http://auth.gamespot.com/ Gamespot's Everything Feed! News, Reviews, Videos. Exploding with content? You bet. en-us Fri, 25 Apr 2014 00:35:50 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/h1z1-microtransactions-will-only-include-things-that-are-fair/1100-6419202/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/123/1239113/2516214-h1z1.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516214" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/123/1239113/2516214-h1z1.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516214"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/123/1239113/2516214-h1z1.jpg"></a></figure><p style="">Recently revealed free-to-play MMO <a href="/h1z1/" data-ref-id="false">H1Z1</a> will be home to "fair" microtransactions, according to Sony Online Entertainment president John Smedley.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Smedley, who has been extremely transparent about the development process and actively soliciting feedback from fans on <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/h1z1/comments/23oqm8/we_had_our_first_monetization_meeting_yesterday/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Reddit</a> in particular, recently shared some of the details from Sony's first meeting on monetization. These decisions are critical to the game's success, both because they will be Sony's only way of making money and because they could turn players off if they are deemed unacceptable. Smedley made sure to highlight the fact that Sony is working hard to ensure the game's microtransactions are "fair."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Among the things that will be sold for real-world money are advanced emote packs (basic emotes will be free), item crates, and character slots, the latter of which he said "feels reasonable."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">What will definitely not be sold are things like guns, ammo, food, and water, nor boosts related to any of those things. "That's kind of the whole game and it would suck in our opinion if we did that," he said.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"We will be selling wearables. We felt like this will be a good, fair revenue generator," Smedley explained. "However - we recognize how important finding wearables in the world is so you'll be able to find and craft a lot of stuff. We agree that's something important." He went to explain how players will be able to loot purchased items--like a black ski mask, for instance--from a player they kill and use it for several deaths, at which time it will degrade and disappear. Items purchased with real-world money, however, will not degrade and will always be available to their owner at a locker, even after dying.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Without going into specifics, Smedley said a Reddit discussion thread on monetization "has turned out to be a terrific source of ideas and it also is helping us steer clear of the stuff you just don't want to see." He promised more details would be coming later this week following another internal meeting on the subject.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Commendably, Smedley has not shied away from the observations that H1Z1 bears similarities to <a href="/dayz/" data-ref-id="false">DayZ</a>. He <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/soe-president-doesn-t-dodge-questions-about-similarities-between-h1z1-and-dayz/1100-6419090/" data-ref-id="1100-6419090">addressed them head-on</a> on Reddit, complimenting DayZ and acknowledging the inspiration before highlighting the things that set H1Z1 apart, such as being able to build structures.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">H1Z1 was <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/sony-reveals-new-post-apocalyptic-mmo-game-h1z1/1100-6418884/" data-ref-id="1100-6418884">announced earlier this month</a> for PC. Prior to launch, it will be able in Early Access for $20, although players will be able to wait for the proper release, at which time the game will be free to download and play</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> Thu, 24 Apr 2014 18:07:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/h1z1-microtransactions-will-only-include-things-that-are-fair/1100-6419202/ http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/the-elder-scrolls-online-review/1900-6415741/ <p style="">I look across the Alik'r desert from atop my steed. The arid ground below its hooves has been cracked by the sun's intense heat, and only husks are left where vegetation once thrived. I see a shrine in the distance signaling a friendly oasis, but it's lonely here, and I long to catch a ride on the hot breezes that blow past. It's a pensive moment, and I savor it, for I must believe that a grand adventure waits for me beyond that shrine, beyond the rocky plateaus that wall in this desert, beyond the Arabia-inspired dwellings that dot the sands.</p><p style="">The great wonder of The Elder Scrolls Online is that sights like these can inspire gleeful anticipation. Such grand vistas must harbor unknown secrets. Such vast landscapes must also have room for a story of your own crafting, a story you can share at the inn after a hard day's journey across deserts and mountains. The great disappointment of The Elder Scrolls Online is that many of these sights and sounds are weak facades that cannot hide how clumsily the game tries to join two disparate halves that cannot form a whole. One half, the single-player fantasy experience, does not provide the emergent adventuring for which the series is known, hobbled as it is by the online environment. The other half, a bog-standard massively multiplayer role-playing game, is hampered by The Elder Scrolls Online's tendency to punish you for playing with others.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6418244" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6418244/" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style="">The Elder Scrolls Online goes out of its way to sell its peculiar coupling of incompatible parts, however. When you first load up the game and enter character creation, rhythmic strings and kettledrums crescendo until they are joined by French horns and virtual choristers. The famous Elder Scrolls theme begins to play, and you turn your attention to choosing a race from this famed fantasy universe, from the haughty High Elves to the feline Khajiit. Then you choose from one of four classes and begin to customize your character, using all sorts of sliders to make your fanged Orc dragonknight look as fearsome as possible, or to make your pale Nord sorcerer look so angelic that she might have floated down from the heavens. This is a great start. You feel the energy. You're ready to make a name for yourself on the continent of Tamriel.</p><p style="">Once you depart the introductory dungeon, the possibilities seem endless, at least at first. Daggerfall was the first major city I explored, and I roamed the streets taking on quests and chatting with the townsfolk. During dialogue, the camera closes in on your conversation partner just as it does in single-player Elder Scrolls games like <a href="/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim/" data-ref-id="false">Skyrim</a> and <a href="/the-elder-scrolls-iv-oblivion/" data-ref-id="false">Oblivion</a>. Every line is spoken aloud, and conversations demand your input. The game wants you to pay attention, and at first, I eagerly listened. Amazingly, none of these people wanted me to go clear out a cellar full of rats, or murder 10 ladybugs. Instead, they wanted my help solving mysteries and activating golems built by the long-extinct Dwemer race. These were quests I could get behind.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2516032-0001.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516032" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2516032-0001.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516032"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/416/4161502/2516032-0001.jpg"></a><figcaption>The Bound Armor spell can make you look like a fearsome warrior even when you're wearing the flimsiest of clothing.</figcaption></figure><p style="">Unfortunately, in leaving behind the usual questing cliches and focusing on lengthy conversations with non-player characters, The Elder Scrolls Online creates different kinds of problems. As you move from one place to the next, you hear the same few actors over and over again, which might not have been such a sin if their voices weren't so distinct and recognizable. Even if you've never heard Troy Baker's voice in another game, you'll soon come to know it in this one, given how many characters he plays. A great actor can disappear into a role, assuming the role is worth disappearing into. Alas, the game's creaky writing isn't about developing characters; it's about advancing plot and pouring volumes of lore into your head. There's no chance for an actor to build a character when dialogue is written in long, bone-dry sentences better put to paper than delivered from an actor's tongue.</p><p style="">You could levy the same criticism against previous Elder Scrolls games, of course, but such conversations weren't the crux of the prior games' storytelling. Instead, the greatest stories that emerged were the ones you created for yourself by taking advantage of the games' interlocking systems. The Elder Scrolls Online by its very nature limits the kind of fun you can make. You can't murder random shopkeepers and incur an entire village's wrath. You will never mourn for a trusted follower, such as Skyrim's Lydia, when he or she falls in battle, for there are no followers for hire. In theory, you can head off in whatever direction you choose, but enemy levels don't scale to your own, so the overall direction of your adventure is just as gated as in any other MMOG.</p><figure data-align="right" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2516035-0002.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516035" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2516035-0002.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516035"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_medium/416/4161502/2516035-0002.jpg"></a><figcaption>His words say "go away." So does his body language, for that matter. </figcaption></figure><p style="">And so you move through Tamriel in more or less the prescribed direction, trudging through one long-winded tale after another instead of conjuring one to call your own. Luckily, many of these tales are intriguing ones. During my travels, I stumbled upon a village with a terrible secret, and once I uncovered it, I was asked to determine whether I would lead the villagers to freedom, or insist they remain under a terrible curse. I led the Fighter's Guild to a renaissance after revealing a plot that threatened to undermine its power. My favorite moments were those in which I saw a story come to life rather than hearing it read to me from a script. I watched a former comrade morph into a terrible monstrosity and looked on as a brave young woman martyred herself for the greater good. In The Elder Scrolls Online, actions speak louder than words. It's too bad that the people of Tamriel would usually rather talk.</p><p style="">The usual kill-20-wolves quests might be uncommon in The Elder Scrolls Online, but the game ultimately finds its own themes to repeat. There always seems to be someone wrongly imprisoned in stocks. People never want to open their doors in the midst of an emergency. There's always a local leader being controlled by some cult or another. But even when you're tired of chatting it up with ghosts who always seem to be stuck in this plane of existence for some reason, the game tries so very hard to keep you in its thrall. There is no minimap to clutter your screen, only a full-screen map and a compass that identifies areas and objects of interest. Your six-slot action bar disappears when you aren't engaged in combat, and by default, players and non-player characters are not identified by floating names or icons. "This is not a game--this is a life," The Elder Scrolls Online seems to say. And when I'm combing a beach for treasure or facing a Daedric monstrosity, it's the only life I'm aware of. When you keep things simple, the game makes it easy to be in the moment.</p><blockquote data-size="large" data-align="left"><p style="">The game's creaky writing isn't about developing characters; it's about advancing plot and pouring volumes of lore into your head.</p></blockquote><p style="">Of course, such a life is only an illusion, and the game is intent on smashing that illusion to pieces at every turn. Many quest lines end with you making a decision that is then reflected in the world around you; for instance, you may choose to save one group of NPCs from a fire and sentence another to burn, thus leaving only one group for you to interact with later. As long as you keep to yourself, the illusion is complete, and the game's phasing technology has you seamlessly entering instances that reflect the path you followed. Join other players, however, and you tear off The Elder Scrolls Online's thin veil. You and a buddy might enter a region only to have your teammate turn invisible, leaving behind a wandering icon. You might initiate battle, only to discover that your friend doesn't see the same enemies and thus can't help fight them. I was so annoyed by such moments that I rallied others to my side only when I wanted to clear a dungeon or fight one of the elite monsters that pepper the landscape. The multiplayer half just doesn't play nicely with the single-player half.</p><p style="">The single-player half is hardly innocent in this family squabble, however. A quest that puts you in another character's sandals and sends you back in time to witness tragic events of the past is initially engaging. But seeing three other players standing there, all portraying the same character, kills the scene. Breaking into a house only to be surrounded by a half-dozen other would-be burglars destroys any hope of role-playing as a surreptitious thief. Witnessing a bunch of other people performing the same tasks is hardly a new phenomenon in MMOGs, but The Elder Scrolls Online's attempts to personalize the narrative progression make the immersion-breaking foibles all the more jarring.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2516036-0003.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516036" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2516036-0003.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516036"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/416/4161502/2516036-0003.jpg"></a><figcaption>In this quest, you must determine who to trust. Make the wrong decision, and you ally with the prince of domination.</figcaption></figure><p style="">That isn't to say that the game doesn't provide opportunities for players to come together, with four-player dungeons leading the way. It's easy to find a group and get into a dungeon once you've reached the appropriate level, and you can find success even if your party has an atypical assortment of classes. My first runthrough of the Tempest Island dungeon was with two other damage dealers and a healer, yet we fared rather well against the area's bosses, one of which kept us on the move as it dogged us with a roving lightning storm. I like this dungeon for the way its tropical marshes contrast with its wooden bridges and stone sanctums, and for the imposing atronachs you battle as you venture through it. I don't like the way a quest giver in the dungeon will walk away in the middle of dialogue because another player finished the conversation first, forcing me to reinitiate the exchange. Nor, for that matter, do I like every dungeons' overall tendency to create narrow choke points in high-action areas. (Hello, limited camera angles!) Maps don't always feel designed around how players actually use those spaces.</p><p style="">The action is fine, but it never crackles, in part due to the lifeless animations that make combat look more like a mundane chore than a dazzling display of magic and mayhem. Single-player Elder Scrolls combat has always been somewhat messy, but its real-time nature usually communicates a sense of blade against flesh. The Elder Scrolls Online combines the old-fashioned hotkey combat of games like <a href="/world-of-warcraft/" data-ref-id="false">World of Warcraft</a> with the action-oriented swordplay of games like <a href="/tera/" data-ref-id="false">Tera</a>, to mixed results. You target using an onscreen reticle (though you can get some assistance from your tab key), and you are limited mainly by your mana and stamina bars, not skill cooldowns. You can also block attacks and tumble, but this is not true action combat, so there is some buffer between your key presses and the actions you see onscreen.</p><blockquote data-align="right" data-size="medium"><p style="">I watched a former comrade morph into a terrible monstrosity and looked on as a brave young woman martyred herself for the greater good. In The Elder Scrolls Online, actions speak louder than words.</p></blockquote><p style="">I did come to appreciate the ways of sorcery in spite of the dreary animations, especially once I reached level 15 and could equip a second set of weapons and skills. You can switch between sets during battle, <a href="/guild-wars-2/" data-ref-id="false">Guild Wars 2</a> style, but The Elder Scrolls Online's combat is not nearly as snappy as Guild Wars 2's, nor does it offer many reasons to switch sets in the middle of combat. But I liked the variety of magic spells, using destructive staffs that offered a main elemental attack (fire, ice, or lightning), and restorative staffs that opened up healing options when fellow Daggerfall Alliance members needed a boost. I came to enjoy a spell called crystal fragments in particular, not just for the way the crystal formed in midair as I performed jazz-hands gestures, but also for the concussive thud it caused when impacting a spriggan's bark. The spell is particularly dramatic looking from a first-person perspective, though I typically played in third-person because it gave me a better view of my surroundings.</p><p style="">You aren't limited to any given type of weapon or armor, however, no matter which class you choose, and weapon types have various skills associated with them. There's a good deal of freedom in how you spend skill points, which you earn when you level up, complete particular quests, or collect enough of the skill shards scattered around Tamriel. You're limited to five active skills and a single ultimate ability per weapon set at a time, however, and as a result, I stuck with a limited number of skills and purchased many passive abilities out of fear that I would be an ineffective mage if I spread my points too thinly.</p><figure data-align="left" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2516038-0004.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516038" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2516038-0004.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516038"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_medium/416/4161502/2516038-0004.jpg"></a><figcaption>In The Elder Scrolls Online, you never truly escape the past. </figcaption></figure><p style="">You don't have to stick to a particular set of crafting skills either, and you can always spend skill points in non-combat disciplines if you fancy yourself an artisan. It's tempting to dabble in every profession at first, but your inventory quickly fills when you hoard every potential crafting resource under the sun and moon. Inventory space upgrades are pricey, so it's best to choose a few professions and stick to them. Even better, you should craft items that you can personally use, unless you belong to a large and active guild or just feel confident in your ability to sell your wares over the game's public chat channels. The reason? The Elder Scrolls Online does not feature an auction house, which makes for a chaotic economy at best. You can sell your items to members of your guild, but the interface for buying and selling is clumsy, and without game-wide information regarding supply and demand, there's no sense of what a fair price may be. And so I crafted for myself and myself alone, eventually sticking with alchemy and enchantment--alchemy for the fun of experimenting with different flowers and herbs to see what poultices I could make, and enchantment for the sake of hearing my in-game avatar speak melodramatic incantations.</p><p style="">Such drama pales in comparison to the drama of The Elder Scrolls Online's player-versus-player battlefields, of course, which pit the game's three main factions against each other in the grand expanses of Cyrodiil. The PVP instances--or campaigns, as they're called here--focus on the siege warfare that <a href="/reviews/dark-age-of-camelot-review/1900-2820565/" data-ref-id="1900-2820565">Dark Age of Camelot</a> introduced so many years ago, encouraging factions to infiltrate and capture each other's keeps.</p><blockquote data-align="center" data-size="large"><p style="">Breaking into a house only to be surrounded by a half-dozen other would-be burglars destroys any hope of role-playing as a surreptitious thief.</p></blockquote><p style="">Cyrodiil's expanses are so great, in fact, that it can take entirely too much time just to get to the action, even when making use of the PVP's quick-travel system. Luckily, The Elder Scrolls Online is at its best when the PVP action heats up, whether you and your comrades are setting up a line of defensive ballistae at the top of a keep's walls, or going for broke and charging a nearby farm protected by NPCs. It's here that I took to a healing role, using area-of-effect healing skills that allowed me to stay on the move and deal a little damage of my own without having to heal teammates individually. These massive battles are good fun, if somewhat handicapped by the core action's stiffness. The PVP campaigns' bigger handicaps are logistical ones. Just getting out of Cyrodiil and back to the relative peace of player versus environment can be time consuming, and the fact that you can't limit a group search to your own campaign is a drag.</p><p style="">Of course, such issues can be patched, as can The Elder Scrolls Online's other continuing troubles, a few too many broken quests chief among them. I'm less certain, however, that the single-player and multiplayer sides of this fantastical coin will ever complement each other. That's too bad, because when the stars align, I get that special tingle in my brain, the kind that heralds upcoming heroism in the face of danger. It happens when the soundtrack's solo cello climbs an arpeggio and then hangs there knowingly, just as I engage a group of harpies. It happens when I face a decision that has no clear right answer. Hopefully, The Elder Scrolls Online will one day get out of its own way, and stop trying to stifle the very fun it's trying to provide.</p> Thu, 24 Apr 2014 17:20:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/the-elder-scrolls-online-review/1900-6415741/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xcom-enemy-unknown-arrives-on-android/1100-6419200/ <div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6410689" data-width="854" data-height="480"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6410689/" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""><span>The touch-enabled version of </span><a href="/xcom-enemy-unknown/" data-ref-id="false">XCOM: Enemy Unknown</a><span> previously released on iOS is now </span><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tt2kgames.xcomeu" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">available on Android</a><span> for $9.99.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="">The critically acclaimed Enemy Unknown was first released on PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 in 2012. Developed by Firaxis, it was a revival of the classic strategy series that hadn't seen a game released in more than a decade. As a turn-based game, it's well-suited to a touchscreen interface.</p><p style="">At $9.99, XCOM is more expensive than most mobile games, but keep in mind this is the same game that was a full-priced release on PC and consoles. It does not, however, include the content released as part of last year's <a href="/xcom-enemy-within/" data-ref-id="false">Enemy Within</a> expansion pack.</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> Thu, 24 Apr 2014 16:51:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xcom-enemy-unknown-arrives-on-android/1100-6419200/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/minecraft-ps4-and-vita-expected-by-september/1100-6419199/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/123/1239113/2516159-minecraft.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516159" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/123/1239113/2516159-minecraft.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516159"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/123/1239113/2516159-minecraft.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""><span>Since they were first announced, Mojang has been hesitant to provide a release date for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita versions of <a href="/minecraft/" data-ref-id="false">Minecraft</a>. And while it still hasn't given us anything exact, the developer now says the sandbox building game will be out on the two systems during the second or third quarter of this year, placing its release somewhere between now and the end of September.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="">Mojang shared this release window in the comments of a recent <a href="http://blog.eu.playstation.com/2014/04/16/minecraft-playstation-3-edition-gets-blu-ray-release-next-month/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">PlayStation Blog</a> post (via <a href="http://www.computerandvideogames.com/460330/minecraft-for-ps4-and-vita-expected-q2-or-q3/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">CVG</a>) about the <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/minecraft-ps3-edition-getting-disc-release-next-month-has-lovely-box-art/1100-6419027/" data-ref-id="1100-6419027">retail PS3 version of Minecraft</a> coming on May 16.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">In another comment, Mojang's Owen Hill described the Vita version as being "closer to the console versions," as opposed to the more limited Pocket Edition available on mobile systems. In response to a question about the ability to transfer Minecraft saves from the PS3 version, Hill said, "You should be able to bring your PS3 save to PS4."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">As for whether owners of the PS3 version will have to pay again for access on the PS4 or Vita, he said, "We're in the process of finalising cross-buy/upgrade/DLC things. More news soon."</p><p style="">Minecraft was <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/minecraft-coming-to-playstation-4/1100-6413251/" data-ref-id="1100-6413251">announced for the PS4, PS3, and Vita</a> last August. It was released on the PS3 in December, with the other two versions--along with the <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/minecraft-coming-to-xbox-one/1100-6409545/" data-ref-id="1100-6409545">Xbox One version</a>--expected to be released sometime this year.</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> Thu, 24 Apr 2014 16:31:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/minecraft-ps4-and-vita-expected-by-september/1100-6419199/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-best-ps4-games/1100-6419198/ <p style="">The PlayStation 4 was only released in November 2013, but the list of must-play games for Sony's new system keeps growing by the month. We've collated some of the most outstanding titles released so far, so check out our choices for what games you need to have for your PS4 by looking at our list below. But as the PS4 is so new, expect to see quite a few additions and changes as the months roll on. Keep checking back on this page to see what our picks for best games on the PS4 are, and in the meantime, let us know what you think of our current choices in the comments below.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/225/2256286/2516145-infamous.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516145" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/225/2256286/2516145-infamous.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516145"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/225/2256286/2516145-infamous.jpg"></a><figcaption>Click below to see more screens from our top PS4 games.</figcaption></figure><figure data-embed-type="gallery" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/225/2256286/2516153-bf4.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/225/2256286/2516154-codghosts.png,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/225/2256286/2516155-fifa14.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/225/2256286/2516156-flower.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/225/2256286/2516157-nba14.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/225/2256286/2516158-nfsrivals.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516153,1300-2516154,1300-2516155,1300-2516156,1300-2516157,1300-2516158" data-resize-urls="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/225/2256286/2516153-bf4.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/225/2256286/2516154-codghosts.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/225/2256286/2516155-fifa14.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/225/2256286/2516156-flower.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/225/2256286/2516157-nba14.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/225/2256286/2516158-nfsrivals.jpg" data-resized="" data-resize-url=""><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/225/2256286/2516153-bf4.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516153" ><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/225/2256286/2516153-bf4.jpg"></a><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/225/2256286/2516154-codghosts.png" data-ref-id="1300-2516154" ><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/225/2256286/2516154-codghosts.jpg"></a><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/225/2256286/2516155-fifa14.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516155" ><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/225/2256286/2516155-fifa14.jpg"></a><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/225/2256286/2516156-flower.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516156" ><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/225/2256286/2516156-flower.jpg"></a><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/225/2256286/2516157-nba14.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516157" ><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/225/2256286/2516157-nba14.jpg"></a><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/225/2256286/2516158-nfsrivals.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516158" ><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/225/2256286/2516158-nfsrivals.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p style=""><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/assassins-creed-iv-black-flag/" data-ref-id="false">Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag</a></p><p style="">"There's an incredible scope to what you can do in Black Flag, with a level of harmony between its component parts that encourages you to try it all, and a story that keeps you invested throughout the whole thing." -- <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/assassin-s-creed-iv-black-flag-review/1900-6415509/" data-ref-id="1900-6415509">Read our review</a></p><h4><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/battlefield-4/" data-ref-id="false">Battlefield 4</a></h4><p style="">"Battlefield 4 multiplayer is a blast and definitely the best reason to return to this hallowed franchise or dive in for the first time. Though the campaign makes strides in the right direction, it remains a sideshow to the main event. Expansive and exciting, challenging and empowering, Battlefield 4 multiplayer is a thrilling endeavor in this generation or the next." -- <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/battlefield-4-review/1900-6415517/" data-ref-id="1900-6415517">Read our review</a></p><h4><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/call-of-duty-ghosts/" data-ref-id="false">Call of Duty: Ghosts</a></h4><p style="">"From an exuberant campaign full of spectacle and variety to the way Extinction's unpredictable aliens force you to use those targeting skills in entirely new ways, Ghosts strikes an excellent balance between the familiar and the novel. This is a game that's keenly aware of the series' strengths, but doesn't find itself beholden to them." -- <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/call-of-duty-ghosts-review/1900-6415523/" data-ref-id="1900-6415523">Read our review</a></p><h4><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/fifa-14/" data-ref-id="false">FIFA 14</a></h4><p style="">"This is the quintessential version of FIFA 14. It brings a level of authenticity never before seen in the genre and sets new standards for player control and stadium atmosphere. Too often have we seen football games flounder in the transition to new consoles, but FIFA 14 for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One is a step above it's peers." -- <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/fifa-2014-review/1900-6415568/" data-ref-id="1900-6415568">Read our review</a></p><h4><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/flower/" data-ref-id="false">flower</a></h4><p style="">"Like a snowy mountain ridge or a tranquil river valley, Flower invites introspection and inner calm, and that kind of interactive experience is almost as rare now as it was when I first surfed these winds." -- <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/flower-review/1900-6415537/" data-ref-id="1900-6415537">Read our review</a></p><p style=""> </p><h4><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/infamous-second-son/" data-ref-id="false">inFamous: Second Son</a></h4><p style="">"Second Son focuses on pure enjoyment. It communicates that through the excellent combat that forces you to concoct crazy tactics to overthrow the invading forces. It draws you in further through its incredible visuals that not only hint at the PlayStation 4's impressive power, but employ a sensible artistic touch that makes Seattle a place you want to explore." -- <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/infamous-second-son-review/1900-6415705/" data-ref-id="1900-6415705">Read our review</a></p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/225/2256286/2516152-mgsvgrz.png" data-ref-id="1300-2516152" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/225/2256286/2516152-mgsvgrz.png" data-ref-id="1300-2516152"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/225/2256286/2516152-mgsvgrz.png"></a><figcaption>Big Boss goes for the takedown in MGS V: Ground Zeroes.</figcaption></figure><h4><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/metal-gear-solid-ground-zeroes/" data-ref-id="false">Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes</a></h4><p style="">"Though it's unusual for everything to take place in a single location, there's so much to do and see, and whether you take a stealthy or head-on approach, infiltrating Camp Omega in Ground Zeroes is a thrilling experience that shouldn't be missed." -- <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/metal-gear-solid-5-ground-zeroes-review/1900-6415701/" data-ref-id="1900-6415701">Read our review</a></p><h4><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/nba-2k14/" data-ref-id="false">NBA 2K14</a></h4><p style="">"he on-court action in NBA 2K14 isn't markedly different from the way the current generation versions play, which means its excellent, and by far the best we've ever seen in virtual basketball. What's so remarkable is how the upgraded visuals enhance the overall experience." -- <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/nba-2k14-review/1900-6415551/" data-ref-id="1900-6415551">Read our review</a></p><h4><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/need-for-speed-rivals/" data-ref-id="false">Need for Speed: Rivals</a></h4><p style="">"Need for Speed: Rivals is very much in the tradition of Hot Pursuit, but that great, familiar gameplay has been infused with enough new elements to make it as thrilling here as it's ever been. It sure is good to hit the open road again." -- <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/need-for-speed-rivals-review/1900-6415555/" data-ref-id="1900-6415555">Read our review</a></p><h4><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/rayman-legends/" data-ref-id="false">Rayman Legends</a></h4><p style="">"Momentum is the name of the game in this 2D platformer. Rayman runs, leaps, swings, glides, and swims with a kinetic grace that compels you ever onward. Being able to squeeze past spikes and thunder across toppling towers should be expected in any adventure that presents such formidable challenges, but what makes Legends special is how joyful such movements are." -- <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/rayman-legends-review/1900-6413616/" data-ref-id="1900-6413616">Read our review</a></p><h4><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/resogun/" data-ref-id="false">Resogun</a></h4><p style="">"It's classic arcade action imbued with hard-hitting artistic and gameplay elements. Falling in love with Resogun is easy, and mastering it is challenging, and the combination of these two qualities makes Resogun almost impossible to put down." -- <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/resogun-review/1900-6415541/" data-ref-id="1900-6415541">Read our review</a></p><h4><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/sound-shapes/" data-ref-id="false">Sound Shapes</a></h4><p style="">"Sound Shapes is a transcendent experience in so many ways. Maybe its most important contribution is giving a voice to the world through music and action." -- <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/sound-shapes-review/1900-6415535/" data-ref-id="1900-6415535">Read our review</a></p><h4><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/strider/" data-ref-id="false">Strider</a></h4><p style="">"From the moment you embark on your journey right up until the final deathblow, Strider is a blast to play. Controlling this agile ninja feels empowering right out of the gate, and each new upgrade brings with it an enjoyable new way to engage your foes." -- <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/strider-review/1900-6415669/" data-ref-id="1900-6415669">Read our review</a></p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/225/2256286/2516147-resogun.png" data-ref-id="1300-2516147" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/225/2256286/2516147-resogun.png" data-ref-id="1300-2516147"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/225/2256286/2516147-resogun.png"></a><figcaption>Click below to see more screens from our top Nintendo 3DS games.</figcaption></figure><figure data-embed-type="gallery" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/225/2256286/2516161-raymanlegends.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/225/2256286/2516162-soundshapes.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/225/2256286/2516163-strider.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/225/2256286/2516164-tombraider.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/225/2256286/2516165-towerfall.png" data-ref-id="1300-2516161,1300-2516162,1300-2516163,1300-2516164,1300-2516165" data-resize-urls="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/225/2256286/2516161-raymanlegends.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/225/2256286/2516162-soundshapes.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/225/2256286/2516163-strider.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/225/2256286/2516164-tombraider.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/225/2256286/2516165-towerfall.jpg" data-resized="" data-resize-url=""><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/225/2256286/2516161-raymanlegends.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516161" ><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/225/2256286/2516161-raymanlegends.jpg"></a><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/225/2256286/2516162-soundshapes.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516162" ><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/225/2256286/2516162-soundshapes.jpg"></a><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/225/2256286/2516163-strider.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516163" ><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/225/2256286/2516163-strider.jpg"></a><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/225/2256286/2516164-tombraider.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516164" ><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/225/2256286/2516164-tombraider.jpg"></a><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/225/2256286/2516165-towerfall.png" data-ref-id="1300-2516165" ><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/225/2256286/2516165-towerfall.jpg"></a></figure><h4> </h4><h4><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/tomb-raider/" data-ref-id="false">Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition</a></h4><p style="">"What's most remarkable about Tomb Raider is how its many elements so perfectly complement each other, so that no matter which activity you're currently engaged in, you're fully invested. Even the straightforward platforming, in which Lara's sticky hands ensure there's little chance of failure, is thrilling thanks to brief quick-time events that keep your mind focused on even your smallest actions." -- <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/tomb-raider-definitive-edition-review/1900-6415647/" data-ref-id="1900-6415647">Read our reviews</a></p><h4><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/towerfall-ascension/" data-ref-id="false">Towerfall: Ascension</a></h4><p style="">"With a few friends, Towerfall Ascension is a fantastic multiplayer game that offers a ton of variations on its enjoyable archery combat. Just make sure those friends can join you on the couch." -- <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/towerfall-ascension-review/1900-6415688/" data-ref-id="1900-6415688">Read our review</a></p><h4><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/trials-fusion/" data-ref-id="false">Trials Fusion</a></h4><p style="">"This is another expertly designed entry in the enthralling series. Though the core action remains largely unchanged, it's as exciting as it has ever been, thanks in part to the gorgeous visual design that brings each location to life." -- <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/trials-fusion-review/1900-6415733/" data-ref-id="1900-6415733">Read our review</a></p><p style=""><em>* GameSpot's Best Of Lists will be updated periodically as new games worthy of inclusion are released on their respective platforms.</em></p> Thu, 24 Apr 2014 16:26:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-best-ps4-games/1100-6419198/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/just-cause-3-news-may-be-incoming-as-new-domain-name-discovered/1100-6419196/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/123/1239113/2516096-just+cause+2.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516096" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/123/1239113/2516096-just+cause+2.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516096"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/123/1239113/2516096-just+cause+2.jpg"></a></figure><p style="">We may soon be hearing about the long-awaited follow-up to 2010 open-world game <a href="/just-cause-2/" data-ref-id="false">Just Cause 2</a>, as a newly registered domain name for Just Cause 3 has been discovered.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The domain, JustCause3Game.com, was registered on Tuesday by CSC Corporate Domains, a company used by Square Enix and other companies to register URLs in the past. It was found by Internet sleuth <a href="https://twitter.com/supererogatory/status/459381860288970752" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Superannuation</a>, who suggests we may see the game at E3 in June.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Of course, Just Cause 4 domains <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/just-cause-4-websites-registered/1100-6377775/" data-ref-id="1100-6377775">registered in 2012</a> were indicative of nothing, although Avalanche did <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/just-cause-dev-teases-new-game/1100-6403985/" data-ref-id="1100-6403985">release some blurry teaser images</a> (you can see one below) of what <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/just-cause-dev-revealing-new-game-at-e3/1100-6404592/" data-ref-id="1100-6404592">appeared to be a new Just Cause game</a> last February.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">A new game in the Just Cause series has yet to be announced. In December, developer Avalanche Studios' creative director, Christofer Sundberg, claimed it was <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/it-s-too-early-to-talk-about-just-cause-3-says-dev/1100-6416580/" data-ref-id="1100-6416580">too early to start talking about Just Cause 3</a>. "We have been discussing what we'd like to do with the Just Cause IP in the future, but it's too early to talk about it just yet," he said.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/123/1239113/2516117-justcausetease.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516117" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/123/1239113/2516117-justcausetease.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516117"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/123/1239113/2516117-justcausetease.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">Just prior to that declaration, Avalanche revealed its employees had <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/just-cause-dev-travels-to-costa-rican-rainforest-for-research/1100-6416536/" data-ref-id="1100-6416536">visited a Costa Rican rainforest</a> to collect reference materials for its upcoming open-world games, suggesting that could be a setting seen in Just Cause 3.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">While he's been averse to say much about a Just Cause sequel, Sundberg has been outspoken about the industry, which could clue us in on the developer's approach to Just Cause 3.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"Micro-transactions, subscriptions, and other biz models will be the next generation of games. It is that simple," he <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/microtransactions-subscriptions-will-define-next-gen-says-avalanche-boss/1100-6416382/" data-ref-id="1100-6416382">said on Twitter</a> last year. He later <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/greed-never-works-just-cause-boss-says-about-microtransactions/1100-6416424/" data-ref-id="1100-6416424">expanded on the thought</a>, stating that "greed never works."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"We'll never compromise on quality or sell our souls for a quick buck," Sundberg added. "Things are changing and we need to adapt."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Sundberg has also <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/just-cause-developer-says-aaa-game-development-unhealthy-unprofitable/1100-6417519/" data-ref-id="1100-6417519">expressed concern over the AAA game market</a>, saying earlier this year, "Very few traditional $60 games make any money, and what used to make sense doesn't any more."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">What all of that means for Just Cause 3, if anything, is unclear.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">One of Avalanche's in-development projects, Project Mamba, which is believed to be Just Cause 3, is known to be coming to next-generation consoles and PC and was previously said to be launching in 2014.</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> Thu, 24 Apr 2014 15:42:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/just-cause-3-news-may-be-incoming-as-new-domain-name-discovered/1100-6419196/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/gs-news-gears-of-war-devs-tease-bleeding-edge-tech/2300-6418496/ Free games for PlayStation Plus subscribers for May, Mario Kart 8 bundle confirmed in UK, past and present Gears of War developers talk about crazy new graphics. Thu, 24 Apr 2014 15:40:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/gs-news-gears-of-war-devs-tease-bleeding-edge-tech/2300-6418496/ http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/batman-arkham-origins-cold-cold-heart-review/1900-6415742/ <p style="">It wasn't the brawling or the stealth or the grappling and gliding around environments that held Batman: Arkham Origins back from being a good entry in the Arkham saga. These aspects are tried and true; they are necessary components of any Arkham game. Where Origins stumbled was in its pacing, trotting out its expected components in a meandering fashion rather than giving those components the supportive context they deserved. Cold, Cold Heart, the new downloadable content for Arkham Origins, is better about this. It takes only a few hours to complete, but thanks to its strong narrative, a few great locations, and a more focused structure, it's pretty good while it lasts.</p><p style="">Victor Fries' wife Nora is "alive" but not really <i>alive</i>; like too many women in comics, she exists not as an individual with her own value but serves only to fuel the anguish of a male character, and because she is literally being kept frozen, she gives slightly different meaning to the phrase "woman in a refrigerator." Still, his anguish over her fate makes Mr. Freeze perhaps Batman's most sympathetic adversary, and by using his origin story as the basis for its narrative (lifting many elements directly from the classic <i>Batman: The Animated Series</i> episode "Heart of Ice"), Cold, Cold Heart takes on a melancholy mood. You know you have to stop Mr. Freeze, but you come to understand his desperation as Batman learns that the truly coldhearted one is the ruthless industrialist whose actions made Freeze what he is.</p><div data-height="100%" data-width="100%" data-ref-id="2300-6418494" data-embed-type="video"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6418494/" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style="">Most of your time in Cold, Cold Heart is spent in new locations created for the DLC. The game opens at a charity gala at Wayne Manor, and later takes you to the offices of GothCorp, whose grand entry area evokes the feeling, familiar from <em>The Animated Series</em>, that Gotham is a city stylistically trapped in 1920s sensibilities. You also pay a brief visit to a dingy nightclub owned by the Penguin, but it's here, as it nears its conclusion, that Cold, Cold Heart starts to lose the narrative focus that has thus far had you hot on the heels of Freeze and putting together the pieces that explain how he came to be and what it is he's after. After making your way deep into the GothCorp facility, you encounter a wall of ice that you can pass only after collecting the pieces of a drill from the nightclub and a few other spots around the city, at which point you then have to return to the wall of ice in GothCorp. It's a diversion that sacrifices narrative momentum to increase the chapter's duration, and the trade-off isn't worth it.</p><figure data-ref-id="1300-2516080" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/78/787590/2516080-ci-208338752030367744.jpg" data-size="medium" data-align="right" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/78/787590/2516080-ci-208338752030367744.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516080"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_medium/78/787590/2516080-ci-208338752030367744.jpg"></a><figcaption>Just because Bruce Wayne beats up a bunch of thugs the same way Batman would is no reason to suspect he might be Batman.</figcaption></figure><p style="">What's more, the boss battle with Mr. Freeze that awaits you back at GothCorp plays out a lot like the battle with him in <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/batman-arkham-city/" data-ref-id="false">Arkham City</a>. That's the best boss fight in the series thus far, but still, this is such a straightforward copy of it that it prevents Cold, Cold Heart's climax from having an identity of its own. There's no surprise in store, just a repeat of an encounter that you've probably already experienced. But the brawls with thugs throughout Cold, Cold Heart feel just different enough from those in the main game to set them apart, since some criminals are now toting freeze rays whose beams encase you in ice if you're not careful. And for the most part, the DLC's structure has you alternating between brawls, stealth encounters, crime scene analysis, and environmental traversal in a way that keeps the pace moving. It doesn't finish strong, but Cold, Cold Heart is still a satisfying sliver of Arkham storytelling.</p> Thu, 24 Apr 2014 14:09:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/batman-arkham-origins-cold-cold-heart-review/1900-6415742/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-one-ships-1-2-million-to-retailers-during-2014-s-first-quarter/1100-6419194/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/123/1239113/2516063-xbone.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516063" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/123/1239113/2516063-xbone.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516063"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/123/1239113/2516063-xbone.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style=""><em>This story has been updated with details from an investors conference call with Microsoft.</em></p><p dir="ltr" style="">Microsoft sold a total of 2 million Xbox consoles during the first three months of 2014, 1.2 million of which were Xbox Ones, the company announced today.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">These numbers come as part of the company's quarterly earnings report being issued today. It's important to note that these figures reflect the number of consoles "sold in." In other words, it's the number of consoles that have been shipped to retailers, not the number that have actually been sold and are now sitting in consumers' homes.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Microsoft recently announced it has <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ps4-is-top-selling-console-for-third-straight-month-according-to-march-npd/1100-6419067/" data-ref-id="1100-6419067">shipped more than 5 million Xbox Ones</a> since it launched last year. In January, it provided the only official indication of the number of consoles sold through to consumers when it announced <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-one-sold-3-million-units-in-2013-microsoft-says/1100-6416955/" data-ref-id="1100-6416955">3 million systems had been sold</a> by the end of 2013.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">While the number wasn't specifically called out, some simple math tells us roughly 800,000 Xbox 360s were sold in to retailers from January through the end of March, a strong figure for a system that is now more than eight years old. Microsoft says sales of 360 "exceeded expectations."</p><p style="">Microsoft also reports that revenue for the entire Xbox platform--taking into account Xbox One, Xbox 360, and Xbox Live--was up 45% during the quarter, which ran from January 1, 2014 - March 31. Xbox One owners are using the platform for almost five hours per day, no doubt thanks in large part to services like Netflix and the ability to connect a cable box via HDMI to watch TV through the system.</p><p style="">The 2 million consoles shipped is, as you'd expect, well behind the number posted during the final quarter of calendar 2013 (7.4 million), but well above the 1.3 million sold during the first three months of 2013 (when Xbox One was not yet on the market).</p><p style="">Microsoft is holding a conference call with investors this afternoon, so expect to hear more on Xbox One's sales performance soon.</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> Thu, 24 Apr 2014 14:02:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-one-ships-1-2-million-to-retailers-during-2014-s-first-quarter/1100-6419194/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/playstation-plus-free-games-of-may-gamespot/2300-6418493/ Check out the free games of May including, Stick it to the Man!, Pro Evolution Soccer 2014, Puppeteer, Skullgirls Encore, Surge Deluxe, amd Limbo. Thu, 24 Apr 2014 13:58:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/playstation-plus-free-games-of-may-gamespot/2300-6418493/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/gamestop-moving-beyond-games-preparing-for-the-future/1100-6419193/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2516033-gamestopstore.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516033" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2516033-gamestopstore.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516033"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1179/11799911/2516033-gamestopstore.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">GameStop may be most commonly associated with video games, but it may not always be that way. During GameStop's Investor Day 2014 event this week, the retailer spoke at length about the next evolution of the retailer, which it is calling "GameStop 3.0."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Games are <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-one-ps4-launch-helps-gamestop-haul-3-68-billion-during-holiday-quarter/1100-6418581/" data-ref-id="1100-6418581">already big business for GameStop</a>, and CEO Paul Raines said this sector is expected to grow on the backs of the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Wii U. But at the same time, the retailer is setting its sights on much larger markets. Some of the "addressable markets" that GameStop is eyeing for future growth (in addition to physical and digital games) Raines said, are the recommerce market for non-gaming tech devices, the "Apple ecosystem," and the biggest of them all, the wireless market.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">GameStop is already invested in the Apple ecosystem in that it buys, sells, and accepts trades for various iOS devices at its stores. The company also <a href="http://www.simplymac.com/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">owns Simply Mac</a>, a sales and service specialist. Raines went on to say that it plans to expand the Simply Mac brand, and with the blessing of Apple to boot.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"We have spent a lot of time in Cupertino with Apple leadership and we have their support to grow Simply Mac," Raines said.</p><blockquote data-align="right"><p dir="ltr" style="">"Connected devices are forecast to go from $8 billion today to $50 billion in five years...the wireless growth opportunity for GameStop is only beginning" --GameStop CEO Paul Raines</p></blockquote><p dir="ltr" style="">Concerning the wireless market, GameStop <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/gamestop-acquires-wireless-company-spring-mobile/1100-6416309/" data-ref-id="1100-6416309">owns AT&T specialist Spring Mobile</a>, and it also operates numerous Cricket Wireless stores in the United States. Raines boasted that GameStop is in fact the third largest AT&T deal in the US.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The "wireless market is perhaps the most exciting market in the consumer space," Raines said. He went on to note that, "connected devices are forecast to go from $8 billion today to $50 billion in five years. And many will be sold in a store and available for trade and refurbishment at GameStop. The wireless growth opportunity for GameStop is only beginning."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Raines added that GameStop's all-important buy/sell/trade model can apply to all of these new markets.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Also during the presentation, Raines said the GameStop executive team has looked at other businesses that have moved into new markets to help it understand how best to do the same. He said cookware retailer Williams-Sonoma is a good example, as it successfully acquired Pottery Barn in 1986, and launched Pottery Barn Kids in 1999 and furniture store West Elm in 2003.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Raines also called out VF Corporation, which began as an underwear company before taking on brands like Lee, Jansport, Timberland, and Wrangler, among others.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Somewhat interestingly, a slide on Raines' presentation pointed out that VF Corporation later sold its original underwear brand to Fruit of the Loom in 2007. It's too early to say if GameStop will eventually get out of gaming altogether, but it's clear that GameStop is attempting to diversify its portfolio so that if such a day comes, the company will not only survive, but thrive.</p><p style="">"So we are students of extraordinary business transformation stories. Williams Sonoma and VF are great examples to us of the potential of understanding your consumers and matching that insight to your own core competencies."</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/EddieMakuch" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Twitter @EddieMakuch</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Thu, 24 Apr 2014 12:43:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/gamestop-moving-beyond-games-preparing-for-the-future/1100-6419193/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-one-gears-of-war-game-will-use-bleeding-edge-rendering-techniques-for-best-in-class-visuals/1100-6419184/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2515805-gearsnewmicrosoft.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2515805" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2515805-gearsnewmicrosoft.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2515805"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1179/11799911/2515805-gearsnewmicrosoft.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">Unsurprisingly, it appears Microsoft and newly established first-party studio Black Tusk Studios have major ambitions for the all-new Gears of War game for Xbox One in development at the Vancouver-based outfit. A spate of recently posted job listings spotted by <a href="http://www.dualshockers.com/2014/04/22/xbox-one-gears-of-war-to-have-best-in-class-visuals-bleeding-edge-rendering-techniques-and-more/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">DualShockers</a> reveal new information about the game.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">One listing for a <a href="http://www.microsoft-careers.com/job/Vancouver-Senior-Rendering-Engineer-Black-Tusk-Studios-%28875662%29-Job-BC/57139800/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Senior Rendering Engineer</a> says that Black Tusk's new Gears of War game will make use of "bleeding edge new rendering techniques to deliver best in class visuals for a AAA console game." This job ad also mentions "major new features."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Black Tusk's job listings also include a call for an <a href="http://www.microsoft-careers.com/job/Vancouver-Senior-Concept-Artist-Black-Tusk-Studios-Devices-&-Studios-%28869050%29-Job-BC/43115500/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Art Director</a>, who should be comfortable "working with a broad spectrum of styles, from photo-realistic to highly stylized." Microsoft hasn't said yet what art style the new Gears of War game will use, but it appears everything is on the table right now.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Other job ads mention "innovative features," and one post for a <a href="http://www.microsoft-careers.com/job/Vancouver-Gameplay-Engineer-Black-Tusk-Studios-Devices-&-Studios-%28869065%29-Job-BC/43113900/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Gameplay Engineer</a> specifically seeks an individual with experience in co-op gameplay, suggesting that the new Gears of War game will carry forward the franchise's proclivity for co-op.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Multiplayer also appears to be a focus for the new Gears of War title, as one position for a <a href="http://www.microsoft-careers.com/job/Vancouver-Lead-Multiplayer-Level-Designer-Black-Tusk-Studios-%28876072%29-Job-BC/57136800/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Lead Multiplayer Level Designer </a>calls for an individual to work on an "industry-leading multiplayer experience." This person should also have familiarity with traditional Gears of War gameplay and past multiplayer map designs, the post says.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">In addition, a job posting for a<a href="http://www.microsoft-careers.com/job/Vancouver-Senior-Level-Designer-Black-Tusk-Studios-Devices-&-Studios-%28869063%29-Job-BC/43108400/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Senior Level Designer </a>calls out creating "interesting and dynamic levels and mechanics," going to note that a successful candidate will end up investing and integrating "great events and gameplay mechanics, with the goal of making every moment special and memorable."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Microsoft <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-buys-gears-of-war-from-epic/1100-6417361/" data-ref-id="1100-6417361">purchased the Gears of War franchise from Epic Games earlier this year</a> for an undisclosed sum. Veteran Gears of War producer Rod Fergusson is working on the game at Black Tusk Studios, but we have not seen any images or video from the project to date.</p><p style=""> </p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/EddieMakuch" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Twitter @EddieMakuch</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Thu, 24 Apr 2014 12:30:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-one-gears-of-war-game-will-use-bleeding-edge-rendering-techniques-for-best-in-class-visuals/1100-6419184/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/reality-check-civilization-beyond-earth-could-we-c/2300-6418489/ Cam launches into space to investigate the science of colonising other worlds. Thankfully, he's got a helping hand from Lewis Dartnell, an expert on how to rebuild civilisations. Thu, 24 Apr 2014 12:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/reality-check-civilization-beyond-earth-could-we-c/2300-6418489/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/watch-a-real-world-world-of-warcraft-motorcycle-come-to-life/1100-6419192/ <div data-embed-type="video" data-src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-kRc0V5y08" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fembed%2FP-kRc0V5y08%3Fwmode%3Dopaque%26feature%3Doembed&wmode=opaque&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DP-kRc0V5y08&image=http%3A%2F%2Fi1.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FP-kRc0V5y08%2Fhqdefault.jpg&key=6efca6e5ad9640f180f14146a0bc1392&type=text%2Fhtml&schema=youtube" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">Blizzard Entertainment has released the second episode in its Azeroth Choppers web show, an eight-part series that sees famed motorcycle designer Paul Jr. of <em>American Choppers</em> and his team create bikes based on the Horde and Alliance in-game factions.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Team Horde and Team Alliance are each building their own bikes inspired by the respective factions, but only one will prevail in the end. When both bikes are finished, players will vote to see which bike Blizzard creates a virtual version of to appear as a free mount for <a href="/world-of-warcraft/" data-ref-id="false">World of Warcraft</a>.</p><p style="">It's a pretty interesting, and somewhat surprising, partnership between Blizzard and Paul Jr., who owns and operates New York-based custom-bike shop <a href="http://pauljrdesigns.com/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Paul Jr. Designs</a>. We spoke with Paul Jr. about the project at PAX East and <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/american-chopper-star-on-why-his-wild-world-of-warcraft-mash-up-makes-sense/1100-6418951/" data-ref-id="1100-6418951">you can read more about that here</a>.</p><p style="">The first installment in the Azeroth Choppers series <a href="http://us.battle.net/wow/en/choppers/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">went live last week</a>. New episodes are available on Thursdays, running through early June. The next World of Warcraft expansion is <a href="/articles/everything-you-need-to-know-about-world-of-warcraft-warlords-of-draenor/1100-6416073/" data-ref-id="1100-6416073">Warlords of Draenor</a>, which is set to launch later this year.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/EddieMakuch" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Twitter @EddieMakuch</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Thu, 24 Apr 2014 11:39:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/watch-a-real-world-world-of-warcraft-motorcycle-come-to-life/1100-6419192/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/here-s-how-to-get-an-xbox-one-for-400-at-best-buy-this-weekend/1100-6419191/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2515974-xb1.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2515974" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2515974-xb1.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2515974"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1179/11799911/2515974-xb1.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">Big-box retailer Best Buy has announced a new limited-time trade-in offer that will let you get an Xbox One for $400 (or even less), provided you meet certain eligibility requirements.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Starting April 27, if you trade in a working Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 at Best Buy, you'll receive at least a $50 gift card and a $50 coupon to use toward the purchase of an Xbox One. Trade-in values may vary, Best Buy says, but you're guaranteed at least a $50 gift card for any working Xbox 360 or PS3. The deal ends Saturday, May 3.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Best Buy is no longer offering the Titanfall Xbox One bundle for $450, which would have made this deal even sweeter. All the same, though, if you're looking to upgrade to an Xbox One, you might want to consider this deal. There's no word on a similar deal for the PlayStation 4, and a Best Buy representative said, "the offer is for Xbox One only."</p><p style="">By comparison, GameStop <a href="http://www.gamestop.com/trade-values" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">pays $117 for the 320GB Xbox 360 S model</a>. If you applied that to the purchase of an Xbox One, you'd end up paying just under $400 for a new Xbox One.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/EddieMakuch" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Twitter @EddieMakuch</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Thu, 24 Apr 2014 11:21:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/here-s-how-to-get-an-xbox-one-for-400-at-best-buy-this-weekend/1100-6419191/
http://auth.gamespot.com/ Gamespot's Everything Feed! News, Reviews, Videos. Exploding with content? You bet. en-us Fri, 25 Apr 2014 00:35:50 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/h1z1-microtransactions-will-only-include-things-that-are-fair/1100-6419202/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/123/1239113/2516214-h1z1.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516214" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/123/1239113/2516214-h1z1.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516214"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/123/1239113/2516214-h1z1.jpg"></a></figure><p style="">Recently revealed free-to-play MMO <a href="/h1z1/" data-ref-id="false">H1Z1</a> will be home to "fair" microtransactions, according to Sony Online Entertainment president John Smedley.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Smedley, who has been extremely transparent about the development process and actively soliciting feedback from fans on <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/h1z1/comments/23oqm8/we_had_our_first_monetization_meeting_yesterday/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Reddit</a> in particular, recently shared some of the details from Sony's first meeting on monetization. These decisions are critical to the game's success, both because they will be Sony's only way of making money and because they could turn players off if they are deemed unacceptable. Smedley made sure to highlight the fact that Sony is working hard to ensure the game's microtransactions are "fair."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Among the things that will be sold for real-world money are advanced emote packs (basic emotes will be free), item crates, and character slots, the latter of which he said "feels reasonable."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">What will definitely not be sold are things like guns, ammo, food, and water, nor boosts related to any of those things. "That's kind of the whole game and it would suck in our opinion if we did that," he said.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"We will be selling wearables. We felt like this will be a good, fair revenue generator," Smedley explained. "However - we recognize how important finding wearables in the world is so you'll be able to find and craft a lot of stuff. We agree that's something important." He went to explain how players will be able to loot purchased items--like a black ski mask, for instance--from a player they kill and use it for several deaths, at which time it will degrade and disappear. Items purchased with real-world money, however, will not degrade and will always be available to their owner at a locker, even after dying.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Without going into specifics, Smedley said a Reddit discussion thread on monetization "has turned out to be a terrific source of ideas and it also is helping us steer clear of the stuff you just don't want to see." He promised more details would be coming later this week following another internal meeting on the subject.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Commendably, Smedley has not shied away from the observations that H1Z1 bears similarities to <a href="/dayz/" data-ref-id="false">DayZ</a>. He <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/soe-president-doesn-t-dodge-questions-about-similarities-between-h1z1-and-dayz/1100-6419090/" data-ref-id="1100-6419090">addressed them head-on</a> on Reddit, complimenting DayZ and acknowledging the inspiration before highlighting the things that set H1Z1 apart, such as being able to build structures.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">H1Z1 was <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/sony-reveals-new-post-apocalyptic-mmo-game-h1z1/1100-6418884/" data-ref-id="1100-6418884">announced earlier this month</a> for PC. Prior to launch, it will be able in Early Access for $20, although players will be able to wait for the proper release, at which time the game will be free to download and play</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> Thu, 24 Apr 2014 18:07:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/h1z1-microtransactions-will-only-include-things-that-are-fair/1100-6419202/ http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/the-elder-scrolls-online-review/1900-6415741/ <p style="">I look across the Alik'r desert from atop my steed. The arid ground below its hooves has been cracked by the sun's intense heat, and only husks are left where vegetation once thrived. I see a shrine in the distance signaling a friendly oasis, but it's lonely here, and I long to catch a ride on the hot breezes that blow past. It's a pensive moment, and I savor it, for I must believe that a grand adventure waits for me beyond that shrine, beyond the rocky plateaus that wall in this desert, beyond the Arabia-inspired dwellings that dot the sands.</p><p style="">The great wonder of The Elder Scrolls Online is that sights like these can inspire gleeful anticipation. Such grand vistas must harbor unknown secrets. Such vast landscapes must also have room for a story of your own crafting, a story you can share at the inn after a hard day's journey across deserts and mountains. The great disappointment of The Elder Scrolls Online is that many of these sights and sounds are weak facades that cannot hide how clumsily the game tries to join two disparate halves that cannot form a whole. One half, the single-player fantasy experience, does not provide the emergent adventuring for which the series is known, hobbled as it is by the online environment. The other half, a bog-standard massively multiplayer role-playing game, is hampered by The Elder Scrolls Online's tendency to punish you for playing with others.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6418244" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6418244/" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style="">The Elder Scrolls Online goes out of its way to sell its peculiar coupling of incompatible parts, however. When you first load up the game and enter character creation, rhythmic strings and kettledrums crescendo until they are joined by French horns and virtual choristers. The famous Elder Scrolls theme begins to play, and you turn your attention to choosing a race from this famed fantasy universe, from the haughty High Elves to the feline Khajiit. Then you choose from one of four classes and begin to customize your character, using all sorts of sliders to make your fanged Orc dragonknight look as fearsome as possible, or to make your pale Nord sorcerer look so angelic that she might have floated down from the heavens. This is a great start. You feel the energy. You're ready to make a name for yourself on the continent of Tamriel.</p><p style="">Once you depart the introductory dungeon, the possibilities seem endless, at least at first. Daggerfall was the first major city I explored, and I roamed the streets taking on quests and chatting with the townsfolk. During dialogue, the camera closes in on your conversation partner just as it does in single-player Elder Scrolls games like <a href="/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim/" data-ref-id="false">Skyrim</a> and <a href="/the-elder-scrolls-iv-oblivion/" data-ref-id="false">Oblivion</a>. Every line is spoken aloud, and conversations demand your input. The game wants you to pay attention, and at first, I eagerly listened. Amazingly, none of these people wanted me to go clear out a cellar full of rats, or murder 10 ladybugs. Instead, they wanted my help solving mysteries and activating golems built by the long-extinct Dwemer race. These were quests I could get behind.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2516032-0001.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516032" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2516032-0001.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516032"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/416/4161502/2516032-0001.jpg"></a><figcaption>The Bound Armor spell can make you look like a fearsome warrior even when you're wearing the flimsiest of clothing.</figcaption></figure><p style="">Unfortunately, in leaving behind the usual questing cliches and focusing on lengthy conversations with non-player characters, The Elder Scrolls Online creates different kinds of problems. As you move from one place to the next, you hear the same few actors over and over again, which might not have been such a sin if their voices weren't so distinct and recognizable. Even if you've never heard Troy Baker's voice in another game, you'll soon come to know it in this one, given how many characters he plays. A great actor can disappear into a role, assuming the role is worth disappearing into. Alas, the game's creaky writing isn't about developing characters; it's about advancing plot and pouring volumes of lore into your head. There's no chance for an actor to build a character when dialogue is written in long, bone-dry sentences better put to paper than delivered from an actor's tongue.</p><p style="">You could levy the same criticism against previous Elder Scrolls games, of course, but such conversations weren't the crux of the prior games' storytelling. Instead, the greatest stories that emerged were the ones you created for yourself by taking advantage of the games' interlocking systems. The Elder Scrolls Online by its very nature limits the kind of fun you can make. You can't murder random shopkeepers and incur an entire village's wrath. You will never mourn for a trusted follower, such as Skyrim's Lydia, when he or she falls in battle, for there are no followers for hire. In theory, you can head off in whatever direction you choose, but enemy levels don't scale to your own, so the overall direction of your adventure is just as gated as in any other MMOG.</p><figure data-align="right" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2516035-0002.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516035" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2516035-0002.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516035"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_medium/416/4161502/2516035-0002.jpg"></a><figcaption>His words say "go away." So does his body language, for that matter. </figcaption></figure><p style="">And so you move through Tamriel in more or less the prescribed direction, trudging through one long-winded tale after another instead of conjuring one to call your own. Luckily, many of these tales are intriguing ones. During my travels, I stumbled upon a village with a terrible secret, and once I uncovered it, I was asked to determine whether I would lead the villagers to freedom, or insist they remain under a terrible curse. I led the Fighter's Guild to a renaissance after revealing a plot that threatened to undermine its power. My favorite moments were those in which I saw a story come to life rather than hearing it read to me from a script. I watched a former comrade morph into a terrible monstrosity and looked on as a brave young woman martyred herself for the greater good. In The Elder Scrolls Online, actions speak louder than words. It's too bad that the people of Tamriel would usually rather talk.</p><p style="">The usual kill-20-wolves quests might be uncommon in The Elder Scrolls Online, but the game ultimately finds its own themes to repeat. There always seems to be someone wrongly imprisoned in stocks. People never want to open their doors in the midst of an emergency. There's always a local leader being controlled by some cult or another. But even when you're tired of chatting it up with ghosts who always seem to be stuck in this plane of existence for some reason, the game tries so very hard to keep you in its thrall. There is no minimap to clutter your screen, only a full-screen map and a compass that identifies areas and objects of interest. Your six-slot action bar disappears when you aren't engaged in combat, and by default, players and non-player characters are not identified by floating names or icons. "This is not a game--this is a life," The Elder Scrolls Online seems to say. And when I'm combing a beach for treasure or facing a Daedric monstrosity, it's the only life I'm aware of. When you keep things simple, the game makes it easy to be in the moment.</p><blockquote data-size="large" data-align="left"><p style="">The game's creaky writing isn't about developing characters; it's about advancing plot and pouring volumes of lore into your head.</p></blockquote><p style="">Of course, such a life is only an illusion, and the game is intent on smashing that illusion to pieces at every turn. Many quest lines end with you making a decision that is then reflected in the world around you; for instance, you may choose to save one group of NPCs from a fire and sentence another to burn, thus leaving only one group for you to interact with later. As long as you keep to yourself, the illusion is complete, and the game's phasing technology has you seamlessly entering instances that reflect the path you followed. Join other players, however, and you tear off The Elder Scrolls Online's thin veil. You and a buddy might enter a region only to have your teammate turn invisible, leaving behind a wandering icon. You might initiate battle, only to discover that your friend doesn't see the same enemies and thus can't help fight them. I was so annoyed by such moments that I rallied others to my side only when I wanted to clear a dungeon or fight one of the elite monsters that pepper the landscape. The multiplayer half just doesn't play nicely with the single-player half.</p><p style="">The single-player half is hardly innocent in this family squabble, however. A quest that puts you in another character's sandals and sends you back in time to witness tragic events of the past is initially engaging. But seeing three other players standing there, all portraying the same character, kills the scene. Breaking into a house only to be surrounded by a half-dozen other would-be burglars destroys any hope of role-playing as a surreptitious thief. Witnessing a bunch of other people performing the same tasks is hardly a new phenomenon in MMOGs, but The Elder Scrolls Online's attempts to personalize the narrative progression make the immersion-breaking foibles all the more jarring.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2516036-0003.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516036" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2516036-0003.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516036"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/416/4161502/2516036-0003.jpg"></a><figcaption>In this quest, you must determine who to trust. Make the wrong decision, and you ally with the prince of domination.</figcaption></figure><p style="">That isn't to say that the game doesn't provide opportunities for players to come together, with four-player dungeons leading the way. It's easy to find a group and get into a dungeon once you've reached the appropriate level, and you can find success even if your party has an atypical assortment of classes. My first runthrough of the Tempest Island dungeon was with two other damage dealers and a healer, yet we fared rather well against the area's bosses, one of which kept us on the move as it dogged us with a roving lightning storm. I like this dungeon for the way its tropical marshes contrast with its wooden bridges and stone sanctums, and for the imposing atronachs you battle as you venture through it. I don't like the way a quest giver in the dungeon will walk away in the middle of dialogue because another player finished the conversation first, forcing me to reinitiate the exchange. Nor, for that matter, do I like every dungeons' overall tendency to create narrow choke points in high-action areas. (Hello, limited camera angles!) Maps don't always feel designed around how players actually use those spaces.</p><p style="">The action is fine, but it never crackles, in part due to the lifeless animations that make combat look more like a mundane chore than a dazzling display of magic and mayhem. Single-player Elder Scrolls combat has always been somewhat messy, but its real-time nature usually communicates a sense of blade against flesh. The Elder Scrolls Online combines the old-fashioned hotkey combat of games like <a href="/world-of-warcraft/" data-ref-id="false">World of Warcraft</a> with the action-oriented swordplay of games like <a href="/tera/" data-ref-id="false">Tera</a>, to mixed results. You target using an onscreen reticle (though you can get some assistance from your tab key), and you are limited mainly by your mana and stamina bars, not skill cooldowns. You can also block attacks and tumble, but this is not true action combat, so there is some buffer between your key presses and the actions you see onscreen.</p><blockquote data-align="right" data-size="medium"><p style="">I watched a former comrade morph into a terrible monstrosity and looked on as a brave young woman martyred herself for the greater good. In The Elder Scrolls Online, actions speak louder than words.</p></blockquote><p style="">I did come to appreciate the ways of sorcery in spite of the dreary animations, especially once I reached level 15 and could equip a second set of weapons and skills. You can switch between sets during battle, <a href="/guild-wars-2/" data-ref-id="false">Guild Wars 2</a> style, but The Elder Scrolls Online's combat is not nearly as snappy as Guild Wars 2's, nor does it offer many reasons to switch sets in the middle of combat. But I liked the variety of magic spells, using destructive staffs that offered a main elemental attack (fire, ice, or lightning), and restorative staffs that opened up healing options when fellow Daggerfall Alliance members needed a boost. I came to enjoy a spell called crystal fragments in particular, not just for the way the crystal formed in midair as I performed jazz-hands gestures, but also for the concussive thud it caused when impacting a spriggan's bark. The spell is particularly dramatic looking from a first-person perspective, though I typically played in third-person because it gave me a better view of my surroundings.</p><p style="">You aren't limited to any given type of weapon or armor, however, no matter which class you choose, and weapon types have various skills associated with them. There's a good deal of freedom in how you spend skill points, which you earn when you level up, complete particular quests, or collect enough of the skill shards scattered around Tamriel. You're limited to five active skills and a single ultimate ability per weapon set at a time, however, and as a result, I stuck with a limited number of skills and purchased many passive abilities out of fear that I would be an ineffective mage if I spread my points too thinly.</p><figure data-align="left" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2516038-0004.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516038" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2516038-0004.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516038"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_medium/416/4161502/2516038-0004.jpg"></a><figcaption>In The Elder Scrolls Online, you never truly escape the past. </figcaption></figure><p style="">You don't have to stick to a particular set of crafting skills either, and you can always spend skill points in non-combat disciplines if you fancy yourself an artisan. It's tempting to dabble in every profession at first, but your inventory quickly fills when you hoard every potential crafting resource under the sun and moon. Inventory space upgrades are pricey, so it's best to choose a few professions and stick to them. Even better, you should craft items that you can personally use, unless you belong to a large and active guild or just feel confident in your ability to sell your wares over the game's public chat channels. The reason? The Elder Scrolls Online does not feature an auction house, which makes for a chaotic economy at best. You can sell your items to members of your guild, but the interface for buying and selling is clumsy, and without game-wide information regarding supply and demand, there's no sense of what a fair price may be. And so I crafted for myself and myself alone, eventually sticking with alchemy and enchantment--alchemy for the fun of experimenting with different flowers and herbs to see what poultices I could make, and enchantment for the sake of hearing my in-game avatar speak melodramatic incantations.</p><p style="">Such drama pales in comparison to the drama of The Elder Scrolls Online's player-versus-player battlefields, of course, which pit the game's three main factions against each other in the grand expanses of Cyrodiil. The PVP instances--or campaigns, as they're called here--focus on the siege warfare that <a href="/reviews/dark-age-of-camelot-review/1900-2820565/" data-ref-id="1900-2820565">Dark Age of Camelot</a> introduced so many years ago, encouraging factions to infiltrate and capture each other's keeps.</p><blockquote data-align="center" data-size="large"><p style="">Breaking into a house only to be surrounded by a half-dozen other would-be burglars destroys any hope of role-playing as a surreptitious thief.</p></blockquote><p style="">Cyrodiil's expanses are so great, in fact, that it can take entirely too much time just to get to the action, even when making use of the PVP's quick-travel system. Luckily, The Elder Scrolls Online is at its best when the PVP action heats up, whether you and your comrades are setting up a line of defensive ballistae at the top of a keep's walls, or going for broke and charging a nearby farm protected by NPCs. It's here that I took to a healing role, using area-of-effect healing skills that allowed me to stay on the move and deal a little damage of my own without having to heal teammates individually. These massive battles are good fun, if somewhat handicapped by the core action's stiffness. The PVP campaigns' bigger handicaps are logistical ones. Just getting out of Cyrodiil and back to the relative peace of player versus environment can be time consuming, and the fact that you can't limit a group search to your own campaign is a drag.</p><p style="">Of course, such issues can be patched, as can The Elder Scrolls Online's other continuing troubles, a few too many broken quests chief among them. I'm less certain, however, that the single-player and multiplayer sides of this fantastical coin will ever complement each other. That's too bad, because when the stars align, I get that special tingle in my brain, the kind that heralds upcoming heroism in the face of danger. It happens when the soundtrack's solo cello climbs an arpeggio and then hangs there knowingly, just as I engage a group of harpies. It happens when I face a decision that has no clear right answer. Hopefully, The Elder Scrolls Online will one day get out of its own way, and stop trying to stifle the very fun it's trying to provide.</p> Thu, 24 Apr 2014 17:20:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/the-elder-scrolls-online-review/1900-6415741/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xcom-enemy-unknown-arrives-on-android/1100-6419200/ <div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6410689" data-width="854" data-height="480"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6410689/" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""><span>The touch-enabled version of </span><a href="/xcom-enemy-unknown/" data-ref-id="false">XCOM: Enemy Unknown</a><span> previously released on iOS is now </span><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tt2kgames.xcomeu" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">available on Android</a><span> for $9.99.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="">The critically acclaimed Enemy Unknown was first released on PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 in 2012. Developed by Firaxis, it was a revival of the classic strategy series that hadn't seen a game released in more than a decade. As a turn-based game, it's well-suited to a touchscreen interface.</p><p style="">At $9.99, XCOM is more expensive than most mobile games, but keep in mind this is the same game that was a full-priced release on PC and consoles. It does not, however, include the content released as part of last year's <a href="/xcom-enemy-within/" data-ref-id="false">Enemy Within</a> expansion pack.</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> Thu, 24 Apr 2014 16:51:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xcom-enemy-unknown-arrives-on-android/1100-6419200/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/minecraft-ps4-and-vita-expected-by-september/1100-6419199/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/123/1239113/2516159-minecraft.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516159" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/123/1239113/2516159-minecraft.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516159"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/123/1239113/2516159-minecraft.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""><span>Since they were first announced, Mojang has been hesitant to provide a release date for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita versions of <a href="/minecraft/" data-ref-id="false">Minecraft</a>. And while it still hasn't given us anything exact, the developer now says the sandbox building game will be out on the two systems during the second or third quarter of this year, placing its release somewhere between now and the end of September.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="">Mojang shared this release window in the comments of a recent <a href="http://blog.eu.playstation.com/2014/04/16/minecraft-playstation-3-edition-gets-blu-ray-release-next-month/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">PlayStation Blog</a> post (via <a href="http://www.computerandvideogames.com/460330/minecraft-for-ps4-and-vita-expected-q2-or-q3/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">CVG</a>) about the <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/minecraft-ps3-edition-getting-disc-release-next-month-has-lovely-box-art/1100-6419027/" data-ref-id="1100-6419027">retail PS3 version of Minecraft</a> coming on May 16.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">In another comment, Mojang's Owen Hill described the Vita version as being "closer to the console versions," as opposed to the more limited Pocket Edition available on mobile systems. In response to a question about the ability to transfer Minecraft saves from the PS3 version, Hill said, "You should be able to bring your PS3 save to PS4."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">As for whether owners of the PS3 version will have to pay again for access on the PS4 or Vita, he said, "We're in the process of finalising cross-buy/upgrade/DLC things. More news soon."</p><p style="">Minecraft was <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/minecraft-coming-to-playstation-4/1100-6413251/" data-ref-id="1100-6413251">announced for the PS4, PS3, and Vita</a> last August. It was released on the PS3 in December, with the other two versions--along with the <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/minecraft-coming-to-xbox-one/1100-6409545/" data-ref-id="1100-6409545">Xbox One version</a>--expected to be released sometime this year.</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> Thu, 24 Apr 2014 16:31:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/minecraft-ps4-and-vita-expected-by-september/1100-6419199/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-best-ps4-games/1100-6419198/ <p style="">The PlayStation 4 was only released in November 2013, but the list of must-play games for Sony's new system keeps growing by the month. We've collated some of the most outstanding titles released so far, so check out our choices for what games you need to have for your PS4 by looking at our list below. But as the PS4 is so new, expect to see quite a few additions and changes as the months roll on. Keep checking back on this page to see what our picks for best games on the PS4 are, and in the meantime, let us know what you think of our current choices in the comments below.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/225/2256286/2516145-infamous.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516145" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/225/2256286/2516145-infamous.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516145"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/225/2256286/2516145-infamous.jpg"></a><figcaption>Click below to see more screens from our top PS4 games.</figcaption></figure><figure data-embed-type="gallery" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/225/2256286/2516153-bf4.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/225/2256286/2516154-codghosts.png,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/225/2256286/2516155-fifa14.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/225/2256286/2516156-flower.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/225/2256286/2516157-nba14.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/225/2256286/2516158-nfsrivals.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516153,1300-2516154,1300-2516155,1300-2516156,1300-2516157,1300-2516158" data-resize-urls="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/225/2256286/2516153-bf4.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/225/2256286/2516154-codghosts.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/225/2256286/2516155-fifa14.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/225/2256286/2516156-flower.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/225/2256286/2516157-nba14.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/225/2256286/2516158-nfsrivals.jpg" data-resized="" data-resize-url=""><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/225/2256286/2516153-bf4.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516153" ><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/225/2256286/2516153-bf4.jpg"></a><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/225/2256286/2516154-codghosts.png" data-ref-id="1300-2516154" ><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/225/2256286/2516154-codghosts.jpg"></a><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/225/2256286/2516155-fifa14.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516155" ><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/225/2256286/2516155-fifa14.jpg"></a><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/225/2256286/2516156-flower.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516156" ><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/225/2256286/2516156-flower.jpg"></a><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/225/2256286/2516157-nba14.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516157" ><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/225/2256286/2516157-nba14.jpg"></a><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/225/2256286/2516158-nfsrivals.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516158" ><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/225/2256286/2516158-nfsrivals.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p style=""><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/assassins-creed-iv-black-flag/" data-ref-id="false">Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag</a></p><p style="">"There's an incredible scope to what you can do in Black Flag, with a level of harmony between its component parts that encourages you to try it all, and a story that keeps you invested throughout the whole thing." -- <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/assassin-s-creed-iv-black-flag-review/1900-6415509/" data-ref-id="1900-6415509">Read our review</a></p><h4><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/battlefield-4/" data-ref-id="false">Battlefield 4</a></h4><p style="">"Battlefield 4 multiplayer is a blast and definitely the best reason to return to this hallowed franchise or dive in for the first time. Though the campaign makes strides in the right direction, it remains a sideshow to the main event. Expansive and exciting, challenging and empowering, Battlefield 4 multiplayer is a thrilling endeavor in this generation or the next." -- <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/battlefield-4-review/1900-6415517/" data-ref-id="1900-6415517">Read our review</a></p><h4><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/call-of-duty-ghosts/" data-ref-id="false">Call of Duty: Ghosts</a></h4><p style="">"From an exuberant campaign full of spectacle and variety to the way Extinction's unpredictable aliens force you to use those targeting skills in entirely new ways, Ghosts strikes an excellent balance between the familiar and the novel. This is a game that's keenly aware of the series' strengths, but doesn't find itself beholden to them." -- <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/call-of-duty-ghosts-review/1900-6415523/" data-ref-id="1900-6415523">Read our review</a></p><h4><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/fifa-14/" data-ref-id="false">FIFA 14</a></h4><p style="">"This is the quintessential version of FIFA 14. It brings a level of authenticity never before seen in the genre and sets new standards for player control and stadium atmosphere. Too often have we seen football games flounder in the transition to new consoles, but FIFA 14 for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One is a step above it's peers." -- <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/fifa-2014-review/1900-6415568/" data-ref-id="1900-6415568">Read our review</a></p><h4><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/flower/" data-ref-id="false">flower</a></h4><p style="">"Like a snowy mountain ridge or a tranquil river valley, Flower invites introspection and inner calm, and that kind of interactive experience is almost as rare now as it was when I first surfed these winds." -- <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/flower-review/1900-6415537/" data-ref-id="1900-6415537">Read our review</a></p><p style=""> </p><h4><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/infamous-second-son/" data-ref-id="false">inFamous: Second Son</a></h4><p style="">"Second Son focuses on pure enjoyment. It communicates that through the excellent combat that forces you to concoct crazy tactics to overthrow the invading forces. It draws you in further through its incredible visuals that not only hint at the PlayStation 4's impressive power, but employ a sensible artistic touch that makes Seattle a place you want to explore." -- <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/infamous-second-son-review/1900-6415705/" data-ref-id="1900-6415705">Read our review</a></p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/225/2256286/2516152-mgsvgrz.png" data-ref-id="1300-2516152" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/225/2256286/2516152-mgsvgrz.png" data-ref-id="1300-2516152"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/225/2256286/2516152-mgsvgrz.png"></a><figcaption>Big Boss goes for the takedown in MGS V: Ground Zeroes.</figcaption></figure><h4><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/metal-gear-solid-ground-zeroes/" data-ref-id="false">Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes</a></h4><p style="">"Though it's unusual for everything to take place in a single location, there's so much to do and see, and whether you take a stealthy or head-on approach, infiltrating Camp Omega in Ground Zeroes is a thrilling experience that shouldn't be missed." -- <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/metal-gear-solid-5-ground-zeroes-review/1900-6415701/" data-ref-id="1900-6415701">Read our review</a></p><h4><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/nba-2k14/" data-ref-id="false">NBA 2K14</a></h4><p style="">"he on-court action in NBA 2K14 isn't markedly different from the way the current generation versions play, which means its excellent, and by far the best we've ever seen in virtual basketball. What's so remarkable is how the upgraded visuals enhance the overall experience." -- <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/nba-2k14-review/1900-6415551/" data-ref-id="1900-6415551">Read our review</a></p><h4><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/need-for-speed-rivals/" data-ref-id="false">Need for Speed: Rivals</a></h4><p style="">"Need for Speed: Rivals is very much in the tradition of Hot Pursuit, but that great, familiar gameplay has been infused with enough new elements to make it as thrilling here as it's ever been. It sure is good to hit the open road again." -- <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/need-for-speed-rivals-review/1900-6415555/" data-ref-id="1900-6415555">Read our review</a></p><h4><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/rayman-legends/" data-ref-id="false">Rayman Legends</a></h4><p style="">"Momentum is the name of the game in this 2D platformer. Rayman runs, leaps, swings, glides, and swims with a kinetic grace that compels you ever onward. Being able to squeeze past spikes and thunder across toppling towers should be expected in any adventure that presents such formidable challenges, but what makes Legends special is how joyful such movements are." -- <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/rayman-legends-review/1900-6413616/" data-ref-id="1900-6413616">Read our review</a></p><h4><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/resogun/" data-ref-id="false">Resogun</a></h4><p style="">"It's classic arcade action imbued with hard-hitting artistic and gameplay elements. Falling in love with Resogun is easy, and mastering it is challenging, and the combination of these two qualities makes Resogun almost impossible to put down." -- <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/resogun-review/1900-6415541/" data-ref-id="1900-6415541">Read our review</a></p><h4><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/sound-shapes/" data-ref-id="false">Sound Shapes</a></h4><p style="">"Sound Shapes is a transcendent experience in so many ways. Maybe its most important contribution is giving a voice to the world through music and action." -- <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/sound-shapes-review/1900-6415535/" data-ref-id="1900-6415535">Read our review</a></p><h4><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/strider/" data-ref-id="false">Strider</a></h4><p style="">"From the moment you embark on your journey right up until the final deathblow, Strider is a blast to play. Controlling this agile ninja feels empowering right out of the gate, and each new upgrade brings with it an enjoyable new way to engage your foes." -- <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/strider-review/1900-6415669/" data-ref-id="1900-6415669">Read our review</a></p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/225/2256286/2516147-resogun.png" data-ref-id="1300-2516147" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/225/2256286/2516147-resogun.png" data-ref-id="1300-2516147"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/225/2256286/2516147-resogun.png"></a><figcaption>Click below to see more screens from our top Nintendo 3DS games.</figcaption></figure><figure data-embed-type="gallery" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/225/2256286/2516161-raymanlegends.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/225/2256286/2516162-soundshapes.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/225/2256286/2516163-strider.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/225/2256286/2516164-tombraider.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/225/2256286/2516165-towerfall.png" data-ref-id="1300-2516161,1300-2516162,1300-2516163,1300-2516164,1300-2516165" data-resize-urls="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/225/2256286/2516161-raymanlegends.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/225/2256286/2516162-soundshapes.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/225/2256286/2516163-strider.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/225/2256286/2516164-tombraider.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/225/2256286/2516165-towerfall.jpg" data-resized="" data-resize-url=""><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/225/2256286/2516161-raymanlegends.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516161" ><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/225/2256286/2516161-raymanlegends.jpg"></a><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/225/2256286/2516162-soundshapes.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516162" ><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/225/2256286/2516162-soundshapes.jpg"></a><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/225/2256286/2516163-strider.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516163" ><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/225/2256286/2516163-strider.jpg"></a><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/225/2256286/2516164-tombraider.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516164" ><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/225/2256286/2516164-tombraider.jpg"></a><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/225/2256286/2516165-towerfall.png" data-ref-id="1300-2516165" ><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/225/2256286/2516165-towerfall.jpg"></a></figure><h4> </h4><h4><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/tomb-raider/" data-ref-id="false">Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition</a></h4><p style="">"What's most remarkable about Tomb Raider is how its many elements so perfectly complement each other, so that no matter which activity you're currently engaged in, you're fully invested. Even the straightforward platforming, in which Lara's sticky hands ensure there's little chance of failure, is thrilling thanks to brief quick-time events that keep your mind focused on even your smallest actions." -- <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/tomb-raider-definitive-edition-review/1900-6415647/" data-ref-id="1900-6415647">Read our reviews</a></p><h4><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/towerfall-ascension/" data-ref-id="false">Towerfall: Ascension</a></h4><p style="">"With a few friends, Towerfall Ascension is a fantastic multiplayer game that offers a ton of variations on its enjoyable archery combat. Just make sure those friends can join you on the couch." -- <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/towerfall-ascension-review/1900-6415688/" data-ref-id="1900-6415688">Read our review</a></p><h4><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/trials-fusion/" data-ref-id="false">Trials Fusion</a></h4><p style="">"This is another expertly designed entry in the enthralling series. Though the core action remains largely unchanged, it's as exciting as it has ever been, thanks in part to the gorgeous visual design that brings each location to life." -- <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/trials-fusion-review/1900-6415733/" data-ref-id="1900-6415733">Read our review</a></p><p style=""><em>* GameSpot's Best Of Lists will be updated periodically as new games worthy of inclusion are released on their respective platforms.</em></p> Thu, 24 Apr 2014 16:26:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-best-ps4-games/1100-6419198/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/just-cause-3-news-may-be-incoming-as-new-domain-name-discovered/1100-6419196/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/123/1239113/2516096-just+cause+2.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516096" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/123/1239113/2516096-just+cause+2.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516096"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/123/1239113/2516096-just+cause+2.jpg"></a></figure><p style="">We may soon be hearing about the long-awaited follow-up to 2010 open-world game <a href="/just-cause-2/" data-ref-id="false">Just Cause 2</a>, as a newly registered domain name for Just Cause 3 has been discovered.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The domain, JustCause3Game.com, was registered on Tuesday by CSC Corporate Domains, a company used by Square Enix and other companies to register URLs in the past. It was found by Internet sleuth <a href="https://twitter.com/supererogatory/status/459381860288970752" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Superannuation</a>, who suggests we may see the game at E3 in June.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Of course, Just Cause 4 domains <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/just-cause-4-websites-registered/1100-6377775/" data-ref-id="1100-6377775">registered in 2012</a> were indicative of nothing, although Avalanche did <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/just-cause-dev-teases-new-game/1100-6403985/" data-ref-id="1100-6403985">release some blurry teaser images</a> (you can see one below) of what <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/just-cause-dev-revealing-new-game-at-e3/1100-6404592/" data-ref-id="1100-6404592">appeared to be a new Just Cause game</a> last February.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">A new game in the Just Cause series has yet to be announced. In December, developer Avalanche Studios' creative director, Christofer Sundberg, claimed it was <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/it-s-too-early-to-talk-about-just-cause-3-says-dev/1100-6416580/" data-ref-id="1100-6416580">too early to start talking about Just Cause 3</a>. "We have been discussing what we'd like to do with the Just Cause IP in the future, but it's too early to talk about it just yet," he said.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/123/1239113/2516117-justcausetease.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516117" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/123/1239113/2516117-justcausetease.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516117"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/123/1239113/2516117-justcausetease.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">Just prior to that declaration, Avalanche revealed its employees had <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/just-cause-dev-travels-to-costa-rican-rainforest-for-research/1100-6416536/" data-ref-id="1100-6416536">visited a Costa Rican rainforest</a> to collect reference materials for its upcoming open-world games, suggesting that could be a setting seen in Just Cause 3.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">While he's been averse to say much about a Just Cause sequel, Sundberg has been outspoken about the industry, which could clue us in on the developer's approach to Just Cause 3.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"Micro-transactions, subscriptions, and other biz models will be the next generation of games. It is that simple," he <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/microtransactions-subscriptions-will-define-next-gen-says-avalanche-boss/1100-6416382/" data-ref-id="1100-6416382">said on Twitter</a> last year. He later <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/greed-never-works-just-cause-boss-says-about-microtransactions/1100-6416424/" data-ref-id="1100-6416424">expanded on the thought</a>, stating that "greed never works."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"We'll never compromise on quality or sell our souls for a quick buck," Sundberg added. "Things are changing and we need to adapt."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Sundberg has also <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/just-cause-developer-says-aaa-game-development-unhealthy-unprofitable/1100-6417519/" data-ref-id="1100-6417519">expressed concern over the AAA game market</a>, saying earlier this year, "Very few traditional $60 games make any money, and what used to make sense doesn't any more."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">What all of that means for Just Cause 3, if anything, is unclear.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">One of Avalanche's in-development projects, Project Mamba, which is believed to be Just Cause 3, is known to be coming to next-generation consoles and PC and was previously said to be launching in 2014.</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> Thu, 24 Apr 2014 15:42:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/just-cause-3-news-may-be-incoming-as-new-domain-name-discovered/1100-6419196/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/gs-news-gears-of-war-devs-tease-bleeding-edge-tech/2300-6418496/ Free games for PlayStation Plus subscribers for May, Mario Kart 8 bundle confirmed in UK, past and present Gears of War developers talk about crazy new graphics. Thu, 24 Apr 2014 15:40:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/gs-news-gears-of-war-devs-tease-bleeding-edge-tech/2300-6418496/ http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/batman-arkham-origins-cold-cold-heart-review/1900-6415742/ <p style="">It wasn't the brawling or the stealth or the grappling and gliding around environments that held Batman: Arkham Origins back from being a good entry in the Arkham saga. These aspects are tried and true; they are necessary components of any Arkham game. Where Origins stumbled was in its pacing, trotting out its expected components in a meandering fashion rather than giving those components the supportive context they deserved. Cold, Cold Heart, the new downloadable content for Arkham Origins, is better about this. It takes only a few hours to complete, but thanks to its strong narrative, a few great locations, and a more focused structure, it's pretty good while it lasts.</p><p style="">Victor Fries' wife Nora is "alive" but not really <i>alive</i>; like too many women in comics, she exists not as an individual with her own value but serves only to fuel the anguish of a male character, and because she is literally being kept frozen, she gives slightly different meaning to the phrase "woman in a refrigerator." Still, his anguish over her fate makes Mr. Freeze perhaps Batman's most sympathetic adversary, and by using his origin story as the basis for its narrative (lifting many elements directly from the classic <i>Batman: The Animated Series</i> episode "Heart of Ice"), Cold, Cold Heart takes on a melancholy mood. You know you have to stop Mr. Freeze, but you come to understand his desperation as Batman learns that the truly coldhearted one is the ruthless industrialist whose actions made Freeze what he is.</p><div data-height="100%" data-width="100%" data-ref-id="2300-6418494" data-embed-type="video"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6418494/" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style="">Most of your time in Cold, Cold Heart is spent in new locations created for the DLC. The game opens at a charity gala at Wayne Manor, and later takes you to the offices of GothCorp, whose grand entry area evokes the feeling, familiar from <em>The Animated Series</em>, that Gotham is a city stylistically trapped in 1920s sensibilities. You also pay a brief visit to a dingy nightclub owned by the Penguin, but it's here, as it nears its conclusion, that Cold, Cold Heart starts to lose the narrative focus that has thus far had you hot on the heels of Freeze and putting together the pieces that explain how he came to be and what it is he's after. After making your way deep into the GothCorp facility, you encounter a wall of ice that you can pass only after collecting the pieces of a drill from the nightclub and a few other spots around the city, at which point you then have to return to the wall of ice in GothCorp. It's a diversion that sacrifices narrative momentum to increase the chapter's duration, and the trade-off isn't worth it.</p><figure data-ref-id="1300-2516080" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/78/787590/2516080-ci-208338752030367744.jpg" data-size="medium" data-align="right" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/78/787590/2516080-ci-208338752030367744.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516080"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_medium/78/787590/2516080-ci-208338752030367744.jpg"></a><figcaption>Just because Bruce Wayne beats up a bunch of thugs the same way Batman would is no reason to suspect he might be Batman.</figcaption></figure><p style="">What's more, the boss battle with Mr. Freeze that awaits you back at GothCorp plays out a lot like the battle with him in <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/batman-arkham-city/" data-ref-id="false">Arkham City</a>. That's the best boss fight in the series thus far, but still, this is such a straightforward copy of it that it prevents Cold, Cold Heart's climax from having an identity of its own. There's no surprise in store, just a repeat of an encounter that you've probably already experienced. But the brawls with thugs throughout Cold, Cold Heart feel just different enough from those in the main game to set them apart, since some criminals are now toting freeze rays whose beams encase you in ice if you're not careful. And for the most part, the DLC's structure has you alternating between brawls, stealth encounters, crime scene analysis, and environmental traversal in a way that keeps the pace moving. It doesn't finish strong, but Cold, Cold Heart is still a satisfying sliver of Arkham storytelling.</p> Thu, 24 Apr 2014 14:09:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/batman-arkham-origins-cold-cold-heart-review/1900-6415742/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-one-ships-1-2-million-to-retailers-during-2014-s-first-quarter/1100-6419194/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/123/1239113/2516063-xbone.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516063" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/123/1239113/2516063-xbone.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516063"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/123/1239113/2516063-xbone.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style=""><em>This story has been updated with details from an investors conference call with Microsoft.</em></p><p dir="ltr" style="">Microsoft sold a total of 2 million Xbox consoles during the first three months of 2014, 1.2 million of which were Xbox Ones, the company announced today.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">These numbers come as part of the company's quarterly earnings report being issued today. It's important to note that these figures reflect the number of consoles "sold in." In other words, it's the number of consoles that have been shipped to retailers, not the number that have actually been sold and are now sitting in consumers' homes.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Microsoft recently announced it has <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ps4-is-top-selling-console-for-third-straight-month-according-to-march-npd/1100-6419067/" data-ref-id="1100-6419067">shipped more than 5 million Xbox Ones</a> since it launched last year. In January, it provided the only official indication of the number of consoles sold through to consumers when it announced <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-one-sold-3-million-units-in-2013-microsoft-says/1100-6416955/" data-ref-id="1100-6416955">3 million systems had been sold</a> by the end of 2013.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">While the number wasn't specifically called out, some simple math tells us roughly 800,000 Xbox 360s were sold in to retailers from January through the end of March, a strong figure for a system that is now more than eight years old. Microsoft says sales of 360 "exceeded expectations."</p><p style="">Microsoft also reports that revenue for the entire Xbox platform--taking into account Xbox One, Xbox 360, and Xbox Live--was up 45% during the quarter, which ran from January 1, 2014 - March 31. Xbox One owners are using the platform for almost five hours per day, no doubt thanks in large part to services like Netflix and the ability to connect a cable box via HDMI to watch TV through the system.</p><p style="">The 2 million consoles shipped is, as you'd expect, well behind the number posted during the final quarter of calendar 2013 (7.4 million), but well above the 1.3 million sold during the first three months of 2013 (when Xbox One was not yet on the market).</p><p style="">Microsoft is holding a conference call with investors this afternoon, so expect to hear more on Xbox One's sales performance soon.</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> Thu, 24 Apr 2014 14:02:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-one-ships-1-2-million-to-retailers-during-2014-s-first-quarter/1100-6419194/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/playstation-plus-free-games-of-may-gamespot/2300-6418493/ Check out the free games of May including, Stick it to the Man!, Pro Evolution Soccer 2014, Puppeteer, Skullgirls Encore, Surge Deluxe, amd Limbo. Thu, 24 Apr 2014 13:58:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/playstation-plus-free-games-of-may-gamespot/2300-6418493/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/gamestop-moving-beyond-games-preparing-for-the-future/1100-6419193/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2516033-gamestopstore.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516033" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2516033-gamestopstore.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2516033"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1179/11799911/2516033-gamestopstore.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">GameStop may be most commonly associated with video games, but it may not always be that way. During GameStop's Investor Day 2014 event this week, the retailer spoke at length about the next evolution of the retailer, which it is calling "GameStop 3.0."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Games are <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-one-ps4-launch-helps-gamestop-haul-3-68-billion-during-holiday-quarter/1100-6418581/" data-ref-id="1100-6418581">already big business for GameStop</a>, and CEO Paul Raines said this sector is expected to grow on the backs of the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Wii U. But at the same time, the retailer is setting its sights on much larger markets. Some of the "addressable markets" that GameStop is eyeing for future growth (in addition to physical and digital games) Raines said, are the recommerce market for non-gaming tech devices, the "Apple ecosystem," and the biggest of them all, the wireless market.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">GameStop is already invested in the Apple ecosystem in that it buys, sells, and accepts trades for various iOS devices at its stores. The company also <a href="http://www.simplymac.com/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">owns Simply Mac</a>, a sales and service specialist. Raines went on to say that it plans to expand the Simply Mac brand, and with the blessing of Apple to boot.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"We have spent a lot of time in Cupertino with Apple leadership and we have their support to grow Simply Mac," Raines said.</p><blockquote data-align="right"><p dir="ltr" style="">"Connected devices are forecast to go from $8 billion today to $50 billion in five years...the wireless growth opportunity for GameStop is only beginning" --GameStop CEO Paul Raines</p></blockquote><p dir="ltr" style="">Concerning the wireless market, GameStop <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/gamestop-acquires-wireless-company-spring-mobile/1100-6416309/" data-ref-id="1100-6416309">owns AT&T specialist Spring Mobile</a>, and it also operates numerous Cricket Wireless stores in the United States. Raines boasted that GameStop is in fact the third largest AT&T deal in the US.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The "wireless market is perhaps the most exciting market in the consumer space," Raines said. He went on to note that, "connected devices are forecast to go from $8 billion today to $50 billion in five years. And many will be sold in a store and available for trade and refurbishment at GameStop. The wireless growth opportunity for GameStop is only beginning."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Raines added that GameStop's all-important buy/sell/trade model can apply to all of these new markets.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Also during the presentation, Raines said the GameStop executive team has looked at other businesses that have moved into new markets to help it understand how best to do the same. He said cookware retailer Williams-Sonoma is a good example, as it successfully acquired Pottery Barn in 1986, and launched Pottery Barn Kids in 1999 and furniture store West Elm in 2003.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Raines also called out VF Corporation, which began as an underwear company before taking on brands like Lee, Jansport, Timberland, and Wrangler, among others.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Somewhat interestingly, a slide on Raines' presentation pointed out that VF Corporation later sold its original underwear brand to Fruit of the Loom in 2007. It's too early to say if GameStop will eventually get out of gaming altogether, but it's clear that GameStop is attempting to diversify its portfolio so that if such a day comes, the company will not only survive, but thrive.</p><p style="">"So we are students of extraordinary business transformation stories. Williams Sonoma and VF are great examples to us of the potential of understanding your consumers and matching that insight to your own core competencies."</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/EddieMakuch" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Twitter @EddieMakuch</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Thu, 24 Apr 2014 12:43:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/gamestop-moving-beyond-games-preparing-for-the-future/1100-6419193/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-one-gears-of-war-game-will-use-bleeding-edge-rendering-techniques-for-best-in-class-visuals/1100-6419184/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2515805-gearsnewmicrosoft.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2515805" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2515805-gearsnewmicrosoft.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2515805"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1179/11799911/2515805-gearsnewmicrosoft.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">Unsurprisingly, it appears Microsoft and newly established first-party studio Black Tusk Studios have major ambitions for the all-new Gears of War game for Xbox One in development at the Vancouver-based outfit. A spate of recently posted job listings spotted by <a href="http://www.dualshockers.com/2014/04/22/xbox-one-gears-of-war-to-have-best-in-class-visuals-bleeding-edge-rendering-techniques-and-more/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">DualShockers</a> reveal new information about the game.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">One listing for a <a href="http://www.microsoft-careers.com/job/Vancouver-Senior-Rendering-Engineer-Black-Tusk-Studios-%28875662%29-Job-BC/57139800/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Senior Rendering Engineer</a> says that Black Tusk's new Gears of War game will make use of "bleeding edge new rendering techniques to deliver best in class visuals for a AAA console game." This job ad also mentions "major new features."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Black Tusk's job listings also include a call for an <a href="http://www.microsoft-careers.com/job/Vancouver-Senior-Concept-Artist-Black-Tusk-Studios-Devices-&-Studios-%28869050%29-Job-BC/43115500/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Art Director</a>, who should be comfortable "working with a broad spectrum of styles, from photo-realistic to highly stylized." Microsoft hasn't said yet what art style the new Gears of War game will use, but it appears everything is on the table right now.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Other job ads mention "innovative features," and one post for a <a href="http://www.microsoft-careers.com/job/Vancouver-Gameplay-Engineer-Black-Tusk-Studios-Devices-&-Studios-%28869065%29-Job-BC/43113900/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Gameplay Engineer</a> specifically seeks an individual with experience in co-op gameplay, suggesting that the new Gears of War game will carry forward the franchise's proclivity for co-op.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Multiplayer also appears to be a focus for the new Gears of War title, as one position for a <a href="http://www.microsoft-careers.com/job/Vancouver-Lead-Multiplayer-Level-Designer-Black-Tusk-Studios-%28876072%29-Job-BC/57136800/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Lead Multiplayer Level Designer </a>calls for an individual to work on an "industry-leading multiplayer experience." This person should also have familiarity with traditional Gears of War gameplay and past multiplayer map designs, the post says.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">In addition, a job posting for a<a href="http://www.microsoft-careers.com/job/Vancouver-Senior-Level-Designer-Black-Tusk-Studios-Devices-&-Studios-%28869063%29-Job-BC/43108400/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Senior Level Designer </a>calls out creating "interesting and dynamic levels and mechanics," going to note that a successful candidate will end up investing and integrating "great events and gameplay mechanics, with the goal of making every moment special and memorable."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Microsoft <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-buys-gears-of-war-from-epic/1100-6417361/" data-ref-id="1100-6417361">purchased the Gears of War franchise from Epic Games earlier this year</a> for an undisclosed sum. Veteran Gears of War producer Rod Fergusson is working on the game at Black Tusk Studios, but we have not seen any images or video from the project to date.</p><p style=""> </p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/EddieMakuch" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Twitter @EddieMakuch</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Thu, 24 Apr 2014 12:30:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-one-gears-of-war-game-will-use-bleeding-edge-rendering-techniques-for-best-in-class-visuals/1100-6419184/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/reality-check-civilization-beyond-earth-could-we-c/2300-6418489/ Cam launches into space to investigate the science of colonising other worlds. Thankfully, he's got a helping hand from Lewis Dartnell, an expert on how to rebuild civilisations. Thu, 24 Apr 2014 12:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/reality-check-civilization-beyond-earth-could-we-c/2300-6418489/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/watch-a-real-world-world-of-warcraft-motorcycle-come-to-life/1100-6419192/ <div data-embed-type="video" data-src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-kRc0V5y08" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fembed%2FP-kRc0V5y08%3Fwmode%3Dopaque%26feature%3Doembed&wmode=opaque&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DP-kRc0V5y08&image=http%3A%2F%2Fi1.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FP-kRc0V5y08%2Fhqdefault.jpg&key=6efca6e5ad9640f180f14146a0bc1392&type=text%2Fhtml&schema=youtube" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">Blizzard Entertainment has released the second episode in its Azeroth Choppers web show, an eight-part series that sees famed motorcycle designer Paul Jr. of <em>American Choppers</em> and his team create bikes based on the Horde and Alliance in-game factions.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Team Horde and Team Alliance are each building their own bikes inspired by the respective factions, but only one will prevail in the end. When both bikes are finished, players will vote to see which bike Blizzard creates a virtual version of to appear as a free mount for <a href="/world-of-warcraft/" data-ref-id="false">World of Warcraft</a>.</p><p style="">It's a pretty interesting, and somewhat surprising, partnership between Blizzard and Paul Jr., who owns and operates New York-based custom-bike shop <a href="http://pauljrdesigns.com/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Paul Jr. Designs</a>. We spoke with Paul Jr. about the project at PAX East and <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/american-chopper-star-on-why-his-wild-world-of-warcraft-mash-up-makes-sense/1100-6418951/" data-ref-id="1100-6418951">you can read more about that here</a>.</p><p style="">The first installment in the Azeroth Choppers series <a href="http://us.battle.net/wow/en/choppers/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">went live last week</a>. New episodes are available on Thursdays, running through early June. The next World of Warcraft expansion is <a href="/articles/everything-you-need-to-know-about-world-of-warcraft-warlords-of-draenor/1100-6416073/" data-ref-id="1100-6416073">Warlords of Draenor</a>, which is set to launch later this year.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/EddieMakuch" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Twitter @EddieMakuch</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Thu, 24 Apr 2014 11:39:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/watch-a-real-world-world-of-warcraft-motorcycle-come-to-life/1100-6419192/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/here-s-how-to-get-an-xbox-one-for-400-at-best-buy-this-weekend/1100-6419191/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2515974-xb1.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2515974" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2515974-xb1.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2515974"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1179/11799911/2515974-xb1.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">Big-box retailer Best Buy has announced a new limited-time trade-in offer that will let you get an Xbox One for $400 (or even less), provided you meet certain eligibility requirements.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Starting April 27, if you trade in a working Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 at Best Buy, you'll receive at least a $50 gift card and a $50 coupon to use toward the purchase of an Xbox One. Trade-in values may vary, Best Buy says, but you're guaranteed at least a $50 gift card for any working Xbox 360 or PS3. The deal ends Saturday, May 3.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Best Buy is no longer offering the Titanfall Xbox One bundle for $450, which would have made this deal even sweeter. All the same, though, if you're looking to upgrade to an Xbox One, you might want to consider this deal. There's no word on a similar deal for the PlayStation 4, and a Best Buy representative said, "the offer is for Xbox One only."</p><p style="">By comparison, GameStop <a href="http://www.gamestop.com/trade-values" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">pays $117 for the 320GB Xbox 360 S model</a>. If you applied that to the purchase of an Xbox One, you'd end up paying just under $400 for a new Xbox One.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/EddieMakuch" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Twitter @EddieMakuch</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Thu, 24 Apr 2014 11:21:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/here-s-how-to-get-an-xbox-one-for-400-at-best-buy-this-weekend/1100-6419191/
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