While it’s never wise to completely trust leaked information about unreleased or unannounced projects, usually there is some truth to rumors as a game makes its way through development. Over at Titan Focus, the site that is following Blizzard’s secretive next-gen MMO, they’ve got their hands on a list of potential features for the unannounced title. Obviously without any official word from Blizzard all of this “leaked” information must be taken with a grain of salt, however it does all seem to fit into the Blizzard formula, well except that, if this is all accurate, it might just be the first original IP from Blizzard in over ten years – no Warcraft, Starcraft, or Diablo. Alright, now I’m skeptical.
Check out the list for yourself right here if you’re curious. There isn’t that much to go on, but if what is there is true it looks as if they’re attempting to create a teen-friendly E-Sports MMO, an interesting concept to say the least. There are also all sorts of rumors about time travel, Greek gods, and E-sports support, but nothing more detailed than that. I’m sure more will be announced at this year’s Blizzcon which is being held in November. Until then however, it appears as all we have to survive on are rumors, hearsay, and our imaginations. It’s served us all well in the past I guess.
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So many indie games have been released in the past few years it’s almost impossible to play them all. This is where YouTuber RockLeeSmile comes in; he spent the past year playing one indie game a day to get a better handle on what’s out there. In the video above you can catch a glimpse of the games he played during that time, with links in each segment that lead to a longer overview of each title. It’s a great way to catch a glimpse of what’s out there, especially if you’re looking for a kind of diamond in the rough type experience. Many of these titles are cheap or free, so if you’re looking for something new to play and are tired of what’s normally out there I highly recommend you head over to his channel to see the types of games that are out there. Some may be terrible, but a few might surprise you.
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Gamasutra is running a piece this week about the potential downfall of the social games market on Facebook. This comes after the news that EA is pulling many of its social games off of Facebook completely, adding to rumors that the company may be looking to close down its social game studio, Playfish. In typical EA fashion it doesn’t seem that in-game Simcash for the Sims Social will be able to be redeemed or transferred in anyway, as they have advised that all players should spend their in-game cash before it is closed on June 14th. It’s pretty crummy to offer a product and then tell people they can’t use it anymore, yet another example of why online only titles can be and often are unfair to consumers.
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It appears as though the adventures of notorious trademark troll Dr. Tim Langdell may finally be over. Having trademarked the word Edge as it applies to games back in the 90s, Langdell has used almost entirely legal means to stop anyone from using the word without paying him for the rights. This includes everything from Edge magazine (of which he has no part in), to Mirror’s Edge, to the indie title Edge which was eventually removed from the Apple store. It appears however, that messing with Mirror’s Edge and EA was more than the good doctor could handle as a court order has cancelled his trademark, removing his ability to bring suit to anyone he pleases. This is a victory for pretty much everyone except Langdell who I imagine is now wringing his hands somewhere, practicing his maniacal laugh, and planning other means in which to take over the game industry without making a single playable title.
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A few months back the game industry was abuzz with Surgeon Simulator, the game created by Bossa Studios for the Global Game Jam which gave players control over one poorly misguided hand hoping to perform a not-so-complicated heart transplant. Well now it appears there’s more to the game, based on the prototype that was made popular all over YouTube, which adds more procedures to the brutally difficult game of digital Operation. I don’t think I’ve seen a trailer for a game make as much fun of itself as this one does, as most of the footage is of the player’s hand crashing around the table like a bull in an operating room. It does look like fun though and will be available through Steam on April 22nd.