All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

A US judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by shareholders against Zynga today. The lawsuit alleged that Zynga purposely misled shareholders about the financial state of the company, its active user count and potential business prospects in the run-up to, and after, Zynga's initial stock offering in late 2011.

US District Judge Jeffrey White said the 110-page complaint failed to offer "relevant, basic factual details" worthy of the indictment against Zynga, Reuters reports. White also threw out a complaint filed against Zynga's secondary stock offering in April 2012, citing the plaintiffs in the case had no standing due to the fact none of them had purchased any of that stock. White has given the plaintiffs an opportunity to amend their complaint and re-file.

Months after Zynga's initial public offering, the company was hit with an insider trading lawsuit. While all Zynga stock holders were "locked up" and prevented from selling their stock until May 28, 2012 - months after Zynga's IPO in December, 2011 - executives within Zynga's ranks used underwriters to sell their stock at $12 a share. This loophole allowed executives to profit from the stock, which made its debut at $10 a share but quickly fell. Currently, Zynga stock prices hover at $5.29 a share on the NASDAQ. [Image: Zynga]

Aside from being the closest we'll get to seeing a Shenmue 3 in this lifetime (given its high-level simulation of forklift physics), United Independent Entertainment's Warehouse and Logistics Simulator is best known for its realism and faithful recreation of mundane labor. Similar to PC games like Farming Simulator and Train Simulator, Warehouse and Logistics Simulator challenges players to complete an honest day's work while focusing on safety and efficiency.

Forget all of that, though. This week sees the release of Hell's Warehouse, a horror-themed add-on that fills the game's harbors, distribution centers, and construction sites with bloodthirsty zombies.

Luckily, players find themselves behind the wheel of a rugged forklift, which is more than capable of mowing down the undead hordes. Bombs, mines, and other weapons will also help to clear out particularly stubborn zombies across multiple scenarios and gameplay modes. Hell's Warehouse is available at a 20 percent discount during its first week of release.

[Image: United Independent Entertainment]

Here's a fascinating new Kickstarter project: an RPG that sets out to teach Japanese to English speakers. Read more...

Alfredo and Greg decide to combine their skills by each controlling one side of a single controller.

The chaotic, virtual warfare of Battlefield 4 is about to grow more organized with tomorrow's addition of platoons.

Despite the thematically-appropriate name, these platoons are best thought of as the Battlefield 4 equivalent of officially supported online clans. Up to 100 soldiers can join a given platoon where they will share a unique name tag and emblem with their fellow grunts. A private Battlelog feed will be available to each platoon, alongside a public feed useful for kicking off fights with other other groups of virtual soldiers. Developer DICE also notes that each member will have the "ability to earn stats for your platoon and rank it up," though those ranks are ornamental and offer no tangible reward beyond bragging rights.

Hoping to avoid another Battlefield 4 server crush, DICE plans to roll out platoon support gradually over the course of a week. Both Premium and Standard iterations of the game will receive the feature at the same time, though a Premium membership and a rank of at least 10 will be required to create your own platoon. [Image: EA]

Threes is a really fun, addictive game, but it's only on iOS. Well, someone created a browser-based "demake" of Threes that you can play right in your browser.Read more...

Between the faux VHS tracking, fetishistic synthesizer use and art style that's equal parts lazy anime and Trapper Keeper doodles, this amateur reimagining of Dark Souls 2 as a cartoon from the Reagan era would fit seamlessly between Saturday morning episodes of MASK and Jem And The Holograms. [Image: Bandai Namco]

Last year, at around this time, I declared that the 3DS is the best dedicated gaming system you can buy. Today, the 3DS turns three. It's still the best gaming system you can buy. DECLARATION SUCCESSFUL.Read more...

Criterion Games is giving away free ECTO-1's in Burnout Paradise in honor of the legendary Harold Ramis. Owners of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the game in North America can download the TV and movie themed "Legendary Cars" DLC for free today. Read more...

You've (hopefully) seen the original Zelda on the Oculus Rift. Now I'd like to bring your attention to the Oculus Rift version of what some consider the best Zelda game—not only is this in first person, which makes the game look way different, but it also lets Link jump whenever you want.Read more...

More control, more sales.

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze – 86%
NES Remix – 74%
F1 Race Stars: Powered Up Edition – 67%
Wii Sports Club – Golf – 84%
Unepic – 70%
Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest – 58%
Dr. Luigi – 58%
Inazuma Eleven 3: Team Ogre Attacks! – 65%
Senran Kagura Burst – 68%
Super Mario Bros. 3 – 90%
3D Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Masters – 72%
3D Streets of Rage – 61%
Angry Birds Star Wars – 38%
Contra III: The Alien Wars – 83%
The Legend of the Mystical Ninja – 84%
CastleStorm – 87%

Thanks to Connor for the heads up!

- Mako Sato ends up with feelings for Iketani in the storyline
- she is quite a mean racer
- Sato drives a Nissan Sileighty
- Sayuki is her co-navigator during races
- Takeshi Nakazoto is the leader of the Myogi Nightkids street racers
- Takeshi is nicknamed the Black Lightning, because he starts off fast and goes all out
- his car’s durability degrades faster over the course of a race, with tires regularly giving out
- he drives a Nissan Skyline GT-R V-spec BNR32

In Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 you play as Dracula, who over the course of many tortuous cutscenes is established as one of the most powerful beings in this game’s universe. Phenomenally mighty! Even god’s afraid of this guy!

Then a few hours in you’re told not to step on leaves in case they rustle, and attract some goatman who’ll instakill you via cutscene. It’s the worst stealth section I’ve ever played in anything, ever, and topped off by the fact that immediately afterwards you rip goatman’s face off with no trouble whatsoever. A small part of a huge game this may be, but it amply demonstrates why LOS2 totally sucks. … [visit site to read more]

- once you make a workshop for your ranch, you’ll be able to make clothing, accessories, and more
- make various objects and buildings
- place these around your ranch and town
- custom make your room any way you like
- items you can craft come in different varieties such as Japanese, western, and fancy mansion-type styles
- Del Cossa is the fashion show’s judge
- he is a noble from a faraway country
- he is quite rich and has clothing from all over the world
- Del Cossa is a very influential figure in the fashion world

The legendary car pack is made freely available to remember a legendary man.

Today's the day, Diablo 3. This particular Wednesday is when you blossom into the game that so very many people wanted you to be when you came out back in 2012. Today, you get Loot 2.0. Maybe claiming that Loot 2.0 is the day that Diablo 3 comes of age is an exaggeration, but the massive update Blizzard delivered to its famous dungeon crawling game today is certainly the most significant update yet. From here on out, "Smart Drop" will make it far easier for players to get their mitts on armor, weapons, and other rare loot specific to their character type, negating the need for the game's divisive auction houses in the process.

To check out Loot 2.0, Alexander Sliwinski (@Sliwinski) and Richard Mitchell (@TheRichardM) dive into its infernal guts to check out the changes. This crew reflects a variety of different experience levels. Richard has yet to play the PC version of the game. Alexander, meanwhile, has never played Diablo 3 at all.

It's all happening on the Joystiq Twitch channel at 4PM EST. Come and hang out with us. [Images: Blizzard]

A couple of weeks ago, I sat down with one of video gaming's most creative people to talk about... money. Money. Business. And how things are so different and so much better in this, Tim Schafer's 25th year making video games.Read more...

Brad, some B-roll, and his new robot legs jump, flip, and superman off into the sunset.

We talked to FromSoft programmers on how Dark Souls 2 is built for the future.

Hollywood legend Harold Ramis passed away this week and the few folks left at Criterion Games are going full stream by honoring him with a free car pack in Burnout Paradise.

The "Legendary Cars" pack features homages of iconic whips from Knight Rider, The Dukes of Hazzard, Back to the Future and, of course, Ghostbusters. These aren't exact replicas of the cars in question, but rather eerily-close copies. The car pack is available as a free download on both Xbox 360 and PS3 today.

Burnout Paradise, the last entry in Criterion's lauded arcade-inspired racing series, takes place in Paradise City and gives racers free rein of an open-world metropolis. Initially, the game only featured cars, but Criterion's post-launch diligence introduced motorcycles and a completely new island to explore. [Image: EA]

In today's episode, Bobbya1984 goes on the offense against the WWE. Watch as he struggles to will his team to a victory, and discusses the issues he has with the company.

The sequel to Autumn Dynasty arrives while XCOM and Final Fantasy IV get their prices slashed in half once again.