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June 21, 2013
Although most of the largest consumer countries will get access to an Xbox One, there are still a large amount of countries that Microsoft won't support, at least at launch, and there's a possibility the new console won't be available in other countries at all, or at least for a while either.
If you're located in the following countries, getting an Xbox One should be easy enough for you, as long as you can find stock:
Australia
Austria
Belgium
Brazil
Canada
Denmark
Finland
France
Germany
Ireland
Italy
Mexico
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Russia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
United Kingdom
United StatesOn top of this, the Xbox One will be 'geographically locked' to the country it first resided in. This will mean that your country will not be able to be usable in any country other than the one it was used in, so if your country isn't
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June 20, 2013
So it seems this time round DICE and EA have decided to partner up with Microsoft instead of Sony to offer timed exclusivity to the new Xbox One.
Battlefield 4 players will be able to get a map pack, named the Second Assault earlier than on any other console. We've already seen this kind of model on previous games, including Battlefield 3, a game that had timed exclusivity for the PlayStation 3.
Whilst this doesn't really strike up much of an issue (every console will have access to the maps at some point) it does bring up the need for a discussion on publishers and their attempts to turn every developer's actions into a bunch of cash.
Publishers have been strict on developers, forcing them to include day one DLC, season passes and exclusive deals for specific platforms. This can be an unsavory experience for us gamers, and makes us feel like nothing more than consumers of a product instead of gamers of a game that’s been developed by a passionate
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June 19, 2013
Microsoft may have announced their new console this year, but it seems that they aren't giving up on the current generation console, the Xbox 360, just yet, and to prove it, the company has announced a new Xbox 360 model.So, after starting with the clunky Vanilla model back in 2005, Xbox then moved to the multi-tiered system with the Pro, Arcade, and the Elite, and then went to redesigning the whole package in a much smoother and a whole lot quieter Xbox 360 Slim.
The new Xbox 360 Slim is perfect for me, but it seems Microsoft still want to release yet another round of the console.
This time round, their console resembles the Xbox One a little whilst still remaining the curved edges and front plates we're so used to seeing on every 360 model to date.
The new console also seems to be pretty cheap to- you'll be able to get the new Xbox 'E' for just 129.99 Euros in the UK. (around $200 in the US.)
If you haven't got an Xbox 360, this
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June 17, 2013
A lot of grumbles and groans have been directed at Microsoft for forcing users to buy the Kinect 2.0 sensor when buying an Xbox One. One reason for this is privacy- amongst talk about the NSA snooping data and Microsoft having an online connection, there's a reason to be concerned- but the other reason is much more consumer-based, and this comes down to price.
This is one of the reasons Shuhei Yoshida of Sony decided not to include their camera with the PS4, saying that "Rather than forcing every user to buy the camera, I think it's better to to allow a separate purchase just for those that will enjoy it. Selling the camera separately means that the main console can be more affordable."
Yoshida also believes that making the camera mandatory is a bad choice right now as it is a medium that many have yet to adapt to- "I believe, and this is personal opinion, that for a technology to gain universal acceptance a certain degree of maturity
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June 17, 2013
So, although the gameplay in the Last of Us is super crisp and refined, there seems to be a bug or two astray, and one of them could end up destroying a big chunk of your fun.
The most potent glitch involves the autosave feature when playing online and can wind you up with a saved file that could have been made many hours of playtime beforehand.
When the game autosaves whilst you are playing online, it can in essence 'get stuck' meaning the save won't happen, and instead of stating when it last made a save on the menu it would be stuck saying 'autosaving, please wait.'
Players have reported that they've lost many hours of gameplay due to this problem.
Naughty Dog has responded to their players stating that- "the autosave issue was a problem w/ our servers. No patch needed to fix it, just re-launch the game. Thanks again :)" and have since worked on a fix that won’t need a patch to be applied to the game. If you don't want to risk losing your progress though,
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June 15, 2013
If you have been persuaded to not get an Xbox One as a result of the E3 press conferences or what you have read online, you might not be the only one.
Amazon recently asked their consumers to vote on one simple thing: Would you prefer an Xbox One or a PlayStation 4? The results that followed were staggering, and it showed that the most vocal gamers are choosing the PlayStation's next console, the PS4 over the Xbox One. While the results of the survey may not pan out as poorly for Microsoft as it may appear, it cannot be a good thing for Microsoft to see.
The vote ended with a huge 38,984 votes for the PS4, and just 2,162 votes for the Xbox One. The PS4 received close to 20 times the amount of votes the Xbox One did.
It will be interesting to see what changes Microsoft might make in their policies to respond to the negative press or what new reveals they might have to settle consumer worries.
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June 15, 2013
Thanks to Reddit user IceBreak, we now have a huge confirmed list of all of the titles available to the PlayStation 4 at launch. Some will be ported over from PC, others will be available on other platforms such as the Xbox One or older generation consoles, and some will be exclusive to the PlayStation 4.
Luckily, IceBreak listed them in a format that's easy to tell what's what, and we've made it even easier so you can check what exclusives the PS4 has, as well as what other titles will be coming at a glance.
Console Exclusives:
Super Stardust (Untitled)
Hohokum
inFAMOUS: Second Son
Killzone: Shadow Fall
Knack
Doki-Doki Universe [Free-to-Play]
DriveClub
Destiny of SpiritsPC Ports:
DC Universe Online [Free-to-Play]
Blacklight: Retribution [Free-to-Play]
Daylight
Carmageddon: Reincarnation
Planetside 2 [Free-to-Play]
Primal Carnage: -
June 14, 2013
Injustice: Gods Among Us has a new DLC pack planned that will allow players to play as Scorpion from Mortal Kombat.
The character is represented in a way that fits in with the Injustice game, making Scorpion look right at home alongside the villains and heroes of Injustice: Gods Among us.
The DLC pack will cost $4.99 on the PlayStation Network and 400 Microsoft Points on the Xbox 360.
This won't be the first time Scorpion has been matched up against DC Comic super heroes and villains, the first time being in Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe in 2008.
As the Injustice game doesn't particularly stick to any lore of the DC world, I think seeing Scorpion in the game is a nice, fun addition, and I'm hoping he'll be a valuable player to play with.
The Scorpion Download Content pack will be available from June 11th on wards for both Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and should be available for Wii U sometime later in the summer.
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June 13, 2013
So far, the Last of Us has looked like a promising game, a very promising game.
Over the past week or two we've had scores coming in from various professional sources, and so far reviews have been stellar.
EDGE Magazine has recently given their score as well, rating Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us a solid 10 out of 10, making it the 15th game to ever be scored a full 10 from EDGE.
OPM UK Magazine also gave Naughty Dog a 10/10 for The Last of Us, stating that the game is "A work of art in which amazing sights and sounds fuel an emotionally draining, constantly compelling end of days adventure. This is Naughty Dog pushing the PS3 to its limit. Over to your PS4."
With Tomb Raider, Bioshock: Infinite and now the Last of Us, it's certainly been a successful year from some of our favorite games and developers, and we can only hope the same will continue through the year till the release of GTA V, a game that is almost guaranteed to score highly in reviews.
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June 12, 2013
You would have thought that after titles like The Walking Dead, Black Ops 2, Day Z, Resident Evil, and many, many, many more, we'd end up getting a bit bored of the whole zombie genre. And whilst we have received so many titles to blunt the sharp exciting concept of a zombie apocalypse into nothing more than a dull, flat surface, we're still getting thrown more zombie games.
Even more surprisingly though, the newest addition the zombie genre, State of Decay, is an incredibly enjoyable game that gets you scavenging for supplies and building a place of safety for those you find on the road as you discover more about the sudden zombie apocalypse.
The story is filled with plots we've all seen before a hundred times, and the characters don't really shine out enough to make their appearance meaningful, but the gameplay itself is enjoyable.
If Grand Theft Auto was ever run over by Zombies, I think the end result would be this- It's an enjoyable game, and unlike most titles,