Weekend Reading: September 29th

Take a break from leveling that Pandaren Monk and check out a few of this week's top stories.

Games

• Verge/Polygon: Polygon's fall of gaming 2012
  This is a pretty fantastic list of every major release on the horizon this fall. There's a lot of console and handheld stuff to sift through, but it's still a good read.


• Forbes: 10 Video Games To Keep An Eye On This October
  Continuing in the same vein, this Forbes blog highlights ten games coming up next month. Looking at a lot of gaming sites, it's easy to forget that Assassin's Creed III isn't the only game releasing in October.


• Verge/Polygon: 'Torchlight 2' review: following the light
  Just about every review of Torchlight 2 that I've seen has given the game a gold star of approval. I picked up the original Torchlight in the Humble Bundle 6, and once I play through that I'll probably pick up the sequel.


• Various: Blizzard Entertainment news and interviews
  
  • Venturebeat: Blizzard Entertainment president talks pandas, campers, and launch problems (interview)
  • PC Games N: Blizzard "looking at" the possibility of Starcraft II multiplayer going free to play

More links after the jump.

Games (continued)

• Forbes: Analysts Forecast Borderlands 2 Sales On Pace To Become Fourth Biggest Game Of 2012
  Apparently Gearbox's loot-focused shooter is kind of a big deal.


• Verge/Polygon: 'Grid 2' gameplay videos go to the city and the country
  I've been waiting for this game ever since I played the original Grid a couple of years ago. With each new Need For Speed release I find myself liking that franchise less, so I've been looking to Codemasters to pick up the slack.


• Polygon Forums: How to STALKER
  This was actually a forum post that was featured on Polygon earlier in the week. I bought all three STALKER games on sale last year and played the first for about an hour before moving on. After reading this post I feel compelled to give the games another shot.


• Various: Black Ops 2 coverage
  
  • PA Report: Black Ops 2’s multiplayer lets you win first place without firing a bullet, and it feels great
  • Verge/Polygon: 'Call of Duty: Black Ops 2' multiplayer: but wait, there's more
  • PA Report: Black Ops 2 ups the ante on Zombies with a campaign, sandbox mode, and griefing

Every bone in my body tells me that I shouldn't buy any more Call of Duty games on the PC, but all of these previews make the game look pretty interesting. Infinity Ward has definitely taken a back seat to Treyarch in the last couple of years.

Hardware and Peripherals

• Verge/Polygon: How to build a PC part two: Baby's first boot
  This is the second of a three-part series detailing a lapsed PC gamer's return to the platform. It's easy to forget just how daunting and intimidating the task of building a PC initially feels once you've built a handful of systems yourself.


• Ars Technica: Op-ed: AMD may be facing irrelevance
  From the article: "The trouble with AMD is that it doesn't have big plans to chase new growth markets like tablets and smartphones, and it's running out of niches to occupy in its traditional desktop and laptop PC markets." That's less than good.

Everything Else

• mental_floss: Did Blowing into Nintendo Cartridges Really Help?
  Thanks for completely shattering my memories of childhood.


• WoW Insider: "Guide Dog" player and sightless guild-mate honored with in-game items
  This is a pretty cool story that was first highlighted earlier this year. A blind war vet and his "guide dog" guildmate, who have never met each other in real life, were recently immortalized via in-game WoW items.


• Gamesindustry: New crowdfunding platform Gambitious launches
  Apparently this so-called "crowdfunding" is a thing now. I'm hesitant to even pre-order a new game for 50 or 60 bucks; I don't think I'll be forking over too much cash for games that aren't even finished yet.

  Then again, I considered putting down money for Project CARS, so maybe I have no idea what I'm talking about.

• Ars Technica: Unreal Tournament bots appear more human than humans
  Before too long we'll have bots that "enhance" the experience with authentically-human racial slurs and jokes about your mother.


• Various: eSports news
  
  • Forbes: New Curse Gaming Director Of ESports Steve Arhancet Believes In The Future Of Pro Gaming
  • Ars Technica: How video games are becoming the next great North American spectator sport

Not gonna lie, I wouldn't mind seeing SC2 on ESPN2 at 1am instead of late-night poker.

Have an interesting link? Share it in the comments.