Microsoft announced today that new Forza Horizon 2 content is now available on Xbox One in the form of the Falken Car Pack. You can buy the add-on, which introduces five new cars (listed below) to the recently released racing game, today for $5 through Xbox Live.
People who don’t pay are getting a bonus, too, as Microsoft also today released the 1990 Subaru Legacy RS for all players. Xbox 360 players aren’t getting any of the new content, as all Forza Horizon 2 DLC will be released only on Xbox One, Microsoft clarified last month.
It is unclear if the Falken Car Pack is included with the $25 Forza Horizon 2 Car Pass. GameSpot has followed up with Microsoft for clarification.
The Falken Car Pack includes:
2014 Alfa Romeo 4C
2014 BMW M4 Coupe
2014 Chevrolet SS
1988 Lamborghini Jalpa
1969 Toyota 2000GT
1990 Subaru Legacy RS (for all players)
For a closer look at the six cars included with Forza Horizon 2’s Falken Car Pack, check out the video above and the image gallery below.
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THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS ABOUT CALL OF DUTY: ADVANCED WARFARE.
We’ve already told you what we think about Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, but what about comedian Conan O’Brien? If you were waiting for O’Brien’s opinion, now you’re in luck, as he has posted his “review” of Sledgehammer Games’ just-released shooter as part of his “Clueless Gamer” segment.
Check out the video above to see O’Brien play a few minutes of Advanced Warfare and make all manner of jokes about the game. O’Brien makes fun of the game’s funeral scene (“hold X to pay respects”) and the way in which you perform a double jump–“I’d like to double tap that A,” he says.
O’Brien also jabs at the virtual version of Kevin Spacey depicted in the game, saying his character’s eyes are not rendered very believably.
According to a previous report, some publishers pay to have their games appear on O’Brien’s Clueless Gamer segment, though it is unclear if this was the case with Advanced Warfare.
Advanced Warfare was released on Monday through the Day Zero edition and is available everywhere today. For more on the game, check out GameSpot’s review and what other critics are saying.
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The adscan comes by way of Black Friday deals site Bfads.net. Dell has yet to officially announce its Black Friday deals, so you should take this with a grain of salt for now.
The PS4 deal is Dell’s “doorbuster” sale, and will supposedly begin on Thursday, November 27 (that’s Thanksgiving Day) at 6 PM Eastern. The deal is available online only.
According to the ad, Dell only has a “limited” number of the PS4 bundles in stock at this price, so if you want one, you’ll probably need to to log on to Dell’s website exactly at 6 PM to have a shot.
Black Friday is the unofficial start to the holiday shopping season. Though Dell is one of the first out of the gate, we’re expecting many more adscans to start showing up for other big-name retailers. GameSpot will have more deals coverage for you in the lead-up to Black Friday later this month.
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The next Nintendo Direct video broadcast will take place tomorrow, November 5, starting at 5 PM Eastern, the Mario company announced today. Nintendo isn’t saying much about it, other than to promise that the presentation will include “updates about upcoming games for 3DS and Wii U.”
The Nintendo Direct video will be broadcast through Nintendo’s special website. If we are able to embed the stream in a post, we’ll have that for you as well.
What are you hoping to see/learn during tomorrow’s Nintendo Direct? Let us know in the comments below. And be sure to check back on Wednesday for all the news as soon as it’s announced.
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“For this round of achievements, we wanted to focus on community and the new multiplayer features being offered by the new maps and modes within Halo 2: Anniversary multiplayer,” developer 343 Industries wrote on its website.
The 50 new achievements span all games included in the Master Chief Collection–Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, Halo 3, and Halo 4. They also run across single- and multiplayer modes, awarding gamescore for all manner of in-game feats such as beating all Legendary missions in under three hours (one for each game), getting 25 kills with the Gungoose in Halo 2, and spotting the hippo on the walls of Headlong in classic multiplayer (Halo 2).
There are also new miscellaneous and custom games achievements, including one called “Bite the Hand.” You’ll earn this if you take down a 343 Industries developer, or someone who already has the achievement, on the battlefield.
For more on The Master Chief Collection, which launches November 11, check out GameSpot’s hands-on preview in the video above.
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“The PS4 version’s constant 1080p output comes at a price,” reads a line from the report.
“We catch dips between the 50-60fps lines during battles through Seoul’s streets–with drops to the high 40s caught when throwing the ‘threat’ grenades to scan the area for enemies,” it goes on. “Even in perfectly matched scenes, the Xbox One’s performance tends to hold at a perfect 60fps by comparison.”
Earlier this week, Advanced Warfare developer Sledgehammer Games revealed that, just like 2013’s Call of Duty: Ghosts before it, the game runs in 1080p on PS4 and something less on Xbox One.
Digital Foundry’s report runs counter to what Sledgehammer co-founder Michael Condrey said recently, when he explained that both the Xbox One and PS4 versions of Advanced Warfare run at a “rock solid” 60fps.
In August this year, Microsoft’s gaming boss, Phil Spencer, said frame rate is “significantly more important” to gameplay than resolution.
Check out the video below to see a side-by-side frame rate comparison of Advanced Warfare on Xbox One and PS4. Be sure to set your quality to 720p or 1080p.
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Grand Theft Auto fans will want to set an alarm for 9 AM Pacific / 12 Noon Eastern today, as that is when Rockstar Games will release new gameplay footage and fresh details for the upcoming Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC versions of Grand Theft Auto V.
“Interviews and new info” are also promised, according to IGN.
A Pikachu balloon will make its 15th straight appearance at the 88th annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade later this month, but the famous creature will sport a new look this year.
As you can see in the promotional poster above, this year’s Pikachu balloon will sport a “Snowman Pikachu” redesign. Not much has changed, however, as all that’s been added is a winter-themed red and green scarf and a doll.
This year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will be held on Thursday, November 27 in New York City. There will also be a Skylanders balloon this year, according to the poster.
The Xbox One is now available starting at $350, thanks to a temporary price cut that went into effect on November 2. This price drop was a “big move” for Microsoft as it relates to competing against the rival PlayStation 4, according to Phil Spencer, who is Head of Xbox.
“The pricing that’s going to run through the holidays is a big move for us. I think it’s a good time for us to go in, and, let’s just say it–compete,” Spencer said during the latest Major Nelson Radio podcast.
The PS4 has sold more than 13.5 million units to date, according to the latest data from Sony. Microsoft has not shared Xbox One sales data as frequently as Sony has, though sales of Microsoft’s latest system are believed to be north of 5 million units.
We’ll get an idea about how effective the $50 price cut was for Microsoft either when the company shares sales data or in December when the NPD Group announces its video game sales report from the month of November.
Also in the podcast, Spencer said the $50 price drop was planned “months” in advance of the rollout on November 2, so that Microsoft could coordinate with retailers across the United States. Overall, Spencer said he’s optimistic about the value the Xbox One offers this holiday.
“The diversity of what we’re bundling, the different consoles that are there, getting to reduce the price by $50 across all of the different consoles, I think is a great opportunity,” he said. “And it’s a good time. It’s a good time to be a gamer.”
Game development can “destroy” a person’s social life, according to Super Smash Bros. series director Masahiro Sakurai. In his latest Weekly Famitsu column, Sakurai spells out the personal toll game development can have on a person, at least for a game like Super Smash Bros.
“Making things like this takes its toll,” Sakurai wrote, as translated by Kotaku. “Developing Smash Bros. destroys a lot of one’s private life.”
Sakurai explained that he often considers delegating tasks to other employees more regularly, but this is not always possible. “As a result, I work from mornings to late nights, even on weekends and holidays,” he said. “I hardly have any free time, let alone time to play other games.”
This intense work schedule is not a new thing for Sakurai. He revealed that during the end of development on 2008’s Wii game Super Smash Bros. Brawl, there were times when he would work for 40 straight hours, only taking four hours off to sleep before returning to the office.
“I hardly have any free time, let alone time to play other games” — Masahiro Sakurai
The hours have not been as long for the new Super Smash Bros. game for 3DS and Wii U, he explained. However, due to a long list of new features, as well as his advancing age, development has been no walk in the park, either.
“I’m not young anymore so I can’t push myself like I did then, but I feel that the business due to the sheer amount of features [in the games] was much greater this time around,” he said. “My routine was trying to complete my daily work every day while doing my best to maintain my health day after day.”
Sakurai also explained that the stress of his daily duties sometimes makes him consider what life is really all about. “Sometimes I wind up thinking about life itself. Things like ‘why is it again that people are born?’” Sakurai said. “The work is large enough and difficult enough that it can affect how you look at life.”
If Nintendo moves forward with another Super Smash Bros. game, Sakurai said he’ll need to carefully consider how he approaches development as it relates to maintaining a healthier work/life balance. “I’ve passed my limit long ago,” he said.
Though Sakurai’s comments might lead you to believe he is unhappy with his role and position, he assures fans that the opportunity to work on and shape a beloved franchise such as Super Smash Bros. is not lost on him.
“I believe I should be thankful that I am given such funds to be able to use such iconic characters and content that represent Japanese games with such freedom, and have multitudes of people across the world play with them,” he said.
Sakurai further mentioned that he hopes his story can help people hoping to break into the industry understand the realities of game development. He ended his column, saying: “I’m not depressed and I continue to remain healthy and positive, but developing Smash Bros. is beyond hard.”
In addition to mental pain around the development of Super Smash Bros., last year, Sakurai revealed that he was suffering from calcific tendinitis and muscle ruptures in his right shoulder, which affected mobility of his right arm.
