Rockstar has announced the full details for special edition versions of the prostitute-killing game, Grand Theft Auto V.

Customers who pre-order the game will receive Atomic Blimp, an in-game vehicle. And by vehicle they mean aircraft. And by aircraft, I mean blimp. Then, those who want further items can purchase the special and collector’s edition of the game.

The GTA 5 special edition includes:

• 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;
• 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;

 
The Grand Theft Auto V Collector’s Edition includes the contents of Grand Theft Auto V Special Edition plus:

• 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 price of the Collector’s Edition will cost an amazing R1,699. The Special Edition will cost R899. Save up while you can.

Microsoft is set to reveal the next Xbox in a few hours time. The live-stream will start at 19H00 South African time. You can watch it above.

Following the completion of the event, we will publish all relevant news and articles about the console and the games revealed, on eGamer.

Find all Xbox One information on eGamer.

In 2012, Electronic Arts purchased the licence for the UFC from THQ. Since then, we have not seen or heard anything about the franchise. Nothing has happened.

A year later, however, it seems that something could actually be revealed. It has been reported that information on the ‘unannounced’ game could be revealed alongside the new Microsoft Xbox.

The image, above, is what was posted to Twitter and Facebook by EA. This image is the only thing that supports the above claims.

Could EA use the event to show the new game alongside the reveal of FIFA 14?

As Microsoft finalises its new-Xbox launch, for Tuesday evening, one can only wonder what the software giant has in store. A couple of months ago we saw the PlayStation 4 reveal, where Sony showed the world that they are very gaming orientated. Sony incorporated a lot of features that shows that gaming is the console’s first and best feature.

Microsoft could do the same. Or they could change their stance to a more social approach.

The following is speculation on what may or may not be revealed at the Tuesday evening event. By Wednesday we will know what is true and what is not. The idea, here, is to talk about what we have seen and heard, before the event takes place.

From what we know, Microsoft could create a one-for-all entertainment hub for the living room. Rumours claim that it will include TV support, by connecting to your set-top box (DStv, etc). The console will then provide the functionality needed to control the relevant device(s).

Other rumours note that the next-generation console will come with social networking elements (same as Sony) as well as an array of new achievements. This is essentially aimed directly at the gamer, where developers will have the power to create and integrate new Achievements into games. How Achievements work could possibly change too.

Respawn Entertainment–the new IP from Jason West and Vince Zampella–could launch their first game as an Xbox exclusive. It is rumoured that the game is a futuristic multiplayer shooter, which is not too farfetched considering the founders are the creators of the hugely popular Call of Duty: Modern Warfare series. West and Zampella did say something about the future.

One of the most concerning rumours about the new Xbox has to be the talk of always-online requirements. After a big fuss regarding always-online requirements, leaked statements from Microsoft regarding the new console does note that offline play will be possible. However, nothing is yet confirmed.

Rumour also has it that Microsoft might call the new console the Xbox Infinity.

Touching on the above, my speculation is that Microsoft will aim for a more social approach, especially when compared to Sony’s gaming-orientated approach. I am not at all saying that the console will not be powerful and very “next-generation-like”, I am only suspecting that social-networking integration as well as entertainment features will be a very large focus of the console. Always-online, I disregard this. I do not think that Microsoft will implement this for all features, however I do feel that certain features will require always-online. It will be a mix, with single-player games not needing online but any other feature might very well require an internet connection that is constantly running. The downside to this is that Microsoft might very well log what people are using the console for, for “research” purposes.

On the games front, Microsoft will need to sign new contracts with developers and publishers for exclusive content. Sony has signed many new contracts and will launch a lot of new IP in the coming period, for the PlayStation 4. Microsoft will not only need to compete with that, they will also need to attempt to better that. I do suspect that Microsoft will top the amount of exclusive IP seen in the 360-era, however this increase will come throughout the console’s life-time at not at launch alone. To compete with Sony’s exclusive-gaming-approach, Microsoft’s social-entertainment offering could possibly be the leading differentiating factor. This will cater to a different sort of market, and allow Microsoft to avoid the hardcore exclusive IP approach used by Sony.

The reasons for my suspicions of Microsoft going social is, chief amongst the above, the position and functionality of Windows 8. Microsoft is attempting to gain market share in the social space, an area where mobiles and tablets for entertainment plays a large part. Microsoft’s overall company offering is far larger than that of Sony–with regards to software for hardware. By implementing the ability to control the new Xbox from a Windows 8 mobile, tablet, or PC, is something very appealing–no doubt. The offering of Windows 8 and what Microsoft wants to achieve is no doubt going to fall in line with the new Xbox. The console can easily offer functionality similar to that of the Apple TV, for its own technologies and maybe Android, too.

The above alone, for me, is a deciding reason as to what Microsoft will aim for. Windows is what made Microsoft famous, and with the release of Windows 8 and the large change that comes with it, it will be silly for Microsoft to not offer capabilities with the new Xbox. Therefore, Windows 8 users (for mobile, tablet, and PC) should get ready for easy and efficient cross-platform integration. And possibly play.

As for the name, I am not sure what to expect. Infinity works. Is there something more pleasing out there? Possibly.

What’s your thoughts on what to expect? Feel free to agree with me, or elaborate on my points. If am I wrong–which I very might well be–share your thoughts. Very interested to debate the future of Microsoft, speculatively.

Finally, what features do you want to see?

* The image above is a rendering. It’s fake.

Members of LulzSec, the organisation that claimed to have hacked Sony, Nintendo, Electronic Arts, the CIA and FBI, have been arrested and sentenced in the United Kingdom. The four members of the organisation have earned the longest-ever UK jail sentence for hacking.

It was reported that one member was given 32 months of jail time–the longest sentence ever under the Computer Misuse Act 1990. Another member was given 30 months, and following that, the main publicist for LulzSec received 24 months in a young offender institution.

The youngest member, an 18-year old, was sentenced to a 20 month suspended sentence as well as 300 hours of community service.

Following this, the four LulzSec members face possible extradition to the United States for further charges.

Other arrests have been made, in the United States and Australia, however they have not yet been charged.

Looks like LulzSec did make their mark–as the guys with the highest sentence for hacking, in the UK.

Activision-Blizzard had a better-than-expected first quarter of 2013. The company posted sales of $1.32 billion, bettering the $1.17 billion generated in 2012. Earnings per share also increased, from $0.33 to $0.40.

The sales increase can be attributed to StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm’s release. The new StarCraft II game was the best selling PC game during the period. World of Warcraft did quite well too, as the number one subscription based game.

“Our first-quarter performance was driven by continued consumer interest in all of our key franchises. Blizzard Entertainment’s StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm was the #1 PC game for the quarter. Additionally, during the quarter, Blizzard’s World of Warcraft remained the #1 subscription-based MMORPG in the world with more than eight million subscribers, although the game saw declines of approximately 1.3 million subscribers, mainly from the East, but in the West as well,” Kotick said.

However, despite all that, shares dropped during after-hours trading. Activision saw a 6 per cent decline in after-hours trading, as there seems to be a concern about the back half of the year. Coupled with the decrease in subscriptions in World of Warcraft, Activision might not perform as well as they’d hope too, financially. World of Warcraft reportedly lost 1.3 million subscribers.

Kotick added, “While we have had a solid start to the year, we now believe that the risks and uncertainties in the back half of 2013 are more challenging than our earlier view, especially in the holiday quarter. The shift in release dates of competing products, the disappointing launch of the Wii U, uncertainties regarding next-generation hardware, and subscriber declines in our World of Warcraft business all raise concerns, as do continued challenges in the global economy. For these reasons, we remain cautious. However, our focused and disciplined approach to our business has served us well in the past, and through continued investment and careful management of our costs, we expect to continue delivering shareholder value over the long term as we have for the last 20 years.”

So far it seems that Blizzard’s offerings are the only reason as to why Activision has done well. The only game which could save Activision later in the year is Call of Duty: Ghosts. The new shooter will land in November, where it is destined to sell millions of copies.

As the cost to develop a game has dropped significantly over the years, the market has been flooded with new titles from all sorts of developers. Between indie, A-level and even AAA-level (triple-A) developers, there’s a massive option of available games to play.

The leading issue with this is that there’s little to no differentiation in how the games are brought across to the public. Triple-A games cost as much as your regular not-so-good titles, where the gamer is forced to pay the same amount for substantially less hours, quality and all-round “entertainment value¹”.

Over the recent months, the indie-boom has found its market share in the gamer who wants something different, and new. The success of indie can be largely attributed to the developers’ great understanding of entertainment and how it should be priced.

Call it logical, that the easiest way to enter a saturated market is to offer lower prices. However, indie developers do not only share that mentality, but also the truthful understanding of what their game really is: indie. It is something developed without a massive budget, and for the love of the game. The reason as to why it is built is different to most, if not all other games available. One could say that money comes second.

Keeping that in mind, it is easy to see that indie–and even mobile–developers understand what the game is about and what gamers want. They understand what their game is, and price it accordingly.

This all makes sense. Indie developers offer the gamer their creation, at a reduced rate, because they would rather make some–or even no money–and have people play it. People playing is their leading concern. You can quickly see that this mentality differs from other games released by mainstream publishers, which ask for exorbitant prices for something with little to no entertainment value. Publishers do not share the desire to get people to play as much as indies do, instead, they want to make money. The mainstream publisher’s game quality is actually disguised by the price and gamers are tricked.

Borderline unethical? Probably.

Coming back to the point made above: there’s no differentiation between games sold in conventional box-stores. Indie differentiated and it succeeded, a lot. Other publishers and developers will need to do the same to survive. They will need to price their games accordingly.

Triple-A titles should be priced the highest. Two reasons as to why I believe this include, (i) high entertainment value; and (ii) the large budgets for marketing and development warrants this. Games with large budgets for creation are often better than those with smaller budgets. Of course this has outliers, where games with big budgets are not as good as expected, or at least certain people do not enjoy them as much as others. Taking averages into account, I am sure we can agree that the bigger the budget, the overall outcome is “good game”. Therefore, the reason as to why I will agree to a higher price for triple-A game is to–obviously–allow the developers to make their expenses back, and make a bit (a lot) of a profit. Simple. And very fair.

Non triple-A developers currently feel that their game, no matter how good or bad, deserves that same price. Game developers with smaller budgets, with games that have little to no entertainment value are, simply put, trying to capitalise on the profits and costs-returns that triple-A games are entitled to. They are not entitled to this, and they do not deserve this.

If games could be categorised accordingly, the market will be very different.

Games that are not triple-A, with modest budgets, should by virtue sell for less. The great thing about this is that economics dictates that supply and demand will look after the developer/publisher. The lower the price, the greater the demand. The supply is a non-issue, as the cost of the game is basically the cost of the first disc created, whereby everything thereafter is a mere copy. Creating duplicates is very easy. Supply issues, sorted. Online helps too.

People will readily approach games that cost less, and that is why indie is popular. It also shows that the developer is more ethical and willing to meet gamers halfway. They understand what their game is and what their market is all about. Game sales also enforce the point that gamers do want the game, just not at the price the developer sets for it.

Believe it or not, gamers want to play games. They will play anything. However, they probably will not play your game if there is something else available, slightly better, at the same price. If both games were priced reasonably both games could be afforded–and played. Both developers win, and so does the gamer.

Furthermore, nothing says that a cheap game is bad. And nothing says that a cheap game won’t “boom”, so to speak. A cheap game might be very good, and popular, leaving sales to possibly sky-rocket. That could lead to profits exceeding what they could have if the game was priced unreasonably in the triple-A bracket–because gamers are more readily to try a game that is not as expensive. The opportunity cost for a gamer investing in a cheaper game that-could-be-really-good is not as worrying, in other words.

Leading back to the title, all of this could change. Capcom firmly believes that the development costs of next-generation games could increase. Release schedules could shrink, and prices might increase. This is not good for the gamer.

“Development costs are projected to soar as advanced and multiple functions are added to hardware,” said the company.

“In order to lower development costs and shorten time frame for development, Capcom will restructure its development organizations, which are the core parts of the company’s business, increasing ratio of in-house developments by focusing on the overhaul of overseas development companies,” stated Capcom.

“Streamlining measures will also be taken over the entire business operations as part of efforts to strengthen the management system. Such measures will include further improvements in transparency, efficiency, cost reductions and financial structure.”

The above creates andopportunity for the differentiation I spoke of above.

As development costs soar, and companies consolidate with one another, the larger studios will find ways to keep their operational expenses down. They will find a way to get the game to the user at a reasonable price.

Smaller developers and publishers will have to mimic this strategy, however they will find it tough. To get their games out there, they will have to either cut costs tremendously or stop making games altogether. This is both good and bad. It’s good because less bad games will exist. Instead, games for sale will be almost worth their price, from your average developer who can afford to be in the market. It’s bad because of job losses and the like.

As new technology starts to age, operational costs will inevitably decrease. However, as they do, the opportunity to re-enter the market with new games will excite a lot of people. Hopefully, learning from what happened in the current-generation, new entrants might realise that they should price their game accordingly. These entrants should try to penetrate the market with their offering’s capabilities as opposed to following the mainstream pricing tactics. With next-generation sales, there is a chance that companies will soon realise that gamers are willing to scrutinise games so much, that if the price does not nearly warrant a purchase, it won’t be purchased.

Next-generation has the chance to actually categorise the price of games to the entertainment value offered by the game itself. If this happens, the game industry will grow, because players will immediately see the differentiation and purchase accordingly. If we think about the budgets of the games itself, a game that is not triple-A does not cost as much to make as a game that is. It should therefore not need to cost as much, because the amount that needs to be recuperated is not as much. This can be done with more sales at a lower price. Instead, developers are trying to piggy-back the system of pricing standardisation, which kills the industry very slowly. This is evident by the fact that people cannot afford each and every game, although they want to.

I understand that certain games do enter the market at a lesser price, and they still do not succeed as I have described. I believe that this is because the perception is that “low price means bad game”. If the standard was that games were ranked accordingly, players would understand their worth a whole lot more, and also know what they are buying into. It is tough for one company to set the trend, as it will have to be a collective effort. The more companies that take the approach, the more we as consumers will tend to think, “not all of these can be that bad, can they?”

And they won’t be.

To be honest, the entertainment world struggles with this concept. Locally, at least, we struggle even more. We pay the same to watch a movie, no matter how good or bad. But, you will see, the better the movie the more receptive the public is to paying the higher “3D pricing”.

Next-generation has the opportunity to save and recreate the gaming industry’s purchasing trends. It has the opportunity to make everyone a lot of money, and gamers very happy. Developers and publishers need to step back and agree on pricing. Either that, or indie games will continue to steal market share whenever they get the chance.

Money unfortunately corrupts, and just because Activision is selling it for a high price, it does not mean that you can. Or should.

 
¹: “entertainment value: a catch-all term that encompasses single-player length, game quality, and replayability (including multiplayer)” — a definition, found on VentureBeat, that I agree with.

GRID 2, the follow on from 2008′s Race Driver: Grid, is scheduled to release on the 31st of May. Developed by Codemasters Racing, the game is an arcade racer which eliminates simulation functions such as fine-tuning cars, and the like.

Therefore, GRID 2 is a game that is heavily focused on racing. The game incorporates various features and technologies to make the game as true as possible for the player.

Name: GRID 2
Genre: Racing
Players: 1+
Multiplayer: Yes
Platforms: Xbox 360, PS3, PC
Developers: Codemasters Southam
Publishers: Codemasters Racing
Release Date: 31 May, 2013
Price: R599 (Xbox 360, PS3), R350 (PC)

The arcade approach to GRID 2 allows the player to increase in skill by racing more and more. The pure driving aspect coupled with the arcade feel leads to the player performing better after each race, as he becomes more familiar with the car.

To further encapsulate the true feeling of each car, Codemasters Racing has created a “TrueFeel” system that aims to bring across the “personality” of each car. By including this feature, the aforementioned point becomes increasingly evident.

GRID 2 is a racing game that incorporates a story, which has a dual arc. The player is, first and foremost, responsible for his own fortune and success, however to further increase the game’s story, the player is also responsible for funding the World Series of Racing.

The World Series of Racing is the main focus of GRID 2, where investor Patrick Callahan is trying to set up a prestigious league for racing. The World Series of Racing aims to incorporate racers from various club events based in North America, Europe, and Asia.

Each continent attempts to bring across a unique racing experience, along with unique tracks. The localised area game modes include Race, Endurance, Drift, Touge, Checkpoint, Face Off, Time Attack, and then global modes include Overtake and Power Lap.

Race mode includes a unique feature, called LiveRoute. This feature creates a dynamic track, with no real fixed course. With that in mind, each race on the track will be different to the last as the route will change. It may not be completely different, however there will be subtle changes. This feature eliminates the ability to memorise a track, to force the player to use watch the track and use reflexes.

LiveRoute tracks are based in Paris, Barcelona, Chicago, Miami and Dubai. LiveRoutes can change the tracks in six different ways, all of which will be random.

GRID 2 follows a progression system, similar to the initial game. One starts in the garage and moves to larger centres, which are more prominent and advanced. The ability to move out the garage is based on how much you win.

Winning allows you to gain fans, sign sponsors and build your brand. The more fans and sponsors you have, the more you will benefit. Your race profile depends on these factors.

A further feature in the game is the inclusion of ESPN Sports Centre. The inclusion of this feature allows for realism, by covering the races in the game.

Making a return in the game is Flashback, a feature allowing the player to rewind the game whenever he crashes. The rewind allows the player to go back in time to correct the mistake to avoid the accident or mistake.

Codemasters Racing has decided to remove the cockpit camera. According to the publisher, only about 5 per cent of players use the mode. Although there is constant criticism of this, only few players are actually hardcore enough to use the mode. Generally, players who use the mode also use steering wheels and other peripherals to enhance the racing experience.

Majority of players who complain about the mode do not even use the mode. It’s only a shame for hardcore fans.

GRID 2 will include multiplayer with various features. Unlike the first title, GRID 2 will have split-screen racing–something which was sorely missed in the first game. The multiplayer component is targetted at the player’s experience, by focusing on his individual style and choices.

For online, there will also be a progressive system, separate from career mode. The system uses something called RaceNet, and it will extend the game’s online capabilities. Players, in the online mode, will be given regular objectives, matched with rivals and be rewarded for their progress. Codemasters can be accessed on PC, tablets and mobile devices.

The online game modes allows for online play with up to 12 players. Players will be able to modify their car with various upgrades, and with a livery editor that offers up to 6 billion different combinations.

Anti-griefing technology allows for the arrangement of player groups, and the ability to trade paint jobs. The idea behind this is to find drivers of similar skill, and group them together.

Suspected Selling Points

• TrueFeel is aimed at bringing across each car’s unique “personality”
• LiveRoute allows for dynamic tracks, in the various cities around the world
• The arcade style of the game allows it to be very racing orientated
• Split-screen racing allows for localised challenges between players and their friends

Potential Pitfalls

• Wide diversity of racing modes could possibly lead to players not being able to race the modes they enjoy most
• Cockpit cam may be sorely missed by hardcore fans of the series
• The story of the game may be tacky

My personal feeling towards GRID 2 is excitement. The first GRiD is one of my favourite games, and possibly my favourite racing game. The addition of split-screen to the game is exciting as it finally offers the ability for two players in the same room to play against one another.

The personalised feeling of each car is a great addition, as it forces the player to learn and want to improve. It eliminates the ‘one-car-fits-all’ concept that is found in many racing games, forcing players to practice to better each race. Codemasters has actively tried to create and include features to enhance the racing experience.

2upGamers, the Cape Town gaming event, will take place this Friday–the 10th of May–at Trinity.

Scheduled to start at 19H30, the event will cost entrants R60, if male, and R50, if you’re female. Cosplayers are allowed to enter for free. So dress up, if you’re into free things.

The guests for the event include:

• 2upGamers Special Announcement
• Geek Pride Day – Stephen Smith
• Nintendo South Africa – Mandy Meredith
• Xtreme Gaming
• FLS – Fallen Lobotomizers – South African Gears Of War Judgement Tournament Winners
• Cosplay – KomboKitten & Yamaki

Gaming Attractions include:

• MWEB GameZone Celeb Challenge – Forza 4 on Xbox 360 (Sports Jocks vs. Sports Presenters)
• The 2up Cup – 1 v 1 FIFA 13 on PS3 & Xbox 360
• The Zombie Pit – Gears of War Judgment FFA on Xbox 360
• Cape Town Showdown – Tekken TAG & Street Fighter
• Couple Doubles – Xbox Kinect & Playstation Move
• Nintendo Wii U Experience
• Anime Trading Station
• Cosplay
• EMA Technologies latest gadgets & PCs
• Readers Den

As usual, we’ll be there. And you should be too.

Bethesda has announced the latest Wolfenstein game. It is called Wolfenstein: The New Order and it is scheduled to launch in the last quarter of this year, on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.

The New Order is a first-person-shooter that is aimed at “reimagining” the series. Bethesda wants to offer a “gripping and dramatic experience” for players.

Watch the trailer above to see what the game is about.

Videogames has done it again. The past-time has led children to commit brutal crimes, all of which just shows how the medium is actually bad–for certain people. In two different stories, two different children acted out in a fit of rage–last year. We’re reporting this now as the cases have finally come before a court.

A 911 call from 14-year-old Noah Crooks (pictured above), from Iowa, showed that the boy shot his mother 20 times, in 2012. The trial in court began this week, and it will attempt to explain everything that happened.

According to the report, Noah’s mom, Gretchen Crooks, had confiscated his Call of Duty game. Three hours later, she was shot to death in a fit of rage.

“I’m not joking at all. She’s dead. I’m scared. I killed my mom with my .22. I don’t know why I did it,” he told the 911 dispatcher. “I tried to rape her. I tried to rape her but I couldn’t do it.”

The game apparently led to bad grades at school, where his mom took the game away. Thereafter, “Something just came over me,” he said.

Noah’s defence team opened with their side of the story last week, where they tried to get one of his friends to establish the rapid change in Noah’s behaviour.

Following this story, was the throat slashing due to Gears of War. This was in Scotland.

A 14-year-old boy admitted to slashing a 13-year-old’s throat over the game, said Scottish officials.

The 14-year-old boy, who is already a father, lost his temper and really hurt someone. The court seems to believe that Gears of War was definitely the reason as to why the boy lost his mind and attacked his friend.

“The reporting officer was of the opinion that the violent video games played online by the accused may have been a factor in his conduct,” the prosecutor told the court.

“These games are rated 18 and shouldn’t be played by children of this young age —but online gaming may be outside their parents’ knowledge,” the chairman of the Scottish Police Federation said. “We need to look again at what we can do to stop this.”

This offense took place in April of 2012 when the two boys met. The 14-year-old slashed the younger one’s throat so deeply that his windpipe was exposed. Thereafter, the boy “sneered at his victim: ‘Don’t die,’ before calmly walking off.”

Now, am I the only one still creeped out by Noah trying to rape his mother?

GRID 2 excites me a lot. It’s one of those games that comes around every few years, where it offers something fresh. It’s different to your typical Forza and Gran Turismo, it’s more than that. It’s something a little more special.

Codemasters Racing, an outfit moulded around building racing games, has released an hour long video that focuses on what you can all do in the game. There’s customisation, overtaking and more.

GRID 2 will launch in the later parts of May. The first GRiD was exciting, and this version is seemingly more exciting.

The only concern with GRID 2 is that there won’t be a cockpit view. Codemasters believes that only 5 per cent of gamers actually use the view, therefore it’s not needed. They focused their efforts on other parts of the game. To be honest, this little detail has received mix reaction, but to be fair, I think that they’re more right than wrong. Few players use it, but those who do, really like the view.

Nintendo’s last financial year wasn’t great, but it wasn’t bad either. Although the Japanese company managed to make ¥7 billion in profit ($71.2 million) for the year, it still missed its profit forecasts by 50 per cent (¥14 billion). Too bad Activision gives that kind of money away.

Despite forecasts not being met, Nintendo managed to better last year’s deficit of ¥43.2 billion ($433 million).

The reason for poor sales figures was due to the Wii U (3.45 million units sold) and 3DS (13.95 million units sold) not performing as well as expected. Neither console met sales projections.

For 2014, however, Nintendo is aiming to sell 9 million Wii U consoles and 18 million 3DS units. Profits are forecast at ¥55 billion for 2014.

With Nintendo making some profit, it shows that the company has started to make a turnaround from last year’s massive loss. There’s still a lot of work to be done, and with the release of next-generation consoles from Sony and Microsoft, consumers might be more accepting of the Wii U–as next-generation will have officially arrived.

I am not saying that the Wii U is a suitable replacement to the other consoles, instead, consumers will now be more invested in upgrading their technology as all three industry participants have released new hardware. This could possibly change the mind of the consumer to want to keep in tune with what is happening in the industry.

On an unrelated note, Activision seems to have more than enough money. Activision’s boss, Bobby Kotick, has managed to make his yearly salary of $8.33 million, with the chance for a further $16 million if the company meets performance targets.

Then, if that isn’t enough, he’s also getting another $55.9 million from stock awards. However, these awards vest over the next five years, where Activision needs to report them now.

To compare all of this, the Activision CEO’s bonus is roughly similar to that of Nintendo’s entire profit–if you add the salary and other potential performance bonus to the amount. Sure, it’s not entirely the same as the amount vest for five years, but it’s an individual against a corporation. Comparable for fun.

Kotick has few fans between gamers, and seemingly many fans between investors. However, the news of the amount of money the CEO is going to get has started to raise a few questions. Analysts and consultants have queried just how Kotick has earned the money. They feel that the compensation packages offered by the company are concerning, at the least.

“We don’t like any element of this pay package,” said Nell Minow, of GMI Ratings. “In the past we have expressed concern about this company and its compensation practices.”

“The lack of information provided by the compensation committee is a red flag,” she told Bloomberg. “It’s very difficult to discern how they determined this compensation package from the information that’s been provided.”

From what we know, certain studios that were cut (High Moon and Radical Entertainment) have literally paid the price. The amount in bonuses is easily enough to fund a new game, for the gamer.

We will have to wait and see if Activision’s new strategy is to release a game and cut the studio thereafter, to retain all possible income.

How all this for perspective, the more ruthless you are in the gaming world, the more money you make. Nintendo can probably learn a thing or two from Activision.

BMW’s Motorsport (M) range is no joke. Each and every single model with official M parts is something very special. And because of that, it has made its way into Codemasters’ GRID 2.

The trailer above shows the M range in action. It starts with the old E30 and moves towards the current 1-Series model. Then, there’s the M3 Coupe, the Motorsport 320 TC racer.

If you’ve ever wanted to drive a BMW M car, but couldn’t, GRID 2 is probably as close as you’ll get.

Activision is no newcomer to legal issues. In fact, they’re always in court. Whether it’s over music debates, with Guitar Hero, or something silly with public relations–they’re there.

The latest reason was because two PR specialists for the company, one of which was the senior manage of PR at the company, stole roughly R338,000. Kathryn Kirton, the employee, tried to get away with £18,963, which was spent on clothing, holidays and parties. Co-defendant, Jamie Kaye from Frank PR stole £5,000 and five iPads from the company.

Both parties pleaded guilty, where Kirton was sentenced to 18 months in prison, suspended for two years. Kaye was sentenced to nine months in prison, suspended for 12 months.

Judge John Hillen said: “You bought a large quantity of designer clothing. You spent time in luxury accommodation and you funded your engagement party through dishonest means. There was repeat dishonesty over a period of months. There is no doubt your wickedness deserves a severe sentence.

“In the world of PR you are surrounded by luxury items. That is reality for people working in that industry. What is surprising is that cases like this are happening more and more often in your industry. But this is not the place to explore the PR industry.”

What’s next? Has the world come to the point where you cannot even trust your own PR team?

Leisure Suit Larry is probably one of the most popular games ever. In fact, there’s a good chance your dad played Leisure Suit Larry at some point in his life–if he ever played computer games. It pushed boundaries in what was a somewhat conservative era.

Especially for computer games.

Leisure Suit Larry was funded through Kickstarter, where the original version of the game will be remade for consumption by next-generation gamers. It will be available on PC, Mac and Linux at first, at a cost of roughly R185.

The game originally launched in 1987, where it was called “Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards”. However, in this version, expect new animations, expanded puzzles and new locations.

Basically, if you’ve played this before, you can go back and do it again. And this time you might see a bit of action.

Batman has The Joker, homosexuals have Catholics, and gaming has time. Three things in common with all of these are, they’re all enemies. The Joker, Catholics and time are all things which actively try to stop and limit something else.

Over the recent weeks, I have come to realise that time is the enemy. The last game I got to play was BioShock over Easter. That was it. I haven’t even been able to play something casual, except for the few odd games of Rummikub on Games Centre.

Looking back, we can probably all think a time when playing games just was not possible. Imminent threat of exams, tests and “real life”.

Now, I am usually the last one to preach about playing games. Hell, most of the people at eGamer don’t even think I do this. I do, I just don’t talk about it as much. And that’s the strange thing, the fact that I haven’t been able to play has made me miss it more than when I don’t want to play.

Time is the enemy. And unfortunately it’s stronger than The Joker. It’s almost always guaranteed to win if we slip up.

As gamers, we need to overcome the enemy, because we’re used to doing that.

By the end of this weekend I will play something. I will.

Macklemore’s Thrift Shop song has led me to think about how bargain bins could be a saving-grace for many people. Although you won’t be playing your granddad’s games, you’ll be playing something pre-owned by someone else.

But not only pre-owned. Something that’s been drastically discounted, too.

Sometimes a few hidden gems lie in the metal cages of bargain bins. Although I am not particularly fond of secondhand technologies, I’ll admit that a few games I’ve found in bargain bins have been completely worth the overcoming of my irrational dislike of secondhand.

Some of my favourites include Forza (the relevant version for the period), and Rainbow Six: Vegas. I would have bought Forza, however the fact that it was lying in the bargain bin–no idea why–made it a lot sweeter. A R600 game dropped to R99 is always worth it.

Their mistake, my gain.

Rainbow Six is something I would have never bought, even at half price. I bought this years ago, and while I always loved the type of game, a high purchase price wasn’t justifiable to me. The bargain bin let me experience something I otherwise wouldn’t have.

Those are my two favourite bargain bin finds. And thinking back, I feel as if I should go back and have a peek at what’s available now days.

Bargain bins can make you as happy as the car in the header image.

The BioShock Infinite caption this competition is over. After 10 pictures, and two weeks, we’ve finally chosen a winner.

This was the first competition where we allowed entrants to participate on various platforms: Twitter, Facebook and on the eGamer site itself.

 
And the winner is..

Congratulations!

 
To speed up the delivery of your prize, feel free to contact us via email.

This competition was made possible by Megarom South Africa.

This is your last chance to enter the BioShock Infinite caption competition. Once the clock strikes 8pm tonight, time’s up. There’s nothing more you can do to try and win the prize.

And on that note, the prize is a Premium Edition PlayStation 3 version of BioShock Infinite, a 7-inch Elizabeth figure, a 7-inch Boys of Silence figurine, and two BioShock Infinite Logo T-Shirts.

Big gun is big.

Three Ways To Enter: On Site, Twitter, Facebook

On Site
To enter on site, you will need to visit eGamer every weekday and comment with a caption for the specific picture in the specific BioShock-titled article for that day. Only one caption per picture, per person, will be added to the main draw.

Twitter
Each day we will tweet the relevant picture as well as a hashtag. To enter, you will need to reply to the tweet with your caption and preferably the hashtag. If you don’t have space for the hashtag, then please retweet our tweet which talks about the picture, and/or the competition.

Facebook
We will upload the relevant picture to Facebook each day. You can then comment with your caption on that picture, on our Facebook page.

 
Entries are for your convenience, however you can only enter once per picture. In other words, if you caption the picture across all three mediums, you will still only receive one entry into the competition for that specific picture and caption. You are free to choose where you want to enter.

 
We want to laugh, we want to feel sad, we want to feel happy. Caption as you feel fit. Try to keep it reasonably clean, as you never know who might be reading the captions.

At the end of the period, on the 17th of April, we will add all captions to a randomiser. We will then select the best caption to win. We will then contact the winner through the details we have for them, which could be Twitter, Facebook or email. The winner will be announced on the 18th of April.

 
Any questions? Ask below, or email us.

 
Things to remember:

• Terms and Conditions apply
• Competition closes at 20:00 on Wednesday 17 April, 2013.
• Comment on each individual picture with your caption.
• Only one caption per picture will be counted towards the draw.
• Winners will be chosen by randomizer.
• There can only be one winner.
• Winners will be contacted through the same channel they commented: email sign-up, Twitter, Facebook.
• This competition was made possible by Megarom South Africa.

 
Follow us on Facebook!

It’s the second last picture for the competition. Can you believe that we’re already at the closing stages of the competition? There’s not much left to do. Caption the picture today and tomorrow, and it’s done.

Again, the prize is a Premium Edition PlayStation 3 version of BioShock Infinite, a 7-inch Elizabeth figure, a 7-inch Boys of Silence figurine, and two BioShock Infinite Logo T-Shirts.

What are the words coming out your mouth?

Three Ways To Enter: On Site, Twitter, Facebook

On Site
To enter on site, you will need to visit eGamer every weekday and comment with a caption for the specific picture in the specific BioShock-titled article for that day. Only one caption per picture, per person, will be added to the main draw.

Twitter
Each day we will tweet the relevant picture as well as a hashtag. To enter, you will need to reply to the tweet with your caption and preferably the hashtag. If you don’t have space for the hashtag, then please retweet our tweet which talks about the picture, and/or the competition.

Facebook
We will upload the relevant picture to Facebook each day. You can then comment with your caption on that picture, on our Facebook page.

 
Entries are for your convenience, however you can only enter once per picture. In other words, if you caption the picture across all three mediums, you will still only receive one entry into the competition for that specific picture and caption. You are free to choose where you want to enter.

 
We want to laugh, we want to feel sad, we want to feel happy. Caption as you feel fit. Try to keep it reasonably clean, as you never know who might be reading the captions.

At the end of the period, on the 17th of April, we will add all captions to a randomiser. We will then select the best caption to win. We will then contact the winner through the details we have for them, which could be Twitter, Facebook or email. The winner will be announced on the 18th of April.

 
Any questions? Ask below, or email us.

 
Things to remember:

• Terms and Conditions apply
• Competition closes at 20:00 on Wednesday 17 April, 2013.
• Comment on each individual picture with your caption.
• Only one caption per picture will be counted towards the draw.
• Winners will be chosen by randomizer.
• There can only be one winner.
• Winners will be contacted through the same channel they commented: email sign-up, Twitter, Facebook.
• This competition was made possible by Megarom South Africa.

 
Follow us on Facebook!

We’re in the home stretch! This is the third last caption to go, thereafter we’ll be announcing the winner of the competition. Hang in there!

No pun intended, for when you see the picture.

The Prize is a Premium Edition PlayStation 3 version of BioShock Infinite, a 7-inch Elizabeth figure, a 7-inch Boys of Silence figurine, and two BioShock Infinite Logo T-Shirts.

What would their last words be?

Three Ways To Enter: On Site, Twitter, Facebook

On Site
To enter on site, you will need to visit eGamer every weekday and comment with a caption for the specific picture in the specific BioShock-titled article for that day. Only one caption per picture, per person, will be added to the main draw.

Twitter
Each day we will tweet the relevant picture as well as a hashtag. To enter, you will need to reply to the tweet with your caption and preferably the hashtag. If you don’t have space for the hashtag, then please retweet our tweet which talks about the picture, and/or the competition.

Facebook
We will upload the relevant picture to Facebook each day. You can then comment with your caption on that picture, on our Facebook page.

 
Entries are for your convenience, however you can only enter once per picture. In other words, if you caption the picture across all three mediums, you will still only receive one entry into the competition for that specific picture and caption. You are free to choose where you want to enter.

 
We want to laugh, we want to feel sad, we want to feel happy. Caption as you feel fit. Try to keep it reasonably clean, as you never know who might be reading the captions.

At the end of the period, on the 17th of April, we will add all captions to a randomiser. We will then select the best caption to win. We will then contact the winner through the details we have for them, which could be Twitter, Facebook or email. The winner will be announced on the 18th of April.

 
Any questions? Ask below, or email us.

 
Things to remember:

• Terms and Conditions apply
• Competition closes at 20:00 on Wednesday 17 April, 2013.
• Comment on each individual picture with your caption.
• Only one caption per picture will be counted towards the draw.
• Winners will be chosen by randomizer.
• There can only be one winner.
• Winners will be contacted through the same channel they commented: email sign-up, Twitter, Facebook.
• This competition was made possible by Megarom South Africa.

 
Follow us on Facebook!

It’s time for the last picture of the week. The weekend without pictures will give you the chance to rest and recharge your captioning abilities–because next week will be the home stretch. The winner will be announced on Thursday the 18th of April.

The announcement will reveal who gets a Premium Edition PlayStation 3 version of BioShock Infinite, a 7-inch Elizabeth figure, a 7-inch Boys of Silence figurine, and two BioShock Infinite Logo T-Shirts.

Mother jokes are bad..

Three Ways To Enter: On Site, Twitter, Facebook

On Site
To enter on site, you will need to visit eGamer every weekday and comment with a caption for the specific picture in the specific BioShock-titled article for that day. Only one caption per picture, per person, will be added to the main draw.

Twitter
Each day we will tweet the relevant picture as well as a hashtag. To enter, you will need to reply to the tweet with your caption and preferably the hashtag. If you don’t have space for the hashtag, then please retweet our tweet which talks about the picture, and/or the competition.

Facebook
We will upload the relevant picture to Facebook each day. You can then comment with your caption on that picture, on our Facebook page.

 
Entries are for your convenience, however you can only enter once per picture. In other words, if you caption the picture across all three mediums, you will still only receive one entry into the competition for that specific picture and caption. You are free to choose where you want to enter.

 
We want to laugh, we want to feel sad, we want to feel happy. Caption as you feel fit. Try to keep it reasonably clean, as you never know who might be reading the captions.

At the end of the period, on the 17th of April, we will add all captions to a randomiser. We will then select the best caption to win. We will then contact the winner through the details we have for them, which could be Twitter, Facebook or email. The winner will be announced on the 18th of April.

 
Any questions? Ask below, or email us.

 
Things to remember:

• Terms and Conditions apply
• Competition closes at 20:00 on Wednesday 17 April, 2013.
• Comment on each individual picture with your caption.
• Only one caption per picture will be counted towards the draw.
• Winners will be chosen by randomizer.
• There can only be one winner.
• Winners will be contacted through the same channel they commented: email sign-up, Twitter, Facebook.
• This competition was made possible by Megarom South Africa.

 
Follow us on Facebook!

There’s less than one week left to caption all of the pictures. Why would you caption? Well, because we’re running a competition where you can win stuff. We’re running the competition on the mainstream social media platforms too.

By utilising Facebook and Twitter, we’re basically making your life really easy–so that you can win the prize.

And that prize is: a Premium Edition PlayStation 3 version of BioShock Infinite, a 7-inch Elizabeth figure, a 7-inch Boys of Silence figurine, and two BioShock Infinite Logo T-Shirts.

Down boy!

Three Ways To Enter: On Site, Twitter, Facebook

On Site
To enter on site, you will need to visit eGamer every weekday and comment with a caption for the specific picture in the specific BioShock-titled article for that day. Only one caption per picture, per person, will be added to the main draw.

Twitter
Each day we will tweet the relevant picture as well as a hashtag. To enter, you will need to reply to the tweet with your caption and preferably the hashtag. If you don’t have space for the hashtag, then please retweet our tweet which talks about the picture, and/or the competition.

Facebook
We will upload the relevant picture to Facebook each day. You can then comment with your caption on that picture, on our Facebook page.

 
Entries are for your convenience, however you can only enter once per picture. In other words, if you caption the picture across all three mediums, you will still only receive one entry into the competition for that specific picture and caption. You are free to choose where you want to enter.

 
We want to laugh, we want to feel sad, we want to feel happy. Caption as you feel fit. Try to keep it reasonably clean, as you never know who might be reading the captions.

At the end of the period, on the 17th of April, we will add all captions to a randomiser. We will then select the best caption to win. We will then contact the winner through the details we have for them, which could be Twitter, Facebook or email. The winner will be announced on the 18th of April.

 
Any questions? Ask below, or email us.

 
Things to remember:

• Terms and Conditions apply
• Competition closes at 20:00 on Wednesday 17 April, 2013.
• Comment on each individual picture with your caption.
• Only one caption per picture will be counted towards the draw.
• Winners will be chosen by randomizer.
• There can only be one winner.
• Winners will be contacted through the same channel they commented: email sign-up, Twitter, Facebook.
• This competition was made possible by Megarom South Africa.

 
Follow us on Facebook!

We’re half way. There’s only a few pictures left before we choose a winner for our BioShock Infinite competition.

The competition prize is the following: a Premium Edition PlayStation 3 version of BioShock Infinite, a 7-inch Elizabeth figure, a 7-inch Boys of Silence figurine, and two BioShock Infinite Logo T-Shirts.

See the new picture below. Your captions are welcome. To those who haven’t yet entered, read below on what to do.

Punch Time!

Three Ways To Enter: On Site, Twitter, Facebook

On Site
To enter on site, you will need to visit eGamer every weekday and comment with a caption for the specific picture in the specific BioShock-titled article for that day. Only one caption per picture, per person, will be added to the main draw.

Twitter
Each day we will tweet the relevant picture as well as a hashtag. To enter, you will need to reply to the tweet with your caption and preferably the hashtag. If you don’t have space for the hashtag, then please retweet our tweet which talks about the picture, and/or the competition.

Facebook
We will upload the relevant picture to Facebook each day. You can then comment with your caption on that picture, on our Facebook page.

 
Entries are for your convenience, however you can only enter once per picture. In other words, if you caption the picture across all three mediums, you will still only receive one entry into the competition for that specific picture and caption. You are free to choose where you want to enter.

 
We want to laugh, we want to feel sad, we want to feel happy. Caption as you feel fit. Try to keep it reasonably clean, as you never know who might be reading the captions.

At the end of the period, on the 17th of April, we will add all captions to a randomiser. We will then select the best caption to win. We will then contact the winner through the details we have for them, which could be Twitter, Facebook or email. The winner will be announced on the 18th of April.

 
Any questions? Ask below, or email us.

 
Things to remember:

• Terms and Conditions apply
• Competition closes at 20:00 on Wednesday 17 April, 2013.
• Comment on each individual picture with your caption.
• Only one caption per picture will be counted towards the draw.
• Winners will be chosen by randomizer.
• There can only be one winner.
• Winners will be contacted through the same channel they commented: email sign-up, Twitter, Facebook.
• This competition was made possible by Megarom South Africa.

 
Follow us on Facebook!

With only six days to go, a lot more captioning needs to be done. And soon we will regret the amount of days we asked you to do this for.

However, we must go on.

The following picture seems limited, at first, but if you apply your mind–something great can come. There’s a few great possibilities for captions, it all just depends on how below-the-belt you can be. We don’t mind dirty thoughts, this time.

Prize recap: a Premium Edition PlayStation 3 version of BioShock Infinite, a 7-inch Elizabeth figure, a 7-inch Boys of Silence figurine, and two BioShock Infinite Logo T-Shirts.

See the new picture below. Your captions are welcome. To those who haven’t yet entered, read below on what to do.

Insert mother joke here

Three Ways To Enter: On Site, Twitter, Facebook

On Site
To enter on site, you will need to visit eGamer every weekday and comment with a caption for the specific picture in the specific BioShock-titled article for that day. Only one caption per picture, per person, will be added to the main draw.

Twitter
Each day we will tweet the relevant picture as well as a hashtag. To enter, you will need to reply to the tweet with your caption and preferably the hashtag. If you don’t have space for the hashtag, then please retweet our tweet which talks about the picture, and/or the competition.

Facebook
We will upload the relevant picture to Facebook each day. You can then comment with your caption on that picture, on our Facebook page.

 
Entries are for your convenience, however you can only enter once per picture. In other words, if you caption the picture across all three mediums, you will still only receive one entry into the competition for that specific picture and caption. You are free to choose where you want to enter.

 
We want to laugh, we want to feel sad, we want to feel happy. Caption as you feel fit. Try to keep it reasonably clean, as you never know who might be reading the captions.

At the end of the period, on the 17th of April, we will add all captions to a randomiser. We will then select the best caption to win. We will then contact the winner through the details we have for them, which could be Twitter, Facebook or email. The winner will be announced on the 18th of April.

 
Any questions? Ask below, or email us.

 
Things to remember:

• Terms and Conditions apply
• Competition closes at 20:00 on Wednesday 17 April, 2013.
• Comment on each individual picture with your caption.
• Only one caption per picture will be counted towards the draw.
• Winners will be chosen by randomizer.
• There can only be one winner.
• Winners will be contacted through the same channel they commented: email sign-up, Twitter, Facebook.
• This competition was made possible by Megarom South Africa.

 
Follow us on Facebook!

Two days of captioning BioShock Infinite pictures has passed. On the first day we had a screen-grab from Marko, where the next was something that could only be related to a rectal exam. We knew that was the case–but you were creative, and made some really good captions apart from the obvious.

And that’s why we’re enjoying this: your creativity knows no bounds.

To reiterate, the following is up for grabs: a Premium Edition PlayStation 3 version of BioShock Infinite, a 7-inch Elizabeth figure, a 7-inch Boys of Silence figurine, and two BioShock Infinite Logo T-Shirts.

See the new picture below. Your captions are welcome. To those who haven’t yet entered, read below on what to do.

Bath time!

Three Ways To Enter: On Site, Twitter, Facebook

On Site
To enter on site, you will need to visit eGamer every weekday and comment with a caption for the specific picture in the specific BioShock-titled article for that day. Only one caption per picture, per person, will be added to the main draw.

Twitter
Each day we will tweet the relevant picture as well as a hashtag. To enter, you will need to reply to the tweet with your caption and preferably the hashtag. If you don’t have space for the hashtag, then please retweet our tweet which talks about the picture, and/or the competition.

Facebook
We will upload the relevant picture to Facebook each day. You can then comment with your caption on that picture, on our Facebook page.

 
Entries are for your convenience, however you can only enter once per picture. In other words, if you caption the picture across all three mediums, you will still only receive one entry into the competition for that specific picture and caption. You are free to choose where you want to enter.

 
We want to laugh, we want to feel sad, we want to feel happy. Caption as you feel fit. Try to keep it reasonably clean, as you never know who might be reading the captions.

At the end of the period, on the 17th of April, we will add all captions to a randomiser. We will then select the best caption to win. We will then contact the winner through the details we have for them, which could be Twitter, Facebook or email. The winner will be announced on the 18th of April.

 
Any questions? Ask below, or email us.

 
Things to remember:

• Terms and Conditions apply
• Competition closes at 20:00 on Wednesday 17 April, 2013.
• Comment on each individual picture with your caption.
• Only one caption per picture will be counted towards the draw.
• Winners will be chosen by randomizer.
• There can only be one winner.
• Winners will be contacted through the same channel they commented: email sign-up, Twitter, Facebook.
• This competition was made possible by Megarom South Africa.

 
Follow us on Facebook!

We’ve discussed Remember Me quite a bit. In fact, we’ve discussed the good parts of the game and what Dontnod Entertainment has done. We’re happy that the character is female, and even more happy that it breaks the trend of super-white-male-protagonists.

The fact that the game actively tries to be different means that there’s a possibility that it’s also good–and different. It could even be great.

However, speculation aside, here’s a new trailer with a bit of funky music to get the blood pumping. It’s action packed and shows a lot of what to expect. Namely, shooting.

After some good laughs–thanks to yesterday’s great captions–we’re here with a new picture for you. We hope that you’ll be able to do great things with today’s picture, too.

Just so that we’re completely clear on what’s going on, everyone who captioned yesterday’s picture has been added to the draw. This means that your participation has now given you a chance to win the following: a Premium Edition PlayStation 3 version of BioShock Infinite, a 7-inch Elizabeth figure, a 7-inch Boys of Silence figurine, and two BioShock Infinite Logo T-Shirts.

See the new picture below. Your captions are welcome. To those who haven’t yet entered, read below on what to do.

Oh, the possibilities with this one…

Three Ways To Enter: On Site, Twitter, Facebook

On Site
To enter on site, you will need to visit eGamer every weekday and comment with a caption for the specific picture in the specific BioShock-titled article for that day. Only one caption per picture, per person, will be added to the main draw.

Twitter
Each day we will tweet the relevant picture as well as a hashtag. To enter, you will need to reply to the tweet with your caption and preferably the hashtag. If you don’t have space for the hashtag, then please retweet our tweet which talks about the picture, and/or the competition.

Facebook
We will upload the relevant picture to Facebook each day. You can then comment with your caption on that picture, on our Facebook page.

 
Entries are for your convenience, however you can only enter once per picture. In other words, if you caption the picture across all three mediums, you will still only receive one entry into the competition for that specific picture and caption. You are free to choose where you want to enter.

 
We want to laugh, we want to feel sad, we want to feel happy. Caption as you feel fit. Try to keep it reasonably clean, as you never know who might be reading the captions.

At the end of the period, on the 17th of April, we will add all captions to a randomiser. We will then select the best caption to win. We will then contact the winner through the details we have for them, which could be Twitter, Facebook or email. The winner will be announced on the 18th of April.

 
Any questions? Ask below, or email us.

 
Things to remember:

• Terms and Conditions apply
• Competition closes at 20:00 on Wednesday 17 April, 2013.
• Comment on each individual picture with your caption.
• Only one caption per picture will be counted towards the draw.
• Winners will be chosen by randomizer.
• There can only be one winner.
• Winners will be contacted through the same channel they commented: email sign-up, Twitter, Facebook.
• This competition was made possible by Megarom South Africa.

 
Follow us on Facebook!

With BioShock Infinite’s launch still very hot, we’re going to give away something very special. The prize for this competition is not only a Premium Edition PlayStation 3 version of the game, but also a 7-inch Elizabeth figurine, a 7-inch Boys of Silence figurine, and two BioShock Infinite Logo T-Shirts.

It’s a whole bundle. That means, even if you don’t have a PlayStation 3, you can still win great things to wear and show-off.

The idea behind the competition is simple. Between now and Wednesday, 17 April 2013, we will be uploading a picture to a BioShock-titled article on eGamer at 10H00 every weekday. You will need to caption that picture. Essentially, we will upload ten different pictures where you can earn ten different entries for your quirky captions.

Three Ways To Enter: On Site, Twitter, Facebook

On Site
To enter on site, you will need to visit eGamer every weekday and comment with a caption for the specific picture in the specific BioShock-titled article for that day. Only one caption per picture, per person, will be added to the main draw.

Twitter
Each day we will tweet the relevant picture as well as a hashtag. To enter, you will need to reply to the tweet with your caption and preferably the hashtag. If you don’t have space for the hashtag, then please retweet our tweet which talks about the picture, and/or the competition.

Facebook
We will upload the relevant picture to Facebook each day. You can then comment with your caption on that picture, on our Facebook page.

 
Entries are for your convenience, however you can only enter once per picture. In other words, if you caption the picture across all three mediums, you will still only receive one entry into the competition for that specific picture and caption. You are free to choose where you want to enter.

 
We want to laugh, we want to feel sad, we want to feel happy. Caption as you feel fit. Try to keep it reasonably clean, as you never know who might be reading the captions.

At the end of the period, on the 17th of April, we will add all captions to a randomiser. We will then select the best caption to win. We will then contact the winner through the details we have for them, which could be Twitter, Facebook or email. The winner will be announced on the 18th of April.

 
Any questions? Ask below, or email us.

The First Picture To Caption

This picture was taken by Marko. He noted that BioShock Infinite is a sexual game. How would you label this?

 
Things to remember:

• Terms and Conditions apply
• Competition closes at 20:00 on Wednesday 17 April, 2013.
• Comment on each individual picture with your caption.
• Only one caption per picture will be counted towards the draw.
• Winners will be chosen by randomizer.
• There can only be one winner.
• Winners will be contacted through the same channel they commented: email sign-up, Twitter, Facebook.
• This competition was made possible by Megarom South Africa.

 
Follow us on Facebook!

How do you feel about knowing the outcome of a story? I for one find it rewarding, and satisfying. So much so, that once I know the outcome I can put it to rest, not having to worry about it for a long time.

Videogames keep the same trait.

When I play a game I can only play it once, in the immediate period, because I already know what happens. I have experienced all there is to experience and I am alright with that. When I know what happens, it is over. Something new is needed.

I understand that this is not the case for everyone. In fact, quite the opposite. People like to replay a game back-to-back as soon as they have completed it. In the second play-through, these players often do more side-quests or achieve all the achievements.

From the achievements point of view I can understand, sometimes you need to do something extra to complete a specific achievement, but then your reason for replaying is not the willingness to replay but rather the psychological need to actually achieve everything.

I have no problem with replaying a game, I just do not understand the great desire to do so back-to-back. Replaying something a few months down the line is more than alright, it is encouraged if it is a really good game with an appealing story.

The main reason as to why I do not play a game back-to-back is because I already know what happens. There is no need to re-experience the same story, the same battles, and the same interactions. Honestly, I find doing that a little frustrating. When I play something, I do as many side missions and as much exploring as pleases me–and no, that is not all of them.

In my attempt to try and understand why people play, and play again, Caveshen suggested that it’s because some people are not ready to ‘leave that world yet.’ All of a sudden this phenomenon made a lot of sense to me.

Is the game about the story or is the game about how you see yourself in that world? Is your level of immersion based on how much you enjoy the intricacies or how much you really want to be the protagonist?

If you are not ready to leave the world yet, surely that means the story is not the key point. Sure, it is compelling and is probably the reason as to why you played the game in the first place, but it is not the ‘be all and end all’ for replay value. I would say that a limited story kills replay value, so it must be something else.

Is then the key to building a great game all about the intricacies and not the story? Does player growth and interaction count for more than being the hero at the end?

Many games offer progression when replayed; for example, the second play-through allows one to do more things and progress their character further. It is not a complete restart but rather a continuous upgrade. This is an obvious compelling reason as to why you would want to replay a game.

The other is, you were so fascinated with what happened you need to re-experience it. You need to go through all that happened again, to wrap your head around it. Maybe it was too much to take in the first time. Even at this point, some parts are merely frustrating, especially overly extensive boss battles.

If developers wanted to sell their game to gamers, they should then focus on the progression of the characters and not what happens. At the end, the story does not seem to be the most important part. As long as the hero wins and the world is saved, it can be re-experienced, on the condition that there is satisfactory player growth.

Therefore, would it be satisfactory to conclude with: just because a story lets you replay the game, it does not mean you should. Instead, you should focus on games which appeal to a second play-through with growth and experience, not ones that promote the ability for a second play-through with story. Even then, I am hesitant for any second play-through. Once it is over, I walk away to find something new.

I definitely think that there is much more to this. Why do you replay a game, for what fundamental reason apart from ‘getting your money’s worth’?

Suda51′s Killer is Dead has received a new trailer. In the trailer is a lot of shooting, Japanese-talking action–all of which is in wonderful animated graphics.

See what you’re in for above. It seems worth it.

The best part of BioShock Infinite’s release date is the fact that it was followed by a four-day weekend. That means time off from other obligations to play, arguably, one of the best games of the year. Where for many, it will be the best game of the year.

As usual, we’ve asked for your thoughts on the game. We like to know what you think and also share what you think about new releases. We’re making it a thing: so follow what we’re doing and get involved.

We posed the question about your thoughts on BioShock Infinite on Facebook, where the following was some of the replies.

Feel free to add your thoughts in the comment section below. Or you can read our review and comment there.

Peloma Alexandria Peralta: Loving the story it has some good twists and im nearing the end so i stopped playing it cause i dont want it to stop..

Riaan van Rooyen: Started last night but got so lost in the design , was stopping everywhere just looking at everything, hope to get into it after work!

Charl Den Dulk: Man I am absolutely loving this at the moment, the secret is don’t rush through the game do all the side quests pause take a moment to view the city read all what is to read find all the audio logs it adds SO MUCH too the whole game. Loving the atmosphere and surroundings, the contrast between what people think is happening an what really is going on in the background is amazing.

Ryan Bailey: Slowly starting to like Elizabeth as much as I liked Alyx from Half-Life 2…. Slowly

Our StarCraft II competition has come to an end. Since the announcement on the 8th of March, and your comments from the 4th of March, we’ve been watching you. We’ve been watching what you’ve been saying, and how many times you’ve been saying it.

We see everything.

The StarCraft II bundle that we are giving away is a Wings of Liberty branded mouse and keyboard from Razer. The products are called the Spectre and Marauder.

Last week we had the first draw for the first bundle winner. The winner of that draw is a regular on our site, and his name is NeoN. In this article will release the name of the second winner. After this, the competition is over.

To clear things up, the winners were both randomised. If you entered, your comments were put in a pool whereby we allowed you to comment more and more to better your chances of winning. We did not count spam comments, because that would be unfair. Quality over quantity.

In short, you had to work hard to win. We believe that the winners from this competition worked hard and persevered.

The Second Bundle Winner Is

Congratulations!

This competition was made possible by Razer and The Lime Envelope.

Hideo Kojima has released a video for Metal Gear Solid 5. The game comes as a combination of two previous titles called ‘Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes‘ and ‘The Phantom Pain‘. We saw this coming, didn’t we?

The gameplay trailer shows off some early footage that was believed to belong to The Phantom Pain yesterday, after Kojima revealed that it was only one part of Metal Gear Solid 5. The trailer starts with Snake in a hospital, after a massive attack on Big Boss’ private base went a little south. Snake was in a coma for nine years, where the tutorial then helps Snake familiarise himself with movement, and you with the controls.

Metal Gear Solid 5 is said to be an open-wold game.

Aiden Pearce, the protagonist of Watch Dogs, literally walks around doing as he pleases. Your information is not safe, and neither is your money.

While we’ve seen this episode before, it’s now narrated. There’s a good explanation of what’s going on and how things work.

A teaser for Diablo III on PlayStation 3 has been published to YouTube. The video is a mere 1-minute 23-seconds long, and a bit inappropriate for children. However, we don’t really care if children watch it.

Hack and Slash is the name of the game, and the console version looks pretty smooth. There’s no real show on how things work with the controller, it’s just pure gameplay which looks quite easy, in general.

I’m exited for Diablo III on PlayStation 3, because it has local play. Bad game or not, it will be fun.

Sony revealed that Blizzard will bring Diablo III to console the same night they revealed the upcoming PlayStation 4.

We’ve had our chance to review the game, and now it’s your time to give us your thoughts. On Social Media–Twitter and Facebook–we asked you what you thought. Here’s a few replies. If you have something you’d like to add–the comment section is your friend.

Your best friend.

Yashaar Mall: fun but not gripping. … liked that it was gears. didn’t like that there’s no old fashion horde mode.

Shane Joubert: Awesome game just since we have no south african servers the lagg is too bad … nobody from S.A actually plays MP because the lagg is too hectic

Brendon Bosch: Same everything but damn did the tweak it nicely. Only played the first 3 chapters so far and I’m enjoying it to the max

Charl Den Dulk: 1. Loved the new weapons and gear. 2. Really enjoyed collecting all the tags and doing the debriefing missions.3. Graphics are jaw dropping stopped and just stared at some of the views just for a minute. 4. Loved seeing all the old characters from the game. 5. Hated the timed mission I want too take my time and blow shit up.

Alexander Dembskey: Really? I found the graphics to be kind of dated, or at least not jaw dropping-ly good. The new campaign was also rubbish, the story pointless and didn’t really need to be told.
Also where are the flying locusts that came out at night to ruin your shit? The game was set before gears 1 so presumably they are still alive?
Also adding guns and weapons which were then found in the aftermath campaign seemed stupid because then where were they in gears 1/2/3?

My problem with the new campaign was he way it separated the areas and removed any sense of flow from the game. The declassified missions barely added anything because it was pretty much the same 5 constraints over and over.

Also Horde mode anyone? where did it go?
The new class based thing was pretty fun (although the classes seemed forced) but where the fuck did horde mode go?

Multiplayer was kind of fun but i was incredibly dissapointed with the campaign.

Oh and the box was horrible.
No real booklet and a budget boring cover?
I was going to buy the game but after finishing the campaign at a friends house in one sitting and then playing some multiplayer.
I realized the game is a waste of money.

Ubisoft has announced that Assassin’s Creed VI Black Flag will have Collector’s Editions. In our region.

Assassin’s Creed IV was previously leaked, and then revealed, where–as you’d guess–it has to do with pirates. It’s in the Caribbean region where you can harpoon whales, sail the high seas and play multiplayer.

Available on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Nintendi Wii U and PC, will be the following:
The Black Chest Edition

This prestigious edition includes everything a true Assassin’s Creed fan could desire and a very limited quantity is available for pre-order exclusively via Uplay.

• Premium Quality 55 cm Diorama of Captain Edward on the Jackdaw’s Bow
• Exclusive SteelBook™
• High Quality Artbook
• The Official Soundtrack
• 2 Lithographs in their protective envelope
• 2 Canvas Prints
• All Existing Additional Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag Unlockable In-Game Content, including single player missions, skins and weapons
• Collector’s Box
• Physical Pirate Goodies:
  •  A Parchment World Map
  •  The original Black Flag

The Buccaneer Edition

This premium edition offers a selection of essential physical and digital items for the adventurers:

• Premium Quality Edward Kenway Figurine on the Jackdaw’s Crow’s Nest
• High Quality Artbook
• The Official Soundtrack
• 2 Lithographs in their protective envelope
• Collector’s Box
• Additional Unlockable In-game Content

The Skull Edition

This edition includes physical and digital content for the Assassin’s Creed enthusiast:

• Collector Jumbo Steel Case
• High Quality Artbook
• The Official Soundtrack
• 2 Lithographs in their protective envelope
• Unlockable In-game Content

The Special Edition

• This special edition will be available at the standard price and includes unlockable in-game content only available at game launch.

Since the 8th of March, we have been giving away two StarCraft II PC peripheral bundles. The bundle includes a StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty branded mouse and keyboard, the Spectre and Marauder.

When the competition launched, we noted that we will have two draws. There’s two bundles and that means the chance for us to delay the winnings. The first winner has been chosen, and is announced in this article.

All this means that one of the two bundles has been allocated. The second bundle is still up for grabs. If you haven’t had the chance to enter, then you need to read the competition article to see what you should do to enter. Those who have entered–and who didn’t win–keep trying, because anything can happen next week.

The winners are randomised, where the more you comment the better your chance of winning is. However, don’t spam–this won’t be counted. The most comments doesn’t guarantee a win, it only helps to maximise your chance of being selected by the randomiser.

The First Bundle Winner Is

Congratulations!

The winner of the next draw will be announced on 28 March, 2013.

This competition was made possible by Razer and The Lime Envelope.

All of which is solid gameplay.

Metro: Last Light is scheduled to launch on the 14th of May, where it will once again force players to suffer and survive Russia.

The video above has discussion from GameSpot, and it is quite slow. The graphics are pretty, though. So that makes it worth it.

Something we’ve always struggled to understand at eGamer is the whole issue of ‘females in games’. We honestly don’t see the problem, and most of the time–unlike those who see them as inferior–we actually welcome a female lead. Hell, I sometimes wish that we’d have the least bad-ass person ever as the lead.

A person with no actual physical worth, instead a pretty brain that can solve puzzles. Like Sherlock Holmes but without the hardcore. Yes, there are games like this–few and far between.

Remember Me is an upcoming game from Dontnod Entertainment. If you frequent eGamer, you’d know that we have posted a bit of content on this before. Remember Me looks interesting because it actively tries to differentiate itself with ‘popular’ games on the market. To achieve their goal, the developers created a mixed-race lead character, who is also female. This is very different from the usual white-male-super-hero-type-vibe.

When Dontnod Entertainment tried to approach companies to publish their actively different game, they received a bit of interesting feedback. Mainly, “No.” Not because the game was bad, but because the game had a female lead.

Apparently Lara Croft, Bayonetta, Chell, etc, aren’t and weren’t ever good enough. Despite the fact that quite a few of those games just mentioned did quite well, and are quite popular.

“We had some [companies] that said, ‘Well, we don’t want to publish it because that’s not going to succeed. You can’t have a female character in games. It has to be a male character, simple as that,’” said creative director Jean-Maxime Moris.

Publishers actually felt uncomfortable with a female lead.

“We had people tell us, ‘You can’t make a dude like the player kiss another dude in the game, that’s going to feel awkward.’”

Dontnod said that they made the lead a female because that’s what felt right. It worked with the game. However, they were up against sexist publishers, and by the time they were looking for publishers, it was too late to change her to a he.

“I’m like, ‘If you think like that, there’s no way the medium’s going to mature.’ There’s a level of immersion that you need to be at, but it’s not like your sexual orientation is being questioned by playing a game. I don’t know, that’s extremely weird to me,” said Moris.

“You can identify with people of the other gender in movies, why could you not in games? The fact that our core target is males 15-25 is not an excuse. We need to be able to create, and respect the audience enough to believe that they can be smart enough to identify with that type of character.”

Luckily, Capcom came to the rescue. The studio which we’ve all criticised for questionable practices, such as on-disc DLC, has stood up and said “we’ll do it!” It’s strange how certain things about Capcom annoy us, yet it is a studio who is mature enough to publish a female lead. They do deserve some sort of praise for this.

Remember Me’s development makes for an interesting story. It shows us that it’s not the core audience that hasn’t matured, but rather the publishers and their mindset. I am fully aware that publishers are often the ones ‘who know best’, but that’s not always the case. Sometimes breaking the trend is what’s needed.

I personally hope that Remember Me does well, for the reason that publishers thought that it couldn’t. When did games ever become a monarchy, where anything that wasn’t pure-breed-white-folk would be shunned upon? Do games need to be built on ‘family technology’ to ‘keep the development pure’?

Since when was a female that bad? Is it even worse that she’s a mixed race, because that means impure blood?

This only goes to show: games are what publishers make of them. The audience doesn’t have a chance or a choice to grow up. It’s like breastfeeding a young boy until he’s 7-years-old, he doesn’t know any better or any different–so it’s all of a sudden okay.

It’s not.

One of the biggest disappoints of the year is the falling of THQ. Only because Metro: Last Light should have been released already.

With Metro 2033 being one of my favourite games–it’s an underdog, and all that–I am really looking forward to Last Light.

Luckily, Last Light was quite far in its development cycle when it was purchased by Koch Media, therefore not much is expected to change. The game and the vision is likely to be that of what it initially was set out to be.

So that’s good news.

Metro: Last Light is now scheduled to release on the 14th of May. Which isn’t too far away.

Now, to hype things up, here’s a trailer which “focuses on the rich storyline behind the game, as the last remnants of mankind hurtle towards a final, fateful reckoning”.

Since about last week, we have been asking you about God of War: Ascension on Twitter and Facebook. We wanted to know what you thought about the game, because your opinions are equally as valid. Not to mention, your opinion is the most important thing to you.

Here’s what the people who replied had to say. If you’d like to add your thoughts, use the comments section below.

@Lord_Mortuus: its stunning visually … slight variation to the combat mechanics, story is starting to take shape slowly. The first boss battle was truly epic.

@CaptainGadgetHD: The multiplayer seems decent enough, an enjoyable but short lived experience. Had difficulty connecting through custom matches.

Brady GuitarDemon Ruiters: Some good disembowling going on there. That and an awesome DECAPITATIOOOOOON!

It was enjoyable. But heavily watered down. Also really hated the Rage metre. I don’t like the concept of having to fill the metre first in order to use attacks that I’ve used in previous instalments without having to fill a metre. Some parts were also a little harder than they should have been thanks to the “revamped combat system”. Story was ok. The game looks great though, probably the best looking GoW game thus far. Good puzzles, sound glitches. Multiplayer can be fun too. And finally, fuck the Trial of Archimedes, that was bullshit.

Charl Den Dulk: Boob physics needs some work.

Zhameer Hashim: I was hoping for some action in the game when Kratos reached a certain part but alas nothing.

Some frustrating moments i tell you i wanted to rage quit for the oracle part its like they want you to smell what you must damn do other then that no complaints and love the MP.

David van der Merwe: I think the game is amazing ! little laggy at some points not gameplay videos and then multiplayer is just awesome !!

Lyle Arends: The MULTIPLAYER is my forte. I cannot wait to slay familiars and not these random peoples.

Since it’s the first chronologically, the weak plot is forgiven. The game looks incredible, sounds even better and plays like a dream. The MP has its flaws, but is fun addition that actually compliments the game as a whole and I look forward to Kratos’ final adventure in God of War IV. Santa Monica can pat themselves on the back for another great God of War game.

Faheem Classen: The multiplayer is awesome they just have to fix up the match making..there are times I sit 15mins waiting for a game and there are times I find a game and get kicked the whole time just before the count down but its an awesome game

Here’s our Twitter and Facebook pages.

Suda51′s Killer is Dead has received a debut trailer. The game has a fantastic artistic look, alongside action-packed hacking-and-slashing.

The idea of the game is that Mondo, the protagonist, is an executioner. He kills assassins. He is not an assassin.

Previously, Suda51 said, “He’s dressed so smartly that you might wonder if he’s actually capable of killing, but once the ‘work’ switch is pulled, his aura completely turns around. The story depicts him as a man who just does his job without putting much of any emotion into it.”

And boy, does he look capable of killing.

SimCity launched in early March with a bang. Excitement, expectations, high energy levels and a lot of nostalgia. Only one problem: no-one could play. The servers were overloaded and players tried their best to get online.

It simply would not work.

Electronic Arts “miscalculated” the amount of servers they would need to meet the demand of the game. Subsequently, everyone suffered as play was very limited and slow, if possible at all. Essentially, consumers purchased a game they could not use.

To add a bit more frustration to the mix, EA said that players are not allowed a refund. A refund was against Origin policy. It seems that in March, for the past three years, EA has done something to utterly annoy the absolute hell out of fans.

In March 2011, the release of Dragon Age II was received somewhat negatively. Fans were a bit bitter about what happened and how the game had progressed, and because a developer gave it a user-score of 10-out-of-10 on Metacritic.

In March 2012, the release and ending of Mass Effect 3 lead to a lot of negative publicity for the company, followed by legal actions and issues relating to misrepresentation and breach of promise. It was a mess and gamers still feel a bit sad about what happened.

Welcome 2013. In March this year, EA decided that it would be a wonderful idea to release SimCity without enough back-end juice to let everyone play the game at once. This, again, lead to a lot of bad publicity for the massive videogame publisher.

It seems that Electronic Arts has a thing for annoying people in March. Perhaps it is their way of getting a bit of free publicity as the year starts, only to have it run throughout and keep consumers following what they are doing. Then, when they need to release games like Battlefield, it all works out quite well.

EA’s shares are always quite high during March. In the months leading up (from about June, 2012), the share price was quite low. At $18.74, it has reached its highest point, since about February of 2012. March’s publicity is good, it seems.

Is there a reason for them doing this each and every single year? Perhaps we should take bets on what next year’s “mistake” is going to be.

However–all talks of wagers aside–EA has decided to reward fans with a free game. There is eight different games to choose from: Battlefield 3; Dead Space 3; Mass Effect 3; Bejeweled 3; Medal of Honor: Warfighter; Need for Speed Most Wanted; Plants vs Zombies; and SimCity 4 Deluxe Edition.

And this is where I have a slight problem.

How can this be a justified way of saying sorry. It costs them nothing to do this, and it does not exactly save you money either. If you have not purchased a single one of those games yet, you probably will not purchase them at all. 7 out of 8 of those games are old. And Dead Space 3 did not sell very well, at all.

The consumer–you and I–paid for something we did not receive and as compensation we are now going to receive something we do not want, for free. That’s like paying for sex and getting herpes for free–it’s something you do not want.

Dead Space 3′s sales has been atrocious, and I am not surprised that EA is giving it away for free. It is probably the only way to get people to play a game which they seemed to have ruined by making it a little too ‘mainstream’ with action opposed to the first game’s horror setting.

The Sims is probably the closest game to SimCity (barred SimCity 4) and that is not free. Perhaps that is because people actually buy The Sims, it is old but yet still fashionable. All the others, not so much. If EA’s “Sorry” was not meant to be such a ploy, they should have given the user a choice of any EA game they wanted.

Now, before you call me out, just stop. I understand that you are getting something for free. Let me reiterate, though: whatever you choose, you did not want, because you did not buy it when it released. You wanted SimCity, and they should have made that work.

This sort of ‘free’ practice is not good enough.

I will gladly accept the free game, but only because it is free. My first and foremost choice is to have a game that I buy work when I buy it. That will always be number one.

To end off, EA has said the following about the free game: “As a token of our appreciation for all the support we’ve received from SimCity fans over the past week EA is offering a free EA PC digital download game to anyone who purchases and authenticates SimCity by March 25, 2013 at 11:59pm PST.”

Since the launch of Dead Space 3 and Crysis 3, one game has sold double the amount of the other. And yes, it’s the one with micro-transactions.

Dead Space 3 launched two weeks before Crysis 3, where sales for the two games sits at 605,000 for Dead Space 3 and 260,000 for Crysis 3–in February. Two weeks of extra sales really amounted to that much of a change.

Perhaps it was the “bad” publicity of micro-transactions.

To compare the games, 2.94-million people invested in Crysis 2, where only 2.85-million invested in Dead Space 2. That means that Crysis is the more popular franchise. Following that, Crysis 2 scored an average of 85 on Metacritic were Dead Space 2 scored 88. It’s basically the exact same score.

Dead Space 3′s sales is 26.6% worse than that of Dead Space 2, as it stands. Perhaps micro-transactions and a more ‘action-orientated’ outset wasn’t a good idea. Maybe it was something else.

Crysis 3′s sales seem to be a little better than Dead Space 3, if you assume that the sales for the games were spread out evenly for the days they were released. It seems review scores for predecessors aren’t that important, too.

Previously on eGamer, we’ve spoken about micro-transactions quite a bit. We’ve had contrasting views from authors. My belief is that it isn’t that bad–it offers something to players who want it, and leaves those who don’t want it alone. It works both ways.

The main argument about it is, “it breaks immersion.” Fair enough, that is somewhat true, however is that really such a problem? Saying “Press X” isn’t really going to change much and break much immersion.

We’ve had worse things.

I for one find that killing hordes and hordes of enemies to be a worse thing than micro-transactions. That’s just a cop-out to make games longer than they should be. More enemies, same price.

Companies want to make money, and the only way to maximise on a limited-playability game is to add something like micro-transactions. Best part, you don’t need to participate.

The New Walking Dead game is set to be a first-person shooter, which is different from what we’re used to with Telltale’s offering. The video below touches on the game a bit, but also features a good behind the scenes look of how things were done.

We’ve featured The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct in a preview. There’s load of information as well as what one can and should look forward to.

Watch the trailer and check the images, below.

It’s done. The thing that fans have been waiting for is done.

MWEB has launched local Dota 2 servers for testing, in co-operation with Valve. MWEB is currently awaiting confirmation from Valve as to when the servers can go into full build, which could be anytime from now.

As soon as that happens, South Africa will be added to the game under the server settings.

Dota 2 internationally is insanely large, and it’s still in beta. We’ve started coverage of local content–which you can read here. All of this is very exciting and it makes MWEB’s future in the game a lot more promising. Local Dota 2 is growing at a rapid pace, too.

“This is another level reached in our ongoing mission to improve the online gaming experience for local players,” says Desmond Kurz, Online Gaming Manager at MWEB. “Local Dota 2 players will now have the opportunity to create new play strategies that are not apparent at the high pings that they are used to playing with on EU and US servers.”

Fans of the game know what this will include. They can finally play without having to worry about a ~200ms ping. Users on MWEB will feel slightly better performance than those with other ISPs.

This is the second good thing that MWEB has revealed this week.

A brand new trailer for Injustice: Gods Among Us has been released. This is like the–actually, who knows which trailer this is. There’s be loads!

Not complaining, though. It’s exciting to watch people beat each other up.

This video is called Doomsday.