The Ubuntu devs are considering upgrading the GTK+ packages to the latest 3.14 version, which was made available just a couple of months ago, a decision that would really help a number of other Ubuntu flavors as well. GTK+ is a very sensible piece of software that has a lot of stuff depending on it. The Ubuntu devs used GTK+ 3.12 for the previous release and now they intend to upgrade this package, although there are still some issues that need to be solved. The good thing is that we're smack in the middle of the development cycle and there is no better opportunity to make this move. Developers from other projects have started to ask themselves if Ubuntu plans to switch to the new GTK+, and it seems that this is their plan, if nothing terrible happens or if they don't encounter some bug that would complicate matters needlessly. They also say that they intend to upgrade some of the GNOME apps that are still used by Unity, although they haven't gone into much details about that. New GTK+ version and updated GNOME packages will make Ubuntu 15.10 quite interesting The updates for this packages will most likely open up the system for some interesting improvements, but users should not get their hopes up in seeing something very different in Ubuntu 15.10. Canonical always bets on consistency and they're not going to break that, especially now that they are moving to upgrade to Unity 8, and that should be a very important change. "We do plan to update GTK yes, we have an updated package in the desktop team ppa under testing, but we noticed quite a few regressions & theming issues with the update and we want to get the most important ones resolved before upload. We also plan to update GNOME applications when possible (we mostly need to patch the UI to not use headerbars on Unity, which we already did for a few)," wrote Canonical's Sebastien Bacher in a mailing list message. The latest GTK also saw the introduction of Mir support, which is actually a big step forward, for both the Ubuntu and GTK+ teams. It will take a while until we get to see how this support actually translates into the project. In the meantime, if you want to give Ubuntu 15.04 a try, you are free to do so, although for now it's still using the old GTK. That might change pretty soon, so stay tuned.

Earlier this year, Adobe married its security update rollout with Microsoft’s, so every second Tuesday of each month, both companies release patches and vulnerability fixes for their software. Today, Adobe introduced the stable version of Flash Player 16, thus making another step towards a more stable and secure release that would protect users in a much more effective way when browsing the web and loading Flash content. Since it’s a security release, Flash Player 16 is mostly based on fixing bugs and other performance issues, but the company is yet to provide us with the full changelog, as it updated its download center with the new version only a few minutes ago. Obviously, everyone is recommended to get the new Flash Player as soon as possible, especially because it fixes security flaws that would make their computers vulnerable when viewing Flash content. Internet Explorer users getting it later today Even though the new version of Flash Player is now available for download for all users out there, those who stick to Internet Explorer as their default browsers will actually receive version 16 later today. Bringing together their security release rollouts wasn’t the only thing that Adobe and Microsoft did many months ago. Back in 2012, when Microsoft introduced Windows 8 and Internet Explorer 10, the company decided to bundle Adobe Flash Player right into the browser, without asking users to download an add-on or anything like that, which could make things more complex for them. Instead, Flash Player is now available in Internet Explorer by default, but this doesn’t come without compromises. Whenever Adobe rolls outs a new Flash Player update for its users, Microsoft needs to deliver the new version to Internet Explorer machines as well, so the two companies should work closely together to make sure that everyone gets patched. Obviously, Internet Explorer users will get the new version via Windows Update, together with all the Patch Tuesday bulletins scheduled for today. Critical update for everyone Keeping Flash Player fully updated is critical for every user out there, especially because vulnerabilities in this client runtime environment can be easily exploited by cybercriminals online. Compromising websites with malicious Flash content that can take advantage of these flaws is a common activity these days, so patching flaws in the app is critical to say the least, especially when talking about organizations and companies hosting private files and documents on their local drives. Obviously, everyone should download Flash Player 16.0.0.235 as soon as today, while Internet Explorer should make sure that the new version is deployed on their PCs via Windows Update when it becomes available.

MKV file support will be offered to Windows 10 users when the new operating system becomes available, but it appears that the company is really serious about bundling compatibility for this particular file format in all its existing Windows versions. Starting today, users running Windows 8.1 on their PCs and tablets can play MKV files without the need for additional software thanks to an update for Xbox Video, an application that’s pre-installed on this particular OS version and which can be accessed from the Modern UI. According to the official changelog released by Microsoft today, the new Xbox Video version comes with several improvements in terms of performance and issues, but also with support for the MKV format, which could be played until now on Windows only with additional codecs or dedicated apps. At this point, VLC Media Player continues to be one of the top apps available for Windows users who want to play MKV files on their computers, but there’s no doubt that Xbox Video would appeal at least to a handful of users who do not wish to look for third-party apps for this particular task. It still offers some limitations VLC clearly comes with some pretty big advantages for those on Windows 8.1, and Microsoft’s offering still has some limitations that might push many users to third-party solutions in the coming months. Basically, while Xbox Video can now play MKV files, downloadable software solutions such as VLC still offer more options, including subtitles and additional codecs for better audio and video quality. That’s actually one of the reasons Microsoft needs to improve Windows Media Player in Windows 10 and make sure that MKV files can be played with the built-in tools without an impact on users’ customization power. Windows 10 coming with native MKV support The upcoming operating system is very likely to come with support for MKV files by default, and Microsoft has confirmed that it’s working on such a feature for the Technical Preview. At the same time, Microsoft is also developing FLAC support for Windows 10, so the new OS would clearly offer a strong advantage to users who work with such multimedia formats on a regular basis and who have until now had to install additional software in this regard. Windows 10 is projected to launch in mid-2015, but MKV and FLAC support could be released anytime soon as part of the Technical Preview builds that are released to users enrolled in the Windows Insider Program.

Today we’re celebrating the last Patch Tuesday of the year, so Windows computers across the globe should be ready for a new wave of improvements that would start shipping in just a few hours and which would include fixes for a wide variety of software, including Internet Explorer and Office. But while all these updates really come in handy to organizations and users worldwide, many are actually experiencing issues since May this year, when Windows Update stopped working completely. The problem was first reported on Microsoft’s Community forums on May 14, with users explaining that Windows Update fails to install official patches released by the Redmond-based software giant with an error saying, “We couldn’t complete the updates, Undoing changes. Don’t turn off your computer.” Since then, hundreds of users have confirmed the same issues, which means that at least the same number of computers have remained unpatched since May, even though the number of those who haven’t yet reported the problems to Microsoft directly is expected to be a lot bigger. Only happening on Windows 8.1 99 percent of the posts pointing to this problem indicate that it’s only showing up on Windows 8.1, so Windows 7 users are on the safe side. KB2919355 appears to be the update causing all errors on these computers, and naturally, one would expect that hiding it might fix all problems. It appears, however, that this isn’t true this time and some of those who have already found the root of the problem claim that installing updates manually and skipping KB2919355 is the only way to deal with this. “The last two times I have attempted the manual install of KB2919355, it appears to succeed until the very end when I get the ‘we couldn't complete updates, undoing changes’ message. On both of these occasions I have gotten error code 800F0922,” one user explained. Microsoft yet to provide a workaround While botched updates are nothing new for Windows users, the biggest problem in this case is Microsoft’s slow reaction, as the company is yet to develop and provide us with a workaround. Keep in mind that this problem was first spotted in May, so Microsoft has had more than six months to find a resolution that would re-enable users to deploy all Windows updates on their PCs. At this point, the thread reporting this error counts no less than 52 pages, so it’s pretty obvious that it’s a widespread issue affecting more than just a couple of PCs. The best way to deal with it is to either hide the update or try to install it manually, but if you go for the latter, the same error could still be experienced.

Kevin Turner discussed Windows 10 pricing options at the Credit Suisse Technology Conference last week, hinting that the company might adopt a new pricing model for the upcoming operating system. As we revealed in our first story on Turner’s statements, Microsoft’s Chief Operating Officer refused to provide any new details regarding Windows 10’s price, but he did explain that the software giant needed “to be creative” and was “learning” to do new things. Obviously, there’s a lot of ambiguity in all these words, but if we put together all pieces of the puzzle, it’s easy to understand that Windows 10 might in the end drop the traditional pricing model used by more than 90 percent of the software solutions on the market and go for something that already exists in Microsoft’s offering: subscriptions. Turner’s words First and foremost, here’s what Kevin Turner told the audience at the conference: “We've got to monetize it differently. And there are services involved. There are additional opportunities for us to bring additional services to the product and do it in a creative way. And through the course of the summer and spring we'll be announcing what that business model looks like.” Does this mean that Windows 10 could switch to a subscription-based pricing model? Certainly not, but it’s definitely an indication that Microsoft is at least considering such an option. “Finding new ways to monetize the lifetime of that customer on those devices, again, I would tell you we're learning, we're growing, and we're smarter and wiser every day,” Turner pointed out. Obviously, Turner cannot disclose too much information at this point, not because the company wants to keep everything secret, but rather due to the fact that Redmond itself is still trying to figure out the best way to market Windows 10. The upcoming operating system will mark a really important milestone in the history of the company, so getting it right is really critical, especially after the Windows 8 flop which pushed many customers to rival platforms. More speculation This isn’t the first time when a subscription-based Windows version makes headlines and it’s no wonder why. Microsoft is already using a similar pricing model for Office 365 and everything seems to go really well, which is pretty much the main sign that the company should look at its cloud-based productivity suite in order to improve the desktop operating system. People close to Microsoft’s development plans said earlier this year that the company was considering a project they described as “Windows 365” and which was inspired by Office 365. Obviously, details were missing, but as you can figure out by simply reading its name, the subscription-based licensing model is the first one that comes to mind. There’s no doubt that Microsoft is considering every single option for Windows 10 as we speak, so a lot could change until the operating system hits the market. According to information coming from within the company, Windows 10 could debut in late summer/early fall 2015, so more information on everything related to the new operating system should be provided very soon

Microsoft has filed a lawsuit against an AT&T customer who allegedly activated illegal copies of Windows 7 and Office 2010 on his computer, explaining that its very own cyberforensics group managed to find his IP address. The software giant said in the court documents that it had no other information about the user, but explained that he actually managed to activate pirated copies of its software, including Windows 7 and Office, using an AT&T connection. At this point, it’s not yet clear if the company contacted AT&T to find out the identity of the customer, but the telecommunications giant will now have to provide such information to prosecutors as part of the lawsuit file at the federal court in Washington. User trying to activate “numerous copies” of MS software According to court documents obtained by TorrentFreak, Microsoft noticed several activation requests from IP address 76.245.7.147, which belongs to AT&T Internet Services, as the company noted. “Microsoft’s cyberforensics have identified a number of product key activations originating from IP address 76.245.7.147 (‘the IP address’), […] which is being used by the Defendants in furtherance of the unlawful conduct alleged herein. These activations have characteristics that on information and belief, establish that Defendants are using the IP address to activate pirated software,” it says. While no details on this IP have been provided, a simple search on Google reveals that the IP indeed belongs to AT&T and is based in Illinois. “Data voluntarily provided by users” The company says that all details that have been used during its investigation are actually “voluntarily provided by users and also include the IP address which also provides info on the location of the computer.” The court documents reveal that the user activated several copies of Windows 7 and Office 2010, which have either been stolen from Microsoft’s supply chain or come in the form of DOEM product keys from the refurbisher channel. A third scenario is that these “product keys of various types have been used more times that they are authorized by the applicable software license,” as the company states, but no matter what happened, the user behind this whole case faces a large fine and possibly a prison sentence. At this point, it’s not yet clear how many pirated licenses were actually used during these activation attempts, so we’ve contacted Microsoft for more information and will update the article when we hear from the company. In the meantime, stay calm and buy Windows.

It’s impossible to deny the scope of what Destiny intends to be. The game boasts some incredibly solid shooting mechanics and while it aims to bring players together with its MMO/FPS hybrid gameplay, there are times when one might want to indulge in the more simple of pleasures. Sometimes, a simple arena-style deathmatch is what’s required and if recent rumors prove accurate, gamers could soon see something of the sort implemented. Stripping away the fat, the new gametype that is rumored to be making its way to Destiny‘s PvP Crucible mode goes by the name of Inferno. Taking a cue from the popular Team SWAT gametype from Halo, Inferno is purported to remove use of the radar, super abilities and any additional bonuses, forcing players to instead rely on their skills with the game’s weaponry. With Bungie looking at the possibilities of a racing mode, this would add yet another way to play the ever-evolving title. This rumor comes at the hands of Reddit user KingOfCarrotFlowers who claims that an Inferno grimoire card sheds light on the new mode’s details. If this is in fact an addition that is on its way to Destiny, this “hardcore” multiplayer mode is likely to draw some of the game’s more competitive fans right back into the experience. The alleged card’s text can be found below: “A modified variant of multiple Crucible match types, Inferno tests your Light against the darkest of conditions. Darkness prevails, leaving Guardians to rely on their weaponry and combat skills alone. The enemy can only be found by sight and sound alone. Rely on your teammates and keen tracking to stalk your enemies and shut them down without the trust in your most powerful abilities. True skill put to the ultimate test. No trackers. No Supers. No bonuses. Only kills earn points.“ With Destiny‘s latest raid making waves, it seems as though the promise of an ever-evolving experience is right on target. If this is the case, the introduction of a new multiplayer mode – especially something as widely sought-after as a hardcore mode – is not out of the question. Fan concerns are being taking into consideration and Bungie is continuing to look forward to the game’s sequels. It may not be a game for everyone, but it’s clear that there is a great amount of passion behind the project. Bungie has yet to officially announce the existence of Inferno. The information seems plausible and aligns with rumors surrounding new multiplayer modes in The Dark Below, but until there is some sort of official acknowledgement, it should be treated strictly as a rumor. Destiny: The Dark Below is available now for PS3, PS4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One.

Game delays are never the preferred situation for highly anticipated games, but oftentimes, people support them because more development time has never been a bad thing. Besides, no one wants their excitement to play a game on launch day to be ruined by bugs, glitches and other performance issues. More time to polish the game was one of the factors that led to CD Project Red delaying The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt by a few more months, but another huge variable was that people have become fearful of games that release with a host of problems. Recent launches like DriveClub, Halo: The Master Chief Collection and Assassin’s Creed Unity are just some of the recent games that fit the part, containing issues that rendered parts of them unplayable or, at the very least, difficult to enjoy. Speaking to financial journalists in Poland (via Eurogamer), CD Projekt Red president and board member Adam Kiciński explained that the market has spoken: they don’t want more faulty games on the PS4 and Xbox One. “Gamers took our decision [to delay The Witcher 3] very well. [The] market is afraid of badly polished games on next-gen platforms.” The last time the game was delayed, it was pushed from 2014 to February 2015 -a date the developer now says was set “too hastily.” At the time, though, CD Projeckt Red stated it was because the open-world aspect wasn’t up to par like the story is. “There’s a lot of small errors though, because the game is huge. It’s the only reason behind the delay. We didn’t assume it will be this big. Only after putting all the pieces together it turned out it’s bigger than the two first put together. “Let me remind you: it’s open and not linear. We are just learning how to play it and we have to catch the little pieces. We know what to do, we just have to do it. We don’t want to release the game with bugs that undermine the gameplay.” Again, CD Projekt’s decision to push back the game to avoid the launch issues others have faced is worthy of praise and understanding, but it once again highlights the fact that release dates are set before a game is actually ready to hit that date. It also begs the question: why did the studio wait until now -two months before the game was supposed to release- to announce a delay? A new trailer just debuted last week! Even more interesting (or terrifying) of a question: If Halo and AC Unity had better launches, would The Witcher 3 have kept the February 2015 date, to release with a day one patch and, probably, several bugs? Regardless, The Witcher 3 now has more time to be improved upon, and hopefully the final game will everything both fans and CD Projekt want it to be. As Kiciński put it, “We want to put our names under this game. It has to be fun.” The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, as of right now, will release on May 19, 2015 for PC, PS4 and Xbox One.

The scope of Hello Games’ upcoming open world sci-fi title No Man’s Sky is difficult to fully express, since gamers are used to “open world” meaning a map that you can run or drive across within about half an hour. No Man’s Sky is a little more ambitious than that; it’s an “open galaxy” game filled with so many worlds that it would take a player about 585 billion years to visit every single one, even if they only dropped into each planet for a second. No Man’s Sky is not a AAA title and does not have the money or manpower of a game like Mass Effect or Destiny behind it. Probably the best comparison that could be made is Minecraft, which created procedurally generated worlds for players to share and explore. No Man’s Sky will take a similar approach, only instead of constantly generating brand new worlds with each new game there is just one world with 18,446,744,073,709,551,616 procedurally generated planets in it. Players will all share the same universe, but the chances of actually running into another player in that massive playground are going to be very slim. This has led to questions about whether or not No Man’s Sky can be defined as an MMO or even as a multiplayer game, especially after trailers showcased at the recent PlayStation Experience event demonstrated the ability to warp across the galaxy. This surely means that it will be possible – in theory – to simply figure out where a friend is and then warp to their location, right? Actually, that’s not the case, as Hello Games’ Sean Murray explained in an interview with Game Informer. “[Your friends] will be a long way away. People keep asking us about multiplayer and I think when people see this they are going to fully realize what it means to be that far away from somebody else who’s playing… “People keep saying to us, ‘Yeah, but what if I knew where they were? Would I go there?’ And it’s like, yeah, but they are going to have to stay there for quite a while while you get over there. And then once you get over there you might land on the same planet and then you will say, ‘I’m on a planet the size of Earth and I am on a mountain. Where are you?’” Murray describes the multiplayer of No Man’s Sky as having all of the online players “flying around with an open lobby,” but since the game world is so huge those players will almost never run into one another. The game is equipped to handle another player or two flying past, but there’s no need to make it capable of handling thousands or even dozens of players on screen at the same time. Rather than people actually playing together at the same time, No Man’s Sky‘s multiplayer elements will work in a similar way to those of Dark Souls or Terraria - both of which are examples that Murray uses for comparison. The first player to discover a planet will live their legacy behind on it (when others visit it, the message “Discovered by [insert player tag here] will pop up) and there will be other ways for players to make others aware of their presence. “We are going to have a way for players to communicate with each other. Maybe leave messages and things like that on planets. I don’t know if it will represent that. Let’s not get into loads of detail, but you can say that we’re going to have a way for players to communicate with each other and leave little messages and things like that. “[Discussing Terraria's gravestones] It sounds like a small thing, but it’s so amazing. You walk around this world and then you’ve got all of these like silly stories that people have left.” Murray wasn’t able to offer clear answers for everything, since No Man’s Sky is still in developing with constantly evolving ideas, but one thing he was adamant about was the fact that No Man’s Sky is more of a single player experience than a multiplayer game where players are supposed to team up with friends. “Just to be really clear… it is not an MMO. All of those questions are leading toward that. There are loads of MMOs out there. People can play those. We want people to be able to get a sense of playing with other people and to see other people and feel like this is a real, live universe. “If you want to play a first-person-shooter-sci-fi-run-around-on-a-planet game, play Destiny. It’s a really good game. Go play that. We’re not trying to do that.” Although there will be shooter elements in No Man’s Sky, it largely seems to be exploration-based. This has raised questions about what the story will be – or if there even will be a story. From what Hello Games has previously said, the main goal will be to reach the center of the a galaxy and there will be antagonists in the game, but it will probably be quite light on narrative. Perhaps players will just have to create their own stories. No Man’s Sky comes to PS4 in 2015 and will eventually be available on PC.

The world of visual novels and point and click adventures has come a long way since rookie attorney Phoenix Wright made his American debut on the Nintendo DS in 2005. With recent games like TellTale’s The Walking Dead revitalizing the genre and other text heavy adventures like The Wolf Among Us pushing the boundaries of the unique gaming experience; there was the risk that the now decade old Phoenix Wright games may not have held up to the test of time. Despite that logical premise, the re-released Phoenix Wright Trilogy screams ‘Objection!’ and delivers countless hours worth of mysteries and murder to keep 3DS fans busy all winter. If you’re not a longtime fan of the Japanese smash success story that started out as a Gameboy Advance game, we’ll give you the crash course. The original trilogy of games that was just repackaged for the 3DS consists of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Justice for All, and Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Trials and Tribulations. The series of courtroom adventures places gamers in control of the legally capable and often ridiculous titular character. Players do a serious amount of interviewing witnesses and examining clues to solve a series of murders and mysteries. The game is text heavy and requires way more thinking than clicking (aside from the A button to get to the next line of text…). If you’re looking for a button masher, an experience grind, or a first-person shooter; don’t come barking up the Phoenix Wright tree. If you’ve decided that you don’t mind a game that requires you to read more than the average literature class, than you’ve come to the right place. The dialogue in Phoenix Wright is incredibly well-written. The games have a great sense of humor and manage to get players laughing with over-the-top puns, despite the fact that we’re constantly faced with brutal murders to solve. Outside of the occasional pop culture reference that misses the mark due to a bad translation or being a few years behind, the jokes are top notch. The carefully constructed cases aren’t just funny either, they all offer a serious challenge to the player. The gameplay is simple. Listen to a lot of people tell stories, examine crime scene photos, and spot inconsistencies. The major mechanic is a ‘Present’ button that allows you to throw a piece of evidence in a witnesses face and demand they explain it. It might sound dull, but once you solve your first case, you’ll be hooked… As a rookie defense attorney in the first game (and eventually an all-star in the fictional law world), players must grill witnesses with something to hide before the judge slams down a guilty charge on our innocent defendants. Phoenix Wright’s courtroom doesn’t follow the exact rules that might be learned at any law school and instead judges can demand one final piece of evidence to prove our case at any moment. The inevitable lack of patience that is bound to become a point of controversy in every trial makes for a great tension builder, but can leave players stuck re-reading lots of old evidence before they’ve actually put all the pieces together. The game’s crimes often hit close to home as well, with Wright’s friends and colleagues under the scrutiny of the courts. The additional emotional investment in each crime and the compelling off-the-wall personalities of the entire supporting cast all help make every case feel important. The game’s simple mechanics hold up throughout the original trilogy, despite their aging simplicity. Outside of adding a 3D layer to the game and a small enhancement to allow for point and click crime scene inspections, the rerelease doesn’t take much advantage of the new technology available on the 3DS. The extra screen worth of real estate does look great and frees up lots of space to admire the well-polished art on the top screen, while reviewing court records on the bottom. We would have liked to see at least some attempt to utilize the 3DS’s features that weren’t available on the original DS, but luckily the original gameplay is still entertaining enough to suck us in for hours. Some of the mechanics that have become staples of the Phoenix Wright franchise aren’t introduced until the second installment in the trilogy, so players will have to solve the first set of murders the old fashioned way. Once part two, Justice for All, is unlocked, players gain the ability to use the supernatural Psyche Lock ability to pick away at witness testimonies and mentally wear them down until they start to backtrack on their lies. The gameplay doesn’t really change all that much, but the Psyche Lock offers an exciting tool for crushing the lies of the prosecution. By the time players reach the third game, all the same quality is still intact, but there is a bit more frustration. Justice for All introduces cases that can be failed by blowing the first big moment in court and that feature returns (and becomes even more frequent) in the third game, Trials and Tribulations. Reverting back to a previous checkpoint is something that gamers are accustomed to, but they may not be prepared for all the clicking through it takes in Phoenix Wright to arrive back at your last failure. The save system has been improved from the original releases, but there is still too much dialogue to click through after a major mistake. Although the Phoenix Wright Trilogy doesn’t bring anything new to the table aside from some spruced up art and the convenience of playing all three games in one place, it is still a good investment for hardcore fans of the franchise. If it has been a few years since you’ve played the games, you may be pleasantly surprised by how engrossing and modern they feel. If you have never played a Phoenix Wright game before and have any interest in the visual novel genre, this trilogy is a must-play. The package is a gateway into an iconic and incredibly entertaining series and will have you screaming out “Take that!” and wearing a blue suit to work before you know it. Picking up the trilogy will cost 3DS owners $30 in the eShop. At just ten dollars per game, which each pack dozens of hours of action, we don’t recommend passing this one up. Phoenix Wright Trilogy is now available on Nintendo 3DS.

It’s the first weekend of Xur since the release of Destiny‘s new Dark Below expansion, which means new upgraded exotic armor and weapons as well as new trade-in items. The Agent of the Nine may have let us down over the past few weeks, but he has returned with a bang. Finding Xur this weekend should be no problem as he’s right alongside the Crucible Quartermaster. Just head due north down the stairs and you can’t miss him. It also helps that Eris has a bounty tied to Xur, meaning he will have one of the green icons above his head. Once players have found Xur, they will be treated to a genuine bounty of items. It may seem overwhelming at first, but that’s because Xur has added a new section to his store. Now players will be able to trade in old exotic weapons for upgraded versions with better attack ratings. Doing so won’t come cheap, though, requiring about 7,000 glimmer (prices differ per item), one exotic shard (which Xur sells for 7 strange coins), and the old exotic weapon. So, even though Xur has the upgraded version of the Icebreaker available, players will need the old version in order to purchase it. Those players can, however, purchase a new armor piece for their class, complete with higher defense power and light level. Titans will be especially happy about Xur’s offering, the Ruin Wings gauntlets, as they are one of the new DLC armor exotics for The Dark Below. That does mean players need to own the DLC to purchase the Ruin Wings, which is admittedly a bummer, but chances are if you’re still invested in Xur after two months you’ve already purchased the expansion or Expansion Pass. The Hunter and Warlock armor pieces are no slouches either, and will help bring players that much closer to level 32. For a full rundown of Xur’s items and prices see the list below: Ruin Wings (Titan DLC Gauntlets) – 13 Strange Coins Achylophase Symbiote (Hunter Helmet) – 13 Strange Coins Voidfang Vestments (Warlock Chest Armor) – 13 Strange Coins Truth (Rocket Launcher) – 17 Strange Coins Exotic Shard – 7 Strange Coins Exotic Helmet Engram – 23 Motes of Light Exotic Upgrades: Mask of the Third Man Young Ahamkara’s Spine The Armamentarium No Backup Plans Light Beyond Nemesis Sunbreakers Suros Regime Red Death The Last Word Thorn Icebreaker Thunderlord We should also mention that the Exotic Helmet Engram that Xur sells will give players the upgraded version of whatever armor it decrypts into. There’s no guarantee it will be for the player’s class, but at least they won’t have to turn around and sell it back to Xur for an upgraded armor piece. While the jubilation may wear off after seeing the same options weekend after weekend, for now Xur has rejuvenated our interest in his selection. The Truth rocket launcher is a solid offering for an exotic heavy weapon and will be extremely useful in Nightfall Strikes with the “Void Burn” modifier, and few will be able to pass up stronger armor. It says a lot that we’re already looking forward to seeing what Xur has next weekend.

Activision seems awfully proud of itself this morning, announcing in a press release that Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare and Destiny are the two best selling console games of the year in North America. Activision claims that Advanced Warfare‘s numbers for November alone put it ahead of every other title released since January. Their new IP from developer Bungie, Destiny, is said to have taken the #2 spot. Activision also noted that its Skylanders franchise is #1 in sales among all kids’ titles, based on retail sell-through. While Activision’s statement regarding these games is likely correct, it’s important to note a few things that have gone unsaid. The company has anointed these titles as the best-selling games of the year, but the numbers Activision is using are only through November. December sales figures are obviously still in progress, so it is at least possible, although unlikely that this ranking could change. The numbers are also only based on retail sales for consoles only. The statement does not take into account digital downloads on consoles for either title or PC sales for Call of Duty (Destiny is not currently available on PC). Gamers should always be wary these days any time any company claims to have a “best-selling” title, as sales figures for digital downloads through platforms like Steam are not available, but continue to gain popularity with gamers. It’s likely that the retail sales numbers publishers rely on will continue to decrease in significance as time goes on. It’s also worth noting that no official sales numbers have been released for Call of Duty. Activision has not said whether Advanced Warfare has surpassed or fallen short of previous games in the series like Black Ops or Modern Warfare. Some analysts believe that Call of Duty‘s sales numbers are on the decline. This is, however, the 6th consecutive year that a Call of Duty game has led the charts in November, according to Activision. Advanced Warfare’s sales likely benefited from the positive reviews the game received. The same can’t be said for Destiny, which has been referred to as the year’s “best 7 out of 10.” Destiny no doubt did benefit though from the unstoppable hype train that began long before the game was released, leading to the most successful new franchise launch in gaming history. Destiny will likely continue to rake in the cash for Activision as the game’s first expansion, The Dark Below was just released this month and more DLC is on the way. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare is available now for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. Destiny is available now for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

When BioWare and EA began to roll out the marketing for their next-gen RPG behemoth Dragon Age Inquisition, plenty of the game’s features got their time in the spotlight. The combat, the overarching story of Templar/Mage conflict, the world itself, and the colorful characters set to join the player on their journey. One aspect less advertised – but just as important to seasoned BioWare fans – was the studio’s approach to more personal relationships; particularly of the romantic variety. It’s easy for the uninitiated to dismiss BioWare’s signature brand of romance as serving no purpose beyond titillation or wish fulfilment, but it’s no overstating the case to say that growing to care about the story’s main players in a Dragon Age title is a legitimate facet of the overall experience. And with Inquisition, the developers outdid themselves. With characters more complicated than ever before seen, taking a variety of appearances and arcs over the course of the game’s lengthy campaign, some advice will come in handy. The writers have gone out of their way to make the heart of every Follower available to the player – even if their romantic interests lie elsewhere – meaning those characters may not state just what kind of relationships are likely in the long run. So, allow us to take care of it. Cullen – Human/Elf Female Inquisitor It isn’t just Followers that can be romanced in Inquisition, but the Inquisitor’s advisors as well (a possible conflict of interest, we’ll admit). The former Templar Cullen Rutherford is one such example, overseeing the military forces and planning of the player’s army – when not being awkwardly drawn into more romantic conversation (by either a human or elf female). Since it’s Cullen’s business to know what the player is up to, a romance is only possible if the player is not engaged in any other romance. It’s clear from the outset that Cullen’s morals aren’t really in question – no matter how heated the conflict between Mages and Templars has become – but it will take plenty of time before he drops his guard. One more tip: don’t discuss ingesting Lyrium, and you’re good to go. Blackwall – Female Inquisitor If Cullen is a devoted soldier, then Blackwall makes him look like a rent-a-cop. When word of a Grey Warden in the Hinterlands first arrives, seeking out the source of the rumors will lead the player straight to the Warrior – and bring up memories of Dragon Age: Origins‘ Duncan almost immediately. The Grey Wardens’ ongoing battle against the Darkspawn is pushed to the background in Inquisition‘s story, but Duncan’s resolute commitment to recruiting men and women to the cause does the order proud. Given the isolation of his life, a flirty female Inquisitor will convince Blackwall to join the cause rather quickly, though his inexperience with women becomes clear before long. Nuance or double entendre is lost on him, so the more blatant the romantic sentiment, the better. He may not be versed in the ways of love, but Blackwall’s life of service means he’ll warm up much faster to an Inquisitor who honors a dutiful soldier’s sacrifice above all else. Solas – Elf Female Inquisitor The supremely…’serious’ nature of Solas, an elven Mage is obvious upon his introduction, having spent his life separated from both the Dalish and city Elves, and mastering his magical abilities without formal training. Despite his lone wolf nature, the ages-old conflicts between the races of Thedas persist in his preference for romance, only opening up to the idea if romanced by a female Elf. If your Inquisitor fits the bill, then the way to Solas’ heart (like anyone) is to show an interest in his interests; having acquired wisdom about the Fade and the true nature of ‘demons,’ being open-minded to Solas’ opinions (particularly about elf culture) and insights will grab his attention. Try to see the world from his point of view – and avoid killing when he explicitly requests – and he’ll thaw out soon enough. Dorian – Male Inquisitor Easily the best (and most clever) flirt found within Inquisition, Dorian has proven a popular romance option for both male and female players – but only male Inquisitors, as this Mage is the first homosexual character in the series to date. His personal armor of scathing wit and sarcasm will keep a male Inquisitor at bay, until his personal quest “Last Resort of Good Men,” at which point players can make their romantic intentions known. From then on out, the time spent getting to know Dorian makes romance straightforward. As a former nobleman who cast off his family’s future and the Tevinter Imperium because of its hypocrisy and prejudice, a policy of freedom and respect is the way to go. Be direct, be honest, and be yourself, and Dorian will take notice. Iron Bull – Male/Female Inquisitor Even those who haven’t played Inquisition just yet have seen the one-of-a-kind sex scene an Iron Bull romance eventually builds towards. The immense, scarred, horned and calloused Qunari may not be what most will immediately define as “handsome,” but his magnetic personality is hard to resist. And the fact that Iron Bull is best known for his effectiveness as a spy, not just a Warrior, shows there’s more to him than first appears. However, the Qunari notion of “romance” isn’t in line with the typical Thedosian: relationships can be incredibly deep without a physical expression, meaning a romance with Iron Bull means a heartfelt bond, first and foremost. Keep at the flirting, and he will eventually show a softer side – before the physical side of the relationship takes hold, bringing as much laughter as it does comfort. Cassandra – Male Inquisitor Those who played through Dragon Age 2 know that Cassandra Pentaghast – Seeker of Truth, and right hand of the Divine – is a force to be reckoned with. So it’s not surprising to see that the Warrior remains even more determined and resolute once her superiors are killed alongside countless mages. But as much as Cassandra may claim that there is no place for love in the midst of an Inquisition, determined suitors will discover otherwise. Benath Cassandra’s rough exterior is a sentimental optimist; the Seekers of Truth have parted ways with The Chantry, but the soldier remains hopeful that all can be put right. Though she may outright state that a romance is simply never going to happen, thoughtful gestures – like having Varric scribe another of her favorite stories – will break through her defenses. It should go without saying, however, that to love Cassandra is to love no other. Sera – Female Inquisitor Assuming that players haven’t missed recruiting Sera altogether by ignoring the “Friends of Red Jenny” quest line in Val Royeaux, it’s an understatement to say that this Mage is a bit of a handful. If a female Inquisitor looks to start a romance, the ensuing scenes and conversations are just as unexpected and ridiculous. But if Sera is a player’s type, then they’ll likely eat every line of dialogue and absurd twist up. In conversation, Sera’s approval can be won by making sure not to overlook the average person in the larger conflict surrounding the Fade Rifts. Since Sera has no taste (or time) for serious pontificating, living in the moment, and bringing levity to any situation will help a romance blossom. If that’s how you choose to play Inquisition in the first place, then this is a perfect match. Josephine – Male/Female Inquisitor As the face of the Inquisition’s diplomatic resources, players might expect Josephine to be less than modest. But it’s clearly this advisor’s tact and light touch that has made her the diplomatic powerhouse she currently is, able to defuse explosive situations, or acquire clandestine information with words alone. Pair that strategy with her humble personality, and a path to romance should be fairly clear. Obviously, players who prefer to settle situations with brute force or threats aren’t Josephine’s idea of a perfect mate (and the player is likely to reciprocate). Inquire about her past, and begin flirting once Skyhold is unlocked, and Leliana will ask what intentions the Inquisitor has. Make your feelings known, and the courtship can continue. Not Romanceable Unfortunately, not every character players encounter will be open to a love connection. Varric is a lover of words, first and foremost; Cole isn’t really the… romantic type; Morrigan may still be dealing with the fallout from her previous romance; Vivienne is, frankly, out of the Inquisitor’s league; and Leliana has more pressing matters to concern herself with than flowery flirtation. Players can still flirt and compliment until they’re red in the face, but most of these non-romanceable characters will make it clear that they’re not interested almost immediately. - Whether these details are heartening, or devastating to some players (particularly those who had previously romanced the likes of Leliana or Morrigan), we trust that entering the hardship of combat without wondering how many ‘secret admirers’ are hiding in plain sight is likely a good thing. In the end, nearly every relationship offers something special to the players willing to find it; that may not mean finding love in the time of Fade Rifts, but BioWare’s emphasis on bonding and characters goes well beyond romance. Dragon Age: Inquisition is available now for PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One.

Rockstar Games and parent company Take-Two Interactive have done extremely well with Grand Theft Auto V even despite controversy about the game being pulled from shelves in Australia and accusations of it being too misogynistic. The game broke records with its PS3 and Xbox 360 release last year and later opened up the multiplayer Grand Theft Auto Online mode for all players which was received as positively. The game’s online was directionless, full of glitches and exploits and poor design choices that contradicted the fundamentals of the franchise’s gameplay. Worse, Rockstar attempting to build in some shoddy microtransaction nonsense where players could spend real money on in-game money. Not good. The saving grace and the biggest selling point of the online play was idea of heists – co-op missions that players could tackle together that would draw elements from some of the dynamic single player story missions. Those heists, Rockstar promised, would come later but they never did. The main focus was on selling the next version of the game for PS4 and Xbox One, and that they did. Instead of just improving the graphics slightly for the more powerful gaming machines, Rockstar added new content, loads of new music and radio options, an even built in an entirely new way to play the game: a first-person mode. The online features were expanded to support more content and more players and the re-release won an award at The Game Awards, but still, no heists. They did tease that the next major patch for the game would finally add Heists but no date has been given. It might have just been leaked however. According to Grand Theft Auto V info gatherer DomisLive who we’ve shared videos of before, Heists are coming alongside the Holiday DLC on Tuesday, December 23, 2014 at 5AM EST on PlayStation and 10:30AM EST on the Xbox platforms. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2L8R4UjhV_4 The other rumored DLC, according to leaked lines of code, indicates that Grand Theft Auto V could be getting snow, Christmas-themed clothing and the oft-rumored “Cops N Crooks” multiplayer mode. There’s no official info either way from Rockstar just yet but expect some soon. Would the addition of heists bring you back into Grand Theft Auto Online or convince you to purchase the PS4/Xbox One versions? Or should we all wait for the PC version? Grand Theft Auto V is available now for PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. A PC release is slated for January 2015

Creative Assembly’s take on the Alien franchise, which debuted in the form of Alien: Isolation, hit home for a lot of survival horror and Alien fans. Players take on the role of Amanda Ripley – daughter of the movie series’ Ellen Ripley – and explore a ship that’s been relatively cut off from the outside world and invaded by a lone (though still deadly) Xenomorph. After launch, reviews were largely mixed, with our own review praising the game’s atmosphere and invoking very real feelings of tension, but criticizing the actions of the Xenomorph itself, as well as certain design choices. While it’s definitely not for everyone, Alien: Isolation did well for itself, and those who thoroughly immersed themselves in the game and came out of the other side still sane found a great entry in the survival horror genre. And the game’s ending leaves room for a followup, though who’s to say what form it would take. AVP Galaxy interviewed Isolation’s Lead Game Designer Gary Napperthe who inevitably brought up the prospect of a sequel. Despite the fact that the first game only came out in October, Napperthe revealed that talks of a sequel are pretty frequent in the studio, and everyone’s got an idea. “The plot for a sequel is a daily topic in the studio sometimes. People have their own ideas for where it should go, our writers have some solid concepts and yes, we do have a great opportunity to continue her story.” Of course, if Creative Assembly were to make a sequel to Alien: Isolation, it’d have to follow in the footsteps of it movie counterpart and be an “Aliens” title, right? Needless to say, when people think of an “Aliens” game, Aliens: Colonial Marines, unfortunately, still comes to mind. As Napperthe puts it, however, and possibly to the relief of many fans, he’d like to keep the same tone as Isolation, complete with one alien creature. “I think the action oriented ‘Aliens’ style game is very different from what Isolation is. If we made a sequel I would like to stick to the same terrifying single Alien approach but do more with the environment and interactivity within it.” Shying away from a more action-heavy Alien(s) games doesn’t necessarily mean that it can’t be done, just that it needs to be done correctly. As opposed to pitting soldiers against wave after wave of non-threatening Xenomorphs that run around aimlessly or simply rush at the player. Would you like to see this studio make another horror-style Alien game? Or perhaps let someone else take a shot? Seeing as how Creative Assembly got it mostly right, maybe give them another opportunity. Alien: Isolation is available for PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One.

Before last weekend’s PlayStation Experience keynote, the assembled Las Vegas crowd kept asking two questions: how will Uncharted 4 look, and will Sony say anything about The Last Guardian? The respective answers weren’t surprising: pretty damn good, and apparently not. The Last Guardian’s failure to show up wasn’t the keynote’s biggest disappointment; Square-Enix won that contest by teasing the highly-demanded Final Fantasy 7 remake only to reveal a straight port of the original PS1 title. Still, The Last Guardian was the most notable story due to its absence. After all, the game is the latest project from Team Ico and executive producer Fumito Ueda, whose critically-acclaimed Ico and Shadow of the Colossus are two of the most respected games of all time. Gamers haven’t seen footage of the title since 2011; it was first announced in 2009, and has been in development since 2007. Every few months, Sony representatives are forced to answer the same question: is The Last Guardian ever actually releasing? According to a statement in Japanese gaming magazine Dengeki PlayStation, Ueda certainly thinks so. When asked to share some thoughts on the titles he worked on in 2014, Ueda offered a small confirmation that all hope is not yet lost: “Talks with Sony Computer Entertainment on The Last Guardian have been ironed out, and we’re making progress under completely new conditions.” Ueda didn’t elaborate on what exactly those “new conditions” are, leading to rampant speculation on Twitter and online forums. The prevailing theory is that The Last Guardian has moved from the PlayStation 3 to the PlayStation 4, which at this point seems a guarantee, with the PS3 on its way out (and despite Sony’s protests, the Vita doesn’t exactly feel like the company’s top priority). Ueda previously claimed that The Last Guardian would push the PS3 “to its limit,” and shifting the title’s development to a more powerful platform could help Team Ico better realize their creative vision. But there’s another possibility, too: Ueda could be talking about his personal working conditions and his relationship with Sony and Team Ico. Ueda officially left Sony in 2011, and while he didn’t stop working on The Last Guardian, he was doing so as a “freelance contributor,” not the game’s credited producer or director. Not only could Ueda mean there was some sort of personal issue to resolve, but in the same article went on to say that he was “also working on some other things,” indicating that The Last Guardian might not be his primary focus at the moment. The statement’s vague to begin with, and its ambiguity is made worse by the fact that it’s a translation from the original Japanese. Without knowing the specifics of Ueda’s current relationship with Sony, it’s probably best not to leap to conclusions. All gamers know is that The Last Guardian is – somewhere, somehow – still in production, and that, hopefully, they’ll get to play it some day in the future.

Much has been said on the subject of Bungie’s Destiny — it’s certainly one of the biggest releases of 2014, but it’s also proven to be one of the most controversial. The game has been subject to a thorough analysis by both its fans and its detractors, but it might just turn out to be gaming web comic Penny Arcade who manage to really cut to the core of what makes Destiny such a hot topic. While Penny Arcade might be as well known for the Child’s Play charity as much as the web comic itself these days, the team of Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik can still provide some very insightful commentary on the industry. Today’s installment, entitled ‘Fan Fiction’, is a very good example of that. Eschewing the lame gags that video game web comics all too often rely upon, ‘Fan Fiction’ lets us in on a private conversation between a Guardian and her Ghost. It’s a simple scene, but it’s well told — and it’s the sort of narrative that many would say is missing from the game itself. Earlier this week saw the release of the first expansion pack for Destiny, The Dark Below. Players desperate for more to do in the world of Destiny have attacked the new content with some vigo;r, with the records for fastest run through of the game’s new Raid, Crota’s End, being hotly contested over the past few days. However, for anyone more interested in seeing Bungie follow up the intricate lore that they put together for the Halo series, the new expansion won’t offer all that much. There are very interesting ideas going on in Destiny — the Penny Arcade comic demonstrates just how much potential the game has for ‘Fan Fiction’ — but it’s disappointing to see how poorly it’s capitalized upon in the game itself. Penny Arcade’s strip touches on things that the game should; the terror of the Hive, the loneliness of being a solo Guardian and even the personality of the Ghosts that accompany them. Destiny might be able to deliver the satisfying gameplay that made Halo a huge success, but it’s difficult to argue that there isn’t more than could have been done with its narrative. However, given that we already now that work has begun on Destiny 2, perhaps we’ll see the burgeoning franchise find its feet in its second installment. It’ll certainly need to make good on the failings of its predecessor if it’s going to prove to be anywhere near as financially successful. Destiny is available now for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One.

In today’s gaming sphere, it’s not uncommon for official game reveals to be preceded by online leaks at the hands of retailers and ratings boards. Combine this with the rise in popularity of title re-releases on new hardware, and surprises are quickly becoming a thing of the past. The latest title to crop up online in advance of a formal announcement appears to be Borderlands Remastered Edition. Beginning its life in 2009 with the critically acclaimed first-person shooter Borderlands, the series has quickly become a loot-hoarder’s dream. Since remastered versions of popular games are on the rise with notable examples like The Last of Us, the discovery of a ratings listing for a Borderlands Remastered Edition is hardly a shock. Having effectively made the transition between its first-person shooter roots and new frontiers entirely with Tales from the Borderlands, and the upcoming Borderlands Online, there’s no better time to present gamers with a new opportunity to try their hands at the franchise’s launching point. The aforementioned ratings listing was posted to the Australian Classification Board on December 11, 2014, citing the title as a multi platform release. If past remastered releases like Grand Theft Auto V are any indication, this would likely manifest itself in a PS4 and Xbox One release. Not only this, but the title is given an MA 15+ classification on the basis of “strong violence and online interactivity.” For fans of the series, the prospect of a remastered return to Pandora is no doubt a tantalizing prospect. The original game effectively combined strong first-person gunplay with the loot-collecting elements of RPGs like Diablo and has served as a foundation for numerous games that have followed. With the original title having released over half a decade ago, this would give gamers who were late to the party a chance to get a look at the series’ roots, complete with a fresh set of paint. With no Borderlands 3 currently known to be in development, it’s likely that gamers won’t have many chances to re-immerse themselves into Borderlands‘ culture outside of the upcoming episodes of Tales from the Borderlands (check out our review). With this being the case, a re-release of the first title could be just what fans need to get them through the next year. Would you be interested in buying a remastered version of Borderlands? Are there any changes that you would like to see in Borderlands Remastered Edition?

It would be a massive understatement to say that Assassin’s Creed Unity under-performed last month, and has continued to be in the recovering phase of its post-launch process. Several patches and updates have been released by Ubisoft, which implemented fixes to improve overall performance and remove bugs, like the one that makes faces disappear. When the developer/publisher last discussed the upcoming update – the fourth patch, in fact – it said that most of the remaining fixes would be dealt with. To those that bought the game at launch and were unable to fully enjoy the game, this can only be seen as good news. Or more good news since Unity players are also getting free games and DLC. Fortunately, the wait for patch 4 won’t be a long one, as Ubisoft revealed on its Live Updates community page that the patch is set to release on December 15 for all platforms. Come Monday, players may finally be able to get back to spending time with Arno or their fellow co-op assassins. “We expect that Patch 4 will be released next week on Monday, December 15 across all platforms. This patch will address issues with stability and performance as well as online matchmaking and connectivity (among other fixes and improvements).” Down in the comments, Ubisoft partially reassured that the coming fixes will “help meet peoples expectations,” while neglecting to specify how. The specifics about the contents of the patch and what it aims to fix won’t be completely known until a detailed list is posted the day of the patch’s release. A bit of a curious move, since last week a small list of ‘top priority issues’ revealed that the dev seeks to resolve game crashing, companion app problems, and Error CE-34878-0. That particular error has become quite the nuisance to PS4 player who have experienced game freezes and crashes after loading their save. Perhaps the company doesn’t want people to see what fixes are/aren’t coming, and suffer more backlash from unhappy gamers? Only time will tell. Its been a little over a month since Unity debuted and introduced its problems to the world. After what will be four patches, it would be incredibly unfortunate if some people still ran into game breaking bugs. Hopefully, after the 15th, we can all move on to another game. Assassin’s Creed Unity is out now for PC, PS4 and Xbox One. Details regarding the free games will come at a later, currently unknown, date.

After disappointing quite a lot of Dota 2 players with the news that it won't be organizing a Frostivus 2014 winter event, as it wants to focus on new features for the game, Valve confirms that creative fans can now start submitting content for the upcoming New Bloom Festival 2015 that takes place in February of next year. Dota 2 is played by tens of millions of fans from around the world, but as you can imagine, the free-to-play experience is really popular in Asia, particularly in China. As such, Valve caters quite a bit more to that region of the world, and after canceling Diretide 2014 or Frostivus 2014, two traditional events, in order to focus on overhauling the game's engine, it's making sure that New Bloom Festival 2015 is still coming right around the Chinese New Year. Players can already submit items that might appear in New Bloom 2015 Now, in order to give creative Dota 2 fans enough time to make some items for the game, Valve reveals on the official statement the rules that, when followed, should make their content appear much easier inside the game come New Bloom 2015. First up, content creators must mark their submissions with the Spring2015 tag when placing the items in the Steam Workshop and the deadline is until January 19, 2015, so you might want to do this sooner rather than later. Those who want to get involved with the process should visit the Workshop for Dota 2 and start voting through their queue of items. Different restrictions are in place for the new event Valve also highlights that new restrictions are in place for Dota 2's New Bloom 2015 event, as while items need to be based "around the themes of Chinese New Year, Chinese history, and springtime," they must also avoid using specific elements. These include dragons and written Chinese characters, but also traditionally taboo things like skulls and even some awkward restrictions concerning class differences. "This time around we would like to ask artists to avoid the use of dragons and written Chinese characters, as well any concepts that involve human skulls, blood and gore. Additionally, to have the best chance of having your work make it into the game, please be careful not to mix cultural concepts in your designs, such as traditional divisions between the dress of children and adults, warriors and civilians and upper and lower classes," the studio explains. A technical restriction concerning custom particles is also present, as Valve is reworking the way the workshop particle mechanics behave, so players shouldn't use them in the items they submit for New Bloom 2015. The actual event takes place in February of 2015, so expect to hear more during and around that time.

Dying Light is going to run in 1080p resolution, at 30 frames per second on the PlayStation 4 home entertainment system from Sony. No word yet on Xbox One. Maciej Binkowski, the lead game designer for Dying Light, decided to spill the beans on the promising project, making a bunch of reveals during a Q&A session on ask.fm. The upcoming game deals with the zombie apocalypse, a subject that's been done to death, but not in the way Techland is doing it. The gameplay will be a mix of using parkour to get around zombies and navigate the rooftops of a crumbling metropolis and employing lethal melee combat to deal with the undead fiends and some of the living ones. Dying Light puts you in the shoes of a special agent tasked with infiltrating the quarantine area of a city under siege, and you have to do your best to permeate the slum's power structures and rescue the innocent victims of the unknown virus. You will have to undertake a series of missions and to scavenge the remnants of civilization in order to find supplies and craft makeshift weapons, traps, and distractions for the hordes of the ravenous undead. A bunch of new info Players won't be able to adjust the time of day or night, and although night time will only spread to about seven actual minutes, it's going to be an experience that will severely test your abilities to survive and willingness to venture out ever again. You won't be able to build any home base, but you can secure safe houses during your adventures, which will help you when night falls, as you will respawn there. Additionally, you'll also be able to cower and whimper in there while night passes. Gamers will be able to "level up" and invest skill points in various new abilities or make existing ones more versatile, and they will also be able to unlock each and every one of them when they reach the maximum available rank. Firearms will be quite rare but very powerful. To balance this, ammo will not be abundant and the noise they make will attract many nearby infected. For the time being, the team hasn't decided on whether there will be any future DLC that will increase the level cap or anything like that. Unfortunately, the game won't support mods, as the way the Chrome Engine the title is built on is implemented would take a considerable effort to modify in order to allow it. Although designed as an open-world game, the survival game won't allow players to explore all the map from the get-go, as some areas will become available only after certain story events are triggered. Dying Light will be out for PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 at the end of January.

If you happen to own a PS4 or PS3 console and a PlayStation Plus subscription, now is the time to start looking for game deals. Although there’s still a lot of time until Christmas, when retailers usually offer the best deals, there are some promos that include quite decent offerings on various titles. Less than two weeks ago Sony kicked off its own “12 Deals of Christmas” campaign that brings a new deal at every 48 hours. The fifth deal that is now live on PlayStation Store is aimed at shooter genre fans. Bungie’s popular Destiny game is now available for a discount, so those who own a PS4 or PS3 console can grab it for a reduced price. Even though the deals aren’t so great in comparison with what Microsoft has to offer to Xbox One owners, it’s still something to consider. Until December 12, 2pm GMT, console gamers in Europe can grab Destiny for PS4 for €44.99 / £34.99. Keep in mind that the game is usually available for purchase for €69.99 / £54.99, so Bungie seems to have slashed the original price by quite a lot. Those with richer wallets may want to take a look at Destiny Digital Guardian Edition for PS4, which was available for €99.99 / £84.99 and is now selling for €69.99 / £59.99. Both PS3 and PS4 version of Destiny have been discounted for 48 hours The PS3 version of Destiny is now selling for €44.99/£29.99, but after 48 hours it will be up for grabs for no less than €69.99 / £49.99. Destiny Digital Guardian Edition for PS3 has been discounted as well, so instead of paying €99.99 / £79.99, players can get it for only €69.99 / £54.99. There’s one other game that’s now available for purchase under Sony’s “12 Deals of Christmas” promotion: Street Fighter X Tekken (PS Vita). The game was previously available for €44.99 / £39.99, but for the next 48 hours PS Vita owners can get it for just €8.99 / £7.39. It’s also worth mentioning that PS Plus members save an additional 10% from the game’s price, which means you would be able to get it for as low as €8 / £6.65. The 10% discount for PS Plus members that subscribers can use on Street Fighter X Tekken doesn’t apply on Destiny deals, so you can only purchase Bungie’s game for the prices mentioned earlier. In other news, Xbox One owners will be able to purchase either Destiny or Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare for just $29.99 (€25) on December 13. The deal will be available through Microsoft Store.

Square Enix has clarified recent controversies surrounding the fact that Microsoft is going to handle the publishing of the upcoming Rise of the Tomb Raider title coming from its Crystal Dynamics studio, saying that the deal is valid only for a certain duration and covers the Xbox One and Xbox 360 versions of the title. Rise of the Tomb Raider was revealed earlier this year, and as hype around the game grew, Square Enix promptly announced that it was coming as an exclusive to the Xbox One and Xbox 360 platforms, which prompted a fierce backlash from PC and PlayStation gamers who felt betrayed by the partnership. Shortly after that, Square Enix issued a statement saying that the exclusivity was, indeed, timed, so fans who don't have an Xbox One or Xbox 360 shouldn't worry about missing out on the experience. Microsoft is handling the publishing of Rise of the Tomb Raider However, when Microsoft's Aaron Greenberg confirmed on Twitter that the company was handling the publishing process for Rise of the Tomb Raider instead of Square Enix, which owns developer Crystal Dynamics, worries once again began to brew inside the community. Now, Microsoft has offered a statement to GameInformer concerning the recent events and compared the deal to what it has already done with Capcom and Dead Rising 3, which first appeared on the Xbox One and rolled out onto the PC at a later point in time. "To further clarify Aaron Greenberg’s tweet yesterday, yes, Microsoft will be publishing Rise of the Tomb Raider on Xbox," a representative says. "Similar to how we worked with Capcom on Dead Rising 3 or Harmonix on Dance Central, we’re very excited to partner with the amazing team at Crystal Dynamics to bring 'Rise of the Tomb Raider' in holiday 2015, exclusively to Xbox. Both our team and the Xbox community are huge fans of the franchise and we can’t wait to share more on the game in the future." Square Enix confirms that the publishing deal has a duration Square Enix also comes forward to offer clarification on the statement, saying that its partnership with Microsoft for Rise of the Tomb Raider has a duration but, right now, it's focusing with Crystal Dynamics on bringing the game to the Xbox One and Xbox 360 platforms. "Our partnership with Microsoft on Rise of the Tomb Raider does have a duration, but we aren’t discussing those details at this time and are focused on collaborating to deliver a great game on Xbox One and Xbox 360," the company says. Without a doubt, the deal made by Square Enix and Microsoft is murky but you can expect to hear more about the actual game next year as we get closer to its winter holiday release period.

Dragon Age: Inquisition update 2 launched a few hours ago across quite a few platforms, but unfortunately, it seems that it's introduced several new problems on the PC, besides fixing plenty of older ones. Dragon Age: Inquisition launched last month across the PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One platforms, with developer BioWare delivering to fans a sprawling role-playing experience with massive environments, a rich story, and an intense multiplayer mode. While the game was certainly quite impressive, it also suffered from quite a few different issues across most platforms, from broken quests to glitches while interacting with certain companions or non-playable characters, and crashes and errors seen on the PC due to certain graphics card drivers. In order to solve some of these issues, BioWare rolled out a few hours ago Dragon Age: Inquisition patch 2, which served to fix a wide array of errors relating to quests, performance, stability, and other important areas. The new update introduces new problems Unfortunately, as spotted by many PC owners on Reddit, the new update also introduced a series of major issues with the game's visuals, as apparently the game no longer uses the settings input by users in the options menu. No matter the actual settings you want for Inquisition, from low to high, or even ultra, the game doesn't actually run with them. Instead, apparently, the patch forces the game to run in graphics presets set for the PS3 or Xbox 360 consoles, even on PCs that are way more powerful than those older devices. According to fans, there's no way to force the game to run at certain graphics settings by modifying its files so, at least for now, it's unclear how they can actually continue playing at the quality levels they want. The issues affect many visual effects Because the game now runs in last-gen console mode, so to say, many effects no longer appear, from scars and facial customization elements to ice and fire particles. Some textures are also glitched, causing specific characters to appear to have a wrinkled face instead of a normal one. As of yet, there's no word from BioWare about a solution to the errors introduced by patch 2 for Dragon Age: Inquisition on the PC platform. Even so, expect to hear some form of confirmation in the near future about a second PC-only update or at least a workaround to keep PC owners happy until the patch can be released.

Train Simulator series developer Dovetail Games has delivered some great news for flight simulation fans out there: Microsoft Flight Simulator X is going to pop up on Steam on December 18, at a great introductory price. Dovetail is famous for its attention to detail and for its niche simulation video games, with titles such as Dovetail Games Fishing and many others pleasing small crowds all across the world. Microsoft Flight Simulator X first came out in 2006, originally developed by Microsoft Game Studios, as the tenth and last in the long series of flight simulation video games published by the software giant. The game, although still having many dedicated fans, has fallen by the wayside since then, as its multiplayer matchmaking system depended on the GameSpy network, which was discontinued. Dovetail signed a licensing agreement with Microsoft this summer, and now we're seeing its fruits. The developer also announced that it would be producing new flight software, so we're excited to see where the company plans to take the series in the future. More than just a re-release Dovetail Games is going to launch Microsoft Flight Simulator X: Steam Edition on Steam on December 18, keeping all the original content intact and adding a bunch of new stuff to the formula. Among the overhauled systems we note Windows 8.1 support, updated multiplayer functionality, and many others. Pilots will be enter to experience an accurate aerial simulation, with over 20 different aircraft to choose from, from commercial and fighter jets to private planes and helicopters, all faithfully modeled in-game. The game features over 80 different missions, including search and rescue operations, races, test pilot scenarios and others. Microsoft Flight Simulator X: Steam Edition will come with over 24k connected airports, enabling users to step into a vast world whose horizons they will get to explore. Dovetail Games also plans to launch a number of add-ons for Microsoft Flight Simulator X: Steam Edition, to be revealed over the course of 2015. The bad thing about it all is that, unfortunately, the studio is unable to implement any kind of visual upgrades, due to the terms of the licensing deal with Microsoft. This is likely to put some people off, as the visuals have not aged all that well. The game will be available exclusively for Windows PC, starting December 18. Time to start piling up your monitors and keeping an eye on eBay for some juicy deals on flight sticks.