Tag Archives: PC
When ‘Minecraft’ meets ‘The Hunger Games’
Talk to any fan of the sandbox game Minecraft, and they can likely rattle off countless reasons why the popular title is far better on PC than its recently-released console counterpart.
Here’s one more reason: a chance to participate in Minecraft’s answer to The Hunger Games.
Tecca reports a rise in Minecraft servers hosting their own take on the hit books and film, called “Survival Games.”
The games start with players — called tributes — standing in a circle with supplies sitting in the center. When a timer hits zero, players speed off in a survival-of-the-fittest-style match, either going straight for the supplies or fleeing to find items. A video featured on Tecca’s site shows one player retreating to the woods in search of items he can cobble together to create a weapon.
It’s grown popular enough that players can find a website dedicated to
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‘Minecraft’ tops 1 million downloads on Xbox
It’s only been available to Xbox 360 owners for less than a week, but Minecraft has already zoomed past a significant milestone.
Microsoft announced Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition has topped 1 million downloads since appearing on Xbox Live on May 9.
Players have logged more than 5.2 million hours exploring online, and participated in 4 million multiplayer sessions.
Last Thursday, Minecraft became the fastest-selling game on Xbox Live.
The game places players in the middle of a seemingly deserted area, informing them that monsters will start to appear after sundown. Players can manipulate the world, digging dirt, mining for materials and crafting objects such as swords to fight off monsters.
Creations can get pretty elaborate, such as The Hunger Games style challenge in the PC version.
Article source: http://rssfeeds.usatoday.com/~r/usatoday-TechTopStories/~3/q20XHS0cQiw/1
Two big releases next week may break video game sales slump
The arrival of the third-person action game and the PC-based fantasy role-playing game will be welcomed by game fans and retailers, because the release schedule of potential hits so far in 2012 has been underwhelming.
Another sign of slumping sales: Retailer GameStop reported last week that first-quarter sales fell 12.5% on a drop in store traffic due to fewer blockbuster titles.
Overall April retail sales were $630.4 million, down 32% from $930.9 million in April 2011, reports market tracker the NPD Group.
“When we see compelling content come into the market, the games are still selling as well as ever,” says NPD analyst Anita Frazier. “We just saw a lot less this April as compared to last.”
Other factors in the slump: growth in sales of downloadable games and add-on content, as well as a casual gamer shift to mobile and Web
Article source: http://rssfeeds.usatoday.com/~r/usatoday-TechTopStories/~3/bBURvoAX1Ao/1
Your first taste of ‘Assassin’s Creed III’
Curious what life is like as an assassin during the Revolutionary War?
Ubisoft has trotted out the first footage of Assassin’s Creed III in action, which takes place in the U.S. during the American Revolution.
The game will be available for PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Nintendo’s Wii U. It launches Oct. 30.
Article source: http://rssfeeds.usatoday.com/~r/usatoday-TechTopStories/~3/peMtK33Jkto/1
‘Witcher 2′ a satisfying and adult XBox video game
While last year’s The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim was lauded for a beautiful and expansive open world, it was slammed by others for its somewhat bland combat. On the other hand, Dark Souls was hailed for a brutally difficult combat system yet dismissed by those seeking colorful characters and a tangled web of folklore.
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings (Warner Bros., for the Xbox 360, $59.99), with a nearly flawless combination of deep, nonlinear storytelling and challenging combat, satisfies all around. One of 2011′s most popular and critically acclaimed PC games, it comes to the Xbox in a robust “Enhanced Edition” full of bonus content.
Playing as the witcher Geralt of Rivia — a mutant who “slays monsters for coin” — you are quickly immersed in a complicated world of political intrigue where loyalties
Article source: http://rssfeeds.usatoday.com/~r/usatoday-TechTopStories/~3/CexKcoZR4iw/1
