Thursday, June 25, 2015

The latest News from GameSpot News On 06/26/2015

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The latest News from GameSpot

In the 06/26/2015 edition:

Get $200 by Reporting Online Hacks in Dinosaur Game Ark

By Chris Pereira on Jun 26, 2015 12:17 am

Ark: Survival Evolved maker Studio Wildcard has doubled the reward for its bounty program, and is now offering $200 to anyone who reports in-game hacks or exploits that fulfill certain criteria.

Over on the game's Steam forums this week, Wildcard announced the first recipient of the original bounty, which at the time offered $100. In that case, player ZeroDay(++) contacted the company about a "potential hack/exploit which could force servers to crash unexpectedly, as well as have other unintended side-effects." After sharing the steps for reproducing the issue, the studio was able to see the exploit for itself, and a few hours later, $100 had been sent through PayPal.

Since then, Wildcard has decided to double the bounty to $200. Keep in mind, there are limitations on what qualifies for this--Wildcard is looking for any kind of hack "that can have an impact on gameplay or server stability," but it must work on the official online servers. Single-player cheats or those that work on unofficial servers don't qualify, nor do things like aimbots or speedhacks.

Everything submitted to Wildcard (through the email address info@studiowildcard.com) will be evaluated, and you may still qualify for a bounty "if we determine that the issue falls outside the scope of 'hacks,' but still qualifies as an extremely critical bug (such as wide-scale easy duping, or methods of crashing the server, etc.)."

You won't necessarily receive a reply to your email, but Wildcard insists it's reading everything it receives. There are, however, a number of frequently reported hacks that it says it doesn't care about, so you should avoid emailing about those. According to a post on Steam, they include:

  • ArtificialAiming: These guys make ESP/Aimbots/Enhanced Perception mods. We don't want to hear about these, we know, and VAC will handle them.
  • MrAntiFun: This guy makes OFFLINE, SINGLE-PLAYER CHEATS ONLY. It says so on his website.
  • CheatHappens: These guys make OFFLINE, SINGLE-PLAYER CHEATS ONLY. It says so on their website.
  • GameCopy World: These guys provide OFFLINE, SINGLE-PLAYER CHEATS/TRAINERS ONLY.
  • ANY exploit that cannot be used online, on our official servers. This means things like making single-player characters which can be uploaded to non-official servers, or admins that are abusing their powers on non-official private servers.

Ark launched in Steam Early Access earlier this month and has already made more than $10 million. In addition to PC, the game is set to come to Xbox One and PS4.


Microsoft's Hololens Will Be Used on the International Space Station

By Alex Newhouse on Jun 26, 2015 12:09 am

When Microsoft announced its Hololens augmented reality headset, the company described its many potential uses, including in games and in science. Today, NASA revealed its own plans for the headset: It will be sending two of them up to the International Space Station.

Using an application called Sidekick, astronauts will use Hololens to assist in training and procedures necessary on the ISS. During day-to-day actions, the headset will provide support and guidance.

According to NASA, Sidekick has two elements: Remote Expert mode and Procedure mode. The first allows a technician or operator on Earth to Skype in and talk with the astronaut. The headset transmits the astronaut's view to the operator, who then can talk him or her through a situation. The operator can also draw and annotate on the astronaut's view via the headset.

Procedure mode layers illustrations and text over objects, augmenting the astronaut's knowledge and reducing the amount of training necessary for carrying out some operations.

The devices are going up to the Space Station on June 28 on board commercial rocket company SpaceX's next resupply flight. This flight is also notable because SpaceX will make another attempt to land its rocket on a barge after delivering the supplies into orbit.

We were recently able to go hands-on with Hololens to interact with a Halo AR simulation. You can check out our preview here. Microsoft also showed off Minecraft running on the headset.


New Diablo 3 Patch Adds Higher Difficulty, New Zone, and a Diablo 2-Style Item

By Chris Pereira on Jun 25, 2015 11:36 pm

Ahead of its launch on the Public Test Realm, Blizzard has detailed Diablo III's patch 2.3.0, and it looks to be a major update.

Perhaps the most significant component of 2.3.0 is a new zone, Ruins of Sescheron, that you'll be able to visit. Blizzard says this area houses "mysteries from the lore of the mighty Barbarians" and the chance to obtain Kanai's Cube.

This new item is something of a callback to the Horadric Cube, an item that players set out to obtain in Diablo II. It served as both part of the story and as an item that allowed you to craft certain things. Kanai's Cube is said to be what the Horadric Cube originated from, and it thusly has more extensive powers. With one in hand, you'll be able to break down Legendary items and then equip special effects from them as passive skills. You'll also be able to convert crafting materials into different types, among other things.

Crafting in general is being overhauled to make it "easier and more fluid than ever." This is being done in part by making it so that the results of your crafting scale dynamically to your level, allowing for there to be fewer crafting recipes overall.

Other changes in 2.3.0 include the addition of four new Torment difficulty levels (making Torment X the new top difficulty) and new legendary and set items. Adventure mode is also being tweaked, as the Realm of Trials has been removed, act-specific crafting materials have been added to the rewards in Horadric Caches, and additional Caches will be granted by completing bonus acts.

2.3.0 will soon be available on Public Test Realms, where you're able to try out new content ahead of its official release. There's no word on when the patch will debut in the game proper, but Blizzard warns that some aspects of it could change between now and then.


Uncharted Movie Changes Directions Again, Loses Another Director - Report

By Chris Pereira on Jun 25, 2015 10:38 pm

The turbulent production on the film adaptation of the Uncharted series continues its rocky road, as the movie has now reportedly lost yet another director.

As initially reported by Heroic Hollywood and later io9, Seth Gordon (Horrible Bosses, Identity Thief) is no longer attached to direct. However, the reasoning for this is unclear, as Heroic claims that Sony Pictures boss Tom Rothman requested the movie be done with a lower budget, while io9's source indicates it's a matter of "simply going in a new direction."

Whatever the case, the movie is likely to be quite different under a new director than it would have been with Gordon, who had previously talked about telling an original story, rather than rehashing that of the games.

As of last summer, Gordon said filming was set to begin in "very early" 2015, something that obviously didn't happen.

The movie was first announced way back in 2009, only for it to repeatedly fall apart. It's had a number of directors (including David O. Russell and Neil Burger) attached, with even more actors mentioned as possibilities, including Mark Wahlberg, Robert DeNiro, Joe Pesci, Amy Adams, and Scarlett Johansson. Chris Pratt is among those to pass on the role of Nathan Drake, while Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg (of Superbad fame) famously passed on the chance to write the movie. "It's just going to be Indiana Jones," Goldberg said in 2013. "If we could figure out a way to make it not Indiana Jones, it'd be awesome."

As part of the Sony Pictures hack, we learned a number of new details for what had been planned for the movie, and we even got a look at a 124-page script. In all likelihood, much (if not all) of what we've heard previously will be scrapped going forward.

In terms of the Uncharted games, a remastered trilogy is due out for PS4 on October 9, while Uncharted 4: A Thief's End will be released in early 2016.


GTA V Remakes the Opening of PBS Children's Show Arthur

By Alex Newhouse on Jun 25, 2015 10:23 pm

Grand Theft Auto V has allowed inspired players to recreate scenes from all sorts of different TV shows and movies. Recently, the opening to Full House even got the GTA treatment.

Now, you can watch the opening of the PBS children's show Arthur remade shot-for-shot in the game by YouTube user Merfish. The result is something far from family-friendly and educational. Check out the video below, and then watch the side-by-side comparison:

I don't know about you, but I think this is the most haunting remake yet, especially when the "Arthur" lookalike shoots the woman and then jumps out of the shot. This would be quite the beginning to a gritty reboot of the show.

Some other remakes include a tribute to Red Dead Redemption and a Vice City mod for the game. Considering how dedicated these users are, many more shows and movies will be reimagined in GTA in the future.


Apple Removes Games From App Store for Showing the Confederate Flag -- Report

By Alex Newhouse on Jun 25, 2015 10:01 pm

The nature of showing the Confederate flag in media has been hotly debated over the last week, and many companies have removed it. Warner Bros., for example, has canceled production on Dukes of Hazzard toy cars with the flag painted on top. Now, Apple is responding in a similar way.

According to a report from TouchArcade, Apple has removed several games from its App Store for including images of the flag. Included among these are several games depicting the history of the American Civil War, such as Ultimate General: Gettysburg and the Civil War series.

Developers are reporting that Apple is removing their games "because [they] include images of the Confederate flag used in offensive and mean-spirited ways."

Ultimate General studio Game Labs told TouchArcade that it was disappointed with Apple's decision, but it was not going to fight it. Studio head Maxim Zasov explained, "We believe that all historical art forms: books, movies, or games such as ours, help to learn and understand history, depicting events as they were. True stories are more important to us than money. Therefore we are not going to amend the game's content and Ultimate General: Gettysburg will no longer be available on AppStore. We really hope that Apple's decision will achieve the desired results. We can't change history, but we can change the future."

The director of the Civil War series at developer Hunted Cow wrote to Kotaku that his studio is working to replace the flag in its games: "It seems disappointing that they would remove it as they weren't being used in an offensive way, being that they were historical war games and hence it was the flag used at the time. At the moment we're reworking the games to replace the flags that are deemed offensive. We're going to use the Confederate flag from 1861 and 1862 as the one that's considered offensive wasn't introduced until late 1862."

GameSpot has reached out for comment from Apple and will update this article if we hear back. Apple has been known for pulling games from the App Store in the past; in 2014, the company removed apps that mentioned or showed the process of growing marijuana.


Xbox Free Games With Gold Revealed for July

By Alex Newhouse on Jun 25, 2015 09:22 pm

Microsoft has announced that Games With Gold will now include two new Xbox One games every month starting in July, and revealed the latest crop of new titles.

Xbox Games With Gold program has steadily gotten better since it began, and July's offerings are pretty great. Among the new titles are Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag for Xbox One and Gears of War 3 for Xbox 360.

If you are an Xbox Live Gold subscriber, you can pick up the following games for free during the upcoming month:

Considering the recently announced Xbox One backwards compatibility for 360 games, it's a good idea to pick up the 360 offerings this month. Even though these specific games aren't playable yet on the Xbox One, Microsoft is planning to roll out greater support as the service becomes more widely available this fall.

Which games interest you? Let us know in the comments.


MotoGP Dev Warns of Xbox One Performance Issues

By Tamoor Hussain on Jun 25, 2015 08:54 pm

MotoGP 15 developer Milestone has said it is aware of a bug that "could affect the quality of the gaming experience" on Xbox One version of the game and is working to resolve it.

"With the latest tests, we noticed that the Xbox One version could be affected with some known bugs," explained Milestone vice president Luisa Bixio.

"For this reason we're working really hard to bring a patch close to the Day 1 release in order to fix all the possible issues and make the best experience for our players.

"As always our customer support is completely at players' disposal in the event of possible issues."

Published by Bandai Namco, MotoGP 15 was released for Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and PC on June 24.


Fallout 4 Publisher Bethesda Unsure About Another E3 Press Conference

By Tamoor Hussain on Jun 25, 2015 08:07 pm

Fallout publisher Bethesda is unsure whether it will host a press conference at E3 2016, or ever again.

Speaking to the Telegraph, Bethesda vice president Pete Hines said this year felt like the appropriate time to do it, given its portfolio of upcoming titles and its growing profile.

"I don't know if we'll do one next year," he said. "I don't know if we'll do one again. This year felt like the right time to do this kind of thing."

"Honestly, [this is] where my focus is: execute on this stuff that we're talking about and work with the MachineGames and Tangos and all the other studios to say 'ok, how do we do the next thing with you guys even better?' What does that look like? And how do we push ourselves forward?'"

Bethesda revealed and exhibited number of new titles in prominent franchises at E3 2015. Among them was Fallout 4, which had a lengthy gameplay demo, Dishonored 2's debut, and the return of Doom.

According to Hines, a press conference was necessary this year as it allowed Bethesda to accomplish more than it could have with just a booth on the show floor.

"No matter what we do in our booth, we only get a subset of people that attend E3," he said. "I'm not sure what the attendance is this year but let's say 40,000. There's no way we're getting 40,000 people to our booth to see everything. You're lucky to get four."

He continued: "So part of it was if we do have this line up and feel good about it we need to do it in a way that everybody can see it whether they're here or not."

"Anybody who wants to can see what we have to show about Fallout 4. There's no mystery, we're not trying to hide anything or exclude people. Whether it's press or retail or fans or whomever."

For see everything shown at the event, take a look at our Bethesda E3 2015 press conference news round-up.


The Witcher 3 PS4 and Xbox One Patch Released

By Tamoor Hussain on Jun 25, 2015 06:41 pm

Acclaimed RPG The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has been updated with a new patch on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

Patch 1.05 introduces a number of tweaks to improve overall performance of the game.

Among them are fixes to removing skills using the Potion of Clearance, tweaks to the UI, and fixing the gate in the crypt during the Scavenger Hunt: Viper School Gear quest.

The full list of changes can be found below.

  • Gold will no longer reset beyond 65535
  • Fixes lack of interaction with Roche on Oxenfurt Bridge in the quest 'Get Junior'
  • Geralt's clothes will no longer be wet after leaving the menu
  • The gate in the crypt now works correctly during the quest 'Scavenger Hunt: Viper School Gear'
  • Fixes the endless loading screen when fighting the Ice Giant during the quest 'Lord Undvik'
  • Mutagen bonuses will now be saved properly
  • Potion of Clearance will no longer be automatically placed into the quick slot if player runs out of other edibles
  • Fixes issue where some skills were not removed properly by Potion of Clearance
  • Improves stability in gameplay and the UI

According to CD Projekt Red, the team is "working on another, pretty big update which will bring a large number of amendments to the game," which is scheduled to be released soon.

In GameSpot's The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt review, we awarded the game 10/10. Among other things, it was praised for its "phenomenal, beautiful open world, absorbing story, and fantastic detail."


XCOM 2 Gameplay Video Shows New Sabotage Mission Type

By Tamoor Hussain on Jun 25, 2015 06:11 pm

Publisher 2K Games has released a new gameplay video for XCOM 2.

The footage, which you can watch below, is narrated by XCOM 2 producer Jake Solomon, who highlights some of the key differences between XCOM: Enemy Unknown, and this sequel.

The portion of the gameplay demo shown takes place on the anniversary of Unification Day, which commemorates humankind's surrender to the aliens.

XCOM soldiers are sent on a sabotage mission, which is one of the new mission types that is being introduced in the sequel.

XCOM 2's release date will be in November, 2K has confirmed. The game is currently on scheduled for launch on PC.

The sequel "transports players 20 years into the future, where humanity lost the war against the alien threat that has established a new world order."

"The secret paramilitary organization known as XCOM is largely forgotten, and must strike back to reclaim control of Earth and free mankind from the aliens' rule."

Among the new features for XCOM 2 are procedurally-generated levels, which "will make each experience unique to the player," and a "deeper level of modding support."

The game will also feature five updated soldier classes, increased soldier customisation, a variety of new alien and enemy types, evolved tactical combat, "and more."

For more on XCOM 2, check out GameSpot's in-depth reveal report.

Click image to view in full screen


Batman: Arkham Knight PC Problems Reported [Update 8]

By Rob Crossley on Jun 25, 2015 03:20 pm

The PC edition of Batman: Arkham Knight appears to be carrying noticeable bugs and glitches, especially for those using AMD graphics cards, with message boards lighting up as players report numerous problems.

Chief among the PC version's technical issues are sporadic freezes, frame-rate stutters, and audio glitches. Some players had expected issues after Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment adjusted its system requirements, leaving with it a warning about AMD compatibility problems.

[Update 1: Developer Rocksteady has released a statement: "We're aware that some users are reporting performance issues with the PC version of Batman: Arkham Knight. This is something that Rocksteady takes very seriously. We are working closely with our external PC development partner to make sure these issues get resolved as quickly as possible."]

[Update 2: A mass of disappointed customers have begun to criticise the game on its user Steam page. At the time of going to press, 70 percent of customers have not recommended the title, with some 2,000 customers penning negative reviews.]

[Update 3: Retailer Green Man Gaming has pledged to offer refunds if the next patch for the game does not fix most of the issues.]

[Update 4: Ahead of its patch, publisher Warner Bros has offered guidelines on which Batman Arkham Knight PC settings people should select to curb some of the problems.]

[Update 5: Warner Bros. has suspended sales of the PC version of the game until the issues are fixed.]

[Update 6: Graphics card giant Nvidia has said it is offering its QA and technical assistance to help quell the problem.]

[Update 7: GameSpot has produced a graphics comparison video, below, which shows that the PC edition lacks some of the key graphical features of the PS4 version.]

[Update 8: Warner Bros. has requested that UK retailer Game cease selling PC copies of Batman: Arkham Knight. Update ends.]

Gary Lake-Schall, the VP of game technology at Warner Bros Interactive, wrote on Steam that "there are some known issues with the performance of Batman: Arkham Knight for PC owners using AMD graphics cards."

He added: "We are working closely with AMD to rectify these issues as quickly as possible and will provide updates here as they become available. We thank you for your patience in this matter."

Following the publication of this message, AMD has released numerous driver updates in a bid to help resolve the glitches. Nvidia has done the same, though it should be noted only those using AMD cards have found problems.

Technical discussions on the games forum NeoGAF offer some unofficial workarounds to various problems, including means to lift the 30-frames-per-second cap.

Batman: Arkham Knight shipped across North America and Europe on June 23.

GameSpot's Batman: Arkham Knight review was praiseworthy overall, but aired many reservations.

Click on the thumbnails below to view in full-screen


Nvidia Helping Fix Batman: Arkham Knight's PC Problems

By Tamoor Hussain on Jun 25, 2015 03:07 pm

Graphics card manufacturer Nvidia is working with WB Games to resolve Batman: Arkham Knight's PC problems.

In a statement provided to VideoGamer, an Nvidia representative said it is offering assistance on quality assurance and engineering to the publisher.

"We are working with WB Games and the development teams to address the performance issues of the of the PC version of Batman: Arkham Knight," the company said.

"We have made our QA and engineering resources available and will provide updates when they are available."

Prior to release, Nvidia talked up numerous graphical enhancements that would be available to Batman: Arkham Knight players on PC using one its graphics cards.

The company also promoted its GeForce GTX 970 and 980 by offering a free copy of the game with every purchase.

PC players of Batman: Arkham Knight reported noticeable bugs, glitches, and other performance issues, leading publisher Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment to pull the game from Steam while its problems were remedied.

Gary Lake-Schaal, VP of Game Technology at Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, apologised for performance issues in a statement posted on Steam.

"We want to apologize to those of you who are experiencing performance issues with Batman: Arkham Knight on PC," he said. "We take these issues very seriously and have therefore decided to suspend future game sales of the PC version while we work to address these issues to satisfy our quality standards."

"We greatly value our customers and know that while there are a significant amount of players who are enjoying the game on PC, we want to do whatever we can to make the experience better for PC players overall."

Ahead of its patch, publisher Warner Bros has offered guidelines on which Batman Arkham Knight PC settings people should select to curb some of the problems.

Retailer Green Man Gaming has pledged to offer refunds if the next patch for the game does not fix most of the issues.

Click image to view in full screen


Shenmue 3 Creator Says Sony Won't See a Cent of Kickstarter Funds

By Tamoor Hussain on Jun 25, 2015 01:51 pm

Yu Suzuki, creator of the Shenmue series, has addressed questions regarding the funding of Shenmue 3 and Sony's involvement in the project.

In a update posted on the Shenmue 3 Kickstarter page, Suzuki ensured fans that crowdsourced "funds are going strictly to Ys Net for development of Shenmue 3."

"Sony and Shibuya Productions are not seeing a cent of your Kickstarter dollars," he added.

According to Suzuki, Sony will provide assistance on production, marketing and publishing.

"While it is not business practice to discuss the specific details of such arrangements, I can say that with their assistance on the production and marketing end, and in Sony's case with some publishing support as well, Ys Net is able to use more of the money we collect through Kickstarter purely for Shenmue 3's development."

Continuing, Suzuki laid out his ambitions for expanding the game, provided that stretch goals are reached. At the $5 million mark there will be "an all new gameplay feature," and at $10 million "a much larger, completely open world will be yours to explore."

"Even if these Stretch Goals are not reached, Shenmue 3 will already be a sequel true to its name, and one we can all be proud of," he said. "It is my hope though, that together we can make this Shenmue just as revolutionary as the first two were."

Shenmue 3, the long-awaited sequel to a Dreamcast classic, was announced during Sony's E3 2015 press conference, when Suzuki appeared on stage beside PlayStation's Adam Boyes to launch the Kickstarter.

Development is being handled primarily by Ys Net, a studio founded by Yu Suzuki in 2008. Shibuya Productions, a Monaco-based company that produces and promotes animation, games and movies, is also involved in the project, alongside Sony.

Suzuki has said the game will be a "full-on Shenmue experience," and initially asked for $2 million in funding to start work on the project.

Within a couple of hours the campaign crossed $1 million mark, and just a few hours later, its funding goal. At the time of writing this it has raised more than $3,600,000, with 22 days to go.

Take a look at some of the artwork for the game in the gallery below.

Click image to view in full screen


Batman: Arkham Knight Voluntarily Being Taken Off Steam Until Fixed

By Zorine Te on Jun 25, 2015 06:45 am

[Update] Batman: Arkham Knight's PC problems and the resulting repercussions have now spread to physical copies of the game. An employee for UK retailer Game has told Eurogamer that it is "not allowed to sell" the game as Warner Bros. has requested the retailer cease supplying the title while its problems are remedied.[Update ends]

After a string of reports about PC performance issues, Batman: Arkham Knight is being taken off the Steam store temporarily. The news was posted on Steam today by Gary Lake-Schaal, VP of Game Technology at Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. In it, he apologises for the performance issues being experienced by owners of the PC version of the game and states that future game sales will be suspended while they work out the problems. The same post was also made on the official Warner Bros. forums. GameSpot reached out to Warner Bros. who has confirmed the authenticity of the post.

The post opens with:

"We want to apologize to those of you who are experiencing performance issues with Batman: Arkham Knight on PC. We take these issues very seriously and have therefore decided to suspend future game sales of the PC version while we work to address these issues to satisfy our quality standards. We greatly value our customers and know that while there are a significant amount of players who are enjoying the game on PC, we want to do whatever we can to make the experience better for PC players overall"

Players are also reminded that they can flag issues they are experiencing in the game with Warner Bros. customer support. Refunds can also be requested via Steam or at the retailer where the game was purchased.

Earlier today it was reported that the PC version of Batman: Arkham Knight was carrying a number of prominent bugs and glitches, especially for players who were using AMD graphics cards. Developer Rocksteady has released a statement in response to this, stating: "We're aware that some users are reporting performance issues with the PC version of Batman: Arkham Knight. This is something that Rocksteady takes very seriously. We are working closely with our external PC development partner to make sure these issues get resolved as quickly as possible."


Destiny: The Taken King Collector's Edition Content Now Available Separately

By Alex Newhouse on Jun 25, 2015 06:17 am

Destiny developer Bungie sparked controversy this week as it became known that some in-game items would only be available with the purchase of Destiny: The Taken King's Collector's Edition.

Several class items, shaders, and emotes were to be locked behind the $80 purchase, meaning that current players would have to buy the base game and first two expansions again to get those items. Yesterday, I wrote an editorial about how Bungie should fix this by letting loyal players get this content in a different way.

Collector's Edition content

Bungie listened to the criticism and today in its Weekly Update announced that the digital items in the Collector's Edition would be available as a purchase outside of that version of the game. The Taken King creative director Luke Smith explained that players will be able to buy a $20 upgrade to the $40 expansion to get that digital content. In other words, players who own the base game and its previous expansions can pay $60 to get The Taken King, the class items, the shaders, and the emotes.

Players who have reached level 30 or have played both prior expansions will still rank as VIPs and will receive some exclusive rewards. You can see the VIP shader, emblem, and sparrow below:

The Taken King launches in September, and it will feature a new raid, some strikes, a new story, and multiplayer changes and additions. Check out our previews of the multiplayer and the story.


Our Favorite Moments of E3 2015

By GameSpot Staff on Jun 25, 2015 05:00 am

E3 2015 is over. Another week full of game announcements, interviews, demos, and trailers is behind us. This week lets us have some time to breathe and look back on all that we saw during the conference. Everything at E3 gave a glimpse at what is to come, but some games and announcements were particularly striking. Here are some of our favorite moments from E3 2015.

The Last Guardian -- Alexa Ray Corriea

There was something kind of magical about being in a room full of people when The Last Guardian was shown during Sony's press conference. Everyone went quiet as Scott Rhode began his announcement, and we thought that maybe it wasn't this, it couldn't be this, it had been too long... But lo and behold, there it was. I think I must have begun laughing hysterically or something, because others were looking at me. But then we were all just... silent. Reverential, even. The best moment of E3 was seeing this white whale, this mystical unicorn of game development suddenly there, in front of us, with a 2016 release date. It was surreal.

Halo 5: Guardians -- Eddie Makuch

Halo 5: Guardians was my E3 game of show. After Halo 4 wasn't everything I hoped it would be, and the obvious issues with Halo: The Master Chief Collection, Halo 5 appears to be on track to move the franchise forward in an exciting, meaningful way. Halo 5's 12v12 Warzone mode is a total blast. It's controlled chaos on the biggest maps the Halo series has ever seen. I played a few rounds at E3 and can't wait to jump back in come October. Also at E3 this year, I tried the Halo HoloLens experience. It's not a game, but rather a demonstration of the augmented reality technology--and an impressive one. I didn't go into E3 this year thinking I would be so excited about such a "legacy" franchise, but that's exactly what happened.

Unravel -- Alex Newhouse

Few announcements could make a room full of adults laugh will child-like delight, but EA's reveal of Unravel was one of them. We all smiled as the creator came on stage, shaking with nerves as he talked about his project at last. We oohed as he held up a real-world Yarny, Unravel's adorable main character. As the gameplay showed off Yarny swinging from red twine through beautiful environments, we were hooked. The 2D platformer got the most vocally positive reaction of any game shown in the press conferences, and I cannot wait to jump in and control Yarny myself. EA surprised us all with this eclectic, cute game, and its announcement was my favorite moment of the show.

Virtual Reality -- Tamoor Hussain

I tried a virtual reality headset for the first time with Sony's Project Morpheus and, surprisingly, came away completely sold. Sure, putting on a giant headset and headphones made me significantly more vulnerable to malicious forces in the outside world, but it also immersed me in a game like never before.

In Impulse Gear (working title), I was dropped on an alien world somewhere between planet Zebes and Installation 04 to fend off waves of enemy combatants. Truth be told, I was terrible at it. Despite the fact that the game realistically mimicked the movements of the PlayStation Move-equipped plastic gun in my real hand--going so far as to let me raise it to my face and look down the sights--I was too distracted by scenery to avoid becoming spider-chow.

The unnamed alien world completely enveloped me, and there was an unshakable sense of realism. I knew I was in a poorly air-conditioned room in LA, surrounded by people who were probably pointing and laughing as I tried to duck non-existent bullets. Yet I gazed in wonder at the strange crystal formations on a cave wall, I flinched from shock as a geyser erupted nearby, and I nearly fell flat on my ass when a meteor crashed into the ground mere feet away from me.

I won't be as bold as some have and proclaim VR as the future of gaming, but it's it's definitely one of them, and I couldn't be more excited about it.

Final Fantasy VII Remake -- Peter Brown

There was no shortage of personally gratifying moments at E3 this year, but when the trailer for Final Fantasy VII Remake hit the screen during the Sony press conference, I was beside myself. They're actually going for it.

People have been pushing Square Enix to revisit the game for a long time, but their demands were almost always met with resistance. Many people thought it was too grand to remake and would likely require an astronomical budget. However, I believed that other factors would dissuade Square Enix from giving it a shot. Final Fantasy VII is a divisive game, one that people largely love or hate. It's been torn apart and examined ad nauseam. How, I thought, could Square Enix ever recreate something that's so well known and so far removed from the RPGs it makes today? In a world where publishers favor caution above risk, I didn't think they had the balls to do it. Boy, was I wrong.

Even though the Remake will deviate from the source material in countless ways, I'm thrilled to see a major publisher step out of their comfort zone. I have no reason to be confident that I'll like the finished product, but based on the announcement alone, I can't wait to see what Square Enix comes up with. I guarantee it will be a surprise.

What were your favorite moments of E3? Let us know in the comments!


Doom 4 Was Rebooted Because It was Too Much Like Other Shooters

By Alex Newhouse on Jun 25, 2015 03:41 am

Last week at E3 2015, developer Bethesda showed off substantial gameplay of its upcoming Doom reboot. However, back in 2008 the studio announced Doom 4, the fourth in the storied franchise, but that game was canceled and development restarted in 2013. A new interview suggests that the game was scrapped because it was too similar to other shooters.

Speaking with Polygon, Bethesda's Pete Hines said that Doom 4 ended up departing too much from classic Doom games, to the point where it lost the feel of the series. As a result, it drifted more toward the design of other popular shooters until Bethesda decided it needed to rethink development.

"We decided that it wasn't Doom enough and needed to be thrown out and started over," Hines explained. "You can probably close your eyes and imagine a 'Call of Doom' or a 'BattleDoom' game, where it starts to feel way too much like: 'Wait, this doesn't feel like Doom, it feels like we're playing some other franchise with a Doom skin on it.'"

He described the game as too slow and overly dependent on common elements of other shooter games. Doom 4 didn't have nearly as robust an execution system as the reboot, either. According to Hines, "The combat was more disconnected, you almost found yourself taking cover at times and using things from other FPSes, which might be fine for them, but for Doom it just doesn't feel right."

The reboot, called simply Doom, will launch sometime in 2016 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. At E3, the game's producer assured players that even though the game looked easy during its demo, it will still pose a significant challenge when the final product comes out. You can check out our impressions of the gameplay shown off here.


World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor Boss's Final Cinematic Leaked

By Alex Newhouse on Jun 25, 2015 03:12 am

World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor has been out since November, but it just got new content with the latest patch. This update also leaked the final cinematic of Warlords of Draenor's last raid.

Update 6.2 has added the final assault in the Hellfire Citadel. According to a leak from the website MMO Champion, it appears that players fight Archimonde at the end of the assault, and this raid is currently rumored to be the last in the expansion. The cinematic certainly has an air of finality about it.

If you don't mind spoilers, you can check out the video below.

Even though the fight with Archimonde could be the last raid in Warlords of Draenor, the long-running MMO will still likely get more content in the future. Developer Blizzard has stated that it is already planning more expansions, and last November it trademarked something called "Eye of Azshara."

You can read our review of Warlords of Draenor here. Keep an eye on GameSpot for more news about World of Warcraft as it becomes available.


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