Something mysterious is coming to the Diablo 3 website

The Diablo 3 website is set to receive an update "soon". We don't know what it could be, but Blizzard has posted a very vague image along with the line: "Coming soon to http://www.Diablo3.com"

So what could it be?

Back in May, before the launch of Diablo 3, Blizzard promised new Character Profiles would be added to the website. If this is indeed what it will be, character profiles will allow you to review all of your character information, share it with others, and check out the accomplishments of others playing the game.

A career tab will display all of your heroes, how far you’ve progressed in the Diablo 3 campaign, how many foes you’ve slain, the names and playtimes of your fallen Hardcore heroes, and more. A heroes tab will show off your equipment (including dyes, socketed gems, all equipment bonuses, etc.), your attributes and skills, the skills and equipment of your Followers, and more.

Another popular suggestion from fans seems to be a Diablo 3 armory. Looks like we'll just have to wait and see.

Meanwhile, the actual Diablo 3 game is still awaiting the arrival of PvP and Blizzard looking to create more end-game content to provide an alternative to the repetitive item hunt.

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Square Enix showing Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn gameplay at Gamescom

Square Enix plans to demonstrate gameplay for the recently overhauled Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn at Europe's Gamescom show in August.

Producer and director Naoki Yoshida will be in attendance. Square Enix will also provide hands-on demos of Hitman: Absolution, Tomb Raider, and Sleeping Dogs.

The publisher will display its lineup of digital and PC titles, such as Quantum Conundrum, Gameglobe, and the new PC version of Final Fantasy VII.

Square Enix will also feature its mobile games Final Fantasy Dimensions, KooZac, the 3D puzzler Motley Blocks, the matching-strategy game Qwirkle, the galaxy adventure SolaRola, and Mensa Academy.

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Skyrim Dawnguard DLC info for PS3 and PC coming 'soon'

While we have no new details regarding The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Dawnguard DLC, which landed on Xbox 360 back in June, we do know that new info regarding the PS3 and PC release date will be coming "soon".

The DLC, which adds new content surrounding a group of vampires looking to use the Elder Scroll to block out the sun along with the Dawnguard group who has returned to stop them, was first released on Xbox 360 exclusively. Despite the lack of other platform information during the time of announcement, Bethesda did confirm that it would arrive on PS3 and PC - they just didn't say when. Many had figured it would arrive just a month after its Xbox 360 release.

While we know the 1.7 update for the PS3 version of Skyrim will arrive in "the coming weeks", Bethesda's VP of marketing and PR Pete Hines worried some when he stated on Twitter, "We have not announced Dawnguard for any other platform, nor given a timeline for any such news. If we have news, I promise I'd tell you."

Of course, that doesn't mean it won't arrive on PS3 or PC. Bethesda went back on Twitter to clarify his original comments.

"I was simply stating that expecting/demanding something today is unfounded,” Pete Hines explained. “Not that news is never coming. Just sit tight. We'll have info soon.”

So while we still don't have any dates or details, at least we know it will be coming to both platforms...hopefully. In the meantime, the 1.7 update for PS3 will include many of the features in the 1.6 update which is already live on PC and Xbox 360.

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Minecraft dev Mojang cans FPS project

Minecraft creator Markus "Notch" Persson has revealed details about a canceled project known as "Rex Kwon Do" that Mojang was working on with an outside company.

Mojang decided to end the project in prototype so it could devote resources to privately owned projects.

"Remember Project Rex Kwon Do?" Persson tweeted. "We canceled it to focus on Minecraft, Scrolls, and eventually 0x10c that we own 100% ourselves instead."

Speaking to Joystiq, Persson said the project was a first-person shooter.

"The success of Minecraft meant we could focus on projects fully owned by us," he said.

Future joint projects aren't off limits for the company, though, as long as they're "not to make money. If there are other reasons to collaborate, maybe!"

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Capcom brought back zombies for Resident Evil 6 because they're 'popular'

After introducing Ganado in Resident Evil 4, Majini in RE5, and Ooze in Resident Evil: Revelations, Capcom is returning to regular old zombies.

"We brought zombies back because they’re popular," joked executive producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi, speaking to Siliconera. "Everyone loves ‘em, that’s why we brought them back.... We tried to respond to the requests and put them in this game. We tweaked them a bit so they aren’t the same zombies you would expect."

The zombies in Resident Evil 6 slowly shamble, but if they spot you or you get too close, they'll dash forward.

"We tried to make this as instantaneous as possible," said producer Yoshiaki Hirabayashi. "Some of them will leap out at you. For the most part, they are zombies, but they have a bursts of energy here and there that give them a little extra oomph."

That "oomph" works for players, too. Youcan roll or slide out of the way of enemies or close the distance faster between you and a zombie horde.

The zombies in RE6 can use weapons, but not because of some new intelligence.

"It’s not that they are purposely using weapons," said Hirabayashi. "It’s in the back of their mind because they used to use weapons before they became zombies.

"There’s another way you can interact with zombies that we haven’t really shown yet," he teased.

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Indie game Knytt Underground coming to PlayStation and PCs this year

Nifflas has partnered with Green Hill and Ripstone Publishing to bring Knytt Underground — a colorful follow up to the freeware platformers Knytt and Knytt Stories — to the PlayStation 3 and Vita, as well as Windows, Mac, and Linux.

The PlayStation versions will receive "unique content," according to Green Hill in a press release.

"Knytt Underground is the biggest game I've ever developed and is the first game where I feel that I have a story to tell," said Nicklas Nygren of Nifflas. "It's about the big questions — trying to understand life and our place in it and failing completely."

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[Indie Games]

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Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD pushes 120K in first week on XBLA

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD, which arrived on XBLA last week and is coming to PC and PS3 later this year, has already sold 120,000 copies.

With Pro Skater HD, developer Robomodo relaunched the arcade skateboarding franchise with its first downloadable title.

Josh Tsui of the studio told Gamasutra that day-over-day sales are "staying very consistent" because of word of mouth.

"People are more apt to try games that are smaller and downloadable," he said.

The game landed on Xbox 360 as part of the XBLA Summer of Arcade. It will arrive for PSN in August and PC later this year.

"It should be interesting to see the sales on PC — we've been surprised how many people are asking for that," said Tsui.

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Relax Battlefield 3 players, EA said they'll keep supporting the game even after Battlefield 4 launches

Battlefield 4 is definitely a thing. Fans of EA's flagship shooter can definitely get excited for a sequel, which won't take seven years to make. However, it does seem that there are some who are worried about the release of a sequel, fearing EA will completely stop supporting Battlefield 3.

In a recent post on the Battlefield Blog however, community manager Ian Tornay detailed aspects of the Battlefield 4 beta, as well as letting fans know that there will still be heavy support for Battlefield 3 even after BF4's launch.

We’ve announced that players will be able to guarantee their access to the exclusive Battlefield 4 beta by pre-ordering the Limited Edition of Medal of Honor Warfighter. Here’s the other important information that we can provide at this time.

In addition to detailing the plans for the BF4 beta, he also detailed Armored Kill, which will be out in September, and you can watch the trailer for it here.

So there you have it, believe it or not, but Battlefield 3 will still continue to thrive, even after Battlefield 4 is on the market. Though my biggest question here is, wouldn't most of the hardcore fans that loved and played Battlefield 3 up to that point just buy the sequel? I realize there are monetary hardships to some people, but if so many gamers are willing to spend $60 on a Madden game each year, which in my opinion is crazy, then I can't see why gamers wouldn't just migrate to the next, probably better iteration.

[Battlefield Blog]

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Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2 release moved to 2013

Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2 has been delayed for PC, Xbox 360, and PS3.

City Interactive's first-person shooter, which was set for fall, will now release on January 15, 2013.

The game was previously pushed back from August to October.

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[Game Informer]

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Serious Sam 3 planned for Steam Linux

Serious Sam 3: BFE will be one of the first games available on Valve's Steam Linux when it launches.

Left 4 Dead 2 was also confirmed for the client, which Valve recently announced.

Developer Croteam and publisher Devolver Digital released BFE in 2011. When it arrives on Steam Linux, the game will include all the updates from the PC and Mac versions, along with other features.

"We're in the process of integrating Steamworks and achievements and the whole shebang, but we can't get the little f*cker of a penguin to stand still," said Fork Parker, the chief financial officer at Devolver Digital.

"The last time I had anything ‘Open Sourced' I was in Thailand, if you catch my drift."

Steam Linux does not have a release date at this time.

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[Polygon]

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Sleeping Dogs gets exclusive Just Cause 2-themed wardrobe

We're still three weeks from the release of Square Enix's open world cop drama, Sleeping Dogs, but the studio has just announced a new piece of free content that will be available for gamers who also own another Square Enix title, Just Cause 2.

Available across all formats, upon detection of a Just Cause 2 game save on the hard drive the uniquely themed outfit will be added to Sleeping Dogs protagonist Wei Shen's safehouse wardrobe.

The outfit will feature Rico Rodriguez' signature look from Just Cause 2. In addition, being dressed as the "King of Chaos" will grant you a boost in your action hijack ability. You will be able to perform takeovers of enemy vehicles from a further distance.

Sleeping Dogs is set to release on August 14, 2012 for PS3, Xbox 360, and PS3; check out the pre-order bonuses available at the different retailers in North America.

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Dark Souls costs under $25 now on Amazon

Dark Souls, the spiritual successor to Demon's Souls, is currently on sale on Amazon.

The console versions of the game currently cost $22.99 and $21.99 for PS3 and Xbox 360, respectively.

Namco Bandai published Dark Souls back in October, but the game is scheduled to release for PC next month, on August 24, as the enhanced Prepare to Die Edition.

Console owners can access the Artorias of the Abyss expansion, included in the upcoming PC version, this winter.

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Square Enix announces two new puzzle packs to rack your brain in Quantum Conundrum

If you haven't had enough mind bending, gravity defying puzzles with Quantum Conundrum, then Square Enix has got you covered with the addition of two new puzzle packs.

The two DLC packs, "The Desmond Debacle" and "IKE-aramba!", are expected to release later this summer and will add "hours of additional puzzles and adventure".

The Desmond Debacle will send players into an unexplored wing of Quadwrangle Manor where players will encounter Desmond, an old drinking bird, who will challenge them with more complex puzzles.

The Desmond Debacle will release, for $2.99, on July 31 for PC users via Steam. It will be available on August 14 on PSN for $2.99, and on August 15 for Xbox LIVE users for 240 Microsoft Points.

Following that release will be IKE-aramba!, which sends players on a rescue mission for IKE (Interdimensional Kinectic Entity).

IKE-aramba will be released on August 28 on Steam for $2.99. ON September 11 it will be available on PSN and September 12 for Xbox LIVE.

If you purchased the Season Pass via Steam then both of these DLC puzzle backs will be free.

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Wheatley enters space, courtesy of NASA

An anonymous tech at NASA snuck a laser-engraving of Portal 2's Wheatley and the quote "In spaaaaaaace!" onto the Japanese HTV-3 resupply craft to the ISS.

"NASA in no way officially endorses secretly laser-engraving characters from Portal onto their spacecraft," the Portal 2 team wrote on their blog. "Believe it or not, they don't even officially endorse Portal 2, despite the fact that it's a really excellent game."

The craft launches on Friday, July 27. You can watch the event starting at 9:15 EST on the NASA TV website.

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[Kotaku]

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Assassin's Creed is '90% a new game', time for Desmond Miles to go?

For what it's worth, Assassin's Creed 3 is practically a new IP. With a new character in Connor, a new story, time period, setting, and game mechanics, creative lead Alex Hutchinson described Assassin's Creed 3 as "90% a new game".

What's the other 10%? Series protagonist Desmond Miles, which Hutchinson said, during a Ubisoft press conference, could be coming to an end.

Desmond Miles is really the only factor linking Assassin's Creed 3 to the other games in the popular franchise which dates back to 2007. According to Hutchinson, it's beginning to ask a little too much of people to remember "years worth of story" surrounding Miles.

“It’s more like the Twilight Zone. There’s always a guy introducing it and he’s there every episode, but each game completes its own story, ” he said via Polygon. “Assassin’s Creed 1 was Altair’s story. Ezio has been and gone. You can engage with these historical stories individually without having to necessarily understand Desmond’s story. But yes, we eventually do have to wrap it up."

“I think what you do is you finish it. I always pitched it to the guys on this game to think of it almost like Star Trek. Each game is a season… each big number is a sub-title," he explained. "We’re not changing the universe, but we’re being given the reigns to the equivalent of The Next Generation. Yes, it’s the Star Trek universe, and that has certain immutable laws and there’s a base kind of tone to it, but within that you can do whatever you want."

He added: “I think Desmond needs to end, at some point. You know what I mean? Things that go on too long lack resonance. We’re asking people to remember seven years worth of story. Which is like saying you were in junior high and now you’re finishing college. And you need to remember what you were doing in junior high.”

To be honest, I think Assassin's Creed 3 could be just as successful even without Desmond. A lot of the hype leading up to its release has been around the change of environment and new character. It's like a breath of fresh air and, to a certain extent, almost like a new IP.

“Without Desmond, we could have called it anything else, and people would have said okay,” said Hutchinson. “It’s just we like the wrapper of being an assassin and being in this continuing war against Templars. There’s huge value in that. But [AC3] is 90% a new game.”

It's not hard to imagine Assassin's Creed 3 without Desmond. In fact, it looks like Ubisoft is slowly trying to move away from him. Aside from Assassin's Creed 3, Ubisoft has plans to release Assassin's Creed 3: Liberation, which introduces yet another new hero - Aveline, the first female protagonist - and further expands on the 18th century Colonial America environment.

Over the weekend, a leaked GameStop document allegedly from Ubisoft seemed to indicate plans for future Assassin's Creed 3 DLC.

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Guild Wars 2 beta event kicks off with screenshot contest

The highly anticipated final beta weekend for upcoming MMO Guild Wars 2 is now officially live, giving players their last chance to experience the game before it officially releases on August 28.

Kicking off the the beta event is a "Guild Wars 2 Moment to Moment" screenshot contest. ArenaNet is partnering with SteelSeries to offer a prize package to those who take the best in-game screenshots.

There are two contest categories catering to two playstyles: Best Action Shot and Best Landscape Shot. All you have to do is take a screenshot and enter it into the contest on the Guild Wars 2 Facebook page. If your screenshot is one of the top six in either category you will win the SteelSeries Guild Wars 2 prize package which consists of a SteelSeries mouse, headset, and mousepad.

The competition begins today, as does the beta event, and lasts until Monday, July 23, at 11:59 pm PDT. You can enter twice if you'd like to enter both Action and Landscape categories, but there is a 24-hour wait between entries.

Voting begins on Tuesday, July 24, at 12: 01 am PDT and lasts until Thursday, July 26, at 11:59 pm PDT. You can vote twice. Following the event, ArenaNet will choose six winners from the 20 screenshots in each category that received the most votes.

The Guild Wars 2 final beta event, described as the "biggest" yet, gives players access to a new map, the Legacy of the Foefire PvP map, the asura and sylvari races, and much more!

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If you enjoy DayZ, you may want to check out The War Z

Move over DayZ, there's a new zombie MMO on the way. Arktos Entertainment Group and Hammerpoint Interactive, a new independent game studio, announced today The War Z, a session-based, MMO "inspired by all things zombie".

Set in a post-apocalyptic, zombie-infested world, players not only have to worry about the undead hordes, but other players as well.

A press statement released today reads:

In The War Z, players are thrust into a post-apocalyptic world five-years after a viral outbreak that ravaged the human population and left, in its wake, a nightmare of epic proportion.  Hordes of undead zombies infest the cities, and the few remaining human beings have devolved into a lawless, nomadic society where the sole objective is to survive at any cost.  Players must use skill and cunning in order to acquire food, weapons and other supplies necessary for survival.  While navigating the vast landscape, they will discover cities teeming with the undead as well as other players that may or may not be friendly. 

Despite the similarities to DayZ, which recently surpassed 500K users, executive producer Sergey Titov said a zombie MMO plan existed last year, before the arrival of DayZ.

"When DayZ was released to the public, we were really excited to see another game that was akin to what we were working on," Titov told IGN. "We were like, 'Wow, that's cool, we're not the only ones making something like this.'"

"As we saw the popularity of DayZ grow, and how players and the community were reacting, we realized two things: first, there was validation that our idea of making a zombie MMO was actually right, and that there is a market/player base for it; and second, we decided to abandon the idea of unlocking parts of the map as you progress - rather, the player will be able to freely roam the world and gather information and quests by exploring notes, diaries, etc left behind by both real players and NPCs.

"So, short answer: while we began developing our game before DayZ, we've been encouraged by fact that DayZ has become so popular. And, yes, of course some of our latest design decisions were influenced by the DayZ community forums."

The War Z features an experience-based progression system where players gain points to spend on new survival skills. Currency will run on an in-game cash and gold system which can be used to buy supplies from safe-settlements located in the game.

It will feature a Normal mode which will allow for revival after a "cooldown period" and a Hardcore mode which will result in permanent death. Like DayZ there is both PvE and PvP.

The game is expected to release on PC in fall 2012. It is currently in its Alpha phase, with a closed beta planned for the "very near future". While there will be an upfront charge, there will be no monthly fees after that.

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Darksiders 2 original soundtrack available for pre-order

The original soundtrack to upcoming action-adventure game Darksiders 2 is now available for pre-order, Sumthign Else music Works announced today.

Composed by BAFTA award-winning composer Jesper Kyd, the two-disc set will hit store shelves and digital outlets on August 14. Kyd is known for his iconic musical scores in the Assassin's Creed and Hitman series.

"Kyd's emotionally dynamic score for Darksiders 2 combines dark ethereal themes and melodic fantasy that enrich the player's cinematic journey through each of the game's unique realms," the press statement reads. In the game, players follow the exploits of DEATH, one of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse, in a story that runs parallel to the events in the original Darksiders game.

The soundtrack has a total of 26 tracks which are all listed below:

CD 1
01 The Makers Theme
02 Into Eternity
03 Makers in the Outlands
04 Story of the Makers
05 The Corruption
06 The Makers Overworld
07 The Makers Fight Back
08 The Floating City
09 Crystal Spire
10 Trouble in Eden
11 Stains of Heresy
12 The Abyssal Plains
13 The Rod of Arafel
14 The Crowfather

CD 2
01 The Dead Plains
02 The Plains Await
03 Supernatural Desert
04 The Eternal Throne
05 City of the Dead
06 The Crypt
07 Death Brings Hope
08 Plains of Death
09 Demon Realm
10 Into the Shadows
11 Lord of the Black Stone
12 Dead Plains Reprise. 

The Darksiders 2 soundtrack will be available for digital download at Sumthing Digital, Amazon MP3, iTunes, and other digital music sites. It is currently available for pre-order on Amazon. The game is set to release for consoles and PC on August 14, 2012 in the United States.

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Heroes of Newerth now offers free-to-play roster

Heroes of Newerth now features a roster of 107 free playable heroes.

Launched today, All Heroes Free makes the game fully free-to-play, as compared with its previous microtransaction model in which the offering of 16 free characters would change weekly. Players could purchase individual heroes with both in-game and real-world currency.

"As gamers, we all know that games are more fun to play with friends, and All Heroes Free will make it easier for players to bring their friends to the game," said director Pu Liu. "This new model will also level the eSports playing field, as all players will be able to build their skills and advance their strategies with any hero they choose."

Users who bought a hero in the last 15 days will receive a refund, and anyone who has ever used real money to make the purchase (including Legacy players) will be gifted the new and exclusive Mecha Gemini robot avatar. Legacy players will also begin to earn more rewards per match.

S2 Games is preparing a new Gated Mode, which will provide a more controlled area for training.

Heroes of Newerth came out in 2010 and adopted a free-to-play model a year later.

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Jet Set Radio HD also coming to phones and tablets

Sega and Smilebit's Dreamcast classic Jet Set Radio is receiving a HD update for iOS and Android phones and tablets, too.

The game will come to the platforms this summer, along with previously announced versions for PSN, Vita, XBLA, and PC.

Players can use their device's camera to take pictures of in-game graffiti, and they can also upload achievements to Facebook.

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[Eurogamer]

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Guild Wars 2 final Beta Weekend Event begins today

The final beta event for Guild Wars 2 begins today, giving players their last chance to play the highly-anticipated MMO before its official release on August 28.

Starting today, at 12 noon PST, invited players and those who have pre-ordered Guild Wars 2 will be able to log in to the final open beta weekend and experience all of the new content added for this final test.

As the "biggest" Beta yet for Guild Wars 2, players will get access to a new map, the Legacy of the Foefire PvP map, the asura and sylvari races, and much more.

For the first time, players will be able to create asura and sylvari characters and explore each race's home region and unique storyline options. In addition, for players level 17-20, the Brisban Wildlands have opened up giving players a unique "remote jungle" area to explore.

For those who prefer PvP, the Legacy of the Foefire map is also available. Unlike other PvP maps in Guild Wars 2, this one includes NPC guards and team "guild lords", powerful NPCs that are worth a lot of points if you can manage to kill them.

There are also a few non-combat related features included vistas for those who prefer to sightsee and explore, as well as Keg Brawl, the first minigame activity playable in a beta weekend.

As ArenaNet noted, all existing beta information will be deleted following this weekend event. Every character and information or items associated with them will be deleted. However, ArenaNet will be preserving your beta account's contact list so you can easily reconnect with friends after the launch of the game.

Remember, this is your last chance to experience Guild Wars 2 before its release on August 28.

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Wizorb available as PlayStation mini on Tuesday

Tribute Games and Beatshapers are bringing the block-breaking action game Wizorb to the PlayStation Store this Tuesday, July 24, as a PS mini for PS3, PSP, and Vita.

Players assume the role of Cyrus, a wizard versed in the secret art of Wizorb. In the Kingdom of Gorudo, players must help citizens rebuild their homes by earning money and completing levels. Wizorb contains touches of classic RPGs, like exploring towns and talking to NPCs who might just reward you with items for your trouble.

Gameplay involves using a ball and paddle to break bricks and casting different spells to alter the action. The game also boasts character animation by Paul Robertson (Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game).

Wizorb will cost $3.99, featuring over 60 levels in five worlds. It includes boss fights, multiple endings, and bonus levels.

Canadian developer Tribute Games is currently working on its next game, a run-and-gun shooter called Mercenary Kings.

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[PS Blog]

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Blizzard poses summer challenges to World of Warcraft players

Looking for something to do this summer? Blizzard has just the activity to keep your brain occupied and your skills sharp - a summer challenges in World of Warcraft.

Every week this summer, Blizzard will post a new challenge for you and your friends to complete. It will task you with "exploring a part of Azeroth that you may not have seen in a while, or perform a feat that you may have never done."

The newly announced World of Warcraft Summer Challenges will reward you for your efforts with achievements and awesome gear. With the game being out for so long and players now able to practically skip the entire beginning portion of content this is a good way to re-explore, or experience for the first time, what you may have previously skipped past or rushed through.

This week's challenge is Naxxramas, located in the sky above the Eastern quadrant of Dragonblight in Northrend. Naxxramas is home to 15 raid bosses. If you haven't yet taken down the four horsemen, haven't gotten your tier 7 sets, or haven't done the Safety Dance in a while, you may want to accept the challenge.

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40-hour Diablo 3 session costs one gamer his life

A teenager collapsed and died after playing Diablo 3 for a 40-hour stretch.

The 18-year-old, identified by his surname Chuang, booked a private room at a Taiwanese Internet cafe and played Diablo 3 for nearly two days without eating. When an attendant found him on July 15, he took a few steps and collapsed.

Shortly after arriving at a local hospital, he died. Authorities suspected that sitting down for an extended length of time caused cardiovascular problems for Chuang.

His death marks the second in Taiwan this year. A man in New Taipei died of cardiac arrest after playing a computer game for 23 hours.

"We're saddened to hear this news, and our thoughts are with his family and friends during this difficult time," Blizzard commented in a statement. "We don't feel it would be appropriate for us to comment further without knowing all of the circumstances involved.

"While we recognise that it's ultimately up to each individual or their parent or guardian to determine playing habits, we feel that moderation is clearly important, and that a person's day-to-day life should take precedence over any form of entertainment."

Cases like these are the exception, but remember to take a break every so often from whatever you're playing.

Follow @wita on Twitter for tales of superheroes, plumbers in overalls, and literary adventures.

[The Australian]

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Mojang to hold Minecraft panel at PAX Prime

Mojang will be holding a Minecraft panel at PAX Prime, the company announced today.

Titled "After Notch: The New Minecraft Team", the panel will feature new lead developer Jens Bergensten and the Bukkit team as they discuss what's happened with Minecraft since game creator Marcus 'Notch' Persson stepped down from his position as lead developer.

Mojang will share the date and time of the panel once they learn more. They did say, however, that it will be live-streamed, so if you are unable to attend PAX Prime in Seattle, then you can watch it online.

Back in December, shortly after the official release of the final version of Minecraft PC, Notch relinquished his role as lead developer. While Notch still continues to help out with Minecraft, he has since started work on a new project: 0x10c, which recently received its first teaser.

Despite the change in leadership, Minecraft has continued to chug along. On August 1, Update 1.3 is set to go live introducing a "huge number of changes" including a change to the "fundamental game engine" which kicks out the single-player mode and makes it a "shell on top of multi-player". You can check out all of the incoming changes here.

In the same update, Mojang informed fans that the MineCon contract is "just about finalized" and that an announcement video will go up "within a week". It will reveal the location and month that MineCon, a convention dedicated to all things Minecraft, will take place.

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Branching story in The Witcher 2 was 'hell' to create

Adam Badowski, head of CD Projekt Red, said that fleshing out two full second acts for The Witcher 2 was "hell," but worth the painstaking effort.

"Really, it was kind of a design experiment," Badowski told Gamasutra. "In Act 2, we basically made two different acts, and from the production perspective, it was kind of a hell, but we did it."

Badowski said they undertook the challenge because they wanted "to treat our players right."

Calling the experiment an undoubted success, Badowski admitted that "probably half of our players didn't even realize that they can choose totally different paths" — an unfortunate "waste" in terms of work. In the future, the developer will devote more energy to making sure players understand the consequences of their decisions and actions.

"But I don't know how we can communicate that without spoiling things or destroying the immersion," he said. "It's very tough, but that's why it was an experiment" — something Badowski said fans can expect more of.

CD Projekt Red is currently developing a modern take on the Cyberpunk pen-and-paper RPG.

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Star Wars: The Old Republic's HK-51 companion droid revealed

"The most dangerous machine in the galaxy", the HK-51 droid, is coming to Star Wars: The Old Republic in the near future.

To help fans get pumped for the arrival of the "galaxy's new deadliest assassin", BioWare has released a trailer for the new HK-51 companion droid. First premiering at San Diego Comic-Con 2012 this past weekend, BioWare is now sharing the trailer with the entire world.

"A battalion of the galaxy’s most dangerous machines lies buried underneath the icy surface of Belsavis, waiting for you to discover and claim as your own," BioWare teased. Will you be the first to find it?

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Minecraft passwords safe after weekend security outage

Though Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition has experienced monumental success in its short time in existence, folks still come out in groves everyday to enjoy their beloved game where the magic all started: on the PC. You can imagine the frustration, then, when PC players attempted to log in this weekend and were presented with an error message notifying them that the servers were shut down.

Today, though, Mojang revealed the reason behind the outage, which quickly caused uproar among the community. According to the developer, hackers were able to login as anyone due to a “flaw in [the] Minecraft authorization system.” Thankfully, they added that the lowlifes that were behind this were unable to access any personal information, including passwords.

In a response to the server outage and attack, Mojang developer Leonard Axelsson tweeted that "The session servers are back up again and it's no longer possible to login as someone else." In addition, Mojang’s Lisa Winters reported that “things are back up and running perfectly!” and that users’ personal information was untouched.

We’re still not quite sure if the ability to login as another player also granted these hackers the ability to have a little “fun” in other players’ worlds via destruction, but the general response from fans seems hint that this wasn’t the case (thankfully). As long as my wood cabin and sky haven is safe, though, I’ll just stick to bad mouthing these scoundrels online; touch either one of them, though, and we’ll have a problem.  

Source: [Twitter]

Source: [Mojang Blog]

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Wreck-It Ralph joins the Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed roster

Wreck-It Ralph is "gonna wreck it" in SEGA's upcoming racing video game Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed.

SEGA announced today that the title character of Wal Disney Animation Studios' upcoming comedy will appear alongside Sonic and gang as a playable character in both single player and multiplayer game modes.

“Wreck-It Ralph will make a great addition to our stellar cast in Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed,” said chairman and chief content officer at SEGA of America Masanao Maeda. “Disney has created a unique film experience that will appeal to gamers of all ages, and our video game collaboration will give fans the opportunity to interact with their character on the small screen as well.”

“To have Wreck-It Ralph included in Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed is a dream come true,” said Rich Moore, director of the animated feature film Wreck-It Ralph. “The film pays homage to the video games I loved as a kid, including Sonic the Hedgehog in a special cameo, so being able to see Wreck-It Ralph in a real video game alongside Sonic and other iconic SEGA characters is unbelievably exciting for me and should be a treat for fans!”

For those unfamiliar, Wreck-It Ralph is an upcoming animated film that centers around the "villain" of an old arcade classic who sets off on an adventure across various games after he decides he's tired of playing the role of a bad guy. Ralph, the misunderstood villain in the classic arcade game "Fix-It Felix, Jr" sets out to prove he can be a hero too. Despite his appearance in Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, Wreck-It Ralph will also have a standalone game of his own for Nintendo Wii, 3DS, and DS.

It's only fitting that a movie about a video game character is in a game that features so many other iconic characters. Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed will be available on Xbox 360, PS3, Nintendo 3DS, Wii U, PS Vita, and PC this November. At E3, SEGA revealed that NASCAR phenom Danica Patrick is also part of the racing roster.

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League of Legends problematic long-term stealth mechanics fixes

As of recent, those long term stealth characters in League of Legends have been either preforming poorly, completely useless, or even too strong in certain cases.  While multiple changes have been implemented over the years, the right balance has yet to be achieved.  Riot is once again trying to nail these “problematic long-term stealth mechanics” with this upcoming Zyra patch.

The contenders and focus of these changes are some of the very original champions, Evelynn and Twitch.  While there are other quasi stealth champs (like Akali, Teemo, Vayne, LeBlanc, Talon, WuKong, and Shaco), Evelynn and Twitch are the ones who have had the minute+ long stealth durations.  Due to circumstantial issues with these stealth skills, Riot decided to create new abilities and even adapt their already existing kits. 

Ultimately, Riot wants LoL to be faster paced and when these stealth characters the opposite teams were forced to play more defensively thus making for longer matches.  The other team has to buy pink visions wards and oracle elixirs just to stand a chance vs. these stealth champions.  With these new changes, pinks and oracles will still help but the stealth abilities won’t be as brutal.  Let’s look at the changes:

Evelynn - the Widowmaker

Abilities

Eve will always be invisible out of combat due to her passive.  Let’s face it, her old passive was the worst in the game… half damage from minions for a stealth character?  This form of invisibility won’t work on nearby champs or vision wards still.  Now with a speed boost ability she can get in and out which still gives her that assassin feel.  Her ult now does AOE damage and gives her a shield finally making her able to keep up during team fights.   

Twitch – The Plague Rat

Abilities

Unlike Eve, Twitch’s stealth will be an on use ability still.  “Ambush” goes invisible for a short time and gets a movement speed boost while doing so.  At the end he gets his attack speed boost still.  It seems Twitch has been getting lessons from Gragas though, his “w” is cask throw that explodes on contact that slows all that is spreads on.  Between his ability to move fast, slow multiple targets, and to attack fast out of stealth… his ult has high potential to deal ‘tons of damage’ during team fights; its’ all about positioning.                

I’m so excited for all these changes that I’m patching the public test server as I write this.  This will be one huge patch.  Between these stealth changes, Zyra, and all these awesome new skins… it will be one for the books.  THE BOOKS OF LEGEND!   

[League of Legends – Evelynn]

[League of Legends – Twitch]       

Historian, teacher, writer, gamer, cheat master, and tech guru: follow on Twitter @AndrewC_GZ

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Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed trailer shows off three gameplay types

Sega has shared a new trailer and listed a release date for the Xbox 360, PS3, 3DS, and Vita versions of Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed.

No word yet on the PC and Wii U dates, but the other versions are due out on November 20.

The trailer below demonstrates the game's distinct karting, flying, and boating experiences.

Follow @wita on Twitter for tales of superheroes, plumbers in overalls, and literary adventures.

[Sega Blog]

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More evidence of Darkstalkers 4

Is a new Darkstalkers game in the works? All signs point to yes.

At Capcom's Street Fighter 25th Anniversary panel today at SDCC, series producer Yoshinori Ono asked fans to hold up $5 or $10 bills to show their support for Darkstalkers. He then snapped a picture to take back to Capcom as evidence.

"This year, you don’t have to do that, and it’s not necessarily bad news!" he said, later clarifying that he has to be careful about what he says.

It's possible that Darkstalkers 4 could be in development. Capcom not only re-released Darkstalkers 3 on PSN recently, but a rumor from earlier this year, reported by GamesBeat, suggests that Ono is in charge of a new game.

At the time, Capcom said, “We have made no announcements.”

Characters like Morrigan have appeared in non-series games such as Marvel vs. Capcom 3, but otherwise Darkstalkers has been mostly dormant for over a decade.

Follow @wita on Twitter for tales of superheroes, plumbers in overalls, and literary adventures.

[Siliconera]

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EA 'would love' to publish next Kingdoms of Amalur game

Speaking to Game Informer, EA Labels president Frank Gibeau said he "would love" to publish a sequel to Kingdoms of Amalur.

"I think it's unfortunate how everything worked out," said Gibeau. "At the end of the day we saw a lot of creativity and vision in the team that Curt [Schilling] put together. We thought the game was terrific. It reviewed well."

Pre-production was allegedly underway before 38 Studios' and Big Huge Games' collapse.

Follow @wita on Twitter for tales of superheroes, plumbers in overalls, and literary adventures.

[VideoGamer]

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League of Legends seeds Zyras abilities

“I am Nature's arm. Her spirit. Her will. Hell, I am Mother Nature, and the time has come for plants to take back the world so rightfully ours! 'Cause it's not nice to fool with Mother Nature.” -Poison Ivy, Batman and Robin 

No one knows no fury like nature scorn.  Riot’s hugely popular MOBA, League of Legends, welcomes their 101 champion to the League – Zyra, Rise of the Thorns.  When trying to describe these ‘plant mage’ abilities, there really isn’t another champion I can compare her too.  She’s unique and she’s an ability power champ. 

From the gameplay I’ve watched, she will have a high skill cap to truly nail all her combos down.  Her combos remind me of Brand or Xerath’s stun, but instead of focusing on a champion you focus on one of her seeds.  Her kit focuses around her ability “Rampant Growth” which gives you seed ammunition. These seeds grant vision for 30 seconds but when hit by one of her other spell, causes a different effect. 

When she dies, she gets a sort of last death knell shot to stick it to the enemy team or the one got you.  This is similar to Karthus but it’s a single skill shot nuke and that’s all you get. 

As a mid / AP player, I’m excited for Zyra.  Her kit is quite unique and I’m looking forward to playing with some of those combos.  This next patch coming up will be huge and she will be sitting pretty at the top of the notes for it.         

Check out Riot’s description of her abilities below:

Abilities:

[League of Legends]

Historian, teacher, writer, gamer, cheat master, and tech guru: follow on Twitter @AndrewC_GZ

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Punisher star creates Kickstarter for new sci-fi game Bad Planet

Thomas Jane, known for his role as Marvel's the Punisher, began his own Kickstarter today for a "hyper-violent" sci-fi game called Bad Planet.

A project of the Austin-based Red Fly Studio (Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II for Wii, Ghostbusters: The Video Game), Bad Planet is a the third-person, episodic game that will be available for XBLA, PSN, and PC. It uses Unreal Engine 3, and by incorporating "a fast, gory, combo-based combat system, the studio will create a bold and gritty action game that will be sure to please hardcore gamers and science fiction fans alike!"

The game stars an alien warrior named the Convict who must save the planet from an invasion of intergalactic Death Spiders. It's based on Jane's and Steve Niles' (Criminal Macabre) comic book mini-series from 2005.

"Essentially, the artists/creators are in control, not some suit who's job is to appeal to the lowest common denominator," Jane told Polygon. "Think about it, what if Ridley Scott couldn't raise the money to make a sequel to Bladerunner ... I think he could raise that money in a week with the fans backing it. That may be a crazy example but the point is, if fans want to see it, they'll pay in advance. I think crowd-funding low-budget film production could be very close to reality."

The Kickstarter's rewards include copies of the old comic series.

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Bioware Mythic announcing new free-to-play game tomorrow

Bioware Mythic plans to announce a new free-to-play game tomorrow.

The studio's general manager Eugene Evan confirmed the reveal at the Develop Conference in Brighton today.

Last year Bioware Mythic introduced the free-to-play PvP game Warhammer Online: Wrath of Heroes. CVG suspects that the new title could involve a classic EA franchise.

Any guesses?

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[CVG]

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Arma 2's DayZ mod surpasses 500k users

DayZ, Arma 2's zombie survival mod, has hit the 500,000 player milestone. I haven't played it yet, but I do have two friends who are obsessed with it. From what they tell me about it, it's not hard to see why so many players are flocking to the mod.

In DayZ you play as one of the survivors in an open world post-soviet state hit by a new and presently unknown virus. With most of the world's population now extinct, you must fight to survive against what is left of the population now infected with the disease. It's not just zombies you need to worry about, but even other players also fighting to survive.

Sounds exciting, right?

“Congratulations everyone, with your support through tough times, mistakes, troubles, and technical problems, we now have over 500k users!” the DayZ development team wrote on Twitter.

The current unique player count sits at 506,473. And for the record, the average life expectancy is 35 minutes according to the mod's website. So good luck with that...

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First gameplay trailer for Van Helsing

NeocoreGames has unveiled a pre-alpha gameplay trailer for their upcoming action title, The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing.

The game is due out on PC and XBLA late this year.

Take a look, and let us know what you think in the comments!

Click here to watch the teaser trailer.

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Max Payne 3 Vancouver studio closing as Rockstar expands Toronto studio

Rockstar Games has announced plans to expand its development studio in Toronto. As a result, Rockstar Vancouver, developer of Max Payne 3, will close.

Current Rockstar employees of the Vancouver-based development team will be moved to the new custom-built facility in Oakville, Ontario. All members of the Vancouver team have the opportunity o join Rockstar Toronto or take positions in other Rockstar studios.

"Expanding Rockstar Toronto and bringing our Canadian development talent together under one roof underscores our commitment to building world-class teams that can make the kind of groundbreaking entertainment experiences Rockstar Games is known for," said Vice President of Publishing and Operations for Rockstar Games Jennifer Kolbe.

The studio expansion is being supported by the Ontario government. While no financial details were disclosed, Rockstar mentioned plans to add more than 50 new positions to the combined Canadian team.

"We believe a single Canadian team will make for a powerful creative force on future projects. We plan to add more than 50 new positions to our combined Canadian team, and are pleased to be entering into this strategic partnership with the Ontario government."

"Rockstar Games' decision to expand its Toronto studio demonstrates the confidence in Ontario's leading-edge digital gaming industry. By providing financial support and tax incentives to help companies grow, we maximize Ontario's competitiveness in the global economy and support job creation," said Brad Duguid, Minister of Economic Development and Innovation.

Rockstar Toronto has worked on several critically acclaimed titles including Max Payne 3 and The Warriors. Meanwhile, Rockstar Vancouver has worked on Bully and Max Payne 3 as well.

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War of the Roses beta registration now open

Publisher Paradox Interactive and developer Fatshark have opened their action game War of the Roses for beta registration.

The medieval multiplayer combat title recently completed a closed alpha. Interested players can now sign up to be a knight in the King's army and defend England by visiting the official website.

Prospective knights will receive a unique URL after enrolling. If five friends use this link to sign up, the referrer will automatically gain a spot in the beta.

Follow @wita on Twitter for tales of superheroes, plumbers in overalls, and literary adventures.

[Joystiq]

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Final Guild Wars 2 Beta Weekend makes playable Asura and Sylvari races

The upcoming Guild Wars 2 Beta Weekend Event, the final before the game's official release, will allow users to play as the asura and sylvari races for the first time.

According to an update by ArenaNet, players will finally be able to create characters from any of hte five main races in Guild Wars 2 - human, norn, charr, asura, and sylvari. Each race in Guild Wars 2 has distinct, "radically different" home regions, signature city, and personal storyline options

For asura players, this means beginning your tale in Metrica Province, a vivid, exotic jungle area full of high-tech laboratories, quirky golems, and competing krewes of mad scientists. Nearby, the massive monoliths of the asuran capital Rata Sum hum with technomagical power. These diminutive geniuses may seem cute at first glance, but never underestimate an asura…

Sylvari players begin their story in the Grove, a luminous living city nestled in the shade of the Pale Tree, the “mother” of every member of this young race of plant humanoids. The sylvari are an enigmatic race of chivalrous explorers who are driven by an insatiable curiosity and guided by a collective Dream.

The final Guild Wars 2 Beta Weekend Event is set to take place from July 20-22. If you want to reserve a spot int he beta, you can pre-purchase your copy of Guild Wars 2.

Guild Wars 2 is set to launch on Tuesday, August 28. From the time after this Beta Weekend and launch week, ArenaNet will spend optimizing, polishing, and balancing the game to ensure the best launch-day experience possible.

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The Walking Dead Episode 3 due out 'middle of August'

Episode three of The Walking Dead, titled "Long Road Ahead", will be released sometime in the "middle of August", Telltale Games announced.

Following the delay to Episode 2, which launched in the European PlayStation Store yesterday after having already released in the U.S. PS Store last week, Telltale said they'd do their best to try and avoid a similar issue with Episode 3.

"Our goal from day one has been to deliver your game episodes as quickly as possible, and where we can, simultaneously across all platforms and regions," Telltale explained. "We've been working closely with our phenomenally supportive partners to try to make this a reality. We will continue to work on this and furthermore, we will strive to improve our communication with you so that you know what’s happening. Please rest assured that we are doing all we can to get your game episodes to you as quickly as possible."

Telltale couldn't give an exact date of release for Episode 3: Long Road Ahead, but did promise, "that we and our partners will do all that we can to release all platforms and regions as close together as possible."

"The response to episode two has been overwhelmingly positive and we can't say enough about how much we appreciate everyone enjoying what we are creating," Telltale concluded. "We’re truly humbled by your continuing support."

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Activision reveals The Walking Dead FPS for Xbox 360 and PS3, coming in 2013

Activision has made a surprise announcement that it plans to turn AMC's hit TV show The Walking Dead into a first-person shooter.

Unlike Telltale Games' episodic adventure game, which follows a character and story of its own simply set in the world of The Walking Dead, Activision's new game will actually features series regular, and my personal favorite, Daryl Dixon.

Developed by Terminal Reality, the story of this The Walking Dead game will revolve around Daryl Dixon and his brother Merle Dixon on what the developer describes as a "haunting, unforgiving quest to make their way to the supposed safety of Atlanta."

Players can choose to fight or use stealth to avoid detection from the hordes of zombies that use sight, sound, and smell to hunt them.

“No place is truly safe for Daryl as he makes his way through the Georgia countryside in this new, post-apocalyptic world," Activision said of The Walking Dead video game.

Supplies and resources will be scarce and players will have to manage food, ammunition, and supplies as they journey to Atlanta.  Along the way, players will reportedly encounter other survivors who can either help or hinder their progress and will be forced to make decisions whether or not these characters can accompany Daryl. This "represents just some of the major decisions that will constantly be made while fighting to survive."

Details remain limited, but judging from the trailer, it looks like The Walking Dead video game from Activision will more closely resemble what we've watched on AMC as far as what characters we'll see and what they'll look like. The trailer gives us a nice look at what to expect in terms of gruesomeness and look and feel.

The Walking Dead video game will be released for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC sometime in 2013.

While Telltale Games' version is good, it was only a matter of time before we got a game more closely related to the show. It's far too popular to not have a game based on the characters we see every week on television. I can't wait to hear more details about it, but until then check the game's official site for more details.

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Riot teases 101st League of Legends champion, Zyra

For many, League of Legends' 100th character is a milestone of sorts. For many, this next champion is a landmark for the game, which released back in 2009 and has since become one of the most successful MOBA games on the market.

Unfortunately, not everyone was happy about Jayce, the Defender of Tomorrow. Many wanted something epic for the 100th release, but as Riot Games' lead champion designer Ryan 'Morello' Scott points out, "every champion needs to be a milestone of some kind".

Morello defended Jayce, while emphasizing Riot's stance of "if there was something more special we could have done here, why aren't we doing that for every champion?"

"While I maintain that Jayce's whole weapon-transforming thing is really fun, it's really not about some big mega-release milestone. It's a nice round number, sure, but I think it'd be kind of ****ty of us if we were holding something back for this that we'd had been capable of doing previously," Morello said in a post.

If we've learned anything from the release of Pulsefire Ezreal, it's that Riot will not release something unless they are 100% confident it's the best they can offer.

"I kind of see it as every champion needs to be a milestone of some kind - just trying to do something we hadn't done before in regards to gameplay, art, lore, or any mixture of them," he explained. "I'll talk more about a couple of the big issues (monsters, why 3 masculine-style males so close) in a future post, but for this I wanna focus on the specific "champ 100 thing." I feel if there was something more special we could have done here, why aren't we doing that for every champion?"

A new video that takes a look back at the first 100 champion in League of Legends champions will be released next week. It will show some of the processes they use and reveal "the man behind the curtain".

He didn't stop there though...He also revealed the 101st champion coming to League of Legends: Zyra - a rather sexy looking plant-like champion.

"I probably shouldn't do this, but what the Hell. I'm really stoked about champion 101 too because I got to work much much more directly on it than I usually do and it's an archetype I think we've needed. I'll..," Morello teased, "plant a little teaser for you."

"Hint, she's not made of flesh," he added.

Morello didn't spoil any details about the new champion, but did tease she will have "something you've never seen before in MOBA."

Small boobs maybe? You're guess is as good as ours. Judging from his not-so-subtle hint and the image, she will be plant-like. A female Maokai maybe? On first glance at the image, she looks like an AP character which is kind of cool since we've had so many bruisers and AD carries released recently. I'm excited for Jayce, but I have to say, Zyra look amazing!

What do you think of the teaser for Zyra? What could her secret ability be!?

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