• All 5 character classes – Barbarian, Witch Doctor, Wizard, Monk, Demon Hunter
• Tristram Cathedral – Everyone remembers Skeleton King Leoric right? I think he even made an appearance in DotA.
• Followers – Only some of them, but still helpful if you have no friends.
• Randomization – They listed this as a feature, but I suspect it’d be harder NOT to randomize just for the Beta.
• Items – Gems, Charms, and Runestones included.

I’ve been going crazy over every released preview of this game, so if you haven’t looked at gameplay trailers, check them out. In addition, Blizzard shed some light on the new Auction House that would be available in the third iteration:

• Just what it sounds like – Kind of works like the one in World of Warcraft.
• Search functionality – Sorting by multiple columns and the ability to search for multiple characters on the same account. Both of these features sound awesome.
• Pay with or make cold, hard cash – You can also pay or sell for real money. There is a transaction fee involved for the seller, but they can have the proceeds directly deposited into a “third-party payment service”.
• The Old Fashioned Way – You can still do direct character to character transfers. The way me and my friends did it: Drop mountains of stuff into piles and let an unspecified deity sort it out.
• Blizzard is not evil – Blizzard isn’t going to mess with supply and demand. This will be a player-driven economy.
• Sell from your account – That means you can sell from any of your characters on the same account or from the shared stash without having to log out, which is annoying and also affords you an opportunity to stop playing the game.

Personally, I won’t be paying real life money for items, but the Auction House sounds like a much better way to get a Stone of Jordan. And since both the real and fake money Auction Houses are completely optional, I can even forget the Auction House exists and play it like Diablo II, which is still an awesome thing. Now for the hardest decision of all: Which class should I play first?

Normally, ISPs like Rogers use an aggressive deep packet inspection (DPI) based throttling system to track and throttle peer-to-peer traffic, which is used by services such as BitTorrent. However, the system Rogers uses incorrectly identifies WoW as P2P, thus throttling it “accidentally,” according to Rogers.

An excerpt from Teresa Murphy’s complaint details the issue, as she writes:

Rogers’ filters are picking up several very low bandwidth-intensive games incorrectly as P2P activity. Provided these games are fully patched, they can play on a dialup connection with minimal issues, and uses approximately 100-200MB of your monthly cap (as stated by a game manufacturer employee, on the game’s public forums). It’s really not that much considering a single Netflix video in HD is 4GB. These games are time-sensitive applications (such as VOIP is), and like any time-sensitive application will lose connection if throttled, which is why they aren’t supposed to be throttled…

I don’t use P2P at ALL, and yet I’m still affected by this issue because Rogers sees my gaming traffic incorrectly as P2P… Personally, I wouldn’t even care about P2P being throttled, except for the fact that Rogers’ filters are so shoddy they’re lumping non-P2P in with P2P, making many applications completely unusable. Please continue to look into this. It’s not fair that Rogers customers are paying for a service they can’t even use.

When the CRTC forwarded the complaint to Rogers, Rogers admitted they know there is a problem, but that it won’t be a quick fix, saying it may be June until a fix can be made.  However, Rogers stands firm in that the game is only throttled if a person concurrently runs P2P software, and recommends “turning off the peer-to-peer setting in the World of Warcraft game and ensuring that no peer-to-peer applications are running on any connected computer.”

It makes me wonder if other MMOs have similar problems with Rogers, or if it is isolated to WoW.  Any of you have Rogers who have had issues playing MMOs?

[Source: Ars Technica]

For example, while thirty hours of streamed video normally would net you 31 GB of data, Netflix has managed to get it down to just 9 GB, which is well below the typical data cap of 20 to 60 gigabytes.

This is good news for Canadian Netflix subscribers, who can continue to enjoy movies without having to worry too much about exceeding their data limits.

[Source: Reuters]

The game centers primarily around space-pirate Grayson Hunt and his brother-in-arms Ishi, as they attempt to escape from the ruined paradise resort world of Stygia. After warping out of deep space and coming upon the flagship of the General that betrayed them, The Ulysses, Grayson makes a drunken kamikaze attack on the ship, essentially punching the most advanced Warbird in the galaxy in the face. While his ship is nearly destroyed and goes plummeting onto the surface of a strange alien world, the Ulysses is also wrecked, and both ships crash a few miles apart. Grayson then attempts to not only exact his revenge on the general, but get himself and Ishi off the world as well.

The gameplay consists of lots of standard shooter fare with a ton of added kicks in the form of “skillshots”. These skillshots range from something as simple as a headshot (25 points) to something zanier, like kicking someone into electric cables (50 points) or shooting them in the groin, then blowing their head off as they writhe in pain (gleefully named “Mercy” and rewarding 100 points). There are a litany of over 100 skillshots, and every new weapon added into your arsenal further increases the number of creative ways you can destroy and maim those around you. A “leash”, which you discover fairly quickly in the game, is a module that attaches to your hand and displays both skillshot information and your ammo. It ties in with the various dead-drops you discover in the game. These dead-drops are where you cash in the points you make with your kills to unlock new weapons and ammo. In the context of the story, these were left here by a previous military campaign, and (in a delightfully Darwinian twist) were designed specifically so only the good soldiers would receive more ammo or better weapons.

There are a large number of set encounters: Big, crazy scripted battles where you are up against an unusual enemy or have a super powered weapon for a short amount of time. The game plays out nicely, moving at a breakneck pace from caves to trains to cliffs to villages to cities, propelling you through an amazing number of creative, vibrant, and stunning levels. This is one of the things I enjoyed the most as this is a departure from other shooters. Each level looks beautifully detailed, from the massive vistas near a gigantic dam, to the beautiful sci-fi skyscrapers, and crazy, The Fifth Element-headbutts-Bioshock design, to many of the more civilized parts of the city. The natural flora and fauna of Stygia are just as wide ranging and vivid, from electro-flies to huge man-eating Venus fly traps, and hilarious pods called Noms that, when kicked at an enemy, latch onto their heads and start chewing headcrab-style. That’s only a taste of the enemies you encounter on this murder paradise.

The game controls are tight and easy to pick up, and they at least use the matching buttons when giving you quick time events, such as shoot when you need to shoot in the sequence. One button activates the leash, and holding it down fires a “thumper” that launches all enemies caught in the area into the air, making them easy pickings. The artificial intelligence (AI) of your allies is competent enough, and invincible to the point where you usually don’t have to worry about them. The enemy AI is akin to Left 4 Dead, in which melee enemies swarm you, and regular shooter fare by using cover to advance into a confetti of bullets raining down on them.

The game is accompanied by a suitable soundtrack of loud, action movie fanfare, and squishy, gooey, gorey sounds whenever you land a good kill. The weapons have a great, loud kick to them and the charge shots that come with each weapon sound devastating and brutal. The dialogue is ridiculous and offensive, and delightfully colourful. The visuals mix perfectly with the audio, providing graphically sound and satisfying character models, level design, and effects. Explosions in particular look bright and powerful, streaming off like fireworks from their origin.

The multiplayer and “echo” segments, both of which involves replaying single player levels or edited maps, have some enjoyable times to be had, and it’ll keep your interest for a while as you attempt to get three stars on various challenges. But aside from that, it’s a straightforward multiplayer component, with the cooperative “Horde” mode (like swarm or wave cooperative modes in other shooters) adding a more diverse element.

Bulletstorm is raw and distilled fun for a mature audience. If you love cheesy sci-fi pulp and over-the-top machismo, mixed in with a vibrant, straightforward shooter, this is a game to add to your collection.

Pokémon fans, today is the first day that the highly anticipated Pokémon Black and White became available!  You probably already ran out to the nearest store to pick up your copy, but just in case you’re still wondering where the best deals are, here’s some information I dug up for you:

Future Shop is running a deal where if you buy both Pokémon Black and White together, you save $10.

Like Future Shop, Best Buy is also offering $10 off if you buy the two together.  When I picked up my copies of the game today I was also told of another very special offer: If you buy a Nintendo DSi XL, you get a copy of Pokemon Black or White for free!

If you were searching for something extra special for yourself or to impress the collector in your life, I was told by the sales person at Best Buy that Toys ‘R’ Us is carrying the amazing Pokemon Black and White DSi bundle.  With the exception of the first offer, none of these deals were actually advertised online or in a flyer.  To ensure that your store is offering these special deals, it would be wise to call ahead to check if your store is participating.

Nevertheless, Atlus revealed today that the game will arrive in North America this summer – only a few months after its Japanese release.  No details were given, but you can check out the shell of a website, and even get your pre-orders in from Amazon.ca if you can’t wait.  The game will be available for both PS3 and Xbox 360.

Personally, I’m excited about the game, and am always eager to support Atlus in taking the risk of bringing games English speakers otherwise wouldn’t have an opportunity to enjoy.  We’ll keep you updated when Atlus reveals more.

[Source: Atlus]

For example, the new device finally includes dual analog sticks, something that has been sorely lacking for years in every iteration of the original PSP, and may be a problem in Nintendo’s new 3DS.  They are also sticks - not just nubs – and hopefully these should relieve the frustration many gamers experienced with the paltry one found in the current PSP. Sony has also finally bit the bullet and embraced touch technology.  The NGP will feature a capacitive touch screen (similar to an iPhone’s screen), as well as a touchpad on the back, which will presumably allow for touch-based controls that won’t interfere with your view of the screen.

The NGP also will have two built-in cameras (good-bye, bulky add-ons!), one facing outward, and one facing in, enabling various practical as well as in-game applications.  Like the iPhone and the 3DS, the NGP has built-in sensors for tilt and movement: A gyroscope, an accelerometer, and an electronic compass.  The device will also be WiFi capable, and have 3G, making it unique in that you can always have an Internet connection.  However, Sony hasn’t specified yet whether the device will require a contract and if a WiFi-only model will be available at a slightly lower cost.  Most likely we will learn more about this as the year goes on, since Sony has said the device won’t launch until the end of the year at the earliest.

Another thing achievement junkies will be pleased to hear: The NGP will be able to connect to PSN just like your PS3 does, and will support trophies at long last.  The device will also be partially backwards compatible, able to play PSP games, PS One titles, and Minis, provided these are digital in form, as the new device abandons the maligned UMD drive and discs in favour of flash-based media for retail games.

The NGP boasts power comparable to the PS3, and its OLED screen is supposedly better than anything else portable on the market. Reportedly, it blows the retina-display of Apple’s iPhone 4 out of the water with four times the resolution of the current PSP.  Over 80 publishers are supposedly on board and preparing games for the new device, although none have been revealed.  Along with the reveal of the NGP, Sony also revealed what they are calling the PlayStation Suite, which is sort of like an app store and will be available on Android devices to provide the “PlayStation experience” to various devices, including the yet-to-be-officially announced PSP Phone.  It isn’t clear whether these apps will be different from content normally found via PSN, and/or whether the PlayStation Suite will be available on the NGP.  Still, with the PS Suite presumably set to launch in tune with the NGP, it would seem that Sony has finally realized how much of a competitor Apple and its App Store really are.

Although no official price has yet been released, and probably won’t be for some time, some analysts are suggesting the device may have a list price of at least $299 US at launch due to the expensive equipment (such as the OLED screen, touch pad back, and more).  However, if Sony really has learned their lessons from the PSP Go, they’ll put the price at $250 US, making it a direct competition for Nintendo’s 3DS.

Personally, as much as I love my DSes (yes, I have several), right now Sony’s new device is looking much more appealing than Nintendo’s.  Of course, we have yet to hear pricing or any specific games, and we all know that games and the price are what sell systems, not fancy tech specs.

[Source: Sony North America Blog, Wired]

The new game, subtitled Realms of Revelation, is what you would typically expect from a Dragon Quest game. It will be interesting to see how this game is received in light of last year’s Dragon Quest IX, however.

If you’re in the US (or don’t mind ordering through Gamestop’s US website), you can pre-order the game and get a cute slime plushie.  Considering they didn’t have any pre-order bonus for the last game, this is a nice surprise for fans of the series.  Disappointingly, the Canadian listing doesn’t seem to include the bonus, but you’ll save on shipping.

Either way, you can bask in the glory of the new screenshots Nintendo has revealed, or check out the game’s trailer.  I know the trailer came out before Christmas, but if you’re a true fan, you can never watch a Dragon Quest trailer enough, can you?

Click here to watch the video

[Source: Nintendo]

Dragon Quest IX players in the city of Toronto have organized a meeting to exchange their randomly generated and collected treasure maps, including the Kawasaki Locker Map, at the Eaton Centre this weekend. If you’d like to get your hands on the renowned Japanese map, or just tag other players to expand the size and functionality of your Quester’s Rest Inn, here are the details.

When: Sunday, January 30, 12:30pm

Where: Eaton Centre – Food Court at southern end (Queen Street)

So come, eat some food, collect some maps, and perhaps even explore a dungeon or two with your fellow Celestrians.

Check the Dragon Quest IX Tag (Toronto) Facebook group for further details.

To enter the contest, you must do the following:

• Follow the GameNorth Twitter feed.

• Follow the Toshiba Canada Twitter feed.

• Retweet the GameNorth contest announcement tweet, found here, to your followers.

Performing these three steps will officially register you as an entrant in the contest and earn you for your first contest ballot. However, we’d like to give you a chance to earn three more! You’ll earn an additional ballot for doing each of the following:

• Comment on this article and make sure to include your Twitter name in the comment!

• Tweet the name of your favourite Canadian-made game on Twitter with the #GameNorthQosmioX500 hashtag. You can find a list of some great ones from our top ten as of 2009.

• ‘Like’ Toshiba Dojo on Facebook, and mention this contest on their wall, along with your Twitter account name!

Performing all of the aforementioned steps will earn you a total of four ballots, which will be randomly drawn on Friday, February 4 to determine who wins the Qosmio X500, as well as the envy of Canadian gamers across the nation.

Good luck!

Eligibility

You must be Canadian or a permanent resident of Canada, and 18 years of age or older to be eligible to enter this contest. Due to provincial sweepstakes laws, this contest is void in the province of Québec. For additional rules and regulations, please consult the GameNorth contest rules.

What does this mean in practical terms?  Well, it means if you want to import any games from Japan or Europe, either because those games didn’t get a North American release, because you can’t wait, or you simply want to practice your Japanese, you will have to also import a territory-specific handheld.

While this probably won’t affect most Canadian or US gamers terribly much, it is still a disappointing step backwards.  I know I plan on importing the sequel to Hotel Dusk from Europe since it never got a North American localization, and the fact that I won’t have that option with the 3DS, combined with the dismal battery life and disappointing launch line-up, makes me want to reconsider pre-ordering, especially at the steep cost of entry.

Of course, Nintendo hasn’t officially said whether the 3DS will be region locked, but considering how the DS was one of the few exceptions for this type of thing, fans of imported games may want to start saving up for another 3DS.

[Source: Tiny Cartridge]

My town is full of weeds and I’m pretty sure all my neighbours hate me, but I logged in to Animal Crossing City Folk to receive my free download from Nintendo today.  From January 1st to the 30th you can receive a golden bed in your mail box.  This item is the first in a 12-item series, so if you check back each month  you’ll eventually be able to live a life if luxury decked out in a pure gold living room.

Once you’ve received your bed, you will be able to purchase it whenever you want from Tom Nook’s catalog.  To receive your bed, make sure your Wii is connected via Wifi.  Your item will arrive through the mail and  the letter looks exactly like this:

” Dear [player's name],

This is the first item in the
12-item Golden Series.
New items will be released
throughout the year, so
you’ll want to keep your
eyes peeled!
Nintendo”

The golden bed is available in North America, Europe, Japan and South Korea.  For the complete set of instructions on how to download your bed, check out the Nintendo website.

]]> http://gamenorth.ca/2011/01/11/nintendo-offers-golden-furniture-in-animal-crossing/feed/ 4 http://gamenorth.ca/2011/01/09/nintendo-3ds-may-soon-join-the-ranks-of-the-sony-psp/ http://gamenorth.ca/2011/01/09/nintendo-3ds-may-soon-join-the-ranks-of-the-sony-psp/#comments Sun, 09 Jan 2011 18:59:48 +0000 Dana Russo http://gamenorth.ca/?p=6473 The Nintendo 3DS has been getting quite a bit of press time lately, and it hasn’t all been good.  Concerned parents are fearful that the new device may damage their children’s eyesight.  Since youngsters eyes are still developing, Nintendo issued a warning stating that kids under the age of six should probably pass on the new handheld.  This may be painful for many children to hear, but it may be a necessary step for parents to take to ensure the health of their child.  Of course, there have been conflicting reports that say the 3DS probably won’t damage children’s eyes, but whether you want to risk that or not is entirely up to you.

According to the final specifications that were released during the Nintendo World Store 2011 event, the 3DS will only have a three to five hour battery life span when playing 3DS titles and anywhere between five to eight when playing regular DS titles.  The 3DS will be coming with a charging dock (because it’s going to need it).  The charging dock will have your 3DS ready to play in about three and a half hours.  Yikes!  This conjures up thoughts of my beloved Sony PSP, which I can’t play for more than three hours before it takes a dirt nap on me.  A handheld device with a short battery life is a tragic thing indeed and I’m curious how this may affect sales.

Currently, you can choose from the regular Sackboy, a Sackboy with his tongue hanging out, or a Tron-esque neon Sackboy. Each figure comes with a pop-up lasso and stickers.

Product specifications:

• A tiny and fun way to bring LittleBigPlanet into your real life.
• Three different figures: Sackboy Regular, Sackboy Tongue (aka: Happy Sackboy), and Neon.
• Multiple points of articulation, including a ball-jointed head.
• Pop-it Lasso is bendy for grabbing fun.
• Includes: Figure, Pop-it Lasso, and sticker sheet.
• Dimensions: 4″ tall (duh).

These are cute, and perfect for the LBP lover in your life.  It’s almost a shame they don’t offer a bundle option for those who want them all, or a set of snap-on clothing to customize your little Sackboy figure.

[Source: ThinkGeek.com]

However, there’s good news for you procrastinators out there, as Nintendo said they are considering re-printing the game due to high demand. “We are gratified by the consumer response to this limited-edition product, which we created to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the original Super Mario Bros. game on NES,” Nintendo public relations director Marc Franklin told Wired.com via email on Friday. “Because of the strong response, we are exploring the option of bringing this item back at a later date.”

Nothing is official yet, so if you still haven’t snagged yourself a copy and don’t feel like paying eBay’s highway robbery fees, then you may want to keep calling – you may find a local store that still has a copy or two in stock.

In case you forgot with all the holiday hub-bub, the Wii collection, titled Super Mario All-Stars Limited Edition, includes a copy of the original SNES game on one Wii disc, the classic games Super Mario Bros, Super Mario Bros 2, Super Mario Bros 3, and Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels.  In addition, the package also includes a CD with a soundtrack of select songs from Mario’s history and an artbook, all in a collectible red and gold slipcase.

[Source: GameLife]

Listed below are the games that will be affected by the shutdown (* denotes a game with online achievements):

• FIFA 07
• FIFA 08 *
• FIFA 09 *
• FIFA Street 3 *
• Fight Night Round 3
• Madden NFL 09
• NBA LIVE 08
• NBA LIVE 09 *
• NCAA March Madness 08 *
• NCAA Basketball 09 *
• NCAA Football 07
• NCAA Football 08 *
• NCAA Football 09 *
• NFL Head Coach 09 *
• NHL 08 *
• NHL 09 *
• Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 09 *
• UEFA EURO 2008 *

For those of you who are gamer score enthusiasts, this is essentially a last call for these games and their online achievements.

It’s only been a month since World of Warcraft released Cataclysm, but if you’re already thinking about taking a break and searching for the next big thing you might be interested in RIFT.  Trion Worlds’ new MMORPG has been in closed beta for a little while now and has been receiving many mixed responses so far, which isn’t a big surprise (it is an MMO, after all).  If you’re willing to put down $49.99 for the regular edition, you can do so on Steam, Amazon.com, Gamestop, EB Games and Direct 2 Drive.

There is a Collector’s Edition available for $59.99 and includes a Collector’s Satchel, which increases your bag size by 24 slots, an Ancient Tartagon mount and a Bogling Wastrel.  No matter which version you decide to pre-order you will be given the opportunity to sign up for a limited-time discounted subscription pricing plan.  You’ll also receive a Shrouded Sourcestone Rune, companion pet, Beta access, early access to the game before it goes live and thirty free days of play time.

RIFT is a fantasy MMORPG where players work together to save a threatened world from being torn apart by magical rifts.  The game will feature two factions, six different races and many different classes to choose from.

• December 22nd “Concussion from a smoke grenade” – 12x XP
- Concussion grenades added

• December 23rd “2 Flaming Bloodmounts” – 13x XP
- 2 Bloodmounts with flamethrowers appearing on every Horde wave.

• December 24th “3 Extra Clips” – 14x XP
- 3 extra clips of ammo in every weapon.

• December 25th “4 Frag Grenades” – 15x XP
- Every frag grenade pick-up now includes 4 grenades instead of the usual 2.

• December 26th “5 Torque Bow Tags” – 16x XP
- Many creatures who usually carry rifles in Horde mode will now carry torque bows.

• December 27th “6 Melee monsters” – 17x XP
- Horde waves will now entirely consist of melee creatures.

• December 28th “7 Sires a Storming” – 18x XP
- N/A (Most likely all Sire Horde waves though)

• December 29th “8 Old School Gears Heads” – 19x XP
- 4v4 Multiplayer Mode added

• December 30th “9 Boomers Booming” – 20x XP
- Boomer squads in every Horde wave.

• December 31st “10 Waves of Tickers” – 21x XP
- Tickers only in Horde

• January 1st “11 Wretches Wretching” – 22x XP
- Wretches with shotguns will make an appearance.

• January 2nd “Some of the Above” – 23x XP

This is a combination of concussion grenades, extra clips of ammo, extra frag grenades in each pickup, 4 vs 4 multiplayer mode, and Ticker horde waves.

Playing video games over the holidays does have certain advantages. This would be a great opportunity to both rank up and rack up some kills for that seemingly inconceivable 100,000 mark. Merry Gearsmas to all!

In addition, SteelSeries has added these new Scope glasses to their store (also available at Best Buy). They look cool and my vision does need enhancing, but I’m not quite sure about this one. Has anyone tried these or something similar? Are they really all that much better than your natural ogling devices for gaming?

Not only do the winners get $4000 to support their development, but they also get to keep their IP. Ryerson Digital Media Zone will support the development team and the game for up to one year and Game Tree TV will distribute the winning entry. The top six finalists will also get Yummy Interactive’s game licensing software, GameShield.

If you’ve got a game idea, this is the perfect time to dive into the scene. The Toronto scene is quite friendly, and a chance at being mentored is extremely valuable. Even if you’re not looking to enter the competition, you can still participate in the networking sessions and listen to the speakers. Some big names in the industry will be there, including Nathan Vella, CEO of Capybara Games (Critter Crunch, Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes) and Howard Donaldson, VP of Studio Operations at Disney Interactive Studios (Epic Mickey, Tron: Evolution). The tickets are cheaper if you’re not competing in the event, so it could be well worth the investment to make some contacts and pick the brains of some of the brightest in the industry. For more pricing information, visit the official website.

Vortex takes place over four days (Jan. 19, Feb. 2, Feb 24, Mar. 30) at 99 Sudbury and the fancy TIFF Bell Lightbox in Toronto. The deadline to register your game into the competition is January 3rd, so act quickly!

Arnie Roth had the opportunity to conduct another Final Fantasy concert back in 2005 under the name Dear Friends: Music from Final Fantasy, which marked the first time the series had a concert outside of Japan.  Arnie Roth is said to be looking forward to conducting Distant Worlds.  The entire program is already up online for those of you who are curious to see if your favourite Final Fantasy music will be featured:

FINAL FANTASY series: Main Theme, Swing de Chocobo, Prelude, Victory Theme

FINAL FANTASY I-III: Medley

FINAL FANTASY IV: Theme of Love

FINAL FANTASY V: Dear Friends

FINAL FANTASY VI: Dancing Mad, Opera “Maria and Draco”, Terra’s Theme

FINAL FANTASY VII: One-Winged Angel, Opening – Bombing Mission, Aerith’s Theme, Main Theme of Final Fantasy, JENOVA

FINAL FANTASY VIII: Liberi Fatali, Fisherman’s Horizon, Love Grows, Don’t be Afraid, The Man With The Machine Gun

FINAL FANTASY IX: Vamo’ alla Flamenco, Prima Vista, A Place to Call Home, Melodies of Life

FINAL FANTASY X: To Zanarkand

FINAL FANTASY XI: Memoro de la Stono – Distant Worlds, Ronfaure

FINAL FANTASY XII: Kiss Me Goodbye

FINAL FANTASY XIII: The Promise, Fang’s Theme

FINAL FANTASY XIV: Twilight Over Thanalan, Beneath Bloody Borders

Did your favourite Final Fantasy song make the cut?  I’ve seen videos of Opera “Maria and Draco” online from Tour de Japon: Music from Final Fantasy and it was breathtakingly beautiful, so I urge those who will be in the city that weekend to get tickets while you still can!  Tickets are already selling out quickly and the concert itself will start at 20:00 EST.

“This marks the first time a digital good ‘made’ on Facebook can be transformed into a real-world item and signals an important milestone in merging the virtual and real worlds,” said Eric Hartness, Vice President and General Manager of Social Games at PlayFirst.

Chocolatier is set in San Francisco in 1882 and you have been left in charge of a chocolate factory as well as a storefront.  Your job is to manage your own “chocolate empire.”  As you progress, you’ll be able to decorate your shoppe and unlock the Baumeister’s secret family recipe.  According to the press release, “Charles Chocolates confections are made by hand in small batches using traditional, artisinal techniques, and the finest ingredients, including some of the world’s best chocolates, organic herbs, fruits and nuts as well as organic cream and butter.”

So far, there are only five flavours to choose from:  Jasmine Tea Truffle, Raspberry Heart Truffle, Milk Chocolate Peanut Butterfly, Toasted Almond Cluster, and Classic Fleur de Sel Caramel.  These are definitely not your standard Kit-Kat bars, so here’s hoping that this turns out to be a successful venture and they add more recipes in the future.  As fancy as it sounds, the chocolate seems to be affordable, starting at $20 for a box of 10 chocolates or $35 for 20.  And now I’m hungry.

Microsoft is not settling for just “pretty good” though. Tomorrow they’re launching a new controller, which tackles the D-pad issue with a rather fancy solution. By twisting the disc on the D-pad, you can alternate between a flat mode (the way it is on the current controllers) and a raised mode. We’ll call this mode the Good mode. Did my words confuse you? Would you like to see it in action? Luckily, Major Nelson has us covered:

In addition, the controller features a sleek new colour scheme that distracts me with shininess. The controller will only be available in the Xbox 360 Play and Charge Kit, which is currently listed on Gamestop.ca for $70 CAD, which means you could probably find it for $65 when it’s listed elsewhere.

You can purchase the digital copy right now on Battle.net.  How this works is that you will give them your money like you do every month anyway, and then your account will be flagged for automatic Cataclysm access at 12:01 AM PST on December 7th.  Keep in mind that once you purchase the expansion you’ll need to log on at least once prior to December 7th to enable the background downloader.  Blizzard also wanted to make it clear that if you’re buying the Collector’s Edition of Cataclysm and had your hearts set on Lil’ Deathy, you must buy a physical copy.  The Lil’ Deathy vanity pet will not be available through the digital download.

In addition, if you’re a current World of Warcraft player, you may want to keep an eye out for Deathwing.  Blizzard let it be known at Blizzcon last week that the giant dragon will be popping in unexpectedly to certain zones to mess up your day.  Blizzard made an official statement on the World of Warcraft forums:

“Once free to terrorize the world, Deathwing will randomly choose territories in Azeroth to attack each day until his ruinous reign is brought to an end. A blackened sky will be the only warning before every living creature caught in his approach is consumed by his terrible fire. The unfortunate victims of his malice will receive a rare Feat of Strength… as well as a repair bill and corpse run.”

Well, at least you won’t die in vain, right?  You get a feat of strength.  Who knows if that will be enough to silence the whiners, though.  This could very well end up being a repeat of 2008’s zombie invasion.  According to the forums, it sounds as though the random deaths may not stop until Deathwing has been finally put down…and knowing Blizzard, that could take quite a while.  Better get used to those repair bills!

But what’s cool about Gamercamp is that it’s like a mullet. It’s all business in the front, but party in the back. Yes, I just associated mullets with being cool. Okay, well, maybe Gamercamp is a lot cooler than a mullet, because it wants its community to have fun and hang out. Here are just some of the pretty clever and unique events going on:

1) 8-bit cereal breakfast: Sunday morning (November 14), they’re serving up a cereal breakfast alongside some classic gaming. Just imagine, 50 boxes of cereal, more milk than one should ever see at once, and a flood of gamers hopefully in their PJs! (We will definitely not be in their pajamas, unless someone pays us a lot of money.) There will be retro consoles to check out while fast is being broken.

2) Pwnage lunch: Watch as video game experts, such as their Mortal Kombat II champion, demolish any and all challengers. Then catch a never-ending round of Tetris, followed by a hitless round of Mega Man! It’ll be like back in the day at the arcades where one person just dominated a machine and you have to queue up with your quarter along the edge of the screen.

3) Retro Rec Rooms: Old-school CRT TVs (I still have 3 of these, what do they mean old-school!), the system of your choice, snacks — like chips, popcorn, and gummy worms—and even a few gaming magazines at your disposal. People can book the room for some dedicated fun with a few friends old or new—Gamercamp hopes people will get to know each other through the weekend, and this seems like an awesome way to do it.

Oh, and did I mention the festivities are headlined by none other than Anamanaguchi, the band behind the Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World: The Game? The tickets for this are sold separately and limited, so make sure you grab these fast!

Gamercamp Lv2 is happening on November13th and 14th in Toronto. Tickets to the daytime activities are $30 CAD for both days, and tickets to the 1Up Bash featuring Anamaguchi are $12 CAD.