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Activision Blizzard and Electronic Arts have reached a settlement in a lawsuit surrounding the firing of Infinity Ward heads Jason West and Vince Zampella. EA had been accused of conspiring with the pair to leave Activision form an independent studio. Neither party has disclosed the terms of the settlement, but they will reportedly ask the court to dismiss the claims.

“Activision and Electronic Arts have decided to put this matter behind them,” said Activision lawyer Beth Wilkinson.

Robert Schwartz, a lawyer for West and Zampella, took a less cheerful tone. “Activision dragged EA into the case hoping to distract from Activision’s wretched conduct towards West and Zampella,” he said, according to a Bloomberg report. “In dismissing EA today, Activision admits that it was never going to convince anyone that EA conspired with West and Zampella to breach their contracts or did anything else improper.”

This is coming out just as court documents are released, alleging that former senior IT director Thomas Fenady was instructed to “dig up dirt” on West and Zampella. The LA Times reports that Fenady expressed concern about the so-called “Project Icebreaker,” but was told not to worry about repercussions. Outside companies worried about the legal hurdles, and Fenady considered a fake fumigation or mock fire drill to gain access to the pair’s computers.

Ultimately, he didn’t follow through on these ideas. Giant Bomb reports that chief public policy officer George Rose denies asking Fenady to dig up dirt, but does affirm he asked Fenady to monitor e-mail traffic.

With the EA matter settled and some money paid out to IWEG employees, it seems like Activision is clearing the stage for its legal battle against West and Zampella themselves. That trial is still set to go forward on May 29. The Infinity Ward Employee Group will also be included in the suit, still seeking $350 million in damages and unpaid royalties. A few days ago the group was given $42 million in unpaid royalties plus interest, which the group’s lawyer called a “cynical attempt to look good before the jury trial.”

Original post:
Activision, EA settle Infinity Ward dispute

Borderlands 2 is a big fall release for both 2K Games and Gearbox, timed to hit just when you might be getting sick of grabbing loot from a certain other game. And as a big fall release, it’s getting a few special editions, because of course it is. Today 2K and Gearbox detailed the two special editions of the game and the goodies stashed within.

The “Deluxe Vault Hunter’s Collector’s Edition” ($99.99) includes a Marcus bobblehead, a hardbound art book, sticker set, map of Pandora, digital comic download code, and bonus in-game DLC. If you want to go bigger, the “Ultimate Loot Chest Limited Edition ($149.99) includes those items, plus a scaled replica of a red loot chest, steel book case, creatures ID chart, lithograph postcard set, field notes from Sir Hammerlock, a cloth map of Pandora, and a numbered certificate of authenticity.

As previously reported, pre-orders of either special edition will get access to the “Borderlands 2 Premiere Club,” which nets you downloads of the Gearbox Gun Pack for extra weapons, a Golden Key to open a chest with a rare item in the Golden Sanctuary, the Vault Hunter’s Relic to boost abilities, and the already announced Mechromancer class. Pre-ordering the standard edition will get you the Mechromancer as well, and 2K again reiterated that it will be post-launch content.

Borderlands 2 ‘Deluxe Vault Hunter’s Collector’s Edition’

Borderlands 2 ‘Ultimate Loot Chest Limited Edition’

Excerpted from:
Borderlands 2 special editions detailed

The Last of Us shocked the gaming community when it made its surprise debut at the VGAs late last year. Having just shipped Uncharted 3, no one expected developer Naughty Dog to have another game in the works so soon. The home of Nathan Drake was no longer a one game studio, it was revealed. After the end of Uncharted 2, the studio split into two.

Ever since its reveal, The Last of Us has been shrouded in some mystery. While the developers have talked up many of the game’s ambitious goals, little is known about how it actually plays. Finally seeing the game in action, it’s easy to sum up Naughty Dog’s latest as such: Uncharted in hardcore mode.

The Last of Us

Anyone familiar with Uncharted will see the similarities immediately. For example, at the start of the demo, the game was paused during a cinematic. The menu is identical to that in Uncharted, giving you the ability to skip the cutscene. During gameplay, many elements of the HUD are ripped from Drake’s adventure, including QTE prompts for opening gates, ammo indicators, aiming reticules, and more. At one moment in the demo, the player has to bash the circle button as he holds a gate open for Ellie to sneak under. It’s a scene that’s been ripped out of every Uncharted game ever.

For better or for worse, the similarities don’t just stop there. While the tone is very different, The Last of Us is yet another cover-based third-person shooter. The aiming and cover mechanics should be more-than-familiar for anyone that’s played one of Naughty Dog’s recent games. However, there are key differences that will make you approach the gameplay differently. Ammo is very scarce, for example. At the start of the demo, Joel has four bullets in his gun–and won’t really get much more at any given time. Encounters are a lot more deadly, as well. There’s no regenerative health. Enemies go down in one or two bullets–meaning each bullet becomes a lot more valuable.

While it’s a bit disappointing to see how rooted in Uncharted The Last of Us is, there’s still plenty to get excited by. Naughty Dog’s strengths in storytelling and performance are evident yet again in this post-apocalyptic universe. Joel and Ellie are far grittier and edgier than anything the swashbuckling adventure world of Nathan Drake can offer. Yes, there’s cursing (and a lot of it). But, it’s the odd commentary here and there–”I’ve seen much worse”–that make these characters feel worn. The dynamic between the two is fascinating to see play out in gameplay. While you are Ellie’s “protector,” she is clearly capable on her own. Not only does she manage to get out of the way of danger, but she finds opportunities to help out, throwing objects at enemies when you’ve managed to get cornered, without ammo.

Characters are especially chatty in The Last of Us, including the enemies. Encounters against other survivors–people who are equally as desperate for supplies as you–feel far more human than ones against nameless cronies and goons. They will taunt, they will flank, and most satisfyingly, they will run away when overwhelmed. After Joel manages to shoot a few guys, and stealthily kill a few others, one other remained. He ran away, and Joel called out, taunting him to come out of the shadows.

The environment is compelling and invites exploration

More so than in the Uncharted games, the environment feels like a character of its own. Unsurprisingly, The Last of Us is a beautiful game, and the lush overgrowth makes it one of the most technically impressive efforts on the PS3 ever. Walking through the ruins of Pittsburgh, the environment tells its own story. Stores that have been looted ages ago have long-dead bodies strewn about. What happened here? These carefully constructed sets invite players to simply look around and absorb.

Given how bombastic games are becoming–with more enemies and bigger explosions–I find myself very intrigued by the more intimate gameplay offered by The Last of Us. It may not be an entirely new and original experience, but Uncharted is certainly a great blueprint to jump off of. I’m definitely looking forward to more.

Watch the Shacknews E3 2012 page to follow all our coverage of this year’s show. This preview is based on a hands-off demo shown at a pre-E3 event.

See more here:
The Last of Us preview

The Skeleton King is dead.

Those of you that played the Diablo III beta knew this battle intimately, I, on the other hand, had abstained for the sake of keeping my game experience pure for launch day. So the battle against the undead Leoric was my first major challenge. Yeah, I had died once foolishly earlier, but this time, I kept death at bay with a combination of Crippling Wave strikes and a few well-timed Exploding Palms coupled with a Lashing Tail Kick to move to range so I could watch him bleed.(although seriously, how do skeleton’s bleed?) The battle went well and I was rewarded a couple usable pieces of gear.

I thought that killing Leoric would end Act I, but it didn’t. I got a nice little cut-scene but the Act continued with my pursuit of the demon witch Maghda, who does some not nice things to some of the primary story characters. The fun part of the game so far has been the exploration and recovering every bit of gold and crap armor and weapons I can carry. Yes, people have completed the game in 8-10 hours already, but those are the ones robbing themselves of the experience that really is Diablo III. And that experience includes picking up tomes and journals for the back story, talking to the villagers and main characters to get their experiences and drinking in the evil setting that Blizzard has so meticulously created.

So at this writing, I am at level 19, 13 hours into the game and about an hour in to Act II. I have helped a mysterious stranger regain his memory and killed the huge boss at the end of Act I. I won’t offer a spoiler, but that boss is a tribute to one from Diablo II, and trust me when I say that this version will have you running more than a turkey around Thanksgiving.

Finishing Act I left me pretty confident. I was getting comfortable with my skill rotations and my hot keys. I was dispatching elite non-boss mobs with relative ease. Blizzard’s random monster encounters will occasionally throw in a yellow rare mob that is tougher than the minions that come with it. There are also elite mobs that rush you in groups of three. Since a monk relies on kills to replenish health, the latter group can be a bit formidable without proper tactics or quick use of a healing potion hotkey. So entering Act II, I thought I was prepared.

I’m sure hitting hour 13 in my play time was just a coincidence with my bad luck (OK, poor play). One particular mob hit me so hard that any normal man would be a red streak in the sand. Luckily, Darkartiste is no normal man. It was the second hit that killed me. Then I’ll be damned if that mob didn’t camp my spawn point. The bastard. Three deaths later, I finally got the stun, hit and run tactics down enough to kill it, but I was no longer cocky and I realized I seriously had to adjust my style of play. While keeping the game easy in the beginning seems logical to keep players from getting frustrated, it can also lull said players into a sense of invulnerability. The game tried me and convicted me of arrogance and I swear it won’t happen again.

The sad part is that all of this happened on a non-boss fight. Some of the game mobs and the crush of mass monsters are, at times, more formidable than the key enemies I am supposed to kill. The demon witch Maghda? I dispatched her with barely a scratch. Maybe it was the beating I took earlier that prepared me, but needless to say I must be learning.

Getting familiar with the Auction House

I decided to stop playing for a short while to give the new auction house a try. Bad move. I tried putting up several of the rare items I had gotten from the boss fights, but every time I created the auction, the process timed out and the attempt failed. I must have tried five or six times. There are already hundreds of items on the auction house, so Blizzard’s server issues were cropping up again. Turns out three of my auctions were created despite the time out.

A player can only have 10 auctions up at any one time, which keeps players from flooding the market with particular items. Things seem incredibly overpriced at the moment, but the market is still getting established. I like how the system is set up, with the gold items sold from your auctions able to se sent directly to your character’s stash.

Act II is on the agenda for today. Hopefully I can finish it before my next installment tomorrow.

Excerpt from:
Diablo 3 diary: The ‘unlucky 13 hours in’ edition

Though Serious Sam 3 launched on PC last November, Croteam was curiously silent about its crazy FPS’s promised console editions until yesterday. It’ll arrive on Xbox Live Arcade this fall alongside a revamped version of indie tie-in Serious Sam Double D, but there’s still no word on PS3 releases.

Serious Sam Double D XXL jazzes up the side-on shooter by Mommy’s Best Games with new missions, weapons, enemies, and a two-player coop mode to enjoy as you build an increasingly absurd stack of guns.

We’ve dropped the appropriate authorities a line to see what’s going on with the PS3.

Xbox 360eers, here’s the sort of absurd action you can expect from SS3:

Excerpt from:
Serious Sam 3, Double D XXL on XBLA this fall