Man of Steel Will Be Released in 3D

Superman's going to do something Batman's never done before on the big screen: 3D.

Warner Bros. announced today that Man of Steel will be available in 3D in select theaters, as well as in 2D and IMAX, when it opens June 14, 2013.

"The film is going to be a visually exciting experience in all formats: 2D, 3D and IMAX. Anticipating how audiences today embrace 3D, we designed and photographed the movie in a way that would allow ‘Man of Steel’ to captivate those movie goers, while respecting fans who prefer a more traditional cinematic experience. We’ve taken great measures to ensure the film and the story come first, and 3D is meant as an enhancement," said Man of Steel director Zack Snyder in a statement.

Source : ign[dot]com

GameStop Opening Kids-Specific Stores

GameStop is set to open 80 GameStop Kids stores. As announced via the company’s official site, the stores feature “something for the kid in all of us,” including “an assortment of this holiday's most desired video games and accessories, game licensed products, popular toy brands and collectibles.”

The first store will open today in Grapevine, Texas, with other locations set to open throughout November. Products shown on GameStop’s site include toys and accessories related to Angry Birds, Skylanders, Minecraft, Pac-Man, Mario, Lego and many more. For now, only U.S. locations have been announced.

Head over to GameStop’s site for a full list of locations and a full list of GameStop Kids products.

Full disclosure: IGN has a commercial relationship with GameStop.

Andrew Goldfarb is IGN’s associate news editor. Keep up with pictures of the latest food he’s been eating by following @garfep on Twitter or garfep on IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

FIFA 13: EA Sells Old Games as New

You might have noticed that something’s been missing. IGN hasn’t yet published a review of FIFA 13 on Wii, and the review for the Vita version just went live. Meanwhile, the review for the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions has been up for weeks.

This isn’t negligence. In order to bring reviews to you, our readers, in a timely fashion, we’re lucky enough to receive review copies weeks in advance. But this didn’t happen with either the Wii or Vita versions of FIFA 13. When we politely enquired, EA told us that copies were in short supply, or that they hadn’t received additional promotional copies from Sony, and when we asked again, they even dodged our requests by employing the ingenious tactic of ignoring us.

Since my review went live, I’ve had people on Twitter asking me on the whereabouts of the Vita version, and when they could expect to read the review. Around the same time, I also received a worrying tweet. There were rumours that these versions weren’t really new games at all but cynical reskins of last year’s instalments. And having played the Vita version, I can confirm the rumour. (I still haven’t played the Wii version.)

When I use the phrase ‘cynically re-skinned’ I’m aware of how sensational it sounds. It can’t really be all that bad. Can it? But it really is – just look at these menu screens:

FIFA Football (Soccer) on Vita

FIFA 13 on Vita

FIFA Football (Soccer) on Vita

FIFA 13 on Vita

These have been taken from the main menu and training area. The backgrounds haven’t been updated, and without knowing that Lionel Messi is this year’s cover star you’d be hard-pressed to tell which was the latest iteration. It’s obviously the same character model, adopting the same poses. The menu has been grudgingly spruced up. At the time of writing, FIFA 13 on Vita is priced at £43.99 at HMV on London’s Oxford Street. FIFA Football on Vita can be bought new for as little as £14.99 on Amazon. And they are fundamentally, as far as I can tell, the same game.

We contacted EA about this situation but it wouldn’t go into specifics, providing the following statement:

“FIFA 13 on PS VITA features 30 leagues, 500 officially licensed teams and 15,000 players all wearing this year’s kits and playing for their current teams. It is the same great FIFA gameplay for the PS VITA, including touch-screen controls, and also features popular modes like Career Mode, Be A Pro, and a deep set of online features. We felt it was important to continue to offer fans the opportunity to play an authentic football experience on PS VITA.”

It doesn’t talk about any specific gameplay innovations, focussing on the number of teams and “this year’s kits” and “current team”. It stresses how up-to-date the game is but the gameplay is anything but. ‘Popular’ modes are championed instead of new ones. There isn’t much different from the bullet points on the back of last year’s box, which boasted about “more than 500 officially licensed clubs” and “unique touch-screen controls”.

When FIFA launched on the Vita last year, there was something revealing about its title: FIFA Football (or Soccer, depending on where you live in the world). From the get go, it didn’t pretend to be the same game. While ostensibly alike, it had its own identity, its own set of features to define it – it didn’t masquerade as the same game. This year the name changed, and understandably, so did the expectations. It was called FIFA 13. Surely it was safe to assume that with the same name, the advanced nature of Sony’s handheld, and a year’s worth of time, that the new game would mirror some of the innovations that makes FIFA 13 on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 such a great game. But that just isn’t the case. There’s no Match Day. No first-touch control. No advanced dribbling. No attacking intelligence. And yet it dares to have the same name. Like it says in EA’s statement, “It is the same great FIFA gameplay for the PS Vita.”

As for the Wii version, I still haven't managed to get my hands on a copy of the game - but UK site Nintendo Gamer has, and the screenshot gallery posted on the site is shocking. This really is exactly the same game, being sold at full price as a new one.

FIFA 12 (Nintendo Gamer)

FIFA 13 (Nintendo Gamer)

What I find most interesting about this whole farrago is the way in which the Wii and Vita have been treated in the same way. The Wii has already reached its twilight hour but the Vita hasn’t. Despite wobbly initial sales figures and an inconstant supply of games, the Vita is still a new console and surely deserves better than this during its infancy? It deserves innovation, creativity – games that rudely press at the limits of what it’s capable of delivering. Vita means ‘life’ in Latin, but games like FIFA 13 are poison for the still vulnerable handheld. People who purchased the system deserve better than last year’s game in a new full-priced box.

It’s so easy to imagine how all of this could have been avoided: don’t release a full-priced retail game, release the latest kits as shrewdly-priced DLC instead. While this might not be feasible with the Wii version, FIFA Football could have been updated in this way. If EA was only really interested in updating the squads and kits, surely this was the easiest and safest way of providing this type of update?

As it stands, EA is selling last year's game with some new skins and a new title to customers on Wii and Vita without properly explaining it. The publisher has also tried to dodge the inevitable controversy by failing to provide reviewers with copies of the game on these platforms. This is absolutely not acceptable practice, and it could easily be construed as lying to customers. If you're thinking about buying FIFA 13 on Wii or Vita, don't let yourself be duped.

Daniel is IGN's UK Staff Writer, and you can be part of the world's worst cult by following him on IGN and Twitter.

Source : ign[dot]com

Sinister Review

The haunted house movie has had something of a resurgence in recent years, with Insidious and the Paranormal Activity franchise crafting original and effective spins on the popular sub-genre. And you can now add Sinister to that list, with the new horror from Exorcism of Emily Rose helmer Scott Derrickson pushing all the right buttons to scare the living daylights out of its audience.

Ethan Hawke plays Ellison Oswald, a true-crime writer who hit the jackpot with a book called Kentucky Blood some 10 years previous, and has been trying to replicate that success ever since.

He does so by moving his family to a small town in which a heinous crime with an unsolved mystery has taken place, documenting the police investigation - warts-and-all - and putting it down in book form before getting out while the going is good.

Sinister starts with Ellison taking this approach one step further, moving his family - unbeknownst to them - to a house in which a quadruple murder has recently taken place. Four members of the same family were hung from a tree, with the fifth - a little girl - now missing.

Needless to say, the local constabulary are unhappy with his arrival, but Ellison is a determined soul, and so presses on with his task, and when he finds a box of old home movies in the attic, he knows he is onto something.

Because the Super 8s contain horror of the most tragic kind, featuring footage of blissful family gatherings punctuated by that same clan's brutal murder. It's shocking stuff, but the kind of morbid mystery that Ellison has been desperately searching for in an effort to have another hit.

So rather than telling the police, he begins his own investigation into where the tapes came from, and what links them, with predictably devastating results.

It starts with the family beginning to break down, his wife doubting Ellison's motives, their daughter miserable in the new town; their son acting up at school and having night terrors at home.

But the content of the tapes soon start to take its toll on Ellison himself, the writer turning to drink to deal with the horrors therein, and even starting to question his own sanity as he delves deeper into the mystery.

And that's all we're saying on the story front, suffice to say that Sinister has a few twists and turns up its sleeves, as well as its fair share of scream-out-loud moments.

Some of them are of the lazy variety, with jump-scares in abundance, keeping the audience on their toes but lacking any sort of substance.

The home movie sequences are genuinely terrifying however, with director Derrickson filling the screen with disturbing imagery that's truly the stuff of nightmares, turning us into voyeurs as we in turn witness the actions of a voyeur on screen.

It's all anchored by a marvellous central performance from Ethan Hawke, who remains watchable and even sympathetic in spite of the fact that he's constantly putting his family in danger throughout the film.

Juliet Rylance fares less well as the long-suffering and woefully underwritten wife, although there are nice supporting performances from James Ransone as a somewhat eccentric police deputy and Vincent D'Onofrio as an academic specialising in the occult.

The deaths are imaginative, the score effective (though a little overbearing at times), and the final revelation, while somewhat underwhelming, does unify the story in a strangely satisfying way.

Kudos must therefore to Derrickson and his co-writer C. Robert Cargill for finding a new and original spin on the found footage genre at a time when the market is being saturated with such films, and making guilty voyeurs of us all.

So while Sinister is hardly a game-changer, it is an extremely effective horror feature; one that creates its own highly original mythology, and wholeheartedly terrifies from start-to-finish.

Sinister was the Secret Screening at the 2012 SXSW Festival, and will hit screens worldwide in October.

Source : ign[dot]com

Mac OS X Mountain Lion vs. Windows 7

We're big fans of single-purpose gadgets here at IGN Tech: we'd frequently rather have five small devices that each do something well than one big device that does all five poorly. But we make an exception for personal computers: If you're in the market for a full-fledged computer (as opposed to a tablet or gaming system), chances are you want it to do everything - and do it well.

With that in mind, we've compared the world's leading desktop OS - Windows 7 - against the latest version of Apple's ever-enticing alternative - OS X Mountain Lion. Keep reading to find out which one is better. (Spoiler: It depends!)

Hardware Options

If you're looking to buy a Mac for personal use, there are basically four options: the MacBook Air or Pro, and the Mac mini or iMac. (Yes, there's also the Mac Pro. But Apple's line of quad- and 12-core computers, which starts at $2500, is mostly meant for professionals.)

These are all first-rate, beautifully designed pieces of hardware, and as long as you know what you want up front you can get them packed with competitive internals.

But upgrading Mac hardware after the fact is not for the faint of heart. Some tinkering is just downright impossible without special tools and training, and iFixit tends to rate their repairability worse every year. If you're looking at a MacBook or an iMac and you think something might go wrong with it, that Apple Care plan might not be a bad idea.

And don't forget: Macs are expensive. Even the "budget" Mac mini starts at $600. Expect to pay a couple hundred dollars more than similarly spec'd PCs across the board.

PC hardware is - in a word - diverse. Your PC can look however you want it to, whether that's something budget-level from Toshiba or HP, a top-of-the-line gaming machine from Alienware or Razer, or something as crazy as Recompute's cardboard computers. (Hell, you can even use Boot Camp to run Windows 7 on a MacBook if that floats your boat.)

Most PCs are easier to modify than comparable Macs, so adding RAM or replacing a hard drive yourself is more manageable.

Interface

Learning Curve

If you ask us, the out-of-the-box quality of an operating system's UI will be more apparent to someone using it for the first time than to someone whose first move is to tweak it beyond recognizability. There are lots of tools for improving (i.e. fixing annoyances in) both operating systems, but customization isn't for everyone.

OS X's growing adoption rate means that a lot of folks using Macs today grew up trained with PCs, so certain signature elements of the OS X interface might seem counterintuitive to them, no matter how logical they actually are.

Take OS X's tricolor window-management buttons: Minimize behaves like it's supposed to. But closing the last open window leaves an application running. And that green "re-size" button doesn't work like Windows' predictable Maximize function.

But that's because they aren't designed to: Mountain Lion has its awesome Spaces-based full-screen mode in lieu of traditional maximizing; and if you want to quit an app instead of just closing the window, you can hit command+Q.

Interestingly, Windows 7 has the same issue introducing its new features (and just wait for Windows 8): no matter how simple and fast it is, some folks just won't want to learn to use a new system. If your ideal computer is the one you already know how to use, chances are Windows 7 is your best bet.

Dock vs Taskbar

With better-looking buttons, and with Jump Lists and Aero Peek for managing recent or open windows, the taskbar has come a long way since Windows 95. But we prefer the sleek look of Mountain Lion's dock, working with Mission Control, Exposé, or command+tab to manage open windows.

Launchpad vs Start Menu

It's hardly a chore to open a program in either OS, but Mountain Lion's Launchpad feature, modeled on the simple icon management style of Apple's iOS devices, is easy and feels pleasantly modern.

Multi-Tasking

Windows 7 and OS X both handle window-management pretty well, and it's almost a tie. Mountain Lion gives you tons of options - Mission Control, Exposé, hotkeys, more options via the dock - but Windows 7's killer Snap feature makes side-by-side windows dead-simple.

OS X might take the round though, for offering dedicated keys and multitouch gestures for each breed of navigation.

Games and Apps

Apps

There's no shortage of decent programs available for OS X, but there are thousands more on Windows 7. That's to be expected, as the install-base for PCs is way higher. But as so many apps are garbage, does it make a difference?

Short answer: probably not. Very few "essential" apps remain unavailable for Mac. Where the difference shows is when it comes to rarer stuff: if there's an app for something, you can almost certainly, no matter how obscure it is, run that app on a PC. The examples range from analytics and payroll software to drivers for outdated electronics. And, oh yeah, games.

Games

If you're serious about using your computer to play games, there's just no contest: Windows wins, as it pretty much always has.

Sure, Mountain Lion has a few AAA titles in its repertoire (thanks largely to Valve and Blizzard) but it's missing out on so many more. Same deal with low-budget indie games: a smattering find their way to Macs every year, but most stay rooted to Windows.

IGN's Top 25 Modern PC Games

The reason for this divide, if you're interested, is that many games developed for or ported to Windows rely heavily on Microsoft's DirectX software for graphics.

Apple hasn't invested in an equivalent tool, so in order to port games to OS X, developers don't just have to re-write their game; they have to also write a bunch of underlying software from scratch too. As you can imagine, that would be expensive, so it just doesn't happen.

Why PC Gaming Could Rule 2012

Whether or not support for games is a must-have feature is up to you: we love a good PC game, but consoles offer many of the same experiences from the comfort of a sofa. Just do yourself a favor: don't buy a Mac hoping to play any particular games that aren't already available.

Media

We aren't going to compare iTunes with Windows Media Player because they both suck. For audio, we recommend a streaming service like Spotify or Rdio. For videos, try VLC or even XBMC. Those are all cross-platform and free to download.

Likewise, comparing Final Cut vs Adobe Premiere or Logic Pro vs Pro Tools would be way beyond the scope of this article, but we'll say this: we prefer iLife to Windows Live's media suite.

Yes, they'll both seem rather limited to proficient users, but iMovie and iPhoto are more straightforward and pack more features than their Windows 7 counterparts. (And GarageBand rules!)

iCloud vs SkyDrive

iCloud is a great backup and sync tool for iOS devices, but that's about all it is. MS SkyDrive has all the features of Dropbox or Google Drive (a.k.a. Google Docs), making it the clear winner even though it requires a bit more effort to set up.

If you're on a Mac and SkyDrive's giving you cloud envy, just sign up for it. Unlike iCloud, it's cross-platform.

Security

It's a myth that there are no viruses for Macs. But it's also a myth that most Macs need added anti-virus protection. Apple continues to do a good job taking care of this, with security steps like application sandboxing, enhanced runtime protection, ASL randomization. And for good measure there's Mountain Lion's (sometimes annoying) GateKeeper to talk you out of opening those sketchy email attachments.

Windows 7 is secure too, although it's still a good idea to run separate security software on top of it. To its credit, the OS introduced an Action Center to notify you about firewall status and anti-virus software updates.

Unless you're a high-profile target for hackers or you just can't resist clicking on sketchy links, don't let the security blues dictate you OS selection.

And the winner is…

Mountain Lion might have won on paper, but the sparse selection of affordable Mac hardware and Apple's failure to get support for high-profile games are big problems. If you're feeling spendy and console have your gaming needs covered, buy a Mac. (They're awesome!) Otherwise, you really can't go wrong with Windows 7. (It's awesome!)

What about Windows 8?

It's just around the corner, and when it arrives you can bet we'll cover it. But Windows 7 will probably hold the market-share throne for a few years yet. And with Windows 8 being marketed as such a different experience, some folks might wish they'd picked up a Windows 7 PC when they still had the chance.

What about Linux?

Yes, Linux is a thing (and it's awesome!). But if you're running Ubuntu or something even more specialized, you don't need us to say "Keep doin' what you're doin'."

We covered as much as we could, but in a full OS comparison we were bound to miss something. Let us know what we didn't mention - and which OS you're faithful to - down in the comments.

Jon Fox is a Seattle hipster who loves polar bears and climbing trees. You can follow him on Twitter and IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

Check Out an Impressive S.H.I.E.L.D. Video Application

Joss Whedon is currently working on his upcoming S.H.I.E.L.D. TV series, set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe - something we're all pretty excited about. But Adam Levermore has a special form of excitement, as he hopes to actually work on the series as a graphic designer.

To that end, he's filmed a video to serve as his job application, in the form of a fan film of sorts, in which Levermore is taken into a S.H.I.E.L.D. facility and interrogated/interviewed about his skills and experience.

Levermore, who actually has done work associated with projects like Serenity and Battlestar Galactica in the past, certainly has some notable assistance on this project. The short is written by Eureka/Person of Interest writer Amy Berg and features a score by Bear McCreary (BSG). And there’s even a cameo from a Buffy the Vampire Slayer alum at the end.

Check out the short, called S.H.I.E.L.D.E.D., below.

So, do you think Levermore should get the job?

Source : ign[dot]com

Hero Worship: Darth Vader Still Rules

I’ve got nothing terribly profound to discuss this week, so I wanted to take some time to showcase something that I think has been underserved in the comics community.

Earlier this week, I was pleasantly surprised by the conclusion of Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Ghost Prison, the latest mini-series from Dark Horse Comics to spotlight the beloved Sith Lord in all of his glory. There are tons of Star Wars comics on the market these days, but Ghost Prison is the first in quite some time that captures everything I adore about the franchise. I wouldn’t hesitate to say that the comic did more to push the boundaries of the series than any of the sequels/prequels, save Empire Strikes Back.

Check our reviews for Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Ghost Prison!

Darth Vader and the Ghost Prison is set months after Episode III as the Empire has taken hold of the galaxy and have begun to expand radically, training recruits at a rapid pace. The story centers around an Imperial cadet named Tohm that finds himself in the midst of rebellion and soon, fighting by Vader’s side. The story that ensues is not the typical Star Wars tale of black-and-white morality but instead a complex and tragic exploration of an average man’s loyalty to his leaders.

And though Tohm is in the spotlight, this series serves to underscore the ruthlessness of Darth Vader that we really only ever hear about in the films. By the story’s conclusion, we’re given a new appreciation for the coldness of Vader’s character that, after decades of exposure and perhaps even overuse, we have started to forget.

While I’m a fan of the prequels, they don’t do much in the way of showcasing Vader’s assistance in constructing the Empire. By the time we get to Vader in A New Hope, he’s more or less Tarkin’s lackey. And when Return of the Jedi rolls around, the series has shifted to portray Vader as a far more sympathetic character. Only in Empire do we see Vader as a true villain that transcends his cool look and becomes something terrifying. But most of his horrible past deeds are done off screen.

I’ve never really found myself reading licensed comics for anything other than continuing the adventures of some favorite characters. For the most part, they exist not to progress or expand these characters but rather to simply let them keep on living. In fact, the licensed comics that directly involve characters from the movies or TV shows (as opposed to peripheral characters or new characters set in the same universe) are essentially locked into the established continuity. In some cases where the comics are continuing a story – like the Buffy or Smallville comics – continuity is less restricting because it only needs to adhere to the past.

In the case of Star Wars, Vader’s tales need to adhere to the past and the future, which you’d think would be limiting. Instead, the Ghost Prison mini-series takes full advantage of our knowledge of where Vader’s been and where he’s going, and instead uses it to flesh out this character. Because of this story, I’ll never look at Vader’s relationships with the other Imperials in A New Hope the same ever again.

Alongside things like The Force Unleashed, I have a greater appreciation for the power of Vader’s character than ever before, most notably his power of manipulation. You know when Admiral Motti steps to Vader in that Death Star roundtable scene? The tension is retroactively even greater because I know what Vader is capable of doing to his allies to benefit his own cause.

I guess what I’m saying is, licensed comics should dare to do more with the characters, and those who license them should encourage it. Ghost Prison proves that there is plenty of room for growth and exploration within even the most confined spaces of continuity. In the meantime, I urge you to give this book a try – no matter how jaded about Star Wars you’ve become.

And if you’re jaded, stop. Star Wars still rules.

Joey is IGN's Comics Editor and a comic book creator himself. Follow Joey on Twitter, or find him on IGN. He will love Star Wars until the end of his days.

Source : ign[dot]com

Dokuro Coming to PlayStation Vita in October

If you’re looking for something to play on your PlayStation Vita, you may be pleased to learn that Dokuro has been slated for an October release in North America. Its release window in other territories is still unknown.

According to the PlayStation Blog -- and more notably a post from developer Antonio Cara – “With a captivating chalk-drawn setting and adorable fairytale themes, Dokuro provides a unique platform-puzzle experience that will flex your mind and heart!” The game revolves around a character named Dokuro who’s on a quest to save a “beautiful princess” from a foe known only as Dark Lord.

The thing is, this gorgeous princess isn’t too sharp, and “pays no mind to imminent danger… automatically [moving] forward until she reaches an obstacle she cannot cross.” As such, “Dokuro’s main goal is to get the Princess from point A to point B. Naturally, the path is always complicated by traps, pitfalls, and the occasional flying demon. These puzzles will take all the moxie and gumption you can muster as you travel through floors of ever-increasing complexity.”

Keep an eye out on IGN this October for a full review.

Colin Moriarty is an IGN PlayStation editor. You can follow him on Twitter and IGN and learn just how sad the life of a New York Islanders and New York Jets fan can be.

Source : ign[dot]com

PAX: Disney Epic Mickey 2 -- Be the Hero You Want to Be

Choice and consequence play major roles in Producer Warren Spector’s design for Epic Mickey 2. This was something downplayed in the original, having what Spector referred to in an interview at PAX as “choice and consequence light,” but with Epic Mickey 2 the goal is to put forward he and his studio’s design manifesto: playstyle matters.

“The key is asking players, ‘How do you succeed? What defines a hero? What makes Mickey a hero for you?,” said Spector, “and then the way this is exactly like every other game I’ve ever done is that I hope you have no idea what I think or what our QA department or design department thinks defines a hero, because the only thing that matters is what you think defines a hero.”

Indeed, during the short demo it became readily apparent the way that you will define what Mickey is to you. For instance you might come upon a point where you have two routes to get to the same place, one involving enemies and the other a rigorous platforming section. The combat route gives you a lot of options: you could wipe out the enemies with thinner, subdue them with paint, or even use your various abilities to distract them and sneak past. The platforming route could be a big challenge if you want to maintain the world, or you could maybe use your thinner to saw a tree in half and make an easier route.

It’s one thing for Epic Mickey 2 to give you multiple ways to get through the story, to play it your way, but what makes it special to Spector is that it records and responds to your previous actions -- something he should be familiar with considering he helped create the original Deus Ex games. Major choices will present themselves throughout the story, such as one moment during the demo where Mickey and Oswald had to choose to either subdue a bunch of enemies with paint or destroy them with thinner. The toons in town wanted them destroyed, but a ghost named Ian appealed to Mickey and Oswald for mercy. Destroy them and the toons in town will help you out. But Ian? Well, that'll be the last you'll hear from him (sparing the nasty enemies will net you a friend that will come back time and again). The point is to make your choices really matter, but without telling you in some sort of Karmatic system that you're doing the right thing. No matter what you'll be getting the good ending since, after all, you are Mickey Mouse, but it's the bits and pieces of the ending that'll change. Spector likens it to the ending of Star Wars: A New Hope, where Luke Skywalker appears with a number of other important characters. No matter what you'll be earning medals, but as for who will be standing on stage with you? That's for you to decide with your actions.

Choices are being monitored, even the ones that are less obvious than the obvious moral dilemmas and those involving multiple characters. Take for instance if you're the type of Mickey who constantly uses thinner to wipe out your enemies and cut out portions of the environment. In this case Epic Mickey 2 will intuitively start throwing more enemies at you because the game's trying to respond to what you are showing you like to do. Even the music starts to respond to your actions, with players who use a lot of paint and play more passively experiencing flutes and a more full soundtrack, while players who use thinner will experience a less lighthearted soundtrack with fewer instruments. The thinking is this, if you're cutting out portions of your visual landscape, why not have the soundtrack respond and present a lessened audio landscape as well? Most people won't even notice this in all likelihood, but it's an awesome bit of flavor that could make your choices stand out a bit more in Epic Mickey 2.

Another aspect of being the hero you want to be involves using your imagination in unprecedented ways. Mickey and Oswald have a number of tools at their disposal, such as an anvil you can use to smack enemies or a TV you can call down to distract them with cartoons. "It's all about you deciding how to use your tools in the context of our little simulation to accomplish things I hope the designers never even intended," said Spector, at which point his QA tester showed me how internally they use the TV and anvil combination to create an impromptu two-step platform to reach places they otherwise wouldn't. "Oh my god," Spector uttered, launching into a whole tirade about how players used explosives in Deus Ex to climb out of the game world. He isn't embarrassed by people figuring out how to break his game, he embraces it. "Stuff that's a bug for most developers is gold for Junction Point," said Spector, "People have already done things that are impossible in this game...and that's great."

"If gamers can really wrap their minds around playing a mouse for 20 hours...the kinds of choices you're making are different, and the kinds of consequences and tone are different from Deus Ex, but the gameplay? If Deus Ex fans don't see the gameplay depth in this game, then they're not paying attention," said Spector. The hope is that Epic Mickey 2 won't simply be perceived as a children's game, but a game for everyone. Something you can play as an adult and enjoy the way so many of us do with Sonic or Mario, and now on our platform of choice since, unlike the first game, it's expanding beyond the Wii market. Whether or not it succeeds in this regard we'll just have to wait and see when Epic Mickey 2 releases November 18th.

Anthony Gallegos is an Editor on IGN's PC team and doesn't believe something cute has to be only for children. You can follow him on Twitter and on IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

Henry Winkler Returns to Arrested Development

"Don't get too close to me. 'Cause I've got an itch you can't believe. I think something laid eggs on me."

Yes, THR is reporting that Henry Winkler will be back for a handful of episodes on the new season of Arrested Development - coming Spring 2013 on Netflix!

Winkler will be reprising his role as Barry Zuckerkorn, the insanely incompetent family lawyer for the Bluths. Winkler even recently tweeted: "I am supposed to be memorizing an Arrested Development scene with Maybe for today … don't tell anyone I was here OK?????"

Winkler also recently tweeted out a picture of himself with actor Scott Baio, who plays attorney Bob Loblaw (of Bob Loblaw's Law Blog), from the set!

Source : ign[dot]com

Special Forces: Team X -- An Attempt to Breathe Life into Old Ideas

When it comes to talking about shooters, calling the market "crowded" is an understatement. If you want to make something that can compete with the likes of Call of Duty, Battlefield, Counter-Strike or any other numerous established shooter franchises, it's not enough to make it cheap or even free. Alongside a price point that makes it attractive, you need a hook -- some sort of innovation or series of innovative twists on what's come before -- to stand out.

For Zombie Studios next game Special Forces: Team X, the hook comes from the fact that it's a less-than-serious, third-person, cover-based shooter with a cool take on map design. Sure, cover-based shooters have been partially explored on the Xbox thanks to Gears of War, but virtually not at all on the PC, making it a much easier genre to become a potential competitor in. Combine these mechanics with Special Forces: Team X's sub $20 price tag, and you have what could be an attractive alternative to players looking for a cheap, multiplayer-only option in the genre Gears so firmly established.

Let's just get all of Team X's similarities to Gears of War right out of the way. It puts a similar premium on utilizing cover. Battles don't boil down to who can rush in and get themselves killed the fastest, but who can play methodically, out-flanking the enemy team. Moving between cover is crucial, and Team X gives gives you a very roadie-run-like sprinting ability that lets you press on enemy positions. You can also vault and blind fire from cover and you have recharging health.

Now that that's cleared up, let's focus on how Team X mixes it up, namely by tossing in elements from Call of Duty. Just like COD, Team X gives you loadouts, and you unlock new gear for your loadouts based on your level, which is raised by killing people, completing objectives -- you know the drill by now, right? As you level up you'll unlock new weapons for your two weapon slots, new perks (called Skills in Team X), as well as a host of options for changing your appearance. Weapons can be further customized with attachments, but Zombie has intentionally made it so you only have to worry about a few items and stats, rather than the slew of options that were in their last game, Blacklight: Retribution. The point of this isn't too think too much about how to best min-max your loadouts stats, but to put things on that sound fun and then see if they work. Since it's not a free-to-play but rather a single transaction, you don't have to fret over whether or not you want to pay to rent or buy items, either.

One really cool thing that Team X does different from its competitors is its map generation. Instead of launching with a few pre-made maps, Team X lets players vote on the map layout before each match. Every map is composed of three segments, and to vote you simply swap out the segments until you find a combination you like. Then, after the timer counts down, Team X counts which map sections got the most votes in which slots and generates the level accordingly. This results in a few things that could make Team X a lot of fun to play. First of all, it's a great way to keep you on your toes, since this means that you can't simply learn a map in its entirety, but instead have to learn the ins and outs of sections, and then understand how they'll play off one another when next to one another. Second, it makes voting on each round feel more exciting, because you're not just picking between two maps that you might not like, you're actively participating in the design of the level -- albeit on a very basic level. Third, it means that Zombie Studios could roll out new map DLC at a fast rate if Team X does well, since the team only has to create single segments at a time rather than entire maps.

Other standout features in Team X could also help differentiate it. For instance you can play traditional modes like team deathmatch and king of the hill with two teams, but Team X also allows as many as four separate teams against one another at a time. Or if you don't like to use grenades as your method for breaking someone out of cover, you can also bring dogs into the fight, sending them at your attackers to kill them or provide a distraction while you flank your enemy.  Even the Skill system in Team X tweaks the standard formula a bit, with some Skills giving area of effect bonuses to your teammates instead of only benefiting you. These group-focused skills are important, too, because they encourage you to stick together -- something particularly important in a cover-centric shooter.

With so many generic shooters or blatant clones releasing in recent years, it's nice to see a studio attempt to innovate on established formulas. Whether or not this will bring success to Special Forces: Team X, though...well that remains to be seen. At least we won't have to wait long, since Team X is slated to release on XBLA and PC before the end of the year.

Source : ign[dot]com

Star Wars: First Assault Domain and Trademarks Registered

LucasArt's parent company has registered trademarks and domain names for something titled Star Wars: First Assault.

Originally spotted by Fusible, the domain names include the likes of StarWarsFirstAssault.com while the trademarks apparently pertain to "interactive entertainment software", including video games, for use on both computers and mobile phones.

There's also the standard array of supporting merchandise, including pencil sharpeners. The discovery of the First Assault domain and trademarks echoes what happened when Star Wars 1313 was first uncovered before its E3 announcement. The question becomes, then, whether this title is a new franchise set in the Star Wars universe, or if it builds on a previously known series.

There's not much we can guess from the name alone, though the possibility of it being an aerial combat game along the lines of Star Wars: Rebel Assault shouldn't be ruled out. The name certainly suggests an action packed game that seems unlikely to focus on the Jedi as playable characters, though how this would be differentiated from the bounty hunting exploits promised by Star Wars 1313 remains to be seen.

But there's also a sliver of hope that this may be the long-awaited reappearance of Star Wars: Battlefront III. We heard reports earlier this year that the title was still in development since being canned after the studio behind Timesplitters, Free Radical, closed.

Until LucasArts chooses to reveal more, all we can do is speculate. For all we know it could be another Kinect-based title, but with rumours rife that Star Wars 1313 is in development for next-gen machines, could this perhaps be LucasArts last hurrah on this batch of consoles?

Luke Karmali is IGN's UK Editorial Assistant and was named after a certain famous Jedi. Probably. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on IGN and on Twitter.

Source : ign[dot]com

Why eSports Are Like Dubstep and Pro Gaming Isn't For Gamers

There’s something in the air at the World Championship Series StarCraft II Oceania Finals at the Australian Technology Park. It is, in fact, the roof of the Australian Technology Park. Or was, rather. 100km/h winds had blown a section of it off the converted locomotive workshop earlier.

But there’s definitely a buzz down here, and it’s not just the iron sheets above us vibrating as they cling to the roof while the gale outside tries to peel them off like a stubborn nether-hair from a bar of soap. People seem excited. Excited about StarCraft II. They’re sitting in clusters fixated on the big screen while a man brings around platters of tiny chicken schnitzels on tiny pieces of toast. The crowd is small today, but it’s a Friday. The show isn’t open to the public until tomorrow, when we’re assured things will get a lot more boisterous. All 600 tickets for the event were snapped up inside of 11 minutes. Tomorrow the crowd of people cheering on a man in a small glass booth playing a video game against another man in a different glass booth will be a lot larger and louder.

Larger. Louder.

There’s very little about this experience that would seem real to your everyday everyman. It barely makes sense to me. I’m watching two people I don’t know battling against one another on a video game I’ve never played. The commentators aren’t called commentators, I can’t quite figure out why everyone is cheering and I don’t actually understand what anybody is talking about.

This must be how my wife feels when I play video games at home. Or perhaps a more potent example would be what my sister feels like when she watches cricket. She doesn’t understand the game and she doesn’t understand the rules.

Two of the expert StarCraft II shoutcasters brought in to provide commentary for the event, Nick ‘Tasteless’ Plott and Dan ‘Artosis’ Stemkoski, laugh when I confirm with them they don’t know anything about cricket.

“No, we don’t!” says Plott. “Basically our jobs are to try and make that as accessible as possible to a viewer like you, for instance. We’re just trying to translate, ‘Okay what’s this guy trying to do? What’s this guy’s dilemma? What’s the other guy’s advantage? We’re there to navigate the viewer through the experience so they can enjoy it.”

Thus far I’m still working on volume. When the commentators start shouting I figure something exciting is happening. Plott and Stemkoski are the commentators I’d know all about if I knew anything about StarCraft. The pair are currently based in South Korea.

“

[In South Korea] if I say I’m a StarCraft commentator that doesn’t require an explanation.

“Out there,” says Plott, “if I say I’m a StarCraft commentator that doesn’t require an explanation. If I say I’m a pro-gamer that doesn’t require an explanation. They did a poll a few years ago where they asked young Korean boys, ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ and the number one response was professional gamer.”

“We live in this world where it one of the most watched things on TV, completely culturally accepted. It’s not a taboo, it’s not weird and there’s an ecosystem there that supports it.”

Peter Neate is 31. He’s from Brisbane. For three years, however, Peter Neate lived in South Korea and everyone called him Legionnaire.

After qualifying for the first World Cyber Games main event in 2001 Neate found himself in South Korea.

“I went overseas to Seoul in Korea and I was the only Australian to win a match,” says Neate. “They set up a show match afterwards and I was the only one to win versus a Korean pro-gamer. They offered me [a chance] to stay, just out of the blue. I really did not expect it and I didn’t really understand just how big professional gaming was in Korea at the time, so I turned it down.”

“I did a bit of research after that; I started playing a lot more. The next year, WCG came around again, I qualified, I went to Korea, I extended my Visa out for the full three months and I just went around trying to play as much as I could. We got very fortunate, I was there with another Australian... we got picked up by a sponsor a couple of days before our Visas were to expire.

“We were sponsored for three months and we played non-stop. At the end of the three months there was a big tournament – 512 players I believe – in Korea and I went through to the top eight where I got noticed by one of the professional teams. I became friends with them and they asked me to join so I leaped at the opportunity. From that time on I spent three years playing professionally in Korea.”

Neate out of retirement for another crack.

Neate illustrates just how hardcore South Koreans are about eSports.

“Back then they had an event down in Busan, the second largest city in Korea,” he says. “They did a custom built stadium, on the beach; they brought the players in on rafts, up onto the beach.”

“There were 90,000 spectators. So if you think about that, it’s like an AFL Grand Final. That many people were turning up just to watch a computer game.

That’s Australian Rules football, for non-antipodeans.

“It’s amazing,” Neate continues. “It’s really hard for people who haven’t seen anything like it to understand how big it is. In Korea, it is considered a sport; it’s a real sport, it’s the fourth biggest sport in Korea after soccer, baseball and basketball I believe.”

Neate retired after three years, conceding many players stay in the scene for longer.

“It’s a full-time job over there, so a lot of Koreans stick with it for a lot longer,” he says. “For me it was long enough. I’d done everything I’d wanted, my brother was getting married and I’d never actually met his fiancé because I’d been over there for so long. I’d had a lot fun, I’d travelled around everywhere and I just felt it was time to move on and get back to normal life.”

Normal is probably not a term you’d apply to the life of fellow finalist Andrew Pender. Pender has a nickname for his nickname, but that’s not what makes his life so fascinating. No, it’s because Andrew ‘mOOnGLaDe’ Pender, or GLaDe, quit his job to play StarCraft II eight to 12 hours a day in the lead up to this tournament.

Pender’s first real-time strategy game was the original StarCraft.

“As that went on Brood War came out and I continued to play during high school and I stumbled across pro gaming on the Internet, and I thought that was an amazing thing at the time,” he says. “That was the thing I wanted to be as a kid. Pro-gaming; it sounded so amazing.”

Dream job(?)

“From there after StarCraft I jumped into WarCraft III as fast as I could and started competitive playing there in the hopes that one day I could be a pro gamer, but at the time it was only a hobby. For six years I was competitive playing WarCraft III and I managed to travel around the world for it and do rather well, nothing too amazing, and then StarCraft II was on the horizon so I quit WarCraft III, worked for a couple of years until StarCraft II came out and then pretty much put all my time into StarCraft II and tried my best to go pro gamer with it.

“Basically from there I started to do very well and I joined a pretty good team and I managed to travel around the world with a salary and make some money and some fame and do pretty well. For the last two years I’ve just been travelling around the world for StarCraft II.”

The prospect of being paid to play games might be a tempting one for many. It sounds like the perfect job for someone who loves games. However, one of the more interesting things is how few games pro gamers actually play.

“If you’re a pro gamer you’re probably only playing StarCraft,” says Plott.

Stemkoski agrees; he spends his free gaming time playing StarCraft too.

“Yeah, it’s definitely mostly StarCraft,” he says. “I find that I’m so involved in StarCraft, I enjoy it so much that I find if I have some free time I don’t necessarily want to pick up a PlayStation controller. I want to go and play some more StarCraft. There’s a reason why this is the biggest eSport; it’s because it’s the best game.”

Pender tends to avoid other games too.

“

I used to play many, many games before I became a professional gamer. Once you become a professional gamer it’s a lot harder to just jump on another game.

“I used to be a gamer, he says. “I used to play a lot more other games; I used to play many, many games before I became a professional gamer. Once you become a professional gamer it’s a lot harder to just jump on another game.”

“In the back of your mind you’re worried that it’s going to affect your StarCraft, or your mouse movements or whatever. But that’s not really the main reason I don’t play many other games. Currently I don’t have time for it, and when I do have time for it I kinda don’t want to be in front of the computer, more than anything. I like to do physical things. Anything but be on a computer.

“I do love exercising. I do a lot of boxing; not so much the getting hit in the head, but the training for it I really enjoy.”

There are other misconceptions about pro gaming.

Though probably not ones shared by these rabid fans.

“I think that the biggest misconception about pro gamers and especially about this industry as a whole is that it’s a bunch of geeks or nerds or something like that,” says Stemkoski. “We have such a diverse line-up of humans that play this game and complete professionally at it.”

“We had people that worked at McDonalds, we had people that were bodybuilders, we had people that play basketball, just every type of person. There are dog catchers that turned into professional video game players. This is not something like some of these other sports where, ‘Well, you have to be born this tall to do this’. No, anyone can do it.”

So where to now for eSport? Speaking to GamesIndustry International at Gamescom Riot Games co-founder Brandon Beck believes that the popularity of eSports could grow to the point where video games are actually played at the Olympics.

“We don't have our sights set on replacing soccer right now, but we definitely think that eSports has a place as a large, important, mainstream competitive activity,” he said. “I fundamentally believe that eSports will be an Olympic event in my lifetime.”

Plott and Stemkoski stop a few miles short of anything as monstrously optimistic as this, but both agree eSports are on the rise.

First, you win the StarCraft. Then you get the power. Then you get the women.

“It’s gonna take some more time,” says Stemkoski. “Some places are starting to catch up, like China and Germany, and to a lesser extent Sweden. These places are starting to get more and more there. You need to get the word out, you need a lot of tournaments, and the more that you have the more people will see it and the more it’ll be in the news.”

Plott picks up from Stemkoski.

“The way I would look at it is, are you familiar with dubstep?” he asks. “So like, dubstep started out in the UK and it’s actually been around for a long period of time now. Imagine the UK is to dubstep what South Korea is to eSports.”

“

Imagine the UK is to dubstep what South Korea is to eSports.

“They had the right club scene, they had the right attitude; progressive, electronic music was taking over there. Nowadays everybody knows what dubstep is right, but it just took time for it to catch on. If you imagine video games as music, I feel like eventually there’s just gonna be a point in time where this is kinda a genre of gaming that’s just gonna take over everywhere.

“I mean, two years ago this was so niche outside of South Korea it was mind-boggling how long it took me to explain to anybody how big my job was. Now I’ve ping-ponged all over the globe, we’re going to Germany right after this, and I would say I don’t know whether it’s going to be two years, five years or 10 years, it’s gonna be a genre of gaming. “

Looking at just how heavily the likes of Black Ops II are becoming geared towards the competitive player, I’m inclined to agree. It’s not going to matter if you or I are interested or not. Enough people are.

I leave to find the foul weather has knocked over a tree just outside the building. If a tree falls in the park and everyone is inside watching two men play StarCraft II, does it make a sound?

Apparently not.

While veteran Peter Neate’s tournament was ended early, Andrew Pender came in as runner-up in the Australian National championship and was the overall winner of the Oceania Finals the following day. He and his fellow finalist will advance to the StarCraft II World Championship Series Global Final at the Battle.net World Championship in Shanghai, China in November.

Luke is Games Editor at IGN AU. You can chat to him about games, cars and other stuff on IGN here or find him and the rest of the Australian team by joining the IGN Australia Facebook community.

Source : ign[dot]com

Left 4 Dead 2: Cold Stream Review

You know that feeling when you jump into a pool that’s heated to the perfect temperature? Swimming around feels like something you should have been doing your entire life, and it’s just plain wonderful. Cold Stream, Left 4 Dead 2’s new community-created map turned official DLC, is much less like its frigid namesake and much more like a soothing warm-water swim. It feels just about right.

You know Left 4 Dead 2. You know how great it is. You still shoot hundreds of zombies, co-op style, on your way through a series of maps to get to a safe point where you can rest and reload. Special zombies like the Spitter and the Hunter are still around to screw with your plans, Tanks will still ambush you at the worst possible moments, and setting off car alarms still draws the horde to the location of your oh-so-tasty brains.

So, you’ll likely still have a great time with Cold Stream. It’s a competently put together new campaign, and definitely scratches that new Left 4 Dead itch. But, there’s just something missing. It lacks the usual magic that Valve games tend to attain. I’ve been struggling to put my finger on exactly what it is, but it’s honestly fairly difficult to say.

Perhaps it’s the lack of new voice work for the campaign. The map’s creators very cleverly put together old dialogue to estimate more or less what it would sound like, but it’s just not the same.

Perhaps it’s the slightly uneven difficulty. In Valve-designed maps, you constantly feel one step ahead of death. The zombies bear down on you, and you barely survive each encounter. Those moments exist in Cold Stream, but they’re definitely not common. And when they come, they come with fury. There’s a moment early in the campaign where you’re forced to fight your way down a raging deluge of water, all the while fighting off zombies. It sounds thrilling, but instead it’s far too chaotic and far too difficult.

Perhaps, even, it’s notable lack of witches. It seems like a not-so-huge deal at first glance, but I really missed the moments of turning a corner and finding myself face-to-face with one of the terrifying she-devils. The air seems lacking in tension without her cries echoing in the distance.

None of this is to say that Cold Stream isn’t very good. In fact, quite the opposite. It’s still Left 4 Dead 2, and shooting, chopping, and chainsawing your way through is still just as much fun as ever. The new four-map set is varied, well-designed, and definitely gets the job done. It’s just not up to the level of the game’s other campaigns.

For the Left 4 Dead veterans, however, the true value of the DLC lies in the re-release of four campaigns from the original game. Crash Course, Death Toll, Dead Air, and Blood Harvest are back, along with Zoey, Louis, Bill, and Francis. I know right? I missed those guys too. Plus, you get to play with the new toys that Left 4 Dead 2 introduced, like melee weapons and the ever-useless defibrillator, all in an attempt to survive the new Special Infected that seem to have invaded the old areas. Fresh!

Source : ign[dot]com

17 Beautiful Celebrities With Mario Mustaches

Say hey to Penelope Cruz. Recognize her? Something looking a little off?That's a real picture from an actual official brand-new advertisement of New Super Mario Bros. 2 from Nintendo themselves. Don't believe us? See for yourself:

But why stop there, Nintendo? Here are 16 more beautiful female celebrities rocking the iconic plumber 'stache. What? You clicked on this thing, didn't you?

Super Ana Beatriz

Super Angelina Jolie

Super Beyonce Knowles

Super Jessica Chobot

Super Eva Longoria

Super Gisele Bundchen

Super Halle Berry

Super Kim Kardashian

Super Kristen Stewart

Super Nicki Minaj

Super Minka Kelly

Super Rachel Bilson

Super Rashida Jones

Super Rihanna

Super Taylor Swift

Super Lady Gaga

Brian Altano is IGN's Executive Editor of News & Features and this is the type of stuff he does to close off a busy week at IGN. For more random, total idiocy, follow him on Twitter.

Source : ign[dot]com