http://auth.gamespot.com/ Gamespot's Everything Feed! News, Reviews, Videos. Exploding with content? You bet. en-us Wed, 23 Jul 2014 22:41:34 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/why-do-mmorpg-subscription-fees-still-exist/2300-6420410/ MMO fees used to be normal, but times change. So why do Elder Scrolls Online, WildStar, and Final Fantasy XIV still use them? We asked, they answered. Wed, 23 Jul 2014 18:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/why-do-mmorpg-subscription-fees-still-exist/2300-6420410/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/average-us-game-dev-made-83k-in-2013-females-made-/1100-6421276/ <figure data-ref-id="1300-2606584" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/123/1239113/2606584-ccp.jpg" data-size="large" data-align="center" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/123/1239113/2606584-ccp.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2606584"><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/123/1239113/2606584-ccp.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">The average salaried game developer in the United States made $83,060 during 2013, according to <a href="http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/221533/Game_Developer_Salary_Survey_2014_The_results_are_in.php" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Gamasutra</a>'s <a href="http://www.gamasutra.com/salarysurvey2014.pdf" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">annual salary survey</a>, which reflects data from more than 4,000 developers.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">That's a small drop from <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/average-2012-us-dev-salary-84000/1100-6406397/" data-ref-id="1100-6406397">2012, when the number was $84,337</a>, but it's also more than what was earned by female developers on average. Again, looking at salaried positions in the US, men made an average of $85,074, compared with $72,882 for women. In other words, women earned an average of 86 percent of what men did, although this figure varies depending on the position. For instance, women in the audio field made 68% of what men in that field do, while women designers earned 94% of what their male counterparts do.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The gender wage gap remains a problem not just for the games industry, but the economy as a whole. The report notes that 86 percent is actually a higher figure than the national average, which sees females make 77 percent of what their male counterparts earn.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Fourteen percent of those who participated in the survey indicated they were laid off during the course of the year. (That figure had been dropping each of the three prior years.) On the other hand, 60 percent saw their salary increase as compared with what they made during 2012.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Of the fields covered in the survey, "business and management" proved to be the best-paying area in the US ($101,572 average salary), followed by audio professionals ($95,682) and programmers ($93,251). Quality assurance ($54,833) was at the bottom of the list.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Also of note are salaries for independent developers who were surveyed. Leaving out those who made less than $10,000 or more than $200,000, non-salaried indies working on their own earned $11,812 on average. Those working on a team made significantly more, earning an average of $50,833.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">You can check out the full report <a href="http://www.gamasutra.com/salarysurvey2014.pdf" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">in this PDF</a>. It's full of interesting facts, like a breakdown of the highest average salary by state--California was number one, followed by Washington and North Carolina.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">What stands out to you most about these figures? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Chris Pereira is a freelance writer for GameSpot, and you can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/thesmokingmanx" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @TheSmokingManX</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><em><strong>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com</strong></em></td></tr></tbody></table> Wed, 23 Jul 2014 17:32:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/average-us-game-dev-made-83k-in-2013-females-made-/1100-6421276/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/gamespot-at-comic-con-2014/2300-6420408/ GameSpot will be live from Comic-Con 2014 all week. Check out this montage of our previous exploits and make sure you join us for coverage of all your favorite comic games and more. Wed, 23 Jul 2014 17:14:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/gamespot-at-comic-con-2014/2300-6420408/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/bombs-and-barrages-in-daggerstone-pass-wildstars-n/1100-6421272/ <p style="">It was bound to be a slaughter. On my Exile team were 15 people connected by our professions--some of us games writers, some of us game developers at Carbine Studios; on the Dominion team were 15 organized guildmates calling themselves the Warmongers. We were decked out in standard gear provided to our max-level characters so that we might take part in player-versus-player matches on the WildStar test server; the Warmongers were clad in top-tier player-versus-player gear. Winning wasn't even a remote possibility. Neither was survival, for that matter.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Since that grueling match, WildStar's newest PvP arena and mode have been released to the game's public servers, and I'm here to say that you're in for a wild ride if you've taken to WildStar's hyperkinetic brand of online competition. The name of the map is Daggerstone Pass, and the name of the mode is Sabotage. The goal is to damage the opposition's base, and the most straightforward way of doing so is to capture one of three hold points (called uplinks), which calls in a gunship that periodically bombs the enemy's home. The more uplinks you capture, the greater the damage bonus. The cleverer way of proving your team's superiority, however, is to pick up the bombs that spawn near your own base, and carry them to your enemy's base, or even better, its fusion core. The trick here, however, is that bombs detonate once their timers count down, regardless of who is holding it, and where. This is a great way to damage an enemy's base, or to distract an aimless team while you capture uplinks. But it's also a great way to carelessly wound yourself and your teammates.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6420393" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6420393/" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p dir="ltr" style="">In many ways, the map feels much like a combination of WildStar's other arenas--a bit of Walatiki Temple's mask-ferrying, and a bit of Halls of the Bloodsworn's base-capturing. Daggerstone Pass is a rather expansive bit of real estate, however, so be prepared to jump on a hoverboard or a trask if you want to keep up with your opponents. The matches I played took all manner of twists and turns. Some battles were 20-player swarms at the center uplink, where I had to frequently leap out of harm's way while thanking the Old Gods of Mikros for my spellslinger's crowd-control skills. Smaller-scale clashes often blossomed near bomb-carriers, where my fellow Exiles and I tried frantically to keep our vital teammate healed while fending off the Dominion scum who had painted a bullseye on the carrier's back.</p><figure data-align="right" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2606521-wildstar+-+wildstar+-+2014-07-21+03-02-39+%28p%2910.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2606521" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2606521-wildstar+-+wildstar+-+2014-07-21+03-02-39+%28p%2910.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2606521"><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_medium/416/4161502/2606521-wildstar+-+wildstar+-+2014-07-21+03-02-39+%28p%2910.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">Daggerstone Pass also has a similar feel to the game's warplots, and that's not by accident. Jen Gordy, group content design lead, told our beleaguered team that while the map wasn't ready in time for WildStar's launch, it had still served as an inspiration for the game's 40-on-40 onslaughts. Carbine is bringing more than just new battlegrounds to the table, however. Says Gordy, "When we were launching the game, we were doing some tests and realized [the launch system] wasn't going to be as effective as we thought it was going to be. We have made some changes where your healing and damage efficiency for player-versus-player combat is reduced when you're in instanced PvP and open-world PvP. You make up for that deficit using the new PvP power stat, which adds to your damage and healing capabilities. The relationship between offense and defense is now a fairly straightforward linear relationship, where before it was a little bit muddled, and it was very hard to explain how you were affected."</p><figure data-align="left" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static2.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2606522-wildstar+-+wildstar+-+2014-07-21+03-18-45+%28p%2919.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2606522" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static2.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2606522-wildstar+-+wildstar+-+2014-07-21+03-18-45+%28p%2919.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2606522"><img src="http://static2.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_medium/416/4161502/2606522-wildstar+-+wildstar+-+2014-07-21+03-18-45+%28p%2919.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">The result: if you aren't wearing PvP gear, you are gonna get wrecked if you're facing a better-prepared team. I can certainly attest to said wreckage, having come out of three matches versus pre-made teams with three losses and a resulting foul mood. I wasn't helping matters, of course, asking various questions about the new content rather than formulating winning strategies with the team. And let's not talk about the time I picked up a bomb and it exploded in my grasp about seven seconds later. No--let's definitely not talk about that. Instead, let's talk about the terrible WildStar puns the games writers and developers made while playing. "You guys are really Draken me down right now." "We've got 20 seconds left to Chua on the fat." "This is starting to get a bit Mechari-anical now."</p><p style="">You can get acquainted with Daggerstone pass once you reach level 30, but be prepared for a particularly savage display of guns and blades in this one. Let my battle scars be a lesson for everyone.</p> Wed, 23 Jul 2014 17:05:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/bombs-and-barrages-in-daggerstone-pass-wildstars-n/1100-6421272/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/watch-titanfalls-frontiers-edge-dlc-in-action-laun/1100-6421273/ <div data-height="100%" data-width="100%" data-ref-id="2300-6420405" data-embed-type="video"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6420405/" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p dir="ltr" style=""><a href="/titanfall/" data-ref-id="false">Titanfall</a>'s second DLC pack is just over a week away from release. Developer Respawn Entertainment announced today that <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/titanfalls-new-dlc-will-take-you-to-beaches-and-mi/1100-6420975/" data-ref-id="1100-6420975">Frontier's Edge </a>will arrive on July 31. You can check out the replay of a Respawn live stream showing it in action below.</p><p style="">Respawn noted during today's stream that we'll be getting patch notes next week for the next free game update, which will arrive alongside Frontier's Edge. Its biggest addition is the <a href="http://www.titanfall.com/news/titanfall-the-black-market" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Black Market</a>, an in-game store where you'll be able to purchase packs of burn cards, insignias for your Titan, XP boosts, and so on. These will be available in exchange for credits, a new currency being added that is earned by playing matches, completing daily challenges (another new addition), and selling burn cards. If this is beginning to sound like it's being added in order to offer microtransactions, worry not--credits can't be purchased with real-world money.</p><p style="">Other aspects of the next update include multi-GPU support on PC, a notification for when a flag carrier hops aboard your Titan, and various bug fixes.</p><p style=""><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/titanfalls-new-dlc-will-take-you-to-beaches-and-mi/1100-6420975/" data-ref-id="1100-6420975">As detailed earlier this month</a>, Frontier's Edge--the second of three planned DLC packs--consists of three new maps: Dig Site, Haven, and Export. It's included in the <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-new-titanfall-dlc-will-take-you-to-beaches-and/1100-6420975/?preview=1/" data-ref-id="1100-6420975">$25 season pass</a>, and will also be sold on its own for $10. As with the first map pack, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/titanfall-expedition-dlc-will-be-released-for-xbox-one-and-pc-tomorrow-costs-10/1100-6419619/" data-ref-id="1100-6419619">Expedition</a>, Frontier's Edge will <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/titanfall-dlc-updates-land-on-xbox-360-only-after-xbox-one-pc/1100-6419553/" data-ref-id="1100-6419553">launch first on Xbox One and PC</a>, and sometime later on Xbox 360. This is due to the 360 version being developed by Bluepoint, rather than Respawn. In the case of Expedition, it was about a month's wait.</p><p style="">What do you think about the new map pack and game update? Let us know in the comments.</p><div data-embed-type="html"><object id="clip_embed_player_flash" data="http://www.twitch.tv/widgets/archive_embed_player.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="457" width="750"><param name="movie" value="http://www.twitch.tv/widgets/archive_embed_player.swf" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="allowNetworking" value="all" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="flashvars" value="title=Titanfall%253A%2BFrontier%2527s%2BEdge%2BLive%2BStream%2B-%2B%2BJuly%2B23rd%2B12PM%2BPDT%2521&channel=titanfall&auto_play=false&start_volume=25&archive_id=550470117" /></object><br /><a class="trk" style="padding: 2px 0px 4px; display: block; width: 320px; font-weight: normal; font-size: 10px; text-decoration: underline; text-align: center;" href="http://www.twitch.tv/titanfall" rel="nofollow">Watch live video from titanfall on Twitch</a></div><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Chris Pereira is a freelance writer for GameSpot, and you can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/thesmokingmanx" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @TheSmokingManX</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><em><strong>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com</strong></em></td></tr></tbody></table> Wed, 23 Jul 2014 16:36:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/watch-titanfalls-frontiers-edge-dlc-in-action-laun/1100-6421273/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/gs-news-ps4-gets-a-system-update-xbox-one-sales-fi/2300-6420403/ Microsoft finally update us on their console sales, the PS4 continues to get tune-ups, and the world of Bungie's Destiny opens to Xbox users! Wed, 23 Jul 2014 16:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/gs-news-ps4-gets-a-system-update-xbox-one-sales-fi/2300-6420403/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/six-upcoming-vita-games-that-are-as-interesting-as/1100-6421251/ <p style="">We all have tastes that place us in the one percent. My minority opinion is that not only is the Vita an incredible piece of hardware, but it houses a fascinating library as well. After big-budget games failed to engender much excitement in the Vita's early days, Sony shifted its focus to the independent scene, and in turn pushed away much of the audience who craved console experiences on the go. But the library has risen like a digital phoenix in the last few years, supplying more incredible games than I could possibly find the time to play. For just one moment, forget about the distinction between AAA and indie; ignore the technical buzzwords that have dominated our conversations. If fun matters more than anything else, then cast your gaze toward the Vita. I recently played six upcoming games, and the future looks bright for Sony's lovable handheld.</p><h3><strong>Murasaki Baby -- September 2014</strong></h3><figure data-ref-id="1300-2605231" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/725/7253563/2605231-mib_screenshot_003_1377024581.jpg" data-size="medium" data-align="left" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/725/7253563/2605231-mib_screenshot_003_1377024581.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2605231"><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_medium/725/7253563/2605231-mib_screenshot_003_1377024581.jpg"></a></figure><p style="">Before we look ahead to the future, let's travel back to the dark days of yore. The Vita, as you might have noticed, has more control options than even a dexterous octopus could handle. With a touchscreen, backtouch, and a gyroscope, you've got a finger workout that would make even <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0206341/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Steve Oedekerk</a> blush. My point? We were forced to perform acrobatics in awkward and unpleasant ways just to justify the existence of these many features. Unless you're in the minority who enjoyed popping up monsters in <a href="/little-deviants/" data-ref-id="false">Little Deviants</a> or scaling cliffs in <a href="/uncharted-golden-abyss/" data-ref-id="false">Uncharted: Golden Abyss</a>, you probably gave a Bronx cheer to these efforts.</p><p style="">Fast-forward many years, years in which developers have become a little older and much wiser, and we've seen how such deviations can add to the experience. Look no further than <a href="/tearaway/" data-ref-id="false">Tearaway</a> to see how a well-integrated camera can change your every emotion. And now we have <a href="/murasaki-baby/" data-ref-id="false">Murasaki Baby</a>. Guide Baby through a hellish landscape by holding her feeble hand, and manipulate the wind, rain, and screaming demons to guide her toward paradise. It's heartwarming and empowering, and though the puzzles aren't stumpers based on what I've played, the magical aesthetics certainly pulled me into the fold.</p><h3><strong>Metrico -- August 5th</strong></h3><figure data-ref-id="1300-2605232" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/725/7253563/2605232-metrico_kiosk_screenshot.png" data-size="medium" data-align="right" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/725/7253563/2605232-metrico_kiosk_screenshot.png" data-ref-id="1300-2605232"><img src="http://static2.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_medium/725/7253563/2605232-metrico_kiosk_screenshot.png"></a></figure><p style="">Who has time to read? Well, except for you, of course, devouring every word of this article. But for the hurried masses out there, who just want bare-bones facts without properly grasping the data, there's a desire that cannot be quenched by long analysis. And so we gave birth to infographics. Behold skewed information in all its glory! Who cares about the underlying causes when it's so much easier to churn out a pie chart, or a bar graph, or any other manner of distilling those oh-so-tasty raw details into something digestible? One developer has found a way to make infographics even better.</p><p style="">Enter <a href="/metrico/" data-ref-id="false">Metrico</a>. Here's a game that has taken the ubiquitous formula and twisted it into something beautiful. Like with actual infographics, you may not understand exactly why a bar may rise or lower, but unlike with the real deal, you do have the power to make them bow to your wishes. You see, the graphs shift based on your movements. Sometimes a jump may lower a platform, whereas other times you must run around, or ricochet some bullets. The rules are never explained, so you must think and observe. The two worlds I've played gave me those satisfying "aha!" moments I crave from puzzlers.</p><h3><strong>One Way Trip -- 2015</strong></h3><figure data-ref-id="1300-2605233" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/725/7253563/2605233-one-way-trip-ps4-vita-05.png" data-size="medium" data-align="left" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/725/7253563/2605233-one-way-trip-ps4-vita-05.png" data-ref-id="1300-2605233"><img src="http://static3.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_medium/725/7253563/2605233-one-way-trip-ps4-vita-05.png"></a></figure><p style="">I've referred to this game as One Strange Trip much more often than its real name. If you know anything about it, you would forgive me for my mistake. <a href="/one-way-trip/" data-ref-id="false">One <em>Way</em> Trip</a> is as weird as games can be. There's a character named Wishberry Knifeprincess, for instance, who not only fails to explain her royal background, but, well, I don't even know where to go with this sentence. Look at her name! And then there are the the psychedelic visual style, thumping musical score, and insane scenarios, which make you realize how fitting the word "strange" really is.</p><p style="">So, you've got six hours to live, and you're hallucinating like a madman. The water supply has been spiked, and your arms will turn into dolphins if you don't find a cure fast enough. This isn't a typical save-the-world action, however. You use your words to discover the secrets of this bizarre world, and your objective is whatever you want. Talk your way into finding the cause of this outbreak, befriend the weirdos you meet, or bargain to figure out who should die when a gun is pointed on you and a group of masked strangers. I have to admit that One Way Trip was a little too out there for me to grasp in the hour I spent with it, but maybe I'm too uptight for my own good. We could all use a little Wishberry Knifeprincess in our lives.</p><h3><strong>Super Exploding Zoo -- Summer 2014</strong></h3><figure data-ref-id="1300-2605234" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/725/7253563/2605234-jungle0.png" data-size="medium" data-align="right" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/725/7253563/2605234-jungle0.png" data-ref-id="1300-2605234"><img src="http://static4.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_medium/725/7253563/2605234-jungle0.png"></a></figure><p style="">Never underestimate the power of media to change the way people thing. Way back in 1958--before even Kevin VanOrd was born--Disney released a documentary that forever tainted our view of one of nature's most misunderstood creatures. In <i>White Wilderness</i>, a scene was staged that had lemmings <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMZlr5Gf9yY" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">barreling off a cliff</a>, apparently killing themselves in mass numbers, and that myth ingrained itself into our collective beliefs. Granted, DMA Designs might never have crafted the seminal puzzler <a href="/lemmings/" data-ref-id="false">Lemmings</a> had this falsehood not been pushed forth by Mickey Mouse's gang, but it's a tough price to pay for those adorable rodents. Or marsupials? I'm not really sure what lemmings are.</p><p style="">Enough of the history lesson. <a href="/super-exploding-zoo/" data-ref-id="false">Super Exploding Zoo</a> doesn't purport to be a documentary game (if such a thing even exists), though it does present an interesting view of how animals would behave during an alien attack. You see, pandas, crocodiles, and other residents of the animal kingdom would so fear for the safety of their eggs (yes, pandas have eggs), that they would hurl themselves at the invaders and explode in a furry cloud. The Vita certainly isn't shy about weird games, is it? I was riveted by the initial craziness, but after I sank in a half hour or so, it was the puzzles that grabbed my attention. Who would have thought combustible animals could be so entertaining?</p><h3><strong>Rogue Legacy -- July 29th</strong></h3><figure data-ref-id="1300-2605235" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/725/7253563/2605235-rogue-legacy-full-game-2.jpg" data-size="medium" data-align="left" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/725/7253563/2605235-rogue-legacy-full-game-2.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2605235"><img src="http://static5.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_medium/725/7253563/2605235-rogue-legacy-full-game-2.jpg"></a></figure><p style="">And now we come to the ports section of this feature. When those who spurn the Vita aren't stating that it lacks games, they instead point to how much of its library is composed of ports. There's no argument to that position; many of the Vita's best games originated elsewhere. For me, that's a selling point, given that I would rather play games during my daily commute than tethered to a television, but for others, those who just crave new experiences, it's a dark spot. Consider this, though: Because only a small percentage of indie hits make their way to Sony's portable, we have a heavily curated bounty in which only the best of the best make the cut. Not too shabby.</p><p style=""><a href="/rogue-legacy/" data-ref-id="false">Rogue Legacy</a>, of course, falls neatly within that "best" categorization. One of <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/profile/blog/tom-s-favorite-games-of-2013/26050239/" data-ref-id="false">my favorite games from last year</a>, this empowering roguelike does an excellent job of easing in those scared of severe punishment while embracing others who want to be pushed to the bloody edge. The brilliance of this design comes from the Legacy in the title. Once you die (and you will perish often), you pass traits to your next of kin, so you can overcome even the toughest obstacles with enough stubbornness. The port seemed silky smooth, and it contains the various PC updates that added more characters and environments to the core build.</p><h3><strong>The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth -- Summer 2014</strong></h3><figure data-ref-id="1300-2605236" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/725/7253563/2605236-1395860434_4164.jpg" data-size="medium" data-align="right" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/725/7253563/2605236-1395860434_4164.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2605236"><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_medium/725/7253563/2605236-1395860434_4164.jpg"></a></figure><p style="">Don't judge Isaac. If you found yourself in the uterus of hell, you would probably cry just as much as this tormented child. Just cross your fingers that your tears can fly with as much precision, and singe those dire demons who dwell down below. Behind only <a href="/spelunky/" data-ref-id="false">Spelunky</a> in the pantheon of roguelikes, <a href="/the-binding-of-isaac/" data-ref-id="false">The Binding of Isaac</a> is one of the games that I am most excited to play once more. It's got a dose of the original <a href="/the-legend-of-zelda/" data-ref-id="false">The Legend of Zelda</a> in how the game is viewed and controlled, with the punitive structure that draws me to so many roguelikes. I can only imagine how many hours I'll spend on my commute proudly wearing mom's underwear while vanquishing all that is evil.</p><p style="">There is one red flag. Well, it's not too severe, so we'll call it a pink flag, or maybe even orange. There's some slowdown present that most definitely is not there on the PC. Now, this didn't affect my progress since it was an occasional hiccup rather than a choppy slideshow, but it was noticeable even for someone like me who normally doesn't care about such things. We can only cross our fingers that it's ironed out before release. The new art style, however, is quite appealing, as is the enticing musical score, so at least some changes have been for the better. Now read <i>The Anarchist Cookbook</i> and befriend Bob's Rotten Head, because you'll need all the help you can get in The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth.</p> Wed, 23 Jul 2014 15:56:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/six-upcoming-vita-games-that-are-as-interesting-as/1100-6421251/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/battlefield-hardline-delay-pushes-back-battlefield/1100-6421271/ <figure data-ref-id="1300-2606475" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/123/1239113/2606475-bf4.jpg" data-size="large" data-align="center" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/123/1239113/2606475-bf4.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2606475"><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/123/1239113/2606475-bf4.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style=""><a href="/battlefield-hardline/" data-ref-id="false">Battlefield Hardline</a>'s <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/battlefield-4-dragons-teeth-expansion-takes-you-to/1100-6420978/" data-ref-id="1100-6420978">delay until early 2015</a> won't mean fans have no new Battlefield content to play during the year's final quarter. Coinciding with the delay of Hardline, the release of the fifth <a href="/battlefield-4/" data-ref-id="false">Battlefield 4</a> DLC pack, Final Stand, has also been pushed back.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">During a call with Electronic Arts investors yesterday, EA CEO Andrew Wilson mentioned that Final Stand is now "coming Q3." The company's fiscal Q3, to which he was referring, runs from October 1 through December 31.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Final Stand hadn't been given a release date previously--after all, the fourth DLC expansion, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/battlefield-4-dragons-teeth-expansion-takes-you-to/1100-6420978/" data-ref-id="1100-6420978">Dragon's Teeth</a>, is not even in the hands of non-Battlefield Premium members yet. But with Hardline originally being scheduled for October 21, it's likely that Final Stand would have been released well in advance of that.</p><figure data-ref-id="1300-2606485" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/123/1239113/2606485-hardline.jpg" data-size="small" data-align="right" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/123/1239113/2606485-hardline.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2606485"><img src="http://static2.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_small/123/1239113/2606485-hardline.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">Hardline's delay stems in part from <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/battlefield-hardline-multiplayer-to-become-deeper-/1100-6421156/" data-ref-id="1100-6421156">feedback received</a> during <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/battlefield-hardline-here-are-some-ridiculous-ps4-/1100-6421007/" data-ref-id="1100-6421007">last month's beta</a>. EA Studios boss Patrick Söderlund said during the call that the beta had more than 1.7 million players--an impressive number, considering it was only available on <a href="/pc/" data-ref-id="false">PC</a> and <a href="/ps4/" data-ref-id="false">PlayStation 4</a>. EA said it <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/battlefield-hardline-beta-extended-by-one-week/1100-6420592/" data-ref-id="1100-6420592">allowed the beta to go on longer</a> "than we planned because we found a lot of feedback from players in there, providing us valid information and feedback around features of the game and how the game felt, etc.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"And things like the cops and robbers fiction maybe wasn't shining through properly, you know? Is it playing like a military game, but it should be a cops and robbers game? We saw ideas around asymmetric gameplay--a bunch of really strong, good, well-thought ideas that we decided to listen to.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"And having a long discussion with the team, and looking at where we were, we felt like the best thing for us was to give the development team a little bit of extra time and get the game to where we think it needs to be in order to be successful."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Battlefield series creator DICE's GM, Karl Magnus Troedsson, said in a blog post yesterday that the extra development time will allow the game's <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/battlefield-hardline-delayed-until-early-2015/1100-6421246/" data-ref-id="1100-6421246">single-player, multiplayer, and stability to be improved</a>.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Chris Pereira is a freelance writer for GameSpot, and you can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/thesmokingmanx" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @TheSmokingManX</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><em><strong>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com</strong></em></td></tr></tbody></table> Wed, 23 Jul 2014 15:38:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/battlefield-hardline-delay-pushes-back-battlefield/1100-6421271/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/six-upcoming-vita-games-that-are-as-interesting-as/2300-6420404/ Tom McShea runs down six titles that are worth investigating and on their way to your Vita. Wed, 23 Jul 2014 15:10:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/six-upcoming-vita-games-that-are-as-interesting-as/2300-6420404/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-order-1886-dev-says-ps4-the-only-console-that-/1100-6421270/ <div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6417307" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6417307/" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style="">Ready at Dawn, the studio behind the upcoming third-person shooter, <a href="/the-order-1886/" data-ref-id="false">The Order: 1886</a>, has revealed the game's visual quality could have only been achieved on the <a href="/ps4/" data-ref-id="false">PlayStation 4</a>.</p><p style="">Speaking at a recent Sony event in New York, J Goldberg, community manager at Ready at Dawn, said the studio came up with the idea for The Order: 1886 while still making games for the PSP. However, the game's main conceit--an experience that feels like a movie but plays like a game--required a console with the right technical specifications. "We couldn't have achieved this graphical fidelity with any other console," Goldberg said.</p><p style="">The studio used full performance capture for all characters in the game, as well as the same character model for gameplay sequences and cutscenes, making the transition from one to the other almost seamless. "We're moving the camera in space, we're not loading in a video."</p><blockquote data-size="small" data-align="right"><p style="">"We're moving the camera in space, we're not loading in a video." -- <em>Goldberg</em></p></blockquote><p style=""><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/for-little-big-planet-3-sonys-getting-development-/1100-6421266/?preview=1/">First announced at E3 2013</a>, The Order: 1886 takes place in Victorian London, where a faster, stronger Industrial Revolution has created new technologies and gadgetry. But some Dickensian misery remains--the lower classes, unsatisfied with their lot in life, threaten the social order. Keeping order is a group of knights descended from King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, a group of morally just peacekeepers who protect the upper classes. Adding to the threat are packs of half-breed monsters--part-human, part-animal--who've been at war with the human race since the seventh century.</p><p style="">The Knights have an advantage--a supernatural element called Black Water, which allows them to move faster and heal more quickly, as well as a diverse range of sophisticated steampunk weapons. A few examples include a thermite rifle that shoots clouds of aluminium oxide pellets and an Arc Gun, which fires bolts of lightning.</p><p style="">"There hasn't really been a game set in this period," Goldberg said. "There were a lot of incredibly cool things that happened, with the government, with inventions, and so on--folks love that stuff. We knew we could have a lot of fun with it if we took that rich history and put our own spin on it."</p><p style="">The Order: 1886 launches exclusively on PS4 on February 20, 2015, and you can read more about our <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/e3-2014-the-order-1886-s-werewolves-are-a-constant-threat/1100-6420347/" data-ref-id="1100-6420347">hands-on experience with the game at E3 right here.</a></p> Wed, 23 Jul 2014 13:16:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-order-1886-dev-says-ps4-the-only-console-that-/1100-6421270/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-giving-the-sims-2-away-for-free-on-origin-along/1100-6421269/ <div data-height="100%" data-width="100%" data-ref-id="2300-6418809" data-embed-type="video"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6418809/" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p dir="ltr" style="">A decade after its release, Electronic Arts is giving away <a href="/the-sims-2/" data-ref-id="false">The Sims 2</a> for free through Origin--along with every single expansion and stuff pack ever released.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">EA recently <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-ending-support-for-the-sims-2-but-offering-free/1100-6421150/" data-ref-id="1100-6421150">announced it would end support for The Sims 2</a>, meaning it will no longer release content or technical fixes for the game. It will continue to offer for support to those who contact the company for help, but the game as it exists today will remain unchanged going forward (barring any efforts made by the modding community). EA contacted Sims 2 owners recently, informing them of the news and offering a free upgrade to the newly created The Sims 2: Ultimate Collection.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">That same collection is now being <a href="http://help.ea.com/en/article/how-to-get-the-sims-2-ultimate-collection/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">offered</a> to all Origin users for free for a limited time. To get it, simply open Origin, select the "Redeem Product Code" option from the menu, and enter the code I-LOVE-THE-SIMS. You have until July 31 at 10AM Pacific to redeem the code to your Origin account. If you don't already have one, you can <a href="https://connect.origin.com/create" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">sign up for free</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Ultimate Collection includes the base Sims 2 game along with "every single The Sims 2 expansion pack and stuff pack." The list of content that entails, as a result, is comically long: There have been eight expansion packs (which add new functionality and major features) and ten stuff packs (which, as you might guess, contain various <em>stuff</em>--primarily clothing and furniture) released since The Sims 2's launch in 2004.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The full list of eight expansions:</p><ul><li dir="ltr"><a href="/the-sims-2-apartment-life/" data-ref-id="false">Apartment Life</a></li><li dir="ltr"><a href="/the-sims-2-bon-voyage/" data-ref-id="false">Bon Voyage</a></li><li dir="ltr"><a href="/the-sims-2-freetime/" data-ref-id="false">FreeTime</a></li><li dir="ltr"><a href="/the-sims-2-nightlife/" data-ref-id="false">Nightlife</a></li><li dir="ltr"><a href="/the-sims-2-open-for-business/" data-ref-id="false">Open for Business</a></li><li dir="ltr"><a href="/the-sims-2-pets/" data-ref-id="false">Pets</a></li><li dir="ltr"><a href="/the-sims-2-seasons/" data-ref-id="false">Seasons</a></li><li dir="ltr"><a href="/the-sims-2-university-life-collection/" data-ref-id="false">University</a></li></ul><p dir="ltr" style="">And all ten stuff packs:</p><ul><li dir="ltr">Celebration Stuff</li><li dir="ltr">Family Fun Stuff</li><li dir="ltr">Glamour Life Stuff</li><li dir="ltr">H&M Fashion Stuff</li><li dir="ltr">Happy Holiday Stuff</li><li dir="ltr">Holiday Party Pack</li><li dir="ltr">IKEA Home Stuff</li><li dir="ltr">Kitchen & Bath Interior Design Stuff</li><li dir="ltr">Mansion & Garden Stuff</li><li>Teen Style Stuff</li></ul><p style=""><a href="/the-sims-4/" data-ref-id="false">The Sims 4</a>, the newest game in the series, is scheduled for launch on PC on <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/e3-2014-the-sims-4-nhl-15-release-dates/1100-6420254/" data-ref-id="1100-6420254">September 2</a>. EA released a <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-sims-4-premium-service-spotted-in-lengthy-new-/1100-6421226/" data-ref-id="1100-6421226">lengthy gameplay video</a> recently which may have inadvertently <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-sims-4-premium-service-spotted-in-lengthy-new-/1100-6421226/" data-ref-id="1100-6421226">revealed its plans for a Battlefield Premium-esque service</a> for the game.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Chris Pereira is a freelance writer for GameSpot, and you can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/thesmokingmanx" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @TheSmokingManX</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><em><strong>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com</strong></em></td></tr></tbody></table> Wed, 23 Jul 2014 13:12:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-giving-the-sims-2-away-for-free-on-origin-along/1100-6421269/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/comic-con-2014-patrick-stewart-bryan-cranston-and-/1100-6421267/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1539/15391776/2605834-6044340647-new-a.png" data-ref-id="1300-2605834" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1539/15391776/2605834-6044340647-new-a.png" data-ref-id="1300-2605834"><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1539/15391776/2605834-6044340647-new-a.png"></a></figure><p style="">Publisher Fox Digital Entertainment and developer TinyCo, who made <a href="/family-guy-the-quest-for-stuff/" data-ref-id="false">Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff</a>, are celebrating this week's San Diego Comic-Con by bringing some pretty big names to their game. The title, out now on iOS and Android devices, will also get a Comic-Con makeover in a new update.</p><p style="">Seven actors and actresses are coming to The Quest for Stuff, and their characters will be added in an update coming soon. You can see the full list of celebrities below:</p><ul><li>Bryan Cranston (<em>Breaking Bad, Saving Private Ryan</em>)</li><li>Patrick Stewart (<em>Star Trek: The Next Generation, X-Men </em>films)</li><li>Ron Perlman (<em>Hellboy, Pacific Rim</em>)</li><li>George Takei (<em>Star Trek: The Original Series</em>)</li><li>Felicia Day (<em>Buffy the Vampire Slayer, </em><a href="/fallout-new-vegas/" data-ref-id="false">Fallout: New Vegas</a>)</li><li>Stan Lee (co-creator of <em>Spider-Man</em>, <em>Iron Man</em>, and others)</li><li>Nathan Fillion (<em>Firefly, </em><a href="/halo-3-odst/" data-ref-id="false">Halo 3: ODST</a>)</li></ul><p style="">You'll soon be able to interact with these celebrities in-game. According to a press release, Comic-Con International comes to Quahog, the town where <em>Family Guy</em> takes place. As a result, <em>Family Guy</em> character Stewie is turned into a monster and you must fight against him with the help of the celebrities. "Patrick Stewart, Bryan Cranston, and Stan Lee, and more popular icons arrive just in time to train Peter, Lois, Chris, and Quagmire to become real superheroes," the developer explains. "Players will need to use these newfound superpowers to save the day and restore order to the town."</p><p style="">This isn't the first time a developer has done something like this. In June, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-offers-shaquille-o-neal-christina-aguilera-and-other-celebrity-miis-for-tomodachi-life/1100-6420663/" data-ref-id="1100-6420663">Nintendo made Shaquille O'Neal, Christina Aguilera, and Shaun White Miis</a> available for use in the 3DS game <a href="/tomodachi-life/" data-ref-id="false">Tomodachi Life</a>.</p><p style="">Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff is available on iPhone, iPad, and Android devices. The update goes live for iOS devices on July 24, and for Android on July 31. Do you enjoy when celebrities make cameos in games? Let us know in the comments!</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Alex Newhouse is an editorial intern at GameSpot, and you can follow him on <a href="http://www.twitter.com/alexbnewhouse" rel="nofollow">Twitter @alexbnewhouse</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><em><strong>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com</strong></em></td></tr></tbody></table> Wed, 23 Jul 2014 12:28:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/comic-con-2014-patrick-stewart-bryan-cranston-and-/1100-6421267/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/quick-look-gods-will-be-watching/2300-6420383/ Watch extended gameplay footage from Gods Will Be Watching featuring the Giant Bomb crew. Wed, 23 Jul 2014 12:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/quick-look-gods-will-be-watching/2300-6420383/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/a-new-peggle-game-is-still-coming-to-your-phone/1100-6421265/ <figure data-ref-id="1300-2605831" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/123/1239113/2605831-peggle.jpg" data-size="large" data-align="center" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/123/1239113/2605831-peggle.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2605831"><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/123/1239113/2605831-peggle.jpg"></a><figcaption>Peggle 2</figcaption></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">During a conference call with investors yesterday, Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson referenced a "much-anticipated new Peggle game" that is in the testing phase. EA confirmed with GameSpot today that the game he was speaking about is the mobile title we heard about earlier this year.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Back in May, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-testing-candy-crush-saga-inspired-version-of-peggle/1100-6419858/" data-ref-id="1100-6419858">EA launched a version of a new, free-to-play Peggle game</a> on the iOS app store in markets like New Zealand and Singapore. It's a common occurrence for mobile games to be released earlier in smaller markets before launching worldwide. In this case, it was done to test the game during development, hence the reason we have yet to get our hands on it elsewhere in the world.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"We've released [a] very early version of a mobile Peggle game in select markets as a way of bringing players closer to our development process and getting real feedback from our fans," an EA spokesperson told GameSpot. "This new Peggle game is still in development, and we're making lots of changes during these test releases to make sure we bring our community the best, most enjoyable Peggle experience. We'll have more information on this new version in the coming months."</p><div data-height="480" data-width="854" data-ref-id="2300-6416486" data-embed-type="video"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6416486/" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p dir="ltr" style="">When the test version of the free-to-play Peggle was released, we <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-testing-candy-crush-saga-inspired-version-of-peggle/1100-6419858/" data-ref-id="1100-6419858">learned a few details about how it worked</a>: Players have a limited number of lives, and running out means having to either wait for more or paying to get some immediately. It's possible this structure will change prior to its release, but that model is not an uncommon one for free-to-play mobile games. Another free-to-play mobile game from EA, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-responds-to-dungeon-keeper-free-to-play-criticisms/1100-6417571/" data-ref-id="1100-6417571">Dungeon Keeper</a>, was widely criticized following its release earlier this year, a reality which EA executives <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-ceo-responds-to-dungeon-keeper-microtransaction-criticisms/1100-6420728/" data-ref-id="1100-6420728">have acknowledged</a> on more than <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/another-ea-exec-explains-why-new-dungeon-keeper-su/1100-6420996/" data-ref-id="1100-6420996">one occasion</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-ceo-says-company-is-changing-to-become-player-first/1100-6420699/" data-ref-id="1100-6420699">new direction that Wilson has outlined for EA</a> is to make the company a "player-first" one. Part of that entails getting player feedback earlier in the development process and not releasing games until they are "great." Just yesterday, the company announced it would delay <a href="/battlefield-hardline/" data-ref-id="false">Battlefield Hardline</a> until early 2015 <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/battlefield-hardline-delayed-until-early-2015/1100-6421246/" data-ref-id="1100-6421246">in order to craft a better game</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The most recent Peggle game is <a href="/peggle-2/" data-ref-id="false">Peggle 2</a>, a <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/peggle-2-and-pvz-garden-warfare-will-be-xbox-one-timed-exclusives/1100-6413209/" data-ref-id="1100-6413209">timed exclusive for Xbox One and Xbox 360</a>. Plans for its release on non-Xbox platforms have yet to be announced. We've requested an update on this, but we're unlikely to get any concrete details as the timed exclusivity no doubt entails keeping such information under wraps for now.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Chris Pereira is a freelance writer for GameSpot, and you can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/thesmokingmanx" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @TheSmokingManX</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><em><strong>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com</strong></em></td></tr></tbody></table> Wed, 23 Jul 2014 11:51:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/a-new-peggle-game-is-still-coming-to-your-phone/1100-6421265/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/for-little-big-planet-3-sonys-getting-development-/1100-6421266/ <div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6419417" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6419417/" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style="">Earlier this year, Sony announced the return of LittleBigPlanet, the quirky platformer that champions user-generated content. The new game, <a href="/littlebigplanet-3/" data-ref-id="false">LittleBigPlanet 3</a>, will be co-developed by Sony XDev with the help of around 20 members of the game's large and active community.</p><p style="">Speaking at a recent Sony event in New York, Tom O'Connor, senior producer at Sony XDev, said the studio was so impressed with some of the LittleBigPlanet 2 community creations that they contacted some of the players responsible with job offers. "One of our favorites was the guy who made a first-person shooter in <a href="/littlebigplanet-2/" data-ref-id="false">LBP 2</a>," O'Connor said. "We reached out to him and a few others via the PSN and asked them to come to Sheffield in the UK and help us make LBP 3."</p><blockquote data-size="small" data-align="right"><p style="">"We reached out to him and a few others via the PSN and asked them to come to Sheffield in the UK and help us make LBP 3." -- Tom O'Connor</p></blockquote><p style="">Within days of the E3 announcement, Twitter lit up with the hashtag #lbp3wishes as the LBP community began discussing what new features they'd like to see implemented in the new game. O'Connor says many of the suggestions are already in the works, like an in-game power-up creator. The game's hero, Sackboy, has had a range of different power-ups in previous games, but now players will finally be able to design their own. Sackboy will be able to carry these around with him in his "sack pocket."</p><p style="">LBP 3 will also feature over 60 new content creation tools, as well as three new characters: Swoop, Toggle, and Oddsock. Toggle can move between being big and small; he can push heavy blocks and obstacles, but also fit through small gaps and catapult through the air. Swoop can fly, making it easy to access hard-to-reach places, and he can also pick up objects and characters (with the exception of Toggle). Oddsock, a four-legged character, is proficient at wall jumps and slides.</p><figure data-align="left" data-size="small" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1534/15343359/2605832-4585513751-25590.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2605832" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1534/15343359/2605832-4585513751-25590.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2605832"><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_small/1534/15343359/2605832-4585513751-25590.jpg"></a></figure><p style="">The goal, as with other games in the series, is to inspire the LBP community to keep creating new content. "Whenever we try out new features, it's always with the community in mind," O'Connor said. "They get access to exactly the same tools that we use to make the game."</p><p style="">According to O'Connor, LBP 3 will be the easiest game in the series for players to get into, even if they've never played an LBP game before. The new characters will allow for local and online multiplayer, and there'll be interactive tutorials--voiced by Stephen Fry--to guide players through the content creation tools. In addition, all 8.5 million levels created by the community from LBP 1 and LBP 2 will be available, retouched, and upgraded for the PS4.</p><p style="">"LBP is very physical," O'Connor says. "People usually need very little explanation when they start playing. They just get it."</p><p style="">LittleBigPlanet 3 is out on <a href="/ps4/" data-ref-id="false">PlayStation 4</a> this November.</p> Wed, 23 Jul 2014 11:47:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/for-little-big-planet-3-sonys-getting-development-/1100-6421266/
http://auth.gamespot.com/ Gamespot's Everything Feed! News, Reviews, Videos. Exploding with content? You bet. en-us Wed, 23 Jul 2014 22:41:34 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/why-do-mmorpg-subscription-fees-still-exist/2300-6420410/ MMO fees used to be normal, but times change. So why do Elder Scrolls Online, WildStar, and Final Fantasy XIV still use them? We asked, they answered. Wed, 23 Jul 2014 18:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/why-do-mmorpg-subscription-fees-still-exist/2300-6420410/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/average-us-game-dev-made-83k-in-2013-females-made-/1100-6421276/ <figure data-ref-id="1300-2606584" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/123/1239113/2606584-ccp.jpg" data-size="large" data-align="center" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/123/1239113/2606584-ccp.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2606584"><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/123/1239113/2606584-ccp.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">The average salaried game developer in the United States made $83,060 during 2013, according to <a href="http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/221533/Game_Developer_Salary_Survey_2014_The_results_are_in.php" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Gamasutra</a>'s <a href="http://www.gamasutra.com/salarysurvey2014.pdf" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">annual salary survey</a>, which reflects data from more than 4,000 developers.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">That's a small drop from <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/average-2012-us-dev-salary-84000/1100-6406397/" data-ref-id="1100-6406397">2012, when the number was $84,337</a>, but it's also more than what was earned by female developers on average. Again, looking at salaried positions in the US, men made an average of $85,074, compared with $72,882 for women. In other words, women earned an average of 86 percent of what men did, although this figure varies depending on the position. For instance, women in the audio field made 68% of what men in that field do, while women designers earned 94% of what their male counterparts do.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The gender wage gap remains a problem not just for the games industry, but the economy as a whole. The report notes that 86 percent is actually a higher figure than the national average, which sees females make 77 percent of what their male counterparts earn.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Fourteen percent of those who participated in the survey indicated they were laid off during the course of the year. (That figure had been dropping each of the three prior years.) On the other hand, 60 percent saw their salary increase as compared with what they made during 2012.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Of the fields covered in the survey, "business and management" proved to be the best-paying area in the US ($101,572 average salary), followed by audio professionals ($95,682) and programmers ($93,251). Quality assurance ($54,833) was at the bottom of the list.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Also of note are salaries for independent developers who were surveyed. Leaving out those who made less than $10,000 or more than $200,000, non-salaried indies working on their own earned $11,812 on average. Those working on a team made significantly more, earning an average of $50,833.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">You can check out the full report <a href="http://www.gamasutra.com/salarysurvey2014.pdf" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">in this PDF</a>. It's full of interesting facts, like a breakdown of the highest average salary by state--California was number one, followed by Washington and North Carolina.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">What stands out to you most about these figures? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Chris Pereira is a freelance writer for GameSpot, and you can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/thesmokingmanx" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @TheSmokingManX</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><em><strong>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com</strong></em></td></tr></tbody></table> Wed, 23 Jul 2014 17:32:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/average-us-game-dev-made-83k-in-2013-females-made-/1100-6421276/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/gamespot-at-comic-con-2014/2300-6420408/ GameSpot will be live from Comic-Con 2014 all week. Check out this montage of our previous exploits and make sure you join us for coverage of all your favorite comic games and more. Wed, 23 Jul 2014 17:14:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/gamespot-at-comic-con-2014/2300-6420408/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/bombs-and-barrages-in-daggerstone-pass-wildstars-n/1100-6421272/ <p style="">It was bound to be a slaughter. On my Exile team were 15 people connected by our professions--some of us games writers, some of us game developers at Carbine Studios; on the Dominion team were 15 organized guildmates calling themselves the Warmongers. We were decked out in standard gear provided to our max-level characters so that we might take part in player-versus-player matches on the WildStar test server; the Warmongers were clad in top-tier player-versus-player gear. Winning wasn't even a remote possibility. Neither was survival, for that matter.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Since that grueling match, WildStar's newest PvP arena and mode have been released to the game's public servers, and I'm here to say that you're in for a wild ride if you've taken to WildStar's hyperkinetic brand of online competition. The name of the map is Daggerstone Pass, and the name of the mode is Sabotage. The goal is to damage the opposition's base, and the most straightforward way of doing so is to capture one of three hold points (called uplinks), which calls in a gunship that periodically bombs the enemy's home. The more uplinks you capture, the greater the damage bonus. The cleverer way of proving your team's superiority, however, is to pick up the bombs that spawn near your own base, and carry them to your enemy's base, or even better, its fusion core. The trick here, however, is that bombs detonate once their timers count down, regardless of who is holding it, and where. This is a great way to damage an enemy's base, or to distract an aimless team while you capture uplinks. But it's also a great way to carelessly wound yourself and your teammates.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6420393" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6420393/" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p dir="ltr" style="">In many ways, the map feels much like a combination of WildStar's other arenas--a bit of Walatiki Temple's mask-ferrying, and a bit of Halls of the Bloodsworn's base-capturing. Daggerstone Pass is a rather expansive bit of real estate, however, so be prepared to jump on a hoverboard or a trask if you want to keep up with your opponents. The matches I played took all manner of twists and turns. Some battles were 20-player swarms at the center uplink, where I had to frequently leap out of harm's way while thanking the Old Gods of Mikros for my spellslinger's crowd-control skills. Smaller-scale clashes often blossomed near bomb-carriers, where my fellow Exiles and I tried frantically to keep our vital teammate healed while fending off the Dominion scum who had painted a bullseye on the carrier's back.</p><figure data-align="right" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2606521-wildstar+-+wildstar+-+2014-07-21+03-02-39+%28p%2910.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2606521" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2606521-wildstar+-+wildstar+-+2014-07-21+03-02-39+%28p%2910.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2606521"><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_medium/416/4161502/2606521-wildstar+-+wildstar+-+2014-07-21+03-02-39+%28p%2910.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">Daggerstone Pass also has a similar feel to the game's warplots, and that's not by accident. Jen Gordy, group content design lead, told our beleaguered team that while the map wasn't ready in time for WildStar's launch, it had still served as an inspiration for the game's 40-on-40 onslaughts. Carbine is bringing more than just new battlegrounds to the table, however. Says Gordy, "When we were launching the game, we were doing some tests and realized [the launch system] wasn't going to be as effective as we thought it was going to be. We have made some changes where your healing and damage efficiency for player-versus-player combat is reduced when you're in instanced PvP and open-world PvP. You make up for that deficit using the new PvP power stat, which adds to your damage and healing capabilities. The relationship between offense and defense is now a fairly straightforward linear relationship, where before it was a little bit muddled, and it was very hard to explain how you were affected."</p><figure data-align="left" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static2.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2606522-wildstar+-+wildstar+-+2014-07-21+03-18-45+%28p%2919.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2606522" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static2.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2606522-wildstar+-+wildstar+-+2014-07-21+03-18-45+%28p%2919.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2606522"><img src="http://static2.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_medium/416/4161502/2606522-wildstar+-+wildstar+-+2014-07-21+03-18-45+%28p%2919.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">The result: if you aren't wearing PvP gear, you are gonna get wrecked if you're facing a better-prepared team. I can certainly attest to said wreckage, having come out of three matches versus pre-made teams with three losses and a resulting foul mood. I wasn't helping matters, of course, asking various questions about the new content rather than formulating winning strategies with the team. And let's not talk about the time I picked up a bomb and it exploded in my grasp about seven seconds later. No--let's definitely not talk about that. Instead, let's talk about the terrible WildStar puns the games writers and developers made while playing. "You guys are really Draken me down right now." "We've got 20 seconds left to Chua on the fat." "This is starting to get a bit Mechari-anical now."</p><p style="">You can get acquainted with Daggerstone pass once you reach level 30, but be prepared for a particularly savage display of guns and blades in this one. Let my battle scars be a lesson for everyone.</p> Wed, 23 Jul 2014 17:05:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/bombs-and-barrages-in-daggerstone-pass-wildstars-n/1100-6421272/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/watch-titanfalls-frontiers-edge-dlc-in-action-laun/1100-6421273/ <div data-height="100%" data-width="100%" data-ref-id="2300-6420405" data-embed-type="video"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6420405/" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p dir="ltr" style=""><a href="/titanfall/" data-ref-id="false">Titanfall</a>'s second DLC pack is just over a week away from release. Developer Respawn Entertainment announced today that <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/titanfalls-new-dlc-will-take-you-to-beaches-and-mi/1100-6420975/" data-ref-id="1100-6420975">Frontier's Edge </a>will arrive on July 31. You can check out the replay of a Respawn live stream showing it in action below.</p><p style="">Respawn noted during today's stream that we'll be getting patch notes next week for the next free game update, which will arrive alongside Frontier's Edge. Its biggest addition is the <a href="http://www.titanfall.com/news/titanfall-the-black-market" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Black Market</a>, an in-game store where you'll be able to purchase packs of burn cards, insignias for your Titan, XP boosts, and so on. These will be available in exchange for credits, a new currency being added that is earned by playing matches, completing daily challenges (another new addition), and selling burn cards. If this is beginning to sound like it's being added in order to offer microtransactions, worry not--credits can't be purchased with real-world money.</p><p style="">Other aspects of the next update include multi-GPU support on PC, a notification for when a flag carrier hops aboard your Titan, and various bug fixes.</p><p style=""><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/titanfalls-new-dlc-will-take-you-to-beaches-and-mi/1100-6420975/" data-ref-id="1100-6420975">As detailed earlier this month</a>, Frontier's Edge--the second of three planned DLC packs--consists of three new maps: Dig Site, Haven, and Export. It's included in the <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-new-titanfall-dlc-will-take-you-to-beaches-and/1100-6420975/?preview=1/" data-ref-id="1100-6420975">$25 season pass</a>, and will also be sold on its own for $10. As with the first map pack, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/titanfall-expedition-dlc-will-be-released-for-xbox-one-and-pc-tomorrow-costs-10/1100-6419619/" data-ref-id="1100-6419619">Expedition</a>, Frontier's Edge will <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/titanfall-dlc-updates-land-on-xbox-360-only-after-xbox-one-pc/1100-6419553/" data-ref-id="1100-6419553">launch first on Xbox One and PC</a>, and sometime later on Xbox 360. This is due to the 360 version being developed by Bluepoint, rather than Respawn. In the case of Expedition, it was about a month's wait.</p><p style="">What do you think about the new map pack and game update? Let us know in the comments.</p><div data-embed-type="html"><object id="clip_embed_player_flash" data="http://www.twitch.tv/widgets/archive_embed_player.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="457" width="750"><param name="movie" value="http://www.twitch.tv/widgets/archive_embed_player.swf" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="allowNetworking" value="all" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="flashvars" value="title=Titanfall%253A%2BFrontier%2527s%2BEdge%2BLive%2BStream%2B-%2B%2BJuly%2B23rd%2B12PM%2BPDT%2521&channel=titanfall&auto_play=false&start_volume=25&archive_id=550470117" /></object><br /><a class="trk" style="padding: 2px 0px 4px; display: block; width: 320px; font-weight: normal; font-size: 10px; text-decoration: underline; text-align: center;" href="http://www.twitch.tv/titanfall" rel="nofollow">Watch live video from titanfall on Twitch</a></div><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Chris Pereira is a freelance writer for GameSpot, and you can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/thesmokingmanx" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @TheSmokingManX</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><em><strong>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com</strong></em></td></tr></tbody></table> Wed, 23 Jul 2014 16:36:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/watch-titanfalls-frontiers-edge-dlc-in-action-laun/1100-6421273/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/gs-news-ps4-gets-a-system-update-xbox-one-sales-fi/2300-6420403/ Microsoft finally update us on their console sales, the PS4 continues to get tune-ups, and the world of Bungie's Destiny opens to Xbox users! Wed, 23 Jul 2014 16:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/gs-news-ps4-gets-a-system-update-xbox-one-sales-fi/2300-6420403/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/six-upcoming-vita-games-that-are-as-interesting-as/1100-6421251/ <p style="">We all have tastes that place us in the one percent. My minority opinion is that not only is the Vita an incredible piece of hardware, but it houses a fascinating library as well. After big-budget games failed to engender much excitement in the Vita's early days, Sony shifted its focus to the independent scene, and in turn pushed away much of the audience who craved console experiences on the go. But the library has risen like a digital phoenix in the last few years, supplying more incredible games than I could possibly find the time to play. For just one moment, forget about the distinction between AAA and indie; ignore the technical buzzwords that have dominated our conversations. If fun matters more than anything else, then cast your gaze toward the Vita. I recently played six upcoming games, and the future looks bright for Sony's lovable handheld.</p><h3><strong>Murasaki Baby -- September 2014</strong></h3><figure data-ref-id="1300-2605231" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/725/7253563/2605231-mib_screenshot_003_1377024581.jpg" data-size="medium" data-align="left" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/725/7253563/2605231-mib_screenshot_003_1377024581.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2605231"><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_medium/725/7253563/2605231-mib_screenshot_003_1377024581.jpg"></a></figure><p style="">Before we look ahead to the future, let's travel back to the dark days of yore. The Vita, as you might have noticed, has more control options than even a dexterous octopus could handle. With a touchscreen, backtouch, and a gyroscope, you've got a finger workout that would make even <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0206341/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Steve Oedekerk</a> blush. My point? We were forced to perform acrobatics in awkward and unpleasant ways just to justify the existence of these many features. Unless you're in the minority who enjoyed popping up monsters in <a href="/little-deviants/" data-ref-id="false">Little Deviants</a> or scaling cliffs in <a href="/uncharted-golden-abyss/" data-ref-id="false">Uncharted: Golden Abyss</a>, you probably gave a Bronx cheer to these efforts.</p><p style="">Fast-forward many years, years in which developers have become a little older and much wiser, and we've seen how such deviations can add to the experience. Look no further than <a href="/tearaway/" data-ref-id="false">Tearaway</a> to see how a well-integrated camera can change your every emotion. And now we have <a href="/murasaki-baby/" data-ref-id="false">Murasaki Baby</a>. Guide Baby through a hellish landscape by holding her feeble hand, and manipulate the wind, rain, and screaming demons to guide her toward paradise. It's heartwarming and empowering, and though the puzzles aren't stumpers based on what I've played, the magical aesthetics certainly pulled me into the fold.</p><h3><strong>Metrico -- August 5th</strong></h3><figure data-ref-id="1300-2605232" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/725/7253563/2605232-metrico_kiosk_screenshot.png" data-size="medium" data-align="right" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/725/7253563/2605232-metrico_kiosk_screenshot.png" data-ref-id="1300-2605232"><img src="http://static2.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_medium/725/7253563/2605232-metrico_kiosk_screenshot.png"></a></figure><p style="">Who has time to read? Well, except for you, of course, devouring every word of this article. But for the hurried masses out there, who just want bare-bones facts without properly grasping the data, there's a desire that cannot be quenched by long analysis. And so we gave birth to infographics. Behold skewed information in all its glory! Who cares about the underlying causes when it's so much easier to churn out a pie chart, or a bar graph, or any other manner of distilling those oh-so-tasty raw details into something digestible? One developer has found a way to make infographics even better.</p><p style="">Enter <a href="/metrico/" data-ref-id="false">Metrico</a>. Here's a game that has taken the ubiquitous formula and twisted it into something beautiful. Like with actual infographics, you may not understand exactly why a bar may rise or lower, but unlike with the real deal, you do have the power to make them bow to your wishes. You see, the graphs shift based on your movements. Sometimes a jump may lower a platform, whereas other times you must run around, or ricochet some bullets. The rules are never explained, so you must think and observe. The two worlds I've played gave me those satisfying "aha!" moments I crave from puzzlers.</p><h3><strong>One Way Trip -- 2015</strong></h3><figure data-ref-id="1300-2605233" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/725/7253563/2605233-one-way-trip-ps4-vita-05.png" data-size="medium" data-align="left" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/725/7253563/2605233-one-way-trip-ps4-vita-05.png" data-ref-id="1300-2605233"><img src="http://static3.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_medium/725/7253563/2605233-one-way-trip-ps4-vita-05.png"></a></figure><p style="">I've referred to this game as One Strange Trip much more often than its real name. If you know anything about it, you would forgive me for my mistake. <a href="/one-way-trip/" data-ref-id="false">One <em>Way</em> Trip</a> is as weird as games can be. There's a character named Wishberry Knifeprincess, for instance, who not only fails to explain her royal background, but, well, I don't even know where to go with this sentence. Look at her name! And then there are the the psychedelic visual style, thumping musical score, and insane scenarios, which make you realize how fitting the word "strange" really is.</p><p style="">So, you've got six hours to live, and you're hallucinating like a madman. The water supply has been spiked, and your arms will turn into dolphins if you don't find a cure fast enough. This isn't a typical save-the-world action, however. You use your words to discover the secrets of this bizarre world, and your objective is whatever you want. Talk your way into finding the cause of this outbreak, befriend the weirdos you meet, or bargain to figure out who should die when a gun is pointed on you and a group of masked strangers. I have to admit that One Way Trip was a little too out there for me to grasp in the hour I spent with it, but maybe I'm too uptight for my own good. We could all use a little Wishberry Knifeprincess in our lives.</p><h3><strong>Super Exploding Zoo -- Summer 2014</strong></h3><figure data-ref-id="1300-2605234" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/725/7253563/2605234-jungle0.png" data-size="medium" data-align="right" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/725/7253563/2605234-jungle0.png" data-ref-id="1300-2605234"><img src="http://static4.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_medium/725/7253563/2605234-jungle0.png"></a></figure><p style="">Never underestimate the power of media to change the way people thing. Way back in 1958--before even Kevin VanOrd was born--Disney released a documentary that forever tainted our view of one of nature's most misunderstood creatures. In <i>White Wilderness</i>, a scene was staged that had lemmings <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMZlr5Gf9yY" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">barreling off a cliff</a>, apparently killing themselves in mass numbers, and that myth ingrained itself into our collective beliefs. Granted, DMA Designs might never have crafted the seminal puzzler <a href="/lemmings/" data-ref-id="false">Lemmings</a> had this falsehood not been pushed forth by Mickey Mouse's gang, but it's a tough price to pay for those adorable rodents. Or marsupials? I'm not really sure what lemmings are.</p><p style="">Enough of the history lesson. <a href="/super-exploding-zoo/" data-ref-id="false">Super Exploding Zoo</a> doesn't purport to be a documentary game (if such a thing even exists), though it does present an interesting view of how animals would behave during an alien attack. You see, pandas, crocodiles, and other residents of the animal kingdom would so fear for the safety of their eggs (yes, pandas have eggs), that they would hurl themselves at the invaders and explode in a furry cloud. The Vita certainly isn't shy about weird games, is it? I was riveted by the initial craziness, but after I sank in a half hour or so, it was the puzzles that grabbed my attention. Who would have thought combustible animals could be so entertaining?</p><h3><strong>Rogue Legacy -- July 29th</strong></h3><figure data-ref-id="1300-2605235" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/725/7253563/2605235-rogue-legacy-full-game-2.jpg" data-size="medium" data-align="left" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/725/7253563/2605235-rogue-legacy-full-game-2.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2605235"><img src="http://static5.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_medium/725/7253563/2605235-rogue-legacy-full-game-2.jpg"></a></figure><p style="">And now we come to the ports section of this feature. When those who spurn the Vita aren't stating that it lacks games, they instead point to how much of its library is composed of ports. There's no argument to that position; many of the Vita's best games originated elsewhere. For me, that's a selling point, given that I would rather play games during my daily commute than tethered to a television, but for others, those who just crave new experiences, it's a dark spot. Consider this, though: Because only a small percentage of indie hits make their way to Sony's portable, we have a heavily curated bounty in which only the best of the best make the cut. Not too shabby.</p><p style=""><a href="/rogue-legacy/" data-ref-id="false">Rogue Legacy</a>, of course, falls neatly within that "best" categorization. One of <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/profile/blog/tom-s-favorite-games-of-2013/26050239/" data-ref-id="false">my favorite games from last year</a>, this empowering roguelike does an excellent job of easing in those scared of severe punishment while embracing others who want to be pushed to the bloody edge. The brilliance of this design comes from the Legacy in the title. Once you die (and you will perish often), you pass traits to your next of kin, so you can overcome even the toughest obstacles with enough stubbornness. The port seemed silky smooth, and it contains the various PC updates that added more characters and environments to the core build.</p><h3><strong>The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth -- Summer 2014</strong></h3><figure data-ref-id="1300-2605236" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/725/7253563/2605236-1395860434_4164.jpg" data-size="medium" data-align="right" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/725/7253563/2605236-1395860434_4164.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2605236"><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_medium/725/7253563/2605236-1395860434_4164.jpg"></a></figure><p style="">Don't judge Isaac. If you found yourself in the uterus of hell, you would probably cry just as much as this tormented child. Just cross your fingers that your tears can fly with as much precision, and singe those dire demons who dwell down below. Behind only <a href="/spelunky/" data-ref-id="false">Spelunky</a> in the pantheon of roguelikes, <a href="/the-binding-of-isaac/" data-ref-id="false">The Binding of Isaac</a> is one of the games that I am most excited to play once more. It's got a dose of the original <a href="/the-legend-of-zelda/" data-ref-id="false">The Legend of Zelda</a> in how the game is viewed and controlled, with the punitive structure that draws me to so many roguelikes. I can only imagine how many hours I'll spend on my commute proudly wearing mom's underwear while vanquishing all that is evil.</p><p style="">There is one red flag. Well, it's not too severe, so we'll call it a pink flag, or maybe even orange. There's some slowdown present that most definitely is not there on the PC. Now, this didn't affect my progress since it was an occasional hiccup rather than a choppy slideshow, but it was noticeable even for someone like me who normally doesn't care about such things. We can only cross our fingers that it's ironed out before release. The new art style, however, is quite appealing, as is the enticing musical score, so at least some changes have been for the better. Now read <i>The Anarchist Cookbook</i> and befriend Bob's Rotten Head, because you'll need all the help you can get in The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth.</p> Wed, 23 Jul 2014 15:56:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/six-upcoming-vita-games-that-are-as-interesting-as/1100-6421251/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/battlefield-hardline-delay-pushes-back-battlefield/1100-6421271/ <figure data-ref-id="1300-2606475" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/123/1239113/2606475-bf4.jpg" data-size="large" data-align="center" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/123/1239113/2606475-bf4.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2606475"><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/123/1239113/2606475-bf4.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style=""><a href="/battlefield-hardline/" data-ref-id="false">Battlefield Hardline</a>'s <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/battlefield-4-dragons-teeth-expansion-takes-you-to/1100-6420978/" data-ref-id="1100-6420978">delay until early 2015</a> won't mean fans have no new Battlefield content to play during the year's final quarter. Coinciding with the delay of Hardline, the release of the fifth <a href="/battlefield-4/" data-ref-id="false">Battlefield 4</a> DLC pack, Final Stand, has also been pushed back.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">During a call with Electronic Arts investors yesterday, EA CEO Andrew Wilson mentioned that Final Stand is now "coming Q3." The company's fiscal Q3, to which he was referring, runs from October 1 through December 31.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Final Stand hadn't been given a release date previously--after all, the fourth DLC expansion, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/battlefield-4-dragons-teeth-expansion-takes-you-to/1100-6420978/" data-ref-id="1100-6420978">Dragon's Teeth</a>, is not even in the hands of non-Battlefield Premium members yet. But with Hardline originally being scheduled for October 21, it's likely that Final Stand would have been released well in advance of that.</p><figure data-ref-id="1300-2606485" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/123/1239113/2606485-hardline.jpg" data-size="small" data-align="right" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/123/1239113/2606485-hardline.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2606485"><img src="http://static2.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_small/123/1239113/2606485-hardline.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">Hardline's delay stems in part from <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/battlefield-hardline-multiplayer-to-become-deeper-/1100-6421156/" data-ref-id="1100-6421156">feedback received</a> during <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/battlefield-hardline-here-are-some-ridiculous-ps4-/1100-6421007/" data-ref-id="1100-6421007">last month's beta</a>. EA Studios boss Patrick Söderlund said during the call that the beta had more than 1.7 million players--an impressive number, considering it was only available on <a href="/pc/" data-ref-id="false">PC</a> and <a href="/ps4/" data-ref-id="false">PlayStation 4</a>. EA said it <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/battlefield-hardline-beta-extended-by-one-week/1100-6420592/" data-ref-id="1100-6420592">allowed the beta to go on longer</a> "than we planned because we found a lot of feedback from players in there, providing us valid information and feedback around features of the game and how the game felt, etc.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"And things like the cops and robbers fiction maybe wasn't shining through properly, you know? Is it playing like a military game, but it should be a cops and robbers game? We saw ideas around asymmetric gameplay--a bunch of really strong, good, well-thought ideas that we decided to listen to.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"And having a long discussion with the team, and looking at where we were, we felt like the best thing for us was to give the development team a little bit of extra time and get the game to where we think it needs to be in order to be successful."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Battlefield series creator DICE's GM, Karl Magnus Troedsson, said in a blog post yesterday that the extra development time will allow the game's <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/battlefield-hardline-delayed-until-early-2015/1100-6421246/" data-ref-id="1100-6421246">single-player, multiplayer, and stability to be improved</a>.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Chris Pereira is a freelance writer for GameSpot, and you can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/thesmokingmanx" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @TheSmokingManX</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><em><strong>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com</strong></em></td></tr></tbody></table> Wed, 23 Jul 2014 15:38:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/battlefield-hardline-delay-pushes-back-battlefield/1100-6421271/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/six-upcoming-vita-games-that-are-as-interesting-as/2300-6420404/ Tom McShea runs down six titles that are worth investigating and on their way to your Vita. Wed, 23 Jul 2014 15:10:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/six-upcoming-vita-games-that-are-as-interesting-as/2300-6420404/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-order-1886-dev-says-ps4-the-only-console-that-/1100-6421270/ <div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6417307" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6417307/" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style="">Ready at Dawn, the studio behind the upcoming third-person shooter, <a href="/the-order-1886/" data-ref-id="false">The Order: 1886</a>, has revealed the game's visual quality could have only been achieved on the <a href="/ps4/" data-ref-id="false">PlayStation 4</a>.</p><p style="">Speaking at a recent Sony event in New York, J Goldberg, community manager at Ready at Dawn, said the studio came up with the idea for The Order: 1886 while still making games for the PSP. However, the game's main conceit--an experience that feels like a movie but plays like a game--required a console with the right technical specifications. "We couldn't have achieved this graphical fidelity with any other console," Goldberg said.</p><p style="">The studio used full performance capture for all characters in the game, as well as the same character model for gameplay sequences and cutscenes, making the transition from one to the other almost seamless. "We're moving the camera in space, we're not loading in a video."</p><blockquote data-size="small" data-align="right"><p style="">"We're moving the camera in space, we're not loading in a video." -- <em>Goldberg</em></p></blockquote><p style=""><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/for-little-big-planet-3-sonys-getting-development-/1100-6421266/?preview=1/">First announced at E3 2013</a>, The Order: 1886 takes place in Victorian London, where a faster, stronger Industrial Revolution has created new technologies and gadgetry. But some Dickensian misery remains--the lower classes, unsatisfied with their lot in life, threaten the social order. Keeping order is a group of knights descended from King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, a group of morally just peacekeepers who protect the upper classes. Adding to the threat are packs of half-breed monsters--part-human, part-animal--who've been at war with the human race since the seventh century.</p><p style="">The Knights have an advantage--a supernatural element called Black Water, which allows them to move faster and heal more quickly, as well as a diverse range of sophisticated steampunk weapons. A few examples include a thermite rifle that shoots clouds of aluminium oxide pellets and an Arc Gun, which fires bolts of lightning.</p><p style="">"There hasn't really been a game set in this period," Goldberg said. "There were a lot of incredibly cool things that happened, with the government, with inventions, and so on--folks love that stuff. We knew we could have a lot of fun with it if we took that rich history and put our own spin on it."</p><p style="">The Order: 1886 launches exclusively on PS4 on February 20, 2015, and you can read more about our <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/e3-2014-the-order-1886-s-werewolves-are-a-constant-threat/1100-6420347/" data-ref-id="1100-6420347">hands-on experience with the game at E3 right here.</a></p> Wed, 23 Jul 2014 13:16:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-order-1886-dev-says-ps4-the-only-console-that-/1100-6421270/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-giving-the-sims-2-away-for-free-on-origin-along/1100-6421269/ <div data-height="100%" data-width="100%" data-ref-id="2300-6418809" data-embed-type="video"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6418809/" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p dir="ltr" style="">A decade after its release, Electronic Arts is giving away <a href="/the-sims-2/" data-ref-id="false">The Sims 2</a> for free through Origin--along with every single expansion and stuff pack ever released.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">EA recently <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-ending-support-for-the-sims-2-but-offering-free/1100-6421150/" data-ref-id="1100-6421150">announced it would end support for The Sims 2</a>, meaning it will no longer release content or technical fixes for the game. It will continue to offer for support to those who contact the company for help, but the game as it exists today will remain unchanged going forward (barring any efforts made by the modding community). EA contacted Sims 2 owners recently, informing them of the news and offering a free upgrade to the newly created The Sims 2: Ultimate Collection.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">That same collection is now being <a href="http://help.ea.com/en/article/how-to-get-the-sims-2-ultimate-collection/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">offered</a> to all Origin users for free for a limited time. To get it, simply open Origin, select the "Redeem Product Code" option from the menu, and enter the code I-LOVE-THE-SIMS. You have until July 31 at 10AM Pacific to redeem the code to your Origin account. If you don't already have one, you can <a href="https://connect.origin.com/create" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">sign up for free</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Ultimate Collection includes the base Sims 2 game along with "every single The Sims 2 expansion pack and stuff pack." The list of content that entails, as a result, is comically long: There have been eight expansion packs (which add new functionality and major features) and ten stuff packs (which, as you might guess, contain various <em>stuff</em>--primarily clothing and furniture) released since The Sims 2's launch in 2004.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The full list of eight expansions:</p><ul><li dir="ltr"><a href="/the-sims-2-apartment-life/" data-ref-id="false">Apartment Life</a></li><li dir="ltr"><a href="/the-sims-2-bon-voyage/" data-ref-id="false">Bon Voyage</a></li><li dir="ltr"><a href="/the-sims-2-freetime/" data-ref-id="false">FreeTime</a></li><li dir="ltr"><a href="/the-sims-2-nightlife/" data-ref-id="false">Nightlife</a></li><li dir="ltr"><a href="/the-sims-2-open-for-business/" data-ref-id="false">Open for Business</a></li><li dir="ltr"><a href="/the-sims-2-pets/" data-ref-id="false">Pets</a></li><li dir="ltr"><a href="/the-sims-2-seasons/" data-ref-id="false">Seasons</a></li><li dir="ltr"><a href="/the-sims-2-university-life-collection/" data-ref-id="false">University</a></li></ul><p dir="ltr" style="">And all ten stuff packs:</p><ul><li dir="ltr">Celebration Stuff</li><li dir="ltr">Family Fun Stuff</li><li dir="ltr">Glamour Life Stuff</li><li dir="ltr">H&M Fashion Stuff</li><li dir="ltr">Happy Holiday Stuff</li><li dir="ltr">Holiday Party Pack</li><li dir="ltr">IKEA Home Stuff</li><li dir="ltr">Kitchen & Bath Interior Design Stuff</li><li dir="ltr">Mansion & Garden Stuff</li><li>Teen Style Stuff</li></ul><p style=""><a href="/the-sims-4/" data-ref-id="false">The Sims 4</a>, the newest game in the series, is scheduled for launch on PC on <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/e3-2014-the-sims-4-nhl-15-release-dates/1100-6420254/" data-ref-id="1100-6420254">September 2</a>. EA released a <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-sims-4-premium-service-spotted-in-lengthy-new-/1100-6421226/" data-ref-id="1100-6421226">lengthy gameplay video</a> recently which may have inadvertently <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-sims-4-premium-service-spotted-in-lengthy-new-/1100-6421226/" data-ref-id="1100-6421226">revealed its plans for a Battlefield Premium-esque service</a> for the game.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Chris Pereira is a freelance writer for GameSpot, and you can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/thesmokingmanx" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @TheSmokingManX</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><em><strong>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com</strong></em></td></tr></tbody></table> Wed, 23 Jul 2014 13:12:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-giving-the-sims-2-away-for-free-on-origin-along/1100-6421269/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/comic-con-2014-patrick-stewart-bryan-cranston-and-/1100-6421267/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1539/15391776/2605834-6044340647-new-a.png" data-ref-id="1300-2605834" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1539/15391776/2605834-6044340647-new-a.png" data-ref-id="1300-2605834"><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1539/15391776/2605834-6044340647-new-a.png"></a></figure><p style="">Publisher Fox Digital Entertainment and developer TinyCo, who made <a href="/family-guy-the-quest-for-stuff/" data-ref-id="false">Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff</a>, are celebrating this week's San Diego Comic-Con by bringing some pretty big names to their game. The title, out now on iOS and Android devices, will also get a Comic-Con makeover in a new update.</p><p style="">Seven actors and actresses are coming to The Quest for Stuff, and their characters will be added in an update coming soon. You can see the full list of celebrities below:</p><ul><li>Bryan Cranston (<em>Breaking Bad, Saving Private Ryan</em>)</li><li>Patrick Stewart (<em>Star Trek: The Next Generation, X-Men </em>films)</li><li>Ron Perlman (<em>Hellboy, Pacific Rim</em>)</li><li>George Takei (<em>Star Trek: The Original Series</em>)</li><li>Felicia Day (<em>Buffy the Vampire Slayer, </em><a href="/fallout-new-vegas/" data-ref-id="false">Fallout: New Vegas</a>)</li><li>Stan Lee (co-creator of <em>Spider-Man</em>, <em>Iron Man</em>, and others)</li><li>Nathan Fillion (<em>Firefly, </em><a href="/halo-3-odst/" data-ref-id="false">Halo 3: ODST</a>)</li></ul><p style="">You'll soon be able to interact with these celebrities in-game. According to a press release, Comic-Con International comes to Quahog, the town where <em>Family Guy</em> takes place. As a result, <em>Family Guy</em> character Stewie is turned into a monster and you must fight against him with the help of the celebrities. "Patrick Stewart, Bryan Cranston, and Stan Lee, and more popular icons arrive just in time to train Peter, Lois, Chris, and Quagmire to become real superheroes," the developer explains. "Players will need to use these newfound superpowers to save the day and restore order to the town."</p><p style="">This isn't the first time a developer has done something like this. In June, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-offers-shaquille-o-neal-christina-aguilera-and-other-celebrity-miis-for-tomodachi-life/1100-6420663/" data-ref-id="1100-6420663">Nintendo made Shaquille O'Neal, Christina Aguilera, and Shaun White Miis</a> available for use in the 3DS game <a href="/tomodachi-life/" data-ref-id="false">Tomodachi Life</a>.</p><p style="">Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff is available on iPhone, iPad, and Android devices. The update goes live for iOS devices on July 24, and for Android on July 31. Do you enjoy when celebrities make cameos in games? Let us know in the comments!</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Alex Newhouse is an editorial intern at GameSpot, and you can follow him on <a href="http://www.twitter.com/alexbnewhouse" rel="nofollow">Twitter @alexbnewhouse</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><em><strong>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com</strong></em></td></tr></tbody></table> Wed, 23 Jul 2014 12:28:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/comic-con-2014-patrick-stewart-bryan-cranston-and-/1100-6421267/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/quick-look-gods-will-be-watching/2300-6420383/ Watch extended gameplay footage from Gods Will Be Watching featuring the Giant Bomb crew. Wed, 23 Jul 2014 12:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/quick-look-gods-will-be-watching/2300-6420383/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/a-new-peggle-game-is-still-coming-to-your-phone/1100-6421265/ <figure data-ref-id="1300-2605831" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/123/1239113/2605831-peggle.jpg" data-size="large" data-align="center" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/123/1239113/2605831-peggle.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2605831"><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/123/1239113/2605831-peggle.jpg"></a><figcaption>Peggle 2</figcaption></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">During a conference call with investors yesterday, Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson referenced a "much-anticipated new Peggle game" that is in the testing phase. EA confirmed with GameSpot today that the game he was speaking about is the mobile title we heard about earlier this year.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Back in May, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-testing-candy-crush-saga-inspired-version-of-peggle/1100-6419858/" data-ref-id="1100-6419858">EA launched a version of a new, free-to-play Peggle game</a> on the iOS app store in markets like New Zealand and Singapore. It's a common occurrence for mobile games to be released earlier in smaller markets before launching worldwide. In this case, it was done to test the game during development, hence the reason we have yet to get our hands on it elsewhere in the world.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"We've released [a] very early version of a mobile Peggle game in select markets as a way of bringing players closer to our development process and getting real feedback from our fans," an EA spokesperson told GameSpot. "This new Peggle game is still in development, and we're making lots of changes during these test releases to make sure we bring our community the best, most enjoyable Peggle experience. We'll have more information on this new version in the coming months."</p><div data-height="480" data-width="854" data-ref-id="2300-6416486" data-embed-type="video"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6416486/" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p dir="ltr" style="">When the test version of the free-to-play Peggle was released, we <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-testing-candy-crush-saga-inspired-version-of-peggle/1100-6419858/" data-ref-id="1100-6419858">learned a few details about how it worked</a>: Players have a limited number of lives, and running out means having to either wait for more or paying to get some immediately. It's possible this structure will change prior to its release, but that model is not an uncommon one for free-to-play mobile games. Another free-to-play mobile game from EA, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-responds-to-dungeon-keeper-free-to-play-criticisms/1100-6417571/" data-ref-id="1100-6417571">Dungeon Keeper</a>, was widely criticized following its release earlier this year, a reality which EA executives <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-ceo-responds-to-dungeon-keeper-microtransaction-criticisms/1100-6420728/" data-ref-id="1100-6420728">have acknowledged</a> on more than <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/another-ea-exec-explains-why-new-dungeon-keeper-su/1100-6420996/" data-ref-id="1100-6420996">one occasion</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-ceo-says-company-is-changing-to-become-player-first/1100-6420699/" data-ref-id="1100-6420699">new direction that Wilson has outlined for EA</a> is to make the company a "player-first" one. Part of that entails getting player feedback earlier in the development process and not releasing games until they are "great." Just yesterday, the company announced it would delay <a href="/battlefield-hardline/" data-ref-id="false">Battlefield Hardline</a> until early 2015 <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/battlefield-hardline-delayed-until-early-2015/1100-6421246/" data-ref-id="1100-6421246">in order to craft a better game</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The most recent Peggle game is <a href="/peggle-2/" data-ref-id="false">Peggle 2</a>, a <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/peggle-2-and-pvz-garden-warfare-will-be-xbox-one-timed-exclusives/1100-6413209/" data-ref-id="1100-6413209">timed exclusive for Xbox One and Xbox 360</a>. Plans for its release on non-Xbox platforms have yet to be announced. We've requested an update on this, but we're unlikely to get any concrete details as the timed exclusivity no doubt entails keeping such information under wraps for now.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Chris Pereira is a freelance writer for GameSpot, and you can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/thesmokingmanx" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @TheSmokingManX</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><em><strong>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com</strong></em></td></tr></tbody></table> Wed, 23 Jul 2014 11:51:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/a-new-peggle-game-is-still-coming-to-your-phone/1100-6421265/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/for-little-big-planet-3-sonys-getting-development-/1100-6421266/ <div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6419417" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6419417/" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style="">Earlier this year, Sony announced the return of LittleBigPlanet, the quirky platformer that champions user-generated content. The new game, <a href="/littlebigplanet-3/" data-ref-id="false">LittleBigPlanet 3</a>, will be co-developed by Sony XDev with the help of around 20 members of the game's large and active community.</p><p style="">Speaking at a recent Sony event in New York, Tom O'Connor, senior producer at Sony XDev, said the studio was so impressed with some of the LittleBigPlanet 2 community creations that they contacted some of the players responsible with job offers. "One of our favorites was the guy who made a first-person shooter in <a href="/littlebigplanet-2/" data-ref-id="false">LBP 2</a>," O'Connor said. "We reached out to him and a few others via the PSN and asked them to come to Sheffield in the UK and help us make LBP 3."</p><blockquote data-size="small" data-align="right"><p style="">"We reached out to him and a few others via the PSN and asked them to come to Sheffield in the UK and help us make LBP 3." -- Tom O'Connor</p></blockquote><p style="">Within days of the E3 announcement, Twitter lit up with the hashtag #lbp3wishes as the LBP community began discussing what new features they'd like to see implemented in the new game. O'Connor says many of the suggestions are already in the works, like an in-game power-up creator. The game's hero, Sackboy, has had a range of different power-ups in previous games, but now players will finally be able to design their own. Sackboy will be able to carry these around with him in his "sack pocket."</p><p style="">LBP 3 will also feature over 60 new content creation tools, as well as three new characters: Swoop, Toggle, and Oddsock. Toggle can move between being big and small; he can push heavy blocks and obstacles, but also fit through small gaps and catapult through the air. Swoop can fly, making it easy to access hard-to-reach places, and he can also pick up objects and characters (with the exception of Toggle). Oddsock, a four-legged character, is proficient at wall jumps and slides.</p><figure data-align="left" data-size="small" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1534/15343359/2605832-4585513751-25590.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2605832" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1534/15343359/2605832-4585513751-25590.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2605832"><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_small/1534/15343359/2605832-4585513751-25590.jpg"></a></figure><p style="">The goal, as with other games in the series, is to inspire the LBP community to keep creating new content. "Whenever we try out new features, it's always with the community in mind," O'Connor said. "They get access to exactly the same tools that we use to make the game."</p><p style="">According to O'Connor, LBP 3 will be the easiest game in the series for players to get into, even if they've never played an LBP game before. The new characters will allow for local and online multiplayer, and there'll be interactive tutorials--voiced by Stephen Fry--to guide players through the content creation tools. In addition, all 8.5 million levels created by the community from LBP 1 and LBP 2 will be available, retouched, and upgraded for the PS4.</p><p style="">"LBP is very physical," O'Connor says. "People usually need very little explanation when they start playing. They just get it."</p><p style="">LittleBigPlanet 3 is out on <a href="/ps4/" data-ref-id="false">PlayStation 4</a> this November.</p> Wed, 23 Jul 2014 11:47:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/for-little-big-planet-3-sonys-getting-development-/1100-6421266/
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