G-News

If the Gay-dar rings, don’t buy it. This is what the conservative Christian investment firm, The Timothy Plan, warns for parents planning to get games for their kids. Apart from the usual gaming no-no’s, such as sex, violence, and substance abuse, the investment firm also flags games with homosexual content as inappropriate and unsafe for minors.

For this, The Timothy Plan hands out a list of the 30 “most offensive” games on the market. They maintain a “Do Not Buy List” for morally responsible consumers, against publishers that trade in abortion, porno, anti-family entertainment, and vices. They evaluate games on these eight categories: Sex, Nudity, Gay & Lesbian, Violence, Language, Drugs, Alcohol, and Game Addiction. They also specified if games have “demonic” content.

The usual suspects are all here: Grand Theft Auto IV (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3) and Saint’s Row 2 (Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3) (both of which have a check mark on seven of eight categories - even gay content), Fallout 3 (PS3, Xbox 360, PC), and Age of Conan and World of Warcraft to name a few. If they’re such phobes about gay content, I’m surprised they didn’t tag Manhunt 2 with a gay title.

They made a lot of comments that made me laugh, here are a few of my favorites:

• God of War II: “This game has a sex mini-game. During the “game,” you press one of the four main PS2 buttons when indicated, which causes the women to moan louder, helping them reach climax.” Now that’s a detailed review!
• Saints Row 2: “Homosexual Encounters: …Characters like Randy the Tranny were used in marketing the game.”
• BioShock: “Strong Language: Strong profanity including the f-word , as well as numerous others we prefer to not include in this report.” Wow, that’s some hardcore swearing! Not to self: Get BioShock.
• Manhunt 2: “Strong Language: Strong Language: The game’s first two words are “Holy F k.”
• Blitz: The League II: “Suggestive Themes: Females appear in miniskirts with thong underwear only to be spanked by players during touchdown celebrations.”
• Bully: Scholarship Edition: “Homosexual Encounters: Gay achievements such as over the rainbow can be reached on the Xbox 360 when you kiss 20 boys.”
• Army of Two: Homosexual Encounters: (not mentioned): Somewhat homo-erotic undertones between the two main characters are present.

Well, I guess they’re not looking forward to joining FLAG, but hey, this was worth a few laughs. If you wanna see the full pdf, just click on the source link below

• Porn game company to bypass ESRB, Sony, Ninty, MS; to create own adult game industry
• Parental advisory: 5 Best Kid Friendly Games ‘08
• Parental Advisory Group: MK vs. DC is family-friendly

If the Gay-dar rings, don’t buy it. This is what the conservative Christian investment firm, The Timothy Plan, warns for parents planning to get games for their kids. Apart from the usual gaming no-no’s, such as sex, violence, and substance abuse, the investment firm also flags games with homosexual content as inappropriate and unsafe for minors.

For this, The Timothy Plan hands out a list of the 30 “most offensive” games on the market. They maintain a “Do Not Buy List” for morally responsible consumers, against publishers that trade in abortion, porno, anti-family entertainment, and vices. They evaluate games on these eight categories: Sex, Nudity, Gay & Lesbian, Violence, Language, Drugs, Alcohol, and Game Addiction. They also specified if games have “demonic” content.

The usual suspects are all here: Grand Theft Auto IV (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3) and Saint’s Row 2 (Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3) (both of which have a check mark on seven of eight categories - even gay content), Fallout 3 (PS3, Xbox 360, PC), and Age of Conan and World of Warcraft to name a few. If they’re such phobes about gay content, I’m surprised they didn’t tag Manhunt 2 with a gay title.

They made a lot of comments that made me laugh, here are a few of my favorites:

• God of War II: “This game has a sex mini-game. During the “game,” you press one of the four main PS2 buttons when indicated, which causes the women to moan louder, helping them reach climax.” Now that’s a detailed review!
• Saints Row 2: “Homosexual Encounters: …Characters like Randy the Tranny were used in marketing the game.”
• BioShock: “Strong Language: Strong profanity including the f-word , as well as numerous others we prefer to not include in this report.” Wow, that’s some hardcore swearing! Not to self: Get BioShock.
• Manhunt 2: “Strong Language: Strong Language: The game’s first two words are “Holy F k.”
• Blitz: The League II: “Suggestive Themes: Females appear in miniskirts with thong underwear only to be spanked by players during touchdown celebrations.”
• Bully: Scholarship Edition: “Homosexual Encounters: Gay achievements such as over the rainbow can be reached on the Xbox 360 when you kiss 20 boys.”
• Army of Two: Homosexual Encounters: (not mentioned): Somewhat homo-erotic undertones between the two main characters are present.

Well, I guess they’re not looking forward to joining FLAG, but hey, this was worth a few laughs. If you wanna see the full pdf, just click on the source link below

• Porn game company to bypass ESRB, Sony, Ninty, MS; to create own adult game industry
• Parental advisory: 5 Best Kid Friendly Games ‘08
• Parental Advisory Group: MK vs. DC is family-friendly

It seems like it was only yesterday when it started, and now it’s almost at an end. According to Wryxian of the World of Warcraft forums in Europe, Season four of the Arena will end in less than two weeks, on October 14.

Once Season 4 ends, teams and ratings will carry over so that players still get to earn points and purchase gear until Wrath of the Lich King launches on November 13. Also, note that October 14 is only a tentative date, as Wryxian explains:

We re currently planning to end the fourth Arena season on October 14, 2008, and as always — this date could easily change.

This Arena Season is only ending in respect to the ladder, meaning we’ll be taking a snapshot of the season’s ladder and then go through our normal process to determine who is eligible for the end-of-season rewards. This process should take approximately one week.

It’s very important for players who feel that they may be eligible for the arena-specific title and/or Armored Nether Drake to refrain from transferring their character to another realm between the date outlined above, and when the end-of-season rewards are physically awarded.

• World of Warcraft, Arena’s Season 4: you’ll see it coming
• World of Warcraft forums: Arena Season 4 arrives in two weeks

Bring out those beer steins and get ready to join in one of the most festive events in Blizzard’s World of Warcraft. This year’s Brewfest promises to be yet another fun-filled time to enjoy all the fermented fruits of the harvest - all without the hangover.

The main Brewfest festivals will begin this September 20 and will run all the way until October 4. The venues for the Horde and Alliance factions will be held at Orgrimmar and Ironforge respectively. You also can expect smaller beer gardens to be set up in all the other main cities across the game world.

Classic events such as Ram Racing and the Barkers Quest will be making a comeback, although veteran drinkers can also expect a few new events to pop up during this time. Belbi Quikswitch and Blix Fixwidget will also be offering a new set of Brewfest prizes for any tokens you win during these special events.

Whether you choose Thunderbrew, Barleybrew, or the Ogres as the poison of you choice, it’s all good clean fun during the upcoming Brewfest event. Keep an eye on this spot for more updates regarding the World of Warcraft event.

• Blizzard releases new beer steins, comes in Horde or Alliance flavors
• Grab a cold one in WoW’s Brewfest commercial video

The E3’s been disappointing fans and developers alike, and we all know they need to shake things up or else. Now we hear of a rumor surrounding the games industry event as reported by Kotaku, and it seems like they’re thinking of opening it to the public.

There’s no official word on this yet - we’ve heard lots of “official words” regarding changes in the event’s format, only to be found absolutely wrong later on - although it’s been said that the idea has already been brought forward for discussion by the board of the Entertainment Software Association (ESA).

Instead, what we found as an update on Gamespot is a “No Comment” comment from ESA senior vice president for communications and research, Rich Taylor.

As we do every year, the ESA solicits feedback and direction from exhibitors and attendees on how best to adapt and evolve the E3 Media & Business Summit to ensure it meets their needs. Each element of the Summit is opened for discussion, and that process is ongoing to execute a productive and efficient experience. Regarding today’s published reports, the ESA does not comment on rumors and speculation, and will make an announcement about the details and logistics of the 2009 E3 Media & Business Summit at the appropriate time.

There’s been some major fallout in E3’s circle of pals, like Activision Blizzard who chose to skip the party this year, and instead hold its own event in the same week. That’s apart from all the critics who’ve thrown in their two cents on the current form of E3, such as EA’s John Riccitiello, Ubisoft’s Laurent Detoc, and EA Sports’ Peter Moore.

Let’s see if ESA can cook up something that will lure them back for the 2009 E3. Keep it posted here for more updates.

• E3 2008: Bungie does a no show for this year’s gaming event
• Activision not attending this year’s E3
  

Apparently, some people are still thinking of the viability of having World of Warcraft on the PS3 and Xbox 360. Well, it’s one of the most successful MMORPGs of all-time, so maybe porting it over to other platforms is a good thing, for financial reasons (if you’re following Square Enix’s line of thought).

However, running parallel to Hideo Kojima’s statement yesterday (about MGS4 being impossible for the Xbox 360 because the game wasn’t designed for the 360 in the first place), J. Allen Brack and Tom Chilton of Blizzard both agree that WoW was always intended to be played on the PC.

In a recent interview with Videogamer, they both reiterated the fact that WoW won’t be heading for consoles.

Brack says that WoW was “designed to have a keyboard and a mouse” and that the controls are really - to use Kojima’s word from yesterday - optimized for a PC control scheme. Brack continues: “If you think about mapping those controls and all those different type of buttons that you have to a console without a keyboard for chatting, it’s a very challenging proposition.”

Chilton, likewise, explained that it’s not a worthwhile endeavor to bring WoW to consoles;

It’s really not that we have anything against consoles,” Chilton said. “I mean we love console games also. And I’m sure there will be a successful MMO sometime on a console. So it has nothing to do with that. It’s just more like a square peg round hole thing for our game. It just wasn’t designed with that in mind.

But then… when Videogamer raised the point that Funcom will be bringing their Age of Conan to the Xbox 360 - and that they’ve got some technology to map the keyboard buttons to a 360 controller - Chilton simply replies that he thinks that WoW wouldn’t be “a very good experience playing like that.”

While the PS3 has the upcoming Wireless Keypad, and the 360 its Chatpad, they aren’t all that big, y’know. As Brack said, it’ll be a very challenging experience indeed.

• Blizzard’s take on MMOs for consoles; no WoW for consoles
• Kojima: stop asking for an MGS4 Xbox 360 port already
• Square Enix stock shares rise after FF13 Xbox 360 reveal
• Leipzig: new PS3 Wireless Keypad announced
• Xbox 360 Messenger Kit now going for only US 19.99

Do spaceships and mining for minerals on distant planetoids beat the unparalleled synergy of orcs, humans and night elves? In the eyes of Silicon Knights founder Denis Dyack it does. During an interview conducted by videogaming247, Dyack weighed both Blizzard’s World of Warcraft and CCP Games’ EVE Online on what he considered the superior MMO game.

Dyack admitted to trying out WoW for nearly a month when he told himself, “You know, I’ve got to stop this”. He then came the conclusion that compared to EVE Online, the latter had more depth in terms of content and gameplay. Here’s a quote from Dyack regarding his opinion on the Sci-Fi MMO game:

I was really, really big into EVE Online. I love EVE Online, and actually for me personally I actually think it s a better game. I know it s a lot harder core, but the depth of it s unparalleled and I love it. But I have to stop, force myself to stop playing those games because it takes so much time.

He was also relieved about finally finishing the development for Too Human. He said that this meant he now has time to play games of all sorts. Anyway, that apparently is his two cents regarding what he considers the better MMO title.

• Video: Denis Dyack talks about Too Human, the value of game storylines
• EA Mythic GM says Warhammer won’t be a WoW Killer

In a recent interview with Blizzard’s J. Allen Brack and Tom Chilton, they squashed every console gamers’ hopes of seeing the highly acclaimed MMO, World of Warcraft, boxed neatly inside a console. Also discussed were several other topics regarding the upcoming Wrath of the Lich King, as well as other new content for the game.

Chilton was also rather excited about the new achievement system that they will be introducing soon. It will definitely give players something to strive for and extend their gameplay even further.

When asked about the hardest challenge the developers have encountered so far, Brack answered that the insertion of the new Death Knight class was the biggest hurdle they’ve faced. However, with the beta phase for WotLK well underway, modifications are still being made to the new character class before its official release with the new expansion.

One of the more interesting things they discussed was Blizzard’s take on MMOs made for consoles and social networks. This doesn’t necessarily mean gamers should hope for a console version of WoW soon. Brack specifically mentioned while this may work with other MMOs, this setup wouldn’t really work with World of Warcraft. I guess this just means we’ll just have to play WoW as it was meant to be played: on a PC.

You can view the full interview conducted by play.tm by following the link found below.

• World of Warcraft devs hint at graphical reboot, speak on ten man raids
• Blizzard’s J. Brack Allen on the upcoming Wrath of the Lich King expansion

Heads up, World of Warcraft gamers! As promised, Blizzard has released the opining cinematic of the Wrath of the Lich King expansion at the Leipzig Games Convention! I can’t express just how awesome it is, so why don’t you see for yourselves? Watch the video below.

Aside from the movie, Blizzard will also host a Q&A portion, playable demos, and a forum at the convention. We’ll be sure to let you know if anything new comes out of the event. Enough dilly-dally though, here’s the movie, enjoy!

Related Articles:

• Blizzard to show off Lich King opening cinematic at Leipzig Games Convention
• Blizzard confirms showcase at Leipzig Games Convention 2008

The Wrath of the Lich King expansion for Blizzard’s much-loved World of Warcraft is all ready to invade the PC gaming world by storm. But before that, a new content patch is in order.

Says Blizzard, you can expect this patch to arrive in the coming weeks, and this is quite akin to what Blizz did prior to the release of The Burning Crusade.

This patch for WotLK essentially caters to the bridging of the current game content with the expansion. Gotta keep it all in the family, you know. As expected, there are, of course, exciting changes and additions, the most prominent of which are the following:

• New class spells and talents
• Stormwind Harbor
• Barbershops in capital cities
• Zeppelin towers outside of Orgrimmar and Tirisfal Glades
• Two brand-new Arenas featuring challenging new layouts, terrain hazards, and moving obstacles
• Guild calendar
• Hunter pet skill revamp
• New profession: Inscription

Do take note, though, that this is by no means the final list, so we’re betting we’ll be seeing some more stuff thrown our way before the patch comes out. Or if not, well, we can always check it out ourselves, right?

Oh, and do take heed, particularly all Burning Crusade players. You guys will be able to select Inscription as one of the two professions and level up to a skill level of 375 with it. On the release of WotLK, those who purchase and install the expansion will be able to continue their leveling in Inscription, as well as other professions, even beyond 375.

Watch out for the full patch notes! They’re coming very soon.

• WotLK beta servers down for new build; level cap to be raised?
• Leipzig: Wrath of the Lich King opening cinematic