Author - Jerry Paxton

Lineage II Celebrates 10 Year Anniversary

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ALISO VIEJO, CA (April 28, 2014) – NCSOFT® and the North American Lineage II development team are pleased to announce today that Lineage II is celebrating 10 years of service in North America. During the past decade, millions of players have joined the fight to defend the realm of Aden from Shilen, the evil Goddess of Destruction, and her dark forces. During that time, players have experienced 21 free expansions, defeated more than 350 raid bosses, explored 450 unique zones, mastered 2,200 plus unique skills, and interacted with (meaning “killed”) more than 10,000 unique NPCs and monsters, making Lineage II one of the largest MMOs in the world based on content alone.

Lineage is a not only a flagship franchise for us, but for the entire industry. As a pioneer in the space, we are thrilled to be celebrating a decade of Lineage II service in North America, a fantastic milestone only a few industry franchises have achieved,” said Richard Zinser, Chief Operating Officer of NCSOFT West. “And we’re not finished. We have a lot of exciting and unexpected experiences for our players that will fill out the rest of 2014 and beyond.”

As part of the celebration, players past and present can log in before May 21 to start earing rewards and prizes by participating in the various events in the Carnival of Aden, which include:

  • 10th Anniversary Attendance Event – Get a stamp just for logging in every day. Collect five stamps and redeem for a free Gift Box, which contains prizes like varying grades of Life Stones, Soul Crystal Fragments, and more! Four Gift Boxes are available in all (one for each week of the celebration!)
  • Fragments of the Past – Collect all eight Memory Fragments and turn them in for a chance to win prizes like a Armor Packs (varying types) and a Crafting Ingredients Pack.
  • Collect the Secret Fragments – Participate in Carnival of Aden Events to earn all eight Secret Fragments and turn them in for prizes. Since collecting all can be difficult, the prizes are top-notch, including Lindvior’s Earring, Bottle of Queen Ant’s Soul, Dark Amaranthine Weapon Pack, and more!
  • Frederick the Destroyer – Every FridaySaturday and Sunday Frederick the Destroyer will appear near the Elf Village’s Mother Tree.  If he is defeated, the NPC Victory will appear and offer an Orc Supply Box as a reward, which contains 10th Anniversary items and a random item reward. Should Frederick fail to be defeated, a consolation prize will be rewarded.
  • Master Yogi’s 10th Anniversary Event – Enchant Master Yogi’s Staff and turn it in for rewards. The higher the staff is enchanted, the better the possible prize!
  • Squash Event – Buy and use special Squash Seeds to grow squash. Once they’re grown, break them open and reap the rewards. Random rewards are given from the squashes.
  • Dandy’s Dragon Weapons – Here’s your chance to wield a Dragon Weapon, one of the most powerful weapons in all of Lineage II! Visit the dragon mascot Dandy to find out how you can borrow one of these weapons for a limited time!

Additionally, “Veteran Packs” are available for players in the Lineage II Store for a limited time for the price of one Adena. There are ten packs in all, ranging from One Year to Ten Year. Players can get one pack for each year they’ve played. For example, a five-year player would be able to receive the 10th Anniversary Veteran Pack for years 1-5.

And as Lineage II begins its second decade in North America, Aden is about to become much more interesting. The next upcoming free expansion will see the release of the new playable race, the Ertheia.  These beings from another dimension find their world mysteriously intertwined with Aden, with dire consequences. This new race—and their arrival in Aden—will begin the next chapter of the Lineage II story.  

For more information on Lineage II visit www.lineage2.com/.

Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare PC Launch Date

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REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – April 28, 2014 – PopCap Games, a division of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA), today announcedPlants vs. Zombies™ Garden Warfare will be available on Origin and other retailers for PC beginning June 24. Dubbed “a fun, refreshing family-friendly take on the multiplayer shooter” from New York Daily News, Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare is a best-in-class multiplayer third-person shooter, with all the fun and humor of the wildly popular Plants vs. Zombies franchise. Since its launch earlier this year on Xbox One and Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system, Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare has attracted global attention as critics and fans praised the game for being an unconventional shooter with a flawless blend of humor.

“We’ve had an amazing response from players since launching the Xbox platforms, and can’t wait for PC players to join the party this summer,” said Brian Lindley, Producer on Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare. “The PC version has all the great content that we have put out since launch like Garden Variety and Zomboss Down for players to enjoy from the start.

In Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare, players choose a side and square off in riotous combat against their plant or zombie opponents, utilizing an arsenal of outrageous weaponry. Beloved character favorites from the franchise, including the Sunflower and Chomper, reprise their roles, and the game tops it off with a new cast of zany characters such as Ice Cactus and the Marine Biologist.

Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare features four distinct gameplay modes including 12 vs. 12 competitive multiplayer called “Gardens & Graveyards” and “Team Vanquish,” as well as 8v8 Gnome Bomb. If you prefer co-op gameplay a four-player co-operative mode called “Garden Ops” is available too! Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare for PC will also include all content from the Garden Variety Pack & Zomboss Down, a Wild West themed update with eight new playable characters, more than 200 wild customizations and a Cactus Canyon map.

Starting today, Players can also pre-order the Origin Digital Deluxe edition, which includes two Booster Packs, in-game coins and an exclusive character customization pack.

Join the Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare community at https://www.facebook.com/plantsversuszombies and follow us on Twitter @PlantsvsZombies.

KeyMander Review

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Having practically grown up using a keyboard and mouse to play my games, I usually feel like a complete n00b when I try to play a game with a console controller. If it wasn’t for auto-aim features put into most shooters by developers these days, I don’t think I could ever kill any enemies in my console FPS titles. The solution seemed impossible – how does one use their keyboard and mouse with the Xbox One or Xbox 360? Thankfully, IOGEAR has a solution that has revolutionized my console play by allowing PC gamers to use keyboard and mice on their Xbox 360, Xbox One, and PlayStation 3 (with PS4 support coming later this year) called the KeyMander.

The KeyMander is a small black box with some ports on it and some rubber feet to prevent it from sliding around a desk or entertainment center. On one side there exists three USB ports which are used to connect a game controller, keyboard, and mouse. On the other side exist three mini-USB ports which allow the KeyMander to plug into your game console, PC, and powered USB port. The setup is actually quite simple and, once performed, will not take you very much to get everything up and running. The biggest issue you may run into is updating the KeyMander’s firmware to allow it to use the Xbox One and Xbox 360 game consoles and even that isn’t too bad. After installing the software from IOGEAR’s website, you will be able to program your KeyMander with multiple gaming/controller profiles as well as macros and hotkey profile switching.

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Playing games using the KeyMander is really a Godsend for PC gamers lacking the console controller muscle memory they need to be effective in console games. Not every game is going to be compatible with the KeyMander – however, all the games I tried with it seemed fine. I played Call of Duty: Ghosts, BioShock Infinite, and Titanfall on my Xbox 360 and Xbox One platforms and was totally impressed by the experience. The biggest advice I can give to you, dear gamer, is to make sure you plug in gaming mice with built-in DPI/sensitivity settings as the KeyMander does not allow for changing that aspect of the controller on-the-fly.

The KeyMander retails for $99.95 at IOGEAR’s official website and, while that may seem expensive, its effects make it all worth it. I have simply been outplayed every time I step into a console game multiplayer title. With the KeyMander, I found a way to level the playing field.

Overall, I am awarding the IOGEAR KeyMander a 5 out of 5 starts for its near-perfect ability to fulfill a need. If you are a PC gamer looking for that keyboard and mouse functionality on your game consoles, I highly suggest you check it out.

Official Product Page

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American Heavy Fighters Arrive in World of Warplanes

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April 25, 2014 — Wargaming is pleased to announce the global release of Update 1.3 for its flight combat MMO World of WarplanesWorld of Warplanes Update 1.3 introduces a new branch of American aircraft, automatic detection of graphics settings, and improved video system for recording replays. The new content is now live and available to gamers worldwide for free.

World of Warplanes pilots get to try out and explore the unique specifications of six new American heavy fighters: Lockheed P-38F Lightning, Lockheed P-38J Lightning, Grumman F7F Tigercat, Chance-Vought XF5U Pancake, McDonnell F2H Banshee, and Lockheed XF-90.

As a direct result of player feedback, the game has been optimized to automatically detect a player’s PC graphic settings and adjust accordingly, opposed to the previous default medium graphics setting configuration.

The Replay feature in World of Warplanes allows players to record their battles, observe their performance, and share these videos with friends. Enhanced functionalities such as extended playback control features or detailed help screens offer tools to help pilots work towards air supremacy.

For more information on World of Warplanes Update 1.3 and to register for a free account, visit: www.worldofwarplanes.com

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Titanfall’s Upcoming War Games Map Gets Screenshots

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Electronic Arts and Respawn Entertainment have released some cool new details as well as the first screenshots for the War Games map to be included in the upcoming Titanfall: Expedition DLC pack.

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