femalegamer

Blizz is doing their best to combat losing any subscribers to Warhammer Online lately with all the concessions and tidbits they’re releasing lately.

Long gone are the days that realm transfers are limited to PvP -> PvP, PvE -> PvE and PvP -> PvE. In order to appeal to those stuck on PvE realms that may be swayed by the heavy focus on PvP in Warhammer, Blizz has announced the ability for people to transfer from PvE realms to PvP realms. As a full-fledged PvE realmer, I’m kind of disappointed by this decision (but I can fully understand why they’re doing it). Unfortunately we will be losing several of our friends to the glitz and glitter of the PvE world.

The upcoming patch will introduce the Inscription profession in advance of the game. Once the patch strikes, players will be able to level up Inscription to 375 and once the Expansion is out, continue further.

And, speaking of the expansion, there’s a date! November 13th… get ready to take days off and expect midnight release parties at most major game stores. Preorder your copy today!

Happy gaming!

Aardman Studios, which brought us the wonderful Wallace and Gromit, has lent one of its other stars, Shaun the Sheep, to the video game world.

Shaun, a Disney Channel staple, is now starring on the Nintendo DS system as well.

The basic premise behind the game is that Shaun must find the rest of the flock before the farmer comes home. Featuring locations from the stop-motion animated series as well as original content, the game also has three play modes and several mini and “micro” games.

D3Publisher worked with Aardman Studios to ensure the game’s style, sound effects and music are true to the show.

Now, call me old school, but I have always loved Wallace and Gromit and Aardman’s wonderfully simple and endearing stop motion animations. Seeing Shaun translated to a game is sure to be a treat!

It’s hard when the biggest titles expected out all have numbers after their names: Rock Band 2, Gears of War 2, GTA 4, Resistance 2.

While they were all stand out titles, its sad that the concept of new games has fallen by the wayside of just rehashing and redoing the old. But, that’s what we’re looking at as far as releases this year.

At the same time, there are several non “numbered” sequels: Destroy All Humans, Viva Pinata and in a sense Warhammer Online. Destroy All Humans was a fresh and inventive idea the first time around, will that continue through its second incarnation. And Warhammer, which started out as a pen and paper RPG is now stepping into the MMORPG world. MMOPRG players have definitely be abuzz about WO, but, will it be able to hold their attention?

Looking at the initial excitement that comes with any title, the month or two of pretty highly focused game time, and the following trickle as people leave to go back to their preferred game of choice… it will be interesting to see if it, as I’m sure Mythic Entertainment is hoping, can be “the New WoW.”

So, it’s not surprising that the original titles stand out like shining beacons of originality in a world of reruns. And, that is something that Spore did (of course, Spore’s buzz has been growing for nearly 3 years now). Now that it’s finally out, will it live up to its hype.

Time and units sold will tell, but as of now, I’m not feeling completely confident it will. Considering one of my good friends, who has faithfully been playing around with the Spore Creature Creator for a few weeks now, texted me yesterday, “Spore is a piece of crap on Vista.” Yeah, it doesn’t bode well.

In what could be considered one of the most anticipated and talked about games in gaming history, Electronic Arts is releasing Spore this week… more than three years after it was brought into public consciousness.

This release date was one year after initially expected, but the company wanted to make sure all the social networking features were in place and it was polished and perfected.

The game, which will hit European shelves on Friday and American shelves on Sunday is expected to help raise EA’s falling revenues with its release.

For those unfamiliar with the title, Spore takes the sim concept to a whole new level of detail. Instead of just micromanaging a company, neighborhood or a zoo you are micromanaging evolution. Starting out with the simplest of organisms and goes on to form planets and galaxies. Tying into the social aspect of the game, the characters are not your alone but become part of the environment experienced by other players.

If this game lives upto its hype, even fractionally, it is going to be an amazing experience!

Happy gaming!

In some of my most exciting gaming news as of late, I am currently taking part in the WoW Wrath of the Lich King expansion pack beta test. And, I can say that is it absolutely amazing! I fully believe that what they’ve added and have done this time around will blow everything from the original and The Burning Crusade out of the water. Very exciting things are afoot!

Currently, I am leveling up a Death Knight - what an amazing class! It is so exciting seeing new skills and talents in game, and the DK starting area has the best quest progression so far out of all the “class/race” starting areas.

I’ve also been taking my hunter through the Northrend areas. Beast Mastery hunters have undergone unbelievable changes and finally have a really solid place in end-game raiding! Not to mention the 51st talent point allows BM hunters to basically tame anything in the game!

If you’re a current WoW player, you can opt into the Beta (key codes are given via random lottery), by clicking here:
https://www.worldofwarcraft.com/account/beta-opt-in.html
For more information, check out the WotLK forums here:
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/board.html?forumId=1793231&sid=1

If Guns ‘n’ Roses isn’t your cup of tea and you can’t get into the newest gaming revolution, there may be some help for you. Twelve Who tracks will be available for download July 15th for Rock Band. Including “My Generation” and “Who Are You,” the songs may entice another genre of music lover to play the game.

The addition comes on the heels of Guitar Hero’s launch of a 30-song Aerosmith collection last Friday. Of note, there have been talks of adding The Beatles catalog to one of the gaming platforms…

If you’ve seen Pixar’s Wall-e and couldn’t get enough of the mostly silent movie star, you’ll now be able to play him across various gaming platforms. The console version, offered on the Wii Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, offers 9 play levels and relives the movie through cut scenes. Versions available for Leapfrog and the Nintendo DS appeal to a younger crowd and in Leapfrog’s situation, add an extra educational lesson within the game.

On an aside, having seen the movie a few days ago, I have to say I think it is Pixar’s best effort yet. Considering the first third of the movie or so features little to no dialog, they did a tremendous job at creating an amazing expressive hero and sidekick. And, as usual, they’ve managed to create a meaningful story, much like with Monsters Inc., that will hopefully have an effect on the youth that will go to see it.

The Halo series has been such a tremendous success, it’s time they diversify… cue Halo lunch boxes, notebooks and board game? Okay, so the lunch boxes and notebooks may be more a book out of the Beatles hey day, the board game is actually a reality.

Genius Products Inc. and B1 Games have announced a board game based on the Microsoft/Bungie best seller. I have to admit, I find it funny that they’re taking something completely electronic and taking it old school. Hey, it could be a hit, who knows?

According to the press release, the board game “captures the edge-of-your-seat action and storyline of the video game as it gives players the chance to control UNSC Marine and Covenant forces in strategic battles for power.”

The game will feature a “modular board that can be re-configured to create a virtually limitless game play experience” and will, of course, feature Master Chief, the Covenant and Cortana.

The companies hope the board game, which will be released in September, will open the game up to a broader audience than those who spend hours in front of their TVs by featuring several family-friendly features.

In quite possibly the strangest crossover in my life (as an avid gamer and an obsessive Beatles fan), apparently The Beatles’ representatives are in talks with a few companies to create a Beatles-themed video game.

Talks have gone on with both Activision and MTV games. While a source close to the talks says that a deal could be reached within a few weeks, it would have to have the blessing of Apple Corps (the company that oversees The Beatles’ business interests) and EMI (the UK company that owns the Beatles’ master recordings).

Truthfully, this news really surprises me as Apple Corps has always tended to shy away from new and unusual platforms for The Beatles’ legacy. The blessing to sell The Beatles catalogue electronically through iTunes and other sites still hasn’t happened.

For a long time, Apple Corps was under the loving and insightful care of Neil Aspinall, who has been with the Fab Four since the beginning. Since he passed away, many of us fans figured we’d see a change to the way in which their music was handled… I just never guessed it would be something like this.

Whether it is a Guitar Hero/Rock Band styled game or a Yellow Submarine trippy adventure, I’m interested to see where this will lead. I’m a little excited at the potential, but terrified at the same time that they will somehow cheapen the Liverpool Lads legacy.

Funcom, the company behind Age of Conan, has announced the game has risen to No. 1 on the PC charts and is also competing well on the all-format lists.

One week after launch, the game already has more than a half a million subscribers and the game has been difficult at best to find in the stores. Funcom said it is working to resupply new copies of the game as soon as possible.

In the seven countries for which Funcom has figures, the game is selling like mad. In Germany, Age of Conan is No. 1 on all-format and PC, while the console-orientated UK market has Conan as No. 2 on the all-format charts, being held from No. 1 by Grand Theft Auto 4. In Sweden and Norway, Age of Conan is sitting squarely at No. 1 on both PC and all-formats, while contributing to making it the biggest week for PC games in 2008. In Spain and Italy, Age of Conan reigns the PC charts, while the Australians sent the game to No. 1 on PC and No. 2 on all-formats.

The company announced it knew AoC had a chance of conquering PC charts, however it claims the all-format charting was a pleasant surprise.

More than 8 million unique visitors (one million less than the World of Warcraft gamerbase) from over 200 countries have visited the Age of Conan websites so far this year. If you’re curious, hop on over to the AoC Web site, www.ageofConan.com.

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