Gaming Feeds

Adam Sesslar’s take on all the recent videogame controversy in England.

CVG writes:

"Tens of millions of people throw themselves headfirst into massively multiplayer online worlds, their rules unbreakable and rulers unseen.

Setting out in search of the people pulling the strings of some of the more popular MMOs leads us to NCsoft’s Brighton offices, where they’re willing to divulge the secrets of their string-pulling ways. Keeping online societies sweet is no simple task, and the key to maintaining a happy community, according to NCsoft’s team of happy community co-ordinators, is simple: just keep in touch.

"When we were at Memorabilia, the movie and gaming convention, in Birmingham last November," begins Martin Kerstein, community team lead on Guild Wars, "there was one player from City of Heroes who baked shortbread villains and heroes for the team. It’s always very funny when you first meet players, as we only know them by their nick. There was this one PvP player who was always very outspoken, so at this convention in Germany I asked ‘Which one of you is this guy?’ It turned out to be this really nice, sweet kid," laughs Martin, "every mother’s dream!"

Community management is an aspect of MMOs than many people don’t consider, and just one of the things your lamented monthly subscription fees pay for. If you’ve got a problem with the game you’re paying to play, there’ll be somebody there to help you out. This isn’t just about developers showing face at BlizzCon either; interaction with the community filters right the way down through to forums, in-game events, and even player meets."

In this special column Drew Taylor talks with illustrator Neil McFarland, one of the four designers behind the artistically-driven Omega Pack for PSP racer WipEout Pure, who reminisces about his creative past and explores ideas about a more aesthetically driven future for games.

Alias actor Carl Lumbly believes games are far more beneficial to children than many give them credit for.

Speaking exclusively to Eurogamer, he said use of imagination no matter what the medium was something to be cherished, and that reaching out to children through a familiar medium could help overcome learning barriers. Like the seven times-table.

Translated from Spanish:

"Um Shoot ‘em up (also known by Schmup) is a kind of computer game in which you control vehicles, and simultaneously fighting against large numbers of enemies um, usually with a series of very stylized weapons."

gta4.net has a very descriptive walkthrough of the first 5 missions of Rockstars upcoming game, Grand Theft Auto IV.

"A ringtone can be heard when the call is made. Niko needs to get closer to figure out where it is coming from. The blackmailer must be identified and killed. Since this was carried out in broad daylight, a two-star wanted level is gained. Niko must evade the cops and return the memory stick to McReary in order to complete the mission."

Final Fantasy VII is a misleading title. In fact, the game is about as final as a midterm, and though its title labels it the seventh game in one series, it also marks the first entry in a growing series of its own, known as the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII. The latest addition to this ever growing library is Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, the story of a SOLDIER mission to the rustic town of Nibelheim.

It’s true: female gamers do exist (the shock!). Just like male gamers who come in different shapes, sizes and flavors, we can come up with a diverse list of girl gamer types. No, Frag Dolls and 6-year-olds fascinated by the Wii don’t count. South Korean StarCraft fangirls were tempting to add, but we decided to cut them from the list since we can’t tell if they actually play games or just read magazines to drool over the pros.

If you ever need a brief guide on the who and the what of female gamer types, this QuickList is for you. No need to put up those flame spears, because we don’t have anything against those who don’t fall under our categories. Furthermore, apologies go to our female readers who weren’t covered, but right now, here are the more prominent types we’ve seen of our beloved industry’s non-male audience.

Hardcore Gamer - You don’t need a pair to kill Altima in Final Fantasy Tactics with one blow or defeat Metatron from Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne without losing your sanity. While the hardcore who would go discuss their "1337" gameplay tactics and strategies on notorious message boards almost never expect to run across girls, it is a fact that the male dominated scene of spending hundreds of hours to kill secret bosses and pull off insane Achievements for bragging rights is not without the presence of the opposite gender.

The Local writes: "

Last summer a 75-year-old woman from Karlstad became the envy of internet users worldwide.

With her blistering 40 gigabits per second connection, Sigbritt Löthberg had the world’s fastest internet connection - many thousands of times faster than the average residential link and the first time ever that a home user had experienced such a high speed.

So after nine months with the ability to download a full high definition DVD in just two seconds or access to 1,500 high definition HDTV channels simultaneously, how has Sigbritt’s life changed?

Not much, according to Hafsteinn Jonsson, who is heading up the fibre network operation for Karlstad Stadsnät.

"She mostly used it to dry her laundry," he told The Local.

"It was a big bit of gear and it got pretty warm." "

Here are the latest PAL charts for week 13, 2008:

TOP 40 ENTERTAINMENT SOFTWARE - INDIVIDUAL FORMATS (UNITS), WEEK ENDING 29 March 2008

01 (__) [PS3] Gran Turismo 5: Prologue (Sony Computer Ent.)

02 (01) [360] Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 (Ubisoft)

03 (02) [WII] Mario & Sonic At The Olympic Games (Sega)

04 (03) [PS3] Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 (Ubisoft)

05 (__) [WII] Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (Konami)

06 (04) [NDS] Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training (Nintendo)

07 (07) [WII] Wii Play (Nintendo)

08 (06) [WII] Carnival: Funfair Games (Take 2)

09 (05) [NDS] Mario & Sonic At The Olympic Games (Sega)

10 (12) [WII] Sega Superstars Tennis (Sega)

11 (__) [360] Viking: Battle For Asgard (Sega)

12 (__) [PC] Command & Conquer 3: Kane’s Wrath (Electronic Arts)

13 (__) [PS3] Motorstorm (Sony Computer Ent.)

14 (08) [NDS] Cooking Mama 2 (505 Games)

15 (__) [WII] The House Of The Dead 2 & 3 Return (Sega)

16 (11) [PS3] Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Activision)

17 (10) [NDS] More Brain Training From Dr Kawashima (Nintendo)

18 (16) [NDS] New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo)

19 (15) [360] Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Activision)

20 (__) [PSP] God Of War: Chains Of Olympus (Sony Computer Ent.)

21 (09) [360] Army Of Two (Electronic Arts)

22 (19) [PS2] Guitar Hero Iii: Legends Of Rock (Activision)

23 (28) [WII] Guitar Hero Iii: Legends Of Rock (Activision)

24 (29) [360] Guitar Hero Iii: Legends Of Rock (Activision)

25 (14) [360] Bully: Scholarship Edition (Take 2)

26 (13) [WII] Game Party (Midway)

27 (30) [NDS] Imagine: Babies (Ubisoft)

28 (22) [WII] Sonic And The Secret Rings (Sega)

29 (__) [PS3] Viking: Battle For Asgard (Sega)

30 (18) [WII] Csi: Hard Evidence (Ubisoft)

31 (25) [PSP] Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (Konami)

32 (36) [PS3] Assassin’s Creed (Ubisoft)

33 (31) [WII] Bully: Scholarship Edition (Take 2)

34 (33) [WII] Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz (Sega)

35 (21) [NDS] Sight Training (Nintendo)

36 (__) [WII] Pdc World Championship Darts 08 (Oxygen Interactive)

37 (23) [360] Halo 3 (Microsoft)

38 (35) [WII] Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree (Nintendo)

39 (20) [PS3] Resistance: Fall Of Man (Sony Computer Ent.)

40 (32) [NDS] Mario Kart Ds (Nintendo)

DS = 8

Wii = 14

PS3 = 7

X360 = 7

PC = 1

PSP = 2

PS2 = 1