According to Capcom’s financial results for the fiscal year ended March 31, the company saw a 14.6% increase in net sales, and a 17.6% decrease in operating income from their previous fiscal year.
The company also reports ordinary income decreased 7.4% and net income decreased 55.8 percent.
Capcom’s report says that while Resident Evil 6 sold 4.9 million units, sales after its launch “subsequently plateaued,” and failed to meet the company’s projections. Dragon’s Dogma, however, was a “greater-than-expected hit” that they describe as a highly profitable, “unprecedented million seller.”
Ninja Theory’s DmC Devil may Cry is considered by Capcom to have “enjoyed stable popularity in overseas markets” and posted “solid sales.” They also consider Monster Hunter 3 a “smash hit.”
Capcom hopes to have a much more profitable fiscal year ending March 31, 2014, banking on such titles as Monster Hunter 4 and Lost Planet 3. The company says they’ll also be directing their development resources toward online games for mobile and PC platforms, as well as downloadable titles.

DICE has revealed that the Battlefield 3 and Battlelog servers have been under a constant DDoS (Denial of Service) attack for the last several days, but the developer promised that it is fighting back and is almost on top of things.
“Despite our security measures, we have been working around the clock to mitigate the impact of an ongoing denial-of-service attack on our Battlefield 3 game infrastructure over the last several days. While the motives are unclear, the focus of the attack has been interference with network communications preventing access to multiplayer gameplay,” the developer wrote on the game’s forums.
Players have nothing to worry about though as DICE promised that this is simply a server attack and not an attempt to steal information. “At this point, no user data is involved. We share your frustration about the impact this has had to our service and the ability for many of you to play Battlefield 3. We are working tirelessly to mitigate the problem.”
Rolling server restarts have been implemented to try and combat the issue, but there still seems to be some issues.
“As a part of our efforts to resolve these issues, we’ve conducted rolling restarts of Battlefield infrastructure servers to apply some updates. Thank you for your patience and support while we work to get everyone back and playing Battlefield 3 as soon as possible. More updates to come,” the post concluded.
Yesterday the developer revealed news of the attacks for the first time on its Twitter account.

Trion Worlds has shed some light on the first DLC pack for Defiance, tentatively titled Enter The Castithan, which will offer both free and paid content.
This is the first of five planned DLC releases for the game and will include a free component, a paid component, and a store update. So basically Trion wants to offer its free players something to keep them interested, but also wants to offer players a chance to secure some exclusive items if they are willing to part with some cash–the game’s got to make money after all.
A tentative list of content for the first batch of DLC can be found below:


You get this when you buy the DLC for $10:
     - Access to play the Castithan Species
     - Access to a new Story Mission Line with new Battle Arena Game Mode
     - Access to the new Castithan Battle Arenas
     - Castithan Charge Blade & Ceremonial Mask as a reward from Story Mission Line
     - A unique version of the Raptor, a new 4 player truck of doom
     - A unique Castithan version of an outfit
     - A Charge Weapons Starter Pack
     - Access to New Pursuits
     - New Xbox and PS3 Trophies and Achievements

You get this in the DLC for free:
     - Access to the new Charge Weapons Class and Castithan Blades
     - Access to Sieges, a new Open World Game Mode
     - Access to the new Monolith Major Arkfall
     - Access to a new PvP Map – Military Academy
     - Join a friend into the Battle Arenas Game Mode
     - Duel your friends and neighbors in the Duels Game Mode
     - Enemies, lockboxes, and events can drop Charge Weapons
     - Select a new voice for you character
     - Multitude of game improvements from UI to content

You can buy these individually from the store:
     - New Mods that tint the color of your Castithan Blade
     - Lockboxes have a chance to get Charge Weapons
     - More versions of the Raptor, the new 4 player truck of doomed compensation
     - Character Customization changes: Appearance change, name change, or everything change

For more details on the game’s DLC plans you can head over to the official site.

Fancy having a go at Call of Duty: Black Ops 2‘s multiplayer for free? Well be sure to sign into Steam this weekend where you can play the whole thing at no extra charge. There’s also a nice little double XP event for those who have already bought the game.
As well as being free all weekend on PC the game is also on sale for those who like what they see. From now until Monday you can pick up the game at 33 percent off for $40.19, or you can grab the Digital Deluxe Edition for $53.59.
Treyarch has also revealed that starting today at 10am PDT players can earn double XP in Black Ops 2 across all platforms (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, and Wii U) until Monday at 10am PDT.
Double XP kicks off tomorrow at 10am/PDT (360,PS3/PC/WiiU) and runs through Monday 10am/PDT.

"What’s that? You feel a sick day coming on?" xD

Remember that Resident Evil: Revelations demo that was promised a few weeks back? Well Capcom has finally offered up an actual release date for it.
The demo will be available on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 U.S., PC, and Wii U from May 14, and on PlayStation 3 in Europe from May 15. This new version of the game includes ”HD visuals, enhanced lighting effects and an immersive sound experience,” as well as a new enemy and difficulty mode.
Resident Evil: Revelations is set to release May 21 in the U.S. and May 24 in Europe.

A new batch of screenshots have appeared online for Watch_Dogs which feature a new character, bikes, cars, and the ever-powerful cell phone.
The new female character in the screens is Clara Lille, “a woman with her own dark past and questionable methods,” according to Ubisoft. If these shots aren’t enough for you then why not check out the latest trailer for the game here.
“Players will assume the role of Aiden Pearce, a new type of vigilante who, with the help of his smartphone, will use his ability to hack into Chicago’s central operating system (ctOS) and control almost every element of the city. Aiden will be able to tap into the city’s omnipresent security cameras, download personal information to locate a target, control systems such as traffic lights or public transportation to stop a chase, and more. The city of Chicago is now the ultimate weapon,” the publisher explains.
Watch_Dogs is set to release for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, and Wii U from November 19 in the U.S. and November 22 in Europe. The game will be available on PlayStation 4 from the console’s launch.

 

A complete list of Achievements for GRID 2 has been posted online ahead of its official release date later this month. The game features 50 Achievements worth the usual 1,000 Gamerscore.

You can check out the complete list (via X360a) below:

- Touge Fast, Touge Furious – You shutout an opponent in a career Touge event (15G)
- C-C-C-Combo Maker – You reached the maximum multiplier in an Overtake event (15G)
- All Night Long – You took part in and completed an online Endurance race (35G)
- Pinball Wizard – You traded paint with every competitor during one offline race and still won the race (15G)
- Mo Money, No Problems – You’ve gone above and beyond the call of duty and completed 5 career sponsor objectives (15G)
- Vanishing Point – You’ve won a race in a white Dodge Challenger but lived to tell the tale, unlike Kowalski (15G)
- Rocket Manski – You’ve driven faster than a Russian torpedo, which incidentally is 230 mph (15G)
- Sellout – You’ve got one thing on your mind: money! You completed 20 career sponsor objectives (30G)
- One For The Team – You’ve completed an individual Global Challenge goal and ultimately helped the community (15G)
- A Different Class- You’ve upgraded a car and bumped it to ‘Upgraded’ class (20G)
- Ring Master – You finished 5 seconds ahead of the target time in a Vehicle Challenge on the Red Bull Ring (15G)
- Tokyo Drift – You scored 350,000 drift points in Okutama in a Mazda RX-7 TYPE RZ or a NISMO R34T-R Z-TUNE (25G)
- Shaken, Not Stirred – You rolled a car at least 7 times and landed on its wheels, just like Bond did (20G)
- Keep Your Friends Close – and your enemies even closer. You beat a Rival on track (5G)
- You rOCDed! – You finished first in every career event, during season play and/or via the timeline (100G)
- Dipping Your Toes – You’ve reached level 10 online and opened up a new world of possibilities (30G)
- Social Butterfly – You took part in an online playlist and stuck around for at least 5 races (20G)
- Sideways Shenanigans – You performed a 100m drift (10G)
- Could It Be Magic? – You beat all of the Prestige drivers in career club events (15G)
- Master Racer – You won a career event on the hardest difficulty without using Flashbacks (30G)
- Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger – You won a race in an upgraded car (10G)
- A Vision of What’s to Come – You won a career Promo Event (10G)
- Beginner’s Luck – You set the fastest time on the first lap of a Time Attack event (15G)
- Remember Me? – You lapped a competitor (20G)
- Eat It! – You won the first round of a career Touge event using the 5 second rule (15G)
- Making My Way Down Town – You’ve driven more than 1,000 miles (1,610km) (25G)
- Pedal to the Medal – You won a round of a career event without using the brakes (30G)
- SWAGtastic! – You beat the target time in a Vehicle Challenge (15G)
- Global Domination – You won a week of Global Challenge (20G)
- California Dreaming – You completed California Big Sur in under 3 minutes (30G)
- Jack of All Trades – You’ve competed in all race types (10G)
- Natural Ability – You won an Online Playlist event (25G)
- The Artist- You’ve individually applied customised liveries to 5 vehicles (10G)
- Quantum Leap – You repeated an event using the Timeline (10G)
- Gone in 60 Seconds – You completed a lap of Chicago – Wabash Run driving the Ford Mustang Mach 1 in less than 60 seconds (15G)
- Harlem Globeshaker – You raced at every city at least once (10G)
- Drifting Like a Boss – You’ve scored 250,000 points in a single drift (15G)
- Flawless Victory – You’ve won an Overtake event making no contact with anything. (Excludes Global Challenge events) (20G)
- Winging It – You’ve won a LiveRoute event (10G)
- Here’s My Number, Call Me Maybe? – You returned Callahan’s call and became his poster boy for the World Series of Racing (5G)
That New Showroom Smell – Having wowed the crowds in America, it’s time to upgrade your digs (10G)
Oriental Express – Look out Asia, here we come (15G)
Going Global – The WSR goes from regional to global thanks to your impressive form (20G)
Even Balboa Had a Montage – The WSR is so big now that it’s even getting montages on TV. You’ve made it to the big time! (25G)
The World’s Greatest – Congratulations, you have become the ultimate WSR champion. What an investment! (50G)
T3XT M3SSAG1NG I5 GR8 – Thanks to you, the WSR is now the talk of the town (10G)
Internet Famous – The message boards are alight with the talk of the WSR’s increasing popularity (15G)
Clubbed to Death – That’s it, folks. The club format is behind you, it’s all about the leagues now. Good luck! (20G)
Toca Juniors No More – You got your first taste of a Super Touring Car and never looked back (25G)
Imma Let You Finish – You amassed more fans than Taylor Swift has Twitter followers. That’s 23.5 million, by the way (30G)

The first DLC for Sins of a Solar Empire’s standalone expansion Rebellion will release in June, publisher Stardock announced.
The new DLC adds four new planets, a new planet specialization system, 15 new research topics, 14 new planetary bonuses, and new achievements.
Stardock’s space-faring real-time strategy game Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion was released on Windows PC June 12, 2012.
Forbidden Worlds will be available for $5 via Steam, GameStop, GamersGate, and GameFly on June 5.

Snail Games, best known for Age of Wushu, has shared a few more details about Black Gold Online over on the steampunk fantasy MMO’s official Chinese website.
The game world will apparently feature 300 square kilometers of land mass to explore, according to the update. The game also has 6 races to choose from with a total of 18 classes available, dynamic events, and cross-server PvP.
If this hasn’t wet your appetite, then how about 360 degree non-target action combat, allowing you to have full control of the action. Or the choice of several different mount styles including mechs, anti-air tanks, and even dragons.
You can check out a trailer for the game below.
Trailer

Get your week off to a good start with a whole six minutes of Watch_Dogs gameplay footage.
The footage features the game’s main protagonist Aiden Pearce buying weapons and items, infiltrating outposts, and generally hacking everything in sight with his futuristic cell phone. The footage is apparently running on a PC with specs comparable to the PlayStation 4.
Watch_Dogs is set to release November 19 in North America and November 22 in Europe for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, and Wii U. The game is set to be a launch title for the PlayStation 4.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5R_1B77bug

Via: CVG

Sony and Microsoft are telling developers they're "going heavily" on free-to-play and in-app purchasing models with their next-gen consoles, according to Epic Games VP Mark Rein. Speaking in a roundtable discussion at the UK's Game Horizon conference, Rein said both companies will take on the kinds of financial models seen on mobile devices.
"The next-gen consoles are going to be fully embracing the free-to-play and these IAP-type business models," Rein told the audience, "So in case you don't know that I'm putting that out there. Sony and Microsoft are both going heavily in that area."
Roundtable chair Matt Martin of GamesIndustry International said that's what both platform holders are saying, but that "we still need to see some kind of evidence."
Rein replied, "Well, I'm telling you. I'm telling you what they're telling developers."
In this month's issue of Game Informer, via Gaming Everything, Sony Worldwide Studios chief Shuhei Yoshida said his company's working on a "free-to-play type" PS4 game, and that Sony is open-minded when it comes to different financial models.
"We are developing a free-to-play type of game, but we haven't announced it yet," Yoshida told Game Informer. "We don't have any subscription-based games in development, but we are not crossing out any type of game; if it makes sense for a particular project, we'll look at adopting different models. We are open for any types of models. Overall, we are increasing investment in the digital side of development, either through digital titles like Journey that we've been doing, but also trying to add more service-based models to our games going forward, like DLCs or additional features post launch."
Sony also recently announcedBlacklight: Retribution as a free-to-play PS4 game.
Later during the Game Horizon roundtable, which focused on "new opportunities in video game hardware," Rein said the PS4 and next Xbox can learn from Google and Apple on how to make gaming more convenient for players.
"I think what you're going to see the new consoles do is a better job of making it easier," Rein said. "I think the real big thing that the consoles can do is improve their interfaces. They can improve the Xbox Live-type experience. They can improve their media center capabilities. But that's only going to make them also better platforms for having your games. Your games will just come down from the cloud, you'll be able to go to any Xbox, sign in, and boom, you'll be able to play your game."
"I think they can make gaming a lot more convenient, and then I think you'll game more if it's more convenient," he added.
We should learn more on all that in the coming weeks, with the next Xbox set to be announced on May 21, and E3 kicking off in just over a month's time.

It sounds like PlayStation 4 has been and will be a more profitable piece of hardware for Sony than PlayStation 3.
"Unlike PS3, we are not planning a major loss to be incurred with the launch of PS4," said Sony CFO Masaru Kato during an earnings call that ended moments ago.
"At the time we developed PS3, we made a lot of in-house investments to develop the chip, the Cell chip. Development of the chip saw the silicon processing and all the facilities invested by us ourselves. But this time, yes we have a team working on chip development, but we already have existing technology to incorporate and also product investment and all the facilities will now be invested by our partners, other foundries, so we don't have to make all the investment in-house."

"My transformation is nearly complete!"

Sony didn't offer a sales forecast for PS4 for the year ending 31st March 2014, nor did anyone ask - the fools!
Sony turned a profit a year after a record loss - not a bad result for Kaz Hirai's first year in charge. He didn't necessarily work miracles, but he did reorganise and streamline the company, cutting thousands of jobs and getting back to black by selling expensive office buildings in Japan and America, plus Sony's stakes in DeNA and M3 holdings. Doing so enabled Sony to splash out and acquire Gaikai last summer.
Sony's annual profit was 43 billion yen ($458 million) - roughly what was expected.
In the Game segment, sales were down 12.2 per cent and operating income down 94 per cent to $18 million, whoopsie daisy.
Combined PS3 and PS2 sales were down to 16.5 million from 18 million the year before, whereas combined PSP and Vita sales raised a whisker to 7 million from 6.8 million the year before. But a PS Vita price cut in Japan undermined the extra sales, bringing in less money for Sony.
In the year ahead, "Sales are expected to increase significantly," Kato said, "primarily due to the planned introduction of the PlayStation 4 in the fiscal year ending 31st March 2014.
"Operating income," however, "is expected to be essentially flat year-on-year primarily due to an increase in research and development expenses and marketing expenses related to the introduction of the PS4, offset by the impact of the above-mentioned increase in sales."
Sony expects PS3 to sell 10 million units this financial year - a figure I can confidently report because PS2 sales have been removed from the year-ahead forecast.
Sony believes a combined 5 million PSP and PS Vita units will be sold this financial year, which is considerably down on this year - not a good sign for Vita.
Nevertheless, smartphone sales were up for Sony, and continuing to turn those around, plus transforming TV sales, was described as "a must" for the company this year. The other segments are relatively stable by comparison.
A positive step for Sony, then, which is now a more lean, mean, profitable machine.

Sources related to development of the new Xbox have confirmed to IBTimes UK that the console, which is scheduled to be launched on 21 May, will be called Infinity.

The Xbox Infinity logo that was created by Reddit user Cameron Holtzbach 

 

The new information follows a supposed leaked image which appeared on Reddit recently, advertising the Xbox Infinity. Prior to that, the new Xbox was labelled either Xbox 720, a natural successor of the name Xbox 360, or Durango, its alleged development codename.
But sources have now revealed the console will be named Infinity and that development kits are already in the hands of studios. However, when contacted for confirmation, Microsoft said it "does not comment on rumour and speculation."
Another image which appeared on NeoGaf suggested the next Xbox would be simply called "Xbox" with Microsoft losing any numbers or subtitles, similar to Apple's naming of the latest iPad. However, a user on VG Leaks examined the picture and found the lettering was not in a straight line, implying the logo was not created by Microsoft professionals.
Other recent Xbox rumours include speculation that Respawn Games, co-founded by Modern Warfare creators Vince Zampella and Jason West, may be developing a launch title for the new console. There is also the possibility that always-online functionality, which has long been a concern to consumers looking to continue playing second-hand games, may be activated or deactivated at developers' discretion, meaning that some games will always need to be connected to the internet and some will not.
The new Call of Duty game, Call of Duty: Ghosts will also be available on the Infinity. After the launch of a short teaser trailer, the game is now set to be unveiled in full alongside the new Xbox on 21 May.
Though Microsoft has given no official word on a release date, the Infinity is expected to launch in November, 2013, to coincide with the PlayStation 4's release in the US and Asia.

We've put together a list of games with confirmed release dates for 2013. If a game only has a loose release date, such as a specific quarter or month, it won't make the cut. It needs to have a date.
We'll be updating this throughout the year as more and more dates get confirmed. See any that we missed? Sound off in the comments below.
January
Anarchy Reigns – January 8
DmC: Devil May Cry -- January 15
Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2 – January 15
The Cave – January 22
Naughty Bear: Double Trouble – January 22
Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch – January 22
Hitman Trilogy – January 29
February
Fire Emblem: Awakening – February 4
Dead Space 3 – February 5
Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time – February 5
Brain Age: Concentration Training – February 10
Aliens: Colonial Marines – February 12
Omerta: City of Gangsters – February 12
Crysis 3 – February 19
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance  – February 19
Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan – February 26
Rayman Legends – February 26
March
South Park: The Stick of Truth -- March 5 (DELAYED)
Major League Baseball 2K13 – March 5
MLB 13 The Show -- March 5
Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 – March 5
Tomb Raider – March 5
SimCity – March 5
Castlevania Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate -- March 5
God of War: Ascension -- March 12
StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm – March 12
Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2 – March 12
Gears of War: Judgment – March 19
Army of Two: The Devil's Cartel – March 26
BioShock Infinite – March 26
April
Injustice: Gods Among Us – April 16
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner – Soul Hackers – April 16
Pandora's Tower  – April 16
LEGO City Undercover: The Chase Begins – April 21
Dead Island Riptide – April 23
Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen  – April 23
Star Trek  – April 23
Black Rock Shooter  – April 23
Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition – April 30
Deadly Premonition The Director's Cut  –   April 30
Soul Sacrifice – April 30 
May
Metro: Last Light   – May 14
Fast & Furious Showdown – May 21
Resident Evil Revelations  – May 21
Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D   – May 24
Sniper Elite V2   – May 24
Fuse    – May 28
Grid 2  – May 28
June
Remember Me  – June 4
Animal Crossing: New Leaf – June 9
The Last of Us – June 14
Company of Heroes 2 – June 25
Project X Zone  –  June 25
Muramasa Rebirth –  June 25
July

NCAA Football 14 –July 9
Dynasty Warriors 8 – July 16
August
Tales of Xillia  – August 6
Disney Infinity – August 18
Lost Planet 3 –  August 27

Dead or Alive 5: Ultimate is coming this fall. Tecmo Koei today announced the revised edition of DoA 5 will bring modes and content previously exclusive to PlayStation Vita, as well as new characters and stages, to PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

Ryu Hayabusa's Ninja Gaiden apprentice Momiji will join the largest Dead or Alive roster ever, along with other yet-to-be-announced combatants. A new Sky City Tokyo stage with Great Buddha Statue Danger Zones will also draw from Ninja Gaiden's richly perplexing history.

On top of the typical story and arcade modes, fighters can work on their combos with DoA 5 Plus' "Move Details Plus" and tutorial mode. As far as we know, the lascivious touch-flick-and-pinch-based first-person brawling mode remains a Vita exclusive.

Dead or Alive 5: Ultimate will be available in retail and as a download on PlayStation Network and Xbox Live.

Sega has released its financial results for the business year ended March 31 2013, revealing that Aliens: Colonial Marines sold just over 1.3 million copies during the period. While it received a poor critical reception, the console and PC shooter was Sega’s second best-selling title of the year, coming in just 50,000 units behind fellow multiplatform release Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed.

PC and PSP title Football Manager 2013 chalked up 940,000 sales, ahead of London 2012: The Official Video Game’s 680,000, while Japan-only PS3 exclusive Yakuza 5 shifted 590,000 copies. Sega's consumer business, which houses games, saw revenues drop 2.1 per cent year-on-year to 83.8 billion yen (£536m / $827m). Parent company Sega Sammy's net sales declined 18.7 per cent year-on-year to 321 billion yen ($2b / $3.2b), but profits increased 53.3 per cent to 33.5 billion yen (£214m / $330).

Sega Sammy said: "In the home video game software industry, demand weakened for packaged games due to the severe economic environment mainly in the US and Europe. Meanwhile, Sega Sammy Group needs to adapt to a changing business environment in which market demand for digital games geared toward social networking services (SNS) and smartphones is expanding further.

"The packaged game software field in the consumer business will undergo rationalization, in an effort to establish a structure that can consistently generate profit. We also intend to make our game software compatible with the next-generation game machines, which are due to be launched."

Konami had a rough year, but the Japanese publisher, developer, and health club operator (you knew that, right?) says brighter times are on the horizon. Its financial year ended on March 31, and Konami says we can look forward to more news about Metal Gear Solid (presumably MGS V) at E3 next month.

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance and Pro Evolution Soccer 2013, the company's largest console releases of the year, both "sold steadily." Konami also released a bevy of social and mobile games in Japan.

The report said net revenues were down year-over-year by 15 percent to ¥226 billion ($2.22b / £1.45b), and net income was down 42.8 percent to ¥13.2 billion ($129.4m / £84.3m).

The prevalence of new social and mobile opportunities should provide increasing sales opportunities to a wider audience going forward, Konami said. Combined with a weakening yen, the company offered a stronger outlook of ¥232 billion ($2.28b / £1.48b) in net revenue and ¥15.5 billion ($152.3m / £99.2m) in net income for the 2014 fiscal year.

The warm welcome for Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon means we may not have seen the last of Sergeant Rex ‘Power’ Colt.
The first hint of a potential follow-up has come via Colt’s voice actor, ’80s action legend Michael Biehn (Aliens, The Terminator).
“[Creative director Dean Evans] was with me on the phone last night. He was pretty jacked up,” said Biehn, speaking to Major Nelson Radio.
“He was going into a meeting today to, you know, I think he wants to turn it into some sort of franchise. He’s got a sequel in mind.”

Biehn, who concedes he’s not much of a gamer personally, sounds pretty amazed by the fan response to Blood Dragon to date.
“I did an Aliens game last year that just, kind of, nobody really talked about it very much and I never really heard too much about it,” he said. “I heard when it came out. Nobody ever came up to me afterwards and said, ‘Oh, that Aliens game was really good’ or whatever.”
“I’m telling you, I have more people approaching me now on the streets about this video game. Way more than they do now about, like, ‘Oh, weren’t you the guy that was in The Terminator?’ Or ‘Weren’t you the guy that was in The Victim?’ Or ‘Weren’t you the guy that was in Tombstone?’”
Biehn estimates that he’s had around 100 people approach him and ask about the game in just the last two weeks.

“I want to go out right now, actually, and I wanna go buy a system to play the game on, and I want to buy the game, and I want to learn how to play it,” he said. “There’s something about this game, and I don’t know what it is, but it has people, young people, really excited.”
You can read Mitch’s thoughts on Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon here, and you can hear the complete interview on Major Nelson Radio here.

Through my scope, I watch a neon-lit dinosaur shoot laser beams from its face in a fierce battle with evil robots. When it’s done roasting our mutual enemies, I blow the beast up with sniper-rockets. Suddenly, there's a 16-bit style sex montage. Nobody in their right mind would create something as wonderfully absurd as Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon – so I’m glad someone in charge at Ubisoft is at least a little nuts.

 
Don't go in expecting a traditional Far Cry game. Blood Dragon is philosophically, tonally, and mechanically the fundamental opposite of its straight-faced predecessors. It's like entering the imagination of a nine-year-old boy. Or my mind at age 25, honestly: These are action figures and super-powers come to life for an action-packed six-hours of open-world first-person shooting.
The hero, cyborg commando Rex Power Colt, has no limits. He doesn’t get tired from running at inhuman speeds, he doesn’t need air to breathe, he can survive any fall, and he rattles off more one-liners than a Paul Verhoeven anthology – all to the tune of a groovy synth soundtrack. Knowingly awful writing, rich with eye-rolling puns and delightfully inappropriate profanity, is a reminder that the dopey dialogue of ‘80s action movies is still a special sort of hilarious. These silly mission objectives, which reference everything from Die Hard and D20s to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Aliens, are a rare delight in first-person shooters.
It isn't able to keep the A-material jokes coming the whole time, though. Certain gags get reused more often than would be ideal, which can stall the comedic momentum. But what occasionally brings Blood Dragon's pace to a halt most is its cutscenes – the 16-bit story scenes have a habit of overstaying their welcome.

This gun? Pretty good.

Of course, things get back on track the moment the action begins again, because this overpowered badass is so entertaining to play. Rex starts out so strong, in fact, that his upgrade tree (a linear, simplified version of Far Cry 3's) isn't terribly rewarding. Earned XP unlocks different melee takedowns, but you're very well equipped from the start. Instead of meaningful progression, Rex’s guns and their upgrades define his style. An exaggerated sense of empowerment comes with carrying more grenades than is reasonable, laser machine-guns, quad-barrel shotguns with flaming shells, and some seriously devastating, hysterical tools you couldn’t pay me to spoil.

 

It’s the blood dragons themselves, however, that create the most memorable and comical moments. The laser-breathing reptiles are easily baited into attacking enemy outposts. On the default difficulty, letting a dragon do your dirty work for you makes combat far too easy for experienced players. When the difficulty gets cranked up to hard, it's an essential and rewarding tool.

 

What's missing from Blood Dragon is something for Far Cry 3's stealthier players. The trademark bow returns, so you can still kill without sounding the alarm, but nothing has been added to change or improve the silent gameplay in the same way the guns-blazing approach has been supercharged.
That exaggerated absurdity of the action is what Blood Dragon is all about, though, and is more than entertaining enough to make it a great experience. Players without an established love for Arnold Schwarzenegger, John Carpenter, arcades, CRTs, and VHS tapes might miss the point of what Blood Dragon’s going for, but even they can appreciate the wacky sandbox world just waiting for mayhem. Although there’s less room for freeform play styles in the linear missions, the open world has plenty to discover, and presents plenty of exciting enemy encounters -- even if you’ve already mastered Far Cry 3’s enemy behavior.

THE VERDICT

Blood Dragon’s playful focus on humor, nostalgia, and self-aware absurdity allows it to delve into a subject far more important than African arms races or tropical sociopaths: Video games are really, really fun. This comical, explosive shooter takes everything that makes Far Cry 3's gunplay great and dresses it in the kind of wit and over-the-top fun that Duke Nukem Forever is so desperately missing. Blood Dragon is a different beast – and it’s something you shouldn’t miss.

 

 

Borderlands 2: Sir Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt Review

Sir Hammerlock returns for yet another Borderlands 2 expansion pack -- but should you venture into the wild with him?

 

How far can an expansion to a great game fall? It's a tough question, and one that Sir Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt, the latest DLC add-on for Borderlands 2, had me asking early, and often. After all, it still has the same, sound shoot-and-loot mechanics from the main game, along with plenty of new enemies to take aim at. How different can it really feel? The answer is “a lot,” and in this case different doesn't mean better. Big Game Hunt manages to stay just enjoyable enough to get a pass, but it's still easily the weakest add-on Gearbox has put on the table for Borderlands 2 thus far.

The setup for Big Game Hunt brims with opportunity. Sir Hammerlock, the bionic-armed gentleman hunter from the main campaign, has invited you out to his cabin in the savage lands of Aegrus for a quiet weekend of hunting and hijinks – you know, like tracking and fighting tons of huge, unique monsters for loot, honor, and the Borderlands way. Sadly, what it turns out to be is a short, uninspired quest line to take down yet another self-proclaimed evil genius.
Enter Professor Nakayama, a one-dimensional new villain whose only discernible trait is that he's obsessed with the late Handsome Jack, a trait hammered home ad nauseum from start to finish with tepid writing that falls well short of the Borderlands norm. Sir Hammerlock gets similar treatment, with repeated attempts to squeeze laughs out of how much of a gentleman he is, and to little effect. After Mr. Torgue's Campaign of Carnage nailed the comedy, Big Game Hunt feels like a step back.
More so than the usual monsters, the main quest here focuses the fighting on tribal savages, Nakayama's followers who share his...enthusiasmfor Handsome Jack. Despite enemies sporting an interesting assortment of never-before-seen abilities, these fights can become grueling slogs thanks almost entirely to one particular new enemy type: the witch doctor.
It would be irritating enough if these nuisances only healed themselves and every enemy within a football field sized radius in the blink of an eye -- but they've also got a metric ton of hit points, as well as a slew of other skills that make them an absolute pain. Their voodoo masks make them immune to headshots, they randomly deflect or avoid melee attacks (even Zero's action skill), and their powerful elemental attacks give them one-shot killing potential if you aren't geared well enough.
To top it all off, witch doctors can cast a spell that upgrades nearby allies into badass, super badass or ultimate badass ranks. This new foe is challenging, sure, but more importantly he’s exhausting to the point you’re better off saving time and ammunition by running away.

Fortunately, the other enemy types are generally more fun to fight, but some still seem like a lot of risk for little reward. Unless you really put yourself in harm’s way to land criticals, spiders and giant flying spores absorb inordinate amounts of punishment. Oddly, the big game creatures the title refers to are far less threatening, going down relatively easily once you've discerned their patterns. Personally, I would have preferred more varied and challenging unique creatures to getting crushed by common ones. In both scope and ambition, Big Game Hunt never fully lives up to its name.

THE VERDICT

Make no mistake, Big Game Hunt is still Borderlands 2. Combat is still satisfying, as is finding that next gear upgrade. Anyone who found the core gameplay enjoyable before will most likely find it enjoyable here, and a new raid boss offers completionists yet another feather to put in their cap. But in terms of story, dialogue, and encounter design, this add-on pales in comparison to the rest of Borderlands 2. It's like the worst episode of a show you love -- it isn't quite bad, but knowing how good it can be makes it hard to get excited over.
PS: Increase the level cap already!