Category: Gamespot

Amy Hennig, a writer/creative director on the first three Uncharted games at Naughty Dog who now works at Electronic Arts on Star Wars, will be honored by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). She will receive a BAFTA “Special Award,” the group announced this week.

She’ll be handed the award at an evening in Los Angeles on Sunday, June 12, which is just before the start of E3 2016.

Hennig has worked in the video game industry for almost 30 years. Before joining Naughty Dog, she worked at Crystal Dynamics on the Soul Reaver/Legacy of Kain series.

“Amy is one of the industry’s most successful and respected creative leaders, and we are thrilled to recognize her outstanding contribution through this special award–one of BAFTA’s highest accolades,” BAFTA Games Committee chairman Harvey Elliot said in a statement.

“Her work in the games industry spans nearly three decades, and throughout this illustrious career she has championed the importance of a game’s script, with this creative vision pervading all her work.” he added. “We look forward to celebrating this much-deserved award with her.”

Hennig was writing Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End before being replaced by Neil Druckmann and Bruce Straley. According to a report, Hennig was “forced out,” though Naughty Dog has since denied this was the case. As a result of Hennig’s departure, about eight months of work was reportedly thrown out as the new directors went in something of a different direction.

A line from Uncharted 4’s credits sequence honors Hennig and her contributions to the game.

A month after leaving Naughty Dog in 2014, Hennig joined EA where she is now working on Dead Space developer Visceral Games’ new Star Wars project. This game has yet to be formally announced, but is rumored to be an open-world title.

Hennig holds a B.A. in English Literature from U.C. Berkeley.

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A fan-made mod for Stellaris that makes all its characters white has been removed from Steam Workshop by the game’s developer, Paradox Interactive.

According to a Reddit post by a Paradox community manager, the studio initially left the European Phenotype and Names Only (White Humans) mod on Steam, despite personal objections to its purpose and content. However, when the mod’s developer began using its description to push an agenda, Paradox decided to step in and remove it.

“We saw the mod, thought it wasn’t in very good taste, but let it remain,” the post said. “Then the creator of the mod decided to update the description of the mod to promote an ‘agenda’ not related to computer games at all, and this was being clearly displayed on our product page. We decided it was a step too far and removed it.”

In response to comments, the community manager added: “There are several mods that will allow you to role-play in most of the different ways I’ve seen you suggest in here. This particular mod had several disturbing elements in it’s public description which we do not want to have clearly displayed on our product page however.

“You are right of course. Our job is to make computer games, not push political agendas. This is why we removed some political proclamations being made in the description field on our workshop page.”

Speaking to Eurogamer, a separate Paradox representative said the studio supports mods developed to support unique play styles, but it draws the line at discrimination.

“We shipped the game originally with an accurate representation of humans, that is to say diverse in both ethnicity and personality,” said the rep.

“We embrace the idea that players mod the game to best represent how they want to play, we do NOT however wish to enable discriminatory practices.”

Paradox COO Susana Meza Graham later clarified the studio’s rules of conduct on Twitlonger.

“We have a few rules of conduct that have been in effect for the better part of a decade where racial slurs, among other things, are not allowed. We interpreted this particular mod as breaking those rules of conduct, however it would appear that the comments surrounding the mod, rather than the mod itself, were the biggest problem.

“We welcome everyone to create all kind of mods for us as long as they comply with our rules of conduct and we expect our modders to help us keep the comment sections free of any racial slurs or other things that do not comply with these same codes.”

Graham added: “This is the last we will comment regarding this particular mod.”

Stellaris sold more than 200,000 copies in its first 24 hours, breaking the “revenue record for any of Paradox Interactive’s previous titles during the same period,” the company previously said.

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Updates to the Prey 2 and Prey 3 domains have sparked speculation that Bethesda may reintroduce the game at E3 2016 in June.

Links to both websites (Prey 2.com, Prey 3.com) now redirect to a Facebook page that blocks viewers from seeing content on the page. This has led some to posit that the page will become active when a new game is announced.

Publisher Bethesda, however, has not shown any indication of bringing the series back since its cancellation.

Prey 2 was officially announced in 2011 with Human Head Studios attached as its developer. The project suffered multiple issues and fell into limbo for an extended period.

In August 2013, it was suggested that Bethesda had handed development duties to Arkane Austin, though this was not officially confirmed. In October of the following year, Bethesda announced that Prey 2 had been cancelled.

“It was a game we believed in, but we never felt that it got to where it needed to be–we never saw a path to success if we finished it,” said VP of PR and marketing Pete Hines.

Hines added, however, that the Prey franchise may not be dormant forever.

“It’s a franchise we still believe we can do something with–we just need to see what that something is,” he said.

Bethesda is scheduled to host an E3 briefing on June 12. It did not confirm what will be shown at the event, but a teaser image contained references to the Fallout, Dishonored, and Elder Scrolls franchises, among others.

Arkane’s Lyon, France-based studio, meanwhile, is working on Dishonored 2, which has a confirmed release date of November 11. For more on the game, read our recent Dishonored 2 preview and interview with its developer.

Take a look below to see early Prey 2 art. You can also watch the video above to see gameplay.

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Halloween is one the most successful horror franchises of all time, and it looks set to return with original director John Carpenter on board. It has been confirmed that Carpenter will be involved with a new movie, produced by the company behind the Paranormal Activity series.

Carpenter appeared at a press launch for the new film, and revealed that he would be acting as executive producer and creative consultant. Despite the number of sequels and remakes that have been released over the years, this will be first one that Carpenter is creatively involved with since 1983’s Halloween III: Season of the Witch.

“Halloween needs to return to its traditions,” Carpenter said, in a statement. “I feel like the movies have gotten away from that. Michael [Myers, the series’ iconic killer] is not just a human being; he’s a force of nature, like the wind. That’s what makes him so scary.”

The movie will be produced by Blumhouse Films, alongside Miramax. Blumhouse have in recent years enjoyed box office success from the likes of Sinister, Paranormal Activity, and The Purge movies, as well as the Oscar-winning Whiplash.

The company are known for offering their filmmakers considerable creative freedom within a limited budget, and Carpenter confirmed that, like the first movie, this Halloween would be no different.

“We made the original Halloween for very little money,” he explained. “At heart it’s just a good, scary story, and that’s why it works. 38 years later, I’m going to help to try to make the tenth sequel the scariest of them all.”

Halloween was released in 1978. It became one of the most successful independent films of all time, and is widely credited for popularising the slasher genre that dominated the horror scene for the next few years. The last film to date was 2009’s reboot sequel Halloween II, directed by Rob Zombie.

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The Battleborn update that came out today introduces the game’s first free post-release hero, Alani, but only for some. As announced previously, Alani–who is a “warrior-monk healer”–launches today, May 24, for people who bought the Battleborn Digital Deluxe edition or season pass. Also, if you took part in the Battleborn PS4 beta, you will receive the character today.

Everyone else gets Alani for free on May 31 by spending 47,500 credits or by using a Hero Key. You can see Alani in action in the gameplay video below, while a list of her moves and abilities follows further down.

Alani Attacks and Abilities:

• TORRENT: Through years of training in Ket, her order’s martial art, Alani has honed her ability to control water, hurling water bolts to damage enemies.
• WELLSPRING: Channeling her focus and strength, Alani heals herself for a small amount or envelopes an ally in water to heal them.
• RIPTIDE: Alani sends forth a wave of water that deals damage to enemies, pushes them away, and leaves a trail hastening allies’ movement speed.
• GEYSER: Calling upon the power of the oceans, a groundswell erupts, knocking enemies into the air, damaging and binding them.
• EMERGENCE: Alani summons a water dragon that deals damage to everything caught in its wake.
• (Passive) OSMOSIS: Alani’s healing abilities swell and recede like the tide. Successfully landing hits with Torrent grants up to three stacks to temporarily increase the healing power of Wellspring.

Additionally, Battleborn’s next hero has also been revealed. In a blog post, 2K revealed the “cold-blood killer” character Pendles, who is some kind of awesome-looking reptile.

Pendles is scheduled to debut in the “next couple months,” becoming Battleborn’s 27th hero. You will be able to unlock Pendles by spending 47,500 credits or by using 1 hero key. “We’ll have more info on Pendles, including his abilities and release date as, we get closer to his release,” 2K said.

In another blog post, 2K confirmed that the ongoing Battleborn price cut–which knocks the base game down to $40 and Digital Deluxe edition to $55–will be good through May 28. 2K says the price drop aims to celebrate Alani’s release; it also comes the same week that competing title Overwatch launches.

For more on today’s Battleborn update, which makes gameplay balance tweaks and more, check out the full patch notes here.

You can also check out GameSpot’s Battleborn review here.

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It’s a big day for The Division.

The shooter’s latest major free update, 1.2/Conflict, arrives today on all platforms, introducing a new Incursion, more PvE content, loot changes, and more.

As GameSpot reported earlier, the new Incursion is called Clear Sky, and it is set in Columbus Circle. You must be level 30 to attempt the raid, which is designed for four players. Hard mode is available now, but Challenge mode isn’t coming until later.

As for the new PvE content, there are now High-Level Targets to take out, as well as Search and Destroy missions. The new “hijack” feature for the Dark Zone changes things up by allowing players to cut the extraction rope, causing all the loot to spill on the ground, spoiling other players’ extraction attempts.

The update also changes the loot system to be more generous–players can now expect better loot quantity and quality. Additionally, a number of bugs are being fixed with the update, including one that involved players falling through the map in Brooklyn.

You can see the complete patch notes for The Division 1.2 here.

Recently, Ubisoft acknowledged that The Division’s end-game content was lacking. The new Incursion and the fresh PvE activities are designed to draw players back.

The Division’s 1.2/Conflict update is out now across PS4, Xbox One, and PC. Paid expansions Underground, Survival, and Last Stand are coming later.

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It was reported last week that Warner had created a new film division to focus specifically on their DC superhero properties. Now Geoff Johns, one of the two heads of DC Films, has discussed his new role and revealed that is already working on Ben Affleck’s standalone Batman film.

Johns spoke to Comicbook.com and clarified his role as DC Film’s chief creative officer. “My job is to help other Warner Brothers divisions work with DC,” he said. “I work with Warner TV and producers to get these shows up and running, in particular with The Flash, where I co-created the show, wrote a few episodes, wrote the pilot episode.

“I’m [also] working on Batman with Ben Affleck. That gets the Thanksgiving table excited, especially my brother.”

In addition, Johns revealed that he was involved with the development of video games set within the DC universe. “I work with people [such as] Ames Kirshen in games, [and] the studios like Rocksteady and Netherrealm,” he explained. “I go in there on character choices, stories they’re going to do, and brainstorm on that, try to keep it true to comics.”

The creation of DC Films follows the disappointing box office returns for the recent Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Although the film has made a profit, it suffered a dramatic second week audience drop-off, and had been very much eclipsed by the huge success of Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War.

The development of the Batman film was confirmed by Warner CEO Kevin Tsujihara in April. It has been rumoured that Affleck will also write and direct the film, and earlier this month BMD reported that Affleck was keen to make “the ultimate Batman story,” featuring a host of cameos and villainous characters from the world of the Caped Crusader.

Affleck will also make an appearance in Suicide Squad, the next movie in the DC universe, which hits cinemas on August 4.

Johns also spoke to GameSpot this week about his involvement in DC’s comic books, and in particular the launch of DC Universe: Rebirth this week. Read the interview here.

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Rocket League is being updated today to support cross-play between Xbox One and PC, developer Psyonix announced this morning. This is notable (“a historic moment in multiplayer gaming,” the developer says) because Rocket League becomes the first Xbox One game to allow cross-play with PC.

Lionhead’s Fable Legends was also going to offer cross-play between Xbox One and PC, but that game was canceled. The PlayStation 4 version of Rocket League already supports cross-play with PC.

Psyonix also announced today that almost 2 million people have now played Rocket League on Xbox One since its launch in February. That doesn’t necessarily mean the game has sold that many copies on Microsoft’s console, however. Whatever the case, cross-play with PC will undoubtedly increase the pool of available players.

When cross-play goes live at 3 PM PST / 6 PM EST today, Xbox One players can choose to include–or prohibit–PC players from their matches by checking a box in the Options menu.

“We’re really excited to bring Xbox One and PC players closer together,” Psyonix VP Jeremy Dunham said in a statement. “Cross-network play has been something that Xbox One gamers have been asking us for since the day we launched, and thanks to Microsoft’s new cross-network policies, w”re proud to give it to them.”

In March, Microsoft made a big announcement when it said it would natively support cross-platform play between Xbox One, Windows 10, and other “online multiplayer networks.” The move effectively opens the Xbox Live platform so that it can accommodate players on Sony’s PlayStation Network, among others.

There have been no Xbox One/PS4 cross-play games yet, but Rocket League could be the first, if it’s ever allowed. Psyonix said it’s not a technical matter holding it back, but rather it’s an issue of politics.

“The only thing we have to do now is sort of find out where we stand politically with everyone, and then it’s full steam ahead to finish the solution that we’ve already started,” Dunham said in March.

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