Team Fortress 2 'Mann vs. Machine' update rumored

Speculation for new robot-fighting mode with tower defense elements emerges from hidden assets.

The crazed red and blue mercenaries of Team Fortress 2 may soon have more to worry about than the other team of crazed mercenaries. Various hints spanning from 2010 to 2012 (many compiled in one handy location by Reddit users) point to a new mode which will pit the two teams against waves of robots.

The Engineer might not be the only mechanical mastermind in town.

"Mann vs. Machine," the rumored name for the update, was most recently indicated by a suspicious splatter mark appearing this week on the logo of Team Fortress' website. The splatter mark links to an image: a birth certificate which indicates the feuding brothers who founded the opposing RED and BLU teams had a third sibling named Gray, who was "absconded with" soon after birth.

Previous hidden assets on the Team Fortress 2 website and within the game's code have pointed to robotic variants of each of the game's nine distinct classes, which would theoretically compose the rank and file of the Gray team. Reddit users have speculated that references to waves as well as new deployable items for the engineer indicate the mode will have elements of tower defense.

Valve, the game's developer, recently debuted its final "Meet the Team" update for the Pyro class, and unveiled a new cross-promotional Team Fortress 2 map for the upcoming Sleeping Dogs today. Valve also has a history of promoting upcoming titles and features with elaborate alternate reality games.

Source : us[dot]gamespot[dot]com

Team Fortress 2 'Mann vs. Machine' update rumored

Speculation for new robot-fighting mode with tower defense elements emerges from hidden assets.

The crazed red and blue mercenaries of Team Fortress 2 may soon have more to worry about than the other team of crazed mercenaries. Various hints spanning from 2010 to 2012 (many compiled in one handy location by Reddit users) point to a new mode which will pit the two teams against waves of robots.

The Engineer might not be the only mechanical mastermind in town.

"Mann vs. Machine," the rumored name for the update, was most recently indicated by a suspicious splatter mark appearing this week on the logo of Team Fortress' website. The splatter mark links to an image: a birth certificate which indicates the feuding brothers who founded the opposing RED and BLU teams had a third sibling named Gray, who was "absconded with" soon after birth.

Previous hidden assets on the Team Fortress 2 website and within the game's code have pointed to robotic variants of each of the game's nine distinct classes, which would theoretically compose the rank and file of the Gray team. Reddit users have speculated that references to waves as well as new deployable items for the engineer indicate the mode will have elements of tower defense.

Valve, the game's developer, recently debuted its final "Meet the Team" update for the Pyro class, and unveiled a new cross-promotional Team Fortress 2 map for the upcoming Sleeping Dogs today. Valve also has a history of promoting upcoming titles and features with elaborate alternate reality games.

Source : gamespot[dot]com

Southeast Asia to get region-exclusive Tekken Tag Tournament 2 collection

In-game DLC preorder bonuses also available for both standard and Asia prestige version within region.
Early bird Tekken fans are in for a treat as Namco Bandai has announced that it will be taking preorders for Tekken Tag Tournament 2 in Southeast Asia.

Gamers who order early will get the TTT2 Asia prestige edition when the game comes out on September 11 for Xbox 360 and PS3. All copies of this version will contain a 256-page art book, two soundtrack CDs containing the original tracks and remixes, a "Making of TTT2" DVD, and a Tekken wall-sticker signed by producer Katsuhiro Harada.

Southeast Asia is getting a bundle worthy for an iron fist fan.

As a side note, all Southeast Asian fans who preorder the game early (standard or Asian prestige version) will get in-game DLC. These include four playable characters (Angel, Julia Chang, Ancient Ogre, Kunimitsu), a "Snoop Dogg"-themed battle arena, over 150 in-game costumes for each playable character, and an interlocking code so that players can link their TTT2 arcade and console progress together.

The price of this version has yet to be announced. For more information on TTT2, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.

Source : gamespot.com

July game sales the lowest in years

NCAA Football tops the charts as the NPD Group reports last month's US retail tally was 20 percent lower than the previous July's, which was already the industry's lowest total since 2006.

The gaming industry's summer swoon was deeper than usual this year, as the NPD Group today reported that total US retail game sales for July only amounted to $548.4 million, a 20 percent slide from July 2011. Making the decline worse is the fact that July 2011 was already the single worst month for the industry since October of 2006.

NCAA Football 13: Valedictorian of gaming's summer school.

Electronic Arts' annualized amateur pigskin sim NCAA Football 13 was the best seller for the month, and was the only new release to make the top 10. Super hero games performed well, with Lego Batman 2 the runner-up and the movie tie-in The Amazing Spider-Man finishing the month in third place. With one exception, the remaining games on the top 10 were all released in 2011. That exception was Call of Duty: Black Ops, Activision's 2010 entry in the first-person shooter series.

Game hardware sales were particularly soft side, down 32 percent to $150.7 million. While there wasn't much to crow about, Microsoft did announce that the Xbox 360 was the best-selling current-generation console for the 19th straight month, selling 203,000 units for July.

Accessories were the lone area of improvement for the industry, up 8 percent to $136.9 million. According to NPD analyst Anita Frazier, that number was bolstered by points and subscription cards, as well as Skylanders action figure packs. The NPD Group believes more than 25 million Skylanders figures have been purchased by customers since the game launched last October.

Frazier also cautioned anyone against expecting a miracle recovery for the industry in the back half of the year. "Based on year to date sales, and taking into account the release slate for the back five months of the year as well as the anticipated launch of the Wii U, annual sales for the new physical channel should come in around $14.5 billion for the year," Frazier said. That would represent a drop of nearly 15 percent from the NPD Group's 2011 US retail sales total of $17.02 billion.

JULY 2012 US GAME SALES
OVERALL DOLLAR SALES
Total consumer spend (rentals, used sales, digital estimates included): $1.1 billion
Total retail sales: $548.4 million (-20%)
Non-PC hardware: $150.7 million (-32%)
Non-PC software: $260.7 million (-23%)
Total software: $278.2 million (-23%)
Accessories: $136.9 million (+8%)
TOP 10 GAMES FOR JULY 2012
Title (Platforms) - Publisher
1. NCAA Football 13 (X360, PS3) - Electronic Arts
2. Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes (X360, PS3, Wii, Vita, 3DS, DS, PC) - WBIE
3. The Amazing Spider-Man (Wii, X360, PS3, 3DS, DS) - Activision
4. Just Dance 3 (Wii, X360, PS3) - Ubisoft
5. Batman: Arkham City (X360, PS3, PC) - WBIE
6. Call of Duty: Black Ops (X360, PS3, Wii, PC, DS, PC) - Activision
7. Assassin's Creed: Revelations (X360, PS3, PC) - Ubisoft
8. NBA 2K12 (X360, PS3, PS2, PSP, Wii, PC) - Take-Two
9. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (X360, PS3, Wii, PC) - Activision
10. Dead Island (X360, PS3, PC) - Deep Silver



Source : gamespot.com

Witcher 2 mod tools debuting at Gamescom

CD Projekt Red planning to present REDkit at industry event in Germany next week to media; no information about public release.

Gamers eager to design and play their own adventures for Geralt the Witcher will soon be in luck. The developer announced today that it will present its Witcher 2 modding tools--called the REDkit--at Gamescom next week in Cologne, Germany.

What kinds of worlds will gamers create with the REDkit?

Gamescom is open to the public, but CD Projekt Red's REDkit presentation will only be open to members of the press. No mention was made concerning when the REDkit will be made available to the public, but CD Projekt Red said it will share more information next week.

The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings is CD Projekt Red's latest body of work. It released in May 2011 for the PC to a warm critical reception, before later arriving on the Xbox 360. The Polish studio is currently at work on a Cyberpunk role-playing game, as well as a potentially related "mature dark fantasy" game.




Source : gamespot.com