ENIGMATICPSYCHE

[SYN MsTwiztid]

Please only post in this thread if it is your Archive or if you are an Xiled News Team Leader.

This thread is for you to archive your articles. This thread will help keep track of everything you've done and when you completed it. Please only post your article here. No images or BBC codes. Only links are permitted.

Please only post your article AFTER it has been posted for review and has been approved by your Xiled News Team Leader​

 

[fshep]

ARTICLE DATE: 11/27/12
ARTICLE LINK: http://www.xiledgaming.com/news/556/mass-effect-3-omega-dlc-coming-tuesday-1127/

"Bioware recently announced preliminary details of its upcoming single player DLC, Omega:

http://www.masseffect.com/downloads/omega/

“Join Omega’s infamous leader in her fight to retake the notorious black market station. Navigate Omega’s seedy underbelly as Aria joins your squad and you witness her legendary biotic powers and unrelenting ruthlessness first-hand. Help Nyreen Kandros, the valiant turian leader of the Talon mercenaryy group, as she fights to free the enslaved people of Omega. Face down fearsome new enemies, including the Cerberus-manipulated Reaper, the Adjutant.

Shape Omega’s future through four death-defying missions, and strike a devastating blow to the Illusive Man's plans.

The war for Omega has begun—How far will you go to end it?”

The DLC is set to release 11/27/12 on PC and Xbox and 11/28/12 on PS3 at a (relatively high price of) $15, making it Mass Effect 3’s priciest and largest DLC to date. Thus far, interesting/noteworthy highlights of the DLC include:

1) Inclusion of the first female turian character we’ve ever seen in the Mass Effect series. Her name is Nyreen.

2) Inclusion of General Oleg Petrovsky, a character originally explored in the Mass Effect: Invasion comics.

3) No regular squadmates will be featured in the DLC, however you will be able to have Aria and the new female turian, Nyreen, as squadmates.

As a part of Bioware’s N7 day (which took place November 7th), DLC screenshots and footage of the DLC was released.

Click http://www.masseffect.com/images/ for screenshots of the DLC
Click http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVTamyxlNWo for IGN demo walk-through with commentary from Mass Effect executive producer Mike Gamble."

 

[fshep]

ARTICLE DATE: 01/27/13
ARTICLE LINK: http://www.xiledgaming.com/news/575/next-mass-effect-3-sp-dlc-will-likely-be-the-last/

"Recent Twitter updates by Bioware developers/staff on January 18th have led fans to believe that the next SP DLC released for Mass Effect 3 (ME3) will likely be the last. A couple of the first tweets posted included:

Patrick Weekes (writer for the ME series):
"Last ME3 meeting. Watched clips from all three games. All the feels. It's been a fantastic ride, and an honor to be part of the team."

twitter.com/PatrickWeekes/status/292322108615315456

Chris Priestly (community coordinator for Bioware Edmonton):
"The Edmonton Mass Effect team had their final design meeting today remembering 3 amazing games. The feels are strong in the office today."

https://twitter.com/BioEvilChris/status/292328389547786241

BSN member felipejiraya posted a collection of some more tweets:

http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/323/index/15623689/1#15623689

What does this mean? Well, for those who were hoping for the rumored list of DLCs to be true (see Clevernoob's post here. This announcement may come as a disappointment, as at least three more SP DLCs post-Omega were rumored to be in the works.

In general, the reaction on the BSN seems mixed. Many who enjoyed ME3's ending are largely excited for whatever this next DLC may bring, whereas many who are still disappointed in the ending are struggling with getting their hopes up for a DLC that will "fix" or "expand upon" or "add to the" ending. Though it's tempting to think the final DLC in the campaign has relevance to the trilogy's final moments, multiple Bioware staff members have already stated that all DLCs released after the Extended Cut (which was released on June 26th, 2012) will not be ending-related ("There is no more endings").

Regardless of your opinion on the game, and regardless of the content of this upcoming DLC, one thing is for sure: If it's the last, then it's time to finally say goodbye to Shepard's story in the Mass Effect universe.

More updates to come once details on the upcoming DLC are released."

 

[fshep]

ARTICLE DATE: 02/15/13
ARTICLE LINK: http://www.xiledgaming.com/news/585/interview-with-xgc-dresdendoll/

"In January 2011, XGC Dresdendoll was recruited into XGC Royalty after playing zombies on Black Ops with some of their members. She was initially drawn to XGC’s structure and community, and eventually rose to the level of captain. Later that year, XGC Royalty split and Dresdendoll took over as general. In November 2011, after building up to 80 members, XGC Royalty split again, creating XGC Necropolis, where Dresdendoll currently serves as general.

Dresdendoll lives in Delaware, where she’s studying to become a paramedic. In her spare time, she volunteers at an assisted living facility and an animal shelter. In terms of gaming, Dresdendoll enjoys playing games ranging from first-person shooters to competitive FP and RPGs. Some of her favorites include Black Ops 1 and 2, the Assassin’s Creed series, and Minecraft. But really, she’s down to try out any fun new game.

When asked if she has any future plans for XGC, Dresdendoll stated that one of her goals is to improve communication among generals and captains: “There are some great ideas that are being promoted within clans, and I'd like to see exchange of that information so that other clans can succeed and we can all have strong clans.”

When asked if she had any advice for her fellow XGC members, Dresdendoll encouraged everyone to network and communicate: “Don’t be afraid to ask for help, don’t be afraid to ask questions...get to know other clans and help out where needed.” And last, but certainly not least, she encouraged all members to share their great ideas with each other so that they can be made realities.

Dresdendoll, thank you for letting me interview you (twice)! I had a great time learning about you and your experiences in XGC. Feel free to hit up XGC Dresdendoll on Xbox if you ever have any questions, comments, ideas, or are just down for some good ole’ fashion gaming!"

 

[fshep]

NEW CALL OF DUTY GAME ANNOUNCED FOR 2013

New Call of Duty Game Announced for 2013

ARTICLE DATE: 02/23/13
ARTICLE LINK: http://www.xiledgaming.com/news/590/new-call-of-duty-game-announced-for-2013/

On February 7th, 2013, Activision held its fourth quarter (Q4) Conference Call. They posted slides from the conference call online , which referenced a "Call of Duty 2013" game.

Activision Chief Financial Offer, Dennis Durkin, eventually confirmed that a new Call of Duty game is in development and set for release in Q4 of 2013:

“The Call of Duty franchise continues to set the bar for innovation and we expect the new Call of Duty game in development for 2013 to raise that bar even higher.”

He also emphasized that predicting the exact release date, as well as other aspects of game development, is trickier this year given the console transitions (Sony is rumored to give more information about the PS3's successor in the coming month, and Xbox is set to launch the 360's successor later in 2013).

Activision did not give any information on the game itself (e.g., plot, game developer, stage of development, etc.), though the announcement isn't too surprising given the Call of Duty trend to release a new game about every year. Several gaming news websites jumped on the 2/7/13 announcement, including callofduty.com, IGN , charlieintel.com, and CVG to name a few.

There are rumors that the new Call of Duty game is Modern Warfare 4, or at least that it continues the Modern Warfare story arc in some fashion. Some argue that this isn't likely given the conclusive nature of MW3's ending, but only time will tell.

Stay tuned for more updates on the announced "Call of Duty 2013."

 

[fshep]

BIOWARE ANNOUNCES FINAL MASS EFFECT 3 DLCS

Bioware Announces Final Mass Effect 3 DLCs

ARTICLE DATE: 02/23/13
ARTICLE LINK: http://www.xiledgaming.com/news/591/bioware-announces-final-mass-effect-3-dlcs/

Bioware has announced the final single-player and multi-player DLCs for Mass Effect 3.

Final single-player DLC: Citadel

According to Bioware:

"When a sinister conspiracy targets Commander Shepard, you and your team must uncover the truth, through battles and intrigue that range from the glamour of the Citadel's Wards to the top-secret Council Archives. Uncover the truth and fight alongside your squad – as well as the cast from the original Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2, including Urdnot Wrex!

When the adventure is over, reconnect with your favorite characters from the Mass Effect Trilogy, try your luck at the Citadel's Silver Coast Casino, blow off steam in the Armax Combat Arena, or explore and furnish Shepard's own living quarters on the Citadel. With unique content and cinematics featuring your friends and romance interests in the Mass Effect trilogy, Mass Effect 3: Citadel offers one final chance to see the characters you have known for years and rekindle romances."

Chris Priestly, community coordinator at Bioware, has confirmed that this will be the last Mass Effect 3 single-player DLC. It's a very large DLC, about 4gb: This means that the DLC will need to be dowloaded as two separate downloads for Xbox users. According to Priestly:

"For Xbox 360 users, the Citadel DLC pack will come as 2 downloads on Xbox Live. ME3 Citadel is larger than our previous DLC packs, so it had to be split into 2 downloads. The first pack is priced at $14.99 and the second pack is tagged as free. Players need to purchase and download pack 1, then download pack 2 at no additional cost.

You can download pack 2 without purchasing pack one, but the DLC will not work. You will get an error message in game asking you to download pack 1. It will say "This DLC will only work in conjunction with Part 1 of Mass Effect™ 3: Citadel, which is split across 2 downloadable packages. Please purchase Part 1 prior to downloading Part 2 at no additional cost.]"This will not hurt your saved game but you will not be able to launch Citadel until you have both packs.

This only effects Xbox 360 users. Citadel for the PC and PS3 is in one pack."

The large nature of the DLC is likely due, at least in part, to the incorporation of characters from Mass Effect 1 and 2. Because of the variety of permutations of which characters are alive in your story and which love interest(s) you selected, writers more than likely included dialogue from/scenes with many different characters. In terms of the story line, Priestly posted in a Bioware forum that the DLC will take place anytime after the Citadel coup and before the mission in London; despite the "When the adventure is over" clause in the official description, and despite some online articles that appear to be misinformed, it does not appear that the Citadel DLC will feature any post-ending content (to much disappointment of many fans who continue to disapprove of Mass Effect 3's ending).

In terms of logistics, Mass Effect 3: Citadel will cost $14.99, 1200MS points and 1200 BW points. It is set to be released worldwide on March 5th on Xbox 360, PC and PS3 (on March 6th on PS3 in Europe).

After the Citadel DLC was announced, the forums in the Bioware Social Network lit up with discussion and speculation. If you're interested in taking part in the discussion, hit up the sticky forum for the final DLCs

Final multi-player DLC: Reckoning

According to Bioware:

"Prepare for the Reckoning! Newfound allies join the multiplayer war for survival in Mass Effect 3: Reckoning. The Geth Juggernaut, Female Turian Raptor, Talon Mercenary, Alliance Infiltration Unit, and more take up arms to stop the Reaper threat. Smash your enemies with the Biotic Hammer as you lay waste to the battlefield as the Krogan Warlord.

Wield 7 new weapons for multiplayer, including the Geth Spitfire Assault Rifle, Venom Shotgun, Lancer Assault Rifle, and amplify your arsenal with new equipment and weapon mods featuring the Geth Scanner and Assault Rifle Omni-blade."

As with most multi-player DLCs, Reckoning will include new characters, new weapons, and new equipment. It's set to release worldwide on February 26th on Xbox 360, PC and PlayStation 3 (February 27th on PlayStation 3 in Europe). Bioware will continue their trend of releasing the multi-player DLCs for free (i.e., Reckoning will launch at no additional cost).

So, what does Casey Hudson, the project director of the Mass Effect series, have to say about this final send-off?

"The team has poured heart and soul into Mass Effect 3: Reckoning and Mass Effect 3: Citadel. As the launch of these chapters near, the feeling around the studio is bittersweet. We have always been humbled and driven by the passion of our fans for the Mass Effect trilogy. We hope fans will enjoy spending more time with some of their favourite characters -- we have certainly enjoyed spending time creating them. We're excited to release this final send-off for the trilogy and move forward into the future of the Mass Effect universe."

 

[fshep]

SONY UNVEILS THE PLAY STATION 4 (PS4)

Sony Unveils the Play Station 4 (PS4)

ARTICLE DATE: 03/02/13
ARTICLE LINK: http://www.xiledgaming.com/news/593/sony-unveils-the-play-station-4-ps4/

On February 20th, Sony announced and unveiled the Play Station 4 (PS4) at a press conference event held in New York. Andrew House, president and group chief executive of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., announced that Sony would be releasing the PS4, and that it would be "a moment of truth and a bold step forward for PlayStation and the company.”

Shortly after House's announcement, Sony's lead system architect Mark Cerny went on stage and talked about its development and features. The PS4 has been in development since 2008, and will feature an 8-core 64-bit x86 "Jaguar" CPU built by AMD, an enhanced PC GPU (specifications are unknown thus far, but it will be similar to high-end PCs), and 8GB of unified GDDR5 RAM capable of 176GB/sec of bandwidth (click here for more information on console specifications). In terms of graphics, Sony highlighted their focus on improved graphics; if you have a couple of minutes, I highly recommend watching this clip from the conference, which features Sony discussing their focus on conveying emotion through gaming and showing an example of what PS4 graphics will look like. If you want to jump straight to what the graphics look like, click here for a shorter clip.

The video link above illustrates this, a computer-generated man that was presented at the conference to illustrate the detailed and realistic graphics you can expect from PS4. In addition to hardware specifications, Sony unveiled the Dual-shock 4 controller, which looks similar to the PS3 controller, with the exception that it now includes features such as a touch pad, share button, built-in speaker, and a Light Bar accessory that's similar to a PlayStation Move:

They also unveiled the PS4 Eye camera, a motion-control camera that looks and and has functions similar to Xbox's Kinect.

More details on the specifications of the controller and camera can be found here .

At the press conference, Sony emphasized what the feel of the PS4 would be like. They're focusing on giving PS4 a more social atmosphere by including features such as sharing games with friends, watching live broadcasts of games your friends are playing, being able to post comments and offer feedback while your friends are playing, and virtually "giving" your friends your controller and having them play for you. Additionally, the PS4 will give players access to social services like Facebook and Ustream.

As of right now, there is no backward capability (meaning you can't play PS2 or PS3 games on the PS4), but Sony hopes that at some point in the future the PS4 would eventually have backward capability using cloud technology.

Other interesting features include remote play between the PS4 and PlayStation Vita and the ability to play games you're downloading/updating as you're downloading them (no more tapping your feet at the console waiting for a download to finish before playing- you can begin playing the game even if it's not done downloading yet!).

After introducing the PS4 itself, Sony showed clips/demos of many games that will be coming to PS4, incuding Blizzard's Diablo III. At the very end of the press conference, Sony confirmed a 2013 launch, stating that the PS4 is set to release "Holiday 2013," though at the moment it's unclear whether the release date will be closer to October or December.

Two crucial elements of the PS4 that were *not* discussed at the press conference were (a) what the console actually looks like, and (b) how much it will cost. Given the PS3's somewhat bulky design and relatively high release price of $599, some gamers are waiting to see the console and its price before getting too excited. Rumors are placing the cost at $400-450, but there has been no confirmation either way from Sony. Rumors have also been circulating that Sony will reveal what the PS4 looks like in June at E3, but this has also not been confirmed by Sony.

PS4's major rival is set to be Microsoft's successor to the Xbox, which has been termed Xbox720 and more recently Xbox Infinity. Microsoft is expected to unveil the next generation of Xbox at E3 in June (possibly earlier at the Game Developers Conference in March), and is rumored to also have a launch date of Holiday 2013, but as you can guess, neither the unveiling nor release date have been confirmed by Microsoft.