Video Games Updates

SimCity 5 was released a few days ago and already it’s a failure. After all the hype SimCity fans have built up after so many years, the game ends up being unplayable at the moment because of EA’s decision to make it so that the game can only be played when players are online. Their servers weren’t able to handle the number of players online playing the game and so the game crashes and causes loss of save data.

Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag has also been announced to be released on October 29 on the PS3 and Xbox360. The game will also be available on the next-gen consoles. The game takes place during the 18^th century during the age of piracy in the West Indies. The main character is a new assassin called Edward Kenway, a pirate trained by an assassin. Edward Kenway is the father of Haytham Kenway and the grandfather of Ratonhnhaké:ton, both of whom are characters from Assassin’s Creed 3. This game will have more content using the open ocean which includes battles at sea that AC3 had. The modern storyline won’t have Desmond Miles as the main protagonist anymore but it will still be very interesting to know how the modern storyline will progress after the huge cliffhanger AC3 left off at.  

-Alan Chen, Video Game Entertainment

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Path of Exile

This game is OP for free to play game. The game is like Diablo in terms of the playing-style. Over thousands skill trees which gives more creativity in building a character. There is no money to buy benefits like other games. The only benefit it will give is making your character look cooler. There are no STATS or SKILLS ADVANTAGE for using money in the game. The game was made seven years ago and was recently released in the U.S. There are a couple of classes to choose form and you can build a hybrid depending on your build of the skill tree. I've recently played the game and got to level 10 in a day or two. So far the game is pretty addicting. The monsters are pretty easy to kill so far but as the game progresses into the next few chapters, the bosses and monsters are tougher. The game is pretty self-explanatory. Just do quests, grind and get good gears. You can play with friends or solo if you want to. However, the game is 5.6GB. If you can play Diablo 3 on your computer then you computer can handle the game. Give the game a try and probably you going to get hook and play it all day. 

You can get it here:

http://www.pathofexile.com/

- Stephen Huang 

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POKEMON X AND Y

Whats up baruch kids, here comes a post fresh off the press. I don't know how many of you are pokemon fans, or at all, but here's something one should know. They did it again. They went and made another damn region, with a new game and new pokemon. And you know, people thought the Unova region was bad, this... this is just disappointing.  These starters just look ridiculous. A frog, some chihuahua, and a chipmunk looking thing. And then the fact that theres just going to be even more pokemon, what the hell. I was getting close man, had 500 and something pokemon out of the 600 and something. This is annoying especially when it happened when i was close during the Sinnoh region. I don't know what Nintendo is thinking, and I only fear what will happen for the TV show of that region. Well here's a video of the trailer, see what you think. And peace.

-Oscar O.

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Dynasty Warriors 7 Empires

For those who don't know what Dynasty Warriors is, you are missing out. The game has over 10 games in the series. Dynasty Warriors is based off Chinese history in some parts. The game starts during the Han era in China. In Dynasty Warriors 7 Empires, you can choose between 3 clans; Wu, Shu, and Wei. You can choose or create a character and your goal is to conquer China. You have to defend as well as attack other clans for their territories. In the meantime, you are going learn how to control the military, enforce taxes on the citizens, etc. just like the government. The game play is pretty simple. All you have to do is slash around and not die. However, there is a time limit to each conquering as well as defending. You can upgrade your weapons and horses. The stronger you are, the easier the enemies will be. Although, this might sound easy, the beginning is always the hard part since there will be one enemy that will overpower you and probably kill you in 3-4 hits depending on your hp. I personally had played Dynasty Warriors ever since it came out and have been keeping up to date with it. I would rate the game 4/5 stars since the game is my cup of tea and pretty fun just killing people.

- Stephen Huang

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VG Updates

  Sony has released a teaser about a Playstation event that is set for February 20. This event will most likely involve the announcement of the Playstation 4. Rockstar has announced that Grand Theft Auto V is going to be released on September 17. Originally, it was set to be released in the spring but the game needed to be polished.  This may seem disappointing but more polishing means a better game in most cases. EA has announced that they are pulling Medal of Honor Warfighter out of rotation because of slow sales and poor reception of the game.  They have also announced a new Battlefield game that will be released in 2014. Although they did not mention Battlefield 4 specially, it would seem pretty obvious that’s what they are working on. They had previously advertised a Battlefield 4 beta as a pre-order for Medal Of Honor Warfighter. Fans of the God of War game series and those who are interested can watch a thirty minute gameplay trailer of the new God of War: Ascension. The game brings back Kratos set six months to one year after Kratos’ family dies. You can find the video on ign if you don’t know where to look.

- Alan Chen, Video Game Entertainment

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Dead Space 3

Dead Space 3 is coming out in two weeks. The release date is going to be February 5th, 2013. For those who don't know what Dead Space is, it is a horror game. The title says it all. The game is a third person shooter type game. However, the game is really freaky. For those who want to give Dead Space 3 a try; try the first two since they are connected with the story line. The game is mostly a zombie type of game where you shoot around trying to survive. The basic start of the story line from the first game is in the future and that a space ship was in space and somehow got attacked by some mysterious force which killed many people in the ship, besides a few survivors. There was some kind of alien virus spreading that took control of dead bodies. The remaining survivors were trying to find a way to repair the ship and find out the mystery behind this madness. The second and third are the sequels. The series itself is 4.5/5 stars in my opinion. The first two Dead Space was pretty good in specs and easy to understand. I'm hoping the third one will be as good as the first two games. Please try this game out. It is on PC, PS3, and XBOX 360. The price of the game will be $50-$60. 

- Stephen Huang 

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Video Game Updates

DMC: Devil May Cry was just released five days ago so go check it out. For those of you that don’t know Devil May Cry is, it is a hack and slash type game that has you fighting against demons in a setting called Limbo. It features an alternate story compared to the other games in the series.

Far Cry 3 is releasing a bundle containing four DLCs that could have only been obtained by pre-ordering the game before it was released. The bundle contains The Lost Expeditions, The Monkey Business Pack, The Warrior, and The Predator Pack. These four packages give six single player missions, four new animals to hunt, and other things you can get for single player and multiplayer.

For the fans of the Sly Cooper series, Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time is finally being released after over half a decade. It’s being released February 5, 2013. The game will involve Sly and his gang of thieves traveling back into time to find out what is making the pages of the Thievius Raccoonus disappear. The game will bring back the original three playable characters and it will also allow you to play as Carmelita and Sly’s ancestors. If you want to check out the first two hours of game play of this game, go check out IGN and search for the two hour commentary game play with the directors of the game.

- Alan Chen, Entertainment: Video Games

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Video Game Updates

DMC: Devil May Cry was just released five days ago so go check it out. For those of you that don’t know Devil May Cry is, it is a hack and slash type game that has you fighting against demons in a setting called Limbo. It features an alternate story compared to the other games in the series.

Far Cry 3 is releasing a bundle containing four DLCs that could have only been obtained by pre-ordering the game before it was released. The bundle contains The Lost Expeditions, The Monkey Business Pack, The Warrior, and The Predator Pack. These four packages give six single player missions, four new animals to hunt, and other things you can get for single player and multiplayer.

For the fans of the Sly Cooper series, Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time is finally being released after over half a decade. It’s being released February 5, 2013. The game will involve Sly and his gang of thieves traveling back into time to find out what is making the pages of the Thievius Raccoonus disappear. The game will bring back the original three playable characters and it will also allow you to play as Carmelita and Sly’s ancestors. If you want to check out the first two hours of gameplay of this game, go check out IGN and search for the two hour commentary gameplay with the directors of the game. 

- Alan Chen

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Game Review: QWOP

Hi everyone,

How is break so far? Time to sleep in, play games, hang out with friends, and procrastinate on HW (I KNOW I'm definitely not alone on this)! >:'D Well, one game I know you guys should play is QWOP! Prepare to rage at the computer and flip the table over in anger!

Summary:
Your only objective in this game is to get your character, which is this runner guy, to run as far as he can. So one might ask, "why is this game called QWOP?" Well, you press the letters "Q," "W," "O," and "P" to make the guy run! Yep, it's as "simple" as that.

Unfortunately, that's all there is to it, so this summary will be short.

What I like about it:
It's challenging and if you're the type of person who doesn't like backing down from a challenge, then this is the game for you. Trust me, you'll fall down a lot.

I also like how I can't stop laughing whenever I do play this game because the character is always in hilarious positions.

What I dislike about it:
The game can get kind of repetitive after a while, so it's quite understandable if  you get tired of it really quickly.

Overall:
I enjoyed the game for quite a while (for like a day) until I got tired of it. This isn't a game that you enjoy for an extended amount of time because there's nothing else you can do beside run. The only difficulty of the game is how the player you control constantly seems to fall down, and getting ahead in the game may require more patience than skill.

Here is a link to a video that will preview some of the difficulty you will encounter during the game:

*Warning: there is some swearing in the video, so you can just turn down the volume, the video is meant to show the gameplay, so sound is not needed.*

(Watch from 2:41-4:51, the rest is about a different game)

Here is a link to the game if anyone is interested in playing: http://www.foddy.net/Athletics.html

- Melissa He, Entertainment

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Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII

 Square Enix has released a trailer for their new game, Lightning Return: Final Fantasy XIII. As weird as it seems, it’s set to be released in 2012. The trailer features a new setting and there are only 13 days left for Lightning to save the town before it gets annihilated. The trailer only shows a small portion of the new setting and it takes place years after FFXIII-2. The trailer also shows the HUD that the game uses and the stagger bar has been either replaced or removed. The paradigm system has been changed to what looks like Lightning can switch instantly between classes in combat. The trailer also shows hints of some characters from the previous FFXIII games returning like Noel (his laced arm appears in the trailer), Hope, and maybe even Sarah. Item capsules have also been changed where the capsules have different colors. Some of the monsters from previous games have been brought back and new ones have also been created. The item merchant, Chocolina also appears in the trailer. If you want to check out the trailer, you can go search it up on IGN.

- Alan Chen, Video game Entertainment

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Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkaichi 3

Hello there fine students of Baruch High school, I’m back  with another post. This time about a video game, a very good video game. Here it is, Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkaichi three! If your not familiar with this game series or dragon ball z, you can just go- inform yourself about this subject by searching online. Right now.  Anyhow, so yeah this game is based off the Dragon Ball series. Its really good, it starts from Dragon Ball Z and goes to Dragon Ball GT. But it even includes characters from the Dragon Ball series.  And characters from movies that aren’t in the series. These characters would Mercenary Tao, General Blue (RR Army), Android #8 or eighter, Turles, Garlic Jr.,  the Demon King Piccolo, Dr. Wheelo, Kid ChiChi, and more. It’s really a great fighting game, even if you don’t know Dragon Ball Z, which would be weird. But, there is the play station 2 version and the Wii version. I have the Wii version, which normally you would use the nun –chucks for. That’s really cool, because it’s like you the fighter and you can just do the Kamehameha wave, or the Dodon ray, or the Galick Gun and more. But personally I just use a game cube controller. But be warned, the controls take a while to get used to.  Other than that, this game is a lot of fun! You can fight any character with any character, play through the story, and more! Its one of those really fun fighting games, because you get to move around, its not a 2 dimensioned fight. So I would say check this out, and the Dragon Ball Z series, it could teach you kids a thing or two. Some real entertainment, not like the garbage that’s on TV now a days. Alright, continue to check out for my post, because they’re not stopping anytime soon.
 

-Oscar O.

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6 games for $1.00

This is a charity that requires you to donate a $1 to get 6 games. If you give more than a certain amount, they will give you 2 more games to play. However, these games are only for PC. They also required you to have a Steam account. It is self-explanatory. This is not a scam since I donated and got my 6 games. You are helping those in need and you get something back. This is a win win situation. However, they don't accept cash and only accept credit cards or through paypal.

Here is the link: http://www.humblebundle.com/#contribute

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Updates

It’s almost the end of the year and there have been a lot of updates on the games that are said to be released next year if there are no unfortunate delays. Naughty Dog had finally given us a release date for their next game, The Last of Us which will be release on May 7^th, 2013. The game is set in a post-apocalyptic world with looters, zombie like creatures and destruction.

Dark Souls II had been announced through a trailer that features a warrior fighting multiple enemies and traveling through many locations. Check out the trailer if you can. The game will feature a new character and a new story line.

Dead Island Riptide has also been announced which will continue to follow the characters from the original Dead Island games. The game is set to be released on April 23, 2013. Although the first game had mixed reviews, the upcoming title will feature new game play elements in its campaign like fighting against waves of zombies and building defenses and setting traps.

BioShock Infinite has been delayed once again and is now set to be released on March 26, 2013. The director says it’s mainly polishing and bug fixing at this point.

- Alan Chen, Entertainment

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Legend of Edda

Legend of Edda is finally having a CBT after a year of being shut down. This game will be available to play in 18 hours. The download is already up. Sign up before it's too late or else you'll have to wait until the game is OBT for everyone. The game is typically Titans vs. Olympians. You choose either side and during the PvP thats on your level. You get to battle against each other. Each class has their own special skills however you must obtain God points. You get god points for killing and participating in the PvP. There are 6 classes, however there are only 3 types of gears. The gameplay is fairly simple. All you need to is grind and get UPG and upgrades your weapons and armor then you'll be OP. Download and sign up at gamescampus.com.

- Stephen Huang 

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This Week’s New Game

 Hitman: Absolution was released this Tuesday on the 20^th. It’s been around six and a half years since Hitman: Blood Money was released. The game continues to follow Agent 47 and in this game, he becomes the target of the agency. The game like Blood Money, also allows the player to choose how to execute their targets although some of the kills are more scripted than others for a more dramatic effect. It’s because of this freedom the player has in determining how their target dies that this game has a slow pace unlike the other more fast paced shooter games. The game awards you with a score after you’ve completed a level and that score is then compared to your friends and the world. The scoring system limits the actions you can take if you want a high score. Signature kills and accidental kills on your target gives you a big bonus but killing non-targets and civilians and being spotted will lower your score significantly. Another big title being released in about two weeks is Farcry 3. Like Farcry 2, it takes a more realistic approach to the story unlike the first game. It follows Jason Brody who was having a vacation on an island with his friends. A conflict sparks on the island and Jason’s friends are kidnapped. Jason then has to mentally and physically change himself so that he can rescue his friends from the psychotic kidnappers. 

- Alan Chen, Entertainment

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Call of Duty: Black Ops 2

As many of you may know, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 was just released today. Many of you are probably buying this game or playing it right now. After seeing the trailers and demos and such, Black Ops 2 looks like it will live up to its name or maybe make its own legacy. After taking a look into the full campaign and the continuation of the story from where Black Ops left off, Treyarch did a nice job on continuing on with the story but there are some parts that seem like they need a little more clarification. Treyarch also did a nice job with the multiplayer by adding on a lot of content that enhances the class customization.  The zombie mode is in my opinion the best part out of the entire game because like the previous Call of Duty games that included zombie mode, it has always been the most fun to play. The story for zombie mode follows four survivors in the mid-west after the destruction of Earth in Richtofen’s Grand Scheme which is an easter egg from the black ops zombie map, Moon. 
A tiny fact that you may notice during the campaign (if you watch the television series, The Walking Dead) is that the man who voices Harper is same man as Merle Dixon (Michael Rooker). 

- Alan Chen, Entertainment : Video Games

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League of Legend S3

Today is the new season of the League of Legends. Everyone's elo is reset for ranks and new champions are coming out. I'm hoping I will get team up with better players in rank than I did in season 2. Since I went to a bronze due to noobs from a silver. The newest champion Zed, is out today and he seems a bit overpowering which is probably going to get nerf by the next patch. This week free champions are ashe, fiddlestick, jax, twitch, vladmir, lux, maokai, wukong, volibear, and elise. I would recommend playing lux, wukong, and volibear since they are strong and easy to use. If you are playing rank and if you are supported, PLEASE BUY SOME WARDS BECAUSE THAT CAN SAVE YOUR LIFE. If you are mid, top, or an adc, PLEASE LEARN HOW NOT TO FEED AND LEARN HOW TO GET FED. If you are a jungler, PLEASE LEARN HOW TO GANK PROPERLY. Your first 15 rank games are your most important games since they give you 40 - 50 elos and everyelse after that is from 1 - 15 elos. Hope everyone enjoys season 3.

- Stephen Huang 

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Assassin's Creed 3

Hello BCCHS students. Assassin's Creed 3 came out last week on Tuesday during Hurricane Sandy if you didn't know. I was lucky enough to be able to pick up a copy of AC3 and I was also able to finish the story. I thought the game was great and the new combat system was improved compared to the old AC games. There is definitely going to be an Assassin's Creed 4 because the ending of AC3 leaves off with a really big cliffhanger.

 
Medal of Honor Warfighter was released last week so pick up a copy if you haven’t already and wanted to. I've already seen a lot of the multiplayer gameplay and it looks good.
There have also been a lot of rumors lately about new games in development. A promotional poster of Grand Theft Auto V was seen which suggested that the game would be released in spring 2013. There’s no real evidence that proves this but Rockstar said they would release more details in November. 
BioWare said that “Mass Effect 4” is also under development and that it will not feature the main character, Shepard. It may not even continue off from where Mass Effect 3 left off. 
Also, check the new Black Ops 2 live action trailer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wIZp_E2CxQ&feature=player_embedded#! 

- Alan Chen, Video Game Entertainment

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Dishonored Review (Spoilers)

*WARNING: Spoilers

The story line in Dishonored revolves around the main character named Corvo Attano who is the bodyguard of the empress Jessamine Kaldwin. The setting takes place in an industrial city called Dunwall which is modeled after London during the early 1900s. Dunwall is infected with a plague that spreads by rats and kills the poor. Corvo gets framed for the assassination of the empress and the kidnapping of the princess, Young Lady Emily. He becomes an assassin that works with the loyalist to overthrow the tyranny of the new government. As you advance through the story, Corvo gains more power that you can use to make assassinations easier. Later on, Corvo is betrayed by the loyalists but is able to escape death. He finds the assassins that killed the empress and eliminates them. Corvo then finds out the location of Lady Emily and rescues her. The ending of the game has different variations depending on how much chaos the player caused throughout the game. Chaos levels depend on the amount of violent actions and deaths are cause by the player. If chaos is low, Lady Emily becomes empress with Corvo by her side and Dunwall enters a golden age with the plague gone. If chaos is high, Emily still becomes the empress with Corvo by her side but Dunwall remains in turmoil and the plague still remains. If Corvo doesn’t save Emily, Dunwall falls and Corvo flees the empire by ship. Overall, the game was fun to play with the different styles players could adapt to complete the objectives. The story wasn't that great but it is a game that I would play multiple times. I would rate this game an 8.5/10.

- Alan Chen, Entertainment - Video Games

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Legend of Edda

After closing the game in 2011 for improvement, The Legend of Edda is finally going to be released again in the U.S. The closed beta is still to be announced but you could still sign up. The game is a MMORPG game with chibi characters. There are only 6 classes in this game. It's the basic in all of games where the classes are warrior, swordmaster, archer, assassin, cleric, and wizard. Whenever you level up, your stats are auto distributed. It has its pros and cons. The game is pretty easy and has a fun PvP system. It's Titan vs the Olympians. The PvP match is about 30 mins long and have different section. Theres G1, G2, G3, etc. The G means grade so every 20 levels you advance to the next grade by doing the advancement quest. During the PvP, you are given a god skills. Each class god skill is different. It can only be used in the PvP. This game also has a pet system which you don't have to buy using money. The great thing about this game is the dungeon because you can finish a dungeon within 10 mins, your time determines your prize. The longer you take to finish a dungeon, the prize will start to have less value. The game has a PK zone  after the first town. You can play in a PvE world but you won't get much drops and collect able resources. The resources are used to make pots and weapons like in any other MMORPG games. The game is really easy to level up but trying to get a +7 or higher gear is almost impossible. The more friends you have in the game, the easier your life will be since you can make 1mil a day from dungeons. Wait for the release date and try the game at gamescampus.com

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