http://auth.gamespot.com/ Gamespot's Everything Feed! News, Reviews, Videos. Exploding with content? You bet. en-us Wed, 26 Mar 2014 23:00:14 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/gs-news-update-the-last-of-us-coming-to-ps4-as-phy/2300-6418009/ A Turkish Sony representative reportedly says that The Last of Us is getting "enhanced graphics" for an upcoming PlayStation 4 port. Wed, 26 Mar 2014 21:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/gs-news-update-the-last-of-us-coming-to-ps4-as-phy/2300-6418009/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/diablo-iii-reaper-of-souls-video-review/2300-6418008/ Carolyn explains how Reaper of Souls brings great new campaign content to Diablo III while also giving you tantalizing reasons to revisit the places you've already been. Wed, 26 Mar 2014 19:25:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/diablo-iii-reaper-of-souls-video-review/2300-6418008/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/report-the-last-of-us-coming-to-ps4-as-physical-and-digital-release/1100-6418573/ <div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6418009" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6418009/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style="">According PlayStation Turkey VP Sercan Sulun in a video posted to the Turkish CNN video game website <a href="http://www.multiplayer.com.tr/video/cnn-turk-multiplayer-bolum-45/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Multiplayer</a>, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/the-last-of-us/" data-ref-id="false">The Last of Us</a> will soon be coming to the PlayStation 4 as both a physical and digital release.</p><p style=""><a href="http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=105916799&postcount=1" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">NeoGaf user "Quirah"</a> (as posted by user "chadskin") posted a translation writing that Sulun says, "Sequel is not coming right now as far as I know, but I can say that [the] first game will be released this summer for PS4 as a physical and digital copy with enhanced graphics," in response to a question about a potential The Last of Us sequel.</p><p style="">At this point, this rumor has not been officially confirmed by Sony, and the announcement would be very strange since <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-last-of-us-left-behind-release-date-spotted-on-playstation-store/1100-6417134/" data-ref-id="1100-6417134">The Last of Us is also a rumored PlayStation Now title</a>. The up-res gambit worked for the <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/tomb-raider-definitive-edition-review/1900-6415647/" data-ref-id="1900-6415647">Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition update</a>, but sometimes executives are just confused/wrong. Just a few years ago, the managing director of Ubisoft Brazil announced that <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/next-assassins-creed-set-in-brazil/1100-6401294/" data-ref-id="1100-6401294">Assassin's Creed IV was going to be set in Brazil.</a></p><p style="">But what do you think? Is there any truth to Sulun's claim?</p><table data-max-width="true"><tbody><tr><td><p style=""><strong>Justin Haywald is a senior editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/JustinHaywald" rel="nofollow"> Twitter @JustinHaywald</a>. Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></strong></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p style=""> </p><p style=""> </p> Wed, 26 Mar 2014 18:32:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/report-the-last-of-us-coming-to-ps4-as-physical-and-digital-release/1100-6418573/ http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/bioshock-infinite-burial-at-sea-episode-2-review/1900-6415712/ <p style="">In life, we make connections with others. We protect the ones we love as they protect us, creating ties that bind us for life. We can't forcibly create those bonds, and once created, they are not easily broken.</p><p style="">Burial at Sea - Episode 2 is about those kinds of personal connections. Like the disappointing <a href="/reviews/bioshock-infinite-burial-at-sea-episode-one-review/1900-6415528/" data-ref-id="1900-6415528">first episode</a>, this concluding chapter ties the Columbia of <a href="/bioshock-infinite/" data-ref-id="false">BioShock Infinite</a> to the Rapture of <a href="/bioshock/" data-ref-id="false">BioShock</a> and <a href="/bioshock-2/" data-ref-id="false">BioShock 2</a>--yet it begins in neither city. Instead, you are in Paris, though it is not a Paris that ever was, but rather a Paris so perfect, so ideal, that even the most imaginative daydreamers could not have thought up a place of such sunny beauty. And no longer are you Infinite protagonist Booker DeWitt, but instead his talented ward Elizabeth, who had long dreamed of visiting La Ville-Lumière. Your initial stroll along the city's sublime terraces takes you past smiling couples and friendly onlookers, many of whom know you by name. This glorious opening recalls your initial stroll in Columbia, but when a sweet songbird lands on your finger and chirps along with the ambient music, it becomes clear that this utopia is too impeccable to be real. This is Paris by way of Disney, a place where Elizabeth's resemblance to <em>Beauty and the Beast</em>'s heroine Belle is rendered even sharper by the numerous calls of "Bonjour!" from her many admirers.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6418005" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6418005/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style="">Dreams never last. Elizabeth awakens from her reverie in Frank Fontaine's sunken department store with a gun pointed at her head and a game of Russian roulette under way. She is at the mercy of Frank Fontaine, aka Atlas, whose massive department store has sunk far below Rapture. Booker is there too, or at least an apparition of him, helping Elizabeth respond properly to Fontaine's interrogation so that she might stay alive and follow through on her promise to protect the little girl known as Sally. Where Episode 1 relegated Rapture's well-known citizens to a series of cameos, Fontaine has a major role to play in Elizabeth's adventure. He's a menacing presence, inherently untrustworthy, and a late-game scene in which he demonstrates his chilly inhumanity is so wildly disturbing and effective that for a moment, I was Elizabeth. I shared her dread, her contempt, and her resignation.</p><figure data-align="left" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2488854-0002.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2488854" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2488854-0002.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2488854"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/416/4161502/2488854-0002.jpg"></a><figcaption>Some people can rework their fates. Some, unfortunately, cannot. </figcaption></figure><p style="">Some of Episode 2's attempts to create narrative and metaphorical relationships between Columbia and Rapture are too obvious, as if the game is leaping around shouting "look at me" (I knew what ammo to toss you because I read a lot about guns!), and tricky timey-wimey issues are glossed over with familiar fictional platitudes (I know this won't happen because it didn't!). Overall, however, Episode 2 leaves behind the first episode's uncomfortable meshing of incompatible game mechanics, and creates a coherence between narrative and action that even BioShock Infinite's main campaign never fully established. Elizabeth is not a natural murderer, and Burial at Sea, Episode 2 doesn't force you to play her as one.</p><p style="">That isn't to say that you don't have guns to shoot if you want to use them, though Elizabeth is so vulnerable that she can't participate in the straightforward shootouts that characterized BioShock Infinite. Instead, the episode prioritizes sneaking and subterfuge, equipping you with a miniature crossbow that shoots tranquilizing projectiles and darts tipped with knockout gas, and gifting you with a plasmid that allows you to become temporarily invisible and to see through walls. The result of this shift in approach is that big daddies are more ominous than ever. You cannot destroy them, only avoid or distract them. That hollow, soul-crushing groan that warns of a big daddy's presence caused my heart to sink into my stomach multiple times, knowing that I could never go toe-to-toe with the monstrosity that emitted it. Splicers, too, provide a fresh fear factor, given that you cannot damage them with a melee attack if they are aware of your presence; you can only momentarily stun them that way.</p><figure data-align="right" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2488856-0003.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2488856" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2488856-0003.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2488856"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/416/4161502/2488856-0003.jpg"></a><figcaption>Lockpicking is no longer an automated process.</figcaption></figure><p style="">And thus Episode 2 rocks to a different rhythm than Infinite's previous adventures. The pace is methodical but not slothful, and while the sneaking isn't a crushing challenge, it requires some forethought. Occasionally, I would slink up to a splicer from behind and knock him out with a swift melee blow. Other times, I would take aim at a fiend from a balcony above and fire a tranquilizer dart into his neck. Every so often, I set icy traps using the winter blast plasmid, and then tricked splicers into crossing them by firing noisemakers in their general direction. And when I was cornered, a blast from a shotgun could cure my ills, though this was typically a last-resort option. I sought every nook and cranny, gathering lockpicks and performing a simple but enjoyable minigame to access locked areas or neuter pesky turrets. What a pleasure to explore Rapture not as a gun-toting maniac, but as a survivor seeking answers.</p><p style="">And yes, Elizabeth is a survivor here, incapable of opening tears and observing the endless versions of power-hungry men and the lighthouses that lead to them. You discover the circumstances that led to her loss of omniscience as you follow the game's natural trail, and the episode does a creditable job of giving narrative context to its own mechanics. Elizabeth's vulnerability in combat is echoed in her emotional vulnerability; she is merely human now, reliant mainly on her wits and her intelligence, and at the mercy of the sociopaths she must manipulate.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2488858-0004.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2488858" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2488858-0004.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2488858"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/416/4161502/2488858-0004.jpg"></a><figcaption>Meet your new best friend, the diminutive crossbow. </figcaption></figure><p style="">BioShock Infinite's conclusion left my mouth agape, but its narrative puzzles weren't impenetrable. Burial at Sea's finale, however, isn't so up front about its meaning. And so I have begun another playthrough, seeking clarity while muddling through on a difficulty setting that allows me access only to nonlethal weapons. My glee in doing so says a lot about the new episode's quality, especially in relation to the opening episode. Some strained metaphors and connections aside, the cities of Rapture and Columbia make for strange but comfortable bedfellows in BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea - Episode 2. More importantly, Elizabeth's journey is tense and rewarding on its own terms, and is one that makes Rapture as mysterious as it was the first time you ventured inside.</p> Wed, 26 Mar 2014 18:09:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/bioshock-infinite-burial-at-sea-episode-2-review/1900-6415712/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/on-the-battering-ram-diablo-iii-reaper-of-souls-ga/2300-6418007/ The Battlefields of Eternity are full of unspeakable terrors and a battering ram. Wed, 26 Mar 2014 18:05:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/on-the-battering-ram-diablo-iii-reaper-of-souls-ga/2300-6418007/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/bioshock-infinite-burial-at-sea-episode-2-gameplay/2300-6418005/ [MILD SPOILERS] Peer into the world of Bioshock Infinite through Elizabeth's eyes for the very first time in this preview of Burial at Sea Episode 2. Wed, 26 Mar 2014 17:52:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/bioshock-infinite-burial-at-sea-episode-2-gameplay/2300-6418005/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/diablo-iii-reaper-of-souls-gameplay-storming-the-p/2300-6418006/ Follow a demon hunter as she battles a horde of reapers and archer skeletons in Diablo III: Reaper of Souls. Wed, 26 Mar 2014 17:46:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/diablo-iii-reaper-of-souls-gameplay-storming-the-p/2300-6418006/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/report-california-s-anti-game-senator-leland-yee-arrested-on-corruption-bribery-charges/1100-6418563/ <div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6417986" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6417986/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style="">UPDATE: Senator Leland Yee was arrested today by the FBI "conspiracy to traffic in firearms without a license and to illegally import firearms, as well as with participating in a scheme to defraud citizens of honest services," the <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/California-state-Sen-Leland-Yee-arrested-in-5350602.php#page-1" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">SFGate reports. </a></p><p style="">In a bid to become Secretary of State, Yee apparently "solicited money from undercover FBI agents" and engaged in "a discussion with the undercover agents about an illegal gun-trafficking deal."</p><p style=""><em>The original story appears below.</em></p><p dir="ltr" style="">Democratic California state senator Leland Yee, an outspoken critic of the video game industry, has been arrested on bribery and corruption charges. The FBI nabbed the politician this morning during a sting operation, sources have told <a href="http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/California-State-Senator-Leland-Yee-Arrested-on-Bribery-And-Corruption-Charges-252452181.html" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">NBC Bay Area</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Yee represents District 8, which includes video game development hotbeds like San Francisco and San Mateo County. Gamers know him as the man who put forth the <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/violent-game-law-falls-in-supreme-court/1100-6318632/" data-ref-id="1100-6318632">much-publicized violent game law that the United States Supreme Court struck down in 2011</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">We called Yee's office and no one picked up. We've left messages with his secretary and the state press secretary.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Following the December 2012 schoolhouse massacre in Newtown, Conn., Yee again <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/gamers-need-to-quiet-down-says-ca-senator/1100-6402953/" data-ref-id="1100-6402953">criticized gamers and the industry at large</a>.</p><p style="">"Gamers have got to just quiet down," Yee said at the time. "Gamers have no credibility in this argument. This is all about their lust for violence and the industry's lust for money. This is a billion-dollar industry. This is about their self-interest."</p><p style="">We'll continue to monitor this story as it develops.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/EddieMakuch" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Twitter @EddieMakuch</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> Wed, 26 Mar 2014 17:30:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/report-california-s-anti-game-senator-leland-yee-arrested-on-corruption-bribery-charges/1100-6418563/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/hammerwatch-gameplay-multiple-players-highlights/2300-6418002/ Chris crawls some dungeons in Hammerwatch with his crew: Mary Kish, Pedro, and Raul The Coward. Wed, 26 Mar 2014 16:59:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/hammerwatch-gameplay-multiple-players-highlights/2300-6418002/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/zombies-monsters-robots-has-zombies-monsters-and-robots/1100-6418514/ <p style="">Zombies are popular. Monsters are big. Robots get a fair amount of attention, too. It only makes sense, then, that video games would want to throw all three into a disgusting stew and cook up some craziness.</p><p style="">Zombies Monsters Robots is another video game incorporating this terrific trio. The title may bring to mind a top-down shooter, the kind the once dominated the console downloadable marketplaces, but this upcoming free-to-play extravaganza is a third-person shooter that feels a lot like <a href="/gears-of-war/" data-ref-id="false">Gears of War</a>. In fact, Zombies Monsters Robots isn't made from wholly new ingredients, but rather shares many of the same features with developer YingPei Games' <a href="/mercenary-ops/" data-ref-id="false">Mercenary Ops</a>. And of course, a developer once known as Epic Games China would know a thing or two about Gears of War.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6417980" data-width="854" data-height="480"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6417980/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style="">Publisher En Masse (known for the action-focused online role-playing game <a href="/tera/" data-ref-id="false">Tera</a>) calls Zombies Monsters Robots the sequel to iOS shooter Mercenary Ops, and it will even include all of Mercenary Ops' content in addition to its own. And talk about a lot of content: ZMR will feature up 60-odd maps playable in 15 different modes, some of which have you piloting mechs and controlling monsters in addition to shooting up meanies on foot. ZMR is not a mobile game, however, but is coming to PC; and where Mercenary Ops focused on player-versus-player combat, ZMR is centered on cooperative play in which you and up to seven friends take on waves of the titular enemies, Horde Mode style, in one-off scenarios or entire campaigns.</p><figure data-align="left" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2485487-zmr_demo__11_.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2485487" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2485487-zmr_demo__11_.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2485487"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/416/4161502/2485487-zmr_demo__11_.jpg"></a><figcaption>But who's the real monster here? Oh wait--you are. Sometimes, anyway.</figcaption></figure><p style="">I recently got to take a five-player co-op map out for a spin with other members of the press, and I was excited to do so after En Masse called the game "frantic and crazy," and told me that "nothing is too outrageous." Unfortunately, the cooperative scenario wasn't as crazy and outrageous as I'd hoped, in light of the trailer En Masse presented in advance, which featured awesome-looking monsters and an appealing bloody-beautiful vibe. It wasn't that my time with ZMR wasn't decent fun--it was that it was so very expected. My teammates and I first chose our characters, each one featuring a different loadout, and then we sauntered into a dank dungeon harboring zombie people, zombie dogs, and other Raccoon City escapees.</p><p style="">En Masse calls ZMR a "console-style shooter," which in this case means third-person action so clearly inspired by Gears of War that the game boasts an active reload feature, in which you reload your weapon faster by performing a properly-timed button tap. ZMR also uses a Gears-style roadie run, a sprinting style that works when you are thrusting your impossibly muscled, heavily armored body into cover, but seems out of place in a fast-paced zombie scenario without cover mechanics. (Apparently, the PVP matches feature cover, while the cooperative match I played does not.)</p><p style="">Nevertheless, there's nothing wrong with some good ooze-splattering fun, and the five of us spilled a lot of zombie goo as the undead charged us, their bright orange vulnerable spots begging to be torn open. The halls and rooms we charged through echoed with the sounds of earsplitting machine-gun fire, growling dogs, and grunting zombies. I could also hear the clanking of tools on metal, the result of my teammates repairing the broken windows through which the undead would otherwise have leapt through. Environmental repair was one of two features that helped freshen up the tried-and-true action, the other example being the various traps we could activate. One of these traps was a giant spiked log that rolled forward, stabbing and crushing anyone--including my teammates--that stood in its way. Another was a giant blast of fire that incinerated its surprised victims. Guns are great, but guns, spikes, and flames are another trio I can truly get behind.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2485488-zmr_the_pit.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2485488" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2485488-zmr_the_pit.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2485488"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/416/4161502/2485488-zmr_the_pit.jpg"></a><figcaption>He's not a misunderstood victim of society's ills. He's just a maniac. </figcaption></figure><p style=""> </p><p style="">The battle ended with a boss fight versus a hideous armored meatbag that swung thick chains around and had a nasty habit of electrocuting anyone who happened to be standing in the wrong place at the wrong time. He could also pull the walls inwards, crushing us between them if we didn't rush in close to the very mutant we were trying to defeat. The slow response times when sprinting and tumbling elicited some frustration, but rarely does felling such a giant foe not bring with it a sense of reward, and reducing this giant freak of nature to a pile of flesh was appropriately satisfying. You'll be able to meet the meat in May for yourself when Zombies Monsters Robots hits early access status.</p> Wed, 26 Mar 2014 16:21:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/zombies-monsters-robots-has-zombies-monsters-and-robots/1100-6418514/ http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/diablo-3-reaper-of-souls-review/1900-6415713/ <p style="">What motivates the heroes of Sanctuary to battle the forces that threaten humanity? Is it an unwavering desire to do what's right? Or is it a thirst for more power, more riches, and more stuff? Whatever it is, Reaper of Souls has it. This expansion adds a decent new character class, a great new campaign act, and most significantly, Adventure mode, a devious Blizzard concoction calculated to make <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/diablo-iii/" data-ref-id="false">Diablo III</a>'s existing content more rewarding--and more addictive--than it has been in the past.</p><p style="">The angel of death, Malthael, is the force threatening humanity in the new campaign chapter, and the impressive opening cutscene establishes him as a fearsome adversary indeed, showing us why he's called the reaper of souls. In a bid to end the conflict between angels and demons once and for all, Malthael is slaughtering humankind and adding the dead to his ever-growing armies. He's a terrific and terrifying villain, and it's just too bad that he doesn't show up a bit more between his show-stopping entrance and the challenging boss battle that concludes the act.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6418007" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6418007/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style="">Your journey to confront Malthael takes you through the most grim and beautiful locations Diablo III has yet featured. Absent here is any hint of the life and color that sometimes clawed their way into the settings for the first four acts. Instead, you explore the gloomy city of Westmarch on one of the worst nights in its history. Later, in an impressive moment, you stand atop a massive battering ram as it smashes open the gates of the fortress of Pandemonium, and then venture into the eerie ethereal realm that lies beyond. If you like your Diablo dark, you'll be pleased to find that act five starts that way and stays that way. It's also noticeably a bit tougher than the acts that precede it, throwing more swarms of monsters at you more frequently. Malthael is determined to give your clicking finger a workout.</p><figure data-align="left" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/78/787590/2489045-ci-172293776030361934.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2489045" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/78/787590/2489045-ci-172293776030361934.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2489045"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/78/787590/2489045-ci-172293776030361934.jpg"></a><figcaption>Urzael, one of act five's new bosses, is a fierce and fiery foe.</figcaption></figure><p style="">Reaper of Souls raises the level cap to 70, giving each class new active and passive skills to unlock. Playing through act five using my demon hunter, I made frequent use of her new vengeance skill, which tremendously increases the amount of damage you deal for 15 seconds. And the expansion introduces a new class, the crusader, a holy warrior who employs a mix of melee and ranged attacks. Crusaders feel weighty and formidable, able to bash foes with shields and cut a swath through enemies with flails, while also making use of defensive skills to manage the danger, like the ability to temporarily blind nearby enemies. They're a fine addition to Diablo III's existing pantheon of powerful heroes.</p><p style="">But the most significant addition Reaper of Souls brings to Diablo III is Adventure mode. Unlocked once you've defeated Malthael, Adventure mode gives you bite-size bounties to tackle in every region across Diablo III's five acts, making it a great way to accomplish something meaningful even if you can play for only 15 minutes or so. Bounties have goals like killing a specific boss or clearing a certain dungeon of monsters, and they reward you with gold, experience, and a new item called blood shards, usable at specific merchants. Completing all five bounties in an act earns you a Horadric cache, which might contain some sweet gear.</p><p style="">The best rewards, however, come once you collect five rift keystone fragments from doing bounties, and can then open a nephalem rift. These randomized dungeons are visually striking for the ways in which they combine tilesets from familiar locations with different lighting effects, and conquering one of these dungeons earns you some quality loot. Diablo III is, at its core, a game about addiction. It tries to keep you coming back by tempting you with increasingly alluring rewards. With Adventure mode, Diablo III now has a way to get bigger, better rewards to you faster than it has before.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/78/787590/2489070-ci94211953630361934.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2489070" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/78/787590/2489070-ci94211953630361934.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2489070"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/78/787590/2489070-ci94211953630361934.jpg"></a><figcaption>Death maidens are maidens who come bearing death. Also, they're really tall.</figcaption></figure><p style="">And if you're not happy with a particular piece of loot you earn, there's now a new artisan, the mystic, who can replace one randomly generated property on a piece of gear for you; it's a bit of a gamble, but you might end up with something better. She can also change the appearance of your items, turning your armor into something that looks more stylish or making your helm look like a hood.</p><p style="">If you've played Diablo III before and found that it wasn't for you, the changes Reaper of Souls makes to the game won't be far-reaching enough to change your mind. Reaper gives those who already liked Diablo III more of what they already liked about it. Adventure mode leverages Diablo III's existing content in a clever way, and with its haunting settings and memorable villain, act five is the best chapter in the game's campaign. If you're looking for reasons to keep on clicking, Reaper of Souls has plenty.</p> Wed, 26 Mar 2014 16:01:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/diablo-3-reaper-of-souls-review/1900-6415713/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/gs-news-xbox-live-punishing-abuse-facebook-s-oculu/2300-6418001/ We give you all the juicy details on Facebook buying Oculus VR, and what you need to know about how Microsoft is monitoring your Xbox Live behaviour! Wed, 26 Mar 2014 16:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/gs-news-xbox-live-punishing-abuse-facebook-s-oculu/2300-6418001/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/facebook-oculus-rift-and-the-kickstarter-backlash/1100-6418571/ <p style="">An angry roar erupted across the Internet yesterday. Facebook--that omnipresent, unavoidable social media corporation--had <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/facebook-buys-oculus-rift-company-in-a-massive-deal-worth-an-estimated-2-billion/1100-6418540/" data-ref-id="1100-6418540">purchased Oculus VR</a> for $2 billion. The pioneers of modern-day virtual reality had given up their self-ownership for a sum greater than the <a href="http://www.studentsoftheworld.info/infopays/rank/PNB2.html" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">gross national product of Greenland</a>, consumed by a company sewn into the very fabric of our social structure. <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/oculus-rift-kickstarter-backers-rage-against-facebook-sale/1100-6418553/" data-ref-id="1100-6418553">Resentment spread like wildfire</a> as many of those who had helped fund the Oculus Rift when it was nothing more than a far-off promise on Kickstarter were blindsided by the transaction. Oculus VR had betrayed those who had believed in the company, sold out to an unworthy website, and destroyed the goodwill it had fostered. People were livid, and I can sympathize with those feelings. But we have learned a valuable lesson: Giving money on Kickstarter does not mean we have any say in a company's decisions.</p><p style="">In an idealized point of view, Kickstarter has transformed the high-stakes game of startup investment into something that anyone with spare change can take part in. Creators propose an idea, and those whose interest is piqued give money to see that such a product can materialize. Books and movies are funded in this manner, and games that would never have found a publisher are brought to life by the people who are most passionate in digital entertainment. Studios are formed, companies graduate from tinkering in garages to working in proper offices, and all because people have spoken loud and clear with their wallets. The job of venture capitalists has been brought to the masses. No longer do you need millions of dollars to invest in something that tickles your fancy. People have the power, and a large group can scrounge up enough cash to bring any project to life.</p><div data-height="100%" data-width="100%" data-ref-id="2300-6417961" data-embed-type="video"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6417961/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style="">We feel a sense of ownership in every project we choose to fund on Kickstarter. This is true no matter what we're giving money to--I imagine we would see similar unrest if Double Fine had sold <a href="/broken-age/" data-ref-id="false">Broken Age</a> to Electronic Arts--but it's even more difficult to shake that notion in this example. People didn't give money to make just another game. No, the people who helped kickstart the Oculus Rift birthed an entire company. Oculus VR is nothing without its virtual reality headset, and because its very existence depends on those who financed it years ago, we thought of them as a grassroots company that listened to us. And that feeling has changed now that Facebook owns them.</p><p style="">We have to keep in mind that a Kickstarter backer and a venture capitalist are not the same roles. And it's this disconnect that has led to the gnashing of teeth and the heated posts on message boards. Although a venture capitalist may own a piece of the company, or get a cash return on the investment once profitability is reached, nothing is owed a Kickstarter backer beyond the milestone rewards posted on each page. Everyone has intrinsic knowledge that this is the case. We know that if we pledge a certain amount of money, we get a copy of a game when it comes out (assuming it ever does) or that our name will appear in the credits. Rationally, we know that we're going to receive only what has been spelled out. We do not own a part of the company, nor do we receive a dividend from profits made. We know all this. But knowledge only matters to a certain point.</p><figure data-ref-id="1300-2489016" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/725/7253563/2489016-mark-zukergerg-facebook-owner-founder-rise-stock-price-25-july-2013.jpg" data-size="medium" data-align="right" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/725/7253563/2489016-mark-zukergerg-facebook-owner-founder-rise-stock-price-25-july-2013.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2489016"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/725/7253563/2489016-mark-zukergerg-facebook-owner-founder-rise-stock-price-25-july-2013.jpg"></a></figure><p style="">Emotions can overwhelm even the most grounded of individuals. And we see an outpouring of emotions in the angry reaction to this high-tech transaction. Yes, the backers may <em>know</em> that they aren't owed anything more than they have already received. But who cares about facts? Oculus VR was nothing when it first proposed its fantastical ideas on Kickstarter. Virtual reality had been a failure ever since it had first debuted many decades ago, so there was no positive momentum to build upon. Yet despite the mountain of evidence stating that virtual reality is just a science-fiction fantasy, thousands of people embraced the ideas that Oculus VR was proposing. They punched in their credit card numbers in the hopes of getting a glimpse of the newfangled contraption before anyone else and because they believed that virtual reality was no longer just a fantasy. It was now a reality.</p><p style="">Facebook was not willing to spend money on what Oculus VR might be capable of years ago when the Kickstarter campaign was launched. It was not willing to spend billions of dollars to become an early backer in the next generation of virtual reality. No, it was not a giant corporation that saw the brilliance of this device. It was ordinary people who did--people with a vision and just enough extra money to see their dream realized. And though we know that nothing more than the stated rewards are owed to backers, that doesn't matter. People gave Oculus VR money when the company needed it most, and now that Oculus has more cash than any of us can fathom, many feel as if their baby has turned its back on them. After all, it wouldn't have ever reached these heights without investments from the people. Why shouldn't the backers be rewarded for having such strong beliefs in virtual reality when no one else did?</p><blockquote data-size="large" data-align="center"><p style="">We have learned a valuable lesson: Giving money on Kickstarter does not mean we have any say in a company's decisions.</p></blockquote><p style="">I do not have a financial stake in this scenario. When Oculus launched its Kickstarter, I could only roll my eyes that another team of talented individuals was going to waste its time in a dead-end technology. I have not given one cent to Oculus. But I understand why those who have done so feel betrayed. Kickstarter has an entrepreneurial aura that makes it seem like those who use it have realized the follies of corporate ownership and instead have turned to the people to see their wishes fulfilled. There's a communal energy, one that grows through the Internet as people spread word about a fascinating idea that needs more funding. Kickstarter has shrunk the world, making it more intimate, as disparate people team up to support the same cause. Am I idealizing this enterprise? Of course I am. But it was nice to think that such a website existed.</p><figure data-ref-id="1300-2488966" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/725/7253563/2488966-oculusrift1.jpg" data-size="medium" data-align="left" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/725/7253563/2488966-oculusrift1.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2488966"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/725/7253563/2488966-oculusrift1.jpg"></a></figure><p style="">Now that we see how willing a company is to be swallowed by a massive corporation, that illusion is destroyed. Nothing has changed in the raw mechanics of Kickstarter. We still give money for what we find interesting and reap the rewards that are promised to us. But we have to face reality going forward. Even though we may think we have a relationship to the proprietors, we don't. Or at least that relationship isn't a given. Although some seek outside feedback to grow their project into something special, for others, we're faceless investors who aren't going to receive anything more tangible because we believed in what a creator was doing and gave money to help their vision come to fruition.</p><p style="">For those who are still angry, I understand. And it's fine to shout and yell and let your voices be heard. Think about how you feel now, and don't forget it. Kickstarter is not going to change. You have to decide if you're comfortable giving money to a company just so it can potentially become incredibly rich in the future. And understand that no contract has been broken. Oculus VR did what it believed is best for the company, and we can only hope that Facebook stands by its word that it will not interfere in the Rift's development going forward. I understand why you're angry. But we have to accept that reality will not always bend to our whims.</p><p style=""> </p><p style=""> </p> Wed, 26 Mar 2014 14:37:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/facebook-oculus-rift-and-the-kickstarter-backlash/1100-6418571/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/trials-fusion-random-encounter/2300-6418000/ Danny gets his hands on the Trials Fusion beta, and tries to have the best time trials in the office! Wed, 26 Mar 2014 14:33:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/trials-fusion-random-encounter/2300-6418000/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/over-1-million-concurrent-viewers-watch-500-000-esports-championship/1100-6418570/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1534/15343359/2488814-0000-katowice2014_infographic001.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2488814" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1534/15343359/2488814-0000-katowice2014_infographic001.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2488814"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1534/15343359/2488814-0000-katowice2014_infographic001.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1534/15343359/2488815-0002-katowice2014_infographic002.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2488815" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1534/15343359/2488815-0002-katowice2014_infographic002.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2488815"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1534/15343359/2488815-0002-katowice2014_infographic002.jpg"></a></figure><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1534/15343359/2488816-0003-katowice2014_infographic003.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2488816" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1534/15343359/2488816-0003-katowice2014_infographic003.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2488816"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1534/15343359/2488816-0003-katowice2014_infographic003.jpg"></a></figure><p style="">As the above infographic shows, ESL's Intel Extreme Masters in Katowice was not only a success, it showcased the continuing trend of esports growth--not only breaking several of ESL's own viewing records, but also proving to be one of the most viewed professional gaming events of all time. And <a href="http://www.ongamers.com/articles/esl-s-iem-katowice-by-the-numbers/1100-1100/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="1100-1100">combining this with concurrent viewers across Asia, over 1 million people tuned in to watch the tournament</a></p><p style="">The break-neck pace of growth is exemplified by the <a href="/league-of-legends/" data-ref-id="false">League of Legends</a> finals between South Korea's KT Rolster Bullets and Europe's Fnatic, setting a new record for the most viewed single match in ESL history with 511,000 concurrent viewers tuning in on Twitch (which does not include Asia), a whopping 69% growth over the previous record set at IEM Cologne just five months ago.</p><div data-embed-type="html"><iframe src="http://www.ongamers.com/videos/embed/395/" height="400" width="640"></iframe></div><p style=""> </p><p style="">"It was only six or seven years ago that we were happy to see 12,000 concurrent online viewers on a single match," said ESL's Director of Progaming Michal Blicharz. "We had 12,000 watching matches live in the flesh in Katowice and hundreds of thousands online. This growth is simply mind blowing."$508,000 in prize money was given out to competitors including <a href="http://www.ongamers.com/articles/ems-one-katowice-concludes-with-virtus-pro-dominating-nip/1100-1058/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="1100-1058">Counter-Strike champions</a> Virtus Pro, <a href="http://www.ongamers.com/articles/recap-iem-lol-katowice-2014-grand-finals/1100-1052/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="1100-1052">League of Legends champions</a> KT Bullets, and StarCraft 2 winner Kim 'sOs<b>'</b> Yoo Jin who took home $100,000 in a winner-takes-all tournament.</p><p style="">For even more in-depth esports analysis, <a href="http://www.ongamers.com/articles/esl-s-iem-katowice-by-the-numbers/1100-1100/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="1100-1100">read the full breakdown on onGamers.com</a>.</p><table data-max-width="true"><tbody><tr><td><p style=""><strong>Rod Breslau is an editor at onGamers.com, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/Slasher" rel="nofollow"> Twitter @Slasher</a></strong></p><p style=""><strong>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></strong></p></td></tr></tbody></table> Wed, 26 Mar 2014 14:09:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/over-1-million-concurrent-viewers-watch-500-000-esports-championship/1100-6418570/
http://auth.gamespot.com/ Gamespot's Everything Feed! News, Reviews, Videos. Exploding with content? You bet. en-us Wed, 26 Mar 2014 23:00:14 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/gs-news-update-the-last-of-us-coming-to-ps4-as-phy/2300-6418009/ A Turkish Sony representative reportedly says that The Last of Us is getting "enhanced graphics" for an upcoming PlayStation 4 port. Wed, 26 Mar 2014 21:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/gs-news-update-the-last-of-us-coming-to-ps4-as-phy/2300-6418009/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/diablo-iii-reaper-of-souls-video-review/2300-6418008/ Carolyn explains how Reaper of Souls brings great new campaign content to Diablo III while also giving you tantalizing reasons to revisit the places you've already been. Wed, 26 Mar 2014 19:25:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/diablo-iii-reaper-of-souls-video-review/2300-6418008/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/report-the-last-of-us-coming-to-ps4-as-physical-and-digital-release/1100-6418573/ <div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6418009" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6418009/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style="">According PlayStation Turkey VP Sercan Sulun in a video posted to the Turkish CNN video game website <a href="http://www.multiplayer.com.tr/video/cnn-turk-multiplayer-bolum-45/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Multiplayer</a>, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/the-last-of-us/" data-ref-id="false">The Last of Us</a> will soon be coming to the PlayStation 4 as both a physical and digital release.</p><p style=""><a href="http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=105916799&postcount=1" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">NeoGaf user "Quirah"</a> (as posted by user "chadskin") posted a translation writing that Sulun says, "Sequel is not coming right now as far as I know, but I can say that [the] first game will be released this summer for PS4 as a physical and digital copy with enhanced graphics," in response to a question about a potential The Last of Us sequel.</p><p style="">At this point, this rumor has not been officially confirmed by Sony, and the announcement would be very strange since <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-last-of-us-left-behind-release-date-spotted-on-playstation-store/1100-6417134/" data-ref-id="1100-6417134">The Last of Us is also a rumored PlayStation Now title</a>. The up-res gambit worked for the <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/tomb-raider-definitive-edition-review/1900-6415647/" data-ref-id="1900-6415647">Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition update</a>, but sometimes executives are just confused/wrong. Just a few years ago, the managing director of Ubisoft Brazil announced that <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/next-assassins-creed-set-in-brazil/1100-6401294/" data-ref-id="1100-6401294">Assassin's Creed IV was going to be set in Brazil.</a></p><p style="">But what do you think? Is there any truth to Sulun's claim?</p><table data-max-width="true"><tbody><tr><td><p style=""><strong>Justin Haywald is a senior editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/JustinHaywald" rel="nofollow"> Twitter @JustinHaywald</a>. Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></strong></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p style=""> </p><p style=""> </p> Wed, 26 Mar 2014 18:32:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/report-the-last-of-us-coming-to-ps4-as-physical-and-digital-release/1100-6418573/ http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/bioshock-infinite-burial-at-sea-episode-2-review/1900-6415712/ <p style="">In life, we make connections with others. We protect the ones we love as they protect us, creating ties that bind us for life. We can't forcibly create those bonds, and once created, they are not easily broken.</p><p style="">Burial at Sea - Episode 2 is about those kinds of personal connections. Like the disappointing <a href="/reviews/bioshock-infinite-burial-at-sea-episode-one-review/1900-6415528/" data-ref-id="1900-6415528">first episode</a>, this concluding chapter ties the Columbia of <a href="/bioshock-infinite/" data-ref-id="false">BioShock Infinite</a> to the Rapture of <a href="/bioshock/" data-ref-id="false">BioShock</a> and <a href="/bioshock-2/" data-ref-id="false">BioShock 2</a>--yet it begins in neither city. Instead, you are in Paris, though it is not a Paris that ever was, but rather a Paris so perfect, so ideal, that even the most imaginative daydreamers could not have thought up a place of such sunny beauty. And no longer are you Infinite protagonist Booker DeWitt, but instead his talented ward Elizabeth, who had long dreamed of visiting La Ville-Lumière. Your initial stroll along the city's sublime terraces takes you past smiling couples and friendly onlookers, many of whom know you by name. This glorious opening recalls your initial stroll in Columbia, but when a sweet songbird lands on your finger and chirps along with the ambient music, it becomes clear that this utopia is too impeccable to be real. This is Paris by way of Disney, a place where Elizabeth's resemblance to <em>Beauty and the Beast</em>'s heroine Belle is rendered even sharper by the numerous calls of "Bonjour!" from her many admirers.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6418005" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6418005/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style="">Dreams never last. Elizabeth awakens from her reverie in Frank Fontaine's sunken department store with a gun pointed at her head and a game of Russian roulette under way. She is at the mercy of Frank Fontaine, aka Atlas, whose massive department store has sunk far below Rapture. Booker is there too, or at least an apparition of him, helping Elizabeth respond properly to Fontaine's interrogation so that she might stay alive and follow through on her promise to protect the little girl known as Sally. Where Episode 1 relegated Rapture's well-known citizens to a series of cameos, Fontaine has a major role to play in Elizabeth's adventure. He's a menacing presence, inherently untrustworthy, and a late-game scene in which he demonstrates his chilly inhumanity is so wildly disturbing and effective that for a moment, I was Elizabeth. I shared her dread, her contempt, and her resignation.</p><figure data-align="left" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2488854-0002.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2488854" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2488854-0002.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2488854"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/416/4161502/2488854-0002.jpg"></a><figcaption>Some people can rework their fates. Some, unfortunately, cannot. </figcaption></figure><p style="">Some of Episode 2's attempts to create narrative and metaphorical relationships between Columbia and Rapture are too obvious, as if the game is leaping around shouting "look at me" (I knew what ammo to toss you because I read a lot about guns!), and tricky timey-wimey issues are glossed over with familiar fictional platitudes (I know this won't happen because it didn't!). Overall, however, Episode 2 leaves behind the first episode's uncomfortable meshing of incompatible game mechanics, and creates a coherence between narrative and action that even BioShock Infinite's main campaign never fully established. Elizabeth is not a natural murderer, and Burial at Sea, Episode 2 doesn't force you to play her as one.</p><p style="">That isn't to say that you don't have guns to shoot if you want to use them, though Elizabeth is so vulnerable that she can't participate in the straightforward shootouts that characterized BioShock Infinite. Instead, the episode prioritizes sneaking and subterfuge, equipping you with a miniature crossbow that shoots tranquilizing projectiles and darts tipped with knockout gas, and gifting you with a plasmid that allows you to become temporarily invisible and to see through walls. The result of this shift in approach is that big daddies are more ominous than ever. You cannot destroy them, only avoid or distract them. That hollow, soul-crushing groan that warns of a big daddy's presence caused my heart to sink into my stomach multiple times, knowing that I could never go toe-to-toe with the monstrosity that emitted it. Splicers, too, provide a fresh fear factor, given that you cannot damage them with a melee attack if they are aware of your presence; you can only momentarily stun them that way.</p><figure data-align="right" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2488856-0003.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2488856" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2488856-0003.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2488856"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/416/4161502/2488856-0003.jpg"></a><figcaption>Lockpicking is no longer an automated process.</figcaption></figure><p style="">And thus Episode 2 rocks to a different rhythm than Infinite's previous adventures. The pace is methodical but not slothful, and while the sneaking isn't a crushing challenge, it requires some forethought. Occasionally, I would slink up to a splicer from behind and knock him out with a swift melee blow. Other times, I would take aim at a fiend from a balcony above and fire a tranquilizer dart into his neck. Every so often, I set icy traps using the winter blast plasmid, and then tricked splicers into crossing them by firing noisemakers in their general direction. And when I was cornered, a blast from a shotgun could cure my ills, though this was typically a last-resort option. I sought every nook and cranny, gathering lockpicks and performing a simple but enjoyable minigame to access locked areas or neuter pesky turrets. What a pleasure to explore Rapture not as a gun-toting maniac, but as a survivor seeking answers.</p><p style="">And yes, Elizabeth is a survivor here, incapable of opening tears and observing the endless versions of power-hungry men and the lighthouses that lead to them. You discover the circumstances that led to her loss of omniscience as you follow the game's natural trail, and the episode does a creditable job of giving narrative context to its own mechanics. Elizabeth's vulnerability in combat is echoed in her emotional vulnerability; she is merely human now, reliant mainly on her wits and her intelligence, and at the mercy of the sociopaths she must manipulate.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2488858-0004.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2488858" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2488858-0004.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2488858"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/416/4161502/2488858-0004.jpg"></a><figcaption>Meet your new best friend, the diminutive crossbow. </figcaption></figure><p style="">BioShock Infinite's conclusion left my mouth agape, but its narrative puzzles weren't impenetrable. Burial at Sea's finale, however, isn't so up front about its meaning. And so I have begun another playthrough, seeking clarity while muddling through on a difficulty setting that allows me access only to nonlethal weapons. My glee in doing so says a lot about the new episode's quality, especially in relation to the opening episode. Some strained metaphors and connections aside, the cities of Rapture and Columbia make for strange but comfortable bedfellows in BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea - Episode 2. More importantly, Elizabeth's journey is tense and rewarding on its own terms, and is one that makes Rapture as mysterious as it was the first time you ventured inside.</p> Wed, 26 Mar 2014 18:09:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/bioshock-infinite-burial-at-sea-episode-2-review/1900-6415712/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/on-the-battering-ram-diablo-iii-reaper-of-souls-ga/2300-6418007/ The Battlefields of Eternity are full of unspeakable terrors and a battering ram. Wed, 26 Mar 2014 18:05:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/on-the-battering-ram-diablo-iii-reaper-of-souls-ga/2300-6418007/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/bioshock-infinite-burial-at-sea-episode-2-gameplay/2300-6418005/ [MILD SPOILERS] Peer into the world of Bioshock Infinite through Elizabeth's eyes for the very first time in this preview of Burial at Sea Episode 2. Wed, 26 Mar 2014 17:52:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/bioshock-infinite-burial-at-sea-episode-2-gameplay/2300-6418005/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/diablo-iii-reaper-of-souls-gameplay-storming-the-p/2300-6418006/ Follow a demon hunter as she battles a horde of reapers and archer skeletons in Diablo III: Reaper of Souls. Wed, 26 Mar 2014 17:46:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/diablo-iii-reaper-of-souls-gameplay-storming-the-p/2300-6418006/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/report-california-s-anti-game-senator-leland-yee-arrested-on-corruption-bribery-charges/1100-6418563/ <div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6417986" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6417986/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style="">UPDATE: Senator Leland Yee was arrested today by the FBI "conspiracy to traffic in firearms without a license and to illegally import firearms, as well as with participating in a scheme to defraud citizens of honest services," the <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/California-state-Sen-Leland-Yee-arrested-in-5350602.php#page-1" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">SFGate reports. </a></p><p style="">In a bid to become Secretary of State, Yee apparently "solicited money from undercover FBI agents" and engaged in "a discussion with the undercover agents about an illegal gun-trafficking deal."</p><p style=""><em>The original story appears below.</em></p><p dir="ltr" style="">Democratic California state senator Leland Yee, an outspoken critic of the video game industry, has been arrested on bribery and corruption charges. The FBI nabbed the politician this morning during a sting operation, sources have told <a href="http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/California-State-Senator-Leland-Yee-Arrested-on-Bribery-And-Corruption-Charges-252452181.html" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">NBC Bay Area</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Yee represents District 8, which includes video game development hotbeds like San Francisco and San Mateo County. Gamers know him as the man who put forth the <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/violent-game-law-falls-in-supreme-court/1100-6318632/" data-ref-id="1100-6318632">much-publicized violent game law that the United States Supreme Court struck down in 2011</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">We called Yee's office and no one picked up. We've left messages with his secretary and the state press secretary.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Following the December 2012 schoolhouse massacre in Newtown, Conn., Yee again <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/gamers-need-to-quiet-down-says-ca-senator/1100-6402953/" data-ref-id="1100-6402953">criticized gamers and the industry at large</a>.</p><p style="">"Gamers have got to just quiet down," Yee said at the time. "Gamers have no credibility in this argument. This is all about their lust for violence and the industry's lust for money. This is a billion-dollar industry. This is about their self-interest."</p><p style="">We'll continue to monitor this story as it develops.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/EddieMakuch" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Twitter @EddieMakuch</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> Wed, 26 Mar 2014 17:30:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/report-california-s-anti-game-senator-leland-yee-arrested-on-corruption-bribery-charges/1100-6418563/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/hammerwatch-gameplay-multiple-players-highlights/2300-6418002/ Chris crawls some dungeons in Hammerwatch with his crew: Mary Kish, Pedro, and Raul The Coward. Wed, 26 Mar 2014 16:59:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/hammerwatch-gameplay-multiple-players-highlights/2300-6418002/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/zombies-monsters-robots-has-zombies-monsters-and-robots/1100-6418514/ <p style="">Zombies are popular. Monsters are big. Robots get a fair amount of attention, too. It only makes sense, then, that video games would want to throw all three into a disgusting stew and cook up some craziness.</p><p style="">Zombies Monsters Robots is another video game incorporating this terrific trio. The title may bring to mind a top-down shooter, the kind the once dominated the console downloadable marketplaces, but this upcoming free-to-play extravaganza is a third-person shooter that feels a lot like <a href="/gears-of-war/" data-ref-id="false">Gears of War</a>. In fact, Zombies Monsters Robots isn't made from wholly new ingredients, but rather shares many of the same features with developer YingPei Games' <a href="/mercenary-ops/" data-ref-id="false">Mercenary Ops</a>. And of course, a developer once known as Epic Games China would know a thing or two about Gears of War.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6417980" data-width="854" data-height="480"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6417980/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style="">Publisher En Masse (known for the action-focused online role-playing game <a href="/tera/" data-ref-id="false">Tera</a>) calls Zombies Monsters Robots the sequel to iOS shooter Mercenary Ops, and it will even include all of Mercenary Ops' content in addition to its own. And talk about a lot of content: ZMR will feature up 60-odd maps playable in 15 different modes, some of which have you piloting mechs and controlling monsters in addition to shooting up meanies on foot. ZMR is not a mobile game, however, but is coming to PC; and where Mercenary Ops focused on player-versus-player combat, ZMR is centered on cooperative play in which you and up to seven friends take on waves of the titular enemies, Horde Mode style, in one-off scenarios or entire campaigns.</p><figure data-align="left" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2485487-zmr_demo__11_.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2485487" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2485487-zmr_demo__11_.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2485487"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/416/4161502/2485487-zmr_demo__11_.jpg"></a><figcaption>But who's the real monster here? Oh wait--you are. Sometimes, anyway.</figcaption></figure><p style="">I recently got to take a five-player co-op map out for a spin with other members of the press, and I was excited to do so after En Masse called the game "frantic and crazy," and told me that "nothing is too outrageous." Unfortunately, the cooperative scenario wasn't as crazy and outrageous as I'd hoped, in light of the trailer En Masse presented in advance, which featured awesome-looking monsters and an appealing bloody-beautiful vibe. It wasn't that my time with ZMR wasn't decent fun--it was that it was so very expected. My teammates and I first chose our characters, each one featuring a different loadout, and then we sauntered into a dank dungeon harboring zombie people, zombie dogs, and other Raccoon City escapees.</p><p style="">En Masse calls ZMR a "console-style shooter," which in this case means third-person action so clearly inspired by Gears of War that the game boasts an active reload feature, in which you reload your weapon faster by performing a properly-timed button tap. ZMR also uses a Gears-style roadie run, a sprinting style that works when you are thrusting your impossibly muscled, heavily armored body into cover, but seems out of place in a fast-paced zombie scenario without cover mechanics. (Apparently, the PVP matches feature cover, while the cooperative match I played does not.)</p><p style="">Nevertheless, there's nothing wrong with some good ooze-splattering fun, and the five of us spilled a lot of zombie goo as the undead charged us, their bright orange vulnerable spots begging to be torn open. The halls and rooms we charged through echoed with the sounds of earsplitting machine-gun fire, growling dogs, and grunting zombies. I could also hear the clanking of tools on metal, the result of my teammates repairing the broken windows through which the undead would otherwise have leapt through. Environmental repair was one of two features that helped freshen up the tried-and-true action, the other example being the various traps we could activate. One of these traps was a giant spiked log that rolled forward, stabbing and crushing anyone--including my teammates--that stood in its way. Another was a giant blast of fire that incinerated its surprised victims. Guns are great, but guns, spikes, and flames are another trio I can truly get behind.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2485488-zmr_the_pit.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2485488" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2485488-zmr_the_pit.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2485488"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/416/4161502/2485488-zmr_the_pit.jpg"></a><figcaption>He's not a misunderstood victim of society's ills. He's just a maniac. </figcaption></figure><p style=""> </p><p style="">The battle ended with a boss fight versus a hideous armored meatbag that swung thick chains around and had a nasty habit of electrocuting anyone who happened to be standing in the wrong place at the wrong time. He could also pull the walls inwards, crushing us between them if we didn't rush in close to the very mutant we were trying to defeat. The slow response times when sprinting and tumbling elicited some frustration, but rarely does felling such a giant foe not bring with it a sense of reward, and reducing this giant freak of nature to a pile of flesh was appropriately satisfying. You'll be able to meet the meat in May for yourself when Zombies Monsters Robots hits early access status.</p> Wed, 26 Mar 2014 16:21:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/zombies-monsters-robots-has-zombies-monsters-and-robots/1100-6418514/ http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/diablo-3-reaper-of-souls-review/1900-6415713/ <p style="">What motivates the heroes of Sanctuary to battle the forces that threaten humanity? Is it an unwavering desire to do what's right? Or is it a thirst for more power, more riches, and more stuff? Whatever it is, Reaper of Souls has it. This expansion adds a decent new character class, a great new campaign act, and most significantly, Adventure mode, a devious Blizzard concoction calculated to make <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/diablo-iii/" data-ref-id="false">Diablo III</a>'s existing content more rewarding--and more addictive--than it has been in the past.</p><p style="">The angel of death, Malthael, is the force threatening humanity in the new campaign chapter, and the impressive opening cutscene establishes him as a fearsome adversary indeed, showing us why he's called the reaper of souls. In a bid to end the conflict between angels and demons once and for all, Malthael is slaughtering humankind and adding the dead to his ever-growing armies. He's a terrific and terrifying villain, and it's just too bad that he doesn't show up a bit more between his show-stopping entrance and the challenging boss battle that concludes the act.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6418007" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6418007/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style="">Your journey to confront Malthael takes you through the most grim and beautiful locations Diablo III has yet featured. Absent here is any hint of the life and color that sometimes clawed their way into the settings for the first four acts. Instead, you explore the gloomy city of Westmarch on one of the worst nights in its history. Later, in an impressive moment, you stand atop a massive battering ram as it smashes open the gates of the fortress of Pandemonium, and then venture into the eerie ethereal realm that lies beyond. If you like your Diablo dark, you'll be pleased to find that act five starts that way and stays that way. It's also noticeably a bit tougher than the acts that precede it, throwing more swarms of monsters at you more frequently. Malthael is determined to give your clicking finger a workout.</p><figure data-align="left" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/78/787590/2489045-ci-172293776030361934.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2489045" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/78/787590/2489045-ci-172293776030361934.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2489045"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/78/787590/2489045-ci-172293776030361934.jpg"></a><figcaption>Urzael, one of act five's new bosses, is a fierce and fiery foe.</figcaption></figure><p style="">Reaper of Souls raises the level cap to 70, giving each class new active and passive skills to unlock. Playing through act five using my demon hunter, I made frequent use of her new vengeance skill, which tremendously increases the amount of damage you deal for 15 seconds. And the expansion introduces a new class, the crusader, a holy warrior who employs a mix of melee and ranged attacks. Crusaders feel weighty and formidable, able to bash foes with shields and cut a swath through enemies with flails, while also making use of defensive skills to manage the danger, like the ability to temporarily blind nearby enemies. They're a fine addition to Diablo III's existing pantheon of powerful heroes.</p><p style="">But the most significant addition Reaper of Souls brings to Diablo III is Adventure mode. Unlocked once you've defeated Malthael, Adventure mode gives you bite-size bounties to tackle in every region across Diablo III's five acts, making it a great way to accomplish something meaningful even if you can play for only 15 minutes or so. Bounties have goals like killing a specific boss or clearing a certain dungeon of monsters, and they reward you with gold, experience, and a new item called blood shards, usable at specific merchants. Completing all five bounties in an act earns you a Horadric cache, which might contain some sweet gear.</p><p style="">The best rewards, however, come once you collect five rift keystone fragments from doing bounties, and can then open a nephalem rift. These randomized dungeons are visually striking for the ways in which they combine tilesets from familiar locations with different lighting effects, and conquering one of these dungeons earns you some quality loot. Diablo III is, at its core, a game about addiction. It tries to keep you coming back by tempting you with increasingly alluring rewards. With Adventure mode, Diablo III now has a way to get bigger, better rewards to you faster than it has before.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/78/787590/2489070-ci94211953630361934.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2489070" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/78/787590/2489070-ci94211953630361934.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2489070"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/78/787590/2489070-ci94211953630361934.jpg"></a><figcaption>Death maidens are maidens who come bearing death. Also, they're really tall.</figcaption></figure><p style="">And if you're not happy with a particular piece of loot you earn, there's now a new artisan, the mystic, who can replace one randomly generated property on a piece of gear for you; it's a bit of a gamble, but you might end up with something better. She can also change the appearance of your items, turning your armor into something that looks more stylish or making your helm look like a hood.</p><p style="">If you've played Diablo III before and found that it wasn't for you, the changes Reaper of Souls makes to the game won't be far-reaching enough to change your mind. Reaper gives those who already liked Diablo III more of what they already liked about it. Adventure mode leverages Diablo III's existing content in a clever way, and with its haunting settings and memorable villain, act five is the best chapter in the game's campaign. If you're looking for reasons to keep on clicking, Reaper of Souls has plenty.</p> Wed, 26 Mar 2014 16:01:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/diablo-3-reaper-of-souls-review/1900-6415713/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/gs-news-xbox-live-punishing-abuse-facebook-s-oculu/2300-6418001/ We give you all the juicy details on Facebook buying Oculus VR, and what you need to know about how Microsoft is monitoring your Xbox Live behaviour! Wed, 26 Mar 2014 16:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/gs-news-xbox-live-punishing-abuse-facebook-s-oculu/2300-6418001/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/facebook-oculus-rift-and-the-kickstarter-backlash/1100-6418571/ <p style="">An angry roar erupted across the Internet yesterday. Facebook--that omnipresent, unavoidable social media corporation--had <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/facebook-buys-oculus-rift-company-in-a-massive-deal-worth-an-estimated-2-billion/1100-6418540/" data-ref-id="1100-6418540">purchased Oculus VR</a> for $2 billion. The pioneers of modern-day virtual reality had given up their self-ownership for a sum greater than the <a href="http://www.studentsoftheworld.info/infopays/rank/PNB2.html" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">gross national product of Greenland</a>, consumed by a company sewn into the very fabric of our social structure. <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/oculus-rift-kickstarter-backers-rage-against-facebook-sale/1100-6418553/" data-ref-id="1100-6418553">Resentment spread like wildfire</a> as many of those who had helped fund the Oculus Rift when it was nothing more than a far-off promise on Kickstarter were blindsided by the transaction. Oculus VR had betrayed those who had believed in the company, sold out to an unworthy website, and destroyed the goodwill it had fostered. People were livid, and I can sympathize with those feelings. But we have learned a valuable lesson: Giving money on Kickstarter does not mean we have any say in a company's decisions.</p><p style="">In an idealized point of view, Kickstarter has transformed the high-stakes game of startup investment into something that anyone with spare change can take part in. Creators propose an idea, and those whose interest is piqued give money to see that such a product can materialize. Books and movies are funded in this manner, and games that would never have found a publisher are brought to life by the people who are most passionate in digital entertainment. Studios are formed, companies graduate from tinkering in garages to working in proper offices, and all because people have spoken loud and clear with their wallets. The job of venture capitalists has been brought to the masses. No longer do you need millions of dollars to invest in something that tickles your fancy. People have the power, and a large group can scrounge up enough cash to bring any project to life.</p><div data-height="100%" data-width="100%" data-ref-id="2300-6417961" data-embed-type="video"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6417961/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style="">We feel a sense of ownership in every project we choose to fund on Kickstarter. This is true no matter what we're giving money to--I imagine we would see similar unrest if Double Fine had sold <a href="/broken-age/" data-ref-id="false">Broken Age</a> to Electronic Arts--but it's even more difficult to shake that notion in this example. People didn't give money to make just another game. No, the people who helped kickstart the Oculus Rift birthed an entire company. Oculus VR is nothing without its virtual reality headset, and because its very existence depends on those who financed it years ago, we thought of them as a grassroots company that listened to us. And that feeling has changed now that Facebook owns them.</p><p style="">We have to keep in mind that a Kickstarter backer and a venture capitalist are not the same roles. And it's this disconnect that has led to the gnashing of teeth and the heated posts on message boards. Although a venture capitalist may own a piece of the company, or get a cash return on the investment once profitability is reached, nothing is owed a Kickstarter backer beyond the milestone rewards posted on each page. Everyone has intrinsic knowledge that this is the case. We know that if we pledge a certain amount of money, we get a copy of a game when it comes out (assuming it ever does) or that our name will appear in the credits. Rationally, we know that we're going to receive only what has been spelled out. We do not own a part of the company, nor do we receive a dividend from profits made. We know all this. But knowledge only matters to a certain point.</p><figure data-ref-id="1300-2489016" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/725/7253563/2489016-mark-zukergerg-facebook-owner-founder-rise-stock-price-25-july-2013.jpg" data-size="medium" data-align="right" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/725/7253563/2489016-mark-zukergerg-facebook-owner-founder-rise-stock-price-25-july-2013.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2489016"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/725/7253563/2489016-mark-zukergerg-facebook-owner-founder-rise-stock-price-25-july-2013.jpg"></a></figure><p style="">Emotions can overwhelm even the most grounded of individuals. And we see an outpouring of emotions in the angry reaction to this high-tech transaction. Yes, the backers may <em>know</em> that they aren't owed anything more than they have already received. But who cares about facts? Oculus VR was nothing when it first proposed its fantastical ideas on Kickstarter. Virtual reality had been a failure ever since it had first debuted many decades ago, so there was no positive momentum to build upon. Yet despite the mountain of evidence stating that virtual reality is just a science-fiction fantasy, thousands of people embraced the ideas that Oculus VR was proposing. They punched in their credit card numbers in the hopes of getting a glimpse of the newfangled contraption before anyone else and because they believed that virtual reality was no longer just a fantasy. It was now a reality.</p><p style="">Facebook was not willing to spend money on what Oculus VR might be capable of years ago when the Kickstarter campaign was launched. It was not willing to spend billions of dollars to become an early backer in the next generation of virtual reality. No, it was not a giant corporation that saw the brilliance of this device. It was ordinary people who did--people with a vision and just enough extra money to see their dream realized. And though we know that nothing more than the stated rewards are owed to backers, that doesn't matter. People gave Oculus VR money when the company needed it most, and now that Oculus has more cash than any of us can fathom, many feel as if their baby has turned its back on them. After all, it wouldn't have ever reached these heights without investments from the people. Why shouldn't the backers be rewarded for having such strong beliefs in virtual reality when no one else did?</p><blockquote data-size="large" data-align="center"><p style="">We have learned a valuable lesson: Giving money on Kickstarter does not mean we have any say in a company's decisions.</p></blockquote><p style="">I do not have a financial stake in this scenario. When Oculus launched its Kickstarter, I could only roll my eyes that another team of talented individuals was going to waste its time in a dead-end technology. I have not given one cent to Oculus. But I understand why those who have done so feel betrayed. Kickstarter has an entrepreneurial aura that makes it seem like those who use it have realized the follies of corporate ownership and instead have turned to the people to see their wishes fulfilled. There's a communal energy, one that grows through the Internet as people spread word about a fascinating idea that needs more funding. Kickstarter has shrunk the world, making it more intimate, as disparate people team up to support the same cause. Am I idealizing this enterprise? Of course I am. But it was nice to think that such a website existed.</p><figure data-ref-id="1300-2488966" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/725/7253563/2488966-oculusrift1.jpg" data-size="medium" data-align="left" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/725/7253563/2488966-oculusrift1.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2488966"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/725/7253563/2488966-oculusrift1.jpg"></a></figure><p style="">Now that we see how willing a company is to be swallowed by a massive corporation, that illusion is destroyed. Nothing has changed in the raw mechanics of Kickstarter. We still give money for what we find interesting and reap the rewards that are promised to us. But we have to face reality going forward. Even though we may think we have a relationship to the proprietors, we don't. Or at least that relationship isn't a given. Although some seek outside feedback to grow their project into something special, for others, we're faceless investors who aren't going to receive anything more tangible because we believed in what a creator was doing and gave money to help their vision come to fruition.</p><p style="">For those who are still angry, I understand. And it's fine to shout and yell and let your voices be heard. Think about how you feel now, and don't forget it. Kickstarter is not going to change. You have to decide if you're comfortable giving money to a company just so it can potentially become incredibly rich in the future. And understand that no contract has been broken. Oculus VR did what it believed is best for the company, and we can only hope that Facebook stands by its word that it will not interfere in the Rift's development going forward. I understand why you're angry. But we have to accept that reality will not always bend to our whims.</p><p style=""> </p><p style=""> </p> Wed, 26 Mar 2014 14:37:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/facebook-oculus-rift-and-the-kickstarter-backlash/1100-6418571/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/trials-fusion-random-encounter/2300-6418000/ Danny gets his hands on the Trials Fusion beta, and tries to have the best time trials in the office! Wed, 26 Mar 2014 14:33:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/trials-fusion-random-encounter/2300-6418000/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/over-1-million-concurrent-viewers-watch-500-000-esports-championship/1100-6418570/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1534/15343359/2488814-0000-katowice2014_infographic001.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2488814" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1534/15343359/2488814-0000-katowice2014_infographic001.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2488814"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1534/15343359/2488814-0000-katowice2014_infographic001.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1534/15343359/2488815-0002-katowice2014_infographic002.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2488815" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1534/15343359/2488815-0002-katowice2014_infographic002.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2488815"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1534/15343359/2488815-0002-katowice2014_infographic002.jpg"></a></figure><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1534/15343359/2488816-0003-katowice2014_infographic003.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2488816" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1534/15343359/2488816-0003-katowice2014_infographic003.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2488816"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1534/15343359/2488816-0003-katowice2014_infographic003.jpg"></a></figure><p style="">As the above infographic shows, ESL's Intel Extreme Masters in Katowice was not only a success, it showcased the continuing trend of esports growth--not only breaking several of ESL's own viewing records, but also proving to be one of the most viewed professional gaming events of all time. And <a href="http://www.ongamers.com/articles/esl-s-iem-katowice-by-the-numbers/1100-1100/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="1100-1100">combining this with concurrent viewers across Asia, over 1 million people tuned in to watch the tournament</a></p><p style="">The break-neck pace of growth is exemplified by the <a href="/league-of-legends/" data-ref-id="false">League of Legends</a> finals between South Korea's KT Rolster Bullets and Europe's Fnatic, setting a new record for the most viewed single match in ESL history with 511,000 concurrent viewers tuning in on Twitch (which does not include Asia), a whopping 69% growth over the previous record set at IEM Cologne just five months ago.</p><div data-embed-type="html"><iframe src="http://www.ongamers.com/videos/embed/395/" height="400" width="640"></iframe></div><p style=""> </p><p style="">"It was only six or seven years ago that we were happy to see 12,000 concurrent online viewers on a single match," said ESL's Director of Progaming Michal Blicharz. "We had 12,000 watching matches live in the flesh in Katowice and hundreds of thousands online. This growth is simply mind blowing."$508,000 in prize money was given out to competitors including <a href="http://www.ongamers.com/articles/ems-one-katowice-concludes-with-virtus-pro-dominating-nip/1100-1058/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="1100-1058">Counter-Strike champions</a> Virtus Pro, <a href="http://www.ongamers.com/articles/recap-iem-lol-katowice-2014-grand-finals/1100-1052/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="1100-1052">League of Legends champions</a> KT Bullets, and StarCraft 2 winner Kim 'sOs<b>'</b> Yoo Jin who took home $100,000 in a winner-takes-all tournament.</p><p style="">For even more in-depth esports analysis, <a href="http://www.ongamers.com/articles/esl-s-iem-katowice-by-the-numbers/1100-1100/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="1100-1100">read the full breakdown on onGamers.com</a>.</p><table data-max-width="true"><tbody><tr><td><p style=""><strong>Rod Breslau is an editor at onGamers.com, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/Slasher" rel="nofollow"> Twitter @Slasher</a></strong></p><p style=""><strong>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></strong></p></td></tr></tbody></table> Wed, 26 Mar 2014 14:09:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/over-1-million-concurrent-viewers-watch-500-000-esports-championship/1100-6418570/
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