Well we now know that the Xbox One is going to be hitting store shelves in North America on November 22nd and now that they have a date to stick on their trailers, Microsoft has released their very first commercial for the console. Only problem is, it mostly focuses on how the console can be used a bit for Skype and all about the NFL.
Considering the Xbox 360 has been touted as the console of the NFL, it comes as no surprise that Xbox One is focusing heavily on the various Fantasy League and NFL features the game has, but still it would be somewhat nice to see something about the games on offer. Anyways, you can check out the commercial below and also if you were watching the kick off to the NFL season last night, you can use Skype to comment on how the Ravens went from winning a Superbowl to being decimated in seven months.
Atlanta, Georgia is the annual host for Dragon Con, a gathering of sci-fi, fantasy, gaming, and anime fans on a massive scale every Labor Day weekend. The convention area is so large it could only be contained in not one, but six different buildings across several city blocks filled to the brim with amazing costumes, panels, and vendors with something for everyone. From the third floor of the Hilton hotel one could see a denizen from almost every realm of fantasy including some mash-ups that would catch anyone off guard.
Stretching over four days and containing around 3,500 hours of activity, Dragon Con takes a lot of leg work to properly experience everything it has to offer. One of the highlights of the event was definitely the celebrity panelists in attendance including stars ofMass Effect, actors Mark Meer and Raphael Sbarge who voiced Commander Shepard and Kaiden Alenko respectively.
Other guests include Peter Davison, the fifth incarnation of the Doctor from “Doctor Who“, Malcolm MacDowell, Lucy Lawless, “Hobbit” actors Graham McTavish, William Kircher, and Sylvester McCoy also made an appearance for the convention’s several panels related to the movie; McCoy was there for several “Doctor Who” panels as well. And no convention of its kind would be complete without appearances from George Takei and William Shatner, among many others, lending their stories and experiences to captured audiences.
To commemorate the event there is an annual parade and this year was no different as they had a huge procession filled with all kinds of cosplayers and guests. The parade culminated in a celebration of everything “Star Wars” including Lando Calrissian himself Billy Dee Williams leading platoons of Stormtroopers, rebel pilots, and even an entire army of Mandalorian warriors. The streets of Atlanta were filled with thousands of people in every type of dress following the parade, leading up into what had to be one of the most popular attractions, the shopping area of the America’s Mart building. Filled to the brim with vendors selling almost anything you can think of from the expected groups of shirts of various shows and games and collectible action figures but there was also things for several niche markets; leather working, sword-smiths, not to mention the booth for the infamous Troma Productions with c0-founder Lloyd Kaufman giving autographs to fans.
One of the big highlights for gamers attending this convention would definitely have to be the varied panels they had going on filled with industry professionals as well as giving fans themselves the opportunity to get involved and ask question to the guests. Blizzard was there to give some insight into their title Diablo 3 as well as lead content designer Erik Bakutis shedding some light on fans’ questions on the upcoming Elder Scrolls Online. The only downside was while they were entertaining there was not any groundbreaking news to speak of, mostly clearing up questions about information already announced. There was also a fun retrospective on 80s and 90s gaming, entitles “8-Bits of Awesome”, the panel picked apart the origins of gaming tracing it back to the Atari console and through the boom of home gaming as well as the revolutions of arcade gaming. Game development workshops and panels were also showcased to give gaming’s future generation some tips and pointers to keep them in the right direction as well as a panel focused on the industry’s near future by comparing the upcoming entries into the console wars; Xbox One and the Playstation 4.
Dragon Con without a doubt has something for everyone to see, be it amazing costumes or actors from your favorite shows and games. The amount of panels and events will blow the mind of all but the most jaded con attendee, and it will leave a lasting impression on everyone that took part in it. Dragon Con was definitely worth experiencing just for the fun that can be had and the sights that you can seen in the seemingly normal setting of downtown Atlanta, which for one weekend a year is transformed into an entirely new place.
Electronic Arts, the folks behind the first person shooter Battlefield franchise, have released a new video for your viewing pleasure.
The new video, which you can watch in the video player below this article, shows off a handful of guns and the different ways you can customize each of them. Are you one of those folks that always enjoys checking out different optics for your hardware? There are several options to go after here. What about different accessories, barrels, underbarrel options, and more? Then you should definitely see what Battlefield has cooking up for you.
For more information, you can check out their official site here.
Fans of the Grand Theft Auto series should all have fond memories of the hilariously silly commercials that are shown in the games. From radio, to television Rockstar has always done a great job satirizing Americans for America and worldwide. GTA V will of course be no exception to the inclusion of the in-game commercials and Rockstar has just released some the them today.
From an energy bar called Ego Chaser, to the GTA staple Ammu-nation, the commercials featured so far pack the same wit and humor as the past games. Whether calling out marketing like it really is or taking American pride to extremes, Rockstar knows what makes a good satirized world and anyone wanting to see these great feats of advertising can find them in the video embedded below.
Grand Theft Auto V is set to release September 17th, 2013 for Xbox 360 and PS3, with it’s expansive GTA Online coming out two weeks after for all those with a copy.
It looks like Konami is expanding Kojima Production a little with a brand new studio in Los Angeles. The new studio will be a major component of the continuation of the ever popular Metal Gear Solid series of games. They will also be having some part in the development of the newest, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. During the ceremony Hideo Kojima, himself, showed off more on the prologue to MGS V, Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes.
It is exciting and interesting to see a stateside studio for Kojima Productions and Los Angeles seems like a pretty good location in terms of accessibility. What more this could mean for the Metal Gear Solid franchise will remain to be seen however. Voice your opinion on the opening of this new studio and what it could be for the future of the series in the comments below.
Developer Kojima Productions and publisher Konami are pulling back the curtain a bit this week with a new video to show of the making of one of the characters in the upcoming Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. The character they happen to be making in the video is Quiet, who is based on the likeness of Stefanie Joosten.
From 3D scans to motion capture, they’re pulling all the stops for MGS V and the video does a good job showing off all the work that goes into just capturing one likeness, let alone an entire game’s worth. All in all a nice short video to give a glimpse behind the curtain at some of the characters we’ll be seeing in this deeper and darker game.
Those wanting to see the character making of for themselves can find it embedded below. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is currently set to release for both current and next gen; Xbox 360, PS3, Xbox One, and PS4.
From the indie development studio InDev Brain and the mobile publisher Bulky Pix comes an announcement for their new iOS title, Dead Effect. Dead Effect is a survival FPS where you’re the last surviving member of your unit and your spaceship is completely filled with zombies.
Your goal is to investigate what happened to the rest of your unit with the aid of some some exciting new weapons to help you take down the zombie threat along the way. Dead Effect will have some amazing 3D visual environment, and more than 15 hours of gameplay. This new exciting game will be coming to all of your iOS devices on September 12th, 2013 priced at $3.99USD.
It had been hinted at ever since Anime Expo in July, but today it was announced that Psycho-Pass definitely has a second season in the works. Not only that, but the series that turned so many heads in Japan will also be getting a movie which is especially exciting since Production I.G are an anime company like no other on that sort of scale. Examples of their beautiful animation can be found anywhere in the first season of Psycho-Pass, or more recently in the titanic success that is Shingeki no Kyojin (forgive the pun). With years of cinematic experience under their belt, the Psycho-Pass movie looks to be unmissable.
Psycho-Pass is set in a world where every person is assigned a score that determines both a person’s mental state and how likely they are to commit a crime, otherwise known as their crime-coefficient index. Akane Tsunemori is a young woman who has just entered the Public Safety Bureau as an Inspector. Alongside a group of “latent criminals”, people who are determined to be of a criminal mind-set by the Psycho-Pass process, she must track down people with a dangerously high criminal-coefficient index and apprehend them. Playing off of many themes of right and wrong within a subjectively utopian or dystopian future, Psycho-Pass’ strengths lie in its intelligence and strong cast of characters.
Release dates for Psycho-Pass 2 or the movie have yet to be announced, but when they are you’ll be sure to find out over in our Anime News section.
Available through the PlayStation Store on October 3rd for Australian gamers, the just announced BEYOND: Two Souls demo will feature two levels from the PS3 exclusive title that releases in stores on October 9th.
These are the included stages you can look forward to trialing:
Jodie & Aiden – join a very young Jodie as she takes part in an experiment at the Department of Paranormal Activities. As officials put her abilities to the test, you take charge of a mysterious, invisible entity.
Hunted – skip forward a number of years and you need to help Jodie escape the clutches of government agents as the mysterious entity unleashes its truly astonishing powers.
While you’re here, check out the 3rd out of 4 ‘Making Of’ videos embedded below (part 1 and 2), which focuses on the year-long performance capture process that was involved in translating the performances of lead actors Willem Dafoe and Ellen Page’s into the game. The two, along with writer/director David Cage, speak on the intricacies of the set design, how the experience differs from filmmaking and more.
Straight out of The Blast Furnace, Activision‘s new mobile development studio, comes a new addition to the established Call of Duty franchise: Strike Team. To be launched for the iPod Touch, iPhone and iPad, Call of Duty fans can take their combat on the the go. Optimised for mobile and tablet glass mechanics, players are offered a choice of how to play. Controlling a squad of up to four highly trained Strike Team members, each with customizable skills and loadouts, the in-game view can be switched from classic first-person action, to a top-down, third-person perspective. This provides a full range of both action combat and tactical decision making.
Call of Duty: Strike Team features both a new, story-driven single player campaign and a replayable Survival Mode. Just as in other Call of Duty titles, Survival Mode will feature many of the franchise’s weapons, perks, ranks, and prestige levels. Players may also compete with family, friends, and other players for leaderboard domination. Additionally, players with an existing Call of Duty account can sign in with their credentials to Call of Duty: Strike Team for exclusive, in-game bonuses.
Mark Washbrook (Studio Head, The Blast Furnace) said:
“Call of Duty: Strike Team is all about giving a single player experience that is unlike anything else in the Call of Duty world in a way that matches the interests of players on-the-go. By giving fans the option to play in either first-person or third-person views, and to switch between them on the fly, we’ve really opened the doors for gamers to have a fun and entertaining gameplay experience with Call of Duty: Strike Team, because they can play the game the way they want.”
Call of Duty: Strike Team is available now on the App Store and will receive an Android release later in the year. For more information, visit the official site and Facebook page. Check out the screenshots below and get ready to kill on the go.
