Gaming - Page 1185

Nintendo may have released their next-gen Wii U console, but that doesn't mean we won't be seeing some quality releases on their portable gaming systems in the Nintendo 3DS and 3DS XL. Coming later this month is Scribblenauts Unlimited, which should please puzzle fans and if you're after a new fishing game - Super Black Bass will... wet your appetite. If that wasn't enough, Viking Invasion 2 will also be released.

February will also see the releases of Crash City Mayhem, Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor Unlocked (wow, that's a mouthful). In March, we're also treated to multiple releases from Majesco Entertainment with paranormal investigation title The Hidden, undead fun will be had in Pet Zombies, Face Racers will give you some fast and frenetic racing and if you want some outer space weirdness, Nano Assault might tickle your fancy.

Of course, that's not all, but unfortunately no steak knives are involved, but what is involved is two more games for those of you who liked Professor Layton's last adventure. If so, you might enjoy Mystery Murders: Jack the Ripper and Midnight Mysteries: The Devil of Mississippi. Filling out March will see the release of Luigi's Mansion 2 as well as a return of one of the bigger, but much older Nintendo franchises - Castlevania: Lords of Shadow- Mirror of Fate.

Taipei Game Show 2013 - Today at the Taipei Game Show 2013 out in Nangang we got to experience something pretty cool at the Sony PlayStation booth.

What first caught our attention was the massive 84-inch 4K 3D TV - we're not sure what brand it is, it was not advertised - which was running a rather interesting demo of Gran Turismo 5. At first glance we thought we were merely looking at a 3D version of the GT5 racing game, but on closer inspection, we noticed something else much more impressive was happening.

Sony used what we decided to call "reserve 3D technology" at the show - you know, it's kind of like 3D, but not really at all. So, basically with the gamer wearing 3D glasses they are able to get their own driving experience without having to use traditional vertical or horizontal split screen display. We're not exactly sure how the technology works, but it's pretty cool nevertheless.

The Nintendo Wii U has just been struck another blow. Nintendo has had to delay both TiVo and Google Maps integration beyond their original January launch. Well, Google Maps was originally slated to launch in January 2013. TiVo, on the other hand, has already been delayed once before.

TiVo was originally supposed to launch with the TVii service, which was set to launch with the console. TVii didn't come until late December and, when it launched, it was missing Netflix and TiVo integration. TiVo integration has now been pushed back to "early 2013," which isn't a very solid time frame.

Google Maps integration was announced back in December with a January 2013 launch. It has also been pushed back, though it has the more solid time frame of "first quarter of 2013." The Wii U is already said to be having sales below expectations, and these delays are certainly not going to help sales, or Nintendo.

Warface, a new free-to-play FPS from Crytek, the makers of Crysis 3, is set to enter closed beta very soon and as a result, the company is now taking applications for gamers wanting to join the closed beta. Signing up is as simple as entering an email and your desired gamer tag.

Normally I do not get very excited over a free to play FPS game as they usually lack in quality, features and realism, but Warface just might be the exception. Warface was developed on the CryEngine, the same one used on Crysis 3, and was given a budget in the $10-$30 million range.

Crytek will make its investment back by offering paid content and personally I am hoping that content is in the form of extra maps, camo and other non-critical gear. Being able to buy a more powerful weapon just takes the fun out of things. The game will offer combative and co-op modes. You can apply to join the closed beta by clicking the Source #2 link below. Who knows, maybe I will see you in-game!

Based upon Crytek's announcement today, it appears that the THQ bankruptcy hearing was accepted by the judge. Crytek has come out to say that they have acquired the rights to THQ's Homefront intellectual property. This means Crytek will now be able to develop games in the Homefront franchise.

Crytek was actually already working with THQ on a second Homefront game, which it announced back in late 2011. Due to the recent bankruptcy filing by THQ, Crytek decided to buy the rights to the Homefront franchise. They submitted the high bid at the THQ assets auction and have purchased the rights.

Crytek CEO, Cevat Yerli, said: "Since we first reached an agreement to develop Homefront 2, we've been firm believers in the IP and its potential to excite and amaze players. Our cooperation with THQ was always positive and we would like to thank them for all their support over the last two years and express our sympathy to those affected by the recent events at the company."

Want to get a sneak peak at the upcoming Crysis 3 game? Well, Crytek and EA are giving everyone just that opportunity by offering an open beta of the multiplayer version of Crysis 3. Starting January 29, PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 users will be able to participate in the beta.

It will feature two beta multiplayer modes: Hunter and Crash Site. The Hunter game mode is best described by the Crysis team: "This multiplayer game mode is all about the survival of the fittest. There are two teams, initially comprised of two permanently cloaked "Hunters", and up to fourteen CELL troopers awaiting extraction. Each trooper slain respawns on the Hunter team to prey on their former allies, building to a frenetic climax. If any of the troopers survive the round, the hunters lose. Whichever way you play, Hunter Mode delivers a heart-pounding test of strategy and survival."

Every cloud has a silver lining and for gamers, that silver lining in THQ's bankruptcy is the THQ Mega Pack. Bankrupt THQ is selling a THQ Mega Pack for just $25. The THQ Mega Pack is available on Amazon and comes with a large selection of THQ's games. Nearly every major game released by THQ is part of the pack.

All of the above games come in the THQ Mega Pack. Noticeably absent from the list above is the line of wrestling titles produced by THQ. This is likely due to licensing deals with the WWE. Saints Row The Third is worth the $25 alone, so you're basically getting 18 games for free.

We already heard that the next-generation PlayStation 4 was set to be more powerful than the next-generation Xbox, but now we have found some better details on the exact hardware being baked into the next-gen console from Sony.

The CPU that will find its home in the new PS4 is said to be sporting a new "Jaguar" technology from AMD, which features low-power processor cores that are designed for the entry-level laptop and tablet market. This is a perfect solution as console power consumption is a huge problem, and it looks like it'll be solved by the hardware in the PlayStation 4. The PC bound Jaguar technology from AMD is headed to the consumer market in a quad-core design, but consoles are looking to amp this up with some customizations to the overall design.

The PlayStation 4, or 'Orbis', will aos feature a high-end Radeon GPU solution. We should be looking at the mobile side of AMD's GPU plans, with the "Pitcairn" design, or the Radeon 7970M design. The 7970M is clocked at 850MHz, and feature 20 "Graphics Core Next" compute units, but the Orbis will take 10% off those specs - reducing the GCN compute unit count to 18, and the clock speed down to 800MHz.

A popular gaming website is reporting that the PlayStation 4 will be significantly more powerful than its rival, Microsoft's Xbox 720. VG247 has said that their developer sources who possess intimate knowledge of the PS4's specs as well as the Xbox 720 have confirmed the rumors.

VG247 says that the PS4 will clock in at around 1.84 teraflops of run-capability which is significantly more than the mere 1.23 teraflops possessed by the Xbox 720. The Xbox however, will sport 8GB of RAM over the PS3's 4GB, according to the source.

The website is also reporting that the new Xbox will have Blu-ray playback capabilities this time, which should come as no surprise because developers will need the extra disc space to fit all of those high-end graphics on. We will know for sure which console wins the power race in March when both companies are set to make announcements. Until then we'll keep reporting on developments on the subject as they come to hand.

Been holding out for a white PlayStation 3? Well, if you have, Sony has provided you with just that. Starting January 27, Sony will be selling a white version of the iconic PlayStation 3, likely as a way to boost sales just a few months before the rumored release of the PlayStation 4.

The console will come with a matching "Classic White" controller, a 500GB hard drive, and a year-long subscription to PlayStation Plus. PlayStation Plus comes with a collection of downloadable PlayStation 3 and Vita games. The current list of games includes LittleBigPlanet 2, BioShock 2, Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition, Borderlands, Gotham City Impostors, and 7 others.

The console will only set you back $300, which is quite a deal when you add in all of the free games and such. But, will it be enough to boost sales when the PlayStation 4 is rumored to be so close around the corner? We'll have to wait and see.

It warms my heart to see that there are still developers out there who state they're looking after PC gamers, and then actually follow through with it. Crytek are notorious with Crysis 2 for slapping PC gamers in the face, but BioShock Infinite developer, Irrational Games, has PC gamers' backs with their latest first-person shooter.

Irrational Games' Technical Director, Christopher Kline, admitted that the precious BioShock titles didn't have great PC-specific features, which he cites is due to the studio not being able to spare the resources required to amp up the PC version, and not because they didn't want to please PC enthusiasts.

BioShock Infinite turns things around, and Kline says that the studio has a special team which is responsible for identifying and implementing features that are important for PC gamers, as this time around, they had the resources spare to apply them. DirectX 11 will be included, as will HD Ambient Occlusion and Diffusion Depth of Field, EyeFinity and Surround Vision support, as well as huge amounts of graphical options and support for Steam Cloud and Big Picture.

We had a rumor less than a couple of days ago regarding pricing on the next-generation of consoles, which would be just $400 at launch. Now we're hearing from Sony's Vice President of Home Entertainment that we could see the PlayStation 4 unveiled sooner, rather than later.

Hiroshi Sakamoto recently talked to Chilean website Emol that Sony are working hard on the next-generation PlayStation, and that they are focused on showing it off at E3 in June, or even earlier. If Sony did jump first, they would beat Microsoft to the punch with their next-generation console which is expected to be unveiled at E3 in June.

The PlayStation 4 being announced ahead of the next-gen Xbox won't do much, but it will certainly have press sites going crazy, and thus, readers wanting to know more. Sony unveiling the PlayStation 4 would work for them, but against them at the same time - as it would give Microsoft E3 all to themselves and their next-gen consoles.

The days of Total Annihilation ruled me, I played tens of hours per week and upgraded my system constantly to play it smoothly at a high resolution like 1600x1200 back in the CRT days. Well, the developer behind it, Gas Powered Games, are looking to release a new game and need your help to fund it. Gas Powered Games require $1.1 million in funding, which will wrap up on February 15.

Gas Powered Games' master and commander, Chris Taylor, is behind things again and below, you'll find the perfect explanation behind the game from their Kickstarter page:

Colin Sebastian, an analyst for Baird Equity Research, has made a prediction that the upcoming PlayStation 4 and Xbox 720 will launch for a price of around $400. Along with a prediction of price, the company is also providing a prediction that the new consoles will use high-end computer hardware that is readily available from the likes of Intel and others.

This isn't the first time we've heard the second prediction. In fact, it's been a common occurrence for rumors to say that this is the case. There are several benefits to using standard PC hardware, the main of which is that programmers don't have to learn a new technology or architecture. It would also allow game developers to program only once for one architecture.

If standard components are used, it also leaves the door open to the possibility of upgrading the components at a later time. Sony and Microsoft should also be able to keep updating the console with refreshes that use Intel's, AMD's or NVIDIA's latest and greatest parts.

Leaked specifications on the next-generation Xbox are here thanks to a user on Chinese forum TGFC, this user 'BD' claims to be an ex-Ubisoft employee and has leaked specification on the upcoming next-gen console from Microsoft.

BD has claimed that the next-gen Xbox will sport an AMD 8-core processor, 8GB of RAM, an AMD Radeon HD 8000 Series GPU, Windows 8 kernel and a 640GB HDD. If these specs are true, we're looking at production specs and not a prototype - we're close enough to the unveiling which should be at this years' E3.

Microsoft are going to face some fierce competition this time round, and so will Sony and Nintendo. We have the smaller Ouya console, NVIDIA's recently announced Project Shield and the biggest competitor in my opinion - Valve's Steam Box.

'Disney' and 'console' are not two words that I would've thought I'd be writing together about, but here we are. Disney all the way back in June 2011 filed an application for a patent, but it was only recently that the Patent and Trademark Office logged it.

Disney's patent suggests that the behemoth company are working on their own console that would sport 3D augmented reality, including a handheld device. The patent has teased that it is, or will be called 'Toy Box'. The description of Toy Box sound intriguing: "It's gameplay involves various Disney and Pixar characters interacting with each other".

Considering Disney have a plethora of characters under their name, including the Pixar name and now Star Wars - this could be truly game-changing news. It might not directly compete with the Xbox and PlayStation, but it wouldn't need to. Also remember that Pixar and Apple are BFFs... so this could be the work of Apple, or they've at least got their finger in the pie here.

Microsoft has halted development on its free-to-play Age of Empires Online game that came out in 2011. What this means is that there will be no new content coming for the game, though the game will continue to operate. Microsoft detailed what it means in a blog post:

So, the game will eventually die, and until then, bug support will be slow and possibly non-existant: "Fixing and remaining bugs and addressing balance issues will be slower and, frankly, more difficult for the team. Some may, in fact, be unfixable. We will be watching carefully in case any critical bugs appear."

The Nintendo 3DS has proved a tough nut to crack, but hackers have finally managed to get the system to run homebrew code. Back on December 16, hacker Yellows8 posted images of the 3DS with the screen displaying the text "We hacked it!" At the time, the 3DS was only capable of displaying text, but that has changed.

In the few weeks between initially cracking the device and today, hackers have successfully managed to produce images on both of the screens using homebrew code. While we're still a ways from running full homebrew games and pirated games, progress seems to be progressing quickly.

The original DS suffered from rampant piracy in the form of the R4 card. The piracy was so bad it led to many developers abandoning the platform completely. Fears from several developers regarding this on the 3DS have already been voiced, and many more are likely to join them.

A picture of a GameStop Black Ops 2 DLC poster has leaked to the internet and provided precious details about the upcoming DLC. In the picture, you can see that there will be four new multiplayer maps, a new zombies map, and a new SMG. As far as the details go, we really only have names, so it's time to let your imagination go wild as to what the maps will look like.

"Hydro", "Grind", "Downhill", and "Mirage" are the new multiplayer maps, with "Die Rise" being the new Zombies map. Downhill appears to be a ski resort, which would make sense, while Mirage appears to be in the desert. The other two pictures aren't as clear and the names could align the maps in many different settings.

The SMG is named the Peacekeeper and there are no details as to which game modes it will be available in. The DLC is set to come to the Xbox 360 on January 29 and will likely cost $15, if it stays in line with the pricing of Black Ops DLC. If you have the Season Pass, you'll get the DLC for free when it releases.

Rumors have a way of starting using data that could mean next to nothing. For instance, a rumor is now saying that the countdown to E3 posted by Microsoft today is proof positive that they will be announcing the next Xbox at E3 in June. While there have been rumors saying this is the case, this timer does not have any shred of definite proof.

While it is pretty likely that the next Xbox will make its first appearance at E3 this year in June, a simple timer does not give any hard evidence. The text "And it's on..." only adds fuel to the fire, but still does not prove that this is Microsoft's plan. While it certainly is time for Microsoft to update the Xbox 360, they will likely try to milk it for every dollar its worth.

It's also important to consider that Microsoft still has some major Xbox 360 game releases to get through, including Gears of War Judgement in March. Would Microsoft really release the next-gen console so quickly after a major game release? It's hard to say. If the console includes backwards compatibility, then it is possible.