So, I was just wondering how you people of Gaming World think about e-sports. Do you watch, follow or participate in any leagues or competitive gaming tournaments? Do you think e-sports are ever going to become anywhere as popular as traditional sports? What's your general opinion about e-sports? Lame? Awesome? Everyone should know by now how big Blizzard's strategy games have become in South-Korea.

I don't play anything competitively myself, but I have lately watched and followed Heroes of Newerth leagues and shoutcasts a lot. I've always found watching startegy games and the like enjoyable. I've tried watching other types of e-sports games like Team Fortress 2, Counter Strike and World of Warcraft Arenas but I found them to be too hard to follow; it's hard to focus on anything and you don't get that good overall view of the action like you do in strategy games. For me e-sports is mostly just watching shoutcasts.

So I am looking to pimp up my sound a little and thinking of buying an external audio card or an interface for my PC. I currently use a built-in Realtek HD chip, and we all know built-in stuff suck! I don't know much about audio and stuff and my budget is only around 50 euros (that's about 73 American dollars or 46 British pounds). I'm also going to use it for music listening, gaming and videos pretty much so no need for fancy recording stuff. It would be great if it did not require it's own power source as I have lots of devices using my sockets already. Compatible with both Windows (7) and Mac OS X (Snow Leopard) is also a plus.

If you have any experiences, opinions or recommendations I'd love to hear them. Thanks!

Also, here's an example of what I've been suggested so far by a friend: http://www.thomann.de/gb/american_audio_genie_pro.htm

Yeah so apparently Corel is giving out the PSPX for free for a limited time, in association with Lexar. If you're interested you can download it here: http://www.atomicmpc.com.au/Download/150212,corel-paint-shop-pro-x.aspx

source: http://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?s=480895d5b403aac8cbd3d6cb55034fcb&showtopic=798382&st=0&#entry591291066

Note: It does install some licensing service that could be viewed as spyware if you're very serious about that kind of stuff. So if you don't like stuff that connect to internet then don't install it.

Do you remember those great World of Warcraft killers like Lord of the Rings Online, Age of Conan and Warhammer Online? Wonder what happened to them and if they are any better these days? Well if you do then now is the time to get back and try them out! LotRO, AoC and WHO are all having a 10 to 14 days FREE re-evaluation period for old users, right now! But the offer only last for so long so if you want to try these CLASSICS again act now!

If that free time was not enough, you can even get some random crap if you decide to re-activate your account (as in pay for at least a month, you still get 10 to 14 days free). AoC gives you a mount, some items (one of three I think), WHO gives you an item (one of four I think) and I have no idea of LotRO has similiar offer to be honest as I don't give a shit about that game.

Anyway, I'm currently downloading Age of Conan myself but I do also plan to try Warhammer Online also. If anyone feels like it we could even roll together on some server (I'm European so EU servers only!).

This friendly spam like notice has been brought to you by Verne Digital Gaming Company!

Demigod

The all father has vanished, creating an opening in the pantheon. To fill the void, Demigods from across from the mortal world must wage war against one another in a bid to ascend to true godhood.

Demigod is a real-time, tactical strategy game that includes extensive role-playing elements. Choose from several Demigods, each poised for battle with their own unique capabilities and awe-inspiring powers. Vanquish other would-be gods as you gain levels, increase in power, unlock the power of mystic artifacts and slowly battle your way closer to joining the Pantheon.

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So that's the game info. It's a Defense of the Ancients (Warcraft 3 mod) style game where you pick a hero and try to destroy the opposing side's citadel. There's other kinds of modes in Demigod too, but citadel killing is the main one. Just like in DotA you have multiple paths with NPCs and towers (lots of them in Demigod) and shops for items. There's also multiple maps instead of one. Instead of Warcraft 3 style levelling up you get something closer to D2/WoW talent trees (1 point per level). You can also buy stuff for your citadel or extra units.

I just got it and it seems pretty awesome. It only costs $40 / 30€ if you buy digital copy off Impulse.
Anyone else got it? We should totally play together sometime! I haven't had time to test out online play yet myself so no sure how it works.

Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 (Beta)



Red Alert 3 Beta Has Started!

Red Alert is a spin-off series of Command & Conquer strategy games. In Red Alert the second world war didn't happen thanks to time travelling. Instead in Red Alert universe Hitler was killed by Einstein, thus nazi Germany never came to be. But the Soviet Union and cold war with America and the rest of the Allies did happen, and eventually became a real war.

In the third part of the Red Alert series, the Russians have gone back in time to fiddle with the time even more. This time around, The Empire of the Rising Sun (Japan) has become a third great power of the world along with the Soviet Union and the Allies. The Empire of the Rising Sun has waited patiently for the Soviets and the Allies to wage war on each other and developed great machines of war (mechas and psychic schoolgirls!) to crush them both.

So yeah, Red Alert 3 beta is here! If you bought Kane's Wrath expansion for Command & Conquer 3 you have a high chance of being in the beta now. If you still haven't received your key, you might have to wait for the next wave.

I am here looking for other Gaming Worldians who got a key and would like to Game It Up, since playing with random retards is never fun. Announce your interest in some Gaming World only matches here and we will get a game going asap! Currently there doesn't appear to be anyway to track friends/other players by any player IDs/names so join #gamingw IRC channel for some quick matches (I'm "Verne" there, and in game).

Currently the beta only includes basic internet deathmatch games. All three factions are available for testing (The Allies, The Soviet Union and the Empire of the Rising Sun).

Hot Chicks


Lt Eva McKenna (Gemma Atkinson)


Nathasha (Gina Carano)

Media (Screenshots, Videos, Artwork)

» http://www.ea.com/redalert/media.jsp

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