Activision is crowdsourcing its next personalization pack for Call of Duty: Black Ops 2. Starting on Thursday, May 23, fans will be asked to vote for one of four new packs, each with their own custom weapon camo skin, three reticles and a calling card icon.

One of Swords has preview images of all four personalization options. Voting ends May 28; the winning pack will go on sale the following day, May 29.

Personalizations are optional "micro items" you can purchase in Black Ops 2 on Xbox 360. While Activision has said the functionality will come to other platforms, it has yet to announce any additional details.

A leaked pre-order image tipped us off yesterday and the press release past the break confirms it: Deathstroke is a playable character in Batman Arkham Origins. He'll be unlocked in the game's challenge mode, and all who plunk down cash early will enjoy some exclusive maps and character skins associated with him.

Deathstroke is seemingly a leading man in the video game world now, with Batman: Arkham Origins his second role of the year after Injustice: Gods Among Us in April. His real name is Slade Wilson, a mercenary and assassin created by teenage cartoonist Gary Wilson in 1980.

Continue Reading

Continue Reading

The 3DS is no graphical slouch. Aside from the glasses-free 3D feature, the system can kick out some impressive scenery, and it did so with last year's Resident Evil Revelations, a well-made little horror shooter in a series that's been looking for a lifeboat lately. After launching Resident Evil 6 fewer than six months ago, Capcom seems to think HD platforms need even more Resident Evil love, and so this week Revelations hits Xbox 360, PS3, Windows PCs, and the Wii U.

Playing it in enhanced form on an HD console, however, feels just a little goofy. The textures do look excellent, but the game's models are clearly made for a more lightweight graphics engine, which means you get characters with hair frozen in place and enemies with just a few animations to use over and over again. Revelations was made for a handheld machine, and its designers cut corners that the other platforms would have let them curve around more gracefully.

But Revelations' saving grace is that it's a Resident Evil game, and it's a good Resident Evil game at that. For that reason, fans of the series who missed out the first time around will probably appreciate the chance to see it for themselves.

Continue Reading

EA Sports won't just show off next-gen FIFA tomorrow at Microsoft's Xbox reveal, but is also planning on punching out some details about its UFC game, which is not scheduled for release this year (as far as we know).

EA obtained the rights to UFC games thanks to THQ's financial pains at the time, eventually passing to the great octagon beyond. The Xbox event is scheduled for tomorrow, May 21, at 1 p.m. ET (10 a.m. PT, 6 p.m. UK). Prepare yourself for some next-gen sweat tech.

Cthulhu Saves the World developer Zeboyd Games announced that its series finale Penny Arcade's On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 4 will launch on Friday, June 7 for Windows and the Xbox Live Indie Games service.

To mark the occasion, Zeboyd and Penny Arcade are giving away free Steam codes for Rain-Slick 3. Zeboyd assures that the giveaway has no strings attached, but fans have a limited window of opportunity to hop on this deal, as the offer ends tomorrow.

Zeboyd Games resumed the Rain-Slick series after the departure of previous developer Hothead Games, producing a pair of JRPG-inspired sequels. Rain-Slick 3 was supported with a wealth of free DLC, and the upcoming sequel will likely follow suit.

It may not be the timeliest response, but Denis Dyack is speaking out against allegations that the very poorly received X-Men: Destiny was the result of catastrophic mismanagement on the part of developer Silicon Knights. Dyack recently left his role as the head of Silicon Knights to join Precursor games, developer of the coming Eternal Darkness spiritual successor, Shadow of the Eternals. As Precursor is seeking crowdfunding for the project, and Dyack is serving as its chief creative officer, it seems the company believes he has some 'splaining to do.

The allegations sprung from a Kotaku article penned by freelance writer Andrew McMillen last October. In a 30-minute YouTube response, Dyack categorically denies statements made in the article, saying that "there isn't any hard evidence whatsoever besides non-credible anonymous sources." Dyack added that Silicon Knights refused to submit any comments for the article in question, as it would have appeared to lend credence to what he sees as untrue allegations.

Dyack then reads a letter he alleges was written by McMillen to an anonymous source. The letter states that McMillen's article was initially refused by Wired games editor Chris Kohler, who cited a lack of facts and documentation, apart from the comments from anonymous ex-employees. Dyack goes on to say that "not only did Silicon Knights not divert funds from X-Men: Destiny to our other projects, which I can't talk about, we actually put more money into X-Men: Destiny than what we were paid." Dyack says he and Silicon Knights worked with Activision and Marvel to make Destiny as good as it could be and, while he's sorry for how it turned out, he says, "We put nothing but our best efforts" into the game.

Dyack also admitted to saying some things he "shouldn't have said in the press" regarding X-Men Destiny, adding, "I've learned my lesson." The same mistakes won't be made again, he says. The video goes on to address other concerns, such as Silicon Knights' relationship with Nintendo, and Dyack has also posted a litany of related references on Precursor's forums.

North American retailers GameStop and Amazon are offering up their own pre-order incentives for Watch Dogs, Ubisoft announced today.

Those who commit early through GameStop will receive an additional single-player mission, with a perk that unlocks "exclusive investigation opportunities inside of the network" and bonus cash when hacking into bank accounts, plus an exclusive poster designed by Alex Ross. Amazon pre-orders also get an exclusive mission that, upon completion, unlocks a special biometric assault rifle and an outfit.

Watch Dogs launches on the Xbox 360, PS3, PC and Wii U on November 19. A port is also planned for next-generation consoles.

Continue Reading

EA Sports lifted the curtains today on one of its core additions to Madden 25 this year, Connected Franchise owners mode. In it, players take on the role of team owner, setting prices for tickets and concessions as well as having the option to relocate teams to both domestic and international cities. Owners also handle the hiring of team personnel, such as scouts, trainers and coaches, and they answer questions from the media. Players will manage stadium upgrades and market their superstar athletes so fans will buy their jerseys, increasing their teams' yearly profit.

The options to import draft classes from EA's NCAA Football series and take control of all 32 teams in the Connected Careers mode were woefully absent from last year's game, but will return to Madden 25. Additionally, the game's primary career mode will receive a face-lift thanks to an improved user interface that includes a transaction log to follow the movement of players from team to team. The mode's UI includes a new Trade Center, allowing users to see what other teams are offering for players and draft picks so they can top their opponents' bids.

Lastly, Madden 25 will feature more media personalities for the career mode's in-game Twitter feed, such as ESPN fantasy analyst Matthew Berry and Fox Sports NFL writer Peter Schrager. It will also receive new legendary players and coaches, including Mike Ditka and William "The Refrigerator" Perry.

Major Nelson has posted the latest schedule for upcoming Xbox Live content. As previously announced, Call of Juarez: Gunslinger will be released this Wednesday. This week's Deal of the Week is a 50 percent off sale on lots of D3Publisher titles, including the new Karateka, the Puzzle Quest series, Pid and more. There's also an Alan Wake sale with games up to 83 percent off. Finally, Crysis 3 hits Games on Demand tomorrow.

Next week, Hunters Trophy 2 – Australia hits Xbox Live Arcade and, although not mentioned by Major Nelson, CastleStorm will arrive as well. Next week's deals include discounts on Ghost Recon: Future Soldier and its DLC, DarkStalkers Resurrection for $10. The Games on Demand version of Dark Souls will also be discounted, and it expansion, "Artorias of the Abyss" will be $7.50.

Continue Reading

Resident Evil: Revelations launches this week and Capcom has promised some DLC. It starts on June 4 with the Resistance and Enhancement sets for 160 MS Points ($2), each including six different weapon upgrades. Then, on June 11, Capcom will issue two additional characters for use in Raid mode: Rachel Ooze and Lady Hunk. Each character costs 240 MS Points ($3).

Resident Evil: Revelations is a remake of the 3DS game bearing the same name launched by Capcom in early 2012. Bridging the story between Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil 5, Revelations follows series regulars Jill and Chris, and takes place aboard a derelict cruise liner called the SS Queen Zenobia. A free demo has been available to all on Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U and Steam since last week.

Continue Reading

Ubisoft has released a new trailer for Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist, showcasing gameplay from its co-op narrative campaign and some gruff banter between Sam Fisher and his partner-in-stealth Isaac Briggs.

Splinter Cell is beefing up its multiplayer offerings for the latest series entry, as Blacklist will feature both a two-player co-op campaign and the returning Spies vs. Mercs multiplayer mode. We had a chat with Blacklist's lead co-op designer Richard Carrillo earlier this month, in which he confirmed that teammates will need to adapt to multiple playstyles in order to survive.

Blacklist's co-op element spans four mission types and 14 maps, and is playable online and in local split-screen. Splinter Cell: Blacklist is set to launch for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii U, and PC platforms on August 20.

Microsoft has filed a new trademark for the word "Forzavista." Using our detective-like intuition, we've determined it probably has something to do with the Forza Motorsport series, possibly something that will be revealed during tomorrow's "Xbox Reveal" event. Further speculation points to a renaming or expansion of the series' "Autovista" feature, which allows players to get up close and personal with many of the game's cars (including Halo 4's Warthog).

Okay, so it's not so much speculation as it is exactly what's described by the trademark itself. Specifically, the trademark refers to "A feature of interactive video game software which allows players to obtain statistical information of internal and external features of a vehicle and to virtually navigate and operate those vehicles."

Be sure to tune into Joystiq on Tuesday, May 21, for more live coverage of Microsoft's event than you can shake a stick shift at.

Warner Bros. revealed Batman: Arkham Origins is fronted by two of gaming's most prominent voice actors. Roger Craig Smith is confirmed as the caped crusader, and Troy Baker is his nemesis, the Joker.

If you don't recognize the names, you'll definitely recognize their previous work. Craig Smith's immense portfolio includes Ezio Auditore from Assassin's Creed, Chris Redfield from Resident Evil, and he's the current voice of Sonic. While he's never starred in anything Batman related, he does have superhero experience. It is for the other side, however; he's played Captain America in both games and animations.

Baker is similarly prolific. While he recently graced our screens as Booker DeWitt in BioShock Infinite, his past work includes Sgt. Matt Baker in Gearbox's Brothers in Arms, Snow from the Final Fantasy 13 line, Kai Leng from Mass Effect 3, and Vincent from Catherine. When we profiled Baker around this time last year, he shared his love for all things Batman on the back of starring in Arkham City.

"Being a part of Arkham City was just incredible - because I'm a huge Batman fan," Baker told us, "And to play Two-Face and Robin after growing up watching The Animated Series was a banner moment for me."

The news follows apparent confirmation long-time Batman vocalist Kevin Conroy does star in Origins, but how he features remains to be seen. We know Origins deals with Batman's "initiation into that insane world" of the other Arkham games, so perhaps Conroy's role is something retrospective. Even if Conroy doesn't play the dark knight in any sense in Origins, to fans he's still the goddamn Batman.

Bat-click here to check out our preview and the new trailer.

Batman: Arkham Origins follows the world's most enduring vigilante after just two years on the job. The developers at Warner Bros. Montreal, taking over from Rocksteady Studios and their critically acclaimed construction of Arkham Asylum and Arkham City, want to convey a "rawer, scarier Batman." He's all growl and grimace in the cutscenes, dangling squirming henchmen from clock towers until they turn verbose, but in play his rookie temper is more difficult to detect.

The prequel is a tricky proposition, especially when it concerns history that's been dissected again and again across comics, movies and games. It's harder to conjure narrative tension while it's colored by the inevitable outcome, and that draws greater scrutiny on mechanical expansion and refinement. Why does this younger Batman make for a better Batman game?

Continue Reading

It's another familiar week of UK cha-... oh wait, it isn't.

After Dead Island: Riptide sliced through its competition for three weeks, this time it's dethroned by another follow-up in the form of Metro: Last Light. By debuting in top spot, it does what Metro 2033 failed to do when it placed fifth in 2010.

Chart-Track says Metro 2033 sold stronger than Last Light in its launch week. Back then, Metro 2033 was fighting March megatons like Final Fantasy 13, God of War 3, and Battlefield Bad Company 2. In contrast, May 2013 has been dead quiet - emphasis on dead.

Having said that, this week sees another new release in the top ten via Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity. The spinoff charts fourth this week. We expect the next 3DS Poke-game to do slightly better.

In other movers and shakers, Last Light only nudged Riptide into second place, making this week a 1-2 for Deep Silver and Koch Media. Tomb Raider drops out of the top five for the first time in its 11th week, slipping down to sixth. Meanwhile, Injustice: Gods Among Us and The Walking Dead (packaged retail edition) shuffle into eighth and seventh.

Continue Reading

A Batman: Arkham Origins pre-order image on Amazon offers Deathstroke as a playable character via DLC. Check it out in a rolling image header here.

Batman and Deathstroke went head-to-head in last week's teaser video, but there was no word on how the striker of mortality would be incorporated into Arkham Origins. This could be a Catwoman in Arkham City situation, where she got an entire spin-off campaign, or it might be something entirely new.

One aspect of Arkham Origins is confirmed today – Kevin Conroy will return as a voice actor.

This is a weekly column from freelancer Rowan Kaiser, which focuses on "Western" role-playing games: their stories, their histories, their mechanics, their insanity, and their inanity.

I had my World of Warcraft year. In 2007, when 'The Burning Crusade' came out, the game clicked with me and it became almost the only thing I played for months on end, to the point where I started raiding with an up-and-coming guild. I know many other people who've had that year, with WoW or some other massively multiplayer game, before they lost interest, burnt out, or continued out of habit more than joy. In the last year or so, I've tried several massively-multiplayer role-playing games – Star Wars: The Old Republic, Guild Wars 2, The Secret World – and couldn't find that magic again. I could admire the design, but quickly lost interest in playing them. I was starting to think I'd never really like a massively multiplayer game again – and then, on a whim, I decided to check out Defiance.

Defiance is the main game I've been playing for two weeks now, and this may continue. It's not that it's less flawed than the other MMORPGs, but instead that the parts of the game that it focuses on hold much more appeal to me. To put it another way: Most games within this genre are focused on combat, and Defiance's combat is significantly more fun for me than its competitors'.

Continue Reading

Update: Kevin Conroy will be in Arkham Origins, but not as Batman, despite his storied career with that character. Arkham Origins stars Roger Craig Smith as Batman and Troy Baker as the Joker, Warner Bros. announced on May 20.

Original story: Kevin Conroy will be in Batman: Arkham Origins, and he's already spent 10 months in the studio recording those gruff-yet-dulcet tones. Conroy confirmed his involvement at Dallas Comic-Con, but didn't specify if he plays The Bat himself – not that he has to. He opened the panel with, "I am vengeance. I am the night. I am Batman." Because, you know, he is.

NAG magazine reported in April that Warner Bros. had passed on Conroy for Arkham Origins.

Conroy voiced Batman in both Arkham Asylum and Arkham City, and he was the man behind Bruce Wayne in Batman: The Animated Series, Batman: Beyond and subsequent DC universe cartoon spin-offs. Arkham Origins is scheduled to launch on October 25 for Xbox 360, PS3, PC and Wii U.