Gamestop Starts Selling Steam Vouchers

A GameStop source has told Kotaku that, given the relative failure of the company's push into online PC sales via its purchase of Impulse, it's now trying something a little more practical. Namely, selling Steam vouchers in its bricks-and-mortar stores.
After all, if you can't beat 'em, skim a little of their money off the top instead.
The vouchers will apparently go on sale on May 15, and are reportedly a "kind of a sensitive issue" between GameStop and Valve owing to the fact it's an awkward way for either party to be making money.

We've contacted Valve to confirm, and will update if we hear back.luke plunkett

China's Home Video Game Console CT510

China's first foray into creating a mainstream video game system is a solid try in the right direction, except the system isn't a game system, it's an Online Multimedia Motion-sensing Device. The eedoo CT-510 already exceeded my expectations when I first saw it, it did exactly what it set out to do, entertain while providing a work out. Now that I've had some time with the device we'll take a deeper look into China's first non-gaming game console.
Hardware Aesthetics
From an aesthetic point of view, the eedoo CT510 is a very simple machine. Dressed in white aluminum housing, the device almost looks exactly like a DVD player, so much so that just looking at the main system and the accompanying remote control makes it scream DVD player.
The back of the CT510 has various ports expected to come with a gaming system. You've got two USB 2.0 ports on the front and two on the back, a LAN port, the power port, a 3.5mm microphone jack, analog audio jacks, a 3D Sensor port for the 3D camera, and both VGA and HDMI support. Oddly enough the system does not come with a jack for composite video (my review unit came only with HDMI).
Looking at the 3D Sensor unit, the thoughts "Kinect rip-off" immediately comes to mind. The CT510 camera unit is a touch smaller than the Kinect and it doesn't sport its own microphone.
The jet black camera unit clashes with the all white system, so much so that it looks very odd to put them together. Luckily the system and the camera were meant to be apart.
Unfortunately eedoo has been keeping mum about the specs of the system, what we do know is that the CT510 has a built in dual-core CPU, a 250GB HDD and a 3D GPU. Playing the games on the system however tell another story.
User Interface
Unlike traditional home consoles, the CT510 only came with a regular remote control. The reason why it comes only with a remote and not a game console is because of two reasons. The first reason is because video game consoles are banned in China and having a controller will make it feel like a game console. The second is because motion sensing gets very tiring after a while.
When using the CT510, you can switch between both remote style and motion sensing; however you can not do both. To use to the motion sensing, the camera must pick up your movement, which sounds easier than it actually is. Before the camera can start tracking and interpreting motions as commands the player must first hold their right hand to the side and wave in a slow but exaggerated fashion. Once the player is "tracked" a little hand shows up on the screen acting as the pointer. After the initial process of tracking the rest is simple.
The bladed fan UI of the CT510 screams Xbox but it's simple. Moving left or right and stopping on a blade will change the screen to the next. There are a total of 6 screens available: game, apps, settings, store, photos and videos. Using either the remote or your hand, you can quickly access each page. In a similar fashion to connect, holding your hand still on an option will create a circle timer to show up, once the timer is filled the option will be selected.
All in all the system UI is very plain and simple.
Games
Despite the fact that it isn't marketed as a video game console or marketed towards core gamers or gamers in general, the CT510 comes with 8 pre-installed games. The games are all very simple mini games designed to make the player move, and by move I really mean move.
The first game is a game called the Fun Park Adventure. Don't let its name fool you, it has nothing to do with fun parks, and it isn't very fun. As the only game in that comes in English, Fun Park Adventure was terrible. It was basically an on rails third person beat-em up. The player takes controls of one of 3 choose able characters all called "Dragons". The goal of the game is essentially beating up monsters and reaching the end to stop a demon infestation. Unfortunately the game is tedious and boring, and very graphically unpleasing.
A crowd favorite and a definite head turner is the the kung fu game aptly named Kung Fu. Kung Fu a 2D side-scrolling fighter super imposes the players image onto the game world. Despite the cheesy music and the PSP style graphics this was one of my favorite games on the CT510. The game is an extreme work out, the camera picks up nearly all the bodies movements and translating them into moves and attacks on screen. I was even able to use my butt to attack an enemy (of course this may just be a fluke as it only worked once).
* Update * user Pullus Pardus has bought to my attention that the Kung Fu game is actually Kung Fu Live . No wonder this game works. Good catch good sir, good catch.
Maya Fit, eedoo's answer to Wii Fit took up the most physical space and the longest time to set up. I was pretty much pooped by the time I actually launched the game. The game takes into account the players body measurements and creates a work out to help the player lose weight. With the addition of a Yoga mode that actually reads moves such as upward facing cat and downward facing dog, this is one of the better and more developed apps on the whole system. Unfortunately launching the game requires going through at least 7 pages of menus, by the time I was done filling out my information my right arm was sore.
Flyer's Story was just a waste of time. Nuff said.
Another favorite of mine was Hole in the Wall this game was great fun and a great work out. Exactly as its name implies, the player must shape their body into different poses that fit into an oncoming wall. I was very surprised at how well the CT510 worked and how accurately it was able to capture my movements. In fact there some holes where I got the pose, but because I am fat, I couldn't get through the wall. This game was also a total blast with other people, it supports up to two players.
Unfortunately, it seems that for every fun game the CT510 has, there is a crap gaming waiting in the corner, case in point, Bumper Cars. Right next to Hole in the Wall on the main menu Bumper Cars is a very slow game with uninspired graphics and characters. The player holds their hands out like they are driving an imaginary car. Pushing your hands forward causes the car to accelerate and that is pretty much the only other thing that you can do. This game was another terrible creation that nearly made me stab myself in the eye balls.
The flagship title of the CT510, Green Exercise, is buried on the bottom half of the games menu. I personally believe the reason is because it looks too much like a Kinect game, so much so that the character color schemes are reminiscent of Kinect. Pretty much just like Wii Sports and Kinect Sports , Green Exercise is comprised of different smaller games. The game modes found in Green Exercise are boxing, soccer, rollerskating, parachuting and a brick break style ball game. The boxing game and the soccer games are both very fun and active but the other three are just okay. The rollerskating game and parachuting are very bland, kind of like cycling in "Wii Sports: Resort, but the brick break ball game was just plain old broken. The CT510 wasn't able to pick up which direction I was sending the ball, thus making the game a complete waste of time.
Finally the last game on the CT510 is the Dancing game Dance. This game is by far the biggest work out of the bunch. I believe If I purchased a CT510 and played the dancing game for a month, I would have abs like the female avatars in the game. One odd thing about the game is the fact that the on screen avatar isn't exactly mirroring your moves but instead meant to show you how to do the moves. Currently the game only has about 8 songs but according to eedoo more songs will be available for download.

Apps
According to eedoo, the biggest selling point of the CT510 are its apps. Currently only available through eedoo's on online store, the apps that the CT510 offers feel like glorified mobile apps. Of the notable apps there is a Sina Weibo mirco-blogging application, an online video application that links to China's Youpeng video service and a Disney education app. Unfortunately our review unit did not come with the finalized versions of many of the apps, I was unable to test out the video app and the Disney Online app. As of this posting the weibo app is only able to read and re-post, there is no original posting or commenting yet.

Wrap Up
Exceeding all of my wildest expectations by just working, the CT510 is a very impressive first for a no name Chinese company trying to make a name for themselves. Unfortunately for eedoo its 3,799 RMB (600 USD) price tag really kills it.
Eedoo's Victor Wang argues that the CT510 isn't vying for gamers at all, and that its value for its money is that it offers many more services such as online video streaming, an app store that is blooming, and an exercise machine, but still I don't see how they can justify a $600 US price tag especially when the Kinect and 360 combo is readily available at the gray market .

As a gaming console the CT510 is terrible, but taking into account that it is China's first console of its type and that it "isn't" a game console and the fact that the motion sensing actually works, it is acceptable. Should you spend $600 on it? I don't think so. then I might reconsider. For now the CT510 is just an uber-expensive set-top all in one box that does everything but doesn't do anything great.

Men In Black: Alien Crisis May 22nd 2012

A standalone adventure designed as a companion to the global theatrical release of MiB III, Men In Black: Alien Crisis stays true to the spirit of the franchise, with action-packed yet light-hearted gameplay mixed with edge-of-your-seat shooting excitement from the universe's most elite peacekeeping force.

Join the Men in Black as Peter Delacoeur, a MIB Agent in training assigned to unearth enemy aliens who are planning to destroy planet Earth. With hidden surveillance and stealthy guards on the prowl, players must ambush confidential alien intelligence and stop all alien attacks. Men In Black: Alien Crisis brings exciting, realistic MIB Agent movements as players shoot, and dodge their way through action-packed levels to escape fierce alien assaults. Play through the game in two-player split-screen action or test your MIB skills against your friends in four-person "hot-seat" competitive action.

Sonic The Hedgehog 4: Episode II

General complaints about Sonic are commonplace, but it's still rare to see such focused, targeted negativity as Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I drew from the franchise's fans two years ago. "Broken physics!" was the outcry then, as longtime followers of SEGA's needlemouse mascot took issue with the fact that the game's controls weren't a perfect match for those used in the old Genesis titles. It totally ruined an otherwise likable retro revival for a significant segment of the fandom.
So, first things first for this follow-up. The physics are fixed. If you had trouble enjoying Episode I because of Sonic's odd motions and loss of momentum, you'll be pleased to know that this sequel restores his handling to the 16-bit standard.
But even with that issue addressed, it still seems like there's something missing here.
Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II picks up the story a few months after the conclusion of Episode I's events. Story is never a major selling point of Sonic games, of course, but this one tries its best to tap into the most cherished of all old Sonics – Sonic CD – by bringing back its looming Little Planet and resident robo-rodent, Metal Sonic. Dr. Eggman's cyborg anti-Sonic teams up with the mad scientist once again, giving our hero two villains to deal with at once.

Luckily the odds are evened up by the simultaneous return of Sonic's steadfast sidekick, Tails. Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I emphasized a streamlined simplicity in its character cast, using only Sonic and Eggman in a straightforward update of the original Sonic 1. With Tails restored to Sonic's side, though, what you're now getting is a modern take on Sonic the Hedgehog 2.
It's a more robust homage, and it works. Sonic by himself was perhaps a bit too pure and uncomplicated, but bringing Tails back allows the designers some room to play around and innovate with new actions here in Episode II. There are three of these new maneuvers worth mentioning – the Tag Actions, they're called in the game – and each one helps give Episode II a bit of fresh personality.
First up is Sonic & Tails' classic helicopter combination, as Sonic grabs onto his pal's hands while Tails whips his twin fox tails like a propeller to send them both skyward. It's not a wholly original configuration for the heroes, but the way it's activated is – you can summon Tails to quickly grab Sonic's hands at any point in mid-air, meaning the classic copter combo is now a wonderful way to quickly save Sonic from plummeting into bottomless pits.

Next is the pals' submarine combo, which is basically the same thing as the helicopter except underwater – Sonic and Tails holds hands again while Tails spins his tails to speed through the water. (You just need to remember to still touch air bubbles every once in a while to breathe.)
Then, third and last, the duo's new rolling combo. This is the move that feels the most fresh, as Sonic and Tails – who usually spin into ball shapes by themselves – combine into one double-sized spinning sphere of destruction and go hurdling across the landscape. The power of the two heroes being pushed into one bouncing ball together is enough to bust through barriers that are otherwise impassable, and it's the necessitated use of this technique that most defines Episode II's level designs.
But that's where the innovation ends. Aside from those tag-team moments, this is all just standard Sonic stuff.
I found myself getting a little bored with it all, honestly. There are some great set pieces to see and a few standout moments – like barreling through a regenerating snowbank with Sonic and Tails' double-sized rolling ball – but, for the bulk of my playing time, I mostly held right on the stick, pressed jump every once in a while and thought something like, "Yep. I sure am playing a Sonic game right now."

That being the case, only the most dedicated Sonic aficionados are likely to really derive much enjoyment from Episode II – which, even with its fixed physics and new gameplay mechanics, ultimately feels just like the expansion pack of extra levels it was originally intended to be.
If more Sonic levels to play is what you're after, though, Episode II does have a significant amount of bonus content for fans who've also purchased Episode I. Called "Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode Metal," it's a whole other set of stages to play – where you play as Metal Sonic, spinning and running through the zones of Episode I. They aren't much more fun than the other levels, but it is more welcome quantity for your investment (since you've got to invest a total of $30 to access them.)
Rounding out Episode II's offering are expected staples like boss battles against Eggman robots and Special Stages for hunting down Chaos Emeralds – modeled after Sonic the Hedgehog 2's half-pipes – alongside more modern amenities like online leaderboards and Achievements. There's even a co-op mode included. And it's all very well and good throughout, but that old Sonic magic is just never really recaptured. Sonic fans will play through it, absorb its mostly inoffensive experience, and then move on to waiting for SEGA's next attempt to catch their old Genesis-era lightning in a bottle once again.

Closing Comments

When it was first announced to be in development back in 2009, the promise of SEGA's "Project Needlemouse" seemed incredible – it's no wonder fans of the Sonic franchise got their hopes up so high. Episode I then came along and, for many, failed to deliver on that potential. Episode II is a better game than that one was when it comes to the fans' key criticisms, but yet this second – and final – installment of Sonic the Hedgehog 4 still seems bland. Buy it and enjoy it as much as you can if you're a longtime Sonic follower. Just don't get your hopes up too high again. Sonic the Hedgehog 4, once more, has not been the true second coming of your hero. by lucas m. thomas

IGN Ratings for Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II (PS3)

Rating

Description

out of 10

 

7

Presentation

The standard Sonic storyline. Eggman, emeralds. Metal Sonic's return would have been more effective if the character hadn't already been revived in other spin-off games.

8

Graphics

Sonic has lost the shiny effect from Episode I, and looks better for it. Environments are also improved and packed full of detail. This is a great looking Sonic game.

6

Sound

The soundtrack can't keep up with the visuals, though, as some of the background music here is laughable in the crazily short amount of time it takes for it to loop back over itself.

7.5

Gameplay

With the physics problem fixed and the addition of new Tag Action maneuvers with Tails, Episode II feels like a solid Sonic installment. Still missing some bit of magic, though.

6

Lasting Value

As a standalone download, Episode II offers only a few hours' worth of enjoyment. If you already own Episode I, though, the extra Metal Sonic stages that are unlocked add to the value considerably.

6.5

Overall

Okay

(out of 10)

Bobby Kotick authorized Infinity Ward email hackings?

 Two years after Infinity Ward founders Jason West and Vince Zampella first sued Activision, their case is finally set to head to trial on May 29. But before the case can be heard, documents have been released which shed light on some unsavory moves Activision made prior to firing West and Zampella in March 2010.Prior to the start of the case, there have been some developments of note. Electronic Arts, the publisher of the game being produced by West and Zampella's new studio, Respawn Entertainment, was added in late 2010 as a defendant in Activision's counter-suit; Activision alleged EA conspired with the former IW heads to derail the Call of Duty franchise, among other things. Bloomberg reported yesterday the two publishers have reached a settlement, details of which were not made available.
In addition to West and Zampella's lawsuit against Activision, a group of Infinity Ward employees -- many of whom left the Modern Warfare developer and were hired by Respawn -- sued the publisher over unpaid royalties, with the Infinity Ward Employee Group's lawyer estimating these royalties to be in the neighborhood of $75 to $125 million Polygon reported earlier this week that Activision paid the former developers $42 million, the amount it determined was owed during the discovery phase. This was not as part of a settlement; the group's attorney, Bruce Isaacs, confirmed the payment was made on Monday but described it as a "cynical attempt to look good before the jury trial," noting it is only a fraction of the amount being sought.
Where this all becomes particularly juicy is in a recent court filing in the case between West/Zampella and Activision. Public relations reps for the duo's attorneys sent the filing to Giant Bomb, no doubt hoping the information would be distributed and make Activision look bad. This is only one part of the court filings that have been made, so they fail to paint a complete picture, although they certainly do Activision no favors.
Project Icebreaker, despite the seemingly silly name, was the name used for an investigation launched by Activision management in order to discover something -- anything -- which could be used as grounds to fire West and Zampella. Former Activision director of information technology, Thomas Fenady, testified he was told to "dig up dirt on Jason and Vince" because "we're sick of dealing with these guys, their ego ... we just want to get rid of them." This directive came from George Rose, who then served as Activision's Chief Legal Officer and assured Fenady, "[Activision CEO] Bobby [Kotick] will take care of you. This comes from Bobby directly ... Don't worry about repercussions."

Fenady found himself unable to access the desired information himself, at one point turning to third parties like Microsoft and InGuardians, a security consultancy company, for help. Both refused to assist, leading to Fenady requesting Activision's Facilities Department help in "gaining covert physical access to Infinity Ward." As if that doesn't sound incredible enough, Rose is said to have approved of discussions where ideas such as "staging a fake 'fumigation' and a 'mock fire drill'" were conceived in order "to get Jason and Vince away from their computers long enough to image their contents." To Fenady's knowledge, none of these plans were ever actually carried out.
The purpose of this filing is to show both why Fenady's deposition should not be treated as privileged information (because he was speaking with a lawyer in Rose, Activision wants the evidence excluded) and that Activision had plans to fire West and Zampella well in advance of Modern Warfare 2 (pictured above)'s release, and months prior to them ever having contact with Electronic Arts.
Aside from making for some fascinating reading material and potentially hurting its court case, the Project Icebreaker business could have a negative impact on Activision going forward. As I mentioned, there is undoubtedly more to come from both sides as the case goes to trial, and it may be shown that the duo's firing was justified and they are not owed a thing. But as far as Activision's reputation among developers, the damage may have already been done.
Even prior to this filing being made public, there were a number of things which did not make Activision look good. The heads of a studio responsible for creating the biggest franchise in the industry today were fired, and dozens of their former employees left in the wake of this move in addition to filing a lawsuit. Double Fine head Tim Schafer once famously called Bobby Kotick "a total prick", this coming two years after Kotick and Activision had decided to pass on publishing Double Fine's Brutal Legend following the Activision and Vivendi merger. There would have been nothing wrong with Activision passing on the game save for the later-cited reasoning of the games lacking the potential to be "exploited" on an annual basis across all platforms, except it then chose to sue over the game's rights when EA decided to publish it.
Activision did sign Bungie to a ten-year exclusive deal to publish the new franchise it has in the works, but that was announced just as the Infinity Ward business began to take place -- it was before we heard allegations of unpaid bonuses and a "police state-like atmosphere."
None of this makes Activision come across as particularly endearing, and that could prove to be costly if and when developers in the future look back at all of this and decide they'd rather do business with another publisher. There will undoubtedly be those who decide to look past all of it and focus on Activision's ability to support massively successful franchises, of which two of the past decade's biggest came from Activision. The company's focus on a smaller number of titles, each with the potential to be much larger than your average title, may help to spare it from suffering as a result of the reputation it has garnered. However, one has to wonder if failing to settle this West/Zampella lawsuit, and thereby preventing Project Icebreaker from ever becoming public knowledge, could have been the right long-term move.     by chris pereira

Unreal Engine 4 Mind Blowing!!

hardware, displaying an impressive array of effects, like realistic clothing, lifelike lighting, and highly detailed facial expressions. It took three high-end graphics cards to handle the demand, but it grabbed people's attention. "We used it as an opportunity to make a point to the developers," Sweeney says. "‘We want 10 times more power;
And that was merely for a souped-up version of Unreal 3. For Unreal 4, yet another quantum leap in hardware has to happen. Creating a game that operates on a level of fidelity comparable to human vision, Sweeney says, will require hardware at least 2,000 times as powerful as today's highest-end graphics processors. That kind of super-hi-def experience may be only two or three console generations away, but it hinges on manufacturers moving toward the power levels Sweeney is looking for today. He needs the next generation of consoles to be good.

The article goes on to say that some of what was shown in Epic's Samaritan demo last year--made with a modified Unreal 3 foundation—will be baked into Unreal 4. That includes next-level particle effects that, according to Cliff Bleszinski, "are going to be whored by developers." Nice mouth, Cliff. by evan narcisse

Tired of Hearing About COD?

Do you remember that song that was everywhere on the radio a few years ago? The one that you absolutely hated? I’ll bet you that if I asked you what it was called, you wouldn’t remember, instead answering with “that one with the auto-tune” or “the one about the girl who missed the memo?” Now, if I were to ask you why you can’t tell me, you would probably say “I dunno, just stopped talking about it once it was off the airwaves.” Exactly, and that leads me to my point. For as many gamers that are out there crying about about and how much they hate it, I see very few ignoring it.
A new CoD has become procedural in the year-to-year goings-ons in the gaming industry, and it’s massive. If you frequent the gaming news aggregate N4G more than once a week, you will likely see at least one article about either the upcoming CoD, something about the current CoD, or an article about the developers of CoD. But this large showing is deceptive, as it does not indicate popularity among the gaming popularity among the gaming community, but vitriol. Showing the comments on any of these articles reveals posts along the lines of “CoD sucks,” “I’m tired of CoD,” or “why can’t we hear about anything other than CoD?” See the conflict here?
Why, in all of their hatred for the CoD franchise, can’t gamers stop talking about it? Thought-provoking articles on gaming and previews or reviews of under-the-radar games are ignored in favor of the most controversial or recent news on all that is CoD. All kinds of different gamers come to bash CoD in some capacity: Battlefield fans, RPG fans, indie fans, racing game fans, platformer fans…you get the picture. The question I have is, why are you not going out to support the games you like and helping them get more shine?
The more attention gamers pay to CoD, the more the gaming media is going to write about it. When you’re articles on Activision’s cash cow are getting hits by the thousands and your developer interview with that programmer trying to promote a new Kickstarter project gets read about as much by your audience as Mein Kampf does by the Jewish community, you’re going to write about CoD. Big sites need the hits to help pull in more potential advertisers and smaller sites need the hits to get any advertisers at all. Whether or not you like to admit it, money talks much, much louder than words can.

So where does that leave us? In a discussion about personal responsibility and being a goddamn adult. No matter how much the media pushes something on people, if they ignore it, it will eventually go away or, at the very least, slide into the periphery. Now, CoD is a special case because it has such a large following in the mainstream, but how often do you think people who just buy the newest CoD game every year are visiting you favorite gaming site? Not even for previews I would wager, as long as Call of Duty is in the title and their friends are buying it, they honestly aren’t concerned about it pre-launch: they’ll buy it regardless or visit a dedicated CoD fan site to get their news.
It’s up to gamers who don’t want to hear about the damn game to stop clicking on articles about the damn game. Your hate means nothing and honestly makes you look like an idiot. You know that guy in the movie who is pleading with all of the villagers to believe him when he says an army of werewolves is coming to maul them all to death? The guy who just gets laughed at? You’re that guy, right or wrong, the people who buy it. You see an article, you let your eyes wander to something you actually like and go comment on that. Trust me, whatever it is, it needs your attention more than anything on CoD does.
As for being an adult, knowing when to let events unfold on their own is part of growing up. When something is too big for you, you have to realize when it is, and be at peace with the fact that you have a mind of your own and can decide what is right and wrong for yourself. Don’t read the articles, don’t go out and buy it because all of your friends are (there are plenty of other online gaming communities you can be a part of) and, most importantly, if you are honestly infuriated about CoD‘ yearly success,
I can see just as well as you the irony in me writing this article, one about CoD telling gamer’s to stop talking about CoD or reading articles about CoD if they don’t like it. But that is not the issue here, the issue is that we as a gaming community need to come together for something higher than the whining and bitching that is so often the only reason the community comes together for anything. Let’s do something positive for a change.geek revolt source