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  • Resident Evil 6 getting timed-exclusive modes for Xbox 360

    Resident Evil 6 will add three timed-exclusive game modes for the Xbox 360 after the zombie shooter launches next month, according the game’s Xbox.com landing page. A tweet from the official Resident Evil 6 Twitter account reveals that these modes will be called Survivors, Predator, and Siege.

    It is not clear how long these modes will be available only for the Xbox 360, and at the time of press, Microsoft had not responded to GameSpot’s request for comment.

    In the game’s Survivors mode, when killed, players will respawn as an enemy character able to attack human players. Predator mode has one player taking on the role of the Ustanak, trying to take down human players. Lastly, Resident Evil 6’s Siege mode has one side protecting a single non-playable character pitted against enemies attempting to kill that NPC.

    Survivors, Predator, and Siege modes will support up to six players on maps from the game’s Mercenaries mode.

    The new game modes for Resident Evil 6 will not be the only timed-exclusives for the Xbox 360. In June during Microsoft’s 2012 Electronic Entertainment Expo briefing, the company announced that downloadable content for Resident Evil 6 will come first to the Xbox 360.

    For more on Resident Evil 6, check out GameSpot’s latest preview.

  • Borderlands 2 DLC out October 16

    September 11, 2012 9:08AM PDT

    New Mechromancer character class for Gearbox’s new shooter arriving a month after launch for $10; free for those who preorder.

    Borderlands 2 does not hit store shelves until next week, but developer Gearbox Software has already confirmed a launch date for the game’s Mechromancer downloadable content. The developer said the character class will arrive on October 16 for $10, or as a free download for those who preorder the game.

    The Mechromancer DLC is the first of at least four planned expansions for Borderlands 2. At launch, Gearbox will offer a DLC season pass for the game, which bundles four $10 expansions for $30.

    Borderlands 2–due out September 18–is the sequel to 2009’s well-received loot-based co-op shooter. For more on the title, check out GameSpot’s latest preview.

  • Keiji Inafune teases new zombie action title

    September 11, 2012 8:00PM PDT

    Former Capcom producer’s new game is called Yaiba, and will feature ninja and mecha elements; platforms are unconfirmed.

    Former Capcom R&D head and producer Keiji Inafune has been keeping himself busy. Not only is he working on Soul Sacrifice, Kaio: King of Pirates, and a side-scrolling Android game called JJ Rocket, but he has also announced a new game called Yaiba (“blade” or “fang” in English).

    According to a recent issue of Famitsu (via SGCafe), all Inafune has said about the game is that the zombie action title will have ninja and mecha elements in it. The article on Famitsu also showed off numerous artworks of zombie hordes.

    On a related note, Koei Tecmo registered the trademark “Yaiba” in Europe on August 31 this year, which could mean that the publisher of the Dynasty Warriors and Ninja Gaiden series might be involved with Inafune’s new game.

    No platforms have been announced for Yaiba. More details on the game will be revealed on September 20, which is the first business day of Tokyo Game Show 2012.

  • Medal of Honor Warfighter adding Bin Laden hunt DLC

    Electronic Arts announced today that it has partnered with Sony Pictures Entertainment to bring Danger Close’s new shooter Medal of Honor Warfighter and upcoming Osama Bin Laden hunt movie Zero Dark Thirty together. The publisher will release a multiplayer map pack based on the movie for Warfighter the week of December 17, in conjunction with the film’s release, with a portion of the map pack sales going to army charities.

    EA said will will donate $1 from every Zero Dark Thirty map pack (known as The Hunt map pack in Europe) sold for a total of at least $1 million given through its previously announced Project Honor campaign. This effort sees the publisher giving to nonprofit veterans organizations.

    The Medal of Honor Warfighter Limited Edition includes the Zero Dark Thirty DLC. Those who preorder Medal of Honor Warfighter will be automatically upgraded to the limited edition, and are also granted access to next year’s Battlefield 4 beta.

    The Zero Dark Thirty map pack includes two new multiplayer maps set in real-world locations, the first of which takes place in Pakistan’s Darra Gun Market, an illegal arms marketplace. The second map is set in Pakistan’s far north Chitral region, where Bin Laden was believed to be residing for a period.

    According to EA COO Peter Moore, the partnership with Sony Pictures is two-fold. The executive explained it will serve as a means to honor the sacrifices the soldiers and their families have made, and also to bring gamers closer to the “greatest manhunt our world has ever seen.”

    Medal of Honor Warfighter is due out for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC on October 23 in North America and October 26 in Europe. The game follows a group of US Tier 1 operators as they take the fight to terrorists around the world in locations like the Philippines and Somalia.

  • Sony ‘working closely’ with Bethesda for Skyrim DLC on PS3

    The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim’s first batch of downloadable content–Dawnguard–arrived for the Xbox 360 in June and hit the PC in early August. It has yet to release for the PlayStation 3, with Bethesda claiming the content may never come to Sony’s platform. Now, Sony has said it is working closely with Bethesda to remedy the issues.

    Sony vice president of publisher relations Adam Boyes acknowledged gamers’ concerns in an interview with Kotaku, but offered no timetable for when the content may finally hit the PS3.

    “We work with all of our partners to try and solve their problems,” Boyes said. “We have a big, broad dev support team that works closely with Bethesda–and with all of our partners–to work with them to solve that any sort of issues they have along the way.”

    “Of course, I always want everything to work always for everyone,” he added. “I can’t promise any kind of resolution or timeline but can say that everyone involved is trying their best to get this stuff working.”

    Skyrim’s second DLC offering, the home-building-themed Hearthfire content, came to the Xbox 360 last week. It has not yet been announced for the PC or PS3.

  • DICE: EA is innovative

    Some may classify Electronic Arts as a publisher that relies on sequels, but DICE general manager Karl Magnus Troedsson believes that is an unfair association. Speaking to Gamasutra in a new interview, the executive claimed EA is highly innovative.

    “EA is actually very prone to try out new things,” he said. “And I have to say that sometimes I think we get too much crap for not being innovative. We do release new IPs, and we do take care of IPs that have been out there. And perhaps not so successful, but we try to get new things out there as well.”

    Troedsson said he understands the criticisms leveled against EA, considering DICE has regularly released new entries in the Mass Effect, Battlefield, and its sports franchises, though he does not believe this means EA is not innovative.

    “Now, that might sound strange coming from me, working on Battlefield. We’ve been around for 10 years, and we just keep doing more of the same, but being innovative in that space,” he said.

    The executive explained that innovation is “tricky,” as not all may see or understand innovation as EA sees it.

    “Innovation is something that actually changes something for the better, renews something–and I think we do that all the time,” he said. “But some of them are big and some of them are small, and some people disagree, saying, ‘That’s not an innovation!’ and it’s like, ‘No, maybe not for you, but for the people playing the game it’s a big thing.’”

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  • Black Ops II won’t run on Windows XP

    Call of Duty: Black Ops II for PC will not run on Windows XP, Activision has confirmed. Detailing the game’s PC specifications on the official Call of Duty website, the publisher announced that the game will require an operating system of Windows Vista or later.

    According to Activision, Windows XP is not supported for Black Ops II because the game’s engine has been upgraded to use DirectX11, which does not support Windows XP.

    Activision also revealed the minimum system requirements for Black Ops II. As mentioned above, gamers will need Windows Vista SP2 or Windows 7, as well as an Intel Core2 Duo E8200 2.66 GHz or AMD Phenom X3 8750 2.4 GHz CPU. As for memory, players will need at least 2GB for 32-bit OS or 4GB for 64-bit OS. Finally, Black Ops II requires a Nvidia GeForce 8800GT 512MB or ATI Radeon HD 3870 512MB video card.

    Activision said it has tested Black Ops II “extensively” on minimum specifications, and is “very confident” in the game’s performance on those machines. The company also reiterated that the game will run on a new Black Ops engine that boasts a range of improvements, including performance optimization, enhanced graphics, and proprietary anti-cheat technology.

    Lastly, Activision confirmed that there will not be a framerate cap for Black Ops II on PC. The game comes with an adjustable frames-per-second cap slider in the game’s options, with the minimum setting being “off,” meaning there is no cap.

    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.

  • AAA games dying out, says Assassin’s Creed III director

    AAA games are on their way out, according to Assassin’s Creed III creative director Alex Hutchinson. Speaking to Edge, the Ubisoft developer said that big-budget projects like this October’s new Assassin’s Creed game are fading fast.

    “We’re the last of the dinosaurs,” Hutchinson said. “We’re still the monster triple-A game with very large teams [and] multiple studios helping out on different bits. There are fewer and fewer of these games being made, especially as the middle has fallen out.”

    This is not the first time Hutchinson has envisioned a future where AAA titles will fade out. During the 2012 Game Developers Conference, the designer said the pursuit of big-budget projects is a “kind of cancerous growth…that will leave AAA blockbusters as nothing more than the last of the dinosaurs.”

    Set during the American Revolution, Assassin’s Creed III features a new protagonist named Connor who will involve himself in the ongoing struggle between the Templars and the Assassins. The game, due October 30, is being built by Ubisoft Montreal and six collaborating studios on a new engine called Ubisoft-AnvilNext.

  • Call of Juarez news tomorrow?

    September 5, 2012 8:49AM PDT

    Official Facebook page for Ubisoft’s shooter series teases announcement for September 6.

    Fans of Ubisoft’s Call of Juarez series will want to tune in tomorrow. An update to the franchise’s official Facebook page teases a Call of Juarez-related announcement for September 6. No further information is available.

    Earlier this week, Ubisoft international product manager Aymeric Evennou wrote on Twitter: “New project announced very soon. Finally!” He also said this news would arrive on Thursday, the date that the Call of Juarez teaser image on Facebook also points to.

    The most recent Call of Juarez title was 2011’s Call of Juarez: The Cartel. That game was developed by Techland, and took place in modern day Los Angeles and Mexico. Previous games in the series, the 2006 original and its 2009 sequel Bound in Blood, were set during historical time periods.