Grand Theft Auto V

Posted by Shoaib at 02:25

Grand Theft Auto V is an open world action-adventure video game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It was released on 17 September 2013 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles. It is the fifteenth title in the Grand Theft Auto series, and the first main entry since Grand Theft Auto IV in 2008. As one of the last titles to be released exclusively for the seventh generation of video game consoles, Grand Theft Auto V was highly anticipated preceding its release.
Grand Theft Auto V is played from a third-person perspective in an open world environment, allowing the player to interact with the game world at their leisure. The game is set mainly within the fictional state of San Andreas (based on Southern California) and affords the player the ability to freely roam the world's countryside and the fictional city of Los Santos (based on Los Angeles). The single-player story is told through three player-controlled protagonists whom the player switches between, and it follows their efforts to plan and execute six large heists to accrue wealth for themselves. An online multiplayer mode is included with the game, allowing up to 16 players to engage in both co-operative and competitive gameplay in a recreation of the single-player setting.
The developers envisioned Grand Theft Auto V as a spiritual successor to many of their previous projects, such as Red Dead Redemption and Max Payne 3. Development began shortly following the release of Grand Theft Auto IV, with a focus on innovating the core mechanic of the series by giving the player control of three protagonists. Upon its release, the game was acclaimed by many reviewers who praised its story, presentation, and open-ended gameplay. A commercial success, Grand Theft Auto V broke industry sales records by earning US $800 million in the first 24 hours of its release, and $1 billion within its first three days, making it the fastest selling entertainment product in history.

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Gameplay

Grand Theft Auto V is an action-adventure video game played from a third-person perspective in an open world environment. The player uses melee attacks, firearms, weapons and explosives to fight enemies, and can run, jump, swim, or use vehicles to navigate the game's world. In combat, auto aim and a cover system can be used as assistance against enemies.^[9] If the player's health is low, it will slowly regenerate to the half-way point when stood still. A perpetual objective for the player is to complete missions to progress through the story, but much like other open world games, these missions can be completed at the player's leisure. If the player commits illegal acts while playing, the game's law enforcement agencies may respond, which is represented by a "Wanted" meter in the head-up display (HUD).^[10] Should the player continue to commit crimes, the meter accumulates stars and the efforts by law enforcement to incapacitate the player become more aggressive. Law enforcement officers have a line of sight, displayed on the mini-map. When the line of sight is broken and the player is hidden, the "Wanted" meter enters a cooldown mode and eventually recedes.^[11]
The single-player mode of Grand Theft Auto V is played through three player-controlled protagonists: Michael, Trevor, and Franklin, criminals whose stories interconnect as they complete missions. While interacting with the game world, the player may switch between them at will, by means of a directional compass on the HUD. Franklin corresponds to the north point, Michael to the west, Trevor to the east and the player's multiplayer avatar to the south. During missions, the game may switch the player's character automatically as necessary in order to complete certain objectives. A character's avatar will flash red if they are in danger and need assistance either manually or through covering fire from another, and flash white if that character has a strategical advantage or position which may aid the player's success in the mission.^[12] Though the player completes missions as either of the three protagonists, the more difficult heist missions may require aid from AI-controlled accomplices who have unique skill sets such as computer hacking or driving, and they will take a cut from the mission's cash reward upon completion.^[13] If an accomplice survives a successful heist, they may be re-used in later missions albeit with improvements to their unique skills.^[14] Employing different strategies toward the completion of a heist mission is also encouraged by the game; for example, in a holdup mission the player may subdue civilians with an agent if stealth is favoured, or storm the venue with guns drawn.^[15]
Each character has a set of eight skills, which are numerical representations of their ability in certain areas, such as shooting and driving. While the player improves the skills of each character as they play, there is a skill assigned to each character that they have expertise in by default, such as Trevor's skill as a pilot.^[16] In addition, the eighth "special" skill determines the effectiveness in performing an ability that is unique to each respective character. Michael will enter bullet time in combat, Franklin will slow down time while driving, and Trevor will deal twice as much damage to enemies while taking half as much in combat.^[17] There is a meter on each character's HUD which depletes when an ability is being used and gradually regenerates over time when the ability is not being used.^[18]

In Grand Theft Auto V, the player may take cover behind objects in firefights to avoid taking damage from enemies.

The game is presented as an open world; it is a large, open map which can be freely roamed when the player is not partaking in missions. Composed of an open countryside area and the fictional city of Los Santos, the world is considerably larger than earlier entries in the series.^[19] The player can utilise a variety of vehicles to explore the game world, and to accommodate for the size of the map, the game introduces vehicle types that were absent in its predecessor Grand Theft Auto IV, such as fixed-wing aircraft.^[20] While free roaming the game world, the player can engage in context-specific activities; for example, the player is given a scuba set to explore the underwater sections of the world, or a parachute to partake in BASE jumping. Each character is equipped with a smartphone which can be used to contact friends, engage in activities and access an in-game Internet.^[18] The Internet can be used to purchase properties such as homes and businesses, and access a stock market that allows the player to be a stakeholder in businesses; each character can earn income by purchasing businesses and selling shares.^[20] The player can purchase upgrades for the weapons and vehicles in each character's arsenal, and customise their appearance by purchasing outfits, haircuts, tattoos and jewellery.^[21]
The game includes a multiplayer mode, Grand Theft Auto Online, which allows up to 16 players to freely roam a recreation of the single-player setting.^[22] Players can cooperatively engage in various activities, such as races and bank heists. For many of these activities, the parameters can be determined by players; examples include creating tracks for races and specifying spawn points for weapons in deathmatches.^[23] Competitive multiplayer pits teams of players, known as crews, against each other in deathmatch modes. Crews from the multiplayer mode of Max Payne 3 can carry over to Grand Theft Auto Online, since the Rockstar Games Social Club connects the multiplayer experiences together. A player can be a member of up to five crews or create their own, and success in multiplayer matches earns the player experience points for their crew, allowing them to progress in online leaderboards.^[24] The Grand Theft Auto Online service launched on 1 October 2013.^[25] Rockstar have said that it will continue to develop further content for the service.^[26]

Setting

Main article: Los Santos, San Andreas

The developers extensively researched Los Angeles and reproduced many of the city's landmarks in Grand Theft Auto V, such as the Hollywood Sign.

The open world of Grand Theft Auto V is set mainly in the fictional state of San Andreas, which is modelled on Southern California. San Andreas was also used as the setting for an earlier entry in the series, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, which included three cities separated by open countryside. The world of Grand Theft Auto V, however, includes only one city, Los Santos.^[47] By focusing their efforts on one city instead of three, the team were able to produce Los Santos in higher quality and of greater scale.^[32] For both games, Los Angeles was used as the model for Los Santos,^[48] but the team felt that the ambition of having three cities in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was too great and that the game did not emulate the cities as well as they had hoped. Houser elaborated that "to do a proper version of L.A., [...] the game has to give you a sense of that sprawl — if not completely replicate it", and dividing the budget and manpower between multiple cities would have detracted from capturing "what L.A. is".^[32] Garbut felt that in the PlayStation 2 era the team did not have the technical capabilities to capture Los Angeles properly, resulting in the San Andreas rendition of Los Santos feeling like a "backdrop or a game level with pedestrians randomly milling about".^[32] Therefore, the team disregarded San Andreas as a jumping-off point for Grand Theft Auto V, as they had moved on to a new generation of consoles since the former and wanted to build the city from scratch. As Garbut explained, with the move to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 hardware, "our processes and the fidelity of the world [had] evolved so much from San Andreas" that using it as a model would have been redundant.^[32]
Los Angeles was extensively researched for the game. The team organised field research trips with tour guides and architectural historians and captured around 250,000 photos and hours of video footage during these visits.^[28] They also studied virtual globe models of the city, census data and documentaries to recreate the geographical and demographic spread of Los Angeles.^[32] Reproducing Los Angeles as a play space required condensing the city's spread into an area that the player could comfortably traverse. As The New Yorker's Sam Sweet explained, "[The] exhaustive field work [...] wasn't conducted to document a living space. Rather, it was collected to create an extremely realistic version of a Los Angeles that doesn't actually exist. The map of Los Santos is familiar but its contents are condensed".^[49]
Along with their attempt to realise a modern Los Angeles, the team also created an open recreation of Southern California which includes a vast countryside surrounding Los Santos.^[6] A goal for the team was to balance making a world of great scale without creating an open, empty space. Therefore, they focused on condensing the open countryside of Southern California into a playing space that is as diverse as it is detailed.^[28] The game world is fourty-nine square miles in area, about an eightieth of Los Angeles County.^[49] It is greater in scale than Rockstar's previous open world games; Garbut suggested that it is large enough to fit the game maps of San Andreas, Grand Theft Auto IV and Red Dead Redemption (2010) inside of it.^[19] In order to accommodate for the size of the world, the team overhauled the RAGE engine, which allows the game to render greater draw distances than in earlier entries of the series.^[32] The large, open space also necessitated the reintroduction of fixed-wing aircraft, as they had been absent in Grand Theft Auto IV due to the relatively small scale of the world limiting the effectiveness of flying.^[50] "We wanted somewhere big [to allow the player to] fly properly", Houser explained.^[35] In addition, populating the open world with wildlife was another demand the large space made for. As Benzies explained, "because of the scale of the map and the different kinds of areas involved, a countryside without animals would feel quite hollow".^[37]

Posted by Shoaib at 08:05

Mirror's Edge

Mirror's Edge is a single-player, first person, action-adventure platform video game developed by EA Digital Illusions CE (DICE) and published by Electronic Arts. The game was announced on July 10, 2007, and was released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in November 2008. A Microsoft Windows version was released on January 13, 2009. Mirror's Edge is powered by the Unreal Engine 3, with the addition of a new lighting solution, developed by Illuminate Labs in association with DICE.
The game has a brightly colored style and differs from most other first-person perspective video games in allowing for a wider range of actions—such as sliding under barriers, tumbling, wall-running, and shimmying across ledges—and greater freedom of movement; in having no heads-up display; and in allowing the legs, arms, and torso of the character to be visible on-screen. Mirror's Edge is set in a futuristic dystopian society, in which a network of 'runners', including the main character, Faith, are used as couriers to transmit messages while evading government surveillance. In the style of a three-dimensional platform game, the player guides Faith over rooftops, across walls, and through ventilation shafts, negotiating obstacles using movements inspired by parkour.
Mirror's Edge has received mostly positive reviews, with the PC version garnering a Metacritic aggregated score of 81%. The game's uniqueness and its expansive environments have received praise, while criticism has centred on its weakness of plot, trial and error gameplay and short length. A soundtrack featuring remixes of the final credits song "Still Alive" by Swedish singer Lisa Miskovsky (unrelated to the song of the same name featured in the credits of the 2007 game Portal) was also released. A side-scroller version of the game for the Apple iPad was released on April 1, 2010 and for the iPhone on September 2, 2010. A port of the game was released for Windows Phone on July 13, 2012, with an initial exclusivity period for owners of Nokia Lumia phones.
At the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2013, a second game was officially announced. It is suspected that the game will be a prequel and the story will revolve around Faith's past and beginnings.

Gameplay

In Mirror's Edge, the player controls the protagonist, Faith, from a first-person perspective as she is challenged to navigate across a gleaming city, by jumping between rooftops, running across walls, and gaining access to buildings through ventilation shafts. This is accomplished by use of techniques and movements inspired by the discipline of parkour.^[8] According to senior producer Owen O'Brien, Mirror's Edge aims to "convey [...] strain and physical contact with the environment", with the goal of allowing a freedom of movement previously unseen in the first-person genre.^[9][10] In order to achieve this, camera movement pays more attention to character movement. For example, as Faith's speed builds up while running, the rate at which the camera bobs up and down increases. When a roll is executed, the camera spins with the character.^[11][12] Faith's arms, legs, and torso are prominent and their visibility is used to convey movement and momentum. The character's arms pump and the length of her steps increase with her gait, and her legs cycle and arms flail during long jumps.^[11][13]

Mirror's Edge features a realistic first-person view, with the character's limbs visible during hand-to-hand combat.

In gameplay, the character's momentum becomes an asset. The player must attempt to conserve it through fluidity of physical actions, encouraging the creation of chains of moves.^[14] If Faith does not have the momentum required to traverse an object, she will fall off or short of it.^[15] Controls are simplified by being context-sensitive; the "upwards movement" button will cause Faith to traverse an obstacle by passing over it (i.e., by jumping, vaulting, climbing, or grabbing set pieces like zip-lines) while the "downwards movement" button will cause her to perform other manoeuvres like sliding, rolling, or crouching.^[15][16] To assist the player in creating these chains of moves, the game employs a system called "Runner Vision", which emphasises environmental pieces useful for progression. Certain pipes, ramps, and doors are highlighted in red as Faith approaches, allowing the player to instantly recognize paths and escape routes.^[15] Further along in the game, the number of these visual hints is reduced to only the end goal, and the player can opt to turn off this hint system entirely.^[14] It is also used to create puzzles in which the player must figure out how to combine the highlighted set pieces into a chain of moves in order to reach the target.^[15] Another means of assistance to the player is a system called "Reaction Time", a form of bullet time activated by the player, slowing down time and allowing the player to plan and time their next move without losing momentum or tactical advantage.^[16]
The player character can hold weapons, but O'Brien stressed that "this is an action adventure. We're not positioning this as a shooter – the focus isn't on the gun, it's on the person." Gameplay in Mirror's Edge focuses on finding the best route through the game's environments while combat takes a secondary role. Completing the game without shooting a single enemy unlocks an achievement for the player.^[9] Consequently, guns may be obtained by disarming an enemy, but when the magazine is empty, it will need to be discarded.^[14] Additionally, carrying a weapon slows Faith down; the heavier the gun, the more it hinders her movement. This introduces an element of strategy in determining when to trade agility for short-term firepower.^[9][15]
Along with the campaign mode, Mirror's Edge features a time attack mode, where the player must try to complete one of a set of special maps in the shortest amount of time. Best times can be uploaded to online leaderboards, where players can also download ghosts of other players to compete against.^[17][18] The maps are unlocked by playing through the campaign mode. According to producer Tom Ferrer, the time trial portions of Mirror's Edge are "bite-sized and short so you can grind them and play them and get faster and faster. It's not like playing an entire level."

Themes

According to senior producer Owen O'Brien, "[Mirror's Edge] asks how much of your personal freedom are you willing to give up for a comfortable life. It's not one girl against this police-state dictatorship. It's more subtle than that."^[22]
American TV series Firefly and film spin-off Serenity were cited by O'Brien as inspirations. "Our other theme is you can't force other people to live by your rules and your society, even if your society is better," he said. "In Serenity The Operative actually says, 'This is not an evil empire. We just don't understand why you don't want to be part of our happy club.' Obviously they take it too far, and that's kind of what happens in our game as well."^[23]

Characters

The protagonist of Mirror's Edge is 24-year-old Faith Connors (voiced by Jules de Jongh),^[24][25] who has a distinctive tattoo around her right eye, imitated by the game's logo. Faith earns her living as a "Runner", a courier who carries physical communiqués around the city, her services retained by revolutionary groups who avoid communicating via highly-monitored telephone and e-mail channels.^[9] Faith's attitude towards the totalitarian government is rooted in her past; her parents were active in protest movements when she was young, campaigning to keep the city from shifting to the oppressive regime. Her mother was killed during the "November riots"—peaceful protests gone wrong^[26]—and Faith ran away from home when she was 16, living a thief's life on the city streets. Faith became a Runner after meeting Mercury (or Merc), a former Runner who now trains new hires, sources jobs for them, and provides them with intelligence and radio support while on the job.^[27] Other characters include Faith's sister, Kate Connors, an officer with the city police; Drake, another Runner-trainer; Faith's friends Celeste and Kreeg, another pair of Merc's Runners; and Jacknife, a former Runner.^[26]

Story

Faith, after completing a delivery to fellow Runner Celeste, learns that her sister Kate may be in trouble at Pope's office. When she arrives, she finds Kate standing beside Pope's body, insisting she has been framed for murder and requesting Faith to discover the cause. Faith finds a piece of paper with the name "Icarus" on it in Pope's hand. Kate refuses to flee with Faith, saying it would only make her look guilty, and is arrested. From a former Runner, Jacknife, Faith learns that Pope's head of security, former wrestler Travis "Ropeburn" Burfield, may be connected to Pope's murder. Faith meets Lt. Miller, at Kate's behest, narrowly avoiding arrest.^[28] At Ropeburn's office, she overhears him setting up a meeting at a new place downtown. At the meeting, Ropeburn discovers Faith's presence and attacks her, but Faith gains the upper hand and throws him off the roof. As he is hanging above a long drop, she tries to interrogate Ropeburn, but before he can reveal anything he is killed by an unknown assassin.
Lacking other leads, Faith investigates the security firm that has begun aiding the police force in their crackdown of Runners. She finds they are behind "Project Icarus", a program designed to train their forces in parkour to chase down and eliminate the Runners. Faith follows the trail of Ropeburn's killer to a boat in port; after chasing the unknown person, Faith discovers the assassin is actually Celeste, who is colluding with Project Icarus to keep herself safe, and Celeste warns Faith to consider the same. The arrival of the police allows Celeste to escape.^[26]
With Kate convicted for Pope's murder, Merc plans a way for Faith to ambush the police convoy transporting her to prison, and Faith helps to free Kate. When Faith returns to the hideout, she finds it in ruins, with Merc dying and Kate recaptured. In his dying words, Merc tells Faith that Kate is now at the Shard, which contains Mayor Callaghan's office and the servers that run the city's surveillance systems.^[29] With Miller's help, Faith is able to enter the Mayor's private offices, destroying many of the servers to gain access to the roof. On the roof, she finds Kate held at gunpoint by Jacknife. Jacknife reveals that he too is part of Project Icarus, and has been part of the plan all along to lure the Runners out of hiding. When Jacknife tries to take Kate onto a waiting helicopter, Faith jumps on before it can leave, knocking Jacknife out of the helicopter to fall to his death but also damaging the helicopter in the process. Faith helps Kate to escape safely from the falling helicopter.^[26]
During the end credits, the media reports that Faith's actions have only served to intensify Project Icarus, and Faith and Kate are still wanted for Pope's murder. However, with the surveillance infrastructure damaged, the population is cautioned to avoid using electronic means of communications until their "security" is restored, with the location of Faith and Kate remaining unknown.

Posted by Shoaib at 07:46

Mass Effect 3

Mass Effect 3 is an action role-playing video game developed by BioWare and published by Electronic Arts for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii U.^[10] Officially announced on December 11, 2010,^[11][12] the game was released March 6, 2012^[13] and marks the final chapter in the Mass Effect trilogy of video games, completing the story of Commander Shepard.^[14][15] A Wii U version was announced during Nintendo's conference at E3 2012.^[16] The Wii U port was developed by Australian developer Straight Right,^[1] and was released as a Wii U launch game^[8] under the title Mass Effect 3: Special Edition.
The combat system in Mass Effect 3 has been changed and refined. In particular, the cover system has been improved, there are more options for moving around the battlefield and scoring instant melee kills, more conventional grenades are available and an improved artificial intelligence is introduced. A four player multiplayer co-op mode is also available in game.^[17] Gameplay in Mass Effect 3 is influenced by decisions made in Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2, for players who have completed those games. It was nominated for five awards at the 2012 Spike Video Game Awards and it won Best RPG of 2012.^[18]
Like its predecessors, Mass Effect 3 was released to commercial success and critical acclaim. However, the game's endings were criticized by many players, prompting the release of an extended cut version which elaborated on the consequences of choices made throughout the series.

Gameplay

Certain aspects of gameplay in Mass Effect 3 are impacted by choices made in previous games. When starting a new game, players with saved files from Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 are given the option of importing them into Mass Effect 3 to reflect these choices.^[19] If a saved file is imported, over 1000 variables are pulled to help shape how the final chapter is experienced.^[20] If there are no saved files available, there is an origin-story comic for new players to help them make quick decisions like there was in Mass Effect 2.^[21] Imported characters' appearance and class are changeable, with more features and hair-styles included in the character creator than in Mass Effect 2.^[22][23] Commander Shepard always starts the game with some powers.^[24] Upon finishing the game, a New Game+ option allows players to continue playing after the main story ends, starting again with their finished Shepard to collect items they missed the first time around.^[25] The game has 82 minutes of cut-scenes.^[26]

An expanded leveling up screen demonstrating skill trees in Mass Effect 3. The first three levels of the skill tree are singular whereas the final three levels require the player to select from one of two options.

Mass Effect 3 has three pre-set campaign modes: Action Mode, Story Mode, and RPG Mode.^[27] In Action Mode, conversations have automatic replies and a normal combat difficulty. In Story Mode, conversations have manual replies and a minimal combat difficulty. In RPG Mode, which is reflective of the typical Mass Effect experience, conversations have manual replies and a normal combat difficulty. Overall, the RPG elements in the game have been improved over those in Mass Effect 2, with a more detailed leveling up system and increased weapon customization.^[28] To level up characters, players have skills that start along a single path but eventually splinter into two branches where they can select only one upgrade or the other along a sequence of possibilities.^[29] Players can also customize their weapons with different scopes, mods, barrels, and ammo types.^[30] There are 25 weapon mods total — five per weapon type — and each of them will have multiple power levels to collect.^[31] For Kinect users, players have the option to speak their choices instead of selecting them with a controller.^[32]
The number of characters available as permanent squad mates in Mass Effect 3 is smaller than in Mass Effect 2 for the purposes of deeper relationships and more interesting interplay, including same-sex relationship options for both male and female Shepards.^[33][34] If players achieved a love interest in both Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2, then both vie for Shepard's attention in Mass Effect 3.^[35] This "love triangle" is resolved by the end of the game.
Throughout Mass Effect 3, players must increase their Effective Military Strength (EMS) to prepare for the game's final mission.^[36] EMS is calculated by multiplying Total Military Strength (TMS) with Readiness Rating. TMS is a measure of War Assets, which includes accomplishments from Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 as well as items acquired in Mass Effect 3. These items can be acquired in various ways, including casual conversations and planet scanning. Planet scanning has been greatly simplified from Mass Effect 2 and no longer includes the scanning of every planet individually. Other mini-games from Mass Effect 2, including bypassing and hacking, have been eliminated.

Combat

Combat in Mass Effect 3 is changed and refined from Mass Effect 2, with further emphasis put on third-person perspective aspects to make the game more commercially viable.^[37] In a preview of the game for IGN, editor Arthur Gies went so far as to say the game "plays like a shooter" and that "combat-wise, Mass Effect 3 is in an entirely different space [from the first two games]". In an article for bitgamer, Joe Martin gave a conflicting impression, noting that with regard to combat, "not a lot has changed".^[38]
The series' cover system has been improved so players no longer need to slide into cover and then hop over objects. Players have more options for moving around the battlefield than ever before, including a refined sprint capability, combat rolling, and the use of climbable ladders.^[25] Players can also blindfire their weapons from covered positions, and have opportunities to shoot selected armor pieces and limbs off enemies. For Kinect users, verbal orders can be issued to move squad mates and use their powers.^[32] Moving and shooting, a "suicidal maneuver" in Mass Effect 2, is now a viable option because of a revised melee system.^[39] Players are able to execute formidable punches and attacks, and instant melee kills are introduced specific to each class; for example, by holding down the melee button, a soldier Shepard will deliver a killing blow with two omni-blades. Conventional grenades are also available.
Mass Effect 3 was planned as the most difficult in the series, with increased artificial intelligence to challenge players and increase the sense of reward.^[40] Enemies no longer act as individuals as they did in the previous games, instead fighting and supporting each other in units. Enemies include 15-foot (4.6 m) tall Cerberus mechs, assault troopers, and ninja-style shock troops, as well as Reaperized husks of all races and Reaper ships ranging from 500 to 2,000 metres (1,600 to 6,600 ft) long.^[41][42] Some changes were made to already-existing class types; for example, Engineers are now able to build turrets.

Multiplayer

Mass Effect 3 offers a multiplayer co-op mode called "Galaxy at War", the first such mode of the series.^[43] In the mode, players are able to play alongside up to three other players online in unique missions that can impact the outcome of the single player campaign.^[44] Each mission was designed specifically for multiplayer, and involves taking over enemy strongholds. By completing these missions, players can give themselves a better chance of attaining a perfect ending in the single player campaign; although, they are not necessary to do so. Over the course of one year, BioWare released five free DLC packs for the multiplayer mode that added several types of new content. The mode has been compared to Gears of War's horde mode.^[45]
Players have the ability to fight against 4 different opponents: the Reapers, geth, Cerberus, and with the Retaliation DLC installed the Collectors. Battles take place over a choice of more than 15 maps, with 4 choices of difficulty, Bronze (Easy) Silver (Normal) Gold (Hard) and with the Earth DLC installed Platinum (Very Hard). Platinum maps will randomly spawn tank units from random races in addition to the key race being fought against; an example might be Reaper Ravagers fighting alongside Cerberus Troopers or a geth Prime assisting Reaper Banshees. Each map lasts for 10 rounds, with players defending against waves of attack, each getting progressively harder. Certain waves will have the team performing certain goals, such as defusing doctrine devices, enabling remote weapon stations, hacking computers, killing key targets, escorting probes, or transporting critical hardware (such as hard drives or warheads).
No characters from the single-player campaign are featured in the multiplayer mode; instead, players create brand new characters for themselves and can play as members of non-human species, including asari, batarians, drell, krogans, quarians, salarians, turians, geth, vorcha, volus, and more.^[46] Every race has unique powers, such as a "Krogan Charge" for krogans and different movement options out of cover between drell and humans.^[47] All classes are playable.^[45] The maximum level that created characters are able to reach is 20, and just like in the single player mode, leveling up includes skill branches.
Gameplay in the multiplayer mode only allows for players to carry two guns at a time in their inventory, and there is no menu to change weapons; instead, weapons are changed by holding down a button.^[47] Only three powers per class are also available as opposed to those available during the single player game. Characters, equipment, mods, and weapons are acquired randomly with the purchase of graded kits. The kits are purchased with multiplayer in-game credits or real-life currency.
One year after game release, BioWare discontinued any further multiplayer challenges, while leaving the challenge system functional and servers up.^[48]

Release and downloadable content

See also: Mass Effect 3 downloadable content

Before Mass Effect 3's release date was delayed to 2012, numerous gaming websites called the game one of the most anticipated games of 2011,^[120][121] with IGN ranking it number one in their "Top 10 Xbox 360 Games of 2011" column.^[122] Following the 2011 E3 Convention, IGN nominated the game for Best Role-Playing Game and Most Anticipated Game,^[123] and EEDAR called it the most promising retail title of 2011.^[124] At the 2011 Spike Video Game Awards, the game was voted the most anticipated of 2012 by fans.^[125] In an interview with Computer and Videogames, BioWare marketing director David Silverman went so far as to call Mass Effect 3 the "best game we've ever made".^[126]
The game was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on March 6, 2012, and for Wii U on November 18, 2012. Customers purchasing PC editions of the game (retail or digital) are required to install Electronic Arts' content delivery and digital rights management system, Origin. The Origin client (and an Origin account) is required to install, activate and run Mass Effect 3 on a PC for single and multi-player portions of the game.^[127]
Mass Effect 3 also supports a variety of downloadable content packs that were released from March 2012 to April 2013. The Wii U version - Mass Effect 3: Special Edition - features all the free DLC in-game that were released prior to Special Edition's release. However, EA announced that there are no plans to release any of the paid DLC packs for the Wii U version, including Omega, Leviathan, and the various weapon packs. When asked on Twitter if they would ever release any future DLC for the Wii U version, their response was, "Never say never."[128

Posted by Shoaib at 07:38

Battlefield 4

Battlefield 4 is an upcoming first-person shooter video game developed by EA Digital Illusions CE and published by Electronic Arts. The game is a sequel to 2011's Battlefield 3 and the thirteenth installment in the Battlefield series. The game will be released on October 29, 2013 in North America and Brazil, October 31, 2013 in Australia and Japan, and November 1, 2013 in Europe for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One.^[2][3][4][5

Gameplay

Battlefield 4 features several changes compared to its predecessor. The game's heads-up display is much the same, composed of two compact rectangles. The lower left-hand corner features a mini-map and compass for navigation, and a simplified objective notice above it; the lower right includes a compact ammo counter and health meter. The mini-map, as well as the main game screen, shows symbols marking three kinds of entities: blue for allies, green for squadmates, and red/orange for enemies.^[9][10][11]
Players can now use dual-scoped weapons, including weapons with different firing modes (e.g. single shots, automatic fire). They can now "spot" targets—marking their positions to the player's squad— in the single player campaign (a first in the Battlefield franchise) in addition to multiplayer, allowing teammates to either suppress or eliminate them. In addition, players will have more survival capabilities, such as countering melee attacks from the front while standing or crouching, shooting with their sidearm while swimming, and diving underwater to avoid enemy detection. The single-player campaign will see the player using vehicles to quickly traverse mini-sandbox-style levels.^[9][10]

Multiplayer

The new Commander Mode interface in Battlefield 4, showing an overhead view of the map "Siege of Shanghai"

Battlefield's multiplayer has been confirmed to contain 3 playable factions; U.S., China and Russia and up to 64 players on PC, PS4, and Xbox One. Also confirmed is the return of the "Commander Mode" last seen in Battlefield 2142, which gives select players an RTS-like view of the entire map and the ability to give orders to teammates. Also, the Commander can observe the battle through the eyes of the players on the battlefield, deploying vehicle and weapon drops to "keep the war machinery going", and ordering in missile strikes and such on hostile targets (as long as at least one friendly player can see the target).^[12][13] A spectator mode has also been confirmed. Enabling players to spectate each other in first or third person. As well as the use of a free camera to pan around the map from any angle.
On June 10, 2013, at E3, DICE featured the map "Siege of Shanghai", pitting the People's Liberation Army against the U.S. Marine Corps. The gameplay showcased Commander Mode; new weapons and vehicles; and the "Levolution" gameplay mechanic. The video displays the last of these at various points, including: a player destroying a support pillar to trap an enemy tank above it; and a large skyscraper (with an in-game objective on the top floor) collapsing in the center of the map, kicking up a massive dust cloud throughout the map and bringing the objective closer to ground level.^[11][14] Levolution also includes effects such as shooting a fire extinguisher to fill the room with smoke, car alarms going off when jumped over, metal detectors ringing when a player passes through them or cutting the power cord in a room to darken it.^[15]
In a blog post by DICE it has been revealed that the four kits from Battlefield 4 will be returning with new enhancements and abilities. The Assault kit now has a limited number of revives and must wait for his defibrillator to recharge before reviving another player. The Engineer kit now uses PDWs, as carbines are now available to all kits. The Support kit maintains the ability to place C4 and Claymores, in addition the kit has access to the new remote mortar and the XM25 allowing for indirect suppressive fire. The Recon kit is now far more mobile and is able to equip carbines and C4. Sniping mechanics are also enhanced with the ability to zero in your sights (set an aiming distance), and equip more optics and accessories than previous Battlefield games. The Recon kit is still able to utilize the MAV, T-UGS, and the Radio Beacon.^{[16][17][18][19]}
New vehicles have also been introduced. With the addition of the Chinese faction, new vehicles include the Type 99 MBT, the ZFB-05 Armored Car, and the Z-10W Attack Helicopter. Jets have also been rebalanced and put into two classes, "Attack" and "Stealth". The Attack jets focus is mainly air to ground capabilities, while the Stealth jets focusing mainly on air to air combat.
Customization has also been heavily improved in Battlefield 4, with all new camos available for every gun. A new "adaptive" camo is also being introduced that can adapt the camo to the map being played without the player having to change camos every game. Camos can now be applied to Jets, Helicopters, and Tanks.

Posted by Shoaib at 07:09

FIFA 14

FIFA 14 is the upcoming edition of Electronic Arts' FIFA video game series, developed by EA Canada. The game is expected to be released for PlayStation 3, Wii and Xbox 360 on September 24, 2013 in North America and September 27, 2013 for other regions.[3] It will be released on next-generation systems PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation Vita - and on devices running Android and iOS operating systems. It has been announced that the game will be free to play for the Android and iOS platforms.[4] A demo of the game was released worldwide on September 15, 2013, two weeks before the launch of the full game, on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC. Teams included in the demo are PSG, FC Barcelona, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur, AC Milan, Borussia Dortmund, New York Red Bulls and Boca Juniors.[5]

 

 

Cover

Lionel Messi will return as the main cover star for all regions on the global cover, having been on the cover for FIFA 13 and FIFA Street.^[1] It will be the first time that the FIFA Soccer name will not be used in North America.^[18] The United States will have both the global cover, as well as the cover with Javier Hernández.^[18]
Gareth Bale originally featured in the UK and Irish cover in the colours of his former club Tottenham Hotspur,^[19] but EA Sports later updated the cover, this time featuring Bale in a Real Madrid kit.^[20][21]
Players featured alongside Messi in their respective regions include:

• Australia and New Zealand: Tim Cahill^[22]
• Austria: David Alaba^[23]
• Central and South America (except Brazil^[24]): Arturo Vidal^[25][26] and Radamel Falcao^[11]
• Czech Republic: Michal Kadlec^[27]
• Hungary: Balázs Dzsudzsák^[28]
• Italy: Stephan El Shaarawy^[29]
• Japan: Maya Yoshida and Makoto Hasebe^[30]
• Middle East: Mustafa Al-Bassas^[31]
• North America: Javier Hernández^[18]
• Poland: Robert Lewandowski^[32]
• Switzerland: Xherdan Shaqiri
• United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland: Gareth Bale

Posted by Shoaib at 23:34

 Sudden Strike: Crimea

             Categories: Action » RTS » Battle » Combat » Strategy » Army »play!Cool » War » 

File Size: 18.2 Mb

Finding yourself in a battle-scarred world, you will assume     therole of a military commander in charge of an occupied town   seeking to survive and fight. Download free full version game and   enjoy unlimited play!Cool  

Screenshots. Click to enlarge: