"Joss Stone" the british chippy singer will be not only staring in next James Bond flick and game "Blood Stone", but will also be doing the theme song for the game. The opening credits of the game have been released showing the credits sequence of the game.

She goes all heavy bass to match the style of the James Bond and suit the theme. Its certainly no Casino Royale's "You know my name" (Chris Cornell) ... but its much better than Quantam of Solace's "Another way to die" (Alicia Keys) song. So, whats your opinion about the song? and which is your all time favorite James Bond tune?

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MicroVolts is a previously announced comic looking third person shooter inspired from "Team Fortress 2" and "Small soldiers". Little toys have come to life and are battling it out for superamacy. The game is now in closed beta and you can win 3 beta keys we have to give away to play this fun colorful online game. All you hafto do is be active on blog, your comments on all posts will be counted and the 3 people with most comments will be sent out beta keys. The closing date is 3rd August when the keys will be distributed.

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Rise of Nations is around 6 year old game now. But I got to just recently try it out when I asked people for recommending some RTS games (which aint my forte). If you want a quick idea of how RoN is and how it compares to other games like Age of Empires then I would just say: "RoN is thinking man's Age of Empire". For those who want more detailed info read on.

Rise of Nations is another game from Microsoft who also published the world famous Age of Empires. Rise of Nations is in many ways build on Age of Empires 2, and successfuly takes it beyond that limit.

Graphics
The game graphics are a little outdated but certianly not your usual AoE2 2D pixels that I dont understand how people can still play with. But visual style was something I really liked... because I dont like the full 3D battlefields of today as they usually end up having rough polygons.. which look ugly and unrealistic colors and too hard to rotate the world around to see everything. RoN is well set in b/w AoE2 and AoE3 to let you play as easily as in AoE2 and look less flashy than AoE3. You can still zoom in an out to certain extent.

A hint of Civilization
Gameplay wise it is at core AoE but adds two successful elements from Civilization and Company of Heroes / Warhammer series. From civ it takes the world map and conquest idea, where you can co-exist with other nations in a world map, declare wars with nations and fight for occupancy of empty lands for resource bonuses. The more world you capture more stronger your nation becomes for further wars. you get bonus cards (extra resource, army etc) from winning battles and you can use any number of cards you have before entering next battle from world map to tilt that resource in your favor.

Pace of Company of Heroes
Warhammer / Company of Heroes games use territory control to power the resources you have and also bring conflicts to multiple fronts rather than just one base. Same thing is in RoN. You must build small cities around the map to control territory and earn capital. This replaces gold gathering. I think RoN found perfect balance in b/w Company of Heroes (no resource gathering at all) and Age of Empire (vareity of resource gathering) by keeping resource gathering for metal, wood, food and also use territory control for gold collection. Plus it innovates with "special resources". these are different points on the map which give bonus to you if you assign a merchant there, like salt etc. which can reduce cost of military etc.

Heroes and stories
Warcraft 3 / C&C / Empire earth used Heroes to give more intimate feel to RTS unnamed soldiers of wars. There are heroes in RoN too. Although their impact I didnt feel as important as in WC3 but they are there. Regarding the storyline... there is NONE. its just world conquest. and that was really disappointing for me. making mission vareity really boring. Warcraft 3 was best in that matter with each mission bringing something new. Here it just free-play like games connected linked with a world conquest map. So, if you are like me to whom story is UTMOST important thing to keep hooked to a game.. then RoN's weakest link is exposed here. The mission do try to vary. But in the end its either defend or attack.

Verdict
Rise of Nation impressed me more than I expected. It was fun no doubt. Many trees of progression, you can win a game not just by spamming enemy with units, but you can beat them through technology, education, economics etc too. it requires more careful planning to set your target way to win. its more fast paced than AoE and much better in many ways while becoming too radically different and difficult to pickup. Overall I would recommend it to anyone who is still playing Age of Empires 2. and also to those who dont like very heavy duty 3D RTS. Its best RTS in that regard no doubt. Has full lan support (thus playable over Tunngle / GameRanger / Hamachi etc). But those looking for storyline, then unrealistic RTS like Warhammer, C&C, Warcraft and Starcraft offer better option.

Download @ TinyPaste
Guide to allow widescreen / higher resolutions for game @ LanCraft WC3
Get mods to enhance your RoN @ RoN Heaven

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Continuing our StarCraft charade for the StarCraft 2 launch at JDL... presenting the photos from the Global midnight launch event of the game. People had queued up to get their pre-ordered game since morning outside the stores who had launch parties planned. There were special events organized by Blizzard in different countries.. from staged conferences, cosplay display, gaming tournament and hot girls giving away StarCraft goody bags. Even in middle east the launch party was held at eMax Dubai making it a really global event from East to West.

Blizzard has put up photos of launch events from around the globe on their StarCraft facebook page. spanning of more than 250 photos till now. check them all out @ Facebook

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Little known fact is that my VERY hear favorite game "Lost Vikings" (A 2D platformer with three vikings) was actually made by Blizzard too (then known as Silicon & Synapse). But this mini game in StarCraft 2 is a top-down scrolling shoort where you pilot a viking craft against protoss and zerg forces.

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Sony Online today announced that EverQuest II, the six-year-old MMORPG is going free-to-play. Everquest in many ways is termed as the father of (modern) MMORPGs, and finally it will adopt to latest trend in the genre... Microtransactions!

Titled EverQuest II Extended, players will be able to download and play all of the content of EQ2 (except latest expansion Sentinel's Fate). A one time payment silver membership, monthly gold and yearly titanium membership fees. The game also had 16 playable races, but free or even subscription models will limit this to just 4. Rest of all classes and other such items will be purchasable through microtransactions. So, overall it seems more limited as compared to other Free-to-play games.

More info / future updates @ Official site

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Blizzard has setup a rich StarCraft universe, for which like any other franchise there are stories set in the universe other than those depicted in the video games. These novels and ebooks let you get tied to the characters and narrative more than the game as they are bound by putting every thing as a "mission" for gameplay. Till now there are many StarCraft novels, here are the very first four books released back in 2000~2002 along with original game:

• Uprising
  Long ago, Sarah Kerrigan was human -- the unwilling subject of an insidious clandestine experiment. She was forced to serve as a merciless assassin for the Terran Confederacy until a twist of fate propelled her toward a destiny none could have foreseen. This is the untold tale of Kerrigan's shadowy origin...and the war that was fought for her very soul.
• Shadow of Xel'Naga
  A violent storm in recent memory unearths an unfathomable alien artifact on planet Bhekar Ro making it the greatest prize in the Terran Sector -- the Holy Grail of the Zerg, the Protoss, and Humanity alike -- as forces from the three great powers converge to claim the lost secrets of the most powerful species the universe has ever known.
• Speed of Darkness
  All Ardo Melnikov ever dreamed of was to live in peace on the verdant colony world of Bountiful. But when the vicious Zerg Swarm attacked the colony and annihilated his loved ones, Ardo was forced to wake from his dream and accept the brutal realities of a war-torn galaxy. Filled with revenge he joins the confederate marines.
• Liberty's Crusade
  Danny Liberty was a good reporter...too good. When his investigations struck too close to the heart of the corrupt Terran Confederacy, he faced a simple choice: continue his current series of exposés, or take a hazardous new assignment covering the Marines on the front lines of the Koprulu Sector

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Checkout this very cute plushie of starcraft's Reaver creature. this plushiw is avaialble for purchase on request from the creator.

SOURCE: deviantart

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StarCraft 2 wings of liberty soundtrack contains 14 tracks to be released on 1 cd. Track listing as follow:

01 – Wings of Liberty 07:15
02 – Public Enemy 05:03
03 – Heaven’s Devils 07:07
04 – The Deal 04:55
05 – Escape From Mar Sara 01:47
06 – Zeratul’s Warning 01:45
07 – The Prophecy 04:08
08 – Firstborn 06:19
09 – Mengsk 09:46
10 – Better Tomorrow 02:23
11 – Card to Play 02:31
12 – The Hive 06:40
13 – Fire and Fury 03:38
14 – The Showdown 03:55

Download @ TinyPaste

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Shade is a demake of Starcraft: Ghost... a game that was essentially canceled. Starcraft Ghost has been forever lost to the mists of time. However, an intrepid developer decided to give the game a try, releasing the excellent SHADE: Ghost Academy. Featuring some interesting stealth gameplay nice pixel artwork, and cool sound, it plays very much like one would expect Starcraft Ghost to play like. In 2D!

Download @ official site.
More info @ TIGsource

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StarCraft: Ghost Academy is a comic book based on Nova. She was designed as a special character in starcraft universe as a hardcore and sexy assassin. Back in 2002, Blizzard was working on a 3rd person action adventure by name StarCraft: Ghost, and this comic book was to be used as a tie-in. Sadly the comic book came out but the game was cancelled due to poor quality as per Blizzards standards.

The story covers the origins of Nova and how she is trying to uncover her past (is it just me, or do most game heroes never really know who the F*** are they?). The rest of story has nothing to usual Zergs or Protos etc. but just focuses on her crew of 5 people with different abilites. The artwork is typical manga style, which is to say everybody has washboard abs, and crotch-tight clothing.So, there is something to enjoy for manga and starcraft fans (and other males :P).

Download the 180 page book @ uploading.com

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StarCraft special presentation has already started at the auspicious day of launch of this title. So, What if you are new to series.. it doesnt mean u hafto play the age old game just to continue the story in SC2. OR... if it had been too long that you played SC1 / Broad war and want a refreshal through the story of the game.. then look no further we have the best resource lined up to surf you through the story of the first game. so, check out the following two useful resources to know about everything SC1 singleplayer campgain was about:

• IGN's StarCraft in 5 minutes
  This is a quick rush video to give you all the blowdown about the twist and turns in the story of SC1.
• GroundXaero SC1 story videos collection
  This youtube user has collected all the videos from the game and the important mission briefings durign the game to give you all the story of the game without missing any bit.

So, whether you are in a hurry or in a mood to really get into the SC world before you start playing SC2, then visit one of above for a refresher.

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Nuclear Coleslaw is a fan made live action series based on Fallout post apolyptic universe. The episodes depict the story of main hero like the video game and quest based gameplay. the production values look really good with great emphasis on locations and costumes / makeup to stay authentic retro post nuclear look of Fallout series.Currently only two episodes are and if you like then do keep an eye out as new episodes get released every week.

• Watch episode 1
• Watch episode 2

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We have the biggest PC game launch here of this year.. the MOST anticipated game from previous many years. with over 5 million pre-orders... introducing STARCRAFT 2:WoL. The sequel to most successful RTS of this generation. Featuring a unique single-player campaign that picks up where StarCraft: Brood War left off, StarCraft II will present a cast of new heroes and familiar faces in an edgy sci-fi story filled with adventure and intrigue.

Do note this download is Original iso (CLONEDVD) i.e. it is original dvd copy. so, you wont be able to use it until you have a valid battle.net key or till a crack is availble.

Download @ Original Iso + crack only / Warez release

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