http://auth.gamespot.com/ Gamespot's Everything Feed! News, Reviews, Videos. Exploding with content? You bet. en-us Fri, 28 Feb 2014 07:27:05 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-throwing-huge-titanfall-launch-party-in-texas/1100-6418024/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2445838-titantitan.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2445838" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2445838-titantitan.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2445838"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1179/11799911/2445838-titantitan.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style=""><a href="/titanfall/" data-ref-id="false">Titanfall</a> is one of Microsoft's most-anticipated titles of 2014, so it should come as no surprise that the company has announced a huge launch party extravaganza to mark the game's release.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Microsoft will host a "launch celebration" for Titanfall at South By Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas starting on Monday, March 10 and running through midnight on March 11. Attending the event will be Xbox executives and personalities like Yusuf Mehdi and Major Nelson, as well as Respawn Entertainment cofounder Vince Zampella and community manager Abbie Heppe.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">A special performance by <a href="http://childishgambino.com/deepweb.html" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Childish Gambino</a> will cap off the evening.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The Titanfall launch event will take place at the Microsoft Studio at <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/323+Congress+Ave/@30.2659705,-97.743566,17z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x8644b50868052589:0xacdac1bc72922b22" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">323 Congress Ave.</a> and kicks off at 9 p.m. local time. Attendance will be on a first come, first admitted basis, though Microsoft said you can follow <a href="https://twitter.com/majornelson" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Major Nelson</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/Xbox" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Xbox</a> on Twitter for a chance to get into the event.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">If you can't make it to Austin, not to worry, as Microsoft will broadcast the Titanfall launch event via the <a href="http://www.twitch.tv/xbox" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">official Xbox Twitch channel</a>.</p><p style="">Finally, Microsoft noted that over 6,000 retailers across the United States will open at midnight on March 11 to start selling copies of Titanfall for Xbox One and PC. What's more, Microsoft is planning special launch events across Europe, Canada, Mexico, Australia, and New Zealand.</p><p style="">Titanfall <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/titanfall-for-xbox-360-delayed/1100-6417577/" data-ref-id="1100-6417577">launches March 25 for Xbox 360</a>. That version was developed externally by Bluepoint Games. In addition to the main game, Microsoft will sell a <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/get-titanfall-for-free-when-you-buy-an-xbox-one/1100-6417928/" data-ref-id="1100-6417928">special $500 Xbox One bundle </a>and a <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/65-xbox-one-titanfall-controller-revealed/1100-6417140/" data-ref-id="1100-6417140">$65 limited-run controller</a>. For more on Titanfall, be sure to read GameSpot's new feature <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/the-next-big-game-titanfall/" data-ref-id="false">The Next Big Game: Titanfall</a>.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6417174" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6417174/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </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><br /></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Fri, 28 Feb 2014 07:07:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-throwing-huge-titanfall-launch-party-in-texas/1100-6418024/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/counter-strike-co-creator-says-fps-games-not-as-exciting-as-they-used-to-be/1100-6418023/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2445829-tactical.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2445829" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2445829-tactical.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2445829"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1179/11799911/2445829-tactical.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">First-person shooter games are just not as compelling as they used to be, argues <a href="/counter-strike/" data-ref-id="false">Counter-Strike </a>co-creator Minh Le. Speaking with <a href="http://gamasutra.com/view/news/211749/Shootyman_A_candid_catchup_with_CounterStrike_cocreator_Minh_Le.php" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Gamasutra</a>, Le said his newest game, the free-to-play shooter <a href="/tactical-intervention/" data-ref-id="false">Tactical Intervention</a>, tried to reinvigorate the genre, but came up short.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"I don't think FPSes are as exciting as they used to be. I tried to contribute to fixing this, but I don't think... Tactical Intervention has not succeeded in terms of addressing some of the problems," Le said. "There's some stuff in TI that I really enjoy playing, but other stuff like the hostage mode, it didn't really pan out as well as I'd hoped."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Simply put, Le explained that he's running out of ideas for how to push the FPS genre forward and he believes he's not alone in this struggle.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"I think FPS games have gotten to the point where there's not much more you can add to it," he said. "Battlefield has really pushed it, and there's not a whole lot more you can do to it."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Tactical Intervention has struggled to find a playerbase, Le said, noting the game attracts only 600 concurrent players during peak play times. By comparison, <a href="http://store.steampowered.com/stats/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">more than 73,000 people are playing Counter Strike: Global Offensive right this second</a>. Part of the reason why his new game is facing an uphill battle is because the FPS market is flooded with games, he argued.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"To be honest, I think the FPS genre is just so saturated, and CS:GO has really just made it difficult for FPS games to compete in this market," Le said. "CS:GO has done a great job of making the experience so polished. It's got everything you'd really want from an FPS game. The whole presentation and everything is so... it's just really difficult for us to really draw a crowd away from these guys."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Le also spoke very candidly about Tactical Intervention's free-to-play model. He said he rallied against this "huge mistake," explaining that the game might have been better suited for a traditional paid release. However, higher-ups at the game's publisher mandated the game be free-to-play, meaning Le and the other designers have to "rewrite a lot of the game design."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">This decision did not pay off, Le said. "Unfortunately, it's not sustainable, financially. We're losing money. It's kinda obvious that we're not doing well financially."</p><p style="">Overall, Le said free-to-play business models only work for fantasy and sci-fi games, or those that aren't "tied down by the rules of reality." By selling weapon skins for games like Tactical Intervention or Counter Strike: Global Offensive, the game world becomes populated with "wacky and crazy" guns that don't match the game's original art style, he said.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6371541" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6371541/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><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><br /></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Fri, 28 Feb 2014 06:46:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/counter-strike-co-creator-says-fps-games-not-as-exciting-as-they-used-to-be/1100-6418023/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/dark-souls-2-preorders-50-percent-higher-than-the-original-as-namco-looks-to-attract-a-wider-audience/1100-6418022/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1493/14930800/2445820-5431866338-24274.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2445820" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1493/14930800/2445820-5431866338-24274.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2445820"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1493/14930800/2445820-5431866338-24274.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""><a href="/dark-souls-ii/" data-ref-id="false">Dark Souls II</a> has racked up 50 percent more preorders than its predecessor in the UK, publisher Bandai Namco <a href="http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/dark-souls-ii-pre-orders-50-up-over-original/0128870" rel="nofollow">has said to MCV</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">That makes sense, as the word-of-mouth success of the cult original is likely to have boosted interest in the sequel. Bandai Namco said in April 2013 that the original Dark Souls <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/dark-souls-crosses-23-million-sales/1100-6406891/">had crossed 2.3 million sales</a>. The publisher is also trying to push preorders of the title by offering the Black Armor edition, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/dark-souls-2-weapon-pack-makes-getting-started-easier-brave-players-can-opt-out/1100-6417694/">which comes with early access to some of the game's weapons</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Bandai Namco said in March 2012 that sales of Dark Souls, first released in October 2011, helped push the company to its strongest fiscal year since 2008 at the time.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Looking to Dark Souls II, the publisher says it will shortly invest another £1m into advertising the game in the UK as an attempt to expose the upcoming RPG to as wide an audience as possible.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"We have everything going for Dark Souls II," said Bandai Namco product manager Gary Chantler.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Dark Souls II will be released on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on March 11 in the US, and March 14 in the UK. A PC version will follow in the coming months.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6417378" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6417378/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p> Fri, 28 Feb 2014 05:57:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/dark-souls-2-preorders-50-percent-higher-than-the-original-as-namco-looks-to-attract-a-wider-audience/1100-6418022/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/british-spy-agency-considered-using-xbox-360-kinect-for-surveillance/1100-6418021/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2445812-kinectxbox360.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2445812" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2445812-kinectxbox360.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2445812"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1179/11799911/2445812-kinectxbox360.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">Could your Xbox Kinect camera be spying on you? According to secret documents provided by Edward Snowden to <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/27/gchq-nsa-webcam-images-internet-yahoo" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"><em>The Guardian</em></a>, as part of Britain's "Optic Nerve" program, the country's top intelligence agency--Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ)--identified the Xbox 360's Kinect as a potential surveillance tool.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"One presentation discusses with interest the potential and capabilities of the Xbox 360's Kinect camera, saying it generated 'fairly normal webcam traffic' and was being evaluated as part of a wider program," <em>The Guardian</em> explains.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Importantly, it's unclear if any actual snooping was ever conducted via Kinect. This is not the first time Microsoft's name has come up in spying reports, as leaked documents from January showed that National Security Agency (NSA) and GCHQ agents <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/government-infiltrates-xbox-live-and-world-of-warcraft-in-search-of-terrorists/1100-6416610/" data-ref-id="1100-6416610">scooped up user data from Xbox Live (as well as World of Warcraft and Second Life)</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Microsoft has previously denied having any knowledge of spying activity through Xbox Live, and the company reiterated that stance in a statement to GameSpot on today's report.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"Microsoft has never heard of this program. However, we're concerned about any reports of governments surreptitiously collecting private customer data," a company representative said. "That's why in December we initiated a <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-blasts-government-snooping-pledges-to-enhance-encryption/1100-6416565/" data-ref-id="1100-6416565">broad effort to expand encryption</a> across our services and are advocating for legal reforms."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">For its part, the GCHQ says its initiatives are always carried out legally.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"All of GCHQ's work is carried out in accordance with a strict legal and policy framework which ensures that our activities are authorised, necessary and proportionate, and that there is rigorous oversight, including from the secretary of state, the interception and intelligence services commissioners and the Parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee," the group said.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The Optic Nerve program began in 2008 and was still active in 2012, though it's unclear if the GCHQ or NSA is also considering the Xbox One's Kinect--which captures in full 1080p and has a wider field of view--as a potential surveillance tool. Microsoft product planning director Albert Penello told <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-talks-digital-only-future-kinect-and-why-xbox-one-is-worth-100-more-than-playstation-4/1100-6413920/" data-ref-id="1100-6413920">GameSpot in September</a> that capturing personal data via Kinect on Xbox One is "somewhat implausible," technologically speaking. He said people who are concerned about potential spying can simply unplug their Kinect.</p><p style=""><em>The Guardian</em>'s report today primarily focused on the GCHQ's widespread collection of video webcam images from millions of Yahoo users--regardless of whether or not they were suspected of participating in illegal activity.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6416249" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6416249/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><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><br /></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Fri, 28 Feb 2014 05:49:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/british-spy-agency-considered-using-xbox-360-kinect-for-surveillance/1100-6418021/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/sony-electronics-cutting-1-000-jobs-by-end-of-2014-doesn-t-affect-gaming/1100-6418020/ <p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">Sony Electronics, the division of the technology giant that creates TVs and cameras, will lay off about one-third of its staff--or around 1,000 people--by the end of 2014. The company announced the news Wednesday, which is aimed at allowing the company to "maintain its competitiveness in an evolving consumer electronics market."</p><figure data-align="left" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2445806-sonyjobs.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2445806" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2445806-sonyjobs.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2445806"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/1179/11799911/2445806-sonyjobs.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">The layoffs are part of the <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/sony-selling-pc-business-reforming-tv-unit-and-laying-off-5-000-people/1100-6417558/" data-ref-id="1100-6417558">5,000 jobs worldwide Sony announced it would cut earlier this month</a>. On top of the job cuts, Sony said it will close 20 Sony Stores in the United States, leaving only 11 left in operation across the country. A breakdown of affected stores is <a href="http://blog.sony.com/press/sony-stores/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">available on Sony's website</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"While these moves were extremely tough, they were absolutely necessary to position us in the best possible place for future growth," Sony Electronics president and COO Mike Fasulo said in a statement. "I am entirely confident in our ability to turn the business around, in achieving our preferred future, and continue building on our flawless commitment to customer loyalty through the complete entertainment experience only Sony can offer."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Meanwhile, <em>The Wall Street Journal</em>'s <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2014/02/28/struggling-sony-plans-sale-of-old-tokyo-headquarters/?mod=ST1" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">AllThingsD </a>reports that Sony will sell its former Japanese headquarters for an estimated $146 million. It would be the third major office building Sony has sold in the past year, following the <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/sony-selling-us-office-for-11-billion/1100-6402629/" data-ref-id="1100-6402629">$1.1 billion sale of the company's U.S. headquarters</a> and one of its <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/sony-sells-office-building-for-12-billion/1100-6404622/" data-ref-id="1100-6404622">major outfits in Tokyo for another $1.2 billion in February 2013</a>.</p><p style="">Sony Corporation is a massive company and its Electronics division is one of a half-dozen business units at the company. Others include Sony Mobile, Sony Pictures, and Sony Music, as well as gaming-focused divisions like Sony Computer Entertainment and Sony Online Entertainment. Importantly, today's news does not ostensibly affecting Sony's gaming initiatives, though the company did recently <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/god-of-war-dev-canceled-a-new-ip-as-part-of-recent-layoffs/1100-6417985/" data-ref-id="1100-6417985">cut a number of jobs and cancel one game at God of War developer Sony Santa Monica</a>.</p><p style=""> </p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6416104" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6416104/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><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><br /></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Fri, 28 Feb 2014 05:04:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/sony-electronics-cutting-1-000-jobs-by-end-of-2014-doesn-t-affect-gaming/1100-6418020/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/aaa-games-won-t-feature-gay-protagonists-for-a-long-time-says-far-cry-writer/1100-6418019/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2445794-blooddragon.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2445794" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2445794-blooddragon.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2445794"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1179/11799911/2445794-blooddragon.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p style=""><strong><em>This post contains spoilers about James Bond movie Skyfall. That might sound strange, but it's true. </em></strong></p><p dir="ltr" style="">AAA games aren't likely to feature openly gay protagonists anytime soon over fears that such characters could negatively impact a game's sales potential, according to Ubisoft Montreal lead writer Lucien Soulban, who most recently worked on <a href="/far-cry-3-blood-dragon/" data-ref-id="false">Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"When are we going to see that gay protagonist in a AAA game? Not for a while, I suspect, because of fears that it'll impact sales," Lucien told the <a href="http://blog.ubi.com/shockingly-short-interview-lucien-soulban/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Ubisoft Blog</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"So either we'll see a bait-and-switch like the original Metroid with Samus Aran where we'll find out damn near after the fact (PS: And Dumbledore was gay), or it'll come out of left field with Rockstar, Valve, Naughty Dog or Telltale, perhaps," he added. "But when it happens, I hope it's a serious take on it and not played up for jokes."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Lucien said a better question might be, "When are we going to get a gay/lesbian AAA hero(ine) who isn't a one-off joke?" One example Lucien cited of what he believes is poor execution of a gay character in a major entertainment franchise was Javier Bardem's role as the villain Silva in James Bond movie <em>Skyfall</em>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"His character's sexuality was total shtick to satisfy one scene. Otherwise, he was a narcissist with mommy issues, and a pedophile to boot," Soulban said. "His 'seduction' of Bond was nothing more than vanity because Bond was his reflection, the new 'him.' Yay. So it bothers me when I hear people using his performance as a benchmark for diversity in entertainment, and I have heard it being bandied about."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">So what's it going to take for the video game industry to get to a place where more gay characters are featured in major games? Soulban said it's already happening, albeit only on the periphery, at least right now.</p><p style="">"We'll definitely see more of them, and I think it's happening quietly. Look at the choices offered in <a href="/mass-effect-2/" data-ref-id="false">Mass Effect 2</a> & <a href="/mass-effect-3/" data-ref-id="false">3</a>, or <a href="/fable-iii/" data-ref-id="false">Fable III</a>, or <a href="/dragon-age-ii/" data-ref-id="false">Dragon Age II</a> or <a href="/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim/" data-ref-id="false">Skyrim</a>, the gay characters in<a href="/borderlands-2/" data-ref-id="false"> Borderlands 2 </a>who mention it without much fanfare, etc. Video games have stopped 'announcing' gay characters. They're introducing them without much fanfare in an effort to say, '<em>Yeah, it's there and pretty normal</em>.' Call it: '<em>We're here, we're queer, and we're busy working</em>.'"</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6407709" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6407709/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </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><br /></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Fri, 28 Feb 2014 04:28:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/aaa-games-won-t-feature-gay-protagonists-for-a-long-time-says-far-cry-writer/1100-6418019/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-walking-dead-season-2-episode-2-coming-next-week/1100-6418018/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1493/14930800/2445793-7430578667-the-w.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2445793" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1493/14930800/2445793-7430578667-the-w.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2445793"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1493/14930800/2445793-7430578667-the-w.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">Episode 2 of <a href="/the-walking-dead-season-two/" data-ref-id="false">The Walking Dead Season 2</a>, dubbed A House Divided, will be released next Tuesday, March 4 for PC, Mac, and PS3, developer Telltale Games has confirmed.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Xbox 360 and iOS versions will follow at a later date. Vita versions of both Episode 1 and Episode 2 should also be available near the end of March, Telltale Games adds, priced at $4.99 each.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Season 2 of Telltale Games' adaptation of The Walking Dead revolves around Clementine, the orphaned girl discovered in a zombie-filled house by Season 1 protagonist Lee Everett.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The first episode of the season was released back in December 2013. GameSpot reviewer Carolyn Petit said the opening chapter of the series <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/the-walking-dead-season-two-episode-1-all-that-rem/1900-6415605/">did not work well as a standalone entry</a>, but that its narrative setups might pay off later into the season.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Telltale Games also released a new trailer for Episode 2 of The Walking Dead Season 2:</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6417429" data-width="854" data-height="480"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6417429/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p dir="ltr" style=""> </p><p style=""> </p> Fri, 28 Feb 2014 04:08:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-walking-dead-season-2-episode-2-coming-next-week/1100-6418018/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/verizon-says-gamers-should-pay-more-for-bandwidth/1100-6418017/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2445789-verizon.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2445789" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2445789-verizon.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2445789"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1179/11799911/2445789-verizon.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">Heavy Internet users, like those who stream lots of high-definition video or download video games regularly, should pay more for bandwidth compared to people who don't. That's the opinion of Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam, who said this week that the concept of flat-rate Internet we've grown accustomed to might be headed out the door in the not-too-distant future.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"It's only natural that the heavy users help contribute to the investment to keep the Web healthy," McAdam said during a conference call on Monday, as reported by <a href="http://www.networkworld.com/news/2014/022414-verizon-heavy-web-users-should-279060.html" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">IDG News Service</a>. "That is the most important concept of net neutrality."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">McDowell also brushed aside concerns that Verizon, which rallied against the now-rejected net neutrality rules, would selectively block or throttle bandwidth access.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"We make our money by carrying traffic," he said. "That's how we make dollars. So to view that we're going to be advantaging one over the other really is a lot of histrionics, I think, at this point."</p><p style="">Currently, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) like Verizon and Comcast allow subscribers to stream <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/pokemon-movies-and-tv-shows-coming-to-netflix-this-week/1100-6418009/" data-ref-id="1100-6418009">high-quality video content</a> through applications like Netflix or <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/killzone-shadow-fall-final-file-size-is-39-7gb/1100-6415765/" data-ref-id="1100-6415765">download 39GB video games </a>without any data cap. This could change, and the indeed, gamers would be affected. But any changes to the status quo remain to be seen.</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> Fri, 28 Feb 2014 03:56:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/verizon-says-gamers-should-pay-more-for-bandwidth/1100-6418017/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/apple-and-google-meet-with-european-commission-to-discuss-in-app-purchases/1100-6418016/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1493/14930800/2445774-8044942026-DLDifF6R6ETGoHBPAfEDcwbRnZiTvty074hd0WQuRJug7RbfR7ihrkZXgt5zACKejbL6%3Dh900" data-ref-id="1300-2445774" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1493/14930800/2445774-8044942026-DLDifF6R6ETGoHBPAfEDcwbRnZiTvty074hd0WQuRJug7RbfR7ihrkZXgt5zACKejbL6%3Dh900" data-ref-id="1300-2445774"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1493/14930800/2445774-8044942026-DLDifF6R6ETGoHBPAfEDcwbRnZiTvty074hd0WQuRJug7RbfR7ihrkZXgt5zACKejbL6%3Dh900"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">The European Commission is meeting with Apple, Google, and various European consumer authorities to discuss free-to-play games and their associated in-app purchases.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The group, which finishes its two-day discussions today, is aiming to debate four main issues raised by consumers:</p><ul><li dir="ltr">Games advertised as "free" should not mislead consumers about the true costs involved.</li><li dir="ltr">Games should not contain direct exhortations to children to buy items in a game or to persuade an adult to buy items for them.</li><li dir="ltr">Consumers should be adequately informed about the payment arrangements and purchases should not be debited through default settings without consumers' explicit consent.</li><li dir="ltr">Traders should provide an email address so that consumers can contact them in case of queries or complaints.</li></ul><p dir="ltr" style="">The European Commission is an executive body of the European Union, and is tasked with proposing legislation alongside the smooth running of the EU. In outlining its next steps, the group says it hopes to come to a "mutual understanding" with the games industry over its practices regarding in-app purchases.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">It also states that Europe's "app economy" employs over 1 million people and is expected to be worth €63bn (£51bn/$86bn) in the next five years.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">This meeting follows a recent report by the UK's Office of Fair Trading, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/free-to-play-games-ordered-to-address-misleading-exploitative-practices-by-uk-government/1100-6417471/">which set out eight guidelines that developers should follow</a> in order to make their games more transparent about fees and charges.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Apple also found itself in a bit of a pickle last month when the US Federal Trade Commission ordered the tech giant to <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/apple-to-pay-at-least-32-5-million-to-refund-kids-in-app-purchases/1100-6417149/">pay out at least $32.5 million in refunds</a> to consumers whose children made purchases without their consent.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6406896" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6406896/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p dir="ltr" style=""> </p> Fri, 28 Feb 2014 03:14:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/apple-and-google-meet-with-european-commission-to-discuss-in-app-purchases/1100-6418016/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-battlefield-4-class-action-lawsuit-went-nowhere/1100-6418006/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1197/11970954/2369153-battlefield+4+-+paracel+storm+3.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2369153" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1197/11970954/2369153-battlefield+4+-+paracel+storm+3.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2369153"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1197/11970954/2369153-battlefield+4+-+paracel+storm+3.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p style="">The class-action lawsuit against Electronic Arts concerning <a href="/battlefield-4/" data-ref-id="false">Battlefield 4</a> has amounted to nothing at all. Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP--the legal team behind the high-profile Enron lawsuit--<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/class-action-lawsuit-commenced-over-buggy-battlefield-4-ea-calls-it-meritless-update/1100-6416790/" data-ref-id="1100-6416790">commenced the legal action in the middle of December</a>, but the case required a lead plaintiff (someone materially harmed by the company's sales performance) to come forward within 60 days for the case to become an actual class-action lawsuit.</p><p style="">That never happened. And now all mention of the case has been <a href="http://www.rgrdlaw.com/cases.html" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">scrubbed from Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd's website</a>. We have reached out to Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd a half-dozen times over the past two weeks and in every case could not reach the lawyers behind the proceedings. Messages through voicemail and email were not returned.</p><p style="">The original complaint alleged that during the July 24-December 3 Class Period, defendants issued "materially false and misleading statements" regarding Battlefield 4. As a result of these statements, EA's share value rose and reached a high for the period of $28.13--allowing certain EA senior executives to sell their shares at the inflated price, the suit claimed. Various EA senior executives--including CEO Andrew Wilson--indeed <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/class-action-lawsuit-commenced-over-buggy-battlefield-4-ea-calls-it-meritless-update/1100-6416790/" data-ref-id="1100-6416790">sold thousands of shares</a> ahead of Battlefield 4's release in November, but it appears this was not out of the ordinary.</p><p style="">The lawsuit also featured charges related to the <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/latest-battlefield-4-patch-aims-to-make-life-easier-for-ps4-ps3-and-360-owners/1100-6416781/" data-ref-id="1100-6416781">bug-ridden PlayStation 4 version of Battlefield 4</a>. EA's share value fell after the company disclosed the game's various issues, and then even further after EA said it had <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-on-battlefield-4-issues-we-will-not-stop-until-this-is-right/1100-6416546/" data-ref-id="1100-6416546">halted all future projects until the issues could be fixed</a>. EA has since clarified that its work on fixing the Battlefield 4 issues has <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-stock-rebounds-after-publisher-confirms-no-dice-projects-have-been-delayed/1100-6416586/" data-ref-id="1100-6416586">not impacted the release schedule of any of its future games</a>, which led to the <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-stock-rebounds-after-publisher-confirms-no-dice-projects-have-been-delayed/1100-6416586/" data-ref-id="1100-6416586">company's stock bouncing back significantly</a>.</p><p style="">From day one, EA maintained that the lawsuit was "<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/class-action-lawsuit-commenced-over-buggy-battlefield-4-ea-calls-it-meritless-update/1100-6416790/" data-ref-id="1100-6416790">meritless</a>," telling GameSpot in December that, "We intend to aggressively defend ourselves, and we're confident the court will dismiss the complaint in due course." We have reached out to EA corporate communication for a comment on the lawsuit's dissolution and are awaiting a response.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6416394" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6416394/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><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><br /></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Fri, 28 Feb 2014 02:15:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-battlefield-4-class-action-lawsuit-went-nowhere/1100-6418006/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/there-will-definitely-be-halo-news-at-e3-343i-said-to-have-a-great-plan/1100-6418015/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1493/14930800/2445761-2747943929-20418.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2445761" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1493/14930800/2445761-2747943929-20418.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2445761"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1493/14930800/2445761-2747943929-20418.jpg"></a></figure><p style="">There will definitely be some Halo news at E3 2014, Microsoft has said.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"Halo news will be coming at E3," said Microsoft exec Phil Spencer on <a href="https://twitter.com/XboxP3/statuses/439214098123739136" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a>. "343i has a great plan in place, will be cool to share with everyone."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">But what could it be? <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/update-white-xbox-one-coming-in-2014-halo-2-anniversary-edition-and-titanfall-console-spotted-report/1100-6417425/" data-ref-id="1100-6417425">Halo 2 Anniversary</a>? Halo 5? A trailer for whatever live action Halo series that Steven Spielberg<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/halo-tv-series-in-the-works-with-steven-spielberg/1100-6408658/" data-ref-id="1100-6408658"> is working on</a>, the one that's been completely absent since Microsoft first unveiled the Xbox One?</p><p dir="ltr" style="">While Microsoft isn't exactly shy about teasing Halo news, the company will only officially confirm that the Halo 'journey' will continue in 2014.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">One rumour is that <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-responds-to-halo-2-anniversary-rumor-halo-2-is-a-good-game/1100-6417507/" data-ref-id="1100-6417507">Halo 5 won't see a release until 2015</a>, leaving Halo 2 Anniversary to represent Master Chief on store shelves this holiday season.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">343 Industries recently spoke briefly about how it plans to make <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/halo-for-xbox-one-will-be-transformative-concept-art-released/1100-6417054/" data-ref-id="1100-6417054">Halo 5 more "transformative" than its predecessor</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"We're proud of what we accomplished with our first release in Halo 4 and now we're focused on something much more transformative as we make the leap to the next generation of Xbox," 343i executive producer Josh Holmes <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/halo-for-xbox-one-will-be-transformative-concept-art-released/1100-6417054/">said back in January</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The creative director for the new Halo will also be Tim Longo, who previously worked on Tomb Raider.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">A trailer for the title that many presume to be Halo 5--though Microsoft won't say for sure--was shown at E3 2013. But will it come out in 2014?</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6409585" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6409585/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p> Fri, 28 Feb 2014 01:54:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/there-will-definitely-be-halo-news-at-e3-343i-said-to-have-a-great-plan/1100-6418015/ http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/resident-evil-4-hd-edition-review/1900-6415680/ <p style="">Nine years is a long time to wait for a proper port, even for a game as celebrated as <a href="/resident-evil-4/" data-ref-id="false">Resident Evil 4</a>. Its release on the GameCube in 2005 ushered in a new era for the franchise, as well as a different perspective and play style that its sequels quickly inherited. Capcom capitalized on its immense success, porting the game to multiple platforms, and the game was graciously welcomed by the succeeding console generation on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Though nine years is indeed a lot of time for a second PC port, there is a reason it may be warranted. Resident Evil 4 has been available on the PC since 2007, but its release was less than stellar compared to its console brethren. The horror it unleashed was more on a technical level, given the lack of mouse controls and the option to adjust visual settings. Dubbed Resident Evil 4 Ultimate HD Edition, the game has returned in an attempt to set past wrongs right. The game has received substantial upgrades, and may be the best version yet released, even if "ultimate" might not be the right word.</p><p style="">Resident Evil 4 has returned to the PC with a fresh purpose. Unlike the original port, this latest edition comes complete with a host of welcome enhancements. The game has been adjusted for widescreen and 1080p resolution fixed at 60 frames per second. There is also native keyboard and mouse support with options for custom key binding, anti-aliasing, a bevy of high-resolution textures, and greatly reduced loading times. Resident Evil 4 HD contains the original game, complete with all prior additional content, including the Separate Ways side campaign.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2445121-0001.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2445121" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2445121-0001.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2445121"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/416/4161502/2445121-0001.jpg"></a><figcaption>The evil has returned and is sharper than ever.</figcaption></figure><p style="">The story of Resident Evil 4 is nearly common knowledge at this point. Ashley Graham, the daughter of the president of the United States, has been abducted, and series veteran Leon S. Kennedy has been dispatched to a remote, undisclosed village in Spain to recover her. There, he discovers that the religious cult responsible for the kidnapping has unleashed an ancient, mind-controlling parasite called Las Plagas onto the Spanish countryside. The game differs from its predecessors, detaching itself from the series' staple enemies, zombies, and favoring multifaceted foes that display cunning and a dark intelligence. As Leon progresses, enemies grow more grotesque, shedding their humanity and replacing it with a cold, insectoid carapace.</p><p style="">Leon travels across varied and fascinating environments as he searches for the missing Ashley. Adhering to the franchise's history of creepy atmosphere and dark locales, Resident Evil 4 features misty forests, rundown houses, musty caverns, a labyrinthine castle, and military facilities. Enemy types vary greatly and include pitchfork-wielding farmers, chanting cultists, and horrifying genetically engineered monstrosities that can force even the most stalwart players to turn heel. But Leon isn't alone against the infected horde. He is joined by a cast of interesting characters, some newly met and others appearing out of his history, teasing past romantic entanglements and bitter rivalries. The dialogue and some later sequences get goofy at times, but the story's somber overtones keep things intense, from the slow trek through creeping fog, all the way to the explosive finale.</p><figure data-align="left" data-size="small" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2445123-0003.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2445123" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2445123-0003.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2445123"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_small/416/4161502/2445123-0003.jpg"></a><figcaption>Play as agent Ada Wong in two unlockable side campaigns.</figcaption></figure><p style="">The main attraction of Resident Evil 4 HD is the graphical upgrades, and what Capcom has done to breathe new life into its aging thriller is impressive, mostly. Leon and his assortment of allies and foes have never looked shaper or better defined. The wide-screen support with high-resolution textures running at a crisp, smooth 60 frames per second should be enough to get even the hearts of most veteran Resident Evil 4 fans pumping with adrenaline once again. And, yes, it all performs beautifully. Trees and shadows are imbued with realistic grace, text featured in menus and passing notes is clean, and even the fine-stitched lettering on Leon's alternate Raccoon City Police uniform is easily legible. However, the new textures have an unintentionally negative side effect.</p><p style="">One of the reasons behind Resident Evil 4's launch into stardom was the game's unequivocal attention to detail. Capcom took special care in crafting a realistic and believable world with a gloomy ambiance. While Resident Evil 4 HD boasts high-quality textures, they aren't universal, meaning the original textures that have lingered since 2005 stand out more than ever, ironically making the game feel more aged than ever. In the game, you may stumble across a stone wall composed of realistic cracks and earthy green moss. But in the same area, you could find a wooden box leaning up against the wall that still retains the archaic textures, resulting in a blurry, brown object strikingly out of place.</p><figure data-align="right" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2445124-0004.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2445124" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2445124-0004.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2445124"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/416/4161502/2445124-0004.jpg"></a><figcaption>High-resolution textures are not universal, causing some objects to stand out.</figcaption></figure><p style="">It can get distracting, considering it's difficult not to notice a stark contrast between a building and the ground it stands upon. Many of the new skins feel too clean, scrubbing away rotten wood and rust, robbing the game of its dingy flavor. Castle walls look sharp, and research laboratories feel uninviting and sterile, but the caverns between them look muddy, with textures that are warped and stretched. Texture glitches also pop up from time to time, and measure in intensity from flickering to, on a rare occasion, getting replaced by what appeared to be the image designated for text, because the enemies turned black and were covered in lettering. The game lets you switch back to original textures if you like, but the heavy pixelation may not offer abatement.</p><p style="">Benefiting from the graphical overhaul are all but one of the cutscenes during Leon's campaign, which play out in real time. Capcom gave far less attention to Separate Ways, which still includes low-quality full-motion video cutscenes that look even worse due to the game's higher resolution. There is also a grievous error that occurs following nearly every video. As the game transitions from the clip back to gameplay, there is a strong chance the screen will turn bright green for up to five seconds.</p><p style="">This passing annoyance quickly treads into frustrating territory. The game occasionally challenges you to complete a quick-time event between scenes. This transition alone, which takes you from a blurry clip, to sudden action, and onto the following clip, oscillates with enough force to threaten whiplash. Being asked to press a pair of buttons between the scenes comes as a jolt, and the lag produced may decrease the amount of time allowed to complete the move, ending in failure. In one such moment, I missed my cue and had to try again. Except the second time, the green screen overlapped the brisk moment of gameplay and cleared only after it was too late. To continue my game, I had to press the appropriate buttons right as the green screen appeared.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2445125-0005.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2445125" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2445125-0005.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2445125"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/416/4161502/2445125-0005.jpg"></a><figcaption>Texture glitches are rare, but still exist.</figcaption></figure><p style="">The loudest complaint befalling the original port of Resident Evil 4 to the PC was the lack of mouse support. The squirrely, nauseating user-created aim mods that followed only exacerbated the issue. During that time, PC users had to either get used to it or opt to play the game using a controller. Though aiming with the mouse is finally possible, it is far from perfect. When you're fighting at close range, the laser sight has a chance to twitch, making fights against advancing ganados more strenuous than necessary. At long distance, aiming a weapon's laser pointer has a slippery, unnatural feel, making shots difficult and unnecessarily taxing on your ammo supply. There is also a short, but noticeable, delay between holding out the knife and being able to look around.</p><p style="">Like before, your best chance is to equip yourself with a gamepad. The most preferable choice is the Xbox 360 controller, since the game has been updated to support it; gone is the need to memorize the cryptic numbered buttons from the old PC port, because the game includes appropriate onscreen graphics for the device. When you have a gamepad in hand, the controls are roughly comparable to the GameCube experience. The camera floats behind the protagonist's shoulder, creating a third-person view. When an enemy is spotted, the game requires you to first hold your aim, while the camera flies down closer, enlarging your field of vision. Combat favors strategy, offering different ways to dispatch enemies based on the current situation. Going gung ho and blasting away may leave you scrambling for ammunition, and the optional knife does only so much against tougher foes later down the line.</p><blockquote data-size="medium" data-align="left"><p style="">The story's somber overtones keep things intense, from the slow trek through creeping fog, all the way to the explosive finale.</p></blockquote><p style="">Shooting enemies in the head stops them in their place, causing momentary disorientation. Going for the legs is often a better choice, because it causes your targets to drop down, giving you ample opportunity to either deliver a bone-crunching spin kick or momentarily escape and create some distance. There are many crowd-control options, from shotguns to a variety of grenade types, as well as long-range weapons such as sniper rifles, which add a bit of stealth to the mix. Though the game is more of an action adventure game than survival horror, it is not without tense moments and jump scares.</p><p style="">Aiming locks you in place, forcing you to carefully position the laser sight before taking shots. The choice behind this method of combat is done with purpose in mind. By keeping you grounded, the game challenges you to take your shots intelligently, all the while staying aware of the environment around you. No matter how far into the campaign you have gone, you perpetually suffer from a tingling sensation at the back of your skull as you fearfully wonder if someone, or something, will pounce from behind you. Enemies range from regular fodder to the deadly special types, who carry fearsome weapons like chainsaws and miniguns, and are able to stand up to a lot of abuse before falling. And don't forget the infected dogs, with their strained panting heard even above the thundering sound of their pads hitting the dirt, forcing the hairs on the back of my neck to stand on end even after all these years.</p><figure data-align="right" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2445126-0008.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2445126" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2445126-0008.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2445126"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/416/4161502/2445126-0008.jpg"></a><figcaption>Environments include dank buildings, caverns, and an ancient castle.</figcaption></figure><p style="">Such moments are a constant reminder of the excellent gameplay at the core of Resident Evil 4, which set the benchmark for action adventure games. It has been many years since I delved into Leon's quest, and I was delighted by the visual upgrades, from the lovingly retouched Amenhotep typewriter to the finely detailed garbage bins I gleefully tossed Ashley into at every given opportunity. Texture gripes aside, Resident Evil 4 still has the chops to stand up to the test of time thanks to its moody atmosphere and tight, edge-of-your-seat gameplay.</p><p style="">It took longer than it should have, but PC players finally have access to a proper port of the game. It may be showing its age, but Resident Evil 4 HD stands as the best version available. There is about 30 hours of content in this edition, which runs for a reasonable $20. So if you have waited this long to try the game out, or if you feel the urge to give it another go, there is no better time than now. From its humble beginning, Resident Evil 4 has taken a long journey to get to this point.</p> Fri, 28 Feb 2014 00:01:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/resident-evil-4-hd-edition-review/1900-6415680/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/dayz-early-access-review/1100-6417979/ <p style=""> </p><p style=""><em>GameSpot's early access reviews evaluate unfinished games that are nonetheless available for purchase by the public. While the games in question are not considered finished by their creators, you may still devote money, time, and bandwidth for the privilege of playing them before they are complete. The review below critiques a work in progress, and represents a snapshot of the game at the time of the review's publication.</em></p><p style="">DayZ claims to be a zombie game, and it's true that you can occasionally find the undead scuttling about like drunken ravers looking for double high fives. If you have a weapon, you can slice them up like so much sushi, or you can try to outrun them in a high-stakes match of cross-country racing. (That's usually the smarter approach.) But they're about as common as smiles in <a href="/dark-souls/" data-ref-id="false">Dark Souls</a> right now, and oddly enough, this works in DayZ's favor. In fact, DayZ's emptiness renders it about as close to a video game version of Cormac McCarthy's <em>The Road</em> as there's ever been, because the current emphasis is on interactions with people rather than with putrefied riffraff, though sometimes I think I wouldn't mind if the former were taken out altogether.</p><p style="">In this frightening, desolate landscape, your goal is simply to stay alive by scavenging for food and weapons, finding proper shelter, and fending off anyone who threatens your survival. There's no easy way to orient yourself if you've forgotten <a href="/arma-ii/" data-ref-id="false">Arma II</a>'s fiddly control scheme; mMere seconds after my first spawn into the world, I found my poorly customizable avatar being slapped around by a zombie, and he died an undistinguished death around 30 seconds later while I dug around in the escape menu reacquainting myself with generally nonstandard button maps for pulling out weapons and hitting things with them. DayZ lets you use a controller if you wish, but it's even more cumbersome and not worth the effort.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6417105" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6417105/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style="">Later spawns dumped me in the middle of broad fields near the coast that led to crimson barns, towering construction cranes, and deserted buildings. The colors and textures for the post-Soviet nation of Chernarus are far richer here than they were in the original Arma II mod, and the derelict beauty serves as a nice contrast to the dangers it conceals. New, too, is the ability to enter almost every building and rummage for weapons, food, and the occasional antibiotics. No music distracts you from the desolation, and the sound design manages to evoke the fear that every creek of sheet metal might be death on the way. Chancing upon a town can be terrifying; for all the promise in those once-cozy homes and their picketed yards, there's a chance they'll deliver deaths that you never see coming.</p><p style="">DayZ works so well as a survival sim because it puts few barriers between you and the world around you. Gone are the tidy health and stamina bars that sneak into the corners of similar first-person games; instead, DayZ gnaws at your confidence with little nags like "My stomach grumbles" or "I feel like having a drink." And then there are the messages you never want to see, such as "I feel nauseous" or "I can feel warm blood on my clothes." There's a system behind all this--get shot, and you slowly lose blood unless you bandage it--but the numbers stay hidden.</p><figure data-align="right" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/mig/3/7/5/1/1983751-676539_20120801_002.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-1983751" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/mig/3/7/5/1/1983751-676539_20120801_002.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-1983751"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/mig/3/7/5/1/1983751-676539_20120801_002.jpg"></a></figure><p style="">DayZ wisely reserves its menus for essentials like its inventory, which now sports a drag-and-drop option in an improvement over the mod. The inventory itself expands greatly once you discover items with pockets like knapsacks and hoodies, thus delivering some of the satisfaction the discovery of these items would likely yield in real life. Bohemia Interactive knows it has made a game that's chiefly about foraging, and it usually gets the experience right.</p><p style="">Zombies number so few that it's possible to go half an hour without seeing one, and when you do, there's a good chance you'll see it running through doors or even vanishing under the terrain. The low population lends an air of reality to DayZ; many games feature zombie populations more suited to New York City than to cozy rural villages. The sparse undead populace is just as well, given that dealing with them is rarely a rewarding endeavor. Zombies tend to rush you from hundreds of yards away the moment you enter their line of sight, and shooting at them with the laughably few guns available only attracts more.</p><p style="">But it's not really the zombies you have to worry about. They're stupid things, usually killable with a hefty axe blow if you happen to have an axe on you. (Provided, that is, that the axe doesn't bug out and fail to make contact.) It's the other players who instill the most fear. Sometimes you come across a nice one, and a sense of camaraderie emerges as you scrounge through buildings and take out the undead together. Most of the time, however, they're out to kill you. Some play nice at first, and then lead you into ambushes where unseen snipers shoot you down. Still others may trick you into coming near, and then try to bury an axe in your face because they like the look of your hoodie and want it for themselves. Attempting to hide from and survive against humans with actual intelligence elevates DayZ to new heights of tension and unpredictability.</p><figure data-align="left" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/mig/3/7/5/3/1983753-676539_20120801_004.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-1983753" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/mig/3/7/5/3/1983753-676539_20120801_004.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-1983753"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/mig/3/7/5/3/1983753-676539_20120801_004.jpg"></a></figure><p style="">I suspect most of those players are bored. DayZ presents some memorable moments in its current state, and when you do find people who are willing to work and survive with you, you could create bonds so deep that your friendship might carry over into the real world. But DayZ loses its edge many hours in. You learn the tricks of finding new gear and weapons, and you learn which towns to avoid and which to ransack. Each respawn leaves you more experienced and thus stronger, and that confidence seems to encourage a desire to harass the newer players and loot their pitiful belongings. By the time you've put in around 20 hours, you know the secrets to crafting and making bandages out of old T-shirts. You're a survivor.</p><p style="">You're a survivor, that is, with no job but to survive. That's the appeal of the alpha; since there are no objectives--and thus no hope--your only option is to keep surviving until death inevitably overtakes you. It's bleak, yes, but in many ways, it delivers a sense of realism you don't get in many zombie games (or open worlds in general, for that matter). Given time, there's a truly great and memorable experience waiting to be explored, one that will come into its own with new and better weapons and more interactive elements such as vehicles. But as Bohemia makes so clear from the moment you boot up DayZ, this is an alpha. It's incomplete, and it shows. Yet Chernarus is well on its way to growing into the clothes that the developer has stitched for it, and if you feel you've got the steely will necessary to survive, DayZ is ready to test it. </p><table data-max-width="true"><tbody><tr><td><p style=""><strong>What's There?</strong></p></td><td><b><i>A vast, explorable (but seriously unfinished) Eastern European map that captures the experience of living in a postapocalyptic zombieland.</i></b></td></tr><tr><td><p style=""><strong>What's to Come?</strong></p></td><td><b><i>More zombies, animals for hunting, greater variety of gathering opportunities, cooking, better server architecture.</i></b></td></tr><tr><td><p style=""><strong>What Does it Cost?</strong></p></td><td><b><i>DayZ costs $29.99 on <a href="http://store.steampowered.com/app/221100/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Steam</a>, although the developers discourage paying for it unless you are "prepared to handle with serious issues and possible interruptions of game functioning." And, yes, these things exist.</i></b></td></tr><tr><td><p style=""><strong>When Will it Be Finished?</strong></p></td><td><b><i>There's currently no concrete release date, and Bohemia Interactive has repeatedly spoken of DayZ as a work in progress.</i></b></td></tr><tr><td><p style=""><strong>What's the Verdict?</strong></p></td><td><p style=""><b><i>DayZ oozes with potential, though some elements are either bugged, unfinished, or unimplemented. That said, it delivers uncommonly appealing survival experiences and risky player interactions that lend credibility to its pretty environments. It'll probably be great, but for the time being, it requires uncommon patience.</i></b></p><p style=""> </p></td></tr></tbody></table> Thu, 27 Feb 2014 19:37:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/dayz-early-access-review/1100-6417979/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/official-minecraft-movie-coming-from-warner-bros/1100-6418014/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/gamespot/images/2011/331/reviews/1827132-606524_20111128_001.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-1827132" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/gamespot/images/2011/331/reviews/1827132-606524_20111128_001.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-1827132"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/gamespot/images/2011/331/reviews/1827132-606524_20111128_001.jpg"></a></figure><p style="">[UPDATE] <a href="http://www.deadline.com/2014/02/minecraft-movie-warner-bros-lego-movie-producer/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Deadline</a> reports that <em>The LEGO Movie</em> producer Roy Lee will produce the live-action Minecraft movie alongside Jill Messick (<em>Mean Girls</em>). </p><p style=""><em>The original story is below.</em></p><p style=""> </p><p style="">Looks like Warner Bros has been tapped to be working on a potential Minecraft movie. Creator Markus "Notch" Persson revealed the news on Twitter earlier today.</p><p style="">According to <a href="https://twitter.com/notch/status/439164234099073024" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Notch's post on Twitter</a>, an individual attempted to pre-emptively leak the news. The Minecraft creator followed up with, "I wanted to be the leak!"</p><p style="">The crowdfunding campaign for a Minecraft-inspired full-length feature film was <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/minecraft-inspired-movie-shut-down/1100-6417633/" data-ref-id="1100-6417633">recently shut down</a>. Developer Mojang's <a href="https://account.mojang.com/documents/minecraft_eula" rel="nofollow">End User License Agreement (EULA) for Minecraft</a> specifies that users cannot "make commercial use of anything we've made" or "try to make money from anything we've made."</p><p style="">A <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/minecraft-documentary-premiering-on-xbox-live/1100-6401694/" data-ref-id="1100-6401694">documentary chronicling the development of Minecraft was produced by 2 Player Productions and released in December 2012</a>. Other Minecraft licensing deals have included arrangements for various clothing, accessories, and toys.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6406805" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6406805/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p> Thu, 27 Feb 2014 19:32:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/official-minecraft-movie-coming-from-warner-bros/1100-6418014/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/castlevania-lords-of-shadow-2-graphics-comparison/2300-6417446/ Lords of Shadow 2 looks great on PC. Here's a quick graphical comparison pinning the PS3 console version against it's PC counterpart. Just in case you can't decide which version you want. Thu, 27 Feb 2014 18:27:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/castlevania-lords-of-shadow-2-graphics-comparison/2300-6417446/
http://auth.gamespot.com/ Gamespot's Everything Feed! News, Reviews, Videos. Exploding with content? You bet. en-us Fri, 28 Feb 2014 07:27:05 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-throwing-huge-titanfall-launch-party-in-texas/1100-6418024/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2445838-titantitan.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2445838" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2445838-titantitan.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2445838"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1179/11799911/2445838-titantitan.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style=""><a href="/titanfall/" data-ref-id="false">Titanfall</a> is one of Microsoft's most-anticipated titles of 2014, so it should come as no surprise that the company has announced a huge launch party extravaganza to mark the game's release.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Microsoft will host a "launch celebration" for Titanfall at South By Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas starting on Monday, March 10 and running through midnight on March 11. Attending the event will be Xbox executives and personalities like Yusuf Mehdi and Major Nelson, as well as Respawn Entertainment cofounder Vince Zampella and community manager Abbie Heppe.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">A special performance by <a href="http://childishgambino.com/deepweb.html" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Childish Gambino</a> will cap off the evening.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The Titanfall launch event will take place at the Microsoft Studio at <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/323+Congress+Ave/@30.2659705,-97.743566,17z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x8644b50868052589:0xacdac1bc72922b22" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">323 Congress Ave.</a> and kicks off at 9 p.m. local time. Attendance will be on a first come, first admitted basis, though Microsoft said you can follow <a href="https://twitter.com/majornelson" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Major Nelson</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/Xbox" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Xbox</a> on Twitter for a chance to get into the event.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">If you can't make it to Austin, not to worry, as Microsoft will broadcast the Titanfall launch event via the <a href="http://www.twitch.tv/xbox" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">official Xbox Twitch channel</a>.</p><p style="">Finally, Microsoft noted that over 6,000 retailers across the United States will open at midnight on March 11 to start selling copies of Titanfall for Xbox One and PC. What's more, Microsoft is planning special launch events across Europe, Canada, Mexico, Australia, and New Zealand.</p><p style="">Titanfall <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/titanfall-for-xbox-360-delayed/1100-6417577/" data-ref-id="1100-6417577">launches March 25 for Xbox 360</a>. That version was developed externally by Bluepoint Games. In addition to the main game, Microsoft will sell a <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/get-titanfall-for-free-when-you-buy-an-xbox-one/1100-6417928/" data-ref-id="1100-6417928">special $500 Xbox One bundle </a>and a <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/65-xbox-one-titanfall-controller-revealed/1100-6417140/" data-ref-id="1100-6417140">$65 limited-run controller</a>. For more on Titanfall, be sure to read GameSpot's new feature <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/the-next-big-game-titanfall/" data-ref-id="false">The Next Big Game: Titanfall</a>.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6417174" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6417174/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </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><br /></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Fri, 28 Feb 2014 07:07:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-throwing-huge-titanfall-launch-party-in-texas/1100-6418024/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/counter-strike-co-creator-says-fps-games-not-as-exciting-as-they-used-to-be/1100-6418023/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2445829-tactical.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2445829" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2445829-tactical.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2445829"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1179/11799911/2445829-tactical.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">First-person shooter games are just not as compelling as they used to be, argues <a href="/counter-strike/" data-ref-id="false">Counter-Strike </a>co-creator Minh Le. Speaking with <a href="http://gamasutra.com/view/news/211749/Shootyman_A_candid_catchup_with_CounterStrike_cocreator_Minh_Le.php" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Gamasutra</a>, Le said his newest game, the free-to-play shooter <a href="/tactical-intervention/" data-ref-id="false">Tactical Intervention</a>, tried to reinvigorate the genre, but came up short.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"I don't think FPSes are as exciting as they used to be. I tried to contribute to fixing this, but I don't think... Tactical Intervention has not succeeded in terms of addressing some of the problems," Le said. "There's some stuff in TI that I really enjoy playing, but other stuff like the hostage mode, it didn't really pan out as well as I'd hoped."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Simply put, Le explained that he's running out of ideas for how to push the FPS genre forward and he believes he's not alone in this struggle.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"I think FPS games have gotten to the point where there's not much more you can add to it," he said. "Battlefield has really pushed it, and there's not a whole lot more you can do to it."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Tactical Intervention has struggled to find a playerbase, Le said, noting the game attracts only 600 concurrent players during peak play times. By comparison, <a href="http://store.steampowered.com/stats/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">more than 73,000 people are playing Counter Strike: Global Offensive right this second</a>. Part of the reason why his new game is facing an uphill battle is because the FPS market is flooded with games, he argued.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"To be honest, I think the FPS genre is just so saturated, and CS:GO has really just made it difficult for FPS games to compete in this market," Le said. "CS:GO has done a great job of making the experience so polished. It's got everything you'd really want from an FPS game. The whole presentation and everything is so... it's just really difficult for us to really draw a crowd away from these guys."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Le also spoke very candidly about Tactical Intervention's free-to-play model. He said he rallied against this "huge mistake," explaining that the game might have been better suited for a traditional paid release. However, higher-ups at the game's publisher mandated the game be free-to-play, meaning Le and the other designers have to "rewrite a lot of the game design."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">This decision did not pay off, Le said. "Unfortunately, it's not sustainable, financially. We're losing money. It's kinda obvious that we're not doing well financially."</p><p style="">Overall, Le said free-to-play business models only work for fantasy and sci-fi games, or those that aren't "tied down by the rules of reality." By selling weapon skins for games like Tactical Intervention or Counter Strike: Global Offensive, the game world becomes populated with "wacky and crazy" guns that don't match the game's original art style, he said.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6371541" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6371541/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><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><br /></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Fri, 28 Feb 2014 06:46:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/counter-strike-co-creator-says-fps-games-not-as-exciting-as-they-used-to-be/1100-6418023/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/dark-souls-2-preorders-50-percent-higher-than-the-original-as-namco-looks-to-attract-a-wider-audience/1100-6418022/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1493/14930800/2445820-5431866338-24274.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2445820" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1493/14930800/2445820-5431866338-24274.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2445820"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1493/14930800/2445820-5431866338-24274.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""><a href="/dark-souls-ii/" data-ref-id="false">Dark Souls II</a> has racked up 50 percent more preorders than its predecessor in the UK, publisher Bandai Namco <a href="http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/dark-souls-ii-pre-orders-50-up-over-original/0128870" rel="nofollow">has said to MCV</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">That makes sense, as the word-of-mouth success of the cult original is likely to have boosted interest in the sequel. Bandai Namco said in April 2013 that the original Dark Souls <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/dark-souls-crosses-23-million-sales/1100-6406891/">had crossed 2.3 million sales</a>. The publisher is also trying to push preorders of the title by offering the Black Armor edition, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/dark-souls-2-weapon-pack-makes-getting-started-easier-brave-players-can-opt-out/1100-6417694/">which comes with early access to some of the game's weapons</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Bandai Namco said in March 2012 that sales of Dark Souls, first released in October 2011, helped push the company to its strongest fiscal year since 2008 at the time.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Looking to Dark Souls II, the publisher says it will shortly invest another £1m into advertising the game in the UK as an attempt to expose the upcoming RPG to as wide an audience as possible.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"We have everything going for Dark Souls II," said Bandai Namco product manager Gary Chantler.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Dark Souls II will be released on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on March 11 in the US, and March 14 in the UK. A PC version will follow in the coming months.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6417378" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6417378/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p> Fri, 28 Feb 2014 05:57:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/dark-souls-2-preorders-50-percent-higher-than-the-original-as-namco-looks-to-attract-a-wider-audience/1100-6418022/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/british-spy-agency-considered-using-xbox-360-kinect-for-surveillance/1100-6418021/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2445812-kinectxbox360.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2445812" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2445812-kinectxbox360.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2445812"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1179/11799911/2445812-kinectxbox360.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">Could your Xbox Kinect camera be spying on you? According to secret documents provided by Edward Snowden to <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/27/gchq-nsa-webcam-images-internet-yahoo" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"><em>The Guardian</em></a>, as part of Britain's "Optic Nerve" program, the country's top intelligence agency--Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ)--identified the Xbox 360's Kinect as a potential surveillance tool.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"One presentation discusses with interest the potential and capabilities of the Xbox 360's Kinect camera, saying it generated 'fairly normal webcam traffic' and was being evaluated as part of a wider program," <em>The Guardian</em> explains.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Importantly, it's unclear if any actual snooping was ever conducted via Kinect. This is not the first time Microsoft's name has come up in spying reports, as leaked documents from January showed that National Security Agency (NSA) and GCHQ agents <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/government-infiltrates-xbox-live-and-world-of-warcraft-in-search-of-terrorists/1100-6416610/" data-ref-id="1100-6416610">scooped up user data from Xbox Live (as well as World of Warcraft and Second Life)</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Microsoft has previously denied having any knowledge of spying activity through Xbox Live, and the company reiterated that stance in a statement to GameSpot on today's report.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"Microsoft has never heard of this program. However, we're concerned about any reports of governments surreptitiously collecting private customer data," a company representative said. "That's why in December we initiated a <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-blasts-government-snooping-pledges-to-enhance-encryption/1100-6416565/" data-ref-id="1100-6416565">broad effort to expand encryption</a> across our services and are advocating for legal reforms."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">For its part, the GCHQ says its initiatives are always carried out legally.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"All of GCHQ's work is carried out in accordance with a strict legal and policy framework which ensures that our activities are authorised, necessary and proportionate, and that there is rigorous oversight, including from the secretary of state, the interception and intelligence services commissioners and the Parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee," the group said.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The Optic Nerve program began in 2008 and was still active in 2012, though it's unclear if the GCHQ or NSA is also considering the Xbox One's Kinect--which captures in full 1080p and has a wider field of view--as a potential surveillance tool. Microsoft product planning director Albert Penello told <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-talks-digital-only-future-kinect-and-why-xbox-one-is-worth-100-more-than-playstation-4/1100-6413920/" data-ref-id="1100-6413920">GameSpot in September</a> that capturing personal data via Kinect on Xbox One is "somewhat implausible," technologically speaking. He said people who are concerned about potential spying can simply unplug their Kinect.</p><p style=""><em>The Guardian</em>'s report today primarily focused on the GCHQ's widespread collection of video webcam images from millions of Yahoo users--regardless of whether or not they were suspected of participating in illegal activity.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6416249" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6416249/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><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><br /></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Fri, 28 Feb 2014 05:49:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/british-spy-agency-considered-using-xbox-360-kinect-for-surveillance/1100-6418021/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/sony-electronics-cutting-1-000-jobs-by-end-of-2014-doesn-t-affect-gaming/1100-6418020/ <p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">Sony Electronics, the division of the technology giant that creates TVs and cameras, will lay off about one-third of its staff--or around 1,000 people--by the end of 2014. The company announced the news Wednesday, which is aimed at allowing the company to "maintain its competitiveness in an evolving consumer electronics market."</p><figure data-align="left" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2445806-sonyjobs.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2445806" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2445806-sonyjobs.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2445806"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/1179/11799911/2445806-sonyjobs.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">The layoffs are part of the <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/sony-selling-pc-business-reforming-tv-unit-and-laying-off-5-000-people/1100-6417558/" data-ref-id="1100-6417558">5,000 jobs worldwide Sony announced it would cut earlier this month</a>. On top of the job cuts, Sony said it will close 20 Sony Stores in the United States, leaving only 11 left in operation across the country. A breakdown of affected stores is <a href="http://blog.sony.com/press/sony-stores/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">available on Sony's website</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"While these moves were extremely tough, they were absolutely necessary to position us in the best possible place for future growth," Sony Electronics president and COO Mike Fasulo said in a statement. "I am entirely confident in our ability to turn the business around, in achieving our preferred future, and continue building on our flawless commitment to customer loyalty through the complete entertainment experience only Sony can offer."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Meanwhile, <em>The Wall Street Journal</em>'s <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2014/02/28/struggling-sony-plans-sale-of-old-tokyo-headquarters/?mod=ST1" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">AllThingsD </a>reports that Sony will sell its former Japanese headquarters for an estimated $146 million. It would be the third major office building Sony has sold in the past year, following the <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/sony-selling-us-office-for-11-billion/1100-6402629/" data-ref-id="1100-6402629">$1.1 billion sale of the company's U.S. headquarters</a> and one of its <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/sony-sells-office-building-for-12-billion/1100-6404622/" data-ref-id="1100-6404622">major outfits in Tokyo for another $1.2 billion in February 2013</a>.</p><p style="">Sony Corporation is a massive company and its Electronics division is one of a half-dozen business units at the company. Others include Sony Mobile, Sony Pictures, and Sony Music, as well as gaming-focused divisions like Sony Computer Entertainment and Sony Online Entertainment. Importantly, today's news does not ostensibly affecting Sony's gaming initiatives, though the company did recently <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/god-of-war-dev-canceled-a-new-ip-as-part-of-recent-layoffs/1100-6417985/" data-ref-id="1100-6417985">cut a number of jobs and cancel one game at God of War developer Sony Santa Monica</a>.</p><p style=""> </p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6416104" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6416104/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><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><br /></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Fri, 28 Feb 2014 05:04:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/sony-electronics-cutting-1-000-jobs-by-end-of-2014-doesn-t-affect-gaming/1100-6418020/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/aaa-games-won-t-feature-gay-protagonists-for-a-long-time-says-far-cry-writer/1100-6418019/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2445794-blooddragon.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2445794" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2445794-blooddragon.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2445794"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1179/11799911/2445794-blooddragon.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p style=""><strong><em>This post contains spoilers about James Bond movie Skyfall. That might sound strange, but it's true. </em></strong></p><p dir="ltr" style="">AAA games aren't likely to feature openly gay protagonists anytime soon over fears that such characters could negatively impact a game's sales potential, according to Ubisoft Montreal lead writer Lucien Soulban, who most recently worked on <a href="/far-cry-3-blood-dragon/" data-ref-id="false">Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"When are we going to see that gay protagonist in a AAA game? Not for a while, I suspect, because of fears that it'll impact sales," Lucien told the <a href="http://blog.ubi.com/shockingly-short-interview-lucien-soulban/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Ubisoft Blog</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"So either we'll see a bait-and-switch like the original Metroid with Samus Aran where we'll find out damn near after the fact (PS: And Dumbledore was gay), or it'll come out of left field with Rockstar, Valve, Naughty Dog or Telltale, perhaps," he added. "But when it happens, I hope it's a serious take on it and not played up for jokes."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Lucien said a better question might be, "When are we going to get a gay/lesbian AAA hero(ine) who isn't a one-off joke?" One example Lucien cited of what he believes is poor execution of a gay character in a major entertainment franchise was Javier Bardem's role as the villain Silva in James Bond movie <em>Skyfall</em>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"His character's sexuality was total shtick to satisfy one scene. Otherwise, he was a narcissist with mommy issues, and a pedophile to boot," Soulban said. "His 'seduction' of Bond was nothing more than vanity because Bond was his reflection, the new 'him.' Yay. So it bothers me when I hear people using his performance as a benchmark for diversity in entertainment, and I have heard it being bandied about."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">So what's it going to take for the video game industry to get to a place where more gay characters are featured in major games? Soulban said it's already happening, albeit only on the periphery, at least right now.</p><p style="">"We'll definitely see more of them, and I think it's happening quietly. Look at the choices offered in <a href="/mass-effect-2/" data-ref-id="false">Mass Effect 2</a> & <a href="/mass-effect-3/" data-ref-id="false">3</a>, or <a href="/fable-iii/" data-ref-id="false">Fable III</a>, or <a href="/dragon-age-ii/" data-ref-id="false">Dragon Age II</a> or <a href="/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim/" data-ref-id="false">Skyrim</a>, the gay characters in<a href="/borderlands-2/" data-ref-id="false"> Borderlands 2 </a>who mention it without much fanfare, etc. Video games have stopped 'announcing' gay characters. They're introducing them without much fanfare in an effort to say, '<em>Yeah, it's there and pretty normal</em>.' Call it: '<em>We're here, we're queer, and we're busy working</em>.'"</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6407709" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6407709/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </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><br /></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Fri, 28 Feb 2014 04:28:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/aaa-games-won-t-feature-gay-protagonists-for-a-long-time-says-far-cry-writer/1100-6418019/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-walking-dead-season-2-episode-2-coming-next-week/1100-6418018/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1493/14930800/2445793-7430578667-the-w.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2445793" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1493/14930800/2445793-7430578667-the-w.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2445793"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1493/14930800/2445793-7430578667-the-w.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">Episode 2 of <a href="/the-walking-dead-season-two/" data-ref-id="false">The Walking Dead Season 2</a>, dubbed A House Divided, will be released next Tuesday, March 4 for PC, Mac, and PS3, developer Telltale Games has confirmed.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Xbox 360 and iOS versions will follow at a later date. Vita versions of both Episode 1 and Episode 2 should also be available near the end of March, Telltale Games adds, priced at $4.99 each.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Season 2 of Telltale Games' adaptation of The Walking Dead revolves around Clementine, the orphaned girl discovered in a zombie-filled house by Season 1 protagonist Lee Everett.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The first episode of the season was released back in December 2013. GameSpot reviewer Carolyn Petit said the opening chapter of the series <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/the-walking-dead-season-two-episode-1-all-that-rem/1900-6415605/">did not work well as a standalone entry</a>, but that its narrative setups might pay off later into the season.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Telltale Games also released a new trailer for Episode 2 of The Walking Dead Season 2:</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6417429" data-width="854" data-height="480"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6417429/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p dir="ltr" style=""> </p><p style=""> </p> Fri, 28 Feb 2014 04:08:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-walking-dead-season-2-episode-2-coming-next-week/1100-6418018/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/verizon-says-gamers-should-pay-more-for-bandwidth/1100-6418017/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2445789-verizon.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2445789" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2445789-verizon.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2445789"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1179/11799911/2445789-verizon.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">Heavy Internet users, like those who stream lots of high-definition video or download video games regularly, should pay more for bandwidth compared to people who don't. That's the opinion of Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam, who said this week that the concept of flat-rate Internet we've grown accustomed to might be headed out the door in the not-too-distant future.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"It's only natural that the heavy users help contribute to the investment to keep the Web healthy," McAdam said during a conference call on Monday, as reported by <a href="http://www.networkworld.com/news/2014/022414-verizon-heavy-web-users-should-279060.html" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">IDG News Service</a>. "That is the most important concept of net neutrality."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">McDowell also brushed aside concerns that Verizon, which rallied against the now-rejected net neutrality rules, would selectively block or throttle bandwidth access.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"We make our money by carrying traffic," he said. "That's how we make dollars. So to view that we're going to be advantaging one over the other really is a lot of histrionics, I think, at this point."</p><p style="">Currently, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) like Verizon and Comcast allow subscribers to stream <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/pokemon-movies-and-tv-shows-coming-to-netflix-this-week/1100-6418009/" data-ref-id="1100-6418009">high-quality video content</a> through applications like Netflix or <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/killzone-shadow-fall-final-file-size-is-39-7gb/1100-6415765/" data-ref-id="1100-6415765">download 39GB video games </a>without any data cap. This could change, and the indeed, gamers would be affected. But any changes to the status quo remain to be seen.</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> Fri, 28 Feb 2014 03:56:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/verizon-says-gamers-should-pay-more-for-bandwidth/1100-6418017/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/apple-and-google-meet-with-european-commission-to-discuss-in-app-purchases/1100-6418016/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1493/14930800/2445774-8044942026-DLDifF6R6ETGoHBPAfEDcwbRnZiTvty074hd0WQuRJug7RbfR7ihrkZXgt5zACKejbL6%3Dh900" data-ref-id="1300-2445774" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1493/14930800/2445774-8044942026-DLDifF6R6ETGoHBPAfEDcwbRnZiTvty074hd0WQuRJug7RbfR7ihrkZXgt5zACKejbL6%3Dh900" data-ref-id="1300-2445774"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1493/14930800/2445774-8044942026-DLDifF6R6ETGoHBPAfEDcwbRnZiTvty074hd0WQuRJug7RbfR7ihrkZXgt5zACKejbL6%3Dh900"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">The European Commission is meeting with Apple, Google, and various European consumer authorities to discuss free-to-play games and their associated in-app purchases.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The group, which finishes its two-day discussions today, is aiming to debate four main issues raised by consumers:</p><ul><li dir="ltr">Games advertised as "free" should not mislead consumers about the true costs involved.</li><li dir="ltr">Games should not contain direct exhortations to children to buy items in a game or to persuade an adult to buy items for them.</li><li dir="ltr">Consumers should be adequately informed about the payment arrangements and purchases should not be debited through default settings without consumers' explicit consent.</li><li dir="ltr">Traders should provide an email address so that consumers can contact them in case of queries or complaints.</li></ul><p dir="ltr" style="">The European Commission is an executive body of the European Union, and is tasked with proposing legislation alongside the smooth running of the EU. In outlining its next steps, the group says it hopes to come to a "mutual understanding" with the games industry over its practices regarding in-app purchases.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">It also states that Europe's "app economy" employs over 1 million people and is expected to be worth €63bn (£51bn/$86bn) in the next five years.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">This meeting follows a recent report by the UK's Office of Fair Trading, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/free-to-play-games-ordered-to-address-misleading-exploitative-practices-by-uk-government/1100-6417471/">which set out eight guidelines that developers should follow</a> in order to make their games more transparent about fees and charges.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Apple also found itself in a bit of a pickle last month when the US Federal Trade Commission ordered the tech giant to <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/apple-to-pay-at-least-32-5-million-to-refund-kids-in-app-purchases/1100-6417149/">pay out at least $32.5 million in refunds</a> to consumers whose children made purchases without their consent.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6406896" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6406896/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p dir="ltr" style=""> </p> Fri, 28 Feb 2014 03:14:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/apple-and-google-meet-with-european-commission-to-discuss-in-app-purchases/1100-6418016/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-battlefield-4-class-action-lawsuit-went-nowhere/1100-6418006/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1197/11970954/2369153-battlefield+4+-+paracel+storm+3.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2369153" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1197/11970954/2369153-battlefield+4+-+paracel+storm+3.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2369153"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1197/11970954/2369153-battlefield+4+-+paracel+storm+3.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p style="">The class-action lawsuit against Electronic Arts concerning <a href="/battlefield-4/" data-ref-id="false">Battlefield 4</a> has amounted to nothing at all. Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP--the legal team behind the high-profile Enron lawsuit--<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/class-action-lawsuit-commenced-over-buggy-battlefield-4-ea-calls-it-meritless-update/1100-6416790/" data-ref-id="1100-6416790">commenced the legal action in the middle of December</a>, but the case required a lead plaintiff (someone materially harmed by the company's sales performance) to come forward within 60 days for the case to become an actual class-action lawsuit.</p><p style="">That never happened. And now all mention of the case has been <a href="http://www.rgrdlaw.com/cases.html" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">scrubbed from Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd's website</a>. We have reached out to Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd a half-dozen times over the past two weeks and in every case could not reach the lawyers behind the proceedings. Messages through voicemail and email were not returned.</p><p style="">The original complaint alleged that during the July 24-December 3 Class Period, defendants issued "materially false and misleading statements" regarding Battlefield 4. As a result of these statements, EA's share value rose and reached a high for the period of $28.13--allowing certain EA senior executives to sell their shares at the inflated price, the suit claimed. Various EA senior executives--including CEO Andrew Wilson--indeed <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/class-action-lawsuit-commenced-over-buggy-battlefield-4-ea-calls-it-meritless-update/1100-6416790/" data-ref-id="1100-6416790">sold thousands of shares</a> ahead of Battlefield 4's release in November, but it appears this was not out of the ordinary.</p><p style="">The lawsuit also featured charges related to the <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/latest-battlefield-4-patch-aims-to-make-life-easier-for-ps4-ps3-and-360-owners/1100-6416781/" data-ref-id="1100-6416781">bug-ridden PlayStation 4 version of Battlefield 4</a>. EA's share value fell after the company disclosed the game's various issues, and then even further after EA said it had <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-on-battlefield-4-issues-we-will-not-stop-until-this-is-right/1100-6416546/" data-ref-id="1100-6416546">halted all future projects until the issues could be fixed</a>. EA has since clarified that its work on fixing the Battlefield 4 issues has <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-stock-rebounds-after-publisher-confirms-no-dice-projects-have-been-delayed/1100-6416586/" data-ref-id="1100-6416586">not impacted the release schedule of any of its future games</a>, which led to the <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-stock-rebounds-after-publisher-confirms-no-dice-projects-have-been-delayed/1100-6416586/" data-ref-id="1100-6416586">company's stock bouncing back significantly</a>.</p><p style="">From day one, EA maintained that the lawsuit was "<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/class-action-lawsuit-commenced-over-buggy-battlefield-4-ea-calls-it-meritless-update/1100-6416790/" data-ref-id="1100-6416790">meritless</a>," telling GameSpot in December that, "We intend to aggressively defend ourselves, and we're confident the court will dismiss the complaint in due course." We have reached out to EA corporate communication for a comment on the lawsuit's dissolution and are awaiting a response.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6416394" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6416394/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><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><br /></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Fri, 28 Feb 2014 02:15:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-battlefield-4-class-action-lawsuit-went-nowhere/1100-6418006/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/there-will-definitely-be-halo-news-at-e3-343i-said-to-have-a-great-plan/1100-6418015/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1493/14930800/2445761-2747943929-20418.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2445761" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1493/14930800/2445761-2747943929-20418.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2445761"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1493/14930800/2445761-2747943929-20418.jpg"></a></figure><p style="">There will definitely be some Halo news at E3 2014, Microsoft has said.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"Halo news will be coming at E3," said Microsoft exec Phil Spencer on <a href="https://twitter.com/XboxP3/statuses/439214098123739136" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a>. "343i has a great plan in place, will be cool to share with everyone."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">But what could it be? <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/update-white-xbox-one-coming-in-2014-halo-2-anniversary-edition-and-titanfall-console-spotted-report/1100-6417425/" data-ref-id="1100-6417425">Halo 2 Anniversary</a>? Halo 5? A trailer for whatever live action Halo series that Steven Spielberg<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/halo-tv-series-in-the-works-with-steven-spielberg/1100-6408658/" data-ref-id="1100-6408658"> is working on</a>, the one that's been completely absent since Microsoft first unveiled the Xbox One?</p><p dir="ltr" style="">While Microsoft isn't exactly shy about teasing Halo news, the company will only officially confirm that the Halo 'journey' will continue in 2014.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">One rumour is that <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-responds-to-halo-2-anniversary-rumor-halo-2-is-a-good-game/1100-6417507/" data-ref-id="1100-6417507">Halo 5 won't see a release until 2015</a>, leaving Halo 2 Anniversary to represent Master Chief on store shelves this holiday season.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">343 Industries recently spoke briefly about how it plans to make <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/halo-for-xbox-one-will-be-transformative-concept-art-released/1100-6417054/" data-ref-id="1100-6417054">Halo 5 more "transformative" than its predecessor</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"We're proud of what we accomplished with our first release in Halo 4 and now we're focused on something much more transformative as we make the leap to the next generation of Xbox," 343i executive producer Josh Holmes <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/halo-for-xbox-one-will-be-transformative-concept-art-released/1100-6417054/">said back in January</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The creative director for the new Halo will also be Tim Longo, who previously worked on Tomb Raider.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">A trailer for the title that many presume to be Halo 5--though Microsoft won't say for sure--was shown at E3 2013. But will it come out in 2014?</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6409585" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6409585/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p> Fri, 28 Feb 2014 01:54:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/there-will-definitely-be-halo-news-at-e3-343i-said-to-have-a-great-plan/1100-6418015/ http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/resident-evil-4-hd-edition-review/1900-6415680/ <p style="">Nine years is a long time to wait for a proper port, even for a game as celebrated as <a href="/resident-evil-4/" data-ref-id="false">Resident Evil 4</a>. Its release on the GameCube in 2005 ushered in a new era for the franchise, as well as a different perspective and play style that its sequels quickly inherited. Capcom capitalized on its immense success, porting the game to multiple platforms, and the game was graciously welcomed by the succeeding console generation on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Though nine years is indeed a lot of time for a second PC port, there is a reason it may be warranted. Resident Evil 4 has been available on the PC since 2007, but its release was less than stellar compared to its console brethren. The horror it unleashed was more on a technical level, given the lack of mouse controls and the option to adjust visual settings. Dubbed Resident Evil 4 Ultimate HD Edition, the game has returned in an attempt to set past wrongs right. The game has received substantial upgrades, and may be the best version yet released, even if "ultimate" might not be the right word.</p><p style="">Resident Evil 4 has returned to the PC with a fresh purpose. Unlike the original port, this latest edition comes complete with a host of welcome enhancements. The game has been adjusted for widescreen and 1080p resolution fixed at 60 frames per second. There is also native keyboard and mouse support with options for custom key binding, anti-aliasing, a bevy of high-resolution textures, and greatly reduced loading times. Resident Evil 4 HD contains the original game, complete with all prior additional content, including the Separate Ways side campaign.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2445121-0001.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2445121" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2445121-0001.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2445121"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/416/4161502/2445121-0001.jpg"></a><figcaption>The evil has returned and is sharper than ever.</figcaption></figure><p style="">The story of Resident Evil 4 is nearly common knowledge at this point. Ashley Graham, the daughter of the president of the United States, has been abducted, and series veteran Leon S. Kennedy has been dispatched to a remote, undisclosed village in Spain to recover her. There, he discovers that the religious cult responsible for the kidnapping has unleashed an ancient, mind-controlling parasite called Las Plagas onto the Spanish countryside. The game differs from its predecessors, detaching itself from the series' staple enemies, zombies, and favoring multifaceted foes that display cunning and a dark intelligence. As Leon progresses, enemies grow more grotesque, shedding their humanity and replacing it with a cold, insectoid carapace.</p><p style="">Leon travels across varied and fascinating environments as he searches for the missing Ashley. Adhering to the franchise's history of creepy atmosphere and dark locales, Resident Evil 4 features misty forests, rundown houses, musty caverns, a labyrinthine castle, and military facilities. Enemy types vary greatly and include pitchfork-wielding farmers, chanting cultists, and horrifying genetically engineered monstrosities that can force even the most stalwart players to turn heel. But Leon isn't alone against the infected horde. He is joined by a cast of interesting characters, some newly met and others appearing out of his history, teasing past romantic entanglements and bitter rivalries. The dialogue and some later sequences get goofy at times, but the story's somber overtones keep things intense, from the slow trek through creeping fog, all the way to the explosive finale.</p><figure data-align="left" data-size="small" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2445123-0003.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2445123" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2445123-0003.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2445123"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_small/416/4161502/2445123-0003.jpg"></a><figcaption>Play as agent Ada Wong in two unlockable side campaigns.</figcaption></figure><p style="">The main attraction of Resident Evil 4 HD is the graphical upgrades, and what Capcom has done to breathe new life into its aging thriller is impressive, mostly. Leon and his assortment of allies and foes have never looked shaper or better defined. The wide-screen support with high-resolution textures running at a crisp, smooth 60 frames per second should be enough to get even the hearts of most veteran Resident Evil 4 fans pumping with adrenaline once again. And, yes, it all performs beautifully. Trees and shadows are imbued with realistic grace, text featured in menus and passing notes is clean, and even the fine-stitched lettering on Leon's alternate Raccoon City Police uniform is easily legible. However, the new textures have an unintentionally negative side effect.</p><p style="">One of the reasons behind Resident Evil 4's launch into stardom was the game's unequivocal attention to detail. Capcom took special care in crafting a realistic and believable world with a gloomy ambiance. While Resident Evil 4 HD boasts high-quality textures, they aren't universal, meaning the original textures that have lingered since 2005 stand out more than ever, ironically making the game feel more aged than ever. In the game, you may stumble across a stone wall composed of realistic cracks and earthy green moss. But in the same area, you could find a wooden box leaning up against the wall that still retains the archaic textures, resulting in a blurry, brown object strikingly out of place.</p><figure data-align="right" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2445124-0004.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2445124" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2445124-0004.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2445124"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/416/4161502/2445124-0004.jpg"></a><figcaption>High-resolution textures are not universal, causing some objects to stand out.</figcaption></figure><p style="">It can get distracting, considering it's difficult not to notice a stark contrast between a building and the ground it stands upon. Many of the new skins feel too clean, scrubbing away rotten wood and rust, robbing the game of its dingy flavor. Castle walls look sharp, and research laboratories feel uninviting and sterile, but the caverns between them look muddy, with textures that are warped and stretched. Texture glitches also pop up from time to time, and measure in intensity from flickering to, on a rare occasion, getting replaced by what appeared to be the image designated for text, because the enemies turned black and were covered in lettering. The game lets you switch back to original textures if you like, but the heavy pixelation may not offer abatement.</p><p style="">Benefiting from the graphical overhaul are all but one of the cutscenes during Leon's campaign, which play out in real time. Capcom gave far less attention to Separate Ways, which still includes low-quality full-motion video cutscenes that look even worse due to the game's higher resolution. There is also a grievous error that occurs following nearly every video. As the game transitions from the clip back to gameplay, there is a strong chance the screen will turn bright green for up to five seconds.</p><p style="">This passing annoyance quickly treads into frustrating territory. The game occasionally challenges you to complete a quick-time event between scenes. This transition alone, which takes you from a blurry clip, to sudden action, and onto the following clip, oscillates with enough force to threaten whiplash. Being asked to press a pair of buttons between the scenes comes as a jolt, and the lag produced may decrease the amount of time allowed to complete the move, ending in failure. In one such moment, I missed my cue and had to try again. Except the second time, the green screen overlapped the brisk moment of gameplay and cleared only after it was too late. To continue my game, I had to press the appropriate buttons right as the green screen appeared.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2445125-0005.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2445125" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2445125-0005.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2445125"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/416/4161502/2445125-0005.jpg"></a><figcaption>Texture glitches are rare, but still exist.</figcaption></figure><p style="">The loudest complaint befalling the original port of Resident Evil 4 to the PC was the lack of mouse support. The squirrely, nauseating user-created aim mods that followed only exacerbated the issue. During that time, PC users had to either get used to it or opt to play the game using a controller. Though aiming with the mouse is finally possible, it is far from perfect. When you're fighting at close range, the laser sight has a chance to twitch, making fights against advancing ganados more strenuous than necessary. At long distance, aiming a weapon's laser pointer has a slippery, unnatural feel, making shots difficult and unnecessarily taxing on your ammo supply. There is also a short, but noticeable, delay between holding out the knife and being able to look around.</p><p style="">Like before, your best chance is to equip yourself with a gamepad. The most preferable choice is the Xbox 360 controller, since the game has been updated to support it; gone is the need to memorize the cryptic numbered buttons from the old PC port, because the game includes appropriate onscreen graphics for the device. When you have a gamepad in hand, the controls are roughly comparable to the GameCube experience. The camera floats behind the protagonist's shoulder, creating a third-person view. When an enemy is spotted, the game requires you to first hold your aim, while the camera flies down closer, enlarging your field of vision. Combat favors strategy, offering different ways to dispatch enemies based on the current situation. Going gung ho and blasting away may leave you scrambling for ammunition, and the optional knife does only so much against tougher foes later down the line.</p><blockquote data-size="medium" data-align="left"><p style="">The story's somber overtones keep things intense, from the slow trek through creeping fog, all the way to the explosive finale.</p></blockquote><p style="">Shooting enemies in the head stops them in their place, causing momentary disorientation. Going for the legs is often a better choice, because it causes your targets to drop down, giving you ample opportunity to either deliver a bone-crunching spin kick or momentarily escape and create some distance. There are many crowd-control options, from shotguns to a variety of grenade types, as well as long-range weapons such as sniper rifles, which add a bit of stealth to the mix. Though the game is more of an action adventure game than survival horror, it is not without tense moments and jump scares.</p><p style="">Aiming locks you in place, forcing you to carefully position the laser sight before taking shots. The choice behind this method of combat is done with purpose in mind. By keeping you grounded, the game challenges you to take your shots intelligently, all the while staying aware of the environment around you. No matter how far into the campaign you have gone, you perpetually suffer from a tingling sensation at the back of your skull as you fearfully wonder if someone, or something, will pounce from behind you. Enemies range from regular fodder to the deadly special types, who carry fearsome weapons like chainsaws and miniguns, and are able to stand up to a lot of abuse before falling. And don't forget the infected dogs, with their strained panting heard even above the thundering sound of their pads hitting the dirt, forcing the hairs on the back of my neck to stand on end even after all these years.</p><figure data-align="right" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2445126-0008.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2445126" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2445126-0008.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2445126"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/416/4161502/2445126-0008.jpg"></a><figcaption>Environments include dank buildings, caverns, and an ancient castle.</figcaption></figure><p style="">Such moments are a constant reminder of the excellent gameplay at the core of Resident Evil 4, which set the benchmark for action adventure games. It has been many years since I delved into Leon's quest, and I was delighted by the visual upgrades, from the lovingly retouched Amenhotep typewriter to the finely detailed garbage bins I gleefully tossed Ashley into at every given opportunity. Texture gripes aside, Resident Evil 4 still has the chops to stand up to the test of time thanks to its moody atmosphere and tight, edge-of-your-seat gameplay.</p><p style="">It took longer than it should have, but PC players finally have access to a proper port of the game. It may be showing its age, but Resident Evil 4 HD stands as the best version available. There is about 30 hours of content in this edition, which runs for a reasonable $20. So if you have waited this long to try the game out, or if you feel the urge to give it another go, there is no better time than now. From its humble beginning, Resident Evil 4 has taken a long journey to get to this point.</p> Fri, 28 Feb 2014 00:01:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/resident-evil-4-hd-edition-review/1900-6415680/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/dayz-early-access-review/1100-6417979/ <p style=""> </p><p style=""><em>GameSpot's early access reviews evaluate unfinished games that are nonetheless available for purchase by the public. While the games in question are not considered finished by their creators, you may still devote money, time, and bandwidth for the privilege of playing them before they are complete. The review below critiques a work in progress, and represents a snapshot of the game at the time of the review's publication.</em></p><p style="">DayZ claims to be a zombie game, and it's true that you can occasionally find the undead scuttling about like drunken ravers looking for double high fives. If you have a weapon, you can slice them up like so much sushi, or you can try to outrun them in a high-stakes match of cross-country racing. (That's usually the smarter approach.) But they're about as common as smiles in <a href="/dark-souls/" data-ref-id="false">Dark Souls</a> right now, and oddly enough, this works in DayZ's favor. In fact, DayZ's emptiness renders it about as close to a video game version of Cormac McCarthy's <em>The Road</em> as there's ever been, because the current emphasis is on interactions with people rather than with putrefied riffraff, though sometimes I think I wouldn't mind if the former were taken out altogether.</p><p style="">In this frightening, desolate landscape, your goal is simply to stay alive by scavenging for food and weapons, finding proper shelter, and fending off anyone who threatens your survival. There's no easy way to orient yourself if you've forgotten <a href="/arma-ii/" data-ref-id="false">Arma II</a>'s fiddly control scheme; mMere seconds after my first spawn into the world, I found my poorly customizable avatar being slapped around by a zombie, and he died an undistinguished death around 30 seconds later while I dug around in the escape menu reacquainting myself with generally nonstandard button maps for pulling out weapons and hitting things with them. DayZ lets you use a controller if you wish, but it's even more cumbersome and not worth the effort.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6417105" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6417105/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style="">Later spawns dumped me in the middle of broad fields near the coast that led to crimson barns, towering construction cranes, and deserted buildings. The colors and textures for the post-Soviet nation of Chernarus are far richer here than they were in the original Arma II mod, and the derelict beauty serves as a nice contrast to the dangers it conceals. New, too, is the ability to enter almost every building and rummage for weapons, food, and the occasional antibiotics. No music distracts you from the desolation, and the sound design manages to evoke the fear that every creek of sheet metal might be death on the way. Chancing upon a town can be terrifying; for all the promise in those once-cozy homes and their picketed yards, there's a chance they'll deliver deaths that you never see coming.</p><p style="">DayZ works so well as a survival sim because it puts few barriers between you and the world around you. Gone are the tidy health and stamina bars that sneak into the corners of similar first-person games; instead, DayZ gnaws at your confidence with little nags like "My stomach grumbles" or "I feel like having a drink." And then there are the messages you never want to see, such as "I feel nauseous" or "I can feel warm blood on my clothes." There's a system behind all this--get shot, and you slowly lose blood unless you bandage it--but the numbers stay hidden.</p><figure data-align="right" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/mig/3/7/5/1/1983751-676539_20120801_002.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-1983751" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/mig/3/7/5/1/1983751-676539_20120801_002.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-1983751"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/mig/3/7/5/1/1983751-676539_20120801_002.jpg"></a></figure><p style="">DayZ wisely reserves its menus for essentials like its inventory, which now sports a drag-and-drop option in an improvement over the mod. The inventory itself expands greatly once you discover items with pockets like knapsacks and hoodies, thus delivering some of the satisfaction the discovery of these items would likely yield in real life. Bohemia Interactive knows it has made a game that's chiefly about foraging, and it usually gets the experience right.</p><p style="">Zombies number so few that it's possible to go half an hour without seeing one, and when you do, there's a good chance you'll see it running through doors or even vanishing under the terrain. The low population lends an air of reality to DayZ; many games feature zombie populations more suited to New York City than to cozy rural villages. The sparse undead populace is just as well, given that dealing with them is rarely a rewarding endeavor. Zombies tend to rush you from hundreds of yards away the moment you enter their line of sight, and shooting at them with the laughably few guns available only attracts more.</p><p style="">But it's not really the zombies you have to worry about. They're stupid things, usually killable with a hefty axe blow if you happen to have an axe on you. (Provided, that is, that the axe doesn't bug out and fail to make contact.) It's the other players who instill the most fear. Sometimes you come across a nice one, and a sense of camaraderie emerges as you scrounge through buildings and take out the undead together. Most of the time, however, they're out to kill you. Some play nice at first, and then lead you into ambushes where unseen snipers shoot you down. Still others may trick you into coming near, and then try to bury an axe in your face because they like the look of your hoodie and want it for themselves. Attempting to hide from and survive against humans with actual intelligence elevates DayZ to new heights of tension and unpredictability.</p><figure data-align="left" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/mig/3/7/5/3/1983753-676539_20120801_004.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-1983753" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/mig/3/7/5/3/1983753-676539_20120801_004.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-1983753"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/mig/3/7/5/3/1983753-676539_20120801_004.jpg"></a></figure><p style="">I suspect most of those players are bored. DayZ presents some memorable moments in its current state, and when you do find people who are willing to work and survive with you, you could create bonds so deep that your friendship might carry over into the real world. But DayZ loses its edge many hours in. You learn the tricks of finding new gear and weapons, and you learn which towns to avoid and which to ransack. Each respawn leaves you more experienced and thus stronger, and that confidence seems to encourage a desire to harass the newer players and loot their pitiful belongings. By the time you've put in around 20 hours, you know the secrets to crafting and making bandages out of old T-shirts. You're a survivor.</p><p style="">You're a survivor, that is, with no job but to survive. That's the appeal of the alpha; since there are no objectives--and thus no hope--your only option is to keep surviving until death inevitably overtakes you. It's bleak, yes, but in many ways, it delivers a sense of realism you don't get in many zombie games (or open worlds in general, for that matter). Given time, there's a truly great and memorable experience waiting to be explored, one that will come into its own with new and better weapons and more interactive elements such as vehicles. But as Bohemia makes so clear from the moment you boot up DayZ, this is an alpha. It's incomplete, and it shows. Yet Chernarus is well on its way to growing into the clothes that the developer has stitched for it, and if you feel you've got the steely will necessary to survive, DayZ is ready to test it. </p><table data-max-width="true"><tbody><tr><td><p style=""><strong>What's There?</strong></p></td><td><b><i>A vast, explorable (but seriously unfinished) Eastern European map that captures the experience of living in a postapocalyptic zombieland.</i></b></td></tr><tr><td><p style=""><strong>What's to Come?</strong></p></td><td><b><i>More zombies, animals for hunting, greater variety of gathering opportunities, cooking, better server architecture.</i></b></td></tr><tr><td><p style=""><strong>What Does it Cost?</strong></p></td><td><b><i>DayZ costs $29.99 on <a href="http://store.steampowered.com/app/221100/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Steam</a>, although the developers discourage paying for it unless you are "prepared to handle with serious issues and possible interruptions of game functioning." And, yes, these things exist.</i></b></td></tr><tr><td><p style=""><strong>When Will it Be Finished?</strong></p></td><td><b><i>There's currently no concrete release date, and Bohemia Interactive has repeatedly spoken of DayZ as a work in progress.</i></b></td></tr><tr><td><p style=""><strong>What's the Verdict?</strong></p></td><td><p style=""><b><i>DayZ oozes with potential, though some elements are either bugged, unfinished, or unimplemented. That said, it delivers uncommonly appealing survival experiences and risky player interactions that lend credibility to its pretty environments. It'll probably be great, but for the time being, it requires uncommon patience.</i></b></p><p style=""> </p></td></tr></tbody></table> Thu, 27 Feb 2014 19:37:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/dayz-early-access-review/1100-6417979/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/official-minecraft-movie-coming-from-warner-bros/1100-6418014/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/gamespot/images/2011/331/reviews/1827132-606524_20111128_001.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-1827132" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/gamespot/images/2011/331/reviews/1827132-606524_20111128_001.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-1827132"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/gamespot/images/2011/331/reviews/1827132-606524_20111128_001.jpg"></a></figure><p style="">[UPDATE] <a href="http://www.deadline.com/2014/02/minecraft-movie-warner-bros-lego-movie-producer/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Deadline</a> reports that <em>The LEGO Movie</em> producer Roy Lee will produce the live-action Minecraft movie alongside Jill Messick (<em>Mean Girls</em>). </p><p style=""><em>The original story is below.</em></p><p style=""> </p><p style="">Looks like Warner Bros has been tapped to be working on a potential Minecraft movie. Creator Markus "Notch" Persson revealed the news on Twitter earlier today.</p><p style="">According to <a href="https://twitter.com/notch/status/439164234099073024" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Notch's post on Twitter</a>, an individual attempted to pre-emptively leak the news. The Minecraft creator followed up with, "I wanted to be the leak!"</p><p style="">The crowdfunding campaign for a Minecraft-inspired full-length feature film was <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/minecraft-inspired-movie-shut-down/1100-6417633/" data-ref-id="1100-6417633">recently shut down</a>. Developer Mojang's <a href="https://account.mojang.com/documents/minecraft_eula" rel="nofollow">End User License Agreement (EULA) for Minecraft</a> specifies that users cannot "make commercial use of anything we've made" or "try to make money from anything we've made."</p><p style="">A <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/minecraft-documentary-premiering-on-xbox-live/1100-6401694/" data-ref-id="1100-6401694">documentary chronicling the development of Minecraft was produced by 2 Player Productions and released in December 2012</a>. Other Minecraft licensing deals have included arrangements for various clothing, accessories, and toys.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6406805" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6406805/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p> Thu, 27 Feb 2014 19:32:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/official-minecraft-movie-coming-from-warner-bros/1100-6418014/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/castlevania-lords-of-shadow-2-graphics-comparison/2300-6417446/ Lords of Shadow 2 looks great on PC. Here's a quick graphical comparison pinning the PS3 console version against it's PC counterpart. Just in case you can't decide which version you want. Thu, 27 Feb 2014 18:27:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/castlevania-lords-of-shadow-2-graphics-comparison/2300-6417446/
