Gamertell

On September 18, 2008, the servers for Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (WAR) went live in North America, Europe and the Oceanic territories. Now that the game is out of the beta stage and is open for public consumption, players are invited to join in the mayhem.

WAR is the grim MMORPG version of a gothic world that has literally gone to Hell. Some parts of the world may have once been a paradise. However, wars between anyone who can fight and the forces of Chaos have essentially put the world on a path raging toward ruin.

As shown to those who participated in the beta version of WAR, it will be played like a mixture of..

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Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (WAR) left the beta stage today and is now open to the public. Just before WAR’s official opening to the public, The Black Library, publishers of all fiction Warhammer and Warhammer 40k related, released a new novel titled Empire in Chaos.

While the game is supposed to be a condensed visual representation of the franchise’s rich lore and play style, Empire in Chaos looks to answer questions concerning events in the game…

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In 2001 Tom Clancy put his name to an incredible tactical squad-based first-person shooter called Ghost Recon, a franchise that contains almost prophetic parallels with current events.

In the original Ghost Recon game, set in 2008, Russia is taken over by ultra-nationalists who want to rebuild the might of the former Soviet Union by re-acquiring several Eastern European states. The reasoning for the Russian spread in the game could just be to regain the former territory of the Soviet Union or to do as Russian President Dmitry Medvedev told Telegraph when he said he would “protect the lives and dignity of Russian citizens wherever they are located.“ Even more coincidental, the game opens in the former-Soviet state of Georgia…

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Looking at the world’s political instability, it’s easy to think that things are so bad, the only way to cope with it is by laughing. And playing board games.

Released by British game production/development company TerrorBull Games in 2006, War on Terror: the Board Game was conceived during the “War on Terror” in 2003 and is an apt but scathing comparison to the real world. Also, because of the nature of the game, it had been banned from nearly every game convention in the United States.

WOT is a modern-day version of Risk that mixes in elements from Monopoly. Game pieces are…

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Videogames offer the unique chance to not only learn about past generations but the chance to walk in the boots of those who have fought and died for this country.

While there are a lot of shameless war games on the market, more than a few have gone above and beyond offering a more realistic experience (in as much as a videogame can).

Click through for at look at three war-based video games that have influenced the industry and those who played them…

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In the wake of the Cuban Missile Crisis two good things came out of living in a time teetering on the brink of destruction. One good thing was the détente, easing of tension between the USA and the USSR. The other good thing was the release of the satirical card game Nuclear War.

This game, much like the film Dr. Strangelove (Or How I Learned to Love the Bomb), actually had the guts to taunt the destructive idiocy of mankind and its war-like nature. This is because it is the first game with a scenario where everyone can lose.

The card game and its expansions are available for purchase pretty much any game shop that sells card games. The base game costs $29.99 and it’s roughly the same cost for the expansions…

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As the fifth anniversary of the war in Iraq approaches (March 20, 2008), it’s more apparent than ever that the new reality of warfare that faces America has turned combat simulation markedly more cynical.

In 2002, the year before the US entered Iraq, the only war game to crack NPD’s yearly top 10 in sales was Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, a typical love letter to the brazen, open battles of WW2. In 2007, Halo 3‘s histrionics took the top spot. But something else was going on. Not only was Call of Duty 4‘s sickly familiar terrorism narrative the third best seller. But there was Assassin’s Creed at No. 9, as well.

Not only are games focusing on the regions, weapons and tactics employed in warfare dominated by terrorism, they are also starting to delve deeply into its hows and whys…

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Cheap Ass Gamer wants all gamers to remember that, while they are spending hours upon hours fragging your friends on Xbox Live or the PS3 Network, the tens of thousands of America’s brave men and women are overseas defending our freedoms on a daily bases in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

In an effort to show its appreciation to these men and women, CAG has organized a collection of used and unwanted video games that they will be sending out to U.S. troops around the world. They do ask that…

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Thousands of Palestinians and Israelis have been issued a copy of PeaceMaker, a strategic sim game for the PC platform to virtually find ways to stop the war between them and bring peace to their own country.

More than 100,000 copies of the game were distributed through the leading Arabic and Hebrew newspapers in Palestine and Israel the same day Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas leave for a World Summit in Annapolis, Maryland. Olmert and Abbas will receive their copy of the game upon their return.

“The way is pragmatism, entering the role of the other. You must take into account the other side,” said Ron Pundak, director of the Peres Center for Peace, which is distributing the game in Israel and the Palestinian territories. “It will help (each side) understand limitations of each one’s president and leader, and as well the limitation of the other side.”

PeaceMaker is an award-winning simulation game designed by ImpactGames. The game is actually the brain child of two former Mellon University Graduates that allow players to choose the role of a Palestinian or Israeli leader. As the leader, gamers must deal with not only governing their own people, but handle situations such as suicide bombers, terrorist attacks in various places of their state as well as contend with situations resulting from their war like refugee camps. When the leaders return, the game will allow them to switch roles with one another to see what the other must face as a result of the other’s actions.

“Since we first got the idea for PeaceMaker, it has been our hope to put this game in the hands of people who live with the real conflict every day, so they can play as the other side. With this game, the people can succeed where politicians and leaders have failed until now–bringing peace to the Middle-East,” says Asi Burak, co-founder of ImpactGames and a former Israeli Army Intelligence Corps captain. “We are so grateful to the Peres Center; their high reputation, educational expertise and outreach to community groups in Israel and Palestine made this project possible.”

“It’s significant that the PeaceMaker giveaway in the Mideast is happening around the peace summit, but also at a time of year when millions of Westerners begin their holiday shopping by purchasing games where war, violence and conflict are central points of the game. To win at PeaceMaker, you have to cooperate with the other side and reach an understanding; you must challenge any prior knowledge or assumptions you have about the Mideast conflict,” says Eric Brown, CEO of ImpactGames.

Read [CNN] Also Read [The Jerusalem Post] Site [PeaceMaker Game]

• Ghost Recon: Prophecy vs. unlucky coincidence
• Warhammer Online Age of Reckoning goes live
• Warhammer Online gets novel treatment with Empire in Chaos

More and more gamers are laying down their lives so we can have the freedom to say or do what we want stateside. (Told you there were gamers in the foxholes.)

While these brave gamers are overseas dodging bullets, cautiously looking out for improvised explosive devices as well as their buddies’ backs, a few find peace in their chaotic lives overseas by gaming. Although she admits it seemed childish to her at first, Army wife Stefanie Shea couldn’t help starting a non-profit group to offer these gamers a bit of relaxation and escape from the war by collecting and shipping games and systems for deployed U.S. military personnel.

Seeing grown men hunkered down over a handheld game controller, fingers racing frantically to throw a football pass, slay the dragon or free a princess seems like kid stuff, Shea admitted.

“You actually hold this controller and you hold it kind of like it’s a bowling ball and you go through the motions,” she said. “It’s really crazy. If you haven’t tried it you have to seek one out.”

Shea first experience with videogames took place when she and her husband, Sgt. Michael Shea, would play Nintendo Wii games together with friends at Fort Campbell, KY, until Michael had to deploy for his second tour in Iraq a few weeks ago (October 2007). She said that since her husband will miss the next two Christmases at home she asked his opinion of what he thought soldiers there truly needed to relax and have a bit of holiday cheer despite being miles away from home. The answer was fun and relaxation to help them decompress the stresses of their duty. It was then she knew the only technology she could find that could provide just that - videogames.

Together with friend Dana Blackman Brady, who owns a consulting firm in Langhorne, Shea applied for nonprofit status for their organization, Fun For Our Troops. Together, they intend to collect money, gift cards and donated game devices from 2005 or newer to send to troops overseas. By word of mouth alone she raised more than $100 in one week to help collect the games for the troops.

“I need to keep myself busy,” Shea said. Keeping busy is something most military wives of deployed soldiers do to keep themselves from fearing the worse has happened to their loved ones when they are unable to call or a news channel announces a fire fight in their soldier’s general location. “Projects are always good.”

Brady, married to a former Army Ranger, said the games could be beneficial as well as provide a comfort from home.

“What they really appreciate over there is the true comforts of home,” Brady said. “The stress relief and the escapism involved in these games, we really think could be beneficial. We’re hoping to get (the games) throughout the year. We don’t want to have [soldiers] wait. We do foresee the issues with Christmas. It’s going to be a crunch for those games.”

Blackman Brady said she plans to write to companies to see if games could be donated. But, in the meantime, she is trying to get schools and communities involved.

At that rate, the duo will need many dollars to pay for the games and systems, which Blackman Brady said range from $80 to $700. Buying warranties for the devices will be another expense, but one worth the money, she said.

For more information or to make a donation visit the Fun For Our Troops website.

Currently the group is accepting gift cards, cash donations that will be used to purchase high-tech game systems and devices for shipment overseas. Contributions can be made on the group’s website or mail letter to:

Fun for Our Troops
c/o Dana Blackman Brady
506 Corporate Drive West
Langhorne, PA 19047

For more information e-mail stefanie.doctor.shea@us.army.mil.

Although the Department of Defense will not officially support these efforts, these Army spouses got together to plan on a website where troops or their family members can register a soldier as a recipients of a game and those who already have a system the registration form will help the group select the appropriate game.

Read [Buck County Courier Times] Site [Fun For Our Troops] Email [Fun For Our Troops]

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