femalegamer

Out of boredom the other day, I logged onto the World of Warcraft Web site to check and see if there was anything new and exciting going on news wise. Alas, there wasn’t, so I did what I tend to do best… click links until I found something of interest. This time? On the official US Fan Site Program: www.wcradio.com . Yes, you read that right World of Warcraft radio.

The site, is run by an independent company (under the Original Media for Gamers banner), and features a group of players and broadcasters who produce and podcast regular Warcraft and gaming shows weekly.

The site’s Warcraft-themed shows include: Casually Hardcore; Vendor Trash; Warcraft Anonymous (for the addicts amongst us); WoW Insider Show; and my personal favor (the NPR-name influenced) WoW Things Considered; and general shows include: MaxSpeed; Octale and Hordak Vs. The World; and TBs Show about Video Games. The site also includes some classic shows (I have no idea what that means in this context) and some features and serials, including Ask the Murlocs; Chalice of Silvermoon (for the RP set?); ShortStuff, and TurpsterVision.

You can listen to the most recent episodes through the main page via streaming feed and older episodes are available by download. If you find yourself with some free time, I suggest hopping over and checking out the site, possibly even checking out a show or two. It’s strangely addicting listening to someone babble on for an hour about things you babble on about to your friends who have no idea what you’re talking about.

Normally, when I’m playing a game, it’s to become someone I’m not; a warrior, a fighter, a hunter… so when Beyond Good and Evil came out in 2003, I had a great bit of a laugh! Here I was, a reporter chasing the big news stories for my industry by day and coming home to play female reporter/photographer, Jade, chasing down photos of endangered species and the truth about the Alpha Section and DomZ, by night.

It was a great and wonderfully original game, and one I’ve always looked back fondly on. So, when I learned today that Ubisoft has BG&E 2 in the works, I became downright giddy with anticipation!

Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot just announced the project has been in pre-production for the past year at the Paris Ubidays. The one downside, Guillemot also said that he felt the last one was too difficult of a game for general gamers and the new edition will be more accessible for everyone. Now, my memory may not be the strongest, but I don’t remember the game being that difficult. I’d hate to see this great title dumbed down for the masses just so they can sell more units!

What may come of the game difficulty aside, the preview of the game looks stunning! Check it out here !

And, for the record, no release date has been announced as of yet.

Blizzard has announced that a vulnerability has been found in Adobe Flash that could potentially be used to target World of Warcraft players and accounts.

The newest version of Adobe Flash (9.0.124.0), does not contain the vulnerability, and Blizzard is recommending that all players upgrade to this newest edition.

In a reaction to this news, Blizz temporarily disabled the ability to post hyperlinks in their forums. For now, forum posters can provide the link, but those interested in following them will have to copy and past it into their Internet browser. The company announced it will continue to evaluate potential security threats and take steps necessary to ensure a safe gaming environment for their clients.

For more information, visit Adobe’s announcements here and here .
In the meantime, it is always a good idea to change your password on a semi-regular basis, after doing a computer virus scan that is.

Safe gaming!

It was a good weekend for gaming at the FG household. My husband’s desktop arrived and the first software to go on it was World of Warcraft… now comes the three days dedicated to setting up his characters. We should be playing by Thursday.

On top of that, we got to test drive a friend’s Wii Fit on Saturday. I must say, it was loads of fun and convinced us that we will be getting a Wii and the Fit, once they stay on the store shelves for more than five minutes.

I admit, I don’t know if it will really help a generation of gamers and slackers lose weight and tone mouse-clicker arms and legs whose sole exercise is a trip to the fridge for a replacement soda… but if nothing else, at least it gets up off our computer chairs and moving about for a bit. I’ll be interested to follow the various daily blogs you know have started on whether it is doing its stated goal.

I can easily see it becoming a daily part of our gaming routine… each of us racking up our Wii Fit bank minutes and progressing back to Warcraft later in the evening. It could potentially become a great little competition… whichever of us reaches our stated goal for the month gets to name their reward (um… 10-minute foot massage after all that running in place).

On Sunday we attended a Memorial Day picnic at another friends house. Much drinking was occurring outside and inside, the less drinking game inclined challenged one another to Wii Sports games. As the evening progressed, eventually even the drinking folk worked their way inside for some highly amusing tennis and bowling matches.

While I still contend that most of the Wii’s games are great for parties… after doing the hula hoop in front of my friends on Saturday, I think the Fit is something you’re better off keeping in the privacy of your own home.

Apparently the titled equation above equals no fun to be had in the gaming realm (playing or writing about gaming included). The good news is the replacement computer is being shipped today, the doctor fun is nearing completion and deadlines have died down - turns out we may have some gaming fun in store this weekend after all!

It seems too we finally just got used to not having gaming as an option and were able to find ways to occupy our time that didn’t involve staring at the computer monitor sitting on the desk looking woebegone and sad.

Until my husband’s new desktop arrives and life is complete again however, I can take the opportunity to catch up on all I missed in gaming news this past week.

In the meantime, happy long weekend, and joyful gaming!

Blizzard has updated its Wrath of the Lich King expansion Web site, adding more information on the Death Knight (c’mon, you know you’re excited!), The upcoming dungeons (The Nexus), siege warfare, character customization (finally I can change my damn Rogue’s hairstyle!) and general play changes.

Judging by the information provided, it does look like it is going to be an interesting trip to Level 80! Blizz will be adding new mechanics to the game which will allow for vehicle-based combat (imagine the potential for PvP). It appears they will be adding mounts/vehicles that can carry passengers. In their words: “Certain types of vehicles and mounts can now carry passengers, making it possible for players to, for example, break a prisoner out of a tightly guarded compound by attempting a daring escape on horseback. While the NPC steers the horse, the player lobs explosives at a pack of pursuing worgen. In another quest, the roles are reversed as the player takes to the skies in a flying machine to track down and rescue survivors of a catastrophic event. Even beyond the ability for vehicles to hold passengers, WotLK introduces an aerial combat system that will add new dimensions to gameplay.”

Imagine the possibilities this could open up!

On top of the above mentioned categories, Blizz has also added new races and breeds to its beastiary - giving us a peak at some of our new enemies and allies.

Well, with Memorial Day upon us, now is the time where the outside world comes to life and people are focused on BBQs and outdoor fun. Turns out the gaming developers had this in mind with this week’s new releases. There aren’t a lot, and there’s definitely nothing that screams out as “huge important release.” Nonetheless, if you’re looking for something to occupy yourself as the the upcoming week progresses, here’s your options:

A Vampyre Story - PC
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare - Mac
Death Jr.: Root of Evil - May 27 - Wii
Dracula: Origin - May 27 - PC
Dr. Mario Online RX - May 26 - Wii
Emergency Heroes - May 27 - Wii
Enemy Territory: Quake Wars - May 27 - Xbox 360, PS3
Everyone’s Pokemon Ranch - May 26 - Wii
LOL - May 30 - DS
Mass Effect - May 28 - PC
Neverwinter Nights 2: Mysteries of Westgate - May 27 - PC
Protothea - May 26 - Wii
Stronghold Crusader Extreme - May 28 - PC
Super Dodgeball Brawlers - May 27 - DS
The Monkey King - May 27 - Wii

Requiem: Bloodymare (couldn’t they have skipped the ‘y’ - Bloodmare sounds so much better) is open for Beta testers.

The MMO is designed for mature audiences and will “immerse you into a dark world of bloodshed devastated by generations of scientific and magical abuse. You’ll need to fight against the grotesque monsters that stalk the the cursed land, and band together with your allies to survive against the stronger, bloodthirsty creatures that only prowl at night. Use a wide selection of weapons and the mysterious powers of Beast Possession to strike down your enemies and destroy evil. Requiem Online offers a refreshingly new approach to the MMOPRG genre with its grim, dark atmosphere and tense, blood splattering action.”

Players have three races to choose from, Turan (human-like with balanced strength, agility and intelligence), the Bartuk (high strength and solidarity) and Kruxena (physical and spiritual superiority). From your race selection, you have two playable classes that at a higher level can be specialized into two other class/spec selections, giving you a total of four playable classes for each race.

The Turan race can go from Defender to Commander or Protector and from Templar to Tempest and Radiant; Bartuk can go from Warrior to Berzerker and Warlord or from Shaman to Forsaker and Mystic; and the Kruxena can go from Rogue to Shadow Runner and Assassin or from Soul Hunter to Defiler or Dominator.

To sign up, logon to www.playrequiem.com.

It looks like it could be an interesting, albeit bloody nightmarish, game. For open Beta, definitely worth checking out!

According to Game Informer magazine, Activision plans on adding some additional appeal to its Guitar Hero 4 (set to be released this fall). Looking to challenge Rock Band more squarely, the new GH will include a drum set and vocals. The drums will feature three pads, two cymbals and a foot pedal. The game will also give users the ability to create their own songs to share with people…

Konami’s Dance Dance Revolution is going to be hitting big this fall, with three editions of the dance game phenomenon. DDR Hottest Party 2 for the Wii, DDR Universe 3 wll be available on the Xbox and DDR X will debut on the PlayStation 2.

For those who enjoy gaming on their iPhone, Apple is releasing the iControlpad. The phone accessory will allow gamers to have a more console-like experience on their phones. A public release date for the iControlpad has not been made available.

The one thing that tends to irk me more than dumb twits and eBay 70s looking for Ironforge in WoW are the gold spammers. Yes, I report them for every /say, /yell, or /2 they do, but they still get under my skin and draw away from my enjoyment of the game.

Yesterday, I was feeling a bit punchy and decided to try something different when I saw a Level 1 Gnome named Tslfjoesfn standing near the mailbox in Ironforge. The moment he started spamming, I opened a trade with him and started whispering…

/w Tslfjoesfn Hey
/w Tslfjoesfn Wait
/w Tslfjoesfn Reported
/w Tslfjoesfn Reported
/w Tslfjoesfn Reported

He closed the trade window and I opened it back up… figuring what’s the worst that could happen, I break his spamming macro.

Then the fun happened. He put all his Level 1 gear in the trade window.

/w Tslfjoesfn Aww, you’re stripping for me!
/w Tslfjoesfn How cute!

I hit accept, so did he. Suddenly I had the gold spammer’s clothing in my bags and a naked Gnome standing in front of me.

/poke Tslfjoesfn
/dance Tslfjoesfn

Then, he cheered. Ran around behind me and my 70 Human Warlock had a Level 1 gold spamming Gnome smacking her bum. I laughed and laughed and laughed. Maybe in some far off land the person behind the Gnome’s screen was laughing too. The best bit is he stopped the spamming and just kept dancing.

So, from now on, I’m going to keep reporting them, but I’m also going to at least try and have some fun at their expense… or with them.

PS- though part of me is now paranoid I’m going to get banned because I accepted something from a gold spammer. Granted, they were three 1 copper pieces of clothing, but still… wouldn’t that be the ultimate revenge on their part.