Gaming Meme History: Leeroy Jenkins

I was hoping that this was a video about all the gaming memes that have sprung up over the years but it was a good video, I guess ;)

And yes, Leroy Jenkins is classic and forever will be - whether you like/liked WoW or not, that raid video was so funny and epitomized the pain-in-the-ass of grinding that could still be fun, even when you got wiped out. I'm pretty sure this meme's going to be the one that will be commonly referred to in the future when people look back at this time period that we live in.

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With Connor Gone, Where Could Assassin's Creed Go Next?

February 9, 2013 9:52AM PST

Martin picks out the places he wants to travel to in the next Assassin's Creed.

As Assassin's Creed III ended, Connor's storyline felt like it had come to a fairly natural close. But Ratonhnhaké:ton's time as the series' main protagonist seems to have passed: Ubisoft confirmed yesterday that the next Assassin's Creed would feature a new hero and a new setting.

This is an important announcement on Ubisoft's part. The next Assassin's Creed marks a rare opportunity, and with both Connor and present-day conduit Desmond presumably taking a rest for while, the series now has the biggest opportunity for a blank slate and a fresh start since the first game launched in 2007. And with a new batch of consoles on the horizon, it seems particularly fitting for Ubisoft to transition into the next generation (perhaps literally, considering the series' genealogy-obsessed narrative) of Assassin's Creed.

A new beginning would also give the series a chance to refocus its core mechanics. Assassin's Creed III was a complicated, conflicted game--its final chase sequence was honestly one of the worst things I played in the whole of 2012, but I still ended up quite admiring much of the ambition in the overall game. There's clearly a lot of potential across the multiple studios developing the game, and a fresh take could allow that talent to be laser-focused.

But while Ubisoft's "new setting" doesn't exactly help narrow down the entirety of history--and I'd also say it's unlikely Ubisoft would want to abandon all the time and money it poured into making 18th century America--there's a few places I'd really like to see the series head.

Victorian London

You can't write anything about a new Assassin's Creed setting without mentioning London. It's the law. Though in the interests of full disclosure, I am English, and over here we like to think we're still living in the nineteenth century anyway. ACIII briefly dipped its toes into London in its opening, but imagine the possibilities of an Assassin's Creed set in the dark, smog-laden city in the full throes of the Industrial Revolution. It would be like Dickens, but with more even pocket watches, big hats, crossbows, and Templars.

Paris in World War I

Taking Assassin's Creed to Paris could mark as a homecoming of sorts for French publisher Ubisoft. France was a key location in World War I, with the Battle of the Marne in 1914 establishing the Western Front across Belgium and north-eastern France. This would allow for Ubisoft to develop a few show-piece scenes of trench warfare, similar in sorts to the epic musket battles of ACII. The politics behind the war would likely allow Ubisoft to elegantly weave in the Templars and Assassins, and Paris' artistic spirit and gorgeous architecture would bring a vibrancy to the series.

India under the British Raj

The British Raj, which ruled over India from 1858 to 1947, was the engine of The British Empire and also a politically complex period in a geographical area of extreme beauty. Imagine an Assassin's Creed in Calcutta, or replacing Assassin's Creed III's Frontier with India's jungles and wildlife. Themes of capitalism, corporation, and oppression would work well with the Templars, and the game could even head back a little further and overlap with Assassin's Creed III, showing The East India Company appealing to British parliament to pass the Tea Act of 1773 as a way of offsetting the company's severe financial woes, an event which would serve as one of major moments leading up to the American Revolution.

Ocean piracy in South Carolina

With sailing the high seas one of the most celebrated (and enjoyable) new additions in Assassin's Creed III, there's a certain sense of logic for Ubisoft to continue down this path. And what better way than with the most famous pirate of them all, Blackbeard, in an adventure that features his famous blockading of Charleston in 1718? Or a game that spans multiple decades and could bring in Jean Lafitte and the War of 1812, which should at least let Ubisoft reuse those redcoat models. To make the piracy angle even more tempting, one Reddit poster claims to have spotted a marketing presentation for an Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flags.

Feudal Japan

Assassin's Creed: Embers, the disappointing short film made by Ubisoft to end Ezio's storyline, spoke of the Assassin order in China during the Ming Dynasty. Shrouding Assassin's Creed in the exoticism of a historical Eastern country would likely appeal to many, with Japan's Sengoku period of particular interest to me. This era of Japanese history was laced with political intrigue and constant conflict as the country attempted to remain separate from the rest of the world while establishing unification across Japan's various clans, all of which would serve Assassin's Creed well.

Any of those five settings would be absolutely fantastic, if you ask me. Elsewhere in the GameSpot office there's a suggestion from Cam for Ubisoft to tackle the War of Scottish Independence (think Braveheart) and Mark would like to see what happens when you set the Animus for 65 million years BC. But what about you? Where do you think Ubisoft will take the next Assassin's Creed? And are you ready to unwrap another wristblade for Christmas this year, or do you think it might be time for the series to take a rest?

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The Neverwinter Live Stream Extravaganza

February 8, 2013 2:59PM PST

It's a beta weekend for Neverwinter, so Kevin is jumping in to see what's happening in the Forgotten Realms.

It's been a while since we got to visit the city-state of Neverwinter. Thankfully, Cryptic Studios has been hard at work crafting the upcoming online role-playing game of the same name. Senior Editor Kevin VanOrd has received an invite to the beta, and is ready to share the experience with you--live!

Join him on Saturday, February 9, from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., Pacific Time. (5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Eastern / 10:00 p.m. 2/9 - 2:00 a.m. 2/10, GMT)

Watch live video from kevinvanord's channel on www.twitch.tv

By Kevin VanOrd, Senior Editor

Kevin VanOrd is a lifelong RPG lover and violin player. When he isn't busy building PCs and composing symphonies, he watches American Dad reruns with his fat cat, Ollie.

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Retrovirus Review

In the real world, cleaning out the digital crud and viruses mucking up your ailing computer is rarely a fun ordeal, but Retrovirus' sci-fi-heavy approach to tech support is far more satisfying. This "six degrees of freedom" first-person shooter sends you hovering, scanning, and blasting through a vast microscopic computer realm to purge a rampant virus from the system through brute force. Though a thick, meandering plot and massive difficulty spikes make for an uneven experience, Retrovirus marks a mostly welcome return to the twitchy, sometimes disorienting style of subterranean combat and exploration made popular by Descent in the mid-'90s.

Storytelling isn't Retrovirus' strong suit. Played solo or cooperatively, the campaign throws you right into the action amid a deluge of tech-speak, offering a confusing introduction to the world and its metal inhabitants. Taking place within the confines of a desktop computer, the game opens with a boot sequence that reveals a bustling society of microscopic robots going about their routines. That is, until a nasty wormlike virus infiltrates the system and unleashes hell. You play as a heavily armed antivirus bot dispatched on a seek-and-destroy mission--one that leads you down a winding path through the system's inner workings and requires you to annihilate tons of volatile purple gunk.

You sporadically uncover emails throughout your trek that fill in a few blanks on the bigger conspiracy that's afoot, but the dry dialogue and hollow exchanges between the game's disembodied cast of robotic characters don't bring much personality to this harsh electronic landscape. Simply put, the narrative hook is lacking. Even by the end, it's hard to feel any lasting connection to the shaky plot or its characters, but the journey itself is a wild ride nonetheless.

As you move from one area of the computer's system to the next, exploration and combat are inextricably linked by the need to clear away the nasty trails of purple corruption left behind by the virus. Playing clean-up duty is both challenging and fulfilling, since the large pustules join with snaking tendrils to form a foul network that houses spawn pits for a bevy of alienlike foes. From bulbous beasts that spew heat-seeking charges to flitting critters that multiply when killed, the vile menagerie is formidable in large numbers. Taking down their infrastructure quickly is crucial, and the attacking creatures aren't pushovers. Among their many traits, they can all infest and re-infest friendly droids to turn them against you. Their tenacity proves equally thrilling and harrowing at times, so emerging victorious to purge each area of its pestilence delivers a level of satisfaction that's on par with scratching a stubborn itch--over and over again.

Thankfully, your antivirus drone is largely up to the hefty task. It's extremely maneuverable, letting you move in six directions and rotate your angle a full 360 degrees. While this "six degrees of freedom" makes moving and fighting through twisty corridors and larger obstacle-filled rooms disorienting at first when enemies are coming at you from all directions, it's an exciting way to play that hasn't been done this well in a while. Along with the ability to cloak for a short time, boost to escape danger, and send out a scan ray to detect nearby foes, your scrappy little bot has a versatile assortment of perks to draw from. As you level up, you can cherry-pick helpful plug-ins from three loadout categories that boost your abilities, enhance your arsenal, and assist in other ways. What's great is that you're never locked into your decisions either. You can reshuffle your plug-in points to adapt to different combat situations, which is necessary for surviving everything Retrovirus throws at you.

A limited-yet-rechargeable power supply that ties in to your weapons and abilities keeps the balance of power in check. If you fire too frequently or use other abilities in tandem with your guns haphazardly, you rapidly deplete your reserves and have to wait until they recharge. This adds tension to most combat situations, since you often run out of juice while battling in close quarters. This balance is necessary early on; however, it works against you in the game's larger, tougher confrontations that throw massive swarms of foes at you. Frequent checkpoints and quick saves help counter most of this frustration, though some stretches are particularly brutal. The fact that these killer areas are sometimes sandwiched between quieter zones offers some relief, but they tend to blindside you as a result.

The organic nature of your foes provides great visual contrast to the tech-heavy environments you explore and battle through. Retrovirus' impressive visual design and frequently changing environments help carry some of the more repetitious combat sequences that pop up. Sporadic boss battles, light puzzle sections, and some optional objectives to boost your experience further flesh things out too. Beyond the main campaign, several multiplayer options are worth exploring despite an anemic online player base. Group co-op is functional but hampered by various glitches, such as doors not opening for all players. Deathmatches against bots or other players are fast-paced and use a cool weapon upgrade system that triggers new perks as you amass kills.

The MOBA mode is by far the most interesting option, however. It pits opposing teams against one another to push through their opponents' base defenses and destroy their nexus. Mobs, turrets, and other players add to the chaos, as you battle alongside human comrades and drones alike. The push-pull flow of these battles makes for some hotly contested matches. They're a lot of fun when you have enough human players to fight against and alongside. It's just a shame there aren't many players online with whom to take advantage of these multiplayer features.

As a revival of classic Descent-style exploration and combat, Retrovirus masterfully revamps and improves on the winning formula that hooked players almost two decades ago. A weak story and other fumbles make it hard to fully embrace the experience, but this unique, fast-paced shooter is still worth digging into for its distinct setting and intense virus slaying. Overlook a few foibles, and you'll find blasting bugs a sporadically blissful time.

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Reinventing the City of Your Imagination - SimCity

Is there a facial hair requirement to work at Maxis? I imagine promotions are based on beard size the head must have a massive beard. Does Gandalf work at Maxis?!

Anyway, I'd love to buy this game and I would in a second if it wasn't for two things, The DRM and, most importantly, EA involvement.

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Abandoning Tradition to Keep Castlevania Relevant

The man in charge of Castlevania reveals that forging a new path for the series was the only way to keep it alive. "I don't want it to die."

Even the most cherished series needs a kick in the pants from time to time, according to Konami Producer David Cox. He recently sat down with GameSpot to discuss Mirror of Fate, the upcoming side-scrolling Castlevania for the Nintendo 3DS, and why fans of Koji Igarashi's games shouldn't fear the series' new direction. Along with developer Mercury Steam, Cox wants to focus on the origins of the Belmont's curse, and the ramifications it has on their offspring with each passing generation.

There are a lot of 2D Castlevanias out there, and fans have pretty clear expectations. Can you explain some of the core concepts that went into developing Mirror of Fate as a 2D Lords of Shadow game?

I'm probably going to get murdered for saying this, but like we said with Lords of Shadow, forget everything you know about Castlevania, because on the surface, it seems like a traditional 2D side-scrolling Castlevania game, but in many ways it's just a continuation of what we did with Lords of Shadow. If people really enjoyed Lords of Shadow , then they'll love Mirror of Fate. It's really like a squeezed-down version of that game.

Our idea with the series is to tell Dracula's story. Ultimately, that's the overarching storyline. Lords of Shadow is Dracula's beginning, Lords of Shadow 2 will be the ending, and this kind of sits in the middle. The purpose of Mirror of Fate is to explain the blood feud between Dracula and the Belmonts. How did it come about? What drives it? It has always been about going to Dracula's castle, killing Dracula; that has really been it. Dracula has always been a one-dimensional guy who just turns up at the end of the game. We really want to explore that character and explore the motivations of that character. How did he become Dracula? Why has he become Dracula? Why are the Belmonts the ones that have to go after him? That's the kind of story we're trying to tell.

Obviously, with a title like Mirror of Fate, it's about how fate and destiny are intertwined with our actions. You know, Gabriel made the decision to become Dracula because of the events in Lords of Shadow and the DLC. Going down this darker path has consequences on his son Trevor, and the things he does have consequences on his son Simon.

I know that you are a big Castlevania fan. How hard has it been trying to balance the game's identity and trying to keep some familiar elements, while mostly going in a new direction?

That has probably been the trickiest thing, honestly speaking. You've got a fan base that's dedicated to Castlevania, just as I was as a fan, but at the same time you've got to do something new. You've got to drive the series forward. You know, I don't want it to die. I want it to stay relevant and popular. Getting that balance right has been pretty tough, but at the same time with respect to Lords of Shadow, I think we took a risk. Even when the game came out, we weren't sure if it was going to be successful or not. It's kind of why we went to handheld because we didn't know what the next step was going to be. We didn't know if the game was going to be popular, so we said, "Let's make a handheld game; you don't need much money." We could do something small in order to carry on the series if necessary. Luckily, the game was successful, and senior management said, "You need to make a sequel." That was great, but we already started the 3DS game, so it was like, "OK, right." Luckily, we had a very rough idea about the arc, but we didn't have the detail, if you know what I mean. So we've got the beginning, and we've got the end, so let's develop the ideas and make it fit within the arc. That's how Mirror of Fate came about.

How do you respect the past while doing something new?

I think you've got to be brave and say we're going to put our mark on it. We are going to do what we think is right. We are going to try and be respectful to the past because I think you've got to, but at the same time, I think we were brave with Lords of Shadow. Some people liked what we did, and a lot of people didn't like what we did, so I think this time it's a bit easier because people kind of know what to expect. They kind of know that it's not going to be like it was before. They know it's going in a different direction, and they've accepted that it's a new universe, that it's a different timeline outside of the traditional timeline. I think it's a little bit easier this time to get that message across, you know, that we're going our own way.

I think we tried, particularly with Mirror of Fate, to meet some of those detractors a little bit further and meet their demands. We felt exploration wasn't as good as it could be in Lords of Shadow; we felt that was a weakness of the game. So when we were designing Mirror of Fate, exploration was much higher up on the list of things we wanted to achieve in terms of the final product. At the same time, we wanted to make sure the combat focus of the title, which is what Lords of Shadow was…we wanted to make sure that element was at the forefront. We don't want people who bought Lords of Shadow to suddenly get something different. They go, "I remember that Lords of Shadow game. It was awesome. But this game, what the hell is this?" We wanted to give them a true sequel, something that felt like it fit within the Lords of Shadow universe. So I think we're trying to straddle, and it's a very fine balancing act, but we aren't slaves to it. If a decision is made that we are going to take this in a different direction, we're just going to do it, you know? That's liberating.

So, Lords of Shadow freed you up to take some liberties with the series' storyline. Do you think that fans are going to be surprised with some of the events that take place in Mirror of Fate?

Yes, I think so, especially the story side of it. I think having a bad guy who has some depth to him, where you can kind of understand how he got to this place…at the end of this game, it's a WTF moment--it really is. We show Dracula how he has never been shown before, and I think people will go, "Shit, if I was him, I would be the bloody same." You know what I mean? So we're trying to give a perspective on it. Good and evil is not black and white in real life. Having characters who aren't black and white is really important to this game. I think that's something we've achieved, certainly with Dracula, with Simon, and with Trevor, because they are nuanced characters that have stories to tell, and it's a really interesting story that's really emotional. When you finish it, because you play the game backwards, starting with Simon, then playing as Alucard, then Trevor, it all becomes clear right at the end. That's the reason we did it. The very last scene, you click, and you want to play it again. You'll notice things that seem offhand or you didn't really notice before, and you go, "Aw shit!" It gives the game more depth. That's something we're really proud of with Mirror or Fate. The replayability is fantastic. I can't stop playing it, and I've been working on it for two years.

Is this arc going to come to a conclusion in Mirror of Fate, or is it going to carry over into Lords of Shadow 2?

There's a satisfying conclusion to the arc in Mirror of Fate, but the overarching arc is still there. You can play this game without having played the other. That's something we think is very important. In the first game, you have the story about bringing Marie back, about the god mask. That was the key thing, and it came to a conclusion, but you know there's the arc about how he became Dracula. That's going to be explained a little bit in Mirror of Fate, but more so in Lords of Shadow 2. I hate the word trilogy, but people are already saying that to us. It's going to feel like a whole. There's going to be a satisfying conclusion in Lords of Shadow 2, and everything's going to make sense.

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IGN sale closing soon – Report

February 2, 2013 3:26PM PST

Sources say Ziff Davis parent company J2 Global on the brink of closing bargain deal to acquire gaming label from News Corp.

Sources close to ongoing discussions have told The Wall Street Journal's AllThingsD that News Corp. is on the brink of closing a deal to sell IGN (and its network of sites) to Ziff Davis parent company J2 Global.

Exact terms of the reported deal were not disclosed, though sources said J2 Global scored a deal on IGN.

J2 Global is reportedly picking up the gaming unit for "considerably lower" than the $650 million News Corp. paid for it in late 2005. A report from October said News Corp. was hoping to get around $100 million for IGN.

IGN has been up for auction for the past six months, with past bidders reportedly including Break Media, SAY Media, and unnamed private equity firms.

IGN president Roy Bahat left the company in August.

By Eddie Makuch, News Editor

Eddie Makuch (Mack-ooh) is a News Editor at GameSpot. He works out of the company's Boston office in Somerville, Mass., and loves extra chunky peanut butter.

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Introducing the Writer's Roundtable!

February 1, 2013 5:24PM PST

We reveal a new program dedicated to creative writers on GameSpot

We have an exciting new program and volunteer dedicated to GameSpotters who enjoy publishing editorial blogs and user reviews on GameSpot. In the past month we've recruited prolific writers to assist with a new program called the GameSpot Writers Round Table (GSWR). Starting today, you can share your written work in GSWR prior to publishing it.

In addition to being an ideal place to get insights about your writing, the GameSpot Writers Round Table is the perfect place to gain recognition from GameSpot Staff. The experts who will be examining your work are volunteers known as "Justicars". If you wish to become an official GameSpot Justicar, simply submit an application to the community@gamespot.com email with the subject "Justicar Application" with a brief introduction, examples of your work, and why you should be considered.

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Fire Emblem Character Battle

February 1, 2013 5:47PM PST

Who is the best Fire Emblem character? Show off your favorite character and get a chance to win a Fire Emblem: Awakening art book.

Fire Emblem: Awakening comes out on February 4th and to celebrate the new 3DS release we're having a character battle contest! We want to see who you think the best character is from the Fire Emblem series and more importantly why.

To participate create an image that contains the following information:
- An image who you think is the best character, this picture can be from a screen shot, game art, or a custom drawing
- Include the character name, the game they appeared in, and the starting class.
- Briefly describe why this Fire Emblem character is the best character
- Share one "Fun Fact" about the character.

Rules and things you should know:
- Entry deadline is Monday February 11th at 10:00am PST.
- The social voting round will take place on February 11th at 12:00pm PST. The voting round will take place on Facebook and the winning characters will be determined based on the number of Likes, Shares, and comments.

Prizing: Based off of the list of top voted entries via the tally of Facebook Likes, Comments, and shares we will be awarding to the top 10 entries, each will be receiving a Fire Emblem: Awakening art book.

If you need some help, or are looking for some inspiration you can check out our "Tips and Tricks" page.

← Contest Index

By Synthia Weires, Community Manager

Community Manager for GameSpot.com. Fan of all things gaming and a second generation gamer, she is a social butterfly and lover of bacon, Magic the Gathering, D20's and pie.

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Sony inviting gamers to 'see the future' February 20

January 31, 2013 3:31PM PST

PlayStation maker releases teaser video for event next month.

Sony is inviting gamers to "see the future" next month. The PlayStation maker has released a 45-second teaser video (embedded below) suggesting the company will make a significant announcement on February 20 at 6 p.m. EDT.

The teaser video does not share any concrete information as to what may be divulged at the event. A previous report suggested Sony would hold an Apple-style press event in March to unveil the PlayStation 4. It is not clear if this is the same event.

Analyst consensus is that the PS4, along with the Xbox 720, will be announced in the coming months and released during the back half of this year.

Speculation about the PS4 has run rampant. Previous and unconfirmed reports suggest the system may block, or in some way inhibit, users from playing second-hand games. Still other speculation suggests the console will introduce a new controller that could feature a rear touchpad and a Share button.

By Eddie Makuch, News Editor

Eddie Makuch (Mack-ooh) is a News Editor at GameSpot. He works out of the company's Boston office in Somerville, Mass., and loves extra chunky peanut butter.

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