A Visual Overview of Halo 4's Spartan Specializations

Halo 4 is going to be pretty good, innit? It's already all but secured my $100 buy-in for the Limited Edition, which will give me access to all these beautiful Specializations, and give you access to the green eyes of jealously as I thoroughly trounce you. The Specializations are Spartan sub-classes of sorts, allowing the player an extra 10 levels per Spec, which will unlock additional pieces of armor, weapon skins, and perks for use in Halo 4's competitive multiplayer modes, known as War Games, as well as the episodic cooperative mode, Spartan Ops.

Check out the visual rundown of the eight total Specializations below. Of these, only Pioneer and Wetworks will be available at launch - unless you pre-order the Limited Edition, which will unlock all Specs right from the start. Sorry regular edition folk, your no-frills asses will have to wait for 343 Industries to release the 6 Specs that you miss at launch on their own accord. Suckaz.

Which Specialization will you choose? Halo 4 releases on November 4. Pre-order before it's too late, and trust me, it will be too late very soon.

Halo 4 Specializations Gallery view

Pathfinder

Game of Souls: The Game of Thrones Fighting Game

Click to expand for a better view, guess them all for serious props!

Some time early this year, I came to the shocking realization that I'm a senseless addict to the crack which is Game of Thrones. It started as a simple gravitation toward Sean Bean, blossomed into snapping at my roommate and girlfriend for chatting during an episode, and continues to manifest itself as fervent book reading during the lull between seasons two and three of HBO's adaptation of George R. R. Martin's epic. It only make sense that I find a way to bring together two things which I love: A Song of Ice and Fire's beautifully depressing universe and video games.

Using the gratuitous character creation tools of Soul Calibur V, I created a real (fake) Game of Thrones fighting game, the likes of which has been dreamt up by numerous geeks, I'm sure. The result is Game of Souls, 40 custom characters which span all of HBO's season one and two arcs, which cover ASOIAF's A Game of Thrones and A Clash of Kings, respectively. Some characters unfortunately didn't make the cut (Jory, Rodrik, etc) and not all of the characters logically belong, but it sure is fun to extract Stark vengeance from some Lannister ass with Hodor!

Unfortunately, while capturing glorious hi-def battle footage, my hard drive crapped out, leaving me with insufficient space to capture all the goods. So until I can come upon a new hard drive, enjoy this teaser image of all created characters and a shitty clip of Arya Stark squaring off against Tywin Lannister (some of the best exchanges in season 2, as a matter of fact.) 

Hacking Xbox LIVE: My Experience

As powerful as the players in the gaming console market are, they ain't bulletproof. Sony discovered this last year, when their entire system was breached, leaving millions of users to face unexpected downtime while security was tightened on their network. Though all other security infringements seem trivial in comparison, Microsoft has a bit of a problem of its own. Two weeks ago, I experienced it first hand.

Click to read more ...

It's Not Real To Me, Dammit!

Written by Jimmy Donofrio

Hey THQ, let’s be real, okay?

Professional wrestling is fake.

That’s not a bad thing, millions of people all around the world love professional wrestling – myself included. But we’re not morons. With the genesis of the “Reality Era”, where guys like CM Punk and Chris Jericho sit atop the business with gimmicks that laugh in the face of kayfabe, it’s time that our wrestling video games followed suit.

WWE ’12 was supposed be a refreshing change from the formula that THQ has trotted out since 2004. Well, that was the idea, at least. Realistically, wrestling games haven’t changed all that much since the days of the original Playstation, and there hasn’t been a truly great wrestling video game since the incredible WWF No Mercy for Nintendo 64.

The WWE has changed the way they do business in the last year. They’ve let WWE Champion CM Punk shoot from the hip instead of from some script written by Michael P.S. Hayes. They strapped the various belts on true fan favorites, guys that have clawed their way to the top through the independent circuits, instead of the manufactured big men of yore. There’s a little more transparency on our tv from week to week, and it should translate in our games, as well.

So here is what I’m proposing, THQ: Let’s forget the silly “Road To Wrestlemania” or “WWE Universe” game modes, and give WWE ’13 the kind of Career Mode that truly represents professional wrestling and the plight of your everyday WWE Superstar.

Sheamus wrestled in Europe for 5 years before getting his break in '07. Two years later, he won his first WWE Championship.

1. Instead of letting the player be in control of a wrestler, let the player be in control of a performer (sure, this changes the game from a “fighting” affair to more of a “roleplaying” one, but isn’t that what professional wrestling has been forever? It’s really just a stage play with steel chairs). You’ll still be able to punch, kick, run, grapple, etc., but you’ll also be able to sell a hit, control the flow of a match, and put over another wrestler if need be.

2. In turn, you need to change the goal of each match. A WWE Superstar doesn’t go out to the ring to win, he goes out to tell a story. So lay out each match ahead of time, with a timeline on the screen, marking off certain spots that need to be hit and a predetermined winner. If you’re a good wrestler, you’ll hit your spots, tell your story and extend your career. As your career progresses, your matches will become more complex…

3. …and you’ll run the gamut of cliché wrestling storylines. The difficulty: sometimes you have to be the loser. Sometimes you need to get squashed. Sometimes you need to put over a weaker wrestler to show you've got the goods, even when you're supposed to be bad. And, in turn, you’ll get your big breaks. Let’s pull back the curtain and delve into the backstage atmosphere that creates this multi-million dollar product.

4. This isn’t going to be like those NFL Head Coach or MLB Front Office Manager abortions. There will still be ridiculous entrances, outrageous matches, larger-than-life personalities on full display. There will still be wrestling. The context, however, is completely different: you want to actually put on a great show instead of just emulating one.

This, of course, is a very rough outline. The point is, the wrestling business isn’t some kind of big secret – we know it’s fake, and we love it anyway. We know how hard these guys work, and we love them because of it. THQ, give us a game that does both the industry and its superstars justice. We play Madden to be a football player, Zelda to be a Hylian warrior, a whole host of games to be some kind of space marine guy. When we play WWE ’13, let us, finally, be a professional wrestler.

World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan is an indy wrestling legend, and has jobbed on almost every continent, and even a few back yards.

BioShock: Infinite Looks Fucking Stupid

BioShock: Infinite looks fucking stupid. And I mean that in the best way possible; I just can't think of any other way to put it. After watching a 15 minute clip from Irrational Games' latest, I can see why it received the ungodly amount of praise it did at E3. The game must be seen to be believed. But be forewarned, it is not easy to watch. My body experienced a range of sensations and emotions through the 15 minutes of madness enclosed within.

Until now, Infinite has been a disassembled puzzle of promise to me. Pieces lay scattered; a handful of screenshots here, a two minute gameplay clip there, and a Ken Levine interview somewhere in between. And yes, it all appeared to look good, however each bit felt so detached from each other, and the bigger picture. How are these cryptically explained gameplay elements going to fit together? Will the story of this Americana-inspired-floating-city-gone-awry capture our imaginations as Andrew Ryan's dystopia did? To be honest, I'm still not sure. I do feel however, after watching a quarter-hour of the game in motion, any doubt I may have had, any anxiety I've harbored, has been violently whipped away on a skyrail and thrown into the burning carcass of a sinking zeppelin.

Watch in fullscreen, 720p - you'd be doing yourself a disservice otherwise

Infinite's art style, decidedly that of a cartoon, was one of the things I thought could malign the title in the public eye. In an age where it's hyper-realistic war shooters or bust, could this exaggerated animated style succeed? As soon as we see the emotion in Elizabeth's eyes throughout her interactions with Booker, it's immediately clear that this style is absolutely perfect for Infinite. Sure, it could have been pulled of with photo-realism, but when I saw the fear and sincerity in Elizabeth's eyes as she mimed her own asphyxiation to steel Booker's resolve, I couldn't see this game illustrated any other way.

BioShock was haunting and beautiful, a water-painting of deep sea hues offset by industrial textures and sheen; the perfect place to breed madness. And breed it did, with the cast multiplying in insanity as the tale unfurled and Rapture unraveled. In contrast, the airborne city of Columbia is bright and colorful, floating amongst the sunlit clouds like a tale of blissful ignorance. If the sample we've seen is anything to draw conclusions on, Columbia will probably make Rapture look as soft as baby thighs. Degenerates abusing innocent bystanders as their lookouts harass onlookers, bodies piled under American flags, screaming madmen whirring along suspended railways - the imagery is disturbingly brilliant.

To me, one of the most underrated aspects of game design is the attention to audio. This is where I feel many games tend to lack, be it voice acting or ambient sound. It's an art that requires subtle perfection, something many studios are unwilling to offer. Infinite hits it on the head, in the first five minutes it is very clear that Irrational has put a very distinct focus on sound design. I felt chills down my spine as the unseen Songbird howled its song of sad scorn for Elizabeth, and I would call you a liar if you didn't say the very same. The sound of the city's continuing downward spiral includes domestic abuse culminating in spousal murder, brawls spilling onto the street through shattered windows, and lots of gunfire. But in the end, I cannot shake the memory Songbirds woeful cry. A skillfully composed score would only be icing on the cake at this point.

Don't even get me started on the tears. I have no idea where those Irrational boys plan to take the story and gameplay with the addition of alternate universes, but it can be either an excellent idea, or a complete cop out. I want to side with the former, but I'll refrain from doing so just yet. But knowing that Elizabeth can tear the universe a new one and relocate herself and Booker to the modern day, if only for an instant, could have incredible purpose if utilized correctly. Big emphasis on 'if'.

The original BioShock, to this day, rates as one of my favorite games of all time. A game that I can recommend to friends and family as a must-play four years after it's release, and will continue to do so for long after, I'm sure. Much as BioShock crept up and absolutely blew me away, BioShock: Infinite looks like it will do the same on a previously unattained level of downright stupidity.

Why You Shouldn't Be Excited for Modern Warfare 3

This weekend, Activision has outed one of the worst kept secrets in the industry; Modern Warfare 3 is coming. Just in time for E3 too, what grand timing! Call of Duty games will never stop coming, Activision will see to it until their final breath of bankruptcy. But the question is, will you keep playing said games?

Before I fire off into any type of grand rant, let me say this: I enjoyed Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Modern Warfare 2. I didn't like any of the older Call of Duty games, nor World at War. I bought into the hype of Call of Duty: Black Ops and quicky tired of the copy-and-paste experience. So what should I expect from Modern Warfare 3? Well right off the bat, the next chapter in the Modern Warfare series has several strikes against it. First, series developer Infinity Ward is a shell of its former self. After a bitter falling out with Activision over unpaid royalties, the evil empire fired IW head honchos Vince Zampella and Jason West. As most good soldiers would, more than half of Infinity Ward's longtime staff resigned, leaving with their captains. Due to the loss of more than a few good men, Actvision restaffed Infinity Ward, keeping alive the name Zampella and West created like some sort of dev house Frankenstein. 

Well, something must be wrong with the new Infinity Ward. Maybe Activision didn't trust the folks they plugged into the holes to stop the bleeding. Modern Warfare 3 will be developed by three, yes three studios. The restructured Infinity Ward will craft the campaign together with Sledgehammer Games. The multiplayer component will be handled by Raven Software. Too many cooks in the kitchen? How will the game deliver a consistent experience when there are three different groups working on it? It would require incredible attention to detail, and unification not seen since the Berlin wall toppled. Can you tell that my trust in this task isn't the strongest?

Activision's cash grabbing ways of releasing a Call of Duty title every year means they have very strict deadlines. As Black Ops was crafted by Treyarch, Modern Warefare 3 has been in development since Modern Warfare 2's release in late 2009. That's plenty of time to create a strong game, however with all the drama that's torn through Activision and Infinity Ward since, one would think there would be set backs, conflicts, disagreements and so on. You know, things that would disrupt a development cycle. If so, we haven't heard any of it; Activision keeps cracking its whip to get its next cash cow on store shelves for Holiday 2011, even if it means Bobby Kotick creating character models and animations on his own.

Have you heard that Activision wants you to pay up for multiplayer? It's been mentioned on dozens of occassions by various outlets, and is a pretty well known fact now. Activision considers free multiplayer a gift to the player, and after so many gifts, it's due time to start collecting dividends. The Call of Duty franchise is one of the most successful of our time, especially multiplayer, which keeps the attention of millions held for hours a day, even months (or years) after initial release. Servers and maintenance and the like are expensive, so why should Activision be satisfied with your $60 entrance fee? A nominal stipend to play online - including some extras to make you feel like you're actually getting something in return for your money - is no big deal, right? Actually, it's a huge deal. Should Activision continue along with this plan, the online game model will drastically change. Only a sliver will be put off by the online fee, with enough children convincing their parents to pay up for Activision to consider the experiment a success, thus opening a can of worms that would have been better off untouched. Though none of this is has been mentioned in regards to MW3 let alone finalized, it's only a matter of time before the discussing heats up. Call of Duty is at the peak of its popularity, and there is no better time to introduce an online play fee. I pray I'm wrong.

I'm not sure where I read it, but I remember someone writing Call of Duty has become the sports games of shooters; new players, slight graphical updates, but the same old game. I used to like Modern Warfare, but these days there are too many strikes against Activision for me to begin caring. Besides, I'm much more a fan of space marines than modern day soldiers, anyway. Pink needles, chainsaw bayonets, and powered armor defeat an M4A1 any day of the week. 

What is your take on Modern Warfare 3? Are you amped to get your hands on it? Will you be willing to pay a subscription fee for online play should it come to that? Let us know in the comments.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 France Teaser | England Teaser | Germany Teaser

PAX East 2011

While many folks may have already anchored in Boston for this weekends PAX East festivities, we at OBG haven't left our base of New York yet. Why? Because we take our sweet ass time (and because I can't call out sick at my day job!), but shit gets real tonight! 

Since we love our readers as much as we do, we'll be busting our butts covering as much as we can for y'all. Make sure you check back nightly for analysis of the awesomeness we happen upon. For the impatient ones, follow @itsOBG on Twitter, as we'll be talking shit about PAX East in 140 characters or less. Timely updates, artsy photos, wonderous splendor, you name it!  

Can't make it to Boston but got something in particular you're dying to see? Holla at us, we'll be your eyes and ears and get it back to you, no palm-greasing required. We got your backs!  

Pitchers and Catchers and Gamers

Written by Jimmy Donofrio

With the Super Bowl firmly behind us (though dreams of hellscapes filled with Black Eyed Peas music still haunt me at night), it’s time to finally turn all of our sports-related attention towards baseball. Spring Training is fast approaching, which also means the latest offerings from 2K Sports and Sony Entertainment are stepping into the batter’s box to once again vie (probably not on the same competitive playing field) for our money.

MLB 2K11 has released its second developer’s diary, dedicated to a side-by-side comparison of graphics of this year’s entry to 2K10. The results are clear: player models (at least on these specific players), uniforms (at least with these specific teams), and stadium lighting (at least at AT&T Park) have all been improved.

What should concern Xbox baseball enthusiasts is the return of the not-so-jumbo jumbotron. Sony to the rescue! PlayStation.Blog posted the updates to MLB 11: The Show’s stadium realism and ambiance yesterday, and they're pretty fantastic. The Show will boast stadium-specific jumbotrons, out-of-town scoreboards, dynamic weather, and fan interaction (including cowbells and rally towels!). Could be another long season of 2Kers looking up from the bottom of the division.

Rock Band 3 has Officially Killed the Music Game Genre

Over the past year or so, its been a growing realization that the once incredibly popular music game genre is dying. I had understood this and come to terms with the facts. Guitar Hero was never much of a game outside of trying to 5-Star Through the Fire and Flames, even after the terribly designed drum kit was introduced. Though playing plastic guitars may have been fun for a while, it was a novelty game, and like all novelties, it began to dull over time.

I was more of a Rock Band fan, because unlike Guitar Hero, since it's conception the Rock Band series was about playing in a band, emulating the lifestyle with three of your friends through it's cartoon-styled graphics and fairly deep customization. Though after playing the same songs over and over again, it too lost some of its appeal. Sure there's a near limitless supply of tracks readily downloadable on the Rock Band Network, but micro-transactions be damned, it would cost a lot of money to keep a steady flow of new tunes on your console. 

In came Rock Band 3 with this revolutionary idea that playing the game will actually teach you to play your instrument of choice. Dual use midi instruments; 25-key keyboard, full six-string guitar, electronic drum kit, the music game is saved! Sure the instruments are expensive, but you're not required to use them. The casual gamer can still use his or her plastic axes, while those who want to learn a new art can drop the required entry fee to train at the gates of rock 'n roll stardom. It was genius. While Guitar Hero floundered, and others attempted, and failed, to get a piece of the scene, Rock Band was going to revolutionize this shit before our eyes and ears.

Like any industry though, it all comes down to making money. No matter what anyone tells you, the games industry is a business, and businesses want to get that paper, bottom line. It's understandable, as long as you're not coming off as a shameless cash grab, I'm cool with it. Rock Band 3 was supposed to be about saving the genre, giving kids the opportunity to learn by way of video games. Too bad MTV Games turned it into a cash grab. 

Out comes the news that the Squier Stratocaster, the six-string, $280 guitar for your console that can also be actually played with an amp, will retail exclusively at Best Buy. That means no competitive pricing, no using traded game credits at Gamestop, or preorder credits at Amazon. No ease of walking to the local mom-and-pop store in West Bumblefuck and picking it up from Sal the salesclerk. Best Buy only, and I'm sure they paid MTV Games a nice wad of cash for that exclusivity. Did I mention you also need a $40 dongle for the game to detect your 300 dollar Strat?

Add that to the fact that they midi keyboard is another $80 peripheral, and the game's keyboard accessibility is dreadfully underdeveloped. 20 something of Rock Band 3's stock 84 songs don't even have keyboard parts. And about half of those that do, have a cheap excuse for it. All the songs from Rock Band 1 and 2 you may have on your console haven't been updated to support keys, nor does it look like they will ever be. The only choice is to micro-transaction the fuck out of some Billy Joel or The Doors, and continue to pay to use what you just paid a whole lot for. 

This article isn't a review of Rock Band 3. I've done that before, and found the game to be warm at best. This is a eulogy for the music game, finally set to rest by Harmonix, MTV Games, and Rock Band 3. Like so many others of weak mind and will, you say the right things and hold the potential for such greatness, but in the end you have fallen victim to the almighty dollar.

Rest in payment. 

The Case for Fallout: New Tokyo

Fallout is an amazing universe, inhabited by interesting stories, intriguing decisions, and characters so complex, they defy natural laws. In all honesty though, Fallout: New Vegas was a bit of a cop-out. Not to say it was bad, clearly it wasn't, but as the pundits put it, it didn't distinguish itself from its over-shadowing big brother. To inject new life into the experience, I propose the next Fallout be based in a relatively unscathed and rapidly rebuilt Tokyo. Three things people dig; the post-apocalypse, Neo Tokyo, and zombies. The latter, will be omitted on terms of overuse, unless you consider ghouls as zombies, you insensitive bastard.

Picture this: when the bombs fall, Tokyo, thinking far enough ahead to minimize the damage, deploys an experimental energy shield over the city. Having been tested successfully with non-WMD class armaments, as well as low grade nuclear weapons, the shield was only able to mitigate the destruction wrought upon Tokyo and its surrounding prefectures by the unprecedented megatons. Buildings are destroyed, ways of life are drastically changed, adversity and hardship reign, but the town is better off than its Western counterparts.

As one of the Far East's most sought after hubs, New Tokyo is a city-state ruled by corruption, false senses of justice, and in brief instances, the genuine compassion for fellow man. The "shielded" areas, which are technically unscathed, are few and far between, predominantly operated by the rich, the powerful, and those who have told the right things to the right people. The meat of New Tokyo consists of varying degrees of damaged sections, ranging from the working class, militia-contained neighborhoods, to ragged, crime infested slums. Areas where the shield fully gave out serve as your token wasteland, offering little more than a compromising avenue between districts that have seen better days. Though as adventures tend to go, the explorer who risks his well being to search the wasteland is always well rewarded, one way or another.

Down on luck, out of money, and on the bad side of some very angry people, you escape your troubles aboard a junk that provides uninsured freight and ferry from a port of the scandalous and unsavory Macau, where you once found a decent living on the wrong half of the law. Cramped away on the lower confines of the ship that would make human trafficking look luxurious, and in transit for what feels like weeks, something suddenly jars you from your hazy trance. You feel a bump, and a hear a a creaking pulse run through the ship. Your trip was one of the favorable, you hit land, and have safely arrived in New Tokyo. So you thought. Before your eyes half of the ship dematerializes in a crackle of yellow energy, leaving only neon embers and a broken junk rapidly sinking into the unseasonably warm irradiated waters of the black night.

You come to on a gravelly beach, the orange sun piercing your dry eyes like a wooden skewer. Your vision is blurred, your ears are ringing, and your brain is beating like a hangover you've never felt. You stand up and stumble aimlessly, sightlessly. As you slowly regain your bearings, you realize looters have stripped you down to your tattered jeans and punctured wife-beater, taking your meager belongings of value and memory. Confused, your dim senses are caught off guard by a man who shoves a dismembered finger, complete with gold wedding band, into your chest, and collapses on you.

"50 million caps.. Lee Joon.. Kabuki City.. Go..!"

Before you can even react to the shock of a detached finger, the man coughs a bucket of blood on your only shirt, and fades to black. No possessions, no directions, no one in sight, and no where to go. You have nothing, except for a severed finger, your slowly sobering wit, and a lead on 50 million. So pick your name, adjust your appearance, and pick a direction to walk, because you have a lot of decisions to make and a lot of questions that need to be answered.