PC

The Haunted: Hell’s Reach Review

With the rise of independent developers, more and more mods are being turned into full fledged games. Titles like Red Orchestra, Killing Floor and the very recent Dungeon Defenders are all great examples of how a mod can make a successful transition to a full game. Others like Damnation have turned out less successful. The Haunted: Hell’s Reach was originally the winning mod of the 2010 Make Something Unreal competition and the full version of the cooperative demon slaying third person shooter has finally been released. It will be interesting to see which category The Haunted: Hells’ Reach falls into.

In The Haunted: Hell’s Reach, up to four players take control of four playable characters who must fight off a demonic invasion using a variety of weapons. There isn’t much story to it and this is clearly one of the game’s biggest shortcomings, another being the lack of any sort of single player campaign. The closest thing the game has to single player is a solo play mode across the game’s two modes.

Divinity II: The Dragon Knight Saga Review

Divinity II: The Dragon Knight Saga is an apology. It
apologizes to
those who bought its earlier iteration: Divinity
II: Ego Draconis. You see, Larian Studios, the developer behind both
games,
released a bug-ridden and overly difficult game in January of 2010.
Players and
reviewers alike saw the game’s potential, but were often turned off by
the
problems mentioned above.

Well, Larian listened. In
November of 2010, they released The
Dragon Knight Saga. They basically took Ego
Draconis and fixed the majority of complaints, while also including
an
expansion pack called Flames of Vengeance.

Players Celebrating Halloween in The Lord of the Rings Online

If Turbine intends to run an official event for Halloween 2011, they are keeping pretty tight-lipped about it. This means that if you are wanting to have any Halloween celebrations, you will have to either do them yourself or  join up with a player-run event.

Luckily, groups on several servers have announced a number of these player-run events. If you play on Crickhollow (or even if you just want to create a character there to join in on the festivities) you can head over to the Abandoned Graveyard at 2 PM EDT on the 28^th for some fun. You can join in on a costume parade, a game of hide and seek, and even a storytelling contest. Second Breakfast, the hosting Fellowship, is calling this “Ghosts, Goosebumps, and Graveyard Tales.”

Join in on the Nights of the Dead EverQuest 2 Halloween Parties

In real life, Halloween lasts just a single day. For those of you wishing it might last a little longer, consider joining in on Halloween EverQuest 2-style. These Nights of the Dead will occur on October 27^th and 28^th across multiple servers. They are developer-run celebrations, so you can expect more entertainment than your average player-run affair.

Players are invited to show up in their best and most unique Halloween costume. Once at the party, players will be able to try out specialty drinks prepared for the occasion. Party favors will also be made available through vendors. The developers realize that not all players come from the same time zone, or have the same schedule. To ensure that most people get a shot at attending these events, party slots start at times ranging from 8 AM PST to 5 PM PST.

Shooters You Should Play Instead of Battlefield 3 – Red Orchestra 2

Battlefield 3 may be seen as more realistic and authentic than any other FPS, at least by today’s “hardcore” gamers, but true FPS fans know that Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad is the most realistic multiplayer shooter this side of Operation Flashpoint.

World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria Announced

It’s been two years since the last expansion for Blizzard’s massively successful MMORPG, World of Warcraft: Cataclysm was announced. Last weekend during Blizzcon, their yearly convention, they announced the next expansion for the game, World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria. You can check out the trailer below.

Blizzard DOTA Shown Off At Blizzcon

Blizzard have announced details on their entry in the Multiplayer Online Battle Arena market with Blizzard Defense of the Ancients, and the major changes it will be bringing to classic DOTA gameplay. You can check out the trailer below: