Well, not really outer space, but close. Microsoft has chosen to take Xbox where many companies have been going as of late; to the cloud! During Microsoft's E3 2011 press conference, it was announced that Xbox LIVE will begin implementing cloud features such as game saves and profile recovery. This means traveling with your Xbox LIVE profile will be easy-peezy, and much less of a hassle than either dealing with the dreadful 'Gamertag Recovery' or saving your profile along with all of your game data onto a dedicated USB stick.
I'm loving this direction, as I have two Xbox consoles in my house I play on, and carting profiles/saves back and forth is a huge pain in the red ring. Also, friends will now have easier access to their accounts without junking up my consoles USB ports with portable media. Everybody wins!
In addition to the knockout cloud announcement, Microsoft was getting busy in other ways. Like introducing another dashboard update?! That's right kids. It seems like Xbox LIVE gets a visual makeover every year, so why not another this fall? Long gone are the days of the blade, replaced now with a nice and simple interface reminiscent of the Windows Phone OS or the newly announced Windows 8 look. Microsoft seems to be following the footsteps of Apple by creating one unified look across all of its platforms, which ain't a bad thing, especially considering that this new look is actually quite snazzy.
Also announced are Xbox Live Beacons. It's an odd sounding feature that lets your network know what game you want to play. Then, you'll receive an instant notification when one of your friends has fired that game up. Sounds kind of silly, but sure, whatever. Must be useful if your friend list is at max capacity. Then again, if you're maxed out on XBL friends, you're probably exclusively playing one of either Halo, Gears of War, or Call of Duty. Beacons don't sound as awesome as bacon, but really, what does?
Expect more, such as YouTube and Bing search (through Kinect voice commands), increased Kinect support, and many more additions that have either flown under the radar, or I don't feel like writing about. Don't judge me, I'm pressed for time dammit. The latest Dashboard update will go live later this year, giving you plenty of time to save up for a Kinect.
Since the release of L.A. Noire two weeks ago, people have been constantly asking me what I think of the game, and where my review is. L.A. Noire is a vast universe of exploration and interrogation that I needed to play in full before even attempting to put my thoughts together on paper. With all there is to see and do, you can easily lose yourself for 40 hours. So the review is a little behind schedule, but to make up for it, our friends at Rockstar have given us some free stuff to give away. Read on to find out if L.A. Noire is worthy of your time, and to win free shit!
It's no secret that Brink had a rough go of it early on. It was panned by many a critic and review, for it's lack of polish and horrendous online performance out of the gate, and rightly so. In our review, I said there was still a chance for Brink to right its ills through DLC and patches, will this first content pack be step in the right direction?
As a thank you for dealing with the lag, Splash Damage announced Brink's first DLC would be a freebie for everyone, naturally leading us to believe that the offering would be a steaming pile of MG nest wreckage. Imagine my surprise then to learn that this DLC will not only be free, but a hulking batch of awesome as well. Here's what you get:
Maps: Founder's Tower, Labs
Outfits: The Sad Punk, The Limey
Abilities: UAV for Operatives, Napalm Grenade for Soldiers, Pyro Mine for Engineers, Field Regen Unit for Medics, Tactical Scanner for any class
Weapon Attachments: Bayonets, Weapon Shields
Level Cap: Players will now max out at Level 24
How's that for a deal? There is no denying that Brink is truly making an attempt to win our hearts with this DLC, so why deny the love? Look for the extra content to hit sometime in June.
If I had no idea what the series entailed, I'd think Gears of War 3 is the video game incarnation of Jack Osbourne's biography; a story of tracking down his long lost father, Ozzy, and shooting at huge monsters, who may or may not be his sister, Kelly.
In all seriousness though, as much as people would believe that Gears of War 3 is online multiplayer only (a la Call of Duty) there is a story you know. You can piece some of it together during this trailer, and for what you're not able to make out, there's, well, actually buying the game. A novel idea!
Aggregator sites like Reddit and digg have long been popular with just about any savvy internet patron; no matter your odd obsession or relentless need to consume as much media as possible, you will find a home on these aggregators. The problem is, while customization exists, it becomes far too much of a chore to find content tailored for you amongst the thousands of unique entries submitted daily in a category as prolific as gaming. Enter the new-and-improved Raptr.
For many of us, Raptr is no secret. As a well established social community for gamers across platforms, Raptr features a base that's stronger than 6 million gamers worldwide, and growing. Raptr allows you communicate with friends across Xbox LIVE, PSN and Steam through your instant messaging client of choice, tracks your achievements and trophies, as well as compiling stats and more. This week, Raptr has rolled out an upgrade to it's social experience to rival the likes of other big aggregators sites, as well as purely social sites such as Facebook and Twitter, strictly for gaming.
Tell Raptr what game you're currently playing and it will create a feed of relevant information pertaining to your game of choice. Easier yet, tell Raptr what your name is on XBL/PSN/Steam, and it will create a stream of personalized information tailored exactly to what you play and what you enjoy. Algorithmic magic - compiled along with your recent, auto-imported gaming history - assures you stay up to date with old classics and current favorites alike, with unique, user-submitted information based for each member. Have a cool link about L.A. Noire you want to share? Throw it at Raptr and it will share your story with millions of other would-be detectives across the broad user base. Bored, without a new game that's particularly caught your eye? Raptr will even suggest games you may be interested based on some of your past history. There could be something here for everyone, and that's only the bare basics of this gaming network.
As much as I wish Raptr were paying me for this plug, they're not, but I'm cool with that. I like my aggregator sites, but they're a damn mess, especially when it comes to gaming. Not only does Raptr simplify that process, but it keeps you in touch with friends, allows you to get involved in conversations and with your own submissions, and keeps track of your progress. OBG has it's own little home over there, why don't you follow us?
Finally, swag. You thought I forgot? To celebrate Raptr's shiny new interface launch, the site is giving away tons of goodies during the "Summer of Raptr" sweetstakes. What do you win? Raptr-branded apparel, games, Microsoft Point cards, and additional accessories and peripherals from GUNNAR, Logitech, Astro Gaming, and more. How do you win? Keep reading OBG and try out Raptr. When the time for free shit comes, you will know.
Why not give Raptr a shot? Let us know what you think in the comments.
Do you like war and modernism? A fan of explosions and crumbling buildings? Here is an entire days worth of those vitamins in a neat 90 second package. In Modern Warfare 3, Makarov is bringing the destruction to our shores, an injustice that surely no soldier will stand for.
How do you guys feel about Modern Warfare 3? Are three developers two too many? Do the yearly Call of Duty releases feel too much like sports games, with marginal improvements and an updated roster of guns? Do you desire more explosions? Very well then.
Brinkis a game that I've been waiting to spend some extended time with. I'm talking about having the itch; sitting in a corner, rocking back and forth, mumbling incoherently, and scratching my neck. Something about a fast-paced arcade shooter that puts heavy emphasis on parkour does it for me. The game impressed in short preview sessions, and was heavily marketed to give itself a nice pre-release buzz, though it seems as if some quality assurance blues put a damper on Brink's attempt at revolutionizing the genre.
Well, it's been almost a month, but Sony has finally begun their "phased restoration" of the PlayStation Network. For those of us in the States and Canada, odds are your service is already up and running.
In a video addressed to Qriocity and PSN uders affected by the attack, Sony Computer Entertaint president Kazuo Hirai details a bit about what the first phase has restored:
PlayStation Network and Qriocity sign in
Restoration of online game play across PS3 and PSP
Enabled third party services such as Netflix, Hulu Plus, MLB.tv, etc.
Access to PlayStation Home
Access to 'Friends' category, including Friends lists, chat, and trophy comparison
Restoration of Sony Online Entertainment games
Upon your initial log in, you'll be prompted to change your password, which you must do. Also, PSN Store has yet to be activated, so for those of you hoping you'd be able to buy the latest downloadable game or content, you'll have to wait for a later phase.
Kaz attempts to soothe PSN users by detailing the security upgrades Sony has put into place to prevent an issue like this from arising again: increased encryption, added firewalls, and some other security services that most big corporations should already have in place. Welcome to the party, PlayStation.
The 'Welcome Back' program - see: free compensatory shit - has yet to be detailed, but more information will be released in the coming days, so stay tuned.
Head over the PlayStation.Blog for the full rundown, as well as Hirai-san looking cool, calm, and sharp in his expensive suit sans tie, to give the impression he's been hard at work.
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.
Have a look at your primary dog fighting opponent in the upcoming ballet of missiles, vulcans, and shredded fuselages, Ace Combat: Assault Horizon. His name is Markov, also known as The Shark. If you're lucky, you'll notice him on the battlefield by the shark teeth painted on the front of his fighter jet. Though it's more likely that The Shark will shoot you down before you even realize his sights are locked onto you. Step your game up, kid!
I've been looking forward to Ace Combat: Assault Horizon for some time now, if only for the intoxicating action and camera work, something I've always loved in the Ace Combat series. While that has always been a calling card of the franchise, the story has attempted to stay equally interesting, but most times it's come up a little short. Project Aces is looking to change those fortunes by recruiting New York Times’ bestselling military author Jim DeFelice. Honestly, dog fighting is the crack. Whatever story brought to the table is supplementary to the ratatatatatatating.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011 at 10:47AM ;)
;)
