Much like with past GTA games, the PC version of Grand Theft Auto V allows you create a custom radio station with your own music. The process is quite simple, though setting it up requires you to know what you're looking for.
After installing GTA V, you should have a Rockstar Games folder located inside the Documents folder of the Windows account that installed it. In there you'll find a folder dedicated to GTA V, and inside that, you'll find an empty folder called User Music. (Likely located at C:\Users\YOUR USERNAME\Documents\Rockstar Games\GTA V\User Music depending on your setup.) Simply copy and paste your music files--at the very least, MP3s are supported--into that folder, and you're almost ready to go.
When that's done, start up the game and head into the Settings menu. Under Audio, you'll find the options "Perform Quick Scan for Music" and "Perform Full Scan for Music." It's unclear at this point what the difference between the two is, but click on either of them, and a new radio station will be added that's comprised exclusively of the music in your folder. Just above those two settings, you can alter the "Self Radio Mode" option to choose the order in which music is played.
The Pokedex continues to grow, as The Pokemon Company today announced Hoopa Unbound, an evolution of the mythical Pokemon Hoopa. Hoopa Unbound becomes the 720th Pokemon in the Pokedex.
The Pokemon Company is being somewhat coy as it relates to Hoopa Unbound. The creature will appear in Pokemon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire for 3DS, but players "cannot meet [Unbound] through ordinary gameplay," the developer says.
Hoopa Unbound (see the creature's statistics below) carries rings that "have the power to bend dimensions and are said to allow it to seize anything in the world," reads a line from its official description. It is much larger than the original Hoopa form, and has six arms.
"The mystery around how Hoopa regains its true form, as well as the secret of meeting Hoopa itself, has yet to be revealed," The Pokemon Company said, adding that fans should "stay tuned" for more details on how to meet Hoopa in the game.
Publisher GungHo Online Entertainment America launched a questionnaire this morning surveying fan interest in IPs developed by Game Arts, including role-playing series Grandia, Lunar, and more.
The survey, available here, asks the basics up front: which platforms you use, where you find your video game news, and what game genres are your favorites. Several questions specifically reference PC ports, namely which PC digital distribution service you prefer and what new features are most important to you when purchasing updated ports of game.
Game Arts, which became a GungHo subsidiary in 2004, may be best known for its work on RPGs like the Lunar and Grandia series. The studio also produced the mech-focused Gungriffon series, and most recently in 2012, puzzle title Dokuro. GungHo could be testing the waters with this survey to gauge fan interest in these games, possibly paving the way for remastered ports or new franchise titles.
American mail delivery service The Pony Express was founded 155 years ago this month. To celebrate the anniversary, Google created a video game you can play right now in your browser.
Head to Google.com to play the lovely little side-scrolling game, which challenges players to collect letters and avoid obstacles while riding a horse. There's also some nice galloping sound effects to enjoy.
The Pony Express, which saw horseback riders deliver mail from California to Missouri, was founded by William H. Russell, Alexander Majors, and William B. Waddell on April 3, 1860. The first letter was delivered on April 14.
"The Pony Express felt like a great game concept to us at Google," the company said on its website. "We know everyone is busy these days but the Pony Express needs YOU. And ultimately, whatever happens in life, what's more important than earning trust and respect from a horse?"
For more on Google's Pony Express browser game, check out the video above.
The next patch for Bloodborne is coming later this month and will address the game's long load times, Sony has announced.
In a post on the PlayStation Blog, Sony Computer Entertainment Japan Studio's Masaaki Yamagiwa offered some details on update 1.03. This includes the fact that it "seeks to reduce certain load times in addition to performance optimizations." In other words, this may not offer improvements across the board, but considering how long Bloodborne's loading screens can last after your frequent deaths, any changes will be welcome. The company had previously said it was exploring the possibility of lessening load times.
This patch will also deal with "an issue that resulted in abnormal game behavior after many continuous hours of play," presumably referring to the exploit that makes the game easier when it's left running for a number of hours.
Other, unspecified fixes will be included in the patch as well, which Yamagiwa said Sony is hoping to release worldwide "before the end of the month."
In order to allow Sony and developer From Software to make updates to Bloodborne's servers, online play will have to be taken offline at some point "for a short period." Yamagiwa explained, "In this case, and in the case of any future server maintenance downtime, it has been determined that starting at 1 AM PT on a non-Friday weeknight will disrupt the fewest players. We will target this time for any necessary future server maintenance downtime, which will only last a couple hours in each instance."
[UPDATE] A message on the PlayStation Blog from Bloodborne producer Masaaki Yamagiwa reveals that the game has actually sold through more than one million copies worldwide so far.
"We are amazed and very grateful for the way in which the community has embraced Bloodborne," he said. "As you may have seen, we've just announced that Bloodborne has now sold through over one million copies worldwide. Thank you to everyone who has supported the project!"
The original story is below.
From Software's latest role-playing game, the PlayStation 4 exclusive Bloodborne, has shipped 1 million copies worldwide since its release at the end of March. Sony announced the sales figured today today, which counts copies shipped as of April 5, according to a report from Gematsu.
The 1 million units shipped includes copies sold on disc as well as digital units sold through the PlayStation Store. There's also a new statement from SCE Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida.
"Bloodborne was a new challenge for us, and our goal was to create a title that took full advantage of the power of PS4," Yoshida said. "I am thrilled that so many users have been enjoying the extremely rich and detailed world, beautiful melancholic atmosphere, and palpable tension of Bloodborne."
[UPDATE] Microsoft's Aaron Greenberg has now clarified that Star Wars: Battlefront, like many other new EA titles, will be released early for Xbox One players by way of EA Access.
@neuropuff Was referring to #XboxOne as the only place you can play all new EA games before they launch, exclusively with @EAAccess
Star Wars Battlefront, EA's first-person shooter due for release in late 2015, will be playable first on Xbox One, according to a Microsoft executive.
Aaron Greenberg, who leads Microsoft's games marketing division, told a fan on Twitter that the game would be accessible on Xbox One before it ships on PlayStation 4 and PC.
Quite how the Star Wars title will come first to Xbox One was not explained by Greenberg, though the most likely outcome is that the project will be available a few days early for EA Access members.
EA Access is a $5/month games subscription service (£4/month in the UK) that offers members early admission to its key releases. In the case of previous titles, such as FIFA 15, subscribers were able to play the game a week early for a total of six hours. Saved data and progress also carried over for those who bought the full game.
EA Access also provides subscribers with a collection of free games such as Battlefield 4, Need for Speed Rivals, and Peggle 2. Customers have unlimited access to these titles for as long as their membership lasts.
A build of the game is also expected to be showcased at a Star Wars Celebration event this week in California. Those who attend "will have a chance to see gameplay behind closed doors during the show at our official booth along with a few other activities starting that Friday," according to EA.
The latest entry in the Mortal Kombat series, Mortal Kombat X, is now available, and it brings with it new characters, refinements, and game modes. But are those changes for the better, and are they enough?
We've rounded up some of the first reviews from around the web for you to peruse below. As with some other outlets, GameSpot's review has yet to be finalized as we wait to see how the the online aspect of MKX holds up now that it's out in the wild. But for now, read on to see what we think so far, and check out our piece on everything you need to know about the game.
"There is so much to do, and a well of fighting styles to explore, that you'll have to try pretty hard to grow bored of it. This is the most visually stunning Mortal Kombat to date, too, mixing over-the-top, Injustice-like moves with an eye-catching visual style. The violence within isn't going to sit well with everybody, and while it sometimes feels like the promise of a brutal finishing move overshadows the core fighting game within, when you see through it, you'll appreciate that Mortal Kombat X is a serious fighting game that's merely dressed with a bit of dark humor, rather than one that's defined by that and that alone." - Peter Brown [Full review]
USGamer -- 4/5
"Mortal Kombat X offers everything a fan could ask from except possibly their favorite character. The graphics and animations received a huge boost thanks to the power of the new consoles, and while not perfect, the net code is vastly improved over previous NetherRealm fighting games. The story mode has been streamlined to make it shorter, but it still retains the cinematic flare fans have come to expect. Faction Wars add an additional layer of polish, even if they aren't as impactful as NetherRealm intended, and Test Your Luck will provide hours of fun for more casual players." - Bryan Dawson [Full review]
Polygon -- 9/10
"Mortal Kombat X is friendly both to casual players who want to experience its rich suite of single-player content and knock around with some friends, but deep enough for competitive players who want to plumb its roster and variations. It's a robust, feature-rich competitive fighting game that hones what's worked for NetherRealm Studios in past games, and even shows hints of restraint and maturity amidst the gory hyper-violence. Paired with an ambitious online meta-game, Mortal Kombat X is one of the best fighting games in the series." - Michael McWhertor [Full review]
GamesRadar -- 3.5/5
"As a whole, Mortal Kombat X is a rock-solid fighting game that owes a lot to the power of its presentation. The story mode is unparalleled in terms of sheer entertainment, but MKX has a way to go in terms of teaching the player how to get the most out of its core systems. Once you've wrapped your head around the many variations and found some actual people to play against, the blisteringly fast back-and-forth matches really start to open up. If you're not willing to make the commitment to seeking out challengers and learning beyond the basics, though, this fighter definitely has a shorter life expectancy." - Lucas Sullivan [Full review]
IGN -- review in progress
"This helps MKX feel like the smoothest-playing Mortal Kombat ever. Walk speeds are snappier, pokes feel more useful, and with the awesome new variation system, there's more to explore, discover, and exploit than ever before. Liu Kang has a variation where he can switch on the fly between healing and damaging stances, new grappler Torr employs an assist character to double-team opponents, Kotal Khan can place totems to grant himself temporary buffs--this is the kind of stuff you see in Persona 4 or BlazBlue, and seeing NetherRealms open up so many fun new doors is really refreshing." - Vince Ingenito [Full review]
Game Informer -- 9.25/10
"Mortal Kombat X is a fantastic successor in every sense. The mechanics may be similar to 2011's strong release, but with so many new modes and features permeating every part of the experience, it's a worthy upgrade. Mortal Kombat X is more than the continuation of NetherRealm's successful vision for the franchise; it's one of the best fighting games in years." - Brian Shea [Full review]
With the real-world NHL Playoffs set to begin later this week, EA Sports today announced the results of its NHL 15 Stanley Cup Playoffs simulation. The Anaheim Ducks will come out on top, beating the New York Rangers in an exciting 4-3 series, according to the simulation.
EA's simulation predicts that Ducks forward Corey Perry will seal the win for Anaheim by scoring a game-winning third-period goal, much to Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist's dismay.
The Ducks had to fight hard to make the finals, according to the simulation, which predicted that their first three series (against the Winnipeg Jets, Calgary Flames, and Minnesota Wild) went to the maximum seven games. But the Ducks finally got it done, and captain Ryan Getzlaf went home with the Conn Smythe Trophy as the overall Stanley Cup Playoffs MVP, netting nine goals and 17 assists during the playoffs. At least in the simulation, that's how it all played out.
EA's NHL Playoffs simulation takes into account up-to-date player ratings and line combinations, and even injuries and "hot streaks," in an effort to make its prediction for which team will get to hoist the Cup.
From YouTube channel 8-BIT-BASTARD comes a new Grand Theft Auto V video called "Running, Man," the first movie ever made using the game's new PC-only video editing tools.
The impressive video is meant to highlight what kinds of incredibly detailed and unique projects are possible using the Rockstar Editor, which includes traditional recording functionality along with a Director Mode.
In "Running, Man," we see GTA V protagonist Trevor Phillips jogging from the top of a mountain down to the pier by the ocean. The music track you hear is "K.Y.S.A." by Phantogram.
"Trevor has never looked sexier than he does in slow motion on PC--on that we can all agree," the filmmakers said. "You can almost smell those sweaty running shorts."
"Running, Man" was commissioned by Rockstar Games, meaning 8-BIT-BASTARD received access to the Rockstar Editor before it was released publicly.
We expect to see lots more GTA V videos in the days and weeks ahead. Have you seen any particularly impressive ones so far? If you have, let us know via the email address below.
For lots more on the Rockstar Editor, check out the video below.
GTA V launches for PC today, April 14. Unfortunately for some, the game's release for computers has not been without its problems. Check out this post to see the game's most common issues, and how to fix them.
Earlier today, Activision formally announced Guitar Hero Live, the first entry in the series since 2010's Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock. The game doesn't launch until this fall, but if you live in New York or Los Angeles, you can play it as early as later this evening.
If you're not able to make it to that event, you still have a chance to play the game soon. This Saturday, April 18 from 1-5 PM, Guitar Hero Live will be playable for anyone at Best Buy stores in Union Square (NYC) and Torrance, California (outside of LA).
Guitar Hero Live is in development at DJ Hero studio FreeStyleGames for Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and Wii U. The game sounds quite ambitious, as it changes up not only Guitar Hero's trademark presentation, but also delivers a new, online-focused feature called Guitar Hero TV.
But Guitar Hero Live is more than just re-release of the previous games. From the guitar peripheral to the visual direction of the game, to the way music is accessed, Activision is promising a very different experience.
Live is being developed by FreeStyleGames, the same rhythm developer that worked on the DJ Hero franchise, and the company started by reworking the guitar peripheral itself. Instead of five colored buttons reaching down the neck of the guitar, there are six (three on the top and three on the bottom), and the buttons are only black and white.
Speaking with Jamie Jackson, the creative director at FreeStyleGames, he explained, "As soon as you had to use the pinky, it all got a bit dangerous. So we built this around the concept of keeping the fingers in one position, but adding complexity at the higher levels." Beginner players can experience the game while using only three buttons, but intermediate and expert players get a very different, and very challenging new experience. You can see GameSpot's impressions and the game in action in the video at the top of this article.
Visually, the game is also a big departure from the previous Guitar Hero games. Instead of the previous games' customizable avatar and cartoony graphics, all of the performances were filmed with actors in front of a live crowd. Jackson said, "We filmed the crowd. We basically made a movie. We didn't do it in the old engine with avatars and things like that. We just went and filmed it. ... Every song is unique and is crafted with a band, an audience, and a venue." As you perform well, your bandmates and the crowd cheer you on. But when you perform poorly, the reaction from both groups is significantly more negative.
While we'll likely hear more about full track-list for the game closer to E3, a press release listed out a sampling of the current line-up:
The Black Keys
Fall Out Boy
My Chemical Romance
Gary Clark, Jr.
Green Day
Ed Sheeran
The War on Drugs
The Killers
Skrillex
The Rolling Stones
The Lumineers
Pierce the Veil
Blitz Kid
How much of that will be available out of the box? "One thing we did with DJ Hero is that we didn't lock all of the music. We wanted people to be able to come in and, if you didn't like a certain type of music, we didn't want you to have to play another type to get to the one you want. That said, there is some progression, and there are some unlocks," Jackson said.
But Guitar Hero Live's on-disc game is only part of FreeStyleGames' plan. According to Jackson, "The other part is all about the digital side." Guitar Hero TV will be the game's online playable music network.
Wherever you are in the game, you can press a button to access GHTV. "When you go there, it's going to throw you into a TV channel with music playing. And you can play that track wherever it is in the music. If you come in halfway through, you'll just join halfway through. There'll be a ton of people playing, and it'll match-make you against people that match your skillset. If you don't like that song, you just press a button to open up a channel guide. Change the channel and see what's on another channel, see what's on another show. And if you still don't like what you see, you can jump into the song on-demand section and just pick a song play it on-demand."
GHTV plays music videos in the background as opposed to the filmed experiences of the game. "We want you to be able to discover music through here, and we want you to be able to find music you know you love," said Jackson. "You'll be able to jump between the channels however you want, and it's 24-hours so it has shows throughout the entire day. We're not going into details about the type of show yet, but it could be pop, dance, rock. It could be all kinds of stuff."
Just like TV, you don't select songs when playing in this mode. You play what's offered up, and the genre will depend on the show rather than the channel. Jackson explains, "You might know on Friday night that there's some sort of rock show, so you can go there and there'll be some kind of rock."
In the box for the game, you'll have the guitar, the main tracks in Guitar Hero Live, and access to Guitar Hero TV, but how will access to those a la carte songs work? Will it incur an additional cost? Jackson said, "We're going to get into that at E3. There's a lot more depth to it because it's more than on-demand. There's premium show stuff as well where you're going to have exclusive content. There's sh** tons of stuff in GHTV, but right now we're just framing up the TV channels and music videos"
And of the big changes in strategy from Activision and FreeStyleGames is that this isn't just the first game in what will be a yearly release of new titles; just like Harmonix's approach to Rock Band 4, this will be the only Guitar Hero game. Jackson compares the experience to TV in that it will be continually updated. "You won't have to buy another [game] to have new stuff come to you. People play games different now. We consume games differently. We consume music differently. We even consume TV differently. And this is our answer to that."
While later Guitar Hero games introduced not only bass, but also drums and vocals, Jackson says that with Guitar Hero Live, "For us, right now, it's guitar. It's called Guitar Hero. We really focused on making the best guitar game we could make. That was always our driver for this, so right now, just guitar."
The game plus guitar will cost $100 and it's currently slated for every major platform: PS4, PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, and Wii U. And also much like Skylanders Trap Team from Activision, a console game that also had a full-featured (and full-priced) release on tablet and phone, Guitar Hero Live will also be released for mobile devices. The game will allow you to connect our phone or tablet to your television, providing a way to access the full game for non-console owners.
Guitar Hero Live is expected to release sometime this fall.
Resolution and frame rate details for the Wii U edition of Project Cars will be announced later.
Slightly Mad also announced that Project Cars will not feature a split-screen mode. "In order to achieve the target of 60 frames per second, there is no split-screen mode," the developer explained.
As for why Project Cars is not coming to Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3, Slightly Mad said those platforms' technical specifications aren't good enough to deliver an uncompromised version of the game.
"We continue to be amazed at just how players have embraced Cities: Skylines," he said in a statement. "The game is still selling at a steady pace, which is remarkable for a game that has been on sale for well over a month. Once again, we want to thank everyone that has supported and continues to support this game."
Paradox also mentioned that Cities: Skylines players have already created an incredible 33,000 mods for the game on Steam Workshop, including those that riff on Grand Theft Auto V and Flight Simulator, among others. In addition, the game's current average concurrent player figure is 21,000.
In GameSpot's 8/10 Cities: Skylines review, real-life mayor Brett Todd wrote: "Right now, there is no better way to take a peek at life as a mayor without filing your papers to run for office in the real world."
Among other things, Destiny 1.1.2 includes bigger Vaults (see above), item-lock functionality to help players avoid accidentally deleting hard-earned items, and changes to Special and Heavy ammo.
Destiny's next expansion, House of Wolves, launches May 19. The add-on will not feature a new Raid, though Bungie is working on one for a future Destiny release.
The long-awaited PC edition of Rockstar's open-world action game Grand Theft Auto V has finally arrived. Now, one player has uploaded a series of videos showing off the game running at the highest settings.
YouTube user taltigolt (via VG247), has posted a handful of videos to their channel, including some in 4K you can watch with a compatible monitor.
It's not surprising that GTA V looks totally gorgeous on PC. After all, the PC versions of multiplatform titles are often the best-looking, provided your computer is beefy enough to handle them. You can see GTA V's minimum and recommended PC specifications here.
GTA V's release on PC has not been without its problems. Check out this post to see the game's most common issues, and how to fix them.
The Mortal Kombat series, one of gaming's most well-known franchises, has now sold more than 35 million units since it originally debuted in the early '90s. Publisher Warner Bros. mentioned the lifetime sales figure today in a press release heralding the arrival of Mortal Kombat X, the latest entry in the series.
Mortal Kombat X launches today, April 14, for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC. The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 editions have been delayed, and are now due out sometime in the summer.
How does Mortal Kombat X stack up against other big-name gaming franchises in terms of total units sold? Check out some statistics below.
Publisher Nordic Games has added another franchise to its stable. The company, which previously acquired the rights to Darksiders, Red Faction, and de Blob from THQ, announced Tuesday that it had entered into an agreement with 2015 Games to buy the Vietnam-themed Men of Valor franchise.
Nordic Games didn't announce any plans for a sequel to the 2004 Xbox and PC game. But the company pointed out that the title has a rich history.
"With said IP, our shooter portfolio gets enriched with a real classic," Nordic Games executive Reinhard Pollice said in a statement. "It feels great to have a piece of FPS-history under our umbrella. At 2015 Games, a lot of talented people, including the founders of Infinity Ward and Respawn Entertainment amongst others, shaped the first person shooter genre with their games."
Men of Valor (see GameSpot's review) puts players into the boots of new recruit Dean Shepard as he and his Marine squadmates battle through Southeast Asia in the 1960s during the Vietnam War.
Would you like to see another Men of Valor game? Let us know in the comments below!
Correction: Vince Zampella and Jason West did not work on Men of Valor. GameSpot regrets the error.
NetherRealm's new fighting game, Mortal Kombat X, features microtransactions that allow players to buy "Easy Fatalities" and more, it has been revealed. The game's Xbox One and PlayStation 4 product pages show that players can buy five Easy Fatalities for 99 cents or a pack of 30 for $5.
Fatalities, the Mortal Kombat franchise's gruesome signature finishing moves, can be difficult to pull off for some players. That's where Easy Fatalities, which allow you to perform the moves with "simplified inputs", come in.
"We've learned through years and years of study that there are a lot of people who just can't pull off Fatalities, or they get freaked out or they can't figure out the timing," NetherRealm said at the end of March.
"There are certain places you can unlock those and things like that," the studio added. "So you'll always have access to Easy Fatalities--if you want to use them."
At the time, NetherRealm didn't say anything about having an option to pay for these finishing moves. But--given the growing trend of microtransactions for console games today--it's not surprising to learn that paying for Easy Fatalities is an option for Mortal Kombat X.
In addition, NetheRealm is offering an "Unlock All Krypt Items" option for $20. As its name suggests, this unlocks everything in the Krypt, a place players can visit to spend their in-game currency on new items. Everything available in the Krypt can also be attained through regular gameplay. The "Unlock All Krypt Items" is meant to give players a way to access everything right away to save time.
By Eddie Makuch on Apr 14, 2015 04:56 pm Image credit: Kotaku
Square Enix's "secret" game, which the company started teasing last week, has been officially revealed. The Final Fantasy publisher on Tuesday announced Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness, the fifth game in the main series. Kotaku and Siliconera have the first details for the game.
Star Ocean 5 is in development for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 at Star Ocean creator Tri-Ace. No release date has been announced, but a report in Weekly Famistu claims the game is about 30 percent finished.
In terms of story, Star Ocean 5 is set between Star Ocean 2 and Star Ocean 3, featuring Fidel Camus as its hero
For gameplay, "seamless real-time" battles are promised. Siliconera writes: "In addition to having plenty of event scenes like in past Star Ocean titles, there will be seamless events where enemies will attack you in the middle of some events. If party members get captured by enemies in these events, it can change the story and ending of the game."
The game's prologue, courtesy of Kotaku, reads:
Do the depths of space forbid peace for mankind
Centuries after leaving Earth, after a multitude of trials, with the creation and spread of the 'Galactic Federation,' humanity was on the verge of unified order and peace.
But the embers of conflict have begun to burn again.
Over 6,000 light years from Earth, on the unsettled planet, 'Feycreed.'
Just as so many times before, the waves of history begin from a remote planet.
Capcom's action-RPG Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate has now shipped more than 1 million copies since its release in North America and Europe in February. That figure, announced Tuesday by Capcom, counts copies shipped at retail as well as Nintendo eShop sales for both regions.
The Nintendo 3DS game was released in Japan last year as Monster Hunter 4G.
Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate's release in North America and Europe earlier this year coincided with the arrival of the New Nintendo 3DS. This helped the game to become the first entry in the franchise to ship 1 million units in the west, Capcom said.
Capcom also provided a new franchise sales tally for Monster Hunter. Since the series debuted more than a decade ago in 2004, it has sold more than 32 million units around the world as of February 2015.
Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, a sequel to March 2013's Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, is described as the "biggest and most accessible" game in the series to date. Capcom also points out that the game's online play "is in strong demand," especially in North America and Europe.
Another reason Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate is selling well, Capcom said, is because the publisher is supporting the RPG with free DLC on a regular basis. The most recent free add-on brought new character skins based on Mario and Sonic to the game.
[UPDATE] Activision has now formally announced Guitar Hero Live. You can see some footage and GameSpot's impressions in the video above, or read our written preview here.
The original story is below.
Details of the long-awaited revival of the Guitar Hero series have been published early ahead of an official announcement expected to be made on Tuesday.
The new project, called Guitar Hero Live, appears to re-introduce the seminal music rhythm series in the first-person perspective, with players stepping into the skin of a rock star.
Details were published early by French newspaper Le Monde and syndicated by Yahoo France, in an article that also includes quotes from the game's developers at UK studio FreeStyleGames.
The original Lemonde article, which has now been pulled, also described a redesigned guitar peripheral, featuring two rows of three keys.
Further details of the project are scarce, for now, though various reports across the web have suggested that an official announcement is expected to be made later on Tuesday.
In February, inside sources revealed that Activision and FreeStyleGames was working on a "more realistic" Guitar Hero title. The project will be the first new release in the series since 2010's Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock.
According to Lanning, this Abe's Exoddus remake is still very early in development. Its existence was something decided by fans, who voted on what game they would like to see next after New 'n' Tasty launched. And just as New 'n' Tasty's name was decided by fan vote, so too will the name of the Abe's Exoddus remake.
Lanning added that marking for this remake will be stronger than that of New 'n' Tasty, and its success will directly determine the quality of future Oddworld games, which aim to have the scale and quality of a triple-A game. Finally, Lanning revealed that New 'n' Tasty received 2.4 million downloads as a free PlayStation Plus game.
Grand Theft Auto V has, at long last, finally been released on PC, but some unfortunate gamers are encountering issues that are preventing them from being able to play. At least a few of those problems have workarounds, which we've outlined below.
How to Avoid Losing Your GTA Online Cars
If you've transferred your GTA Online progress from the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 versions, you may lose your saved cars if you haven't played since December 2013. Unfortunately, to prevent this from happening, Rockstar says you'll need to log in to your character on console before initiating a transfer on PC.
Enter GTA Online on your PS3 or Xbox 360. If you have not played in a long time, you will be prompted to accept a Title Update.
Pause the game
Scroll to the "Online" tab
Select the "Leave GTA Online" option
The game will not save on the latest Title Update, and your vehicles will now transfer properly to PC.
Once you leave GTA Online, an orange save icon will appear in the bottom right corner. Once that disappears, your progress will be saved, and you're free to initiate the transfer to PC. There's no indication that Rockstar will be able to offer a fix that doesn't involve first saving your progress on console.
If you already transferred your character and have lost vehicles, Rockstar suggests you submit a support request.
Windows Account Names
Your Windows account name could be to blame if the game hangs while downloading an update or is giving you errors like, "The Rockstar update service is unavailable (code 1)." This is because Windows account names that contain characters other than a number (0-9) or letter (uppercase or lowercase A-Z) will prevent GTA V from being able to install and run properly. This has resulted in the bizarre situation of Rockstar's support site hosting a list entitled, "Supported Characters At Launch for Windows Usernames for GTAV PC."
Rockstar is already working on a fix for this issue. In the meantime, you can deal with it by creating a new user account with administrator privileges and a name that consists only of the aforementioned characters. Unfortunately, simply renaming your account won't suffice if you already have an unsupported character in your name.
There's not yet any word on when the fix will be released, but Rockstar's support page will be updated with details when they are available, as well as with instructions on how to transfer your progress from a temporary Windows account to your permanent one.
Unable to Detect Windows Media Player
If you don't have Windows Media Player installed on your computer, you're likely running into an error during GTA V's installation that reads, "Unable to detect Windows Media Player on your system. Please install Windows Media Player, then retry the installation."
You can install it by following these instructions, courtesy of Rockstar:
Open the Control Panel
Click "Programs"
Click "Turn Windows Features On or Off"
In the resulting popup, make sure "Windows Media Player" is checked under the "Media Features" folder
Click "OK" and wait for Windows Media Player to install
Rockstar Social Club
Another problem brought to light by Rockstar's support site involves Rockstar Social Club. There are multiple error codes produced by the same issue, including the following:
"Social Club failed to initialize."
"Social Club failed to load due to an incomplete installation. Please exit the game and re-install the latest version of the Social Club."
"A newer version of Social Club is required. The updater may have failed. Please exit the game and install the latest version of the Social Club."
If you're receiving any of these, your best bet is to manually reinstall Social Club from right here. It's recommended that you ensure GTA V is not running when you do so--check to make sure that GTA5.exe, PlayGTAV.exe, and GTAVLauncher.exe aren't running in the task manager--and that you have administrator privileges.
Should that not fix the problem, Rockstar outlines some additional steps you can follow:
Verify the Steam Cache (Steam version only):
Load Steam.
From the Library section, right-click on the game and select Properties from the menu.
Select the Local files tab and click the Verify integrity of game cache... button.
Steam will verify the game's files - this process may take several minutes.
Run GTAV as an Administrator
Go to the install directory for GTAV PC
Right click "PlayGTAV.exe"
Click "Run as Administrator"
Verify that you have the latest version of DirectX and Visual C++. The latest versions can be downloaded from here.
If you are stuck loading, auto-signin may have failed. Press the Home key and see if you can log in manually.
Temporarily disable antivirus/security, then uninstall if disabling does not work as a test. Be sure to reinstall and re-enable your antivirus after the test.
Make sure that Social Club is installed to the correct directory (by default, this is: Program Files\Rockstar Games\Social Club)
Star Citizen, that ludicrously successful crowd-funded project, isn't just a space flight simulator. The developer, Roberts Space Industries is also creating a first-person shooter to accompany the space combat segments. In a new developer blog post, the team outlined some of its key changes to the FPS formula to improve "realism."
Standard FPS games, the post says only have two combat stances. One holds the player avatar's gun near the shoulder at all times while the other simulates careful aiming down the sights of the gun. Roberts says this isn't realistic and instead proposes a three stance system to improve balance.
The HUD in lowered stance.
With the new system, players will have to manage a gun in a lowered position, in a ready position, and in an "aim down sights" position. The addition of a third stance allows for a clearer distinction between players that have a gun ready to fire at a moment's notice (as they are in the typical first-person shooter), and those that have their gun at ease to making moving around an area easier. This more accurately simulates real combat stances and will force players to be much slower and more careful when engaging in combat. That sounds complicated, but Roberts says that most of this system will be handled automatically.
"Sprinting or using contextual navigation initiates the Lowered stance," the post says. "Moving slowly and deliberately keeps your weapon in the Ready stance. When in the Lowered stance (entered by sprinting or using contextual navigation), pressing the Fire button will bring you back into the Ready stance. When in the Ready stance, pressing the Aim button brings you into the Aim Down Sight stance. Releasing the held button returns the weapon to the Ready stance."
The HUD while looking through the sights.
Roberts is also adding a new system for breathing and stamina to help reinforce a system of stat trade-offs between different kinds of weapons and armor. Heavier gear will drain players of stamina more, causing them to breath more heavily which, in turn, makes their aim more erratic. Players, much like real soldiers, will have to be careful so that they don't end up tiring their avatars. For the best aim, they'll also need to fire at the tops and bottoms of breaths to ensure that the chest isn't moving when they're shooting.
Roberts says that this will provide more balance and a refocused approach to shooting in games. "This is intended to slow the pace of combat, so that it feels more tactical and reinforces our intention that survival takes consideration, rather than random firing."
These features will be included along with the introduction of the FPS module code-named "Star Marine." There is no concrete date for Star Marine.
The listing shows a price tag of €29.99, or just over $30. According to Google translate, this release is being labeled as a "premium edition" and would most likely include both of the released episodes. The Steam release runs $25 and includes Episode and 1 and 2.
GameSpot reviewed Broken Sword V close to its release in 2013, awarding it an 8 out of 10 and noting that the game was "immediately charming."
We've reached out to the game's developer, Revolution Software, asking them to comment on the posting and will update when we have more information.
Earlier today developer Bungie revealed the release date for the House of Wolves Destiny expansion, and we learned more details about what will (and what will not) be included in the update from a post on the official Bungie website. The most interesting piece of new information is that House of Wolves will not include raids.
"House of Wolves will not have a Raid activity," reads a message on the site. "We didn't make this decision lightly. Our team has been humbled by the reception of Raids in Destiny and we are creating a new Raid for a release later this year."
This upends the House of Wolves leak earlier this week from a reliable source that described the inclusion of a new Raid. To fill that gap, Destiny will have a cooperative battle arena called Prison of Elders that will focus on "variety, replayability, and skill."
Next week Bungie will discuss the upgrade path for gear in House of Wolves, but an image on the site indicates that for the first time you'll be able to upgrade the damage cap for non-exotic weapons. The image to the right shows what looks like Fatebringer rising from 300 to 365.
Kids are playing more video games than ever these days. At least according to data from the US Department of Education. That might be cause for some to worry about the intellectual future of the next generation, but Erik Martin disagrees.
Martin is in charge of the Department of Education's Games for Learning program, which will hold a conference to discuss the future of video games and schooling. Speaking to Polygon, he said, "If you look at the life of a student a lot of [them] play on average about 10,000 hours of video games by the time they are graduating high school. That is almost the same amount of time they are spending in schools. You can imagine a lot of the time which of the two activities they might feel more engaged in or more relevant."
Right now, educational games have some hefty stereotypes associated with them. By bringing educators, researchers, students, and game makers together, Martin thinks that can change.
"If you can take that experience of getting outside of school and make it feel just as relevant and just as compelling when they're in school learning stuff and doing stuff and doing something that's interesting and educational, that's the bridging we want to provide."
"This is not about looking at games because they are cool or they are fun, they're a real educational solution."
One of gaming's largest publishers, Ubisoft, will be attending the conference and presenting about games like Assassin's Creed which relies on a high degree of historical accuracy. "Over the years we've heard of universities across US using the games to engage students," Ubisoft Public relations director Michael Beadle told Polygon. "[They] compare the in-game history with the history they learned in class to show students what these periods of history look like visually."
Ubisoft consults with historians and linguists to ensure accuracy for many of their characters and groups, including the Kanien'kesga:ka (Mohawk) nation from Assassin's Creed III as Forbes explains in this article. "History is a core component of the Assassins' Creed franchise," Beadle said, "and one that we know has taught millions of players over the years about key characters and historical events by experiencing pivotal moments in history."
Games for Learning is just the most recent initiative to push for integrating video games into schools. Almost three years ago, we reported on a special version of Minecraft that had been adapted to help teachers present historical, scientific, and other lessons to children. Martin believes that using specialized games to make learning more entertaining and engaging are the keys to the future of education. "This is not about looking at games because they are cool or they are fun, they're a real educational solution."
Runbow, the Wii-U exclusive couch co-op game from indie developer 13AM Games is going to expand it's roster with a few cameos from other recent indie favorites. Part racer, part platformer, Runbow won us over with it's charming graphical style and nine-player co-op shenanigans at Nintendo's GDC indie showcase earlier this year.
Here's the full list of additional racers announced for the game:
While none of the new characters have any special powers or introduce any new gameplay mechanics, a representative from the developer explained, "Adding these characters came from a desire to celebrate games we love and fellow eShop developers who have been supportive of Runbow."
Runbow is set to release later this year.
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