Diberdayakan oleh Blogger.

Popular Posts Today

Tomb Raider gets multiplayer

Written By Kom Limpulnam on Senin, 31 Desember 2012 | 19.51

Crystal Dynamics confirms upcoming Lara Croft reboot will feature a head-to-head mode.

Next year's Tomb Raider reboot will not be a single-player-only affair. Crystal Dynamics global brand director Karl Stewart recently revealed via Twitter that the game will in fact ship with a multiplayer mode.

This was first speculated when United Kingdom retailer GAME listed multiplayer as a major feature for Tomb Raider. The details have since been removed, but it was suggested that players would be able to control Lara's shipmates or Yamatai scavengers in a variety of modes.

First details on Tomb Raider's multiplayer mode will be revealed in Official Xbox Magazine's January issue, due to subscribers this week.

Tomb Raider is due out March 5, 2013 for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. For more, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.

Eddie Makuch
By Eddie Makuch, News Editor

Eddie Makuch (Mack-ooh) is a News Editor at GameSpot. He lives in Connecticut, works out of the company's New York City office, and loves extra chunky peanut butter.


19.51 | 0 komentar | Read More

Minecraft sells 453k copies on Christmas

Creator Markus "Notch" Persson reveals franchise sales of sandbox game nearly totaled half a million on Tuesday.

The Minecraft franchise sold 453,000 copies on Christmas Day, series creator Markus "Notch" Persson revealed over Twitter recently. The game is available on PC and Mac, Xbox Live, and iOS and Android smartphones and tablets.

Christmas Day sales for Minecraft add to the 17.5 million franchise sales tallied as of earlier this month. Minecraft for PC and Mac remains the breadwinner of the bunch, selling 8.6 million copies. The Pocket Edition has sold 5 million copies, and the Xbox Live Arcade version of Minecraft has moved 4.48 million copies as of earlier in the month.

Gamers interested in getting an inside look at the development of Minecraft can check out 2Player Productions' official Minecraft documentary. It debuted on Xbox Live last week and is now available to purchase from the company's website.

Eddie Makuch
By Eddie Makuch, News Editor

Eddie Makuch (Mack-ooh) is a News Editor at GameSpot. He lives in Connecticut, works out of the company's New York City office, and loves extra chunky peanut butter.


19.51 | 0 komentar | Read More

What Gamer Are You? Part Two

Tracker

(Kinda like the Speedrunner but with a twist - I love nonlinear games like Skyrim or FarCry, but need immediacy of interaction to keep me interested and focused.)

Interaction, Skill and Environment-Exploration are my biggest passions. I hate anything that slows down the immediacy of interaction - that involves grinding, gathering or finetuning your Skilltree. Skilltrees with their many options also kinda stress me out, as I don't usually plan ahead, and rather test every possible situation through try and error.

When playing Strategy games I enjoy those that emphasize on tactical combat and reflexes, like Dawn of War, rather than resource management like Age of Empires or C&C.

I also believe QTEs and linear Storytelling delute the interactiveness of the Experience. I believe that the only dialogue games should have should be interactive dialogue, thus I prefer textboxes over voice-overs. I'm still waiting for a game to incorporate voice-recognition in a seamless way - Binary Domain is definitly going in the right direction.

I am very patient, but in a specific way, I can replay levels over and over again, simply refining my skills. This is why I really love Arena-Shooters, and Arcade-Racing Games like PGR or Sonic & Sega Allstar Racing Transformed. I am used to overcome challenges through experience and skill - not by leveling up. I hate most MMOs for their "Roll the Dice" combat mechanics, I want to feel the impact and the nuances of my input and not leave it up to chance - Same goes for random encounters in JRPGs, they simply don't allow me to use the environment to my advantage - The Last Story's combat system, with its dodging and stealth components is what I'd like to see more of.  

As for controls, I think the more intuitive and diverse they are, the better - I got a lot of satisfaction out of the swordfighting in Skyward Sword.

I also love the thrill and focus involved in Sneaking games like Thief or Splinter Cell, as any little action can cause immediate consequences. I love systematical exploration of environments in Action-Adventures like Tomb Raider, Zelda or even Ecco. I stopped playing Final Fantasy Games eversince they removed the World Map.

I don't care about finishing a game - the moment to moment gameplay is what truly matters to me.

I am somebody who reacts to certain situations and collects experience, testing and memorizing every little perceptive cue and utilizing this collected experience to create a Network of relationships where every little detail matters, allowing me to react to changes almost instinctively as I become fully connected with the game's Eco-System.

2012 Favorites:

Sonic & Sega Racing Transformed,

Sleeping Dogs,

Binary Domain,

FarCry 3,

The Last Story 

Favorite Games of All time:

Shenmue,

Shadow of the Collossus,

Tomb Raider,

Thief 3,

Splinter Cell,

Ecco: Defender of the Future,

Halo CE,

Unreal Championship,

PGR,

Jet Set Radio Future

The Elder Scrolls,

Dawn of War,

Okami,

Rayman 2,

Soul Reaver,

Dead or Alive 3,

The Legend of Zelda,

Half Life 2,

Portal,

Final Fantasy 7


19.51 | 0 komentar | Read More

Diablo III PVP stalled

Written By Kom Limpulnam on Minggu, 30 Desember 2012 | 19.51

Gamers holding out for a Diablo III player-versus-player mode may want to get comfortable. Blizzard Entertainment announced through a new blog post that the dungeon-crawler's Team Deathmatch mode "isn't where we want it to be," noting it "falls short" of company expectations.

"In continuing to develop this mode, playtest it, and put it in front of other developers within the company, we've found that it falls short of our expectations for a high-quality Blizzard experience," Diablo III game director Jay Wilson said.

Wilson further explained that the shortcomings are the result of a "few issues," the first of which is depth. The designer said the PVP experience in place "gets old" quickly, and though some playtesters enjoyed their time with it, overall this was not the case.

"Simply fighting each other with no other objectives or choices to make gets old relatively quickly," Wilson said. "We've brought a lot of people in to try out Team Deathmatch and, while some found it entertaining, most of our testers didn't feel like it was something they'd want to do beyond a few hours. Without more varied objectives, or very lucrative rewards, few saw our current iteration as something they'd want spend a lot of time in."

A second issue with Diablo III's Team Deathmatch mode is that of class balance.

"Like Diablo II, Diablo III was designed to be a PvE-first kind of game, where we never compromised on player abilities in the name of future PvP balance. We want to be able to carry over as many of the crazy runes, items, and skills as possible, with their crazy effects, and alter them as little as possible," Wilson said. "In a casual PvP mode, something equivalent to a WoW Battleground, this would be fine, but Team Deathmatch felt very hardcore, and it put a laser focus on class balance in a way that we didn't think would be good for the game as a whole."

Though Blizzard is no longer pursuing a Team Deathmatch mode for Diablo III, Wilson said time spent developing it has not gone to waste, as it has provided unspecified benefits in the areas of controls and combat model tuning. However, "at this point, we don't believe it's the experience we feel it needs to be in order to ship, so we will be shelving it for now and exploring other options."

Wilson also explained in the blog post that Diablo III will soon support dueling options for players. This will be added to the game through patch 1.0.7, which is expected to arrive sometime in 2013.

However, a full replacement for Team Deathmatch is further away, as Blizzard is now exploring "new modes that play up to the strengths of the character classes, focus on objectives beyond just defeating other players, and possibly even integrate PvE elements and rewards." Whatever this turns out to be, it will be offered a free download, Blizzard said.


19.51 | 0 komentar | Read More

War Z creator apologizes for controversy

Outspoken The War Z creator Sergey Titov has apologized for the game's controversial launch (and subsequent de-listing from Steam) earlier this month. In an open letter to the community, Titov said developer Hammerpoint Interactive "failed to effectively communicate" its plans for the new zombie survival game, which led to some "very negative feedback" from members of the community.

"I became arrogant and blinded by the early success and quick growth of The War Z, our increasing number of players, numbers we were getting from surveys, etc., and I chose not to notice the concerns and questions raised by these members of the game community as well as others," Titov said. "This failure is entirely on my shoulders and if anything I owe thanks to that vocal minority and admit that I should have paid attention sooner. I chose instead to concentrate on the bigger picture: my dream of turning The War Z from being a game developed by a small indie team into a large online venture, instead of addressing small things first and staying focused on the game issues."

Titov further noted that the events of the past week were "especially humbling." He said the past cannot be changed, but promised the same mistakes will not be made in the future.

"I was too focused on how great we are and how a small independent team got their first game to over 700,000 users in a two-month period," Titov said. "Though that is something to be very proud of, allowing that to overshadow the existing community and their satisfaction was poor judgment."

Titov explained that community management and moderation for The War Z fell short. He said Hammerpoint relied too heavily on forum moderators, whose primary directive was to punish those who broke rules, he said, instead of engaging the community and guiding conversations toward constructive discussion. Additionally, Titov said there was not enough attention paid to talking about upcoming War Z features or appropriate dialogue through social networks.

"There wasn't enough presence of the development team on forums; there wasn't enough updates on development of upcoming features. We failed to communicate our position and messaging on the outside platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and various online websites, and when we did this we chose to rely more on arrogance rather than being humble and trying to understand why people were saying negative things," he said.

The solution to the community management and moderation problems, Titov said, is an overhaul of Hammerpoint's community management procedures and rules. "We're going to reevaluate publishing and marketing team performance, and I will make sure that Hammerpoint Interactive developers will have a much stronger voice when it comes to community management."

Titov also shared that one of his proposed ideas to engage the community further is to invite 10 players from around to the world to visit the Hammerpoint offices in Los Angeles, California. There, these gamers would meet the development team, get a look at in-development features, and addresses concerns, wishes, and other thoughts.

Lastly, Titov clarified that the current version of The War Z is titled "Foundation Release," which is a "first-stage" release used as a foundation to build on top of.

"I do believe that we aren't even close to uncovering the true potential for The War Z, and I hope that in the coming year, we'll be able to regain trust from people who were alienated by our actions and we'll be able to move forward and grow the game together," Titov said.

Controversy surrounding The War Z came to light upon the game's release through Steam last week. Users quickly began reporting numerous issues with The War Z. Further, many players criticized the game and Hammerpoint for being misleading and for censoring their comments about issues with the game. The game has since been pulled from Steam.

Day Z creator Dean Hall previously said the controversy left him "depressed," noting he contemplated leaving game development altogether as a result.


19.51 | 0 komentar | Read More

Tomb Raider gets multiplayer

Crystal Dynamics confirms upcoming Lara Croft reboot will feature a head-to-head mode.

Next year's Tomb Raider reboot will not be a single-player-only affair. Crystal Dynamics global brand director Karl Stewart recently revealed via Twitter that the game will in fact ship with a multiplayer mode.

This was first speculated when United Kingdom retailer GAME listed multiplayer as a major feature for Tomb Raider. The details have since been removed, but it was suggested that players would be able to control Lara's shipmates or Yamatai scavengers in a variety of modes.

First details on Tomb Raider's multiplayer mode will be revealed in Official Xbox Magazine's January issue, due to subscribers this week.

Tomb Raider is due out March 5, 2013 for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. For more, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.

Eddie Makuch
By Eddie Makuch, News Editor

Eddie Makuch (Mack-ooh) is a News Editor at GameSpot. He lives in Connecticut, works out of the company's New York City office, and loves extra chunky peanut butter.


19.51 | 0 komentar | Read More

Minecraft sells 453k copies on Christmas

Creator Markus "Notch" Persson reveals franchise sales of sandbox game nearly totaled half a million on Tuesday.

The Minecraft franchise sold 453,000 copies on Christmas Day, series creator Markus "Notch" Persson revealed over Twitter recently. The game is available on PC and Mac, Xbox Live, and iOS and Android smartphones and tablets.

Christmas Day sales for Minecraft add to the 17.5 million franchise sales tallied as of earlier this month. Minecraft for PC and Mac remains the breadwinner of the bunch, selling 8.6 million copies. The Pocket Edition has sold 5 million copies, and the Xbox Live Arcade version of Minecraft has moved 4.48 million copies as of earlier in the month.

Gamers interested in getting an inside look at the development of Minecraft can check out 2Player Productions' official Minecraft documentary. It debuted on Xbox Live last week and is now available to purchase from the company's website.

Eddie Makuch
By Eddie Makuch, News Editor

Eddie Makuch (Mack-ooh) is a News Editor at GameSpot. He lives in Connecticut, works out of the company's New York City office, and loves extra chunky peanut butter.


19.51 | 0 komentar | Read More

War Z creator apologizes for controversy

Written By Kom Limpulnam on Sabtu, 29 Desember 2012 | 19.51

Outspoken The War Z creator Sergey Titov has apologized for the game's controversial launch (and subsequent de-listing from Steam) earlier this month. In an open letter to the community, Titov said developer Hammerpoint Interactive "failed to effectively communicate" its plans for the new zombie survival game, which led to some "very negative feedback" from members of the community.

"I became arrogant and blinded by the early success and quick growth of The War Z, our increasing number of players, numbers we were getting from surveys, etc., and I chose not to notice the concerns and questions raised by these members of the game community as well as others," Titov said. "This failure is entirely on my shoulders and if anything I owe thanks to that vocal minority and admit that I should have paid attention sooner. I chose instead to concentrate on the bigger picture: my dream of turning The War Z from being a game developed by a small indie team into a large online venture, instead of addressing small things first and staying focused on the game issues."

Titov further noted that the events of the past week were "especially humbling." He said the past cannot be changed, but promised the same mistakes will not be made in the future.

"I was too focused on how great we are and how a small independent team got their first game to over 700,000 users in a two-month period," Titov said. "Though that is something to be very proud of, allowing that to overshadow the existing community and their satisfaction was poor judgment."

Titov explained that community management and moderation for The War Z fell short. He said Hammerpoint relied too heavily on forum moderators, whose primary directive was to punish those who broke rules, he said, instead of engaging the community and guiding conversations toward constructive discussion. Additionally, Titov said there was not enough attention paid to talking about upcoming War Z features or appropriate dialogue through social networks.

"There wasn't enough presence of the development team on forums; there wasn't enough updates on development of upcoming features. We failed to communicate our position and messaging on the outside platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and various online websites, and when we did this we chose to rely more on arrogance rather than being humble and trying to understand why people were saying negative things," he said.

The solution to the community management and moderation problems, Titov said, is an overhaul of Hammerpoint's community management procedures and rules. "We're going to reevaluate publishing and marketing team performance, and I will make sure that Hammerpoint Interactive developers will have a much stronger voice when it comes to community management."

Titov also shared that one of his proposed ideas to engage the community further is to invite 10 players from around to the world to visit the Hammerpoint offices in Los Angeles, California. There, these gamers would meet the development team, get a look at in-development features, and addresses concerns, wishes, and other thoughts.

Lastly, Titov clarified that the current version of The War Z is titled "Foundation Release," which is a "first-stage" release used as a foundation to build on top of.

"I do believe that we aren't even close to uncovering the true potential for The War Z, and I hope that in the coming year, we'll be able to regain trust from people who were alienated by our actions and we'll be able to move forward and grow the game together," Titov said.

Controversy surrounding The War Z came to light upon the game's release through Steam last week. Users quickly began reporting numerous issues with The War Z. Further, many players criticized the game and Hammerpoint for being misleading and for censoring their comments about issues with the game. The game has since been pulled from Steam.

Day Z creator Dean Hall previously said the controversy left him "depressed," noting he contemplated leaving game development altogether as a result.


19.51 | 0 komentar | Read More

LittleBigPlanet Vita's Best User Creations

A few months after the release of LittleBigPlanet Vita, we check out some of its best user-created levels and minigames.

2D/3D

Tapping the left shoulder button in this ingenious platformer switches the camera between 2D and 3D views of the action. Red objects are interactive in the foreground from one perspective but are relegated to the background from the other, which makes for some neat puzzles.

Real Big Planet

This all-too brief level puts LBP Vita's invisible crafting material to great use, transforming everyday items in photos into solid objects that you can jump between. There's very little that's challenging between the start and finish lines, but details like an interactive radio and working AR cards make this one a joy to play.

[JPN] Wooden Crown

There aren't many LBP levels that cram this much craftsmanship and creativity into such a small space. Built almost entirely from wood, Wooden Crown is an intricate art piece that you get to run around and solve puzzles in. Nigh impossible to finish without feeling like you missed something, expect to play it more than once.

The Blank Zone

Color has been stolen from the world and it's down to you to restore it in this great-looking level. The front touch-screen gets a lot of use in some tricky spots early on, but make it past that occasionally awkward stuff and the latter part of the level feels like an entirely different game.

They Came From My Nightmares

This horror-themed level seems harmless enough at first blush; there's nothing especially scary about a picture falling from a wall, after all. It squeezes some surprisingly effective scares into the short time that it takes to play, though, and has good sound design to boot.

Honey Village (platformer)

This delightful platformer wouldn't look at all out of place as a level in the LBP Vita campaign. Not only is the presentation top notch, but the gameplay is varied and makes smart, sparing use of the touch-screen.

Minecraft Adventure

There are a lot of user levels loosely based on popular games, but unlike many of them, this one is rather good. It incorporates gameplay elements that fans of Minecraft will appreciate and, when it ends, definitely leaves you wanting more.

Tower Of Whoop
for Vita

You might remember Tower of Whoop as a great, fast-paced level from Da Vinci's Hideout in LittleBigPlanet 2. It's a race to the top of a tower using grappling hooks and bounce pads that's too fun to only play once. This remake is great.

The level that plays itself (1P)

Does exactly what you think it does. Get in position, let go of the controls, and watch as you're thrown through the air, collect points bubbles aplenty, and wind up back at the start with the option of doing it all again.

Digital Ninja Survivor[Demo Ver.]

Creating an LBP Vita game in which you play as a ninja sprite armed with shurikens and a sword is no mean feat, especially when that game is fun to play. If you enjoy this brief demo, be sure to check out the "Skanda Heaven" levels from the same creator.

Found (or created) a great LittleBigPlanet Vita level that you think should be included in this feature? Let us know in the comments below and, if we like it, we'll include it in an update.

Justin Calvert
By Justin Calvert, Executive Editor

Justin's youth was largely misspent playing Commodore 64 and Amiga games. He left the UK's Official PlayStation Magazine to join GameSpot in 2000, believes that he's one of the best Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe players in the world, and puts HP Sauce on everything.


19.51 | 0 komentar | Read More

Diablo III PVP stalled

Gamers holding out for a Diablo III player-versus-player mode may want to get comfortable. Blizzard Entertainment announced through a new blog post that the dungeon-crawler's Team Deathmatch mode "isn't where we want it to be," noting it "falls short" of company expectations.

"In continuing to develop this mode, playtest it, and put it in front of other developers within the company, we've found that it falls short of our expectations for a high-quality Blizzard experience," Diablo III game director Jay Wilson said.

Wilson further explained that the shortcomings are the result of a "few issues," the first of which is depth. The designer said the PVP experience in place "gets old" quickly, and though some playtesters enjoyed their time with it, overall this was not the case.

"Simply fighting each other with no other objectives or choices to make gets old relatively quickly," Wilson said. "We've brought a lot of people in to try out Team Deathmatch and, while some found it entertaining, most of our testers didn't feel like it was something they'd want to do beyond a few hours. Without more varied objectives, or very lucrative rewards, few saw our current iteration as something they'd want spend a lot of time in."

A second issue with Diablo III's Team Deathmatch mode is that of class balance.

"Like Diablo II, Diablo III was designed to be a PvE-first kind of game, where we never compromised on player abilities in the name of future PvP balance. We want to be able to carry over as many of the crazy runes, items, and skills as possible, with their crazy effects, and alter them as little as possible," Wilson said. "In a casual PvP mode, something equivalent to a WoW Battleground, this would be fine, but Team Deathmatch felt very hardcore, and it put a laser focus on class balance in a way that we didn't think would be good for the game as a whole."

Though Blizzard is no longer pursuing a Team Deathmatch mode for Diablo III, Wilson said time spent developing it has not gone to waste, as it has provided unspecified benefits in the areas of controls and combat model tuning. However, "at this point, we don't believe it's the experience we feel it needs to be in order to ship, so we will be shelving it for now and exploring other options."

Wilson also explained in the blog post that Diablo III will soon support dueling options for players. This will be added to the game through patch 1.0.7, which is expected to arrive sometime in 2013.

However, a full replacement for Team Deathmatch is further away, as Blizzard is now exploring "new modes that play up to the strengths of the character classes, focus on objectives beyond just defeating other players, and possibly even integrate PvE elements and rewards." Whatever this turns out to be, it will be offered a free download, Blizzard said.


19.51 | 0 komentar | Read More

What Gamer Are You? Part One

Written By Kom Limpulnam on Jumat, 28 Desember 2012 | 19.51

What if I'm every type by little and none of them at the same time?I mean sometimes i feel like to explore game lore's every tiny bit of peace, complete everything in game like i do in Far Cry 3 so completionist?Sometimes just run trough game like i did in Assassin's Creed 1 so ,speed runner?Sometimes to take on waves of enemies by killing them is satisfying,so am i exterminator,So who I'm ? 

Answer - Me ,and the gamer type of myself.

Yes i do understand the purpose of the video,and pretty much i could say i know friends who are exterminators and speed runners,But it depends allot on game you play to!.And how you can approach in game.


19.51 | 0 komentar | Read More

MvP Invitational will feature 48 of the best from MLG and Proleague

Tune in December 23 - January 6th as the MvP Tournament will showcase the MLG vs Proleague players.

The MvP Invitational will feature 48 of the best StarCraft II players in the world, including 24 of the top ranked players from the KeSPA Proleague. Notable players like Flash, Jaedong, Rain and more will be competing for your viewing pleasure. In addition 12 players from North America, six players from Europe, and six players from Korea/Taiwan will compete for $10,000 in prizes. These amazing games will be casted by Nick "Axslav" Ranish and Alex "Axeltoss" Rodriguez. See below for the FREE live HD stream and the schedule.

Broadcasts times start at 6 pm ET

Sunday

  • Match 1: Bisu vs HuK
  • Match 2: NaNiwa vs Jaedong
  • Match 3: IdrA vs Stork
  • Match 4: Soulkey vs PuMa
  • Match 5: Illusion vs Rain
  • Match 6: Sheth vs Flash

Tuesday 12/25

  • IdrA vs Flash
  • Jaedong vs Alicia
  • Socke vs Stork
  • Crank vs Soulkey
  • MajOr vs soO
  • MC vs sOs
  • HuK vs CrazyHydra
  • Crank vs Light

Wednesday 12/26

  • MC vs Jaedong
  • Grubby vs Flash
  • Sasquatch vs sOs
  • Sase vs Last
  • aLive vs Hyvaa
  • Vibe vs Rain
  • NaNiwa vs Flash
  • ThorZAiN vs HerO
  • Socke vs Roro
  • Hawk vs Fantasy
  • SeleCT vs Soulkey
  • HuK vs Jaedong

Thursday 12/27

  • MC vs Rain
  • Ret vs CrazyHydra
  • Crank vs Flash
  • aLive vs soO
  • ThorZaIN vs Stats
  • Grubby vs Action
  • MajOr vs Jaedong
  • Oz vs Last
  • HuK vs Hyvaa
  • NaNiwa vs Roro
  • Sase vs Rain
  • ThorZaIN vs Fantasy

Friday 12/28

  • Regular Season TieBreakers

Saturday 12/29 - Wednesday 1/2

Thursday 1/3

Friday 1/4

Saturday 1/5

Sunday 1/6

For more information regarding the tournament check out majorleaguegaming.com.


19.51 | 0 komentar | Read More

Game of the Year 2012

Written By Kom Limpulnam on Kamis, 27 Desember 2012 | 19.51

 darksoul1968  I've read a couple of posts from you now. Normally I don't really care if someone is bashing a game but you take it to a whole new level.

I finished all Ninja Gaiden games on the NES and the Master System also finished 1 and 2 on Master Ninja, finished Devil May Cry 1, 2, 3 and 4 on every difficulty. Finished Dark and Demon's Souls completely for at least 4 playthroughs and got every item in the game. Hell I'm one of the few people in the world that can say they beat Contra without the cheats, Ghouls 'n Goblins even after seeing you have go through it again and even saw and beat the endboss of Battletoads first hand. Needless to say I love a challenge to masochist levels and usually will go through any hell to beat the game.

Nevertheless I don't back down on a game because it was less challenging. To me Bayonetta was a breeze, the so-called Infinite Climax Mode was a walk in the park, nevertheless it was my favorite 2010 game. This year it was Journey that really sucked me in, forget challenge there was no real accomplishment in terms of gameplay to begin with, neverthelss I loved every second of it. Also Dishonored which was in no means a real challenge to me is my personal favorite game of the year.

What I wonder about is what spurs this hatred towards MGS? No they're not the most challenging of games, but instead give you a movie-like experience unlike any you have ever seen. I can see how it's not in the ballpark for everyone, but to call the game bad? You can dislike a game, that does not make the core game-mechanics or the game itself bad.I even noted you talking about the A.I.? MGS 1 revolutionized the entire gaming industry in terms of A.I. if anything.

I absolutely hate the entire Assassin's Creed series and sat through a torment of boredom to play all 3 main games. Hell it's probably one of the least enjoyable games of all time, TO ME. Does that make Assassin's Creed a bad series? No, in technical aspect, graphical aspect and even gameplay aspect, it's not. Put on top the fanbase and no it sure to hell is not a BAD game, just that the experience is not ment for me.


19.51 | 0 komentar | Read More

Personal Perspectives: The Top Ten of 2012

The GameSpot editors reveal their personal top 10 lists for 2012.

Last year, I asked some members of the editorial team to write about their favorite games of the year. It gave a chance for us to speak from our hearts, and allowed the games that meant the most to us take the stage. This year, even more of the GameSpot staff participated, and we are excited to share our individual thoughts with you. Each day this week, we will unveil top ten lists from the GameSpot staff so that we might celebrate our favorite games of 2012.

Mind you, there is a difference between "favorite" and "best," and it's an important distinction to make. I don't believe that a few of my entries represent the best of 2012, but they nonetheless mean something to me, and sparked a part of me that made that game remain in my consciousness well after I had moved on to others.

Of course, such personal lists are always a reminder of all the wonderful games that I haven't played this year. I am still only halfway through The Walking Dead: Episode 1 - A New Day and Halo 4; I have only dabbled in Sound Shapes and Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward; and I haven't even touched FTL: Faster Than Light and Lone Survivor. (And those are only a few examples of my 2012 pile of shame.) If only I had unlimited hours! But of the games I have played that came out this year, these are the ones that made the biggest impact. Please note: there are minor spoilers within.

I liked but didn't love the original Planetside, which at its launch, made it difficult to actually get to the action. Planetside 2 has its downtime, but you need moments of respite in this game, which makes it easy to participate in its massive battles no matter where you are. Obviously, this massively multiplayer shooter deserves attention for its thrilling battles, but Planetside 2's structural successes deserve nods too. You don't need to wait for vehicles to spawn or to invade chat to find a group to buddy up with, and you can jump quickly to major battles--but not so often that you can exploit the system. Planetside 2 has the right mix of risk and reward, which in turn keeps you firing on the opposing faction.

Darksiders II might be the least original game on my list, but this is one of those times where I don't really mind. This game mixed Diablo looting, God of War slashing, Prince of Persia wallrunning, and Zelda exploration into a moody journey through a dark fantasy world. It may have looked to other sources of inspiration, but Darksiders II feels like one cohesive vision. Developer Vigil Games knew what tone they wished to strike, and understood what they wanted to convey with their world, their combat, and their characters. This consistency made the disparate elements come together wonderfully, and the overall result was fun and absorbing.

It's important not to confuse unnecessary obstacles in games with depth--just as it's important not to confuse the removal of such obstacles with a "dumbing down." XCOM: Enemy Unknown strikes a great balance: easy to get into, but still complex enough to inspire thoughtful decisions. What I loved most about the game was how I felt at war with percentages. How do I position myself to increase my chances of hitting while reducing my chances of being hit? Is it worth taking a shot when I have a 48% chance to hit, or should I get behind cover and activate overwatch? The resulting rhythm of tension-and-release made XCOM a real winner in my book.

From a gameplay perspective, Spec Ops is just a regular old cover shooter. And if its narrative were to work, it absolutely had to be. In most military shooters, those big moments where you kill legions of bad guys or hop behind a turret and mow dudes down are supposed to make you feel like a badass. In Spec Ops, you are supposed to feel shame. The game takes the expected recipe and turns it inside out, forcing you to reconsider all the power trips you've had in shooters before and look into the soul of a man who loses his soul in a power trip of his own. Spec Ops subverts the very expectations it originally expresses, initially passing itself off as just another military shooter, and ultimately condemning you, itself, and the entire genre. This kind of self-awareness is decidedly rare in games--and all but unheard of in shooters.

I admire developer Funcom. They have made three major MMOGs (not counting expansions), and each one is different from the last. Anarchy Online's sci-fi universe, complex character progression, and palatable mission structure make it my favorite MMO to date. Age of Conan's dark fantasy universe was so thick with atmosphere you could practically smell the fertile land. And then came The Secret World, a modern-day mythical adventure that mixes adventure-game elements with open-world exploration and intense storytelling. It has its problems, but The Secret World is one of several games that proved to naysayers in 2012 that modern MMOGs aren't just World of Warcraft clones anymore. This is an online RPG with the gall to actually make you think, and along with Guild Wars 2 and Tera, represents a trifecta that should influence developers of future games.

I am exhausted of hearing that "Far Cry 3 is like Skyrim with guns." That's silly. Far Cry 3 has similarities to other games, and is the product of a developer that employs some of the same themes from game to game. (Assassin's Creed was a clear inspiration, for instance.) But Far Cry 3 is above direct comparisons, instead standing out as an individual shooter in a genre crowded with copycats. While linear power-trip shooters will probably always have a role, I suspect that Far Cry 3, Natural Selection, and Planetside 2 pave the way to the future. If you still believe that games are just the same-ol' same-ol, I implore you to take a closer look. That is, if you can tear yourself away from Far Cry 3, which can get you easily hooked on freeing outposts, hunting tigers, and poking around in dark caves to see what secrets might be hidden there.

The final game in Commander Shephard's story greatly affected me. While some folks were up in arms over an ending that disappointed them, I was still mourning the losses of friends I'd grown close to. Bioware handled these moments of loss with great care, giving the characters the honor they deserved. I never saw Mass Effect as a franchise about plot: it was about people, places, and relationships. I will miss those things, which speaks to the power of this wonderful series. With its variety, its pacing, and the emotional investment it inspired, Mass Effect 3 made a mark on me.

Any MMOG made from here on out exists in a post-Guild Wars 2 world. Guild Wars 2 fixed problems with the genre-standard quest limit by eliminating the quest journal completely. It brought exploration back to the forefront by rewarding you for moving through its world and investigating every nook. It shipped with enticing, broad player-versus-player regions. ArenaNet reconsidered everything we take for granted in role-playing games, and crafted them in new ways that made so much sense, it was a wonder no one had done it before. Guild Wars didn't drastically rethink the online RPG. Instead, it rethought the individual elements and brought them together in a great game that is both fresh and familiar.

Dragon's Dogma won't get out of my head. It's uniquely flawed and a teensy bit broken, but if you were to ask me at any given time what game I wish I were most playing, this would probably be the answer. To walk out of Gran Soren, only for a shrieking griffon to land with a thud and engage you, is a thrill. Climbing upon it and stabbing it while your pawns fling magic at it is more thrilling still. And holding on for dear life should the griffon soar into the air is the greatest thrill of all. The frustrations in Dragon's Dogma are many, but the battles, the nighttime journeys, and that ending--oh, that ending--are what make this game so special.

Journey seems to be a game that either works for you or it doesn't. For some, Journey is too mechanically simple; it lacks challenge and complexity, relying on atmosphere to convey its meaning. Those players never establish a connection.

I feel fortunate that Journey spoke to me so profoundly. Each time I played it, I was moved to tears, yet the game features no spoken dialogue, no named characters, and no traditional storytelling. It's just you, perhaps a human companion, and the entities that inhabit the land.

Simplicity isn't always an asset, but Journey is transcendental precisely because it strips interaction down to the essentials, and perfects those essentials so that you never struggle with the mechanics. Instead, the struggle is felt in the slow steps through snowdrifts, the shining eye of a hovering beast, and the force of the wind blowing you backwards. The struggles, though, are outshined by the joys. There are moments in which the slope of the land carries you forward, and all you can do is steer yourself through this gorgeous world and take in the sights and sounds, the lonely desert no longer a vast and empty prison, but a sun-drenched oasis.

There comes a moment when all seems lost. And then: a glimmer of hope, followed by a rush of freedom and ecstasy. If you have played, you know the moment I speak of. The uplift of the moment, and the ones that follow, is overwhelming. My spirit is lifted higher and higher, and then I understand. I understand.

Journey is exquisitely crafted precisely so that it might speak to you in this way. To call it too basic is to miss its true power. Journey strips away the intellectual elements almost universally associated with games so that it can instead directly impact the heart. Yet it wouldn't work as a film. To love Journey, you must feel it, and interact with it, and understand the flow. You can't just watch it happen--it must happen to you.

If you haven't played Journey, I hope that you will, and I hope that it speaks to you in the same way it did to me. I want people to feel the joy that I did; it's a feeling so wondrous, so overwhelming, that I want to share it with everyone. Like any experience designed to elicit emotion, the experience I had with Journey isn't universal. But even if Journey doesn't carry you away as it does with so many, I hope you are glad that such a game can exist, and that there are developers seeking new ways to explore the human condition.


19.51 | 0 komentar | Read More

CA senator calls NRA's response to violent games 'pathetic and unacceptable'

Written By Kom Limpulnam on Rabu, 26 Desember 2012 | 19.51

California senator Leland Yee, whose high-profile violent game law was struck down by the Supreme Court in 2011, has spoken out against the National Rifle Association's recent response to the deadly Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

In a statement to his website, Yee said when his violent game law was brought before the Supreme Court last year, the NRA was nowhere to be seen.

"I find it mind-boggling that the NRA suddenly cares about the harmful effects of ultra-violent video games," Yee said. "When our law was before the Supreme Court--while several states, medical organizations, and child advocates submitted briefs in support of California's efforts--the NRA was completely silent."

Yee further claimed that the NRA, instead of facing the reality and becoming part of the solution to gun proliferation, is attempting to "pass the buck."

"More guns are not the answer to protecting our children, as evident by the fact that armed guards weren't enough to stop the tragedy at Columbine High School," Yee said. "The NRA's response is pathetic and completely unacceptable."

NRA vice president Wayne LaPierre said at a press conference Friday violent video games like Bulletstorm and Mortal Kombat were partially to blame for December 14's deadly shooting in Connecticut.

Earlier in the week, West Virginia senator Jay Rockefeller introduced a bill to Congress that would direct the National Academy of Sciences to investigate how violent games and other such programming affect children.


19.51 | 0 komentar | Read More

New Grand Theft Auto V screens

Latest batch of screenshots for Rockstar Games' upcoming open-world title show shark, submarine, planes, and blimp.

Rockstar Games has provided a holiday gifts to gamers: new Grand Theft Auto V screenshots. In a post to the company's blog titled "Happy Holidays - Enjoy", Rockstar released five new screens from the hotly hyped open-world action game.

The first screenshot shows a character floating in the ocean with a shark below. Another depicts a yellow contemporary submarine outfitted with various gadgetry. Yet another screenshot shows GTAV protagonist Franklin driving down a street with a dog in the passenger seat.

Finally, one screenshot is focused on air travel. It shows a fighter jet, what appears to be a passenger plane, and a blimp far away in the distance. Check out the Rockstar Newswire for all five new GTAV screenshots.

GTAV is officially due out during spring 2013 only for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, though Rockstar cofounder Dan Houser said PC and Wii U versions are "up for consideration."

Eddie Makuch
By Eddie Makuch, News Editor

Eddie Makuch (Mack-ooh) is a News Editor at GameSpot. He lives in Connecticut, works out of the company's New York City office, and loves extra chunky peanut butter.


19.51 | 0 komentar | Read More

Personal Perspectives: The Top Ten of 2012

The GameSpot editors reveal their personal top 10 lists for 2012.

Last year, I asked some members of the editorial team to write about their favorite games of the year. It gave a chance for us to speak from our hearts, and allowed the games that meant the most to us take the stage. This year, even more of the GameSpot staff participated, and we are excited to share our individual thoughts with you. Each day this week, we will unveil top ten lists from the GameSpot staff so that we might celebrate our favorite games of 2012.

Mind you, there is a difference between "favorite" and "best," and it's an important distinction to make. I don't believe that a few of my entries represent the best of 2012, but they nonetheless mean something to me, and sparked a part of me that made that game remain in my consciousness well after I had moved on to others.

Of course, such personal lists are always a reminder of all the wonderful games that I haven't played this year. I am still only halfway through The Walking Dead: Episode 1 - A New Day and Halo 4; I have only dabbled in Sound Shapes and Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward; and I haven't even touched FTL: Faster Than Light and Lone Survivor. (And those are only a few examples of my 2012 pile of shame.) If only I had unlimited hours! But of the games I have played that came out this year, these are the ones that made the biggest impact. Please note: there are minor spoilers within.

I liked but didn't love the original Planetside, which at its launch, made it difficult to actually get to the action. Planetside 2 has its downtime, but you need moments of respite in this game, which makes it easy to participate in its massive battles no matter where you are. Obviously, this massively multiplayer shooter deserves attention for its thrilling battles, but Planetside 2's structural successes deserve nods too. You don't need to wait for vehicles to spawn or to invade chat to find a group to buddy up with, and you can jump quickly to major battles--but not so often that you can exploit the system. Planetside 2 has the right mix of risk and reward, which in turn keeps you firing on the opposing faction.

Darksiders II might be the least original game on my list, but this is one of those times where I don't really mind. This game mixed Diablo looting, God of War slashing, Prince of Persia wallrunning, and Zelda exploration into a moody journey through a dark fantasy world. It may have looked to other sources of inspiration, but Darksiders II feels like one cohesive vision. Developer Vigil Games knew what tone they wished to strike, and understood what they wanted to convey with their world, their combat, and their characters. This consistency made the disparate elements come together wonderfully, and the overall result was fun and absorbing.

It's important not to confuse unnecessary obstacles in games with depth--just as it's important not to confuse the removal of such obstacles with a "dumbing down." XCOM: Enemy Unknown strikes a great balance: easy to get into, but still complex enough to inspire thoughtful decisions. What I loved most about the game was how I felt at war with percentages. How do I position myself to increase my chances of hitting while reducing my chances of being hit? Is it worth taking a shot when I have a 48% chance to hit, or should I get behind cover and activate overwatch? The resulting rhythm of tension-and-release made XCOM a real winner in my book.

From a gameplay perspective, Spec Ops is just a regular old cover shooter. And if its narrative were to work, it absolutely had to be. In most military shooters, those big moments where you kill legions of bad guys or hop behind a turret and mow dudes down are supposed to make you feel like a badass. In Spec Ops, you are supposed to feel shame. The game takes the expected recipe and turns it inside out, forcing you to reconsider all the power trips you've had in shooters before and look into the soul of a man who loses his soul in a power trip of his own. Spec Ops subverts the very expectations it originally expresses, initially passing itself off as just another military shooter, and ultimately condemning you, itself, and the entire genre. This kind of self-awareness is decidedly rare in games--and all but unheard of in shooters.

I admire developer Funcom. They have made three major MMOGs (not counting expansions), and each one is different from the last. Anarchy Online's sci-fi universe, complex character progression, and palatable mission structure make it my favorite MMO to date. Age of Conan's dark fantasy universe was so thick with atmosphere you could practically smell the fertile land. And then came The Secret World, a modern-day mythical adventure that mixes adventure-game elements with open-world exploration and intense storytelling. It has its problems, but The Secret World is one of several games that proved to naysayers in 2012 that modern MMOGs aren't just World of Warcraft clones anymore. This is an online RPG with the gall to actually make you think, and along with Guild Wars 2 and Tera, represents a trifecta that should influence developers of future games.

I am exhausted of hearing that "Far Cry 3 is like Skyrim with guns." That's silly. Far Cry 3 has similarities to other games, and is the product of a developer that employs some of the same themes from game to game. (Assassin's Creed was a clear inspiration, for instance.) But Far Cry 3 is above direct comparisons, instead standing out as an individual shooter in a genre crowded with copycats. While linear power-trip shooters will probably always have a role, I suspect that Far Cry 3, Natural Selection, and Planetside 2 pave the way to the future. If you still believe that games are just the same-ol' same-ol, I implore you to take a closer look. That is, if you can tear yourself away from Far Cry 3, which can get you easily hooked on freeing outposts, hunting tigers, and poking around in dark caves to see what secrets might be hidden there.

The final game in Commander Shephard's story greatly affected me. While some folks were up in arms over an ending that disappointed them, I was still mourning the losses of friends I'd grown close to. Bioware handled these moments of loss with great care, giving the characters the honor they deserved. I never saw Mass Effect as a franchise about plot: it was about people, places, and relationships. I will miss those things, which speaks to the power of this wonderful series. With its variety, its pacing, and the emotional investment it inspired, Mass Effect 3 made a mark on me.

Any MMOG made from here on out exists in a post-Guild Wars 2 world. Guild Wars 2 fixed problems with the genre-standard quest limit by eliminating the quest journal completely. It brought exploration back to the forefront by rewarding you for moving through its world and investigating every nook. It shipped with enticing, broad player-versus-player regions. ArenaNet reconsidered everything we take for granted in role-playing games, and crafted them in new ways that made so much sense, it was a wonder no one had done it before. Guild Wars didn't drastically rethink the online RPG. Instead, it rethought the individual elements and brought them together in a great game that is both fresh and familiar.

Dragon's Dogma won't get out of my head. It's uniquely flawed and a teensy bit broken, but if you were to ask me at any given time what game I wish I were most playing, this would probably be the answer. To walk out of Gran Soren, only for a shrieking griffon to land with a thud and engage you, is a thrill. Climbing upon it and stabbing it while your pawns fling magic at it is more thrilling still. And holding on for dear life should the griffon soar into the air is the greatest thrill of all. The frustrations in Dragon's Dogma are many, but the battles, the nighttime journeys, and that ending--oh, that ending--are what make this game so special.

Journey seems to be a game that either works for you or it doesn't. For some, Journey is too mechanically simple; it lacks challenge and complexity, relying on atmosphere to convey its meaning. Those players never establish a connection.

I feel fortunate that Journey spoke to me so profoundly. Each time I played it, I was moved to tears, yet the game features no spoken dialogue, no named characters, and no traditional storytelling. It's just you, perhaps a human companion, and the entities that inhabit the land.

Simplicity isn't always an asset, but Journey is transcendental precisely because it strips interaction down to the essentials, and perfects those essentials so that you never struggle with the mechanics. Instead, the struggle is felt in the slow steps through snowdrifts, the shining eye of a hovering beast, and the force of the wind blowing you backwards. The struggles, though, are outshined by the joys. There are moments in which the slope of the land carries you forward, and all you can do is steer yourself through this gorgeous world and take in the sights and sounds, the lonely desert no longer a vast and empty prison, but a sun-drenched oasis.

There comes a moment when all seems lost. And then: a glimmer of hope, followed by a rush of freedom and ecstasy. If you have played, you know the moment I speak of. The uplift of the moment, and the ones that follow, is overwhelming. My spirit is lifted higher and higher, and then I understand. I understand.

Journey is exquisitely crafted precisely so that it might speak to you in this way. To call it too basic is to miss its true power. Journey strips away the intellectual elements almost universally associated with games so that it can instead directly impact the heart. Yet it wouldn't work as a film. To love Journey, you must feel it, and interact with it, and understand the flow. You can't just watch it happen--it must happen to you.

If you haven't played Journey, I hope that you will, and I hope that it speaks to you in the same way it did to me. I want people to feel the joy that I did; it's a feeling so wondrous, so overwhelming, that I want to share it with everyone. Like any experience designed to elicit emotion, the experience I had with Journey isn't universal. But even if Journey doesn't carry you away as it does with so many, I hope you are glad that such a game can exist, and that there are developers seeking new ways to explore the human condition.


19.51 | 0 komentar | Read More

This Week in Games - December 22, 2012

Written By Kom Limpulnam on Selasa, 25 Desember 2012 | 19.51

Happy Holidays! BioShock, bankruptcy, Borderlands DLC, the decline of western civilization, Bobbty Kotick's dating life, and the NRA.

Attempts to find some kind of meaning, and something to vilify, in the wake of a tragedy such as the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, are completely understandable. As seems to be the norm of late, attention is yet again turning to violent video games as something to be singled-out for blame. The political attention began this week with this Tweet from Obama administration advisor David Axelrod.

This sparked plenty of attention on Twitter, and fueled a number of stories throughout the week predicting an escalation of finger-pointing in gaming's direction. It arrived in force on Wednesday when Democratic West Virginia senator Jay Rockefeller (picture below, and no - that's not this particular bill he's waving around) introduced a bill to congress that would task the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to study the effects of violent video games and other programs on children. The measure comes less than a week after the horrors at Sandy Hook. "Major corporations, including the video game industry, make billions on marketing and selling violent content to children," Rockefeller said in a statement on his website. "They have a responsibility to protect our children. If they do not, you can count on the Congress to take a more aggressive role." The bill would direct the NAS to conduct a "comprehensive study and investigation" of the link between violent games and other violent video programming and harmful effects on children. More specifically, the NAS would be charged with looking into whether or not video games cause children to act aggressively or "otherwise hurt their wellbeing," and if so, determine if that effect is notably distinguishable from other types of media. This study would also look at the "direct and long-lasting impact" of violent content on a child's well-being. "With respect to violent video games, NAS must look at whether current or emerging aspects of games, like their interactive nature and the personal and vivid way violence is portrayed, have a unique impact on kids," the statement reads. Separately, Rockefeller said he will call on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to further their work in this area. "Changes in technology now allow kids to access violent content online with less parental involvement. It is time for these two agencies to take a fresh look at these issues," he said. If the bill passes, NAS must submit a report on its study within 18 months to Congress as well as the FTC and FCC.

If you've been following this kind of thing for the last few years, you'll no doubt be rolling your eyes at yet another potential waste of government resources and taxpayer money. After all, previous studies of this nature have failed to turn up any data that supports a connection between violent games and real world gun violence, so why will this one show anything different? The Washington Post ran a story on Monday this week demonstrating that video game consumption "does not seem to correlate at all with an increase in gun violence," and cited data from 10 different countries including Germany, Australia, South Korea, and the Netherlands. The outlier on gun violence? The United States.

On Friday, the National Rifle Association finally broke their silence on the subject, taking the opportunity to finger violent games as partially to blame for last week's tragedy. "There exists in this country a callous, corrupt, and corrupting shadow industry that sells, and sows, violence against its own people," NRA executive vice president Wayne LaPierre said. "Through vicious, violent video games with names like Bulletstorm, Grand Theft Auto, Mortal Kombat, and Splatterhouse. And here's one: it's called Kindergarten Killers. It's been online for 10 years. How come my research department could find it and all of yours either couldn't or didn't want anyone to know you had found it?" He went on to question whether violent media of any kind should be called entertainment. "But is that what it really is?" he questioned. "Isn't fantasizing about killing people as a way to get your kicks really the filthiest form of pornography?"

"Isn't fantasizing about killing people as a way to get your kicks really the filthiest form of pornography?" - Wayne LaPierre, NRA

LaPierre argued that media conglomerates are caught up in a "race to the bottom," and in fact compete with each other to "shock, violate, and offend every standard of civilized society." Complicit in this behavior, according to LaPierre, is the national media, their corporate owners, and stockholders, who are "silent enablers" and even "co-conspirators." He claimed media "demonize" lawful gun owners and "fill the national debate with misinformation and dishonest thinking."

The NRA's solution? "As parents, we do everything we can to keep our children safe. It is now time for us to assume responsibility for their safety at school. The only way to stop a monster from killing our kids is to be personally involved and invested in a plan of absolute protection. The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. Would you rather have your 911 call bring a good guy with a gun from a mile away ‚ or a minute away?"

If you want to read the full text of the statement, you can find a PDF of it here. LaPierre's comments drew a sharp response from gun-control advocates. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg accused the NRA of "a shameful evasion of the crisis facing our country. They offered a paranoid, dystopian vision of a more dangerous and violent America where everyone is armed and no place is safe," he said.

Please share your feelings on the subject in the comments. There's certainly plenty to chew on.

BioShock Infinite Hype Continues

Irrational Games creative director Ken Levine has offered a tease regarding the BioShock Infinite endgame. Speaking to Outside Xbox, Levine claimed the game's ending is unprecedented and consequently may not be full accepted or embraced by all fans of the franchise. "The plot actually gets more interesting as it goes on, Levine said. "The end of the game, I can't tell whether people will like it or not like it. I can say it's something we're incredibly proud of. It's like nothing you've actually experienced in a video game before. It's quite unique and quite particular to this world, these characters, and this franchise." Levine didn't share much more on the subject, however he did say Irrational is working to make sure the story doesn't decline in its second half, as many feel was the case in the original BioShock. "You had a situation there where you had this amazing character and once he's gone the story loses some of its steam," he said. "That is something we took to heart in this game."

Levine bookended this statement on Wednesday by releasing video of the first five minutes of the game (below. Watch it at your peril.) "Want to see the first few minutes of Infinite?" he asked on Twitter. "If you watch it and complain about SPOILERS, you're dead to me."

Keeping up the media onslaught ahead of the Holiday break, Levine held a Reddit Ask Me Anything session on Thursday where he talked about his inspirations and motivations. When asked about the decision to stick to a first person perspective to tell the new game's story, he explained that the method allows for a more intimate level of detail. "I love first person because it gets you so close to the detail of the world," Levine said. "[BioShock Infinite] wouldn't work in any other perspective." He was also asked if he would consider tackling other genres for different products in the future, but he did not respond. Later in the session, Levine revealed that original BioShock and BioShock 2 composer Garry Schyman is returning to create the music for BioShock Infinite. Levine teased that Schyman's score this time around is "very different" from the first two games, but at the same time "very much guided by the same aesthetic principles."

THQ Filed Chapter 11, Ubisoft May Pick Up Pieces

Beleaguered Saints Row publisher THQ filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Wednesday. The company has entered into an asset purchase agreement with a bidder to acquire "substantially all of the assets of THQ's operating business." This includes THQ's four wholly-owned studios and games in development. "The sale will allow THQ to shed certain legacy obligations and emerge with the strong financial backing of a new owner with substantial experience in software and technology," the company said in a statement. The company's day-to-day operations will not be affected during the sale period, the company said. Every THQ studio remains open and development on all projects (Saints Row 4, Homefront 2, Metro: Last Night, South Park: The Stick of Truth, and Company of Heroes 2 along with the unannounced game from Assassin's Creed developer Patrice D√©silets at the company's Montreal studio) is unaffected. No layoffs are expected. Employees will continue to work on their usual schedules and will receive their previously agreed upon compensation and benefits. "The sale and filing are necessary next steps to complete THQ‚ transformation and position the company for the future, as we remain confident in our existing pipeline of games, the strength of our studios, and THQ‚ deep bench of talent," said THQ CEO Brian Farrell in a statement. "We are grateful to our outstanding team of employees, partners and suppliers who have worked with us through this transition. We are pleased to have attracted a strong financial partner for our business, and we hope to complete the sale swiftly to make the process as seamless as possible."

"We have incredible, creative talent here at THQ," new THQ president Jason Rubin said. "We look forward to partnering with experienced investors for a new start as we will continue to use our intellectual property assets to develop high-quality core games, create new franchise titles, and drive demand through both traditional and digital channels." Rubin spent much of the day responding to questions on Twitter. He assured concerned gamers that he is doing "everything in my power" to ensure that the Saints Row sequel, in particular, is unaffected by the changes. To hammer the point home, he made this comment accompanied by a photo of himself wielding the iconic dildo bat from Saints Row 3.

In a blog post at the end of the day, Rubin noted "Chapter 11 is a safety net for U.S. companies. American Airlines is currently in Chapter 11 restructuring, yet I flew back and forth on that airline when I visited Volition two weeks ago. Donald Trump and his companies have been in Chapter 11 four times. You can add to that list household names such as Macy‚ Eddie Bauer, the Chicago Cubs, Chrysler, Delta Airlines, General Motors, the Pittsburgh Penguins, Marvel Studios, and MGM, among many others. MGM filed Chapter 11 two years ago, and this year it released ‚ Skyfall‚ and ‚ The Hobbit,‚ two of the biggest titles of the year. That‚ what I mean when I say new start!"

On Friday morning it was revealed that Ubisoft is one of the top candidates interested in purchasing THQ's assets,. Sources told trade news site MCV that the French publisher has shown interest in buying THQ's wholly-owned studios and franchises. As you may recall, this is not the first time Ubisoft has publicly acknowledged interest in THQ. Last month, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said, "They have good things. We are always interested in good brands. For sure, it's something we can consider, but I can't tell you more." MCV's sources say Ubisoft has held "lengthy discussions" with THQ to get a deal done. One of the main sticking points in the negotiations, according to the sources, is that of price. Ubisoft is reportedly interested in a "bargain buy," and will hold out until THQ decides to sell specific properties instead of a total package.

The War Z Woes

Dissatisfied consumers took to Reddit early this week to voice their concerns surrounding the release of The War Z on Steam. Users accused developer Hammerpoint Interactive of releasing a patch for the Steam version of the game following Reddit reports that claimed this version of the game wasn't complete. According to Reddit user "IAmFluffey", the patch "proves [Hammerpoint Interactive's] quick money-grabbing and game-breaking schemes."

"After changing the description of their game due to [Reddit user] TotalHailbut calling them out on false advertising, they have now updated the game with a new patch," he continued. The post goes on to list a variety of changes in the new patch, including "increasing the respawn-timer from 1 hour to 4 hours", while adding a "revive" button where players can spend real-world money to revive instantly. Reddit users have suggested that this addition forces players into a micro-transaction model. According to the post, the update is also forcing players to sign a terms of service agreement before playing, which reportedly "disallows refunds" of the game. After publishing a similar thread on the Steam forums, user "IAmFluffey" was reportedly banned. The users claim that Hammerpoint Interactive subsequently shut down the entire The War Z discussion thread on Steam.

On Wednesday the game itself was removed from Steam. A Valve representative told Kotaku that the game was mistakenly published in the store and will not return until the company speaks with Hammerpoint Interactive to resolve issues. "From time to time a mistake can be made and one was made by prematurely issuing a copy of War Z for sale via Steam," the Valve rep said. "We apologize for this and have temporary [sic] removed the sale offering of the title until we have time to work with the developer and have confidence in a new build." Gamers who already bought The War Z can continue to play it. Those who bought the game and are not satisfied can seek a refund by opening a support ticket at Valve's website.

On Thursday, Arma II mod Day Z creator Dean Hall spoke out about the situation, saying the controversy had left him "depressed" and led to him considering quitting game development altogether. Writing on Reddit as "rocket2guns," Hall broke his silence, saying, "I know I have been very quiet lately. So this will be really all I'll say for the moment. I've been pretty depressed about the whole situation," Hall said. "From a personal standpoint, this whole 'saga' of the development made me seriously question if I wanted to be involved in the industry and I gave serious thought to cutting my losses and not being involved in the project." Hall said he has been "hammered" with requests from media and fans alike, asking for his take on the situation and for further information about Day Z. He declined to provide any insight, noting he is keeping to himself while working on the standalone version of Day Z, which is scheduled for release next year.

Minecraft Documentary Hits This Weekend

Minecraft: The Story of Mojang will premiere Saturday, December 22 on Xbox Live. The documentary from 2Player Productions will be available for Xbox Live Gold subscribers in the U.S., UK, Ireland, Belgium, Portugal, Austria, France, Finland, and Sweden. As for the film itself, Minecraft: The Story of Mojang follows Notch, and documents the challenges he faced during the company's first year. It addresses the massive success of Minecraft, and also features insight from journalists and industry professionals. The documentary began its life as a Kickstarter project in February 2011 and surpassed its $150,000 target, raking in a total of $210,297 when it closed in March of that year.

The Business News Part. Stay Awake

Electronic Arts has been removed from the NASDAQ-100, an index of the 100 largest domestic and international non-financial companies. Electronic Arts was pushed out as part of NASDAQ's annual reshuffling of the list to make room for newcomers like Western Digital and Liberty Global, and the new list will be effective from December 24. EA had a rough time of it this year, with shares hitting their lowest prices since 1999 partially due to its struggle to retain subscribers to Star Wars: The Old Republic, a game rumored to be one of the most expensive (if not the most expensive) video game ever made. Netflix, Blackberry maker RIM, and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters were also dropped. Major EA competitor Activision is now the only traditional video game publisher to remain on the NASDAQ-100 list, though several companies with ties to the business like Microsoft and Nvidia remain.

‚ Think about what it‚ like for my dating life when the first picture that comes up is me as the Devil." - Robert Kotick, Activision

Speaking of Activision, CEO Robert Kotick was profiled by the New York Times this week, in which he noted that firing Infinity Ward head honchos Jason West and Vince Zampella in 2010 was not a difficult decision for him to make. Kotick addressed the swift and severe action taken against the high-profile developers. You find out two executives are planning to break their contracts, keep the money you gave them, and steal 40 employees. What do you do? You fire them,‚ Kotick said. Activision's high-profile court case against West and Zampella, along with those 40 former Infinity Ward developers, was settled in May this year before it could be heard by a trial. Terms of the deal were not disclosed at the time and have not been since, though one analyst previously projected this figure to be in the tens of millions. Elsewhere in the profile, it was revealed why the massively popular Call of Duty brand has not spawned a Hollywood adaptation. Kotick said game-to-film adaptations rarely work out and could in fact blemish the franchise. Hollywood studios have reached out to Activision, he said, though all requests thus far have been denied.

Kotick also noted in the profile that the online hate (which frequently manifests as Photoshopped pictures of him with horns) directed his way is cramping his style with the ladies. Think about what it‚ like for my dating life when the first picture that comes up is me as the Devil,‚ he said, noting that he is recently divorced. ‚ You see all this chatter and you realize that they game the search results. These super-sophisticated 19-year-olds are smarter than our expensive PR firm.‚

On the subject of unpopular game publisher CEO's, here's something about everyone's least favorite gaming executive. Zynga CEO Mark Pincus was awarded the illustrious title of one of the "worst CEOs of 2012," by Dartmouth College Tuck School of Business professor Sydney Finkelstein. His list of the five worst honchos was published at Bloomberg, and provided multiple reasons for why Pincus came up short this year. Finkelstein said Pincus made some "rookie mistakes" including depending far too heavily on Facebook. Additionally, the professor cited Pincus unloading 16 million Zynga shares as a reason to believe he may not have much confidence in his own company. As you'd expect, Zynga's PR folks were reluctant to give comment to Bloomberg and have also not responded to GameSpot's requests either. The other four CEOs named were Best Buy's Brian Dunn, Chesapeake Energy top executive Aubrey McClendon, Avon's Andrea Jung, and Bankia executive Rodrigo Rata. Zynga shares have tanked this year. After peaking in March at around $15, the company's per-share value as of Friday stands at $2.32.

Get Your Own Gravity Gun

On a much lighter subject: Fans wishing that Gordon Freeman's iconic Gravity Gun was a real thing are in luck. Kinda. Toy maker Neca will release a 1:1 recreation of the classic Half-Life weapon this spring, the company announced through its blog. A price for the gun was not announced and quantities will be limited, much as they were for the original version of the firm's Portal gun earlier this year. As any self-respecting fan is aware, the Gravity Gun's real name is the Zero Point Energy Field Manipulator. It first appeared in Half-Life 2, given to players by Alyx Vance at Black Mesa East. Neca's Gravity Gun will be on display at the 2013 New York Toy Fair in February and preorders for the toy will begin "soon." The company has created a prototype, which shows that the Gravity Gun will also light up.

On the subject of Half-Life and Valve, the Steam sale season kicked off on Thursday this week. Among the many bargains is the entire Valve Collection for just $49.99.

Godus Crowd-funded

Peter Molyneux's new God game Godus reached its Kickstarter goal on Wednesday, with just under two days to go to its final funding deadline. The fund closed at over £526,000 ($850,385) pledged of an original £450,000 ($727,515) target. Godus, as you may be aware, is a reinvention of Molyneux's classic God game Populous. It is in development at 22Cans for PC, Mac, and mobile devices, and will not require a constant Internet connection for its single-player mode. The game is due out during September 2013. Separately, 22Cans announced that it has been contacted by a range of composers and musicians wishing to contribute to Godus. One such musician is Harry Waters, son of Pink Floyd bassist and vocalist Roger Waters. No firm collaboration plans have been nailed down yet, but 22Cans said it is exploring how it can work with Harry Waters on the soundtrack for Godus.

Sir Hammerlock Cometh

The third batch of downloadable content for Borderlands 2 has been revealed. Due out January 15 (that's my birthday, in case you care) for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC will be Sir Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt. It follows Captain Scarlett and Her Captain's Booty and Mr. Torgue's Campaign of Carnage. Sir Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt is included with the $30 Borderlands 2 Season Pass and will be available for others at $10. The content adds a new zone called Aegrus, as well as new areas to explore like Savage Lands, Lodge, and Scylla's Grove. It also brings new hunting-themed weapons (including legendary weapons) and loot, and a fanboat vehicle, which is kinda similar to the sand skiff from Pirate's Booty. The new content takes place just after the end of Borderlands 2, and pits players against a new villain named Professor Nakayama. You will also be battling new creatures including Wetland Drifters, Spores, Armored Boroks, Scaylions, Bandit-style Savage Warriors, and a new Seraph Guardian team raid boss called Voracidous. What's most interesting about these creatures is that there are new behaviors associated with them, notably more of a tribal hierarchy whereby "chiefs" both coordinate and heal their minions. Savages are controlled by Witch Doctors, the Varkid-like Scaylions have a queen that controls their behavior.

Happy Holidays!

This is the final (and looking back at it, somwhat depressing--sorry about that) entry in This Week in Games for 2012, as it will be on a break during the Holidays. Have an excellent season, plays some awesome games, and have a great New Year. See you in 2013.


19.51 | 0 komentar | Read More

CA senator calls NRA's response to violent games 'pathetic and unacceptable'

California senator Leland Yee, whose high-profile violent game law was struck down by the Supreme Court in 2011, has spoken out against the National Rifle Association's recent response to the deadly Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

In a statement to his website, Yee said when his violent game law was brought before the Supreme Court last year, the NRA was nowhere to be seen.

"I find it mind-boggling that the NRA suddenly cares about the harmful effects of ultra-violent video games," Yee said. "When our law was before the Supreme Court--while several states, medical organizations, and child advocates submitted briefs in support of California's efforts--the NRA was completely silent."

Yee further claimed that the NRA, instead of facing the reality and becoming part of the solution to gun proliferation, is attempting to "pass the buck."

"More guns are not the answer to protecting our children, as evident by the fact that armed guards weren't enough to stop the tragedy at Columbine High School," Yee said. "The NRA's response is pathetic and completely unacceptable."

NRA vice president Wayne LaPierre said at a press conference Friday violent video games like Bulletstorm and Mortal Kombat were partially to blame for December 14's deadly shooting in Connecticut.

Earlier in the week, West Virginia senator Jay Rockefeller introduced a bill to Congress that would direct the National Academy of Sciences to investigate how violent games and other such programming affect children.


19.51 | 0 komentar | Read More

New Grand Theft Auto V screens

Latest batch of screenshots for Rockstar Games' upcoming open-world title show shark, submarine, planes, and blimp.

Rockstar Games has provided a holiday gifts to gamers: new Grand Theft Auto V screenshots. In a post to the company's blog titled "Happy Holidays - Enjoy", Rockstar released five new screens from the hotly hyped open-world action game.

The first screenshot shows a character floating in the ocean with a shark below. Another depicts a yellow contemporary submarine outfitted with various gadgetry. Yet another screenshot shows GTAV protagonist Franklin driving down a street with a dog in the passenger seat.

Finally, one screenshot is focused on air travel. It shows a fighter jet, what appears to be a passenger plane, and a blimp far away in the distance. Check out the Rockstar Newswire for all five new GTAV screenshots.

GTAV is officially due out during spring 2013 only for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, though Rockstar cofounder Dan Houser said PC and Wii U versions are "up for consideration."

Eddie Makuch
By Eddie Makuch, News Editor

Eddie Makuch (Mack-ooh) is a News Editor at GameSpot. He lives in Connecticut, works out of the company's New York City office, and loves extra chunky peanut butter.


19.51 | 0 komentar | Read More

Dokuro Game Giveaway!

Written By Kom Limpulnam on Senin, 24 Desember 2012 | 19.51

Attention PS Vita owners, we're giving away 4 copies of Dokuro for the PlayStation Vita, not only is this an amazing little puzzle plat former but the copies are signed by the procurers! There are two ways to enter, our Dokuro Doddle Hustle or the Dokuro Caption Contest.

Dokuro Doodle Contest

One of the whimsical characteristics to Dokuro is its charming chalk board art style. Participants will inspire themselves with GameSpot screen shots and images to create a Dokuro Doodle.

You can capture any element of the game in your drawing so long as there is a clear correlation between your art and the game. The traditional art medium to the game is very chalk like, but for this contest we will be accepting all styles.

The Rules:
You must be a GameSpot Registrant
Deadline to submit your entry for this contest is January 11th at 10:00am PST
Send your entry to contests@gamespot.com making sure to include your mailing address and your GameSpot Username

Prizing:
One (1) winner will be selected for the Dokuro Doodle contest and will receive a copy of Dokuro for the PS Vita. Judging for the entries will take place on Friday January 11th and a winner will be selected by GameSpot Staff members.

Dokuro Caption Contest

The story of Dokuro is a charming and simple one, our heroic skeletal friend may not get the love he clearly deserves, but that will not stop him from trying to save his Princess. To enter in the Dokuro Caption contest simply fill in the following caption and email it to contests@gamespot.com:


"Sticks and stone will break my bones, but __________________."

Want an example? Here's a freebie! (But you can't use it as an entry):
"Sticks and stones my break my bones but I will always love you."

The Rules:
You must be a GameSpot Registrant
Deadline to submit your entry for this contest is January 11th at 10:00am PST
Email your entry to contests@gamespot.com with the subject "Dokuro Caption Contest" making sure to include your mailing address and your GameSpot Username

Prizing:
Three (3) winners will be selected for the Dokuro Caption Contest, each of the three (3) winners will receive 1 copy of Dokuro for the PS Vita. Winners will be determined based on a raffle of all the entrants for the Dokuro Caption Contest on Friday, January 11th.


19.51 | 0 komentar | Read More

This Week in Games - December 22, 2012

Happy Holidays! BioShock, bankruptcy, Borderlands DLC, the decline of western civilization, Bobbty Kotick's dating life, and the NRA.

Attempts to find some kind of meaning, and something to vilify, in the wake of a tragedy such as the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, are completely understandable. As seems to be the norm of late, attention is yet again turning to violent video games as something to be singled-out for blame. The political attention began this week with this Tweet from Obama administration advisor David Axelrod.

This sparked plenty of attention on Twitter, and fueled a number of stories throughout the week predicting an escalation of finger-pointing in gaming's direction. It arrived in force on Wednesday when Democratic West Virginia senator Jay Rockefeller (picture below, and no - that's not this particular bill he's waving around) introduced a bill to congress that would task the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to study the effects of violent video games and other programs on children. The measure comes less than a week after the horrors at Sandy Hook. "Major corporations, including the video game industry, make billions on marketing and selling violent content to children," Rockefeller said in a statement on his website. "They have a responsibility to protect our children. If they do not, you can count on the Congress to take a more aggressive role." The bill would direct the NAS to conduct a "comprehensive study and investigation" of the link between violent games and other violent video programming and harmful effects on children. More specifically, the NAS would be charged with looking into whether or not video games cause children to act aggressively or "otherwise hurt their wellbeing," and if so, determine if that effect is notably distinguishable from other types of media. This study would also look at the "direct and long-lasting impact" of violent content on a child's well-being. "With respect to violent video games, NAS must look at whether current or emerging aspects of games, like their interactive nature and the personal and vivid way violence is portrayed, have a unique impact on kids," the statement reads. Separately, Rockefeller said he will call on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to further their work in this area. "Changes in technology now allow kids to access violent content online with less parental involvement. It is time for these two agencies to take a fresh look at these issues," he said. If the bill passes, NAS must submit a report on its study within 18 months to Congress as well as the FTC and FCC.

If you've been following this kind of thing for the last few years, you'll no doubt be rolling your eyes at yet another potential waste of government resources and taxpayer money. After all, previous studies of this nature have failed to turn up any data that supports a connection between violent games and real world gun violence, so why will this one show anything different? The Washington Post ran a story on Monday this week demonstrating that video game consumption "does not seem to correlate at all with an increase in gun violence," and cited data from 10 different countries including Germany, Australia, South Korea, and the Netherlands. The outlier on gun violence? The United States.

On Friday, the National Rifle Association finally broke their silence on the subject, taking the opportunity to finger violent games as partially to blame for last week's tragedy. "There exists in this country a callous, corrupt, and corrupting shadow industry that sells, and sows, violence against its own people," NRA executive vice president Wayne LaPierre said. "Through vicious, violent video games with names like Bulletstorm, Grand Theft Auto, Mortal Kombat, and Splatterhouse. And here's one: it's called Kindergarten Killers. It's been online for 10 years. How come my research department could find it and all of yours either couldn't or didn't want anyone to know you had found it?" He went on to question whether violent media of any kind should be called entertainment. "But is that what it really is?" he questioned. "Isn't fantasizing about killing people as a way to get your kicks really the filthiest form of pornography?"

"Isn't fantasizing about killing people as a way to get your kicks really the filthiest form of pornography?" - Wayne LaPierre, NRA

LaPierre argued that media conglomerates are caught up in a "race to the bottom," and in fact compete with each other to "shock, violate, and offend every standard of civilized society." Complicit in this behavior, according to LaPierre, is the national media, their corporate owners, and stockholders, who are "silent enablers" and even "co-conspirators." He claimed media "demonize" lawful gun owners and "fill the national debate with misinformation and dishonest thinking."

The NRA's solution? "As parents, we do everything we can to keep our children safe. It is now time for us to assume responsibility for their safety at school. The only way to stop a monster from killing our kids is to be personally involved and invested in a plan of absolute protection. The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. Would you rather have your 911 call bring a good guy with a gun from a mile away ‚ or a minute away?"

If you want to read the full text of the statement, you can find a PDF of it here. LaPierre's comments drew a sharp response from gun-control advocates. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg accused the NRA of "a shameful evasion of the crisis facing our country. They offered a paranoid, dystopian vision of a more dangerous and violent America where everyone is armed and no place is safe," he said.

Please share your feelings on the subject in the comments. There's certainly plenty to chew on.

BioShock Infinite Hype Continues

Irrational Games creative director Ken Levine has offered a tease regarding the BioShock Infinite endgame. Speaking to Outside Xbox, Levine claimed the game's ending is unprecedented and consequently may not be full accepted or embraced by all fans of the franchise. "The plot actually gets more interesting as it goes on, Levine said. "The end of the game, I can't tell whether people will like it or not like it. I can say it's something we're incredibly proud of. It's like nothing you've actually experienced in a video game before. It's quite unique and quite particular to this world, these characters, and this franchise." Levine didn't share much more on the subject, however he did say Irrational is working to make sure the story doesn't decline in its second half, as many feel was the case in the original BioShock. "You had a situation there where you had this amazing character and once he's gone the story loses some of its steam," he said. "That is something we took to heart in this game."

Levine bookended this statement on Wednesday by releasing video of the first five minutes of the game (below. Watch it at your peril.) "Want to see the first few minutes of Infinite?" he asked on Twitter. "If you watch it and complain about SPOILERS, you're dead to me."

Keeping up the media onslaught ahead of the Holiday break, Levine held a Reddit Ask Me Anything session on Thursday where he talked about his inspirations and motivations. When asked about the decision to stick to a first person perspective to tell the new game's story, he explained that the method allows for a more intimate level of detail. "I love first person because it gets you so close to the detail of the world," Levine said. "[BioShock Infinite] wouldn't work in any other perspective." He was also asked if he would consider tackling other genres for different products in the future, but he did not respond. Later in the session, Levine revealed that original BioShock and BioShock 2 composer Garry Schyman is returning to create the music for BioShock Infinite. Levine teased that Schyman's score this time around is "very different" from the first two games, but at the same time "very much guided by the same aesthetic principles."

THQ Filed Chapter 11, Ubisoft May Pick Up Pieces

Beleaguered Saints Row publisher THQ filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Wednesday. The company has entered into an asset purchase agreement with a bidder to acquire "substantially all of the assets of THQ's operating business." This includes THQ's four wholly-owned studios and games in development. "The sale will allow THQ to shed certain legacy obligations and emerge with the strong financial backing of a new owner with substantial experience in software and technology," the company said in a statement. The company's day-to-day operations will not be affected during the sale period, the company said. Every THQ studio remains open and development on all projects (Saints Row 4, Homefront 2, Metro: Last Night, South Park: The Stick of Truth, and Company of Heroes 2 along with the unannounced game from Assassin's Creed developer Patrice D√©silets at the company's Montreal studio) is unaffected. No layoffs are expected. Employees will continue to work on their usual schedules and will receive their previously agreed upon compensation and benefits. "The sale and filing are necessary next steps to complete THQ‚ transformation and position the company for the future, as we remain confident in our existing pipeline of games, the strength of our studios, and THQ‚ deep bench of talent," said THQ CEO Brian Farrell in a statement. "We are grateful to our outstanding team of employees, partners and suppliers who have worked with us through this transition. We are pleased to have attracted a strong financial partner for our business, and we hope to complete the sale swiftly to make the process as seamless as possible."

"We have incredible, creative talent here at THQ," new THQ president Jason Rubin said. "We look forward to partnering with experienced investors for a new start as we will continue to use our intellectual property assets to develop high-quality core games, create new franchise titles, and drive demand through both traditional and digital channels." Rubin spent much of the day responding to questions on Twitter. He assured concerned gamers that he is doing "everything in my power" to ensure that the Saints Row sequel, in particular, is unaffected by the changes. To hammer the point home, he made this comment accompanied by a photo of himself wielding the iconic dildo bat from Saints Row 3.

In a blog post at the end of the day, Rubin noted "Chapter 11 is a safety net for U.S. companies. American Airlines is currently in Chapter 11 restructuring, yet I flew back and forth on that airline when I visited Volition two weeks ago. Donald Trump and his companies have been in Chapter 11 four times. You can add to that list household names such as Macy‚ Eddie Bauer, the Chicago Cubs, Chrysler, Delta Airlines, General Motors, the Pittsburgh Penguins, Marvel Studios, and MGM, among many others. MGM filed Chapter 11 two years ago, and this year it released ‚ Skyfall‚ and ‚ The Hobbit,‚ two of the biggest titles of the year. That‚ what I mean when I say new start!"

On Friday morning it was revealed that Ubisoft is one of the top candidates interested in purchasing THQ's assets,. Sources told trade news site MCV that the French publisher has shown interest in buying THQ's wholly-owned studios and franchises. As you may recall, this is not the first time Ubisoft has publicly acknowledged interest in THQ. Last month, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said, "They have good things. We are always interested in good brands. For sure, it's something we can consider, but I can't tell you more." MCV's sources say Ubisoft has held "lengthy discussions" with THQ to get a deal done. One of the main sticking points in the negotiations, according to the sources, is that of price. Ubisoft is reportedly interested in a "bargain buy," and will hold out until THQ decides to sell specific properties instead of a total package.

The War Z Woes

Dissatisfied consumers took to Reddit early this week to voice their concerns surrounding the release of The War Z on Steam. Users accused developer Hammerpoint Interactive of releasing a patch for the Steam version of the game following Reddit reports that claimed this version of the game wasn't complete. According to Reddit user "IAmFluffey", the patch "proves [Hammerpoint Interactive's] quick money-grabbing and game-breaking schemes."

"After changing the description of their game due to [Reddit user] TotalHailbut calling them out on false advertising, they have now updated the game with a new patch," he continued. The post goes on to list a variety of changes in the new patch, including "increasing the respawn-timer from 1 hour to 4 hours", while adding a "revive" button where players can spend real-world money to revive instantly. Reddit users have suggested that this addition forces players into a micro-transaction model. According to the post, the update is also forcing players to sign a terms of service agreement before playing, which reportedly "disallows refunds" of the game. After publishing a similar thread on the Steam forums, user "IAmFluffey" was reportedly banned. The users claim that Hammerpoint Interactive subsequently shut down the entire The War Z discussion thread on Steam.

On Wednesday the game itself was removed from Steam. A Valve representative told Kotaku that the game was mistakenly published in the store and will not return until the company speaks with Hammerpoint Interactive to resolve issues. "From time to time a mistake can be made and one was made by prematurely issuing a copy of War Z for sale via Steam," the Valve rep said. "We apologize for this and have temporary [sic] removed the sale offering of the title until we have time to work with the developer and have confidence in a new build." Gamers who already bought The War Z can continue to play it. Those who bought the game and are not satisfied can seek a refund by opening a support ticket at Valve's website.

On Thursday, Arma II mod Day Z creator Dean Hall spoke out about the situation, saying the controversy had left him "depressed" and led to him considering quitting game development altogether. Writing on Reddit as "rocket2guns," Hall broke his silence, saying, "I know I have been very quiet lately. So this will be really all I'll say for the moment. I've been pretty depressed about the whole situation," Hall said. "From a personal standpoint, this whole 'saga' of the development made me seriously question if I wanted to be involved in the industry and I gave serious thought to cutting my losses and not being involved in the project." Hall said he has been "hammered" with requests from media and fans alike, asking for his take on the situation and for further information about Day Z. He declined to provide any insight, noting he is keeping to himself while working on the standalone version of Day Z, which is scheduled for release next year.

Minecraft Documentary Hits This Weekend

Minecraft: The Story of Mojang will premiere Saturday, December 22 on Xbox Live. The documentary from 2Player Productions will be available for Xbox Live Gold subscribers in the U.S., UK, Ireland, Belgium, Portugal, Austria, France, Finland, and Sweden. As for the film itself, Minecraft: The Story of Mojang follows Notch, and documents the challenges he faced during the company's first year. It addresses the massive success of Minecraft, and also features insight from journalists and industry professionals. The documentary began its life as a Kickstarter project in February 2011 and surpassed its $150,000 target, raking in a total of $210,297 when it closed in March of that year.

The Business News Part. Stay Awake

Electronic Arts has been removed from the NASDAQ-100, an index of the 100 largest domestic and international non-financial companies. Electronic Arts was pushed out as part of NASDAQ's annual reshuffling of the list to make room for newcomers like Western Digital and Liberty Global, and the new list will be effective from December 24. EA had a rough time of it this year, with shares hitting their lowest prices since 1999 partially due to its struggle to retain subscribers to Star Wars: The Old Republic, a game rumored to be one of the most expensive (if not the most expensive) video game ever made. Netflix, Blackberry maker RIM, and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters were also dropped. Major EA competitor Activision is now the only traditional video game publisher to remain on the NASDAQ-100 list, though several companies with ties to the business like Microsoft and Nvidia remain.

‚ Think about what it‚ like for my dating life when the first picture that comes up is me as the Devil." - Robert Kotick, Activision

Speaking of Activision, CEO Robert Kotick was profiled by the New York Times this week, in which he noted that firing Infinity Ward head honchos Jason West and Vince Zampella in 2010 was not a difficult decision for him to make. Kotick addressed the swift and severe action taken against the high-profile developers. You find out two executives are planning to break their contracts, keep the money you gave them, and steal 40 employees. What do you do? You fire them,‚ Kotick said. Activision's high-profile court case against West and Zampella, along with those 40 former Infinity Ward developers, was settled in May this year before it could be heard by a trial. Terms of the deal were not disclosed at the time and have not been since, though one analyst previously projected this figure to be in the tens of millions. Elsewhere in the profile, it was revealed why the massively popular Call of Duty brand has not spawned a Hollywood adaptation. Kotick said game-to-film adaptations rarely work out and could in fact blemish the franchise. Hollywood studios have reached out to Activision, he said, though all requests thus far have been denied.

Kotick also noted in the profile that the online hate (which frequently manifests as Photoshopped pictures of him with horns) directed his way is cramping his style with the ladies. Think about what it‚ like for my dating life when the first picture that comes up is me as the Devil,‚ he said, noting that he is recently divorced. ‚ You see all this chatter and you realize that they game the search results. These super-sophisticated 19-year-olds are smarter than our expensive PR firm.‚

On the subject of unpopular game publisher CEO's, here's something about everyone's least favorite gaming executive. Zynga CEO Mark Pincus was awarded the illustrious title of one of the "worst CEOs of 2012," by Dartmouth College Tuck School of Business professor Sydney Finkelstein. His list of the five worst honchos was published at Bloomberg, and provided multiple reasons for why Pincus came up short this year. Finkelstein said Pincus made some "rookie mistakes" including depending far too heavily on Facebook. Additionally, the professor cited Pincus unloading 16 million Zynga shares as a reason to believe he may not have much confidence in his own company. As you'd expect, Zynga's PR folks were reluctant to give comment to Bloomberg and have also not responded to GameSpot's requests either. The other four CEOs named were Best Buy's Brian Dunn, Chesapeake Energy top executive Aubrey McClendon, Avon's Andrea Jung, and Bankia executive Rodrigo Rata. Zynga shares have tanked this year. After peaking in March at around $15, the company's per-share value as of Friday stands at $2.32.

Get Your Own Gravity Gun

On a much lighter subject: Fans wishing that Gordon Freeman's iconic Gravity Gun was a real thing are in luck. Kinda. Toy maker Neca will release a 1:1 recreation of the classic Half-Life weapon this spring, the company announced through its blog. A price for the gun was not announced and quantities will be limited, much as they were for the original version of the firm's Portal gun earlier this year. As any self-respecting fan is aware, the Gravity Gun's real name is the Zero Point Energy Field Manipulator. It first appeared in Half-Life 2, given to players by Alyx Vance at Black Mesa East. Neca's Gravity Gun will be on display at the 2013 New York Toy Fair in February and preorders for the toy will begin "soon." The company has created a prototype, which shows that the Gravity Gun will also light up.

On the subject of Half-Life and Valve, the Steam sale season kicked off on Thursday this week. Among the many bargains is the entire Valve Collection for just $49.99.

Godus Crowd-funded

Peter Molyneux's new God game Godus reached its Kickstarter goal on Wednesday, with just under two days to go to its final funding deadline. The fund closed at over £526,000 ($850,385) pledged of an original £450,000 ($727,515) target. Godus, as you may be aware, is a reinvention of Molyneux's classic God game Populous. It is in development at 22Cans for PC, Mac, and mobile devices, and will not require a constant Internet connection for its single-player mode. The game is due out during September 2013. Separately, 22Cans announced that it has been contacted by a range of composers and musicians wishing to contribute to Godus. One such musician is Harry Waters, son of Pink Floyd bassist and vocalist Roger Waters. No firm collaboration plans have been nailed down yet, but 22Cans said it is exploring how it can work with Harry Waters on the soundtrack for Godus.

Sir Hammerlock Cometh

The third batch of downloadable content for Borderlands 2 has been revealed. Due out January 15 (that's my birthday, in case you care) for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC will be Sir Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt. It follows Captain Scarlett and Her Captain's Booty and Mr. Torgue's Campaign of Carnage. Sir Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt is included with the $30 Borderlands 2 Season Pass and will be available for others at $10. The content adds a new zone called Aegrus, as well as new areas to explore like Savage Lands, Lodge, and Scylla's Grove. It also brings new hunting-themed weapons (including legendary weapons) and loot, and a fanboat vehicle, which is kinda similar to the sand skiff from Pirate's Booty. The new content takes place just after the end of Borderlands 2, and pits players against a new villain named Professor Nakayama. You will also be battling new creatures including Wetland Drifters, Spores, Armored Boroks, Scaylions, Bandit-style Savage Warriors, and a new Seraph Guardian team raid boss called Voracidous. What's most interesting about these creatures is that there are new behaviors associated with them, notably more of a tribal hierarchy whereby "chiefs" both coordinate and heal their minions. Savages are controlled by Witch Doctors, the Varkid-like Scaylions have a queen that controls their behavior.

Happy Holidays!

This is the final (and looking back at it, somwhat depressing--sorry about that) entry in This Week in Games for 2012, as it will be on a break during the Holidays. Have an excellent season, plays some awesome games, and have a great New Year. See you in 2013.


19.51 | 0 komentar | Read More
techieblogger.com Techie Blogger Techie Blogger