Monday, January 20, 2014

News::Early Access Gaming - The Good and Bad Of The "Beta Phase"

HardwarePal : Early access in games has become a trend, everyday more and more developers are adding their unfinished games to their website or Steam for early access and beta testing. Though the concept isnt new, it is however, increasing.



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News::These ten free-to-play games made over $3T last year

Super Data Research has released their digital sales review of 2013, analyzing how much revenue was made from free-to-play, mobile, console, and PC digital content. In the free-to-play category, the top ten games based on revenues worldwide made a total of $3,574 trillion. Yes, trillion.


The top earner was CrossFire at $957 million, a free-to-play first-person shooter you've probably never heard of. League of Legends came in at second with $624 million, and Nexon's Dungeon Fighter Online came in at third with $426 million.


Other top earners include World of Tanks at $372 million, World of Warcraft with $213 million, Star Wars: The Old Republic with $139 million, and Team Fortress 2 at $139 million. Most impressive to me is that Lineage I, a game that's been out for 14 years now, made another $257 million last year.


Impressive, if not a little disheartening. There's additional stats worth checking out on Super Data Research, just brace yourself at the mobile section when you see how much Candy Crush Saga makes every single day.


US digital games market update: December 2013 [Super Data Research]


These ten free-to-play games made over $3T last year screenshot






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News::Six of the Most Overpowered Weapons in Video Game History

Ray Porreca of Entertainment Buddha writes: "Plenty of video games throughout history have featured weapons that allow the player to absolutely annihilate anything in their path. These game-breakingly overpowered weapons are often a blast to use, but negate can negate any challenge that the player might have had to overcome."



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News::Don't Starve Review | PS4.sx

We all love a good walk or jog down natures path. The gentle breeze against your face. The rejuvenating feeling of being amongst natures wildlife. The sound of chirping birds in the trees, or the squirrels and deer that quickly run away at the sight of your presence. The majority of us enjoy our time with nature because we know that once we've had enough, we can pack our camping gear and make our way back to the comfort and safety of our homes. Well what if you suddenly found yourself lost in natures wilderness with no map, compass, food, water or shelter? How would you survive? What would you do to keep yourself safe, warm and fed as day turns to night? This is how we find a Scientist by the name of Wilson at the opening cutscene of Don't Starve.



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News::Darkout Review | Combo Caster

Darkout is a game that combines some ideas of Terraria with space exploration. The first impact with Darkout is quite good, with an interesting graphics. Although not as noticeable construction works with blocks as in Terraria. Unfortunately the gameplay is not at the level of Terraria and can be really tricky to do what we want. Besides all the tasks seem to be more laborious and time-consuming than in other games in the genre. Darkout makes an attempt to tell a bit more of a story than other games of its kind. This is if you never played Starbound.



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News::CGMagazine Reviews: Spellforce 2: Demons of the Past

The plot is hard to follow for someone who hasnt actually played the previous games (me, surprise surprise) Demons of the Past takes place at the end of a series of Spellforce 2 titles. After your protégé released massive demon, you, a semi-immortal member of the dragon-blooded Shaikan, have to fix things. Theres a lot of backstory thrown in there, and the game takes a self-aware and comedic stance thats somewhat more common for fantasy nowadays. I actually like the story, and think theres a lot of potential in it. Its a pity that the game itself isnt more fun.



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News::Review: Metal Gear Rising Revengeance (PC) | GGS Gamer

GGS Gamer: While I wish I could say that Platinum has flawlessly transferred over Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance to PC, I cant. But that doesnt mean this port is a hacked up mess. Its just got a few quirks.



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News::Nintendo won't put Mario on smartphones due to losses

Last week, Nintendo revised its annual sales forecast for the Wii U, dropping it from 9 million units to 2.8 million, and president Satoru Iwata said something I've been waiting for him to say for a while: "We are thinking about a new business structure." In a press conference on Friday, he made another remark many of us will be elated to hear.


"The spread of smart devices does not spell the end of game consoles," said Iwata. "It's not that simple ... It doesn't mean that we should put Mario on smartphones."


He believes Nintendo needs to leverage these devices to make consumers aware of the company's titles and encourage them to play on a game console. Sure. More than anything, though, I hope this situation causes Nintendo to rethink its online infrastructure, including game purchases being tied to hardware and Virtual Console not living up to its full potential.


Nintendo's Woes Don't Mean Game Over For Its Consoles [The Wall Street Journal]


Nintendo won't put Mario on smartphones due to losses screenshot






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News::Get Battlefield 4 Premium on GMG for $38

Hardcore Gamer: GMGs got a good deal going on now.



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News::Steam Weekly Sale Begins Tons of $2 Offerings

Hardcore Gamer: Its Monday, and its also Martin Luther King Jr. day. That means beyond honoring one of the most revered civil rights activists in history, you can also save money on games thanks to the weekly Steam sale.



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News::Dont Starves PS4 Success increases Kleis interest in Vita

After recently launching as part of the PlayStation Plus Instant Game Collection on PlayStation 4, Dont Starve breached well beyond the million-player threshold; prompting developer Klei Entertainment to further consider bringing the game to other platforms; including PlayStation Vita.



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News::The Novelist Review | Entertainium

"Games often deal in choice and consequence, though rarely do so grounded in reality or make the options so seemingly small and simple. Usually its in some sort of fantastical setting with the choices being some extreme form of good and bad, nary a grey area in sight. Hardly riveting, let alone something to get invested in. "The Novelist does just the opposite. Its set in reality following a struggling writer and his family over the course of a single summer, your job to influence his actions and ultimately decide the fate of his writing career and the well-being of his loved-ones. Its a deeply profound story, rife with introspection and very tough decisions, which The Novelist carefully weaves together to create a story thats greatly impacted by your actions."



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News::Line of Defense Tactics gameplay videos released

Some fresh gameplay videos of the upcoming Line of Defense Tactics from 3000AD, Tactics is set in the same universe as the upcoming MMO game.



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News::Disney abandons its Star Wars 1313 trademark

After Disney shut down LucasArts, I thought I had completely given up all hope for Star Wars 1313 ever getting made. I have. But that's not to say the project can't affect me from beyond the grave. There was that story about how the game would center on Boba Fett taking jobs from Jabba the Hutt, for instance -- that stung. Perhaps now we have our closure and can move on with our lives: Disney abandoned its trademark for 1313 last month.


As noticed by The Escapist, on December 23 of last year, the trademark's status on the United States Patent and Trademark Office website was changed to "Abandoned because no Statement of Use or Extension Request timely filed after Notice of Allowance was issued."


Well, at least we've got those Electronic Arts-published Star Wars games to look forw--I can't even finish that sentence.


Disney Abandons Star Wars 1313 Trademark [The Escapist]


Disney abandons its Star Wars 1313 trademark screenshot






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News::Steam Dev Days made VR enticing, now it needs to be convincing

IncGamers' Peter Parrish thinks the Voltron team-up of Valve and Oculus may be enough to push VR mainstream this time.



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News::Todd Papy New Game Director at Crytek, Working on Unannounced Project

Colton Steury writes: "Crytek is working on a new, unannounced project with Todd Papy, famous for his work on the God of War series, as the director. Given Papys history, its likely this new game is an action title, though there is no indication as to if it is a sequel to Cryteks recently released Ryse: Son of Rome, or a new game entirely."



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News::Brothers - A Tale of Two Sons free for PS Plus this week

Out of all the games I feel bad about missing last year, Brothers - A Tale of Two Sons has got to rank among the top of the list. It shouldn't take this much convincing to get me to play something I'm fairly sure I will enjoy, but that's the way of the world. Now I'll have my chance: the game joins the Instant Game Collection for PlayStation Plus members this week.


Look for Brothers as well as Worms: Battle Islands for PSP / PS Vita, another free games for subscribers, on PlayStation Network once the store update goes live tomorrow. Sorry, Worms, but I feel a whole lot less awful about not playing you.


PlayStation Plus: Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons for Members [PlayStation Blog]


Brothers - A Tale of Two Sons free for PS Plus this week screenshot






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News::Madden's Ratings Back Up Richard Sherman's Trash Talk

News::Respawn Confirms Titanfall AI's Do Not Get More Intelligent Over Time, No Cloud Based Adaptive AI

Respawn Confirms Titanfall AI's Do Not Get More Intelligent Over Time, No Cloud Based Adaptive AI.



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News::Take a look at single-player in Smash Bros. for 3DS

Super Smash Bros. director Masahiro Sakurai has taken another opportunity to remind us that the upcoming Wii U and 3DS title will, for better or worse, not have a story mode like The Subspace Emissary. The reasoning -- that players would just upload cutscenes online -- was disappointing, however there's still going to be a single-player campaign of some kind.


We don't know what form this mode will specifically take, but here's a screenshot from the 3DS version of Smash Bros. in which Mario's just chilling in a forest.


Looks a bit like Adventure Mode in Super Smash Bros. Melee. I'd be okay with that, I think -- I don't have particularly high expectations of the series' story outside of what's presented in cutscenes. Those are awesome.


Take a look at single-player in Smash Bros. for 3DS screenshot






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News::Battlefield 4 Premium, Steam/PSN/LoL Credit, Banner Saga [Deals]

News::Dealspwn Reload | Gaming SitRep - 20/01/14

In an effort to help you keep up to speed with the crazy happenings within the games industry, we decided to create a new show for our YouTube channel to do exactly that. So, welcome to Dealspwn Reload. Hosted by Carl, each week we'll take a quickfire review of the interesting tidbits of industry news, be it the exciting, the ridiculous, or the completely irrelevant, before providing a rundown of what games are releasing over the coming days. Be sure to give it a watch by hitting the jump.



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News::Preview: Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze

When Retro Studios' Donkey Kong Country Returns released for the Wii in 2010, I was ecstatic. Since I was 13 years old when I played Rare's original Donkey Kong Country for the first time, I marveled at its solid platforming and varied level design. Returns proved to be as solid in gameplay ideas as the original franchise, and when it was re-released in 3D for the 3DS, I did not hesitate to purchase it again.


Next month, Retro Studios is releasing a sort of sequel to Returns in the form of Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. After experiencing a solid four-hour chunk of the game that gave me enough time to get to the very end of World 4, I am glad to report that Tropical Freeze won't be just another by-the-numbers sequel, but an engaging addition to the revamped franchise that adds some intriguing new mechanics while taking out minor annoyances of the original Returns.


Preview: Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze screenshot


Read more...



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News::Major Glitch Makes Final Fantasy VI Unbeatable On Android

News::Galcon Legends Review Supersonic Strategy | Twinfinite

Chaz at Twinfinite writes: Ive mentioned before that Im a fan of minimalism; I enjoy simple things, like toned-down aesthetics and bare-bones controls that do what needs done in a clean, efficient, and non-complicated manner. Galcon Legends, by designer Phillip Hassey, certainly embraces these ideas and works to maximize their potential. What comes of it? A uniquely entertaining, fast-paced strategy game to life with such simple artistry that I scarcely knew what I was in for based on Steams trailer video and promotional images.



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News::Battlefield 4 Review - The Refined Geek

Battlefield 4 is a solid game, improving substantially on its predecessor in many respects whilst being different enough to stand on its own.



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News::Classic EverQuesting - it is possible! - OverlordGaming

Apparently some guys remade the popular MMORPG through emulators and are now hosting it. The whole experience is very genuine and feels nostalgic to whomever played EverQuest in the olden days.



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News::Steam Review of the DayZ Mod for Arma 2

SteamFirst: I know this isn't a new review but it is one which is essential to any Steam exclusive community. This review is based on the 1.7.1 patch and everything in this review is open to change. DayZ is a survival horror mod for the PC game Arma 2 and even though its still in the Alpha stage of development its probably the best mod Ive played in years.



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News::Teslagrad Review - Magnets, How Do They Work? | Twinfinite

Andres from Twinfinite reviews the new indie title Teslagrad that plays with electromagnetism.



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News::Company of Heroes 2 Digital Collectors Edition Available For $13.59 On Amazon

The Company of Heroes 2 Digital Collectors Edition is now available on Amazon for a really interesting price.



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News::Star Trek Onlines Hourly Events to Become Daily Missions and Weekend Events

Star Trek Onlines hourly events encompass activities such as crafting, looting, and acquiring marks. It has been revealed that when Season 8.5 drops later this month, the events will be converted into daily missions and weekend events.



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News::Respawn: Titanfall "AI Is Processed In The Cloud"

Respawn: Titanfall "AI Is Processed In The Cloud".



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News::Counter Strike: Global Offensive nowhere to be found on Linux

Valve made a promise in which it affirmed that all games made by the company or under its tutelage will be available on Linux. However, Counter Strike: Global Offensive isnt!



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News::House of Horrors - Amnesia: When Life No Longer Exists

Jess and Seb take on a user-made Amnesia mod while Zorine is on holiday. They face off against puzzles, water monsters and So. Many. Jump-scares.



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News::Bless Second media showcase event to be held early next month

According to the Korean media, Neowiz will be holding the second media conference for Bless on 6th February, which is early next month. The schedule for the first test phase is expected to be revealed, although it might be announced earlier. New game features are expected to be introduced as well.



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News::TGG: Help Iggy Grow Strong

Pixelot of The Gentleman Gamer writes: "Iggys Egg Adventure is an action packed side-scroller being developed by two hard working men...over the last three months, they realized this was much more than just a project and that it needed to be finished. Between working day jobs, and cranking out 30+ hour weekends on mere hours of sleep."



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News::New Titanfall Xbox One details - Pilot and Titan load-outs explained

Titanfall had a top-secret, highly hush-hush period of alpha testing over the weekend, as you may have deduced from an eruption of new gameplay videos. I'm not going to publish any of them here, because it would make uncle EA terribly sad, and the lawyers are on the warpath. Still, where's the harm in passing on a little info on loadouts? If you're desperate to see footage, there's always Youtube.



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News::Everquest Next: Landmark - The Minecraft Killer?

Matthew Sharpe writes for Player Attack: Everquest Next: Landmark was a surprise announcement last year at SOE Live. Gamers were expecting an announcement on the future of the Everquest franchise and what they actually got was two announcements in one. While Sony is still making a fully fledged, more traditional MMO in Everquest Next, Landmark promises the sort of world-building and exploration more common in smaller multiplayer titles like Minecraft.



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News::GertLushGaming Presents Our Humans Must Answer Review

Dodge, shoot and explode across the Solar System as a crew of intelligent and dangerous chickens. As the pilot of The Golden Eagle, its your duty to keep Colonel Ram and Professor Bez safe as they squabble about ethics and who last used the toilet. Wage war against humanity as you battle your way towards the Sun to complete your mission.



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News::Assault Android Cactus: The Interview

TVL speak with Designer Sanatana Mishra about Assault Android Cactus, as well as how the current culture at Sony affects them as developers.



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News::Don’t Starve breaks one million players as Klei looks to Vita, iOS and new projects


Don’t Starve has proved to be another hit for Klei after Mark Of The Ninja. You can read reviews of each through the links.



Don’t Starve: Console Edition’s appearance on PS Plus this month pushed the game far beyond the one million players mark, developer Klei has told us. The studio hopes that the game’s appearance on PS4 as a free download will encourage greater sales of the forthcoming DLC, Reign Of Giants, and it will also explore the possibility of bringing the game to additional platforms once work on the add-on is finished.


“Well before the end of 2013 we had over one million Don’t Starve players,” Klei’s Corey Rollins told us. “With PlayStation Plus, beyond promotion of being a featured game, a lot of people who maybe wouldn’t have tried our game did [try it] and really enjoyed it. Some of those people went on to check out the PC version as well, and would maybe be interested in the upcoming DLC.”


The PS Plus release has proved to be a smart move for a studio which was once saved from starvation itself when it released Mark Of The Ninja; after the release of Don’t Starve on PC and with an additional boost in interest from the PlayStation version, Klei can look to the future with greater confidence than ever before, Rollins tells us.


“We’re investigating a proper Vita version [of Don't Starve] at the moment, but we’re not quite sure yet,” he says. “Currently, a lot of people play Don’t Starve: Console Edition using the PS4′s remote play, and really enjoy it. So we’re looking into a proper Vita release. As for iOS and mobile, that is something we’ve also been investigating and we think might work, but it’s not at the front of our development priorities right now. It’s still on our radar, though.”



We profiled the Vancouver developer last summer – you can read the piece in full here.



Beyond DLC, though, Klei’s philosophy is to explore new ideas rather than revisit old ground. Despite its success, it is unlikely there’ll be a sequel to Don’t Starve, and neither will there be a follow-up to any of its other games.


“To be honest, we really like doing new things,” Rollins continues. “We like to explore new things and challenge ourselves. We’ve done everything from puzzle games, to 2D brawlers, to stealth, and now survival with Don’t Starve. We feel pretty strongly about not doing sequels unless you have something really new to bring to table. It’s definitely a possibility, but we’ll need to take some time to think about the best way to revisit [Don’t Starve] if we do.”


Klei’s habit of taking on a new genre with each project will continue with its next game, an isometric turn-based strategy title Invisible, Inc. Formerly known as Incognita, its grid-based strategy, permadeath and procedurally generated skulking grounds draw some inspiration from Syndicate and XCOM, and retains Klei’s eye for dashing aesthetics, this time taking its cues from ‘50s and ‘60s spy fiction. The game’s up for pre-order already, and those who do so gain instant access to the alpha as well an extra copy to gift to friends.


“We have the core mechanic of turn-based espionage, but the major features and content of the game are still being implemented,” says Klei on the game’s official site. “We expect the game to change significantly as we test and release new updates, and as much as we try to keep them out, we’re expecting bugs along the way.”


The post Don’t Starve breaks one million players as Klei looks to Vita, iOS and new projects appeared first on Edge Online.






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News::Broken Age: Act 1 Review | Z-Giochi

Broken Age is a timeless coming-of-age story of barfing trees and talking spoons. Vella Tartine and Shay Volta are two teenagers in strangely similar situations, but radically different worlds. The player can freely switch between their stories, helping them take control of their own lives, and dealing with the unexpected adventures that follow.



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News::Broken Age is familiar in all the right ways [Gaming Trend]

Matt Buckley: "Broken Age is charming, attractive, funny, and all-around entertaining. For fans of adventure games, it leaves little to be desired short of its second act. If that meets the standard set by the currently playable bit, Double Fine looks to have dropped a classic in its wake. Regardless, the experience of Act 1 is enough to recommend outright dont hesitate to add this title to your library."



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News::1954: Alcatraz Hands on Preview (Thirteen1)

Daedalic Entertainments 1954: Alcatraz takes place in San Francisco during, you guessed it, 1954. The game follows protagonists Joe and his wife Christine. Joe has been sentenced to 40 years imprisonment for armed robbery and is desperate to break out to be reunited with his loving wife, but to do so, he needs her help. Christine, meanwhile, is facing troubles of her own on the streets of San Francisco. A gangster, Mickey, who helped Joe with the robbery, is threatening to kill Christine unless she hands over the swag, but only Joe knows where it is hidden.



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News::Part 1 of massive content update released for Fantasy Frontier

Roughly translated as Prelude to Flames, part 1 of the update arrived yesterday for the Taiwan server of Fantasy Frontier, also known as Aura Kingdom. The update was teased previously, so lets take a closer look at what will be in Part 1 (no indication on how many parts there will be).



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News::Alienware: We will launch new Steam Machines every year

Lifecycle wise, consoles update every five, six, seven years, we will be updating our Steam Machines every year, Frank Azor, Alienwares General Manager told TrustedReviews.



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News::Editors Choice: Most Anticipated Games Of 2014

"2014 is shaping up to be an outstanding year, and with so many incredible games to choose from, we reached out to our Editors' for their most anticipated games!" - GC



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News::Early Look : Path of Shadows

If you ever wanted to be the master of shadows you are in luck, 5 students at IDEC - Universitat Pompeu Fabra, share your idea of fun and present you with Path of Shadows. The game is not yet released but the developers plan a kickstarter soon. Instead you can play the prototype proof of concept or a glorified trial, whatever you please to call it.



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News::The Geek Girl Contradiction

An opinion column via eGamer in which the author expresses his confusion at the contradicting nature of a lonely gamer stereotype and the assumption that 'geek girls' only exist as attention-seekers. Quote: "Why is the female gamer so unrealistically attractive when all she really is, is a female who play games, the same way a male plays games. Ive not known many males to go, Yeah, I play games, and then be covered by women in a fraction of a second. (If you can picture that, then congratulations on having an awesome imagination.) Or for that matter, be questioned by everyone on the history of gaming because its obviously just a ploy for attention. So why is it this way with women? "



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News::The Banner Saga Review | Pixelvolt

The Gods are dead, and the sun has stopped in the sky however, all is not lost. The end of the last Great War saw two former enemies join forces to drive the vicious dredge back into the Northern Wastes. Men and varl were thrust into an alliance born by necessity rather than friendship, but though the war against the dredge is passed, the tenuous peace between the two races continues.



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