Nothing but the biggest news stories in gaming today!

Thursday
May312012

PSA - Humble Indie Bundle 5: Available Now and Absolutely Incredible!!!

I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE the Humble Indie Bundles, and I've made no secret of that in the past, and this Humble Bundle... Is... Well, it's amazing. For thos of you that don't know, Indie Bundles are pay-what-you-like collections of games made by independent game companies. The humble Indie Bundle was amongst (if not the) first to pioneer the idea, and the proceeds not only go to helping out the makers of the games but also towards charity, so there's basically no reason to ever pass one up. There have been some great Humble Bundles in the past, but my god does this one take the cake! Here's a rundown of the games in the bundle:

  • Amnesia: The Dark Descent
  • Limbo
  • Psychonauts
  • Superbrothers: Sword And Sworcery EP

And pay more than the average and also receive:

  • Bastion

If someone said to me "Pay whatever you want for Superbrothers: Sword And Sworcery EP" I'd go mental with excitement, let alone throwing in those other 4 fantastic games! I bought the bundle despite already owning 3 of the 5 games in it, and I couldn't be happier (as I now own Sword And Sworcery!!!). My money goes to good causes and I get amazing games for low, low prices! If you're vaguely interested (which you are) then visit the Humble Indie Bundle website! Do it now!!!

Humble Indie Bundle V

 

If you've not played Limbo, then get this bundle JUST to play Limbo. It's Cunting amazing!

Update:

A trailer for the bundle, featuring Double Fine's Tim Schafer!

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Thursday
May312012

Daily News - 31st May 2012 - New Gears Of War Coming, Skyrim DLC First-Look Trailer and Doom 3 Special Edition Announced... Wait, What? 

Game Informer To Feature New Gears Of War As Cover Story Next Week

Yep, a new Gears Of War is definitely coming, as was revealed today by Game Informer as they, funnily enough, informed us all about the game's existence. Thankfully they decided not to reveal any details about the game, choosing instead to save what info they know to go online alongside Microsoft's E3 press conference (so we know atleast 1 thing that will be on their agenda that day). They have so far only revealed the magazine's front cover, which depicts a Gear being lead, shackled, by 2 other gears towards what I assume is a battle. Is the Gear in shackles Marcus Fenix? Is this a prequel or a sequel? We'll know (alot!) more as E3 kicks off next week.

I definitely enjoy me some Gears Of War, so I am DOWN for this!

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Skyrim DLC "Dawnguard" Details Revealed In New Trailer

We've know about the existence of Dawnguard for weeks now, but nothing else other than the name was known. That all changes today, as we've been generously given a trailer that shows off what the expansion will feature. Amongst the list of new shit are 2 factions: Vampires and The Dawnguard, and you can apparently choose either side (allegedly gaining the ability to turn into a weird vampire hell beast if you choose them); a new demonic horse; new locales to explore and new character to interact with. I can't for sure if there will be new weapons or perks, but I have to assume there will be copius amounts of both to draw fans back in. The expansion is expected this summer, but for now feast you eyes on the trailer (and wipe the drool off that chin!).

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Doom 3: BFG Edition On The Way

Bethesda sure are busy! When they're not creating expansion packs for one of the most popular games of last year, it turns out they're making special editions of 8 year-old games. Doom 3: BFG Edition will come out this Autumn and will include both Doom 1 and 2, the game's expansion Resurrection of Evil, a brand new 7 level mission and in-game bonuses including boasts of a (surely meme-fodder) armour-mounted torch. The version will also include improved lighting and graphical tweaks, an improved checkpoint/save system, 3D TV support and also support for head-mounted displays. There are no words to describe the randomness of this announcement. It's awesome on every potential level.

 "SNEAK HUG!!!"

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And Finally...

Dark Souls PC Content Will Come To Consoles As DLC

The DLC will be called Artorias of the Abyss and will feature new environment, enemies and items.

New Hitman: Absolution Trailer Is Absolutely Retarded

Ugh, just... ugh. Infuriating many in the gaming industry, and Charlie Brooker, is the following trailer showing Agent 47 kicking the shit out of some bondage nuns. As a trailer for the game you're trying to sell a few million copies of? REALLY?!?

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Monday
May282012

Daily News - 28th May 2012 - 38 Studios Shut Down, Sony Try To Patent Game Interrupting Ads and More Free Mass Effect 3 DLC

38 Studios And Big Huge Games Close

It's always sad when a studio has to shut down, let alone when 2 are forced to close, but that's exactly what happened. 38 Studios (Kingdoms Of Amalur: Reckoning) ran out of money towards the end of last week, leaving it no choice but to completely shut down the entire company, including subsidiary Big Huge Games. The company moved to Rhode Island to take advantage of funding initiatives taking place there, but then they could not make a payment back on their loan (a payment of $1.125 million) meaning that, obviously, the shit was hitting the fan. Taking the loan money from employee's pay checks meant big trouble, and aswell as leaving the people working there without an income, also will ultimately leave the tax payers of Rhode Island high and dry, as the company spent a $75 million loan from the Economic Development Corporation (a corporation funded by tax payers) that they could not pay back. the company have since come out and admitted that for the company to break even on Kingdoms Of Amalur: Reckoning it would have had to sell about 2 million more copies than it did. Obviously this many people losing their jobs is tragic as hell, but when your company is making terrible game then I guess you shouldn't over commit to the tune of $75 million, just a thought.

Nothing wrong with a little ambition, but come on, Reckoning was never gonna be massive. It was just obvious. It was poo.

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Sony Want To Take In-Game Marketing To A Whole New, Terrifying Level

Sony, through my old Nintendo fanboy eyes were the evilest company in the world (N64>Playstation until the end of time), and for some reason are holding their pinkie fingers upto their mouths and laughing maniacally with this newest patent discovery. The patent was applied for last year but has just now come to light, and promises that a warning will be shown before an advert is displayed and a countdown until gameplay resumes would occur. The game would start back up a few seconds prior to when the ad begun so that if it fucked you up, you could sort it out. I can't be the only one who thinks this sounds like a bad Doctor Evil plan?...

This really makes me wanna vomit. Dear god.

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More Free Multiplayer DLC Releasing For Mass Effect 3

Arriving tomorrow will be the Rebellion Pack for Mass Effect 3, and will add some crazy new stuff. Amongst the crazy are 2 new levels, 3 new weapons and 6(!) new characters to try, including a new race: The Vorcha. The new characters, which are the main things you care about, let's be honest, are  Vorcha Soldier, Vorcha Sentinel, Male Quarian Engineer, Male Quarian Infiltrator, Ex-Cerberus Vanguard and Ex-Cerberus Adept. The pack is free and, as I said earlier, drops on the 29th (tomorrow). you'll have to download it automatically from the marketplace, it's not a patch.

DUDE! Vorcha in action! Check that shit out! Fuck yeah!

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And finally...

Shadow Of The Colossus Movie Gets Chronicle Director

Josh Trank has now signed on to do the film, based on the classic game.

Star Trek Online Getting Player-Built Starbases

Definitely a reason to dive back in for me. Love that game! And its free, remember!

'You Don't Know Jack' Coming To Facebook Soon

Sign up for the beta test now at this link. The game looks mega fun, so give it a go!

Diablo 3 Is Fastest Selling PC Game Of All Time. Surprises Noone.

Yep, entirely believably, the game has raped all competition. Who'dathunk!

WIZARDS FOR LIFE!

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Wednesday
May232012

Daily News - 22nd May 2012 - Mass Effect 3 Re-Ending News, Wii U controller Redesign? and More!

Hi everyone. I know it's been DAYS without a proper update, but we had no internet in the house and almost immediately after we got it back I had a wisdom tooth removed, so was in a bit of a coma. to make it up to you guys, I fully intend to hammer a podcast out, probably this weekend, though whether I can get enough guys together will be the challenge. I need to start thinking about how to get more views aswell... Ugh, impossible tasks. Updates will return with their usual (ir)regularity from now, thanks for your (justified im)patience.

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Bioware Bringing Back Mass Effect 3 Voice Actors For Extended Endings

That ending stuff, eh? Remember that? Remember when Bioware said they were gonna work on extending it and then we heard nothing for a month or so? Well the silence has ended! G4 report that atleast 3 of the voice actors for the game have come back to record more dialogue. So far the only confirmed voice actors returning are Admiral Hackett, EDI, and Kaiden Alenko. If only those 3 characters had extra dialogue I'd end up pretty disappointed, but I'm sure there'll be more. Here's what Kaiden's voice actor, Lance Henriksen, had to say about the process:

"I just did another session with them. They were saying there's a little bit of a problem with the abruptness of the ending. So we did a whole series of things to add to the end of the game, to live up to the quality they've been doing. Usually, when a guy loses the game, the game shuts down; it's over. It's done. The players don't like that."

This guy gets it! Almost makes me like Kaiden more! ...Nah, nothing could make me like Kaiden.

He may have been well boring, but he keeps in shape, I'll give him that.

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Wii U Controller Rumoured To Have Endured A Slight Redesign

It's gonna be impossible to tell what it will be like to wield a Wii U Controller until you get one in your hands, but until that point it's probably safest to assume that Nintendo have some idea of what they're doing. They've taken the Wii U controller and kept the basic layout (touch screen in the middle, 2 sticks, ABXY buttons, Start, Select etc.) but have updated it with Gamecube-style analogue sticks, and repositioned Start and Select buttons to presumably make them more ergonomic. I loved the old Gamecube analogue sticks, so keeping those is a surefire way of making me happy. i like the look of the controller, just hope the eventual Smash Bros game will play well enough!

Like I say, need to hold one before I judge, though it looks an abolsute beast to wield!

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And finally...

Bungie's Next Game Revealed, Hidden In Contract

The game will be called 'Destiny', be an Xbox exclusive and launch in 2013.

XBLA Indie Games Add Options For Developers

Devs can now change their prices once every 7 days. Much better than the previous 90!

Walking Dead Adventure Game Sells 1 Million

Only the first episode is available now, it's a great achievement!

Aliens: Colonial Marines Delayed

the game will now be out February 12th

I'm holding out until all 5 episodes have been released but I can't wait to play The Walking Dead for myself!

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Monday
May212012

Quick Update - The internet Is The Best Thing

I have the internet back, have for a day or two, but as I'm sure you can imagine I've been chilling out enjoying the weekend. Updates shall resume shortly, and I aim to have a podcast this week (note to self: pull your finger out, you lazy wanker!). Hopefully we can restore our old double-figure view counts! Fingers crossed!!!

I've been playing Max Payne 3. There's alot of this.

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Wednesday
May162012

Quick Update - Internetlessness Is Next To God-Awful-lyness

So I am without internet. It sucks. My landlady, whilst in the process of switching over one of our 2 ISPs to a different service, somehow managed to get both services shut off leaving me kind of in the dark. I'm writing this from work bytheway, incase you were wondering, so this post isn't exactly what you'd called "allowed", but there's nowhere else I can get my ass online for probably the next 2 days.

I'll keep posting on Twitter and, I guess, playing games offline? Is that even a thing anymore? Part of me doesn't even want to find out, but I have little recourse other than to persevere onwards. For now I'll just have to savour the slivers of internet I get here at work, and I'll probably add a Twitter widget to the site for a few days, so there's still somewhat new stuff to see.

Sorry guys, best I can do for now. Maybe record a podcast? I dunno, I'm too distraught to think clearly right now.

No internet?!? Seriously? What fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck?!

Seemed appropriate...

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Monday
May142012

Daily News - 13th May 2012 - Minecraft XBLA Does Well, Portal 2 DLC Also Does Well and Assassin's Creed 3 Gameplay Revealed

Minecraft Made Money, Almost Instantly

It's no secret that Minecraft is kinda a big deal, but just how big of a deal is still a bit mental. The game launched on XBLA last Wednesday and, well, absolutely crushed it. The XBLA version is, ofcourse, a port of the insanely huge PC version, so wasn't expensive to make, which resulted in the game turning a profit after just an hour on sale. AN HOUR! That is absolutely ridiculous! In just 1 hour of the game launching it had already made back all the money it cost to port and then some. Notch (it's creator) called the 24 hour sales for the game "very, very good". Yeah, I'll fucking bet they were mate! Minecraft has made Markus "Notch" Persson a multi-millionaire, and the money just keeps coming. Unbelievable.

Any game with a Weezing in it can't be ALL bad...

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Perpetual Testing Initiative Launch Is A Triumph. I'm Making A Not Here: HUGE SUCCESS!

Enough of that. Some Portal 2 free DLC launched last week on Steam, allowing users to create their own levels, with new added voice acting from Cave Johnson, J. Jonah Jameson himself: J.K. Simmons. The user-created content seems to have done the trick, as users had already, by Friday, downloaded maps 1.3 million times. I've played some of the levels myself and, while not all great, still keep you playing by including that old Valve magic in the form of Cave Johnson constantly reminding you of the unspeakable horrors going on just outside of the test chamber you're currently in. It's pretty great. If you already own Portal 2, give it a go. If not? Hopefully you picked it up in the sale last week!!!

So. Many. Possibilites! ...For someone else to make stuff with, obviously. Fuck doing it myself.

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Assassin's Creed 3 Trailer Shows Off Gameplay

Fight a bear, parkour through a building, stab multiple dudes! Shame it's an Assassin's Creed game!

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Wednesday
May092012

Daily News - 9th May 2012 - A Couple Of Less-Than-Massive News Stories... Sorry

Okay, so no MASSIVE news has happened the past few days, but stuff has happened, so I'll dole this info out in little mini-stories, 'And finally...' style. So anyway, how's everything going with you guys?...

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Angry Birds Hits 1 Billion Downloads

Like, dude. Whoah. 

Pressure Sensitive Controller Patented... By Microsoft?

One apparent feature involves sensing who's holding the controller by how they grip it. Mental!

Wolfenstein 3D Playable On HTML5 (Your Browser) For Free... Right Now!

Yep, seriously. Play gaming history right now, over here!

Dark Souls Has Sold Over A Million

I've been playing the game a bit and it really is unlike anything else. Well done for Dark Souls! Yay!

Portal 2 CHEAP On Steam, And Level Editor Released

To celebrate the level editor's release, one of the best game's ever made is just slightly over £5 on Steam this week. GET IT!!!

Starcraft 2: Heart Of The Swarm To Add New Features

They'll include Global Play, Player Clans/Groups, Unranked Matches, resuming a game after a disconnect (huge for professional Starcraft) and multiplayer replay viewing. Good stuff for us Stacraft fans!

Oi! You bought Portal 2 yet?!? WHY NOT, YOU CUNT!!! Oh, you have? My bad...

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Monday
May072012

Daily Not Much News - 7th May 2012 - Wii-U's 3rd Party Games Leaked, Diablo 3: Wrath Aimated Movie and League Of Legends Exploit Forces Bans

Blockbuster Look To Have Leaked Some Wii-U 3rd Party Titles

3rd party titles have never really been well represented on Nintendo consoles, with even the hugemongously popular Wii having the 3rd parties relegated to not much more than gesture-based novelties. Wii-U, with it's enhanced power and standard (apart from that massive screen) controls coming from the dual-analog sticks, the list of games coming out of non-first party publishers for the Wii-U is more in line with the Playstation and Xbox. An employee at Blockbuster has leaked a photo of a screen showing future titles to be stocked at the store, and it's an impressive list, including such games as Darksiders 2, Dirt 3, Ninja Gaiden 3 and Metro: Last Light. The complete list can be found in photos here. It may technically be rumour, but I'm more than happy to trust this info, no games on there are beyond reason.

Not your typical Nintendo fare maybe, but Metro: Last Light will interest somebody out there... hopefully.

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2D Animated Diablo 3 Film Coming Possibly On Tuesday

So Diablo 3... Gonna be pretty big, I reckon. If that game doesn't sell like hotcakes then I'm sure many a person will end up eating a hat. The official diablo 3 website (Diablo3.com) has had a percent meter rising for a while now, and it's currently at 94%. It's been confirmed that when this meter fills it will unlock an animated movie that will tie in with the game. Made by the same director as Aeon Flux, Blizzard released a "Making of" that explains more. Watch it below.

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League Of Legends Cheaters Getting Ruthlessly Banned

I like League Of Legends. It's free, relatively fun and simple to get to grips with, but it's no secret that it has one of the shittest communities in gaming. Any single game in which you do anything wrong at any point you WILL be berated with cries of "noob", abuse and people requesting you get reported. LoL players are a shining beacon of the worst of the worst of gamers, sitting besides Halo and Call Of Duty for BM (Bad Manners). Converse to this, are Riot games, a developer who know how to treat their fans. New champions are added monthly, patches are released with complete transparency so players know exactly what eachj will contain and they apparently are also ruthless when dealing with cheaters. In a move that shows great integrity, the company have shutdown an exploit in the game almost immediately and are handing out bans. The exploit allowed users to get unlimited mastery points, points which you can use to increase any of your champions' stats between games. So let this be a lesson to you guys: DON'T CROSS RIOT! THEY'LL FUCK YOU RIGHT UP!

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Thursday
May032012

Daily News - 3rd May 2012 - Elder Scrolls MMO, New Weird Xbox 360 Bundles Coming and More!

Elders Scrolls MMO.... IS A Thing That's Happening

Yep, we got the email today. Officially announced, Bethesda Softworks is working on a Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game set in their hugely popular Elder Scrolls universe. Details about gameplay are non-existent, though it's reasonable to assume it will be in first person. The email didn't go into specifics, but did have a few tasty nuggets of info, like this quote from the game's Director, Matt Firor:

“We have been working hard to create an online world in which players will be able to experience the epic Elder Scrolls universe with their friends, something fans have long said they wanted. It will be extremely rewarding finally to unveil what we have been developing the last several years. The entire team is committed to creating the best MMO ever made – and one that is worthy of The Elder Scrolls franchise.”

Notice that? "We have been working hard..." that means the game is already under way, probably WELL under way, because I don't know if you guys know this, but Skyrim? Pretty popular! There's money to be made off the Elder Scrolls series, perhaps now more than ever! Personally, I'm just eager for more concrete info though. This Month's Game Informer will have more, as the game will be featured on it's cover. You guys as excited as I am?

"LFP raid on massive fuck-off dragon beast"

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Super Cheap Xbox Rumoured But Will Come On A Manditory 2-Year Contract

Rumours are iffy, especially when they sound this daft. An Xbox 360, with Kinect sensor and, allegedly, no games, for just $99 (or £61). The bundle will require a 2-year gold contract, priced at about £9 a month. Without doing the math, I'm told it will end up costing you more than if you had just bought the console and sensor outright, but then again, if you don't have the money here and now then maybe a console on a "contract"ish deal could be viable, though I can't see a consumer having waited all this time to buy their Xbox and then finally seeing this deal as their easiest way of getting involved in Xbox stuff. Maybe it's just me, but the timing of this seems odd. A month before E3, where Microsoft said they would definitely not reveal a new console, says to me that we can expect their next console roughly 2 years from now, so that if you take advantage of this deal your contract will run out literally as the next console launches? Makes sense to me, and probably kinda makes sense to Microsoft aswell. Time to just wait and see!

"Subscribe now to Xbox and punch a shark in the face!" - There you go Microsoft, that one's for free.

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And finally...

Dungeons Of Dredmoor Free Update Adding Steam Workshop Support

This'll be a great excuse to play the game, having bought it in the sales yonks ago.

Black Ops 2 Pre-Order Bonuses Slightly Revealed, Coming In Waves

A 4 wave system for the bonuses has been announced. The first bonus is a double-sided poster and Prestige token for MW3, and you'll also get whatever bonuses are in the next 3 waves. If you miss this first wave though, you can't get it after the deadline. Same goes for the next 3 waves aswell. The first wave's deadline is up on June 30.

Remote Steam Downloads Coming

Download a game at home, right from any web browser. Truly, this is the future!

Kickstarter Not Quite The Guaranteed Money Maker You'd Think

Turns out only about 25% of Kickstarters actually reach their funding, the rest fail. Such is life!

If that Black Ops 2 poster just depicts horses versus helicopters, then they've hit paydirt.

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