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Another Q&A round answering fan questions about the upcoming StarCraft II is now available on Blizzard Entertainment's StarCraft forum. The 15th in the series, this Q&A offers a few more bits of information about the sequel to the original StarCraft.

1) Can an upgraded command center be salvaged? Does it lose its mobility when upgraded to a surveillance station?
No, the command center cannot be salvaged, nor can it lift off after it is upgraded to a Surveillance Station (allows the use of the Comsat ability).

3) Can a Ghost be equipped with both a Nuke and Drop Pod simultaneously?
Yes, any Ghost can launch either a Nuke or a Drop Pod, making the Ghost highly effective at responding to multiple battle circumstances.

4) Will "caster" units, such as the Protoss High Templar, have a regular attack, like Tassadar had in SC1, or will they only be able to attack through their spells? (blizzplanet.com)
Currently, there are no plans to give the High Templar a physical attack, though High Templar Story Characters will have additional abilities beyond that of the standard unit. At the moment, the High Templar is one of best support units in the game, with the ability to cast a devastating Psi Storm or choke off crucial areas of the map with the force field ability. Once youve used up its energy, no worries, convert it into an Archon with another Templar.

The old Behemoth-class battlecruiser has proven to be an enduring design when kept up to date with periodic upgrades. Even the more modern Hercules- and Minotaur-class ships have retained the distinctive hammerhead shape which so defines the classic terran battlecruiser. Research has led to the development of two alternative weapon upgrades that can be retrofitted into a battlecruiser hull to supplement its already formidable armament.

The Yamato cannon is a terrifying weapon that uses an intense magnetic field to focus a nuclear detonation into a cohesive beam of energy. The cannon requires a huge reserve of energy to fire, but its effects on the target are impressive, to say the least. Plasma torpedoes give battlecruisers an armament capable of saturating a target area with a lethal deluge of fire, ideal for breaking up oncoming attack waves or ravaging a defensive position. As with the Yamato cannon, a battlecruiser needs to build up a sufficient reserve of energy to unleash a plasma torpedo bombardment.

StarCraft Forums: SC 2 Q&A Batch 15

StarCraft II: Terran Battlecruiser

Blizzard Entertainment

StarCraft II: Wings Of Liberty

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Today Sillysoft began its annual Luxtoberfest October event. Throughout the month the company will be hosting tournaments in celebration of its strategy based world domination game, Lux. The contests enlist players to face off against one another in a war to win prizes for best maps, strategies, and more.

Luxtoberfest is the annual celebration of all things Lux. October is full of special tournaments, and finishes with the Lux Award Ceremony.

You have until October 28th to send in your votes for the 2007 Lux Awards.

Click over to the links below for more information.

Luxtoberfest

Sillysoft

Lux Delux

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Macsimum News recently posted a new review of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the latest game incarnation of the popular book and movie series. In Order of the Phoenix players must help Harry and his friends prepare for battle against the villain Voldemort. Macsimum gave the game a score of 6.5 out of 10.

From the review:

Thankfully, EA has included a Mauraders Map, which you can summon to help you find directions to places or people. As you explore, you may come across other students playing games such as wizard chess or Gobstones. You can play them, as well as complete other tasks, to earn points that can beef up your spellcasting abilities. The graphics of The Order of the Phoenix are very good, capturing the spirit of the movies.

However, the game’s voices are uneven. Harry sounds pretty much like actor Daniel Radcliffe, but other voices, such as Professor McGonagall, sound very different than their cinematic equivalents, which is a bit disappointing. But that’s not the main problem with The Order of the Phoenix.

The magical duels—which make use of wizard spells from the story—are fun at first, but seem repetitious after a while. Also, while Hogwart’s offers what feels like an almost limitless world to explore, your chores between duels (helping classmates with their homework in order to pass the O.W.L. exams, stopping Slytherin bullies from picking on other students, etc.) are pretty mundane and grow a bit tiresome as the impact of the graphics wears off.

Macsimum News: Harry Potter & The Order Of The Phoenix Review

Electronic Arts

Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix

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In the lead up to Fallout's 10th anniversary on October 7th No Mutants Allowed has been offering interviews, images, and other bits of nostalgia related to the award winning post apocalyptic RPG. The latest releases include interviews with designer Jason D. Anderson and artist Eddie Rainwater as well as images of an assortment of Fallout promotional materials.

From Eddie Rainwater Q&A:

How was it to be a part of the Fallout team?
Awesome! Next to my current Blizzard team, it was my 2nd favorite team in my whole career over all the other teams I've worked with by a long shot. The guys were SO talented and Leonard was an awesome art director. Between his and Jason's vision and Leonard pushing me for higher and higher quality, it was the bomb. I think those were some of my favorite times of my career. Working alongside Scott was great too, man he's so talented and totally fun to work with. I think we spent most of the day laughing about the funniest stuff while we were making all this cutting edge (at that time) kickass character art. I was really bummed when Leonard and Jason left to form Troika (but happy for em too). I'll never forget the awesome painting that Justin Sweet made of that old Fallout comic book cover, totally inspiring. Tramell was always coming by and cracking jokes, I mean the atmosphere was just awesome. It's hard to describe, but with the imminent deadlines and late nights, we all had a blast and pushed our art to a pretty high level, really cool and rare to have that kind of team comradery.

NMA: Fallout Anniversary

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Disney and VR Studios have announced the beginning of the second phase of beta testing for Pirates of the Caribbean Online, this time including a Mac version in the mix for testing. The MMO will feature real-time combat, ship to ship battles, and a variety of other pirate themed activities.

* Improved overall game performance for all types of computers
* The game is now available on both Mac and PC
* Improved and simplified engagement in multiplayer ship battles, it’s easier for players to “team up”
* Added more realistic visual effects and polished overall game environments

Pirates of the Caribbean Online

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