World of Warcraft: Virtual Store

Despite its humongous list of paying subscribers, you can’t fault Blizzard Entertainment for wanting a little bit extra. The company is taking steps to make World of Warcraft even more profitable with the addition of an online pet store.

For ten bucks players can buy either Lil’ K.T. or a tiny Pandaren Monk. Lil’ K.T. is a mini-version of the big bad Lich currently featured in the recent expansion. Though he may be small, he’s still intimidating and offers a unique way to mock the enemies you defeat in PVP encounters. The Pandaren Monk is a bit classier, returning any bows made to him by other players and practicing his kung fu moves in his off-hours. To further demonstrate his moral superiority, half of all the proceeds from the sale of the Pandaren will be donated to the Make-a-Wish foundation.

Players who purchase either of the pets will be able to use them for all current and future characters associated with their World of Warcraft account. If you want to use the pets for multiple WOW accounts associated with the same Battle.net account, you will have to buy separate versions for each World of Warcraft license.

Sony and WOTC join to make – Magic: The Gathering – Tactics

Sony Online Entertainment, and Wizards of the Coast announced they are developing Magic: The Gathering – Tactics, an online, 3D turn-based strategy game played within the rich Magic: The Gathering Multiverse.

“By collaborating with Wizards of the Coast, we’re able to combine the strengths of both companies to develop an innovative, online, 3D game based on an extremely popular IP,” said John Smedley, president, Sony Online Entertainment. “We’re going to be taking the Magic: The Gathering Multiverse places players have never seen.”

“The growing Magic: The Gathering community has an insatiable desire for great strategic game experiences. Sony Online Entertainment is the perfect partner to transform the best of Magic’s story, strategy and competitive play into a fantastic ‘Tactics’ game experience for current and new Magic fans,” said Greg Leeds, president, Wizards of the Coast.

Magic: The Gathering – Tactics will allow players to command forces of dramatic 3D figures and powerful spell cards pulled from the Magic: The Gathering Multiverse. Players can participate in single player scenarios or jump right into PVP action against other players worldwide, 24 hours per day. Magic: The Gathering – Tactics is expected to feature regular content expansions, a robust tournament environment, an achievement and rankings program, and original stories of the Planeswalkers of Magic: The Gathering.

Magic: The Gathering – Tactics is being developed by SOE’s Denver studio and scheduled to be available for the PC in early 2010, with a version for the PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system to follow.

For more information on Magic: The Gathering – Tactics, visit www.magicthegatheringtactics.com.

World Golf Tour Contest

Glenlivet and World Golf Tour have announced a contest that will give two grand-prize winners the chance to go to Scotland, the home of the famous St. Andrews golf course. All you have to do to enter into the contest is go to WGT.com and play a free nine-hole challenge on the St. Andrews course.

The two grand-prize winners will be flown to Scotland, given a free round of golf at St. Andrews and be given a free tour of the Glenlivet distillery. Thirty other winners will receive The Glenlivet-themed golf bags or a whisky tasting instructional DVD along with branded whisky glasses.

“There are few brands out there that have as strong a tie to the sport of golf than The Glenlivet,” said YuChiang Cheng, CEO of World Golf Tour. “Since WGT.com’s launch last year, our site has grown to be one of the most highly trafficked golf sites in the world. We are honored to have such a respected brand sponsor a premium golf tournament for millions of virtual golfers.”

World Golf Tour is available now for free through any computer with an Internet connection.

Borderlands to PC fans – ‘Have patience Grasshopper’

PC game players who managed to get a legitimate retail PC copy of Borderlands early are being forced to wait for the official release date to start playing.

Borderlands requires online activation and that won’t be ready to go until the PC release date of October 26 in North America, and October 30 internationally. Gearbox and publisher 2K are aware of the problem, but unfortunately nothing can be done to help early buyers.

“It is not possible for us to move the planned release date of the game forward,” 2K Community Manager Elizabeth Tobey wrote. “We could not possibly get the games into stores worldwide and out for digital distribution any earlier than planned.

Tobey noted only less than 1% of PC titles were sold early, and unlocking the game earlier than planned would likely lead to the release of illegal torrents.

“I am sure all of you want our PC launch to be as successful as possible, and we simply won’t be able to manage that any earlier than already planned,” she added.

Bored waiting for Borderland?  Try these links!

Self-proclaimed “Greatest Borderlands Fan” Twitter

Borderlands Official Website

Latests News Related to Borderlands

Buy Borderlands at CustomPCMAX

Are you ready to play Modern Warfare 2?

Pre-order Modern Warfare 2

Are you prepared to play Modern Warfare 2?

A Gamestop pre-order flier for MW2 lists the game’s minimum PC specifications in order to the run game.

Check out the specs… are you in need of an upgrade or a new PC?  One can only assume these are the absolute MINIMUM specs and would estimate a PC with a bit higher specs will be needed to enjoy the game with medium to high visual settings.  Most notably, you would likely want a dual core CPU, 2+ gigs of ram and a video card from the ATI x3xxx series or Nvidia 8xxx series – or higher.

Head over to the CustomPCMAX Store to find yourself a new video card.

Microsoft Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7 (Windows 95/98/ME/2000 are unsupported)

Intel Pentium 4 3.2 GHz or AMD Athlon 64 3200+ processor or better supported

Memory: 1 GB RAM

256 MB NVIDIA GeForce 6600GT or better or ATI Radeon 1600XT or better

Microsoft DirectX(R) 9.0c

12GB of free hard drive space

100% DirectX 9.0c compatible sound card

Broadband connection required for Multiplayer Connectivity. Internet Connection required for activation

Dragon Age Journeys – Now Available

Pre-order Dragon Age: Origins PC

Leading video game developer BioWare, today announced that the first chapter of Dragon Age Journeys, a free to play browser based game set in the Dragon Age world, is now available. Dragon Age Journeys puts players in the role of a hero exploring the underground dwarven kingdom of Orzammar. Players will uncover a dastardly plot that threatens to unleash a great evil that won’t stop until it destroys all living things. Based on BioWare’s upcoming dark fantasy epic Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age Journeyssets a new standard of quality for browser-based games with addictive combat mechanics and fluid gameplay. Players of Dragon Age Journeys will have the chance to earn exclusive in game content for Dragon Age: Origins on the day of its release.

The game is produced by a new browser-based production team at EA and an all-star team of independent development talent, with the goal of creating premium quality browser games. Dragon Age Journeys represents EA’s commitment to supporting talented independent developers.

“Dragon Age Journeys continues our mission of working with talented game developers and artists to create high quality games, blowing away expectations of what is possible in the browser,” said Mark Spenner, VP of Development, EA 2D. “We are honored to be working with BioWare to introduce the Dragon Age franchise to a wide audience of gamers.”

“Dragon Age Journeys sets the stage for Dragon Age: Origins,” said Mark Darrah, Executive Producer, Dragon Age: Origins. “The team has shown the Dragon Age Franchise in a bold new light and the release of this game allows a broad audience of players to discover our dark fantasy universe for the first time.”

Dragon Age Journeys features intense tactical combat, a compelling story and deep customization. Players can choose from one of six different origin stories, each offering a unique background that shapes the lens of how the player perceives the world and how the world will perceive them. The game will deliver an amazing experience to fans looking for an introduction to BioWare’s dark fantasy epic, Dragon Age: Origins.

Dragon Age Journeys is now available free to players at www.dragonagejourneys.com and more information is available at www.dragonage.com.

Dragon Age: Origins will be released on November 3rd in North America and November 6th in Europe on the Xbox 360(R) videogame and entertainment system and PC. The PlayStation(R)3 version will follow later in November. Dragon Age: Originsis rated M by the ESRB.

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium

Purchase $199

With Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Operating System Software, you’ll get the best entertainment experience on your PC!. Windows 7 Home Premium makes it easy to create a home network and share all of your favorite photos, videos, and music. You can even watch, pause, and rewind TV or record it to watch whenever and wherever you want.* For the best entertainment experience on your PC, choose Windows 7 Home Premium.

Which Windows 7 is right for you?

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All versions of Windows 7 are available for purchase from the CustomPCMAX store!

Borderlands – Retail Shortages

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It looks like Borderlands, well-received by critics, is having trouble getting received at all by some potential purchasers, with retail shortages being reported in the US. Canada is also dealing with supply issues, possibly as the result of the game’s $40 price tag in the region.

Gearbox’s Steve Gibson has contacted media outlets regarding the issue, saying that the shortage is mostly limited to the Xbox 360 version, particularly on the east coast. Gibson states that Gearbox is “working with production and distribution at ramping up to catch up with demand,” adding that fresh copies should hit “as early as Thursday or Friday.”

The PS3 version has run into supply problems on the west coast, but Gibson says these “are mostly regional and can be addressed by reallocation.” Gibson notes that this should happen “quickly.”

So, how about it? Have you had any trouble getting your copy of Borderlands?

If you want it on PC, you have no further to look than the CustomPCMAX store!

COD: Modern Warfare 2 – “No dedicated servers”

Infinity Ward has revealed it is not going to be supporting dedicated servers for the PC version of Modern Warfare 2, upsetting the game’s community amidst fears that features such as clans will no longer be supported.

Robert Bowling made known the decision in a webcast with BASHandSlash, where he announced that the game will be utilizing a console-style system powered by IWNet, a system that is making its debut with Modern Warfare 2.

“You’re completely reliant on IWNet,” said Bowling, “and there’s no dedicated server or server list, so you rely on IWNet for your matchmaking on your games, but then you also have the private match, much like the other platforms, where you can go in and customise and, you know, turn off air support, turn off this, turn off that, customise the game rules all via private match, and invite people to the server that way.”

A petition has been set-up in protest (here)  and at the time of posting this, it has reached nearly 74,000 signatures.

Left 4 Dead 2 – New Gameplay Mode Announced

Valve, creator of best-selling game franchises (such as Half-Life and Counter-Strike) and leading technologies (such as Steam and Source), today announced Scavenge, the fourth game mode to be included in its upcoming zombie thriller, Left 4 Dead 2.

Scavenge mode challenges players to compete in round-based games of up to 8 players (Survivors vs. Infected). The Survivors must battle both the Infected and the clock as they collect gas cans to refuel a generator located in each map. Every can the Survivors pour into the generator scores their team a point and adds time to the clock.

On defense, the Infected team plays as the boss Infected (including the new Spitter, Jockey, and Charger). They must keep the Survivors from fueling the generator by attacking them, destroying the gas cans, or running out the clock. During a round, each team gets an opportunity to play both sides, with the round going to whichever team successfully delivers the most cans.

Coming exclusively to Xbox 360 and PC, L4D2 promises to set a new benchmark for co-operative action games and become one of 2009’s marquee titles. Set for release on November 17, the title adds melee combat to enable deeper co-operative gameplay, with items such as a chainsaws, frying pans, axes, baseball bats, and more.

L4D2 also introduces the AI Director 2.0, adding the ability to procedurally change weather effects, world objects, and pathways in addition to tailoring the enemy population, effects, and sounds to match the players’ performance. The result is a unique game session custom-fitted to provide a satisfying and uniquely challenging experience each time the game is played.

Finally, with new Survivors, boss zombies, weapons, and items, Left 4 Dead 2 offers a much larger game than the original, featuring more co-operative campaigns, more Versus campaigns, new Survival maps, and a brand new competitive mode all available at launch.