Riot $1m Season 2 Championship Final Today: Azubu Frost vs Taipei Assassins

October 13, 2012 1:19PM PDT

The world's best League of Legends teams in North America, Europe, and Asia battle it out for $1m today at the Galen Center in California.

After nearly eight months of international competition between the world's best League of Legends teams in North America, Europe, and Asia and an emotional rollercoaster for some, it all comes down to this. Korea's Azubu Frost and Taiwan's Taipei Assassins are to battle it out today for $1,000,000 at the Galen Center at the University of Southern California.

Each team has had its own rough road to the finals. For Azubu Frost, much of it has come from the controversial moments in the quarter finals, rather than the matches themselves. After quick wins over Invictus Gaming, CLG Prime and SK Gaming in the group stage, Azubu Frost found themselves with America's best, Team SoloMid. SoloMid had been preparing for Azubu Frost ever since it was dismantled by Azubu Blaze at MLG's League of Legends Arena. That wasn't much concern for Frost, who quickly swept SoloMid in two straight matches.

Shortly after, evidence arose of multiple teams cheating by looking at the mini-map during the Internet outages, most notably from Azubu Frost Team Captain Jang "Woong" Gun-woong. An investigation by Riot led to a $30,000 fine imposed on Azubu Frost, but no overturning of the match itself. Azubu Frost then went on to knock out CLG EU a second straight time, advancing to the finals.

"We've played with TPA before many times, with each team having about equal information on each other. Because of this I think it'll be a very interesting game", Azubu Frost AP Jung "RapidStar" Min-sung told GameSpot. "This is the world championships we've been preparing for. Now that we're here, we want to make sure we win it all."

On the flip side, not many people expected the Taipei Assassins to be just one win away from claiming a million dollars. Not only that, but they are one win away from the first ever major eSports title for the nation of Taiwan across any competitive game. After getting a seeded-bye into the first round of the bracket, TPA managed two dominant performances when they were seen as the underdog in each. First came the destruction of the second Korean team NaJin Sword, a powerful squad who couldn't find a way in against TPA. No one was prepared for what would come in the semifinals though, against the other tournament favorite, Moscow 5. After a first game loss and being one map away from elimination, TPA turned the heat up on the back of top lane Wang "Stanley" June Tsan, who's Nidalee performance got them back in the game, and two dominating wins to clinch a finals shot.

Taipei Assassins Toyz interview.

"It was interesting to face M5.BenQ, since they are a strong team," Stanley said. "I have not played Nidalee in a while because she was never compatible with our strategies, so it was great picking her up again in this tournament. I know I'll have to continue this in the finals to maintain advantage and be stable throughout the matches."

1 Match. 1 Million dollars. Who will walk away the champion going into Riot's highly anticipated Season 3? Watch it all LIVE here on GameSpot starting at 5:30 PM PST/8:30 PM EST, and get up to speed with our coverage hub, which includes player interviews.

Watch live video from riotgames on www.twitch.tv

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NBA 2K13 Review

Hardcore hoops fans, lapsed b-ball followers, and anyone else who even casually picks up the odd sports game should play NBA 2K13. Developer Visual Concepts continues to keep the bar high, enhancing the realism of and adding a superb new control scheme to this excellent recreation of pro basketball. Pace, graphics, animations, sound effects, and commentary are all so dead on that you feel like you've walked onto the court at Staples Center or Madison Square Garden. Only a few issues with the interface and the absence of controller tutorials, along with ridiculously overblown production values courtesy of guest executive producer Jay Z, get between you and the full appreciation of what looks, sounds, and feels like the real thing.

That said, this isn't a revolutionary upgrade on NBA 2K12. Last year's game is the foundation for this successor, which bases everything on what has gone before. Gameplay on the court is still incredibly true to real life. The pace, plays, artificial intelligence, and, well, everything else, mimic real pro basketball. Players move like they should, shoot like they should, and even position themselves smartly so you can make plays. Even playing solo, it feels like you're working as part of a real team due to the stellar AI. You can play selfishly and always look for the shot, but that tends to hurt your team more than passing and trying to develop plays. Same goes on defense, where you contribute by covering your man or providing timely help. Do that well and you feel like you're a part of the team even if you never touch the ball.

All of the offline and online modes of play are back for another season, so you can practice plays, run franchises, play one-off matches or the playoffs, hit the schoolyard for three-on-three blacktop action, mess around with legendary clubs, and so on. You can even make your own kicks now, through a 2K Shoes creator module. Most of the core options have been glitzed up. MyPlayer has been dramatically expanded and renamed MyCareer. You now not only create an NBA wannabe, you role-play him through all sorts of off-court situations. You can be a good guy or a heel, a Steve Nash or a Kobe Bryant. This means you get to dress up in flashy clothes and accoutrements for arriving at games, sign shoe endorsements, play egotistical brat when meeting with GMs before the draft, try to get your coach fired, and stir up fans on social media.

It's all faintly ridiculous, especially the scripted comments you make in meetings, and it adds up to a cartoon view of what the NBA is in real life. But it's also very compelling. These options let you personalize your career, and the whole me-first concept plays into the fantasy sports ideal that makes player-oriented modes of play in sports sims so appealing in the first place. Most goodies are bought with the VC coins awarded for accomplishments in-game, as well, so you at least have to do something on the hardwood (or spend your own cash by buying the things with real-world money) before you earn the right to detonate any ego explosions.

More historical greats have been included among the roster of teams. The headline is the inclusion of the full 1992 Olympic Dream Team, with even Charles Barkley finally letting his likeness be added to a game for the first time since 1994's Shut Up and Jam! So old-timers who want to see Jordan, Magic, Bird, Sir Charles, and pals on the court together again can finally do so. You can also pit this club against the most recent version of the dreamy Olympic roster from earlier this year to see what roster is really the best of all time.

Other iconic teams from the NBA's past are included, as well, like the Showtime Lakers and the Bad Boys with top thugs Laimbeer and Rodman. The game even has an absurd celebrity team starring the likes of Justin Bieber and various B-listers such as JB Smoove and Jersey Shore's Pauly D. Even a little guy like the Beeb comes in with sky-high ratings, too, so you can actually pit this team (the overall rating is a formidable 97) against any and all comers with a good shot at emerging victorious.

Players themselves have had their ratings revised in a key area, as well. All of the top stars in the NBA, and even a number of role players and sixth men, are now given signature skills that better reflect their real-life traits. So you have the floor general, who makes everyone on the floor play better offense. There's the closer, who raises his game in clutch moments. The eraser sends shots off with emphasis. The finisher can blast into the paint to slam layups and dunks no matter what traffic may be clogging the key.

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Retro City Rampage Review

Back in 1987, when the NES was at the peak of its reign, the video game world was not yet ready for the open-world urban crime adventure. But today, a quarter century later, Retro City Rampage lets you experience what the genre might have been like if it had been introduced on that now-primitive platform. In terms of its gameplay, it's often not quite faithful enough to the games of the era that inspired it, and in terms of its difficulty, it's sometimes too faithful. But all in all, Retro City Rampage is an enjoyable experience in which old meets new to create something both fresh and familiar.

Can you spot all 572 references hidden in these early minutes of Retro City Rampage?

In Retro City Rampage's Story mode, you play as Player, a low-ranking henchman in a supercriminal's army. Following an introductory series of stages that references The Dark Knight, Mario Bros., Mega Man 2, Frogger, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, Super Mario Bros. 2, Back to the Future, and much more, you're set free in the city of Theftropolis to spend your time as you see fit. You can complete story missions or ignore them, and spend your time causing chaos and competing in the score-based challenges scattered all over town.

Every mission in Retro City Rampage's Story mode skewers video games, movies, or TV shows of the 80s. If you have any reverence for icons of 80s pop culture, don't be surprised if versions of those icons show up in RCR and are made to suffer some indignities. (The Ghostbusters, for instance, are spoofed here as the Go-Go Busters. Their job is even messier and nastier than catching and occasionally getting slimed by ghosts.) Too often, the game is raunchy just for the sake of being raunchy, without any cleverness to actually make its off-color gags funny. But the game throws so much at the wall that, while most of it doesn't stick, enough does to make for a good number of laughs, and there's some particularly scathing humor about indie game development and major publishers.

What with the danger of being run over as you stroll down the sidewalk or being stomped on by criminals flying around in hover suits, Theftropolis doesn't seem like a nice place to live. It is, however, a pleasure to look at, particularly if you have a soft spot in your heart for 8-bit worlds. The pixelated residents of Theftropolis are a wonderfully diverse bunch. Despite being quite tiny, they have a good deal of personality, thanks to their vibrant colors, their big hair, and jaunty hats--not to mention their expressive animations as they strut down the street, breakdance or otherwise pass the time.

The city has at least as much personality as its residents. Everywhere you look, there are references on shop signs and billboards to 80s video games and other pop culture artifacts. For that extra dose of nostalgia, an impressive assortment of color modes lets you make the game look as if it's running on a wide range of 80s gaming and computer hardware; a CGA mode, for example, severely limits the game's color palette and dominates it with blue and purple, recalling the visuals on early Apple computers. There's also a fine selection of borders that can make the game look like it's being played on an old TV, an arcade cabinet, or other setups, with optional scanlines to help sell the illusion. Regardless of your visual preference, the catchy 8-bit music is sure to please, and would have been right at home in an NES game.

Unfortunately, as alluring as the city is, getting around Theftropolis isn't always enjoyable. Player moves sluggishly until he gets a bit of momentum going, and although all the vehicles around you are yours for the taking, many of them are too slow to be much fun to drive. Still, there are some speedy little numbers to cruise around in. The two driving control schemes let you select between an option in which you use a button to accelerate and in which pushing left or right turns your vehicle to its left or right regardless of which way you're driving onscreen, and an option in which you push the thumbstick up to move up, down to move down, and so on. This second, far less realistic option allows for more responsive, turn-on-a-dime controls and more enjoyable vehicular shenanigans as a result. (On PC, you also have the option of playing with a keyboard, which works just fine.)

15.07 | 0 komentar | Read More

Retro City Rampage Review

Back in 1987, when the NES was at the peak of its reign, the video game world was not yet ready for the open-world urban crime adventure. But today, a quarter century later, Retro City Rampage lets you experience what the genre might have been like if it had been introduced on that now-primitive platform. In terms of its gameplay, it's often not quite faithful enough to the games of the era that inspired it, and in terms of its difficulty, it's sometimes too faithful. But all in all, Retro City Rampage is an enjoyable experience in which old meets new to create something both fresh and familiar.

Niko Bellic wishes he could get his hands on a hover suit like this and stomp some civilians!

In Retro City Rampage's Story mode, you play as Player, a low-ranking henchman in a supercriminal's army. Following an introductory series of stages that references The Dark Knight, Mario Bros., Mega Man 2, Frogger, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, Super Mario Bros. 2, Back to the Future, and much more, you're set free in the city of Theftropolis to spend your time as you see fit. You can complete story missions or ignore them, and spend your time causing chaos and competing in the score-based challenges scattered all over town.

Every mission in Retro City Rampage's Story mode skewers video games, movies, or TV shows of the 80s. If you have any reverence for icons of 80s pop culture, don't be surprised if versions of those icons show up in RCR and are made to suffer some indignities. (The Ghostbusters, for instance, are spoofed here as the Go-Go Busters. Their job is even messier and nastier than catching and occasionally getting slimed by ghosts.) Too often, the game is raunchy just for the sake of being raunchy, without any cleverness to actually make its off-color gags funny. But the game throws so much at the wall that, while most of it doesn't stick, enough does to make for a good number of laughs, and there's some particularly scathing humor about indie game development and major publishers.

What with the danger of being run over as you stroll down the sidewalk or being stomped on by criminals flying around in hover suits, Theftropolis doesn't seem like a nice place to live. It is, however, a pleasure to look at, particularly if you have a soft spot in your heart for 8-bit worlds. The pixelated residents of Theftropolis are a wonderfully diverse bunch. Despite being quite tiny, they have a good deal of personality, thanks to their vibrant colors, their big hair, and jaunty hats--not to mention their expressive animations as they strut down the street, breakdance or otherwise pass the time.

The city has at least as much personality as its residents. Everywhere you look, there are references on shop signs and billboards to 80s video games and other pop culture artifacts. For that extra dose of nostalgia, an impressive assortment of color modes lets you make the game look as if it's running on a wide range of 80s gaming and computer hardware; a CGA mode, for example, severely limits the game's color palette and dominates it with blue and purple, recalling the visuals on early Apple computers. There's also a fine selection of borders that can make the game look like it's being played on an old TV, an arcade cabinet, or other setups, with optional scanlines to help sell the illusion. Regardless of your visual preference, the catchy 8-bit music is sure to please, and would have been right at home in an NES game.

Unfortunately, as alluring as the city is, getting around Theftropolis isn't always enjoyable. Player moves sluggishly until he gets a bit of momentum going, and although all the vehicles around you are yours for the taking, many of them are too slow to be much fun to drive. Still, there are some speedy little numbers to cruise around in. The two driving control schemes let you select between an option in which you use a button to accelerate and in which pushing left or right turns your vehicle to its left or right regardless of which way you're driving onscreen, and an option in which you push the thumbstick up to move up, down to move down, and so on. This second, far less realistic option allows for more responsive, turn-on-a-dime controls and more enjoyable vehicular shenanigans as a result.

15.07 | 0 komentar | Read More

Fable: The Journey Review

The arrow is buried deep in the horse's side. You wave your arms while uttering soothing words, trying to calm the frightened animal. Once the horse is docile, you approach your four-legged friend slowly, careful not to upset her, and then rest your hand gingerly on the protruding arrow. With the utmost care, you pull the projectile from her body, steadying your hand so as not to cause even more pain to the distressed creature. It's a simple act that takes no more than a minute to perform, but it has a powerful effect on your state of mind. Fable: The Journey establishes strong emotional weight through smartly crafted scenes enhanced by the Kinect's motion-sensing capabilities, creating a rewarding and exciting adventure.

Hard-earned reward for risking your neck.

Albion is once again in need of a hero. As Theresa flees from an unseen monster, Gabriel is kind enough to help her onto his carriage and away from harm. The relationship between the 300-year-old seer and the green boy who dreams of long gone fables is slow to develop. The characters chat while sitting around a fire or while riding through the striking locales, and there's a clear hesitancy in forming a deeper connection. Theresa has seen countless friends die during her centuries of life and thinks of Gabriel as little more than a tool she can use to save the world. And Gabriel would rather curl up in a soft bed, with his loyal horse Seren nearby, than go on a dangerous adventure.

But through painstaking trials and debilitating ordeals, the two characters grow closer. Fable: The Journey makes great use of the few characters who make an appearance in this story. Although the basic save-the-world plot hits the expected notes without much flourish, it's the people you meet along the way you care about. When Fergus tells the story of his deceased wife, ravaged by balverines years before, you nod because you've heard this tale of woe before. But as you travel the road, Fergus is forced to confront his demons, and you form a deeper, more nuanced understanding of his grief. Fable: The Journey provides occasional moments of levity to keep you smiling, but it strikes a more somber tone than previous games in the franchise. And the heartfelt moments carry serious weight because the game earned your sympathy.

In no place is this more apparent than in Gabriel's relationship with Seren. Throughout the game, he talks about how close they've always been. About how he's been riding on her back since he was a toddler and how he travels everywhere with her. And although that does establish their link, such trivia does little to move you. It's not the telling that makes you care about Seren; it's the actions you perform. Pulling out an arrow is just one of the horse-keeping tasks you do to maintain her health and happiness, and these little activities have a big effect on your feelings toward her. Brushing her coat to scrape off the dirt from the dusty roads or feeding her an apple has little tangible impact on your adventuring, but these quiet interludes draw you closer to her. This is your horse, after all, so you ensure that she's well fed and clean. These bonding moments make up a small portion of the entire journey, but they leave the biggest impact on your experience.

Of course, there's much more to Fable: The Journey than caring for your horse. This is an on-rails adventure in which you continually travel toward the Spire, where your ultimate fate awaits you at the end of your journey. Much of the game involves riding down lonely roads behind your constant companion, Seren. By gripping imaginary reins in both hands, you crack them to speed up your horse, adjust your hands to race through turns, or raise your arms to come to a stop. With experience points to collect and winding curves to navigate, there's little time to rest, but the repetition of steering a horse could become tiring before long. Thankfully, Fable: The Journey spruces up this simple activity. Eye-catching visual design ensures that every craggy mountain pass and splendid waterfall delights your senses, and Theresa's eager storytelling fills you in on the expansive plot.

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Ragnarok Odyssey reaching North America this month

October 10, 2012 9:18PM PDT

The action RPG from Game Arts and GungHo will come with a Mercenary edition featuring an art book and soundtrack CD.

Xseed Games has announced the final release date for the PS Vita title Ragnarok Odyssey in North America.

The game will be out on October 30, and will be sold in stores and on the PlayStation Store for $39.99. Players can also buy the Mercenary edition of the game, which comes with a 96-page art book, a soundtrack CD, and 10 monster cards. The set will cost $49.99.

The action RPG will be published in Europe by Gungho Online Entertainment America, but there is no word on a release date at this point in time. The game is already out in Japan and Asia.

For more information, check out GameSpot's preview of the game.

By Jonathan Toyad, Associate Editor

Born and raised from a jungle-laden village in Sarawak, Malaysia, Jonathan Toyad has been playing games since the early 90s. He favors fighting games, RPGs, and rhythm titles above every other genre, and occasionally spaces out like Pavlov's dog to video game music on his iPod.

15.07 | 0 komentar | Read More

ToeJam & Earl games out on PS3 and Xbox 360 this November

October 10, 2012 9:26PM PDT

ToeJam & Earl and ToeJam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron will be out as single downloads and as a bundle on PSN and XBLA.

Sega has announced that it will be re-releasing the ToeJam & Earl games on PS3 and Xbox 360 on November 6.

The two titles on the Sega Genesis, ToeJam & Earl and ToeJam &Earl in Panic on Funkotron, will be on sale on PSN and XBLA for $4.99 apiece. Sega will also release a bundle of the two games, dubbed the Sega Vintage Collection: ToeJam & Earl. This pack will be out on November 7, and will cost gamers $10 on PSN and 800 Microsoft Points on XBLA.

Both titles will feature online co-op and new achievements and trophies for their respective platforms. For more information on the last ToeJam & Earl title, check out GameSpot's coverage on ToeJam & Earl III: Mission To Earth.

By Jonathan Toyad, Associate Editor

Born and raised from a jungle-laden village in Sarawak, Malaysia, Jonathan Toyad has been playing games since the early 90s. He favors fighting games, RPGs, and rhythm titles above every other genre, and occasionally spaces out like Pavlov's dog to video game music on his iPod.

15.06 | 0 komentar | Read More

Resident Evil 6 Boss FIghts - Leon's Campaign

October 9, 2012 5:32PM PDT

Get a look at all of the terrifying creatures from Leon's portion of Resident Evil 6.

Want to sneak a look at all of the bosses from Leon's campaign? Look no further than this handy collection of videos from Resident Evil 6. Warning: There are spoilers.

The Screamer Fight

Fat Boy Fight

B.O.W Shark Fight

Mutated Deborah Fight

Gaseous Orifice Zombie Fight

Orifice B.O.W Plane Fight

Helping Jake and Sherry Fight

End of Line Fight

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Dishonored No Kill Walkthrough: Mission 2

Actually, the interesting thing about this mission is that you can follow the High Overseer and the other guy down into his private chamber, wait until the overseer's back is turned, and then simply choke him out.  This essentially requires no darts in the whole area.  Then, for some odd reason, the other guy unsheaths his sword, ignores you, and walks pleasantly out where he is supposed to go.  Then, carry the body of the overseer up the stairs and use blink to get to the branding room.  You can end up branding him without touching a single guard.

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GameSpot GamePlay Episode 14: Splinter Shell

October 9, 2012 5:49PM PDT

Host Kevin VanOrd welcomes IGN's Mitch Dyer for an extra dose of crazy. Also present (and also crazy): Tom Mc Shea, Chris Watters, and Peter Brown.

Mitch Dyer from IGN graces us with his politically incorrect presence long enough to explain just what should be done with the TMNT license. He's joined by Peter Brown, who puts the "FIFA" in FIFA; Chris Watters, who closes the episode on the most disturbing note possible; and Tom Mc Shea, who insists on stubbornly breaking the fourth wall.

Kevin VanOrd hosts. Charmingly.

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GameSpot GamePlay Episode 13: Double Jesus

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GameSpot GamePlay Episode 8: Ladycrotch

GameSpot GamePlay Episode 7: Bald and Powdery

GameSpot GamePlay Episode 6: Dirty Talk

GameSpot GamePlay Episode 5: Hybrid Species

GameSpot GamePlay Episode 4: Pulling a Brad

GameSpot GamePlay Special Edition Spoilercast: The Dark Knight Rises

By Kevin VanOrd, Senior Editor

Kevin VanOrd is a lifelong RPG lover and violin player. When he isn't busy building PCs and composing symphonies, he watches American Dad reruns with his fat cat, Ollie.

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