http://auth.gamespot.com/ Gamespot's Everything Feed! News, Reviews, Videos. Exploding with content? You bet. en-us Sun, 23 Mar 2014 22:58:46 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/house-of-horrors-poltergeists-terrorise-in-paranor/2300-6417912/ Jess and Zorine deal with the creepy, the unnerving, and the downright disturbing as they take on a fully dynamic haunted house. Sun, 23 Mar 2014 22:36:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/house-of-horrors-poltergeists-terrorise-in-paranor/2300-6417912/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/new-dragon-age-inquisition-screenshots-show-epic-dragon-encounter-report/1100-6418488/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2484483-dai_a.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2484483" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2484483-dai_a.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2484483"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/280/2802776/2484483-dai_a.jpg"></a></figure><p style="">A number of alleged new screenshots for upcoming role-playing game<a href="/dragon-age-inquisition/" data-ref-id="false"> Dragon Age: Inquisition</a> have emerged online.</p><p style="">Posted on <a href="http://www.allgamesbeta.com/2014/03/dragon-age-inquisition-screenshots.html" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">All Games Beta</a>, the images depict a variety of characters traversing the environment as well as engaging in combat. Most notably, a screenshot showing a party in battle with a large dragon is also present.</p><p style="">GameSpot reached out to EA regarding the authenticity of the screenshots, but a representative was unable to comment.</p><p style="">Dragon Age: Inquisition launches later this year for Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and PC. The game was originally expected to release last fall. The game may be the first in the<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/dragon-age-inquisition-survey-asks-about-multiplayer/1100-6417567/" data-ref-id="1100-6417567"> Dragon Age series to include a multiplayer component</a>.</p><p style="">Check out the screenshots below.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2484485-dai_b.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2484485" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2484485-dai_b.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2484485"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/280/2802776/2484485-dai_b.jpg"></a></figure><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2484486-dai_c.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2484486" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2484486-dai_c.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2484486"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/280/2802776/2484486-dai_c.jpg"></a></figure><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2484487-dai_d.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2484487" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2484487-dai_d.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2484487"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/280/2802776/2484487-dai_d.jpg"></a></figure><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2484488-dai_e.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2484488" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2484488-dai_e.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2484488"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/280/2802776/2484488-dai_e.jpg"></a></figure><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2484489-dai_f.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2484489" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2484489-dai_f.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2484489"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/280/2802776/2484489-dai_f.jpg"></a></figure><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2484490-dai_g.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2484490" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2484490-dai_g.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2484490"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/280/2802776/2484490-dai_g.jpg"></a></figure><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2484492-dai_i.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2484492" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2484492-dai_i.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2484492"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/280/2802776/2484492-dai_i.jpg"></a></figure><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2484491-dai_h.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2484491" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2484491-dai_h.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2484491"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/280/2802776/2484491-dai_h.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""><em>Image credit: All Games Beta.</em></p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Zorine Te is an associate editor at GameSpot, and you can follow her on <a href="https://twitter.com/ztharli" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @ztharli</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Sun, 23 Mar 2014 21:24:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/new-dragon-age-inquisition-screenshots-show-epic-dragon-encounter-report/1100-6418488/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-has-50-unity-games-on-the-way-to-wii-u/1100-6418487/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2484311-8273029367-23768.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2484311" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2484311-8273029367-23768.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2484311"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1535/15354745/2484311-8273029367-23768.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">Nintendo has announced that it has over 50 games headed to Wii U that use the Unity Game Engine.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Nintendo was showing nine Unity games at GDC last week and said it has another 17 that will release within the next two months.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"And then, we have another fifty that are waiting in the wings," Senior Manager of Marketing at Nintendo of America's Licensing department Damon Baker told <a href="http://www.siliconera.com/2014/03/21/50-games-using-unity-pipeline-wii-u-says-nintendo/" rel="nofollow">Siliconera</a>. "So we've got a lot of Unity content on the way."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The large number of Unity games headed to Wii U is the result of <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-partners-with-unity-engine-for-wii-u/1100-6396807/">a deal Nintendo and Unity Technologies made in 2012</a>. The deal gave Nintendo the right to distribute the Unity development platform to its in-house, external, and third party licensee developers.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Unity is one of the most popular game development tools among indie developers. Nintendo highlighted it during GDC in order to "demonstrate to developers how easy it is for them to bring their creative ideas to Nintendo systems," vice president of Licensing at Nintendo of America Steve Singer said.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Baker said that now that Unity on Wii U is finalized, Nintendo has had discussions and is definitely "looking at" adding Unity support to the Nintendo 3DS. "We've got a lot of developers that want to take advantage of it," he told <a href="http://www.siliconera.com/2014/03/20/nintendo-looking-bringing-unity-nintendo-3ds/" rel="nofollow">Siliconera</a>. "So, we're working towards that as well. But nothing to announce at this time."</p><p style="">For more on the Wii U, check out <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-s-plan-to-quietly-kill-the-wii-u/1100-6418177/">Tom Mc Shea's editorial on Nintendo's plan to quietly kill it</a>.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer. You can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a> and <a href="https://plus.google.com/116710591398405257934/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Google+</a>.<br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a><br /></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Sun, 23 Mar 2014 13:28:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-has-50-unity-games-on-the-way-to-wii-u/1100-6418487/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/reality-check-could-we-clone-big-boss-the-science-/2300-6417900/ Cam puts his biology degree to use as he investigates the cloning of Big Boss and Metal Gear's Les Enfant Terrible project. Sun, 23 Mar 2014 12:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/reality-check-could-we-clone-big-boss-the-science-/2300-6417900/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/crytek-brings-its-impressive-cryengine-to-iphone-and-ipad-with-the-collectables/1100-6418486/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2484270-the+collectables.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2484270" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2484270-the+collectables.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2484270"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1535/15354745/2484270-the+collectables.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/crysis-3/">Crysis</a> and <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/ryse-son-of-rome/">Ryse</a> developer Crytek and mobile games publisher DeNA have released The Collectables on the <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/nz/app/the-collectables/id733162917?mt=8" rel="nofollow">iTunes App Store</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The free-to-play tactical action game has you assembling a squad of mercenaries and commanding each soldier through fast-paced, third-person combat scenarios. Over time, you'll get to upgrade your crew using a collectable card system that unlocks new abilities.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Crytek said that an Android version of the game is coming soon.</p><p style="">Last week at GDC, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/crytek-undercuts-unreal-engine-4-with-10-cryengine-subscription/1100-6418427/">Crytek revealed that developers will be able to license its CryEngine for $9.90 a month per user</a>, right after Epic announced <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/epic-opens-up-their-unreal-development-tools-to-everyone-with-a-19-subscription-service/1100-6418407/">a $19 monthly subscription for Unreal Engine 4</a>. CryEngine is <a href="http://www.cryengine.com/get-cryengine/free-sdk" rel="nofollow">already available for free</a> for those developing software for non-commercial use, but those wanting access to the engine's new features will also need to subscribe to the new plan.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6416542" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6416542/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer. You can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a> and <a href="https://plus.google.com/116710591398405257934/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Google+</a>.<br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Sun, 23 Mar 2014 11:43:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/crytek-brings-its-impressive-cryengine-to-iphone-and-ipad-with-the-collectables/1100-6418486/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/elder-scrolls-online-announces-exact-launch-times/1100-6418485/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2484249-5055802983-20520.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2484249" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2484249-5055802983-20520.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2484249"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1535/15354745/2484249-5055802983-20520.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">The Elder Scrolls Online developer Zenimax Online Studios recently held a <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/elderscrollsonline/comments/20x73q/welcome_to_the_eso_ama/" rel="nofollow">Reddit Ask Me Anything</a> where they announced the exact times players will be able to enter the PC version of its new massively multiplayer online role-playing game.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The game will officially launch on April 4, at midnight in the United Kingdom, but early access players will be able to get in five or three days earlier.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The exact launch times are:</p><p dir="ltr" style=""><strong>For five day early access</strong>:</p><ul><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">North America (East): 7:00 AM EDT, Sunday March 30</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">UK/IE: 12:00 PM WEST, Sunday March 30</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Central Europe: 1:00 PM CEST, Sunday March 30</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Sydney, Australia: 10:00 PM AEDT, Sunday March 30</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Singapore: 7:00 PM SGT, Sunday March 30</p></li></ul><p dir="ltr" style=""><strong>For three day early access:</strong></p><ul><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">North America (East): 7:00 AM EDT, Tuesday April 1</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">UK/IE: 12:00 PM WEST, Tuesday April 1</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Central Europe: 1:00 PM CEST, Tuesday April 1</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Sydney, Australia: 10:00 PM AEDT, Tuesday April 1</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Singapore: 7:00 PM SGT, Tuesday April 1</p></li></ul><p dir="ltr" style=""><strong>And for launch:</strong></p><ul><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">North America (East): 7:00 PM EDT, Thursday, April 3</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">UK/IE: 12:00 AM WEST, Thursday, April 4</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Central Europe: 1:00 AM CEST, Thursday, April 4</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Sydney, Australia: 10:00 AM AEDT, Thursday, April 4</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Singapore: 7:00 AM SGT, Thursday, April 4</p></li></ul><p style="">The Elder Scrolls Online <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-elder-scrolls-online-xbox-one-and-ps4-release-date-is-two-months-after-pc/1100-6416658/">launches on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 in June</a>. Bethesda recently <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/elder-scrolls-online-defends-subscription-fee-with-regular-significant-content/1100-6418221/">defended the game's $15/month subscription fee</a>, saying that the game's "significant" expansion content justifies its cost.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6417107" data-width="854" data-height="480"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6417107/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer. You can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a> and <a href="https://plus.google.com/116710591398405257934/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Google+</a>.<br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Sun, 23 Mar 2014 10:33:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/elder-scrolls-online-announces-exact-launch-times/1100-6418485/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-ceo-when-we-get-it-a-little-bit-wrong-we-do-our-best-to-fix-it/1100-6418484/ <figure data-align="right" data-size="small" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2484230-9615351231-24510.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2484230" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2484230-9615351231-24510.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2484230"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_small/1535/15354745/2484230-9615351231-24510.jpg"></a></figure><p style="">Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson recently talked about a number of issues the publisher faced over the last year and its future with the new consoles and the growing popularity of mobile games.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"For whatever reason, whether it was because they were pushing the boundaries of innovation and they pushed a little hard and things didn't go so well," Wilson told <a href="http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2014/03/18/ea-andrew-wilson/" rel="nofollow">Fortune</a>, referring the <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/rejoice-simcity-s-offline-mode-is-rolling-out-today/1100-6418378/">SimCity offline debacle</a>, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-battlefield-s-rocky-launch-did-not-damage-the-franchise/1100-6418131/">endless Battlefield 4 issues</a>, and <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/nba-live-14-producer-it-s-been-a-rough-week/1100-6416348/">problems with NBA Live 14</a>. "We won't always get everything right, but my hope is that we're seen as a company that tries to do amazing things. When we get it a little bit wrong, we do our best to fix it."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Wilson also said that the discussion around platforms and business models (free-to-play) are not as important as they may seem. "Great games work no matter what platform you're on or what business model you're going with," he said. "If you can provide great entertainment, then you can really get down to that minute-to-minute interaction that's fun and enjoyable and feels like great value."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Speaking specifically about mobile games, Wilson said that they are a very important part of the future, but that it doesn't mean we're going to stop playing games on 60-inch TVs. "That's great gaming, and that's great entertainment. How you get that game there, I think that's anyone's guess."</p><p style="">Wilson made similar comments about virtual reality earlier this month, saying that<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-ceo-thinking-about-virtual-reality-experiences-but-not-necessarily-for-the-oculus-rift/1100-6418183/"> EA is thinking about what kind of virtual reality experiences it wants to deliver</a>, but not necessarily for the Oculus Rift. After GDC 2014, we know he has other options with Sony's <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/sony-announces-ps4-virtual-reality-initiative-project-morpheus/1100-6418391/">virtual reality headset Project Morpheus</a>, and whatever <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-says-vr-is-something-we-ve-been-playing-with-for-a-while/1100-6418473/">VR technology Microsoft has been "playing with."</a></p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6416854" data-width="854" data-height="480"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6416854/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer. You can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a> and <a href="https://plus.google.com/116710591398405257934/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Google+</a>.<br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Sun, 23 Mar 2014 10:03:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-ceo-when-we-get-it-a-little-bit-wrong-we-do-our-best-to-fix-it/1100-6418484/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/diablo-3-reaper-of-souls-beta-mercenary-kings-esca/2300-6417910/ This week we get Diablo 3 Reaper of Souls Beta, Mercenary Kings, Escape Goat 2, The Witch and the Hundred Knight and BlazBlue: Chronophantasma! Sun, 23 Mar 2014 10:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/diablo-3-reaper-of-souls-beta-mercenary-kings-esca/2300-6417910/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/life-in-the-open-world-of-the-witcher-3-wild-hunt/1100-6418394/ <p style=""><a href="/the-witcher-3-wild-hunt/" data-ref-id="false">The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt</a> may have recently been <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-witcher-3-delayed-to-february-2015-for-xbox-one-ps4-and-pc/1100-6418237/" data-ref-id="1100-6418237">delayed to February 2015</a>, but it's seemingly for good reason. After watching a live demo and talking with CD Projekt Red, it's clear that the developer will need as much time as possible to fill The Witcher 3's vast open world with interesting and reactive content. The game is massive in scope, with a world <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/what-does-an-open-world-mean-for-the-witcher-3/1100-6410092/" data-ref-id="1100-6410092">35 times bigger</a> than that of <a href="/the-witcher-2-assassins-of-kings/" data-ref-id="false">The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings</a> and <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/videos/witcher-3-has-100-hours-of-total-playtime/2300-6404716/" data-ref-id="2300-6404716">50 hours of primary quest content, along with an additional 50 hours of side content</a>. But size isn't everything; a world so large needs to be filled with things to do. For Geralt of Rivia, life in the open world of The Witcher 3 should be anything but dull.</p><p style="">"We created teams responsible only for the fact that this is an open world and needs to be perfect, seamless, without any point when you get bored," says Michal Platkow-Gilewski, head of marketing at CD Projekt Red, describing how the team staffed up to work on The Witcher 3. Part of this involves making it possible to travel to points of interest, such as mountains in the distance. "It is actually a mountain," Platkow-Gilewski continues. "You can climb there and go there. And for sure, there will be something interesting. We are not painting anything on the horizon."</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1536/15366587/2457631-the_witcher_3_wild_hunt_geralt_fights_the_giant.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2457631" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1536/15366587/2457631-the_witcher_3_wild_hunt_geralt_fights_the_giant.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2457631"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1536/15366587/2457631-the_witcher_3_wild_hunt_geralt_fights_the_giant.jpg"></a></figure><p style="">Not all of those points of interest will welcome Geralt with an open hearth and a pint of Mahakaman mead. He is a monster hunter by trade, and the world of The Witcher 3 is infested with all manner of hostile creatures. CD Projekt Red isn't going to babysit you as you peek into their lairs.</p><p style="">"If [players] are not ready, most probably they will die," laughs Platkow-Gilewski. "That's the hard way of knowing where to go."</p><p style="">Yet the developer isn't planning on doing a <a href="/dark-souls/" data-ref-id="false">Dark Souls</a> and killing you left and right. "There's a tutorial that will introduce you very smoothly to the plot and gameplay mechanisms," says Lucasz Babiel, QA analyst at CD Projekt Red. "That was the lesson we learned from The Witcher 2," he added, referring to how the Enhanced Edition for The Witcher 2 added a more forgiving opening section.</p><figure data-align="left" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1536/15366587/2457643-the_witcher_3_wild_hunt__geralt_travels_through_war_ravaged_territory+copy.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2457643" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1536/15366587/2457643-the_witcher_3_wild_hunt__geralt_travels_through_war_ravaged_territory+copy.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2457643"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/1536/15366587/2457643-the_witcher_3_wild_hunt__geralt_travels_through_war_ravaged_territory+copy.jpg"></a></figure><p style="">But The Witcher 3's lessons don't end after its tutorial. The world will continue to teach you how to live in it long afterward. "It takes around 40 minutes on horseback to go from north to south, galloping in a straight line," says Platkow-Gilewski. "On the way to that point, you will gain a lot of experience, and you will know how to handle the game." With this approach, Platkow-Gilewski says CD Projekt Red wants to make the game as accessible as possible, "but there will be no dumbing down."</p><p style="">Life in The Witcher 3 is not about the destination. The game is specifically <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/witcher-3-dev-discusses-redefining-the-open-world-genre/1100-6412204/" data-ref-id="1100-6412204">designed to distract you</a> from your journey, to lure you off the beaten path with vistas, surprise quests, and challenging monster encounters. For the latter, you don't necessarily need to accept a quest to kill a monster before you actually kill it. "You can start with killing the monster, collecting the trophy, and then looking for someone who would like to pay you for that," Platkow-Gilewski explains. "Maybe he will say, 'Get lost! I was not aware of that monster!' Maybe he will be really thankful that you saved him or his village."</p><p style="">CD Projekt Red prefers this approach to the easier crutch of filling its open world with collectibles or random item drops--aspects which Babiel views as a distraction. "If it's mindless, we don't like it," he says.</p><p style="">"We want to attract gamers, to keep them entertained by the story, not the fact that maybe this super good sword will drop," Platkow-Gilewski adds.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1536/15366587/2457644-the_witcher_3_wild_hunt__you_never_know_what_waits_around_the_corner+copy.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2457644" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1536/15366587/2457644-the_witcher_3_wild_hunt__you_never_know_what_waits_around_the_corner+copy.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2457644"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1536/15366587/2457644-the_witcher_3_wild_hunt__you_never_know_what_waits_around_the_corner+copy.jpg"></a></figure><blockquote data-align="right"><p dir="ltr" style="">There will always be some kind of compromise when we want to have a story and an open world in one.</p></blockquote><p style="">This speaks to the specific kind of open world CD Projekt Red is attempting to craft--one that is less of a sandbox and more story-driven. "There will always be some kind of compromise when we want to have a story and an open world in one," says Platkow-Gilewski. "But I think, from the story point of view, it makes sense. You just can't do whatever you want, like something stupid which could destroy the fun."</p><p style="">For this reason, you shouldn't expect the breadth of freedom of a game like <a href="/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim/" data-ref-id="false">Skyrim</a> or <a href="/grand-theft-auto-v/" data-ref-id="false">Grand Theft Auto V</a>. You can't, for example, run around town killing random non-player characters. "For me, that would be an immersion and story breaker," Platkow-Gilewski continues. "Here, we are playing the role of Geralt, of a Witcher, which is a predefined character. We know that he's not a serial killer going frenzy somewhere in the middle of a small, peaceful village."</p><p style="">Despite this restriction, a police system has been implemented to respond to players who push Geralt too far from his nature. If Geralt is acting unnaturally aggressive, guards will accost him and ask him to calm down. Or, if he has acted particularly violently, he may find himself in a combat encounter.</p><p style="">"Besides the police system, we have a reaction system," adds Babiel. "For example, if you draw your sword in a crowded place, NPCs will see that and react, shouting or running away." The result is an open world that does not offer complete sandbox freedom, but freedom within a specific narrative context.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1536/15366587/2457634-the_witcher_3_wild_hunt_docks.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2457634" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1536/15366587/2457634-the_witcher_3_wild_hunt_docks.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2457634"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1536/15366587/2457634-the_witcher_3_wild_hunt_docks.jpg"></a></figure><p style="">However, it is possible for Geralt to commit grand theft dinghy and steal a boat to explore the waters surrounding the world's various islands. CD Projekt Red hinted at several other aboveboard ways of obtaining water transportation--either by purchasing a boat, crafting one, or repairing a wreckage. Though boats can be used to explore the current island, they cannot be used to travel between regions. "Sometimes, on the sea, we have to use fast travel," says Platkow-Gilewski. "To reflect the real distance, you would have to travel for several hours in a boat. You would get bored." But water travel will not be without its own dangers; on the seas, Geralt may encounter mermaids who are dangerous in the water and can transform into hostile flying creatures. "They won't just hover somewhere next to you like in Baldur's Gate," says Platkow-Gilewski. "They will really fly around you, and they are really, really ugly."</p><figure data-align="right" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1536/15366587/2457635-the_witcher_3_wild_hunt_combat_with_sirens.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2457635" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1536/15366587/2457635-the_witcher_3_wild_hunt_combat_with_sirens.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2457635"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/1536/15366587/2457635-the_witcher_3_wild_hunt_combat_with_sirens.jpg"></a></figure><p style="">Less ugly is CD Projekt Red's approach to the series' depiction of sex. Geralt is defined in the Witcher books as a good lover, and he'll have his fair share of sexual adventures in The Witcher 3, though Platkow-Gilewski says that all of these romances will be strongly connected to the story. "It will never happen just for the sake of having more sex in the games," he continues. "That's not our point. It's not a Pokemon way, like 'collect them all.'"</p><p style="">Given The Witcher 3's focus on open-world monster hunting, Platkow-Gilewski didn't rule out the possibility of a monster encounter becoming more intimate. "It happened in the past," he hints. "It depends what kind of monsters Geralt will have to face. But it's not a way of beating the monster." Regardless of how monstrous Geralt's mistresses may be, CD Projekt Red is keeping The Witcher 3's sex scenes free of interactivity, avoiding the use of quick-time events in them--and in the rest of the game entirely.</p><p style="">CD Projekt Red has also overhauled the series' alchemy system, although Geralt won't be brewing any love potions. Platkow-Gilewski says that alchemy in The Witcher 2 was "not rewarding," because you had to somehow know in advance the type of enemies you were about to face in order to imbibe the right cocktail of magical buffs. "Now, you will have a few charges of the effect of the potion," Platkow-Gilewski continues. "It's not like you're drinking and have a certain period where you have to act really fast. You can use the specific effect of this potion when it's needed." CD Projekt Red believes this makes investing in the alchemy skill tree more viable than before, whilst the other two skill trees--sword mastery and magic--will be filled out with more active abilities rather than passive skills.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1536/15366587/2457637-the_witcher_3_wild_hunt_geralt_vs_fiend.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2457637" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1536/15366587/2457637-the_witcher_3_wild_hunt_geralt_vs_fiend.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2457637"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1536/15366587/2457637-the_witcher_3_wild_hunt_geralt_vs_fiend.jpg"></a></figure><p style="">You'll need to master a combination of all three skill trees before you encounter the eponymous Wild Hunt. This deadly and malevolent force exists in the background, and gradually becomes a more important element of both gameplay and the story. "It's not one creature," says Platkow-Gilewski. "It's something more complicated and bigger than that. Ultimately, you will have to face it." It's an encounter that CD Projekt Red describes as "epic," and it serves as the primary conflict in what will be the final instalment of Geralt's story. The developer doesn't intend to leave anyone hanging. "We believe that every good story needs to have an end," Platkow-Gilewski says. "We don't want to finish it like, you don't know if this really ends or not, and you're a little bit unsatisfied. It needs to be a strong punch."</p><blockquote data-align="right"><p dir="ltr" style="">We believe that every good story needs to have an end.</p></blockquote><p style="">For Geralt of Rivia, life in The Witcher 3 sounds exciting, dangerous, and a little bit sexy. But ultimately, it sounds like it will also be meaningful, for CD Projekt Red is committed to concluding the story of this man whose life has been spent killing monsters.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6413455" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6413455/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p> Sun, 23 Mar 2014 09:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/life-in-the-open-world-of-the-witcher-3-wild-hunt/1100-6418394/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/minecraft-ps3-xbox-360-versions-getting-major-update/1100-6418483/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2484202-0639251068-24468.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2484202" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2484202-0639251068-24468.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2484202"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1535/15354745/2484202-0639251068-24468.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/minecraft/">Minecraft</a> will soon be updated with a long list of changes and additions that are already available in the PC version, the developer behind the console ports of the game <a href="https://twitter.com/4JStudios/status/446661482764591104" rel="nofollow">4J Studios has announced</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">4J Studios has submitted Title Update 14 for testing with both Microsoft and Sony. When it's released, players will notice a huge amount of new items, including new blocks, potions, and special items like carrot on a stick, which allows you to ride animals for faster travel.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Other big additions include the ability to trade with villagers, new terrain generation features (Desert Temples, Desert Villages, and Jungle Temples), a new Anvil Interface, and much more. You can find the full list of changes on the <a href="http://www.minecraftforum.net/topic/1274802-mcxbla-title-update-change-logs-title-update-14/#entry15574882" rel="nofollow">Minecraft Forums</a>.</p><p style="">We recently learned that Swedish developer Mojang, creators Minecraft, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/minecraft-maker-mojang-made-a-whopping-326m-last-year/1100-6418397/">made a whopping revenue of 2.07 billion Swedish krona</a> (approximately $326m/£196m) last year, up from 816 million in 2012.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6376471" data-width="854" data-height="480"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6376471/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer. You can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a> and <a href="https://plus.google.com/116710591398405257934/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Google+</a>.<br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Sun, 23 Mar 2014 07:49:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/minecraft-ps3-xbox-360-versions-getting-major-update/1100-6418483/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/titanfall-update-fixes-bugs-adjusts-balancing-makes-the-smart-pistol-less-lethal/1100-6418482/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2484190-7778012012-24517.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2484190" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2484190-7778012012-24517.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2484190"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1535/15354745/2484190-7778012012-24517.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">Respawn has updated the <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/titanfall/">Titanfall</a> servers with a number of balancing adjustments and bug fixes.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">If you felt like the game's Smart Pistol (which locks on to enemies automatically over time) was a little overpowered, you're not alone. Respawn has decreased both the damage the Smart Pistol does when not locked on to a Pilot, and its hip-fire accuracy. Other noticeable changes to balancing include a more noticeable damage indicator from Electric Smoke and an increased score limit in Attrition mode.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">As far as bug fixes, Respawn said it addressed several rare server issues restarting the game into the lobby, instances in which players could get stuck in level geometry, certain burn cards not being applied properly, and other issues.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">You can find the full list of changes from <a href="http://www.respawn.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=11898" rel="nofollow">Respawn's forums</a> below.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Last week at GDC, Xbox's <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/titanfall-helped-xbox-live-on-xbox-one-enjoy-its-biggest-week-ever/1100-6418471/">Phil Spencer told us</a> that Titanfall's launch for Xbox One this month helped Xbox Live on enjoy its "biggest week in terms of users and usage."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">For more on Titanfall, check out <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/titanfall-review/1900-6415690/">GameSpot's review</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style=""><strong>Balancing adjustments and general changes</strong></p><ul><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">The damage indicator from Electric Smoke is now much more noticeable</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Search Drones will now show up in Classic Modes of Angel City</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Arc grenade/mine effects no longer draw on friendly Pilots and Titans</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Lowered the point value of defensive actions in Hardpoint mode and CTF.</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Increased the score limit in Attrition</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Flag Return points reduced</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Flag Carrier killed points reduced</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Explosives detonated by Dead Man's Trigger are now slightly delayed</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Explosives detonated by Dead Man's Trigger now play a warning sound before exploding</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Slightly decreased the damage of the Smart Pistol when not locked onto a Pilot</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">- Slightly decreased the hip-fire accuracy of the Smart Pistol</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Certain Burn Cards could be exploited to give multiple uses</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Evac Dropships are now more responsive to Pilots entering them</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Hacking a Mega Turret will now restore its health to full</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Cluster Missiles damage reduced against Evac Dropships</p></li></ul><p dir="ltr" style=""><strong>Bug Fixes</strong></p><ul><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Titan could become stuck in the position he lands in</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Auto-Titan wouldn't stand up until you embarked into it</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Several rare server issues restarting the game in to the lobby</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Pilot could end up out of bounds while rodeoing a Titan as it is destroyed</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Pilot could warp through certain locations when jumping off a Titan</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Rodeoing a Titan that has been doomed by your SMR could kill you</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Players being able to enter some geometry in Smuggler's Cove</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Titanfall will now give proper kill credit when it kills a Pilot embarking into their Titan</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Minions in Attrition now continue to spawn until the Epilogue begins</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Player couldn't hack a Mega Turret console</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Server would sometimes error when leeching a Spectre</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Hardpoints sometimes awarded defense score to players not near the hardpoint</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Rare issue when ejecting from a Titan</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Server would sometimes error after a match while returning to the lobby</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Double XP burn card sometimes not being applied properly</p></li></ul><p dir="ltr" style=""> </p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6417583" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6417583/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer. You can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a> and <a href="https://plus.google.com/116710591398405257934/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Google+</a>.<br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Sun, 23 Mar 2014 07:10:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/titanfall-update-fixes-bugs-adjusts-balancing-makes-the-smart-pistol-less-lethal/1100-6418482/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/how-heroes-of-the-storm-is-different-from-and-the-same-as-league-of-legends-and-dota-2/1100-6418405/ <p style="">Diablo rides a horse that looks small enough to buckle under his gargantuan weight. Just like that poor horse, Blizzard has a lot riding on <a href="/heroes-of-the-storm/" data-ref-id="false">Heroes of the Storm</a>. This is the <a href="/world-of-warcraft/" data-ref-id="false">Warcraft</a>, <a href="/starcraft-ii-heart-of-the-swarm/" data-ref-id="false">StarCraft</a>, and <a href="/diablo-iii/" data-ref-id="false">Diablo</a> maker's take on the blossoming multiplayer online battle arena, and its attempt to claim the riches and colossal global audience that come with the territory.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">After <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/5-biggest-announcements-from-blizzcon-2013/1100-6416118/" data-ref-id="1100-6416118">Heroes of the Storm's initial showing at BlizzCon 2013</a>, the developer launched the game's technical alpha last week. There's a good chance many things will be changed, tweaked, and modified over the coming months. Even now, though, Blizzard's intriguing take on the genre has plenty of fascinating new mechanics and exciting twists. This is no mere attempt at simply re-creating <a href="/dota-2/" data-ref-id="false">Dota 2</a> or <a href="/league-of-legends/" data-ref-id="false">League of Legends</a>.</p><h3 dir="ltr">Heroes of the Storm is all about the map objectives</h3><p dir="ltr" style="">Blizzard calls them battlegrounds, and each comes with its own central map mechanic that greatly impacts each game. Let me say that again, just to be clear: If your team ignores the map's main objective in Heroes of the Storm, you will almost definitely lose. Badly. When the announcer tells players that this all-important objective is about to spawn, any feeling of individual freedom at this point is an illusion. Stop whatever you are doing, right now, and leg it to the objective.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Blue and red teams compete to blow up the opposing nexus on each of the four maps--Dragon Shire, Blackheart's Bay, Haunted Mines, and Cursed Hollow--but their various shapes (not every map here involves three lanes, for instance), shortcuts, and those all-important mechanics add plenty of variety, and give the game a very different feel to its contemporaries. It means the rhythm of Heroes of the Storm flicks between traditional phases of the odd offensive push or defensive retreat and frenzied, all-out contests over that all-important objective. What's really going on here is that Blizzard, in the interests of keeping match times down to around the 30-minute mark, is routinely herding players into situations where they have no choice but to fight to the death.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">There's some other important things to be aware of, too. Towers are dotted along each lane, but they are fortified with healing fountains that provide a health and mana boost to allied players, and occasionally with a castle that can spawn additional minions. Fancy running past an enemy tower because you're confident you can secure a kill? Not here; Heroes of the Storm has gates that block the enemy team from passing. Towers themselves have an ammo supply, too, so if they pelt out too many rounds they'll need to pause to reload and can easily be destroyed in this time. And while characters tend to move quite slowly, almost all players can summon a mount so they can zip around the map faster. Mounts are no good for offensive plays, mind, as they disappear as soon as a player takes damage.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6417719" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6417719/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p dir="ltr" style="">Teamwork really is king, too. Securing the powerful dragon knight, feeding enough coins to a ghostly sea captain, getting a stronger golem because your team picked up the most undead skulls from the mines, or winning enough tributes to have the raven lords curse your opposition are all acts of such dramatic significance that they far outweigh a handful of player kills gained (or lost) from team fights. Another game-changing features include a scattering mercenary camps--Heroes' take on the jungle area--on each map, which bestow a gaggle of very powerful siege units if your team captures them. These can easily swing a game in your favor.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Having to divide your team up to claim the north and south shrines on Dragon Shire is a very different process than racing around the Haunted Mines' inner map to slay undead faster than the opposition. Even the shape of the maps affects things massively, such as how working your way around the dense forest area of Cursed Hollow means you're more likely to be able to plan and execute ambushes than the simpler Blackheart's Bay. The design also fits into the objectives of each map; Dragon Shire and Cursed Hollow are about controlling certain spots at the right time, and are therefore larger, more complex Battlegrounds, whereas securing victory in Blackheart's Bay and Haunted Mines is done by collecting more resources than your opponents, so these are smaller are designed to funnel you into conflict.</p><h3 dir="ltr">Despite Blizzard's efforts, bad players will still be able to ruin your game</h3><p dir="ltr" style="">There are plenty of other big changes (though if you're a religious Dota player, you might call them blasphemies) that affect, well, just about everything. Experience is shared and distributed across the team, rather than going to the individual players. That's a huge shift from other games of this ilk, making it so individual players can't fall ahead or behind the rest of their allies, and softens the pain of being accidentally slain once or twice. Repeated deaths still end up handing a huge advantage to the opposing team, mind. I had a game last night when one Raynor player went and got himself killed nine times in a row, and it's safe to say we ended up losing that game pretty bloody quickly. Believe me, superior enemy teams can snowball out of control just as easily here as in the worst matches of Dota 2 or League of Legends.</p><figure data-align="left" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/536/5360430/2372648-arthas+raising+an+army+of+the+undead.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2372648" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/536/5360430/2372648-arthas+raising+an+army+of+the+undead.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2372648"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/536/5360430/2372648-arthas+raising+an+army+of+the+undead.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">What else? League of Legends and Dota players might squabble endlessly over the merits of the <a href="http://dota.wikia.com/wiki/Deny" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">deny</a> mechanic, but Heroes of the Storm has made it so you can't even <a href="http://youtu.be/MtUtjwAHoRw" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">last hit</a>. There's no gold to worry about and no store to buy items from, and you don't level up your character's individual abilities with each level. If you're a MOBA purist, then you've probably already flipped your computer desk over by now, and I'll admit I was pretty skeptical at first. But now, after many games, I think it works well. These nips and tucks get games off to an immediately confrontational start, removing that initial foreplay from Dota and League of Legends matches while players farm up enough cash to buy their basic starting items. It's a tauter, fiercer way to initiate each game, and another one of the ways Blizzard has shaved minutes off the average game length. And while there's no store to buy items from, characters can be developed in various ways as they are given a list of options to choose from as they level up. Heroes have two ultimate abilities, for instance, but you'll only be able to select one of them in each game.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Right now there's 23 characters to choose from, with Blizzard offering a weekly rotation of six heroes to play for free. The characters are bucketed into Assassin, Warrior, Support, and Specialist categories, and it's the latter one that offers up character that could only in this game. Take the Zerg evolution specialist Abathur, for instance, who has no ability to directly attack enemy players but can instead buff allied players, spawn locusts that act as additional minions, or clone an allied player with his ultimate ability. He could never exist without Heroes of the Storm's shared experience, and he's an absolutely fascinating addition that I'm still trying to get my head around.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">I've had some thrilling matches, including games where I've been in a team of underdogs that turn things around after a poor start, games where I've lost a clear advantage by missing out on too many mercenary camps and objectives, and games that have been nothing but tense reversals leading into narrow victories or defeats. When it works, the game is a tense half hour of neck-and-neck fighting made up of a cast of well-known Blizzard characters.</p><h3 dir="ltr">There's a lot to like, but you might not be able to play it without friends.</h3><p dir="ltr" style="">Big team fights aren't as exciting as they should be, though. Part of this is down to the fact that heroes just don't feel very strong right now. Abilities are weak and easy to spam, and characters survive for much, much longer than in League of Legends and Dota. It's not uncommon to see players, provided they've not been totally caught out of position, nonchalantly run out of fights with the last chunk of their health bar remaining. If you ask me, Blizzard needs to make the game riskier and more dangerous, and that added thrill of peril and power will create something that's more exciting to watch and play.</p><figure data-align="right" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/536/5360430/2372652-arthas%2C+witch+doctor%2C+diablo%2C+and+illidan+showcase+some+heroic+abilities.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2372652" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/536/5360430/2372652-arthas%2C+witch+doctor%2C+diablo%2C+and+illidan+showcase+some+heroic+abilities.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2372652"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/536/5360430/2372652-arthas%2C+witch+doctor%2C+diablo%2C+and+illidan+showcase+some+heroic+abilities.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">But my biggest concern so far is that Heroes of the Storm lacks the proper communication tools for its overwhelming focus on securing those shifting map objectives. Blizzard has made the game's minimap confusingly small, and right now there's only a basic ping or teeny-tiny chat window for rallying your allies. With the varied maps, shared experience, and shifting mission objectives, teams have to be on the ball constantly and with perfect coordination, else everything quickly falls apart. These are early days, but I've already had far too many games where crucial map objectives have been ignored in favour of pushing lanes, farming mercenary camps, or attempting to confront the enemy team. There is so much at stake with each objective in Heroes of the Storm that it is utterly galling when you're matched alongside a player that's off in a world of their own.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Think of it like this. When playing Dota with one or two friends, the thing we dread most is the horror of facing a five-stack--an entire team of players who know each other and who are all probably hanging out in a Skype call and plotting how to brutally divide, conquer, and eviscerate our disjointed match-made team. Terrifying. And I now dread the five-stack in Heroes of the Storm even more than I do in Dota. If Blizzard is going to fulfil its self-professed remit of making a MOBA that's more accessible, approachable, and not as toxic as its contemporaries, it's going to have to work something out to address that need for communication and teamwork.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Still, I can't wait to see what comes to Heroes of the Storm next. Blizzard's spin on the MOBA has the potential to be exciting, more accessible, and the most unique take on the genre since the <a href="/warcraft-iii-battlechest/" data-ref-id="false">Warcraft III</a> mod that started it all.</p> Sat, 22 Mar 2014 17:02:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/how-heroes-of-the-storm-is-different-from-and-the-same-as-league-of-legends-and-dota-2/1100-6418405/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/game-of-thrones-to-advertise-in-league-of-legends/1100-6418481/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2483913-7154871566-24340.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2483913" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2483913-7154871566-24340.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2483913"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1535/15354745/2483913-7154871566-24340.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">HBO is advertising the next season of Game of Thrones in Riot Games' <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/league-of-legends/">League of Legends</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Vice president of eSports and merchandising at Riot Games Dustin Beck told <a href="http://www.alistdaily.com/news/game-of-thrones-in-league-of-legends-promotion" rel="nofollow">[a]list daily</a> that the three week-long campaign leading up to the premiere of the fourth season could include website takeovers in addition to the featured logos you can already see in the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5S28UOzTCZ8&feature=share&t=1h5m50s" rel="nofollow">Championship Series broadcast</a>. Beck also said that Riot Games is working with HBO to produce a mash-up trailer, and that it was given exclusive sneak peaks into footage that haven't been seen before.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"We got a cold call from HBO because they thought that there was going to be a great overlap between our players and their demographic of people that watch Game of Thrones and this was a good way to explore reaching that demographic through new media," Beck said.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">As Beck explained it, the advantage to advertising with League of Legends is its focused strategy. "We're not working with a ton of different brands," he said. "There's not going to be the kind of sponsor overload you get when you look at NASCAR for example. You see a car that's littered with various sponsor bugs and it's very hard to focus in on what logo you're looking at."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Other big companies that advertise with League of Legends include American Express and Coca-Cola, both of which sponsor the game's Challenger Series.</p><p style="">Earlier in the week, League of Legends creators Brandon Beck and Marc Merrill won the Pioneer Award at the <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-last-of-us-wins-gdc-game-of-the-year-award/1100-6418420/">Game Developers Conference awards show</a>.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6417816" data-width="854" data-height="480"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6417816/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer. You can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a> and <a href="https://plus.google.com/116710591398405257934/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Google+</a>.<br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Sat, 22 Mar 2014 16:41:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/game-of-thrones-to-advertise-in-league-of-legends/1100-6418481/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/playstation-exclusive-watch-dogs-content-shown-off-in-new-trailer/1100-6418480/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2483857-3475499995-%255BHo.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2483857" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2483857-3475499995-%255BHo.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2483857"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1535/15354745/2483857-3475499995-%255BHo.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/watch-dogs/">Watch Dogs</a> for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 will come with four exclusive missions that will earn you a hacking boost and a new outfit when completed, <a href="http://blog.ubi.com/watch-dogs-exclusive-ps4-ps3-gameplay-content/" rel="nofollow">Ubisoft said on its official blog</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The four missions, which Ubisoft said will take about an hour to complete, will have protagonist Aiden Pierce taking on the security network of Umeni Technologies to deliver payback for the notorious hacker group DedSec. If you finish the missions, you'll get bonus tech points and unlock the White Hat Hacker outfit.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">PS4 and PS3 players will be able to download this content by entering a code that will come with the game.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">In October of last year, we learned that the <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/assassins-creed-iv-black-flag/">Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag</a> and Watch Dogs content exclusive to PlayStation is <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/assassin-s-creed-iv-and-watch-dogs-dlc-exclusive-to-playstation-for-six-months-suggests-sony-ad/1100-6415757/">only exclusive for the first six months</a> after release. After that period, it will arrive on other platforms.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Watch Dogs launches <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/watch-dogs-release-date-announced-for-everything-except-wii-u/1100-6417977/">May 27</a> for Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and PC. The Wii U version <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/watch-dogs-for-wii-u-definitely-not-canceled/1100-6418164/">will come sometime later</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">For more on Watch Dogs, check out <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/watch-dogs/">our previous coverage</a>, including this guide to the <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/watch-dogs-preorder-bonuses/1100-6417493/">Watch Dogs preorder bonuses</a>.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNuhuY4ZT1Q" data-width="854" data-height="480"><iframe src="//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fembed%2FcNuhuY4ZT1Q%3Fwmode%3Dopaque%26feature%3Doembed&wmode=opaque&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DcNuhuY4ZT1Q&image=http%3A%2F%2Fi1.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FcNuhuY4ZT1Q%2Fhqdefault.jpg&key=6efca6e5ad9640f180f14146a0bc1392&type=text%2Fhtml&schema=youtube" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer. You can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a> and <a href="https://plus.google.com/116710591398405257934/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Google+</a>.<br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a><br /></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table><p style=""> </p> Sat, 22 Mar 2014 14:53:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/playstation-exclusive-watch-dogs-content-shown-off-in-new-trailer/1100-6418480/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/diablo-iii-for-ps4-warlords-of-draenor-hearthstone-for-mobile-and-more-from-blizzard-at-pax-east/1100-6418479/ <figure data-align="right" data-size="small" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2483827-9127374307-24338.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2483827" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2483827-9127374307-24338.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2483827"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_small/1535/15354745/2483827-9127374307-24338.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">Blizzard will show off more of <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/diablo-iii/">Diablo III</a>: Ultimate Evil Edition for PlayStation 4, the mobile version of <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/hearthstone-heroes-of-warcraft/%E2%80%8E/">Hearthstone</a>, and new <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/heroes-of-the-storm/">Heroes of the Storm</a> characters at PAX East, the company has announced on <a href="http://us.battle.net/wow/en/blog/13354132" rel="nofollow">its blog</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Blizzard developers will be present at the company's booth (BOOTH #848) in the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center to talk to fans from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Friday, April 11 through Sunday, April 13. Attendees will be able to get hands-on time with the in-development Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition on PS4, the iPad version of Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, and the "intro experience" for the upcoming World of Warcraft expansion <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/world-of-warcraft-warlords-of-draenor/" data-ref-id="false">Warlords of Draenor</a>, featuring updated character models. The company will also show off a new demo for Heroes of the Storm featuring new playable Heroes.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Blizzard developers will also give a presentation at the Albatross Theatre on Friday, April 11, at 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time. The presentation, titled Heroes of the Storm: The Ultimate Blizzard Mashup, will be streamed live on one of the official PAX Twitch channels for those who can't make the show.</p><p style="">For more on Blizzard's games, check out our <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/hearthstone-heroes-of-warcraft-review/1900-6415707/">recent review of Hearthstone's PC version</a>, and our story on <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/blizzard-s-heroes-of-the-storm-alpha-characters-cost-between-3-99-and-9-99/1100-6418324/">what Heroes of the Storm characters will cost you</a>.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6417838" data-width="854" data-height="480"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6417838/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer. You can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a> and <a href="https://plus.google.com/116710591398405257934/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Google+</a>.<br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a><br /></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table><p style=""> </p><p style=""> </p> Sat, 22 Mar 2014 13:04:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/diablo-iii-for-ps4-warlords-of-draenor-hearthstone-for-mobile-and-more-from-blizzard-at-pax-east/1100-6418479/
http://auth.gamespot.com/ Gamespot's Everything Feed! News, Reviews, Videos. Exploding with content? You bet. en-us Sun, 23 Mar 2014 22:58:46 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/house-of-horrors-poltergeists-terrorise-in-paranor/2300-6417912/ Jess and Zorine deal with the creepy, the unnerving, and the downright disturbing as they take on a fully dynamic haunted house. Sun, 23 Mar 2014 22:36:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/house-of-horrors-poltergeists-terrorise-in-paranor/2300-6417912/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/new-dragon-age-inquisition-screenshots-show-epic-dragon-encounter-report/1100-6418488/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2484483-dai_a.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2484483" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2484483-dai_a.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2484483"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/280/2802776/2484483-dai_a.jpg"></a></figure><p style="">A number of alleged new screenshots for upcoming role-playing game<a href="/dragon-age-inquisition/" data-ref-id="false"> Dragon Age: Inquisition</a> have emerged online.</p><p style="">Posted on <a href="http://www.allgamesbeta.com/2014/03/dragon-age-inquisition-screenshots.html" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">All Games Beta</a>, the images depict a variety of characters traversing the environment as well as engaging in combat. Most notably, a screenshot showing a party in battle with a large dragon is also present.</p><p style="">GameSpot reached out to EA regarding the authenticity of the screenshots, but a representative was unable to comment.</p><p style="">Dragon Age: Inquisition launches later this year for Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and PC. The game was originally expected to release last fall. The game may be the first in the<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/dragon-age-inquisition-survey-asks-about-multiplayer/1100-6417567/" data-ref-id="1100-6417567"> Dragon Age series to include a multiplayer component</a>.</p><p style="">Check out the screenshots below.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2484485-dai_b.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2484485" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2484485-dai_b.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2484485"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/280/2802776/2484485-dai_b.jpg"></a></figure><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2484486-dai_c.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2484486" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2484486-dai_c.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2484486"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/280/2802776/2484486-dai_c.jpg"></a></figure><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2484487-dai_d.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2484487" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2484487-dai_d.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2484487"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/280/2802776/2484487-dai_d.jpg"></a></figure><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2484488-dai_e.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2484488" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2484488-dai_e.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2484488"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/280/2802776/2484488-dai_e.jpg"></a></figure><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2484489-dai_f.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2484489" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2484489-dai_f.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2484489"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/280/2802776/2484489-dai_f.jpg"></a></figure><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2484490-dai_g.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2484490" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2484490-dai_g.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2484490"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/280/2802776/2484490-dai_g.jpg"></a></figure><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2484492-dai_i.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2484492" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2484492-dai_i.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2484492"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/280/2802776/2484492-dai_i.jpg"></a></figure><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2484491-dai_h.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2484491" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2484491-dai_h.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2484491"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/280/2802776/2484491-dai_h.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""><em>Image credit: All Games Beta.</em></p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Zorine Te is an associate editor at GameSpot, and you can follow her on <a href="https://twitter.com/ztharli" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @ztharli</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Sun, 23 Mar 2014 21:24:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/new-dragon-age-inquisition-screenshots-show-epic-dragon-encounter-report/1100-6418488/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-has-50-unity-games-on-the-way-to-wii-u/1100-6418487/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2484311-8273029367-23768.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2484311" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2484311-8273029367-23768.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2484311"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1535/15354745/2484311-8273029367-23768.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">Nintendo has announced that it has over 50 games headed to Wii U that use the Unity Game Engine.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Nintendo was showing nine Unity games at GDC last week and said it has another 17 that will release within the next two months.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"And then, we have another fifty that are waiting in the wings," Senior Manager of Marketing at Nintendo of America's Licensing department Damon Baker told <a href="http://www.siliconera.com/2014/03/21/50-games-using-unity-pipeline-wii-u-says-nintendo/" rel="nofollow">Siliconera</a>. "So we've got a lot of Unity content on the way."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The large number of Unity games headed to Wii U is the result of <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-partners-with-unity-engine-for-wii-u/1100-6396807/">a deal Nintendo and Unity Technologies made in 2012</a>. The deal gave Nintendo the right to distribute the Unity development platform to its in-house, external, and third party licensee developers.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Unity is one of the most popular game development tools among indie developers. Nintendo highlighted it during GDC in order to "demonstrate to developers how easy it is for them to bring their creative ideas to Nintendo systems," vice president of Licensing at Nintendo of America Steve Singer said.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Baker said that now that Unity on Wii U is finalized, Nintendo has had discussions and is definitely "looking at" adding Unity support to the Nintendo 3DS. "We've got a lot of developers that want to take advantage of it," he told <a href="http://www.siliconera.com/2014/03/20/nintendo-looking-bringing-unity-nintendo-3ds/" rel="nofollow">Siliconera</a>. "So, we're working towards that as well. But nothing to announce at this time."</p><p style="">For more on the Wii U, check out <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-s-plan-to-quietly-kill-the-wii-u/1100-6418177/">Tom Mc Shea's editorial on Nintendo's plan to quietly kill it</a>.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer. You can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a> and <a href="https://plus.google.com/116710591398405257934/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Google+</a>.<br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a><br /></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Sun, 23 Mar 2014 13:28:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-has-50-unity-games-on-the-way-to-wii-u/1100-6418487/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/reality-check-could-we-clone-big-boss-the-science-/2300-6417900/ Cam puts his biology degree to use as he investigates the cloning of Big Boss and Metal Gear's Les Enfant Terrible project. Sun, 23 Mar 2014 12:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/reality-check-could-we-clone-big-boss-the-science-/2300-6417900/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/crytek-brings-its-impressive-cryengine-to-iphone-and-ipad-with-the-collectables/1100-6418486/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2484270-the+collectables.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2484270" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2484270-the+collectables.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2484270"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1535/15354745/2484270-the+collectables.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/crysis-3/">Crysis</a> and <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/ryse-son-of-rome/">Ryse</a> developer Crytek and mobile games publisher DeNA have released The Collectables on the <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/nz/app/the-collectables/id733162917?mt=8" rel="nofollow">iTunes App Store</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The free-to-play tactical action game has you assembling a squad of mercenaries and commanding each soldier through fast-paced, third-person combat scenarios. Over time, you'll get to upgrade your crew using a collectable card system that unlocks new abilities.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Crytek said that an Android version of the game is coming soon.</p><p style="">Last week at GDC, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/crytek-undercuts-unreal-engine-4-with-10-cryengine-subscription/1100-6418427/">Crytek revealed that developers will be able to license its CryEngine for $9.90 a month per user</a>, right after Epic announced <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/epic-opens-up-their-unreal-development-tools-to-everyone-with-a-19-subscription-service/1100-6418407/">a $19 monthly subscription for Unreal Engine 4</a>. CryEngine is <a href="http://www.cryengine.com/get-cryengine/free-sdk" rel="nofollow">already available for free</a> for those developing software for non-commercial use, but those wanting access to the engine's new features will also need to subscribe to the new plan.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6416542" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6416542/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer. You can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a> and <a href="https://plus.google.com/116710591398405257934/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Google+</a>.<br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Sun, 23 Mar 2014 11:43:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/crytek-brings-its-impressive-cryengine-to-iphone-and-ipad-with-the-collectables/1100-6418486/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/elder-scrolls-online-announces-exact-launch-times/1100-6418485/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2484249-5055802983-20520.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2484249" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2484249-5055802983-20520.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2484249"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1535/15354745/2484249-5055802983-20520.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">The Elder Scrolls Online developer Zenimax Online Studios recently held a <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/elderscrollsonline/comments/20x73q/welcome_to_the_eso_ama/" rel="nofollow">Reddit Ask Me Anything</a> where they announced the exact times players will be able to enter the PC version of its new massively multiplayer online role-playing game.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The game will officially launch on April 4, at midnight in the United Kingdom, but early access players will be able to get in five or three days earlier.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The exact launch times are:</p><p dir="ltr" style=""><strong>For five day early access</strong>:</p><ul><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">North America (East): 7:00 AM EDT, Sunday March 30</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">UK/IE: 12:00 PM WEST, Sunday March 30</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Central Europe: 1:00 PM CEST, Sunday March 30</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Sydney, Australia: 10:00 PM AEDT, Sunday March 30</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Singapore: 7:00 PM SGT, Sunday March 30</p></li></ul><p dir="ltr" style=""><strong>For three day early access:</strong></p><ul><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">North America (East): 7:00 AM EDT, Tuesday April 1</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">UK/IE: 12:00 PM WEST, Tuesday April 1</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Central Europe: 1:00 PM CEST, Tuesday April 1</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Sydney, Australia: 10:00 PM AEDT, Tuesday April 1</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Singapore: 7:00 PM SGT, Tuesday April 1</p></li></ul><p dir="ltr" style=""><strong>And for launch:</strong></p><ul><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">North America (East): 7:00 PM EDT, Thursday, April 3</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">UK/IE: 12:00 AM WEST, Thursday, April 4</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Central Europe: 1:00 AM CEST, Thursday, April 4</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Sydney, Australia: 10:00 AM AEDT, Thursday, April 4</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Singapore: 7:00 AM SGT, Thursday, April 4</p></li></ul><p style="">The Elder Scrolls Online <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-elder-scrolls-online-xbox-one-and-ps4-release-date-is-two-months-after-pc/1100-6416658/">launches on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 in June</a>. Bethesda recently <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/elder-scrolls-online-defends-subscription-fee-with-regular-significant-content/1100-6418221/">defended the game's $15/month subscription fee</a>, saying that the game's "significant" expansion content justifies its cost.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6417107" data-width="854" data-height="480"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6417107/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer. You can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a> and <a href="https://plus.google.com/116710591398405257934/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Google+</a>.<br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Sun, 23 Mar 2014 10:33:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/elder-scrolls-online-announces-exact-launch-times/1100-6418485/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-ceo-when-we-get-it-a-little-bit-wrong-we-do-our-best-to-fix-it/1100-6418484/ <figure data-align="right" data-size="small" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2484230-9615351231-24510.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2484230" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2484230-9615351231-24510.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2484230"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_small/1535/15354745/2484230-9615351231-24510.jpg"></a></figure><p style="">Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson recently talked about a number of issues the publisher faced over the last year and its future with the new consoles and the growing popularity of mobile games.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"For whatever reason, whether it was because they were pushing the boundaries of innovation and they pushed a little hard and things didn't go so well," Wilson told <a href="http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2014/03/18/ea-andrew-wilson/" rel="nofollow">Fortune</a>, referring the <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/rejoice-simcity-s-offline-mode-is-rolling-out-today/1100-6418378/">SimCity offline debacle</a>, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-battlefield-s-rocky-launch-did-not-damage-the-franchise/1100-6418131/">endless Battlefield 4 issues</a>, and <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/nba-live-14-producer-it-s-been-a-rough-week/1100-6416348/">problems with NBA Live 14</a>. "We won't always get everything right, but my hope is that we're seen as a company that tries to do amazing things. When we get it a little bit wrong, we do our best to fix it."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Wilson also said that the discussion around platforms and business models (free-to-play) are not as important as they may seem. "Great games work no matter what platform you're on or what business model you're going with," he said. "If you can provide great entertainment, then you can really get down to that minute-to-minute interaction that's fun and enjoyable and feels like great value."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Speaking specifically about mobile games, Wilson said that they are a very important part of the future, but that it doesn't mean we're going to stop playing games on 60-inch TVs. "That's great gaming, and that's great entertainment. How you get that game there, I think that's anyone's guess."</p><p style="">Wilson made similar comments about virtual reality earlier this month, saying that<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-ceo-thinking-about-virtual-reality-experiences-but-not-necessarily-for-the-oculus-rift/1100-6418183/"> EA is thinking about what kind of virtual reality experiences it wants to deliver</a>, but not necessarily for the Oculus Rift. After GDC 2014, we know he has other options with Sony's <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/sony-announces-ps4-virtual-reality-initiative-project-morpheus/1100-6418391/">virtual reality headset Project Morpheus</a>, and whatever <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-says-vr-is-something-we-ve-been-playing-with-for-a-while/1100-6418473/">VR technology Microsoft has been "playing with."</a></p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6416854" data-width="854" data-height="480"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6416854/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer. You can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a> and <a href="https://plus.google.com/116710591398405257934/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Google+</a>.<br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Sun, 23 Mar 2014 10:03:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-ceo-when-we-get-it-a-little-bit-wrong-we-do-our-best-to-fix-it/1100-6418484/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/diablo-3-reaper-of-souls-beta-mercenary-kings-esca/2300-6417910/ This week we get Diablo 3 Reaper of Souls Beta, Mercenary Kings, Escape Goat 2, The Witch and the Hundred Knight and BlazBlue: Chronophantasma! Sun, 23 Mar 2014 10:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/diablo-3-reaper-of-souls-beta-mercenary-kings-esca/2300-6417910/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/life-in-the-open-world-of-the-witcher-3-wild-hunt/1100-6418394/ <p style=""><a href="/the-witcher-3-wild-hunt/" data-ref-id="false">The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt</a> may have recently been <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-witcher-3-delayed-to-february-2015-for-xbox-one-ps4-and-pc/1100-6418237/" data-ref-id="1100-6418237">delayed to February 2015</a>, but it's seemingly for good reason. After watching a live demo and talking with CD Projekt Red, it's clear that the developer will need as much time as possible to fill The Witcher 3's vast open world with interesting and reactive content. The game is massive in scope, with a world <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/what-does-an-open-world-mean-for-the-witcher-3/1100-6410092/" data-ref-id="1100-6410092">35 times bigger</a> than that of <a href="/the-witcher-2-assassins-of-kings/" data-ref-id="false">The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings</a> and <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/videos/witcher-3-has-100-hours-of-total-playtime/2300-6404716/" data-ref-id="2300-6404716">50 hours of primary quest content, along with an additional 50 hours of side content</a>. But size isn't everything; a world so large needs to be filled with things to do. For Geralt of Rivia, life in the open world of The Witcher 3 should be anything but dull.</p><p style="">"We created teams responsible only for the fact that this is an open world and needs to be perfect, seamless, without any point when you get bored," says Michal Platkow-Gilewski, head of marketing at CD Projekt Red, describing how the team staffed up to work on The Witcher 3. Part of this involves making it possible to travel to points of interest, such as mountains in the distance. "It is actually a mountain," Platkow-Gilewski continues. "You can climb there and go there. And for sure, there will be something interesting. We are not painting anything on the horizon."</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1536/15366587/2457631-the_witcher_3_wild_hunt_geralt_fights_the_giant.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2457631" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1536/15366587/2457631-the_witcher_3_wild_hunt_geralt_fights_the_giant.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2457631"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1536/15366587/2457631-the_witcher_3_wild_hunt_geralt_fights_the_giant.jpg"></a></figure><p style="">Not all of those points of interest will welcome Geralt with an open hearth and a pint of Mahakaman mead. He is a monster hunter by trade, and the world of The Witcher 3 is infested with all manner of hostile creatures. CD Projekt Red isn't going to babysit you as you peek into their lairs.</p><p style="">"If [players] are not ready, most probably they will die," laughs Platkow-Gilewski. "That's the hard way of knowing where to go."</p><p style="">Yet the developer isn't planning on doing a <a href="/dark-souls/" data-ref-id="false">Dark Souls</a> and killing you left and right. "There's a tutorial that will introduce you very smoothly to the plot and gameplay mechanisms," says Lucasz Babiel, QA analyst at CD Projekt Red. "That was the lesson we learned from The Witcher 2," he added, referring to how the Enhanced Edition for The Witcher 2 added a more forgiving opening section.</p><figure data-align="left" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1536/15366587/2457643-the_witcher_3_wild_hunt__geralt_travels_through_war_ravaged_territory+copy.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2457643" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1536/15366587/2457643-the_witcher_3_wild_hunt__geralt_travels_through_war_ravaged_territory+copy.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2457643"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/1536/15366587/2457643-the_witcher_3_wild_hunt__geralt_travels_through_war_ravaged_territory+copy.jpg"></a></figure><p style="">But The Witcher 3's lessons don't end after its tutorial. The world will continue to teach you how to live in it long afterward. "It takes around 40 minutes on horseback to go from north to south, galloping in a straight line," says Platkow-Gilewski. "On the way to that point, you will gain a lot of experience, and you will know how to handle the game." With this approach, Platkow-Gilewski says CD Projekt Red wants to make the game as accessible as possible, "but there will be no dumbing down."</p><p style="">Life in The Witcher 3 is not about the destination. The game is specifically <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/witcher-3-dev-discusses-redefining-the-open-world-genre/1100-6412204/" data-ref-id="1100-6412204">designed to distract you</a> from your journey, to lure you off the beaten path with vistas, surprise quests, and challenging monster encounters. For the latter, you don't necessarily need to accept a quest to kill a monster before you actually kill it. "You can start with killing the monster, collecting the trophy, and then looking for someone who would like to pay you for that," Platkow-Gilewski explains. "Maybe he will say, 'Get lost! I was not aware of that monster!' Maybe he will be really thankful that you saved him or his village."</p><p style="">CD Projekt Red prefers this approach to the easier crutch of filling its open world with collectibles or random item drops--aspects which Babiel views as a distraction. "If it's mindless, we don't like it," he says.</p><p style="">"We want to attract gamers, to keep them entertained by the story, not the fact that maybe this super good sword will drop," Platkow-Gilewski adds.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1536/15366587/2457644-the_witcher_3_wild_hunt__you_never_know_what_waits_around_the_corner+copy.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2457644" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1536/15366587/2457644-the_witcher_3_wild_hunt__you_never_know_what_waits_around_the_corner+copy.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2457644"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1536/15366587/2457644-the_witcher_3_wild_hunt__you_never_know_what_waits_around_the_corner+copy.jpg"></a></figure><blockquote data-align="right"><p dir="ltr" style="">There will always be some kind of compromise when we want to have a story and an open world in one.</p></blockquote><p style="">This speaks to the specific kind of open world CD Projekt Red is attempting to craft--one that is less of a sandbox and more story-driven. "There will always be some kind of compromise when we want to have a story and an open world in one," says Platkow-Gilewski. "But I think, from the story point of view, it makes sense. You just can't do whatever you want, like something stupid which could destroy the fun."</p><p style="">For this reason, you shouldn't expect the breadth of freedom of a game like <a href="/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim/" data-ref-id="false">Skyrim</a> or <a href="/grand-theft-auto-v/" data-ref-id="false">Grand Theft Auto V</a>. You can't, for example, run around town killing random non-player characters. "For me, that would be an immersion and story breaker," Platkow-Gilewski continues. "Here, we are playing the role of Geralt, of a Witcher, which is a predefined character. We know that he's not a serial killer going frenzy somewhere in the middle of a small, peaceful village."</p><p style="">Despite this restriction, a police system has been implemented to respond to players who push Geralt too far from his nature. If Geralt is acting unnaturally aggressive, guards will accost him and ask him to calm down. Or, if he has acted particularly violently, he may find himself in a combat encounter.</p><p style="">"Besides the police system, we have a reaction system," adds Babiel. "For example, if you draw your sword in a crowded place, NPCs will see that and react, shouting or running away." The result is an open world that does not offer complete sandbox freedom, but freedom within a specific narrative context.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1536/15366587/2457634-the_witcher_3_wild_hunt_docks.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2457634" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1536/15366587/2457634-the_witcher_3_wild_hunt_docks.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2457634"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1536/15366587/2457634-the_witcher_3_wild_hunt_docks.jpg"></a></figure><p style="">However, it is possible for Geralt to commit grand theft dinghy and steal a boat to explore the waters surrounding the world's various islands. CD Projekt Red hinted at several other aboveboard ways of obtaining water transportation--either by purchasing a boat, crafting one, or repairing a wreckage. Though boats can be used to explore the current island, they cannot be used to travel between regions. "Sometimes, on the sea, we have to use fast travel," says Platkow-Gilewski. "To reflect the real distance, you would have to travel for several hours in a boat. You would get bored." But water travel will not be without its own dangers; on the seas, Geralt may encounter mermaids who are dangerous in the water and can transform into hostile flying creatures. "They won't just hover somewhere next to you like in Baldur's Gate," says Platkow-Gilewski. "They will really fly around you, and they are really, really ugly."</p><figure data-align="right" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1536/15366587/2457635-the_witcher_3_wild_hunt_combat_with_sirens.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2457635" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1536/15366587/2457635-the_witcher_3_wild_hunt_combat_with_sirens.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2457635"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/1536/15366587/2457635-the_witcher_3_wild_hunt_combat_with_sirens.jpg"></a></figure><p style="">Less ugly is CD Projekt Red's approach to the series' depiction of sex. Geralt is defined in the Witcher books as a good lover, and he'll have his fair share of sexual adventures in The Witcher 3, though Platkow-Gilewski says that all of these romances will be strongly connected to the story. "It will never happen just for the sake of having more sex in the games," he continues. "That's not our point. It's not a Pokemon way, like 'collect them all.'"</p><p style="">Given The Witcher 3's focus on open-world monster hunting, Platkow-Gilewski didn't rule out the possibility of a monster encounter becoming more intimate. "It happened in the past," he hints. "It depends what kind of monsters Geralt will have to face. But it's not a way of beating the monster." Regardless of how monstrous Geralt's mistresses may be, CD Projekt Red is keeping The Witcher 3's sex scenes free of interactivity, avoiding the use of quick-time events in them--and in the rest of the game entirely.</p><p style="">CD Projekt Red has also overhauled the series' alchemy system, although Geralt won't be brewing any love potions. Platkow-Gilewski says that alchemy in The Witcher 2 was "not rewarding," because you had to somehow know in advance the type of enemies you were about to face in order to imbibe the right cocktail of magical buffs. "Now, you will have a few charges of the effect of the potion," Platkow-Gilewski continues. "It's not like you're drinking and have a certain period where you have to act really fast. You can use the specific effect of this potion when it's needed." CD Projekt Red believes this makes investing in the alchemy skill tree more viable than before, whilst the other two skill trees--sword mastery and magic--will be filled out with more active abilities rather than passive skills.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1536/15366587/2457637-the_witcher_3_wild_hunt_geralt_vs_fiend.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2457637" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1536/15366587/2457637-the_witcher_3_wild_hunt_geralt_vs_fiend.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2457637"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1536/15366587/2457637-the_witcher_3_wild_hunt_geralt_vs_fiend.jpg"></a></figure><p style="">You'll need to master a combination of all three skill trees before you encounter the eponymous Wild Hunt. This deadly and malevolent force exists in the background, and gradually becomes a more important element of both gameplay and the story. "It's not one creature," says Platkow-Gilewski. "It's something more complicated and bigger than that. Ultimately, you will have to face it." It's an encounter that CD Projekt Red describes as "epic," and it serves as the primary conflict in what will be the final instalment of Geralt's story. The developer doesn't intend to leave anyone hanging. "We believe that every good story needs to have an end," Platkow-Gilewski says. "We don't want to finish it like, you don't know if this really ends or not, and you're a little bit unsatisfied. It needs to be a strong punch."</p><blockquote data-align="right"><p dir="ltr" style="">We believe that every good story needs to have an end.</p></blockquote><p style="">For Geralt of Rivia, life in The Witcher 3 sounds exciting, dangerous, and a little bit sexy. But ultimately, it sounds like it will also be meaningful, for CD Projekt Red is committed to concluding the story of this man whose life has been spent killing monsters.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6413455" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6413455/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p> Sun, 23 Mar 2014 09:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/life-in-the-open-world-of-the-witcher-3-wild-hunt/1100-6418394/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/minecraft-ps3-xbox-360-versions-getting-major-update/1100-6418483/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2484202-0639251068-24468.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2484202" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2484202-0639251068-24468.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2484202"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1535/15354745/2484202-0639251068-24468.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/minecraft/">Minecraft</a> will soon be updated with a long list of changes and additions that are already available in the PC version, the developer behind the console ports of the game <a href="https://twitter.com/4JStudios/status/446661482764591104" rel="nofollow">4J Studios has announced</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">4J Studios has submitted Title Update 14 for testing with both Microsoft and Sony. When it's released, players will notice a huge amount of new items, including new blocks, potions, and special items like carrot on a stick, which allows you to ride animals for faster travel.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Other big additions include the ability to trade with villagers, new terrain generation features (Desert Temples, Desert Villages, and Jungle Temples), a new Anvil Interface, and much more. You can find the full list of changes on the <a href="http://www.minecraftforum.net/topic/1274802-mcxbla-title-update-change-logs-title-update-14/#entry15574882" rel="nofollow">Minecraft Forums</a>.</p><p style="">We recently learned that Swedish developer Mojang, creators Minecraft, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/minecraft-maker-mojang-made-a-whopping-326m-last-year/1100-6418397/">made a whopping revenue of 2.07 billion Swedish krona</a> (approximately $326m/£196m) last year, up from 816 million in 2012.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6376471" data-width="854" data-height="480"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6376471/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer. You can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a> and <a href="https://plus.google.com/116710591398405257934/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Google+</a>.<br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Sun, 23 Mar 2014 07:49:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/minecraft-ps3-xbox-360-versions-getting-major-update/1100-6418483/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/titanfall-update-fixes-bugs-adjusts-balancing-makes-the-smart-pistol-less-lethal/1100-6418482/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2484190-7778012012-24517.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2484190" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2484190-7778012012-24517.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2484190"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1535/15354745/2484190-7778012012-24517.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">Respawn has updated the <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/titanfall/">Titanfall</a> servers with a number of balancing adjustments and bug fixes.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">If you felt like the game's Smart Pistol (which locks on to enemies automatically over time) was a little overpowered, you're not alone. Respawn has decreased both the damage the Smart Pistol does when not locked on to a Pilot, and its hip-fire accuracy. Other noticeable changes to balancing include a more noticeable damage indicator from Electric Smoke and an increased score limit in Attrition mode.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">As far as bug fixes, Respawn said it addressed several rare server issues restarting the game into the lobby, instances in which players could get stuck in level geometry, certain burn cards not being applied properly, and other issues.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">You can find the full list of changes from <a href="http://www.respawn.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=11898" rel="nofollow">Respawn's forums</a> below.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Last week at GDC, Xbox's <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/titanfall-helped-xbox-live-on-xbox-one-enjoy-its-biggest-week-ever/1100-6418471/">Phil Spencer told us</a> that Titanfall's launch for Xbox One this month helped Xbox Live on enjoy its "biggest week in terms of users and usage."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">For more on Titanfall, check out <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/titanfall-review/1900-6415690/">GameSpot's review</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style=""><strong>Balancing adjustments and general changes</strong></p><ul><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">The damage indicator from Electric Smoke is now much more noticeable</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Search Drones will now show up in Classic Modes of Angel City</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Arc grenade/mine effects no longer draw on friendly Pilots and Titans</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Lowered the point value of defensive actions in Hardpoint mode and CTF.</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Increased the score limit in Attrition</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Flag Return points reduced</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Flag Carrier killed points reduced</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Explosives detonated by Dead Man's Trigger are now slightly delayed</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Explosives detonated by Dead Man's Trigger now play a warning sound before exploding</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Slightly decreased the damage of the Smart Pistol when not locked onto a Pilot</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">- Slightly decreased the hip-fire accuracy of the Smart Pistol</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Certain Burn Cards could be exploited to give multiple uses</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Evac Dropships are now more responsive to Pilots entering them</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Hacking a Mega Turret will now restore its health to full</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Cluster Missiles damage reduced against Evac Dropships</p></li></ul><p dir="ltr" style=""><strong>Bug Fixes</strong></p><ul><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Titan could become stuck in the position he lands in</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Auto-Titan wouldn't stand up until you embarked into it</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Several rare server issues restarting the game in to the lobby</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Pilot could end up out of bounds while rodeoing a Titan as it is destroyed</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Pilot could warp through certain locations when jumping off a Titan</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Rodeoing a Titan that has been doomed by your SMR could kill you</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Players being able to enter some geometry in Smuggler's Cove</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Titanfall will now give proper kill credit when it kills a Pilot embarking into their Titan</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Minions in Attrition now continue to spawn until the Epilogue begins</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Player couldn't hack a Mega Turret console</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Server would sometimes error when leeching a Spectre</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Hardpoints sometimes awarded defense score to players not near the hardpoint</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Rare issue when ejecting from a Titan</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Server would sometimes error after a match while returning to the lobby</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="">Double XP burn card sometimes not being applied properly</p></li></ul><p dir="ltr" style=""> </p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6417583" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6417583/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer. You can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a> and <a href="https://plus.google.com/116710591398405257934/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Google+</a>.<br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Sun, 23 Mar 2014 07:10:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/titanfall-update-fixes-bugs-adjusts-balancing-makes-the-smart-pistol-less-lethal/1100-6418482/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/how-heroes-of-the-storm-is-different-from-and-the-same-as-league-of-legends-and-dota-2/1100-6418405/ <p style="">Diablo rides a horse that looks small enough to buckle under his gargantuan weight. Just like that poor horse, Blizzard has a lot riding on <a href="/heroes-of-the-storm/" data-ref-id="false">Heroes of the Storm</a>. This is the <a href="/world-of-warcraft/" data-ref-id="false">Warcraft</a>, <a href="/starcraft-ii-heart-of-the-swarm/" data-ref-id="false">StarCraft</a>, and <a href="/diablo-iii/" data-ref-id="false">Diablo</a> maker's take on the blossoming multiplayer online battle arena, and its attempt to claim the riches and colossal global audience that come with the territory.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">After <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/5-biggest-announcements-from-blizzcon-2013/1100-6416118/" data-ref-id="1100-6416118">Heroes of the Storm's initial showing at BlizzCon 2013</a>, the developer launched the game's technical alpha last week. There's a good chance many things will be changed, tweaked, and modified over the coming months. Even now, though, Blizzard's intriguing take on the genre has plenty of fascinating new mechanics and exciting twists. This is no mere attempt at simply re-creating <a href="/dota-2/" data-ref-id="false">Dota 2</a> or <a href="/league-of-legends/" data-ref-id="false">League of Legends</a>.</p><h3 dir="ltr">Heroes of the Storm is all about the map objectives</h3><p dir="ltr" style="">Blizzard calls them battlegrounds, and each comes with its own central map mechanic that greatly impacts each game. Let me say that again, just to be clear: If your team ignores the map's main objective in Heroes of the Storm, you will almost definitely lose. Badly. When the announcer tells players that this all-important objective is about to spawn, any feeling of individual freedom at this point is an illusion. Stop whatever you are doing, right now, and leg it to the objective.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Blue and red teams compete to blow up the opposing nexus on each of the four maps--Dragon Shire, Blackheart's Bay, Haunted Mines, and Cursed Hollow--but their various shapes (not every map here involves three lanes, for instance), shortcuts, and those all-important mechanics add plenty of variety, and give the game a very different feel to its contemporaries. It means the rhythm of Heroes of the Storm flicks between traditional phases of the odd offensive push or defensive retreat and frenzied, all-out contests over that all-important objective. What's really going on here is that Blizzard, in the interests of keeping match times down to around the 30-minute mark, is routinely herding players into situations where they have no choice but to fight to the death.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">There's some other important things to be aware of, too. Towers are dotted along each lane, but they are fortified with healing fountains that provide a health and mana boost to allied players, and occasionally with a castle that can spawn additional minions. Fancy running past an enemy tower because you're confident you can secure a kill? Not here; Heroes of the Storm has gates that block the enemy team from passing. Towers themselves have an ammo supply, too, so if they pelt out too many rounds they'll need to pause to reload and can easily be destroyed in this time. And while characters tend to move quite slowly, almost all players can summon a mount so they can zip around the map faster. Mounts are no good for offensive plays, mind, as they disappear as soon as a player takes damage.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6417719" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6417719/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p dir="ltr" style="">Teamwork really is king, too. Securing the powerful dragon knight, feeding enough coins to a ghostly sea captain, getting a stronger golem because your team picked up the most undead skulls from the mines, or winning enough tributes to have the raven lords curse your opposition are all acts of such dramatic significance that they far outweigh a handful of player kills gained (or lost) from team fights. Another game-changing features include a scattering mercenary camps--Heroes' take on the jungle area--on each map, which bestow a gaggle of very powerful siege units if your team captures them. These can easily swing a game in your favor.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Having to divide your team up to claim the north and south shrines on Dragon Shire is a very different process than racing around the Haunted Mines' inner map to slay undead faster than the opposition. Even the shape of the maps affects things massively, such as how working your way around the dense forest area of Cursed Hollow means you're more likely to be able to plan and execute ambushes than the simpler Blackheart's Bay. The design also fits into the objectives of each map; Dragon Shire and Cursed Hollow are about controlling certain spots at the right time, and are therefore larger, more complex Battlegrounds, whereas securing victory in Blackheart's Bay and Haunted Mines is done by collecting more resources than your opponents, so these are smaller are designed to funnel you into conflict.</p><h3 dir="ltr">Despite Blizzard's efforts, bad players will still be able to ruin your game</h3><p dir="ltr" style="">There are plenty of other big changes (though if you're a religious Dota player, you might call them blasphemies) that affect, well, just about everything. Experience is shared and distributed across the team, rather than going to the individual players. That's a huge shift from other games of this ilk, making it so individual players can't fall ahead or behind the rest of their allies, and softens the pain of being accidentally slain once or twice. Repeated deaths still end up handing a huge advantage to the opposing team, mind. I had a game last night when one Raynor player went and got himself killed nine times in a row, and it's safe to say we ended up losing that game pretty bloody quickly. Believe me, superior enemy teams can snowball out of control just as easily here as in the worst matches of Dota 2 or League of Legends.</p><figure data-align="left" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/536/5360430/2372648-arthas+raising+an+army+of+the+undead.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2372648" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/536/5360430/2372648-arthas+raising+an+army+of+the+undead.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2372648"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/536/5360430/2372648-arthas+raising+an+army+of+the+undead.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">What else? League of Legends and Dota players might squabble endlessly over the merits of the <a href="http://dota.wikia.com/wiki/Deny" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">deny</a> mechanic, but Heroes of the Storm has made it so you can't even <a href="http://youtu.be/MtUtjwAHoRw" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">last hit</a>. There's no gold to worry about and no store to buy items from, and you don't level up your character's individual abilities with each level. If you're a MOBA purist, then you've probably already flipped your computer desk over by now, and I'll admit I was pretty skeptical at first. But now, after many games, I think it works well. These nips and tucks get games off to an immediately confrontational start, removing that initial foreplay from Dota and League of Legends matches while players farm up enough cash to buy their basic starting items. It's a tauter, fiercer way to initiate each game, and another one of the ways Blizzard has shaved minutes off the average game length. And while there's no store to buy items from, characters can be developed in various ways as they are given a list of options to choose from as they level up. Heroes have two ultimate abilities, for instance, but you'll only be able to select one of them in each game.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Right now there's 23 characters to choose from, with Blizzard offering a weekly rotation of six heroes to play for free. The characters are bucketed into Assassin, Warrior, Support, and Specialist categories, and it's the latter one that offers up character that could only in this game. Take the Zerg evolution specialist Abathur, for instance, who has no ability to directly attack enemy players but can instead buff allied players, spawn locusts that act as additional minions, or clone an allied player with his ultimate ability. He could never exist without Heroes of the Storm's shared experience, and he's an absolutely fascinating addition that I'm still trying to get my head around.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">I've had some thrilling matches, including games where I've been in a team of underdogs that turn things around after a poor start, games where I've lost a clear advantage by missing out on too many mercenary camps and objectives, and games that have been nothing but tense reversals leading into narrow victories or defeats. When it works, the game is a tense half hour of neck-and-neck fighting made up of a cast of well-known Blizzard characters.</p><h3 dir="ltr">There's a lot to like, but you might not be able to play it without friends.</h3><p dir="ltr" style="">Big team fights aren't as exciting as they should be, though. Part of this is down to the fact that heroes just don't feel very strong right now. Abilities are weak and easy to spam, and characters survive for much, much longer than in League of Legends and Dota. It's not uncommon to see players, provided they've not been totally caught out of position, nonchalantly run out of fights with the last chunk of their health bar remaining. If you ask me, Blizzard needs to make the game riskier and more dangerous, and that added thrill of peril and power will create something that's more exciting to watch and play.</p><figure data-align="right" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/536/5360430/2372652-arthas%2C+witch+doctor%2C+diablo%2C+and+illidan+showcase+some+heroic+abilities.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2372652" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/536/5360430/2372652-arthas%2C+witch+doctor%2C+diablo%2C+and+illidan+showcase+some+heroic+abilities.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2372652"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/536/5360430/2372652-arthas%2C+witch+doctor%2C+diablo%2C+and+illidan+showcase+some+heroic+abilities.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">But my biggest concern so far is that Heroes of the Storm lacks the proper communication tools for its overwhelming focus on securing those shifting map objectives. Blizzard has made the game's minimap confusingly small, and right now there's only a basic ping or teeny-tiny chat window for rallying your allies. With the varied maps, shared experience, and shifting mission objectives, teams have to be on the ball constantly and with perfect coordination, else everything quickly falls apart. These are early days, but I've already had far too many games where crucial map objectives have been ignored in favour of pushing lanes, farming mercenary camps, or attempting to confront the enemy team. There is so much at stake with each objective in Heroes of the Storm that it is utterly galling when you're matched alongside a player that's off in a world of their own.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Think of it like this. When playing Dota with one or two friends, the thing we dread most is the horror of facing a five-stack--an entire team of players who know each other and who are all probably hanging out in a Skype call and plotting how to brutally divide, conquer, and eviscerate our disjointed match-made team. Terrifying. And I now dread the five-stack in Heroes of the Storm even more than I do in Dota. If Blizzard is going to fulfil its self-professed remit of making a MOBA that's more accessible, approachable, and not as toxic as its contemporaries, it's going to have to work something out to address that need for communication and teamwork.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Still, I can't wait to see what comes to Heroes of the Storm next. Blizzard's spin on the MOBA has the potential to be exciting, more accessible, and the most unique take on the genre since the <a href="/warcraft-iii-battlechest/" data-ref-id="false">Warcraft III</a> mod that started it all.</p> Sat, 22 Mar 2014 17:02:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/how-heroes-of-the-storm-is-different-from-and-the-same-as-league-of-legends-and-dota-2/1100-6418405/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/game-of-thrones-to-advertise-in-league-of-legends/1100-6418481/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2483913-7154871566-24340.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2483913" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2483913-7154871566-24340.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2483913"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1535/15354745/2483913-7154871566-24340.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">HBO is advertising the next season of Game of Thrones in Riot Games' <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/league-of-legends/">League of Legends</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Vice president of eSports and merchandising at Riot Games Dustin Beck told <a href="http://www.alistdaily.com/news/game-of-thrones-in-league-of-legends-promotion" rel="nofollow">[a]list daily</a> that the three week-long campaign leading up to the premiere of the fourth season could include website takeovers in addition to the featured logos you can already see in the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5S28UOzTCZ8&feature=share&t=1h5m50s" rel="nofollow">Championship Series broadcast</a>. Beck also said that Riot Games is working with HBO to produce a mash-up trailer, and that it was given exclusive sneak peaks into footage that haven't been seen before.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"We got a cold call from HBO because they thought that there was going to be a great overlap between our players and their demographic of people that watch Game of Thrones and this was a good way to explore reaching that demographic through new media," Beck said.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">As Beck explained it, the advantage to advertising with League of Legends is its focused strategy. "We're not working with a ton of different brands," he said. "There's not going to be the kind of sponsor overload you get when you look at NASCAR for example. You see a car that's littered with various sponsor bugs and it's very hard to focus in on what logo you're looking at."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Other big companies that advertise with League of Legends include American Express and Coca-Cola, both of which sponsor the game's Challenger Series.</p><p style="">Earlier in the week, League of Legends creators Brandon Beck and Marc Merrill won the Pioneer Award at the <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-last-of-us-wins-gdc-game-of-the-year-award/1100-6418420/">Game Developers Conference awards show</a>.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6417816" data-width="854" data-height="480"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6417816/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer. You can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a> and <a href="https://plus.google.com/116710591398405257934/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Google+</a>.<br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Sat, 22 Mar 2014 16:41:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/game-of-thrones-to-advertise-in-league-of-legends/1100-6418481/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/playstation-exclusive-watch-dogs-content-shown-off-in-new-trailer/1100-6418480/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2483857-3475499995-%255BHo.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2483857" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2483857-3475499995-%255BHo.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2483857"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1535/15354745/2483857-3475499995-%255BHo.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/watch-dogs/">Watch Dogs</a> for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 will come with four exclusive missions that will earn you a hacking boost and a new outfit when completed, <a href="http://blog.ubi.com/watch-dogs-exclusive-ps4-ps3-gameplay-content/" rel="nofollow">Ubisoft said on its official blog</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The four missions, which Ubisoft said will take about an hour to complete, will have protagonist Aiden Pierce taking on the security network of Umeni Technologies to deliver payback for the notorious hacker group DedSec. If you finish the missions, you'll get bonus tech points and unlock the White Hat Hacker outfit.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">PS4 and PS3 players will be able to download this content by entering a code that will come with the game.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">In October of last year, we learned that the <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/assassins-creed-iv-black-flag/">Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag</a> and Watch Dogs content exclusive to PlayStation is <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/assassin-s-creed-iv-and-watch-dogs-dlc-exclusive-to-playstation-for-six-months-suggests-sony-ad/1100-6415757/">only exclusive for the first six months</a> after release. After that period, it will arrive on other platforms.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Watch Dogs launches <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/watch-dogs-release-date-announced-for-everything-except-wii-u/1100-6417977/">May 27</a> for Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and PC. The Wii U version <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/watch-dogs-for-wii-u-definitely-not-canceled/1100-6418164/">will come sometime later</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">For more on Watch Dogs, check out <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/watch-dogs/">our previous coverage</a>, including this guide to the <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/watch-dogs-preorder-bonuses/1100-6417493/">Watch Dogs preorder bonuses</a>.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNuhuY4ZT1Q" data-width="854" data-height="480"><iframe src="//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fembed%2FcNuhuY4ZT1Q%3Fwmode%3Dopaque%26feature%3Doembed&wmode=opaque&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DcNuhuY4ZT1Q&image=http%3A%2F%2Fi1.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FcNuhuY4ZT1Q%2Fhqdefault.jpg&key=6efca6e5ad9640f180f14146a0bc1392&type=text%2Fhtml&schema=youtube" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer. You can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a> and <a href="https://plus.google.com/116710591398405257934/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Google+</a>.<br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a><br /></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table><p style=""> </p> Sat, 22 Mar 2014 14:53:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/playstation-exclusive-watch-dogs-content-shown-off-in-new-trailer/1100-6418480/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/diablo-iii-for-ps4-warlords-of-draenor-hearthstone-for-mobile-and-more-from-blizzard-at-pax-east/1100-6418479/ <figure data-align="right" data-size="small" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2483827-9127374307-24338.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2483827" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2483827-9127374307-24338.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2483827"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_small/1535/15354745/2483827-9127374307-24338.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">Blizzard will show off more of <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/diablo-iii/">Diablo III</a>: Ultimate Evil Edition for PlayStation 4, the mobile version of <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/hearthstone-heroes-of-warcraft/%E2%80%8E/">Hearthstone</a>, and new <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/heroes-of-the-storm/">Heroes of the Storm</a> characters at PAX East, the company has announced on <a href="http://us.battle.net/wow/en/blog/13354132" rel="nofollow">its blog</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Blizzard developers will be present at the company's booth (BOOTH #848) in the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center to talk to fans from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Friday, April 11 through Sunday, April 13. Attendees will be able to get hands-on time with the in-development Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition on PS4, the iPad version of Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, and the "intro experience" for the upcoming World of Warcraft expansion <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/world-of-warcraft-warlords-of-draenor/" data-ref-id="false">Warlords of Draenor</a>, featuring updated character models. The company will also show off a new demo for Heroes of the Storm featuring new playable Heroes.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Blizzard developers will also give a presentation at the Albatross Theatre on Friday, April 11, at 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time. The presentation, titled Heroes of the Storm: The Ultimate Blizzard Mashup, will be streamed live on one of the official PAX Twitch channels for those who can't make the show.</p><p style="">For more on Blizzard's games, check out our <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/hearthstone-heroes-of-warcraft-review/1900-6415707/">recent review of Hearthstone's PC version</a>, and our story on <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/blizzard-s-heroes-of-the-storm-alpha-characters-cost-between-3-99-and-9-99/1100-6418324/">what Heroes of the Storm characters will cost you</a>.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6417838" data-width="854" data-height="480"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6417838/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer. You can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a> and <a href="https://plus.google.com/116710591398405257934/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Google+</a>.<br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a><br /></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table><p style=""> </p><p style=""> </p> Sat, 22 Mar 2014 13:04:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/diablo-iii-for-ps4-warlords-of-draenor-hearthstone-for-mobile-and-more-from-blizzard-at-pax-east/1100-6418479/
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