<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rss version="2.0"
	xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"
	xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/"
	xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
	xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"
	xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/"
	xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/"
	>

<channel>
	<title>Im Talkin Games &#187; Featured</title>
	<atom:link href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/featured/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://imtalkingames.com</link>
	<description>A blog about games, the gamers that play them, and the companies that make them.</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Sun, 25 Jul 2010 16:58:33 +0000</lastBuildDate>
	<language>en</language>
	<sy:updatePeriod>hourly</sy:updatePeriod>
	<sy:updateFrequency>1</sy:updateFrequency>
	<generator>http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0</generator>
	<atom:link rel='hub' href='http://imtalkingames.com/?pushpress=hub'/>
		<item>
		<title>DC Universe Online: On The Epic Trailer Bandwagon (Video)</title>
		<link>http://imtalkingames.com/2010/07/25/dc-universe-online-on-the-epic-trailer-bandwagon-video/</link>
		<comments>http://imtalkingames.com/2010/07/25/dc-universe-online-on-the-epic-trailer-bandwagon-video/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 25 Jul 2010 14:26:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>br3ntbr0</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Video]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[DCUO]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SOE]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://imtalkingames.com/?p=1972</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[SOE just released a rather epic cinematic trailer for DC Universe Online.  Like others, I&#8217;m wondering about several things with these really well done trailers.  I wonder why companies stop at telling short stories and just don&#8217;t go for the full feature length movie.  I also wonder if these short but usually awesome clips do [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>SOE just released <a href="http://www.dcuniverseonline.com/movies.vm?movie=DCUO_CGI_Teaser_072010_&amp;category=allvideos" target="_blank">a rather epic cinematic trailer</a> for DC Universe Online.  Like others, I&#8217;m wondering about several things with these really well done trailers.  I wonder why companies stop at telling short stories and just don&#8217;t go for the full feature length movie.  I also wonder if these short but usually awesome clips <a href="http://www.keenandgraev.com/?p=4097" target="_blank">do more harm than good</a> for the games they &#8220;represent&#8221;.  Check out what I mean and peep on the clip after the break.</p>
<p>(...)<br/>Read the rest of <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/2010/07/25/dc-universe-online-on-the-epic-trailer-bandwagon-video/">DC Universe Online: On The Epic Trailer Bandwagon (Video)</a> (227 words)</p>
<hr />
<p><small> &copy; Posted by <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/author/br3ntbr0/">br3ntbr0</a> for <a href="http://imtalkingames.com">Im Talkin Games</a> with <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/2010/07/25/dc-universe-online-on-the-epic-trailer-bandwagon-video/#comments">4 comments</a> on 07/25/2010.
<br>
Posted in: <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/featured/" title="View all posts in Featured" rel="category tag">Featured</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/news/" title="View all posts in News" rel="category tag">News</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/opinion/" title="View all posts in Opinion" rel="category tag">Opinion</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/video/" title="View all posts in Video" rel="category tag">Video</a> Tags: <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/tag/dcuo/" rel="tag">DCUO</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/tag/soe/" rel="tag">SOE</a><br/>
</small></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://imtalkingames.com/2010/07/25/dc-universe-online-on-the-epic-trailer-bandwagon-video/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Beta Tidbits and Image Gallery</title>
		<link>http://imtalkingames.com/2010/07/09/world-of-warcraft-cataclysm-beta-tidbits-and-image-gallery/</link>
		<comments>http://imtalkingames.com/2010/07/09/world-of-warcraft-cataclysm-beta-tidbits-and-image-gallery/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 10 Jul 2010 02:45:39 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>br3ntbr0</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Beta]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Blizzard]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cataclysm]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[World of Warcraft]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://imtalkingames.com/?p=1953</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Now that Blizzard has seen the light, I can once again bring myself to indulge in their wonderful games. In fact, I&#8217;m in the Cataclysm beta and I have played a Goblin Shaman and a Worgen Rogue to level 12. I&#8217;ve been completely through their starting areas and gotten them into Ogrimmar and Darnassus respectively. [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Now that Blizzard has seen the light, I can once again bring myself to indulge in their wonderful games.  In fact, I&#8217;m in the Cataclysm beta and I have played a Goblin Shaman and a Worgen Rogue to level 12.  I&#8217;ve been completely through their starting areas and gotten them into Ogrimmar and Darnassus respectively.  People have been cranking out videos like crazy on the beta, so I haven&#8217;t bothered to produce any of the raw footage I have yet as it likely won&#8217;t be anything new.  If you&#8217;ve seen the Cataclysm beta footage from <a href="http://www.wow.com/2010/07/09/cataclysm-starting-zone-preview-footage/" target="_blank">Wow.com</a> or <a href="http://thecynicalbrit.com/?s=video" target="_blank">TotalBiscuit</a> then I probably don&#8217;t have anything new video to show you.  I did manage to snap a few interesting screenshots that I thought I&#8217;d share however, which you can peruse after the break.   See if you can pick out some new features that might be coming.</p>
<p>(...)<br/>Read the rest of <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/2010/07/09/world-of-warcraft-cataclysm-beta-tidbits-and-image-gallery/">World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Beta Tidbits and Image Gallery</a> (38 words)</p>
<hr />
<p><small> &copy; Posted by <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/author/br3ntbr0/">br3ntbr0</a> for <a href="http://imtalkingames.com">Im Talkin Games</a> with <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/2010/07/09/world-of-warcraft-cataclysm-beta-tidbits-and-image-gallery/#comments">2 comments</a> on 07/09/2010.
<br>
Posted in: <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/beta/" title="View all posts in Beta" rel="category tag">Beta</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/featured/" title="View all posts in Featured" rel="category tag">Featured</a> Tags: <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/tag/blizzard/" rel="tag">Blizzard</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/tag/cataclysm/" rel="tag">Cataclysm</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/tag/world-of-warcraft/" rel="tag">World of Warcraft</a><br/>
</small></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://imtalkingames.com/2010/07/09/world-of-warcraft-cataclysm-beta-tidbits-and-image-gallery/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Blizzard Entertainment: A Whole New Level Of Fail</title>
		<link>http://imtalkingames.com/2010/07/07/blizzard-entertainment-a-whole-new-level-of-fail/</link>
		<comments>http://imtalkingames.com/2010/07/07/blizzard-entertainment-a-whole-new-level-of-fail/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 07 Jul 2010 13:34:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>br3ntbr0</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Fail]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Video]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Blizzard]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[World of Warcraft]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://imtalkingames.com/?p=1945</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[When a major event happens in the gaming community, many established and well spoken bloggers usually weigh in. I usually refrain from joining in because those people say it so much better than I could and usually have it covered. This is different, and I think it requires every gamer with a voice to sound [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>When a major event happens in the gaming community, many established and well spoken bloggers usually weigh in.  I usually refrain from joining in because <a class="vt-p" href="http://esc-hatch.blogspot.com/2010/07/real-names-on-wow-forums.html" target="_blank">those</a> <a class="vt-p" href="http://tishtoshtesh.wordpress.com/2010/07/07/blizzards-f2p-plans-realid/" target="_blank">people</a> <a class="vt-p" href="http://brokentoys.org/2010/07/06/realid-for-your-fakeorc/" target="_blank">say</a> <a class="vt-p" href="http://spinksville.wordpress.com/2010/07/07/realid-debate-brings-all-the-posters-back-to-the-official-forums/" target="_blank">it</a> <a class="vt-p" href="http://www.multiplaying.net/2010/07/06/blizzard-sez-hey-that-guy-who-killed-you/" target="_blank">so</a> <a class="vt-p" href="http://www.nerfbat.com/2010/07/06/worst-idea-blizzards-ever-had/" target="_blank">much</a> <a class="vt-p" href="http://www.killtenrats.com/2010/07/06/from-the-bad-moves-dept/" target="_blank">better</a> than I could and usually have it covered.  This is different, and I think it requires every gamer with a voice to sound off.  Check the video clip after the break to hear my plea.</p>
<p>(...)<br/>Read the rest of <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/2010/07/07/blizzard-entertainment-a-whole-new-level-of-fail/">Blizzard Entertainment: A Whole New Level Of Fail</a> (373 words)</p>
<hr />
<p><small> &copy; Posted by <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/author/br3ntbr0/">br3ntbr0</a> for <a href="http://imtalkingames.com">Im Talkin Games</a> with <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/2010/07/07/blizzard-entertainment-a-whole-new-level-of-fail/#comments">19 comments</a> on 07/07/2010.
<br>
Posted in: <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/fail/" title="View all posts in Fail" rel="category tag">Fail</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/featured/" title="View all posts in Featured" rel="category tag">Featured</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/news/" title="View all posts in News" rel="category tag">News</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/opinion/" title="View all posts in Opinion" rel="category tag">Opinion</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/video/" title="View all posts in Video" rel="category tag">Video</a> Tags: <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/tag/blizzard/" rel="tag">Blizzard</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/tag/world-of-warcraft/" rel="tag">World of Warcraft</a><br/>
</small></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://imtalkingames.com/2010/07/07/blizzard-entertainment-a-whole-new-level-of-fail/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>19</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Team Fortress 2: The Engineer Update</title>
		<link>http://imtalkingames.com/2010/07/06/team-fortress-2-the-engineer-update/</link>
		<comments>http://imtalkingames.com/2010/07/06/team-fortress-2-the-engineer-update/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 06 Jul 2010 14:26:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>br3ntbr0</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Video]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Team Fortress 2]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Valve]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://imtalkingames.com/?p=1940</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Things are picking up steam (no pun intended) with the long awaited Engineer update.  Valve has the official Engie update page running, so you can check out all the info for yourself.  So far we have Golden Wrenches made from Australium that basically turn your enemies into solid metal, and a new shotgun that grants [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Things are picking up steam (no pun intended) with the long awaited Engineer update.  Valve has the <a class="vt-p" href="http://www.teamfortress.com/engineerupdate/" target="_blank">official Engie update page</a> running, so you can check out all the info for yourself.  So far we have Golden Wrenches made from Australium that basically turn your enemies into solid metal, and a new shotgun that grants revenge crits when sentries are destroyed.  MMMmmmm good!  See the golden wrench video after the break.</p>
<p>(...)<br/>Read the rest of <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/2010/07/06/team-fortress-2-the-engineer-update/">Team Fortress 2: The Engineer Update</a> (0 words)</p>
<hr />
<p><small> &copy; Posted by <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/author/br3ntbr0/">br3ntbr0</a> for <a href="http://imtalkingames.com">Im Talkin Games</a> with <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/2010/07/06/team-fortress-2-the-engineer-update/#comments">One comment</a> on 07/06/2010.
<br>
Posted in: <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/featured/" title="View all posts in Featured" rel="category tag">Featured</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/news/" title="View all posts in News" rel="category tag">News</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/video/" title="View all posts in Video" rel="category tag">Video</a> Tags: <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/tag/team-fortress-2/" rel="tag">Team Fortress 2</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/tag/valve/" rel="tag">Valve</a><br/>
</small></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://imtalkingames.com/2010/07/06/team-fortress-2-the-engineer-update/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Star Wars: The Old Republic: If BioWare Succeeds, Do We All Lose?</title>
		<link>http://imtalkingames.com/2010/07/02/star-wars-the-old-republic-if-bioware-succeeds-do-we-all-lose/</link>
		<comments>http://imtalkingames.com/2010/07/02/star-wars-the-old-republic-if-bioware-succeeds-do-we-all-lose/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 03 Jul 2010 01:11:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>br3ntbr0</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Analysis]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Video]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BioWare]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Blizzard]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Star Wars: The Old Repbulic]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[World of Warcraft]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://imtalkingames.com/?p=1926</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This question recently hit me when pondering Star Wars: The Old Republic: If BioWare, LucasArts and Electronic Arts reach the success they are striving for, do we MMO gamers actually lose out in the long run?  I think so, and I&#8217;ll spend a bit of time elaborating on that topic after the break as well [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>This question recently hit me when pondering Star Wars: The Old Republic: If BioWare, LucasArts and Electronic Arts reach the success they are striving for, do we MMO gamers actually lose out in the long run?  I think so, and I&#8217;ll spend a bit of time elaborating on that topic after the break as well as taking a look at the latest multi-player video below.(...)<br/>Read the rest of <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/2010/07/02/star-wars-the-old-republic-if-bioware-succeeds-do-we-all-lose/">Star Wars: The Old Republic: If BioWare Succeeds, Do We All Lose?</a> (623 words)</p>
<hr />
<p><small> &copy; Posted by <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/author/br3ntbr0/">br3ntbr0</a> for <a href="http://imtalkingames.com">Im Talkin Games</a> with <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/2010/07/02/star-wars-the-old-republic-if-bioware-succeeds-do-we-all-lose/#comments">7 comments</a> on 07/02/2010.
<br>
Posted in: <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/mmog-analysis/" title="View all posts in Analysis" rel="category tag">Analysis</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/featured/" title="View all posts in Featured" rel="category tag">Featured</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/opinion/" title="View all posts in Opinion" rel="category tag">Opinion</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/video/" title="View all posts in Video" rel="category tag">Video</a> Tags: <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/tag/bioware/" rel="tag">BioWare</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/tag/blizzard/" rel="tag">Blizzard</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/tag/star-wars-the-old-repbulic/" rel="tag">Star Wars: The Old Repbulic</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/tag/world-of-warcraft/" rel="tag">World of Warcraft</a><br/>
</small></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://imtalkingames.com/2010/07/02/star-wars-the-old-republic-if-bioware-succeeds-do-we-all-lose/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>7</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>E3 Wrap Up: The Good, The Bad And The&#8230;Meh</title>
		<link>http://imtalkingames.com/2010/06/19/e3-wrap-up-the-good-the-bad-and-the-meh/</link>
		<comments>http://imtalkingames.com/2010/06/19/e3-wrap-up-the-good-the-bad-and-the-meh/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 19 Jun 2010 14:33:26 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>br3ntbr0</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Analysis]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Video]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[e3]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://imtalkingames.com/?p=1914</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Another E3 has come and gone, and this year&#8217;s show provided alot of new things.  There were big hardware announcements from Microsoft and Sony, new games galore, and more  extravagant parties than you could shake a stick at.  I wasn&#8217;t there, but watched plenty of live video during the event and combed more than 100+ [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://imtalkingames.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/e3_featured.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-1917" title="e3_featured" src="http://imtalkingames.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/e3_featured-300x192.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="192" /></a>Another E3 has come and gone, and this year&#8217;s show provided alot of new things.  There were big hardware announcements from Microsoft and Sony, new games galore, and more  extravagant parties than you could shake a stick at.  I wasn&#8217;t there, but watched plenty of live video during the event and combed more than 100+ news feeds during the week to try and pick out the gems.  Check after the break for my picks of the good, the bad&#8230;and the &#8220;meh&#8221; from this year&#8217;s show.</p>
<p>The good news is that there is more good than both bad and meh combined.  I feel a future article stirring in my head on the extravagance that some of these companies putting on for product and/or game announcements.  It&#8217;s all starting to feel like Enron, but entertainment is what these people do.  Anywho, that&#8217;s a topic for another time.  Onto my picks, after the break.</p>
<p>(...)<br/>Read the rest of <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/2010/06/19/e3-wrap-up-the-good-the-bad-and-the-meh/">E3 Wrap Up: The Good, The Bad And The&#8230;Meh</a> (335 words)</p>
<hr />
<p><small> &copy; Posted by <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/author/br3ntbr0/">br3ntbr0</a> for <a href="http://imtalkingames.com">Im Talkin Games</a> with <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/2010/06/19/e3-wrap-up-the-good-the-bad-and-the-meh/#comments">One comment</a> on 06/19/2010.
<br>
Posted in: <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/mmog-analysis/" title="View all posts in Analysis" rel="category tag">Analysis</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/featured/" title="View all posts in Featured" rel="category tag">Featured</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/news/" title="View all posts in News" rel="category tag">News</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/opinion/" title="View all posts in Opinion" rel="category tag">Opinion</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/video/" title="View all posts in Video" rel="category tag">Video</a> Tags: <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/tag/e3/" rel="tag">e3</a><br/>
</small></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://imtalkingames.com/2010/06/19/e3-wrap-up-the-good-the-bad-and-the-meh/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>All Points Bulletin: Hands On With The APB Beta</title>
		<link>http://imtalkingames.com/2010/06/14/all-points-bulletin-hands-on-with-the-apb-beta/</link>
		<comments>http://imtalkingames.com/2010/06/14/all-points-bulletin-hands-on-with-the-apb-beta/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 15 Jun 2010 04:07:53 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>br3ntbr0</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Beta]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Commentary]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Impressions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reviews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Video]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[All Points Bulletin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Realtime Worlds]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://imtalkingames.com/?p=1907</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Thanks to the fellas at RockPaperShotgun.com I got a chance to get in on this weekend&#8217;s Key To The City event in All Points Bulletin.  I have been curious about this GTA style &#8216;MMO&#8217; for a while now, so I jumped at the chance to get in and give things a run.  Before I get [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Thanks to the fellas at <a href="http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2010/06/11/apb-key-to-the-city-massive-key-giveaway/" target="_blank">RockPaperShotgun.com</a> I got a chance to get in on this weekend&#8217;s Key To The City event in All Points Bulletin.  I have been curious about this GTA style &#8216;MMO&#8217; for a while now, so I jumped at the chance to get in and give things a run.  Before I get the bullet point style ups and downs of my time in San Paro, I must first say that I had alot of fun.  For moving picture illustrationey proofage of my riotous good times, I give you my criminal character named Sammich as he goes through a mission:</p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="640" height="385" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0">
<param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" />
<param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" />
<param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/VEj6zs2R5xg&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;" />
<param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="640" height="385" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/VEj6zs2R5xg&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEj6zs2R5xg">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEj6zs2R5xg</a></p>
</div>
<p>I don&#8217;t really do formal reviews, mainly because I&#8217;m not paid to do so, but here&#8217;s a few bullet points on my likes and dislikes about the game from my 10 hours in beta:</p>
<p><strong>Thumbs Up:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>It was easy to pick up and play.  I thought the learning curve for doing missions wasn&#8217;t very steep at all.</li>
<li>Believe it or not, the PVP is consentual.  You can only attack players that have accepted a mission or backup call against you.  Once the mission is over, no one can attack.  If you don&#8217;t feel like fighting, ignore the mission and backup calls.</li>
<li>The customization is beyond fantastic.  Customize your physical character, their clothes, your car, your music&#8230;and more.</li>
<li>Driving is a chaotic affair, just getting from point A to B without blowing up is its own meta game.  Learning to drive is fun, and driving well is a challenge.</li>
<li>You can catch some major air if you know where to find the ramps and hit them right.</li>
<li>Enforcers can kill.  They don&#8217;t have to arrest criminals, they can just be vigilantes and kill them.</li>
<li>The matchmaking was nearly flawless.  I got put into groups consistently and was almost never alone.</li>
<li>Aiming takes a steady hand and can be challenging.  Prepare to die.  Alot.</li>
<li>Calling for backup often works like a charm.</li>
<li>Teamwork pays off.  It is awesome to get a kill because the enemy is distracted by a team mate, or they kill them before you get ganked.</li>
<li>The mix of different mission types was refreshing.  Some times I was guarding an area and the clock was my friend, sometimes I was racing to catch a guy with a critical item in a hectic car chase with the clock working against me.  I never knew what I was gonna get.</li>
<li>The game has true crafting.  Make your own shirt decals, theme songs, you name it.  And you can sell it in the marketplace for cash!</li>
<li>There are many unlockables to keep achievers busy.  Many of them help your character stand out in the crowd.</li>
<li>Unlimited action district time for $10 bucks a month.</li>
<li>Creating a clan (guild) was painless and easy.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Thumbs Down:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Performance was iffy.  In two long sessions my system locked up and had to be rebooted 4-5 times due to the game crashing.  Not good, but the game is solid otherwise and can recover if this is stabilized soon.</li>
<li>Only 80 players per instance might not be enough, but the city map size still kept things pretty action packed if all the car crashes I had with other players was any indication.</li>
<li>Adding players to my clan was confusing.  What I tried either didn&#8217;t work, or I wasn&#8217;t doing it right and had no clue how.</li>
<li>Being limited to only 5 hours of action district time stunk, and there was no way that I could tell to increase it.</li>
<li>This isn&#8217;t an every day type of game (yet) like World of Warcraft .  Right now it feels like doing missions over and over will get repetitive like the early days of City of Heroes.</li>
<li>What&#8217;s the end game?  Getting the best weapon and vehicle?  Then what&#8230;more missions?  See the item above this one&#8230;</li>
<li>$10 bucks a month for unlimited action district play will likely not keep many people paying when they can continue to unlock hats in Team Fortress 2 and new prestige emblems in Modern Warfare 2 for free.  Even doing a pay as you go style with rollover minutes may not do the trick.  Can&#8217;t beat free in online play where shooters are concerned.</li>
<li>It lacks mass appeal simply because it is a shooter.  Many people just won&#8217;t enjoy getting killed all the time because they can&#8217;t aim and shoot fast enough to compete.</li>
</ul>
<p>With some more depth added to the action style of play, I could see myself committing more time to APB.  I had alot of fun running missions, and at the end of the day games are supposed to be fun.  APB delivered that, and I pre-ordered the game.  It has potential and I&#8217;d like to see where Realtime Worlds takes APB in the future.</p>
<hr />
<p><small> &copy; Posted by <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/author/br3ntbr0/">br3ntbr0</a> for <a href="http://imtalkingames.com">Im Talkin Games</a> with <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/2010/06/14/all-points-bulletin-hands-on-with-the-apb-beta/#comments">2 comments</a> on 06/14/2010.
<br>
Posted in: <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/beta/" title="View all posts in Beta" rel="category tag">Beta</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/commentary/" title="View all posts in Commentary" rel="category tag">Commentary</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/featured/" title="View all posts in Featured" rel="category tag">Featured</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/impressions/" title="View all posts in Impressions" rel="category tag">Impressions</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/opinion/" title="View all posts in Opinion" rel="category tag">Opinion</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/reviews/" title="View all posts in Reviews" rel="category tag">Reviews</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/video/" title="View all posts in Video" rel="category tag">Video</a> Tags: <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/tag/all-points-bulletin/" rel="tag">All Points Bulletin</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/tag/realtime-worlds/" rel="tag">Realtime Worlds</a><br/>
</small></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://imtalkingames.com/2010/06/14/all-points-bulletin-hands-on-with-the-apb-beta/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II: Betrayal Cinematic, Game Play Video</title>
		<link>http://imtalkingames.com/2010/06/13/star-wars-the-force-unleashed-ii-betrayal-cinematic-game-play-video/</link>
		<comments>http://imtalkingames.com/2010/06/13/star-wars-the-force-unleashed-ii-betrayal-cinematic-game-play-video/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 13 Jun 2010 13:44:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>br3ntbr0</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Video]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Force Unleashed 2]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[LucasArts]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://imtalkingames.com/?p=1896</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I&#8217;m pretty glad I purchased an Xbox 360 recently, cause I now have no obstacle to playing Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II when it releases later this year.  There have been some great cinematic videos released recently showing the awesomeness pouring out of a Jedi, with the newest being this &#8220;Betrayal&#8221; clip.  Here we [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I&#8217;m pretty glad I purchased an Xbox 360 recently, cause I now have no obstacle to playing Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II when it releases later this year.  There have been some great cinematic videos released recently showing the awesomeness pouring out of a Jedi, with the newest being this &#8220;Betrayal&#8221; clip.  Here we see Vader being done with his apprentice, ordering his death, then the apprentices unleashes hell:</p>
<div>
<div style="width: 480px;"><object id="gtembed" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="480" height="392" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0">
<param name="allowScriptAccess" value="sameDomain" />
<param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" />
<param name="quality" value="high" />
<param name="src" value="http://www.gametrailers.com/remote_wrap.php?mid=101181" />
<param name="name" value="gtembed" />
<param name="align" value="middle" />
<param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><embed id="gtembed" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="480" height="392" src="http://www.gametrailers.com/remote_wrap.php?mid=101181" align="middle" name="gtembed" quality="high" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="sameDomain"></embed></object></div>
<p><a href="http://www.gametrailers.com/video/e3-2010-the-force/101181" target="_blank">http://www.gametrailers.com/video/e3-2010-the-force/101181</a></p>
<p>Hopefully E3 will bring us more game play clips, but for now we can kick things off with this little game play clip to wet our appetites:</p>
<div><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="640" height="385" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0">
<param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" />
<param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" />
<param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/MM3W-gHCCC0&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;" />
<param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="640" height="385" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/MM3W-gHCCC0&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
<p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MM3W-gHCCC0" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MM3W-gHCCC0</a></p>
<p>There can&#8217;t be much better than playing a crazed, ex-Vader apprentice Jedi who has hyper force powers above and beyond what a normal Jedi has, right?  This should go a long way to meeting my Star Wars cravings until BioWare gets ready to release that other Star Wars game.</p>
</div>
<hr />
<p><small> &copy; Posted by <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/author/br3ntbr0/">br3ntbr0</a> for <a href="http://imtalkingames.com">Im Talkin Games</a> with <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/2010/06/13/star-wars-the-force-unleashed-ii-betrayal-cinematic-game-play-video/#comments">One comment</a> on 06/13/2010.
<br>
Posted in: <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/featured/" title="View all posts in Featured" rel="category tag">Featured</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/news/" title="View all posts in News" rel="category tag">News</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/video/" title="View all posts in Video" rel="category tag">Video</a> Tags: <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/tag/force-unleashed-2/" rel="tag">Force Unleashed 2</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/tag/lucasarts/" rel="tag">LucasArts</a><br/>
</small></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://imtalkingames.com/2010/06/13/star-wars-the-force-unleashed-ii-betrayal-cinematic-game-play-video/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Guild Wars 2: Warrior Class Detailed</title>
		<link>http://imtalkingames.com/2010/06/09/guild-wars-2-warrior-class-detailed/</link>
		<comments>http://imtalkingames.com/2010/06/09/guild-wars-2-warrior-class-detailed/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 09 Jun 2010 19:02:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>br3ntbr0</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Commentary]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ArenaNet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Guild Wars 2]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://imtalkingames.com/?p=1888</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[ArenaNet updated the Guild Wars 2 site with a breakdown on Warrior class profession, as well as a look at traits, and I must say this bad boy certainly looks appealing.  The visuals and animations look great so far, and have me wanting more.  Take a peep at the video clips below for starters: Sever [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>ArenaNet updated the Guild Wars 2 site with a <a href="http://www.guildwars2.com/en/the-game/professions/warrior/" target="_blank">breakdown on Warrior class profession</a>, as well as <a href="http://www.guildwars2.com/en/the-game/combat/traits-overview/" target="_blank">a look at traits</a>, and I must say this bad boy certainly looks appealing.  The visuals and animations look great so far, and have me wanting more.  Take a peep at the video clips below for starters:</p>
<div style="align: center;">Sever artery + Gash + Final Thrust:</p>
<p><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="520" height="293" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0">
<param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" />
<param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" />
<param name="src" value="http://www.guildwars2.com/global/includes/flash/gw2player.swf?poster=http://www.guildwars2.com/global/includes/images/skills-video-poster.jpg&amp;video=http://download.guildwars2.com/skills/GW2_Warrior_SeverArtery.flv" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="520" height="293" src="http://www.guildwars2.com/global/includes/flash/gw2player.swf?poster=http://www.guildwars2.com/global/includes/images/skills-video-poster.jpg&amp;video=http://download.guildwars2.com/skills/GW2_Warrior_SeverArtery.flv" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></p>
<p>Arcing shot:</p>
<p><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="520" height="293" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0">
<param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" />
<param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" />
<param name="src" value="http://www.guildwars2.com/global/includes/flash/gw2player.swf?poster=http://www.guildwars2.com/global/includes/images/skills-video-poster.jpg&amp;video=http://download.guildwars2.com/skills/GW2_Warrior_ArcingShot.flv" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="520" height="293" src="http://www.guildwars2.com/global/includes/flash/gw2player.swf?poster=http://www.guildwars2.com/global/includes/images/skills-video-poster.jpg&amp;video=http://download.guildwars2.com/skills/GW2_Warrior_ArcingShot.flv" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></p>
<p>Shield stance:</p>
<p><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="520" height="293" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0">
<param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" />
<param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" />
<param name="src" value="http://www.guildwars2.com/global/includes/flash/gw2player.swf?poster=http://www.guildwars2.com/global/includes/images/skills-video-poster.jpg&amp;video=http://download.guildwars2.com/skills/GW2_Warrior_ShieldStance.flv" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="520" height="293" src="http://www.guildwars2.com/global/includes/flash/gw2player.swf?poster=http://www.guildwars2.com/global/includes/images/skills-video-poster.jpg&amp;video=http://download.guildwars2.com/skills/GW2_Warrior_ShieldStance.flv" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></p>
<p>Stomp:</p>
<p><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="520" height="293" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0">
<param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" />
<param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" />
<param name="src" value="http://www.guildwars2.com/global/includes/flash/gw2player.swf?poster=http://www.guildwars2.com/global/includes/images/skills-video-poster.jpg&amp;video=http://download.guildwars2.com/skills/GW2_Warrior_Stomp.flv" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="520" height="293" src="http://www.guildwars2.com/global/includes/flash/gw2player.swf?poster=http://www.guildwars2.com/global/includes/images/skills-video-poster.jpg&amp;video=http://download.guildwars2.com/skills/GW2_Warrior_Stomp.flv" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></p>
<p>Eviscerate:</p>
<p><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="520" height="293" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0">
<param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" />
<param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" />
<param name="src" value="http://www.guildwars2.com/global/includes/flash/gw2player.swf?poster=http://www.guildwars2.com/global/includes/images/skills-video-poster.jpg&amp;video=http://download.guildwars2.com/skills/GW2_Warrior_Eviscerate.flv" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="520" height="293" src="http://www.guildwars2.com/global/includes/flash/gw2player.swf?poster=http://www.guildwars2.com/global/includes/images/skills-video-poster.jpg&amp;video=http://download.guildwars2.com/skills/GW2_Warrior_Eviscerate.flv" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></p>
</div>
<p>I never played Guild Wars.  I guess EverQuest, EQII, SWG, WoW and all the games in between never left me much room to try it.  I won&#8217;t make that mistake this time around.  I think this is going to release in 2011 (?) and if so, poses quite the problem for me as far as MMO&#8217;s go.  What happens if I love SWTOR and GW2?  How can I devote enough time to both?  Where does WoW fit in?  A good problem to have I guess, considering all the crappy MMO&#8217;s out so far.</p>
<p>So far just the Warrior and <a href="http://www.guildwars2.com/en/the-game/professions/elementalist/" target="_blank">Elementalist</a> have been revealed.  I&#8217;m left wanting for more.</p>
<p>And that <a href="http://www.guildwars2.com/en/the-game/races/charr/" target="_blank">Charr</a> warrior just looks wicked cool&#8230;</p>
<hr />
<p><small> &copy; Posted by <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/author/br3ntbr0/">br3ntbr0</a> for <a href="http://imtalkingames.com">Im Talkin Games</a> with <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/2010/06/09/guild-wars-2-warrior-class-detailed/#comments">3 comments</a> on 06/09/2010.
<br>
Posted in: <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/commentary/" title="View all posts in Commentary" rel="category tag">Commentary</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/featured/" title="View all posts in Featured" rel="category tag">Featured</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/news/" title="View all posts in News" rel="category tag">News</a> Tags: <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/tag/arenanet/" rel="tag">ArenaNet</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/tag/guild-wars-2/" rel="tag">Guild Wars 2</a><br/>
</small></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://imtalkingames.com/2010/06/09/guild-wars-2-warrior-class-detailed/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
<enclosure url="http://download.guildwars2.com/skills/GW2_Warrior_SeverArtery.flv" length="7858734" type="video/x-flv" />
<enclosure url="http://download.guildwars2.com/skills/GW2_Warrior_ArcingShot.flv" length="6683083" type="video/x-flv" />
<enclosure url="http://download.guildwars2.com/skills/GW2_Warrior_ShieldStance.flv" length="7311871" type="video/x-flv" />
<enclosure url="http://download.guildwars2.com/skills/GW2_Warrior_Stomp.flv" length="6262724" type="video/x-flv" />
<enclosure url="http://download.guildwars2.com/skills/GW2_Warrior_Eviscerate.flv" length="5823395" type="video/x-flv" />
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Clone Wars Adventures: SOE And LucasArts Look To Capture Free Realms Magic</title>
		<link>http://imtalkingames.com/2010/06/02/clone-wars-adventures-soe-and-lucasarts-look-to-capture-free-realms-magic/</link>
		<comments>http://imtalkingames.com/2010/06/02/clone-wars-adventures-soe-and-lucasarts-look-to-capture-free-realms-magic/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 02 Jun 2010 15:51:55 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>br3ntbr0</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Video]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Clone Wars Adventures]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SOE]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://imtalkingames.com/?p=1884</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I&#8217;m sure you&#8217;ve already heard by now that Sony Online Entertainment is releasing a free to play MMO this fall, called Clone Wars Adventures. If you hadn&#8217;t, then there ya go. Featuring mini-games, pets, housing, and more RMT than you can shake a stick at, SOE appears to be trying to capture the magic of [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><div id="attachment_1886" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 422px"><a class="vt-p" href="http://imtalkingames.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/cwa_featured.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-1886" title="cwa_featured" src="http://imtalkingames.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/cwa_featured.jpg" alt="Clone Wars Adventures, coming in fall 2010." width="412" height="250" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Clone Wars Adventures, coming in fall 2010.</p></div></p>
<p>I&#8217;m sure you&#8217;ve already heard by now that Sony Online Entertainment is releasing a free to play MMO this fall, called <a class="vt-p" href="http://www.clonewarsadventures.com/" target="_blank">Clone Wars Adventures</a>.  If you hadn&#8217;t, then there ya go.</p>
<p>Featuring mini-games, pets, housing, and more RMT than you can shake a stick at, SOE appears to be trying to capture the magic of Free Realms with CWA.  I&#8217;m predicting another hit for them, because adding Star Wars to this formula will certainly increase the number of people that try and inevitably play this game.  I just may be one of them.</p>
<p>I have yet to see the movie/TV series, but those are on my list of things to watch. I dig the art style, as it is perfect for mass consumption. No one is going to need a gaming pc rig to play this, the whole thing has mass appeal written all over it if you ask me. To that point, I can see this being an MMO I can play with my son and wife. It doesn&#8217;t seem to be cut from the old school of MMO design, where it will be light on grind (I think) and heavy on action with mini games. Things like tower defense, droid programming puzzles, lightsaber duels, speeder bike racing and more all seem to exists to bring some very fun elements to the game.</p>
<p>Check out the trailer below:</p>
<div><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="640" height="385" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0">
<param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" />
<param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" />
<param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/7xbkf4sQXi4&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;" />
<param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="640" height="385" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/7xbkf4sQXi4&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
<p><a class="vt-p" href="http://www.youtube.com/v/7xbkf4sQXi4&amp;hl" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/7xbkf4sQXi4&amp;hl</a></p>
<p>I didn&#8217;t see this one coming.  Looks like we&#8217;ve got a Star Wars MMO to play this year after all.  Hopefully we&#8217;ll see no SWG style meltdowns with this one, and SOE can finally redeem itself to MMO and Star Wars fans.</p>
<hr />
<p><small> &copy; Posted by <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/author/br3ntbr0/">br3ntbr0</a> for <a href="http://imtalkingames.com">Im Talkin Games</a> with <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/2010/06/02/clone-wars-adventures-soe-and-lucasarts-look-to-capture-free-realms-magic/#comments">One comment</a> on 06/02/2010.
<br>
Posted in: <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/featured/" title="View all posts in Featured" rel="category tag">Featured</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/news/" title="View all posts in News" rel="category tag">News</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/opinion/" title="View all posts in Opinion" rel="category tag">Opinion</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/video/" title="View all posts in Video" rel="category tag">Video</a> Tags: <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/tag/clone-wars-adventures/" rel="tag">Clone Wars Adventures</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/tag/soe/" rel="tag">SOE</a><br/>
</small></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://imtalkingames.com/2010/06/02/clone-wars-adventures-soe-and-lucasarts-look-to-capture-free-realms-magic/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>OnLive: Pre-Registration Promotion Offers 1 Game, 1 Year of Service For Free</title>
		<link>http://imtalkingames.com/2010/05/30/onlive-pre-registration-promotion-offers-1-game-1-year-of-service-for-free/</link>
		<comments>http://imtalkingames.com/2010/05/30/onlive-pre-registration-promotion-offers-1-game-1-year-of-service-for-free/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 30 May 2010 20:48:54 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>br3ntbr0</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gaming Gear]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gaikai]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[OnLive]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://imtalkingames.com/?p=1879</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I&#8217;m not one to get sucked into many promotional deals, but my curiosity on these services has me diving in to see what they are all about.  Cloud gaming service OnLive is ramping up for launch during June&#8217;s E3 event with a new promotion.  Those of us curious about the service received an email from [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><div id="attachment_1880" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 422px"><a href="http://imtalkingames.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/onlive.register.deal_.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-1880" title="onlive.register.deal" src="http://imtalkingames.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/onlive.register.deal_.jpg" alt="OnLive offering 12 months and 1 game free." width="412" height="250" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">OnLive offering 12 months and 1 game free.</p></div></p>
<p>I&#8217;m not one to get sucked into many promotional deals, but my curiosity on these services has me diving in to see what they are all about.  Cloud gaming service <a href="http://www.onlive.com/" target="_blank">OnLive</a> is ramping up for launch during June&#8217;s E3 event with a new promotion.  Those of us curious about the service received an email from Steve Pearlman and company today with some good news.  Our pre-registration  qualified us not only for 3 free months, but for a full year of free service and a free game.  Value of such offer is to be determined, but more of a free thing can&#8217;t be bad so I call this good news.</p>
<p>This offer appears to be good until June 3rd, and on June 17th the service begins taking sign-ups from everyone else.  Part of the registration requires you to have a bandwith &#8220;scan&#8221; done to determine if you have a big enough connection to handle the service.  Those on dial up and lower end DSL will be out of luck, but anyone with a 5 meg connection (as memory serves) or better seems all set to go.</p>
<p>I&#8217;m all signed up and will be posting the details here in a few weeks.  Soon we&#8217;ll know if it is another good idea with bad implementation, or the actual <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/2010/05/future-gaming-onlive-gaikai-preparing-for-launch/" target="_blank">future of gaming</a>.  I also suspect we&#8217;ll be getting some more news from competitor Gaikai as well.  I really get the feeling that they don&#8217;t want to be stuck under OnLive&#8217;s shadow if they can help it.  It also seems like OnLive&#8217;s pricing model might be in flux still.  Getting a free year of service just for registering makes me wonder if there might be a charge for it after all.  Perhaps we&#8217;ll see OnLive rethink the decision to charge for access to the service and to the individual games.</p>
<hr />
<p><small> &copy; Posted by <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/author/br3ntbr0/">br3ntbr0</a> for <a href="http://imtalkingames.com">Im Talkin Games</a> with <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/2010/05/30/onlive-pre-registration-promotion-offers-1-game-1-year-of-service-for-free/#comments">One comment</a> on 05/30/2010.
<br>
Posted in: <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/featured/" title="View all posts in Featured" rel="category tag">Featured</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/gaming-gear/" title="View all posts in Gaming Gear" rel="category tag">Gaming Gear</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/news/" title="View all posts in News" rel="category tag">News</a> Tags: <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/tag/gaikai/" rel="tag">Gaikai</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/tag/onlive/" rel="tag">OnLive</a><br/>
</small></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://imtalkingames.com/2010/05/30/onlive-pre-registration-promotion-offers-1-game-1-year-of-service-for-free/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>SWTORVette: Will Companions Work in Star Wars: The Old Republic?</title>
		<link>http://imtalkingames.com/2010/05/28/swtorvette-will-companions-work-in-star-wars-the-old-republic/</link>
		<comments>http://imtalkingames.com/2010/05/28/swtorvette-will-companions-work-in-star-wars-the-old-republic/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 28 May 2010 16:01:20 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>br3ntbr0</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Analysis]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BioWare]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Star Wars: The Old Repbulic]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://imtalkingames.com/?p=1871</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In thinking about the latest companions update from BioWare I began to ponder the question, &#8220;Will companions work in SWTOR&#8221;? It is an interesting twist on traditional MMORPG&#8217;s for sure. Games like DDO have hirelings and many others have pet classes, but this is likely to be different from those. While being different from other [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><div id="attachment_1872" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 422px"><a class="vt-p" href="http://imtalkingames.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/swtor_companions.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-1872" title="swtor_companions" src="http://imtalkingames.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/swtor_companions.jpg" alt="I want these companions with me in SWTOR." width="412" height="250" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">I want these companions with me in SWTOR.</p></div></p>
<p>In thinking about the latest <a class="vt-p" href="http://www.swtor.com/info/systems/companions" target="_blank">companions update</a> from BioWare I began to ponder the question, &#8220;Will companions work in SWTOR&#8221;?  It is an interesting twist on traditional MMORPG&#8217;s for sure.  Games like DDO have hirelings and many others have pet classes, but this is likely to be different from those.  While being different from other MMORPG&#8217;s in that regard, it may be very much like what BioWare has done in previous games like Mass Effect 2.  BioWare has even gone as far as to highlight <a class="vt-p" href="http://www.swtor.com/info/holonet/biographies/vette" target="_blank">Vette</a>, a companion in the Sith Warrior story.</p>
<p>Some are <a class="vt-p" href="http://www.keenandgraev.com/?p=3837" target="_blank">reserved</a> and some are more <a class="vt-p" href="http://biobreak.wordpress.com/2010/05/28/tor-a-companion-to-call-my-own/" target="_blank">accepting</a> of the news.  If you&#8217;ve played Mass Effect 2 in the last few months, you are likely in the latter group.  The questions about how this fits into a classic MMORPG setting are still valid though, and should give us all pause until we can actually see how this plays out when several thousand players are active in an instance/world.</p>
<p>As I understand things, the level 1 though max level experience will be like the World of Warcraft quest style of progression.  In that style of play, most people rarely level with another player.  Sure, when the server or expansion of the moment is new everyone is out there leveling and there&#8217;s alot of interaction and quest partners to engage with.  Later in the game though, the experience is different.  On a mature server, you might bump into an alt character going through old content and will have a much smaller pool of other players to quest with.</p>
<p>This won&#8217;t appear to be as much of a problem with SWTOR.  If the leveling up experience is based around their Mass Effect style RPG game play, we have little to worry about.  Many of us might not even care if we encounter many other players during this process, as the leveling experience is aiming to be full of story and companions:</p>
<blockquote>
<div>You will be introduced to your first Companion Character early in your adventure. But as you become more seasoned, more will rally to your cause. As you travel with your Companions and get to know them better, they will not only become more powerful but they will also introduce you to a unique series of quests and rewards. Furthermore, you will be able to enhance your companions by equipping them with various gear.</div>
</blockquote>
<p>One of the big questions still lingering is to wonder if companions are required.  Can I opt to do a quest or instance totally alone at a higher difficulty?  In typical BioWare RPG style, you&#8217;ll be able to choose which of the available companions you want to bring along:</p>
<blockquote>
<div>As your team grows and develops, new options, strategies, and tactics will become available. When you’re headed to “The Tomb” on Belsavis, who will you bring to watch your back and help out the rest of your group? Do you bring the hard-as-nails soldier who will help keep your enemies’ attention off of your group, the gifted battlefield medic who can help keep everyone alive, or do you bring your ever-faithful Astromech whose computer skills may be the only hope for completing the mission? These are just some of the choices you will make while you and your Companions roam the galaxy in Star Wars: The Old Republic.</div>
</blockquote>
<p>Something tells me that companions are a core game mechanic and will be mandatory, just as they are in Mass Effect.  Some people may not like that, but I feel that it will work very well.  Maybe I&#8217;m just treading that same old dangerous path, where I put faith in the developer to execute well on the system, so here&#8217;s to hoping that isn&#8217;t the case.  I am assuming that the &#8220;end game&#8221; content will not require companions, this companion system might only affect the leveling experience.  PVP and raiding will likely not be impacted.  That&#8217;s why I think companions will work.  They&#8217;ll only impact the leveling experience and not much else.</p>
<p>I could be dead wrong, as we just don&#8217;t have enough solid information to really know how these systems will work. Which is killing me.  We still have another year before we can even think about playing this game.  Stay tuned as E3 may bring us some more good info.</p>
<hr />
<p><small> &copy; Posted by <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/author/br3ntbr0/">br3ntbr0</a> for <a href="http://imtalkingames.com">Im Talkin Games</a> with <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/2010/05/28/swtorvette-will-companions-work-in-star-wars-the-old-republic/#comments">No comments</a> on 05/28/2010.
<br>
Posted in: <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/mmog-analysis/" title="View all posts in Analysis" rel="category tag">Analysis</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/featured/" title="View all posts in Featured" rel="category tag">Featured</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/opinion/" title="View all posts in Opinion" rel="category tag">Opinion</a> Tags: <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/tag/bioware/" rel="tag">BioWare</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/tag/star-wars-the-old-repbulic/" rel="tag">Star Wars: The Old Repbulic</a><br/>
</small></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://imtalkingames.com/2010/05/28/swtorvette-will-companions-work-in-star-wars-the-old-republic/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>My Rage Has Purpose: New SWTOR Trailer Shows Korriban, Sith Warrior</title>
		<link>http://imtalkingames.com/2010/05/28/my-rage-has-purpose-new-swtor-trailer-shows-korriban-sith-warrior/</link>
		<comments>http://imtalkingames.com/2010/05/28/my-rage-has-purpose-new-swtor-trailer-shows-korriban-sith-warrior/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 28 May 2010 12:53:01 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>br3ntbr0</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Video]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BioWare]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Star Wars: The Old Repbulic]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://imtalkingames.com/?p=1867</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The intertubes bring us a new video from BioWare today, showing a trailer for Star Wars: The Old Republic.  This clip gives us a Sith Warrior telling a small part of his story, where he came into power on the planet Korriban.  There&#8217;s not much new here, aside from Larry at Massively noticing that our [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The intertubes bring us a new video from BioWare today, showing a trailer for Star Wars: The Old Republic.  This clip gives us a Sith Warrior telling a small part of his story, where he came into power on the planet Korriban.  There&#8217;s not much new here, aside from Larry at Massively noticing that our <a class="vt-p" href="http://www.massively.com/2010/05/27/does-this-mean-there-will-be-vehicles-in-swtor/" target="_blank">Sith Warrior appears to be driving a speeder bike</a>, which implies that there will be some sort of mount system in the game.  Cast your gaze at the moving pictures below to see for yourself:</p>
<div><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="640" height="385" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0">
<param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" />
<param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" />
<param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/BqUXOGrHrNs&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;" />
<param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="640" height="385" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/BqUXOGrHrNs&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
<p><a class="vt-p" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqUXOGrHrNs">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqUXOGrHrNs</a></p>
<p>I suspect we&#8217;ll get some extra juicy details next month (days from now) when the E3 machine officially gets cranked up.</p>
<hr />
<p><small> &copy; Posted by <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/author/br3ntbr0/">br3ntbr0</a> for <a href="http://imtalkingames.com">Im Talkin Games</a> with <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/2010/05/28/my-rage-has-purpose-new-swtor-trailer-shows-korriban-sith-warrior/#comments">One comment</a> on 05/28/2010.
<br>
Posted in: <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/featured/" title="View all posts in Featured" rel="category tag">Featured</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/video/" title="View all posts in Video" rel="category tag">Video</a> Tags: <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/tag/bioware/" rel="tag">BioWare</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/tag/star-wars-the-old-repbulic/" rel="tag">Star Wars: The Old Repbulic</a><br/>
</small></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://imtalkingames.com/2010/05/28/my-rage-has-purpose-new-swtor-trailer-shows-korriban-sith-warrior/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>GRATS! There&#8217;s no CC in real life!?!</title>
		<link>http://imtalkingames.com/2010/05/23/grats-theres-no-cc-in-real-life/</link>
		<comments>http://imtalkingames.com/2010/05/23/grats-theres-no-cc-in-real-life/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 23 May 2010 12:18:54 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Rackham</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Comics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[GRATS!]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://imtalkingames.com/?p=1840</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Click to view the larger version of this comic We&#8217;ve heard and seen it all before: the basic triad of class roles for group dynamics in almost every single MMO. That is the basic triad of Tank, Healer, and DPS. The tank&#8217;s roles being the one to take damage and control aggro, the DPS&#8217; job [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="text-align: center;"><a title="Grats! There's no CC in real life!!" rel="lightbox" href="http://imtalkingames.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/triadIRL-900.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1842" src="http://imtalkingames.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/triadIRL-412.jpg" alt="" width="412" height="235" /></a><br />
<em>Click to view the larger version of this comic</em></p>
<p>We&#8217;ve heard and seen it all before: <a href="http://www.incgamers.com/Columns/87/mmo-weekly-the-triad-of-classes" target="_blank"><strong>the basic triad of class roles for group dynamics</strong></a> in almost every single MMO. That is the basic triad of <a href="http://www.wowwiki.com/Tank_%28game_term%29" target="_blank"><strong>Tank</strong></a>, <a href="http://www.wowwiki.com/Healer" target="_blank"><strong>Healer</strong></a>, and <a href="http://www.wowwiki.com/DPS" target="_blank"><strong>DPS</strong></a>. The tank&#8217;s roles being the one to take damage and control aggro, the DPS&#8217; job to output as much damage as possible on the intended target, and the healer to keep everyone alive with healing magics. This is nothing new.</p>
<p>Every MMO seems to follow this mechanic. Even if they never intended to follow this mechanic in the first place, their classes always seem to end up being reduced to one of those key three roles. Of course many classes can swap between roles, but it is still within that <a href="http://www.mmorpg.com/blogs/Jairoe03/022010/5752_Beyond-the-Holy-Trinity" target="_blank"><strong>holy MMO trinity</strong></a> of constraints.</p>
<p>But where did this mechanic come from? Some game designers way back when the first MMOs started? This trio certainly didn&#8217;t come from real life fights. To be honest, the concept of a person trying to taunt every single &#8220;mob&#8221; to attack him and not his friends seem ludicrous when in a real life situation and not very practical. I&#8217;ve been in a few fights in my time <strong>(not that I&#8217;m saying it is a good thing here, people!)</strong> and most of them ended up being just one big free-for-all where each person looked out for themselves and did the best they could. There&#8217;s no armor. There&#8217;s no magic. And, in the at least fair fights, there isn&#8217;t even any weapons.</p>
<p>To think of the triad mechanic in real life, seems rather funny to me. Completely improbable for a real life situation, unless of course you&#8217;re one of those LARPers: (LIGHTNING BOLT!! LIGHTNING BOLT!!)</p>
<p><object width="500" height="400">
<param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/KZ04mfAY2BU&#038;fs=1"></param>
<param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param>
<param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/KZ04mfAY2BU&#038;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="500" height="400" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></p>
<p>It&#8217;s ironic that when you compare PVE style combat to PVP combat it&#8217;s starkly different. PVP fights are actually more like a real life fight. Everyone is out for themselves and each player has to have their own set of &#8220;tricks&#8221; to get them out of messy situations. The fights are most times unpredictable and makes for an exciting play-style if you know your class well. Arena fights in WoW are crazy nuts and if you&#8217;re not constantly pushing yourself to the limits of your class, you will utterly fail.</p>
<p>What if MMOs followed that real life PVP model? What if each and every player has to fend for themselves in a fight? Rather than one massive Boss monster there were several higher AI monsters that a group would have to contend with. There have been a few examples where this was the case. <a href="http://www.wowwiki.com/Magisters%27_Terrace"><strong>Magister&#8217;s Terrace in World of Warcraft</strong></a> was a prime example where it threw the boss &#8220;tank and spank&#8221; model out the window. Each fight had to be planned out, crowd control was needed, and each player had to be ready to fight mano-e-mano with a mob. The Observations Grounds fight was especially challenging as there were a random collection of monsters and their aggro tables were pretty much non-existant. The fight always ended up playing out as one big mosh-pit, similar to an arena fight.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.swtor.com/media/trailers/video-documentary-4" target="_blank"><strong>Star Wars: The Old Republic claims to follow this same technique as well</strong></a>. Rather than the usual encounter with one massive monster, the group slowly chipping away at it until it runs out of health, SWTOR claims it will have more encounters where groups face large numbers of enemies. In theory it would mean each player would potentially have to fight it out against waves of enemies, often relying on their own skills to survive.</p>
<p>Frankly, this asks a question we&#8217;ve been asking for a long time now. What would happen if the triad of Tank, Healer, and DPS was discarded? What if each playable class in an MMO had the potential to be both Tank and Healer at the same time. Able to withstand damage, deal damage, and even boost/heal one&#8217;s health? Essentially in a given fight, everyone would be responsible for all three roles. Sure, you&#8217;d have some classes better at a given role over others, but each class could cover all three in some form or other. Makes for an interesting playstyle.</p>
<p>In a way, I see MMOs already going down this path. In World of Warcraft, most of the classes can fit at least two roles and some, like the Druid, can actually play all three roles if geared and talent specc&#8217;d properly. Having played a druid myself, there was never a dull moment or a burn-out moment as I would sometimes get with other classes. Having the ability to step into any role and pushing those limitations was a great thing in my opinion. The only drawback to this was I&#8217;d have to switch specs, change gear, or even hit a class trainer to reset all my talents.</p>
<p>The key I&#8217;m getting at is being able to do all this on the fly. Please note, I&#8217;m not at all talking about some &#8220;super Hero class&#8221; that can perform all three roles at once. Heck no. What I&#8217;m talking about is being able to survive a fight using your own skills and abilities without having to completely rely on another to heal you or taunt off aggro. Being able to go toe-to-toe with your enemy and then, once he&#8217;s down, move on to the next enemy or help out some of your buddies in the fight. Inevitably, fights will end up becoming more dynamic, faster in duration, and ultimately, more fun and exhilarating.</p>
<p>At least I would like to think so. Some people like the safety and security of the triad. Maybe it&#8217;s just me. Maybe I just like to mix it up once and awhile and have a good mosher every now and then in my games. <img src='http://imtalkingames.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_wink.gif' alt=';)' class='wp-smiley' /> </p>
<p>Interested in getting updates on the next GRATS! posting? Follow Rackham on twitter at: @rackhamgreg</p>
<hr />
<p><small> &copy; Posted by <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/author/Rackham/">Rackham</a> for <a href="http://imtalkingames.com">Im Talkin Games</a> with <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/2010/05/23/grats-theres-no-cc-in-real-life/#comments">3 comments</a> on 05/23/2010.
<br>
Posted in: <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/comics/" title="View all posts in Comics" rel="category tag">Comics</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/featured/" title="View all posts in Featured" rel="category tag">Featured</a> Tags: <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/tag/grats/" rel="tag">GRATS!</a><br/>
</small></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://imtalkingames.com/2010/05/23/grats-theres-no-cc-in-real-life/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Future Gaming: OnLive, Gaikai Preparing For Launch</title>
		<link>http://imtalkingames.com/2010/05/17/future-gaming-onlive-gaikai-preparing-for-launch/</link>
		<comments>http://imtalkingames.com/2010/05/17/future-gaming-onlive-gaikai-preparing-for-launch/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 17 May 2010 12:23:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>br3ntbr0</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gaikai]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[OnLive]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://imtalkingames.com/?p=1831</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Looks like the future of gaming is upon us in 2010. OnLive&#8217;s Steve Perlman announced a deal last week that will bring the OnLive gaming service to the UK, and this week he is announcing the service is also going to be available in Belgium. Not to be outdone, OnLive competitor David Perry announced that [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><div id="attachment_1836" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 422px"><a href="http://imtalkingames.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/gaikai_featured.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-1836" title="gaikai_featured" src="http://imtalkingames.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/gaikai_featured.jpg" alt="Gaikai and Onlive will stream games from the cloud." width="412" height="250" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Gaikai and Onlive will stream games from the cloud.</p></div></p>
<p>Looks like the future of gaming is upon us in 2010.  <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/?s=onlive&amp;search.x=0&amp;search.y=0">OnLive&#8217;s</a> Steve Perlman announced a deal last week that will bring the <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/?s=onlive&amp;search.x=0&amp;search.y=0">OnLive</a> gaming service to the UK, and this week he is announcing the service is also going to be <a href="http://blog.onlive.com/2010/05/16/onlive-coming-to-belgium/" target="_blank">available in Belgium</a>.</p>
<p>Not to be outdone, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/?s=onlive&amp;search.x=0&amp;search.y=0">OnLive</a> competitor David Perry announced that his service is active as well.  <a href="http://www.dperry.com/archives/news/dp_blog/gaikai_server_b/" target="_blank">Gaikai has started building servers</a> for that service roll out as well.  Hand building servers as stacks of Nvidia chips arrive is the latest from <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/?s=gaikai&amp;search.x=0&amp;search.y=0">Gaikai</a>, as they seem to be a bit behind in the arms race to deploy a cloud gaming infrastructure.</p>
<p>It is certainly exciting to see all of this develop.  It could be a revolution in gaming technology&#8230;or an expensive flash in the pan. Only time will tell.</p>
<hr />
<p><small> &copy; Posted by <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/author/br3ntbr0/">br3ntbr0</a> for <a href="http://imtalkingames.com">Im Talkin Games</a> with <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/2010/05/17/future-gaming-onlive-gaikai-preparing-for-launch/#comments">3 comments</a> on 05/17/2010.
<br>
Posted in: <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/featured/" title="View all posts in Featured" rel="category tag">Featured</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/news/" title="View all posts in News" rel="category tag">News</a> Tags: <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/tag/gaikai/" rel="tag">Gaikai</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/tag/onlive/" rel="tag">OnLive</a><br/>
</small></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://imtalkingames.com/2010/05/17/future-gaming-onlive-gaikai-preparing-for-launch/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Red Dead Redemption: Official Launch Trailer</title>
		<link>http://imtalkingames.com/2010/05/13/red-dead-redemption-official-launch-trailer/</link>
		<comments>http://imtalkingames.com/2010/05/13/red-dead-redemption-official-launch-trailer/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 13 May 2010 17:14:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>br3ntbr0</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Video]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[PS3]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Xbox 360]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://imtalkingames.com/?p=1823</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Rockstar released the official Red Dead Redemption launch trailer moments ago, check it out: This game is probably going to be an Xbox seller, all by itself. Especially where I&#8217;m concerned, unless it gets released for PC before I can pull the financial trigger that is. This game looks really good, and appears to have [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Rockstar released the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.rockstargames.com/reddeadredemption/videos/4681">official Red Dead Redemption launch trailer</a> moments ago, check it out:</p>
<div align="center">
<object width="640" height="385">
<param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/2NUjbORZueU&#038;hl=en_US&#038;fs=1&#038;"></param>
<param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param>
<param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/2NUjbORZueU&#038;hl=en_US&#038;fs=1&#038;" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>
</div>
<p>This game is probably going to be an Xbox seller, all by itself.  Especially where I&#8217;m concerned, unless it gets released for PC before I can pull the financial trigger that is.  This game looks really good, and appears to have a really good story to follow in single player mode as well.  A good western themed game is really what I need right about now.</p>
<p>Red Dead Redemption releases May 18th on Xbox 360 and PS3 only.</p>
<hr />
<p><small> &copy; Posted by <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/author/br3ntbr0/">br3ntbr0</a> for <a href="http://imtalkingames.com">Im Talkin Games</a> with <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/2010/05/13/red-dead-redemption-official-launch-trailer/#comments">One comment</a> on 05/13/2010.
<br>
Posted in: <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/featured/" title="View all posts in Featured" rel="category tag">Featured</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/news/" title="View all posts in News" rel="category tag">News</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/video/" title="View all posts in Video" rel="category tag">Video</a> Tags: <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/tag/ps3/" rel="tag">PS3</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/tag/xbox-360/" rel="tag">Xbox 360</a><br/>
</small></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://imtalkingames.com/2010/05/13/red-dead-redemption-official-launch-trailer/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>GRATS! Speaking About Voice</title>
		<link>http://imtalkingames.com/2010/05/09/grats-speaking-about-voice/</link>
		<comments>http://imtalkingames.com/2010/05/09/grats-speaking-about-voice/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 10 May 2010 01:19:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Rackham</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Comics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://imtalkingames.com/?p=1796</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Click to view the larger version of this comic A lot of my articles and comics that I work on deal with that elusive topic of immersion. That is the concept of just how much a video game draws you in and makes you feel a part of whatever world the developers worked so hard [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="text-align: center;"><a title="Grats! Speaking About Voice" rel="lightbox" href="http://imtalkingames.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/voicetalent-900.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1804" src="http://imtalkingames.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/voicetalent-412.jpg" alt="Click to view a larger version" width="412" height="250" /></a><br />
<em>Click to view the larger version of this comic</em></p>
<p>A lot of my articles and comics that I work on deal with that elusive topic of immersion. That is the concept of just how much a video game draws you in and makes you feel a part of whatever world the developers worked so hard to create. Some games have good immersion. Some games do not.</p>
<p>One measurement of a game’s level of immersion is to look at the quality of the voice acting. As technology has increased the quality of the graphics, so have the fans’ expectations for voice overs.</p>
<p>Voice overs for games are a fairly recent thing. It wasn’t that long ago when we were perfectly happy just having our dialogue text appear on-screen. The Legend of Zelda series is a good example of this. We happily followed Link along on his many adventures, but by the time <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twilight_Realm" target="_blank">Twilight Princess</a> came out, there was a bit of debate over the lack of voice overs in the game. The game still sold really well, but expectations for voice work had changed by then.</p>
<p>Even now more so than ever, big game developers are pressured to bring in top notch voice actors to record dialogue for their games. Many of them are going so far as to pay for well known Hollywood actors to voice characters and, excuse the pun, speaking out about who’s voicing their game. <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/masseffect2workingtitle/video/6242706?sid=6242706&amp;hd=1" target="_blank">Bioware’s Mass Effect 2 was practically a casting call from B and C list celebrities</a>. They dropped more names than Randy Jackson at a party! Cryptic Studios also made an attempt to draw Star Trek fans in by making a last minute cash plug and bring <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAh3mxL6xYc&amp;feature=related" target="_blank">Zachary Quinto</a> and the great <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyrVbt0ktqE" target="_blank">Leonard Nimoy</a> to add their voices to the game.<br />
Even the professional voice actors themselves are becoming celebrities in their own right. No longer just the “voice” behind a character, voice actors are being called out to fan conventions and swarmed by fans knowing their work and begging for them to demonstrate their vocal abilities. The last <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKB-72szKI4&amp;feature=related" target="_blank">Blizzcon hosted a panel where some of the voice actors for Starcraft 2</a> were featured. Even <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYU3W2vRSKs&amp;feature=related" target="_blank">Chris Metzen himself showcased some of the characters</a> he has voiced over the years. (Thrall anyone?)</p>
<p>One such voice artist is my fellow Canadian, <a href="http://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/Scott-McNeil/" target="_blank">Scott McNeil</a>. Recently interviewed on EP Daily (<a href="http://video.citytv.com/video/detail/79814049001.000000/ep-daily--apr-22-2010/" target="_blank"><strong>LINK</strong></a> &#8211; jump ahead to <strong>10:49</strong> for the voice acting feature or <strong>12:01</strong> to go directly to Scott’s segment), we got to see a small portion of Scott’s long history of work that includes voicing, Wolverine, Transformers, Care Bears, and even Dragon Ball Z. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqGL6Jj3QnA&amp;feature=related" target="_blank"><strong>He is a fan favourite at every convention</strong></a>. My personal favourite (and I’m sure many others too) was his voice work for the Goblins in Warhammer Online (Ah ye stupid gits!). In fact, if ever there was a perfect voice for Goblins in World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, Scott would be it!</p>
<p>Bioware seeks to raise the expectations even further by fully voicing Star Wars: The Old Republic in every aspect of the game. <a href="http://www.swtor.com/media/trailers/video-documentary-3" target="_blank"><strong>Hiring hundreds of voice actors</strong></a>, Bioware hopes to once again set a new standard by which voice overs in games are measured. Although they managed to get the great <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lance_Henriksen" target="_blank">Lance Henriksen</a> to voice their Holonet features, they haven’t stated yet whether more celebrities will be called in to add their voices. Given the amount of voice production they did for Mass Effect 2 and their goal to make SWTOR as immersive as possible, I wouldn’t be surprised if they brought in some big names. Who knows, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4tWmL0OlvQ&amp;feature=related" target="_blank"><strong>maybe Luke Skywalker himself will add his personal vocal touch</strong></a>?</p>
<p>I have no doubt that Bioware will once again blow our expectations out of the water and voice actors all over the world can cry out in joy. You&#8217;ll have lots of work for many years to come.</p>
<p>On that note, I leave you all with my favourite voice over sample of all time from several years back. Mr. Movie Voice himself doing the trailer for a Jerry Seinfeld movie, Comedian:</p>
<p><object width="500" height="306">
<param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/fVDzuT0fXro&#038;fs=1"></param>
<param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param>
<param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/fVDzuT0fXro&#038;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="500" height="306" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></p>
<hr />
<p><small> &copy; Posted by <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/author/Rackham/">Rackham</a> for <a href="http://imtalkingames.com">Im Talkin Games</a> with <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/2010/05/09/grats-speaking-about-voice/#comments">2 comments</a> on 05/09/2010.
<br>
Posted in: <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/comics/" title="View all posts in Comics" rel="category tag">Comics</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/featured/" title="View all posts in Featured" rel="category tag">Featured</a> Tags: <br/>
</small></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://imtalkingames.com/2010/05/09/grats-speaking-about-voice/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Ah-ha: Blizzard To Work on Call of Duty</title>
		<link>http://imtalkingames.com/2010/05/06/ah-ha-blizzard-to-work-on-call-of-duty/</link>
		<comments>http://imtalkingames.com/2010/05/06/ah-ha-blizzard-to-work-on-call-of-duty/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 06 May 2010 23:22:45 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>br3ntbr0</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Analysis]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Activision]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Blizzard]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Call of Duty]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://imtalkingames.com/?p=1786</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A few days ago I speculated on the Call of Duty franchise by asking if it could possibly turn into an MMO, and then I tried to connect the dots and wonder if Blizzard might actually be involved in such a thing. I took a step further into speculationville and wondered if Blizzard&#8217;s next MMO [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><div id="attachment_1787" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 422px"><a href="http://imtalkingames.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/ah-ha_featured.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-1787" title="ah-ha_featured" src="http://imtalkingames.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/ah-ha_featured.jpg" alt="Cue Saul from Coming to America saying &quot;Ah-ha!&quot;" width="412" height="250" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Cue Saul from Coming to America saying &quot;Ah-ha!&quot;</p></div></p>
<p>A few days ago I speculated on the Call of Duty franchise by asking if it could possibly turn into an MMO, and then I tried to connect the dots and wonder if Blizzard might actually be involved in such a thing.  I took a step further into speculationville and wondered if <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/2010/05/blizzards-next-mmo-call-of-duty-online/">Blizzard&#8217;s next MMO might be Call of Duty Online</a>.</p>
<p>Bill at mmorpg.com jumped in and <a href="http://www.mmorpg.com/blogs/staffblog/052010/6106_Could-Call-of-Duty-Online-Be-Blizzards-Next-MMO.html">took the theorycrafting ride</a> as well.  Users in the comments there blasted he (and by proxy me) for coming up with such nonsense, and referenced comments like <a href="http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=16903519279&amp;postId=169024684459&amp;sid=1" target="_blank">this one from Blizzard</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<div>
<p>Games take years to develop from concept to release. Diablo III was in the works for years before being announced. StarCraft II was announced two years ago and isn&#8217;t even in Beta yet.</p>
<p>We have nothing to advertise for the new MMO because it&#8217;s a shell of a game thus far. We&#8217;ve already stated it&#8217;ll be a brand new franchise, which means the lore, art, and game play are being developed entirely from scratch. It&#8217;s an overwhelming process, but a process through which we excel. Our track record supports this.</p>
</div>
</blockquote>
<p>So I updated that former post to rule out Blizzard&#8217;s involvement with Call of Duty, and that was that. Blizzard&#8217;s next MMO can&#8217;t be Call of Duty based on that statement, unless someone has forced them to change their minds.  I would have not speculated as such had I seen that quote originally.</p>
<p>And then this happened:  Activision gave financial reports on all its franchises today, and Bobby Kotick dropped this tidbit on us on Call of Duty (<a href="http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/28441/Kotick_Teases_New_Models_Markets_For_Call_of_Duty_Platform.php" target="_blank">via Gamasutra</a>):</p>
<blockquote>
<div>
<p>The popular global fantasy of being a soldier is allowing us to enter new geographies, leveraging&#8230; [Blizzard's] expertise&#8230; creating content for audiences that have to date have only been satisfied by Blizzard games,&#8221; Kotick teased. &#8220;Soon we&#8217;ll announce our plans for both China and Korea.</p>
</div>
</blockquote>
<p>So here&#8217;s what we know:</p>
<ul>
<li>Blizzard&#8217;s next MMO is an original IP, not Call of Duty, unless someone has changed their minds.  The next big Blizzard MMO is not Call of Duty.  However&#8230;</li>
<li>Activision wants to turn Call of Duty into a subscription game, making it more MMO-like.  It already contains many elements of an MMORPG with leveling, achievements, etcetera.</li>
<li>Blizzard will be involved in some capacity with this new MMO-like CoD game, according to the CEO of Activision.</li>
</ul>
<p>So there you have it.  We weren&#8217;t crazy to be connecting these specific dots.  Specifically suggesting that Blizzard&#8217;s next MMO might be a Call of Duty MMO, might have been ill advised, but suggesting that Blizzard is involved with with whomever might be making the future Call of Duty games is not.  We can debate what is or is not an MMO at another time, but this proves that it wasn&#8217;t crazy to put 2 and 2 together and figure out some sort of involvement by Blizzard in an MMO-like Call of Duty game.</p>
<hr />
<p><small> &copy; Posted by <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/author/br3ntbr0/">br3ntbr0</a> for <a href="http://imtalkingames.com">Im Talkin Games</a> with <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/2010/05/06/ah-ha-blizzard-to-work-on-call-of-duty/#comments">No comments</a> on 05/06/2010.
<br>
Posted in: <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/mmog-analysis/" title="View all posts in Analysis" rel="category tag">Analysis</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/featured/" title="View all posts in Featured" rel="category tag">Featured</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/news/" title="View all posts in News" rel="category tag">News</a> Tags: <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/tag/activision/" rel="tag">Activision</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/tag/blizzard/" rel="tag">Blizzard</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/tag/call-of-duty/" rel="tag">Call of Duty</a><br/>
</small></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://imtalkingames.com/2010/05/06/ah-ha-blizzard-to-work-on-call-of-duty/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Rage: It&#8217;s All The&#8230;Rage!</title>
		<link>http://imtalkingames.com/2010/05/05/rage-its-all-the-rage/</link>
		<comments>http://imtalkingames.com/2010/05/05/rage-its-all-the-rage/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 05 May 2010 13:14:18 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>br3ntbr0</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Video]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Id]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Rage]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://imtalkingames.com/?p=1775</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Id software has it&#8217;s first new intellectual property in umpteen years in the works.  Word has it that it is next big game that we&#8217;ll all want to play, if the current stream of articles on the topic is any indication.  Recently there was a press event where the game was shown and and it [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Id software has it&#8217;s first new intellectual property in umpteen years in the works.  Word has it that it is next big game that we&#8217;ll all want to play, if the current stream of articles on the topic is any indication.  Recently there was a press event where the game was shown and and it apparently rocked everyone that saw it.  Peep on the video with lead designer Tim Willits below:</p>
<p><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="640" height="385" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0">
<param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" />
<param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" />
<param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/8cgYNgH-tnI&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;" />
<param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="640" height="385" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/8cgYNgH-tnI&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></p>
<p>It appears to be some fusion of Borderlands, Fallout and BioShock.  Probably not a big deal at first glance, but deeper investigation has several reasons that the press was in awe of what they saw.  From my reading, everyone can&#8217;t stop raving about the visuals and crazy level of detail in all areas of the game.  There are some unique game play elements that will make the title stand out too, like self-resurrection and other interesting mechanics.  It&#8217;s worth it to watch some videos and read up on the game if it looks interesting, where you&#8217;ll see things like Adam Sessler from g4tv say &#8220;<a href="http://g4tv.com/videos/45710/Talkabouts-Rage/?quality=hd" target="_blank">&#8230;this game blew my mind.</a>&#8221; and VG247&#8242;s Johnny Cullen saying &#8220;<a href="http://www.vg247.com/2010/05/05/rage-brings-the-house-down-in-vegas-and-france-impressions-round-up/" target="_blank">&#8230;our opinion on it is it’s downright motherf#%*#!*g awesome.</a>&#8221;</p>
<p>I&#8217;m doing a bit of re-reporting here, which I don&#8217;t usually like to do.  However, the impressions people are reporting on this initial look at the game was worth my investigation and I thought I&#8217;d pass it along.  Looks like we&#8217;ve got another great game to look forward to in 2011.</p>
<hr />
<p><small> &copy; Posted by <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/author/br3ntbr0/">br3ntbr0</a> for <a href="http://imtalkingames.com">Im Talkin Games</a> with <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/2010/05/05/rage-its-all-the-rage/#comments">No comments</a> on 05/05/2010.
<br>
Posted in: <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/featured/" title="View all posts in Featured" rel="category tag">Featured</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/news/" title="View all posts in News" rel="category tag">News</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/video/" title="View all posts in Video" rel="category tag">Video</a> Tags: <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/tag/id/" rel="tag">Id</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/tag/rage/" rel="tag">Rage</a><br/>
</small></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://imtalkingames.com/2010/05/05/rage-its-all-the-rage/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Agency: Covert Ops Launches On Facebook</title>
		<link>http://imtalkingames.com/2010/05/04/the-agency-covert-ops-launches-on-facebook/</link>
		<comments>http://imtalkingames.com/2010/05/04/the-agency-covert-ops-launches-on-facebook/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 05 May 2010 01:07:54 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>br3ntbr0</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Video]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SOE]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The Agency]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://imtalkingames.com/?p=1769</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Sony Online Entertainment has finally launched it&#8217;s game The Agency !!  Err, wait.  I guess not.   This game is titled The Agency: Covert Ops and it is not the full 3D world you might have expected, but a Facebook game.  The announcement was made via social media blog Mashable, not one of the typical gaming sites. [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Sony Online Entertainment has finally launched it&#8217;s game <a href="http://theagency.station.sony.com/" target="_blank">The Agency</a> !!  Err, wait.  I guess not.   This game is titled <a href="http://www.playcovertops.com/" target="_blank">The Agency: Covert Ops</a> and it is not the full 3D world you might have expected, but a <a href="http://apps.facebook.com/agencycovertops/" target="_blank">Facebook game</a>.  The announcement was made via social media blog <a href="http://mashable.com/2010/05/04/soe-the-agency-covert-ops-facebook-game/" target="_blank">Mashable</a>, not one of the typical gaming sites.  I guess the Facebook angle made it more of a social media story than a gaming story, but it is a game nonetheless, even if it winds up on par with Farmville.  Check out the spiffy video below for the full details on the game:</p>
<div><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="640" height="385" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0">
<param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" />
<param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" />
<param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Y1MtqHy-DtE&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;" />
<param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="640" height="385" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Y1MtqHy-DtE&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
<p>I guess SOE was a bit envious of Zynga and decided that Facebook was the first platform to launch their game in, and I don&#8217;t think I can blame them.  If they can drum up a decent user base in this Flash based Facebook game, that just might translate to some big subscriber numbers of the full 3D game when it launches later.  It is likely a very solid strategy, and could be something we see more and more of in the MMO gaming space.</p>
<p>I am not very big on Facebook &#8220;games&#8221; but if you try this give us a shout back and say what you think about it in the comments below.</p>
<hr />
<p><small> &copy; Posted by <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/author/br3ntbr0/">br3ntbr0</a> for <a href="http://imtalkingames.com">Im Talkin Games</a> with <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/2010/05/04/the-agency-covert-ops-launches-on-facebook/#comments">No comments</a> on 05/04/2010.
<br>
Posted in: <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/featured/" title="View all posts in Featured" rel="category tag">Featured</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/news/" title="View all posts in News" rel="category tag">News</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/opinion/" title="View all posts in Opinion" rel="category tag">Opinion</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/category/video/" title="View all posts in Video" rel="category tag">Video</a> Tags: <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/tag/soe/" rel="tag">SOE</a>, <a href="http://imtalkingames.com/tag/the-agency/" rel="tag">The Agency</a><br/>
</small></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://imtalkingames.com/2010/05/04/the-agency-covert-ops-launches-on-facebook/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
	</channel>
</rss>
