Battlefield 2 is still recognized as one of the top mutliplayer shooters you can find on PC, even today. It was a classic right from launch and there?s still a thriving community that loads up the PC servers on a regular basis. If you?re one of those gamers that still cherishes the memories you have from Battlefield 2, then you should probably prepare to preorder Battlefield 3 in the near future. EA and DICE announced today that those who preorder the newest Battlefield installment will receive a free expansion titled, ?Battlefield 3: Back to Karkand?. If you watched the first gameplay trailer that we showed you recently, you probably caught this announcement at the end but we just now figured out what this pack entails. It includes four classic maps from Battlefield 2, all of them updated to the latest and greatest technology of the Frostbite 2 engine.
Info:
The Battlefield franchise launched in 2002
Battlefield 2 is almost 6 years old
Battlefield 3 is launching this fall for PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3
The bonus doesn?t stop with the maps themselves, however. The pack also comes with Battlefield 2-themed weapons, vehicles, unique rewards, and new achievements/trophies that are all exclusive to those four maps. Pretty amazing amount of content when you consider that all you have to do is preorder the game.
The downside is they?ve yet to announce which regions this bonus will be available to. It?s probably safe to assume everyone will have a chance to get them but you just never know. They also haven?t detailed which of the four maps we?ll be receiving with the pack but ?Strike at Karkand? seems like a sure bet. We?ll let you know more when they fill us in.
The 2011 Game Developers Conference kicked off this morning at a convention center about two blocks from 1UP HQ. As with every year, boxed lunch is provided to attendees and media. If you ask me, you'd have to be some kind of damned fool to pass up a free meal.
Bouncers guard the doors to make sure no freeloaders or double dippers get through. When you get your badge, you get one coupon for each day, which you must give up to even get into the room.
Today's selections included a veggie wrap and two kinds of meaty sandwiches: ham and cheese (pictured) and turkey (not pictured).
Getting lunch is easy, but finding a place to sit is not. There are plenty of places to sit, sure, but choosing the RIGHT table is simultaneously the most difficult and most vital part of the GDC experience. You end up walking around the room, trying to find someone you recognize while at the same time trying to avoid eye contact so you don't end up having to sit by someone you don't like. This is my sixth GDC, and I'm still not very good at it. Like high school, I usually just end up sitting alone and hoping for the best.
I ended up with the veggie wrap because I don't like ham or turkey very much. And I got a diet root beer mostly for the novelty factor.
Just after I sat down, a British indie developer sat across from me with this awesome looking roast beef and caramelized onion sandwich. Where was that, I wonder? Tomorrow I shall be much more careful with my lunch screening process.
Red Dead Redemption took top honors in many a Game of the Year list, including our own. John Marston's bloodied past, attempted reform, and ultimate return to lawlessness echoes the western stories that dotted the fiction landscape throughout the golden age of radio and television. Rockstar was praised for its deft hand at painting a narrative with heart in an unconventional time period.
The myth of the cowboy, however, is quite a bit different than the true stories of wage-workers and farmhands. We talked to Andrew Needham, an Assistant Professor of History at New York University, about the game. Needham specializes in the American West and environmental history, so we turned to him with our questions on Marston's journey through the Old West.
This is Red Dead Redemption's reality check.
The year is 1911. Government agents have blackmailed a former outlaw into capturing or killing his old gang members. The ways of the Old West are dying out, and technology is starting to infringe on the simple lives of small-town America. The federal government is exerting its control, and John Marston is a cog in their machinations to bring order and civility to the dusty settlements.
Most of this probably wouldn't have happened in 1911 at all.
"1911 is much later than the game seems to be set," Needham said. "If I didn't know it was 1911 -- if you had sat me down and asked when it was set -- I'd say something like early 1880s. It feels like that time, [around the] shootout at the OK Corral. 1880s, 1890s, rather than 1911 when you have significant urbanization going on in the west. That kind of technological conquest of the west happened much earlier than is depicted in the game."
Setting the game in 1911 was clearly a conscious choice, and most likely served a few purposes. For one, it allowed Rockstar to invoke the Mexican rebellion as a plot point, which Needham says is accurate to the time. It also avoided any uncomfortable scenes involving the displacement of or battles with Native Americans.
Gun, another western game published in 2005, featured frequent battles with Native populations. Red Dead Redemption, by comparison, only contains one major Native American, a patient man who quietly simmers under the racist and condescending tone other characters. Needham suggests sensitivity played a factor in selecting the time period.
"I think that's a pretty deliberate choice given the difficulty [of the subject]," he said.
The Legend of Zelda Turns 25 The original Zelda game was released 25 years ago today, come celebrate!
Bulletstorm Review A mechanically enjoyable game that's missing what it needs to be great.
Five Games That Changed The Way We Play...And Five That Should Have These 10 games redefined their genres, but only half had a lasting impact.
Twenty-One Batman Villains We Probably Won't See in Arkham City As much as we want to fight the Penny Plunderer and the Rainbow Beast, they probably won't make an appearance.
Gallery: New Arcade Games At Japan's 2011 Arcade Operators Union (AOU) Show 3D, Pac-Man, medal games, and Let's Go Island are among some of this year's highlights.
Hard Corps: Uprising Review Only the truly hardcore need apply.
Marvel vs. Capcom 3 SuperGuide Our strategy guide is chock-full of tips and strategies for every fighter in MvC 3.
Whatever your opinion about sex�in videogames, the simple fact is this: games won?t really be taken seriously as an art form until they can get certain things right, and one of those things is sex. It?s an essential component of film, music, books, paintings and even television, and yet gaming lags sadly behind.
Part of this is because games still haven?t quite shaken their kiddie-toys stigma, but mostly it?s because the rare games that try to get sex right almost never do. The results of their endless efforts tend to range from mildly off-putting to outright mortifying, with varying levels of ugliness and hilarity in between. Maybe someday, we?ll see an in-game love scene that doesn?t make us recoil in horror ? but in the meantime, here are 13 that did.
Above: We?re just going to leave out Custer?s Revenge, because that thing is even more over-referenced than our first entry. We?re also ignoring Leisure Suit Larry entirely, because on the rare occasions those games feature actual sex, they?re not really ?horrifying? so much as they are ?unfunny comedy?
NOTE: While we did our best to keep the images in this article safe for work, some of the videos (naturally) aren?t. Consider yourself warned.
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Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Hot Coffee set the bar for horrendous in-game sex sequences, so we might as well start here. While not officially included as part of San Andreas, a modder found it buried in the code after release, yada yada yada. Unless you were completely ignoring videogame-related controversies five years ago, you already know about Hot Coffee and the political shitstorm its discovery ignited.
Above: The current US secretary of state was particularly alarmed by the revelation
To be fair, Hot Coffee is an unfinished minigame that was never intended for public viewing. But knowing that does nothing to diminish the raw, jaw-dropping ugliness of Carl ?CJ? Johnson robotically humping his generic, thong-clad girlfriend.
About as sexy as:
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Omikron: The Nomad Soul
Developer Quantic Dream has something of a knack for horrible (but optional!) sex scenes. Apparently, the studio feels compelled to include them in every game it makes, but there?s always something? wrong about them. That?s especially true in the case of its first game, Omikron, and while we?ll cover the more infamous examples in a bit, it?s best to start at the beginning.
While Omikron was a pretty slick adventure game (for 11 years ago, anyway) that featured roughly 100 percent more David Bowie than every other game, its early-3D visuals were kind of hard on the eyes. And nowhere were they harder than in the ?love scene? hero Kay?l can share with his horrible, vacant-eyed bikini-elf early in the game.
About as sexy as:
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Dragon Age: Origins
We?re not so na�ve as to pretend that nobody else has written an article like this before, and we can?t help but notice that a few other sites have picked on Dragon Age for featuring (among other potential in-game hookups) a man-on-man-elf love scene ? apparently because ?eww, dudes.? To hell with that attitude. We?re not prudes, and we?re not about to declare something gross just because two guys are rubbing against each other suggestively.
No, we?re going to declare all of Dragon Age?s sex scenes gross, because that?s what they are.
Above: Yes, even this one
As you?re going to see a lot in the following entries, sex scenes in games are kind of hamstrung by the idea that showing sex AND nudity is grounds for a sales-killing AO rating. But rather than just using, say, some clever camera angles to hide nudity (like Mass Effect does), Dragon Age falls back on the baffling trope of making its characters bone in their faintly hideous medieval-fantasy underwear. Add some overdramatic singing and some arty cuts to second-base activities, and this scene is practically guaranteed to be the exact moment a parent or significant other barges into the room to see what you?re up to.
Above: We?re still singling out this one, though, just for the ?Is there something in your tent that needs? assassinating?? line
About as sexy as:
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Torrente 3: The Protector
There?s a good reason the Torrente games only made it out of Europe once: in addition to being based on a semi-obscure series of profane Spanish action-comedies, they?re fucking horrible. Imagine the worst GTA clone you?ve ever played, and then add unclear objectives, farting and masturbation minigames and an idiotic license system that restricts you to stealing mopeds in a version of Madrid where cars are everywhere. Then make it about a toadlike, fascist ex-cop who poops his pants if you don?t walk him into the bathroom to take a dump every so often.
Above: No, really
If its trailer is anything to go by, the game contains at least one sex scene involving the odious Torrente himself. As much as we?d all love to see a repugnant butterball get his rocks off, though, there?s no way in hell I?m playing through this execrable mess long enough to find and capture it on video. So instead, here?s a moment of staggering eroticism that can be discovered within the game?s first five minutes:
[unable to retrieve full-text content]If you're a fire mage, chances are good that you've had to deal with an annoying bug that's been dubbed "Ignite munching" -- essentially, you're not getting the full benefit from Ignite due to Venus being in retrograde, or swamp gas reflecting off a weather balloon. Or..
-Drag and drop to attach (with single/multiple file/s) -Desktop notifications for new e-mails from @ gmail
For desktop notifications, go to GMail settings (https://mail.google.com/mail/?shva=1#settings)�and then on General�tab, search for Desktop Notifications�and tweak it! =D
Final Fantasy I through V are already available on the Wii's Virtual Console, while Final Fantasy VII, VIII, and IX have been released on the PS3 as PS One Classics. There's only one gap in the re-release list of the pre-PS2 Final Fantasy games, and it's about to be filled.
Final Fantasy VI, the last numbered Final Fantasy game released on the Super Nintendo - and the final one for a Nintendo system at all - will be making its way to the Virtual Console next month.
Final Fantasy VI was already re-released for the PlayStation and the Game Boy Advance, but this is the first time it will be available on a console's digital download platform.
So far the news only applies to the Japanese version of the Virtual Console. Stateside, we're still waiting for most of the Final Fantasy games to make their way to the Wii.
Nevertheless, it is a big feat that Square Enix has released every single one of the original nine Final Fantasy games on current generation consoles. Maybe now it will have some time to work on that HD remake of Final Fantasy VII? Nah, maybe not...
It doesn't take much to screw up an entire team in a multiplayer shooter like Killzone 3. If one player insists on being dumb then the whole squad suffers. We're not asking for every team to be some kind of alpha-squadron super force that works in lock-step at all times, but we do humbly request that you use your head once in a while. What we're asking for isn't hard. Just follow our eight quick tips and you'll be well on your way to being a passable Killzone 3 player.
8) You Don't Understand Choke Points
Above: These people would have a lot more luck if they split up, and so will you�
There is a whole enormous level at your disposal. There are multiple routes, secret tunnels, and all manner of other opportunities. Yet you continuously charge directly into the built-in choke points on the map. The game is designed to spawn enemies near those places. The game deliberately tries to funnel players into those explosive choke points.
How To Fix It: It's simple: go around! Take a side route around their flank and surprise them. This is particularly effective if you're an Infiltrator. Your kill/death ratio will plummet if you keep trying to go up against a half dozen enemies. Use the entire level to get the advantage.
Worst in: Operations, Guerrilla Warfare
7) You Can't Guard a Point
Above: This is how stupid you look when you stand directly in front of the thing you're guarding�
If you're trying to protect something, then the worst possible place to be is directly next to the thing you're guarding. They're expecting you to be right on top of the captured point. They'll probably even toss in a grenade preemptively, just in case someone was silly enough to stand right next to it.
How To Fix It: It's really very simply. If the enemy knows where you are: don't be there. Hide around the corner and wait for the point to start being taken, then sneak around and take the assaulting party by surprise. They'll be at a huge disadvantage since they'll be forced to stand in a very specific area to keep capturing the point, making it easy to get the drop on them. If you've got a long-range rifle, try to find a good line of sight far off and protect the location from a distance. Most capture points include objects for capturers to hide behind, making it tough to cover from a sniper's perch, but to be honest most players aren't bright enough to worry about sniper line-of-sight anyway. So that's no big deal.
Worst in: Operations, Warzone
6) You're Too Trusting
I thought you people learned your lesson after Team Fortress 2's Spy class messed us all up back in 2007, but apparently not. The Infiltrator is a very popular class, and their trademark is the ability to disguise themselves as one of your teammates. If you see an ally coming straight at you then it's probably best to be a little bit suspicious. Allies don't generally come sprinting after you from the enemy's side of the map.
How To Fix It: Be suspicious. They might be spies. At medium-close range your gunsights will still turn red when placed over an enemy spy, so do your best to paint every suspicious-looking ally. If you're not convinced they're legit then put a bullet in them just to see what happens. Can't hurt.
Worst in: Operations
5) You Think This is Black Ops
Above: This is not Black Ops. Nor is Killzone 3. Get it straight�
It never ceases to amuse us how many times per match we see people creeping around in a stealthy, crouched position. This is not Black Ops. Everyone can see you. The pace of the game moves much faster than Call of Duty so you need to keep up. You won?t be able to kill an enemy with just a few bullets anyway, so camping a corner isn't likely to do much good. Odds are they'll sprint up and knife you before your bullets finish the job.
How To Fix It: Be fast. A few bullets won?t kill you so don't worry about being seen momentarily by the enemy. Also, expect the enemy to be fast. You won?t be able to take them out if you camp a corner. It's far more effective to take a side route and try to get behind the enemy spawn points rather than spend your time trying to defend a spot by camping.
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We're pretty familiar with NESes and Game Boys being used to create�chiptune music�by now, but�it's not often we see�consoles being used to play music quite like this.
After about a year-long hiatus, GameJew is back with a new theme song: "Blowing The Dust Out of The Cartridge That Is My Mind," which just posted yesterday on YouTube. The percussion section isn't provided by the motherboard of the console, but by various banging and clacking of the NES's movable parts and accessories. Click below to watch the video!
GameJew was started by talented singer-songwriter Jonathan Mann in 2005 on YouTube with the goal to write 40 songs about the Wii. Eventually it was picked up as a series by ScrewAttack, and was also featured in�the January�issue of EGM in 2008, after the Mario-cap-donning musician serenaded Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto.
Jonathan Mann now mainly focuses on his�Song-A-Day YouTube channel�where he writes, well,�a song a day.
-Drag and drop to attach (with single/multiple file/s) -Desktop notifications for new e-mails from @ gmail
For desktop notifications, go to GMail settings (https://mail.google.com/mail/?shva=1#settings)�and then on General�tab, search for Desktop Notifications�and tweak it! =D
Someone at Nintendo must be a Conan O'Brien fan, because one of the 3DS' more amusing new features is a new addition to the DS camera software that allows you to combine the faces of two people ala Conan's "If They Mated" skit.
Using the front-facing and back-facing cameras on the 3DS, you line you and another person?s face up to some markers on the screen, press the shutter, and voila, you now have a very scary picture.
I?m sure if you took two beautiful looking clean shaven people, it might come out looking like a semi attractive human; we tried it out on a totally unshaven slob (JJ from 8-4) and the beautiful Hiroko Minamoto (also from 8-4) and well, yeah, a monster was born.
There?s no lack of shooter video games coming out this year, but Homefront manages to stand out from the pack. Instead of telling a story of anti-terrorist action, like so many FPS games have been doing, Homefront seeks to hit gamers in the heart by bringing the fight to the United States of America. THQ and Kaos Studios has given us a peek inside of the world of their new game on a section of the official site called ?Inside the Occupation.?
The page has some short teaser videos as well as photographs showing ?the truth about the occupation of America.?
These are taken from an unnamed photojournalist who describes himself as being a part of the ?Voice of Freedom.?
I?m an operative for the Voice of Freedom, an underground network dedicated to broadcasting the truth about the occupation of America.
It?s been 2 years since this country fell into the dark ages and�I?ve journeyed across parts of occupied America, witnessing firsthand the struggle and horror of life within this warzone.
I fear my days are numbered. I have to share the truth about what I?ve seen and what?s really happening in what was once the greatest country on earth.
I don?t agree with or condone everything documented here.� All of it is honest. �Let each individual decide.
If your blood is stirred by what you see here, join us in the Resistance.� Let freedom ring!
It?s interesting that the developers are primarily showcasing the game?s story, a move that probably stems from the Half-Life influence. There?s a clear intent to appeal to deep patriotic emotions in this game -- which they are doing admirably -- even though the main premise of the game is slightly far-fetched (or is it?).
2011 has a large number of sequels releasing and it will be something of a challenge for Homefront to compete with the more established titles such as Battlefield 3 and Call of Duty. However, with their compelling set of Homefront gameplay trailers,�we believe�Homefront has the potential to become one of the great new flagship titles for THQ.
Here?s a brief look into part of the history of Homefront, the bombing of Salt Lake City on May 16th, 2026:
The plot, penned by John Milius (known for writing the films�Red Dawn and Apocalypse Now), promises to be a thrill ride that will take us from the darkest, worst side of humanity to the heroic side as well. In addition, Kaos Studios hasn?t neglected the growing emphasis on multiplayer in video games. Homefront?s multiplayer promises to be pretty solid stab at Battlefield?s territory. In addition, they?ve included a unique multiplayer points system to encourage players to keep playing the multiplayer for hours on end.
Homefront appears to be firing on all cylinders: story, gameplay, multiplayer, marketing, and an original setting to make it stand out from the crowd. THQ is giving us a lot of reasons to part with our cash on March 15th. As you ponder these promotional pictures, tell us: Do you think Homefront could be the next big thing?
The 3DS launched in Japan today with a total of eight games available at retail. Surprisingly, Nintendo itself only has one game out right now (Nintendogs), with third-party publishers picking up the slack for the other eight.
The following pages show each of the games available for purchase right now, with the best screenshots we could find!
The latest in Nintendo's series of pet simulators promises "even cuter and more expressive puppies" than the previous games. The biggest new addition here is, of course, cats!
The game also serves as a showcase for various 3DS functionality. It even includes an augmented-reality mode using the included AR cards, allowing you to play with your fake puppies on your real-world desk. You can also "walk" your pets using the built-in pedometer while the 3DS is in sleep mode.
At right around the time this story goes live, retailers across Japan will be opening their doors and selling Nintendo's brand new portable console, the 3DS, to hungry consumers.
1UP will be updating throughout the weekend with exclusive photos, video and more on the Japanese launch of Nintendo's 3DS. Meanwhile, check the links below for our guides to the launch titles, the price, what you should expect when the 3DS come here in March, and more!
The 3DS looks great, but how much is it? How about the games? What if you want to import? Everything you need to know is here. [READ]
A look at everything that comes with the 3DS: both hardware and software. Lots of pics! [READ]
Eight games are available to buy in Japan right now, take a closer look at them here! [READ]
When the 3DS comes to America in March, it will launch with sixteen titles. Prepare your wallets and take a closer look here. [READ]
Photos from the 3DS launch in Japan. [COMING SOON]
Our Japanese crew undresses a 3DS for your amusement. [COMING SOON]
New 3DS gameplay footage from Japan! [COMING SOON]
The 8-4 podcast goes hands-on with the 3DS and talks about it.
[unable to retrieve full-text content]Every week, WoW Insider brings you Spiritual Guidance for discipline, holy and shadow priests. All armor is pretty much the same. That may have always been the case, when it comes down to it, but it seems especially noticable in Cataclysm. Each...
From Red Dead?s horrendously disfigured donkey women, to Fog Town, USA (population: every N64 owner ever); bugs and glitches have been sullying games and offending our eye holes since the dawn of time. Alright, a couple of decades. But what if video game glitches existed in real life? Well, in the spirit of asking a question no one?s ever asked, we?ve explored this burning, imaginary debate with the power of a photographic shop.
Pop-up
Screen-tearing
Clipping
Getting stuck on scenery
Fogging
Invisible walls
Just in case you're wondering, my zombified corpse has finally been taken out by a man in a floral dress, wielding a sledgehammer with an axe taped to it. You will hear from it no more.
Whatever your opinion about sex�in videogames, the simple fact is this: games won?t really be taken seriously as an art form until they can get certain things right, and one of those things is sex. It?s an essential component of film, music, books, paintings and even television, and yet gaming lags sadly behind.
Final Fantasy I through V are already available on the Wii's Virtual Console, while Final Fantasy VII, VIII, and IX have been released on the PS3 as PS One Classics. There's only one gap in the re-release list of the pre-PS2 Final Fantasy games, and it's about to be filled.
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