Monday, August 31, 2015

News::Old Atari games had graphics glitches because of CPU bottlenecks

Now that we know how the graphics worked on the Nintendo Entertainment System and Commodore 64, The iBookGuy wants to tell us all about how the Apple II and Atari 2600 got their groove on. In the latest video he says that the Apple II actually used two different techniques for producing visuals depending on whether you had a monochrome or color monitor unit. And the reason white text on a black background appears almost rainbow-like in nature on color machines has to do with pixel placement. For example, blue and green being next to each other on screen requires perfect alignment lest you want white mages to have spots of the former bleeding into them.

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Source: TheiBooksGuy (YouTube)

Tags: apple, appleii, atari2600, gaming, gif, graphics, hd, hdpostcross, retro



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News::There goes the neighborhood: 'Black Ops 3' brings back Nuk3town

Activision announced on Monday that Nuk3town, the single most popular map in the Call of Duty franchise's entire history, will be available on CoD: Black Ops 3. Anybody that pre-orders BO3 for the PS4, XBone or PC will receive a download code that unlocks the legendary map when the game hits store shelves on November 6th. Nuk3town made its debut back in the first Black Ops game and returned as Nuk3town 2025 for BO2.

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Source: Activision Blizzard

Tags: Activision, Call of Duty, Call of Duty: Black Ops III, fps, gitsome, Nuk3town, Treyarch, videogames



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News::Sale of buried Atari cartridges nets over $107,000

The never-ending saga of the Atari 2600 E.T. cartridges that were famously buried (and later unearthed) in Alamogordo, New Mexico continues to benefit the small town. Last November, a selection of games (including E.T., Asteroids and Missile Command) that were recovered in the excavation were put up for sale on eBay, and now we know just how much cash they generated. According to the Alamogordo News, the game sales totaled $107,930.15, with more than $65,000 going directly to the town. In addition, the Tularosa Basin Historical Society received over $16,000 while more than $26,000 was spent on shipping and other expenses. A total of 881 cartridges covering 60 different titles were sold overall; a copy of E.T. was the highest single sale at $1,535.

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Via: Ars Technica, Geek.com

Source: Alamogordo News

Tags: alamogordo, atari, atari2600, burial, ET, excavation, new mexico



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News::Nintendo's smaller New 3DS comes to the US on September 25th

Nintendo's New 3DS bundled with 'Animal Crossing: Happy Hour Designer'

When Nintendo decided to release only the New 3DS XL in the US this winter rather than its smaller New 3DS sibling, it left many scratching their heads. Why would Nintendo deprive American gamers of a smaller, more travel-friendly handheld? Well, it's making amends for that mistake very shortly. Nintendo has revealed that it's bringing the New 3DS to the US on September 25th as part of a $220 Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer bundle. So long as you like having the game's charming art plastered all over your handheld, you too can have a more portable option. The NFC Reader (needed to load up on Amiibo figurines and card) will also arrive that day for $20.

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Via: Nintendo of America (Twitter)

Source: Nintendo (BusinessWire)

Tags: 3ds, amiibo, animalcrossing, animalcrossinghappyhomedesigner, gaming, handheld, legendofzelda, new3ds, nfc, nintendo, videogames



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News::New 'Feminist Frequency' video examines 'women as reward'

In 2012, Anita Sarkeesian asked for $6,000 on Kickstarter to create a YouTube series dissecting the way video games commonly portray women, to be housed under her Feminist Frequency brand. Sarkeesian's project raised $160,000 and she's since released eight videos in the Tropes vs. Women in Video Games series, covering the "Damsel in Distress" trend, "Ms. Male Character" theme and the idea of "Women as Background Decoration." The latest video, released today, covers "Women as Reward" and it discusses the myriad ways women are offered as hyper-sexualized trophies in some popular video games.

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Source: Feminist Frequency on YouTube

Tags: anita-sarkeesian, anitasarkeesian, feminism, feministfrequency, hdpostcross, tropesvswomeningames, women



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News::Check out some gameplay from Destiny's 'The Taken King' expansion

The Taken King is a massive expansion due to hit Destiny on September 15th, bringing new strike missions, three new subclasses (including skill trees), exclusive gear and more goodies. The expansion's new raid, King's Fall, will not be available at launch, but director Luke Smith tells IGN that Bungie has "a plan for when it's going to be available." Smith promises to give fans a heads up before it goes live.

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Source: Destiny on YouTube

Tags: Activision, Bungie, Destiny, DLC, expansion, hdpostcross, TheTakenKing



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News::'Uncharted 4: A Thief's End' hits PS4 on March 18th

Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, the final game in Naughty Dog's Indiana Jones-style adventure series, will hit PlayStation 4 on March 18th, 2016. We got a taste of the game right after E3 2015 with an extended, action-packed trailer that features protagonist Nathan Drake shooting up bad guys, driving through a mountainside city and surviving all manner of seemingly lethal evasion tactics. There are a few versions of the game up for pre-order this week, including the Special Edition, which costs $80 and includes a steelbook case, an art book, in-game currency, a sticker sheet and the game on Blu-ray.

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Source: PlayStation Blog

Tags: hdpostcross, NaughtyDog, ReleaseDate, SCEA, SONY, uncharted4, uncharted4athiefsend



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News::Xbox One bundle packs 1TB hybrid drive and Elite pad for $499

Microsoft is launching a premium "Elite" controller for the Xbox One next month, so of course it's also readying a new console bundle that includes the pad and a 1TB "Solid State Hybrid Drive" system. From November you'll be able to get the set for $499 -- pre-orders start today in the US and it'll be exclusive to GameStop and Microsoft Stores for the first month. For comparison, the regular 1TB Xbox One bundle costs $399 -- so with the $150 Elite controller thrown in, you're getting at least $50 in savings. If you need a reminder, Microsoft's new gamepad has an extra four bumpers on the back, "hair trigger locks" and the ability to customize the thumbsticks and D-pad with swappable parts.

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Source: Xbox Wire

Tags: microsoft, xboxone, xboxonebundle, xboxoneelite, xboxoneelitebundle, xboxoneelitecontroller



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Saturday, August 29, 2015

News::'Mortal Kombat X' won't be coming to last-gen consoles after all

'Mortal Kombat X'

I hope you weren't counting on playing Mortal Kombat X on your trusty previous-generation console -- you're about to be disappointed. Warner Bros. has cancelled both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of the bloody brawler, claiming that neither version would meet the quality "expected of a Mortal Kombat game." It's not certain exactly what went wrong. However, it's clearer than ever that the transition to newer platforms is taking its toll on developers. Getting a game to run on more than two or three platforms isn't easy or cheap, and there isn't much incentive for studios to keep working on legacy support when you're increasingly likely to have a current system in your home.

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Via: GameSpot

Source: Warner Bros. Games

Tags: gaming, mortalkombat, mortalkombatx, netherrealm, netherrealmstudios, ps3, videogames, WarnerBros, xbox360



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Friday, August 28, 2015

News::Playdate: Exploring a galaxy far, far away in 'Disney Infinity 3.0'

If you wondered what would become of Lucasfilm after 'ol George sold the firm back in 2012, you're looking at it: Disney Infinity 3.0. Yes, that game -- the best possible example of just how many of the franchises you know and love belong to Mickey Mouse. The game series started small, with just Disney itself and Pixar, the next version tacked on Marvel Super Heroes. The latest version of the game a cavalcade of everything: Star Wars, the Avengers, Tron, Frozen and more. As a fans of all those things, Tim Seppala I just have to take a look. Join us at 6PM ET (3PM PT) on Twitch.tv/Joystiq, the Engadget Gaming homepage or right here in this post. It's going to be a magical adventure in a galaxy far, far away.

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Tags: Disney, disneyinfinity, disneyinfinity3, disneyinfinity3.0, playdate, starwars, streaming, twitch



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News::Netflix for the Wii U adds new features like individual profiles

While the Wii U is among our favorite ways to game, its Netflix experience has been lagging behind a bit. New features like (optional) autoplaying episodes, switching between individual profiles and easy resuming just never came to the console, until now. A new update went out last night -- just in time for the debut of the excellent-looking Narcos series -- that should bring things up to par with the rest, however some gamers on NeoGAF are still looking for the ability to control it with the Pro Controller instead of Nintendo's GamePad. Also, the new app defaults to streaming video to your GamePad instead of leaving it for information and navigation, so keep that in mind if you're checking out a few episodes in between rounds of Splatoon this weekend.

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Tags: GamePad, hdpostcross, Netflix, nintendo, streaming, update, video, WiiU



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News::Nintendo@PAX: Wii U gets 'F-Zero'-style racer, 'Kerbal' and more

Nintendo Nindies PAX

Nintendo helped kick off Seattle's annual PAX Prime gaming convention with a focus on the indie scene. The Nindies@Night event at the EMP Museum gave fans a chance to check out 19 indie games on the Wii U and 3DS -- and interact with the developers themselves. Among the highlights: Developer Shin'en showed off two-player split-screen support in its very F-Zero-esque Fast Racing Neo; Squad talked about bringing Wii U-specific features to Kerbal Space Program; and Yacht Club Games unveiled a certain shovel-wielding Amiibo figure.Slideshow-316038

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Tags: 3DS, F-Zero, Fast Racing Neo, hdpostcross, Indie, indie-games, kerbal-space-program, nintendo, PAX, PAX-2015, pax-prime, shovel-knight, Wii U, Wipeout



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News::'Mighty No. 9' team aims to calm angry backers with exclusive demo

Kickstarter backers of Keiji Inafune's Mighty No. 9 are feeling a little burned. When its Spring release came due, Comcept pushed the release back to fall; when that September launch came on the horizon, the game was delayed until 2016. "We feel bad," producer Nick Yu told us earlier this month. "Really, really bad." The company knows its messed up, and agrees that backers deserve something for their patience. So they're getting something -- on September 15th, the game's second launch date, Kickstarter backers will get access to an exclusive demo of the Mighty No. 9's single player campaign.

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Source: Kickstarter

Tags: comcept, delay, gaming, inafune, KeijiInafune, kickstarter, megaman, mightyno.9, mightyno9, videogames



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News::'XCOM 2' delayed until February 2016

XCOM 2 was supposed to launch in November, but apparently planet-wide alien invasions are tricky to schedule. Firaxis has pushed XCOM 2's release date back to February 5, 2016, noting that the game isn't up to the studio's standards quite yet.

"We've set a high bar for the sequel and the entire team has been working hard to make sure we deliver a great follow-up to Enemy Unknown," a short blog post reads. "We just need a little more time to make it the best possible game."

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Source: XCOM

Tags: Delay, firaxis, Firaxis-Games, hdpostcross, TakeTwo, XCom, XCOM2



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News::'Hunger Games,' 'Twilight' studio is doing a 'Borderlands' movie

Lionsgate and two long-time Marvel producers are working on a Borderlands movie and, no, it's not called Mad Max. Lionsgate is the production company behind Twilight, The Hunger Games, Ender's Game, Warm Bodies and tons of other mainstream flicks, while producers Ari and Avi Arad have worked on the Iron Man, X-Men, Spider-Man and Amazing Spider-Man franchises. Borderlands is a massively popular sci-fi action series that debuted in 2009 under the direction of Gearbox Software and Take-Two Interactive. It takes place on Pandora, an abandoned mining planet, and the games involve crass humor, alien beasts, a class-based RPG system a ridiculous number of guns (16 million, in fact).

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Source: Vanity Fair

Tags: borderlands, film, hdpostcross, lionsgate+films, movie, movies



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News::Here's our first look at Cliff Bleszinski's 'LawBreakers' in action

We've already been introduced to the world of Lawbreakers, the next shooter from the Gears of War creator Cliff Bleszinski, but now we've got our first look at some actual gameplay. And while the science behind the game's setting may be suspect (it's a fantastical take on Earth after we've blown up the moon), the game's mechanics seem solid. It's a class-based multiplayer shooter, similar to Titanfall and Team Fortress, that will also be free-to-play on a variety of platforms (we still don't have specifics). The trailer introduces some of those classes (and their respective characters): there's the swift Assassin Kitsune, who can double-jump; Breacher, a gunner who has the unique ability to shoot behind him; and a jetpack-wielding Skirmisher named Maverick. One character, a Titan named Cronos, can also rocket-jump, bringing back fond memories of Bleszinski's work on Unreal Tournament. Judging from this trailer, Lawbreakers looks like plenty of other shooters, but its unique take on character classes and Bleszinski's pedigree make it one to keep an eye on.

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Tags: Bosskey, CliffBleszinski, F2P, FPS, Lawbreakers



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News::Hasbro wants to crowdfund your party game ideas on Indiegogo

Hasbro is hoping you'd be willing to share your best party game idea ever(!) with the company and has launched a search for the "Next Great Game." The mechanics are simple: just go to the project website and submit an entry -- along the same lines as Monopoly, some variants of Trivial Pursuit and Funny or Die -- until September 30th, 2015. After that, sit back, cross your fingers and hope that you're among the five finalists announced on October 30th. Now, here's the twist: you're not getting any prize money even if you end up as one of the five. Instead, you'll be invited to launch an Indiegogo campaign to raise funds for your concept.

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Source: Hasbro

Tags: crowdfunding, hasbro, indiegogo, nextgreatgame, partygame



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News::Even critically acclaimed indie games get delayed

Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime was a hit in 2013 when it was just a multiplayer, neon-streaked demo mixed in with all of the nominated, blockbuster indie titles at the Independent Games Festival. Lovers was up for an award in Visual Art, and even though it lost to Kentucky Route Zero, the nomination was enough to create buzz around the game and its studio, Asteroid Base. At the time, co-creator Jamie Tucker felt confident that Lovers would be done within the year. Now, two years later, Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime is set to debut on Xbox One and Steam on September 9th. Yes, in 2015. We asked Tucker via email what happened with Lovers' development timeline and he broke it all down -- including details that offer a glimpse at the real rigors and lucky breaks of game development.

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Tags: asteroidbase, development, GameDevelopment, GDC, hdpostcross, igf, Indie, interview, loversinadangerousspacetime



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News::Microsoft shoots down Xbox One Mini rumor

Inside The 2015 E3 Electronic Entertainment Expo

The Xbox One is a large console, but it seems Microsoft is in no rush to unveil a slimmer model. The company was rumored to be launching an "Xbox One Mini" in October, but Phil Spencer, Microsoft's head of Xbox, has shot down the idea on Twitter. His "not real" statement is pretty definitive, although of course, that doesn't mean Microsoft isn't planning a redesign for a later date. Although the Xbox One's sales are behind the PlayStation 4, it has a slew of exclusives coming out this fall including Halo 5: Guardians, Forza Motorsport 6 and Rise of the Tomb Raider (okay, that last one is actually a timed exclusive). If Microsoft is working on a "Mini" model, it's more likely to appear at somewhere like E3 next year.

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Via: The Verge

Source: Phil Spencer (Twitter)

Tags: microsoft, philspencer, xboxone, xboxonemini



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Thursday, August 27, 2015

News::Sony isn't intentionally keeping 'Until Dawn' off of Twitch

Until Dawn™_20150822015129
Right now, there's a bit of an issue going on with Twitch and the PlayStation 4's horror-movie-director simulator, Until Dawn. Yesterday the Twitch Support Twitter account posted that if you were using PS4's built-in Twitch sharing functionality that Sony had disabled archiving. Based on the response we got from Sony, it doesn't seem like it was for a nefarious reason or anything, mostly just forgetting to flip a switch.

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Source: Twitch Support

Tags: gaming, hd, hdpostcross, horror, sony, streaming, supermassivegames, twitch, untildawn



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News::Expect a 'limited number' of HTC Vive VR headsets this year

According to HTC, reports that the commercial launch of its Vive virtual reality headset is delayed until next year aren't telling the whole story. The company provided a statement to Engadget saying "We'll have a limited number of units by the end of the year, with more to come in Q1 2016." It seems unlikely there will be enough to satisfy all potential buyers of the "first complete VR system" it's making with Valve's help, but there's still a chance you could get one, and developers have had it since the spring. The Vive headset is coming to PAX Prime in Seattle with demos like Fantastic Contraption -- once we know more about when you can have one we'll let you know.

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Tags: hdpostcross, headset, htc, PAXPrime2015, valve, VirtualReality, Vive, vr



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News::Playdate: We're screaming through the teen-horror of 'Until Dawn'

Until Dawn™_20150821161617

By now you've (hopefully!) read our review of Sony's latest PlayStation 4 exclusive, Until Dawn. I'd also like to think that you've gazed upon its faces and gorgeous cinematography too. If you're still on the fence about buying it though, well, maybe our Twitch stream starting at 6 pm ET / 3 pm PT will change that. We'll be broadcasting two hours of the teen fright-fest today and I'd like to you join Sean Buckley and myself because the decisions we make in the game will be entirely up to you. That's right: You'll choose who lives and who dies, the paths we take through a Canadian mountainside and a whole lot more this afternoon. Are you ready for that kind of responsibility? Perhaps the better question is if you're ready to hear my shrill screams. Let's find out. Together.

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Tags: gaming, HaydenPanettiere, hd, hdpostcross, horror, peterstormare, playstation, playstation4, ps4, sony, supermassivegames, twitch, untildawn



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News::'Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5' was designed with YouTube in mind

Secrets have always been a big part of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater. However, when players get stuck trying to find Easter eggs in any game now, they don't turn to glossy strategy guides like they did in the 1990s and early 2000s -- they open Twitch or YouTube on their smartphone. Developer Robomodo had this in mind when creating Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5. Lead designer Patrick Dwyer says that his team's tucked away the hidden skateboarding DVD -- a series staple -- pretty well this time around and that's a direct result of how the community responded when the studio released Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD back in 2012. "The day it came out there were videos of how to beat all of our missions," he says. "How's that possible? It's weird hiding stuff knowing that."

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Tags: activision, gaming, hd, hdpostcross, patrickdwyer, robomodo, tonyhawksproskater, tonyhawksproskater5, tonyhawksproskaterhd, twitch, youtube



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News::'Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5': something new, something borrowed

"It's like making a new Star Wars movie," says Patrick Dwyer, lead designer on developer Robomodo's upcoming Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5. "The originals are great and then the rest weren't as good." He's referring, of course, to the high bar set by the first four games in the storied extreme sports franchise as compared to the middling releases that followed. The idea, as Dwyer explains it, is to treat anything that released past 2002's Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 as if it never existed. And that's including the horrible pair of plastic skateboard peripheral-based games he worked on: Tony Hawk Ride and its follow up, Shred.

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Tags: gaming, hd, hdpostcross, joshtsui, patrickdwyer, playstation, playstation4, skateboarding, TonyHawk, tonyhawksproskater, tonyhawksproskater5, xbox, xboxone



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News::'Rapture' game soundtrack pulled from out-of-touch UK charts

'Everybody's Gone to the Rapture' is a post-apocalyptic game with a difference. Instead of a nuclear wasteland, you're tasked with exploring an idyllic, but empty town in the middle of the English countryside. There's little dialogue, but the sweeping soundtrack sets a wonderfully melancholic tone. Composed by the game's director Jessica Curry, these original tracks are excellent examples of modern classical music. And clearly they've resonated with people -- earlier this month, the soundtrack placed eighth in the UK's "Official Classical Artist Albums Chart." Curry and the rest of her studio, The Chinese Room, were delighted. That is, until it disappeared from the chart the following week.

According to the UK's Official Charts Company, its inclusion was a mistake. The rules for this particular chart, which were drawn up in partnership with the classical music industry, state that original soundtracks performed by single and various artists are ineligible. The decision applies not just to Everybody's Gone to the Rapture, but to all video games and movies. Curry and The Chinese Room have been voicing their disapproval on Twitter -- the developer has called it "bullshit" and "snobbery in action." Fans of the game have, understandably, leapt to their defence and even Shuhei Yoshida, president of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios, has called the decision "unfortunate."

To make matters worse, the Official Charts Company has made another blunder in the Official Classical Artist Albums Chart. In this week's listings, The Complete Harry Potter Film Music by The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra is ranked 29th. Just like Everybody's Gone to the Rapture, this is an original soundtrack. A spokesperson for the Official Charts Company told us: "It's an error. It shouldn't be in there either and will be corrected (taken out) this Friday. We're already aware of it." For fans of the game and Curry's music, however, its inclusion has only added to their sense of anger and frustration.

But even once the Harry Potter soundtrack is removed, the greater question remains: why are original scores ineligible? We're yet to hear a definitive answer. Whatever the reason, it means these albums are represented elsewhere; in the Official Soundtrack Albums Chart and the Official Classic FM Chart, which is a combined classical chart published on the radio station's website. Everybody's Gone to the Rapture features in both, but you could argue that the level of recognition they offer isn't quite the same. To confuse matters further, the Official Charts Company has told Eurogamer that it considers Curry's record "a bona fide classical album." That's why it features prominently in the Classic FM Chart -- but again, this doesn't explain its ineligibility for the Official Classical Artist Albums Chart.

No matter where you stand, the reality is that this decision doesn't affect the quality of our favourite soundtracks. It's just a shame all classical music can't be treated equal -- whether it's written specifically for an album, or to accompany a movie, TV show or video game, it either fits the genre or it doesn't. If you think these composers are being treated unfairly, the best course of action -- as always -- is to support their work with your wallet.

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Source: Jessica Curry (Twitter)

Tags: classicalmusic, EverybodysGoneToTheRapture, jessicacurry, OfficialChartsCompany, OriginalSoundTrack, ost, soundtrack, thechineseroom



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News::Dell revives the Alienware 18, upgrades its smaller gaming laptops

It's a rare, satisfying feeling when a community rallies together to ask a company to bring back a discontinued product and it actually works. Today is one of those days: Dell announced at PAX that it's bringing back the Alienware 18 -- the most powerful portable gaming machine the company's ever made. The revived 18-inch rig is being touted as a 'special edition' and will pack in a 4th Generation Intel i7 processor, up to 32GB of RAM, a 1TB HDD (with an optional 512GB SSD) dual NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M or 980M graphics, depending on the configuration. Too big? Too much? No worries --- Alienware is refreshing its 13-, 15- and 17-inch laptops, too.

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Tags: Alienware, alienware13, alienware15, alienware17, alienware18, alienwaregraphicsamplifier, alienwarex51, dell, gaming, gaminglaptop, gamingpc, pax, pax-prime



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News::'Assassin's Creed Syndicate' hits PCs on November 19th

'Assassin's Creed Syndicate' co-star Jacob Frye leads a fight against the Templars

If you're determined to play Assassin's Creed Syndicate on your sweet PC gaming rig, you're going to have to wait a while longer than everyone else. Ubisoft has announced that the Windows version of its Victorian stealth action game will arrive on November 19th, or nearly a month after the console edition's October 23rd debut. This is to make sure PC players get a "stable, optimized" version of Syndicate right from the start, the developer says -- clearly, Ubisoft is still feeling the sting of Unity's botched launch.

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Source: Ubiblog

Tags: assassinscreed, assassinscreedsyndicate, gaming, pc, ubisoft, windows



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Wednesday, August 26, 2015

News::The Big Picture: 'Mass Effect' Reapers invade Los Santos

It's a mod, mod world when a universe-destroying Reaper from the Mass Effect series invades Grand Theft Auto V's Los Angeles stand-in, Los Santos. What you see up above is the result of Flickr user berdu applying the pretty self-explanatory "Mass Effect 3 Reaper as Blimp" modification to the PC version of Rockstar's stick-up simulator. It looks awesome and there's video of it in action after the break. As creator JJxORACLE writes on the (currently in beta testing) tweak's download page, sometimes the vanguard of our destruction will disappear from the skies completely and there doesn't seem to be any collision detection here. Oh, and its legs can touch the ground while it moves every now and again, because, you know, it's replacing Los Santos' legless blimp.

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Via: Kotaku

Source: Flickr

Tags: bigpicture, gaming, GrandTheftAuto, gtav, hd, hdpostcross, masseffect, mods, pcgaming, reapers, rockstargames, thebigpicture



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News::Cult classic 'Deadly Premonition' gets deluxe PS3 box set

Deadly Premonition might not be a "good" game, technically speaking, but it's wormed its way into the hearts of a very passionate cult following. With that in mind, this seemingly years-late collector's edition of eccentric Japanese developer Hidetaka "Swery" Suehiro for the PlayStation 3 (fits with the game's weirdness, right?) is packed to the gills with goodies for the fans. Custom deck of playing cards? Check. A 30-page hardcover art book? Present and accounted for. There's a soundtrack packed into the pretty swanky collector's box, the game's director's cut and a download code for additional content so you can while away a few more hours with special agent York in this very Twin Peaks Pacific Northwest, too. Perhaps best of all? The Deadly Premonition: The Director's Cut - Classified Edition will only run you $50 and it releases November 24th.

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Via: Wario64 (Twitter)

Source: NISA

Tags: boxset, collectorsedition, DeadlyPremonition, gaming, hd, hdpostcross, playstation, ps3, swery65



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News::Which gaming laptops are worth buying?

ASUS ROG G751

For years, the wisdom has been that if you wanted a dedicated gaming machine, you bought a desktop. Gaming components were too unwieldy to fit in a notebook form factor, and if you tried to put together a machine with desktop-caliber components, it always ended up too big and heavy to be truly portable. However, recent gaming laptops have defied that history, packing lots of power into thinner and lighter chassis. They're still not as slim as Ultrabooks, and meanwhile there's still a gap in performance versus desktop machines. Even so, your days of lugging around a large desktop tower to LAN parties are over. We've taken a look at some of the more recent entries in the race to build a smaller gaming machine to find ones that can fit your needs -- and budget. Slideshow-315071

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Tags: Alienware, Alienware15, asus, EON-15X, G751, gaming, gaminglaptops, GS60, GS60Ghost, GS70, GS70Stealth, GT80, GT80Titan, hp, HPOmen, laptop, laptops, MSI, Omen, Origin, Razer, RazerBlade, RazerBlade2015, reviewroundup, ROGG751



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News::The shaky science of shattering the moon in 'LawBreakers'

LawBreakers is the new, free shooter from Gears of War creator Cliff Bleszinski and it features a bold premise: Humans accidentally explode the moon, which leads to catastrophic earthquakes that nearly split the world in two. Plus, the event leaves pockets of low gravity scattered across the Earth -- including in the Grand Canyon, which ends up surrounded by giant, floating rocks. It's a wild idea that, at first glance, appears to be heavier on fiction than science. So, we asked Dr. Phil Plait, a popular astronomer and science writer known as Bad Astronomer, what would happen to the Earth if humans accidentally shattered the moon. Plait responded via email with the following intro:

"I watched the trailer. Yeah, nope."

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Tags: badastronomer, bosskey, CliffBleszinski, hdpostcross, lawbreakers, philplait



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News::New game from 'Gears of War' creator breaks the moon

LawBreakers is not a post-apocalyptic shooter.

It is a shooter. It does star a group of Marine-like soldiers out to gun down people in the name of justice and it does take place in the future. But creator Cliff Bleszinski is adamant that this isn't a standard futuristic, kill-streak kind of game. As the mastermind behind Gears of War and Unreal Tournament, he knows all about those. Instead, LawBreakers takes place in a post-catastrophe world: Human experiments on the Moon cause it to shatter, which triggers devastating earthquakes and breaks gravity in certain spots. Humanity rebuilds, bigger and better than ever, and then violent gangs begin to attack the new world. The LawBreakers are deployed to fight the gangs, using super-human supplements and special maneuvers made possible by the low-gravity zones.

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Tags: badastronomer, bosskey, CliffBleszinski, CliffyB, earth, earthquake, hdpostcross, lawbreakers, moon, philplait, scifi, shooter



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News::'Angry Birds' studio cuts another 260 jobs

The firm behind Angry Birds has announced that it's laying off a further 260 employees as it attempts to become a smaller and more profitable company. CEO Pekka Rantala admits that Rovio was too eager to "explore new business opportunities," which it did by doing "too many things." Unfortunately, with profits tumbling, the outfit is going to have to go back to being a stripped-down games maker. The lay-offs will come from all areas of the business except those working on the Sony-backed Angry Birds Movie in the US and Canada. It's not much of a surprise since it looked as if the company's day in the sun had ended a while ago. After all, Angry Birds 2 is the thirteenth title in the series, so it's clearly been flogging a seriously-injured horse for quite some time.

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Tags: AngryBirds, Business, Layoffs, PekkaRantala, Rovio



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Tuesday, August 25, 2015

News::Microsoft curbs sign-ups for Xbox One previews

The new Xbox One interface circa late 2015

Xbox Preview Programs have long been popular. They're easy ways to get sneak peeks at features that won't reach the masses for weeks, if not longer. Unfortunately, though, they're now proving to be too popular -- Microsoft is warning that it's "slowing" the number of people it lets into the Xbox One Preview Program now that it's "near-capacity." The tech giant needs to "optimize" its pre-release user base for testing, according to a forum note. The timing of this move isn't all that surprising, mind you. This year represents the first time that Microsoft will overhaul the Xbox One interface, rolling in big features like backwards compatibility and the Cortana voice assistant. It's only logical that gamers would want an early look at these upgrades, especially when this portal could stick around for a good, long while.

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Source: CNET

Tags: gaming, microsoft, preview, previewprogram, videogames, xbox, xboxone



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News::'Splatoon' is getting a 61-tune soundtrack in Japan

'Splatoon'

If you've even had a small taste of Splatoon, you know that the inky shooter is defined as much by its upbeat, irreverent music as its bright, Nickelodeon-circa-1995 visuals. Nintendo clearly knows this, too -- it's planning to release Splatune, a whopping 61-song original soundtrack. Most of it (37 tracks) will be straight-up music, but there will also be 10 jingles and 14 pieces based on sound effects. That's a lot, especially when you consider that many big-name movies don't get such a lavish treatment. Be prepared to pay a pretty penny to an importer if you want a copy, though. Nintendo is releasing Splatune as a ¥3,200 ($27) two-disc album in Japan (where CDs are still huge) on October 21st, and there's no word yet on a release elsewhere.

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Via: Siliconera, Eurogamer

Source: Famitsu (translated)

Tags: gaming, music, nintendo, soundtrack, splatoon, splatune, videogames, wiiu



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News::What's on your HDTV: 'Gears', 'Mr. Robot' finale, 'The Carmichael Show'

WAGNER MOURA, JULIAN BUSTAMANTE and PAULINA GAITAN (right) star in NARCOS. NARCOS S01E03 "The Men of Always"

This week we have the return of Gears of War, uprez'd and made prettier on the Xbox One. It's not the only big game release however, as the Dishonored and Mega Man are also getting re-released, and PS4 gamers should check out Until Dawn, even if they've never heard of it before. On Blu-ray, The Last Dragon is back with a special 30th anniversary edition, along with season five of The Walking Dead. Last but not least, on TV football season creeps ever closer, while comedian Rodney Carmichael debuts his new show on NBC, Falling Skies comes to an end and Mr. Robot wraps up its excellent first season. Netflix has a new series too, as Narcos debuts its look at Pablo Escobar this week. Look after the break to check out each day's highlights, including trailers and let us know what you think (or what we missed).

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Tags: hdpostcross, listings, MustSeeHdtv, narcos, video



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News::Build a 'Fantastic Contraption' in virtual reality with the Vive

Virtual Reality is often characterized as a solitary experience, but it doesn't have to be. Games like Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes, a multiplayer bomb-defusal game, demonstrate VR's ability to entertain entire groups of people in wonderful new ways. Today, it's time to add one more multi-entertaining VR game to that list: Fantastic Contraption, a widely beloved game about building weird structures in an attempt to reach specific points on a small map. Fantastic Contraption launched in 2008 as a non-VR game and has since attracted millions of players and 12 million saved contraptions. In a new video, it gets a super polished update for the Vive, Valve and HTC's impressive room-scale VR headset, and creator Colin Northway discusses the merits of multiplayer VR.

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Source: Fantastic Contraption

Tags: FantasticContraption, hdpostcross, htc, indie, northway, northwaygames, RadialGames, VirtualReality, vive, vr



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News::YouTube Gaming aims to be the most popular streaming site in town

YouTube is already the web's most popular video site, but with the launch of YouTube Gaming across iOS, Android and desktops on August 26th, it aims to claim another title: most popular streaming site. YouTube Gaming bets big on live-streamed and archived gaming videos, with separate pages for more than 25,000 games. Users also get a customized feed of the gaming channels they follow, complete with notifications when each channel is live. All of this means YouTube Gaming is going head-to-head with Twitch, a site that Amazon bought for nearly $1 billion last year, following murmurs that YouTube's parent company, Google, was interested in the same purchase.Slideshow-315077

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Tags: google, hdpostcross, live, LiveStream, stream, streaming, twitch, youtube, youtubegaming



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News::A light-hearted game of mass murder in 'Party Hard'

In January, someone moved into the house right next to Alex Nichiporchik's. Nichiporchik, CEO of SpeedRunners studio TinyBuild Games, immediately wasn't a fan of his new neighbor. "He decided it's a funny idea to throw parties every night until 3AM," Nichiporchik recalls. One month into this late-night party hell, TinyBuild signed a contract with Pinokl Games, a studio known for crafting family-friendly experiences. But Pinokl's new project was wildly different: Party Hard, a stealth game about skulking through a bumpin' party and murdering everyone there.

"Coincidence? The final level is actually modeled against what I imagine the next door party is," Nichiporchik says.Slideshow-314895

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Tags: hdpostcross, indie, murder, pinokl, tinybuild, twitch



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