COD Modern Warfare 2 Free Multiplayer on Steam
If you haven't played Modern Warfare 2 online multiplayer yet, this weekend is your lucky day. Steam is offering a 3 day pass to online multiplayer this weekend starting sometime today (April 8th).The game will be free to play presumably until sometime on Sunday evening; there isn't a specified starting or ending time. Check the Store section of steam for the pre-load link and start downloading.
I finally get to try out some Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer; I'm still not happy about the lack of dedicated servers but at least I can try it for free. I played the single player on the console at the local game center, but I was unimpressed with much of it: Why helllooo red jam smeared all over the screen.. why couldn't that have gone the route of L4D2 blood smears?
I'm going to give multiplayer a solid try, but I'm not expecting it to change my mind on purchasing Modern Warfare 2. Plus, I'm probably going to get rocked by all the people with their weapons unlocked.
GameCrush: Girl Gamers for Desperate Nerds
The Internet never ceases to amaze me, with all the weird services and startups that try to capitalize on lonely and desperate male gamers. I have been seeing ads for GameCrush all over and curiosity got the better of me and I went to see what the hubbub was. Well, it turns out that Gamecrush is focused on getting lonely videogame nerds to pay to have lovely girl gamers play with you-no, not like Geek2Geek, but VIDEOGAMES.
The Gamecrush service costs $6.60 for 500 'credits' that can be used to play a game online with a GIRL or have a video chat. A game session usually lasts from 6 to 10 minutes and leaves enough GameCrush credits for the gamer to tip his PlayDate. GameCrush will also have social tools that allow PlayDates to post profiles complete with picture galleries, video clips, blogs and text chat. PlayDates can make up to $30 or more per hour while having fun playing online games. After a game session is completed, Players rate their gaming experience, and top-rated PlayDates are rewarded with enhanced site promotion and additional benefits.
GameCrush says that the cost of their service equates to something along the lines of buying a girl a drink. Now, you could argue if it is a real girl behind your 'PlayDate', but I suppose the video chat part would sort that out quick. Who knows if this will take off, but I have seen desperate gaming nerds pay for weirder things. That and their public beta was overwhelmed in minutes hints at high demand. How embarrassing would it be to have your 'PlayDate' kick your ass? Hint: Very funny, unless you are into that kind of thing.
If you want to read the GameCrush PR, you can do so here, but try to keep your sanity in check.
So, what's your thoughts on this new 'service' for gamers?
Left 4 Dead 2 DLC Expansion details surface
Not too long ago, Valve announced that they were going to feature two DLC expansions for Left 4 Dead 1 and 2. The Passing is going to be Left 4 Dead 2's first DLC and will feature the four survivors from Left 4 Dead (no, you can't play them) who will help out the L4D2 cast during the third act of the DLC campaign. The Passing will also include new arenas for Survival, Versus and Scavenge modes, and a new co-op challenge mode. Players will also encounter a new "uncommon common" infected, dubbed the Fallen Survivor, which can drop random items when killed. Expect to see the L4D 2 DLC sometime in "late March".
Not to leave anybody hanging, Valve will explain how the Left 4 Dead survivors made it all the way to rural Georgia through a DLC/Expansion for the original L4D. The major SPOILER alert here is that the tagline in the L4D 2 DLC is "No one survives forever" and it has been confirmed that one of the orginal L4D survivors will end up sacrificing his/her self in the events of the L4D campaign DLC. They must have ran out of rescue closets. No idea on who dies, but speculate away.
League of Legends vs. Heroes of Newerth From a Casual Perspective
Hi there. You might know me. I'm one of those guys that plays Defense of the Ancients (DotA) / HoN / LoL, but not obsessively. I don't have every build for every character memorized. I've probably tried most characters at least once. I don't feed, but I don't top the kills either. I can deny creeps and towers, but probably don't top last hits either. You probably don't remember me. From this position though, it is very easy to spot the most differences between Heroes Of Newerth and League of Legends that *most* players would care about.
The biggest things someone is likely to notice when playing both DotA clones is that:
A) League of Legends has auto matchmaking (and only blind hero picking to go with it)
B) The skill level of most LoL players is quite a bit lower than most HoN players
While HoN is slated to get auto matchmaking in the near future, the feature really does make LoL easier to get into as a new player. The simplicity of matchmaking is also an extremely limiting factor, however, as you'll soon grow tired of seeing the same heroes on both teams over and over. Not every game is a mirror match, but there are definitely flavor of the month picks and while using the auto-matcher you will run into them often. There is only one play format available as well, which is blind pick for both teams (this is what allows for the same hero on both and HoN has this as a "Duplicate Heroes" game mode).  Finally, new/free players are only allowed access to around 10 (rotating) heroes per week until they buy access to more with in game or real world currency.  As the game is free to play, hero access is just one of a few different things you can spend real money on, however, the only thing in the game you HAVE to spend real money on are special skins for your favorite heroes.  Access to all heroes and other game enhancers are entirely purchasable simply by playing the game and spending the game currency.
Though All Random is not everyone's favorite, sometimes it is nice taking a break from the same 10-20 heroes used in every game, and this is what really sets Heroes of Newerth apart for someone who takes DotA clones a little more seriously than I do. HoN has such a large variety of modes and settings that the game is much more resistant to become old or boring compared to LoL. Â However, the sheer variety of choices and heroes available from the start makes for a steeper learning curve. Â Add in the fact that last hitting to deny your own creeps and towers isn't a part of League of Legends, it is easy to see why the learning curve is so much more forgiving.
My bottom line is this: as someone new to the next generation of DotA style MOBA (multi-player online battle arena) games, you may be best off getting your feet wet with League of Legends, but will eventually want to move on to Heroes of Newerth if you find you really enjoy this kind of game and want the full experience it offers.  Though Riot Games (creator of LoL) has promised to implement features already existing in HoN (multiple game modes, clan support, in game voice chat, ranked matches, savable game replays, observers, and more...), there is no timeline for when they will become available and the features are already well polished and bug free in HoN.  In addition, I doubt very much that League of Legends will ever attract the kind of amateur and professional competition the original DotA and HoN do.  Both games have their strengths and weaknesses, but for people who take these games more seriously than a casual player, the game of choice is obvious.