18 Million Map Packs Sold to 23 Million Black Ops Owners

There were quite a few angry people out there when Activision decided to bump the price of Call of Duty map packs up to $15 each from $10. Some even promised to avoid buying the map packs altogether to protest the "ridiculous" new price. Whether or not they stuck to that -- something tells me many didn't -- there are more map packs selling now than ever before.

Activision revealed some numbers during an Analyst Day event today, including the fact that the company has seen $1.7 billion in digital revenue in the 12 months leading up to this June. By comparison, the previous 12 months (up to June 2010) saw $1.4 billion, and the 12 months before that (up to June 2009) saw $1.2 billion. That's only going to continue to grow with Diablo III on the horizon and Call of Duty Elite coming up.

It was also noted that more than 23 million copies of Call of Duty: Black Ops have been sold, with 18 million map packs sold for the game. Modern Warfare 2 sold 19 million units and 11 million map packs; World at War did 9 million units and 9 million map packs. Keep in mind that each game had multiple map packs released, so it's not as if everyone who bought World at War purchased a map pack.

The Black Ops figure also doesn't take into account the fourth, all-Zombies Rezurrection map pack. It came out about a week ago and has yet to be made available on PC and PlayStation 3. People have been asking for a Zombies mode-centric map pack for months, so we'll see how well it ends up selling, but you can probably assume Black Ops map pack sales will easily end up exceeding 20 million.

It was noted that players have spent an average of $76 on Black Ops alone between the game itself and DLC. That might very well increase as some players decide to pay for Elite with Modern Warfare 3. Combine that with the fact that the number of potential customers to rope in will continue to grow as more consoles are sold -- helped along by the holidays and price drops like the PS3's recent $50 cut -- and you can see why Activision is so heavily emphasizing Call of Duty.

Source: Gamasutra

The Best of 1UP 2011: Guides

A
lot of huge games came out in 2011, and with each new release, MyCheats worked tirelessly to bring you some of the best guides on the web. From conquering the tricky co-op challenges of Portal 2 to finding every last Pokemon, our contributors left no digital
stone unturned and built amazing multimedia guides to help minimize your video gaming frustrations. We've selected 10 guides that represent some of this year's best -- chances are you can still put them to some good use!

Jump to: Best of News | Best of Podcasts | Best of Blogs | Best of Previews
Best of Features | Best of Community | Best of Guides | Best of Video
Best of Reviews | Best of Retrospectives

• 
  
  
  

  LEGO Pirates of the
  Caribbean

  
  The
  Lego titles are all rife with secrets, unlockables, and hidden areas, so it comes as no surprise that a SuperGuide comes in handy. Chris Robertson created a multimedia blitz of a guide that shows you how to go through all four films in the Pirates of the Caribbean
  franchise and find 100% of the collectibles. Be sure you don't miss the hand-drawn Hub World map, complete with burnt edges and worn paper.
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  Pokemon Black/White

  
  Let's face it, catching
  them all is harder than it sounds, and there's nothing wrong with asking for some help. Or you could save face and use our handy Super Guide. Shhh...we won't tell anyone if you don't.
  

• 
  
  
  

  Portal 2

  
  Need help with devious
  Portal 2 single-player puzzles? Done. Oh, you say you need help with complicated co-op puzzles? We've got that too. This MyCheats SuperGuide has it all along with handy videos to keep you on the right track. What more could you possibly need?
  


• 
  
  
  

  Skyrim

  
  With
  the help of the Wiki team over at IGN, we brought you a massive guide for the most sprawling game of the year. Skyrim is bursting at the seams with content, so it's no wonder that so many people look for help throughout the course of their 100 hour adventure.
  Aside from a walkthrough of the main quest, the guide is set up to help you tackle some of the auxiliary tasks of the game. Need help killing dragons? Getting married? Curing Vampirism? MyCheats has you covered.
  

• 
  
  
  

  Dead Space 2

  
  For
  MyCheats' Dead Space 2 guide, former editor Jobert Atienza went to town on EA's horror follow-up, with a full campaign walkthrough, multiplayer tips, an enemy guide, etc. What better time than now to track down a cheap copy of the game, and use his 100% totally
  free guide to rush through the game and get back to the rest of your backlog?


• 
  
  
  

  L.A. Noire

  
  Our
  guide for L.A. Noire serves two purposes -- first, it gets you through all those clues/helps you solve each case, and second it gives you big lists of newspaper collectibles, film reels, and landmark locations. Usually a guide is valuable for one or the other
  of those -- but here you get both, 100% entirely free!

• 
  
  
  

  Dark Souls

  
  Charting any progress
  in Dark Souls takes a devoted soul and an alarming number of deaths; but luckily you don't have to go it alone. This MyCheats SuperGuide penned by Marty Sliva covers the ins and out of Dark Souls' deadly world, and will help you blaze a path to riches and powerful equipment only dreamed of until now.
  


• 
  
  
  

  Deus Ex: Human Revolution

  
  Open-ended role-playing
  games were all the rage in 2011, and Square Enix's relaunch of the Deus Ex series was one of the best. Featuring dozens of hours of stealth action, tons of sidequests, and plenty of free choice, Human Revolution is exactly the sort of game that MyCheats SuperGuides
  were made for. Whether you want to play it stealthy, violent, noble, or nasty, this guide is your key to a perfect playthrough.
  

• 
  
  
  

  Assassin's Creed: Revelations

  
  Them Assassin's Creed
  games sure like having obtuse puzzles and weird metafictional commentary, right? The actual act of parkouring around, finding fools, and stabbing them in the face tends to be pretty straightforward. But if you need help on some of the trickier assassinations,
  finding Animus data fragments, or the best way to turn off those tower defense missions, we are here to SuperGuide you.
  


• 
  
  
  

  Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

  
  Stuck in Skyward Sword? Don't rely on dodgy
  in-game hint systems! Instead, turn to your friends at 1UP, who will assist you in Link-related matters of all kinds. Why waste your holiday break bashing your head against a puzzle when a simple hint can help you get on with your life? It's what Zelda would
  have wanted.
  

ArcheAge (KR)

Just a quick update on a supposed new feature which was added recently into ArcheAge Closed Beta 4. As reported on Korean gaming website, GameMeca, a new tracking system for thieves was implemented. You see, while players have their own houses, farm animals and plants from where they can obtain lumber, fruits and more, other players may steal these items when the owner is not around. This caused a huge problem leading to complains in the game forums.

XLGAMES, the developer, has apparently come up with a solution. Whenever such thefts occur, there is a chance of footsteps appearing on the ground nearby. The owner may then click on them and obtain an item with the print on it. Once activated, the thief will gain 1 penalty point. Once 100 points are reached, the thief will be sent to jail. There might be other solutions in the works as ArcheAge is seemingly vulnerable to such acts given the freedom players have.

DOTA 2: How Valve Turned From Fanboys Into Developers For This Game

The document has moved here.

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Apache/2.2.13 (Unix) Server at www.1up.com Port 80

[Preview] Gamania Game Show 2011

It seems to be a natural thing to do nowadays for some of the bigger online gaming companies to do these few days - holding its own game convention. This time, it will be Taiwanese MMO developer and publisher, Gamania Entertainment. The company is also known for its MMO portal, Beanfun. At this year's show, 4 self-developed titles will be on display: Unreal 3 action game Core Blaze (link); classic remake Langrisser Schwarz (link); musical themed Tiara Concerto (link) and the latest game to be revealed, Dream Drops (link).

I am personally most interested in Core Blaze, being warped into the action combat fever some months back. I do hope there will be new trailers and information available this time round!

Warface (CN)

Earlier, I posted briefly about what players can expect for Warface, Crytek's free to play online shooter developed using CryEngine 3. Currently in 1 of the many early beta phases in China, many features are apparently still lacking. For example, the ability to customize weapons. The cash shop is pretty "weird" as well, as items need to be unlocked by character levels before purchasable.

As you can see, the cash shop is classified into the 4 different classes, followed by a sub-division of weapons, defensive items and others, followed by a 3rd level, for example the weapons category having the main weapon, sub weapon etc tab.

↑↑ The PvP lobby interface. ↑↑ Inside the game room getting ready.The PvE AI page is slightly more different compared to the traditional game lobby/ Instead, players get a world map showing the 2 mission which are available. There are 3 different modes, Easy, Normal and Professional, with each having 2 different maps (from what I observe, can be similar some times as well). Every 24 hours, these maps will be refreshed into new one, hence some maps will not be available for a day. There is no room list to be seen, with players clicking on the missions to enter a waiting room.

Below are 2 videos of my first try at the Mecha Menance PvE map, which is also the first map I fail to complete. Found in the normal mode this time, the boss is really, really hard...

Low Danger, High Intensity: When Little Moments Mean Everything

Action tends to take center stage. For hours at a time, it gives us something to prod, explore, and hopefully conquer as we settle into comfortable gameplay rhythms which aren't disrupted by peaks and valleys in the mayhem. Aside from the occasional jump-scare or ridiculous moment of ultra-violence, action rarely leads us to feel much beyond a compulsion to place holes in the enemy before they can return the favor.

Oddly enough, when games let up on the madness and place us in situations with little to no danger, we sometimes discover far more intense moments than what's found in the biggest set piece battles.

Rage

Walk into one of Rage's bars. You can't miss them; they're like T.G.I. Fridays, only all the street signs and oars adorning the walls have been replaced with scrap metal and mutant heads.

A grizzled man nods silently, inviting you to wager on a parlor game involving an impractically big knife and several small obstacles -- namely, your fingers. If you've seen Aliens, you know the drill: one of your palms is placed on the table, fingers splayed. You drive the point of the knife into the table between two fingers, move on to the next gap between fingers, then repeat the process at a faster rate.

Mess up your timing and the blade slams down on a finger. No health is taken away from your character. There is only the thunk of the impact, the visual of your hand pulling away quickly, and the sudden intake of breath through clenched teeth. For many, this is the most absorbing part of the entire game, where an imaginary wound causes them to recoil as if they have experienced it themselves.

You play as Vault Guy, mind you, shooter of mutants and driver of nitrous-burning apocalypse-mobiles. A million bandits assault you with all manner of nasty weaponry. Rusty machetes are buried in your face at every turn. Your buggy is blown up with rockets more often than you'd like to admit. Bladed boomerangs fill the air, their volume so great they might outnumber the amount of games set in the post-apocalypse. You get punched in the face by a bad guy that's large enough to carry a T-Rex around in the crook of his arm as a fashion statement.

Throughout all of this, the strongest emotion you're likely to feel in combat is the frustration of a gun that won't reload quickly enough or the sudden rush of facing overwhelming odds. Amid a pile of mutant corpses and spent ammo, the quiet suspense of the knife game stands out.

BioShock

Much of BioShock can be described as unsettling. Splashing through the dark ruins of a once-hopeful community, encountering crazed revelers whose costumes hide unknown features, constantly aware of the immense pressure of the ocean bearing down on an increasingly unstable environment -- this is not the sort of outing you'd plan to cheer up a gloomy friend.

These elements instill a sense of unease throughout the duration of your journey, creating the impression that you are small and powerless in this strange place. The most disturbing sequence, however, might just come when you decide to harvest a Little Sister.

Yanked off her feet, the Little Sister struggles and wails as you absorb her very essence. The act itself isn't graphic. It doesn't need to be -- placing a defenseless character in that position is unsettling enough. You aren't in any danger. In fact, you are directly benefiting, finally in control for a few terrible moments after being in the dark for so much of the game.

Win a place in the End Of Nations beta

The festive edition of the End Of Nations ‘Warfront’ video series is offering up a place on the beta for anyone who can string together a half decent poem. You’ve got until 1st January 2012 to submit your entry, and the winner will get straight on the forthcoming beta, as well as have their labour of love feature on the next Warfront video.

Elsehwere in this edition of Warfront the ‘Company’ gameplay mechanic is introduced. As Cole Marshall explains, the various ‘companies’ in the game allow you to customise your forces to suit your needs.

“Pick your class, units and abilities to fit your style of gameplay,” explains a santa-hatted Cole Marshall. “You can use your companies to co-ordinate strategies and tactics with other players to create the perect armoury.”

Using the latest cuts of in-game footage Marshall goes on to demonstrate two first tier companies. The first provides enough firepower to take on most armies, but lacking anti-aircraft units and the second, designed for support, is particularly effective against aircraft, buildings and the ability to detect stealth units.

We’re expecting great things from End Of Nations – check out the video and see what you think…

 

The Best of 1UP 2011: Community

1UP was conceived as a community-focused site from the beginning, and we're always grateful for our members' daily involvement. The 1UP community's excellence is perfectly embodied in the steady stream of blogs that populate the site, and throughout 2011 you've tackled topics ranging from how you've been personally affected by games to detailed photo blogs that chronicle some of the coolest events in the industry. Our members are dedicated individuals, and we're thrilled that you've chosen 1UP as a forum for voicing your thoughts and opinions on games. Listed below are 10 member blogs that stood out to us in 2011 as the best of the best. Check them out, and thanks for being a part of the site! We look forward to reading more of your work in 2012.

Jump to: Best of News | Best of Podcasts | Best of Blogs | Best of Previews
Best of Features | Best of Community | Best of Guides | Best of Video
Best of Reviews | Best of Retrospectives

• 
  
  
  

  Festivus Airing of Grievances

  
  We here at 1UP try
  to remain professional as often as possible. It wouldn't look good if we pulled a Network and walked to our windows yelling "We're as mad as hell, and we're not going to take this anymore!" That's why it's nice to see a user blog that bundles up so many of
  the rants we hold back into a neat little package that fits nicely under any Festivus Pole. Few companies manage to escape the wrath of Epic Greenman as he airs his grievances towards all of the ridiculous decisions that make you want to slap your forehead
  in disbelief.
  


• 
  
  
  

  My Journey Through Hyrule

  
  While we all have
  some personal connections of gaming, 1UP user Jesse Miller's attachment to The Legend of Zelda runs very deep. His of story of tragedy, frustration, and rediscovery shows how deeply gaming memories can resonate within us.
  

• 
  
  
  

  Those RPGs From Way Back

  
  Blogger Sam Torres
  takes a trip in the Wayback Machine (actually a 1994 Miata) to revisit the role-playing games of this youth. From big names like Final Fantasy to the obscure (does anyone remember Miracle Warriors?), this is a neat, compact survey of the console RPG landscape
  of the late '80s.
  


• 
  
  
  

  Impaired Gamers Aim for the Head

  
  In one of the year's
  most inspirational blog posts, 1UP member Chris Abbott told the story of his friend Andrew L'Italien who plays games with one hand -- and in many games, does so better than Abbott himself. "I never get pissed off at my situation because I could have easily
  not been alive," said L'Italien. "So I really try to make the best of it? it adds more to my character. That being said, I do sometimes get discouraged and play the 'what if' game, but then I look and say 'this is who I am, I could live in sorrow or I can
  make the best of it' and try different approaches to things."
  

• 
  
  
  

  Why Ico is More Important Than Ever

  
  1UP user deep_search
  wrote a ton of great blogs this year (seriously, check them out), but none were as compelling as his analysis of Ico as a piece of minimalist art. In a season filled with AAA titles which he aptly describes as busy, this entry helps explain why games like
  Ico, even a decade after its launch, are more important than ever. Fumito Ueda's freshman title as a designer is one deserving of mature and articulate commentary, and deep_search's blog is about as good as they come.


• 
  
  
  

  Naked Bob's 6th 1UP Anniversary

  
  Naked BoB joined 1UP
  six years ago, and in this post, he takes a look back at what changed in that time. He even wins the 1UP superfan crown for showing off his 6-year old 1UP user registration email.

• 
  
  
  

  A PAX East 2011 Photoblog

  
  1UP user and photoblogger
  extraordinaire David Ngo covers his second PAX East in this detailed post and takes you through the lively halls of the Boston Convention Center from top to bottom.
  


• 
  
  
  

  The Fake Cary Woodham TV Show

  
  Long-time 1UP member
  Cary Woodham describes a surprisingly convincing fake game-oriented TV show (seriously, "Boxer the Unboxer" sounds like something we'd actually see on G4) in this April Fool's blog post. The hoax actually had a few people going in large part because everyone
  who reads 1UP knows Cary is so darned sincere
  that him pulling one over on everybody caught them all by surprise.
  

• 
  
  
  

  Clever Difficulty Settings

  
  You, dear reader who
  actively reads and blogs on this site, are part of a clever bunch. That's why we like to have a featured user blog, to show off fellow games from the community who offer scintillating thoughts and insights. Here, Jostein "nipsen" Johnsen writes about the topic
  of interesting or clever difficulty settings -- with citations to specific examples from Deus Ex: Human Revolution and Shadow of the Colossus. We applaud you, fine sir, for writing this rather than another screed about cheating in Modern Warfare 3.
  


• 
  
  
  

  Creative Culture, Final Part

  
  User BigMex set out
  "to remind the community of lessons long forgotten or simply overlooked in the pages of video game history." His five part series digs deep into the origins of Capcom characters both famous and obscure. In this final entry examines just why these characters
  look, act, and feel the way they do.
  

Soul Worker (KR)

Just a few days back (link), I posted about Soul Worker and got almost a perfect respond from the readers here. Earlier today, the debut trailer for Soul Worker was released. A brief introduction again, this game takes place in the city of Cloudream, where the people mysteriously disappeared and the city left in ruins after an attack by unknown beings.

Players assume the role of individuals with special powers, entering mazes (or dungeons) created by the unknown beings to rescue the people and restore Cloudream. For now, the game seems like a dungeon crawler, but with development stretching till the end of 2012, I guess more features will be added. An action MMORPG influenced by Japan's anime style of art and design, this looks to be shaping up nicely.

Nintendo Direct Recap: Fire Emblem Dated in Japan

Tonight's Nintendo Direct wasn't as newsworthy as the first one for those outside of Japan. The pre-recorded broadcast was largely comprised of trailers and release date announcements for 3DS games in Japan.

The new Fire Emblem for 3DS was described as an original game being designed for the handheld. In Japan it'll be known as Fire Emblem: Kakusei, which in English translates to Fire Emblem: Awakening. The report from earlier today that the first premium downloadable content from Nintendo would be released for Fire Emblem remains unconfirmed, but one aspect of the report was shot down. It had been said that the DLC would be coming in March; in fact, the game won't be available in Japan until April 19, so it won't be coming any sooner than that.

Kiki Trick for Wii was the only Wii game focused on; it's being made by the WarioWare team and will be out in Japan on January 19. Nintendo seems to be interested in pushing it on Japanese viewers as president Satoru Iwata spent a good chunk of time playing several of its minigames, as pictured above. (Iwata is on the left, seated next to Nintendo designer Yoshio Sakamoto).

Other Japanese release dates announced include Ghost Camera -- also known as Shinrei Camera -- and Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy (January 12); Beyond the Labyrinth (January 19); Resident Evil: Revelations (January 26); New LovePlus (February 14); Tekken 3D: Prime Edition and Theatrhythm Final Fantasy (February 16); Harvest Moon: Hajimari no Daichi (February 23); Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D, Hatsune Miku and Future Stars Project Mirai, and Girl's RPG (March 8); Mario Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games (March 14); Dynasty Warriors Vs. (March 15), Kid Icarus: Uprising (March 22), and Bravely Default: Flying Fairy (2012).

Demos of several big-name titles -- Theatrhythm, Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil: Revelations, and Rhythm Thief -- have just been made available on the Japanese eShop for download. While it's disappointing those of us elsewhere in the world can't try out these games for ourselves, at least we have the image below of a blurry Iwata sitting next to a virtual girlfriend.

Source: Andriasang

Firefall (CN)

To me, this is indeed the ultimate marketing campaign an online game, or any games, will have in the somewhat soccer fanatic country of China. Nicolas Anelka, perhaps one of the most famous Frenchman to grace the English Premier League in recent times, has agreed to sign for China's Shenhua Football Club in January, ending his stay at Chelsea FC.

Coincidentally, Shenhua FC is apparently owned by The9's CEO, Mr Zhu Jun, who tried to buy over Liverpool FC previously. With Nicolas Anelka and the whole team donning the jersey with Firefall's logo emblazoned, how can this not be a marketing dream come true? For now, the publisher for Firefall China has yet to be decided, but rumors are pointing towards a multimillion deal with gaming giant Tencent Games.

How Retail Games are Made

Forget iCloud. Do you remember floppy disks?

"When Apple decided to make their 3.5-inch floppies blue, every floppy went to blue. Then when IBM decided to go with shell gray on the 3.5-inch HD floppy, everyone else went to shell gray," recalls a sales manager for a CD/DVD manufacturer whose involvement with video games and computer software dates back to the 1990s. "One year our biggest client bought over 100 million floppy disks. The next year I would have been surprised if they bought 25,000 when they moved to compact disc."

Any game you bring home has the same basic components: a disc, an "Amaray case," and the "case wrap" that displays artwork and text. Some games have a cardboard sleeve that slides over the case, called an "O-ring." And many PC games still come in small cardboard boxes. Over the next three pages in these captions, we've broken down the production process, with images provided by Telltale Games and Coral Graphics. [Note: Emily, the author of this story, worked for Telltale from 2006 to 2009.]

Today he sees the trend repeating, but this time publishers are leaving behind physical media completely: "There used to be an industry need for both DVD and CD and our biggest worry was our competition. Now the biggest worry is technology changing."

He's talking about the rise of digital distribution, and he's right to be worried. With downloadable games on the rise and retail revenues on the decline, the shift toward digital delivery that hit the music industry hard a decade ago is becoming a threat to packaged video games. For now, retail games are still generating more revenue than downloads, but DFC Intelligence recently predicted that this could change by 2013.

As far as former EA executive Bing Gordon is concerned, the move away from packaged games is inevitable. "Physical media's just going away," he said to 1UP earlier this year. "I think we are moving from paper and plastic to digital, and there's a generation that's going to come up and go, 'That paper and plastic just feels wrong. This excess packaging -- it just feels wrong. Having to have used stuff around just feels wrong.'"

It's easy to list the pros of digital distribution: it saves money, it's convenient, and it doesn't leave behind an environmental footprint. If video games follow the music industry's lead and physical media fades into obscurity, is that so bad?

Step 1: Planning: Publishers usually squeeze manufacturing into the final weeks before launch, but they might start planning up to a year in advance. Working backward from the release date, the operations team comes up with a due date to provide final artwork and game files to the manufacturer. The schedule is almost always tight: "We may get a heads-up that it's coming down the road, but for the most part we receive the files to produce proofs about seven days before publishers need us to ship," says Coral Graphics' Lee Ramsey.

What It Costs

What exactly will we lose if packaged games go extinct? Jobs, for starters. Unlike many retail products that are outsourced to China and other countries, in the U.S. video game manufacturing is kept close to home to minimize shipping time and expense. And the same vendor often handles all aspects of manufacturing, from printing and disc replication to assembly and distribution.

"I loved inventory and manufacturing," says Scott Fry, who worked in operations for a game publisher from 1999 through 2006. "It's such an important function of what's going on at a company and a lot of people don't realize that. They don't think about those pieces that need to come together." It seems game companies want it this way, since none of the publishers we reached out to for this article wanted to speak on the record about retail manufacturing.

You Can't Shoot Civilians in Battlefield 3, and Here's Why

Battlefield 3 falls on the more realistic end of the spectrum when it comes to depicting what it's like to be a in war. Of course, it's not going to be anywhere near an exact simulation of what that experience is like, and one thing that is physically possible in real life but won't be an option in BF3 is the ability to shoot innocent civilians.

Speaking with Rock, Paper, Shotgun, executive producer Patrick Bach said he thinks games are "on the verge" of being able to be political or make a point about the moral aspects of war, comparing it to "where movies were in the 30s or 40s."

At the same time, he's concerned about giving players the freedom to do absolutely anything, as he thinks "if you put the player in front of a choice where they can do good things or bad things, they will do bad things, go dark side -- because people think it's cool to be naughty, they won't be caught...

"In a game where it's more authentic, when you have a gun in your hand and a child in front of you what would happen? Well the player would probably shoot that child."

Assuming that to be true, it won't be the players that take the blame in the media. He says it'll be DICE, and that's why it has "to build our experiences so we don't put the player in experiences where they can do bad things."

In light of what happened with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, it's easy to see why this concern would arise. RPS notes that Bach never specifically referenced it, but it's hard to talk about this subject and not think about MW2's infamous "No Russian" level (pictured above) where players assumed the role of an undercover agent who goes through an airport with terrorists gunning down countless unarmed civilians. The scene can be skipped altogether; alternatively, players can go through it with or without shooting at civilians, as it plays out the same way regardless.

This led to attempts to ban the game in Australia, while others attempted to draw a connection between the level and a tragic terrorist attack in a Russian airport earlier this year. (The latter despite the attack involving a suicide bombing, not terrorists shooting at people.)

"Me personally, I'm trying to stay away from civilians in games like BF because I think people will do bad," Bach continued. "I don't want to see videos on the internet where people shoot civilians. That's something I will sanitize by removing that feature from the game."

"That doesn't mean that I don't want people to feel that war is not good," he added. "...We are trying to do something that is more mature. Mature not being gore -- some people confuse the two. That's childish actually, to want more blood."

It was one thing to be upset about Ninja Gaiden 3 ditching the ability to behead and or dismember opponents because those are bad guys you're attacking in a much different context. It's a different argument when it involves shooting innocent people in a game, though some would say it's not a big deal because it's just a videogame. Which side of the argument do you fall on? Are you disappointed with this restriction in Battlefield 3, or will you never give it a second thought? Let us know in the comments below.

Mabinogi Heroes (KR)

I hate Nexon Korea with a vengeance. They uploaded these info a few days back but only made it "officially" public just not long ago. Nevertheless, this is Kay, the game's 5th character and also the sharpshooter teased for months. The trailer doesn't really show much, but you do get a hint at how this character operates.

[PAX 2011] Warhammer Online: Wrath of Heroes

(Beta signup) If you haven't heard of Warhammer Online: Wrath of Heroes, it was just revealed a couple of weeks back (link) and is developed by a new team over at Bioware, the creators of games such as Mass Effect and the upcoming Star Wars: The Old Republic. Basically, Wrath of Heroes is a 3D action DOTA sort of game. In Warcraft III's DOTA mod, there are 2 teams against each other, but here there are 3 team against each other. GameSpot's cover of the developer panel below sheds more light.

Other than the developer panel seen at PAX 2011 above, there are currently 2 trailers for 2 of game's characters. Remember to sign up for beta (link) now!

The Best of 1UP 2011: Features

The JRPG

Posted: 12/25/2011 by  stealth20k

feature was one of the worst they ever put together. It was devoid of truth, fact, realism, anything.

 

It was basically a false article complaining about how the 3 wii games werent in english. Now all 3 will be

Persona Fighting Game Headed to Consoles, Persona 4 to Vita

Atlus launched a teaser site not long ago, and although there was next to nothing to be seen there (save for the URL seen in the image below), one strong possibility was that Persona 4 was going to be announced as coming to either PlayStation Portable or Vita. We now have confirmation that the latter is the case, and it's not the only Persona news we have.

The Vita remake will be called Persona 4: The Golden, according to the latest issue of Famitsu (as reported by Sinobi and translated by Andriasang). Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 was released on PlayStation 2 in 2008. It's the most recent main entry in the series, with the Vita version set to introduce a new character named Mary, wireless support that lets you get help from other players when nearing death in a dungeon, new animation movies, and 50 percent more voice acting than the PS2 version.

Remakes are hardly a new thing for the series. The first three games were remade for PSP, with Persona 3 also getting an FES release on PS2 that added new content. Atlus claimed in 2008 there would never be a similar FES version of Persona 4.

Those who never got to play Persona 4 the first time around on PS2 are in for a real treat given how good it is. It's scheduled to be out for Vita during spring 2012 in Japan.

While a Persona 4 remake isn't going to shock anyone, what is surprising is the announcement of Persona 4: The Ultimate in Mayonaka Arena, a 2D fighting game that Atlus is working with BlazBlue developer Arc System on. It'll initially come to arcades before being ported to Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 next summer in Japan. Its story is set two years after Persona 4 and features characters from both Persona 3 and 4.

We'll have more details on both games as they're released. Expect to hear more by the Tokyo Game Show, which takes place in mid-September.

Warface (CN)

After being tormented previously by the buggy launcher, a fix was found and I was able to get into the Closed Beta phase for Warface. Developed by Crytek Korea using CryEngine 3, Warface is the first online title from the studio and aiming to crack the China market first, with the help of the country's biggest publisher Tencent Games. Once again, I am a total noob at online shooters, so do spare me the taunts~

I actually did introduce the game before (link), so I wouldn't touch much on the basics. There are 4 classes (I am playing as Assault in all footage), AI PvE maps, PvP maps, weapons customization (not available now) and some pretty new moves, for example the sliding attack.

There are certainly more maps, for example the AI PvE one fighting against a giant mecha, but due to the lack of players at this phase, it is really hard to find a room with enough players.

So, how did the game felt for me? Overall, it is just slightly above average due to mechanics such as needing 2 players to reach some platforms or to push heavy objects out of the way, but much of the credit goes to the visually stunning graphics Warface has to offer. I feel that the game shouldn't really be judged so early at this stage, I shall wait for more content to be added before going more in-depth.

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Yeah Dead Space 2 did come out this year

Posted: 14 hours ago by  JOYFUL_NOISE

I loved that game. I guess this might be one of the reasons why devs wait for there games, so they won't be forgotten.