Breaking New: Microsoft Concede, Full Turn Around On DRM And Limited Licensing.

If you haven't heard it yet, then you're going very very shortly. 

Microsoft have publicly announced on 'Xbox Wire' that they will not longer be implementing their once controversial 'limited licensing' polices.

(Pt.3) The 30 Best Internet reactions from E3 2013: An Essay In GIF’s

An so we come to the third and final part of an unnecessarily long list of GIFs. 

Hopefully you've been able to see them all and enjoyed the creativity of the internet. I also hope your computer hasn't choked and died as it tried to load all the GIFs at once.

Thanks for sticking with me!

(Pt.2) The 30 Best Internet reactions from E3 2013: An Essay In GIF’s

[Fair warning, this post is full of Gif’s and I mean full of them. Like, leave this loading in another room for five minutes full of them - And possible Game of Thrones *SPOILERS*]

Welcome to part.2 of 'The 25 Best Internet reactions from E3 2013: An Essay In GIFs'.

If you followed this post from the beginning then you've come to the second half of my selection for some of, what I consider, the best internet reactions to E3 2013.

Here you'll find more of the internet's imagination captured in the much loved artistic medium of 'GIFs'.

Due to my lack of understanding of HTML I haven't been able to successfully create -show/hide- widgets that would allow me to put them all on one post, so please bare with me as there's one more to come.

I hope you've been able to see them all, and have enjoyed them so far.

(Pt.1) The 30 Best Internet reactions from E3 2013: An Essay In GIF’s

[Fair warning, this post is full of Gif’s and I mean full of them. Like, leave this loading in another room for five minutes full of them - And possible Game of Thrones *SPOILERS*]

E3 2013 is behind us, but it now holds the title of: ‘Most Mind Blowing and Memorable’. 

In the history of E3 conferences this one’s been big – nay, huge! 

Banned If You Do, Banned If You Don’t: How Microsoft Can Stop You From Playing Your New Xbox One Games

Microsoft has confirmed that the new Xbox One will prohibit all access to your games connected to your Xbox Live account IF you get banned from Xbox Live.

This recent confirmation comes from Microsoft’s own twitter account: @XboxSupport1.

This ban also ties into any accounts that might be sharing your games i.e. your sibling/family/friend will lose access to the game. 

Whether this ban will completely block all the accounts on your Xbox One or solely the account in question is not yet clear. 

PS4 vs Xbox One Vote Held By Amazon, PS4 Winning by 94% – Insane!

Source: http://www.playstationlifestyle.net

Earlier this week the internet exploded into a flurry of activity as many watched Sony leisurely stride towards success, and an almost guaranteed win, following their more comprehensive unveiling of their PS4 console.

The internet reacted without a moment’s hesitation and plastered Sony’s victory lap across the web with the help of the much loved GIF and plenty of crudely edited screen caps and pictures. As ‘that day’ became history –both figuratively and literally- there have been plenty of battles between ‘console loyalists’ who have been aggressively backing the player they have invested the last 7 years of their time and money into.

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII leaked Gameplay Pays Tribute To ‘YRP’

Ahh- the beauty of having a smart phone and or digital camera on hand and access to a roaming internet connection. 

On the floor at Square Enix’s demo booths some guy was trying out a playable demo for Lighting Returns: Final Fantasy XIII; he also though to record it and upload it to Youtube for the rest of the world to revel in. 

For those of you who are keen to keep yourself spoiler free I would advise not watching this:

Opinion: Sony Unveils PS4 Console. Uncanny Design Similarities With Xbox One.

Sony's E3 presentation commenced last night at 2 am GMT, and after some time into their presentation they finally did it; they revealed the PS4 console. If you missed it then here it is again:

Ain't it pretty!

'The Division' Is Ubisoft's Second New IP. It's Also An Open World RPG - Go Figure!

'The Division' is Ubisoft's second original IP announced just moments ago at E3.

The game is being developed by Ubisoft's Massive Entertainment and is a next-gen open world, on-line RPG. 

Ubisoft reveals new IP 'The Crew' - An MMO Racing Game...Of Sorts.

Ubisoft unveiled a new IP coming to the next gen consoles called 'The Crew'. This next gen game is being developed by Ivory Towers and Ubisoft Reflections (the team that brought us Driver: San Francisco) and is essentially a racing game MMO. 

Update: Mirrors Edge 2 Lives! IT LIVES!

UPDATE 10/06: Geoff Keighley of Gametrailers.com (@geoffkeighley) tweeted that the new Mirrors Edge trailer shown at this years E3 is not actually Mirrors Edge 2, but in fact an origins story. 

His tweet came shortly after EA made a press release following the end of their E3 presentation.

This announcement would explain why the main character, 'Faith', was getting her iconic tattoos applied during the trailer. So whilst it may not be a sequel the fact that there will be another Mirrors Edge is still something to be excited by.

*****

ORIGINAL: EA's, recently considered -rather dramatically- the worst company of the year, ended their 2013 E3 presentation with the biggest show of love to fans in a long time.

Mirrors Edge 2 is now official! 

Saint’s Row IV trailer: A Tour De Force Of Ridiculousness - And Introducing Keith David as Keith David!

Volition’s Saints Row series has always been the absurd contemporary to Rockstars’ more serious GTA.

For three instalments now they've been able to tap into a special pool of creativity reserved mostly for those who spend their free time attempting to be inspired after hours of heavy drinking, getting high, and intense heat stroke. They have never shied away from adding more degrees of “bat-shit-craziness” in the name of entertainment and for the sake of our pleasure.

News: Amazon Stops Pre-Orders for Final Fantasy Versus XIII.

Amazon is no longer listing Square Enix’s Final Fantasy versus XIII for pre-order on any of their sites, according to projectcrystallis.org – a good site to be glued to if you harbour an over-developed love of Final Fantasy.  

News: Batman Arkham Origins Teaser Trailer - Batman and Deathstroke Locked in Manly Battle

Batman: Arkham Origins receives a teaser trailer courtesy of new developers WB Games Montreal.

The brave and bold Batman trades threatening fatal flurries with death divvying Deathstroke in a choreographed clash of fists and steel. Eyes are squinted as each warrior gauges the skill of the other and the sexual tension is palpable. This is indeed a battle to the death.

Opinion: GamePolitics.com, Gamespot, and VG24/7 Shamelessly Mis-quote Politico Article.

Game Politics and Bad Reporting

Gaming news sources GamePolitics.com, Gamespot, and VG24/7 have all incorrectly referenced an article from Politico.com relating to Vice President Joe Biden – Biden: Gun control to wait for immigration

It’s not uncommon in the world of "journalism" for information to be steered in a direction that is more in-line with a channels focus or aims but it’s important that we, as readers and consumers of said information, are objective and regularly fastidious with what we choose to take on board.

Update: Kojima’s Plan For ‘Zone of the Enders’ Sequel = Shut It Down!

Certain words shouldn't be taken literally. Cock-pit is one.

Hideo Kojima apologized to fans for the issues experienced in the new Z.O.E HD Collection, and asks; do we still want a Zone of the Enders sequel?

Recently on Hideoblog Kojima discussed the problems faced in converting Zone of the Enders to HD; significantly different hardware architectures between the PS2 & PS3 proved to be the chief setback. Furthermore, up-scaling the frame-rate from 30 fps to 60 fps hasn't been all too successful either. In his opinion the end result was a port that just didn't meet the performance standards expected by the original developers or the fans.

“Batman: Arkham Origins Will Have Multiplayer” According To Kotaku “Tipster”

Rrraaagh! Me no like your face!

Yesterday Kotaku writer Jason Schreier went out on a limb to claim that the newest Batman title will have a multiplayer mode. 

“The newest Batman game will have a multiplayer mode, we've heard from two independent sources.”

Definitely Not Fallout 4 But 'The Evil Within' Is Still Very Exciting.

Sooooo recently parts of the internet exploded with unbridled excitement and joyous rumour milling when Bethesda teased a very short and cryptic video via Vine. With completely reasonable expectations most gaming media outlets, and users alike, instantly assumed it was a tease for Fallout 4. Actually it’s not too hard to see why when you watch it. 

Obviously those who were more clued up knew better.

Monster Hunter Online Powered With Cry Engine 3 Tech. Looking Good!

Today it has come to light, through multiple sources, that Capcom and Tencent Games have come together to birth the digital offspring ‘Monster Hunter Online’. Which means, yep you've guessed it, this next installment is going to be an free-to-play MMO and whilst that in itself is interesting, this is only trumped by the very fact that it's being developed on the Cry Engine 3. 

Helpfully they've released a debut trailer to help whet your appetite and to remind you of what you already know - there will be slashing, rolling, jumping, rawing, etc. You can see it all below in glorious 720p:

Bethesda Say Goodbye To Skyrim. Confirm: No More DLC. Also Sad Owl

Breaking News:

Sagely Advice

Bethesda have announced in a recent blog post, brought to the attention of the media by Kotaku, that they are moving on from their beloved world of Skyrim and on to their next great adventure. They also revealed that whilst part of the team toiled away at updates and DLC, the other part have also been busy working on a pre-production of their next major project – which now needs to focus on 100% team effort! 

Roxio Capture HD PRO & PS3 Setup

Review: Does the low price make the Roxio worthwhile or is it just a red herring?

In the interest of taking my blog to the next step I've been looking at purchasing video game capture cards to... well, capture video game footage. I do this knowing that I'm only going to add to the already well populated sea of youtuber's and Twitch.tv users presently showing hours of uninterrupted gameplay.

Opinion: Piracy Is Theft! Or Is It?

It’s not. 

But It is more like that ad - ridiculous and far fetched.

Tommy Refenes Lays Out The Issues With DRM And More.

Comical screen cap of SimCity malfunctioning illustrated metaphorically by damaged buildings.

News: Grand Theft Auto V Art Work Revealed - Warning! Expect Serious Looks.

Are you excited for the next instalment of Rockstar’s GTA - GTA 5? Are you one to get ridiculously excitable from just looking at some box art and imagining the fun times? Then grab some tissue and make sure your door is closed/locked because Rockstar have just made your next 5 minutes titillating.

The OFFICIAL cover art from GTA 5 has been revealed and it comes with all the bells and whistles that are expected from GTA box art: eccentric looking characters dealing with life – aggressively, new blood, guns, helicopters, and naughtiness.

Have a gander for yourself.

Eye lines being going any which way!

The most notable difference is the additions of a canine pup that’s clearly the friendliest mutt and won’t bite your hand clean off. Oh and a jet ski.

The game releases on 17th September for PS3 and Xbox 360 but until then you’ll have to put up with gameplay videos, screens, and a selection of other GTA 5 related artwork found at the official Rockstar website, or at the offical GTA V site.

So what do you think about the new art work? On a scale from 'meh' to 'may have just peed a little' where do you stand on this latest instalment to the already crazily success franchise? Leave your thoughts below.

By Rod-the-Pod, 02-Apr-2013

Eating Fish Has Reached New Depths.

Mobile Review: Hungry Shark Evolved - Eating fish in style.

You’re a shark, you’re hungry, and you earn points for devouring aquatic prey. That’s all you need to know to play this game - but I can expand.

Why The PS4 Was Not Shown: Kaz Hirai Explains

I know it’s well past the use by date but I'm pretty sure it's safe for me to assume that after the Sony Press Conference on the 20th of February we all felt a little disappointed and for many reasons no doubt.

Thankfully Kaz Hirari, in an interview with BBC's Rory Cellan-Jones, neatly and most eloquently explains why there wasn’t a console. He also reminded me of the need to always pay attention to the language others use.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-21583594 (source)

At 1:33 he says, “[…] it wasn’t actually a launch”, and that sums it up neatly. He also goes on to say, “[…] it keeps people guessing and that’s a good thing”. Oh Kaz, you troll! Hahahahaha.

You didn't at all have me jazzed like a young-un who had just been given a car key by their dad, near close to urinating with excitement, only to be lead outside to the garage and presented with a steering wheel. And as I take a few seconds to come down from what was nerve damaging enthusiasm to understanding that you’re a giant wang, you’re standing there doubled over from pain inducing fits of laughter, and wiping tears of joy from your eyes. Well those should’ve been my tears of joy, Kaz, and I hope those laughing stitches hurt. Like the passing of a gall stone hurt.

Ok so it doesn't help us feel any better about the time wasted excitedly anticipating what might be announced or shown, but it does cover their ass nicely. 

‘Oh you thought we were going to reveal the hardware and then announce a launch date. Jajajajaja. Whatever for?  We wanted to you talk about our product- and you are, silly!’

I'm sure there are some of you who are thinking, “Well duh! Clearly that was never going to happen.” But be honest with yourselves and just admit that you too had hoped to see the machine. You too had hoped to hear some information about potential horizons for when we might see the console. 

Well indeed the last laugh is with Kaz. He has us doing his bidding and we’re talking about the PS4. 


By Rod-the-Pod, 13-Mar-2013

Feature: Why I Hate Namco Bandai But Secretly Love Their Communications Exec (Part 1)

This post has been a long time coming and today it was my goal to make sure it gets posted. So without further adieu here’s why Namco Bandai went from 'decent' to 'a*holes' to 'ok in my books'

*Please be aware these are long posts*

Weekly News Round Up: Part Duex

Been away recently. Up north. Manchester area. Seeing...people. It's a nice city. A pretty good thing they've got going up there. They have nicely coloured bricks. A good shade too - indeed. 

It's been over two weeks I wasn't able to post much with regards to news and games so this is me catching up. 

Gaming - 

[1-Mar-2013]
Role up, role up! Tickets for the 'Eurogamer Expo 2013' went on sale today! Couldn't go last year because you were in Japan (but went to TGS) - go this year! I think I will thanks. 

- Tickets for Eurogamer Expo 2013 on sale now

Multiplayer Review: Another glorious day in the Corps!

Multiplayer Review: Aliens: Colonial Marines - a game played with/against other people and stuff.

So I'm back again and I'm here to update you with my thoughts and experiences of A: CM’s multiplayer. If you read my review on the SPG then you’ll know that I, like many other reviewers, knocked it - and rightly so. 

Now, Gearbox has claimed that the multiplayer is where they spent most of their development time along with another studio, and if that is true then it explains a lot.

Still, does it salvage the train wreck that was the SPG? Is it the much needed evacuation from the atrocious depths of incomplete game play and nasty looking visuals?

Speaks for itself really.

We Got Nukes, We Got Knives, We Got Sharp Sticks.

Review: Aliens: Colonial Marines - a game with aliens and stuff

The Alien’s franchise is pop-culture fuel for many of us and has touched or influenced much in the way of how the public views multi-media. To say there is a lot to be expected from a “true sequel” would be an understatement. Expectations are mammoth!

So, is this a mission worth taking or should we just accept the alternate continuity and forget any of this happened?

Dead Space 3: Dislike Micro-Transactions? Exploit. Exploit. Exploit.

Can I just check something? Yeah... Yeah... my suit is definitely cooler than yours.

Recently 'Visceral Games' released Dead Space 3, and even more recently Game Front discovered a 'glitch' that can be used to farm precious materials needed for crafting. Yes, that's right. Crafting.

Weekly News Round-Up

At the end of most weeks I'm going to try and find gaming news, and other news, from across the past five days that you might have missed - being busy and all. 

Gaming - 

Good news for you fans of the AC and COD franchise. Announcements have been made from their respective developers regarding supposed release times for the next chapter.

- A New Call of Duty is set to launch in late 2013

- Next Assassin's Creed Out Before April 2014 - New Hero, New Time Period, New Developer

PS4 in stores for Xmas 2013. Your play Microsoft.

BREAKING NEWS!

Sources suggest that Sony is aiming to have the PS4 out and in stores for Christmas this year.

This insight comes from Japan's news source The Asahi Shimbun. 

They go on to state that the president of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., 'will announce the launch at the PlayStation Meeting 2013 in New York on Feb. 20.'

Their article goes on to explain confirmed features of the new PS4 such as 'cross-discipline use', 'touchpad controllers', 'a dedicated "share" button', yadda yadda yadda.

With rumours running rampant, and largely unchecked, regarding the specs and possibilites of both the Orbis and Durango, this should be getting many enthusiasts excited. 

Surely with such an announcement details about the new PS4 might start emerging, closely followed by announcements for the Xbox 720, maybe? Of course it's important to take this information as mere speculation for the time being. 

Personally I'm not behind the hype or excitement for the new hardware. I still very much love the enduring life of the PS3, as developers push it to make even greater whirring noises. 

How do you feel after reading this news? There's the high possibility of a launch date on the horizon. Can we expect to see the PS4 by the end of the year? And what of Microsoft's' 'Durango' - what's your feelings on the currently elusive piece of hardware?



By Rod-the-Pod, 07-Feb-2013

A Beta Test drive of the 3rd Crysis

Review: Crysis 3 Beta – A free Beta, with guns and stuff.

With the release date for Crysis 3 quickly approaching, it's always important for consumers to know if the end product is worth your hard earned cash. Find out my thoughts on the recent open beta release.

Down The Rabbit Hole

Review: Far Cry 3 - How insane are we talking about here?

Hotly anticipated and with promise of experiences like nothing else before; Is this Far Cry a mystic island filled with adventures or just a whole lot of bush whacking?