The NBA playoffs begin today, and if you’re so inclined, you can skip the next two months of professional basketball. The Golden State Warriors will be the 2014-15 NBA champions, at least according to an NBA 2K15 simulation.
As all sports game makers do (see: EA with Madden and NHL 15), 2K has used its latest game to predict the outcome of the playoffs. The Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers–the two favorites, at least according to betting odds–will meet in the Finals, with the Warriors coming out on top in a six-game series.
You can see the full bracket above for how things turned out. There weren’t many upsets–the Spurs are favored over the Clippers in real life despite being the lower seed–or surprises, perhaps save for the Nets actually winning a game (keep in mind, I’m a Knicks fan).
Despite being a weak defensive team in real life, 2K notes in its full summary of the simulated playoffs that it was the Cavs’ defense that helped them to top the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference Finals. That defense wouldn’t hold up, even in 2K’s sim, as the Warriors’ Steph Curry would score 40-plus points in the fifth and sixth games of the Finals–a Warriors loss and a win, respectively–to win the NBA Championship.
The first patch for the PC version of Grand Theft Auto V has been released, and it resolves a number of issues players have been reporting this week.
The fixes in this patch are truly wide-ranging–they deal with everything from crashes in the launcher and frame rate issues to much stranger things, like birds not flying properly in Rockstar Editor clips and players’ eyebrows and facial features being changed when they’re transferred to PC.
Patch 1.01 also addresses the bizarre issue that prevents the game from installing and running properly if you have anything but a letter or number in your Windows username. Rockstar offered a workaround for that earlier this week–basically, make a new user account and name it only using letters A-Z and numbers 0-9. If you did so, Rockstar’s support website has been updated with details on how to continue your progress from the new Windows account on your old one.
Other problems that continue to exist aren’t things Rockstar can necessarily fix–for instance, to not lose your vehicles from the Xbox 360/PS3 versions of GTA Online, you need to log in to the game from that console before initiating the PC transfer process if you haven’t played since December 2013. For more details on that, Windows Media Player problems, and other issues, check out our list of workarounds.
Read on for the full list of 1.01 patch notes.
Fixed an issue where the GTA V Launcher would use an abnormally high percentage of CPU and sometimes crash
Fixed an issue where frame rate would drop when left-clicking the mouse while driving
Added a grid to the Golf mini-game to show the topology of the green while putting
Fixed an issue where a character’s eyebrows or other facial features could change erroneously when transferred to PC
Fixed an issue where a some players were asked to transfer their GTA Online character while a transfer was already in progress
YouTube uploads via the Rockstar Editor will now correctly resume if Internet connection is lost during the upload and later restored
Fixed a rare issue where the game could crash while using the Rockstar Editor
Projects containing deleted clips will now load properly in the Rockstar Editor and warn the player of the missing clips
Fixed an issue where birds were not recorded correctly in Rockstar Editor clips
Corrected an issue where certain characters in Windows usernames would cause the Launcher to fail to load or other undesired game behavior. For details, see this page.
Fixed an issue where players with one garage would not be able to replace an existing vehicle if the garage was full and the new vehicle was purchased from an in-game website
Additional fixes to prepare for iFruit support
Crew Tire Smoke can no longer be purchased if you are not in a Crew
PS4 Returns to #1 Spot in US Hardware Sales During March: After being outsold by the Nintendo 3DS in March, Sony’s new console took back the top spot, becoming the best-selling console for March in the United States, according to NPD data.
Halo Online, the free-to-play PC game built for Russia, continues to look darn impressive. It was made using a modified version of the engine behind 2007’s Halo 3, but that doesn’t mean the game looks eight years old. Check out this video that shows off how great the game looks.
Did you enjoy Ubisoft’s Child of Light? If you did, you’ll probably be happy to learn that the the developer said this week that “very cool projects in process set in the Child of Light universe” are currently being explored. More news is expected “soon.” Perhaps E3?
Did you know that San Francisco Giants infielder Matt Duffy loves Call of Duty? Not only does he enjoy Activision’s shooter franchise, however, but he plays with his (enormous) cat on his lap. Seems about right. Here’s a picture:
Matt Duffy of the #SFGiants plays Call of Duty w/family cat Skeeter, his tactical field advisor. Photo by Tom Duffy. pic.twitter.com/mlX3nsJbrz
Have an extra $550 laying around? Love Metal Gear Solid? If that’s you, you’re in luck, as Musterbrand is currently offering a $550 snazzy-looking Snake jacket. Check it out here.
After three delays, gorgeous-looking racing game Project Cars has officially gone gold, meaning development has concluded. The game is due to launch in mid-May for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC. The Wii U edition is due to launch sometime later, though a release date for this version has not been announced.
Developers who worked on the N64 classic Banjo-Kazooie are now making a spiritual successor–Project Ukulele–at their new studio, Playtonic. This week, the team published the first fully animated character model–and it’s quite excellent, if not a bit horrifying.
Italy is getting a pretty excellent PlayStation 4 bundle that comes with a system and copies of The Last of Us Remastered, Bloodborne, and The Order: 1886. Will it come to the United States? Sony hasn’t said yet, but you can cross your fingers and hope, at least. Read more about it here.
EliteGamingLive, a competitive gaming company, is looking to grow. The platform, which aims to give benefits regularly awarded to traditional athletes–such as interaction with teammates and coaches, among other things–to gamers. The group has gotten off the ground at a number of Indianopolis schools, but is looking to expand further. You can read more about the group and its efforts at the EliteGamingLive website.
Drunk man gets Charmander tattoo, which–as you might have expected–didn’t come out so great. The best (worst?) part? This was a DYI Stick ‘n’ Poke tattoo that he did himself, not at a tattoo place. Get all the frightneing (awesome?) details at The Mirror.
Not only will Geralt’s beard grow over time in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, but his face will change–potentially drastically–during the course of your playthrough. The higher his toxicity is (after drinking elixirs), the more ravaged his face will look. Take a peek in the image below, from Game Informer.
A new WWE 2K video game came out this week in the form of the first simulation-based WWE game for mobile platforms. Called WWE 2K, the game is available now on iOS and Android devices for $8.
Nintendo has announced a new partnership with GameTruck to bring exciting-sounding Wii U shooter Splatoon to the company’s entire suite of trucks starting in June. The trucks, more than 100 in all, will start showing up across the country’s major metropolitan areas in June, after the game arrives on May 29. You can get all the details here.
Here’s a treat for your eyeballs–14 minutes of Project Cars on PS4 running at 1080p. Wow! The game arrives for PS4, Xbox One, and PC next month. A Wii U version is also in the works, but it probably won’t look this good.
Mobile game developer Pocket Gems has released its latest game, a 3D RTS title for iPhone and iPad (with Apple Watch integration) called War Dragons. The game was built using the developers in-house Mantis Engine, which allows for 3D graphics and synchronous multiplayer, among other things. War Dragons features PvP and team-based battles. You can download the game right now from iTunes here.
Gaikai boss Dave Perry, who now works for Sony following that company’s acquisition of his three years ago, has written a blog post about why he thinks OnLive kicked the bucket. You can read his thoughts here.
Developers will soon be able to make New Nintendo 3DS games using the Unity game engine, according to Gamasutra. “Nintendo and its third-party developers will also have access to Unity platform support,” the site writes.
Mortal Kombat X has crowned its first eSports champion. 17-year-old Dominique “cR|Sonic Fox” McLean dominated the competition (he lost only one game) at the ESL Mortal Kombat X Fatal 8 Tournament recently. Get the full story over at IGN.
Gamers make the best workers. That’s according to this funny new video from Curse. I think they make some pretty good points! Check out the video and let us know what you think.
There’s a new streaming service in town and it’s called Restream. It’s meant to allow users to stream a variety of services–like YouTube, Twitch, and Ustream–simultaneously. Check it out here.
After redeeming himself in his game against Elomingle, David “Yusui” Bloomquist, the mid-laner for Cloud 9’s challenger team, Cloud 9 Tempest, took time out to discuss his performance in the Alpha Draft tournament, his strengths as a mid-laner and his amazing win streak on his solo-queue smurf account. We also took some time to talk about C9T’s goals for the summer split and the reason behind NA’s tendency to disregard their own domestic talent.
GameSpot: What were C9T’s expectations coming into the AlphaDraft tournament? What were you looking to get out of it?
David “Yusui” Bloomquist: Our team’s main goal is to get experience and exposure. Going into the tournament with a new roster and not having played as a team for long definitely led to some shakiness at the beginning, but I think that people watching can expect to see us improve throughout the tournament. We’re hoping to play to the best of our ability and we should be able to win the tournament if we do.
Your team seemed to struggle against Misifts. What went wrong?
There were a multitude of errors but I want to say our biggest flaw was in pick and ban. But we’ve improved significantly in that area following the loss. I was playing on Corki, a champion I wasn’t comfortable with, and our draft, in general, didn’t play to our team’s strength. Misfits played really well around the map and, coupled with my misplay in the mid lane, they were able to take complete control of the game and outscale us.
How does the shot-calling work for C9T?
Our shot-calling early game is really clear-cut since it revolves around Tony’s (C9 Hard) next gank or invade. As a team, we also talk about the current status of our lanes and any cooldowns that might’ve been used. Moving into the mid game, I would say the primary shot callers in team fights are Solo and Sheep. Lod and Sheep make the calls for most of the rotations. We all do our part in talking and making sure things are structured.
As a team, what do you think your biggest strengths are? And personally, what do you think your biggest strength is as a mid-laner?
Our biggest strength is knowing how to rotate around the map and abuse a lead, especially with split push champions. I think we have the highest amount of individual skill out of any of the challenger teams. And personally, my biggest strength as a mid-laner would probably be my champion pool, the number of play-styles I can adapt to and my decision making and mechanics in the later stages of the game, like team fighting, wave control, split-pushing, and getting picks.
On that note, how do you feel you’ve adapted to the new Cinderhulk/Juggermaw meta? Do you think the mid-laner’s role has shifted and changed from before?
While the tank meta has had a pretty negative impact on my experience playing solo-queue as a mid-laner—for example, it’s harder to carry when there are 3k HP jungles at 20 minutes—I think that the role is more or less the same in competitive play. The majority of gold is still funneled onto the two carry roles and, while the meta champions have changed to a certain extent, the role is still to get farmed and carry team fights or make a big impact somewhere else on the map.
You were on a huge win streak on one of your smurf accounts going 53-0 at one point, playing mainly jungle. How did this happen? What goes through your mind when you’re in champ select? Do you follow a strict jungle path or do you look at the match-ups and let that dictate your pace in game?
Jungle has always been an amazing role to play in solo queue if your goal is to carry the game. With the introduction of Cinderhulk, you can make a huge impact early and still scale insanely well into the mid and late game. I know for a fact I wouldn’t have kept up my streak playing mid lane simply because you can’t make the same impact. In champion select, I focus on picking a jungle with a strong level 2 invade, like Nidalee or Rek’Sai, and aim to kill or at least deny the enemy jungler’s first buff. Either that, or I pick a champion that can build Cinderhulk and scale really effectively, like Gragas or Zac. I would say the best way to play jungle in solo queue is keep your primary focus on staying ahead of the enemy jungler and use your item and level advantage to control the pace of the game, making plays around the map. Don’t gank too much early on or you’ll fall behind the rest of the map.
What are C9T’s goals for the rest of the season?
C9T is playing to make LCS so the goal would be winning this upcoming NACS split.
You’ve mentioned a couple times on Twitter that NA has a tendency to disregard their own talent pool. Why do you think that is?
The three main reasons that come to mind. First off, NA solo-queue is not reflective of skill and is generally a big “trollfest” unless you get into a game with multiple LCS players on their main roles. There aren’t many players actually capable of succeeding in the LCS, and a lot of the challenger talent are still in high school and don’t want to risk their academic futures to make it into the LCS.
So we have the finals this weekend with TSM vs. Cloud9 and the third place decider TL vs. TiP. Any predictions?
Last weekend I predicted a 3-2 TL win and a 3-1 TIP win so I guess you can call me the reverse prophet. In that spirit, 3-1 C9 incoming.
How do you think NA stacks up internationally now after IEM?
It’s hard to say because I think the GE Tigers lost because they were trolling and underestimating WE. Overall, I think that Korea is still the strongest region with China trailing very slightly. NA and EU are really far behind, with the exception of TSM. My order of regions if I had to make one would be:
1. Korea
2. China
3. EU
4. NA
Lastly, is there anything you’d like to say to your fans?
Thank you so much for the continued support and I promise to do my best to make it up to the people who believe in me by proving myself on the big stage.
In a blog post on the official US PlayStation website, Sony announced that Ultra Street Fighter IV on PS4 will have a simultaneous worldwide release. Other Ocean Interactive will be handling the port of the Capcom-developed fighter. An Xbox One version wasn’t mentioned, but that isn’t surprising since the announcement is on an official Sony blog. However, it’s possible that the port, like Street Fighter V, may be a console exclusive for PS4.
The new edition will come with all of the characters and DLC that have been released so far, More importantly for hardcore fighting game fans, the developer reports that it has “eliminated” the input lag present in the PS3 version.
Ultra Street Fighter IV will be available for $24.99 on PlayStation Network, and as of right now, no physical editions are in the works. GameSpot reviewed Ultra Street Fighter IV when it released last year, awarding it an eight out of ten, and citing great new characters and fighting mechanics.
Given the string of recent, high-profile attacks, it’s no surprise that companies have been looking to boost their security, and PC gaming mega-store Steam is the latest to take that leap.
Earlier this week, Steam announced that they’d be opening up a Mobile Authenticator beta group. Interested users have been invited to join the group, where they will be placed into a pool for possible selection. If chosen, they can download an Android or iOS app that will secure that user’s account with two-factor authentication.
Two-factor security is a relatively recent trend in computer security. You can already enable it for many commonly used websites like Gmail, Facebook, and Twitter. It works on the principal that people can achieve better security by requiring both something that you know (typically a password) and something that you have (like a phone app or key card). This makes it extremely hard for someone to gain unauthorized access to your account even if they have one of the pieces (typically your password).
Steam will be enabling access for select users with Android devices starting today. An app will be available for iOS soon.
[UPDATE] Following the leak, Warner Bros. has now published the official version.
The original story is below.
It’s been a big week for exciting new movie trailers. Yesterday, Disney released the next teaser trailer for Star Wars Episode VII — The Force Awakens. And now, a trailer for Zack Snyder’s Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice has leaked, and you can watch the full video above–but be warned it’s a bit blurry and was meant for an international audience so it has some subtitles.
But we do we get a closer look at Henry Cavill as Clark Kent/Superman and Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne/Batman. It also teases some story elements and has a generally dark tone.
The trailer is set to hit IMAX theaters this coming Monday, April 20, according to Snyder. As for the full movie, it’s due to hit theaters in March 2016. The Social Network actor Jesse Eisenberg will play Lex Luthor, while Amy Adams stars as Lois Lane.
What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.
Kung Jin, a new playable character in Mortal Kombat X, might well be the series’ first gay character, at least according to Gay Star News. That’s based on two big pieces of evidence. The first is a cutscene, shown above, where Kung Jin has a conversation with series regular, Raiden.
The above video shows a scene between the two fighters after a battle. In it, Kung Jin says that fighting Raiden made him “feel like shit.” Raiden comforts him by saying “Self-loathing has always been an unfortunate part of your make-up.”
Raiden tries to convince Kung Jin to train in Shao Lin and become a warrior, honoring his ancestors. In response, Kung Jin says, “I can’t… they won’t… accept…” Raiden interrupts him, saying “They care only about what is in your heart. Not whom your heart desires.”
The next bit of evidence comes from a tweet by the cinematic director for Mortal Kombat X, Dominic Cianciolo, who seemed to confirm the rumors. “I see people are picking up on the subtle exposition contained in Kung Jin’s flashback,” he said. “Glad we have observant fans!”
@bcharred I see people are picking up on the subtle exposition contained in Kung Jin’s flashback. Glad we have observant fans!
PC gaming company Razer has announced the latest addition to its Chroma series of gaming keyboards, the Razer BlackWidow Tournament Edition Chroma Keyboard.
Available now from the company’s website for $140, the Tournament Edition Chroma Keyboard has 16.8 million customizable color options, a detachable USB cable, and all the keys you’d expect, of course. This is all packed into a “sleek, compact form factor,” Razer writes.
“Users can define their own key zones, customize lighting effects, and add multiple effects layers on each zone for a personalized lighting display using Razer Synapse,” the company explains.
Head to the keyboard’s website to tinker with the color options to see what it has to offer.
The Tournament Edition Chroma keyboard also comes with mechanical switches that have “optimized actuation” and a “distinct tactile feel” that should help players have better reaction times in gaming sessions. Finally, the keyboard has been rated to withstand up to 60 million keystrokes, Razer said.
For a closer look at Razer’s new keyboard, check out some images in the gallery below.
Not long after a modder showed us what Grand Theft Auto V would look like in virtual reality, someone else has gone even further with the concept. Virtuix, makes of the omnidirectional virtual reality treadmill Omni, has published a video showing off GTA V in virtual reality using the upcoming treadmill technology.
Watch as the player, wearing an Oculus Rift headset and wielding a gun controller, actually runs on the treadmill to virtually move around the world of Rockstar’s Los Santos.
During this demonstration, he enters a convenience store and kills the clerk. After that he goes outside and guns down more people. Virtuix notes in the video’s description that, “We do not condone the violence in this video.”
Would you ever want to play GTA V in this manner? Let us know in the comments below.
Virtuix successfully crowdfunded the Omni treadmill on Kickstarter, raising more than $1 million. The Omni treadmill starts at $700, and you can pre-order one today from the company’s website.
GameSpot’s GTA V PC review praised the game’s improved visuals and frame rate.
“It looked great on PS4 and Xbox One, but GTA V shines on PC thanks to 4K-grade textures, the availability of additional post-processing effects, and an unlocked frame rate,” reviewer Peter Brown said. “Previous versions of the game played just fine at 30 frames per second, but you quickly appreciate the added fluidity of playing at 60 FPS (if not more) on PC.”
