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The OverAchiever: Dungeon and raid titles
Titles; they are cool, they are wonderful, and in a not-inconsiderable number of cases, they are very hard to get. Almost without exception, every single title in the game is also linked to an achievement. Today we're going to examine how you can get (or, in some cases, how it was possible to get) about half of the 19 titles currently available from dungeons and raids. Next week, we'll cover the last half, going in alphabetical order. If you're a skimmer, the two toughest achievements are actually at the tail end this week, and if you're currently in Icecrown Citadel, there's two currently-unobtainable titles that may interest you here (in addition to another set next week).
Patch 3.3 PTR: New and updated achievements on the PTR
There's been a few achievements that have been added in the latest patch 3.3 build. As you can guess, taking down the Lich King has its rewards. If you manage to defeat Arthas in Icecrown Citadel in 10-player heroic mode, you will henceforth earn the title "Bane of the Fallen King." A new faction for you to earn reputation with will be established as well. The Ashen Verdict, if you manage to earn exalted with them, will grant you a title reward that adds "Of the Ashen Verdict." No serious details yet on how to grind out rep, but when I was on the PTR clearing trash to Festergut, I noticed I was gaining Ashen Verdict reputation by killing various mobs. They're similar to the rates players earned rep with when working through Black Temple for the Ashtongue. Arena players have a new title and a Frostwyrm pet to look forward to for season 8. Good luck on earning the Wrathful Gladiator title! The players who are more into battlegrounds will be experiencing change as well. The achievements to gain exalted with Warsong Gulch, Arathi Basin, and Alterac Valley factions have been removed from their Meta-Achievements. You'll gain special titles if you manage to reach exalted with the factions at least. Glory of the Hero Meta-Achievement has been slightly changed. The Party's Over achievement which involves killing Prince Taldaram on Heroic with under 5 people is no longer part of that particular meta. Although, personally I don't think it's that difficult to take out that boss with 4 players. Lastly, in case you missed the news earlier, Master Angler of Stranglethorn has been changed. It will be changed to Master Angler of Azeroth instead. You can gain this achievement by winning the Kalu'ak Fishing Derby or the Stranglethorn Fishing Extravaganza. Patch 3.3 is the last major patch of Wrath of the Lich King. With the new Icecrown Citadel 5-man dungeons and 10/25-man raid arriving soon, patch 3.3 will deal the final blow to the Arthas. WoW.com's Guide to Patch 3.3 will keep you updated with all the latest patch news.
Trademark: PopCap going off the rails on a 'Yetitrain'
PopCap, we're afraid we've got an unpleasant task for you. At your earliest convenience, we're going to need you to draft letters of apology to everyone who's come within 50 yards of us within the last 15 minutes. See, a little while ago, supererogatory turned our attention to a trademark you just filed, reserving the name Yetitrain for use in a game. Our eyes saw the word, and our brain immediately told us the correct course of action: As loudly as possible, we would need to sing Ozzy Ozbourne's "Crazy Train," and we'd need to swap in the appropriate cryptozoological word. Though we've aroused general concern from our neighbors and landlords, we can't seem to stop. This word -- Yetitrain -- is too powerful not to sing boisterously. We're sending you an email to request these apologetic correspondences, and to see if you'll tell us exactly what a Yetitrain is, and then to find out where we purchase our ticket to ride it forever.
Possible Silicon Knights project title leaked: Siren in the Maelstrom
A Canadian cultural agency known as Telefilm Canada recently posted a list of 56 new media projects it's helping to fund over the next year. One name on this list sticks out more than all the others: St. Catharines, Ontario-based developer Silicon Knights' apparent new project, which is titled "Siren in the Maelstrom." We know the developer is up to something, as hinted at by a few recent help wanted ads -- could this be the something for which it's hiring? We've contacted Silicon Knights to try and find out.We're pretty upset that the leaked title isn't "Eternal Darkness: Siren in the Maelstrom." On the other hand, it's also not "Too Human: Siren in the Maelstrom," so we guess we should count our blessings.[Via VG247]
Interest in Modern Warfare 2 spikes with Call of Duty branding
Don't freak out, guys. We know how worried you were when we told you that interest in Modern Warfare 2 was waning without the warm embrace of that familiar Call of Duty brand name. According to Nielsen's Video Game Tracking service, interest in the shooter has substantially improved following the association of Infinity Ward's work with Activision's recognizable franchise.Three different consumer interest fields Nielsen tracked -- "Aided Awareness," "Definite Interest in Purchasing," and "Total Positive Interest in Purchasing" -- increased drastically from the week of July 6 (before the title was modified) to the week of July 13 (post-name change). It's just like Bill Shakespeare said: "A rose by any other name may smell as sweet, but a rose that's clearly endorsed by Activision will sell way better." We're pretty sure that's how that goes.
TUAW at E3: Robocalypse: Mobile Mayhem for iPhone
I'm spending the week at E3, and while iPhone games are somewhat few and far between (odds are that we'll see most of the App Store's goods next week at WWDC), there are a few gems to find out on the floor. In the Vogster booth, I got to play Robocalypse: Mobile Mayhem. It was originally seen on the DS as a classic real-time strategy title, in the style of Warcraft and Starcraft, and it's kept that standard gameplay on the iPhone -- you can create units and control them along with heroes, tech up with different buildings, and control bases and maps. The top screen of the DS has become two panels on the side of the iPhone's screen, but navigation is still pretty easy -- click to select units, click to direct them. Hardcore strategy fans won't find any surprises, but it is a solid, classic-style RTS that runs well.There will be 17 singleplayer missions shipping with the game, and the team is working on getting multiplayer to work as well -- it currently works over WiFi, and they're aiming to even allow online play before it releases to the App Store in August. Vogster producer Alan Martin even told us that they found developing for the iPhone even easier than the DS -- different factions in the game are shown by applying different colors to the units, and while on the DS they had to make sprites for each color, the iPhone allowed them to simply change the primary colors with a variable. RTS fans especially should be sure to give the game a look
Q Entertainment files trademark for 'Guardian Hearts'
Japanese developer Q Entertainment has mostly stayed out of the limelight since releasing Lumines Supernova for the PSN last year, though a recent trademark filing may hint at the developer's plans for the future. The relatively young company just filed its sixth trademark ever, reserving the title Guardian Hearts for future use in a video game.We usually remind our readers that not every trademark a developer files ends up turning into a game, but in Q Entertainment's case, they actually do. We've contacted Q to find out whether this might be the moniker of a forthcoming project, and whether the actual game will be as RPG-ish as the aforementioned appellation.
Having fun with the Patron/Matron titles
There's some fun to be had out there with everyone's new Patron and Matron titles. And by fun I clearly mean instituting a level of confusion and raised eyebrows that only a transformative romp through the wilds of Storms Peaks can give you.First, you want to get your title from Children's Week. And with the exception of School of Hard Knocks the title shouldn't be hard to get.Secondly, display the title and fly out to Brunnhildar Village. You want to head towards the area where you change forms into a Hyldnir Frost Vrykul. You know, the big blue women.As you form goes "poof," so will your title. If you were a man and are now a woman, you gain the Matron title. Don't you feel special now? Of course as soon as you fly out from the area and shapeshift automagically back to your original form, your title will change back as well.There are reports in which people have experienced similar behavior being sheeped in PvP. Apparently all sheep are male? Who knows...Have fun with this, but not too much fun.
Breakfast Topic: What's the best pun name you've ever seen?
We've all seen some Alliance kiddie named "ikillhoarde" or a Warlock named "ifearyoudie." After all, what Horde wouldn't run for cover from a Hunter who's named after his very death? And woe is the person who actually thinks he can get away from a Warlock's fear. Phear the lock, baby.Add titles into the mix. "Doora the Explorer" is probably my favorite of all time. Every time I see someone named that I yell out "Swiper, No Swiping!" Of course insert the obligatory NSFW Kevin Smith reference here.Another favorite of mine that I've seen is "Highlander the Immortal."What's the best pun name that you've encountered in the game? Ever thought about renaming your character to make yourself pun-famous?
The OverAchiever: Insane in the Membrane
Most of you are excited for 3.1 so you can start raiding Ulduar, or take advantage of the new class changes. But I know what some of you are on pins and needles for. It's the new title The Insane. Insane In The Membrane is exactly what it sounds like -- an achievement for people who are completely nuts. To earn this title you must be willing to spend a lot of time destroying and raising obscure factions in Azeroth. I mean a lot of time. It requires that attain the following:Honored with Bloodsail Buccaneers Exalted with EverlookExalted with RatchetExalted with Booty BayExalted with GadgetzanExalted with RavenholdtExalted with Darkmoon FaireExalted with Shen'dralarYep. If you want to get started on this brain-breaking journey, just follow the jump.
Bioshock 2 to be sans subtitle, 'Sea of Dreams' was title of trailer
A brief recap of the comedy of errors surrounding the suspected subtitle for Bioshock 2 -- developer 2K Marin revealed the Sea of Dreams moniker in the sequel's debut trailer, then confirmed that it had dropped the subtitle last month, then de-confirmed that confirmation a week later, then suggested it doesn't know what its own game is called during GDC. However, 2K's Charlie Sinhaseni might have just told IGN the (hopefully) final word on the matter -- according to him, the game will simply be called Bioshock 2: Electric Boogaloo. No, wait -- just Bioshock 2.Sinhaseni explained the confusion -- 2K apparently gives titles to all its trailers, and the teaser for the sequel (which appeared in the PS3 version of Bioshock the First) was titled (you guessed it) Sea of Dreams. The developers considered making it an official subtitle to the game, but have ultimately decided to follow the "title + number" format that's worked so well for Madden throughout the years. We hope this is the last chapter in this confusing saga, though it doesn't really matter. An aquatic, morally ambiguous FPS/RPG by any other name would smell just as sweet.
Wrath of the Lich King falls off the top sales spot (for now)
It only took four months, but a new title has knocked Wrath of the Lich King off the top of the PC sales charts, according to industry trackers NPD. Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II, the much-awaited RTS title featuring that other fantasy universe with "war" in the title, has taken the top spot, knocking Wrath down to number two (and the original version of WoW and the Battle Chest hold their spots around six and seven).We suppose it had to happen at some point -- with PTR interest kicking in this past week, and the game having sold so many copies already, there had to be a point where something else jumped up above Wrath. But don't count the award winning expansion out of the number one spot yet. While Dawn of War II is getting reviewed very favorably, this little bump is likely due to an audience of fans who wanted to get the sequel on day one. Once first-week sales for that game level off, it's entirely likely that we'll see WotLK back up on top. Not that Blizzard needs any more money, of course. But it is good to be the (Lich) King.
Tabs in the title bar: a UI design trend that needs to go
Safari 4 Beta's new tab arrangement has me bothered. It seems to be largely lifted from Chrome's user interface that puts the tabs at the very top of the window. Not only is this a departure from Apple's typical UI choices, it presents problems for users with special needs. On your average Apple user interface, every object -- a title bar, menu, button, or handle -- has a single function. It can resize the window, move it, close it, or scroll it. Safari 4's tabs, however, have a dual purpose: They not only can be selected to move the entire Safari 4 window, but can be clicked individually to display their contents. In Safari 3, this was handled by two different objects -- the title bar to move the window, and tabs in the tab bar. Google chose to put tabs at the top of the window because it was an important part of the user metaphor for their web browser, Chrome. In Chrome, tabs are independent processes brought together in a kind of stack. This is all very well and good, but it poses the same problem of having the area at the top of the window do two things at once: move the window as a whole, and control each item in the stack.
The Queue: Wear shoulder pads like it's 1989 and get The Immortal title
Welcome back to The Queue, WoW Insider's daily Q&A column where the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Adam Holisky will be your host today.Salutations and fond wishes everyone. Today in the queue we'll spend a moment looking at shoulders you can get for your alts. Shoulder padding, if you will... Remember shoulder pads? I hear they were popular in the '80s. Along with Ghostbusters. And Ghostcrawler is popular now. So therefore Ghostcrawler is only two steps removed from the fads of the '80s.Bet ya' didn't see that one coming.Be sure to submit your questions about patch 3.1 in the comments. We'll try to answer as many as possible in the next few days.Jared Daniels asks..."Would you recommend getting the inherited plate shoulder pads solely for the purpose of leveling my Death Knight and Warrior from 70-80? My main is a Mage and I am coming close to being able to buy the ones from using Stone Keeper Shards. If no, then what would you recommend I do with the shards?"
Breakfast Topic: Titillating titles
We're so close to getting Twilight Vanquisher, I can almost taste it. A lot of my guild mates would love to have the title, and I'm sure when we down Sartharion with three drakes this week -- fingers crossed... -- a lot of them will be sporting it in Dalaran. I'm not too keen on it myself. I couldn't actually care less. It's cool and all, but what I really want is Battlemaster. I'm just one or two Achievements short on every Battleground to get Master in each one. Even if I had the skill to obtain Arena Master (and I admittedly don't, seeing as how I've never broken 2200 on any bracket in any Season), it's not a title I'd display, either. I just like the sound of Battlemaster. That, for me, is the title I want the most. I know our Guild Master is five Exalted reputations away from being The Exalted. I personally think that's awesome and we're going to help him in any way we can. All my wife wanted for her leveling Priest was to be a Chef, only to meet a roadblock when she found out she couldn't do the Kungaloosh quest yet (she's only Level 74). We came close several times to getting The Undying, even getting past Heigan, so I'm sure that's in the cards pretty soon. There are so many awesome titles now it's interesting to find out what people like. David asked in his Livejournal what people thought the most prestigious title was. Readers chimed in to say what they thought were the tough titles to get. Salty got a few mentions, as well as the obviously insane Immortal. Today, though, I'm not interested in finding out what the most prestigious title is. I'm more curious to know what titles you've already obtained and what you choose to display. Some of you guys probably have a lot of titles to choose from. What makes you choose the title you display? Maybe you chose the incredibly simple Explorer for your character named Dora? Or keeping the old world PvP title of General for a toon named Anaesthesia? Some choose humor, some choose prestige, and others... well, some just like how a title sounds. How about you?
Discipline - The Hentai Academy: a first of its kind Blu-ray release
There's anime on Blu-ray, there's adult films on Blu-ray -- in all honesty, this was just bound to happen. Japan's MediaBank has officially announced that Discipline - The Hentai Academy will become the first hentai release on the BD format when it's launched on January 30th. The single-disc package will include the compete six episode "renewal mosaic" version of the series, but the action won't come cheap. It's slated to hit shelves with a lofty ¥8,190 ($90) price tag attached, and while no worldwide release has been mentioned thus far, we've all ideas the import channels will be ready and willing to satisfy the desires of those outside of Japan. [Warning: links are mildly NSFW] [Via Japanator]
Reputation gains on grey mobs changed in 3.0.8
3.0.8 just keeps giving us more surprises. The newest patch note update tosses us this fun number: Reputation gained from mobs no longer deprecates based on your level! This means that even if you're level 80 and killing mobs in Stratholme for rep, you'll still gain the full amount of Argent Dawn rep you would've gotten if you were level 60 (or the mobs were 80). Good news for those of you trying to get Argent Champion, Guardian of Cenarius, or Diplomat, although the folks that already ground those reps without this change might feel it trivializes those titles. For those of who you haven't started the grinds yet, maybe you should consider waiting a little bit and taking advantage of this change to save your sanity a bit. This isn't the first time a change like this has been made, but it's a welcome one.WI reader Ray actually notified us of this change on the PTR a few days ago, but apparently I'm so slow that the change managed to make the updated 3.0.8 notes before I posted it. This is me hanging my head in shame. I'LL MAKE IT UP TO YOU, RAY.(Pictured: A grey [kangaroo] mob)
DS Daily: Best titles
Let's face it: the vast majority of games don't really have particularly cool or clever titles. Often, they're just Thing: More Specific or Perhaps More General Thing, because colons add weight and authority, you know. Or at least the appeal of more words. Those titles that take the approach of fewer words are usually called something along the lines of Thing, or possibly Thingy Thing, because adjectives demonstrate creativity. With the patterns established, we're free to look at titles that break out of the pack, the games with hilarious names -- intentional and not -- or just interesting titles. What are your favorites among the DS's library? Hands down, it should probably be Freshly Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland.
The Dark Knight shatters sales record, moves 600,000 Blu-ray Discs on day one
The numbers are in, and they're big. Just as predicted, Warner Brothers' The Dark Knight was a huge day-one success, with consumers in the US, Canada and UK snapping up three million copies during the first 24 hours (give or take a few) that it was on sale. More germane to our conversation, however, is this 600,000 figure, which tells exactly how many Blu-ray Discs were sold. We already know that around one-sixth of those were moved in the UK, leaving us to determine that North America did some serious shopping. The studio has now projected it to sell one million BDs by Saturday, and curiously enough, current sales have been "especially strong at grocery stores, indicating that the format is broadening beyond early adopters to more mainstream buyers, notably women." Needless to say, this title took down Iron Man's record of moving 250,000 BDs on day one, which just ratchets up the bar for the next big one to take down.[Thanks, Geoff]
107,000 The Dark Knight Blu-ray Discs sold in UK on day one
We'll warn you -- these numbers are likely very preliminary and subject to change, but Pocket-lint is reporting (via Official Charts Company data as revealed by the British Video Association) that some 513,000 copies of The Dark Knight were sold on day one in the UK (but isn't the day still ongoing?), 21% of which were Blu-ray. If our abacus is to be trusted, that's just north of 107,000 Blu-ray Discs, and it falls right in line with the apparent BD boom going on across the pond. Just for comparison, it took the white hot Casino Royale a full week in the UK to move just 10,000 BD units. Looks like the flick is off to a solid start -- we'll be keenly watching for US numbers as soon as they become available.
