Fair play for including Sergio Aguero's goal on 4:26! Indeed it was the sweetest day of the year/decade/century for anybody who hates evil Sir Alex's forces of darkness. The blue moon had finally risen over Manchester and may it shine bright for eternity.
On the gaming front, well what else but Far Cry 3......enough said
GameSpot Versus Beat the Pros Edition MVP's announced! See who got a chance to play against gaming super starts and earned both swag and gaming glory!
GameSpot Versus Beat the Pros Edition is a way for GameSpot members to test their skills against super star pro gamers. From FPS to RTS GameSpot is dedicated to giving gamers a chance to shine against those living the dream.
On November 9th GameSpot users came in masses to take on Tom "Tsquared" Taylor and Naded in Halo 4. After two hours of going against members of the community, XBL members PerfectionOwns, Pizilized, Genocidal, and xxOneshotDropxx were victorious.
On November 16th Kelly "Mrs.Violence" Kelley joined the GameSpot crew to up her K/D in a bit of multiplayer with the Community. And despite her snark Alex R, Jorge E, Angelo H, and Stephanie P managed to strut their stuff well enough to win some sweet swag.
Team SoloMid came to the GameSpot office on December 21st to play against the community. Hundreds of people flocked to the chat rooms and message boards in hopes of getting to take on these BayLifers. In the end though it was Christian F, Kyle L, Eric T, and Curtis B who managed to impress the famed Pro League players.
For more ways to play and for your chance to compete in up and coming GameSpot Versus Beat the Pros events be sure to check in with the GameSpot Players Network.
R18+ is officially introduced in Australia today, but what does this mean for previously banned games? And what about the states that are yet to introduce the law? Read our Q&A to find out!
Today, Australia officially introduced an adult classification for video games, allowing R18+ rated games to be sold at a national level.
The introduction of R18+ for games in Australia comes after more than ten years of lobbying involving various states and territories, the local video game industry, and consumers from all over the country.
However, now that R18+ for games is finally here, a few questions remain unanswered.
In this special New Year's Day feature, GameSpot AU clears up any remaining confusion surrounding the introduction of R18+ for games in Australia.
So, R18+ for games is now officially here. But what does that mean?
The R18+ legislation is officially introduced today, January 1. This means that the Classification Board of Australia can now legally classify games as R18+, and these games can be legally sold and displayed at a federal level.
So what does "federal level" actually mean? Does my state qualify for R18+ games?
While the legislation for R18+ for games has been passed and enacted at a federal level, each state and territory is responsible for passing complementary legislation that will dictate how R18+ games are displayed and how the adult classification for games is enforced.
The ACT was the first Australian territory to officially pass the R18+ legislation. South Australia, NSW, Victoria, Western Australia, Tasmania, and the Northern Territory have also officially passed the R18+ legislation.
Queensland remains the only state in Australia to not have passed the complimentary R18+ legislation. Earlier this year, the Queensland government specifically stated that it will not sell R18+ games from January 1 but instead await the result of a Legal Affairs and Community Safety Committee report--due to be released on February 7, 2013--before debating the R18+ legislation in parliament and officially amending the state's law to include an R18+ classification for video games.
This means that R18+ games will still be illegal in Queensland from January 1, 2013, until that time when the R18+ legislation has officially passed through the state's parliament and the law amended accordingly to include an adult classification for video games.
If I live in Queensland, does that mean I'll miss out on R18+ games?
The R18+ legislation will most likely pass through the Queensland parliament by the end of February. It is unlikely that the Classification Board of Australia will rate a video game as R18+ before that happens.
What about the games that have been refused classification in Australia in the past? Does it mean games like Mortal Kombat will be re-released with an R18+ rating?
Not necessarily. The Classification Board must wait two years before it can re-classify a title. This means it is up to individual video game publishers to decide whether or not to re-submit a game for re-classification after the two year period has passed. So, for example, Warner Bros. may not choose to re-submit Mortal Kombat for re-classification since re-releasing a game two years after its original release may not be deemed profitable.
The Classification Board may also re-classify a game if a federal minister requests this to be done.
What about MA15+ rated games? Will some of them be re-classified as R18+?
Again, a two-year waiting period applies for all game re-classifications. Titles currently rated MA15+ in Australia may be re-submitted for classification to the Classification Board by the relevant publisher or at the request of a federal minister.
So what will be the first game to be classified R18+ in Australia?
It can either be a new game that is submitted for classification to the Classification Board on or after today, January 1, 2013 or a game that is re-submitted for classification (after the two year waiting period has elapsed) by either the publisher of said game, or after a request from a federal minister.
Does this mean Australia is finally in step with other countries in having an adult classification for games?
Yes!
How will this affect the future of video game classification in this country?
For this one, we're kicking it over to Ron Curry, the CEO of the Interactive Games and Entertainment Association (iGEA).
"Naturally, after ten years of lobbying, we are very pleased that January 1 will see the introduction of an R18+ classification," Curry says. "We are weary though of how the revised guidelines will be interpreted and if we are really getting an R18+ category, or just a movement of MA15+ into higher level of classification. Initially, we expect the Classification Board to be a little cautious in how they apply the new guidelines, so we may need to wait some time to see how the dust settles on this."
"Having an R18+ also means that we can now turn our focus on the much larger problem of classification in general in Australia. iGEA contributed to the recent ALRC Review of the National Classification Scheme and we look forward to working with the government to establish a truly modern classification scheme that is flexible and nimble enough to inform parents and care givers, reflect the real concerns of the public and is designed to keep up with rapid changes in content and content delivery."
60 euros for a few campaigns is not worth the money. Besides, the campaigns are not that great to play for several times, for you get really bored.
Also, playing its multiplayer is also boring, because it is the same stuff you find in free fps games out there, in fact, there are many free fps games that are way better in multiplayer mode, for instance, planetside 2.
Creator Markus "Notch" Persson reveals franchise sales of sandbox game nearly totaled half a million on Tuesday.
The Minecraft franchise sold 453,000 copies on Christmas Day, series creator Markus "Notch" Persson revealed over Twitter recently. The game is available on PC and Mac, Xbox Live, and iOS and Android smartphones and tablets.
Christmas Day sales for Minecraft add to the 17.5 million franchise sales tallied as of earlier this month. Minecraft for PC and Mac remains the breadwinner of the bunch, selling 8.6 million copies. The Pocket Edition has sold 5 million copies, and the Xbox Live Arcade version of Minecraft has moved 4.48 million copies as of earlier in the month.
Gamers interested in getting an inside look at the development of Minecraft can check out 2Player Productions' official Minecraft documentary. It debuted on Xbox Live last week and is now available to purchase from the company's website.
Eddie Makuch (Mack-ooh) is a News Editor at GameSpot. He lives in Connecticut, works out of the company's New York City office, and loves extra chunky peanut butter.
I'm a combination of several types you haven't mentioned yet... the "Super-Hero" (someone who plays games to "feel" awesome, doesn't enjoy games that are too tough, challenging or realistic, prefers to be a protagonist who can do crazy-cool things like a super-hero, enjoying games like infamous, Assasins Creed 2+, Batman Arkham City and games with crazy guns like Killzone 3 or Resistance 3). I'm also the "Thrill-Seeker" (someone who enjoys games that give you an adrenalin rush leading to "oh snap!" moments like Need for Speed, SSX, Burnout). I'm also someone who enjoys Creative elements, not as obsessed with building as to be playing the Sims but enjoys Halo's Forge, Modnation Racers track editor, Little Big Planet level design and Far Cry 3's map editor.
I was a little disappointed with this year. Black Ops II was mediocre, RE 6 bombed, and ME 3 failed in the last five minutes. FC3, Dishonored and Halo 4 all lived up to expectations though. I have higher expectations for next year with Splinter Cell Blacklist, Dead Space 3, Dead Island 2, the new God of War, Deadpool and whatever new CoD Infinity Ward puts out. I'm sure I left out several good games, but those are near the top of my list.
GameSpot Versus Beat the Pros Edition MVP's announced! See who got a chance to play against gaming super starts and earned both swag and gaming glory!
GameSpot Versus Beat the Pros Edition is a way for GameSpot members to test their skills against super star pro gamers. From FPS to RTS GameSpot is dedicated to giving gamers a chance to shine against those living the dream.
On November 9th GameSpot users came in masses to take on Tom "Tsquared" Taylor and Naded in Halo 4. After two hours of going against members of the community, XBL members PerfectionOwns, Pizilized, Genocidal, and xxOneshotDropxx were victorious.
On November 16th Kelly "Mrs.Violence" Kelley joined the GameSpot crew to up her K/D in a bit of multiplayer with the Community. And despite her snark Alex R, Jorge E, Angelo H, and Stephanie P managed to strut their stuff well enough to win some sweet swag.
Team SoloMid came to the GameSpot office on December 21st to play against the community. Hundreds of people flocked to the chat rooms and message boards in hopes of getting to take on these BayLifers. In the end though it was Christian F, Kyle L, Eric T, and Curtis B who managed to impress the famed Pro League players.
For more ways to play and for your chance to compete in up and coming GameSpot Versus Beat the Pros events be sure to check in with the GameSpot Players Network.
Crystal Dynamics confirms upcoming Lara Croft reboot will feature a head-to-head mode.
Next year's Tomb Raider reboot will not be a single-player-only affair. Crystal Dynamics global brand director Karl Stewart recently revealed via Twitter that the game will in fact ship with a multiplayer mode.
This was first speculated when United Kingdom retailer GAME listed multiplayer as a major feature for Tomb Raider. The details have since been removed, but it was suggested that players would be able to control Lara's shipmates or Yamatai scavengers in a variety of modes.
First details on Tomb Raider's multiplayer mode will be revealed in Official Xbox Magazine's January issue, due to subscribers this week.
Tomb Raider is due out March 5, 2013 for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. For more, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.
Eddie Makuch (Mack-ooh) is a News Editor at GameSpot. He lives in Connecticut, works out of the company's New York City office, and loves extra chunky peanut butter.
Creator Markus "Notch" Persson reveals franchise sales of sandbox game nearly totaled half a million on Tuesday.
The Minecraft franchise sold 453,000 copies on Christmas Day, series creator Markus "Notch" Persson revealed over Twitter recently. The game is available on PC and Mac, Xbox Live, and iOS and Android smartphones and tablets.
Christmas Day sales for Minecraft add to the 17.5 million franchise sales tallied as of earlier this month. Minecraft for PC and Mac remains the breadwinner of the bunch, selling 8.6 million copies. The Pocket Edition has sold 5 million copies, and the Xbox Live Arcade version of Minecraft has moved 4.48 million copies as of earlier in the month.
Gamers interested in getting an inside look at the development of Minecraft can check out 2Player Productions' official Minecraft documentary. It debuted on Xbox Live last week and is now available to purchase from the company's website.
Eddie Makuch (Mack-ooh) is a News Editor at GameSpot. He lives in Connecticut, works out of the company's New York City office, and loves extra chunky peanut butter.
