Sci Fi Jungle

Guild Wars 2 Trailer

NCsoft and ArenaNet released a trailer for the upcoming Guild Wars 2.  While there is no firm release date for the new version of the game (making some players frustrated) the teaser trailer reveals some of the backstory for the new game and also shows off some cool graphics.

There's been a lot less Guild Wars in my house recently.  The hubster, like many players, got bored without new content, and has defected over to Dungeons and Dragons Online.  D&D online is also free to play.  The new version "Unlimited" will debuting on September 9th.  Hubster was a beta tester for the Unlimited and really things the game is awesome.  They will be going to a free to play model.  A lot of new features will be rolling out with Unlimited - smoother game play, online store.  They have an interesting auction feature within the game economy as well.

The Elder Scrolls II Daggerfall Free

Go back into the past with this free download of 2 Elder Scrolls games.

Note: May require a free DOS emulator program on newer PCs.

THE ELDER SCROLLS II: DAGGERFALL (148 MB) You can view the installation instructions here. Minimum system requirements: 486DX2/66 MHZ, DOS 6.0, 8MB RAM, 50MB HD Space, 256-color VGA graphics card, Mouse, Soundcard (Sound Blaster, Sound Blaster 16, AWE 32, Pro Audio Spectrum, Ensoniq Soundscape, Gravis Ultrasound).

Fragger - A New Totally Addicting Flash Game

OMGWTFBBQ!  It's a new physics based flash game that is additive and clever.  Fragger Game lets you toss grenades at little cartoon enemies.  Fun!

WarpForce Beta Begins Today

The new online role playing game (RPG) WarpForce is signing up players for its beta today.  The game will open publicly on July 15th.  Here's some info from Gamershell.com:

WarpForce is a massive single-player storyline that unlocks as the player levels up (much like a console game), becoming more powerful by increasing stats and getting advanced equipment. Players will be able to choose from several races (each with benefits), dynamically change equipment during colorful and exciting animated battles, and also be able to combine their efforts in large wars and crossover events.

The site to sign up for the WarpForce beta is warpforce.com.

Spore Galactic Adventures

I'm excited - the new Spore expansion pack "Spore Galactic Adventures" is out.   Worthplaying.com has some Spore Galactic Adventures trailers and screenshots.  They say:

In Spore: Galactic Adventures fans will experience deeper Space stage gameplay as for the first time space faring creatures will be able to beam down from their spaceships to explore new planets and earn rewards for completing challenging missions.

 

Cool Time Waster Alert

The folks at Mega have made a cool little online world for the youngsters at the MagNext site.  I do have a youngster or two around the house which gave me the perfect excuse to try out the site.

However, at the time my 5 year old was in school so I can't really explain why I felt the need to race Mega cars through a speed track REPEATEDLY.  I was playing the Spheron Speed Challenge and it was fun fun fun.  No kids needed.  I didn't even have to create an account - I used the guest method. 

Here is a little screen shot of me getting a coin.  The little yellow arrows make you go faster.  As you can see, I missed this group of arrows but got the coin so HA.

I am going to visit back at the site with Ben (the aforementioned 5 year old) and let him try.  It's got all the safety stuff parents are looking for as well as the "collect Magz and buy stuff at the store" elements that kids expect from an online community.  For those a bit tired of the girly style WebKinz or Build-A-Bear-ville this is racier and has more action.  Of course my boys like the stuffed animal sites too.  I mean really, girls can play car racing and boys can play stuffed animals.  Let's not be all sexist here.

 

 

5 Minute Mysteries

Since my scifi readers tend to like reading, puzzles, and games, I thought you might be interested in 5 Minute Mysteries.   5 Minute Mysteries are (very) short stories that describe the crime, the major players, and facts about the case.  By reading the story you should be able to find some type of inconsistency in the report that points to the solution of who committed the crime. 

These are a great fun way to keep your mind sharp.  They require excellent reading comprehension and logical problem solving skills.  Just the sort of mystery puzzle a verbal person will enjoy.  It's kind of the whodunit part of a murder mystery novel without having to read the entire novel. 

Of course these are not literary classics!  But they can be a lot of fun.  There are a few places on the Internet to find these stories.  Mysterynet.com has a monthly puzzle.  5minutemystery.com offers a yearly subscription for unlimited puzzles - good deal for the real lover of these puzzles.

A Squidoo lens on 5 Minute Mysteries that I found has audio versions of the puzzlers which were produced to air on radio stations.   It can be found at squidoo.com/fiveminutemysteries.

Trailer for Star Trek MMORPG Online Role Playing Game

Folks like my hubby have been eagerly awaiting the Star Trek Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game to be released.  It just makes me remember the Star Trek mainframe game we used to play on the terminal my Dad would bring home from Xerox in the 80s.  Remember that game?  The terminal  had a coupler you would stick the telephone handset into and it would dial in by modem.  Then the terminal would print each screen - no such thing as a CRT or monitor to this puppy.

Imagine this on green bar paper...  Man those were the days.  OLD SCHOOL.

 

Anyhow, let me stop reminiscing

Here is the official trailer for the new upcoming Star Trek Online MMORPG.

Star Trek 20 Questions - 20Q

Head over to http://www.20q.net/startrek/ to play the Star Trek version of the 20Q Artificial Intelligence game.  You imagine any sentient being, place, or thing from Star Trek and the AI will figure it out before you can answer 20 questions.  This this is amazing - I don't know how it does it!  The more people play the harder it gets to stump the computer.  It guessed my "place" of Romulus correctly.

I hope everyone is happy with the Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanza/Solstice/Festivus celebrations and gifts.  May your new ipods give you lots of enjoyment.

Wizard 101

Looking for something nice for the kids to play online cooler than Webkinz but more little kid  friendly than Magic the Gathering, or even Pokemon?  Wizard 101.com is a new website offering a sort of three way cross of Pokemon, Harry Potter, and Webkinz. 

It looks really cute, fun and easy to navigate.  I am going to let my 5 year old have a go at it tonight.  He has his own laptop (heck, even my 3 year old has his own laptop) and I really like the idea of teaching strategy games at this age.  TV is brain draining.  Strategy games are brain building.

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On a completely unrelated note, I am so glad hurricane Gustav was not as bad as it could have been.  It really shows that we have become used to more and more extreme weather fluctuations that this terrible destructive storm is being described as "not as bad as it could have been."  Had Katrina not been what it was, this would have been a major disaster story - having to evacuate New Orleans for days on end?  But we all have a different perspective now.  The Mississippi "Delta faucets" have been opened, the levees broken, and its a different place now.