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Call of Juarez: Gunslinger review: Back in the saddle

It's pretty rare for a game series to get as many chances as Call of Juarez has. After a middling debut, the series drummed up lots of critical goodwill with Bound in Blood, and then absolutely threw it all away with the awful The Cartel. Now, Techland has ventured back to the Wild West with Call of Juarez: Gunslinger, and the developer's got something to prove.

Perhaps seeking to distance itself from The Cartel, Gunslinger is a different beast in almost every way, and it works. The most immediately obvious difference is the art style. Instead of the mostly realistic style of past Juarez games, Gunslinger opts for a more stylized and bombastic look. It's as if the developers threw anime, Mad Max, and The Good the Bad and the Ugly and Borderlands into a blender. That might sound weird, but it's a refreshing and enjoyable change.

Gunslinger also has very little in common with its predecessors when it comes to story. The only real connection is a collectible with a short biography of Ray McCall, one of the protagonists from the first two games. This time around, Gunslinger puts players into the dusty spurs of bounty hunter Silas Greaves.

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Indie, but not alone: How Vlambeer's advice helped guide Dog Sled Saga

Indie, but not alone How Vlambeer's advice helped guide Dog Sled Saga
The idea hit Dan FitzGerald in the shower last December: What about a dog sledding game? The Chicago native had been toying around with various prototypes based around a lobbing mechanic, but nothing stuck quite like this. Ideas started pouring in, and he enlisted his girlfriend of three years, Lisa Bromiel, to work on the art and help shape the exciting nugget of an idea into a fully realized video game – a concept that evolved into Dog Sled Saga.

It was the first time either had embarked on anything quite like it. FitzGerald studied communications in college, and had spent time doing contract video production (including trailers for other video games) and web design in an effort to get deeper into the gaming scene. Bromiel, meanwhile, is a trained artist with a focus on material art, though she hadn't consistently worked in digital illustration. As confident as they were about seeing the concept through to completion, they didn't have much insight as to going from making an original game to actually presenting it as a purchasable product. Well, at least until Rami Ismail came to town.

Ismail, the business and development half of Dutch indie studio Vlambeer (Super Crate Box, Luftrausers), stopped in Chicago in February to give a talk as part of DePaul University's Visiting Artists Series. FitzGerald and Bromiel attended, expecting to hear anecdotes about creating their beloved games, or the painful cloning saga that marked the development of Ridiculous Fishing.

Instead they got a real lesson – Indie Game Business 101, if you will – defined by the lecture's catchy three-word title: "Monetize That Shit."

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Microsoft: Xbox One cloud processing can enhance lighting, physics

Report Xbox One performance upped by cloud processing
Speaking with Redmond Game Studios and Platforms GM Matt Booty, Ars Technica reports that cloud computing will boost performance in games designed for Microsoft's Xbox One.

While latency-sensitive actions will be handled by a user's Xbox One console, Microsoft claims its cloud architecture can pre-calculate elements like lighting and physics modeling, leading to increased in-game performance.

This additional processing is made possible by the 300,000 servers that will power Xbox Live after the Xbox One's launch, up from the 15,000 servers currently supporting the service. Booty notes that "[for] every Xbox One available in your living room we'll have three of those devices in the cloud available."

Xbox One games that support the feature will remain operational in the event of an Internet connection outage, though developers will need to address the possibility of reduced performance. "In the event of a drop out [...] the game is going to have to intelligently handle that," Booty tells Ars Technica.

GameStop stock closes week down 19%

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GameStop's stock concluded the trading week down 19 percent, attributable to continuing investor concerns over Xbox One's used games market solution. The most volatile decline occurred after a report out of the UK this morning claimed GameStop's margins in the pre-owned market would be affected by others taking a cut.

Microsoft sent out the following statement a half hour before trading closed today: "The ability to trade in and resell games is important to gamers and to Xbox. Xbox One is designed to support the trade in and resale of games. Reports about our policies for trade in and resale are inaccurate and incomplete. We will disclose more information in the near future."

GameStop's stock dropped nearly 11 percent today, down $3.90/share to $32.11. At its worst, the company's stock was down to $31/share today. GameStop concluded its previous fiscal year with pre-owned video game products representing $2.4 billion in sales (27.4 percent for the year). If you want a public answer to Microsoft's used game plans, you got nothing on the company that's losing hundreds of millions in value off the situation.
[Image: nuttapol yupothong via Shutterstock]

Tomb Raider on sale for $14 at Green Man Gaming

Frugal survivalists can enlist in Lara Croft's prequel adventure, Tomb Raider, for $13.60 today. The deal is over on PC digital distribution outlet Green Man Gaming, which has the Crystal Dynamics reboot currently listed at $17 - simply add coupon code "GMG20-LLASD-D8WBQ" (without quotes, boldness is entirely up to you) in the checkout screen and you'll get the extra-reduced price.

In our review of Tomb Raider, we cited the joy of exploration and story's revelatory crescendo as catalysts for our love of Lara's coming-of-age tale. "The arc is drawn perfectly, with the edges of the old Tomb Raider starting to poke through as the story comes to a close, teasing what's yet to come." Several DLC packs have been issued, adding new maps and modes to the multiplayer side of the game. Crystal Dynamics has said it has no plans to offer single-player DLC.

A bespectacled look at the Oculus Rift

For the most part, being near- or farsighted today isn't that big of a deal. The only cultural zeitgeist folks like me have missed out on recently has been in the resurgence of glasses-required 3D technology in consumer media. And let's be honest, it isn't a tremendous loss.

In fact, the Oculus Rift is the only thing on the horizon that is as potentially game-changing as it is unfriendly to glasses. That thing straps directly onto your whole face, there's no way a pair of fashionable specs could fit under there.

Well, as it turns out, the Oculus Rift really was accommodating to my Converse frames and their too-old lenses, so much so that for the first time ever I'm legitimately excited about the once-lofty possibility of a virtual reality future.

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Destiny 'looking forward to talking more about' PC version in future

Destiny 'looking forward to talking more about' PC version in future
Bungie senior writer Eric Osborne didn't go so far as to outright confirm or deny the existence of a PC version of Destiny, though he did say that Bungie is "looking forward to talking more about that kind of stuff in the future" during an interview with IGN.

"We haven't said yes, and we haven't said no," Osborne said. "The more platforms we take on, the more work it ultimately becomes, and what we don't want is to compromise the core experience on any platforms. We have a lot of people who play on PCs. We have a lot of appetite to build that experience."

Right now, Destiny is set to launch for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One at an unspecified future date, presumably before the dystopian, near-extinct future in which the game takes place.

Don't Starve review: Leave the light on

Boy Scouts should be required to play Don't Starve before going on any camping trips – they could even get a badge for it, in the form of a gaping, pointy-toothed wormhole. Or maybe a friendly campfire.

Don't Starve is packed with wonderful advice about survival and personal growth:
  • In the wilderness, you must build your own tools using only the immediate environment
  • Animals are a great source of nutrition, no matter how cute they are
  • The world is bigger than it first appears; explore it
  • Scary things that will kill you hide in the dark
  • When you die, your world disappears
  • Fire is fun
  • Go for the eyes
And that's not mentioning the obvious one.

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GRID 2 BAC Mono Edition is £125,000

You might be thinking that some countries use commas instead of decimal points, but the headline above does indeed say one hundred and twenty-five thousand British Pounds ($188,700). You might also think that's awfully expensive for the special edition of a racing game (any game, really), but allow us to put things in perspective. The GRID 2 BAC Mono Edition isn't so much a special edition of a game as it is a luxury sports car that happens to come with a game.

Specifically, the BAC Mono Edition comes with the Mono, essentially a street legal formula racing car. Also included is a racing suit and helmet, a copy of GRID 2 and a PlayStation 3 on which to play it. According to BAC's website, a Mono with no frills has a base price of £96,495 ($145,919), and that's before throwing in VAT. Only one copy of the BAC Mono Edition is being manufactured, making it something a collector's item. You can place your pre-order exclusively with GAME. Oh, and shipping is free.

Not to be left out, Best Buy is hosting a special edition of GRID 2 in North America. It includes the IndyCar DLC pack and retails for $59.99.

GRID 2 comes out next week.

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Rumor: Xbox One to feature Skype remote play

Rumor has it that Microsoft's Xbox One console will feature remote play through Skype, allowing someone to remotely take over gameplay on the local console directly from a Skype call. Either player may break the remote play session at any time.

Supposedly the feature is in testing phase right now, though Polygon's source notes that certain details are still up in the air – like how long that individual can remotely play or whether they need to own the same game or not. During the Xbox reveal event, Microsoft unveiled group Skype calls using the Xbox One's improved Kinect sensor.

Super Joystiq Podcast 051: Xbox One continued, impressions and interviews from Redmond

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This week's Super Joystiq Podcast wants to be the all-in-one destination for all of your entertainment needs.

The Xbox One-- yes, that's still the real name. The home crew tackled the announcement of Microsoft's latest console in our special episode on Tuesday, and now Ludwig and Alexander are back from the event to discuss the aftermath of information that has since been clarified, and not. There are still plenty of unknowns and red flags, and we dive deep on all of them here.

Be sure to catch the games segment recorded live on YouTube every Thursday. This week's edition can be seen on the Joystiq YouTube page and after the break.

Listen to the Super Joystiq Podcast: Details about each segment and video of the games segment are available after the break.

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Halo 4 for $18 at Best Buy today

Image If you've yet to experience John 117's latest adventure, you should know that Halo 4 is a mere $18 at Best Buy today. That deal is valid only for today, by the way, giving you a great excuse Forerunning to the nearest store. [Thanks, Hank!] ... Continue Reading

PSA: Capcom Arcade Cabinet all-in-one available now


Your patience has paid off. Today, Capcom has issued the full Capcom Arcade Cabinet collection - a cheaper bundle of all 17 games previously issued in piecemeal packs and as individual downloads. The all-in-one pack is available starting today for 2,000 MS Points ($30), a saving of $15 over purchasing all five game packs.

Capcom Arcade Cabinet highlights games from the publisher's catalog spanning the years between 1984 and 1988. The full list of 17 games within the Capcom Arcade Cabinet are Black Tiger, Avengers, 1943, The Battle of Midway, Ghosts n Goblins, Gun Smoke, Section Z, Side Arms, Legendary Wings, Trojan, Commando, The Speed Rumbler, Exed Exes (Savage Bees), 1942, SonSon and Pirate Ship Higemaru. There are also two secret games: 1943 Kai and Vulgus.

Ninja Theory teams up with Chillingo on iOS, Android F2P brawler Fightback

Ninja Theory tagteams with Chillingo on iOS, Android brawler Fightback
DmC and Enslaved developer Ninja Theory revealed its latest project this morning, an iOS and Android free-to-play brawler called Fightback. The game is being published by EA subsidiary Chillingo, which says it has a "a striking 80s action movie vibe."

Going by this screenshot, Fightback is a skils-orientated, side-scrolling beat-em-up. The meter at the bottom indicates a three-star score based on points accumulated by skill moves like 'Skull Splitter' - think Bulletstorm, perhaps, but with more punches and kicks, and maybe a Blood Dragon vibe. It looks like you can use guns too, though. Also, is that a Japanese love hotel?

"Mobile and tablet gaming is a phenomenon that we just couldn't ignore as a studio and we're very proud to be working with one of the industry's heavy-weights on bringing Fightback to market," said Ninja Theory Product Manager Dominic Matthews. "Ninja Theory has always strived for the highest production values and that absolutely remains the case in this exciting new space."

Chillingo is showing off Fightback at E3 next month, and expects to launch it this summer.

N 2.0 is all the difficult running and jumping and dying you'll ever need

Metanet Software's N, which the developer describes as " that game you played in high school but forgot about through college," has seemingly reached its pinnacle. The wall-jumping, pixelated ninja platformer has been officially stamped version 2.0 and is now available entirely for free. N 2.0 adds a number of extra features, including 100 new levels, 100 "legacy" levels pulled from N and the various console iterations of N+, 100 user-made levels, level sharing, local 2 player co-op and new "FUN-lockable" content.

You can play the game for free on Kongregate or download it directly from Metanet. And yes, in case you were wondering, N++ is still on the way

PlayStation Europe PS4 ad says 'Coming 2013'

PlayStation Europe PS4 ad says 'Coming 2013'
A new PS4 ad in Europe provides further indication the continent can expect the console to arrive there this year. While Sony announced the PS4 was due "Holiday 2013" back at February's reveal event, the company declined to commit to which regions that window applied to. However, a new PS4 ad, first spotted in today's Metro newspaper in the UK, then later tweeted by PlayStation Europe, says the PS4 is "Coming 2013."

Europeans have good reason to be cautious about a tentative window. The PS3 reached the continent in March 2007, having arrived in North America and Japan some four months prior - and that was via a last-minute delay, too.

When asked if this confirmed the PS4 is coming to Europe this year, a Sony Computer Entertainment Europe representative told us, "We announced at the PlayStation Meeting event on February 20 that [the] PS4 would be coming in 2013... the adverts are simply re-stating that message."

"More information about [the] PS4 and all PlayStation platforms will be announced at E3," he added.

Report: Publishers to receive cut of Xbox One pre-owned sales

The Xbox One will support the used games market, but how this will happen and who stands to benefit has been a topic of much discussion this week. As Microsoft continues to allow speculation to run rampant, MCV has gotten in touch with UK retail sources who explained a plausible scenario of how the system will work.

A customer walks into a reseller with a previously purchased game disc. This can only be done at retailers that, according to MCV, have "agreed to Microsoft's [terms and conditions] and more importantly integrated Microsoft's cloud-based Azure pre-owned system into its own." The game disc, having been registered in the system, now wipes the license use from the previous owner's account so that the installed game on their Xbox One can no longer be accessed.

Here's the delicate part: the publisher and Microsoft will now receive a cut from the sale. Previously, a company like GameStop pocketed 100 percent of the used game sale, now ConsoleDeals.co.uk is reporting it could be significantly less if Microsoft has oversight of the market. The pre-owned market would go on, but its glorious margins for retailers would be destroyed. Meanwhile, publishers would finally get what they've always dreamed of: a piece of that pie.

Sony explains why Gran Turismo 6 is launching on PS3, not PS4

Sony explains why Gran Turismo 6 is launching on PS3, not PS4
The biggest eyebrow-raiser with last week's Gran Turismo 6 reveal was that it's launching on the PS3, and not the PS4. Doesn't Sony want to drive PS4 launch sales with one of its biggest franchises?

In an interview on the PlayStation Blog, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe CEO Jim Ryan explained why the latest Gran Turismo isn't debuting on the soon-to-be latest PlayStation, arguing that GT6 can still deliver a significant difference from GT5, despite being on the same platform.

"You had GT1 and GT2 on PS one," Ryan said, "GT3 and GT4 on PS2, then there's GT5 on PS3 and a space next to it. The difference between Gran Turismo and GT2 is unbelievable, but they're both on the same platform. The difference between GT3 and GT4 is huge. We're absolutely confident when GT6 comes, you'll see a big step change up from GT5 too. There's still a lot of potential on PS3 that a developer like Polyphony can really exploit."

The other, obvious factor is the install base. Gran Turismo has traditionally been a big seller, with three entries shifting over 10 million units. To do that, Ryan indicates, you need to have the install base.

"And the other factor is that on PS3 we have an install base of 70 million units," Ryan added. "On PS4 on launch day we'll have an install base of zero units. There'll be plenty of games to help drive PS4 – not least Driveclub in the racing genre from Evolution Studios, a studio with a fantastic pedigree."

A PS4 version of GT6 looks more than likely at some point down the line, and it's something that hasn't been shied away from. Speaking to IGN, series creator Kazunori Yamauchi said, "We actually do have a PlayStation 4 version in mind, but for this holiday season, we thought it would be best for users to release on PS3 for now."

Xbox One official game box design unveiled

Xbox One official game box design unveiled
Microsoft repre-soldier Major Nelson confirmed the box designs for Xbox One games by showing off how copies of the newly announced Forza Motorsport 5 will look. Much like how the Wii U went bold with blue, the Xbox One design is gallant in green.

The Forza 5 design also reveals the logo of BBC motorcar show Top Gear. Forza 4 featured Top Gear content, and so will Forza 5, apparently. You can check out the full box art by speeding on past the break.

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Joe Danger, Joe Danger 2: The Movie somersaulting onto PC

Joe Danger, Joe Danger 2 The Movie somersaulting onto PC
Joe Danger's latest daredevil stunt is to ride both his games, Joe Danger and Joe Danger 2: The Movie, onto PCs via Steam. UK indie studio Hello Games told us a number of tweaks are coming to the PC versions, including Big Picture Mode and Steamworks support. The latter is for the games' level editors. which on PC feature "all the secret controls" Hello Games used to build both tricksters.

Both games will support gamepad, mouse and keyboard controls. Other tweaks and additions include ghost records of other players for both games, and new levels. Prices and release dates are still to come.

"It's weird, PC is actually Joe Danger's birthplace," Hello Games' Sean Murray told us. "We couldn't get hold of devkits when we started out, so I coded my first ever PC engine for the original Joe Danger, and we ended up developing the entire game on PC. I feel like the PC version has been brewing forever - but only played by four of us here in the office."

We expect a few more people will be playing it when it comes to Steam. We gave the XBLA version of Joe Danger 2: The Movie a wheelie good four stars in our review, saying that it does the two things puzzle-racers should do: " tug at your need to beat them, and then tug at your need to beat them better."

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The Joystiq Podcast

The Joystiq Podcast

Super Joystiq Podcast 051: Xbox One continued, impressions and interviews from Redmond

Latest episode: Friday, May 24th, 2013

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