EA Announces Need for Speed: Rivals; Next-Gen Cops and Robbers

Coming this November for current and next-gen consoles ...

The Need for Speed series will see yet another title this fall with EA's announcement of Need for Speed: Rivals. Being developed by Ghost Games with the Frostbite 3 engine, "Rivals will capture the adrenaline and intensity of the street's ultimate rivalry between cops and racers, in a stunning open road environment." Expect Rivals on current-gen systems this November 19th, and on next generation platforms later in the year.

Rivals will put players in the role of either a cop or a racer, with each side having their own challenges, rewards, and consequences. The cops' duties are typical, while the racers' goal is to become the most infamous by showing off intense high risk escapes.

As racers rank up by evading cops, Speedpoints are earned and are used to unlock new cars and other items. As cops, you'll work together as part of a team in pursuit of racers ... with every bust ranking you higher amongst the Police Force and granting unlocks to new police vehicles and more advance pursuit gears.

Need for Speed Rivals will see the return of the Ferrari among its class of vehicles after a severn year absence. AllDrive, an innovative new feature in Rivals will allow gamers to seamlessly transition between singleplayer and multiplayer mode ... players will be able to enter and exit races in a snap.

• Next-Gen Racing - Redview County is brought to life with stunning, next-generation details.

• Need for Speed Network Powered by Autolog - Gamers can compare stats and challenge their friends anytime, anywhere and then easily share their accomplishments.

• Personalization - Drivers can customize their ride with fresh paint-jobs, custom license plates, liveries decals, performance upgrades, and rims.

• Pursuit and Evasion Tech - 11 upgradeable gadgets including turbo boosts, jammers and EMPs for racers, and shockwaves, roadblocks and helicopters for cops.

"The Need for Speed franchise has been an industry leader bringing social competition to the forefront in games," said Marcus Nilsson, Executive Producer, Ghosts Games. "For the first time, players will have the freedom to seamlessly go from single player to co-op to multiplayer. In Need for Speed Rivals we are creating one game experience with one progression, where the freedom to play with friends is more fluid and accessible than ever before."

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Grand Theft Auto V Special and Collector’s Edition Announced

Both available now for pre-order while supplies last ...

Rockstar Games today announced the details of Grand Theft Auto V's Special and Collector’s Editions, both of which are available now for pre-order for the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3. Those who reserve their copy early, including the standalone retail version, will get access to the Atomic Blimp in-game vehicle.

The Grand Theft Auto V Special Edition will retail for $79.99 and includes the following ...

Full retail copy of Grand Theft Auto V

Collectible Steelbook with exclusive artwork - features custom color and metallic treatments to bring out the detail of the Michael, Trevor and Franklin artwork created exclusively for this Steelbook.

Special Edition Content

Blueprint Map - exclusive 21.5" x 26.75" map displays a blueprint view of Los Santos and Blaine County.

Special Ability Boost - Michael, Franklin and Trevor each have a unique special ability. With this boost, the special ability bar will generate 25% faster.

Stunt Plane Trials - single-player Stunt Plane Trials let players take on additional aerial challenges spread throughout Los Santos and Blaine County.

Bonus Outfits, Tattoos and More - Michael, Franklin and Trevor get bonus outfits in their wardrobes, character specific tattoos at tattoo parlors, and special deals from shopkeepers across Los Santos and Blaine County.

Additional Weapons - when visiting Ammunation stores in single-player, merchants will have special weapons in their inventory available for free: the Pistol .50, Bullpup Shotgun and melee Hammer.

The Grand Theft Auto V Collector’s Edition will cost $149.99 and includes the contents of the Special Edition plus the following ...

Collector's Edition Content

Grand Theft Auto V Security Deposit Bag with Logo Key - inspired by the heists in Grand Theft Auto V, this custom 10.75" x 8.5" money bag features a pop-up style lock and laser cut logo key to secure important items. The reverse side features a pressed Rockstar Games logo on the security mount with a framed ID window.

Grand Theft Auto V New Era 9FIFTY Snapback Cap - this exclusive New Era 9FIFTY™ cap features an embroidered Los Santos logo on the front, a stitched, black Rockstar Games logo on the wearer’s left side, a Grand Theft Auto ‘V’ logo applique on the opposite side, and snapback closure for an adjustable fit.

Custom Characters for Grand Theft Auto Online - get classic Grand Theft Auto characters to use within the Grand Theft Auto Online Character Creation System.

Unique Vehicles and Garage Property - players will instantly receive a garage to store custom vehicles. In single-player, the garage will be stocked with the 1930’s style Hotknife hotrod and the CarbonRS sports bike. In Grand Theft Auto Online, players will get the high-end Khamelion electric car.

The Grand Theft Auto V Collector’s Edition is packaged in a collectible box featuring a foil embossed Grand Theft Auto V logo on the top and finished with a matte, scuff-resistant film lamination housing all of the contents.

Grand Theft Auto V will be available September 17th 2013 for the Xbox 360, and the PlayStation 3.

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Microsoft Unveils Xbox One: The All-in-One Home Entertainment System

Xbox One - hardware, features, and games detailed ...

Microsoft revealed today during their Xbox reveal conference that their next generation system will be the Xbox One. Scheduled for release during the latter half of this year, Xbox One will provide a next level of entertainment for gaming, television, music, movies, sports and Skype.

"Xbox One is designed to deliver a whole new generation of blockbuster games, television and entertainment in a powerful, all-in-one device," said Don Mattrick, president, Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft. "Our unique, modern architecture brings simplicity to the living room and, for the first time ever, the ability to instantly switch across your games and entertainment."

"With Xbox One, games push the boundaries of realism, and TV obeys your commands. Say 'Xbox On' to launch your personalized Xbox One Home screen, discover what is popular on TV or see friends' latest gaming achievements all using the most natural interface ... your voice. The more you interact with Xbox One, the more it gets to know you and learns what you like."

Hardware and Features

Xbox One features 8GB's of RAM, a 64-bit architecture, a Blu-ray drive, 802.11n Wi-Fi, USB 3.0, and HDMI in and out. Contrary to popular rumors, Xbox One will NOT feature "always online." It will however be "always connected" ... as in always being connected to Kinect. So you won't have to be connected to the Internet to use Xbox One, but you will have to be connected to the Kinect senor due to its enhance integration with the system.

Xbox One will require all games to be installed to the hard drive before playing, which upon installation, the system will no longer need the disc to play. Xbox One will not be backwards compatible due to its differing hardware.

Xbox Live on Xbox One will be more powerful, personal, and more intelligent. The new Xbox Live will be more integrated with the Cloud ... allowing games to be installed in segments and accessing your profile and save games from other Xbox One's. Current Xbox Live Gold Membership and Gamerscore will carry over to the new Xbox. The enhanced Xbox Live will feature the following ...

• Smart Match - A new Smart Match matchmaking system virtually eliminates waiting in lobbies by estimating wait times and finding people you want to play with while you are enjoying other activities. 

• Game DVR - A dedicated Game DVR captures and accesses your magic moments, all saved to the cloud, with the ability to share this content.

• Living Games - Dynamic, living worlds evolve and improve the more you play, and advanced artificial intelligence can learn to play like you, so friends can play against your shadow.

• Expanded Achievements - A new and expanded achievements system captures video of your epic moments, continues to grow a game’s achievements over time and rewards you in new ways, and your Gamerscore carries over from Xbox 360.

• Xbox SmartGlass - Xbox SmartGlass is natively part of the Xbox One platform, built in from the beginning with the ability to quickly render content directly onto your device, and now more devices can connect at one time for multiplayer and shared entertainment.

Confirmed Games

Xbox One will have access to all the hottest titles coming out this year, including Assassin's Creed IV, Battlefield 4, Call of Duty: Ghosts, Destiny, FIFA 14, Forza Motorsport 5, Madden 25, NBA Live 14, Quantum Break, Ryse, Thief, EA Sports UFC, and Watch Dogs.

Microsoft have also confirmed that Xbox One will get 15 exclusive titles within the first year of release, 8 of which will be brand new ip's. Except for Quantum Break, no announcement was made to the exclusives games.

Kinect and Controller

Bundled with every Xbox One system, the new Kinect sensor is completely redesigned with revolutionary 1080p, more precision, intuition, and responsiveness. Voice commands and gestures are optimized to fully support Xbox One's entertainment features. Because of the new integrations, Xbox One will not work without Kinect.

The Xbox One controller is designed to ergonomic fit and immerse all gamers in ways that are uniquely Xbox ... with its updated d-pad, thumb stick, and vibrating impulse triggers.

No pricing or release date was revealed, but stay tune for all the updates in two weeks from Microsoft's E3 press conference.

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Sony Announces Gran Turismo 6

Coming this holiday for the PlayStation 3 ...

As expected, Sony has officially announced Gran Turismo 6, the latest in the series set for release this holiday for the PlayStation 3. The reveal came by way of Gran Turismo creator, Kazunori Yamauchi during an event celebrating 15 years of the series.

"GT6 for PlayStation 3 will bring new levels of authenticity to 'the Real Driving Simulator' as well as introducing stunning new tracks and cars and a revised user interface. A new compact game engine will improve operation and increase the flexibility to expand it with downloadable content," according to the press release.

Gran Turismo 6 will include all the cars from GT5. Notable additions will be made available such as historic cars, road cars, and the latest racing cars ... bringing the total to 1200. Further vehicles will be added as DLC. Players will be able to personalize their own custom cars with over a thousand aerodynamic parts and custom wheels.

GT6 will add seven new locations along with improvements to the course maker. The UK's Silverstone Circuit will be one of 7 new locations, taking the total to 33, with 71 different layouts available, 19 of which are brand new. The game will also feature social integration with smartphones and tablet devices. The GT Academy series, which sees Nissan and Sony teaming up to find real racing drivers, will make a return.

"It is amazing to think that it is 15 years since we first released Gran Turismo," explained Kazunori Yamauchi, "things have changed a lot since then and now Gran Turismo 6 is a further evolution of my dream. We're pleased to deliver GT6 to PlayStation 3 as we have a very loyal community on that platform."

The rumored November 26 release date was not confirmed by Sony, but stay tuned for updates during this year E3 press conference.

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BEYOND: Two Souls Special Edition Detailed

Includes 30 minutes of addition gameplay

Sony has announced that Quantic Dream's BEYOND: Two Souls will be available as both a Standard Edition and Special Edition, with the Special Edition available only via pre-order. In addition to other bonus content, the Special Edition will include 30 minute of exclusive gameplay content. Details of such content will be revealed later.

BEYOND: Two Souls will be release October 8th, 2013 exclusively for the PlayStation 3.

Special Edition contents are as follows:

• Exclusive steel book packaging

• Additional 30 minutes of playable scene 

• Behind the scenes videos

• Game soundtrack

• PS3 Dynamic Theme

• PSN Avatar Bundle

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Bethesda Reveals Wolfenstein: The New Order

Wolfenstein returns to battle a Nazi run world.

After several teasers via twitter, Bethesda today revealed Wolfenstein: The New Order, a new entry in the Wolfenstein series being developed by MachineGames scheduled for release on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, and next generation consoles during the latter half of this year.

"We are excited to bring a new chapter of Wolfenstein to gamers everywhere. As fans of the series, working on this game is an honor, and our team is driven to create an unforgettable action-adventure experience that will make FPS fans proud." - Jens Matthies, creative director at MachineGames.

Set in 1960 Europe after the Nazis won the second World War, The New Order puts you in the role of American war hero B.J. Blazkowicz with the mission of launching a counter-offensive against the Nazi regime. You'll acquire Nazi "super weapons" and infiltrate Nazi strongholds while battling horde of enemies. The reveal trailer embedded below is exclusive to GameSpot.

[UPDATE]: MachineGames' creative director revealed to GameSpot during a video preview that Wolfenstein: The New Order will be singleplayer only ... no multiplayer component is planned.

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Ubisoft Reveals Spies vs. Mercs., Returning in Splinter Cell: Black List

Team-based multiplayer mode, Spies vs. Mercs., returns in Black List

Spies vs. Mercs, the popular team-based multiplayer mode featured in Pandora Tomorrow, Chaos Theory, and Double Agent, returns in Ubisoft's latest ... Splinter Cell: Black List, set for release August 20th in North America and the 22nd in Europe for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii U, and PC.

In Spies vs. Mercs, the stealthy and agile Spies are tasked with extracting sensitive data from 3 terminals while the powerful and heavily armored Mercs are faced with the demanding effort to stop them. Each team has different abilities and tools at their disposal to outsmart their opponents in an exciting, high stakes, redefined multiplayer experience.

The trailer below, exclusive to IGN, shows off some of what to expect from Black List's iteration of the popular multiplayer mode.

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Call of Duty: Ghosts Officially Confirmed

Ghosts coming this November for current and next-gen hardware.

After several leaks and teases by retailers and Activision, Call of Duty: Ghost has been officially confirmed for release November 5th for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC and next generation platforms. No specifics were given, but we assume the Wii U also.

Being develop by Infinity Ward, the creators of Call of Duty, Ghosts will "deliver a riveting all-new gameplay experience built on an entirely new story, setting and cast of characters, all powered by a new, next generation Call of Duty engine that redefines the series for the next generation."

"Everyone was expecting us to make Modern Warfare 4, which would have been the safe thing to do, but we're not resting on our laurels. We saw the console transition as the perfect opportunity to start a new chapter for Call of Duty. So we're building a new sub-brand, a new engine, and a lot of new ideas and experiences for our players. We can't wait to share them with our community." - Infinity Ward's executive producer Mark Rubin.

No story or multiplayer details were confirmed, but rumors suggest a future setting with the use of current technology and weapons due to a "major plot event". Its also rumored that the singleplayer features more destuctible environments, while the multiplayer has more interactive maps with various traps.

Activision has confirmed that more details will be revealed during Microsoft's next generation Xbox reveal on May 21st, so stay tune for updated details on what to expect from this year's Call of Duty. For now, check out the official "Masked Warriors" teaser trailer below.

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Watch Dogs Coming November 19th, Collector's Edition Confirmed

Watch Dogs available November 19th with Special Collector's Editions

Ubisoft announced today that Watch Dogs will be available November 19th in North America and the 22nd in Europe for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, and Wii U. The game was also confirmed as a PlayStation 4 and next-gen Xbox launch title. According to the updated box art, the PS3 version contains 60 minutes of exclusive gameplay content.

[UPDATE]: Ubisoft has officially confirmed that both the PlayStation 3 and the PlayStation 4 will receive 60 minutes of exclusive gameplay "We can confirm that customers who will purchase Watch Dogs on PlayStation 3 or PlayStation 4 will be able to download 60 minutes of additional gameplay via the PlayStation Network after the game's launch. As of now, we have no more details to share."

Additionally, Ubisoft confirmed the game's collector's editions; the Dedsec Edition, the Vigilante Edition, the Uplay Exclusive Edition and the Special Edition. The latter of which was outed yesterday.

The Dedsec Edition includes a 23cm figurine of main character Aiden Pearce, a collector's box, a steelbook, artbook, soundtrack, four augmented reality collectible cards, three badges, and a map of the game's world of Chicago. This edition also includes three downloadable single player missions that will add approximately an hour of additional gameplay.

• The Palace Pack: A police raid is planned on the luxury palace of an Internet mogul. His impressive databanks have intimate details on thousands of people … including Aiden Pearce. Break inside, wipe those hard drives and escape before the raid begins. Rewards unlocked upon completion: investigation bonus that allow gamers to unlock more investigative opportunities inside the network databanks, and the ATM hack boost which increases the cash rewards when hacking bank accounts.
  

• Signature Shot: A biometrics weapon has been smuggled into Chicago for a captain of the Black Viceroys gang. The weapon only works for the first person who holds the gun. Breach a stronghold, steal the package and be the first to hold the weapon. Rewards unlocked upon completion: Black Viceroys gang colors outfit and Biometric Assault Rifle.

• Breakthrough Pack: A secret gathering is underway. The Chicago Club is negotiating power with Corporate CEOs. The Club has hired scramblers to block surveillance devices. Drive around the city to find the scramblers and take them out. Retrieve all names from the meeting and upload their images to the world. Rewards unlocked upon completion: Vehicle Expert Perk ... allow players to earn discounts on select cars and get free vehicles from underground contact.

The Vigilante Edition comes with the collector's box, Aiden Pearce's cap and mask, the official soundtrack, and the Palace Pack singleplayer mission. The Uplay Exclusive Edition comes with the steelbook case and the three single player missions; The Palace Pack, Signature Shot, and the Breakthrough Pack. The Special Edition includes only the Breakthrough Pack. A new "Out of Control" trailer was also released, check it below:

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Watch Dogs Special Edition Spotted

Includes additional singleplayer mission ...

Dutch retailer Game Mania has listed a special edition of Ubisoft's upcoming open-world thriller, Watch Dogs. This special edition contains the Breakthrough Mission Pack, which includes an extra singleplayer mission that grants access to the Vehicle Expert perk upon completion. In addition to discounts on exclusive cars, this Vehicle Expert perk gets you free vehicles through your Underground Car Contact.

This special edition is listed for €60. No word on whether this is exclusive to Europe. The product details as translated by watchdogsforum:

Special Edition contents

The Special Edition includes an additional single-player mission, namely the Breakthrough Mission Pack: There is secret meeting going on. The Chicago Club does power negotiations with CEOs of large companies. The club has hired scramblers to block. Monitoring devices Race through the city to find the scramblers and take them out. Grab all the names of those attending the meeting and upload their photographs for the rest of the world. 

After completing the mission you get the Vehicle Expert perk: Get free vehicles through your Underground Car Contact and get discounts on exclusive cars.

Watch Dogs will be released later this year for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, Wii U, and possibly next generation consoles. Check out the E3 2012 gameplay below:

[UPDATE]: Ubisoft has confirmed all the collector's edition of Watch Dogs; available November 19th.

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Ubisoft Introduces "The Watch" VIP Program For Assassin's Creed Community

Assassin's Creed gets special "VIP Program" to enhance community involement ...

Ubisoft today revealed details of "The Watch", a VIP program dedicated to the Assassin's Creed community. The Watch will be available starting with those who pre-order Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag.

The Watch will allow members to dive deeper into the Assassin's Creed Universe and enjoy exclusive content and early access to the latest information such as upcoming events, shows, talks and releases specific to Assassin's Creed.

"The Watch will bring the community closer to Assassin’s Creed than ever before via regular in-depth features exploring a variety of different themes, including the characters, setting, places, cultural inspirations and other game related elements."

This new program will also allow members to follow Assassin’s Creed related social media and discussions; discovering and "liking" other member's content, uploading their own and comparing skills and achievements. The community's "key members" will be chosen to provide updates to the "Experts" section.

The Watch will also introduce unique and exclusive member quests, allowing them to unlock specific missions, earn special rewards and bonuses, and compete with others while ranking in worldwide leaderboards.

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