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Blizzcon 2013: Hearthstone going Open Beta in December

Blizzard have announced that their Warcraft-themed virtual trading card game,  Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft – currently in a closed, invite-only beta – will soon be available to all; as the game enters an open beta some time next month.

Battle.net players interesting in trying out the game before its official launch will be able to login, download and experience the game in its current early form starting December 2013.

Blizzard also today announced that the game is also planned to have iPhone and Android versions, allowing a similar game experience in smartphone or tablet form. A release is due in early 2014.


November 11th, 2013 by CrimsonShade
Posted in Gaming, General, Multiplatform | No Comments »

Blizzcon 2013: Blizzard reveal details of upcoming MOBA, now called Heroes Of The Storm

We’ve known that Blizzard has been working on its own MOBA for a while, though the name has changed several times between each discussion. Originally announced as Blizzard DOTA – causing much of a stir with players of the Warcraft 3 mod of the same name – it was later given the code-name “Blizzard All-Stars“. Now it’s officially known as Heroes Of The Storm.

Now, before we go on, let me take some time to criticise Blizzard’s naming policy. It’s quite obvious to me people will start abbreviating the new name for Blizzard’s new MOBA; however, HOTS is already used to refer to another Blizzard game, the Starcraft II expansion fully titled “StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm” – and sometimes, by extension, StarCraft II itself. So should we call the new game “Heroes” for short? But then, what about Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft? It starts to feel like Blizzard don’t want people to call their games anything OTHER than their full, long titles…

Anyway, Heroes Of The Storm will feature characters from all three of Blizzard’s main franchises – characters so far revealed have been Starcraft‘s Kerrigan and Jim Ranyor; Illidan and The Lich King from the Warcraft series; and the titular Diablo of the games of the same name – in team-on-team battles to destroy an opposing base while protecting your own. But if that sounds too much like your standard MOBA game (if actually there IS such a thing as a “standard” MOBA since the term has been applied to a number of completely different games), it’s Blizzard’s attempts to switch up the genre that make this one stand out.

For a start, unlike most similar games, you will not be buying items and accruing currency to get more over the course of the game. Instead, gold chests will periodically spawn on the map to collect or steal (depending on which side of the map you’re on), which can then be used to purchase powerful map-specific upgrades. Items themselves have been replaced by unlockable character-specific skill choices, allowing you to customise the skills offered by your characters beyond the typical four initial choices and keeping you always in the thick of the action. As for those map-specific upgrades, one map sees a character able to transform into a powerful dragon; while another sees a ghostly pirate fire cannons at your enemy’s base to deal huge damage.

Blizzard’s main goal with Heroes Of The Storm is seemingly to speed up the time taken to play full MOBA matches, but still keep all the action. The previously mentioned maps shown off so far are small in comparison to genre tradition; and with mounts available to increase the speed at which players can move, crossing the map is likely to be a very quick process even in the most demanding battles. Slowing players down however are the use of gates, which must be destroyed before certain parts of a map can be accessed; bringing a new level of crowd control beyond towers and lanes. Forts will be nearby, too, to enable health and mana regeneration.

Heroes Of The Storm will be free-to-play with microtransactions, but it’s not clear if that means purchasing heroes to play as or just skins and mounts.

You can sign up to the Heroes Of The Storm beta now, or do so through your Battle.net account page.


November 11th, 2013 by CrimsonShade
Posted in Gaming, General, MOBA, PC | No Comments »

Blizzcon 2013: Original Warcraft Games Coming To Modern Operating Systems?

Blizzard developers suggest that the original Warcraft games are coming to modern operating systems.

 

 

During the World of Warcraft Ask Anything panel, a question was asked about the original Warcraft games (meaning Warcraft I, Warcraft II, and the expansions). The BlizzCon goer asked if, because of the setting and theme of Warlords of Draenor, would we be seeing a port of the original Warcraft games to modern machines (I presume she meant modern operating systems). The devs gave an intriguing response by saying that they have a group at Blizzard working on something that may be able to do “something like that.”

 

Now, this is interesting and unexpected. Most players of World of Warcraft probably haven’t even played Warcraft III, much less Warcraft I and II. By releasing the games on modern operating systems, that would definitely introduce an expansive audience to the Warcraft universe’s roots. This is especially poignant when considering that it was just announced that the Warcraft movie would focus on Lothar and Durotan. Not only would they be bringing their newer players into the loop, but they would be introducing general movie goers to the back story, as well.

 

But, what did the developers mean by saying “something like that?” That seems to suggest that the games might be coming to us in a nontraditional way. What first comes to my mind is a system similar to the Starcraft II arcade. That would be pretty interesting and a cool addition to World of Warcraft. I would definitely play it even if it was within WoW.

 

So, what do you think? Do you think they’ll port the games to modern operating systems or not? What form do you think they could be distributed? What do you think the developers meant with their answer? Have you played the original Warcraft games? Would you play them again? Let us know in the comments section below!


November 10th, 2013 by Lonesamurai
Posted in Gaming, General, Massive Multiplayer Online, Technology | No Comments »

Blizzcon 2013: Warlords Of Draenor Brings The Original Warcraft Trilogy To WoW

Before World of Warcraft there was plain Warcraft, the award-winning, genre-defining real-time strategy trilogy. Many players of the MMO have never experienced those classic stories. The next World of Warcraft expansion, Warlords of Draenor, is going to fix that.

“What if those dark days could come again?” asked Blizzard’s Chris Metzen on stage at BlizzCon 2013’s opening ceremonies. “To forge a brighter future, sometimes you must confront the ghosts of the past” he continued, whipping the crowd into a frenzy before announcing the next expansion set for World of Warcraft, Warlords of Draenor.

We’re going time-traveling, folks. Old heroes, old villains, and settings familiar to the players of the original Warcraft: Orcs and Humans and the two games and expansion that followed.

The new expansion feature a new world in Draenor, upgradeable player garrisons, new character models, a level cap increased to 100 and much more. Also worth noting from the trailer, the ability to boost to level 90 and play from there.

 

The Story

 

At the end of the current World of Warcraft storyline, former Horde Warchief Garrosh Hellscream is taken away in chains, to be put on trial. That trick never works. He escapes trial and meets up with a new friend with the ability to bend time.

Garrosh travels back to when the world made sense of him, his intent is to redeem the Orcish ideal. He wants the Orcs to be proud conquerors again. His most critical mission is to stop the moment when the Orcs of old drank demon blood and fall under the sway of The Burning Legion. He will build an Iron Horde with the Chieftans of Old, empowered with the tech of the present. He will lead his Iron Horde through a time-spanning Dark Portal to conquer the present day.

 

Orc Clans

 

Old Draenor was a much more savage place than the Outlands World of Warcraft players are familiar with.

The only real civilization is a number of famous Orc clans.

Frostwolf Clan of Frostfire Ridge — Chieftain is Durotan, the Father of Thrall. Thrall gets to see where he came from, hang with his family. Will Durotan join the Iron Horde?

Entering Old Draenor

Players are sent on a suicide mission through the Dark Portal to stop the Iron Horde invasion. They’re dropped right into the action, much like Mists of Panderia.

The Horde start in Frostfire Ridge, a frozen area with towering volcanoes. They’ll get wrapped up in a conflict between two competing Orc clans, the Frostwolf and Thunderlord. They’ll also battle Ogres to claim the Bladespire Fortress as the Horde’s expansion base.




 

The Alliance begin in Shadowmoon Valley, changed (or unchanged) drastically from the way it looked in the Burning Crusade expansion. It’s an area always bathed in darkness, filled with rolling, moonlit hills. It’s the home of Karabor (eventually the Black Temple), the holy temple of the Draenei. The Alliance battle the Iron Horde to free the city to use as their base.




 

The Plot Thickens, Spills Over

 

 

From these first steps into old Draenor, players will embark on a quest that culminate in a battle with a big bad. During the panel Chris Metzen stressed that that big bad wasn’t Garrosh. “He’s the guy behind the guy.” That battle will spill over into the next, unannounced expansion, the first of many Blizzard has lined up as World of Warcraft encroaches on ten years of operation.


November 9th, 2013 by Lonesamurai
Posted in Gaming, General, Massive Multiplayer Online, PC, Technology | 1 Comment »

Star Wars: Episode VII release date confirmed

LucasFilm has confirmed that the Star Wars: Episode VII release date will be 18 December 2015.

 

 

Still in pre-production, and with much of the cast not even decided yet, little is known about the first of the new trilogy of Star Wars films. But today LucasFilm has put a clear marker in the sand and will aim to have the first film finished in time for Christmas 2015.

 

This would make for a fairly quick turn around for such a large production, which is still at such an early stage. For instance pre-production for The Hobbit began in 2008, some four years before the first film arrived.

 

This would also mark the first time a Star Wars film has been released at Christmas time, with all previous films arriving in May.

 

Alan Horn, chairman of The Walt Disney Studios, while responding to rumours that there were worries about meeting the 2015 deadline, said “We’re very excited to share the official 2015 release date for Star Wars: Episode VII, where it will not only anchor the popular holiday filmgoing season but also ensure our extraordinary filmmaking team has the time needed to deliver a sensational picture.”

 

Just a few days ago the production put out a casting call for what are expected to be the lead roles in the film, with it also speculated that relatively unknown actors and actresses will be chosen.

 

J. J. Abrams has been chosen as the director of the new film, with many citing the success of his reboot of the Star Trek films as the reason for being picked. He is also co-writer, and will be working alongside Lawrence Kasdan, who co-wrote The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, and Raiders of the Lost Ark for Lucasfilm.

 

George Lucas, after selling his LucasFilm company to Disney, is not expected to play a major role in the film’s production.


November 7th, 2013 by Lonesamurai
Posted in General, Movie Review | No Comments »

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