West vs. Activision settlement reached over COD lawsuit

14 minutes ago - 4:30 PM on 05.31.2012   |   Brett Zeidler

3 comments

In one of the nastiest legal battles within the past couple years of the gaming industry, things were set to officially go to court tomorrow. It's now known that Activision has reached an agreement with Jason West and Vince Zampella, according to an attorney representing the former Infinity Ward heads. He has stated that the terms are highly confidential and that he cannot say what exactly they are. My guess would be a sh*t-ton of money.

West and Zampella were suing Activision because they were claiming they had been wrongly terminated from their own studio, and Activision counter-sued claiming the studio heads were planning to take huge talent from Infinity Ward and taking them over to EA with them. The case had $1 billion hanging in the air.

We'll keep you posted as we hear more.

Settlement reached in Call of Duty's billion dollar West v. Activision lawsuit [Polygon]

Last call! Win an Xbox 360 and Call of Duty: Black Ops II

59 minutes ago - 3:45 PM on 05.31.2012   |   Hamza CTZ Aziz

424 comments

GameStop has a whole series of goodies tied around Black Ops II, starting with the limited edition two-sided poster you can get for pre-ordering the game. Once you've received your poster, GameStop wants you to take a shot of yourself with it and share it on Twitter using the hashtag: #GSFIRSTWAVE. GameStop will then share the image with the fans on their Facebook page. 

The poster is just one of four extras pre-order customers will be given, with the additional extras to be revealed as we get closer to the launch of Black Ops II. Plus, pre-order customers will be given a Prestige Token for use in Modern Warfare 3.

On top of all these extras, GameStop has given us a 250GB Xbox 360 and Call of Duty: Black Ops II* to giveaway to one of you! In order to win the bundle, leave a comment below telling us what you would like to see Treyarch do differently in Black Ops II. Our preview mentioned a lot of big changes happening to the series, what else would you like to see get changed? 

You have until May 31 at 11:59PM PST to enter and contest is open to anyone with a US based shipping address the prizes can be shipped to. We'll be picking the best comment to give the prizes to so make your entries count!

*Note that the winner will receive Black Ops II after it's released on November 13. 

Humble Bundle V might be the best yet

3 hour ago - 1:30 PM on 05.31.2012   |   Alasdair Duncan

57 comments

Whilst I can appreciate that the proliferation of indie game bundles might not be a good thing, everyone needs to check out the new Humble Bundle V. The games included here range from some of the best modern indie games to one of the most revered cult hits in videogame history. 

Included in the Humble Bundle V are Limbo, Psychonauts, Amnesia: The Dark Descent and Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP. Pay over the average price (which at the time of writing was just under $7) and you'll get Bastion included as well. 

If that wasn't all, you'll get the soundtracks for each game as well. Darren Korb and Jim Guthrie's soundtracks for Bation and Sword & Sworcery respectively were two of my favourite albums from last year. 5 great games plus their soundtracks for less that $7 is an amazing deal. Looks like gamers agree as the bundle sold over 10,000 times in 23 minutes!

Injustice, a DC Comics fighting game like Mortal Kombat

4 hours ago - 12:30 PM on 05.31.2012   |   Hamza CTZ Aziz

45 comments

Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment have announced Injustice: Gods Among Us, a DC only fighting game by NetherRealm Studios, the guys behind the Mortal Kombat series. So, you know, like Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe without the Mortal Kombat part.

The new fighter will feature plenty of DC comic icons such as Batman, Harley Quinn, Superman, The Flash, Wonder Woman, Solomon Grundy, and so many more. It looks like the environment will play some kind of factor in combat based on the debut trailer from GameSpot.

How some of these heroes or villains survive I don't know. Seriously, you're going to uppercut The Flash INTO SPACE and then PUNCH HIM BACK INTO EARTH and not kill him? Oh, comics.

Injustice will be out sometime in 2013 for the Wii U, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Expect more info at E3 next week.

New Gears of War to be revealed at E3

5 hours ago - 11:25 AM on 05.31.2012   |   Jim Sterling

74 comments

Game Informer -- which should just change its name to Game Announcer -- has revealed that the next Gears of War game is prepping for a reveal, and that we'll be able to witness it firsthand this Monday, during Microsoft's E3 press conference. 

It's about time Microsoft had something for E3 that didn't stink of Kinect. 

The exclusive information will naturally be in the July issues of the magazine, though you can expect the details to filter through to your usual sites at the same time. In any case, Epic fans have a new Gears to look forward to on Monday.

I'm eager to see what happens next. Looks like somebody was a naughty boy and is going to the jail. Oooh!

EA confirms Battlefield Premium, claims you are excited

6 hours ago - 10:30 AM on 05.31.2012   |   Jim Sterling

95 comments

Looks like the rather hilarious rumors concerning Battlefield Premium are pretty much true. Although Electronic Arts wouldn't discuss the details, it did confirm that Battlefield Premium was indeed a thing, declaring that the world was too excited to wait for an announcement. 

"Looks like the excitement for Battlefield Premium cannot be contained," EA comically told Joystiq. "For details, please visit Battlefield.com on June 4."

The already controversial service will cost $50 and contains all five expansion packs, alongside future DLC, exclusive in-game items, the power to reset stats, AND server queue priority -- by far the most aggravating bit. So, it's going to be a real kick in the teeth to existing consumers, while EA gets to potentially make twice as much money off the sale of a game it released last year. It's a good enough scheme to be criminal. 

It's just EA being EA once again, and driving the AAA game business further into the depths of degradation. Pretty disgusting, but at the same time, it's a become a form of self-imposed satire that I'm starting to see the funny side of.

Dark Souls is getting Steam support and console DLC

6 hours ago - 10:00 AM on 05.31.2012   |   Chris Carter

64 comments

Remember when Dark Souls was announced exclusively with Games for Windows Live support, and everyone went crazy? Well, as expected, there's good news for those passionate fans, as Namco Bandai has just confirmed the Steam release of Dark Souls.

Not only is this good news for Steam fans, but this is amazing news for thrifty gamers, as we all know how crazy Steam sales can get. As previously announced, the PC version of Dark Souls will come with some extra bosses, areas, and NPCs.

On the second front, the original message to console gamers who would be missing out on all this extra PC content was basically "I feel sorry for you guys". It seems as if there's been a change of heart however, as all of the extra stuff from the PC version will be coming to consoles later this Winter for $14.99 (1200 MSP) on both the PS3 and 360. Praise the sun! The DLC is officially titled "Artorias of the Abyss".

Dark Souls PC coming to Steam [VG24/7]

The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim: Dawnguard trailer

7 hours ago - 9:30 AM on 05.31.2012   |   Jim Sterling

66 comments

The first official trailer for Dawnguard has arrived, showcasing the two new factions set to take center stage. One side is the titular Dawnguard, and the other is their bloodthirsty enemy -- a cadre of particularly powerful vampires. 

Judging from the footage, you'll get to side with one of the two, depending on your preference. It seems vampirism will be more than an inconvenience in this new expansion, with some powers and attributes that make it quite an attractive prospect. Having seen the vampires' recruitment offer, I have to say they make a solid case. 

It'll cost 1600 MS Points and will be on Xbox 360 this Summer. It's another exclusive for now, so expect to see it on PS3 and PC at a later date.