Gamescom 2014, Day 1: The EA Press Conference -- Yo, That Sim Died RIGHT IN FRONT Of The Other Two And Nobody Did Anything!

Written By: Tyler

 Watch the EA Press Conference Here

Today is the first official day of Gamescom 2014. There were some press conferences and some news, but the doors officially opened today. So what better way to kick that off than the company that everyone on the internet loves? Yeah, I'm talking EA. Electronic Arts. Evil Assholes.

Let's get on with this press conference, and sorry for the delay but again, I was at work and didn't get to see it live.



We start off with Andrew Wilson talking, claiming to have changed things up this year so we could be put in the heart of the action. Then we get to Dragon Age: Inquisition. No one expects Dragon Age: Inquisition!

There are 9 characters to lead. Extensive character customization system. 9 class specializations, 21 different combat trees, over 200 spells and abilities. 200 weapon upgrades, 150 types of armor, 80 different materials, so there will be a lot of stuff you can customize basically. Plus you get to name your items you create. There's a million words of dialogue so it's basically an Ayn Rand novel.

You lead and form the Inquisition. You start in a fortress called Skyhold, where you can strengthen the Inquisition, choose where to explore and choose missions.

It looks like a great time. I love the depth of the level progression and whatnot, and the tactical camera is cool. The action looks fluid and looks like a good RPG to sink your teeth into. I've never actually played a Dragon Age and this looks like a good place to start. The game releases November 18 in North America.

Next is TITANFALL (if you don't get why I capitalized it then you must be new to the blog but it's a running gag here because of how intense the game was supposed to be). The revealed the third and final map pack: IMC Rising. This fall you will be able to get three new maps.

NHL '15 is up next. It's going to be a more realistic, authentic experience and they're promising more control over everything, more leagues, better graphics, etc. Bigger and better like every year is supposed to be. It releases September 9 in North America and I believe a couple days later in Europe.

Peter Moore hits the stage and says words I don't understand. Then when he starts talking English he's talking about NHL '15. Then he talks about experiencing things with friends, which is a foreign concept to me, then starts talking about Sims 4. We get a live demo.

With the new Gallery you can share things online with people.

We start with Create-A-Sim. There's a lot of attention to detail when creating what your Sim looks like. Next is the personality: You pick a bunch of different traits, and things like walking style.

There's a build mode where you can easily build your house. You can pick up the entire house and move it, and easily expand your walls.

Using the gallery you can just pick an entire house from what people have made and make it your own.

Then we see the game in action. At first there's a maze and everybody is hungry. One of the Sims dies, and the Grim Reaper shows up. It's a pretty funny segment. The entire showcase of Sims was pretty comical and lighthearted. I enjoyed it. I haven't even played a Sims since the first one but even before this I planned on getting this one and seeing where the series has evolved.

The Sims 4 Create-A-Sim demo is available now. and you can put your sim in the full game when it launches in three weeks.

Before the new year, FIFA World will have a new game engine, complete dribbling and smarter AI. You will be able to keep your items and whatnot when they implement the new engine. I didn't even know that this game existed, if I'm being honest.

FIFA '15 is shown next. It's going to be a more realistic, authentic experience and they're promising more control over everything, more leagues, better graphics, etc. Bigger and better like every year is supposed to be.

That may seem like I made an error and accidentally pasted what I said about NHL '15. But I assure you... it was... no accident.

In Star Wars: The Old Republic, players will be able to get a new expansion next week called Galactic Strongholds Digital Expansion. In it you can build a house or conquer planets across the galaxy with your guild flagships.

Then there's Dawngate. It's a new MOBA, built on a foundation of player choice. You can choose any map and any character in the matches. You can sign-up to the beta at dawngate.com

Then there's a new online action-RPG IP from Bioware called Shadow Realms. The video is just a bunch of people fighting demons in a city and that makes it hard to really know how it plays. We do know that it takes place in a modern Fantasy world, is inspired by old pen-and-paper RPGs, and will have dynamic co-operative 3 vs 1 gameplay. The one player will get to control the bad guy: the Shadowlord.

It will have a continuously updated story, an ever changing world, and an episodic story arc.

The game will come out late next year. You can sign up for the alpha at shadowrealms.com.

The single-player in Battlefield Hardline apparently won't be as linear. It's going to play like a TV show which means it will be episodic, tense and have cliffhangers. You play as a young detective who is going cross country to track down someone from his past. Ooooh I do that sometimes.

They debut a short video of the single-player and it looks fun, but it's not really the reason I go to Battlefield these days anyway. You can flash your badge and make people freeze so you can handcuff them, since you are a coppa after all, see. The video ends with a fire fight, then it all of a sudden becomes Battlefield with things exploding.

More importantly they revealed two new multiplayer modes: Hotwire and Rescue. Hotwire is a high-speed chase, so it's fast and we shoot things from cars as far as I can tell. Rescue is an eSports-focused mode, where hostages have been taken by a team of five criminals. So naturally, five cops have to save them. Be careful though because you only have one life per round.



With that, the EA Press Conference ended and it was actually pretty solid. Got a new IP, some gameplay footage of other things and not just trailers with no gameplay (that's such a pet peeve of mine). Shadow Realms sounds interesting and I can't wait for Hardline.

Well, It's No Fight Night: The EA Sports UFC Review

Written By: Tyler
Platform Played On: Playstation 4

If you're wondering, then yes, Jon Jones is pooping out the EA Sports logo.

Rating: 6.5/10
Verdict: There's a good foundation present here, but EA UFC stumbles in a bunch of ways and is just not the MMA game I want or gamers deserve at this point.



I'm a big fan of Mixed Martial Arts, and believe that it's one of the most unpredictable sports in the world. I have played the crap out of the last bunch of MMA video games, including EA's own EA MMA. I felt that EA MMA had a good foundation for future games if they decided to make more. Sure enough, they acquired the rights to develop a UFC game... and I feel almost the exact same way that I did towards EA MMA. It's a pretty good game, with some great elements, but it also has some terrible aspects that hold it back from being the first truly great MMA game. Yes, I said it: there hasn't been a great MMA game.

The first thing that has to be talked about, and the element of the game that deserves the most praise, is the visuals and presentation. It looks and feels like a UFC event and EA has seemingly taken great care to give fans of the UFC a game that produces an authentic UFC experience. Before the fight it has the classic screen where it shows the two fighters, it has Bruce Buffer, it has all the aesthetics.

In the cage, it's more of the same. The character models are gorgeous, and you can see the sweat, veins and blood realistically rendered. When the fighters get hurt, it shows on their face. When they put a lot of force into their own attacks, it shows. People limp when you hit them with a well placed kick to their legs, but as a whole, the collision detection is a bit spotty. Sometimes they do something really silly like spin around crazily when they get hit, but that's pretty rare. For the most part, the models react as realistically as is possible at this point in gaming.

The only problem I have with how the fighters react is that sometimes you hit them with a big shot that should at the very least make them take a step back... but they don't. EA didn't want to make a game where everybody is getting knocked out in the first round, because that would cheapen the MMA experience. That's been a problem of previous games. As unflashy as decisions are, they're a natural thing in combat sports, so people should go to decisions more often than we have in previous MMA games. The only problem is, people can eat an inhuman amount of blows in order to raise the possibility of decisions. It is very possible to end it in the first round, especially on easier difficulties, but in my experience some fights should have ended quicker than they did. Sure, some people have better chins and can go to war for much longer, but sometimes this is just excessive.

When you turn on the game, the annoyance starts. You are forced to do a basic tutorial before you even get to a menu. I know games often include tutorials when they begin, but they're usually implemented in a less frustrating way. However, that's not where my main gripe is. My main gripe is that you go into the Career mode and you have to do another tutorial. Leave me alone! If I want to not understand the game, then let me be confused!

There isn't a lot to do outside of the Career mode, but let me quickly touch on the other things you can do before I go more in-depth about that. You can choose to "Fight Now," which is just an exhibition match where you can pit your created fighters against real fighters, against other created fighters, or put real fighters against real fighters. I imagine it's probably tradition for a lot of people to pick your favourite fighters and pit them against the ones you hate. Or, relive old feuds like I do.

Such as this one... only in my world, Nick Diaz pounded on GSP. I even took him down.

You can also choose to fight online, but in my experience it was extremely laggy. Normally my connection is fine so I don't know if it was on my end or what, but I can only report on what I experience.

You can do the challenges, but those are just tutorials to help you learn how to play. They have all these tutorials but there's no easy way to just look up how to do something in-game. As far as I know, you have to go to their site.

But outside of those things, there's not a lot you can do. You can't create tournaments to play against the computer, so you either just fight now or start a career.

The career is about what you'd expect if you have played a UFC game before, but it's not nearly as interesting as the previous UFC game. In the previous game, you could at the very least choose your fights, choose to fight in Pride, etc. Hell, even Fight Night had a much better career mode. In comparison, EA Sports UFC seems basic and because of this, it seems more repetitive. You are given fights, you get fans, you train, you level up your character and you buy him moves with the points you earn in training. These points are also used in raising your attributes, where are separated into stand-up, ground and submission tiers. This is all stuff you've done before, but I do like the way that this game allows you to allocate your points... it's very Fight Nightish and I love Fight Night.

There's also something called "Abilities," which is basically just game planning. You choose up to five different things to boost your character, such as making his punches hurt more or losing less stamina. I like this more than the way the previous UFC game handled game planning, and I feel that as a whole, it's much easier to develop a fighter that stands a chance against the computer.

One thing that EA MMA had that I wish they would have included in this one is the ability to do the training once and then just simulate the same results, so you didn't have to constantly do the same thing in order to get points. I get it: mixed martial artists are constantly grinding to improve, but as a game mechanic, I've always disliked this aspect in combat sports games. You can skip the training but you won't get the points, and EA MMA did a wonderful job in rectifying this by allowing you to get an A in training and just simulate those As over and over.

I wish they copied the other UFC games by allowing you to level up individual things like submissions, strikes or transitions. It really gave me a sense of pride to say that this particular submission was a death trap. Instead, the moves you can acquire are laid out in a more streamlined -- thus, better -- way and you can easily choose which ones to learn, and you get them instantly. For as complicated as they make the controls -- more on that later -- I actually felt like this game suffered from the same thing that EA MMA did, though not quite as much: there actually isn't enough variety to separate your CAFs (created fighters) from one another. In previous MMA games, I never made a fighter that was like another one of my fighters, but in this one, that would be a lot more likely.

My experience with the career was an intense love affair that got really stale at the end. You start at TUF -- The Ultimate Fighter, which is a tournament of sorts that the UFC has been using for years now -- which is actually a neat way to start. You fight your way into the house and then you fight the other people in the house. The bullshit meathead "let me bang bro" drama is not included in the package which is nice, though now I wonder if playing an MMA Life Simulator would be fun.

Anyway.

After you win TUF, you fight on the undercard with hopes of getting to the main card. In between fights, you're constantly bombarded with video packages explaining things like submissions, UFC debuts, KOs, etc. You're also force-fed fighters constantly congratulating you on winning... sometimes to humorous results like seeing the same fighter twice in a row, or a fighter calling you up to say good job after you just beat his ass. Or maybe someone says, "Hey, it's Ronda Rousey again" when they've never talked to you before in your life. Even though you can skip all of these, I actually hate that they're included at all. I understand that EA's m.o. these days is to give you a look into the life of these athletes, but I just want to play a game.

The career was fine up until a certain point. I slowly built my way up to a championship, but I fought the same few real fighters over and over. I was a welterweight, and I never got to have wars with people like Nick Diaz, or Carlos Condit. I am forgiving of this, but it got really terrible when all the real fighters retired and I found CAFs over and over. It was the Arlovski/Sylvia era all over again as I pummeled the same few guys repeatedly, just getting bored and sloppy as time went on. It makes sense that fighters would retire, but this put a damper on the entire thing.

I do like how they handle your own retirement though, because there's a longevity bar that fills up as time progresses. Once it's done filling, Dana will tell you you're done and that's that. It's a much better system than having a set number of fights, because it adds to the realism. If you're a balls-to-the-wall fighter who takes a lot of damage (like Shogun), you will suffer from this. If you're basically an MMA Floyd Mayweather, then you'll last longer. I got almost fourty fights out of my CAF.

Speaking of which... he's the guy on the left and this was taken when I was the reigning champ. You just haven't heard of Schmidt yet...

I think this is the first combat sports game in a long time that I probably won't go back and play through again as a different style. I didn't play it on a hard difficulty so I know I'd get less points if I did, but on the default difficulty, by the end of it I was a 100 rating. I just lack the interest to go back and do this again.

Once you get to the actual fighting EA Sports UFC is littered with flaws... some of them bigger than others, but some are little things that every MMA game should have by default. The problems I mentioned above about having legendary chins is true, but there is more to it.

My biggest problem since the demo has been that at times, it plays more like what a non-MMA fan thinks MMA would be since it's "martial arts." The movesets of some fighters is ridiculous and they do things they shouldn't be doing. It's like EA wanted to make it as flashy as possible, and they helped make this possible by having a stupid modifier system. What was broken about the way EA handled striking in their previous game, or the way the modifiers worked in other games? Nothing. Not a damn thing. But yet EA decided to add an awkward extra modifier (R1) which was just a poor idea. We don't need a million different strikes, because MMA fighters don't have them either, unless they're Jon Jones or Anderson Silva. Why is Gus doing crazy kicks? He's a textbook boxer. Why does everybody have a suplex that nobody does that is ripped straight from pro-wrestling?

The controls leave a little to be desired. In trying to give us a game where we can have more variety -- which I still say was handled fine in previous games because not every MMA fighter attemps anaconda chokes -- they've made the controls a little too complicated. Now that you can choose different limbs when attempting a submission, you have to hold a button, press the direction and then do a quarter turn, instead of simply hitting R3 in previous games. That's just one example. The controls are serviceable but they weren't broke in previous games, so they didn't need to be fixed.

Speaking of submissions, I'm not entirely sure how I feel about the system in this one. I actually liked the EA MMA system because limb submissions were a battle of button-mashing vs stamina management which I felt made sense. They also had chokes where you had to hit the "sweet spot." There was variety but the mini-games never took me out of the action. I despised the submission system in the previous UFC game, but not as much as I hated the submission game in the UFC game prior to that one.

In EA Sports UFC, they wanted to simulate how submissions go in real-life. They wanted different stages, and they wanted the mini-game to reflect that. If you're attempting a submission, you press the right stick in the same direction that you opponent does in order to stop him. When an L flashes on the screen, you press the left stick in that direction to "lock in" the sub and proceed to the next level. It sounds more complicated than it is, and I get that submissions have different levels to them, but this doesn't factor in that sometimes submissions happen really quickly. Why is every guillotine choke taking me three or four different levels? Why is a minute battle? Guillotine chokes often get locked in almost instantly. Five seconds later, the guy has passed out. It's not a terrible sub system, but they would have been better just re-using or tweaking the EA MMA one.

While the stand-up/clinch is fine (outside of sub-par controls) the ground game is still where EA needs to improve. EA MMA had a functional system in place, and EA Sports UFC is better, but it's still a little silly at times. For example, if you are mounted fully, you can press a button and you lift your opponent up and use a butterfly guard to push them off. This happens so rarely in MMA it's laughable. The ground game is still focused on turning your right stick in quarter circle turns, so they haven't changed it a lot, but they just need to evolve it and allow more positions. The ground game should be dynamic and complex. Like EA MMA, there's a good foundation there and I have hope for the next game in the series.

From my experience, the AI is a little too aggressive, but I guess it's a video game. You aren't going to get the really technical battles from a video game at this point, so for the most part the AI was fine... except this one fight where I fought BJ Penn and he literally spammed takedowns: 76 to be exact. I know people will complain about the AI, but honestly, it's decent. They don't appear to do anything really stupid, even on the easier difficulties. AI is one of the hardest things about making a game so I am generally pretty lenient with it.

EA Sports UFC is not a bad game, it just hasn't found its legs yet. This is their second MMA game, so perhaps it should have been better, but I have no doubt that the third will be much better because the mechanics are solid and they just need to build on it effectively.

E3 Day 0 (Part 2) -- The EA and Ubisoft Press Conferences

Written By: Tyler

Image from: http://e3expo.com

Welcome back. With this post, I will be giving a mostly live rundown of the EA and Ubisoft press conferences. What I mean by "mostly live" is that, outside of any point where I have to leave my PC, I will be writing this post as I watch the press conference so that's why it will seem very "in the moment."


EA Press Conference

Star Wars: Battlefront 3. After that popped up, EA dropped the mic and left the stage. No, but they did start it off by talking about Star Wars, showingvery brief in-game footage and then ending it by saying that the new Battlefront will show up in Spring of next year.

Unfortunately at this point I had to leave my PC so from this point on I just had to go through articles and get my news. I take it I missed a game demo of Dragon Age: Inquisition and they teased a new Mass Effect that will take place in *gasp* space, and a new IP that will tell "contemporary" stories.

I came back during the new Sims, in which personality is supposed to play a big role in the stories of the Sims. The concept is "smarter sims" and Sims 4 is supposed to be deeper in that regard. For example, one old woman annoyed a guy in the footage we were shown, and the next day at the gym the guy worked out harder because he was frustrated. Then they threw him a party to cheer him up... and he laughed to death. Whether this will work as they intended remains to be seen.

Next up is EA UFC. It started with Bruce Lee... no really, the video did. The MMA fighters talked about how Bruce Lee was the father to MMA, and then we were told we can be Bruce Lee. Next came the video game footage... the 5th round between BJ Penn and Bruce Lee. Having played the demo, I found that the AI brawled way too much on the feet, and this video was no different. I won't dissect all the gameplay, but this video hasn't really done anything to calm my nerves concerning the full game.

Onto a new sport now -- hockey. NHL '15 is on its way to the surprise of absolutely nobody, and apparently everything is supposed to change. So the pucks will be cannon balls and knives are allowed. Just kidding, but it's the typical spiel about how it's going to be more realistic. Then an emotional video of hockey players played in which we got to see a cinematic of the great Canadian game.

Then we were showed an extremely early example of the new Criterion Games game, in which they have expanded beyond cars... we will now be able to play with helicopters, jet skis, cars, etc in a first-person view. 

Frostbite 3 is coming to EA Sports PGA Tour. So get hyped for the... most... exciting... sport on earth.

With Madden '15, they're working hard on defense since defense is apparently "nearly" half the game. Well, I'd say it's exactly half, but I'm not nitpicking.

Dawngate is an upcoming moba that is supposed to build on existing mobas, not just clone them.

As the show starts to wind-down, Mirror's Edge 2 is shown off. This is one of my more anticipated games, so of course I got excited. They talk about Faith, attitude and the style of Mirror's Edge and we see footage of the conceptual prototype. Turns out, Mirror's Edge 2 is going to be heavy on parkour. Who woulda thunk it? I don't think they expanded as much on the reveal from last year as they should have.

And next is Fifa '15, and once again we're told how Fifa is going to be more realistic with man to man battles, more agility, authentic atmosphere and visuals. Nothing out of the ordinary, but something that is sure to be a lot of fun if you're a soccer fan.

Then Battlefield: Hardline shows up to the party. It's time for cops and criminals this time. The plot is supposed to be more like a great cop TV show, but the focus is obviously going to be on multiplayer.
They showed us footage of a heist in-game from multiple perspectives -- the cops and the criminals. It looks and feels like Battlefield, but I have to admit that taking it away from the military based gameplay to this intrigues me. The game looked incredibly exciting and dynamic, like a Battlefield game should. I was already sold, but after I watched the crane come down and be the catalyst of a ton of destruction... give it to me right now. October 21 can't come soon enough.

After that awesome footage, they launched the beta of Battlefield: Hardline.


Closing Statement: I wasn't terribly impressed with the EA Press Conference but it had its moments. It looks like they're doing something neat with Sims, and ending it with Battlefield was a great thing because that game looks astonishing, but mostly we just get some updates on sports games. I also think that Battlefront should have gotten more than it did, because while it's exciting enough that it exists, we've been waiting so long for it that some real game play would have been welcome. Same with Mirror's Edge.



Ubisoft Press Conference

The Ubisoft press conference starts with a pretty shot of a mountain. Aww. What this mountain means is Far Cry 4. After a lengthy cinematic, Dan Hay shows up on stage, saying that it's the first five minutes of the game. 

Then we apparently get some stand-up comedy. I got to give it to them, putting Aisha Tyler up there every year now is probably a good idea because she's entertaining. What's next? Just Dance 2015. Yay?

We get to hear Happy for the millionth time in the last 24 hours, and it shows off footage of the game. I'm not excited at all, but I can't even slow dance so what do I know? The big news is, now you can play it on your phone! Sweet! I'm going to do that...

After talking about how dancing makes people happy, Aisha does a nice transition to relate that to post-apocalyptic New York. Here comes The Division. All they did was show a movie of it, so how the online aspects tie-in are still a mystery to me, which sucks because that's all I wanted to know.

Next up we have The Crew. In the video, the car is going F-Zero fast while a moody song plays in the background. There are two one-hour missions in the game. There are co-op missions, open-world driving... basically The Crew sounds like a pretty inventive racing game. You can get the "beeta" on the Crew website, and the game is coming out November 11 on Xbone, PS4 and PC.

 It was only a matter of time, so here comes Assassin's Creed Unity... a game that actually impressed me during the Microsoft press conference. There's another cinematic with more moody music
but no actual gameplay. It's a really cool video, though. Afterward we're told that the core experience has been changed. Then the gameplay comes and it looks like a lot of open-world fun, with a neat ending where the other players show up. 

So what did we all want? A fitness game. Thanks Ubisoft for bringing us Shape Up. Instead of doing boring stuff, we will jump on trains and shit. We see a video of the presenter stepping on piano keys against himself, and it doesn't actually look terrible. Then we get to see push-ups! This party doesn't stop! This is an S Club party! I believe Shape Up is a fitness game I can get behind.

From fitness to World War 1, we have the puzzle game Valiant Hearts. The game has a pretty artstyle and revolves around a dog and the letters that soldiers wrote back in WW1. It was an incredibly touching trailer but I'm not really sure what the game play will be like, nor will it be any good. What I do think is we'll get an emotional game that sticks with you, even if it isn't the most fun to play. 

How do we end it? With pre-alpha footage of Rainbow Six: Siege. I'm beyond excited for some tactical shooter gameplay, such as blowing up the floor in order to ambush your opponent and rescue the hostage. I cannot wait for this game to come out, because even in pre-alpha it looks like a beast (not graphically, but just gameplay wise).


Closing Statement: Ubisoft tends to have really theatrical press conferences, which is a double-edged sword for me. On one side, it makes for an extremely entertaining, lively and comical presentation, but on the other side, sometimes it goes on way too long when you just want to see games. They are definitely the "least corporate" of the companies presenting, in the sense that they seem to have more fun with the whole ordeal, and right now they're tied for the best presentation of the show... with Microsoft, who played it more bland but gave us a ton of great games.

Weekly News Round-Up, March 30 - April 5: Did You Know Mario Kart 8 Is Coming Out Next Month?

Written By: Tyler

Welcome again to another Weekly News Round-Up with yours truly. In case you're a virgin to this, I go through numerous video game sites and steal their news and claim it as my own... while adding snarky comments and making fun of things (even things I like).

It's the week of April Fools' and there were plenty of jokes all around. As far as I know I didn't believe any of that crap, but hey, something could have snuck through.


Let's Start This Off With A Game I Slobbered Over -- Two Brothers (That Other Game With Brothers In The Title) Coming To Wii U
http://www.destructoid.com/two-brothers-is-still-being-ported-to-wii-u-developer-to-be-revealed-272652.phtml

A lot of people talked about Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons last year, and even when I tried to look for Two Brothers on Google I'd get a lot of links to that game, but Two Brothers snuck out of the woodwork and ended up being genuinely awesome.

AckkStudios has confirmed that the game is being ported to the Wii U "by another developer who is really good at Wii U ports."

Getting someone else to do your dirty work? Well played Ackk, well played. Anybody want to write for a blog who is really good at writing?


Square Enix Is Going To Stop Fucking Around And Are Going To Make Great Games Again
http://www.destructoid.com/bravely-default-s-success-has-square-refocusing-on-heavy-jrpgs-core-audience-272658.phtml

Yosuke Matsuda said that because of the success of Bravely Default, they've realized that they shouldn't be scared to make games for core gamers, instead of trying to make everything accessible which often diluted the product as a whole. 

I grew up with Square and the JRPG, so all I can think of is a return to the great days like Final Fantasy 3/6, Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana, etc. When I read this news I felt so empowered that I went out and did this:

Playstation Plus Free Games For April
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ps4-gets-free-mercenary-kings-on-ps-plus-in-april-as-sony-announces-full-lineup/1100-6418621/

US

• Mercenary Kings (PS4)
• Batman: Arkham City (PS3)
• Stealth Inc. A Clone in the Dark (PS3)
• Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse (PS3)
• Velocity Ultra (Vita)
• Pixeljunk Monsters Ultimate HD (Vita)

Europe

• Mercenary Kings (PS4)
• Pro Evolution Soccer 2014 (PS3)
• Sly Cooper Thieves in Time (PS3/Vita)
• Hotline Miami (PS3/Vita)
• MotoGP 13 (Vita)

Xbox Live Gold Free Games For April
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-unveils-its-free-xbox-360-games-for-april/1100-6418671/


If you have an Xbox 360, for the first half of the month, you can nab Hitman: Absolution, and for some reason in the second half you can get Deadlight. I'm not sure why they did it this way, but hey, at least if you cancel your Xbox Live Gold subscription you can keep the games, unlike with Sony.


There Are Going To Be Over 80 Indie Games At PAX East
http://www.destructoid.com/over-80-games-on-display-at-the-indie-megabooth-at-pax-east-272670.phtml

That's right, screw you and your triple A titles!

In the link above there is a list to all the games that will be at the Indie Megabooth. Also, for the first time ever, there will be board games. Did you say board games? I want a new version of this one:

But we know that isn't happening. *Sigh*

I Think It's About Time That Ubisoft Gets Turned Into A Meme
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ubisoft-not-abandoning-xbox-360-and-ps3-anytime-soon/1100-6418660/

Ubisoft is going to continue to make games for the PS3 and 360... years into the future. They won't quit the previous generation for a long time, they say.

Battlefield 4 DLC Hit This Week, But...
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/battlefield-4-s-delayed-naval-strike-dlc-finally-out-for-pc/1100-6418664/

...Only if you have a Battlefield Premium Membership. The peasants have to wait another two weeks to play the DLC on PC.


Warface Hits 25 Million Registered Users
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/game-with-a-silly-name-warface-gets-25-million-registered-users/1100-6418673/

The free-to-play shooter by Crytek (a game I didn't like so much) hit a milestone this week -- it hit 25 million registered users. I'm conflicted about this... on one hand that's 25 million people who may not be playing Call of Duty, but that also means people support this mediocre game with a godawful name.

This is what a warface looks like, I guess.

Metro: 2033 and Metro: Last Light Are Coming To Get You On PS4 And Xbox One Eventually
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/metro-last-light-and-metro-2033-could-be-coming-to-ps4-and-xbox-one/1100-6418655/

There was a leaked image and instead of denying it, 4A Games came out and said that Metro: Redux is in fact a thing.


Phil Spencer Cares About the "Core" Gamer
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/new-xbox-one-boss-pledges-to-support-core-gamers/1100-6418674/

He says that the other non-gaming features of the Xbox One are important but not if they interfere with the actual, y'know, gaming. So we have another boss telling us stuff but not really going into any real detail about anything.


Ubisoft Won't Confirm If Watch Dogs Runs In 1080p On PS4 And Xbone
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ubisoft-won-t-say-if-watch-dogs-runs-in-1080p-on-ps4-and-xbox-one/1100-6418692/

Ubisoft won't confirm what resolution Watch Dogs will run in, but they did say that the PS4 frame rate is constant. They also said some other stuff, and here is important stuff (quoted from Gamespot):

• "Normal" enemies will go down easily (2-3 bullets, or 1 in the case of a headshot).
• If you join invade someone else's game, chases can last for 20-30 minutes if both players are highly skilled.
• There won't be any microtransactions.
• Recommended PC specs are not yet finalized.
• Won't feature "unnecessary gore" for takedowns. "Blood spatter is in there, but don't expect heads blowing up."

Gamers all over the world are upset by this news because whether or not a game runs in 1080p is obviously all that is worth knowing. If I have to prioritize what's important in games, my list would go like this:

1: Resolution -- Does it run in 1080p? If yes to PS4 version and no Xbox One, mock Xbox One fanboys accordingly. If yes to Xbox One and no to PS4, that didn't happen.
2: How realistic the trees/grass/water/fish/guns/sky looks. I want to play the real world in my fictional worlds.
3: See above.
4: See above.
5: Tomatoes.
6: Gameplay.
7: Music.


Gearbox Is Taking Time Out Of Their Day To Probably Announce A New Xbone/PS4 Game Later This Year
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/borderlands-dev-will-probably-announce-an-xbox-one-ps4-game-this-year/1100-6418698/

Though we won't see a Borderlands 3 for a long while, Gearbox has some stuff coming. We may even get to see a new Xbox One/PS4 game later this year.


Another Valve Employee Has Left For Oculus
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/valve-loses-three-vr-veterans-in-three-weeks-to-oculus-vr/1100-6418697/

The Facebook conquest of the world is still going. Aaron Nicholls has left Valve for Oculus -- now owned by Facebook in case you were living under a rock last week -- and has apparently become a "Scientist." Sweet! I'm going to leave my job and become "Important."

Most Of The Games That Microsoft Is Taking To PAX East Are Games That Are Already Out
http://www.destructoid.com/most-of-the-games-microsoft-will-have-at-pax-east-are-already-out-272693.phtml

In news that baffles me and makes my head want to feature unnecessary gore and blow up, Microsoft has a few games that aren't currently purchasable that are going to PAX... but mostly you can wait in line to play games you may already own.

Awesome.

I thought this was an April Fools joke but then I saw the date it was posted.


Infamous: Second Son Patch Is Comin'
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/infamous-second-son-ps4-patch-will-let-you-cap-the-game-at-30fps/1100-6418696/

An Infamous: Second Son patch is coming and it'll allow you to change between night and day once you beat the game, turn the HUD on and off and even cap the frame rate at 30! Whoa!

In related news, I keep saying Infamous instead of inFamous because that trips me out.


EA Puts Up April Fools Joke... EA Apologizes For April Fools Joke
http://ca.ign.com/articles/2014/04/01/ea-apologizes-for-unacceptable-stupid-nintendo-joke

For April Fools, @Frostbite put up a series of comments on Twitter mocking the underpowered Wii U.

Peter Moore took to Twitter and apologized personally, saying that the comments were unacceptable and stupid. He also said that they weren't condoned by EA.

So of course, I'll post the comments here too so I can help them live on forever.

Frostbite now runs on the #WiiU since it is the most powerful Gen4 platform, our renderer is now optimized for Mario and Zelda.

Frostbite will power #HalfLife3, coming out summer 2014! #WiiU exclusive.

Good news, we have finally fixed and optimized our 'netcode'. Uses quantum entanglement for Zero Latency connections. Exclusively on #WiiU.

I'm A Nintendo Guy In My Heart, So Let's Get Some Revenge -- Guess What? Battlefield 4 Still Not Working
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/dice-promises-to-fix-battlefield-4-rubber-banding-woes/1100-6418705/

Guess what kids? Battlefield 4 still doesn't work. Now DICE is promising to fix the rubber band issues that have been plaguing the game since its release fifteen years ago. The next update will address this, and hopefully then people will get to enjoy the game they paid money for ages.

When reached for comment, EA had this to say:

On a serious note, come on. Goat Simulator is less buggy than this game.


Well Ain't That Some Shit -- Thief Save Files Corrupted...
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/april-fools-square-enix-investigating-save-corrupting-thief-bug/1100-6418709/

...On April Fools'. People reported that their save files were getting all kinds of messed up on the day that people do mean things for laughs. Square insists that it's not a prank, and I believe them, but talk about bad timing.


Ed Fries Lays It Down On How Xbox One Can Beat PS4
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/how-xbox-one-can-beat-ps4-according-to-xbox-co-creator/1100-6418708/

Chalk this up as a "news we already know" type of deal, but Ed Fries had this to say this past week:

"They need better exclusive games than PS4. They need to be more open to indie developers. They need to adopt free to play gaming more aggressively. They need to continue to move Xbox Live forward as the leading online service. They need to show people why they included the new Kinect on every machine by demonstrating a compelling use for it."

So the Xbox One needs better games and to use the Kinect -- a device forced upon the world -- for something.


Tyler on how to make On The Gamely successful: Stop having crappy content, and make good content. Hell, just don't be On The Gamely at all.


Persona 4 Could Hit The PS3
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/classic-cult-jrpg-persona-4-could-be-coming-to-ps3/1100-6418703/

I'm going to tell you all something because I know you care about my personal life. My PS3 broke, and so I'm left with only my PS4. This sucks because there are still games coming out for PS3 that I want to play. I've never played a Persona game. I want to play Persona 4. So when I hear that Persona 4 could possibly hit the PS3, all I can feel is:

Then there was that news a while back that Persona 5 will come over here... for the PS3, and I'm just like:

UPDATE: APRIL 8, 10 BUCKS, GET IT!!


The Developer Of Everquest Next Talks Everquest 1 and 2
http://ca.ign.com/articles/2014/04/02/everquest-next-dev-reveals-future-for-everquest-1-and-2

David Georgeson sat down with IGN and talked shop about Everquest 1 and 2, MMOs and business.

He basically stated that he wants Everquest 1 and 2 to live forever, but understands that sometimes Triple H and Stephanie McMahon come in and screw games because it's what's best for business business gets in the way. He also said that he loved City of Heroes and that people want MMOs to live forever because they put pieces of their souls into them.

Agreed. A little bit of my soul has gone into every MMO I've played. And it went straight to hell.


He Also Said That He's Interested In VR
http://ca.ign.com/articles/2014/04/02/soe-hugely-interested-in-ps4-virtual-reality-headset-for-everquest-next 

"But I mean, VR and AR are things that I personally am extremely excited about. I honestly think that’s the future of gaming. But we have a lot of miles to go before we sleep. So we need to build the game, and then we can talk about virtual reality and stuff beyond that.

"I will tell you this though: I’m hugely interested in Project Morpheus. So… we’ll see what happens."

"Hey hunny. Remember how I was going to ignore you anyway when this new MMORPG came out? Well now with virtual reality it's like I'm actually there. I'm just kidding about ignoring you... I want to break up."


Guess What He Also Said? F2P Rocks!
http://ca.ign.com/articles/2014/04/03/everquest-dev-gamers-should-want-all-mmos-to-be-free-to-play

"We’re effectively street performers: we go out there and sing and dance and if we do a good job, people throw coins into the hat. And I think that’s the way games should be, because paying $60 up front to take a gamble on whether the game is good or not? You don’t get that money back. So if you buy a turkey, you’ve just wasted your money. With free-to-play you get to go in, take a look at it and find out. It’s entirely our responsibility to make sure you’re entertained. That’s the way things should be in my opinion with free-to-play."

I'm totally cool with that logic, and if a F2P doesn't try to suck all money out of you then that's great... but be prepared to feel the wrath of the gamer community since they seem to hate free by default.


Phil Spencer Talks Shenmue 3
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-s-phil-spencer-biggest-request-i-get-is-to-bring-back-shenmue/1100-6418687/

Shenmue 3 is the most requested game, according to Phil Spencer. Only he said before that Sega owns it and they can't build it. So why am I telling you this non-news? Because I wanted to see you get excited.

Sorry.

Daylight Is Delayed Until April 29
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ps4-pc-horror-game-daylight-delayed-to-make-it-scarier/1100-6418718/

If you were looking forward to playing Daylight, a new zombie horror game, then you'll have to wait a little longer. It is being delayed until April 29 so they can make it scarier.


Tropico 5 Release Date Announced
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/tropico-5-launching-may-23-on-pc-comes-to-ps4-this-fall/1100-6418716/

Tropico 5 comes to you on PC May 23rd, on the 360 and Mac in summer and PS4 in the fall. Strangely, it hasn't been announced for Xbox One.


Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor Gets A Release Date Too
http://www.destructoid.com/middle-earth-shadow-of-mordor-set-for-release-on-october-7-272770.phtml

October 7th is the day that you can pick up this game, and you probably should because it looks awesome. Don't believe me? There's a new trailer in that link too.


Amazon Announced The Fire TV 
http://www.destructoid.com/amazon-announces-its-99-set-top-box-fire-tv-272769.phtml

You can now buy the Fire TV for $99. You can stream services, which is to be expected, but there is also game support here. There are over a hundred games currently supported and thousands more are promised.

But they also said, "This is absolutely not a game console." It just plays games.


Amazon Games Hires Portal And Far Cry 2 Designers
http://ca.ign.com/articles/2014/04/02/amazon-games-hires-portal-far-cry-2-designers

Amazon Games hired Far Cry 2 designer Clint Hocking and Portal designer Kim Swift. But it's not a game console.


Ouya CEO Criticizes The Fire TV
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ouya-responds-to-amazon-fire-tv-says-it-lacks-a-focus-on-games/1100-6418743/

In what I can only assume is an effort to sell an Ouya (still waiting for that first one!), CEO of Ouya Julie Uhrman said that games are a focus of the Ouya and they shouldn't just be an 'added bonus' like with the Fire TV.

Ouya and Amazon... Wrestlemania 30 is this weekend so maybe you can settle your differences then?



Like Mario Kart? If You Don't You Have No Soul -- Here's Some Info On Mario Kart 8
http://ca.ign.com/articles/2014/04/03/buckle-up-for-mario-kart-8-hands-on-impressions-videos-and-more

I went to bed with Mario Kart not really being in my head because it would excite me too much if I thought about it. I woke up and it had infected the entire world -- ending poverty, creating world peace, premiered the new Game of Thrones season early. Hell, it even made me a sandwich.

So here's some of the news and whatnot that appeared. There are videos and whatnot in the IGN link above but I'm better than IGN anyway.

- Cheep Cheep Beach, Donut Plains, DK Jungle and Rainbow Road are being remade.

- You can't design your own courses because level design in Mario Kart is hard and they don't think they can offer that in a rewarding way.

- There's a horn in the center of the Gamepad so now we can be obnoxious even when we're playing Mario Kart. Yay!

- The idea of two characters per kart is not something they've forgotten and they'll keep it in mind for future games.

Never forgotten.

- There are two unannounced items in the game yet to be... uh, announced.

-  Like Mario Kart 7, there will be item customization... only expanded! So now there are more options to choose how items in the races pan out.


More Mario Kart News!

From IGN:

• 12-player online competitive play
• 4-player local multiplayer
• A new Spin Boost feature for when you're racing upside down or on walls
• Returning characters like Metal Mario, Lakitu, and Shy Guy
• New items: Piranha Plant (attaches to your cart and chomps other players; also gives you speed boost), Boomerang Flower (can be thrown forward or backward at opponents to stun).
• New courses: Remixed classics include Moo Moo Meadows from Mario Kart Wii, Toad's Turnpike from Mario Kart 64, and Donut Plains from Super Mario Kart. The remade tracks include re-designed and re-imagined graphics and layouts.
• Live recorded music: For the first time in the history of the Mario Kart series, some courses in Mario Kart 8 will feature music recorded by live performers, though we don't know who.
• Control options: Wii U GamePad, Wii U Pro Controller, the Wii WHeel, and the Wii Remote and Nunchuck. Also supports off-TV mode.

Remember How The Wii U Doesn't Have Games?
http://www.destructoid.com/the-wonderful-101-gets-a-digital-price-drop-on-the-wii-u-272752.phtml

While I won't deny there's definitely a shortage, there have been games released that people just didn't buy. Enter The Wonderful 101... a fantastic strategy-action game that was released last year. Why do I bring this up? Just give me a second, I'm not done shaming the people who didn't buy it yet!

So they missed out on a wonderful game... okay fine, there's a price drop and it's only $30 digitally. Pick it up, seriously.

You can also get Wario and Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge cheaper, but I reckon the developers of Ninja Gaiden 3 should pay you to play that game.


Nobuo Uematsu Is Going To Do The Music For Defender's Quest 2
http://www.destructoid.com/composer-nobuo-uematsu-joins-defender-s-quest-ii-272734.phtml

Legendary composer Uematsu is signed on to help do the music for Defender's Quest 2, and this is great news for people who like music. Which... is almost everybody I would imagine.


There Apparently Was A Game-Breaking Bug In Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-releases-fix-for-game-breaking-donkey-kong-country-tropical-freeze-3-3-bug/1100-6418737/

There was a bug in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze that sometimes affected games when they hit world 3-3... it was very possible you wouldn't be able to progress. Don't worry, Nintendo got this covered!

New "Gothic Psychological FPS" Is In The Works By Awesome People
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ex-witcher-silent-hill-f-e-a-r-devs-reveal-open-world-gothic-psychological-fps/1100-6418726/

Ex- Silent Hill, F.E.A.R. and Witcher devs are going to be making a new scary game. You can sign me up right now.


PAX East Will See A Playable Ultra Street Fighter IV
http://www.destructoid.com/ultra-street-fighter-iv-will-be-playable-at-pax-east-272810.phtml

So Ultra Street Fighter IV will be playable at PAX East. Want my prediction? I bet it's going to play a lot like Street Fighter IV. Just a guess.

People Get Let Go After Phil Spencer's Rise To Power
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-cuts-jobs-following-phil-spencer-s-promotion-to-head-of-xbox/1100-6418739/

Phil Spencer crawled over dead body after dead body to get to where he is, but now Microsoft has cut jobs because of this.

A Microsoft representative said, "At Xbox, our goal is to constantly create new fun, social, and interactive entertainment experiences. As part of our commitment to this goal, we are always evaluating our development priorities, and there are times when decisions need to be made to realign plans and refocus our efforts."

I did some sleuthing and I found out who this Microsoft representative is:

There's something fishy going on at Microsoft.

"Get Even" Has Great Name, Will Also Support VR
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/this-xbox-one-ps4-pc-shooter-will-use-oculus-rift-and-project-morpheus/1100-6418744/

The shooter Get Even will support Oculus Rift and Project Morpheus. With a name like Get Even, I'm also assuming that you'll settle all your debts and start fresh.

No?


GTA 5 Online Mode Is Going To Get Heists
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/gta-5-s-online-mode-finally-gets-heists-later-this-spring/1100-6418724/

In the upcoming months, the online feature will be added, and Rockstar teased that the single-player DLC will be announced this year.


The New A Wolf Among Us Hits Next Week
http://www.destructoid.com/play-the-wolf-among-us-a-crooked-mile-next-week-272796.phtml

The new episode of A Wolf Among Us hits next week, so you can continue your happy and kid-friendly adventure through the fables we know and love.


Murdered: Soul Suspect Developer Sees Layoffs
http://ca.ign.com/articles/2014/04/02/murdered-soul-suspect-developer-airtight-games-suffers-layoffs

14 people have been let go from Airtight Games.


Ed Fries Said VR Is A "Fad," But Phil Spencer Says It's Not
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-boss-phil-spencer-says-virtual-reality-is-not-a-fad/1100-6418747/

What? This is a news article so I have to sensationalize everything.

Ladies and gentlemen, there's beef. Ed Fries said how Xbox could be better than PS4 but said that he didn't think virtual reality would hit the mainstream. Phil Spencer is having none of that. He harshly replied to Ed Fries by saying, "Ed's smart."

When it came to virtual reality, Phil Spencer unloaded with some comments that I don't think your children should see. "I don't believe VR is a fad," he said. Ouch.


Rest In Peace Masato Masuda
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/fire-pro-wrestling-creator-masato-masuda-passes-away-at-48/1100-6418767/

The creator of the Fire Pro Wrestling series passed away this week at the age of 48. I have only played one Fire Pro Wrestling game and it's one of my favourite wrestling games of all time.

Suda51 confirmed this on Twitter, "The creator of Fire Pro-wrestling, Masato Masuda, has passed away. He was 48 years old, still young. I genuinely pray for his happiness in the next world. He was one of the greatest creators of video games and he was my direct teacher. Thank you for giving us our favorite Fire Pro-wrestling. You are the god of it"

I hope you get the championship belt in heaven.


Final Fantasy 14 (Screw Roman Numerals) Beta Open For Everyone On PS4 This Weekend
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ffxiv-beta-on-ps4-open-to-everyone-this-weekend/1100-6418769/

If you want to try out Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn, and you happen to own a PS4, then you can try it out this weekend. Your character will even be transferred over to the full game when it launches.


Of All Things That Need To Rise From The Dead -- Boogerman Is Back
http://www.destructoid.com/some-weird-stuff-was-just-greenlit-on-steam-272857.phtml

Gaming companies are having troubles, the industry gets a new Call of Duty every year... Boogerman is here to save the day.

There's a list right here that shows all the games that Stream greenlit on April 3, and obviously due to the headline, the one that sticks out to me is Boogerman. I remember as a kid chuckling at the title but I never actually rented it. Nobody seems happy in the comment section on Destructoid because it apparently failed to get funded on Kickstarter, but let people have their booger flicking.

There are a bunch of other games that seem interesting, but as Destructoid pointed out, one of the games is already on Stream under a different name. GearGrinder is actually there as Sledgehammer.


Nintendo Direct Next Week -- Will Talk About Smash Bros.
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/new-smash-bros-for-wii-u-and-3ds-info-coming-next-week/1100-6418764/

Make sure to tune into Nintendo Direct next week to find out more information on the much-anticipated brawler. Gaming websites are speculating that we'll finally see a release date. I'm expecting to be disappointed like I usually am after a Nintendo Direct (I still love you Nintendo).

TITANFALL For The Xbox 360 Will Run Above 30fps
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/titanfall-xbox-360-runs-above-30fps-but-the-action-is-all-there-dev-says/1100-6418782/

The Xbox 360 version of monkey simulator TITANFALL will run above 30fps but not 60 like its Xbox One counterpart, for obvious reasons. But rest assured, because they're promising that the game will have all the action that we know and love. I have an exclusive image of the Xbox 360 version:

Can hardly tell a difference between 360 and PC/Xbox One.

Microsoft Is Giving A Free Week Of Xbox Live Gold
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/affected-by-recent-xbox-live-outage-microsoft-giving-you-free-week-of-gold/1100-6418778/

If you had issues on March 11, don't worry, because Microsoft will be giving you one whole week of Xbox Live Gold... for free! Yes!


A Kid Finds A Flaw In Xbox One... Gets Lots o' Stuff
http://www.destructoid.com/this-five-year-old-found-a-major-xbox-one-password-flaw-272888.phtml

I'm just going to copy/paste from Destructoid on this one:

See that adorable little kid? That's five-year-old Kristoffer Von Hassel, and he discovered a major Xbox One password flaw. Kristoffer's parents noticed that the young kid was playing games he wasn't supposed to be on his father's account. When asked how he did it, Kristoffer showed the process which simply involved him typing in space keys at the password verification screen, hitting enter, and then getting into his dad's account.

The family notified Microsoft of the bug, which they have since fixed and even acknowledged Kristopher on their website for the fix. They're also sending him four games, $50, and a year-long subscription to Xbox Live.

That's right, this kid is officially smarter than me. Hey don't laugh, he's probably smarter than you too.


The Shark In Battlefield 4
http://www.destructoid.com/there-is-a-giant-shark-in-battlefield-4-272900.phtml

Yes, there is a gigantic shark in Battlefield 4. There's a video of it in the link above, but if you're at work and can't watch videos, I'll show you a couple still images of it appearing. Ready? I sure am.

Yes this Battlefield 4 hate train just keeps on going. Don't mess with Nintendo!

If You Like Playing Resistance Online... Get On There Now
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/sony-shuts-down-resistance-series-online-features-for-good-april-8/1100-6418790/

Sony is shutting down the online services for Resistance 1, 2 and 3 on April 8, so if you enjoy playing those games online... make sure to get in on that one last time.


Adam Orth Gets Inspired By Internet Hate, Makes "Gravity"
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/new-vr-game-from-former-microsoft-creative-director-adam-orth-finds-a-publisher/1100-6418791/

Obviously I'm not the first one to say this, as it's literally in the article above, but Adam Orth's game Adr1ft sounds an awful lot like Gravity -- that movie last year where Sandra Bullock floated around in space and imagined Space Clooney.

Seriously, here's the description from Gamespot:

"A first-person experience (FPX) that tells the story of an astronaut in peril. You’ll play as the only survivor of a destroyed space station with no memory and a damaged space suit. You’ll explore the wreckage in search of resources and a way to fix an emergency escape vehicle that can take you back home."

Mhm.

But want some real news? Adam Orth was inspired by internet hate to create this game, because I can see how going on the internet would feel like being trapped in space.


Watch Dogs Is Now Available For Pre-Order on Steam, And You Can Totally Run It
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/watch-dogs-now-available-to-preorder-on-steam-recommended-system-requirements-revealed/1100-6418788/

Just kidding, no you can't.

The last news of this week's edition of The Weekly News Round-Up may upset some people with less than stellar computers because they may have to upgrade. I chose this news because I like to leave everyone feeling bad when I exit, so you're welcome.

Here are the specs:

• OS: Windows Vista (SP2), Windows 7 (SP1) or Windows 8 (Please note that we only support 64 bit OSs.)
• Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400 @ 2.66Ghz or AMD Phenom II X4 940 @ 3.0Ghz
• Memory: 6 GB RAM
• Graphics: DirectX 11 graphics card with 1 GB Video RAM - Nvidia Geforce GTX 460 or AMD Radeon HD 5770
• DirectX: Version 11
• Hard Drive: 25 GB available space
• Sound Card: DirectX 9.0c Compatible Sound Card with Latest Drivers

Recommended:

• OS: Windows Vista (SP2), Windows 7 (SP1) or Windows 8 (Please note that we only support 64 bit OSs.)
• Processor: Eight core - Intel Core i7-3770 @3.5 GHz or AMD FX-8350 X8 @ 4 GHz
• Memory: 8 GB RAM
• Graphics: DirectX 11 graphics card with 2 GB Video RAM - Nvidia Geforce GTX 560 ti or AMD Radeon HD 7850
• DirectX: Version 11
• Hard Drive: 25 GB available space
• Sound Card: DirectX 9.0c Compatible Sound Card with Latest Drivers

Pretty beefy specs. But anyway, you can also pre-order the game on Steam now! So do it! And buy a new computer!



I hope you enjoyed the news round-up for this week, because I sure as hell didn't. Make sure to tune in next Saturday for more of the same shit. Also make sure to brush your teeth and check out the blog daily because you never know when I'm going to post something up.

If you're tired of my crap and want to tell me how bad I am, follow me or message me on Twitter @ArtBathednCrime. I will respond and probably friend you even if you're hating on me.

Weekly News Round-Up, March 23 - 29: Facebook Buys Oculus Rift! Oh The Horror!

Written By: Tyler

We have seen a lot happen this week. EA happened some more, Minecraft did stuff, and games were played. I know you're busy because you have a life, so I have taken it upon myself to update you with all the most -- or at least some of it -- interesting video game news of the past week.

This week I've decided to make it a Dean Ambrose/Jon Moxley theme, because that guy is weird and I love him. His facial expressions and reactions are great for everything.

Let's Start This Week Off Right -- EA CEO Talks Getting Things "A Little Bit" Wrong
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-ceo-when-we-get-it-a-little-bit-wrong-we-do-our-best-to-fix-it/1100-6418484/

I'll start this bad boy off with a direct quote that's in that link above:

“For whatever reason, whether it was because they were pushing the boundaries of innovation and they pushed a little hard and things didn't go so well," Wilson told Fortune, referring the SimCity offline debacle, endless Battlefield 4 issues, and problems with NBA Live 14. "We won't always get everything right, but my hope is that we're seen as a company that tries to do amazing things. When we get it a little bit wrong, we do our best to fix it."

The internet does not like you, EA.
EA Voted Worst Company In America AGAIN


Speaking Of EA Being A Crappy Company -- They Won't Win "Worst Company In America" A Third Time
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-won-t-be-named-worst-company-in-america-this-year/1100-6418513/

Time Warner Cable narrowly edged out EA so EA won't be able to complete the hat trick.

Denied!

 I haven't trusted Time Warner since they sold World Championship Wrestling anyway.


EA Delays Battlefield 4 DLC Until Whenever Because Of A "Hiccup"
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/battlefield-4-naval-strike-dlc-hiccup-causes-pc-delay/1100-6418518/

Battlefield 4: Naval Strike won't not be released for a bit as they hammer out a problem with the PC version. It still has shown up on consoles, but you're trying to tell me that the PC version of Battlefield 4 has problems?

At this point I'm so glad that the computer I was using before my new one couldn't run Battlefield 4.


EA Planning To Make The Star Wars Games Like The Batman: Arkham Games
http://ca.ign.com/articles/2014/03/25/ea-plans-to-model-star-wars-games-on-batman-arkham-series

EA is taking influence from the Batman: Arkham series in the sense that the Star Wars games aren't going to be tied to any existing Star Wars movies. Taking ideas from other companies concerning their own games? I thought they were too busy innovating.


Origin Isn't Going To Sell Physical Copy Of Games Starting April 4
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-s-origin-service-will-stop-selling-disc-based-games-next-week/1100-6418630/

That's right! Nobody likes Origin but here's a story for you all. It will be a digital-only service come April 4th.


But Wait, You Can Get Dead Space For Free On Origin Now
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/dead-space-free-on-origin-as-the-first-title-in-ea-s-on-the-house-promotion/1100-6418601/

You can now get Dead Space for free on Origin as part of their "On The House" program. Why is EA doing this? Because they feel bad for screwing with gamers all these years Because they are gamers too, stating, "We appreciate you making Origin your gaming home...and besides, who doesn't like free stuff?"

No I'm not making fun of homeless people.

Saint's Row Developer Was Making A Post-Apocalyptic Western Open-World Game
http://www.destructoid.com/volition-was-making-a-post-apocalyptic-western-272402.phtml

And now they aren't because it would have taken too long. Dammit! I feel screwed.


Escape Goat 2 Has Arrived... But Check Out This Awesome Trailer
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/double-fine-introduces-escape-goat-2-with-second-funniest-trailer-of-the-year-so-far/1100-6418515/

In the link above there is a trailer to the new game Escape Goat 2, which you can now buy. Admittedly, the trailer doesn't show a lot of gameplay (but there are other trailers available) and is entertaining because it's just funny.

Escape Goat 2 comes out this year, and then there is Goat Simulator. Could it be that including goats in games is the new trend and making open-world games is out? Only time will tell.

Pick up Escape Goat 2 NOW! I made it! No I didn't...


Marc Whitten May Be Leaving Microsoft, But He Praises The Xbox One Future
http://ca.ign.com/articles/2014/03/25/marc-whitten-promises-xbox-one-is-just-beginning

Even though he's peacing out of Microsoft, he has said that Microsoft is on their way to reaching what they want the Xbox One to be.

Yeah.

The New Mario Kart Still Has The Same Release Date, Even Though There Was Some Confusion
http://ca.ign.com/articles/2014/03/25/nintendo-refutes-mario-kart-8as-early-release-date

Nintendo cleared that stuff up like it was acne. The game is still coming out May 30, not a couple weeks before.


Here's When You Can Start Ignoring Your Family
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/elder-scrolls-online-announces-exact-launch-times/1100-6418485/

You want to know when Elder Scrolls Online officially launches? So does everyone else. Here are the times for the launch:

• North America (East): 7:00 PM EDT, Thursday, April 3
• UK/IE: 12:00 AM WEST, Thursday, April 4
• Central Europe: 1:00 AM CEST, Thursday, April 4
• Sydney, Australia: 10:00 AM AEDT, Thursday, April 4
• Singapore: 7:00 AM SGT, Thursday, April 4

Also in that link are the times for the three day early access and five day early access. Somewhere also in that link is a link that takes you to a page made by the uncle of your best friend's mother that tells you the secret of the Universe.


Minecraft On The PS3 And 360 Get A Big Update 
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/minecraft-ps3-xbox-360-versions-getting-major-update/1100-6418483/

Not sick of playing Minecraft on last-gen consoles? Well, they got your back. A big update is rolling out that offers new terrain generation options, new potions, blocks, and even a carrot on a stick special item that allows you to ride pigs.

Yes, this is happening. By the way, that's a carrot on a stick in case you can't tell.

TITANFALL Gets A Balancing Update
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/titanfall-update-fixes-bugs-adjusts-balancing-makes-the-smart-pistol-less-lethal/1100-6418482/

In the link above (god I love just being able to link things... it makes my work so much easier) there is a huge list of the balancing updates that have hit indie game TITANFALL. Most noticeably, the Smart Pistol has been nerfed which makes me go:

Luftrausers Took 2 And A Half Years To Develop, Already Makes A Profit
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/indie-game-luftrausers-took-2-5-years-to-make-becomes-profitable-in-72-hours/1100-6418508/

Luftrausers only took 72 hours to make a profit, which is great news for the indie developers. Take that Minecraft, you gigantic money making bastard!


Nintendo And Sony Not Going To PAX East
http://www.destructoid.com/microsoft-will-be-at-pax-east-sony-and-nintendo-won-t-272409.phtml

Don't worry, Microsoft will be at PAX East, but Nintendo and Sony won't. In the link above there is a list of the people/companies/groups that will be attending. Some other companies that won't be showing up are "Nintendo, Sony, EA Games, Capcom, Sega, Warner Bros Interactive, Twisted Pixel and Deep Silver." (I'm a real journalist and I stole that from Destructoid so I quote it... how professional)

Those are some big names not showing up. I'm too much of a wrestling fan to not be skeptical though, and I think this is a work. I think they're just plotting something behind the scenes and what we're seeing is the 2014 game version of the:

Or if you wanna be more topical and not stuck in the 90s... the companies are working a CM Punk angle.

Don't worry, they'll be there. They're going to invade PAX East brothers.


Sony Gets Rid Of "Numerous" Employees In Guerilla Cambridge, SCE London And Evolution
http://ca.ign.com/articles/2014/03/25/sony-layoffs-hit-evolution-guerilla-and-sce-london

I never make fun of layoffs in the Weekly News Round-Up because this is always sad to hear.


Microsoft Is Implementing The Major League Gaming App For The Xbox 360
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/mlg-app-comes-to-xbox-360-lets-you-watch-live-broadcasts/1100-6418498/

If you have Xbox Live Gold, then you'll also be able to watch Major League Gaming on your 360. Major League Gaming isn't to be confused with Major League Baseball -- if you're like me and you originally just skimmed through the article and thought it said MLB -- because I wouldn't want anybody to confuse a fake sport with a real sport.

Just kidding eSports, you know I love you.


Don't Expect Toki Tori 3
http://www.destructoid.com/don-t-expect-toki-tori-3-anytime-soon-272419.phtml

Apparently there isn't an audience for it, so fans of the series shouldn't expect a third entry any time soon. Don't worry I won't!

Toki Tori is actually a series I've meant to play but haven't yet. So it's my fault guys, sorry.


Remember The Ouya?
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/all-of-ouya-s-games-have-free-trials-but-that-s-going-to-change/1100-6418500/

Yeah, me neither.

The Ouya is going to have slightly different policies. From what I can understand, originally developers had to create a demo for the console which cut into actually making the game. But now, instead of forcing developers to do that, they can now choose to have a free-to-try or paid model. So now, Ouya is getting rid of demos and implementing a system where Ouya will have demos.


Ubisoft Vice President Of Creative Lionel Raynaud Makes A Statement... Gets Bluff Called
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/virtual-reality-devices-need-to-sell-1-million-units-before-ubisoft-gets-interested-update/1100-6418392/

Lionel Raynaud is excited about Virtual Reality systems like Project Morpheus, Oculus Rift or actually going outside and experiencing life... but said that they would need major numbers sold in order for Ubisoft to use the new technology. He said VR would need to sell a million units.

Then, someone else from Ubisoft came out and was basically like, "nah, 1 million isn't actually what it would take dudez." That's a direct quote, obviously.


Blizzard Says Diablo 3 Is In Development For Xbox One
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/diablo-3-in-development-for-xbox-one-but-blizzard-not-sure-if-it-will-ever-launch/1100-6418494/

...but says they don't know if it'll be released, due to contracts and whatnot.

So they're developing a game that they know may not be released?

In unrelated news, I traveled to the future and in a year Blizzard lays off employees.


Rich And Don't Know What To Do With Yourself?
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/white-xbox-ones-appear-on-ebay-can-be-yours-for-1500-and-up/1100-6418493/

The way I see it is that if you're rich you have two options.  You can either send me money or you can buy this white Xbox One for $1500 and up.

Super Mario Bros. 3 Hits The Wii U And 3DS Virtual Console April 17th
http://www.destructoid.com/super-mario-bros-3-is-finally-hitting-the-virtual-console-on-april-17th-272465.phtml

In a shocking turn of events, Nintendo is finally putting a Mario game on one of their systems!

If you want to play arguably the greatest Mario of all time, make sure to pick it up. There are other games coming soon too like Metroid Fusion, Golden Sun and more.


Ubisoft Going Hard On PAX East
http://ca.ign.com/articles/2014/03/26/ubisoft-to-demo-watch-dogs-trials-fusion-and-more-at-pax-east

Ubisoft is going to demo Trials Fusion, Child of Light, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Phantoms, and The Mighty Quest For Epic Loot... along with Watch Dogs. Sounds great, but who's going to watch, uh, play, play the... Watch the Watch Dogs? I give up. This was messed from the beginning. I'm sorry.


Lorne Lanning Has Anger Issues
http://ca.ign.com/articles/2014/03/26/oddworld-creator-lashes-ea-talks-abeas-oddysee-remake 

Lorne Lanning in his Black Metal band.

The Oddworld creator had a little bit to say about EA and Oddworld:

On Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty

“We still see press calling it an HD remake, and it’s not a f--king HD remake."

On EA
“F--k that business. I don’t want to play with that business, because it was a losing business. I just don’t want to go back and play the old [publisher] game. I’d rather not make games than go f--king be a slave for public companies who care more about their shareholders than they do about their customers."

“Why did Battlefield 4 ship? You know that team was crying. You know that team knew that game wasn’t ready to go. You know that team f--king spent a lot of sleepless nights building that s--t out to look as good and play as good, when it was able to be experienced, being played as they were intending it to be played. Someone made a decision that the shareholders are more important than the customer. And we see a lot of that. How do you blow that? How do you take that f--king jewel and ship it with dirt all over it?”

I like this guy. He should write the Weekly News Round-Up.


Guild Wars 2 Is Going To Be Prettier In The April Patch
http://ca.ign.com/articles/2014/03/26/guild-wars-2-features-getting-revamped-and-enhanced-in-april

Guild Wars 2 is going to have a patch, but it's mostly just to enhance the game, rather than add new story.


Peter Molyneux Is Still Jaw Jackin'... Verbally
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/molyneux-the-indie-golden-age-won-t-last/1100-6418524/
 
Peter Molyneux recently said to enjoy this whole indie game thing while it lasts because it goes in cycles. He cited the music business, saying punk is popular for five years, then we get everything being manufactured.

Peter, we've had the same mainstream crap in North America for like 15 years. Or more.



Stop The Presses - Facebook Buys The Oculus Rift
http://kotaku.com/facebook-buys-oculus-rift-for-2-billion-1551487939 

This will probably be the biggest news of the week. Facebook bought the Oculus Rift for 2 billion dollars.

Mark Suckerberg (Oh I'm so edgy) says:

"Now Facebook runs the entire world. We bought the Oculus Rift, we're about to buy North America, and the surely we will conquer everything. We're so popular that God constantly updates his status."

Or he actually said:
"Mobile is the platform of today, and now we're also getting ready for the platforms of tomorrow," Oculus has the chance to create the most social platform ever, and change the way we work, play and communicate."

I'm sure the gaming aspect of the Oculus Rift will not be tampered with, and I'm looking forward to being able to hang out with the people I don't want to talk to in real life in a virtual world.


Oculus Rift Will Eventually Be Redesigned With Facebook Logo And Inferface
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/oculus-rift-will-eventually-be-redesigned-with-facebook-branding-report/1100-6418548/

Geez. Facebook has to slap their logo on everything. Luckily this blog will never see that.

In related news, the Kickstarter backers of the Oculus Rift are pissed. I can't possibly understand why.

Update: Facebook says (because it's a physical person now) it won't redesign shit.


Palmer Luckey Shoots Off About The Oculus Rift And Facebook
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/oculus-rift-creator-we-promise-we-won-t-change-following-facebook-buyout/1100-6418562/

Palmer Luckey did what anybody would do when having to answer questions -- he went to Reddit. In the link above he talks about a bunch of different things concerning the acquisition of the Oculus Rift by the tyrant Facebook. But I'm not posting it here because that will take up a lot of space. What? You actually expected me to? What is this, Communism?

In short though: Things will get better, indie development will increase, it will be more open, they'll have more money for new hardware and better people, and you won't have to log-in to Facebook and see all the annoying posts everyone makes (including myself) in order to use the Rift.


The Deal Only Took 72 Hours! 
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/some-deals-take-months-but-facebook-completed-its-purchase-of-oculus-vr-in-72-hours/1100-6418566/

Facebook moves fast, and sure enough they moved fast again. It only took 72 hours to make the Oculus deal. That's pretty impressive.

In related news, Mark Zuckerberg is actually Sonic.

Michael Abrash Leaves Valve, Joins Oculus
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/oculus-vr-hires-another-valve-virtual-reality-veteran/1100-6418627/

Michael left Valve, and had this to say: "Facebook's acquisition of Oculus means that VR is going to happen in all its glory. The resources and long-term commitment that Facebook brings gives Oculus the runway it needs to solve the hard problems of VR--and some of them are hard indeed. I now fully expect to spend the rest of my career pushing VR as far ahead as I can."

My, what a brash man. Get it? GET IT? Please accept me.

Dat Facebook money.

Oh Yeah, This Is Happening -- Goat Simulator Dead Island Trailer


Do you remember the Dead Island trailer that was so emotional it made the entire universe cry? It was one of the best video game trailers of all time and it made Dead Island look like it was going to hit you right in the heart.

Well the creators of Goat Simulator paid homage/parodied it with this. You should have watched it before you read what I had to say about it, but if you haven't, clicky-clicky that video above because it is so worth it.


Bioshock: Infinite's Final DLC Hit This Week
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/say-goodbye-to-bioshock-infinite-as-its-final-dlc-is-out-today/1100-6418526/

Burial At Sea - Episode 2 hit the week, so if you're a fan of Bioshock: Infinite, make sure to pick up the DLC. And if you understand the ending of the original game, contact me and explain it to me. Thanks!


Microsoft Believes Now Is The Time For Something That Should Have Been There From The Original Plans
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-on-loaning-and-gifting-digital-xbox-one-games-we-totally-believe-in-that-future/1100-6418534/

If you're a gamer you probably remember Microsoft at E3. I shouldn't even have to tell you which one. They came out, said a bunch of things that annoyed everyone and now have reversed their policies. Well, now, they're fine with a loaning and gifting digital game service.


Did You Cheat In TITANFALL? Welcome To Alcatraz
http://www.destructoid.com/titanfall-cheaters-can-only-play-with-other-cheaters-now-272499.phtml

If you cheated in TITANFALL and got banned, you can still plan... but only with other cheaters.

TITANFALL New Modes Will Be Free... DLC Will Be 10 Bucks
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/new-titanfall-modes-won-t-be-locked-behind-a-paygate/1100-6418551/

You won't have to pay for the new modes in TITANFALL, but there is DLC in the works that you will have to pay for.


Sony Can't Keep Employees

The Driveclub director has left to be indie.
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/sony-s-ps4-racing-game-driveclub-loses-its-director/1100-6418552/

Don't you know it works in cycles! Molyneux said so! Get out of there Col Rodgers!

But Driveclub is still making good progress and a release date is coming soon.
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ps4-racing-game-driveclub-making-spectacular-progress-release-date-coming-soon/1100-6418567/

Seth Killian has also left the God Of War developer to do his own thing.
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/yet-another-playstation-designer-leaves-sony/1100-6418554/

 I'm sure whatever he chooses to do, he's going to kill it. Get it?

Torchlight Co-Founders Peace Out And Start A New Studio
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/torchlight-co-founders-leave-runic-games-to-start-new-studio/1100-6418577/

Travis Baldree and Erich Schaefer left Runic Games and are now starting up their own studio named Double Damage Games. I for one trust any company named Double Damage.


You Want The Last Of Us On PS4? Nah. Well, Maybe
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/report-the-last-of-us-coming-to-ps4-as-physical-and-digital-release/1100-6418573/

A Sony representative from Turkey (yum) has said that the Ellen Page game The Last of Us may be coming to PS4. But nobody knows if it's true or not at this point, and since The Last of Us is going to be a Playstation Now (not now, but later) game... it seems a little wonky. 


Here We Go Again -- Video Games Make Kids Violent
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/study-violent-video-games-could-be-linked-to-aggressive-behavior/1100-6418556/

I had hoped that we were past this point, but I guess in my heart I knew that a new study would pop up eventually, just like a new villain will inevitably pop up in Gotham.

There's been a recent study that basically stated that kids who play a lot of video games are more violent than kids that don't. Of course, like any study, there was controversy and someone else basically said that it's a stupid study.

Well said.

But Hey, Gamers Aren't Loners Either
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/gamers-are-not-anti-social-basement-dwellers-study-finds/1100-6418624/

A new study has said that gamers aren't the anti-social dickholes that pop culture makes them out to be. In fact, according to this study, loners in the gaming community are the exception to the rule and not the norm. Gamers are actually incredibly social. Unless you're me... in which case you just sit at home by yourself, playing your MMORPGs with just your older brother because you don't want to deal with other people. But I'm not anti-social.


Notch Comes Through The Door Blastin' On Cliffy B
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/minecraft-creator-responds-to-cliff-bleszinski-calling-him-a-pouty-kid/1100-6418609/

Cliffy B called Notch (the maker of Minecraft in case you've been living under a rock or you know, don't give a crap about Minecraft) a "pouty kid" when Notch announced that he was cancelling development for the Oculus Rift once it was acquired by Facebook.

Notch replied by saying, "I'm a man driven by principles, not capitalism, so I guess I'll just have to get used to the occasional name calling." Of course, this was all said on Twitter because real life what?

Am I the only one who finds a beef between two game developers funny? We're not exactly known for being tough guys... but hey, I don't have a study to back that up.

PS4 Getting Over 100 Games In 2014, There's A List Of Them In That Link Below
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ps4-getting-over-100-games-in-2014-here-s-the-full-list/1100-6418569/

Do you want games? We all do! PS4 is supposedly going to have over 100 by the time 2014 ends. And I'm going to play every single one of them.

 

Microsoft Won't Allow PC And Xbox One Crass Platform Play... Well, Maybe A Little
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-won-t-allow-xbox-one-pc-cross-platform-play-says-war-thunder-dev/1100-6418587/ 

Microsoft said it won't completely allow cross platform play, however, they will work closely with developers when they have to or need it. But they actually will allow it sometimes, so god damn it, this isn't news at all.


But Microsoft Thinks That There Will Be "An Army Of Huge Franchises" Coming To E3

Phil Spencer says, "If you look at attach rate on the consoles right now, people investing in the great new AAA IP, it's great. I think at this year's E3 between us and EA and Activision, Sony, and Nintendo, you're going to see another army of huge franchises coming."

Well I hope so since E3 is the biggest gaming event of the year.
 

Microsoft Is Releasing Halo: Spartan Assault On Steam April 4th...
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-has-no-plans-to-release-more-halo-games-on-steam/1100-6418613/

...But doesn't have plans for any real Halo games to show up on Steam. So I guess, pick it up or whatever.


Phil Spencer Also Talks About Japan
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/console-gaming-not-dead-in-japan-microsoft-says/1100-6418629/

Oh hey, it's just Phil Spencer talking again. Soon I'm going to have to give him and Peter Molyneux their own "EA Corner" type thing. This time he said, "It's critical for us in the industry that we continue to invest [in Japan] and see great games come out," as he doesn't think that the gaming population has gone down in Japan.




Justin Richmond Says Bye To Naughty Dog, Joins Riot
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/uncharted-4-director-leaves-naughty-dog-for-riot/1100-6418600/

Justin Richmond, the Uncharted 4 director, has left Naughty Dog in order to join the company that we can blame for League of Legends. There are no hard feelings, and Uncharted 4 will not be impacted at all, except for the fact it now takes place in space and involves Nathan Drake mating with aliens. No major changes though.

And seriously, Riot? There's no money in League of Legends.

...


3D Realms Is Still Fighting Gearbox
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-gearbox-3d-realms-legal-battle-over-duke-nukem-is-heating-up/1100-6418586/

3D Realms says that they have the rights to make a new Duke Nukem game, and they also own the trademark still.

Well, that's settled.

Warface Beta Is Open Now For Xbox Live Gold Subscribers On the Xbox 360
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/crysis-developer-s-warface-hits-open-beta-on-xbox-360/1100-6418585/

If you want to torture yourself with a mediocre game, feel free to get in on the Warface beta if you're an owner of the Xbox 360. But I recommend not.


Devil's Third Has A New Logo
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ninja-gaiden-dev-s-action-game-devil-s-third-gets-a-new-logo-2014-reveal-teased/1100-6418583/

Tomonobu Itagaki's new action game has a new logo, and it's new, so check it out while it's new.

Third what?

Is The Newest Deus Ex Game Called Mankind Divided?
http://www.destructoid.com/square-enix-trademarks-deus-ex-mankind-divided-272600.phtml

According to this article it is. Apparently Square Enix trademarked "Deus Ex: Mankind Divided" in the UK so that could possibly be the title of the next Deus Ex.

They could call it Deus Ex: On The Gamely Sucks Hard and I wouldn't even care... I just want another Deus Ex. In fact, do that. Right now.


Wanna Be A Chef In A Post-Apocalyptic World? DayZ's Got You Covered
http://ca.ign.com/articles/2014/03/28/day-z-survival-update-adds-cooking-weapons

When "the moment [they] are confident [they] have a suitable build to release" a new update for DayZ will appear. This will include an improved AKM weapons model, new locations and... cooking! That's right, you can get your Master Chef on in this game whenever the update comes out, because really that's why we go to a game like DayZ to begin with.

"Boy, I hope they're making roast beef in there."

"Hey, got any roast beef in there?"

"Sir I don't see any roast beef anywhere."

I hope you enjoyed this edition of the Weekly News Round-Up. Hate me and my news? Tell me on Twitter @ArtBathednCrime.

Make sure to tune in again next Saturday, and every day because you never know when I'm going to post an article, and I'll leave you with one final Dean Ambrose gif: