Guild Wars 2 Pre-Order Headstart Begins Tonight: Who will you be?

It is finally here. Many Guild Wars players have been waiting for years to see this day. If you are one of the hundreds of thousands who have pre-purchased Guild Wars 2 you will soon have access to the full game 3 days earlier than the retail release. Officially said to begin at 3AM Eastern time, it has been said on Twitter that the servers could be up and running up to 3 hours earlier. If you are just learning this now you are likely too late. You must wait until August 28th if you want to join in on the adventure.

While you wait, check out some of AnythingGeek's first ever video footage on YouTube as I show you the first part of the game as a Human Warrior. You may also want to check out our early review of Guild Wars 2 to get an idea of how the game works - it is surely very different from other MMOs.

Many were concerned that reviewing the game while in beta was innapropriate due to the amount of changes that have been continuously released as more and more beta weekends and stress tests go by - but it is clear to say that the game has only gotten better over time.

Gotta love the mushroom hat! (hair?)

By now players will hopefully have an idea of what race and class they will be playing for their first character in the full game. If you are unsure I really recommend trying out the new race to the series, the Sylvari. Upon playing a Sylvari Ranger for a little bit of time on a previous BWE I knew then that this was going to be the character I play for my first playthrough. The story seemed to be the most interesting and the starting area was beautiful. However, this should not stop you from playing as all races!

Will you be playing Guild Wars 2 tonight? Are you playing it right now? And who are you playing as your starting character? Let us know in the comments below!

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Train Simulator 2013 Announced

At the Cologne Gamescom the creators of Railworks, RailSimulator.com (RSC), have announced the next game in the series. Train Simulator 2013 brings with it numerous advances as well as included routes for those just joining the the series. RSC as provided arguably the best simulator for all from of rail transportation over the years and has been at the forefront of innovation.

What does this new addition bring to the series? Well numerous graphical, mechanical and brand new features are now included in an already comprehensive simulator.  Below are some of the highlights that can be taken away from the presentation. Firstly the inclusion of Steam Workshop in the series will be available at launch, making new or modded routes, scenarios, and rolling stock now available easily. The series will now boast multiplayer in the form of the new Relay Play mode, there is little detail however but we will know more in the coming weeks. There will be the addition of Quick Drive mode so people that are either new or just want a casual session can quickly pick up and play without all in-depth mechanics behinds it so the learning curve is diminished.

Lastly there is also the inclusion of Xbox 360 controller support, but for a program like this a controller will just not do. What you get in the box is three routes with a number of engines, rolling stock, and scenarios, below is the contents as described during their conference.

Sherman Hill route with new ES44AC, SD70M and SW10

Munich-Augsburg route with ICE 3M Class 406

London to Brighton route with Class 377 Electrostar

Now what about if you already own Train Simulator 2012, do you have to purchase this to get access to the new additions, no. If you already own Train Simulator 2012 there will be a free update to on the same day it is released giving you access to the new features. What you do miss out on however is the new routes and engines as described above. Existing players can treat the new simulator as a DLC pack essentially, so if you do not like the routes or trains, don't buy into them. They will be eventually separate DLC if you want to cherry pick but purchasing 2013 will give you a significant discount over that.

Train Simulator 2013 will launch on September 20th, 2012 on the Steam store. In store versions will be available worldwide in early October.

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Reviews for the Road: Audiosurf

Let's open up the floodgate of reviews of games that we recieved during the summer sale, starting with the game Audiosurf. This game was released on Steam in 2008, shortly after winning the Independent Games Festival's 2008 excellence in audio award.  It is developed by Invisible Handlebar, a personal company owned and operated by Dylan Fitterer. For over four years it has been providing gamers with a way to play their own music in a fun and engaging way. Now that the history is down, the actual review.

For Audiosurf, it's controls and gameplay are supposed to be easy to pick up and play, it truly has achieved this. Something it lacks is originality, as the predecessors of the genre, chiefly Guitar Hero and Rock Band, have nearly the exact gameplay of hitting coloured bars. A difference however is that there is the mechanic of having to create combos with the blocks rather than just hitting them while pressing the correct button. The controls are quite simple as all you need to do is move your mouse left and right to change lanes, and to click either of the moues buttons to use your character's ability.

Speaking of characters, that is what makes Audiosurf fairly unique. There are 3 difficulty settings that each have their own characters. Each comes with its own abilities that make gameplay fun. For example, he 'mono' characters have the highway set up with single colours and grey blocks, avoid the grey and collect the colours to score. The abilities of characters range from saving a single block for later to being able to jump over the highway.

For the highway it is unique to each song, so each time you play a new song you get a different experience. The highway is created by looking at what makes to song unique and creates a visual representation of that for  you to play on.  Factors such as the beat, tempo, harmony and different notes all play a factor into how the highway is formed. Something nice is that unlike other games in the genre it let's you choose files from your own library, making each and every player's experience unique.

Now for the conclusion. The gameplay is fun though it would be better if more unique. The wealth of characters that you are able to use does help with gameplay as it let's you focus on different playstyles and challenges.  Lastly the fact that you are able to choose your own existing music rather than having to buy a bucket load of DLC is great. Something I didn't mention is the leaderboards, they add a cool dynamic but unless you need to prove something they are a minor feature. The only way I could see somebody getting tired of this game is if they play the same few songs over and over. I'd rate this game a 74/100 for having good features but lacking in ingenuity. If you want to try this game out then there is a free demo available on Steam, try it before you buy it!

On a side note the creators announced that another game in the series is on it's way, Audiosurf: Air.  You can sign up for the beta here, and follow Fitterer's twitter for updates.

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New Dragon Ball Z Movie Teaser & Release Date Announced

As of yesterday, there is now a teaser trailer for the upcoming 2013 self-titled Dragon Ball Z film. Although the teaser doesn't reveal much, it's good to know that this project is moving along, and we were even given the exact date of the Japanese release, March 30th, 2013. Check out the trailer below:

Akira Toriyama

The film is being directed by Mashiro Hosoda, who was an episode director for the original series, as well as for other popular anime series such as Yu-Gi-Oh! and Sailor Moon. If all this isn't enough for you, head over to the official site for the latest announcements and even a message from the original author Akira Toriyama.

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AnythingGeek's Steam Summer Sale Hauls

So it has been a good couple of weeks since the coveted Steam summer sale, so we have all had time to digest through some of our games we have all bought. Each one of us bought a varied amount and different games through this sale. What you will find in this article is a list of what we have got through the sale, the value of that list and a small write up on our favorite game that we got. Anyways get your scroll bar ready, to start us off here is Colin's tiny haul.

Colin:

Left 4 Dead 2
Dear Esther
___________________________________________________________________
Retail Total $29.98 USD
Sale Total    $7.48 USD
Saved Total $22.50 USD

I was happy to get a couple games that I've been wanting to play for a while for less than $10. I only got 2 titles, but that is mostly because I went on a shopping spree of sorts with some previous sales. Dear Esther was a fair price for the short amount of time you can spend with it but it was completely worth experiencing. Left 4 Dead 2 is one of those games you can pick up and play anytime and I hope to play it soon with the other AnythingGeek writers!

Jake:

Fallout 3 GOTY
Fallout New Vegas GOTY
Sega Hit Collection
- Total War: SHOGUN 2
  - Total War: SHOGUN 2 - Rise of the Samurai Campaign
  - Total War: SHOGUN 2 - Dragon War Battle Pack
- Medieval II: Total War
- Medieval II: Total War Kingdoms
- Rome: Total War Gold Edition
- Rome: Total War - Alexander
- Empire: Total War + DLC
- Aliens vs. Predator
- Napoleon: Total War + DLC
- SEGA Genesis & Mega Drive Classics
- Comix Zone
- Crack Down
- Ecco the Dolphin
- Gain Ground
- Golden Axe
- Shinobi 3
- Space Harrier II
- Vectorman
- Altered Beast
- Shadow Dancer
- Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle
- Bonanza Bros
- Columns, Ecco Jr.
- Eternal Champions
- Fatal Labyrinth
- Galaxy Force II
- Kid Chameleon
- Ristar
- Super Thunder Blade
- Alien Storm
- Bio-Hazard Battle
- Columns III
- Decap Attack
- Ecco The Tides of Time
- ESWAT, Flicky
- Golden Axe II
- Sword of Vermillion
- Virtua Fighter 2
- Alien Soldier
- Gunstar Heroes
- Landstalker
- Light Crusader
- Shining Force
- Shining Force 2
- Shining in the Darkness
- Streets of Rage
- Streets of Rage 2
- Wonder Boy III - Monster Lair
- Sonic Generations
- Renegade Ops
- Binary Domain
- Guardians Armor Pack
- Beyond Oasis
- Dynamite Headdy
- Golden Axe 3
- Phantasy Star 2
- Phantasy Star 3
- Phantasy Star 4
- Streets of Rage 3
- The Revenge of Shinobi
- Vectorman 2
- Wonder Boy in Monster World.
___________________________________________________________________
Retail Total $474.55 USD
Sale Total $62.47 USD
Saved Total $412.08 USD

From all of us here I think I've gotten the most bang for my buck with great savings. The SEGA pack covered much of the company's gaming history from the days they were making the games up to them being a publisher. The Fallout series has a great line up here as well, I look forward to playing it and going through them with mods aplenty. Most of my time however will most likely be spent playing Team Fortress 2 or simply gazing at my massive digital collection.

Sean:

Audiosurf
Grand Ages: Rome
Grand Ages: Rome - Reign of Augustus 
Bethesda Collection
- Skyrim
- Hunted Demon's Forge
- Brink
- Fallout New Vegas GOTY
Civilization V: GOTY
  - Civ V Korea/Wonders DLC Combo
Mount and Blade: Warband
  - Warband Napoleonic Wars DLC
Star Ruler
Shogun 2 Collection
- Total War: Shogun 2
  - Blood Pack
  - Dragon War Battle Pack
  - Hattori Clan Pack
  - Ikko Ikki Clan Pack
  - Sengoku Jidai Unit
  - Rise of the Samurai Campaign
- Fall of the Samurai
  - Saga Faction Pack
  - Obama Faction Pack
  - Tsu Faction Pack
  - Sendai Faction Pack
Railworks 3: TS2012 + Horseshoe Curve
  - CN WideNose Pack DLC
  - Canadian National Addon
  - Trains vs Zombies DLC
Star Wars: KOTOR 
SimCity 4 Deluxe 
Dragon Age: Origins - Ultimate Edition
Left 4 Dead Bundle
- Left 4 Dead
- Left 4 Dead 2
Galactic Civilizations II
Oblivion Game of the Year Deluxe
___________________________________________________________________
Retail Total $367.63 USD
Sale Total    $111.70 USD
Saved Total $255.93 USD

To pin down which game is my favorite from this sale is hard since I got a lot of great games for dirt cheap, but one really stood out from the rest. I've been a fan of trains since I was a little kid so Railworks was on my wishlist for a long time. I'm quite surprised by the amount of content already in game, and the specific DLC can really give players what they want. Right now I'm looking into the world editor and so far I'm making decent progress on my own route.

Great hauls by everyone here. You can expect many of these games to either be reviewed or featured on the site in the future since we get enjoyment from them all. What did you get, how much did you spend and what game is your favorite from the list? Post your thoughts on the subject below and don't be afraid to correct our math!

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Wii U Box Design Leaked

Since the Wii U was announced officially at E3 there has been a lot of speculation on all of the details. Price, release date, games at launch versus launch window, and a number of other details to decide whether people want to lay down their money or not. Recently we have gotten a number of sources such as Amazon, Target and other retailers putting up images for the games that are launching with the console. Below are the pictures of the game cases of these various titles as well as an alternative view of the case.

From what we can see, Nintendo appears to have adopted a blue case that will pop out to consumers on the shelf. I think this is good since earlier designs pointed to have the same case as the Wii but just adding in the "U". No word on dimensions but I think we could expect something similar to Wii cases, maybe slimmer judging by the pictures. Until Nintendo shows the game cases themselves I would take each new rumor with a grain of salt, but since these images were from multiple different retailers it gives this rumor good standing.

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Source 2 Engine Hinted in Source Filmmaker

From our long summer hiatus we have returned! To get things started off in a timely fashion here is the latest story in regards to gaming. The gaming company Valve is synonymous with many great things out there, including their dated Source engine. Over the course of a decade they have constantly updated it so it can stay inline with modern engine technology.

Recently some fine people at Valve Time have dug out some lines of code and files from the Source Filmmaker that seems to point to a whole new project from Valve. Below is some highlights of what they have found out.

Line 1387:
'''Return an str with the current engine version.
If key doesn't doesn't exist, assume 'Source', otherwise invalid -- assume next-gen 'Source 2'.'''

Source 2 tool Icons (above)

• appicon

• terrain_tool_toggle_control_cage

• terrain_tool_select_verts

• terrain_tool_edge_smooth

• paint_tool_icon

• scale_tool_icon

From what is being seen here it seems Valve wants to slowly integrate Source 2 so it will not be such a huge leap but a smooth transition with all the added features. This story is currently developing so we will bring you important updates as they happen.

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