Archived News:

Friday, Oct 25, 2013

Golden Joystick Winners

ComputerAndVideoGames lists all the winners of this year's Golden Joystick Awards, where Grand Theft Auto V and The Last of Us were the big winners and The Witcher 3 beat our both next-generation consoles for the "most wanted" award. Here are the winners:
Best Newcomer
The Last of Us

Most Wanted in association with Playfire
Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Best Indie Game
Mark of the Ninja

Best Visual Design
BioShock Infinite

Best Multiplayer
Payday 2

Best Gaming Moment in association with Absolute Radio
Far Cry 3 - The Definition of Insanity

Studio of the Year in association with MPG Universal
Naughty Dog

Innovation of the Year in association with T3
Oculus Rift

Best Storytelling
The Last of Us

Best Online Game
World of Tanks

Best Handheld Game
Assassin's Creed 3: Liberation

YouTube Gamer Award in association with YouTube
Yogscast

Best Gaming Platform in association with Digital Spy
Steam

Best Mobile/Tablet Game of the Year
XCOM: Enemy Unknown

Game of the Year
Grand Theft Auto V

Hall of Fame
Activison: Call of Duty

Lifetime Achievement
Ken Levine

AMD Beta Drivers

AMD Support now offers new Catalyst 13.11 Beta V6 drivers for AMD/ATI graphics cards. The new drivers support the new R9 290 and R9 290X graphics cards, and boast some impressive performance improvements:

  • ​Batman: Arkham Origins - improves performance up to 35% with MSAA 8x enabled
  • Total War™: Rome 2 - improves performance up to 10%
  • Battlefield 3 - improves performance up to 10%
  • GRID 2 - improves performance up to 8.5%
  • DiRT Showdown - improves performance up to 10%
  • Formula 1™ 2013 - improves performance up to 8%
  • DiRT 3 - improves performance up to 7%
  • Sleeping Dogs - improves performance up to 5%

On Sale

Ships Ahoy - Deus Ex: Human Revolution Director's Cut

Eidos Montreal and Eidos announce the release of the Deus Ex: Human Revolution Director's Cut, an updated edition of their action/RPG that includes the game's pre- and post-release content, revamped boss battles, a new Game+ mode, and more. "The Director’s Cut is our opportunity to address and implement all of the amazing feedback we received from the community into our much loved Deus Ex: Human Revolution," said David Anfossi, Eidos-Montréal Head of Studio. "We’re incredibly lucky to have such a passionate community and we hope that new and returning players alike enjoy what we consider to be the definitive version of Human Revolution." Here's a bit:
Deus Ex: Human Revolution – Director’s Cut has been fully augmented to include Tongs’s Rescue mission and the entire Missing Link chapter which have been integrated seamlessly into the narrative flow as well as all of the original pre-order and bonus weapons. Fan features like the 45 minute “making of” video, over 8 hours of developer commentary, the official strategy guide, and New Game+ have also been added to the Director’s Cut.

Boss fights have been completely overhauled and redesigned with new maps and mechanics to support each one of the gameplay pillars: Action, Stealth, and Hacking. Major enhancements have also been made to the game including a rebalanced energy system, updated enemy A.I., and striking visual improvements which make this edition the best looking and most immersive Deus Ex experience available.

Ships Ahoy - Batman: Arkham Origins

The Batman: Arkham Origins website reflects the news that the new Batman stealth/action prequel is now available worldwide in retail stores and via digital distribution. Here's the rundown on the game from its Steam page:
Batman™: Arkham Origins is the next installment in the blockbuster Batman: Arkham videogame franchise. Developed by WB Games Montréal, the game features an expanded Gotham City and introduces an original prequel storyline set several years before the events of Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City, the first two critically acclaimed games of the franchise. Taking place before the rise of Gotham City’s most dangerous criminals, the game showcases a young and unrefined Batman as he faces a defining moment in his early career as a crime fighter that sets his path to becoming the Dark Knight.

BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea – Episode 1 Next Month

2K and Irrational Games announce a November 12th release date for BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea – Episode 1, the second DLC pack for BioShock Infinite, their first-person shooter prequel. "This is a love letter to the fans, but it’s also the beginning of a story that will give gamers a new perspective on the BioShock universe," said Ken Levine, creative director of Irrational Games. "With Burial at Sea, we built a Rapture not from BioShock and BioShock Infinite scraps and pieces, but with environments almost entirely crafted from scratch." Here more on the pack:
BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea – Episode 1, developed by Irrational Games, the studio behind the original BioShock and BioShock Infinite, features Rapture as you’ve never seen it before—a shining jewel at the bottom of the ocean, built almost entirely from scratch in the BioShock Infinite game engine. Join Booker and Elizabeth in a film noir-style story that places them in a shining, pristine Rapture on the eve of its fall from grace. Explore the underwater city, try your hand at a grift or two, and even encounter some old “friends” from the original BioShock.

The combat experience has been rebalanced and reworked with a greater emphasis on stealth and resource management that merges the best parts of BioShock and BioShock Infinite. It includes a new weapon, an old favorite weapon from the original BioShock, the return of the weapon wheel, a new Plasmid, new Gear, and Tears.

Ships Ahoy - The Dark Eye – Demonicon

Kalypso Media announces the release of The Dark Eye – Demonicon, offering an action/RPG using the Aventuria setting from The Dark Eye series. The game was originally planned for release a couple of years ago, and it is now finally available at retail and via digital distribution. Here is the launch trailer, and here's word on the game:
The Dark Eye - Demonicon is a thrilling action-RPG set in the extraordinarily popular universe of “The Dark Eye”, a richly crafted fantasy universe beloved by fantasy gamers throughout the world.

Demonicon tells the tragic story of a brother and sister who become pawns of sinister forces in a world of cruelty and depravity. In this bleak yet magical world, their affection is both a blessing and a curse. Both are constantly threatened by mortal danger and demonic temptation, and must find a way through their tortured lives by facing serious moral decisions. Their common destiny will determine that of the entire continent, and will be decided by the choices they make. Hordes of fiends block their way to freedom and peace, and only through battle and magic they will truly become free of the darkness.
Continue here to read the full story.

The Witcher Sells 6M Units

The CD Projekt RED blog (thanks Eurogamer) announces that The Witcher protagonist Geralt of Rivia is now six years old (sporting an impressive head of white hair for a youngster). They mark the occasion by announcing that The Witcher series of RPGs has now sold over six million units:
Six years have passed since we’ve embarked on the magical journey of bringing one of the most unique and recognizable fantasy worlds into the realm of video gaming. We’ve started with a dream and a few rough ideas and today we’re on the forefront of the next generation of role playing games.

The continued support of gamers worldwide has been one of the keys to our success and a reason we have such a strong foundation to build from. We’d like to announce that six million copies of The Witcher games have been sold up to this day and our community is growing into one of the strongest RPG fandoms in the world. It is because of your dedication and constant involvement that the Xbox 360® version of The Witcher 2 has achieved “Classics” status in Europe and we are able to grow as a developer and bring you games that we hope will stay with you for years.

The Escapists Kickstarter

This new Kickstarter seeks a modest £3,000 for development of The Escapists, a prison break game that will allow players to get in touch with their inner Andy Dufresne, asking the musical question, "Surely a game that encapsulates the tension and thrills of meticulously planning and executing a perfect prison escape would be fun, no?" This is being developed by Chris Davis, the indie developer behind the recently released Spud's Quest. Here's a trailer with early gameplay footage, and The Escapists website is online with more on the project. Continue here to read the full story.

Morning Previews

Game Reviews

Hardware Reviews

etc.

Out of the Blue

Today begins the 100 day countdown to the Super Bowl, which will be played right near here in Met Life stadium. I think it's pretty considerate of the Giants to effectively rule out the idea they would be participants, which moots my pain that would accompany seeing the cost of scalping tickets to the game if they were playing.

Super Links: Thanks Ant and Acleacius.
Play: Lakeview Cabin.
Bounzy Halloween.
Images: Familiar looking meth dealers busted on COPS. Thanks reddit.
Media: Gambit: Another Useless X-Man Gets Fired.
Incredible Stop-Motion Mega Man.
Car gets hit by the slowest train ever. The famed slow motion train wreck.
Follow-up: Abrams and Kasdan taking over as writers of 'Star Wars- Episode VII'. Thanks nin.
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