1.
Xbox (console)
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The Xbox is a home video game console and the first installment in the Xbox series of consoles manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15,2001, in North America, followed by Australia, Europe and it was Microsofts first foray into the gaming console market. The sixth-generation console competed with Sonys PlayStation 2 and the Nintendo GameCube and it was also the first console produced by an American company since the Atari Jaguar ceased production in 1996. Announced in 2000, The Xbox, graphically powerful compared to its rivals and it was also noted for its PC-like size and weight, and was the first console to feature a built-in hard disk. In November 2002, Microsoft launched Xbox Live, an online gaming service that enabled subscribers to download new content. Unlike other online services from Sega and Sony, Xbox Live had support in the console design through an integrated Ethernet port. The service gave Microsoft an early foothold in online gaming and would help the Xbox become a relevant competitor to other sixth-generation consoles, the popularity of blockbuster titles such as Halo 2 contributed to the popularity of online console gaming, and in particular first-person shooters. Despite this and being in position, ahead of Nintendos GameCube. Xboxs successor, the Xbox 360, was launched in November 2005, the Xbox was soon discontinued beginning with Microsofts worst-performing market, Japan, in 2005. Other countries would follow suit in 2006, the last Xbox game in Europe was Xiaolin Showdown released in June 2007, and the last game in North America was Madden NFL09 released in August 2008. Support for out-of-warranty Xbox consoles was discontinued on March 2,2009, support for Xbox Live on the console ended on April 15,2010. The team hoped to create a console to compete with Sonys upcoming PlayStation 2, the team approached Ed Fries, the leader of Microsofts game publishing business at the time, and pitched their DirectX Box console based on the DirectX graphics technology developed by Berkes team. Fries decided to support the idea of creating a Windows DirectX based console. During development, the original DirectXbox name was shortened to Xbox, Microsofts marketing department did not like the Xbox name, and suggested many alternatives. During focus testing, the Xbox name was left on the list of names to demonstrate how unpopular the Xbox name would be with consumers. However, consumer testing revealed that Xbox was preferred by far over the suggested names. It was Microsofts first video game console after collaborating with Sega to port Windows CE to the Dreamcast console, Microsoft repeatedly delayed the console, which was first mentioned publicly in late 1999 during interviews with Microsofts then-CEO Bill Gates. Gates stated that “we want Xbox to be the platform of choice for the best and most creative game developers in the world. ”The Xbox was officially announced at the Game Developers Conference on March 10,2000, audiences were impressed by the consoles technology
2.
Xbox 360
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The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the console in the Xbox series. The Xbox 360 competed with Sonys PlayStation 3 and Nintendos Wii as part of the generation of video game consoles. The Xbox 360 was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12,2005, with detailed launch, the Xbox 360 features an online service, Xbox Live, which was expanded from its previous iteration on the original Xbox and received regular updates during the consoles lifetime. In addition to multimedia features, the Xbox 360 allows users to stream media from local PCs. Several peripherals have been released, including controllers, expanded hard drive storage. The release of additional services and peripherals helped the Xbox brand grow from gaming-only to encompassing all multimedia. Launched worldwide across 2005–2006, the Xbox 360 was initially in short supply in many regions, including North America, the earliest versions of the console suffered from a high failure rate, indicated by the so-called Red Ring of Death, necessitating an extension of the devices warranty period. Microsoft released two redesigned models of the console, the Xbox 360 S in 2010, and the Xbox 360 E in 2013. As of June 2014,84 million Xbox 360 consoles have sold worldwide, making it the sixth-highest-selling video game console in history. The Xbox 360s successor, the Xbox One, was released on November 22,2013, on April 20,2016, Microsoft announced that it would end the production of new Xbox 360 hardware, although the company will continue to support the platform. Known during development as Xbox Next, Xenon, Xbox 2, Xbox FS or NextBox, in February 2003, planning for the Xenon software platform began, and was headed by Microsofts Vice President J Allard. That month, Microsoft held an event for 400 developers in Bellevue, also that month, Peter Moore, former president of Sega of America, joined Microsoft. On August 12,2003, ATI signed on to produce the graphic processing unit for the new console, before the launch of the Xbox 360, several Alpha development kits were spotted using Apples Power Mac G5 hardware. This was because the systems PowerPC970 processor running the same PowerPC architecture that the Xbox 360 would eventually run under IBMs Xenon processor, the cores of the Xenon processor were developed using a slightly modified version of the PlayStation 3s Cell Processor PPE architecture. According to David Shippy and Mickie Phipps, the IBM employees were hiding their work from Sony and Toshiba, jeff Minter created the music visualization program Neon which is included with the Xbox 360. The Xbox 360 was released on November 22,2005, in the United States and Canada, December 2,2005, in Europe and December 10,2005, in Japan. It was later launched in Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, and Russia
3.
Xbox One
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The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. It is the first Xbox game console to be released in China, Microsoft marketed the device as an all-in-one entertainment system. The Xbox One mainly competes against consoles such as Sonys PlayStation 4, the console optionally includes a redesigned Kinect sensor, marketed as the Kinect 2.0, providing improved motion tracking and voice recognition for use in its graphical user interface and games. The Xbox One offers the ability for users to record and share clips from gameplay or live-stream directly to Twitch, Ustream, the consoles controller was redesigned over the Xbox 360s, with a redesigned body, D-pad and triggers capable of delivering directional haptic feedback. The Xbox One received mostly positive reception for its refined design, multimedia features. Its original user interface was panned for being nonintuitive, although changes made to it and its Kinect received praise for its improved motion-tracking accuracy, its face recognition logins, and its voice commands. A redesigned model known as Xbox One S was released in August 2016, it has a design, native support for 4K video playback and upscaling. It was praised for its size, its on-screen visual improvements, and its lack of an external power supply. Xbox One is the successor to Xbox 360, Microsofts previous video game console, over the years, the 360 had received a number of small hardware revisions to reduce the units size and improve its reliability. Initial hardware for the 360s successor, commonly referred to by the industry as the Xbox 720, was reportedly under development as early as May 2011, the official developer kit was codenamed Durango, and appeared to be available to developers by mid-2012. The console was unveiled under the name Xbox One on May 21,2013 in a press conference designed to cover the units broad multimedia. A second press event for the console was held during E32013, at that time, Microsoft announced that the console would be released in 21 different markets on November 22,2013, but this was later amended down to 13. The change, which pushed the date for the other eight markets to 2014, was attributed to unforeseen complexity in localizing the devices voice recognition capabilities. Later, in September 2014, the Xbox One was released in 26 markets, including remaining markets in Europe, the Japanese market, from the first announcement to the actual launch of the product, Microsoft made some significant changes to the console. These policies were reversed in June 2013, at the time of the security breach, Microsoft was in the development stage for its next-generation gaming system. Between 2011 and 2013, the hackers spent hundreds of hours searching through Microsofts network copying log-in credentials, source code, technical specifications, Group members say they were driven by an immense curiosity about Microsofts then-unreleased Xbox One console and associated software. The original Xbox Ones exterior casing consists of a two-tone liquid black finish, with finished in a matte grey. The matte side of the top of the consists of a large air vent
4.
Future plc
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Future plc is a British media company founded in 1985. It publishes more than 50 magazines in fields such as games, technology, films, music, photography. It is a constituent of the FTSE Fledgling Index, the company also owns the US company Future US. The company was founded as Future Publishing in Somerton, Somerset in 1985 by Chris Anderson with the sole magazine Amstrad Action, an early innovation was the inclusion of free software on magazine covers, the first company to do so. Anderson sold Future to Pearson PLC for £52. 7m in 1994, in 2007 the State of Texas filed a lawsuit against Future plc for violating the Childrens Online Privacy Protection Act. The lawsuit alleges that the Future plc owned website GamesRadar failed to include necessary disclosures, the owner of the other websites settled in March 2008, though the final disposition against Future PLC is not public record. In November 2009, Future reported a fall in profits from £9.5 million to £3.7 million in the year that ended 30 September 2009. Future attributed this to problems with their US market, hit by a fall in the advertising market. In March 2010, Future announced that it was exploring the possibility of reviving its GamesMaster brand on television, the video games show had run from 1992 until 1998, the spin-off magazine continues to be published. The company had a period of shuttering print media properties in favour of digital media, closing many titles, in January 2012, Future sold its U. S. music-media brands, including Guitar World and Revolver, to New Bay Media LLC for $3 million. In April 2013, it completed the sale of major components of its UK media-music brands for ₤10.2 million to Team Rock Ltd, later in 2014, Future sold its sport, craft, and auto titles. In 2016 Future expanded its print portfolio through a series of acquisitions and it bought Blaze Publishing to diversify into the shooting market and acquired Noble House Media to increase its interest in telecoms media. Future then completed the purchase of rival specialist magazine publisher Imagine on 21 October 2016 after receiving approval from the Competition, Future won the Association of Online Publishers Consumer Digital Publisher of the Year Award for the third year in a row in 2010. Future is the magazine company of two out of the three major games console manufacturers with Official Nintendo Magazine ceasing publishing in October 2014. In March 2014, it was announced that the companys CFO Zillah Byng-Maddick would become the companys fourth CEO in nine years on 1 April 2014 after Mark Wood, CEO since 2011, stepped down. The same thing has happened to its US subsidiary, Future US, the company has either has a leadership vacuum or weak leadership. The rest of its businesses, Future Australia and Future International are negligible
5.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
6.
United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
7.
Canada
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Canada is a country in the northern half of North America. Canadas border with the United States is the worlds longest binational land border, the majority of the country has a cold or severely cold winter climate, but southerly areas are warm in summer. Canada is sparsely populated, the majority of its territory being dominated by forest and tundra. It is highly urbanized with 82 per cent of the 35.15 million people concentrated in large and medium-sized cities, One third of the population lives in the three largest cities, Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. Its capital is Ottawa, and other urban areas include Calgary, Edmonton, Quebec City, Winnipeg. Various aboriginal peoples had inhabited what is now Canada for thousands of years prior to European colonization. Pursuant to the British North America Act, on July 1,1867, the colonies of Canada, New Brunswick and this began an accretion of provinces and territories to the mostly self-governing Dominion to the present ten provinces and three territories forming modern Canada. With the Constitution Act 1982, Canada took over authority, removing the last remaining ties of legal dependence on the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Canada is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy, with Queen Elizabeth II being the head of state. The country is officially bilingual at the federal level and it is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many other countries. Its advanced economy is the eleventh largest in the world, relying chiefly upon its abundant natural resources, Canadas long and complex relationship with the United States has had a significant impact on its economy and culture. Canada is a country and has the tenth highest nominal per capita income globally as well as the ninth highest ranking in the Human Development Index. It ranks among the highest in international measurements of government transparency, civil liberties, quality of life, economic freedom, Canada is an influential nation in the world, primarily due to its inclusive values, years of prosperity and stability, stable economy, and efficient military. While a variety of theories have been postulated for the origins of Canada. In 1535, indigenous inhabitants of the present-day Quebec City region used the word to direct French explorer Jacques Cartier to the village of Stadacona, from the 16th to the early 18th century Canada referred to the part of New France that lay along the St. Lawrence River. In 1791, the area became two British colonies called Upper Canada and Lower Canada collectively named The Canadas, until their union as the British Province of Canada in 1841. Upon Confederation in 1867, Canada was adopted as the name for the new country at the London Conference. The transition away from the use of Dominion was formally reflected in 1982 with the passage of the Canada Act, later that year, the name of national holiday was changed from Dominion Day to Canada Day
8.
International Standard Serial Number
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An International Standard Serial Number is an eight-digit serial number used to uniquely identify a serial publication. The ISSN is especially helpful in distinguishing between serials with the same title, ISSN are used in ordering, cataloging, interlibrary loans, and other practices in connection with serial literature. The ISSN system was first drafted as an International Organization for Standardization international standard in 1971, ISO subcommittee TC 46/SC9 is responsible for maintaining the standard. When a serial with the content is published in more than one media type. For example, many serials are published both in print and electronic media, the ISSN system refers to these types as print ISSN and electronic ISSN, respectively. The format of the ISSN is an eight digit code, divided by a hyphen into two four-digit numbers, as an integer number, it can be represented by the first seven digits. The last code digit, which may be 0-9 or an X, is a check digit. Formally, the form of the ISSN code can be expressed as follows, NNNN-NNNC where N is in the set, a digit character. The ISSN of the journal Hearing Research, for example, is 0378-5955, where the final 5 is the check digit, for calculations, an upper case X in the check digit position indicates a check digit of 10. To confirm the check digit, calculate the sum of all eight digits of the ISSN multiplied by its position in the number, the modulus 11 of the sum must be 0. There is an online ISSN checker that can validate an ISSN, ISSN codes are assigned by a network of ISSN National Centres, usually located at national libraries and coordinated by the ISSN International Centre based in Paris. The International Centre is an organization created in 1974 through an agreement between UNESCO and the French government. The International Centre maintains a database of all ISSNs assigned worldwide, at the end of 2016, the ISSN Register contained records for 1,943,572 items. ISSN and ISBN codes are similar in concept, where ISBNs are assigned to individual books, an ISBN might be assigned for particular issues of a serial, in addition to the ISSN code for the serial as a whole. An ISSN, unlike the ISBN code, is an identifier associated with a serial title. For this reason a new ISSN is assigned to a serial each time it undergoes a major title change, separate ISSNs are needed for serials in different media. Thus, the print and electronic versions of a serial need separate ISSNs. Also, a CD-ROM version and a web version of a serial require different ISSNs since two different media are involved, however, the same ISSN can be used for different file formats of the same online serial
9.
Video game journalism
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Video game journalism is a branch of journalism concerned with the reporting and discussion of video games. It is typically based on a core reveal/preview/review cycle, there has been a recent growth in online publications and blogs. In North America, the first regular consumer-oriented column about video games, Arcade Alley in Video magazine, began in 1979 and was penned by Bill Kunkel along with Arnie Katz and Joyce Worley. The late 1970s also marked the first coverage of games in Japan, with columns appearing in personal computer. The first consumer-oriented print magazine dedicated solely to video gaming was Computer and Video Games and this was two weeks ahead of the U. S. launch of the next oldest video gaming publication, Electronic Games magazine, founded by Arcade Alley writers Bill Kunkel and Arnie Katz. As of 2015, the oldest video game still in circulation are Famitsu, founded in 1986. The video game crash of 1983 badly hurt the market for Western video game magazines, Computer Gaming World, founded in 1981, stated in 1987 that it was the only survivor of 18 color magazines for computer games in 1984. The first magazine dedicated to games, or a specific video game console, was Tokuma Shotens Family Computer Magazine. This magazine later spawned famous imitators such as Famitsu in 1986, during the early 1990s, the practice of video game journalism began to spread east from Europe and west of Japan alongside the emergence of video game markets in countries like China and Russia. Russias first consumer-oriented gaming magazine, Velikij Drakon, was launched in 1993, there are conflicting claims regarding which of the first two electronic video game magazines was the first to be published regularly online. The website was updated weekly during its period from 1994-1996. Another publication, Intelligent Gamer Online debuted a web site in April 1995. At the time, it was called the first national videogame magazine found only online, Game Zero Magazine ceased active publication at the end of 1996 and is maintained as an archive site. Future Publishing exemplifies the old medias decline in the games sector, in 2003 the group saw multi-million GBP profits and strong growth, but by early 2006 were issuing profit warnings and closing unprofitable magazines. Then, in late November 2006, the publisher reported both a loss of £49 million and the sale—in order to reduce its level of bank debt—of Italian subsidiary Future Media Italy. This then combined with the move away from media outlets towards niche experts to create a growing market for bespoke games writing. This gaming coverage, rather trying to be objective, acknowledges that it is written from a certain perspective. Some outlets, Game Peoples social media for example, even use this bias as a selling point of their content
10.
DVD
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DVD is a digital optical disc storage format invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. The medium can store any kind of data and is widely used for software. DVDs offer higher capacity than compact discs while having the same dimensions. Pre-recorded DVDs are mass-produced using molding machines that physically stamp data onto the DVD, such discs are a form of DVD-ROM because data can only be read and not written or erased. Blank recordable DVD discs can be recorded using a DVD recorder. Rewritable DVDs can be recorded and erased many times, DVDs containing other types of information may be referred to as DVD data discs. The OED also states that in 1995, The companies said the name of the format will simply be DVD. Toshiba had been using the name ‘digital video disk’, but that was switched to ‘digital versatile disk’ after computer companies complained that it left out their applications, Digital versatile disc is the explanation provided in a DVD Forum Primer from 2000 and in the DVD Forums mission statement. There were several formats developed for recording video on optical discs before the DVD, Optical recording technology was invented by David Paul Gregg and James Russell in 1958 and first patented in 1961. A consumer optical disc data format known as LaserDisc was developed in the United States and it used much larger discs than the later formats. CD Video used analog video encoding on optical discs matching the established standard 120 mm size of audio CDs, Video CD became one of the first formats for distributing digitally encoded films in this format, in 1993. In the same year, two new optical disc formats were being developed. By the time of the launches for both formats in January 1995, the MMCD nomenclature had been dropped, and Philips and Sony were referring to their format as Digital Video Disc. Representatives from the SD camp asked IBM for advice on the system to use for their disc. Alan E. Bell, a researcher from IBMs Almaden Research Center, got that request and this group was referred to as the Technical Working Group, or TWG. On August 14,1995, an ad hoc group formed from five computer companies issued a release stating that they would only accept a single format. The TWG voted to both formats unless the two camps agreed on a single, converged standard. They recruited Lou Gerstner, president of IBM, to pressure the executives of the warring factions, as a result, the DVD specification provided a storage capacity of 4.7 GB for a single-layered, single-sided disc and 8.5 GB for a dual-layered, single-sided disc
11.
Video
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Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video systems vary greatly in the resolution of the display and refresh rate, video can be carried on a variety of media, including radio broadcast, tapes, DVDs, computer files etc. Video was originally exclusively a live technology, charles Ginsburg led an Ampex research team developing one of the first practical video tape recorder. In 1951 the first video tape recorder captured live images from television cameras by converting the electrical impulses. Video recorders were sold for $50,000 in 1956, however, prices gradually dropped over the years, in 1971, Sony began selling videocassette recorder decks and tapes into the consumer market. The use of techniques in video created digital video, which allowed higher quality and, eventually. After the invention of the DVD in 1997 and Blu-ray Disc in 2006, sales of videotape, the advent of digital broadcasting and the subsequent digital television transition is in the process of relegating analog video to the status of a legacy technology in most parts of the world. PAL standards and SECAM specify 25 frame/s, while NTSC standards specify 29.97 frames, film is shot at the slower frame rate of 24 frames per second, which slightly complicates the process of transferring a cinematic motion picture to video. The minimum frame rate to achieve a comfortable illusion of an image is about sixteen frames per second. Video can be interlaced or progressive, analog display devices reproduce each frame in the same way, effectively doubling the frame rate as far as perceptible overall flicker is concerned. NTSC, PAL and SECAM are interlaced formats, abbreviated video resolution specifications often include an i to indicate interlacing. For example, PAL video format is specified as 576i50, where 576 indicates the total number of horizontal scan lines, i indicates interlacing. In progressive scan systems, each refresh period updates all scan lines in each frame in sequence, when displaying a natively progressive broadcast or recorded signal, the result is optimum spatial resolution of both the stationary and moving parts of the image. Deinterlacing cannot, however, produce video quality that is equivalent to true progressive scan source material, aspect ratio describes the dimensions of video screens and video picture elements. All popular video formats are rectilinear, and so can be described by a ratio between width and height, the screen aspect ratio of a traditional television screen is 4,3, or about 1.33,1. High definition televisions use a ratio of 16,9. The aspect ratio of a full 35 mm film frame with soundtrack is 1.375,1. Therefore, a 720 by 480 pixel NTSC DV image displayes with the 4,3 aspect ratio if the pixels are thin, the popularity of viewing video on mobile phones has led to the growth of vertical video
12.
Xbox Live
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Xbox Live is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft. It was first made available to the Xbox system in November 2002, an updated version of the service became available for the Xbox 360 console at the systems launch in November 2005, and a further enhanced version was released in 2013 with the Xbox One. The service was extended in 2007 on the Windows platform, named Games for Windows – Live, Microsoft has announced plans to extend Live to other platforms such as handhelds and mobile phones as part of the Live Anywhere initiative. With Microsofts mobile operating system, Windows Phone, full Xbox Live functionality is integrated into new Windows Phones that launched since late 2010. The service shut down for the original Xbox on April 15,2010, as Microsoft developed the original Xbox console, online gaming was designated as one of the key pillars for the greater Xbox strategy. Downloadable content was available, though limited in size due to the narrowband connection, Microsoft, however, hoped that the Xbox would succeed where the Dreamcast had failed. Steve Ballmer and Bill Gates both had a vision of making premium download content and add-ons that would attract new customers. Critics scoffed at it, citing poor broadband adoption at the turn of the century, when the Xbox launched on November 15,2001, the as-yet unnamed online service was destined for a Summer 2002 deployment. Xbox Live was finally given a name at E32002 when the service was unveiled in its entirety, sound-dampened booths and broadband-connected Xbox consoles—featuring an early version of Unreal Championship—demonstrated the service on the show floor. The Epic title was one of the titles for the service. Microsoft announced that 50 Xbox Live titles would be available by the end of 2003, leading up to the launch, Microsoft enlisted several waves of beta testers to improve the service and receive feature feedback. The first wave of beta testers were given Revolt. and NFL Fever to beta test, once beta testing concluded, Microsoft sent these beta testers a translucent orange memory card, a headset carrying case, and a beta tester tshirt with the slogan I have great hands. Microsofts 5000th patent was Live-related and gave Xbox 360 users access to other gamers compete against each other over Xbox Live. The packaging for playable Xbox Live titles on the original Xbox console featured the trademark gold bar underneath the Xbox header, tom Clancys Splinter Cell and Brute Force sported a Live bubble design, as they only featured downloadable content. It was changed later, wherein all Xbox Live titles included the universal gold Live bar, by the time of the Xbox 360, all titles were required to provide at least a limited form of Xbox Live awareness. In July 2004, Xbox Live had reached 1 million online users, in July 2005, Xbox Live had reached 2 million online users. Increased demand from Xbox 360 purchasers was given as the reason for the downtime, on January 18,2008, Microsoft announced Undertow would be offered free to both Gold and Free members for the week starting January 23 through January 27 as compensation. On February 5,2010, Marc Whitten announced that Xbox Live had reached 23 million members, in August 2010, Microsoft announced an increase to the cost of Xbox Live Gold in several countries by 20%, for the first time since its inception
13.
Edge (magazine)
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Edge is a multi-format video game magazine published by Future plc in the United Kingdom, which publishes 13 issues of the magazine per year. It is known for its contacts, editorial stance, distinctive anonymous third-person writing style, yearly awards. The magazine was launched in October 1993 by Steve Jarratt, a video games journalist who has launched several other magazines for Future. The artwork for the cover of the magazines 100th issue was provided by Shigeru Miyamoto. The 200th issue was released in March 2009 with 200 different covers, each commemorating a single game,199 variants were in general circulation, only 200 magazines were printed with each cover, sufficient to more than satisfy Edges circulation of 28,898. In October 2003, the then-editor of Edge, João Diniz-Sanches, left the magazine along with deputy editor David McCarthy, after the walkout, the editorship of Edge passed back to Tony Mott, who had been editor prior to Diniz-Sanches. The only team member to remain was Margaret Robertson, who in 2006 replaced Mott as editor, in May 2007, Robertson stepped down as editor and was replaced by Tony Mott, taking over as editor for the third time. Between 1995 and 2002, some of the content from the UK edition of Edge was published in the United States as Next Generation, in July 2008, the whole site was rebranded under the Edge title, as that was the senior of the two brands. Edge has been redesigned three times since the magazine launched, the first redesign occurred in 1999, the second in 2004, and the third in 2011. The first redesign altered the dimensions to be wider than the original shape. The latest design changes the physical dimensions for the second time. Each issue includes a Making-of article on a game, usually including an interview with one of the original developers. Issue 143 introduced the Time Extend series of retrospective articles, like the making-of series, each focuses on a single game and, with the benefit of hindsight, gives an in-depth examination of its most interesting or innovative attributes. Since 2014, some contributed features are credited with a byline, the magazines regular columnists have been consistently credited throughout the magazines run. The current columnists are James Leach, Clint Hocking and Tadhg Kelly, in addition, several columnists appear toward the beginning of the magazine to talk about the game industry as a whole, rather than focusing on specific game design topics. They are Trigger Happy author Steven Poole, Leigh Alexander, and Brian Howe, previous columnists have included Paul Rose, Toshihiro Nagoshi of Segas Amusement Vision, author Tim Guest, NGai Croal, and game developer Jeff Minter. In addition, numerous columns were published anonymously under the pseudonym RedEye, James Hutchinsons comic strip Crashlander was featured in Edge between issues 143 and 193. Edge scores games on a ten-point scale, from a minimum of 1 to a maximum of 10, and so on, a tongue-in-cheek reference to people who read too much into review scores
14.
Computer and Video Games
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Computer and Video Games was a UK-based video game magazine, published in its original form between 1981 and 2004. Its offshoot website computerandvideogames. com was launched in 1999 and was closed in February 2015, up until its closure in 2015, CVG was the longest running video game media brand in the world. Computer and Video Games was established in 1981, being the first British games magazine, at the time of launch it was the worlds first dedicated video games magazine. The first issue featured articles on Space Invaders, Chess, Othello, the magazine had a typical ABC of 106,000. Launched in August 1999, CVG was one of the UK, CVG was originally owned by EMAP, before being bought by Dennis Publishing. In 2004 CVG was acquired by Future Publishing who remain its current owners, in 2006, the site underwent a major re-design and relaunch to bring it up to scratch for the so-called next generation of Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii gaming. The CVG Network expanded further in May 2007 to include sites like Xbox 360 Magazine, Edge, CVG also has a very popular forum with many users and topics. CVG has also had a following with an award thread they used to run known as the yakkies. In May 2007, CVG submitted to electronic audit by the Audit Bureau of Circulation, in early 2014, CVG, amongst other Future-operated websites, was earmarked for closure by management, but instead received staff cuts in July. Future announced the closure of the website in December 2014, the website closed on 26 February 2015, with all pages redirecting to Gamesradar+, another Future publication. Their second longest running series, GTA V Oclock covered news and conspiracy theories regarding Rockstar Games Grand Theft Auto V and Grand Theft Auto Online. It was also one of the only invited to see and play Grand Theft Auto V before its release to the public on 17 September 2013. When the magazine did reappear it was in a new form, titled CVG Presents, the new format concentrates the whole magazine on a single subject. The first issue of the new format concentrated on the history of the Grand Theft Auto series of games, CVG Presents has not been published since 2009. Originally created in 1982 as the CVG magazines annual awards ceremony, in April 1983, the magazine published the results of its first Golden Joystick Awards, along with pictures from the ceremony in Berkeley Square. DJ Dave Lee Travis presented the award for best game of the year to Jetpac, the 2006 Golden Joystick awards attracted over 540,000 votes and were webcast for the very first time. Gareth Ramsay Johnny Minkley – Stuart Bishop – John Houlihan – Gavin Ogden – Tim Ingham – Andy Robinson John Houlihan
15.
GamesRadar
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GamesRadar+ is an entertainment website primarily featuring video game related news, previews, reviews, videos, and guides. Since November 2014 the site has included a TV, films and sci-fi section, bringing in content from Futures entertainment brands Total Film. It is owned and operated in the UK and US by worldwide publisher Future plc, GamesRadar publishes numerous articles each day. Including official video game news, reviews, previews and interviews with publishers and developers, one of the sites features was their Top 7 lists, a weekly countdown detailing negative aspects of video games themselves, the industry and/or culture. They actually mark a negative score in almost everything, now, they are better known for lists of baddest depth segmented by genre, platform, or theme. These are divided into living lists, for consoles and platforms that are still active, the site launched a free iPhone app in January 2011, allowing users to browse their cheats and game guides. In 2007 the State of Texas filed a lawsuit against GamerRadars parent company Future plc, the lawsuit alleges that the site failed to include necessary disclosures and obtain parental consent before collecting personal information from children. The owner of the other websited settled in March 2008, though the final disposition against Future plc is not public record, in November 2012 Keith Walker became the new publisher at Future and thus GamesRadar, looking to improve digital growth. By December 2012 the site underwent a new redesign including new layout, interface and regular features along with new staff members. Many of the members of TalkRadar went on to produce the Laser Time podcast network. In May 2014 it was reported that Future intended to close the websites of Edge, Computer and Video Games and their other videogame publications
16.
Xbox Live Arcade
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Xbox Live Arcade is a digital video game download service available through the Xbox Games Store, Microsofts digital distribution network for the Xbox 360. It focuses on smaller downloadable games from major publishers and independent game developers. Titles range from classic console and arcade games, to new games designed from the ground up for the service. Games available through the XBLA service range from $5–20 in price, prior to the Xbox 360, Xbox Live Arcade was the name for an online distribution network on the original Xbox, which was replaced by the Xbox Live Marketplace. The Xbox Live Arcade service was announced on May 12,2004, at Microsofts E3 press conference by Bill Gates and launched on December 3,2004. The XBLA software was obtained by ordering it on Microsofts website and it was sent by mail on a disc that also contained a free version of the Ms. Pac-Man video game. Once connected to Xbox Live, customers could purchase additional titles by using a credit card, prices for the games range from $4.99 to $14.99. On November 22,2005, XBLA was relaunched on the Xbox 360, the service was integrated into the main Dashboard user interface, and the Xbox 360 hard drives were bundled with a free copy of Hexic HD. Every Arcade title on the Xbox 360 supports leaderboards, has 200 Achievement points and they also have a trial version available for free download. These demos are playable and most of them only a fraction of the levels, modes. A full version of the game must be purchased to allow the user to upload scores to the leaderboards, unlock achievements, play online multiplayer, and download bonus content. The original size limit imposed by Microsoft for Xbox Live Arcade games was 50MB, the limit has since been changed to 150MB, then 350MB, and now 2GB, the latter of which is a technical limitation of the system. On September 12,2012 the 2GB limit was raised to a number with two titles, Red Johnsons Chronicles and Double Dragon Neon weighing at 2. 68GB and 2. 24GB. On July 12,2006, Microsoft launched the Xbox Live Arcade Wednesdays program, when that summer ended, Microsoft announced that new titles for XBLA would also be released on Wednesdays. In order to promote the service in retail, Microsoft released Xbox Live Arcade Unplugged Volume 1 as a disc of six games. On October 18,2007, Microsoft announced the Xbox 360 Arcade console SKU which includes versions of Boom Boom Rocket, Feeding Frenzy, Luxor 2, Pac-Man Championship Edition. Furthermore, Microsoft created an internal games studio to create high quality digital content for XBLA, on July 30,2008, Microsoft announced the XBLA Summer of Arcade. Another Summer of Arcade began the year on July 22,2009
17.
Forza Motorsport 2
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Forza Motorsport 2 is a racing video game developed by Turn 10 Studios for the Xbox 360 console. It is the title in the Forza series, and is the sequel to the original Forza Motorsport and is followed by Forza Motorsport 3. Forza Motorsport 2 is a game on the Xbox 360. The Microsoft Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel was developed in alongside Forza Motorsport 2 and is designed to work with the game, most cars in Forza 2 can be visually customized with both aerodynamic parts as well as graphics. 1,000 layers of graphics can be created with the editor to draw shapes, letters. According to the developer, it is preventing possible copyright conflicts, paint schemes can be auctioned online to other players for in-game credits. Many players reproduced paint schemes appeared in world, or creating Itashas through this system. The game supports split-screen, System Link and Xbox Live multiplayer gaming, split-screen allows two player head-to-head racing, while both System Link and Xbox Live allow up to eight players to participate in a single race. Using Xbox Live Silver, players can also buy in-game cars through the games Auction House, a Gold account is needed to sell and gift cars. Forza Motorsport 2 concentrates on circuit racing, point to point races which were featured in the original Forza Motorsport have been removed. Real world tracks Road Atlanta, Silverstone, Laguna Seca, Tsukuba, Mugello Circuit, Sebring International Raceway, Suzuka Circuit, Forza 2 is also one of the first racing games to prominently feature cars from the American Le Mans Series in both the game and downloadable content. The damage ratings for part of the vehicle can be seen on the HUD accessed from the in-game menu. Professional racers playtested the wheel to aid the development in trying to achieve realistic features, Forza Motorsport 2 features force feedback with the use of the Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel. Forza 2 runs at 60 frames per second in 720p resolution, there are 349 cars available in Forza Motorsport 2. They are divided into six classes and four race classes. A cars class can limit races for which it is eligible, the final list of cars was revealed on April 20,2007. Production cars include stock cars, as well as cars tuned by aftermarket tuning companies, production cars can move between classes, but cannot enter the R classes. Class D, Standard production cars including the Ford Focus SVT and the Volkswagen Golf GTI Class C, Sport production cars including the Audi S4 and it also includes classic sport production cars such as the 1982 Audi Sport Quattro
18.
Lost Planet
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Lost Planet is a video game series of third-person shooters published by Capcom. It consists of three installments, Lost Planet, Extreme Condition, Lost Planet 2 and Lost Planet 3. While Capcom developed Lost Planet, Lost Planet 2 and E. X, troopers internally, Spark Unlimited were hired as an external developer for Lost Planet 3. The first Lost Planet game takes place in the known in the game as T. C. -80 on the fictional planet of E. D. N. After the Earths conditions become too hostile for humans due to war, global warming and pollution, III, a new Earth-like planet in grip of a brutal ice age. III is inhabited by an aggressive and territorial insectoid alien species named the Akrid, III, and help colonization efforts for the remainder of the human race by destroying the Akrid, all the while attempting to survive both betrayals and the extreme conditions of the planet. Lost Planet received mixed reviews on the PlayStation 3 and PC, the game shipped over a million copies worldwide by January 2007 marking Capcoms second million seller for Xbox 360. As of March 2016, the game has sold over 1,600,000 copies on the Xbox 360 alone including downloadable copies, IGN gave the Xbox 360 version their Editors Choice award, and it won the award for best Xbox 360 game at the Leipzig Games Convention. Colonies also introduces four new modes, Score Attack, Time Trial Battle Mode, first person shooter mode. The game also includes cross-platform play between Xbox Live and Games for Windows – Live users, the Colonies Edition is not compatible with the original Lost Planet save games or multiplayer game, so players of each release may only play with others who have the same release. The game was released in North America on May 27,2008, in Japan on May 29, the Xbox 360 version saw positive reception in comparison to a mixed response for the PC version. Lost Planet 2 is the sequel to Lost Planet, Extreme Condition, taking ten years after the events of the first game. It is both developed and published by Capcom, the game was released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on May 11,2010 in the United States and in Europe. It was also released for Microsoft Windows for North America on October 12,2010, Lost Planet 2 sold 1,900,000 copies between all platforms by March 2016 and across all platforms. Reception for the PlayStation 3 version matched the Xbox 360 version, troopers is a spin-off game of the Lost Planet series, it is developed by Capcom and released only in Japan for Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation 3 on November 22,2012. The game added new and more dangerous hostile Akrid enemies along with new weapons. The game saw lower sales than other games in the Lost Planet franchise and it also possesses a cult following leading to the western Capcom branch addressing interest and the Japanese branch releasing music tracks on the anniversary of the games release. Lost Planet 3 is the third numbered entry in the series and was developed by Spark Unlimited instead internally by Capcom, while all versions of the game received a mixed reception, Famitsu offered praise in their review for the renewed story focus
19.
Halo 3
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Halo 3 is a 2007 first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie for the Xbox 360 console. The third installment in the Halo franchise, the game concludes the story arc begun in 2001s Halo, Combat Evolved and continued in 2004s Halo 2. The game was released on September 25,2007, in Australia, Brazil, India, New Zealand, North America, and Singapore, September 26,2007, in Europe, and September 27,2007, in Japan. Halo 3s story centers on the war between twenty-sixth century humanity and a collection of alien races known as the Covenant. The player assumes the role of the Master Chief, a cybernetically enhanced supersoldier, Bungie began developing Halo 3 shortly after Halo 2 shipped. The game was announced at E32006, and its release was preceded by a multiplayer beta open to select players who purchased the Xbox 360 game Crackdown. Microsoft spent $40 million on marketing the game, in an effort to more game consoles. Marketing included cross-promotions and a reality game. On the day before its release,4.2 million units of Halo 3 were in retail outlets. Halo 3 grossed US$300 million in its first week, more than one million people played Halo 3 on Xbox Live in the first twenty hours. To date, Halo 3 has sold in excess of 14, the game was also the best-selling video game of 2007 in the U. S. A prequel to the game, Halo 3, ODST, was released worldwide on September 22,2009, a sequel, Halo 4, released on November 6,2012, was developed by 343 Industries and grossed $220 million on its launch day. Halo 3 was rereleased as part of Halo, The Master Chief Collection for the Xbox One on November 11,2014, Halo 3 is a shooter game where players primarily experience gameplay from a first-person perspective. Much of the takes place on foot, but also includes segments focused on vehicular combat. Players may dual-wield some weapons, forgoing the use of grenades, many weapons available in previous installments of the series return with minor cosmetic and power alterations. Unlike previous installments, the secondary weapon is visible on their player model. Halo 3 introduces support weapons, which are cumbersome two-handed weapons that slow the player, in addition to weapons, the game contains a new class of gear called equipment, these items have various effects, ranging from defensive screens to shield regeneration and flares. Only one piece of equipment can be carried at a time, the games vehicular component has been expanded with new drivable and AI-only vehicles
20.
Gears of War
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Gears of War is a video game franchise created and originally owned by Epic Games, developed and managed by The Coalition, and owned and published by Microsoft Studios. The series focuses on the conflict between humanity, the subterranean reptilian hominids known as the Locust Horde, and their mutated counterparts, the franchise consists of five third-person shooter video games, which has also been supplemented by a comic book series and five novels. The first installment, titled Gears of War, was released on November 7,2006 for the Xbox 360, the game follows protagonist Marcus Fenix, a soldier in the Coalition of Ordered Governments tasked to lead a last-ditch effort to destroy the Locust Horde and save humanity. Two subsequent titles, Gears of War 2 and Gears of War 3, continued Fenix and humanity’s ongoing conflict with the Locust Horde and Lambent forces. In 2013, Epic Games and Microsoft released Gears of War, Judgment, a prequel to the series’ first title, Gears of War, Ultimate Edition was released for Microsoft Windows on March 1,2016. The series third sequel, Gears of War 4, is set 25 years after Gears of War 3 and follows Marcus Fenixs son, JD, Gears of War was developed by Epic Games. Cliff Bleszinski, who has worked on Epic’s Unreal Tournament games. He was inspired by elements from Resident Evil 4, Kill Switch. The series was guided by Rod Fergusson, the executive producer. The first four installments of the Gears of War series used a version of the Unreal Engine 3 engine. On January 27,2014, Microsoft acquired all rights to the franchise from Epic Games, canadian studio The Coalition developed Gears of War 4, which was released on October 11,2016 for the Xbox One and Windows 10. Gears of War became one of the franchises for the Xbox 360. The series is known for its emphasis on cover-based combat. All five installments in Gears of War featured several multiplayer modes that allowed players to compete against each other or team-up to battle AI opponents on Xbox Live, the Gears of War games have been amongst the most popular and most played titles on Xbox Live. The Gears of War series takes place on a fictional Earth-like planet named Sera, the planet had a history of conflict that took Sera to the brink of destruction. This shocked the people into a rejection of their ways, leading to a golden age of culture, science. The energy demands of Seras population soon surpassed the traditional energy sources like petroleum. A search for new energy sources led to the discovery of Imulsion and this ended when COG opted to use its orbital laser weapon, the Hammer of Dawn, to ravage UIR cities
21.
Tim Schafer
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Timothy John Tim Schafer is an American computer game designer. He founded Double Fine Productions in July 2000, after having spent over a decade at LucasArts and he is well known in the video game industry for his storytelling and comedic writing style. He saw an offering at Lucasfilm Games, looking for programmers who could also write game dialog, during his application process for the job, he had a somewhat disastrous phone interview with David Fox in which he mentioned being a fan of Ballblaster. To make up for the interview, Schafer sent in a comic of himself applying for and getting the job at Lucasfilm Games. He, alongside Dave Grossman, helped to playtest Indiana Jones, Schafer and Grossman, along with two others, were taught by Ron Gilbert as part of a SCUMM University on how to use the engine to set up rooms and puzzles. Later, Gilbert approached Schafer and Grossman, offering them the chance to work on his new project, according to series creator Gilbert, Schafer and Grossman were responsible for about two thirds of the games dialogue. The Secret of Monkey Island became one of the most acclaimed games of its kind, the same team created the sequel, Monkey Island 2, LeChucks Revenge. In his first lead role on a project, Schafer co-designed Day of the Tentacle, a time-travel comedy adventure. Schafers first solo project, the biker adventure Full Throttle, was released in 1995, Grim Fandango won many awards, including GameSpots Game of the Year award of 1998. Schafer worked on an unannounced PlayStation 2 action-adventure game at LucasArts, prior to his departure, a number of other developers were leaving LucasArts as the studio shifted away from adventure games. He left the company in January 2000, to found Double Fine Productions, the game was first released on Xbox in North America on April 19,2005. It won much acclaim, including a Game of the Year award from Eurogamer. On March 7,2007, he hosted the annual Game Developers Choice Awards and he later hosted it again in 2009. In fall 2009, Schafer completed a new game called Brütal Legend, the game was released on October 13,2009, on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles. In an April 2009 interview on The Jace Hall Show, Schafer had this to say about Brütal Legend, For Brütal Legend and you see heavy metal singers and theyll have like a brace around their arm and theyll be singing about Orcs. So lets just make a world where that all happens and that all gets put together, the heavy metal, and the rock, and the battling, actually does happen. Lets not flirt around with this, lets just do it, Schafer announced in July 2010 that EA had canceled the sequel to Brütal Legend. Instead of Brütal Legend 2, Double Fine had a period called Amnesia Fortnight, from these, four smaller games were made that for the first time in Double Fines history had project leaders other than Schafer, Costume Quest, Stacking, Iron Brigade and Once upon a Monster
22.
BioShock
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BioShock is a first-person shooter video game developed by 2K Boston and 2K Australia, and published by 2K Games. A mobile version was developed by IG Fun, the game is considered a spiritual successor to the System Shock series, on which many of Irrationals team including Levine had worked previously. The player guides the protagonist, Jack, after his airplane crashes in the ocean near the terminus that leads to the underwater city of Rapture. The player, as Jack, is able to defeat foes in a number of ways by using weapons, utilizing plasmids that give unique powers, and by turning Raptures own defenses against them. It received several Game of the Year awards from different media outlets, including from BAFTA, Game Informer, Spike TV, since its release a direct sequel has been released, BioShock 2 by 2K Marin, as well as a third game titled BioShock Infinite by Irrational Games. A remastered version of the game was released on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on September 13,2016, as part of BioShock, The Collection, along with BioShock 2 and Infinite. BioShock is set in 1960 in the city of Rapture. Rapture was planned and constructed in the 1940s by Objectivist business magnate Andrew Ryan who wanted to create a utopia for societys elite to flourish outside of government control, scientific progress greatly expanded, including the discovery of the genetic material ADAM created by sea slugs on the ocean floor. ADAM allows its users to alter their DNA to grant them powers like telekinesis and pyrokinesis. To protect Rapture, Ryan imposed a law that no contact with the world was allowed. Despite the apparent utopia, class distinctions grew, and former gangster, Fontaine used his plasmid-enhanced army to attack Ryan, but reportedly was killed in the battle. Ryan took the opportunity to seize his assets including the plasmid factories, in the months that followed, a second figure named Atlas rose to speak for the lower class, creating further strife. Ryan also created his own army of plasmid-enhanced soldiers, named Splicers, tension came to a head on New Years Eve of 1958, when Atlas ordered an all-out attack on Ryan. The battle left many dead, and the few sane survivors barricaded themselves away, what once was a beautiful utopia had fallen into a crumbling dystopia. In 1960, at the start of the game, player character Jack is a passenger on a plane that goes down in the Atlantic Ocean, as the only survivor, Jack makes his way to a nearby lighthouse that houses a bathysphere terminal that takes him to Rapture. Jack is contacted by Atlas via radio, and is guided to safety from the Splicers, Atlas requests Jacks help in stopping Ryan, directing him to a docked bathysphere where he claims Ryan has trapped his family. Enraged, Atlas directs Jack towards Ryans mansion through Ryans army of Splicers, ultimately, Jack enters Ryans personal office, where Ryan is patiently waiting for Jack by casually playing golf. With no place to run, Ryan is willing to accept death by his own free will, quoting one of his own principles and he asks Jack would you kindly kill him with the golf club, and Jack is compelled to do so
23.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
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The Elder Scrolls V, Skyrim is an open world action role-playing video game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. The games main story revolves around the character and their quest to defeat Alduin the World-Eater. The game is set two hundred years after the events of Oblivion, and takes place in the province of Skyrim. Over the course of the game, the player completes quests, the game continues the open world tradition of its predecessors by allowing the player to travel anywhere in the game world at any time, and to ignore or postpone the main storyline indefinitely. Skyrim was developed using the Creation Engine, rebuilt specifically for the game, the team opted for a unique and more diverse game world than Oblivions Imperial Provence of Cyrodiil, which game director and executive producer Todd Howard considered less interesting by comparison. The game was released to acclaim, with reviewers particularly mentioning the character development and setting. The game shipped over seven million copies to retailers within the first week of its release, three downloadable content add-ons were released—Dawnguard, Hearthfire, and Dragonborn—which were repackaged into The Elder Scrolls V, Skyrim – Legendary Edition, which was released in June 2013. A port for the Nintendo Switch is planned for release in 2017, the Elder Scrolls V, Skyrim is an action role-playing game, playable from either a first or third-person perspective. The player may roam over the land of Skyrim, which is an open world environment consisting of wilderness expanses, dungeons, cities, towns. Players may navigate the world more quickly by riding horses. The games main quest can be completed or ignored at the players preference after the first stage of the quest is finished, however, some quests rely on the main storyline being at least partially completed. Non-player characters populate the world and can be interacted with in a number of ways, as in previous The Elder Scrolls games, killing certain NPCs can make some quests or items unobtainable. If witnessed, crimes like murder and theft accrue the player a bounty, should the player be stopped by a guard, they may wipe their bounty with gold or jail time, or may resist arrest which will trigger an aggressive pursuit. NPCs may allocate the player additional side-quests, and some side-quests have parameters adjusted based on nearby dungeons which the player has yet to explore, some NPCs who are befriended or hired by the player may act as companions, who will accompany the player and aid them in combat. The player may choose to join factions, which are organized groups of NPCs—for example, the Dark Brotherhood, each of the factions has an associated quest path to progress through. Each city and town in the world has jobs that the player can engage in. Players have the option to develop their character, over the course of the game, players improve their characters skills, which are numerical representations of their ability in certain areas. There are eighteen skills divided evenly among the three schools of combat, magic, and stealth, when players have trained skills enough to meet the required experience, their character levels up
24.
Grand Theft Auto V
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Grand Theft Auto V is an action-adventure video game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It was released on 17 September 2013 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, on 18 November 2014 for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One and it is the first main entry in the Grand Theft Auto series since 2008s Grand Theft Auto IV. The open world design lets players freely roam San Andreas open countryside, the game is played from either a first-person or third-person view and its world is navigated on foot or by vehicle. Players control the three lead protagonists throughout single-player and switch between both during and outside of missions. The story is centred on the heist sequences, and many missions involve shooting and driving gameplay, a wanted system governs the aggression of law enforcement response to players who commit crimes. Grand Theft Auto Online, the multiplayer mode, lets up to 30 players explore the open world. Development began soon after Grand Theft Auto IVs release and was shared between many of Rockstars studios worldwide, much of the development work constituted the open worlds creation, and several team members conducted field research around California to capture footage for the design team. The games soundtrack features a score composed by a team of producers who collaborated over several years. It received widespread acclaim, with praise directed at its multiple protagonist design, open world, presentation. It caused controversies related to its depiction of women and a mission featuring torture during a hostage interrogation and it has shipped over 75 million copies and is one of the best-selling video games of all time. Grand Theft Auto V is a game played from either a first-person or third-person view. Players complete missions—linear scenarios with set objectives—to progress through the story, outside of missions, players may freely roam the open world. Composed of the San Andreas open countryside area and the city of Los Santos. It may be explored after the games beginning without restriction. Players use melee attacks, firearms and explosives to fight enemies, to accommodate the maps size, the game introduces vehicle types absent in its predecessor Grand Theft Auto IV, such as fixed-wing aircraft. In combat, auto-aim and a system may be used as assistance against enemies. Should players take damage, their health meter will gradually regenerate to its halfway point, players respawn at hospitals when their health depletes. If players commit crimes, law enforcement agencies may respond as indicated by a meter in the head-up display
25.
Fight Night Round 3
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Fight Night Round 3 is a boxing video game developed by Electronic Arts. It is the sequel to EA Sports previous boxing title, Fight Night Round 2, Fight Night Round 3 was released on February 22,2006 for the Xbox, Xbox 360, PlayStation Portable and PlayStation 2. The Mobile phone version was released on November 30,2006, Fight Night Round 3 was developed by EA Chicago, formerly NuFX. It is the boxing title in the Fight Night franchise. It features the usual improvements such as graphics and gameplay. The roster consist of 27 licensed fighters, Fight Night Round 3 allows open weight bouts and this means everyone on the roster can fight one another in exhibitions. The game has been released for video game consoles and some differences exist between the versions. The cover art features Arturo Gatti and Micky Ward on the PS2, the PS3, Xbox 360, and the PSP versions have Oscar De La Hoya on the cover. Only the PS3 version can be played in a first-person view, the PS3 version omitted Evander Holyfield from the roster. The theme song for game is Never Gonna Get It by Sean Biggs, featuring Akon. The game features recreations of real-life venues such as the Staples Center, the game received favorable reviews on all platforms except the PSP version, which received average reviews, according to video game review aggregator Metacritic. G4s Reviews on the Runs Victor Lucas stated that Round 3 had the best graphics he had seen on a video game. IGN gave the Mobile version a score of eight out of ten, saying and you have a complex control scheme that gives you access to some devastating small-screen fight action. I think this emphasis on hardcore mechanics reduces Fight Nights reach to a sliver of the mobile gaming audience. I respect and understand the point of the Fight Night franchise, I guess thats what Super KO Boxing is for. Get in the Ring mode puts you into the jockstrap and bads tats of your self-created boxer, everything you could do in the games third-person mode you can now do in first-person. Club also gave said version an A and said that, The only real problem with Round 3 is that any improvements in Round 4 are likely to be strictly cosmetic. The Sydney Morning Herald gave said version a score of four out of five and said, Victories are initially too simple and training dull
26.
Fallout 3
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Fallout 3 is an action role-playing open world video game developed by Bethesda Game Studios. The third major installment in the Fallout series, it is the first game to be created by Bethesda Softworks since it bought the franchise from Interplay Entertainment and it was released worldwide in October 2008 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. The main story takes place in the year 2277, around 36 years after the events of Fallout 2, the game received post-launch support, with Bethesda releasing five downloadable add-ons. While many elements from previous titles are used, such as the SPECIAL system, the characters creation is done in steps, with the player first setting up their appearance along with what race and gender their character is, and the name they have. Next, they customize their characters primary attributes via the S. P. E. C. I. A. L. System - Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility, and Luck - which is retained in Fallout 3, and determines the base level of the Skills the game uses. What three skills their character focuses on can either be left to the choices they make with a series of question, or by choosing manually what they desire. Many Perks have a set of prerequisites that need to be satisfied, often requiring a certain Skill level to acquire them, an important statistic tracked by the game is Karma which is affected by the decisions and actions the character performs during the game. Positive actions to Karma include freeing captives and helping others, while negative actions towards this include killing good characters, actions vary in the level of karma change they cause, thus, pickpocketing produces less negative karma than the killing of a good character. However, the relationships with the games factions are distinct. A characters health is divided between two types, HP and Limbs, players can also be effected by other negative health effects, including radiation poisoning and withdrawal symptoms. The negative impacts of both can affect SPECIAL attributes, and can be treated by a doctor, though radiation can be dealt with by using Rad Away. Furthermore, the amount of radiation absorbed can be reduced through the use of Rad-X drugs and special apparel. When too much damage is taken, the breaks and cannot be used. To ensure weapons and apparel are working effectively, such items require constant maintenance, the first method is find certain vendors that repair items, though how much they can repair an item depends on their skill level, while the cost of the repairs depends upon the item itself. In addition to finding out in the wastelands, the player can also create their own. To craft such weapons, the player must use a workbench, possess either the necessary schematics or the right Perk and these weapons usually possess significant advantages over other weapons of their type. Weapon schematics can be found lying in certain locations, bought from vendors, the Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System, referred to as V. A. T. S. is a new element for the Fallout series and plays an important part in combat within Fallout 3
27.
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
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Call of Duty 4, Modern Warfare is a first-person shooter video game developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision. The fourth installment in the Call of Duty series, it was released in 2007 for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, the game breaks away from the World War II setting of previous entries in the series and is instead set in modern times. Developed for over two years, the uses a proprietary game engine. The story takes place in the year 2011, where a leader has executed the president of an unnamed country in the Middle East. The conflicts are seen from the perspectives of a U. S, Force Reconnaissance Marine and a British SAS commando, and are set in various locales, such as the United Kingdom, the Middle East, Azerbaijan, Russia, and Ukraine. Critically acclaimed, the received an aggregated score of 94% from both GameRankings and Metacritic. The gameplay and story received particular praise, while criticism targeted the failure of the game to substantially innovate the first-person shooter genre, the game won numerous awards from gaming websites, including IGNs Best Xbox 360 Game. It was the game worldwide for 2007, selling around seven million copies by January 2008. A character can be positioned in one of three stances, standing, crouching, or prone, each affecting the rate of movement, accuracy. Using cover helps the player avoid enemy fire or recover health after taking significant damage, as such, there are no armor or health power ups. When the character has taken damage, the edges of the screen glow red, if the character stays out of fire, the character can recover. When the character is within the blast radius of a live grenade, the player takes on the role of various characters during a single-player campaign. The characters involvement in the plot occurs simultaneously and overlaps the events in the game, as such, the players perspective changes from one character to another between missions. Each mission features a series of objectives, the player is led to each objective with the heads up display, after the credits, a special epilogue mission is unlocked for play, featuring a four-man squad retrieving a VIP from terrorists who have hijacked an airliner. The SAS rescue the VIP and escape before the plane is destroyed, Call of Duty 4, Modern Warfare features team-based and deathmatch-based multiplayer modes on various maps. Each mode has an objective that requires unique strategies to complete, players can call in UAV reconnaissance scans, air strikes, and attack helicopters, when they achieve three-, five-, and seven-enemy kill streaks respectively. A game ends when either a team or player has reached a number of points. If the player is in either of the two matches, then there is an Overtime match, in which the team to win is rewarded the victory
28.
Mass Effect
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The fourth game was released on Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in March 2017. Sovereigns purpose is to trigger the imminent return of the Reaper fleet hibernating in dark space. The second game takes two years later, and sees Shepard battling the Collectors, an alien race abducting entire human colonies in a plan to help the Reapers return to the Milky Way. The final game of Shepards trilogy centers on the war being waged against the Reapers, the fourth installment takes place in the Andromeda Galaxy and features a new cast of characters. All of the first three installments of the Mass Effect series have been met with commercial success as well as critical acclaim. The series is regarded for its narrative, character development, voice acting, universe. The Mass Effect original trilogy takes place in a version of the Milky Way in the year 2183. The galactic community partitioned the Milky Way into five different sectors, known as the Terminus Systems, the Attican Traverse, Inner and Outer Council Space, and Alliance Space. Earth is a significant setting, particularly in the installment, while the space station known as the Citadel is a recurring. The fourth game takes place in Heleus Cluster of Andromeda galaxy,634 years after the events of its predecessor, a trilogy of games has been released, each continuing the previous games story in chronological order. The Mass Effect series combines action role-playing game elements, with the series games being in third-person perspective. The player could make perspective decisions depending upon the situation, at these times, the player has multiple sets of dialogue choices with which to respond to NPCs, separated by tone. Starting from Mass Effect 2, the player can interrupt cut-scenes calmly or aggressively, the games often have various mini-games in them as well, such as drinking, dancing and romancing characters. The game focuses on the protagonist, Commander Shepard, and their quest to stop the rogue Spectre Saren Arterius from leading an army of sentient machines, called the Geth, during pursuit of Saren, Shepard learns of a far greater threat in the form of the Reapers. Mass Effect 2, the main game in the series, was released on January 26,2010 in North America. The game takes two years after the events of Mass Effect. Human colonies are being attacked, their colonists disappearing without a trace, the games protagonist, Commander Shepard, is forced into an uneasy alliance with the pro-Human paramilitary organization, Cerberus, in an effort to discover the cause. Evidence emerges pointing to the Collectors, an advanced, enigmatic race of insect-like humanoids, adding to the threat is the revelation that the Collectors are working for the Reapers
29.
Gears of War 3
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Gears of War 3 is a 2011 military science fiction third-person shooter video game developed by Epic Games and published by Microsoft Studios for the Xbox 360. Originally due for release on April 8,2011, the game was delayed, Gears of War 3 received more than one million pre-orders. It is the installment of the Gears of War series. The story was written by science fiction author Karen Traviss, a sequel, titled Gears of War 4, was announced in June 2015 and was released on October 11,2016. Like its predecessors, Gears of War 3 is a shooter that emphasizes the use of cover. The players character can carry four weapons, one pistol, one set of grenades, firearms can be swapped with other weapons dropped by fallen foes or at stockpiles throughout the game, along with ammunition. When the player reloads a weapons ammunition, they have an opportunity for an active reload, if they press the button outside this section, this temporarily jams the weapon, leaving the player vulnerable and taking longer to reload. Alternatively, the player can opt to not try for the active reload, reloading the weapon at normal speed, the player can also be killed during the bleed-out by the use of the games signature execution moves by the enemy. Some types of damage, such as explosives or head shots, similarly, the player can also cause enemies to fall into bleed-out in the same manner. The player and their allies and enemies can use nearly any structure as cover, players can quickly switch between nearby covering walls or jump over lower cover to rush forward. Within Gears of War 3, some cover can be destroyed after taking some amount of damage, players can now also swap weapons and ammunition with other allies in the course of battle. The player maintains a level that persists across all game modes. The player earns experience through kills, performing special types of kills and executions, reviving and aiding teammates, players can also gain experience points by winning medals and ribbons, which are awarded for defeating enemies with certain weapons or winning several matches. Earning levels unlocks the use of character skins and weapons within the games multiplayer mode. Gears of War 3 takes place two years after Jacinto, humanitys last stronghold, is destroyed in an effort to eradicate the Locust Horde. The Coalition of Ordered Governments remnants relocate to Vectes, a secluded island, the COG then disbands after Chairman Prescott mysteriously disappears and seemingly abandons his forces. A new foe, the Lambent, are threatening humanitys dwindling numbers, as the Lambent begin to invade Vectes, Marcus Fenix and his comrades retreat to the CNV Sovereign, a helicopter carrier, and take refuge at sea. Gears of War 3 begins as Chairman Prescott unexpectedly arrives on the Sovereign, Prescott informs Marcus Fenix he needs to relay important information to the ships senior officer, Captain Michaelson
30.
Batman: Arkham City
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Batman, Arkham City is a 2011 action-adventure video game developed by Rocksteady Studios and released by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 video game consoles, based on the DC Comics superhero Batman, it is the sequel to the 2009 video game Batman, Arkham Asylum and the second installment in the Batman, Arkham series. It was released worldwide for consoles, beginning in North America on October 18,2011, written by veteran Batman writer Paul Dini with Paul Crocker and Sefton Hill, Arkham City is based on the franchises long-running comic book mythos. In the games storyline, Batman is incarcerated in Arkham City. He must uncover the secret behind the scheme, Protocol 10, orchestrated by the facilitys warden. The games leading characters are voiced by actors from the DC Animated Universe, with Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill reprising their roles as Batman. The game is presented from the perspective with a primary focus on Batmans combat and stealth abilities, detective skills. Arkham City expands Batmans arsenal of gadgets and combat attacks and offers an open world structure. The game received acclaim, particularly for its narrative, character and world designs, soundtrack. A remastered version was released for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in October 2016, a successor, Batman, Arkham Origins, was released in October 2013, and a narrative sequel, Batman, Arkham Knight, was released in June 2015. Batman, Arkham City is an open-world action-adventure game that incorporates tactics from stealth games and it is presented from the third-person perspective, showing the playable character on screen and allowing the camera to be freely rotated around it. The game is set within Arkham City, which is open to the player from the beginning of the game, the player can move silently throughout the game, using a combination of gadgets and stealth moves to sneak up on enemies and incapacitate them. Batman can use his cape to glide around the city, diving downwards and swooping upwards to extend his flight, the player has access to an in-game criminal database which includes forensic puzzles, as well as a network for hacking communication frequencies. Many of Batmans gadgets can now be used in combat, larger enemies must be tackled with stuns and combo attacks, and can be manipulated to take out their allies. Disputes between gangs allied to rival villains often spark turf wars, which complicate the players ability to move about Arkham City, each category contains approximately 15 different upgrades. For instance, an upgraded grapnel gun can be used to remotely disarm enemies, some gadgets obtained in Batman, Arkham Asylum are present at the start of Arkham City, while others become available during play. The game has approximately 40 hours of gameplay, with the campaign lasting 25 hours. The side missions, which can be attempted at any time, One such character, the Riddler, provides 440 optional Riddler challenges to solve
31.
Grand Theft Auto IV
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The soundtrack to the game Grand Theft Auto IV, like the previous games in the series, is mostly made up of in-game radio stations. These radio stations can be listened to when driving various vehicles in the game, Radio stations in past games have included licensed music, original music made specifically for the game, DJ chat, and spoof advertising. This game includes 19 in-game radio stations (20 in the PC edition, of the 19 stations,16 are musical stations while the other three are talk radio. The songs included with the downloadable content carry over to the compilation disc Grand Theft Auto, Episodes from Liberty City, instead there are three exclusive radio stations featuring 48 songs not available for the original game. The radio stations play songs in an order, and will still start at a random point whenever the player enters a vehicle. The radio station that is on when the player enters a vehicle is based on the type of vehicle the player enters, along with the in-game radio stations, other credited music is heard exclusively at certain points in the game. This includes the opening sequence and when walking through the interiors of certain buildings in the game. Michael Hunter composed and produced the song called Soviet Connection — The Theme from Grand Theft Auto IV. As part of a partnership between Rockstar Games and Amazon. com, most of the heard on the in-game radio stations is available for download through the Amazon MP3 digital music store. Beginning with the release of The Lost and Damned, Rockstars soundtrack sales partner is the iTunes Store, like previous games in the Grand Theft Auto series, Grand Theft Auto IV features a soundtrack that can be heard through radio stations while the player is in a vehicle. Liberty City is serviced by 19 radio stations, three of which are talk radio stations, the other stations feature music from a large range of genres, including tracks from Genesis, David Bowie, Bob Marley, The Who, Queen, Kanye West and Elton John. Grand Theft Auto IV uses a music system to that of Grand Theft Auto. In other games in the series, each station was essentially a single looped sound file, playing the same songs. Certain songs are edited to incorporate references to the fictional Liberty City. Saturday Night Live actors Bill Hader and Jason Sudeikis appear on the liberal and conservative talk shows respectively. Numerous other comedians, including Jim Norton, Patrice ONeal, Rick Shapiro, in the PC version there is also a Independence FM station which plays music files stored in My Documents\Rockstar Games\GTA IV\User Music path. Songs that featured with the content can also be heard in the original version. DJ, Mister Cee, DJ Green Lantern, Funkmaster Flex and Statik Selektah Genre, Hip hop, rap, R&B DJ, Mixed by DJ PremierGenre, Hip hop † Not included in Grand Theft Auto, Episodes from Liberty City
32.
Project Gotham Racing 4
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Project Gotham Racing 4 is the fourth title in the main Project Gotham Racing series, developed by Bizarre Creations and published by Microsoft Game Studios. Project Gotham Racing 4 was accidentally leaked by a Peugeot press release for a competition for a car designed by a contestant to be featured in the game before the official Bizarre announcement, the competition was won by Mr. Mihai Panaitescu with the Peugeot Flux. Shortly after, the game was officially confirmed at X06. The trailer was made available to download on the Xbox Live Marketplace. The car featured in the trailer is a Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano, the song in the trailer is Shadow by The Prodigy remixed by Chris Chudley from Audioantics. Microsoft announced at the 2007 E3 that PGR4 would be released in September 2007, however, Bizarre subsequently said that game wouldnt be released until its done citing reasons that they had spent a substantial amount of money and time on the game. We feel like weve got more time, last time round, we feel like we got the game ripped away from us said Brian Woodhouse of Bizarre Creations. Having since been acquired by Activision, Bizarre announced that PGR4 will be their last game produced for distribution by Microsoft Game Studios, Microsoft re-released the game under its Classics banner on March 20,2009. The most prominent addition to PGR4 is advanced weather effects that affect the look of the game, the weather can change from sun to rain to snow to hail within a single race. A system logged on to Xbox Live will download weather data from The Weather Channel, the game simulates ten types of weather, including clear days, clouds, light to stormy rain, fog, snow and even ice. In user-created races, weather is fully customisable along with all the other race variations, in the games expanded and improved career mode, weather is predetermined, which adds an extra obstacle for players to overcome. Bizarre Creations has released two videos showing the effects, one of the rain effects in St. Petersburg. PGR4 introduced a new game mode, called Bulldog. One player starts out as the Bulldog, whose job is to tag every opponent in the game. This mode is played in a section of a city. Both cars and bikes are allowed to play in this mode simultaneously, PGR Nations was also launched with the release of the game. PGR4 features more than 130 vehicles, including the newly introduced motorcycles, the game marks a return to the car balance of PGR2, with cars ranging from low-performance hatchbacks to high-performance supercars. PGR3 emphasized supercars and special models, but did have a few production cars
33.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
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Call of Duty, Modern Warfare 2 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision. Officially announced on February 11,2009, the game was released worldwide on November 10,2009 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Microsoft Windows. The games main characters are Gary Roach Sanderson, of the 141. An expansive multiplayer mode is featured in the game, with new features and modes that were not seen in its predecessor. Development for the game began in 2008, when it was known as Call of Duty 6, eventually. Modern Warfare 2 uses the IW4.0 engine, a version of Call of Duty 4s IW3.0 engine. Infinity Ward was inspired by real-life conflicts when developing the campaign mode. They initially tested the games multiplayer mode by playing an in-house beta version of the game, teasing of the game began in March 2009, with short trailers being released for the game and, eventually, a full reveal trailer. The games multiplayer was revealed shortly after, two downloadable content packs were released for the multiplayer mode, each containing four new maps. Modern Warfare 2 has been acclaimed by various gaming websites, attaining a 94/100 aggregate score on Metacritic. Within 24 hours of release, the game sold approximately 4.7 million copies in North America, in addition to its release, a comic book series based on one of the games characters was also produced, entitled Modern Warfare 2, Ghost. Despite the games success, it was subject to some controversies, Call of Duty, Modern Warfare 2 is a first-person shooter video game. The player can perform actions, including jump, sprint, crouch, lay prone. When the player is shot by an enemy, blood will splatter their heads-up display, denoting that they have taken damage, if the player avoids gunfire by taking cover, then their health will recover. The HUD also displays information, such as a compass, a mini-map. The game features traditional guns, including rifles, shotguns, handguns. The player will be given specific guns at the beginning of each level, most guns have attachments, such as suppressors, and heartbeat sensors. The player can use grenades and flashbangs when faced with a large group of enemies
34.
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
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The Elder Scrolls IV, Oblivion is an action role-playing video game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks and the Take-Two Interactive division 2K Games. It is the installment in The Elder Scrolls action fantasy video game series, following The Elder Scrolls III, Morrowind and preceding The Elder Scrolls V. Oblivion was first released in March 2006 for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360, a mobile phone version of the game was released in May 2006, and a PlayStation 3 version was shipped in March 2007. After a number of smaller content releases, the expansion pack Shivering Isles was distributed. The Elder Scrolls IV, Oblivion Game of the Year Edition was released in 2007 for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, a fifth-anniversary edition was shipped in 2011. Oblivions main story revolves around the characters efforts to thwart a fanatical cult known as the Mythic Dawn that plans to open the gates to a realm called Oblivion. The game continues the open world tradition of its predecessors by allowing the player to anywhere in the game world at any time. A perpetual objective for players is to improve their characters skills, seven skills are selected early in the game as major skills, with the remainder termed minor. Developers opted for tighter pacing in gameplay and greater focus than in past titles. Development for Oblivion began in 2002, directly after the release of Morrowind. I, system, which enabled non-player characters to make choices and engage in behaviors more complex than in past titles. The game features fully voiced NPCs—a first for the series—and the music of award-winning composer Jeremy Soule, overall, Oblivion was well received by critics and has won a number of industry and publication awards. It was praised for its graphics, expansive game world. It was successful commercially and critically. A PlayStation Portable version of the game was also in development before being canceled, Oblivion is a role-playing game that incorporates open-ended gameplay. The player can follow side-quests, interact with NPCs, dispatch monsters, develop their character, the game never ends, and the player can continue playing after completing the main quest. The gameplay includes a fast travel system, in which an icon appears on the world map every time the player visits a new location. This excludes the game worlds main cities which are unlocked for fast travel from the start of the game. The player can arrive at the desired location instantaneously by selecting the icon on the map, character development is a primary element of Oblivion
35.
Mass Effect 2
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Mass Effect 2 is an action role-playing video game developed by BioWare and published by Electronic Arts. It was released for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360 in 2010, Mass Effect 2 is the second installment of the Mass Effect series and a sequel to the original Mass Effect. The game takes place within the Milky Way galaxy during the 22nd century, the player assumes the role of Commander Shepard, an elite human soldier who must construct and gain the loyalty of a diverse team and stop the enemy in a suicide mission. With the use of a saved game of its predecessor. For the game, BioWare changed several gameplay elements and put emphasis on third-person shooter aspects, including limited ammunition. In contrast to the focus on the main story of the original Mass Effect. Mass Effect composer Jack Wall returned to compose Mass Effect 2s music, aiming for a darker, Mass Effect 2 also supports a variety of downloadable content packs, ranging from single in-game character outfits to entirely new plot-related missions. Notable packs include Kasumi - Stolen Memory, Overlord, Lair of the Shadow Broker, critics praised multiple aspects of the game, including its interactive storytelling, characterization, and combat. In contrast, some expressed concerns about the games simplified gameplay compared to the previous game in the series. The game received numerous awards, including Game of the Year at the 14th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards. The game is cited as one of the greatest video games of all time. A sequel, Mass Effect 3, was released in 2012, Mass Effect 2 is a single-player action role-playing game in which the player takes the role of Commander Shepard through a third-person perspective. Shepards gender, appearance, military background, combat-training and first name are determined by the player before the game begins, the player may choose to import a character from a completed saved game of the original Mass Effect or start the game with a new character. Importing an old character allows several decisions the player made in the game to impact the story of Mass Effect 2. The game features six different character classes for the player to choose from, each class is proficient in a different set of powers and weapon types. For example, the Vanguard class is specialized in combat and shotguns, while the Infiltrator class relies on stealth combat. The world of Mass Effect 2 is a map that the player can explore to find. Most quests consist of combat missions, but some involve the player interacting with characters during visits to settlements
36.
Halo: Reach
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Halo, Reach is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox 360 home video game console. The sixth installment in the Halo series, Reach was released worldwide in September 2010, the game takes place in the year 2552, where humanity is locked in a war with the alien Covenant. Players control Noble Six, a member of an elite supersoldier squad, after releasing Halo 3 in 2007, Bungie split into teams to develop two different games—what would become Halo 3, ODST and Reach. The developers decided to create a prequel to the original Halo game trilogy, as the game would take place on a human world doomed to be destroyed, they focused on making the environment a character unto itself. Longtime Halo composers Martin ODonnell and Michael Salvatori returned to compose Reachs music, Reach was announced at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2009 in Los Angeles, California, and the first in-engine trailer was shown at the 2009 Spike Video Game Awards. Microsoft gave Reach its biggest game marketing budget yet and created award-winning live-action commercials, action figures, the game grossed US$200 million on its launch day, setting a new record for the franchise. Reach sold well in most territories, moving more than three million units its first month in North America, critical reception was positive, reviewers from publications such as GamePro, IGN, and Official Xbox Magazine called it the best Halo title yet. Critics generally praised the graphics and sound, but the plot. Reach was Bungies final Halo game, subsequent games have been overseen by Microsoft subsidiary 343 Industries, gameplay is more similar to Halo, Combat Evolved than later games in the series. The HUD changes when the pilots aircraft and spacecraft. In the games campaign, which can be played alone or cooperatively, players assume the role of Noble Six, the player is equipped with a recharging energy shield that absorbs damage from weapons, fire and impacts. When the energy shield is depleted, the player loses health, when the players health reaches zero, the character dies and the game reloads from a saved checkpoint. Health is replenished using health packs scattered throughout Reachs levels, the campaigns encounters with enemies are typically large, open spaces with weapons caches, cover from enemy fire and strategic vantage points. New to the Halo series are dogfight sequences set in space, Reach features updated versions of old weapons, plus new weapons fulfilling various combat roles. In Halo 3, players can carry single-use equipment power-ups that offer temporary offensive or defensive advantages and this system of single-use equipment is replaced in Reach by reusable and persistent armor abilities that remain with a character until they are replaced. When playing as Covenant Elites, players also have access to an evade armor ability, Reach supports player-versus-player multiplayer through splitscreen on a single Xbox 360, local networks, and the Xbox Live service. The game includes standard multiplayer modes such as slayer and capture the flag, in headhunter, players drop skulls upon death, which other players can pick up and deposit at special zones for points. When players die, all their accumulated skulls are dropped, stockpile has teams race to collect neutral flags, holding them at capture points every minute for points
37.
Portal 2
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Portal 2 is a 2011 first-person puzzle-platform video game developed and published by Valve Corporation. It is the sequel to Portal and was released on April 19,2011, for Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. The retail versions of the game are distributed by Electronic Arts while online distribution of the Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Portal 2 was announced on March 5,2010, following a week-long alternate reality game based on new patches to the original game. These gels were created by the team from the Independent Games Festival-winning DigiPen student project Tag, the storyline introduces new characters, including Wheatley and Cave Johnson. Ellen McLain reprised the role of GLaDOS, jonathan Coulton and The National each produced a song for the game. Portal 2 also includes a cooperative mode, in which the robotic player-characters Atlas. Valve provided post-release support for the game, including downloadable content. The voice work of McLain, Merchant, and Simmons were also praised, as were the new elements, the challenging but surmountable learning curve. Some journalists ranked Portal 2 among the best games of 2011, Portal 2 has since been hailed as one of the greatest video games of all time. Portal 2 is a first-person perspective puzzle game, the Player takes the role of Chell in the single-player campaign, as one of two robots—Atlas and P-Body—in the cooperative campaign, or as a simplistic humanoid icon in community-developed puzzles. These four characters can explore and interact with the environment, characters can withstand limited damage but will die after sustained injury. There is no penalty for falling onto a surface. When Chell dies in the game, the game restarts from a recent checkpoint, in the cooperative game. The goal of both campaigns is to explore the Aperture Science Laboratory—a complicated, malleable mechanized maze, while most of the game takes place in modular test chambers with clearly defined entrances and exits, other parts occur in behind-the-scenes areas where the objective is less clear. The initial tutorial levels guide the player through the general movement controls, characters can use these portals to move between rooms or to fling objects or themselves across a distance. Outlines of placed portals are visible through walls and other obstacles for easy location, Game elements include Thermal Discouragement Beams, Excursion Funnels, and Hard Light Bridges, all of which can be transmitted through portals. Aerial Faith Plates launch the player or objects through the air, the player must disable turrets or avoid their line of sight. The heart-decorated Weighted Companion Cube reappears briefly, early demonstrations included Pneumatic Diversity Vents, shown to transport objects and transfer suction power through portals, but these do not appear in the final game
38.
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
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It is the third game in the Deus Ex series, and a prequel to the original Deus Ex. Conversations between characters feature a variety of responses, with options in conversations and at crucial story points affecting how some events play out, an attack on Sarif Industries that apparently kills researcher and Adams ex-girlfriend Megan Reed also leaves Adam critically injured. The story explores themes of transhumanism, the power of megacorporations. It also uses the series recurring cyberpunk setting and conspiracy theory motif, the open-ended nature of the gameplay was tricky for the team to achieve, and the boss battles ended up be outsourced to another developer due to time constraints. The music, composed by Michael McCann, focused on ambiance and three-layered compositions over character themes, Human Revolution was first announced in 2007, soon after beginning development. Its official title and release window were announced in 2010, after release, a downloadable episode titled The Missing Link was developed, featuring improvements on the original gameplay. A directors cut, featuring improvements and post-release and promotional content, was released in 2013 for the original platforms. Human Revolution received critical acclaim, with going to its player-driven plot, general gameplay. The major criticisms went to its boss fights and recurring technical problems, the directors cut received additional praise for its revamped gameplay elements. Human Revolution spawned a spin-off titled Deus Ex, The Fall, Deus Ex, Human Revolution is an action role-playing game with incorporated first-person shooter and stealth mechanics. Players take the role of Adam Jensen, a man equipped with cybernetic implants called augmentations. Also accessible are black market vendors which supply equipment and weapons for Credits, Interactive objects within environments can be highlighted, although these options are either turned off on the hardest difficulty or can be turned off in the options menu by the player. There are a variety of ways to approach the games situations, players can use a violent approach, alternately, Adam can take a stealthy approach, avoiding guards and security devices, again using cover to avoid enemy sight lines. Adam can move between covers, and move around corners while staying hidden, taking down enemies while in stealth mode also has lethal and non-lethal melee options, in addition to weapons that can both kill and stun enemies. Adam can also move the bodies of enemies into hiding places, preventing them from being seen, some augmentations are dependent on Adams energy level, deactivating after an amount of energy has been drained. At multiple points within the game, Adam partakes in conversations with NPCs related to main, a Social augmentation enables better reading of an NPCs expression and judging their psychological profile, improving chances of selecting the right dialogue option. While in the environments, Adam finds terminals and computers that can be accessed either with a password or through hacking. Different nodes have different ratings, affecting how easily they can be accessed, various devices have different grades of difficulty, which in turn dictate how many times hacking may be attempted
39.
Mass Effect 3
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Mass Effect 3 is an action role-playing third person shooter video game developed by BioWare and published by Electronic Arts for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii U. A Wii U version was announced during Nintendos conference at E32012, the Wii U port was developed by Australian developer Straight Right, and was released as a Wii U launch game under the title Mass Effect 3, Special Edition. The combat system in Mass Effect 3 was changed and refined from previous titles, a four player multiplayer co-op mode is also available. Gameplay in Mass Effect 3 is influenced by decisions made in Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2, like its predecessors, Mass Effect 3 was released to commercial success and critical acclaim. It was nominated for five awards at the 2012 Spike Video Game Awards, a new installment in the series, Mass Effect, Andromeda, was released on March 21,2017. Certain aspects of gameplay in Mass Effect 3 are impacted by choices made in previous games, when starting a new game, players with saved files from Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 are given the option of importing them into Mass Effect 3 to reflect these choices. If a saved file is imported, over 1000 variables are pulled to help shape how the chapter is experienced. If no saved files are available, there is a comic to help new players make quick decisions. Imported characters appearance and class are changeable, with features and hair-styles included in the character creator than in Mass Effect 2. Commander Shepard always starts the game with some powers, the game has 82 minutes of cut-scenes. Mass Effect 3 has three pre-set campaign modes, Action Mode, Story Mode, and RPG Mode, in Action Mode, conversations have automatic replies and a normal combat difficulty. In Story Mode, conversations have manual replies and a minimal combat difficulty, in RPG Mode, which is reflective of the typical Mass Effect experience, conversations have manual replies and a normal combat difficulty. Overall, the RPG elements in the game have been improved over those in Mass Effect 2, with a more detailed leveling up system, players can also customize their weapons with different scopes, mods, barrels, and ammo types. There are 25 weapon mods total — five per weapon type —, for Kinect users, players have the option to speak their choices instead of selecting them with a controller. If players achieved a love interest in both Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2, then each of those love interests vie for Shepards attention in Mass Effect 3 and this love triangle is resolved by the end of the game. Throughout Mass Effect 3, players must increase their Effective Military Strength to prepare for the final mission. EMS is calculated by multiplying Total Military Strength with Readiness Rating, TMS is a measure of War Assets, which includes accomplishments from Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 as well as items acquired in Mass Effect 3. These items can be acquired in various ways, including casual conversations, planet scanning has been greatly simplified from Mass Effect 2 and no longer includes the scanning of every planet individually
40.
The Elder Scrolls IV: Shivering Isles
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The Elder Scrolls IV, Shivering Isles is the second expansion pack for the role-playing video game The Elder Scrolls IV, Oblivion. Announced on January 18,2007, the expansion was developed, published and it was released for Microsoft Windows in a boxed retail edition on March 26,2007, while the Xbox 360 version was released digitally on the Xbox Live Marketplace. Shivering Isles takes place on the eponymous isles ruled by the Daedric Prince of Madness, Shivering Isles is identical to the basic gameplay of The Elder Scrolls IV, Oblivion, the basic design, maneuvers, and interfaces remain unchanged. As such, it is a fantasy-based role-playing adventure game, players begin Oblivion by defining their character, deciding on its skill set, specialization, physical features, and race. The player gains points through the practice of specific skills. This goes against standard role-playing game form, where any skill use garners generic experience points that may be put towards any type of specialization, enemies increase in difficulty as players strengthen their skills, scaling the games challenge to the players strength. As with the game, The Shivering Isles is an open-ended expansion. Once the game is updated the player can access the content at any time with any character. The expansion pack takes place on the Shivering Isles, ruled by the Daedric Prince of Madness, the realm is divided into two sections, Mania and Dementia, both of which have different characteristics in the art and design. The player enters the realm as an event called the Greymarch is about to occur - in which the Daedric Prince of Order, Jyggalag, upon entering the realm, the player has access to only one area of the Shivering Isles, called the Fringe. To gain access to the areas, the player must defeat a creature called the Gatekeeper. Before entering the areas, the player is summoned for an audience with the mad god Sheogorath. Sheogorath explains to the player that the Greymarch will destroy the realm, Sheogorath decides to choose the player as his protégé, whom he sends off on various quests in an attempt to stop the Greymarch. Sheogoraths and the attempts to stop the Greymarch ultimately fail. Sheogorath then transforms into Jyggalag, by then revealed to be his alter-ego, as the player defends the Court of Madness from the ensuing invasion of the forces of Order, Jyggalag himself appears and attacks the player. The player defeats Jyggalag, and the Greymarch stops, since Daedra are subject to a reincarnation cycle, Jyggalag/Sheogorath was doomed to relive the Greymarch at the end of each era, after which Jyggalag would once again be transformed into Sheogorath. After explaining this history, Jyggalag thanks the player for breaking the cycle and dubs him/her the new Sheogorath, Prince of Madness, the earliest news about Shivering Isles surfaced on January 4,2007 when an issue of PC Zone revealed the expansion. The issue revealed details about the plot and setting of the expansion, published its first screenshots, Bethesda did not announce the expansion until January 18,2007
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Dead or Alive 3
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Dead or Alive 3 is a fighting game in the Dead or Alive series, developed by Team Ninja and published by Tecmo in 2001 exclusively on the Xbox console as one of its launch titles. The basic gameplay controls and commands remain essentially unchanged from Dead or Alive 2, some minor tweaks have been added to the game system in the form of increased counter periods, unrestricted 3D-axis movement, and less emphasis on juggling combos. All these gameplay enhancements make the more suited for beginners. As with previous entries in the series, it took advantage of the power to push the range of the graphics. However, it lacked in unlockable content compared to DOA2 Hardcore, Dead or Alive 3 features a total of 18 fighters, including 17 playable characters and the boss character Genra. The characters returning from the installments are Ayane, Bass Armstrong, Bayman, Ein, Gen Fu, Helena Douglas, Jann Lee, Kasumi, Leifang, Leon, Ryu Hayabusa, Tina Armstrong. Playable newcomers are Chinese drunken master Brad Wong, British assassin Christie, Japanese ninja Hayate, the hero ninja Ryu Hayabusa put a stop to the evil doings of Tengu, but it was too late to stop him from triggering a massive worldwide collapse. A dense cloud covered the planet in a shroud of darkness. DOATEC has gone astray, turning into the grounds for power-hungry scam artists. This is when DOATECs development department witnesses the success of a genius, following Project Alpha and Project Epsilon, the ever ambitious Dr. Victor Donovan completes the Omega Project, producing a new superhuman, Genra. This man, who was leader of the Hajin Mon ninja, is no longer human. Eventually, Hajin Mons Ayane wins the third DOA tournament and kills Genra, the European and Japanese versions of Dead or Alive 3 feature more content such as extra costumes, new attacks for characters, a time attack mode, and a new cinmatic introduction for the game. Because of its release, the North American version does not feature any of the above. The Platinum Collection edition of the game was released in 2003, a soundtrack CD for the game, titled Dead or Alive 3 Original Sound Trax, was released by Wake Up in 2002. Upon its release, Dead or Alive 3 received mostly positive reviews. In Japan, Famitsu scored the game a 37 out of 40, IGN stated that it represents the new standard of excellence that only the Xbox can deliver, praising the game for its great attention to detail and its vast improvements on its predecessor. On the other hand, GameSpots Greg Kasavin opined that once you get past its graphics, Dead or Alive 3 was one of the best-selling installments in the series. In 2002, Tecmo announced the game had reached sales of one million copies in the first five months after its release
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Final Fantasy XI
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Final Fantasy XI, also known as Final Fantasy XI Online, is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game, developed and published by Square as part of the Final Fantasy series. Designed and produced by Hiromichi Tanaka, it was released in Japan on May 16,2002, for PlayStation 2, the game was the first MMORPG to offer cross-platform play, connecting PlayStation 2 and personal computer, and the Xbox 360s first MMORPG. All versions of the game require a subscription to play. Players can undertake an array of quests and progress through the in-game hierarchy, since its debut in 2002, five expansion packs have been released along with six add-on scenarios. Each expansion pack and add-on brings a new storyline to the Final Fantasy XI world, along with numerous areas, quests, events. In 2015, Square Enix released the main scenario for Final Fantasy XI titled Rhapsodies of Vanadiel. Final Fantasy XI became the final active server on the PlayStation 2 online service, the servers for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360 versions were ultimately shut down on March 31,2016. A mobile client for the game is under development by Square Enix in collaboration with Korean developer Nexon, a spinoff mobile game, Final Fantasy Grandmasters was released on September 30,2015. Final Fantasy XI is a multiplayer online role-playing game. There are currently 16 public game worlds available for play, down from 32 at the games height, a private Test Server was opened to eligible players to aid in feedback of updates in development for the game in mid-2011. The servers are named after summoned monsters from previous Final Fantasy titles, such as Ifrit, players have the ability to move between servers, though Square-Enix charges a world transfer fee to do so. The game servers are run by Square-Enix as part of their PlayOnline network, players have the option of using any combination of a keyboard, mouse, and controller to play Final Fantasy XI. The heads-up display in Final Fantasy XI consists of a log window, menus, the log window at the bottom of the screen displays system messages, battle messages, and text input by other players. Players may choose to filter what appears in the log window, menus allow the player to access different commands, status windows, and configuration options. The action command menu appears just above the log window and gives the player options to interact with the game world. Several menu options are available through the use of keyboard shortcuts, completing missions allows a player to advance in rank, which grants access to new areas, several privileges, and various other storylines. At first, a player may only complete missions for his nation, though they are able to change allegiances later on. At release, over one hundred quests were available to play and each expansion pack has added its own set of missions and quests
