Sid Meier on Civilization Revolution and his next plans on Special GamersGlobal is a Q&A with veteran designer, reflecting on his career and what the future holds for the Civilization series and more. Along the way he says he still would like to create more new IPS and also create an MMOG somewhere along the way.

What we heard: What we know: Blizzard is working on a new massively multiplayer online game that doesn’t involve the words “world” or “Warcraft.” The problem, then, lies in which of the exceedingly popular properties the soon-to-be merged developer will be giving the MMOG treatment–or whether the game will even be a supersized version of an established IP at all. With Starcraft II definitely in the works, and Blizzard brass saying neither the Starcraft nor the Diablo franchises have been forgotten, speculation abounds that one–or both–IPs will be the basis for their next effort.

 

 
However, with Blizzard remaining mum on the issue, the studio’s devout followers have been keen to latch onto even the slightest tidbit that may confirm which universe the new MMOG will take place. The latest kick to the hive comes from an online report out of Beijing found on financial news service Trading Markets. Citing Caijing Magazine, the report states that online game operators NetEase.com is on track to gaining a license to operate overseas-developed games, and that “industry insiders” say Blizzard’s “Starcraft Online” may be the first of its offerings.

So what is Starcraft Online, and what does NetEase have to do with it? The second part of the question is easy. As it does with World of Warcraft, Blizzard often outsources localization and server hosting duties to companies already established in the region it is expanding into. For instance, in 2004, Blizzard awarded Chinese ISP The 9 the license to distribute and localize World of Warcraft in China.

The Trading Markets report notes that no official contract has been signed between Blizzard and NetEase, so neither company is in a position to be forthcoming with specifics of the deal. Even still, it seems far more likely that Starcraft Online is a translation-garbled reference to distribution of the online component of the original Starcraft or its upcoming sequel, Starcraft II. Though the original Starcraft was released 10 years ago, its popularity remains widespread in many Asian nations, so much so that Blizzard unveiled Starcraft II in Seoul, South Korea last year.

The official story: These sentiments are bolstered by Blizzard’s official word on the matter. “Our focus right now is on continuing development of Starcraft II and working our way toward beta,” a Blizzard rep told GameSpot. “We haven’t announced plans for anything called Starcraft Online, and we prefer not to address rumors or speculate on business operations that haven’t been determined yet.”

Bogus or not bogus?: GameSpot has learned that it is bogus that this report has anything to do with an unannounced Starcraft MMOG.

Source: Gamespot

Three unique, distinct, and neat factions to play as. Hierarchy walkers are fun to control or take down. Online modes are a blast. Universe at War has three engaging factions and some interesting ideas, but it’s also saddled with some annoying issues.

 

     
I’m happy to say that Universe at War wasn’t at all the boring, limited game I expected it to be. The three sides are very unique. It makes for some intresting gameplay, to say the least. 

Novus favors a fast, slightly swarming kind of tactic, and if you have a good flow network set up, you can be all over your opponent. The flow conduits can even double as a camera of sorts, letting you see if any enemy units go near your conduits. They are also best at dealing with Heirachy walkers, because of their amplifiers. Patches are also a very good way of changing your tactics on the ball.

The Heirachy are the typical big bad overlords of the universe. They invade Earth, wanna blow it up, use the people for resources. Sound familiar ? Probably. Their walkers are without a doubt the most powerful units in the game. They crush most stuff in their way. I say most, because a lot of times my Novus and Massari units could just hang around under its legs. The walkers can be configured to be gay weapons of destruction, but they’re also your factories. So its really a choice of being powerful, or being a factory.

Finally are the Massari. They’re some sort of human looking alien race who’ve been guiding us all along. They can switch between Light and Dark modes, pretty nifty, with Dark modes giving something called DMA, which is a glorious name for shield, over time. Light mode makes your weapons burn, and let your air units fly. The two modes also affect your superweapon, with a different one in a different mode. The weapon recharges when you switch mode, which can be irritating. As it stands, I spent most of my time in Dark Mode, because one research allows your structures to get DMA too.

Audio is pretty well done. There’s some rock music that plays when you enter battle. The different teams’ voices fit the general scheme of their respective sides, though the Massari put me in mind of the Necrons for some weird reason. Dialogue between missions is also intresting and draws you into the game. You don’t want to skip the briefings, but want to stay and listen. The cutscenes are good too, pushing the story along without really being obvious about it. Lastly. The Novus amplifier at full charge has a very piercing sound. Its really realistic. While its not bad, it tends to hurt my ears.

The bad points. Firstly, and most obviously, the camera. You can’t scroll out. You can scroll in, but can’t scroll out of the standard view. Which is fustrating because a walker pretty much takes up the screen. The control scheme is pretty clumsy too. Creating control groups is a bit irritating. After pressing ctrl+1, you have to hold it there till you see the number appear under their hp bars, or it won’t stick. Finally, there seems to be problems with the AI pathfinding. My units kept getting stuck on corners. They were also way too battle hungry. And for some reason, when ordered to attack walkers, units tend to charge forward, instead of staying back and hammering from afar.

Overall, the game is pretty nifty. Good concept, nice story overall. Especially the Massari campaign. I didn’t expect it to turn into the strategic warfare. If you’re looking for a RTS to tide you over until something else more intresting comes along, this will do nicely.

 

 

The single-player campaign is over in a flash, but the high quality of that campaign and its terrific multiplayer options make Call of Duty 4 a fantastic package.

This has got to be the best game i have ever player.

The graphics are great and the game pay is to die for “and you will die lots”. there is no need to wonder around looking for silly health packs and you hardly ever run out of ammo.

The story is gripping from start to finish and the action just never stops. One of the best things about the game is that they put you in different settings all the time you you never get bored and always have something new and exciting to do. All the weapons make a great sound and they really do feel like you are ripping those bad guys apart. Your team mates do a good job of killing the enemy and unlike most games you feel like you are part of the team and are there to help not one of these super soldiers and that only you can get the job done you work as a team and are all equal.

This game is impressive from the moment you start player and has a tone of replay potential. The only bad thing about it is that it has to end. Cant wait for call of duty 5

In short this game is just great

GameSpot digs another tidbit out of EA’s latest earnings announcement, pointing out that a release of Dragon Age is predicted for EA’s coming fiscal year, meaning BioWare’s fantasy RPG is expected sometime between the beginning of April 2008 and the end of March 2009. They also highlight a comment by EA CEO John Riccitello, who told analysts “another game based on Peter Jackson’s interpretation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy world is en route” set for release sometime in EA’s 2009 fiscal year.