Gears of War: Judgment Announces New Free for All Multiplayer Mode

So anybody who has braved the exhilarating, yet extremely frustrating (at times), world of Gears of War multiplayer knows that it plays a lot like the campaign. You pop from cover to cover, waiting for that exact perfect moment to strike at your enemy. You spend a lot of time hiding and trying to outflank and outsmart your foes in order to gain a tactical advantage. While that is all fun and good, the next installment in the Gears of War franchise, Gears of War: Judgment, looks to take all that strategy and curbstomp it into the ground.

Enter free-for-all, the newest multiplayer mode in Gears of War: Judgment. The big difference here is that, as the name insinuates, everybody is fighting everybody. No teams, no help, no mercy. It's one big brouhaha of chainsaws, boomshots, digger launchers and bloody goodness. Instead of trying to gang up on your enemies, you basically just point and shoot because no matter who you see, what race they are (human or locust) or what character they are playing, they are your enemy and they will NOT hesitate to ram that retro lancer bayonet right through your gut and toss you to the side like a dirty towel.

While the multiplayer maps in the previous three Gears games have been designed for you to use cover, gain tactical advantages and outplay your opponents as a team, the maps in Judgment have been designed for FFA. In addition to that, these maps appear to be a bit smaller than some of the epic setpiece maps we saw in Gears of War 3. That makes FFA perfect as you probably won't be able to take two dive rolls without running into someone trying to cut you in half. Just hope you're the third player running into a dual between two others, allowing you to be THAT guy, you know, the one that comes in and just wipes out both guys who have be weakened by each other.

FFA also seems like it will be a good way for players to hone their Gears multiplayer skills. Most people, I find, tend to shy away from trying new things in Gears multiplayer because they don't want to let their team down. In FFA there are no teams so there is nobody that can get mad at you for going 1 and 10 three matches straight. This freedom allows you to experiment with different weapons and find out what combo of shotgun and assault rifle best fits your play style. Speaking of learning, there are a few changes to the mechanics of Gears of War in Judgment that differ from the previous games.

One thing that is different is that you no longer have to use the directional pad to switch between weapons, something a lot of players will be excited about. I can't tell you how many times I died because I thought I switched to my shotgun and ended up having my pistol out instead. The Y button is what you use to switch weapons now and throwing a grenade is as easy as tapping the left bumper. This may seem like standard controls for any other shooter out there, but seasoned Gears players may feel a little awkward at first.

FFA looks to be an amazing new addition to Gears and one that many players have been asking for. What's more is that there are still a lot of gameplay modes left for Epic to announce, further increasing the anticipation for the next game in the Gears of War franchise. We all knew that Gears of War 3 wouldn't be Epic's last outing with the series and we're extremely happy about that. Check the video below for a taste of what the new Free-for-All mode is all about.

Mass Effect 3's Leviathan DLC to Alter Game Ending

There has been a ton of controversy surrounding the ending of Mass Effect 3. BioWare compromised, however, by releasing an extended ending via DLC. While multiplayer DLC has been coming out pretty steadily, the first bit of single-player DLC is right around the corner. While it may seem like Shepard's story won't get easier with incoming DLC, BioWare is willing to compromise if you get the Leviathan add-on.

Completing the DLC will create an additional rift in your ending while also adding tons of Easter eggs, subtle changes and references to its story when you reach the Extended Cut conclusion. The Leviathan DLC pack will cost $10 and is coming out soon. Here's a brief rundown on the plot.

Admiral Hackett has been running black ops missions across the galaxy to hunt for an elusive creature known for killing Reapers. Nobody knows where it is, though when a Citadel scientist named Bryson picks up the trail, he is promptly murdered. After that, his loyal assistant blacks out and shoots himself, completely unaware of his actions (indoctrination perhaps?) From here its Shepard's job to track down The Leviathan.

Fans of the game have been hassling BioWare to make combat more difficult and The Leviathan DLC definitely ramps up the difficulty. Tight corridors make it difficult to plan strategies, especially when Brutes are charging at you left and right. Another intense moment comes from charging a door with power cells in order to open it. The tense part is that you have to continually go back for power cells as the power slowly drains away.

From early tests The Leviathan seems to be an action-packed, intense add-on to an already intense and action-packed game. I can't see this significantly influencing the overall ending of the story, though every additional detail just adds to the already incredibly rich story. The Leviathan DLC will cost you $10 when it is released.

Source: IGN - Leviathan Add-On Will Change Mass Effect 3's Ending

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Steam Summer Sale 2012!

It's back and better than ever! Steam's Summer Sale is currently in full swing, offering some of the best PC games on the market at ridiculously low prices. In case you are completely oblivious to gaming, Steam is the online direct to download PC game service from Valve that allows you to purchase and install games directly to your PC without ever having to leave your house. Not only does Steam regularly have the latest PC games to release but it also has a ton of classics too and is one of the only places you can find many PC games.

The Steam Summer Sale is Christmas in July for PC gamers. During the sale, Steam offers ridiculously low prices on just about every single game in its library. Daily deals are where you will find the lowest prices. For example, I recently purchased three games from the Steam Summer Sale. I bought Portal 2 for $4.99, Total War: Shogun 2 for $7.49, Plants vs. Zombies GOTY Edition for $2.49 and the extremely popular indie game Dear Esther for $3.74 (game soundtrack included). That's three amazing games for under $20! But there is a lot more where that came from.

Like I said, Steam has special deals for each day of the sale. Today's deals include: Gratuitous Tank Battles for $6.79 (66% off), Krater for $7.49 (50% off), The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings for $15.99 (60% off), Fallout: New Vegas for $4.99 (75% off), Amnesia: The Dark Descent for $4.99 (75% off), Sniper Elite V2 for $24.99 (50% off), Plants vs Zombies GOTY Edition for $2.49 (75% off), Indie Bundle VIII for $9.99 (75% off) and Alan Wake for $7.49 (75% off).

If you missed a day of the sale then don't worry because Steam has some carry over time as well. You can still get the previous day's deals as well, though they won't be available for long. Yesterday's deals include 75% of Age of Empires Online, S.T.A.L.K.E.R., Thief: Deadly Shadows, Indie Bundle VII, Super Meat Boy, Carpe Fulgur Collection, Total War Mega Pack and L.A. Noire as well as 25% off Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion.

One of the best things about the Steam Summer Sale, however, is pack deals. Pack deals are packs of some of the most popular games under a certain developer. These packs are generally about the cost of a full price game under the sale, but considering you get anywhere from 10 to 30 games, it's worth it. Packs currently available under the sale include: Square Enix Hit Collection, 2K Collection, Activision Hits Collection, Ubisoft Collection, Railworks 3 Collection, Rockstar Hit Collection, Kalypso Collection, Star Wars Collection, 1C Collection, Super id Software Pack, Focus Hit Collection, Meridian4 Collection, Strategy First Collection, THQ Collection, PopCap Complete Pack, Nordic Hit Collection, TellTale Collection, Valve Complete Pack, MumboJumbo Collection, Stardock Collection, Paradox Collection, Cyan Complete Pack Bethesda Collection and SEGA Hit Collection.

Steam users can also vote on what games they think should go on sale and for how much. Steam puts three games on the side of the store with the discount percent and asks you to vote on what you want! The three games up now are Dead Island (66% off), Total War: Shogun 2 (75% off) and Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine (75% off). The community's choice for today's game (which was voted on yesterday) is The Longest Journey for $2.49 (75% off).

If you consider yourself a PC gamer in any sense of the word, you NEED to check out the Steam Summer Sale. With all the incredible deals that are being offered I guarantee you will find something that will tickle your fancy. But hurry! The Steam Summer Sale ends July 21 so get your games while they are still on sale!

Activision Announces The Walking Dead FPS

When Telltale announced that it was creating a video game based on The Walking Dead, fans of the comics and show were ecstatic. That hype eventually dimmed when people learned that it would focus more on the comic book than the AMC series and would also be a sort of point-and-click adventure puzzle game instead of a zombie horror survival shooting game a la Left 4 Dead. Well, those disappointments can be put to rest as Activision has just announced that it will be producing an FPS based on The Walking Dead TV series.

The game, which is being developed by Terminal Reality, will center around the characters of Daryl and Merle Dixon with players taking control of Daryl as he and his white-power preaching brother make their way across Georgia to Atlanta in search of the rumored safe haven from zombies. As Daryl, players will attempt to avoid detection by the walking dead, which are able to hunt by sight, sound and smell. You will have to choose whether to sneak by and be stealthy or to go full on "Daryl" and bash in the head of every walker you come across.

Be warned, though, if you choose to fight your way through the game, you will have to be cautious. Supplies will be scarce and you will need to meticulously manage your food, ammo and other supplies in order to survive. In addition to walkers, Daryl and Merle will also encounter other survivors and characters that will either help or hurt the backwoods brothers. Whether or not these players accompany Daryl and Merle is completely up to you and, according to Activision, "represents just some of the major decisions that will constantly be made while fighting to survive."

The game is set for an actual, physical store release, another way it differs from Telltale's downloadable, episodic game system. Activision has stated that players can expect the game to come out on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC sometime in 2013. Other than that, details are scarce, though the official website for the game is up if you want to check it our for yourself. No word has been released about multiplayer, though it would seem likely, considering there are two characters, Daryl and Merle. Possible drop-in/drop-out co-op? Only time will tell.

Source: G4TV - The Walking Dead FPS Announced


IGN - Activision Reveals Walking Dead First-Person Shooter

Full Diablo III Refunds for South Korean Players

People waited years for Blizzard to release the next installment in its incredibly popular Diablo series Diablo III. Unfortunately, when the time finally came for that dream to become a reality for players, things didn't go so smoothly. The game's launch was plagued by overloaded servers, connectivity issues, excruciatingly long wait times and multiple crashes and errors that left many players feeling jaded and disheartened.

Blizzard heard the cries of its community, however, and jumped into action by furiously working on a patch to combat these problems. The patch has since been released and many of the problems have subsided, unless you live in South Korea, that is. Blizzard has recently confirmed that it will begin offering full refunds to Diablo III players in South Korea due to connectivity problems, crashes and slow connection speeds from overcrowded servers that are still tormenting the community in that country.


The problems are so bad in South Korea that the South Korean Fair Trade Commission went as far as launching an investigation last month after it was inundated with complaints from users affected by the problems. Even though Blizzard stated at that time that it wold not provide any compensation to the gamers, South Korean consumer protection laws state that users must be granted a refund for any product that has a problem not cause by the customer.

A new post on the Korean Diablo III site says that players who are less than level 40 will be able to submit for a full refund between June 25 and July 3. Any player who is less than level 20 can also return the game up to 14 days after purchasing it from this point forward. In addition to that, players will receive a free 30-day trial for StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty.

Blizzard did add additional servers to Korea earlier this month in an attempt to fix the issues faced in the country. Almost two-thirds of Diablo III  traffic in Asia comes from South Korea, but Blizzard misjudged the user volume when creating servers for the game.

Source: IGN - Blizzard Offers Full Diablo III Refunds in South Korea

MLG's Spring Championship - an eSports Benchmark

Major League Gaming's Spring Championship took place this past weekend in Anaheim, California and it is being seen as a major benchmark in the eSports world. eSports like Starcraft II are well known for being extremely popular in the east (specifically South Korea) but is being more recognized in the west, with the MLG Spring Championship being a big step in that process. With millions of viewers showing up and tuning in (MLG shows 4.7 million unique online viewers with a peak of 437,000 concurrent views, 20,000 live spectators, and a total of 5.4 million hours of video watched.) even well-established Korean Broodwar players like Flash and JaeDong have stated that this event is more than what they are used to.

"I got to talk to Stork, Flash, JaeDong, SoulKey, Bisu among others and unanimously everyone has said that the hype here at MLG and in America surpasses what they see in Korea... When I asked them to compare this to them playing in Korea in front of their stadiums, in front of the air hanger, on the beach when there were like 10,000 players there... because they were all Broodwar players and are so used to those large crowds... they still say that the crowds at MLG and in Anaheim have blown them away compared to what they have experienced in Korea." Slasher from GameSpot.com

That is such a huge statement coming from these players because these guys are the stars that see the biggest crowds in Korea and even they are saying that this event is more impressive. MLGs success may have been due not only to Starcraft II (and the fact that Korean Broodwar legends were going to be competing) but also to other eSports games like League of Legends, Mortal Kombat and Soul Caliber V. Even with big eSports titles like Halo being dropped from the MLG event, the outcome was bigger than ever. This is big news for the development of eSports here in America.

I had the pleasure of watching several of the Starcraft II matchups and it was very competitive and entertaining. Several matches that went to the third round were nail-biting (yes, even eSports can be nail-biting). The most memorable for me was Stephano's loss to MarineKingPrime (MKP), Sase's victory over Stephano, and then of course the final of DongRaeGu (DRG) vs Alicia. It was awesome to see a Protoss player make it all the way to the championship round. I even enjoyed DRG vs MKP, even though DRG beat him 2-0.

The results of the Starcraft II championship are as follows:
1st: DongRaeGu (South Korea)
2nd: Alicia (South Korea)
3rd: MarineKing (South Korea)
4th: Sase (Sweden)

And the results of the KeSPA exhibition championship:
1st: Flash
2nd: Bisu
3rd: SoulKey / JaeDong

You can check out the results of the championship bracket here: MLG Spring Championship Results. These guys really are on a different level and I'm looking forward to more events like this one.

Best of E3 2012

E3, the greatest video game convention in the world, just wrapped up in California. The 4-day event was littered with video game debuts, live demos, teasers and some of the best games to hit the industry in years. I've never been to E3 (though it is on my bucket list) but I keep up with everything that goes on during the show as best as I can. There were some incredible games that were unveiled this year so I decided to pick my Best of E3 to show off what I think should be the most talked about games in the coming months.

Star Wars 1313

Star Wars 1313 is the newest game to hit the Star Wars franchise and man, does it look amazing! The title is derived from Level 1313, a subsection of the planet Coruscant where only the most ruthless of thugs, criminals and villains dare go. The game puts you in control of a deadly bounty hunter, allowing you to command an array of high tech weapons and gadgets to take down your foes. 

The game plays like a mix between Gears of War and the Uncharted series. You have stop-and-pop cover-based shooting mechanics (ala Gears) and movement and platforming puzzles (ala Uncharted). Players should really take to this game, even though the main character doesn't wield a lightsaber or utilize the Force, just like the highly popular game Star Wars Bounty Hunter that put you in control of the infamous bounty hunter Jango Fett. 

One of the biggest things that this game has going for it is the fact that the developers stress that you will not notice a graphical change when transitioning from a cut scene to the real game. And they're right. When the game was demoed, the only reason you knew the cut scene was over was because the HUD popped up on screen. It truly was beautiful. The game doesn't have a specified release date though it will be coming out for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC (most likely). 

The Last of Us

So, this game will be the sole reason I invest in a PlayStation 3. The game is exclusive to Sony's console and is a sort of post-apocalyptic survival-action game. The game puts you in control of Joel, a ruthless survivor traversing the Boston quarantine zone with Ellie, a 14-year-old girl who is tough as nails but too young to remember the world before it was destroyed. 

The game emphasizes stealth and critical decision making. Ammo is scarce and the AI will react accordingly. Brandish a gun at an enemy and watch them cower or panic, pull the trigger and hear the click of an empty clip and the AI will charge, knowing that you were bluffing. The best thing from the floor demo, however, is how Ellie plays. Instead of making the game one big escort mission, Ellie actually helps out, getting your back and distracting enemies while you move in for the kill. 

In the demo Joel and Ellie are making their way through an abandoned hotel that has some looters in it making camp. A fight ensues, though Joel is able to shoot most of the enemies. When the last one figures out Joel is out of ammo, he charges only to be hit in the head with a brick by Ellie. As he staggers, Joel moves in and takes the guy down. The best part is that none of it was scripted. Ellie reacted based on your decisions in the game which means that the next time you go through the level, things could turn out differently. 

The game is set for a 2013 release date exclusively on the PlayStation 3 and will definitely be a contender for Game of the Year. 

Beyond: Two Souls

If you liked Heavy Rain then you are going to love this one. Beyond: Two Souls is the next game to come from the Heavy Rain development team and promises to be very similar to Heavy Rain with a bigger emphasis on action. The story follows Jodie Holmes, a young woman who has been haunted by an invisible, powerful entity her entire life. Known only as "Aiden", the entity is able to interact with the physical world, follow Jodie's orders and communicate with the character. Oh, and it also plays as a second playable character.  

The biggest selling point here is definitely the graphics and the A-list talent behind the game. The graphics use the facial mapping that can be seen in L.A. Noire while A-list actress Ellen Paige will be voicing and modeling the character of Jodie. Basically, you play as Ellen Paige, which is definitely pretty sweet. This is another game that is influencing me to purchase a PS3 as it is also an exclusive. Expect this one out in 2013 as well. 

Watch Dogs

This game came completely out of nowhere and surprised everybody. Ubisoft really lit up the show floor when they not only officially announced the game but also showed actual gameplay footage, which looked amazing, by the way. The game is an open-world action game set to release on the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC in 2013. 

The gameplay focuses on hacking and surveillance as the game's protagonist, Aiden Pierce, can use any device tied to the game city's central operating system as a weapon against itself. This will definitely make for some interesting puzzle solving moments, but don't think that this game will be boring. The action was fluid and fast-paced and reminded me of a John Woo film with gunfights, hand-to-hand combat and jumping over car hoods (while simultaneously shooting a guy in the face, of course). Other than that not much is known about the game, though it is definitely on my Must Buy list. 

E3 was definitely a great show this year and these four games are only the tip of the iceberg. All of them were exclusive debuts for the show, aside from The Last of Us, though the gameplay demo was definitely a welcome addition. 2013 is shaping up to be an incredible year for the gaming industry and should see a revitalized interest in games and where they are headed in the near future. I just hope my wallet is ready for the next year because there are almost too many games coming to count. 

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