In the latest teaser trailer, it appears that 47 has the upper hand on the metro PD as they run around yelling like morons while trying to find him. Needless to say, 47 is doing what he does best.

"The hammer will fall swiftly and accurately," noted DICE's CM Ian Tornay on the Battlefield 3 forums.

According to Gameranx , DICE has disabled cheating protection in multiplayer beta so that they can see and monitor what extremes players will go to just to anger other gamers and rack up those kill counts.

So far during my playing of the beta I saw a few gamers glitching out of the map, so here is to hoping that DICE and EA can get this under control or else their hopes of beating Activision's Modern Warfare 3 in the sales department will be like throwing a dummy grenade into a group of enemies who are advancing swiftly on their position.

via Gameranx

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No payment plans have been announced yet or any word on if there will be any other channels and/or services added to their entertainment lineup that will be launching in the very, near future.

via Xbox.com

It appears that the much rumored Halo movie is back on the front burner of the rumor mill after a french press release claims that Steven Spielberg and Dreamworks are backing the film set to release in 2012.

The press release which happens to be for the Forerunner based Halo novel, Halo: Cryptum clearly states, " A film adaptation is set in 2012. It will be conducted jointly by two heavyweights of American cinema: Steven Spielberg and Dreamworks."

Does this mean that a Halo movie might release around the same time as Halo 4 in winter 2012? Or is this just simply another rumor that needs to be put to rest until Microsoft steps forward and says, "yes a Halo film is being produced at this very moment"?

via Eurogamer

"Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor. Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple."

- Apple

Apple CEO Cook: "[Apple has lost] a visionary and creative genius."

"Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple," he said.

Bill Gates: "[it had] been an insanely great honor" to work with his long-time rival. "The world rarely sees someone who has had the profound impact Steve has had, the effects of which will be felt for many generations to come," Gates said in a statement.

"Steve, thank you for being a mentor and a friend. Thanks for showing that what you build can change the world. I will miss you." - Mark Zuckerberg

"Today the world lost a visionary leader, the technology industry lost an iconic legend, and I lost a friend and fellow founder. The legacy of Steve Jobs will be remembered for generations to come. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and to the Apple team." Michael Dell, CEO and founder Dell Inc.

Please take a moment to remember this incredible man, persevering entrepreneur, and radical visionary.

Jobs' family has requested privacy, but you can send your thoughts, condolences and prayers to rememberingsteve@apple.com.

EA and DICE were bitch slapped by a person claiming to be a 15 year retired SWAT team member in an open letter that was posted on the Battlefield 3 forums. The unnamed individual compares the supposed realistic upcoming shooter Battlefield 3 to what he calls "fake" games like Halo all because of the lights and lasers that are on the weapons that you use in the game.

I’M RETIRED AFTER 15 YEARS SWAT AND CAN TELL YOU THE TAC LIGHTS AND LASERS ARE BEING IMPROPERLY USED AND MAKE WHAT HAS BEEN A FAIRLY REALISTIC EXPERIENCE SEEM LIKE HALO OR SOME FAKE GAME.

I WAS ISSUED AN MP5 AND MADE HUNDREDS OF ENTRIES USING THAT WEAPON AS MY PRIMARY AND HAD MY KIMBER TLE 1911 .45 WITH TAC LIGHT ON MY RIGHT LEG IN MY DROP HOLSTER. MP5 9MM HAD A LIGHT ON THE FOREGRIP WITH A RUBBER PRESSURE SWITCH FOR QUICK ON AND OFF DEPRESSIONS.

THE REASON YOU NEED A LIGHT THAT TURNS ON AND OFF QUICKLY IS BECAUSE OF WHAT WE CALL “LIGHT DISCIPLINE” YOU CAN READ ALL ABOUT IT BUT IN SUMMARY LIGHTS CAN HELP YOU OR HURT YOU. WHEN MOVING IN A SQUAD OR CELL YOU NEVER WANT TO “BACK LIGHT” YOUR TEAM MEMBERS WHICH CREATES A TARGET FOR THE ENEMY. YOU NEVER WALK AROUND WITH YOUR LIGHTS ON OR THE ENEMY SEES YOU COMING AND CAN PICK YOU OFF EASILY BY SHOOTING AT YOUR LIGHTS AND WATCHING THEM BACK LIGHT YOUR TEAM. FLASHLIGHTS ON HANDGUNS OR SUB GUNS ARE FOR CLEARING BUILDINGS AND CUTTING CORNERS CAREFULLY THEN TURNED OFF TO MOVE UNDETECTED.

THIS GAME NEEDS A MOMENTARY SWITCH FOR LIGHTS, NOT AN ON/OFF SWITCH OR A STUPID HANGUN THAT AIMS UPWARD WITH LIGHT ON AS YOU RUN OR MOVE. NEVER RUN WITH A FLASHLIGHT ON. NEVER RUN WITH YOUR HANDGUN AIMED STRAIT UPWARD. NEVER WALK OR DO ANYTHING WITH YOUR WEAPON POINTED UPWARD, THAT’S HOLLYWOOD CRAP. GUNS ARE CARRIED IN A “LOW READY POSITION” DOWNWARD AND BELOW WHERE YOUR EYES ARE SCANNING FOR TARGETS THEN YOU CAN AQUIRE A TARGET AND RAISE UP AND FIRE. IF YOUR GUN IS AIMED UP YOU SEE THE SAME TARGET AND THEN LOWER THE GUN ON THE TARGET MOMENTARILY BLOCKING YOUR VISION AS YOUR ARM OR ARMS COME DOWN CROSSING YOUR FIELD OF VISION. (STUPID)

FLASHLIGHTS ARE PRIMARILY LED HIGH INTENSITY LIGHTS, BUT THEY DO NOT PRODUCE THE KIND OF LIGHT SIMULATED IN THIS GAME IN ALMOST ANY ENVIRONMENT THIS GAME SEEMS TO PRODUCE A HUGE WHITE AREA WHERE YOU CANNOT TELL THE CENTER OR SOURCE OF THE LIGHT. THAT IS BS. FLASHLIGHTS ON GUNS TEMPORARILY BLIND THREATS/TARGETS, BUT THAT LASTS ONLY A FEW MOMENTS AND THEN THE TARGET CAN RETURN FIRE ACCURATELY AIMING FOR YOUR LIGHT. THIS IS WHY THE FBI STARTED HOLDING FLASHLIGHTS IN THE OFF HAND UP HIGH AND TO THE SIDE SO IF THE CRIMINAL OR TARGET SEES THE LIGHT THEY MISS THE AGENT. THIS WAS DETERMINED AFTER POLICE AND FBI GOT SHOT TIME AND TIME AGAIN IN THE PAST USING THE “HOGAN” METHOD OF CROSSING ARMS AND KEEPING THE FLASHLIGHT NEAR THEIR HANDGUN.

LASERS ARE WHAT SWAT MEMBERS CALL “CRUTCHES FOR THOSE WHO CANNOT POINT SHOOT”. WE NEVER USED LASERS FOR A NUMBER OF REASONS BUT TO KEEP IT SHORT: IT TAKES LONGER TO LOOK FOR YOUR RED DOT ON THE SUSPECT THEN FIRE, THAN TO JUST FIRE FROM THE LOW READY POSITION USING A POINT AND SHOOT METHOD OF NON SITED FIRE. ALSO THEY DON’T EMIT A LONG BEAM VISIBLE UNLESS YOU ARE IN THE FOG OR SMOKE. IN EITHER CASE THEY GIVE AWAY YOUR ANGLE AND POSITION. THEY ARE COMPLETELY UNNECESSARY FOR TACTICAL PURPOSES AND ONLY USED FOR “PSYCHOLOGICAL” REASONS AND HOLLYWOOD DRAMA.

I CAN GO INTO MORE DETAIL, BUT THIS IS MY SUMMARY AND OPINION BASED ON 15 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE DOING THE REAL THING. RESEARCH THE TOPIC AND YOU WILL SEE I AM CORRECT.

As a veteran of the US Army I see the point being made. After all a soldier who uses a light while clearing a building might as well put on a Barney costume and sing the "I love you, you love me" song at the top of his or her lungs. However as a gamer, video games are not real, this is a minor issue that does not change the main gameplay of Battlefield 3 except that the writer of this letter might be dying more often during the BETA which is why this was written, and this is not a Rainbow Six game.

What do you guys think? Do lights and lasers being used make this game not "real"?

via Product Reviews

The Horde Command Pack will feature three new maps, three new characters including Big Rig Dizzy, Onyx Guard, and Bernie, two new weapons skins, and new fortification upgrades for both popular game modes, Horde and Beast.

The DLC will cost you 800 MS points unless you purchased the $30 Gears Season Pass which will allow you to download it for "free".

via Major Nelson

Today NBA 2K12 Producer, Erick Boenisch and Senior Gameplay Designer, Mike Wang took time out of their busy schedules to get on a conference call to answer a ton of questions about the upcoming release of the next game in the franchise. With over 5 million copies sold, NBA 2K11 is considered by may to be one of the greatest basketball games of all time, they give insight on how they plan to top it with this latest release. Take a listen and be sure to let us know what you think.

Bethesda has released the names of the actors who are lending their voices to what could be the most anticipated RPG of 2011, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

Most notable are the three Academy Awards nominees Christopher Plummer from The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Max Von Sydow who starred in The Exorcist and Minority Report, and actress Joan Allen who lent her acting talents to The Contender and The Bourne Ultimatum.

Other voices in Skyrim that you may recognize include Michael Hogan from Battlestar Galatica, Vladimir Kulich who appeared in Smokin' Aces, Claudia Christian from Babylon 5, Diane Louise Salinger who stars in Carnivale, actress Renee Victor from Weeds, and George Coe who was once on Saturday Night Live and starred in Transformers: Dark of the Moon.

Gamers do not have to wait much longer to get their hands on the long awaited Skyrim, because it release on November 11, 2011.

Bethesda's hit or miss RPG Fallout: New Vegas was shown some love with new game add ons Courier's Stash and Gun Runners’ Arsenal that have already released on the Xbox Live Marketplace and will release later today on the Playstation Network and Steam.

The 160 MS point or $1.99 on PSN and/or Steam Courier's Stash download will allow players to access items that were previously only available to those fans of the Fallout series that pre ordered New Vegas. These now attainable items include the four DLC packs The Caravan Pack, Classic Pack, Mercenary Pack and Tribal Pack.

The other new game add on that is weapon based, Gun Runners' Arsenal, will cost you 320 MS points or $3.99 on the PSN and/or Steam. Upon downloading this content gamers will be able to find more recipes, weapon mods, ammo types, and increased range with all of your unique weapons.

The trailer follows two soldiers who appear to have parachuted down into some dark lonely woods. When they emerge into the open, an old stone house is sitting in front of them. Upon entering they are greeted by a sultry female and a dog to their right lying on the floor. They place some coins into the tray that shows other items and proceed to slow mo walk through the door in front of them after the female gives them a slight nod showing permission to enter.

What kind of announcement do you think Sony is planning? Could it be game related or some other kind of new service that Sony might be offering to their users hence the soldiers paying and walking through a new door?

via Gamersheep

EA has recently added language to its end user license agreement that would waive a gamer's right to engage in a class action lawsuit with, aka "sue", the company over issues pertaining to its Origin PC service. This same language is used in online-capable EA games like Madden and FIFA online play. The clause goes as follows:

"By accepting these terms, you and EA expressly waive the right to a trial by jury or to participate in a class action.

YOU UNDERSTAND THAT BY THIS PROVISION, YOU AND EA ARE FOREGOING THE RIGHT TO SUE IN COURT AND HAVE A JURY TRIAL.

YOU AND EA AGREE THAT EACH MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY IN YOUR OR ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING."

This addition comes behind Sony's recent end user agreement changes, which came behind AT&T's similar move. According to the Supreme Court, which ruled 5-4 in favor of the clause, the act of forcing users to waive their right to sue a company when accepting the agreement is enforceable and legal. According to many customers affected by these changes, legality isn't the question; morality is. One user mentioned on GIO that you'd think EA would realize that adding a "you can't sue us" clause would be a hint that their business model may not be top notch. Unfortunately it seems corporations like EA lack the common sense to reach that conclusion, or they're simply too lazy to change their business model to better accommodate the needs of their consumers.

Said customers do have the ability to exempt themselves from this rule, and thus accept the EULA while still being able to sue EA for future infractions. Thing is, within 30 days of accepting that modification, the customer would have to send a letter to EA that includes name, address, account ID, and a "clear statement that you do not wish to resolve disputes with any [EA] entity through arbitration." Oh EA, you had just gone from 'Evil' to 'Bad' when you sink back down by doing this type of thing.

In response to this change in EA's EULA, many gamers are considering cancelling pre-orders of Battlefield 3. Why EA wants to stab customers in the back with these EULA changes, yet they spend millions of dollars trying to get people to love their games, is a mystery to me. One thing is for certain: now that at least three big corporations have done this type of thing, more will follow suit. One can hope they don't, however. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this issue.

via VG247, GI, and PC World

Paradox Interactive today announced details surrounding the first in a new series of live stream demos that will allow players to get a look behind the scenes into the progress being made on the company’s forthcoming titles. The first game to be featured will be Salem, the highly anticipated MMORPG being created by Seatribe that is due to release in Q2, 2012. A live demo of the game will be broadcast over the internet on Tuesday, September 27th, at 3PM EST via the Official Paradox Interactive Channel on Justin.tv and Twitch.tv at: http://www.twitch.tv/paradoxinteractive

"Our players have asked for more info, more access and a greater view into how our title line-up is coming along,” said Gordon Van Dyke, producer at Paradox Interactive. “We’ve found a way to bring our community deeper into the process through live streaming demos, show off our progress and give our fans and players the chance to ask about how things are developing.”

About Salem

Set in a fantastical New England, Salem offers free form Massively Multiplayer gameplay in a persistent, ever-changing, online world. Players take the roles of intrepid colonists from the Old World seeking to make lives for themselves in the New. The colonists are able to use a unique crafting, farming and building system inspired by 17th century alchemy.

Although Salem takes place in a light-hearted gothic setting with a charming and cute art-style, there is also open Player-versus-Player combat complete with permadeath and inheritance. Players will also experience a mysterious darker side to the world with creatures based off actual colonist folklore like Squonks, Hidebehinds and of course witches in an open sand box world.

The continuing trend of developers offering gamers a "discount" on downloadable content if they buy some form of a season pass appears to have struck the folks over at Turn 10.

Turn 10 announced that Forza Motorsport 4 is getting it's own $29.99 season pass that will allow gamers to get a 30% discount on six expansion packs that are set to launch between November 2011 and April 2012.

Forza Motorsport 4 races onto store shelves for the Xbox 360 on October 11th here in the states, October 13th in Australia, October 14th in Europe, and October 20th in Japan.

"....Sony kept pushing for a more realistic game in all respects. The market had changed a lot by then. The demographic was older and gritty shooters were really dominating. Sony wanted very much to get into that market share, it pushed all of its developers in this direction. So the big push from Sony, not just at Naughty Dog but at all of Sony's development companies at the time, was to craft games for PlayStation 3 that were much more realistic. The pressure from Xbox's success with gritty shooters was a very real force on our direction at that time. We had a lot of internal grumbling about the realist bent. More of the old dogs were from the Crash and Jak era and preferred that more whimsical style. But alas, that was a losing battle."" ~ Don Poole, former Environment Modeller at Naughty Dog

I would like to know where Uncharted is realistic considering the ending of Drake's Fortune. If Sony wants to create an original realistic shooter they need to leave the monsters at the door.

via Now Gamer

EA has announced that NHL 12 has broke the series record for highest number of sales in it's first week of being on store shelves.

The standout hockey title generated $27 million retail sales worldwide in it's first week and so far gamers have shown their appreciation for the game by logging in more than 6.9 million online games during that coveted first week.

The fan response to NHL 12 has been incredible, and we’re delighted to expand the franchise to Facebook next month,” said Andrew Wilson, Executive Vice President, EA SPORTS. “NHL 12 is our most exciting hockey game ever, with more than 300 gameplay improvements and the ability to play with some of the NHL’s greatest legends."

Zen Pinball 3D for the Nintendo 3DS will feature local multiplayer, online leaderboards and table rankings, several view points, and table completion specific rewards.

"Releasing Zen Pinball on a Nintendo platform marks an amazing milestone for Zen Studios. We are really excited for Nintendo fans to experience one of our greatest passions – the timeless game of pinball! Playing pinball in 3D is killer, it’s like the game has been totally reinvented, and a whole new world opens up right before your eyes.” stated Mel Kirk, Vice President of Marketing and Public Relations for Zen Studios.

Throughout playing Zen Pinball 3D gamers can work towards humilating their opponents and gaining bragging rights by achieving a higher Pro Score which accumulates through all of your high scores across all of the available four tables. Aslo available will be a Team Score that will not only track your scores, but also track your friend's scores for one huge grand total.

Think you can become a pinball wizard? Find out when Zen Pinball 3D releases in the Nintendo eShop later this year.

The gorgeous and crisp upcoming FPS from EA and DICE, Battlefield 3 might be getting a beta very soon despite the fact that it's launch is about a month away.

The eyes over at MP1st have picked up on three hints from DICE concerning a beta announcement at the beginning of this week. The first hint was found at the italian Battlefield website where DICE teased that fans should "follow" them, that there is a "long awaited" announcement coming tomorrow. That was then followed up by a tweet from Daniel Matros of DICE that stated, "this week is going to be off the hook BF3," and later on David Goldfarb agreed stating "gonna be a great week. BF3."

While a beta announcement would be exciting, because I have been waiting to get my hands on this since it was announced, however isn't it a little late in the game to release a beta when your game is scheduled to launch October 25th of this year?

via MP1st

Just confirmed via a press release, the Battlefield 3 beta will go live on September 29th for the PC, 360, and PS3. Fans who pre ordered a limited edition of Medal of Honor will have access to the beta beginning on September 27.

Miss playing the awesomeness that is a Burnout game? Criterion may have found a way to fill that metal crushing void in your life. Available today on the Playstation Network for $9.99 and tomorrow on the Xbox Live Arcade for 800 MS points is Burnout CRASH!.

This accident happy arcade-esqe game features hits from the 80's 18 crash junctions, and 6 different play modes including Burnout fan favorite, Crash Mode. CRASH! features Kinect support allowing you to use your body to create a spectacular crash that will send debris flying everywhere. If that does not get engines revved up, then maybe the Kinect 14 player turn based multyplayer will. Rage on!

The gorgeous and crisp upcoming FPS from EA and DICE, Battlefield 3 might be getting a beta very soon despite the fact that it's launch is about a month away.

The eyes over at MP1st have picked up on three hints from DICE concerning a beta announcement at the beginning of this week. The first hint was found at the italian Battlefield website where DICE teased that fans should "follow" them, that there is a "long awaited" announcement coming tomorrow. That was then followed up by a tweet from Daniel Matros of DICE that stated, "this week is going to be off the hook BF3," and later on David Goldfarb agreed stating "gonna be a great week. BF3."

While a beta announcement would be exciting, because I have been waiting to get my hands on this since it was announced, however isn't it a little late in the game to release a beta when your game is scheduled to launch October 25th of this year?

via MP1st

You can find a link to the interview here. Also detailed in the interview are tidbits of info about Horde mode, the interactions between Anya and Marcus, and what Cliff thinks about that terrible horror movie involving something about a centipede.

Gears of War 3 is the final game in the trilogy that started back in 2006, and aims to tie up all loose ends of the overarching storyline and characters. After the events of Gears 2, the COG has disbanded and what remains of their forces reside on the isolated island of Vectes, where the hard process of starting over after the war with the Locust has begun. Their hopes of living in peace are dashed quickly once the glowing, mutating Lambent show up, looking to replace the Locust as the driving force of human extinction. While their numbers have dramatically dwindled as a result of events from Gears 2, the Locust are not down and out, as many still survive as Savages.

Below is the latest trailer for Gears of War 3, which does its best to emote the sense of impending destruction by the Lambent and the struggle for survival:

I for one cannot wait to play it. While I'm not getting it on midnight, I hope to play it day one

"People have spatial reasoning skills, something computers are not yet good at. Games provide a framework for bringing together the strengths of computers and humans. The results in this week's paper show that gaming, science, and computation can be combined to make advances that were not possible before." Seth Cooper, Co-Creator of "Foldit"

It took the student gamers a little over three weeks to build models of the protease protein and scientists have hopes of being able to use their computer models to aid them in developing new HIV drugs.

"The ingenuity of game players is a formidable force that, if properly directed, can be used to solve a wide range of scientific problems." Firas Khatib, lead study author

See media gaming haters, we can put our powers to good use.

via Fox News

The detailed description for the new infrared motion sensing device included drawing plans for motion controlled devices similar to the Wii. The devices included a pistol and bat like controller. Also shown was the Playstation Dual-Shock controller that appeared to have LED lights on the top in between the four trigger buttons.

via E-mpire and USPO

As it turns out, Eidos didn't go wrong with these bosses at all, as they didn't even make the sequences; they gave the job of making boss battles to a group called GRIP Entertainment, an independent developer also established in Montreal. The president, Dr. Paul A. Kruszewski, released a video (which you can watch below) describing how his company came to take on the project Eidos gave them, what the process was to making these notorious sequences, and what their past experiences were with gaming and video game technology.

I decided to venture over to GRIP's website just to understand a bit more about the company. After reading a bit into Dr. Paul A. Kruszewski from the group's site, he's received an apparently prestigious scholarship from the NSERC, and is 'respected around the world as [a] visionary in artificial intelligence and real-time computing'. So, knowing that, I guess the question is how he could have gone wrong about the process.

via GIO and N4G