What Gaming Platform is Right For You? [7 comments]

Tara

This flowchart may save you a few hundred dollars. Click to expand!

(Thanks, Dorkly!)

Turn your PC into a Mac! [1 comment]

Tara

With just three easy steps.

1. Purchase an apple.
2. Tape apple to the middle of your computer.
3. Profit.

Let the fanboy rants begin. ;-)

(Source: Geeks Are Sexy)

The Humble Indie Bundle’s Back! [2 comments]

Tara

Presenting the best purchase you’ll make all year:
The Humble Indie Bundle gives you 5 games (Braid, Cortex Command, Machinarium, Osmos, and Revenge of the Titans), and you name the price. Not only that, but you decide where your money goes! Choose between the game developers, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Child’s Play, or a nice donation to the Humble Bundle guys. And the best part? All of these games can work on PC, Mac, OR Linux.

I’ve been wanting to play Braid and Machinarium for a while, and am excited to give the other games a try as well.

Will you be picking up a bundle? What game are you most excited for?

Halloween Goodies! [3 comments]

Tara

I’ve been gearing up for Halloween, and have been finding some awesome deals, freebies, and contests while getting everything set. Being the super nice person I am, I’m sharing them with you!

Steam is having a HUGE Halloween Sale on select titles from now until November 1st. If it’s scary, it’s on sale! PLUS they just announced that L4D is now available for Macs! (Think I could play it at work without getting caught?)

So many games, so little time…

If you got caught up playing games and didn’t have time to put together a costume, here’s something for you:
Rise Again (the novel) has created some downloadable, printable zombie wound stickers. Just print them on some sticker paper and you’re good to go! Excellent for attending ZomBcon, dressing up for Halloween, or scaring your doctor at your next check up.

Need a bit more motivation to dress up for Halloween? How about this: Dress up as Colonel Sanders, and be entered to win free KFC Doublicious Sandwiches for life. Get directions and official rules here. But if the doublicious is anything like the Double Down, I’m so not eating it.

Whatever you do this year for Halloween, have fun, be safe, and come visit Zaxy at ZomBcon! Hope to see you there!

Dragon Age 2 Announcement Makes My Life [5 comments]

Brittney

Yesterday I said a cute webcomic made my day. However, Bioware’s official reveal of Dragon Age 2 this morning has made my life.

I was a tad late to the Dragon Age: Origins party last November, but once I got started on that bad boy, there was no stopping. I quickly became addicted and obsessed with the world of Ferelden, so much so that I own three copies of the game, three different guide books, the novels (still need to pick up the comics), a huge poster and a tabletop RPG I’ll never probably play. If it has Dragon Age plastered on it, I must own it.

Before diving into Dragon Age, it had been ions since a title had turned me into the obsessed freak that I became (last to do so was Final Fantasy IX), but after breaking it down, it makes sense. Dragon Age includes all of the elements I want in an RPG:  A medieval setting, romance (go ahead, call me a girl), humor, likeable characters with distinct, lively personalities, an ever-changing story, and of course a dorky redhead named Alistair.

I kid. Dorky redheads are neither a requirement nor a part of my approval rating.

Yep, so that is why my life was made this morning. Granted, we knew a sequel was in works already, but when the juicy details for any anticipated game begin trickling in, it’s squeal-worthy.

Check it (taken from the official site):

Experience the epic sequel to the 2009 Game of the Year from the critically acclaimed makers of Dragon Age: Origins and Mass Effect 2. You are one of the few who escaped the destruction of your home. Now, forced to fight for survival in an ever-changing world, you must gather the deadliest of allies, amass fame and fortune, and seal your place in history. This is the story of how the world changed forever. The legend of your Rise to Power begins now.

Key Features:

• Embark upon an all-new adventure that takes place across an entire decade and shapes itself around every decision you make.
• Determine your rise to power from a destitute refugee to the revered champion of the land.
• Think like a general and fight like a Spartan with dynamic new combat mechanics that put you right in the heart of battle whether you are a mage, rogue, or warrior.
• Go deeper into the world of Dragon Age with an entirely new cinematic experience that grabs hold of you from the beginning and never lets go.
• Discover a whole realm rendered in stunning detail with updated graphics and a new visual style.

I was sorta kinda hoping Bioware would do what they did with Mass Effect and integrate old saves, but it sounds like a brand spankin-new story and characters are in place.

Nevertheless, it is still too early to tell and I am beyond thrilled, excited and giddy over this. As soon as the new issue of Game Informer hits my mailbox (did I mention there will be a 10 page reveal on Dragon Age 2?) I will shut myself off from society and read it like…3,659 times.

What is PlayOn? [Add a comment]

Tara

Tara here, back from PAX East, the second best gaming convention in the country (next to PAX Prime, that is!). I’m exhausted, excited, and full of game knowledge and new dice. But before we give you all the beautifully gory details, how about we tell you why we were there?

PlayOn had a booth at PAX and brought us along to be a part of it. We’re huge fans of the service and were so psyched when they invited us to come along to represent them. We had a great time demo-ing the service and watching our fave Hulu shows.

But what exactly is PlayOn?

PlayOn is a software program that streams media to your gaming systems. It downloads to your PC and connects through your home network to your PS3, XBOX 360, or Wii. You can then use your game controller or connected remote to browse through tons of streaming channels like Hulu, Comedy Central, Adult Swim, ESPN, and CNN. If you have subscriptions to Netflix Streaming or MLB.TV, you can watch those on there as well.

Some of the most popular shows demoed at PAX were: Archer, House, Family Guy, and Lost. (Jill just started Lost and I’m about to start as well, so no spoilers, please!)

I really like PlayOn because it’s an easy way to see the shows I want when I want, and I don’t have to pay for cable. I believe 38% of PlayOn’s customers have canceled their cable and just stream everything.

Because it’s software, they just charge a one time fee for the lifetime license. Then you can use it to stream whenever you want–forever! The fee is $39.99. If you want to check it out before you buy, they offer a free 14 day trial. Check it out!

A couple of quick notes based on FAQs at PAX:

-This is meant for Windows based PCs, but if you have a Mac, you can use Parallels or Boot Camp

-You can play existing media from your computer. If you want to showcase pictures, play music, or watch a downloaded program from your pc on your tv, you can do that.

-The amount of channels available are always increasing, due to third party plug-ins being created. You can see these here.

Anyway, they were great sponsors at PAX and we recommend you check them out! Be on the look out for more footage/reviews from PAX in the next couple days!

L4D 2, Team Fortress 2 & Steam Coming To Mac In April [1 comment]

Jill

Ahh. The Mac vs. PC advertisement spoofs do not get old.

Funny, if I wasn’t a Mac owner who lost my PC in my parents’ garage! However, now Justin Long can point a small finger right back at Mr. PC Fat Man! The month of April has a lot in store for Apple’s neglected gaming platform.

“And then Valve said,
LET THERE BE LIGHT!”

“March 8, 2010 – Valve announced today it will bring Steam, Valve’s gaming service, and Source, Valve’s gaming engine, to the Mac.
Steam and Valve’s library of games including Left 4 Dead 2, Team Fortress 2, Counter-Strike, Portal, and the Half-Life series will be available in April.” via Valve News

This means that Mac users as well as PC users can share the excitement of simultaneous releases, like the much anticipated “Portal 2,” set to arrive later this year! Mac users get ready to stop crying over boring game apps, get off your ichat and get on board the Steam train!