Batman: Arkham Origins Season Pass

Following the trend of many games now, Batman: Arkham Origins is getting a season pass which gives a glimpse at some of the DLC to come.

There are five packs to gain through the season pass, with a large chuck of the DLC up for grabs being skins. There are fourteen skins in all, resulting in plenty of choice when it comes to dressing Batman for beating up villains. There is the New Millennium and Infinite Earth skin packs, and two additional outfits exclusive to the season pass, the Gotham by Gaslight and Brightest Day Batman Skins.  

Thankfully the season pass does not just contain skins, it also gives you the chance to play as Bruce Wayne on the challenge maps. Lastly, and I think most people will find best of all, their will be an all new story add on, although there on no more details on what this is yet.

The season pass will be £15.99 / $19.99, which is a saving on purchasing the DLC separately of about $10. I think that the season pass will prove its worth to Arkham fans through making Bruce Wayne a playable character, but largely once more details emerge about the story DLC.

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Grand Theft Auto V Micro-transactions

With rumors emerging of possible micro-transactions in GTAV online, with mixed reception, today those rumors can be put to rest with confirmation from Rock Star.

In a post on Rockstar Newswire, it is confirmed that you can purchase in-game money in GTA online in exchange for your hard earned real world cash. For those fearing that this will lead to a pay to win system, it was also stated that the micro-transactions will only allow those who partake to gain items quicker, 'You don’t have to spend real money to attain the cars, guns, clothes, flash and style of a high-roller in Los Santos, but can if you wish to get them a little quicker'. 

The newswire also gave details on reputation, which is earned through everything you do in GTA online. The higher your reputation, the more features are unlocked such as weapons and contacts, think of it as a level system, and reputation can not be bought, it has to be earned. 

Sounds fair enough to me, that if someone does not have the time or patience to earn in game cash they can spend their real life money, but that everyone else who does not want to spend their own money can still earn all the same items, just a little slower, and that everyone has to earn and build up reputation to unlock features.

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Valve announces new operating system

Valve recently released the first of three planned announcements on the evolution of Steam and the direction they plan to take it in for 2014.

They're calling the new software SteamOS and it will be their very own operating system built around Valve's digital distribution service Steam. Based on Linux with a heavy focus on giving the gamers control over content, SteamOS is a further display of Valve's efforts to get PC gaming into our living-rooms. The developers previously responsible for the likes of Half-Life, Portal and Left4Dead make this announcement at a vital time in gaming history, with the next generation of Sony and Microsoft's massively successful consoles just a few months from launch. It seems as if Valve is trying hard to contend with the gaming giants, and if their immensely popular games become exclusive to their own system, they may actually stand a pretty good chance.

This year's three news items are expected to show huge progression since 'Steam Big Picture' launched only last year: a Valve application enabling Steam gamers to play using their own TV, specially optimised for gaming controllers. Because with news of this brand new operating system to work on 'living room machines' Valve fans are intrigued as to whether one of the two remaining announcements will confirm Valve's very own living-room machine, the highly-anticipated but still only rumored 'Steam Box' console.

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Nintendo visionary Hiroshi Yamauchi dies aged 85

Nintendo pioneer Hiroshi Yamauchi, who ran the games company for more than 50 years and turned it into an iconic brand, has died. Yamauchi was just 22 when he took over the family business from his ailing grandfather and he went on to head the firm for over half a century. As president through the SNES, Nintendo 64, and GameCube eras Yamauchi saw Nintendo through all its highs and lows, until he stepped down from his role as president in 2002. All though stepping down Yamuchi is still credited as the brains behind the concept to the Nintendo DS - the most popular handheld gaming device of all time. Yamuchi remained Nintendo’s largest shareholder and was one of Japan’s richest men, with a net worth of approximately £1.6 billion. Details of Yamauchi’s death have not been revealed, but Nintendo has released this short statement: "Nintendo is in mourning today from the sad loss of the former Nintendo president Mr Hiroshi Yamauchi, who sadly passed away this morning".

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Dark Souls 2 Release Date Announced

Dark Souls II will be arriving in North America on March 11th 2014, with a European release date on March 14th. News of the Dark Souls sequel came at the Tokyo Game Show where by the console versions were announced with the PC versions to come shortly afterwards. Fans are also able to pickup the Dark Souls 2 Collector's Edition which comes with 12-inch “Warrior Knight” figurine, a collectible art book, a cloth map of the game world, and the “Black Armor Edition” of the game.

At TGS a new trailer titled "Go Beyond Death" was shown which maybe the name of the PC version of the game just like Dark Souls "Prepare to Die". Check out the trailer below:

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Grand Theft Auto V makes $800 million in 24 hours

Grand Theft Auto V is officially the fastest selling game of all time grossing $800 million in 24 hours. GTA V is much closer to the $1 billion range than any other game in history including Call of Duty Black Ops 2 which reached $1 billion in just 15 days. COD managed only $500 million on day one so unless sales drop off which then GTA V is on course to becoming the best selling game of all time. With GTA V cosing $260/£170 million to make Rockstar are looking at staggering profit margins. GTA V is available now on PS3 and Xbox 360 with unannounced PS4, XB-ONE and PC versions surely to come later down the line. Be sure to check out our review... coming soon!

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Crazy Horse Gaming is Heading to the Play Expo!

Crazy Horse Gaming will be making the trip to Manchester on the 12th of October to check out the Play Expo.The Play Expo is a video gaming expo that promises the UK most diverse gaming expo with Arcade Machines retro displays as well as previews of new games that are not out yet.

"The UK’s most diverse video gaming expo is back! Play Expo returns to EventCity, Manchester on 12-13 October 2013 after a hugely successful debut last year. Play Expo will expand considerably on last year’s show and will once again feature four distinct events:re.play (retro systems and arcade/pinball machines) now.play (previews of the latest games and hardware) pro.play (casual and competitive tournaments) cos.play (costume competitions and dealers/traders)."

Crazy Horse will be there and we will be reporting back on what we find.

For more info on the Play Expo and Tickets go to; http://www.playexpo.net/

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Kojima says enemies in MGS V are too unpredictable

Hideo Kojima is going to be showing a tech demo of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain at the Tokyo Game Show however it really is a pain as apparently enemies are so unpredictable that he cannot plan a presentation beforehand.

レッツの魅せプレイを見ようとおもったら、エラーが出たので中断。

— 小島秀夫 (@Kojima_Hideo) September 15, 2013

"If you’re going to see the demo at the stage event, I may have to stop [before the end of the presentation] because of mistakes"

あらら、レッツでもやはり100%の「魅せプレイ」は難しいのか。敵の挙動が毎回違うので、予測できないから仕方ないが。途中で見つかると、予定取りにはプレゼンできない。うちのブースのステージなら、臨機応変に時間延長が可能だけど。今回はそうじゃないので。

— 小島秀夫 (@Kojima_Hideo) September 15, 2013

"Oh my, the demo for the stage event is 100% more difficult. The behavior of the enemy is different every time, I can’t help it because I cannot predict it. I found out while playing that it’s not possible to pre-plan the presentation. If it was our own booth, extending the time would be possible on a case-by-case basis, but this time it’s not."

If this is the biggest problem that Kojima is facing then all we can see is that we're really excited. Imagine an enemy so unpredictable that every time you play the game its totally different. Hopefully this will become a growing trend on all next gen titles because you cannot beat a good AI.

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PS3 Owners Can Pre-Load GTA V Before Release

Rockstar have promised in a tweet that European pre-loads of Grand Theft Auto V can be downloaded on September 15th at 3pm. Also confirmed is that US gamer's can download on September 16th at 3am. What we are sure of is that it is growing ever closer and you can be sure to see our review on what surely is gonna be one of the Games Of The Year. Meanwhile to wet your appetite check out this crazy trailer below.

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3D Realms vs. Gearbox lawsuit settled

3D Realms has dropped its lawsuit against Gearbox Software regarding unpaid royalties for Duke Nukem Forever, said 3D Realms co-founder and CEO Scott Miller in a letter to the media today. In June 3D Realms filed a lawsuit claiming Gearbox owed them over $2 million in unpaid royalties. As of now 3D Realms has issued a statement detailing a full apology and admitted it was a mistake. You can catch the fill statement below.

Sept. 11, 2013
Las Colinas, TX

To Whom It May Concern

After reviewing evidence regarding our business affairs, and without any money exchanging hands, we have satisfactorily resolved any and all differences that we perceived against Gearbox. In all sincerity, we regret the misunderstanding that instigated our lawsuit. Now that we better understand--and appreciate--the actual nature of our business matters, we have voluntarily withdrawn our claims against Gearbox, with genuine apologies to Randy for any damage that our lawsuit may have caused to the relationship.
Sincerely,

Scott Miller
Individually & On Behalf of Apogee Software Ltd d/b/a 3DRealms Entertainment

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Dishonored: GOTY coming in October

Bethesda has announced Dishonored: Game of the Year Edition will be released on October 8 in North America and on October 11 in Europe. With this the following DLC addons will be included: Dunwall City Trials, The Knife of Dunwall, The Brigmore Witches and Void Walker's. The GOTY Edition will be available in Europe on Xbox 360 and PS3 for €39.99/£29.99 and €29.99/£24.99 on PC.

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Interview with Guru Larry

The Legend that is Guru Larry returns fo another random chat with Mike while fooling around in the colourful and blocky world of Minecraft once again.

Guru Larry is a Video Game/Film Critic, reviewer and comedian on YouTube. Larry has appeared on many video game tv shows throughout the years and now has a very sucsessfull YouTube channel were you will find some great video series from Larry such as "Movie Mistakes", " Games Yanks Can't Wank (Games Never Released Outside the UK)" and "Films Yanks Can't Wank (Horrific British PSAs aimed at Kids)".

You can find theese great videos over on Larrys Channel buy clicking here.

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Sony announces new PS Vita

Sony has announced a new updated PS Vita model titled as the PS Vita 2000. The new PS Vita will be 20 percent lighter and 15 percent thinner than the current console and will come with 1GB of on board storage. The redesign boasts a high definition five inch LCD display, rather than the current Vita's OLED screen. The new PS Vita will launch in Japan on October 10th with a retal price of 18,980 yen (US$190/£109) and will be available in 6 different colors: Black, White, Limegreen/White, Light blue/White, Pink/Black and Khaki/Black.

SCE said this in a statement:

"PCH-2000 series has been developed to be more casual and friendly for a wider range of users... In addition, a high-definition liquid crystal display (LCD) has been newly adopted for the 5-inch front display which is one of the PS Vita's greatest features.
SCEE's official line on a European release is that it's "not made any announcement about whether the 2000 series will be releasing in the UK / Europe."

"Thanks to the rapid progress of LCD technology in recent years, the new display provides users with the highest-level image quality, perfect for deep and immersive gaming experience that is at the core of PS Vita."

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PS Vita TV announced

Sony has announced PlayStation Vita TV which brings portable gaming to HD TV's. Using a mini console measuring just 6.5cm by 10cm PS Vita TV will feature the same chipset as the and system software of the PS Vita and will include a Dualshock Controller and will allow users to play over 1,300 PS Vita, PSP and PlayStation games on a television. As well as all this owners will be able to watch movies, read eBooks and PlayStation Plus will also be accessible on TV and PS4 games will be playable via Remote Play.

PS Vita TV will launch in Japan on November 14 priced at 9,480 yen (£61 / $95), or 9,954 yen (£64 / $100 USD). Additionally, the device will be available for 14,980 yen (£96 / $151) bundled with a DualShock 3 controller and 8GB memory card. Globally a release date has not been announced yet.

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FIFA 14 and PES 2014 Demo's out now

FIFA 14 and PES 2014 gameplay demos are out now on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. The FIFA 14 demo weighs in at 1.6GB and can be downloaded on all platforms in all territories, while the 1.8GB PES 2014 demo is currently only available on Xbox 360 in America. The PES demo will be released on PS3 in Europe tomorrow and will be available from the European Xbox 360 store on September 12.

 The FIFA 14 demo feature's eight playable teams all from club level from across the world. The teams that are included are Barcelona, AC Milan, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur, Paris Saint-Germain, Borussia Dortmund, Boca Juniors and New York Red Bulls. Meanwhile PES 2014 will include 11 playable teams varying from club to international level. Of the featured teams Bayern Munich, Santos, Manchester United are included from club level's and all the usual international teams are included.

This year see's the first time that PES gets a head start with a release date on September 20th appearing on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC where as FIFA is due September 27th and is available on every console known to man including the PS2. Next gen iterations of FIFA 14 are available November time.

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Layoffs at BioShock Infinite Developer

BioShock Infinite developer Irrational Games laid off eight employees today, according to gaming site Kotaku. The layoffs will not affect development of BioShock Infinite's two-part Burial at Sea downloadable content. This statement has been released:

"In an effort to streamline our processes I am sad to confirm that we let go a total of 8 employees today. Any studio’s greatest asset is the group of people that make up the whole, and as such it was extremely hard to make this decision and there is never a good time for this to happen. As co-workers and friends, we wish them the very best."

 Layoffs are never good in any industry and all we can say is good luck in future and here's hoping they can produce more great game's in the same way they did with Bioshock Infinite. 

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'Halo' Dev Criticises 'MGSV' Character Design

Halo Devloper David Ellis has branded Hideo Kojima's Metal Gear Solid V character Quiet "ridiculous" and "shows that industry is full of man babies." David Ellis spoke out after Hideo Kojima announced that Metal Gear Solid V character 'Quiet' has been designed to be "sexy". 

Industry full of man babies. Ugh.
— David Ellis (@DavidEllis) September 6, 2013

Don't care if this gets me in trouble. This character design is disgusting. Our industry should be better than this. http://t.co/4CCaF1qNEP
— David Ellis (@DavidEllis) September 6, 2013

What caused Ellis to go off on one was this "What I'm really trying to do is create unique characters. One of those is, of course, Quiet. She's a really unique character, I wanted to add that sexiness to her," Kojima said. "It wasn't really supposed to be erotic, but sexy." in which case Ellis had this to say "Eccentricity is a cute cover word for objectification and sexism, sexuality can work in games and can be used for a purpose, such as in Platinum Games' "Bayoneta." But he said the effort felt cheap in "Metal Gear Solid V." 
"This feels lazy and exploitative," he said. "I like breasts as much as the next guy, but this felt icky."

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EU PS Store Update

Here is the list of the updates for the European Store:

PS3 games

Best Of PSN, Vol 1
Brothers: A Tale Of Two Sons (Trial available)
Castle Of Illusion (Trial available)
Crazy Strike Bowling
Dancestar Digital
Deadly Premonition: Director’s Cut
Diablo 3
Farming Simulator 2013
Hatsune Miku Project DIVA F
Hunter’s Trophy 2 – America (Trial available)
Whatchever

PS Vita

Atelier Meruru with Bonus
Killzone Mercenary (available from 6th September for UK/IRE)
The Walking Dead
Virtue’s Last Reward: Complete Collection

PSP

Elminage

PlayStation Mobile

Reflection Speed Game
Unicorn Savior

PS3 DLC

Borderlands 2 (x7)
Dancestar Digital (x3)
Dead Or Alive 5 Ultimate – Complete DOA5 Costumes
God Of War: Ascension (x7)
LittleBigPlanet 2 (Cross-Buy) – Warriors Of The World Pack 1
Metro: Last Light – The Tower Pack
PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale (Cross-Buy) – Heavy Hitters Pack
Saints Row IV – Dubstep Expansion
SingStar (x7)
Snowy: Treasure Hunter -Expert Pack
Tales Of Xillia (x11)

PS Vita DLC

LittleBigPlanet 2 (Cross-Buy) – Warriors Of The World Pack 1
Soul Sacrifice – The Iron Lady’S Tears Of Red

Racing deals

Absolute Supercars – Was €20.99/£16.99, now €6.19/£4.99
Ben 10 Galactic Racing (Vita) – Was €19.99/£14.99, now €9.99/£6.99
Crazy Taxi – Was €7.99/£6.49, now €3.99/£3.19
CRAZY TAXI: FARE WARS (PSP) – Was €4.49/£3.69, now €1.99/£1.59
Daytona USA – Was €7.99/£6.49, now €3.99/£3.19
DRIVER 76 (PSP) – Was €9.99/£7.99, now €4.99/£3.99
DRIVER San Francisco – Was €14.99/£10.99, now €9.99/£7.99
Ferrari Challenge Deluxe – Was €12.99/£9.99, now €3.59/£2.99
FERRARI THE RACE EXPERIENCE – Was €14.99/£11.99, now €4.49/£3.69
FUEL OVERDOSE – Was €11.99/£9.69, now €1.99/£1.59
GRID 2 – Was €59.99/£49.99, now €24.99/£19.99
Mad Riders – Was €9.99/£7.99, now €3.99/£3.19
MotoGP13 (Vita) – Was €49.99/£39.99, now €19.99/£14.99
MotoGP13 (PS3) – Was €34.99/£29.99, now €29.99/£19.99
NASCAR 2011 THE GAME – Was €9.99/£7.99, now €3.99/£3.19
RIDGE RACER 7: 3D License Ver. – Was €19.99/£15.99, now €9.99/£7.99

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Square Enix Reveals Tokyo Game Show Lineup

Square Enix has revealed the full list of games it will be showing at Tokyo Game Show later this month.

At the event there are some really big games, most notable being The Evil Within and Call Of Duty: Ghosts which Square Enix have just secured the rights to publish within Japan.

The full list of Square Enix games featured are as follows:

• Call of Duty: Ghosts
• The Evil Within
• Wolfenstein: The New Order
• Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure
• Dragon Quest: Monster Parade
• Deadman’s Cross
• Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn
• Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix
• Drakengard 3 (Drag-on Dragoon 3)
• Dragon Quest 10
• Final Fantasy 13: Lightning Returns
• Bravely Default: For the Sequel
• Gardening Mama: Mama and Her Forest Friends
• Cooking Mama 5

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Xbox One Release Set for 22nd November

Microsoft has officially announced that the Xbox One will be released on November 22, 2013 in 13 markets including North America, UK and Australia.

The other market in which the console will launch are: Austria, Brazil, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand and Spain. The Xbox One will come one week after PlayStation in North America and one week earlier in Europe.

Microsoft's VP of Xbox marketing, strategy and business, Yusuf Mehd issued a statement to the press saying "We are humbled and gratified by the tremendous interest in Xbox One from game fans everywhere. We sold out of our pre-order supply faster than at any other time in our history and we are on path to have the biggest launch of an Xbox ever. We look forward to celebrating with millions and millions of gamers this holiday.

"As a result of this incredible consumer demand and the development progress on Xbox One, I am thrilled to share that today we are making available a limited number of additional Xbox One Day One consoles for pre-order. We have coordinated with our retail partners to make it easy for you to reserve your Xbox One today."

The exec added: "November 22 is a special day in Xbox history - on this day, we first launched Xbox 360 in 2005. Our next chapter begins in 79 days, when Xbox One becomes available."

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