Steven Seagal may have had a complicated relationship with warships in the past, he’s learned a thing or two about them. Now, he is braving the seas of World of Warships, letting players earn him as an in-game Commander for their vessel in a unique event.
The Royal Navy may have been on the horizon for some time, but now the branch of 10 British light cruisers are finally ready to set sail. Agile and stealthy vessels like Minotaur and Edinburgh will definitely go down a treat for fans who like to strike hard and fast in World of Warships.
Swans may be protected by the Queen, but she won’t save you when you start sailing up the Tech Tree in the Tier I Black Swan. At Tier VI, Leander is ready to fulfill your fantasies of reclaiming the British Empire. Also, remember to queue properly as you work your way towards Edinburgh at Tier VIII.
Wargaming announce the new Christmas themed combat mode for World of Tanks on Xbox One and Xbox 360 will arrive December 24.
The original and festive Toy Tank Mode immerses tankers in a miniature toy-scattered wonderland, putting them in command of a glossy, remote control tank, and will be available to all Xbox players through December 27.
The battle-torn oceans in World of Warships are getting new and unique in-game content inspired by the naval-themed sci-fi anime “ARPEGGIO OF BLUE STEEL – ARS NOVA -”.
This new mode is set to arrive soon, bringing with it special missions, skins for vessels styled on the anime, and more.
World of Tanks is the hugely popular online video game dedicated to tank battles.
In terms of playability, historical accuracy and enjoyment it is second to none. WoT holds a Guinness world record for the highest number of players on one server at the same time, and it has a huge fanbase across Europe to the Far East and Australasia. The game features tanks from the U.S.S.R, U.S.A., China, U.K., Germany, France, Japan and Czechoslovakia.
World of Tanks Update 9.12 has gone live today in North America and Europe, with Asia, Korea and China to follow on November 19. The update features a new game mode, adds an exclusive map, reworked, high definition vehicles and the first ever PvE tutorial on PC.
This all-new game mode challenges even the most proficient tank commander by adding fresh mechanics such as re-spawns, Garage Battles, tank repair stations and a Capture the Flag variant.
In the wake of World of Warships’ release just over a month ago, captains can now get behind the helm of vessels from two distinct nations: Germany and the Soviet Union.
Soviet Destroyers and German Cruisers Come to World of Warships
On the horizon for the German fleet are Dresden and Hermelin cruisers, swift vessels capable of running rings around opponents. If that’s not enough, this new line of German cruisers boast great endurance—especially as players progress up the Tech Tree—along with solid armor and powerful guns.
The massive update 10.0, dubbed Rubicon to arrive late October will introduce a new game mode—Rampage—and two new maps for World of Tanks. Commanders will find the new Rampage mode available in two variants: Steel Hunt and Domination.
World of Tanks Update 10.0 Rubicon
In this latest and permanent addition to World of Tanks, Rampage mode will feature a series of new mechanics set to take the challenge to the next level. New in-game additions such as respawns, garage battles, repair spots and capture the flag will force commanders to adapt their gameplay in order to claim victory.
In Developer Diaries number 9 learn about the unique vessels that exist apart from the Tech Tree of the standard World of Warships fleet: Premium ships.
World of Warships update
For a vessel to attain this status, it must possess specific requirements that can be described in a single word: legendary. Premium warships are selected based on different aspects: it can be as famous as the German Tirpitz or have a distinguished service record like the Soviet Gremyashchy.
The Soviet Tech Tree will be joining the armada beginning October 19. Setting sail to cause some destruction will be a full destroyer line, including the legendary Izyaslav, Gnevny and Tashkent, the lead destroyer of Project 20 I whose cobalt blue color earned her the nickname “blue cruiser”.
Soviet destroyers bring unique features and strengths to the fight. The hard-hitting cannons deliver great accuracy making hitting even the fastest targets at long distance a breeze.
Update 9.10 for World of Tanks is now live globally, bringing nine new Japanese vehicles and the next exciting stage in Domination event: Rampage.
Update 9.10 for World of Tanks
This new branch of Japanese tanks sees Tiers 2 through 10 get some serious backup in a series of heavy-hitting vehicles, featuring medium and heavy tanks.
Hot on the tracks of the recent Chi-Nu Kai tank, Wargaming today introduced the Imperial Steel update for World of Tanks: Xbox 360 Edition, bringing a brand new line of Japanese tanks to the game. Console tankers can now advance through the Japanese Tech Tree and engage the enemy on the newest map, “Sacred Valley”.
The Imperial Steel adds an impressive thirteen new vehicles to tanker arsenals. The Japanese Tech Tree will initially field two branches with nine medium and four light tanks available for battle.
‘The Secret World’, the highly anticipated modern-day massively multiplayer online game of myths, legends and conspiracies, draws ever closer to its July 3rd release date. In preparation for launch, Funcom is excited to announce that the fourth and final Beta Weekend – titled ‘The Battle Begins’ – will be made open to all of the more than 1.3 million gamers who have signed up to beta test ‘The Secret World’. Guaranteed access to the final Beta Weekend will also be given to everyone registering via the game’s official website by June 22nd (use the beta sign-up form on the right).
Black Box, an Electronic Arts studio, announced that Need for Speed World, the massively multi-player online action racing game, is available for digital download on July 27 for the PC. Need for Speed World combines the rush of illicit street racing, deep RPG style progression and vehicle customization into an immersive, socially-connected Need for Speed experience. Players can compete against any one of their friends, family or pick from thousands of top ranked players to challenge in intense online battles and police pursuits across 150 miles of sprawling open world.
Black Bean Games today announced the final release date for WRC, the only official FIA World Rally Championship video game. The game is being developed by Milestone and will be available in stores on the 8th of October for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC.
Now everyone can play in the 2010 FIFA World Cup on the PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system, Xbox 360 videogame and entertainment system, Nintendo Wii, PSP (PlayStation Portable) and mobile in April 2010 in anticipation of the real-world tournament which begins in June.
THQ announce the launch of its World of Zoo video game Web site, www.worldofzoo.com, which includes a trial application of the company’s state-of-the-art downloadable Animal Creator tool that will allow players to create and design their very own World of Zoo animals. The Animal Creator program is a new and unique feature available only in World of Zoo, which is scheduled to be released to all major retail outlets for Nintendo Wii home video game system, Nintendo DS, and Windows PC in November 2009.
Using the Animal Creator program, players will be able to create their favorite zoo animals, save them on their hard drive, and share them with their families and friends via e-mail and other social networking or photo sharing sites. Players can also upload their customized animals into the full retail version of the Windows PC game once it is available, place the animals in their exhibits, and interact and play with them. World of Zoo has more than 90 pre-loaded animals in the game, and with the Animal Creator, players can create an endless number of animal species with different names, colors, traits, and personalities.
Some players give themselves the ability to magically see and shoot through walls. Others find a way to fly, making them nearly impossible to defeat.
Cheating like this in video games has a long and even respected tradition. Games have often slyly included ways — intentionally or not — for sophisticated players to hack into the software and then skip levels or take on supernatural powers.
But these days, the subject is getting a more serious look. Unlike older games, today's are networked to be played with strangers over the Internet. And now, real money is at stake. Fantasy games like World of Warcraft and computer environs like Second Life, to name a few, have their own currency or other virtual valuables that can be traded for hard U.S. dollars.
In other words, hacking into a video game to cheat can be a business strategy. And so clamping down on it could be key to maintaining virtual worlds' economies and reputations. Even chip-maker Intel Corp. is suggesting a technology for doing it.
But one huge question is: Can cheating really be stifled?
"What I've always said is: It'll go away the same time crime goes away," said Tony Ray, founder of Even Balance Inc., which makes cheating-detection software called Punkbuster. "There's always somebody trying to get around the rules."
Perhaps, but Gary McGraw and Greg Hoglund, authors of the new book Exploiting Online Games, argue that video game makers could do much more to stop it. McGraw and Hoglund contend that poor software design enables the vast majority of cheats.
Complex games operate partly on central servers run by the game companies and partly on a player's own computer. Essentially, the individual computer reports back to the game on the mouse clicks or trigger pulls performed by the player, and the game registers the appropriate response. That's where cheating hacks often occur: Tell your computer to report 100 trigger pulls for every one actually made, and you've turned a pistol into a machine gun that racks up points much faster.
McGraw and Hoglund offer ideas for how game makers could seal up such holes. And they argue that the entire software industry needs to be watching, since these "massively multiplayer online role-playing games" are at the leading edge of computing.
"The kinds of problems that they are facing right now are direct indications of the kinds of software security problems we can all face in the coming years," McGraw said.
Cheating tools flourish online, catering to insiders conversant in the games' arcane language.
"Take advantage of this programming breakthrough — why waste time grinding with the grunts.... play WoW in GOD MODE!" reads one ad for a $25 downloadable cheat package for World of Warcraft that purports to be "undetectable."
Most online game companies appear resigned to the fact that cheating will occur, so they try to block it by observing game play and looking for suspicious things, like avatars unexpectedly teleporting.
In one incident that could serve as a test case, Linden Lab, creator of the virtual universe Second Life, ejected a Pennsylvania lawyer and confiscated his virtual property after accusing him of cheating its land-auction process. The lawyer is suing Linden Lab in federal court for $8,000 in restitution.
Nexon America Inc. employs a team of workers who actively look for cheating in its games, including KartRider and MapleStory. They apply patches to fix problems as they arise.
"It's a daily battle that ultimately we have to win," said Nexon's director of operations, Min Kim. "It's just the cost of doing business at this point."
"World of Warcraft" creator Blizzard Entertainment deploys a software program called the Warden to detect cheating and ban perpetrators, but wouldn't agree to an interview to talk about it. The Punkbuster software works on many first-person shooters and is still being used in new games, like Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, in which players shoot their way through combat missions.
One problem is that these observer programs are invasive, since they must access the underlying operating system in a player's PC in order to sniff nefarious code. McGraw believes the Warden might even violate California's anti-spyware law.
Sometimes, there appears to be financial incentive for the game makers to be good — but not terrific — at stopping cheating. Consider this: Cheaters who get banned from games often immediately sign back up under a different user name, paying money for a new account in hopes of trying again. If cheating protections were significantly stronger, fewer perpetrators would continue to buy accounts.
Game companies might have better luck relying on reports of suspicious activity from legitimate players. One issue that irks aficionados is "gold farming," whereby people pay real money to companies like IGE.com in order to buy in-game currency. A recent check showed a World of Warcraft player could pay $420 to get 6,000 pieces of gold — enough to buy one of the game's pricey flying mounts. Other players have to laboriously work their way up to such achievements.
Buying gold breaks the game's terms of service — and it degrades the overall experience for everyone, said Hubert Thieblot, who leads Curse, one of the largest teams in World of Warcraft. A cheating player who takes all the targets in a certain area, for example, leaves too few for everyone else.
"You change your experience with how you play and how you behave," Thieblot said. "If you just buy gold you aren't going to do extra quests, you're not exploring areas as they want you to."
Although Intel's anti-cheating idea is still in the research phase, it could aid people like Thieblot.
Intel's technology would embed a module in a PC's circuitry that would analyze data coming off the keyboard and the mouse and compare it to what a game actually processes. If there are conflicts — the player clicked the mouse just once but the game read that as "fire 100 shots" — the Intel system would be able to signal the game makers or other players. The system could also put a "trusted" stamp on seemingly legitimate players.
Intel says its system would not degrade PC performance or be noticeable in game play, but the concept still needs work. Notably, it would require the support of PC makers as well as the game companies that would have to build in ties to the Intel system.
Meanwhile, Starr Long, who with industry veteran Richard Garriott is wrapping up the online sci-fi game Tabula Rasa for NCSoft Inc., worries that cheating can now ruin entire game worlds.
Like other game makers, Long won't get into specifics but says his programmers have done all they can to thwart cheating in Tabula Rasa.
"In the old days we didn't really think through what would happen once we started letting people play together," Long said. Now, Long says, "every single piece of content we put in the game, the first thing we say is 'Here's what we want this thing to do.' And the second thing we say is, 'OK, how are players going to try to exploit this?'"
Black Box, an Electronic Arts studio, announced that Need for Speed World, the massively multi-player online action racing game, is available for digital download on July 27 for the PC. Need for Speed World combines the rush of illicit street racing, deep RPG style progression and vehicle customization into an immersive, socially-connected Need for Speed experience. Players can compete against any one of their friends, family or pick from thousands of top ranked players to challenge in intense online battles and police pursuits across 150 miles of sprawling open world.
FIFA World Cup 2010 South Africa New England, Spain, Mexico and Italy team screenshots
Now everyone can play in the 2010 FIFA World Cup on the PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system, Xbox 360 videogame and entertainment system, Nintendo Wii, PSP (PlayStation Portable) and mobile in April 2010 in anticipation of the real-world tournament which begins in June.
GamersFirst has just released Echoes of an Empire, the newest expansion to Sword of the New World:Grando Espada.
THQ announce the launch of its World of Zoo video game Web site, www.worldofzoo.com, which includes a trial application of the company’s state-of-the-art downloadable Animal Creator tool that will allow players to create and design their very own World of Zoo animals. The Animal Creator program is a new and unique feature available only in World of Zoo, which is scheduled to be released to all major retail outlets for Nintendo Wii home video game system, Nintendo DS, and Windows PC in November 2009.
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