N4G.com : News Feed : gaming

Racism in gaming? I think not

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 00:28:35 GMT

resumeplay writes: "In the year of 2009, there has been a bold statement made about the new generation of gaming. I'm not talking about a statement of graphics, storyline, or game-play. I'm also not talking about a statement of what's going to win the best game of the year. I'm talking about a statement made by a website to the video gaming world declaring that the creators of some of the best games of 2009 are using subliminal racism in their top-selling titles."

Coping with Guild Politics in any MMORPG

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 23:46:41 GMT

sinisterporpoise writes: "Any online game designed to have many players interact is going to run into problems dealing with people. Many gamers are not social butterflies to begin with, but when playing an online game they must learn how to interact with people.

Any endeavor with a large amount of people participating will inevitably have to cope with the politics. MMORPGs are certainly no exception to this rule, and there are often political maneuvering that go on between the higher level guilds, especially in older games where much of the content is not instanced. Newer games get around many of these guild fights by using instances for raid content.

Even if the conflicts between guilds have been minimized, a high level player must be aware of politics within a guild. A college level human relations course can help people sort this all out, but there are a few tips that will help the player navigate through guild politics."

The Top Five Gaming Hunks of 2009

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 23:38:17 GMT

"This year does have a few hunks worthy of note so, with the help of fellow female reviewer, Angelina Sandoval, we looked through many games searching for that hot hunk of 2009. It was a long and demanding task but somebody had to make the sacrifice. Now that we both stopped drooling we came up with the Top 5 Hottest Gaming Hunks of 2009.

So, ladies, we have our top five candidates and the winner of this year's contest. May there be a "Shirtless" cheat code for each of them, we say."

Why Michael Atkinson's Campaign Is A Waste Of Time & Money

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 23:26:33 GMT

resumeplay writes: "You've probably already heard of a man called Micheal Atkinson, and if you're an Australian gamer then you more than likely hate the hypocritical twat more than anyone. He is the attorney-general of South Australia, a position with an unfortunately large amount of power, and the one of the most hated men in the minds of gamers."

All Aboard The Censorship (part two)

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 23:12:22 GMT

Critical Gamer Writes: So we now see, after reading part one, that interactivity being used as a justification for the study concentrating on games falls apart on close examination of the study itself. Which begs the question: why did TRIAL and Pro Juventute choose to concentrate on games? One possibility, is that these organisations – previously almost unheard of outside of their native Switzerland – wanted more visibility on the international stage. As certain politicians and bland daytime TV 'celebrities' know well, video games remain an easy populist target for criticism (though much less than they were ten years ago). But there is another, wholly more admirable possibility, suggested by another paragraph from the introduction:

Rumor Killers: Review of 2009

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 23:11:06 GMT

Jennifer Allen of TheGameReviews reflects on the many rumors of 2009, and just how many of them the Rumor Killers team called (and just how many they didn't).

'Natal lag issues will hurt game development'

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 22:55:48 GMT

Microsoft has invested significant money and time to ensure its upcoming motion controller Natal is as accomplished as its host console, yet suspected "lag issues" may curb the peripheral's chances of success.

That was the view offered by Traveller's Tales company director Jon Burton, who told Develop that his own experience with the hands-free controller raised doubts.

"I was actually more impressed with Sony's motion capture solution than Microsoft's Natal," he said.

"[Natal is] exceedingly clever, but the lag on the input and lack of physical buttons is really going to restrict the kind of games that can be done with it," he added, before going on to praise Sony's (currently nameless) alternative.

Top 25 Games of the Decade: #9 - Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 22:44:34 GMT

"What exactly did Subsistence do right? Well, to start off, it included an improved camera and an online multiplayer mode. These two additions, coupled with the updated versions of Metal Gear and Metal Gear Solid 2, helped push Subsistence over the edge with longevity.

The addition of online gaming finally gave Metal Gear fans the ability to square off against their friends in capture-the-flag and deathmatch variations. The Metal Gear community responded positively and it was huge success for Kojima to introduce multiplayer to the previously single-player only franchise."

Halo Reach trailer music available free on Bungie.net

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 22:21:43 GMT

The Lost Gamer writes "Bungie have today placed the piece of music that Marty O'Donnell composed for the debut Halo Reach trailer on Bungie.net. You can download this track for free, and is available as an .mp3 file from here."

League of Legends Glossary of Terms

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 21:53:19 GMT

Milawe writes: "Learn to communicate with your friends and allied champions in LoL. Good communication is the key to excellent strategy and quick wins. Watch your IP and XP explode as you learn how to work with your teammates and win your LoL battles.

League of Legends is a cooperative game in which players must communicate effectively in order to defeat another team of champions. While some players will get on Vent together, it is much more likely that they will be communicating via text in the chat box. Understanding the terms will help all players be more effective in defeating opponents, and players of the game have developed a LoL shorthand of sorts. In order to work effectively with the team, players need to know the general basics of how long-time players communicate."

God of War 3 Dev's Message to Bayonetta, Dante's Inferno, etc.

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 19:12:31 GMT

Split-Screen: "Bruno Velazquez is Lead Game Animator for SCEA and working on God of War 3, and not too long ago, he delivered a message to all upcoming action/adventure contenders, namely Bayonetta, Dante's Inferno, Darksiders and Castlevania: Lords of Shadow."

Video games cause blindness in US?

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 19:12:30 GMT

Hooked Gamers writes: "I came across this interesting video about how playing video games and more specifically texting is causing a greater instance of myopia to occur in the US. It seems like near sightedness is up a staggering 66 percent since the 1970s, which is indeed a large increase. However, I have concerns about this so-called study."

Loot Ninja's Cosplay Girl of the Week 12.17.09

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:28:04 GMT

Loot Ninja says:

"What is better than video games and really hot chicks? When said really hot chicks are dressed up as video game characters. After the jump is our official Loot Ninja Cosplay Girl of the Week. We don't know her name, but we like it that way. Remember, just because you wanna bang a Pikachu, that doesn't make you a deviant.

May or may not be SFW as it depends on your own standards. No nipple is shown, so use your best judgment, we don't want anyone to get in trouble."

Battlefield Bad Company 2 'Moments' trailer 3.

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 12:51:39 GMT

Here's the lastest Battlefield Moments - Episode 3

World's Most Litigious Gamer Creates Website

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 12:43:42 GMT

Erik Estavillo, notorious for suing Micrsoft, Sony and countless others for his video game woes, has created his own website to communicate with the public.

The Graphical Most Impressive Games of 2009

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 12:06:37 GMT

Videogameszone has chosen it's five graphical most impressive video games of 2009. Are you surprised about number one?

IGN Awards the Best of 2009

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 06:03:26 GMT

IGN: "The year has come to an end, which can only mean one thing: Awards season! That's right; it's time to look back at the best games, comics, TV shows, movie and gear of 2009. We locked ourselves in a room, argued until we were hoarse and came away with a list of this year's exceptional offerings."

Former Killzone 2 Dev's Opinion on ODST: "Applaud Bungie's Decision for Two Discs"

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 05:39:27 GMT

Split-Screen: "Aaron Butler, a former Senior Game Designer at Guerrilla Games responsible for the SixAxis systems and gameplay mechanics of Killzone 2, got his hands around Bungie's Halo 3: ODST around the time of launch. Surprisingly, he's found many of the intended new features as plus points in the overall scheme of the game's design. He especially approved the use of two separate discs for single- and multi-player modes, which had become a point of criticism for Bungie's inclusion of all previous Halo 3 MP content."

Gamerscore Whores or Hounds: Who's Got A Life?

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 03:11:47 GMT

OXCGN asks are you a 'nerd' or 'noob'? Does a high gamerscore make you a "nerd" with no social life, or those with a low score a "noob" gamer:

"The gamerscore system with its achievement points or trophies has largely changed the way many gamers play their games.

Many gamers now define how good a gamer they are by that very score and gamers with low scores are often scorned as looking like (or playing like) 'noobs'...

Gamers with high scores are often seen as lazy geeks who do nothing else all day and have poor social lives."

Microsoft: Hardcore games easiest to sell

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 02:53:43 GMT

Microsoft has said that games aimed at the hardcore consumer are much easier to sell than those intended for a more casual and social player.

The company believes that next year's release of motion device Project Natal will appeal to both audiences, but the core titles for Natal will help it quickly find an audience while Microsoft markets to the more fickle casual consumer.

"The core are going to buy the games, we don't have to focus on marketing those -- well, we do, but those games in a lot of ways will sell themselves because they're such immersive and intense experiences that the core is going to buy, and buy disproportionally for the Xbox,"