Written By Kom Limpulnam on Minggu, 29 Juni 2014 | 23.26
Last week, developer Stoic Games announced that its tactical role-playing game The Banner Saga will release on iPad, Android, and Windows tablets this summer, and console players might get a chance to play the game eventually as well.
Speaking with Digital Spy, programmer John Watson said that Stoic has been working on the iOS and Android editions of the game since The Banner Saga was released on PC in January. Now that those version are on the way, Stoic hopes to release the game on consoles too.
"The ideal would be to get some console ports out before the end of the year," Watson said. "Whether we can make that happen or not, I don't know. Some things are easier than others. I think the game would be great on Vita, but I think that would come after other consoles. It's a path of least resistance thing; there's three of us."
Watson also said that he'd rather see the game on the PlayStation 4 before the PlayStation Vita because Stoic might need to make some changes to the game to take advantage of the PS Vita's controls, which can use touch and button at the same time.
Earlier this year Stoic was involved in a trademark dispute with Candy Crush Saga developer King, which claimed The Banner Saga is "confusingly and deceptively similar" to Candy Crush Saga. In March, Stoic announced it reached an agreement with King that enables both parties to protect their respective trademarks.
For more on The Banner Saga, be sure to read GameSpot's review.
Valve has revoked an unknown number of Steam keys for the recently released Sniper Elite III after developer and publisher Rebellion said they were stolen from one of its retail distributors.
We still don't know how many buyers were affected, but at the time of writing the Steam discussion thread where Rebellion made the announcement is almost 700 comments long.
Many of the comments are from understandably angry customers, who didn't know they were buying stolen keys. As Rebellion explained it to one of these angry buyers on its Facebook page, Rebellion asked Steam to revoke a batch of keys that was stolen from one of its distributors of the retail, hard copy version of the game. Rebellion believes these keys were sold to third-party key resellers like Instant Gaming.
However, a post to Instant Gaming's Facebook page claims that it bought the revoked Sniper Elite III Steam keys legitimately.
"The resellers are NOT the problem," Rebellion said on Facebook. "Those stores affected are NOT shady…The keys supplied to them were not as they seem - they were unlicensed, and unpaid for. This was reported to Valve and they revoked the keys."
Rebellion is offering Sniper Elite III's Target Hitler DLC for free to all those affected by this issue. To be eligible for that, you'll have to contact Rebellion by Friday, July 4 by following the instructions here.
As for the price of the game itself, Rebellion is encouraging customers to contact the sellers in question and seek a refund immediately.
Stephen "Stepto" Toulouse, the former Director of Policy and Enforcement for Microsoft's Xbox Live service, is rejoining the company as the Director of Community Engagement at Black Tusk Studios, the Microsoft-owned studio currently working on the next Gears of War project.
Jokingly known as the the "Head Banhammer," as Director of Policy and Enforcement Toulouse was in charge developing and implementing policy for Xbox Live, as well as working with developers, press, and customers.
Toulouse explained that his new role will be key in coordinating gamer feedback into future titles as well as keeping things fun and exciting with existing games.
"I've been shadowing the Gears forums and looking at people's thoughts," Toulouse said on his personal blog. "I don't just want us to make the best next generation Gears of War game ever, I want to make sure that everyone playing the game today feels just as good today and down the road in their investment into our amazing world as we do. There's a Gears nation out there. I'm a part of it and it's amazing."
You can hear more about Toulouse's return to Microsoft and what he'll be doing in his new role on the latest Major Nelson podcast.
Rust developer and Facepunch Studios founder Garry Newman said that prior to Rust, he was working on an online, Hitman-type game set in an open world similar to Grand Theft Auto.
The codebase for the prototype, called Cash4kills, eventually became Rust, the survival game which became immensely successful while still in Early Access. But Cash4kills was going to be very different.
"The one thing we don't like about the latest Hitman games is that the game seems to be about finding out what the level designer wants you to do, rather than just working out the best place to kill a guy," Newman told PCGamesN in an interview. "We wanted it to be all free-form, with bullet entry stats, bonuses for clean kills and for being unspotted, shareable replays, then cash rewards in a backend that you could use to buy new weapons, etc. So you'd only get one chance at a kill and if you f****d it up you couldn't replay, you'd have to wait for the next contract via your real email."
That sounds pretty cool, but the fact that Rust was based on a prototype with very different ambitions has created a lot of trouble for Facepunch.
If you launch Rust right now, you'll be prompted to choose between "Play Rust," and "Try Experimental." The first option will lead to the game you're familiar with that's based on the prototype, and the second will take you to the experimental version, where Facepunch is changing "pretty much everything" with regular updates.
"There were a lot of stupid decisions made in the old codebase," Newman said. "That's probably unfair. There were a lot of decisions made when we didn't know what game we were making... There's a lot of systems that are integral to Rust, that are 3,000 lines long, that could be 100 lines long."
Newman said he isn't getting rid of the old version of Rust, but that all the team's efforts are going into the experimental build, which will get more servers and become more stable as it grows.
For more on Rust, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.
Written By Kom Limpulnam on Sabtu, 28 Juni 2014 | 23.26
Gamespot's Site MashupNet Neutrality Is a Major Issue for Games, Oddworld Creator SaysBattlefield Hardline Beta Coming to All Platforms This FallOrc Model Comparison - World of Warcraft: Warlords of DraenorDestiny Trophies and Achievements Revealed; Get Ready to Kill a Lot of EnemiesWill Patch 2.1 Define Diablo III: Reaper of Souls?Goat Simulator 1.1 Patch Shenanigans - Random EncounterSniper Elite III Gameplay NutShot MontageGS News Top 5 - Xbox One Touts 2014 Exclusives; Minecraft Sells BIG!Shovel Knight Soundtrack Now Available at Any Price -- What's It Worth to You?Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark - GameplayThe World Cup Comes to Kerbal Space Program With Its First Official ModTransformers: Rise of the Dark Spark ReviewAce Combat Infinity ReviewPlanetside 2's Huge World Expands With a New Continent in Today's UpdateUltimate Editions of Madden, FIFA, and NHL Give You Gear, Player Packs, More
http://auth.gamespot.com/ Gamespot's Everything Feed! News, Reviews, Videos. Exploding with content? You bet. en-us Sat, 28 Jun 2014 08:41:06 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/net-neutrality-is-a-major-issue-for-games-oddworld-creator-says/1100-6420798/ <figure data-align="right" data-size="small" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2580374-lorne+lanning1.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2580374" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2580374-lorne+lanning1.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2580374"><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_small/1535/15354745/2580374-lorne+lanning1.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">The ability to release games digitally has allowed indie developers to thrive and made possible less mainstream projects like <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/oddworld-abes-oddysee-new-n-tasty/">Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty</a>, a remake of <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/oddworld-abes-oddysee/">Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee</a>. But Oddworld creator Lorne Lanning thinks that losing net neutrality could prevent future development of such games.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"My biggest concern is what's happening in the White House with what's happening with the FCC and what's happening with the telecom companies trying to basically get more of all of our pie," Lanning told <a href="http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2014-06-25-net-neutrality-the-biggest-problem-facing-games-lanning" rel="nofollow">GameIndustry International</a> in an interview. "These are multinational, enormous corporations and if they get their way, they could stifle this indie community in the media. They could start really clamping the dial and taking away the revenue that we've finally been able to find that we can get, that allows us to keep going... Today on a $10 product, we get $7. Well what if $2 of that has to start going to AT&T or Comcast? That could very easily happen."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Lanning said that gamers should be voting with this issue in mind, and that they should support the <a href="http://www.theeca.com/" rel="nofollow">Entertainment Consumers Association</a> and other lobby groups (like the <a href="https://www.eff.org/" rel="nofollow">Electronic Frontier Foundation</a>, for example) that are fighting for net neutrality. However, he doesn't think they will until they feel the negative effects of losing net neutrality directly.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"Sadly I think that's how the general public tends to operate," Lanning said. "There are more people in this country that are struggling financially than probably in the history of the country, and as a result they're just not really paying attention to things that aren't affecting their bottom line, their purse. But if they start getting charged $10 a night for that overnight session that they like playing, I think they're going to vote."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Back in March, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/want-a-new-oddworld-game-new-n-tasty-needs-to-sell-500-000-first/1100-6418373/">Lanning said</a> development on a brand new Oddworld title can begin if Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty sells 500,000 copies.</p><p style=""><em>Do you agree with Lanning on net neutrality? Tell us in the comments below.</em></p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer. You can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a> and <a href="https://plus.google.com/116710591398405257934/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Google+</a>.<br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><p style=""><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></p><p style=""> </p></td></tr></tbody></table> Sat, 28 Jun 2014 08:25:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/net-neutrality-is-a-major-issue-for-games-oddworld-creator-says/1100-6420798/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/battlefield-hardline-beta-coming-to-all-platforms-this-fall/1100-6420797/ <div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6419863" data-width="854" data-height="480"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6419863/" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p dir="ltr" style="">The <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/battlefield-hardline/">Battlefield Hardline</a> beta is now closed, but another Battlefield Hardline beta that "will showcase more" will launch this fall on all announced platforms, Developer Visceral Games' VP and GM Steve Papoutsis said in a post on <a href="http://blogs.battlefield.com/2014/06/thank-you-for-playing-beta/" rel="nofollow">Battlefield's official blog</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"The Battlefield Hardline beta was just a small portion of what is in store," Papoutsis said. "We have plenty of new modes in the game that really play off the cop and criminal theme, as well as the return of fan-favorites."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Papoutsis also said that we should expect to hear more about the multiplayer mode in the months ahead, as well as the single player campaign. Visceral is best known for its work on the <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/dead-space/">Dead Space</a> series, and Papoutsis said that Battlefield Hardline's single player campaign will similarly engross players in the game's story and world. "We are doing some cool new things in how we present the campaign, similar to what you see when watching episodes of your favorite TV shows," Papoutsis said. "It's something different and we're fired up about it."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Responding to critics who say that this year's Battlefield Hardline looks too iterative, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/battlefield-hardline-dev-explains-why-it-s-not-just-an-expansion/1100-6420679/">lead multiplayer designer Thad Sesser recently explained</a> the improvements, tweaks, and additions the studio has made to the Battlefield 4 formula, which makes Battlefield Hardline more than just an expansion.</p><p style="">Battlefield Hardline launches on October 21 for <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/">PlayStation 3</a>, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/ps4/">PlayStation 4</a>, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/xbox-360/">Xbox 360</a>,<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/xbox-one/">Xbox One</a>, and <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/pc/">PC</a>.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer. You can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a> and <a href="https://plus.google.com/116710591398405257934/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Google+</a>.<br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><p style=""><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></p><p style=""> </p></td></tr></tbody></table> Sat, 28 Jun 2014 07:04:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/battlefield-hardline-beta-coming-to-all-platforms-this-fall/1100-6420797/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/orc-model-comparison-world-of-warcraft-warlords-of/2300-6419989/ Take a look at how the Orc Male and Female models are shaping up in World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor. Fri, 27 Jun 2014 21:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/orc-model-comparison-world-of-warcraft-warlords-of/2300-6419989/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/destiny-trophies-and-achievements-revealed-get-ready-to-kill-a-lot-of-enemies/1100-6420796/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1539/15391776/2580207-become_legend+-+version+2.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2580207" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1539/15391776/2580207-become_legend+-+version+2.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2580207"><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1539/15391776/2580207-become_legend+-+version+2.jpg"></a></figure><p style="">Developer <a href="/companies/bungie-inc/" data-ref-id="false" data-mce-href="/companies/bungie-inc/">Bungie</a> detailed 40 Achievements and Trophies for its upcoming shooter, <a href="/destiny/" data-ref-id="false" data-mce-href="/destiny/">Destiny</a>, <a href="http://www.bungie.net/7_Bungie-Weekly-Update---06272014/en/News/News?aid=11607" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false" data-mce-href="http://www.bungie.net/7_Bungie-Weekly-Update---06272014/en/News/News?aid=11607">in its weekly update today</a>. The full list involves a diverse array of different tasks, from completing missions certain ways to customizing your ship.</p><p style="">There are four main enemy types and three character classes in Destiny. Trophy and Achievement hunters will have to kill all of them many, many times to get all the rewards.</p><p style="">Some of the more memorable Achievements and Trophies include:</p><ul><li> Triple Play -- Kill a Warlock, Hunter, and Warrior without dying in a single player vs. player match</li><li>Suited for War -- Get fully equipped with Legendary or Exotic weapons and armor.</li></ul><p style="">Although most of the Trophies and Achievements are straightforward, there's some mystery with the Dragon Slayer accomplishment. To acquire this one, you must "kill a champion of the Dark." This could mean fighting a high-level enemy that comes from the Darkness, the most powerful opposing force in Destiny.</p><p style="">You can see the full list of achievements <a href="http://www.bungie.net/7_Bungie-Weekly-Update---06272014/en/News/News?aid=11607" rel="nofollow" data-mce-href="http://www.bungie.net/7_Bungie-Weekly-Update---06272014/en/News/News?aid=11607" data-ref-id="false">on Bungie's website.</a></p><p style="">Destiny launches for Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation 4 on September 9. We thought that <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/e3-2014-our-first-hands-on-with-the-destiny-alpha/1100-6420314/" data-ref-id="1100-6420314" data-mce-href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/e3-2014-our-first-hands-on-with-the-destiny-alpha/1100-6420314/">the game looked promising</a> when we got our hands on the alpha build earlier this month.</p><p style="">Do you still try to get as many trophies/achievements as possible (like <a data-mce-href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-guy-with-1-million-gamerscore-isn-t-stopping-anytime-soon/1100-6419379/" href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-guy-with-1-million-gamerscore-isn-t-stopping-anytime-soon/1100-6419379/" data-ref-id="1100-6419379">the guy who got 1,000,000 Gamerscore</a>), or do you ignore the list entirely and just play naturally?</p><p style=""></p><table class="mceItemTable" data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Alex Newhouse is an editorial intern at GameSpot, and you can follow him on <a href="http://www.twitter.com/alexbnewhouse" rel="nofollow" data-mce-href="http://www.twitter.com/alexbnewhouse">Twitter @alexbnewhouse</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><em><strong>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com</strong></em></td></tr></tbody></table><p style=""></p> Fri, 27 Jun 2014 18:08:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/destiny-trophies-and-achievements-revealed-get-ready-to-kill-a-lot-of-enemies/1100-6420796/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/will-patch-2-1-define-diablo-iii-reaper-of-souls/2300-6419987/ Here's a quick look at all of the features that you can expect in the first major patch for Diablo III: Reaper of Souls. Fri, 27 Jun 2014 18:06:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/will-patch-2-1-define-diablo-iii-reaper-of-souls/2300-6419987/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/goat-simulator-1-1-patch-shenanigans-random-encoun/2300-6419988/ Join Danny as he tries out the new patch for Goat Simulator. Fri, 27 Jun 2014 17:30:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/goat-simulator-1-1-patch-shenanigans-random-encoun/2300-6419988/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/sniper-elite-iii-gameplay-nutshot-montage/2300-6419985/ Here's a gameplay montage of Sniper Elite III's unique animations for testicular kills. Fri, 27 Jun 2014 16:30:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/sniper-elite-iii-gameplay-nutshot-montage/2300-6419985/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/gs-news-top-5-xbox-one-touts-2014-exclusives-minec/2300-6419970/ The Xbox One gets a new catchphrase, PlayStation Now's tentative beta pricing is questionable, and guess why Microsoft's actions made Sony execs dance! Fri, 27 Jun 2014 16:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/gs-news-top-5-xbox-one-touts-2014-exclusives-minec/2300-6419970/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/shovel-knight-soundtrack-now-available-at-any-price-what-s-it-worth-to-you/1100-6420795/ <figure data-ref-id="1300-2580128" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/123/1239113/2580128-shovel+ost.jpg" data-size="large" data-align="center" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/123/1239113/2580128-shovel+ost.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2580128"><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/123/1239113/2580128-shovel+ost.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">Following the release of <a href="/shovel-knight/" data-ref-id="false">Shovel Knight</a> yesterday, the game's excellent soundtrack has now been put up for sale online--and, in an extremely fan-friendly move, you're free to download it for any price you wish.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The 48-track album is comprised of retro-style music that is well-suited to the 2D platformer, which was released yesterday for $15 on PC, Wii U, and 3DS <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/shovel-knight-review-roundup/1100-6420761/" data-ref-id="1100-6420761">to positive reviews</a>. You can stream the entirety of the soundtrack through <a href="http://virt.bandcamp.com/album/shovel-knight-original-soundtrack" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Bandcamp's website</a>, or you can buy it at any price you choose--including $0. The latter options allows you to download the album in a variety of formats, including MP3 and FLAC.</p><figure data-ref-id="1300-2580131" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/123/1239113/2580131-shovel1.png" data-size="small" data-align="right" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/123/1239113/2580131-shovel1.png" data-ref-id="1300-2580131"><img src="http://static2.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_small/123/1239113/2580131-shovel1.png"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">According to the soundtrack's Bandcamp page, composer Jake Kaufman (who previously worked on games like <a href="/contra-4/" data-ref-id="false">Contra 4</a> and <a href="/mighty-switch-force/" data-ref-id="false">Mighty Switch Force</a>) used free tools designed for hobbyists to create the game's soundtrack and sound effects. The result is a total of more than two hours of chiptune music.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">A separate arrangement album that features work from Manami Matsumae of <a href="/mega-man/" data-ref-id="false">Mega Man</a> fame is also <a href="http://virt.bandcamp.com/album/strike-the-earth-shovel-knight-arranged" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">available as a name-your-price download</a>. Additionally, Kaufman is encouraging fans to do whatever they want with the music, including writing lyrics, making arrangements, and creating music videos.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Perhaps even better than that is an NES-compiled version of the soundtrack--clocking in at less than a megabyte, compared with 141 megabytes for the MP3 version--that is available for download <a href="http://biglionmusic.com/Shovel_Knight_Music.nsf" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">here</a>. Kaufman says this "contains the machine-language code for the music, and can be played back directly on real NES / Famicom hardware, using special hobbyist flash cartridges--or listened to in dozens of free NSF players available on every imaginable computer OS or phone." If you're looking for such a program, he's tested it in VirtuaNSF and NotSoFatso, both of which are free downloads.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">If you plan on downloading the soundtrack, how much do you intend to buy it for? Let us know in the comments below. And for more on Shovel Knight, check out <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/shovel-knight-review/1900-6415805/" data-ref-id="1900-6415805">GameSpot's review</a>.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Chris Pereira is a freelance writer for GameSpot, and you can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/thesmokingmanx" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @TheSmokingManX</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><em><strong>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com</strong></em></td></tr></tbody></table> Fri, 27 Jun 2014 15:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/shovel-knight-soundtrack-now-available-at-any-price-what-s-it-worth-to-you/1100-6420795/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/transformers-rise-of-the-dark-spark-gameplay/2300-6419984/ Kill hordes of Decepticons and save your Autobot pal, then kill more Decepticons in this lackluster installment in the Transformers movie spin-off series. Fri, 27 Jun 2014 14:57:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/transformers-rise-of-the-dark-spark-gameplay/2300-6419984/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-world-cup-comes-to-kerbal-space-program-with-its-first-official-mod/1100-6420794/ <div data-embed-type="video" data-src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaHM8DmC84I" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fembed%2FDaHM8DmC84I%3Fwmode%3Dopaque%26feature%3Doembed&wmode=opaque&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DDaHM8DmC84I&image=http%3A%2F%2Fi1.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FDaHM8DmC84I%2Fhqdefault.jpg&key=6efca6e5ad9640f180f14146a0bc1392&type=text%2Fhtml&schema=youtube" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""><a href="/kerbal-space-program/" data-ref-id="false">Kerbal Space Program</a>, the spacecraft construction simulator, is getting a bit of a soccer makeover to celebrate the World Cup. Developer <a href="/companies/squad-1/" data-ref-id="false">Squad</a> recently launched Kerbin Cup, the first official mod, which brings soccer balls and flags to adorn your Kerbal ships.</p><p style="">The mod adds two sizes of soccer balls to the game: the first matches the Kerbal creatures that fly the ships, the other is rocket-sized. 32 flags for all 32 countries who made it to the World Cup are also in the mod.</p><p style="">You can pick up the <a href="http://www.curse.com/ksp-mods/kerbal/221319-kerbin-cup" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">completely free mod on Curse</a>. Squad will be running contests and giveaways throughout the World Cup using the mod and the Kerbal Space Program communities. The game is discounted <a href="http://store.steampowered.com/app/220200/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">during the Steam Summer Sale </a>going on now.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Alex Newhouse is an editorial intern at GameSpot, and you can follow him on <a href="http://www.twitter.com/alexbnewhouse" rel="nofollow">Twitter @alexbnewhouse</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><em><strong>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com</strong></em></td></tr></tbody></table> Fri, 27 Jun 2014 14:54:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-world-cup-comes-to-kerbal-space-program-with-its-first-official-mod/1100-6420794/ http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/transformers-rise-of-the-dark-spark-review/1900-6415809/ <p style="">When I was a kid, Optimus Prime seemed to me like everything a leader should be: intelligent, compassionate, and, of course, capable of turning into a truck. It's been frustrating in recent years to see the Transformers become defined in this generation not by the charm and personality of the original cartoon but by the cacophonous stupidity and visual chaos of the Michael Bay films. I always hope that video games might be the one area where the Transformers can be redeemed. Alas, Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark is not the game that redeems them.</p><p style="">Though it's developed by Edge of Reality, Rise of the Dark Spark's action is closely modeled on developer High Moon's games <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/transformers-war-for-cybertron/" data-ref-id="false" data-mce-href="http://www.gamespot.com/transformers-war-for-cybertron/">War for Cybertron</a> and <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/transformers-fall-of-cybertron/" data-ref-id="false" data-mce-href="http://www.gamespot.com/transformers-fall-of-cybertron/">Fall of Cybertron</a>. Narratively, however, where this game falls is completely unclear. In some ways, it seems to exist in the same universe as the cartoons, but on the other hand, the robot designs sometimes resemble those from the films, and there are plot details that refer to Michael Bay's latest opus, <i>Transformers: Age of Extinction.</i> The result is an incoherent story that feels like it was cobbled together from the spare parts of other stories.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6419984" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6419984/" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""><br /></p><p style="">The gameplay doesn't fare much better. High Moon's Cybertron games were mostly enjoyable shooting galleries, and there are times when Rise of the Dark Spark seems like it might manage to be the same. Playing as a variety of Autobots and Decepticons over the course of the game, you unleash hot robot death on countless enemy grunts. At its best moments, Rise of the Dark Spark is fun in the generic and familiar way that so many blandly competent shooters are fun--a pleasant enough way to pass the time if you have nothing else to do. There are a good variety of weapons for you to use, and although you rarely have much incentive to transform, it's nice to have the freedom to drive or fly away from enemies when the action heats up.</p><p style="">Unfortunately, although you move around with a feeling of appropriate heft for a sentient being constructed of strong and heavy metals, when you get swarmed by enemies, you go down so fast that you might as well be made of aluminum cans. It drains all the joy from being Optimus Prime to see him crumple almost immediately in response to enemy fire, and these poorly designed combat encounters make victory not a matter of playing defensively and using smart tactics but of just trying again and again and hoping this time it works out for you. Some sections go on for much too long, keeping you stuck in one spot fighting off waves of identical enemies when all you want to do is advance, and the game's maddening checkpoints regularly require you to replay lengthy sections of frustrating action when you fall in battle.</p><figure data-align="left" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/78/787590/2580122-ci-195263081630380620.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2580122" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/78/787590/2580122-ci-195263081630380620.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2580122"><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_medium/78/787590/2580122-ci-195263081630380620.jpg"></a><figcaption>Nobody told Cliffjumper that he's supposed to fall over when his health meter runs out.</figcaption></figure><p style="">In fact, Rise of the Dark Spark's entire campaign goes on for too long. By the time you come to the end of its 14 chapters, you'll have had enough of shooting robots to last you at least until the next three Transformers movies have been released. It doesn't help that the game is so unpleasant to look at and to listen to. The urban environments on Earth are so drab and simple that they look like the miniature set of a low-budget monster movie rather than a real city, and the sound design may drive you insane. In one level, I heard the Decepticons shout the line "Let's see what we got!" so many times that I decided it had to be part of a psychological warfare campaign meant to undermine the Autobots' morale.</p><p style="">Your progress is also hindered by the occasional bug, and I don't mean those pesky Insecticons. During one boss battle, I fully depleted my foe's health bar, but nothing happened. I had to let him kill me and restart the fight to advance. During another boss fight, I became completely stuck on the geometry and was helpless to defend myself against my enemy's attacks.</p><p style="">There are a few merciful moments of reprieve from the standard action, like one sequence in which, as Jetfire, you must fly your way out of a structure before a weapon goes off, and another in which you play as the massive dinobot Grimlock, who can unleash a constant stream of flame from his robotic jaws. This power trip feels like a reward for slogging through so much tedious and frustrating action, but it's too little, too late.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/78/787590/2580126-ci-39121081630380620.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2580126" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/78/787590/2580126-ci-39121081630380620.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2580126"><img src="http://static2.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/78/787590/2580126-ci-39121081630380620.jpg"></a><figcaption>No game with robot dinosaurs in it can be all bad, but Rise of the Dark Spark comes close.</figcaption></figure><p style="">There's also Escalation, a cooperative multiplayer mode in which you and up to three other players fight off waves of invading enemies, but one wave feels very much like another. There isn't enough variety to it to keep it interesting for long. The game tries to keep you hooked by doling out a constant stream of rewards for your progress in the form of weapon upgrades, experience point boosts, and other doodads, but the action is too shallow to make any of these rewards meaningful. The Transformers are a great property, one that seems like it should lend itself to the creation of great games, but Rise of the Dark Spark is so sloppy and incoherent that it feels more like a cheap knockoff than a proper Transformers game. Optimus Prime deserves better, and so do you.</p> Fri, 27 Jun 2014 14:30:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/transformers-rise-of-the-dark-spark-review/1900-6415809/ http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/ace-combat-infinity-review/1900-6415808/ <p style="">I am tired of being a mercenary. Tired of the coldness we like to imagine they espouse: the dispassionate remove from warfare, the apathy toward allegiance and ideology. Doubtless it's those very qualities that make mercenarism so appealing to the big wigs of video game publishing. The mercenary neatly lampshades the globetrotting and casual mass murder that serve as cornerstones of all the best-selling war games, and he is compensated in a currency gamers accept: the means for newer, more efficient tools of a violent trade. But those easy associations belie a vital loss, because when a series goes mercenary, it sacrifices its heart.</p><p style="">It's hard to look at an entry like Ace Combat Infinity and not see the ways it's diminished by that cynicism. You play as a pilot, of course, engaged in battle against a frightfully well-armed terrorist organization operating out of Central Asia. But you're also a mercenary, so any emotions that premise might elicit get a stiff-arm before they can drag the action down. Why question warfare, when there are kill count competitions to chuckle over on the comms? Why dwell on consequence, when there are battles to be had over skylines from Dubai to Tokyo? Once upon a time, Ace Combat drew its own borders, around names like Ustio and Strangereal. It has since found it more efficient, perhaps, to outsource that effort, and lean on the mental connections we make on our own when we hear mention of foreign countries or words like "terrorist."</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6419981" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6419981/" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p><p style="">But lazy expectations should be challenged, as Infinity's own antecedents once showed. Flight simulation is a niche genre, even when it's given an arcade slant that eschews realistic limitations--as Ace Combat traditionally does--on a plane's maneuverability and payload. We expect such genre games to serve genre fare and little more. A racing game should render unto us prettier cars; a sports game could pursue nothing more noble than a reasonable facsimile of its chosen sport. But Ace Combat once chased its Top Gun guitars with Agustin Barrios Mangore. It interlaced vignettes about the personal lives of rival squadrons in among its screeching dogfights.</p><p style="">Those old games were idealistic and enthusiastic (occasionally embarrassingly so), full of operatic flourishes and moments of pathos that few video games can claim--let alone ones about planes. These were games that knew that when engagements take place over the span of miles, between pilots who never see each other's face, it's the little personal touches that keep the whole affair from feeling like a training exercise. The melancholy cutscenes. The frantic radio chatter. The call signs and emblems and the way enemies sauntered onto the field of battle like WWE wrestlers...that was what made Ace Combat human.</p><blockquote data-size="medium" data-align="left"><p style="">Once upon a time, Ace Combat drew its own borders, around names like Ustio and Strangereal.</p></blockquote><p style="">You can still find vestiges of those features in Ace Combat Infinity, but they've been shuffled up in what's essentially a remix of the series' greatest hits. Asteroids shower Earth, decimating the population. Monolithic flying fortresses take to the skies over Tokyo. The vaunted Stonehenge cannonade from <a href="/articles/new-media-ace-combat-4-shattered-skies/1100-2701349/" data-ref-id="1100-2701349">Ace Combat 4</a> now fires over canyons in Turkey. This all takes place over the course of five brief missions, with three more planned but nevertheless absent. The first two tastes are free--the rest must be unlocked either through weeks of workmanlike commitment, or a $20 instant access payment that feels wildly out of proportion. I find it hard to confront the commodification of those old memories. Seeing how sausage is valuated is only slightly more fun than seeing how it's made, as it turns out.</p><p style="">If we're to adopt the mercenary's Spartan sense of appraisal, I'd put the real value on Ace Combat Infinity's cooperative multiplayer. Sorties there are paid for with a per diem of "fuel," or an alternative that's depletable and restocked with cold hard cash. But a generous stream of fuel-giving challenges, gifts, and randomized bonuses ensures a thrifty player can take to battle with little in the way of personal commitment.</p><p style="">Therein, it's a four-on-four scramble to see which side can bag the most targets, while still maintaining enough semblance of alliance to score a strong combined rating. It's a unique system, and the light competition provides an impetus to perform without ever becoming overbearing. The feeling of being chased is conspicuous in its absence, though. In, say, <a href="/strike-vector/" data-ref-id="false">Strike Vector</a>, there's a give and take--a constant, whirling fear, where a sudden burst of gunfire sends you into the most convincing approximation of Brownian motion you can conjure up on the spot. Infinity's mostly inert enemies, by comparison, can feel like shooting gallery fodder.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static4.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2579998-acrevace+combat+-+ace+combat+-+2014-06-27+11-24-15+%28p%2992.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2579998" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static4.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2579998-acrevace+combat+-+ace+combat+-+2014-06-27+11-24-15+%28p%2992.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2579998"><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/416/4161502/2579998-acrevace+combat+-+ace+combat+-+2014-06-27+11-24-15+%28p%2992.jpg"></a><figcaption>Ace Combat has returned. So has its unchanging heads-up display. </figcaption></figure><figure data-embed-type="gallery" data-img-src="http://static2.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2579990-0003.jpg,http://static4.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2579998-acrevace+combat+-+ace+combat+-+2014-06-27+11-24-15+%28p%2992.jpg,http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2579992-acrevace+combat+-+ace+combat+-+2014-06-27+11-24-15+%28p%2933.jpg,http://static3.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2580001-acrevace+combat+-+ace+combat+-+2014-06-27+11-24-15+%28p%2998.jpg,http://static5.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2579994-acrevace+combat+-+ace+combat+-+2014-06-27+11-24-15+%28p%2946.jpg,http://static2.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2580003-acrevace+combat+-+ace+combat+-+2014-06-27+11-24-15+%28p%29105.jpg,http://static4.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2579988-0001.jpg,http://static3.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2580005-acrevace+combat+-+ace+combat+-+2014-06-27+11-24-15+%28p%29108.jpg,http://static5.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2579997-acrevace+combat+-+ace+combat+-+2014-06-27+11-24-15+%28p%2966.jpg,http://static2.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2579995-acrevace+combat+-+ace+combat+-+2014-06-27+11-24-15+%28p%2948.jpg" 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data-resized="" data-resize-url=""><a href="http://static2.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2579990-0003.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2579990" ><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/416/4161502/2579990-0003.jpg"></a><a href="http://static4.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2579998-acrevace+combat+-+ace+combat+-+2014-06-27+11-24-15+%28p%2992.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2579998" ><img src="http://static2.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/416/4161502/2579998-acrevace+combat+-+ace+combat+-+2014-06-27+11-24-15+%28p%2992.jpg"></a><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2579992-acrevace+combat+-+ace+combat+-+2014-06-27+11-24-15+%28p%2933.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2579992" ><img src="http://static3.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/416/4161502/2579992-acrevace+combat+-+ace+combat+-+2014-06-27+11-24-15+%28p%2933.jpg"></a><a href="http://static3.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2580001-acrevace+combat+-+ace+combat+-+2014-06-27+11-24-15+%28p%2998.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2580001" ><img src="http://static4.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/416/4161502/2580001-acrevace+combat+-+ace+combat+-+2014-06-27+11-24-15+%28p%2998.jpg"></a><a href="http://static5.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2579994-acrevace+combat+-+ace+combat+-+2014-06-27+11-24-15+%28p%2946.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2579994" ><img src="http://static5.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/416/4161502/2579994-acrevace+combat+-+ace+combat+-+2014-06-27+11-24-15+%28p%2946.jpg"></a><a href="http://static2.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2580003-acrevace+combat+-+ace+combat+-+2014-06-27+11-24-15+%28p%29105.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2580003" ><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/416/4161502/2580003-acrevace+combat+-+ace+combat+-+2014-06-27+11-24-15+%28p%29105.jpg"></a><a href="http://static4.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2579988-0001.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2579988" ><img src="http://static2.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/416/4161502/2579988-0001.jpg"></a><a href="http://static3.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2580005-acrevace+combat+-+ace+combat+-+2014-06-27+11-24-15+%28p%29108.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2580005" ><img src="http://static3.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/416/4161502/2580005-acrevace+combat+-+ace+combat+-+2014-06-27+11-24-15+%28p%29108.jpg"></a><a href="http://static5.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2579997-acrevace+combat+-+ace+combat+-+2014-06-27+11-24-15+%28p%2966.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2579997" ><img src="http://static4.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/416/4161502/2579997-acrevace+combat+-+ace+combat+-+2014-06-27+11-24-15+%28p%2966.jpg"></a><a href="http://static2.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2579995-acrevace+combat+-+ace+combat+-+2014-06-27+11-24-15+%28p%2948.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2579995" ><img src="http://static5.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/416/4161502/2579995-acrevace+combat+-+ace+combat+-+2014-06-27+11-24-15+%28p%2948.jpg"></a><figcaption>Click above for more Ace Combat Infinity images. </figcaption></figure><p style="">The classic refinement of Ace Combat's gameplay can still shine through. And when your squadron is thrust into a pop-up battle against one of the game's white whale superweapons, it blazes. You get flickering glimpses of the underlying attraction, that passionate artistry that once allowed the series to liken the dogfight to flamenco, and not seem crazy for doing so. It's an impression that can still intermittently catch me when I watch Infinity's abstracted replays, and see my predatory arrow tracing contrails around bogeys, tying bows over enemy ground positions until the besieged markers disappear.</p><p style="">But that damned cynicism, again. It's pervasive. Maybe that's the consequence of life lived as a virtual mercenary: a joylessness that poisons the nostalgia well. The soaring bird that has long served as the metaphor for the Ace Combat pilot becomes a vulture fighting over highway carrion, looping away incautiously when the odd car passes a little too close, before returning again for a final few scraps of flesh.</p> Fri, 27 Jun 2014 14:23:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/ace-combat-infinity-review/1900-6415808/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/planetside-2-s-huge-world-expands-with-a-new-continent-in-today-s-update/1100-6420793/ <figure data-ref-id="1300-2580094" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/123/1239113/2580094-planetside+2-.jpg" data-size="large" data-align="center" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/123/1239113/2580094-planetside+2-.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2580094"><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/123/1239113/2580094-planetside+2-.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">Sony Online Entertainment today released a huge update for its free-to-play MMO shooter, <a href="/planetside-2/" data-ref-id="false">Planetside 2</a>, the most significant aspect of which is a whole new continent for players to explore and fight over.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Known as Hossin, the new "swamp continent" will present new obstacles for players to deal with as they navigate the environment. SOE says Hossin is home to "unforgiving marshes, low hanging tree canopies, and slow-moving, boggy terrain," all of which sounds like it could get in the way when facing off against dozens of enemies (not an uncommon occurrence in Planetside 2).</p><figure data-ref-id="1300-2580095" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/123/1239113/2580095-planetside+2.jpg" data-size="small" data-align="right" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/123/1239113/2580095-planetside+2.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2580095"><img src="http://static2.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_small/123/1239113/2580095-planetside+2.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">"With its swamp-like terrain and natural barriers, players combat skills will be challenged like never before," said creative director Matt Higby. "Facilities and bases are scattered throughout, making infantry combat the most important it's ever been. Hossin adds an insane element to PlanetSide 2's ground / air combat strategy. We are eager to hear community feedback, particularly since Hossin will be continuously updated and enhanced for a long time to come."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Access to Hossin is free to all players on PC with the release of today's update. Its release only further expands what was already a massive game world.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Also added today are several new features, including continent locking. As battles most often take place on one of the game's three existing continents, players will now be able to prevent spawning on any continent by controlling all the points on the map.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Outfits--the game's versions of clans or guilds--also have something to look forward to today. A new, improved system for recruiting has been implemented; outfits can now equip decals; and, most interestingly, an ownership system is now in place for bases. When capturing facilities and outposts, the outfit that contributed the most will gain temporary "ownership" over it, making it so that the owner's decal is displayed above it.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Planetside 2 is currently available only on PC. A <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/planetside-2-on-ps4-runs-at-1080p-will-be-at-e3/1100-6419536/" data-ref-id="1100-6419536">PlayStation 4 version is in development</a> that was originally expected to have been released last year. Today's announcement doesn't provide any new word on that front; SOE only says it's coming to PS4 "later this year."</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Chris Pereira is a freelance writer for GameSpot, and you can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/thesmokingmanx" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @TheSmokingManX</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><em><strong>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com</strong></em></td></tr></tbody></table> Fri, 27 Jun 2014 14:12:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/planetside-2-s-huge-world-expands-with-a-new-continent-in-today-s-update/1100-6420793/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ultimate-editions-of-madden-fifa-and-nhl-give-you-gear-player-packs-more/1100-6420791/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1539/15391776/2580045-6223113008-25554.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2580045" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1539/15391776/2580045-6223113008-25554.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2580045"><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1539/15391776/2580045-6223113008-25554.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""><a href="/companies/electronic-arts/" data-ref-id="false">Electronic Arts</a> has announced the special editions of its sports games this year with the Ultimate Editions of <a href="/madden-nfl-15/" data-ref-id="false">Madden 15</a>, <a href="/fifa-15/" data-ref-id="false">FIFA 15</a>, and<a href="/nhl-15/" data-ref-id="false"> NHL 15</a>.</p><p style="">Last year, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/madden-25-anniversary-edition-amazons-best-selling-preorder-sports-game-ever/1100-6413661/" data-ref-id="1100-6413661">EA threw in a subscription to NFL Sunday Ticket</a> in Madden 25: Anniversary Edition. This year, the publisher is focusing on the popular Ultimate Team modes with its special editions.</p><p style="">For $70, the Ultimate Editions give players a bunch of gear, players, and more for their Ultimate Teams. These generally come in the form of Pro or Gold Packs, which give you several different players to build your team.</p><p style="">Madden owners will get three Ultimate Team Pro Packs a week for 10 weeks, and a Draft Pack that has 10 of the first-round picks from the 2014 NFL Draft. The NHL 15 Ultimate Edition will net you two Gold Packs a week for 25 weeks. The FIFA 15 Ultimate Edition has the most extra content in it, including five-game access to Lionel Messi in Ultimate Team, three goal celebrations, and one Gold Pack a week for 40 weeks.</p><p style="">All three games release this year for <a href="/xbox-360/" data-ref-id="false">Xbox 360</a>, <a href="/xbox-one/" data-ref-id="false">Xbox One</a>, <a href="/ps3/" data-ref-id="false">PlayStation 3</a>, and <a href="/ps4/" data-ref-id="false">PlayStation 4</a>. Madden launches on August 26, NHL on September 9, and FIFA on September 23.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Alex Newhouse is an editorial intern at GameSpot, and you can follow him on <a href="http://www.twitter.com/alexbnewhouse" rel="nofollow">Twitter @alexbnewhouse</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><em><strong>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com</strong></em></td></tr></tbody></table> Fri, 27 Jun 2014 13:51:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ultimate-editions-of-madden-fifa-and-nhl-give-you-gear-player-packs-more/1100-6420791/
Gamespot's Site MashupNet Neutrality Is a Major Issue for Games, Oddworld Creator SaysBattlefield Hardline Beta Coming to All Platforms This FallOrc Model Comparison - World of Warcraft: Warlords of DraenorDestiny Trophies and Achievements Revealed; Get Ready to Kill a Lot of EnemiesWill Patch 2.1 Define Diablo III: Reaper of Souls?Goat Simulator 1.1 Patch Shenanigans - Random EncounterSniper Elite III Gameplay NutShot MontageGS News Top 5 - Xbox One Touts 2014 Exclusives; Minecraft Sells BIG!Shovel Knight Soundtrack Now Available at Any Price -- What's It Worth to You?Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark - GameplayThe World Cup Comes to Kerbal Space Program With Its First Official ModTransformers: Rise of the Dark Spark ReviewAce Combat Infinity ReviewPlanetside 2's Huge World Expands With a New Continent in Today's UpdateUltimate Editions of Madden, FIFA, and NHL Give You Gear, Player Packs, More
http://auth.gamespot.com/ Gamespot's Everything Feed! News, Reviews, Videos. Exploding with content? You bet. en-us Sat, 28 Jun 2014 08:41:06 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/net-neutrality-is-a-major-issue-for-games-oddworld-creator-says/1100-6420798/ <figure data-align="right" data-size="small" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2580374-lorne+lanning1.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2580374" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2580374-lorne+lanning1.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2580374"><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_small/1535/15354745/2580374-lorne+lanning1.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">The ability to release games digitally has allowed indie developers to thrive and made possible less mainstream projects like <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/oddworld-abes-oddysee-new-n-tasty/">Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty</a>, a remake of <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/oddworld-abes-oddysee/">Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee</a>. But Oddworld creator Lorne Lanning thinks that losing net neutrality could prevent future development of such games.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"My biggest concern is what's happening in the White House with what's happening with the FCC and what's happening with the telecom companies trying to basically get more of all of our pie," Lanning told <a href="http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2014-06-25-net-neutrality-the-biggest-problem-facing-games-lanning" rel="nofollow">GameIndustry International</a> in an interview. "These are multinational, enormous corporations and if they get their way, they could stifle this indie community in the media. They could start really clamping the dial and taking away the revenue that we've finally been able to find that we can get, that allows us to keep going... Today on a $10 product, we get $7. Well what if $2 of that has to start going to AT&T or Comcast? That could very easily happen."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Lanning said that gamers should be voting with this issue in mind, and that they should support the <a href="http://www.theeca.com/" rel="nofollow">Entertainment Consumers Association</a> and other lobby groups (like the <a href="https://www.eff.org/" rel="nofollow">Electronic Frontier Foundation</a>, for example) that are fighting for net neutrality. However, he doesn't think they will until they feel the negative effects of losing net neutrality directly.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"Sadly I think that's how the general public tends to operate," Lanning said. "There are more people in this country that are struggling financially than probably in the history of the country, and as a result they're just not really paying attention to things that aren't affecting their bottom line, their purse. But if they start getting charged $10 a night for that overnight session that they like playing, I think they're going to vote."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Back in March, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/want-a-new-oddworld-game-new-n-tasty-needs-to-sell-500-000-first/1100-6418373/">Lanning said</a> development on a brand new Oddworld title can begin if Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty sells 500,000 copies.</p><p style=""><em>Do you agree with Lanning on net neutrality? Tell us in the comments below.</em></p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer. You can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a> and <a href="https://plus.google.com/116710591398405257934/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Google+</a>.<br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><p style=""><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></p><p style=""> </p></td></tr></tbody></table> Sat, 28 Jun 2014 08:25:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/net-neutrality-is-a-major-issue-for-games-oddworld-creator-says/1100-6420798/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/battlefield-hardline-beta-coming-to-all-platforms-this-fall/1100-6420797/ <div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6419863" data-width="854" data-height="480"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6419863/" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p dir="ltr" style="">The <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/battlefield-hardline/">Battlefield Hardline</a> beta is now closed, but another Battlefield Hardline beta that "will showcase more" will launch this fall on all announced platforms, Developer Visceral Games' VP and GM Steve Papoutsis said in a post on <a href="http://blogs.battlefield.com/2014/06/thank-you-for-playing-beta/" rel="nofollow">Battlefield's official blog</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"The Battlefield Hardline beta was just a small portion of what is in store," Papoutsis said. "We have plenty of new modes in the game that really play off the cop and criminal theme, as well as the return of fan-favorites."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Papoutsis also said that we should expect to hear more about the multiplayer mode in the months ahead, as well as the single player campaign. Visceral is best known for its work on the <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/dead-space/">Dead Space</a> series, and Papoutsis said that Battlefield Hardline's single player campaign will similarly engross players in the game's story and world. "We are doing some cool new things in how we present the campaign, similar to what you see when watching episodes of your favorite TV shows," Papoutsis said. "It's something different and we're fired up about it."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Responding to critics who say that this year's Battlefield Hardline looks too iterative, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/battlefield-hardline-dev-explains-why-it-s-not-just-an-expansion/1100-6420679/">lead multiplayer designer Thad Sesser recently explained</a> the improvements, tweaks, and additions the studio has made to the Battlefield 4 formula, which makes Battlefield Hardline more than just an expansion.</p><p style="">Battlefield Hardline launches on October 21 for <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/">PlayStation 3</a>, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/ps4/">PlayStation 4</a>, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/xbox-360/">Xbox 360</a>,<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/xbox-one/">Xbox One</a>, and <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/pc/">PC</a>.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer. You can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a> and <a href="https://plus.google.com/116710591398405257934/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Google+</a>.<br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><p style=""><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></p><p style=""> </p></td></tr></tbody></table> Sat, 28 Jun 2014 07:04:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/battlefield-hardline-beta-coming-to-all-platforms-this-fall/1100-6420797/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/orc-model-comparison-world-of-warcraft-warlords-of/2300-6419989/ Take a look at how the Orc Male and Female models are shaping up in World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor. Fri, 27 Jun 2014 21:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/orc-model-comparison-world-of-warcraft-warlords-of/2300-6419989/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/destiny-trophies-and-achievements-revealed-get-ready-to-kill-a-lot-of-enemies/1100-6420796/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1539/15391776/2580207-become_legend+-+version+2.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2580207" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1539/15391776/2580207-become_legend+-+version+2.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2580207"><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1539/15391776/2580207-become_legend+-+version+2.jpg"></a></figure><p style="">Developer <a href="/companies/bungie-inc/" data-ref-id="false" data-mce-href="/companies/bungie-inc/">Bungie</a> detailed 40 Achievements and Trophies for its upcoming shooter, <a href="/destiny/" data-ref-id="false" data-mce-href="/destiny/">Destiny</a>, <a href="http://www.bungie.net/7_Bungie-Weekly-Update---06272014/en/News/News?aid=11607" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false" data-mce-href="http://www.bungie.net/7_Bungie-Weekly-Update---06272014/en/News/News?aid=11607">in its weekly update today</a>. The full list involves a diverse array of different tasks, from completing missions certain ways to customizing your ship.</p><p style="">There are four main enemy types and three character classes in Destiny. Trophy and Achievement hunters will have to kill all of them many, many times to get all the rewards.</p><p style="">Some of the more memorable Achievements and Trophies include:</p><ul><li> Triple Play -- Kill a Warlock, Hunter, and Warrior without dying in a single player vs. player match</li><li>Suited for War -- Get fully equipped with Legendary or Exotic weapons and armor.</li></ul><p style="">Although most of the Trophies and Achievements are straightforward, there's some mystery with the Dragon Slayer accomplishment. To acquire this one, you must "kill a champion of the Dark." This could mean fighting a high-level enemy that comes from the Darkness, the most powerful opposing force in Destiny.</p><p style="">You can see the full list of achievements <a href="http://www.bungie.net/7_Bungie-Weekly-Update---06272014/en/News/News?aid=11607" rel="nofollow" data-mce-href="http://www.bungie.net/7_Bungie-Weekly-Update---06272014/en/News/News?aid=11607" data-ref-id="false">on Bungie's website.</a></p><p style="">Destiny launches for Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation 4 on September 9. We thought that <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/e3-2014-our-first-hands-on-with-the-destiny-alpha/1100-6420314/" data-ref-id="1100-6420314" data-mce-href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/e3-2014-our-first-hands-on-with-the-destiny-alpha/1100-6420314/">the game looked promising</a> when we got our hands on the alpha build earlier this month.</p><p style="">Do you still try to get as many trophies/achievements as possible (like <a data-mce-href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-guy-with-1-million-gamerscore-isn-t-stopping-anytime-soon/1100-6419379/" href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-guy-with-1-million-gamerscore-isn-t-stopping-anytime-soon/1100-6419379/" data-ref-id="1100-6419379">the guy who got 1,000,000 Gamerscore</a>), or do you ignore the list entirely and just play naturally?</p><p style=""></p><table class="mceItemTable" data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Alex Newhouse is an editorial intern at GameSpot, and you can follow him on <a href="http://www.twitter.com/alexbnewhouse" rel="nofollow" data-mce-href="http://www.twitter.com/alexbnewhouse">Twitter @alexbnewhouse</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><em><strong>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com</strong></em></td></tr></tbody></table><p style=""></p> Fri, 27 Jun 2014 18:08:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/destiny-trophies-and-achievements-revealed-get-ready-to-kill-a-lot-of-enemies/1100-6420796/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/will-patch-2-1-define-diablo-iii-reaper-of-souls/2300-6419987/ Here's a quick look at all of the features that you can expect in the first major patch for Diablo III: Reaper of Souls. Fri, 27 Jun 2014 18:06:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/will-patch-2-1-define-diablo-iii-reaper-of-souls/2300-6419987/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/goat-simulator-1-1-patch-shenanigans-random-encoun/2300-6419988/ Join Danny as he tries out the new patch for Goat Simulator. Fri, 27 Jun 2014 17:30:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/goat-simulator-1-1-patch-shenanigans-random-encoun/2300-6419988/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/sniper-elite-iii-gameplay-nutshot-montage/2300-6419985/ Here's a gameplay montage of Sniper Elite III's unique animations for testicular kills. Fri, 27 Jun 2014 16:30:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/sniper-elite-iii-gameplay-nutshot-montage/2300-6419985/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/gs-news-top-5-xbox-one-touts-2014-exclusives-minec/2300-6419970/ The Xbox One gets a new catchphrase, PlayStation Now's tentative beta pricing is questionable, and guess why Microsoft's actions made Sony execs dance! Fri, 27 Jun 2014 16:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/gs-news-top-5-xbox-one-touts-2014-exclusives-minec/2300-6419970/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/shovel-knight-soundtrack-now-available-at-any-price-what-s-it-worth-to-you/1100-6420795/ <figure data-ref-id="1300-2580128" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/123/1239113/2580128-shovel+ost.jpg" data-size="large" data-align="center" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/123/1239113/2580128-shovel+ost.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2580128"><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/123/1239113/2580128-shovel+ost.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">Following the release of <a href="/shovel-knight/" data-ref-id="false">Shovel Knight</a> yesterday, the game's excellent soundtrack has now been put up for sale online--and, in an extremely fan-friendly move, you're free to download it for any price you wish.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The 48-track album is comprised of retro-style music that is well-suited to the 2D platformer, which was released yesterday for $15 on PC, Wii U, and 3DS <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/shovel-knight-review-roundup/1100-6420761/" data-ref-id="1100-6420761">to positive reviews</a>. You can stream the entirety of the soundtrack through <a href="http://virt.bandcamp.com/album/shovel-knight-original-soundtrack" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Bandcamp's website</a>, or you can buy it at any price you choose--including $0. The latter options allows you to download the album in a variety of formats, including MP3 and FLAC.</p><figure data-ref-id="1300-2580131" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/123/1239113/2580131-shovel1.png" data-size="small" data-align="right" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/123/1239113/2580131-shovel1.png" data-ref-id="1300-2580131"><img src="http://static2.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_small/123/1239113/2580131-shovel1.png"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">According to the soundtrack's Bandcamp page, composer Jake Kaufman (who previously worked on games like <a href="/contra-4/" data-ref-id="false">Contra 4</a> and <a href="/mighty-switch-force/" data-ref-id="false">Mighty Switch Force</a>) used free tools designed for hobbyists to create the game's soundtrack and sound effects. The result is a total of more than two hours of chiptune music.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">A separate arrangement album that features work from Manami Matsumae of <a href="/mega-man/" data-ref-id="false">Mega Man</a> fame is also <a href="http://virt.bandcamp.com/album/strike-the-earth-shovel-knight-arranged" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">available as a name-your-price download</a>. Additionally, Kaufman is encouraging fans to do whatever they want with the music, including writing lyrics, making arrangements, and creating music videos.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Perhaps even better than that is an NES-compiled version of the soundtrack--clocking in at less than a megabyte, compared with 141 megabytes for the MP3 version--that is available for download <a href="http://biglionmusic.com/Shovel_Knight_Music.nsf" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">here</a>. Kaufman says this "contains the machine-language code for the music, and can be played back directly on real NES / Famicom hardware, using special hobbyist flash cartridges--or listened to in dozens of free NSF players available on every imaginable computer OS or phone." If you're looking for such a program, he's tested it in VirtuaNSF and NotSoFatso, both of which are free downloads.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">If you plan on downloading the soundtrack, how much do you intend to buy it for? Let us know in the comments below. And for more on Shovel Knight, check out <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/shovel-knight-review/1900-6415805/" data-ref-id="1900-6415805">GameSpot's review</a>.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Chris Pereira is a freelance writer for GameSpot, and you can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/thesmokingmanx" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @TheSmokingManX</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><em><strong>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com</strong></em></td></tr></tbody></table> Fri, 27 Jun 2014 15:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/shovel-knight-soundtrack-now-available-at-any-price-what-s-it-worth-to-you/1100-6420795/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/transformers-rise-of-the-dark-spark-gameplay/2300-6419984/ Kill hordes of Decepticons and save your Autobot pal, then kill more Decepticons in this lackluster installment in the Transformers movie spin-off series. Fri, 27 Jun 2014 14:57:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/transformers-rise-of-the-dark-spark-gameplay/2300-6419984/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-world-cup-comes-to-kerbal-space-program-with-its-first-official-mod/1100-6420794/ <div data-embed-type="video" data-src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaHM8DmC84I" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fembed%2FDaHM8DmC84I%3Fwmode%3Dopaque%26feature%3Doembed&wmode=opaque&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DDaHM8DmC84I&image=http%3A%2F%2Fi1.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FDaHM8DmC84I%2Fhqdefault.jpg&key=6efca6e5ad9640f180f14146a0bc1392&type=text%2Fhtml&schema=youtube" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""><a href="/kerbal-space-program/" data-ref-id="false">Kerbal Space Program</a>, the spacecraft construction simulator, is getting a bit of a soccer makeover to celebrate the World Cup. Developer <a href="/companies/squad-1/" data-ref-id="false">Squad</a> recently launched Kerbin Cup, the first official mod, which brings soccer balls and flags to adorn your Kerbal ships.</p><p style="">The mod adds two sizes of soccer balls to the game: the first matches the Kerbal creatures that fly the ships, the other is rocket-sized. 32 flags for all 32 countries who made it to the World Cup are also in the mod.</p><p style="">You can pick up the <a href="http://www.curse.com/ksp-mods/kerbal/221319-kerbin-cup" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">completely free mod on Curse</a>. Squad will be running contests and giveaways throughout the World Cup using the mod and the Kerbal Space Program communities. The game is discounted <a href="http://store.steampowered.com/app/220200/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">during the Steam Summer Sale </a>going on now.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Alex Newhouse is an editorial intern at GameSpot, and you can follow him on <a href="http://www.twitter.com/alexbnewhouse" rel="nofollow">Twitter @alexbnewhouse</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><em><strong>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com</strong></em></td></tr></tbody></table> Fri, 27 Jun 2014 14:54:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-world-cup-comes-to-kerbal-space-program-with-its-first-official-mod/1100-6420794/ http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/transformers-rise-of-the-dark-spark-review/1900-6415809/ <p style="">When I was a kid, Optimus Prime seemed to me like everything a leader should be: intelligent, compassionate, and, of course, capable of turning into a truck. It's been frustrating in recent years to see the Transformers become defined in this generation not by the charm and personality of the original cartoon but by the cacophonous stupidity and visual chaos of the Michael Bay films. I always hope that video games might be the one area where the Transformers can be redeemed. Alas, Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark is not the game that redeems them.</p><p style="">Though it's developed by Edge of Reality, Rise of the Dark Spark's action is closely modeled on developer High Moon's games <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/transformers-war-for-cybertron/" data-ref-id="false" data-mce-href="http://www.gamespot.com/transformers-war-for-cybertron/">War for Cybertron</a> and <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/transformers-fall-of-cybertron/" data-ref-id="false" data-mce-href="http://www.gamespot.com/transformers-fall-of-cybertron/">Fall of Cybertron</a>. Narratively, however, where this game falls is completely unclear. In some ways, it seems to exist in the same universe as the cartoons, but on the other hand, the robot designs sometimes resemble those from the films, and there are plot details that refer to Michael Bay's latest opus, <i>Transformers: Age of Extinction.</i> The result is an incoherent story that feels like it was cobbled together from the spare parts of other stories.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6419984" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6419984/" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""><br /></p><p style="">The gameplay doesn't fare much better. High Moon's Cybertron games were mostly enjoyable shooting galleries, and there are times when Rise of the Dark Spark seems like it might manage to be the same. Playing as a variety of Autobots and Decepticons over the course of the game, you unleash hot robot death on countless enemy grunts. At its best moments, Rise of the Dark Spark is fun in the generic and familiar way that so many blandly competent shooters are fun--a pleasant enough way to pass the time if you have nothing else to do. There are a good variety of weapons for you to use, and although you rarely have much incentive to transform, it's nice to have the freedom to drive or fly away from enemies when the action heats up.</p><p style="">Unfortunately, although you move around with a feeling of appropriate heft for a sentient being constructed of strong and heavy metals, when you get swarmed by enemies, you go down so fast that you might as well be made of aluminum cans. It drains all the joy from being Optimus Prime to see him crumple almost immediately in response to enemy fire, and these poorly designed combat encounters make victory not a matter of playing defensively and using smart tactics but of just trying again and again and hoping this time it works out for you. Some sections go on for much too long, keeping you stuck in one spot fighting off waves of identical enemies when all you want to do is advance, and the game's maddening checkpoints regularly require you to replay lengthy sections of frustrating action when you fall in battle.</p><figure data-align="left" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/78/787590/2580122-ci-195263081630380620.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2580122" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/78/787590/2580122-ci-195263081630380620.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2580122"><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_medium/78/787590/2580122-ci-195263081630380620.jpg"></a><figcaption>Nobody told Cliffjumper that he's supposed to fall over when his health meter runs out.</figcaption></figure><p style="">In fact, Rise of the Dark Spark's entire campaign goes on for too long. By the time you come to the end of its 14 chapters, you'll have had enough of shooting robots to last you at least until the next three Transformers movies have been released. It doesn't help that the game is so unpleasant to look at and to listen to. The urban environments on Earth are so drab and simple that they look like the miniature set of a low-budget monster movie rather than a real city, and the sound design may drive you insane. In one level, I heard the Decepticons shout the line "Let's see what we got!" so many times that I decided it had to be part of a psychological warfare campaign meant to undermine the Autobots' morale.</p><p style="">Your progress is also hindered by the occasional bug, and I don't mean those pesky Insecticons. During one boss battle, I fully depleted my foe's health bar, but nothing happened. I had to let him kill me and restart the fight to advance. During another boss fight, I became completely stuck on the geometry and was helpless to defend myself against my enemy's attacks.</p><p style="">There are a few merciful moments of reprieve from the standard action, like one sequence in which, as Jetfire, you must fly your way out of a structure before a weapon goes off, and another in which you play as the massive dinobot Grimlock, who can unleash a constant stream of flame from his robotic jaws. This power trip feels like a reward for slogging through so much tedious and frustrating action, but it's too little, too late.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/78/787590/2580126-ci-39121081630380620.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2580126" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/78/787590/2580126-ci-39121081630380620.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2580126"><img src="http://static2.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/78/787590/2580126-ci-39121081630380620.jpg"></a><figcaption>No game with robot dinosaurs in it can be all bad, but Rise of the Dark Spark comes close.</figcaption></figure><p style="">There's also Escalation, a cooperative multiplayer mode in which you and up to three other players fight off waves of invading enemies, but one wave feels very much like another. There isn't enough variety to it to keep it interesting for long. The game tries to keep you hooked by doling out a constant stream of rewards for your progress in the form of weapon upgrades, experience point boosts, and other doodads, but the action is too shallow to make any of these rewards meaningful. The Transformers are a great property, one that seems like it should lend itself to the creation of great games, but Rise of the Dark Spark is so sloppy and incoherent that it feels more like a cheap knockoff than a proper Transformers game. Optimus Prime deserves better, and so do you.</p> Fri, 27 Jun 2014 14:30:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/transformers-rise-of-the-dark-spark-review/1900-6415809/ http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/ace-combat-infinity-review/1900-6415808/ <p style="">I am tired of being a mercenary. Tired of the coldness we like to imagine they espouse: the dispassionate remove from warfare, the apathy toward allegiance and ideology. Doubtless it's those very qualities that make mercenarism so appealing to the big wigs of video game publishing. The mercenary neatly lampshades the globetrotting and casual mass murder that serve as cornerstones of all the best-selling war games, and he is compensated in a currency gamers accept: the means for newer, more efficient tools of a violent trade. But those easy associations belie a vital loss, because when a series goes mercenary, it sacrifices its heart.</p><p style="">It's hard to look at an entry like Ace Combat Infinity and not see the ways it's diminished by that cynicism. You play as a pilot, of course, engaged in battle against a frightfully well-armed terrorist organization operating out of Central Asia. But you're also a mercenary, so any emotions that premise might elicit get a stiff-arm before they can drag the action down. Why question warfare, when there are kill count competitions to chuckle over on the comms? Why dwell on consequence, when there are battles to be had over skylines from Dubai to Tokyo? Once upon a time, Ace Combat drew its own borders, around names like Ustio and Strangereal. It has since found it more efficient, perhaps, to outsource that effort, and lean on the mental connections we make on our own when we hear mention of foreign countries or words like "terrorist."</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6419981" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6419981/" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p><p style="">But lazy expectations should be challenged, as Infinity's own antecedents once showed. Flight simulation is a niche genre, even when it's given an arcade slant that eschews realistic limitations--as Ace Combat traditionally does--on a plane's maneuverability and payload. We expect such genre games to serve genre fare and little more. A racing game should render unto us prettier cars; a sports game could pursue nothing more noble than a reasonable facsimile of its chosen sport. But Ace Combat once chased its Top Gun guitars with Agustin Barrios Mangore. It interlaced vignettes about the personal lives of rival squadrons in among its screeching dogfights.</p><p style="">Those old games were idealistic and enthusiastic (occasionally embarrassingly so), full of operatic flourishes and moments of pathos that few video games can claim--let alone ones about planes. These were games that knew that when engagements take place over the span of miles, between pilots who never see each other's face, it's the little personal touches that keep the whole affair from feeling like a training exercise. The melancholy cutscenes. The frantic radio chatter. The call signs and emblems and the way enemies sauntered onto the field of battle like WWE wrestlers...that was what made Ace Combat human.</p><blockquote data-size="medium" data-align="left"><p style="">Once upon a time, Ace Combat drew its own borders, around names like Ustio and Strangereal.</p></blockquote><p style="">You can still find vestiges of those features in Ace Combat Infinity, but they've been shuffled up in what's essentially a remix of the series' greatest hits. Asteroids shower Earth, decimating the population. Monolithic flying fortresses take to the skies over Tokyo. The vaunted Stonehenge cannonade from <a href="/articles/new-media-ace-combat-4-shattered-skies/1100-2701349/" data-ref-id="1100-2701349">Ace Combat 4</a> now fires over canyons in Turkey. This all takes place over the course of five brief missions, with three more planned but nevertheless absent. The first two tastes are free--the rest must be unlocked either through weeks of workmanlike commitment, or a $20 instant access payment that feels wildly out of proportion. I find it hard to confront the commodification of those old memories. Seeing how sausage is valuated is only slightly more fun than seeing how it's made, as it turns out.</p><p style="">If we're to adopt the mercenary's Spartan sense of appraisal, I'd put the real value on Ace Combat Infinity's cooperative multiplayer. Sorties there are paid for with a per diem of "fuel," or an alternative that's depletable and restocked with cold hard cash. But a generous stream of fuel-giving challenges, gifts, and randomized bonuses ensures a thrifty player can take to battle with little in the way of personal commitment.</p><p style="">Therein, it's a four-on-four scramble to see which side can bag the most targets, while still maintaining enough semblance of alliance to score a strong combined rating. It's a unique system, and the light competition provides an impetus to perform without ever becoming overbearing. The feeling of being chased is conspicuous in its absence, though. In, say, <a href="/strike-vector/" data-ref-id="false">Strike Vector</a>, there's a give and take--a constant, whirling fear, where a sudden burst of gunfire sends you into the most convincing approximation of Brownian motion you can conjure up on the spot. Infinity's mostly inert enemies, by comparison, can feel like shooting gallery fodder.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static4.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2579998-acrevace+combat+-+ace+combat+-+2014-06-27+11-24-15+%28p%2992.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2579998" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static4.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2579998-acrevace+combat+-+ace+combat+-+2014-06-27+11-24-15+%28p%2992.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2579998"><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/416/4161502/2579998-acrevace+combat+-+ace+combat+-+2014-06-27+11-24-15+%28p%2992.jpg"></a><figcaption>Ace Combat has returned. So has its unchanging heads-up display. </figcaption></figure><figure data-embed-type="gallery" 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data-resized="" data-resize-url=""><a href="http://static2.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2579990-0003.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2579990" ><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/416/4161502/2579990-0003.jpg"></a><a href="http://static4.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2579998-acrevace+combat+-+ace+combat+-+2014-06-27+11-24-15+%28p%2992.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2579998" ><img src="http://static2.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/416/4161502/2579998-acrevace+combat+-+ace+combat+-+2014-06-27+11-24-15+%28p%2992.jpg"></a><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2579992-acrevace+combat+-+ace+combat+-+2014-06-27+11-24-15+%28p%2933.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2579992" ><img src="http://static3.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/416/4161502/2579992-acrevace+combat+-+ace+combat+-+2014-06-27+11-24-15+%28p%2933.jpg"></a><a 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href="http://static4.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2579988-0001.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2579988" ><img src="http://static2.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/416/4161502/2579988-0001.jpg"></a><a href="http://static3.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2580005-acrevace+combat+-+ace+combat+-+2014-06-27+11-24-15+%28p%29108.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2580005" ><img src="http://static3.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/416/4161502/2580005-acrevace+combat+-+ace+combat+-+2014-06-27+11-24-15+%28p%29108.jpg"></a><a href="http://static5.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2579997-acrevace+combat+-+ace+combat+-+2014-06-27+11-24-15+%28p%2966.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2579997" ><img src="http://static4.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/416/4161502/2579997-acrevace+combat+-+ace+combat+-+2014-06-27+11-24-15+%28p%2966.jpg"></a><a href="http://static2.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2579995-acrevace+combat+-+ace+combat+-+2014-06-27+11-24-15+%28p%2948.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2579995" ><img src="http://static5.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/416/4161502/2579995-acrevace+combat+-+ace+combat+-+2014-06-27+11-24-15+%28p%2948.jpg"></a><figcaption>Click above for more Ace Combat Infinity images. </figcaption></figure><p style="">The classic refinement of Ace Combat's gameplay can still shine through. And when your squadron is thrust into a pop-up battle against one of the game's white whale superweapons, it blazes. You get flickering glimpses of the underlying attraction, that passionate artistry that once allowed the series to liken the dogfight to flamenco, and not seem crazy for doing so. It's an impression that can still intermittently catch me when I watch Infinity's abstracted replays, and see my predatory arrow tracing contrails around bogeys, tying bows over enemy ground positions until the besieged markers disappear.</p><p style="">But that damned cynicism, again. It's pervasive. Maybe that's the consequence of life lived as a virtual mercenary: a joylessness that poisons the nostalgia well. The soaring bird that has long served as the metaphor for the Ace Combat pilot becomes a vulture fighting over highway carrion, looping away incautiously when the odd car passes a little too close, before returning again for a final few scraps of flesh.</p> Fri, 27 Jun 2014 14:23:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/ace-combat-infinity-review/1900-6415808/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/planetside-2-s-huge-world-expands-with-a-new-continent-in-today-s-update/1100-6420793/ <figure data-ref-id="1300-2580094" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/123/1239113/2580094-planetside+2-.jpg" data-size="large" data-align="center" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/123/1239113/2580094-planetside+2-.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2580094"><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/123/1239113/2580094-planetside+2-.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">Sony Online Entertainment today released a huge update for its free-to-play MMO shooter, <a href="/planetside-2/" data-ref-id="false">Planetside 2</a>, the most significant aspect of which is a whole new continent for players to explore and fight over.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Known as Hossin, the new "swamp continent" will present new obstacles for players to deal with as they navigate the environment. SOE says Hossin is home to "unforgiving marshes, low hanging tree canopies, and slow-moving, boggy terrain," all of which sounds like it could get in the way when facing off against dozens of enemies (not an uncommon occurrence in Planetside 2).</p><figure data-ref-id="1300-2580095" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/123/1239113/2580095-planetside+2.jpg" data-size="small" data-align="right" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/123/1239113/2580095-planetside+2.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2580095"><img src="http://static2.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_small/123/1239113/2580095-planetside+2.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">"With its swamp-like terrain and natural barriers, players combat skills will be challenged like never before," said creative director Matt Higby. "Facilities and bases are scattered throughout, making infantry combat the most important it's ever been. Hossin adds an insane element to PlanetSide 2's ground / air combat strategy. We are eager to hear community feedback, particularly since Hossin will be continuously updated and enhanced for a long time to come."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Access to Hossin is free to all players on PC with the release of today's update. Its release only further expands what was already a massive game world.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Also added today are several new features, including continent locking. As battles most often take place on one of the game's three existing continents, players will now be able to prevent spawning on any continent by controlling all the points on the map.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Outfits--the game's versions of clans or guilds--also have something to look forward to today. A new, improved system for recruiting has been implemented; outfits can now equip decals; and, most interestingly, an ownership system is now in place for bases. When capturing facilities and outposts, the outfit that contributed the most will gain temporary "ownership" over it, making it so that the owner's decal is displayed above it.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Planetside 2 is currently available only on PC. A <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/planetside-2-on-ps4-runs-at-1080p-will-be-at-e3/1100-6419536/" data-ref-id="1100-6419536">PlayStation 4 version is in development</a> that was originally expected to have been released last year. Today's announcement doesn't provide any new word on that front; SOE only says it's coming to PS4 "later this year."</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Chris Pereira is a freelance writer for GameSpot, and you can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/thesmokingmanx" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @TheSmokingManX</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><em><strong>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com</strong></em></td></tr></tbody></table> Fri, 27 Jun 2014 14:12:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/planetside-2-s-huge-world-expands-with-a-new-continent-in-today-s-update/1100-6420793/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ultimate-editions-of-madden-fifa-and-nhl-give-you-gear-player-packs-more/1100-6420791/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1539/15391776/2580045-6223113008-25554.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2580045" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1539/15391776/2580045-6223113008-25554.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2580045"><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1539/15391776/2580045-6223113008-25554.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""><a href="/companies/electronic-arts/" data-ref-id="false">Electronic Arts</a> has announced the special editions of its sports games this year with the Ultimate Editions of <a href="/madden-nfl-15/" data-ref-id="false">Madden 15</a>, <a href="/fifa-15/" data-ref-id="false">FIFA 15</a>, and<a href="/nhl-15/" data-ref-id="false"> NHL 15</a>.</p><p style="">Last year, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/madden-25-anniversary-edition-amazons-best-selling-preorder-sports-game-ever/1100-6413661/" data-ref-id="1100-6413661">EA threw in a subscription to NFL Sunday Ticket</a> in Madden 25: Anniversary Edition. This year, the publisher is focusing on the popular Ultimate Team modes with its special editions.</p><p style="">For $70, the Ultimate Editions give players a bunch of gear, players, and more for their Ultimate Teams. These generally come in the form of Pro or Gold Packs, which give you several different players to build your team.</p><p style="">Madden owners will get three Ultimate Team Pro Packs a week for 10 weeks, and a Draft Pack that has 10 of the first-round picks from the 2014 NFL Draft. The NHL 15 Ultimate Edition will net you two Gold Packs a week for 25 weeks. The FIFA 15 Ultimate Edition has the most extra content in it, including five-game access to Lionel Messi in Ultimate Team, three goal celebrations, and one Gold Pack a week for 40 weeks.</p><p style="">All three games release this year for <a href="/xbox-360/" data-ref-id="false">Xbox 360</a>, <a href="/xbox-one/" data-ref-id="false">Xbox One</a>, <a href="/ps3/" data-ref-id="false">PlayStation 3</a>, and <a href="/ps4/" data-ref-id="false">PlayStation 4</a>. Madden launches on August 26, NHL on September 9, and FIFA on September 23.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Alex Newhouse is an editorial intern at GameSpot, and you can follow him on <a href="http://www.twitter.com/alexbnewhouse" rel="nofollow">Twitter @alexbnewhouse</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><em><strong>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com</strong></em></td></tr></tbody></table> Fri, 27 Jun 2014 13:51:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ultimate-editions-of-madden-fifa-and-nhl-give-you-gear-player-packs-more/1100-6420791/
