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  • Bastion hitting iPad tomorrow

    [UPDATE] Following the publication of this story, Supergiant Games confirmed Bastion for the iPad. In an update to the company’s website, the developer said Bastion for the iPad will launch tomorrow, August 30, priced at $5. For more on the new version of the game, check out the site and announcement video.

    The original story follows below:

    Supergiant Games’ action role-playing game Bastion is headed to the iPad tomorrow, according to a listing on Apple’s New Zealand App Store. The page indicates the game has been “reimagined” for the tablet and will be compatible only with the iPad 2 or the new iPad.

    According to the listing, Bastion for the iPad will support GameCenter for achievements and leaderboards, but it doesn’t appear the game boasts any additional features. It is listed at $6.49 New Zealand dollars, or about $5. As of press time, neither Warner Bros. nor Supergiant Games had responded to GameSpot’s requests for comment.

    Bastion is Supergiant Games’ first project. It was released on Xbox Live during July 2011, with subsequent releases following on Steam, Mac App Store, and Google Chrome. For more on Bastion, check out GameSpot’s review.

  • Xbox Live launching free-to-play games

    August 28, 2012 11:29AM PDT

    Online competitive brawler Happy Wars to be service’s first title with freemium model, will require Gold membership.

    Free-to-play games are coming for paid subscribers of Xbox Live, Microsoft announced this week. Multiplayer cartoon brawler Happy Wars will lead the business model’s charge onto Xbox Live Gold in September, Microsoft told Official Xbox Magazine.

    Ascend: New Gods, a role-playing game with ad hoc multiplayer elements, will be another of Xbox Live’s first free-to-play offerings and is set to launch in “several months.” Microsoft said the free-to-play games will be available only to Gold subscribers because many implement multiplayer, a Gold-only feature. Titles with in-game purchases will use Microsoft points.

    Xbox Live’s new offerings will increase the online service’s parity with PlayStation Network, which already hosts free-to-play games including DC Universe Online and the upcoming Dust 514.

  • Black Ops II gets $180 Care Package edition

    Gamers with a passion for Call of Duty and a desire to show it with their wallets for Black Ops II in November will have multiple premium bundles to choose from. Activision today announced three premium Black Ops II bundles: the Care Package and Hardened Edition for consoles, and the Digital Deluxe Edition for PC.

    The $180 Care Package edition of Call of Duty: Black Ops II packs in a host of premiums, the first of which is a remote-control MQ-27 Dragonfire drone (pictured at right). In addition, the Care Package includes the Nuketown Zombies and Nuketown 2025 bonuses maps, as well as a two-sided steelbook case, two challenge coins used to unlock “exclusive” digital content, and multiplayer weapon camo.

    Additionally, the Care Package edition of Black Ops II features a digital copy of the game’s official soundtrack, which features a score by Jack Wall (Mass Effect, Army of Two) and a theme composed by Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor.

    The Xbox 360 version of the Black Ops II Care Package includes an avatar prop and costume, while the PS3 version packs in a dynamic theme of the game’s Turbine map, as well as a zombie-focused theme.

    As for the other premium versions of Call of Duty: Black Ops II, the Hardened Edition (below right) will be available for the Xbox 360 and PS3 for $80. It includes everything found in the Care Package edition except for the Dragonfire drone and the case.

    Lastly, the Digital Deluxe edition of Call of Duty: Black Ops II for the PC includes everything in the Hardened Edition (except for the Xbox 360 and PS3 items), as well as a token to download Treyarch’s 2008 shooter Call of Duty: World at War.

    The $100 Hardened Edition of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 included a one-year subscription to Activision’s premium online service Call of Duty: Elite, but no mention whatsoever was made of Elite in today’s announcement for any of the offerings. Activision did not respond to requests for clarification as of publication time.

    Call of Duty: Black Ops II is due out on November 13 and is a sequel to 2010’s original Black Ops, which is the best-selling series entry to date, moving more than 25 million copies as of August 2011. It even outsold the most recent entry in the series, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, during July 2012. For more on the upcoming game, check out GameSpot’s latest preview.

  • Gears of War: Judgement gets free-for-all mode

    Epic Games has announced a free-for-all multiplayer mode for the studio’s upcoming shooter Gears of War: Judgment.

    The free-for-all mode is a first for the Gears of War series, and will see players taking on an every-man-for-himself role. Epic also unveiled two new maps for the game, which will debut alongside the new multiplayer mode this week at PAX Prime in Seattle: Gondola and Library.

    Gondola will place players in the surrounds of a gated community close to the Agora foothills, while Library will see players exploring an archive documenting the life of Alexiy Desipich.

    Free-for-all is the second new multiplayer mode to be announced for Gears of War: Judgement following OverRun, a class-based competitive mode featuring Locust and COG soldiers.

    Gears of War: Judgment is next installment in the series since last year’s trilogy-capping Gears of War 3. Developed by Epic Games in conjunction with Bulletstorm studio People Can Fly, the project focuses on series soldier Damon Baird and will not use the Kinect. For more on Gears of War: Judgment, check out GameSpot’s previous coverage.

  • Microsoft offering Xbox deals at Comex 2012

    The upcoming COMEX 2012 electronics bazaar at the Suntec Convention Center in Singapore will play host to a number of hardware and software sales and deals, including Microsoft Xbox offerings.

    Virtual football fans can look forward to preordering FIFA 13 for the Xbox 360 for S$139($111). Players will get the game and the following DLC: Adidas All-Star team, 24 Gold Packs FIFA Ultimate team, and 10,000 EA Sports Football Club credits. FIFA 13 will be out on September 17.

    If gamers are lacking a Xbox 360, they can purchase an Xbox 360 4GB and 250GB system for S$672($536) and S$864($689) respectively. Both these offers come with a Kinect motion sensor bar, two wireless controls, a six-month Xbox Live Gold subscription, 3200 Microsoft Points, and seven games. The titles are Kinect Adventures, Kinect Sports, Kinect Star Wars, Kinect Rush, Snoopy Flying Ace, Loderunner and R-Type Dimensions. Customers with DBS cards can pay a 12-month installment of S$56 per month for the 4GB console and S$72 per month for the 250GB console.

    Furthermore, gamers who buy the aforementioned bundles will get two or three more additional free items. They get to choose between an additional 1600 Microsoft points, an Xbox 360 game with the “Classic Game” brand, and a three-month Xbox Live Gold subscription.

    Comex 2012 will be held from August 30 to September 2.

  • Lollipop Chainsaw ships 700,000 copies

    August 27, 2012 6:02AM PDT

    Grasshopper Manufacture’s action game records highest shipment tally ever for company; Killer Is Dead trailer shows katana-wielding cyborg.

    Lollipop Chainsaw shipped over 700,000 copies since launch in June, making it Grasshopper Manufacture’s most-shipped game in its history, Andriasang reports. The news comes from the Lollipop Chainsaw Summer Appreciation Festival event, held this weekend at the Kadokawa Games office in Japan.

    The news comes about a year after Grasshopper Manufacture’s Shadows of the Damned hit shelves, selling only 24,000 units during its launch month. That game was published by Electronic Arts and won warm reviews.

    Also during the event, Grasshopper Manufacture CEO Suda 51 shared a promotional video for the company’s mysterious new project, Killer Is Dead. The game will reportedly focus on a katana-wielding cyborg man, and make use of a different art style from Lollipop Chainsaw or Shadows of the Damned. Killed Is Dead is due out for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in 2013.

  • Battlefield 3 Armored Kill DLC deploys Sept. 4

    August 27, 2012 6:42AM PDT

    Premium subscribers on PS3 get first access to third expansion pack to modern day shooter next week; coming later in the month to Xbox 360 and PC users.

    Battlefield 3 will add the Armored Kill downloadable expansion next week, coming to PlayStation 3 Battlefield Premium subscribers on September 4. Xbox 360 and PC Premium users will be able to download the add-on a week later on September 11, with subsequent releases for all PS3 users on September 18, and all Xbox 360 and PC players on September 25.

    Armored Kill is Battlefield 3’s third of five planned expansions. It follows Back to Karkand and Close Quarters, and precedes Aftermath and Endgame, which are slated to arrive later this year. Armored Kill brings four new maps, including the “biggest map in Battlefield history.”

    Additionally, Armored Kill adds new vehicles and a Tank Superiority game mode. This tank-themed “king of the hill” mode has players battling for a central capture point and is discussed by GameSpot editors in greater depth in the video embedded below.

    All Battlefield 3 expansions are included with a $50 Battlefield Premium subscription, as well as the $70 Battlefield 3 Premium Edition, which hits next month.

  • Next-gen consoles a ‘quantum leap’ says Remedy

    New consoles from Microsoft and Sony have yet to be announced, but that has not kept Remedy Entertainment’s head of franchise development Oskari Hakkinen from claiming how powerful they might be. Speaking to the German edition of Gamesindustry International (translated by GameSpot), Hakkinen confirmed his studio is working on a next-generation project, and shrugged off the thought that new hardware will not be a significant improvement over existing technology.

    “Right now we’re working as always with a relatively small team on a next-generation project,” Hakkinen said. “You always ask yourself: Can the new consoles really be that much better than the old ones? Be assured: They are. It is a quantum leap forward.”

    Hakkinen did not say if he was referring to a Microsoft or Sony system, or reveal any other details about the game it has in development for unannounced technology. In May, Remedy job listings indicated that the Espoo, Finland-based studio was staffing up for a next-generation game.

    In April, Remedy CEO Matias Myllyrinne said the studio is not finished with the Alan Wake franchise. He said plans are “in motion” for a new game in the franchise and teased that a future project from the studio would be released digitally.

  • New Grand Theft Auto V ‘business’ screens, more in a ‘few weeks’

    Those eager for new images from Grand Theft Auto V are, for a third time this week, in luck. Rockstar Games this morning released four new “business” screenshots to the company’s news blog.

    The images show off a range of activities, environments, and actions from GTAV, including urban police chases, a harbor-set shoot-out, and a biplane flying over a countryside river.

    These images follow new GTAV screens from Monday and Wednesday, bringing the total of never-before-seen shots from the game to 10 this week alone. The previous screenshot dispatches showed off leisure and transportation.

    The wait for the next batch of new GTAV screens will likely be a bit longer than a couple of days. Rockstar said it will return with “more to see” in a few weeks, or thereabouts.

    GTAV has been the subject of much speculation, with many analysts believing the game will be on store shelves by March 2013, despite Rockstar having remained silent on its release date.

    Last month, Rockstar explained why it has remained largely quiet on GTAV since officially announcing it in October, saying it doesn’t want to spoil the game prerelease, and it is simply not ready to show more.

    When GTAV does arrive, it will do so with great sales expectations. Sterne Agee analyst Arvind Bhatia believes the game will sell 14 million copies at launch, driving $700 million in revenue. For more on GTAV, check out GameSpot’s previous coverage.

  • DICE defends Battlefield 4 announcement timing

    Last month, Electronic Arts officially announced Battlefield 4, even though it hasn’t yet finished working on add-ons for Battlefield 3. The timing of the game’s announcement struck up a commotion with some gamers, but EA executive producer Patrick Bach dismissed these concerns.

    “We have now announced we are putting a lot of effort into supporting Battlefield 3 and still we get reactions like this. I think it’s just sad,” he told Eurogamer. “We are dedicated to supporting Battlefield 3. People seem to be worried for all the wrong reasons.”

    Bach said he has heard similar complaints before with Battlefield 2, and claimed they are misguided.

    “People tend to forget we built three other Battlefield games in between Battlefield 2 and Battlefield 3,” Bach said. “That’s a natural reaction. People then think we won’t support Battlefield 3, even though we have the Premium version. People know we’re working on future expansion packs and we’ve been very open in explaining what we are doing.”

    Ultimately, Bach said that he understands that some will be upset to learn DICE is working on more than Battlefield 3, but noted “people want something awesome in the future, and that takes time.”