Gamespot's Site Mashup

Written By Kom Limpulnam on Rabu, 20 November 2013 | 23.37

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Mount Panorama is a treacherous circuit, but at the crest of its dizzying 174-meter climb is a view of the Australian countryside so gorgeous that for a few fleeting moments all that exists is you and the howl of a roaring engine. Moments like this are what make Forza Motorsport 5 so special. This is a game that expertly captures the bond between car and driver, improving on a world-class racing simulation with just as much human touch as technical wizardry.

Nowhere is that more apparent than in Forza 5's redesigned career mode, where the hosts of Top Gear serve as entertaining guides through all manner of automotive styles and eras. It's a format made up of dozens of mini-campaigns, each focused on a specific class of vehicle, ranging from vintage touring legends to hot hatches to modern hypercars. It's a much more a la carte approach than previous Forza games: each series is unlocked from the start, lasting between one and two hours each. You're given the freedom to progress through these themed categories in any order you wish, the only limit to what you drive next being the number of credits in your virtual bank account.

With this approach comes the freedom to navigate your own pathway through the history of motorsport, but with an overarching progression of credits and RPG-style leveling that encourages you to continually poke through Forza 5's eclectic selection of vehicles. It's a career mode made even better by an expanded Top Gear partnership that takes the form of narrated voice-overs preceding each series. Whether they're playfully mocking the third generation of Ford Mustangs or recounting the rivalry between James Hunt and Niki Lauda during the 1976 Formula One season, Clarkson, Hammond, and May shine as automotive historians. Their entertaining yet informative prologues lend both context and humor to every category of car you choose to spend time with.

The 1971 Elan Sprint has its charms, but the 2013 E21 is the standout Lotus in Forza 5.

That same flair for personality can be seen in the new drivatar AI system. The idea is that each car you compete against throughout your career is modeled after a real player's driving habits, a sort of cloud-based doppelganger meant to reflect how aggressive a person is in the pack or how well they can negotiate the trickiest of chicanes. Exactly how accurate these portraits are is up for debate, but the system does succeed in filling each 16-car grid with distinct personalities, drivers whose tendencies you can never take for granted. Their mistakes are far less predictable than the vanilla AI of previous games--especially when you reduce their penchant for aggression by climbing the ladder of eight difficulty settings--making those moments you capitalize on their errors that much more rewarding. There are odd AI hiccups here and there, like when they side-swipe you in the straights for no apparent reason, but such goofs are rare and nothing that a quick tap of the rewind button can't solve.

This is a game that expertly captures the bond between car and driver, improving on a world-class racing simulation with just as much human touch as technical wizardry

All of this amounts to a career mode that feels more lively and personable than anything Forza has done in the past. There are faults, though. A sense of repetition can creep in thanks to a track list roughly half the size of that found in Forza 4, already a game that carried a profound sense of environmental deja vu. But those tracks that did make the cut have received the full next-gen treatment. Classics like Laguna Seca and Silverstone are significant improvements over their prior iterations in terms of both look and feel, bristling with race day atmosphere and up-to-date tweaks to track layouts. And then there are the new circuits: the sloping forest hills of Spa-Francorchamps, the classical European streets of Prague, and the demanding ascent of Mount Panorama. These excellent additions don't remove the sting from the modest track count, but they do serve as wonderful complements to the stable of well-updated classics.

Easier to forgive is Forza 5's reduced car count. While smaller overall, this is the broadest assortment of vehicles the series has ever seen, highlighted by the introduction of open-wheel Formula One and IndyCars. Piloting a 750-horsepower Lotus E21 mere inches above the asphalt is an experience every bit as exhilarating as it is terrifying, making you feel as though any switch on that cockpit could send you rocketing into outer space. But whether you're cruising around in a Ford Focus or a McLaren P1, every car in the game's catalog looks absolutely remarkable--both in their pristine showroom forms as well as those post-race close-ups where flecks of grime litter the exterior and scratches adorn the disc brakes.

Indeed, Forza 5 has hardly forgotten its roots as a racing sim known for its staggering dedication to realism. Improved tire physics give you a better sense of your car's shifting weight as you barrel through sloped corners, while a clever implementation of the Xbox One trigger rumble delivers valuable haptic feedback about your current traction and stability levels. But as with previous games, Forza 5 is only as demanding as you want it to be. A generous collection of driving assists allows you to settle into your own personal comfort zone on the track, with rewards for ratcheting up the difficulty and penalties for overusing the rewind function.

But a steadfast dedication to racing physics is only part of the story. Forza 5 is a game brimming with audiovisual flourishes, little touches that elevate the driving experience just as much as the underlying science. The way sunlight comes flooding through your windshield as you race across the Prague circuit's cobblestone bridge, or the excellent orchestral soundtrack that makes each race feel like the climax of a James Bond movie--Forza 5 is an absolutely beautiful game full of immersive detail. And nowhere is that more visible than in the remarkable cockpit views, where intricate stitch work and high-resolution textures serve as rich palettes for the game's drastically improved lighting effects. Even the Dolby cassette deck on a '92 Golf GTi is a thing of beauty.

Forza 5 goes out of its way to ensure that every feature carried over from previous games has seen meaningful improvements. The Autovista mode that debuted in Forza 4 (renamed Forzavista here) has expanded from a handful of cars to the game's entire roster, making it easy to lose time ogling your latest purchase from every conceivable angle. Rivals mode remains an exciting means of challenging your friends' best lap times, but now it has been fully integrated into the career mode so that you're automatically presented with a new lap time to beat even as you're racing your way toward your next extravagant supercar. Even the livery editor has been expanded with new vinyls and surface materials, giving you the opportunity to defy all that is holy by designing a wood-grain Ferrari 458 Italia, or a Lexus LFA made entirely of brushed copper.

Unfortunately, I had limited access to Forza 5's multiplayer in the game's prerelease review state, with only the option to choose between a pair of hoppers for A- and S-class cars respectively. But my time competing against other players revealed a stable networking environment (thanks in some part to the game's dedicated servers, no doubt) and a lovely matchmaking system that lets you tinker around in any mode you please while it searches for an acceptable match.

All of this combined makes Forza Motorsport 5 an outstanding improvement to an already excellent racing franchise. It's far more than just a great racing sim, or a gorgeous showcase for the types of feats the Xbox One hardware is capable of. This is a game built on the romantic thrill of motorsport in all its forms, and that love for its subject matter is all but impossible to resist.

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Microsoft CEO defends Xbox in final shareholder address

In his last shareholder address as Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer took time to defend Xbox and Bing as essential components of the company's broader vision after some have suggested it would be wise for Microsoft sell off these businesses to become more profitable.

Speaking about the Xbox One, as reported by Geek Wire and Seeking Alpha, Ballmer said the console's integration of Bing and SkyDrive are examples of Microsoft executing on its plan to unify the company's devices and services.

"No other company could have delivered what we are delivering with Xbox One," Ballmer said. The console is a "reflection of what is possible when a company, our company, is unified under a common vision," he added.

Ballmer announced his resignation in August, saying at the time that he would step down within the next 12 months, but not before a successor was named. Nokia CEO Stephen Elop, reportedly a front-runner to become new Microsoft CEO, may consider selling off the Xbox business and killing Bing entirely if he gets the job, according to a Bloomberg report this month. Elop joined Microsoft in September when Microsoft purchased Nokia's handset business for $7.2 billion.

What's more, Microsoft cofounder Steve Allen's investment group Vulcan Capital said earlier this month that the next Microsoft CEO would be smart to sell of the Xbox business because it is "detracting" from Microsoft's core competencies.

The Xbox One will be released this Friday, November 22.

Filed under:: Microsoft; Xbox One

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Gamespot's Site Mashup

Written By Kom Limpulnam on Rabu, 13 November 2013 | 23.37

Gamespot's Site MashupRockstar teases "exciting" Grand Theft Auto V revealHow to Install a Hard Drive in a Playstation 4Resogun Review

http://auth.gamespot.com/ Gamespot's Everything Feed! News, Reviews, Videos. Exploding with content? You bet. en-us Wed, 13 Nov 2013 08:35:18 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/rockstar-teases-exciting-grand-theft-auto-v-reveal/1100-6416156/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2377288-gtanew.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2377288" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2377288-gtanew.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2377288"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1179/11799911/2377288-gtanew.jpg"></a></figure> Rockstar Games has news to share about <a href="/grand-theft-auto-v/" data-ref-id="false">Grand Theft Auto V</a>'s main campaign. The developer said today that it will announce information about "exciting Story Mode updates" very soon, suggesting new content may be coming to the open-world action game.The tease came as part of <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/grand-theft-auto-online-dlc-launching-november-19/1100-6416155/" data-ref-id="1100-6416155">Rockstar's release date announcement for the Beach Bum expansion for Grand Theft Auto Online</a>, which will be released next Tuesday, November 19.No new single-player content for GTAV has been announced to date. Predecessor <a href="/grand-theft-auto-iv/" data-ref-id="false">Grand Theft Auto IV</a> welcomed two post-release expansions: The Lost and the Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony.For more on GTAV, check out <a href="/grand-theft-auto-v/" data-ref-id="false">GameSpot's review</a>.<div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6414479" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6414479/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div> Wed, 13 Nov 2013 08:07:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/rockstar-teases-exciting-grand-theft-auto-v-reveal/1100-6416156/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/how-to-install-a-hard-drive-in-a-playstation-4/2300-6416105/ Peter Brown shows you how to replace your HDD for a faster SDD in your new PS4. Wed, 13 Nov 2013 06:00:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/how-to-install-a-hard-drive-in-a-playstation-4/2300-6416105/ http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/resogun-review/1900-6415541/ Resogun is a supercharged reimagining of the classic 1980 arcade game Defender. From a presentation standpoint, the unorthodox use of voxels makes it a bit of a curiosity, too. These tiny building blocks allow the environment to crumble when enemies crash and explode nearby, culminating in the total destruction of every stage. It's destructible environments taken to the extreme, and an impressive display of next-gen technology to boot, but Resogun isn't a game that relies on visual gimmicks. Comparing Resogun to Defender gives you a basic understanding of the game's structure. Both are side-scrolling spaceship shooters that let you freely move left or right and encourage you to rescue stranded humans sprinkled throughout each stage. However, Resogun is a bit different from its muse, with the playing field wrapped around a large cylinder, rather than represented as a looping 2D map, and most importantly, your ship has far greater firepower and maneuverability than your the meager ship in Defender. With these modern trappings, whether you're zipping through waves of enemies, luring them into a trap, or decimating entire phalanxes in a flash, there's rarely a lull in the action.<figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1406/14063904/2376885-vlcsnap-2013-11-12-17h51m50s228.png" data-ref-id="1300-2376885" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1406/14063904/2376885-vlcsnap-2013-11-12-17h51m50s228.png" data-ref-id="1300-2376885"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1406/14063904/2376885-vlcsnap-2013-11-12-17h51m50s228.png"></a><figcaption>The calm before the storm.</figcaption></figure>The near nonstop assault on your ship comes from a variety of enemies, some small and some large, with different flight patterns and behaviors. There are swarms of gnat-like vessels that track your movement, free-floating laser cannons that can block your path, and other ships that divide into smaller but equally deadly units upon impact. Quite often, you can fly to a less-populated section of a stage and catch your breath when things get too frantic, but at some point, you have to face the enemies you left behind. On top of your battle for self-preservation, there are other lives worth fighting for. Throughout each stage, 10 or so human captives await rescue, which comes only when you shoot down green "keeper" ships. These enemies fly solo or in groups, appearing for brief windows of time before slipping out of sight for good. Felling these wardens-in-flight frees a particular captive, who aimlessly wander around the level, waiting for a ride home before they're recaptured. If you're shot down while the humans are on the ground, or if you ignore them for too long and lose sight of the keeper ships, it's the end of the road for the unfortunate humans. But should you manage to scoop them up and deliver them to one of two tractor beams at the top of the stage, you collect a reward in the form of points or equipment upgrades. It's challenging to focus on keepers and humans when you've got problems of your own, but shield and weapon upgrades are vital to your continued success. They allow you to absorb an extra hit and extend the strength and reach of your weapons. You constantly need to balance the associated risks and rewards of trying to be a hero. Making the most of a situation and getting out alive requires quick reflexes. Thankfully, Resogun's controls are tight, and you've got three abilities to exploit along the way.<figure data-align="right" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1406/14063904/2376886-vlcsnap-2013-11-12-17h53m19s114.png" data-ref-id="1300-2376886" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1406/14063904/2376886-vlcsnap-2013-11-12-17h53m19s114.png" data-ref-id="1300-2376886"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/1406/14063904/2376886-vlcsnap-2013-11-12-17h53m19s114.png"></a><figcaption>Boosting in action.</figcaption></figure>Each of your three ships comes equipped with a trio of tools: boost, overdrive, and bombs. Bombs in Resogun do what any good bomb should: blow up everything in sight. There's a trade-off to consider when chasing high scores, though. With no enemies to shoot, it's next to impossible to continue chaining kills quickly enough to build up your score multiplier, which is the key to hitting the top of the leaderboard. When enemies die, be it from a standard cannon or a bomb, they leave behind a collection of green voxels that you can collect to fill your ship's overdrive meter. Once your meter's at capacity, activating overdrive expends this energy as an enormous jet for a limited amount of time. Boost might not sound like an ability that feeds into your ship's destructive tendencies, but this evasive maneuver ends with a bang, killing anything in close proximity. Unlike with overdrive, you have control over the duration of boosting, allowing you to strategically conserve resources, or plow into enemy ranks, destroying them from within. Live long enough to see the end of a stage, and you're rewarded by a meeting with one of Resogun's five gigantic bosses. Unlike typical ships, most bosses come in complex and unusual forms. You can attack some of these juggernauts freely, but other bosses require pinpoint marksmanship. The first stage boss, for example, is a giant two-tiered ring with laser cannons floating in the space between each ring. You have to shoot your way through the first ring and navigate the laser-filled void to reach the boss's weak spot in the middle. It's not a ground-breaking boss design, but it does change up the pace of Resogun's core gameplay between stages. Bosses are also relentlessly strong. In the game's later stages, surviving a boss's onslaught is next to impossible without enough extra lives and bombs to turn the tide in your favor. In these cases, the biggest challenge is the fight leading up to the boss. Fail to play your best, and it's easy to end up at a boss with little hope for success, though even if you have a healthy stash of extra lives and bombs, you can't brute-force your way through a fight. These unforgiving confrontations motivate you to perform at your best, making victory that much sweeter when it comes.<figure data-align="left" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1406/14063904/2376887-vlcsnap-2013-11-12-17h52m26s61.png" data-ref-id="1300-2376887" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1406/14063904/2376887-vlcsnap-2013-11-12-17h52m26s61.png" data-ref-id="1300-2376887"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/1406/14063904/2376887-vlcsnap-2013-11-12-17h52m26s61.png"></a><figcaption>Resogun throws voxels around with wild abandon, creating fireworks-grade displays at the end of every level.</figcaption></figure>Resogun's controls, presentation, and rapid-fire enemy assaults make for an exciting experience. You're constantly under pressure, practically suffocating behind swarms of enemies, but you're never without the means for survival. In this way, playing Resogun is an exercise in twitch gameplay and decision making, triggering a rush of adrenaline and testing the limits of your ability. It helps that the accompanying beat of the techno-laden soundtrack and the constant trickle of voxels are mesmerizing, pulling you into the moment every step of the way. The only downside to Resogun is the short-stack of levels you get to explore. There are four difficulties to choose from, which provides a bit of variety, but the game's five stages don't stay fresh forever. Having three ships helps, but it doesn't take long for the flow of surprises to dry up and the race for high scores to take over. That said, Resogun remains fun to play even when the joy of discovery fades away. It's classic arcade action imbued with hard-hitting artistic and gameplay elements. Falling in love with Resogun is easy, and mastering it is challenging, and the combination of these two qualities makes Resogun almost impossible to put down. Editor's note: Resogun's online coop mode was not available when this review was published. As such, it will be updated accordingly once the feature goes live. Wed, 13 Nov 2013 06:00:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/resogun-review/1900-6415541/

Gamespot's Site MashupRockstar teases "exciting" Grand Theft Auto V revealHow to Install a Hard Drive in a Playstation 4Resogun Review

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Gamespot's Site Mashup

Written By Kom Limpulnam on Rabu, 06 November 2013 | 23.38

Gamespot's Site MashupLawyer: Interest greater than expected for 38 Studios IPCall of Duty: Ghosts Graphics ComparisonCall of Duty: Ghosts Review

http://auth.gamespot.com/ Gamespot's Everything Feed! News, Reviews, Videos. Exploding with content? You bet. en-us Wed, 06 Nov 2013 07:55:04 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/lawyer-interest-greater-than-expected-for-38-studios-ip/1100-6415998/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2369064-copernicus1.png" data-ref-id="1300-2369064" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2369064-copernicus1.png" data-ref-id="1300-2369064"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1179/11799911/2369064-copernicus1.png"></a></figure>Interest in the various 38 Studios/Big Huge Games IP has been greater than expected from potential bidders, Rhode Island's lawyer Richard J. Land told <a href="http://www.providencejournal.com/breaking-news/content/20131106-ri-s-lawyer-wants-to-delay-auction-of-38-studios-videogame-property.ece" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">The Providence Journal</a> today. As a result, Land is seeking permission from a Rhode Island Superior Court judge to delay the upcoming online auction a few weeks.The 38 Studios/Big Huge Games online auction is currently <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/kingdoms-of-amalur-ip-auction-set-for-november/1100-6415056/" data-ref-id="1100-6415056">slated for November 14-15</a>. Proceeds will go to the state of Rhode Island, which <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/news/amalur-assets-now-belong-to-rhode-island-6391016/">assumed ownership of the franchises</a> when 38 Studios and subsidiary Big Huge Games went bankrupt last year.Included in the auction are a number of intellectual property assets in the Amalur fantasy universe. These include MMO <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/copernicus-working-title/">Project Copernicus</a>, sequel rights to <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/kingdoms-of-amalur-reckoning/">Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning</a>, and merchandise rights and revenue streams associated with the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC versions of Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning.Also featured in the auction are intellectual property rights for Big Huge Games franchises, including <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/rise-of-nations/">Rise of Nations</a>, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/rise-of-nations-rise-of-legends/">Rise of Legends</a>, and <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/catan/platform/xbox360/">Catan</a>.Proprietary game technology--the Big Huge Games Engine--and the 38 Studios' gaming, social media, and development platform codenamed Helios are also up for auction.No individuals or publishers have come forward publicly to date to express interest in any of the franchises or technology.<div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6349885" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6349885/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div> Wed, 06 Nov 2013 07:27:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/lawyer-interest-greater-than-expected-for-38-studios-ip/1100-6415998/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/call-of-duty-ghosts-graphics-comparison/2300-6415938/ We examine Xbox 360 vs PlayStation 3 vs PlayStation 4 vs PC in this showdown of graphical carnage from Call of Duty: Ghosts. Tue, 05 Nov 2013 22:11:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/call-of-duty-ghosts-graphics-comparison/2300-6415938/ http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/call-of-duty-ghosts-review/1900-6415523/ The first few minutes of Call of Duty: Ghosts don't paint a terribly accurate portrait of what lies ahead. You barely have time to take stock of the idyllic Southern California setting before fire begins raining down from the heavens, destroying every car and home in sight as a shouty man commands you to follow him to safety. But whereas Infinity Ward's recent work on the <a href="/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-3/" data-ref-id="false">Modern Warfare</a> series was weighed down by bewildering plot twists and an affinity for restricting its most exciting moments to noninteractive set dressing, Ghosts tells a lean, straightforward story that throws you into plenty of spectacular situations, but with more breathing room to appreciate the action. Along with the outstanding new Extinction co-op mode and an abundance of clever refinements to competitive multiplayer, Call of Duty: Ghosts is a refreshing and thoroughly satisfying entry in the blockbuster shooter franchise.Much of Ghosts' success stems from its own sense of humility. Infinity Ward has done a great job reining in the excesses of previous Call of Duty campaigns, replacing the crumbling Eiffel Tower and runaway Tube trains of Modern Warfare 3 with a less heavy-handed approach that employs spectacle--and there's no shortage of that here--as more of a complement to its core combat. It's a game that avoids falling in love with its own cinematic ambitions, allowing the ruthless combat and well-paced encounters to take center stage over the plot.It's a good thing, too, because the story is every bit a predictable tribute to American military might. After the collapse of the Middle Eastern oil economy, South America's oil-producing states join together to form an economic and military superpower known as the Federation. Naturally, the Federation decides to hijack a satellite weapon system and turn it against the United States. The conflict that follows is one centered on the Ghosts, an enigmatic tier one task force with a penchant for lethal efficiency and sweet skeleton masks.<figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/642/6422750/2364546-pix_001_566.mov.still001.png" data-ref-id="1300-2364546" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/642/6422750/2364546-pix_001_566.mov.still001.png" data-ref-id="1300-2364546"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/642/6422750/2364546-pix_001_566.mov.still001.png"></a><figcaption>Ghosts is full of atmospheric touches, like bubbles discharging from your gun when fired underwater.</figcaption></figure>The whole thing feels like a geopolitical Mad Lib, but a functional and rather harmless one. Ghosts delivers just enough narrative to serve as a catalyst for its whirlwind tour through global warzones, while resisting the urge to club you over the head with plot twists and gratuitous shock-and-awe moments. In many ways, Infinity Ward has crafted a story that reflects the stoic nature of the Ghosts themselves: focused, efficient, and committed to the task at hand.The approach pays off: Ghosts features a terrific collection of shootouts and set pieces, largely unburdened by the sensation that you're merely an extra in someone else's adventure. At various points you go after a missile launch center by tank and an offshore industrial facility by helicopter, each serving as excellent examples of how well Call of Duty's zippy and responsive controls can be applied toward massive, fully navigable battlefields. It's also a game with a knack for crafting tense shootouts in unexpected locales, highlighted by a brief jaunt into outer space that has you floating from one piece of debris to the next, aiming the shots that will make a Federation soldier's helmet decompress in a gruesome hiss.These bombastic set pieces are complemented by more subdued moments, like a deep-sea scuba mission that has you swimming through gorgeous reef formations while avoiding enemies both shark and human. Then there are the more tightly scripted scenes, like prowling through a dense jungle while using a motion tracker to spot enemies, or rappelling down the side of a Caracas skyscraper as you quietly snipe soldiers patrolling its interior. Moments like these further the game's excellent pacing, serving as welcome palette cleansers after some of the more spacious and chaotic battles.<figure data-align="left" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/642/6422750/2364551-pix_001_567a.mov.still001.png" data-ref-id="1300-2364551" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/642/6422750/2364551-pix_001_567a.mov.still001.png" data-ref-id="1300-2364551"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/642/6422750/2364551-pix_001_567a.mov.still001.png"></a><figcaption>Tank controls are unapologetically agile in Ghosts. </figcaption></figure>It all adds up to a campaign that follows the familiar rhythms of the series, but in a more varied and generous way. There's a real willingness to let you stretch your legs and soak up the spectacle, driven by the feeling that--for the most part--you're the one at the center of the action.There are some missteps. Using your pet dog to take out enemies serves as an entertaining staple of the game's early missions, but this gameplay mechanic completely disappears for the latter half of the campaign. Your AI squad mates still have a habit of occasionally running in front of your gunfire as thought you don't exist, and a few levels follow the bland corridor template a little too closely. But those issues aside, this is an impressive campaign that uses the series' winning formula as more of a roadmap than a shackle.Ghosts is even more impressive on the next-gen hardware of the PlayStation 4. While the current-gen versions are just as competent as ever, rendering the chaotic shootouts at a smooth 60 frames per second, the PS4's next-gen artistry creates a much more immersive battleground. Those effects are most noticeable in the levels that emphasize lighting: the soft bokeh effects of floating embers on a burning oil refinery, or the way moonlight refracts and ripples while underwater. It's essentially the difference between a PC game running on high versus low settings. Each version is functionally the same, but all those extra effects add up to a more engrossing experience. (Note: Our review of the Xbox One version remains under embargo until a later date. Activision did not provide access to the PC and Wii U versions.)<blockquote data-size="large" data-align="center">This is an impressive campaign that uses the series' winning formula as more of a roadmap than a shackle.</blockquote>If Ghosts' story campaign is an example of its developers leaving Modern Warfare behind, its approach to co-op takes that trend one step further. Gone are the Spec Ops missions from Infinity Ward's previous work, replaced by a new co-op campaign dubbed Extinction. Much like Zombies in the Black Ops games, Extinction presents a playful alternate reality where you and up to three friends are dropped into a battle against fantastical enemies. But instead of shambling zombies, you're fighting a swarm of buglike aliens. The way these enemies scurry up the sides of buildings and burst forth from underground hives changes the dynamic in a monumental way: you're still employing Call of Duty's signature shooting mechanics, but you're doing so against an enemy whose animalistic movement makes it much more imposing and unpredictable than your average foot soldier.<figure data-align="right" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/642/6422750/2364584-360_exctinction.mov.still002.png" data-ref-id="1300-2364584" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/642/6422750/2364584-360_exctinction.mov.still002.png" data-ref-id="1300-2364584"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/642/6422750/2364584-360_exctinction.mov.still002.png"></a><figcaption>Extinction's various progression systems make for a steep learning curve, but boy is it fun. </figcaption></figure>Extinction is an ambitious hybrid of tower defense, <a href="/left-4-dead/" data-ref-id="false">Left 4 Dead</a>, and <a href="/borderlands/" data-ref-id="false">Borderlands</a>. You're drilling into alien hives as you move through the backwoods and small-town streets of rural America, each drill site its own standoff against swarms of incoming enemies who grow larger and nastier as the campaign progresses. There's a class system that allows you to play complementary roles, an in-game skill tree that lets you beef up your character on the fly, and a scavenging system where taking the time to rummage through a dumpster might reward you with a new weapon sight. There's also an economy that encourages fun twists on teamwork, like the ability to pool your money together to unlock a helicopter strike when things get really tough. None of these ideas are remarkable on their own, but the way Extinction blends them with Call of Duty's fast-paced action is tremendous fun. Throwing a hypno knife at an acid-flinging scorpion to turn it into a friendly, debating whether to buy a turret gun for yourself or a crate of incendiary ammo for your team--Extinction is full of all these little moments and decisions that add up to a stellar co-op experience. This is Call of Duty venturing as far outside its comfort zone as it ever has, but the payoff is immense.A more familiar experience can be found in Ghosts' competitive multiplayer. The frantic pacing and close-quarters encounters are every bit as enjoyable as they've ever been, augmented by contextual lean and running slide abilities that make for more fluid transitions in and out of cover. Infinity Ward has taken a delicate approach to the existing multiplayer progression, though a new perk weighting system promotes better player balance while still giving you plenty of ways to micromanage your loadouts.One of the features that Ghosts introduces to multiplayer is a character customization system that takes those abstract player levels and wraps a greater sense of ownership around them. You can now create a roster of personalized soldiers, each decked out in a wardrobe full of custom armor and equipment. Facial designs, skin color, and gender are all options you can use to craft your own characters, and then you take those creations one step further by leveling them all up independently of one another. For a series that has long given you such granular control over your weapons and abilities, it's nice to finally be able to apply that same level of personalization to the characters themselves.<figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/642/6422750/2364587-pix_001_572.mov.still001.png" data-ref-id="1300-2364587" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/642/6422750/2364587-pix_001_572.mov.still001.png" data-ref-id="1300-2364587"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/642/6422750/2364587-pix_001_572.mov.still001.png"></a><figcaption>Multiplayer maps have you fighting everywhere from Scottish castles to Alaskan fishing villages.</figcaption></figure>That customization system is what drives the new Squads mode, a feature that pushes Call of Duty eerily close to the realm of management sim. Squads is where you take your custom characters and turn them into a full-blown team of AI soldiers, leading your creations in competitive matches against teams designed by your friends--even if those friends happen to be offline. It essentially spreads the rewards of repeated prestiging out across different soldiers, giving dedicated players a new kind of progression for the countless hours they will spend leveling up. Squads is clearly a feature designed for the most hardcore Call of Duty players, but it's also a testament to just how deep the well of competitive experiences has become.Yet Squads is hardly the only addition to Call of Duty's competitive landscape. Ghosts introduces a number of clever multiplayer modes that keep a keen eye on the series' strengths while taking a playful approach to how you can interact with one another. Blitz is like a twist on American football: players dash toward scoring zones on the other team's side of the map, warping right back to safety if they're successful and becoming sitting ducks if they fail to properly judge the scoring cooldown timer. Hunted takes a Hunger Games approach to multiplayer design, giving players one handgun and 10 bullets to start and forcing them to fight over randomized weapon drops that fall from the sky. And then there's Grind, an evolution of Kill Confirmed that makes players take the dog tags dropped by fallen enemies and run them back to a handful of specific locations in order to bank points. Each of these game modes adds a devilish new wrinkle to the multiplayer experience, taking an already exceptional collection of competitive options and expanding them further.From an exuberant campaign full of spectacle and variety to the way Extinction's unpredictable aliens force you to use those targeting skills in entirely new ways, Ghosts strikes an excellent balance between the familiar and the novel. This is a game that's keenly aware of the series' strengths, but doesn't find itself beholden to them. No matter what standard you apply, Call of Duty: Ghosts is a terrific first-person shooter. Tue, 05 Nov 2013 00:01:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/call-of-duty-ghosts-review/1900-6415523/

Gamespot's Site MashupLawyer: Interest greater than expected for 38 Studios IPCall of Duty: Ghosts Graphics ComparisonCall of Duty: Ghosts Review

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Gamespot's Site Mashup

Written By Kom Limpulnam on Rabu, 23 Oktober 2013 | 23.37

Gamespot's Site MashupWii Party U ReviewActivision on "strange desire" for games to morph into moviesBase Defense Returns in XCOM: Enemy Within

http://auth.gamespot.com/ Gamespot's Everything Feed! News, Reviews, Videos. Exploding with content? You bet. en-us Wed, 23 Oct 2013 09:17:13 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/wii-party-u-review/1900-6415499/ At first glance, Wii Party U appears to be indicative of the brand image Nintendo wants to put forth for its console. You're supposed to gather together your family or multiethnic group of male and female friends and have a fantastic time, smiling as you wave your Wii Remotes and laughing at the wacky antics on your Wii U GamePad, just like in all those publicity shots. The reality of the Wii Party U experience, however, is rather different: group sighing with indifference toward having to play a lousy minigame or wives yelling at husbands for goofing around and not following the rules are probably not the advertising images Nintendo wants to showcase.Wii Party U is the follow-up to 2010's <a href="/wii-party/" data-ref-id="false">Wii Party</a> and features similar aesthetics and motifs to its predecessor. Rather than playing as characters, you play using your created Mii avatars. Keeping with the Mii theme and the family-friendly party tone, everything is rounded, brightly colored, and cartoony. It's a look that's meant to be as soft and inoffensive as possible, but its lack of detail and its boring, indistinct designs make it tiresome after a while.<figure data-ref-id="1300-2042685" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/mig/2/6/8/5/2042685-701150_20130611_010.jpg" data-size="large" data-align="center" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/mig/2/6/8/5/2042685-701150_20130611_010.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2042685"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/mig/2/6/8/5/2042685-701150_20130611_010.jpg"></a><figcaption>Screaming your opponents to death is a fun and unique experience Wii Party U offers.</figcaption></figure>There's no denying the sheer variety of Wii Party U's lineup. Among the minigame mix are reflex-based games (Moonbase Escape, Snow Shredders), hidden object games (Heart Targets, Shutterbird), Wii Remote aiming games (Big Bang Blasters, Space Zappers), tilt control games (Cliff Riders, Maze Malaise), mind games ( Balanced Diet, Fruit or Scare), and GamePad-utilizing one-versus-three games (Catch a Wave, Zag-Ziggurat). For those completely devoid of motor or memory skills, there are even a handful of minigames based primarily on luck (Run to the Sun, Hide and Go Beak). Of course, players' tastes in games vary somewhat, but if there's a game that your crowd unanimously dislikes, there's no way to completely remove it from the rotation.<figure data-ref-id="1300-2042678" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/mig/2/6/7/8/2042678-701150_20130611_003.jpg" data-size="small" data-align="left" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/mig/2/6/7/8/2042678-701150_20130611_003.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2042678"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_small/mig/2/6/7/8/2042678-701150_20130611_003.jpg"></a><figcaption>Racing jungle animals: not as exciting as it sounds!</figcaption></figure>Even when you're inclined toward a particular type of minigame, many of these games aren't fun even the first time, much less several times over. While there are a few standouts like Big Bang Blasters and Pool Party, other games, such as Freeze! and Diamond is Mine, are so awful that you'll seriously wonder how they made the cut. Most of the games occupy the range between "mildly fun but forgettable" and "unpleasant." Generally, the minigames that make use of the GamePad tend to be more creative, and thus are the most enjoyable of the bunch.There are three primary game modes: TV Party, House Party, and GamePad Party. TV Party is the main attraction, featuring several sub-modes styled like traditional board games, which tie together Wii Party U's various minigames. House Party consists of stand-alone games that use the Wii U GamePad and support two to four players. GamePad Party consists of a bunch of GamePad-only games and minigames for up to two players. In addition to the three main modes, there's a Minigame mode that lets you play any of the minigames as you please, or run through various themed minigame gauntlets solo or with friends. (On that note, many portions of Wii Party U can be played solo, but the utterly dopey AI competitors will have you calling your friends for impromptu party time pretty darn quick.)<figure data-ref-id="1300-2042686" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/mig/2/6/8/6/2042686-701150_20130611_011.jpg" data-size="medium" data-align="right" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/mig/2/6/8/6/2042686-701150_20130611_011.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2042686"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/mig/2/6/8/6/2042686-701150_20130611_011.jpg"></a><figcaption>Most of the GamePad 2-player games are simple sport-themed affairs.</figcaption></figure>TV Party mode provides a multiplayer board game experience that ties together the disparate minigames into a more focused goal, with your performance in individual games determining various outcomes and advantages you are given in the larger game, a la Mario Party. Some of these games are excellent: Mii Fashion Plaza adds fun collection and sabotage elements as you and your friends circle the board while coordinating outfits. GamePad Island puts the GamePad to great use as you play brief small-screen minigames to determine your movement and go past on-field obstacles. Others are lacking: waiting and watching colored balls drop off a pusher in Balldozer is astonishingly dull.House Party mode, meanwhile, focuses on shorter, group-oriented games that use the GamePad in unique ways. There's some strong variety on display here, too: Button Smashers is like group Twister for fingers, Do U Know Mii? compares how you and your friends evaluate elements of your personality, and Name That Face makes use of the GamePad's built-in camera. Highlights from this crop include Lost and Found Square, which has you describing your GamePad-based surroundings to a TV-based search team, and Water Runners, which uses a clever coordination between the Wii Remote and the GamePad in a bottle-filling competition.These games have the potential to be very fun, but the way many of them are designed means they lack in-game oversight to prevent cheating and tomfoolery--an advantage electronic group games have over their tabletop counterparts. Feed Mii! has you yelling fast-food orders to a cashier who must remember what each of you bought, and whose correctness you rate after you're served; you could very well cheat and say you're dissatisfied even if your server was completely correct. Sketchy Situation has your group drawing sketches based on words and guessing which of you was given a different subject than the rest, which is fine and dandy until one person realizes it's hilarious to just draw crude genitalia instead of responding to the prompt.<figure data-ref-id="1300-2042684" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/mig/2/6/8/4/2042684-701150_20130611_009.jpg" data-size="large" data-align="center" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/mig/2/6/8/4/2042684-701150_20130611_009.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2042684"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/mig/2/6/8/4/2042684-701150_20130611_009.jpg"></a><figcaption>Chasing shadows on the wall...</figcaption></figure>Finally, there's GamePad Party. This mode makes use of a bundled Wii U GamePad stand to allow the controller to sit easily on a table between two people. All of the games are pretty fun, though the more elaborate games prove to be the most interesting: Puzzle Blockade is a unique co-op experience, and Mii-in-a-Row is an engaging mix of Tic-Tac-Toe and Reversi. By supporting only two players, however, these games don't sport a lot of party potential.The amount of fun you have with Wii Party U hinges by and large on the company you're with rather than the quality of the games themselves. Even with a perfect group of pals, though, there are potential hiccups: an awful minigame randomly thrown at you can deflate a fun atmosphere, an unclear explanation can prove confusing, and a badly paced board game can bore everybody. The sterile presentation and lack of options certainly don't help matters, either. While it has its highlights, the party is over before it can really get started. Wed, 23 Oct 2013 09:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/wii-party-u-review/1900-6415499/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/activision-on-strange-desire-for-games-to-morph-into-movies/1100-6415736/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/mig/0/0/7/7/2040077-713745_20130521_001.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2040077" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/mig/0/0/7/7/2040077-713745_20130521_001.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2040077"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/mig/0/0/7/7/2040077-713745_20130521_001.jpg"></a></figure> Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg is not terribly thrilled about the idea of games borrowing from movies to the point where they play out like films.In a new interview with <a href="http://www.edge-online.com/news/will-activision-ever-make-a-romcom-what-next-gen-means-for-the-industrys-biggest-publisher/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Edge</a>, Hirshberg was asked if Activision would ever consider making a game outside of the boundaries of typical genres, like a romantic comedy game."There's this strange desire to morph games into movies or have them behave more like movies; I don't share that desire," Hirshberg said. "Games are wonderful as they are and do different things better than other forms of media."He explained that what makes games so alluring is that they are interactive and allow for a sort of digital tourism, where players can be transported to a universe and become a hero or a sports star."I think this is inherently what games do best and so I'd expect that to be the basis of games for a long time to come. I don't know if romantic comedy fits that model," Hirshberg said. "I think that's something that movies and TV do well."Activision will release <a href="/call-of-duty-ghosts/" data-ref-id="false">Call of Duty: Ghosts</a> on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, and Wii U on November 5. Xbox One and PlayStation 4 versions will follow in November.<div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6413018" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6413018/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div> Wed, 23 Oct 2013 08:58:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/activision-on-strange-desire-for-games-to-morph-into-movies/1100-6415736/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/base-defense-returns-in-xcom-enemy-within/2300-6415682/ Spoiler Alert: Maxwell and Aaron give you the lowdown on what to expect in this life-or-death encounter at XCOM HQ. Wed, 23 Oct 2013 05:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/base-defense-returns-in-xcom-enemy-within/2300-6415682/

Gamespot's Site MashupWii Party U ReviewActivision on "strange desire" for games to morph into moviesBase Defense Returns in XCOM: Enemy Within

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GS News - PS5 speculation, Xbox One could support mouse and keyboard

Written By Kom Limpulnam on Rabu, 09 Oktober 2013 | 23.37

Black Ops 1 was the last COD I played on PC and it ran like a bag of turd. OK my PC isn't the best, Vista 32-bit, 4 GB RAM, Q8200 @2.94GHz and a GTX 285 (at the time, now running a 660 Ti). Most modern games run well on it and with my old card I could run BF3 quite nicely with settings between medium and high. They make so much money yet the optimisation on anything other than XBOX was crap. I don't know if MW3 or BO2 were any better (I played MW3 on PS3 and it seemed a pretty good port, I also own MW3 and BO2 on PC but haven't got around to them yet due to a huge backlog of games I've prioritised over them). There is no way you should require a 700 series, that is taking the piss.

My friends and I have drawn the line. I'm not quite sure why we've bought it every year (well to be honest I only bought MW3 and BO2 on PC because they were in a sale), but this year is the last time we buy a COD game until there is a good reason to return to the series.

PS: As far as COD goes (post MW1 so as not to overcomplicate things), Loved MW1, liked WAW, liked MW2, disliked BO1 (although experience may have been tainted as only played on PC and it ran like crap), was getting bored when bought MW3 but wanted to see the story out, only bought BO2 because it was on sale, watched a bit at friends and thought wow this series is looking stale!

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House of Horrors - S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl

Also, this episode emphasises the question of how prepared you've got to be when playing horror games. I mean, I've followed the live streams from pretty much the beginning and it seems Zorine and Jess go in pretty much unprepared and uninformed most of the times (unless they already know the game), which I think is important when playing these games. Without any expectations and as little prior knowledge as possible the horror can be most effective. The Cry of Fear stream started out with jokes about the animations and graphics, but after that it turned out to be a surprisingly effective horror game.

So most of the times it works to be unprepared, but with Stalker you basically need to have played the entire game beforehand in order to make the stream interesting, which also means that the scenes that are supposed to be scary aren't that scary anymore. The (supposed) aim of this show to play horror games as a fresh experience conflicts with the amount of prior research that Stalker requires...

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