WoW Patch 2.4.3 notes are now live with a few surprises

Highlights include mounts at level 30, changes to non-combat pets, Curse of Shadow and Curse of Elements have been combined, Hunter pet changes, Magisters' Terrace Nerf, changes to Rogue's Cheat Death ability and more!

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European version of hit MMORPG Fiesta Online

English, German, French and Spanish versions of Fiesta Online, a “free to play” Online Roleplaying game that has already enjoyed massive success in the US and Asia. Featuring detailed 3D graphics and a rich game world with numerous quests and epic storyline, the high quality game already enjoys a thriving European community. Players can now pre-register for the Beta-Test by signing-up on http://fiesta.gamigo.com.

Inviting Adventurers on a free trip to a magical land
At first sight, Fiesta Online is an unlikely candidate for the free-to-play model: Boasting detailed cell-shaded characters in a rich and vast game world packed with epic quests and endless challenges, the MMORPG rivals most subscription titles in terms of scope and quality – making it one of the biggest genre-hits in the US. Thousands of players explore the magical island, fight numerous enemies, solve mysteries and develop their unique avatars with new skills and equipment.

After an intuitive introduction in the home city, players can choose to hunt down enemies or follow hundreds of quests on their own or group with others in parties and guilds, together solving epic kingdom quests that offer adventures for up to 30 players. Another innovation is the “housing” system: Players can transform into their mushroom-like, but fully customizable, house at any time to rest or trade items. And with the autumn update, the interiors can be decorated and used to invite friends – apart from levelling, socializing is a big part of the Fiesta Online experience!

The international MMOG-Hit is coming to Europe!

gamigo exclusively publishes the Korean-developed MMOG in Europe, starting with German and English versions this summer, followed by French and Spanish later in the year. Currently the game is being modified for local tastes, including a complete rework of the English translation. Numerous improvements and new features will keep players engaged while the free-to-play model offers the title to a broad audience.

“Fiesta Online is our biggest game so far and has already proven successful in the US and Asia”, explains Sven Ossenbrüggen, CEO gamigo AG. “Improving the international versions with a completely reworked translation and storyline, we are offering players a high quality game to enjoy for free!”

The English European version of Fiesta Online is set to launch soon after the German version. Interested players can sign up for the Beta Test on http://fiesta.gamigo.com.

Users create, and share over 250,000 Spore Creatures

The Countdown to the Launch of Spore Blasts Off With Fans Uploading 

More Than Two Creatures Every Second Since Launch.

We’re not alone in the galaxy! Spore fans and the creatively curious have designed and shared more than 250,000 new alien life forms since yesterday’s launch of the Spore Creature Creator – currently more than two creatures are being shared every second! Anyone can download their own copy of the Spore Creature Creator or check out thousands of amazing creations from around the world in the Sporepedia at www.spore.com.

“The response to the Spore Creature Creator has been overwhelming,” said Lucy Bradshaw, executive producer of Spore at Maxis. “The creativity and passion that the community is putting into their creatures is spectacular. The development team has spent the last 24 hours checking out the amazing creations racing in from all corners of the globe – with peak volume hitting more than 1,000 creatures being shared a minute.”

The Spore Creature Creator is a stand-alone product and creativity toy box where players create their own unique creatures, bring them to life with entertaining animations, and share them online with friends around the world. The full version of the Spore Creature Creator will be available for $9.99 at retail stores or by visiting www.spore.com. A free trial version of the Spore Creature Creator is also available today at www.spore.com. The trial version features 25% of the creature-making parts from Spore and lets players shape, paint and play with their custom-created creatures. Creatures made in the Spore Creature Creator can also be imported into the full Spore game, allowing players to populate their own galaxies when the game ships worldwide later this year.

The Spore Creature Creator lets players create their own creatures, take them on a test drive, snap pictures, and make movies of them. Sharing pictures or videos with friends is as easy as the click of a button. Players can also share their creations with others by uploading to the Sporepedia at www.Spore.com. The Sporepedia is an extraordinarily vast online destination where people worldwide can search for and share Spore creations, comment on other player’s designs, check out celebrity creature creations and much more.

The Spore Creature Creator is rated E for Everyone by the ESRB. The downloadable demo version is free. The complete version has an MSRP of $9.99 in North America. Spore ships for the PC, Mac, Nintendo DS and mobile phones on September 5, 2008 in Europe and September 7, 2008 in North America and Asia. Visit www.Spore.com to download a free version of the Spore Creature Creator, sign up for the Spore newsletter or check out all-new screenshots and videos from the game.

Zoids Assault - slips to September - New Screenshots

“Zoids Assault is going to slip out of late August and into early September - the 9th to be exact... Hey, are these new Zoids Assault screenshots? These are great! Let’s focus on these instead,” pleaded Aram Jabbari, Assistant Manager of Sales and PR, holding a set of awesome new Zoids Assault screenshots above his head.



The latest addition to Atlus’s lineup of strategy RPGs for the Xbox 360 system, Zoids Assault is loaded with deeply engaging strategic gameplay featuring giant biomechanical war machines that can be customized with over 60 different parts.
Zoids Assault is now set to release on September 9, 2008.

Farmlands - A Next Generation Board and Collectible Card Game

In Farmlands you build farms, plant crops, and battle for control of land. The goal of farmlands is straight forward....Increase your net worth to meet the goal of the map or have the largest net worth when time runs out. Players move around the outside of the board building farms and planting crops. If a player lands on your farm they will have to pay a toll equal to the value of the farm and its connected crops. It gets interesting when you start connect multiple farms together to combine their values. To prevent other players from connecting farms a player can initiate a battle by placing one of their crops on an opponents square. The outcome of battles between players are determined by slot machine mini games.



The collectible aspect of the game comes in with the pack of cards you are drawing your items and seeds from. During your turn you will draw items or seeds from your pack to use in the game. Seeds are used to plant crops or boost your attack in combat. Items are used to modify the behavior of things in the game. At the end of any map in single or multi player the player will receive additional items or seeds which they can use to customize their pack.



For more information about Farmlands as well as screen shots, renders and wallpapers please check out www.farmlandsgame.com.

Of Two Minds - Brains in Video Games

Check out Mother Brain from the Metroid series.

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Puzo estate sues over 'Godfather' games

The estate of author Mario Puzo has filed suit against Paramount Pictures, claiming the studio owes it at least $1 million in revenues from the series of video games based on the Oscar-winning film "The Godfather."

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RSNO - Video Games Live concert live in Glasgow Scotland

News from my home town...

As the RSNO prepares to play a concert of music from videogames in Glasgow, Dave Cook looks at the history of game soundtracks

Last year in the UK, videogames overtook the music industry in terms of money made and it looks like the film industry could be next. But today’s gaming technology is working in tandem with these industries in interesting new ways, making cut-scenes increasingly cinematic and soundtracks more atmospheric. Music in particular, has been used as a gameplay tool as opposed to an accompanying feature.

But who could have foretold, as Mario Brothers creator Shigeru Miyamoto was putting his now iconic 8-bit soundtrack into his game, just how big an influence music in games would have on pop culture? Back in the early 80s, music in games was embedded in chipsets incorporating said consoles’ technology to produce various pitches of blips and bleeps that sound distinctively primitive by today’s standards.

However, these songs were composed nonetheless, from the madcap preamble that preceded a game of Pac-Man to the insanely infectious main theme from The Legend of Zelda on NES, and each composer had a vision of how these tunes should sound. Incidentally, both of these songs have stood the test of time and are used in modern incarnations of each series.

The 16-bit war between Sega and Nintendo circa 1992 was crammed full of releases boasting superb soundtracks, from Sega’s dab-hand with multi-layered techno beats à la Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Streets of Rage, to Nintendo’s penchant for the cute and catchy. This was something of a golden age in composition, with many of these tracks being parodied, covered or remixed by droves of fan websites and bands (Google and ye shall find). Over the years the trend would continue and a whole new level of orchestrated music scores and licensed soundtracks have become possible thanks to the advances in technology.

So here we are in 2008 with a very special gaming event about to hit the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall. The brainchild of composer Tommy Tallarico, who has worked on such fantastic series as Prince of Persia and Splinter Cell, Video Games Live is something of an orchestrated cover gig devoted to delivering classical renditions of classic video game tunes past and present.

‘We really had two goals in mind with Video Games Live,’ says Tallarico. ‘Our first was to prove to the world how significant video games have become and how culturally and artistically relevant they are. They are pieces of art. VGL isn’t just about the music, but about all the other elements of games, visuals, art, special effects, characters, interactivity, storyline.’

With the help of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Tallarico will be belting out music from such legendary scores as Final Fantasy, Outrun and Halo, all set against the backdrop of a state of the art, synchronised light show. Tallarico concludes: ‘If Beethoven were alive today, he’d be a videogame composer.’

Now that would have been interesting.

Source: The List

Already have my tickets...

Metal Gear Solid 4 - Brilliant Mixture Of Storytelling & Game.

A brilliant mixture of storytelling and gameplay,Mind-blowing audiovisual presentation,Tight and compelling shooting mechanics,Gratifying stealth mechanics,Lots of cool gadgets and weapons that you can tailor to your own style of play.

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Sacred 2 - Fallen Angel - Fact Sheet

Sacred 2 - Fallen Angel is an Action RPG with a rich story that takes place in a giant, open-ended and seamless world. This world contains hundreds of dungeons, treacherous opponents and a variety of challenging quests. Intelligent enemies, steadily adapting in number and difficulty based on player progress, challenge in heroic single- and multiplayer battles.



Sacred 2 - Fallen Angel provides numerous unique items that can be gathered in this mystical world. A deep reward system further enables advancements of character, individual attributes and character-specific fighting styles, each designed to keep players returning to the world of Sacred 2 - Fallen Angel to discover what is around the next bend. Drop-in styled cooperative multiplayer gameplay ensures players will enjoy the game alone or seamlessly with friends at any time. Five unique multiplayer modes round out the experience and offer a refreshing, first-class gaming experience in Sacred 2 - Fallen Angel.



Key features

• A huge, seamless and dynamic world that allows for free-form exploration
  


• Two campaigns: play as the “Light” or “Shadow” side, complete with distinct skills, rewards and story-elements tailored to the chosen path
  


• Six exceptional, playable characters, each with a distinct look, capabilities and in-game motivation
  


• Modifiable combat arts: change and upgrade your alter ego’s combat skills as you make choices throughout the game
  


• Fight effectively from the back of a number of mounts under your control
  


• Deities offer unique combat disciplines to players
  


• The ultimate multiplayer experience – seamless transition between single- and multiplayer gaming modes via the Internet or Xbox Live
  


• Captivating online modes of play challenge gamers in cooperative and PvP play
  


• Extraordinary, cutting-edge graphics utilize the latest technologies