NBA 2K13 Has Everything and the Kitchen Sink

Has the NBA 2K series become too successful?

Two years ago, the stars all aligned for the long-running basketball sim. Michael Jordan signed on. Their competition crashed and burned spectacularly. And most importantly, independent of all that, the gameplay itself was the best we'd ever seen in a pro basketball game up to that point. 2K's party continued last year, with Jordan returning, EA keeping NBA Live on the bench again, and 2K12 offering up more hoops goodness.

So what of this year -- 2K13? His Airness is back -- and this time he's bringing a certain Round Mound of Rebound who'd long since stayed out of the video game world -- and the game will once more be the only basketball sim you can buy on a disc. As for the game itself? It's packed to the rafters with goodness, from a playable fantasy match-up of the 1992 and 2012 Dream Teams to an all-new, NBA Live Freestyle stick-esque control scheme. But it's also got a whole slew of features that you're probably not expecting. So that takes us back to a version of the original question: has Visual Concepts gone nuts?

The answer for gamers is a resounding yes, but in the best of ways.

First, there's the whole Jay-Z thing. Visual Concepts proudly puts him forward as an "executive producer" on the game, but until now they've never explained what the hell that means. Besides giving him credit for getting Scottie Pippen and Charles Barkley to sign on and be playable in the game (no, really; they claim Jay picked up the phone, said, "Get me Barkley and Pippen," and they called him back ASAP and reached an agreement to be included), Hova curated the entire soundtrack, which includes himself (duh), Kanye West, and U2, among many others. Better, before each game tips off, a music video by Jay-Z or one of the other featured artists plays to get you fired up for the game, mixed together with gameplay footage. A number of these are included, and they definitely spice up the presentation. Finally, he also requested that the background menus pulse in rhythm to whatever song is playing at a given time. I've seen this and...yep, it does that. Thanks Jay!

"Please, Mr. GM, will you fire Stan Van Gundy for me? PLEEEEEEEEASE?"

Second is the new Virtual Currency (VC...get it?) system. Like many other modern games, you'll get what amount to experience points for everything you do -- even quick-play games. Your VC is spent on upgrading your MyPlayer, which returns from last year but has now been blown-out. Buy suits for your created baller that you'll see during post-game press conferences. Pick up official, real-life team gear by adidas to don in blacktop pickup games. And in the Accessory Shop, grab gear like the adiZero Speedwrap ankle brace that has stat-modifying bonuses; in this case, a +2 boost to your on-ball defense.

In MyCareer mode, you'll be able to simulate Dwight Howard's life, from meeting with the GM to demand your coach be fired to taking your teammates out to dinner in order to receive a team chemistry/popularity boost. You can even do NBA Cares charity functions in order to win over more fans.

"Damn, I make this look good."

Visual Concepts spent perhaps the most amount of time during my demo showing me their craziest feature yet: the Shoe Creator. Yes, they've had a basic version of this before, but the ends of the earth they've gone to on this smack of a studio that clearly has no competition to worry about and is free to pursue flights of fancy like this (again, I mean that in a nice way!). 2K13's Shoe Creator is, essentially, the virtual shoe equivalent of Forza Motorsport 4's livery system. Except in that game, you can't click a button when you're done and order the car you just designed, complete with that custom paint job.

Yes, you can build your own kicks using different materials, colors, patterns, and more. Dozens of layers (45 of them, to be exact) let you highlight every detail you like. You can then upload those to the web, where other users can rate them. Want to go a step farther? Get this: the game syncs with the NikeID website and you can actually have your virtual shoe made real and shipped to your door. Perhaps Visual Concepts will let us try out that particular feature next time...

In case you were wondering: yes, there is a basketball game in here too.

What you should and probably do care most about, however, is the new Control Stick. Simply wiggle the right thumbstick and use the momentum of your body to fake guys out of their shoes (don't worry, it's far easier said than done; I don't expect it to be exploitable), and then pull LT/R2 in order to flip the Control Stick into the Shot Stick and put up your look. I only got to play a couple quarters as the '92 Dream Team against this summer's Team USA -- hardly enough time to really get comfortable with the controls -- but it feels like a natural, simulation-friendly evolution of its implementation back in the last-gen NBA Live days. It should prove to be NBA 2K13's most important new feature, along with the return of Michael Jordan and the Legends teams (including a new crew: Allen Iverson's '01 76ers)...

...What, you thought I was going to say it'd be the Shoe Creator?

Ryan McCaffrey is the Executive Editor at IGN Xbox. He used to own a DeLorean, which is weird. Follow him on Twitter, on IGN, catch him on Podcast Unlocked, and drop-ship him Taylor Ham sandwiches from New Jersey whenever possible.

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Silent Hill: Revelation 3D Poster Debut

We're happy to debut the brand new poster for the upcoming video game movie sequel Silent Hill: Revelation 3D, due out October 26.

For years, Heather Mason and her father have been on the run, always one step ahead of dangerous forces that she doesn’t fully understand. Now on the eve of her 18th birthday, plagued by terrifying nightmares and the disappearance of her father, Heather discovers she's not who she thinks she is. The revelation leads her deeper into a demonic world that threatens to trap her in Silent Hill forever.

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Looper Review

Jumping between the years 2044 and 2074, the sci-fi thriller Looper is about a hit man whose next and final target is himself. In this near future, Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) serves as a “looper,” a hit man tasked with killing and disposing of criminals who have run afoul of the mob. But these victims come from 30 years in the future where time-travel exists but is illegal. The mob, however, employs it to transport their victims into the past since getting rid of a body is just that much tougher in 2074.

Joe’s work is all very mechanical: kill, dispose, kill, dispose. Loopers are relatively low on the criminal totem pole (“Gat Men” are the more elite of the future mob’s henchmen). The worse thing a Looper can do is let their loop get away as that brings all sorts of hell down on them. And every Looper knows that at some point, the mob will “close your loop,” or send your future self back for you to terminate. Joe’s troubles begin when his older self (Bruce Willis) is sent back for him to kill, but promptly escapes.

Older Joe has his own very specific mission in 2044, one that leads him to a young mom named Sara (Emily Blunt) and her troubled little boy, Cid (an impressive Pierce Gagnon). That’s all we’ll give away for now suffice to say that the dilemma for both Joes is deciding between the life you can make for yourself now or the one you will have in the future.

Looper is sci-fi, but not garishly so. It’s set in a future that’s quite familiar and relatable, one determined by economic and sociopolitical woes. Sure, there are cool hover bikes, but only a few can afford them; otherwise, people drive 30-year-old cars since manufacturing appears to have ceased in this bleak future America. There are looters and homeless aplenty on the streets, and not much in the way of law enforcement. The most popular narcotic, which young Joe is addicted to, can be used like eye drops. This is a future where people make do with what’s left.

Even Loopers’ weapon of choice is decidedly old school: the Blunderbuss. The genetic mutation of telekinesis exists, but it’s not as exciting as you’d think, being deemed more of a tacky parlor trick than anything truly extraordinary. All of these choices by writer-director Rian Johnson (who previously directed JGL in Brick) and his team make Looper a decidedly understated sci-fi film where the emphasis remains on the characters rather than the genre trappings of the future world they inhabit.

Johnson weaves a taut narrative around his rather convoluted, but high concept premise; it’s a testament to his skill that you never find yourself picking apart how things exactly all click. You’re simply along for the ride since you care about these characters, which is even more impressive given how unsympathetic Joe is for much of the movie. He’s paid in silver like a Judas, kills people without any real qualms, and is ruthlessly self-centered. His older self is more sympathetic … until you learn his game plan. Both Gordon-Levitt and Willis never demand the audiences’ sympathy; they simply let you come to your own conclusions about Joe as being either an anti-hero or a villain.

No discussion of Looper and its two lead performances can be had without talking about the makeup worn by Gordon-Levitt throughout. It’s initially distracting to see the young actor’s face altered by prosthetics so as to resemble a young Bruce Willis, an illusion they never quite pull off. But it’s Gordon-Levitt’s replication of Willis’ mannerisms, attitude and low, slightly mumbling voice that sells you after a few moments of settling into things. Willis plays a supporting role here, but he has several key emotional scenes (often with minimal dialogue) that allow him to shine. Some of his best moments come in a diner scene with young Joe where the term “self abuse” takes on a whole new meaning.

Blunt is nicely cast against type as an earthy, American single mom whose complicated relationship with her little boy becomes even more so about halfway through. We’re used to seeing Blunt as a funny or somewhat prissy English rose-type, and she’s clearly having fun playing someone far more damaged and salt of the earth. Jeff Daniels steals his scenes as young Joe’s gruff, but amiable mob boss and father figure Abe, while Paul Dano and Garret Dillahunt have small, but memorable roles as colleagues of young Joe’s. Piper Perabo appears as a stripper and single mom young Joe is banging. (Go, Joe!)

Looper is one of the year’s most engaging sci-fi films, one that works as both a thriller and a character piece about people faced with making big life decisions (often at the business end of Blunderbuss). It could have all been insanely gimmicky, but Looper is instead tastefully executed.

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IPTL Amateur -- Will Scarlett help push Acer over the top?

Acer as a company has been around in eSports for many years long before their decision to create and manage a team. They have been supporting and donating money to wide range of tournaments in all kinds of games, whether it was League of Legends or Starcraft 2. However, it was their decision to create their own team that brought them huge attention from all kinds of eSports-related websites and communities.

Still, Starcraft 2 was not their game of choice; they first acquired FIFA back in February 2011 when they’ve launched Team Acer’s website. Yet, their current super-star players are all in the Starcraft 2 roster.

At the very beginning of Acer’s existence in the world of Zerg, Terran, and Protoss they brought in four players to the team, including the most famous German SC:BW player – Mondragon, but as the time was passing by none of them excluding Nerchio, who we are going to talk about in a minute, have not shown any promising results.

Currently, the once called “all-zerg” team has 5 active players in their line-up. Four zergs:  Bly, Nerchio, ParanOid, and Scarlett who joined Acer late June 2012, and one terran – DarkHydra. Single SCV user on the team is also the youngest – he was born in 1997. He participates in online cups on a regular basis, but has won only 1 so far back in 2011. Earlier this year Christian was invited as a stan-in for DeMulim to attend HomeStory Cup IV; he lost 0-3 in his group.

ParanOid aka GOsia used to be one of the top SC:BW players in Poland winning 2009 Polish WCG qualifiers. He played alongside Mondragon in clan called Templars of Twilight. Lately he qualified to IPL Season 5 through the European Satellite Qualifiers, but just like DarkHydra, he also has no huge victories in his Starcraft 2 portfolio.

Bly, despite not being the most recognized player from his country, is one of the top players representing Ukraine on the international scene at the moment. Active participant in many online cups he proves every single time why people cannot underestimate him. He took first place during WCS Ukraine Nationals beating faer, White-Ra, Strelok, and White-Ra once again in the finals. He also qualified for the IPL Season 5 just like DarkHydra and Nerchio through the European Satellite Qualifiers.

Until recently Team Acer was known because of Nerchio who grew immensely as a player since he joined the team in July 2011, but now he’s not the only star  on the team. Scarlett has been performing good since she started playing in the official tournaments like IGN ProLeague Season 4 where she took out DeMusliM, Terius and DdoRo or IPL TAC 3, but the epiphany of her skill took place during WCS Canada qualifiers and WCS NA Championship where she destroyed the competition winning both events with less than 10 games lost in total.

She is more than ready to take part in a huge international events, and go against the best our scene has to offer, but IPTL Season 1 is also going to be a test of her true abilities. For the first time in her career, Scarlett will have to play against the best of what Europe and Korea has to offer; this is not a North American only tournament anymore. Is she going to step up? We might potentially find that out on the 13th of September when Team Acer face aTn.Type in their IPTL Season 1 opening match.

The last but definitely not least on the team is Artur “Nerchio” Bloch. This Polish zerg is not only perceived as a top player in his country, but as one of the best players outside Korea. What is more, in public’s opinion he is also the most skilled Zerg on the western scene, but he exchanges this title with Stephano constantly based on their results in the most recent events. Second place at IEM Cologone 2012, First place in HomeStory Cup V, First place in WCS Poland Nationals and many many more – this is a short list of his latest achievements, and he’s still coming for more.

Although, we what we are seeing now is Nerchio at his best, last year during European Battle.net Invitational he was still an inexperienced newcomer, constantly described as a maphacker and a stream cheater due to his amazing runs in online cups, and poor performance during offline tournaments. Back then people didn’t believe him, when he said that he gets stressed during big events like EBI 2011 for example, but now he got it all sorted out, and can perform at the highest competitive level in Starcraft.

In a team league like IPTL both Nerchio and Scarlett might be used for two things; opening a match to get an early advantage and closing a match to secure a victory. Scarlett has proven many times in the past that she has no problem with being under pressure, hence she might be used by her team mainly as a closer, whereas Nerchio can open a match or be used in the middle of it to secure a draw or catch-up with a score.

Nonetheless, Team Acer, being one of the best team in their group, have a huge chance of advancing into the Up and Down Matches. With two strong star players as a core of their success they might even advance to Premier Division next season.

Written by Albert Palka

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Way of the Samurai 4 Review

Like many nerdy young men, I’ve sometimes wondered if I could have made it in the days of the samurai. Sadly, not being born in Japan hundreds of years ago got in the way of that dream. But in Way of the Samurai 4, players can find out how they would have fared walking the world as a lone samurai warrior. Way of the Samurai 4 is a download-only open world action game for the PlayStation Network that allows the player to explore their morality or dark desires in the uncommon setting of a small Japanese village under constant conflict.

Caught between a militant government, xenophobic nationalists and a foreign body eager for expansion, you take on the role of a Japanese ronin in the year 1853. As a nameless and masterless samurai, you journey into a small township where these three factions stand at odds. It’s the decisions that you make, the missions you accept and the success you have that determine your samurai’s fate.

Right off the bat, you get dropped into a series of combat scenarios and are quickly forced to make a choice about the path your character will take. Everything seems cut and dry as you’re presented with the opportunity to save a small and delicate looking young woman from a gang of rebels. The woman is a British ambassador who has come to the small town in hopes of establishing a trade relationship while the rebels are trying to repel the outsiders from influencing their home. You can be the "good guy" and save the girl, fighting alongside the Shogunate's constables, or take the "evil path" and take a stand against local law enforcement. As you progress, you can stick to one path, try to play all sides or skip the story missions of the three factions all together and just explore the side missions of the open world.

As I explored the story, things got creepy in a hurry. Saving the ambassador unknowingly led my samurai towards a relationship with the young woman... who appears to be around 14 years old. In other playthroughs, I was disturbed to find out the fetish-like love of torture of the Shogunate and his three daughters who run the town. Even though the timetable for the game's story revolves around only a few days, there was more than enough time to find out some very disturbing things about the people of this small town before culminating in a three-round fighting tournament to end my adventure. Each different combination of decisions and allegiances I made lead me on a path to one of the game's ten endings.

Because of the short length of the story -- ranging between two to four hours depending on how many missions you choose to take on -- multiple playthroughs are encouraged using "Proof of Life." The "Proof of Life" concept is an interesting take on the New Game+ option seen in many action games. Instead of just carrying over your previously-established character, the world around you adapts. Choosing a lawless lifestyle where killing constables was common practice leads to an increased presence of law enforcement in the following playthrough. And having an inventory of my own previous character's items to turn to after the first battle of the new playthrough was a welcome surprise. Additionally, points are awarded after each playthrough that can be used to unlock different visual changes for each new game.

In addition to the game's combat based story missions, there are some other diversions, like playing cards in the gambling den or attempting the act of night crawling. Night crawling helped provide me with one of the most uncomfortable moments I have experienced in gaming, even more than seeing the Shogunate's torture room. After meeting a woman in the day time, I needed to sneak into her home and make it into her room without being caught, subsequently jumping in bed with her in an attempt to get lucky. It might be that the intended humor of the situation is lost in translation because of differences in Japanese and Western humor, what with the disturbing choice of sound effects and animations that resembled a horny teenager jumping in to bed in hopes of losing their virginity. Thankfully, you never have to see the action once you complete the minigame challenge associated with it.

The most disappointing aspect of Way of the Samurai 4 is that combat isn't very fun. I had hoped that running around a Japanese village with a sword and an appetite for mayhem would be the most promising aspect of the game, but sadly, this wasn't the case. To win a battle, you have to launch a constant barrage of attacks against an opponent to prevent them from having the time to recover health. Aside from the unusual nuisance of enemies being able to recover from stab wounds so quickly in the heat of battle, this nonstop attack method will result in fatigue that causes reduced damage from the player's attacks and quicker decay on their weapons. This ends up becoming fairly frustrating early on in your career, when your number of different attacks is still very limited and you don't have enough money to purchase many extra weapons or the items that can help them last longer. If you get caught in a battle against multiple opponents and don't have enough weapons in your stash or vitality-increasing items, things can be over before they even begin.

Sadly, the game’s missions don't offer much in the way of variety. Most scenarios revolve around meeting up with an NPC, finding the cause of some conflict and arriving just in time for a small battle. This scenario gets repeated with varying degrees of difficulty, but with the combat not being very fun, the missions get old fast.

Visually, Way of the Samurai 4 didn't do much to excite me. Even though I was able to unlock more customizable parts for my character with each playthrough, nothing ended up being visually impressive. The character models are limited -- especially with facial animations and range of emotion -- and the animations don't flow smoothly together. The dated animations, on top of screen tearing and random frame rate drops, killed the game’s immersive qualities.

Way of the Samurai 4 can only be played with the original Japanese voice cast and English subtitles. While this works for the fans of the franchise, this likewise may deter new players from giving the game a chance, because there isn't an option for an English voice track. Also, the sometimes over the top voice acting makes some serious scenes unbelievable and gives the absurd scenes an even more extreme B-level samurai film feel. The music sometimes has the same problem where an uncomfortably cheerful tune will be playing over a tense encounter.

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Metal Gear Solid: How to Get the Movie Right

After years of false starts, that most movie-ish of video games is finally coming to the big screen.

An announcement at Konami's Metal Gear 25th Anniversary confirmed that Columbia Pictures are committed – with the help of superhero movie producer de jour Avi Arad - to bringing the adventures of Solid Snake and his cardboard box to life.

But with over 20 games, some truly bonkers plots, and creator Hideo Kojima's notoriously complex vision to choose from, it's going to be a tough job creating a coherent action flick that lives up to the bad-assery of its material.

Which is where we come in. This is how you make a Metal Gear Solid Movie….

Story

Think back to a time before girlyboy emo protagonists, homoerotic vampire sword fights, and the clunkiest dialogue this side of Darth Vader's "I don't like sand" chat-up line (see: Raiden's Metal Gear Solid 4 whineathon about how it rained on the day he was born), and the Metal Gear series was relatively straight-forward.

If you're attempting to introduce a whole new audience to the franchise (while still staying true to the original fans), you're going to have to strip all that back to focus on a solid, coherent and simple story - which is why Hollywood should use the original Metal Gear Solid as its key inspiration.

Even to this day, it stands strong as one of the best action games ever, and that's down to Kojima's then-uncluttered storytelling and artistic vision.

When a genetically enhanced renegade special forces unit, FOXHOUND, takes over a remote Alaskan island - with the nuke-wielding mech robot Metal Gear Rex hiding on it - it's down to cigar-smokin', box-lovin', grizzled secret soldier Solid Snake to save the day.

Not only is every hero and villain immediately iconic, but the character and stunt design lends itself to a series of set-pieces that would be just as ace on the big screen as they were originally - snow-covered sniper shootouts, tank fights, helicopter attacks, super-fast sword-wielding ninjas, and a blockbuster finale featuring giant mech attacks and a stunt-filled jeep chase.

Throw in plot twists galore, a pseudo love interest, and the whole brother vs brother/clone angle, and you've got a plot that straddles the line between Hollywood action blockbuster and loopy, sci-fi riddled ridiculousness with surprising panache.

Director

Much as we love him, even the most diehard of Metal Gear fans would admit that while his vision has made the video game series what it is today, handing creator Hideo Kojima the directorial keys would be a cinematic disaster.

Sure, everyone likes to joke about how each successive MGS is more an ever-lengthening interactive movie than a proper game, but just think about this; while he may be able to brainstorm (crazy) genius plot twists and stylish action sequences, it also takes him around 72 hours' worth of cutscenes to tell a story.

So where does that leave us? Kojima's expressed interest in Christopher Nolan taking the reigns, and considering that Christian Bale was once being lined up to play Solid Snake, that seems like an easy - if entirely improbable - win.

A more realistic, if potentially polarising choice, would be The Wachowskis. Erratic quality aside, they'd nail MGS' array of incredible action set-pieces, and they certainly enjoy tinkering in tales focusing on morally-bleak, sci-fi skewed worlds.

And if you want to go really left-field, then how about Clint Eastwood? This is a man who's more than a little familiar with grizzled, super-macho 'me against the world' heroes, and his increasing descent into grumpy old man OAP age could imbue Snake and his bleak future with a worldly, reflective and very dry sensibility.

Crazy as it sounds, he even makes more sense than your generic portents of directorial doom Paul W. S. Anderson and Michael Bay, as whoever steers the good ship MGS will have to appreciate that it's a genre more inherently focused on stealth than kabloomy SFX.

Cast

Fans of the series are already lobbying for long-term voice actor and screenwriter David Hayter for the role of Snake. Seeing as he's voiced the character for the last 14 years, and has already written an unconnected script for a MGS movie, it makes sense.

But it's one thing voicing and another thing physically embodying an action star. We're going to go ahead and ignore the nightmare of a possibility that Hollywood could opt for a young, muscled lunkhead to fill the title role, and hope instead that they focus on someone a little more battleworn.

Get rid of his Yorkshire accent, and Sean Bean would be a pretty good visual and actorly fit, while Liam Neeson also possesses just the right level of gnarled, weathered batteredness to fit the part.

If they do decide to go a little younger, then a bestubbled Michael Fassbender could pull if off (and would have had prior video game movie success - we hope - with Assassin's Creed). Then there's Josh Holloway - a man who can woo an audience with even the slimmest of screentime (Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol), and who could double as Solid's long, blond-haired cloney nemesis Liquid with ease.

Elsewhere, we'd love to see Sean Connery come out of retirement for a turn as gunslinging Revolver Ocelot, Karen Gillen flying the action ginger flag as Meryl Silverburgh, Scarlett Johansson as Sniper Wolf, and nerd-done-good Fran Kranz as Otacon.

Video Game Nods

While plot, character development and proper actorly types are all well, good and important to a MGS movie's success, there'd be uproar if some distinctly iconic, and fanboy pleasing odes to the video games weren't included.

If the finished product doesn't have Snake sneaking around in a cardboard box, giant mecha robots, some sneaking through airvents, infra-red goggles, the Alert Mode (!) sound, codec conversations galore and - of course - someone melodramatically screaming SNAAAAAAAAAKE whenever they can't get hold of him, then they're going to have a hard job winning the fans - and us - over.

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GameStop Planning "Vintage Game" Sales

Check out GameStop's website and you can pretty much buy any game from the past generation or two - or pre-order anything due out for the next several years. But one thing that's missing from the global retail giant is the ability to buy games prior to the era of the PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube. Want a classic NES or SNES game? Some other classic part of gaming history? You won't find it.

According to GameStop CEO Paul Raines, that's going to change.

"We think there's a vintage sales opportunity, so we're accumulating some inventory," Raines told Verge in a recent interview, specifically pointing towards GameStop's website as the destination for this new venture. "If you go to eBay and look at all of the gaming stuff that's on there, it's unbelievable. Collector's stuff. We've got to be in that business. We will be."

Raines noted his company already has many old school classics, the result of trade-ins over the company's meandering 25-plus year history. According to the executive, there are a few challenges remaining, such as "sourcing the product, the condition [and] the refurbishment," but because the demand is there, the effort to expand the business is seen as worth it.

Raines offered no timetable for this expansion, merely noting his company is "working on some stuff we haven't announced yet."

Rich is an Executive Editor of IGN.com and the leader of IGN's Nintendo team. He also watches over all things WWE, Resident Evil, Assassin's Creed and much more. Follow him on Twitter, if you dare!

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OnLive CEO Steve Perlman exits company after reformation

OnLive, one of the first cloud gaming companies to come into existence in the past few years, recently was forced to enter into a type of bankruptcy that caused as much as half the entire staff to be laid off in one day.

However, the brand and much of the company will live on through a reformed corporation that purchased OnLive's assets, logo, and name. At the time, Perlman was still with the company, leaving some scratching their heads wondering why the captain wasn't going down with the ship.

Today, however, Perlman announced that he is leaving OnLive to pursue new goals while the venture capitalist, Gary Lauder, who purchased their assets will be taking over as CEO. 

"Steve has created an extraordinary company that no one else could have created. He is a unique entrepreneur and deserves his legendary status in Silicon Valley as a creator of groundbreaking companies," Lauder said. "The new OnLive is emerging with greater financial security and a brighter outlook on the future. OnLive is now positioned to execute against longer-term projects with our breakthrough technology, products, and services."

It's not clear yet what sort of projects Perlman is planning to work on, but we've got a feeling it wont be long before he's back in the saddle as he's had quite a storied career in technology and entrepreneurship.

Source : gamesradar[dot]com

Nintendo reportedly controls 70% of the Japanese gaming market

For the past couple years many people have been chanting the mantra that Nintendo needs to give up the hardware business and transition into a software-only business releasing games on other consoles as well as the iPhone.

However, new numbers shine a bit of a light onto why Nintendo might be a little reluctant to leave their position as a hardware manufacturer. In short: the Japanse games market may be slowly flagging, but Nintendo's killing it. In the latest sales charts from Japan, games on their consoles represented 70% of the Japanese gaming industry. Though it's unclear if those numbers included mobile and PC games.

Nintendo's New Super Mario Bros. 2 on the 3DS is leading the charge with nearly 150,000 sales during the past week, aided in no small way by the success of the 3DS which Wired notes has been at the top of the Japanese charts for quite a while now.

Nintendo's success in the West may be more up for debate, however it hardly seems like it's time for Nintendo to abandon ship and layoff their entire hardware department. They've clearly got a lot more gas left in the tank. That said, the stakes get higher and higher every time Nintendo launches a console, and the whole industry will be watching when they launch the Wii U later this year. 

Source : gamesradar[dot]com

Comic Book Reviews for 8/22/12

It's a big week in comic book history, as the beloved wall-crawler celebrates fifty years of thwipping and thwarting bad guys all across the Marvel Universe. To celebrate, Marvel has unleashed an over-sized (and double-priced) issue of The Amazing Spider-Man. Also this week, one of our favorites, The Rocketeer, returns in a new standalone adventure by the acclaimed Daredevil team of Mark Waid and Chris Samnee.

Over at DC, Batman goes incognito (and Bat-Cow returns), the game changes in I, Vampire #12, and Doc Manhattan makes his Before Watchmen debut.

DC COMICS

All-Star Western #12

Written by Justin Gray & Jimmy Palmiotti | Art by Moritat

"Apparently no one told Jonah Hex that the Night of the Owls crossover is done and he doesn't have to deal with the Court of Owls anymore. All-Star Western #12 sees Hex and his buddy Dr. Arkham in the clutches of the Owls, with only the foul-mouthed Tallulah Black still free to save the day. I worried about how well Tallulah could carry the issue given how obnoxious her dialogue can sometimes be, but she fares better this month than she has in the past. Hex still manages a fair amount of screen time thanks to a lengthy flashback sequence. For the most part, this issue offers a fun wrap-up to the current conflict, with ample doses of violence, humor, and scarred bounty hunters getting frisky." -Jesse

Click to read the entire review!

Final Score:

6.5

Batman Incorporated #3

Written by Grant Morrison | Art by Chris Burnham

"It should be no surprise that Batman Incorporated #3 is a really good comic book. Every issue before it was pretty awesome. Sure, it's easy to drown in the deep, deep waters of Grant Morrison's Batman opus, but this issue stands on its own as a really great Batman tale even if it's drenched in the bizarre pathos of Morrison's Dark Knight saga. Oh yeah, and Bat-Cow is back and living in the Batcave. That alone should make this issue a must-buy." -Benjamin

Click to read the entire review!

Final Score:

8.5

Batman: The Dark Knight #12

Written by Gregg Hurwitz | Art by David Finch

"There is not much new ground being covered in Batman: The Dark Knight #12. It feels like a story that has been done before. It promises new, shocking insight into Batman's past, but it's really just the same old stuff. Nothing exciting, nothing new. If you have read a Scarecrow story before, then most of what you'll read in here will feel like a retread. Because it is." -Benjamin

Click to read the entire review!

Final Score:

6.5

Before Watchmen: Dr. Manhattan #1

Written by J. Michael Straczynski | Art by Adam Hughes

"Of the various Watchmen protagonists, Doctor Manhattan might just be the most difficult nut to crack as far as writing a spinoff series goes. For one thing, the character exists on a fundamentally different plane, not perceiving time the same way as a normal human and thus isn't well suited to the traditional flashback approach. For another, Watchmen #4 casts a looming shadow. That was the chapter which featured Jon on Mars, reflecting back on his life's journey in a very fractured but wholly engrossing narrative. Can even a writer of J. Michael Straczynski's caliber compete with that?" -Jesse

Click to read the entire review!

Final Score:

8.0

The Flash #12

Written by Francis Manapul & Brian Buccellato | Art by Francis Manapul

"A year’s worth of Flash villains have all come together to make Hell for the Scarlet Speedster, but the lines in the battlefield aren’t as clearly drawn as you’d think. There are three different sides. Maybe four. It’s hard to tell because this issue’s plot moves at breakneck speed to set up a dire situation for The Flash Annual #1 and thus sacrifices any compelling motive behind the six villains’ actions. That said, the art looks spectacular from beginning to end. This issue reminds me of a bag of popcorn: it tastes great but it's all empty calories." -Joshua

Click to read the entire review!

Final Score:

6.5

Green Lantern: The New Guardians #12

Written by Tony Bedard | Art by Tyler Kirkham

"As a Green Lantern fan, this title has held a special place in my heart, but it’s hard to ignore the lack of grace in its storytelling. For a year’s worth of issues, the characters have talked and fought their way through each story development without reaching that next level of depth and intrigue that we often seek out in today’s comics. The story bends at the whim of which spectacle it wants to show off next, and while it attempts to find a heart in Kyle Rayner, it never gives the reader a compelling reason to truly invest emotions in him." -Joshua

Click to read the entire review!

Final Score:

6.0

I, Vampire #12

Written by Joshua Hale Fialkov | Art by Andrea Sorrentino

"Joshua Hale Fialkov has somehow topped the jaw-dropping events of I, Vampire #6 to once again devastate the status quo with a surprise conclusion. Yet no matter how outrageous his plot twists, he seems incapable of doing wrong. If you’re not reading I, Vampire, then make this the next comic you sink your teeth into." -Joshua

Click to read the entire review!

Final Score:

9.5

Justice League Dark #12

Written by Jeff Lemire | Art by Mikel Janin

"Not too long ago, DC had a very strict rule about letting characters from the Vertigo universe interact with the regular DCU. But now that there is no distinction between the two universes, certain books are taking advantage of the new freedom to mingle. Case in point -- Justice League Dark is quickly turning into fanboy heaven for anyone who adores DC's various horror and magically tinged properties." -Jesse

Click to read the entire review!

Final Score:

8.5

Scalped #60

Written by Jason Aaron | Art by R.M. Guera

"It’s hard to believe, but we’ve reached the end of one of the most engaging works to come out of Vertigo in the last decade: Scalped. It’s been a long, hard road paved with blood (lots of blood) and a fair share of misery to boot. If, for some misguided reason, you were expecting a happy ending, well, you’ve got another thing coming. To his credit though, Jason Aaron manages to subvert expectations and concludes this series in a fitting, if not entirely definitive, manner." -Joey

Click to read the entire review!

Final Score:

8.5

Teen Titans #12

Written by Scott Lobdell | Art by Brett Booth

"Did we skip an issue? Did something happen in another comic? How did we end up in a cabin in the woods? It seemed, for two issues, as though Teen Titans was getting better. Maybe not great, but better than it had been. Now, it's the same old crap. This comic, for lack of a better word, sucks. It's horribly paced, over written, and so convoluted that it's nearly impossible to care about any of these characters." -Benjamin

Click to read the entire review!

Final Score:

3.0

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Rooney's Gone: EA Unveil New FIFA Cover Stars Today

According to sources close to IGN, Wayne Rooney will not appear on the cover of FIFA 13.

It's the first FIFA game in seven years not to carry the image of the Manchester United and England striker. Over the years, he's appeared alongside other footballers from the Premier League and other European leagues, including Frank Lampard and Kaka.

The world's best player Lionel Messi will appear front and centre on the FIFA 13 box (EA signed him up last November), flanked by two players, both presumably from the Premier League.

You can watch EA announce who's on the box at 6pm this evening via the YouTube livestream below:

Daniel is IGN's UK Staff Writer. You can be part of the world's worst cult by following him on IGN and Twitter.

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MTV's The Inbetweeners: "First Day" Review

Remaking a British sitcom can be a dangerous exercise. For every success, there are many, many more failures. So while the U.S. version of The Office has enjoyed years of success, the likes of Coupling and Free Agents have failed in their first season, while Red Dwarf and Spaced didn’t even make it beyond the pilot stage.

So it’s with some trepidation that one approaches The Inbetweeners, MTV’s remake of the British sitcom of the same name, which spawned three hugely successful series and a low-budget spin-off movie that grossed tens of millions at the U.K. box office.

In response to such success, MTV has taken an ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ approach to the show, appropriating the same characters, situations and in many instances jokes and simply transplanting them to America.

And if the below trailer was anything to go by, it was set to be a disaster; a louder and more obnoxious carbon copy of the Channel 4 show. But trailers can be misleading, and so it is with The Inbetweeners, a comedy cover that, while not the equal of the original, nevertheless regularly delivers laughs.

As with the U.K. version, proceedings kick off with teenager Will (Joey Pollari) being transferred to public school Grove High because his mother can no longer pay his private school fees. Showing up with a blazer and briefcase, Will is a walking, talking target to the rest of the kids, so the vice-principal quickly pairs him with nice-guy Simon (Bubba Smith) to show him around.

And that’s where the fun begins, as Simon and best friends Jay (Zack Pearlman) and Neil (Mark L. Young) initially rip the living piss out of Will before eventually taking him under their wing, the three mismatched friends soon becoming four.

They share the same traits as their UK counterparts; Will awkward and uptight, Neil dumb as a rock, Jay a compulsive liar and Simon a wet blanket who’s obsessed with childhood sweetheart Carly D’Amato.

And once the first half of the U.S. pilot has mined the first half of the U.K. pilot for jokes (Will’s mum being hot, Neil’s dad being gay, Jay claiming to have stuffed both his penis and balls into a girl) it then cribs from a different episode in which the boys bunk off school, buy booze, get dunk, and visit Carly’s house, with predictably disastrous results.

Joey Pollari as Will, Mark L. Young as Neil, Zack Pearlman as Jay and Bubba Lewis as Simon.

Yet while the proceedings are caked in the stench of déjà vu, the episode is nevertheless consistently funny, the old jokes just about hitting their mark second time around, and the new ones laugh-out-loud funny, most notably a marvellous set-up and pay-off involving a child molester.

The show also manages to be just as rude, if not ruder that the original (you actually see Simon’s boner in this one, albeit through his trousers) though it’s a shame that the more explicit swear words are bleeped out, and we wait with baited breath for the American equivalent of the word ‘clunge.’

And after a somewhat shaky start, the cast quickly settle into their roles, though their delivery apes the British performances a little too closely, with none of the lads yet the comic equal of the originals, most notably Zack Pearlman as a less cruel and therefore less funny version of Jay.

With the U.S. series following the template of The Office by interspersing U.K.-inspired scripts with original episodes throughout the first season however, it looks like the American cast will soon get the chance to flex their own comedic muscles in new settings and situations.

But on this early evidence, MTV’s The Inbetweeners is much better than it has any right to be, never quite hitting the hilarious highs of the original, but delivering just enough laughs to make the Transatlantic journey worthwhile.

Chris Tilly is the Entertainment Editor for IGN and definitely doesn't look like Will from the British Inbetweeners. His idle chit-chat can be found on both Twitter and MyIGN.

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Resident Evil's Weirdest Enemies

Through the years, the Resident Evil franchise has offered its fair share of epic, zombie-fueled adventures. From the exceptional first entries that focused on survival horror to the more action-oriented modern releases like Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil 5 - the franchise stands as a shining example of how to do zombie-gore right.

The funny thing is, the more memorable Resident Evil enemies usually aren't traditional zombies. In fact, some of them are downright weird. Elephants, giant snakes, plants, dudes in armor - when you really think about it, some of the creatures we've taken down in the name of survival have been pretty damn freaky.

In honor of the forthcoming release of Resident Evil 6, we've compiled the absolute weirdest enemies the RE franchise has to offer. These are in no particular order - although I think we can all agree the zombie elephant would have been number one. Take a look, then let us know your own favorites in the comments afterward.

On to the weirdness!

Neptune

As if Great White sharks weren't frightening enough, the bastards at Umbrella had to go and make B.O.W.s out of them. Bop it on the nose! I hear they hate that...

Hunter

Good ole hunters - giant, reptilian B.O.W.s with giant claws and mean tempers. He looks like he's yelling, "WHY ARE MY HANDS SO BIG!?"

Eliminator

ZOMBIE MONKEY! How can you not like that? Still - it's freaking weird.

Plague Crawler

Ew. Freaking... EW! Giant bugs are not only nasty, and unsanitary, they're also just not normal. Bugs should stay bug-sized.

Stalker

You only thought Aslan was on your side.

Web Spinner

This one's kind of just a spider. But it's HUGE! That's weird.

G

Not surprisingly, G is a product of the G-Virus. It's born from a human host - which is not only strange, but also endlessly unsettling. Also, if you looked at that and didn't think "zombie E.T." - shame on you.

Duvalia

This dude makes those Plagas that burst from your neck seem downright friendly. Disgusting.

Titan

It's a zombie elephant. What more do you need to know?

Alligator

A zombie alligator is different from a regular alligator because... it... well... it's bigger. That's about it.

Queen Leech

A former pet of Dr. Marcus, the Queen Leech is a product of Progenitor virus experimentation. That's what you get for keeping a leech as a pet. Freak. It also looks strangely like Bongo Bongo from The Legends of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Except without the bongo...

Ivy

A lot of the other enemies on this list are funny, but still frightening. This one is a plant with legs - which is just dumb.

Cephalo

It's like some sick game of jack-in-the-box, but where Jack is a disgusting Plaga that pops out of a zombie's severed neck rather than a box. Thanks for stomping all over our innocence, RE. At least he's wearing sandals, though. You can't be afraid of a man in sandals.

William Birkin

Man, and you thought your family was messed up. Worst. Father. EVER.

Armadura

A suit of armor infected by a Plaga. WTF?! So many questions... so few answers.

Big Man Majini

This one is basically just a big dude. The fact that he doesn't look at all like a zombie is the weird part. Um, ya. Moving on.

Licker

Its body is rotting, but its brain is perfectly intact? Its tongue is longer than its neck? This classic villain makes no sense. Watch out though! It'll lick you to death! Nooooo!

Giant Moth

Look at his mouth - this guy was clearly infected by the Zoidberg virus. Seriously though, what were they hoping to accomplish with this one? When is Umbrella going to learn that no one benefits from giant, infected bugs?

Bitores Mendez

That... has got to hurt.

Ghiozzo

That ginormous fish-monster could never fit in that tiny pool. Weird!

Lurker

Okay, this guy is just awesome. Expect to trip the **** out if you lick this frog's back. And maybe die. And maybe turn into a zombie. Proceed with caution.

Ndesu

He was actually only unshaven before the mutation happened and now look - a full beard! Also, he wears a dead dude for a belt buckle.

Executioner

At what point did he decide it was a good idea to stick nails in his head and torso? Dumbass.

Cerberus

The RE developers sure do love their zombie dogs. He looks more like a "Spot" to me though. I mean, come on. Silly RE developers. Cerberous has three heads.

Yawn

The most badass of badass snakes, Yawn is an awesome - though admittedly weird - B.O.W. that likes to hang around creepy mansions. That expression though - not frightening. He's either yawning, as his name implies, or the happiest puppy ever. I wish I felt half that good right now.

Were those weird enough for you? Did we miss any? Sound off in the comments below, and be sure to let us know your picks for the weirdest Resident Evil enemies.

Audrey Drake is an Associate Editor at IGN and a proud member of the IGN Nintendo team. She is also a lifelong gamer, a frequent banisher of evil and a wielder of various legendary blades. You can follow her wild adventures on her IGN blog and Twitter. Game on!

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