Snoopy’s Grand Adventure Review for Wii U

For over 60 years, the Peanuts crew has entertained audiences from its early starts as a daily comic strip, to TV specials, movies and of course video games.

crew has entertained audiences from its early starts as a daily comic strip, to TV specials, movies and of course video games.  In 2015, the franchise was revived for its 65th anniversary with the launch of the film the Peanuts Movie and along with it, the video game adaptation: Snoopy’s Grand Adventure .  After experiencing many years of being lured with game tie-ins to popular movies and failing to receive a satisfying experience, it’s no surprise I approached this game with very little expectations.

Upon loading the game you’ll be welcomed with the very familiar jazzy Peanuts theme still as catchy as ever.  I’ll admit I stayed on the title screen for nearly 5 minutes just to enjoy the song before getting the game started.  Luckily the game took plenty of inspiration from the Peanuts past musical themes to compose the rest of the soundtrack for Snoopy’s Grand Adventure . Players will be enjoying smooth jazz tracks throughout their play session which complements the game universe and levels perfectly.

Back to the game itself, you’ll be taking control of Snoopy as he tries to find all the missing kids such as Peppermint Patty, Linus, Sally and more.  It’s a very basic story and given that the game is a 2D platforming collectathon, it doesn’t really need much more.  The game spans 5 diverse worlds with 5 levels each, including a boss level plus a bonus 6th world which offers something a little different.  In each level there are 300 beans to be found along with 6 beagle scouts.  Collecting everything is entirely optional and one can pass through the entire game and get all achievements without bothering to collect any of this stuff; making the point of collecting rather meaningless.

The controls are pretty straight forward as is everything else in this game.  This isn’t necessarily a flaw with the game as I find the difficulty, pacing and presentation inviting for a new young gamer.  Players can move Snoopy left or right, make him jump and holding the jump button in the air allows him to slowly hover back down.  As players progress they will unlock several costumes which can be activated within levels to give Snoopy additional abilities.  Some examples include the ability to scale vines, dash through blocks, see hidden paths, or have a low gravity jump. Donning a suit however comes with the sacrifice of losing your hover ability which is a downer.

While the controls are straight forward, the mechanics aren’t perfect.  The jumps aren’t precise and make it easy to overshoot your target without tedious adjustments.  Switching costumes in a level gets a bit tedious and it’s mainly required to access special areas to find all the beans which are meaningless anyways so again the costumes can mostly be overlooked.

Players will encounter some enemies in levels in light doses. Keeping the game friendly to newcomers, should a player get hit by an enemy, they’ll lose a heart which will hover away from them giving them a chance to jump up and regain it.  Given that you’re invincible for a few seconds after being hit, losing a life is quite difficult to accomplish.

Going alongside the beautiful soundtrack are the charming visuals which use 3D models and background in a 2D setting.  The characters are modelled based on their new 3D look seen in the movie.  All the worlds’ environments look great and well detailed from lush green forests that have waterfalls and sunlight shining through the trees, to sandy temples and lunar surfaces.  The developers at Behaviour Interactive really nailed the environments and atmosphere.

What Snoopy’s Grand Adventure lacks however is a sense of challenge or purpose for any player with a few years of experience under their belt.  While the environments do change from world to world, nothing new is ever introduced to shake up the gameplay.  The costumes, had they been used more effectively, could have achieved this but unfortunately they were not. I was pleasantly surprised when I uncovered the air levels where you take to the skies with Snoopy and his dog house to chase down the Red Baron. However this experience was just as mediocre as the rest of the game.  Holding “Y” lets you attack everything on-screen regardless of where you are, removing any sense of challenge.

There’s also a co-op mode which reminds me a lot of the co-op experience offered in Mario Galaxy .  One player controls Snoopy while the second player controls Woodstock who can hover anywhere on the screen and grab beans or activate specific machines.  It’s not very interesting or engaging for player 2 and a feature that seems like a last-minute inclusion.

While Snoopy’s Grand Adventure welcomed me to a promising experience, the overall package did not deliver due to offering little sense of challenge or purpose.  The controls work ok but could have used a bit more tightening to achieve smoother control of Snoopy.  The audio and visuals were excellent and I couldn’t ask for anything better in this department. I’d recommend the game to any big fan of the Peanuts who don’t mind a very leisure game to play around in. Otherwise this is just another mediocre platformer you can pass on.

Written by Jason Lepine

Jason’s professional and cool-headed style masks what’s really going on inside. His ridiculous work intensity will drive him to spend 12 hours perfecting a video if need be.

This guy’s probably a notch away from exploding.

Pros: - Great soundtrack - Beautiful visuals - Inviting to newcomers

Cons: - Little challenge - Meaningless collectables - Too many beans

Final Score: 6 / 10

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Quantum Break Developers Praise Uncharted 4

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The developers for Remedy Entertainment’s time-bending title Quantum Break praise Naughty Dog’s work on the action-adventure game Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End .

With plenty of materials making their way online today for Naughty Dog’s forthcoming release starring the roguish charms of Nathan Drake, including a tease that ‘s ending will be divisiveamong fans, loads of people have taken part in commenting on the game’s admittedly stellar-looking assets. As it happens, some of the developers from Remedy Entertainment, the creators of the forthcoming third-person shooter Quantum Break , have been among the biggest fans of Naughty Dog’s work as of late.

Remedy’s marketing director Thomas Puha was one of the first from thecamp to praise Uncharted 4 , as he directed a tweet to Naughty Dog’s Arne Meyer, saying that all of the footage released today for the last game focusing on Nathan Drake in the serieshas been “stunning.” Then, Remedy Entertainment’s creative director, Sam Lake, sent Neil Druckmann ( Uncharted 4 ‘s director) a tweet featuring himself holding a signed copy of Quantum Break , thanking the Naughty Dog developer for “raising the bar,” Which prompted Druckmann to reply, “Hell yeah! Thanks!”

As seen in Puha’s and Bell’s tweets below, it’s obvious that there’s respect to be had between the two studios. As a matter of fact, some of the developers from Remedy Entertainment even went as far as to visit Naughty Dog’s studios recently in a bid of good will, considering both companies are making video games for the competing platforms of PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

Most of us at Remedy have been watching these #Uncharted4videos today. Just stunned in general how awesome it looks. Kudos @arnemeyer

— Thomas Puha (@RiotRMD) April 4, 2016

Sending #QuantumBreakyour way @Neil_Druckmannas part of the deal. Really looking forward to #Uncharted4! pic.twitter.com/gGtpZVE92U— Sam Lake (@SamLakeRMD) April 4, 2016

This isn’t the first time that developers who work with Microsoft have given props to Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End . About a month ago, Xbox boss Phil Spencer said Naughty Dog’s game will be great, prompting many online to say that he was impertinently breaking ranks within his company, and should have only commended titles that Microsoft had its hands in making.

Of course, when an obvious video game fan like Spencer simply shows reverence to other creators and gets criticized for it, all such an action does is agitate the dying embers of the ridiculous console wars. If anything, Spencer, Remedy Entertainment, and Naughty Dog should all be commended for treating each other civilly, and giving credit where it’s due. Plus, considering the fact that so many developers are going against the industry tide to praise its competitor in Naughty Dog, it’s safe to assume that Uncharted 4 will probably be pretty spectacular once it’s released.

What do you think about Remedy Entertainment developers publicly admiring the work of Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End ? Do you believe it’s a genuine show of admiration, or just a gesture of good will that also helps promote Quantum Break a day before its release? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Quantum Break is set for release tomorrow, April 5, 2016 for PC and Xbox One, while Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End will be available on PlayStation 4 starting May 10, 2016.

Source: Sam Lake – Twitter, Thomas Puha – Twitter(via DualShockers, GameSpot)

Uncharted 2 Was Originally About Thor’s Hammer

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During an interview about the upcoming Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, Naughty Dog’s Neil Druckmann reveals that Uncharted 2: Among Thieves was originally about Thor’s Hammer.

With not long to go before Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End is finally released on May 10, an increasing number of stories regarding the game’s long development time are starting to come out. One of the more interesting anecdotes was how Uncharted 4 ‘s original story changedafter new directors came on board, and how this resulted in one of the title’s many delays. Having a game’s story change mid-development isn’t unheard of, and Uncharted 4 director Neil Druckmann recently revealed that Uncharted 2: Among Thieves went through its own story changes.

Druckmann stated that in order to decide on which historical MacGuffin will be used in, the Naughty Dog team started off by bringing “as many [ideas] to the table as possible”. In order to gauge the the potential of this list of MacGuffins, many were tested with concept art and “story exploration”. A number of ideas cut as a result of this approach, but one of the more interesting things that Naughty Dog initially looked into was Thor’s hammer, and how it was going to originally be the focus of Uncharted 2.

“One we didn’t do I remember discussing for Uncharted 2 was Thor’s hammer. What would that mean to do Thor’s Hammer? We would actually do concept art and we got pretty deep down that road.”

We loved Uncharted 2 , but it is intriguing to think how different that game would’ve been had Naughty Dog used Thor’s hammer rather than the Cintamani Stone. While this hypothetical version of Uncharted 2 would’ve undoubtedly been a fun ride, we may not have gotten one of the best opening levelsof all time, and who knows if Thor’s hammer would’ve given us one of the top games of the last generation.

The upcoming Uncharted 4 will have big shoes to fill in order to top Nathan Drake’s search for the Cintamani Stone, but based on the bold statements regarding the game’s ending, and how the game been influenced bythere should be no issue regarding the quality of Uncharted 4 ‘s story.

One thing is certain, it’ll be a sad day when Nathan Drake’s final adventurewraps up with Uncharted 4 , but at least there’sto look forward to sometime in the future,

While gamers will have to wait until May 10 for Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End , Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is now available for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4.

Source: GamesRadar

Dell wants to bring virtual reality to the enterprise

Virtual reality isn’t just about gaming.

Above: VR by Models in Tech

Image Credit: Models in Tech

Virtual reality isn’t just about gaming. If it’s going to be a $30 billion business by 2020 (as predicted by tech adviser Digi-Capital), it’s going to have trigger growth in a lot of markets. Dell believes that VR will make an impact in the enterprise workstation business, as companies will have to upgrade their visualization machines to be VR-ready.

With that in mind, Dell is today unveiling three new workstation tower computersthat can handle the demanding visuals of VR, which must run at least 90 frames per second in each eye in order to avoid making users seasick. If VR really catches on in the enterprise, it could boost demand for workstations, said Rahul Tikoo, executive director and general manager of Dell Precision workstations, in an interview with VentureBeat.

“The first use for VR is in games and entertainment, but we’re seeing a lot of interest in the enterprise as well,” Tikoo said. “This signals to the world we will have a leadership position in this space. We are enabling the right usage for commercial customers.”

Above: Dell is taking enterprise computing into virtual reality.

Image Credit: Dell

These machines have recommended minimum system hardware configurations to support an optimal VR experience for professional users with HTC Vive or Oculus Rift VR solutions. The HTC Vive is launching in early April, while the Rift debuted on March 28.

Tikoo said he expects VR will impact almost every industry and will have professional applications in engineering, science, energy, and entertainment verticals. As an example, oil and gas explorers have to sift through an enormous amount of visualized data as they search through geospatial data for natural resources underground. It’s also a lot easier to design cars and other products if you can immerse yourself inside a 3D space where the products are much more easily visualized.

The VR-ready systems will have a minimum CPU, memory, and graphics requirement, as well as graphics drivers that are updated to work well with VR. They will be subjected to performance tests by Dell so that they work well with head-mounted displays, software vendors, and third-party benchmarks.

Dell already has a lot of this knowledge in-house at its Alienware consumer PC division, Tikoo said.

The newly refreshed models include the Dell Precision Tower 5810, 7810, and 7910 Workstations and Rack 7910. These machines have been upgraded with new Intel Broadwell EP Processors that have more cores and performance for multi-threaded applications that are ideal for professional modeling, analysis, and calculations. The machines are available starting April 5.

The Dell Precision Tower 5810, 7810, and 7910 workstations and Rack 7910 can be purchased directly at www.dell.com/VRready. Prices range from $1,199 to $2,049 (and higher based on configurations).

“We’ll provide headset bundles in the future,” Tikoo said. “Our systems are very different from what Alienware is shipping, with a real emphasis on professional work, creation, building, and designing.”

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XCOM: Enemy Within – War Machines Trailer

If you enjoyed the strategic turn based combat of XCOM: Enemy Unknown but thought it needed more squids and robots, then look no further than XCOM: Enemy Within .

Enemy Within is Firaxis’s first expansion pack for the hit XCOM reboot and will add more enemy types, extra maps, and two new skill trees for your troops. Players may choose to enhance their loyal multi-cultural soldiers with advanced mech-technology or they can be genetically manipulated with a “newly discovered alien substance.” The latter option is likely what the game’s “ Enemy Within ” title refers to.

Check out the PAX trailer of XCOM: Enemy Within for some questionable medical procedures and awesome mech-battles.

Star Citizen Unveils Gameplay Footage, Crowd Goes Nuts

After years of anticipation, Star Citizen ‘s fans and backers now have a sign that their money and patience will pay off.

fans and backers now have a sign that their money and patience will pay off. At the Penny Arcade Expo in Boston Massachusetts today, backers of Cloud Imperium Games’ long awaited space simulator got a first look some alpha gameplay footage. Needless to say, the reaction from the crowd was enthusiastic.

The crowd whooped for joy as they watched Chris Roberts demo the game, walking into a hangar and boarding a ship. They cheered as the player character put his helmet on and the hangar doors opened, launching the ship into space.

Uncharted 4 Won’t Have ‘Doughnut Drake’

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Neil Druckmann confirms that the staple ‘Doughnut Drake’ skin available in previous games in the series is not present in the upcoming Uncharted 4 .

We already know that the team at Naughty Dog expects the ending of the upcoming Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End will prove to be divisive among fans of the series. However, there’s now word that a well-loved character from the first three games in the franchise is set to be axed from the fourth title.

That character is Nathan Drake himself — although, admittedly, it’s not the svelte version of the protagonist that typically adopts a starring role. Instead, it’s the obese alternate skin that’s been present in every mainline instalment thus far, known as ‘Doughnut Drake’ to some and ‘Fat Drake’ to others.

Previously, the skin has been available via some pretty challenging unlock requirements. However, creative director forNeil Druckmann has now confirmed that Doughnut Drake will not make an appearance in the hotly anticipated sequel, according to a report from Gamespot.

Druckmann notes that Naughty Dog actually had plans to include the skin, even going as far as to create the 3D model that would be used in the game. However, upon reflection the team decided that the joke had run its course, and that the group had “matured beyond that” according to the director.

It’s no secret that Naughty Dog has been on a path towards more serious output for many years. While the studio first rose to major prominence on the back of the classic Crash Bandicoot series, there’s been a concerted effort over the twenty years since to deliver more refined, mature experiences — and jokes like Doughnut Drake don’t really match that outlook.

Druckmann explained that Naughty Dog “didn’t want to have a laugh at someone’s expense.” Given that the studio has previously been commended for efforts to promote diversityin the characters presented in its games, it’s easy to see why the skin could be seen as something of a double standard.

Of course, the decision can also be linked to the fact that Uncharted 4 is being billed as the conclusion to the franchise as we know it. If the game is to be the epic conclusion to Drake’s journey, the weight of proceedings might be undercut slightly if players are able to experience the ride with a 400 pound version of the protagonist.

Despite the disappearance of Doughnut Drake, Uncharted 4 certainly looks to be shaping up nicely. Earlier this week, the developers behind Quantum Break made a point of praising the upcoming release— even though it will no doubt be compared to their own third-person shooter.

Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End is set to release for PlayStation 4 on May 10, 2016.

Source: Gamespot

Microsoft Says Xbox One is Ready for PS4 Cross-Play

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Microsoft announces that the company has the technological pieces in place to support cross-platform play between the Xbox One and Sony’s PlayStation 4.

Last month, Microsoft issued out an open invitation to Sony in regards to a partnership that would support cross-platform play between the Xbox One and PlayStation 4. The prospect of uniting the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live is enticing, but Sony’s responsein regards to Microsoft’s invitation was quite open-ended and vague. While Sony neither confirmed nor denied the possibility of a cross-platform partnership with its main console rival, recent statements suggest that Microsoft already have the technological pieces in place, and all that is left to sort out are the politics of the issue.

ID@Xbox Europe boss Agostino Simonetta spoke toabout the matter, and Rocket League was brought up as being the first game to support cross-play between the Xbox One and PlayStation 4. We already know that will support cross-network playbetween the Xbox One and PC, but as for the possibility of Rocket League supporting cross-play between the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, Simonetta says don’t hold your breath.

“So, Rocket League is coming out. As for timing – well, as a platform we don’t force developers to release at any point–it’ll be when the developers are ready.”

Having said that, Simonetta went on to state that should a cross-play partnership between the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 ever happen, Microsoft already has the technological infrastructure in place. Simonetta further stated that Microsoft is open to partnerships with any interested companies and developers, echoing its initial invitation to Sony.

“Absolutely–we’re ready. Rocket League is the first game–and it is a heavily network-orientated game. Any title that wants to update their game to include cross-network play, any title that wants to launch soon and take advantage of that, we are ready.”

When pressed about any response from Sony, Simonetta, a former Sony employee, kept his cards close to his chest and reiterated that Microsoft is ready and that all interested parties are welcome.

“We can only say: we’re ready. We’ve done our bit and we welcome anyone who wants to take part.”

It definitely appears that Microsoft is serious about opening up Xbox Live to cross-platform play, if its recent statements are anything to go by. But looking at the issue from Sony’s point of view, linking Xbox Live with the PlayStation Network may not end up favoring either company. While PlayStation 4 salesare currently well ahead of the Xbox One’s sales, opening up cross-platform support for other parties may negatively affect sales figures for both companies.

But on the other hand, breaking down the walls between online gaming networks can only be seen as a good thing by gaming fans, and this positive fan reception may actually end up boosting sales figures for both Sony and Microsoft. At the very least, the whole issue over how video game exclusives will no longer matterwill be definitively addressed.

Realistically, a cross-platform partnership between Microsoft and Sony is still quite a while away, but the groundwork is definitely being laid down, and we’re pretty certain that the issue will continue to loom large throughout 2016.

Source: Eurogamer

Uncharted 4 Ending Will Be Divisive, Says Naughty Dog

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Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End director Neil Druckmann reveals that the ending is proving to be quite divisive among focus testers, based on the feedback he has received so far.

Fans have known for quite a while thatwill in fact be the end of the road for series protagonist Nathan Drake. What is not clear is if that means Drake will simply walk away from his adventurous lifestyle or if fate will finally catch up to the character. With the game finally having gone goldas it approaches its final launch date in May, creative director Neil Druckmann has started to open up a bit about what testers have thought of the ending.

Based on feedback from the focus testers, the ending should prove to be a divisive element and is certain to spawn lots of discussion among fans. Druckmann went on to add that a feeling of indifference would be the worst thing, opting to rather have people hate it than be indifferent, as that would signal that the studio failed to reach its goals of making fans feel emotion.

When asked specifically if Drake would make it out alivein the end, Druckmann played coy and gave the answer everyone expects in that he wouldn’t tell. Instead, he finished the conversation by saying that fans should expect Uncharted 4 to be honest to Naughty Dog. The developer worked hard to create a game that best represents what it wanted, rather than what outside people were asking for.

Whenever we make something that’s honest to us that is the game we truly want to play, you know whether you succeed or not. I found that the more we’ve done that, the more successful we’ve been, and that’s the only correlation I can come up with.

It’s clear that Naughty Dog is working hard to make Uncharted 4 the most technologically-advanced entry in the franchise. Thanks to the added hardware power from the PS4, Naughty Dog has been able to not only create some astounding visualsbased on the trailers and screenshots that fans have seen, but the technological detail in the world has also increased significantly. In a recent video, Naughty Dog revealed many of the ways that this game pushes the technologybehind the scenes in new directions, including massive play spaces, artificial intelligence, and even gameplay mechanics.

Do you think Nate is going to make it out alive at the end of the game? How do you think Naughty Dog is going to wrap up this series? Let us know what you think down in the comments.

Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End launches on May 10, 2016 exclusively for the PS4.

Source: IGN

Armillo Nominated for Best New Character at CVGA

The Canadian Video Game Awards recently released their list of finalists for this year’s awards ceremony and Armillo made the list of nominations for Best New Character.

recently released their list of finalists for this year’s awards ceremony and Armillo made the list of nominations for Best New Character.  This pits the small orange armadillo against giants such as the twins and Arno from Assassin’s Creed Syndicate.  Armillo came out exclusively on the Wii U over a year ago on the eShop as a sort of 3D platformer.

The Canadian Videogame Awards show is the third largest video game show in the world which celebrates video games in the Canadian industry.  This year the show will take place on December 5 in Toronto.

Here are the other nominations for Best New Character

Best New Character

Written by Jason Lepine

Jason’s professional and cool-headed style masks what’s really going on inside. His ridiculous work intensity will drive him to spend 12 hours perfecting a video if need be.

This guy’s probably a notch away from exploding.

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Brocade buys data center automation startup StackStorm

Publicly traded enterprise hardware company Brocade is announcing today that it has acquired StackStorm, a startup that built software for automating data center operations.

Above: Brocade headquarters in San Jose, California.

Image Credit: Brocade

Publicly traded enterprise hardware company Brocade is announcing today that it has acquired StackStorm, a startup that built software for automating data center operations. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

StackStorm launched out of stealth modein May 2014 and announced the release of version 1.0 of its open-source softwarein September 2015. The team eventually came to adopt the moniker “IFTTT for ops,” implying that it could take care of certain tasks based on rules that operations people put in place, just like the IFTTT service that integrates many consumer web applications.

“It’s a bittersweet thing to sell right now, because we are seeing the community pick up, which would translate to customers over time,” StackStorm cofounder and CEO Evan Powell told VentureBeat in an interview. The fundraising environment “played a role,” Powell said, but the outcome also had to do with the personal motivations of the founders.

Brocade will keep supporting the StackStorm community. “Using StackStorm technology, Brocade customers will be able to bring devops methods to networking as well as experience many of the benefits of scale­-out IT automation enjoyed by the cloud titans,” Brocade executive P.G. Menon wrote in a blog post.

Competitors include Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s Operations Orchestration software, and Cisco, which competes with Brocade in the data center switching hardware market, has a similar tool. And in the area of security automation, the startup had competition from Elastica, among others, Powell said. Cisco Devops software such as Puppet, Chef, and Ansible also offer IT automation capability; Red Hat recently bought Ansible.

StackStorm started in 2013 and was based in Palo Alto, with 14 employees. XSeed Capital invested in the startup.

Several companies used the StackStorm open-source software, including MasterCard, Netflix, SendGrid, and Target, but StackStorm had fewer than 10 paying customers for its enterprise tier, Powell said.

A StackStorm blog post on the news is here.

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Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. is an American technology company specializing in data and storage networking products. Originally known for its leadership in Fibre Channel storage networks, the company has expanded its focus to i... read more »

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StackStorm is an emerging leader of the third wave of operations automation. Built from the ground up with DevOps in mind, StackStorm’s vision is a world of self-driving data centers that learn over time how to better operate themsel... read more »

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Wii 100 Wraps up with Top 10 Party & Puzzle Wii Games

Over a year ago we launched The Wii 100, a series of 10 top 10 lists meant to capture 100 of some of the best games found on the Wii and playable on your Wii U.

Over a year ago we launched The Wii 100, a series of 10 top 10 lists meant to capture 100 of some of the best games found on the Wii and playable on your Wii U.  Today we’re happy to finalize the series with the final two entries: Top 10 Party games and Top 10 puzzle games.  Be sure to check out the other eight videos for the full list.  Did we miss any of your favorites? Let us know in the comments!

Written by Jason Lepine

Jason’s professional and cool-headed style masks what’s really going on inside. His ridiculous work intensity will drive him to spend 12 hours perfecting a video if need be.

This guy’s probably a notch away from exploding.

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Blizzard Announces Hearthstone Single-Player Adventure Curse of Naxxramas

Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft , the popular and addicting virtual strategy card game from Blizzard, will be receiving a single-player adventure mode titled Curse of Naxxramas , Blizz announced today at PAX East.

today at PAX East. “Beware the Necropolis” the announcement says, “the Curse comes!”

The new mode takes players to the ancient floating necropolis of Naxxramas, home base for the lich Kel’Thuzad, which will be familiar to World of Warcraft fans. The player versus environment (PVE) adventure pits you against a range of iconic bosses with a deck of your choice.

Sony Creates Custom PS4 Controller for Gamer with Cerebral Palsy

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A Sony employee has gone above and beyond to help a young gamer who had difficulties using the Dualshock 4 controller due to having Cerebral Palsy.

When 21-year-old gamer Peter Byrne contacted Sonyabout his problems using the company’s Dualshock 4 controller, he probably didn’t expect the response he would eventually get. Bryne, who is based out of South Amboy, had a difficult time using the controller because he has Cerebral Palsy. The design of the new Dualshock 4 controller made things difficult for the young gamer, as a result of the controller’s touchpad interface.

Byrne said that once he sent the email to Sony, it took less than a day for Sony employee Alex Nawabi to get in touch with the avid gamer. Nawabi informed the young player that he would tackle the matter personally, and not in an official Sony capacity. Two weeks later, Byrne received a custom PlayStation 4 controllerin the mail, as well as a personal letter form Nawabi detailing the construction details behind the custom peripheral, and a promise that another one would be made should this one break.

It took over ten hours of labor to produce the one-of-a-kind Dualshock 4 controller, which took 3 different controllers to build and involved rerouting the touchpad’s inputs to the rear of the controller. Nawabi also added a heartfelt personal note at the end of the letter, once the technical instructions had been given:

“The email you sent definitely struck a chord within. I’m not sure how you got access to our email but I’m glad I could be of some help. It killed me to hear something you used to enjoy thoroughly was being ruined because of our new controller design. Although I can’t help everyone who has this problem, at least I can help you. I wish I had more to give you.”

Byrne said that Nawabi ‘did more than [he] ever expected’, stating on his personal Facebook page that he was currently enjoying, where he has experienced no interruptions to gameplay with Nawabi’s custom controller. So far, the custom unit has held out, but it’s good to know that Nawabi has a second unit ready just in case the first one malfunctions. As if this wasn’t enough, Nawabi asked Byrne to provide feedback from the first unit so the second controller could be improved prior to being sent out.

Alex Nawabi wasn’t reachable for comment, but we’d like to commend the Sony employee for taking matters into his own hands. Gaming should be for everyone, and he helps make the medium itself a brighter and more accessible place.

Interested gamers can take a look at Nawabi’s full letter here.

Source: News12 New Jersey

The Last of Us 2 Development to Move Forward After Uncharted 4 DLC

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Naughty Dog’s programmer and creative director, Neil Druckmann, reveals development for The Last of Us 2 should start after the completion of Uncharted 4 ‘s DLC.

It’s no secret that the gaming community the world over is eagerly anticipating another entry in Naughty Dog’s wildly popular post-pandemic survival-horror series with The Last of Us 2 . Of course, the potential for a follow-up to Joel’s and Ellie’s story is highly likely, especially since the studio’s Neil Druckmann said Naughty Dog was interested in new charactersa while back, and with him now stating that production for a sequel should pick up after developers finished putting together ‘s single-player DLC.

Although Druckmann didn’t have any specifics to share regarding any of the pre-development assets for, it seems as if the writer and director is excited to continue brainstorming for the next installment in the survival-horror franchise. Regarding the reason for its delay and mindset he and his team at Naughty Dog currently share for TLOU 2 , Druckmann explains:

“Before my partner, Bruce [Straley] and I, my directing partner, came on to Uncharted 4 we were working on prototypes for different ideas within The Last Of Us universe. Without going into specific genres [there were] ideas outside the The Last Of Us .

“ All those things were left on holdwhen we had to come onto Uncharted 4 to direct the project. Our next focus is the single player [ Uncharted 4 ] DLC and then, once we have enough resources, resurrect all those prototypes; see where we’re at, see where the teams at, what they’re excited for and go from there.”

Considering the fact that The Last of Us 2 is in extremely early stages of development, as it’s not even being actively worked on at the moment, it’s important to note that neither Naughty Dog nor Sony have officially confirmed its existence. Nevertheless, Druckmann’s declarations above is definitely indicative of his enthusiasm to jump back into the production cycle with the title.

Should Naughty Dog hit the ground running with The Last of Us 2 as soon as all of Uncharted 4 ‘s post-launch materials are completed, it wouldn’t be too surprising to see an announcement for the survival horror title next year at E3 2017. In the meantime, though, since there isn’t a lot of concrete evidence to go on as far as any of TLOU 2 ‘s features are concerned, all we can do is speculate and hope that some ideas from our wishlist for the gameare incorporated into the final product.

What do you think about Naughty Dog picking up where it left off with development for The Last of Us 2 ? Should the sequel be a continuation on Joel’s and Ellie’s path, or would the game be more interesting if it focused on fresh protagonists? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

As of now, there is no official release date for The Last of Us 2 , but it should come sometime after Naughty Dog’s Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End releases on May 10, 2016 for PlayStation 4.

Source: GamesRadar

Dell reportedly nears sale of IT services unit to Japan’s NTT Data

(By Greg Roumeliotis for Reuters) — Dell Inc is set to announce an agreement on Monday to sell its non-core information technology consulting division to Japan’s NTT Data Corp for $3.5 billion, people familiar with the matter said on Sunday.

Image Credit: Toshiyuki Imai/Flickr

The move will allow U.S. computer maker Dell to trim some of the $43 billion in debt it is taking on to fund its pending cash-and-stock acquisition of data storage provider EMC Corp, a deal worth close to $60 billion.

The sale will also offer NTT Data, one of the world’s largest technology services companies, a bigger foothold in the United States, where it is looking to expand in healthcare IT, insurance and financial services consulting.

Announcement of any agreement is subject to NTT Data’s board approving the deal when it meets in Tokyo, the people said, asking not to be identified because the transaction is not yet official.

Dell has also made progress in syndicating $10 billion of its financing package for the EMC acquisition dubbed ‘term loan A’, the people said. This is expected to be increased in size by $500 million to $750 million due to strong demand, with the extra money to be used to downsize some of the more expensive tranches of the remaining $33 billion in financing, the people added.

The group of banks participating in the term loan A has been expanded from the original eight underwriters to 25, with more expected to join before the syndication is completed in the next week, the people said.

Dell declined to comment, while NTT Data did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Reuters had reported first on Feb. 12 that NTT Data was in exclusive talks to buy Dell’s IT services unit.

Formerly known as Perot Systems, Dell’s IT services division is a major provider of technology consulting to hospitals and government departments. Founded in 1988 by former U.S. presidential candidate Ross Perot, it was acquired by Dell in 2009 for $3.9 billion.

However, Dell has since divested some of the unit’s operations and integrated some others, which it is not including in the sale. Some of the unit’s capabilities were seen by Dell as redundant in the wake of the acquisition of EMC.

Dell has also been speaking to private equity firms about selling Quest Software, which helps with information technology management, as well as SonicWall, an e-mail encryption and data security provider, Reuters has previously reported. Together, Quest and SonicWall could be worth up to $4 billion.

Dell’s acquisition of EMC, which is backed by founder and Chief Excutive Michael Dell as well as private equity firm Silver Lake Partners, is subject to approval by EMC shareholders. EMC is expected to hold a shareholder vote on the Dell deal in May, allowing for the transaction to be completed sometime between July and October.

(Reporting by Greg Roumeliotis in New York; Editing by Dan Grebler)

More information:

Dell has played a critical role in enabling more affordable and accessible technology around the world. As an end-to-end computing solutions company, Dell continues to transform computing and provide high quality solutions that empower... read more »

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League of Legends”: Got What It Takes For The Big Leagues?

“League of Legends”: Got What It Takes For The Big Leagues?

In recent news with the ever so competitive League of Legends esports scene, Riot has recently made an announcement in which players can actually work their way up the ranks of players in all of North America to become a full-fledged professional team.

Rise of the Tomb Raider: Baba Yaga Expansion Out Next Week

On Tuesday, January 26th, popular action-adventure game Rise of the Tomb Raider will continue to expand itself with the release of story heavy DLC, Baba Yaga: The Temple of the Witch, for the Xbox One.

The expansion will feature “hours of additional gameplay” according to Microsoft, and is packaged with the game’s season pass at $29.99. Developers went out of their way to include a new outfit and bow for Lara, while also promising that players will be facing new puzzles, enemies, and solve the possible paranormal mysteries shrouded around Baba Yaga and her lore.

The DLC release coincides with the official launch for the PC version of Rise of the Tomb Raider that same week, on January 28th. Microsoft has since left it unconfirmed if Baba Yaga will also be made available for PC players. Meanwhile, Playstation 4 players will have to continue twiddling their thumbs, as the PS4 version of Rise of the Tomb Raider won’t be out for nearly another year with a release date of December 30th, 2016. So, go ahead and start that holiday shopping list.

The Last of Us Movie is Stuck in Development Hell

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The Last of Us and Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End game director Neil Druckmann offers an update on both movies, and says that The Last of Us film is in development hell.

It’s beginning to seem as though the age of the video game movie is soon upon us. Not only has the Resident Evil movie franchise proven to be a financial success, but later this month, Ratchet & Clank is getting a theatrical release, and there are at least two other major video game movies set to release by the end of the year. However, one video game that many would think would make a perfect fit for a game to film adaptation is apparently not making much progress.

The video game in question is The Last of Us , Naughty Dog’s critically-acclaimed take on a post-apocalyptic United States.earned significant praise at the time of its release for its cinematic nature, which many thought would make it an easy transition from video game to feature film. On the contrary, Last of Us and Uncharted 4 game director Neil Druckmann claims that The Last of Us film adaptationis stuck in development hell, with no progress made for over a year and a half.

Druckmann penned a script for the film, and there was even a table read for the script. Sam Raimi is attached to produce, and the producers want Maisie Williams of Game of Thrones fame to take on the role of Ellie. So, despite the popularity of The Last of Us and the work that was initially done on bringing it to the silver screen, fans shouldn’t be expecting to see a film adaptation of The Last of Us any time soon.

In the meantime, fans of Naughty Dog’s other major current franchise, Uncharted , should be happy to know that much more progress has been made on the Uncharted film adaptation. According to Druckmann, Naughty Dog is not as involved with the Uncharted movie, but are given updates on the film every once in awhile, and are asked to give guidance on any changes that need to be made in order to better capture the relationships between the characters. The last Druckmann heard about the Uncharted film, a new screenwriter had been hired to further polish the script.

Whereas The Last of Us is an ongoing franchise, the Uncharted series is set to end soon. In fact, Naughty Dog has gone as far as to hint that Nathan Drake will die in Uncharted 4 , which would certainly make another game in the series difficult to produce. However, Sony could still profit from the franchise by creating a film series based on it, even after Naughty Dog has decided to leave the game series behind.

With the Uncharted movie, along with a Warcraft filmand an Assassin’s Creed film all on the horizon, it does seem like Hollywood is making a better effort when it comes to video game movies. Whether or not this effort includes bringing The Last of Us to the big screen remains to be seen, but if the video game movie becomes as popular as the comic book movie, we can’t imagine gaming’s biggest titles like The Last of Us missing out for too long.

Source: GameSpot

Runbow Nominated for GOTY at Canadian Video Game Awards

The Canadian Video Game Awards recently released their list of finalists for this year’s awards ceremony and among the top contenders is Runbow for GOTY.

recently released their list of finalists for this year’s awards ceremony and among the top contenders is Runbow for GOTY.  This pits the Toronto based indie game against some titans such as Assassin’s Creed Syndicate and Far Cry 4, both developed out of Montreal.

The Canadian Videogame Awards show is the third largest video game show in the world which celebrates video games in the Canadian industry.  This year the show will take place on December 5 in Toronto.

Game of the Year

Written by Jason Lepine

Jason’s professional and cool-headed style masks what’s really going on inside. His ridiculous work intensity will drive him to spend 12 hours perfecting a video if need be.

This guy’s probably a notch away from exploding.

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Mario Tennis Ultra Smash Review for Wii U

Let’s be honest, when we tuned into Nintendo’s digital presentation at E3 in 2015, Mario Tennis wasn’t exactly the game we were hoping for but it’s one of the new titles that we got.

wasn’t exactly the game we were hoping for but it’s one of the new titles that we got.  It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing when we consider one of the earlier Mario Tennis which released on the Nintendo 64 offered great multiplayer fun and was one of the system’s greatest titles.  Over the course of the next 15 years we would see 3 more titles in the Mario Tennis franchise release all offering a fun and unique experience for what it was.  Unfortunately with its latest entry, Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash on the Wii U, the franchise has run out of steam leaving fans of the franchise wondering “what happened?”

Not even 2 minutes into the start of the game and you can already see something is missing: gone are the cinematics that once opened these type of games, replaced simply by a splash screen with a mediocre track. Beyond the splash screen you’ll land on a dull menu screen offering very little variety in terms of experiences.  You can choose from Mega Battle, Mega Ball Rally, Knockout Challenge, Classic Tennis, Online or a rewards page.

Aside the rewards page, the 5 other modes are far too similar from one another. In Mega Battle mode you basically play standard Mario Tennis with the new mega mushrooms added in.  There’s Mega Ball Rally in which you just rally a massive ball for as long as you can to rack up coins.  Knockout Challenge is a mode in which you take on an infinite amount of opponents until you lose racking up coins and trying to beat your own record of consecutive wins.  Finally there’s Classic Tennis which is basically Mega Battle without the mushrooms and online mode which let’s you play either classic or mega battle online.

If you look at this as just a tennis game then sure, the menu selection might be fair, but past Mario Tennis titles had way more to choose from including wacky mini game modes.  In Mario Tennis Open you could replay the classic Super Mario Bros. by beating enemies with the tennis ball. In Mario Tennis Power Tour there were several mini-games, albeit not tennis related but still extra content. Even Mario Power Tennis on the Gamecube had tennis based mini-games and bosses! All these games were developed by the same developer, Camelot, and yet there’s no trace of them in the new game. This is a giant step back for the franchise.

What is worth praising however is the gameplay. Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash does deliver a solid tennis experience and there’s plenty of depth to how to return your shots to give each match a level of strategy.  Hitting the “A” button will perform a topspin shot, while hitting “B” delivers a slice, “Y” a flat shot and if you don’t want to bother with that just hit X and the game will figure out what shot you should use automatically. Aside those three shots you can also lob the ball over the net, perform a drop shot, chance shot or the nearly unstoppable ultra smash.

For those familiar with the series, the chance shot which was introduced on the 3DS version, Mario Tennis Open , makes a return in Ultra Smash.  It’s basically a highlight on the floor which suggests which shot to use at that spot.  Successfully performing a shot here will add more power and an effect to your shot.  For example hitting a topspin with a chance shot will force your opponent back. It’s a great feature for beginners but might feel cheap for veterans.  The game can basically be played by running from spot to spot and hitting X and that summarizes what you’ll be doing 95% in the game.  The other 5% is spent bouncing around the menus wondering if you can somehow unlock a secret menu with extra content.

The ultra smash is performed when a flashing star highlighted on the ground appears.  Double tapping “Y” on this spot will make your character jump up and slam the ball over the net at a high speed making it very hard to knock back.  If aimed right you can almost always get a point with this shot.

The added mechanic for this title is the mega mushroom which gets tossed into the court every now and then.  Collecting this will grow your character into a giant, increasing your strength, reach and racket size for a limited time or until you get hit by a body shot.  It’s about the only special feature to the game to make it feel more “Mario-esque” and it’s a shame there aren’t more to make things more fun as the basic gameplay does get repetitive rather quickly.

Those with amiibo hordes will be happy to see that the game does support amiibo, although in a limited form.  Only amiibo which are selectable characters in the game can be used.  Tapping an amiibo will let you play against your amiibo, level them up or partner with them in any mode.  It’s a nice feature and does work well but again it’s basically the same as playing against the computer so it doesn’t feel too special.

You and your amiibo, or a real friend, can also team up and go online to face off against other players.  The online mode doesn’t include a friend list to see if your friends are online or not.  You just select the modes and rules you want, much like you would for single player and wait until the server pairs you with another human opponent.  It’s a step back from the sort of online multiplayer features we saw in Mario Kart 8 and again another disappointment to add to the list.

The last bastion of hope for extra fun content is the rewards section. Surely players can find some achievements to hunt down and unlock there! Well sure but this section just highlights more how disappointing this game is. There are 25 achievements/unlockables in total.  They can be either unlocked through meeting certain challenges or bought with coins and since you can’t buy anything else in the game with coins, you’ll probably be using them here.  But even unlocking these rewards won’t do much as half of them only let you add a star next to your character which adds subtle shiny particle effects around them . The other half are mostly new courts to play on.

Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash is a wonderful looking game with very little substance.  The game is a hollow corpse when held up against the franchise’s history. I just don’t understand how a franchise hitting a console with so many opportunities such as the Wii U could have fallen so hard on its face.  For the intents of playing tennis it does do a wonderful job but then why even bother attaching the Mario franchise to it?  The game is mediocre at best and unless you’re an avid Mario Tennis fan you’re better off picking up any other Wii U title with Mario in it.

Written by Jason Lepine

Jason’s professional and cool-headed style masks what’s really going on inside. His ridiculous work intensity will drive him to spend 12 hours perfecting a video if need be.

This guy’s probably a notch away from exploding.

Pros: Good Visuals In-Depth Mechanics Online Support Amiibo Support

Cons: Little Content Weak Achievements Repetitive Gameplay Boring Gameplay

Final Score: 6 / 10

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The 10 biggest European tech stories this week

This week, Tech.eu tracked 47 funding deals and 13 M&A transactions in Europe and Israel.

Image Credit: Vladimirs Koskins/Shutterstock

This week, Tech.eu tracked 47 funding deals and 13 M&A transactions in Europe and Israel. Here’s an overview of the 10 biggest European tech news items for this week:

1) Another big week for fintech funding in Europe, with GoCardless (UK) raising $13 million, CurrencyFair (Ireland) scoring €8 million, insurtech company Friendsurance (Germany) securing $15 million, Kreditech (Germany) receiving €10 millionin funding and London-based blockchain intelligence firm Elliptic closing a $5 million Series A round

2) Two major M&A deals involving UK-based companies, with enterprise software company Micro Focus buying Serena Software for $540 millionand financial services firm Markit joining forces with IHS in a $13 billion ‘merger of equals’

3) Google was fined $112,000 on Thursdayby France’s data protection watchdog for failing to comply with demands to extend a European privacy ruling across its global domains, including Google.com in the US

4) Apple, Google and Facebook published a long list of problemswith the UK’s proposed ‘Snoopers’ Charter’

5) China’s Youzu has acquiredGerman online and mobile games developer Bigpoint for (only) €80 million

6) Zalando has outlined its ‘platform strategy’last week in Berlin and it’s well worth a thorough analysis

7) The UK’s Dyson is to invest £1 billionin battery technology, and is reportedly developing an electric carwith aid from the British government

8) Cisco is going to pour millions into Berlinto turn the German capital into a smart city

9) Spotify has 30 million paid subscribers, CEO Daniel Ek announced

10) Atomico is raising a $750 million fourth fund, and co-founder Mattias Ljungman is bullish about Europe

Bonus link: check out this slide deck: “Understanding VCs”by Boris Golden, a Principal at Partech Ventures

This post first appeared on Tech.eu.

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Uber recruiting engineers by randomly sending a coding game to play during rides

Uber wanted to play a game called Code on the Road.

Above: Uber chief executive Travis Kalanick.

Image Credit: Heisenberg Media/Flickr

Microsoft engineer Joshua Debner was taking an Uber in Seattle to meet a friend when the new notification poppedup on the screen.

Above: Uber’s Code on the Road challenge popped up during Joshua Debner’s Uber ride. Credit: Joshua Debner/Twitter

Uber confirmed to Business Insider that it’s found a new way to lure engineers to work for the fast-growing startup by testing their coding skills during an Uber ride.

Debner has no idea how the company knew he is an engineer. He has never talked to Uber, had a recruiter reach out, or submitted his resume to the ride-hailing company.

His Microsoft email address is not used on his account, and he has not used Uber for Microsoft business, nor was he going to or leaving from the Microsoft campus.

Uber insists that it is not using individual information to identify recruits, but that it is just identifying geographic areas where tech jobs are concentrated to find candidates.

The fact that an engineer like Debner saw the test means it’s working at identifying prospects that Uber might’ve missed.

“We are always looking for new ways to reach potential candidates that want to join our team and help us solve interesting problems. If you’re in a place where a lot of people work in tech,you may see our ‘Code on the Road’ challenge within the rider app,” a company spokesperson said. “The option to play gives interested riders the opportunity to show us their skills in a fun and different way – whether they code on the side or are pursuing a career as a developer.”

If they accept the test, Uber challenges the rider with three coding problems to solve, each with a 60-second countdown, and scores them based on their answers.

The questions he answered in the “Code on the Road” challenge were very generic coding interview questions and not tailored to his skills, Debner said. Instead, it seemed like an easy way to find candidates who might be interested and hadn’t thought of working at Uber before.

Above: Screenshots of what Uber’s Code on the Road challenge.
Credit: Joshua Debner/Twitter

“I think it’s kind of a crapshoot either way,” Debner told Business Insider. “I don’t know if answering a timed 60-second quiz in a dark Uber when the driver is trying to talk to you is the best way. If someone passes all of it, it’s kind of like a free phone screening.”

If they’re good, the app prompts them to click a button to get in touch.

Debner did hit the prompt to submit his results to Uber just to see what would happen. The company sent him an email that gave him a link to apply if he’s interested (he’s not), but he hasn’t heard from them otherwise.

While Debner is in Seattle (and just happens to be a Microsoft employee), Uber has been running the hacking challenges in cities like Seattle, Austin, Boston, Denver, and Portland, which have a large number of tech workers.

Uber is not the first company to hide a coding challenge into its product. It’s already programmed an #UberBot to challenge programmers on Codefights. Google has its own secret programming testthat is prompted when people search for certain programming-related terms.

This post first appeared on Business Insider.

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Sony Computer Entertainment is Now Sony Interactive Entertainment

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Sony executive Shawn Layden confirms that Sony Computer Entertainment has officially become Sony Interactive Entertainment, joining forces with Sony Network Entertainment.

Sony’s video game divisions have in general proved to be incredibly popular over recent years, with the PS4 standing as a retail powerhouse. However, behind the scenes the company is trying to improve matters even further. To assist with this, a new body known as Sony Interactive Entertainment has been formed.

This new organization has been created out of two other bodies, namely Sony Computer Entertainment and Sony Network Entertainment. With the change taking place at the start of the new fiscal year, the formation of Sony Interactive Entertainment is meant to bring a new level of power to Sony in the video game sphere. Explaining the reasons behind the change on the official PlayStation blog, Sony executive Shawn Layden stated that Sony Interactive Entertainment has been created as a “global interactive entertainment powerhouse.”

For the time being, it seems as though the change will not make a big difference for the gaming community. However, once the two bodies have been integrated, Sonyhopes that there will be an added fluidity to the organization. With Layden explaining that there will now be a “unified PlayStation organization,” the parent company will perhaps be expecting to be able to take an even stronger, and more innovative, place in the market.

Layden also gave some specific examples of some services that the newfound Sony Interactive Entertainment will try to emulate and improve upon. Citing PlayStation Vue and PlayStation Now as standout digital services, the executive specifically talked about Sony’s role in the “dynamic” world of gaming. What’s more, Layden has suggested that perhaps more will be done akin to the highly-anticipated PlayStation VRproject.

Speaking of Sony’s Virtual Reality headset, Layden now has a new role that could directly influence how developers create games for the peripheral. The executive is taking on the position of Chairman of Worldwide Studios alongside his role as President of Sony Interactive Entertainment America. This means that Layden will have more involvement with first party game development teams across Sony, potentially working with the likes of Naughty Dogand Guerrilla Games.

Exactly how the formation of this new organization changes Sony’s gaming strategies remains to be seen. However, there have already been several changes taking place within Sony, such as the creation of a new mobile gaming studioand the ever-circulating rumors of an upgraded PS4. Who knows, perhaps with Sony Interactive Entertainment taking on a new philosophy, the notion of PS4 to Xbox One cross-platform playwill become more than just a pipe dream.

Source: PlayStation Blog

Rise of the Tomb Raider Coming To Steam and Windows 10

Square Enix is continuing the critically acclaimed Tomb Raider series with the upcoming installment, Rise of the Tomb Raider for Xbox One/360, intended for release November 10th, 2015.

The official gameplay footagefrom Microsoft’s E3 conference is still viewable on YouTube, but that’s old news. Revealed recently, however, was the intention to release the game for Steam and Windows 10 in early 2016. Unfortunately, PS3/4 owners will need to wait until holiday season 2016.

While planned temporary exclusivity is better than permanent exclusivity, many PlayStation owners are still giving PC players a few envious looks. With Windows 10 on its way into households, PC players are given not only the early release, but with options. Windows 10 will feature a system very similar to the app marketplace currently in use on Windows 8 and will act as an alternative to Steam as a method of acquiring the game.

The series has deep roots and features Lara Croft ( not Laura !), one of gaming’s first classic female protagonists, first debuting in 1996. The franchise consists of more than ten games, though many fall below the bar set by the pivotal installments of the series and has a tendency to have a great release followed by gradually lesser ones until it gets a pseudo-reboot. The most recent of the sorta-reboots, of which this franchise has seen many, was the now beloved 2013 Tomb Raider , not to be confused with the original 1996 Tomb Raider of the identical title. It’s from the end of that game that the new one begins.

Verizon says security breach leads to customer data leak

(Reuters) – Verizon said an attacker had exploited a security vulnerability on its enterprise client portal to steal contact information of a number of customers.

Image Credit: Mike Mozart/Flickr

The company said the attacker however did not gain access to Customer Proprietary Network Information (CPNI) or other data.

CPNI is the information that telephone companies collect including the time, date, duration and destination number of each call and the type of network a consumer subscribes to.

Krebs On Security, which first broke the news of the breach, said a member of a underground cybercrime forum had posted a new thread advertising the sale of a database containing the contact information on some 1.5 million customers of Verizon Enterprise.

The seller priced the entire package at $100,000, but offered to sell it off in parts of 100,000 records for $10,000 apiece, Krebs added. (http://bit.ly/1S9C6Kc)

The vulnerability, which was investigated and fixed, did not leak any data on consumer customers, Verizon said in a statement on Thursday.

The company is currently notifying customers impacted by the breach.

(Reporting by Amrutha Penumudi in Bengaluru; Editing by Diane Craft and Cynthia Osterman)

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A ‘Turok: Dinosaur Hunter’ Remake May Be In Development

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While gamers often feel a fondness for old games they used to play obsessively, going back to actually play them can be difficult.

While gamers often feel a fondness for old games they used to play obsessively, going back to actually play them can be difficult. Gamers may not have a working console to play the game on, their TVs may only have HDMI inputinstead of the analog connections necessary to hook up an old console, or it could just feel unpleasant to play older games due to their lower-resolution graphics and rigid controls. For nostalgic gamers in this conundrum, finding out that an old favorite is being remastered for a current-gen console is exciting.

Some game developers devote all their time and effort to bringing back older games to appeal to this demographic. Fans of the original Turok: Dinosaur Hunter for the Nintendo 64and PC may be pleased to know that the game could soon be the next title to be polished and re-released for current-gen systems by one of these developers.

In a recent interview with TechRaptor, level designer Samuel Villarreal discussed his work on the rebuilding of a game called Powerslave . However, he also made mention of, and it sounds like the game is finally going to get remastered.

“I was originally working on remaking N64 Turok (called Turok EX ) but it got put off to the side. Since now Night Dive Studios has picked up the rights to re-release it, Turok EX will resume development later this year.”

Villarreal also mentioned that he had worked with Night Dive previously on another ’90s FPS, Strife , which is currently available on Steamand has extremely positive reviews. Given the designer’s relationship with Night Dive Studiosand that he’s apparently already done some work on rebuilding the game, fans of the original Turok: Dinosaur Hunter may not have to wait long for Turok EX to see the light.

There have been many games in the Turok series, but it hasn’t received a new entry since 2008 with the remake simply titled Turok . Propaganda Gameswas also working on a sequel,, which was set to return to the game’s original roots, but it was unfortunately cancelled. Despite having only been founded in 2013, Night Dive Studios has already released 37 remastered versions of games, includingand I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream .

Considering how far along Turok 2 was in development, it probably disappointed many fans that it was cancelled. It’s also worth noting that the Turok comic book series that inspired the games was picked up and received 12 new issues between 2014 and 2015. It might be far-fetched, but between the comic and a remastered version of the original Turok: Dinosaur Hunter , maybe the game series can still experience a revival.

Source: TechRaptor

Tomb Raider 2013 Sells 8.5 Million Copies

Businessmen and videogames don’t mix.

Businessmen and videogames don’t mix. That seems to the be lesson learned from new information that Crystal Dynamics’ excellent Tomb Raider reboot has sold approximately 8.5 million copies more than two years following its release, in spite of early forecasts from publisher Square Enix that it would undersell and cripple their profits.

Yes, back in 2013, around the time of Tomb Raider ‘s release, Square Enix announcedthat there would be restructuring (PR speak for massive layoffs) at their studios following their predictions that Tomb Raider, alongside Sleeping Dogs and Hitman Absolution , would not meet sales expectations. President Yoichi Wada was even forced to resign as a result of these dire prospects.

The company had expected the game to sell five to six million copies in the months following its release. It instead moved 3.4 million copies, still a formidable number. Today, Crystal Dynamics announced that Tomb Raider had surpassed 8.5 million copies sold, making it the most successful Tomb Raider game in the entire series, which began in 1996.

The game’s longevity can be attributed to its exceptional storytelling, gameplay and visuals, as well as last year’s Definitive Edition , an enhanced version of the game for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 that includes all DLC and updates its visuals.

Lara Croft Is Set To Hit Mobile This Week In Lara Croft Go

Springboarding off their previous success bringing their intellectual property to mobile platforms with Hitman Go , Square Enix recently brought Final Fantasy VII to mobile, and Lara Croft is next in line.

to mobile, and Lara Croft is next in line. On August 27th, Lara Croft Go will be released for iOS, Android, and Windows Phone.

With a unique visual aesthetic inspired by older games in the Tomb Raider franchise, players will take on the role, once again, of Lara Croft in a top-down isometric casual-pace puzzle game. As Lara, players will travel through ruins and make use of whatever they can get their hands on to get themselves through the perilous ancient caverns.

This is the second of two very similar games to come from Square Enix Monstreal for mobile devices. Development of the game followed the successful launch of the Hitman Go mobile game, which also took an existing intellectual property (in this case, the Hitman franchise) and was paired with a new and unique visual aesthetic to go with the notably different gameplay experience. In the end, it all makes for an adorable, yet engaging spinoff that satiated the appetites of many hungry Hitman fans. With any luck, Lara’s spinoff will be equally enjoyable.

Game Designer Supergroup Tangentlemen Launches, Announces First Game

In an article on Gamespot , former members of some of the biggest AAA game studios have departed their jobs to form Tangentlemen, a 15-person supergroup of game developers whose credits include games such as Titanfall and Tomb Raider .

. Their websitelaunched with an announcement proclaiming the new studio as “An unholy brew of ancient game development alchemists” who have “joined forces to create boundless interactive experiences.”

Tangentlemen’s most prominent personnel include Toby Gard, the man behind the original Tomb Raider and its lead character Lara Croft, Rich Smith, an artist who worked for Infinity Ward on the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare series, John Garcia-Shelton, a producer for Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z as well as the Medal of Honor and Call of Duty series, and Cory Davis, the creative director behind the thought-provoking military shooter Spec Ops: The Line.

The new studio’s setup is a far cry from the multi-million dollar companies these men came from, and is instead more of a return to the days of groundbreaking titles such as Doom, which was developed by an id Software composed of less than 15 people. In fact, Tangentlemen’s current studio is not within a fancy office building, but is instead in producer John Shelton-Garcia’s garage.

Turok 1 and 2 Remastered Coming to Xbox

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In a tweet to a fan, Night Dive Studios confirms that the remastered versions of Turok: Dinosaur Hunter and Turok 2: Seeds of Evil are making their way to Xbox.

Before ARK: Survival Evolved exploded on the scene, gaming’s premiere dinosaur hunting games were Turok and Turok 2: Seeds of Evil . Many gamers look back on those titles with fond memories, and now it looks like fans of the games will have a chance to go down memory lane, as Night Dive Studios has confirmed that bothand Turok 2 are coming to Xbox.

The versions of Turok and Turok 2 making their way to Xbox will likely be ports of the remastered Turok gamesthat were released for PC late last year. The remastered Turok titles available for PC boast improved graphics and other enhancements when compared to the original releases, but it remains to be seen if the Xbox ports will have any additional content.

It’s also unclear what Night Dive Studios means when the company states that the Turok games are coming to “Xbox.” Perhaps this means that the titles are being released on both Xbox 360 and Xbox One, as opposed to just releasing on the latter. Moreover, it doesn’t appear as though the remastered Turok games are coming to PlayStation 3 or PlayStation 4 at this time, which seems a little odd. However, it opens the door to the possibility that Microsoft has pushed for the remastered Turok titles to be console-exclusive or timed-exclusive to the Xbox brand.

In our Turok : Dinosaur Hunter remaster review, we pointed out that the game feels a little antiquated by today’s standards, and it seems unlikely that particular issue will be addressed with the Xbox port. However, maybe Turok is set to make a gaming comeback after 2008’s failed reboot attempt, and the ports of the remasters are paving the way for that.

It would make sense, considering Night Dive went a similar route when bringing the System Shock series back from the dead. The company started the effort by releasing a System Shock 2 remaster, which was followed by a remaster of the original System Shock not long after. It was then that System Shock 3 was announced, so perhaps by bringing the remastered Turok titles to more platforms, Night Dive is prepping an announcement for a new game in the series.

Regardless, Xbox One owners with nostalgia for the Turok franchise will likely appreciate the remastered games making their way to the system. Hopefully PlayStation gamers aren’t left out of the mix as well, however, as it would be nice to see the Turok franchise make a comeback on as many platforms as possible.

The remastered Turok games are already available for PC, but the titles don’t have a release date on Xbox just yet.

Source: GameSpot

Turok Remastered Release Date Announced

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Night Dive Studios’ remastered version of the original Turok: Dinosaur Hunter is now scheduled for release on December 17, exclusively through digital PC storefronts.

Dinosaurs are backin a big way in 2015, what with the huge success of the Jurassic World film and the surprise indie hit.  Yet any true dinosaur fans can say that it was the 90s when dinosaurs truly ruled all media. Sure, Jurassic Park in 1993 was okay, but did those dinosaurs have machine guns and time travel? Only Turok: Dinosaur Hunter delivered that action. Luckily enough, Night Dive Studios is almost finished with their remastered Turok .

Today Night Dive Studios announced that their remastered version of the first Turok will be available for purchase starting December 17. It will be available on Steam, GoG.com and through the Humble Bundle store. This is a remastered version of the PC port for the classic Nintendo 64 game, as the original PC port isn’t really of a quality worth spreading around in 2015.

Don’t expect too ridiculous of a remaster here. Night Dive Studios has a new engine but isn’t going back and rebuilding the world, redoing models or anything really beyond making the game look presentable on a modern computer screen. That lack of modern graphics is sure to draw in a certain amount of criticism from those unfamiliar with Turok or N64-era visuals, but nostalgia and retro fans will hopefully balance that out with their enthusiasm.

An excellent trailer accompanied the December 17 release date announcement. It hits all of the right notes that fans of Turok need to see to get their blood pumping again. That opening dialogue line of, “I… am Turok!” followed by that raptor cry that sounds more like an angry kitty cat really sums it all up in just a few seconds. The trailer goes on to show off Turok ‘s wide variety of weapons, enemy types and environments, exactly what made Turok the popular FPS it was in 1997.

Night Dive Studios also announced that they were doing a remastered update of Turok 2: Seeds of Evil , which was just as well-received as the original Turok upon its launch. No release date has yet to be announced for the sequel, however. Considering the turnaround of just a few months from announcement to the Turok remaster’s December 17 launch, perhaps the Turok 2 remaster isn’t so far away. No mention’s been made of the third Turok game getting a remaster, thank goodness. Rest in peace, Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion . You killed a franchise.

Night Dive Studios’ Turok remaster will be released on December 17 exclusively as PC digital download. It will be available through Steam, GoG.com and the Humble Bundle store.

Giant List of PC Game Winter Sales: from Steam to Origin

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PC games Winter Sale is upon us!

PC games Winter Sale is upon us! From $28 GTAV at GMG to $20 Mad Max at Steam Store, we break it all down below.

Steam, you’ve done it again. Not only are there thousands of PC gaming discounts from you, but the sale has made other PC game retailers boost discounts on their own sites to compete. We’ll cut to the chase: Steam has a huge selection of games and we’ve picked out some of the better deals (lowest historic pricing and popular titles). Having said that, several popular titles are not discounted on Steam, including Rocket League , which took a hefty 52% cut to $28 at GMGtoday in its Winter Sale.

Check out the lists below and let us know if we missed any uber hot deals – we think we’ve posted the best but you can only curate so many. Steam has the largest database of deals, but every deal we’ve posted from other retailers beats pricing at the Steam Store, hence their appearance below.

Update: Newly added deals includes Warhammer: End Times Vermintide for only $20, and Star Wars: Battlefront for even cheaper at $36 on Origin.

GMG Winter Sale

GMG’s Winter Sale is the largestof the non-Steam Store Winter Sales, with about 200 titles discounted up to 92% off list price. To get the best deals, you’ll have to use a coupon code which stacks up an additional 20% savings. New lows on several titles like, Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor , Cities: Skylines , and Total War: Attila – making it a worthy sale to investigate. All titles listed below activate on Steam unless otherwise noted.

Use Code: XMAS20-PERGMG-SVINGS

$28.80: Grand Theft Auto V(Rockstar DRM, list $60) $20.40: Warhammer: End Times – Vermintide(list $40) $16.00: Sword Coast Legends(list $40) $14.40: Pillars of Eternity Hero Edition(list $45) $12.80: Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel(list $40) This is a SteamPlay title $11.20: Rocket League(list $20) $9.60: Cities: Skylines(list $30) $9.00: Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor GOTY(list $45) $7.20: Wolfenstein: The New Order(list $60) $5.00: STASIS(list $25)
Steam Winter Sale

Thousands of PC titles with big discounts. What’s new this year is the lack of flash sales or daily deals, so what you see today is what will be available through January 4th, including new lows on Dying Light , LEGO: Jurassic World , Star Wars Collection and more. Given the new structure of the sale, you no longer need to wait until the last day of the sale to pick up a title you’re interested in. $22.99: Star Wars Collection(list $100) $20.39: Mad Max(list $60) $20.39: Dying Light(list $60) $18.99: Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin(list $40) $17.99: ARK: Survival Evolved(list $30) $14.99: Elite: Dangerous(list $30) $13.59: LEGO Jurassic World(list $40) $10.19: Game of Thrones – Telltale Games(list $30) $7.49: Counter-Strike: Global Offensive(list $15) $0.49: Vitrum(list $10)

Origin 2015 Holiday Sale

Origin’s sale is almost entirelyon games that use EA’s Origin-DRM (imagine that). What’s hot in the sale are new lows on Triple-A EA published titles such as Dragon Age: Inquisition Game of the Year Edition , FIFA 16 , The Sims 4 , and more. While Origin carries plenty of Steam and Uplay activated titles, everything we’ve listed below activates on Origin. $35.99: Star Wars: Battlefront(list $60) $29.99: Dragon Age: Inquisition GOTY(list $60) $29.99: FIFA 16(list $60) $19.99: Battlefield 4 Premium(list $40) $19.99: The Sims 4(list $60) $19.99: The Sims 4: Get To Work(list $40) $11.99: Battlefield: Hardline(list $30) $7.99: Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare(list $20)

GameStop

GameStop doesn’t have an organized Winter Sale per se – however, they do have a few sparsely promoted deals worth checking out. Among the discounts is a hot $10 price on Skyrim Legendary Edition and relatively rare discounts on StarCraft II series.

$9.99: Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty(Battle.net, list $20) $9.99: StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm(Battle.net, list $20) $9.99: Skyrim Legendary Edition(Steam, list $20) $6.79: Ryse: Son of Rome(Steam, list $20)
GamersGate Holiday Sale

The 2015 edition of the GamersGate Holiday Sale changes every 48 hours. The latest batch includes heavy discounts on the recently released Grand Age: Medieval , the lowest price ever on Goat Simulator , and Torchlight 2 for only five bucks. $44.99: Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege(Uplay, list $60) $6.25: Deadfall Adventures: Digital Deluxe Edition(Steam, list $25) $6.00: Spellforce Complete(Steam, list $60) $4.00: Red Faction: Guerrilla(Steam, list $20) $3.75: Citadels(Steam, list $15) $3.25: Jagged Alliance Classics(Steam, list $13) $2.00: Spellforce 2: Dragon Storm(Steam, list $10)

Combined, all the currently running Winter Sales would make a list of thousands of games. We’ve run through all the deals, and the 48 listed above are the ones we think are at the best price. Expect this list to get updated through New Year as all the retailers above are known to give a surprise deal or two through their respective sales period.

As mentioned above, if you spot something worthy from Steam and company’s Winter Sale not listed above, let us know and we’ll investigate and add