Activision announced today that Baxter the hamster will be making a exclusive appearance on the Collectors Edition of the DS game Zhu Zhu Pets. This edition is going to be produced in a small quantity, and when they’re gone, they’re gone. The price stays the same at $29.99, however. More than just feeding and caring for your pets, you can play games with them, race them against other pets, and collect prizes for winning the mini games. Here are a few screens for you to check out.
Posted on February 4th, 2010 at 6:07pm by feedback@gamesareevil.com (The Games Are Evil Family)
Filed Under: News, Nintendo DS, Portable Evil, nintendo-dsi
It’s certainly not everyday we hear that a game has been launched in the Arabic language here at Massively, but we guess that today is one of those days! The free to play title Silkroad Online has gone the distance and has translated their game into Arabic.
To help celebrate the new translation, the entire international Silkroad community is getting two events with real world prizes. The first event, which is less of an event and more of a raffle, gives you between two and ten contest tickets each time you purchase cash for their item shop. If your contest ticket is pulled, you could win prizes including an 8 gig iPod Nano or a brand new laptop.
The second event, which is more of an event, is to level a character from one to 40 before March 2nd. If you successfully make it, you’ll get entered into a separate raffle. Prizes here include 10,000 skill points for a character to spend on increasing your skills, Seal of Moon grade weaponry for your characters, or a brand new PSP.
For all of the information on these two events, check out the Silkroad main page.
Filed under: Fantasy, Contests, Events, in-game, News items, Silkroad Online, Free-to-play
Silkroad Online celebrates their new Arabic language service with two worldwide events originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 03 Feb 2010 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted on February 4th, 2010 at 2:00am by Seraphina Brennan
Filed Under: arabic, arabic-language, arabic-support, contest, event, in-game-event, joymax, level-up-event, raffle, silkroad, silkroad-online
Space, the final frontier. These are the voyagers of the starship Kreygina. It’s continuing mission: to explore strange new worlds. To seek out new life and new civilizations. To boldly go where no gamer has gone before. Before we continue, I would like to point out that this is not an official review, but my thoughts on the game.
Star Trek Online is an MMORPG that takes place in the Star Trek universe. The game takes place after the events of the last Star Trek movie. Spock has failed to save the Romulan home world from destruction, and the Klingons have moved in trying to control what was once the Romulan Empire. It’s up to you to protect the Federation and it’s interests. Are you up to the task?
I really can’t compare this game to other MMORPGs out there for the simple fact that I haven’t played any – until now. This is my very first MMORPG. The reason I picked it up is simple, it’s Star Trek! The game offers 2 character slots for either a Federation or Klingon character. You must be at least a level 6 to access the Klingon character. Each have their own unique missions and ships. It’s similar to the way that World of Warcraft offers Horde and Alliance factions.
It should be noted that I am a Trekkie. I love to watch Star Trek and know quite a lot about it’s universe. I’ve watched every series of Star Trek except Enterprise. When I was growing up, I always wanted a good Star Trek game. There were many games out there, but few were what I was looking for. When I heard about Star Trek Online, I wasn’t sure what to think. All I knew was that I should hope for the best.
When I first started the beta, I was a bit skeptical. Even after play a few missions the first night, I still wasn’t sold. I decided to give the game another shot a few days later. It was then I really started getting into it. The game picked up and I found myself hooked. Finally I had found a game that satisfied my Star Trek craving. While it’s always nice to play as your favorite characters from the show, it’s great working your way up the ranks.
I ended the beta with a level 12 character and a new ship. The characters were reset once the beta was over though. I eagerly awaited the head start to begin 4 days later. When the head start began, I made it my goal to reach my previous level in no time. After the last 4 days of playing (close to non stop) I am now a level 18. It seems like it was easier to get missions done and level up this time around. I’m sure it was because of the previous experience playing.
Star Trek Online has plenty of ups and downs to it. I’ll cover the things that I personally liked and disliked about the game. As I said, I’ve never played an MMORPG before, but I will do my best to not look like a trekkie defending a Star Trek game.
What I liked:
The Star Trek Universe: Cryptic does a good job at making it feel like the Star Trek universe. From the sound of phasers or red alert, to the Klingons, Romulans, and Borg (OH MY), you knew that it was Star Trek. Cryptic also does a great job at recreating the Universe itself. It was quite something for me to see the memorial and wrecked ships at Wolf 359 or go to places like Deepspace 9 or K7. Players are put into a universe that is not only recreated well, but theirs to explore.
Ship Combat: Star Trek Online is one of the few Star Trek games to do ship combat right. After a few battles, I had a strategy and was ready to roll. Compared to a game like Star Trek Legacies, the combat in this was a dream. It might take a few battles to get the hang of things, but once you do, you’re good to go. Players have the option to upgrade weapons, shields, and more. It’s probably a good idea to upgrade as you meet and fight new enemies.
Weapons and Items: I found myself excited when I would pick up new weapons and items from drops. There’s a variety of weapons and items that have their own use for either away missions or your ship as. As you advance in level you’ll find better items and weapons. Some might be helpful, but others will just be useless. One thing I found amusing was the Tribbles. Not only were they in the game, but they ate my damn food and multiplied like in the original TV show.
Playing With Friends: If there’s one thing that can be said, it’s better to play with friends. I personally enjoyed playing with people I knew. It helped make the overall experience more pleasant than it already was. You’ll also find that missions are easier to complete when you’re working together with people you know. There was no voice chat in game with the beta. My team and I used skype to keep in contact.
Plenty to do: Whether it be a patrol mission or going back in time, there are plenty of missions to keep you occupied. The variety of missions and ways to explore make Star Trek Online a lot of fun to play. On top of the regular Missions, Star Trek Online offers players PVP where they can test their skills against other players. You can battle as either a Klingon or a Federation officer.
Random Fun: If you know me and watch HBG’s live broadcast, you know we like to have fun past the limits of what the game provides. It’s no different with a game like STO. Being in a game with plenty of other people led to some interesting times. When you’re not looking for missions, why not start a dance party at spacedock, or even greet users beaming down to places like Memory Alpha. With most people being real players and not NPCs, there is fun to be had.
What I disliked:
Repetitive Missions: While there were some excellent missions, there were plenty that are either boring, repetitive, or just uninteresting. It seems there is a simple formula for the missions in this game. You’ll notice a lot of missions are like this “ship combat > away mission > ship combat > done.” Cryptic is planning on adding more missions and such as time goes on, but let’s hope they make the additions an improvement over what is offered now.
Planets: While Cryptic did a good job at recreating the Star Trek universe, there was a lot I found to be amiss. It seemed that a lot of things on planets were really out of place. Worlds just seemed poorly designed and thrown together. Some worlds were bland and I found myself saying to my team, “this planet doesn’t look like it belongs in Star Trek.” This was not the case for every planet though, but most fell victim to this
Star Trek “Offline”: During the beta, the servers were up more than they are now. While it’s only been for the headstart, the servers have gone down close to 4-6 hours each day. I know you’re thinking that is not bad and I should take a break, but it really doesn’t make me feel confident for the long term. A simple server maintenance is no big deal, but the game was going down randomly all throughout the head start weekend.
Leveling up and Skill System: The leveling up in Star Trek Online seems a bit easy. The skill system provided doesn’t really give you anything too exciting either. The problem with an easy leveling system is that by the end of the first month, many players will reach the highest level leaving not much else to do. I’ve been playing the actual game for 4 days now and I’m already a level 18. I would have been higher than that if it wasn’t for all the server downtime. Hopefully they will do something about this or make it more of a challenge as you get to higher levels.
Away Mission Combat: It seems like the developers put more time into the space combat than they did with ground combat. You’ll notice that control on foot is a little odd and the run control is awkward. Once you start running you can’t stop, you’ll need to wait until you become fatigued. Your bridge officers are often more of a nuisance than they are a help. Plenty of times I caught my crew spinning in circles rather than doing what they were supposed to. Overall, I’d rather keep my battles in space.
Broken Missions: Not only in the beta, but the head start as well, there were broken missions. You and your team would complete a mission only for it not to count. You and your team would do the mission over, but it still wouldn’t count. Some of this has been fixed with little patches, but there are still a few broken missions here and there. I found it ironic that a mission called “Breaking the Planet” was broken.
Despite the issues, Star Trek Online has provided me with well over 40 hours of fun. I think it’s the Trekkie in me that got hooked as opposed to the gamer. The game might not be for the hardcore MMORPGers out there, but I feel it’s a game most Star Trek fans can appreciate. It does a good job at putting you in the Star Trek universe, and making you a part of it. No longer are you working for Captain Picard or Kirk, but for yourself.
The game is good and I recommend it for any hardcore Star Trek fan. It’s a great way for fans to pave their own legacy in the Star Trek universe. While it might not be a perfect game of MMORPG, it’s a game that most will enjoy. If you’re a hardcore MMORPGer though, this game will more than likely not be for you.
Editors Note: The game was played during the beta and head start. I played as a federation tactical officer, and created a Klingon character, but did few of those missions. Again, this is not an official review, but rather my take on the game. Thanks to the folks over at cryptic for sending a game key. Without it, this look at Star Trek Online would not have been possible.
Posted on February 3rd, 2010 at 12:01am by Kreyg
Filed Under: Main, Review, Reviews, Star Trek Online Review, Trekker, beta, featured, mmorpg, pc, star-trek, star-trek-online
Occasionally, we like to get some original content up here that isn’t about the latest screenshot fest or killer game. This is one of those times. Here’s a new Evil Feature, published Monthly, about our failure to demand better gaming experiences from the folks who make them.
There is a spectre that is haunting the gaming world – the spectre of complacency. All of the powers have bought into it – the developers, the media, and the gamers themselves. That is not to say that every individual belonging to these groups has fallen prey to this spirit; those who have not are our brothers. Nevertheless, far too many have fallen victim and now spout the rhetoric of complacency, and to them we say enough. Today we take our stand.
For far too long we have been sitting on the sidelines as developers have repackaged the same tired gameplay and the same tired concepts. Rather than innovate, they stagnate, and we have let it happen. Machines of destruction have rolled through, and these machines have names: marketing, profit, deadline. Once used for good, they have been captured by the enemy and used for nefarious purposes.
We accept a world where a motion controller is innovation. Not I. I say, it is what a developer does with that motion controller that makes it innovative. We accept a world where high-definition graphics are innovation. Not I. I say, a good looking pile of manure is still a pile of manure.
"If you fall in this battle, there are no continues."
The time has come, my dear gamers, to take back that which is ours. We do not have to accept the hand-me-down games that we are getting, no matter how beautiful the wrapping paper. We shall no longer be haunted by a developer’s blocked creativity; we shall not stand for it.
To the media – gaming is no longer a children’s hobby reserved for Saturday mornings. If you consider your calendar, you will notice that the children who had that hobby throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s are now grown adults, and gaming has become a big part of our lives. As such, please realize we are adults. We do support your wish to keep mature content out of the hands of children, so please respect our wish to keep you out of our content. It only embarrasses you. We can handle both sex and violence in one game. Furthermore, please respect your own journalistic integrity enough to fully research your stories before lambasting us. Do you really want a repeat of the Mass Effect drama? Additionally, in respecting said journalistic integrity, please keep in mind that the same brain scanning studies done to note increased aggression caused by playing violent video games have also been done with violent movies; the results were the same. As Bandura, Ross and Ross noted in 1961, witnessing aggressive behavior increases aggression. We, as gamers, accept this. We do not dispute this. What we dispute is the invisible link continually made between video games and horrific violent behavior.
To the developers – Your machines of war shall be your own deaths. Let loose the reigns and watch what happens. Pull some money from marketing and put it into development, push the deadlines back a bit, and your profit will come. Your experts know that marketing over-saturation ultimately leads to a fall, but they will be long gone with their pockets full before that happens. Trust your development teams – they are the creative blood of this industry – and trust your audience. If you give us a worthy game, we will shout it from the mountain tops.
"We do not care about your profit margin."
We do not care about your profit margin. We do not buy your games to increase your revenue. We buy for us. If you go away, someone else shall take your place, so lift your heads and deflate your egos. Gaming is about the gamers, not the developers.
And to the gamers – do not allow yourselves to be led by the nose any longer. As has been mentioned, gaming is about us. We do not have to accept garbage just because we are told it is treasure. Ask for more. Nay! Demand more. Do not sit idly by as you are fed information from an advertisement. A beautiful pre-rendered cutscene does not a great game make. Previews, gameplay footage, early-access reviews. These are your weapons, and they all reside within your reach.
It is time to move forward. Do you realize the power that we gamers hold? No developer can tell us what to play, but we can tell them what we will not play. We can force their hand. They will give in long before we do. They have their eyes on a temporal, tangible prize; that being the lure of the coin. If we promise to cut the bottom of their coin purses, they will give us what we want. But, if we continue to feed them coins and quietly mutter our complaints, they will smile as they count their money.
The banner has been raised and the proclamation made to the leaders of the industry – we want you to survive, but we will game in your rubble if we must. If you fall in this battle, there are no continues.
(for more on this topic, visit our portable site, The Portable Gamer)
Sharing: It’s Win/Win
Posted on January 15th, 2010 at 4:44pm by feedback@gamesareevil.com (The Games Are Evil Family)
Filed Under: Demand, Gamer's Manifesto, Rant, better games, featured, features, manifesto, opinion, variety
It’s every gamers worst nightmare, a loss of sight is a surefire way to lose interest in the hobby. Sadly, this is exactly what happened to a Chinese man named Xu.
Xu was having a domestic dispute with his wife, ultimately leading him to travel to a cyber cafe to relax. Unfortunately, Xu went a little overboard and ended up going four days without sleep. His marathon gaming session was abruptly ended when he complained of his loss of vision. Xu was able to reach a doctor, where he was diagnosed with temporary blindness. The age of the man has not been released to the public.
This story goes to show that everything requires moderation, specifically if your hobby involves staring at a screen for long periods of time. Try not to go overboard with the gaming sessions and you’ll be fine.
Man goes blind playing computer games [App]
Posted on January 11th, 2010 at 5:00pm by Tovan
Filed Under: Chinese, Main, Misc, Xu, blind, cafe, cyber, pc, temporary
