RIFT Lite Offers First 20 Levels for Free
The MMORPG RIFT has just announced a trial version of the game called RIFT Lite. This preview version caps out at 20 levels, with limited access to the various cities of its virtual world. Trion, the makers of RIFT, also took the opportunity to note that they’re not going Free To Play anytime soon. Joystiq has the story.
Blizzard Releases World of Warcraft Patch 4.3.2
World of Warcraft patch 4.3.2 has recently be unleashed for their Cataclysm expansion. The big news involves joining raids with your Real ID friends, which I suppose is some use for that intrusive and unnecessary privacy invasion. Can you guess how Mages get stealth nerfed in this patch? Battle.net has the story.
White House Studies Video Games
Video games have an amazing potential outside simple entertainment. They’re excellent teaching tools, they’re good for socializing, and multiplayer games get players cooperating and working together with incredible speed. The White House has recognized the potential for video games in shaping the experience of our, and future, generations. So they’re brought on Constance Steinkuehler to investigate what video games can do for the nation. What does that mean for gamers? What does that mean for the world? USA Today has the story.
Going Online with the Nintendo Network
Nintendo has done a lot of things well over the past few years, but the gaping chasm they’ve never been able to cross has been online connectivity. Nintendo needs a gaming service that can step up to Xbox Live and punch in its teeth. They might have that in the Nintendo Network. 1UP has the story.
Tips for Investors — Buy Blizzard
As gamers, most of us have at least one Blizzard game in our closet, and probably a few more on our hard drives. Is there any reason to not have Diablo 1 and 2 installed? There’s another way to look at Blizzard, though, and that’s straight in the finances. Blizzard makes an amazing amount of money. Want a breakdown? Check out this investment report for Activision Blizzard. Market Leader has the story.
THQ Suffers More Layoffs
The game publisher THQ recently announced they’re reducing their workforce, again. This time, the axe falls on their licensed games for children. THQ did not say how many people were let go in the downsizing. You might recall THQ as the publisher behind Saints Row the Third, so it makes perfect sense they also did kid games. Gamespot has the story.
Near Field Communication Technology in Nintendo’s Wii U
Near Field Communication isn’t exactly a household word, but the products it enables are. Chances are good there’s some in your phone, and those Skylanders toys you’ve been stacking up? Yep, NFC. I wonder what gaming property Nintendo controls that might benefit from something like the Skylanders business model. Hmm, I wonder… Oh, wait, Pokemon. Gamasutra has the story.
Kingdoms of Amalur Developer Interview
Kingdoms of Amalur is a single-player RPG set in fantasyland like every other single-player RPG whose name doesn’t start with “Fall” and end with “out.” What sets this new title apart is fluid and dynamic combat, with special moves that combo into each other. Mobility on the battlefield seems to be a key component of the Amalur fighting experience, as well. Here’s an interview with developer Ken Rolston about Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. Ten Ton Hammer has the story.
Final Fantasy XIII-2 — A Lesson in How Story Matters
The Final Fantasy series has suffered a peculiar disease, one common to artists and designers who go too long without criticism, who gather too many fans who adore the artist and not the art. That disease is creeping stylism. The work of the artist becomes more and more obscure, bizarre, more tied to the tropes and references of what came before. Eventually, no one save the artist himself can understand what in the hell is going on. To illustrate that point, here’s a review of Final Fantasy XIII-2. GameInformer has the story.
Family Research Council Discovers Star Wars: The Old Republic
More importantly, the horrible fundie right-wing think-tank group has discovered that characters in SWtOR can be… gay. That’s right, same-sex romances are coming to Star Wars: The Old Republic, largely because this is a BioWare game and that’s what they do. The Family Research Council handled the news with their usual dignity and diplomacy. Kotaku has the story.
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