HeadGab: January 2015

Saturday, January 31, 2015

Weekend Warrior 01/30/2015

Dying Light is set to dominate the downtime of most of the editorial staff this weekend, Jeff Cork doesn't want his birthday-cake-infested progeny near his controllers, Matthew Kato and a pair of the new interns are busy channeling their inner 18-year-old girls in preparation for the first episode of Dontnod's new game Life Is Strange, and Futter is getting a whole shipment of board games. What are your plans for the weekend?

Dan Tack (@dantack): Darkest Dungeon. That is all. (It’s really dark in those dungeons.)

Jeff Marchiafava (@GIJeffM): I have temporarily shelved Far Cry 4 in favor of Dying Light, which I devoted some time to this week and will likely continue playing this weekend. It’s basically exactly what I wanted it to be: A prettier and more stable version of Dead Island. I also want to play some more Hand of Fate, which is a cool mixture of Arkham-style brawler and a collectible card game. And it’s even simple enough to run on my laptop!

Matthew Kato (@MattKato): Going to be playing the first episode of Life is Strange. Intrigued by the story-based, Heavy Rain-esque vibe of the game, although I'm not really sure what to expect in the gameplay. At least the episodic structure lets me buy and try the first one before committing to the whole thing. With the big Man City/Chelsea match this weekend, I expect I'll also be playing some FIFA as well.

Jeff Cork (@gijeff): It's my son's birthday this weekend, and while I'd love to play Super Smash Bros. with him and his friends, I don't want any kindergartner's cake-coated hands anywhere near my controllers. Once all that's out of the way, I'm hoping to get a few hours into Dying Light. Someone in my Twitter feed bragged about getting 50 million points on the Han Solo table in Star Wars Pinball. I'll have to check and see if that's better than my high score. If it is, GAME ON!

Mike Futter (@futterish): This weekend, I’ll be finishing up my gaming goals for the week. This includes raiding in Destiny, playing some Dragon Age: Inquisition, and dabbling in something new. I also have a shipment of board games coming in. Yes, a shipment. Hopefully that means playing the XCOM board game, King of Tokyo, and more Golem Arcana (which is pretty fantastic).

Andrew Reiner (@Andrew_Reiner): With Far Cry 4 finally behind me (that game is huge), I’m diving into Dying Light. If all goes as planned, my time in this zombie apocalypse will be spent with friends. I had a great time with the first Dead Island game, and I like what I’ve seen of this spiritual successor. TV watching consists of The Strain (one of the best shows out there, IMO) and I hope to watch the first episode of Extant.

Joe Juba(@Joejuba): I was waiting to play Assassin's Creed Unity until all of the problems were smoothed over. It seems like things are as good as they're going to get now, so I'll probably fire that up this weekend. I'm also partway through Cave Story (on 3DSware), so I'm hoping to finish that off and get another Metroid-style game going on the side.

Ben Hanson (@yozetty): This weekend I'm going to play more Grim Fandango. I'm very curious to see how well my memory of some of these puzzles holds up. There's also a good chance that I'll start playing Dying Light on PC, I'm hoping that it's still fun if you're just playing it by yourself. It seems like Brian Shea is enjoying it so far, so I'm looking forward to checking it out. Other than that, there's always the Jackbox Party Pack and Smash Bros to occupy too much time.

Matt Bertz (@mattbertz): Now that Dragon Age Inquisition is in the rear-view mirror (fantastic game) I'm turning my attention to Assassin's Creed Unity. I've also started playing GTA Online again in anticipation of the heists. I'm also eager to play more #IDARB, which is an early candidate for sports game of the year.

Brian Shea (@BrianPShea): This weekend, I’ll be revisiting Mass Effect 3’s multiplayer in order to keep my girlfriend company while she gets her Galactic Readiness rating as high as possible before making her final push against the Reapers. Outside of that, I’ll likely continue slowly making my way through Grand Theft Auto V on PS4, and I may finally start Sunset Overdrive. Also, Smash Bros. Always Smash Bros.

Wade Wojcik (@WadeWojcik): I’ll be taking on Crota’s End in Destiny with five other friends for another chance at epic loot/gear. Last time I got the Hunger of Crota rocket launcher!

Ben Reeves (@BenjaminReeves): I’ll be taking my nieces ice skating on Saturday, so that should be fun. They like Mario Kart, so I know they’re cool. After that I plan to head out to BWW to watch the UFC event with a couple other peeps from the office. Sunday looks pretty uneventful, which should give me plenty of time to play Grim Fandango: Remastered, Wolfenstein: The New Order, and Infamous 2 (thought I’d go back to that for some reason).

Kyle Hilliard (@KyleMHilliard): My whole family has been sick the last few days, so we're hoping to ride that out this weekend. Otherwise I've got some 3DS reviews I am working on and I am considering downloading the Metroid Prime Trilogy on Wii U because I never got around to beating the first two games – just played them a lot.

Justin Mikos (@JustinMikos): I’m going to play more Assassin’s Creed Unity this weekend. The first Helix mission was incredible, so I’m eager to get further and see more of them; but most of the other side content isn’t grabbing me so I’ll probably stick to the critical path. I’m also planning on watching more of Durarara!! season 2 and starting the second half of Aldnoah.Zero.

Elise Favis (@elisefavis): I’ll be spending most of my time finishing Dragon Age: Inqusition (I’ve spent more than enough hours on it) and checking out Life Is Strange Episode One. I might dive into Transistor periodically as well.

Jon Gregory (@JMan240): One of the weird things about me is that I have an inhuman capacity to set down a game and come back to it, which means I always have a metric ton of gaming stuff going on. The big ticket items on my plate for this weekend are Life Is Strange, Fahrenheit: Indigo Prophecy Remastered and Dragons Dogma (which I absolutely adore but for which had not previously experienced the Dark Arisen content).

I don't expect any of those will take up too much of my time, so I'll probably play some Binding of Isaac: Rebirth, finish a playthrough of Final Fantasy X: HD that's been sitting for a couple months at the Sin fight (because Dark Aeons are super dumb), continue on my second playthrough of Inquisition (just did the Templar side for the first time a couple days ago), continue playing through Kingdom Hearts 2.5 HD Remix so I can finally get to Birth By Sleep, do another couple missions in the PC port of Valykyria Chronicles, and play some of my optimal social link run through Persona 4 Golden. Also, I dare you to read all of that without taking a breath.

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Weekend Warrior 01/30/2015

Metal Gear Rising 2 Teased At Taipei Game Show

It's a blink-and-you-miss-it tease, but it looks like Metal Gear Rising 2 may be in development for PlayStation 4.

Appearing during part of Taipei Game Show's live stream (not to be confused with Tokyo Game Show, which shares the same acronym), the image you see above flashed quickly during a montage of upcoming PlayStation games. During an The Order: 1886 clip where the team is counting down for a payload drop, during the number two, a number two with the Metal Gear Rising font flashed on screen.

You can see the tease yourself by checking out the stream here and jumping to around the 2:46 mark. For our review of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, head here.

[Source: TGS Live on Twitch, via NeoGAF, vg247]

Thanks to Aaron Quixote for the news tip!

Our Take
This certainly feels like a Hideo Kojima-flavored tease. I can't think of much else it could possible be. Maybe we will find out more at E3.

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Metal Gear Rising 2 Teased At Taipei Game Show

Super Replay Title Cyberia Now Available On GOG.com

Senior associate editor Tim Turi calls Cyberia the worst game he has ever beaten, and now it's available to play from Good Old Games.

Originally released in 1994, Cyberia is a PC adventure game with puzzles and on-rails shooting segments, and it is absolutely terrible. We played through the game in its entirety for Super Replay and were so impressed that we jumped right into the sequel. If you've been waiting for a chance to try the game yourself without having to boot up an old PC and track down a physical copy of the game, now is your chance.

If you would rather watch the game be played as opposed to suffering it yourself (our recommendation, frankly), you can check out the full Super Replay by heading here. Or you can check out the first episode below.

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[Source: GoG.com, (2)]

Thanks to Andrew M for the news tip!

Our Take
It turns out most people don't have a giant locked vault of classic games near their desk, which is why it is awesome Good Old Games is working to bring these "classics" back in playable form. Otherwise, they would be lost to time, which would be a shame. Everyone('s enemies) should experience Cyberia.

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Super Replay Title Cyberia Now Available On GOG.com

PSA: Today Is Your Last Chance For January Xbox Live Games With Gold Titles

Tomorrow starts a new month and a new batch of free Xbox Live Gold games, so make sure you grab January's game's today.

If you haven't done so already, make sure you grab The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings on Xbox 360 and D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die on Xbox One (here's our Test Chamber of the bizarre game). Unfortunately, you missed your window for MX vs. ATV Alive.

Next month's games include Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons during the first half of the month and Sniper Elite V2 during the latter half. #IDARB is your free Xbox One title for February, but Microsoft jumped the gun and made it available starting yesterday. For our review of #IDARB, head here.

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PSA: Today Is Your Last Chance For January Xbox Live Games With Gold Titles

See The Outtakes From Conan, Gronk, And Marshawn Lynch's Mortal Kombat X Experience

Conan O'Brien recently played a few rounds of Mortal Kombat X with the New England Patriots’ Rob Gronkowski and the Seattle Seahawks’ Marshawn Lynch, and more footage has surfaced from the meeting.

Below you will find more clips of Conan and pals playing Mortal Kombat X as the typically quiet Marshawn Lynch offers up his unique commentary. To watch the video on Conan's site, head here. Not that there is some questionable language in this extended cut. To see the original Clueless Gamer segment, head here.

For more Clueless Gamer, check out Conan playing Super Smash Bros., horror games, WWE 2K14, and Minecraft.

The Order: 1886 Kicks Off Big Game with New Trailer

From Kratos to Nathan Drake, Killzone to LittleBigPlanet, and the many other iconic characters and franchises that have delivered greatness in technology, storytelling, and gameplay through the power of the PlayStation for the last 20 years, it’s these incredible, captivating experiences that empower your passion for PlayStation.

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The Order: 1886 Kicks Off Big Game with New Trailer

Friday, January 30, 2015

Cyanogen Wants to Take Google Away From Android, Microsoft Could Help

An unusual plot in mobile

Famed Android modder Cyanogen and his self-titled startup could end up with an ally in Microsoft. How so? Word around the web is that Microsoft is a minority investor in a $70 million round of equity financing, which would value the company at around $500 million. However, that’s only part of the story. The other part of the emerging storyline has to do with a bold statement recently made by Cyanogen CEO Kirt McMaster.

“I’m the CEO of Cyanogen. We’re attempting to take Android away from Google,” McMaster said while introducing himself and his company at a “Next Phase of Android” event.

According to Gizmodo, his comment drew some laughs from the crowd, though a day later The Wall Street Journal reported that Microsoft was investing in Cyanogen. Suddenly McMaster’s statement seems a little less funny and a lot less wild, especially if you’re Google.

Here’s the thing about Android — it’s an open-source operating system that doesn’t cost hardware makers a dime, though there are certain strings attached. If a device maker wants to access Google’s search engine, YouTube, or even the Play Store, then the device must include other Google apps and make Google search the default.

According to Ars Technica, there’s also an “anti-fragmentation clause” that prohibits OEMs from selling Android devices without Google Play. Cyanogen’s ROMs don’t come with any such clauses or restrictions.

Where does Microsoft fit into all this? We’re not sure, though it would be interesting if it managed to get Bing featured as the default search in future Cyanogen ROMs. And depending on how much skin Microsoft wants to have in the game, it could help Cyanogen negotiate deals with hardware makers — as it stands, Cyanogen recently inked a deal with Micromax, a smartphone maker in India, to ship handsets with Cyanogen installed.

It’s an odd arrangement given that Microsoft wants to grow its own Windows platform on mobile. At the same time, it also makes sense to gamble on Cyanogen, considering how large the market is for Android devices.

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Cyanogen Wants to Take Google Away From Android, Microsoft Could Help

Adobe Files Lawsuit Against Forever 21 for Pirating Software

Autodesk and Corel join lawsuit

It comes as no surprise that businesses will cut corners to reduce costs by any means necessary. Such measures might result in removing free items or services for consumers, but for fashion retail chain Forever 21, cutting corners also includes pirating software. A decision that has resulted in Adobe, along with Autodesk and Corel, filing a lawsuit against Forever 21 that claims the retail chain pirated their software.

According to the complaint, Forever 21 pirated 63 different instances of Adobe software that includes copies of Illustrator, Acrobat, and Photoshop while Autodesk and Corel included copyright infringement claims concerning AutoCAD, WinZip, PaintShop Pro, and other programs. The complaint goes on to say that the retail chain “continued their infringing activities even after being contacted by Adobe regarding the infringement.”

As a result of Forever 21’s “willful, intentional, and malicious copyright infringement” the companies are asking that the court issue an injunction and be compensated an unspecified amount for the lost revenue, court costs, and additional damages.

What means Adobe used to discover that Forever 21 was pirating and using its software was not disclosed though Adobe, on its website, encourages employees to turn in their employers stating, “If your employer is not responsive or you choose not to inform your employer of the violation, you should report the violation to the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) or the Business Software Alliance (BSA).”

However, Adobe is no stranger to people pirating its software. But back in 2013, the company moved to a cloud-based subscription model for Photoshop and other software. The move was met with some resistance and resulted in many people searching for pirated versions of the software.

So now we have to ask, will this lawsuit cause Forever 21 to lose its shirt? Sound off in the comments below!

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Adobe Files Lawsuit Against Forever 21 for Pirating Software

Google to Change Privacy Policy Following Investigation by UK Data Watchdogs

UK regulator will not fine Google

Google has been dealing with government regulators from 28 different countries since the company changed its privacy policy back in 2012. In the wake of being fined by Spain and France, Google has agreed to change its privacy policy after Britain’s data protection regulator stated that the privacy policy was too vague.

On Friday, the Information Commissioner’s Office said in a statement that Google would be required to sign a “formal undertaking” that it would make changes to its policy by June 30 while taking further steps within the next two years. As a result of this agreement, the UK will not fine Google, unlike France and Spain where regulators fined the company in addition to asking for changes.

“We’re pleased that the ICO has decided to close its investigation,” a spokesman from Google said.

Back in 2012, Google had consolidated over 60 of its existing privacy policies into one and began to pool the data it collected on individual users across its various services such as YouTube, Google+, and Gmail without providing users a way to opt out. Shortly after implementing these changes, data protection regulators from 28 European countries gave Google a deadline, after asking the company to delay the changes to its policies, after discovering that the new approach didn’t comply with EU rules.

Prior to the UK’s agreement with Google, Spain fined the company 900,000 euros ($1.02 million) while France leveled a 150,000 euros fine at the company. The fines may be a drop in the bucket for Google, which reported an annual revenue of $66 billion in 2014, but other countries are still considering their approach to the situation.

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Google to Change Privacy Policy Following Investigation by UK Data Watchdogs

Sega to Cut 300 Jobs, Will Focus on Mobile and Online PC Games

Staff offered voluntary retirement

Despite successes such as Alien: Isolation, which sold over 1 million copies, and Football Manager 2015, Sega will be making some unfortunate changes. Sega announced that 300 employees will be solicited for voluntary retirement while the company focuses on mobile and PC gaming as part of a restructuring and downsizing process.

“Voluntary retirement will be solicited in the aforementioned businesses to be withdrawn or consolidated and downsized, while at the same time personnel will be repositioned in Digital Games and growth areas of Group mainly as development personnel, in order to establish a structure which can constantly generate profits,” the company informed employees. “The purpose of these measures is to improve the business efficiency of the Group.”

Sega of America will feel the brunt of this process with its business being moved from San Francisco to Southern California. In the meantime, 120 jobs will potentially be lost between February 9 and the end of March though the company will offer incentives to employees who voluntarily retire.

“We are confident that by relocating to Southern California we will be able to thrive, grow, and become a stronger company because of it,” said Sega of America president John Cheng.

Cheng added, “We are sad to say goodbye to some of the best people in the business and are indebted to them for their hard work and dedication through the years.”

Despite the restructuring and layoffs, Sega announced that upcoming game releases will not be affected while developers Creative Assembly and Sports Interactive will be relatively unscathed during the process.

Upcoming games include Total War Battles: Kingdoms, Total War: Arena, Total War: Attila, another installment of Football Manager, and a western release of Yakuza 5.

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Sega to Cut 300 Jobs, Will Focus on Mobile and Online PC Games

Analysis: Nintendo's turned around its digital business

According to Gamasutra analyst Matt Matthews, “Nintendo is finally all-in on digital sales,” and he here provides a historical analysis of the company’s performance in the digital download realm. …

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Analysis: Nintendo’s turned around its digital business

Analysis: Nintendo's turned around its digital business

Analysis: Hardware revisions not stopping the decline of the 3DS business

Gamasutra analyst Matt Matthews shows in his new post that the 3DS business has been in steady decline: “the continued erosion of their active hardware base is a serious issue,” he writes. …

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Analysis: Hardware revisions not stopping the decline of the 3DS business

Joystiq and Massively shut down amid AOL downsizing

The rumors are true: Venerable games media outlet Joystiq is closing up shop alongside its sister site Massively and a host of other AOL-owned websites. Many people have lost their jobs. …

Joystiq and Massively shut down amid AOL downsizing

A muse on Metroid II: A maze of murderscapes

“I first played Metroid II: Return of Samus in the dimly lit women’s wing of a homeless shelter in Providence, Rhode Island. Nestled in my palms like a religious text is the video game machine.” …

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A muse on Metroid II: A maze of murderscapes

Video: How to build a healthy eSports community around your game

As part of the GDC Next 2014 Community Summit, Jason Xu (CEO of eSports management platform Battlefy) presented developers with data and strategies for encouraging competitive play in their games. …

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Video: How to build a healthy eSports community around your game

Get a job: Crystal Dynamics seeks a Senior Environment Artist

The house responsible for the Tomb Raider reboot is looking to hire an experienced environment artist to work alongside the Rise of the Tomb Raider team in its Redwood City, CA office. …

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Get a job: Crystal Dynamics seeks a Senior Environment Artist

Don't Miss: The making of Elite

Elite co-creator David Braben shares the motivation behind and genesis of the genre-defining space flight sim, which stood against industry demands for another arcade-patterned game. …

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Don’t Miss: The making of Elite

Don't Miss: The making of Elite

Road to the IGF: Kevin Regamey's Phonopath

As part of our ongoing Road to the IGF interview series with nominees, Power Up Audio co-founder Kevin Regamey explains how he built the award-nominated audio puzzle game Phonopath and why. …

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Road to the IGF: Kevin Regamey’s Phonopath

Road to the IGF: Kevin Regamey's Phonopath

Test Chamber – Darkest Dungeon

Dan Tack has been playing a ton of this game and thinks it's really special; if you like dungeon crawls or roguelikes he'd highly recommend that you give it a try.

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Test Chamber – Darkest Dungeon

Check Out These 8 Mind-Bending Console Mods

The average console owner probably handles his or her system cautiously, and with good reason. Messing with the hardware side of modern consoles can void important warranties and even get consoles banned from online services. However, for a small sector of the gaming community, tearing into gaming devices new and old in service of creating something crazy is worth the risk.

GC – Lynx

The original Atari Lynx snuck onto our recent list of gaming innovations the world wasn’t ready for. Luckily, the general public’s lukewarm response to the handheld didn’t stop Atari from releasing a much better looking revision. Without the redesign, this beautifully executed GameCube handheld from Akira, a user of the popular Bacman modding forums, probably wouldn’t exist.

While far from the craziest example of a technique called frankencasing, in which creators adapt a pre-existing case to house their creation, Akira’s GC – Lynx is one of the of the nicest custom handhelds around. In addition to being an interesting use of a mostly forgotten piece of gaming history, the handheld sports the kind of attention to detail that makes it stand out from similar projects.

Particularly impressive is the inclusion of triggers that mimic the original GameCube controller, the Lynx’s original rubber grips, and a vent shaped like the GameCube’s logo. The result is a handheld that looks like it could be a real Nintendo prototype.

The BMO Boy

Adventure Time’s blend of oddness, high-quality animation, and the earnest embrace of the geekier side of modern culture has allowed it to transcend the age barrier commonly associated with cartoons since its premier in 2010. One of the series’ most popular characters is BMO, Finn and Jake’s loyal companion and living video game console. With such a strong connection to the culture surrounding games, it was inevitable that a real version of the loveable blue box would pop up.

A handful of people have made different takes on BMO from the classic “fat” Game Boy model, but few are as pleasantly simple as Bacman user djlooka’s project. While the mod is mostly cosmetic, djlooka went the extra mile, creating a custom Game Boy cart to display BMO’s face and box art based on the original Game Boy.

Gameboy – Reloaded

The original Game Boy is a longtime favorite starting point for modders. The case is big enough to be used for a handful of different types of mods, and it’s easy to work with. This particular Game Boy mod, also by Akira, sets out to be the Swiss Army knife of handhelds and succeeds.

While not as visually outstanding as the GC – Lynx, the Gameboy – Reloaded can play a dizzying array of titles, including original Gameboy titles, dumped NES and SNES carts, and even some Nintendo DS games that don’t require a second screen. It also sports a custom cartridge that flashes LEDs in time to game music, a pair of extra face buttons, built-in rechargeable batteries, the DS’ larger bottom screen, a massive extra speaker, and a custom case with accessories.

R2-D2 Gaming Droid

The gaming community’s interests regularly spill over into other forms of media; even Game Informer branches out and covers books, films, or board games once in a while. Occasionally, overlapping interests combine to make something special. Brian De Vitis’ R2-D2 Gaming Droid is just the kind of unique blend of video games and Star Wars worthy of being called special.

Work on R2 began in 2007, as De Vitis, a mechanical engineer who now builds unmanned vehicles, began modifying an R2-D2 themed Pepsi cooler. The project continued to grow for the next three years, incorporating more and more consoles as it neared its debut at PAX 2010. When work finally stopped on R2, the former cooler housed an N64, NES, SNES, Atari 7800, original Xbox, Dreamcast, PlayStation 2, Atari 5200, a Windows XP computer, GameCube, Genesis, a projector, and a PSP in a custom compartment.

Everyone’s favorite astromech droid made the trip to a pair of PAX conferences, where it hosted tournaments and hung out in the convention’s free-play room.

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Check Out These 8 Mind-Bending Console Mods

Charting Progress: The History Of Animation At Naughty Dog

Josh Scherr has worked at Naughty Dog for nearly fifteen years. Joining the studio to help animate Jak and Daxter, Scherr has had a front-row seat for the evolution of Naughty Dog's animating process. While he has now shifted roles and is helping write Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (you can watch him discuss his new role here), Scherr helped shape and guide the revered studio from the days of cartoon-inspired key-frame animation for the Jak and Daxter series to the expertly detailed animation of Uncharted 4: A Thief's End.

Watch the video interview below to learn about the stressful days of transitioning away from the Jak and Daxter era, the flaws Scherr now sees in Uncharted 1's animation, and what the future holds for animation at Naughty Dog.

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To learn more about Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, click on the banner below to enter our hub that's filled with exclusive content.

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Charting Progress: The History Of Animation At Naughty Dog

Why Single-Player Gamers Should Consider Evolve

Evolve's 4v1 multiplayer is a concept that's resonated with gamers through successful public alpha and beta periods prior to its release on February 10. The game's multiplayer credentials, however, have not been created at the expense of those who want to play it solo. Evolve has effectively little design difference between single- and multiplayer, as well as gameplay and structural details that single-player fans should be comfortable with even while in multiplayer. If you weren't going to play Evolve because you thought it was aimed solely at multiplayer fans, you should reconsider.

Evolve features solo, offline play, although it's not a standalone experience like a story-based Call of Duty mode, for example. Then again, it's not a throwaway experience by any means, either. Solo gamers can play through all the game's modes and still get the core experience thanks to character swapping via the d-Pad (with the A.I. taking control of the other hunters and monster). This includes the multi-stage Evacuation mode where you play through five matches with the winning side of each match carrying an advantage into the next one on a new map. Evacuation culminates in a Defend mode match where the hunters must defend generators in order to escape. Although Evacuation isn't a story mode per se, single-player fans should enjoy it as a respite from the normal match-after-match grind or even your standard mode playlist.

While switching between hunters when playing by yourself is certainly a solo experience, you can also get the same while playing multiplayer by choosing to play as the monster. Without teammates (real or A.I.) to coordinate with, your task is to eat indigenous animals to evolve into bigger and badder stages and, depending on the game mode, destroy the map's generators, kill hunters, defend your eggs, or kill colonists. If you don't like playing multiplayer because you don't like hassling with other idiots online, playing as the monster and crushing others could be downright cathartic. You can also restrict your play sessions to just your friends since the game can fill out the empty player slots with A.I. bots.

Traditionally single-player gamers should also appreciate Evolve's dual progression systems. Unlocking the different hunters and monsters as you advance confers new load-outs, abilities, and play styles above the normal differentiation amongst the hunter classes. Meanwhile, perks are larger-scale rewards for your accomplishments. These incentives add additional meaning to your average multiplayer match and help you build an identity even though you may be switching hunter classes and playing as new characters. Solo-loving gamers can also unlock the hunters/monsters by themselves and then transfer all their progress seamlessly into multiplayer.

Whether you play alone simply as practice before you take things online, or you eschew the company of others, Evolve developer Turtle Rock has wisely crafted a game that has its heart in the multiplayer experience without excluding those who prefer not to play that way. While it remains to be seen how the bots handle themselves, it's by no means out-of-the-question that they can at least be competent. As a gamer who normally doesn't play with others, Evolve has given me another reason to look forward to its release.

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Why Single-Player Gamers Should Consider Evolve

Replay – Shadow Of The Colossus

When we first launched Replay over five years ago, we immediately started discussing ways to make it better. Ideas like "Wouldn't it be cool if we had cameras in the studio?" and "We should create a competitive league that culminates in a tournament," were tossed around, but were never acted on, because truthfully, we didn't have the means to pull them off the way we wanted to. That changes today. Welcome to Replay: Season 3!

The heart and soul of Replay are not changing, and never will, but we felt it was time to shake up the show and give it a slightly different identity – starting with cameras in the studio. Although the cameras are rolling for the recording of an entire episode, you won't see us on-screen at all times. We are using them sparingly, and mostly to show off peripherals we are using, and to capture the emotional outbursts of our crew.

We've also dreamed up a host of new ideas for our second segments, but we don't want to ruin the surprises we have lined up for the weeks and months ahead. One of the hopes, which I think you'll see in this episode, is to find different ways to get the Game Informer staff involved in Replay, even if it is for a few minutes. We play games daily here, and have countless stories to share with you. We think we've found a way to do that.

For the first episode of Season 3, Tim Turi, Kyle Hilliard, Jeff Cork, and I looked for a game that stood out from the crowd, and settled on Team Ico's remarkable PlayStation 2 experience, Shadow of the Colossus. We discuss the impact this 2005 release had on video games, talk about the development studio behind it, and share our thoughts on its successor, The Last Guardian.

After watching us play Shadow, stick around for a new take on one of our favorite second segments. We didn't expect it to be this intense.

As always, we welcome your feedback on the show in the comments section below, on YouTube, and over at the I Watched the Entire Overblood Super Replay group on Facebook. We hope you enjoy the show, and thanks for sticking with us for over five years. We couldn't keep going without your support!

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Replay – Shadow Of The Colossus

Vote For The Next Super Replay!

What classic game should the Game Informer crew play to completion next? Cast your vote now!

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Vote For The Next Super Replay!

Steam Workshop Payouts Top $57 Million Since 2011 Launch

Valve has shared new statistics on the Steam Workshop program. According to the publisher and platform holder, over $57 million have been paid out to creators of items for Valve games.

That sum was earned by over 1,500 community members in more than 75 countries. Up until now, supported titles were limited to the publisher’s own games. Cosmetic items for Team Fortress 2, Dota 2, and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive have been quite popular since the Workshop launch in 2011.

Now, Valve is adding the first games from other developers to the monetization program. Dungeon Defenders: Eternity and Chivalry: Medieval Warfare are now part of the curated workshop initiative.

The company says it anticipates adding more curated workshops in the future. Monetized community content isn’t strictly limited to Steam, either. Sony Online Entertainment has a Player Studio that has been extremely lucrative for vetted creators.

When we spoke with former Planetside 2 senior art director Tramell Isaac in 2013, he told us that players were walking away with thousands in shared revenue from their creations. You can read that interview here.

[Source: Valve]

Our Take
As companies expand their business model into new types of free-to-play (like Planetside and Dota 2), we’re going to see more opportunities for community members to earn. Not only does this take pressure off the art and development teams to create new cosmetic options, but it keeps players engaged and builds a tighter knit community.

Provided these contributions continue to be vetted and polished with help from staff, there is huge potential for user-generated content. We’ll see how this works in a console environment once Planetside 2 launches on PlayStation 4.

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Steam Workshop Payouts Top $57 Million Since 2011 Launch

Square Enix Announces A New Pair Of Game Collections

Square Enix has announced a pair of collections that bundle together some of the publisher's best games on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The collections are thematically tied together, so you're covered whether your tastes lean toward causing mayhem or keeping a low profile.

The first collection is the Ultimate Action Triple Pack. It contains Just Cause 2, Sleeping Dogs, and Tomb Raider. The Ultimate Stealth Triple Pack includes Thief, Hitman: Absolution, and Deus Ex: Human Revolution.

Both bundles will be released on March 31, and priced at $29.99 apiece.

Our Take
Each of these are solid deals, considering the games in the Action Triple Pack have an average GI score of 8.6. The Ultimate Stealth Pack isn't far behind with an average of 8.4.

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Square Enix Announces A New Pair Of Game Collections

Emboar Is Now Available For Pokémon Omega Ruby And Alpha Sapphire

The second of three announced free Pokémon downloads is now available. Don’t worry if you didn’t get Serperior last week, you’ve still got time. But now’s a good opportunity to snatch him.

Emboar joins the lineup and will remain available through November 30. In order to get your own (complete with a hidden ability), you’ll need to use the Mystery Gift option in Omega Ruby or Alpha Sapphire.

Once there, you’ll need to enter a code. Serperior’s is “Pokemon497.” Emboar’s is “Pokemon500.”

One more special download is still to come. You’ll be able to nab Samurott with a code that will be in the next Pokémon Trainer Club email. You can sign up to receive it on the Pokémon website.

Continued:

Emboar Is Now Available For Pokémon Omega Ruby And Alpha Sapphire