E3, MVPs, H-Hour, Chicago, PS4 so much going on

So it has been a crazy week for Urgent Fury with E3 and all but so much more is going on too… We recently posted a video recorded with NO_Fear and myself talking about what community meant to us, strolling down some Socom memory lanes, H-Hour and such:

E3 was by far one of the most exciting which should not be a surprise since it was in fact probably the biggest console releases in gaming history with XBox and PlayStation going head to head this year. We saw many games on all consoles and PC and played plenty as well. I know I can be labeled as a PlayStation fanboy time and time again, but that is my personal preference and has been thanks to Socom. To each his own.

Since there have been millions of posts about the console wars I won’t dive deep into it, and even as I finally write this, Microsoft has done a u-turn on some of their policies after the out crying of the gaming community and frankly horrid preorders. I really think they just approached the concept the wrong way and well PR was a complete disaster. I actually support getting control of the used game market and ensuring that publishers get their due from retailers. I do not support publishers going after Joe who sells his game to Johnny over like Craigslist or eBay, only businesses that make billions off of giving Joe $5 for a game and then turning around and selling it for $5 less than retail.

I did get my hands on some PS4 play with Blacklight Retribution and I am very happy with the Dualshock 4. It was very well thought out, comfortable and not an overwhelming change. I would say it is a natural evolution.

Blacklight Retribution, a F2P Shooter, was pretty cool. It will release with PS4 I believe from Zombie Studios.

Walking the floor there are several blockbusters coming to current and next gen consoles, so prepare to be broke this holiday season no matter what console you choose. Honestly between the meetings and such, I did not get to experience near enough games this year.

Of course you have seen us all over the announcement of H-Hour: World’s Elite’s KickStarter by SOF Studios. We really talk in the video above how much of an impact the early Socom Games had on all of us, and how David Sears is looking to bring back that style of gaming we have been looking for. Make sure you head over and support this project with a pledge http://bit.ly/ufsupportshhour

hhourlive

We also announced that this Saturday, June 22nd we will be hosting a live Q & A with David Sears on our Twitch Channel, so get your questions ready… we will have the chat on a limiter to make sure that we are not getting spammed.

We can’t forget that we have added a PS4 Giveaway. To clear it up, we are giving an actual PS4 away, we are doing the pre order and will ship to the winner. This is limited to the US. Sign up now: http://bit.ly/winaps4

presser

Along with all of this going on at E3, in a PlayStation blog post today (where you can see my ugly mug) Kristine outlined our involvement as MVPs for PlayStation at E3. It was an amazing experience for all the MVPs, especially those that were at E3 for the first time. We had some very direct feedback sessions with PlayStation as well as some get sessions with several developers. This program provides engaged members of the PlayStation community direct access to the right people. With this access your voice can be heard through the MVPs.

ufontourfl

Now that we are done with E3 and all, we turn our attention back to the competitions at Urgent Fury. We have the Urgent Fury on Tour Chicago event coming right around the corner. Get your teams signed up, this is a guaranteed prize pool, so if only 8 teams sign up they are all going home cash in hand, if only one team shows up they are getting $7500 for doing almost nothing, we might make them play the staff lol. Remember there is a 64 team cap, we will not increase this, so it is first come first serve. We have now had a few teams register this week and expect to end up with a waiting list when it’s all said and done. Team Pre Registration is $280 and will be $320 at the door if there are any spots left.

 

 

VN:R_U [1.9.22_1171]
Rating: +1 (from 1 vote)

Banning Modded Controllers vs Weapons for UF on Tour

There has been a recent rise in the eSports world about the FAL and competitive play. In the case of MLG, they have opted to ban the weapon as they allow modded controllers such as the Scuff Controllers.

In our case we have decided to let the player’s skill be the determining factor for a player by banning all controllers. We will provide the controllers on site ensuring all players are on the same playing field when it comes to hardware. If a player is truly more skilled with a certain gun, then let them shine on it. But if a player is artificially skilled by using a modded controller then they better get to practicing.

UF_ontourlogo001

What are your thoughts on our decision to level the playing field? Let us know below.

Urgent Fury on Tour is scheduled for August 3rd, 2013 and will be held at GamePazzo in Downers Grove, IL.

VN:R_U [1.9.22_1171]
Rating: 0 (from 0 votes)

POW II Intel Sponsored by BradyGames

intel

Last time we introduced POW II and talked about the new Interactive TacMap . Today we are going to go in-depth and show you an example of how the Intel will look when you click on a territory in the TacMap. BradyGames a long time sponsor and partner with Urgent Fury has been gracious enough to offer the best Intel in the business to further enhance your TacMap experience.

Each Territory will include the Map, the assigned mode and will also include particular information that relates to that.

In the example below we are showing below, we have Meltown in the War Zone Configuration. War Zone Territories will make up the majority of the TacMap Territories and are Search & Destroy.

You will see the routes for both attackers and the defenders along with the location of both plant locations and various info like ladders, directional arrows etc. All of this can be found in the Official BradyGames Black Ops 2 Strategy Guide.

POW II Intel by BradyGames

For more details about POW II and information on how to register head over to Urgent Fury for Details.

VN:R_U [1.9.22_1171]
Rating: +1 (from 1 vote)

With Starhawk just days away, Fans are rewarded with all kinds of epicness

Here we are, the last weekend before Starhawk releases on Tuesday May 8th, and it has been an exciting ride for sure. We have met a great community. But don’t fret there is still plenty of exciting things to do before release day.

Starhawk exclusively on PlayStation 3

It started with the much-anticipated Top 14 Questions compiled by HawkStarJay after the beta completed in late March. Of course the rabid fans would not let up about the video, and just like they promised, not only did Dylan deliver, he knocked it out of the park by providing more details than we could ever ask for.

Now this is a long video as we decided to take the video and post it in the full version, so it is about 30 minutes long. Let me break down the questions for you with a time stamp to help you out.

1. 01:32 – Can the speed of the melee “Drama Kill” animation be increased?
2. 02:18 – Will the strength of the air combat be increased?
3. 05:18 – Will the power of the Flak Gun be adjusted?
4. 07:43 – Will there be an additional map variety in the release versions of Starhawk?
5. 10:29 – Will any maps contain pre-built structures?
6. 12:29 – Can the flight ceiling be raised?
7. 14:13 – Can the speed of the vehicles be increased?
8. 15:19 – Will the rift energy economy be adjusted for the release version of Starhawk?
9. 17:52 – Will the strength of Torpedoes vs. Bubble Shields be adjusted?
10. 19:47 – Can the building cap of 32 be increased?
11. 23:00 – How will base camping be prevented?
12. 24:57 – How will the idea of “Turret Spam” be addressed?
13. 26:00 – Why is there no vehicle Health Bar?
14. 27.16 – Can you provide more information on load outs?

BONUS. 22:22 – Zones Bonus Topic – Dylan Expands on some changes to Zones Mode

Saturday evening we got the next punch as Lightbox got the gang together to show off some Multiplayer Game footage live via their UStream Channel, it was quite intense and was the first live look at many of the maps and modes that we will all experience on Tuesday. We were soothed by the commentary by Rico (IT Manager and QA Lead for Lightbox Interactive) which turned into some Q &A and then the “Pete Request Line”. They did great and everyone in the live chat had a blast getting Pete to drive off cliffs, show off different guns and tools as well as give an epic Dog Fight Match to end the evenings Gameplay.

Not only that it was broadcast live to PlayStation Home users in theater 6, here is some footage from the theater.

Now it’s not over yet, so tomorrow between 5pm – 8pm Pacific Time (0000 – 0300 GMT) you can once again head over to UStream and check it out as the head honcho himself, Dylan Jobe, who will be co-hosting and providing you with guided previews of our Single Player, Co-Op, and Multiplayer modes in the game. There will also be some prizes and a special announcement…

Sign up for Urgent Fury Dust today only on PlayStation 3

Of course don’t forget that Urgent Fury is hosting one of the first Tournaments for Starhawk right out of the gate beginning on May 14th. Many of you are asking why so quickly, well we know there are many established Warhawk Clans that will be headed over to Starhawk and they don’t need a month to get their team together. The first two deployments are especially for you guys, head over to Urgent Fury to get the scoop on Urgent Fury Dust and get your teams signed up. We will close up registration and rosters on the 13th.

We will then open up Registrations for Deployments Three and Four on May 16th.

VN:R_U [1.9.22_1171]
Rating: +1 (from 1 vote)

Urgent Frequency Ep. 91 – The 2011 VGA Preview Episode

After a year of major game releases, the game industry & gamers from all over the world are set to pick the best of the best for the 2011 Video Game Awards.

Shane Bell (Urgent Fury CIO) & Doc (The Tester (Season 1) & Replay w/ Doc) join Commander Fury to preview a few of the categories & make their 2011 VGA picks.

VN:R_U [1.9.22_1171]
Rating: 0 (from 0 votes)

Urgent Frequency Ep. 90 – The 2nd Annual URGENT FREQUENCY VETERANS DAY THANKSGIVING CALL OF DUTY MIDNIGHT LAUNCH PARTY Episode

Commander Fury is Urgent Fury’s “boots on the ground” for the biggest game release of the year!!!

As he finds himself braving the cold & crowds at his local GameStop to celebrate the launch of Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 for the 2nd Annual Urgent Frequency Veterans Day Thanksgiving Call Of Duty Midnight Launch Party Episode. Get all the intel about the most anticipated game of the year…including gametrailers.com‘s full review of the game, and an overview of Call Of Duty: ELITE.

Plus, we wrap things up with the Thanksgiving classic….Arlo Guthrie’s – “Alice’s Restaurant“.

VN:R_U [1.9.22_1171]
Rating: 0 (from 0 votes)

Eurogamer Expo 2011

 

Well the eagerly awaited game event is here, and as I and many other games fans made our way from the Underground to Earls Court I couldn’t wait to see and more importantly play the new upcoming games.

The atmosphere was amazing as we all made our way into the arena, which was broken up into seven zones with the centre area dominated by the hot topic of conversation outside – Onlive.

Not surprisingly this is the first place everyone headed including myself, there were a number of consoles set up around the stand with both wired and wireless controllers with demo’s of some of the 100 games that are now available as of Sept 22nd (that’s in the UK of course, Onlive has been running in the US for a while now). As well as getting to play some of the games on offer, there was also the chance to get your hands on a free console once you had registered, needless to say I managed to get my hands on one and I’ll be posting more on the Onlive console and the games on offer in a separate article.

All the big names in gaming were showing off their latest creations, including the big 3’s Mass Effect 3, Battlefield 3, Resistance 3, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Gears of War 3. My first port of call was the Forza Motorsport 4 stand, Turn 10 have raised the bar even further with this latest in the franchise, the graphics were stunning as has been the case with previous incarnations and the controls were very responsive. The demo for Forza 4 is coming for Xbox LIVE Gold Members on Oct  3 and will be available for Silver members on Oct 10 for those who want a taste of things to come.

Another of the games I sampled was Battlefield 3, due for release on Oct 25th which was tucked away in the over 18’s area. This had a long queue of people waiting to play as you’d expect, but it was well worth the wait. It was certainly an amazing sight seeing banks of people all working their way through the trees and undergrowth, utterly absorbed. It wasn’t hard to see why, EA Games with Frostbite 2 have created very impressive gameplay and the headphones allowed the low hum of Earls Court to be blotted out in favour of the crackle of gunfire and the shout of orders.

I’m sure you have seen all the advertisements and coverage of the 3DS but you may have been like me and wondered just how good it is. Well they were showcasing the latest Mario and sonic releases as well as a demo of Sky 3D. The latter to try and show people that the 3DS has more to offer than just a handheald  gaming console. I was curious as to what the experience would be like and chatting to some of the others there, they felt the same.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Its true to say that as this doesn’t rely on glasses, it makes it feel a more natural experience, although I did find the need to keep your viewing angle steady took a bit of getting used to. The 3D effect was very good and the adjustable 3D slide on the side made a noticeable difference.

It wasn’t just all game and console demo’s of course, there were a host of developer sessions throughout the weekend as well. Among those giving talks were Michael Denny from Sony talking about the Playstation Vita and Dr Ray Muzyka from EA Games on Star Wars: The Old Republic.

To sum up, there was much more at Eurogamer Expo 2011 than I am ever going to be able to write here, that said, the Playstation Vita, 3D gaming and the prospect of on-line gaming like never before with Onlive makes the next twelve months a very exciting prospect indeed.

VN:F [1.9.22_1171]
Rating: 0 (from 0 votes)

News from the Endurance Front Lines

We are only 2-Weeks into the first Urgent Fury Socom 4 tournament and we are already halfway complete with the first campaign. With 36 wars played, the standings are as follows: TNU leads with 10 points followed closely by 101, ReD, $K$, cKs, and 26* with 8. In the middle of the pack we have LPK with 6. Rounding out the field we have RVN, <N>, and WDA each with 2 points and IX still looking to pick up their first W. This tough field of competitors proved to be too steep as R2H never made it in by failing to submit their roster.

Going into week 3 of the first campaign, TNU looks to continue its winning ways after a rough start due to typos on their roster which cost them their only loss. Being the highest ranked clan in the tournament on the Socom in-game ladder, TNU has proven that they know how to win by leading the field with the most points.

A match between the current #2 and #3 seeds, 101 and ReD, resulted in a tie during the second night of wars when there was an glitch in the ladder system. Each team took a match in the first two but for some reason the game sent both teams back to their lobbies instead of sending them to the third match to determine the overall winner of the war.

$K$, cKs and 26* all locked up with 8 points each will be working to catch the current leader in hopes of capturing the top seed and a bid to the playoffs later this fall. After a close match against TNU and ReD, LPK looks to bounce back after a bumpy start. With only 6 wars remaining RVN, <N>, WDA, and IX hope to make up some ground after a very tough 2 weeks.

The Endurance format is much different than what most UF clans are used to. Previously each night would feature one war on a predetermined map and mode. Due to the lack of a party system, UF was forced to use the in-game ladder system to conduct the wars. When asked about the best-of-3 format for wars a few of the clan reps had this to say. darth_cedaus from Canadian Killing Squad said, “Love the best of 3 format. Much better than the 1-map wars back in the day.” ShadowOfaSolja from Threat Neutralizing Unit said, “Best of 3 is the only way to go :)”

With a party system just around the corner, we will found out whether or not traditional 1-map per war formats will ever be possible again.

None of the clan reps had too much other to say about the tournament other than they really appreciate the great sportsmanship shown by UF clans. Respecting all of the rules set forth by tournament staff, participating clan are able to play Socom 4 without having to worry about exploits, cheating, Grenade Launchers, or Double Rounding in Bomb Squad.

Time will tell as we see how the wars play out to determine the winner of the first Socom Endurance Campaign.

VN:F [1.9.22_1171]
Rating: 0 (from 0 votes)

Urgent Frequency Ep. #85 – Double Trouble (SOCOM 4 / Mortal Kombat Launch Party)

After taking a little “R&R“…Urgent Frequency returns with another special “live…on location” episode.

We help the rest of the world celebrate the Midnight Launch of both

SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy SEALs (Zipper Interactive) & Mortal Kombat (NetherRealm/WBIE).

Plus we have not one…but TWO exclusive interviews with

[SHO] Shadow Ops & [101] 101st Screaming EaglesUrgent Fury‘s latest set of champions!!!

VN:F [1.9.22_1171]
Rating: 0 (from 0 votes)

Urgent Frequency Ep. #83- Urgent Fury:In Country SITREP Shocker!!!

In this episode….we welcome some real heroes to talk about tactical gaming  from the perspective of

prior military service members….as we welcome the Off Duty Gamers.

Plus, we have an Urgent Fury:In Country SITREP shocker!!!

VN:F [1.9.22_1171]
Rating: 0 (from 0 votes)