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Preorder Cataclysm at Gamestop and get special perks
If you haven't preordered Cataclysm yet, either digitally or via your local brick-and-mortar, then Gamestop has a deal for you -- as long as you like buying stuff, anyway. Folks who preorder the upcoming expansion from Gamestop receive an immediate smattering of 20 percent discounts, good on stuff like select EVGA GeForce video cards, SteelSeries headsets, Linksys routers, and even the Alienware M15X gaming laptop. If you don't need discounts on hardware, then you're probably better off just doing the whole shebang digitally, because you'll have access on launch night regardless of how or where you bought the game. World of Warcraft: Cataclysm will destroy Azeroth as we know it; nothing will be the same! In WoW Insider's Guide to Cataclysm, you can find out everything you need to know about WoW's third expansion (available Dec. 7, 2010), from brand new races to revamped quests and zones. Visit our Cataclysm news category for the most recent posts having to do with the Cataclysm expansion.
The Game Archaeologist and the Girdle of Anarchy: The history
"The future in your hands," Funcom promised gamers in the early days of the new decade. As the MMORPG genre slowly took shape and grew in popularity, game studios were still babes in the woods, feeling out this brave and complex new world without a standard handbook to guide them to success. EverQuest focused on large group content and raids, Dark Age of Camelot featured Realm vs. Realm conflict, and RuneScape brought the MMO to the browser. Everyone desperately hoped he had the next big hook that would reel in gamers by the thousands, especially Norwegian developer Funcom, which made headlines in 1999 with its highly acclaimed adventure The Longest Journey. Funcom took one look at the small but expanding MMO market, got together in a group huddle, and said, "You know what guys? This fantasy thing, it's everywhere. Let's do something different. Let's drill for sci-fi gold. And let's throw in robots, cuddly rodents, randomly generated missions and a bitter rivalry between factions. Geronimo!"* (*Quote fabricated by author.) And thus, almost a decade ago, Anarchy Online hit the industry like a sack of broken features. It wasn't the stellar debut Funcom desired, but the game endured and went on to carve itself out a workable plot of land. This month, The Game Archaeologist trades in his rugged leather attire for space armor and a high-powered laser rifle. The year is 29475, and the place is Babylon 5. Er, Rubi-Ka.
Officers' Quarters: Rating Cataclysm's guild perks, part 2
Every Monday, Scott Andrews contributes Officers' Quarters, a column about the ins and outs of guild leadership. He is the author of The Guild Leader's Handbook, available this spring from No Starch Press. Last week, I reviewed the perks that provide money and convenience. Today, I'm going to talk about (and rate) the remaining perks, which I've divided into three categories: active abilities, professions and points. Active abilities Currently in the beta, two guild perks offer castable abilities. It's not clear yet whether everyone in the guild will gain access to these abilities, whether they will become available to a given player once a certain level of guild reputation is achieved, or whether the guild leader will be able to assign them to specific guild ranks as they do now with other actions, such as inviting new players. Time will tell. Have Group, Will Travel Summons all raid or party members to the caster's current location. 2-hour cooldown. This perk is, frankly, a godsend for getting raids started. No more clicking giant rocks or warlock portals over and over again! People who are lagging behind everyone else might still wind up begging for a summon, but compared to summoning 23 other people one by one, this is a walk in the park. It amazes me how many people can't be bothered to fly to a raid entrance, but that's another story ... This ability will also be useful for bringing players together for group questing, roleplaying or world PvP. The best part is that the summon occurs at "the caster's current location." I wonder if there will be restrictions on that. Could a Horde rogue sneak into Ironforge and summon 39 other players right where she's standing? If so, the possibilities for mayhem are endless. 5 salutes out of 5
Cataclysm Beta: Guild perks
While guild talents may have been scrapped in Cataclysm, the bonuses you would have gotten from them appear to have survived the culling fairly intact -- as of this beta build, guild perks (as they're called) are active and awesome. This list is by no means exhaustive, as chances are good there'll be plenty more in the game. The full list is after the cut, but here are a few to whet your appetite: Cash Flow (Rank 2): Each time you loot money from an enemy, an extra 10% money is generated and deposited directly into your guild bank. Hasty Hearth: Reduces the cooldown on your Hearthstone by 15 minutes. Guild Mail: In-game mail sent between guild members now arrives instantly.
Illuminating answers about the upcoming patch for Champions Online
The first adventure pack for Champions Online is due out this month, although we don't know quite when just yet. But there are a lot of things coming along with the new pack, such as the promised return of Blood Moon and the addition of a difficulty slider. If you're curious about what all of this means from a gameplay perspective, you're coming to it at the right time, as the most recent Ask Cryptic has just been released, covering most of what players might be wondering about. The difficulty slider will be responsible for improved drops, but costume pieces are likely to remain just as frequent (or infrequent) as they currently are. Players who have watched the development of Star Trek Online might be saddened to know that the resistance bonuses and such coming with the Accolade system in that game will not be copied for Champions Online's Perks system. But there's also the prospect of expanding smaller regions into full-sized explorable zones, and some details on the next few adventure packs heading down the pipeline. It should be good news for the game's players, and it certainly helps keep the interest stoked for the coming release of Serpent Lantern.
Rise of the Godslayer: The Gateway to Khitai and Alternate Advancement
It's an exceedingly rare feat when a game company, particularly a maker of MMORPGs, manages to capture the spirit and substance of a pre-established intellectual property. The landscape is littered with many a well-intentioned but misguided attempt at bringing a beloved novel, film, or multiverse into the realm of video gaming. While Funcom's Age of Conan suffered through a launch that contained a generous helping of bugs and negative forum buzz, one thing the game has always done well is transport the player into a lushly realized digital Hyboria, where lore and Howard references abound for those who care to look. As we draw nearer to the May 11th street date for the Rise of the Godslayer expansion, Massively has managed to snag some time at the controls of the beta client, and we're happy to bring you our impressions of life in the eastern wilds of Hyboria. We touched on the extensive feature list for the new expansion in our earlier look from GDC as well as our Craig Morrison interview, so this time around we'll focus on the major mechanical addition, the AA system, as well as the general look and feel of the beta. Walk this way for more on Khitai and the new mechanics and be sure to check out the gallery below. %Gallery-92189%
Epic gems and profession changes in Patch 3.2
With all the things I'm waiting to hear about in patch 3.2, completely unforeseen news takes me by surprise. Bornakk just revealed that epic gems are coming in that patch, as well as some changes to other professions. Jewelcrafters will be able to buy epic gem cut patterns with their Dalaran Jewelcrafter's Tokens. Raw epic gems will be available from prospecting Titanium Ore and alchemy transmutations, and will also be buyable with both honor and Emblems of Heroism. Given that the availability of epic gems raises the value of the Blacksmithing perk (extra sockets), other professions are having their perks buffed. Details after the cut.
Modern Warfare 2 trailer analysis hints at perks, locations, teddy bears
If you've been straining your eyes and ears over the recently released "soundwave trailer" for Modern Warfare 2, you may want to give your weary senses a rest, and turn your attention to one of two comprehensive breakdowns of the trailer that recently appeared in our inbox. The first is a video analysis from YouTuber d4v1dm0rt, which is embedded after the break. The second, a compilation of zoomed in screengrabs from the trailer (broken down by Binge Gamer's Mike Murakami), can be viewed here.They probably spotted a few items you might have missed out on -- such as the brief image depicting five perk icons, four of which appear to be entirely new. Maybe you didn't catch the flash frame of O Cristo Redentor, which could be hinting at Rio de Janeiro as a possible in-game locale. Perhaps your keen gaze overlooked the momentarily visible teddy bear, which could symbolize ... cuddlier enemies? Yeah, we're still not too sure about that one.[Thanks, David and Mika!]
Rumor: Call of Duty: World at War perks leaked
According to PlayStation Universe, the entire list of Call of Duty: World at War perks have leaked online. While this rumored list appears legit enough we haven't been able to confirm it, yet. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare players will recognize such perks as Stopping Power, Extreme Conditioning and the dreaded Martyrdom.The list also includes vehicle perks and such interesting perks as Bouncing Betty which is said to work the same as the Call of Duty 4 claymore perk and Toss Back which apparently resets the fuse when tossing an enemy grenade back. Call of Duty: World at War hits stores this November. The full rumored perk list can be found after the jump.[via Big Download]
Fallout 3 Create a Perk contest winner selected, 'Grim Reaper's Sprint'
"Every time you kill an opponent, all your action points are automatically restored." So goes the description for the perk "Grim Reaper's Sprint," winner of Bethesda's Fallout 3 Create a Perk contest. The designer, Marc-André Deslongchamps of Montreal, will see his perk included in the final game as well as receive a package of PC-related prizes.The contest, announced in early October, was in honor of Fallout's 10th anniversary. Eleven runner-ups and five random entries were chosen to also receive gifts; be sure to check out their submitted perks at the contest page. We're hoping to see some of these other perks, especially Kleptomaniac, find their way into Fallout 3 in some facet.Now that we know one of the perks, anyone want to place bets on what the others will be?
