London 2012 - The Official Video Game of the Olympic Games

The stadia have been built, the athletes are prepared, and London's public transport system has been put into disarray, which can mean only mean one thing: it's time for the Olympic Games. Of course, unless you're at the peak of your physical ability, you won't be competing for your very own gold medal this year. Enter London 2012: The Official Video Game of the Olympic Games, which attempts to recreate the Olympic experience for mere mortals. While it doesn't have any lasting appeal, London 2012's well thought-out mini-games are mostly entertaining and, at the very least, more reliant on skill and careful timing than mindless button mashing.In the single-player Olympic mode, you choose from over thirty national teams and attempt to lead them to glory in the Games. Two events are played each day and there are two rounds: qualifiers and finals. The tutorials are brief and informative, but there's no opportunity to really practice the events before you take part in the qualifiers. If you get through, then you repeat the event, but this time with the chance to win medals. Such repetition is dull, especially as you have to pick from a prescribed list of events, and can't skip the ones you don't like. Events mode is much better, because it allows you to create and save playlists of the your favourite events instead.

It's clear from the outset that London 2012 is not a good single-player game. Most of the events can be completed quickly, but the sheer amount of games on offer and the effort it takes to complete one Olympic career don't leave you clambering to start another. It doesn't help that the Olympics are really all about competition, and without someone other than the AI to compete against, the experience falls flat. The game does support PlayStation Move and a party play mode, though, which is its saving grace. The social aspects are akin to games such as Kinect Sports, and there's more satisfaction to be had when you beat a friend or family member to the gold, rather than a faceless AI.The Move controls, featured only in minigames that are separate from Olympic mode, are a lot easier to pick up and play than the regular controls, and in many cases are a vast improvement. Take for example, skeet and 25m rapid-fire pistol shooting. The Move is a natural fit for these shooting events, being easier and faster to aim by pointing, rather than than by nudging a reticule with the analogue stick. Kayaking also benefits from the Move controls, with the paddling action much easier to mimic with motion. Throwing events are fun to play for a while, and mimicking throwing the javelin feels more realistic than pressing buttons, even if it lacks the precision timing you can obtain when using a regular controller.

London 2012 doesn't scrimp on quantity when it comes to the main, controller-compatible games it offers, but some of the 30-odd games are worse than others. Trampoline, vault and diving are nothing more than quicktime events, and scoring can be infuriating, as the judge's temperament seems to vary from round to round. On the other hand, track and field events offer more enjoyment. While there are some shared mechanics between all of these events, there are subtle differences that make each one its own challenge. Button mashing is kept to a minimum in London 2012, and instead carefully timed flicks of the analogue sticks control how far or fast your athlete will go. Mastering each technique takes practice. Sadly, there's little opportunity to do this in the single player campaign, which rushes you through tutorials, and is more intent on teaching you which buttons to press, rather than when you should press them.There's a variety of swimming events to try out too, and they all use the same control scheme. These events are reliant on you pushing the analogue sticks forward and backwards to build a decent rhythm. Do so successfully and you'll easily win the race; fall out of your rhythm just a little bit and things get tricky. These events are unforgiving, and don't offer much in the way of help if you mess up one of your strokes. The most fun to be had is with Archery. You have to take into account wind speed, direction, gravity and a strict twenty-second time limit, which makes obtaining a high score rewarding.

Name:London 2012

Genre:Sport

Publisher:Sega

Number of Players:1-4

Console:PC PS3 360

Grading from 1 - 10

Graphics: 4 (Sports arenas are well done and are full of  details.The appearance of athletes and their animation is falling behind

Gameplay: 3+ ( Lots of  disciplines that will give you  hard time but there are some which will be fun to play)

Overall: A nice 4-

MoP -Mists of Pandaria

Overview

Mists of Pandaria will raise the existing level cap from level 85 to 90. It will introduce a new character class, the Monk, along with a new playable race, the Pandaren. The vanity pet system will be overhauled and will include a pet battle system. New PvE scenarios will be introduced, and Challenge Modes will be added for dungeons. The existing 41-point talent trees will be replaced by a new system of tiered talents that are awarded every 15 levels. Blizzard has stated that there are plans for nine new dungeons, three new raids, and four new battlegrounds.

Pandaria

Pandaria is a new continent located to the south of the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor. Several zones have been announced, including the Jade Forest, Valley of the Four Winds, Vale of Eternal Blossoms, Townlong Steppes, Kun-Lai Summit, Krasarang Wilds, and the Dread Wastes. The Jade Forest will be the first zone, and the entry point for the Alliance and Horde. It will feature lush rainforest and stone spires, and introduce the player to the Hozu and Jinyu races. It will contain the Temple of the Jade Serpent, one of the new dungeons, and introduce the Sha enemy. The Valley of the Four Winds will include Pandaren farm lands, with a coastal jungle. The Stormstout Brewery, another new dungeon, is located in the valley. There will be auction houses scattered across the five zones of Pandaria. Along with these normal auction houses, a "black market" auction house will be located in an area north of the Valley of the Four Winds called the Veiled Stair. Unlike the player controlled auction house, this auction house will be controlled by NPCs who will post items, usually of rare status or those that have been removed from the game in previous expansions. Both Horde and Alliance can use the black market auction house.

Gameplay

Blizzard has announced that players will not be able to fly in Pandaria until they have reached the maximum level 90 

Monk class

Monks use an energy source to power basic abilities like Jab. The basic Jab attack is used to generate a resource called "Chi", which are then used for more advanced attacks. The monk class was originally announced with not being able to utilize an auto-attack like the other classes, however, the developers chose to forgo this idea and they have been given an auto-attack. The monk class has three specializations known as: Brewmaster (tanking), Windwalker (melee damage), and Mistweaver (healing). Some details of the healing specialization have included that it will heal through "proximity" based heals, by dropping statues, similar to a shaman totem, that pulse healing as they perform attacks on the enemy target.Blizzard announced that choosing the healing specialization will give the monk a mana bar like other healers while the tank and DPS spec will use an energy bar. Monks will wear leather armor. Every race except Goblin and Worgen can be a monk.

Challenge Modes

Mists of Pandaria's Challenge Mode is a new gameplay option where you and your group will be challenged to finish a dungeon as quickly as possible. You select Challenge Mode before you enter a dungeon. In this mode, your objective is to clear the instance and down all the dungeon's bosses as fast as you can. Your gear will be normalized, meaning that instead of your own equipment you will be fighting using a set of items that's appropriate for the instance. That way, the challenge level will be equal for all players. Depending on how quickly you clear the dungeon, your group can earn one of three possible medals.

Pet Battle System

Vanity pets can battle in a new turn-based combat system, either against other players for fun or against vanity pets in the wild.If wild pets are defeated, they can be captured and added to the pet Journal. Players will be able to seek out master pet trainers and battle their pets, and if the player is able to defeat them, they will gain access to new pet abilities. All information regarding pet levels, abilities, and battles will be tracked in a new Pet Journal.

There will be 10 possible pet classes, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. 

Age of Wulin BETA!!!

Age of Wulin is a free-to-play martial arts MMORPG  set in a charmingly realistic representation of medieval China, with 27 regions representing all geographical areas of the country, covering an amazing 130 km² of open world to explore, and that doesn’t even include instanced areas – all presented with stunning graphics and fully translated to English. Many thousands of quests, vast and diverse regions to explore, and 20 challenging instances make Age of Wulin one of the most expansive and ambitious free-to-play MMORPGs to date. However, you will not find elves, dwarves, strange monsters and other fantasy creatures here. The developers have taken great care to create a medieval martial arts world that is so real, you can almost taste it. Yes, the kung-fu skills you will see and be able to master will be amazing and jaw-dropping – you may learn to glide through the air, run up walls or across water – but no weird monster or magic being will cross your path and disturb the image of a perfectly crafted, realistic online world, just as it existed in China centuries ago.

The Age of Wulin RPG experience is an adventure like no other. There are no classes or levels, players hone their skills in various ways and get immersed in a breath-taking game environment that comes to life in a unique way: Over 20,000 NPCs inhabit the detail-rich landscapes, cities and villages, but they don’t just stand around – they live their own lives, have their own personalities and react to the players’ actions in sometimes surprising ways.

Every NPC forms their own opinion about you, depending on their own nature and your actions – but don’t bump into them or knock them over, they may get angry! Once you impressed them enough, be it in a positive or even a negative way, they may give you some special errand or item which may lead you to experience one of the unique random encounters. There are a vast number of these hidden in the game, and they may play out differently for each player! They are pretty welcome events though, since many very special items or skills originate from these. It is entirely possible that you will gain some ability that no-one else in the game will manage to getKung-fu Skills and Weapons

Players are born into a rich martial arts culture where they choose their own path to become a master. You can join one of eight schools, each with their own philosophy, orientation and specialist kung-fu discipline, fighting style and weaponry. Here you learn and practice your skills, however you are by no means bound forever to your school of choice – like a true scholar, you can travel and join another to gain more abilities and become an even more experienced master!

Whether your preferred weapon is a shining blade, double daggers, a stick or simply your fist, or you opt for hidden darts to eliminate your enemies from the shadows… there is a myriad of ways to battle it out in this immersive online experience. Fights are not won by monotonously pushing buttons – they are built around a rock-paper-scissors system, so you will have to watch your opponents and anticipate their moves, leading to very dynamic encounters.Guilds, PvP and PvE

So you better find some friends to band together… how about forming a guild? The first guilds on a server can purchase a guild castle and expand it as they grow their influence. The guild castles are part of the open world and can be visited by all. But as there are only a limited number of these castles available, other guilds may try to conquer yours and challenge you to a battle. These guild battles can see 200 to 250 members on each side, making them truly epic events. The system prevents moonshine raids so no need to stay up all night for defence!

But this RPG offers plenty for smaller groups too. Fights between 2, 4 or 6 players result in a more tactical approach, where you can utilise your learned skills to your full advantage – either by battling it out on the water’s surface, or by fleeing over the rooftops to avoid certain defeat on the hands of stronger or more numerous opposition. If you enjoy cooperative play against a common enemy, a range of quests and instances present you with challenges on many levels of difficulty.

GuildWars 2 is coming!

Are you excited?

Go to Guild Wars 2 and pre-purchase the game to play it 3 days before others do!

For generations, war and chaos raged across the land of Tyria. Five great races competed and warred against each other, struggling to tip the balance of power in their favor.

Then the dragons woke.

The all-powerful beasts stirred from their millennial sleep under earth and sea. With their magical breath the dragons spread destruction and created legions of twisted slaves. A deathless dragon named Zhaitan raised the sunken nation of Orr, triggering earthquakes and tidal waves that destroyed entire cities across the Sea of Sorrows.

Zhaitan's undead armies surged from the sea, hungry for the destruction of the five races of Tyria: the charr, a ferocious race of feline warriors; the asura, magical inventors of small size and great intellect; the norn, towering shapeshifters from the frigid northern lands; the sylvari, a mysterious young race of visionary plant folk; and the humans, an embattled but resilient people.

Now heroes from the five races must set aside ancient rivalries and stand together against their common enemies.

Magic, technology, and cold steel will determine the ultimate fate of the world.

How about some Screenshots?

 The game will launch on 28th. August. Until then..