Wed, 21 Jul, 10
Author:
Tom Silkstone

Category:
Games deals

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Final Fantasy XI Ultimate Collection £4.99 @ Steam [PC Games]

Final Fantasy XI Ultimate Collection £4.99 @ Steam [PC Games]

MMORPG is an acronym that can either attract gamers to a title like a moth to a flame or send them running for the hills to keep as far away from a game as possible, and it’s the route the developers of Final Fantasy XI decided to go down.

At the moment Steam have dropped their price for the game down to £4.99, which’ll make you a saving of almost £10 on the next best offer for the main game, plus you don’t have to worry about picking up all the extras separately.

In addition to the main game you also get four expansion packs (Rise of the Zilart, Chains of Promathia, Treasures of Aht Urhgan, and Wings of the Goddess) as well as three add-on scenarios (A Crystalline Prophecy – Ode of Life Bestowing, A Moogle Kupo d’Etat – Evil in Small Doses, and A Shantotto Ascension – The Legend Torn, Her Empire Born).

I’ll let you know now that I’m not a fan of MMORPGs due to the monthly costs of running the game having already shelled out to pick up a copy and the ridiculous amount of time that you need to invest into them for a worthwhile experience that’ll lead to the destruction of your social life and’ll find you starring at a screen for the majority of your leisure time, and I can’t help but think that these reason’ll stop a fair few Final Fantasy fans from picking up this instalment of the series.

If you’re up for the long haul though, then you’ll be able to create a character who can choose from a wide range of professions and’ll level up as you progress through the game. You’ll get to enter into combat with various foes and during the down time there are plenty of things to do, including trying to hammer out items as a blacksmith or creating gold from base metals amongst swirling clouds of dry ice as an alchemist.

For the game and all the extras that are hanging off it £4.99 isn’t much to ask for at all, but bear in mind that once your 30 day trial periods up you’ll have to start forking out a monthly subscription fee to carry on playing.

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Sun, 11 Jul, 10
Author:
Jonathan Lester

Category:
Games deals

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APB £17.99 @ Coolshop [PC Games]

APB £17.99 @ Coolshop [PC Games]

Okay, let’s kick things off by saying that this deal certainly isn’t for everyone. Lukewarm reviews and eventual supplementary topups will make this a fairly niche offer for a niche audience… but if you’re looking to buy into Realtime Worlds’ cops ‘n’ robbers MMO, there’s a serious saving to be made. Coolshop are currently charging £17.99 which will save you just under £6 compared to ShopTo (the nearest price rival).

APB is a cops and robbers online RPG that takes place in a dynamic urban setting. As a cop you’ll chase down suspects and respond to crimes in progress- or as member of San Pero’s criminal element you’ll raise hell, commit felonies and basically do your best to run the town. Oh, and you’ll shoot loads of people regardless of your alignment.

It’s a great premise to be sure, but some unbalanced gunplay and surprisingly small-scale shootouts water down the experience. APB is fairly hit and miss- and it delivers moments of complete joyous carnage right along with some intense frustration. MMOs need to be dependable to survive… and at the moment, APB is quite difficult to wholeheartedly recommend.

Rather than charging a monthly fee, APB uses a points system that allows you to pay for the hours you play rather than a flat rate that might go to waste. 50 hours of game time are included with this deal, but after that you’ll need to purchase RTW Points… which can then be exchanged for in game hours. It might sound confusing, but this is actually a neat little system that other MMO developers could learn from. Having said that, the jury’s still out on whether it’s worth the money.

Thanks to millarcat at Hot UK Deals

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Mon, 4 Jan, 10
Author:
Tamsin Oxford

Category:
Games deals

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World Of Warcraft Battlechest £6.98 @ Gameplay [PC Game]

World Of Warcraft Battlechest £6.98 @ Gameplay [PC Game]

This is a pretty good deal for anyone who wants to get into the World of Warcraft as it’s one of the lowest prices for this bundle I’ve seen so far. The price has been marked down from the usual £24.99 to a mere £6.98 saving you £18, and you get free delivery thrown in too. Yum.

What you get for this puny poundage is the original World of Warcraft, the Burning Crusade expansion pack and some guide books to help you along as you start. It must be noted that these guidebooks aren’t that great, thanks to regular patches and updated content they are somewhat out of date.

That said, they will provide the beginner with some neat hints and tips as they get to grips with one of the most addictive and popular MMOs on the planet. I genuinely can’t recommend this game enough. Yes, yes, I know there has been a ton of backlash over people dying while playing it and its extremely addictive content but if you have half a brain you’ll be just fine.

Like any game it’s enormously fun to play it 24×7 when you first start out but soon you’ll manage it as you would a good book or TV series, a snifter from time to time. If you haven’t had a chance to play the game yet then why not snap up this chance?

Thanks to Shergold at HUKD!

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Fri, 6 Nov, 09
Author:
Admin

Category:
Game news

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From A Drop in Global Games Sales to Spore Islands on Facebook: News Roundup November 6th

In today’s news roundup we have a look at the fall in game sales across the globe, an expected release date for the eagerly anticipated Star Trek Online, and to top it off EA’s Spore Islands on Facebook.

Global 6% Drop in Games Sales

From A Drop in Global Games Sales to Spore Islands on Facebook: News Roundup November 6th

It’s been a hard year for us all, what with the financial climate taking a turn for the worse, and we’ve been keeping a weary eye on the pennies. Not surprisingly this has also affected the gaming industry.

According to Enterbrain and GfK Chart-Track, there has been a 6% drop in games sales across the three largest markets (Japan, UK and USA) compared to the previous year at the same time.

Japan however has managed to beat the crunch with game sales up at 15%, compared to the 9% drop in the US and 19% drop in the UK. [Kotaku]

Star Trek Coming Soon

From A Drop in Global Games Sales to Spore Islands on Facebook: News Roundup November 6th

On a lighter note there is some good news for you Star Trek fans out there. The release date for Star Trek Online has been announced for February 2nd 2010, the official release in North America being 5th February 2010.

Players get the chance to play as the Federation or the Klingons. You can command your own starship, battle players and build up a crew from scratch. It’s a game to keep an eye on even if you’re not a fan of Star Trek. [1up]

Spore + Facebook = Spore: Islands

From A Drop in Global Games Sales to Spore Islands on Facebook: News Roundup November 6th

Finally, EA has announced Spore: Islands for the Facebook application. For those of you not familiar with the game, you basically have to create a species, evolve them, raise them on an island and eventually take over other colonies with your mighty army. It’s a tidy little game and good to pass the time, but if you’re used to ignoring requests, then be prepared to ignore a lot more as Spore: Islands comes to Facebook. [Joystiq]

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Wed, 1 Jul, 09
Author:
Marius Goubert

Category:
Games deals

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Free 10 Day Trial Of World Of Warcraft @ Trywarcraft.com [PC Game]

Free 10 Day Trial Of World Of Warcraft @ Trywarcraft.com [PC Game]

The World of WarCraft video game has certainly created quite a stir in recent years. It has been dubbed by many as one of the most addictive games ever made. A game which drains the soul, forces people into rehab and has even resulted in someone’s death after they played it for 36 hours solid… I know, sounds great doesn’t it! So if you’re interested to see what all the fuss is about then check out this 10 day free trial being offered from the official War craft website.

The World of Warcraft is the massive multiplayer online role play game to own. In terms of its level of complexity, graphics, scale, gameplay and the sheer number of players involved it cannot be beaten. However this is also the game’s biggest flaw.

It is ridiculously time consuming and dangerously addictive! The world is just so vast that your little character gets bogged down in all sorts of missions, explorations and co – operative actions which just go on and on for days.

For example dungeon raids can involve a group of up to forty people who have to be organised meticulously before venturing out. This alone can take a good few hours, so once you have picked up the game you’re not going to be putting it down again for a good long while. So handle carefully!

It terms of storyline, War Craft takes place four years after the carnage of The World of War Craft III: Reign of Chaos. The lands of Azeroth stand ravaged by war. But now, as the kingdoms are being rebuilt a new threat has descended, and players must unite together if they are to have any hope of defeating this new evil.

So fans of MMORPG be warned, this one becomes an obsession. But on the plus side after some really hardcore gaming you can eventually sell your WOW account – and sometimes these go for hundreds if not thousands of pounds on Ebay! So there you go, it’s not all a futile waste of time after all…

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Mon, 29 Jun, 09
Author:
Marius Goubert

Category:
Games deals

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Final Fantasy XI: Wings of the Goddess Expansion Pack £4.99 @ Play.com [Xbox 360]

Final Fantasy XI: Wings of the Goddess Expansion Pack £4.99 @ Play.com [Xbox 360]

If you are already hooked by the massively multiplayer online role play world of Final Fantasy XI then you should check out its first full expansion for a very worthwhile £4.99. When doing a price comparison survey, the next cheapest price which you will find the game on xbox 360 is for around £20 on gameseek.com. So that’s good news for all aspiring warriors and white mages out there!

However for those who’ve not heard of Final Fantasy XI, it’s another one of those online role playing games (yes I know, another one!). Indeed there seem to be so many MMORPG’s you would have thought the novelty was wearing a bit thin by now. But refreshingly, FFXI does have some unique selling points which set it apart from other games of its genre.

For a start, it has a well conceived format which is nicely streamlined and bypasses some of the more cumbersome aspects of most online role play games. For example there is no need to make your character constantly eat food so they don’t become fatigued. This is great as it lets you concentrate on the cool stuff like trading, interacting and fighting.

The world of FFXI has also matured very nicely since first going live. In the beginning it was plagued by an array of technical problems but now the designers are really on top of things. The game runs smoothly and there are a constant stream of new updates and new content.

On the downside FFXI does require a big commitment in terms of time and money. You have to pay a monthly subscription which does not include a number of in game extras. You also need to put a fair amount of effort into getting to grips with a tricky control system and evolve the attributes of you character.

However  in terms of tactics, social interaction and team work, Final Fantasy XI is one of the best MMORPG’s on market. Players have the ability to choose a job which allows them to take on a particular role within the online community. These varying jobs are upgraded in the expansion and range from group healers to more offensive warrior types.Final Fantasy XI: Wings of the Goddess Expansion Pack £4.99 @ Play.com [Xbox 360]

So from noobs to hardcore final fantasy veterans, this is one to really sink your teeth into…

UPDATE: Too late – you were too slow and missed this hot deal! Why not subscribe to our email updates or RSS feeds to make sure that doesn’t happen again?

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Thu, 25 Jun, 09
Author:
Marius Goubert

Category:
Games deals

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Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures £2.95 @ Zavvi.co.uk [PC Game]

Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures £2.95 @ Zavvi.co.uk [PC Game]

Fans of Robert E Howard’s Conan the Cimmerian Stories, the Schwarzenegger film Conan the Barbarian or anyone who just loves a good online RPG might want to check this deal. The Zavvi website is offering Age of Conan Hyborian Adventures for a measly £2.95!

However remember the game is a massively-multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) so you need a working internet connection and have to pay a monthly subscription. But this is still a superb price given that the game is currently £5.40 on Amazon.

Also bear in mind that unlike the film, the game has actually had some really decent reviews. Some even swear that it’s a better online multi player – role – play game than WOW!

The story takes place in the later years of Conan’s life where, wracked by internal conflict and divided by warring factions, his kingdom is under threat. The player must lead the old king as he dons his armour, puts on his brooding stare and once more takes that oversized sword into action.

By all accounts the game has an excellent combat system, great characters and is very nice visually (although don’t expect too much as it’s slightly dated now!). But on the down side it does take an annoyingly long time to load as you travel between the various areas and is currently a bit short on content.

However according to a few Amazon reviews, the designers are well aware of these problems and are currently working to rectify them. So the multiplayer world of Conan Hyborian Adventures is still growing, but if you hang in there this could prove to be one very wise investment!Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures £2.95 @ Zavvi.co.uk [PC Game]

UPDATE: Too late – you were too slow and missed this hot deal! Why not subscribe to our email updates or RSS feeds to make sure that doesn’t happen again?

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