Xbox One pre-loading begins with ‘Madden NFL 15’

Just days ago at Gamescom, Microsoft announced that game pre-loading was coming to the Xbox One in September alongside for nabbing Forza Horizon 2 and FIFA 15 in advance of their arrival. It seems that the new feature has gone live a bit early though, as Madden NFL 15 is currently available for download ahead of its launch at the end of the month. Forking over the requisite $60 now will allow you to outfit your console with the title, so you’ll be able to open the playbook immediately on August 26th. This also means that the Xbox faithful are now privy to the pre-loading option that PC and PS4 gamers have enjoyed for some time now.

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Source: Xbox Store

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Beep is a documentary about the history of sound in video games

Every successive generation of video games is hailed for its massive improvements in graphics performance, but what about sound? That too has come a long way — and soon there may be a documentary chronicling the history video game audio. It’s more than a video game music documentary: Beep (an appropriate title, no?) promises to follow the history of gaming sound from Victorian arcade machines all the way to today’s modern blockbusters. This includes not only interviews with experts and sound designers, but behind the scene looks at how industry professionals record and mix samples as well.

The project’s Kickstarter campaign also promises to look into the community of chiptune musicians inspired by the gaming industry and even the psychology of game sound — but film production is wildly expensive. The team is asking for $40,000 (CAD) to complete the film. The team also says it’s the perfect time to document gaming sound: many of the progenitor of industry are still alive and available for interviews, the Kickstarter explains, that opportunity won’t last forever. Slightly morbid? Maybe a little. Want to help preserve the history of video game sound design? Well, the Kickstarter page is right here.

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Robin Williams tribute characters found in World of Warcraft data

The passing of actor Robin Williams affected fans from all walks of life, but gamers made a special claim to his legacy. Williams was a game enthusiast and a known fan of games like Portal, The Legend of Zelda and World of Warcraft. Now, the creators of the latter title seem to be working on an in-game memorial for the actor: a NPC named “Robin <The Entertainer>.” Wowhead, a site that scours the game code for new additions, picked up three instances of the tribute in a recent update for the Warlords of Draenor beta build — a male human, a female human and, of course, a blue genie.

Blizzard hasn’t said anything about the new character data yet, but it’s a strong sign that an announcement is coming. When asked on Twitter if company had seen the online petition to memorialize Williams last week, one employee said “Yes. We’re taking care of it.” This, apparently is it, but don’t rush to log in — the character model might be in the game data, but that doesn’t mean this tribute NPC is actually in the game. Our colleagues at WoW Insider told us they haven’t located the character on live servers yet, and aren’t sure if the three character models represent three different tribute NPCs, or one that changes form. Still, it’s nice to see Blizzard (working on) tipping its hat to one of its most famous players.

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Source: Twitter, Wowhead (1), (2), (3)

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Watch two fish duke it out in ‘Street Fighter’ on a live internet stream

The bar has been raised for fish-controlled video games. Not content with the solo action of Fish Plays Pokemon, Andrew Hill has launched FishPlayStreetFighter, a Twitch stream that lets you watch two fish (Aquarius and Robert the Bruce) square off in Capcom’s classic Street Fighter II. It’s mapping movement around the tank like before, but it’s using a significantly more advanced control scheme to liven things up. Color detection makes the two-player mode possible, and the fish can string together input combos based on where they’re swimming — watch for long enough and you’ll see a goldfish throw its opponent across the room. The best part is that the matches actually move along pretty quickly. While you’ll sometimes see the fighters wasting time, one fish usually gets a knockout before time is up. The feed doesn’t run at all hours (usually between 7:30AM and 10PM Eastern), but it should easily keep you distracted while you’re at work.

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Source: Twitch, Andew Hill (Twitter)

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Ubisoft won’t attempt an unlimited gaming service until EA proves it can work

It turns out Electronic Arts’ Access program has at least one high-profile spectator: Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot. The Assassin’s Creed and Watch Dogs company’s head says that Ubisoft is keeping a keen eye on what that type of service can offer players, telling Game Informer that he’s open to “any way” of giving fans access to Ubisoft’s games. However, “it has to work well and be a smooth experience,” he says. An Access-like system seems like the natural progression that the French company’s been building toward for awhile, albeit slowly, putting various pieces in place and testing them out over time. Given Ubisoft’s checkered history with DRM issues and that Uplay Passport system, though, it’s probably better if Guillemot lets someone else deal with the growing pains with this time ’round.

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Via: NeoGAF

Source: Game Informer

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New Lego Minecraft sets turn minifig Steve into a farmer and a miner

Those old Lego Minecraft sets are cute, but the construction toy company’s finally gearing up to release new ones that look much more like standard Lego sets — and yes, they come with mini figures. Lego fans on the Eurobricks forum have recently spotted images of two of the six sets to be available later this year. Pictured above is The Farm, which features a standard player farm with Steve, a sheep, a skeleton, a jack-o-lantern-like brick and fake vegetables, because, well, it’s a farm. The other one’s called The Cave (see after the break) where Steve’s equipped with a pickaxe, is buddies with a zombie and is scarily missing a hard hat despite that TNT brick looming behind him.

Both sets were listed for £20 to £25 on the London-based Hamleys Toy Shop website for a very short time, along with their descriptions, which you can read below. If you’re wondering what else is in store for the collection, the other pieces’ names should give you an idea: they’re called Creative Box, The Ender Dragon, The First Night and The Mine.

The Cave

Venture into The Cave on a dangerous quest for vital resources! Wield the iron pickaxe to dig and battle against hostile zombie and spider mobs. Blast out valuable ores and minerals with the TNT and combine the flowing water and lava to create precious obsidian! When you’re done battling and mining, restore your energy levels with the chest of bread. Proceed with caution! Rebuild the set for more LEGO Minecraft creations! Includes 2 minifigures with assorted accessories: Steve and a zombie, plus a spider

The Farm

Yield renewable resources with The Farm! You’ll need food to survive, so fence in the livestock and channel the flowing water to nurture the crops. Harvest pumpkins, wheat, sugar cane and carrots. Use the crafting table to create a pumpkin helmet or jack-o-lantern. But watch out for the skeleton with his bow and arrow after nightfall! Rebuild the set for more LEGO Minecraft creations or combine with 21115 The First Night and other sets in the series for an even bigger Minecraft adventure! Includes a Steve minifigure with an accessory, plus a skeleton, cow and a sheep.

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Via: Geek, The Brick Fan

Source: Eurobricks

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