Video Game News Updates - The Feed at G4tv.com

Go Hands On With XCOM: Enemy Unknown

Posted Yesterday 2:09 PM - By Dana Leahy

XCOM Enemy Unknown

Due out in October, XCOM: Enemy Unknown, is a nod to the classic turn-based strategy game of the same name. This time, developer Firaxis is taking a crack at combining tactical and strategic game play. Rob Manuel has this to say in our XCOM: Enemy Unknown preview:

"XCOM gives us a sideways view of the base as we scrolls through the barracks, research facility, and even the command center. In this ant farm layout of rooms and tunnels, every little section requires some of the biggest choices. Research takes the items you find on the field and turns them into weapons for your soldiers with enough time, of course. Barracks, for example, let you equip your unit with the best weapons as well as level up individual warriors as you guide them through class specific tech trees."

Read the rest of our XCOM: Enemy Unknown preview!

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Gaming Urban Legends - Monsters of San Andreas and Reviving Gaming's Favorite Girl

Posted Yesterday 2:00 PM - By Alex Rubens

We’ve talked about gaming’s urban legends before here on G4, but there’s plenty left to explore. That still baffle gamers today and leave them wondering whether they could change their most influential childhood gaming moment -- when Aeris died. Or that time that their friend swore they saw Bigfoot in the woods of San Andreas. We’ve got you covered.

Bigfoot

Finding Bigfoot in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

With a vast terrain, Rockstar had plenty of space to leave in some tasty secrets for gamers to dig up while exploring their worlds. There’s been a few in every Rockstar game, but almost all of them have been found and proven -- except for one. There’s talk of monsters roaming the hills of San Andreas, but not just any monsters: Bigfoot and Leatherface specifically.

This is probably one of the biggest urban legends in gaming, that a creature could roam around a world map that players can dissect, yet it somehow manages to escape capture for proof, just like in real life. It’s a bit silly to think that this could happen, but at the time, the proof was somewhat convincing. The legend was originally propagated through blurry photos showing up on message boards. These showed distorted glimpses of the beasts.

Tags: Features, Videogames

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38 Studios Fallout Continues: R.A. Salvatore Comments

Posted Yesterday 1:29 PM - By Stephen Johnson

38 Studios Talks Kingdom of Alamur: Reckoning

The soap opera around the seeming death of 38 Studios continues. Get your popcorn ready for this one. Yesterday, liberal website DailyKos posted a story about the death of the studio. It took a political slant, lobbing a bomb at Republican founder of 38 Studios,Curt Schilling with these words:

"So a lesson for future Republican entrepreneurs. If you want to start a business fine. But don't brag about how you'll never need govt help and then put taxpayers on the line for your failure to keep track of your balance books."

NEWS: 38 Studios Closes Its Door

R. A. Salvatore, the writer of 38's Kingdoms of Amalur, responded in a comment headed "Your facts are wrong.":

"38 didn't go begging for a handout from Rhode Island...Rhode Island offered to secure a bond for them when the credit crunch reigned, trying to lure them out of Massachusetts."

Tags: Other People's Misfortune, PlayStation 3, Videogames

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G4's Knuckle Up: The Best Mobile Games - Week of May 25th

Posted Yesterday 1:01 PM - By Ashley Esqueda

Welcome to G4's Knuckle Up, where we bring you a byte-sized view of our five favorite mobile games every week. The phone and tablet space is filled with incredible games that will keep you busy for minutes, hours, or even days -- we'll let you know what we're playing and why we're playing it. Here are our top five games this week:

GAME OF THE WEEK

SLINGSHOT RACING

iOS

There’s a lot to love about Slingshot Racing, easily launching it to the top of the list of games this week. Some of my favorite games on mobile are simple, fun, and addicting racing titles like DrawRace 2,so it’s nice to see a game that not only enters the genre with aplomb, but also has the gameplay and gorgeous visuals to back that bravado up.

What makes Slingshot Racing something special within the genre is the game’s namesake: the slingshot functionality used to whip your racer around corners. You’ll tap the screen to cause little towers to grab hold of your car and sling it around each turn. You have the option of playing Career Mode, but the real fun begins when you find a couple friends and fire up the Multiplayer. Each corner of your iPad can be used as one player’s control, and there’s something really amazing about playing against a friend in person. It’s something online multiplayer can’t really match in terms of experience, and it’s worth the price of admission alone.

Overall, Slingshot Racing is an incredibly good racer with some really cool mechanics in it, and Snowbolt Interactive should be proud of the excellent game they’ve created. This one’s a must-buy, especially if you have an iPad.

Tags: Features, iPad, iPhone, Mobile, Videogames

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Darksiders 2 Hands-On Impressions -- Death Meets Loot

Posted Yesterday 1:01 PM - By Leah Jackson

Darksiders 2

Darksiders 2 follows the story of Death as he tries to avenge his brother War from Darksiders. The game's vibrant, its setting is immersive, its monster's are huge, and we've got a preview of the game to explain how it all works.

"Death’s dual scythes are his primary mode of attack, and they slice and dice with ease. Since it was the beginning of the game, I didn’t get to see any of the upgraded or alternate versions, so I can only imagine the damage the later types will do. To mix things up, I pounded a few fools with a massive hammer capable of knocking back swarms of enemies or making one dude’s day a living hell. Between the various combo and weapon options, it looks like players will have plenty of ways to experiment and customize their play styles."

We had a lot of time with Darksiders 2, so make sure to check out the rest of our in-depth Darksiders 2 hands-on impressions to learn even more about this upcoming action adventure game.

Tags: PlayStation 3, Videogames, Xbox 360

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Top 5 Aliens Races That Want To Kill Us

Posted Yesterday 1:01 PM - By Brittany Vincent

In honor of Men in Black III's theatrical release this Friday, we've got the top five alien races who want to kill us. It seems as though the human race (and Earth itself) is constantly under assault by malevolent alien races – at least, if movies and video games are to be believed. We'll admit to having done some particularly heinous things as a race, but just once it seems we should get a break from all these aliens looking to put us in the ground! At least we can look for the aid of organizations like the Men in Black when it comes to these very sticky situations...in the movies, anyway.

Get ready to paint some targets on these suckers for total annihilation.

Witness Titanic-Esque Finale Of Halo: Reach

5. The Covenant

Throughout the Halo trilogy (soon to include Halo 4) there's a veritable menagerie of alien goons out to clear us out – with ulterior motives, of course. All because they've deemed the whole of humanity offensive to their gods. The Covenant isn't an alien race itself, but a militaristic alliance of several species all united under a religious pretense – the Forerunner “ringworlds,” Halos as we know them, will supposedly lead them all to salvation. But humanity's completely in the way. The Covenant consists of several races: Elites (Sangheili), Jackals (Kig-Yar), Grunts (Unggoy) and others, all of whom aren't above slicing through Marines with energy swords, or slapping a grenade on your person for a messy finish. Oh, and they've got guns. The Covenant as a collective is dangerous, so we should thank our lucky stars Chief and the rest of the crew are on our side. And we didn't even mention the Flood!

Tags: Features

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G4's Road To E3 Sweepstakes: Win An Alienware M11X Laptop

Posted Yesterday 12:40 PM - By Nikole Zivalich

Road To E3 Console-a-Day Sweepstakes -- Who Wants To Win An Alienware M11X Gaming Laptop?

Every single day we're giving away a console/laptop in our Road To E3 Sweepstakes. We think it's important that you're up-to-date going in to the world's largest video game convention and we want to help you get there. The contest is easy to enter, and today you could win an Alienware M11X Laptop.

To enter, go to our "Road to E3" contest page, check out the rules, and fill in the form.That's it! You can enter once a day. Good luck!

Tags: PC Gaming, Sweepstakes and Contests, Videogames

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Sony Patents Interupting Game Ads

Posted Yesterday 12:28 PM - By Stephen Johnson

A recently unearthed patent filed by Sony may indicate the future of in-game advertising… and the future looks pretty annoying.

The patent, dug up by an intrepid user of the NeoGaf forum, indicates that someone at Sony is at least considering the idea of adding interrupting advertisements to games, so rather than just the occasional out-of-place billboard, games may literally make you wait through a commercial in order to play.

Tags: Other People's Misfortune, Videogames

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X-Play's Road To E3 Starts This Tuesday At 6:30/5:30c!

3 Comments

Posted Yesterday 11:01 AM - By James Elkin

This Tuesday, May 29th at 6:30/5:30c X-Play gets on the Road to E3 with a full week of coverage leading up to E3 2012!

One of gaming's biggest events is almost here, and we'll have the latest on huge games making an appearance, like Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, Assassin's Creed 3, Medal of Honor Warfighter, HALO 4, Borderlands 2, God of War: Ascension, The Elder Scrolls Online, Resident Evil 6, Far Cry 3, PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale and Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance.

Plus, we'll remember last year's most shocking E3 moments and make our predictions on what this year's biggest surprises will be.

Don't miss it when X-Play's Road to E3 starts this Tuesday, May 29th at 6:30/5:30c!

Coming Up On X-Play - The Road To E3 »

Tags: G4, PC Gaming, PlayStation 3, TV, Videogames, Videos, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360

Harry Potter For Kinect Coming This Fall From Warner Bros.

Posted Yesterday 10:53 AM - By Leah Jackson

Harry Potter For Kinect Coming This Fall From Warner Bros.

Harry Potter For Kinect has been announced exclusively for the Xbox 360 by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. The magical game will be based on all eight Potter films, and players will get to join staple characters like Harry, Ron, and Hermione as they go on adventures throughout Hogwarts and beyond.

The best part? Young Wizards and Witches will be able to use Kinect's scanning tech to create their own character to go on the journey with. They'll also be able to, "cast spells using physical maneuvers and by calling out spell names, offering an extraordinary, immersive Harry Potter experience," said WBIE.

"Harry Potter for Kinect will engage Harry Potter fans old and new by bringing them into the wizarding world as truly active participants," said Samantha Ryan, Senior Vice President, Production and Development, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. "Kids and parents will enjoy recreating their favorite Harry Potter adventures, from flying a broomstick in a Quidditch match, to battling pixies and dueling other wizards. "

Harry Potter For Kinect will be out in Fall 2012 and I'll be the first in line to get sorted. Personally I think I belong in the Hufflepuff house. Are you excited for Harry Potter For Kinect?

Tags: Kinect, Videogames, Xbox 360

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Secret World Delayed: Launching July 3

Posted Yesterday 8:52 AM - By Stephen Johnson

The Secret World

The release of The Secret World has been delayed, but don't worry. It's not because the game isn't ready or anything. Funcom says they'll put out the horror-MMO on July 3 in order to "places The Secret World in a more positive launch window which will benefit the launch of the game."

If that's too long to wait, don't worry. The Secret World's third Beta Weekend, titled "Hell Raised." will begin on June 15th and run until June 17th. In this Beta Weekend players will be able to experience the Illuminati and Dragon starter experiences as well as the Templar experience.

Tags: PC Gaming, Videogames

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Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition Developer Faces Adventure Update Challenges

Posted Yesterday 7:25 AM - By Adam Rosenberg

Minecraft 1.8 'Adventure Update' Is Officially Live

4J Studios faces some steep challenges in bringing Minecraft's "Adventure Update" content to the Xbox 360 version of the game, a new OXM interview with 4J CTO Paddy Burns reveals. The developer did a stellar job of porting the core experience to a console platform in Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition, but it still amounts to a port of an earlier version than what is currently available on the PC side.

"This is going to be the most difficult update due to the sheer amount of changes, and also the underlying architecture changes that come with it. We're looking forward to the challenge," Burns said. Adventure Update adds a range of game-changing features to the Minecraft experience, including more elaborate environments (biomes), underground mine tunnels and strongholds, a hunger meter, an experience system, NPC-populated towns, and Creative Mode, to name a few things.

Next up for the console release is an update that will bring it in line with v1.7.3 of the PC game, which notably added redstone-activated pistons. The PC release continues to be superior, but console users should definitely give this game a whirl, as our own Stephen Johnson was more than happy to recommend in his Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition review.

Tags: Videogames, Xbox 360

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Diablo 3 Real Money Auction House Delayed Again

Posted Yesterday 7:12 AM - By Adam Rosenberg

Diablo 3 Auction House Introduces Real Money Transactions

Blizzard Entertainment continues to be busy coping with a rocky launch for Diablo 3, so much so that the delayed launch of the game's real money auction house has been pushed back once again. A new post on Battle.net notes that the auction house is coming to Diablo 3 "soon," but it won't be making it's previously stated May 29, 2012 launch.

This is the third delay so far for the real money auction house. It was originally supposed to be available at launch, though that was pushed back first to May 22 and later to May 29. The lengthy Battle.net post also addresses a few of the other ongoing conversations surrounding Diablo 3, including some recent controversial hotfixes, ongoing balancing efforts, and complaints about hacked accounts.

Tags: PC Gaming, Videogames

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Indie Game: The Movie Comes Home Next Month

Posted Yesterday 6:57 AM - By Adam Rosenberg

Help, Support And Money Wanted For Indie Game: The Movie

The popular video game documentary Indie Game: The Movie will be available for purchase on digital platforms starting June 12, 2012, the official website confirms. In addition to being able to purchase the movie directly through the website, fans will also have the option of snatching it from either iTunes or Steam. Yes. Steam. No matter where you buy it, you'll be paying $9.99.

Pre-orders are already open for DVD and Blu-ray versions, though there's no set release date yet for these. A response on the official website to a reader comment indicates that boxed copies of the film should mail out soon after the digital launch, possibly sometime in July, but the physical copies still need to be designed and manufactured.

For those who aren't familiar, you should definitely check out our Indie Game: The Movie review. It's a solid piece of filmmaking that offers a deep-dive inside look into the world of indie development.

Tags: Movies, Videogames

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Zone Of The Enders: Enders Project Sees The Return Of A Classic Franchise

Posted Yesterday 6:36 AM - By Adam Rosenberg

Zone Of The Enders: Enders Project Sees The Return Of A Classic Franchise

Kojima Productions treated attendees at a recent Zone of the Enders HD gathering to the news that work is underway on a new Enders game which stands as a direct sequel to Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner. It seems that the project is in the earliest stages of development, with the NeoGAF poster noting that "right now they are still experimenting with the feasibility of making [a sequel]." Which is probably code for "EVERYONE BUY THE ZONE OF THE ENDERS HD COLLECTION WHEN IT'S OUT."

Very little was revealed about the planned game, referred to for now as the Enders Project. We know that it is a direct sequel to The 2nd Runner and that the story unfolds against the backdrop of an ancient civilization (as opposed to the previous games' futuristic world). A screen rendered in the Fox Engine was shown, and I think it's reasonable to speculate that the game will use that engine as well, assuming it happens.

In related news, the event also included confirmation that the Zone of the Enders HD Collection will be released in Japan on October 25, 2012 (via All Games Beta).

Tags: PlayStation 3, Videogames, Xbox 360