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http://auth.gamespot.com/ Gamespot's Everything Feed! News, Reviews, Videos. Exploding with content? You bet. en-us Thu, 03 Apr 2014 09:03:31 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/child-of-light-is-ubisoft-s-take-on-the-jrpg/1100-6418723/ <p style="">It's hard to ignore just how beautiful Child Of Light is. For the first few minutes of the game I just sat there, gawking at the gorgeous watercolour-like landscapes, oblivious to the fact that there were in fact some neat ideas strewn amongst the pretty visuals. It is, after all, a marriage of two disparate genres: the 2D platformer, and the turn-based RPG. They've come together in the past with the likes of the <a href="/paper-mario/" data-ref-id="false">Paper Mario</a> series, but Child Of Light takes a slightly different approach.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/917/9176928/2495258-monastry_vitraux_02.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2495258" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/917/9176928/2495258-monastry_vitraux_02.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2495258"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/917/9176928/2495258-monastry_vitraux_02.jpg"></a></figure><p style="">Child Of Light simplifies and condenses many classic RPG mechanics to fit its shorter running time. Experience points, magic points, skill trees, weapon upgrades, buffs, spells and turn-based battles are all there, but are far less complex than in your average RPG. In the few hours I played the game, I'd already worked my way up to nearly level 20, and unlocked quite a few blocks on my character's skill tree.</p><p style="">Weapon upgrades came in the form of gems called Oculi that I recovered from chests during my adventure, which slotted into weapons for different kinds of buffs. Some gave my character more strength, others better magic defense, while another added elemental buffs like fire and water to attacks. It's a simple system--at least when compared to the complexity that the likes of some of the Final Fantasy series has reached over the years--but that doesn't necessarily make it a bad one.</p><figure data-align="right" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/917/9176928/2495259-screen_forestballon_04.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2495259" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/917/9176928/2495259-screen_forestballon_04.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2495259"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_medium/917/9176928/2495259-screen_forestballon_04.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p style="">I found Child Of Light's rewards came not from tweaking an endless array of menu options, but from the combat itself. There battles relied less on canny equipment choices and more on deft timing. Essentially, it was all about the balance between executing a defense command and launching an attack. A bar at the bottom of the screen showed when the characters (including enemies) were waiting to attack, and when they were actively casting.</p><p style="">If I launched an attack while an enemy was casting one of theirs, it would interrupt it and send them to the back of wait bar. The reverse was true too, so if I attacked just as the enemy was getting to the end of a casting period, I'd have my attack nullified. Simple enough, but it got quite tactical as I timed my defense moves to the rhythm of the opposition's attacks, and began using slow to ensure my attacks were perfectly timed, while the enemy used haste to speed up their time to casting.</p><p style="">It was a fun, tactical system, although once I'd got to grips with it, the battles themselves weren't particularly challenging. The potential is certainly there for it to come into its own during more difficult encounters, and I've got high hopes for it doing so later in the game. Even if it doesn't though, Child Of Light's aesthetic qualities go a long way towards picking up the slack. A captivating soundtrack accompanied the beautiful visuals, while the cast of cheeky fireflies, melancholy jesters, and grumpy gnomes and their rhyming dialogue were utterly charming.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/917/9176928/2495262-fight_forgotten_02.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2495262" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/917/9176928/2495262-fight_forgotten_02.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2495262"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/917/9176928/2495262-fight_forgotten_02.jpg"></a></figure><p style="">That's not to mention the puzzle-filled platforming elements of the game, and the fairy wings my character was gifted with that let me gracefully flutter through the dreamy watercolor landscapes. Child Of Light is a game that's filled with charm and joyfulness. No matter how much I pondered about it having a deeper set of RPG mechanics, or battles with a more challenging set of opponents, I couldn't help but be utterly smitten by it. And if that happened after just a few hours, lord knows what a mushy mess I'll be when I get my hand on the finished game. Can't wait.</p> Thu, 03 Apr 2014 09:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/child-of-light-is-ubisoft-s-take-on-the-jrpg/1100-6418723/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/child-of-light-the-most-beautiful-game-you-ve-neve/2300-6418120/ Child Of Light is Ubisoft's beautiful take on the classic JRPG, but does it have the RPG chops to back up its pretty visuals? Thu, 03 Apr 2014 09:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/child-of-light-the-most-beautiful-game-you-ve-neve/2300-6418120/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/1080p-for-all-performance-gap-between-xbox-one-and-ps4-is-fading-away-oddworld-dev-says/1100-6418750/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2496286-xb1ps4.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2496286" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2496286-xb1ps4.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2496286"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1179/11799911/2496286-xb1ps4.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">Right now, more high-profile games run in 1080p on PlayStation 4 than Xbox One, but the performance gap between the two competing systems is narrowing, according to <a href="/oddworld-abes-oddysee/" data-ref-id="false">Oddworld </a>creator Lorne Lanning. Speaking with <a href="http://www.xboxachievements.com/news/news-17712-Performance-Gap-Between-Xbox-One-and-PS4-Will-Disappear--Says-Oddworld-Creator.html" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Xbox360Achievements</a>, Lanning said the two consoles are "getting comparable."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"So I would say, months ago, there was a wider gap," Lanning said. "Part of it was the development systems." Lanning explained that he often heard developers lament that it took "twice as long" in some cases to get assets on Xbox One compared to PS4.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">But as developers have gotten accustomed to the Xbox One and its development architecture, they are learning how to better take advantage of the system to maximize its potential, Lanning said.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"We're hearing and seeing that that curve is getting closer," Lanning said. "I think they've been improving the toolset really fast, improving the development environment, and shaving that curve down… I think they're getting comparable."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Lanning described the PS4 as an "amazing" system, from a technical standpoint, but pointed out that Sony's console and the Xbox One are now closer than ever before.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"I have to say, the PlayStation 4 has been pretty amazing and that's where we've been spending a lot of our time," he said. "But I don't see a huge gap like there used to be. There used to be a significant gap."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Lanning and developer Oddworld Inhabitants are currently working on an <a href="/oddworld-abes-oddysee-new-n-tasty/" data-ref-id="false">Oddworld: New 'n Tasty</a> remake for the PS4. The studio is speaking with Microsoft about a potential Xbox One version to be published through<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-outlines-xbox-one-indie-dev-program/1100-6413138/" data-ref-id="1100-6413138"> ID@Xbox</a>, and if this does happen, Lanning said he doesn't expect there will be major differences in resolution or performance between the PS4 and Xbox One versions.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Lanning is an outspoken industry veteran, who most recently made headlines for saying Electronic Arts' multiplayer shooter <a href="/battlefield-4/" data-ref-id="false">Battlefield 4</a> shipped with "<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/battlefield-4-shipped-with-dirt-all-over-it-says-oddworld-creator/1100-6418527/" data-ref-id="1100-6418527">dirt all over it</a>." He went on to express his dissatisfaction for the AAA game market, saying "F**k that business."</p><p style=""> </p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/EddieMakuch" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Twitter @EddieMakuch</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Thu, 03 Apr 2014 08:51:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/1080p-for-all-performance-gap-between-xbox-one-and-ps4-is-fading-away-oddworld-dev-says/1100-6418750/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-overhauling-pikachu-s-iconic-thunder-attack-for-new-super-smash-bros-on-wii-u-and-3ds/1100-6418749/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2496284-pikachu.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2496284" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2496284-pikachu.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2496284"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1179/11799911/2496284-pikachu.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">Pikachu's iconic thunder attack is getting a major overhaul for the upcoming <a href="/super-smash-bros-for-wii-u/" data-ref-id="false">Super Smash Bros. </a>game for Wii U and 3DS. Game director Masahiro Sakurai published a screenshot of Pikachu's new move today <a href="https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYMHAAACAAAYUKlPp_CzbQ" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">on Miiverse</a> and explained how it's different from the last time we saw it in 2008's <a href="/super-smash-bros-brawl/" data-ref-id="false">Super Smash Bros. Brawl</a> for Wii.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"Pikachu's Thunder now starts off with a thundercloud that deals a Meteor Smash! From left to right, you can see this combo starting with Pikachu throwing the opponent upward, Meteor Smashing with the lightning strike, and then directly attacking," Sakurai said. "Foes can dodge, of course, so the attack won't hit consistently, but when it does, it sure feels good!"</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Pikachu's well-known thunder attack was fairly straightforward, and deadly, in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Upon performing the B Down attack, lightning came forth from the top of the screen to inflict damage on anyone caught in the path. It was a quick and relatively easy move to pull off, but it now seems substantially more involved; we'll have to wait and see to learn how it affects balance and gameplay.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS launches sometime in 2014, though Nintendo has not announced a more specific release date yet.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/EddieMakuch" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Twitter @EddieMakuch</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Thu, 03 Apr 2014 08:31:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-overhauling-pikachu-s-iconic-thunder-attack-for-new-super-smash-bros-on-wii-u-and-3ds/1100-6418749/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/mario-kart-8-devs-praise-power-of-wii-u-it-s-a-very-pretty-game/1100-6418736/ <div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6418075" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6418075/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">Thanks to the power of the Wii U, Nintendo's <a href="/mario-kart-8/" data-ref-id="false">Mario Kart 8</a> will deliver a visually impressive racing game the likes of which fans of the franchise have never seen, according to the game's designers.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"We're working with HD for the first time, and we really wanted to take advantage of that," Mario Kart 8 producer Hideki Konno said in a roundtable interview attended by GameSpot. "The last console version was <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/mario-kart-wii/">Mario Kart Wii</a>, which was released in 2008, so it was about six years ago. And during those six years, we were able to incorporate a lot of technology in our development process, but especially on the graphics side. So we put a lot of effort into making this a good looking game--it's a very pretty game."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Multiplayer has always been a major part of the Mario Kart series, but fans will no doubt recall the substantial drop in frame-rate in Mario Kart Wii when playing a local split-screen game. But now with the Wii U, however, Mario Kart 8 will sustain an enjoyable level of graphical fidelity even during multiplayer matches, Konno said.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"This time with the power of the Wii U we really made an effort to keep that graphic quality high regardless of how many ways we were splitting the TV into," he said.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">For his part, Yabuki pointed out that the power of the Wii U allowed Nintendo to create better-looking character animations, to the level and range and of things that "we've never seen before" in the Mario Kart series, he said. But that's only the beginning.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"We've also been able to show movement on the [karts and bikes] that we haven't seen before," he said. "We're seeing bounding, we're seeing different parts of the kart move, we're seeing dirt on the tires, we're seeing skidmarks left on the course--again I think we've done a good job of utilizing that graphical power."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"Using the power of the Wii U, we were able to create a Mario Kart title that feels right, and the controls feel like they're perfect for this game."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Mario Kart 8 launches <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/mario-kart-8-gets-release-date-and-7-new-koopa-racers/1100-6417729/" data-ref-id="1100-6417729">May 30</a>. For more, check out <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/in-mario-kart-8-crashing-could-be-your-key-to-victory/1100-6418734/" data-ref-id="1100-6418734">GameSpot's recently published hands-on preview</a>.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/EddieMakuch" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Twitter @EddieMakuch</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Thu, 03 Apr 2014 08:30:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/mario-kart-8-devs-praise-power-of-wii-u-it-s-a-very-pretty-game/1100-6418736/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/gamestop-is-really-trying-to-sell-call-of-duty-ghosts/1100-6418748/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1197/11970954/2369161-cod+ghosts_federation+day+rappel.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2369161" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1197/11970954/2369161-cod+ghosts_federation+day+rappel.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2369161"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1197/11970954/2369161-cod+ghosts_federation+day+rappel.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">GameStop is really trying to move copies of <a href="/call-of-duty-ghosts/" data-ref-id="false">Call of Duty: Ghosts</a>. The retailer today announced a special sales and trade promotion focused around Infinity Ward's latest entry in the blockbuster shooter franchise.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Starting today and running through April 6, all U.S. GameStop stores will offer new copies of Call of Duty: Ghosts on Xbox One/PlayStation 4 for $40. Meanwhile, the Xbox 360/PlayStation 3 versions will go for $30. (GameStop didn't announce a price drop for the Wii U version; it <a href="http://www.gamestop.com/wii-u/games/call-of-duty-ghosts/110936" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">sells for $50</a>). These prices are <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Call-Duty-Ghosts-Xbox-360/dp/B002I098JE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1396537391&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=call+of+duty%3A+ghosts" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">slightly below Amazon's</a>, but GameStop is also offering some additional bonuses if you shop with them.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The first 10 customers at GameStop stores across the US tomorrow who buy Call of Duty: Ghosts or the game's $50 Season Pass will receive a special paracord bracelet for free. Finally, GameStop announced today that customers who bring in a special coupon (below) will receive an extra 30 percent in-store credit for any items traded in towards the purchase of Call of Duty: Ghosts.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Call of Duty: Ghosts launched last year and was the <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/gta-5-top-selling-game-in-2013-in-us-call-of-duty-ghosts-leads-december-npd/1100-6417186/" data-ref-id="1100-6417186">second best-selling game of 2013</a> in the United States, behind only Rockstar Games' open-world title <a href="/grand-theft-auto-v/" data-ref-id="false">Grand Theft Auto V</a>. This year's entry in the Call of Duty series, described as<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/call-of-duty-2014-is-ambitious-and-creative-sledgehammer-says/1100-6418444/" data-ref-id="1100-6418444"> "ambitious" and "creative," </a>is in development at Sledgehammer Games, which co-developed <a href="/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-3/" data-ref-id="false">Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 </a>with Infinity Ward.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2496277-thecode.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2496277" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2496277-thecode.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2496277"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1179/11799911/2496277-thecode.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style=""> </p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/EddieMakuch" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Twitter @EddieMakuch</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Thu, 03 Apr 2014 08:11:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/gamestop-is-really-trying-to-sell-call-of-duty-ghosts/1100-6418748/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-boss-phil-spencer-says-virtual-reality-is-not-a-fad/1100-6418747/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2496243-xboxoneglasses.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2496243" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2496243-xboxoneglasses.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2496243"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1179/11799911/2496243-xboxoneglasses.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">Virtual reality for gaming is not some short-lived craze that will burn out soon, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-boss-phil-spencer-gets-a-promotion-to-head-of-xbox-promises-incredible-new-chapter-for-gaming/1100-6418670/" data-ref-id="1100-6418670">newly appointed Head of Xbox Phil Spencer</a><a href="https://twitter.com/XboxP3/status/451553233056432128" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> said last night</a> on Twitter. "I don't believe VR is a fad," he said.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">That's a tantalizingly vague comment from the same person who said last month during the Game Developers Conference that Microsoft has been <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-says-vr-is-something-we-ve-been-playing-with-for-a-while/1100-6418473/" data-ref-id="1100-6418473">working on an unspecified VR project for "quite a while."</a></p><p dir="ltr" style="">A <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-720-launching-at-299-with-kinect-2/1100-6382875/" data-ref-id="1100-6382875">document dating back to 2010 </a>suggested that Microsoft will introduce a VR/AR system for the Xbox One called "Fortazela." And just last week, it was discovered that Microsoft <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-reportedly-pays-as-much-as-150-million-for-wearable-computing-assets/1100-6418628/" data-ref-id="1100-6418628">paid as much as $150 million</a> for assets related to wearable technology.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">VR is nothing new, but it's rising in prominence and popularity thanks to Oculus Rift, which social networking giant Facebook <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/facebook-buys-oculus-rift-company-in-a-massive-deal-worth-an-estimated-2-billion/1100-6418540/" data-ref-id="1100-6418540">purchased last week in a surprise $2 billion deal</a>. Sony is also <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/sony-announces-ps4-virtual-reality-initiative-project-morpheus/1100-6418391/" data-ref-id="1100-6418391">working on its own VR device called Project Morpheus</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Spencer's comments were directed at a fan who asked him to respond to <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/how-xbox-one-can-beat-ps4-according-to-xbox-co-creator/1100-6418708/" data-ref-id="1100-6418708">Xbox co-creator Ed Fries' recent comments</a> about how Microsoft can beat Sony in the Xbox One vs. PlayStation 4 "console war."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Fries said Microsoft can top Sony if it can create great exclusive games and introduce free-to-play experiences. Spencer said Microsoft is already doing this. "More exclusives makes sense. F2P will be on Xbox One" and will work better over time, he said. "Ed's smart."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Where Fries and Spencer differ, however, is in their expectations for VR. Fries said he's <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/how-xbox-one-can-beat-ps4-according-to-xbox-co-creator/1100-6418708/" data-ref-id="1100-6418708">not sure VR has the potential to become widely adopted by mainstream users</a>, instead appealing only to the hardcore crowd.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/EddieMakuch" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Twitter @EddieMakuch</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Thu, 03 Apr 2014 07:37:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-boss-phil-spencer-says-virtual-reality-is-not-a-fad/1100-6418747/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-co-creator-discusses-1080p-controversy-xbox-one-drm-reversal/1100-6418746/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2496223-xboxoneimage.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2496223" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2496223-xboxoneimage.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2496223"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1179/11799911/2496223-xboxoneimage.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">As part of a <a href="https://yabbly.com/ama/osdfd6rf/i-co-founded-the-xbox/question/ztcel4bz/response/1gpgt87w/comment#question/ztcel4bz/response/1gpgt87w/comment/gxqr1uzk" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">new Q&amp;A session on Yabbly</a>, Xbox co-creator Ed Friends sounded off on two hot-button industry issues: the <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/why-do-more-ps4-games-run-in-1080p-than-xbox-one-sniper-elite-dev-explains/1100-6417628/" data-ref-id="1100-6417628">1080p controversy</a> and the <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-changing-xbox-one-policies/1100-6410472/" data-ref-id="1100-6410472">Xbox One's dramatic policy reversal</a>. Fries tackled the "resolution war" between Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4 first.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"I'm not an expert, but my understanding is that Microsoft reserved some of the power of Xbox One for the operating system but told developers they would be giving it back to them to use sometime soon," he said. "So far they haven't given it back so the games can't run at as high a resolution as they could if they had that extra power. At least that's what I've heard from talking to developers."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">This lines up with what Microsoft Xbox director of development Boy Multerer said previously, explaining last month that he <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/more-xbox-one-games-will-run-in-1080p-over-time-microsoft-says/1100-6418408/?utm_medium=App.net&amp;utm_source=PourOver/" data-ref-id="1100-6418408">fully expects more Xbox One games to run in 1080p over time</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The fact that as of today, more high-profile games run in 1080p on PS4 compared to Xbox One, has drawn significant debate. Sony says better performance on PS4 over Xbox One is because Sony's console is "<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/sony-on-1080p-60fps-debate-ps4-is-the-machine-developers-want/1100-6417488/">performing and packing the punch that developers want</a>." Meanwhile, Microsoft previously contended that "<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-on-1080p-60fps-these-little-things-get-way-overblown/1100-6417326/">these little things get way overblown</a>" regarding the 1080p debate.</p><blockquote data-align="right"><p dir="ltr" style="">"I think the digital distribution/DRM thing could have been fine if they had just used Steam as their model" -- Fries</p></blockquote><p dir="ltr" style="">Fries also addressed Microsoft's surprise decision last summer to <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-changing-xbox-one-policies/1100-6410472/" data-ref-id="1100-6410472">do away with its controversial 24-hour check-in system for the Xbox One </a>and abandon some of its ambitious digital endeavors like its <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-ditching-xbox-one-family-sharing-plan/1100-6410499/" data-ref-id="1100-6410499">Family Sharing plan</a>. Some gamers were wary about the DRM potential of this system, but Fries says Microsoft could have avoided the hullabaloo if it had positioned its platform as something similar to Steam.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"I think the digital distribution/DRM thing could have been fine if they had just used Steam as their model but they proposed something that wasn't like Steam and wasn't good for their customers," he said. "Then when people complained they completely got rid of it instead of fixing it to be what people want. Hopefully now that they have more time they will fix that mess."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Microsoft has suggested that it will <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-on-loaning-and-gifting-digital-xbox-one-games-we-totally-believe-in-that-future/1100-6418534/" data-ref-id="1100-6418534">bring back some of the Xbox One's digital features</a>, like loaning and gifting, sometime in the future.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Finally, Fries addressed the rumors that<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/will-microsoft-sell-off-its-xbox-business-it-doesn-t-look-likely/1100-6418557/" data-ref-id="1100-6418557"> Microsoft may sell off the Xbox division</a>, saying executives at the Redmond tech giant would be silly to do this.</p><p style="">"I think it would be foolish for Microsoft to sell off Xbox," Fries said. "It's the biggest, most successful new brand they have created in the last 15 years. They should learn from the success of Xbox and create more things like it, not sell it off."</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/EddieMakuch" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Twitter @EddieMakuch</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Thu, 03 Apr 2014 07:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-co-creator-discusses-1080p-controversy-xbox-one-drm-reversal/1100-6418746/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/diablo-3-reaper-of-souls-sells-2-7m-in-one-week-that-s-about-a-fifth-of-all-d3-owners/1100-6418745/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1493/14930800/2496214-2584251116-24847.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2496214" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1493/14930800/2496214-2584251116-24847.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2496214"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1493/14930800/2496214-2584251116-24847.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""><a href="/diablo-iii/" data-ref-id="false">Diablo III</a> expansion Reaper of Souls shifted 2.7 million units in its first week on sale, Blizzard has announced.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The expansion went on sale just over a week ago, March 25, on PC and Mac, and Blizzard has counted both physical and digital sales.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Blizzard also adds that Act V's final boss has been taken down over 1.5 million times (I'm responsible for at least 5 of those, by the way), and that the game saw 2.4 million views on video streaming site Twitch in its first day on sale.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Diablo III itself has racked up over 15 million sales since its launch in 2012, with that figure including the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions alongside the Mac and PC. That means roughly a fifth of all Diablo III owners have purchased Reaper of Souls, and the expansion will make its way to consoles later this year.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"With Reaper of Souls, we wanted to emphasize all the things that Diablo gamers have always loved about the series, from the dark gothic setting to the piles and piles of epic loot," said Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"We're excited to see that players are enjoying the changes we've made to the game, and we look forward to achieving our Paragon levels alongside everyone else in the weeks and months ahead."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Reaper of Souls introduces a new act, a new character class, and a new adventure mode into Diablo III, as well as its new loot and difficulty settings which have been rolled back into the main game.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">GameSpot spoke to Diablo III lead producer Alex Mayberry <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/diablo-3-reaper-of-souls-how-blizzard-is-attempting-to-fix-its-most-controversial-game/1100-6418501/" data-ref-id="1100-6418501">last week about the development of Reaper of Souls</a>.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6418008" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6418008/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Martin Gaston is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/squidmania" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Twitter @squidmania</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Thu, 03 Apr 2014 06:45:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/diablo-3-reaper-of-souls-sells-2-7m-in-one-week-that-s-about-a-fifth-of-all-d3-owners/1100-6418745/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/this-xbox-one-ps4-pc-shooter-will-use-oculus-rift-and-project-morpheus/1100-6418744/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2496206-getevenvr.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2496206" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2496206-getevenvr.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2496206"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1179/11799911/2496206-getevenvr.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style=""><a href="/get-even-2015/" data-ref-id="false">Get Even</a>, the upcoming Xbox One/PlayStation 4/PC shooter from <a href="/painkiller-hell-and-damnation/" data-ref-id="false">Painkiller</a> developer The Farm 51, will support <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/facebook-buys-oculus-rift-company-in-a-massive-deal-worth-an-estimated-2-billion/1100-6418540/" data-ref-id="1100-6418540">Oculus Rift</a> AND <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ps4-s-project-morpheus-vr-device-won-t-launch-in-2014-1000-price-point-unlikely/1100-6418418/" data-ref-id="1100-6418418">Sony's Project Morpheus</a>. The studio announced the news today and released a special "Making Of" video to show off the game's implementation of virtual reality devices.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The Farm 51, a Polish independent studio, also today launched a <a href="http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=244669840" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Steam Greenlight campaign for Get Even</a>. You can <a href="http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=244669840" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">vote for the game here</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"At The Farm 51, we think of a video game world as an alternate reality, not that of an interactive movie. The exciting developments in virtual reality provide a huge benefit to a game aimed to be as immersive as ours," The Farm 51 CEO Wojtek Pazdur said.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"Get Even has the potential to support the VR concept like no other title," he added. This is why we want to be a part of this new revolution and is why Get Even can be a landmark title in its use."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The "Making Of" video below shows The Farm 51 developers experimenting with Oculus Rift, but nowhere in the video do we see a Project Morpheus development kit.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2496208-even.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2496208" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2496208-even.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2496208"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1179/11799911/2496208-even.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">The Farm 51 says Get Even's VR integration allows the game to "further break new ground" in blurring the lines between multiplayer and single-player. The developer asks, "What would happen if you could travel between different virtual realities, starting outside the game using a device like Oculus VR or Project Morpheus before going deeper and deeper inside the game using similar in-game gadgets?"</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Story designer Przemyslaw Pomorski said the studio's overarching ambition for Get Even is to make a game that frightens you, and using VR will help accelerate this vision, he said.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"We want to relate to real fears and real situations and transform them in a fantasy form," he said. "Our key goal, however, is to make the game reflect what frightens us most in our daily life."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Neither Oculus nor Sony are ready to announce release dates for the Rift and Project Morpheus respectively, but Pazdur said he expects the VR revolution to begin sometime in 2015. "We are now working hard to implement VR devices into our gameplay," he said.</p><p style="">For more on Get Even, check out <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/get-even-2015/" data-ref-id="false">GameSpot's previous coverage</a>.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCnETE5XXD8" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fembed%2FhCnETE5XXD8%3Fwmode%3Dopaque%26feature%3Doembed&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DhCnETE5XXD8&amp;image=http%3A%2F%2Fi1.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FhCnETE5XXD8%2Fhqdefault.jpg&amp;key=6efca6e5ad9640f180f14146a0bc1392&amp;type=text%2Fhtml&amp;schema=youtube" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/EddieMakuch" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Twitter @EddieMakuch</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Thu, 03 Apr 2014 06:33:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/this-xbox-one-ps4-pc-shooter-will-use-oculus-rift-and-project-morpheus/1100-6418744/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/alien-isolation-the-sound-of-alien-isolation/2300-6418108/ In this exclusive insider video Creative Assembly shows that when you're hiding in the dark, what you can hear might just be the key to your survival. Thu, 03 Apr 2014 06:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/alien-isolation-the-sound-of-alien-isolation/2300-6418108/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ouya-responds-to-amazon-fire-tv-says-it-lacks-a-focus-on-games/1100-6418743/ <div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6418113" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6418113/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p dir="ltr" style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">Is Ouya shaking in its boots following <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/amazon-announces-99-streaming-device-has-2gb-ram-quad-core-processor-game-controller-is-40/1100-6418719/" data-ref-id="1100-6418719">Amazon's announcement yesterday of a $99 micro-console</a> that (among many other things) plays video games? Not so, according to Ouya head Julie Uhrman. Speaking with <a href="http://www.computerandvideogames.com/457271/as-fire-tv-ignites-debate-ouya-says-games-are-its-sole-focus/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">CVG</a>, she stressed that the Ouya platform is "solely dedicated" to gaming, while Amazon's Fire TV is not.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"Just as Amazon blazed a trail for a new way of selling online, Ouya invented a new way to think about console games. But for us, games are not simply an 'added bonus', they are the whole point," Uhrman said.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"Ouya is solely dedicated to the devs creating games, and the players who play them," she added. "Their ideal experience is all we think about."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Amazon's Fire TV device of course does more than play games and was never positioned as a games-first device. It's a streaming box that can play an assortment of movies, TV shows, and music. And though the company's game chief described the Fire TV as "<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/amazon-fire-tv-is-absolutely-not-a-game-console/1100-6418731/" data-ref-id="1100-6418731">absolutely not a game console</a>," it does play Android games, thus competing with Ouya from that perspective.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The Fire TV features a Qualcomm Quad Core Snapdragon Krait 300 processor with Adreno 320 GPU, and 2GB of RAM. Meanwhile, the Ouya runs a Tegra 3 Quad Core processor, featuring 1GB of LPDDR2 RAM, and 8GB on-board flash.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Though Amazon might not see its Fire TV as a game console, it seems to be taking gaming quite seriously. The company recently established an internal game developer called <a href="http://games.amazon.com/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Amazon Game Studios</a>, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/amazon-buys-killer-instinct-developer-double-helix-games/1100-6417554/" data-ref-id="1100-6417554">acquired Killer Instinct Double Helix Games</a>, and even <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/amazon-is-serious-about-gaming-hires-portal-and-far-cry-designers/1100-6418727/" data-ref-id="1100-6418727">hired Portal designer Kim Swift and Far Cry 2 designer Clint Hocking</a>. Veteran <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/halo-writer-joins-amazon/1100-6413105/" data-ref-id="1100-6413105">Halo writer Erik Nylund also works for Amazon on gaming</a>.</p><p style="">Amazon's Fire TV is available for purchase today. You can get the device alone for $100 or through a $140 bundle that includes the system, a Fire TV Controller, and copy of the <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/amazon-reveals-tower-defense-shooter-hybrid-sev-zero-for-its-new-fire-tv-streaming-box/1100-6418720/" data-ref-id="1100-6418720">Amazon-exclusive game Sev Zero</a>. We'll have more on the Fire TV in the days ahead as we get a unit in our office.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/EddieMakuch" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Twitter @EddieMakuch</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Thu, 03 Apr 2014 05:57:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ouya-responds-to-amazon-fire-tv-says-it-lacks-a-focus-on-games/1100-6418743/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/mario-kart-8-has-32-total-courses-16-are-new-and-16-are-remakes/1100-6418742/ <div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6418075" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6418075/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">Nintendo's upcoming Wii U racing game <a href="/mario-kart-8/" data-ref-id="false">Mario Kart 8</a> will have 32 total courses, sixteen of which are brand-new and the other 16 being "remixed classic courses." Nintendo announced this news today, along with a host of other new details about its much-anticipated game. 2008's <a href="/mario-kart-wii/" data-ref-id="false">Mario Kart Wii</a> also had 32 courses.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Mario Kart 8 will also <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/mario-kart-8-it-s-not-all-about-luck-two-rainbow-roads-confirmed/1100-6418730/" data-ref-id="1100-6418730">feature <strong>two</strong> Rainbow Road courses</a>, of one which is brand-new and the other is a remake of the Nintendo 64 course. We also got to speak with the game's director and producer, who explained why <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/mario-kart-8-devs-praise-power-of-wii-u-it-s-a-very-pretty-game/1100-6418736/" data-ref-id="1100-6418736">Mario Kart 8 won't be all about luck</a> and that the <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/mario-kart-8-it-s-not-all-about-luck-two-rainbow-roads-confirmed/1100-6418730/" data-ref-id="1100-6418730">power of the Wii U</a> allowed Nintendo to create a visually impressive game.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">We've rounded up some of the biggest Mario Kart 8 news below. Be sure to also check out our <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/in-mario-kart-8-crashing-could-be-your-key-to-victory/1100-6418734/" data-ref-id="1100-6418734">extensive hands-on written preview</a> and video preview embedded above. Mario Kart 8 includes:</p><ul><li dir="ltr">12-player online competitive play</li><li dir="ltr">4-player local multiplayer</li><li dir="ltr">A new Spin Boost feature for when you're racing upside down or on walls</li><li dir="ltr">Returning characters like Metal Mario, Lakitu, and Shy Guy</li><li dir="ltr">New items: Piranha Plant (attaches to your cart and chomps other players; also gives you speed boost), Boomerang Flower (can be thrown forward or backward at opponents to stun).</li><li dir="ltr">New courses: Remixed classics include Moo Moo Meadows from Mario Kart Wii, Toad's Turnpike from Mario Kart 64, and Donut Plains from Super Mario Kart. The remade tracks include re-designed and re-imagined graphics and layouts.</li><li dir="ltr">Live recorded music: For the first time in the history of the Mario Kart series, some courses in Mario Kart 8 will feature music recorded by live performers, though we don't know who.</li><li dir="ltr">Control options: Wii U GamePad, Wii U Pro Controller, the Wii WHeel, and the Wii Remote and Nunchuck. Also supports off-TV mode.</li></ul><p dir="ltr" style="">Mario Kart 8 <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/mario-kart-8-coming-in-may-and-nintendo-reveals-2014-strategy/1100-6417422/" data-ref-id="1100-6417422">launches May 30 exclusively for Wii U</a>. Nintendo's latest console is struggling at the moment, and Mario Kart 8 could provide a much-needed sales jolt.</p><p style=""> </p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/EddieMakuch" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Twitter @EddieMakuch</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Thu, 03 Apr 2014 05:27:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/mario-kart-8-has-32-total-courses-16-are-new-and-16-are-remakes/1100-6418742/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/half-life-2-s-iconic-city-17-looks-incredible-in-the-unreal-engine/1100-6418741/ <p style="">You're going to want to see this: A forum user at <a href="http://www.polycount.com/forum/showpost.php?p=2037585&amp;postcount=3431" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">videogame artist hangout Polycount</a> has remade <a href="/half-life-2/" data-ref-id="false">Half-Life 2</a>'s iconic City 17 introduction using Epic's Unreal Engine 3.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The Netherlands-based Jeannot van Berlo, who posts to the forum under the name Logithx, has released three huge screenshots of his project, saying he rebuilt everything from the ground up for his Unreal Engine passion project, with the exception of Dr. Breen's imposing face and the Combine insignia.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1493/14930800/2496162-hl2+udk+1.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2496162" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1493/14930800/2496162-hl2+udk+1.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2496162"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1493/14930800/2496162-hl2+udk+1.jpg"></a></figure><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1493/14930800/2496163-hl2+udk+3.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2496163" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1493/14930800/2496163-hl2+udk+3.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2496163"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1493/14930800/2496163-hl2+udk+3.jpg"></a></figure><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1493/14930800/2496164-hl2+udk+2.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2496164" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1493/14930800/2496164-hl2+udk+2.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2496164"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1493/14930800/2496164-hl2+udk+2.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">He now intends to recreate City 17 in Unreal Engine 4.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"I'm working every day to port this to the new Unreal Engine 4," he said, adding that "there's lots of work that was unfinished not to mention that I have to redo all the materials and many textures because of the awesome physically-based shading in Unreal Engine 4. There's a lot more content in this level that I haven't shown yet and I probably won't until it's all finished."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The screenshots have caused quite a stir, for obvious reasons--they look absolutely fantastic.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Half-Life 2 celebrates its tenth anniversary later this year.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6136856" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6136856/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Martin Gaston is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/squidmania" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Twitter @squidmania</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Thu, 03 Apr 2014 05:15:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/half-life-2-s-iconic-city-17-looks-incredible-in-the-unreal-engine/1100-6418741/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/gamers-should-want-all-mmos-to-be-free-to-play-says-everquest-dev/1100-6418740/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/mig/9/0/5/6/2049056-725671_20130802_015.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2049056" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/mig/9/0/5/6/2049056-725671_20130802_015.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2049056"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/mig/9/0/5/6/2049056-725671_20130802_015.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">EverQuest franchise development director David Georgeson has spoken out in defense of the free-to-play business model for MMOs. In a new interview, he contends that gamers should want all MMOs to be free-to-play because this model mandates that developers create compelling games. If they don't, players will leave, and developers like Sony Online Entertainment will be in trouble, he says.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"There's nothing wrong with the subscription model. I have personal opinions, which I'll go ahead and share because I'm just that cocksure of myself," Georgeson told <a href="http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/04/03/everquest-dev-gamers-should-want-all-mmos-to-be-free-to-play?+main+twitter" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">IGN</a>. "I think that free-to-play is the way that gamers should want their MMOs to be, and the reason I think that is that if we don't do a really good job and we don't entertain the player, we don't make a dime."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Georgeson went as far as to describe free-to-play MMO developers as street performers, who only make money if they are good at their craft.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"We're effectively street performers: we go out there and sing and dance and if we do a good job, people throw coins into the hat," he explained. "And I think that's the way games should be, because paying $60 up front to take a gamble on whether the game is good or not? You don't get that money back."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"So if you buy a turkey, you've just wasted your money. With free-to-play you get to go in, take a look at it, and find out," he added. "It's entirely our responsibility to make sure you're entertained. That's the way things should be in my opinion with free-to-play."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The free-to-play business model is becoming more and more popular for MMOs today, with <a href="/world-of-warcraft/" data-ref-id="false">World of Warcraft </a>and <a href="/the-elder-scrolls-online/" data-ref-id="false">The Elder Scrolls Online</a> being two major games bucking that trend. Sony has yet to reveal a business model for EverQuest Next, but going off Georgeson's comments, it certainly sounds like free-to-play is the route Sony is going with.</p><p style="">EverQuest next is <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/soe-president-confirms-everquest-next-headed-to-ps4-more-in-ama/1100-6417338/" data-ref-id="1100-6417338">coming to PC and PlayStation 4</a>, though Sony has not announced a release date for the MMO.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/EddieMakuch" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Twitter @EddieMakuch</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Thu, 03 Apr 2014 05:06:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/gamers-should-want-all-mmos-to-be-free-to-play-says-everquest-dev/1100-6418740/

http://auth.gamespot.com/ Gamespot's Everything Feed! News, Reviews, Videos. Exploding with content? You bet. en-us Thu, 03 Apr 2014 09:03:31 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/child-of-light-is-ubisoft-s-take-on-the-jrpg/1100-6418723/ <p style="">It's hard to ignore just how beautiful Child Of Light is. For the first few minutes of the game I just sat there, gawking at the gorgeous watercolour-like landscapes, oblivious to the fact that there were in fact some neat ideas strewn amongst the pretty visuals. It is, after all, a marriage of two disparate genres: the 2D platformer, and the turn-based RPG. They've come together in the past with the likes of the <a href="/paper-mario/" data-ref-id="false">Paper Mario</a> series, but Child Of Light takes a slightly different approach.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/917/9176928/2495258-monastry_vitraux_02.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2495258" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/917/9176928/2495258-monastry_vitraux_02.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2495258"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/917/9176928/2495258-monastry_vitraux_02.jpg"></a></figure><p style="">Child Of Light simplifies and condenses many classic RPG mechanics to fit its shorter running time. Experience points, magic points, skill trees, weapon upgrades, buffs, spells and turn-based battles are all there, but are far less complex than in your average RPG. In the few hours I played the game, I'd already worked my way up to nearly level 20, and unlocked quite a few blocks on my character's skill tree.</p><p style="">Weapon upgrades came in the form of gems called Oculi that I recovered from chests during my adventure, which slotted into weapons for different kinds of buffs. Some gave my character more strength, others better magic defense, while another added elemental buffs like fire and water to attacks. It's a simple system--at least when compared to the complexity that the likes of some of the Final Fantasy series has reached over the years--but that doesn't necessarily make it a bad one.</p><figure data-align="right" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/917/9176928/2495259-screen_forestballon_04.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2495259" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/917/9176928/2495259-screen_forestballon_04.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2495259"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_medium/917/9176928/2495259-screen_forestballon_04.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p style="">I found Child Of Light's rewards came not from tweaking an endless array of menu options, but from the combat itself. There battles relied less on canny equipment choices and more on deft timing. Essentially, it was all about the balance between executing a defense command and launching an attack. A bar at the bottom of the screen showed when the characters (including enemies) were waiting to attack, and when they were actively casting.</p><p style="">If I launched an attack while an enemy was casting one of theirs, it would interrupt it and send them to the back of wait bar. The reverse was true too, so if I attacked just as the enemy was getting to the end of a casting period, I'd have my attack nullified. Simple enough, but it got quite tactical as I timed my defense moves to the rhythm of the opposition's attacks, and began using slow to ensure my attacks were perfectly timed, while the enemy used haste to speed up their time to casting.</p><p style="">It was a fun, tactical system, although once I'd got to grips with it, the battles themselves weren't particularly challenging. The potential is certainly there for it to come into its own during more difficult encounters, and I've got high hopes for it doing so later in the game. Even if it doesn't though, Child Of Light's aesthetic qualities go a long way towards picking up the slack. A captivating soundtrack accompanied the beautiful visuals, while the cast of cheeky fireflies, melancholy jesters, and grumpy gnomes and their rhyming dialogue were utterly charming.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/917/9176928/2495262-fight_forgotten_02.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2495262" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/917/9176928/2495262-fight_forgotten_02.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2495262"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/917/9176928/2495262-fight_forgotten_02.jpg"></a></figure><p style="">That's not to mention the puzzle-filled platforming elements of the game, and the fairy wings my character was gifted with that let me gracefully flutter through the dreamy watercolor landscapes. Child Of Light is a game that's filled with charm and joyfulness. No matter how much I pondered about it having a deeper set of RPG mechanics, or battles with a more challenging set of opponents, I couldn't help but be utterly smitten by it. And if that happened after just a few hours, lord knows what a mushy mess I'll be when I get my hand on the finished game. Can't wait.</p> Thu, 03 Apr 2014 09:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/child-of-light-is-ubisoft-s-take-on-the-jrpg/1100-6418723/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/child-of-light-the-most-beautiful-game-you-ve-neve/2300-6418120/ Child Of Light is Ubisoft's beautiful take on the classic JRPG, but does it have the RPG chops to back up its pretty visuals? Thu, 03 Apr 2014 09:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/child-of-light-the-most-beautiful-game-you-ve-neve/2300-6418120/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/1080p-for-all-performance-gap-between-xbox-one-and-ps4-is-fading-away-oddworld-dev-says/1100-6418750/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2496286-xb1ps4.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2496286" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2496286-xb1ps4.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2496286"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1179/11799911/2496286-xb1ps4.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">Right now, more high-profile games run in 1080p on PlayStation 4 than Xbox One, but the performance gap between the two competing systems is narrowing, according to <a href="/oddworld-abes-oddysee/" data-ref-id="false">Oddworld </a>creator Lorne Lanning. Speaking with <a href="http://www.xboxachievements.com/news/news-17712-Performance-Gap-Between-Xbox-One-and-PS4-Will-Disappear--Says-Oddworld-Creator.html" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Xbox360Achievements</a>, Lanning said the two consoles are "getting comparable."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"So I would say, months ago, there was a wider gap," Lanning said. "Part of it was the development systems." Lanning explained that he often heard developers lament that it took "twice as long" in some cases to get assets on Xbox One compared to PS4.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">But as developers have gotten accustomed to the Xbox One and its development architecture, they are learning how to better take advantage of the system to maximize its potential, Lanning said.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"We're hearing and seeing that that curve is getting closer," Lanning said. "I think they've been improving the toolset really fast, improving the development environment, and shaving that curve down… I think they're getting comparable."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Lanning described the PS4 as an "amazing" system, from a technical standpoint, but pointed out that Sony's console and the Xbox One are now closer than ever before.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"I have to say, the PlayStation 4 has been pretty amazing and that's where we've been spending a lot of our time," he said. "But I don't see a huge gap like there used to be. There used to be a significant gap."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Lanning and developer Oddworld Inhabitants are currently working on an <a href="/oddworld-abes-oddysee-new-n-tasty/" data-ref-id="false">Oddworld: New 'n Tasty</a> remake for the PS4. The studio is speaking with Microsoft about a potential Xbox One version to be published through<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-outlines-xbox-one-indie-dev-program/1100-6413138/" data-ref-id="1100-6413138"> ID@Xbox</a>, and if this does happen, Lanning said he doesn't expect there will be major differences in resolution or performance between the PS4 and Xbox One versions.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Lanning is an outspoken industry veteran, who most recently made headlines for saying Electronic Arts' multiplayer shooter <a href="/battlefield-4/" data-ref-id="false">Battlefield 4</a> shipped with "<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/battlefield-4-shipped-with-dirt-all-over-it-says-oddworld-creator/1100-6418527/" data-ref-id="1100-6418527">dirt all over it</a>." He went on to express his dissatisfaction for the AAA game market, saying "F**k that business."</p><p style=""> </p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/EddieMakuch" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Twitter @EddieMakuch</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Thu, 03 Apr 2014 08:51:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/1080p-for-all-performance-gap-between-xbox-one-and-ps4-is-fading-away-oddworld-dev-says/1100-6418750/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-overhauling-pikachu-s-iconic-thunder-attack-for-new-super-smash-bros-on-wii-u-and-3ds/1100-6418749/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2496284-pikachu.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2496284" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2496284-pikachu.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2496284"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1179/11799911/2496284-pikachu.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">Pikachu's iconic thunder attack is getting a major overhaul for the upcoming <a href="/super-smash-bros-for-wii-u/" data-ref-id="false">Super Smash Bros. </a>game for Wii U and 3DS. Game director Masahiro Sakurai published a screenshot of Pikachu's new move today <a href="https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYMHAAACAAAYUKlPp_CzbQ" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">on Miiverse</a> and explained how it's different from the last time we saw it in 2008's <a href="/super-smash-bros-brawl/" data-ref-id="false">Super Smash Bros. Brawl</a> for Wii.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"Pikachu's Thunder now starts off with a thundercloud that deals a Meteor Smash! From left to right, you can see this combo starting with Pikachu throwing the opponent upward, Meteor Smashing with the lightning strike, and then directly attacking," Sakurai said. "Foes can dodge, of course, so the attack won't hit consistently, but when it does, it sure feels good!"</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Pikachu's well-known thunder attack was fairly straightforward, and deadly, in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Upon performing the B Down attack, lightning came forth from the top of the screen to inflict damage on anyone caught in the path. It was a quick and relatively easy move to pull off, but it now seems substantially more involved; we'll have to wait and see to learn how it affects balance and gameplay.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS launches sometime in 2014, though Nintendo has not announced a more specific release date yet.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/EddieMakuch" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Twitter @EddieMakuch</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Thu, 03 Apr 2014 08:31:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-overhauling-pikachu-s-iconic-thunder-attack-for-new-super-smash-bros-on-wii-u-and-3ds/1100-6418749/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/mario-kart-8-devs-praise-power-of-wii-u-it-s-a-very-pretty-game/1100-6418736/ <div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6418075" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6418075/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">Thanks to the power of the Wii U, Nintendo's <a href="/mario-kart-8/" data-ref-id="false">Mario Kart 8</a> will deliver a visually impressive racing game the likes of which fans of the franchise have never seen, according to the game's designers.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"We're working with HD for the first time, and we really wanted to take advantage of that," Mario Kart 8 producer Hideki Konno said in a roundtable interview attended by GameSpot. "The last console version was <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/mario-kart-wii/">Mario Kart Wii</a>, which was released in 2008, so it was about six years ago. And during those six years, we were able to incorporate a lot of technology in our development process, but especially on the graphics side. So we put a lot of effort into making this a good looking game--it's a very pretty game."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Multiplayer has always been a major part of the Mario Kart series, but fans will no doubt recall the substantial drop in frame-rate in Mario Kart Wii when playing a local split-screen game. But now with the Wii U, however, Mario Kart 8 will sustain an enjoyable level of graphical fidelity even during multiplayer matches, Konno said.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"This time with the power of the Wii U we really made an effort to keep that graphic quality high regardless of how many ways we were splitting the TV into," he said.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">For his part, Yabuki pointed out that the power of the Wii U allowed Nintendo to create better-looking character animations, to the level and range and of things that "we've never seen before" in the Mario Kart series, he said. But that's only the beginning.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"We've also been able to show movement on the [karts and bikes] that we haven't seen before," he said. "We're seeing bounding, we're seeing different parts of the kart move, we're seeing dirt on the tires, we're seeing skidmarks left on the course--again I think we've done a good job of utilizing that graphical power."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"Using the power of the Wii U, we were able to create a Mario Kart title that feels right, and the controls feel like they're perfect for this game."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Mario Kart 8 launches <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/mario-kart-8-gets-release-date-and-7-new-koopa-racers/1100-6417729/" data-ref-id="1100-6417729">May 30</a>. For more, check out <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/in-mario-kart-8-crashing-could-be-your-key-to-victory/1100-6418734/" data-ref-id="1100-6418734">GameSpot's recently published hands-on preview</a>.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/EddieMakuch" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Twitter @EddieMakuch</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Thu, 03 Apr 2014 08:30:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/mario-kart-8-devs-praise-power-of-wii-u-it-s-a-very-pretty-game/1100-6418736/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/gamestop-is-really-trying-to-sell-call-of-duty-ghosts/1100-6418748/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1197/11970954/2369161-cod+ghosts_federation+day+rappel.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2369161" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1197/11970954/2369161-cod+ghosts_federation+day+rappel.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2369161"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1197/11970954/2369161-cod+ghosts_federation+day+rappel.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">GameStop is really trying to move copies of <a href="/call-of-duty-ghosts/" data-ref-id="false">Call of Duty: Ghosts</a>. The retailer today announced a special sales and trade promotion focused around Infinity Ward's latest entry in the blockbuster shooter franchise.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Starting today and running through April 6, all U.S. GameStop stores will offer new copies of Call of Duty: Ghosts on Xbox One/PlayStation 4 for $40. Meanwhile, the Xbox 360/PlayStation 3 versions will go for $30. (GameStop didn't announce a price drop for the Wii U version; it <a href="http://www.gamestop.com/wii-u/games/call-of-duty-ghosts/110936" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">sells for $50</a>). These prices are <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Call-Duty-Ghosts-Xbox-360/dp/B002I098JE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1396537391&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=call+of+duty%3A+ghosts" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">slightly below Amazon's</a>, but GameStop is also offering some additional bonuses if you shop with them.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The first 10 customers at GameStop stores across the US tomorrow who buy Call of Duty: Ghosts or the game's $50 Season Pass will receive a special paracord bracelet for free. Finally, GameStop announced today that customers who bring in a special coupon (below) will receive an extra 30 percent in-store credit for any items traded in towards the purchase of Call of Duty: Ghosts.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Call of Duty: Ghosts launched last year and was the <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/gta-5-top-selling-game-in-2013-in-us-call-of-duty-ghosts-leads-december-npd/1100-6417186/" data-ref-id="1100-6417186">second best-selling game of 2013</a> in the United States, behind only Rockstar Games' open-world title <a href="/grand-theft-auto-v/" data-ref-id="false">Grand Theft Auto V</a>. This year's entry in the Call of Duty series, described as<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/call-of-duty-2014-is-ambitious-and-creative-sledgehammer-says/1100-6418444/" data-ref-id="1100-6418444"> "ambitious" and "creative," </a>is in development at Sledgehammer Games, which co-developed <a href="/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-3/" data-ref-id="false">Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 </a>with Infinity Ward.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2496277-thecode.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2496277" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2496277-thecode.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2496277"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1179/11799911/2496277-thecode.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style=""> </p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/EddieMakuch" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Twitter @EddieMakuch</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Thu, 03 Apr 2014 08:11:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/gamestop-is-really-trying-to-sell-call-of-duty-ghosts/1100-6418748/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-boss-phil-spencer-says-virtual-reality-is-not-a-fad/1100-6418747/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2496243-xboxoneglasses.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2496243" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2496243-xboxoneglasses.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2496243"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1179/11799911/2496243-xboxoneglasses.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">Virtual reality for gaming is not some short-lived craze that will burn out soon, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-boss-phil-spencer-gets-a-promotion-to-head-of-xbox-promises-incredible-new-chapter-for-gaming/1100-6418670/" data-ref-id="1100-6418670">newly appointed Head of Xbox Phil Spencer</a><a href="https://twitter.com/XboxP3/status/451553233056432128" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> said last night</a> on Twitter. "I don't believe VR is a fad," he said.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">That's a tantalizingly vague comment from the same person who said last month during the Game Developers Conference that Microsoft has been <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-says-vr-is-something-we-ve-been-playing-with-for-a-while/1100-6418473/" data-ref-id="1100-6418473">working on an unspecified VR project for "quite a while."</a></p><p dir="ltr" style="">A <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-720-launching-at-299-with-kinect-2/1100-6382875/" data-ref-id="1100-6382875">document dating back to 2010 </a>suggested that Microsoft will introduce a VR/AR system for the Xbox One called "Fortazela." And just last week, it was discovered that Microsoft <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-reportedly-pays-as-much-as-150-million-for-wearable-computing-assets/1100-6418628/" data-ref-id="1100-6418628">paid as much as $150 million</a> for assets related to wearable technology.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">VR is nothing new, but it's rising in prominence and popularity thanks to Oculus Rift, which social networking giant Facebook <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/facebook-buys-oculus-rift-company-in-a-massive-deal-worth-an-estimated-2-billion/1100-6418540/" data-ref-id="1100-6418540">purchased last week in a surprise $2 billion deal</a>. Sony is also <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/sony-announces-ps4-virtual-reality-initiative-project-morpheus/1100-6418391/" data-ref-id="1100-6418391">working on its own VR device called Project Morpheus</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Spencer's comments were directed at a fan who asked him to respond to <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/how-xbox-one-can-beat-ps4-according-to-xbox-co-creator/1100-6418708/" data-ref-id="1100-6418708">Xbox co-creator Ed Fries' recent comments</a> about how Microsoft can beat Sony in the Xbox One vs. PlayStation 4 "console war."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Fries said Microsoft can top Sony if it can create great exclusive games and introduce free-to-play experiences. Spencer said Microsoft is already doing this. "More exclusives makes sense. F2P will be on Xbox One" and will work better over time, he said. "Ed's smart."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Where Fries and Spencer differ, however, is in their expectations for VR. Fries said he's <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/how-xbox-one-can-beat-ps4-according-to-xbox-co-creator/1100-6418708/" data-ref-id="1100-6418708">not sure VR has the potential to become widely adopted by mainstream users</a>, instead appealing only to the hardcore crowd.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/EddieMakuch" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Twitter @EddieMakuch</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Thu, 03 Apr 2014 07:37:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-boss-phil-spencer-says-virtual-reality-is-not-a-fad/1100-6418747/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-co-creator-discusses-1080p-controversy-xbox-one-drm-reversal/1100-6418746/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2496223-xboxoneimage.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2496223" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2496223-xboxoneimage.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2496223"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1179/11799911/2496223-xboxoneimage.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">As part of a <a href="https://yabbly.com/ama/osdfd6rf/i-co-founded-the-xbox/question/ztcel4bz/response/1gpgt87w/comment#question/ztcel4bz/response/1gpgt87w/comment/gxqr1uzk" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">new Q&amp;A session on Yabbly</a>, Xbox co-creator Ed Friends sounded off on two hot-button industry issues: the <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/why-do-more-ps4-games-run-in-1080p-than-xbox-one-sniper-elite-dev-explains/1100-6417628/" data-ref-id="1100-6417628">1080p controversy</a> and the <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-changing-xbox-one-policies/1100-6410472/" data-ref-id="1100-6410472">Xbox One's dramatic policy reversal</a>. Fries tackled the "resolution war" between Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4 first.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"I'm not an expert, but my understanding is that Microsoft reserved some of the power of Xbox One for the operating system but told developers they would be giving it back to them to use sometime soon," he said. "So far they haven't given it back so the games can't run at as high a resolution as they could if they had that extra power. At least that's what I've heard from talking to developers."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">This lines up with what Microsoft Xbox director of development Boy Multerer said previously, explaining last month that he <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/more-xbox-one-games-will-run-in-1080p-over-time-microsoft-says/1100-6418408/?utm_medium=App.net&amp;utm_source=PourOver/" data-ref-id="1100-6418408">fully expects more Xbox One games to run in 1080p over time</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The fact that as of today, more high-profile games run in 1080p on PS4 compared to Xbox One, has drawn significant debate. Sony says better performance on PS4 over Xbox One is because Sony's console is "<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/sony-on-1080p-60fps-debate-ps4-is-the-machine-developers-want/1100-6417488/">performing and packing the punch that developers want</a>." Meanwhile, Microsoft previously contended that "<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-on-1080p-60fps-these-little-things-get-way-overblown/1100-6417326/">these little things get way overblown</a>" regarding the 1080p debate.</p><blockquote data-align="right"><p dir="ltr" style="">"I think the digital distribution/DRM thing could have been fine if they had just used Steam as their model" -- Fries</p></blockquote><p dir="ltr" style="">Fries also addressed Microsoft's surprise decision last summer to <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-changing-xbox-one-policies/1100-6410472/" data-ref-id="1100-6410472">do away with its controversial 24-hour check-in system for the Xbox One </a>and abandon some of its ambitious digital endeavors like its <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-ditching-xbox-one-family-sharing-plan/1100-6410499/" data-ref-id="1100-6410499">Family Sharing plan</a>. Some gamers were wary about the DRM potential of this system, but Fries says Microsoft could have avoided the hullabaloo if it had positioned its platform as something similar to Steam.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"I think the digital distribution/DRM thing could have been fine if they had just used Steam as their model but they proposed something that wasn't like Steam and wasn't good for their customers," he said. "Then when people complained they completely got rid of it instead of fixing it to be what people want. Hopefully now that they have more time they will fix that mess."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Microsoft has suggested that it will <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-on-loaning-and-gifting-digital-xbox-one-games-we-totally-believe-in-that-future/1100-6418534/" data-ref-id="1100-6418534">bring back some of the Xbox One's digital features</a>, like loaning and gifting, sometime in the future.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Finally, Fries addressed the rumors that<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/will-microsoft-sell-off-its-xbox-business-it-doesn-t-look-likely/1100-6418557/" data-ref-id="1100-6418557"> Microsoft may sell off the Xbox division</a>, saying executives at the Redmond tech giant would be silly to do this.</p><p style="">"I think it would be foolish for Microsoft to sell off Xbox," Fries said. "It's the biggest, most successful new brand they have created in the last 15 years. They should learn from the success of Xbox and create more things like it, not sell it off."</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/EddieMakuch" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Twitter @EddieMakuch</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Thu, 03 Apr 2014 07:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-co-creator-discusses-1080p-controversy-xbox-one-drm-reversal/1100-6418746/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/diablo-3-reaper-of-souls-sells-2-7m-in-one-week-that-s-about-a-fifth-of-all-d3-owners/1100-6418745/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1493/14930800/2496214-2584251116-24847.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2496214" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1493/14930800/2496214-2584251116-24847.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2496214"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1493/14930800/2496214-2584251116-24847.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""><a href="/diablo-iii/" data-ref-id="false">Diablo III</a> expansion Reaper of Souls shifted 2.7 million units in its first week on sale, Blizzard has announced.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The expansion went on sale just over a week ago, March 25, on PC and Mac, and Blizzard has counted both physical and digital sales.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Blizzard also adds that Act V's final boss has been taken down over 1.5 million times (I'm responsible for at least 5 of those, by the way), and that the game saw 2.4 million views on video streaming site Twitch in its first day on sale.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Diablo III itself has racked up over 15 million sales since its launch in 2012, with that figure including the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions alongside the Mac and PC. That means roughly a fifth of all Diablo III owners have purchased Reaper of Souls, and the expansion will make its way to consoles later this year.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"With Reaper of Souls, we wanted to emphasize all the things that Diablo gamers have always loved about the series, from the dark gothic setting to the piles and piles of epic loot," said Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"We're excited to see that players are enjoying the changes we've made to the game, and we look forward to achieving our Paragon levels alongside everyone else in the weeks and months ahead."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Reaper of Souls introduces a new act, a new character class, and a new adventure mode into Diablo III, as well as its new loot and difficulty settings which have been rolled back into the main game.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">GameSpot spoke to Diablo III lead producer Alex Mayberry <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/diablo-3-reaper-of-souls-how-blizzard-is-attempting-to-fix-its-most-controversial-game/1100-6418501/" data-ref-id="1100-6418501">last week about the development of Reaper of Souls</a>.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6418008" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6418008/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Martin Gaston is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/squidmania" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Twitter @squidmania</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Thu, 03 Apr 2014 06:45:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/diablo-3-reaper-of-souls-sells-2-7m-in-one-week-that-s-about-a-fifth-of-all-d3-owners/1100-6418745/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/this-xbox-one-ps4-pc-shooter-will-use-oculus-rift-and-project-morpheus/1100-6418744/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2496206-getevenvr.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2496206" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2496206-getevenvr.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2496206"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1179/11799911/2496206-getevenvr.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style=""><a href="/get-even-2015/" data-ref-id="false">Get Even</a>, the upcoming Xbox One/PlayStation 4/PC shooter from <a href="/painkiller-hell-and-damnation/" data-ref-id="false">Painkiller</a> developer The Farm 51, will support <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/facebook-buys-oculus-rift-company-in-a-massive-deal-worth-an-estimated-2-billion/1100-6418540/" data-ref-id="1100-6418540">Oculus Rift</a> AND <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ps4-s-project-morpheus-vr-device-won-t-launch-in-2014-1000-price-point-unlikely/1100-6418418/" data-ref-id="1100-6418418">Sony's Project Morpheus</a>. The studio announced the news today and released a special "Making Of" video to show off the game's implementation of virtual reality devices.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The Farm 51, a Polish independent studio, also today launched a <a href="http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=244669840" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Steam Greenlight campaign for Get Even</a>. You can <a href="http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=244669840" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">vote for the game here</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"At The Farm 51, we think of a video game world as an alternate reality, not that of an interactive movie. The exciting developments in virtual reality provide a huge benefit to a game aimed to be as immersive as ours," The Farm 51 CEO Wojtek Pazdur said.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"Get Even has the potential to support the VR concept like no other title," he added. This is why we want to be a part of this new revolution and is why Get Even can be a landmark title in its use."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The "Making Of" video below shows The Farm 51 developers experimenting with Oculus Rift, but nowhere in the video do we see a Project Morpheus development kit.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2496208-even.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2496208" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2496208-even.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2496208"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1179/11799911/2496208-even.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">The Farm 51 says Get Even's VR integration allows the game to "further break new ground" in blurring the lines between multiplayer and single-player. The developer asks, "What would happen if you could travel between different virtual realities, starting outside the game using a device like Oculus VR or Project Morpheus before going deeper and deeper inside the game using similar in-game gadgets?"</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Story designer Przemyslaw Pomorski said the studio's overarching ambition for Get Even is to make a game that frightens you, and using VR will help accelerate this vision, he said.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"We want to relate to real fears and real situations and transform them in a fantasy form," he said. "Our key goal, however, is to make the game reflect what frightens us most in our daily life."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Neither Oculus nor Sony are ready to announce release dates for the Rift and Project Morpheus respectively, but Pazdur said he expects the VR revolution to begin sometime in 2015. "We are now working hard to implement VR devices into our gameplay," he said.</p><p style="">For more on Get Even, check out <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/get-even-2015/" data-ref-id="false">GameSpot's previous coverage</a>.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCnETE5XXD8" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fembed%2FhCnETE5XXD8%3Fwmode%3Dopaque%26feature%3Doembed&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DhCnETE5XXD8&amp;image=http%3A%2F%2Fi1.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FhCnETE5XXD8%2Fhqdefault.jpg&amp;key=6efca6e5ad9640f180f14146a0bc1392&amp;type=text%2Fhtml&amp;schema=youtube" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/EddieMakuch" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Twitter @EddieMakuch</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Thu, 03 Apr 2014 06:33:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/this-xbox-one-ps4-pc-shooter-will-use-oculus-rift-and-project-morpheus/1100-6418744/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/alien-isolation-the-sound-of-alien-isolation/2300-6418108/ In this exclusive insider video Creative Assembly shows that when you're hiding in the dark, what you can hear might just be the key to your survival. Thu, 03 Apr 2014 06:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/alien-isolation-the-sound-of-alien-isolation/2300-6418108/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ouya-responds-to-amazon-fire-tv-says-it-lacks-a-focus-on-games/1100-6418743/ <div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6418113" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6418113/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p dir="ltr" style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">Is Ouya shaking in its boots following <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/amazon-announces-99-streaming-device-has-2gb-ram-quad-core-processor-game-controller-is-40/1100-6418719/" data-ref-id="1100-6418719">Amazon's announcement yesterday of a $99 micro-console</a> that (among many other things) plays video games? Not so, according to Ouya head Julie Uhrman. Speaking with <a href="http://www.computerandvideogames.com/457271/as-fire-tv-ignites-debate-ouya-says-games-are-its-sole-focus/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">CVG</a>, she stressed that the Ouya platform is "solely dedicated" to gaming, while Amazon's Fire TV is not.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"Just as Amazon blazed a trail for a new way of selling online, Ouya invented a new way to think about console games. But for us, games are not simply an 'added bonus', they are the whole point," Uhrman said.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"Ouya is solely dedicated to the devs creating games, and the players who play them," she added. "Their ideal experience is all we think about."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Amazon's Fire TV device of course does more than play games and was never positioned as a games-first device. It's a streaming box that can play an assortment of movies, TV shows, and music. And though the company's game chief described the Fire TV as "<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/amazon-fire-tv-is-absolutely-not-a-game-console/1100-6418731/" data-ref-id="1100-6418731">absolutely not a game console</a>," it does play Android games, thus competing with Ouya from that perspective.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The Fire TV features a Qualcomm Quad Core Snapdragon Krait 300 processor with Adreno 320 GPU, and 2GB of RAM. Meanwhile, the Ouya runs a Tegra 3 Quad Core processor, featuring 1GB of LPDDR2 RAM, and 8GB on-board flash.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Though Amazon might not see its Fire TV as a game console, it seems to be taking gaming quite seriously. The company recently established an internal game developer called <a href="http://games.amazon.com/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Amazon Game Studios</a>, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/amazon-buys-killer-instinct-developer-double-helix-games/1100-6417554/" data-ref-id="1100-6417554">acquired Killer Instinct Double Helix Games</a>, and even <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/amazon-is-serious-about-gaming-hires-portal-and-far-cry-designers/1100-6418727/" data-ref-id="1100-6418727">hired Portal designer Kim Swift and Far Cry 2 designer Clint Hocking</a>. Veteran <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/halo-writer-joins-amazon/1100-6413105/" data-ref-id="1100-6413105">Halo writer Erik Nylund also works for Amazon on gaming</a>.</p><p style="">Amazon's Fire TV is available for purchase today. You can get the device alone for $100 or through a $140 bundle that includes the system, a Fire TV Controller, and copy of the <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/amazon-reveals-tower-defense-shooter-hybrid-sev-zero-for-its-new-fire-tv-streaming-box/1100-6418720/" data-ref-id="1100-6418720">Amazon-exclusive game Sev Zero</a>. We'll have more on the Fire TV in the days ahead as we get a unit in our office.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/EddieMakuch" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Twitter @EddieMakuch</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Thu, 03 Apr 2014 05:57:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ouya-responds-to-amazon-fire-tv-says-it-lacks-a-focus-on-games/1100-6418743/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/mario-kart-8-has-32-total-courses-16-are-new-and-16-are-remakes/1100-6418742/ <div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6418075" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6418075/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">Nintendo's upcoming Wii U racing game <a href="/mario-kart-8/" data-ref-id="false">Mario Kart 8</a> will have 32 total courses, sixteen of which are brand-new and the other 16 being "remixed classic courses." Nintendo announced this news today, along with a host of other new details about its much-anticipated game. 2008's <a href="/mario-kart-wii/" data-ref-id="false">Mario Kart Wii</a> also had 32 courses.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Mario Kart 8 will also <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/mario-kart-8-it-s-not-all-about-luck-two-rainbow-roads-confirmed/1100-6418730/" data-ref-id="1100-6418730">feature <strong>two</strong> Rainbow Road courses</a>, of one which is brand-new and the other is a remake of the Nintendo 64 course. We also got to speak with the game's director and producer, who explained why <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/mario-kart-8-devs-praise-power-of-wii-u-it-s-a-very-pretty-game/1100-6418736/" data-ref-id="1100-6418736">Mario Kart 8 won't be all about luck</a> and that the <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/mario-kart-8-it-s-not-all-about-luck-two-rainbow-roads-confirmed/1100-6418730/" data-ref-id="1100-6418730">power of the Wii U</a> allowed Nintendo to create a visually impressive game.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">We've rounded up some of the biggest Mario Kart 8 news below. Be sure to also check out our <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/in-mario-kart-8-crashing-could-be-your-key-to-victory/1100-6418734/" data-ref-id="1100-6418734">extensive hands-on written preview</a> and video preview embedded above. Mario Kart 8 includes:</p><ul><li dir="ltr">12-player online competitive play</li><li dir="ltr">4-player local multiplayer</li><li dir="ltr">A new Spin Boost feature for when you're racing upside down or on walls</li><li dir="ltr">Returning characters like Metal Mario, Lakitu, and Shy Guy</li><li dir="ltr">New items: Piranha Plant (attaches to your cart and chomps other players; also gives you speed boost), Boomerang Flower (can be thrown forward or backward at opponents to stun).</li><li dir="ltr">New courses: Remixed classics include Moo Moo Meadows from Mario Kart Wii, Toad's Turnpike from Mario Kart 64, and Donut Plains from Super Mario Kart. The remade tracks include re-designed and re-imagined graphics and layouts.</li><li dir="ltr">Live recorded music: For the first time in the history of the Mario Kart series, some courses in Mario Kart 8 will feature music recorded by live performers, though we don't know who.</li><li dir="ltr">Control options: Wii U GamePad, Wii U Pro Controller, the Wii WHeel, and the Wii Remote and Nunchuck. Also supports off-TV mode.</li></ul><p dir="ltr" style="">Mario Kart 8 <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/mario-kart-8-coming-in-may-and-nintendo-reveals-2014-strategy/1100-6417422/" data-ref-id="1100-6417422">launches May 30 exclusively for Wii U</a>. Nintendo's latest console is struggling at the moment, and Mario Kart 8 could provide a much-needed sales jolt.</p><p style=""> </p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/EddieMakuch" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Twitter @EddieMakuch</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Thu, 03 Apr 2014 05:27:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/mario-kart-8-has-32-total-courses-16-are-new-and-16-are-remakes/1100-6418742/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/half-life-2-s-iconic-city-17-looks-incredible-in-the-unreal-engine/1100-6418741/ <p style="">You're going to want to see this: A forum user at <a href="http://www.polycount.com/forum/showpost.php?p=2037585&amp;postcount=3431" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">videogame artist hangout Polycount</a> has remade <a href="/half-life-2/" data-ref-id="false">Half-Life 2</a>'s iconic City 17 introduction using Epic's Unreal Engine 3.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The Netherlands-based Jeannot van Berlo, who posts to the forum under the name Logithx, has released three huge screenshots of his project, saying he rebuilt everything from the ground up for his Unreal Engine passion project, with the exception of Dr. Breen's imposing face and the Combine insignia.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1493/14930800/2496162-hl2+udk+1.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2496162" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1493/14930800/2496162-hl2+udk+1.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2496162"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1493/14930800/2496162-hl2+udk+1.jpg"></a></figure><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1493/14930800/2496163-hl2+udk+3.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2496163" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1493/14930800/2496163-hl2+udk+3.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2496163"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1493/14930800/2496163-hl2+udk+3.jpg"></a></figure><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1493/14930800/2496164-hl2+udk+2.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2496164" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1493/14930800/2496164-hl2+udk+2.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2496164"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1493/14930800/2496164-hl2+udk+2.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">He now intends to recreate City 17 in Unreal Engine 4.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"I'm working every day to port this to the new Unreal Engine 4," he said, adding that "there's lots of work that was unfinished not to mention that I have to redo all the materials and many textures because of the awesome physically-based shading in Unreal Engine 4. There's a lot more content in this level that I haven't shown yet and I probably won't until it's all finished."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The screenshots have caused quite a stir, for obvious reasons--they look absolutely fantastic.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Half-Life 2 celebrates its tenth anniversary later this year.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6136856" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6136856/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Martin Gaston is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/squidmania" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Twitter @squidmania</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Thu, 03 Apr 2014 05:15:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/half-life-2-s-iconic-city-17-looks-incredible-in-the-unreal-engine/1100-6418741/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/gamers-should-want-all-mmos-to-be-free-to-play-says-everquest-dev/1100-6418740/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/mig/9/0/5/6/2049056-725671_20130802_015.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2049056" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/mig/9/0/5/6/2049056-725671_20130802_015.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2049056"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/mig/9/0/5/6/2049056-725671_20130802_015.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">EverQuest franchise development director David Georgeson has spoken out in defense of the free-to-play business model for MMOs. In a new interview, he contends that gamers should want all MMOs to be free-to-play because this model mandates that developers create compelling games. If they don't, players will leave, and developers like Sony Online Entertainment will be in trouble, he says.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"There's nothing wrong with the subscription model. I have personal opinions, which I'll go ahead and share because I'm just that cocksure of myself," Georgeson told <a href="http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/04/03/everquest-dev-gamers-should-want-all-mmos-to-be-free-to-play?+main+twitter" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">IGN</a>. "I think that free-to-play is the way that gamers should want their MMOs to be, and the reason I think that is that if we don't do a really good job and we don't entertain the player, we don't make a dime."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Georgeson went as far as to describe free-to-play MMO developers as street performers, who only make money if they are good at their craft.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"We're effectively street performers: we go out there and sing and dance and if we do a good job, people throw coins into the hat," he explained. "And I think that's the way games should be, because paying $60 up front to take a gamble on whether the game is good or not? You don't get that money back."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"So if you buy a turkey, you've just wasted your money. With free-to-play you get to go in, take a look at it, and find out," he added. "It's entirely our responsibility to make sure you're entertained. That's the way things should be in my opinion with free-to-play."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The free-to-play business model is becoming more and more popular for MMOs today, with <a href="/world-of-warcraft/" data-ref-id="false">World of Warcraft </a>and <a href="/the-elder-scrolls-online/" data-ref-id="false">The Elder Scrolls Online</a> being two major games bucking that trend. Sony has yet to reveal a business model for EverQuest Next, but going off Georgeson's comments, it certainly sounds like free-to-play is the route Sony is going with.</p><p style="">EverQuest next is <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/soe-president-confirms-everquest-next-headed-to-ps4-more-in-ama/1100-6417338/" data-ref-id="1100-6417338">coming to PC and PlayStation 4</a>, though Sony has not announced a release date for the MMO.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/EddieMakuch" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Twitter @EddieMakuch</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Thu, 03 Apr 2014 05:06:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/gamers-should-want-all-mmos-to-be-free-to-play-says-everquest-dev/1100-6418740/

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