News::The entire 'Black Ops 3' campaign will be unlocked from the start

Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 developer Treyarch is embracing the Netflix way of doing business. When the game launches for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC on November 6th, its entire campaign will be available to play, director Jason Blundell tells Eurogamer. You'll be able to play the final chapter first and work backward, or pretend you're a time-traveler with a broken teleporter and play every section out of order. Or you can play it the retro way: Chronologically, unlocking new weapons and plot points as you go.

Source: Eurogamer

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News::'Overwatch' is Blizzard's first all-new game in years, see it Thursday

Legendary game developer Blizzard hasn't released an entirely new game (not counting spin-offs of existing franchises; lookin' at you Hearthstone and World of Warcraft) in over 17 years, which is why Overwatch is so intriguing. We haven't heard much about it either, but that should change this week during a Twitch stream with a pair of prominent broadcasters (Ellohime and HayliNic) playing the game for some 90 minutes along with live developer commentary. Blizzard says that the broadcast should give a better idea of what the upcoming beta will contain, actually. The multiplayer shooters' streams will live on each broadcaster's channel and start at 1PM ET / 10AM PT. Who knows, maybe we'll finally get release dates for the beta and the game proper soon.

Source: Battle.net

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News::The new 'Destiny' emotes might just be worth buying

I won't blame you if you're skeptical of Bungie's plan to add purchasable emotes to Destiny on October 13th. Would you really want to pay for a canned animation? If some early previews are any indication, though, the answer might well be "yes." Some of the expressions are a bit cliché, if fun (like the "come at me, bro" emote you see above). However, there are some proper gems in there, including nods to The Matrix and a certain Fresh Prince of Bel Air star. It's doubtful that the market for these Destiny emotes will be as big as that for, say, Team Fortress 2 hats -- you may buy something once to personalize your Guardian, and that's that. Even so, this idea doesn't seem quite as dubious as it did a week earlier.

[Image credit: Arekkz Gaming, YouTube]

Via: Reddit

Source: Arekkz Gaming (YouTube), Planet Destiny (YouTube)

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News::'Asteroids' travels to the Cold War and beyond in 'VEC9'

Asteroids is the quintessential vector arcade game, featuring a stark black background and simple, geometric images representing spaceships, bullets and floating bits of space rock. Now, that visual genre gets a modern upgrade in VEC9, a 3D vector arcade game about a cryogenically frozen USSR pilot who awakens 30 years after the fall of the Soviet Union and assumes the American military violently overthrew his country's reign. The pilot's mission is to attack major American cities in a spaceship outfitted with a giant laser and a chain gun, as Motherboard describes. VEC9 creators and tech tinkerers Andrew Reitano, Michael Dooley and Todd Bailey created a big, blinking cabinet for VEC9, complete with a massive controller that Motherboard says was originally designed for an M1 Abrams tank. The whole VEC9 shebang -- including retro-styled full-motion video cutscenes -- will be on display at Chicago's Logan Arcade starting November 7th.

Via: Motherboard

Source: VEC9

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News::'Firewatch' reaches PC and PS4 on February 9th, 2016

Campo Santo's Firewatch has racked up its fair share of hype: its creators hail from venerable studios like Telltale and Double Fine, and it's based on the unusual premise of serving as a lookout in the Wyoming wilderness. If that sounds intriguing, you'll be glad to hear that it won't be much longer before you can try it yourself. The team has revealed that Firewatch will be available on Linux, Mac, Windows and PlayStation 4 on February 9th, 2016. There's still a lot to show about the game in the months ahead, but early reports are promising. It thrives on strong characterization (you play a middle-aged man retreating from a failing marriage), and it blends first-person exploration with the challenges of a classic adventure game. Hopefully, the finished title lives up to the early promise.

Source: Campo Santo

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News::Ubisoft ships a game without the discs it originally promised

It's no longer surprising to find a boxed game that ditches discs in favor of a download code. However, it's another matter when a publisher promises those discs and then doesn't follow through -- and unfortunately, some gamers are learning this first-hand. Might & Magic Heroes VII Collector's Edition buyers are complaining that Ubisoft advertised the title shipping with DVDs (including in its official unboxing), but is only giving buyers a download code. They aren't getting the CD soundtrack and digital bonus cards, either. Ubisoft is shooting down at least some refund requests under the claim that its online order page only advertises a download, but this isn't really true. The store explicitly distinguishes between online "PC Download" games and the Collector Edition's "PC" release (in other words, a physical copy).

Via: Geek

Source: Imgur, Ubisoft Forums

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News::Cortana is available on Xbox One, if you know the right tricks

Microsoft won't officially bring its Cortana voice assistant to the Xbox One until 2016, and it's not even supposed to be available if you're using the console's interface preview. However, that isn't stopping you from trying it ahead of schedule. Gamers have discovered that you can access Cortana in the latest preview simply by visiting the settings menu, going up and mashing the A button multiple times. It doesn't offer the full range of Xbox commands just yet, but you can access any information that's already available in Cortana on other platforms, like your calendar. Think of this as a cheat code for the operating system -- you're getting a peek at something that most preview users won't see for weeks.

Source: The Verge

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News::Unity Engine working to keep years of browser games alive

One of the big factors to game engine Unity's success is that for awhile it ran on basically any platform be it Oculus, PS Vita or home consoles like the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. But according to the developer, recent moves by the likes of Google, Microsoft and Mozilla are going to put an end to that. The latest version of Chrome doesn't have support for a specific plugin (NPAPI, specifically) that the Unity Web Player relies on, and Unity says that Firefox's support for plugins is going the way of the buffalo while Edge isn't supporting them at all. Most everything is moving toward WebGL these days.

Via: Gamasutra

Source: Unity

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News::Shovel Knight is delayed by a fortnight

Shovel Knight was supposed to come out next week -- the operative phrase there being "supposed to". However SK's developer, Yacht Club Games, announced on Friday that the retail release for the game's 3DS, Wii U, PS4, and PC (Europe-only) versions will be delayed by two weeks until October 30th in Europe and November 4th in North America.

Via: Eurogamer

Source: Yacht Club Games

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News::Playdate: Giving away Snake's watch with 'Metal Gear Online'

Metal Gear Online hasn't even been active a week and yet and it's dealing with some pretty serious issues. First there's the whole real-money for in-game insurance thing, and as Eurogamer reports, there's a load of balancing and server issues too. But, who needs a game when you could have bitchin' watch modeled after the one Big Boss/Venom Snake/Who Even Knows wears in Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain? While you're enjoying today's broadcast you have the distinct chance to win just that: a Seiko watch that's subtle enough to not trigger any alarms, but those in the know will give a hearty smile if they spot it.

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News::TwitchCon made me a Twitch convert

I'm going to admit this right up front: I wasn't looking forward to covering the first-ever TwitchCon. Sure, I co-host our weekly Playdate broadcasts and absolutely adore talking with our community of regulars who show up three times per week to watch us play games, but outside of that, I didn't spend time on Twitch. My worry for TwitchCon was that I'd be trapped inside Moscone West in San Francisco with thousands of screaming "personalities" -- like the guy I'd watched (for approximately 45 seconds, max) shout and swear his way through Choice Chamber, for an entire weekend. That all changed after attending a number of panels and talking with some of the biggest broadcasters on the service. This first show was one of the best events I've been to for work, period. And I recently found myself doing something I never thought: watching Twitch for fun.

Slideshow-327679

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News::I lost my friend, but his voice and music live on in my game

The desert shouldn't exist. At the very least, people shouldn't live there. We did, only not by choice.

When I decided to develop a virtual reality game based on my simultaneous repulsion and nostalgia for my hometown of Dewey, Arizona, I asked my friend and business partner Cody to score it. Cody and I met almost 10 years ago as young, bored kids who shared a love for punk and hardcore music; kids who also shared a mutual disdain for our desert roots. While I eventually escaped Arizona, moving to California for college and finding an outlet in art, Cody stayed in Phoenix, becoming a fixture in the local music scene, and blossoming into a writer, poet and killer guitar player. I knew he would be the perfect person to make sense of it all: the desolate landscape, the hilarious rednecks, the ramshackle towns and the searing heat. I was ecstatic when he agreed and couldn't wait to get started.

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News::PlayStation Now's subscription option hits the UK for £13 per month

PlayStation Now still hasn't managed to shake its open beta label in the UK, but today it's moved into what could be its final phase, with Sony adding a new subscription payment option for its game streaming service. Previously, early adopters were only able to rent titles for two- or 30-day periods at a cost of between £3 and £10, depending on the game. As of now, though, you can sign-up to an all-you-can-play subscription for £13 per month, which could be right up your street should you have an appetite to explore the whole library. The subscription model was an inevitable addition that's been available since the start of the year in the US, where you can also make a longer-term commitment to get a slightly discounted rate. Now that the subscription model has come to the UK, interested users can also opt-in to a seven-day free trial to see what all the fuss is about, provided they own a PS3, PS4 or compatible Sony Bravia TV or Blu-ray player.

Via: VideoGamer

Source: Sony

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News::This sensor knows if you like anime a little too much

At some point in life, you may have wondered: would you prefer dating an anime character instead of an actual human being? If you're unsure, ROHM's here to help. At CEATEC, the component maker paired up with TECHMAC to show off a dating game featuring a "Tokimeki Sensor" -- "tokimeki" is a Japanese word for "palpitation" that's often associated with dating simulators. The player places his or her hand on a board, with the index fingers placed on an optical palpitation sensor on the back. The subject then faces a flirty anime boy or girl on the left screen for about a minute, followed by its human counterpart on the right, and then the game will determine whether you're into 2D romance instead of 3D. We didn't dare to face the truth, because you know, the heart never lies, but our friend Tim Stevens wasn't so sure about this machine's accuracy. Slideshow-327656

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News::Microsoft's taking HoloLens on tour to woo developers

Microsoft has already said its mixed reality headset, HoloLens, will be reaching developers early next year. But while we wait for that to happen, the company plans to take it on tour across the US and Canada, in an event that's going to give developers the chance to try the device firsthand. They'll also be able to meet members of the HoloLens team and learn how to create holographic experiences, which is a smart way to lure in any dev who's thinking about paying the $3,000 for a test unit. The live demo trip begins October 13th in Seattle, followed by Toronto, Salt Lake City, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York City, Minneapolis, Phoenix, Atlanta and, lastly, Austin. To register, as well as find out the exact dates for each city, check out the event's dedicated site.

Via: Windows Central

Source: Microsoft

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News::Playdate: Revisiting 'Uncharted' in 'The Nathan Drake Collection'

PlayStation doesn't have an official mascot character, but if it did, developer Naughty Dog's Nathan Drake would probably fit the bill. Much like Microsoft did last year with Halo: The Master Chief Collection to get fans ready for Halo 5: Guardians on Xbox One, Sony's gone back and revamped the three main Uncharted games and put them into Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection to prep folks for next spring's Uncharted 4: A Thief's End on PlayStation 4. How do the eight, six and four year old games hold up? And was the remastering really necessary? Tune in on this post, Twitch.tv/joystiq (if you'd like to join us in chat) or the Engadget Gaming homepage at 6pm Eastern / 3pm Pacific as myself and Sean Buckley find out.

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News::The PS4 universal remote hits stores later this month

Sony America announced on Thursday that the wait for its PS4 universal remote is nearly over. The much-anticipated accessory is set to go on sale for $30 "later this month," according to a company post. The remote will serve to replace the DualShock controller for non-gaming applications. It will communicate via a Bluetooth connection and be able to control up to three additional AV devices. What's more, it will also be compatible with a number of existing streaming apps including Crunchyroll, HBO Go, Netflix (obvs), Twitch and YouTube. If you can't wait to purchase it in person when it actually hits store shelves, Amazon, Best Buy, Gamestop and Toys R Us all have it available for pre-order.

Source: Sony Playstation Blog

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News::Video game voice actors vote a resounding 'yes' to strike

Last month the Screen Actor's Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists started the process to strike in an effort to be better compensated. Now, the union members have voted and over 96 percent feel that a strike is in order to protect themselves. As a refresher, the organized voice actors are asking for royalties on games they performed in that sell over two million copies, stunt pay for particularly stressful roles (those sustained screams and yells can do damage) and stunt coordinators for certain situations, among other things. Where do the actors like the cast of The Last of Us up above go from here? Back to the collective bargaining table. This vote doesn't mean that the union will strike, but it gives them the option to do so if negotiations fall apart.

[Image credit: Imeh Akpanudosen via Getty Images]

Via: IGN

Source: Screen Actors Guild

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News::Live 'League of Legends' coverage is coming to BBC Three

The BBC will tap into the popular world of eSports next week by offering live coverage of the League of Legends World Championships for the first time. From October 15th, BBC Three will deliver action from all four days of the quarter finals at Wembley, with Radio 1 DJ Dev Griffin hosting proceedings. He'll be joined by gaming casters Leigh 'Deman' Smith and James 'Stress' O'Leary, who will offer additional context on the action as it unfolds.

Source: BBC Media Centre

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News::PlayStation 4 drops to $350 in the US

Sony is cutting the base price of its PlayStation 4 from $399.99 to $349.99 including a game. The drop has been heavily rumored following a similar cut in Japan last month. The new prices come into force tomorrow with the release of Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection, as you'll be able to pick up a PS4 bundled with the game. Following that, the next scheduled $349.99 bundle drops in mid-November with Star Wars Battlefront.

Source: Sony

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