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Ulduar revealed on full map
Stompalina over at Rawrbitchrawr pointed us in the direction of a map of Ulduar that was meticulously pieced together by a guild mate. The map contains major spoilers, so do not click on the links if you want everything to be a surprise. The map contains a list of all the possible bosses, including those that haven't been announced yet.The map also reveals a possible progression through the dungeon, which should be indicative of the relative difficulty of the bosses as players head towards the final boss. It's a rather interesting map, if you're willing to see spoilers. The map is spawling and looks massive. Head on over for a peek at the big dungeon of Patch 3.1. Have I said it was filled with spoilers yet? Well, it's filled with spoilers!
Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Huge, awesome spoiler
"Huge." "Awesome." Hugesome. That's how we'd define the Tatsunoko vs. Capcom SPOILER that just hit the 'net, so we're taking appropriate action and filing this one after the break.If you do intend to import the 2D fighter, you're best off NOT clicking the blue text below. If you couldn't care less about spoiling not one but potentially two games for yourself, go forth and click, young warrior, and prepare to go slightly weak at the knees as we unveil Tatsunoko vs. Capcom's final boss ...%Gallery-32421%
A chance to partly spoil Chrono Trigger for yourself
Warning: image links to SPOILER-filled video. Perhaps in an effort to justify the Square tax, or perhaps because having thirteen unique conclusions (and two further variations) just isn't enough, Square Enix added a new ending (and a new boss) to Chrono Trigger DS. The game lands in North American stores today, but footage of the new ending and boss fight is already up on YouTube in English, and embedded after the break (we shall assume "Blackwyn" used the English language option that's in the Japanese game).At this point, we're going to throw you the obligatory SPOILERS warning, because there are SPOILERS -- big ones -- in the video after the break. SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS. Also, you should probably avoid the comments section. You know, because there may be SPOILERS.%Gallery-27682%
ESRB game descriptions contain minor spoilers
While the newly expanded descriptions of recent titles on the Entertainment Software Ratings Board site often serve as a pure source of unintended hilarity (See: Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe's "exaggerated breast proportions and movement"), a recent news post on Gamespot points out another side-effect of the ESRB's newly developed long-windedness -- certain descriptions for titles, such as Fallout 3 and Resistance 2, contain a few minor plot spoilers.There's no revelations of Keyser Soze-esque proportions in the descriptions for the titles listed above -- though they do reference specific moments in the game that prospective players may want to remain in the dark about. Consider yourself warned.
Spoilers: Wrath of the Lich King's peek into Druid lore
Recently in both Ask a Beta Tester and Ask a Lore Nerd, Druids have been asking a lot about their class. Not class mechanics and things like that, but their quests, story, and background. Will the old quests go away? (They won't.) Will we see more of Druid lore in Wrath?Yes, yes we will. And there's video! If you don't want to be spoiled about upcoming Wrath of the Lich King quests and storylines, I would advise against reading the rest of this post and the video within. Like that cinematic-that-shall-not-be-named from last week, watching it could really spoil an awesome game moment, so consider that your final warning. Oh, and it's long, so free up some time for yourself.
Scourge Invasion to return?
Here's a promising note for those who enjoyed the Scourge invasion world event a while back. When a player moans on the forums that he thought it was a yearly thing (and that it might never return), world designer Kisirani says not to jump to conclusions: we may be using the Necrotic runes from the event very soon in the future. Rumors have been swirling about a world event for a long time now, and if you've been paying attention to the spoilers (that link is a spoiler, of course), you know that things are going to hit the fan very shortly here.Though for all of the hints and leaks and files found in the beta, we haven't actually seen an event at work, and it's not completely clear just what will happen. Of course, something has to happen to Naxx for it to move north to Northrend, and we've speculated all along that, without being too spoilery, Arthas would do something to drive the Horde and Alliance to seek him out, and that's exactly what the hints are pointing at. But as for when this event will go down, and what, if any, rewards might come out of it, from Necrotic Runes or otherwise, we don't know for sure. As much as players have learned about how Wrath might kick off, Blizzard is still holding their cards close on this one.
Bambi terrorizes Northrend
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/pc_games/Bambi_s_pwns_in_World_of_Warcraft_expansion'; This post contains spoilers about Wrath of the Lich King. Before the cut, the spoilers will be mild. After the cut, the spoilers will be complete, and more powerful than you could possibly imagine. (Well, more than you could imagine if you don't check out behind the cut.) One of Blizzard's hallmarks in the World of Warcraft has long been the subtle digs and nods to pop culture. These Easter Eggs can bring a lot of fun, though I know some folks feel the little references ruin their immersion. I kind of like them, and still giggle this day about the idea of purchasing Gigantique bags from Haris Pilton while avoiding her spectral friend. This new one, lurking mildly in Northrend, made me giggle a bit in delight, though. One might even say, I muttered a faint "Squee!" Go behind the cut and see the latest easter egg in Wrath ... if you dare!
Bionic Commando Rearmed's divergent finale
***Spoiler Alert -- Final Warning*** The original Bionic Commando ended with a battle against The Albatross warship and then Master-D. IGN tells us that Rearmed's ending is going to be a little different. The Albatross is now its own level, and apparently the longest level in the game, with challenging rooms that will require shutting down a security system to battle Master-D. Don't worry BC fans, we've been told before the original ending is still "historically accurate." Bionic Commando Rearmed will be available on August 13 -- be sure to check out videos of the new Albatross level after the break. %Gallery-14181%
Breakfast Topic: Knowing about the Wrath beta
Well, it's here -- we've been waiting for the Wrath beta and all the information that'll come with it for a long time, and soon we'll all be headed to a pre-release Northrend to see what there is to see. But how much is too much? Iris asks on WoW Ladies, and we're asking too, "How much do you want to know about the Wrath beta?"A few people have already asked us for a non-Wrath RSS feed, and we're working on asking our tech guys if that's possible (it's very possible to get RSS feeds of any of our categories by adding "rss.xml" to the end of any of our Category listings, but it's not so easy to get a feed if everything but a certain category), and we're doing as much as we can to keep major spoiler information behind the breaks and out of sight if possible. But the information's out there, and just like the Burning Crusade beta, odds are that you'll have heard a little bit about what's happening in Northrend if you read any WoW sites at all.The good news, of course, is that Blizzard always keeps a few aces up their sleeve -- even if you drowned yourself in the latest and greatest Wrath leaks and information, it's a guarantee that you'll find at least something in the live version of Northrend that you didn't hear about before. But until then, just how much do you want to know? Are you planning on playing the beta nonstop in the hopes that you do so much you don't have to buy the actual game, or are you keeping ears and eyes closed for the next few months in hopes that you'll enter a completely new and unfamiliar world whenever you install the next expansion?
Insider Trader: A discussion of our trade channel
Insider Trader is your inside line on making, selling, buying and using player-made products.This week, Insider Trader will be starting a discussion about trade channel in World of Warcraft, including its usefulness to its likability, abuse, and role in the game. At first glance, trade channel is supposed to be a channel linking all major cities, providing a forum for craftsmen and buyers to meet up and exchange goods and services. Within this context, players make a living, purchase gear and consumables, research goods and services, make friends and business associates, and learn the ins and outs of server economy. Unfortunately, when asked their opinions of trade channel, many players describe it as annoying, useless, or offensive, and many keep it turned off permanently. Still others seem to hover in trade chat, spending a great deal of time in it either chatting, selling or sometimes, buying.
Rumor: Complete list of GTA IV achievements leaked
We know that there are those of you who would rather remain in the dark about the pseudo-spoiler-laden list of supposed achievements for Grand Theft Auto IV that has been circulating message boards and gaming news sites as of late, so we'll considerately throw it behind the jump and avoid discussing any major bombshells which the list may or may not reveal.But that would make for a boring news post, so let's just say this -- we love the edginess in Rockstar's seminal crime series, but we think the "Gettin' Too Old For This S***" achievement, which rewards 50G for shooting a cop who's just two days from retirement, may stir up an amount of controversy that even Rockstar's razor-sharp legal team isn't ready to deal with.
The VC Advantage: Street Spoiler II
With all the hoo-ha over the new Super Smash Bros. Brawl spoilers (warning: spoiler link contains spoilers) I got nostalgic about classic fighting game spoilers. You know, as happens in this little corner of the website. I love fighting game spoilers. I love spoilers in general, preferring the buildup of anticipation to a "surprise" to the actual feeling of surprise, but fighting game spoilers are especially delightful, for the simple reason that nothing in a fighting game's storyline matters. Also, fighting game storylines are usually incredibly hilarious, whether this is intentional or not.Street Fighter II is the canonical fighting game, and appropriately has the best goofy ending animations in the genre. If you haven't played this seventeen-year-old game, you should be warned: the above YouTube link contains spoilers that will blow the whole game wide open. If you are sensitive about such things, you should go through the game yourself to learn the motivations that drew eight people to fly around the world and punch each other in one-minute intervals. But if you live in 2008 and have already finished Street Fighter II, then revel in some ending videos with us! Now it's time to celebrate in our appropriate fashion.
Breakfast Topic: Spoiled rotten vs ignorant bliss
With Patch 2.4 close to going live on the PTR, thousands, if not tens of thousands of players are ready to descend on those poor servers to dig into Sunwell's secrets. We will, of course, be reporting on the good stuff here on WoW Insider, but I'm curious to know how many people avoid the spoilery information versus how many surf the net tirelessly until they know every last detail?And for those who don't want to be spoiled how the heck do you manage it? Between guild chat, general chat and news sites you would be hard pressed not to hear tantalizing details from the test patch. I get that you want to be surprised and experience the new content in-game, but do you have to be a virtual hermit to achieve that? And, then, how do you plan on your day's activities in-game when it all goes live? Will you just head over to the new Sunwell area when it goes live and let the NPCs lead the way?Where do you fall between knowing everything in advance and blindly stumbling into fun and adventure as it comes, learning along the way?
Spoiler Mario Galaxy: tons of secrets revealed
Since we've marked this Super Mario Galaxy video as containing SPOILERS, we're fairly certain that none of you will watch it. Therefore, we can tell you things about the video that may or may not be true, like that it features a heartfelt tribute to Clu Clu Land, and you won't know for certain if we're lying. Did you know that you can subscribe to Famitsu via the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, just by jumping into a certain pipe? We won't say which one. Actually (and don't kill us if you watch it and disagree) we find most of the tricks highlighted in the video to be of the non-spoiler variety. There is the occasional secret here and there, but mostly we see glitches and a few helpful moves that should have been in the instruction manual. We also see a few extremely obvious things regarding Star Bits, which probably are in the instruction manual. Is your fear of being spoiled more powerful than your curiosity? [Via GayGamer]
Classic items return in Super Mario Galaxy
Joining the already colorful collection of new equipment found in Super Mario Galaxy come the ol' stand-by's the Fire Flower and the Super Star. Now, our Urban Champion league friends over at Wii Fanboy considered this news to be the most spoiling of spoilers, but really, it's about as shocking as finding out that in Galaxy, you collect coins. Hachi machi! Do you think if you collect a certain amount of them, you'll get an extra life?The Fire Flower went missing during the 3-D installments of the series, but was brought back into the fold with last year's New Super Mario Bros. The same can also be said about the super star power-up, though Metal Mario filled the void at times in Super Mario 64.For some real spoilers concerning the plot, check out the story itself. Now those we'll protect you from.[via Nintendo Wii Fanboy]
The collision of Hogwarts and Azeroth
(There are no spoilers in this post-- see note below.)We've been trying to stay away from covering the specifics of this, but I'm pretty sure that by now, everyone who wanted to read Harry Potter's last book spoiler-free has done so (I finished it last Saturday night after a marathon reading session, and really enjoyed it). So perhaps now's the time to, as Terra Nova does, examine these strange relationships between virtual worlds.Why would the WoW forums (or any MMORPG forums, as TN mentions FFXI) be a hotbed of spoiler posting, and not, say, a note posted on the door of a bookstore (or any other place that is likely to hit more Harry Potter fans than the forums)? What is it that attracts the WoW playership to be both inclined to post spoilers, and inclined to be bothered by them?The answer, I think, lies in the fact that WoW really has two audiences-- there are gamers, like myself, who also play Halo and Counterstrike. They play games to get the highest level and the best gear and most Arena points, and they think the Harry Potter books are nothing more than kids' books about a stupid wizard school. These are the people who think it's funny to post spoilers on a forum, and who take pleasure in ruining someone else's appreciation of something they have no appreciation for. But there's a second group that also plays WoW, and they are very different.*Note: Before you go any further, I should mention that if you haven't read the Harry Potter books yet, you may want to stay away from the comments on this post. Spoilers will be deleted from our comments, but we can only act so fast, and any post about spoilers is bound to attract some itself.
Beware of posting spoilers on the US forums, too!
Last week we heard that they were going to be taking spoiler postings seriously on the European forums -- and that spoiling other players' enjoyment of books or movies would be a quick way to get yourself banned. However, Drysc has recently reminded US forum-goers that they take the subject just as seriously. Drysc tells us: We would like to remind our forum goers of our strong stance against trolling by way of posting spoilers for movies, tv shows, and books. We take these attempts to cause others grief and produce general unrest on these forums very seriously, and we take a harsh stance against any outright or veiled attempts to spoil the enjoyment of others. Posting spoilers can result in a lengthy suspension, up to and most likely a permanent removal of all posting privileges from these forums. I'm quite glad to see they're taking a strong stance on the subject, since nothing's worse than having a book or movie's ending spoiled for you. However, I still think the best case is going to be to avoid this, and all other internet forums until after you finish reading that last Harry Potter book. After all, CMs are only human, and there are a lot of spoilsports out there.[via World of Warcraft Warcry]
Beware of posting spoilers on the official forums
Over on the European forums, Aeus is getting serious about banning people from the forums for posting spoilers. (Likely due to the immenent release of the final Harry Potter book, though he's clear that bans will come down for people posting any type of spoiler.) Says Aeus: Posting spoilers is one of the worst ways to troll; not to mention the amount of players whose enjoyment and anticipation can potentially be utterly ruined. If you were around the day the previous Harry Potter book was released, you would understand where Aeus was coming from. Every forum was packed with posts giving away the book's ending, in the titles of the posts and hidden behind misleading titles. And, I don't know about you, but I visit the official forums to talk about World of Warcraft. Aeus is off to an enthusiastic start, telling a spoiler-posting player: Suspended for 9 days, that's when the book comes out. If... [the spoiler occurs] this becomes a permanent.But while I admire his enthusiasm, with the number of posts on the topic that appeared with the release of the last book, I wonder if it will be practical to keep the forums spoiler-free. However, if you're a fan of the Potter series, I've got to recommend staying away from the forums -- and the general chat channels -- until after you've finished the book.
Working for a spoiler-free Azeroth
If you've ever been really excited about a movie, TV show or book release, I suggest that you avoid playing WOW between the time that thing is released and the time you see/read it. Because if the past few years are anything to go by, there's always going to be some person yelling out the crucial plot points in trade channel. Harry Potter, Spider-Man 3, the last two Pirates of the Caribbean movies -- I've heard them all discussed, usually in all caps, the day after they came out. The only one I actually got spoiled for was Spider-Man, and that wasn't quite as big a deal. There was even a thread on the European forums mocking this trend that got up to double digits and included spoilers for virtually every video game, anime, movie, TV show and historical event ever. Remember, it was Earth all along! (Warning: read at your own risk.) The only spoiler-worthy thing I'm into right now is the Sopranos. Unfortunately, because I don't have HBO, I don't see the episodes immediately and usually have to wait a day or so. And of course, there are people in my guild who do watch the Sopranos right away, including the guild's second-in-command who happens to live in my city and knows of my dilemma. So we get conversations like the following one on Sunday nights:
