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    • =VG= SemlerPDX
      Free Tiberium Alliances

      EA is throwing us a bone as we wait for Command & Conquer: Generals 2 to come out in 2013. Phenomic Studios has entered an open beta phase with Command & Conquer Tiberium Alliance, a free-to-play MMO Strategy Game. The game has been reworked since the closed beta, and hopes to see a positive response from players as it begins the open beta. Players will go head to head as they manage resources and build an army. Hosts of new features set Tiberium Alliance apart from previous Command & Conquer titles.

      Martin Lohlein, Senior Producer of Command & Conquer Tiberium Alliance has big plans for the game now that it's in open beta, and had this to say in a recent interview:
      "We have a lot in store! We are constantly monitoring the game, listening to player feedback, making updates/improvements and introducing new features. I don?t want to give everything away at this point, but there a few exciting updates, planned for imminent release that I can tell you about. One of our most requested features has been an in-game chat feature. We are working on this right now and will offer a world chat, alliance and officer channels as well as whisper functionality."




      "Another community topic that is nearing completion", Martin continued, "is the rework of base movement. It will no longer cost command points and thus no longer get in the way of fighting. Overall it will get easier to move your base which again will make the alliance gameplay more dynamic."

      Command & Conquer Tiberium Alliance can be played in most any browser, and will soon be available on mobile devices. The game promises dynamic battles and demanding tactics of GDI and Nod forces. As the game continues to evolve, we can only hope that they avoid the pitfalls that other Play for Free titles have hit, and deliver a quality product for some entertaining browser based gameplay.

      Join the battle at http://alliances.commandandconquer.com/home.


      by Aaron Semler, Senior Editor VETERANS-GAMING
    • Free to Play Trial Weekend

      BioWare released the MMORPG Star Wars: The Old Republic on December 20th, 2011. Since then, they have sold well over 2 million copies. This weekend, Star Wars: The Old Republic will be free to play! From March 15th through March 19th, gamers can check out all 8 character classes and explore their origin world. In this trial version, players will have a few restrictions, such as the inability to use the Galactic Trade Network, or trade chat, along with several other types of chat.

      They will, however, be able to join any server, and chat locally, in group chat, guild chat, and will be able to reply to whispers and receive in-game mail. This will allow the player to find friends online who play the game, and to join them in PvP, PVE (Player versus Environment), and Role Playing game modes. Rank up to level 15 can be achieved, after which point, a message will notify the trial user that XP will not continue further in the trial.



      The best part is, when the trial ends, your character will not be deleted outright. If you want to play the game in the near future, you can log back in where you left off, after signing up. BioWare has stated that they reserve the right to delete inactive player characters, but has no plan to do so. Find out more details at www.swtor.com/weekendpass. You will need to create an account at www.StarWarsTheOldRepublic.com to get your trial verification code. Only players who have never had an active game account are eligible.

      by Aaron Semler, Senior Editor VETERANS-GAMING
    • The War Begins


      Mass Effect 3 released last Tuesday and immediately came under fire as scores of scorned gamers complained about the day-one DLC. From Ashes includes a single player mission and a new character in more than 600MB of DLC for an additional $10. Players who purchased the N7 Collector's Edition get the DLC for free. Fans are angry that BioWare had apparently released an incomplete game for sake of making more money, and that releasing the content on day one proves it. Christina Norman, of Riot Games, defended BioWare at the Game Developers Conference this last week, and understandably so. She is the former programmer and designer for the Mass Effect franchise, and had this to say to the consumers:

      "There's no point in releasing DLC a year after your game has come out when most people have already sold your game back to GameStop three times. That means getting it out early; that means even day-one DLC. That is a terrible thing to some players. Players rant--they know nothing about this DLC that's coming out except its name. But then it's 'oh this game must be incomplete, the game must be ruined.' Game developers are not evil. (Some are evil.) But most are not evil. We just want to release awesome stuff. Players please, give us a chance. Judge our games based on what they are. Judge the DLC based on what it is. Stop thinking you're a producer and telling us when and where we should be building our content"



      In four days, 3.5 million copies of the game shipped to retailers. USA Today has called the game "the first true blockbuster game of the year." There are 16 alternate endings for Mass Effect 3, and players can carry over their saved content from previous installments of the game. More attacks come in the form of controversy over how to achieve the "best" ending, as some have incorrectly stated that multiplayer must be played to gain a high enough "Galactic Readiness" rating. BioWare has again assured players that this is untrue, and it is not required to play multiplayer to earn the "best" ending.

      The endings themselves have come under fire, but I'm sure it all boils down to a matter of taste and opinion - it is true that not every blockbuster needs to end with everyone still alive, hero gets the girl, and there's a blue sky on Mars. It may yet still be in Mass Effect's future that further DLC will be released, perhaps more alternate endings? Only time will tell. With so much depth, and even romantic interests for the characters, I'm surprised anyone has blasted their way through it so fast already. Seems like this one is about the journey as much as the destination.

      by Aaron Semler, Senior Editor VETERANS-GAMING
    • For three years, a Revolution has been brewing


      The year is 1753. In Colonial America, a young man begins a perilous journey, split between worlds - his father a British Soldier, his mother a Mohawk. He vows to take action against the Colonists who burn his mother's village to the ground. His name is Ratohnhake:ton and he descends from a long bloodline of assassins.

      Assassin's Creed 3 has been in development for three years now, and Ubisoft has been hard at work to surprise gamers once again with the newest chapter in the saga of the Assassins and the search for the Pieces of Eden. The series' focus on the 2012 apocalyptic prophecies comes to a delightful real life parallel as this final chapter is set to release October 31st of 2012, later this year.

      Spanning 30 years from 1753 to 1783, players will explore Colonial Boston, New York, and a vast expanse known as The Frontier. Ubisoft's upgraded engine will allow for "a couple thousand" characters to be on-screen simultaneously, and will no doubt allow for the recreation of impressive battles of that era. The new larger map, 1.5 times that of Rome in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, will recreate not only historical buildings, but historical events as well.

      According to sources, 7 Ubisoft studios have been working together, developing the game with "twice the capacity of any previous Ubisoft game." Yves Guillemot, CEO of Ubisoft, says Assassin's Creed 3 is "the true next generation of both the Assassin's Creed brand and interactive entertainment/storytelling in general. We will push the title a lot because it's a fantastic product that the team has been working on for three years. What we have seen is just fabulous."



      The game has always revolved around Parkour, and this time, trees will play a part in the routes the players can choose from, giving new dimension to parkour runs. Combat will take a less reactive approach, at least in the sense that it will have a more fluid feel and aggressive nature. This will make for some exciting multiplayer, as up to 8 players will be able to go head to head.
      Rumors speak of a 2-4 player CO-OP mode, but only time will tell if this holds any weight. In games like this with one lead character, it would be difficult to make a coop mode without additional player character models. Games of the past have used boss, or lead enemy models to fill such roles. If Assassin's Creed 3 does have a CO-OP mode, you can be sure there won't be 4 Conner Clones parkouring their way across the coop frontier. While a COOP mode may seem appealing, in a story driven narrative that allows for so much freedom, it seems just a bit unfeasible. Ubisoft has taken great care to give a proper feel to the narrative, so as not to force the player too much, while still moving the story forward.

      In a recent interview with gameinformer, Creative Designer for Assassin's Creed 3 Alex Hutchinson describes what he has learned about working on games with narratives:

      "..the interesting narrative is the player driven narrative. It's the story the player tells themself as they play that is fascinating, and as designers, we create tools that build the possibility space of what they can talk about or how they can talk about it, and that's our authorial control.
      Gamers are telling their own story, and every time you try to stomp that and move through it, and say (you're playing it wrong), it's a disaster. You know, you need to let people express themselves, and let them have fun with the game."

      The free-roaming narrative games have always been my favorite, and barring branching story lines, make for the most variable experience from one player to the next. We're sure to hear more on Assassin's Creed at E3 this June.
      VETERANS-GAMING will be on the scene to deliver the latest details.

      by Aaron Semler, Senior Editor VETERANS-GAMING
    • EA DICE - News from GDC 2012


      Yesterday, at GDC 2012, Danger Close revealed more about the newest addition to EA's Medal of Honor Series, Medal of Honor: Warfighter, slated for a release date of October 23, 2012. The game is powered by Battlefield 3's Frostbite 2.0 engine, allowing visually stunning details in fully modeled environments. According to the buzz, "papers fly with near gunfire, chandeliers sway, and wooden beams splinter". This time around, the multiplayer development will not fall to DICE, but will stay
      in-house with Danger Close, and will include a hardcore "One Shot Kill" mode.
      A CO-OP mode will let players leave the head-to-head multiplayer online games and experience deeper team play elements, but a full cooperative campaign story mode is not likely.

      As with previous installments, Medal of Honor Warfighter will center around the missions of Tier 1 Operators on a variety of similar-to-life events in real world locals including, we've been told, the flooded Isabela City in the Philippines. Mother, Voodoo, Preacher, and others return to live the tale along with new international Special Forces including British SAS, German KSK, Polish GROM, and the Australian SASR! It's so great to see more non-U.S. Spec Ops groups in these modern warfare games! There are so many more impressive factions throughout the globe, I find it to be an excellent choice to bring more attention to these highly skilled, sometimes lesser known teams.



      EA said that "Warfighter delivers an aggressive, gritty, and authentic experience that puts gamers in the boots of today's most precise and disciplined warriors in an up close and personal look at today's battlefield and the fight against the ongoing global terror threat. Inspired by actual events, and written by active Tier 1 Operators while deployed overseas. When an extremely deadly explosive (PETN) penetrates civilian borders, Preacher and his fellow teammates are sent in to solve the problem."

      In using real world operatives to co-write the events and missions in Medal of Honor Warfighter, Danger Close has assured us gamers that it's goal with this is to represent a tone and feel of authenticity as opposed to a true military simulation. As in previous versions, players health will still regenerate, but new dynamics will bring a more tactical feel to the experience. One example would be choosing how to breach an entrance be it by C4 blast, kicking in the door, or tossing a flashbang into the room - each with it's own dynamic outcome based on the players choice.

      Medal of Honor Warfighter is sure to be just one of many upcoming titles that will use DICE's Frostbite 2.0 engine. At the Game Developers Conference a few days ago, Electronic Arts announced the opening of a new studio in Gothenburg, Sweden, to work on yet another possible sequel to one of EA's franchise games.
      "A new EA studio focused on making a new generation of games on the Frostbite 2 engine. Visit jobs.ea.com to learn about the career opportunities available now in game design, engineering, modeling, animation and sound engineering."

      Only time will tell as to which game series the focus will be on, but further news may come out at E3 this June. Stay tuned for the latest updates as they become available.

      by Aaron Semler, Senior Editor VETERANS-GAMING

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