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Infinite Crisis joins competitive arena with Major League Gaming
Some folks may wonder whether the upcoming superhero title Infinite Crisis can make it in the big leagues of MOBA gaming, but it is already assured a place in the majors. Major League Gaming has announced a partnership with Turbine's DC Comic-based game, one that will kick off at E3 with a live competition between two top teams. Fans wanting to check out the action can stop by the WB Games booth (South Hall 1637) beginning at 3 p.m. EDT (12 p.m. PDT) on Tuesday, June 11th, or watch it livestreamed on MLG's and Infinite Crisis' official sites. This collaboration will introduce Infinite Crisis to the e-sports community and ultimately lead to Infinite Crisis' inclusion at MLG Pro Circuit competitions. The game's executive producer, Jeffrey Steefel, is quoted as saying, "We look forward to working closely with MLG to introduce players to the DC Multiverse and building a world-class gaming community." [Source: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment press release]
IGN Pro League technology purchased by Blizzard
Do you like eSports? Blizzard Entertainment clearly does, as the company has just purchased the technology and assets of IGN Pro League. Several employees came along with the acquisition, including former IPL general manager David Ting. The hard assets will be used to promote various events centering around Blizzard's online games, while the staff members are joining Blizzard's internal eSports teams according to initial reports. Needless to say, this marks the end of IPL's competitive gaming coverage, which has in the past included games such as League of Legends and StarCraft II. The brand does not go with these employees or assets, meaning that last weekend's $100,000 Shootmania launch event was the final broadcast for the IPL. It remains to be seen what will be launched from the expanded Blizzard team, but representatives from the company were quite clear in stating that this is a move meant to promote the company's online and eSports presence.
Riot Games issues lifetime bans for League of Legends players
Riot Games has been trying its hardest to clean up some of the more toxic members of the League of Legends community by handing out year-long suspensions to some of the worst offenders. But sometimes it's not enough to have a time out. Khaled "StunnedandSlayed" Abusagr and Nicolaj "Veigodx" Jensen aren't banned from the game for a year -- they've been banned from the game and all tournaments forever, and any subsequent accounts they create will be immediately banned as well. Simon "Rayt3ch" Näslund has also had his account banned and is barred from tournament participation for one year, but his future accounts will not be flagged as kill-on-sight. These bannings will force Team Solo Mebdi out of the qualifying rounds for the League of Legends championship, as the loss of the players pushes the team below the minimum necessary number of members. It's an aggressive step toward cleaning up the notoriously vile community, although it remains to be seen what the lasting impact will be from these bannings.
Guardians of Middle-Earth brings competitive MOBA gaming to consoles
It seems as if the world has gone MOBA-mad in recent years, with Dota 2 launching the first ever million-dollar competitive tournament and League of Legends becoming the most played game in the world. While there are plenty of PC games following in the competitive footsteps of classic DotA, the console market has remained largely untested. Today that changed with the launch of Guardians of Middle-Earth, the first 3-D console MOBA to be designed for classic DotA-style competitive matches. Guardians of Middle-Earth gives players control of iconic characters from the Lord of the Rings lore, like Gandalf and Gollum. Each character has an array of special abilities, and teams of five players battle against each other in short competitive matches. A streamlined item system and directional attacks adapt the game for the controls and faster pace of gameplay console gamers expect, but it remains to be seen whether the console audience will form a hardcore competitive tournament scene. The game went live on the Playstation Network today and goes live on XBox Live Arcade tomorrow.
EVE Online's New Eden Open tournament starts tomorrow
EVE Online is a game all about competition, frequently with everyone else who happens to be within range of your weapons. As a result, it seems like an oversight that the game hasn't already gotten in on the prestigious field of competitive online gaming. That changes starting tomorrow with the first New Eden Open, a tournament of players competing for a grand total of $10,000 in prize money, hopefully not being carried on a vulnerable freighter in the form of PLEX. The contest kicks off tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. EST complete with continuous live coverage on the official stream channel. Twenty-seven teams will be taking part in the double-elimination tournament, with the grand prize sitting at $6,000. Matches will be run each weekend until the finals on December 2nd. If you're on one of the competing teams, make sure your ships are up to snuff, and even if you're not in for the prize money, be sure to tune in and cheer for your favorite players.
Riot investing heavily in e-sports, creating new LoL-focused pro league
It's pretty obvious that League of Legends is a bona fide phenomenon at this point. What many gamers may not have known, though, is just how big Riot's free-to-play behemoth has become. The company has just unveiled a new level-up initiative that aims to take the entire e-sports scene up a few notches via the creation of a new LoL-focused pro league. The league will feature salaried teams from multiple countries, regular streamed matches with television-quality production values, and what Riot calls "the largest, most ambitious investment in e-sports ever made by a video game developer." The format for the new league mirrors traditional sporting leagues by way of regular season matches followed by regional playoffs and a world championship. You can see a trailer for the new league after the cut. [Source: Riot press release]
League of Legends tourney to be streamed live, $10,000 prize at stake
If you've been curious about the competitive gaming scene in League of Legends, you'll want to mark your calendar for August 3rd. Major League Gaming is hosting a three-day event that features four of the planet's best teams. The stakes are pretty high too, as the first-place team will take home a $10,000 prize. All of the tournament matches will be streamed via MLG's website, which means you can watch over 20 hours' worth of pro LoL gameplay for free. You can also upgrade to a 1080p hi-def stream and get full DVR functionality if you like. The tourney concludes on August 5th, and you'll find a full broadcast schedule as well as all the event details at the Major League Gaming site.
Crashing EVO: SpyParty's Chris Hecker on depth and fighting games
When we asked Chris Hecker how SpyParty snuck its way into EVO 2012, we didn't think he'd actually tell us – revealing sensitive information is opposed to an entire half of his game's title, after all. We assume it was the other half that allowed him to divulge the details behind how SpyParty, a one-on-one asymmetric Turing Test, snagged a featured spot at the year's largest fighting-game gathering:"It all started with Seth Killian," Hecker said. "Seth and I have talked about my goals for SpyParty to be a game that can eventually be counted among the most intensely competitive player-skill games we have, games like Counter-Strike, Starcraft, LoL, Dota and Street Fighter, and he's been really supportive of that goal."Seth emailed me and asked if I'd be interested in bringing SpyParty to EVO. I knew a bit about EVO and was kind of blown away by the offer."SpyParty is one of EVO 2012's Indie Showcase titles, and will be available for anyone to try out on the expo floor, which is completely free and open to the public July 6-7 at Las Vegas' Caesars Palace.The game itself is based on subtlety, precision and practice, much like many fighting games, but it doesn't involve any twitch movements, bright, flashing colors or hadoukens – and it comes with a four-page manual that must be read before anyone attempts to play it. In terms of pacing for the American audience: if Mortal Kombat is football, SpyParty is soccer.
SteelSeries announces Sensei Major League Gaming edition, keeps palms eager until August
For most of us, the humble mouse is but a tool for effective computer navigation, for gamers though, it's a matter of life and (virtual) death. SteelSeries knows this, and hopes its new Sensei Major League Gaming edition mouse will keep a few more of its faithful out of the MASH. It looks like much of the credentials of the original Sensei have been kept intact, the same 10.8-megapixel sensor, the 150 inches per second movement detection, 32-bit ARM processor, LCD display and so on. What's new then? For the main part, the CPI, which can now go from one to 8,200, or all the way to 16,400 if you use the double CPI feature. You'll have to wait until August to get your hand on it, with pre-orders (but no price as yet) set to open at the MLG Championship next week.
Why I Play: Global Agenda
Among the Massively staff, I'm known as the obsessive competitor who plays every game in a hardcore fashion. It's no surprise that I gravitate toward high-skill, difficult games that test skill instead of the typical MMO grinds. But it should be a bit of a surprise that I don't really like competitive shooters. Shooters take a lot of the elements I really love about competition such as mindgames and positioning and marginalize them in favor of raw aiming and twitch reflexes. I'm fond of saying "You must be this tall to ride this ride" when it comes to shooters that are very twitch-based. Global Agenda is a different beast than other shooters, though. The competitive shooter market is saturated with class-based shooters whose emphasis is more on teamwork than on aiming, and Global Agenda really takes it to eleven. Aiming is still important, but it's hardly the most important skill in the game, and every class has a way of minimizing the need for aiming skill. In fact, most of the more effective builds in GA don't require aiming. The emphasis in GA is on teamwork, mobility, and good decision-making. Even though it's a shooter, I find it really easy to spend far too much of my time playing it. It's just great fun.
League of Legends releases Ahri, the Nine-Tailed Fox
Back in September, Riot Games was so excited about an upcoming League of Legends champion it had barely begun working on that it released the concept to fans far ahead of schedule. The champion later became known as Ahri, the Nine-Tailed Fox, and last week we got a sneak peek at her abilities and the balance changes that would be accompanying her arrival. That patch went live this weekend, and Ahri has now been officially released. In a new champion spotlight video, LoL's resident strategic expert Phreak discusses each of Ahri's abilities in detail and gives tips on playing the champion effectively. Ahri is a mage assassin, able to dish out considerable damage in a short space of time. After landing a number of spell attacks, Ahri's next spell will hit with a huge bonus to spell vamp. By sending an Orb of Deception through a whole wave of enemy creeps once the spell vamp buff is active, Ahri can heal herself for a significant amount. Her ultimate allows her to quickly dash around the field of play, either to chase down a fleeing champion or evade pursuit. Skip past the cut to watch the full champion spotlight video in HD, and stay tuned to our weekly Not So Massively column every Monday for more LoL news and updates.
League of Legends to introduce big changes with the Ahri patch
Riot Games has revealed that the long-awaited League of Legends champion Ahri the Nine Tailed Fox will be coming in the very next patch. In addition to heralding the arrival of the new champion, the Ahri patch will introduce some major gameplay changes. In a new patch preview video, lead champion designer Morello and spotlight announcer Phreak discuss the biggest balance and gameplay changes coming in the next patch. Twisted Fate's attack range will be increased, and he'll now be able to manually pick a target for his attack once he locks a card. This should prevent cards hitting the wrong target and make him better able to harass in a lane without leaving himself exposed. Tryndamere receives a much-needed nerf to his self-heal as he tends to have a full rage bar when he's doing well in a lane and the heal ends up being much too powerful. The "perseverence" mastery in the utility tree is being removed and replaced with an old "strength of spirit" mastery that converts maximum mana into bonus health regeneration. With the removal of dodge runes, Phreak and Morello also discuss some new ones being added to make the game a bit more interesting. Skip past the cut to watch the full patch preview video, and stay tuned to our weekly Not So Massively column every Monday for more LoL news and updates.
New interview with Tony Park talks about Firefall's post-release path
Firefall, the upcoming MMOFPS from Red 5 Studios, is aiming at heating things up with a release in the very near future. But perhaps you're not in the beta and still want to hear more information about the game before it goes live. You're in luck, then, as there's a new interview out today for future players and general enthusiasts to examine. Tony Park, head of the Singapore office, talks about where the team hopes to bring Firefall in the days and months following release as well as the current state of the game. Among the more interesting takeaways are the addition of a new class in the roster (the Dreadnaught) and talk about potential future e-sports participation within the game. Considering the activity level of e-sports in the eastern gaming world, it certainly makes sense that the team would have its eye on that as a potential future element of gameplay, especially with the game's setup lending itself to competitive play. While the release is just around the corner, it looks as if the game will still have plenty for players to anticipate even after launch arrives.
Flyff World Championship offering prizes to players as the tournament continues
Think you're a pretty good Flyff player? We hate to be the bearers of bad news, but your opportunity to call yourself among the best is pretty well fading. The first Flyff world championship is currently ongoing, with the sixteen finalists now competing for the opportunity to be crowned the best team of players in the world. Two teams have already been eliminated, with livestreaming coverage of the events available on the official championship channel. But maybe you don't consider yourself one of the best in the world and don't usually care about these sorts of events. That's all right -- you've still got reason to enjoy it. Players will receive a special item every day just for logging in, as well as another item for every level they gain, from September 28th until October 31st. It's an all-around excellent opportunity for Flyff fans to enjoy the game, whether struggling for the top spot or just leveling for fun. [Source: Press release]
SteelSeries Sensei gaming mouse goes up for pre-order, obeys your macro come October
Competitive gaming scored itself a new peripheral vying for the top spot back in August, when SteelSeries unveiled its ambidextrous Sensei mouse. If you'll recall, the Sensei tracks up to 150-inches per second with its 10.8 megapixel sensor, and uses a 32-bit ARM processor to calculate it all without bogging down your rig. Making things sweeter, a trio of illuminated sections can be set to differing hues befitting your mood, and an LCD planted on the Sensei's underside will let you change some settings without a computer. If you've been dying to get your FPS-loving mitts on this $90 input device, it's now officially up for pre-order from the company's website and due to hit doorsteps during the first week of October. As usual, the full PR is located just past the break.
Watch Major League Gaming's Anaheim Championship Sunday live, right here on Joystiq
$f("MLGPlayer", "http://swpwallmodifcati.appspot.com/static/player.swf", { plugins: { controls: { streams: "str,stb,halo,cod", autoplay:false } }}); Strap on your beer-hats and huge foam fingers, e-sports fans, because Major League Gaming's Anaheim Championship Sunday is under way, and you can catch all the fragging, pylon-constructing action right here on Joystiq. Championship matches for Starcraft 2, Halo: Reach, and Call of Duty: Black Ops will take place all day long on 4 different streams, so make sure you've got enough overpriced concession-stand munchies to last you a while. Head on through for the day's full schedule, and be sure to let us know how you feel about competitive gaming coverage on Joystiq, either in the comments or in the poll. This sort of post is a new jam for us, and if you like it, we'll do more!
First Impressions: Bloodline Champions
Bloodline Champions, a new arena-based combat game from Stunlock Studios, asks only one thing of the player: to kill. Unfortunately for me, I am better at balancing bicycles on my nose than I am at pwning noobs, so I was a little hesitant in trying the game. I decided to puff out my chest and hit the download button. What I found was about what I expected, but made with care. The game is "tailored for esport," meaning that it is made to allow players to repeatedly knock the crud out of each other while racking up kills and stats. If you ever ran the World of Warcraft arena over and over in the hopes of filling out your wardrobe with "welfare epics," then you have experienced a game much like Bloodline. There are several "bloodlines" to pick from, each with its own set of unique abilities, spells and looks. Many of the bloodlines compliment each other, and forming an efficient team of killers requires communication and dedication. During my stint within the arena, I found myself (and my team) being murdered over and over again by much more tightly knit gangs of players. After a match or two, the pattern and strategy of the members of the opposing team quickly became apparent: they actually talked to each other and discussed tactics. What a strange concept to me. I tend to come to fights somewhat randomly. Well -- very randomly.
15 Minutes of Fame: The Frag Dolls' Valkyrie
15 Minutes of Fame is WoW.com's look at World of Warcraft personalities of all shapes and sizes -- from the renowned to the relatively anonymous, from the remarkable to the player next door. Tip us off to players you'd like to hear more about. "I can't handle it when people say, "It's only a game,'" says Amy "Valkyrie" Brady, a WoW-playing, card-carrying member of Ubisoft's well known Frag Dolls all-female gaming team. This all-business gamer has helped create and lead the a multi-platform clan of more than 300 gun-toting women who compete across five FPS (First Person Shooter) games in 10 separate divisions. In December 2006, Valkyrie was part of the four-member Frag Doll team that took first place in the Rainbow Six Vegas tournament at CPL in Dallas. Rainbow Six 3, Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, Halo 2, Final Fantasy XI ... On top of considerable hours spent on weekly practice for the Frag Dolls, she puts in some 50 to 60 more in personal game play -- and among those games is World of Warcraft.
Major League Gaming crowns Button Bashers in Anaheim
Major League Gaming wrapped up a tournament in Anaheim, California (we hear some Blizzard folks were headed over to watch), and a Korean team called Button Bashers came out on top, vanquishing SK Gaming's EU team and a team from Check Six. The Button Bashers team is made of a undead mage named Orangemarmalade (the same one that pulled off that wild 2 vs. 1 victory a while back), and Numberone and Hiren, an undead priest and rogue. So yes, an RMP team finished off the tourney at the top, continuing their domation of the arena. SK.EU's druid, warlock, and death knight couldn't stand up to the onslaught. MLG's GotFrag website has lots and lots of info about the teams and tourney, including wrapups from each day of the weekend, and a big gallery of pictures to look through. MLG passed out $24,000 in cash and prizes to all of the winning teams -- congrats to all of them. Next up, MLG is headed off to Orlando, FL to run their fifth event of the season in January.
15 Minutes of Fame: e-sportscaster tracks WoW tournies Part 2
WoW as an e-sport currently is actually pretty awful. Two, for example, are the Electronic Sports League (ESL) who have a world wide tournament, the finals being in March 2009, and Major League Gaming, a console-centric league who expanded to PC earlier this year with WoW. There are not a lot of amateur tournaments out there for WoW.
