So this is where the journey ends. Wow. How far we’ve come. Writing a post like this is something I guess I never thought I would have to face, but here we are. How on earth do I articulate and compress almost five years of my life into a single post?

As Shane did, let me cast my mind back a little to the start of things if I may. I remember, after leaving our positions in retail, reuniting with Shane and another good friend of mine one evening for dinner and drinks in Dublin’s City Centre. The build-up to, what turned out to be, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance was starting and Konami had started to post cryptic pictures online – one of which contained a field, with sullen grey clouds and the odd strike of lightning. Furiously debating the future of the franchise, Shane and I came to one simple conclusion after some lengthy research over our dinner – that this not only going to be a Metal Gear game, but one that contains a ninja. Greyfox perhaps? It was too early to tell. I remember checking the source code for the original teaser site and seeing words like “cyborg”, “ninja” and “lightning”, started to assume that the game wouldn’t focus on Frank Jaeger. If you’re familiar with the Metal Gear Solid lore, you’ll know there’s only one other ninja. With this in mind, Shane and I proclaimed that it had to be Raiden. Some type of spin off possibly? With our results on the table and our dinners growing cold, we searched through the news filter of the biggest sites on the net. IGN, Gamespot, Gameinformer, Kotaku… but nothing. No news or speculation (yet) based on the information we had retrieved over the course of a basket of chicken goujons and a few drinks. I remember saying to Shane “You know, if I was paid to do this kinda thing, it would be an exclusive for my site – how on earth have they found nothing yet? Isn’t this their job?”

Of course, I couldn’t speak ill of anyone that’s part of any other site, but I did wonder if anyone had actually tried to piece together the hints the way we did – and as efficiently as we did. Surely our thought pattern wasn’t unique? And if it was, maybe we should do something about it. Coming from a multimedia background, I have a very large skillset that covers everything from graphic design, to video editing, sound editing, web design and far beyond. Coupled with an attitude that the deep end is the best end to learn in, I quipped “We should give this game site thing a go”, adding “I could have the site made in a few weeks.” As the dust settled on the night and we wished each other goodbye, we agreed we’d talk about it in a few weeks/months ahead, and guess what, we did talk about it… the very next day. With the concept of TGL building, I headed to Shane’s house for some R&D. What the hell were we going to call ourselves? After a few hours of brainstorming, I proposed the idea of basing our website’s name on something relating to video games. We had, on reflection, some outrageous names really – one of which was “Snake in a box.” Surely calling our website after something relating to a video game is a good place to start than any? Throwing all kinds of words in the air, I thought about Shadow of the Colossus, and how it moved me. I felt all kinds of things while playing that game; joy, sadness, empathy, loneliness and above all, I felt liberated from the traditional gaming shackles. Liberated, yes, that might work. Before long, we had pieced together some names and I asked if “The Gaming Liberty” would work? Shane’s eyes immediately grew twice their intended size, as his mouth slowly began to drop. Silence filled the room and without notice, he started to walk around the room, shaking non-existent hands and introducing himself as news editor for The Gaming Liberty.com. Leaving the room for a moment, he then reentered, stared at me for a few seconds and said “Joe, I think that’s it!” Suddenly, we felt this buzz in the air, as if a thunderstorm was gathering above our very heads… the feeling was absolutely intoxicating. Creation by nature is intoxicating. Something had clicked, and we had our name.

With the launch of TGL approaching fast, we were all go. I was tasked with prepping the server, creating and establishing our site, as well as resolving all technical and graphical issues for launch. As the countdown drew ever closer, my uncle became very unwell. Rushing to the hospital, my family spent twelve hours nursing him in his final moments. At one point, my family slept as exhaustion gripped them. I, on the other hand, was wide awake and stood over my uncle’s bed… holding his hand… assuring him that we were all there with him at his time of need. This, for me, was a poignant moment in my life and in truth, a turning point for me personally. That single experience has helped to shape me as an individual, and it in turn became a partial decider to the acceptance that TGL has to end for things to be better for me. I’ve come to learn and respect the truth that life is fragile, and it can change all too quickly. The beautiful and and rather crushing reality of life is that you only get one go at it, so try do to embrace the things that delight you. Try to cherish what makes you happy, and discard the things that have failed to. The next day my uncle’s battle had ended, meaning the launch of TGL was in jeopardy. Speaking with Shane, I decided to push ahead with the October launch as we originally planned.

On October 19th 2009 we hit the “go” button, and watched the website appear from under a veil of absolute darkness. I have to say, those first moments of uncertainty and excitement are moments I will literally never forget. Before too long, we had our “bread and butter” readers, we were getting emails to go cover events abroad and everything was full swing. Thousands of hours later and over 12,000 posts published, the video game scene, particularly in Ireland is different. The industry is changing, it’s taking on a new form. There’s changes in the industry that have, rather unfortunately, reaffirmed my interest in closing the site. But as the site ends, I’m going to miss the good times, and boy did we have them.

Firstly, I want to thank our readers – for without you guys, TGL wouldn’t exist. You guys have been simply incredible. From the general chats about video game soundtracks, to global LOL’ing at memes (if I can use that term), to even staying up late to engage with us during events like E3, your passion, enthusiasm and excitement about what this little site did is humbling. I’m really really going to miss chatting with you all. I have come to know some of you by name, some of you by your social network avatars and some even in person – through the video game workshops I do across Dublin and Kildare. But regardless of how we have interacted, you have all helped to make TGL what it is today, on her final day. If you feel sad at the thought of TGL ending, do take solace in knowing that you are just one of the reasons why the community is what it is. You can, and hopefully will, go on to award another site with your company. If I was to nominate any one site in particular, it would be another Irish-born site: www.game-smack.net.

To our friends and family, you know what you mean to us. Your unending support for this project has seen us reach heights I couldn’t have ever imagined, so thank you.

I would like to take a moment to also thank those that have helped TGL over the years. If you made something for us to use at an event, or if you simply posted on TGL – thank you. You believed in us, and what we were doing, and it goes without saying that that means a lot to me. I would also like to thank our in-house Retroplayer. Your commitment to TGL was unwavering. Your interest in creating funny, unique, entertaining and meaningful articles for our readers is something I am, and always will be, eternally grateful for. BTW: I owe you a game of Streets of Rage!

Ending TGL at this time feels right. In all honesty, I have always recoiled at the idea of TGL drifting and fumbling on aimlessly with the odd article appearing four or even five days apart, yet having the ignorance and audacity to assume we even deserved your attention. That’s just not us. Instead, we’re going out on our terms, and we’re going out with a virtual hand-shake for you all.

Going forward, I’m interested in starting work on a few things – which I can’t really go into at this time. I don’t intend on leaving the video game scene behind, but instead wish to apply what I’ve learned elsewhere. To what? Who knows right now, but, if you wish to reach out to me about anything games related, or simply want to chat to me about TGL, I can be found at joe@thegamingliberty, or on twitter @thejoeffect.

A gaming quote would be suitable right now, but I will instead end my best wishes to you all with a quote from a hero of mine if I may. Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson once described the manner in which we are all connected and, I think, it’s rather important to reflect on: “We are all connected; To each other, biologically. To the earth, chemically. To the rest of the universe atomically.”

Joseph

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGx0oXgE6wQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmkRKotTQ9w

Friends,

                I cannot begin to tell you just how proud I am of TGL. TGL is my hero. When I think back to how and why it started, there is no way that I could have possibly envisaged just how far it would go. It was never supposed to be anything other than what Joe and I wanted it to be, and it became readily obvious to us both that we wanted it to be something more than just “another” blog or a “here’s what me and my friends think about (insert game here)” website. TGL had a pulse and energy about it that I truly believed deserved attention. We had no idea what we were doing in those early posts. No real money ever went in to this. But we posted news and posted rumours and then we posted reviews, and all of a sudden we went from having 60 readers on that first day in 2009, to a final readership number that now reads comfortably in the millions. I think our naivety really played a major factor in those early months and years. We were never afraid to ask questions – never afraid to send an email or call someone looking for help or for an answer to a question we didn’t understand. As TGL evolved, Joe and I and how we interacted with TGL evolved too. But we stayed true to the reason as to why we actually started TGL – we just really loved videogames – simple as. We didn’t want anything else from this. We never wanted to have a reputation or get brownie points for getting free stuff or playing games ahead of our mates or anything like that. Making money was never even a consideration. We just loved to talk, live and dissect games. I’m pretty sure in that first year, we spoke for 20 minutes a day every day on the phone just to comment and catch up on what was going on with what has announced or rumoured earlier in the day on the site. The fact that we could then communicate and share this news with people online who were willing to read what we had written was just an added bonus. We put everything into this site. We scarified so much for TGL. We never rested on our laurels. Go back through the years and check for yourself. There were E3’s there for example where we posted between 150 and 200 times in just 3 or 4 days. That’s just insane if you think about it. There are sites out there that would post a couple of YouTube videos and the odd article on their Facebook hours after an announcement and then talk up just how great they are. This only spurred us on to be bigger and better. At times it nearly killed us. Sometimes we wanted to shut up shop and just be “free” of it all. But even in those tough times, we knew TGL was worth the headaches.

My favourite TGL memory is one that happened long before TGL ever came to be. In 2006, three years before TGL launched, I took up a job in the retailer GAME in its then flagship Dublin store on Henry Street. At that time I was two years into my three year undergraduate degree, and I was just happy to make some money to pay the rent in Dublin so I could stay in the city for the summer. Getting a job in GAME and working every day with games, seemed like a bit of a dream job for someone who at the time had little or no qualifications. In the end I only lasted two months in that store, eventually moving on to another job opportunity in something completely different and altogether more academic in University College Dublin. But I have a very special and very specific memory of those first few days in that store, standing behind the counter and processing games that were used and pre-played. Basically, I had to “gut” the retail box of a ton of PS2 games, put the game disc, manual and any other inserts into a plastic sleeve and arrange the games alphabetically in the used game drawers behind the counter. As I would “gut” the game, I could scan the game’s barcode to see how much it would now retail for as a used product. This was one of the first times I ever had a conversation with Joseph Murphy, the guy I would eventually start TGL with three years later. We stood there and gutted those games for what seemed like hours. I specifically remember scanning a copy of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty in that pile, and its pre-owned price returning for just 50 cents. So basically if you bought MGS2 in GAME in Henry Street pre-owned it would cost you just 50…….measly……..cents. This was where Joe and I realised we had a mutual love of all things Metal Gear and looking back, I’d like to think the seed of TGL was sown in that simple seemingly innocent conversation about Snake, Raiden, The Patriots, Hideo Kojima and how some lucky dude is going to walk up to the counter any minute and he’s going to get one of the then greatest games every made for less than the price of a can of Coke. Those were great times and without sounding overly soppy, TGL would not exist if not for a truly honest friendship born in that Henry Street GAME store “gutting” PS2 games.

I would like to thank each and every single person who has made a contribution to TGL over the years, be it you the reader, the incredible PR people who gave us access to a world beyond our own means, to our retroplayer and of course to my partner in TGL crime Joseph Murphy. “At the end of the day” we did good Joe. To the developers who make incredible games and experiences that in equal measures entertained and inspired us, I thank you. To my family, friends and well wishers over the last near five years, you’ve been incredible. Thank you all.

I haven’t really explained here why TGL is going to sleep. And without really going into specifics, I’d just like to say that now is the right time to leave it behind. I would never forgive myself if we just left TGL to die on a whimper and gradually fade away into silence. It deserves so much more than that. There’s 12,000+ individual posts on this site that deserve more than that. But things have changed a lot since we started. That’s not an excuse. I still genuinely believe that we have not lost any of the love for TGL that we had in those early days. But, as I say, the environment is different. Gaming has changed. And in truth, I’m not sure how I feel about it.

I’m happy to bow out here, despite the fact that leaving TGL behind does leave me more than a little crestfallen. It’s been incredible. As I’ve said already – this site is my hero. I don’t think I’m done with games though. I have a completely different life and career outside of TGL, but I would like to take what I’ve learned from this experience and maybe apply it elsewhere. At the very least, I’d like to continue to maybe talk to you the reader, perhaps help you out with something gaming related or something like that. I’m not exactly sure what that will mean for me, but hey, feel free to drop me a line at shane@thegamingliberty.com and we can talk.

Thank you TGL. Thank you – my hero. It just wouldn’t be right to leave you without referencing Metal Gear Solid in some way shape or form. Without Metal Gear, TGL probably wouldn’t be here. It’s the franchise that made me really “fall” in love with games. I just hope that I’m not falling out of love with games the way that I actually think I am. So I’m going to keep this nice and simple. The temptation here would be to go on a philosophical rant about “genes”, “living for the future”, “passing on everything you’ve learned to another generation” or saying something about how “this is good, isn’t it”, but instead, I’m going to just think about the serene tall white grass lilies of “Rokovoj Bereg” and stop typing with one small quote because I’ve said all I have to say here.

So with that, and in the immortal words of the beautiful and deadly sharpshooter Sniper Wolf, I’ll say goodbye and – “okay hero, set me free”.

Shane

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9Pu92St5O0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uVQScWDl1U

Retroplayer here. I know, long time no see!

Well, this is a post I never thought I’d make, but here we are. On the June 4^th 2014, The Gaming Liberty will close its doors. However, while last time this only happened for a few months, this time it is final. Trust me I wouldn’t have seen this coming either if I was a reader, but from being on the inside, I can understand why it needs to come to a close. I’m sure Joe and Shane will no doubt give their piece on why that is, but all I can say is that from day one they have given everything to push TGL from being just another Irish gaming website, to a big contender in the global gaming scene. It wasn’t easy, but they achieved what they set out to do, and for that I am both incredibly impressed and genuinely proud of them. There are some great websites out there in the Irish gaming scene, but TGL was/is by far the best. All I can say is that in TGL’s absence there will be some pretty big shoes to fill. Good luck.

TGL did a lot for me. I always knew I wanted to work in this industry, and while my stint in college pushed me towards games design, I quite quickly fell out of love with it. Then again, the idea of writing about games didn’t appeal to me either, so when Joe and Shane started TGL I wasn’t banging down their door. But Joe suggested I come on board. Why? Maybe he wanted to give me some direction in my life, as after college I didn’t really know where I was going. So with a lack of any writing talent at hand, I decided to write under the name Retroplayer for TGL once a week.

I began work with TGL on December 17^th 2009 with a review of L.S.D, a quirky game for the Sony Playstation. I had no fucking idea of what I was doing, least of all how to write properly. This moved on to other reviews and articles, which included the likes of Gaming Horrors, the regular yet not so regular gawkathon at shitty old games. But over time I began to delve into other content outside of simple retro reviews. Some of this content focused on voice actors, while others placed the spotlight other aspects of game development. Despite what I wrote about, Joe and Shane were hugely supportive, and for that I am eternally grateful.

After TGL went down last time I didn’t return. I wanted to, I really did, but I found myself becoming increasingly involved in other gaming work that kept me busy. This kicked off when I got a small one-paged piece published in Retro Gamer magazine. Despite only being a small interview, it spurred me on greatly. This led to multiple articles for Retro Gamer, which eventually came to a head when my 6-paged article entitled “The Making of Shadowrun” made the front page as the issues main selling point. Walking into Easons and seeing it on the shelf was one of the proudest moments of my life. Beyond Retro Gamer I have also written for The Official Playstation Magazine- UK, gamesTM, Pixel Nation and the Dublin Informer. TGL was the catalyst for my other published work.

So as one final hurrah for the work I did for TGL that brought me to this moment, here’s a list of my work for TGL that I especially enjoyed bringing to you:

Gaming Horrors #1

Gaming Horrors #2

Fox Hunt

Crusader: No Remorse Part 1/Part 2

Gaming Horrors #3

The top 10… most annoying videogame characters

Prince of Persia The Sands of Time – Stuart Chatwood interview

My thoughts on E3 2010

The top 10… Playstation era soundtracks

Merle Dandridge Interview

Street Fighter: The Movie

The Messiah Interviews Part 1/Part 2

Move vs Kinect- Two men enter, one man leaves!

Bill Williamson Speaks! An Interview With Steve J. Palmer

The Sound Of Oddworld- An Interview With Michael Bross

Agent 47 Speaks! An Interview With David Bateson

Mortal Kombat Movie Review

Sonya Blade Speaks! An Interview With Kerri Hoskins

Can Gaming Tackle The Dream World?

Expanding Gaming Universes- An Interview With William C. Dietz

Gaming Horrors #4

The Definitive Mass Effect Cast Interview Part 1/Part 2/Part 3/Part 4

Mordin Solus Speaks! An Interview With Michael Beattie

Garrus Vakarian Speaks! An Interview With Brandon Keener

An Unsung Gaming Hero- An Interview With Jeremy Blaustein

Psycho Mantis Speaks! An Interview With Doug Stone

John Marston Speaks! An Interview With Rob Wiethoff

Do You Have The Heavy Rain Hangover?

From Sonic To Shepard- An Interview With Ginny McSwain

The Top 10 Worst Moments Of E3… So Far

EVA Speaks!- An Interview With Kia Huntzinger

Olga Gurlukovich Speaks! An Interview with Vanessa Marshall

Battlestar Galactica and Beyond- An Interview with Bear McCreary Part 1/ Part 2

Yukes… is SO huge

TGL’s Voice Actor Week Hub

Remembering GTA3 Ten Years On

Cancelled Stargate SG-1: The Alliance reveal trailer

Stargate: The Alliance- Interview with Lead Designer Viljar Sommerbakk

Stargate SG-1: The Alliance- 1000 never-before-seen screenshots

Remembering Gaming in 2011: Retroplayer’s Take

Heather Mason Speaks! An Interview with Heather Morris

Stargate SG-1: The Alliance- Hands-on Preview

Stargate SG-1: The Alliance- Video Coverage

Stargate SG-1: The Alliance- An Interview with Perception CEO Ben Lenzo

Laura Speaks! An Interview with Jacquelyn Breckenridge

Movie Review- Future Cops

E3 2012- My body is ready

Tetsuo Shima speaks! An interview with Jan Rabson

6 Changes I’d like to see for the next Elder Scrolls game

An interview with composer Stuart Duffield

Yuffie Kisaragi speaks! An interview with Mae Whitman

Sonic the Hedgehog speaks! An interview with Ryan Drummond

Raziel speaks! An interview with Michael Bell

Seth Balmore speaks! An interview with Tara Strong

We need another hero! Bring back Mad Max

Max Payne Speaks! An Interview with James McCaffrey

5 Disney worlds I’d like to see in Kingdom Hearts 3

Grand Theft Auto- Making the Music

Gaming memories- Playstation demos

Gaming Memories- Master System

So, that’s it. Let me just say thank you to Joe and Shane from the bottom of my heart. TGL has not only been a blast to write for, but it has also made me a better man, both professionally and personally. Without it I honestly don’t know where I’d be. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

And finally to the fans, without you we’d no nowhere. No seriously, without you at our backs TGL would have ended within the first few months. You built us up into something truly great, and for that we are forever grateful. You all spurred me on to exciting ventures whether it was within TGL or not. If I could share a lovely mug of tea with each of you, I would. TGL will remain an Irish beacon of gaming greatness because of you. But alas, all good things must come to an end, right? At least we didn’t fizzle out, guys and gals. We went out on our own terms, and that, at the end of the day, is something to be proud of.

Your Wagon Wheel eating, tea drinking, retro gaming friend,

Retroplayer aka Denis Murphy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hg0ELy7N8Mw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05WPiaXUqsE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDYn3gXVcAE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtLnieZewjw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ifv6mrPN5oE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZ6shlI0tYk

]]> http://www.thegamingliberty.com/2014/06/goodbye-from-retroplayer/feed/ 0 http://www.thegamingliberty.com/2014/06/ps4-firmware-1-71-now-available-to-download/ http://www.thegamingliberty.com/2014/06/ps4-firmware-1-71-now-available-to-download/#comments Tue, 03 Jun 2014 17:28:58 +0000 Shane Willoughby http://www.thegamingliberty.com/?p=79339

Firmware 1.71 is now available to download for PS4.

It seems like something of a straight forward one. The update comes with a single patch note that reads, “System software stability during use of some features has been improved.”

As it is, the firmware isn’t available everywhere but is gradually being rolled out across regions.

Yager Development, the studio behind the very awesome Spec Ops: The Line, will reveal a new IP at E3.

The studio announced the new on Twitter earlier. The new game willl be published by Grey Box.

Yager are rumoured to be working on a couple of titles, including a free-to-play game.

Next week will reveal all.

Thanks to CVG.

Naughty Dog are working on something new that we don’t know about, as confirmed in a new interview with Game Informer.

The interview is a great read, and tackles everything from what the studio is doing now, right down to the internet fallout from the departure of so many Naughty Dogs in the last few months.

In the Game Informer interview, Naughty Dog co-president Evan Wells, said that new the project is in very early pre-production stages and that it’s “on the scale of Uncharted.”

“We have the sizeable team that it takes to get something like that off of the ground, but it’s got a long runway in front of it. We have a lot of great ideas and some stuff that is already getting everybody jazzed and excited. So, it’s a long way off before we can really start talking about it in detail. But no, [Bruce and Neil working on Uncharted] is not going to impact our ability to keep that stirring that pot.”

Now it would seem that Naughty Dog are working on The Last of Us: Remastered for PS4, Uncharted PS4 and something else. Exciting times.

Santa Monica Studios could well be readying a new God of War announcement at E3 next week.

A tweet from the studio, referencing the “gods” and the 4.3 earthquake that shook the Westwood area outside of L.A at the weekend, suggests that something God of War related may well be happening next week.

The Tweet reads as follows,

“The Gods have spoken once again, maybe they are just excited for #E3 #earthquake #LA“

The last God of War, Ascension, met with mixed reviews last year on PS3. If God of War is happening next week, it will almost certainly be a PS4 game. Expect nothing more than a CGI trailer though.

You ready?

Forza Horizon 2 is official, and will launch on Xbox 360 and Xbox One later this year. Turn10 and Playground Games will once again be responsible for development.

In a chat with with IGN, creative director Ralph Fulton said “[Turn 10 and Playground] share this belief that we can create a true home for racing fans on Xbox One.”

Forza Horizon 2 will take place in Southern Europe, allowing for the sequel to offer, “incredible diversity,” and, “amazing vistas”. Much like the first game, Horizon 2 is heavily influenced by an omnipresent musical festival.

Expect to see more of Horizon 2 at E3 next week.

Crytek has lifted the lid on Homefront: The Revolution.

Details of the game, as well as general rumours, have been spreading for quite some time but now there’s a glimpse into what you can expect from Crytek’s Homefront: The Revolution.

Co-published between Crytek and Deep Silver, Homefront: The Revolution features an open-world formula and takes place four years into the occupation of the US by Korean forces. According to the first details, players can “recruit resistance fighters” to fight on their side, as well as being able to “terrorize KPA troops” either alone or along with friends in online co-op:

• Explore a living, breathing open world - experience true open world gameplay in a first person shooter, brought to life with astonishing CryEngine-powered visuals
• Wage Guerrilla Warfare - this is no linear shooter; learn the art of guerrilla warfare and use ambush, infiltration and hit and run tactics against your foe in thrilling un-scripted firefights
• Build the Resistance - recruit revolutionaries to the cause, establish bases and safehouses, capture and customise a deadly arsenal, and build improvised, homebrew weapons for your Guerrilla Tool Kit
• Ignite the Revolution - from oppressed citizen to revolutionary leader, an epic single-player campaign tells the story of the second War of Independence. The dynamic, evolving world responds to your actions as an oppressed nation rises up in defiance against the occupation
• Online Co-Op - take the battle online, form a Resistance Cell with your friends and earn your reputation as Heroes of the Revolution

Homefront: The Revolution hits PC, Xbox One and PS4 in 2015, with the grand reveal expect at E3.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1ctdXLoffA

NetherRealm Studios has formally revealed Mortal Kombat X.

While it’s currently unknown what platforms the game will release on, it has been confirmed the game will ship during the 2015 window.

The debut trailer for the game doesn’t show any gameplay, but does in fact come with a description which cites Mortal Kombat X “combines unparalleled, cinematic presentation with dynamic gameplay to create an unprecedented Kombat experience.”

Expect more at E3 2014.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ci6lMQNLKZU

Microsoft has revealed they have acquired the rights to the Rise of Nations franchise, and that an extended edition of Rise of Nations will release next month.

The extended edition will contain the Rise of Nations base game, as well as the Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots expansion and set you back €19.99 generally, but the formal announcement of the game has seen it cut to €15.99 as an incentive to gamers. But what will the edition offer over the older build?

According to Microsoft, players can expect improved visuals like water, textures, and lighting will allow players to see every detail as they take over the world.

Finally, the edition will also expect full Steamworks integration, as well as other fancy things like cloud saves, Steam Trading Cards, Achievements, and Multiplayer, while Twitch integration lets players share their newly captured territories online to all of their friends.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evAOv4e3MY0

Sony’s oft rumoured PS4 exclusive “Project Beast” now has gameplay footage. Though the footage is short, it’s very sweet, and leans to the idea that the game could be a successor to Demon’s Souls.

Images of the game surfaced online only a month ago, but it had been rumoured for some time before that.

Check out the footage below. Pray it is the real deal. An E3 reveal would be something very special.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0YvHBxv-3Y

Publisher Take-Two has reiterated its dedication to the greater BioShock IP, indicating that any futures titles developed in the series will come courtesy of developer 2K Marin.

Speaking at the Cowen and Company analyst conference, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick spoke of how the firm regards BioShock as an important IP and that plans for new games in the IP will be filtered thropugh 2K Marin.

“We think [BioShock is] important and certainly something that we’re focused on; something 2K Marin will be responsible for shepherding going forward.

“I think there’s a lot of upside in that franchise. It hasn’t necessarily been realized yet. And the question for the future, assuming we decide to answer the question, would be ‘How do you stay true to that creatively?’”

BioShock Infinite developer Irrational Games is no more. 2K Marin were previously responsbile for BioShock 2.

Thanks to DualShockers.

Nintendo has confirmed they are “preparing” a Youtube affiliate program for gamers.

The official affiliate program, which is currently being developed, will see revenue split generated from these videos split between Google, Nintendo and the creators of said content:

“Nintendo has been permitting the use of Nintendo copyrighted material in videos on YouTube under appropriate circumstances. Advertisements may accompany those videos, and in keeping with previous policy that revenue is shared between YouTube and Nintendo. In addition, for those who wish to use the material more proactively, we are preparing an affiliate program in which a portion of the advertising profit is given to the creator. Details about this affiliate program will be announced in the future.”

Problem started to arise last year as gamers noticed a serious chunk of “Let’s Play” videos were removed from Youtube due to the video content pertaining to intellectual property owned by Nintendo being monetised by the community.

Thanks, gamasutra

A new Handsome Jack narrated Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel trailer has been released and it take more than a huge slice of inspiration from TV sensation Breaking Bad.

The trailer, emulates that of the teaser trailer of the final episodes of the hit AMC show.

We’ve posted the original Breaking Bad teaser and the new Borderlands short below.

The Pre-Sequel is due later this year on PS3, PC and Xbox 360.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TU-PXfzsj4o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upxSbM8yk-w