If you were one of those gamers who held off on running through the sands of Banoi in Dead Island just to see if a better version of the game would release, your non-work has paid off. Deep Silver has announced that a Game of the Year Edition for Dead Island will release this summer, making all of your zombie-infested dreams come true. The game will be available in the US on June 26^th and in Europe on July 6^th.

This edition of the game will include the Bloodbath Arena DLC as well as the Ryder White storyline. You’ll also get The Ripper weapon blueprint so you can saw your way through hordes of undead. With both DLC packs this will be everything you need to drift the summer away.

I really enjoyed Dead Island. To be honest, I’m kind of glad this edition is coming out and I may even pick it up to replace my older copy. Despite its online co-op issues in the beginning, Dead Island managed to stay fun and had a lot of players enthralled. I think it’s a game that is getting us closer to the true zombie apocalypse idea where we need to actually forage for things to survive instead of just having guns with endless ammo to blow away the undead.

If you’re a fan of the GameStop PowerUp Rewards program, this would be a good time for you to listen. Fans will know that by signing up for the program you’ll be able to get an issue of Game Informer every month as long as you’re signed up. To some gamers these magazines are collectible, while some just read them for the reviews. Of course, there are some players out there who don’t want to bother with print issues, so they choose to go digital. That’s where the change comes in.

It looks like the company isn’t too happy about the amount of digital subscriptions that’s standing and wants to change it. Of course it costs more money to make print issues than digital, so it would make some sense when trying to cut costs to push digital. From now on when you sign up for the PowerUp Rewards program, or renew your subscription you will automatically be set to receive only digital copies. Even if you’ve been getting print for however many years, it will roll you over unless you say something.

GameStop employees have been instructed not to mention this to customers (which I find aggravating), so unless you specifically tell them when you sign up/renew, they will set you to receive digital copies. While for some this may not be an issue, for those like me who keep the issues it will most certainly be frustrating. As an alternative you can call in to Game Informer customer support to have your subscription changed without any hassle. I haven’t seen the digital issues, but from what I heard they’re not even .pdf files. What you get is a digital arrow pointing to the Game Informer website and that’s no fun. If you want to continue getting your print copies, make sure you lock down your decision and make note when you renew.

Many people were angry over the ending of Mass Effect 3. They felt that no matter what you did in the previous games, you were basically given a choice of 3 different options, which were essentially all the same. Well, BioWare, the developer for the game, heard your grumblings and decided that they’re going to release a free bit of DLC to better explain the ending.

In an interview with G4, it was confirmed that the voices for Admiral Hackett and EDI, actor Lance Henriksen and actress Tricia Helfer, are recording more lines for the game. Henriksen had this to say about what he’s doing: “I just did another session with them…They were saying there’s a little bit of a problem with the abruptness of the ending, so we did a whole series of things to add to the end of the game, to live up to the quality they’ve been doing.”

Also included in the list of voice actors making a return is Raphael Sbarge, the voice of Kaidan Alenko. Considering how you have to make a choice concerning Kaidan and Ashley’s fate in the original Mass Effect, it won’t be surprising to see Ashley’s voice actress make an appearance as well. The thing I have to wonder about at this point, though, is that are these characters going be performing the in present, so to speak? Will they be saying stuff that’s going on as you’re playing the game to help better explain the ending? Or will they be used for exposition after the “ending”, giving a recap of what exactly happened after Shepard defeated the Reapers?

Freddie Wong, a notable maker of awesome videos on Youtube, has been working hard on his newest project, which has been a webseries. The new series is called Video Game High School and, as you expected, it’s frickin’ sweet. Freddie has been working with Rocket Jump to make the series possible and so far it’s worked out flawlessly.

The series follows a kid by the name of BrianD who is an upcoming competitive gamer. He finds himself called upon by his fellow team mates, though chores pull him from the battle. Escaping back to the warzone BrianD is met with an unfortunate fate. His reflexes kick into action at the last minute and, thinking fast, BrianD pulls out of the peril, all while eliminating the world’s most elite player in the process. The next day he sees an invitation at his door welcoming him to VGHS – a gamer’s heaven on Earth.

The second episode is up now, and you can watch it here. When I first heard of the series premiere I was a bit apprehensive, I’ll admit. After I sat down and watched it, however, I was surprised. Rocket Jump and Freddie have done a great job piecing the series together with the first two episodes and it’s not the cliche I expected. Check out the second episode yourselves and strap in for when the rest of the series releases.

For those of you who love the Metal Gear Solid games so much that they want to play them anywhere and everywhere, I have some good news for you! Konami announced  that the PS Vita version of the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection will be made available on June 12th. The games included in the collection are Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater.

Konami plans on utilizing the Vita’s controls to their utmost potential, as the game “allows fans to experience the series like never before with optimized controls that take full advantage of the Vita’s unique touch-screen and rear touchpad.” You’ll be able to use the touchscreens to zoom in and out of the game, peek around corners, cycle through weapons, interrogate enemies, and apparently perform rapid attacks with the knife. I’m not sure how the knife combat will work exactly, but I have a feeling it’s going to be gruesome.

What’s probably most interesting is how this game will make use of what Konami is called “Transfarring”. What Transfarring will allow you to do is synchronize the save state of the game with that of the PS3 version of the game. Here’s an example of how it will work: Imagine you’re playing your PS3 copy of the Collection when your mom starts yelling at you to “Get in the car, we’re going to your grandmothers house!” You use the Transfarring feature and put your save state onto your Vita copy of the game, and while you’re grandmother is telling you boring stories of how she met Vic Damone in 1956, you’ll be too busy saving the world to even notice. Of course, the downside to Transfarring? You need to have purchased copies of both the PS3 and PS Vita versions of the game. Still though, pretty cool!

One of the biggest stories in the gaming industry follows ex-Infinity Ward heads Jason West and Vince Zampella in their fight against Activision. In case you’re unaware, Activision tried firing the duo after some heat between them sparked. Now, some time after the initial event, West and Zampella are seeking out a hefty amount of cash in paid damages. They’re asking for one billion dollars to be exact.

One billion dollars. Just say it, say that number over and over again three good times. That’s a lot of money. Notes on the amount were spotted once the publisher released a financial filing which the SEC picked up on. In the text, it states:

“After concluding an internal human resources inquiry into breaches of contract and insubordination by two senior employees at Infinity Ward, the Company terminated its employment of Jason West and Vince Zampella on March 1, 2010.

On March 3, 2010, West and Zampella filed a complaint against the Company in Los Angeles Superior Court for breach of contract and wrongful termination, among other claims. In their complaint, West and Zampella alleged damages, including punitive damages, in excess of $36 million, an amount they have since significantly increased during discovery to over $1 billion, as well as declaratory relief.

On April 9, 2010, the Company filed a cross complaint against West and Zampella, asserting claims for breach of contract and fiduciary duty, among other claims. The Company is seeking damages and declaratory relief.”

This case will set out before judges on May 29^th and that’s not far off. Just recently there was some news regarding an accusation of Activision making attempts to hack into West and Zampella’s company email, which isn’t looking too good. Word is that Activision even conjured up the idea of faking a fire drill to get everyone out of the building so they could send someone in to crack the codes on the duo’s computers. If this is true, Activision really has some things to answer to. We’ll see what happens when the case goes to court.

 Source

Pay attention all you Vault Hunters out there! 2K Games has just announced the special editions for the upcoming Borderlands 2 game. That’s right, there’s more than one! You’ve hit the jackpot, kids!

The first bundle is the Collector’s Edition. It’s called the Deluxe Vault Hunter’s Collector’s Edition and it will cost you $99.99. You’ll pick up a Marcus Kincaid bobblehead, an art book, a sticker set, a digital comic book download code, in-game content, and a Pandora map. There’s plenty for the taking!

If you’re one of those die-hard hunters, though, there’s another edition especially for you. The second bundle is the Ultimate Loot Chest Limited Edition and it will set you back $149.99. It includes all of the items listed above, as well as a scaled replica of a red loot chest, steel book case, lithograph postcards, “Creatures of Pandora” ID chart, Sir Hammerlock’s field notes, a Pandora cloth map, and some in-game items such as the Golden Key, Vault Hunter’s Relic, the Gearbox Gun Pack, and access to the Mechromancer class.

Each edition has its own perks, though I’d personally want the replica chest. I know there’s no way it will be the actual size because it’s scaled, but it would still look awesome on my desk. I imagine everything will be packaged inside it as well. Alright, I’ve talked myself into it. I’m going to pre-order my Ultimate Loot Chest Limited Edition right now.

People were mad when they found out that Street Fighter X Tekken had 12 finished characters on the disc for the game that could only be accessed as paid DLC. They were furious when a spokesperson for the company said that “there is effectively no distinction” between DLC being on the disc and DLC being downloaded from the internet. Now it appears that Capcom is backpedaling as fast as they can, saying that they are “re-evaluating” on-disc DLC.

Now, you might be thinking “Why is on-disc DLC bad? Don’t many games have day one DLC anyway?” Well, it’s true that many games have day one DLC, but it has to come down to the delivery system for it. When Mass Effect 3 came out, it had the “From The Ashes” DLC on day one. EA and Bioware defended the DLC by saying that the content was developed after the game code had been submitted to the ESRB for review. Thus, there was no way for them to put it on the disc unless they re-sent the entire code, which would have probably delayed the game for another few months.

By having on-disc DLC, that code for those characters would have had to have been on the disc when the game was submitted to the ESRB for review. Had the code been added into the game after receiving its rating, the rating that Street Fighter X Tekken would have been void, and the game would have had to be re-reviewed by the ESRB to gain a rating. With this damning evidence, it’s no wonder people were pissed off at Capcom. Here is a blatant example of withholding content and releasing it to earn more money, essentially double-charging the players. However, though the company is “re-evaluating” it’s on-disc DLC policy, don’t expect it to change anytime soon. Senior VP Christian Svensson admitted that titles already in development, like Dragon’s Dogma, are still going to include on-disc DLC, because the decision “was made at the beginning of the game’s development” to include it. Despicable.

When your company puts out a game annually, such as Activision does with the Call of Duty series, there is always room for criticism. Players can say that the gaming engine gets too recycled, sequels look just like the games they came out after, and there’s nothing really new to add to the experience. The next thing you know, gamers are reverting back to older games, or just trading the series in all together.

Over at Treyarch, the studio responsible for the Black Ops line of the Call of Duty games, the team knows of these issues and is setting out to make them right. Mark Lamia, head of the company, spoke about changing up and tweaking certain aspects of a game’s development to help cater to those hardcore gamers out there. In an interview with Dan Amrich, blogger for Activision, Lamia stated:

Engines, each time they get touched, they change. The creators alter them; they don’t modify what they don’t need to, and then they alter what they need to. You can’t make a competitive product if you’re not upgrading that engine along the way.

I think what people are asking for is for us to push. They want us to make a better-looking game; they want things. I don’t think those are things people can’t ask for. We asked ourselves that very same question – we wanted to advance the graphics. I think the questions are valid. The answer may not need to be an entirely new engine, but you might need to do an entire overhaul of your entire lighting system. The trick is, we’re not willing to do that if we can’t keep it running at 60 frames per second – but we did that this time. So this is the Black Ops II engine.

It looks like Treyarch is tweaking what they can about the Black Ops engine so that it provides a better-looking experience, all while keeping what works with the game. This isn’t a complete overhaul of the engine at large, rather an upgrade to what the engine can already offer. If you speak to any real competitive FPS player out there they will tell you that framerate is extremely important. It even makes or breaks games, giving an edge to one team or the other. Either way, Treyarch assures us that Black Ops II will simply look a lot better than its predecessor.

Remember the mysterious disappearance of the official DICE servers for Battlefield 3? Well, I guess if you’re looking at it from their perspective, none of the servers actually disappeared. Instead, they were simply repurposed. Regardless of perspective, the lack of official servers sucks for console players. Thankfully we have an update from EA.

According to an EA representative “You should see DICE-hosted servers up today. I do not have the exact percentage or number of servers, but we’ll continue to monitor this to make sure all players are having the best possible gameplay experience.” And it does indeed look like a large number of official servers are indeed online.

What bothers me about this is that they didn’t keep any official servers around in the first place. The servers that people are renting are being paid for, in addition to the money they put into the game. Essentially, they were punishing non-paying players for trying to play on the same servers they’d always used. Shame on you EA. That’s just a dirty grab for money right there. At least they fixed it when called out.