G3AR

Freebie Friday Winner’s Last Light

Jarred — Fri, 17 May 2013 13:00:10 +0000

Another week bites the dust, or so they say. Hopefully you now have the Queen song stuck in your head for the weekend. You're welcome! Anyhow, it's been another busy week in the gaming world. Gran Turismo 6 was announced, we got a Batman: Arkham Origins teaser trailer and we're one step closer to the release of The Last of Us. Oh, and of course Metro: Last Light was released today. Speaking of Metro: Last Light, we are giving away a copy of it, which is why you delightful folk clicked on this post in the first place. And all this time I thought it was because you loved these intros. And the winner is: Brad Vink Congrats to Brad and thanks, as always, to all who entered. Remember, the more people we have coming to the site, as well as commenting and reading, the better the prizes will get, so make sure you take part! Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and to ‘like’ our Facebook page. We run competitions on both sites and that way you can keep up to date with all the latest news, reviews, previews and more. Remember to check out the G3AR Live episodes to see what we have been talking about throughout each week. This week we chatted about Gran Turismo 6, Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen, Ninja Theory, Bomberman and Garth's ladyboy fetish (that might be a lie), so make sure to check it out. Next week’s Freebie Friday features a Resident and a Revelation, or two. A massive thanks to Apex Interactive for sponsoring this week’s awesome prize.

Blizzard Discusses the PlayStation Specific Tweaks Made for Diablo 3

Timothy — Fri, 17 May 2013 11:30:04 +0000

In order to extract the best experience out of a console version of Diablo 3, Blizzard have made quite a few refinements to its mechanics and UI. The video below is a discussion of those refinements. One particular improvement involves using the PlayStation 4's touchpad as a way of navigating your inventory screen. That, among others, has us convinced that it is a lot more than a copy/paste port, and potentially something great. [youtube id="MvTF1BV5xTQ" width="600" height="350"]

EA will take a crack at the MOBA Genre with Dawngate

Timothy — Fri, 17 May 2013 10:00:49 +0000

EA has decided to jump aboard the MOBA train with Dawngate, Waystone Games' first foray into gaming. Moreover, it looks as though past speculation that Visceral Games was working on a MOBA game seems right on the money, at least as far as some of Waystone Games is probably comprised of liquidated Visceral Games members. Either that or Waystone Games is a free-to-play division of Visceral Games. Given that the MOBA genre is inundated with both original titles, as well as clones, Dawngate is going to have to make quite the impact if it wishes to be worthwhile. So what exactly is Dawngate about, or what makes it so different? Well we aren't exactly sure. According to the official site:

Dawngate is a new MOBA, built from the ground up to look and feel familiar while offering a whole new way to experience MOBA gameplay. Dawngate empowers you to forge the champions you love for the roles you want in a competitive arena, shaped by ever-evolving, community-driven content and story.

That could mean anything, though it seems to suggest that instead of picking role specific heroes, you pick abilities and customise a hero based on the role you wish to play. That's us just guessing though. What do you think? Are you even interested in another MOBA game? If so, visiting the Dawngate site will grant you the option of using your Origin account to sign up for a beta trial of the game.

EA Seems to be Abandoning the Wii U

Dawid — Fri, 17 May 2013 09:00:42 +0000

If things weren't already tough enough for the big N, it now looks to be even gloomier. The spokesman for EA, in a discussion with Kotaku, did not mince his words when he had the following to say:

We have no games in development for the Wii U currently."

We reckon this is entirely believable. Look at all the latest trailers from EA and you'll notice that the Wii U logo is missing across the board. With absolutely nothing in development for the Wii U, tough times seem to be ahead for the fragile console. Don't underestimate the power that comes with EA-supported titles. The last console to be avoided by EA, the SEGA Dreamcast, sent SEGA spiraling into a vortex of no return and so this might be the final nail in the coffin for Nintendo as well. So it's up to Nintendo to play their cards very well, especially now that they've gone for the low-key route with E3.

G3AR LIVE: Episode 15 – Gran Turismo 6, Dragon’s Dogma, Ninja Theory, Bomberman

Brett — Fri, 17 May 2013 08:00:10 +0000

This week on G3AR Live we have one very familiar face missing. If you follow Dawid on Twitter, you'll know why, if you don't... it's probably better that you don't know. The horror... Anyway, on with the show. This week Garth, Jarred and myself ramble on about the announcement of Gran Turismo 6, Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen, Ninja Theory and three of their titles as well as Bomberman, which Jarred somehow missed playing in his misspent youth. To be fair, I was the one doing most of the rambling but I'm blaming my internet connection for that. It wasn't the problem but I'm blaming it anyway. Enough rambling (again), check out 'Volume' 15 below. [youtube id="278veZFzAbQ" width="600" height="350"]

Time for some Sonic the Hedgehog, remastered on mobile

Brett — Fri, 17 May 2013 07:00:43 +0000

The original Sonic the Hedgehog has been re-released. Again. This time it's on the mobile platforms, both Android and iOS, and the game has been remastered, "... with new widescreen support and [the ability to] zoom through Zones at a smooth 60 frames per second." Some of you may not be old enough to remember the game, since it released in 1991. That makes the original Sonic around... 22 years old. For those who do remember, the title will also feature a remastered soundtrack, apparently, and the ability to play as both Tails and Knuckles. Sonic the Hedgehog has been released by SEGA previously on iOS, those that already have the game will just be receiving an update with the upgraded visuals and other bits. Everyone else can snag it either from iTunes ($2.99) or Google Play (R27.71). [youtube id="Stqo8KmTz2A" width="600" height="350"]

Batman: Arkham Origins gets very quick teaser trailer

David Kozlowski — Fri, 17 May 2013 06:00:09 +0000

Blink and you might miss the twelve seconds of Batman doing battle with Deathstroke in this new teaser trailer for Batman: Arkham Origins. Rocksteady may not be be in the development chair for this latest entry but the game is looking very promising regardless. It might not be a next-gen title but judging by the screenshots that have been released Batman: Arkham Origins is one to keep your eye on. Batman: Arkham Origins is out worldwide on October 25 on PC, PS3, Wii U, and Xbox 360. The Vita and 3DS title Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate releases alongside the console version. Check out the teaser below. [youtube id="tq9bKYfyM-o" width="600" height="350"]

What Exactly is Panopticon, We Aren’t Sure

Timothy — Thu, 16 May 2013 14:30:06 +0000

The countdown, or rather countup, that could be found on Sony's site has just recently concluded with the reveal of a new game called Panopticon. We aren't exactly sure what it's about, nor does anyone else for that matter. What we are sure about however, is how sweet the trailer looks. The aesthetics mark relatively high production values and there is a lot of potential gameplay revealing detail. It's probably an RPG, perhaps an action-RPG even, but those are ~~less than~~ just educated guesses. Once more details are made available, we will endeavour to relay them to you. But until then, check out the trailer and let us know what you think. [youtube id="IPaNS1gqBKM" width="600" height="350"]

Sony Pictures Entertainment to Distribute the Upcoming Angry Birds Film

Timothy — Thu, 16 May 2013 13:00:59 +0000

The precedent has been set, like Ratchet and Clank's forthcoming big screen adventure, an Angry Birds movie is on its way. And while that's not entirely new news as such, we now know that Sony Pictures Entertainment will be distributing the film. What makes the Angry Birds film unique is that it's being produced and funded by Rovio themselves. This entirely in-house approach makes for an interesting change to the current way movies inspired by or based off of games are produced.

Earn XP, Badges and Levelling through Steam’s New Trading Card Game

Timothy — Thu, 16 May 2013 11:30:11 +0000

As if there weren't enough games to play on Steam already, Steam has gone and tuned itself into its own game by introducing a trading card game mechanic. So join the Steam Trading Cards Community Group page and score yourself a beta invite to Steam's new meta-game. The way to play is easy enough. Each of the participating games is associated with a particular set of collectible cards, at least half of those cards can be earned by simply playing one of those games. The rest of the card set requires a certain collection prowess as you trade with fellow community members and friends who might have a card you require. Once you have completed a set of cards, you can craft those cards into badges that will adorn your profile. Best of all, and unlike other community badges, Steam Trading Card badges will net you rewards like emoticons, profile backgrounds and more. All badges will now also "have XP which contributes to your Steam Level, a summary of your badge collection. You can view someone’s Steam Level by hovering over their avatar. Leveling up earns you non-tradable items like profile showcases, extra friends list slots, and more" The games that are currently participating in Steam's Trading Card Game are Portal 2, Don’t Starve, Dota 2, Team Fortress 2, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Half-Life 2. The fact that Don't Starve is included means that other non-Valve titles will probably join the latest card craze soon enough.