GTA 5: PC Version Listed on GameStop; Allows Gender Mix-up; Alien Invasion DLC Rumors; New Cars Mined Out of Patch 1.11

The PC version of Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto 5 (GTA 5) is back in news as it was listed by retailer GameStop. Players have been anticipating news from Rockstar on the possibility of a PC version.

The listing showed up on the PowerUp Rewards portion of GameStop. Loyal customers of the retailer can join for free, reported the Examiner. People will be earning extra points if they use the PowerUp Rewards for redeeming it for rewards, while making purchases or during trade-ins.

Many European retailers have listed or leaked information on the PC version of the game predicting it to be released after the E3 2014, on 13 June. Another rumor is that the PC version may support 32 players. (See Also: GTA Online: Patch Files Reveal Heist Details)

Though people have run an online petition asking Rockstar for a PC port, there has been neither hint nor any official word from the company on the PC port. 

he GTA Online has a glitch where male characters can have female bodies. This glitch makes use of the micro transactions menu in order to glitch out the game allowing players to reset the gender of the character by replacing the head of a female with a male. This happens due to the default gender in the game being male. This was posted by Glitching Queen on YouTube and onGTA Forums.

•  Be online in an active match
•  Go to your in-game cell phone
•  Find something that cannot be afforded on the Internet
•  When trying to buy it, you get the alert error screen
•  Now, click on the start button
•  It will take back to the menu and now hit your D-pad
•  It will take you Online and now go to Leave online
•  Do not hit select when u come to GTA Online, just hover over it
•  Now hit start button and it will take u back to alert and hit Start, Start, A
•  And now it goes to Leave Online
•  Now quit the session
•  This takes players on to the loading screen
•  Next you will see is the store but come out of it
•  Now it takes to what looks like the story mode
•  But Internet keeps popping up and keep hitting B to get out of Internet
•  Now hit Start and now go to the Store and say Yes
•  But immediately back out
•  Now it goes back to the story mode but it will still be online.
•  Now players must "kill youself"
•  Now players will respawn but will be invisible to yourself, others can see you but you cannot.
•  Now pull out your cell phone and expect a job
•  But you can back out of it
•  When you come out of this, player character is turned into a transvestite

Watch the below clip for greater clarity:

(YouTube Courtesy: Glitching Queen)

Alien Invasion DLC Rumors

The numerous UFO locations in GTA 5 have always made players wonder the mystery behind them, now the possibility of having Alien Invasion DLC is getting closer after, Hangar 13 that is seen marked in one of the images on the wall of the game was trademarked. This was confirmed by Take-two, distributors,AllGamesBeta reported via Product -Reviews.

But his is just a rumor and there is not clarity on this DLC too.

New Cars Mined Out of Patch 1.11

 A Reddit user funmw2, has discovered new cars that were hidden in the files of the Patch 1.11. The discovery has led to three new cars - Enus Huntley, the Desbauchee Massacro and the Pegassi Zentorno. These cars are most likely to make their entry into to the game through its next DLC.

(YouTube Courtesy: SkylineGTRR34Freak)

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Batman: Arkham Knight New Gameplay Details: Batmobile And More

Batman: Arkham Knight has received some new gameplay details today thanks to a big coverage on the game published on the latest issue of the Official PlayStation Magazine.

Most of the new details involve the Batmobile. Apparently gamers will be able to call the vehicle while gliding by targeting the spot you want to drive to. Using the Batmobile will actually affect several elements of the locations, as everything that gets hit by the vehicle is affected. You will also be able to drive through the city in a really fast way, using a boost function that gets recharged by drifting around corners. One thing that’s still uncertain about the Batmobile is if there are going to be some upgrades available for it. Rocksteady has neither confirmed nor denied this matter, meaning that they’re still probably thinking about it.

Aside from the Batmobile details, more details have emerged on gadgets’ usage. We have known for some time now that Batman will be able to use some of his gadgets while gliding. Apparently using them in the air will come with a slow-motion effect but it’s not yet known if there’s going to be any other concrete advantage.

Batman: Arkham Knight launches this October on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.

Gamersyndrome.com

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Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster Review

For a lot of die-hard RPG fanatics, the release of Final Fantasy X was something of a landmark moment, a point where things became more valid and dynamic.  This was the first time that world maps were rendered to scale, with areas both inside and outside of towns being of comparable size and interactive on a deeper level, and they even managed to incorporate classic JRPG turn-based combat as well.  Given this basic understanding, when it was announced that FFX was going to get a high-definition makeover (and maybe a few extra perks as well) gamers were understandably excited.

Of course this particular package also includes an updated version of FFX’s wonderful sequel, Final Fantasy X-2.  It also garnered plenty of critical acclaim and even managed to break a few rules along the way as well.  For those unaware, FFX-2 was actually one of the first games in the franchise which utilized multiple endings and an all-female set of characters.

In FFX you find yourself on the world of Spira, with plenty of room to move around and several different and varied climates to navigate.  It’s story is chock full of the sort of intriguing multi-thread narratives which have made the series such a success, and you assume the role of Tidus, an athlete who is tapped to fight once his home city of Zanarkand is destroyed.  What follows is of course, an epic journey which brings you and your band of 6 others into direct contact or confrontation with many different races while attempting to free Zanarkand from the evil monster, Sin.

FFX-2 sees you controlling 3 different playable characters, Yuna, Rikku, and Paine, who are seeking conference with Tidus while dealing with the various groups that have emerged post-“Eternal Calm”.  Naturally, our heroes seek to put an end to the conflict(s) and ensure that Spira isn’t destroyed.

Visuals

Graphically speaking, both FFX and FFX-2 look utterly, well…..fantastic.  Sure, they’re not necessarily shining examples of what one might consider to be “cutting-edge”, but in terms of providing a more suitable set of visuals to accompany the incredible storytelling, it’s a wonderful upgrade.  Having said that, if you’re at all a fan of JRPG’s, this two-in-one package will seem like a wonderful revelatory dream, with hours upon hours of content laying alongside extremely well-thought-out character and environmental designs.  Additionally, some of the music has also been remixed, which certainly is most welcome as well.

Gameplay

Where this dual Final Fantasy X/X-2 package really shines through however is in its highly addictive and somewhat classic turn-based gameplay.  Navigating the world map(s), you are given a nice 3rd person perspective with which to explore the map while dealing with threats along the way.  Add to this a complete redesign of the traditional XP upgrading system, called the “Sphere Grid” (and allows you to create customized characters), which greatly increases the game’s overall flexibility.  In short, these titles definitely offer one of the best combinations of various gameplay elements for those who prefer an “old school” approach to combat and course-plotting.

Verdict

Whether this will be your first tangle with FFX (and X-2) or yet another playthrough, the various visual updates and overall value make it worth buying if you’re a PS3 owner.  Final Fantasy fans certainly won’t want to miss out on this either, obviously.  Moreover, if you’re really into RPG’s and have never given any JRPG’s a shot, definitely pick this package up, you won’t regret the decision.

Rating – 8.9

PS3HOME

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Grey Goo: How Weta Workshop is helping Petroglyph build "a world worth fighting for"

Petroglyph's upcoming Grey Goo is not just a sci-fi RTS, but a launch-pad for additional games that will take place in the same universe. With so much on the line, it's crucial for Petroglyph to create a setting that won't just provide a good backdrop for RTS combat, but become a world that will fascinate players for years to come.

That's why the developer is collaborating with Weta Workshop, the prop-makers and conceptual artists who helped make Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy such a convincing adaptation of Tolkien's work. While Weta is best-known for its fantasy work, the studio has also worked on science fiction films, such as Elysium and District 9.

With Grey Goo, Weta and Petroglyph have a special challenge on their hands. RTS games are rarely the best vehicle for exploring a world, and this one has to evoke deeper themes and set the stage for a broader story.

Working with Weta

“As an art director, you cherish these moments when they come along,” says Petroglyph's Jeff Troutman. “I've been doing this for 24 years, and there's been projects where I'm just like, 'Ehhhhh, I don't know about this.' But [publisher] Grey Box basically made us a sandbox. They said, here are some boundaries, but go and play with your toys. Figure out what you want to do visually. And that is so important when you're dealing with science fiction.”

Troutman's goal, in a nutshell, is “familiar, but fantastic.” Petroglyph wanted a world that was relatable and yet vaguely unsettling and exciting. Most important of all, however, was that the planet you fight over had to feel like it meant something.

“We wanted a world that was so beautiful that we wanted protect it, and love it,” says Executive Producer Ted Morris. “I still take the camera and fly around, just because I want to be there.”

Troutman explains how Grey Box broached the subject of working with a secondary design studio. “All of a sudden, somebody from Grey Box is like, 'Hey, you mighta heard of these guys, they're called Weta?' And I'm like, 'What?' Because I'm a huge fan. From an art standpoint, I study all their stuff. And the chance to get in there and direct these artists was fantastic.”

Weta's strength is in turning art direction into a convincing, internally consistent world. They can take a piece of concept art for a given RTS unit and break it down into a functional schematic. When an annotated Weta concept sketch comes back from New Zealand, what was once just a drawing on a page becomes a working machine, with detailed notes about how its pieces move together and what each part is for.

“Those guys are amazing,” Troutman said. “They're always thinking out of the box and trying new things. You give them a task like: make some farming equipment. And you get back something you've never seen before.”

Meeting your idols

Initially, the Petroglph team were a little intimidated by working with a team they admired so much.

“The fantastic thing that started to happen was that we would come up with something,” says Troutman, “and Weta would go, 'Whoa!' And how good does that feel? But Grey Box created this environment where there wasn't this, 'This is Weta, and we're scared to death!' It was like we were all one company.”

Whenever a new set of Weta designs and notes came in, Troutman's office would fill up with people wanting to see the latest artwork from the workshop. Each new arrival inspired the art and engineering team to go off in new directions, and that led them to come up with new ideas that they sent back to Weta for refinement.

The best example of what Weta does might be in their concept designs for the Beta faction. What started as a simple idea—an industrial alien race of engineers and mechanics—turned into something far more interesting in Weta's hands. The designers implied an entire social structure and way of life for the alien race from just a few pieces of artwork.

This extra design work gives Grey Goo a richness that most other RTS games lack. While players might spend most of their time focused on combat and build-orders, Petroglyph and Weta have hidden a ton of backstory and context in plain sight. Because of their work, Grey Goo doesn't just look gorgeous, but also sets the stage for something much larger.

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Unreal Engine 4 will run in Firefox without any plug-ins

When you think about Unreal Engine 4, the newest, shiniest game engine, you probably think about games that will require you to buy a new graphics card, not something that can run in your browser. But UE4 is built for both. Epic Games and Mozilla recently showed Epic Soul, a UE4 demo, running in Firefox at near-native speeds without plugins.

You might remember that Epic Games managed to do the same with UE3, when it showcased Epic Citadel running in Firefox. Both demos are using asm.js, a “supercharged” subset of JavaScript pioneered by Mozilla. The companies said that optimizations in the last year increased performance of web applications using asm.js from 40 percent to within 67 percent of native, and that they expect them to get even faster.

“We were blown away by what this Mozilla-pioneered technology achieved with Unreal Engine 3 on the web, so we had no hesitation in working with Mozilla to port Unreal Engine 4,” Founder and CEO of Epic Games Tim Sweeney said. “We believe the web has a crucial part to play in the future of game development and deployment, and Mozilla has proven it is the catalyst to make this happen.”

Epic and Mozilla will be at GDC 2014 next week, giving talks and demoing asm.js and other web technologies.

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