Instead of focusing on military tactics like most real-time strategy games, For the Glory emphasizes grand strategy. As some sort of eternal power behind the throne, you have to consider religion, culture, scientific research, foreign and domestic policies, and the current monarch’s strengths and weakness to guide your country to greatness (or ruin). Given that For the Glory is best suited to fulfilling alternate-history fantasies, victory tends to be subjective in this series. However, you can win in For the Glory by accumulating the most victory points, which you earn by completing missions. In contrast, failing a mission will cost you victory points. Missions consist of a variety of tasks, including building shipyards, discovering foreign lands, conquering territory, and improving relations with other countries. It’s up to you which missions you undertake, unless you select the option that puts your monarch in control of those decisions. However, your monarch tends to choose poorly, so don’t leave it up to him. For example, your sovereign may want you to kick the British out of Australia by 1800, when you’re playing as the newly independent USA, or demand that you prevent Spain from colonizing the Caribbean, when you’re playing as a tiny, landlocked country that can barely pacify its own countryside, much less take on King Carlos V.

Domestic concerns will take up the majority of your time in For the Glory. If you’ve conquered a diversity of peoples, your biggest domestic duty is to crush revolts. However, you’ll find there is more to governing than peasant control. A sliding-scale system depicts your government’s policies on a wide variety of issues, such as how innovative your country is, whether your military favors quantity or quality, and how much power the aristocracy has, all of which have tangible effects in-game. You can manually move one of these sliders (one interval out of 10) once every decade, so it will take a while to make radical changes. A second way to change your policies is through your choices in the historical and random events that regularly pop up, so always choose your response carefully when such opportunities arise. Another important concern is managing the budget, since it affects your troops’ performance, how long research takes to complete, and how much money you have in the bank. Obviously, a positive treasury balance is a good thing, but be sure not to hoard too much money, because it causes inflation, which can become problematic if you don’t keep it in check. Overall, the most important thing to budget for is your country’s stability, which affects just about everything in the game. While instability is usually the result of your in-game actions, such as declaring war on a neighboring country without a reasonable cause, it can also be influenced by events. For instance, if a group of superstitious peasants sees a meteor, your realm may cross the low stability threshold beyond which your army perpetually losses its battles, rebels besiege your cities more often than normal, other nations laugh at your emissaries, and all your colonies turn out like Roanoke.

Once your domestic duties are in order, you can focus on statecraft. Artificial intelligence-controlled nations in For the Glory believe in maintaining the balance of power, so if you try to conquer a lot of land in a series of imperialistic wars, you may see grand coalitions form against you. Such an alliance eventually took down Napoleon, and it could bring you down as well, so you should consider the potential benefits of covering your iron fist with a velvet glove. For example, it’s possible to convince other countries to pledge fealty to you, or even to allow themselves to be peacefully annexed into your realm. Such actions still tarnish your reputation, but not as badly as taking territory by force. If you do go to war, having a casus belli, or a “legitimate” justification, makes the war easier for your neighbors and subjects to swallow. While these justifications are usually generated through events, you can also use diplomacy to engineer one. For instance, you could arrange a royal marriage with a neighbor and then use that marriage as a pretext to claim their throne. When you aren’t plotting “just wars” against your neighbors, you’ll probably be busy trying to bribe them into liking you. The success or failure of such attempts, and all other diplomatic actions, is determined by your monarch’s diplomacy skill. If your monarch has a silver tongue, then you can get whatever you want, but if he’s an incompetent boor, your futile attempts to improve relations with foreign leaders will merely deplete your treasury.

When diplomacy fails, you can emulate distinguished statesmen like Genghis Khan and solve your problems on the battlefield. Although battles take place in real time, you won’t have much control over the action. When you order an attack, your units first move into a province and fight it out. If they win, they move on to besieging the province’s fortified garrison. Finally, once the garrison is destroyed, you occupy the province. However, occupation does not equal ownership in For the Glory. Instead, your enemy must agree to cede you the territory in a peace treaty, and the likelihood that they’ll agree to your terms is determined by how much territory you occupy and how well your units fared in battle.

Combat is significantly tougher in For the Glory than in EUII for three primary reasons. First, terrain and weather are now extremely important, and as a result, a large and technologically advanced army can still lose battles against weaker defenders in harsh weather or on rugged terrain. Second, larger armies are more vulnerable to attrition casualties due to supply shortages in For the Glory. Weather contributes to attrition as well, so you may lose your grand army if you leave it in some Russian backwater in the middle of winter. Naval attrition is also a bigger concern, but thankfully fleets now automatically sail to the nearest friendly port when they start taking too many attrition losses on the high seas. Unfortunately, this makes whimsical invasions of Rome with hundreds of Chinese junks practically impossible. Finally, the AI puts up a much better fight in For the Glory than it does in EUII, having learned to concentrate its forces, rather than sending out puny armies for you to destroy piecemeal. 

EUII offered a lot in the way of combat, strategy, and diplomacy, but it was never known for eye candy, and the graphics haven’t aged well. For the Glory, however, makes several improvements in that regard. Several new and improved unit sprites have been added, the most notable of which are the revolting peasants who are now represented by pitchfork-wielding farmers rather than professional soldiers. Unfortunately, some of the original sprites still remain, which causes disappointing moments, such as when technological advances cause England’s new longbowman sprite to be replaced by a drab sprite from 2001. Also, the city buildings and the map haven’t received major face-lifts, but the 2D map and its board game feel do have a nostalgic appeal. Other welcome improvements include additional map modes: one that details the majority nationality in each province and another that tracks revolt risk. The greatest gameplay benefit of these additions is the ability to move your armies while in the political borders map mode, which EUII fans will undoubtedly appreciate. 

In addition to the new visuals, For the Glory has improved on EUII’s interface, providing more tooltips and useful new icons that notify you when peasants verge on rebellion, when truces with other countries are set to expire, and when creditors expect repayment. Another icon appears when province buildings are ready to be upgraded, and clicking on it takes you to the city management screen for the first eligible province. Improvements like these make For the Glory extremely user-friendly, and besides, an eternal puppet master (such as yourself) shouldn’t have to search through complicated ledgers and personally inspect each province in order to exercise his or her power. 

As for new content, For the Glory delivers thousands of new events, including random events, which can be triggered for any country, and historical ones, which are country-specific. The latter add a world of flavor to the game. For instance, events about building Versailles or the rise of Cardinal Richelieu make you feel like you are running France rather than “that big blue blob on the political map.” Additionally, you’ll find in-depth alternate-history event chains for situations such as an English victory in the Hundred Years’ War or an early unification of Germany. Most of the new events are part of the Alternative Grand Campaign and Event Exchange Project, one of two EUII user-made modifications that are included with For the Glory. Unfortunately, AGCEEP isn’t as stable as vanilla For the Glory and occasionally crashes to desktop, so save often if you decide to play it. The other included mod is a scenario focusing on Tamerlane, which will certainly appeal to fans of the Timurid Empire. 

The new content and improvements are such welcome revisions to EUII that it’s hard to understand why all of its imperfections weren’t exorcised. Colonization, for example, is still a tedious affair. To colonize a province, you have to click the colonist button, click on the province that you want to colonize, and then wait to see if settlers are successful. Each successful attempt adds 100 people to the population of the colony, and you need at least 1,000 settlers in a province to turn your colony into a city. Why can’t the computer be ordered to automatically send free colonists to a specific settlement until the population reaches 1,000? And why can’t you send multiple colonists to a single province at the same time? Merchants are similarly disappointing. Although you can order the computer to automatically send your merchants to foreign centers of trade, you can’t specify the areas on which it should focus. As a result, the computer may send your merchants to Malaya when you want to establish a monopoly in Flanders. Of course, you can send merchants manually, but that is about as much fun as colonization. 

Another annoying holdover from EUII is the sound effects, the most grating of which are the construction sounds and the shrill trumpets heralding diplomatic offers. While the sound is mostly on par with EUII, the music is actually inferior. For the Glory uses EUIII’s respectable, one-hour-long score, but EUII’s soundtrack was top-notch, featuring 150 minutes of diverse and unforgettable folk tunes. 

Missing from For the Glory is Valkyrienet, the multiplayer matchmaking server used in EUII. Consequently, your multiplayer options are limited mostly to local area network games, direct connection via IP address, or games arranged through a third party such as GameRanger. Moreover, if you do join a game, you’re in for a serious disappointment. Multiplayer is plagued by so many crashes and latency issues that it’s practically impossible to play with one friend over a LAN, much less up to 32 players over the Internet. While the very devoted may make their way through multiplayer campaigns by taking advantage of the ability to save and reload multiplayer games, that’s no consolation to most of us, who’ll find no joy in multiplayer in its current, buggy iteration. 

Despite the supremely disappointing multiplayer experience, For the Glory manages to greatly improve upon Europa Universalis II. The visual improvements, better tooltips, helpful reminder icons, and thousands of new events make For the Glory superior to its venerable ancestor. Needless to say, fans of EUII should pick it up immediately, and Renaissance- and Napoleonic-era aficionados are in for a treat. However, given the availability of Europa Universalis III and its expansions, you may prefer to skip For the Glory in favor of the more stable and aesthetically pleasing experience. If you love the flavor of historical and alt-history events, For the Glory is the Europa Universalis may well be the game for you.

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The more we play Need For Speed: Shift, the more we feel that it’s become a little bit schizophrenic. When we saw the game earlier in the year it seemed to us like Slightly Mad Studios were the guys in charge. With much of the team (then working for SimBin) responsible for well-respected PC racing sims GTR2 and Race, it was clear that Shift was an extension of their past work.

As the game nears release, however, it’s evolved into a racer that fits in much more with the Need For Speed brand. Under the skin, a serious and challenging simulator still exists – but we get the impression that all the pomp and extravagance we normally associate with past Black Box NFS games is attempting to overpower it, which is a shame.

Still, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Although Need For Speed now has several ‘branches’ (motorsport, street racing, open-world MMO), few would argue that the franchise needed a boot up the arse. With Black Box responsible for developing all of the outings almost every year for the last decade, it’s no surprise that things have been stale for a while. Ever since Codies released Race Driver: Grid last year to whopping acclaim, we can’t blame EA for wanting a piece of the 90%-plus rated action.

Anyone familiar with Grid won’t have much difficulty making comparisons – and not just with the presentation. Like Grid, Shift sports a handling model that sits in between Forza 2 and Project Gotham. It also boasts Drift events and head-to-head Touge races (deemed Car Battles here) in addition to the traditional multiple race series. Similarly, Shift focuses primarily on the intensity of racing. Here it’s represented by the physical forces inflicted on a driver – run over a kerb or collide with another vehicle and your head will be shaken about; barrel into a wall at 100mph+ and you’ll know all about it.

Picture being caught in the blast of a grenade in Call of Duty – the effect is similar here. Colour drains from your view, the sound on the impact rings in your ears and you’ll be disorientated by the violent tremors of the screen. Your vehicle will be well aware of the cock-up too – although it doesn’t feature quite the same level of damage modelling, the way it crumples looks visually impressive.

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Essentially, if you get behind the wheel and expect to ham-fistedly powerslide your way around a track like in previous Need For Speed games, then you’ll be in for a right old shock. Try to grab Shift by the scruff of the neck and you’ll quickly discover there is no Grid-like Flashback option to get you out of the gravel. If anything, the handling demands the precision of a steering wheel peripheral – using a controller to wrestle some of the rear wheel drive cars can be tricky. Personally, we’d like more sensitivity from the throttle and more ‘feel’ from the steering – it took a real effort to readjust our skills from other racers to stop us overcompensating during slides; cue much ‘fish-tailing’ down the road due to the lack of feedback from the balance of the car. Whacking off most of the driver assists helps, but we hope the last few weeks of crucial physics tuning rectifies this…

What we’ve talked about so far is Slightly Mad’s role in development. But Black Box have also played a big part – namely, adding the Need For Speed-iness. Beyond the tuning and visual makeovers (which uses a system that looks like it owes a lot to their last title, Undercover), Black Box have also incorporated substantial career and driver development.

At its most basic, the key to advancing your way up through the racing tiers (from Euro hatchbacks like the new Renault Megane and VW Sirocco and old Japanese classics like the Nissan 240SX and Sprinter Trueno to higher tiers which include the Pagani Zonda, McLaren F1 and Bugatti Veyron) is by earning stars and profile points. Stars are awarded for podium finishes and completing race objectives (overtake a certain number of opponents, drift for so many seconds etc) and are used to unlock new races. Points, on the other hand, are similar to Gotham’s ageless Kudos system; impressive or destructive driving techniques earn points which can be used to unlock new cars, parts and other goodies.

There’s more to the profile points than unlocks, though – and they have interesting potential. Points can be awarded for two very distinct actions: Precision and Aggression. Clean overtakes, keeping to the racing line and flawless laps are considered Precision actions. Spinning opponents, trading paint and powersliding are classed as Aggression.

Levelling up both of these aspects will present opportunities depending on your style but, more importantly, they’ll also identify your abilities online. In conjunction with Achievement badges, you should very easily be able to assess what sort of drivers you’re going up against. The online modes were inaccessible to us at this preview stage, but we’re hoping this means Live races could be restricted to, say, Precision drivers over a certain level – so at least this means there’s some possibility of starting on the grid with gentlemen drivers rather than loose cannons.

If they want a rough and tumble race, they can compete with other Aggressive drivers. If this isn’t the case, what’s the point of telling the world you drive cleanly and courteously (or like an arse)? Shift will also punish drivers for cutting corners (lap times won’t count) while eliminating any car heading the wrong way for more than three seconds – a trifle harsh, but you’ll soon learn.

Shift may have a bit of an identity crisis but it’s still the most thrilling prospect for the series in ages. It’s used Grid as its yardstick and thrown so many other ingredients into the mix it’s difficult not to be impressed with what’s on offer. It looks like being a real bumper year for petrolheads.

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All the King’s Men release “Since open beta began in December, the population of Taborea has soared and we have worked closely with the community to fine tune the Runes of Magic experience,” said Daniel Ullrich, director of product management at Frogster. “The launch is only the next milestone in delivering the full Runes of Magic experience as we are already planning and creating the next release of new content for the game.”

Runes of Magic started the open beta with a localized English and German version in the middle of December 2008. All interested players can now download the online-role playing game and enter into the fantasy world after creating an account for free on www.runesofmagic.com.

Runes of Magic went into open beta with English and German versions in mid-December 2008. Anyone interested can now download the game and enter the world after creating an account for free at: www.runesofmagic.com.

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About Runes of Magic
Runes of Magic is the Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) that is redefining the standard for free-to-play titles. With an exciting and engaging story, more than 1,000 quests at launch and 30 character class combinations, Runes of Magic is the most immersive, content-rich free-to-play MMO game ever created. More than 450,000 people have already signed up and entered the world with hundreds of thousands more expected as word of the game’s features and community spread each day. Already a winner of multiple awards for its content and overall gameplay, Runes of Magic is expected to be a major international hit in 2009 and beyond. For more information, please visit: www.runesofmagic.com

Runes of Magic features

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• Free-to-play: no monthly fees, free download
• Extensive dual class system (six primary and secondary classes)
• Versatile spell- and attack-combinations
• Enthralling background story
• More than 1,000 quests and quest series on launch
• No zone boundaries thanks to seamless architecture
• Dungeons: Instanced and tile based as well as persistent
• Individually developable skills and spells
• Armor sets with special bonuses
• Dynamic item system with hundreds of runes for upgrading
• Optional PvP system with arena battles and guild wars
• Ranking system with player-ranking lists
• Multitude of unique mounts
• Epic crafting system with the chance to improve existing items
• Personalization of player houses through individual furnishing
• Reputation system
• Customizable user interface with the option to use Add-Ons
• Map and radar system to find dealers, resources and quests easily
• In-game auction houses for trading items
• Teleport-Runes for instant travel
• Mouse and keyboard controls for movement
• Regular updates with new content
• Cross-server fights in three-server-battle in development
• Guild houses in special zones in development

About Runewaker Entertainment Ltd.
Runewaker Entertainment was founded in August of 2004, with the headquarters located in Taichung, Taiwan. The founding members are all very experienced in the field and decided to come together to pursue their own dream. Currently Runewaker employs over 40 highly skilled programmers, designers and artists and is constantly expanding. Runewaker specializes in making massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG). The company has built their own engine from scratch that rivals some of the best that is available out on the market. Their first product, Radiant Arcana (Runes of Magic), is already completed and currently in Open Beta Phase in China. Runewaker is currently producing more content for Runes of Magic. Webpage: http://www.runewaker.com/

Crank movie It’s a Wonderful Life dvdrip About Frogster America, Inc.
Frogster America, Inc., was founded in 2008 to bring high-quality online games to the North American market. As a wholly owned subsidiary of the Frogster Interactive Pictures AG, a Berlin based listed publisher of online computer games, Frogster America is located in San Francisco, and focused on the operation and marketing of MMO games that appeal to a global audience. With Runes of Magic, its first release coming in Q1 2009, the company is well positioned for success with a rapidly growing community and strong initial title on which to establish its market presence.

Source [GameSpy]

“English-speaking European players have long come to Aeria’s North American servers because of our first-class support, daily player events and, of course, the great gameplay of Last Chaos,” stated Susan Revelt, producer for Last Chaos. “With the new European channel, Last Chaos players can enjoy the game alongside their continental friends with promotions and events designed around peak European playing hours.”

In a fictional land of dragons, magic, and heroism, gamers can battle each other and the environment in a unique PvPvE system. Last Chaos features a state-of-the-art graphic system that renders high-intensity battles. In addition, the title features an item crafting system and a pet-raising system.

To celebrate the launch of the European server, Aeria Games announced that they are giving away £10,000 in prizes to players during the first month of EU server promotions.

For more information on contests and how to play Last Chaos, visit: http://lastchaos.aeriagames.com/playnow.

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About Aeria Games:
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Aeria Games is the dynamic gaming community where players of all backgrounds and interests can connect, share, and enjoy an unparalleled variety of Massive Multiplayer Online (MMO) games from all over the world.

Our vision is to provide the best Community Gaming Experience and Service to each and every one of our players and best of all, every game is FREE to Play! Start playing our games today by registering for your Aeria Games account at http://www.aeriagames.com.

Founded in 2006, Aeria Games & Entertainment, Inc. is based in Silicon Valley, California.

Here are the official details straight from Mr. Ed’s mouth: Need for Speed SHIFT

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– Fall 2009 Shift into high gear! Designed to deliver a true driver’s experience that reflects contemporary motorsports, Need for Speed SHIFT is built by racers for racers. Need for Speed SHIFT delivers an authentic and immersive driving experience developed by Slightly Mad Studios in collaboration with executive producer Michael Mann at Black Box and senior vice president Patrick Soderlund at EA Games Europe. Slightly Mad Studios includes developers and designers that worked on the critically acclaimed games GT Legends and GTR 2. Need for Speed SHIFT replicates the true feeling of racing high-end performance cars like never before. Players are thrust into the heart of the action with immersive and exciting features including a stunningly realistic first-person cockpit view camera and an all-new crash mechanic, providing an unrivaled sensation of the speed and feeling of racing a car on the extreme edge of control.

Soderlund is also part of a racing team that recently competed in the 4th edition of the TOYO TIRES 24H Dubai 2009, the first major race event of the year. His team ranked #5 in the high-profile race. Soderlund and the SHIFT development team are committed to bringing the on-the-track experience to players across the world.

Need for Speed SHIFT will be released on PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system, PSP® (PlayStation® Portable) and PC in fall 2009.

Need for Speed NITRO (Working Title) – Fall 2009 Developed by EA Montreal, Need for Speed NITRO for Wii™ and Nintendo DS™ will have players of all skill levels hooked from the moment they get into the action, while arcade racing fans will be exhilarated by the deep and challenging gameplay. EA Montreal has already established a strong track record of developing for these platforms and will bring their unique creativity and innovation to the Need for Speed franchise.

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Gamers can build up their boost as they drift and drag behind their opponents and use it strategically to change the course of the race, but watch out for the cops! Offering a fresh and unique visual style, the game features a variety of licensed cars which can be fully customized to let the game reflect the player’s taste and personality. This evolutionary take on arcade racing, bringing back the best features found in Need for Speed games, comes exclusively to the Nintendo platforms this fall.

Need for Speed World Online Deal hd – Winter 2009 in North America, (Summer 2009 in Asia) Co-developed by Black Box and EA Singapore, Need for Speed World Online takes the race into the largest open world in the history of Need for Speed – designed exclusively for the PC. Beginning in Asia, this Play 4 Free action racing game will give Need for Speed fans access to licensed cars, parts and multiple game modes. Players will prove their racing supremacy through the sophisticated online matchmaking features and fully customize their profile and their ride.

EA and Black Box will have more news about the Need for Speed franchise in the months ahead.

Source [GameSpy]