The Big Picture: ‘Mass Effect’ Reapers invade Los Santos

It’s a mod, mod world when a universe-destroying Reaper from the Mass Effect series invades Grand Theft Auto V‘s Los Angeles stand-in, Los Santos. What you see up above is the result of Flickr user berdu applying the pretty self-explanatory “Mass Effect 3 Reaper as Blimp” modification to the PC version of Rockstar’s stick-up simulator. It looks awesome and there’s video of it in action after the break. As creator JJxORACLE writes on the (currently in beta testing) tweak’s download page, sometimes the vanguard of our destruction will disappear from the skies completely and there doesn’t seem to be any collision detection here. Oh, and its legs can touch the ground while it moves every now and again, because, you know, it’s replacing Los Santos’ legless blimp.

Berdu’s Flickr page is rife with awesome screenshots (including fighter jets attacking this monstrosity) for all sorts of games, so give it a look. Oh, and let’s just hope this doesn’t follow suit with other airborne mods and install malware. I mean, it is a Reaper, after all.

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Via:
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Tags: bigpicture, gaming, GrandTheftAuto, gtav, hd, hdpostcross, masseffect, mods, pcgaming, reapers, rockstargames, thebigpicture

Cult classic ‘Deadly Premonition’ gets deluxe PS3 box set

Deadly Premonition might not be a “good” game, technically speaking, but it’s wormed its way into the hearts of a very passionate cult following. With that in mind, this seemingly years-late collector’s edition of eccentric Japanese developer Hidetaka “Swery” Suehiro for the PlayStation 3 (fits with the game’s weirdness, right?) is packed to the gills with goodies for the fans. Custom deck of playing cards? Check. A 30-page hardcover art book? Present and accounted for. There’s a soundtrack packed into the pretty swanky collector’s box, the game’s director’s cut and a download code for additional content so you can while away a few more hours with special agent York in this very Twin Peaks Pacific Northwest, too. Perhaps best of all? The Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut – Classified Edition will only run you $50 and it releases November 24th.

Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut – Classified Edition (PS3) up for preorder for $49.99 http://t.co/3Mk8pPJTki pic.twitter.com/JO8k3oRauK

— Wario64 (@Wario64) August 26, 2015

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Tags: boxset, collectorsedition, DeadlyPremonition, gaming, hd, hdpostcross, playstation, ps3, swery65

The shaky science of shattering the moon in ‘LawBreakers’

LawBreakers is the new, free shooter from Gears of War creator Cliff Bleszinski and it features a bold premise: Humans accidentally explode the moon, which leads to catastrophic earthquakes that nearly split the world in two. Plus, the event leaves pockets of low gravity scattered across the Earth — including in the Grand Canyon, which ends up surrounded by giant, floating rocks. It’s a wild idea that, at first glance, appears to be heavier on fiction than science. So, we asked Dr. Phil Plait, a popular astronomer and science writer known as Bad Astronomer, what would happen to the Earth if humans accidentally shattered the moon. Plait responded via email with the following intro:

“I watched the trailer. Yeah, nope.”

First, while the moon’s gravity does impact the Earth, it doesn’t affect earthquakes “except maybe very subtly (and even that is argued over — which makes my point that the effect is incredibly weak),” Plait says.

Second: “If the moon split into pieces and they drifted apart we’d lose most of the tides on Earth (but not all — the moon powers 2/3 of the tides, the Sun the other 1/3), but that’s about it as far as gravity is concerned.”

As for the giant, floating rocks in the middle of the Grand Canyon, Plait offers a succinct, “Um…”

“The real problem would be millions or billions of tons of debris raining down on Earth over the next few decades,” Plait says. “That would probably wipe everyone out. I’ll also note that blowing up the moon, or splitting it in half, takes a vast amount of energy. Like, taking a trillion of the largest nukes ever tested to do the deed. So there’s that, too.”

But let’s bring this all back to solid ground — LawBreakers is a video game and its premise is set in stone, if not science. And that’s great. Anything that lets us run around a cutting-edge, low-gravity-riddled Earth, taking out bad guys to save the day, is a fine sci-fi premise in our books. (And our video games).

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Tags: badastronomer, bosskey, CliffBleszinski, hdpostcross, lawbreakers, philplait

New game from ‘Gears of War’ creator breaks the moon

LawBreakers is not a post-apocalyptic shooter.

It is a shooter. It does star a group of Marine-like soldiers out to gun down people in the name of justice and it does take place in the future. But creator Cliff Bleszinski is adamant that this isn’t a standard futuristic, kill-streak kind of game. As the mastermind behind Gears of War and Unreal Tournament, he knows all about those. Instead, LawBreakers takes place in a post-catastrophe world: Human experiments on the moon cause it to shatter, which triggers devastating earthquakes and breaks gravity in certain spots. Humanity rebuilds, bigger and better than ever, and then violent gangs begin to attack the new world. The LawBreakers are deployed to fight the gangs, using super-human supplements and special maneuvers made possible by the low-gravity zones.

LawBreakers is a free, class-based, multiplayer-focused shooter that appears to take cues from games like TitanFall and Battleborn, and it’s due to launch in 2016 for undisclosed platforms. The game includes specific characters with unique abilities, such as the assassin, who has a double jump, Bleszinski and his colleagues at Boss Key revealed today in a live stream.

The game world is a mix of old and new: After the moon explodes and humanity attempts to rebuild, the US government is broke and sells off parcels of national land to the highest bidder. This is why, Bleszinkski explains, the Yakuza are able to set up shop on one edge of the Grand Canyon, surrounded by rocks floating in the low-gravity zones.

Boss Key promises a gameplay trailer for LawBreakers will drop on Friday at 9AM ET. For now, the cinematic announcement video shows a gorgeous new Earth under attack from the stars and citizens alike.

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Tags: badastronomer, bosskey, CliffBleszinski, CliffyB, earth, earthquake, hdpostcross, lawbreakers, moon, philplait, scifi, shooter

‘Angry Birds’ studio cuts another 260 jobs

The firm behind Angry Birds has announced that it’s laying off a further 260 employees as it attempts to become a smaller and more profitable company. CEO Pekka Rantala admits that Rovio was too eager to “explore new business opportunities,” which it did by doing “too many things.” Unfortunately, with profits tumbling, the outfit is going to have to go back to being a stripped-down games maker. The lay-offs will come from all areas of the business except those working on the Sony-backed Angry Birds Movie in the US and Canada. It’s not much of a surprise since it looked as if the company’s day in the sun had ended a while ago. After all, Angry Birds 2 is the thirteenth title in the series, so it’s clearly been flogging a seriously-injured horse for quite some time.

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Tags: AngryBirds, Business, Layoffs, PekkaRantala, Rovio

What’s on your HDTV: ‘Gears’, ‘Mr. Robot’ finale, ‘The Carmichael Show’

This week we have the return of Gears of War, uprez’d and made prettier on the Xbox One. It’s not the only big game release however, as the Dishonored and Mega Man are also getting re-released, and PS4 gamers should check out Until Dawn, even if they’ve never heard of it before. On Blu-ray, The Last Dragon is back with a special 30th anniversary edition, along with season five of The Walking Dead. Last but not least, on TV football season creeps ever closer, while comedian Rodney Carmichael debuts his new show on NBC, Falling Skies comes to an end and Mr. Robot wraps up its excellent first season. Netflix has a new series too, as Narcos debuts its look at Pablo Escobar this week. Look after the break to check out each day’s highlights, including trailers and let us know what you think (or what we missed).

Blu-ray & Games & Streaming

• The Walking Dead (S5)
• The Last Dragon (30th Anniversary Edition)
• Citizenfour
• Aloha
• Back to Bed (PS3, PS4)
• Mega Man Legacy Collection (PC, PS4, Xbox One)
• Madden NFL 16 (PC, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS3)
• Dishonored: Definitive Edition (PS4, Xbox One)
• Until Dawn (PS4)
• Gears of War: Ultimate Edition (Xbox One)
• Ascendant (PS4)
• Octodad: Dadliest catch (Xbox One)
• Disney Infinity 3.0: Star Wars (PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii U)
• Calvino Noir (PS4, PC)
• Nova-111: A Cosmic Voyage (PS4, PS3, PC, Xbox One)
• Runbow (Wii U)
• I Am Bread (PS4)

Tuesday

• America’s Got Talent, NBC, 8PM
• WWE Tough Enough (season finale), USA 8PM
• From Dusk Till Dawn (season premiere), El Rey, 9PM
• Face Off, Syfy, 9PM
• Zoo, CBS, 9PM
• Rizzoli & Isles, TNT, 9PM
• Public Morals (series premiere), TNT, 10PM
• Tosh.0 (summer premiere), Comedy Central, 10PM
• Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Houston Texans, HBO, 10PM
• The Agent, Esquire, 10PM
• Startup U, ABC Family, 10PM
• Playing House, USA, 10PM
• Hollywood Game Night, NBC, 10PM
• Scream, MTV, 10PM
• Wags, E!, 10PM
• Tyrant, FX, 10PM
• Punk’d, BET, 10:30PM
• Another Period (season finale), Comedy Central, 10:30PM

Wednesday

• Unsung (summer premiere), TV One, 8PM
• America’s Got Talent: World’s Got Talent, NBC, 8PM
• Big Brother, CBS, 8PM
• Young & Hungry, ABC Family, 8PM
• Katrina 10 Years Later: Through Hell in High Water, BET, 8PM
• Kevin from Work, ABC Family, 8:30PM
• The Carmichael Show (series premiere), NBC, 9PM
• The Wicked Offer, CW, 9PM
• Dating Naked: Playing for Keeps, VH1, 9PM
• Extant, CBS, 9 & 10PM
• Suits (summer finale), USA, 9PM
• Rogue, DirecTV 101, 9PM
• Last Comic Standing, NBC, 10PM
• The Jim Gaffigan Show, TV Land, 10PM
• I Am Jazz, TLC, 10PM
• Key & Peele, Comedy Central, 10PM
• Catfish, MTV, 10PM
• Mr. Robot (season finale), USA, 10PM
• Twinning, VH1, 10PM
• Impastor, TV Land, 10:30PM
• Why? With Hannibal Burress, Comedy Central, 10:30PM
• America’s Best Dance Crew, MTV, 11PM
• The Exes, TV Land, 11PM

Thursday

• Food Fighters, NBC, 8PM
• Beauty and the Beast, CW, 8PM
• WWE Smackdown, Syfy, 8PM
• Big Brother, CBS, 9PM
• Mistresses, ABC, 9PM
• Documentary Now!, IFC, 10PM
• Review with Forest Macneil, Comedy Central, 10PM
• Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll, FX, 10PM
• Dominion, Syfy, 10PM
• Under the Dome, CBS, 10PM
• Graceland, USA, 10PM
• Rookie Blue, ABC, 10PM
• Hannibal, NBC, 10PM
• Married, FX, 10:30PM
• Geeks Who Drink, Syfy, 11PM
• One Bad Choice, MTV, 11PM
• Reactor, Syfy, 11:30PM

Friday

• Narcos (S1), Netflix, 3AM
• Cold Justice, TNT, 8PM
• Defiance (season finale), Syfy, 8PM
• Masters of Illusion, CW, 8PM
• Dark Matter (season finale), Syfy, 9PM
• Cold Justice: Sex Crimes, TNT, 9PM
• Strike Back, Cinemax, 10PM

Saturday

• Fatal Flip, Lifetime, 8PM
• Cedar Cove, Hallmark, 8PM
• Blunt Talk, Starz, 9PM
• Hell on Wheels (summer finale), AMC, 9PM
• Mythbusters, Discovery, 9PM
• Survivor’s Remorse, Starz, 9:30PM
• Hannibal (series finale), NBC, 10PM

Sunday

• America’s Best Dance Crew: Road to the VMAs (season finale), MTV, 4PM
• Show Me A Hero: Parts 5 & 6 (mini-series finale), HBO, 8PM
• Big Brother, CBS, 8PM
• I Am Cait, E!, 8PM
• Big Brother, CBS, 8PM
• MTV Music Video Awards, MTV, 9PM
• Fear the Walking Dead , AMC, 9PM
• Ray Donovan, Showtime 9PM
• The Last Ship, TNT, 9PM
• Masters of Sex, Showtime, 10PM
• The Strain, FX, 10PM
• Falling Skies (series finale), TNT, 10PM
• Naked & Afraid, Discovery, 10PM

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Tags: hdpostcross, listings, MustSeeHdtv, narcos, video