After a less than extraordinary showing Microsoft revealed today what their new system is. Naming their system the Xbox One almost giving it a retro feel they’ve also given the retro to the unit itself which is more reminiscent of the original first line of VHS that hit the market back in the late 80′s.

Microsoft did not show a lengthy title of games to come only that they would be providing new titles to the franchise. The idea of mixing games and Internet browsing is nothing substantially new to the gaming ecosphere, Apple has done this for some time with their airplay feature and games. Their controller seems nothing set apart from what they are ready have established and the new camera does not seem anything substantially next generation.

Let’s be honest as people throw out the words “next-generation console” the way technology is bounding we are headed for the future video games in more like a hollow deck experience from Star Trek or the danger room from the X-Men.

So this time is crucial to be a standout in the gaming field as a leader of innovation and not a revamped tool which is what Microsoft has done with their new camera which was based on their old camera which was originally done on PlayStation 2 with the Eye Toy. If anything from this, Microsoft showing they have shown how to watch TV which we have already knew about and make our gameplay that much more annoying by incoming Internet explorer alerts or Skype messages.

I know I am not alone in this thinking. the market itself reflects what consumers are thinking and in which way they’re shifting as Sony had a stock jump of 9.1% after the Microsoft press conference.

As I sat back and watched with a fellow gamer, shortly after he started to send me memes and parody videos that started to flood the web less than minutes after the completion of the conference.

This all of course reflects the overall attitudes the gamers already have about Microsoft’s next-generation system. On June 10th gamers will really see what the next generation of gaming has to offer. I guarantee that nightfall on June 10th will really show who has the foothold in the current next-generation gaming console war.

Before Injustice: Gods Among Us was released, NetherRealm studios announced that they would be adding several new characters to the roster over a few months following launch. While not announcing who these new fighters would you were given a choice of either season pass, which has become the normal or purchase of the up coming characters individually. The season pass being roughly the cost three characters individually.

Since Injustice’s release, the first character is now available. Lobo, otherwise known as The Main Man, is a relatively unknown in his origin, but popular character that has been featured in many comic books since his creation in the 1980′s. He originally manifested in the Green Lantern universe.

A standout of this game is the mass amount of single player content and seamless integration of story and arcade battles. Injustices also has 250 S.T.A.R Labs missions but if you were hoping that Lobo’s addition would include any more single player content prepare for disappoint.

While Lobo does include a short ending for completing Classic Battle, and he is added to the opponents you will face in Battle Mode, there are no additional S.T.A.R Labs missions, no extra story content and, surprisingly, not even a second costume or a character model in the Archives.

As for the character himself, Lobo is a strong grappler that has the added bonus of long-ranged attacks in the form of his shotgun and chain. This makes him dangerous both up close and at a distance. Every character in the game has a special ability, activated by pressing the circle button the Flash is granted super speed, Superman super strength and so on – Lobo’s special ability is a super charged shotgun blast which, while not being as impressive as other powers out there, deals a severe amount of damage.

Lobo is a solid character and the team at NetherRealm have clearly put a lot of love into bringing him to life. His move-set  voice acting and overall character design are all completely authentic to the character and as such he will appeal to hardcore fans of the comics.

In tandem with the release of Lobo, a compatibility pack has been released that enables all players to play online together, even if they don’t have Lobo. As an added incentive to download the pack is comed with costumes based on the DC Comics miniseries Flashpoint.

Included are Batman, Aquaman, Wonder Woman and Deathstroke. Based in an alternate reality, Flashpoint featured familiar characters in an unfamiliar setting, including a devastating war between Aquaman’s Atlanteans and Wonder Woman’s Themyscirans and Thomas Wayne becoming Batman following the death of his son Bruce.

NetherRealm has also announced that Batgirl will be added to the roster but at an undisclosed time and had hinted at the release of General Zod to coincide with the release of the new Superman movie.

Last time we introduced POW II and talked about the new Interactive TacMap . Today we are going to go in-depth and show you an example of how the Intel will look when you click on a territory in the TacMap. BradyGames a long time sponsor and partner with Urgent Fury has been gracious enough to offer the best Intel in the business to further enhance your TacMap experience.

Each Territory will include the Map, the assigned mode and will also include particular information that relates to that.

In the example below we are showing below, we have Meltown in the War Zone Configuration. War Zone Territories will make up the majority of the TacMap Territories and are Search & Destroy.

You will see the routes for both attackers and the defenders along with the location of both plant locations and various info like ladders, directional arrows etc. All of this can be found in the Official BradyGames Black Ops 2 Strategy Guide.

For more details about POW II and information on how to register head over to Urgent Fury for Details.

Urgent Fury is notorious for enhancing the tournament experience with their Signature Scenario Based TacMap Tournaments. Over the years these events have had various twists to make the tournament event more interesting and POW II is no different.

Prisoner of War was by far one of the most popular adaptations to the TacMap experience added by creators Tow and Sniper. So with the release of Call of Duty Black Ops 2, the Directors and Staff felt we finally had the platform to bring POWs back into the mix. The last time POWs were found in a Call of Duty TacMap was Riot Act back in 2008. But before we go into the details about POW II, let’s talk about the TacMap 4.0.

All earlier TacMaps have been flash based making for tough updating and almost useless to IPads and mobile devices. So we have worked hard to find a new solution that is easier to manage as well as friendly to devices such as Tablets. So with great pleasure we are proud to announce the TacMap Version 4.0.

Our new interactive TacMap brings new features to the player as well. Like before when you mouse over you will get the details about the Territory including the Name, Number, Map and Mode. But now when you click on a Territory it will offer specific Intel for that Territory. In the case of the example here, you will see we clicked on a Territory and it brought up the Game Map for that particular city.

In the TacMap you will also see the continued use of color coding per clan and the return of the Clan Intel showing Territories owned and what clans are in a critical or eliminated status.

POW II for Black Ops 2 on PlayStation 3

So now let’s get into the nitty-gritty. POW II will be a Black Ops 2 Tournament for PlayStation 3 players. We are changing things up a bit this time around. Gone are the 13 week time limit with sudden death and a final championship. To win this event you have to eliminate all of your opponents period. Now with that in mind we are pretty sure you guys do not want a repeat of when our Clan held down Antenora for over 30 weeks dragging the end out beyond anyone’s belief. So we are introducing the new Stale Mate Provision:

The Stale Mate Provision activates once we have 4 or less clans that have not been eliminated. During the Stale Mate period, Clans have to gain at least one territory a week. If a clan fails to gain a territory, the clan will declare a territory to be returned to the battlefield.

A clan can be eliminated simply by not making any forward progress very quickly when we reach the Stale Mate Phase. You will also notice that the territories are returned to the battlefield. We will explain how the Neutral Cities work shortly, but this is also a change.

City Types

HQ Cities: All HQ cities’ maps will consist of only DEMOLITION map modes. In all DEMOLITION modes for HQ cities, defenders will play with 8 players, attackers play with 7. POWs are taken in these types of wars when the winning team sweeps their opponent, denying them a single round of victory. Two POWs are taken by the winner with the winner first choosing their POW and then the loser giving up one more of their own choosing. The winning clan may only take POWs if the winning clan owns a POW camp on the TACMAP. If they do not, then no POWs exchange hands.

POW Cities: All POW cities’ maps will consist of only TEAM DEATHMATCH map modes in an 8 v 8 match. If Clan A owns one or more POW cities, then when Clan A takes POWs from Clan Z in a war, Clan A places those POWs in one of its held POW cities. A POW city can ONLY be attacked by a Heliport City. Without a Heliport city, no POW city can be attacked. When a POW city is taken in an attack, the attacker must release all POWs from ONE clan (no matter how many) and must keep all other clan POWs in the city (no matter how many). This match is set with a 5-life respawn cap so teamwork and patience is critical. POWs are taken in these types of wars when the winning team still has four or more gunners alive by the time the match ends. Two POWs are taken by the winner with the winner first choosing their POW and then the loser giving up one more of their own choosing. The winning clan may only take POWs if the winning clan owns a POW camp on the TACMAP. If they do not, then no POWs exchange hands.

Heliport Cities: All Heliport cities’ maps will consist of only DOMINATION map modes in an 8 v 8 match. A Heliport city is the ONLY MEANS of placing an attack on a POW camp. Without a Heliport city, no matter what, you will be unable to potentially save your clan mates who are stuck with no chance of rescue. Whereas HQ and Heliport cities must be attacked by the borders that connect them, Heliport cities can mount attacks to ANY POW city or standard city on the Tacmap, regardless of distance. POWs are taken in these types of wars when the winning clan holds the losing clan to a score of 300 or less (the score cap of this match is 500 points to declare a winner). Two POWs are taken by the winner with the winner first choosing their POW and then the loser giving up one more of their own choosing. The winning clan may only take POWs if the winning clan owns a POW camp on the TACMAP. If they do not, then no POWs exchange hands.

War Zone Cities: All War Zone cities’ maps will consist of only SEARCH & DESTROY map modes in an 8 v 8 match. A War Zone city is the most common city found on the TACMAP, comprising nearly half of it. War Zone cities are considered “too hot” for landing, therefor, no Heliport cities may attack a War Zone, even if the Heliport City borders that War Zone. POWs are taken in these types of wars when the winning clan sweeps the losing clan, preventing the losing clan from winning a single round in this multi-round match. Two POWs are taken by the winner with the winner first choosing their POW and then the loser giving up one more of their own choosing. The winning clan may only take POWs if the winning clan owns a POW camp on the TACMAP. If they do not, then no POWs exchange hands.

Neutral Cities: All Neutral cities’ maps will consist of only HARDPOINT map modes in an Multi-Team match. A Neutral city is up for grabs by any bordering territory. If a single clan owns all bordering territories, they may claim the Neutral City as one of their attacks. If multiple clans border a Neutral City, up to 5 teams may send 3 players to attack the city. Neutral City Attacks are to be held at 9pm cst every Thursday and participation must be declared during the war meeting. This does not count as one of your attacks unless only one team declares an attack on a Neutral city, They are awarded that city and it will account for one Attack. POWs cannot be taken in Neutral Cities. Neutral Cities are not considered a pass through territory.

Prisoners of War

When a player is taken as a POW from his clan, so too is his spot on the roster. The spot AND player taken as a POW cannot be re-filled at the beginning of a month when rosters can be amended. The spot and the player cannot take part in any of his clan’s UF: POW II wars until that player is freed. The only way to revive that player and his spot for future wars is if the POW city that he is held in is attacked and he is freed, either by his own clan or someone else’s, or by succeeding in a Great Escape week, which will be explained shortly. Once the POW Camp is Designated, the Player will be placed in the POW Camp usergroup on Urgent Fury. They will not have access to any forum except the Designated Camp Forum in effect cutting them off from the World of Urgent Fury. This forum will not be publicly accessible until after the completion of UF: POW II and is for the POWs to communicate and Plan any escapes, or post mail to their families and clan mates to be shared weekly on the forums.

The Great Escape is a specific week in which POWs can take freedom into their own hands by breaking free of the POW camp and the clan holding them captive. Great Escape weeks will be clearly labeled in the weekly schedule so that clans know when a Great Escape is approaching. All POW camps which hold AT LEAST FOUR or more POWs in them can see their captive POWs choose to band together during a Great Escape week and attack their captors. In this case, POWs are considered attackers and the owners of the POW camp are considered the defenders. All Great Escape wars must happen at 9pm CST on the day that the POWs collectively call for. No other time is allowed other than 9pm CST. The defenders, or owners of the POW camp, have NO say in the day that a Great Escape war is to happen. This attack is considered bonus in that the attack AND the defense does NOT count towards the 2/2 quota of attacks and defenses given to all clans every week. All Great Escape wars are scheduled at the Sunday war meetings.

Escapes will be a maximum of 8 v 8 in a Team Deathmatch Hardcore Setup. The POWs are limited to starting with a regular knife and the Defenders are only armed with the Five-seven Handgun. POWs can pick up the gun from a dead defender to even the battlefield.

We will also see the return of the Forced Offensive week and some other little twists and turns here and there. We have waited a long time to bring this back to the battlefield and call all clans to strap up and move out. Applications are now open and will close February 20th. Stay tuned to www.urgentfury.com for more information.

First of all our thoughts and prayers go out to the victim’s, families and the Newtown, CT community in the wake of events that happened yesterday morning.

As the media have started to analyze what lead up to this horrific event, the blame game has already began. National Media are already honing in on the gaming habits of the man behind the shooting. While I am no expert, I can tell you as an avid gamer I am not going around planning on how to destroy a classroom of helpless children because I spend 20 to 30 hours a week playing games such as Call of Duty, Medal of Honor, and Monopoly.

While I do agree that the rating system has flaws, just as it is in all entertainment, it is the parents that are responsible for following these ratings. And to be honest the parents really are not telling their kids no when it comes to a title rated M for mature such as Call of Duty. Even while at our local GameStop event here in West Texas, there were plenty of kids under 17 picking up their games with parents and guardians.

Now Call of Duty sold over 500,000 copies in the first week of sales, but do we see a half million players causing a tragedy such as this? No, tragic events are not the fault of games being released, they are at the fault of the person that is holding the guns. Could there be some factors from a game that contribute to the state of mind of this person, sure it is possible.

Events like this trigger a gut reaction such as Gun Control, Removing Games from Shelves, etc. It is exactly that a gut reaction. Are there changes that should be made in the aftermath of a tragedy like this? Of course, we always learn from these events and make improvements to prevent events such as these.

At the end of the day as an owner and member of a Gaming Community that is heavily involved with games rated M for Mature, our community is built around a motto of “Win with Honor, Lose with Dignity” instilling sportsmanship and respect in gaming.

I learned my gun skills in the Boy Scouts and US Navy, not playing a game. How do you feel about this? Do you think games are in the crossfires for the wrong reasons?

In a tweet today, PlayStation reminded everyone that these so-called PSN Code generators are nothing more than a phishing scam.

Important: "PSN Code Generators" are scams. Don't fall for it! bit.ly/T1br59

— PlayStation (@PlayStation) November 24, 2012

Fake/Scam PSN Code Generator

We’ve received reports regarding a fake PSN Code Generator that asks you to enter your PlayStation Network (PSN) information then promises to generate free PSN vouchers. Please note that this a scam that will attempt to obtain your PSN information.

If you have entered your information in the PSN Code Generator, we recommend you take the following actions:

• Change your email and password for your PlayStation Network account using the official PlayStation Network Website.
• Contact Sony PlayStation Consumer Services at 1-800-345-7669, also contact your credit or debit card customer service representative.
• Check the email tied to your PlayStation Network account for suspicious purchases.
• Delete any random chain messages, even if they are from friends.
• Block users who send you chain messages.
• As some of the tools may have malicious code or backdoors, scan your system for malware.

We have run across one of these lately on Facebook http://psn.digir4d3.net/ (BEWARE DO NOT GO TO THIS SITE IT IS A WASTE OF YOUR TIME) which will get you to share the link on Facebook then prompt you to do an offer (this is to make them money) to activate the code.

In fact the code is never activated and puts you in an endless loop. The code will never activate, but the site owner will earn a ton of money to those thinking you just have to keep doing it until it works.

We highly recommend following the advice that PlayStation has posted on their site and steer clear of anything that is too good to be true!

Remember that Indiana Jones type of 3rd person adventure game  Uncharted? Well in a bizarre chain of events, Nathan Drake is sent out on a mission to collect cards and do battle with them! From the Playstation blog’s Chris Reese, he describes Uncharted: Fight for Fortune as a turn based card game exclusive for the Vita!

“So you’re probably wondering, how exactly does Fight For Fortune work? I’ll explain. The core gameplay in UNCHARTED: Fight for Fortune involves creating a team of Faction cards featuring heroes, villains, and mercenaries from the UNCHARTED universe, then using that team to defeat your opponent while defending yourself from their attacks.
Each Faction card can be equipped with powerful Resource and valuable Fortune cards, which enhance their stats and give them special abilities. Once you’ve selected and equipped a card, it’s time to head into battle! During combat, attacks either reduce the health of opposing Faction cards or the health of your opponent. Defeating an opposing Faction card removes it from play, while reducing the health of your opponent to zero wins you the game.”

Whether you enjoyed Golden Abyss or not, Bend Studios returns to the portable Uncharted series with turn based action! December 4th is when we’ll see how the $4.99 PS Vita game of Uncharted: Fight for Fortune will fare against other spin off card games based on our favorite Playstation treasure hunter.

Uncharted: Golden Abyss trailer

David Vanderhaar gave a straight up two-hour show of Black Ops 2 multiplayer today on IGN Live. We have included it below or you can watch it on IGN’s Site.

One of the many things we have taken from this is at one point he really drills down into the options for custom game set up. Here at Urgent Fury we will be able to customize the game in many ways, this will give us the ability to offer a variety of leagues and ladders. Be sure you start getting your teams together as we have Aftermath right around the corner as well as some live events starting as soon as December 1st.

Treyarch really has put the eSports initiative to the test with Black Ops 2, and this is a major benefit for Urgent Fury and the thousands of other tournament communities out there. We will not only offer events, but we will also take advantage of the new COD Casting system to offer live footage of tournament matches like we have been with Starhawk. Look for several offerings for Black Ops from Urgent Fury and see you on the battlefield.

 So I know it seems I am running behind on this review, it is because I really wanted to get some good stick time before I gave my opinion on the game. Setting aside what I have seen around the net, I felt the only true justice would be to play this game in full both in Single Player and Multiplayer.

So let’s start with the single player which is based on various past and current events including sniping the pirates out of the lifeboat from an US Navy Destroyer. I was a little underwhelmed by the single player only because of the length. I miss the games that you would have to play for days on end to complete. We actually did live broadcast the single player as we played through it and manage to finish it in a few sessions, but overall I feel it was short. I know this seems like a knock against Medal of Honor, and it is, but it seems to have become the accepted practice these days.

Outside of the length, there were some minor issues with freezing during single player. As I found out the second freeze happened right before the point where the campaign completed which was quite irritating to say the least. Also, the AI is a bit on the naïve side which seems to be the case in more and more games.

On the positive side, the graphics are rich throughout the game. I really enjoyed the attention to detail throughout the game. It made for a truly immersive effect for me, which I highly enjoy. I was taken by surprise when I had to drive vehicles including a level of evading. It was a nice break from the norm. The sniper mechanics were fantastic; I appreciate the fact that you had to factor in bullet drop to hit your targets.

I will say the check point system was surprisingly well thought out. Both of the game freezes I experienced were mid to late level and had I known that I would be able to pick up at the last checkpoint I probably would not have raged as much.

Over all the Single Player is rich in graphics and true to scenario gameplay, but almost too linear and short in my opinion. But I would still recommend it to my friends with no regrets at all.

Now let’s talk multiplayer. Now don’t get me wrong I enjoyed Battlefield 3, but I am sorry, Medal of Honor blows it out of the water. I know, I know, the comms are crap and by all means you cannot function effectively without proper communications. I blame this on the lack of a beta for PlayStation. I am only speculating that had there been a beta on PlayStation, they could have identified this issue before release.

To continue on the negative side of the multiplayer, I feel that the maps can be a bit small at times. I understand that you have a two-man fire team, but your full team is large enough for a larger map size. Now don’t go overboard of course, but I would like to see some larger open maps personally. The only other issue I really see is with the wealth of weapon unlocks, a majority of them seem to be more cosmetic than function. I mean who really wants three versions of the same magazine? And who’s idea was it that secondary weapons would have unlimited ammo? I would love to smack the guy that had this idea.

Our biggest gripe is that there is a lack of means to set up a match between two clans. We have voiced this directly to the team and it really hurts the extended playability that is paramount to keeping your players coming back for more. DLC can only do so much. Now we are hearing rumors through the moderators at Battlelog that private servers are coming in a few months, but why are we not seeing this day one. We had written this game off for tournaments because we were advised this was neither an option nor a priority.

Finally the other irritation I have is with the invite system, I love the idea of being able to send a mass invite, but could you limit it to only those online in Medal of Honor. I spent ten minutes apologizing to friends that did not even have the game after I sent a mass invite out.

Moving along to the positive side, well this is a surprise that the game was quite stable on release. I was able to dive right into the servers with no issues. The party system is pretty great. You are able to lock your fire team buddy so that you can stick together and joining a server is quite easy.

Once you are in-game, having the ability to adjust your loadouts according to the situation at hand is simple and actually quick. You are able to set up each of your soldiers loadouts before you are in a match, but if needed you are able to adjust it on the fly with little issue. I have noticed that every now and then it will switch you back to what you started with, but it only takes a second to switch it back.

The gun mechanics are pretty spot on, no gun seems to overpowered beyond the rage metered though I think there could be some minor adjustments here and there. I spend a lot of time sniping since that is my thing and I like how when you activate the supported function, you are limited in your movement.

Gunfights really do come down to skill in most situations and the PDM is not overly powerful such as the PMN was in Socom. With the secondary weapons having unlimited ammo, you have to be on your toes with your primary magazine. That point where your opponent runs out of ammo and switches to their secondary can mean life or death.

The modes are quite pleasing as well, you can opt to play a single mode or a couple of mixtures, but I would love to see a matchmaking option that includes all modes. I really enjoy Hot Spot and even Team Death Match. I have never been big on respawn games, but I can live with the respawn limit in many of the modes.

Outside of TDM, the modes do require that you use teamwork to really have any chance of winning. Especially in the bomb planting modes, you will find that the locations are well balanced with multiple plant options. Many of us remember the single plant in a circle set up in Socom making it very easy for the defending team to camp on that location from a few different angles.

With the varied plant locations, you are able to get in a blind spot and plant while giving you the ability to try and setup to defend your plant.

I could go on for days, but overall I am pleasantly surprised by the Multiplayer and actually look forward to playing with friends nightly. If we really do see private servers, the game will be worthy of tournament play and we will make sure to get the word out very quickly once it happens.

Overall I would recommend everyone give this game a good try. And if you are a PlayStation Plus member, you can hit up a one hour open trial. Strap on your boots boys, there’s a military shooter that needs your attention!!

Concept
Graphics
Sound
Playability
Entertainment
Replay

With the current issues we are rating this an 8 out of 10, but had there been private servers and the comms were working out of the gate this would have easily been a 9 out of 10 hands down!

In an updated release of rules found here. Microsoft addresses the many users out there that make money by creating videos or live streaming their game content:

You may post your Item to a page or website that has advertising, but only if you do not earn any money from that advertising.  For example, if you post your video on Youtube or Vimeo and there happens to be an advertisement next to it, then as long as you don’t get paid for that advertisement, the fact that there is an advertisement on the page doesn’t break these Rules. But enrolling in the Youtube partner program (or other similar programs), where you are entering into an agreement to get paid, is not allowed. On a similar note, if you create and distribute a free app, then you can’t earn any money from advertising in that app.

Previous language (UPDATE):

Except as described here, you can’t sell or otherwise earn any compensation from your Item, including through advertisements in the Item. We will let you have advertising or optional donation requests on the page hosting the Item, but that’s it. That means you can’t sell your Item, post it on a site that requires subscription or other fees, or post it on a page you use to sell other items or services (even if they have nothing to do with Game Content or Microsoft). You may use the Item to enter a contest or sweepstakes as long as the contest organizers agree to follow these rules. Where someone is trying to promote their commercial venture (even just a commercial website) with your Item, they need our permission to do this. If they’ve got our permission you’ll know. Source web.archive.org

Now what that is saying in shorthand, If you earn money from being a partner with YouTube, Blip.tv, and pretty much any other service that offers a revenue share on ads, you cannot use content from the following:

• Halo (all versions)
• Forza Motorsport (all versions)*
• Fable (all versions)
• Kinectimals
• Kinect Adventures
• Kinect Joy Ride
• Age of Empires (all versions)
• Flight Simulator (all versions)*
• Kameo
• Perfect Dark Zero
• Project Gotham Racing (all versions)*
• Shadowrun
• Viva Piñata

So for all of you guys out there getting ready for the launch of Halo 4, looks like your dreams of making it rich off of YouTube or Twitch are going to fall short.

Update

As posted by Stinkles on NeoGAF

As I mentioned in the Halo community thread, these rules actually haven’t really changed, and even the updated and clarified text has been up there for months. I assume somebody just noticed this and posted this morning because it sort of blew up. This has always been the Legal status for the IP (and MOST IPs in fact), and as you also already know, nobody is being sued, or in jail, etc etc etc.

The language isn’t designed to stop kids streaming their games, or covering their costs, it’s designed to stop big companies from using somebody else’s IP to run a business.

We’ll put together some language that will help community people navigate this easily, and give people workarounds.

I am curious as to who the Big Companies are… seeing as how it clearly states if you are a YouTube Partner you are not allowed to monetize the content

Update 10:55 pm cst

As you may see with a little research on previous versions of these terms, at no time was there such a direct mention of YouTube and other services as such. In previous versions it was even ok to have ads on the site hosting the video. So this is clearly a major change in their stance in compared to previous terms.

Lightbox Interactive Senior Designer Andrew Weldon joins us for an EXCLUSIVE interview, where he spills the beans about the Starhawk 1.04 Update & DLC. Get comfy. Because we don’t leave anything out.

After a grueling 12 weeks, we had 6 teams that entered into the Dust Championship. Normally we expect a smooth playoff but not so much this time. Teams were faced with the dreaded XMB Kick randomly, teams cheating and for one team an endless battle of fatigue. But in the end a champion rose from among the ashes to be crowned the UF: Dust Champion for Starhawk on PlayStation 3.

United Mercs gained entry into the Dust Championship by winning the second of six deployments serving as the preliminary events leading up to the championship followed by a long battle in the championship ending with a final record of 4 wins and 1 loss.

Their only loss came from Mech Warhawk Society which by far was the most handicapped team with the majority of their members are in the UK making the match time in most cases 3am BST. After facing and eliminating Killer Instinct, UNIT returned to meet MWHS in the Semi Finals is a win or go home situation. UNIT held strong winning the Semi Finals only to have to return Friday night to face MWHS again, now a third time. At this point both teams had a 1 – 1 record against each other and whoever won would be crowned a Champion and the team that loss would have to settle for second place.

Watch live video from Urgent Fury Gaming Live on TwitchTV

Each team set their fate by choosing their maps, modes and loadouts for the finals, here is how it was laid out:

• Map 1: Scourge- Conduit – CTF – Air Superiority – Chosen by UNIT
• Map 2: Dust – Outlands – Team Death Match – Lone Wolf – Chosen by MWHS
• Map 3: Space – Orbital – Zones – Lone Wolf – Chosen by UNIT
• Map 4: Dust – Outlands – Zones – Ground Pounder Blitz – Chosen by MWHS
• Map 5: Cypress – Orgin – CTF – Classic Beta Blitz – Chosen by UF

In the final match Unit was given home field advantage so their two maps came in the first three rounds, which being the best of 5, that played in their favor.

Round one: Unit took the map 2 – 0
Round two: MWHS took the map 65 – 57
Round three: Unit took the map 2935 – 917 Time Expired
Round four:  Unit took the map 1401 – 1146 Time Expired

Both teams fought hard to reach this point and we commend them as well as Killer Instinct which received the MVC (Most Valuable Clan) award.

Over the next week we will be announcing the next line up of tournaments for Starhawk including the Starhawk King of the Hill Series. The series will include a King of the Hill set up for each of the team based modes where teams can challenge the King and attempt to take his crown.

We will also detail the next league which will run on Tuesday and Thursday Nights every month. So get over to www.urgentfury.com and get your teams set up.

PlayStation announced today that Starhawk would receive a boat load of goodies with the next Patch. Lightbox followed that up with a more detailed post outlining many of the changes coming with 1.04 as well. Not only that, as the fan base has asked for many times, we are seeing the release of a digital version as well.

I did check with Harvard to clarify if Coop would be included in the Multipayer version, and he explained the two apps are either All Solo or All Multiplayer. He also confirmed the Single Player only is currently available to PS Plus users in response to a question posed on the blog.

Well we have more coming as well, Commander Fury will have Andrew Weldon who is the design lead on the unannounced DLC joining us for the next podcast.

Commander Fury will get down and dirty with Andrew about the new content, if there is more than meets the eye and how the DLC will work. I hear there is a truckload of DLC coming so I think Dylan may be holding out on us.

If you want to provide any questions for the interview, please comment below and we will select a few of the questions for the interview.

Before I get into the “meat & potatoes” of Medal Of Honor: Warfighter, and my experience with the game during the PAX 2012 Medal Of Honor: Warfighter Community Event…I should give you a little background intel about myself.

I am not just a fan of the Medal Of Honor franchise. I am a battle hardened veteran of almost every Medal Of Honor “battle space” ever made available to me from the fine folks at Electronic Arts.

I was part of the team that destroyed “Railgun Greta” (I always thought that would be a great name for a band). I was there with the French Resistance, when they put a stop to the V-1 menace. I survived the horror of “Panzerknacker Unleashed“. I experienced the tragedy & triumph, of both D-Day & Pearl Harbor.

And of course, I was there when Mother, Preacher, Voodoo, & Dusty all said goodbye, to one of their own.

But enough about me, let’s talk about Medal Of Honor: Warfighter. I just thought that it was important for you to know as you read this, that the opinions expressed here, are not those of some casual gaming blog writer, or some detached industry media guy who could really care less about the game.

These are the opinions of a guy who knows this franchise, and has come to expect a certain something when he plays Medal Of Honor.

Flash forward to Seattle, Washington. The “Jet City“.  Friday, 31 August, 2012. Westin Hotel. 1900 hours.

20 or so Medal Of Honor community members fill the lobby, and you can feel the sheer anticipation pulsing throughout the room.

After signing in, we are finally led upstairs to a huge meeting room filled with food, fun, & fireteams.

As we started the gameplay portion of the evening I was instantly caught off guard, by just how good the game looks.

I play Battlefield 3, so I know what the Frostbite 2 can do. But you could immediately tell that Danger Close has a firm grasp on the engine’s real capabilities.

The second thing that I noticed was the sound design. It was even a topic later in the night, during a Q&A session with the DEV team.

The ambient audio in general is superb. But the gunfire in particular, is simply stunning. Each weapon has it’s own distinct sonic personality. You can almost “feel” the difference between weapons, based solely on how each one sounds.

With regard to the essentials, Warfighter’s basic gunplay and control interface, remain relatively unchanged from the game’s predecessor. All in all, to this point, I’m feeling pretty optimistic about everything I’ve experienced so far.

But, keep in mind that 2010′s Medal Of Honor was a hybrid endeavor. With Danger Close developing the Singleplayer mode (on a heavily modified version of the Unreal Engine 3), and DICE (EA Digital Illusions CE) developing the Multiplayer mode on the Frostbite 1.5 engine.

In fact, that may have been the only thing wrong with the 2010 iteration. You could tell that the two modes were somehow related, but were also distant cousins at best.

So, as I blazed my way into Warfighter’s Multiplayer mode, I was a bit apprehensive about what I might find.

However, I’m happy to report that I was pleasantly surprised to find that Danger Close had re-imagined the Multiplayer mode, and has aptly transplanted it’s DNA into the mode’s fabric.

Unlike 2010′s game, you can tell that Danger Close developed this mode. It didn’t seem like I was playing someone else’s version of Medal Of Honor. The HUD, and player icons were well thought out, and unique. I didn’t notice the usual visual clutter on the screen like you see in some shooters. And thanks to the technology of the Frostbite 2, player movement was smooth, and very natural.

The Spec Ops mode was interesting, though I rarely found myself using it. It gives you a very quick “IR” peek at your environment when you need to amp up your situational awareness a bit. Some players may complain about it, but as I mentioned, it’s not something you can “lean on” during the course of the game. It really is something that you’d only use if you find yourself in a “tight spot“.

There is also a “suppression” effect that occurs when you find yourself taking enemy fire. It’s similar to the Battlefield 3 suppression mechanic, but is toned down enough to distract & disorient you, more than it disables you. I like the execution of the effect overall, and I think most players will agree.

Other elements from the 2010 game make a return to Medal Of Honor: Warfighter. Offensive & Defensive Support Actions are back, and have been tweaked a bit.

They seem more useful and balanced, but must be used strategically in order to achieve any real results. I also love the way a player must think before he deploys one of these actions. For instance, if you launch a UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle). Your player actually stops, and literally “launches” the UAV by hand. If you call in an A-10 “air strike”, your player must again stop, and actually “lase” the target for tasking. It makes the player vulnerable, which means you have to use discretion when deploying any of the support actions.

I also love the revised melee mechanic. At one point, I jumped off a raised position to engage an unsuspecting foe below, dispatching him with a well placed tomahawk. If I could have, I would have “high-fived” myself.

And although we only played on two maps during the event (Somalia & Sarejevo). It seemed like we played on 3 or 4 different maps, due in large part to the unique map design Danger Close implemented. Depending on which game mode we played, we’d find ourselves fighting on a different portion of the overall map.

Sarajevo, is set at the Kosovo Olympic Stadium. What was once a proud structure that represented something glorious, is now just a shell of rubble & untamed vegetation after years of civil unrest in the region.

I can’t put into words how dense, and cluttered the terrain is on this map. Be advised, there won’t be any “Run & Gun” here kids. To properly navigate this AO, you almost have to “move & shoot” the “Tier 1” way. I think the saying goes…”slow is steady, and steady is fast“.

A “bombed out” bobsled track snakes it’s way throughout most of the map, and provides hundreds of vantage points from which to engage the enemy. In addition to the many man-made structures that litter the map, rocky perches and natural terrain also provide players with a plethora of tactical options.

The three game modes we experienced were “Sector Control“, “Hot Spot“, and an e-sport game mode called “Homerun“.

SECTOR CONTROL-
This mode is exactly what is sounds like. It’s very similar to Battlefield 3‘s “Conquest” mode.
Players must capture & defend designated “nav points” on the map, to push the enemy back and ultimately control the AO.
It should also be noted that because of the nature of the game modes we played, the infantry combat is fierce at times, and will really test a team’s ability to work together & communicate. In other words…team work is essential.

HOT SPOT-
Next up is “Hot Spot“, my personal favorite of the three game modes we saw during the event.
In this mode, players are tasked with either planting or defusing a bomb that will destroy a designated tactical target if it isn’t defused in time. The cool thing is that you don’t choose where to plant the bomb if you’re attacking, HQ does. Similarly, players on the defending team will have 2 or 3 “potential” target sites to defend, but won’t know which site is actually being attacked, until the bomb is planted. It makes for a mad scramble at times. And the fire fights that ensue are epic to say the least.

HOMERUN-
Finally, we come to the “e-sport” game mode that was named by the Medal Of Honor community at-large. Homerun is a fast paced, no respawn, “Capture The Flag” game mode, that almost always comes down to a “last man standing” scenario. The fact that you only get one life per round (10 rounds in all), cranks up the stakes considerably, and was the only game mode that evoked cheers from the community players in the room. It sucked to die, but it was actually fun to watch the match unfold from the “dead lobby“.

Overall, I’m glad that Danger Close seems to understand the importance of innovation with regard to the Multiplayer mode. The Fireteam feature alone, proves that they are at least conscious about getting players to work together to achieve the objective.

But with that being said…there is one aspect of the Multiplayer mode that I’m concerned about.

Honestly, I’m still a little skeptical about the clan support options that we’ll see with Medal Of Honor: Warfighter. When asked about it, we were told that clan management would take place via Battlelog (like Battlefield 3). I firmly believe that developers have neglected the demographic of players who prefer a “team first” gaming experience. Most Multiplayer shooter titles today, seem to have forgotten those of us who want to be part of a team. A group of like minded gamers, who share a real collective identity. We want the ability to create and manage private matches, and to manage our clan down to the last shooter. We want the ability to achieve an actual online presence. But sadly, most titles focus on the individual. A players rank or KDR seem to be more important than the greater good of the team these days, which I think promotes a selfish “me first” type of dynamic. We’ll see how Danger Close chooses to handle this, but I’m not 100% sold on the idea of using Battlelog to manage my clan.

After all, most of us already have a “friends list“.

Regardless, I’ve got my fingers crossed. All I know is that for about six and half hours in Seattle, I was Tier 1. Danger Close has clearly found it’s identity, and has put it’s stamp on the franchise. And without question, I left Seattle with an excitement I haven’t felt in a while. Medal Of Honor: Warfighter seems to have everything a grizzled Medal Of Honor veteran like me would expect, or want.

We’ll find out soon enough if that’s enough to compete in a somewhat crowded genre/market. Medal Of Honor: Warfighter from Electronic Arts & Danger Close (PC, PS3, & Xbox) goes loud, on October 23rd.

Until then shooters. Watch those corners….and Stay frosty.

When TellTale announced it was working on a five episode The Walking Dead game I was very skeptical. Me being a die hard fan of anything The Walking Walking Dead, I was excited but wanted a Left 4 Dead or Dead Island style game. I’ve been a fan of their previous titles such as Sam and Max and the Back to the Future games but I didn’t really want “point and click” for this game. The more I thought about it though, I remembered The Walking Dead isn’t about just killing zombies it’s a great story and character driven drama with zombies showing up every once in awhile. So I decided to give it a try and with Playstation Plus subscribers getting the first two episodes for free there was no reason not to! Needless to say, TellTale more than delivered with great characters, gameplay, and a story that will have anyone, Walking Dead fan or not, craving more.

If you’ve played a TellTale title before you’ll be familiar with the gameplay. It’s the standard point and click system. You control a prompt with your right stick that lets you talk to people, interact with objects, or give people certain items, while controlling your character with the left stick. Occasionally, there will be quick-time events where you have to kick a zombie in the face, bust open a door, or whatever the certain situation requires. You’d have to be unconscious not to make it though.

Along with the familiar but fun gameplay you’re introduced to some very interesting characters. You start off in a cop car as a man named Lee, who has been convicted of murder. It’s not flat out said that he did it but enough hints are dropped for you to make your own conclusion. You’ll be introduced to a lot of new characters but there’s something really cool; the game is concurrent with the comic books. During episode one Rick is still in his coma and you see a few familiar faces. To find out whom you’ll have to play it yourself. You’ll have sort of expected characters introduced, like a journalist, a farmer, a go-to nerdy guy, but they all become very interesting and important to the story. I talked to everyone and chose new dialogue options whenever possible to find out more about them and their back story.

For a game that’s only a couple hours long, you’ll soon establish clear close relationships with people, whether if they’d shoot you with the chance or die for you. Personally, my favorite character is your surprising father/daughter relationship with Clementine. You save her (and she saves you) toward the beginning of the game. Her family is gone, and you’re left to take care of her, but for an eight year old, she’s managed to survive for days on her own. There’s an immediate sense of companionship you’ll have with her throughout the game, making decisions you’d think twice about with any other character. The way you act around people and some decisions you make will affect the way she sees you.

The icing on the cake of this game is the decisions you make. Taking sides on an argument, trusting someone, telling the truth, even saving one person over the other are decisions you’ll have to make throughout the game that will mold the outcome and make your playthrough something unique. There will be a little marker at the top left of the screen after you make a decision that’ll let you know whether someone will remember what you said or not. It doesn’t have much payoff in the first episode but I can see them becoming important in the later episodes when characters are dead/alive and how others act towards you. Hopefully, even the things you said in the first episode will stay with you through all five episodes.

It only being the first episode it obviously wasn’t very long. Took my barely over two hours, but for only $5 an episode ($20 for a season pass) it’s definitely worth it. TellTale definitely stayed true to the franchise and left me craving more. If you’re playing on the Playstation 3 you can still grab the first two episodes for free and see what the hype is about. If not I strongly recommend you atleast try the first episode out. You won’t be disappointed.

Final Score 9.0/10

On this episode…Commander Fury spends some quality time with Mark Christianson (Rigger82), C.O. of the Off Duty Gamers. And they talk about Pax Prime 2012, Medal Of Honor: Warfighter, Battlefield 3‘s third XPack, “Armored Kill“, zombie apocalypse safety tips, and the ODGs forthcoming 24hr GO*VETs charity gaming marathon.

Every once and a while Commander Fury gets that interview of a life time, such as Harvard Bonin, Jr. of Santa Monica Studios, Travis Steiner formerly of Zipper Interactive and even Doc from The Tester Season 1. But when he got the call to host a live broadcast interview with David Sears, Creative Director at SOF Studios, the excitement was almost too much. However Commander Fury tightened up his boot straps and uttered an enthusiastic “HOO-YAH” and said let’s do it.

Recently SOF Studios announced the arrival of David Sears to the team, and August 23rd at 9pm central standard time this is your chance to ask the man behind our beloved Original Socom Series where he is going to take SOF Studios. Head over to their site and register on their forums so you can post your questions. Commander Fury will be reviewing these questions and including many of them during the live broadcast.

To listen to the interview and participate in a live chat, join us at www.twitch.tv/urgentfury and jump right into the chat, we will try to include live questions as well (time permitting). Be sure to follow Urgent Fury on Twitch as we have upcoming tournament broadcasts for the UF Dust Championship starting the 5th of September.

Southern Pines NC – August 7, 2012 – Independent games publisher, Special Operations Forces Studios, Ltd. (SOF Studios), is honored to announce the hiring of 22-year games industry veteran and AAA Creative Director, Mr. David Troy Sears.

David, the visionary Creative Director behind shooter entertainment’s pioneering franchise, “SOCOM: US Navy SEALs” and most recently ground-breaking Creative Director for Ubisoft’s unreleased shooter title, “Rainbow 6: Patriots“, resigned from Ubisoft Montreal last month and joined the SOF Studios team in Southern Pines, NC.

David is an award-winning creative who has designed and directed the development of shooters, racing games, brawlers, action-adventure games, and platform games on a variety of consoles for publishers/developers including Ubisoft, Sony Computer Entertainment of America, Virgin Games, Zipper Interactive, Foundation 9 Entertainment, Kronos Digital Entertainment, Looking Glass Studios, and Pseudo Interactive.

Remember back in June of 2008, when the heavens opened and bestowed upon us the wonder that was Metal Gear Solid 4?  It was to be the “Game of the Forever” for MGS fans.  It was the killer app, the system seller, the reason you had to own a PS3.  And to be fair, it was just about the only thing the PS3 had going for it at the time.  I had several friends who purchased a PS3 just for MGS4, but as a PS3 owner from just after launch, I was just happy to have something good to play.  And honestly it was pretty great.

Shortly after the game launched, Sony started the roll out of their Trophy system.  Gamers everywhere began asking the logical question “When is Konami going to patch in trophy support?”  To which Konami replied simply, “We’re not.”  I, along with many others, figured that was simply PR speak for, “We’re not announcing anything yet. (wink, wink)”  Nope.  Turns out they were serious.  Well now here we are four years later, celebrating the 25th anniversary of the series and once again the heavens have opened.  Sony announced today that the patch that so many have been waiting for is finally coming.  20 Trophies (8 Bronze, 8 Silver, 3 Gold and 1 Platinum) will breath new life into MGS4.

My first thought upon hearing the announcement was that it’s “too little, too late” but the more I thought about it, I really believe it’s a good move.  It gives those of us who finished the game and then shelved it a reason to blow off the dust for another run through and will most likely give trophy whores (like one of my Gametwerp co-hosts) a reason to finally play the game for the first time.

If you want to see the trophies you’ll be hunting, here’s the full list:

As promised two new playable characters for Playstation All-Stars were released today at Comic-Con. Before, SuperBot stated that the original line-up was going to be ten, with the last two being announced at EVO, Toro and Heihachi. The two new characters are Cole McGrath from inFAMOUS and Jak, with Daxter by his side of course. I mean you can’t have JAK without Daxter!

Here are the details released via the Playstation Blog:

Jak & Daxter:

Players familiar with Jak and Daxter’s arsenal will immediately recognize some of the weaponry utilized in PlayStation All-Stars including the Blaster, Needle Lazer, Gyro Burster, and Mass Inverter. When the going gets tough, Jak has the ability to unleash the powers of both Dark and Light Jak to even the playing field, as seen in Jak II and Jak 3 respectively. Daxter even lends a hand in Jak’s melee attacks.

Cole McGrath:

Cole takes advantage of a wide array of abilities in inFAMOUS, an experience we hoped to emulate when incorporating him into the game. He is a well-rounded fighter who is effective at both close and long range combat, and is highly mobile as well. Players can command both his electrokinesis and cryokinesis, using these powers to assault opponents from a safe distance or propel himself towards the action. With these abilities, Cole proves to be a formidable adversary for the rest of the PlayStation All-Stars cast!

There are still many characters I’d like to see anounced, even more now that there will be third party characters in the game. We will see as more info is released in the upcoing weeks.

PlayStation® All-Stars Battle Royale Event of the Year Trailer

Commander Fury gives us an Urgent Fury: DUST (Bravo 2 Deployment) SITREP, and then talks to AkilleezMight….Season 3 winner of The Tester!

Normally I’m not one for posting a videos, but this is one you have to see.  Visual Effects & Motion Graphics Artist Jason Craft put together one of the most incredible Portal videos I’ve ever seen.  Do yourself a favor and take 3 1/2 minutes to watch something amazing.

Vimeo link

I’ll never forget the first time I was introduced to Agent 47.  I had just received my copy of The Official PlayStation Magazine with its monthly disc packed with previews and game demos.  There on the disc was a demo for a game titled Hitman 2: Silent Assassin.  I saw the stylishly dressed bald guy dual-wielding a pair of hand cannons and I was immediately intrigued.  The prospect of sneaking in to a highly guarded mansion, taking down a mob boss while rescuing a priest had me giddy with excitement.

Then I tried to play the demo.

Emphasis on “tried.”  It was a total mess.  The controls were not only WAY more complex than anything I was use to playing, the AI was absolutely brutal.  I knew right away that I was in way over my head and that there was absolutely no way I was getting over the learning curve.  I ejected the disc and went on to other things.

Or at least I attempted to.

The fact was that even though I was terrible at the demo, I found the concept fascinating.  This was the character I had been waiting to play for a long time.  So I went back, and I was still terrible.  But I went back again and this time, even though I was still terrible, I actually made it into the kitchen disguised as a delivery guy.  Then, I promptly took 2 steps in the wrong direction and all hell broke loose.  This scenario played out dozens of times and each time I got just the tiniest bit better. Long before the first time I made it through the level with the coveted Silent Assassin ranking I was hooked, and I knew that this was a series I would follow for as long as it was around.

Fast forward 10 years to the first release of info on the fifth game in the series.  I couldn’t be more excited.  Finally! A Hitman game on “next-gen” consoles.

Then I watched the trailer.

This is NOT Hitman! It’s way too action heavy!  Instinct mode?  Are you joking?  This looks like Splinter Cell: Conviction (which I enjoyed, but it wasn’t Hitman).  I/O Interactive, you broke my heart.  I suffered waiting through not one, but TWO, garbage Kane & Lynch games.  And for what?  For you to rip the very soul out of  the franchise that I love?  For you to bastardise a series so you can  dumb it down for the masses of mouth-breathing Call of Duty “bro” gamers?  To hell with this, I quit.

Or at least I attempted to.

I’d obviously been betrayed along with all the rest of the die-hard fans, but I just couldn’t believe it.  I searched every article I could find in hopes that I was wrong, but everything I read just sounded like the devs doing a song and dance to distract us from the atrocities they had committed against their fans.  I had all but given up hope and written the game off.  Then a friend told me about a sniper challenge mini-game that you could download if you pre-ordered the game. I figured “Why not?” I’d pre-order the game to get the code and then go back and then move the money to Borderlands 2.

Then I played it.

I figured that I’d try it once and then maybe watch some tv.  Two and a half hours later, I had to force myself to go to bed.   The Agent 47 that I hadn’t seen since 2006 was back and better than ever.  The defining moment came when I shot an elevator control box to open the doors and then made a member of the main target’s security force disappear down the elevator shaft. After dozens of replays I finally achieved Silent Assassin rank, but with the addition of a friends leaderboard, Silent Assassin is just the beginning.

I know that the latest trailer has sparked plenty of uproar, and people are jumping to all kinds of conclusions and continuing to rage about “the absence of stealth” and “too much action” but now I just shake my head and smile.  I’m confident that when the game launches it will be the naysayers, and not the devs, who will be seeking “Absolution.”

As rumoured at Gamescon 2011, Assasins Creed is coming to vita!

Assassin’s Creed for Vita is to be called ‘Assasins Creed III: Liberation’ and as said in Gamescon, there is a new character and story line, Assasins Creed III: Liberations, will feature a female assassin!

The game will be on sale the same day as Assassin’s Creed III and will take place between 1765 – 1780 in New Orleans, at the end of the French and Indian war. Also, it’s been said, Assasins Creed III: Liberation will have multiplayer features.

And to add even more incentive to buy a Ps Vita, they will have a Limited Edition bundle with the game, a 4gb Memory card, and the first ever WHITE PS Vita!

Heres a little teaser pic I found, looks promising. Roll on October 13th!

Assasins Creed III Liberation FULL Trailer

Isn’t it great when someone offers you something amazing that you never even realized you wanted?  Zen Studios has done just that for me with the announcement of KickBeat for the PS Vita.

KickBeat is, at it’s core, a rhythm game.  Now before you roll your eyes and jump to another article, bear with me for a minute.  I’m just as burnt out on rhythm games  as the next person, but KickBeat offers a new twist that completely changes the game.  You see, wrapped around that rhythm game core is a fighting game that tasks you with defeating waves of enemies with kung fu. That’s right kung fu.  So rather than matching colors or tapping circles, you’re kicking butt.

The game’s lineup of licensed tracks come from a diverse lineup of artists from well-known bands such as Pendulum and Marilyn Manson, to indie pioneers Celldweller and Blue Stahli, to hidden talents like electronic music producer Voicians and Taiwanese rapper Shen Yi. The absolute icing on the cake for me though is that KickBeat will feature a music analyzer that allows you to create new tracks from your own music library.  That’s right, you can use your own music to beat enemies with kung fu.

Zen Studios will allow you to try and snatch the pebble from their hand later this year only on the Vita. Until then check out the trailer:

Source: PSNation.org