By Anonymous on Jul 03, 2015 12:20 am
The beta test of Gears of War: Ultimate Edition took place over the week of E3, and developer The Coalition has just released a list of all the changes and fixes coming to the game as a result of the beta. According to a post on its blog, the studio received a lot of player feedback on how to improve the game. This has resulted in several balance changes and even performance upgrades. Tweaks include improving the look of blood and gore, tuning footstep audio, and re-balancing the shotgun. You can see the full list of changes below, detailed in the post: - Multiple fixes and tuning for the Gnasher Shotgun
- Multiple fixes for Frag Grenades, Boomshot, and Torque Bow
- Tuning for footstep audio and other sounds around a player
- King of the Hill improvements, including ability for the developer to adjust more settings for competitive play
- Removed active down from active reloaded Longshot sniper rifle and added/tuned active bonus for sniper bloom/aim
- Bug fixes and tuning for skill-based matchmaking
- Tuned red/blue colors for team shaders (Locust/COG)
- Improved look of blood and gore in gameplay
- Improved game performance to reduce screen tearing
- Bug fixes and tuning for controller sensitivity settings
- Various bug fixes on maps, weapons, matchmaking, audio, and controls
Gears of War: Ultimate Edition is a remaster of Gears of War, which was released in 2006. It's in development primarily at Splash Damage with assistance from The Coalition, the studio responsible for Gears of War 4. The remaster includes all 19 original multiplayer maps, split-screen and LAN support, and all original game modes plus Team Deathmatch and King of the Hill. During the beta test, over one million matches were played. It launches on August 25 for Xbox One and on an unspecified later date for the PC.
By Anonymous on Jul 02, 2015 11:53 pm
Troy Baker's performance as Far Cry 4 antagonist Pagan Min is among that game's most memorable elements, right there alongside trampling an enemy base on the back of an elephant. But Baker's audition to get that role sounds as if it might have been even more interesting than anything Min does in the game. During a recent Q&A panel at Indy PopCon 2015, Baker recounted his experience of trying out for the role, elaborating on what he told GameSpot last year. While there was a script he was meant to follow, Baker said, "That went bye-bye very quickly." In particular, he went off the rails when an assistant walked into the audition room partway through the scene. "And I just remember, I was talking like this [begins speaking like Min], and all of a sudden she walks in and I said, 'I'm sorry, who is this? Who is this walking into this room right now. No no no, don't leave, sit down.' And she's looking at me like, 'I don't know what...' Back in Min's voice, Baker continued, "Have a seat, please. Make yourself comfortable. Would you like some coffee that she brought in? It looks very delicious. Now here's what I'm going to do: I'm going to murder her right in front of you."  While the assistant looked bewildered, Baker recalled, "Meanwhile, the team's going, 'This is it! This has got to be the one!'" He followed all of this up with a more specific threat, saying as Min, "I'm going to peel your face off and put it on my own. It'll be the most glorious makeover I've ever had!" Baker remarked on how much he appreciated having that much freedom to explore the character, but he noted that he only received it because he had "built some level of trust through other performances that made them go, 'Let him go.' If they had never heard of me, if I'd never done anything before and I did that, maybe it works, but otherwise they're like, 'We wrote a script. We'd like for you to do that if you don't mind.'" Baker is one of the most prolific voice actors in the games industry; his credits include BioShock Infinite's Booker DeWitt, The Last of Us' Joel, and Infamous: Second Son's Delsin Rowe, among many, many others. You'll be hearing more from him in the coming year or so, as he voices characters in both Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain and Uncharted 4.
By Anonymous on Jul 02, 2015 11:47 pm
 We explore the new area The Ruins of Sescheron where Baal invaded in Diablo II on the Public Test Realms of Diablo III Reaper of Souls.
By Anonymous on Jul 02, 2015 11:45 pm
 Take a look at the Anime Expo 2015 trailer for Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4, coming to Xbox One, Playstation 4 and PC.
By Anonymous on Jul 02, 2015 11:30 pm
 Games Done Quick joins GameSpot to speedrun Bastion, Ori and the Blind Forest, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Roundabout and Half-Life 2 Highway 17 in just over 2 hours!
By Anonymous on Jul 02, 2015 11:19 pm
Publisher Ubisoft revealed a new expansion for Trials Fusion called Awesome Level Max at E3, and today we got our first look at its gameplay in a new trailer. As teased at E3, Awesome Level Max will let you play as a cat riding a unicorn, a pretty significant change from the ATVs and motocross bikes that you normally use. Players will also be able to use the unicorn alongside others using bikes in the game's multiplayer mode. It appears that the animal will have the same physics as bikes when riding it. Also notable is the cat, which wears a bandana and wields a pistol. Additionally, the trailer shows off some of the new challenges coming to the game. One of them causes your bike to shake uncontrollably, and another requires you to ride around with a massive bobblehead. Trials Fusion: Awesome Level Max consists of two parts: the Awesome Adventure, which features the unicorn, and Red Lynx vs. All Stars, which showcases the best community-made maps. It launches on July 14 for PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and PC.
By Anonymous on Jul 02, 2015 11:07 pm
The Xbox 360's infamous "Red Ring of Death" hardware problem was one of the biggest storylines of the last generation of consoles. Now, one of the video game executives at the heart of the struggle, Peter Moore, has revisited the issue that ended up costing Microsoft over $1 billion when all was said and done. "It was sickening," Moore, a former Microsoft corporate vice president who now works as the CFO for Electronic Arts, said about the Red Ring of Death issue as part of a new IGN podcast.  "I took a lot of the abuse because I was the face of it," Moore added. "It was ultimately on me. But this was a thing that we actually couldn't figure out what was going on." Microsoft later discovered that the issue was triggered when the console got too hot. At this point, the system would stop working, and three red lights would appear. Moore went on to say that he vividly remembers telling then-Xbox boss Robbie Bach about the problem. "'I think we could have a billion-dollar problem here,'" Moore remembers telling Bach all those years ago. "As we started to do the analysis of what was going on, we were getting the defectives in...it was a challenging problem for our engineers. We couldn't quite figure out what it was; we knew it was heat-related and there were all kinds of [temporary] fixes." One such trick, which Microsoft never officially endorsed, involved wrapping the affected Xbox 360 in a towel. Doing this brought the console back to life, but only for a short while. Also during the podcast, Moore recounted an even more important meeting about the hardware issue, this one with none other than Steve Ballmer, who was CEO of Microsoft at the time. Moore's team devised a plan to remedy the situation that involved Microsoft shipping affected customers FedEx boxes which they would then pack their console into and send it back to Microsoft for fixing or replacement. All of this is to say, it wasn't going to be cheap. "I calculated with my finance team [a cost of] $1.15 billion," Moore said. "I always remember $240 million of that was [for] FedEx. Their stock must have gone through the roof." "I am trembling, sat in front of Steve, who I love to death, but he can be an intimidating human being. And Steve said, 'OK, talk me through this,'" Moore added. "I said, 'If we don't do this, this brand is dead.'" "If we hadn't made that decision there and then, and instead tried to fudge over this problem, then the Xbox brand and Xbox One wouldn't exist today" -- Moore
Moore referred to this as a "Tylenol moment." This is in reference to a series of deaths in the 1980s that were the result of tainted pills. Tylenol owner Johnson & Johnson removed all capsules from sale and took a brief hit. Something somewhat similar was happening with Microsoft and the Xbox 360. Ballmer agreed to Moore's proposal, even though it meant a billion-dollar loss. "He said, 'Do it,'" Moore remembers. "There was no hesitation. And I'm thinking, 'I'm about to crater Microsoft's stock'. But actually, nothing moved." "If you're an Xbox gamer, you can thank Steve Ballmer for not even hesitating," he added. "Now, we were a wealthy company that could afford to do that. But not even hesitating because the brand was more important. If we hadn't made that decision there and then, and instead tried to fudge over this problem, then the Xbox brand and Xbox One wouldn't exist today." Asked how the entire Red Ring of Death situation made him feel, personally, Moore replied that it was stomach-churning time. "It was sickening because I was doing a lot of interviews, and it's not like today with social media which would have been horrific, but we were trying to figure it out. We couldn't figure it out," he said. Ultimately, Moore thinks Microsoft made the right call. In his estimation, the Xbox brand is now worth three or four times more than the $1 billion hit it took to fix the issue. And had that not been cleared up, the Xbox One "wouldn't have happened," Moore said. IGN's full podcast is hugely fascinating, as not only Moore, but Xbox designer Seamus Blackley and current Xbox boss Phil Spencer also appear. They discuss all manner of topics that Xbox fans might find interesting, from the origins of Xbox to the Xbox One and the future.
By Anonymous on Jul 02, 2015 11:06 pm
Much as it did last year, Microsoft is giving away 20 custom Xbox One systems as part of San Diego Comic-Con, including consoles themed around Gears of War, Halo 5, Game of Thrones, and more. While you will need to attend Comic-Con next week in order to see all 20 systems in-person, you can still win one without stepping foot inside of California. You can enter to win in one of three ways. One involves taking a photo of a console at the show and posting it to Twitter or Instagram with certain hashtags, but the other two methods don't require you to leave your couch.                    During Comic-Con, you can look for the SDCC Collectible Console Sweepstakes section on an Xbox 360 or Xbox One to enter by July 12. Alternatively, you can follow the official Xbox account on Twitter and retweet a message (which has yet to be published) to win the Gears of War: Ultimate Edition-themed console. Unfortunately, the sweepstakes are limited to those living in the United States, and you'll need to be at least 13 years old to win. You can check out all the rules here (PDF link). Some of the systems--like the Madden and Lego Dimensions ones--are a bit lacking in their design, while others (like the Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 one above) are much nicer-looking. Let us know your favorites in the comments.
By Anonymous on Jul 02, 2015 10:51 pm
P.T., the teaser/demo for the canceled Silent Hills, was taken off of PlayStation Network in April, but a small group of designers and fans are trying to make what looks to be a spiritual successor to the ill-fated game. Called Alison Road, the game tasks players with exploring a house and uncovering the secrets of supernatural events happening within. The main character wakes up with no idea what happened in the house and must figure out the mystery while being stalked by a creature.      The catch is, you only have five nights to try to solve the puzzle. If the clock hits 3 AM on the last day, you will fail the game. In the prototype gameplay video that developer Lilith posted, the game clearly echoes P.T. The character moves through narrow corridors in a house, the "enemy" is a girl-like figure that follows you through the hallways, and there's even a PlayStation controller in one of the rooms and a phrase from P.T. written on a picture frame. You can find the sentence, "Dad is such a drag," in Alison Road, which was said in P.T. The game was Greenlit on Steam within two days of going live, and the studio will soon launch a Kickstarter. It's being made for PC and the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset, and is planned for later in 2016. You can check out the 13-minute prototype video below.
By Anonymous on Jul 02, 2015 10:25 pm
Anki has announced that Anki Overdrive, its new racing game, will begin shipping on September 20 in the US, Canada, UK, and Germany. Like its predecessor, Anki Drive, this is a racing game with a twist: It features a physical track that has toy cars racing along it. In addition to returning game modes like the self-explanatory Race and Battle (cars can be equipped with virtual weapons, as in a kart-racing game), Overdrive introduces two new modes. Time Trial has you trying to set the best lap time possible, while King of the Hill tasks players with being in first place for the longest amount of time. Also new to Overdrive is a modular track. With the pieces included in the starter kit, you're able to build eight different tracks. This number grows further by buying expansion kits; what start out as relatively simple arrangements can turn into something much more elaborate, like what you see below. Overdrive is played using a mobile device by downloading the Overdrive app. The cars can be (virtually) customized with new weapons and upgrades, and Anki--which is a robotics and AI company, rather than a game developer--claims the AI "allows each car to fully control itself on the track and use diverse strategies to fight to the finish."           The game promises to offer a much different experience than picking up the latest Forza or Need for Speed later this year, but it comes at a cost. In addition to the iOS or Android device each player needs, the starter kit is priced at $150. This comes with 10 track pieces, two cars, a charging platform, and a tire-cleaner. Unspecified new modes and features will be released for free post-launch, and the game supports tracks and cars from Anki Drive.
By Anonymous on Jul 02, 2015 10:18 pm
In July 2012, GameStop CEO Paul Raines revealed that his company was interested in applying its famous "buy, sell, trade" model to digital content. The retailer has even engaged in conversations with some European startups to use their technology for such a system. Three years later, GameStop remains interested in such a move, though there are some roadblocks currently in the way.  "It's still an opportunity that's out there," GameStop merchandising director Eric Bright told GameSpot during a meeting at E3 last month. Among the reasons why GameStop hasn't made any moves just yet, according to Bright, is that "digital penetration is still at its infancy overall" across the video game industry. But one day in the future, you might be able to buy "used" digital games from GameStop. "I think as the marketplace grows, it's certainly something that we're interested in and we'll continue to look at," Bright explained. Selling secondhand digital content is already commonplace in some PC games. But on consoles, digital content is often licensed to one profile, and then it cannot be transferred. But it appears GameStop is intent on changing this, even if it takes a while. According to previous comments from GameStop executive vice president Mike Hogan, such a system would require a partnership between retailers like GameStop and publishers. Last year, Hogan said GameStop was already having conversations with platform-holders like Microsoft and Sony to determine how they can work together for a used sales model for downloadable games. While Sony hasn't weighed in on the matter, senior Xbox director Albert Penello said in September 2013 that support for trading, loaning, and reselling of digital Xbox One games will come sometime down the road. "I think we need to do that. That has to be part of the [Xbox One] experience," Penello said at the time.
By Anonymous on Jul 02, 2015 09:56 pm
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare's Supremacy DLC, the latest map pack to come to the game, is available now for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, and PC. Coming a month after it launched on Xbox One and Xbox 360, the DLC contains four multiplayer maps and an Exo Zombies level. The maps include Skyrise, a remake of the classic Modern Warfare 2 map Highrise. The Exo Zombies level, called Carrier, features Bruce Campbell as part of its cast and tasks players with holding off zombies on an aircraft carrier. The other maps are Parliament, Kremlin, and Compound. The Supremacy map pack costs $15, but it is included with the $50 season pass. The delay is the result of a long-running agreement with Microsoft that brings Call of Duty DLC to Xbox platforms first. Sony, however, has reached a deal with publisher Activision to release maps first on PlayStation platforms beginning with the launch of the upcoming Black Ops 3. Supremacy follows the Ascendance and Havoc map packs. There's still another content drop, called Reckoning, planned for Advanced Warfare. Activision hasn't said anything about the upcoming map pack, but keep an eye on GameSpot for news as it becomes available.
By Anonymous on Jul 02, 2015 09:03 pm
Microsoft's Xbox Ultimate Game Sale returns next week, when tons of Xbox 360 and Xbox One titles will be offered at deep discounts. Now, Microsoft has announced some of the discounted games. Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb has published a teaser video that reveals some of the games that will be on sale, including Far Cry 4, Dragon Age: Inquisition, and Goat Simulator, among many others. A written list is also available below, but specific prices have not yet been announced.
These games (and others to be announced later) will be offered at up to 40-50 percent off, while Xbox Live Gold members will save an extra 10 percent. The Xbox Ultimate Game sale will run "all summer," though a specific end date was not announced. Xbox Ultimate Game Sale titles include:
By Anonymous on Jul 02, 2015 04:37 am
1. Clyde the Ghost from Pac-Man
Ready for some deep Pac-Man lore? In the original game, Clyde would often change his mind and shyly beat a retreat when chasing Pac-Man. In the TV series Pac-Man and The Ghostly Adventures, Clyde's caring personality truly blossoms. Hold on to your pellets: Even more spoilers ahead! (Photo: Namco)
2. Bowser
Bowser's definitely a creepy princess stalker, a crime for which there's no redemption. But in Super Mario RPG and Bowser's Inside Story, he pulls his own weight when in saving the mushroom kingdom. He cares. He just has a hard time showing it. (Photo: Nintendo)
3. Min from Far Cry 4
If you play on the main path, the warlord Min comes off as quite the sociopath. But, at the beginning of the game, if you take his instructions at face value and wait 15 minutes for him to return, you open up an alternate ending where Min shows off his sweet side. (Photo: Ubisoft)
4. Knuckles from Sonic & Knuckles
In Sonic 3, Knuckles gives off a bad first impression as one of Dr. Robotnik's henchman. But he's really just a victim of the Eggman's lying schemes. When he finds out the truth, he ultimately joins Sonic's side. He never drops the snarling attitude, though. (Photo: SEGA)
5. The White Witch from Ni No Kuni
Cassiopea is practically the Walter White of Ni No Kuni. The White Witch broke bad for all the right reasons. When she cast the powerful Ashes of Resurrection spell, she only meant to help those around her, but ended up causing massive despair ... just, you know, without the meth. (Photo: Bandai Namco)
6. King Dedede from Kirby's Adventure
It's easy to miss the real story behind Kirby. King Dedede is the true hero, one who has gone to great lengths to hide the powerful star rod. But Kirby's bumbling ineptitude almost destroys Dream Land when he assembles the device anyway and delivers it right into Nightmare's clutches. (Photo: Nintendo)
7. Godot from Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Trials & Tribulations
This prosecuting attorney with the flashy cyborg visor has a temper even hotter than the black coffee he gulps during trial. But once you learn of his undying love for Maya and Mia Fey, you can't help but feel sorry for the fella and everything he's endured. (Photo: Capcom)
8. Alister Azimuth from Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack In Time
You'd think someone who practically killed Ratchet twice is irredeemable. But we know the real Alister to be a judicious rebel leader who prioritizes the salvation of the Lombaxes above all else, even his own life. (Photo: Sony)
9. Kessler from Infamous
The first Infamous title had one of the most surprising twists in video game history. Kessler may appear dastardly at first blush (the dude did kill your girlfriend after all), but what if his actions are really forcing you to develop your skills to fight the true evil ahead? (Photo: Sony)
10. GLaDOS from Portal 2
Like many real people who suffer hardships, GLaDOS's personality undergoes a transformation through the tumultuous events of Portal 2. After the indignity of being stuck inside a potato, she finds it in her electric heart to help save Chell. (Photo: Valve)
11. Yggdrasill from Tales of Symphonia
This half-elf has a surprising backstory as a victim of racial intolerance. After his sister's death in a war of expulsion, he goes on a civil rights crusade, which is totally understandable. He just takes it a wee bit too far. (Photo: Namco)
12. Idenn from Fire Emblem: Binding Blade
This shaman may take the form of a loathsome dragon in the final boss fight, but in her defense, her soul was destroyed more than 1,000 years ago and transformed into a demon. If you defeat her in hard mode, she recovers her soul and you get a glimpse of the playful divinity she used to be. (Photo: Nintendo)
13. The Masked Man from Mother 3
The Masked Man initially appears as a force of evil who will do anything to stop Lucas from succeeding. But his sacrificial gesture in the final battle paves the way for the destruction of the Pork Army. (Photo: Nintendo)
14. Handsome Jack from Borderlands 2
Maybe it's time to revisit Jack's legacy with a more generous eye. His original utopian plan to get rid of the bandits in Pandora was probably well-intentioned. Even the biggest monsters are heroes in their own stories. (2K Games)
15. Kitaniji from The World Ends With You
Following the likes of Handsome Jack, Kitaniji is another villain whose overwhelming love for a city drives him toward evil actions. But can you really blame him for loving a city as cool as Shibuya? (Photo: Square Enix)
16. Marauder Shields from Mass Effect 3
The final random enemy of your journey sacrificed himself so you wouldn't have to see the game's disappointing ending. The outpouring of love for Marauder Shields on image boards has given him the status of a modern-day folk hero. We salute our fallen comrade. (Photo: Electronic Arts)
17. Edea Kramer from Final Fantasy VIII
It's hard to think of a villain who has a gentler side than Edea. When you initially encounter her, she's a merciless sadist. But as the story develops you learn she's just possessed, and actually cares for destitute children in an orphanage. She's the Mother Theresa of evil sorcerers. (Photo: Square Enix)
By Anonymous on Jul 02, 2015 04:36 am
1. The Very First Zombie in Resident Evil
It may be hard to imagine, but there was a time when the sight of a fully rendered zombie in a video game was both frightening and breathtaking. This was the moment we discovered Resident Evil had teeth. (Photo: Capcom)
2. The Magic Carpet Lava Chase in Aladdin
The Battletoads hoverbike race gets all the fame, but Mikami's lava chase is a contender for the most harrowing tunnel run in video game history. (Photo: Capcom)
3. The Cerberus Window Scare in Resident Evil
When these rabid dogs jumped through a window in a dimly lit hallway, most of us had to fight the urge to jump out of a window in real life. (Photo: Capcom)
4. The Chainsaw-Wielding Dr. Salvador in Resident Evil 4
After a brief warm-up in the woods, Resident Evil 4 quickly descended into all-out chaos as a swarm of angry villagers lusts after your sweet neck blood. The chainsaw brute became a series icon. (Photo: Capcom)
5. The T-Rex Bursting Through the Window in Dino Crisis
The best Jurassic Park game isn't even called Jurassic Park. Dino Crisis is a cool 90 degree turn from Mikami's other horror titles, but the dude couldn't give up his classic window scares. (Photo: Capcom)
6. The Tentacle Erupting From a Ganado in Resident Evil 4
It's alive! Just when players got a handle on evil villagers, this guy showed up. And head shots just made things worse. Now that is scary. (Photo: Capcom)
7. Iwazaru the Bondage Suit Servant in Killer 7
A chill went down everyone's spine when this red-suited freak descended on his bungee cord. Suda 51 rightfully gets acclaim for Killer 7, but Shinji Mikami shares the credit as co-writer. (Photo: Capcom)
8. The Angry Crimson Heads in Resident Evil: REmake
In addition to the lurid new graphics, the Resident Evil remake had some devious updates, including angry Crimson Head zombies that roar to life when a corpse wasn't crispy enough. Yikes! (Photo: Capcom)
9. The Near Invincible Spider-Lady in The Evil Within
We don't know what it is about creepy ladies with long hair covering their faces, but they're a staple of Japanese horror. This spider creature was almost impossible to kill; the only other option: just run, run, run for your life. (Photo: Bethesda)
10. The Licker Surprise in Resident Evil 2
Everything went wrong for poor Claire in the Interrogation Room. If only she knew Mikami's penchant for busting through windows with disgusting creatures, she might have stood a chance. (Photo: Capcom)
11. Pulling Off "Slidekick Backflip Bullet Time" in Vanquish
Scary stylish is more like it. Vanquish was Gears of War on a steady diet of anime and methamphetamine. It was often overwhelming, but pulling off insane stunts like this in the middle of a terrifying firefight felt thrilling. (Photo: SEGA)
12. Getting Barricaded by Griefers in Resident Evil Outbreak
This online Resident Evil oddity for the PS2 left limited means to communicate with co-op partners. That mechanism created the perfect way for pranksters to serve up players as zombie suppers. (Photo: Capcom)
13. The Azel Boss Fights in God Hand
The Head Slicer. The Daisy Cutter. The Reverse Hell Kick. These were all weapons in Azel's formidable arsenal. If players weren't quick to the draw with a Hand Plant Kick, they were toast. (Photo: Capcom)
14. The Draining Bathtub in Resident Evil
Nothing good ever came from draining a bathtub in a haunted mansion. Why is it so impossible to resist? Fate guided our hand forward, revealing the loathsome beast that slept beneath. (Photo: Capcom)
15. The Red and Blue Skeleton Bosses in Goof Troop
Who thought a harmless little game about Goofy and his son Max could hide such a terrifyingly difficult boss fight? They lived up to their self-proclaimed goal of filling our hearts with dread. (Photo: Capcom)
16. The Fleming Fight in Shadows of the Damned
Another Mikami and Suda teamup! Besides having a disgusting totem pole of skulls for a face, Fleming lobbed beams from his eyes, and hid a whole girlfriend in his trench coat. What a creep. (Photo: Electronic Arts)
17. The Search for Dr. Valerio's Key in The Evil Within
The worst part of this scene had to be the disgusting squishing sounds that accompanied the manual exploration of a cadaver. And, of course, the inevitable killer scare. (Photo: Bethesda)
18. The Cabin Battle With Luis in Resident Evil 4
By now, battles with zombies breaking into cramped rooms is de rigueur. But when Leon and Luis first fought this rampaging horde, it felt dynamic and frighteningly realistic, like nothing that came before. (Photo: Capcom)
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