Instructions for Grabbing the Artemis “Stalker” Skin for SMITE (Ends Friday 6/1)

Posted by on May 15, 2013 - 3 Comments »

*Note* Updated with the latest offer. Stay tuned for more!

Grabbing the latest skin for Artemis is as easy as pi. No, the other kind of pie. Actually, that’s pretty difficult too. It’s easy as cake, but that’s a lie. Uh, it’s easy as boiling water, assuming you’ve easy access to fire. Okay, it’s as easy as a Loki gank. Previously teased in the patch from earlier this week, the promotion is now live and features the complex task of hitting a button. The only catch is that you’re required to have a Twitter account. I mean, it was labeled as a Twitter promotion after all.

Head on over to WishPond, fill in your email address and click the ‘Claim offer’ button to have a Stalker code hand delivered by the robots of the Internet to your personal email account. From there, grab the code and manually type it into the SMITE game client. Yeah, Hi-Rez Studios can make a fantastic and unique MOBA, but has trouble with the copy and paste function!

Now that I’ve that secured, it’s time to go work on Cacodemon Ymir again, which you earn by hitting Level 30 before the game launches. Oh, and while you’re on Twitter, be sure to follow @LoreHound.

WoW: Memories – The Best Raider Leader

Posted by on May 14, 2013 - 3 Comments »

WoW: Memories features wacky, entertaining and enduring stories from the world’s most popular subscription-based MMOG.

In 2009 I ended my hardcore raiding ways in World of Warcraft. My gaming career during that can easily be summed up in two words, guild hopping.  Since the Year of the Ox began I had been through a raiding member of four guilds, and another while everyone was still leveling.  To me, the act of switching that often is sacrilege, but fleeting guild experiences have become the norm.  With Wrath of the Lich King’s introduction of 10- and 25-man raids, an easier badge system, and then the Dungeon Finder, guilds had become neigh replaceable by PUGs.  The changes lead me to experience the gauntlet of raid leader types since the Alliance and the Horde decided to take the Lich King’s threat head on.  From the best-friend to the belittling asshole, I dealt with them all in 2009.  The main concern is that the best, and who is the most fun to play with tend to be two different answers.

Without question the most productive guild I had been a part during 2009 was the last of them.  We cleared ICC 25-man the second day, the guild dropped ToGC like it was Naxxramas and TotT was defeated with alts. Everyone was geared out the wazoo – I recall only being invited because two members vouched for me – with the best enchants, full epic gems and Rawr checking all required.  By required I don’t mean you would be sat, but kicked.  The GM and officers are nowhere near lenient, opting to outright kick players who fall behind in the slightest.  The guild demands perfection, something I actually prefer, but the raid leader I’ve largely dealt with wore on me. Quickly. I hadn’t screwed up, but the constant stream of swears, belittling of other members and his power complex wore on me. I knew it was burning me out.  My only enjoyment became the competitive nature among the rogues and the progression itself. Not from the guild atmosphere. Read more…

Hi-Rez Studios Storms Through eSports by Doing Their Own Weekly Tournaments

Posted by on May 13, 2013 - No Comments »

That’s right! Hi-Rez Studios is breaking into the eSports scene by offering their own weekly NA and EU bracket tournaments every Saturday and Sunday.

The prize pool is $1,000 for each bracket, every week!

The games are organized so the casters can stream practically every match on SMITE’s Twitch.tv channel.

Those of you who want to sign up (good luck!) should head over to the new eSports hub, esports.smitegame.com.

For those of us who want to just watch, NA coverage begins at Noon EDT (7pm GMT) and EU coverage begins at 9am EDT(3pm CET).

In addition to EU being split off from NA, EU has different language coverage on different channels:

  1. German is on www.twitch.tv/smitegameDE
  2. Polish is on www.twitch.tv/smitegamePL
  3. French is on www.twitch.tv/smitegameFR

Read on to see the full rules!

Read more…

Dungeon Crawling Marvel Heroes Progresses to Final Open Beta Weekend

Posted by on May 10, 2013 - No Comments »

Is this the right game?

The fateful day is upon us. After many moons, Gazillion Entertainment has made the decision that Marvel Heroes will be heading to full launch in the immediate future. Penned by Marvel scribe Brian Michael Bendis, the dungeon crawling MMOG is set to launch on June 4, with early adopters receiving early access on May 28.

Players that participated in the previous open beta weekend in late April will be happy to know that their progress awaits their attention. Otherwise, prepare yourself for new characters, challenges and dynamic zone destruction. Let’s not forget that Gazillion has listened to player feedback adamantliy (correct by the editor!), modifying such important systems as the real-money transaction shop based on community feedback.

Bored of all the jibba jabba? Hit the cut for the latest trailer, Thor – God of Loud Clouds. The final open beta session unlocks today, May 10 at 2:00 PM EST and continues until Monday, May 13 at 7:00 AM EST.

Cryptozoic Kickstarting MMOG/TCG Hybrid Hex

Posted by on May 9, 2013 - No Comments »

Take a pedigree of board and card game development. Now, after cementing the foundation of your company with years of that experience, absorb the knowledge of the most successful massively multiplayer online video game of all time. What’s that a recipe for? “Success” you say? Sure, but ho…oh! I see now.

Cryptozoic, the creator/publisher of a variety of deck-building and trading card games and a handful of normal board games, including taking over the World of Warcraft TCG after the Upper Deck split, announced an upcoming revenue stream. Hex, the hopeful MMO TCG from Cryptozoic is currently sitting at 41% of its funding goal on Kickstarter with 28 days to go. At this rate the title is almost a shoo in for funding.

Gear, bonuses, customization, RPG aspects, multiplatform, 6 classes and 8 races, guilds, advanced PvE AI, auction house. The list goes on. Literally. They’ve already secured far too much of my money after reading the whole post.

If I pay enough, perhaps I’ll get another card named after a pet.

Infinite Crisis: The Latest MOBA to Head to Closed Beta

Posted by on May 9, 2013 - No Comments »

The latest product from the MMORPG experts at Turbine Entertainment has entered its closed beta testing phase. First revealed barely over a month ago, Infinite Crisis is now denying gamers left and right from playing all your DC Comics favorites. From Batman to, well, another Batman and villains, to Green Lantern, the characters are ready to duke it out to achieve supreme dominance of the multiverse.

In addition to the entry of a select few to early testing, Turbine and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment unveiled the latest god trailer. Sticking with the Dark Knight universe, the latest spotlight highlights none other than the Joker. The criminal mastermind is a unique ranged physical character with high sustainability thanks to lifesteal and support abilities. Fragile and powerful, he plays best at mid range ready to attack or turn tail at a moment’s notice.

There are boundless enemies and heroes yet to be revealed. Stay tuned to Lore Hound for all the latest on Infinite Crisis.

Getting That Bikini Body: WoW Edition

Posted by on May 9, 2013 - No Comments »

Forms of entertainment have long been blamed for a myriad of predicaments.  Violence and sex in video games have been the talking point for the many Helen Lovejoys of the world, but even as we strive for realism the issues tend to bore me.  It isn’t because I don’t think they aren’t issues, I just believe that they are blown way out of proportion with far too much misinformation being spouted by supposed “experts.”  Heck, video games deform our skeletons!  By the way, so does carrying your book bag on one shoulder and various forms of hard labor.  There is at least one issue I do get behind though, weight gain.

Weight gain from hobbies – either viewing TV and movies, sitting on the computer, playing video games or crocheting – is a bit more clear cut than how sex and violence may or may not affect us.  The calculation is a simple breakdown of time and how much energy we burn.  If we aren’t exercising as much as we used to because of some life change, then we aren’t burning the same amount of calories.  If we continue to eat the same amount, then poof, added blubber.  The issue is fairly personal to me because I was the freakishly skinny guy in high school.  I graduated at 5’8″ weighing an amazing 125 lbs.  Yes, that skinny.

I am a realist.  It wasn’t World of Warcraft’s fault at all, but my own.  Not only did I exercise less during that time frame, but I ate poorly.  Shoveling whatever quick-to-cook food I had available into my pie-hole with reckless abandon became a favored activity. In short, there were a variety of life changes.  It certainly had its consequences.  I did need about 15 of that 35 lbs to be at my correct weight, but the kind of weight I gained was the horrific trans-fat, saturated-fat, high sodium kind.  To combat this, I created a rather stupid, yet easy regiment for myself during WoW’s common downtime.  Through the course of a raid I would try to bang out the following basic, Jack Lalanne approved, exercise regiment. Read more…

Blizzard Entertainment Offering Second Run of Mist of Pandaria Collector’s Editions

Posted by on May 7, 2013 - 4 Comments »

In an incredibly rare move, Blizzard Entertainment announced moments ago that the company will be selling off additional Collector’s Editions of the latest World of Warcraft expansion. The company announced on its official blog that players can grab one of the few remaining copies of the CE from the Blizzard Store on a first-come, first-served basis.

@Warcraft WTS MoP CE $69.99

The physical Collector’s Edition includes everything in the Digital Deluxe version and then some. The exclusive art book, behind-the-scenes DVD, soundtrack and mouse pad are all packed in with the codes for in-game goodies.

Blizzard Entertainment did not detail why there are extra copies in the warehouse, but one could easily summarize that the physical CE didn’t sell as well as the company projected.