Xbox One: Remote Downloads Confirmed by VP Whitten

In a small group of tweets, Xbox's Corporate VP Marc Whitten confirmed that players will be able to download games while they're away from the console at home. He stated that all marketplace items can be downloaded, as well as updates, and you can confirm the downloads through the Smartglass app or Xbox Games on Windows. The Playstation 4 has also been confirmed to allow remote downloads.

“Yes! Of course you can download while you are away," typed Whitten. "Always up to date, always your console. The beauty of low power mode." 

Seems like a very happy guy. The Xbox One has been slated for a late November release.

Sources [VG247 through Gamespot]

Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate Looks Amazing

When WB Games announced a new Batman: Arkham game, I got excited (despite starting and not finishing the other two iterations, go me). When it was announced that Rocksteady wouldn't be handling it, I got a little skeptical. Whether or not the new Origins will live up to the previous title remains to be seen, but at least the handheld game looks spiffy.

Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate (mouthful) was announced alongside the console versions as a release for the 3DS and Playstation Vita. As far as the above trailer goes, it looks like a sidescrolling version of its console brethren with some Metroidvania thrown in. Couple that with a sweet visual novel style, and and the whole package looks exciting.

Origins and Blackgate are both set for an October 25th release date. Origins will hit the 360, Playstation 3 and PC; Blackgate for the 3DS and Vita.

Bayonetta Producer Doesn't See a Third Iteration in the Future

In an interview with 4Gamers, Bayonetta 2 producer Hideki Kamiya said that while he doesn't "...have a problem with making sequels," he doesn't foresee a third iteration in the series. Why? Sound logic follows.

"With the first title of a new franchise, there are so many good ideas, so many things you want to do. Unfortunately, you can't use all of them in the game. In the sequel, you can use cancelled ideas from the first game.

I do have the feeling that most of those ideas are used when you reach the third game though, and that developers only make a third game because the fans want it." He went on to say that he is fortunate to be able to make many games from scratch, and when asked about an Okami sequel, he stated that if he was able to, he would definitely make it.

"But gamers want so many sequels, I don't even now where to begin."

Definitely an understandable statement. For a while, we kept seeing sequel after sequel after reboot, and while few were good, you can't help but wonder where the fresh ideas are. The next generation does seem to be headed in the right direction with some new IP's, so hopefully that continues.

Bayonetta 2 is set for a 2014 as a Wii-U exclusive.

 Source [VG247 , 4Gamers (Interview)]

A Steep Slope: A League of Legends Quest

The end of season 3 for league of legends is fast approaching and in all honesty having nothing to show for the amount of improvement I have had is a painful feeling. What I mean by this is that when season 3 started I was placed into the silver rank of the ladder at the fourth rank, and currently with only weeks remaining in the season, I am at silver V. On my word and the word of others I have indeed shown great improvement this season but once again with nothing to show for it and even worse, it looks like I’ve gotten worse. So this is the slope, starting at the bottom of silver and trying to reach gold. The Quest, to do this before the end of season 3 so that I may gain the status and have the proof that I yearn for. Join me on my journey as I record my trials, tribulations, and thoughts here for all of your eyes. There is a light at the end of this path, and it shines Gold. 

If you want to know more about League of legends and its ranked system please check the previous post entitled The League System.

If you would like to follow my progress on lol king for more precise stats on my day to day progression follow this link. http://www.lolking.net/summoner/na/25115701

Nintendo 2DS is a Thing That Exists, Meant for the Younger Crowd

Yesterday, Nintendo announced a downgraded version of the popular 3DS handheld, and it's...pretty interesting to look at. Dubbed the 2DS, the tablet-esque system sports one screen designed to look like two, and will still play 3DS games, just without the 3D ability found on the core handhelds. Nintendo of America President, Reggie Fils-Aime, states that the system is designed for the kids, specifically five-to-six year olds or, "...that first time handheld consumer." This is in line with the fact that the company restricts watching 3D games to ages seven and above.

"How do we get more people playing Nintendo games?" Aime said in a statement to IGN. "That helped us spur the idea of the 2DS. Let's have the consumer have access to all these great games at a dramatically lower price point."

And dramatic it is. The 2DS will retail for $129.99, compared to the vanilla 3DS for $169.99, and the XL model for $199.99. The new system will have a national mall tour this October; dates have yet to be announced.



Sources [Destructoid, Original Article on IGN]

The League System

One of the most recent genres of game to enter into the competitive esports scene is the MOBA. MOBA stands for Multiplayer Online Battle Arena, and League of Legends is the most recognized name in the MOBA genre.

League of Legends has several maps on which to play; The Twisted Treeline, The Howling Abyss, and finally Summoner’s Rift.  Summoner’s Rift is a five vs five team based map, where the objective of the game is to destroy the enemy nexus by systematically destroying the towers in the three different lanes to expose the nexus to damage. For a more in depth guide on The Summoner’s Rift and League of Legends as a whole follow this link the League of Legends official website.
http://na.leagueoflegends.com/learn/new_user_guide

http://na.leagueoflegends.com/learn/maps/summoners-rift

There are several further types of play past the maps however, players on Summoner’s Rift have the option of playing Normal and Ranked games. Ranked games involve banning champions and picking them in a strategic manner and requires a player to be level 30 and have 16 champions before be eligible to play.

Ranked play is different from normal not only in picks and bans but ranked play is recorded by the game and you accrue points based on their system based on your wins and losses. When first entering into ranked play the player must go through their placement matches to be placed into the Ladder system. In this system there are six tiers; Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond and Challenger.

In each tier leading to Challenger there are Five divisions to progress though before being able to promote into the next tier. To pass through a division a player must accrue 100 league points (LP) to enter into a best of three promotion series. Once in division one of their tier and with 100 LP a player enters into a best of five series to enter into division five of the next tier up.

Well Hello there!

So first things first, I'm Julian ! And I'm here to fill your brain space with gaming awesomeness along the lines of Esports and league of legends, this beyond the already healthy helping of gaming news provided by Damion.

So I've been playing League of Legends for about 2 years now and following its pro scene for the last year and a half along with the entirety of Esports. Now on this blog I'll provide you with several things beyond what Damion does, I'll be your event announcer for Esports, your stat provider for League, and the author of "A Steep Slope" a view on my personal attempt at charging through the ranked system of League of Legends.

As always you can find our gaming column in the monthly edition of the Mountaineer newspaper and our other things like our podcast on the mountiewire. But everything else will be here so make sure you tune into more awesomeness to come!

Thanks for Holding, How Can We Help You?

Well, that was an interesting Summer.

How're you folks doing? To all the readers out there, watching and not commenting (don't be shy), we appreciate you guys, and hope to give you the best stuff in gaming today.

Welcome to the new Mountaineer Games, written for the students of Mt. SAC, but also servicing anyone who grabs a controller, or gets their hands on a keyboard and mouse. I'll be handling the news and reviews side of things, so anything not seen over on Mountiewire.com will be posted up here.

New to the fold is Julian Muhr, fellow student and heavy purveyor of eSports, with a specialization in League of Legends. This guy is good, trust me, and he'll be bringing in all the highlights and news from that end of the spectrum. Also, keep an eye out for his personal column, "A Steep Slope," which chronicles his time with LoL. We'll be teaming up for videocasts as well, so stay tuned for that.

Understandably, posts were sporadic or nonexistent over the course of last semester. That ends this time around. We'll be posting as much as possible (because our grades depend on it [but we love you guys too]), so keep in touch with us here.

Welcome to Mountaineer Games.