friday.”

The new iPad is already available in the US, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Switzerland, UK and the US Virgin Islands and will be available in 24 more countries starting at 8:00 a.m. local time on Friday, March 23 through the Apple Online Store (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and select Apple Authorized Resellers, including Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Macau, Mexico, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.

The new iPad Wi-Fi models are available in black or white for a suggested retail price of $499 (US) for the 16GB model, $599 (US) for the 32GB model, $699 (US) for the 64GB model. iPad Wi-Fi + 4G for either AT&T or Verizon is available for a suggested retail price of $629 (US) for the 16GB model, $729 (US) for the 32GB model and $829 (US) for the 64GB model. iPad is sold in the US through the Apple Online Store (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and select Apple Authorized Resellers. Additionally, the incredible iPad 2 is now offered at a more affordable price of $399 (US) for the 16GB Wi-Fi model and just $529 (US) for the 16GB Wi-Fi + 3G model.

*Battery life depends on device settings, usage and other factors. Actual results vary.

**4G LTE is supported only on AT&T and Verizon networks in the U.S. and on Bell, Rogers, and Telus networks in Canada. Data plans sold separately.

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad.