Source: videogamesblogger.com

The World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Expansion Pack has been given a tentative release date on Tuesday November 4th, 2008, at a price of $39.99. This according to 7-Eleven stores; Amazon and Play online stores say the game will ship the day before hitting retail.

The wildly popular MMORPG for Windows Vista / XP and Macintosh computers recently opened up to Wrath of the Lich King Beta signups and it seems a by developer Blizzard promised release this year isn’t far off, unless — of course — they delay it to January next year again as they did with the previous expansion pack the Burning Crusade.

Since this news wasn’t made official by Blizzard, but by Kotaku tip, there’s been no word on the release of a Wrath of the Lich King - Collector’s Edition either.

Wrath of the Lich King features include:
* Master the necromantic powers of the Death Knight — World of Warcraft’s first Hero class.
* Learn craft of spell augmentation with new Inscription profession.
* Explore vast new continent and perilous dungeons filled with deadly creatures.
* Engage in epic siege warfare.
* Transform hero’s look with new character-customization options.

Source: videogamesblogger.com

What are the best-selling games in America, Japan, and Europe (UK) this week? Thanks to Amazon online sales data here are the games that are the most popular now.

Nintendo Wii
North America: 1. Wii Fit (Nintendo), 2. Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo), 3. Wii Play (Nintendo), 4. Super Mario Galaxy (Nintendo), 5. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Sega).

Japan: 1. Wii Fit (Nintendo), 2. Wii Sports (Nintendo), 3. Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo), 4. Fatal Frame IV (Nintendo), 5. Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Nintendo).

Europe: 1. Wii Fit (Nintendo), 2. Wii Play (Nintendo), 3. Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo), 4. Carnival Funfair Games (2K Games), 5. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Sega).

Xbox 360
North America: 1. Madden NFL 09 (Electronic Arts), 2. Too Human (Microsoft), 3. Halo 3 (Microsoft), 4. Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar), 5. Soul Calibur IV (Namco Bandai).

Japan: 1. Tales of Vesperia (Namco), 2. Soulcalibur IV (Namco), 3. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Bundle (Activision), 4. Dead Rising — Platinum Collection (Capcom), 5. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion — Platinum Collection (Bethesda).

Europe: 1. Beijing 2008 (Sega), 2. Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar), 3. Halo 3 (Microsoft), 4. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Bundle (Activision), 5. Soul Calibur IV (Namco Bandai).

PlayStation 3
North America: 1. Madden NFL 09 (Electronic Arts), 2. Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar), 3. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (Konami), 4. Gran Turismo 5: Prologue (Sony), 5. Soul Calibur IV (Namco Bandai).

Japan: 1. Soul Calibur IV (Namco), 2. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots — Special Edition (Konami), 3. Siren: New Translation (Sony), 4. Valkyrie of the Battlefield: Gallian Chronicles (Sega), 5. Tears to Tiara: Kakan no Daichi — Limited Edition (Aqua Plus).

Europe: 1. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (Konami), 2. Beijing 2008 (Sega), 3. Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar), 4. Gran Turismo 5 Prologue (Sony), 5. Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune (Sony).

PlayStation 2
North America: 1. Madden NFL 09 (Electronic Arts), 2. Rock Band Special Edition (Electronic Arts), 3. Metal Gear Solid: The Essential Collection (Konami), 4. God of War II (Sony), 5. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Bundle (Activision).

Japan: 1. J-League Winning Eleven 2008 Club Championship (Konami), 2. Persona 4 (Atlus), 3. Secret Game: Killer Queen (Yeti), 4. Sengoku Basara X (Capcom), 5. Battle of Sunrise — Limited Edition (Sunrise).

Europe: 1. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Bundle (Activision), 2. SingStar Summer Party (Sony), 3. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (Rockstar), 4. SingStar Bundle (Sony), 5. Lego Indiana Jones (LucasArts).

PC
North America: 1. World of Warcraft Battle Chest (Blizzard), 2. Deadliest Catch: Alaskan Storm (Navarre Corp), 3. The Orange Box (Electronic Arts), 4. Diablo Battle Chest (Blizzard), 5. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II — The Sith Lords (LucasArts).

Japan: 1. Monster Hunter Frontier Online Season 3.0 Premium (E-Frontier), 2. Phantasy Star Universe PC Edition: Ambition of the Illuminus (Sega), 3. Final Fantasy XI: The Vana’diel Collection (Square Enix), 4. Ragnarok Online Summer Package 2008 (E Frontier), 5. Sim People Complete Edition 3 (Electronic Arts).

Europe: 1. Sid Meier’s Civilization IV Complete (2K Games), 2. Crysis (Electronic Arts), 3. Football Manager 2008 (Sega), 4. The Sims 2: FreeTime (Electronic Arts), 5. The Sims 2: IKEA Home Stuff (Electronic Arts).

Nintendo DS
North America: 1. My Spanish Coach (Ubisoft), 2. New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo), 3. Mario Kart DS (Nintendo), 4. Brain Age (Nintendo), 5. Brain Age 2 (Nintendo).

Japan: 1. Rhythm Tengoku Gold (Nintendo), 2. KORG DS-10 (AQ Interactive), 3. Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride (Square Enix), 4. Inazuma Eleven (Level 5), 5. Sigma Harmonics (Square Enix).

Europe: 1. Dr. Kawashima’s Brain Training (Nintendo), 2. More Brain Training (Nintendo), 3. Mario Kart DS (Nintendo), 4. 42 All-Time Classics (Nintendo), 5. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Sega).

PlayStation Portable
North America: 1. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (Square Enix), 2. Madden NFL 09 (Electronic Arts), 3. God of War: Chains of Olympus (Sony), 4. Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions (Square Enix), 5. Patapon (Sony).

Japan: 1. Phantasy Star Portable (Sega), 2. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (Capcom), 3. Gundam Battle Universe (Bandai), 4. The Legend of Heroes VI: Legendary Sky - First Chapter (Nihon Falcom), 5. Live Powerful Pro Baseball Portable 3 (Konami).

Europe: 1. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (Square Enix), 2. FIFA Soccer 08 (Electronic Arts), 3. Secret Agent Clank (Sony), 4. God of War: Chains of Olympus (Sony), 5. Final Fantasy I (Square Enix).

Wii Fit stays on the healthiest spot of the Wii chart, not surprisingly the game has sold over 3.42 million copies so far worldwide. Madden NFL 09 remains on the top spots of the Xbox 360, PS3 and PS2 charts, no doubt selling millions in the process. World of Warcraft Battle Chest remains on the PC’s top spot. After a temporary discount My Spanish Coach lands on the #1 spot of the DS chart. Lastly there’s Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII’s return to the PSP chart. — For the full lists go to Amazon’s US, JPN (PC) & UK sites.

Source: videogamesblogger.com

What are the best-selling games in America, Japan, and Europe (UK) this week? Thanks to Amazon online sales data here are the games that are the most popular now.

Nintendo Wii
North America: 1. Wii Fit (Nintendo), 2. Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo), 3. Wii Play (Nintendo), 4. Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Nintendo), 5. Rock Band Special Edition (EA Games).

Japan: 1. Wii Fit (Nintendo), 2. Fatal Frame IV (Nintendo), 3. Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo), 4. Wii Sports (Nintendo), 5. Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Nintendo).

Europe: 1. Wii Fit (Nintendo), 2. Guitar Hero III: Legends Of Rock Bundle (Activision), 3. Wii Play (Nintendo), 4. Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo), 5. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Sega).

Xbox 360
North America: 1. Madden NFL 09 (Electronic Arts), 2. Madden NFL 09 - 20th Anniversary Collectors Edition (Electronic Arts), 3. Halo 3 (Microsoft), 4. Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar), 5. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare - Game of the Year Edition (Activision).

Japan: 1. Tales of Vesperia (Namco), 2. Soul Calibur IV (Namco), 3. Dead Rising - Platinum Collection (Capcom), 4. The Idolm@ster — Xbox 360 Platinum Collection (Namco), 5. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Bundle (Activision).

Europe: 1. Beijing 2008 (Sega), 2. Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar), 3. Halo 3 (Microsoft), 4. Madden NFL 09 (Electronic Arts), 5. Soul Calibur IV (Ubisoft).

PlayStation 3
North America: 1. Madden NFL 09 (Electronic Arts), 2. Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar), 3. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (Konami), 4. Condemned 2: Bloodshot (Sega), 5. Resistance: Fall Of Man - Greatest Hits (SCEA).

Japan: 1. Soul Calibur IV (Namco), 2. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots — Special Edition (Konami), 3. Valkyrie of the Battlefield: Gallian Chronicles (Sega), 4. Siren: New Translation (SCEI), 5. Metal Gear Online (Konami).

Europe: 1. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (Konami), 2. Beijing 2008 (Sega), 3. Madden NFL 09 (Electronic Arts), 4. Gran Turismo 5 Prologue (Sony), 5. Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar).

PlayStation 2
North America: 1. Madden NFL 09 (Electronic Arts), 2. Rock Band Special Edition (Electronic Arts), 3. Metal Gear Solid: The Essential Collection (Konami), 4. Madden NFL 08 (Electronic Arts), 5. God of War II (SCEA).

Japan: 1. Persona 4 (Atlus), 2. Aoikuro no Kusabi: Hiiro no Kakera 3 - Limited Edition (Idea Factory), 3. Aoikuro no Kusabi: Hiiro no Kakera 3 (Idea Factory), 4. Sengoku Basara X (Capcom), 5. Battle of Sunrise - Limited Edition (Sunrise Interactive).

Europe: 1. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Bundle (Activision), 2. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (Rockstar), 3. Madden NFL 09 (Electronic Arts), 4. FIFA 08 (Electronic Arts), 5. Gran Turismo 4 (Sony).

PC
North America: 1. World of Warcraft Battle Chest (Blizzard), 2. Spore Creature Creator
(Electronic Arts), 3. The Orange Box (Electronic Arts), 4. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Activision), 5. The Sims 2: Double Deluxe (Electronic Arts).

Japan: 1. Monster Hunter Frontier Online Season 3.0 Premium (E-Frontier), 2. Phantasy Star Universe PC Edition: Ambition of the Illuminus (Sega), 3. Fantasy Earth Zero (Square Enix), 4. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Activision), 5. Little Busters (KEY).

Europe: 1. Sid Meier’s Civilization IV: Complete (2K Games), 2. Football Manager 2008 (Sega), 3. The Sims 2: IKEA Home Stuff (EA Games), 4. The Sims 2: FreeTime Expansion Pack (Electronic Games), 5. World of Warcraft (Blizzard Entertainment).

Nintendo DS
North America: 1. New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo), 2. Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day! (Nintendo), 3. Mario Kart DS (Nintendo), 4. Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day! (Nintendo), 5. Guitar Hero: On Tour (Activision).

Japan: 1. Rhythm Tengoku Gold (Nintendo), 2. KORG DS-10 (AQ Interactive), 3. Dragon Quest V: Tenkuu No Hanayome (Square Enix), 4. Daigasso! Band Brothers DX (Nintendo), 5. Fire Emblem: New Shadow Dragons and the Blade of Light (Nintendo).

Europe: 1. Dr. Kawashima’s Brain Training (Nintendo), 2. 42 All-Time Classics (Nintendo), 3. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Sega), 4. Puzzler Collection (Ubisoft), 5. Mario Kart DS (Nintendo).

PlayStation Portable
North America: 1. Madden NFL 09 (Electronic Arts), 2. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (Square Enix), 3. God of War: Chains of Olympus (SCEA), 4. Grand Theft Auto Liberty City Stories (Rockstar Games), 5. Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions (Square Enix).

Japan: 1. Phantasy Star Portable (Sega), 2. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (Capcom), 3. Gundam Battle Universe (Bandai), 4. Crazy Taxi: Double Punch (Sega), 5. Memories of Then - Limited Edition (5pb).

Europe: 1. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (Square Enix), 2. Call of Duty 3: Roads to Victory (Activision), 3. FIFA 08 (Electronic Arts), 4. Lego Indiana Jones (LucasArts), 5. Secret Agent Clank (Sony).

Wii Fit stays on the healthiest spot of the Wii chart, not surprisingly the game has sold over 3.42 million copies so far worldwide. Madden NFL 09 debuts on first and second spot of the Xbox 360 chart, and again on the top spots of the PS3, PS2 and PSP charts. World of Warcraft Battle Chest remains on the PC’s top spot. New Super Mario Bros. stays on the DS chart. — For the full lists go to Amazon’s US, JPN (PC) & UK sites.

Source: videogamesblogger.com

What are the best-selling games in America, Japan, and Europe (UK) this week? Thanks to Amazon online sales data here are the games that are the most popular now.

Nintendo Wii
North America: 1. Wii Fit (Nintendo), 2. Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo), 3. Wii Play (Nintendo), 4. Rock Band Special Edition (EA Games), 5. Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Nintendo).

Japan: 1. Fatal Frame IV (Nintendo), 2. Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo), 3. Wii Sports (Nintendo), 4. Family Trainer (Bandai), 5. Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Nintendo).

Europe: 1. Guitar Hero III: Legends Of Rock Bundle (Activision), 2. Wii Fit (Nintendo), 3. Wii Play (Nintendo), 4. Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo), 5. Carnival: Fun Fair Games (Take 2).

Xbox 360
North America: 1. Soul Calibur IV (Namco), 2. Halo 3 (Microsoft), 3. Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar), 4. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Activision), 5. NCAA Football 09 (Electronic Arts).

Japan: 1. Tales of Vesperia (Namco), 2. Soul Calibur IV (Namco), 3. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Bundle (Activision), 4. Bully (Bethesda), 5. Dead Rising - Platinum Collection (Capcom).

Europe: 1. Soul Calibur IV (Ubisoft), 2. Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar), 3. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Bundle (Activision), 4. Halo 3 (Microsoft), 5. Beijing 2008 (Sega).

PlayStation 3
North America: 1. Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar), 2. Soul Calibur IV (Namco), 3. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (Konami), 4. Resistance: Fall Of Man - Greatest Hits (SCEA), 5. Gran Turismo 5 Prologue (SCEA).

Japan: 1. Soul Calibur IV (Namco), 2. Siren: New Translation (SCEI), 3. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots — Special Edition (Konami), 4. Valkyrie of the Battlefield: Gallian Chronicles (Sega), 5. Yakuza 3: Kenzan! (Sega).

Europe: 1. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (Konami), 2. Soul Calibur IV (Ubisoft), 3. Uncharted: Drakes Fortune - Platinum (Sony), 4. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Bundle (Activision), 5. Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar).

PlayStation 2
North America: 1. Rock Band Special Edition (EA Games), 2. Metal Gear Solid: The Essential Collection (Konami), 3. God of War II (SCEA), 4. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Bundle (Activision), 5. Final Fantasy X (Square Enix).

Japan: 1. Persona 4 (Atlus), 2. Aoikuro no Kusabi: Hiiro no Kakera 3 - Limited Edition (Idea Factory), 3. Aoikuro no Kusabi: Hiiro no Kakera 3 (Idea Factory), 4. Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu 15 (Konami), 5. Sengoku Basara X (Capcom).

Europe: 1. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Bundle (Activision), 2. SingStar Summer Party - Solus (Sony), 3. Lego Indiana Jones (LucasArts), 4. Kung Fu Panda (Activision), 5. FIFA 08 (EA Sports).

PC
North America: 1. World of Warcraft Battle Chest (Blizzard), 2. The Orange Box (EA Games), 3. Nancy Drew: The Phantom of Venice (Her Interactive), 4. Diablo Battle Chest (Blizzard), 5. Baldur’s Gate 2: Ultimate Collection (Vivendi).

Japan: 1. Monster Hunter Frontier Online Season 3.0 Premium (E-Frontier), 2. Pandora Saga Starter Package (E Frontier), 3. Little Busters (KEY), 4. Ragnarok Online Summer Package 2008 (E-Frontier), 5. Final Fantasy XI: Vana’diel Collection (Square Enix).

Europe: 1. Sid Meier’s Civilization IV: Complete (2K Games), 2. Football Manager 2008 (Sega), 3. The Sims 2: IKEA Home Stuff (EA Games), 4. The Sims 2: Kitchen & Bath Interior Design Stuff (EA Games), 5. Crysis (EA Games).

Nintendo DS
North America: 1. New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo), 2. Mario Kart DS (Nintendo), 3. Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day! (Nintendo), 4. Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day! (Nintendo), 5. Guitar Hero: On Tour (Activision).

Japan: 1. Rhythm Tengoku Gold (Nintendo), 2. KORG DS-10 (AQ Interactive), 3. Dragon Quest V: Tenkuu No Hanayome (Square Enix), 4. Fire Emblem: New Shadow Dragons and the Blade of Light (Nintendo), 5. Daigasso! Band Brothers DX (Nintendo).

Europe: 1. Dr. Kawashima’s Brain Training (Nintendo), 2. 42 All-Time Classics (Nintendo), 3. Mario Kart DS (Nintendo), 4. Puzzler Collection (Ubisoft), 5. New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo).

PlayStation Portable
North America: 1. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (Square Enix), 2. God of War: Chains of Olympus (SCEA), 3. Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions (Square Enix), 4. Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops (Konami), 5. Patapon (SCEA).

Japan: 1. Phantasy Star Portable (Sega), 2. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (Capcom), 3. Gundam Battle Universe (Bandai), 4. Eiyuu Densetsu: Sora no Kiseki the 3rd (Nihon Falcom), 5. Hayarigami 2 Portable: Keishichou Kaijiken File (Nippon Ichi Software).

Europe: 1. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (Square Enix), 2. Lego Indiana Jones (LucasArts), 3. Call of Duty 3: Roads to Victory (Activision), 4. Final Fantasy I (Square Enix), 5. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (Konami).

Wii Fit stays on the healthiest spot of the Wii chart, not surprisingly the game has sold over 3.42 million copies so far worldwide. Soul Calibur IV stays on top of the Xbox 360 chart, but Grand Theft Auto IV reclaims the PS3 top spot. Rock Band remains a hit on the PS2. World of Warcraft Battle Chest returns on the PC’s top spot. New Super Mario Bros. stays on the DS chart. And lastly Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII remains high on the PSP chart. — For the full lists go to Amazon’s US, JPN & UK sites.

Source: videogamesblogger.com

Blizzard has rejected a petition by fans over Diablo 3’s colorful art style.

The petition got over 50,000 signatures, all from fans who say they don’t like the colorful style of Diablo 3. And in an MTV Multiplayer interview, Blizzard had rejected the petition, saying they like and welcome the art-style, and that it wasn’t an easy choice (they “struggled with” the art-style change “the most”) but there’s no going back now.

To quote Lead Designer Jay Wilson,

“We’re very happy with how the art style is. The art team’s happy. The company’s happy. We really like this art style, and we’re not changing it.” He went on to talk about how Diablo 3 at one time was very different from it’s current form. And that that version’s art-style was very close to Diablo 2’s, featuring darker, desaturated colors and lots of grey and brown tones. But he said it simply didn’t work in 3D. “When you have 30 creatures on screen — and four or five different types — target prioritization is a factor,” he said. “You need to be able to tell those things apart fast, and you can’t do that when your world is gray and your creatures are gray.”

Take a look at Diablo III’s colorful style in this video showing the evolution of the combat system.


He also discussed how other Blizzard games, such as World of Warcraft, have influenced Diablo 3. Which is another part of the new Diablo that fans have been critical of. “I think it’s impossible for us to not be influenced by our other creations. There’s a lot of back and forth between the two games, and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. We look at ‘World of Warcraft’ and the art style there is more cartoony than we wanted, but in terms of target identification and having a world that feels like you can move through it and spend lots of time in it, there’s a lot of elements to the art style that really work.”

“We wanted an art style that really feels like Blizzard. And we pull new influences from a lot of areas. I think people over-emphasize the ‘World of Warcraft’ comparison. But are we influenced by ‘World of Warcraft’? Of course. As I think anyone who makes games nowadays, they have to be.”

Source: videogamesblogger.com

A brand new World of Warcarft feature will debut when World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King launches that will make the MMO that much more addicting; Achievements!

As Blizzard states, these will be introduced to help keep the game fresh and interesting. Not only that, but they are sure to appeal to a range of different players for various reasons: They’ll offer new challenges for both casual and hardcore players, they will satisfy goal-oriented players, they will allow others to see your World of Warcraft accomplishments (my personal favorite) and, of course, they’re just plain fun!

World of Warcraft’s achievements system will launch with more than 500 individual achievements covering every aspect of gameplay, including world exploration, PvE, PvP, professions, and character development; from the purely whimsical to the truly epic, there will be something for everyone. Some achievements come with in-game rewards such as tabards, vanity pets, and titles. All of these rewards are purely cosmetic and only for fun, but you’ll definitely stand out when you proudly display them.

And don’t fret about running out of achievements anytime soon, because Blizzard promises that the list is easily expandable, so you can expect additional achievements with each new World of Warcraft content update!

Read below for much, much more information on how it will all work:

The Achievements Window

Upon starting your journey in Wrath of the Lich King, you’ll see a new button on your main action bar. Click that button to bring up the achievements window.

The top of the window displays the total number of points you’ve received for completing achievements. Below, each achievement appears with its name, description, point value, the completion date, and a progress bar (if applicable). Some achievements expand to display a list of individual components, highlighted to show which parts you’ve finished. You can also designate which achievements to track as you play, similar to the existing quest tracker. An important design goal is to provide players with everything they need to know to unlock an achievement.

It’s great to be able to see your own achievements — but it’s even better to let the world know what you’ve accomplished. By right-clicking other players and selecting the appropriate option, you can compare your achievements to theirs. Every time you earn a new achievement, your accomplishment is announced to your guild and everyone in your immediate vicinity — and the custom achievement animation and sound effect are unmistakable. Also, your achievements will be viewable on the Armory, allowing you to track and show off your accomplishments via the web.

Types and Categories of Achievements

World of Warcraft’s achievements come in several varieties. Some simply require specific actions to unlock, such as getting a haircut or defeating a member of each race in your opposing faction in PvP. Others involve a progress bar and require you to do something several times — such as give out 10 hugs. Some achievements are progressive; for example, once you complete an achievement to collect 10 vanity pets, you might next be asked to collect 25. Finally, meta achievements unlock when you complete other achievements — unlocking all World Exploration achievements (see below) unlocks a World Explorer meta achievement. Some achievements, including those that involve quests, honorable kills, items currently in your possession, skills (including professions), exploration, and reputations, will be applied to your character retroactively.

To help keep track of all the different achievements you can unlock, you’ll find the following categories in the achievements window:

Player-vs.-Player: This includes arena, battlegrounds, and world player-vs.-player objectives. A few examples:

* Hot Streak: Win 10 ranked arena matches in a row.
* Alterac Valley All-Star: Capture graveyards, towers, and kill the enemy leader all in one game.
* City Defender: Kill 50 enemy players in your faction’s capital cities.

Dungeons and Raids: Every end boss of every raid and dungeon in the game grants its own achievement. Future achievements in this category may include ones for completing a run without any player deaths, with fewer than the maximum number of players, or within a certain time limit.

Professions: Advancing to each tier of mastery in a profession earns you an achievement, and there are specific achievements for secondary skills (with major professions to follow).

Quests: Quest-based achievements include completing a certain number of quests and completing specific quest lines. This category contains zone-specific subcategories.

Events: Seasonal events such as the Midsummer Festival, the Lunar Festival, and Hallows’ End have specific achievements of their own.

World Exploration: You’ll earn achievements by exploring each zone in the game — and get meta-achievements when you fully explore a continent.

Reputations: This set of achievements includes attaining exalted reputation with each faction in the game.

General: These achievements tend toward the whimsical, including getting a shave and haircut (a new feature of Wrath of the Lich King), obtaining a certain number of tabards and vanity pets, falling from a great height, and more.

Feats of Strength

Feats of Strength represent the past glories of Azeroth, and as such, players will find them very difficult — if not impossible — to earn. They’re worth no points, and unlike normal achievements, unearned Feats are not displayed in the achievements interface. Feats include old-world player-vs.-player ranks, obtaining rare mounts, special titles, and more. Feats of Strength will be awarded retroactively (that is, they’ll be immediately granted to your character if you qualify) since many of them will be impossible to earn in Wrath of the Lich King.

Source: videogamesblogger.com

Think videogames serve no point in life? These true “videogames saved my life” stories argue otherwise.

“Grand Theft Auto saved me from a potentially serious accident”

Blogger Dan Johnson-Weinberger recounted how a nearly fatal automotive mishap convinced him that Grand Theft Auto was “the best drivers education course in the world.” Having played Grand Theft Auto III “quite a bit” Johnson-Weinberger learned that the quickest way to stop a vehicle in the game was to hit the brake and pull the emergency brake. And it was that knowledge that ultimately saved his real life from a very “potentially serious accident”.

Here is the story in Johnson-Weinberger’s own words: “So one day I’m driving back from Springfield (before I found the only civilized way to travel on Amtrak) in a winter storm. I’m driving up an entrance ramp too quickly and I start to spin out, skidding sideways up the ramp and in danger of rolling off the ramp. The foot brakes are useless, as I’m fishtailing wildly. Instinctively I reach for the emergency brake and pull it, cutting my fishtail radius in half instantly and I come to a calm stop, perpendicular to the ramp. Hours of playing Grand Theft Auto had trained me to pull the emergency brake when I lose control of the car.”

To read Dan Johnson-Weinberger’s account in its full context, visit his blog, Progressive Advocacy.

“I feigned death, just like in level 30 in World of Warcraft”

Did you hear the story about the 12 year old Norwegian boy who saved his sister by shouting at an attacking moose and then feigning death (”just like in level 30 in World of Warcraft“) to avoid being mauled by said moose? He survived to tell the tale to online Norwegian news site Nettavisen.

Here’s a story you may have heard: Videogames can even save lives on the operating table. As reported by an article in the New York Times, a study carried out in 2004 concluded that “surgeons who played video games for at least three hours a week were 27 percent faster and made 37 percent fewer mistakes than surgeons who did not play video games”. The co-author of the report, Manhattan based Dr Rosser Jr, has ninja-like skills in laparoscopic surgery (a technique that relies on an ultrasmall video camera to help him manipulate long, slender instruments inserted into patients through small incisions) and likes to “warm up” before operating with a few stages of Super Monkey Ball.

“The driving skills I learned in Gran Turismo paid off big time”

A contributor going by the online handle of DJuxtaposition submitted his own tale of ‘How Videogames Saved My Life’ to community site Everything2, where he recounts how the driving skills he learned while playing Gran Turismo helped to save his life when a collision with a grasshopper (yes, the insect) sent his vehicle off the road.

“I was driving along at a fair clip and I noticed a grasshopper on my windshield. This wasn’t uncommon, but while I was using my wipers to try to swipe at it and convince it to go about its business, I drove off the road… whoops. I was going down an incline into a big ditch type thing, and my rear wheels slipped out from under me. My car was sliding to the point where it was perpendicular to the road. A barbed wire fence and a tree were coming dangerously close to wrecking me for good. I eased on the brakes and turned into, then out of the slide. I came to a stop parallel to the road, looked up to see if any cars were coming, and then got back on the road and proceeded.

“I don’t exactly remember the details, but I do remember thinking, as I was bringing my unruly vehicle under control, ‘Hey, this is like that time in Gran Turismo where I was coming off the ramp and I slid into the grass. Cool.’ And I don’t want to sound cocky or anything, but the guy in the passenger seat swears I did it all with one hand.”

“Had I not played that Sega rally racing game there’s a good chance we would have been killed”

Ex-presenter of GameSpot’s video shows, Rich Gallup, praised the life-saving lessons taught to him by an unidentified Sega rally arcade racer in an edition of the site’s regular random blog, GameSpotting. The one-time host of On The Spot and Button Mashing wrote about a series of events (including something about a man sticking a straw into his own ear) that rescued him from “easily the scariest” moment of his life.

“I noticed the stopped cars too late, and instincts took over. The minivan in front of us swerved to the left to avoid a pileup and we spun to the right, then to the left, then to the right, then to the left, then one last time to the right, and came to a rest in the breakdown lane… I can say without hesitation that if that rally racing game hadn’t taught me how to properly control a skidding car, something terrible might have happened, and for that I am thankful.”

“A videogame that’s helping kids deal with - and even beat - cancer”

Re-Mission is a videogame created by non-profit organization HopeLab to help cancer sufferers understand more about their illness, treatment and recuperation. According to cancer survivor Dan Neumann, playing the game was “a key component that helped him conquer his leukaemia”.

“Kids can play games while nurses take care of their wounds”

In 2005, Mark Griffiths, a professor of gambling studies, authored an article in the British Medical Journal stating how gaming could be a useful tool in health care, particularly in pain management. Griffiths suggests that playing games “can distract the player from the sensation of pain, a strategy that has been reported and evaluated among pediatric patients”.

Here is a video showing exactly what they mean, occupying a young burn victim with a snowball-based virtual reality game. Which allows him to cope with his treatment much more comfortably:

“This demonstrates the value of these systems beyond playing games - this is something that could change the World”

Sony announced back in February that over one million PS3 users had registered for the Folding@home program to help scientists improve their understanding of such diseases as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and cancer.

It works by harnessing the combined power of computers and consoles all over the world to perform complex simulations that would take individual machines years to complete. Watch the video below which will explain exactly how Folding@home works.

If you’ve got a PC you can download the Folding@home software, while networked PS3 users simply have to click on the Folding@home icon under Network on the XMB to get involved.

“There’s a section of the game that teaches you to control bleeding and treat shock… and I used it”

At the end of last year, avid gamer Paxton Galvanek became a real life hero when he used medical skills he learned in America’s Army to assist at the scene of a road traffic accident. Galvanek was first on the scene and quickly assessed the situation. The driver of the crashed vehicle had severed some fingers and - thanks to the virtual training he had received in America’s Army - Galvanek knew exactly what to do and jumped into action as you can see in this news video.

If you want to experience America’s Army the game yourself then you can download America’s Army for free.

“I noticed my drug habits decreased as Dance Dance Revolution helped me deal with my anger issues”

In a winning entry for a Global Kids essay competition, the writer describes how playing videogames steered his life in a positive direction. “Before I started playing games I was a heavy drug addict. I spent all my money from my job on marijuana.” Thankfully he turned his life around by focusing on videogames instead. “Since I started playing Dance Dance Revolution, Counter-Strike, and Second Life I have been clean and off drugs, which is why I still game to this day.”

Do you readers have any interesting stories about how video games have impacted your life in a positive manner. Or even a “videogames saved my life” story of your own? Please share them by posting a comment.

Source: videogamesblogger.com

Blizzard has opened the World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Beta Opt-In program. It gives you the chance to win an invitation to the upcoming Wrath of the Lich King Beta.

WOW subscribers after a chance to join the Lich King beta will need to sign in to their accounts, go to the ‘account management’ page and scroll to the very bottom to find the link. Doing so will add your account to the “pool of accounts from which participants in the Wrath of the Lich King beta test will be chosen”

To try out the Wrath of the Lich King beta go to the Beta Opt-In page! If you’re a World of Warcraft subscriber, after joining the Wrath of the Lich King Beta, you’ll have to sign in to your account and on the Account Management page click the link at the bottom to be added to the “pool of accounts from which participants in the Wrath of the Lich King beta test will be chosen,” tips EG

To quote a Blizzard representative: “With the Opt-In, our goal is to strengthen the beta-testing process by inviting only those players who have expressed active interest in participating. — Keep in mind that opting in doesn’t guarantee you’ll be selected for the beta.”

Source: videogamesblogger.com

Blizzard has announced that the Archangel Tyrael from Diablo is the newest World of Warcraft (WOW) mini-pet!

You only would have recieved this special pet if you were one of the lucky people that got to attend the World Wide Invitational Blizzard show in Paris, France, where they announced Diablo 3. If you attended, you would’ve gotten a scratch card in your goody bag which entitled you to an in-game mini pet. The pet that they received however had remained a mystery . . . until now.

The mystery pet is none other than the Archangel Tyrael from Diablo! Here’s a pic if you don’t know who he is.

From the official Blizzard site: “The code for the in-game World of Warcraft pet that was provided in the goodie bag at the 2008 Worldwide Invitational will be usable at our Pet Redemption Webpage (http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/misc/promotion.html) after patch 2.4.3 is released in the near future.

After you have received the in-game code from this webpage, the Alliance will travel to Stormwind and the Horde to Undercity to visit a new NPC where you will be able to claim the in-game pet.

The pet itself will be a miniature version of the Archangel Tyrael of Diablo 2 fame who will travel with you on all your grand adventures in Azeroth! Pictures of this amazing new pet will be available on the official website soon for everybody to check out.”

Via Worldofwar.net

Source: videogamesblogger.com

Rock Band will feature fictitious glam metal band Vesuvius’ song “Promised Land” from the movie The Rocker alongside next week’s list of normal tracks. The downloadable song will be released on Xbox 360 Marketplace and on the PlayStation Network on July 3rd.

This news comes on the heels of another parody band, Blizzard’s own “Level 70 Elite Tauren Chieftian”, who released their World of Warcraft-inspired track “I am Murloc” as a free download in Guitar Hero III.

The Rocker, is an upcoming comedy film from Fox (which hits theaters on July 30th) about a musician known as “Robert “Fish” Fishman” (Rainn Wilson - The Office, Wheelman) who is fired from Vesuvius, a fictional ’80s hair band, before they become famous. The movie follows him as he gets a second chance at fame when he joins the garage band of his nephew Matt (Josh Gad). His love interest (Christina Applegate) is the mother of the band’s guitarist, Curtis (Teddy Geiger). Pete Best, a former member of The Beatles who suffered a similar fate, has a cameo role in the film as himself.

Also releasing as part of next week’s Rock Band tracks update is a tribute to the Motley Crue-headlined Cruefest concert tour. Included as part of the Cruefest Pack will be Motely Crue’s “Down at the Whiskey,” Papa Roach’s “Time Is Running Out,” and Trapt’s “Who’s Going Home With You Tonight.” The Cruefest Pack can be purchased for $2.99 (240 Microsoft points), or each song can be picked up individually at $.99 (80 Microsoft points) a piece.

Here’s a trailer for The Rocker.