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Check out the weapons of Crysis 3
Bow hunting is the in thing with FPS games lately, and while Crysis 3 doesn't slack on that front, it also offers other, equally absurd weapons for exploding aliens in a hyper-stylized future environment. Why use a regular gun when you can use a 10-barreled gun infused with the power of dubstep?
Origin for Mac enters open Alpha, testers gifted with free copy of Bookworm
Is your MacBook Pro pulling double duty as a gaming machine? EA wants your attention -- it's launching the Mac Alpha of Origin, its digital distribution service. EA is hoping to have the service ready by March, when it will release SimCity for PC and Mac, successively. For now, though, the client is limited -- barring testers from visiting the Origin store, and instead inviting them to launch Bookworm from the client, a puzzle game that's free for users who install the Alpha. The company promises a more complete catalog of EA and partner games when the client officially launches, but didn't drop any specific titles. The service still has some catching up to do, compared to its closest competitor -- but better late than never, right?
Here's some pretty Dragon Age 3 concept art
When BioWare revealed a few details about Dragon Age 3: Inquisition at the Edmonton Expo yesterday, it also showed off concept art to the panel attendees.The artwork has since been posted to the Bioware blog without all those pesky heads in front of it (though we're sure they can be edited back in upon request). Dragon Age 3 is planned to launch in late 2013. %Gallery-168846%
Latest Medal of Honor: Warfighter trailer covers special operations
Medal of Honor: Warfighter's ongoing trailer series reaches its eighth installment with this episode, in which the rumbling, computer-disguised voices of former soldiers involved in Tier 1 Operations. The veterans expound upon how technological advancements, such as wide-field night-vision goggles, have changed the battlefield.
Medal of Honor: Warfighter trailer shows off single-player campaign
It's easy to forget sometimes that there can be a lot more to a first person shooter than its MMO-flavored competitive online multiplayer. For instance, Medal of Honor: Warfighter apparently lets you crawl through a flooded Philippinian wasteland, just like a real soldier once did. Thrilling!
Latest Need for Speed: Most Wanted video hints at Kinect support
A recent gameplay video walkthrough for Need for Speed: Most Wanted includes a pack shot for a Kinect-supported Xbox 360 version. Since Kinect integration for the game has yet to be revealed, we've contacted EA for more information. In the meantime, feel free to check out the gameplay video.
The Secret World is free-to-play next weekend
To celebrate the fact that The Secret World has been out and online for a whole month, Funcom will be granting free access to anyone that wants it from 5 p.m. EDT on Friday, August 3 until 3 a.m. EDT on Monday, August 7. Players with left-over beta accounts should be able to log right in, but anyone else will need to create an account first and download the client.In-game fireworks will also be handed out to everyone playing, up to fifteen per character, until the end of the weekend. Additionally, solving 30 missions between August 3 and 7 grants your character a special shirt and 1200 bonus points. There will also be a special leaderboard during the celebration, which displays the names of the top-100 mission solvers.
SimCity building into your personal life February 2013
A press release (available after the break) detailing Electronic Arts' full E3 line-up has revealed a launch window for Maxis' forthcoming reboot of SimCity: February, 2013. Previously, we were left to ponder over a woefully vague "2013" release window for the reboot.Knowing that SimCity's launch won't happen until next year is actually super helpful, as it gives us plenty of time to collaborate with city planners, come up with street names, figure out efficient public transportation solutions and then construct a golden throne from which to watch it all burn.
Mass Effect: Infiltrator available on Android today
Mass Effect: Infiltrator – developed by the same team responsible for the mobile version of Dead Space – is now available for download in the Google Play store for $6.99.In Mass Effect: Infiltrator, players take on the role of Cerberus defector Randall Ezno as he attempts to flee from a Cerberus base with intel for the Alliance. Progress in Mass Effect: Infiltrator affects your Galactic Readiness level in Mass Effect 3. And if you've been meaning to go back to the portable game, the latest update (version 1.0.3) added a new character and mission.
Mass Effect moaners kinda get their own way as people power strikes again
SPOILERS. Who can't name a beloved TV series that didn't end the way you wanted? BSG? Lost? Sapphire and Steel? Blake's Seven? Quantum Leap? The Sopranos? All of which ended either with tear-inducing bum-notes or confusing conclusions that caused furious head scratching. Despite that, the traditional reaction is to say "Well, I didn't enjoy that, but I respect the writer's artistic decision." Not so for gamers who felt short-changed by the intentionally devastating conclusion to Mass Effect 3. Fans of the game poured their outrage online, developer BioWare saying that the feedback it had received was "incredibly painful." A fan campaign that raised $80,000 in under a fortnight for Child's Play was enough to make the team behind the title concede defeat against the geo-political disruptor that is the internet with a cause. The company is now devoting all of its efforts to producing an "extended cut" DLC for the summer, but fans expecting a fourth ending where they can watch Commander Shepard on a sun-lounger, margarita in hand had better start complaining now -- the new content will only offer more depth and an extended epilogue to those tragic scenes you've already witnessed. SPOILERS END
The Secret World dev diary details 'freeform progression'
As we discovered in our our preview last summer, Funcom's The Secret World aims to differentiate itself from other MMORPGs by ditching the customary class and level-based character progression system in favor of something a little more jazz.
Ring in the new year with Warhammer Online's Keg End
Amidst the news of server merges, Warhammer Online fans could probably use something to celebrate, something to lift the spirits a bit. So it's fortunate that the annual Keg End celebration is just around the corner, giving everyone a chance to get drunk and rowdy even by the already aggressive status of the world's inhabitants. Running from December 14th until January 4th, Keg End is a chance to celebrate in style in the Dwarven tradition. The rewards for the event haven't changed much this year, with the usual assortment of Party Kegs, Keg Taps, and Battlebrew Backpacks. There are giants roaming the field looking for their own ale and a handful of sporting battles, and there are plenty of special drinks to be sampled just for the event. So get yourself ready to log in tomorrow and take a nice roll through fields filled with blood, beer, and battle. Especially beer.
Grand Theft Auto 3, Burnout Crash, new PopCap title coming to iOS
This week not only brought iOS 5 to us, but it also brought a number of solid releases on the App Store (including the great Scribblenauts Remix). We're far from done, however: A few different big gaming companies have announced some really high profile iOS releases still coming later on this year. First up, Rockstar Games is going to be releasing (the now 10-year-old classic) Grand Theft Auto 3 on iOS for the game's anniversary. GTA3 was the first title in the series to make the jump to 3D, and it's a landmark title in the open world crime genre that's been copied over and over since then. The game will be compatible with the iPhone 4S and the iPad 2, and it'll be playable this weekend at the New York Comic Con. EA Games has also announced that the XBLA and PSN title Burnout Crash is coming to the iPad, iPad 2, and iPhone 4 later on this year. Burnout Crash is an arcade-style title that turns the popular Burnout racing series in a more puzzle-style game, where you try to crash as many cars as possible from a top-down perspective. The game didn't do great on the other downloadable platforms, but maybe touch controls will help it out. And finally, PopCap, makers of the terrific Plants vs. Zombies and Bejeweled titles, among others, have announced that they're releasing a brand new iOS game called Popcorn Dragon. The player controls a dragon that can breathe fire on corn to pop it, and then can eat that corn to grow longer, kind of like the old game Snake. The screens on that one look... interesting -- we'll have to wait and see how it turns out. Then again, PopCap always seems to know what it's doing. All three of these are due out on iOS later on this year.
Crysis coming to PSN and Xbox Live this October [updated]
Following an early ratings leak, an Xbox 360 and PS3 release of Crysis 1 was announced on last night's episode of GameTrailers TV. Crytek president and CEO Cevat Yerli explained that the game had long been requested on consoles, and will be arriving this October via Xbox Live Arcade (Games on Demand seems more likely) and PlayStation Network. The game is said to be "remastered" with new lighting effects and streamlined Nanosuit abilities, and probably borrows some interface adjustments from Crysis 2. No price or exact date has been given to Crysis on consoles, but given the proximity to October we expect to hear more very soon. Update: EA announced that the game will cost 1600 Microsoft Points/$19.99, and will have stereoscopic 3D support.
Peter Moore now COO at EA, more execs change jobs
In a year where EA has seen its business model shifting away from the physical to a greater reliance on digital dollars, some similarly massive changes are shaking up the company rolodex. As detailed by CEO John Riccitiello today: Peter Moore is now the Chief Operating Officer of the company, a role vacated by John Schappert in April Current EA Games label boss Frank Gibeau will serve as President of all the EA labels Bioware will become the fourth EA label, joining EA Games (DICE, Visceral, Criterion, EA Partners, etc.), EA Sports (Madden, FIFA, Fight Night) and EA Play (Maxis, The Sims, MySims) Barry Cottle moves from executive VP to of EA Interactive to heading the division, which now includes Playfish, Pogo, EA Mobile, EA's partnership with Hasbro, Asian mobile and online games and PopCap It's a big move, but it leaves plenty of unanswered questions for now. For starters, we're not sure who'll take over for pitchman Peter Moore at EA Sports. We're also curious if the BioWare label is a branding augmentation only, or something more substantive.
Choose My Adventure: Dat's it, boss, I'm outta here
As of today, I'm finished with Warhammer Online. Today is my final installment of Choose My Adventure, with the torch passing along next week to Larry Everett. Before anyone asks, yes, I'm definitely going to miss the feature... but that's not really what you're here for at the moment, is it? You're here for the fanfare, and it's all over but the depressing part. Last week's vote was overwhelmingly meta -- rather than a recounting of events, the audience clearly wants to hear my thoughts on the future of Warhammer Online, what worked and what didn't, and why the game followed the trajectory it did. (Also, an awful lot of people want to know about the Choppa Song.) I'm admittedly coming into the game late and with somewhat less passionate eyes than many of the game's fans, but looking at my experience, I think I found a lot of the game in microcosm. I see all of the things it did right... and in hindsight, where certain choices went wrong.
Choose My Adventure: Da udder half lives
I remember thinking quite distinctly that I was ready to be done with the Tier 1 scenarios, oh, forever ago. It's not that Nordenwatch is inherently a bad scenario; it's just that when you see it often enough, you start to get sick of it. So I was very happy when the voting closed on last week's poll and I saw that I had a very different list of scenarios available to me in Warhammer Online. That had probably happened several levels ago, sure, but I hadn't been queueing. Unfortunately, I found out that Oscar Wilde's old chestnut about the gods granting our wishes when they want to punish us proved entirely accurate. Jump on past the break for this week in Klurgind's somewhat less than epic adventure, with the caveat that it's going to be just a wee bit depressing in places. But hey, I never promised this story had a happy ending.
APB shoots down rumors of retail releases
APB has not had an easy ride, launching and shutting down in record time. But the relaunch at the hands of GamersFirst has proven quite successful for the game, which gives rise to certain rumors. Case in point, the rumor that had swirled earlier today about the game seeing a retail re-release at the hands of IGS. It was certainly a nice rumor, but according to Rahul Sandil, it's nothing more than that. In a statement released earlier today by Mr. Sandil, GamersFirst has been approached by a number of potential retail partners due to the runaway success of APB Reloaded. However, the company is still evaluating its options, and as a result they are not yet ready to announce any partnerships. Mr. Sandil also stressed that any retail partnership would not change the fact that the company is committed to free-to-play as a business model, which is doubtlessly good news for fans now enjoying the urban shooter free-for-all.
Choose My Adventure: Ork in da wild
Not to put too fine a point on it, but this past week was the sort of event that turns one's entire life upside-down. The stuff that happened was also pretty unambiguously good, yeah, but between that and my computer randomly screwing up, this has not been the best of weeks for Warhammer Online and myself. Which is odd, seeing as how there's been big (albeit secretive) news for the community, and I've still managed to sit down and get some solid time clocked in with Klurgind despite that. Last week's polls both indicated that I should follow the WAR Report around the map, and they also indicated that people would really like to roll up with some Massively warband action. So we're going to make an event out of it, based on the best details and planning I can provide. Click on past the break for a recount of Klurgind's most recent adventures in Warhammer Online, plans for the meetup on the weekend, and the new set of polls.
Battleship HD app lets you sink ships on your iPad
You sank my battleship! Oh those sweet, sweet words. We've been longing to hear them since we set up camp behind our iPad, and Electronic Arts has just answered our cries. That's right, the Battleship HD app is now available for download on your iOS slab, featuring a multiple-player mode, which pits you against friends (and presumably foes) packing an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. It's also got a single-player mode, available in three flavors: Classic, Salvo, and Super Weapons. Now go forth and drop bombs! The iPad app is now available at the source link for $3.
