I’m here to talk about [Prototype 2]. For the reasons stated above, I went into it with some minor trepidation, fully prepared for RADiCAL to have learned nothing from the mistakes of the first game. Oh, how I was wrong.

99.9% of the problems the first game had have now been fixed. Movement controls are now much more responsive and easier to use and have even undergone some slight scheme changes, though for neither better nor worse. There is no more air-dashing at 90 degree angles to how you’re actually facing, at any rate and more than once, I found myself accurately judging jumping distances, rather than just hoping I’d make it.

The combat also, is now a lot better. While enemies are still numerous, they are no longer as cheap as they were, nor do you get caught in animation loops as often (in fact, it’s quite rare). In relation, the power wheel is no longer as temperamental as it used to be, actually responding to input properly this time around. It also grants players the ability to map two different powers to the X and Y buttons, allowing for some tactical combo play to be introduced to the somewhat simplified combat system.

Now, you might be thinking: “Oh no! Simplifications! Gorram casual gamers! Rabble rabble rabble…” To you I say: “Be quiet for a minute and I’ll explain.”

While it’s true that the first [Prototype] had a somewhat impressive list of moves and abilities, lending its combat system a semblance of depth; a fair proportion of those moves were left largely unused due to being too awkward to pull off in an actual fight, being superfluous or, in one particular instance, nigh on useless (I’m looking at you; critical pain devastator).

So, instead of focussing on moves and abilities that will go predominantly unused, [Prototype 2] seems to focus more on rewarding combat, at the core of which is a basic “tap for combo, hold for power” style, but is augmented with all sorts of cool little additions like air modifiers for some of the powers; tearing weapons from enemy vehicles and wielding them against their owners; summoning packs of infected Brawlers to fight for you and other such abilities that can all be upgraded by fighting and consuming specific enemies.

The levelling system has also undergone some changes in light of this, moving from the currency based idea of the last game, to something more akin to Deus Ex: Human Revolution, whereby you get 1 point to spend on your core attributes such as health, movement etc, per increase in level.

However, in amongst all this change (even if it is for the better) lies the inevitable stain of something that didn’t go quite right, at least, in my opinion. In this case, it’s the targeting system, which is still less than optimal. While much improved over the complete randomness of the targeting in the first game, indeed, I didn’t see it target something the other end of the map once, it still suffers with bouts of “not that one, that one” and occasionally won’t switch targets in a manner that it did only a few moments ago. But when all is said and done, I would sooner take the targeting in [Prototype 2] over the first game any day.

Moving on to other changes now, fans of the first game may recall both the challenges, with their almost insanity inducing levels of frustration; and the Web of Intrigue that allowed Alex Mercer to piece together the events prior to and surrounding; the first game. Both have undergone fairly major changes, with the challenges becoming the new RADNET section of the game, a time-locked, semi-competitive system of events and challenges that pit you against both the game and your XBL friends for Evolution Points and bragging rights (as well free avatar kit and serving to advertise the upcoming DLC), though at the time of writing, not all the challenges have unlock. It’s also worth noting that RADNET works across all active accounts on the console, not just the one it was activated with, which was a pleasant surprise.

Meanwhile, during the gap between [Prototype] and [Prototype 2], the Web of Intrigue has crept off to a quiet corner somewhere and metamorphosed into a brand new side-quest system. Called //BLACKNET; there are 12 sets of missions that Heller (the player character) can access via //BLACKNET terminals throughout various points of the game, that all supplement the story in some way, as well as providing new mutations that enhance his abilities. Often, they involve utilising the (frankly awesome) new viral sonar ability to hunt and track a person involved with the mission, before consuming them and absorbing their memories to activate the objective. Generally, they are to be taken seriously, but a couple are very much tongue in cheek to lighten the mood. For instance, upon discovering the identity of a random APC driver for Blackwatch, Heller opines: “…nothing very important. F**k it, I’ll kill him anyway.”

Finally, in terms of gameplay, the map is considerably bigger than in the first [Prototype], with three distinct zones called the Green, Yellow and Red zones respectively. The Green and Yellow Zones are relatively normal, with minimal signs of infection (other than the odd lair dotted about, which are part of the collectibles in the game), while the Red Zone is an absolute mess of burning and destroyed buildings, infected masses and is in a constant state of battle. While the map is noticeably bigger and quite populated with detail and NPCs, RADiCAL have unfortunately cut out a significant section of Manhattan Island, the old stomping ground of the first game, from halfway up Times Square northwards. Attempting to go any further than that will result in the game killing you. This was a bit of a disappointment for me, as I was looking forward to seeing how the likes of Central Park had changed, as well as seeing if I could spot any familiar landmarks. On the upside though, they have packed in some cool little details, like the infected in the Red Zone fighting over corpses to eat, NPCs committing suicide, military Sergeants bollocking out their squads and Blackwatch troops turning people away from restricted areas.

Also dotted about, as mentioned previously, are three different types of collectibles: Blackboxes (Blackwatch audio recordings), Field Ops (Gentek science outings guarded by Blackwatch troops) and Lairs (underground sections filled to the brim with infected). Each zone on the map is broken down into different sections, each with their own count of the above, with motivation for collecting them being that you gain access to a new mutation that upgrades Heller. Now, I’m not usually a terribly great fan of collectibles in games, but fortunately in this case they’re not too hard to find, as there is a sort of triangulation feature on the map screen that gives you the general location of each object.

Moving on now.

As for the rest of the game, I felt that the graphics, while certainly an improvement over those of the original [Prototype], are still sub par in terms of other games. It’s not that they’re bad to look at, they do suffice, but the polygon count and texture quality in general are a bit low, though to be fair, you do have to be close up on something to see that, so most of the time you won’t even notice it. The upside of this of course, is that the frame-rate of the game is really rather stable, I never once saw it struggle for smoothness, even during the busiest of fights.

The story was really quite engaging and Heller is actually a far more sympathetic character than Mercer was in the first game, resulting in me actually caring about what happened to him. The story also took a slightly unexpected turn with one of the main antagonists too, one Colonel Douglas Rooks. At one point towards the end, I was more than ready to fight him but (spoiler coming up) when Heller goes to kill Rooks he finds him on the phone to his wife and just as Heller goes to strike him down, Rooks asks about his own daughter, staying Hellers’ hand. Slightly later, Heller asks Rooks to just stay out of the way as he only cares about finding his own daughter, who he thought was dead. At the very end, Rooks lures Heller into the old Gentek building before simply handing over Heller’s daughter and telling him to get out of the city. (end spoiler) I was quite impressed with that, as it showed a bit of thought on the writers’ part beyond “kill all bad guys”.

The soundtrack too, is absolutely fantastic. It sets the mood brilliantly during the opening credits and keeps it going throughout the rest of the game, with a recurring piano theme. I’m not much a music critic, so I’ll just say that I would highly recommend looking it up on YouTube and giving it a listen.

Lastly, a quick word about the final fight against Mercer. A lot of boss fights fall into the trap of cheap attacks that you can’t avoid, or lengthy quick-time-events that distract you from the action going on. This one doesn’t do that. While there are QTEs present, they are spaced out more than generously enough to be able to view the results and are more like prompts than QTEs. Other developers take note: That is how you do quick-time-events and is how you do them well.

All in all, [Prototype 2] was money well spent and I can assure you that you could do a lot worse if you’re looking to expand your collection. Unfortunately, I think this game will be one of the unsung heroes of this year, overshadowed by bigger releases like Mass Effect 3, Max Payne 3 and Halo 4.

Final score: A solid 9.5/10. Great game, but some minor targeting issues still linger and the lack of a full Manhattan Island prevent it from reaching that full 10.

[Prototype 2] is out now on 360 and PS3, and will be out on PC July 24^th.

FutureSack is currently a small group of individuals who write articles about things that interest them in the subjects of gaming, technology and gadgets. You can find our various enthusings, ramblings and rants at our site, here. We are also in partnership with the guys here at Gaming-Edge.co.uk, so be sure to browse the rest of their site for news on similar topics.

Remember this? Well, it turns out it was no rumour and completely true. The Steam Wallet gift cards have gone on sale in U.S. GameStop stores in $20 and $50 denominations.

While I understand that GameStop isn’t in particularly good standing with gamers in general at the moment (due to somewhat consumer unfair policies), I can’t help but be excited at the prospect of this deal, for two reasons.

1. That retail and digital distribution don’t have to be at constant loggerheads with each other. Many publishers see brick and mortar retail as just another cost, taking their slice of the profits, while simultaneously embracing digital distribution as a chance to minimise that cost while maximizing profits (without actually adjusting prices to the consumer downward), never mind that the industry got along just fine with retail before the technology supporting D2D came along.

Meanwhile, retail chains see digital distribution as a threat to their very existence, luring customers away out of their door and to their desk chair.

However, if these new Steam vouchers take off, it will show that everyone can profit from both ventures easily.

2. The very fact that a retail store has taken this deal with Steam, shows that the PC’s premier D2D platform has grown up enough to compete with the big boys of Xbox LIVE and the PlayStation Network, which have long since had their own vouchers.

While Steams’ licensing model leaves a lot to be desired (and this is coming from a Steam fan) and the program itself has a few lingering issues, you can’t argue with the fact that it is the most popular digital platform around, with millions of users logged in at any one time.

This latest deal is just further evidence of Steams’ immense competitiveness in the market, and something that should make every company in the industry sit up and take notice.

Now all that’s left, is to wait for these to make the hop across the pond.

Source: Escapist

Minecraft 360 released recently, which many will have heard of by now. It seems, however, that the 360 version of the game has aspirations of its PC brothers’ success.

On May 10th, Major Nelson, a friendly neighbourhood bigwig for Xbox LIVE, posted on his blog that in 24 hours, Minecraft 360 had obliterated every first day sales record on XBL Arcade, with a count of (at the time of his writing) 400,000 people playing simultaneously.

Further, he updated the post on the 14th with the announcement that the game had topped 1 million sales total on a global scale, with the following gameplay statistics:

“Total Online Hours: 5.2M

Multiplayer sessions: 4M

Total Multiplayer gaming hours: 2.4M”

So Minecraft 360 would be quite popular then? Awesome. Let’s hope Microsoft will relax their almost maniacal control over the Marketplace and updating enough to allow some regular updates, like the PC.

Source: Major Nelson’s blog

Finally, some Diablo III news. Upon releasing earlier today, many fans scampered off home in the dark of the early morn to start playing their eagerly awaited purchase.

Such was the influx of new players however, that Blizzard’s servers just couldn’t cope and many players got “error 37”, which, according to Blizzard and reported by MCV, simply means that the game couldn’t connect to the server within 40 seconds to authenticate. Even more annoying for the fact that Diablo III is, apparently, a single player title. Tsk, I remember the days when simply owning the disc for a game was enough.

But in other DIII news, Blizzard have pulled something that could definitely be classed as pretty cool.

GAME Australia just recently went into administration, effectively borking all pre-orders for Diablo III. But, never fear! Blizzard is here! Posting on the community forums, Community Manager Lylirra posted this:

“We’re aware that some Australian GAME customers have been left out in the cold on what should be the hottest night of the year — the launch of Diablo III. To help with this situation and get these players into the game as soon as possible, we’ve put the following process in place.

Australian GAME customers with a valid preorder/prepurchase receipt dated before May 15, 2012 can do the following:

1. Purchase the digital version of Diablo III from http://www.diablo3.com now or anytime before May 21, 2012.

2. Download and start playing when the servers go live!

3. Submit your GAME Australia preorder/prepurchase receipt to us before June 30, 2012.

4. Receive a credit from Blizzard, for the amount you paid in advance to GAME Australia for Diablo III. This credit will be applied to the payment method used for the digital purchase.

We’ll post further details here on how to submit your GAME Australia receipt to our customer service team as soon as possible. Stay tuned, and we look forward to seeing you in the Burning Hells!”

I’m no fan of Blizzard or their games, having never played any, but I will admit that that is pretty damn awesome. Even cynical people should see that and say: awesome.

Sources: MCV and Escapist

FutureSack is currently a small group of individuals who write articles about things that interest them in the subjects of gaming, technology and gadgets. You can find our various enthusings, ramblings and rants at our site, here. We are also in partnership with the guys here at Gaming-Edge.co.uk, so be sure to browse the rest of their site for news on similar topics.

The place of shame this week goes to Forza Motorsport 4…again. This keeps cropping up in here. Not that I’m complaining, I just wish this game would hurry up and decide whether or not it wants to be in these charts. Stop dipping in and out of my periphery vision!

19. SSX

SSX is still rapidly descending the charts this week, dropping yet another 2 places from 17^th to 19^th.

18. Football Manager 2012

18^th this week is Football Manager 2012, cropping up again in the bottom of the charts. I am confused as to why this has shown up, but whatever, no hate.

17. Starhawk

The new Playstation 3 exclusive sci-fi third-person shooter, Starhawk, makes its début in 17^th this week. Sounds fairly average, but I might see if there’s a demo to grab.

16. The Witcher 2: Assassins Enhanced Edition

Here, we begin the trend of the week: not moving in the charts. The one to kick it off this week, is The Witcher 2: Assassins Enhanced Edition, still in 16^th. Obviously.

15. Batman: Arkham City

The last game to have moved for the next few places, is Batman: Arkham City, which has tumbled down 4 places from 11^th to 15^th. Something that you can’t actually do in the game. Tumbling, I mean. It’s impossible to actually injuriously fall off a ledge. Ahem.

14. Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure

So, here we go with a run of games still in their places. Still in 14^th this week is Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure. So that’s no movement this week, then? Yep.

13. Saints Row: The Third

Second of the games still in their place: Saints Row: The Third in 13^th, same as last week.

12. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Pulling up as third (but fourth overall) in this group of static games this week: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, in 12^th. I’d say that it needs to be higher, but it hasn’t dropped any places either, so I won’t push my luck.

11. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

Now for a break: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare has dropped out of the top 10 by a place and is now in 11^th. Muhahaha! Now, kindly carry on.

10. Assassin’s Creed: Revelations

Assassin’s Creed: Revelations also breaks the trend this week, shooting up from 15^th to 10^th and securing itself (just) in the top 10.

9. Battlefield 3

Now however, we get back into the weekly trend. Battlefield 3 is still in 9^th…

8. Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games

…Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games is still in 8^th…

7. Kinect Star Wars

…guess where Kinect Star Wars is? That’s right, still in 7^th, same as last week…

6. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13

…Oh look, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 is in 6^th, also like last week. I swear I’m not making this up…

5. Mass Effect 3

…Mass Effect 3 is also still where it was last week, i.e. in 5^th. Not a bad placing for a game that’s suffered quite a bit of negative press…

4. [Prototype 2]

Finally! A break in the trend! Even if it the somewhat bad news of [Prototype 2] falling 2 places into 4^th this week. Oh well, moving on, we’re almost done.

3. FIFA ’12

Oh look, FIFA ’12 is still in 3^rd. What a surprise.

2. FIFA Street

FIFA street has jumped up from 4^th to 2^nd again, rather unsurprisingly. At least it isn’t in 1^st I suppose.

1. Sniper Elite V2

That honour is reserved for Sniper Elite V2, which still holds top spot. At least something semi-decent is in 1^st at the moment. Right, that’s the charts for the week people, nothing to see here now.

FutureSack is currently a small group of individuals who write articles about things that interest them in the subjects of gaming, technology and gadgets. You can find our various enthusings, ramblings and rants at our site, here. We are also in partnership with the guys here at Gaming-Edge.co.uk, so be sure to browse the rest of their site for news on similar topics.

There aren’t very many details, but, assuming this isn’t some sort of hoax, this is an awesome idea. There’s the obvious security guarantee; you’re not going to have any card details stolen should Steam suffer a major database hack, plus, alongside the Steam Wallet, it gives parents another choice in curbing the spending of their little bundles of terror.

Again, assuming this isn’t some sort of hoax, which the picture on Kotaku seems to refute, the vouchers will go on sale in a few days on May 15^th. I hope this takes off and takes off very well, then migrates to here to Europe, I would buy the hell out of these.

One last thing that Kotaku mentions, is that it’s “kind of a sensitive issue” between GameStop and Valve owing to the fact it’s an awkward way for either party to be making money”, though I can’t imagine how. GameStop get people in the door and make money, Valve make more dosh, everyone’s happy. Maybe Valve just need a bit of re-assurance from their customer base?

Source: Kotaku

In other news, Epic Games, masterminds behind the Unreal and Gears of War franchises, turned 20 years old the other day, a pretty amazing feat and one that only a few other videogame companies can lay claim to (EA immediately springs to mind).

To celebrate, they’re giving away 20 tracks from various titles over the course of their history, including a “bonus” 21^st track of the Cole Train rap from GoW 1. I’m guessing the “bonus” nature of the track is a joke, based on the post, as all the tracks are available free on their site.

While there is something for everyone there, the track list is decidedly dominated by Unreal and Gears tracks. I will probably grab the Unreal tracks for convenience more than anything else, as with this I can just fire them up in WinAmp, rather than listening to them in the SDK.

To finish, I say this is pretty cool and wish Epic another 20 years of making some pretty cool games. Can we have a new Unreal or Unreal Tournament now please?

Source: Escapist

FutureSack is currently a small group of individuals who write articles about things that interest them in the subjects of gaming, technology and gadgets. You can find our various enthusings, ramblings and rants at our site, here. We are also in partnership with the guys here at Gaming-Edge.co.uk, so be sure to browse the rest of their site for news on similar topics.

The Perpetual Testing Initiative is not your ordinary DLC, in that you download it and get a few extra levels for your trouble. No, this 2+Gb download is an actual level editor. With it, you can create your own test chambers, submit them to the Steam Workshop, download chambers made by others and play them. Sounds awesome, right?

Well, there are some downsides. The style is stuck permanently in the “Fixed Aperture” style, i.e. the one after GLaDOS has finished rebuilding the labs in the story, it’s not as complex as the SDK is, as there are some things that you see in the game that you simply cannot do in this editor, the process of rebuilding levels can take awhile (though that may be down to my PC bottlenecking at the CPU) and you have to do it after every single change before you can see those changes reflected in the map, but that’s fairly normal from my understanding. Also, there appear to be some rendering glitches when things get busy in the editor, but again, that may just be my PC.

But this is all likely down to it being the first iteration, so enough about the bad, let’s concentrate on the good. The layout is clean and simple to grasp, the controls are just the same and everything just works, no questions asked. For a simple “click, drag and drop” tool, it is also surprisingly complex, allowing you to alter the properties of just about everything you can put down. Examples include things like: Changing the contents of cube dispensers and how they behave, choosing whether or not certain elements start activated, changing the angle of glass panels and more besides.

In short, it is almost alarming how easy it is to whip up a quick chamber in no time at all and, to boot, how easy it is to get ideas just messing around with it. The best thing about this DLC? It’s free. Definitely worth it at that price, though it is unavailable to owners of the console version of Portal 2, alas.

Also of note in recent days, Minecraft has finally made it to the 360. Now available on the Xbox LIVE Arcade Marketplace for a staggering 1600 MS points (which works out as slightly cheaper than the PC version), it is almost identical to the PC version of the game.

After giving the trial version a brief run, the only differences that are immediately apparent are the slightly warmer colour palette, the overhauled and much simpler crafting system and the map that you get straight away when you start. It also seems slightly slower paced than the PC version, but that may be down to stick movement being inherently slower than a mouse, plus the lack of a sprint feature.

As mentioned above, the crafting system is a lot different to the PC version of the game. Now, instead of players having to figure out the recipes for items they want to make, all the recipes are immediately available and tell the player exactly what is needed to make a specific item. This, I’m not sure what to make of. On the one hand, it does remove the necessity of repeated wiki visits for references, on the other, it takes away some of the joy of discovery when crafting. That “ohhh” moment, when you find a recipe you hadn’t previously known about.

The trial version also seemed to have a couple of minor bugs. The crafting system was a little bit twitchy about whether or not I had the resources to craft something, even when I did and, at night, hostile mobs kept spawning in the house I built, despite it being better lit than my house in the PC version.

All in all though, yeah, it’s Minecraft, it’s on 360, I would recommend it. If you’re into that sort of thing, that is.

FutureSack is currently a small group of individuals who write articles about things that interest them in the subjects of gaming, technology and gadgets. You can find our various enthusings, ramblings and rants at our site, here. We are also in partnership with the guys here at Gaming-Edge.co.uk, so be sure to browse the rest of their site for news on similar topics.

The place of shame this week goes to UFC Undisputed 3, which has dropped 3 places this week from 17^th. Co-incidence? No! It’s proof that Half-Life 3 will be out 17^th of March, 2013! #tinfoilhat In case it wasn’t obvious, I’m joking.

19. Gran Turismo 5

19^th place and the year and a half old Gran Turismo 5 pops up in the charts, though I suspect it will be gone again by next week. Take a close look people, this is one of the rarest variants of the species on Earth! A once in a lifetime opportunity! No flash photography please.

18. Moshi Monsters: Moshling Zoo

Moshi Monsters: Moshling Zoo falls 2 place from 16^th to 18^th and again, I feel simultaneously ridiculous and creeped out as I type. I guess creepy kid game artwork does that to you.

17. SSX

SSX is also down 2 places this week, from 15^th to 17^th. It seems that gaming charts hold a lot in common with the snowy surface of a mountain, as this game seems to be flying down it at some speed.

16. The Witcher 2: Assassins – Enhanced Edition

16^th place is occupied this week by a game that has taken a massive tumble out of the top 10. A 10 place tumble, in fact, and that game is The Witcher 2: Assassins – Enhanced Edition. Ouch, that’s gotta hurt.

15. Assassin’s Creed: Revelations

15^th is home to Assassin’s Creed: Revelations, which has mysteriously popped up in the charts this week. Hey you! You’re over and done with! Get out of here, go on! Shoo!

14. Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure

Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure and its resident Spyro cosplayer, have tripped and fallen 2 places this week into 14^th from 12^th. Not much else to say here, so moving on.

13. Saints Row: The Third

Falling 3 places from 10^th to 13^th this week is none other than Saints Row: The Third, the slightly inferior sequel to Saints Row 2. But then, that game was always going to be hard to top, to be fair.

12. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

But it is time for a minor celebration, as The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has hopped up a place into 12^th this week. FUS RO DAH! Ahem, sorry.

11. Batman: Arkham City

Still in 11^th this week is Batman: Arkham City. Stoked for the Dark Knight Rises, I can tell you.

10. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

Bah. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has climbed up all those lost places from last week, and now sits 4 places higher in 10^th this week. GET OUT OF MY TOP 10 YOU CHARLATAN.

9. Battlefield 3

Battlefield 3 has dropped another place this week, this time from 8^th to 9^th. Oh Battlefield 3, why are you such a COD clone?

8. Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games

Huh, well Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games has finally moved after weeks of being in 9^th. Just a shame it moved up into 8^th is all, should’ve moved down, like right down.

7. Kinect Star Wars

At least Kinect Star Wars, the worst idea in videogame history since someone decided to buy ET for the Atari, is down 2 places into 7^th and out of the top 5. Just keep on walking you abomination.

6. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13

Beginning a solid block of EA games right up into 3^rd, is Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13, which has slid up a place into 6^th this week.

5. Mass Effect 3

This is immediately followed by Mass Effect 3, which is looking a little red in the face after slipping down a place from 4^th to 5^th and colliding with the last game. I’d feel embarrassed too.

4. FIFA Street

4^th is now FIFA Street, which has been well and truly bumped out of 2^ndplace. About time too, getting sick of seeing that game up so high.

3. FIFA ’12

Oh look, FIFA ’12 is still in 3^rd. Again.

2. [Prototype 2]

Now to break EA’s run up to the top, is Activision’s [Prototype 2], which has dropped into 2^nd after a short lived stint in 1^st after release. Ah well, I didn’t really see this one staying up there very long.

1. Sniper Elite V2

1^st this week though, is the new Sniper Elite v2, which actually sounds kinda fun. I am, after all, a fan of sniping in FPS games and this sound right up my alley. Might wait a bit before getting it though. At least we have something fairly original in 1^st this week, at long last.

FutureSack is currently a small group of individuals who write articles about things that interest them in the subjects of gaming, technology and gadgets. You can find our various enthusings, ramblings and rants at our site, here. We are also in partnership with the guys here at Gaming-Edge.co.uk, so be sure to browse the rest of their site for news on similar topics.

My personal love/hate relationship with EA is well documented on this site now, so I’m not going to go into it, but I just can’t believe this latest move on the part of EA. Not because of the obvious money grab it is, but because of the utter stupidity of it. You’re releasing an indie bundle? Seriously? Did you even think of looking at a dictionary before you did this?

Allow me. Straight from Dictionary.com:

“in·die [in-dee]

noun

1. an independently owned business: to work for an indie.

informal

a. an independent film or record company”

Or:

“in·de·pend·ent [in-di-pen-duhnt]

adjective

1. not influenced or controlled by others in matters of opinion, conduct, etc.; thinking or acting for oneself: an independent thinker.

2. not subject to another’s authority or jurisdiction; autonomous; free: an independent businessman.

informal

- adj

3. not reliant on the support, esp financial support, of others”

So by that logic, an indie game would be independent of any publisher, yes? And EA, you’re a publisher, right? Ergo, any game you release is, by definition, not indie!

Now, I suppose you could argue “but if those games were made before acquisition by EA, then they are indie”, which would be correct, I guess. But I’m not arguing for or against the legitimacy of the indie cred of the games, but simply boggling at EA having the gall to release a pack of games under the “indie” label. At the risk of sounding like a stuck record: EA! You are a multi-billion dollar publisher! You can’t release an “indie” anything! That’s just the way it works! This is such a bastardisation of the label it’s beyond measure.

What’s also really weird about this, is that the bundle is released on none other than Steam. Hang on…wasn’t it not so long ago that EA shunned Valve’s distro service in favour of their own? We saw a lack of new EA titles on Steam such as Star Wars: The Old Republic, Battlefield 3 and Mass Effect 3 (with the exception of Kingdoms of Amalur, oddly). What’s sparked this sudden desire to sell on Steam again? Have Valve and EA settled into bed again? Or was EA so attached to all that dosh rolling in, that they couldn’t control their money driven urges and came crawling back like a kid that thought he knew better than his parents?

Bah, whatever my thoughts on the matter, I know that this is still going to sell, thus confirming to EA that “oh look, anything with the “indie” label is going to sell! KA-CHING!” and we’ll see more and more of this sort of thing, along with people who think they’re cool ‘cos they bought something “indie”. Here’s a newsflash ahead of time: You’re not and you didn’t.

As I leave you for the weekend, internet, I will do so with these comments from Notch on the matter:

“EA releases an “indie bundle”? That’s not how that works, EA. Stop attempting to ruin everything, you bunch of cynical bastards.

Fwiw, I don’t even call Mojang inde any more. Vlambeer is indie. Polytron is indie. Stephen, Ed, Terry, Derek, Tommy and Chris are indie.

Indies are saving gaming. EA is methodically destroying it.”

Never a truer word spoken Mr Persson. Though he did go on to say:

“I got into trouble on the interwebs again! The games in the bundle are good, I’m not questioning them. I’m questioning EA.”

Hallelujah! Someone with sense in the industry who isn’t afraid to speak their mind. Right, weekend time now. Time to completely forget the impending Monday.

Sources: The Indie Game Magazine, Notch’s Twitter

FutureSack is currently a small group of individuals who write articles about things that interest them in the subjects of gaming, technology and gadgets. You can find our various enthusings, ramblings and rants at our site, here. We are also in partnership with the guys here at Gaming-Edge.co.uk, so be sure to browse the rest of their site for news on similar topics.

According to the article on Develop, it seems Microsoft got a little cheeky and decided to use the H.264 video codec in the 360, which is proprietary software owned by Motorola Mobility, a phone company in the process of being bought out by Google. “What’s so bad about that?” you may ask, well, it seems they didn’t ask for permission, that’s what.

On May 2^nd (yesterday, in other words), a court in Mannheim, Germany, ruled in Motorola’s favour and granted an injunction against Microsoft, forbidding further sales of its flagship console, as well as Windows 7 and digital distributions of Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player. Not only that, but MS may be forced to remove current 360 stock from shelves and destroy it, which makes me cringe. I hate seeing bad things happen to consoles, it makes me a sad pand…well, a sad something anyway. However, this will only come into effect once Microsoft exhausts the appeal process, assuming that fails.

The injunction comes after Motorola were able to convince the court that Microsoft had infringed on not one, but two patents relating to the H.264 video codec and playback. I’m not exactly certain how that works, but there you go. Microsoft is apparently still keen on sorting this all out, but not so keen on paying out the estimated $4 billion in costs. A spokesman for Microsoft told the BBC:

“This is one step in a long process, and we are confident that Motorola will eventually be held to its promise to make its standard essential patents available on fair and reasonable terms for the benefit of consumers who enjoy video on the web.”

I think the lesson here is, if you’re going to use someone else’s video codec, you’d best ask them first, lest you end up banned from selling your products somewhere. It’s a bit of an extreme leap, but obviously not unrealistic now.

Source: Develop

FutureSack is currently a small group of individuals who write articles about things that interest them in the subjects of gaming, technology and gadgets. You can find our various enthusings, ramblings and rants at our site, here. We are also in partnership with the guys here at Gaming-Edge.co.uk, so be sure to browse the rest of their site for news on similar topics.

Joining forces with various merch companies, the first run of swag will be based on the hit lawn defence game, Plants vs. Zombies, and will be available sometime in Spring. Given we’re slap bang in the middle of that now and fast approaching Summer, they should probably get a move on. There’s quite a bit of merchandise going out there too, not just a couple of plushies to test the market. Check this list out from the press release:

“Bioworld Merchandising will be creating apparel, headwear, bags and accessories

Jazwares is developing a series of plush toys, figures and electronic accessories including headphones, USBs, speakers and device cases

Walls360 will be offering a starting line-up of wall graphics including individual characters and exclusive bundles

Funko will be creating Plants vs. Zombies versions of their distinctive Pop! Vinyl Figurines

MjC International is working on adult sleepwear and boxers

Trends International is developing calendars and posters”

Seems like they’re going the whole hog with this, but when you’ve got someone like EA behind you (yes, that EA), I guess you can afford it. Well, even if they are backed by EA, PvZ speakers still sound awesome. Escapist managed to get hold of some pictures, though I’m not sure where from, so you can see what some of it is like via the source link below. I want that wallet!

Source: PopCap Games, Escapist

Also of note today, is the news that the British Phonographic Industry has been successful in obtaining a court order from the High Court, ordering British ISP’s to block access to the massively popular file-sharing site, The Pirate Bay.

In short, the order calls for Sky, Everything Everywhere, TalkTalk, O2 and Virgin Media to immediately block access to the site, with the BPI spouting the usual lines of “piracy hurts the industry”, which has been up for debate for the longest time in many circles.

“The High Court has confirmed that The Pirate Bay infringes copyright on a massive scale. Its operators line their pockets by commercially exploiting music and other creative works without paying a penny to the people who created them. This is wrong – musicians, sound engineers and video editors deserve to be paid for their work just like everyone else”said BPI’s Geoff Taylor in a press statement.

The UK arm of the Pirate Party commented that the order “comes as no surprise” and “won’t put any extra pennies in the pockets of artists.”

Speaking to the BBC, party leader Loz Kaye said:

“Unfortunately, the move to order blocking on The Pirate Bay comes as no surprise. The truth is that we are on a slippery slope towards internet censorship here in the United Kingdom.”

This all comes off the back of November last year, when the BPI asked the ISPs to voluntarily block the site. They all basically said “come back with a court order.”, which the BPI has duly done. Virgin Media is immediately complying, while BT, yet another ISP, has asked to be given a few weeks to “consider their position”, with Virgin saying:

“As a responsible ISP, Virgin Media complies with court orders addressed to the company but strongly believes that changing consumer behaviour to tackle copyright infringement also needs compelling legal alternatives, such as our agreement with Spotify, to give consumers access to great content at the right price.”

Well, that pretty much makes sense. My god, what is the world coming to when companies start talking sense? Whatever your views on the situation, the block is coming into effect now, though I’m sure the technically minded have already found ways around it.

Source: BBC via Escapist

FutureSack is currently a small group of individuals who write articles about things that interest them in the subjects of gaming, technology and gadgets. You can find our various enthusings, ramblings and rants at our site, here. We are also in partnership with the guys here at Gaming-Edge.co.uk, so be sure to browse the rest of their site for news on similar topics.

The place of shame this week goes to a racing game the second time in a row. This week, it’s F1 2011, in all its shininess. Doesn’t matter how good you are though, 20^th place is still 20^th place.

19. Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception

Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception makes a re-appearance in 19^th this week, jumping back into the charts like a less attractive Lara Croft without the…you know, boobs.

18. Just Dance 3

While I said last week that beggars can’t be choosers, beggars can indeed be happy once in awhile. This one is happy that Just Dance 3 is down a further place from last week, 17^th to 18^th.

17. UFC

UFC is the third and last game making a re-appearance this week, in 17^th of all places.

16. Moshi Monsters: Moshling Zoo

Once again, that feeling of being slightly ridiculous creeps in as I type that Moshi Monsters: Moshling Zoo has dropped a place from 15^th to 16^ththis week.

15. SSX

SSX has dropped a further 4 places this week, from 11^th to 15^th, the first EA game to be listed in the charts this week, but the only one outside the top 10 so far.

14. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

Ladies and Gentlemen! Fans of creativity and innovation! Fans of colour! Other people who don’t like $15 map-packs and pointless subscriptions! Rejoice! For Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is no longer in the top 10! Down 4 places from last week, Activision’s shooter sits dejectedly in 14^th.

13. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Alas, we must temper our joy with sadness, for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has also dropped from the esteemed top 10 this week. Falling 5 places from 8^th, it now resides in 13^th. For now. The rightful heir to the throne of the charts will rise again someday.

12. Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure

Using the last game as a stepping stone, Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure moves up a place from 13^th to 12^th.

11. Batman: Arkham City

Swapping places with SSX, Batman: Arkham City strolls up into 11^thplace from 14^th, ready to kick some criminal ass. Or, at least beat the bad guy by the skin of his teeth.

10. Saints Row: The Third

For whatever reason, Saints Row: The Third has crept up 2 places this week, managing to get itself just barely into the top 10 in 10^th. Co-incidentally, I just started playing this again.

9. Marion & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games

Mario and Sonic still in 9^th, as it has been for the past few weeks. I apologise for the lack of content, but I am so very very sick of typing that game’s title over and over.

8. Battlefield 3

Well, Battlefield 3 did move from its place in 7^th last week, but it only moved down 1 place into 8^th. I must work on my authoritative town guard voice a bit more.

7. Tiger Woods PGA

Tiger Woods PGA Tour ’13 is in 7^th this week, also moved down a place by the following game.

6. The Witcher 2: Assassin’s – Enhanced Edition

That game is The Witcher 2: Assassin’s – Enhanced Edition, which has dropped 5 places out of its top spot last week into 6^th. Short lived and already looking to be on the fast track out of the charts.

5. Kinect Star Wars

The amazingly cringe-worthy and fantastically bad idea that is Kinect Star Wars has dropped a place into 5^th, swapping places this week with…

4. Mass Effect 3

…Mass Effect 3, which is now up a place into 4^th…as if you hadn’t worked that one out yet.

3. FIFA ’12

FIFA ’12 is still in 3^rd this week, somewhat irritatingly.

2. FIFA Street

Well, I was wrong last week, FIFA Street is still in 2^nd this week, but I imagine it’s a close run thing sales wise, as the numero uno game this week is…

1. [Prototype 2]

[Prototype 2]! The promotional stuff does make this game look very good and I did enjoy the first one, I’ve just got to wait and see if I can get my hands on this game. So once again, we have Activision and EA duking it out in the charts for the top spot. Well, it’s nothing if not familiar.

FutureSack is currently a small group of individuals who write articles about things that interest them in the subjects of gaming, technology and gadgets. You can find our various enthusings, ramblings and rants at our site, here. We are also in partnership with the guys here at Gaming-Edge.co.uk, so be sure to browse the rest of their site for news on similar topics.