Yesterday, 343 Industries announced that a brand new map pack would be making its way to Halo 4 this August called the Champions Bundle, available as either one, all-inclusive package, or as separate, smaller packs.
Fans will get a hold of some brand new weapon and armor skins, as well two new maps and an entirely new, basketball-inspired game mode called Ricochet. Read up on all the initial details right here.
Giving you a first look at these new modes, maps, weapon skins and armor skins is this Champions Bundle trailer released by 343 Industries earlier today. Check it out!
Even though it’s been awhile since we last heard news about the progress of ‘Update 12’ for Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition, which was said to feature a new tutorial world and jungle environments, developers are still hard at work trying to push it out the door.
The team behind the big hit, which has sold over seven million copies to date since it has been released last year on Xbox Live Arcade and very recently around the world via a physical copy, has recently revealed why the long awaited update hasn’t been released yet.
According to a recent tweet from the twitter account of 4J Studios, update 12 is still in development due to several architecture changes that are necessary for this update to go live, which deals with changing some of the way the code works underneath the game.
Unfortunately, details on when we can expect this update to be released are not available yet, but as more information becomes known we will update you guys.
343 Industries has announced additional downloadable content for Halo 4 called the Champions Bundle.
Unveiled during the Rooster Teeth Expo livestream, the studio described the content as either two optional packs, or one complete package. According to reports from Polygon, the “Bullseye Pack” will feature a sports-themed set of Spartan armor, along with new maps, Vertigo and “Pitfall,” a remake of the Halo 3 map, The Pit. The new content will also include a new 5 vs. 5 game mode called Ricochet, which the team is also dubbing “combat basketball.” Like Grifball, players will fight for the possession of a ball, but will also be able to earn points by ‘scoring.’
Optionally, other weapons and armor sets will be included separately in the “Infinity Armor Pack” and “Steel Skin Pack.” These include the Prefect, Mark V, and ODST armor sets.
According to reports, the map pack or bundle must be purchased within the first two weeks of release in order to secure the new timed-exclusive game mode on release day. Ricochet will be available two weeks later for everyone, with or without the DLC.
The Halo 4 Champion Bundle will be available on August 20 for 800 MS Points and will not be included within the Halo 4 War Games Map Pass.
Sounds pretty cool! Are you guys looking forward to more Halo 4 content?
Watch_Dogs, the highly anticipated new IP from Ubisoft, is going to be released on multiple platforms, both current and new, but the next-generation consoles will feature a more dynamic city, according to developers.
Speaking with NowGamer, Dominic Guay, a producer for Watch_Dogs, has revealed that even though it will take awhile for the team to utilize the full power of PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One, The Watch_Dogs on next-gen consoles will feature some interesting advantages, which Guay describes as “dynamism.” He described further:
“For example, we’re able to simulate the water in full 3D, if you go on a boat the waves that form will affect other boats. We’re also able to spend more time giving brains to the other people on the streets so that they can basically be smarter, and there can be more of them. It’s what I call dynamism; basically, the way the city reacts to you, we are able to push further on the Xbox One.”
Although Guay doesn’t clearly reveal how the Watch_Dogs team will be featuring a more dynamic city on the next-generation platforms, it may have something to do with both consoles using cloud computing system.
Watch_Dogs is set to be released sometime this year for current-generation and next-generation platforms, though an official release date has yet to be announced.
Team Fortress 2, the popular free-to-play first-person shooter by Valve, is set to receive an update in the near future that will address some rather pesky issues and include some brand new content.
Players who’ve fallen victim to tactics such as rooftop spawn camping and sentry jumping on maps like Badwater can now rejoice. According to a recent blog entry on Team Fortress’ site, Valve is getting ready to fix these troublesome issues that a lot of TF2 players can look forward to.
Although Valve will be fixing some of the older maps, TF2 fans will be happy to know that they can expect two new community created capture-point maps, ‘Process’ and ‘Standin’ (pictured below), created by Ian Cuslidge, to be included in this update as well.
At the moment, there is no specific date on which this update will roll out, but as information becomes available, we will update you guys.
Digital Extremes has recently released a rather huge hotfix for their free-to-play, third-person PC shooter (soon to be PS4), Warframe.
The fix will hog up a little over 800 MB on your hard drive, but its contents aren’t short on a ton of goodies. It features numerous additions, characters class tweaks, changes and fixes a number of issues.
Check out the details below, courtesy of Warframe’s official forum:
Hotfix 8.3 Details
Additions
Added improved Solar Landmark system for Grandmasters.
Expanded animation library for the Grineer (combat and ambient animations)
MOTD now displayed in halls of the Dojo.
Added support for /invite in chat, and inviting people who aren’t on your friends list or in your clan.
Added 2 options for consumable Fireworks items to the Market.
Added Red White & Blue color picker.
Added game invite and add friend options to chat user list context menu.
Changes
Doubled the length of alerts for rare rewards.
Alert System 2.0 is live
Stalker Bow and Paris 3D draw sounds now have fire rate multiplier.
3D Sounds on Pistols and Sentinel now have proper mix effects.
Improved NPC awareness transfer across host migration.
Revised multiple melee weapon animations.
Improved enemy waypoints on minimap to show true location instead of next closest nav location.
Dojo pieces that are dead ends are marked as such.
Enemies that had had elemental immunities now take regular damage, with multiplied damage for weaknesses (fire and electricity).
Updated Warframe abilities to use energy color selected by player.
Grineer now play animation while activating security system, allowing slightly more time to interrupt.
Improved anti-cheat detection.
Replaced all known Corpus consoles with Grineer consoles in Grineer levels.
Made session join failures able to identify when the failure was because the session is full; hopefuly this will make losing a void key join race a little less magical.
Added missing sounds from Prime melee weapons (swoosh!).
Only enemies that see the player will activate panic buttons, preventing enemies in other zones hitting activating the alarms.
Reduced particle systems on some fog that were causing performance issues on low-end machines.
Prova Weapon model updated.
Warframe Buffs
Mag:
Mag: Pull- Changed to pull all targets in front of the player.
Mag: Shield Polarize – Now radial instead of single target. Radial damage around enemy targets that suffer shield drain.
Mag: Bullet Attractor – Bullet attractors now become volatile when target dies before attractor is finished, these cause radial damage around the dead target.(needs more visual polish)
Rhino:
Rhino: Iron Skin – 400,600,800,1200 damage caps. Removed timer.
Rhino Roar: NEW POWER: Radial damage buff for all players within range (10%,15%,25%,50%)
Rhino: Rhino Stomp – Rolled Radial blast and Rhino Stomp together. Rhino Stomp now does damage to enemies(150,300,500,800)
Volt:
Volt: Speed: Now a radial group buff, All Tenno in a radius around the caster will get a speed and melee weapon speed increase (speed, range, duration all increase with fusion level). Range (15,20,22,25) Speed (10%,15%,25%,50%) Duration (5,6,8,10).
Overload: Higher damage output during entire animation.
Shock: Has proper chaining, fusion now increases the number of chains and the radius it looks for further chaining targets.
Fixed Endless Defense missions that could be ended immediately upon host migration.
Fixed AI pathfinding reported in Grineer Boss room.
Fixed areas in Grineer maps that players could wall run out of the level.
Fixed edge case issue where objective marker would not clear upon completing Capture objective.
Fixed issue where some AI types could not be executed with stealth kills.
Fixed stealth attacks on Infested Chargers that failed to bring out melee weapon.
Fixed stealth attack kills not counting towards mission kill stats.
Fixed loot crate positions in Corpus Outpost hanger that were inside the floor.
Fixed loss of functionality when loading mods if user has significant amount in inventory.
Fixed missing sound effects for Fang and Ether Daggers slide attack.
Fixed all projectiles to accept energy color selection.
Fixed lag and FX issues when shooting through Volt’s shield.
Fixed Ember’s World on Fire ability not showing effects on enemies.
Fixed missing Loc strings observed in Orokin missions.
Fixed missing ragdoll events on Infested death animations.
Fixed missing Cronus charge attack sound.
Fixed idle animations that would move the player slightly when no weapons are equipped (Dojo).
Fixed mis-aligned muzzle flash on Burston weapon.
Fixed instances of inactive Corpus AI when spawned on centre platform of Outpost Defense.
Fixed some Defense text strings that would appear to clients in host’s language.
Fixed various Warframe abilities that were not working on Cryopod/Core.
Fixed issue where pending recipe list was falsely reporting to be empty.
Fixed various reported graphics clipping and z-fighting issues.
Fixed Vortex instantly killing enemies in certain cases .
Fixed ragdolls being destroyed when held in a Vortex for too long (more than 15 seconds).
Fixed various lightmap and z-fighting issues in reported levels.
Fixed issue where game invites would not be ignored from ignored users.
Fixed Orokin traps causing shockwave will cause screen blur throughout the whole level.
Fixed a Corpus extraction level that allowed users to climb out of it.
Fixed Ash’s Smoke Screen where he’d hold both melee and primary weapon.
Fixed Kogake charge attack from damaging Sentinels.
Fixed various reported collision and clipping issues across all maps.
Fixed some edge cases where melee strikes would attack with primary weapon.
Fixed melee action being temporarily blocked after completing a slide attack with Dual Zorens.
Fixed some missions may be completed by simply walking into the extraction.
Fixed mantling not always working when there are some obstructions above the player.
Fixed issue where doors remain locked after lockdown is cleared.
Fixed Phorid not attacking crouched players.
Fixed Orokin laser trap cooldown UI timer not showing on clients.
Fixed various map holes and clipping issues based on user reports.
Fixed issue where Rescue Agents and nearby AI would pause if player ran two rooms ahead.
Fixed progression stopper where secondary capture mission target did not appear.
Fixed an issue where Trinity could get sliced in half or ragdoll when her link target was meant to receive such an injury.
Fixed rescue room triggers to only enable when the objective is active to prevent bugs when it’s a secondary objective.
Fixed enemies springing to their feet immediately after surviving Mag’s Crush ability.
Fixed some animation blending issues when carrying Datamass.
Fixed some common trouble spots where Datamass could get stuck and be unreachable.
Fixed issue where Corpus elevator could occasionally change direction before reaching the top.
Fixed Ember’s World on Fire ability from targeting inactive turrets.
Fixed multiple issues with Mag Bullet Attractor ability (FX on host/client, unintended projectile weapon behaviour, Glaive was not working with this ability).
Fixed Hammer Boss phases breaking after Frost’s Avalanche ability.
Fixed issue where a primary or secondary Spy objective would require 0 terminals.
Fixed multiple reported crash issues.
Fixed ‘Power In Use’ bug when using Frost’s Avalanche
Fixed missing animation with Volt’s Overload.
Fixed Matchmaking region resetting on Login.
Fixed ‘square’ light artifact around dynamic lights (most noticable in cave tilesets).
Returned Infested pack to the store after accidentally removing it.
If you’re still with us after that lengthy hotfix note, don’t forget to participate in this weekend’s event, which taking on hoards of pesky Grineer surveillance drones, more details about it here.
As per usual, Microsoft holds public registration events to enroll in their latest Xbox 360 update around this time of year. You can expect this year to be no different, as registrations for the 2013 Xbox Live update is now open.
According to Major Nelson’s blog, it will feature updates to improve overall performance and to finally say goodbye to Microsoft’s current currency, Microsoft Points, which will be replaced with your local currency, a feature that was announced back at this year’s E3. Additionally, you can expect the Microsoft Points currency to be retired sometime at the end of this year.
However, unlike the previous public betas for past years, this year will see a change in format in how Xbox Live members can register. This time around, willing participants can just simply sign up from their console. Though those who do register for the upcoming Xbox Live update must sign an non-disclosure agreement in order to participate.
At the moment, there’s no release time frame indicating when you can expect this beta for the update to roll out, but as more information becomes available, we will be sure to keep you informed on the latest details.
Will you be signing up for this Xbox Live update beta? Let us know in the comment section below!
Epic Games, the development team responsible for franchises such as Unreal Tournament and Gears Of War, who also set pretty high standards for the online competitive game with said games, may be looking to add another competitive title to their already rather impressive resume.
As recently a job offering has appeared on Epic Game’s job post, which was recently discovered on NeoGAF. It states this job offering seeks a senior system designer who has experience in “building and/or playing Shooters, MMO’s, RPG’s, or RTS games,” as well as, “demonstrated experience with advancement, itemization and progression based systems.”
The job post goes into further detail, saying, “Epic Games is looking for a Systems Designer to join one of two projects. One of the teams is working on an unannounced competitive online action game that includes player progression, heavy itemization, and a dynamic economy; the other is for Fortnite.”
Not much more information is known about this unannounced game at the time , seeing how it’s still in the very early stages of developmen. Though the person who’s tacked with the designer roll can be sure to work on the most important systems and will have a hand in designing everything from economics and itemization to balancing combat mechanics. He or she will also be responsible for general design, balance, rules, interface, etc. and will play an integral role in defining the outcome of the project, according to the job post.
Additionally, an Epic Game representative speaking to VG247 about their recent job post, supplied the following quote: “we’re making something new and exciting that doesn’t fit easily into some existing genre. It’s going to be uniquely Epic, but we have nothing further to announce at this time.”
Are you interested in Epic Games’ upcoming online competitive project? What you you think/hope it could be? Let us know in the comment section!
The next generation of consoles are still a few months away from release, and while we have seen some impressive multiplayer titles debuting already, it’s time we start setting some new standards as to what these next-gen games should feature by default.
Let’s face it, despite multiplayer existing for over a few decades now, things that should be standard by now just haven’t happened yet. This is where this new weekly (hopefully) piece comes in. Every week or so, we’ll be publishing a new article discussing and highlighting features that games should have by default as a norm for next-gen. In this first segment, we’ll be discussing game HUD. If there’s one thing I hate about most games today, it’s the lack of Heads Up Display options.
Why No/Limited HUD?
Why wouldn’t anyone want this as an option is a better question. First off, it gives players a choice than, rather forcing them to play in games that features no HUD by only playing modes related to ‘hardcore’ difficulties. For many, the HUD in most games just isn’t that attractive or is just plain distracting. Sometimes, you’ll want to look at something only to have a piece of the HUD in the way, while other times, you’re constantly being reminded by flashes occurring in the HUD (depending on the game of course). Other times we just want it gone for the sake of those gorgeous graphics.
In my fair opinion, I find having no HUD in a game to make it far more immersive than with one. We focus more on what’s around us, rather than what’s on us.
An example of this:
Can you imagine if this game (Journey) had a HUD? It could possibly ruin it!! Plus, it would make the environment a bit less interesting.
Here’s an example of Assassin’s Creed 3 with the HUD (image) and then with the HUD removed (video).
The game still looks good, but let’s see how much better it looks without the HUD.
While some may prefer the HUD, the option to remove it is always a special touch nowadays that, at least on console, doesn’t happen as often as one would like.
Having a disabled HUD option also comes with its advantages. For starters, as shown above, it’s clean and really shows off a game for its gorgeous graphics. Along with this, you get more to your field of view, as in the HUD won’t block anything important such as an enemy in the distance or a collectible.
It’s also better for YouTubers and video makers in general. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to work around a HUD because the lack of options. I remembered in Battlefield 3 (console version), before they had the option to have no HUD for custom games, that we had to work with the limited space. It’s annoying and takes too much time, along with getting too many shots to for the correct one. Options like these only make things easier for us.
For those who do like having the HUD, but at the same time don’t, developers could easily implement it in such a way that it’ll only appear after pressing a button. An excellent example of this would be the Dead Space series. It keeps players completely immersed in the dark atmosphere without any distracting interface, but if you do want to access it, a simple push will allow it to pop up.
I know this isn’t something everyone wants, seeing that the HUD does have its advantage, but I truly believe that this should be an OPTION in every single game.
In next week’s article, we’ll be discussing custom controls.
A gamer at heart, James has been working for MP1st for the last decade to do exactly what he loves, writing about video games and having fun doing it. Growing up in the 90's gaming has been in his DNA since the days of NES. One day he hopes to develop his own game.
Those who tend to dwell in toxic behaviors online, such as “trolling” or just making everyone’s online gaming experience troublesome, may want to think twice about their online behavior if thinking about purchasing Microsoft’s next-generation console, the Xbox One.
The Xbox One is set to bid adieu to the current reputation system in place on the Xbox 360 – which currently rates people out of a five star rating – with a more comprehensive system that not only tracks players’ online behavior over time, but will also group players together depending on their reputation.
Speaking with OXM, Microsoft’s senior product manager Mike Lavin, shed some details of the upcoming reputation system overhaul and gave some insight on some of the ramifications that toxic players can expect on the Xbox One. He revealed, “what we’re looking at doing is creating a very robust system around reputation and match-making, if people are in your friends list, we’re not touching that, we’re just making it easier for you to come together. It’s really the anonymous side of things where we’re making these investments.”
Lavin also goes on to say, “ultimately if there’s a few percent of our population that are causing the rest of the population to have a miserable time, we should be able to identify those folks.”
Thankfully it won’t be easy to get accused of toxic behavior as Lavin states, “The system will be proof against exploitation. Let’s just be clear, there is no way at all that a conglomerate of people can conspire to sink your Reputation on the system. The way that it’s built fundamentally stops that. It’s very much over a period of time.”
Essentially, players who are constantly blocked and are subjected to enforcement actions due to sending rather vulgar material on Xbox Live, such as lewd photos or messages to unwanting eyes, will be subjected to a reduced reputation score, leading them to be grouped with people who share similar behavior.
Although this new reputation system will tackle bad online behavior over Xbox Live, those who tend to play multiplayer games with their buddies may want to rethink who they play with. The new reputation system also affects online matchmaking, meaning a party will be matched up with groups of players similar to those who have the same reputation level of the person who carries the lowest reputation score. So, be weary.
How do you feel about Microsoft’s new reputation system? Is it for the better? Let us know in the comment section below.
Looking for some weekend fun? The folks over at Digital Extreme, developers behind the free-to-play, third-person shooter, Warframe, May have the solution your looking for.
They are setting up to roll out a new Warframe event for you to participate in this weekend.
The event will have you taking out hordes of Grinner surveillance drones that are not only agile, but able to cloak themselves when damaged, and can compromise your ability to strike undetected. So, make sure to make your first shot count.
With the third day of Xbox Live’s week-long Ultimate Game Sale up and running for the rest of the day, Xbox Live Gold members can look forward to purchasing multiplayer titles such as Forza Horizon, Left For Dead 2 and Crysis 3 at a discounted price.
Check out the full listing for the third day of this week-long sale below, courtesy of Major Nelson:
Ultimate Game Sale, Day Three
Witcher 2 – $9.99 USD
Forza Horizon – $14.99 USD
Left 4 Dead 2 – $9.99 USD
The Orange box – $4.99 USD
Crysis 3 – $19.99 USD
Additionally, you can check the prices of games that are going to be discounted until July 8 here.
You may have already caught Destiny’s first gameplay reveal back at E3 2013, but the developers at Bungie have now released a new commentated version of the demonstration, giving you a more revealing take of the game’s first unveiling.
As a part of Zenimax and Bethesda’s “Creating ESO” series, the studio has released a brand new trailer showing off the “Kwama” enemy. The team has also gone into the nitty gritty of dungeon crawling in their latest blog post, describing how you will work with others to take on these challenging areas in The Elder Scrolls Online.
“Dungeons are organized,” reads the latest update. “You’ll need three other party members to stand a chance, and the four of you will have a version of the dungeon (and its bosses and loot) all to yourselves.”
As in most MMO’s each player will fulfill a role. Most commonly, a player will either focus on damaging enemies, healing teammates, or absorbing damage from enemies. Here are a few tips and tricks for each role, laid out by the ESO dev team:
DPS (Damage Per Second):
Monsters will attack you. Don’t panic, and don’t expect your tank to handle every enemy alone. You have a great toolbox to mitigate damage—you can interrupt, block, and dodge while dealing damage.
Focusing on one enemy at a time is helpful. Coordinate with your group and try to damage the same enemy, then move on to another. The longer the fight goes on, the more danger your party is in of running out of magicka and stamina.
Area of Effect (AoE) abilities are effective, but can be very dangerous. When you damage multiple enemies at once, you risk getting their attention and straining your healer. Be cautious when employing AoE attacks.
Be careful with your attacks! Avoid attacking monsters in the back lines of a pack (more details in the next section). Even getting too close to them can cause them to engage in the fight and threaten to overwhelm your party.
Healing:
Make sure your party has at least one player that can heal the group. The more players that bring healing abilities, the less need there is for a dedicated healer. Coordinate with your group—you might even find that, with the right abilities, each player can manage his or her own health.
Magicka potions can be a great boon, but make sure you choose when to use them carefully. Potions cannot be used in quick succession.
The tank won’t be the only party member taking damage. This is intended, and you will need to watch the other party members carefully.
You’ll take damage, too! Remember that you can interrupt, block, and dodge. Crowd control abilities that stun, slow, or otherwise incapacitate enemies can be extremely useful for healers, and so can damaging abilities.
Tanking:
You won’t need to get every enemy’s attention. Every player can take a few hits from standard attacks, and they have lots of ways to take care of themselves. Many healing abilities affect an area, so your healer (if you only have one) should be able to take care of several party members.
In a fight with a large group of enemies, a tank’s ability to control the fight is critical. Stun the healers, interrupt the spellcasters—you’re the best party member for the job, because your stuns and interrupts will tend to get those enemies to attack you back.
You do need to stay engaged with tougher monsters, like bosses. They hit much harder, and your damage mitigation and extra health will keep you alive where other characters might die.
Of course, with ESO’s flexible role system and the ability to equip any item, players will be able to adapt accordingly to tough situations.
The team also outlined some of the enemy behavior that you can expect while exploring these dungeons and mentioned that they want combat in ESO to be less focused on the user interface and more focused on actual, on screen combat, much like the traditional Elder Scrolls games.
Enemies in any room in a dungeon are all aware of each other. When one is attacked, the others are alerted and prepare to fight back. We call this “pack mentality.”
By default, a pack of monsters spreads out, and each enemy chooses a target. Player actions can change their targets to some extent. For example, taunt abilities force an enemy to attack you for a fixed duration. Attacking an enemy that hasn’t been attacked recently can also cause its focus to switch to you.
Pack monsters don’t all attack at once. Some immediately join the fight, but others prepare in the back lines before moving in. If you get too close to backline enemies, or if you attack them, they’ll join the battle.
In general, enemies target the closest player that is attacking them. If they aren’t being attacked, different enemy types choose targets differently. For example, a ranged enemy is more likely to target a ranged player than a melee enemy is.
Speaking of enemies, check out the latest trailer for the “Kwama.”
Those who have been waiting patiently for Gearbox Software, the developers behind the shoot and loot FPSRPG, Borderlands 2, to release the inevitable Game Of The Year edition, including multiple game add-ons in one sweet deal, might not have to wait much longer.
According to a recent Steam database listing, a Borderlands 2 Game Of The Year edition has recently popped up. This shouldn’t be a big surprise seeing how the first Borderlands that was released all the way back in 2009 received the same treatment shortly after it’s fourth DLC was released.
Borderlands 2 DLC’s featured much more varied then it’s predecessor, however, such as new character classes and an exclusive slaughter dome. Here’s a list of the all the DLC content you can expect be available in the Borderlands 2 Game Of The Year edition:
Game Of The Year Edition Content
Captain Scarlet’s And Her Pirate’s Booty
Mister Torgue’s Campaign Of Carnage
Sir Hammerlock’s Big Game Hunt
Tiny Tina’s Assault On Dragon Keep
Ultimate Vault Hunter Upgrade
Mechromancer Pack
Psycho Pack
Creature Slaughter Dome
At the moment, there’s no set price as Gearbox hasn’t officially announced Borderlands 2’s Game Of The Year edition, but when a price point becomes available, we will be sure to update you guys.
Although Xbox Live Gold subscribers were disappointed with the first game announcement for Microsoft’s latest Games With Gold promotion, Defense Grid: The Awakening, they can look forward to a bigger surprise later this month.
Of the original two games that were announced back in this years E3, Halo 3 and Assassin’s Creed 2, the latter will be available to download for free come July 16, with the cutoff date being July 31, according to Xbox Wire.
Microsoft’s Games With Gold promotion nets Xbox Live Gold members with two free games per month until the end of the year. No word yet on when Halo 3 is going to be made available for free in the future, but we will be sure to update you guys when more information surfaces.
If you haven’t yet heard, 343 Industries is going big with their very own Halo 4 tournament this summer.
The Halo 4 Global Championship is a world-wide, free-for-all tournament that kicks off in Austin, Texas, on July 5 that puts a cash prize pool of $500,000 on the line.
“You can participate in a few different ways,” writes 343. “Aim your sights on this year’s Rooster Teeth Expo (RTX) in Austin, TX, to participate in our Wild Card Tournament. Can’t make it? Join in for 5 weeks of online qualifiers! Each week, you’ll be challenged to complete at least 20 matches against 7 random players with the game type changing weekly. The top 6 players from RTX, plus the 4 winners from each week of online play, will receive an expenses-paid trip to compete in the Finals! Will you walk away with the $200,000 (USD) Grand Prize and Halo 4 Global Champion title?”
On July 15, Xbox Live participants will be able to enter a featured Halo 4 playlist where each week, a new game mode will be highlighted. You can check out the full schedule here. You will need a minimum of 20 matches to qualify and your average score will be determined as follows:
1st Place = 8 points
2nd Place = 7 points
3rd Place = 6 points
4th Place = 5 points
5th Place = 4 points
6th Place = 3 points
7th Place = 2 points
8th Place = 1 point
Disconnect = 0 points
Participants will also have the chance to win weekly prizes just by playing in the appropriate playlists.
Finals take place between August 30 and September 1 in Seattle, Washington where one winner will walk away with $200,000.
Check out the introduction video by Rooster Teeth.
SCUF Gaming, who are known for their line of modified Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 controllers that cater to first-person and third-person shooter games like Call of Duty, Halo, Battlefield, and Gears of War, are introducing an entirely new line of controllers that improves upon the original design called the SCUF Hybrid.
The SCUF Hybrid is a redesigned Xbox 360 controller that “combines the familiarity of the XBOX controller with a completely re-engineered SCUF back that locks the hands in place by offering the best shape for paddle usage in either wired or wireless variations.”
Up to this point, all Xbox 360 SCUF controllers have been based on the first-party Microsoft design but with the addition of new buttons, improved thumb sticks, trigger stoppers and back paddles for extra functionality. The SCUF Hybrid pushes things even further by opting for a more efficient design, a new battery pack, and additional paddles.
It boasts “One touch fully remappable paddles for on the fly customization with a new virtually indestructible 2, 3 or 4 paddle design! A Lithium Ion battery has made the wireless version lighter and more versatile while offering days of gameplay on a single charge. The SCUF back also improves overall durability with higher grade materials, paddle housings, and hair trigger guards. The HYBRID is designed to dramatically improve all aspects of your gameplay and enable you to become the best gamer you can be.”
Check out the promotional video for the new SCUF Hybrid.
The SCUF Hybrid will be available later this month on July 31st, 2013. You can pre-order and customize your very own SCUF Hybrid right here, or even choose designs from some of your favorite pro teams.
Are you a SCUF user? Are you thinking about picking up the new SCUF Hybrid?
Looks like some changes are coming to the playable classes of Sony’s free-to-play MMOFPS title, PlanetSide 2, over the coming months and continuing throughout the year.
Speaking with Shacknews, Mark Higby revealed that the first class to receive an update is the Infiltrator class. He says “he’s going to get some new cloak types, there’s a cloaking type called the ‘Stalker Cloak,’ which basically is a cloak that has no duration. You can stay cloaked forever with it.”
In addition to getting an upgraded cloak, the Infiltrator class will see a buff on it’s melee weapons to complement the Infiltrator’s cloaking ability. Higby goes to say “wieldable melee weapons will be a thing, maybe you’ll have a vibro-sword or katana of some sort that you can use as your primary weapon. So you’ll be able to sneak around more and be able to do more with melee weapons for close-range combat. Those are the cornerstones of the Infiltrator update, for now.”
You can expect the Infiltrator’s class upgrade to go live either later July or August, with the rest of the classes to receive an upgrade throughout the span of one year.
What upgrade would you guys like to see your favorite PlanetSide 2 class? Let us know in the comment section below.
David Sears and his team at SOF Studios can breathe a sigh of relief, as can fans of the tactical, team-based shooter genre.
H-Hour: World’s Elite is officially a go as the studio’s Kickstarter campaign has reached its goal of raising $200,000 in funds as of today, July 2, with four days left to go on the clock.
As of this writing, $206, 644 has been pledged towards the project.
“We made it! With your help–and many of you were tireless promoters of the H-Hour: World’s Elite Kickstarter project–we have met our minimum target!” writes creative director David Sears in a recent update.
“Of course it’s not over yet,” he adds. “We can still reach for the stretch goals and every dollar pledged will be used to make a better game. So please keep spreading the word!”
Be sure to check out our full interview with Sears to learn mor about H-Hour and what you can expect from this deadly shooter coming to the PC and PlayStation 4.
