Westeros Recreated in Minecraft

An ambitious group of Minecraft players have painstakingly recreated several portions of The Game of Thrones continent of Westeros. To play it you'll need to join their server, as well as download custom texture packs. To get updates on the team's progress you can also follow them on Twitter.

Click the image to view a gallery of pictures from the Game of Thrones world.

This isn't the first world to be remade in Mojang's game of blocks, and it won't be the last. For more on Minecraft, be sure to check out our exhaustive coverage, as well as our ever-growing wiki.

Source : ign[dot]com

Battleship Preview

Movie tie-in games are rarely any good. Too often the focus for these games is quick cash-in and not on producing an actual game. There is a small group of titles, however, that are the exception to this rule: Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay, the classic Tron arcade game, Star Wars Episode I: Racer, Spiderman 2, and, of course, GoldenEye, all come to mind. This year Activision and Hasbro are hoping to add another title to this list with their new title Battleship.

Battleship is unique in that it’s not only a movie tie-in but it’s also based on the classic board game of the same name. But if you’re expecting to pick up Battleship and get a simple copy and paste of either the board game or the movie, you’ll be disappointed. You won’t be looking at a polygonal game board, and Rihanna and Liam Neeson are nowhere to be found. Instead, players are in for one of the most unique gaming experiences I’ve seen in some time, and a title that has the potential to be one of the year’s standouts.

Developer Activision’s mission with Battleship is ‘War on the shore, spectacle at sea’ and they’ve done a spectacular job achieving that, even in the early build of the game that I saw. The gameplay in Battleship is split into two distinct modes that players switch between seamlessly. First you command your ships RTS-style using a map that is reminiscent of the original board game. As in the original you are only aware of enemy ships once you’ve managed to figure out their location, which you can do by blindly moving into new positions or by using special items, like radar, that can be found and unlocked. After you’ve positioned your ships gameplay shifts to a first person shooter with missions to be accomplished. Whenever you need to move your ships you simply pull up the map and do so at will.

The nifty thing about juggling these two gameplay styles is the symbiotic relationship they have; the position of your ships and your skill in defeating the enemy's will affect and even change the nature of your on-foot missions, and while on-foot you can acquire items and upgrades for your ships, and take over checkpoints that will allow them more navigational freedom. Even mission objectives can change depending on the direction each battle has taken. To put this into board game terms: each mission is a cleared board.

Every decision made is vital because ultimately the enemy aliens of Battleship are responding directly to the player; there are no scripted events. How a player positions their ships at the start of a level will change when, where, and how many enemies they face. You can play the same mission again and again and it will be a completely different experience each time. Even the developers I watched play were surprised by their own game a few times. What’s more, while Battleship’s shooter gameplay is mostly cover-based, there is a wide array of weapons that allow for run and gun as well as non-lethal damage. This is a game that caters to the individual player’s style, while also dropping in surprises to keep you on your toes. Battleship’s Wildcard system shakes things up with weapons, ship upgrades, and more that appear as item drops in FPS mode. There’s even a ship control card that gives you direct control of your ships and twenty seconds to deal massive damage to your enemies; think of it as a Street Fighter style ultra-combo of sorts. The Wildcards operate like a shuffled deck; you know what you have available to you, but you never know when, where, or what card will show up for you to use. They can turn the tide of battle, but there’s no guarantee you’ll be able to access the ones you need when you need them.

Now eventually we have to ask, how does Battleship connect to the film? Well as I mentioned, don’t expect any Rhirhi cameos; this is an original side story set in the same universe as the film, but not a one to one translation. Activision has really given this game their all, working with both the filmmakers and Hasbro to craft a title that will satisfy moviegoers, board game lovers, and gamers. There’s a lot of polish to the title, and little details that really make it shine: When you move a ship on the map you can actually see the ship moving in real time while on-foot, and battles between ships you can observe as well; you really get the sense that this war is happening all around you. The game’s color palette is refreshing in that it not only has color, a rare thing in contemporary shooters, but it also embraces color with aliens, Hawaiian environments, and skylines that really pop while still feeling gritty and realistic. The design's aesthetic more than gets the job done, and some of the aliens, like the rolling Shredders, really stand out, giving Battleship a unique feel.

is still early in its development cycle, but based on the little I’ve seen I can only hope this one won’t fly too far under the radar; it definitely has the potential to blow up. There are a lot of fresh ideas on the table here, and that alone is worth lauding. I must admit that when I first sat down to play I wasn’t very enthused, but now it is already looking to be a must buy.

Battleship drops for both Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 later this year.

Source : gamezone[dot]com

Stormwatch #11 Review

Peter Milligan has a great story for Stormwatch here, but the clunky execution has it buried beneath an unclear plot and forced dialog. The Hidden People, a group of super powered survivor Neanderthals, have hatched a plan to devolve humanity with a powerful cube device. Sounds Stormwatch-y enough for me, but between the truncated history lesson in the beginning, the confusing action sequence in the middle, and the hokey mustache-twirling end, the team has seen better days.

There are a total of nine artists on this issue, and it shows. The flashbacks are done in one penciller’s toned down realistic style, while the present day scenes are in a style fit for a Saturday morning cartoon. Neither style looks bad, per se, but meshed together like this they disrupt the flow of the book, even in its divided format. With the already jumbled story, the art only serves to make matters worse. DC should be praised for getting almost every book out on time since the New 52 began, but products like this make me wonder about how maybe we don’t always want what we complain about on message boards.

All that said, there are a few good moments to be found. The entire team wears disgusted faces as Angie vomits on the floor, but Midnighter stands apart looking amused. A short sequence reveals Angie’s origin as the Engineer that hits a note of shock and sympathy. Apollo banters with Midnighter in a cheesy way that still manages to make me smile despite myself.

Joshua is a writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter or IGN, where he is hell-bent on making sure you know his opinion about comic books.

Source : ign[dot]com

Storage 24 Review

Take a group of people, stick them in an enclosed space, add a monstrous creature to the equation, and watch the horror unfold. It’s a tried and tested formula that has served the genre well for decades, and new Brit-flick Storage 24 mines that very same territory, with decidedly mixed results.

Noel Clark – on whose idea the film was based – plays Charlie, a sorry excuse for a man struggling to come to terms with the fact that he’s just been dumped. Proceedings kick off with Charlie and best friend Mark (Colin O’Donoghue) travelling to the storage facility of the title to pick up his belongings post break-up.

Noel Clark as Charlie in Storage 24.

But wouldn’t you know it, former girlfriend Shelley (Antonia Campbell-Hughes) is there with friends Nikki (Laura Haddock) and Chris (Jamie Thomas King) to collect her things, making for a painfully awkward encounter.

Humiliation and embarrassment do not a horror movie make however, and at around the same time, something hits London hard. Initial reports suggest an earthquake or bomb, but it soon becomes clear that the threat is from another world, or more specifically, the alien contents of a military cargo plane that has crash-landed in the middle of town.

For convenience sake, the creature ends up in Storage 24, the crash sends the facility’s security system into lock-down, and the malevolent monster and our five miss-matched humans become  trapped inside. Cue broken bones and spilled blood as the creature goes on the rampage and the humans fight to survive.

And that’s about it in terms of story, though while Storage 24 hardly re-invents the narrative wheel, it does have enough jumps, scares and laugh to make it a passable entry into the over-crowded sub-genre.

Director Johannes Roberts’ previous effort was school-based horror F, and Storage very much follows in that film’s footsteps, the tension largely arising from the protagonists being stalked through dark corridors by an unseen assailant.

By the climax of the film we do get a good look at said creature however, and it proves to be the film’s crowning glory – an eight-foot monstrosity that’s a testament to the talents of effects maestro Paul Hyett – a mess of teeth and claws that’s a worthy opponent for our heroes.

Unfortunately, there’s just not enough meat on the bones of Storage 24 to put it in the same league as the numerous movies that follow the same template.

That’s because the internal strife between the characters never quite rings true, while the alien never gets the back story it deserves, making for an unsatisfactory (albeit visually arresting) villain. The addition of a homeless conspiracy theorist briefly livens things up, but he serves little purpose other than to fleetingly advance the plot.

Laura Haddock delivers a star-making turn as Nikki.

Noel Clark gives his most sympathetic performance yet as Charlie, kicking off proceedings an annoyance but gradually finding the hero within when the chips are down. The other acting standout is Laura Haddock – so memorable as Will’s love interest in The Inbetweeners – whose Nikki is a scream queen with brains whom you genuinely root for in the film’s final third.

But the result is a film that apes Alien at every turn without ever coming close to its slow-burning brilliance. And if you want to see a film about an alien invading South London, try Attack the Block, which betters Storage for both laughs and scares.

Without going into spoiler territory, the climax does set things up for a sequel, though while certainly a tantalising glimpse at what might be to come, I’m not sure the events that proceed it entirely warrant one. Taken on its own terms however, Storage 24 is an entertaining if unremarkable B-movie, and there’s no shame in that.

Source : ign[dot]com

Activision Pays Ex-Infinity Ward Developers $42 million, But It's Not A Settlement Ads By Google » Blog Tags Today's Most Popular Videos »

According to Polygon, Activision has paid ex-Infinity Ward developers in the Infinity Ward Employee Group $42 million, but this is not a settlement of the ongoing employment lawsuit between Infinity Ward founders (and Modern Warfare creators) Jason West and Vince Zampella, EA and Activison.

The $42 million payment was offered during the discovery phase of the larger trial. Activision reportedly decided that the gathered evidence didn't implicate the Infinity Ward Employee Group, so a decision was made to pay them what Activision believes they are owed. The $42 million figure includes ten percent interest and is in addition to $22 million already paid for the promised first quarter launch bonus.

The case goes to trial next week, and according to  Bruce Isaacs, attorney for the Infinity Ward Employee Group, the payment is a "cynical attempt to look good before the jury trial."

"I can also tell you that although it is a meaningful payment it is only a small portion of what we are seeking in litigation," Isaacs said. "It is outrageous that they made us wait, they obviously knew they owed the money and this just shows that they breached the contract."

Isaacs says the case will go forward. "We are seeking all kinds of bonuses per the contract. This payment relates to one particular game and one particular time period and one particular bonus."

If you want to read up on the lawsuit, you can catch up with all of our Fall of Duty stories, but here's the short version:

A trial on all remaining claims is scheduled to begin on Tuesday. Get your popcorn ready. We'll be bringing you coverage here on G4tv.com.

All of the best people are following Stephen Johnson's twitter feed. Also, email me if you wanna.

Source : http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/723791/activision-pays-ex-infinity-ward-developers-42-million-but-its-not-a-settlement/

Activision pays $42 million to ex-Infinity Ward members - Report

Reports have surfaced today on both Polygon and Gamasutra claiming that Activision has paid a sum of $42 million to a group of 40 former Infinity Ward members implicated in an upcoming lawsuit with the Call of Duty publisher.

Activision wants to focus its efforts entirely on ex-Infinity Ward heads West and Zampella.

According to the reports--both of which cite an anonymous source close to the case--Activision paid the $42 million to the group representing former Infinity Ward heads Vince West and Jason Zampella after reviewing the evidence for the ongoing lawsuit over West and Zampella's 2010 firing, and subsequent establishment of Respawn Entertainment with Electronic Arts.

Both Polygon and Gamasutra reported that the sum paid by Activison is not part of a settlement.

Instead, the sum is what the publisher believes the former employees are owed after reviewing trial evidence and reportedly finding that it does not implicate the group's 40 members. It is reported that Activision will now focus its legal efforts entirely on West and Zampella.

In March this year, Activision scored a partial victory in the suit, when a judge dismissed one of two fraud claims brought against the publisher by West and Zampella.

Activision claims that it fired the pair because they were secretly planning to start their new studio with the help of Electronic Arts, while still employed with the Call of Duty publisher. West and Zampella claim that the real reason they were fired was so that Activision wouldn't have to pay them millions of dollars in royalties associated with Modern Warfare 2. Beyond the performance-based payout and any other court-awarded monetary damages, West and Zampella are seeking to gain co-ownership of the Modern Warfare brand. If successful in court, West and Zampella would have the right to create and release both old and new installments in the Modern Warfare franchise.

According to the reports, the trial is set to take place on May 29.

Source : http://gamespot.com/news/activision-pays-42-million-to-ex-infinity-ward-members-report-6376776