Most Recent: PC

Modern Warfare 3 to include color blind option

Posted on July 8, 2011 by Mike Gutierrez

One of the many controversies surrounding Modern Warfare 2 was that in multiplayer, teammates’ names appear over their heads in green while enemy names appear in red. If you’re color blind, this essentially means you’re screwed, doubly so if you enjoy Hardcore game modes (unless of course you like team-killing). As part of the “let’s appease everyone Infinity Ward drove away” initiative in Call of Duty: Black Ops, Treyarch included a color blind option for such players.

The trend continues, as the Sledgehammer blog confirms the feature returns in Modern Warfare 3. In response to a question from Nick, a color blind fan, Sledgehammer Vice President and COO writes, “start honing your MP skills, Nick. You won’t be able blame your red-green deficiency for all that friendly-fire come November 8th.”

Accessibility in gaming is a big new initiative; it’s good to see the bigger names in gaming getting with the program.

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Modders turn COD4 into Star Wars: Galactic Warfare

Posted on July 7, 2011 by John Scalzo

Do you still have a copy of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare for the PC lying around? If the answer is yes, go download the Star Wars: Galactic Warfare total conversion mod right now. The mod recasts Call of Duty 4’s Marines, SAS soldiers and terrorists as Imperial Stormtroopers and Rebel Alliance members in an all-out battle for control of one of seven maps: “Mos Eisley,” “Bespin,” “Bestine,” “Not A Cave,” “Jundland,” “Jundland Dusk” and “Anchorhead.”

So what are you waiting for? Download the Galactic Warfare mod from the official site of developer BlackMonkeys.de now.

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Bethesda reveals Dishonored, a new FPS from Arkane Studios

Posted on July 7, 2011 by John Scalzo

Bethesda announced that they had acquired Arkane Studios at last year’s QuakeCon. Today, they’re finally ready to talk about the developer’s next project. Arkane Studios, with Raphael Colantonio (Arx Fatalis and Harvey Smith (Deus Ex) at the helm, will be bringing Dishonored to the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 in 2012.

Publisher and developer had very little to say about Dishonored after that, but thankfully, they talked to Game Informer and the magazine plans to put the game on the cover of its August 2011 issue. Along with that cover story comes the first real description of the game:

Dishonored is the antithesis of a edge-of-your-seat roller-coaster ride. It’s a game about assassination where you don’t have to kill anyone. It’s a game about infiltration where you can set up traps and slaughter the entire garrison of an aristocrat’s mansion rather than sneak in. It’s a game about brutal violence where you can slip in and out of a fortified barracks with nobody ever knowing you were there. It’s a game about morality and player choice where the world you create is based on your actions, not navigating conversation trees.

Sounds intense. We’ll learn more when the August 2011 issue of Game Informer hits newsstands, which should be happening any day now.

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Michael Pachter predicts Duke Nukem Forever sales to disappoint

Posted on July 6, 2011 by Mike Gutierrez

Industry analyst Michael Pachter is shoring up his sales prediction for the highly anticipated Duke Nukem Forever, and it’s not good. Originally expected to sell roughly three million copies in its first quarter, The Pach is now tempering that expectation to 1.5 million. While that would be a respectable number for most games, it’s seen as quite underwhelming for a series with such a legendary place in gaming, not to mention over a decade of hype. The lukewarm critical reception seems to be responsible for a lot of the game’s troubles.

“We had previously expected Duke to be one of the year’s top sellers due to a high degree of hype and a dedicated fan base, and expected solid profit contribution as the bulk of development had been previously expensed,” said Pachter in a note to investors. “However, the game’s poor reviews (average Metacritic score of 49) likely had a negative impact on sales, causing us to lower our [first quarter] sell-in estimate to 1.5 million units from 3 million units.”

It isn’t all bad for Take Two, who bet on Duke, as L.A. Noire‘s success at retail has been well documented.

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Rockstar may dissolve relationship with Team Bondi

Posted on July 5, 2011 by Mike Gutierrez

Things are not looking good for Team Bondi, the studio behind L.A. Noire, after allegations of cruel management and an investigation into such by the IGDA. Now, the Sydney, Australia-based company may need to look for a new publisher.

“Rockstar used to be very keen on making Team Bondi something like ‘Rockstar Sydney’ – the more they worked with Team Bondi management, the more they came to understand that this was a terrible idea,” an anonymous source told Industry Gamers. “I’ve heard a lot about Rockstar’s disdain for Team Bondi, and it has been made quite clear that they will not publish Team Bondi’s next game.”

Of course, it’s hard to question the management of a game that turned out so good, but the source claims, “Rockstar also pitched in with programmers, animators, artists, QA, etc. Part of the conflict between Team Bondi and Rockstar was due to Rockstar’s frustration with Team Bondi’s direction, and eventually Team Bondi’s management in turn resented Rockstar for taking lots of creative control.”

I seriously doubt Team Bondi will have a hard time searching for a new publisher given how well the game has sold. But hopefully the studio can adequately deal with a lot of the negative press it has received.

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Second Chances: 5 Games That Deserve Another Look

Posted on July 5, 2011 by Adam Woolcott

Gaming is a time-consuming hobby. Unlike music or movies, which require a minimal investment, video games can be lengthy and involved affairs. As such, it’s much easier to miss out on really good games that come and go without much notice. Perhaps it’s because of a bad release date, or maybe it just didn’t get heavy distribution or advertising. Hell, maybe it doesn’t have a good Metacritic score, or it was completely ignored on gaming message boards. Regardless of the reason why, some games just don’t make it, and that’s a shame. That’s why we’re here, though – to pick out some unheralded gems and give them the attention they so richly deserve. They might not be able to compete with the heaviest of hitters, the so-called “AAA” games that sell millions, but they present entertaining gaming experiences all the same. (more…)

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The Lord of the Rings: War in the North Collector’s Edition: longbow not included

Posted on July 5, 2011 by Mike Gutierrez

The Lord of the Rings is a huge franchise, and as such, WB Games is preparing a $130 collector’s edition for The Lord of the Rings: War in the North.

The awesome quiver to your left contains the game, an art book, three songs from the soundtrack, and a behind-the-scenes DVD about the making of the game. The Xbox 360 version also comes with a Ranger XBL Avatar, while the PlayStation 3 version includes a Theme Pack. I got to check out War in the North at the last two PAXes, and I have to say, it does look pretty good. If you’re a Rings fan, this is one collector’s edition you may not become ashamed of.

The Lord of the Rings: War in the North releases on August 24 for PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3.

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See 12 minutes of Batman: Arkham City gameplay in new trailer

Posted on July 3, 2011 by John Scalzo

This 4th of July weekend, it’s important to remember that if there’s one comic book character who stands for truth, justice and the American way… it’s Batman!

Wait… I don’t think that’s right…

Anyway, WB Games and developer Rocksteady have released over 12 minutes of Batman: Arkham City gameplay footage including Catwoman taking down a bunch of thugs, getting captured by Two-Face and Batman’s rescue mission. And trust me, there’s no shortage of fireworks when those three get together.

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