-
Fallout Online’s first official player race has been revealed by developer Interplay, and it looks like swarmy smoothskins won’t be the only wastelanders making friends online… …
-
Irrational Games has given its word that no console will be left behind in the development of its forthcoming game, BioShock Infinite… …
-
Above: With OnLive, you can stream next-gen titles directly to your TV or monitor without any console, discs, installation times, or expensive hardware. Is it too good to be true?It works. That’s the most impressive part about OnLive’s cloud-based games service. You can sample, rent, and purchase games on-demand. The best part: you won’t need an Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, or an expensive gaming PC. You won’t even need a disc or time to download and install titles. All the work is done by OnLive’s data centers, which stream the game you’re playing directly to your TV or monitor via your broadband internet connection.
The service has been available via web browsers since June, 2010. But OnLive game system kits are now available to pre-order and are scheduled to ship on December 2. So, we decided to look at what’s in the box, and find out if the new tech is worth your while… …
-
Is NFS the most responsive game of this gen?
“So, 30Hz… it’ll be really interesting to see what your latency measurements come out as. We think latency is pretty good… We think we might be 83ms… or 100ms.”
Back in July, Digital Foundry interviewed the Criterion tech team about their latest game, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, released in the UK and Europe yesterday. Engineering gurus Alex Fry and Richard Parr discussed the challenges in dropping down to 30 frames per second after the 60FPS loveliness of Burnout Paradise, concentrating in particular on the issue of maintaining their trademark low-latency, crisp controls.
Today’s Face-Off feature doesn’t just tackle the differences between the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC versions of Hot Pursuit – we also benchmark controller response, pitting the new Need for Speed up against the 66ms input latency of Paradise. In all of our tests thus far, we’ve yet to find a 30Hz game able to beat the 100ms threshold, while the only 50ms response we’ve seen has come from the PS3 XMB.
-
NPD numbers, holiday gift ideas, an L.A. Noire preview, and reviews of Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, NBA Jam, and Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit are all among the week’s offerings.
With the Thanksgiving holiday looming like a 10-story mutant turkey, the GameSpot offices have been busy with activity. Even though Black Friday isn’t until next week, holiday shoppers got a head start with our 2010 Holiday Gift Guide. The previews team shed some light on Rockstar’s dark thriller L.A. Noire, while the reviews squad tackled Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and NBA Jam.
On the news side, the NPD numbers hit, Call of Duty: Black Ops shattered more records, Kinect sold 1 million, and Portal 2 was delayed. Last but not least, GameSpot Live cranked out a bunch of video reviews, including one for the highly anticipated Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit.
THE LAST WORD: NOVEMBER 14-20
NEW RELEASES
Shippin’ Out Nov. 14-20: Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit
Need for Speed: Nitro-X zooms to DSiWare
Pac-Man CE: DX, Alien Breed 3: Descent land on XBLA
<!–
–>FEATURES
With the holidays soon upon us, now is a good time to start filling out that videogame shopping list. Our 2010 Holiday Gift Guide makes it simple to not only check out some of the best games of 2010 so far, it also lets you add games to a wish list for easy reference. Also, in case you didn’t hear, a little game called Call of Duty: Black Ops came out recently, so be sure to check out our full Game Guide as well as a comparison feature that shows how the series’ visuals have changed over the years. We also have all the latest details on the OnLive MicroConsole that lets you play OnLive content on your TV. And finally, GameSpot AU’s Laura Parker chats with independent games luminaries to find out how the indie development scene can influence the rest of the videogame industry.
Holiday Gift Guide 2010
Call of Duty: Black Ops Game Guide
Call of Duty: Then and Now
OnLive MicroConsole Hands-on
Limbo’s Lessons for the Mainstream
NEWS
The GameSpot newsdesk hummed with headlines this week, starting off with the NPD numbers for October, which saw overall US game sales decline 4 percent for the month. Software was up 6 percent, thanks to brisk sales of NBA 2K11 and Fallout: New Vegas. Hardware, however, fell 26 percent year over year, with the Xbox 360 taking the top slot once again, followed by the PS3 and the Wii.In other news, Call of Duty: Black Ops boasted the biggest five-day entertainment gross ever with $650 million in sales and Microsoft announced its Kinect motion-sensing system has already sold 1 million units. Blizzard posted an ad for a Diablo III console lead designer, and BioWare teased a game that may–or may not–be a multiplayer spin-off of the Mass Effect series. Finally, Iowan studio Budcat closed its doors, and Activision said it was looking to sell off its once high-powered racing shop Bizarre Creations.
Black Ops five-day sales hit $650M
October software rebounds on NBA 2K11 – NPD
Kinect sells 1 million
Activision dropping Bizarre Creations
Blizzard hiring console lead designer for Diablo III
Portal 2 delayed to April
Ghost Recon Future Soldier, Driver: San Francisco delayed
New BioWare game a MP Mass Effect spin-off
Survey examines links between gaming, behavior
Borderlands Mac-bound Dec. 3
Lord of Arcana debuting Jan. 25
Layoffs hit LucasArts
Budcat put down
Infinity Ward ‘reconstructed’ – Vivendi CEO
Carmack has ‘itch’ to make Kinect XBLA game
Bungie seeking beta testers for next game
250,000 PS3s, 232,000 Wiis sold in Oct. – Analyst
First Fallout: New Vegas DLC drops Dec. 21
Tony Hawk: Shred sells 3,000 in first week – Report
THQ dates Homefront
Killspace surfaces with Yars’ RevengePREVIEWS
The highlight of previews this week was GameSpot’s first look at Rockstar’s upcoming detective thriller L.A. Noire. The big draw with this game is its highly nuanced facial animation, captured by advanced technology that surrounds the actors face with dozens of cameras and turns that right into a 3D character model. And it’s a good thing, too, because L.A. Noire is a game that requires you to read and interpret people’s facial expressions as the primary way of solving crimes in 1940s Los Angeles. Beyond that, the team also had a look at Dirt 3, Marvel Pinball, and Fight Night Champion–so be sure to have a look at all of them.
L.A. Noire First Look
Dirt 3 Updated Hands-On
Marvel Pinball First Look
Fight Night Champion First Impressions
REVIEWS
The end of this year’s crazy-busy reviews season is almost in sight, but November isn’t going to leave
quietly. Next week you can expect reviews of Donkey Kong Country Returns, Majin and the Forsaken
Kingdom, and Splatterhouse, to name but a few. You can also look forward to coverage of the long-awaited Gran Turismo 5, which is definitely, totally, 100 percent arriving in stores on November 24. True story! For right now though, you’ll have to content yourself with reviews of the latest biggest releases:
Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood (PS3,
X360) Review
The Ball (PC) Review
DanceMasters (X360) Review
Faery: Legends of Avalon (X360) Review
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
(PS3, X360) Review
Monopoly Streets (PS3, Wii, X360)
Review
MotionSports (X360) Review
NBA Jam (PS3, X360) Review
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit (PS3, X360)
Review
Pac-Man Championship Edition DX (X360)
Review
Split/Second (PSP) Review
The Undergarden (X360) Review
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon (Wii) Review
VIDEO
With the holiday season coming up, the GameSpot Live team hooked you up with a Santa’s sack full of ideas in the Holiday Gift Guide 2010. Today On The Spot featured games like Marvel Pinball, Rift: Planes of Telara, and more! For Video Reviews, Kevin VanOrd slices his way through Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, Chris Watters cuts a rug in Dance Masters, Tom Mc Shea dunks on NBA Jam, and Justin Calvert defends Seacrest County in Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit!
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Video Review
NBA Jam Video Review
DanceMasters Video Review
Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood Video Review
GameSpot’s Holiday Gift Bag 2010: PC
GameSpot’s Holiday Gift Bag 2010: Hardware
Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
“The Last Word: November 14-20” was posted by Tor Thorsen on Fri, 19 Nov 2010 17:18:41 -0800 -
NPD numbers, holiday gift ideas, an L.A. Noire preview, and reviews of Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, NBA Jam, and Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit are all among the week’s offerings.
With the Thanksgiving holiday looming like a 10-story mutant turkey, the GameSpot offices have been busy with activity. Even though Black Friday isn’t until next week, holiday shoppers got a head start with our 2010 Holiday Gift Guide. The previews team shed some light on Rockstar’s dark thriller L.A. Noire, while the reviews squad tackled Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and NBA Jam.
On the news side, the NPD numbers hit, Call of Duty: Black Ops shattered more records, the Kinect sold 1 million, and Portal 2 was delayed. Last but not least, GameSpot Live cranked out a bunch of video reviews, including one for the highly anticipated Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit.
THE LAST WORD: NOVEMBER 14-20
NEW RELEASES
Shippin’ Out Nov. 14-20: Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit
Need for Speed: Nitro-X zooms to DSiWare
Pac-Man CE: DX, Alien Breed 3: Descent land on XBLA
<!–
–>FEATURES
With the holidays soon upon us, now is a good time to start filling out that video game shopping list. Our 2010 Holiday Gift Guide makes it simple to not only check out some of the best games of 2010 so far, but it also lets you add games to a wish list for easy reference. Also, in case you didn’t hear, a little game called Call of Duty: Black Ops came out recently, so be sure to check out our full game guide, as well as a comparison feature that shows how the series’ visuals have changed over the years. We also have all the latest details on the OnLive MicroConsole that lets you play OnLive content on your TV. And finally, GameSpot AU’s Laura Parker chats with independent games luminaries to find out how the indie development scene can influence the rest of the video game industry.
Holiday Gift Guide 2010
Call of Duty: Black Ops Game Guide
Call of Duty: Then and Now
OnLive MicroConsole Hands-on
Limbo’s Lessons for the Mainstream
NEWS
The GameSpot news desk hummed with headlines this week, starting off with the NPD numbers for October, which saw overall US game sales decline 4 percent for the month. Software was up 6 percent, thanks to brisk sales of NBA 2K11 and Fallout: New Vegas. Hardware, however, fell 26 percent year-over-year, with the Xbox 360 taking the top slot once again, followed by the PlayStation 3 and the Wii.In other news, Call of Duty: Black Ops boasted the biggest five-day entertainment gross ever with $650 million in sales and Microsoft announced its Kinect motion-sensing system has already sold 1 million units. Blizzard posted an ad for a Diablo III console lead designer, and BioWare teased a game that may–or may not–be a multiplayer spin-off of the Mass Effect series. Finally, Iowan studio Budcat closed its doors, and Activision said it was looking to sell off its once high-powered racing shop Bizarre Creations.
Black Ops five-day sales hit $650M
October software rebounds on NBA 2K11 – NPD
Kinect sells 1 million
Activision dropping Bizarre Creations
Blizzard hiring console lead designer for Diablo III
Portal 2 delayed to April
Ghost Recon Future Soldier, Driver: San Francisco delayed
New BioWare game a MP Mass Effect spin-off
Survey examines links between gaming, behavior
Borderlands Mac-bound Dec. 3
Lord of Arcana debuting Jan. 25
Layoffs hit LucasArts
Budcat put down
Infinity Ward ‘reconstructed’ – Vivendi CEO
Carmack has ‘itch’ to make Kinect XBLA game
Bungie seeking beta testers for next game
250,000 PS3s, 232,000 Wiis sold in Oct. – Analyst
First Fallout: New Vegas DLC drops Dec. 21
Tony Hawk: Shred sells 3,000 in first week – Report
THQ dates Homefront
Killspace surfaces with Yars’ RevengePREVIEWS
The highlight of previews this week was GameSpot’s first look at Rockstar’s upcoming detective thriller L.A. Noire. The big draw with this game is its highly nuanced facial animation, captured by advanced technology that surrounds the actor’s face with dozens of cameras and turns that right into a 3D character model. And it’s a good thing, too, because L.A. Noire is a game that requires you to read and interpret people’s facial expressions as the primary way of solving crimes in 1940’s Los Angeles. Beyond that, the team also had a look at Dirt 3, Marvel Pinball, and Fight Night Champion–so be sure to have a look at all of them.
L.A. Noire First Look
Dirt 3 Updated Hands-On
Marvel Pinball First Look
Fight Night Champion First Impressions
REVIEWS
The end of this year’s crazy-busy reviews season is almost in sight, but November isn’t going to leave
quietly. Next week, you can expect reviews of Donkey Kong Country Returns, Majin and the Forsaken
Kingdom, and Splatterhouse, to name but a few. You can also look forward to coverage of the long-awaited Gran Turismo 5, which is definitely, totally, 100 percent arriving in stores on November 24. True story! For right now, though, you’ll have to content yourself with reviews of the latest biggest releases:
Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood (PS3,
X360) Review
The Ball (PC) Review
DanceMasters (X360) Review
Faery: Legends of Avalon (X360) Review
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
(PS3, X360) Review
Monopoly Streets (PS3, Wii, X360)
Review
MotionSports (X360) Review
NBA Jam (PS3, X360) Review
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit (PS3, X360)
Review
Pac-Man Championship Edition DX (X360)
Review
Split/Second (PSP) Review
The Undergarden (X360) Review
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon (Wii) Review
VIDEO
With the holiday season coming up, the GameSpot Live team hooked you up with a Santa’s sack full of ideas in the Holiday Gift Guide 2010. Today on the Spot featured games like Marvel Pinball, Rift: Planes of Telara, and more! For video reviews, Kevin VanOrd slices his way through Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, Chris Watters cuts a rug in Dance Masters, Tom Mc Shea dunks on NBA Jam, and Justin Calvert defends Seacrest County in Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit!
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Video Review
NBA Jam Video Review
DanceMasters Video Review
Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood Video Review
GameSpot’s Holiday Gift Bag 2010: PC
GameSpot’s Holiday Gift Bag 2010: Hardware
Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
“The Last Word: November 14-20” was posted by Tor Thorsen on Fri, 19 Nov 2010 17:18:41 -0800 -
Remake of 16-bit strategy role-playing game topples God Eater: Burst from top spot on Japanese sales chart; Dragon Ball: Raging Blast 2 debuts in second place.
Square Enix is hoping its PSP remake Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together is a hit when it launches in North America on February 15, but the game is already a blockbuster in Japan. The strategy role-playing game topped the Media Create Japanese sales charts for the week of November 8-14 by a wide margin, easily tripling the total of the next-best-seller.
In its first week on sale, Tactics Ogre notched 176,153 copies sold. A remake of the original Super Famicom and PlayStation Tactics Ogre games, Let Us Cling Together features extra subplots, new and redesigned characters, and added gameplay mechanics that allow players to turn back time, either to change the story’s direction by revisiting key plot points or to replay critical points of individual battles for a better outcome.
Namco Bandai’s Dragon Ball: Raging Blast 2 for the PlayStation 3 finished the week in second place, selling 176,153 copies. The game actually launched in Japan a week later than in North America, where its arrival was met with an unimpressed critical response. The 3D fighting game based on the anime and manga series builds on last year’s original Raging Blast with 20 extra characters (for a total of 90 fighters) and a new “raging soul” system that allows players to forsake the ability to use their super attacks in exchange for amped-up melee damage.
Namco Bandai’s God Eater: Burst relinquished its hold on the top spot after two straight weeks, falling to sixth place with 31,372 units sold. Nintendo had a strong week with Super Mario All-Stars, Pokemon Black and White, Wii Party, and Kirby’s Epic Yarn all ranking in the top 10, and a new bundle of Wii Sports Resort with a Wii Remote Plus debuting in ninth place with 14,438 copies sold. Rounding out the new releases was Konami’s fifth-place DS virtual life game Tongari Boushi to Mahou no Omise.
Sony’s PSP retained its top spot on the hardware charts, but not by much. The portable sold 40,328 systems for the week, edging out Nintendo’s resurgent Wii, which tallied 39,308 sales. The Wii total was boosted by the launch of the red Super Mario 25th Anniversary hardware package, as well as white and black Wii bundles with the Wii Remote Plus packed in. The PS3 came in third with 21,114 units sold, followed by the one-two portable punch of the DSi LL and DSi, with 18,711 and 13,994 units sold, respectively.
JAPAN GAME SALES WEEK OF NOVEMBER 8-14, 2010
Software:
Rank / Title / Publisher / Platform / Unit sales
1. Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together / Square Enix / PSP / 176,153
2. Dragon Ball: Raging Blast 2 / Namco Bandai / PS3 / 47,610
3. Super Mario All-Stars / Nintendo / Wii / 43,621
4. Pokemon Black and White / The Pokemon Company / DS / 42,279
5. Tongari Boushi to Mahou no Omise / Konami / DS / 40,208
6. God Eater Burst / Namco Bandai / PSP / 31,372
7. World Soccer Winning Eleven 2011 / Konami / PS3 / 30,353
8. Wii Party / Nintendo / Wii / 17,471
9. Wii Sports Resort / Nintendo / Wii / 14,438
10. Kirby’s Epic Yarn / Nintendo / Wii / 13,896Hardware:
PSP – 40,328
Wii – 39,308
PS3 – 21,114
DSi LL – 18,711
DSi – 13,994
PSP Go – 2,727
Xbox 360 – 2,149
DS Lite – 1,752
PS2 – 1,233Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
“Big in Japan Nov. 8-14: Tactics Ogre PSP” was posted by Brendan Sinclair on Fri, 19 Nov 2010 16:49:04 -0800 -
Remake of 16-bit strategy role-playing game topples God Eater: Burst from top spot on Japanese sales chart; Dragon Ball: Raging Blast 2 debuts in second place.
Square Enix is hoping its PSP remake Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together is a hit when it launches in North America on February 15, but the game is already a blockbuster in Japan. The strategy role-playing game topped the Media Create Japanese sales charts for the week of November 8-14 by a wide margin, easily tripling the total of the next-best-seller.
In its first week on sale, Tactics Ogre notched 176,153 copies sold. A remake of the original Super Famicom and PlayStation Tactics Ogre games, Let Us Cling Together features extra subplots, new and redesigned characters, and added gameplay mechanics that allow players to turn back time, either to change the story’s direction by revisiting key plot points or to replay critical points of individual battles for a better outcome.
Namco Bandai’s Dragon Ball: Raging Blast 2 for the PlayStation 3 finished the week in second place, selling 176,153 copies. The game actually launched in Japan a week later than in North America, where its arrival was met with an unimpressed critical response. The 3D fighting game based on the anime and manga series builds on last year’s original Raging Blast with 20 extra characters (for a total of 90 fighters) and a new “raging soul” system that allows players to forsake the ability to use their super attacks in exchange for amped-up melee damage.
Namco Bandai’s God Eater: Burst relinquished its hold on the top spot after two straight weeks, falling to sixth place with 31,372 units sold. Nintendo had a strong week with Super Mario All-Stars, Pokemon Black and White, Wii Party, and Kirby’s Epic Yarn all ranking in the top 10, and a new bundle of Wii Sports Resort with a Wii Remote Plus debuting in ninth place with 14,438 copies sold. Rounding out the new releases was Konami’s fifth-place DS virtual life game Tongari Boushi to Mahou no Omise.
Sony’s PSP retained its top spot on the hardware charts, but not by much. The portable sold 40,328 systems for the week, edging out Nintendo’s resurgent Wii, which tallied 39,308 sales. The Wii total was boosted by the launch of the red Super Mario 25th Anniversary hardware package, as well as white and black Wii bundles with the Wii Remote Plus packed in. The PS3 came in third with 21,114 units sold, followed by the one-two portable punch of the DSi LL and DSi, with 18,711 and 13,994 units sold, respectively.
JAPAN GAME SALES WEEK OF NOVEMBER 8-14, 2010
Software:
Rank / Title / Publisher / Platform / Unit sales
1. Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together / Square Enix / PSP / 176,153
2. Dragon Ball: Raging Blast 2 / Namco Bandai / PS3 / 47,610
3. Super Mario All-Stars / Nintendo / Wii / 43,621
4. Pokemon Black and White / The Pokemon Company / DS / 42,279
5. Tongari Boushi to Mahou no Omise / Konami / DS / 40,208
6. God Eater Burst / Namco Bandai / PSP / 31,372
7. World Soccer Winning Eleven 2011 / Konami / PS3 / 30,353
8. Wii Party / Nintendo / Wii / 17,471
9. Wii Sports Resort / Nintendo / Wii / 14,438
10. Kirby’s Epic Yarn / Nintendo / Wii / 13,896Hardware:
PSP – 40,328
Wii – 39,308
PS3 – 21,114
DSi LL – 18,711
DSi – 13,994
PSP Go – 2,727
Xbox 360 – 2,149
DS Lite – 1,752
PS2 – 1,233Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
“Big in Japan Nov. 8-14: Tactics Ogre PSP” was posted by Brendan Sinclair on Fri, 19 Nov 2010 16:49:04 -0800 -
We love pizza. But wouldn’t it be great if there was something that made pizza even better? The solution is here, friends. Behold: the Star Trek Enterprise pizza cutter from ThinkGeek. It’s the best pizza cutter ever made because it’s shaped like the starship Enterprise. Look how shiny it is. See how happy it makes GamesRadar’s Brett Elston and Carolyn Gudmundson. It sounds too good to be true. But this most excellent piece of kitchenware could be yours! Enter now, for a chance to win… …
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MI6 adds to the mystery.
Mass Effect developer BioWare has added to the mystery surrounding its unannounced new game.
Following cryptic hints as to its identity offered earlier this week, another binary string was posted on the developer’s Facebook page earlier today. When translated it apparently displays the URL for the British Secret Intelligence Service otherwise known as MI6.
The first binary code BioWare posted translated as the number 55.845, otherwise known as the atomic weight of iron, while another gave a temperature value of -128.5˚ Fahrenheit. That’s the coldest temperature ever recorded on Earth (Vostok, Antartica on 21st July 1983).
