http://auth.gamespot.com/ Gamespot's Everything Feed! News, Reviews, Videos. Exploding with content? You bet. en-us Sun, 20 Jul 2014 06:40:21 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/divinity-original-sin-review/2300-6420322/ Great writing, creative dungeons, and fun combat will make you fall in love with RPG's all over again. Sat, 19 Jul 2014 20:44:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/divinity-original-sin-review/2300-6420322/ http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/divinity-original-sin-review/1900-6415819/ <p style="">To play Divinity: Original Sin is to fall in love with role-playing games all over again. It's tempting to label the game as an immediate classic simply because it recalls the days of <a href="/baldurs-gate/" data-ref-id="false">Baldur's Gate</a> and <a href="/planescape-torment/" data-ref-id="false">Planescape: Torment</a>, a time that many role-players still look back on with much fondness. It's true that Original Sin has the trappings of those memorable gems: an isometric camera perspective, an adventuring party of four, magic spells and pubs to relax in and an intriguing fantasy kingdom that captures the imagination. What makes this game so special, however, is that it avoids slavish devotion to those games of old and instead tells a tale very much its own--a tale of conflict between the elements that plays out in electrifying turn-based battles, and a real-world tale of loyalty, in which game and player establish a bond born out of patience, perseverance, and the promise of joyous surprises in every crevasse.</p><p style="">That Original Sin expects a certain amount of patience is obvious from its opening hours, during which you grow accustomed to the game's quiet confidence in your own intelligence and wits. As you traipse about the first town learning the ins and outs of the complex crafting and combat systems, you discover that there are genre conventions you must live without. There is no automated crafting interface that pieces together recipes you have learned; instead, you must remember those recipes or refer to your logbook. Waypoints are few, and quests rarely lead you directly to your ultimate destination. You do a lot of meandering in these early hours, which makes the pace drag, but this is your chance to explore, to test the waters, and to poke and prod at the game to discover what makes it tick.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static2.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2601227-acrevdivinity+-+divinity+-+2014-07-17+12-36-12+%28p%2901.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2601227" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static2.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2601227-acrevdivinity+-+divinity+-+2014-07-17+12-36-12+%28p%2901.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2601227"><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/416/4161502/2601227-acrevdivinity+-+divinity+-+2014-07-17+12-36-12+%28p%2901.jpg"></a><figcaption>Even walking through the wrong door can make you enemies. </figcaption></figure><p style="">In the process, you discover that Original Sin forces you to confront the consequences of your actions, and does so in ways that most RPGs boasting meaningful decisions fail to match. You cannot take every loaf of bread from an inn, or open any door you please, lest your actions lead to disapproval from the homeowner, or even the wrath of nearby guards. Such consequences appear in other RPGs, of course, but Original Sin goes even further, to the point where you must consider activities you would never question in most other games. In turn, you come to conduct yourself with an unusual level of care. In one instance, I dug up a grave within plain sight of a sobbing villager grieving her buried loved one. In a tear-fueled anger, the woman turned on me, a battle began, and I sliced her up with little fanfare. She was not a warrior, and no match for my party.</p><p style="">I mourned over this one simple action. Few role-playing games would have allowed this kind of conflict; they are designed to have you clicking on everything, seeking every possible gold medallion, every possible health potion. Games at large have taught me to presume there may be something valuable buried in graves and crypts, and those valuables are the journey's driving force in many (if not most) RPGs. Digging up this fresh grave rewarded me with a measly bone, a common crafting component I could easily have gone without. I had defiled a dead man's resting place and taken an innocent life because my greed was too great. I felt more guilty and more invested in this one action than I have felt in entire quest lines in other choice-driven role-playing games, and I chose not to reload an earlier save point. I forced myself to live with my decision.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static3.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2601218-acrevdivinity+-+divinity+-+2014-07-12+10-21-4756.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2601218" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static3.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2601218-acrevdivinity+-+divinity+-+2014-07-12+10-21-4756.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2601218"><img src="http://static2.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/416/4161502/2601218-acrevdivinity+-+divinity+-+2014-07-12+10-21-4756.jpg"></a><figcaption>Expect few oases in this harsh desert. </figcaption></figure><p style="">And so you learn that every action has a reaction. This isn't <a href="/mass-effect/" data-ref-id="false">Mass Effect</a> or <a href="/reviews/dragon-age-origins-review/1900-6238628/" data-ref-id="1900-6238628">Dragon Age</a>--your narrative path isn't determined by a good-or-bad morality system and branching conversations. Rather, you hew a path with every step, and the game responds naturally, allowing you to craft small but memorable stories like the one about the lady at the grave. You engage in plenty of dialogue, of course, much of it witty, much of it dramatic, and most of it colorfully written. There's a skeleton who misses having a soul, and whom you convince to replace his head. (It seems logical at the time.) There's a statue that promises to show you how your journey ends, and rolls the game's end credits should you ask to see your future. Developer Larian Studios takes Polonius' words in <em>Hamlet</em> to heart: "Brevity is the soul of wit." The frequent conversations rarely get bogged down by endless and unnecessary dialogue, and conversation partners are drawn with broad, vibrant strokes. Some dialogue doesn't adjust properly to account for story events you have triggered (why are you talking about that necromancer as if you didn't know I murdered her?), but idiosyncrasies like that are minor distractions at worst.</p><p style="">You read more than just the onscreen dialogue. You must peruse recipe books if you want to learn how make a club out of a piece of wood and a handful of nails, or how to write a magic scroll. You craft items by dropping and dragging objects onto each other directly in your inventory window, or perhaps by dragging items onto a nearby furnace, mobile kitchen, or other gadget. You spend a lot of time in your inventory windows, which proves rather cumbersome after a while. But it's hard to contain yourself in that special moment when you create a magical starfish by accident--a moment outmatched by the one in which figure out what, exactly, you can do with that magical starfish.</p><figure data-align="left" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static3.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2601232-divinity+-+divinity+-+2014-07-17+04-07-14+%28p%2903.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2601232" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static3.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2601232-divinity+-+divinity+-+2014-07-17+04-07-14+%28p%2903.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2601232"><img src="http://static3.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_medium/416/4161502/2601232-divinity+-+divinity+-+2014-07-17+04-07-14+%28p%2903.jpg"></a><figcaption>Into the woods without delay, but careful not to lose the way. </figcaption></figure><p style="">What a wonderful place this is to be, overflowing with visual details and unexpected occurrences that make exploration a treat. There are blizzards and dust storms to trudge through, with each weather phenomenon ensuring that you rethink how to play. (The sandy winds slow me down in battle; how, then, must I compensate? I keep slipping in the ice; I wonder if these snowboots I found could prove useful?) There are spider-worshippers and cultists and an otherworldly place to call home, where you can bring on new hirelings and stash excess junk for safekeeping. Every discovery is a thrill, not just because there are so many sights to drink in and fill up on, but because some discoveries might lead to unplanned quest developments. For instance, if you are fortunate enough to have a party member who has earned the pet pal perk, a talking rabbit might have some excellent advice that allows you to bypass a perilous cavern--advice that has you again rethinking hitherto mundane game mechanics.</p><p style="">Depending on how you spend the skill points you earn as you level up, you might be able to talk your way out of conflict by charming, intimidating, or reasoning with potential adversaries. You wouldn't think that simple chats could be so dramatic as those in Original Sin, but the game uses a straightforward but effective rock-paper-scissors minigame to turn vital conversations into a suspenseful duel of words. The higher your rating in a particular conversation style, the closer you come to winning the verbal war with every rock-paper-scissors victory. My stress levels ran high when talks came down to one final game of chance. If I win, I can walk around the encampment freely; if I lose, I must shed the blood of the opposition. And if blood must be shed, I might never know what information or stories my victims might have otherwise shared.</p><blockquote data-align="center" data-size="large"><p style="">But it's hard to contain yourself in that special moment when you create a magical starfish by accident--a moment outmatched by the one in which figure out what, exactly, you can do with that magical starfish.</p></blockquote><p style="">Intriguingly, your two primary party members--the ones you customize within moments of booting up the game--may not agree with each other on a proper course of action. When playing with a cooperative partner, this means both players have an opportunity to direct the outcome. When playing on your own, this allows you to role-play both of these characters, a circumstance that led me to an experience I don't recall having had in any role-playing game before now. I had decided my man at arms had the soul of a paladin, always yearning to support the downtrodden uphold the moral high ground no matter the cost. My witch, on the other hand, was both more practical and more adventurous in my mind, always trying to stir the pot unless the aftermath were potentially too disastrous. When the two exchanged tough words, I chose options that seemed consistent with their characters, while secretly rooting for one or the other to overcome. I was playing both roles simultaneously, rather than just outright choosing the outcome I wanted. Plenty of RPGs feature adventuring parties; few actually encourage you to play two independent roles at once. </p><p style="">Conversations can and do go awry; luckily, the tense and thoughtful battles are incredibly rewarding in their own right. The moment you engage your enemies, time pauses and combatants enter battle stance. From here, your party members perform whatever actions you command of them until you use up their action points or end their turn. Party members begin the game with very specific types skills, but Original Sin's great flexibility means that your adventurers might be able to fling all kinds of spells and swing all kinds of weapons. And while you don't want to sacrifice mastery for flexibility, having a lot of different types of attacks to choose from is highly advantageous, for battles are not just a clash of wills, but a clash of elements as well.</p><figure data-align="right" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static2.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2601222-divinity506.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2601222" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static2.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2601222-divinity506.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2601222"><img src="http://static4.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_medium/416/4161502/2601222-divinity506.jpg"></a><figcaption>Rain shall quench these fires and cleanse your sins. </figcaption></figure><p style="">Elements are a vital aspect of video game sorcery; fireballs, ice shards, tornadoes, and the such have long held central magical roles in fantasy fiction. In Divinity: Original Sin, those elements cooperate and collide with each other, opening up all manner of satisfying offensive possibilities. You can make it rain, and then zap puddles with electricity, stunning the orcs unfortunate enough to be standing in them. You can ignite poisonous clouds and slicks of oil, thus bringing a band of creepy-crawlies to a smoldering end. Barrels of water and oil can provide a bit of battlefield assistance should they be scattered about, but be careful: not only can your opponents turn the tables, but you can inadvertently injure or even destroy your own party members if you get careless when zapping puddles and spewing poison.</p><p style="">Battle is not just about maximizing damage, however, and elements are not just for hurting and healing, but also for hindering. I won a nail-biting struggle with four colossal guardians by carefully controlling their speed and their strength. Turn by turn, I blinded, stunned, froze, weakened, and crippled these iron giants, doing my best to keep every character alive and taking down one guardian at a time until all four had fallen. Every time one of them marched towards my party, I held my breath. They could kill my mages with a single swipe, and their slow gait was pure agony. This is turn-based combat at its best. Every attack is meaningful, every option is a consideration, and every new enemy has you rethinking your strategy.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static2.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2601231-divinity+-+divinity+-+2014-07-17+03-04-02+%28p%2938.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2601231" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static2.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2601231-divinity+-+divinity+-+2014-07-17+03-04-02+%28p%2938.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2601231"><img src="http://static5.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/416/4161502/2601231-divinity+-+divinity+-+2014-07-17+03-04-02+%28p%2938.jpg"></a><figcaption>Don't underestimate the usefulness of potions and one-time scrolls. They might hold the key to escaping a tight spot. </figcaption></figure><p style="">Divinity: Original Sin's minor flaws include a few bugs here and there, such as one that might turn a cave into a neverending mass of explosions. Its interface is fiddly, giving each party member his or her own supply of gold and sometimes making it a chore to do things as simple as repairing equipment or bartering with townspeople. Some idiosyncrasies aren't flaws, however, but rather reminders of how often we expect games to ask of us the simplest questions and then provide us easy answers. How do you find the forest where the White Witch lives? You go out into the world and you find it. How do you locate all the door-opening switches in an immense library? You look for them, you investigate, you open your eyes wide and truly take in the space around you. Little by little, you learn the rules--and little by little, you wonder why there are so few games so willing to trust you to examine and explore. That it believes in you is Original Sin's greatest achievement, and given its many achievements, that's high praise indeed.</p> Sat, 19 Jul 2014 20:44:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/divinity-original-sin-review/1900-6415819/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-one-exclusive-quantum-break-s-live-action-sho/1100-6421215/ <div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6420286" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6420286/" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p dir="ltr" style="">The live action show component of the Xbox One-exclusive game <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/quantum-break/">Quantum Break</a> is still on track despite Microsoft's recent announcement that it's shutting down Xbox Entertainment Studios, the division responsible for original Xbox programming.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Developer Remedy, which previously created <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/max-payne/">Max Payne</a> and <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/alan-wake/">Alan Wake</a>, told <a href="http://www.polygon.com/2014/7/17/5914141/quantum-break-xbox-entertainment-studios-closure-xbox-one" rel="nofollow">Polygon</a> in a statement that both the game and show are going along as planned, and that it's excited to share more details about Quantum Break at Gamescom this August.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Xbox Entertainment Studios' shuttering is part of Microsoft's plan to <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-layoffs-greater-than-expected-up-to-18-0/1100-6421171/">lay off up to 18,000 of its employees</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Some of Xbox Entertainment Studios' employees--including president Nancy Tellem and executive vice president Jordan Levin--will "stay on and remain committed to original programming already in production." This includes Signal to Noise--the documentary series that will cover, among other subjects, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-man-who-buried-e-t-for-atari-in-1983-recalls-what-happened/1100-6419438/">the Atari E.T. dig</a>--as well as <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/e3-2014-halo-5-s-mysterious-spartan-named-agent-locke-backstory-coming-in-nightfall/1100-6420433/">Halo: Nightfall</a> and Steven Spielberg's <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/halo-tv-show-won-t-be-filler-microsoft-says/1100-6416982/">Halo TV series</a>.</p><p style="">Quantum Break follows Jack Joyce, a man on a mission to prevent the end of time, fighting against the nefarious corporation Monarch Solutions. The actions you take will impact how the story unfolds not only in the game, but also the show. The game follows Quantum Break's heroes, while the TV show highlights the villains. The game will launch in 2015.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer. You can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a> and <a href="https://plus.google.com/116710591398405257934/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Google+</a>.<br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><p style=""><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></p><p style=""> </p></td></tr></tbody></table> Sat, 19 Jul 2014 16:28:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-one-exclusive-quantum-break-s-live-action-sho/1100-6421215/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/valve-responds-to-steam-developers-security-concer/1100-6421214/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2601764-8943408693-25903.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2601764" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2601764-8943408693-25903.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2601764"><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1535/15354745/2601764-8943408693-25903.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">Earlier this week, <a href="http://steamdb.info/blog/47/" rel="nofollow">SteamDB published an open letter to Valve</a> from various members of Steam's developer community concerned with some of the company's security practices.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Their primary concern is that unlike other big companies like Facebook and Google, which offer hundreds and even thousands of dollars in rewards to security researchers who discover exploits, Valve doesn't have an official "bug-bounty" program. People who do discover security flaws and want to do the right thing and report them are not sure where to turn, and usually don't get rewarded. If they do, it's in the form of rare, in-game economy items like Team Fortress 2 hats.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"Regardless of bounties, not having a clear page describing how to report security bugs to Valve, and receive acknowledgement that reports have been received, is harmful to Valve's customers," The open letter reads, "the top result when searching for 'Steam bug report' on Google is a Steam Powered Users Forum section for the video game DogFighter – demonstrating that users who wish to report bugs responsibly have difficulty finding an avenue to do so."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Valve responded to the letter the same day it was published. "We take security very seriously, and your email prompted us to evaluate our current procedures," it said. "In light of that we have recently created a new security web page which explains our process for receiving and responding to security reports (<a href="http://www.valvesoftware.com/security" rel="nofollow">http://www.valvesoftware.com/security</a>). We believe our process is robust but we understand that we haven't been completely transparent about the process and that has created some confusion. We hope that the above page helps to add clarity and discoverability."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">It also explained that only some teams within Valve, namely the Team Fortress 2 team, have chosen to offer small rewards for certain valuable reports. At the moment, Valve isn't planning to establish a formal bug-bounty program.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Valve's response also ignored the open letter's claim that it took the company 24 hours to patch its servers to address the notorious <a href="http://www.cnet.com/news/heartbleed-bug-undoes-web-encryption-reveals-user-passwords/" rel="nofollow">Heartbleed</a> vulnerability. The letter claims that the delay was "unacceptable," and the Valve still hasn't said what data may have been compromised.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"The security page is a step into the right direction, but some points are left unanswered," the authors of the letter said following Valve's response. "We will continue to communicate with Valve."</p><p style=""><em>What do you think people who report security flaws should get in return? Let us know in the comments below.</em></p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer. You can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a> and <a href="https://plus.google.com/116710591398405257934/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Google+</a>.<br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><p style=""><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></p><p style=""> </p></td></tr></tbody></table> Sat, 19 Jul 2014 15:32:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/valve-responds-to-steam-developers-security-concer/1100-6421214/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-evil-within-is-coming-sooner-than-we-thought/1100-6421213/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2601754-8415852375-24432.png" data-ref-id="1300-2601754" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2601754-8415852375-24432.png" data-ref-id="1300-2601754"><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1535/15354745/2601754-8415852375-24432.png"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">Horror game <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/the-evil-within/">The Evil Within</a> has moved its release date once again, but if you're eager to play it the change is in your favor this time. Previously set to launch on October 21, its new release date is October 14, according to <a href="https://twitter.com/TheEvilWithin/status/489919341345792000" rel="nofollow">the game's official Twitter account</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The Evil Within was originally scheduled to <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/resident-evil-creator-s-new-horror-game-for-xbox-one-ps4-arrives-this-august/1100-6417753/">launch in August</a> for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4, but was reportedly delayed to October to give the development team additional time to make further balance changes and refinements to the game.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Developed by <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/resident-evil/">Resident Evil</a> creator Shinji Mikami and his team at Tango Gameworks, The Evil Within will be published by Fallout and Elder Scrolls publisher Bethesda Softworks. Mikami has described the game as a true return to the roots of the survival horror genre.</p><p style="">For more on The Evil Within, check out GameSpot editor Zorine Te's <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/what-other-horror-games-lie-inside-the-evil-within/1100-6420739/">article about what other horror games seemed to influence the game's two hour preview build</a>.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer. You can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a> and <a href="https://plus.google.com/116710591398405257934/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Google+</a>.<br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><p style=""><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></p></td></tr></tbody></table> Sat, 19 Jul 2014 13:56:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-evil-within-is-coming-sooner-than-we-thought/1100-6421213/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/failed-kickstarted-yogcast-game-wasted-35-000-on-o/1100-6421212/ <div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6420305" data-width="854" data-height="480"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6420305/" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p dir="ltr" style="">Earlier this week, we learned that <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/yogventures/" data-ref-id="false">Yogventures</a>, a game from the popular YouTube channel Yogscast, has been <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/free-game-given-to-backers-of-failed-yogscast-game/1100-6421172/">canceled after raising $567,000 on Kickstarter</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Yogscast co-founder Lewis Brindley said that the project was ultimately "too ambitious and difficult" for the six-man developer it partnered with, Winterkewl Games.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">On Friday, Winterkewl lead developer Kris Vale explained to backers via a <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/winterkewlgames/yogventures/posts/919100" rel="nofollow">Kickstarter update</a> some of the issues it faced during development, including one major incident that cost it $35,000. In short, Winterkewl paid an artist in advance, who then went to work at LucasArts without finishing his commitments to the project.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"This is a very good example of how my inexperience caused some problems in the development," Vale said. "Because we had worked out a contract that guaranteed each of the principal artists a $35,000 lump sum payment, and we didn't make any clear clause on how and why someone could legally stop working on the project, the artist in question got paid, worked for about 2 weeks and then stopped working on the project. We had no way to force that person to pay back any of the funds and it was a bitter lesson to learn. Always get every possible scenario in writing or you will have no legal recourse."</p><figure data-align="right" data-size="small" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2601720-3648140090-866cd.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2601720" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2601720-3648140090-866cd.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2601720"><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_small/1535/15354745/2601720-3648140090-866cd.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">Vale said that after this incident, Yogacast's Brindley lost faith in Vale's ability to manage the budget, and required that the money that hadn't been spent already be transferred to Yogcast.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"In the end we negotiated that $150,000 would be transferred to the Yogscast with the understanding that they would use that money exclusively to create and ship all the physical rewards, AND they would help hire the main programmer that we still didn't have on the project," Vale said.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"Winterkewl's statement omits much and I would disagree with a number of points, but there's no value in going into detail," Brindley said in a post to the <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/Yogscast/comments/2b4jgb/update_from_lewis_re_yogventures/" rel="nofollow">Yogcast subreddit </a>earlier today. "Our only goal right now is to ensure that we provide the best possible experience for the backers that we can. I can honestly say this has been our goal throughout."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Brindley also reiterated that Yogscast is working hard to reimburse the backers with other rewards and a code for a different game, TUG.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Vale said that he needs to consult with his accountant to make sure the information is accurate, but offered a detailed breakdown of how Winterkewl planned to spend the roughly $415,000 it had to work with after Amazon and Kickstarter collected their fees from the total $567,665 raised. You can find that breakdown in <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/winterkewlgames/yogventures/posts/919100" rel="nofollow">the last Kickstarter update</a>. </p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer. You can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a> and <a href="https://plus.google.com/116710591398405257934/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Google+</a>.<br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><p style=""><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></p></td></tr></tbody></table> Sat, 19 Jul 2014 12:23:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/failed-kickstarted-yogcast-game-wasted-35-000-on-o/1100-6421212/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/quick-look-the-nightmare-cooperative/2300-6420313/ Watch extended gameplay footage from The Nightmare Cooperative featuring the Giant Bomb crew. Sat, 19 Jul 2014 12:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/quick-look-the-nightmare-cooperative/2300-6420313/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/destiny-beta-gets-two-new-maps-this-weekend-but-on/1100-6421211/ <div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6420276" data-width="854" data-height="480"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6420276/" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p dir="ltr" style="">The Destiny beta will start a limited time event today that adds two new maps to the game, developer Bungie has announced in <a href="http://www.bungie.net/en/News/News?aid=11938" rel="nofollow">its most recent weekly update</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">If you've played the Destiny alpha and are currently playing the beta, you've probably noticed that it's missing the Rusted Lands map for the game's competitive multiplayer mode, the Crucible. Today's event, The Iron Banner, will see the return of that map as well as a brand new one, Blind Watch, which is set on Mars.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The Iron Banner is also a bit different from the normal multiplayer mode. "Bring your absolute best gear because we turn on Level Advantages," Bungie Designer Lars Bakken said. "That means your Attack and Defense ratings matters in Iron Banner matches." The event also has limited time rewards, so winning a match might be your only opportunity to win a certain weapon.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The Iron Banner begins on Saturday, July 19 at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time. It will remain open for only two hours. If you want to see the new maps, you better clear your schedule, because Bungie said this will be the only way to see them during the beta.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Bungie has not yet decided if <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/bungie-hasnt-decided-if-destiny-beta-progress-will/1100-6421127/">progress from the beta will carry over</a> to the final game. However, if you play the beta after 8 p.m. Pacific on Saturday, July 26, you will receive an exclusive emblem for use in Destiny when it's released on September 9.</p><p style="">The beta runs from now until July 27 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific, though it will be offline on July 21 and 22. Xbox One and Xbox 360 owners will be able to <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/destiny-info-blowout-150-ghost-edition-revealed-tw/1100-6420946/">join the beta on July 23</a> at 10 a.m. Pacific.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer. You can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a> and <a href="https://plus.google.com/116710591398405257934/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Google+</a>.<br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><p style=""><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></p><p style=""> </p></td></tr></tbody></table> Sat, 19 Jul 2014 10:08:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/destiny-beta-gets-two-new-maps-this-weekend-but-on/1100-6421211/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/overclocking-for-beginners/1100-6421190/ <p style="">Sometimes getting the best bang for your buck with <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/pc/" data-ref-id="false">PC</a> components means putting a little extra work in, whether that's shopping around for the best prices online, or researching which CPU or GPU is best suited to the task at hand. But, if you're willing to go the extra mile, the best returns often come from overclocking. For the uninitiated, overclocking means taking a piece of hardware--most commonly a CPU or GPU--and running it at a faster speed than the manufacturer intended, giving you the performance of higher-priced models for less cash. While there's an element of risk to the process--you can significantly shorten the life of your components or permanently damage them if something goes awry--if you're sensible, disasters are rare. The process of overclocking isn't as complicated as some would have you believe either, and with a bit of computing know-how, and some patience, it's possible to significantly boost your PC's performance with just a few tweaks.</p><h2>The Basics</h2><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/917/9176928/2601300-5974647369_2cd2f8a392_o.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2601300" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/917/9176928/2601300-5974647369_2cd2f8a392_o.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2601300"><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/917/9176928/2601300-5974647369_2cd2f8a392_o.jpg"></a><figcaption>Image Credit: flicker.com/trishamanasan</figcaption></figure><p style="">Before you begin overclocking, it's good to know some of the basic principles behind the process, beginning with how a CPU's speed is calculated. While the overall speed of a CPU is based on a number of factors, one of the most important is its clock speed, which tells you how quickly the CPU switches from one cycle of instructions to the next, and is measured in gigahertz (GHz). For example, Intel's new Core i5-4690K has a standard clock speed of 3.5GHz, while AMD's FX 9590 Black Edition has a standard clock speed of 4.7GHz. Both processors also feature a turbo mode, which dynamically increases the clock speed in small bursts, as well as power-saving features that decrease the clock speed when the CPU is idling.</p><p style="">What we're most interested in when overclocking is the standard clock speed. You calculate it by taking the base clock (BCLK, a signal supplied by the clock generator on the motherboard, or reference clock in AMD systems) and applying a multiplier to it. For example, the Intel Core i5-4690K is designed for motherboards that feature a base clock of 100MHz, while the CPU itself has a default multiplier of 35. All you do is take that multiplier of 35 and multiply it by the 100MHz of the base clock, which equals 3500MHz, or 3.5GHz. Therefore, to make the processor run at a higher speed, we need to increase either the base clock or the multiplier. Increasing the BCLK used to be common practice in the old days of overclocking, but these days, adjustments are limited to just a few MHz, and only with specific motherboards.</p><p style="">The preferred method whether you're using an Intel or an AMD CPU is to increase the multiplier until a stable speed is reached. However, this increase in speed causes the CPU to suck down more power, and if not properly accounted for, this can cause system instability. The solution is to manually adjust the CPU core voltage (VCORE) while still keeping the system stable. Bear in mind, though, that there's a cutoff point where too much VCORE actually introduces instability and can damage or shorten the useful life of your CPU. Plus, with more VCORE comes more heat, which brings us neatly to what exactly you need in your system before you start overclocking.</p><h2>Get the Right Gear</h2><figure data-align="right" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/917/9176928/2601305-0517651101-KO8jU.png" data-ref-id="1300-2601305" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/917/9176928/2601305-0517651101-KO8jU.png" data-ref-id="1300-2601305"><img src="http://static2.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_medium/917/9176928/2601305-0517651101-KO8jU.png"></a><figcaption>Motherboards like ASUS' Z97-Deluxe are designed for overclocking.</figcaption></figure><p style="">Thanks to the extra heat put out by overclocking, you need to make sure you've got adequate cooling in place before attempting it. While you can achieve small overclocks using stock cooling solutions supplied by the CPU manufacturer, it's far better to go with a large third-party cooling solution from the likes of Noctua or Corsair. The more efficiently you can move heat away from your CPU, the more stable your overclock will be. It's also worth looking at the overall cooling setup in your PC, and making sure that you have decent fans and good airflow throughout the case. For more on keeping your PC cool (and quiet), be sure to <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/tips-to-make-your-pc-cool-and-quiet/1100-6421028/" data-ref-id="1100-6421028">check out our guide</a>.</p><p style="">Aside from decent cooling, you also need to make sure you have the right type of CPU and motherboard. Not all CPUs support multiplier overclocking; the vast majority have their multipliers locked. On the Intel side, look out for CPUs with a "K" in the product name, such as the Intel Core i5-4690K. On the AMD side, you need a Black Edition chip, such as the AMD FX-8350 Black Edition. Older CPUs from older product lines may differ, so do your research before proceeding. You can read more about <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/building-a-pc-everything-you-need-to-know-about-cp/1100-6421072/" data-ref-id="1100-6421072">CPUs in our extensive guide</a>. And if you're planning to overclock your GPU, we've got a <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/building-a-pc-everything-you-need-to-know-about-gp/1100-6420869/" data-ref-id="1100-6420869">guide on what to look out for there too</a>.</p><p style="">To go alongside your overclockable CPU, you need a motherboard that supports overclocking. On the Intel side, that's any motherboard with a "Z" designation, such as the Z77, the Z87, or the more recent Z97, depending on what CPU socket you have. Things are a little easier over on the AMD side in that most motherboards support overclocking of some sort. However, bear in mind that overclocking increases the amount of power flowing through the motherboard to the CPU. That power is delivered by a section of a motherboard called the voltage regulator module (VRM). Cheaper boards don't have particularly hardy VRMs, which makes them bad for overclocking. Essentially, you want a VRM with good-quality leak-resistant capacitors, high-quality chokes (used to improve efficiency, often called super ferrite chokes), and a decent cooling solution in the form of a heatsink or even a fan over the MOSFETS.</p><p style="">Finally, if you're driving extra VCORE to the CPU, your PC is going to use more power. That's particularly true for AMD CPUs, which already have a thermal design power as high as 225W at stock speeds. That means your power supply unit (PSU) has to be up to the task. We're going to be taking a more in-depth look at PSUs at a later date, but the PSU is one thing you don't want to skimp on. Look for 80-plus-rated units and research what sort of power output, rails, and efficiency you need. Also, be sure to pick up a PSU from a reputable manufacturer like Corsair or Silverstone. The last thing you want is to fry all your expensive components because of a cheap PSU!</p><h2>Preparing Your System for Overclocking</h2><p style="">There are three main methods for overclocking your CPU via the multiplier: using the automatic overclocking tools of your motherboard, manually overclocking using software in your operating system, or manually overclocking using your motherboard's BIOS or UEFI BIOS (a page of system settings you access when you boot up your PC). It's the latter two we're going to be focusing on here. Automatic overclocking tools can work brilliantly sometimes, depending on the motherboard manufacturer, but they don't always result in the best performance gains. If you're totally new to the process and don't want to dive in too deep, automatic overclocking tools are a good place to start. Just check out your motherboard's manual and see what it offers.</p><figure data-align="left" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/917/9176928/2601307-0024688947-softw.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2601307" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/917/9176928/2601307-0024688947-softw.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2601307"><img src="http://static3.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_medium/917/9176928/2601307-0024688947-softw.jpg"></a><figcaption>CPUz is an essential program for overclocking.</figcaption></figure><p style="">The process for manually overclocking by using software tools (often provided by the CPU or motherboard manufacturer) or by diving into the BIOS is very similar, but it's generally better to overclock using the BIOS if you can. In software, the settings are loaded only when your OS boots, and you can get better, more stable performance gains using the BIOS. The exception to this is GPU overclocking, which can be achieved only via software. For the purposes of this guide, we're going to focus on BIOS overclocking, but you can apply many of the same principles to software tools.</p><p style="">Before you begin your overclocking journey, make sure that you've backed up any important data and that you're running the latest version of your motherboard's BIOS. You'll also need to install a few bits of software in your OS to test the overclock and system stability, and get some baseline figures for comparison, all of which are free. First, grab a <a href="http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">copy of CPU-Z</a>. This tool gives you all sorts of real-time system information, but here you'll be using it to keep an eye on the clock speed of your processor and how much voltage is being applied to it. Next, download <a href="http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Prime95</a>, <a href="http://www.maxon.net/products/cinebench/overview.html" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Cinebench</a>, and <a href="http://www.passmark.com/products/bit.htm" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">PassMark BurnInTest</a>. These tools are used to ramp up your processor usage to test system stability.</p><p style="">Finally, install <a href="http://www.techpowerup.com/realtemp/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Real Temp</a>. As its name suggests, Real Temp lets you monitor your CPU temperature, so you can check that it's not straying over 75 degrees centigrade when the CPU is under full load, with 60 being much more comfortable. Once you've got everything installed, run a "blend test" in Prime95 and note down the core voltage figure with your system under load. Also check the CPU temperatures in Real Temp. Do the same again, except this time with the system idle. You'll notice that your CPU speed and voltage drop significantly when the CPU is not in use, which is a handy power-saving feature, and one that we'll show you how to still make use of when overclocking.</p><h2>How to Overclock</h2><figure data-align="right" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/917/9176928/2601313-1069797052-ASUS%25.png" data-ref-id="1300-2601313" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/917/9176928/2601313-1069797052-ASUS%25.png" data-ref-id="1300-2601313"><img src="http://static4.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_medium/917/9176928/2601313-1069797052-ASUS%25.png"></a><figcaption>Look out for an advanced settings page in your BIOS to tweak your voltage and multiplier settings.</figcaption></figure><p style="">Boot into your motherboard BIOS at startup (how you do this varies, but it's usually accomplished by pressing the delete or F8 key), load up the optimised default settings (again, usually accomplished by a key press), and then reboot and enter the BIOS again. Open up the advanced settings and find the page that contains setting for your CPU and/or memory. You should see things like "BCLK Frequency" or "CPU Voltage" in there. Sometimes these settings are hidden away, so consult your motherboard manual for how to unlock them. In the case of our ASUS motherboard, we had to set "Ai Overclock Tuner" to "Manual" and then "EPU Power Saving Mode" to "Disabled" to see the full gamut of options.</p><p style="">While a significant overclock usually means applying more VCORE to the CPU, for now you need to find out how far you can push your CPU without adding any voltage. Find the setting for your multiplier (called CPU core ratio on ASUS motherboards) and change it from "Auto" to "Sync Across All Cores." Some motherboards feature a "Per Core" option, which allows you to change the speed of each CPU core individually. It's a useful way to get a higher overclock on individual cores, but for simplicity's sake, go ahead and select "Sync Across All Cores" or a "Manual" option. To start with, increase the multiplier number by 1. So, for the Core i5-4690K mentioned earlier, the default multiplier is 35, giving us a speed of 3.5GHz. With an addition of 1 to the multiplier, we hit a speed of 3.6GHz.</p><p style="">Save your BIOS settings, and boot into Windows. We'll be doing much longer stability tests later, but for now, run a few passes in Cinebench to check that things are relatively stable, and keep Real Temp open to make sure things aren't getting too toasty. Repeat this process until your PC no longer boots, or your PC blue screens. If your PC no longer boots, you'll need to reset your BIOS. Many motherboards now have a button on them that lets you do this with little effort, but some older boards may require you to move a jumper on the physical board. Consult your motherboard manual for how to do it.</p><figure data-align="left" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/917/9176928/2601322-cinebench.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2601322" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/917/9176928/2601322-cinebench.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2601322"><img src="http://static5.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_medium/917/9176928/2601322-cinebench.jpg"></a><figcaption>Cinebench is just of the great tools you can use to stress test your PC.</figcaption></figure><p style="">Once you've encountered an error, back the multiplier down to the last stable point. Now it's time to start fiddling with the VCORE. Find the setting for "CPU Voltage" or similar in your BIOS, and set this to "Manual" for now. This is the setting for a fixed voltage, meaning that regardless of whether your CPU is under load or idle, it will receive the same amount of voltage from the motherboard. You'll notice that you're also given the option of "Offset" or, if you're using an Intel Haswell CPU, "Adaptive." What these do is work in conjunction with the power-saving features of your processor to step the voltage down when the CPU is under a light load or is idle. We'll look at enabling these later in the article.</p><p style="">There are two options from here. The more involved method is to begin to increase your VCORE in gradual steps. Remember that VCORE figure you noted down when the CPU was under load at stock speed? Take that figure (you might also find the figure listed in your BIOS) and add 0.5v to it. Save and reboot and then begin to increase your CPU multiplier again. Increase the multiplier--testing it out each time with Cinebench and monitoring your temperatures with Real Temp--until you hit another blue screen or failed boot. Make sure you're noting down the figures each time in case you need to do a BIOS reset to boot your system. Add another 0.5v to the VCORE and start increasing the multiplier again. Repeat the process until you reach your desired overclock, your temperature gets too high under load, or you're putting more than 1.4v into the CPU.</p><p style="">Higher voltages are possible, but you risk shortening the life of your CPU, and they certainly aren't recommended if you're running an air-cooling setup. Most recent Intel Haswell CPUs will hit 4.5GHz at around 1.2v, although AMD systems will need a little more juice. The alternative method, which is especially useful for more modern CPUs, is to jump straight in at 1.2v and go about increasing the multiplier from there, which speeds up the process a little. Either way, once you find a point where the system is mostly stable, you need to run some more substantial tests to make sure it's not going to crash under extended loads.</p><figure data-align="right" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/917/9176928/2601324-9256447366-scree.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2601324" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/917/9176928/2601324-9256447366-scree.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2601324"><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_medium/917/9176928/2601324-9256447366-scree.jpg"></a><figcaption>Keep an eye on your CPU temperature using Real Temp.</figcaption></figure><p style="">There are various opinions around the best method for stress-testing your PC. One of the most popular is running Prime95's blend test over a 24-hour period. If your PC manages it without any error messages in Prime95 or without crashing, your overclock is stable. However, Prime95 is what's known as a synthetic benchmark, in that it doesn't entirely reflect real work usage. For that, things like Cinebench and PassMark BurnInTest provide a much more realistic type of CPU load. Either way, if your PC crashes or fails a test at any point, either increase your voltage again in smaller 0.01 steps or decrease your CPU multiplier, keeping an eye on temperatures the whole time. Eventually, you'll find the sweet spot for your CPU.</p><p style="">Success: you've overclocked your CPU! From there you can go ahead and enable X.M.P. profiles for your RAM, or manually input its speed (in MHz) and timings (listed on the RAM itself in a 9-9-9-24 format) to make sure everything is running at its correct speed. You can also enable "Adaptive" mode on your motherboard, so your CPU's voltage is stepped down when it's under less load. You'll find two extra settings to fill in with Adaptive mode: Idle VCORE and Turbo VCORE. Essentially, all you do is input a +value into Turbo VCORE that adds up to your desired overclocked voltage. So, for example, if your stock VCORE is 1.10v and your stable overclock is at 1.25v, input +0.15. You may find that under Adaptive mode, your CPU becomes unstable at idle speeds, because it's not getting enough voltage. In that case, input a +value into Idle VCORE to account for it.</p><p style="">Be aware that when using Adaptive mode, synthetic benchmarks like Prime95 that use certain advanced vector extensions (AVX) can cause the motherboard to deliver a higher voltage than necessary. This shouldn't affect you unless you're doing a lot of scientific floating-point calculations, but if that's your bag, a fixed voltage is best. If your motherboard doesn't offer Adaptive mode, you can use Offset mode. There's a lot more trial and error involved in setting up Offset mode, but the principal is the same. Essentially, the CPU has a voltage it thinks it needs in order to run at a given speed, called the VID. That may or may not be the actual voltage it needs, so all offset does is to add (or subtract) a set amount from the VID to get the correct voltage.</p><h2>GPU Overclocking</h2><p style="">The good news is that all the principles of CPU overclocking also apply to GPU overclocking. Both AMD and Nvidia actually include overclocking support as part of their drivers. AMD's are in the Performance section of Catalyst Control Center, while Nvidia's are unlocked by installing its System Tools utility. The process is as simple as adjusting the sliders for memory speed, clock speed, and fan speed and testing the results in your favourite game. The beauty of the built-in overclocking tools is that they don't adjust voltage, so you can pretty much go crazy with the sliders and find an overclock that works well for your GPU. If you want to go further, tools like MSI's Afterburner let you tweak voltages, but aren't recommended unless you've got a hefty cooling solution in place.</p><p style=""><em>Tempted to overclock your PC? Already an advanced overclocker? Let us know your overclocking stories in the comments below.</em></p> Sat, 19 Jul 2014 09:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/overclocking-for-beginners/1100-6421190/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-last-of-us-voice-actress-criticizes-ubisoft-s-/1100-6421210/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2601651-9167776681-BVIhqgECcAAyYOl.jpg%3Alarge" data-ref-id="1300-2601651" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2601651-9167776681-BVIhqgECcAAyYOl.jpg%3Alarge" data-ref-id="1300-2601651"><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1535/15354745/2601651-9167776681-BVIhqgECcAAyYOl.jpg%3Alarge"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">Ashley Johnson, the voice of The Last of Us' Ellie, has criticized Ubisoft over the company's recent statements about the lack of playable female characters in <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/assassins-creed-unity/">Assassin's Creed Unity</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"I was like, 'Give me a f***ing break! It's 2014! How many video games do you have to make to realise maybe have an option to have a female be in there?'" Johnson told <a href="http://www.videogamer.com/ps4/the_last_of_us_remastered/news/the_last_of_us_ashley_johnson_angry_over_lack_of_female_characters_in_assassins_creed_unity.html" rel="nofollow">Videogamer</a> in an interview. "And maybe not just on PS Vita," by which Johnson is probably referring to Aveline de Grandpré, the female protagonist of <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/assassin-s-creed-iii-liberation-hd-review/1900-6415643/">Assassin's Creed Liberation</a>, initially exclusive to Sony's handheld.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"But it did make me upset," she said. "There are so many female gamers...I don't know what the percentage is at this point but there are a lot of females that play video games and it would be nice to see stronger females in a game that are not just the damsel in distress, the love interest or she's oversexualised. She doesn't even necessarily have to be a badass. Just like a normal female character."</p><figure data-align="right" data-size="small" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2601658-4051980404-25925.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2601658" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2601658-4051980404-25925.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2601658"><img src="http://static2.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_small/1535/15354745/2601658-4051980404-25925.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">Johnson is correct in assuming there is huge number of female gamers. As pointed out in a <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/videos/reality-check-surprising-facts-about-video-games-y/2300-6419195/">recent Reality Check episode</a>, according to a study by the Entertainment Software Association, out of 1.2 billion gamers worldwide 48 percent are female and 52 percent are male.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Ubisoft technical director James Therien said during E3 2014 that female characters were going to be included in Assassin's Creed Unity, but were <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/e3-2014-ubisoft-clarifies-assassin-s-creed-unity-s-lack-of-playable-female-leads/1100-6420397/">scrapped</a> because of the additional work that would have been involved. Ubisoft later <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/e3-2014-ubisoft-clarifies-assassin-s-creed-unity-s-lack-of-playable-female-leads/1100-6420397/">issued a formal statement</a> on the matter, saying the company recognizes the "valid concern around diversity in video game narrative."</p><p style="">Developers from <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-ubisoft-activision-on-why-there-are-so-few-female-video-game-protagonists/1100-6420600/">Electronic Arts, Activision, Ubisoft</a>, and <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/industry-shouldnt-shy-away-from-women-in-games-dis/1100-6420905/">Paradox Interactive</a> have all sounded off on the issue, but the best commentary yet might be the from the two brilliant cosplayers above, dressed in cardboard boxes that have the words "BOOBS?" and "2 HARD TO RENDER" written on them. The photo <a href="https://twitter.com/femfreq/status/488463181149253632/photo/1" rel="nofollow">comes from</a> Feminist Frequency creator Anita Sarkeesian, and was taken during the <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/lgbtq-friendly-game-convention-funded-in-two-days/1100-6417911/">GaymerX2 conference</a>.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer. You can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a> and <a href="https://plus.google.com/116710591398405257934/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Google+</a>.<br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><p style=""><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></p><p style=""> </p></td></tr></tbody></table> Sat, 19 Jul 2014 08:18:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-last-of-us-voice-actress-criticizes-ubisoft-s-/1100-6421210/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/humble-store-ubisoft-sale-offers-far-cry-3-for-7-5/1100-6421209/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2601624-0008477033-20420.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2601624" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2601624-0008477033-20420.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2601624"><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1535/15354745/2601624-0008477033-20420.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style=""><a href="https://www.humblebundle.com/store" rel="nofollow">The Humble Store</a> is currently holding a sale with up to a 75 percent discount on some of Ubisoft's biggest games, including <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/far-cry-3/">Far Cry 3</a>, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/assassins-creed-iv-black-flag/">Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag</a>, and <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/tom-clancys-splinter-cell-blacklist/">Splinter Cell: Blacklist</a>. The deals below are valid until the end of this weekend, July 21, 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time. You can click the game's title for GameSpot's review and the price to find the game's product page on the Humble Store. Being an Ubisoft PC sale, you'll need a Uplay account to download and play the games.</p><ul><li dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/south-park-the-stick-of-truth-review/1900-6415684/">South Park: The Stick of Truth</a> - <a href="https://www.humblebundle.com/store/p/southpark_thestickoftruth_storefront" rel="nofollow">$39.99</a></li><li dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/far-cry-3-review/1900-6400897/">Far Cry 3</a> - <a href="https://www.humblebundle.com/store/p/farcry3_storefront" rel="nofollow">$7.49</a></li><li dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/far-cry-3-blood-dragon-review/1900-6407777/">Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon</a> - <a href="https://www.humblebundle.com/store/p/farcry3_blooddragon_storefront" rel="nofollow">$3.74</a></li><li dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/assassin-s-creed-iv-black-flag-review/1900-6415509/">Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag</a> - <a href="https://www.humblebundle.com/store/p/assassinscreed4_blackflag_storefront" rel="nofollow">$19.99</a></li><li dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/assassin-s-creed-iii-liberation-hd-review/1900-6415643/">Assassin's Creed Liberation</a> - <a href="https://www.humblebundle.com/store/p/assassinscreed_liberation_storefront" rel="nofollow">$9.99</a></li><li dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/tom-clancys-splinter-cell-blacklist-review/1900-6412806/">Splinter Cell: Blacklist</a> - <a href="https://www.humblebundle.com/store/p/tomclancys_splintercellblacklist_storefront" rel="nofollow">$7.49</a></li><li dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/child-of-light-review/1900-6415744/">Child of Light</a> - <a href="https://www.humblebundle.com/store/p/childoflight_storefront" rel="nofollow">$11.24</a></li><li dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/trials-fusion-review/1900-6415733/">Trials Fusion</a> - <a href="https://www.humblebundle.com/store/p/trialsfusion_storefront" rel="nofollow">$13.32</a></li><li dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/rocksmith-2014-edition-review/1900-6415495/">Rocksmith 2014 Edition</a> - <a href="https://www.humblebundle.com/store/p/rocksmith2014_storefront" rel="nofollow">$14.99</a></li><li dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/anno-2070-review/1900-6347765/">Anno 2070 Complete Edition</a> - <a href="https://www.humblebundle.com/store/p/anno2070_completeedition_storefront" rel="nofollow">$12.49</a></li><li dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/rayman-legends-review/1900-6413616/">Rayman Legends</a> - <a href="https://www.humblebundle.com/store/p/raymanlegends_storefront" rel="nofollow">$9.99</a></li><li dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/might-magic-x-legacy-review/1900-6415645/">Might & Magic X: Legacy</a> - <a href="https://www.humblebundle.com/store/p/mightandmagic10_legacy_storefront" rel="nofollow">$12.49</a></li><li dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/call-of-juarez-gunslinger-review/1900-6408535/">Call of Juarez: Gunslinger</a> - <a href="https://www.humblebundle.com/store/p/callofjuarez_gunslinger_storefront" rel="nofollow">$3.74</a></li><li dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/from-dust-review/1900-6330067/">From Dust</a> - <a href="https://www.humblebundle.com/store/p/fromdust_storefront" rel="nofollow">$3.74</a></li><li dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/might-and-magic-heroes-vi-review/1900-6346819/">Might & Magic Heroes VI: Complete Edition</a> - <a href="https://www.humblebundle.com/store/p/mightandmagicheroes6_complete_storefront" rel="nofollow">$9.99</a></li></ul><p dir="ltr" style="">The Humble store is also currently offering its <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/pay-what-you-want-for-bioshock-xcom-and-other-2k-g/1100-6420957/">Humble 2K Bundle</a>, which includes all the Bioshock and and XCOM games as well as other titles from the publisher. As usual, 10 percent of proceeds will go to charities like the American Red Cross and Child's Play.</p><p dir="ltr" style=""><em>Let us know what games you're picking up this weekend in the comments below.</em></p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer. You can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a> and <a href="https://plus.google.com/116710591398405257934/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Google+</a>.<br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><p style=""><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></p><p style=""> </p></td></tr></tbody></table> Sat, 19 Jul 2014 07:03:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/humble-store-ubisoft-sale-offers-far-cry-3-for-7-5/1100-6421209/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/secret-bosses-in-the-destiny-beta/2300-6420321/ There is plenty to explore in the Destiny beta. Chris Watters goes on a treasure hunt for the five golden chests and on the way finds some real tough enemies to get killed by Fri, 18 Jul 2014 18:42:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/secret-bosses-in-the-destiny-beta/2300-6420321/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/destiny-hunter-gameplay/2300-6420316/ The Hunter is equally deadly at range and up close, making this flexible class a one-man army. Fri, 18 Jul 2014 16:50:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/destiny-hunter-gameplay/2300-6420316/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/destiny-doesnt-allow-cross-generation-play-in-the-/1100-6421205/ <div data-height="100%" data-width="100%" data-ref-id="2300-6420311" data-embed-type="video"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6420311/" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p dir="ltr" style="">Whether you play <a href="/destiny/" data-ref-id="false">Destiny</a> during the <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/destiny-beta-now-live-on-ps4-and-ps3-watch-our-liv/1100-6421173/" data-ref-id="1100-6421173">ongoing beta</a> or when it launches in September, you'll only be able to play with (and against) players on the same system as you. Mixing players from PlayStation and Xbox platforms with each another was never expected, but some might wonder why players on Xbox 360 and Xbox One or PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 can't play with one another. The reason for this isn't some insurmountable technical hurdle, but instead because developer Bungie wanted to keep the playing field level.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"I'll speak for the hypothetical player," Bungie engineer Roger Wolfson told <a href="http://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/for-bungie-straddling-four-consoles-in-destiny-was-a-balancing-act/#!bhXR9Z" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Digital Trends</a> when asked why cross-platform play wasn't included. "I have a disadvantage sniping across the map because [my opponent with a next-gen console] is only two pixels on my screen and I'm four pixels on his. You see that in the world of PC gaming, where people are always racing to the best video card to give themselves the advantage."</p><figure data-ref-id="1300-2601353" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/123/1239113/2601353-destiny.jpg" data-size="small" data-align="right" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/123/1239113/2601353-destiny.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2601353"><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_small/123/1239113/2601353-destiny.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">Much has been made about the resolution in Destiny. While the Xbox One beta <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/destinys-xbox-one-beta-doesnt-run-at-1080p-but-rem/1100-6421170/" data-ref-id="1100-6421170">won't run in 1080p</a> (it does on PS4), the final game is <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/destinys-xbox-one-beta-doesnt-run-at-1080p-but-rem/1100-6421170/" data-ref-id="1100-6421170">expected to hit that figure</a> on Microsoft's new console.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"Regardless of where the reality is, there's definitely a perception among gamers that better hardware means you have an advantage," Wolfson added. "We don't want to have to enter that fray, so to create the best, most level playing field, both actually and perceptually, we separated it by platform."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Cross-platform multiplayer hasn't been an especially common thing in the past. 2007 first-person shooter <a href="/shadowrun/" data-ref-id="false">Shadowrun</a> is perhaps the best-known example of this, letting owners of the Xbox 360 and PC versions play against one another. That was an experiment with mixed results, though many of its problems stemmed from the differences in playing a shooter with a controller versus a keyboard and mouse.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">While the graphics in the last-gen console versions of Destiny will no doubt be less pretty than what we've seen on PS4, Wolfson noted that many aspects of the game remain the same on all platforms. "I've been playing some on the Xbox 360 as well as the PS4 [at home] as we head into the beta window, and I've been really pleased at how I can almost forget that I'm playing on a last-gen console," he said. "There's really no difference at all in loading, the action game is as fluid and as action-packed, [and] there are as many combatants on the last-gen."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The Destiny beta <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/destiny-beta-now-live-on-ps4-and-ps3-watch-our-liv/1100-6421173/" data-ref-id="1100-6421173">launched on PS4 and PS3 yesterday</a>. The Xbox One and Xbox 360 versions will <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/destiny-info-blowout-150-ghost-edition-revealed-tw/1100-6420946/" data-ref-id="1100-6420946">join in next Wednesday, July 23</a>, before the beta comes to a close on July 27 at 11:59PM Pacific. The full game lands on all four platforms on September 9.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Chris Pereira is a freelance writer for GameSpot, and you can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/thesmokingmanx" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @TheSmokingManX</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><em><strong>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com</strong></em></td></tr></tbody></table> Fri, 18 Jul 2014 16:47:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/destiny-doesnt-allow-cross-generation-play-in-the-/1100-6421205/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/three-curious-absences-from-the-rainbow-six-siege-/1100-6421201/ <p style="">Yesterday, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/watch-the-rainbow-six-siege-multiplayer-live-strea/1100-6421177/" data-ref-id="1100-6421177">Ubisoft put on a live stream</a> for its upcoming team-based first-person shooter, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/tom-clancys-rainbow-six-siege/" data-ref-id="false">Rainbow Six Siege</a>. One team, the defenders, must barricade themselves within a house and hold the hostage for three minutes (or kill all the attackers), while the other team, the attackers, must break into the house and escort the hostage to safety (or kill all the defenders). The stream ran through roughly half a dozen matches, giving us our first peek at Siege in the wild.</p><p style="">After the stream was over, some of the GameSpot staffers discussed what had just been shown. The consensus was that there seemed to be some sort of gentleman's agreement between the two teams: no one was trying to blow away the attackers on approach to the house or sneak outside to try to ambush an attack playing with his drone. I suspect when the game is released, we'll see some more unconventional tactics. In the meantime, here are a few curious absences we noticed from the stream--though we should note that Siege is still very much in development, so any of these could change.</p><div data-embed-type="html"><object id="clip_embed_player_flash" data="http://www.twitch.tv/widgets/archive_embed_player.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="378" width="620"><param name="movie" value="http://www.twitch.tv/widgets/archive_embed_player.swf" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="allowNetworking" value="all" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="flashvars" value="title=Rainbow%2BSix%2BLive&channel=ubisoft&auto_play=false&start_volume=25&archive_id=548447697" /></object><br /><a class="trk" style="padding: 2px 0px 4px; display: block; width: 320px; font-weight: normal; font-size: 10px; text-decoration: underline; text-align: center;" href="http://www.twitch.tv/ubisoft" rel="nofollow">Watch live video from Ubisoft on Twitch</a></div><h3>Where's the sniper?</h3><p style="">No one on the attacking side ever took the role of sniper during the stream. Having a sniper was something that was shown, albeit briefly, during the E3 2014 reveal trailer for Siege. Considering how this game is all about blowing giant holes in walls and crashing through windows, the sniper would have plenty of space to cover from outside the house. A sniper would also help guard against defenders who tried to sneak outside and get the drop on the attackers. Of course, given the sheer number of barricades the defenders can put up to block a sniper's line of sight, Ubisoft may have deemed this role unnecessary, but it's more likely that the sniper loadout simply isn't ready to show yet.</p><h3>The hostage was never rescued</h3><p style="">The attacking team has two possible objectives: either extract the hostage safely, or eliminate all the defenders. Apparently, one of these is a much more attractive option than the other. Extracting the hostage was rarely even discussed as a strategy, and the attacking teams always focused on eliminating the defenders in the end. This makes sense, because when you're in the heat of the moment and the bullets are flying, you want to shoot the dudes who are shooting at you, not scamper into the night with the hostage while everyone else has all the fun. It will be interesting to see how Ubisoft balances this to make the hostage a higher priority, if at all.</p><h3>No radar, and limited barks</h3><p style="">I actually didn't notice the radar's absence until the very end of the stream, and even then I didn't miss it considering how much the team members were chatting back and forth. All the drones and other cameras in play also gave a pretty comprehensive picture of the entire map--at least to an outside observer. If your team is willing to talk, the game gives plenty of tools for map awareness. However, if you're stuck playing with random people online, it seems you could easily find yourself flying blind. The characters in the game don't communicate much either. It seems the only time they call anything out is when nailing up barricades. They don't call out when reloading or when spotting an enemy or anything else. Having a few auto-barks like this would help alleviate the potential setback of radio silence.</p><p style=""><em>Where there any absences we missed? Leave us a comment, and you can check out more of our impressions of the Rainbow Six Siege live stream in the video below.</em></p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6420282" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6420282/" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p> Fri, 18 Jul 2014 15:59:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/three-curious-absences-from-the-rainbow-six-siege-/1100-6421201/
http://auth.gamespot.com/ Gamespot's Everything Feed! News, Reviews, Videos. Exploding with content? You bet. en-us Sun, 20 Jul 2014 06:40:21 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/divinity-original-sin-review/2300-6420322/ Great writing, creative dungeons, and fun combat will make you fall in love with RPG's all over again. Sat, 19 Jul 2014 20:44:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/divinity-original-sin-review/2300-6420322/ http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/divinity-original-sin-review/1900-6415819/ <p style="">To play Divinity: Original Sin is to fall in love with role-playing games all over again. It's tempting to label the game as an immediate classic simply because it recalls the days of <a href="/baldurs-gate/" data-ref-id="false">Baldur's Gate</a> and <a href="/planescape-torment/" data-ref-id="false">Planescape: Torment</a>, a time that many role-players still look back on with much fondness. It's true that Original Sin has the trappings of those memorable gems: an isometric camera perspective, an adventuring party of four, magic spells and pubs to relax in and an intriguing fantasy kingdom that captures the imagination. What makes this game so special, however, is that it avoids slavish devotion to those games of old and instead tells a tale very much its own--a tale of conflict between the elements that plays out in electrifying turn-based battles, and a real-world tale of loyalty, in which game and player establish a bond born out of patience, perseverance, and the promise of joyous surprises in every crevasse.</p><p style="">That Original Sin expects a certain amount of patience is obvious from its opening hours, during which you grow accustomed to the game's quiet confidence in your own intelligence and wits. As you traipse about the first town learning the ins and outs of the complex crafting and combat systems, you discover that there are genre conventions you must live without. There is no automated crafting interface that pieces together recipes you have learned; instead, you must remember those recipes or refer to your logbook. Waypoints are few, and quests rarely lead you directly to your ultimate destination. You do a lot of meandering in these early hours, which makes the pace drag, but this is your chance to explore, to test the waters, and to poke and prod at the game to discover what makes it tick.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static2.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2601227-acrevdivinity+-+divinity+-+2014-07-17+12-36-12+%28p%2901.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2601227" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static2.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2601227-acrevdivinity+-+divinity+-+2014-07-17+12-36-12+%28p%2901.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2601227"><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/416/4161502/2601227-acrevdivinity+-+divinity+-+2014-07-17+12-36-12+%28p%2901.jpg"></a><figcaption>Even walking through the wrong door can make you enemies. </figcaption></figure><p style="">In the process, you discover that Original Sin forces you to confront the consequences of your actions, and does so in ways that most RPGs boasting meaningful decisions fail to match. You cannot take every loaf of bread from an inn, or open any door you please, lest your actions lead to disapproval from the homeowner, or even the wrath of nearby guards. Such consequences appear in other RPGs, of course, but Original Sin goes even further, to the point where you must consider activities you would never question in most other games. In turn, you come to conduct yourself with an unusual level of care. In one instance, I dug up a grave within plain sight of a sobbing villager grieving her buried loved one. In a tear-fueled anger, the woman turned on me, a battle began, and I sliced her up with little fanfare. She was not a warrior, and no match for my party.</p><p style="">I mourned over this one simple action. Few role-playing games would have allowed this kind of conflict; they are designed to have you clicking on everything, seeking every possible gold medallion, every possible health potion. Games at large have taught me to presume there may be something valuable buried in graves and crypts, and those valuables are the journey's driving force in many (if not most) RPGs. Digging up this fresh grave rewarded me with a measly bone, a common crafting component I could easily have gone without. I had defiled a dead man's resting place and taken an innocent life because my greed was too great. I felt more guilty and more invested in this one action than I have felt in entire quest lines in other choice-driven role-playing games, and I chose not to reload an earlier save point. I forced myself to live with my decision.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static3.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2601218-acrevdivinity+-+divinity+-+2014-07-12+10-21-4756.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2601218" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static3.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2601218-acrevdivinity+-+divinity+-+2014-07-12+10-21-4756.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2601218"><img src="http://static2.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/416/4161502/2601218-acrevdivinity+-+divinity+-+2014-07-12+10-21-4756.jpg"></a><figcaption>Expect few oases in this harsh desert. </figcaption></figure><p style="">And so you learn that every action has a reaction. This isn't <a href="/mass-effect/" data-ref-id="false">Mass Effect</a> or <a href="/reviews/dragon-age-origins-review/1900-6238628/" data-ref-id="1900-6238628">Dragon Age</a>--your narrative path isn't determined by a good-or-bad morality system and branching conversations. Rather, you hew a path with every step, and the game responds naturally, allowing you to craft small but memorable stories like the one about the lady at the grave. You engage in plenty of dialogue, of course, much of it witty, much of it dramatic, and most of it colorfully written. There's a skeleton who misses having a soul, and whom you convince to replace his head. (It seems logical at the time.) There's a statue that promises to show you how your journey ends, and rolls the game's end credits should you ask to see your future. Developer Larian Studios takes Polonius' words in <em>Hamlet</em> to heart: "Brevity is the soul of wit." The frequent conversations rarely get bogged down by endless and unnecessary dialogue, and conversation partners are drawn with broad, vibrant strokes. Some dialogue doesn't adjust properly to account for story events you have triggered (why are you talking about that necromancer as if you didn't know I murdered her?), but idiosyncrasies like that are minor distractions at worst.</p><p style="">You read more than just the onscreen dialogue. You must peruse recipe books if you want to learn how make a club out of a piece of wood and a handful of nails, or how to write a magic scroll. You craft items by dropping and dragging objects onto each other directly in your inventory window, or perhaps by dragging items onto a nearby furnace, mobile kitchen, or other gadget. You spend a lot of time in your inventory windows, which proves rather cumbersome after a while. But it's hard to contain yourself in that special moment when you create a magical starfish by accident--a moment outmatched by the one in which figure out what, exactly, you can do with that magical starfish.</p><figure data-align="left" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static3.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2601232-divinity+-+divinity+-+2014-07-17+04-07-14+%28p%2903.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2601232" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static3.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2601232-divinity+-+divinity+-+2014-07-17+04-07-14+%28p%2903.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2601232"><img src="http://static3.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_medium/416/4161502/2601232-divinity+-+divinity+-+2014-07-17+04-07-14+%28p%2903.jpg"></a><figcaption>Into the woods without delay, but careful not to lose the way. </figcaption></figure><p style="">What a wonderful place this is to be, overflowing with visual details and unexpected occurrences that make exploration a treat. There are blizzards and dust storms to trudge through, with each weather phenomenon ensuring that you rethink how to play. (The sandy winds slow me down in battle; how, then, must I compensate? I keep slipping in the ice; I wonder if these snowboots I found could prove useful?) There are spider-worshippers and cultists and an otherworldly place to call home, where you can bring on new hirelings and stash excess junk for safekeeping. Every discovery is a thrill, not just because there are so many sights to drink in and fill up on, but because some discoveries might lead to unplanned quest developments. For instance, if you are fortunate enough to have a party member who has earned the pet pal perk, a talking rabbit might have some excellent advice that allows you to bypass a perilous cavern--advice that has you again rethinking hitherto mundane game mechanics.</p><p style="">Depending on how you spend the skill points you earn as you level up, you might be able to talk your way out of conflict by charming, intimidating, or reasoning with potential adversaries. You wouldn't think that simple chats could be so dramatic as those in Original Sin, but the game uses a straightforward but effective rock-paper-scissors minigame to turn vital conversations into a suspenseful duel of words. The higher your rating in a particular conversation style, the closer you come to winning the verbal war with every rock-paper-scissors victory. My stress levels ran high when talks came down to one final game of chance. If I win, I can walk around the encampment freely; if I lose, I must shed the blood of the opposition. And if blood must be shed, I might never know what information or stories my victims might have otherwise shared.</p><blockquote data-align="center" data-size="large"><p style="">But it's hard to contain yourself in that special moment when you create a magical starfish by accident--a moment outmatched by the one in which figure out what, exactly, you can do with that magical starfish.</p></blockquote><p style="">Intriguingly, your two primary party members--the ones you customize within moments of booting up the game--may not agree with each other on a proper course of action. When playing with a cooperative partner, this means both players have an opportunity to direct the outcome. When playing on your own, this allows you to role-play both of these characters, a circumstance that led me to an experience I don't recall having had in any role-playing game before now. I had decided my man at arms had the soul of a paladin, always yearning to support the downtrodden uphold the moral high ground no matter the cost. My witch, on the other hand, was both more practical and more adventurous in my mind, always trying to stir the pot unless the aftermath were potentially too disastrous. When the two exchanged tough words, I chose options that seemed consistent with their characters, while secretly rooting for one or the other to overcome. I was playing both roles simultaneously, rather than just outright choosing the outcome I wanted. Plenty of RPGs feature adventuring parties; few actually encourage you to play two independent roles at once. </p><p style="">Conversations can and do go awry; luckily, the tense and thoughtful battles are incredibly rewarding in their own right. The moment you engage your enemies, time pauses and combatants enter battle stance. From here, your party members perform whatever actions you command of them until you use up their action points or end their turn. Party members begin the game with very specific types skills, but Original Sin's great flexibility means that your adventurers might be able to fling all kinds of spells and swing all kinds of weapons. And while you don't want to sacrifice mastery for flexibility, having a lot of different types of attacks to choose from is highly advantageous, for battles are not just a clash of wills, but a clash of elements as well.</p><figure data-align="right" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static2.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2601222-divinity506.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2601222" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static2.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2601222-divinity506.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2601222"><img src="http://static4.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_medium/416/4161502/2601222-divinity506.jpg"></a><figcaption>Rain shall quench these fires and cleanse your sins. </figcaption></figure><p style="">Elements are a vital aspect of video game sorcery; fireballs, ice shards, tornadoes, and the such have long held central magical roles in fantasy fiction. In Divinity: Original Sin, those elements cooperate and collide with each other, opening up all manner of satisfying offensive possibilities. You can make it rain, and then zap puddles with electricity, stunning the orcs unfortunate enough to be standing in them. You can ignite poisonous clouds and slicks of oil, thus bringing a band of creepy-crawlies to a smoldering end. Barrels of water and oil can provide a bit of battlefield assistance should they be scattered about, but be careful: not only can your opponents turn the tables, but you can inadvertently injure or even destroy your own party members if you get careless when zapping puddles and spewing poison.</p><p style="">Battle is not just about maximizing damage, however, and elements are not just for hurting and healing, but also for hindering. I won a nail-biting struggle with four colossal guardians by carefully controlling their speed and their strength. Turn by turn, I blinded, stunned, froze, weakened, and crippled these iron giants, doing my best to keep every character alive and taking down one guardian at a time until all four had fallen. Every time one of them marched towards my party, I held my breath. They could kill my mages with a single swipe, and their slow gait was pure agony. This is turn-based combat at its best. Every attack is meaningful, every option is a consideration, and every new enemy has you rethinking your strategy.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static2.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2601231-divinity+-+divinity+-+2014-07-17+03-04-02+%28p%2938.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2601231" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static2.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2601231-divinity+-+divinity+-+2014-07-17+03-04-02+%28p%2938.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2601231"><img src="http://static5.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/416/4161502/2601231-divinity+-+divinity+-+2014-07-17+03-04-02+%28p%2938.jpg"></a><figcaption>Don't underestimate the usefulness of potions and one-time scrolls. They might hold the key to escaping a tight spot. </figcaption></figure><p style="">Divinity: Original Sin's minor flaws include a few bugs here and there, such as one that might turn a cave into a neverending mass of explosions. Its interface is fiddly, giving each party member his or her own supply of gold and sometimes making it a chore to do things as simple as repairing equipment or bartering with townspeople. Some idiosyncrasies aren't flaws, however, but rather reminders of how often we expect games to ask of us the simplest questions and then provide us easy answers. How do you find the forest where the White Witch lives? You go out into the world and you find it. How do you locate all the door-opening switches in an immense library? You look for them, you investigate, you open your eyes wide and truly take in the space around you. Little by little, you learn the rules--and little by little, you wonder why there are so few games so willing to trust you to examine and explore. That it believes in you is Original Sin's greatest achievement, and given its many achievements, that's high praise indeed.</p> Sat, 19 Jul 2014 20:44:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/divinity-original-sin-review/1900-6415819/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-one-exclusive-quantum-break-s-live-action-sho/1100-6421215/ <div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6420286" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6420286/" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p dir="ltr" style="">The live action show component of the Xbox One-exclusive game <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/quantum-break/">Quantum Break</a> is still on track despite Microsoft's recent announcement that it's shutting down Xbox Entertainment Studios, the division responsible for original Xbox programming.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Developer Remedy, which previously created <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/max-payne/">Max Payne</a> and <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/alan-wake/">Alan Wake</a>, told <a href="http://www.polygon.com/2014/7/17/5914141/quantum-break-xbox-entertainment-studios-closure-xbox-one" rel="nofollow">Polygon</a> in a statement that both the game and show are going along as planned, and that it's excited to share more details about Quantum Break at Gamescom this August.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Xbox Entertainment Studios' shuttering is part of Microsoft's plan to <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-layoffs-greater-than-expected-up-to-18-0/1100-6421171/">lay off up to 18,000 of its employees</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Some of Xbox Entertainment Studios' employees--including president Nancy Tellem and executive vice president Jordan Levin--will "stay on and remain committed to original programming already in production." This includes Signal to Noise--the documentary series that will cover, among other subjects, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-man-who-buried-e-t-for-atari-in-1983-recalls-what-happened/1100-6419438/">the Atari E.T. dig</a>--as well as <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/e3-2014-halo-5-s-mysterious-spartan-named-agent-locke-backstory-coming-in-nightfall/1100-6420433/">Halo: Nightfall</a> and Steven Spielberg's <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/halo-tv-show-won-t-be-filler-microsoft-says/1100-6416982/">Halo TV series</a>.</p><p style="">Quantum Break follows Jack Joyce, a man on a mission to prevent the end of time, fighting against the nefarious corporation Monarch Solutions. The actions you take will impact how the story unfolds not only in the game, but also the show. The game follows Quantum Break's heroes, while the TV show highlights the villains. The game will launch in 2015.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer. You can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a> and <a href="https://plus.google.com/116710591398405257934/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Google+</a>.<br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><p style=""><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></p><p style=""> </p></td></tr></tbody></table> Sat, 19 Jul 2014 16:28:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-one-exclusive-quantum-break-s-live-action-sho/1100-6421215/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/valve-responds-to-steam-developers-security-concer/1100-6421214/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2601764-8943408693-25903.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2601764" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2601764-8943408693-25903.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2601764"><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1535/15354745/2601764-8943408693-25903.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">Earlier this week, <a href="http://steamdb.info/blog/47/" rel="nofollow">SteamDB published an open letter to Valve</a> from various members of Steam's developer community concerned with some of the company's security practices.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Their primary concern is that unlike other big companies like Facebook and Google, which offer hundreds and even thousands of dollars in rewards to security researchers who discover exploits, Valve doesn't have an official "bug-bounty" program. People who do discover security flaws and want to do the right thing and report them are not sure where to turn, and usually don't get rewarded. If they do, it's in the form of rare, in-game economy items like Team Fortress 2 hats.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"Regardless of bounties, not having a clear page describing how to report security bugs to Valve, and receive acknowledgement that reports have been received, is harmful to Valve's customers," The open letter reads, "the top result when searching for 'Steam bug report' on Google is a Steam Powered Users Forum section for the video game DogFighter – demonstrating that users who wish to report bugs responsibly have difficulty finding an avenue to do so."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Valve responded to the letter the same day it was published. "We take security very seriously, and your email prompted us to evaluate our current procedures," it said. "In light of that we have recently created a new security web page which explains our process for receiving and responding to security reports (<a href="http://www.valvesoftware.com/security" rel="nofollow">http://www.valvesoftware.com/security</a>). We believe our process is robust but we understand that we haven't been completely transparent about the process and that has created some confusion. We hope that the above page helps to add clarity and discoverability."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">It also explained that only some teams within Valve, namely the Team Fortress 2 team, have chosen to offer small rewards for certain valuable reports. At the moment, Valve isn't planning to establish a formal bug-bounty program.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Valve's response also ignored the open letter's claim that it took the company 24 hours to patch its servers to address the notorious <a href="http://www.cnet.com/news/heartbleed-bug-undoes-web-encryption-reveals-user-passwords/" rel="nofollow">Heartbleed</a> vulnerability. The letter claims that the delay was "unacceptable," and the Valve still hasn't said what data may have been compromised.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"The security page is a step into the right direction, but some points are left unanswered," the authors of the letter said following Valve's response. "We will continue to communicate with Valve."</p><p style=""><em>What do you think people who report security flaws should get in return? Let us know in the comments below.</em></p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer. You can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a> and <a href="https://plus.google.com/116710591398405257934/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Google+</a>.<br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><p style=""><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></p><p style=""> </p></td></tr></tbody></table> Sat, 19 Jul 2014 15:32:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/valve-responds-to-steam-developers-security-concer/1100-6421214/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-evil-within-is-coming-sooner-than-we-thought/1100-6421213/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2601754-8415852375-24432.png" data-ref-id="1300-2601754" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2601754-8415852375-24432.png" data-ref-id="1300-2601754"><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1535/15354745/2601754-8415852375-24432.png"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">Horror game <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/the-evil-within/">The Evil Within</a> has moved its release date once again, but if you're eager to play it the change is in your favor this time. Previously set to launch on October 21, its new release date is October 14, according to <a href="https://twitter.com/TheEvilWithin/status/489919341345792000" rel="nofollow">the game's official Twitter account</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The Evil Within was originally scheduled to <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/resident-evil-creator-s-new-horror-game-for-xbox-one-ps4-arrives-this-august/1100-6417753/">launch in August</a> for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4, but was reportedly delayed to October to give the development team additional time to make further balance changes and refinements to the game.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Developed by <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/resident-evil/">Resident Evil</a> creator Shinji Mikami and his team at Tango Gameworks, The Evil Within will be published by Fallout and Elder Scrolls publisher Bethesda Softworks. Mikami has described the game as a true return to the roots of the survival horror genre.</p><p style="">For more on The Evil Within, check out GameSpot editor Zorine Te's <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/what-other-horror-games-lie-inside-the-evil-within/1100-6420739/">article about what other horror games seemed to influence the game's two hour preview build</a>.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer. You can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a> and <a href="https://plus.google.com/116710591398405257934/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Google+</a>.<br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><p style=""><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></p></td></tr></tbody></table> Sat, 19 Jul 2014 13:56:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-evil-within-is-coming-sooner-than-we-thought/1100-6421213/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/failed-kickstarted-yogcast-game-wasted-35-000-on-o/1100-6421212/ <div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6420305" data-width="854" data-height="480"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6420305/" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p dir="ltr" style="">Earlier this week, we learned that <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/yogventures/" data-ref-id="false">Yogventures</a>, a game from the popular YouTube channel Yogscast, has been <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/free-game-given-to-backers-of-failed-yogscast-game/1100-6421172/">canceled after raising $567,000 on Kickstarter</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Yogscast co-founder Lewis Brindley said that the project was ultimately "too ambitious and difficult" for the six-man developer it partnered with, Winterkewl Games.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">On Friday, Winterkewl lead developer Kris Vale explained to backers via a <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/winterkewlgames/yogventures/posts/919100" rel="nofollow">Kickstarter update</a> some of the issues it faced during development, including one major incident that cost it $35,000. In short, Winterkewl paid an artist in advance, who then went to work at LucasArts without finishing his commitments to the project.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"This is a very good example of how my inexperience caused some problems in the development," Vale said. "Because we had worked out a contract that guaranteed each of the principal artists a $35,000 lump sum payment, and we didn't make any clear clause on how and why someone could legally stop working on the project, the artist in question got paid, worked for about 2 weeks and then stopped working on the project. We had no way to force that person to pay back any of the funds and it was a bitter lesson to learn. Always get every possible scenario in writing or you will have no legal recourse."</p><figure data-align="right" data-size="small" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2601720-3648140090-866cd.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2601720" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2601720-3648140090-866cd.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2601720"><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_small/1535/15354745/2601720-3648140090-866cd.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">Vale said that after this incident, Yogacast's Brindley lost faith in Vale's ability to manage the budget, and required that the money that hadn't been spent already be transferred to Yogcast.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"In the end we negotiated that $150,000 would be transferred to the Yogscast with the understanding that they would use that money exclusively to create and ship all the physical rewards, AND they would help hire the main programmer that we still didn't have on the project," Vale said.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"Winterkewl's statement omits much and I would disagree with a number of points, but there's no value in going into detail," Brindley said in a post to the <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/Yogscast/comments/2b4jgb/update_from_lewis_re_yogventures/" rel="nofollow">Yogcast subreddit </a>earlier today. "Our only goal right now is to ensure that we provide the best possible experience for the backers that we can. I can honestly say this has been our goal throughout."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Brindley also reiterated that Yogscast is working hard to reimburse the backers with other rewards and a code for a different game, TUG.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Vale said that he needs to consult with his accountant to make sure the information is accurate, but offered a detailed breakdown of how Winterkewl planned to spend the roughly $415,000 it had to work with after Amazon and Kickstarter collected their fees from the total $567,665 raised. You can find that breakdown in <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/winterkewlgames/yogventures/posts/919100" rel="nofollow">the last Kickstarter update</a>. </p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer. You can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a> and <a href="https://plus.google.com/116710591398405257934/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Google+</a>.<br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><p style=""><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></p></td></tr></tbody></table> Sat, 19 Jul 2014 12:23:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/failed-kickstarted-yogcast-game-wasted-35-000-on-o/1100-6421212/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/quick-look-the-nightmare-cooperative/2300-6420313/ Watch extended gameplay footage from The Nightmare Cooperative featuring the Giant Bomb crew. Sat, 19 Jul 2014 12:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/quick-look-the-nightmare-cooperative/2300-6420313/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/destiny-beta-gets-two-new-maps-this-weekend-but-on/1100-6421211/ <div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6420276" data-width="854" data-height="480"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6420276/" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p dir="ltr" style="">The Destiny beta will start a limited time event today that adds two new maps to the game, developer Bungie has announced in <a href="http://www.bungie.net/en/News/News?aid=11938" rel="nofollow">its most recent weekly update</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">If you've played the Destiny alpha and are currently playing the beta, you've probably noticed that it's missing the Rusted Lands map for the game's competitive multiplayer mode, the Crucible. Today's event, The Iron Banner, will see the return of that map as well as a brand new one, Blind Watch, which is set on Mars.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The Iron Banner is also a bit different from the normal multiplayer mode. "Bring your absolute best gear because we turn on Level Advantages," Bungie Designer Lars Bakken said. "That means your Attack and Defense ratings matters in Iron Banner matches." The event also has limited time rewards, so winning a match might be your only opportunity to win a certain weapon.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The Iron Banner begins on Saturday, July 19 at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time. It will remain open for only two hours. If you want to see the new maps, you better clear your schedule, because Bungie said this will be the only way to see them during the beta.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Bungie has not yet decided if <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/bungie-hasnt-decided-if-destiny-beta-progress-will/1100-6421127/">progress from the beta will carry over</a> to the final game. However, if you play the beta after 8 p.m. Pacific on Saturday, July 26, you will receive an exclusive emblem for use in Destiny when it's released on September 9.</p><p style="">The beta runs from now until July 27 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific, though it will be offline on July 21 and 22. Xbox One and Xbox 360 owners will be able to <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/destiny-info-blowout-150-ghost-edition-revealed-tw/1100-6420946/">join the beta on July 23</a> at 10 a.m. Pacific.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer. You can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a> and <a href="https://plus.google.com/116710591398405257934/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Google+</a>.<br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><p style=""><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></p><p style=""> </p></td></tr></tbody></table> Sat, 19 Jul 2014 10:08:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/destiny-beta-gets-two-new-maps-this-weekend-but-on/1100-6421211/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/overclocking-for-beginners/1100-6421190/ <p style="">Sometimes getting the best bang for your buck with <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/pc/" data-ref-id="false">PC</a> components means putting a little extra work in, whether that's shopping around for the best prices online, or researching which CPU or GPU is best suited to the task at hand. But, if you're willing to go the extra mile, the best returns often come from overclocking. For the uninitiated, overclocking means taking a piece of hardware--most commonly a CPU or GPU--and running it at a faster speed than the manufacturer intended, giving you the performance of higher-priced models for less cash. While there's an element of risk to the process--you can significantly shorten the life of your components or permanently damage them if something goes awry--if you're sensible, disasters are rare. The process of overclocking isn't as complicated as some would have you believe either, and with a bit of computing know-how, and some patience, it's possible to significantly boost your PC's performance with just a few tweaks.</p><h2>The Basics</h2><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/917/9176928/2601300-5974647369_2cd2f8a392_o.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2601300" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/917/9176928/2601300-5974647369_2cd2f8a392_o.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2601300"><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/917/9176928/2601300-5974647369_2cd2f8a392_o.jpg"></a><figcaption>Image Credit: flicker.com/trishamanasan</figcaption></figure><p style="">Before you begin overclocking, it's good to know some of the basic principles behind the process, beginning with how a CPU's speed is calculated. While the overall speed of a CPU is based on a number of factors, one of the most important is its clock speed, which tells you how quickly the CPU switches from one cycle of instructions to the next, and is measured in gigahertz (GHz). For example, Intel's new Core i5-4690K has a standard clock speed of 3.5GHz, while AMD's FX 9590 Black Edition has a standard clock speed of 4.7GHz. Both processors also feature a turbo mode, which dynamically increases the clock speed in small bursts, as well as power-saving features that decrease the clock speed when the CPU is idling.</p><p style="">What we're most interested in when overclocking is the standard clock speed. You calculate it by taking the base clock (BCLK, a signal supplied by the clock generator on the motherboard, or reference clock in AMD systems) and applying a multiplier to it. For example, the Intel Core i5-4690K is designed for motherboards that feature a base clock of 100MHz, while the CPU itself has a default multiplier of 35. All you do is take that multiplier of 35 and multiply it by the 100MHz of the base clock, which equals 3500MHz, or 3.5GHz. Therefore, to make the processor run at a higher speed, we need to increase either the base clock or the multiplier. Increasing the BCLK used to be common practice in the old days of overclocking, but these days, adjustments are limited to just a few MHz, and only with specific motherboards.</p><p style="">The preferred method whether you're using an Intel or an AMD CPU is to increase the multiplier until a stable speed is reached. However, this increase in speed causes the CPU to suck down more power, and if not properly accounted for, this can cause system instability. The solution is to manually adjust the CPU core voltage (VCORE) while still keeping the system stable. Bear in mind, though, that there's a cutoff point where too much VCORE actually introduces instability and can damage or shorten the useful life of your CPU. Plus, with more VCORE comes more heat, which brings us neatly to what exactly you need in your system before you start overclocking.</p><h2>Get the Right Gear</h2><figure data-align="right" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/917/9176928/2601305-0517651101-KO8jU.png" data-ref-id="1300-2601305" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/917/9176928/2601305-0517651101-KO8jU.png" data-ref-id="1300-2601305"><img src="http://static2.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_medium/917/9176928/2601305-0517651101-KO8jU.png"></a><figcaption>Motherboards like ASUS' Z97-Deluxe are designed for overclocking.</figcaption></figure><p style="">Thanks to the extra heat put out by overclocking, you need to make sure you've got adequate cooling in place before attempting it. While you can achieve small overclocks using stock cooling solutions supplied by the CPU manufacturer, it's far better to go with a large third-party cooling solution from the likes of Noctua or Corsair. The more efficiently you can move heat away from your CPU, the more stable your overclock will be. It's also worth looking at the overall cooling setup in your PC, and making sure that you have decent fans and good airflow throughout the case. For more on keeping your PC cool (and quiet), be sure to <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/tips-to-make-your-pc-cool-and-quiet/1100-6421028/" data-ref-id="1100-6421028">check out our guide</a>.</p><p style="">Aside from decent cooling, you also need to make sure you have the right type of CPU and motherboard. Not all CPUs support multiplier overclocking; the vast majority have their multipliers locked. On the Intel side, look out for CPUs with a "K" in the product name, such as the Intel Core i5-4690K. On the AMD side, you need a Black Edition chip, such as the AMD FX-8350 Black Edition. Older CPUs from older product lines may differ, so do your research before proceeding. You can read more about <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/building-a-pc-everything-you-need-to-know-about-cp/1100-6421072/" data-ref-id="1100-6421072">CPUs in our extensive guide</a>. And if you're planning to overclock your GPU, we've got a <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/building-a-pc-everything-you-need-to-know-about-gp/1100-6420869/" data-ref-id="1100-6420869">guide on what to look out for there too</a>.</p><p style="">To go alongside your overclockable CPU, you need a motherboard that supports overclocking. On the Intel side, that's any motherboard with a "Z" designation, such as the Z77, the Z87, or the more recent Z97, depending on what CPU socket you have. Things are a little easier over on the AMD side in that most motherboards support overclocking of some sort. However, bear in mind that overclocking increases the amount of power flowing through the motherboard to the CPU. That power is delivered by a section of a motherboard called the voltage regulator module (VRM). Cheaper boards don't have particularly hardy VRMs, which makes them bad for overclocking. Essentially, you want a VRM with good-quality leak-resistant capacitors, high-quality chokes (used to improve efficiency, often called super ferrite chokes), and a decent cooling solution in the form of a heatsink or even a fan over the MOSFETS.</p><p style="">Finally, if you're driving extra VCORE to the CPU, your PC is going to use more power. That's particularly true for AMD CPUs, which already have a thermal design power as high as 225W at stock speeds. That means your power supply unit (PSU) has to be up to the task. We're going to be taking a more in-depth look at PSUs at a later date, but the PSU is one thing you don't want to skimp on. Look for 80-plus-rated units and research what sort of power output, rails, and efficiency you need. Also, be sure to pick up a PSU from a reputable manufacturer like Corsair or Silverstone. The last thing you want is to fry all your expensive components because of a cheap PSU!</p><h2>Preparing Your System for Overclocking</h2><p style="">There are three main methods for overclocking your CPU via the multiplier: using the automatic overclocking tools of your motherboard, manually overclocking using software in your operating system, or manually overclocking using your motherboard's BIOS or UEFI BIOS (a page of system settings you access when you boot up your PC). It's the latter two we're going to be focusing on here. Automatic overclocking tools can work brilliantly sometimes, depending on the motherboard manufacturer, but they don't always result in the best performance gains. If you're totally new to the process and don't want to dive in too deep, automatic overclocking tools are a good place to start. Just check out your motherboard's manual and see what it offers.</p><figure data-align="left" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/917/9176928/2601307-0024688947-softw.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2601307" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/917/9176928/2601307-0024688947-softw.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2601307"><img src="http://static3.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_medium/917/9176928/2601307-0024688947-softw.jpg"></a><figcaption>CPUz is an essential program for overclocking.</figcaption></figure><p style="">The process for manually overclocking by using software tools (often provided by the CPU or motherboard manufacturer) or by diving into the BIOS is very similar, but it's generally better to overclock using the BIOS if you can. In software, the settings are loaded only when your OS boots, and you can get better, more stable performance gains using the BIOS. The exception to this is GPU overclocking, which can be achieved only via software. For the purposes of this guide, we're going to focus on BIOS overclocking, but you can apply many of the same principles to software tools.</p><p style="">Before you begin your overclocking journey, make sure that you've backed up any important data and that you're running the latest version of your motherboard's BIOS. You'll also need to install a few bits of software in your OS to test the overclock and system stability, and get some baseline figures for comparison, all of which are free. First, grab a <a href="http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">copy of CPU-Z</a>. This tool gives you all sorts of real-time system information, but here you'll be using it to keep an eye on the clock speed of your processor and how much voltage is being applied to it. Next, download <a href="http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Prime95</a>, <a href="http://www.maxon.net/products/cinebench/overview.html" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Cinebench</a>, and <a href="http://www.passmark.com/products/bit.htm" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">PassMark BurnInTest</a>. These tools are used to ramp up your processor usage to test system stability.</p><p style="">Finally, install <a href="http://www.techpowerup.com/realtemp/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Real Temp</a>. As its name suggests, Real Temp lets you monitor your CPU temperature, so you can check that it's not straying over 75 degrees centigrade when the CPU is under full load, with 60 being much more comfortable. Once you've got everything installed, run a "blend test" in Prime95 and note down the core voltage figure with your system under load. Also check the CPU temperatures in Real Temp. Do the same again, except this time with the system idle. You'll notice that your CPU speed and voltage drop significantly when the CPU is not in use, which is a handy power-saving feature, and one that we'll show you how to still make use of when overclocking.</p><h2>How to Overclock</h2><figure data-align="right" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/917/9176928/2601313-1069797052-ASUS%25.png" data-ref-id="1300-2601313" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/917/9176928/2601313-1069797052-ASUS%25.png" data-ref-id="1300-2601313"><img src="http://static4.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_medium/917/9176928/2601313-1069797052-ASUS%25.png"></a><figcaption>Look out for an advanced settings page in your BIOS to tweak your voltage and multiplier settings.</figcaption></figure><p style="">Boot into your motherboard BIOS at startup (how you do this varies, but it's usually accomplished by pressing the delete or F8 key), load up the optimised default settings (again, usually accomplished by a key press), and then reboot and enter the BIOS again. Open up the advanced settings and find the page that contains setting for your CPU and/or memory. You should see things like "BCLK Frequency" or "CPU Voltage" in there. Sometimes these settings are hidden away, so consult your motherboard manual for how to unlock them. In the case of our ASUS motherboard, we had to set "Ai Overclock Tuner" to "Manual" and then "EPU Power Saving Mode" to "Disabled" to see the full gamut of options.</p><p style="">While a significant overclock usually means applying more VCORE to the CPU, for now you need to find out how far you can push your CPU without adding any voltage. Find the setting for your multiplier (called CPU core ratio on ASUS motherboards) and change it from "Auto" to "Sync Across All Cores." Some motherboards feature a "Per Core" option, which allows you to change the speed of each CPU core individually. It's a useful way to get a higher overclock on individual cores, but for simplicity's sake, go ahead and select "Sync Across All Cores" or a "Manual" option. To start with, increase the multiplier number by 1. So, for the Core i5-4690K mentioned earlier, the default multiplier is 35, giving us a speed of 3.5GHz. With an addition of 1 to the multiplier, we hit a speed of 3.6GHz.</p><p style="">Save your BIOS settings, and boot into Windows. We'll be doing much longer stability tests later, but for now, run a few passes in Cinebench to check that things are relatively stable, and keep Real Temp open to make sure things aren't getting too toasty. Repeat this process until your PC no longer boots, or your PC blue screens. If your PC no longer boots, you'll need to reset your BIOS. Many motherboards now have a button on them that lets you do this with little effort, but some older boards may require you to move a jumper on the physical board. Consult your motherboard manual for how to do it.</p><figure data-align="left" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/917/9176928/2601322-cinebench.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2601322" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/917/9176928/2601322-cinebench.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2601322"><img src="http://static5.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_medium/917/9176928/2601322-cinebench.jpg"></a><figcaption>Cinebench is just of the great tools you can use to stress test your PC.</figcaption></figure><p style="">Once you've encountered an error, back the multiplier down to the last stable point. Now it's time to start fiddling with the VCORE. Find the setting for "CPU Voltage" or similar in your BIOS, and set this to "Manual" for now. This is the setting for a fixed voltage, meaning that regardless of whether your CPU is under load or idle, it will receive the same amount of voltage from the motherboard. You'll notice that you're also given the option of "Offset" or, if you're using an Intel Haswell CPU, "Adaptive." What these do is work in conjunction with the power-saving features of your processor to step the voltage down when the CPU is under a light load or is idle. We'll look at enabling these later in the article.</p><p style="">There are two options from here. The more involved method is to begin to increase your VCORE in gradual steps. Remember that VCORE figure you noted down when the CPU was under load at stock speed? Take that figure (you might also find the figure listed in your BIOS) and add 0.5v to it. Save and reboot and then begin to increase your CPU multiplier again. Increase the multiplier--testing it out each time with Cinebench and monitoring your temperatures with Real Temp--until you hit another blue screen or failed boot. Make sure you're noting down the figures each time in case you need to do a BIOS reset to boot your system. Add another 0.5v to the VCORE and start increasing the multiplier again. Repeat the process until you reach your desired overclock, your temperature gets too high under load, or you're putting more than 1.4v into the CPU.</p><p style="">Higher voltages are possible, but you risk shortening the life of your CPU, and they certainly aren't recommended if you're running an air-cooling setup. Most recent Intel Haswell CPUs will hit 4.5GHz at around 1.2v, although AMD systems will need a little more juice. The alternative method, which is especially useful for more modern CPUs, is to jump straight in at 1.2v and go about increasing the multiplier from there, which speeds up the process a little. Either way, once you find a point where the system is mostly stable, you need to run some more substantial tests to make sure it's not going to crash under extended loads.</p><figure data-align="right" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/917/9176928/2601324-9256447366-scree.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2601324" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/917/9176928/2601324-9256447366-scree.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2601324"><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_medium/917/9176928/2601324-9256447366-scree.jpg"></a><figcaption>Keep an eye on your CPU temperature using Real Temp.</figcaption></figure><p style="">There are various opinions around the best method for stress-testing your PC. One of the most popular is running Prime95's blend test over a 24-hour period. If your PC manages it without any error messages in Prime95 or without crashing, your overclock is stable. However, Prime95 is what's known as a synthetic benchmark, in that it doesn't entirely reflect real work usage. For that, things like Cinebench and PassMark BurnInTest provide a much more realistic type of CPU load. Either way, if your PC crashes or fails a test at any point, either increase your voltage again in smaller 0.01 steps or decrease your CPU multiplier, keeping an eye on temperatures the whole time. Eventually, you'll find the sweet spot for your CPU.</p><p style="">Success: you've overclocked your CPU! From there you can go ahead and enable X.M.P. profiles for your RAM, or manually input its speed (in MHz) and timings (listed on the RAM itself in a 9-9-9-24 format) to make sure everything is running at its correct speed. You can also enable "Adaptive" mode on your motherboard, so your CPU's voltage is stepped down when it's under less load. You'll find two extra settings to fill in with Adaptive mode: Idle VCORE and Turbo VCORE. Essentially, all you do is input a +value into Turbo VCORE that adds up to your desired overclocked voltage. So, for example, if your stock VCORE is 1.10v and your stable overclock is at 1.25v, input +0.15. You may find that under Adaptive mode, your CPU becomes unstable at idle speeds, because it's not getting enough voltage. In that case, input a +value into Idle VCORE to account for it.</p><p style="">Be aware that when using Adaptive mode, synthetic benchmarks like Prime95 that use certain advanced vector extensions (AVX) can cause the motherboard to deliver a higher voltage than necessary. This shouldn't affect you unless you're doing a lot of scientific floating-point calculations, but if that's your bag, a fixed voltage is best. If your motherboard doesn't offer Adaptive mode, you can use Offset mode. There's a lot more trial and error involved in setting up Offset mode, but the principal is the same. Essentially, the CPU has a voltage it thinks it needs in order to run at a given speed, called the VID. That may or may not be the actual voltage it needs, so all offset does is to add (or subtract) a set amount from the VID to get the correct voltage.</p><h2>GPU Overclocking</h2><p style="">The good news is that all the principles of CPU overclocking also apply to GPU overclocking. Both AMD and Nvidia actually include overclocking support as part of their drivers. AMD's are in the Performance section of Catalyst Control Center, while Nvidia's are unlocked by installing its System Tools utility. The process is as simple as adjusting the sliders for memory speed, clock speed, and fan speed and testing the results in your favourite game. The beauty of the built-in overclocking tools is that they don't adjust voltage, so you can pretty much go crazy with the sliders and find an overclock that works well for your GPU. If you want to go further, tools like MSI's Afterburner let you tweak voltages, but aren't recommended unless you've got a hefty cooling solution in place.</p><p style=""><em>Tempted to overclock your PC? Already an advanced overclocker? Let us know your overclocking stories in the comments below.</em></p> Sat, 19 Jul 2014 09:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/overclocking-for-beginners/1100-6421190/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-last-of-us-voice-actress-criticizes-ubisoft-s-/1100-6421210/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2601651-9167776681-BVIhqgECcAAyYOl.jpg%3Alarge" data-ref-id="1300-2601651" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2601651-9167776681-BVIhqgECcAAyYOl.jpg%3Alarge" data-ref-id="1300-2601651"><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1535/15354745/2601651-9167776681-BVIhqgECcAAyYOl.jpg%3Alarge"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">Ashley Johnson, the voice of The Last of Us' Ellie, has criticized Ubisoft over the company's recent statements about the lack of playable female characters in <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/assassins-creed-unity/">Assassin's Creed Unity</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"I was like, 'Give me a f***ing break! It's 2014! How many video games do you have to make to realise maybe have an option to have a female be in there?'" Johnson told <a href="http://www.videogamer.com/ps4/the_last_of_us_remastered/news/the_last_of_us_ashley_johnson_angry_over_lack_of_female_characters_in_assassins_creed_unity.html" rel="nofollow">Videogamer</a> in an interview. "And maybe not just on PS Vita," by which Johnson is probably referring to Aveline de Grandpré, the female protagonist of <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/assassin-s-creed-iii-liberation-hd-review/1900-6415643/">Assassin's Creed Liberation</a>, initially exclusive to Sony's handheld.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"But it did make me upset," she said. "There are so many female gamers...I don't know what the percentage is at this point but there are a lot of females that play video games and it would be nice to see stronger females in a game that are not just the damsel in distress, the love interest or she's oversexualised. She doesn't even necessarily have to be a badass. Just like a normal female character."</p><figure data-align="right" data-size="small" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2601658-4051980404-25925.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2601658" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2601658-4051980404-25925.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2601658"><img src="http://static2.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_small/1535/15354745/2601658-4051980404-25925.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">Johnson is correct in assuming there is huge number of female gamers. As pointed out in a <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/videos/reality-check-surprising-facts-about-video-games-y/2300-6419195/">recent Reality Check episode</a>, according to a study by the Entertainment Software Association, out of 1.2 billion gamers worldwide 48 percent are female and 52 percent are male.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Ubisoft technical director James Therien said during E3 2014 that female characters were going to be included in Assassin's Creed Unity, but were <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/e3-2014-ubisoft-clarifies-assassin-s-creed-unity-s-lack-of-playable-female-leads/1100-6420397/">scrapped</a> because of the additional work that would have been involved. Ubisoft later <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/e3-2014-ubisoft-clarifies-assassin-s-creed-unity-s-lack-of-playable-female-leads/1100-6420397/">issued a formal statement</a> on the matter, saying the company recognizes the "valid concern around diversity in video game narrative."</p><p style="">Developers from <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-ubisoft-activision-on-why-there-are-so-few-female-video-game-protagonists/1100-6420600/">Electronic Arts, Activision, Ubisoft</a>, and <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/industry-shouldnt-shy-away-from-women-in-games-dis/1100-6420905/">Paradox Interactive</a> have all sounded off on the issue, but the best commentary yet might be the from the two brilliant cosplayers above, dressed in cardboard boxes that have the words "BOOBS?" and "2 HARD TO RENDER" written on them. The photo <a href="https://twitter.com/femfreq/status/488463181149253632/photo/1" rel="nofollow">comes from</a> Feminist Frequency creator Anita Sarkeesian, and was taken during the <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/lgbtq-friendly-game-convention-funded-in-two-days/1100-6417911/">GaymerX2 conference</a>.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer. You can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a> and <a href="https://plus.google.com/116710591398405257934/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Google+</a>.<br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><p style=""><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></p><p style=""> </p></td></tr></tbody></table> Sat, 19 Jul 2014 08:18:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-last-of-us-voice-actress-criticizes-ubisoft-s-/1100-6421210/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/humble-store-ubisoft-sale-offers-far-cry-3-for-7-5/1100-6421209/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2601624-0008477033-20420.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2601624" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2601624-0008477033-20420.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2601624"><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1535/15354745/2601624-0008477033-20420.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style=""><a href="https://www.humblebundle.com/store" rel="nofollow">The Humble Store</a> is currently holding a sale with up to a 75 percent discount on some of Ubisoft's biggest games, including <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/far-cry-3/">Far Cry 3</a>, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/assassins-creed-iv-black-flag/">Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag</a>, and <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/tom-clancys-splinter-cell-blacklist/">Splinter Cell: Blacklist</a>. The deals below are valid until the end of this weekend, July 21, 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time. You can click the game's title for GameSpot's review and the price to find the game's product page on the Humble Store. Being an Ubisoft PC sale, you'll need a Uplay account to download and play the games.</p><ul><li dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/south-park-the-stick-of-truth-review/1900-6415684/">South Park: The Stick of Truth</a> - <a href="https://www.humblebundle.com/store/p/southpark_thestickoftruth_storefront" rel="nofollow">$39.99</a></li><li dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/far-cry-3-review/1900-6400897/">Far Cry 3</a> - <a href="https://www.humblebundle.com/store/p/farcry3_storefront" rel="nofollow">$7.49</a></li><li dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/far-cry-3-blood-dragon-review/1900-6407777/">Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon</a> - <a href="https://www.humblebundle.com/store/p/farcry3_blooddragon_storefront" rel="nofollow">$3.74</a></li><li dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/assassin-s-creed-iv-black-flag-review/1900-6415509/">Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag</a> - <a href="https://www.humblebundle.com/store/p/assassinscreed4_blackflag_storefront" rel="nofollow">$19.99</a></li><li dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/assassin-s-creed-iii-liberation-hd-review/1900-6415643/">Assassin's Creed Liberation</a> - <a href="https://www.humblebundle.com/store/p/assassinscreed_liberation_storefront" rel="nofollow">$9.99</a></li><li dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/tom-clancys-splinter-cell-blacklist-review/1900-6412806/">Splinter Cell: Blacklist</a> - <a href="https://www.humblebundle.com/store/p/tomclancys_splintercellblacklist_storefront" rel="nofollow">$7.49</a></li><li dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/child-of-light-review/1900-6415744/">Child of Light</a> - <a href="https://www.humblebundle.com/store/p/childoflight_storefront" rel="nofollow">$11.24</a></li><li dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/trials-fusion-review/1900-6415733/">Trials Fusion</a> - <a href="https://www.humblebundle.com/store/p/trialsfusion_storefront" rel="nofollow">$13.32</a></li><li dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/rocksmith-2014-edition-review/1900-6415495/">Rocksmith 2014 Edition</a> - <a href="https://www.humblebundle.com/store/p/rocksmith2014_storefront" rel="nofollow">$14.99</a></li><li dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/anno-2070-review/1900-6347765/">Anno 2070 Complete Edition</a> - <a href="https://www.humblebundle.com/store/p/anno2070_completeedition_storefront" rel="nofollow">$12.49</a></li><li dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/rayman-legends-review/1900-6413616/">Rayman Legends</a> - <a href="https://www.humblebundle.com/store/p/raymanlegends_storefront" rel="nofollow">$9.99</a></li><li dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/might-magic-x-legacy-review/1900-6415645/">Might & Magic X: Legacy</a> - <a href="https://www.humblebundle.com/store/p/mightandmagic10_legacy_storefront" rel="nofollow">$12.49</a></li><li dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/call-of-juarez-gunslinger-review/1900-6408535/">Call of Juarez: Gunslinger</a> - <a href="https://www.humblebundle.com/store/p/callofjuarez_gunslinger_storefront" rel="nofollow">$3.74</a></li><li dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/from-dust-review/1900-6330067/">From Dust</a> - <a href="https://www.humblebundle.com/store/p/fromdust_storefront" rel="nofollow">$3.74</a></li><li dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/might-and-magic-heroes-vi-review/1900-6346819/">Might & Magic Heroes VI: Complete Edition</a> - <a href="https://www.humblebundle.com/store/p/mightandmagicheroes6_complete_storefront" rel="nofollow">$9.99</a></li></ul><p dir="ltr" style="">The Humble store is also currently offering its <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/pay-what-you-want-for-bioshock-xcom-and-other-2k-g/1100-6420957/">Humble 2K Bundle</a>, which includes all the Bioshock and and XCOM games as well as other titles from the publisher. As usual, 10 percent of proceeds will go to charities like the American Red Cross and Child's Play.</p><p dir="ltr" style=""><em>Let us know what games you're picking up this weekend in the comments below.</em></p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer. You can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a> and <a href="https://plus.google.com/116710591398405257934/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Google+</a>.<br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><p style=""><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></p><p style=""> </p></td></tr></tbody></table> Sat, 19 Jul 2014 07:03:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/humble-store-ubisoft-sale-offers-far-cry-3-for-7-5/1100-6421209/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/secret-bosses-in-the-destiny-beta/2300-6420321/ There is plenty to explore in the Destiny beta. Chris Watters goes on a treasure hunt for the five golden chests and on the way finds some real tough enemies to get killed by Fri, 18 Jul 2014 18:42:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/secret-bosses-in-the-destiny-beta/2300-6420321/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/destiny-hunter-gameplay/2300-6420316/ The Hunter is equally deadly at range and up close, making this flexible class a one-man army. Fri, 18 Jul 2014 16:50:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/destiny-hunter-gameplay/2300-6420316/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/destiny-doesnt-allow-cross-generation-play-in-the-/1100-6421205/ <div data-height="100%" data-width="100%" data-ref-id="2300-6420311" data-embed-type="video"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6420311/" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p dir="ltr" style="">Whether you play <a href="/destiny/" data-ref-id="false">Destiny</a> during the <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/destiny-beta-now-live-on-ps4-and-ps3-watch-our-liv/1100-6421173/" data-ref-id="1100-6421173">ongoing beta</a> or when it launches in September, you'll only be able to play with (and against) players on the same system as you. Mixing players from PlayStation and Xbox platforms with each another was never expected, but some might wonder why players on Xbox 360 and Xbox One or PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 can't play with one another. The reason for this isn't some insurmountable technical hurdle, but instead because developer Bungie wanted to keep the playing field level.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"I'll speak for the hypothetical player," Bungie engineer Roger Wolfson told <a href="http://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/for-bungie-straddling-four-consoles-in-destiny-was-a-balancing-act/#!bhXR9Z" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Digital Trends</a> when asked why cross-platform play wasn't included. "I have a disadvantage sniping across the map because [my opponent with a next-gen console] is only two pixels on my screen and I'm four pixels on his. You see that in the world of PC gaming, where people are always racing to the best video card to give themselves the advantage."</p><figure data-ref-id="1300-2601353" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/123/1239113/2601353-destiny.jpg" data-size="small" data-align="right" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/123/1239113/2601353-destiny.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2601353"><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_small/123/1239113/2601353-destiny.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">Much has been made about the resolution in Destiny. While the Xbox One beta <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/destinys-xbox-one-beta-doesnt-run-at-1080p-but-rem/1100-6421170/" data-ref-id="1100-6421170">won't run in 1080p</a> (it does on PS4), the final game is <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/destinys-xbox-one-beta-doesnt-run-at-1080p-but-rem/1100-6421170/" data-ref-id="1100-6421170">expected to hit that figure</a> on Microsoft's new console.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"Regardless of where the reality is, there's definitely a perception among gamers that better hardware means you have an advantage," Wolfson added. "We don't want to have to enter that fray, so to create the best, most level playing field, both actually and perceptually, we separated it by platform."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Cross-platform multiplayer hasn't been an especially common thing in the past. 2007 first-person shooter <a href="/shadowrun/" data-ref-id="false">Shadowrun</a> is perhaps the best-known example of this, letting owners of the Xbox 360 and PC versions play against one another. That was an experiment with mixed results, though many of its problems stemmed from the differences in playing a shooter with a controller versus a keyboard and mouse.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">While the graphics in the last-gen console versions of Destiny will no doubt be less pretty than what we've seen on PS4, Wolfson noted that many aspects of the game remain the same on all platforms. "I've been playing some on the Xbox 360 as well as the PS4 [at home] as we head into the beta window, and I've been really pleased at how I can almost forget that I'm playing on a last-gen console," he said. "There's really no difference at all in loading, the action game is as fluid and as action-packed, [and] there are as many combatants on the last-gen."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The Destiny beta <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/destiny-beta-now-live-on-ps4-and-ps3-watch-our-liv/1100-6421173/" data-ref-id="1100-6421173">launched on PS4 and PS3 yesterday</a>. The Xbox One and Xbox 360 versions will <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/destiny-info-blowout-150-ghost-edition-revealed-tw/1100-6420946/" data-ref-id="1100-6420946">join in next Wednesday, July 23</a>, before the beta comes to a close on July 27 at 11:59PM Pacific. The full game lands on all four platforms on September 9.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Chris Pereira is a freelance writer for GameSpot, and you can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/thesmokingmanx" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @TheSmokingManX</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><em><strong>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com</strong></em></td></tr></tbody></table> Fri, 18 Jul 2014 16:47:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/destiny-doesnt-allow-cross-generation-play-in-the-/1100-6421205/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/three-curious-absences-from-the-rainbow-six-siege-/1100-6421201/ <p style="">Yesterday, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/watch-the-rainbow-six-siege-multiplayer-live-strea/1100-6421177/" data-ref-id="1100-6421177">Ubisoft put on a live stream</a> for its upcoming team-based first-person shooter, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/tom-clancys-rainbow-six-siege/" data-ref-id="false">Rainbow Six Siege</a>. One team, the defenders, must barricade themselves within a house and hold the hostage for three minutes (or kill all the attackers), while the other team, the attackers, must break into the house and escort the hostage to safety (or kill all the defenders). The stream ran through roughly half a dozen matches, giving us our first peek at Siege in the wild.</p><p style="">After the stream was over, some of the GameSpot staffers discussed what had just been shown. The consensus was that there seemed to be some sort of gentleman's agreement between the two teams: no one was trying to blow away the attackers on approach to the house or sneak outside to try to ambush an attack playing with his drone. I suspect when the game is released, we'll see some more unconventional tactics. In the meantime, here are a few curious absences we noticed from the stream--though we should note that Siege is still very much in development, so any of these could change.</p><div data-embed-type="html"><object id="clip_embed_player_flash" data="http://www.twitch.tv/widgets/archive_embed_player.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="378" width="620"><param name="movie" value="http://www.twitch.tv/widgets/archive_embed_player.swf" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="allowNetworking" value="all" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="flashvars" value="title=Rainbow%2BSix%2BLive&channel=ubisoft&auto_play=false&start_volume=25&archive_id=548447697" /></object><br /><a class="trk" style="padding: 2px 0px 4px; display: block; width: 320px; font-weight: normal; font-size: 10px; text-decoration: underline; text-align: center;" href="http://www.twitch.tv/ubisoft" rel="nofollow">Watch live video from Ubisoft on Twitch</a></div><h3>Where's the sniper?</h3><p style="">No one on the attacking side ever took the role of sniper during the stream. Having a sniper was something that was shown, albeit briefly, during the E3 2014 reveal trailer for Siege. Considering how this game is all about blowing giant holes in walls and crashing through windows, the sniper would have plenty of space to cover from outside the house. A sniper would also help guard against defenders who tried to sneak outside and get the drop on the attackers. Of course, given the sheer number of barricades the defenders can put up to block a sniper's line of sight, Ubisoft may have deemed this role unnecessary, but it's more likely that the sniper loadout simply isn't ready to show yet.</p><h3>The hostage was never rescued</h3><p style="">The attacking team has two possible objectives: either extract the hostage safely, or eliminate all the defenders. Apparently, one of these is a much more attractive option than the other. Extracting the hostage was rarely even discussed as a strategy, and the attacking teams always focused on eliminating the defenders in the end. This makes sense, because when you're in the heat of the moment and the bullets are flying, you want to shoot the dudes who are shooting at you, not scamper into the night with the hostage while everyone else has all the fun. It will be interesting to see how Ubisoft balances this to make the hostage a higher priority, if at all.</p><h3>No radar, and limited barks</h3><p style="">I actually didn't notice the radar's absence until the very end of the stream, and even then I didn't miss it considering how much the team members were chatting back and forth. All the drones and other cameras in play also gave a pretty comprehensive picture of the entire map--at least to an outside observer. If your team is willing to talk, the game gives plenty of tools for map awareness. However, if you're stuck playing with random people online, it seems you could easily find yourself flying blind. The characters in the game don't communicate much either. It seems the only time they call anything out is when nailing up barricades. They don't call out when reloading or when spotting an enemy or anything else. Having a few auto-barks like this would help alleviate the potential setback of radio silence.</p><p style=""><em>Where there any absences we missed? Leave us a comment, and you can check out more of our impressions of the Rainbow Six Siege live stream in the video below.</em></p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6420282" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6420282/" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p> Fri, 18 Jul 2014 15:59:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/three-curious-absences-from-the-rainbow-six-siege-/1100-6421201/
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