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Walking Dead: Game of the Year Edition rated by ESRB [update]
Whether or not to pick up a GOTY version and relive all those horrors again; that may be the next heart-wrenching choice for The Walking Dead fans to make, going by a recent ESRB rating. The listing notes a Game of the Year Edition that's apparently headed for Xbox 360, PS3, PC, and Mac. We've reached out to Telltale for comment. The Walking Dead was one of our favorites from last year, placing third in our Top Ten list after winning and subsequently breaking our hearts. The zombified adventure continued via the 400 Days DLC this summer, and we'd expect that to be included in a GOTY version. As for the second season, Telltale is teasing more news on that later this month. Last we heard, the next batch of difficult decisions is due sometime this fall. Update: Reliable Xbox-hound @lifelower unearthed a GameStop listing that has it going for $30. According to that, the GOTY edition includes the 400 Days DLC, the soundtrack, and a behind-the-scenes vid.
Injustice: Gods Among Vitas, according to German rating [update: next-gen, PC too]
Warner Bros. may be planning a Vita port of DC fighter Injustice: Gods Among Us, if a new classification is accurate. As Siliconera spotted, German ratings board USK has a Vita version listed as of September 6. This isn't the first time a Vita port has cropped up; as PlayStation LifeStyle reports, Amazon France listed a Game of the Year edition in the summer for PS3, Xbox 360, and the Vita. When approached about the USK rating, a Warner Bros representative told us, "We have no comment." Injustice, developed by Mortal Kombat studio NetherRealm, landed on Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii U back in April. It notched four and a half stars in our review, Jordan saying "its dark thematic overtones and mature ideas explore the psychological dangers of power, the temptations of absolute authority and the effects of grief on the psyche of metahumans, all while delivering a polished, thrilling fighting game experience." Update: Brazil's rating board (via @lifelower) lists Injustice GOTY for Xbox One, PS4, and PC as well as Vita and the three original platforms of PS3, Xbox 360, and Wii U. Eyebrow raised, Injustice, eyebrow raised.
Phoenix Wright Dual Destinies rated 'M' due to 'various crimes and storylines'
Capcom has confirmed to Joystiq that Phoenix Wright Dual Destinies has been rated "M" for Mature by the ESRB, making it the first game in the series to be given such a designation. Previous entries in the Phoenix Wright mythos have all been rated "T" for Teen. "Due to the nature of the various crimes and storylines in this latest title in the series, ESRB deemed the title an M," a Capcom representative told us. The ESRB, which declined commenting on its reasoning behind the game's rating, has labeled it with the same "Blood, Violence, Suggestive Themes, Language" descriptor given to the original Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney. Phoenix Wright Dual Destinies will be available exclusively through the 3DS eShop sometime this fall.
Saints Row IV banned in Australia due to 'unjustified' evil
For every tearful accountant at Saints Row HQ, there must be a gleeful marketing person punching the air, playing mini golf and doing whatever else marketing people do when they're full of glee. Conflicted emotions aside, however, game publisher Deep Silver can now claim the notorious distinction of having its latest title, Saints Row IV, rejected outright by the Australian Classification Board (ACB). It's the first such refusal since the ACB implemented a new R18+ rating, which is meant to allow for adult themes within games but which evidently couldn't cope with Saints Row's peculiar depictions of sexual violence (which were "not justified by context") or its drug-themed reward system (which is "prohibited by the computer games guidelines"). According to The Guardian, this effectively means Saints Row IV is banned from sale in retail stores in Australia, but Joystiq has received word from Deep Silver saying it intends to create a "reworked" version of its open-world game specifically for that country. Meanwhile, the regular version has been given PEGI 18 and ESRB M ratings elsewhere, and it looks to be on track for an August release date.
Your PvP Questions: Spell announcers, MMR and patch 5.3
It's been a little while since I last did a PvP mailbag, and the emails have been piling up! So, if you have PvP questions, do drop me a line, I will do my best to respond to them, possibly in columns such as this one, or if I can fire off a quick email I will. Do note that I'm far from a PvP specialist in all the classes in WoW, and PvP questions which are class-specific would probably be better directed to the relevant class columnist. Janrana wrote: Hi Olivia, since reading about it a while back in one of your columns I've been a big fan of SpellAlerter, but it doesn't seem to have had any updates in a long while and is a bit broken for me. It doesn't seem to have all the spells any more and it also causes some errors to appear when it's on. Do you know of any alternative? As it happens, I do! First and foremost SpellAlerter is alive and well... ish. It was updated for patch 5.1, but hasn't had any further updates since then. It still works at least fairly well, but I wouldn't rely on it completely. At least, it still allows you to set up custom alerts, so if there are spells it's missing you can add them in.
Harvest Moon: A New Beginning ratings point to PAL produce
Harvest Moon: A New Beginning may enter its European phase soon. The 3DS sim, which arrived in North America last October, cropped up on the Australian Classification Board and German ratings board USK over the weekend. Both ratings list Zen United as the publisher - Zen distributed Persona 4 Arena in Europe recently, and has a history of bringing BlazBlue and Arcana Hearts games to the region. We've reached out to Zen in the hopes of cultivating some comment.
Bethesda's 'Endless Summer' emerges on Australian ratings board
An Australian rating for something called 'Endless Summer' points to Bethesda and its parent company Zenimax. The listing is for a 15-rated "modified" game and notes "strong horror themes and violence."The rating comes hot on the heels of Bethesda announcing Shinji Mikami's The Evil Within, so it could be another codename for the horror game; The Evil Within isn't listed on the Australian Classification Board. Or it could be something else entirely - a surprisingly gritty adaptation of the 1974 album by pop sensations The Beach Boys, maybe. We asked Bethesda, but a company representative told us he couldn't comment on the listing.A surfer-slasher re-imagining it is, then.Update: A Bethesda representative has reached out to say, "We have nothing to share at this point." And we're back to surfer-slasher. [Image: Pakhnyushcha via Shutterstock]
Tails Adventure rated, points towards Game Gear re-release
The Australian Classification Board rated Tails Adventure yesterday, suggesting an upcoming digital re-release of the 1995 Game Gear platform adventure. The rating is for a multiplatform game, with the author denoted as Sega Japan and publisher as Sega Europe.One of the few games to star the twin-tailed fox as the solo hero, Tails Adventure looked a lot like the more mainstream 2D Sonic games releasing around the time, but barely played anything like them. As this video shows, it was a lot slower-paced with a Metroidvania-like emphasis on backtracking. It's also noteworthy because the Japanese and western versions had completely different background stories in their manuals - ah, those were the days.[Thanks, Foetoid]
Ask Massively: Reviewing and re-reviewing MMOs
Back in September, Star Trek Online Producer Daniel Stahl gave an interview that proposed to tell game journalists how to do their jobs. That's only fair; we're always telling developers how to do their jobs, right? Stahl told [a]listdaily, "The whole game rating business doesn't necessarily do a great justice to MMOs. MMOs are designed to grow over time and get better with every major release. It might be better if sites like Metacritic could find a way to rate MMOs by releases instead of just the initial day one . . . There are plenty of MMOs that have made huge strides since day one and some that have even gotten worse. Until then, we will continue to offer the game for free and ask for people to try it out and decide for themselves." Quipped Massively reader Matthew12, "If only there were MMO gaming blogs and websites that keep up to date with the MMOs and their updates... oh wait; there are."
Klout adds Passbook support and perks
The social app Klout has updated its iPhone app, with a few surprising features. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of Klout. It's gotten a little bit of a reputation for being spammy, and I think the way it rates influence is more or less meaningless. However, there's one feature of the new app that I think is very interesting, and that's Passbook integration. Yes, the Klout app will now show up in Passbook, and contains a "Klout card" that shows off the user's name, photo and Klout score. Klout says that showing this card to various people or businesses could have benefits down the road. Klout isn't an app that I would have expected to use Apple's Passbook feature. In the same way that we've seen apps make interesting uses of features such as in-app purchases and push notifications, it looks like some apps will use Passbook in ways that maybe weren't necessarily intended by Apple. We'll have to keep an eye out for more interesting Passbook-fueled ideas. Klout has also added support for the iPhone 5 and "perks," which are a feature of Klout's web service but are only just now showing up in the app. If you do want to make use of Klout and its features on your iPhone, the app is a free download. [via VentureBeat]
Apple, other thin laptop makers pass latest round of EPEAT tests after summer mini-drama
Apple gave eco-friendly computer fans a brief jolt this July after it backed out of EPEAT certification, only to restore most devices just days later. While we can't say we're completely shocked at the follow-up, EPEAT has confirmed that at least one "ultra-thin" laptop from Apple has just cleared the verification process. The as yet unnamed system is more likely to be a Mac that had already earned the recycling-friendly rating in the past, such as the MacBook Air, rather than a sudden turnaround for the MacBook Pro with Retina Display. The look wasn't exclusively devoted to the Mac side, though -- EPEAT cleared Apple's computer as part of a wider test that also greenlit extra-thin portables from Lenovo, Samsung and Toshiba. We've reached out to get a more definitive list, but the approvals should ease the minds of those worried that ever-slimmer laptops are forcing us to give up our green efforts.
Google announces simplified Zagat ratings, launches new application for Android
Avid Zagat users may or may not tell you that the Google-owned restaurant finder service hasn't exactly been offering the best rating system possible. With the most recent update, however, the hard-working devs from Mountain View are aiming to fix those woes, announcing that it's now "easier than ever" to publish reviews on the platform. The new rating system, as you can see above, will let users in on a more simplified scoring method, with the ability to simply rate as "poor-fair," "good," "very good" or "excellent." Meanwhile, Google also launched a revamped, free-of-charge Zagat app for Android, which brings all the features you love to both handsets and slates. You'll find the fresh application at the Google Play link below.
Amazon patents online haggling system that keeps buyers, sellers on the up and up
Haggling is so popular that it's virtually mandatory in some parts of the world, and yet it's rarely an option in the online space outside of informal auctions. If Amazon ever puts its newly granted patent into practice, however, we could soon be trying for a better price without the mock drama of a face-to-face encounter. The retailer's proposed haggling system lets buyers and sellers make offers and counteroffers until they reach a happy medium, but with the kind of honesty check we only wish we could have in person. Both buyers and sellers get ratings that would account for their flexibility, typical closing prices and how likely they are to drop a deal before it's done -- a combination that hopefully excludes the cheapskates and those who'd simply keep our wheels spinning. Even if Amazon pulls the trigger on negotiated sales, though, it's a fairly safe bet that there won't be any leeway on that Kindle Fire HD.
Australian rating reveals Expendables 2 game from Ubisoft
Sometimes we have difficulty figuring out exactly what a ratings board listing for an unannounced game could refer to. And sometimes that listing is called "The Expendables 2 Videogame."A new listing on Australia's Classification site reveals a game under that title in the works at Ubisoft. You'll be shocked to hear that the game, based on the action movie starring everyone who's ever been in an action movie, contains "strong violence."Despite the unambiguous title, there are still questions, like choice of platforms and release window. We're asking Ubisoft now. We're also curious as to how complicated it will be to make our in-game Van Damme jump up and do the splits across a countertop. There's probably a dedicated button for that.
Google+ Local sees reviews from friends, Zagat invade your restaurant hunts (video)
We'd been wondering what Google would do following its acquisition of Zagat, and now we know: it's part of Google+ Local, a boost to Maps, general search, and Google+ itself. Zagat's point system now automatically shows up in search results for restaurants that have been given the extra scrutiny. Those of us who don't trust The Man for reviews will also now see Google+ friends' picks surface at the same time. The addition is considered important enough that Google is even adding a Local tab on Google+ just to show recommendations, so you won't have to abandon your constant updating (you're always posting on Google+, right?) to find a well-rated sushi place. Local should be live soon, if not now, and will make search plus Your World that much more omnipresent.
Ford Focus gets EPA rating: 105 MPGe, 76-mile range
The EPA has finished its usual gauntlet of tests and has found that this year's Ford Focus Electric is the most efficient five-seater in America. The agency certified that it gets 105 miles to the electric equivalent to the gallon (divided between 110MPGe in the city and 99MPGe on the highway), which is better than Ford's own claim of just 100MPGe. The company's found cause to celebrate the milestone and throw a few jabs at its closest rival, the Nissan Leaf. In fact, you could say that the House that Henry built has a bit of a complex about the leafy EV -- in the press release we've got for you after the break, it mentions the rival vehicle no less than nine times.
AT&T announces home automation platform, eco-ratings for consumer devices
Today, AT&T revealed that it's working on a new home monitoring and automation platform known as Digital Life. While it'll be marketed toward service providers, the IP-based system will allow business and residential users alike to remotely monitor cameras, lighting, thermostats, motion detectors, window and door sensors, along with a litany of other devices. It'll be demonstrated next week in Barcelona as part of the GSM Association's Connected Home experience. As you'd expect, we'll be there to bring you a peek of AT&T's handiwork.The company has also announced that, later this year, customers will find eco-rating labels on AT&T-branded mobile devices. With this initiative, shoppers may evaluate criteria such as a product's energy efficiency, the percentage of recycled materials used in manufacture, and the inclusion of metals such as lead, cadmium and mercury. These factors and more will be presented as a composite score that evaluates the sustainability attributes of each device -- think of it as an easy way to get your green in gear. You'll find the PR for both announcements after the break.
Dragon Ball Z Kinect rated in Korea, start practicing your Fusion Dance
We're not even ashamed to admit we're excited about "DragonballZ Kinect," an unannounced game rated by Korea's Game Ratings Board. Usual Dragon Ball Z game publisher Bandai Namco is listed as the publisher for this game.It's not hard to imagine a Kinect-based Dragon Ball Z game, all yelling into the microphone to "power up" your character, making wild flailing motions to throw Kamehameha Waves and Spirit Bombs at smirking, airborne jerks with tall hair, and maybe even walking in place to pantomime the destructive stomps of a crazed space gorilla.Whatever we imagine this game includes, the real thing's going to be so much goofier. We can't wait to find out.
Australian government finally introduces R18+ bill, to go into effect next year
Australia's game rating woes are almost over. After years of debate and legal discussion about an R18+ rating for video games there (that would allow for the equivalent of the ESRB's M-rated games to be released without, you know, being illegal), the government has finally agreed to the new rating, aiming to enact it as early as next year. A bill setting up the extra rating was introduced to the Federal Parliament this week, and is expected to pass easily through the House and Senate.The bill would go into effect sooner, but the Federal Minister for Home Affairs says the government needs time to finish all of the paperwork on the new regulation, and to allow each state and territory to draft its own laws enforcing the rating. The bill wouldn't mandate a nationwide rating, but simply allow each territory to create its own.But that shouldn't be an issue, according to those in the know. Apparently, there's plenty of public support already. There were almost 60,000 submissions from the public responding to a discussion paper from 2010, and 98% of those were strongly in support of games rated R18+. As soon as the laws go into effect, retailers will be free to sell games as needed to anyone old enough to buy them.
South Korean rating outs Magic: The Gathering: Duels of the Planeswalkers 2013
Game Rating Board, South Korea's premiere games rating board, has listed another entry in the Magic: The Gathering series of games, presumably for the PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 again. As things look, Stainless Games and Wizards of the Coast have no plans of stopping the annual installments.It shouldn't come as much of a surprise: both the original Duels of the Planeswalkers and Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012 performed well, the former having sold over 500,000 copies on XBLA, while the latter was one of PSN's top performers last year. Considering both previous installments launched in the summer, we're betting we'll be hearing about Duels 2013 soon.
