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Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

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Come hangout with Irie Network

Come check out our new website and hang out with us at http://irienetwork.ca/

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The video service says goodbye to chronological comment threads and hello to sorted comments based on popular posters and friends in Google+ circles. Read this article by Dara Kerr on CNET News.

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Xbox One Version of Call of Duty: Ghosts to be Delayed by Over a Week

The Xbox One version of Call of Duty: Ghosts has been delayed until November 15.

That Game Shop was told by its distributor that "the release date for COD: Ghosts has slipped from the 5th to 15th November," but that "the slippage only affects Xbox One" in the UK.

The retailer claims that "stock shortages" are the reason for the delay.

Call of Duty: Ghosts had previously been expected to launch on Xbox One on November 5, alongside all other console versions.

Activision has confirmed that the Xbox One version of Call of Duty: Ghosts will only be available from November 15.

The Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Wii U and PC versions will continue to be available on November 5.

This isn't the only issue Microsoft are having with Call of Duty: Ghosts.

It has been rumoured that the latest Call of Duty game  will run at just 720p on the new Xbox One, compared to 1080p on the PlayStation 4.

When asked about the concerns, Xbox One staff have been increasingly evasive.

Microsoft's Albert Penello said the game looked good, but refused to confirm whether it would be in 720 or 1080p.

"I've seen COD: Ghosts running on Xbox One. It looks f'n amazing. Wait for real footage, then judge for yourself."

Similarly, the company's Phil Spencer said: "As first party I don't get builds of 3rd party games. I know what our 1st party games are doing."

The Xbox One is hitting stores on November 22, and will cost £429.

Source [ http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/technology-science/technology/xbox-one-next-gen-console-version-2663725 ]

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Xbox One one-ups PS4 with support for CDs, DLNA streaming

n a rare move, Xbox One actually one-upped the PS4today, as Microsoft announced that its forthcoming console supports CDs and DLNA media streaming.

That means the system can play your entire library of audio CDs and stream files from a home network because it's CD and DLNA compatible, the company told The Penny Arcade Report.

These are two basic functions that the otherwise powerfulPS4 is unable to deliver, Sony admitted October 30.

While Xbox One disc drives are compatible with CDs, DVDs and Blu-rays, the PlayStation 4 supports only the latter two options.

Xbox One MP3 semi-support

Disappointingly, Sony revealed that the thousands of MP3 music files out in the wild won't work with the PS4 either.

Xbox One, on the other hand, will be able to handle this common audio file type through a workaround that involves streaming from a Windows device.

Because the console is a Play To receiver, it can stream content from any Play To supported device.

So if you happen to have your MP3 library on a machine running Windows 7 up to Windows 8.1 or have a Windows Phone device, you're in luck.

Oh, by the way

Sony waited until the very last minute to admit some of the system's lowlights, while Microsoft made its most blunders during E3 and laterreversed many of its decisions.

Now may be the best timing to come out on top as most pre-orders for Day One consoles are already in place, which makes the delay of DriveClubbundled with PS4 all the more painful. Source [ http://www.techradar.com/news/gaming/consoles/xbox-one-one-ups-ps4-with-support-of-cds-dlna-streaming-1195928 ]

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Battlefield 4 Price Roundup: Where's Cheapest?

Battlefield 4 blasts its way onto Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC today, and while the current-gen versions may lack the same spectacle as the next-gen versions due to arrive later this month, they still offer up one of the finest multiplayer experiences you'll find this year.

But where can you get it cheapest? We've rounded up a list of prices for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions available on the high street today, with Sainsbury's offering the best price – provided you're prepared to pick up some Microsoft Points or PSN credit with it.

If you're just looking for the game, ASDA's offering the lowest price at £39.97. And if you're looking to upgrade to the next-gen version eventually, it might be worth considering GAME. It costs £44.99, but the retailer will guarantee you £40 credit when trading up to the PS4 or Xbox One version.

Take a look below for the full list of confirmed prices, and please note that prices apply to the Xbox 360 and PS3 Standard Edition unless stated.

Argos: £39.99 (PC £34.99)

ASDA: £39.97

GAME: £44.99 (PC £39.99). Deluxe Edition also available for £59.99 (PC £49.99) containing Steelbook case, China Rising Expansion Pack, a pair of real dog tags, 4 Gold Battlepacks.

SAINSBURY'S: £42.99 or £32.99 when bought with 2100 Microsoft Points (£17.99) or £25 PSN Credit.

TESCO: £42 Source [ http://www.videogamer.com/xbox360/battlefield_4/news/battlefield_4_price_roundup_wheres_cheapest.html ]

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Dead Rising 3 sales expected to hit 1.2 million, according to Capcom projection

Dead Rising 3 has been pegged to hit 1.2 million sales on Xbox One, according to a document released alongside Capcom’s recent financial report.

We reported on the Capcom’s financials yesterday. They showed that strong sales of Monster Hunter 4 has helped the Japanese firm gain some financial ground since its last report.Reporting on Capcom’s

document, Eurogamer notes that the company’s 1.2 million projection for Dead Rising 3 falls below life-time sales of the original Xbox-exclusive game at 1.8 million, and the multi-format sequel Dead Rising 2 at 2.7 million.

Understandably, Dead Rising 3′s projection is lower seeing as it is an Xbox One exclusive.

What do you make of Dead Rising 3 so far? You can check out both of my write-ups on the game so far here and here.

The game’s out November 22.  Source[http://www.vg247.com/2013/11/01/dead-rising-3-sales-expected-to-hit-1-2-million-according-to-capcom-projection/ ]

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Screenshots of PS4 exclusive The Order: 1886

Sony's released a handful of screenshots of PlayStation 4 exclusive The Order: 1886 - and they remind us of Xbox 360 series Gears of War.

The screenshots, below, show off the Steampunk game's character-hugging third-person camera perspective. There's a dash of weapons fire, too.

The Order was announced during Sony's E3 2013 press conference with a cinematic that told us little about the game, save it was set in a Steampunk London alternate history 40 years after the Industrial Revolution.

According to the official blurb: "Man uses advanced technology to battle a powerful and ancient foe." You play as a member of an elite order of knights, joining a centuries-old war that will determine the course of history forever.

It's in development at Ready at Dawn, the studio behind the PlayStation Portable God of War games. Ready at Dawn co-founder Ru Weerasuriya has described The Order as a linear, story-based third-person action adventure with shooting mechanics and moment-to-moment gameplay that's "really not what you might expect".

Weerasuriya has also mentioned The Order having a "filmic" look due to the way Ready at Dawn is "shooting" the game. For more on that, and how Naughty Dog's Uncharted 2 influenced the game, check out our The Order interview from Gamescom 2013. Source [ http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-10-23-screenshots-of-ps4-exclusive-the-order-1886-remind-us-of-gears-of-war ]

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Titanfall PC release date confirmed, won't require Windows 8

Respawn Entertainment announced a March release date for its debut game not too long ago, but didn't go into more details than that. Would it be a timed exclusive for the upcoming Xbox One? How long would PC gamers have to wait? Would Respawn require Windows 8 for its robot battles? Thankfully, all of these issues have now been cleared up.

Rock Paper Shotgun reports that Titanfall will indeed launch on the same day as its Xbox brethern, on March 11, putting to rest fears of any kind of console-exclusivity. Respawn's Abbie Heppe also confirmed that Windows 8 will not be required for the giant mech first-person shooter that stole the show at E3 this year and has seen glowing previews ever since.

Earlier this year, Microsoft hinted at the possibility that most of Xbox One's exclusives would not show up on the PC. So if it's not Titanfall, what's the game that won't cross over into PC waters? Source [ http://www.pcgamer.com/2013/11/01/titanfall-pc-release-date-confirmed-wont-require-windows-8/ ]

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Rockstar Games launches GTA 5 #epicphotobomb competition

Rockstar Games has launched the first GTA 5 photobomb contest for its in-game Snapmatic photo-sharing app. 

The GTA developer is rewarding gamers who have been utilising the Snapmatic photo-sharing app in the game with the first photobomb competition.  GTA 5 gamers will have until November 4 to post their entries into the #epicphotobomb competition, with the rewards including official t-shirts, a Chop toy and a phone case. “For all you compulsive shutterbugs out there, entrance into our very first Snapmatic photo content will run from right now through till end of the day Monday, November 4th,” reads the official competition page. “With this inaugural content theme of #EpicPhotobom – we want to see the best photobombs you can come up with.” The five winning photobombs will a special GTA 5 prize pack, which is said to include an official game t-shirt, an iFruit phone case, stickers and a Chop plushie. “Whether it be a unexpectedly volatile pedestrian coming to clobber you, a scantily clad Trevor running amok in the middle of your self-satisfied selfie or a rival player causing an explosive disturbance while you calmly attempt to snap your sweet Los Santos Custom-ised hot rod – we’ll pick our five of our favourite awesomely amusing and artfully composed iFruit camera pics that fit the bill and will share the winning shots here at Newswire.” To enter you can either upload your photos from the iFruit app for iOS and Android devices or go to the RockStar Social Club Snapmatic page. You’ll need to add the #epicphotobomb hashtag to have your picture considered for the competition though.  The competition launches just after Rockstar Games announced it has been forced to delay the GTA 5 Stimulus Package which contains free GTA$ bundles.  “We know many of you are anxiously waiting for us to show you the GTA$ Stimulus Package money we announced a couple of weeks back. As mentioned in that post, we of course want to ensure that game progress loss issues are sufficiently sorted before distributing GTA$ to everyone,” stated an official Rockstar spokesperson.  Read more at http://www.trustedreviews.com/news/rockstar-games-launches-gta-5-epicphotobomb-competition#v3L51Erz1WmLAhcP.99 Source [ http://www.trustedreviews.com/news/rockstar-games-launches-gta-5-epicphotobomb-competition ]

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Call of Duty: Ghosts' Extinction mode classes explained

The recently revealed Extinction mode for Call of Duty: Ghosts, which pits four soldiers against an alien infestation, will feature a class-based system for up to four players. On the game's official blog, developer Infinity Ward explains how those classes are expected to work together.

Extinction mode's classes follow some fairly traditional roles. There's the Tank, which has 25 percent more health than other classes, allowing him or her to play more aggressively. By leveling up, Tank players can see their health boosts grow even further. On the offensive side is the Weapon Specialist, which deals 20 percent more damage than the norm.

The other two classes, Medic and Engineer, fill support roles. Medics can revive downed players more quickly, and gain faster movement and healing abilities as they level up. Engineers can provide armor assistance to the team's drill, which is used to destroy an alien hive, and help earn extra bonus cash.

For more gameplay details, watch the game's creators break down how Extinction will work and how it was conceived.

Players will be able to experiment with Extinction's classes and building their own teams when Call of Duty: Ghosts launches next week on PlayStation 3, Wii U, Windows PC and Xbox 360. Source [ http://www.polygon.com/2013/11/1/5056850/call-of-duty-ghosts-extinction-mode-classes-explained ]

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15 Minutes Of Killzone Shadow Fall's Multiplayer Appears Online

OPM has released a 15 minute gameplay video of Killzone Shadow Fall’s multiplayer, showing quite a lot from Guerrila’s PS4 launch title. including the action, classes and equipment. The video also features commentary with information about the game.

Killzone Shadow Fall will have three class modes with Assault, Support  and Scout, and there will be 1500 challenges to tackle too. It all looks very nice too, with quite the bright map, though other maps are a lot more darker in terms of visuals.

I played some of Shadow Fall’s multiplayer at this year’s EGX and enjoyed it, even though I was quite terrible. Just think in exactly four weeks you’ll be playing this, that is if you ordered it and will be getting the console on launch day.

Four weeks! Source: http://www.thesixthaxis.com/2013/11/01/15-minutes-of-killzone-shadow-falls-multiplayer-appears-online/

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5 posts!

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Saints Row 4 Ultra Super Ultimate Deluxe Edition announced for Japan

Saints Row 4 will bring its bravado to Japan on January 23, 2014. Famitsu reports the Saints Row 4 Ultra Super Ultimate Deluxe Edition will include downloadable content previously released internationally, but we're following up with the game's publisher in the region to confirm specifics.

"We won't even be finished with DLC releases in January, so it wont include all SR4 DLC," a representative for publisher Deep Silver tells Joystiq. "That edition is for Japan only since it is the Japanese release of the game." So don't go expecting a Saints Row 4 Ultra Super Ultimate Deluxe Edition with all DLC included hitting in North American or Europe. Well, at least not in January.

Source: Famitsu

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Saints Row IV: Enter The Dominatrix review

The first major slice of DLC for Saints Row IV may be the most surreal gaming experience of the year, but is there more to the expansion than just a few good jokes?

For a franchise that started out as nothing but a low rent Grand Theft Auto clone it’s fascinating to see how far Saints Row has come. We’re not even sure newcomers would make the connection between the two series nowadays, despite Saints Row retaining its open world carjacking foundations. But since the third game things have gotten very silly in Saints Row. The series now revels in its absurdities and makes a virtue of the fact that it’s now throwing every random idea it can think of into the mix – and not really caring whether it sticks or not.

This new downloadable content is especially uncaring when it comes to either plausibility or good taste, not only that but it’s incredibly meta. Enter The Dominatrix, or at least an expansion with that same name, was originally intended to be downloadable content for Saints Row: The Third, before being repurposed to become the basis for Saints Row IV. Now the name is being reused for an actual expansion, which is not only hugely confusing but the basis for the download’s narrative.

Rather than try to act as an epilogue to Saints Row IV this is instead presented as an alternative storyline, a very literal what if commented on by the protagonists themselves. Not only the regular crew but new characters as well, that were supposedly cut from previous games. Everything is presented as if it’s a series of TV interviews, with the missions playing the role of previously unseen footage. It’s all very self-referential and, in the normal Saints Row manner, never quite as funny as it thinks it is, but at least you can’t complain it’s just a boring map pack.

The story itself is, as you might gather from the title, a parody of The Matrix. Which in terms of topical comedy has all the timing and relevance of a Have I Got Old News For You marathon on Dave. At least it means that everyone and their granny is going to get the references though, and in any case the story’s largely immaterial when you have people running around in gimp masks and being attacked by velociraptors.

For what it’s worth though you’re fighting a rogue artificial intelligence that for reasons best known to itself chooses to manifest as an aging dominatrix (or maybe she’s meant to be a voluptuous supermodel type, it’s so hard to tell with Saints Row’s low rent graphics, which are certainly well past their sell-by-date).

Enter The Dominatrix (360) – at least it’s better than The Path Of Neo

In any case everything boils down to a series of boss battle run-ins with the AI and five main missions, each of which amounts to little more than shooting everyone in the room with faintly unsatisfying guns and superpowers (even the new minigun and flamethrower don’t quite feel as fun as they should). Poor mission design and bland mechanics has always been a problem of the series but this doesn’t even have the variety of the parent game, despite sections in a spaceship and a chariot race with gimps instead of horses.

These are the highlights but the issue remains that as much as we admire Saints Row’s willingness to ignore any question of realism or common decency it’s still not really a very good video game. The mechanics are bland and workmanlike, the mission design far more ordinary than the surface wackiness suggests, and the graphics and art design look more like a fan-made mod than a modern video game.

The appeal of Saints Row, and in particular this expansion, hinges almost purely on the jokes, which are as hit and miss as the enemy AI. Apart from the antique Matrix references there’s a lot of sub-Blood Dragon style jokes about gaming clichés, which make the usual mistake of poking fun at a trope (escort missions, for example) and then using them anyway.

And yet some jokes do definitely work. They might still be attacking obvious targets – from furries to the obviously low budget of the expansion itself – but they are genuinely funny. Some of the one-liners are great and the finale is so utterly bizarre it’s probably worth the (sensibly low) price of admission on its own.

Ultimately it’s very easy to gauge whether you’ll like Enter The Dominatrix or not , based simply on whether you found the original funny . If you did then you’ve probably already bought the season pass and we expect you’ll be perfectly satisfied with this. We though would rather just wait for a next gen Saints Row V, when hopefully its ego will stop writing cheques its oddly pierced body can’t cash.

In Short: The jokes and plot twists are more bizarre than ever, but even they don’t always hit their mark – and without them this is an even less interesting gameplay experience than its parent game.

Pros: Half a dozen laugh out loud moments make the most of the admirably surreal setting. Fairly good value for money, with new weapons, vehicles, and gang members.

Cons: There’s even less meat and variety to the action than the main game. And for every joke that hits its mark there are two or more that fall flat. The graphics really are rubbish.

Score: 6/10

Formats: Xbox 360 (reviewed), PlayStation 3, and PC Price: £4.69 Publisher: Deep Silver Developer: Volition Release Date: 23rd October 2013 Age Rating: 18

  Source[http://metro.co.uk/2013/10/24/saints-row-iv-enter-the-dominatrix-review-for-masochists-only-4159935/]

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Saints Row 4: a fun game that makes serious points

For years I've been saying I've wanted a game where I could play as an overweight, slightly older female protagonist. Call it my weariness of alpha male space marines or my undying affection for Love & Rockets lead Maggie Chascarillo, but I've always felt that this is a thing that needs to happen. Whenever I tell people this they assume I mean some sort of experimental curio - maybe an "interactive drama" (whatever that means) like The Walking Dead or Beyond, or perhaps the sort of casual adventure game that gets marketed to stay at home moms who frequent Bigfish. But that's not necessarily what I'm after. Instead, I've always wanted a big, stupid action game starring a chunky badass lass.

It's not that I don't like more experimental or esoteric games, but rather that a game doesn't need to cater to a different crowd to star an atypical protagonist. News flash: blowing up trucks and alien ships is just as fun with an older lady as it is with a man modeled after The Rock.

My Saints Row 4 character is more badass than any of y'all.

Of course Saints Row 4 gives you the option to tailor a character however you want and I'm not suggesting everyone make a similar character to my own. You could play as a transgendered person, an approximation of Breaking Bad's Heisenberg, or a strapping fellow running around naked. Despite my character's gang moniker, I'm no saint and at one point attempted to strip my character down to her skivvies because I figured the game was already pretty much mental masturbation anyway so I might as well make her as sexy as possible, but I quickly realised that I was distracted by her impractical choice of clothing (or lack thereof). Despite the game's inherent goofiness, I actually grew attached to my extraordinary well acted id-gone-amok leading lady and after about two minutes I stopped thinking about what would make her attractive to me and instead thought 'what would I wear if I looked like her, had super powers, and was about to kick some alien ass?' I'm still a little envious that she can pull off purple zebra print leggings and I can't. Games like Saints Row 4 are meant to be wish fulfilment after all.

On that note, Saints Row 4 allows your character to get laid constantly, and yet, shockingly, the game has a surprisingly sophisticated and mature attitude towards sex. In most games that contain sex, it's either portrayed as a ludicrous lark with nameless, drone-like NPCs (Grand Theft Auto, God of War) or it's a long, drawn-out, squeaky clean climax to a tender problem-free courtship. The main offender in the latter category is Mass Effect, where player character Commander Shepard is given the option to say various nice things (always highlighted blue) to the NPC they fancy and at the end - before the final mission - sex happens. Now there's nothing inherently wrong with this old-fashioned, practically platonic vanilla courtship, but that's only one kind of fornication. Saints Row 4, however, is concerned with the more varied circumstances in which intercourse occurs.

This is made clear in your character's first opportunity to get boned. In a hilarious parody of Mass Effect, you roam around your pale blue sheet metal ship talking to your NPC comrades. Rather than bog the player down with dialogue trees spread across several story-based intermissions, you're given a mere two options upon approaching the geek-chic firecracker Kinzie: "Talk to Kinzie" or "Romance Kinzie." Naturally I pick the latter.

"Hey Kinzie, wanna f***?" My avatar asks.

Without batting an eye Kinzie punches me in the face and exclaims "Let's go!" before hopping my bones. Cue campy 70s gettin' down tunes. Fade to black.

This got probably my biggest laugh of the game, but then I thought about it and it's actually pretty smart. Not everyone requires being courted in order to hop in the sac. Some people, like Kinzie, just want to get it on. This would be problematic if the other party wasn't into it, but even though the player character's query is comically blunt, it's still an honest question that leaves the choice up to the other person. You can't shag someone if they don't swing that way, like vice president Keith David for example (sigh). And while we never actually seeany sex take place, Kinzie's bold love smack tells us all we need to know about how she gets off, and I for one think it's about time we see video game characters with libido's more complex than that laid out clinical middle school textbook.

Most of your crew can be romanced in a similar fashion, but your character has a different reason for being attracted to each one. My favourite was the militant Asha, who our avatar confesses to that she wants rough sex, but Kinzie scares the s*** out of her.

Is it realistic? Hell no (unless you're Ryan Gosling, maybe). It's obviously ridiculous that everyone is down to f*** all the time (though they do need breaks after the act. As Kinzie is fond of reminding you, "You need to wait until I want it."), but the individual scenarios capture the excited thrill of two people mutually discovering that the other person wants to get down with them. Heck, it's even semi-believable given that the game takes place after earth has been destroyed and the remaining survivors are naturally going to be sexually frustrated and looking to get their needs met.

Aside from its progressive attitudes towards women and sex, Saints Row 4 also contains one of the most moving moments I've seen in a game in ages. Shortly after you rescue your friend Pierce, the two of you cruise around on an assault mission against the alien menace. Between strike points Pierce turns on the radio and pressures the player character into singing Paula Abdul's Opposites Attract with him. Before you know it you're belting out "It ain't fiction, just a natural fact - we come together 'cuz opposites attract!" The voice actor laughs along to the fact that she's somewhat poorly crooning a pop song, while Pierce is having a ball getting his perceived uptight boss - and president of the United States - to loosen up. This all happens mid-mission, without the need to break to a cutscene or slow down the game's momentum. Saints Row 4 may be a big, stupid action game, but this whimsical sequence was perhaps the single best portrayal of friendship I've seen in a game. You might expect that in Gone Home or The Last of Us, but to find this emergent moment of warmth in the midst of a wacky candy-coloured world-saving fantasy was disarmingly effective and not one I'll soon forget.

Oddly enough, I don't know much about Pierce as I never played the other Saints Row games and this sequel does only a moderate job of bringing players up to speed, but somehow this didn't matter. I didn't need to know his backstory to enjoy this. In fact, maybe it was better that I didn't. It was just one of those slice of life moments that doesn't need any more context than the blueprint provided to feel authentic.

I went into Saints Row 4 expecting a time-killing goofy lark that I would promptly forget about the moment the end credits rolled. Instead, what I got was one of the smartest, most heartfelt games I've seen from a triple A release in ages. But best of all it proves that you don't need to make a so-called "serious game" to make a point about gender equality, sexual attraction or interpersonal intimacy. On the surface these themes might seem like the opposite of a silly action romp about blowing up aliens, but you know what Paula Abdul would say about that.

Source [http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-10-22-saints-row-4-a-game-about-friendship-sex-and-strong-women]

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