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You bet. en-us Tue, 25 Feb 2014 08:20:42 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/apple-asks-for-veto-of-arizona-s-controversial-anti-gay-bill/1100-6417953/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2443914-appleiphone.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2443914" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2443914-appleiphone.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2443914"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1179/11799911/2443914-appleiphone.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">Technology behemoth Apple, maker of iPhones and iPads, has asked Arizona governor Jan Brewer to veto the state's controversial "anti-gay" bill that would--if signed into law--allow businesses to refuse service to gay and lesbian individuals.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The <a href="http://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2014/02/24/apple-joins-anti-sb1062-chorus/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"><em>Arizona Capitol Times</em></a> reports that an Apple representative spoke with Brewer about the bill--SB1062--and asked her to veto it, though other details of their conversation have not been made public. Apple's request to the governor comes as the company is preparing to <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-57610796-37/apple-to-build-made-in-the-usa-manufacturing-plant-in-arizona/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="8301-13579">open a manufacturing plant in Mesa, Arizona</a> that would employ 700 people and create over 1,000 construction and management jobs.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"Apple is indisputably one of the world's most innovative companies and I'm thrilled to welcome them to Arizona," Brewer said in a <a href="http://www.azcommerce.com/news-events/press-releases/governor-jan-brewer-welcomes-apple-to-arizona" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">November-dated statement</a>. "Apple will have an incredibly positive economic impact for Arizona and its decision to locate here speaks volumes about the friendly, pro-business climate we have been creating these past four years."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">In offering its veto request, Apple joins other opponents of SB1062 including business organizations like The Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Arizona Technology Council, Greater Phoenix Economic Council, and the Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Others speaking out against the bill include major hotel chains, tourism groups, and AT&T. </p><p style="">Brewer has yet to take an official position on the bill, though she's like to make a decision on whether it becomes a law or not sometime this week.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6415580" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6415580/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p> Tue, 25 Feb 2014 08:01:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/apple-asks-for-veto-of-arizona-s-controversial-anti-gay-bill/1100-6417953/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/gamestop-uk-cuts-price-on-xbox-one-titanfall-bundle/1100-6417952/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2443902-xboxonebundleuk1.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2443902" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2443902-xboxonebundleuk1.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2443902"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1179/11799911/2443902-xboxonebundleuk1.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">GameStop UK is <a href="http://www.gamestop.co.uk/Xbox%20One/Games/45883/xbox-one-titanfall-bundle?&utm_source=tradedoubler" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">currently accepting preorders for the Xbox One Titanfall bundle for £370</a>, or a full £30 below the bundle's £400 price point. That discount is on top of the <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-xbox-one-uk-price-drop-what-does-it-mean-for-the-us/1100-6417943/" data-ref-id="1100-6417943">£30 price cut Microsoft announced yesterday</a>, which will see the console officially drop from £430 to £400 effective Friday, February 28.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">It's one of the best deals we've seen so far on the Xbox One. Of course, it's only valid in the UK, but GameStop stores in the United States are <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-one-titanfall-bundle-gamestop-launches-special-extra-50-percent-trade-in-offer/1100-6417948/" data-ref-id="1100-6417948">offering a promotion of their own for the Xbox One Titanfall bundle</a>.</p><p style="">GameStop UK's £370 Titanfall Xbox One bundle offer includes a black console, digital copy of the game, Kinect, a standard Xbox One controller (<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/65-xbox-one-titanfall-controller-revealed/1100-6417140/" data-ref-id="1100-6417140">not the special-edition one</a>), a chat headset, and one-month Xbox Live Gold membership--which you'll need to play the game.</p><p style="">The Titanfall Xbox One bundle will be available in North America alongside the game on March 11, followed by a March 14 release in Europe.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6417359" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6417359/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p><p style=""> </p> Tue, 25 Feb 2014 07:29:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/gamestop-uk-cuts-price-on-xbox-one-titanfall-bundle/1100-6417952/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/buy-metal-gear-solid-5-ground-zeroes-get-the-phantom-pain-dlc-free/1100-6417951/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2443891-gzeroes.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2443891" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2443891-gzeroes.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2443891"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1179/11799911/2443891-gzeroes.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">A <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/metal-gear-solid-5-ground-zeroes-gets-price-drop-on-ps4-xbox-one/1100-6417950/" data-ref-id="1100-6417950">price drop for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 versions of Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes</a> was not the only announcement Konami had in store for the game today. The publisher also announced today that if you buy Ground Zeroes you'll receive exclusive downloadable content for follow-up <a href="/metal-gear-solid-v-the-phantom-pain/" data-ref-id="false">Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain</a> when it is released (which might not be until <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/metal-gear-solid-v-the-phantom-pain-might-not-come-out-until-december-2015/1100-6417568/" data-ref-id="1100-6417568">late in 2015</a>).</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The DLC provides players with additional resources for a Mother Base area featured in The Phantom Pain. According to Konami, Mother Base will be introduced during the Ground Zeroes campaign and will play a "central role" in The Phantom Pain. The DLC is included only in the "first batch" of Ground Zeroes retail copies and for a "limited period" for the digital version.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Players who have this DLC will have an "edge" over those who don't, Konami said. It's not clear if the DLC will be available for separate purchase.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Konami also announced today that everyone who purchases Ground Zeroes will unlock "exclusive" content that will carry over to The Phantom Pain. More specifically, prisoners of war and VIPs rescued in Ground Zeroes will appear in The Phantom Pain as Mother Base staff. Character skins can also be carried over from Ground Zeroes to The Phantom Pain.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Finally, Konami today announced Ground Zeroes' second-screen "iDROID" app. This app-- available for free on iOS, Android, and Xbox SmartGlass--will replicate Big Boss' in-game communication map/device. Using the iDROID app, players will be able to call up maps, enlist the help of air support, or play cassette tapes they find in Camp Omega.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Ground Zeroes launches on <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/metal-gear-solid-5-ground-zeroes-release-date-announced-xbox-exclusive-content-detailed/1100-6416613/" data-ref-id="1100-6416613">March 18</a>.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6417312" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6417312/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p dir="ltr" style=""> </p><p style=""> </p> Tue, 25 Feb 2014 06:52:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/buy-metal-gear-solid-5-ground-zeroes-get-the-phantom-pain-dlc-free/1100-6417951/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/metal-gear-solid-5-ground-zeroes-gets-price-drop-on-ps4-xbox-one/1100-6417950/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/536/5360430/2405339-mgsvgz_ss_game_003.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2405339" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/536/5360430/2405339-mgsvgz_ss_game_003.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2405339"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/536/5360430/2405339-mgsvgz_ss_game_003.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">Konami today announced that physical and digital copies of <a href="/metal-gear-solid-ground-zeroes/" data-ref-id="false">Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes </a>for Xbox One and PlayStation 4 will sell for $30 each. Previously, boxed copies of Ground Zeroes sold at retail for those platforms carried a price tag of $40, while the downloadable versions have always been $30.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Explaining the price drop, Konami said the new, lower price point will "provide as many people as possible an opportunity to experience" the game, which runs on Kojima Productions' FOX Engine. Today's announcement does not affect the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of Ground Zeroes; physical copies will be sold for $30, while digital versions will go for $20.</p><p style="">Ground Zeroes launches on <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/metal-gear-solid-5-ground-zeroes-release-date-announced-xbox-exclusive-content-detailed/1100-6416613/" data-ref-id="1100-6416613">March 18 </a>and is a prequel to <a href="/metal-gear-solid-v-the-phantom-pain/" data-ref-id="false">Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain</a>, which <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/metal-gear-solid-v-the-phantom-pain-might-not-come-out-until-december-2015/1100-6417568/" data-ref-id="1100-6417568">might not launch until late 2015 or even later</a>. </p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6414685" data-width="854" data-height="480"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6414685/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p> Tue, 25 Feb 2014 06:35:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/metal-gear-solid-5-ground-zeroes-gets-price-drop-on-ps4-xbox-one/1100-6417950/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/why-world-of-warcraft-character-boosts-cost-60/1100-6417949/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2443883-wowart.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2443883" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2443883-wowart.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2443883"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1179/11799911/2443883-wowart.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style=""><a href="/world-of-warcraft/" data-ref-id="false">World of Warcraft</a> level 90 character boosts will <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/world-of-warcraft-would-you-pay-60-to-auto-level-a-character-to-90/1100-6417823/" data-ref-id="1100-6417823">cost $60</a> because developer Blizzard Entertainment did not want to diminish the value of in-game levelling, the company has said.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"In terms of the pricing, honestly, a big part of that is not wanting to devalue the accomplishment of levelling," lead encounter designer Ion Hazzikostas told <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-02-25-blizzard-explains-USD60-cost-of-world-of-warcraft-level-90-character-boost" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="2014-02">Eurogamer</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Hazzikostas said if Blizzard wanted to sell as many level 90 boosts as possible, it could have made them less expensive, in the ballpark of $10 or so. But players might not level traditionally, through gameplay, if they could buy their way to the top for so cheap, he said.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Overall, Hazzikostas said Blizzard's goal with the level 90 character boosts is to provide busy players--those with family responsibilities or limited gaming time--a means to enjoy high-level content with one of their alternate characters.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"Levelling is something that takes dozens if not over 100 hours in many cases and people have put serious time and effort into that, and we don't want to diminish that," Hazzikostas said. "It's just to allow people who want to purchase additional level 90s, maybe they want a second or third alt and they don't have time to level it themselves because they have a family or etc--it's to allow them to do that."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Still, some players might see Blizzard's introduction of paid character boosts as a signal that World of Warcraft is becoming more of a "pay-to-win" title instead of a progression-based game. This is not the case, creative director Alex Afrasiabi said.</p><p style="">"Game design, half of it is about trust. And I think that our playerbase trusts us implicitly and you never want to break trust between the player and developer," Afrasiabi <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/blizzard-world-of-warcraft-is-not-going-to-become-pay-to-win/1100-6417898/" data-ref-id="1100-6417898">told GameSpot</a>. "And I think pay-to-win does that. And I think that is really our stance; we are not about pay-to-win in World of Warcraft. That is not gonna happen."</p><p style="">Every copy of upcoming World of Warcraft expansion <a href="/world-of-warcraft-warlords-of-draenor/" data-ref-id="false">Warlords of Draenor</a> includes one free level 90 character boost. Immediately after you pre-purchase Warlords of Draenor, you'll be granted your free character boost. Pre-purchases for the expansion are said to launch "soon."</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6416038" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6416038/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p> Tue, 25 Feb 2014 06:16:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/why-world-of-warcraft-character-boosts-cost-60/1100-6417949/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/five-things-i-learned-about-dwarves-from-lego-the-hobbit/1100-6417891/ <p style="">Let's be honest for a moment. As great as Bilbo Baggins may be, the real stars of The Hobbit are the 13 dwarves that help Bilbo on his journey through Middle-earth. Singing, dancing, washing the dishes...these dudes know how to <i>party</i>. But for as wondrous as Thorin Oakenshield's band of pint-sized heroes may be, they're also something of a mystery. At least until now. See, I've just played a bit of LEGO: The Hobbit and let's just say I came away with a far, far better picture of what makes these guys tick. And by that I mean I learned five really specific things about dwarves. Here we go!</p><h3><b>Dwarves use the buddy system</b></h3><p style="">This may come as a surprise, but LEGO: The Hobbit plays very much like a LEGO game. You run around smashing things, collecting studs, and swapping between characters when you need to employ someone's unique ability. But within that familiar framework you'll find a few new gameplay mechanics, most notably the "buddying-up" system. This feature allows several dwarves to come together and join forces to take down much larger, more powerful foes. In one situation, I used Kili to leap from Thorin's shoulders to take out the Goblin King, and a few moments later I scaled an impassable wall by having three dwarves stack together like a living totem pole as a fourth crawled up to safety. If the one level I played is any indication, these moments seem to pop up pretty frequently, so you might want to get a head start now on preparing yourself for hot dwarf-on-dwarf action.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/642/6422750/2441947-legohobbit+2014-01-31+14-01-52-17.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2441947" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/642/6422750/2441947-legohobbit+2014-01-31+14-01-52-17.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2441947"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/642/6422750/2441947-legohobbit+2014-01-31+14-01-52-17.jpg"></a><figcaption>He may be made of virtual plastic, but the Goblin King's jowls still undulate with hypnotic movement.</figcaption></figure><h3><b>But they also know when to split up</b></h3><p style="">One of the biggest challenges facing developer TT Games is this: how on earth do you let players jump between 13 dwarves on the fly without the whole thing becoming a huge user interface nightmare? The solution, it seems, is to embrace those moments in the story where the party splits up. In the escape from Goblin-town, the game constantly switches between two bands of dwarves that have been separated from one another. This gives the player about four or five characters to choose from, the story jumping between the different groups as you see the others barreling along in the background of the scenery. </p><h3><b>Dwarves (still) love scavenging</b></h3><p style="">Just like its Lord of the Rings predecessor, LEGO: The Hobbit will allow you to collect bits of mithril and bring them to your friendly neighborhood blacksmith in order to build fancy new gear and weaponry. But the scavenging in The Hobbit goes beyond mithril. A new feature lets you collect random LEGO bits like rope and stone, then build them into various assemblages of machinery (think catapults and such) to help progress through particularly nasty swarms of enemies. The twist is that you're not holding a magical button to build these in one fell swoop, but actually sifting through individual LEGO pieces to build them bit by bit. Of course, these are all pre-designed "micro-builds" (to use the developer's preferred terminology), but TT Games' hope is that these sequences will help mimic the tactility of actual LEGOs. After all, dwarves <i>love</i> tactility. That's why they grow such mighty beards.</p><h3><b>Virtual Dwarves sound like human actors</b></h3><figure data-align="right" data-size="small" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/642/6422750/2441948-legohobbit+2014-02-04+13-38-29-52.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2441948" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/642/6422750/2441948-legohobbit+2014-02-04+13-38-29-52.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2441948"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_small/642/6422750/2441948-legohobbit+2014-02-04+13-38-29-52.jpg"></a><figcaption>Bombur? I hardly knew her!</figcaption></figure><p style="">Like LEGO: Lord of the Rings before it, The Hobbit has licensed the dialogue from Peter Jackson's films. That means that every LEGO dwarf sounds like the actor who played him on the big screen. Beyond that, Christopher Lee has also lent his voice to the chapter introduction cinematics, allowing you to feel like you're cuddling up with Saruman for a nice little bedtime story before he imprisons you at the top of his tower. Saruman. Not Christopher Lee. I'm pretty sure Christopher Lee has never imprisoned <i>anyone</i> at the top of a tower.</p><h3><b>No dwarf in the world is as cool as Bombur</b></h3><p style="">You remember Bombur, right? He of the mighty orange beard and generously proportioned frame? Well, if not, all you really need to know is that this dwarf is basically the coolest dwarf ever. Simply consider his weapons of choice. Bombur's primary weapon? A giant iron ladle. But swap that out and you'll see Bombur go to town on some goblins with a sausage. Yes, a <i>sausage</i>. Amazing.</p> Tue, 25 Feb 2014 06:00:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/five-things-i-learned-about-dwarves-from-lego-the-hobbit/1100-6417891/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-one-titanfall-bundle-gamestop-launches-special-extra-50-percent-trade-in-offer/1100-6417948/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2443869-titanfalltradein.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2443869" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2443869-titanfalltradein.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2443869"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1179/11799911/2443869-titanfalltradein.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">Looking for a deal on the <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/get-titanfall-for-free-when-you-buy-an-xbox-one/1100-6417928/" data-ref-id="1100-6417928">newly announced $500 Xbox One Titanfall bundle</a>? Now through March 23, you can trade in any system (yes, any) at GameStop to earn an extra 50 percent trade-in credit when applied towards the purchase of the bundle. In addition, you can trade in any item--game, system, accessory--and receive 30 percent extra in-store credit towards the purchase of <a href="/titanfall/" data-ref-id="false">Titanfall</a> the game.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The extra 50 percent trade-in promotion is also good for any system traded towards the purchase of a PlayStation 4, Wii U, or standard Xbox One console. You can check out a <a href="http://www.gamestop.com/trade-values" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">chart featuring trade-in values for various consoles and games at GameStop's website</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Alongside the promotion, GameStop has launched a special "<a href="http://www.gamestop.com/collection/titanfall#0" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Titan Academy</a>" microsite via the main GameStop website. It offers gameplay and trailer videos, as well as a special downloadable digital asset pack featuring skins for gamers' social media profiles.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Developed by a team of former Call of Duty designers, including Infinity Ward cofounder Vince Zampella, Titanfall launches <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/titanfall-launching-march-11-2014/1100-6415710/">March 11</a> for Xbox One and PC. An Xbox 360 version--developed externally at Bluepoint Games--will launch <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/titanfall-for-xbox-360-delayed/1100-6417577/">two weeks later on March 25</a>.</p><p style="">For more on Titanfall, be sure to check out our feature, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/the-next-big-game-titanfall/">The Next Big Game: Titanfall</a>, which includes exclusives interviews, previews, and videos for the game.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6417320" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6417320/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p> Tue, 25 Feb 2014 05:23:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-one-titanfall-bundle-gamestop-launches-special-extra-50-percent-trade-in-offer/1100-6417948/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-one-named-product-of-the-year-for-2014/1100-6417947/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2443860-productoftheyear.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2443860" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2443860-productoftheyear.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2443860"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1179/11799911/2443860-productoftheyear.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">We're only two months into the new year, but Microsoft's Xbox One is already winning awards for 2014. The console has been named a "Product of the Year" for 2014 in the Home Entertainment category of <a href="http://productoftheyear.co.uk/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Product of the Year</a>'s annual awards. The Xbox One came out on top following a survey of more than 40,000 consumers conducted by market research firm TNS. It's not clear what other products the Xbox One beat out to claim the title or how the survey was structured.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Product of the Year winners were featured in an <a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/here-are-2014-products-year-155637" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">AdWeek exclusive</a> and on the cover of the latest <a href="http://parade.condenast.com/264253/katerockwood/attention-shoppers-meet-the-winners-of-the-2014-product-of-the-year-awards/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"><em>Parade Magazine</em></a>. According to Product of the Year organizers, the Xbox One--and all other winners--stand to enjoy a 10-15 percent sales boost from being featured as a winner.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Speaking to <em>Parade</em> about the win, Microsoft director of product planning Albert Penello said: "The gaming console has moved out of the basement and into the living room." He's no doubt referencing the Xbox One's "all-in-one" multipurpose nature, that is, its ability to play games, TV, movies, and music.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The Product of the Year organization has a history in the United Kingdom spanning nearly 30 years, but it's only been featured in the United States for six years. Product of the Year CEO Mike Nolan said winners represent "truly superior innovation" in their categories. Other winners include SK Energy Shots (Beverages), Starburst Fruit Flavored Candy Corn (Candy), and Eggland's Best (Eggs).</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The full list of Product of the Year 2014 winners is <a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/here-are-2014-products-year-155637" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">available at AdWeek</a>.</p><p style="">The Xbox One launched on November 22 and sold <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-one-sold-3-million-units-in-2013-microsoft-says/1100-6416955/" data-ref-id="1100-6416955">more than 3 million units in 2013 alone</a>. Yesterday, Microsoft announced the system's first official price cut from <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-xbox-one-uk-price-drop-what-does-it-mean-for-the-us/1100-6417943/" data-ref-id="1100-6417943">£430 to £400 in the United Kingdom only effective on Friday</a>. A special, limited-edition <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/get-titanfall-for-free-when-you-buy-an-xbox-one/1100-6417928/" data-ref-id="1100-6417928">Titanfall Xbox One bundle</a> will also be available when the game launches on March 11.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6417321" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6417321/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p> Tue, 25 Feb 2014 05:09:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-one-named-product-of-the-year-for-2014/1100-6417947/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-division-s-new-boss-in-the-guy-who-reportedly-wanted-to-sell-it-off/1100-6417946/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2443847-elop.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2443847" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2443847-elop.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2443847"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1179/11799911/2443847-elop.jpg"></a><figcaption>Image credit: Sarah Tew/CNET</figcaption></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">Former Nokia executive Stephen Elop will take over control of Microsoft's Devices and Studios division--the business unit that includes Xbox and Surface--Microsoft confirmed to GameSpot sister site <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-57619460-75/microsofts-hardware-chief-changes-roles-before-elop-return/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="8301-10805">CNET</a> after an internal memo leaked to <a href="http://www.geekwire.com/2014/microsoft-devices-chief-larson-green-takes-new-role-will-replaced-nokias-elop/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">GeekWire</a> yesterday.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Interestingly, and perhaps ironically, a <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-ceo-candidate-may-consider-selling-xbox-killing-bing-report/1100-6416052/" data-ref-id="1100-6416052">Bloomberg report from November</a> said Elop would consider selling off the Xbox unit if he was named the next Microsoft CEO. He was not, as that position was <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/meet-satya-nadella-the-new-microsoft-ceo/1100-6417513/" data-ref-id="1100-6417513">filled last month by Satya Nadella</a>, who is a "<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/new-microsoft-ceo-is-a-good-supporter-of-xbox/1100-6417533/" data-ref-id="1100-6417533">good supporter</a>" of Xbox.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The report stated that if Elop got the job as CEO, he would be ready to sell or close major Microsoft business units--including Xbox--if he determined they are not critical to the company's strategic outlook. It's unclear if Elop--when he becomes the new Xbox division boss--would have the power to complete such a deal.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Microsoft has been <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-cofounder-s-investment-group-calls-for-xbox-spinoff/1100-6415919/" data-ref-id="1100-6415919">urged by some high-profile investors</a> to sell off the Xbox business unit. These investors, including Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen's investment group Vulcan Capital, say that though Xbox has been successful, it's also detracting from Microsoft's core competencies. </p><figure data-align="left" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2443849-xbox.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2443849" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2443849-xbox.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2443849"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/1179/11799911/2443849-xbox.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">Elop will replace outgoing Devices and Studios leader Julie Larson-Green, who moved into the role--replacing Don Mattrick who left for Zynga--just <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/julie-larson-green-confirmed-as-new-xbox-boss-in-microsoft-restructuring/1100-6411301/" data-ref-id="1100-6411301">seven months ago</a>. Larson-Green will transition to a new role at Microsoft where she will lead the "My Life & Work" team at the company's Applications and Services group.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"I want to thank each and every one of you for welcoming me and supporting me as the leader of Devices & Studios over the past 7 months. I'm very proud of what we have accomplished during such a short timeframe," Larson-Green said. "We launched Xbox One, Surface 2 & Pro 2, blockbuster games like Forza and Ryse, a brand new Xbox Music and Video service, PPI, and some amazing unannounced innovations just to name a few…"</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"You are all in great hands with Stephen and already we've shared a lot with him and his LT from Nokia regarding all of the fantastic people, teams and products in DnS," she added. "I also know many of you are looking forward to welcoming the Nokia team and working more closely with them."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Elop joined Microsoft when the company <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-buys-nokias-mobile-phone-business-for-72-billion/1100-6413969/">purchased the handset maker's mobile business for $7.2 billion in September</a>. Larson-Green will remain leader of the Devices and Studios division in the interim until the Nokia deal officially closes.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Yesterday, Microsoft announced the first official price cut for the Xbox One, cutting the price f<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-xbox-one-uk-price-drop-what-does-it-mean-for-the-us/1100-6417943/" data-ref-id="1100-6417943">rom £430 to £400 in the United Kingdom only effective on Friday</a>. The company also revealed 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 Titanfall bundle</a> that includes a copy of the game.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6417171" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6417171/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p dir="ltr" style=""> </p><p style=""> </p> Tue, 25 Feb 2014 04:36:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-division-s-new-boss-in-the-guy-who-reportedly-wanted-to-sell-it-off/1100-6417946/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-one-finally-gets-twitch-streaming-on-march-11-right-in-time-for-titanfall/1100-6417945/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2443878-twitchxbox.png" data-ref-id="1300-2443878" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2443878-twitchxbox.png" data-ref-id="1300-2443878"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1179/11799911/2443878-twitchxbox.png"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">[UPDATE] Following the publication of this story, Microsoft officially announced through the <a href="http://news.xbox.com/2014/02/xbox-one-twitch-broadcasting" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Xbox Wire</a> that Twitch streaming support for Xbox One will arrive on March 11. A video of Twitch broadcasting on Xbox One is also now available below.<a href="http://news.xbox.com/2014/02/xbox-one-twitch-broadcasting" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"><br /></a></p><p dir="ltr" style=""><em>The original story is below.</em></p><p dir="ltr" style="">Xbox One owners will finally be able to stream their gameplay sessions through Twitch next month. Gameplay streaming--and a host of other new features--will be added to the <a href="http://www.xbox.com/en-US/live/apps/Xbox-One/Twitch#fbid=EdvD1Yr74Zk" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">existing spectate-only Xbox One Twitch app</a> on March 11 alongside Respawn Entertainment's much-hyped multiplayer shooter <a href="/titanfall/" data-ref-id="false">Titanfall</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"It's complete integration," Twitch CEO Emmett Shear told the <a href="http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_GAMES_TWITCH_XBOX_ONE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"><em>Associated Press</em></a>. You'll also need an Xbox Live Gold subscription($60/year) to stream via Twitch.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Twitch users on Xbox One will be able to live stream their gameplay sessions, initiate broadcasts via Kinect, archive game clips, and watch streams from a multitude of devices, including the PlayStation 4. Previously, Xbox One users could only spectate Twitch streams and record and upload content via Microsoft's own Upload Studio.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">PS4 owners have been able to broadcast gameplay via Twitch since launch in November. According to Microsoft VP of marketing and strategy for Xbox Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft wasn't willing to ship a product until the company knew it would meet player expectations, even if it meant a delay.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"Our fans really want the full next-gen service, so that's why we decided to take our time, do it right and have it come out in this fashion," Mehdi said. "This will open up the social aspect of Xbox One in a new way."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"The community of Twitch is huge, and this allows us to type into that, and frankly do something that's never been done before on consoles," Mehdi added. "You'll be able to broadcast to any device and consume anyone's broadcast from any device. It's a console experience unique to the Xbox One."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Twitch has been a hit on the PS4. The company said a <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/playstation-4-sales-reach-4-2-million-outselling-xbox-one-by-1-2-million-units-in-2013/1100-6416987/" data-ref-id="1100-6416987">whopping 20 percent of its broadcasts between December 23-January 3 came PS4 owners</a>. In addition, more than 1.7 million Twitch streams have come through the PS4 since launch in November.</p><p style=""><em>Are you psyched for Twitch streaming support on Xbox One? Do you plan to use it to broadcast your Titanfall sessions? Let us know in the comments below.</em></p><div data-embed-type="video" data-src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMq_ajNBTy8" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fembed%2FQMq_ajNBTy8%3Fwmode%3Dopaque%26feature%3Doembed&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DQMq_ajNBTy8&image=http%3A%2F%2Fi1.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FQMq_ajNBTy8%2Fhqdefault.jpg&key=6efca6e5ad9640f180f14146a0bc1392&type=text%2Fhtml&schema=youtube&wmode=opaque" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p> Tue, 25 Feb 2014 04:05:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-one-finally-gets-twitch-streaming-on-march-11-right-in-time-for-titanfall/1100-6417945/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ps4-sold-320-000-units-in-japan-in-two-days/1100-6417944/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2443835-ps4supply.png" data-ref-id="1300-2443835" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2443835-ps4supply.png" data-ref-id="1300-2443835"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1179/11799911/2443835-ps4supply.png"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">The PlayStation 4 sold 322,083 systems during its <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ps4-now-officially-on-sale-in-japan/1100-6417881/" data-ref-id="1100-6417881">opening weekend in Japan</a>, easily surpassing its predecessor the PlayStation 3, which moved only 88,443 units during the same window in 2006. The PS4's worldwide sales tally before the Japanese launch was <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/playstation-4-breezes-past-5m-sales-milestone/1100-6417806/" data-ref-id="1100-6417806">5.3 million units</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The numbers come from Japanese gaming publication <a href="http://www.famitsu.com/news/201402/25048815.html" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"><em>Famitsu</em></a> (translated by <a href="http://www.siliconera.com/2014/02/24/playstation-4-sells-300000-units-opening-weekend-japan/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Siliconera</a>), which notes that the PS4's launch in Japan closely resembled the Wii U, which sold 308,570 units during its launch weekend in Japan in 2012. Importantly, today's data does not come directly from Sony, so we'll have to wait for official confirmation.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The PS4 could not match the record-breaking PlayStation 2, however. That system sold an astonishing 630,552 units--nearly double the PS4-- during its first two days on sale in Japan in 2000. The PS2 has since been discontinued, though that doesn't mean publishers have stopped supporting the system. In fact, EA Sports shipped a version of <a href="/fifa-14/" data-ref-id="false">FIFA 14</a> for the PS2 just last year.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">To celebrate the release of the PS4 in Japan, Sony held a <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ps4-now-officially-on-sale-in-japan/1100-6417881/" data-ref-id="1100-6417881">midnight launch event</a> featuring speakers like SCE CEO Andrew House and Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima. Meanwhile, the Xbox One is not yet available in Japan, so there's no data to compare, at least for now. </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><p style=""> </p> Tue, 25 Feb 2014 03:39:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ps4-sold-320-000-units-in-japan-in-two-days/1100-6417944/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/plants-vs-zombies-garden-warfare-video-review/2300-6417376/ Carolyn explains how Garden Warfare's gameplay is standard stuff, but the game's lighthearted tone makes it an appealing multiplayer shooter that stands out from the crowd. Tue, 25 Feb 2014 00:01:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/plants-vs-zombies-garden-warfare-video-review/2300-6417376/ http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/castlevania-lords-of-shadow-2-review/1900-6415677/ <p style="">Castlevania: Lords of Shadows is occasionally beautiful, occasionally exciting, and occasionally rewarding. However, to fully enjoy its best parts, you must endure a handful of drab settings and boring stealth puzzles along the way. At times, it's enough to make you want to put the controller down. But stick around until the end, and you'll enjoy a satisfying reward of eye-catching boss fights and a satisfying conclusion that ultimately diminishes the negative impact of the game's earlier issues. Lords of Shadow 2's story should resonate with anyone with a continuing interest in the series' narrative, and even though the ending won't hit newcomers as hard, the occasionally fantastic environments and monsters create a worthwhile experience that stands tall on its own by the end of the tale.</p><p style="">You're in a tough position at the start of Lords of Shadow 2. You, Dracula, awake from centuries of rest in a cathedral, smack in the middle of a modern metropolis. Your archnemesis from the first game, Zobek, is your first real contact. Despite your hatred for the traitor, you enter into an agreement with him. Help Zobek defeat Satan so that he may conquer the earth in his place, and he'll free you from immortality once and for all. To do this, you must take on Satan's devoted acolytes, who've implanted themselves into key positions in society.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1406/14063904/2443571-vlcsnap-2014-02-24-16h19m38s113.png" data-ref-id="1300-2443571" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1406/14063904/2443571-vlcsnap-2014-02-24-16h19m38s113.png" data-ref-id="1300-2443571"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1406/14063904/2443571-vlcsnap-2014-02-24-16h19m38s113.png"></a></figure><p style="">This all comes after a rousing prologue, which sees Dracula at full strength battling righteous warriors in and around his unholy castle. For all the excitement offered there, the true start to Lords of Shadow 2's plot with Zobek is relatively deflating. Your motivation, to hunt someone else's enemies, doesn't inspire much excitement. Plus, you're immediately thrust into one of the most bland and uninspiring settings to be found: an industrial scientific complex replete with sheet metal, red pipes, and security guards. Memories of the first game in the series are filled with fantastic vistas and monumental architecture; apart from the prologue, Lords of Shadow 2 frustratingly avoids them early on.</p><blockquote data-align="left" data-size="medium"><p style="">..the start of the game proper effectively hits the snooze button, and begins to feel more like a pale mix of Gears of War's art style and every sneaky-stealth game from the last 20 years.</p></blockquote><p style="">It would be one thing if the boring start to the central plot quickly gave way to combat, which is the real reason worth playing Lords of Shadow 2, but instead you're forced into tedious and questionable stealth missions almost immediately after your reunion with Zobek. It's not inherently bad, but Lords of Shadow 2's stealth puzzles offer no room for creativity and unnecessarily slow the pacing while offering little in return. The prologue teaches you that this is a game about dark castles, fearless knights, and heavy combat, then it hits the snooze button. Unfortunately, it's throwaway content that gets in the way of the good stuff periodically throughout the game, but thankfully, it doesn't dominate the experience.</p><p style="">Lords of Shadow 2 eventually returns to what it does best: gothic action adventure. Throughout the story, Dracula finds himself back in time, though it's not immediately clear whether this is actual or imagined, but it brings the game back to its roots. Combat and fantastic environments take center stage, and with the game's new free-moving camera and an emphasis on exploration, both aspects feel fresh and new. Thanks to the flexible vantage, you're able to dash and leap during battle with greater accuracy than before. Throw in multiple new and diverse skill sets, and Dracula accurately feels like a powerful evolution of his former self, Lords of Shadow's Gabriel Belmont. This time around, there are a few new tools to play with, including a new weapon class that's capable of breaking down fortified enemy defenses, but the biggest changes (apart from the camera system) are the skill mastery system and the weapon-dependent move lists.</p><figure data-align="right" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1406/14063904/2443577-vlcsnap-2014-02-24-16h14m13s200.png" data-ref-id="1300-2443577" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1406/14063904/2443577-vlcsnap-2014-02-24-16h14m13s200.png" data-ref-id="1300-2443577"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/1406/14063904/2443577-vlcsnap-2014-02-24-16h14m13s200.png"></a><figcaption>You're not alone, guy. I despise this boring, industrial setting too.</figcaption></figure><p style="">In Lords of Shadow 2, you learn skills for each weapon--shadow whip, void sword, and chaos claws--independently. Skills are learned by spending experience points granted during combat, and each has a gauge that fills with use. Once the gauge is full, this experience can be transferred into the given weapon, increasing its mastery level and effectiveness. The fragmentation of the move lists delays your effectiveness in battle somewhat, but it also allows you to focus on customization, opening the game up to different types of combat strategies.</p><p style="">When you aren't fighting, you spend quite a lot of time exploring and clambering about your environment. By default, your objective is often highlighted on the map, but unlike in the linear Lords of Shadow, it's up to you to find your way there. It's usually clear where to go; hint-like swarms of bats tip you off to handholds for climbing and ledges for leaping. However, unlike in the first game, there are many alternate paths to explore in search of treasure. While not game-changing, the openness feels appropriate given the wide world around you. Apart from some occasionally frustrating pathfinding inadequacies, it's the map that ultimately stands in your way. Unlike older, exploration-heavy Castlevania games, Lords of Shadow 2 employs a map that is only ever displayed on a piece-by-piece basis. Plus, the "world map" is just an illustration with names and numbers attached. It doesn't hurt the moment-to-moment poking around, but it doesn't entice you to backtrack either. If you can't easily see things you've missed, or more importantly, places you haven't been, returning to previous locales becomes an unappealing prospect.</p><p style=""> </p><p style="">Of course, there's also the fact that halfway through the game, the narrative and frequency of impressive set pieces begin to steamroll ahead, and the last thing you want to do is look back. Zobek eventually takes a sideline to Dracula's ambitions, and you begin to understand why you're going to such great lengths to thwart Satan. With the emphasis on Dracula and the memories of his family, you feel compelled to move ahead. In this way, Lords of Shadow 2 is a late bloomer. It takes a while for the story to show its true colors, but it eventually blossoms into an engaging tale filled a few clever surprises that should thrill anyone who's familiar with the series.</p><p style="">Much of the latter half takes place amidst sublime examples of gothic architecture, with nearby storms raging as you hop along rooftops, adding to the drama. Boss fights become a much more frequent occurrence, pitting you against gruesome monstrosities befitting of Castlevania's legacy. Their appearances can be quite striking, bringing to mind some of the best designs from film director Guillermo del Toro's work. They're evil, expertly crafted, and offer a variety of challenges that test your abilities with every weapon in many different ways. They require fast reflexes and deep knowledge of your move list, and the creativity on display is nothing short of captivating.</p><p style="">It's a pleasing change of pace after slogging through boring environments, waiting for things to happen, and you finally get a chance to take advantage of the time spent buffing up your skills in combat. The contrast between the two halves of the game is hard to ignore, and even though you have to force your way through mediocrity to get to the good stuff, the conclusion and the last hours leading up to it justify the time spent steeped in boredom and frustration.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1406/14063904/2443578-vlcsnap-2014-02-24-16h18m20s132.png" data-ref-id="1300-2443578" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1406/14063904/2443578-vlcsnap-2014-02-24-16h18m20s132.png" data-ref-id="1300-2443578"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1406/14063904/2443578-vlcsnap-2014-02-24-16h18m20s132.png"></a><figcaption>Lords of Shadow 2 is at its best when it sticks to its strong suit: great enemy encounters and environment design.</figcaption></figure><p style="">Lords of Shadow 2 should have been a much shorter game. Still, though the game's stealth sections and drab modern settings represent the worst elements of the three-part saga, the tail end of the game contains the best of every aspect that the series is currently known for. It's the stuff you expect Castlevania to be made of, and after contending with forced stealth gameplay and a weak narrative at the start, it feels good to be home. Even better, the final act wraps up the Lords of Shadow trilogy with authority, and the game's final moments leave you both gasping for air and sighing in relief. It may not strike newcomers to the Lords of Shadow tale with such force, but it's nonetheless a surprising and fulfilling conclusion to Lords of Shadow 2's distinct plot. Regardless of your experience with the saga, if you have the patience to get through the rough start, you'll discover a much better game waiting for you on the other side.</p> Tue, 25 Feb 2014 00:01:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/castlevania-lords-of-shadow-2-review/1900-6415677/ http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/plants-vs-zombies-garden-warfare-review/1900-6415676/ <p style="">Competitive shooters are serious business. They depict epic battles between modern-day soldiers and insurgents in war-torn cities, or conflicts between space marines and aliens on distant worlds, or skirmishes between battle-hardened men and subterranean creatures who try to slice each other to bits with rifle-mounted chainsaws. There's nothing wrong with any of that, but there's also no reason the broadly appealing mechanics of multiplayer shooters always need to be married to grim scenarios.</p><p style="">That's what makes Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare so enticing. Mechanically, it's solid, if unsurprising. It distinguishes itself from other shooters not through its gameplay, but by successfully couching familiar shooter action in the bright and playful world of the Plants vs. Zombies games. Still, the package is a bit thin, even at the $40 asking price that the game carries on the Xbox One.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6417375" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6417375/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p><p style="">Garden Warfare is primarily a team-based multiplayer game. (The Garden Ops mode can be played solo or split-screen locally with one other player, but all other modes require you to hop online.) Each mode has you siding with either the plants or the zombies as the age-old...er, four-year-old conflict between them rages on. As in so many competitive shooters, gameplay is class-based. There are four basic units on each side; among the plants, there's the well-rounded peashooter, whose pea cannon does splash damage, and the sunflower, whose heal beam can give allies the extra vitality they need to survive a shootout. The zombie army includes the engineer, who can call in a drone to attack enemies from the air and rain down explosive, traffic-cone-shaped death on those pesky plants. They've also got the all-star, a zombie in a football getup whose pigskin-shooting cannon takes a second to spin up but does lots of damage once it gets going.</p><p style="">The game does a good job of balancing out the abilities on each side. The chomper can burrow underground, get under an enemy, and burst forth to swallow him whole--a wonderfully satisfying move to pull off--but nearby zombie engineers can use their sonic grenades to stun all nearby plants, forcing burrowed chompers out of the ground in the process. And the game makes defensive abilities just as important as offensive ones. The cactus's potato mines can fortify a location against zombies who are too reckless to look where they're going, and the all-star's dummy shield can absorb enemy fire. In Garden Warfare, as in most of the better competitive shooters on the market these days, you're not always focused on killing members of the other team; you're trying to use the variety of abilities at your disposal to most effectively support your team.</p><figure data-ref-id="1300-2443638" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/78/787590/2443638-ci-153849124830355912.jpg" data-size="medium" data-align="left" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/78/787590/2443638-ci-153849124830355912.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2443638"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/78/787590/2443638-ci-153849124830355912.jpg"></a><figcaption>Look into the face of the flower that vanquished you and despair.</figcaption></figure><p style="">In Team Vanquish games, the best way to support your team is, in fact, to kill members of the other team. This playlist pits teams of up to 12 against each other in a race to 50 kills (though the game never uses that violent word, opting for "vanquishes" instead), and encourages you to revive fallen teammates, which subtracts the point the opposing team earned for killing your buddy from its tally. More dynamic are the battles of the Gardens & Graveyards playlist, in which plants work together to prevent zombies from capturing key points on the map.</p><p style="">Only one point is contested at any time, so battles for those points are heated, and if the zombies succeed in pushing the plants back to the last battleground on a map, there's an enjoyable endgame goal the undead have to accomplish. On one map, zombies launch themselves through a cannon to an island to assault the megaflower, and on another, they have to assault Crazy Dave's mansion, which is defended by cannons that launch massive nuts that roll down the driveway like bowling balls.</p><p style="">There's also the cooperative Garden Ops game type, in which up to four players defend a garden from waves of AI-controlled zombies. If you survive all the waves, there's a <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/left-4-dead/" data-ref-id="false">Left 4 Dead</a>-style escape attempt that some players may survive while others may not, making for some exciting and desperate final moments. But the AI zombie hordes aren't as clever, or as enjoyable to mow down, as player-controlled opponents, so Garden Ops lacks the liveliness of the competitive modes. Whatever mode you play, the maps give you plenty of opportunity to try using the terrain to your advantage. The zombie foot soldier can use his rocket jump to launch onto rooftops, and the cactus's long-range spike shot makes her a good choice when you'd rather try to stay back from the front lines and pick off enemies from afar.</p><figure data-ref-id="1300-2443640" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/78/787590/2443640-ci-60700124830355912.jpg" data-size="large" data-align="center" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/78/787590/2443640-ci-60700124830355912.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2443640"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/78/787590/2443640-ci-60700124830355912.jpg"></a><figcaption>The ability to put defensive plants in flower pots gives Garden Warfare's gameplay the slightest whiff of classic Plants vs. Zombies tower defense.</figcaption></figure><p style="">There are tons of unlockables in Garden Warfare. Coins you earn as you play (and that, at least for now, cannot be purchased with real money) can be spent to purchase sticker packs that contain everything from accessories like sunglasses for your sunflower to character variations, like the dapper agent pea, who sacrifices the standard peashooter's splash damage for a damage bonus on critical hits. It's frustrating that you can't influence which class variant you work toward unlocking next, though. Even if you buy the 40,000-coin sticker pack that guarantees you a character unlock, it could be any character; you can't improve your chances of getting that specific class variant you've seen other players using and really want to try out.</p><p style="">While the unlockables fit right in with the whimsical spirit of the Plants vs. Zombies franchise, you're left feeling like Garden Warfare needed a little something more to make it a meal rather than a side salad. Still, it's that rare shooter whose world and characters might put a smile on your face, making it a refreshing entry in a genre that usually takes itself really seriously.</p> Tue, 25 Feb 2014 00:01:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/plants-vs-zombies-garden-warfare-review/1900-6415676/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/peashooter-frenzy-plants-vs-zombies-garden-warfare/2300-6417375/ A tasty example of staying alive as a Peashooter on the map Wall-nut Hills. Tue, 25 Feb 2014 00:01:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/peashooter-frenzy-plants-vs-zombies-garden-warfare/2300-6417375/
http://auth.gamespot.com/ Gamespot's Everything Feed! News, Reviews, Videos. Exploding with content? You bet. en-us Tue, 25 Feb 2014 08:20:42 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/apple-asks-for-veto-of-arizona-s-controversial-anti-gay-bill/1100-6417953/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2443914-appleiphone.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2443914" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2443914-appleiphone.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2443914"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1179/11799911/2443914-appleiphone.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">Technology behemoth Apple, maker of iPhones and iPads, has asked Arizona governor Jan Brewer to veto the state's controversial "anti-gay" bill that would--if signed into law--allow businesses to refuse service to gay and lesbian individuals.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The <a href="http://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2014/02/24/apple-joins-anti-sb1062-chorus/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"><em>Arizona Capitol Times</em></a> reports that an Apple representative spoke with Brewer about the bill--SB1062--and asked her to veto it, though other details of their conversation have not been made public. Apple's request to the governor comes as the company is preparing to <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-57610796-37/apple-to-build-made-in-the-usa-manufacturing-plant-in-arizona/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="8301-13579">open a manufacturing plant in Mesa, Arizona</a> that would employ 700 people and create over 1,000 construction and management jobs.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"Apple is indisputably one of the world's most innovative companies and I'm thrilled to welcome them to Arizona," Brewer said in a <a href="http://www.azcommerce.com/news-events/press-releases/governor-jan-brewer-welcomes-apple-to-arizona" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">November-dated statement</a>. "Apple will have an incredibly positive economic impact for Arizona and its decision to locate here speaks volumes about the friendly, pro-business climate we have been creating these past four years."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">In offering its veto request, Apple joins other opponents of SB1062 including business organizations like The Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Arizona Technology Council, Greater Phoenix Economic Council, and the Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Others speaking out against the bill include major hotel chains, tourism groups, and AT&T. </p><p style="">Brewer has yet to take an official position on the bill, though she's like to make a decision on whether it becomes a law or not sometime this week.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6415580" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6415580/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p> Tue, 25 Feb 2014 08:01:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/apple-asks-for-veto-of-arizona-s-controversial-anti-gay-bill/1100-6417953/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/gamestop-uk-cuts-price-on-xbox-one-titanfall-bundle/1100-6417952/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2443902-xboxonebundleuk1.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2443902" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2443902-xboxonebundleuk1.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2443902"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1179/11799911/2443902-xboxonebundleuk1.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">GameStop UK is <a href="http://www.gamestop.co.uk/Xbox%20One/Games/45883/xbox-one-titanfall-bundle?&utm_source=tradedoubler" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">currently accepting preorders for the Xbox One Titanfall bundle for £370</a>, or a full £30 below the bundle's £400 price point. That discount is on top of the <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-xbox-one-uk-price-drop-what-does-it-mean-for-the-us/1100-6417943/" data-ref-id="1100-6417943">£30 price cut Microsoft announced yesterday</a>, which will see the console officially drop from £430 to £400 effective Friday, February 28.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">It's one of the best deals we've seen so far on the Xbox One. Of course, it's only valid in the UK, but GameStop stores in the United States are <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-one-titanfall-bundle-gamestop-launches-special-extra-50-percent-trade-in-offer/1100-6417948/" data-ref-id="1100-6417948">offering a promotion of their own for the Xbox One Titanfall bundle</a>.</p><p style="">GameStop UK's £370 Titanfall Xbox One bundle offer includes a black console, digital copy of the game, Kinect, a standard Xbox One controller (<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/65-xbox-one-titanfall-controller-revealed/1100-6417140/" data-ref-id="1100-6417140">not the special-edition one</a>), a chat headset, and one-month Xbox Live Gold membership--which you'll need to play the game.</p><p style="">The Titanfall Xbox One bundle will be available in North America alongside the game on March 11, followed by a March 14 release in Europe.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6417359" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6417359/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p><p style=""> </p> Tue, 25 Feb 2014 07:29:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/gamestop-uk-cuts-price-on-xbox-one-titanfall-bundle/1100-6417952/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/buy-metal-gear-solid-5-ground-zeroes-get-the-phantom-pain-dlc-free/1100-6417951/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2443891-gzeroes.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2443891" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2443891-gzeroes.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2443891"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1179/11799911/2443891-gzeroes.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">A <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/metal-gear-solid-5-ground-zeroes-gets-price-drop-on-ps4-xbox-one/1100-6417950/" data-ref-id="1100-6417950">price drop for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 versions of Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes</a> was not the only announcement Konami had in store for the game today. The publisher also announced today that if you buy Ground Zeroes you'll receive exclusive downloadable content for follow-up <a href="/metal-gear-solid-v-the-phantom-pain/" data-ref-id="false">Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain</a> when it is released (which might not be until <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/metal-gear-solid-v-the-phantom-pain-might-not-come-out-until-december-2015/1100-6417568/" data-ref-id="1100-6417568">late in 2015</a>).</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The DLC provides players with additional resources for a Mother Base area featured in The Phantom Pain. According to Konami, Mother Base will be introduced during the Ground Zeroes campaign and will play a "central role" in The Phantom Pain. The DLC is included only in the "first batch" of Ground Zeroes retail copies and for a "limited period" for the digital version.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Players who have this DLC will have an "edge" over those who don't, Konami said. It's not clear if the DLC will be available for separate purchase.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Konami also announced today that everyone who purchases Ground Zeroes will unlock "exclusive" content that will carry over to The Phantom Pain. More specifically, prisoners of war and VIPs rescued in Ground Zeroes will appear in The Phantom Pain as Mother Base staff. Character skins can also be carried over from Ground Zeroes to The Phantom Pain.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Finally, Konami today announced Ground Zeroes' second-screen "iDROID" app. This app-- available for free on iOS, Android, and Xbox SmartGlass--will replicate Big Boss' in-game communication map/device. Using the iDROID app, players will be able to call up maps, enlist the help of air support, or play cassette tapes they find in Camp Omega.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Ground Zeroes launches on <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/metal-gear-solid-5-ground-zeroes-release-date-announced-xbox-exclusive-content-detailed/1100-6416613/" data-ref-id="1100-6416613">March 18</a>.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6417312" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6417312/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p dir="ltr" style=""> </p><p style=""> </p> Tue, 25 Feb 2014 06:52:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/buy-metal-gear-solid-5-ground-zeroes-get-the-phantom-pain-dlc-free/1100-6417951/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/metal-gear-solid-5-ground-zeroes-gets-price-drop-on-ps4-xbox-one/1100-6417950/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/536/5360430/2405339-mgsvgz_ss_game_003.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2405339" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/536/5360430/2405339-mgsvgz_ss_game_003.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2405339"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/536/5360430/2405339-mgsvgz_ss_game_003.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">Konami today announced that physical and digital copies of <a href="/metal-gear-solid-ground-zeroes/" data-ref-id="false">Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes </a>for Xbox One and PlayStation 4 will sell for $30 each. Previously, boxed copies of Ground Zeroes sold at retail for those platforms carried a price tag of $40, while the downloadable versions have always been $30.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Explaining the price drop, Konami said the new, lower price point will "provide as many people as possible an opportunity to experience" the game, which runs on Kojima Productions' FOX Engine. Today's announcement does not affect the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of Ground Zeroes; physical copies will be sold for $30, while digital versions will go for $20.</p><p style="">Ground Zeroes launches on <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/metal-gear-solid-5-ground-zeroes-release-date-announced-xbox-exclusive-content-detailed/1100-6416613/" data-ref-id="1100-6416613">March 18 </a>and is a prequel to <a href="/metal-gear-solid-v-the-phantom-pain/" data-ref-id="false">Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain</a>, which <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/metal-gear-solid-v-the-phantom-pain-might-not-come-out-until-december-2015/1100-6417568/" data-ref-id="1100-6417568">might not launch until late 2015 or even later</a>. </p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6414685" data-width="854" data-height="480"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6414685/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p> Tue, 25 Feb 2014 06:35:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/metal-gear-solid-5-ground-zeroes-gets-price-drop-on-ps4-xbox-one/1100-6417950/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/why-world-of-warcraft-character-boosts-cost-60/1100-6417949/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2443883-wowart.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2443883" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2443883-wowart.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2443883"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1179/11799911/2443883-wowart.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style=""><a href="/world-of-warcraft/" data-ref-id="false">World of Warcraft</a> level 90 character boosts will <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/world-of-warcraft-would-you-pay-60-to-auto-level-a-character-to-90/1100-6417823/" data-ref-id="1100-6417823">cost $60</a> because developer Blizzard Entertainment did not want to diminish the value of in-game levelling, the company has said.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"In terms of the pricing, honestly, a big part of that is not wanting to devalue the accomplishment of levelling," lead encounter designer Ion Hazzikostas told <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-02-25-blizzard-explains-USD60-cost-of-world-of-warcraft-level-90-character-boost" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="2014-02">Eurogamer</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Hazzikostas said if Blizzard wanted to sell as many level 90 boosts as possible, it could have made them less expensive, in the ballpark of $10 or so. But players might not level traditionally, through gameplay, if they could buy their way to the top for so cheap, he said.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Overall, Hazzikostas said Blizzard's goal with the level 90 character boosts is to provide busy players--those with family responsibilities or limited gaming time--a means to enjoy high-level content with one of their alternate characters.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"Levelling is something that takes dozens if not over 100 hours in many cases and people have put serious time and effort into that, and we don't want to diminish that," Hazzikostas said. "It's just to allow people who want to purchase additional level 90s, maybe they want a second or third alt and they don't have time to level it themselves because they have a family or etc--it's to allow them to do that."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Still, some players might see Blizzard's introduction of paid character boosts as a signal that World of Warcraft is becoming more of a "pay-to-win" title instead of a progression-based game. This is not the case, creative director Alex Afrasiabi said.</p><p style="">"Game design, half of it is about trust. And I think that our playerbase trusts us implicitly and you never want to break trust between the player and developer," Afrasiabi <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/blizzard-world-of-warcraft-is-not-going-to-become-pay-to-win/1100-6417898/" data-ref-id="1100-6417898">told GameSpot</a>. "And I think pay-to-win does that. And I think that is really our stance; we are not about pay-to-win in World of Warcraft. That is not gonna happen."</p><p style="">Every copy of upcoming World of Warcraft expansion <a href="/world-of-warcraft-warlords-of-draenor/" data-ref-id="false">Warlords of Draenor</a> includes one free level 90 character boost. Immediately after you pre-purchase Warlords of Draenor, you'll be granted your free character boost. Pre-purchases for the expansion are said to launch "soon."</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6416038" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6416038/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p> Tue, 25 Feb 2014 06:16:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/why-world-of-warcraft-character-boosts-cost-60/1100-6417949/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/five-things-i-learned-about-dwarves-from-lego-the-hobbit/1100-6417891/ <p style="">Let's be honest for a moment. As great as Bilbo Baggins may be, the real stars of The Hobbit are the 13 dwarves that help Bilbo on his journey through Middle-earth. Singing, dancing, washing the dishes...these dudes know how to <i>party</i>. But for as wondrous as Thorin Oakenshield's band of pint-sized heroes may be, they're also something of a mystery. At least until now. See, I've just played a bit of LEGO: The Hobbit and let's just say I came away with a far, far better picture of what makes these guys tick. And by that I mean I learned five really specific things about dwarves. Here we go!</p><h3><b>Dwarves use the buddy system</b></h3><p style="">This may come as a surprise, but LEGO: The Hobbit plays very much like a LEGO game. You run around smashing things, collecting studs, and swapping between characters when you need to employ someone's unique ability. But within that familiar framework you'll find a few new gameplay mechanics, most notably the "buddying-up" system. This feature allows several dwarves to come together and join forces to take down much larger, more powerful foes. In one situation, I used Kili to leap from Thorin's shoulders to take out the Goblin King, and a few moments later I scaled an impassable wall by having three dwarves stack together like a living totem pole as a fourth crawled up to safety. If the one level I played is any indication, these moments seem to pop up pretty frequently, so you might want to get a head start now on preparing yourself for hot dwarf-on-dwarf action.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/642/6422750/2441947-legohobbit+2014-01-31+14-01-52-17.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2441947" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/642/6422750/2441947-legohobbit+2014-01-31+14-01-52-17.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2441947"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/642/6422750/2441947-legohobbit+2014-01-31+14-01-52-17.jpg"></a><figcaption>He may be made of virtual plastic, but the Goblin King's jowls still undulate with hypnotic movement.</figcaption></figure><h3><b>But they also know when to split up</b></h3><p style="">One of the biggest challenges facing developer TT Games is this: how on earth do you let players jump between 13 dwarves on the fly without the whole thing becoming a huge user interface nightmare? The solution, it seems, is to embrace those moments in the story where the party splits up. In the escape from Goblin-town, the game constantly switches between two bands of dwarves that have been separated from one another. This gives the player about four or five characters to choose from, the story jumping between the different groups as you see the others barreling along in the background of the scenery. </p><h3><b>Dwarves (still) love scavenging</b></h3><p style="">Just like its Lord of the Rings predecessor, LEGO: The Hobbit will allow you to collect bits of mithril and bring them to your friendly neighborhood blacksmith in order to build fancy new gear and weaponry. But the scavenging in The Hobbit goes beyond mithril. A new feature lets you collect random LEGO bits like rope and stone, then build them into various assemblages of machinery (think catapults and such) to help progress through particularly nasty swarms of enemies. The twist is that you're not holding a magical button to build these in one fell swoop, but actually sifting through individual LEGO pieces to build them bit by bit. Of course, these are all pre-designed "micro-builds" (to use the developer's preferred terminology), but TT Games' hope is that these sequences will help mimic the tactility of actual LEGOs. After all, dwarves <i>love</i> tactility. That's why they grow such mighty beards.</p><h3><b>Virtual Dwarves sound like human actors</b></h3><figure data-align="right" data-size="small" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/642/6422750/2441948-legohobbit+2014-02-04+13-38-29-52.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2441948" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/642/6422750/2441948-legohobbit+2014-02-04+13-38-29-52.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2441948"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_small/642/6422750/2441948-legohobbit+2014-02-04+13-38-29-52.jpg"></a><figcaption>Bombur? I hardly knew her!</figcaption></figure><p style="">Like LEGO: Lord of the Rings before it, The Hobbit has licensed the dialogue from Peter Jackson's films. That means that every LEGO dwarf sounds like the actor who played him on the big screen. Beyond that, Christopher Lee has also lent his voice to the chapter introduction cinematics, allowing you to feel like you're cuddling up with Saruman for a nice little bedtime story before he imprisons you at the top of his tower. Saruman. Not Christopher Lee. I'm pretty sure Christopher Lee has never imprisoned <i>anyone</i> at the top of a tower.</p><h3><b>No dwarf in the world is as cool as Bombur</b></h3><p style="">You remember Bombur, right? He of the mighty orange beard and generously proportioned frame? Well, if not, all you really need to know is that this dwarf is basically the coolest dwarf ever. Simply consider his weapons of choice. Bombur's primary weapon? A giant iron ladle. But swap that out and you'll see Bombur go to town on some goblins with a sausage. Yes, a <i>sausage</i>. Amazing.</p> Tue, 25 Feb 2014 06:00:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/five-things-i-learned-about-dwarves-from-lego-the-hobbit/1100-6417891/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-one-titanfall-bundle-gamestop-launches-special-extra-50-percent-trade-in-offer/1100-6417948/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2443869-titanfalltradein.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2443869" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2443869-titanfalltradein.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2443869"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1179/11799911/2443869-titanfalltradein.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">Looking for a deal on the <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/get-titanfall-for-free-when-you-buy-an-xbox-one/1100-6417928/" data-ref-id="1100-6417928">newly announced $500 Xbox One Titanfall bundle</a>? Now through March 23, you can trade in any system (yes, any) at GameStop to earn an extra 50 percent trade-in credit when applied towards the purchase of the bundle. In addition, you can trade in any item--game, system, accessory--and receive 30 percent extra in-store credit towards the purchase of <a href="/titanfall/" data-ref-id="false">Titanfall</a> the game.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The extra 50 percent trade-in promotion is also good for any system traded towards the purchase of a PlayStation 4, Wii U, or standard Xbox One console. You can check out a <a href="http://www.gamestop.com/trade-values" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">chart featuring trade-in values for various consoles and games at GameStop's website</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Alongside the promotion, GameStop has launched a special "<a href="http://www.gamestop.com/collection/titanfall#0" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Titan Academy</a>" microsite via the main GameStop website. It offers gameplay and trailer videos, as well as a special downloadable digital asset pack featuring skins for gamers' social media profiles.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Developed by a team of former Call of Duty designers, including Infinity Ward cofounder Vince Zampella, Titanfall launches <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/titanfall-launching-march-11-2014/1100-6415710/">March 11</a> for Xbox One and PC. An Xbox 360 version--developed externally at Bluepoint Games--will launch <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/titanfall-for-xbox-360-delayed/1100-6417577/">two weeks later on March 25</a>.</p><p style="">For more on Titanfall, be sure to check out our feature, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/the-next-big-game-titanfall/">The Next Big Game: Titanfall</a>, which includes exclusives interviews, previews, and videos for the game.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6417320" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6417320/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p> Tue, 25 Feb 2014 05:23:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-one-titanfall-bundle-gamestop-launches-special-extra-50-percent-trade-in-offer/1100-6417948/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-one-named-product-of-the-year-for-2014/1100-6417947/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2443860-productoftheyear.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2443860" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2443860-productoftheyear.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2443860"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1179/11799911/2443860-productoftheyear.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">We're only two months into the new year, but Microsoft's Xbox One is already winning awards for 2014. The console has been named a "Product of the Year" for 2014 in the Home Entertainment category of <a href="http://productoftheyear.co.uk/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Product of the Year</a>'s annual awards. The Xbox One came out on top following a survey of more than 40,000 consumers conducted by market research firm TNS. It's not clear what other products the Xbox One beat out to claim the title or how the survey was structured.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Product of the Year winners were featured in an <a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/here-are-2014-products-year-155637" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">AdWeek exclusive</a> and on the cover of the latest <a href="http://parade.condenast.com/264253/katerockwood/attention-shoppers-meet-the-winners-of-the-2014-product-of-the-year-awards/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"><em>Parade Magazine</em></a>. According to Product of the Year organizers, the Xbox One--and all other winners--stand to enjoy a 10-15 percent sales boost from being featured as a winner.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Speaking to <em>Parade</em> about the win, Microsoft director of product planning Albert Penello said: "The gaming console has moved out of the basement and into the living room." He's no doubt referencing the Xbox One's "all-in-one" multipurpose nature, that is, its ability to play games, TV, movies, and music.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The Product of the Year organization has a history in the United Kingdom spanning nearly 30 years, but it's only been featured in the United States for six years. Product of the Year CEO Mike Nolan said winners represent "truly superior innovation" in their categories. Other winners include SK Energy Shots (Beverages), Starburst Fruit Flavored Candy Corn (Candy), and Eggland's Best (Eggs).</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The full list of Product of the Year 2014 winners is <a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/here-are-2014-products-year-155637" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">available at AdWeek</a>.</p><p style="">The Xbox One launched on November 22 and sold <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-one-sold-3-million-units-in-2013-microsoft-says/1100-6416955/" data-ref-id="1100-6416955">more than 3 million units in 2013 alone</a>. Yesterday, Microsoft announced the system's first official price cut from <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-xbox-one-uk-price-drop-what-does-it-mean-for-the-us/1100-6417943/" data-ref-id="1100-6417943">£430 to £400 in the United Kingdom only effective on Friday</a>. A special, limited-edition <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/get-titanfall-for-free-when-you-buy-an-xbox-one/1100-6417928/" data-ref-id="1100-6417928">Titanfall Xbox One bundle</a> will also be available when the game launches on March 11.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6417321" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6417321/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p> Tue, 25 Feb 2014 05:09:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-one-named-product-of-the-year-for-2014/1100-6417947/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-division-s-new-boss-in-the-guy-who-reportedly-wanted-to-sell-it-off/1100-6417946/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2443847-elop.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2443847" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2443847-elop.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2443847"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1179/11799911/2443847-elop.jpg"></a><figcaption>Image credit: Sarah Tew/CNET</figcaption></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">Former Nokia executive Stephen Elop will take over control of Microsoft's Devices and Studios division--the business unit that includes Xbox and Surface--Microsoft confirmed to GameSpot sister site <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-57619460-75/microsofts-hardware-chief-changes-roles-before-elop-return/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="8301-10805">CNET</a> after an internal memo leaked to <a href="http://www.geekwire.com/2014/microsoft-devices-chief-larson-green-takes-new-role-will-replaced-nokias-elop/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">GeekWire</a> yesterday.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Interestingly, and perhaps ironically, a <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-ceo-candidate-may-consider-selling-xbox-killing-bing-report/1100-6416052/" data-ref-id="1100-6416052">Bloomberg report from November</a> said Elop would consider selling off the Xbox unit if he was named the next Microsoft CEO. He was not, as that position was <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/meet-satya-nadella-the-new-microsoft-ceo/1100-6417513/" data-ref-id="1100-6417513">filled last month by Satya Nadella</a>, who is a "<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/new-microsoft-ceo-is-a-good-supporter-of-xbox/1100-6417533/" data-ref-id="1100-6417533">good supporter</a>" of Xbox.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The report stated that if Elop got the job as CEO, he would be ready to sell or close major Microsoft business units--including Xbox--if he determined they are not critical to the company's strategic outlook. It's unclear if Elop--when he becomes the new Xbox division boss--would have the power to complete such a deal.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Microsoft has been <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-cofounder-s-investment-group-calls-for-xbox-spinoff/1100-6415919/" data-ref-id="1100-6415919">urged by some high-profile investors</a> to sell off the Xbox business unit. These investors, including Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen's investment group Vulcan Capital, say that though Xbox has been successful, it's also detracting from Microsoft's core competencies. </p><figure data-align="left" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2443849-xbox.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2443849" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2443849-xbox.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2443849"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/1179/11799911/2443849-xbox.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">Elop will replace outgoing Devices and Studios leader Julie Larson-Green, who moved into the role--replacing Don Mattrick who left for Zynga--just <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/julie-larson-green-confirmed-as-new-xbox-boss-in-microsoft-restructuring/1100-6411301/" data-ref-id="1100-6411301">seven months ago</a>. Larson-Green will transition to a new role at Microsoft where she will lead the "My Life & Work" team at the company's Applications and Services group.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"I want to thank each and every one of you for welcoming me and supporting me as the leader of Devices & Studios over the past 7 months. I'm very proud of what we have accomplished during such a short timeframe," Larson-Green said. "We launched Xbox One, Surface 2 & Pro 2, blockbuster games like Forza and Ryse, a brand new Xbox Music and Video service, PPI, and some amazing unannounced innovations just to name a few…"</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"You are all in great hands with Stephen and already we've shared a lot with him and his LT from Nokia regarding all of the fantastic people, teams and products in DnS," she added. "I also know many of you are looking forward to welcoming the Nokia team and working more closely with them."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Elop joined Microsoft when the company <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-buys-nokias-mobile-phone-business-for-72-billion/1100-6413969/">purchased the handset maker's mobile business for $7.2 billion in September</a>. Larson-Green will remain leader of the Devices and Studios division in the interim until the Nokia deal officially closes.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Yesterday, Microsoft announced the first official price cut for the Xbox One, cutting the price f<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-xbox-one-uk-price-drop-what-does-it-mean-for-the-us/1100-6417943/" data-ref-id="1100-6417943">rom £430 to £400 in the United Kingdom only effective on Friday</a>. The company also revealed 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 Titanfall bundle</a> that includes a copy of the game.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6417171" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6417171/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p dir="ltr" style=""> </p><p style=""> </p> Tue, 25 Feb 2014 04:36:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-division-s-new-boss-in-the-guy-who-reportedly-wanted-to-sell-it-off/1100-6417946/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-one-finally-gets-twitch-streaming-on-march-11-right-in-time-for-titanfall/1100-6417945/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2443878-twitchxbox.png" data-ref-id="1300-2443878" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2443878-twitchxbox.png" data-ref-id="1300-2443878"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1179/11799911/2443878-twitchxbox.png"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">[UPDATE] Following the publication of this story, Microsoft officially announced through the <a href="http://news.xbox.com/2014/02/xbox-one-twitch-broadcasting" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Xbox Wire</a> that Twitch streaming support for Xbox One will arrive on March 11. A video of Twitch broadcasting on Xbox One is also now available below.<a href="http://news.xbox.com/2014/02/xbox-one-twitch-broadcasting" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"><br /></a></p><p dir="ltr" style=""><em>The original story is below.</em></p><p dir="ltr" style="">Xbox One owners will finally be able to stream their gameplay sessions through Twitch next month. Gameplay streaming--and a host of other new features--will be added to the <a href="http://www.xbox.com/en-US/live/apps/Xbox-One/Twitch#fbid=EdvD1Yr74Zk" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">existing spectate-only Xbox One Twitch app</a> on March 11 alongside Respawn Entertainment's much-hyped multiplayer shooter <a href="/titanfall/" data-ref-id="false">Titanfall</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"It's complete integration," Twitch CEO Emmett Shear told the <a href="http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_GAMES_TWITCH_XBOX_ONE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"><em>Associated Press</em></a>. You'll also need an Xbox Live Gold subscription($60/year) to stream via Twitch.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Twitch users on Xbox One will be able to live stream their gameplay sessions, initiate broadcasts via Kinect, archive game clips, and watch streams from a multitude of devices, including the PlayStation 4. Previously, Xbox One users could only spectate Twitch streams and record and upload content via Microsoft's own Upload Studio.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">PS4 owners have been able to broadcast gameplay via Twitch since launch in November. According to Microsoft VP of marketing and strategy for Xbox Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft wasn't willing to ship a product until the company knew it would meet player expectations, even if it meant a delay.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"Our fans really want the full next-gen service, so that's why we decided to take our time, do it right and have it come out in this fashion," Mehdi said. "This will open up the social aspect of Xbox One in a new way."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"The community of Twitch is huge, and this allows us to type into that, and frankly do something that's never been done before on consoles," Mehdi added. "You'll be able to broadcast to any device and consume anyone's broadcast from any device. It's a console experience unique to the Xbox One."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Twitch has been a hit on the PS4. The company said a <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/playstation-4-sales-reach-4-2-million-outselling-xbox-one-by-1-2-million-units-in-2013/1100-6416987/" data-ref-id="1100-6416987">whopping 20 percent of its broadcasts between December 23-January 3 came PS4 owners</a>. In addition, more than 1.7 million Twitch streams have come through the PS4 since launch in November.</p><p style=""><em>Are you psyched for Twitch streaming support on Xbox One? Do you plan to use it to broadcast your Titanfall sessions? Let us know in the comments below.</em></p><div data-embed-type="video" data-src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMq_ajNBTy8" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fembed%2FQMq_ajNBTy8%3Fwmode%3Dopaque%26feature%3Doembed&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DQMq_ajNBTy8&image=http%3A%2F%2Fi1.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FQMq_ajNBTy8%2Fhqdefault.jpg&key=6efca6e5ad9640f180f14146a0bc1392&type=text%2Fhtml&schema=youtube&wmode=opaque" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p> Tue, 25 Feb 2014 04:05:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-one-finally-gets-twitch-streaming-on-march-11-right-in-time-for-titanfall/1100-6417945/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ps4-sold-320-000-units-in-japan-in-two-days/1100-6417944/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2443835-ps4supply.png" data-ref-id="1300-2443835" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2443835-ps4supply.png" data-ref-id="1300-2443835"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1179/11799911/2443835-ps4supply.png"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">The PlayStation 4 sold 322,083 systems during its <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ps4-now-officially-on-sale-in-japan/1100-6417881/" data-ref-id="1100-6417881">opening weekend in Japan</a>, easily surpassing its predecessor the PlayStation 3, which moved only 88,443 units during the same window in 2006. The PS4's worldwide sales tally before the Japanese launch was <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/playstation-4-breezes-past-5m-sales-milestone/1100-6417806/" data-ref-id="1100-6417806">5.3 million units</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The numbers come from Japanese gaming publication <a href="http://www.famitsu.com/news/201402/25048815.html" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"><em>Famitsu</em></a> (translated by <a href="http://www.siliconera.com/2014/02/24/playstation-4-sells-300000-units-opening-weekend-japan/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Siliconera</a>), which notes that the PS4's launch in Japan closely resembled the Wii U, which sold 308,570 units during its launch weekend in Japan in 2012. Importantly, today's data does not come directly from Sony, so we'll have to wait for official confirmation.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The PS4 could not match the record-breaking PlayStation 2, however. That system sold an astonishing 630,552 units--nearly double the PS4-- during its first two days on sale in Japan in 2000. The PS2 has since been discontinued, though that doesn't mean publishers have stopped supporting the system. In fact, EA Sports shipped a version of <a href="/fifa-14/" data-ref-id="false">FIFA 14</a> for the PS2 just last year.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">To celebrate the release of the PS4 in Japan, Sony held a <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ps4-now-officially-on-sale-in-japan/1100-6417881/" data-ref-id="1100-6417881">midnight launch event</a> featuring speakers like SCE CEO Andrew House and Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima. Meanwhile, the Xbox One is not yet available in Japan, so there's no data to compare, at least for now. </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><p style=""> </p> Tue, 25 Feb 2014 03:39:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ps4-sold-320-000-units-in-japan-in-two-days/1100-6417944/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/plants-vs-zombies-garden-warfare-video-review/2300-6417376/ Carolyn explains how Garden Warfare's gameplay is standard stuff, but the game's lighthearted tone makes it an appealing multiplayer shooter that stands out from the crowd. Tue, 25 Feb 2014 00:01:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/plants-vs-zombies-garden-warfare-video-review/2300-6417376/ http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/castlevania-lords-of-shadow-2-review/1900-6415677/ <p style="">Castlevania: Lords of Shadows is occasionally beautiful, occasionally exciting, and occasionally rewarding. However, to fully enjoy its best parts, you must endure a handful of drab settings and boring stealth puzzles along the way. At times, it's enough to make you want to put the controller down. But stick around until the end, and you'll enjoy a satisfying reward of eye-catching boss fights and a satisfying conclusion that ultimately diminishes the negative impact of the game's earlier issues. Lords of Shadow 2's story should resonate with anyone with a continuing interest in the series' narrative, and even though the ending won't hit newcomers as hard, the occasionally fantastic environments and monsters create a worthwhile experience that stands tall on its own by the end of the tale.</p><p style="">You're in a tough position at the start of Lords of Shadow 2. You, Dracula, awake from centuries of rest in a cathedral, smack in the middle of a modern metropolis. Your archnemesis from the first game, Zobek, is your first real contact. Despite your hatred for the traitor, you enter into an agreement with him. Help Zobek defeat Satan so that he may conquer the earth in his place, and he'll free you from immortality once and for all. To do this, you must take on Satan's devoted acolytes, who've implanted themselves into key positions in society.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1406/14063904/2443571-vlcsnap-2014-02-24-16h19m38s113.png" data-ref-id="1300-2443571" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1406/14063904/2443571-vlcsnap-2014-02-24-16h19m38s113.png" data-ref-id="1300-2443571"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1406/14063904/2443571-vlcsnap-2014-02-24-16h19m38s113.png"></a></figure><p style="">This all comes after a rousing prologue, which sees Dracula at full strength battling righteous warriors in and around his unholy castle. For all the excitement offered there, the true start to Lords of Shadow 2's plot with Zobek is relatively deflating. Your motivation, to hunt someone else's enemies, doesn't inspire much excitement. Plus, you're immediately thrust into one of the most bland and uninspiring settings to be found: an industrial scientific complex replete with sheet metal, red pipes, and security guards. Memories of the first game in the series are filled with fantastic vistas and monumental architecture; apart from the prologue, Lords of Shadow 2 frustratingly avoids them early on.</p><blockquote data-align="left" data-size="medium"><p style="">..the start of the game proper effectively hits the snooze button, and begins to feel more like a pale mix of Gears of War's art style and every sneaky-stealth game from the last 20 years.</p></blockquote><p style="">It would be one thing if the boring start to the central plot quickly gave way to combat, which is the real reason worth playing Lords of Shadow 2, but instead you're forced into tedious and questionable stealth missions almost immediately after your reunion with Zobek. It's not inherently bad, but Lords of Shadow 2's stealth puzzles offer no room for creativity and unnecessarily slow the pacing while offering little in return. The prologue teaches you that this is a game about dark castles, fearless knights, and heavy combat, then it hits the snooze button. Unfortunately, it's throwaway content that gets in the way of the good stuff periodically throughout the game, but thankfully, it doesn't dominate the experience.</p><p style="">Lords of Shadow 2 eventually returns to what it does best: gothic action adventure. Throughout the story, Dracula finds himself back in time, though it's not immediately clear whether this is actual or imagined, but it brings the game back to its roots. Combat and fantastic environments take center stage, and with the game's new free-moving camera and an emphasis on exploration, both aspects feel fresh and new. Thanks to the flexible vantage, you're able to dash and leap during battle with greater accuracy than before. Throw in multiple new and diverse skill sets, and Dracula accurately feels like a powerful evolution of his former self, Lords of Shadow's Gabriel Belmont. This time around, there are a few new tools to play with, including a new weapon class that's capable of breaking down fortified enemy defenses, but the biggest changes (apart from the camera system) are the skill mastery system and the weapon-dependent move lists.</p><figure data-align="right" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1406/14063904/2443577-vlcsnap-2014-02-24-16h14m13s200.png" data-ref-id="1300-2443577" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1406/14063904/2443577-vlcsnap-2014-02-24-16h14m13s200.png" data-ref-id="1300-2443577"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/1406/14063904/2443577-vlcsnap-2014-02-24-16h14m13s200.png"></a><figcaption>You're not alone, guy. I despise this boring, industrial setting too.</figcaption></figure><p style="">In Lords of Shadow 2, you learn skills for each weapon--shadow whip, void sword, and chaos claws--independently. Skills are learned by spending experience points granted during combat, and each has a gauge that fills with use. Once the gauge is full, this experience can be transferred into the given weapon, increasing its mastery level and effectiveness. The fragmentation of the move lists delays your effectiveness in battle somewhat, but it also allows you to focus on customization, opening the game up to different types of combat strategies.</p><p style="">When you aren't fighting, you spend quite a lot of time exploring and clambering about your environment. By default, your objective is often highlighted on the map, but unlike in the linear Lords of Shadow, it's up to you to find your way there. It's usually clear where to go; hint-like swarms of bats tip you off to handholds for climbing and ledges for leaping. However, unlike in the first game, there are many alternate paths to explore in search of treasure. While not game-changing, the openness feels appropriate given the wide world around you. Apart from some occasionally frustrating pathfinding inadequacies, it's the map that ultimately stands in your way. Unlike older, exploration-heavy Castlevania games, Lords of Shadow 2 employs a map that is only ever displayed on a piece-by-piece basis. Plus, the "world map" is just an illustration with names and numbers attached. It doesn't hurt the moment-to-moment poking around, but it doesn't entice you to backtrack either. If you can't easily see things you've missed, or more importantly, places you haven't been, returning to previous locales becomes an unappealing prospect.</p><p style=""> </p><p style="">Of course, there's also the fact that halfway through the game, the narrative and frequency of impressive set pieces begin to steamroll ahead, and the last thing you want to do is look back. Zobek eventually takes a sideline to Dracula's ambitions, and you begin to understand why you're going to such great lengths to thwart Satan. With the emphasis on Dracula and the memories of his family, you feel compelled to move ahead. In this way, Lords of Shadow 2 is a late bloomer. It takes a while for the story to show its true colors, but it eventually blossoms into an engaging tale filled a few clever surprises that should thrill anyone who's familiar with the series.</p><p style="">Much of the latter half takes place amidst sublime examples of gothic architecture, with nearby storms raging as you hop along rooftops, adding to the drama. Boss fights become a much more frequent occurrence, pitting you against gruesome monstrosities befitting of Castlevania's legacy. Their appearances can be quite striking, bringing to mind some of the best designs from film director Guillermo del Toro's work. They're evil, expertly crafted, and offer a variety of challenges that test your abilities with every weapon in many different ways. They require fast reflexes and deep knowledge of your move list, and the creativity on display is nothing short of captivating.</p><p style="">It's a pleasing change of pace after slogging through boring environments, waiting for things to happen, and you finally get a chance to take advantage of the time spent buffing up your skills in combat. The contrast between the two halves of the game is hard to ignore, and even though you have to force your way through mediocrity to get to the good stuff, the conclusion and the last hours leading up to it justify the time spent steeped in boredom and frustration.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1406/14063904/2443578-vlcsnap-2014-02-24-16h18m20s132.png" data-ref-id="1300-2443578" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1406/14063904/2443578-vlcsnap-2014-02-24-16h18m20s132.png" data-ref-id="1300-2443578"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1406/14063904/2443578-vlcsnap-2014-02-24-16h18m20s132.png"></a><figcaption>Lords of Shadow 2 is at its best when it sticks to its strong suit: great enemy encounters and environment design.</figcaption></figure><p style="">Lords of Shadow 2 should have been a much shorter game. Still, though the game's stealth sections and drab modern settings represent the worst elements of the three-part saga, the tail end of the game contains the best of every aspect that the series is currently known for. It's the stuff you expect Castlevania to be made of, and after contending with forced stealth gameplay and a weak narrative at the start, it feels good to be home. Even better, the final act wraps up the Lords of Shadow trilogy with authority, and the game's final moments leave you both gasping for air and sighing in relief. It may not strike newcomers to the Lords of Shadow tale with such force, but it's nonetheless a surprising and fulfilling conclusion to Lords of Shadow 2's distinct plot. Regardless of your experience with the saga, if you have the patience to get through the rough start, you'll discover a much better game waiting for you on the other side.</p> Tue, 25 Feb 2014 00:01:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/castlevania-lords-of-shadow-2-review/1900-6415677/ http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/plants-vs-zombies-garden-warfare-review/1900-6415676/ <p style="">Competitive shooters are serious business. They depict epic battles between modern-day soldiers and insurgents in war-torn cities, or conflicts between space marines and aliens on distant worlds, or skirmishes between battle-hardened men and subterranean creatures who try to slice each other to bits with rifle-mounted chainsaws. There's nothing wrong with any of that, but there's also no reason the broadly appealing mechanics of multiplayer shooters always need to be married to grim scenarios.</p><p style="">That's what makes Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare so enticing. Mechanically, it's solid, if unsurprising. It distinguishes itself from other shooters not through its gameplay, but by successfully couching familiar shooter action in the bright and playful world of the Plants vs. Zombies games. Still, the package is a bit thin, even at the $40 asking price that the game carries on the Xbox One.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6417375" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6417375/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p><p style="">Garden Warfare is primarily a team-based multiplayer game. (The Garden Ops mode can be played solo or split-screen locally with one other player, but all other modes require you to hop online.) Each mode has you siding with either the plants or the zombies as the age-old...er, four-year-old conflict between them rages on. As in so many competitive shooters, gameplay is class-based. There are four basic units on each side; among the plants, there's the well-rounded peashooter, whose pea cannon does splash damage, and the sunflower, whose heal beam can give allies the extra vitality they need to survive a shootout. The zombie army includes the engineer, who can call in a drone to attack enemies from the air and rain down explosive, traffic-cone-shaped death on those pesky plants. They've also got the all-star, a zombie in a football getup whose pigskin-shooting cannon takes a second to spin up but does lots of damage once it gets going.</p><p style="">The game does a good job of balancing out the abilities on each side. The chomper can burrow underground, get under an enemy, and burst forth to swallow him whole--a wonderfully satisfying move to pull off--but nearby zombie engineers can use their sonic grenades to stun all nearby plants, forcing burrowed chompers out of the ground in the process. And the game makes defensive abilities just as important as offensive ones. The cactus's potato mines can fortify a location against zombies who are too reckless to look where they're going, and the all-star's dummy shield can absorb enemy fire. In Garden Warfare, as in most of the better competitive shooters on the market these days, you're not always focused on killing members of the other team; you're trying to use the variety of abilities at your disposal to most effectively support your team.</p><figure data-ref-id="1300-2443638" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/78/787590/2443638-ci-153849124830355912.jpg" data-size="medium" data-align="left" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/78/787590/2443638-ci-153849124830355912.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2443638"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/78/787590/2443638-ci-153849124830355912.jpg"></a><figcaption>Look into the face of the flower that vanquished you and despair.</figcaption></figure><p style="">In Team Vanquish games, the best way to support your team is, in fact, to kill members of the other team. This playlist pits teams of up to 12 against each other in a race to 50 kills (though the game never uses that violent word, opting for "vanquishes" instead), and encourages you to revive fallen teammates, which subtracts the point the opposing team earned for killing your buddy from its tally. More dynamic are the battles of the Gardens & Graveyards playlist, in which plants work together to prevent zombies from capturing key points on the map.</p><p style="">Only one point is contested at any time, so battles for those points are heated, and if the zombies succeed in pushing the plants back to the last battleground on a map, there's an enjoyable endgame goal the undead have to accomplish. On one map, zombies launch themselves through a cannon to an island to assault the megaflower, and on another, they have to assault Crazy Dave's mansion, which is defended by cannons that launch massive nuts that roll down the driveway like bowling balls.</p><p style="">There's also the cooperative Garden Ops game type, in which up to four players defend a garden from waves of AI-controlled zombies. If you survive all the waves, there's a <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/left-4-dead/" data-ref-id="false">Left 4 Dead</a>-style escape attempt that some players may survive while others may not, making for some exciting and desperate final moments. But the AI zombie hordes aren't as clever, or as enjoyable to mow down, as player-controlled opponents, so Garden Ops lacks the liveliness of the competitive modes. Whatever mode you play, the maps give you plenty of opportunity to try using the terrain to your advantage. The zombie foot soldier can use his rocket jump to launch onto rooftops, and the cactus's long-range spike shot makes her a good choice when you'd rather try to stay back from the front lines and pick off enemies from afar.</p><figure data-ref-id="1300-2443640" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/78/787590/2443640-ci-60700124830355912.jpg" data-size="large" data-align="center" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/78/787590/2443640-ci-60700124830355912.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2443640"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/78/787590/2443640-ci-60700124830355912.jpg"></a><figcaption>The ability to put defensive plants in flower pots gives Garden Warfare's gameplay the slightest whiff of classic Plants vs. Zombies tower defense.</figcaption></figure><p style="">There are tons of unlockables in Garden Warfare. Coins you earn as you play (and that, at least for now, cannot be purchased with real money) can be spent to purchase sticker packs that contain everything from accessories like sunglasses for your sunflower to character variations, like the dapper agent pea, who sacrifices the standard peashooter's splash damage for a damage bonus on critical hits. It's frustrating that you can't influence which class variant you work toward unlocking next, though. Even if you buy the 40,000-coin sticker pack that guarantees you a character unlock, it could be any character; you can't improve your chances of getting that specific class variant you've seen other players using and really want to try out.</p><p style="">While the unlockables fit right in with the whimsical spirit of the Plants vs. Zombies franchise, you're left feeling like Garden Warfare needed a little something more to make it a meal rather than a side salad. Still, it's that rare shooter whose world and characters might put a smile on your face, making it a refreshing entry in a genre that usually takes itself really seriously.</p> Tue, 25 Feb 2014 00:01:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/plants-vs-zombies-garden-warfare-review/1900-6415676/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/peashooter-frenzy-plants-vs-zombies-garden-warfare/2300-6417375/ A tasty example of staying alive as a Peashooter on the map Wall-nut Hills. Tue, 25 Feb 2014 00:01:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/peashooter-frenzy-plants-vs-zombies-garden-warfare/2300-6417375/
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