2013/02/26

MASS EFFECT 3 - RECKONING DLC


Prepare for the Reckoning! Newfound allies join the multiplayer war for survival in Mass Effect 3: Reckoning. The Geth Juggernaut, Female Turian Raptor, Talon Mercenary, Alliance Infiltration Unit, and more take up arms to stop the Reaper threat. Smash your enemies with the Biotic Hammer as you lay waste to the battlefield as the Krogan Warlord.

Wield 7 new weapons for multiplayer, including the Geth Spitfire Assault Rifle, Venom Shotgun, Lancer Assault Rifle, and amplify your arsenal with new equipment and weapon mods featuring the Geth Scanner and Assault Rifle Ultralight Materials.

Mass Effect 3: Reckoning launches on February 27th worldwide on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC, at no additional cost.

masseffect.bioware.com

2013/02/22

MASS EFFECT 3 - OPERATION: TRIBUTE


Operation: TRIBUTE (Feb 22nd-24th)

Event Description: A surprise Reaper assault inflicted deeply-felt casualties on our N7 teams and interrupted supply lines to several worlds. Many units will have to rely on standard-issue sidearms and munitions. We must honor and avenge our comrades who fell – and let the Reapers know this was a mistake, not a victory.

Individual Goal: Two objectives are required:

1)      Earn 50,000 points using the M-8 Avenger.

2)      Earn 50,000 points using Inferno Grenades.

Reward: Commendation Pack and a special tribute banner






2013/02/21

Guild Wars 2 - Introducing the New Spirit Watch PvP Map



In the upcoming patch, you will be able to play our latest PvP map—Spirit Watch! This norn-themed map, which is surrounded by sheer cliffs, features shrines to the Spirits of the Wild and a new secondary objective.
In this map, we combine our established conquest gameplay with intense capture-the-flag gameplay—except instead of a flag, players will battle over the glowing Orb of Ascension! Opportunities for vertical play abound in Spirit Watch, with constant battles raging across bridges, valleys, and cliff sides. The map also provides plenty of brawling opportunities as players race to the center for control of the Orb.


Here’s how it works: At the beginning of each match, the Orb of Ascension spawns at an altar, located in the center of the map. In order to pick up the Orb, a player will have to successfully complete a very short commune time. The player carrying the Orb will want to take it to any of the three capture points —represented as shrines to Wolf, Raven and Bear—located up in the surrounding cliffs.
While carrying the Orb, the player still has access to all of their skills, but has a 40% movement speed penalty and is unable to stealth or gain swiftness. If they teleport or become downed, they will drop the Orb.
Once the Orb of Ascension is brought to a shrine capture point, the Spirit of the Wild at the shrine ascends, immediately scoring bonus points for your team. If it’s a capture point that your team controls, your team scores 30 points; if not, your team scores 15 points instead. Also, if the Orb is brought to an enemy point, in addition to the bonus points scored, the capture point will instantly become neutralized! The Orb resets to the altar 10 seconds later.


That’s it for now. I hope you’ve enjoyed this look at Spirit Watch and are as excited for the new map as we are!

www.guildwars2.com
 

Guild Wars 2


Eurogamer.net review By Oli Welsh Published Tuesday, 18 September 2012




Funny thing about expectations: they can blind you both ways. After claims that Guild Wars 2 would shake up the stagnant genre of massively multiplayer online games, many were surprised, and a little disappointed, to find that it looked and played just like an MMO. But deflated expectations can be just as deceptive as the hype that led to them.

It's true that you can hardly call Guild Wars 2 an iconoclast. From its high-fantasy head to its role-playing toes, it's an unashamed genre piece, an MMO through and through, a giant engine designed to grind out experience points and loot beneath the tattoo of a hundred thousand hotkeys. But don't let its familiarity blind you to the fact that this engine has been re-engineered from first principles, and purrs sweeter than any has before.

In fact, Guild Wars 2 is by far the most important - and plain enjoyable - massively multiplayer game since 2004's World of Warcraft. At long last, it's the changing of the guard.

To understand what ArenaNet has achieved and how, it's more helpful to look at the details than the big picture. Let's start with one apparently small change to the MMO rulebook.

In most of these games, it's traditional that once you attack an enemy in the open world, it's tagged as "yours". Its experience points and loot belong to you alone, as does any quest progression associated with killing it. If you're playing in a party, these things are rationed between you. If you help to kill a monster that's already been tagged, you get nothing. Things are done this way because someone once decided that it was fair.


The end result of this policy is that adventurers meeting each other by chance on the monster-infested fields of some hostile landscape regard each other with suspicion and frustration. They're encouraged either to keep their distance or indulge in quick-draw contests to "steal kills" as they queue for spawns.

Here's how Guild Wars 2 handles tagging: you so much as land a single blow on a monster, you get full credit for killing it. Experience, loot, quest progression, the works. It doesn't make any difference if you're in a group or not. It doesn't matter if the monster was killed by two players or 20. It doesn't matter if you just hit auto-attack and took a sip of tea while someone you've never met did all the hard work. Everyone wins.

Is that fair? Did you earn it? Who cares? It's more fun - and just as importantly, it's more social. You're rewarded for helping others, because many hands make light work. And the result is that in Guild Wars 2's world of Tyria, those wary queues of self-interested souls don't exist. In their place are happy, noisy scrums of players, digital flash mobs coalescing and dispersing around dynamic events: an army of adventurers fighting together for the common good. Isn't this what massively multiplayer gaming is supposed to be like?

One small change; one giant, wonderful result. Next to the libertarian work ethic espoused by most of these games, Guild Wars 2 is practically a socialist utopia. The needs of the one and the many are aligned, and the awful tension between solo and group play that plagues most MMOs disappears in a puff of goodwill.


Perhaps it's because the first Guild Wars, with its private play-fields, was only a quasi-MMO that ArenaNet has now embraced open-world multiplayer gaming with an enthusiasm and commitment which none of its competitors can match. Everything flows from its determination to lift the barriers that prevent people playing together (although, in fact, there's not that much in the game that you can't achieve solo if you want or have to).

There's the way quests are organised, triggering and completing automatically depending on where you are, rather than who you happen to have spoken to. It keeps you out in the world, exploring and following the action, rather than jogging back and forth on a personal treadmill. When you fire up Guild Wars 2, it's your map you open first, not your quest log - and nothing better encapsulates how this game makes you feel more like an adventurer than an errand boy. (Besides, there is no quest log.)

There are the dynamic multiplayer events that take place according to see-sawing schedules as threats on the map regroup and are repelled. You'll have taken part in dozens of these before you realise that there's not much compelling you to do so (they don't count towards the tasty rewards you get for 100% completion of a zone). It's just fun, and feels natural, to join in.

Then there are the character classes. ArenaNet felt that the need to compose groups of players according to the "holy trinity" of tanking, healing and damage-dealing roles was too great an obstacle to playing together, so it removed it entirely. Whether you're a spell-casting Mesmer or tough, armoured Guardian, you can heal yourself and others and stand toe-to-toe with any enemy in the game. This is perhaps Guild Wars 2's bravest move, and it's what enables the free-flowing ease with which the game's community can co-operate (including taking the pain and wait times out of forming a group for one of the game's five-player dungeons).


Inevitably, there is a price to pay for all this harmony and ease, and it's a certain shallowness. The jack-of-all-trades classes all have great personality and are fun to play, but without that "holy trinity" there's little room for the deliciously interlocking designs and deep team dynamics of the traditional MMO, so brilliantly expressed by Blizzard in WOW. When tackling one of the dungeons you do still need to work as a team and concentrate, and the freedom (necessity, in fact) of movement in the more immediate combat is welcome compensation. But it's hard to imagine high-end dungeon-running in Guild Wars 2 achieving the same diamond-hard pressure.

This shallowness has a social dimension, too. It's so easy to play with others that you rarely need to communicate much to do it, and the chances of a friendship or a good laugh springing out of a random encounter are tiny. The generally mature and collaborative atmosphere makes up for this though, and the lack of snark in the chat channels is remarkable - it seems that ArenaNet's generous mood is catching.

It's when Guild Wars 2 attempts to go against its democratic principles that it really grates. The inclusion of a personalised "story" quest chain not unlike Star Wars: The Old Republic's (though more limited in scope and, thank God, less encumbered with exposition) does help you make sense of the game's fiction - but jars with its gameplay. The instanced solo missions are poorly balanced, take you out of the world, and introduce such foreign notions as checkpoints with a total lack of logic or grace. The quality of the writing and voice-acting varies a lot between the five races, too (as Quintin discovered).


No such worries about the quality of the artwork. ArenaNet has chiselled out a consistently gorgeous and naturalistic setting on an epic scale, finding elegant twists on high-fantasy motifs, from the jagged steampunk war engines of the Charr cat-people to the wild, phosphorescent gardens that grow around the plantlike Sylvari. The capital cities, in particular, are a sight to behold. You're encouraged to explore and admire every inch of this staggering canvas by a breadcrumb trail of map discovery which even includes some light platforming challenges (incidentally, this must be the first MMO with jumping that doesn't suck).

It's a beautiful place, overflowing with hand-crafted detail, that will soak up dozens of hours of dreamy virtual sight-seeing with ease - it's hardly the generic, factory-made fantasy of, say, Rift or Kingdoms of Amalur. But for me, there's still something missing in Tyria. It's a little anodyne. It lacks the personality or ambiance, the wit or the grit that might make it feel less like a chocolate-box paradise and more like a home.

What a place to take a holiday, though. And you can treat it as just that, because ArenaNet isn't charging a subscription fee for Guild Wars 2 - so it feels more like a vacation than a vocation. You're free to dip in and out and out at your own pace, to wallow or splash. This impacts the game design as well as your bank balance, since Guild Wars 2 doesn't have to waste your time with makework or offer a vanishing-point approach to character advancement to justify its monthly stipend.


It's just less of a grind. Despite the level cap of 80, the character classes give up their goods fairly early on through the rapid and streamlined acquisition of new skills; the emphasis, instead, is on flexible customisation of a deck of just 10 skills to suit your mood or the situation. Bountiful loot and a refined item game take up the slack. Levelling is a steady saunter rather than an uphill slog, virtually every activity rewards you with experience, and your level adjusts downward to the zone you're in to ensure the content always poses an appropriate challenge (with equipment boosts persisting so you still get a chance to feel like the badass who's been around the block).

Player-versus-player is even more surprisingly grind-free. PVP in most MMOs is now structurally indistinguishable from Call of Duty - all team deathmatch and rank rewards. But in Guild Wars 2 you can choose between the utterly level playing field of the "structured" conquest game, with its pre-set loadouts of skills and equipment, or the ridiculously entertaining macro warfare of World vs. World. Both automatically raise your character's stats to maximum level.

World vs. World, which pits three servers against each other for control of a giant map, is a daring attempt to make a competitive mode that's genuinely about group effort rather than individual skill, and it offers tempting rewards not just to the solo player, but to the organised guild and the entire community. Not coincidentally, it's the most successful, enjoyable and popular large-scale PVP mode in an MMO for a very long time. (You can read more about it in Quintin's report.)

It's not the levelling, it's the taking part that counts. That's what makes Guild Wars 2 great. Almost every aspect of its design serves the individual player and whole community equally, and there's a breezy willingness to put the content ahead of the grind throughout. It's a little lightweight, perhaps; its fantasy world is more picturesque than truly enveloping, and its social and gameplay hooks offer instant gratification over ties that bind. But it's still the most coherent, seamless, social and fun MMO in a long time - and the only one that can call itself truly modern.
9 / 10







2013/02/14

MASS EFFECT 3 - OPERATION: HEARTBREAKER


Operation: HEARTBREAKER (Feb 15th-17th)


Event Description: The number of Banshees on the battlefield has suddenly increased. We believe the Reapers are improving their means of creation, and we need to recover as many Banshee bodies as possible for analysis. Use cautious tactics – and try not to get your heart ripped out.

Individual Goal: Earn 20,000 points killing Banshees.

Reward: Commendation Pack

blog.bioware.com



2013/02/12

The Pogues - Live At The Town & Country Club

The Pogues - Live At The Town & Country Club (London, St. Patrick's Day, March 1988)


The Pogues:
Shane MacGowan, Spider Stacy, Philip Chevron, James Fearnley, Terry Woods, Jem Finer, Andrew Ranken, Darryl Hunt

Guests: Kirsty McColl, Joe Strummer, David Byrne


Tracklist:

01. Metropolis
02. Broad majestic Shannon
03. If I should fall from Grace with God
04. Rainy Night in Soho

05. Thousands are sailing
06. Fairytale of New York
07. Lullaby of London

08. Dirty old Town
09. London Calling
10. Turkish Song of the Damned
11. Fiesta

12. Irish Rover
13. Worms
14. Rudi, A Message to you
15. Wild Rover





2013/02/09

U2 go Home - Live from Slane Castle 2001


U2 Go Home: Live from Slane Castle, Ireland" is a concert video release by rock band U2 from the European leg of their Elevation Tour. Recorded on 1 September 2001 at Slane Castle on the band's featured stop in County Meath, Ireland, it was released on DVD in November 2003. Although Slane Concerts at Slane Castle are traditionally held once a year, U2 played two concerts. This was the final concert of the first European leg of the Elevation Tour.
The film was the second of two concert releases from the tour, preceded by 2001's Elevation 2001: Live from Boston.
The film features the band playing Slane to more than 80,000 people, the second of two concerts played at Slane Castle on the Elevation Tour. The performances were the band's first at Slane since 1981 when they opened for Thin Lizzy. Bono had lost his father to cancer several days before the concert. Their first night at Slane was a day after his father was buried. U2 Go Home was filmed on Saturday 1 September 2001 the same day Ireland secured a place in the 2002 FIFA World Cup. The match was shown to the football-crazy Irish crowd at Slane Castle prior to the concert, adding to the already festive air.

Track listing

"Elevation"
"Beautiful Day"
"Until the End of the World"
"New Year's Day"
"Out of Control"
"Sunday Bloody Sunday"
"Wake Up Dead Man"
"Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of"
"Kite"
"Angel of Harlem"
"Desire"
"Staring at the Sun"
"All I Want Is You"
"Where the Streets Have No Name"
"Pride (In the Name of Love)"
"Bullet the Blue Sky"
"With or Without You"
"One"
"Walk On"

Band: Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, Larry Mullen Jr.










2013/02/08

MASS EFFECT 3 - OPERATION: NIGHTFALL


Operation: NIGHTFALL (Feb 8th-10th)

Event Description: Our concentration on Reapers and Cerberus forces has allowed Reaper-controlled geth to flourish in pockets outside of the Perseus Veil. Our quarian-led and quarian-advised forces will be the key to terminating a geth offensive before it gains ground.

Individual Goal: Playing as any quarian kit, earn 50,000 points versus geth troopers.

Reward: Commendation Pack





2013/02/05

Skyrim Mod: Build Your Own Home



Download: skyrim.nexusmods.com

Yes thats right! YOU build the home! You construct the home however you like! The home is COMPLETELY modular! Add what you like and remove what you hate!

Want a small simple shack located by a beautiful river? You've got it!
Want a two story home with a bedroom, and a small farm outside? Build it!
Want a small fortress, complete with gardens, smithys, tannerys, and more? Go for it!

It is your home, build it how you choose!

Customize it!


Decorate your home to reflect YOU! You are a unique individual with a unique playstyle! Build your home to reflect it!

Choose from one of 4 "Themes" to decorate your home, these themes can be mixed and matched for "hybrid" designs. Are you a wizard studying the arcane? A hunter living outdoors? A theif living in seclusion? Mix them up at will! Your home reflects you! More info on designs below (FANCY IMAGES!)

Also available is a hidden lair that can reflect Werewolves or Vampires! Your choice!

Getting Started!


You build the home! Go gather the materials! Keep an axe handy and a pickaxe at your side, finally
you have reason to go out there and collect stuff!

The home is situated just outside of the Abandoned Prison, at Lucky's Shack. Check the Images if you don't know what I'm talking about. Fast travel to the abandoned prison and you CANNOT miss the home, its right up river. If you've never been to the abandoned prison, its essentially right at the fork in the road between Riften, WIndhelm, and Whiterun. TRavel from Whiterun to Riften and after you pass the bandit tower you come to a winding cliff road, then a bridge. When you reach the bridge you have made it to the home.

Once there, be sure to pick up Lucky's Journal inside the (convenient!) shed, where you can also
store all of your building materials. In Lucky's journal it depicts his plans for the home, so you
know what materials to gather! To start the construction find the workbench with the deed on it, and use it!