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  • 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 shootout, 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 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.

  • Borderlands 16-bit de-make released

    August 23, 2012 5:49AM PDT

    Gearbox releases browser-based, overhead arcade-style shooter “The Border Lands” for PC.

    Gearbox Software’s Borderlands series did not exist in the 16-bit era of games, but thanks to a new browser-based de-make of the franchise, gamers can see what such a game could have been like.

    The developer has released “The Border Lands” for PC, an overhead arcade-style shooter that has players enlisting as one of four characters and surviving waves of oncoming enemies. As in the contemporary version, gamers can level their characters and collect loot.

    Development recently wrapped on Borderlands 2, with Gearbox now working on postlaunch support for the game, including the mechromancer class. The game is due out for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC on September 18. A recent game guide writer’s playthrough of the title took 58 hours, with Gearbox calling the game a “hobby.” For more on Borderlands 2, check out GameSpot’s latest preview.

  • I Am Alive on PC September 13

    I Am Alive is spreading to the PC. Ubisoft announced today that the postapocalyptic action game will be available for Windows PCs through the company’s online store, Steam, and other digital retailers beginning September 13 for $15.

    I Am Alive was released for Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network earlier this year, receiving a warm critical reception. According to Ubisoft, I Am Alive for the PC has been “enhanced” with higher resolutions and sharper graphics for those with capable rigs.

    Additionally, I Am Alive for the PC boasts two modes not available for its console cousins. These are Easy mode, which allows for infinite retries and a “smoother introduction” to the game, and Replay, which allows users to play levels again.

    Those who preorder I Am Alive for the PC through the UbiShop will score a free copy of Outerlight’s 2010 first-person shooter Bloody Good Time.

    Last year, it appeared that a PC version of I Am Alive might not see the light of day. Creative director Stanislas Mettra said in November that the likelihood of piracy would make a PC port’s profitability uncertain.

    I Am Alive tells the story of an everyman searching for his wife and daughter after a mysterious but cataclysmic event. This man returns to his hometown, Haventon, a year later to find the city in ruins, with its inhabitants taking “necessary actions” to survive.

  • Kinect price drops to $110 in US

    Microsoft has cut the price of its full-body motion-control technology peripheral Kinect from $150 to $110 in the United States effective immediately. Microsoft’s director of Xbox Live programming Larry “Major Nelson” Hryb announced the news today through his blog.

    A permanent price cut for the rest of North America, as well as Latin America and Asia Pacific regions, is also planned. Additionally, the Kinect peripheral will be available at a permanently reduced rate in Australia and New Zealand beginning October 4. Microsoft said the final retail price for each region will vary based on currency rates and “other variables.”

    The price drop will not extend to Europe, the Middle East, Africa, or Japan.

    The Kinect launched in November 2010 behind a half-billion-dollar marketing campaign as a stand-alone peripheral at $150 or in Xbox 360 bundles at $299 and up. It has sold 19 million units globally as of the end of May 2012.

    The next iteration of the Kinect is rumored to launch with the Xbox 720 in 2013. It is believed to support four-player full-body tracking and allow gamers to sit down while playing. On top of this, the “Kinect V2” will supposedly be able to adapt to players’ living rooms, meaning they will not need to move furniture for an optimal experience.

  • Borderlands 16-bit de-make released

    August 23, 2012 5:49AM PDT

    Gearbox releases browser-based, overhead arcade-style shooter “The Border Lands” for PC.

    Gearbox Software’s Borderlands series did not exist in the 16-bit era of games, but thanks to a new browser-based de-make of the franchise, gamers can see what such a game could have been like.

    The developer has released “The Border Lands” for PC, an overhead arcade-style shooter that has players enlisting as one of four characters and surviving waves of oncoming enemies. As in the contemporary version, gamers can level their characters and collect loot.

    Development recently wrapped on Borderlands 2, with Gearbox now working on postlaunch support for the game, including the mechromancer class. The game is due out for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC on September 18. A recent game guide writer’s playthrough of the title took 58 hours, with Gearbox calling the game a “hobby.” For more on Borderlands 2, check out GameSpot’s latest preview.

  • I Am Alive on PC September 13

    I Am Alive is spreading to the PC. Ubisoft announced today that the postapocalyptic action game will be available for Windows PCs through the company’s online store, Steam, and other digital retailers beginning September 13 for $15.

    I Am Alive was released for Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network earlier this year, receiving a warm critical reception. According to Ubisoft, I Am Alive for the PC has been “enhanced” with higher resolutions and sharper graphics for those with capable rigs.

    Additionally, I Am Alive for the PC boasts two modes not available for its console cousins. These are Easy mode, which allows for infinite retries and a “smoother introduction” to the game, and Replay, which allows users to play levels again.

    Those who preorder I Am Alive for the PC through the UbiShop will score a free copy of Outerlight’s 2010 first-person shooter Bloody Good Time.

    Last year, it appeared that a PC version of I Am Alive might not see the light of day. Creative director Stanislas Mettra said in November that the likelihood of piracy would make a PC port’s profitability uncertain.

    I Am Alive tells the story of an everyman searching for his wife and daughter after a mysterious but cataclysmic event. This man returns to his hometown, Haventon, a year later to find the city in ruins, with its inhabitants taking “necessary actions” to survive.

  • New Grand Theft Auto V screens show leisure activities

    Rockstar unloads three fresh shots from upcoming open-world game highlighting tennis, motorbikes, and parachutes.

     

    Rockstar Games has shared three new images from the much-anticipated open-world action game Grand Theft Auto V. In an update to the company’s news blog titled “Leisure,” the developer dispatched shots depicting three individuals racing off-road motorbikes up a mountain pass, a tennis match, and a person parachuting through a gorge (at right).

    Just one of the leisure activities in GTAV.

    These images follow new shots from Monday, which highlighted transportation options in GTAV, including road bikes, fighter jets, and sports cars.

    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.

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    Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

    “New Grand Theft Auto V screens show leisure activities” was posted by Eddie Makuch on Wed, 22 Aug 2012 06:39:11 -0700
  • Kinect price drops to $110 in US

    Microsoft has cut the price of its full-body motion-control technology peripheral Kinect from $150 to $110 in the United States effective immediately. Microsoft’s director of Xbox Live programming Larry “Major Nelson” Hryb announced the news today through his blog.

    A permanent price cut for the rest of North America, as well as Latin America and Asia Pacific regions, is also planned. Additionally, the Kinect peripheral will be available at a permanently reduced rate in Australia and New Zealand beginning October 4. Microsoft said the final retail price for each region will vary based on currency rates and “other variables.”

    The price drop will not extend to Europe, the Middle East, Africa, or Japan.

    The Kinect launched in November 2010 behind a half-billion-dollar marketing campaign as a stand-alone peripheral at $150 or in Xbox 360 bundles at $299 and up. It has sold 19 million units globally as of the end of May 2012.

    The next iteration of the Kinect is rumored to launch with the Xbox 720 in 2013. It is believed to support four-player full-body tracking and allow gamers to sit down while playing. On top of this, the “Kinect V2” will supposedly be able to adapt to players’ living rooms, meaning they will not need to move furniture for an optimal experience.

  • Rock Band dev hiring combat designer

    August 21, 2012 7:35AM PDT

    Harmonix seeking staffer to build “real-time, single-player combat experiences” for a new IP on next-generation hardware.

    Rock Band and Dance Central developer Harmonix is branching out for an upcoming project. A job listing at the Cambridge, Massachusetts, developer seeks a combat designer to “create real-time, single-player combat experiences” for a new intellectual property on next-generation hardware. The developer says this project is unlike anything the studio has made before.

    In June, Harmonix studio director of communications and brand management John Drake said the company was working on at least two new AAA franchises, one of which may represent a departure from the music-based games the studio is known for.

    As for Harmonix’s current projects, Rock Band Blitz is due out next week and is the first downloadable entry in the series, while the Kinect-required Dance Central 3 is being readied to ship this fall for the Xbox 360.

  • Call of Duty popular because it feels ‘fluid’ claims Treyarch

    The secret to Call of Duty’s mass popularity is due, in part, to how smoothly the game runs, according to Treyarch design director David Vonderhaar. Speaking to Eurogamer, the developer explained that running at 60 frames per second is an absolute necessity for the series.

    “We think 60 frames is super essential,” he said. “Any time you have any kind of input latency at all, players can feel that. I’m pretty convinced Call of Duty is as popular as it is because of how fluid it can feel. You can feel the difference, and we go to a lot of trouble to try to keep the game running at 60 frames all the time.”

    Vonderhaar’s comments came as part of a larger feature that looked at the frames-per-second debate between first-person shooter franchises Call of Duty and Battlefield. DICE executive producer Patrick Bach defended Battlefield’s console rate of 30 frames per second, saying, “In the end, everything is a compromise.”

    “On console we have to make some compromises,” Bach said. “We love our vehicles and we love our destruction and we love the pretty graphics and the awesome sound. We think 30 is pretty decent. Some people complain because it’s a number, and you can compare numbers. And then there are a few people who complain because they say it’s a worse experience. That group has their needs and their urges, and then you have the other group that says, you know what? I’d rather have destruction, vehicles, graphics, audio because it’s fun. So, it’s a compromise.”