Category: Gamespot

Here’s something for Halo fans to do while they wait for Microsoft to fix Halo: The Master Chief Collection’s matchmaking issues. TriForce has revealed a pair of Halo 2: Anniversary Plasma Rifle replicas, which are available for preorder from the company’s website today, though they aren’t cheap.

To secure the red “Brute” model you see above, you’ll need to pay a $162.50 non-refundable deposit of the total $650 price. A blue version is available for $600 with a required deposit of $150.

Both are described as “full scale” replicas, measuring 24.5″ tall and weighing 15 pounds. They are hand-painted and finished, and even feature working LED effects. Only 150 of the red units will be made, while TriForce will create 500 of the blue version.

TriForce is also behind the $750, 35-pound Evolve statue series.

The Master Chief Collection was released last week on Xbox One. Problems with the game’s matchmaking immediately came to light, with many users reporting long wait times to find matches. Developer 343 Industries is aware of the trouble, and is working on a fix, which should be deployed on Wednesday, November 19.

Check out the image gallery below for a closer look at the Halo 2 Anniversary replica plasma rifles.

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The next update for indie hit Goat Simulator, which its developer describes as the “world’s dumbest game,” will transform the title into a massively multiplayer online game. Swedish developer Coffee Stain Studios announced the news in a trailer on Monday, which you can watch above.

Update 1.2, which is called Goat MMO Simulator, will be released as a free expansion through Steam this Thursday, November 20. It doesn’t sound like the update is also hitting the mobile versions.

The MMO expansion for Goat Simulator is being released as a thank you to fans who bought the game, Coffee Stain said in a statement today. Goat Simulator is Coffee Stain’s most successful game to date, with over 1.1 million copies sold on PC and 500,000 on mobile.

“Once you try out our new expansion, you guys will sh*t so many bricks that it’ll trigger a new real-estate bubble,” Coffee Stain game designer and PR manager Armin Ibrisagic said.

As you can see in the video above, Goat MMO Simulator riffs on Blizzard Entertainment’s genre-defining World of Warcraft, even featuring a level cap of 101, one beyond WoW’s current max level. The game is a humorous take on the genre, of course, featuring characters including “Dumbledore the Grey” and five different playable classes, one of which is a microwave with legs.

Goat MMO Simulator has “dozens” of quests, but don’t expect a lot of content. “Prolly not tons of content tho, but don’t hate be cool,” Coffee Stain says. There are, however, dinosaurs and mermaids for some reason.

CEO Anton Westbergh added: “If anyone from Blizzard Legal is reading this then please don’t sue, be cool.”

See more of Goat MMO Simulator in the image gallery below.

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Human Element, the first game from former Call of Duty developer Robert Bowling, is changing business models. The survival game has dropped free-to-play in favor of a paid, premium experience.

Bowling, who heads up Los Angeles-based studio Robotoki, explained in a new interview that the company has ended its publishing deal with free-to-play behemoth Nexon. As a result, Robotoki laid off a number of staff, though it is unclear how deep the cuts were.

“As the game evolved we realized that the elements that make Human Element the most fun would be hindered by keeping it a free-to-play experience,” Bowling told Gamasutra. “Therefore, we made the decision to switch to a premium experience for our players; which also meant that working with the premier publisher in free-to-play was no longer the best partnership fit for the game we were creating.”

Bowling worked at Call of Duty developer Infinity Ward from 2006-2012 as the studio’s “creative strategist,” contributing to huge games like 2007’s Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. He quit in March 2012, and established Robotoki later that year.

Though Nexon is out for Human Element, Bowling said Robotoki has already lined up a new publishing partner for the game, and expects to make a formal announcement in December. The game is aiming to launch in November 2015 on PC.

Nexon might have lost Human Element, but the publisher still has the next games from the creators of Rise of Nations and Gears of War.

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The once gamer-focused TV network G4 will soon be no more. A statement from parent company NBCUniversal Cable and obtained by IGN explains that the network will officially go offline on November 30. This marks the conclusion of more than two years of uncertainty regarding the network’s future.

G4 has not aired any new original programming in quite some time. Though the network is perhaps best known for programs such as X-Play and Attack of the Show!, it most recently aired only re-runs of shows like Cops, Lost, and Ninja Warrior, as well as some movies.

Changes at G4 first came to light in September 2012, when it was announced that X-Play and Attack of the Show would be canceled as the network sought to change directions. G4 was at one time planned to stay “as is” with no new content, but this is no longer the case.

Did you ever watch G4’s original shows? What are some of your favorite memories? Let us know in the comments below!

Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com

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A client-side update that focuses on Halo: The Master Chief Collection‘s Matchmaking performance, Matchmaking bugs, and a variety of title-specific issues is targeted for Wednesday November 19, 343 Industries executive producer Dan Ayoub said on the game’s website.

Ayoub said that while its data shows that the patches 343 released in the last last 24 hours have increased server connectivity by 20 percent, the developer is well aware that performance is not where it needs to be. He explained that resolving the Matchmaking issues also required client-side fixes via a content update, which has already been completed and is currently going through testing and certification.

“We know the current Matchmaking experience is frustrating, and we continue to have various teams working 24/7 to isolate and resolve the issues to provide the best experience as soon as possible,” Ayoub said. “We are going to continue to optimize the matchmaking experience after next week’s content update, and make further adjustments as needed. We thank you for your continued patience.”

For more on the game, check out our previous coverage.

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The PC version of Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes will be locked at 60 frames per second, developer Kojima Productions has confirmed via a post to the game’s Steam Discussion page.

Kojima Productions also said that DualShock 3 and DualShock 4, while supported, will not have proprietary input displays in the UI. As is the case with most console-to-PC ports, the UI will display Xbox controller inputs.

Of course, you can also play the game and configure your inputs however you like with a mouse and keyboard. Kojima Productions has also released an infographic detailing all the control option for PC, which you can see below.

The publisher did not share the minimum or recommended PC requirements for Ground Zeroes, but the company said the game will support 4K resolution. The PC version will also feature increased shadow resolution, more simultaneous light sources, and an increase in the number of on-screen character models shown at the same time.

Ground Zeroes, which launches on PC December 18, is the prologue to Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, which will launch in 2015 for Xbox One and PlayStation 4. A PC version of the game is also in the works, though Konami has not announced when it will be released.

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We’re seeing more and more games take advantage of Steam’s Early Access program, but so far only 25 percent of them have been finished and released as full games, according to a report by video game research provider EEDAR.

As EEDAR’s Head of Insights and Analytics Patrick Walker writes in a post for Games Industry International, Steam has seen a sharp increase in game releases, with 1303 new games in 2014 so far compared to 2013’s 583, and Early Access game releases have increased accordingly since the program was first introduced in March 2013.

There have been 255 Early Access releases in 2014 so far, compared to 103 in 2013. Of the first nine Early Access games introduced in 2013, only three have been released as full games. On average, games that have made the transition from Early Access to full release took about six months.

Walker also found that in most cases, players end up paying a little more for Early Access than they would if they waited for the full release, as most full releases are usually $1 cheaper than their Early Access versions.

The program, of course, is not without it’s success stories. DayZ, though still in Early Access, has raised an enormous amount of money, as did another survival sim, Rust, and players seem to be enjoying them. However, we’ve also seen developers release games in Early Access, then pull the game and disappear, as was the case with The Stomping Land.

What do you think about Early Access? Let us know in the comments below.

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Mike Maulbeck, the Code Avarice developer who got his game pulled from Steam after tweeting death threats addressed at Valve’s Gabe Newell last month, is back at his job despite announcing his resignation.

“This is probably not hugely surprising to some of you, but Mike couldn’t commit to his decision to leave Code Avarice,” the developer said on its website. “[Co-founder Travis Pfenning] publicly denounced his departure, and in the weeks following his official stepping down Mike had second thoughts. Looking for a new source of income was extremely overwhelming and when it finally came time to put pen to paper, Mike and Travis agreed the best thing to do would be to have Mike return to Code Avarice.”

Code Avarice’s game, Paranautical Activity, was initially highlighted on a Steam store segment featuring Halloween-themed games. Paranautical Activity was mistakenly captioned as an Early Access title despite being completed, to which Maulbeck tweeted the death threats.

Code Avarice said that it’s taking step to be more about the games and less about the people making them. Future blog posts won’t be attributed to individual developers, and Code Avarice created an official Twitter account so you don’t have to follow personal accounts.

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Samsung’s Gear VR, a virtual reality device which uses software made by Oculus, will release next month, Oculus VR has announced on its website.

The Gear VR Innovator Edition for the Galaxy Note 4 smartphone is available for pre-registration from Samsung, and is slated for delivery in the United States early next month. It will come in two versions: for $249, you’ll get the headset bundled with a Bluetooth gamepad, and for $199, you’ll get only the headset.

“The Innovator Edition, much like the Oculus Rift Development Kit, provides developers and enthusiasts everything they need to build and experiment with the platform before the hardware and software are ready for consumers,” Oculus said. “There are numerous made-for-VR apps that will ship for Gear VR over the next few months.”

Gear VR stands out for its use of the Galaxy Note 4. The enlarged smartphone slots into the headset’s micro-USB dock and acts as the screen.

Paired with the headset’s adjustable lenses, the Galaxy Note 4’s accelerometer and gyrometer are used to track head movement, thus creating a virtual reality impression.

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