http://www.gamershq.com/forum/ GamersHQ.com - Computer gaming discussion forum. en Sat, 04 Feb 2012 19:06:24 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.gamershq.com/forum/images/misc/rss.jpg http://www.gamershq.com/forum/ http://www.gamershq.com/forum/computer-game-news/19542-skyrim-creation-kit-lands-tuesday.html Sat, 04 Feb 2012 04:01:48 GMT Bethesda Softworks puts a release date on eagerly anticipated mod tools for PC version of its open-ended role-playing game The Elder Scrolls V.

 

Gamers eager to leave their own mark on Skyrim will be able to do so starting early next week.

Maybe now Skyrim will get some Labradoodles.


Bethesda vice president of PR and marketing Pete Hines today announced via his Twitter account that PC Creation Kit mod tools for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim will be released Tuesday. He also teased that the publisher would have a "special surprise" to go with it, though he gave no indication what it could be.

Designed to support the modding community, the Creation Kit gives gamers access to Bethesda's own development tools to make new Skyrim content. Likewise, Valve's Steam Workshop tool for Skyrim will aid PC gamers in finding and installing community-created game mods.

While the PC Creation Kit will no doubt spur the mod community for Skyrim, the game's do-it-yourself fan base isn't waiting for Bethesda's help in tinkering with the game. Check out the video below for a look at some of the game's earliest fan-made modifications and where to get them.

[ Watch Video ]

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"Skyrim Creation Kit lands Tuesday" was posted by Brendan Sinclair on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:50:18 -0800


Feed provided by GameSpot ]]> Computer Game News News Bot http://www.gamershq.com/forum/computer-game-news/19542-skyrim-creation-kit-lands-tuesday.html http://www.gamershq.com/forum/computer-game-news/19543-warren-spector-getting-lifetime-achievement-award-gdcas.html Sat, 04 Feb 2012 04:01:48 GMT Thirty-year industry veteran noted for Deus Ex and Epic Mickey to be honored at next month's awards show in San Francisco.

 

Next month at the 2012 Game Developers Choice Awards, Deus Ex and Epic Mickey designer Warren Spector will leave with a piece of hardware only 11 others have ever received. GDCA event organizers today announced that Spector will be the recipient of the group's Lifetime Achievement award. Warren Spector joins an esteemed club of designers to win a Lifetime Achievement award.




The award, which was given to Lionhead Studios leader Peter Molyneux last year, "recognizes the career and achievements of a developer who has made an indelible impact on the craft of game development and games as a whole," according to event organizers.

Previous winners include Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto, Metal Gear Solid designer Hideo Kojima, and Civilization studio head Sid Meier.

Presently the founder of Austin, Texas-based Junction Point Studios, Spector has been in the game business for 30 years. Arguably his most famous work was 2000's original Deus Ex, which he served as producer on at Ion Studios.

Spector left Ion Studios in 2004 and formed Junction Point Studios. Disney Interactive Studios acquired the company in 2007, and the shop put out Epic Mickey in 2010 to mixed reviews.

Spector will accept his award in person at the 12th annual GDCA ceremony on Wednesday, March 7, as part of the 2012 Game Developers Conference. GameSpot will stream video of the event live.

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

"Warren Spector getting Lifetime Achievement award at GDCAs" was posted by Eddie Makuch on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:26:20 -0800


Feed provided by GameSpot ]]> Computer Game News News Bot http://www.gamershq.com/forum/computer-game-news/19543-warren-spector-getting-lifetime-achievement-award-gdcas.html http://www.gamershq.com/forum/computer-game-news/19544-respawns-first-game-due-march-2013-report.html Sat, 04 Feb 2012 04:01:48 GMT Marketing calendar indicates EA Partners' fiscal 2013 filled with Respawn's first game, Overstrike, Outnernauts, and a new Populous title.

EA Partners will release Respawn Entertainment's first game, as well as two other previously unannounced titles, by March 2013, according to a purportedly leaked internal marketing calendar.

French gaming site Hardgamers reported it discovered an EA Partners marketing calendar for the April 2012-March 2013 period that included mention of Respawn, The Secret World, Overstrike, Outernauts, and Populous. The release calendar indicated all titles were to be released by March 2013. Electronic Arts might bring Respawn's game to light by March 2013.




As for the titles on the sheet, The Secret World's inclusion falls in line with the game's already announced April release date. That title is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game presently in development at Funcom and set for release on the PC.

The rest of the games on the list, on the other hand, previously either did not have a release window attached to them or were not known to exist at all.

Most notable is the debut title from Respawn Entertainment, the studio formed by a flurry of former Call of Duty developers. Outside of a blurry screenshot, details are nearly nonexistent concerning Respawn's first game. However, it is rumored to be a science-fiction first-person shooter that might support 3D.

Also included on the marketing calendar, according to the website, was Overstrike, Insomniac Games' squad-based stylized multiplatform shooter, which was announced at the 2011 Electronic Entertainment Expo without a release window.

Additionally, the website is reporting that the calendar included mention of a game called Outernauts, a title that EA has not formally announced and one that has ties to Insomniac. On January 28, the Santa Monica, California-based game developer filed a trademark with the United States Patent & Trademark Office covering use of the term "Outernauts" in video games.

As for the mention of Populous on the release calendar, the real-time strategy series has laid dormant since 2007's Populous DS. No additional information concerning the title was made available.

As of press time, EA had not responded to GameSpot's request for comment on the matter.

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

"Respawn's first game due by March 2013 - Report" was posted by Eddie Makuch on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:21:02 -0800


Feed provided by GameSpot ]]> Computer Game News News Bot http://www.gamershq.com/forum/computer-game-news/19544-respawns-first-game-due-march-2013-report.html http://www.gamershq.com/forum/new-game-releases/19545-latest-demo-dark-delve-v1-1-4-demo.html Sat, 04 Feb 2012 04:01:48 GMT Sharpen your swords and study your Spellbooks, great adventure awaits! Dark Delve is a first person dungeon crawler where the player explores a sinister dungeon and engages deadly monsters in exciting turn based combat. Create a custom group of... Sharpen your swords and study your Spellbooks, great adventure awaits! Dark Delve is a first person dungeon crawler where the player explores a sinister dungeon and engages deadly monsters in exciting turn based combat. Create a custom group of characters to dissolve a centuries old curse in the 6+ hour campaign or test your skill in one of several unique challenges available. The dungeons abound with secrets to uncover and enemies to defeat.http://www.indievania.com/games/dark-delve

Demo Download courtesy of Gamershell.com ]]> New Game Releases News Bot http://www.gamershq.com/forum/new-game-releases/19545-latest-demo-dark-delve-v1-1-4-demo.html http://www.gamershq.com/forum/computer-game-news/19536-sega-sammys-game-business-weighing-down-earnings.html Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:38:03 GMT Publisher treading water as booming slot machine business offsets poor home gaming numbers due to weakness in the West.

It's not that Sega Sammy is doing especially poorly, per se. It's more that the Japanese company continues to struggle in the Western market.

Sonic did his part, but Sega didn't have much else.


Today, Sega Sammy issued its April-December 2011 earnings, reporting revenues of ¥312 billion ($4.07 billion), down .5 percent from the same period in 2010. Profit also gave up some of its massive gains from the year-ago period, falling 6 percent to ¥34.384 billion ($449 million).

Sega Sammy's slot-machine business in Japan continues to be the company's moneymaker, as the segment posts an operating profit of ¥67.495 billion ($881 million) on revenues of ¥177.716 billion ($2.32 billion). The consumer business, of which console, handheld, mobile, and social games are party, is Sega Sammy's second-largest segment and did not fare so well.

Net sales for its home-gaming segment fell 4.9 percent year-over-year to ¥64.101 billion ($837 million). The segment also reversed last year's modest operating profit, posting a ¥5.51 billion ($71.9 million) operating loss during the period.

Though Sega Sammy proffered no console unit-sales figures, the company said top releases during the period were Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games and Sonic Generations. The company also said that it found significant success with its mobile title Kingdom Quest, which sold 2 million units.

[ Watch Video ]

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"Sega Sammy's game business weighing down earnings" was posted by Tom Magrino on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:45:49 -0800


Feed provided by GameSpot ]]> Computer Game News News Bot http://www.gamershq.com/forum/computer-game-news/19536-sega-sammys-game-business-weighing-down-earnings.html http://www.gamershq.com/forum/computer-game-news/19537-ubisoft-drm-games-temporarily-unplayable.html Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:38:03 GMT Publisher's antipiracy scheme will prevent customers from playing some of its Mac and PC games for an undetermined period of time during server transition starting February 7.

 

Starting next week, a number of Ubisoft's legitimate PC customers will be unable to play their games because of problems with the titles' digital rights management (DRM) antipiracy schemes.

A handful of Ubisoft games won't be playable while the transition takes place.


The publisher has announced that it is "transitioning the hosting of many of its online services from a third-party data center to a new facility" starting on February 7, and as a result, most of its games will lose online functionality. However, because some of Ubisoft's PC and Mac games feature DRM that require a constant online connection to the publisher's servers, those games will be completely unplayable when the publisher takes those servers down for the transition. Ubisoft's uPlay service will also be down during the transition.

Ubisoft apologized for the downtime, saying, "This move ultimately will help us improve the maintenance of our infrastructure and deliver better uptime and greatly improved services for our customers."

Not all of the publisher's games will be impacted. It is keeping servers running for newer releases like Assassin's Creed: Revelations, Driver: San Francisco, and Just Dance 3. Full lists of the games that won't be impacted and the ones that will be rendered completely unplayable follow below.

Games that will be unplayable during transition
Assassin's Creed--Mac
Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. 2--PC
Might & Magic: Heroes VI--PC
Splinter Cell Conviction--Mac
The Settlers 7: Paths to a Kingdom--PC
The Settlers--Mac

Games that will have online functionality throughout transition
Anno 2070
Assassin's Creed: Revelations
Driver: San Francisco
Just Dance 3
The Settlers Online

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

"Ubisoft DRM games to be temporarily unplayable" was posted by Brendan Sinclair on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:40:58 -0800


Feed provided by GameSpot ]]> Computer Game News News Bot http://www.gamershq.com/forum/computer-game-news/19537-ubisoft-drm-games-temporarily-unplayable.html http://www.gamershq.com/forum/computer-game-news/19538-square-enix-profits-nearly-triple-due-deus-ex-ffxiii-2-a.html Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:38:03 GMT Action, RPG games help publisher post 175 percent year-over-year rise to $65.78 million for last nine months of 2011; net sales down slightly to $1.2 billion.

 

Deus Ex: Human Revolution and the Japanese debut of Final Fantasy XIII-2 were big hits for Square Enix in 2011 and helped the publisher post a strong profit during its latest period.

For the nine-month period ended December 31, 2011, the publisher posted net income of ¥5.01billion ($65.78 million), up 175 percent from last year's haul of ¥1.82 billion ($23.8 million). Adam Jensen was a valuable asset for Square Enix during the period.




Square Enix attributed the sharp increase in net income to sales of Deus Ex: Human Revolution and Final Fantasy XIII-2, which were released in Japan during the period. Revenues from Square Enix's Web, smartphone, and social networking services were also called out as contributors to the bottom line.

Total net sales during the period came in at ¥95.74 billion ($1.26 billion), down 2.5 percent from the ¥98.18 ($1.28 billion) recorded a year prior. A significant chunk of that total stemmed from the company's Digital Entertainment business unit, which posted ¥53.7 billion ($704 million) for the period, a rise of 6.2 percent from the year prior.

Square Enix said its full-year forecasts of ¥65.61 billion ($861 million) in net income on ¥130 billion ($1.7 billion) in net sales remain unchanged for the year ending March 31, 2012.

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

"Square Enix profits nearly triple due to Deus Ex, FFXIII-2" was posted by Eddie Makuch on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:24:32 -0800


Feed provided by GameSpot ]]> Computer Game News News Bot http://www.gamershq.com/forum/computer-game-news/19538-square-enix-profits-nearly-triple-due-deus-ex-ffxiii-2-a.html http://www.gamershq.com/forum/computer-game-news/19539-bioware-teases-mass-effect-future.html Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:38:03 GMT Developer says it has "so much to draw from" for potential future games set in universe, but no decision has been made yet; Mass Effect 3 due next month.

On March 6, Mass Effect 3 will ship for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC, marking the end of Commander Shepard's trilogy in the space-bound role-playing series. However, the franchise may live on. Mass Effect may live on, even if Shepard's narrative ends.




Speaking to OXM, Mass Effect 3 executive producer Michael Gamble teased the future of the Mass Effect series, saying BioWare has "so much to draw from" if it decides to make a new game based in that universe.

"Without going down any specific path, you can think of many, many different areas throughout the [intellectual property], throughout the history, where there are large wars to be won, large battles to be had, and a lot of development to be done around where these races came from, how they came about," he said.

Gamble said no decisions have been made but reiterated that "the future is wide open" for what the studio could work on from the franchise moving forward.

As for Mass Effect 3, that game is due out on March 6 and has players once again taking on the role of Shepard, who is now on the run from the shadowy pro-human organization Cerberus. To save Earth, Shepard must travel the galaxy trying to rally support from alien civilizations with varying degrees of sympathy.

For more on the title, check out GameSpot's latest preview of Mass Effect 3.

[ Watch Video ]



Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

"BioWare teases Mass Effect future" was posted by Eddie Makuch on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 07:58:09 -0800


Feed provided by GameSpot ]]> Computer Game News News Bot http://www.gamershq.com/forum/computer-game-news/19539-bioware-teases-mass-effect-future.html http://www.gamershq.com/forum/computer-game-news/19540-game-thrones-delayed-may-15-a.html Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:38:03 GMT Action role-playing game based on George R.R. Martin's fantasy series pushed from early 2012 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC .

 

Gamers eager to get their hands on Game of Thrones for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC are going to have to wait longer than expected. Publisher Atlus has announced that the role-playing game adaptation of George R.R. Martin's fantasy franchise has been delayed to May 15. Gamers now have extra time to catch up on the books and TV show before playing the game.




Game of Thrones features numerous familiar locations from the books, as well as likenesses of some of the actors from the popular HBO television series. When the game was announced last November, it was expected to arrive in "early 2012."

On the gameplay front, the title will feature an "active slowdown tactical combat engine" that slows time and lets players make strategic battle decisions. Character interactions and player decisions are also said to have a big impact on the game's world.

The title is currently in development at Cyanide Studios, the same developer that created the tepidly received A Game of Thrones: Genesis strategy game for the PC.

[ Watch Video ]



Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

"Game of Thrones delayed to May 15" was posted by Eddie Makuch on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 07:30:15 -0800


Feed provided by GameSpot ]]> Computer Game News News Bot http://www.gamershq.com/forum/computer-game-news/19540-game-thrones-delayed-may-15-a.html http://www.gamershq.com/forum/computer-game-news/19541-shooters-mmogs-linked-problem-game-playing-study.html Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:38:03 GMT A new study conducted by the Institute for Special Populations Research in New York reveals that some game genres are more prone to problem game-playing habits.

 

Video game addiction has become a widely debated public health issue both in the US and overseas in the past five years, despite the lack of a formal diagnosis. While the American Psychiatric Association (APA) recently rejected a proposal to include video game addiction in the next Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V)--to be published in May 2013--researchers around the world continue to investigate methods of determining, treating, and preventing what has now become a recognized mental-health issue.

A recent study conducted by the National Development and Research Institutes' Special Populations Research branch in New York has discovered a link between problem game playing and particular types of game genres.

First-person shooters have been linked to problem game-playing habits.




Luther Elliott, Andrew Golub, Eloise Dunlap, and Geoffrey Ream (the latter from the School of Social Work at Adelphi University in New York) surveyed 3,380 adult participants over the age of 18 who said they played video games for an hour or more during the last week.

The survey paid particular attention to characteristics of video game use, including time played, titles played in the past year, and problems associated with playing. The research team then used Gamefaqs.com to sort the 2,652 valid titles into 15 mutually exclusive genres: massively multiplayer online role-playing games, other role-playing games, action adventure, first-person shooter, other shooter, sports general, sports other, rhythm, driving, platformer, real-time strategy, other strategy, puzzle, board and card games, gambling, and other.

The results of the survey showed that only 5 percent of respondents reported moderate to extreme problem game playing; of that 5 percent, the most problems showed up among those who reported playing either first-person shooters, action adventure, role-playing games, and gambling games during the past year.

The most common titles reported by participants in the problem categories were: Call of Duty (first-person shooter category); Grand Theft Auto (action adventure category); World of Warcraft (MMORPG category); and poker (gambling games category).

This led the team to conclude that there is evidence to suggest that problem game playing is linked to particular kinds of game genres, but that future research into this area is needed, particularly research that pays attention to the game-design elements specific to the problem genres.

"Recent sales figures for blockbuster series such as Call of Duty and Halo indicate a huge audience for the FPS genre in America; our findings suggest that a considerable sub-population is experiencing at least moderate degrees of problem video game playing," the study says.

"Perhaps the immersion potential of a first-person perspective, commonly combined with online competition, largely accounts for the higher rates of problem game playing. For action adventure games, a trend toward nonlinear 'open-world' style environments in which extensive, time-consuming exploration is encouraged may create a context for more pervasive experiences of problem game playing."

"These interpretations are speculative at this point, but suggest important avenues of exploration for future research."

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

"Shooters, MMOGs linked to problem game playing - Study" was posted by Laura Parker on Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:37:42 -0800


Feed provided by GameSpot ]]> Computer Game News News Bot http://www.gamershq.com/forum/computer-game-news/19541-shooters-mmogs-linked-problem-game-playing-study.html http://www.gamershq.com/forum/computer-game-news/19533-valve-teases-team-fortress-2-secret-project.html Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:18:46 GMT Developer says something "brand new" coming to shooter in 2012; Meet the Pyro short also on the way for later this year.

 

Valve's Team Fortress 2 is over four years old, but the shooter isn't done expanding just yet. Valve has announced that it is working on a "secret project" related to the game that will release in 2012. Valve is cooking up something new for TF2 in 2012.




Writing on the game's official blog, the developer said the project was "brand new," and was not a hat or a map for the game. However, outside of those bits, the company did not shed any further light on the development.

On top of teasing a new project for Team Fortress 2, Valve also announced that the final "Meet the Team" short would arrive later this year. The concluding installment will be "Meet the Pyro," and according to Valve, it will be replete with bloody scenes.

Team Fortress 2 released in 2007, and adopted a free-to-play business model in June 2011. Following the switch, the game saw its player base rise five times over. For more on the title, check out GameSpot's review of Team Fortress 2.

[ Watch Video ]

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"Valve teases Team Fortress 2 'secret project' " was posted by Eddie Makuch on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 06:02:04 -0800


Feed provided by GameSpot ]]> Computer Game News News Bot http://www.gamershq.com/forum/computer-game-news/19533-valve-teases-team-fortress-2-secret-project.html http://www.gamershq.com/forum/computer-game-news/19534-thanks-drm-some-ubisoft-games-wont-work-next-week.html Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:18:46 GMT Image: http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/r29fDfBhkEDYcGZk6-aFkUZTOVM/0/di (http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/r29fDfBhkEDYcGZk6-aFkUZTOVM/0/da) Image: http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/r29fDfBhkEDYcGZk6-aFkUZTOVM/1/di ...


hypnosec writes "Several of Ubisoft's biggest titles won't be playable as of next week thanks to a server move by the publisher and the restrictive DRM that was used in their development. This isn't just multiplayer either. Because Ubisoft thought it would be a smart plan to use always on DRM for even the single player portion of games like Assassin's Creed, even the single player portion of that title won't be playable during the server move. Some of the other games affected by this move will be Tom Clancy's HAWX 2, Might & Magic: Heroes 6 and The Settlers 7. The Mac games that will be broken during this period are Assassin's Creed, Splinter Cell Conviction and The Settlers. This move was announced this week as part of a community letter, with Ubisoft describing how the data servers for many of the publisher's online services would be migrated from third party facilities to a new location starting on the 7th February. The publisher didn't reveal how long the transfer would take."


Read more of this story at Slashdot.

]]> Computer Game News News Bot http://www.gamershq.com/forum/computer-game-news/19534-thanks-drm-some-ubisoft-games-wont-work-next-week.html http://www.gamershq.com/forum/new-game-releases/19535-latest-demo-cannon-fodder-3-russian-demo.html Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:18:46 GMT Cannon Fodder 3 is a tactical action game, which inherited the style and traditions of the original game. The war goes on and its scale is nearly the same as before. 500 conscripts are sent to meet their destiny. What awaits them? A general's stars or a bed of honor?These 21st century soldiers are equipped much better than their 1994 predecessors. They have 8 types of machinery, suitable for land, surface and airborne operations, as well as 17 types of weapon from assault rifles to the nuclear bomb.http://www.gfi.su/index1.php?langid=...=Future_action

Demo Download courtesy of Gamershell.com ]]> New Game Releases News Bot http://www.gamershq.com/forum/new-game-releases/19535-latest-demo-cannon-fodder-3-russian-demo.html http://www.gamershq.com/forum/computer-game-news/19532-shooters-mmos-linked-problem-game-playing-study.html Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:07:24 GMT A new study conducted by the Institute for Special Populations Research in New York reveals that some game genres are more prone to problem game-playing habits.

 

Video-game addiction has become a widely debated public health issue both in the US and overseas in the last five years, despite the lack of a formal diagnosis. While the American Psychiatric Association (APA) recently rejected a proposal to include video-game addiction in the next Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V)--to be published in May 2013--researchers around the world continue to investigate methods of determining, treating, and preventing what has now become a recognised mental-health issue.

A recent study conducted by the National Development and Research Institutes' Special Populations Research branch in New York has discovered a link between problem game playing and particular types of game genres.

First-person shooters have been linked to problem game-playing habits.




Luther Elliott, Andrew Golub, Eloise Dunlap, and Geoffrey Ream (the latter from the School of Social Work at Adelphi University in New York) surveyed 3380 adult participants over the age of 18 who said they played video games for an hour or more during the last week.

The survey paid particular attention to characteristics of video-game use, including time played, titles played in the past year, and problems associated with playing. The research team then used Gamefaqs.com to sort the 2652 valid titles into 15 mutually exclusive genres: MMORPG, other role-playing, action-adventure, first-person shooter, other shooter, sports general, sports other, rhythm, driving, platformer, real-time strategy, other strategy, puzzle, board and card games, gambling, and other.

The results of the survey showed that only 5 percent of respondents reported moderate to extreme problem game playing; of that 5 percent, the most problems showed up among those who reported playing either first-person shooters, action-adventure, role-playing, and gambling games during the past year.

The most common titles reported by participants in the problem categories were: Call of Duty (first-person shooter category); Grand Theft Auto (action-adventure category); World of Warcraft (MMORPG category); and poker (gambling games category).

This led the team to conclude that there is evidence to suggest that problem game playing is linked to particular kinds of game genres, but that future research into this area is needed, particularly research that pays attention to the game-design elements specific to the problem genres.

"Recent sales figures for blockbuster series such as Call of Duty and Halo indicate a huge audience for the FPS genre in America; our findings suggest that a considerable sub-population is experiencing at least moderate degrees of problem video-game playing," the study says.

"Perhaps the immersion potential of a first-person perspective, commonly combined with online competition, largely accounts for the higher rates of problem game playing. For action-adventure games, a trend towards nonlinear 'open-world' style environments in which extensive, time-consuming exploration is encouraged may create a context for more pervasive experiences of problem game playing."

"These interpretations are speculative at this point, but suggest important avenues of exploration for future research."

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

"Shooters, MMOs linked to problem game playing - study" was posted by Laura Parker on Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:37:42 -0800


Feed provided by GameSpot ]]> Computer Game News News Bot http://www.gamershq.com/forum/computer-game-news/19532-shooters-mmos-linked-problem-game-playing-study.html http://www.gamershq.com/forum/new-game-releases/19514-five-reasons-mass-effect-3-will-beat-mass-effect-2-a.html Fri, 03 Feb 2012 04:55:40 GMT Mass Effect 3 will be a renegade punch in the neck of its predecessor. Here's why.

If you've been paying attention to Mass Effect 3, you'll be au fait with a handful of headline features. The new cooperative multiplayer. Kinect voice commands. Freddie Prinze Jr.

You'll know this is the third and final act in a galaxy-wide fight for survival. The implacable Reapers are preparing to purge the Milky Way of organic life, for real this time, setting the stage for an epic, space-operatic endgame.

You'll have noticed how pretty it all is, from the scuffing on Shepard's N7 battle gear, to the sleek squidbots descending on Vancouver harbour. In our recent hands-on with the upcoming demo, we watched red storm clouds roll in over the Mars horizon, flickering with otherworldly lightning, and they looked spiffy too.

But beyond the all-new co-op, celebrity cameos, and ever shinier visuals, Mass Effect 3 is about to hand Mass Effect 2, masterful though it was, a beating on a galactic scale. Here's why.

[Warning: may contain traces of spoiler. If story hints bring you out in a rash, click away.]

Don't fear the Reapers.




1. More customisation

Mass Effect's weapon and character customisation is richer and more meaningful than that of its forerunner, which cut a bit too deep when trimming the customisation fat. Options are still on the streamlined side, but this time your Shepard (and his or her crew and gear) will be a creation all of your own.

Biotic, tech, and combat powers are at the heart of customisation again. You can level up each of a character's powers through six ranks, with a branching choice after rank three, offering a couple of tempting specialisation options. Compare that to the four ranks per power in Mass Effect 2, with the option to finally evolve it into one of two more-powerful versions right at the end, in rank four. Evolving a power much earlier makes the choice more significant, not least because you'll spend much more time using it before (probably) nipping through a Mass Relay for a heroic final rumble with the Reapers.

Weapons also hit a sweet spot of streamlined customisation. Take scavenged upgrades to a weapons bench, and you can add a couple of mods to each gun, boosting damage, range, and the like. And your choices are reflected in the weapon models as well as the all-important stats so, hey, your gun will look different to how your gun looked before.

2. Shepard's got moves

Shepard is scrappier and more agile this time around. In addition to that flashy omni-blade melee kill, Shepard can sneak in, grab an enemy from behind cover, and give it a surprise helping of holographic stabbing. Other abilities include tossing grenades, sliding into cover, and vaulting up onto obstacles without pause.

Getting in, out, and around cover is smoother in general, and there's more up-and-down action, too; the levels we saw were generously populated with ladders to showcase Shep's all-new ladder-climbing power and designated points for hopping down onto lower levels.

And those early concerns that some shooter extremists at BioWare were turning Mass Effect 3 into a balls-out gun game and nothing else have resolved into something much more agreeable: shooting stuff is just plain more fun in 3 than it was in 2, whether you're sniping a riot-shielded enemy right in the eye slot or peppering a Reaper minion with space bullets from up close.

Omni-blade action.




3. The old gang is back

So what has Liara been up to? Is Miranda still genetically perfect? Did Garrus ever fix that gaping hole in his armour? This we need to know. Tighter gunplay and fuller character customisation are grand, but it could all go hang if this last game in the trilogy weren't a big old Mass Effect reunion party. Luckily, it's a little bit of just that: all the squad members from the first two games make a return in Mass Effect 3. If you didn't get them killed, obviously.

They won't all be coming back as playable squad members; we're told there are fewer characters to team up with than in the expansive Normandy roster of the second game, with its crowded character select screen. But everyone's back in some form, with "a lot more of an organic feeling to the relationships," says associate producer Mike Gamble.

The first mission, in which Shepard swings by Mars on the way to the Citadel to investigate a Prothean technology archive, reunites her with two Mass Effect old-timers: Liara and either Kaidan or Ashley, according to which one you sacrificed all the way back in the first game. With Liara conjuring biotic singularities over clusters of bad guys, Kaidan snap-freezing them with cryo blast, and you gunning down the lot, it feels just like old times. Aw.

4. Cerberus are baddies, for real this time

We spent Mass Effect 2 uneasily cooperating with Cerberus because they had the resources and the intel we needed, but they were always shifty pro-human militants named after a triple-headed hellbeast; it's well past time those guys showed their true colours. Look for that in Mass Effect 3.

As the game begins, Shepard has severed ties with the Illusive Man and his posse, though Kaidan (or Ashley, presumably) is still giving you trouble for having done their dirty work. And up on the red planet, Cerberus soldiers are getting their hands bloody, executing the staff of the Mars base housing the Prothean archive.

They may have spared no expense bringing Shepard back from the dead in game two, rebuilding him or her around a charred scrap of corpse, but like holographic Martin Sheen says: he needed you once and now "your time is over." We predict plenty of Cerberus thugs mixing it up in the enemy ranks, alongside all the multiracial Husk variants. As a pitiless, genocidal machine-race, the Reapers are officially the Big Bad, but we're looking forward to being back on the right (wrong) side of Cerberus.

He's back as well.




5. Earth, at last

Though we had a tantalising peek at Earth from the moon, Mass Effect never let us set foot on the blue planet. Through all of Shepard's planet-hopping, there has been no trip back to the cradle of humanity--until now.

Mass Effect 3 kicks off in future Vancouver, home of humanity's Defence Council, and with respect to that city, we can't imagine that's the only Earth location in the cards. Though the early trailer depicting a Reaper attack on London may have been just for flavour, not a promise we'd be omni-stabbing Husks in Hyde Park, we'd bet on Earth turning up more than just once.

"Earth in general has some significance," says associate producer Mike Gamble, and that's all the encouragement we need to be daydreaming of epic ground battles across semi-familiar territory. Because there's no place like home(world).

The Mass Effect 3 demo launches on February 14.

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"Five Reasons Mass Effect 3 Will Beat Mass Effect 2" was posted by Jane Douglas on Thu, 02 Feb 2012 09:24:12 -0800


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