http://news.softpedia.com Softpedia News - Columns Softpedia News en-us 2001 - 2013 Softpedia. All rights reserved. Thu, 23 May 2013 16:54:07 GMT Thu, 23 May 2013 16:54:07 GMT News http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 10 http://news.softpedia.com/base_img/softpedia_logo.gif http://news.softpedia.com http://news.softpedia.com/news/A-Gamer-s-Week-May-19-354436.shtml The review department of Softpedia Games has been pretty busy this week and delivers long-form evaluations for: Metro: Last Light, the post-apocalyptic narrative-driven shooter from 4A Games and Deep Silver; Anomaly 2, a new tower defense experience; Sanctum 2, a mix of shooter and tower defense, and Leviathan: Warships, a naval combat title.

We also have the u... (read more)]]> Sun, 19 May 2013 09:31:02 GMT Softpedia News - Columns http://news.softpedia.com/news/A-Gamer-s-Week-May-19-354436.shtml Columns http://news.softpedia.com/news/A-Gamer-s-Week-May-19-354436.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Andrei Dumitrescu) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Weekend-Reading-E3-2013-PlayStation-4-Xbox-720-and-Hands-On-Experiences-354361.shtml Three weeks from now, the E3 2013 event will open its doors in Los Angeles and it's expected that most major gaming companies will flock to the City of Angels in order to showcase their latest products.

They will do so either in big conferences, like Microsoft or Sony, or in smaller gatherings, like Nintendo.read more)]]> Sat, 18 May 2013 19:11:02 GMT Softpedia News - Columns http://news.softpedia.com/news/Weekend-Reading-E3-2013-PlayStation-4-Xbox-720-and-Hands-On-Experiences-354361.shtml Columns http://news.softpedia.com/news/Weekend-Reading-E3-2013-PlayStation-4-Xbox-720-and-Hands-On-Experiences-354361.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Andrei Dobra) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Weekend-Reading-Gran-Turismo-6-Makes-Sense-on-the-PlayStation-3-354385.shtml Developers at Polyphony Digital and publisher Sony surprised a lot of fans on Wednesday when they announced that the upcoming Gran Turismo 6 would be launched exclusively on the PlayStation 3 home console in winter 2013.

The community expressed disbelief because it was widely expected that the new racing game would int... (read more)]]> Sat, 18 May 2013 17:11:01 GMT Softpedia News - Columns http://news.softpedia.com/news/Weekend-Reading-Gran-Turismo-6-Makes-Sense-on-the-PlayStation-3-354385.shtml Columns http://news.softpedia.com/news/Weekend-Reading-Gran-Turismo-6-Makes-Sense-on-the-PlayStation-3-354385.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Andrei Dumitrescu) http://news.softpedia.com/news/EndWeekGame-May-17-354235.shtml Andrei Dumitrescu: I will spend my weekend mainly watching the most exciting stages of Il Giro, cheering my favorite cycling team, Radioshack Nissan, while carefully watching the tactics that the riders employ to gain a competitive advantage.

That also means that my limited gaming time will be spent with last year’s edition of Pro Cycling Manager, running a... (read more)]]> Fri, 17 May 2013 20:01:02 GMT Softpedia News - Columns http://news.softpedia.com/news/EndWeekGame-May-17-354235.shtml Columns http://news.softpedia.com/news/EndWeekGame-May-17-354235.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Andrei Dumitrescu) http://news.softpedia.com/news/A-Gamer-s-Week-May-12-352600.shtml This week, the review slate for the Games section of Softpedia includes: Don’t Starve, a roguelike experience that has a unique art style and interesting mechanics, Zeno Clash 2, a brawler that might be too ambitious for its own good, Sorcery on iOS devices and Might & Magic: Heroes VI: Shades of Darkness, the unnecessary expansion to the classic tactics-driven serie... (read more)]]> Sun, 12 May 2013 09:41:01 GMT Softpedia News - Columns http://news.softpedia.com/news/A-Gamer-s-Week-May-12-352600.shtml Columns http://news.softpedia.com/news/A-Gamer-s-Week-May-12-352600.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Andrei Dumitrescu) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Weekend-Reading-The-Necessity-for-Offline-Play-in-PlayStation-4-and-Xbox-720-352622.shtml We're now a month away from E3 2013, the largest gaming event of the year, which kicks off on June 11 and lasts until June 13.

At the conference, both Sony and Microsoft are expected to completely detail their upcoming next generation consoles, the PlayStation 4 and Xbox 720.

Ever since before the... (read more)]]> Sat, 11 May 2013 19:21:02 GMT Softpedia News - Columns http://news.softpedia.com/news/Weekend-Reading-The-Necessity-for-Offline-Play-in-PlayStation-4-and-Xbox-720-352622.shtml Columns http://news.softpedia.com/news/Weekend-Reading-The-Necessity-for-Offline-Play-in-PlayStation-4-and-Xbox-720-352622.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Andrei Dobra) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Weekend-Reading-The-Social-and-TV-Mix-of-Game-of-Thrones-352561.shtml One of my recent passions is experiencing all content linked to the R.R. Martin created saga A Song of Ice and Fire and that includes a lot of time spent with Game of Thrones Ascent, the social game based on it that Disruptor Beam has created for Facebook.

This is, of course, linked to the fact that HBO is at the moment runni... (read more)]]> Sat, 11 May 2013 17:31:02 GMT Softpedia News - Columns http://news.softpedia.com/news/Weekend-Reading-The-Social-and-TV-Mix-of-Game-of-Thrones-352561.shtml Columns http://news.softpedia.com/news/Weekend-Reading-The-Social-and-TV-Mix-of-Game-of-Thrones-352561.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Andrei Dumitrescu) http://news.softpedia.com/news/EndWeekGame-May-10-352373.shtml Andrei Dumitrescu: I’ve been playing both Might & Magic: Heroes VI – Shades of Darkness and Leviathan: Warships during the week, but neither of the two experiences is likely to hold my interest in the long term.

I plan to go back to some old favorites during the weekend, mainly Crusader Kings II, which is set to get a new piece of extensive downloada... (read more)]]> Fri, 10 May 2013 20:01:02 GMT Softpedia News - Columns http://news.softpedia.com/news/EndWeekGame-May-10-352373.shtml Columns http://news.softpedia.com/news/EndWeekGame-May-10-352373.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Andrei Dumitrescu) http://news.softpedia.com/news/A-Gamer-s-Week-May-5-350979.shtml We have once again been busy in terms of review and we deliver extensive evaluations for: Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, the ‘80s inspired shooter from Ubisoft, Mars: War Logs, an action driven adventure from Spiders, Poker Night at the Inventory 2 and Eador – Masters of the Broken World, a turn based strategy that can eat up gaming time.

We also have the u... (read more)]]> Sun, 5 May 2013 08:51:01 GMT Softpedia News - Columns http://news.softpedia.com/news/A-Gamer-s-Week-May-5-350979.shtml Columns http://news.softpedia.com/news/A-Gamer-s-Week-May-5-350979.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Andrei Dumitrescu) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Weekend-Reading-Grand-Theft-Auto-5-vs-Call-of-Duty-Ghosts-350892.shtml This week was marked by the confirmation of a major upcoming game, Call of Duty: Ghosts, and the appearance of fresh details about another great release, Grand Theft Auto V.

Both games are set to sell millions upon millions of copies when they'll appear this fall and both will certainly drive off other games from coming out ... (read more)]]> Sat, 4 May 2013 19:11:02 GMT Softpedia News - Columns http://news.softpedia.com/news/Weekend-Reading-Grand-Theft-Auto-5-vs-Call-of-Duty-Ghosts-350892.shtml Columns http://news.softpedia.com/news/Weekend-Reading-Grand-Theft-Auto-5-vs-Call-of-Duty-Ghosts-350892.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Andrei Dobra) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Weekend-Reading-FIFA-14-Is-Underwhelming-350913.shtml FIFA 14 is now an official project under development at EA Sports, but the announcement of this year’s installment of the most popular football simulator has left many of the fans a little underwhelmed, especially when compared to the flurry of excitement that accompanied last year’s reveal.

FIFA 14 has a number of features desig... (read more)]]> Sat, 4 May 2013 17:31:02 GMT Softpedia News - Columns http://news.softpedia.com/news/Weekend-Reading-FIFA-14-Is-Underwhelming-350913.shtml Columns http://news.softpedia.com/news/Weekend-Reading-FIFA-14-Is-Underwhelming-350913.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Andrei Dumitrescu) http://news.softpedia.com/news/EndWeekGame-May-3-350772.shtml Andrei Dumitrescu: This weekend is the Orthodox Easter and that means I have one extra day that I can dedicate completely to gaming and reading, my two favorite activities when I get an hour or two of free time.

The ongoing third season of Game of Thrones on HBO means that I complement my television watching with the thematic mod for Crusader Kings 2, the grand st... (read more)]]> Fri, 3 May 2013 20:01:02 GMT Softpedia News - Columns http://news.softpedia.com/news/EndWeekGame-May-3-350772.shtml Columns http://news.softpedia.com/news/EndWeekGame-May-3-350772.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Andrei Dumitrescu) http://news.softpedia.com/news/A-Gamer-s-Week-April-28-349053.shtml The review department of Softpedia delivers long-form evaluations for four titles this week: Sacred Citadel, a fantasy series spin-off that does not quite succeed, Monaco: What’s Yours Is Mine, a top down stealth action title with charming graphics, Dead Island: Riptide, the standalone expansion that focuses on zombie bashing in tropical locations, and Star Trek: T... (read more)]]> Sun, 28 Apr 2013 07:21:01 GMT Softpedia News - Columns http://news.softpedia.com/news/A-Gamer-s-Week-April-28-349053.shtml Columns http://news.softpedia.com/news/A-Gamer-s-Week-April-28-349053.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Andrei Dumitrescu) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Weekend-Reading-What-the-Xbox-720-May-21-Reveal-Needs-to-Do-348972.shtml After plenty of rumors, reports, and speculation, Microsoft finally confirmed this week that it's going to present the next Xbox at a special event held in its home campus of Redmond, Washington, on May 21.

The company didn't reveal anything else about the event so fans still need to rely on the variety of rumors and repor... (read more)]]> Sat, 27 Apr 2013 19:21:02 GMT Softpedia News - Columns http://news.softpedia.com/news/Weekend-Reading-What-the-Xbox-720-May-21-Reveal-Needs-to-Do-348972.shtml Columns http://news.softpedia.com/news/Weekend-Reading-What-the-Xbox-720-May-21-Reveal-Needs-to-Do-348972.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Andrei Dobra) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Weekend-Reading-BioShock-Infinite-Has-Violence-at-Its-Core-349008.shtml After the initial wave of awe at the sheer breadth and quality of BioShock Infinite passed, many gamers came to criticize the choice of the first-person shooter as the genre for the most recent title from Irrational Games.

It’s interesting to note that most of them are fans of the game and appreciate the world and cha... (read more)]]> Sat, 27 Apr 2013 17:41:02 GMT Softpedia News - Columns http://news.softpedia.com/news/Weekend-Reading-BioShock-Infinite-Has-Violence-at-Its-Core-349008.shtml Columns http://news.softpedia.com/news/Weekend-Reading-BioShock-Infinite-Has-Violence-at-Its-Core-349008.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Andrei Dumitrescu) http://news.softpedia.com/news/EndWeekGame-April-26-348836.shtml Andrei Dumitrescu: I like to play strategy-focused titles when I can and at the moment, that means spending time with Eador – Master of the Broken World, an interesting game that unfortunately requires quite a bit of time in order to reveal its secrets.

I will also play the Heart of Darkness expansion for Victoria II in order to try to get the best perfor... (read more)]]> Fri, 26 Apr 2013 20:01:02 GMT Softpedia News - Columns http://news.softpedia.com/news/EndWeekGame-April-26-348836.shtml Columns http://news.softpedia.com/news/EndWeekGame-April-26-348836.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Andrei Dumitrescu) http://news.softpedia.com/news/A-Gamer-s-Week-April-19-347036.shtml Our review schedule was pretty full this week as we take a look at: Injustice: Gods Among Us, the fighting game from NetherRealm and Warner Bros.; Signal Ops, an interesting indie title that uses indirect control; Lords of Football, a sim that deliver a unique look at footballer’s lives; and the Heart of Darkness review for Victoria II, a grand strategy experience ... (read more)]]> Sun, 21 Apr 2013 08:41:01 GMT Softpedia News - Columns http://news.softpedia.com/news/A-Gamer-s-Week-April-19-347036.shtml Columns http://news.softpedia.com/news/A-Gamer-s-Week-April-19-347036.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Andrei Dumitrescu) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Weekend-Reading-Windows-8-Could-Save-Xbox-720-347017.shtml The Xbox 720 reports kept on appearing this week, with a pretty massive manifest leaking on the web with details about the actual console, which apparently includes an Xbox 360 chip for backwards compatibility, its Kinect 2.0 sensor, which eliminates input lag, or its controller, which has a longer battery life.

The most important subje... (read more)]]> Sat, 20 Apr 2013 19:21:01 GMT Softpedia News - Columns http://news.softpedia.com/news/Weekend-Reading-Windows-8-Could-Save-Xbox-720-347017.shtml Columns http://news.softpedia.com/news/Weekend-Reading-Windows-8-Could-Save-Xbox-720-347017.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Andrei Dobra) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Weekend-Reading-Battlefield-4-and-Lack-of-Motion-Tracking-347024.shtml Battlefield 4 is one of the biggest titles expected to launch this year, a first-person shooter that was revealed via an impressive Frostbite 3 engine powered 17-minute video, and one piece of news this week was that developer DICE had no plans to support motion tracking for it.

Remember the marketing push that Microsoft put... (read more)]]> Sat, 20 Apr 2013 18:11:03 GMT Softpedia News - Columns http://news.softpedia.com/news/Weekend-Reading-Battlefield-4-and-Lack-of-Motion-Tracking-347024.shtml Columns http://news.softpedia.com/news/Weekend-Reading-Battlefield-4-and-Lack-of-Motion-Tracking-347024.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Andrei Dumitrescu) http://news.softpedia.com/news/EndWeekGame-April-19-346874.shtml Andrei Dumitrescu: I have played quite a bit of the Company of Heroes 2 beta, or stress test as Relic called it, and I have re-discovered how much I love the series, which takes on the real-time strategy genre.

This means that I will revisit the first game in the series, jumping into some multiplayer in order to see the innovations that were introduced in the s... (read more)]]> Fri, 19 Apr 2013 20:11:02 GMT Softpedia News - Columns http://news.softpedia.com/news/EndWeekGame-April-19-346874.shtml Columns http://news.softpedia.com/news/EndWeekGame-April-19-346874.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Andrei Dumitrescu) http://news.softpedia.com/news/A-Gamer-s-Week-April-14-345202.shtml This week, our review section delivers extensive looks at Age of Empires 2 HD, which was re-released on Steam, and Guacamelee, a smart and funny experience on the PlayStation 3.

The Weekend Reading features talk about the way companies fail to understand the importance of game universes like Command & Conquer or The Hobbit and rumors related to the Xbox 720.... (read more)]]> Sun, 14 Apr 2013 10:11:02 GMT Softpedia News - Columns http://news.softpedia.com/news/A-Gamer-s-Week-April-14-345202.shtml Columns http://news.softpedia.com/news/A-Gamer-s-Week-April-14-345202.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Andrei Dumitrescu) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Weekend-Reading-How-to-Squander-The-Hobbit-and-Command-Conquer-345182.shtml The Hobbit was one of the biggest movie releases of 2012, but in the game universe, The Lord of the Rings franchise has long been a discrete presence, with the Turbine MMO currently offering the most complete experience to fans as long as they can accept the general concept of the genre.

Recently, The Hobbit: Armies of ... (read more)]]> Sat, 13 Apr 2013 17:01:04 GMT Softpedia News - Columns http://news.softpedia.com/news/Weekend-Reading-How-to-Squander-The-Hobbit-and-Command-Conquer-345182.shtml Columns http://news.softpedia.com/news/Weekend-Reading-How-to-Squander-The-Hobbit-and-Command-Conquer-345182.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Andrei Dumitrescu) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Weekend-Reading-Xbox-720-and-Rumor-Saturation-345142.shtml After the major controversy surrounding the mandatory internet connection rumor for the Xbox 720, Microsoft's all-but-confirmed next generation console has continued to occupy the spotlight in the last week through all sorts of leaks, reports, and rumors.

Microsoft is still playing the waiting game with its next generation home console, t... (read more)]]> Sat, 13 Apr 2013 07:02:00 GMT Softpedia News - Columns http://news.softpedia.com/news/Weekend-Reading-Xbox-720-and-Rumor-Saturation-345142.shtml Columns http://news.softpedia.com/news/Weekend-Reading-Xbox-720-and-Rumor-Saturation-345142.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Andrei Dobra) http://news.softpedia.com/news/EndWeekGame-April-12-345003.shtml Andrei Dumitrescu: I’ve been away on holiday last week in Valencia, Spain and while visiting the ancient fortress and castle at Xativa, I found my thoughts wondering towards Europa Universalis III and the situation in the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages.

I plan to use the Paradox-created grand strategy game to test some scenarios that could have ha... (read more)]]> Fri, 12 Apr 2013 20:11:02 GMT Softpedia News - Columns http://news.softpedia.com/news/EndWeekGame-April-12-345003.shtml Columns http://news.softpedia.com/news/EndWeekGame-April-12-345003.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Andrei Dumitrescu) http://news.softpedia.com/news/A-Gamer-s-Week-April-7-343481.shtml The first week of April has been quite a busy one for gamers, as all sorts of news, rumors, and reports appeared on the web about many great titles, consoles, and upcoming devices.

Here at Softpedia we posted a variety of original content, starting with our review for BattleBlock Theater, our preview of Might & Magic Heroes VI: Shades of Darkness, our exclusi... (read more)]]> Sun, 7 Apr 2013 11:31:01 GMT Softpedia News - Columns http://news.softpedia.com/news/A-Gamer-s-Week-April-7-343481.shtml Columns http://news.softpedia.com/news/A-Gamer-s-Week-April-7-343481.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Andrei Dobra) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Weekend-Reading-The-Xbox-720-Mandatory-Internet-Connection-343470.shtml Without a doubt one of the biggest news that appeared this week in the gaming industry was a new report about the Xbox 720's mandatory internet connection, which apparently is still a key "feature" of Microsoft's next-generation console.

While such a requirement was already rumored for some time, only now did we get to see ... (read more)]]> Sat, 6 Apr 2013 18:01:02 GMT Softpedia News - Columns http://news.softpedia.com/news/Weekend-Reading-The-Xbox-720-Mandatory-Internet-Connection-343470.shtml Columns http://news.softpedia.com/news/Weekend-Reading-The-Xbox-720-Mandatory-Internet-Connection-343470.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Andrei Dobra) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Weekend-Reading-Counter-Strike-Real-School-Maps-and-Overblown-Fears-342515.shtml A Counter-Strike fan created a map of his old high school in Canada for the shooter and then apparently used it to host a number of matches with former students, which caused the institution to get the police involved and find out whether the map maker had any violent intent.

The map is not publicly available and t... (read more)]]> Sat, 6 Apr 2013 17:31:01 GMT Softpedia News - Columns http://news.softpedia.com/news/Weekend-Reading-Counter-Strike-Real-School-Maps-and-Overblown-Fears-342515.shtml Columns http://news.softpedia.com/news/Weekend-Reading-Counter-Strike-Real-School-Maps-and-Overblown-Fears-342515.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Andrei Dumitrescu) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Victoria-II-Heart-of-Darkness-Exclusive-Interview-with-Designer-Chris-King-342695.shtml Heart of Darkness is the second expansion for Victoria II, designed to enhance various elements of the grand strategy experience, and Softpedia got a chance to talk with game designer Chris King about the philosophy behind the game, the Crisis mechanics and modding.

Softpedia: What prompted you to revisit Vi... (read more)]]> Fri, 5 Apr 2013 00:11:01 GMT Softpedia News - Columns http://news.softpedia.com/news/Victoria-II-Heart-of-Darkness-Exclusive-Interview-with-Designer-Chris-King-342695.shtml Columns http://news.softpedia.com/news/Victoria-II-Heart-of-Darkness-Exclusive-Interview-with-Designer-Chris-King-342695.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Andrei Dumitrescu) http://news.softpedia.com/news/A-Gamer-s-Week-March-31-341630.shtml It might only be March right now, but two of the biggest video games of the year, at least when current consoles and the PC are concerned, are already out and we have full Softpedia reviews to deliver for both of them.

BioShock Infinite is the new game from Ken Levine and many industry watchers are already talking about it as a strong candidate for end of 20... (read more)]]> Sun, 31 Mar 2013 11:11:01 GMT Softpedia News - Columns http://news.softpedia.com/news/A-Gamer-s-Week-March-31-341630.shtml Columns http://news.softpedia.com/news/A-Gamer-s-Week-March-31-341630.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Andrei Dumitrescu) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Weekend-Reading-Battlefield-4-and-Why-Graphics-Aren-t-Enough-341600.shtml After lots of teasing and plenty of leaks, Electronic Arts and DICE have revealed Battlefield 4 earlier this week, showcasing a massive 17-minute gameplay video that presents a mission from the single-player campaign of the upcoming first-person shooter.

While without a doubt the new shooter will be a gorgeous experience,... (read more)]]> Sat, 30 Mar 2013 20:11:01 GMT Softpedia News - Columns http://news.softpedia.com/news/Weekend-Reading-Battlefield-4-and-Why-Graphics-Aren-t-Enough-341600.shtml Columns http://news.softpedia.com/news/Weekend-Reading-Battlefield-4-and-Why-Graphics-Aren-t-Enough-341600.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Andrei Dobra)