Gamer Euphoria » AndyW

Skyrim Makes History As First Western Game to Get Perfect Score in Japan (Famitsu)

AndyW — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 17:43:16 +0000

Japan have one of the most diverse and selective niche’s in the world. So when Bethesda Softworks’ The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim received a perfect score in Japan’s most popular and prominent magazine, Famitsu – it has been crowned the first Western game to ever have accomplished that.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim received a perfect 40/40 review score in the Japanese magazine – to make the feat even more impressive, recent titles such as: Grand Theft Auto IV, Red Dead Redemption, LA Noire, Modern Warfare 2, Modern Warfare 3, Call of Duty: Black Ops, Gears of War 3, and FIFA 12 fell short of the prestigious score.

Only 16 other titles have been awarded full marks from Famitsu – games such as Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Final Fantasy XII and Nintendogs.

Whatever you think of Skyrim (obviously some users have had to deal with numerous bugs and glitches since launch), Skyrim has certainly managed to make some history.

This Week’s Gears 3 Weekend Event Detailed – Can You Dig It?

AndyW — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 15:08:42 +0000

This weeks Gears of War 3 event, titled “Can You Dig It?” will see changes implemented in to the Team Deathmatch game mode. All weapon pickups will be Digger Launchers, and your basic weapon loadout will consist of a Digger, a Gnasher, and a Boltok.

If you’ve played in all the events so far, then you’ll find yourself 20% (5/5) of the way toward earning the Socialite achievement.

“Can You Dig It?” started just about two hours ago and will end on Monday, November 7th at 9AM EST.

Rabbids: Alive & Kicking – Demo, Web Game Now Available to Play HERE!

AndyW — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 16:45:47 +0000

As Rabbids: Alive & Kicking released in both US and EU this week, Ubisoft have developed and released a brand new interactive web game. This serves as a demo for those who’re still on fence about picking up this cute fluffy package.

The premise is simple – this flash game will use your webcam in the same way as Kinect would for the full retail version; then all you do is slap the rabbits as they appear on screen.

To spice things up a little Ubisoft have supplied us with three copies to give away to those who manage to climb their way to the top of the leaderboard. So be quick, very quick – and swat those rabbits!

Rabbids: Alive & Kicking is available in the UK and Europe from Friday, November 4th.

To Enter:

1) Play the game

2) Submit your high score

3) Tweet your score and username to us @GamerEuphoria.

Important: Contest only open to residents of the UK. You MUST Tweet your score to us at @GamerEuphoria, or your entry will not count.

Ubisoft Acquire RedLynx, The Creators of Trials HD

AndyW — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 17:39:33 +0000

Ubisoft just released a press release announcing that they’ve just officially acquired the “Trials HD” creators RedLynx.

This is great news for both parties, as RedLynx will now receive greater help/funding to expand their vastly popular Trails franchise.

Below is the attached full press release regarding the partnership:

London, UK – November 02, 2011 – Today, Ubisoft announced that it has acquired RedLynx, the Finland-based creator of the renowned digital brand “Trials”.

Founded in 2000, RedLynx is a pioneer in digital games, developing more than 100 high-quality titles for a wide range of digital distribution channels, including PC, consoles, mobile phones, tablets and interactive TV. After initial success on PC and wide acclaim for its highly realistic, physics-based game mechanics, Trials, RedLynx’s flagship brand, has now become one of the best-selling games ever on Xbox™ LIVE Arcade, with over two million paid downloads across the main game and both DLCs. Trials Evolution, the next title in the franchise, will be released in the coming months. The recent DrawRace 2 for the iPhone and iPad was lauded by both press and gamers for its innovative physics-based touch-controls and asynchronous multiplayer gameplay. Upon its release, DrawRace2 became the best-selling racing game in both Europe and the United States.

Commenting on the acquisition, Yves Guillemot, chief executive officer at Ubisoft, stated: “The team at RedLynx has developed exceptionally strong digital brands that stand out for their high replay value, their long tail sales and their multiplatform positioning. We are delighted to welcome RedLynx to the Ubisoft family. Their expertise in asynchronous online games and physics-based game mechanics provides us with a great opportunity to bring their powerful brands, most notably Trials, to an even broader range of fast-growing digital platforms.”

“We were attracted by Ubisoft’s focus on creativity and quality, and the fact that they base their long-term strategy on both the traditional and digital distribution video game markets. The reality of today’s market is not about platforms, it’s about creating excellent gaming experiences that consumers can play on any device or screen they like.” stated Tero Virtala, chief executive officer of RedLynx. “As part of the Ubisoft team, RedLynx will be able to focus even more intently on creating stand-out, excellent brands that push the boundaries of online gaming in many new growth areas. With Ubisoft, a wider audience will get the chance to enjoy our games, we’ll generate more value for our brands, and also leverage our experience more broadly in digital distribution channels.”

Following the acquisitions of Massive Entertainment, Nadeo, Quazal and Owlient, RedLynx represents the continuation of Ubisoft’s focus on strengthening its online expertise and infrastructure in order to expand its portfolio and use of new online business models. The success of The Smurfs & Co social game on Facebook, the upcoming launch of the AAA project Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Online in open beta, the enthusiasm of the TrackMania community, the success of The Settlers Online in Germany and the Uplay online services platform are the most recent implementations of this digital strategy.

Now that RedLynx are now under the Ubisoft brand, what are you hoping to see become of this?

GTA V Officially Set In San Andreas

AndyW — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 16:04:39 +0000

After watching the GTA V trailer that was release mere moments ago, we now know officially that we will be returning to San Andreas. Playing as an elderly family-man who is looking for a peaceful retirement.

Although the trailer doesn’t tell us out right we’re going back to San Andreas – there are enough hints to clue us in to that fact.

Set in San Andreas (as you can tell from the Los Santos sign posts)
You can also see the “Vinewood” (Hollywood esq signs)
Many “Los Puerta” signs seen on motorway. This is a district in San Andreas.
“Pleasure Bay” is also seen – which is a beach area within San Andreas.
Mountain areas are also soon, which were a big staple in San Andreas, as this is where you found the parachute.
Commercial planes and Helicopters are seen being piloted – which was introduced within San Andreas.
A member of our community just pointed out the license plates on the cars clearly show “San Andreas.” (Pic)

You can also see the GTA V HD Trailer here on the RockstarGames website.

Click here to view the embedded video.

EA’s Battlefield 3 German Spyware Scam

AndyW — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 16:38:46 +0000

Since launch, it appears Battlefield 3 has brought with it a lot of controversy in Germany. The controversy seems to centralize around the Terms of Service of EA and the Origin service itself. Ever since the Google Street View incident, the people of Germany have really been protecting their personal rights.

The general consensus is that the German Origin program (which comes bundled in with Battlefield 3) appears to install spyware on to your computer. Although at the moment no clear call can be made as to whether there is truth behind this claim – only time will tell, once official tests have been run. Though, until then, German gamers have been in uproar.

“The Devil is in the contract details”

Firstly, German gaming magazine GameStar have went as far as to hire a professional lawyer to analyze the ToS of EAs Origin – the findings were somewhat shocking.
To summarize the findings, EA enables themselves to gather all the information on the computer and process the data, which has the potential to escalate in to a privacy violation.

German Source - Translated Source

“Origin analyzed my tax program!”

Members of the Amazon forums have even used a “Process Monitor” to scan exactly what Origins is doing and where it is looking. The user has posted pictures of the program accessing files of their tax management program (Picture/Video) and their cell phone manager (Picture).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TAZ-HN9cOk&

“Battlefield 3 is the worst rated game on Amazon ever”

It appears German gamers have went as far as to down rate Battlefield 3 on Amazon. As well as unverified reports talk about 90,000€ loss on Amazon alone from returned copies of the game.

German Reviews - Translated Source

“Retailers accept the return of opened copies of BF3!”

The German electronic retailers Media Markt/Saturn have openly announced that they will accept returns of opened and used (namely the online pass) copies of the game.

German Source - Translated Source

“Attention rising with print media”

The attention has been so great even print media articles have been released in the “Lübecker Zeitung”, you can see a picture of it here, the article is in German.
The headline says: “Datatrap in new shootergame”

“Fight for files / Spyware included”

German Radio station 1Live presents an article about EA on their website.
“Battlefield 3 was the most anticipated game of the year for many people…But EA is belived to put Spyware (Origin) into their game what is a mood killer for the gamers.“

German Source - Translated Source

“Games giant wants to spy on customers”

This is the headline of “Der Spiegel” – the biggest and most renowned media company in Germany. The topic was brought up as and remained the top article of their website.

German Source - Translated Source

“Online petition to take Battlefield 3 off the shelves in Germany!”

Some of the protesters started a petition to stop selling Battlefield 3 in Germany as an preventive move. “The publisher of the game,
EA, has got paragraphs in their ToS that clearly infringe the German laws. EA enables themselves to have complete access to sensitive data.
This selling stop is not permanent but until the company changes its ToS in such a way that it does not interfere with the law.”
By now, almost 4 000 people signed this petition. If they get 50 000 in 90 days, the politicians will talk about this in the Federal Council of Germany.

German Source

Is this Universal?

Some major questions arise from this knowledge. The first one that occurs to me is, is this universal? Origin is not just bound to Germany, we also run it here in UK and US. It would seem unusual for each region Origin would get its own build. Meaning we are all running the same build of Origin as the Germans; so, are we in danger too?

Is this real, or a rumor spiraling out of control?

With all the evidence and media attention behind this, it’s beginning to become harder and harder to believe this isn’t true. Don’t quote me on that – as I hope it isn’t. We won’t know conclusively whether this is true or not until we get official word from qualified anti-spyware officials.

Kinect Air Band Rocks Out For Free, Limited Time Only

AndyW — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 11:41:56 +0000

All you Kinect owners out there can take advantage of Kinect Air Band being altered on the official listings for the reasonable price of FREE.

Act fast though – we have a sneaking suspicion it’s a mistake and may well be taken down/corrected once the miss-price is realized.

“Air Band is a one- or two-player Kinect experience that transforms your room into a stage and turns you into a superstar. “

Click me to go to Xbox.com and put your free copy of Air Band in your download queue!

5 New Gear of War 3 Achievements Officially Added To Xbox.com Game Listing

AndyW — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 11:37:56 +0000

We were told last month that we would see additional Gears of War 3 achievements with the release of the DLC ’Horde Command Pack.’ It now appears the final achievement selection has been added to both the Xbox360 and Xbox.com game listings.

Understandably the achievements centralize around Horde mode, with the inclusion of the new content. For the most part the achievements seem reasonable and obtainable. Admittedly, I get the inkling some have been placed in the mix solely to ensure we try all the features.

The Host with the Most

Host a private Horde Match with a party of 5 players on any Horde Command Pack map (any difficulty).

_________________________________________________________________________________

Places to See, People to Destroy

Host a private Beast Match with a party of 5 players on any Horde Command Pack map (any difficulty).

_________________________________________________________________________________

What Does This Button Do?

Get 500 Silverback rocket kills in Horde (any map, any difficulty).

_________________________________________________________________________________

It’s Hammer Time!

Achieve Level 4 in Horde Command Center fortifications.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Kill Locust (Like a Boss)

Defeat a Boss Wave as 5 Onyx Guards (Hardcore difficulty).

100

New Gears of War 3 Weapon Skin and Mission Coming Soon

AndyW — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 13:32:45 +0000

It appears Epic Games have something big in the mix. They announced when Gears of War 3 launched last month that they will test the waters for a month, build stats, and alter the game accordingly.
A month has passed and it appears the first big addition to the game has been announced – excluding DLC.

According to the in-game calender Epic have officially announced that between 25th Nov – 25th December a new weapon skin is available if you complete “impossible mission.”

Only speculation can be made as of right now as to what the new weapon skin is – but we’ve already have a chicken launcher, so I have every faith in Epic Games that we’ll get something worth the challenge. Also, what could the “impossible mission” be? One thing is for sure, i’m liking the sound of the challenge.

Event Calender.

EA Announce More Server Closures Throughout October/November

AndyW — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 12:43:07 +0000

It appears to be that time of year again – it seems as of recent years more and more (namely EA based franchises) have been experiencing server shutdowns. It’s to be expected in some cases, with yearly releases of the most popular sports titles it makes sense financially.

Though with that being said, it’s never easy to put a title to rest. Especially when people are still logging in day after day.

Although no major AAA titles will have having their servers closed – it seems a little unfortunate to see 2010 sports titles suffering, as not everybody has had chance to migrate to the 2011 successor.

The decisions to retire older EA games are never easy. The development teams and operational staff pour their hearts into these games almost as much as the customers playing them and it is hard to see one retired. But as games get replaced with newer titles, the number of players still enjoying the older games dwindles to a level — fewer than 1% of all peak online players across all EA titles — where it’s no longer feasible to continue the behind-the-scenes work involved with keeping these games up and running. We would rather our hard-working engineering and IT staff focus on keeping a positive experience for the other 99% of customers playing our more popular games. We hope you have gotten many hours of enjoyment out of the games and we appreciate your ongoing patronage. – EA GAMES

October 1, 2011 Online Service Shutdown

Madden NFL 10 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360

NHL® 10 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360

October 20, 2011 Online Service Shutdown

EA SPORTS™ MMA (Live Broadcast Feature only) for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360

November 16, 2011 — Change in virtual currencies

On November 16, 2011, EA will switch users from game-specific virtual currencies to a common currency in four Play4Free games. Existing balances in the current currencies will be converted into the new common currency – called “Play4Free Funds” – without loss for the customer. Affected games and currencies are:

Lord of Ultima – diamonds

Need for Speed World – speedboost

Battlefield Heroes – battlefunds

Battlefield Play4Free – battlefunds

From November 16, 2011 all games will use Play4Free Funds as the virtual currency. More information will be posted on the respective games’ websites closer to the time of change.

December 1, 2011 Online Service Shutdown

LITTLEST PET SHOP Online for PC

Previously Shut Down Online Service

Arena Football™ for PlayStation 2 and Xbox

Arena Football™: Road to Glory for PlayStation 2

Armies of Exigo™ for PC

Army of Two™ for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360

Army of Two™ Demo for Xbox 360

Battlefield 2: Modern Combat™ for Xbox and Xbox 360

Battlefield 2: Modern Combat™ Demo for Xbox 360

Battlefield 2142™ Demo for PC

Burnout™ Revenge for PlayStation 2 and Xbox

Burnout™ Dominator for PlayStation Portable

Burnout™ 3: Takedown ™ for PlayStation 2 and Xbox

Def Jam® for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360

EA SPORTS™ Fantasy Football 09 for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3

EA SPORTS™ FIFA Manager 10 for PC

EA SPORTS™ Fight Night Round 2 for PlayStation 2 and Xbox

EA SPORTS™ Fight Night Round 3 for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable and Xbox

Facebreaker™ for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3

FIFA Soccer 2005 for PC, PlayStation 2 and Xbox

FIFA 06 for PC, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Xbox and Xbox 360

FIFA 07 for PC, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 2, Xbox and Xbox 360

FIFA 08 for PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii and PC

FIFA 09 for PC, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii

FIFA 09 Ultimate Team for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360

FIFA Street 3 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360

The Godfather™ The Game for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360

GoldenEye: Rogue Agent™ for PlayStation 2 and Xbox

The Lord of the Rings™, The Battle for Middle-earth™ for PC

The Lord of the Rings™, The Battle for Middle-earth™ II for PC and Xbox 360

The Lord of the Rings™, The Battle for Middle-earth™ II, The Rise of the Witch-king™ for PC and Xbox 360

The Lord of the Rings: Conquest™ for PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360

MVP Baseball™ 2005 for PC, PlayStation 2 and Xbox

MVP™ 07 NCAA® Baseball for PlayStation 2 and Xbox

Madden NFL 05 for PC, PlayStation 2 and Xbox

Madden NFL 06 for PC, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Xbox and Xbox 360

Madden NFL 07 for PC, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Xbox and Xbox 360

Madden NFL 08 for PC, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Wii, Xbox and Xbox 360

Madden NFL 09 for PlayStation Portable (all regions), PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii and Xbox

Madden 10 for PlayStation Portable (all regions), PlayStation 2 and Wii

Marvel Nemesis™: Rise of the Imperfects™ for PlayStation 2 and Xbox

Medal of Honor Airborne™ for PlayStation Portable

Medal of Honor Heroes™ 2 for PlayStation Portable and Wii

Medal of Honor Pacific Assault™ for PC

Medal of Honor™ Rising Sun for PlayStation 2

Mercenaries 2: World in Flames™ for PC

NASCAR® 05: Chase for the Cup™ for PC, PlayStation 2 and Xbox

NASCAR® 06: Total Team Control for PlayStation 2 and Xbox

NASCAR® 07 for PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox and Xbox 360

NASCAR® 08 for PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360

NASCAR® 09 for PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360

NBA LIVE 05 for PC, PlayStation 2 and Xbox

NBA LIVE 06 for PC, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Xbox and Xbox 360

NBA LIVE 07 for PC, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Xbox and Xbox 360

NBA LIVE 08 for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable and Wii

NBA LIVE 09 for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii

NBA Street (2007) for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360

NBA Street V3 for PlayStation 2 and Xbox

NCAA® Basketball 08 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360

NCAA® Basketball 09 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360

NCAA® Basketball 10 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360

NCAA® Football 05 for PlayStation 2 and Xbox

NCAA® Football 06 for PlayStation 2 and Xbox

NCAA® Football 07 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable and Xbox

NCAA® Football 08 forPlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2 and Xbox

NCAA® Football 09 for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 2

NCAA® Football 10 for PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360

NCAA® March Madness 06 for PlayStation 2 and Xbox

NCAA® March Madness™ 2005 for PlayStation 2 and Xbox

NCAA® March Madness® 07 for PlayStation 2, Xbox and Xbox 360

Need for Speed™ Carbon for PlayStation Portable

Need for Speed™ Most Wanted for PC, PlayStation Portable, Xbox and Xbox 360

Need for Speed™ ProStreet for PC and PlayStation Portable

Need for Speed™ Undercover for PlayStation Portable

Need for Speed™ Underground for PlayStation 2

Need for Speed™ Underground 2 for PC, PlayStation 2 and Xbox

NFL Head Coach 09 for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC, PlayStation 2 and Xbox

NFL STREET 2: Unleashed for PlayStation 2 and Xbox

NFL STREET 3 for PlayStation 2

NFL Tour for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360

NHL® 2005 for PC, PlayStation 2 and Xbox

NHL® 06 for PC, PlayStation 2 and Xbox

NHL® 07 for PC, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Xbox and Xbox 360

NHL® 08 for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2 and PC

NHL® 09 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360

The Simpsons™ Game for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360

SimSocial on Facebook

The Sims Carnival

SKATE™ for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360

Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® 05 for PC, PlayStation 2 and Xbox

Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® 06 for PC, PlayStation 2, Xbox and Xbox 360

Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® 07 for PC, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Xbox and Xbox 360

Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® 08 for PC, PlayStation 2 PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable and Xbox 360

Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® 09 for PlayStation 3, Wii and Xbox 360

Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® 10 for PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii

Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® 11 Demo for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360

TimeSplitters 3: Future Perfect™ for Xbox and PlayStation 2

Total Club Manager 06 for PlayStation 2

UEFA Champions League™ 2004-2005 for PC, PlayStation 2 and Xbox

UEFA Champions League™ 2006-2007 for PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable

UEFA Champions League™ 07 for PC and Xbox 360

UEFA EURO 2008™ for PC PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360

2006 FIFA World Cup™ for PC, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Xbox and Xbox 360

2010 FIFA World Cup™ for PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 (only Hospitality upload functionality retired)

2010 FIFA World Cup™ for PlayStation Portable and Wii

2010 FIFA World Cup™ Demo for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360