Tuesday 19 July 2011

Activision complains about ModernWarfare3.com, a Battlefield 3 fansite

Activision filed a domain-name dispute with National Arbitration Forum on Friday over ModernWarfare3.com, a gag website attempting to convert Modern Warfare 3 fans to EA's Battlefield 3.
Activision argues that the person behind ModernWarfare3.com "has no right or legitimate interest in the Domain Name," a violation of the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy, and wants the site under its own control. Activision has provided the panel with a two-page list of Modern Warfare's accomplishments as evidence of its right to the domain, or perhaps because it wants to see its "Best Shooter" award from CNN.com in writing. Activision claims the site contains copyrighted material, including the style of its Modern Warfare 3 header, and that the owner "supports the game Battlefield," quoting that it "urges visitors to 'grow up and forgettabout Modern Warfare 3 (because it looks just like Modern Warfare 2) and buy Battlefield 3 instead.'"
ModernWarfare3.com was purchased on March 26, 2009, almost two years before Modern Warfare 3 was officially announced, and until recently the website redirected users to Battlefield3.com. Currently its front page reads, "Warning: this website is under seige," with the above clip from Monty Python's Life of Brian re-dubbed to bash Modern Warfare 3.

Modern Warfare 3 will offer more options for Party Chat

Infinity Ward creative strategist Robert Bowling says that if you want to chat privately with your friends while playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, you'll probably be able to do so. While the last entry in the series blocked Xbox Live's Party Chat in many of the game modes, Modern Warfare 3 will apparently be much more forgiving.
"The only place where Party Chat should be blocked is Search & Destroy," says Bowling, since that's the only mode where players are meant to have only one life per attack, and allowing dead players to chat with live ones might create an unfair advantage. For all of the other modes, "it's about giving options. We will have places where competitive guys go where you might have restrictive voice chat. And then you have an option to maybe play that same mode without the same restrictions if that's the type of player you are."
So, good news! You and your girlfriend can have some private time together to say lovey-dovey things in each others' ears, even while you gat some noobs. How romantic.

Monday 18 July 2011

King of Fighters XIII playable at EVO2011 and Otakon

While it won't be one of the tournament's 5 official fighting games, the console version of King of Fighters XIII will so-totally be playable at this year's EVO2011 Championship Series. Attendees will have the opportunity to test-drive Atlus' 2D hold-out, as well as take part in a Q&A panel with one of the game's producers.
For anime aficionados whose interest in King of Fighters may be more artistic than adversarial, this year's Otakon will also play host to a sneak preview of the title, although no Q&A panel has been announced for the convention. According to its press release, Atlus has "committed to offer support to KOF XIII tournaments taking place at both EVO and Otakon," however no official tournaments have been announced for either event as of yet. ATLUS ANNOUNCES PLANS TO BRING THE KING OF FIGHTERS XIII TO EVO 2011, OTAKON
THE KING OF FIGHTERS XIII is scheduled to release in October for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 systems. For more info, visit http://www.atlus.com/kofxiii.

Microsoft signs skeleton-filled strategy title Skulls of the Shogun for XBLA

Microsoft has snapped up exclusive publishing rights to the first game from Haunted Temple Studios, the dev established by former EA Los Angeles staffers Jake Kazdal, Ben Vance and Borut Pfeifer. Under the agreement, the trio's original strategy offering, Skulls of the Shogun, will debut on Xbox Live Arcade under the Microsoft Game Studios banner.
Haunted Temple's Kazdal, who worked on EA and Steven Spielburg's canned Project LMNO with his two studio-mates, told Gamasutra that Microsoft "totally got" Skulls of the Shogun and "have been fully behind it" since signing it. "The support we're getting out of them has been seriously as much as I could ever ask for," he added.
The game, which we've made no bones about loving so far, is due out this fall.

Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary trades avatar armor for pre-order

Pre-order "Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary" to Unlock Your Inner Master Chief and Pay Tribute to the Lovable Grunt
Join 343 Industries for a special Comic-Con "Halo" Universe panel on July 22
Ten years ago, "Halo: Combat Evolved" launched around the world and defined both the shooter genre and a generation of gamers. Microsoft Studios and 343 Industries are celebrating this epic milestone with the launch of "Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary" for Xbox 360 on Nov. 15 and inviting fans to join the landmark celebration with a set of special pre-order bonuses:
· Master Chief Avatar Armor– Heroes Never Die, and to honor the 10th anniversary of John 117, you will finally be able to transform your Xbox LIVE Avatar into the iconic hero by outfitting it with Master Chief's signature MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor.
· "Grunt Funeral" Skull – An exclusive, game-modifying skull that changes the rules of the game for an explosively humorous experience, "Grunt Funeral" sends "Halo's" most lowly and lovable enemy out in a blaze of glory. And plasma. And then more glory. Once the skull has been activated, every grunt's methane tank will explode like a plasma grenade when killed. Watch out for the grunt chain reaction!
Additionally, be sure to check out the latest "Halo: Anniversary" behind-the-scenes feature on Halo Waypoint and HaloWaypoint.com for in-depth developer commentary on the creative process behind developing one of the year's most highly anticipated games: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riJUuSq4MZ4
To learn more about the "Halo" series and the expansive fiction it helped inspire, drop by 343 Industries' "Halo" Universe panel at San Diego Comic-Con, where the creative minds behind the franchise will be delivering exclusive insights into the "Halo" universe, answering fan questions and more.
"Halo" Universe Panel with 343 Industries
San Diego Convention Center, Room 6BCF
Friday, July 22, 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Frank O'Connor, Kevin Grace, and others from 343 Industries, as well as special "Halo" guests Greg Bear and Karen Traviss, discuss the first 10 years of "Halo" and offer a sneak peek into what's next for this exciting sci-fi universe.

Darkfall dev update beats around the free-to-play bush

It's Friday and that usually means an update of some sort from the folks at Aventurine. True to form, Tasos Flambouras has checked in with his weekly Darkfall blog post. This time around we're treated to a round of Q&A with a couple of Aventurine devs, and reader-submitted questions are the order of the day.
The discussion meanders from Darkfall 2.0's crafting changes, which are described as "a complete overhaul," to mechanical concerns like AoE melee damage as well as surges and fizzles.
Flambouras also drops an interesting comment regarding Darkfall free-to-play rumors. "We also read around the internet about Darkfall going free-to-play. Rumor has it that if you start a sentence with 'rumor has it' you can say pretty much anything you want. Not true," he writes. Whether the "not true" was a reference to Darkfall's alleged F2P conversion or a reference to the latter portion of the sentence isn't completely clear, and we'll be interested to hear a definitive answer as it relates to business models.
View the original article here

4Story Defenders of Broa update goes live

Zemi Interactive's free-to-play MMORPG 4Story has undergone a bevy of new updates today. The changes include some modifications to its Broa Warriors system -- which now allows the Warriors to support the more greatly populated nation rather than just the least populated one -- and the new Gemstone imbue system which allows players to add an extra attribute to their weapons and armor.
In addition to this, the 4Story GMs have taken note of player feedback and have moved the upcoming Aerial War day from Wednesday to Saturday in order to better accommodate their players. For more information on the updates and the Aerial War, head on over to the official site.