By Anonymous on Jul 17, 2015 12:08 am
If you've ever thought that you could design an item for an RPG, a new Dragon Age: Inquisition contest is giving you the possibility of getting an item in the game. Called the Untold Relics of Thedas Contest, this competition tasks Dragon Age players with creating accessory items for characters in the game. Developer BioWare has compiled a list of different item attributes that can be changed, and submitted designs should use combinations of these stats to change gameplay. Participants must also come up with names and backstories for their submissions. As BioWare wrote on its website, "Make [your item] funny, make it mysterious, make it sad, but above all else, make sure it affects gameplay in an interesting and unique way. Whether it's high risk/high reward or encourages nonstandard min-maxing, we want items that will get your fellow Inquisitors thinking about how they play in new ways." Three winners will be selected and given Dragon Age prize packs, and the developer will possibly include the winning items in future content packs for the game. If you have a design you want to submit, write an email to relics@bioware.com with your name, birthdate, email address, and item idea. Submissions are open now and run through Monday, July 20. Are you going to submit an item idea? Let us know in the comments below!
By Anonymous on Jul 16, 2015 11:54 pm
The iOS App Store's sales charts had already suggested that Fallout Shelter was a success, but now we have a more specific idea of how well it's done. According to research firm SuperData, Shelter earned $5.1 million in its first two weeks of availability alone. While Apple does get a 30 percent cut, that's still a very impressive figure, particularly considering Bethesda has said Shelter wasn't designed in order to make money. And, indeed, as anyone who's played the game can tell you, the free-to-play game's microtransactions are limited to one specific aspect of the game. You're not restricted from playing as much as you want, and the only things to spend money on are optional lunchboxes, which reward you with in-game items and characters. You even earn these occasionally by simply playing, and it's no doubt thanks in part to this player-friendly approach that the game has been so successful. Announced and then released at the start of E3 week, Fallout Shelter quickly rose to the number one spot on both the Top Free and Top Grossing charts of the iOS App Store. Currently, the game is available only on iOS, though an Android version is on the way. Last month, Shelter added its first Fallout 4 character. Since then, it's also received its first feature update, which introduced a photo mode that lets you easily capture and share images of the Vault you've designed. Fallout 4, the next proper entry in the Fallout series, is due out in November for Xbox One, PS4, and PC.
By Anonymous on Jul 16, 2015 11:51 pm
Sorcerer King is something of an oddity. It opens with the premise that you've played some other fantasy 4X game and lost. The world is now under the rule of an evil wizard with god-like powers, and you're the ward of a small province under his control. Your goal is to build up your forces and form alliances to challenge him without drawing his suspicion. All the while, you'll see a ticking "doomsday counter," which marks how close the villain is to re-making the world in his heinous image. That counter is a big pace-setter. Early on, when you're leading a pathetic band of covert rebels, you have little to contend with. As you grow your army, capture more territory, and forge alliances with other factions, however, the Sorcerer King will respond in kind--and you must be ready. Your basic troops, mostly bog-standard soldiers, pikemen, and archers can only do so much on their own, and they soon become obsolete unless you track down new items and equipment. This is where Sorcerer King's strongest feature--roguelike-inspired encounters--comes into play. Let's defend this magical shard for the sake of humanity!Throughout the map you'll find caves, dungeons, inns, abandoned villages, and plenty of other locations that offer isolated role-playing moments. Each one presents you with a situation that you have to resolve. Some are as simple as solving an obvious murder, while others require you to make judgment calls, such as guessing the intentions of a creepy-looking undertaker. How you proceed in each one of these situations will affect several stats, such as your fame in the world or your favor with the gods. Those traits, in turn, determine how other factions respond to you and how quickly the Sorcerer King recognizes you as a capable threat. These vignettes do most of the heavy lifting when it comes to establishing and fleshing out the setting. Each is well written, often laden with nuanced takes on morality as well as a wink and a nod to leave you with a chuckle. In my time with this not-quite-retail build, I found dozens of scenes across two matches--and not once did I see a repeat. It's still too early to see if that will hold for much longer, but my initial impressions are positive. It's great to see so much effort put into these scenarios because when it comes time for the mid-to-late game, they are the only way to get essential gear. As your poorly outfitted conscripts begin squaring off with ogres and dragons, they need more than dull knives and leather armor to survive. Completed quests will net your army a variety of rewards, such as a permanent reduction in the doomsday counter, holy weapons, or magic scrolls. You can then either equip your armies with the new loot or upgrade and enchant items for even bigger bonuses down the line. The sweet smell of imminent victory.Like many games of its type, Sorcerer King comes in two main pieces: big-scale strategy and tactical skirmishes. Both depend on each other, but the meat of the play is in the up-close-and-personal fights. Here, all the work you've put into crafting the perfect soldiers pays off. Depending on which items and enchantments your forces have, they'll gain powerful abilities or have the armor to shrug off all but the mightiest blows. Even before you hit that stage, the tactical battles are excellent. Archers, pikemen, and mounted units all have their own strengths that play off each other, making for a broad array of options. During one of my favorite moments, I ordered my soldiers to circle a group of ruffians. When it was time, I used a shield-bash to push the bandits into a narrow path. With the enemies blocked on all sides, my marksmen let loose a hail of arrows on the helpless scoundrels. Laying out these kinds of plans might sound involved, but Sorcerer King's interface makes it quick and easy. On the other side of that coin you have the grand strategy. In this part of the game, you'll develop alliances, build cities, tap resources, and launch a broader assault on the wicked Sorcerer King. One of the biggest new additions to the game since its debut in Early Access last year is the "favor system" for courting potential allies. Given that the whole premise is founded on asymmetrical combat between rebels and an all-powerful mage trying to the end the world, you'll want some friends to help you out. Well then, so what's plan B?Yetis, wraiths, dwarves, and plenty more dot the map and await your olive branch, but there's a catch. The Sorcerer King isn't dumb, and he's working each of these factions too. Speaking with any group will cause your relationship with one of the others to deteriorate, pushing them closer into the Sorcerer King's eager embrace. The yetis and the dwarves, for example, don't have much love for one another--so you'd better be ready to make some sacrifices and figure out who will be the best match for your own strategy. It'll be interesting to see how diplomacy plays into Sorcerer King's single-player campaign, but, at the time of writing, the story mode isn't live. So far, there's only a sandbox in which you can customize your leader and pick some options for your starting map. I haven't had time to finish one of these matches yet, putting four hours into one and eight into another. I'll have a more complete review in a few days when I've had the opportunity to dig into the end game and the campaign.
By Anonymous on Jul 16, 2015 11:18 pm
In the market for a new Xbox One? Here is a deal you might want to consider. Dell is currently offering the 500GB $350 Xbox One Halo: The Master Chief Collection bundle with a $100 Dell gift card. The gift card will be emailed to you in 10-20 days; it expires 90 days after your purchase.  The offer ends Monday, July 20. One other thing to note is that the bundle comes with a digital copy of Halo: The Master Chief Collection, not a physical one, which limits its resale value. In other Halo news, the shooter series recently reached 65 million units sold worldwide. Via: Slickdeals
By Anonymous on Jul 16, 2015 11:11 pm
Find Out Everything You Need to Know About the Halo Universe
Nine games, eighteen novels, two miniseries, short stories, comic books, and an anime series make up the Halo universe. It's daunting to try to keep track of all the different story elements that go into each Halo game. As a quick glimpse of the expanded Halo universe, we've put together a short look at some of the most important characters and events to help prepare you for the release of Halo 5: Guardians on October 27. There will be spoilers discussed throughout this gallery, so proceed accordingly.
Master Chief Petty Officer John-117, or The Master Chief
He's the main character of the Halo series, and one of the most iconic video game heroes of all time. The Spartan-II super solider was taken from his home at six years old and trained to fight human rebels. At age 14, he was physically enhanced to be stronger, tougher, quicker, and smarter. Among his group of Spartans, he was the leader. Following the fall of the planet Reach, Master Chief was pivotal in taking down the Covenant army and saving Earth from the Flood.
Cortana
Cortana is an artificial intelligence entity based on the brain of Dr. Catherine Halsey, the founder of the Spartan program. Cortana was taken off Reach by Noble Squad, and then accompanied Master Chief throughout the events of the four numbered Halo games. She was instrumental in the destruction of the Didact in Halo 4, helping to keep the Promethean attack at bay and ultimately blowing up the Didact's ship and herself.
Thel 'Vadam, or The Arbiter
As the leader of the Elites (aka Sangheili), the Arbiter was a crucial ally to John in achieving victory over the Covenant and the Flood. During the events of Halo: Combat Evolved, 'Vadam tried and failed to stop John from destroying Installation 04, one of the Halo rings. This caused the Covenant to strip him of his position and bestow upon him the indignity of the Arbiter rank, a designation meant to mark an Elite as a failure. The Arbiter then discovered that the Halo rings were actually weapons meant to wipe out all organic life in the galaxy, and this revelation caused him to split from the Covenant and join forces with the humans.
The Covenant
This union of alien forces was composed of Elites, Brutes, Jackals, Grunts, Hunters, and Prophets. The Prophets led while the Elites had control over the military, a division resulting from a past war between the two races. The Covenant was based on a religious belief that Forerunners were gods, and that to activate the Halo array would begin a "Great Journey" of divine salvation. The war with humans began because the Covenant wanted to gain control of Forerunner artifacts on human worlds.
The Flood
Nothing inspires fear in the Halo universe quite like the Flood. This parasitic enemy takes control of corpses, reanimates them, and uses them to swarm over its prey. Although unintelligent normally, the Flood can amass bodies and minerals to create a sentient, self-aware organism known as the Gravemind. After the creation of the Gravemind, the Flood becomes incredibly dangerous and capable of using advanced technology. The parasite reached Earth during the events of Halo 3, but ultimately it was beaten back and completely wiped out by Elite strikes on Earth and Master Chief's destruction of the Ark, the construction point of the Halo Array.
Halo Array
The Forerunners built the Halo rings as a last-ditch weapon to fight against the Flood. They have immense power, capable of destroying all sentient life in the galaxy if activated. Since the Flood needs to consume sentient organisms to survive, an activation of the Halo Array would effectively starve the parasite. The rings have only been used once in their entirety, when the Forerunners used them to drive the Flood nearly extinct. During Halo: CE, Master Chief destroyed Installation 04, which triggered the Ark construct to automatically begin building a replacement. In Halo 3, he blew up the replacement ring at the Ark.
Forerunners
Over a hundred thousand years before the events of the Halo games, the super-intelligent species known as the Forerunners lived and built a civilization. Forerunner society stretched across the Milky Way, and their structures and machines still are found throughout the galaxy. They were able to access a mental Internet of sorts, called the Domain, that connected the Forerunners to a massive store of information. They, along with the Domain, were destroyed after the Forerunners activated the Halo Array to combat the first infestation of the Flood. The Halo ring custodial AI known as "monitors," like 343 Guilty Spark, are also products of Forerunner technology.
The Didact
The highest commander of the Forerunner warrior class, the Didact fought against the humans in the Human-Forerunner War and also struggled against the Flood during the first infestation. There were actually two Didacts with the same personality and memories; the Iso-Didact led the charge against the Flood and died when the Halo rings were fired, and the Ur-Didact fought in the Human-Forerunner War and then was imprisoned in hibernation in a chamber for the next 100,000 years. Ultimately during the events of Halo 4, Master Chief was tricked into releasing the Ur-Didact, who had been corrupted by a Gravemind during the first Flood infestation. The Ur-Didact attempted to wipe out the entire human race, as he was warped by the Gravemind into believing that humans would usurp Forerunners and bring about the Flood's victory.
The Librarian
The Librarian was the Didact's wife and one of the most important Forerunners. She was responsible for cataloguing and preserving every life form possible before the activation of the Halo Array. These species were kept on the Ark, one of the only places in the galaxy protected from the blast of the rings. The Librarian also had the power to imprint commands on the minds of organisms, affecting seemingly millions of humans from birth and giving them certain boosts to awareness or environmental knowledge. She gave one of these imprints to Master Chief, granting him immunity from the Didact's Composer weapon.
Prometheans
These robotic life forms based on the essences of other organisms make up the Ur-Didact's personal army. Using the Composer, the Ur-Didact could effectively digitize people and upload their sentience and autonomy into robotic frames. Although the Composer was originally only used on willing Forerunners to make them immune to the Flood, the Ur-Didact began digitizing innocent humans as his forces grew smaller. Prometheans will feature prominently in Halo 5: Guardians.
Great Schism
During the events of Halo 2, it became clear to the Arbiter that there was no "Great Journey" linked to the Halo rings and instead the Array was designed to wipe out all life in the galaxy. Discovering this lie perpetuated by the Covenant leadership, the Arbiter and most of the Elites broke away from the Covenant and joined forces with the humans. Brutes took over as leaders of the Covenant army.
Covenant Remnant
After the end of the Human-Covenant War and the events of Halo 3, the Covenant was dissolved and the surviving aliens went back to their home planets. A radical faction of Elites, however, still believing in the divinity of the Forerunners and the Great Journey, came together to form the Covenant Remnant. It is led by the Elite Jul 'Mdama. This sect fought against the Arbiter's government on the Elite home planet and ultimately sided with the Ur-Didact as Master Chief attempted to stop him. The Covenant Remnant will likely appear as an enemy force in Halo 5: Guardians.
The Spartan Program
The legendary training program that created the Spartan super soldiers has been through four iterations. The first, Spartan-I, was costly and ineffective, used more as an experiment in bioengineering than an actual military force. Spartan-IIs are the most effective. These soldiers were taken from their homes as six-year-olds, trained from childhood, and augmented at puberty to grow faster and stronger than normal humans. Master Chief is one of these Spartans. Spartan-IIIs were cheaper and less deadly than Spartan-IIs. They were deployed on Reach during the Covenant invasion. Noble Team, the squad of Spartans followed during Halo: Reach, are Spartan-IIIs. The Spartan-IV force is composed of willing adults who undertake biological enhancements; this program began after the events of Halo 3. Agent Locke and Sarah Palmer are both Spartan-IVs.
Agent Locke
First seen during the Halo: Nightfall miniseries, Jameson Locke is an agent with the Office of Naval Intelligence who is tasked with bringing Master Chief in after the soldier disappears. He was part of the team that investigated the Alpha Shard of Installation 04, the Halo ring destroyed during Halo: CE. He is a playable character in Halo 5: Guardians.
Blue Team
Blue Team was one of the only contingents of Spartan-IIs still active during the events of the first three Halo games. Composed of Fred-104, Kelly-087, and Linda-058, Blue Team will fight alongside Master Chief during Halo 5: Guardians. After several fights against the Covenant Remnant, Blue Team was considered AWOL by the Office of Naval Intelligence, and Locke was sent to bring them in.
ONI
As the top-secret branch of the human government and military, the Office of Naval Intelligence has virtually unlimited funds to use for the purpose of one goal: protect Earth at any cost. From ONI came the Spartan Program, artificial intelligences such as Cortana, and the massive warship, the UNSC Infinity. ONI's methods have been controversial, especially the abductions of children used to build the Spartan-IIs and its role in stimulating the creation of the Covenant Remnant.
Precursors
This mysterious species lived before the Forerunners and achieved the greatest technological understanding of any species ever in the galaxy. They eventually succeeded in both intergalactic travel and the creation of new life. The Precursors brought Forerunners and humans into being, although the Forerunners eventually fought a war with their creators that consequently drove Precursors extinct. The Flood exists as the only direct relic of the Precursors; during the Forerunner-Precursor war, the Precursors were warped and mutated into Graveminds.
Halo: Reach
The events of Halo: Reach are chronologically the first in the series. After attacking humans on the planet Harvest, the Covenant traveled to Reach, one of the most important human colonies besides Earth. On Reach, Noble Team, a squad of Spartan-IIIs, were tasked with holding off the Covenant as long as possible and allowing important information to escape. They also helped evacuate a city and were responsible for getting Cortana off of the planet and into the ship Pillar of Autumn, where she was given to Master Chief to use. Only Noble Three, known as Jun-A266, survived the battles on Reach.
Halo: Combat Evolved
Following the fall of Reach, the Pillar of Autumn went through a Covenant slipspace portal and ended up near a Halo ring, Installation 04. Knowing that the Covenant wanted something with this ring, the human leadership sent Master Chief and a contingent of marines under command of Sergeant Johnson to investigate. During the ensuing clash, the Covenant accidentally released the Flood upon the ring world. The parasite multiplied quickly and the monitor 343 Guilty Spark attempted to get Master Chief to activate the ring, but Cortana stopped him. Instead, John destroyed the ring by blowing up the Pillar of Autumn.
Halo 2
After the destruction of Installation 04, the Covenant blamed Thel 'Vadam and made him the Arbiter. Meanwhile, John returned to Earth followed closely by the Covenant. The aliens launched an assault on Earth, and Master Chief helped beat it back. The Covenant soon located another ring and dispatched the Arbiter to try and activate it. John, who was in a ship pursuing the Covenant fleet, also went down onto the Halo to attempt to stop its activation. Both the Arbiter and Master Chief ended up in the clutches of a Gravemind after fighting the Flood which had been released on the ring. Together with the Gravemind, Master Chief convinced the Arbiter that the rings were weapons meant to destroy life. The Arbiter and Master Chief then departed, with John going onto the Covenant ship High Charity while the Arbiter fought against Covenant forces on the ring. They stopped the ring from being fired, but High Charity was overrun with Flood and Cortana was left behind on the ship.
Halo 3: ODST
Between the events of Halo 2 and Halo 3, a contingent of elite soldiers called Orbital Drop Shock Troopers were deployed on Earth to combat the Covenant assaulting there. The squad became scattered around the city of New Mombasa following a slipspace rupture which knocked their descent to Earth off course. Rookie, the main character, then explored the city, eventually reuniting with his squad. While looking for information on the Covenant presence in New Mombasa, the group stumbled across an Engineer, an organic Forerunner creature, which had massive stores of information on the Covenant's activities. The group escorted the creature back to a human ship, where it provided information about the aliens to the human leadership.
Halo 3
Coming back from his battle with the Flood on High Charity, Master Chief dropped onto Earth where Sergeant Johnson and the Arbiter were preparing for extraction from Covenant-held positions. Master Chief then fought against the Covenant for control over a Forerunner artifact which was believed to be the Ark, capable of activating the Halo Array. The Covenant fleet escaped Earth through a portal, while a ship overrun with Flood crashed into Earth. Along with Master Chief, the Elites allied with the Arbiter held off the Flood. John then left through the portal and ended up on the real Ark, where the Covenant were attempting to activate the rings.
Halo 3 (cont.)
John and the Arbiter assaulted the Covenant positions and ended up fighting alongside the Flood as the Covenant managed to activate the Halo Array using an abducted Johnson, who was one of a certain group of humans who could activate the rings. After deactivating the array, John traveled to High Charity to destroy the Gravemind inside it, as well as to rescue Cortana who was left on the ship during Halo 2. Succeeding, John traveled back to the Ark, uploaded Cortana into the structure, and activated the ring being built there in order to finally kill off the Flood. He and the Arbiter escaped via the UNSC Forward Unto Dawn, but the slipspace portal they escaped through split the ship in half. The Arbiter made it to Earth, while Master Chief and Cortana drifted through space toward a planet called Requiem.
Halo 4
Three years after Halo 3, Master Chief and Cortana arrived near the Forerunner Shield World Requiem in the broken remnants of Forward Unto Dawn. Cortana woke John from cryostasis and the two fought through Covenant Remnant forces who had landed on the ship. After the fight, the ship crash-landed on Requiem and Master Chief set off to find a way off the planet. He and Cortana then discovered the Ur-Didact, contained within his suspended-animation shell called a Cryptum. After tricking John into releasing him from the Cryptum, the Ur-Didact overwhelmed Master Chief as the Covenant forces swore allegiance to him.
Halo 4 (Cont.)
John attempted to get in contact with human forces nearing Requiem, but the UNSC Infinity crashed into the planet, forcing Master Chief to go attempt to rescue them from the Promethean forces closing on their position. Using the Composer device, the Ur-Didact attempted to eliminate humanity and upload them into Prometheans, but Master Chief fought onto his ship. While Cortana attacked the Didact's defenses and contained him in hard light constraints, John attacked him and forced him into a slipspace rupture. Cortana blew up the Didact's ship, then spoke with John for the last time before ceasing to exist.
Halo 5: What We Know
There are still a lot of mysteries surrounding Halo 5's story, but we do know that it will focus on the conflict between Master Chief and Agent Locke. Both will be playable, and both will have squads of Spartans accompanying them. Locke is pursuing Master Chief because of his suspected role in an assassination of a human ambassador to the Elite home planet, although this attack was actually carried out by a human splinter group called Sapien Sunrise.
Halo 5: What We Know (Cont.)
We also know that Halo 5 will feature new, massive enemies called Guardians. These Forerunner AI machines seem to have awoken due to the events of the Human-Covenant War, the elimination of the Flood, and the defeat of the Ur-Didact. Additionally, while Master Chief tries to make sense of these new Forerunner enemies, it appears that the Arbiter and his loyal Elites fight a civil war against the Covenant Remnant.
By Anonymous on Jul 16, 2015 10:55 pm
Fallout 4
Few RPG franchises have as loyal a fan base as Fallout. We already knew that the game will be set in Boston and will feature a rather fearless German shepherd along with his vault-dweller human. But at a June 14 press conference, creator Bethesda also revealed a megaton (see what we did there?) of new images, features and abilities. Even better: A real release date, for November 2015. (Photo by: Bethesda)
Dishonored 2
More intrigue! More backstabbing! More sneaking around! And now there's a new character to play: Emily Kaldwin, the rightful scion in the original game. The first game raked in plenty of awards and accolades, so the sequel should get a lot of attention. (Photo by: Bethesda)
Halo 5: Guardians
We're talking about a franchise that has raked in more than $3 billion in revenue, so, naturally, expectations are high for this release. The gameplay demo revealed at E3 looks righteous, and fans have been waiting a long time for this new installment. (Photo by: Microsoft)
Doom
The seminal first-person shooter is back! The original Doom series from the 1990s is credited not only with birthing a new gaming genre, but also racking up a serious following. (We're talking 10 million units sold.) Bethesda's resurrection looks as slick as it does utterly sick. (Photo by: Bethesda)
Rise of the Tomb Raider
Again, the existence of this game is no surprise. But it remains one of the most anticipated games out there, and the new footage shown at the E3 showed a scope and attention to detail previously unseen in the franchise. (Photo by: Microsoft)
Gears of War 4
Long rumored and even longer awaited, the latest game in a $1 billion franchise finally got some official love at E3 this year. The footage shown was dark (way too dark) but what we did manage to see looked pretty darned promising. (Photo by: Microsoft)
Dark Souls III
It's official: Dark Souls fans will get to die, die, and die some more (presumably in fresh ways) via a third installment of this vicious action franchise. And expect it to be huge; the first two installments have sold into the millions of units. (Photo by: Bandai Namco/Microsoft)
Star Wars Battlefront
Star Wars fans have been waiting for years for a brand-new cooperative online shooter to call their own, and Electronic Arts made that dream officially come true at E3 this year. Recruit a scrappy team of fighters, and enjoy classic Star Wars mainstays like the AT-AT here. (Photo by: Electronic Arts)
Mass Effect: Andromeda
The story of Commander Shepard may be over, but that isn't stopping Electronic Arts from rolling out a brand-new story set in the wildly popular Mass Effect universe. Bring on the reapers! (Photo by: Bioware)
Assassin's Creed Syndicate
A stealth action-adventure franchise with more than 70 million copies sold has to be doing something right. Syndicate is expected to fire on all cylinders, thanks in part to a new assassin protagonist and a refined combat system. (Photo by: Ubisoft)
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Wildlands
This military-ops franchise has been around for more than a decade, so, naturally, it has a huge fan base. Now the series finally gets its Skyrim-ification, with a new, open world.
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
It's the adventure-action series that has moved more than 21 million copies worldwide, and now comes the fourth installment, which brings our hero back from retirement. Its lush graphics–one of the hallmarks of the series–look to be more gorgeous and colorful than ever. (Photo by: Naughty Dog)
The Last Guardian
Movies aren't the only projects to suffer through development hell. Just ask gamers who have six years for this highly anticipated puzzle solver. Maybe it just takes that look to put feathers on a giant chihuahua.
Final Fantasy VII remake
Yes, it's a remake. But given the reaction from fans when Sony announced said remake at E3, this is one huge deal for Final Fantasy fans. The original 1997 title has sold more than 9 million copies and spawned a straight-to-DVD feature film.
No Man's Sky
Perhaps the most ambitious game announced at E3, this title introduces a world so open, so huge, that even the designers didn't know exactly where they were going when they shared some of the gameplay at the con. This is one highly anticipated debut. (Photo by: Hello Games)
The Legend of Zelda: Triforce Heroes
Any new Zelda title is big news for Nintendo fans. The upcoming 3DS encourages friends to cooperate to solve puzzles and collect items to make cool wardrobes. (Photo by: Nintendo)
Super Mario Maker
Nintendo fans already knew this title was coming, and they already knew that the game (finally!) allows players to get in on the level-building action. But at E3, it finally got a release date: September 11, 2015.
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
A cyberpunk franchise with more than 4.5 million units sold is getting a new title. Again, fans knew it was coming, but a Deus Ex announcement is always an event, and the new weapons teased at E3 look to add even more options to the gameplay.
By Anonymous on Jul 16, 2015 10:54 pm
1. Legless Princess Peach
Nintendo's Amiibo toy figurines have become quite the rage in the collectible market. While the typical retail price for an Amiibo is only $12.99, their relative scarcity has caused prices to skyrocket. For example, this legless Princess Peach, the result of a manufacturing defect, sold for $25,100 on eBay.
2. Dual Cannon Samus
Metroid's famous bounty hunter, Samus, gets a serious price upgrade when she dual-wields her iconic arm cannon. For thrifty shoppers, two-can Sam can be found for a mere $2,500–ten percent of the cost of her compatriot, legless Peach.
3. No-Lefty Luigi
Rounding out the collection of top-tier manufacturing defects, this Luigi Amiibo showed up on eBay missing his left hand. The auction winner is now out $500. Beyond Peach, Samus and Luigi, though, most defects don't seem to positively impact the value of Amiibo figures.
4. Villager
If you're not into factory mistakes and want to focus on collecting intact Amiibo, finding the Villager from Animal Crossing is a quest in itself. Unless you spot one in the wild, expect to pay upwards of $70 on auction sites to grab the little guy.
5. Greninja
Good luck grabbing a pre-order for the elusive Pokemon ninja. As is often the case with Amiibo figures, Greninja sold out long before he even hit store shelves.
6. Little Mac
Little Mac became one of the most popular Nintendo fighters after his inclusion in the new Super Smash Bros. That new stardom led to his Amiibo becoming a hot commodity, too. Pro tip for winning him in an auction: Dance like a fly, bite like a mosquito.
7. Gold Mario
He's not quite worth his weight in gold, but if you manage to find a Gold Mario Amiibo, he's currently valued at around around $60. Mama mia.
8. Marth
Marth's come a long way. He flummoxed many players in his first Smash Bros. appearance, but after the surprising success of Fire Emblem in the West, Marth has received a huge popularity boost. Acquiring his coveted Amiibo will cost you more than $50.
9. Pit
After languishing on the sidelines for more than a decade, Kid Icarus has officially made a comeback, thanks to the tireless efforts of Nintendo designer Masahiro Sakurai. Some Amiibo figures are rare because they're relatively unknown. Other characters, like Pit, are rare because they're so loved.
10. Wii Fit Trainer
That's it, feel the burn ... in your wallet, that is. Considered a rare unicorn by serious Amiibo collectors, the Wii Fit Trainer still goes for more than three times her retail price.
11. Ness
In a more just universe, the words "rare" and "Earthbound" would never appear together, but sadly, this is the timeline we inhabit. The consummate yo-yo artist Ness is an upcoming GameSpot exclusive. If you didn't pre-order, though, you'll need to cast PSI Hypnosis to persuade someone else to fork him over.
12. Meta Knight
Meta Knight got an avalanche of nerfs in the recent Smash Bros. game, but his weaker range didn't affect his popularity as a toy. Rumors abound that he'll be restocked in stores, but expect to pay close to $40 until then.
13. Ike
If you've kept your ear close to the ground, then you know the mercenary Ike is rumored for a summer restock. The smart bet would be to wait out his current price spike–$40–until then, just in case this royal bodyguard becomes a mere commoner.
14. Shulk
Behold the power of the Monado! Thanks to his rabid fanbase, Shulk's Xenoblade title became a bonafide hit in the West, and his Amiibo proved just as popular. Unfortunately, like the Wii game from which he hails, Shulk is a difficult man to track down.
15. Captain Falcon
Winning isn't about being lucky. It's about being bold. And you'll need to be bold to hunt down your very own Captain Falcon figure. Once you do, he'll cost you close to $35.
16. Rosalina
Who knew Rosalina would become such a lightning rod for controversy? One collector managed to frustrate the entire Amiibo collecting community by purchasing huge numbers of Rosalinas simply to keep her off store shelves. Luckily, the truly committed can still find her for around $30.
17. King Dedede
For the longest time, Dreamland's king has been unfairly maligned. Maybe Nintendo fans are finally celebrating his heroic nature, because his Amiibo has been one of the most popular.
18. Lucario
A well-trained Lucario can identify creatures more than half a mile away. We wish we had the same telepathic ability to spot which Toys "R" Us has the fabled Amiibo in stock. Expect to pay twice his retail price for a Lucario in the wild.
19. Fox
Fox McCloud may have what it takes to save the Lylat Galaxy, but you'll have to find him first. He's not impossible to discover, but he still remains one of the less common Amiibo originals.
20. Dankey Kang
What's a collector to do after tracking down the rarest and most valuable Amiibo figures? Well, there's a cool niche market of custom painted Amiibo characters to explore. Creators offer unique spins on classic characters, like the famous Jeopardy-themed meme "Dankey Kang," pictured above. While not officially produced by Nintendo, a custom painted work can be truly one of a kind.
By Anonymous on Jul 16, 2015 10:52 pm
1. Black Widow
Everyone's excited about the release of The Avengers: Age of Ultron, so we've rounded up the absolute best Avengers cosplay from comic conventions across the country. Scarjo better watch out. This fan rendition of Black Widow is near perfect.
2. Iron Man
"Please, no gang signs." This guy's the spitting image of Tony Stark, down to the salt and pepper moustache and disapproving scowl. Way to go!
3. Thor
Don't let her ease with the Mjolnir hammer fool you. That thing is heavy.
4. Loki and Thor
Thor can barely hide his distaste over the indignity of posing with his adopted brother Loki. You just know it's gotta be another trap.
5. Scarlet Witch
The Scarlet Witch casts a transfixing hex on WonderCon in Anaheim.
6. Captain America
Steve Rogers prepares himself to take on Ultron, the sentient A.I. run amok. Avengers assemble!
7. The Hulk
What this guy lacks in size he makes up for in sheer adrenaline fueled rage. There's no defusing this gamma bomb.
8. Black Widow and Hawkeye
Hawkeye's ready to defend his life long love Black Widow. He's always been a straight shooter.
9. Loki
Loki prepares some black magic energy blasts. Asgard's resident God of Lies and Mischief does have a reputation to maintain, after all.
10. Thor
For once, Thor actually seems to be in a gaming mood. Whosever holds the hammer shall possess the power.
11. Thor (and Rainbow Brite)
When the citizens of Rainbow Land need protecting from the King of Shadows, Thor is waiting in the wings.
12. Wolverine, Spider-Man, Captain America and Hawkeye
Wolverine and Spider-Man have yet to join forces with The Avengers in the movies, but with a rich history of comic book cooperation, their eventual participation seems inevitable.
13. Nick Fury
Nick Fury politely poses for a picture, on a short break from fighting the forces of HYDRA.
14. Thor
Thor casually profers the jewel of Odin's treasure room. Hey buddy, you do realize the Tesseract can open a portal to the Chitauri army, right? You might wanna put that thing away.
15. Hawkeye
This Hawkeye's got a nice callback to the character's original regal color scheme from the comics.
16. Iron Man
We're pretty sure the stock price of Stark Industries just tripled when the world got a look at this excellent costume. This man means business.
17. Thor
Thor has no plans to die today. Especially not when he's got the best costume at the convention.
18. Captain America
His shield is nearly indestructible, but Captain America's got an even fiercer stare. You do not want to cross the first Avenger.
19. Captain America
If you're gonna fight a war, you've gotta wear a uniform. This one would make Steve Rogers proud.
By Anonymous on Jul 16, 2015 10:44 pm
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune attempted to make the most of the PlayStation 3's controller, making players use motion controls to cross tree trunks and throw grenades. But in the remaster of the game launching as a part of Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection for PlayStation 4 this fall, those motion controls will be either gone or made optional. According to Kotaku, you'll no longer have to move the controller around to throw grenades and cross logs in the first Uncharted. While you can switch on motion controls for grenades, the developer has removed motion support completely for walking across tree trunks. In addition, the developer of the remasters, Bluepoint, is adding in another difficulty option for all three Uncharted games included in the collection. Although Bluepoint hasn't said much about it yet, the difficulty is supposed to challenge even the collection's QA testers. Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection includes Drake's Fortune, Among Thieves, and Drake's Deception. The games will run at 1080p and 60 frames per second, and they feature lightning, texture, and character model improvements. There won't be multiplayer in the remasters of Uncharted 2 and 3, but owners of the collection will get access to the Uncharted 4 beta. The collection launches on October 7 in North America and October 9 in Europe, and there will be a playable demo released sometime this summer.
By Anonymous on Jul 16, 2015 10:37 pm
 Mary and Jake spend some time as Batgirl in "A Matter of Family" DLC released this week for Batman: Arkham Knight, but is it worth the season pass price?
By Anonymous on Jul 16, 2015 10:30 pm
Deus Ex: Human Revolution was about the world changing. Whether those changes were for the better or the worse was up to players; in the last moments of the game, protagonist Adam Jensen--a man made half-machine after a fatal encounter that should have killed him--was handed power over humanity's fate. Jensen's final choice, made by the player, could either warn humanity of augmentation's dangers moving forward or offer them a partial version of the truth. Alternatively, Jensen could place blame in such a way that augmentation and technological resource will flourish as humanity turns on its opponents in anger. But there was one more ending. By doing nothing--choosing none of the above--Jensen would activate the self-destruction of Panchaea, the island home of the world's most ambitious geo-engineering projects. By destroying Panchaea and everyone on it at the time, Jensen makes a statement that it isn't up to one person or group to decide the world's fate; it's humanity's own choice to make. It is this final choice that developer Eidos Montreal has chosen to use as the base for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, the sequel to Human Revolution. But in making this one ending canon, some fans of the series say it ruins the poignancy of the choices they made in Human Revolution. But according to Deus Ex executive art director Jonathan Jacques-Belletete, the path chosen for Mankind Divided includes elements of all possible endings. In wrecking Panchaea, you do many things--expose the truth, but not all of it, and allow humanity a chance to decipher the meaning of these things for themselves. "We kind of went into that quite naturally, really, because we looked at what the Panchaea incident was and tried to evaluate how much of a shock wave it would've given the world, and how the world react to such a danger, or such an event," he explained. "Like what they say, it's like a shock treatment. That's what 9/11 was. That's what Pearl Harbor was. A global shock treatment. Its like people get literally in a state of shock, and that's when people make really rash decisions. That's when all sorts of control laws are installed, and that's usually when the state of the world changes quite a bit. "We can analyze the Panchaea incident as being that, and it gave us leeway to have a very, very different state of affairs, a different state of the world while being in the exact same universe and explore different themes within that," he added. "That was definitely one of the reasons [we chose that ending] at a very high level. You have a little bit of all different endings in the canon ending we chose, because at the end of the day, you can still change the truth." In moving from Human Revolution to Mankind Divided, the baroque influence on the series' art style has all but faded away. The artistic design hasn't changed much, Jacques-Belletete notes, but the clutter and congestion of Human Revolution has paved the way for how things look in this next game. This time around, however, players will be able to traverse more territory, working their way through huge vertical structures and rummaging through the flotsam and jetsam of a rapidly evolving world.  "Human Revolution was all about clutter and an orgy of details," Jacques-Belletete explained. "We made up like 100 brands, fake brands with the stickers everywhere and all that kind of stuff. It was pretty much unheard of at the time [in games]. With Mankind Divided, we have the true power now to do that vision that we had. Before it was the first stepping-stone to that vision, and now we can really achieve it. There's nothing new to it in terms of the high-level aesthetic goals and the amount of detail, but we looked at our sandbox and the tools that we had and now we're like, holy shit, we can really do what we've always wanted to do." But what about all that black and gold? The colors are still present in Mankind Divided, but not as prominent. Some areas have taken on a bluish color wash, or have piled on shades of slate gray. "The black and gold had to do with the baroque style, the transhumanist side of the debate," Jacques-Belletete said. "It was a whole cyber renaissance thing, the renaissance analogy to augmentations and transhumanism and all that stuff. Gold also represented the sun for the whole Icarus myth parallels. But now because the world has made a kind of 180 degree turn, augmentations are seen as something dangerous now. The world has moved to more of what we call corporate feudalism. That's the norm in the world and Mankind Divided. Corporations are taking over it. "[Mankind Divided] is all based on the brutalism, the brutalist architecture movement, which has to do a lot with crude concrete, crude materials, harsh plain angles. It looks like fortifications. It's almost like we've gone back to the Dark Ages of the medieval era, before the Renaissance. Because of that, the palette is a lot more desaturated. There's a lot more blue. Whenever you have this kind of apartheid, or you have this kind of control over everybody, this is when you have the blues, this is when you have the desaturation, and this is when you have that gloominess. And when you go to the areas that are a bit more controlled by the augmented people, like in the ghetto, this is when the gold comes back, almost as if they're bringing their own little candles. It's all an analogy. It was really just with the story it made sense to have less of it." In terms of designing the people of the Deus Ex world, Jacques-Belletete said that games have in a way moved past the uncanny valley of last generation, thanks to the latest consoles and technology. Without the uncanny valley to lean on, however, designing augmentations for Mankind Divided is a little trickier. You want people to seem creepy and unnatural, he said, but the powerful technology available to developers helps them really render their humanity--literally. That's why this time around players will see more characters walking around with robotic arms, facial implants, the works. Although there is a line between cool and stupid, Jacques-Belletete noted. "I had that arm that went like a jackhammer, that was a crossed line right there," he said. "Yet they did it in the Avengers, right? I remember when I saw that, I was like, it doesn't look that stupid. Anyway, comics and film are two different moods, ambiance, and tones. Deus Ex is a very serious game. It takes itself very seriously. The humor is almost only in sarcasm that Adam has. He has a bit of sarcasm, but he's very stoic. You have to consider all this. "We talk with a lot of real biologists and people that [work with] biotechnologies and augmentations and stuff like that," he added. "Because we work so closely with these things, it helps us make sure that it's credible and that it doesn't cross a certain line. But we've got to keep in mind that it's a game as well, so we have things like the gun arms now. It's a little more out there than Human Revolution, but I think it's still within the boundaries of that flavor we're always trying to keep." In conversations with colleagues and on forums, I've seen a lot of comparisons between Mankind Divided's story as seen in the trailers and the basic plot of some X-Men stories. When asked about these comparisons, Jacques-Belletete said both stories share the same core idea of segregation.  "People are afraid of people who are different than them. They're afraid," he said. "I guess the through line is that. It's all about segregation. When you're afraid of someone that's not like you, you have a tendency to push away, racism, discrimination, all that stuff. I think that's what they have in common and, yeah, people are totally right. We knew it right from the beginning, it was even part of our references when we started. "I think it's really just duality between what being a human being is and what the limitations are, and is it okay to modify these limitations," he continued, focusing on Deus Ex's central ideas on human augmentation. "Should we do it or not? What is the meaning? What kind of questions and moral stuff does it bring to the table?" But in the grand scheme of things, the big connection between players and the story of Deus Ex is Adam Jensen. There is, however, one big thing separating Jensen from the players who control him: his lack of full humanity. Jensen is less man than he is machine, and with Eidos describing him in Mankind Divided as "man 2.0" and the gameplay footage we've seen so far, it feels as though the bits that make him human are receding. In recent demos, we see Jensen arguing with another augmented man, trying to wheedle the truth from him and ultimately save him. Human Revolution saw him as a blank canvas in which players could impress their moral choices, but this time around, with so much changes to the world and his body and his status as a double agent between the game's two warring factions, players will struggle to make the best choices in the moment.  "I think Adam is really a vessel. The game is a vessel for that, but Adam even more so because we never wanted Adam to be pro- or anti- whatever, that at the end of the debate, the transhuman debate, he's just kind of there," Jacques-Belletete said. "I think that's what makes him stand apart from the other [heroes] is that as you play him and as you experience the world, it really makes you ponder about all this stuff. "Eidos Montreal still receives tons of letters and emails from people that are like, 'Oh my God. I'm going to go study this. I'm going to study that. This is what I want to do with my life.' I've heard from people that are scared shitless. It's like, 'No, no, no. These things are not going to happen.' But it also seems very plausible that it can go into that direction." Jensen's story has had a genuine positive impact on players, Jacques-Belletete said. "Some people with disabilities write to us saying, 'It's given me a positive view on my situation and what things could do.' Some people with disabilities wrote us that they were finishing high school and want to study biology or biotechnology. Adam is, for me at least, one of the strongest characters, and it really makes you think about an issue and what it means to be either on one side or the other of that issue. "It was like that in Human Revolution, and we're just continuing that with Mankind Divided," he added. "Now with Mankind Divided, it's this: what happens with people that are now either against that new thing or afraid of it? It's the same polarization but with a new kind of a stone thrown in the water."
By Anonymous on Jul 16, 2015 09:11 pm
Randy Pitchford, head of Borderlands developer Gearbox Software, has suggested he is interested in bring back the Brothers in Arms series, but said the studio needs a partner to do it. Speaking to IGN, Pitchford said "the next Brothers in Arms game has to be authentic," adding that Gearbox has been "working on that." "I feel we have unfinished business there with both the fiction and the history and I'd like to get into that," he added. "I spend a lot of time thinking about it." According to Pitchford, Gearbox is in discussions to make the new Brothers in Arms happen, but as of yet has not secured publishing, or found the right collaborators and creative team for the project. "Sadly, it takes a lot of resources, energy, and money to do what must be done, so it's not something I feel I could completely do alone," he explained. "I need good partners for it, so we've been talking to great folks but it's really putting all that together that's the limiting factor. Once we put all the partnerships together in terms of publishing, collaborators, and creatives, we can talk about it." Pitchford believes he's "on the brink" of making it happen, but "not quite there yet." The game will be officially announced once the appropriate team and idea has been settled on. "Once it happens development will really take off and then sometime after that--if we don't completely kill ourselves--we'll announce. But we're in the incubation phase with the next one there, for sure." Gearbox is currently working an Borderlands 3 as well as Battleborn. This is the second time the Gearbox has indicated an interest in bringing back the series. In March, chief creative champion (official title) Mikey Neumann said the studio "wants to go back to [Brothers in Arms]." The Brothers in Arms series was previously published by Ubisoft, with Gearbox developing the game. In 2012, Ubisoft abandoned its trademark application for Brothers in Arms: Furious 4, leading to speculation it had been cancelled. Gearbox later said Brothers in Arms: Furious 4 would be reimagined into an all-new IP. Pitchford also recently teased a "head-turning" new Duke Nukem game, saying Gearbox has done concept work for the follow up to Duke Nukem Forever, but added that it wants to find the "correct developer" to work with on it.
By Anonymous on Jul 16, 2015 08:50 pm
ESPN and one of its top personalities, Colin Cowherd--who criticized gaming in a big way back in April--have parted ways. ESPN boss John Skipper announced the news today in a formal statement.  "We've enjoyed a mutually beneficial run with Colin for over a decade," Skipper said. "He came to national prominence on ESPN with his unique perspective on sports and society. Endings also bring new beginnings, for ESPN and Colin, and we thank him and wish him the best." No further details regarding Cowherd's departure were announced. But Cowherd did give his ESPN Radio listeners a clue about the possibility of him leaving the company earlier this year. Following ESPN's broadcast of a Heroes of the Storm competitive gaming tournament in April, Cowherd lashed out at gaming in general and said he would quit ESPN if he was asked to cover it. "If ESPN ever forced me to cover that, or do play-by-play, I would quit." "Somebody lock the basement door at mom's house, and don't let 'em out," he added, referencing the players. "I will quit this network if I am every asked to cover that." Cowherd is the third high-profile ESPN personality to leave the company this year, following Bill Simmons and Keith Olbermann.
By Anonymous on Jul 16, 2015 08:48 pm
An upcoming indie game will launch with one of the more unique business models we've ever seen. When Vogelsap's first-person asymmetrical multiplayer horror game The Flock arrives in Q3 2015 (sometime before October), the time left for people to buy the game will depend on the in-game death rate.  Basically, every time a player dies in the game, one life will be removed from the total population of the "Flock." There will be a population countdown widget available in the in-game menus, the Steam store page, and other social channels. When the Flock's population hits zero, no one will be able to buy the game ever again. At this point, assuming it happens, only the players who already bought The Flock will get to participate in what Vogelsap is calling a "cinematic finale." "After the ending, the game will go offline permanently and no longer be playable," the developer said. This even applies to The Flock's offline mode, a representative for Vogelsap confirmed: "The game will not be playable offline. It is online multiplayer only." Vogelsap did not announce how much The Flock will cost. The Flock, which began as a student project, is set on an "uncrecognizable" earth in the year 3000. Horrible pollution has blocked out the sun, wiping out humanity in the process. You play as a new breed of monster creatures known as the Flock, who are prospering until a new race called Carrier emerges. Here is a description of how the gameplay actually works, courtesy of Vogelsap: "Each player begins as a member of the Flock, when a strange light emitting device known as the Light Artifact will suddenly appear somewhere on the map. The first player who touches the Light Artifact will transform into the Carrier, who then becomes the hunted." "Equipped with the Light Artifact, the Carrier can defeat the Flock by using the Light Artifact to illuminate the creatures. The Flock can in turn avoid the light's lethal effects by remaining motionless when caught by the beam. When a member of the Flock successfully lunges at the Carrier, it seizes control of the Light Artifact and becomes the new humanoid hunted. The previous Carrier then respawns as a member of the Flock just arriving at the scene." There is only one way to win a match of The Flock. You must survive as the Carrier while also not allowing the light to be extinguished--or you can capture objectives. Check out the video above to see how it all works. Does The Flock sound interesting to you? Share you thoughts in the comments below.             
By Anonymous on Jul 16, 2015 08:20 pm
Activision's Call of Duty series has taken players to all manner of locations, but could outer space be next? Don't get your hopes up, according to Call of Duty: Black Ops III multiplayer director Dan Bunting. He says in a new interview with GamesRadar that, while Activision has a "never say never" attitude about it, the company is more likely to stick with grounded and believable settings.  "The way that we approach the creative on our game? I don't think we're ever going to reach a point where we just completely ignore finding authenticity," Bunting explained. He went on to say that Call of Duty "needs to feel believable." The futuristic technology seen past games like Advanced Warfare and in trailers for the upcoming Black Ops III are not considered science-fiction because they are rooted in reality, according to Bunting. This isn't the first time the topic of a Call of Duty game in space has come up. Former Infinity Ward producer Mark Rubin said in November 2013 that a Call of Duty game set in space "makes sense." But at the same time, he said there would be a number of gameplay and systems challenges to overcome. "Grenades wouldn't work exactly right," he said. "Kill Streaks wouldn't work at all--can't have a helicopter in outer space. Or a dog for that matter." The opening section of 2013's Call of Duty: Ghosts was set in space, but the action took place mostly inside of a space station. It also appears that, at least at one point, Activision was considering a Call of Duty game in space. In May 2010, the publisher trademarked a game called Call of Duty: Space Warfare. However, Activision abandoned this trademark in August 2014.
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