http://auth.gamespot.com/ Gamespot's Everything Feed! News, Reviews, Videos. Exploding with content? You bet. en-us Thu, 10 Apr 2014 05:07:54 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/this-family-guy-game-wants-to-make-you-laugh-not-rob-your-wallet/1100-6418759/ <div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6418201" data-width="854" data-height="480"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6418201/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p dir="ltr" style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style=""><em>"How many reliable sources of laughter do you have in your life, every day? Every time you open your device and play this game, you will have at least a laugh."</em></p><p dir="ltr" style="">That's a quote from TinyCo business head Andrew Green, describing his company's upcoming mobile game based on the Family Guy universe. It's a bold claim, for sure, but after meeting with Green at his company's office in San Francisco and learning about what his team hopes to deliver, it sounds to me like he's put the right pieces in place to pull off a hit with the appropriately (and hilariously) titled <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/family-guy-mobile-game-gets-release-date-has-you-rebuilding-quahog-after-insane-chicken-fight/1100-6418760/" data-ref-id="1100-6418760">Family Guy: The Quest For Stuff</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">I caught up with Green--a former Take-Two and Electronic Arts manager--and we spoke at length about almost every facet of the new Family Guy game. How it got off the ground, how it is similar to and different than <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheSimpsonsTappedOut" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">The Simpsons: Tapped Out</a>, the stigma attached to free-to-play games, and the ugly track-record that licensed games have. We discussed these topics and more. Below are highlights from our conversation.</p><p dir="ltr" style=""><strong>The Genesis of Family Guy: The Quest For Stuff:</strong></p><blockquote data-align="right"><p dir="ltr" style="">"People are going to draw comparisons between Simpsons: Tapped Out and Family Guy"</p></blockquote><p dir="ltr" style="">"I personally reached out to FOX myself because we didn't have any contacts there and we just started the conversation there. We had identified some of the properties that we would love to work with. There's literally a list of like 150 different properties...so many brands that we were interested in working on. I'm a huge nerd myself, like an actual nerd--I have social anxiety. I love storyworlds, a lot of people [at TinyCo] love storyworlds, if you walk around [our office] you'll see toys and whatnot and we have such a great process and platform for development and we just thought that bringing that to properties that people are already love for a variety of reasons was a really cool thing to do. Family Guy was one of our top ones though; we went and talked to FOX and then the process kind of went on from there."</p><p dir="ltr" style=""><strong>How Family Guy: The Quest For Stuff Is <em>Not</em> Like The Simpson's: Tapped Out:</strong></p><p dir="ltr" style="">"People are going to draw comparisons between Simpsons: Tapped Out and Family Guy, but I think the key differentiator that you'll see...I think Simpsons Tapped Out is much more just straight collection; build and collect. Whereas [Family Guy: The Quest For Stuff] is all narrative-driven, which is really important for Family Guy because the humor is all about the character interactions, the cutaways, the randomness, the references, the insanity. And if you're just doing collect and build, you're not going to get access to as much of that. The core pillar of the game that we have when we first started was '<em>A Laugh Every Session</em>' and I think we really nailed that. I find the game to be hilarious. And we worked with the writers at FOX Television, we have writers internally also, so it's been a really collaborative effort there. And we've written tons of new stories, there's a lot of new animation, but chiefly, there's a lot of story and a lot of character interaction that drives the loop that could be seen as similar to Tapped Out."</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2497091-fg1.png" data-ref-id="1300-2497091" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2497091-fg1.png" data-ref-id="1300-2497091"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1179/11799911/2497091-fg1.png"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">"I don't want to go out on a limb and say it's an adventure game, but there is the element where you need certain things to actually motivate people. In the initial play session, Chris wet himself and needs new pants. There's a way that Peter can get him new pants; it's not like a coins or XP; there's actual materials that are story materials that drive the story forward. There's a lot more character discourse and narrative [than Tapped Out] and I think the other thing is there's some also major world...the interaction with the world. You might go and do a quest and then all of sudden your entire playspace is on fire. So it's stuff like that. The depth of the features are still rolling out. You'll end up with chickens on fire that will run around your playspace. Stuff like that. And so there's just a lot more randomness and interesting narrative elements."</p><p dir="ltr" style=""><strong>On The Pressure of Working On One Of Fox's Biggest Brands:</strong></p><p dir="ltr" style="">"It's actually been really good. I've been lucky to be involved initially a lot more with the writers here and at FOX and [Family Guy production studio Fuzzy Door]. It's pretty great. We write, they write, they edit, but essentially we want them to be as involved as possible. They're the experts, and they're hilarious and brilliant. We have a bunch of jokes that we'll write--maybe sometimes 50 percent, sometimes 40 percent, sometimes 30 percent will just get tossed. And it's just like a very collaborative process. And a lot of times we get back stuff or they have an idea and they get very involved in the process. And I think one of the things that was really important for it was to give them a platform that they understood to develop content in and then understand how to interact with us. And I think they actually have, at this point, a really deep understanding of the mechanics and how the game flows and that's where all their ideation really kills it."</p><p dir="ltr" style=""><strong>Family Guy Creator Seth MacFarlane Is Not Very Involved, But Did You Think He Would Be?</strong></p><p dir="ltr" style="">"Seth has been involved in approvals and more high-level stuff, but he hasn't been feet-on-the-ground. That's why he has the organization that he has. All the people there are entrusted with creating show content so they're amazing writers trusted by both the showrunners and Seth to be creating content. And so I think they can speak the quality through. I know he's very, very involved, in the brand and in the show. He definitely has been involved in the game, but it's not like we sit down."</p><p dir="ltr" style=""><strong>Family Guy: The Quest For Stuff Was Always Going To Be A Free-To-Play Game:</strong></p><blockquote data-align="right"><p dir="ltr" style="">"First and foremost I'm a gamer, been a gamer since I was 4 years old; I understand all the issues that free-to-play would bring."</p></blockquote><p dir="ltr" style="">TinyCo's always made free-to-play mobile games. We were one of the first free-to-play mobile game developers on mobile devices in general back in 2009/2010. Solving a lot of the issues with the mobile infrastructure in general and how to make free-to-play mobile games. That's one of our specialties, free-to-play mobile, and this was always conceived as a free to play mobile game."</p><p dir="ltr" style=""><strong>On The "Free-to-Play" Stigma And How Family Guy Will Be "Fair":</strong></p><p dir="ltr" style="">Customers...their thoughts, their feelings on our products are important. Any and all customers. You want to listen to your customers, you want to understand what they're talking about. I come from a traditional games background; first and foremost I'm a gamer, been a gamer since I was 4 years old; I understand all the issues that free-to-play would bring and I think it's actually a really interesting topic. It's a lot more nuanced than the black and white conversation that some people have. If you look at a lot of our games or even Simpsons: Tapped Out or a myriad of other popular free-to-play games that are in this space right now, people are monetizing, people are engaging, people are enjoying themselves with these games."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"I think the disconnect comes from 'what type of experiences fits what platform' For instance, I play <a href="/borderlands-2/" data-ref-id="false">Borderlands 2</a> on console, I have my expectations set, I know how I'm going to play. I'm gonna lean back, I'm gonna drive through quest after quest, loot after loot; do I really want someone cherry picking $1.99 here or there? Interestingly, I've spent money on microtransactions for Borderlands 2, and I bet you if they threw out a new gun a week for $1.99 I'd buy it. So Borderlands is a very different type of experience on a very different platform than Family Guy is on its platform. And if I were to talk about experiences like a Borderlands or games that have PvP specifically, pay to win sucks. It just makes everyone that feels like their skill or their abilities that they're bringing to the game are moot because I could just loot up through hundreds of dollars of transactions and then I could just dominate whoever I wanted to because I'm just superior. And that to me strikes as unfair. It just feels unfair. Those kinds of games are really complex; the systems are complex, the moment-to-moment gameplay is really complex; the relationship the gamer has to those games is so much more entrenched and competitive and their heart is in it; it's skill, it's competition, and it's taken seriously.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1197/11970954/2384427-bl2_hunger_wattlegobbler.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2384427" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1197/11970954/2384427-bl2_hunger_wattlegobbler.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2384427"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1197/11970954/2384427-bl2_hunger_wattlegobbler.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">"What's funny is that this has been going on for a very long time. There are free-to-play games that have been out there since 1994. Magic: The Gathering is essentially a free-to-play game. Where you can essentially build a deck for $400; yeah, you'll probably still get your butt kicked by some other people, as I've learned over and over again, but yeah, you can buy your way into being competitive. That's an issue for those games. I think that's a very different issue than what people bring to...when they look at a free-to-play mobile game. I think they're not taking into account the platform to the game. So you look at games like the ones that we've made in the past or you look at a game like Family Guy that we're making now and what we're essentially doing is we're giving you access to a world that you love and you're getting bite-sized content access on your mobile devices. To me I think that's super-cool. Simpsons is a great example of that. I think even our games Tiny Monsters, Tiny Zoo, obviously these are much simpler games with brands that aren't as deep; the characters aren't as deep, the worlds aren't as deep, but that's the great value of Family Guy. So now I get to have a bite-sized content moment with Family Guy. I get to interact with the characters; I get to even play around with it a bit. And the monetization comes from the customization and the depth...more like speed of access. And it allows us to create a ton more content over a longer period of time and people can access pretty much all of that content for free as well. And it's a pretty big value in my opinion."</p><blockquote data-align="right"><p dir="ltr" style="">"I think that there could be more innovation in the free-to-play space in general and I think we're going to continue to work on that"</p></blockquote><p dir="ltr" style="">"There's going to be customization as well as some premium elements, but eventually you are going to be prompted for microtransactions as part of the new user experience; we want that to be a really good experience. And we want to make sure that when you do get to the point where you have to potentially pay to go more quickly through the progression than waiting on the progression, that that's not an unforgiving thing. We also want there to be things that you can do that if you're waiting, there's other things for you to do so that you're not just waiting and that's that. The game and the model is actually a pretty good fit and I think that there could be more innovation in the free-to-play space in general and I think we're going to continue to work on that--on balancing the reward vs. the amount of what the user is putting in. I think that's important. And I do think that we've balanced it pretty well on Family Guy. And I think that the one takeaway that I think is really important is 'is the quality of what you're producing going to drive people to be happy with that dynamic?' And I think Yes. I think that people are going to get incredibly rich, premium story, adventure, access to the characters. It's actually very valuable.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"That's the thing that we really focus on here is to make sure that the game is valuable, and that it's funny, and that the brand flies out of your phone at you. I think it really sings. At that point, as a player, you get to decide do I want to purchase more quickly or should I wait? But the value is there in my opinion and that's what important."</p><p dir="ltr" style=""><strong>You'll Know What You're Getting When You're Prompted For A Microtransaction:</strong></p><p dir="ltr" style="">"We illustrate that pretty directly, always. It's important that our customers understand what they are paying for and why they are paying for it. That's one of the points of good communication, good user experience. The other thing that we also have is a really great community team that actually really cares about our customers. And they're going to be heavily involved, and we have <a href="https://www.facebook.com/FamilyGuy?fref=ts" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">55 million customers [on Facebook]</a> that we're going to be talking to; we're going to make sure that all of them have the best experience they possible can have with the game. I think [the debate around free-to-play] is something that as an industry that we should be talking about. But I also think that talking about it will [remove the stigma]. It's a changing and evolving industry."</p><p dir="ltr" style=""><strong>Licensed Games <a href="http://www.metacritic.com/game/xbox-360/family-guy-back-to-the-multiverse" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Don't Have The Best Track Record</a>...Why Will Family Guy Be Different?</strong></p><p dir="ltr" style="">"What we're doing is we went to the drawing board, literally, and we were like 'What is the experience that people want to have with this brand?' And what they want is they want more of the show. They want to interact in the same way that they interact with the show. So if you can't match the world, if you can't match the humor, if you can't match the characters, the feel, then you're not going to be successful."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"Not talking about any other game, but let's say I take Snoopy. Let's say I take Snoopy and it's going to be the Snoopy shooter, and then everyone's like OK, sounds good. Let's make the Snoopy shooter. Now Snoopy is kind of just running around shooting Woodstock and everybody else, and you're not getting the normal kind of interactions between the characters that people want. Because really what you're interacting with is this mechanic. And I think console games in the past have had to rely very heavily on the mechanic and less on the experience of the IP. The best ones have been ones where they're like 'What makes this amazing? What makes being Batman the coolest thing you can possibly do?' And then how do you build a mechanic around that. As opposed to being, 'OK, third-person shooter, but you're Iron Man' [laughs]."</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/mig/7/8/0/5/2017805-669883_20121108_002.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2017805" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/mig/7/8/0/5/2017805-669883_20121108_002.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2017805"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/mig/7/8/0/5/2017805-669883_20121108_002.jpg"></a><figcaption>Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse</figcaption></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">"There are some sh***y action games that I love. I'm just a fan of sh***ty third-person action games. For instance, I play all the Spider-Man games. I love the Spider-Man games, and those, ehh, they go up and down but they're never really reviewed past a 75 or so. I love them because I get to fly around like Spidey, the fighting is pretty good, they've done enough for me as someone who likes Spider-Man. As a game, for everybody? I don't know if it's going to make the cut. I think it's all about what is the brand, what is the experience of that, how do you translate that. It's just like taking a book and adapting it to a movie. Taking anything and adapting it to anything, it's like, what makes this great? Where does that actually spirit lie and then how do we get that onto the platform--which in this case are mobile phones [which are] very different than consoles--and actually make it work? I couldn't even tell you necessarily what a successful Family Guy game on consoles looks like. I haven't done the work. But what we've made for the mobile device is the right thing because we said what people want--when they look at the screen they want to know that they feel like they're watching the show. That they feel like they're in that world, they've got ownership of that world, that the characters are completely who they are, that the writing is new and just as funny as the show; it's unique, it's hilarious, that you have that element of randomness. And that you bring out the flavor and the subversivness of the Family Guy universe in everything that you do. That it's imbued in all of the mechanics and all of the things that you're doing. And it's there."</p><p dir="ltr" style=""><strong>Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff Will Riff On Current Events As Recent As The Week Prior:</strong></p><p dir="ltr" style="">"We have weekly content cycles. So we actually can make fun of or lampoon anything that's [recent]. Our updates are going to be pretty regular. Our bigger feature updates are going to be monthly, every five weeks or so, but yes, weekly content updates."</p><p dir="ltr" style=""><b>Green Can't Wait For Someone Who's Not Familiar With Family Guy To Play The Game:</b></p><p dir="ltr" style="">"What I'm excited about [laughs] is someone who hasn't watched Family Guy who downloads the game, starts playing it, and they're just like 'What the heck?' I can't wait to see how many more people we can bring into the brand because I do think it's a very authentic brand experience. But yes, you're going to have to like [type of humor]."</p><p dir="ltr" style=""><em>Family Guy: The Quest For Stuff is available today on iOS and Android. </em></p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/EddieMakuch" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Twitter @EddieMakuch</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Thu, 10 Apr 2014 05:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/this-family-guy-game-wants-to-make-you-laugh-not-rob-your-wallet/1100-6418759/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/report-watch-dogs-targeting-1080p-on-ps4-but-what-about-xbox-one/1100-6418888/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/536/5360430/2449263-watch_dogs_running_on_ltrain_.png" data-ref-id="1300-2449263" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/536/5360430/2449263-watch_dogs_running_on_ltrain_.png" data-ref-id="1300-2449263"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/536/5360430/2449263-watch_dogs_running_on_ltrain_.png"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">In a new video interview, Ubisoft cinematics animation lead Lars Bonde told <em>PC Games</em> that the PlayStation 4 version of <a href="/watch-dogs/" data-ref-id="false">Watch Dogs</a> is targeting 1080p, but stopped short of confirming resolution details for the Xbox One iteration.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">In the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=xzkOWwTxniA" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">YouTube video</a>--which has since been set to private but was seen by <a href="http://www.computerandvideogames.com/458391/watch-dogs-ps4-targeting-1080p/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">CVG</a>--Bonde says even though there may be visual performance differences between the different versions of the game, the core gameplay will be the same regardless of what console you play on.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"The first thing I want to make clear is that, at its core, it's the same experience on current-gen and next-gen consoles. You get the same gameplay out of it," he said.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"Of course there are nuances to it," he added. "We are utilizing Xbox One to its full capabilities and the same with PS4, of course, so I know that, as far as to my knowledge, on PS4 it will run in full HD."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">This tallies with unconfirmed reports from earlier this year, which claimed that Watch Dogs on PS4 would run in 1080p while the Xbox One version would output in something less. Notably, the video in question here is the same video that Watch Dogs creative director Jonathan Morin <a href="https://twitter.com/Hurricane4343/status/453971322456903680" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">retweeted a link to yesterday</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Watch Dogs launches <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/watch-dogs-release-date-announced-for-everything-except-wii-u/1100-6417977/" data-ref-id="1100-6417977">May 27</a> for Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PS4, and PC. The Wii U version is<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/watch-dogs-for-wii-u-definitely-not-canceled/1100-6418164/" data-ref-id="1100-6418164"> coming sometime later</a>. Earlier this week, GameStop revealed that Watch Dogs will have a<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/watch-dogs-season-pass-listed-by-gamestop-contains-new-playable-character/1100-6418861/" data-ref-id="1100-6418861"> $20 DLC pass that</a>, among other things, will include a new playable character.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/EddieMakuch" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Twitter @EddieMakuch</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Thu, 10 Apr 2014 04:13:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/report-watch-dogs-targeting-1080p-on-ps4-but-what-about-xbox-one/1100-6418888/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/infamous-second-son-sells-1m-in-nine-days-meaning-roughly-a-sixth-of-all-ps4-owners-bought-it/1100-6418887/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1365/13658182/2481550-infamous_second_son_4971_pioneer+monorail.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2481550" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1365/13658182/2481550-infamous_second_son_4971_pioneer+monorail.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2481550"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1365/13658182/2481550-infamous_second_son_4971_pioneer+monorail.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""><a href="/infamous-second-son/" data-ref-id="false">inFamous: Second Son</a> shifted one million copies worldwide after nine days on sale, Sony has said.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">According to a press release <a href="http://www.computerandvideogames.com/458333/infamous-second-son-sold-1-million-units-within-9-days/" rel="nofollow">sent to CVG</a>, Sony adds that this makes it the fastest-selling inFamous title in the series, and with <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/playstation-4-crosses-6-million-sales-following-strong-japan-launch/1100-6418086/" data-ref-id="1100-6418086">six million PlayStation 4's sold around the globe</a> it means roughly one in every six console owners have snapped up a copy of the open-world game.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">inFamous: Second Son was released on March 21.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Unsurprisingly, inFamous: Second Son was also last month's <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/can-you-guess-what-the-best-selling-ps4-game-was-last-month-on-psn/1100-6418881/">best-selling game on PlayStation Network</a>. The game's <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/infamous-second-son-ps4-patch-will-let-you-cap-the-game-at-30fps/1100-6418696/">upcoming patch will bring with it some additional features</a>.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6417839" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6417839/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p dir="ltr" style=""> </p><p style=""> </p> Thu, 10 Apr 2014 03:30:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/infamous-second-son-sells-1m-in-nine-days-meaning-roughly-a-sixth-of-all-ps4-owners-bought-it/1100-6418887/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/batman-arkham-origins-shows-off-mr-freeze-dlc-in-new-5-minute-video/1100-6418886/ <div data-embed-type="video" data-src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmLCRMbHe5w" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fembed%2FhmLCRMbHe5w%3Fwmode%3Dopaque%26feature%3Doembed&wmode=opaque&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DhmLCRMbHe5w&image=http%3A%2F%2Fi1.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FhmLCRMbHe5w%2Fhqdefault.jpg&key=6efca6e5ad9640f180f14146a0bc1392&type=text%2Fhtml&schema=youtube" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style="">It's snow joke: Warner Bros. has released a 5 minute video (above) showing off its incoming Cold, Cold Heart DLC for <a href="/batman-arkham-origins/" data-ref-id="false">Batman: Arkham Origins</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The new content revolves around the frosty Mr. Freeze and an unnamed accomplice, who crashes a party at Wayne Manor, making it very difficult for Bruce Wayne and his guests to chill out. Enter Batman, who has a new thermal suit including thermal gloves that can melt through this new influx of ice. There's some new batarang and combat moves too, which is cool.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Seeing this video will almost certainly trigger a cold response from those who are victims of the game-breaking Arkham Origins bugs, mind, as Warner Bros. <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/batman-arkham-origins-has-no-plans-to-fix-several-game-breaking-bugs/1100-6417619/" data-ref-id="1100-6417619">has said it has no plans to release a patch</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Cold, Cold Heart will be released on April 22 PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Plans to release the DLC on Wii U were put on ice.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6415747" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6415747/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p dir="ltr" style=""> </p> Thu, 10 Apr 2014 03:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/batman-arkham-origins-shows-off-mr-freeze-dlc-in-new-5-minute-video/1100-6418886/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-division-enlists-ghost-recon-developer-to-create-its-weapons/1100-6418885/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1197/11970954/2399012-tctd_screen_bridge.png" data-ref-id="1300-2399012" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1197/11970954/2399012-tctd_screen_bridge.png" data-ref-id="1300-2399012"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1197/11970954/2399012-tctd_screen_bridge.png"></a></figure><p style=""><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/tom-clancys-ghost-recon-future-soldier/" data-ref-id="false">Ghost Recon: Future Soldier</a> developer Red Storm has revealed it is one of the development studios working on upcoming open-world adventure <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/tom-clancys-the-division/" data-ref-id="false">The Division</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Red Storm, based in North Carolina, will work alongside Swedish developer Massive Entertainment. The team is being put to work on creating the game's weapons.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Red Storm, which fancies itself as a bit of an expert in this field, says its accuracy in building virtual weapons comes from its connections with local military. "We've had manufacturers come in and literally disassemble the entire weapon all the way down to the nuts and bolts," said producer Tony Sturtzel, "and our guys are taking hi-res photos of those things."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"We probably have unparalleled access to these types of things because of our authenticity department and their focus on relationships. We're not ever gonna let the cat out of the bag on some of the relationships we have!"</p><p dir="ltr" style=""><a href="http://blog.ubi.com/the-division-red-storm/" rel="nofollow">Writing on the company blog</a>, Ubisoft communications manager Gary Steinman said Massive started looking to enlist an additional developer to create the game's cache of realistic weaponry back in fall 2013.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Newcastle-based UK developer Ubisoft Reflections, the team behind Driver: San Francisco, is also working on the game.</p><p style="">Ubisoft says The Division is still on track for a release in 2014, though an anonymous developer reportedly said <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-division-s-2014-release-window-is-laughable-claims-ubisoft-source-report/1100-6416976/" data-ref-id="1100-6416976">the idea of the game making it out this year was "laughable"</a>.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6409647" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6409647/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p> Thu, 10 Apr 2014 02:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-division-enlists-ghost-recon-developer-to-create-its-weapons/1100-6418885/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/sony-reveals-new-post-apocalyptic-mmo-game-h1z1/1100-6418884/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2502818-8.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2502818" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2502818-8.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2502818"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/280/2802776/2502818-8.jpg"></a></figure><p style="">Sony Online Entertainment has unveiled its next project, a massively multiplayer online game called H1Z1 that is set in a post-apocalyptic world. Sony Online Entertainment president John Smedley <a href="https://twitter.com/j_smedley/status/453677984252043264" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">tweeted </a>that players would be able to play the game "soon".</p><p style="">A <a href="https://www.h1z1.com/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">teaser site </a>for the game has also gone live, which links to the official <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/h1z1" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">subreddit </a>for the game.</p><p style="">According to Sony Online Entertainment, the free-to-play game will see players "fight for survival" in a world ravaged by a fictional virus named H1Z1. Set 15 years after the initial outbreak, players will face the Infected, wild animals, and other survivors. The game will include scavenging and crafting elements.</p><p style="">Smedley also described that the game will feature a "sandbox style of gameplay", allowing players to craft shelters and fortresses.</p><blockquote data-align="right"><p style="">It's a persistent MMO that can hold thousands of players on servers we host...</p></blockquote><p style="">Addressing questions as to how this game will differ to other post-apocalyptic survival games, Smedley said, "...It's a persistent MMO that can hold thousands of players on servers we host (yes there will be multiple servers with very different rule sets). Why is that a good thing? It means a thriving economy (oh yes… there's trading). It also means you have potential allies in the all-out war on the Infected... and many an enemy as well... The Roadmap system that we built for <a href="/planetside-2/" data-ref-id="false">PlanetSide 2</a> will be used extensively to clearly communicate what features we're working on and what you can expect and when.</p><p style="">The main thing that differentiates H1Z1 from the other great games in the genre is the emphasis we are putting on player ownership and building. We want you to be able to form roving gangs that are headquartered out of an abandoned warehouse that you've taken over... or a house you've built from scratch after having cut trees down and secured the resources to make it."</p><p style="">SOE is no stranger to working on MMO games, leading development on <a href="/everquest-ii-extended/" data-ref-id="false">EverQuest II</a>, <a href="/the-matrix-online/" data-ref-id="false">The Matrix Online</a>, and the upcoming <a href="/everquest-next/" data-ref-id="false">EverQuest Next</a>.</p><p style="">Check out some screenshots of the game below.</p><figure data-embed-type="gallery" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2502823-10.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2502825-11.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2502826-14.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2502827-17.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2502823,1300-2502825,1300-2502826,1300-2502827" data-resize-urls="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/280/2802776/2502823-10.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/280/2802776/2502825-11.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/280/2802776/2502826-14.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/280/2802776/2502827-17.jpg" data-resized="" data-resize-url=""><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2502823-10.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2502823" ><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/280/2802776/2502823-10.jpg"></a><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2502825-11.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2502825" ><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/280/2802776/2502825-11.jpg"></a><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2502826-14.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2502826" ><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/280/2802776/2502826-14.jpg"></a><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2502827-17.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2502827" ><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/280/2802776/2502827-17.jpg"></a></figure><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Zorine Te is an associate editor at GameSpot, and you can follow her on <a href="https://twitter.com/ztharli" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @ztharli</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Wed, 09 Apr 2014 18:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/sony-reveals-new-post-apocalyptic-mmo-game-h1z1/1100-6418884/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/titanfall-on-xbox-360-attrition-match-gameplay/2300-6418251/ See how the Xbox 360 runs Titanfall in this Attrition match from the campaign. Wed, 09 Apr 2014 16:51:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/titanfall-on-xbox-360-attrition-match-gameplay/2300-6418251/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/titanfall-on-xbox-360-capture-the-flag-gameplay/2300-6418250/ Check out how Titanfall on the Xbox 360 runs in this capture the flag match. Wed, 09 Apr 2014 16:44:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/titanfall-on-xbox-360-capture-the-flag-gameplay/2300-6418250/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/sniper-elite-3-developer-diary-3/2300-6418249/ In their latest developer blog video, the Rebellion team answers some of the community's questions around multiplayer and co-op in Sniper Elite 3, which will both be available at launch. Check out the video for a sneak peek of the game's first co-op and multiplayer footage along with some new details on customization. Wed, 09 Apr 2014 16:41:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/sniper-elite-3-developer-diary-3/2300-6418249/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-elder-scrolls-online-review-in-progress/1100-6418883/ <p style="">Depending on who you ask, The Elder Scrolls Online might be a travesty of a role-playing game or the second coming of fantasy adventures. Brendan Caldwell at Rock Paper Shotgun is clearly <a href="http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2014/04/07/impressions-the-elder-scrolls-online/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">in the former camp</a>, for instance, while frequent GameSpot contributor Leif Johnson, writing for IGN, is having <a href="http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/03/31/the-elder-scrolls-online-review?page=1" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">a grander time</a>, particularly now that he's succumbed to the gift (or is that curse?) of lycanthropy. You might suppose that I would agree with one author more than the other, but the truth is that I reside in both camps at once, sometimes getting swept away by the mysterious missions and edge-of-your-seat player-versus-player battles, and at other times exasperated by the elements that strike me more as refined mediocrity than as triumphs of massively multiplayer design.</p><p style="">Of course, I'm not yet ready to deliver a full analysis; I have many more hours in front of me until I am comfortable writing a review of The Elder Scrolls Online. At this stage, my feelings waver so frequently that pinning them down is a game in and of itself. Case in point: the storytelling. Early on, I paid close attention to every spoken line, enamored by instantly recognizable voice actors like Liam O'Brien, whose throaty brogue could turn a reading of the New York City Yellow Pages into an intriguing epic. I enjoyed how each character turned to me to speak, and how the camera zoomed in to focus on their bodies and faces as they delivered their pleas. I was ready to invest in conversation, intrigued by stories of murderous plots and spreading paranoia.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6418240" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6418240/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p><p style="">Sadly, the narrative honeymoon has come and gone. O'Brien voices multiple characters, each of whom has no personality of which to speak. As is typical for Elder Scrolls games, the dialogue is passionless, designed to dump lore into my brain, not to develop the characters speaking it. The result is that I don't hear characters: I hear actors speaking lines. When I hear Liam's voice, I hear Liam--I don't hear the constable who needs my help combating an evil cult. And boy are there a lot of evil cults in Tamriel. For that matter, there sure are a lot of men sporting the same goatees and haircuts. There's a great need for new barbers, it seems.</p><p style="">Bone-dry writing is an Elder Scrolls tradition, but the most memorable moments I've had in the series were those that had nothing to do with the story the game was trying to tell, but the story the game allowed me to create. In <a href="/the-elder-scrolls-iii-morrowind/" data-ref-id="false">Morrowind</a>, for instance, my first sweeping dust storm inspired tales of survival I still share; the fact that I was off on some quest or another was a secondary concern. In <a href="/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim/" data-ref-id="false">Skyrim</a>, I was on an expedition to see the aurora borealis, to watch the behavior of mammoths and giants from a safe distance, to soften the dragon threat. In <a href="/the-elder-scrolls-iv-oblivion/" data-ref-id="false">Oblivion</a>, I was a silent killer, assassinating innocent victims in their sleep and taking over their homes for my personal use. By contrast, The Elder Scrolls Online doesn't offer many chances to craft a personal role. Where the player-versus-environment gameplay is concerned, you follow the quests so that you can stumble upon more quests. I am a cipher. I am whatever the plot needs me to be. I could head out on my own to new regions, but the quests and monster levels keep me confined to the prescribed heroic journey.</p><figure data-align="left" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2501955-eso+2014-04-08+21-48-28-74.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2501955" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2501955-eso+2014-04-08+21-48-28-74.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2501955"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_medium/416/4161502/2501955-eso+2014-04-08+21-48-28-74.jpg"></a><figcaption>Lightning, fire, and ice: these are the elements that make my High Elf sorcerer so dangerous. </figcaption></figure><p style="">Perhaps it's unfair to expect The Elder Scrolls Online to deliver the freedom of an offline adventure, but given its title, there's no escaping such comparisons. Certain elements of Elder Scrolls design simply don't translate to a massively multiplayer theme park, though I greatly respect Zenimax Online's dedication to immersing you as much as possible in this relatively traditional MMOG. By stripping away the expected interface elements and keeping the in-game map free of clutter, I have to look at banners to determine which vendor sells which items. By default, neither NPCs nor other players are labeled, making Tamriel an actual world inhabited by players and non-players alike, rather than being a clockwork fantasy playground. You see the people and places, rather than the names and icons that identify them. I'm able to appreciate the beauty of the fields and the ferocity of the world's cruelest creatures when miles of interface aren't blocking the way.</p><p style="">Oddly enough, however, the limited interface can hinder immersion. I summon two different creatures to fight at my side, but in the heat of battle, I can't always tell if my winged twilight is still alive; what I wouldn't give for a simple onscreen icon that would tell me at a glance. When I walk into the bank and the banker is surrounded by two dozen other players, picking out the right character to speak with can be a chore. The game's phasing technology, which allows the game to reflect changes to various areas based on past events, often makes me feel like I have exerted a powerful force on an online world. But the immersion suffers when I venture into an area with a buddy, and his character disappears because we've entered different instances of the same area. When I'm on my own, the illusion is powerful. When I'm not, the illusion is betrayed.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6418241" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6418241/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p><p style="">Given my criticisms, you might think I'm not actually enjoying my time with The Elder Scrolls Online, but that's not true, though I am greatly aware of its flaws. Yet in spite of its clear issues, which are intrinsic to its very design and not just patchable foibles, the game often imparts a fun sense of adventure. I get on my horse and gallop through Stormhaven, stopping to crush a giant crocodile, then mining iron nodes and collecting herbs. When I craft glyphs, my sorcerer intones the runes out loud, as if he's bending supernatural forces to his will. When other players stop to look at their maps, you see them perusing a parchment--such an elegant little touch, demonstrating that this fellow citizen is off on a new journey. Then there's that music, reaped from the musical ideas that composer Jeremy Soule once sowed, generically epic, yet still almost perfect given its ability to inspire nostalgic memories of adventures past. I like existing in Tamriel, even when it withholds affection and replaces it with frustration.</p><figure data-align="right" data-size="small" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2501951-eso+2014-04-08+21-28-58-74.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2501951" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2501951-eso+2014-04-08+21-28-58-74.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2501951"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_small/416/4161502/2501951-eso+2014-04-08+21-28-58-74.jpg"></a><figcaption>I'm still not sure what was going on in this weird surprise attack.</figcaption></figure><p style="">While the world at large might not offer as many emergent possibilities as I'd like, Cyrodiil provides a few exceptional delights. It's there that the player-versus-player conflict rages, and there that I've found the most joy. The three-faction persistent war isn't new to the genre, dating back to <a href="/dark-age-of-camelot-gold-edition/" data-ref-id="false">Dark Age of Camelot</a>'s excellent realm-versus-realm battles, and more recently seen in <a href="/guild-wars-2/" data-ref-id="false">Guild Wars 2</a>. Guild Wars 2's locomotion and combat are simply more fun than those elements in ESO, but ESO's battles are no less urgent. Making your way to the most entertaining battles can prove a chore given the vastness of the maps and the limitations of fast travel, but the thrills of erecting a ballista and firing flaming projectiles into masses of Ebonheart Pact invaders are unmistakable. When I reached level 15 and was able to select a secondary set of weapons and skills, I dedicated one of those sets to PvP, where my healing spells have proven to be a great asset, and are easy to pull off in the midst of combat, which is a real boon. I wish the standard combat imparted the same sense of connection and immediacy that previous Elder Scrolls games have provided, but when I'm skirting around behind the front line, keeping my teammates in tip-top shape, such concerns are rarely on my mind.</p><p style="">I am still dedicating the next week or two to more time in Tamriel, and I will publish a full review of The Elder Scrolls Online shortly thereafter. Until then, check out the replays of my <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-elder-scrolls-online-live-stream-extravaganza-archive/1100-6418605/" data-ref-id="1100-6418605">previous live streams</a>, and follow me on <a href="http://www.twitch.tv/kevinvanord" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitch</a> and <a href="http://twitter.com/fiddlecub" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter</a> to be notified of any future live streams I might broadcast. For now, I shall do my best to uphold the standards and morals of the Daggerfall Alliance. I am not sure what those standards and morals are, really, but dammit, I'm willing to fight for them!</p> Wed, 09 Apr 2014 16:39:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-elder-scrolls-online-review-in-progress/1100-6418883/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/infinity-wars-animated-trading-card-game-now-playi/2300-6418248/ Infinity Wars creator Elphie Coyle teaches us about the game, rift runs, the new faction that includes Star Trek the Next Generation, and more. Wed, 09 Apr 2014 16:39:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/infinity-wars-animated-trading-card-game-now-playi/2300-6418248/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/hitman-blood-money-gameplay-the-shaun-method-highl/2300-6418247/ Shaun somehow manages to become a knife-wielding, coin flipping killer clown in Hitman: Blood Money. Wed, 09 Apr 2014 16:38:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/hitman-blood-money-gameplay-the-shaun-method-highl/2300-6418247/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/gs-news-last-of-us-on-ps4-in-1080p-source-of-gamer/2300-6418246/ The Last of Us Remastered AND the Borderlands Pre-Sequel are confirmed and detailed, and what kind of games bring out the most aggression in gamers? Wed, 09 Apr 2014 16:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/gs-news-last-of-us-on-ps4-in-1080p-source-of-gamer/2300-6418246/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/monument-valley-mobile-minute-the-lobby/2300-6418245/ Tom Mc Shea gives us a full 60 seconds on why we should check out the visually stunning mobile hit, Monument Valley. Wed, 09 Apr 2014 15:24:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/monument-valley-mobile-minute-the-lobby/2300-6418245/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/boss-battle-in-the-elder-scrolls-online-gameplay/2300-6418244/ Use your skills to take on this large boss from The Elder Scrolls Online. Wed, 09 Apr 2014 14:37:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/boss-battle-in-the-elder-scrolls-online-gameplay/2300-6418244/
http://auth.gamespot.com/ Gamespot's Everything Feed! News, Reviews, Videos. Exploding with content? You bet. en-us Thu, 10 Apr 2014 05:07:54 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/this-family-guy-game-wants-to-make-you-laugh-not-rob-your-wallet/1100-6418759/ <div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6418201" data-width="854" data-height="480"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6418201/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p dir="ltr" style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style=""><em>"How many reliable sources of laughter do you have in your life, every day? Every time you open your device and play this game, you will have at least a laugh."</em></p><p dir="ltr" style="">That's a quote from TinyCo business head Andrew Green, describing his company's upcoming mobile game based on the Family Guy universe. It's a bold claim, for sure, but after meeting with Green at his company's office in San Francisco and learning about what his team hopes to deliver, it sounds to me like he's put the right pieces in place to pull off a hit with the appropriately (and hilariously) titled <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/family-guy-mobile-game-gets-release-date-has-you-rebuilding-quahog-after-insane-chicken-fight/1100-6418760/" data-ref-id="1100-6418760">Family Guy: The Quest For Stuff</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">I caught up with Green--a former Take-Two and Electronic Arts manager--and we spoke at length about almost every facet of the new Family Guy game. How it got off the ground, how it is similar to and different than <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheSimpsonsTappedOut" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">The Simpsons: Tapped Out</a>, the stigma attached to free-to-play games, and the ugly track-record that licensed games have. We discussed these topics and more. Below are highlights from our conversation.</p><p dir="ltr" style=""><strong>The Genesis of Family Guy: The Quest For Stuff:</strong></p><blockquote data-align="right"><p dir="ltr" style="">"People are going to draw comparisons between Simpsons: Tapped Out and Family Guy"</p></blockquote><p dir="ltr" style="">"I personally reached out to FOX myself because we didn't have any contacts there and we just started the conversation there. We had identified some of the properties that we would love to work with. There's literally a list of like 150 different properties...so many brands that we were interested in working on. I'm a huge nerd myself, like an actual nerd--I have social anxiety. I love storyworlds, a lot of people [at TinyCo] love storyworlds, if you walk around [our office] you'll see toys and whatnot and we have such a great process and platform for development and we just thought that bringing that to properties that people are already love for a variety of reasons was a really cool thing to do. Family Guy was one of our top ones though; we went and talked to FOX and then the process kind of went on from there."</p><p dir="ltr" style=""><strong>How Family Guy: The Quest For Stuff Is <em>Not</em> Like The Simpson's: Tapped Out:</strong></p><p dir="ltr" style="">"People are going to draw comparisons between Simpsons: Tapped Out and Family Guy, but I think the key differentiator that you'll see...I think Simpsons Tapped Out is much more just straight collection; build and collect. Whereas [Family Guy: The Quest For Stuff] is all narrative-driven, which is really important for Family Guy because the humor is all about the character interactions, the cutaways, the randomness, the references, the insanity. And if you're just doing collect and build, you're not going to get access to as much of that. The core pillar of the game that we have when we first started was '<em>A Laugh Every Session</em>' and I think we really nailed that. I find the game to be hilarious. And we worked with the writers at FOX Television, we have writers internally also, so it's been a really collaborative effort there. And we've written tons of new stories, there's a lot of new animation, but chiefly, there's a lot of story and a lot of character interaction that drives the loop that could be seen as similar to Tapped Out."</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2497091-fg1.png" data-ref-id="1300-2497091" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2497091-fg1.png" data-ref-id="1300-2497091"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1179/11799911/2497091-fg1.png"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">"I don't want to go out on a limb and say it's an adventure game, but there is the element where you need certain things to actually motivate people. In the initial play session, Chris wet himself and needs new pants. There's a way that Peter can get him new pants; it's not like a coins or XP; there's actual materials that are story materials that drive the story forward. There's a lot more character discourse and narrative [than Tapped Out] and I think the other thing is there's some also major world...the interaction with the world. You might go and do a quest and then all of sudden your entire playspace is on fire. So it's stuff like that. The depth of the features are still rolling out. You'll end up with chickens on fire that will run around your playspace. Stuff like that. And so there's just a lot more randomness and interesting narrative elements."</p><p dir="ltr" style=""><strong>On The Pressure of Working On One Of Fox's Biggest Brands:</strong></p><p dir="ltr" style="">"It's actually been really good. I've been lucky to be involved initially a lot more with the writers here and at FOX and [Family Guy production studio Fuzzy Door]. It's pretty great. We write, they write, they edit, but essentially we want them to be as involved as possible. They're the experts, and they're hilarious and brilliant. We have a bunch of jokes that we'll write--maybe sometimes 50 percent, sometimes 40 percent, sometimes 30 percent will just get tossed. And it's just like a very collaborative process. And a lot of times we get back stuff or they have an idea and they get very involved in the process. And I think one of the things that was really important for it was to give them a platform that they understood to develop content in and then understand how to interact with us. And I think they actually have, at this point, a really deep understanding of the mechanics and how the game flows and that's where all their ideation really kills it."</p><p dir="ltr" style=""><strong>Family Guy Creator Seth MacFarlane Is Not Very Involved, But Did You Think He Would Be?</strong></p><p dir="ltr" style="">"Seth has been involved in approvals and more high-level stuff, but he hasn't been feet-on-the-ground. That's why he has the organization that he has. All the people there are entrusted with creating show content so they're amazing writers trusted by both the showrunners and Seth to be creating content. And so I think they can speak the quality through. I know he's very, very involved, in the brand and in the show. He definitely has been involved in the game, but it's not like we sit down."</p><p dir="ltr" style=""><strong>Family Guy: The Quest For Stuff Was Always Going To Be A Free-To-Play Game:</strong></p><blockquote data-align="right"><p dir="ltr" style="">"First and foremost I'm a gamer, been a gamer since I was 4 years old; I understand all the issues that free-to-play would bring."</p></blockquote><p dir="ltr" style="">TinyCo's always made free-to-play mobile games. We were one of the first free-to-play mobile game developers on mobile devices in general back in 2009/2010. Solving a lot of the issues with the mobile infrastructure in general and how to make free-to-play mobile games. That's one of our specialties, free-to-play mobile, and this was always conceived as a free to play mobile game."</p><p dir="ltr" style=""><strong>On The "Free-to-Play" Stigma And How Family Guy Will Be "Fair":</strong></p><p dir="ltr" style="">Customers...their thoughts, their feelings on our products are important. Any and all customers. You want to listen to your customers, you want to understand what they're talking about. I come from a traditional games background; first and foremost I'm a gamer, been a gamer since I was 4 years old; I understand all the issues that free-to-play would bring and I think it's actually a really interesting topic. It's a lot more nuanced than the black and white conversation that some people have. If you look at a lot of our games or even Simpsons: Tapped Out or a myriad of other popular free-to-play games that are in this space right now, people are monetizing, people are engaging, people are enjoying themselves with these games."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"I think the disconnect comes from 'what type of experiences fits what platform' For instance, I play <a href="/borderlands-2/" data-ref-id="false">Borderlands 2</a> on console, I have my expectations set, I know how I'm going to play. I'm gonna lean back, I'm gonna drive through quest after quest, loot after loot; do I really want someone cherry picking $1.99 here or there? Interestingly, I've spent money on microtransactions for Borderlands 2, and I bet you if they threw out a new gun a week for $1.99 I'd buy it. So Borderlands is a very different type of experience on a very different platform than Family Guy is on its platform. And if I were to talk about experiences like a Borderlands or games that have PvP specifically, pay to win sucks. It just makes everyone that feels like their skill or their abilities that they're bringing to the game are moot because I could just loot up through hundreds of dollars of transactions and then I could just dominate whoever I wanted to because I'm just superior. And that to me strikes as unfair. It just feels unfair. Those kinds of games are really complex; the systems are complex, the moment-to-moment gameplay is really complex; the relationship the gamer has to those games is so much more entrenched and competitive and their heart is in it; it's skill, it's competition, and it's taken seriously.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1197/11970954/2384427-bl2_hunger_wattlegobbler.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2384427" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1197/11970954/2384427-bl2_hunger_wattlegobbler.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2384427"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1197/11970954/2384427-bl2_hunger_wattlegobbler.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">"What's funny is that this has been going on for a very long time. There are free-to-play games that have been out there since 1994. Magic: The Gathering is essentially a free-to-play game. Where you can essentially build a deck for $400; yeah, you'll probably still get your butt kicked by some other people, as I've learned over and over again, but yeah, you can buy your way into being competitive. That's an issue for those games. I think that's a very different issue than what people bring to...when they look at a free-to-play mobile game. I think they're not taking into account the platform to the game. So you look at games like the ones that we've made in the past or you look at a game like Family Guy that we're making now and what we're essentially doing is we're giving you access to a world that you love and you're getting bite-sized content access on your mobile devices. To me I think that's super-cool. Simpsons is a great example of that. I think even our games Tiny Monsters, Tiny Zoo, obviously these are much simpler games with brands that aren't as deep; the characters aren't as deep, the worlds aren't as deep, but that's the great value of Family Guy. So now I get to have a bite-sized content moment with Family Guy. I get to interact with the characters; I get to even play around with it a bit. And the monetization comes from the customization and the depth...more like speed of access. And it allows us to create a ton more content over a longer period of time and people can access pretty much all of that content for free as well. And it's a pretty big value in my opinion."</p><blockquote data-align="right"><p dir="ltr" style="">"I think that there could be more innovation in the free-to-play space in general and I think we're going to continue to work on that"</p></blockquote><p dir="ltr" style="">"There's going to be customization as well as some premium elements, but eventually you are going to be prompted for microtransactions as part of the new user experience; we want that to be a really good experience. And we want to make sure that when you do get to the point where you have to potentially pay to go more quickly through the progression than waiting on the progression, that that's not an unforgiving thing. We also want there to be things that you can do that if you're waiting, there's other things for you to do so that you're not just waiting and that's that. The game and the model is actually a pretty good fit and I think that there could be more innovation in the free-to-play space in general and I think we're going to continue to work on that--on balancing the reward vs. the amount of what the user is putting in. I think that's important. And I do think that we've balanced it pretty well on Family Guy. And I think that the one takeaway that I think is really important is 'is the quality of what you're producing going to drive people to be happy with that dynamic?' And I think Yes. I think that people are going to get incredibly rich, premium story, adventure, access to the characters. It's actually very valuable.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"That's the thing that we really focus on here is to make sure that the game is valuable, and that it's funny, and that the brand flies out of your phone at you. I think it really sings. At that point, as a player, you get to decide do I want to purchase more quickly or should I wait? But the value is there in my opinion and that's what important."</p><p dir="ltr" style=""><strong>You'll Know What You're Getting When You're Prompted For A Microtransaction:</strong></p><p dir="ltr" style="">"We illustrate that pretty directly, always. It's important that our customers understand what they are paying for and why they are paying for it. That's one of the points of good communication, good user experience. The other thing that we also have is a really great community team that actually really cares about our customers. And they're going to be heavily involved, and we have <a href="https://www.facebook.com/FamilyGuy?fref=ts" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">55 million customers [on Facebook]</a> that we're going to be talking to; we're going to make sure that all of them have the best experience they possible can have with the game. I think [the debate around free-to-play] is something that as an industry that we should be talking about. But I also think that talking about it will [remove the stigma]. It's a changing and evolving industry."</p><p dir="ltr" style=""><strong>Licensed Games <a href="http://www.metacritic.com/game/xbox-360/family-guy-back-to-the-multiverse" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Don't Have The Best Track Record</a>...Why Will Family Guy Be Different?</strong></p><p dir="ltr" style="">"What we're doing is we went to the drawing board, literally, and we were like 'What is the experience that people want to have with this brand?' And what they want is they want more of the show. They want to interact in the same way that they interact with the show. So if you can't match the world, if you can't match the humor, if you can't match the characters, the feel, then you're not going to be successful."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"Not talking about any other game, but let's say I take Snoopy. Let's say I take Snoopy and it's going to be the Snoopy shooter, and then everyone's like OK, sounds good. Let's make the Snoopy shooter. Now Snoopy is kind of just running around shooting Woodstock and everybody else, and you're not getting the normal kind of interactions between the characters that people want. Because really what you're interacting with is this mechanic. And I think console games in the past have had to rely very heavily on the mechanic and less on the experience of the IP. The best ones have been ones where they're like 'What makes this amazing? What makes being Batman the coolest thing you can possibly do?' And then how do you build a mechanic around that. As opposed to being, 'OK, third-person shooter, but you're Iron Man' [laughs]."</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/mig/7/8/0/5/2017805-669883_20121108_002.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2017805" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/mig/7/8/0/5/2017805-669883_20121108_002.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2017805"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/mig/7/8/0/5/2017805-669883_20121108_002.jpg"></a><figcaption>Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse</figcaption></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">"There are some sh***y action games that I love. I'm just a fan of sh***ty third-person action games. For instance, I play all the Spider-Man games. I love the Spider-Man games, and those, ehh, they go up and down but they're never really reviewed past a 75 or so. I love them because I get to fly around like Spidey, the fighting is pretty good, they've done enough for me as someone who likes Spider-Man. As a game, for everybody? I don't know if it's going to make the cut. I think it's all about what is the brand, what is the experience of that, how do you translate that. It's just like taking a book and adapting it to a movie. Taking anything and adapting it to anything, it's like, what makes this great? Where does that actually spirit lie and then how do we get that onto the platform--which in this case are mobile phones [which are] very different than consoles--and actually make it work? I couldn't even tell you necessarily what a successful Family Guy game on consoles looks like. I haven't done the work. But what we've made for the mobile device is the right thing because we said what people want--when they look at the screen they want to know that they feel like they're watching the show. That they feel like they're in that world, they've got ownership of that world, that the characters are completely who they are, that the writing is new and just as funny as the show; it's unique, it's hilarious, that you have that element of randomness. And that you bring out the flavor and the subversivness of the Family Guy universe in everything that you do. That it's imbued in all of the mechanics and all of the things that you're doing. And it's there."</p><p dir="ltr" style=""><strong>Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff Will Riff On Current Events As Recent As The Week Prior:</strong></p><p dir="ltr" style="">"We have weekly content cycles. So we actually can make fun of or lampoon anything that's [recent]. Our updates are going to be pretty regular. Our bigger feature updates are going to be monthly, every five weeks or so, but yes, weekly content updates."</p><p dir="ltr" style=""><b>Green Can't Wait For Someone Who's Not Familiar With Family Guy To Play The Game:</b></p><p dir="ltr" style="">"What I'm excited about [laughs] is someone who hasn't watched Family Guy who downloads the game, starts playing it, and they're just like 'What the heck?' I can't wait to see how many more people we can bring into the brand because I do think it's a very authentic brand experience. But yes, you're going to have to like [type of humor]."</p><p dir="ltr" style=""><em>Family Guy: The Quest For Stuff is available today on iOS and Android. </em></p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/EddieMakuch" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Twitter @EddieMakuch</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Thu, 10 Apr 2014 05:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/this-family-guy-game-wants-to-make-you-laugh-not-rob-your-wallet/1100-6418759/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/report-watch-dogs-targeting-1080p-on-ps4-but-what-about-xbox-one/1100-6418888/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/536/5360430/2449263-watch_dogs_running_on_ltrain_.png" data-ref-id="1300-2449263" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/536/5360430/2449263-watch_dogs_running_on_ltrain_.png" data-ref-id="1300-2449263"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/536/5360430/2449263-watch_dogs_running_on_ltrain_.png"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">In a new video interview, Ubisoft cinematics animation lead Lars Bonde told <em>PC Games</em> that the PlayStation 4 version of <a href="/watch-dogs/" data-ref-id="false">Watch Dogs</a> is targeting 1080p, but stopped short of confirming resolution details for the Xbox One iteration.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">In the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=xzkOWwTxniA" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">YouTube video</a>--which has since been set to private but was seen by <a href="http://www.computerandvideogames.com/458391/watch-dogs-ps4-targeting-1080p/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">CVG</a>--Bonde says even though there may be visual performance differences between the different versions of the game, the core gameplay will be the same regardless of what console you play on.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"The first thing I want to make clear is that, at its core, it's the same experience on current-gen and next-gen consoles. You get the same gameplay out of it," he said.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"Of course there are nuances to it," he added. "We are utilizing Xbox One to its full capabilities and the same with PS4, of course, so I know that, as far as to my knowledge, on PS4 it will run in full HD."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">This tallies with unconfirmed reports from earlier this year, which claimed that Watch Dogs on PS4 would run in 1080p while the Xbox One version would output in something less. Notably, the video in question here is the same video that Watch Dogs creative director Jonathan Morin <a href="https://twitter.com/Hurricane4343/status/453971322456903680" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">retweeted a link to yesterday</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Watch Dogs launches <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/watch-dogs-release-date-announced-for-everything-except-wii-u/1100-6417977/" data-ref-id="1100-6417977">May 27</a> for Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PS4, and PC. The Wii U version is<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/watch-dogs-for-wii-u-definitely-not-canceled/1100-6418164/" data-ref-id="1100-6418164"> coming sometime later</a>. Earlier this week, GameStop revealed that Watch Dogs will have a<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/watch-dogs-season-pass-listed-by-gamestop-contains-new-playable-character/1100-6418861/" data-ref-id="1100-6418861"> $20 DLC pass that</a>, among other things, will include a new playable character.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/EddieMakuch" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Twitter @EddieMakuch</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Thu, 10 Apr 2014 04:13:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/report-watch-dogs-targeting-1080p-on-ps4-but-what-about-xbox-one/1100-6418888/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/infamous-second-son-sells-1m-in-nine-days-meaning-roughly-a-sixth-of-all-ps4-owners-bought-it/1100-6418887/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1365/13658182/2481550-infamous_second_son_4971_pioneer+monorail.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2481550" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1365/13658182/2481550-infamous_second_son_4971_pioneer+monorail.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2481550"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1365/13658182/2481550-infamous_second_son_4971_pioneer+monorail.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""><a href="/infamous-second-son/" data-ref-id="false">inFamous: Second Son</a> shifted one million copies worldwide after nine days on sale, Sony has said.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">According to a press release <a href="http://www.computerandvideogames.com/458333/infamous-second-son-sold-1-million-units-within-9-days/" rel="nofollow">sent to CVG</a>, Sony adds that this makes it the fastest-selling inFamous title in the series, and with <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/playstation-4-crosses-6-million-sales-following-strong-japan-launch/1100-6418086/" data-ref-id="1100-6418086">six million PlayStation 4's sold around the globe</a> it means roughly one in every six console owners have snapped up a copy of the open-world game.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">inFamous: Second Son was released on March 21.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Unsurprisingly, inFamous: Second Son was also last month's <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/can-you-guess-what-the-best-selling-ps4-game-was-last-month-on-psn/1100-6418881/">best-selling game on PlayStation Network</a>. The game's <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/infamous-second-son-ps4-patch-will-let-you-cap-the-game-at-30fps/1100-6418696/">upcoming patch will bring with it some additional features</a>.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6417839" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6417839/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p dir="ltr" style=""> </p><p style=""> </p> Thu, 10 Apr 2014 03:30:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/infamous-second-son-sells-1m-in-nine-days-meaning-roughly-a-sixth-of-all-ps4-owners-bought-it/1100-6418887/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/batman-arkham-origins-shows-off-mr-freeze-dlc-in-new-5-minute-video/1100-6418886/ <div data-embed-type="video" data-src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmLCRMbHe5w" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fembed%2FhmLCRMbHe5w%3Fwmode%3Dopaque%26feature%3Doembed&wmode=opaque&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DhmLCRMbHe5w&image=http%3A%2F%2Fi1.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FhmLCRMbHe5w%2Fhqdefault.jpg&key=6efca6e5ad9640f180f14146a0bc1392&type=text%2Fhtml&schema=youtube" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style="">It's snow joke: Warner Bros. has released a 5 minute video (above) showing off its incoming Cold, Cold Heart DLC for <a href="/batman-arkham-origins/" data-ref-id="false">Batman: Arkham Origins</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The new content revolves around the frosty Mr. Freeze and an unnamed accomplice, who crashes a party at Wayne Manor, making it very difficult for Bruce Wayne and his guests to chill out. Enter Batman, who has a new thermal suit including thermal gloves that can melt through this new influx of ice. There's some new batarang and combat moves too, which is cool.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Seeing this video will almost certainly trigger a cold response from those who are victims of the game-breaking Arkham Origins bugs, mind, as Warner Bros. <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/batman-arkham-origins-has-no-plans-to-fix-several-game-breaking-bugs/1100-6417619/" data-ref-id="1100-6417619">has said it has no plans to release a patch</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Cold, Cold Heart will be released on April 22 PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Plans to release the DLC on Wii U were put on ice.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6415747" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6415747/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p dir="ltr" style=""> </p> Thu, 10 Apr 2014 03:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/batman-arkham-origins-shows-off-mr-freeze-dlc-in-new-5-minute-video/1100-6418886/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-division-enlists-ghost-recon-developer-to-create-its-weapons/1100-6418885/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1197/11970954/2399012-tctd_screen_bridge.png" data-ref-id="1300-2399012" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1197/11970954/2399012-tctd_screen_bridge.png" data-ref-id="1300-2399012"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1197/11970954/2399012-tctd_screen_bridge.png"></a></figure><p style=""><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/tom-clancys-ghost-recon-future-soldier/" data-ref-id="false">Ghost Recon: Future Soldier</a> developer Red Storm has revealed it is one of the development studios working on upcoming open-world adventure <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/tom-clancys-the-division/" data-ref-id="false">The Division</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Red Storm, based in North Carolina, will work alongside Swedish developer Massive Entertainment. The team is being put to work on creating the game's weapons.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Red Storm, which fancies itself as a bit of an expert in this field, says its accuracy in building virtual weapons comes from its connections with local military. "We've had manufacturers come in and literally disassemble the entire weapon all the way down to the nuts and bolts," said producer Tony Sturtzel, "and our guys are taking hi-res photos of those things."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"We probably have unparalleled access to these types of things because of our authenticity department and their focus on relationships. We're not ever gonna let the cat out of the bag on some of the relationships we have!"</p><p dir="ltr" style=""><a href="http://blog.ubi.com/the-division-red-storm/" rel="nofollow">Writing on the company blog</a>, Ubisoft communications manager Gary Steinman said Massive started looking to enlist an additional developer to create the game's cache of realistic weaponry back in fall 2013.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Newcastle-based UK developer Ubisoft Reflections, the team behind Driver: San Francisco, is also working on the game.</p><p style="">Ubisoft says The Division is still on track for a release in 2014, though an anonymous developer reportedly said <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-division-s-2014-release-window-is-laughable-claims-ubisoft-source-report/1100-6416976/" data-ref-id="1100-6416976">the idea of the game making it out this year was "laughable"</a>.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6409647" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6409647/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p> Thu, 10 Apr 2014 02:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-division-enlists-ghost-recon-developer-to-create-its-weapons/1100-6418885/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/sony-reveals-new-post-apocalyptic-mmo-game-h1z1/1100-6418884/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2502818-8.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2502818" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2502818-8.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2502818"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/280/2802776/2502818-8.jpg"></a></figure><p style="">Sony Online Entertainment has unveiled its next project, a massively multiplayer online game called H1Z1 that is set in a post-apocalyptic world. Sony Online Entertainment president John Smedley <a href="https://twitter.com/j_smedley/status/453677984252043264" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">tweeted </a>that players would be able to play the game "soon".</p><p style="">A <a href="https://www.h1z1.com/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">teaser site </a>for the game has also gone live, which links to the official <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/h1z1" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">subreddit </a>for the game.</p><p style="">According to Sony Online Entertainment, the free-to-play game will see players "fight for survival" in a world ravaged by a fictional virus named H1Z1. Set 15 years after the initial outbreak, players will face the Infected, wild animals, and other survivors. The game will include scavenging and crafting elements.</p><p style="">Smedley also described that the game will feature a "sandbox style of gameplay", allowing players to craft shelters and fortresses.</p><blockquote data-align="right"><p style="">It's a persistent MMO that can hold thousands of players on servers we host...</p></blockquote><p style="">Addressing questions as to how this game will differ to other post-apocalyptic survival games, Smedley said, "...It's a persistent MMO that can hold thousands of players on servers we host (yes there will be multiple servers with very different rule sets). Why is that a good thing? It means a thriving economy (oh yes… there's trading). It also means you have potential allies in the all-out war on the Infected... and many an enemy as well... The Roadmap system that we built for <a href="/planetside-2/" data-ref-id="false">PlanetSide 2</a> will be used extensively to clearly communicate what features we're working on and what you can expect and when.</p><p style="">The main thing that differentiates H1Z1 from the other great games in the genre is the emphasis we are putting on player ownership and building. We want you to be able to form roving gangs that are headquartered out of an abandoned warehouse that you've taken over... or a house you've built from scratch after having cut trees down and secured the resources to make it."</p><p style="">SOE is no stranger to working on MMO games, leading development on <a href="/everquest-ii-extended/" data-ref-id="false">EverQuest II</a>, <a href="/the-matrix-online/" data-ref-id="false">The Matrix Online</a>, and the upcoming <a href="/everquest-next/" data-ref-id="false">EverQuest Next</a>.</p><p style="">Check out some screenshots of the game below.</p><figure data-embed-type="gallery" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2502823-10.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2502825-11.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2502826-14.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2502827-17.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2502823,1300-2502825,1300-2502826,1300-2502827" data-resize-urls="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/280/2802776/2502823-10.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/280/2802776/2502825-11.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/280/2802776/2502826-14.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/280/2802776/2502827-17.jpg" data-resized="" data-resize-url=""><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2502823-10.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2502823" ><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/280/2802776/2502823-10.jpg"></a><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2502825-11.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2502825" ><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/280/2802776/2502825-11.jpg"></a><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2502826-14.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2502826" ><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/280/2802776/2502826-14.jpg"></a><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2502827-17.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2502827" ><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/280/2802776/2502827-17.jpg"></a></figure><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Zorine Te is an associate editor at GameSpot, and you can follow her on <a href="https://twitter.com/ztharli" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @ztharli</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Wed, 09 Apr 2014 18:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/sony-reveals-new-post-apocalyptic-mmo-game-h1z1/1100-6418884/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/titanfall-on-xbox-360-attrition-match-gameplay/2300-6418251/ See how the Xbox 360 runs Titanfall in this Attrition match from the campaign. Wed, 09 Apr 2014 16:51:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/titanfall-on-xbox-360-attrition-match-gameplay/2300-6418251/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/titanfall-on-xbox-360-capture-the-flag-gameplay/2300-6418250/ Check out how Titanfall on the Xbox 360 runs in this capture the flag match. Wed, 09 Apr 2014 16:44:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/titanfall-on-xbox-360-capture-the-flag-gameplay/2300-6418250/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/sniper-elite-3-developer-diary-3/2300-6418249/ In their latest developer blog video, the Rebellion team answers some of the community's questions around multiplayer and co-op in Sniper Elite 3, which will both be available at launch. Check out the video for a sneak peek of the game's first co-op and multiplayer footage along with some new details on customization. Wed, 09 Apr 2014 16:41:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/sniper-elite-3-developer-diary-3/2300-6418249/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-elder-scrolls-online-review-in-progress/1100-6418883/ <p style="">Depending on who you ask, The Elder Scrolls Online might be a travesty of a role-playing game or the second coming of fantasy adventures. Brendan Caldwell at Rock Paper Shotgun is clearly <a href="http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2014/04/07/impressions-the-elder-scrolls-online/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">in the former camp</a>, for instance, while frequent GameSpot contributor Leif Johnson, writing for IGN, is having <a href="http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/03/31/the-elder-scrolls-online-review?page=1" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">a grander time</a>, particularly now that he's succumbed to the gift (or is that curse?) of lycanthropy. You might suppose that I would agree with one author more than the other, but the truth is that I reside in both camps at once, sometimes getting swept away by the mysterious missions and edge-of-your-seat player-versus-player battles, and at other times exasperated by the elements that strike me more as refined mediocrity than as triumphs of massively multiplayer design.</p><p style="">Of course, I'm not yet ready to deliver a full analysis; I have many more hours in front of me until I am comfortable writing a review of The Elder Scrolls Online. At this stage, my feelings waver so frequently that pinning them down is a game in and of itself. Case in point: the storytelling. Early on, I paid close attention to every spoken line, enamored by instantly recognizable voice actors like Liam O'Brien, whose throaty brogue could turn a reading of the New York City Yellow Pages into an intriguing epic. I enjoyed how each character turned to me to speak, and how the camera zoomed in to focus on their bodies and faces as they delivered their pleas. I was ready to invest in conversation, intrigued by stories of murderous plots and spreading paranoia.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6418240" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6418240/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p><p style="">Sadly, the narrative honeymoon has come and gone. O'Brien voices multiple characters, each of whom has no personality of which to speak. As is typical for Elder Scrolls games, the dialogue is passionless, designed to dump lore into my brain, not to develop the characters speaking it. The result is that I don't hear characters: I hear actors speaking lines. When I hear Liam's voice, I hear Liam--I don't hear the constable who needs my help combating an evil cult. And boy are there a lot of evil cults in Tamriel. For that matter, there sure are a lot of men sporting the same goatees and haircuts. There's a great need for new barbers, it seems.</p><p style="">Bone-dry writing is an Elder Scrolls tradition, but the most memorable moments I've had in the series were those that had nothing to do with the story the game was trying to tell, but the story the game allowed me to create. In <a href="/the-elder-scrolls-iii-morrowind/" data-ref-id="false">Morrowind</a>, for instance, my first sweeping dust storm inspired tales of survival I still share; the fact that I was off on some quest or another was a secondary concern. In <a href="/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim/" data-ref-id="false">Skyrim</a>, I was on an expedition to see the aurora borealis, to watch the behavior of mammoths and giants from a safe distance, to soften the dragon threat. In <a href="/the-elder-scrolls-iv-oblivion/" data-ref-id="false">Oblivion</a>, I was a silent killer, assassinating innocent victims in their sleep and taking over their homes for my personal use. By contrast, The Elder Scrolls Online doesn't offer many chances to craft a personal role. Where the player-versus-environment gameplay is concerned, you follow the quests so that you can stumble upon more quests. I am a cipher. I am whatever the plot needs me to be. I could head out on my own to new regions, but the quests and monster levels keep me confined to the prescribed heroic journey.</p><figure data-align="left" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2501955-eso+2014-04-08+21-48-28-74.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2501955" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2501955-eso+2014-04-08+21-48-28-74.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2501955"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_medium/416/4161502/2501955-eso+2014-04-08+21-48-28-74.jpg"></a><figcaption>Lightning, fire, and ice: these are the elements that make my High Elf sorcerer so dangerous. </figcaption></figure><p style="">Perhaps it's unfair to expect The Elder Scrolls Online to deliver the freedom of an offline adventure, but given its title, there's no escaping such comparisons. Certain elements of Elder Scrolls design simply don't translate to a massively multiplayer theme park, though I greatly respect Zenimax Online's dedication to immersing you as much as possible in this relatively traditional MMOG. By stripping away the expected interface elements and keeping the in-game map free of clutter, I have to look at banners to determine which vendor sells which items. By default, neither NPCs nor other players are labeled, making Tamriel an actual world inhabited by players and non-players alike, rather than being a clockwork fantasy playground. You see the people and places, rather than the names and icons that identify them. I'm able to appreciate the beauty of the fields and the ferocity of the world's cruelest creatures when miles of interface aren't blocking the way.</p><p style="">Oddly enough, however, the limited interface can hinder immersion. I summon two different creatures to fight at my side, but in the heat of battle, I can't always tell if my winged twilight is still alive; what I wouldn't give for a simple onscreen icon that would tell me at a glance. When I walk into the bank and the banker is surrounded by two dozen other players, picking out the right character to speak with can be a chore. The game's phasing technology, which allows the game to reflect changes to various areas based on past events, often makes me feel like I have exerted a powerful force on an online world. But the immersion suffers when I venture into an area with a buddy, and his character disappears because we've entered different instances of the same area. When I'm on my own, the illusion is powerful. When I'm not, the illusion is betrayed.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6418241" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6418241/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p><p style="">Given my criticisms, you might think I'm not actually enjoying my time with The Elder Scrolls Online, but that's not true, though I am greatly aware of its flaws. Yet in spite of its clear issues, which are intrinsic to its very design and not just patchable foibles, the game often imparts a fun sense of adventure. I get on my horse and gallop through Stormhaven, stopping to crush a giant crocodile, then mining iron nodes and collecting herbs. When I craft glyphs, my sorcerer intones the runes out loud, as if he's bending supernatural forces to his will. When other players stop to look at their maps, you see them perusing a parchment--such an elegant little touch, demonstrating that this fellow citizen is off on a new journey. Then there's that music, reaped from the musical ideas that composer Jeremy Soule once sowed, generically epic, yet still almost perfect given its ability to inspire nostalgic memories of adventures past. I like existing in Tamriel, even when it withholds affection and replaces it with frustration.</p><figure data-align="right" data-size="small" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2501951-eso+2014-04-08+21-28-58-74.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2501951" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2501951-eso+2014-04-08+21-28-58-74.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2501951"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_small/416/4161502/2501951-eso+2014-04-08+21-28-58-74.jpg"></a><figcaption>I'm still not sure what was going on in this weird surprise attack.</figcaption></figure><p style="">While the world at large might not offer as many emergent possibilities as I'd like, Cyrodiil provides a few exceptional delights. It's there that the player-versus-player conflict rages, and there that I've found the most joy. The three-faction persistent war isn't new to the genre, dating back to <a href="/dark-age-of-camelot-gold-edition/" data-ref-id="false">Dark Age of Camelot</a>'s excellent realm-versus-realm battles, and more recently seen in <a href="/guild-wars-2/" data-ref-id="false">Guild Wars 2</a>. Guild Wars 2's locomotion and combat are simply more fun than those elements in ESO, but ESO's battles are no less urgent. Making your way to the most entertaining battles can prove a chore given the vastness of the maps and the limitations of fast travel, but the thrills of erecting a ballista and firing flaming projectiles into masses of Ebonheart Pact invaders are unmistakable. When I reached level 15 and was able to select a secondary set of weapons and skills, I dedicated one of those sets to PvP, where my healing spells have proven to be a great asset, and are easy to pull off in the midst of combat, which is a real boon. I wish the standard combat imparted the same sense of connection and immediacy that previous Elder Scrolls games have provided, but when I'm skirting around behind the front line, keeping my teammates in tip-top shape, such concerns are rarely on my mind.</p><p style="">I am still dedicating the next week or two to more time in Tamriel, and I will publish a full review of The Elder Scrolls Online shortly thereafter. Until then, check out the replays of my <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-elder-scrolls-online-live-stream-extravaganza-archive/1100-6418605/" data-ref-id="1100-6418605">previous live streams</a>, and follow me on <a href="http://www.twitch.tv/kevinvanord" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitch</a> and <a href="http://twitter.com/fiddlecub" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter</a> to be notified of any future live streams I might broadcast. For now, I shall do my best to uphold the standards and morals of the Daggerfall Alliance. I am not sure what those standards and morals are, really, but dammit, I'm willing to fight for them!</p> Wed, 09 Apr 2014 16:39:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-elder-scrolls-online-review-in-progress/1100-6418883/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/infinity-wars-animated-trading-card-game-now-playi/2300-6418248/ Infinity Wars creator Elphie Coyle teaches us about the game, rift runs, the new faction that includes Star Trek the Next Generation, and more. Wed, 09 Apr 2014 16:39:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/infinity-wars-animated-trading-card-game-now-playi/2300-6418248/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/hitman-blood-money-gameplay-the-shaun-method-highl/2300-6418247/ Shaun somehow manages to become a knife-wielding, coin flipping killer clown in Hitman: Blood Money. Wed, 09 Apr 2014 16:38:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/hitman-blood-money-gameplay-the-shaun-method-highl/2300-6418247/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/gs-news-last-of-us-on-ps4-in-1080p-source-of-gamer/2300-6418246/ The Last of Us Remastered AND the Borderlands Pre-Sequel are confirmed and detailed, and what kind of games bring out the most aggression in gamers? Wed, 09 Apr 2014 16:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/gs-news-last-of-us-on-ps4-in-1080p-source-of-gamer/2300-6418246/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/monument-valley-mobile-minute-the-lobby/2300-6418245/ Tom Mc Shea gives us a full 60 seconds on why we should check out the visually stunning mobile hit, Monument Valley. Wed, 09 Apr 2014 15:24:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/monument-valley-mobile-minute-the-lobby/2300-6418245/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/boss-battle-in-the-elder-scrolls-online-gameplay/2300-6418244/ Use your skills to take on this large boss from The Elder Scrolls Online. Wed, 09 Apr 2014 14:37:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/boss-battle-in-the-elder-scrolls-online-gameplay/2300-6418244/
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