Gaming News

Huttball Strategy Guide

2012-02-24T11:37:02Z

Huttball. Some people love it, some people hate it, but if you’re a PvPer or take leveling seriously, you’ll be playing a ton of it. And if you’re going to play, then I say, win.

I’ve put together this guide to SWTOR‘s most innovative warzone, based on the best guides I’ve read and my own experience.

I win 75% of the Huttball matches I play. Here’s how you can, too.

The Basics

HuttBall is the warzone that queued players are placed into when Republic and Empire teams can’t be balanced. Gameplay is similar to no-holds-barred football — both the American and European varieties — played on an obstacle course of death.

Two teams compete to move a ball into the enemy’s end-zone, and the first team to score six times wins the match. If the game hasn’t ended after 15 minutes, the team with the highest score wins; or, in the case of a tie, the team that currently has possession of the ball. If neither team possesses the ball, the winner is the team that last had possession.

At the start of a match, the ball spawns in the center of the battlefield. Players pick up the ball by moving close to it and left-clicking on it. Once a ball carrier is within the enemy end-zone, his team scores a point and the ball resets to the center of the battlefield.

It is imperative to keep in mind that the goal of Huttball is to score, not to kill enemies. If you are not actively contributing to either preventing the enemy from scoring or helping your team score, you are a detriment to your team.

For the sake of this guide, when the enemy team has the ball, you’re playing defense. Otherwise, you’re playing offense.

The Battlefield

Mastering Huttball’s battlefield is essential to your success in this warzone. It is filled with power-ups, hazards, and vertical levels that encourage strategic play.

The battlefield’s basic layout is a football field with three main elevation levels: deep pits, a “ground floor,” and elevated catwalks. The field is symmetrically mirrored from one end-zone to the other.

To reach the enemy’s end-zone, players must cross a pit by means of a system of catwalks — fall into the pit, and it’s a long trek back to the ground floor at midfield to try again. Controlling the high-ground is essential to scoring and preventing enemies from scoring — you want to avoid the pits as much as possible, and force enemies into pits when you can.

Upon spawning, you’ll cross the catwalks on your half of the map to reach midfield. Don’t drop down onto the ground floor unless you have a specific, strategic reason for doing so, such as killing a low-health ball carrier — the high ground is always a tactically advantageous position. Once off the high-ground, it takes a several-second-long detour to return, which could be enough time for an enemy ball carrier to cruise by and score, or a missed opportunity to receive a pass.

When you spawn, bring up the map for a moment to briefly assess where all your teammates are situated and locate the ball carrier on the battlefield — a vertical shaft of light, either golden or purple depending on the possessing team, will mark his position. Use these two pieces of knowledge to set a preliminary destination — namely, whether to take the left or right catwalk.

If the enemy ball carrier is on the right half of the map, head right to stop him from scoring. If your team and your ball carrier are on the left half of the map, you can try heading right — the enemy team is likely tied up in combat with your teammates, so you may be able to slip by and move into an open position to receive a pass.

Hazards

The battlefield features three types of hazards that hinder, damage, and kill players. Your goal should be to avoid these hazards while trying to place enemies within them.

Fire traps: Found on the catwalks, these traps cycle between on and off states and block your path with deadly fire. The trap will begin to glow just before the fire activates — as long as the trap isn’t glowing, it is safe to cross.
Acid pools: Two rectangular pools of acid can be found in midfield. The acid is highly damaging, but is not as deadly as the fire.
Air lifts: Two clusters of exhaust vents can be found in the midfield. While they aren’t directly damaging, when stepped on, they throw a player high into the air, with a random landing spot that cannot be controlled. You may land on the high ground, but you may also land in an acid pool.

Power-Ups

The battlefield may be a harsh mistress, but it offers three types of respawning pick-ups that will heal and buff players. These are important resources that you should make use of, not just to receive their boon, but to prevent enemy players from using them.

Heal: Four heal power-ups are situated in the battlefield’s corners, by the chain-link fences. This pick-up will instantly heal you a considerable amount.
Expertise: Two expertise power-ups can be found on the sidelines at midfield, behind crates. This power-up will temporarily buff your Expertise stat, which increases the amount of damage you inflict and healing you bestow, as well as reduces the amount of damage you receive from enemy players.
Speed: Two speed power-ups can be found in the battlefield’s pits. This power-up will temporarily increase your movement speed, allowing for a quick sprint out of the pit.

Playing Offense

When your team is in possession of the ball, you have one primary goal: score.

A secondary goal is to maintain possession of the ball. If your ball carrier dies, the ball will jump to the nearest enemy team member. If there are none within range, a new ball spawns in midfield.

The following activities will help your team score:

Passing the ball. If you have possession of the ball, you should be constantly scanning the battlefield ahead of you for a teammate in a good position to receive a pass. Passing wins games. Your speed is decreased while carrying the ball, so you can’t outrun enemies without the use of special class abilities. The fastest way to score is to pass the ball downfield. Don’t forget that you can pass to teammates on higher levels than you.
- If you are considerably injured, pass the ball to an uninjured teammate, even if you must pass to someone behind you. It’s better to surrender some yardage than surrender the ball by dying.
Running the ball. If you have possession of the ball and no suitable teammate is in a position to receive a pass, run the ball toward the enemy end-zone, sticking to the high-ground when possible.
Healing the ball carrier. There are two conditions under which healing the ball carrier is beneficial to your team: if he’s under light attack, or if he is close to the end-zone and just needs to survive for a couple more seconds. If a group of enemies is attacking the ball carrier, your healing won’t keep him alive and is simply a waste of time and team resources.
Fighting defenders. There are two conditions under which fighting enemies is beneficial to your team: if it doesn’t conflict with your ability to perform another activity on this list, or if you are confident that you can stop an enemy from attacking your ball carrier. If a group of enemies is attacking the ball carrier, you will generally be unable to save him and will waste time and team resources trying.
Moving downfield. If you don’t have possession of the ball, you should be moving further downfield, ahead of the ball carrier, ready to receive a pass. Stay within tactically advantageous positions — generally the high ground — and remain within passing distance of your ball carrier. Jump repeatedly to get the ball carrier’s attention, if necessary, but beware that you’ll also draw the attention of enemies.
- If your team is about to score, head to midfield instead of downfield in order to pick up the ball when it resets.
- If your team just received possession of the ball deep in your side of the field, head to midfield in anticipation of an intentional incomplete pass.
Throwing an incomplete pass. If you’re carrying the ball and are about to die, there are no teammates nearby to pass the ball to, and you’re currently in a position that would be advantageous for an enemy ball carrier, throw an incomplete pass to reset the ball to midfield.
- If you’re deep in your side of the field and you have teammates close to midfield, throw an incomplete pass. It’ll take longer to walk the ball back to midfield, and if an enemy gains possession of the ball while you’re still deep in your side of the field, he can easily pass and score.

Passing

To pass the ball, you’ll need to have the ability on your hotbar. If you removed it, it can be found on the general tab of your ability menu.

Passing the ball is an area-of-effect ability that targets the ground. Travel time is not instantaneous. If no one is within the targeting circle, the pass is incomplete and the ball resets at midfield.

If only an enemy is within the circle, he will intercept the pass.

If both an enemy and a teammate are within the circle, the receiver is the player closest to the center of the circle.

Playing Defense

When your team is not in possession of the ball, you have one primary goal: gain possession of the ball.

A secondary goal is to prevent the enemy from scoring. The distinction between these two goals is that gaining possession of the ball is an active measure taken to attempt to win, whereas preventing an enemy from scoring is a reactive measure taken to draw out a game. While it is important to stop the enemy from scoring, your team cannot win unless you actually gain possession of the ball and go on the offensive.

The following activities will help your team gain possession of the ball:

Killing the ball carrier. It’s really that simple. The ball carrier is your priority target, because killing him will give your team control of the ball. Only attack other targets if doing so doesn’t conflict with your ability to perform another activity on this list.
CCing the ball carrier. “CC” refers to “Crowd control,” or powers that slow, stun, or root an enemy in place for a short amount of time. CCs are instrumental to stopping an enemy from scoring. Your CCs should be reserved for a ball carrier and are used to buy your team the extra seconds it needs to kill him.
Intercepting a pass. There is little point in attacking a full-health ball carrier with allies ahead of him — he’ll simply pass the ball forward. If your team is already attacking the ball carrier, move toward any enemies who may be receivers and attempt to intercept the pass by standing in the center of the targeting circle.
Moving to midfield. If the enemy team is about to score and you’re too far away from the action to get there in time to help, head to midfield to grab the ball as it resets.

Do’s and Don’t's

Don’t die needlessly. Pick your battles. Don’t engage a larger force. Wait for backup.

Don’t stand in places that are tactically advantageous for the enemy ball carrier. Some classes have abilities that allow them to leap to your location.

Do try to break line-of-sight to enemy ball carriers when you respawn. Because they may have the ability to leap towards you, you must ensure they can’t target you.

Do use geometry and objects on the battlefield to break line of sight to avoid ranged enemy attacks.

Don’t kill enemies on your half of the battlefield when your ball carrier is far into enemy territory. The enemies will respawn and potentially stop your carrier from scoring — killing them does them a favor.

Do use your out-of-combat heal ability whenever you can. A few extra seconds is worth fighting at full power, unless there’s an emergency.

Do use your PvP and PvE health packs. Ideally, save them for when you’re carrying the ball and close to scoring.

Do save your CC-break ability for when it will allow your team to score. The cool-down is long, and you want it available when you’re crossing that last fire trap toward the enemy end-zone.

Advanced Tactics

Fire trap defense: Stun enemy ball carriers that walk onto fire traps for a quick and easy kill.

Vigilant resolve: Watch your enemy’s resolve bar. Don’t waste a CC when their resolve bar is full.

Get over here: Stand at the edge of an acid pool or fire trap and use a pull power to drag an enemy ball carrier onto the hazard.

Leap forward: Use leap powers to get out of pits, onto high ground, or across hazards.

Water walk: Use speed-boosting powers to give yourself enough momentum to jump over acid pools. This can allow you to be the first to grab the ball, as most people will have to run around the pool.

Take my hand: Use pulling powers to pull your ball carrier through a fire trap, onto a higher level, or into the end-zone.

Fus-ro-dah: Use knockback/push powers to knock ball carriers into acid pools or fire traps, or simply into the pit to prevent them from scoring.

Puff of smoke: If you have the ball and are about to die, rather than throw an incomplete pass, you could activate a stealth power. The ball will still reset to midfield, but you will likely survive.

Hail Mary play: If you’re being attacked and low on health at midfield, walk onto an airlift. Who knows where you’ll end up, but you can pray it’ll be in a safer place.

What airlift?: Beside the airlift is high-ground, normally accessible by a ramp on the opposite side. However, it is possible to jump from the area between the airlift and the high-ground onto the high-ground, as demonstrated in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJbcTdUwNAY

Denied: Standing right on the edge of a ramp will occasionally cause players who leap to you to fall off the ledge instead of land beside you.

Pit escape: This tactic requires a combination of luck and skill to pull off. As a ball carrier, have the enemy team chase you into their own pit, then, when either an ally or an enemy (depending on the ability you have) appears at the edge of the pit by the end-zone, leap out of the pit and score while the enemy team is left in their own pit, useless.

Into the pit: If you’re on the enemy catwalk, holding the ball, about the die, and have no allies to pass the ball to, dive into the pit. It is less convenient for enemies to have to run out of their own pit than run across the high-ground.

Switcheroo: When you’re carrying the ball, run for the uppermost enemy catwalk, then decide to drop down onto the lower catwalk and complete the end-zone run if it proves to be a safer route. It generally does, because you will have misdirected enemy players.

Closing Thoughts

Ultimately, this strategy guide boils down to two points: pass the damn ball, and play smart. Every action you take should be a decision, not an impulse. Act; don’t react.

Constantly ask yourself, “Is there anything I could be doing right now that is more useful to winning this match than what I’m presently doing?”

While it’s obvious that we should always do our best to help our team, it is easy to get caught up in the heat of the moment and stop thinking. Take a breath, clear your head, and stop reacting. Make decisions, work as a team, and victory is yours.

References

http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=54647
http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=275880
http://www.reddit.com/r/swtor/comments/nuzu1/how_to_not_suck_at_huttball/

Persona 4 Arena slashes arcades on March 1

2012-02-23T23:29:04Z

Arcade version to feature edit player profile options and in-game purchases.

Skyrim Songs Sung by Female Vocalist (VIDEO)

2012-02-24T06:23:17Z

Back in November, we showed you a video of Malukah singing “The Dragonborn Comes.” Now, we present another gamer girl with a great voice, Mimi Page.

A singer, songwriter, and composer, Mimi is also a level 41 high elf who specializes in destruction magic. But that doesn’t stop her from creating beautiful music.

Terrible puns aside, listen to her two Skyrim songs:

Dovahkiin (Skyrim Dragonborn cover)

This original creation inspired by “The Sons of Skyrim” / “Dragonborn” main theme must be the most original rendition of a Skyrim song I’ve come across. That beat gives it a modern edge without killing the mystical, Enya-vibe that the reverb adds.

Secunda (Skyrim Cover)

Mimi is a professional recording artist who just had her debut album “Breathe Me In” released this month. She’s set to go on tour in March to open for Jefferson Starship, so be on the lookout for her. Visit her website at www.mimipage.com.

Microsoft Woos Joe Developer with New Visual Studio

2012-02-23T23:20:00Z

Microsoft has unveiled a new version of Visual Studio, its venerable programming kit. Due out in beta next Wednesday, February 29, the new release -- codenamed Visual Studio 11 -- offers a new set of tools for building applications on Windows 8, the next incarnation of Microsoft's flagship operating system. But Microsoft also aims to simplify Visual Studio's developer environment and streamline collaboration among coders.

Free Code Friday: Win Freakyforms for the Nintendo 3DS

2012-02-24T12:45:00Z

Fans Race to Find Mass Effect 3 Discs Shot Into Space

2012-02-23T19:03:00Z

As part of a new promotion for its forthcoming sci-fi role-playing game, BioWare is launching copies of Mass Effect 3 into Earth's upper atmosphere in San Francisco, California on Thursday, the company said in a press release this week.

DICE is Readying a Massive Update for Battlefield 3

2012-02-24T03:49:21Z

A giant Battlefield 3 update is coming, DICE says. They don’t know when. They don’t know how big it will be. And we don’t know everything it’ll include.

But we do know that it’s going to fix a helluva lot of s–t.

DICE has just posted a massive list of tweaks and fixes for Battlefield 3 on its Battlelog site. Mind you, the update isn’t complete — this is just a huge list of things that have been altered in it so far. Just about every vehicle, weapon and item has been tweaked slightly lots of game systems look like they’ve been adjusted.

I won’t bother posting the entire massive list here: Instead, hit Battlelog to scale that wall of text yourself. Meantime, we’ll keep you guys in the loop as to when to expect the full patch, which as of right now will be available for all platforms.

Syndicate – Boss Achievement Guide

2012-02-24T00:27:18Z

Unlike most FPS titles, Syndicate features bosses with some meat to them. Infact, some are downright challenging. Even worse, each of these bosses has a special achievement and trophy attached to their battle, requiring you to fulfill special parameters that are only going to make your life worse. That’s why the Agents at Game Front have deployed a special strategy guide to defeating these enhanced soldiers.

For a full runthrough of Syndicate, with even more strategies for defeating bosses without necessarily grabbing the achievements, join us with our walkthrough. To get more secrets and locations, stop by the Syndicate cheats page.

Boss Achievement Guide

Milestone 4 – Tatsuo

Every Bullet Counts (30 points / Bronze): Defeat Tatsuo without restocking your ammunition from the UAVs, on normal or hard difficulty.

At the train station at the end of the level, you’ll see your Agent partner jump into the train. Don’t open the doors yet, you’ll need as much ammunition as you can carry before starting the fight.
During the fight, you can hack flying UAVs to drop additional ammo. If you want this achievement, avoid those UAVs or you’ll accidentally pick up the dropped ammunition.
Before the fight itself, you’ll need to defeat waves of Aspari soldiers. Use a Pistol or Sniper Rifle to save more ammo for your Assault Rifle, which you’ll rely on for the boss.
The boss isn’t incredibly difficult as long as you load up on bullets before starting the battle and use your Assault Rifle. Don’t forget to use the secondary ability to really hurt him while the DART overlay is activated.
Just keep unloading on him, and use the central pillar for cover when he splits up — or use a grenade to destroy his fast-moving holographic clones.
Don’t hack the UAVs and you’ll unlock this achievement without too many problems.

Milestone 11 – Ramon

Missile Command (30 points / Bronze): Breach an entire barrage of five missiles in the Ramon boss fight, on normal or hard difficulty.

During the fight with Ramon, he’ll launch missiles at you from platforms above. Because you don’t have any weapons, you’ll need to hack each missile to redirect them toward Ramon.
At the beginning of the fight, Ramon will simply launch a single missile, allow you to hack, then jump to a new platform after a few moments, or after taking a hit.
As the battle goes on, he’ll start re-hacking his missiles, forcing you to hack them again. After taking enough hits, he’ll pause and flash green as he prepares to launch a swarm of five missiles at once.
When he prepares to launch his barrage, wait on the opposite platform and prepare to hack. Just as he launches, activate your DART Overlay and quickly hack each of the five missiles. You’ll have to be quick before the missiles hit you, or you run out of DART Overlay power. If you do fail, reload the previous checkpoint and give it another try.
To defeat Ramon, hit him with his own barrage and he’ll jump to a smaller platform between the two landings your character can run between. Hack this new platform to electrocute and defeat Ramon.

Milestone 15 – Kris

See No Evil (30 points / Bronze): Defeat Kris without making him visible using EMP or Dart Overlay, on normal or hard difficulty.

This is a tricky achievement. During the fight with Kris, he’ll turn invisible. During the first part of the battle, you’ll need to watch out for EMP Mines. Remembering, you can’t use DART Overlay, EMP Mines, or even the provided EMP Grenades to reveal Kris.
The hardest part of this achievement is that the EMP Mines will effect Kris whether you set them off with a hack or they set off when you’re near.
To avoid hitting Kris with EMP, run to the kitchen in the back corner left of the entrance where there are no EMP mines. During the second portion of the fight, the EMP mines will deactivate, allowing you to fight him normally.
Kris never stands still, and he’ll throw grenades while shooting off his assault rifle. You need to look carefully and restock ammunition regularly. During the first part you’ll have your weapons, but after the cutsene you’ll need to fight him with only a pistol.
Camping out inside the kitchen will make both fights easier, but is only a requirement for the first part. Keep your eyes open and look for any changes in the scenery to spot the shimmering flicker of Kris’ stealth shield.
This fight can take awhile, just be patient and don’t let him land too many hits. Take cover where you can, and wait him out. Eventually, you’ll defeat Kris and win this achievement.

Milestone 18 – Crane

Make Them Watch (30 points / Bronze): Kill Agent Crane before you kill his two sidekicks, on normal or hard.

Agent Crane is a quick miniboss fought in Milestone 18 after jumping down from a vent. A large door will open revealing him and two soldiers. He’s quick, so make sure to hack the floor to raise up extra cover periodically.
This fight is very straightforward. If you haven’t fought him yet, or still have points to put into upgrades, here are the upgrades you’ll need to make this battle a cinch.
Upgrades: Toughened, Regenerative Overlay, Regeneration Boost, Stability, Augmented Overly, Safeguard, Synchronize, Protective Shield, and Dexterous.
Target the boss and the boss only. If you need to keep the two soldiers off your back, hit them with weapon overloads. They’ll stun the soldiers, but they also do damage. Limit yourself and hide, while moving from one pillar to the next as the soldiers close in.
Make liberal use of the DART Overlay to put the hurt on the agent. When he’s down, ignore the soldiers and pull out his chip to unlock the achievement.

Milestone 20 – Final Boss

Revival Meeting (30 points / Bronze): Defeat the final boss without allowing any agent to be revived, on normal or hard difficulty.

During the final boss fight, the lead Agent will wait on an elevator while two female Agents hunt you down. These two women can be revived from afar — once their health is down, you’ll need to charge forward and using a melee attack to finish them off for good.
The trouble is that the lead Agent will shoot at you with missiles and a minigun while fighting these other two agents in close-range. Run right toward the raised area with plenty of cover. The enemy agents will attempt to hack and lower the cover, but you can just re-hack and put it back into place.
Use the provided Assault Rifle and Shotgun ammo to lower the Agent’s health bars. Don’t lower either completely yet, you’ll need to time your attack so that you can finish one off without dying yourself.
To get the lead Agent off your back, shoot at him with your Assault Rifle. Do enough damage and he’ll retreat for a minute or so, giving you plenty of time to fight and only deal with two deadly Agents.
Focus on one Agent at a time, lower her health, then finish her off when she tries to squirrel you out of cover. When they charge up to the platform surrounded by cover, you’ll have more leeway to finish them off without taking a barrage of gunfire from your other opponents.
Once one is taken care of, the second shouldn’t be a problem. Draw her in, weaken her armor, shoot at the lead Agent to chase him off, then knock the second female Agent down and defeat her before she’s revived.
Now you only have to deal with the lead Agent, but the achievement will already be your’s. Goodluck!

Blizzard’s Next Game Will Be F2P. Possibly.

2012-02-23T23:23:49Z

Things seem a bit… adrift at Blizzard as of late. The news from earlier this week that the developer seems resigned to Diablo 3 not being that great – seriously, when you’re comparing your game to MKS’s worst films, yikes! – is bad enough, but now comes news that the next game on their slate will be… Free to Play.

That news comes courtesy of Develop Online, who reports that Blizzard will “expand business opportunities and create both subscription and freemium titles.  ” Blizzard has not confirmed this news, though it does gibe with previous comments the company has made about the possibility, pending market conditions. Conditions which include WoW’s dramatic drop in subscribers recently, prompting Blizzard to add freemium aspects to the game. Still, this feels grasping, and one hopes that things internally aren’t as unsteady as they look from here. Perhaps the cancellation of this year’s Blizzcon isn’t as cut and dry as it first appeared.

Mass Effect 3: Kinect Commands Guide

2012-02-23T22:03:20Z

The Reapers are on Earth in Mass Effect 3, and Commander Shepard is going to all the help he can get to drive the alien menace back. For players excited to give voice commands a try and get a leg up over the Reapers, Bioware has included Kinect functionality on the X-box 360 version of the space-RPG-shooter epic. Below, we’ve got a quick and dirty guide to get you started with the Kinect.

For even more Mass Effect 3 information, take a trip through the Mass Relay to our Mass Effect 3 achievements page.

Kinect Commands Guide

Tips & Tricks

To give commands with the Kinect, speak clearly and use the keywords listed below.
Giving commands to Cmdr. Shepard is as simple as stating the command.
Words like “Open” or “Examine” allow Shepard to interact with the environment, while weapon names or ammo types will automatically switch. For example: Open, Examine, Shotgun, Assault Rifle, Sniper Rifle, Pistol, Incediary Ammo, Cyro Ammo, etc.
To gives your squadmates commands, state the name of your squadmate followed by a command keyword. Some commands require the aiming reticule to target enemies or areas.
For example: Say “Garrus Incendiary Ammo” and Garrus will switch to Incendiary Ammo. Or, say “Ashley Follow” to command Ashley to follow you. Say “Liara Attack” and use your reticule to have Liara attack an area.
Voice commands are best for avoiding the squad command menu. Issuing special attack commands with Kinect is much faster than using the on-screen menu.

Voice Command List

Note: During conversations, speak the response choice.

Command Scheme: For Shepard: (Single Command) Weapons/ Action Commands/ Ability Commands
Command Scheme:For Squadmates: (Two Commands) Squad Member + Weapons/Action Commands/ Ability Commands

Squad Members:

Ashley
Garrus
James
Kaidan
Liara
Tali

Weapons:

Assault Weapons
Pistol
Heavy Weapon
Shotgun
Sniper Rifle
Submachine Gun

Action Commands:

Activate
Bypass
Deactivate
Open
Examine
Pick Up
Reactivate
Support
Salvage
Talk
Warn

Ability Commands:

Warp
Throw
Tech Armor
Adrenaline Rush
Biotic Charge
Overload
Pull
Cluster Grenade
Sabotage
Combat Drone
Sentry Turret
Concussive Shot
Shockwave
Cryo Ammo
Singularity
Cryo Blast
Sticky Grenade
Disruptor Ammo
Tactical Cloak
First Aid
Frag Grenade
Incendiary Ammo
Incinerate
Lift Grenade
Nova

Excited for Mass Effect 3 with the Kinect? Found even more compatible Kinect commands? Comment below and we’ll credit you for any new information you can provide.

Get Spooked With New Half-Life Mod “Cry of Fear”

2012-02-23T21:56:43Z

The original Half-Life had its fair share of scares, but they clearly weren’t enough for the team behind this creepy mod. Boasting a total conversion, including real cutscenes, original music, and inventive new mechanics, “Cry of Fear” hopes to be the kind of game that’s too scary to play in the dark.

A creepy, oppressive atmosphere and a lack of natural light are the key factors at work, though players should be wary of terrifying, supernatural stuff lurking around every corner. Half-Life fans looking to test their nerve and support independent modders Team Psykskallar should download this mod from GameFront’s fast, free servers.

Skyrim Show Ep. 10: Spider-Man Spiders and Further Adventures with Weapons

2012-02-23T21:30:19Z

The weirdest thing I’ve yet seen on the Skyrim Show is the mod that replaces the http://brk.to/TheSkyrimShow“>The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim‘s spiders with Spider-Man. Like actual Spider-Man. In fact, I kind of doubt we have the rights to show that, but uh…don’t have us murdered, Stan Lee.

Anyway, the guys continue their adventure through Skyrim, wielding their super-powerful weapons and still getting into trouble.

Check out more of the Game Front team’s videos on our YouTube Channel, and don’t forget to like, comment, subscribe and send monetary tributes. Oh wait, not that last thing.

EA Tiburon vets form PixelFoundry, reveal first game

2012-02-23T13:07:01Z

Volga Aksoy and Jerry Phaneuf heading up new game company working on PC real-time strategy game BlackSpace.

NBA Live will return in 2012

2012-02-23T13:05:57Z

EA Sports confirms pro basketball sim hiatus ends this year with announcement of NBA Live 13.

Sony explains lack of UMD-to-Vita transfer

2012-02-23T13:01:18Z

SCE Worldwide Studios president says lack of demand, cheap price for downloadable PSP games in North America kept Sony from offering trade-in program internationally.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution is $10 on Steam This Weekend

2012-02-23T20:48:41Z

I’m sure there’s a segment of the PC gaming population that, having read how cool Deus Ex: Human Revolution was and saw how many great review scores it racked up, still wanted to wait things out and snag the game for a super-low price.

Your time has come, frugal gamers. Your time has come.

DXHR and all its DLC has hit a record low price for the weekend, with 66 percent cut from the already-low asking price of $29.99. That’s right, the stupendous DXHR is now only $10. DXHR for the cost of lunch; your argument is invalid.

The Augmented Edition, normally $40, has also been cut down substantially to about $13. That’s the version that packs an art book, a making-of featurette and the game’s soundtrack — which is also available alone at sellers like Amazon for $9.

Also on sale are the game’s DLC packs. The Missing Link campaign add-on is down to about $5; the Tactical Enhancement Pack, which tosses in a couple of guns and some credits, is just over $0.67; and the Explosive Mission Pack, which gives you new explosive weapons and the Tong’s Rescue side quest, is just over $1.

It goes without saying that you should buy all this stuff immediately. Hit this link to find it on Steam.

Medal of Honor: Warfighter arriving in October - Report

2012-02-23T11:59:19Z

[UPDATE] Danger Close bringing shooter sequel to shelves this fall; will run on DICE's Frostbite 2.0 game engine with multiplayer developed internally; first image available.

Check Out the First PC Screens from Max Payne 3

2012-02-23T20:17:08Z

Rockstar Games has a few nice images with which to tease PC players of the upcoming Max Payne 3.

The developer dropped three new screens on its Newswire, showing off the high-res beauty of the game that’ll be available only to players who opt for not-consoles. We’ve got the images embedded above and below — click them to see the huger versions.

BioWare Claims – With A Straight Face – That Mass Effect 3 Was Finished Before They Started DLC

2012-02-23T20:01:04Z

NOTE: Spoilers are in white. Highlight to read.

When it was “leaked’ earlier this week that Mass Effect 3 will launch with a DLC pack called From Ashes that will add [a Prothean] to your squad, the reaction was almost universally negative. It’s true that the inclusion of a kind of resolution for one of the Mass Effect universe’s more tragic backstory elements sounds exciting, but the execution smacks of a cynical monatization scheme. Charging players 10 dollars for launch date DLC does nothing more than increase the already sky high cost of a AAA game. Furthermore, the fact that said DLC includes a new character and quest means it was almost certainly developed using money from the game’s original budget. This indicates that for all intents and purposes it is content that was deliberately removed from the final game.

Fans have, quite understandably, taken to Reddit, Twitter and to BioWare forums to complain at length. Last night, BioWare finally addressed those complaints, and their response is, quite frankly, baffling. “It takes about 3 months from “content complete”,” Casey Hudson tweeted, “to bug-fix, certify, manufacture, and ship game discs. In that time we work on DLC.” He further ~~alleged~~ claimed that because DLC has “fast certification and no manufacturing,” a hard-working team can crank it out in time to launch with the main game.

Perhaps this is true, however it was Hudson’s follow up that defies belief. “On ME3, content creators completed the game in January and moved onto the From Ashes DLC, [which is] free with the Collector’s Edition or you can buy it separately.” That is a very short period of time, particularly considering information revealed by BioWare’s Michael Gamble. In a post to BioWare forums confirming that From Ashes is real, he noted that the DLC contains the [a Prothean] squad member, a new mission that returns players to [Eden Prime] from Mass Effect, plus a new weapon and new appearances for all members of your squad.

That is a lot of content to have been whipped up in less than a month. The claim is especially dubious when you consider two things: 1), that that The Art of the Mass Effect Universe confirms that BioWare artists were working on the design of [the Prothean] early in Mass Effect 3′s development, and 2) it was announced months ago that the collector’s edition would contain bonus DLC. The obvious conclusion for customers is that either BioWare has excised significant content from the game in order to nick money from already over-charged consumers, which means the game’s price is artificially boosted, or that the DLC has been rushed out and will likely be of very poor quality. That they seem to be hinting at option #2 is a bad sign.

We’ve expressed concerns about the direction of the series for a while now, and this latest mess does little to allay them. We realize BioWare is in a tight spot. They can’t really admit to nerfing their game, and they don’t want to admit to releasing an inferior product. But this, along with the inclusion of superfluous multiplayer content, suggests that Mass Effect fans ought to go into 3 with diminished expectations*. We will of course do our best to reserve judgment until release, but BioWare is not making things easy.

H/T Eurogamer and Kotaku.

*incidentally, this only makes me more convinced that the XBLA leak wasn’t accidental. I’m now leaning toward the idea that the leak was designed specifically to lower gamer’s expectations, and expend any outrage early.

Square Enix Might Be Sitting on a Thief 4 Trailer

2012-02-23T19:43:18Z

I know, we haven’t heard anything about Thief 4 in quite a while, so this is sort of news that might be news, but might not be: Square Enix may have a Thief 4 trailer for us in the very near future. That trailer may even be ready to go already.

The evidence comes byway of Superannuation, who digs deep into the video game world by skimming the resumes of people working in it. Some careful study of the CVs of animators at Square Enix, it appears as though several have worked on a trailer for Thief 4. That suggests it’s at least in some stage of development, and that maybe the trailer could be accompanied by info about the game, which up to now has been scarce.

We’ll keep our eyes out for anything more on Thief 4 — which might hopefully constitute actual news at some point.

Via VG247.