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Totally fresh comments, never canned. . . catch up on all of the community happenings here.
Other Site Blogs
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Rumor Control
Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 arriving Nov. 13?
Source: A supposed Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 box art photo posted to the unofficial Modern Warfare 3 Twitter account. What we...
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Reviews Blog
Cheap and Pretty: Max Payne Mobile Kicks Ass
I have a soft spot for Max Payne. Perhaps it's the nostalgia talking (it could be the three pints and a burrito I had for lunch), but...
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Downloads Blog
Interested in a challenging yet fun indie turn-based strategy game?
You wake up in an unknown facility, in a medical gown and nothing else. The cold sense of reality sets in; you don't know your...
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News Blog
Uncharted 3 getting co-op survival mode
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception will welcome a new game mode in March, the developer has announced. The co-op Shade Survival game type...
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Community Check In: Making Mischief
What’s Up?
Mischievously Dishonored
October 30th is Mischief Night, a time to play pranks and tell spooky stories as we ready ourselves for Halloween fun. Tomorrow in the Competitions and Activities board we will be announcing our Dishonored Tales Contest, for a chance to win a signed copy of the game as well as a mischievous bonus goodie.
Last Chance For Halloween Activities!
Halloween is right around the corner, if you haven’t gotten what you need now you might run the risk of passing out raisins and dressing up as a hobo! Also you only have a few days left to participate in the GameSpot Halloween Activities for a chance at the nifty new pumpkin emblem!Winner of DoA Breast Cancer Awareness Contest
At the beginning of the month GameSpot Community Manager Synthia wrote a little blog to help raise breast cancer awareness, offering up to those who created inspired Dead or Alive themed wallpapers a chance at a collectors edition copy of the game. The winner of the contest…. tmaclabi! All wallpapers will be added to a feature page and updated in Wednesday's Social Share.Winners for the Rage of Bahamut Contests
Last September we ran a trio of contests for the hit free to play iOS card game “Rage of Bahamut". The winners of the contests would each receive a iTunes gift card to purchase a pouch of Rage Metals (1100 to be exact). Congrats to the following GameSpotters:
Rage of Bahamut Review Contest - kaboose7
Rage of Bahamut Raffle Reward - drsla
Rage of Bahamut Fan Art Contest - TBSniipez
Live Stream Schedule
Time to take a look at this weeks live streams! No time displayed? Be sure to subscribe to Twitch.tv to stay in the loop for all of GameSpots live streams.
- Tuesday October 30th - Assassins Creed III with Kevin Van Ord
- Thursday November 1st - Halo 4 with T-SquaredGameSpotter Reviewer Spotlight
This weeks featured reviewer is king_quaps for his review of Dishonored for the PS3. king_quaps gave the game a 7.5, calling it “Disappointing… Not the instant classic it could have been." Do you agree with what he has to say? Comment below WARNING: MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS.
User Reward Challenge
This weeks activities! As always, in addition to the automatic points you’ll get to your profile when you use the site you can earn some bonus points this week by participating in the following activities:
- 200 XP -- Comment on Chalk Talk: Gamers vs Gaming Culture
- 300 XP -- Write a review for Medal of Honor: Warfighter
- 300 XP -- Write a review for Unfinished Swan
- 1000 XP -- Write for this weeks Chalk Talk: Play like a girl.This Week on Chalk Talk…
Last week on Chalk Talk we discussed Gamers vs Gaming Culture, asking GameSpotters what they felt that we as gamers have done to contribute to something that we all clearly have a passion for. We had some great topics discussed including social gaming, the anti-social gamer, and gaming acceptance by the “norm". This week on Chalk Talk topic is “Play like a girl" where we’ll look at females in gaming, how they are personified, as well as their role in the community.
Tip of the Week:
Did you know your blogs can be featured on GameSpots front page? It’s true! Chalk Talkers and Awesome Bloggers have started showing up from out of the woodworks helping the community to grow and thrive.
This weeks tip comes from -Saigo- with some helpful tips on how to accurately define an editorial piece. -
Field Trip: Contests & EyeCandy
Many game industry communities like Capcom, Bethesda, Sega, EA, Gearbox, and Blizzard are rolling out in-game content and contests around Halloween. This report is packed with ways for you to celebrate the spooky holiday, but don't worry, there's some regular happenings too!
Industry Community Activities
- Bethesda Killer Dishonored Moves Contest ends Oct. 31
- Halo 4 Soundtrack Remix Contest ends Oct. 29
- Win a role in Activision’s Walking Dead game
- Resident Evil 6 LampFree projector sweepstakes
- Turbine Pumpkin Carving Contest ends Nov. 2
- GameStop Assassin's Creed III Reward Giveaway ends Oct. 31
- Blizzard Halloween Pumpkin Carving Contest ends Oct. 28
- Call of Duty Fan Megapack IV Giveaway ends Oct. 30
- Blizzard Comic Contest ends Oct. 31
- Amazon.com Halloween Gamer Costume Contest ends Oct. 31
- Capcom Design your own Darkstalker ends Oct .31
- World of Tanks Trailer Contest ends Oct. 28
- Unreal Games Wallpaper Contest ends Dec. 10
- Capcom Okami Pumpking Carving Contest ends Oct. 30
- Reddit Pumpkin Carving Contest ends:Oct. 29To Loot or Not to Loot
- Borderlands 2 Halloween Masks you can print!
- Ravaged $10 off only $14.99 for a limited time.
- Borderlands 2 Golden Keys Giveaway at Gearbox.
- SEGA Halloween Sale on Mobile platforms.
- Lord of Ultima 50% off Castle Themes sale ends Nov. 2.
- Sonic the Hedgehog Toy Collection by Erector.
- XBL: Resident Evil 4 HD, Dead Rising 2 on sale.
- Guild Wars 2 Gems Cards Available at select retailers.
- Minecraft: Halloween Skin Pack for the Xbox 360.
- PSN SFxT Swap Costumes 50 percent off.
- End of Nations Original Soundtrack coming soon.
- Paint your own Dragonborn figure
- Guild Wars 2 Halloween Guide
- ClapTrap blue edition
- Gears of War and Fortnite Twitter headers
- Capcom store has 10% off when you donate towards charity; also earn a chance to win a Street Fighter 25th Anniversary Chess Set.Eye Candy
- Command & Conquer Nod Pie
- Team Fortress Doomates Digital Comic
- Line of Defenses Digital Comic
- Street Fighter Car Spotted in Miami
- Epic Jack O’Lanterns
- SWTOR Fan Art - Movie Poster
- Brick Force Comic Episode 12
- Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel, Now and Then
- Treyarch Bloody Office Makeover
- Gears of War Wall Sculpture
- Plants vs. Zombies:: Stop Zombie Mouth!
- World of Tanks Fan Art Spotlight
- Starcrafts, the animation
- Dragon Ages III: Inquisition Concept Art First Look
- Resident Evil BGS2012 CosplayThe Buzz
General
Spotlights
- Barcraft Gatherings
- Need for Speed Halloween Community Event
- Rift: Storm of Legions Beta event November 2-7
- Secret World Halloween Celebration
- The first annual Edmonton Comic & Entertainment Expo
- Team Evil Geniuses reveal some Starcraft 2 pro tips
- Team Fortress 2 Scream Update
- Wicked Weekend Celebration over at BrickForce
- Play BioShock Infinite: Industrial Revolution to earn rewards
- Pixar visited the Blizzard office report
- EA Breast Cancer Walk 2012
- Official Dishonored Mapp App
- Free-to-Play Shooter Hits Home
- SOE October Gamer of the Month
- Community Creation of the Week: A Bard's Song
- BrickForce’s Community Spotlight
- Concept Artist Spotlight: Naomi Baker
- PSN Community Spotlight – The Joy Of HorrorCareer Path
- GameSpot Senior Software Engineer
- Amazon recruiting 10,000 extra Christmas staff
- Gamasutra Hiring Report : PopCap, Riot, and Retro Studios -
Social Share: Express Edition
Tech & Briefing
- Getting rid of email at the workplace
- Mobile smuggling is more popular than ever
- Dangerous Minds on Facebook's "bait and switch" for publishers
- Facebook and Twitter apps with the latest Xbox 360 dashboard?
- Game Devs say iPad Mini is good for gaming
- ESRB simplifies ratings process for downloadable gamesGaming Tidbits
- Nintendo reveals baffling solution for Wii U's in-game chat
- US judge dismisses majority of PSN class-action lawsuit
- Don't install Doom 3 BFG on Xbox 360
- Resident Evil 6 Gets a patch thanks to the critics and players
- GOG’s Two Cents On Retro Mania, DRM’s DemiseFree Play
- Continent of the Ninth Seal
- Erie
- Pixel Crate Box
- Nuign SpecterGeeky Gimmies
- Portal Companion Cube Engagement Ring
- Pikachuanatomy Shirt
- Custom Painted Mario Shoes
- Zelda Rupee Jewelry
- Portal Ice Cube TraysThat's Hot
Link Lotto
- Minecraft Vengeance
- Batman Dark Knight Chest Hair
- Tasty Tardis
- Beef and Bacon Triforce
- Pink Peach Cupcakes
- Halo Wedding
- Maddness and GameStop God of War DLCBONUS!
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Community Check-In: Reward Challenges & More!
What’s Up?
GameSpot caught the reddit bug!
We know that some of you use Facebook or Twitter for interaction, but some of you have said you love using Reddit. That gave us the idea to create a subreddit channel for such needs. if you happen to have any cool game related links or images go ahead and share them on our new subreddit channel at http://www.reddit.com/r/gamespot to see what others think about the topic. Perhaps you have a top 5 System Wars discussions that others should know about. Whatever the case, we’re interested in seeing what you all want to share in the new channel.Halloween Activities Reminder
This year we have a enough Halloween activities to spook you with! If you’re big into carving pumpkins, share your photo! If you’re big into challenges, find some screenshots based on our Scavenger list or participate in a Zombie guessing game. We even have a contest to dress up Claptrap for a chance to receive your own claptrap figure!Team and Guild Rule Changes
We noticed that there really is no place for any of you to find teams or recruit new teammates so we've revisited the rules in the Union and Teams forums recent. Drop by the forum rules for the scoop.Incoming! Assassin’s Creed Video Series
This month we decided to bring on a variety of Assassin’s Creed videos, so if you’re a fan or maybe you want to get to know more about the series, you’ll want to keep an eye out for Assassin's Creed Revelations Parts 1-5 happening this week. We also plan to share Desmond's Story from each game, and share highlights from Assassin's Creed 1 & 2, Assassin's Creed Brotherhood and Assassin's Creed Revelations all before the end of the month.User Reward Challenge
This week we have a review challenge extravaganza. We’d like to feature reviewers every Monday with the latest game release information so it’s time for you to get some bonus points for writing one! If you’re in fear of formatting issues, a known user reviews bug, just post it in your blog for the time being.
200 points - Write a review for XCOM Enemy Unknown
200 points - Write a review for Dishonored
200 points - Write a review for Ravaged
200 points - Write a review for Doom 3 BFG Edition
750 points - Participate in the Dead or Alive 5 Collector's edition contestThis Week on Chalk Talk…
Last week on Chalk Talk we discuss downloadable content. Is DLC the best way to add value to your games? GameSpot members tell us like it is. Also, this week’s Chalk Talk’s assignment gives you a chance to share your thoughts about the impact our culture has on various aspects of society, the demographics that it encompasses, the social and anti-social implications, the rise of subcultures and the sphere of influence that gaming has created for non-gaming cultures. Drop by to get some inspiration or share that you’re interested in writing about this topic
Tip of the Week: 5 Technical Workarounds
Technical issues surface every now and then lately, but we’re here to see if we can help out with the frequent issues, and ways to get around them.
1) Bonk or Oops errors: We understand how hazardous this can be to your experience but until our site gets rebuilt, we need to endure them a bit longer. The best thing we've done so far is simply inhale and exhale to calm our nerves, refresh just once. If it happens again on that same page, drop by the technical support forum and share the url where you encountered it. You can even vent! We completely understand.
2) Changing your setting does not stick. This is a known problem that isn't completely clear on why it happens, but because there are two settings to change your information, it is best to change your settings through fuse.gamespot.com until we can resolve the problem. http://fuse.gamespot.com/settings/preferences/
3)profile image issues: We’re noticing that another bug has surfaced with the profiles images, and until this gets resolved, we suggest uploading your images via a third party site like photobucket.
4) User review formatting issues have been causing some of you not to post your reviews. We have an engineer looking into it now so it should be fixed very soon. However, if it bothers you too much, you may want to use your blog space to post a review. This way you can add images and screenshots of your choice. However, you’ll always want to mirror your review under the reviews section to gain additional exposure to your work on the game pages.
5) Lastly, game updates. This has been a frequent request to resolve soon, but until this happens, you’re better off visiting the myfeed section located here.http://www.gamespot.com/users/self/updates
We hope these tips helped you out this week, and we look forward to resolving majority of these issues soon.
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Social Share: Game On
Tech Briefing
A few pieces of note this week, all be them a little on the scary side of things. First up Anonymous declared war on WikiLeaks this week in retaliation for "paywall", claiming that they have been faulted by the popular site. Claiming that the paywall dishonors and insults Anonymous and that by doing this they are now "prostituting" the data that they have provided for the site. Next up, we'll talk a bit about LulzSec hacker "Neuron", earlier this week he pleaded guilty to Sony Pictures security breach claims. Raynaldo Rivera admitted to flooding Sony's website with commands to exploit the security weaknesses, resulting in an SQL-injection attack, full story can be seen here. In other news, SOPA Returns… well, sort of. A new ransomeware virus has been spotting the past few weeks, locking people computers and accusing them of distributing copyright infringing files. The script then tells the user that they can get their data back after making a payment of 200$, claiming "WARNING!!!: If you don't pay the fine within 72 hours at the amount of 200$ USD all your computer data will be erased". - a likely story…
Gaming Bulletin
The Indie Royale Fall Bundle is now available for a limited time. As a part of the bundle (which includes hit games "To the Moon", "Oil Rush" and "Blackwell Deception") there is an additional incentive to pay over 8$ to obtain the digital download 88:88 by Makeup and Vanity Set. In other gaming news, for those of you who are still deeply addicted to Borderlands 2, Googleplay is happy to help its fellow Vault Hunter by offering up this nifty little skill calculator for those who might want a little bit of a helping hand. And speaking of helping hands, Android will be releasing a game controller later this October across the US dubbed "Moga".
MAKING MISCHIEF
Always a little funny, time to make some mischief!
- Skyrim Afterlife
- Is the iPad making men effeminate?
- Master Chef
- When Gordon met Chell
- Eurogamer 2012 Cosplay Music Video
THAT’S HOT
Okay, so not every cross over can make the most sense, but who doesn't like a little Bunny Hutch action? These two comic bunnies are posing as Thor and Loki at Dragon*Con 2012. Warning: Jokes involving "Asgard" will result in extreme eye rolling.
GEEKY GIMMIES
- Best gaming chair EVER!
- A Game of Thrones
- Game of Muppets
- Greyjoy Notebook
- House Sigils
- Game of Thrones Decal
Free To Play!
This week we check out Wake Up Call, a short little puzzle player title by MZIOne. The story takes place inside the mind of a comatose man and as you try to wake up you can see your mind attempting to reconstruct various memories.
We also have here, a few free to play games for iOS devices:
- Kick the Buddy: Trick or Kick
- Haypi Dragon
- EpicHearts
LINK LOTTO
- Aesthetics of Play
- Dishonored: Too Many Herrings
- When it comes to bacon: Be prepared
- 10 reasons why the desktop PC will live forever
- Wiz dish lets you walk through your games
- Video game cookies from pixels to pastries
- Kickstarter UK launches this month
BONUS ITEM!
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Halloween Activities Line-Up
We've got our Halloween activities lined up this month, but who knows, maybe we'll have some others as we get closer to the end of the month!
Halloweenmania
Type: Scavenger Hunt
Earn 200 profile points.Endless Ranks of the Undead
Type: Guessing Game
Earn 200 profile points.ClapTrap Costume Contest
Type: Design a costume for ClapTrap
Earn 200 profile points.GameSpot Pumpkin Carving Challenge
Type: Share a photo of your freshly carved pumpkin.
Earn 200 profile points.BONUS! If you participate in at least two of the Halloween contests you'll receive a Halloween 2012 emblem for your profile! To find out other ways to earn some bonus profile points, drop by this week's User Reward Challenge.
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Social Share: Shadow Weight
Tech and Gaming Bulletin
First up, great news everybody (well X360 users) we finally have an app on Xbox. The app launched this under the "GameSpot TV" flag, now you can stream your favorite coverage, through your xbox! Next up, it would appear that US Airlines are beginning to rethink on-board cell phone service, how disruptive are cell phones when it comes to interference? While we're talking about changes, Virtual and augmented reality is on the rise. Do you think that VR will be a success or a massive flop? Earlier this week there was a news story about Skype users being targeted by a malicious worm that would lock them out of their PC's, if you are a skype user you should take a moment to read this announcement. And finally a little bit of PETA crazyness. Apparently in addition to being horribly late to the party, PETA has just now decided that Pokemon promotes animal cruelty. The response from many poke'fans was basically this.
Making Mischief
- Unicorn Skull
- Gremlin Jack O'Lantern
- Zerg Jaco O Lantern
- Facebook Commercial Toilet Parody
- Gamer Girls
- Minecraft meets Warcraft
- Digital Costumes with Smartphones
Geekie Gimmies
- 8-Bit Rings
- Zombie's Dream Land t-shirt
- Tardis Apron
- Bioshock Plasmid Rings
- Portal 2 Aperture Test Subject Hat
Free to Play
This weeks free to play selection we have some free iphone games that are up for grabs but only for a limited time. Games like Dungeon Defiler, E.T Finally Phoned Home, and other free iPhone games. We also have the first free to play XBL game, a 30 player online competitive brawler named Happy Wars.
That's Hot
This weeks we check out this awesome Tesla Coil Nerf Gun Geeky Gunslinger lets face it, Tesla coils are awesome looking and this little guy is the perfect addition to any Dr. Horrible cosplay.
Link Lotto
Sometimes they're funny, sometimes cool, sometimes they're just plain weird, its Link Lotto!
- Humble eBook Bundle
- Lok Tar Ogar for Maine State Senate Candidate
- How much does a shadow weigh
- 100% of Facebook friends not interested in your baby
Bonus Item!
Red Sand is an amazing Mass Effect Fan made film describing the story set 35 years befor Commander Shepard.
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Free Bonus Month of Xbox Live Gold Membership
We're launching our new GameSpot TV app on Xbox Live today! In celebration of the launch, Microsoft Games is offering a free month of Xbox Live Gold membership to GameSpot members who sign up for three months. Check out the bonus offer for further details.
Note: This offer expires in two weeks.
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Community Check in: Happy Columbus Day
What’s Up?
Soapbox transforms to Awesome Blogs Feature
After over a year the wait is finally over and the GameSpot Soapbox has finally made a triumphant return to the front page, however the old girl has changed a little bit. We now call it “Awesome User Blogs" (or AUB’s for short). Those who have the Awesome User Emblem will be featured prominently on the front page of GameSpot for all to see (so long as their blog is marked as editorial. For a more detailed explination of this event, you can find the full story here.Website Technical Issues Log
if you encounter any problems with the site drop by to read the latest technical issues listed in the Technical Support forum.24 Hour Marathon on October 24
Lads and Ladies, Danny O’ Dwyer will be streaming 24 games in 24 hours in support of the gaming charity Extra Life, the event that raises funds for the Childrens Miracle Network Hospitals around the world. More details about Danny’s Stream will be updated on the community news as we get closer to the events date.Medal of Honor Event - Recap
Watch the awesome replay of the GameSpot Presents Medal of Honor: Warfighter stream, where 4 teams fought it out for a set of amazing Astro headsets. Who were they competing against? why none other than the ferocious Medal of Honor Q&A team. Check to see who won in this knock out drag down match!Live Stream Schedule
World Zombie Day Gaming Marathon, Oct. 12th - Details to come.
Member Spotlights
Forum Poster: XVision84 today he posted this interesting little thread in System Wars asking what exactly is so special about Valves’s games.
User Review: flamingfighter his awesome review of Resident Evil 6 saying "Even though I like it, this game isn't for everyone. Rent it first to see if it is your taste before deciding".
Fuse Poster: matastig Is being featured for spreading the word about the possible Resident Evil 2 remake (if there’s the support).
Player of the week: DITHRICH Someone clearly has some Call of Duty skills, check out his list of achievements!
This Week on Chalk Talk…
This weeks Chalk Talk we took on in game achievements, asking GameSpotters how they felt about what they added to the game, and their effect on gamers as a whole.
Tip of the Week: XBL Set to go LIVE Tuesday
Good news everyone! GameSpots X360 app is set to go live tomorrow (that’s Tuesday October 9th). Be sure to check it out and let us know what you think in the comments section for a boost to profile points. Some of you might even recognize a few certain amazing GameSpot Staff avatars posing for the app. The Xbox Live app aka GameSpot TV. Here you’ll be able to find all the gaming reviews, trailers, previews and other event coverage you hold dear on your Xbox Live
Bonus Item!
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Social Share: Techie Tackie
Tech Briefing
A few interesting little pieces of tech news for this weeks social share, will start off with a quick peek that will make Android users gloat for a bit, apparently there have been reports that the new iOS 6 upgrade also includes nifty little features like draining battery life and overheating, networkworld has the full story. Next up, social networks MySpace and Twitter seem to be going through a bit of a reboot in the pursuit of better user experience and engagement. While we’re on the subject of sharing personal information, lets check in on the federal government shall we? Apparently there have been quite a few stories to generate buzz in regards to the hackability of digital lifestyles, including Feds snooping in on networks without warrants, and security flaws that are letting hackers steal twitter accounts. Finally, it would appear that many corporations not affiliated with gaming are trying to get in on the culture, Starbucks and L'Oréal for example have in recent reports expressed interest. Is the constant attempt at integrating non-traditional gaming brands to the community getting exacerbating, leave your comments below?
Gaming Bulletin
Includification, this is a movement that has been in the works for some time to help bring video games to players with various disabilities, arstechnica did an interesting article explaining what Includification is and why it’s important. In other gaming news it would seem that the team responsible for Terraria will be bringing their game to PSN and XBL in the future, which is exciting for those of us who enjoyed the Minecraft inspired sandbox game. Incidentally moving games from one traditional platform to another is quickly becoming a thing in the gaming community, according to massivelys recent article, mobile devices could be responsible for breathing new life into older MMO’s. And while on the subject of moving from traditional to less than, Steam announced recently that they would begin selling “non-gaming" content. Some of the items available on this section of the steam store include ArtRage Studio Pro, CameraBag 2, GameMaker: Studio, 3D-Coat, 3DMark Vantage, and 3DMark 11.
MAKING MISCHIEF
One of our favorite sections of the social share is to show off some crazy stuff around the internets, Check out these amazing links full of wonder!
- Ostrich pillow
- Mario’s beard
- Mario Cosplaying
- Mario Campbell inspired soup
- Why your phone’s back button should die
- Vest shows you are liked on Facebook
- Instagram i love you
- Star Wars Flowchart
- Humanized Yoda Pic
- Real life anime girl
- If Chell had a dating profile
- Booth babes speak out on nerd perspiration
GEEKY GIMMIES
This week we’re checking out some nifty Portal themed Geeky Gimmies (no cake is not on the list).
- Portal 2 Space Sphere Plush Keychain
- Portal 2 Companion Cube Plush Keychain
- Portal 2 Warning Sign Coasters
- Portal 2 Companion Cube Inspired Heart Silver Cube Pendant Necklace
- Chell Portal Inspired Cosplay Apron Pinafore
- Portal 2 Long Fall Socks
Free To Play!
We have a bunch of iOS games this week, starting off we have Panda Loo, the goal of this game is to help this adorable panda navigate the office space in hopes of finding his way to the potty. Next we have a defense style game titled Goal Defense, then we have Tiny Troopers which is categorized as a “strategy critical thinking" game, for this week only you can get it for FREE.. And finally we have Adventure Bar Story, its a little bit Final Fantasy Tactics and a little bit Harvest Moon rolled up into one. But for those of you who don’t have an iPhone we have the 100 greatest Nintendo 8-bit (NES) games for you to play directly from your browser.
LINK LOTTO
- Cut-Paper Silhouette Action Scenes
- Are you an internet addict?
- The 'Electri-City' Tables by Ben Yates
- Characters then and now, Wreck It Ralph film
- Angry Birds spin-off Bad Piggies
- Morrowind overhaul mod released
THAT’S HOT
With Borderlands 2 still being all the rage we figured we take a quick peek at this amazing Mad Moxxie cosplay. if you check her profile she also has a variety of amazing cosplay! Oh my.
BONUS ITEM!
Tears of Steel is an amazing 12 minute short film created by using the open source 3D content creation suite Blender.
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Community Check In: Octoberfest
What’s Up?
Restoring profile images announcement
GameSpot was doing a little bit of moving around over the past few weeks, and with any major move, things can sometimes get shuffled, broken and possibly lost. We’re sure that many of you have noticed some oddities happening with various user uploaded images for banners, signatures, and event profile pictures. Many have already been returned to profiles and rest assured the rest should be restored eventually. We appreciate your patience during this time and if there are any additional complications there will be a technical announcement made in this forum here.Return of GameSpot calendar?
A bit of a rumor around the office is the return of the GameSpot calendar. For those of you who don’t remember or have simply forgotten, the calendar was a nifty module located smack dab on the front page of GameSpot that would share the dates and times of various live streams and events! We were all sad to see it go and many of us are excited about the whisperings of its return. Be sure to stay tuned to the Community News for more updates.Mod of the month and ranger of the month
We have amazing volunteers that are constantly putting forth great efforts on the site, this month we’re going to shine a spotlight on our Moderator of the Month as well as our Ranger of the Month, AdobeArtist and michaelP4!Live Stream Schedule
Medal of Honor: Warfighter Beta World Premiere Event
Do you live in San Francisco (or in the Bay Area?), are you a big fan of the Medal of Honor series? Well GameSpot is offering users the chance to be among the first to play the game as well as a chance to play against the QA Testers for Medal of Honor. If you’re able to get to our San Francisco offices be sure to drop by our events page here and sign up! Not able to show up? Well no problem, thanks to modern day technology you’ll be able to watch the event live from your home!Member Spotlights
Here’s your chance to be in the spotlight every week for everything from game reviews, forum contributions, player of the week, and even fusing!
Forum Poster: bnarmzFor posting this awesome little thread in Off Topic asking what the next superhero flick should be.
User Review: SickDip55 For his awesome review of DayZ, the “Incredible and intense mod of a game that will leave you glued for hours on end".
Fuse Poster: SuperMassive20 Is being featured because of all of the awesome posts he has been making to share his Eurogamer Expo experience.
This weeks chalk talk assignment: Achievement Unlocked
In game Achievements, something that simultaneously holds a great amount of pride and bile in the gaming community. Some games hold true to insuring that an achievement earned is one that took effort to do, while other games give you achievements for simply pressing play. Are they a complete waste of time? Do gamers really care about the number of achievements unlocked? Or do they help to establish a sense of value to the time you've put into a game, and possibly add depth to your gaming experience? Special Thanks to GameSpotter Jbul for helping to inspire this weeks Chalk Talk topic! Mark your blog as editorial and to sound off in the roll call thread here with your awesome Chalk Talk entry Roll-Call.
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Field Trip: Events and Freebies?
Events & Activities
In Person:
Sept. 28 (Today) Hollywood, CA, Resident Evil 6 Launch Part
October 4. San Francisco, Medal of Honor: Warfighter Event
November 24-25, Paris, MineCon
December 11, London, Evolve
Online
- Play Borderlands 2 with Gearbox Software and 2K Games on XBL.
- Modern Warfare 3 Double XP weekend
- Win a trip to Minecon in France.
- Colour Bind Competition
- Gaymercon and GLAAD Video Contest
- Warhammer Online Weekend Warfront - Battle at the Cairn
- Turtle Beach Borderlands 2 Sweepstakes
- SOE Live video project
Previous Coverage
- Konami Gamer’s Night photos
To Loot or Not to Loot
- Free Blackburn Burrow Issue #1 [Kindle]
- Free Portal 2 soundtrack and comic
- Mass Effect Trilogy this holiday.
- World of Warcraft: Pearl of Pandaria graphic novel now available.
- Mega Man plushie & Zero wallet
- C&C Online Extra Funds from Sept. 28th – October 1
- 60% off Square Enix GamesThe more you know…
- Steam Workshop is coming to Left 4 Dead 2
- The Firefall MGU (Mobile Gaming Unit) in real life..
- Star Wars: The Old Republic Guild Spotlight: Jen'jidai
- Planetside 2 Membership plansCareer Path
A big thanks to Synthia for gathering the latest jobs.
- ZeniMax Content Editor
- Blizzard Diablo III Community Manager
- Blizzard Community Engagement Manager
- Sony Entertainment Online Editorial Manager
- Square Enix Facilities & Administration Assistant (Contract Position)
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Medal of Honor: Warfighter Beta World Premiere Event, Save the Date!
Medal of Honor fans! GameSpot will be teaming up with Slim Jim to host a gaming event at our downtown San Francisco offices on Thursday, October 4. Attendees will have the chance to play against game testers of Medal of Honor: Warfighter before its release. We’ll also be showing off an early look at GameSpot’s upcoming Xbox Live app. If you plan on making the trip to San Francisco please RSVP.
Can’t make it to San Francisco? Don’t fret! We’ll be live-streaming the event on GameSpot.com!
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Social Share: Hump Day Edition
Gaming Bulletin
Time for the weekly social gaming bulletin, lets hit the ground running and take a quick look at this "Rode Dog" app created by an 11 year old girl named Victoria Walker. Victoria collaborated with designer David Grau to create an app to help prevent texting while driving as a part of the "It Can Wait" campaign. Victoria not only created something to help people, but she is also now about $20,000 richer for it thanks to the promotion created by AT&T. Next up GDC Online is right around the corner and for those who are interested in game development and are in the Austin area you should check it out! What? Don’t have any tickets handy? Well you can enter here for a chance to get a pass to GDC Online in Austin Texas. Finally for you Minecraft fans, they have recently added not one, not two, but 33 new biomes to explore in the popular pixel playground. For more information on what these biomes offer to enhance your gaming experience check this link here.
Geeky Gimmies
A little quiet this week, but we still managed to find a few frilly fancy finds for those gamer girls. First off we stumbled on this amazing complete outfit for Princess of Zelda which is nothing short of stunning. Granted the 1,500 price tag is a little on the steep side for some, but if you're a die hard Zelda fan and have been meaning to get the perfect cosplay! Next up we have a few more girly accessories, these silver Cactaur earrings are a great addition to any jewelry box. But if all these things aren't your cup of tea we also found this deal on Amazon for the 10th Anniversary edition of Firefly. This 544 page full color volume is amazing and honestly a must have for any die hard Brown Coat.
Making Mischief
Nintendo Zapper Laser setting things on fire!
One of the best Cosplays of TGS 2012
VG Cats: Horrors of War
How to describe Dr. Who, Game of Thrones, and Breaking Bad to people
Learn to make Fahrenheit/Indigo Prophecy – Steak and Fries, Elder Scrolls V: Hearthfire – Snowberry Crostata and Dark Souls – Dung PieFree to Play
This week we hit the Jack Pot GameSpotters! If you're a fan of adventure time than #GAMEMAKINGFRENZY has just the thing for you, which happens to be a cornucopia of Adventure Time games, side scrolling, puzzle playing, hack and slashing, anything you could want and more! Now click away GameSpotter, for awesomeness awaits you!
That's Hot
For those of you who can’t get enough of Borderlands 2, we’re sure you’ll agree that this Psycho cosplay is pretty crazy!
Link Lotto
Sometimes they're funny, sometimes cool, sometimes they're just plain weird, its Link Lotto!
There will be no bacon shortage
Zombie Lawn Gnomes: Bye Bye Birdie
Mother of the Realm
Extra Credit
BONUS ITEM
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Community Check In: Happy Comic Book Day!
What’s Up?
GameSpot Wants You! Job Opportunity
Ever sit back and think to yourself, man I wish I could with that Kevin guy, he’s super keen. Well now’s your chance! Game spot is currently seeking “talented and motivated individuals" to come play with us in our San Francisco office. We are currently looking for a senior Operations Engineer, and if you think you might fit the perfect build than click away here!Ranger Tryouts!
GameSpot is looking for a few more talented volunteers to join the Ranger team! Do you like helping on twitch? Are you a savvy forums fiend? Do you know your way around Fuse? Then it sounds like joining the GameSpot ranger team is the perfect thing for you! To apply simply PM Synthia with a brief explanation of how long you’ve been on the site and why you think you would make a good Ranger. Good luck!Borderlands 2 contest! Win your very own CL4P-TP unit!
Calling all Vault Hunters! Is there something missing from your experiences on Pandora? Are Spider ants and Creepers not quite annoying enough for you? Perhaps you need something more as you pursue Handsome Jack, perhaps you need your very own Clap Trap! Click here for more details.GameSpot’s XBL app due in October
It’s no trick but it is certainly a treat for XBL members! Coming October 9th GameSpot will finally have their app go live!Live Stream Schedule
Rumor has it around the office is that there will be two awesome GameSpot developer round tables featuring Resident Evil 6 and Halo 4. On Wednesday at 11:00am PT Kevin will be sitting down with members of the Resident Evil 6 developers and will be taking your questions via the GameSpot comments page as well as on twitch. As for the Halo stream, things are still a bit top secret on the nitty gritty details but we do know that there might be some nifty swag involved.
User Reward Challenge
This weeks activities! As always, in addition to the automatic points you’ll get to your profile when you use the site you can earn some bonus points this week by participating in the following activities:
- 100 XP - Comment on Chalk Talk: Rated M for Murder
- 200 XP - Create an editorial blog for Chalk Talk: Big in Japan
- 300 XP - Submit a question for the Resident Evil 6 live stream
- 1000 XP - Join the GameSpot Players Network
- 3000 XP - Create your own custom Clap Trap!Member Spotlights
Here’s your chance to be in the spotlight every week for everything from game reviews, forum contributions, player of the week, and even fuzing!
Forum Poster: Jonwh18
Started this interesting little topic in our Site Enhancements board about wanting to start up a new activity in System Wars, perhaps if he gets enough support we could hope to see something like this implemented.
User Review: PeterDuck
Stretches his literary technique in his PC review for Borderlands 2, well thought out points and a cleaver critique, you should give it a read.
Fuse Poster: Toplinkar
We picked this gamer for sharing this awesome little didyouknowgaming.com tip about Sonic and few creepy things that happen if you enter the right combo.
Comment Poster: Slinqy
We picked this user for his interesting points on Desmonds story line (or lack there of). "Yeah. Seems strange. We know virtually nothing about Desmond in ACIII. And this is supposed to be the conclusion of his story? They're either playing the cards very close to the chest or they're not telling us something."
Player of the Week: BloodMist
This GameSpotter is a shockingly good Borderlands player and has recently unlocked 1.21 Gigawatts, Pandora-dog Millionaire, and he Discovered Sledge’s Safe House.
This Week on Chalk Talk…
This weeks Chalk Talk in honor of the Tokyo Game Show we will be focusing on the contributions of Japanese developers. How have their works helped to mold the games we play. Perhaps you will want to write on how Japanese console game development has been slipping over the years? Be sure to mark your blog as editorial and to sound off in this roll call thread here with your awesome Chalk Talk entry! Deadline to post a link to your Chalk Talk Submission is FRIDAY September 28st at 10:00am PT
Tip of the Week: Contest Alert!
Did you know that you can receive a private message alert every time there is a contest or activity on GameSpot? Just head over to the “Spirit of Competition" announcement here and post a comment saying “Game On!" it’s that simple!
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Field Trip: Events & Activities Megathon
This week’s field trip shares the latest game industry events, items you may want to purchase or loot, and other community happenings at Capcom, Riot, Bethesda, Blizzard, and more. Check it.
Events & Activities
In-Person
September 20-23 - Japan - Tokyo Game Show
September 22 - Cambridge, Massachusetts - Boston Festival Indie Games
September 25 - Irvine, California - Mists of Panderia Launch Party
September 27-30 - London - Eurogamer Expo
September 28- Hollywood, California - Resident Evil 6 launch party
October 11-14- New York - New York Comic Con
December 1-2 - London - Street Fighter 25th Anniversary TournamentOnline:
- Save the Date: GameSpot will have both the Chris Roberts game announcement live stream exclusive as well as the GDC online awards at 6:30pm MT on October 10th.
- Win ultimate Far Cry 3 fan pack - Deadline October 2
- Win a complete set of 32 Skylanders - Deadline September 25
- Win PC Hardware in the Ravaged Contest - Deadline October 2
- Find Blanka and Kuma Contest - Deadline October 5
- Golden Joystick Awards 30th anniversary- Deadline October 20
- RaiderZ's upcoming Open Beta Test - Begins October 24
- Blacklight Bonus GP This Weekend
- Warhammer 4th anniversary celebrationTo Loot or Not to Loot
- Creepy .GIF Animations now available at Glitch.com
- Load up some free League of Legends music on your playlist!
- Dragonborn figure now shipping
- DOOM 3 BFG Edition Avatars Goodies on Xbox LIVE.
- Sonic the Hedgehog Digital Trading Cards launch on Stampii.
- $40 off Resident Evil 5 PC Digital Download
- Colonial Marine Avatar Costume on Xbox LIVE.
- Nascar The Game hi-res Desktop Wallpapers and Ring Tones
- New Borderlands 2 items and apparel available at the Gearbox Software store.The more you know…
- Modern Warfare 3 Elite Premium membership ending.
- Battle.net option to appear offline coming soon.
- Grimrock Dungeon Editor testing requested by the creators.
- PSN Community Spotlight offers insight about how to convert a Non-Believer.Career Path
This week we gathered some possible easy entry positions but if you’re a bit more technical in skills, you may want to check the website’s primary career page! Community Manager positions are currently available at Blizzard United States, Zenimax Germany, Riot Games Dublin, and Riot Games United States. Other interesting and fun job prospects include: Bethesda Character Artist, Riot Games Dublin Player Support, and Riot Games United States E-Sport Manager.
UPDATE: GameSpot is looking for a Senior Operations Engineer! If you have what it takes, drop by our careers page and apply!
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Social Share: Yarrr Edition
Competitions and Activities: Talk like a Pirate Day
It's talk like a pirate day and we're doing not one but three activities! By participating in one of the following activities you'll receive this Pirate Day 2012 emblem:
- What be your Pirate Name?
- Scribe a Blog
- Here there be Jokes
Finish all three activities by September 20th at 12:01am PT and you'll be entered in a drawing to receive a mystery box filled with t-shirt treasures, and if that doesn’t tickle your beard we’re also giving away an 8GB iPod Touch! Now, ye best start flabben yer gums like a scurvy pirate!Gaming Bulletin
This weeks Gaming Bulletin seems to be filled with a fair amount of depressing news pieces.
Starting with the unfortunate news about the Bohemia Interactive developers who are currently jailed in Greece. Next there's the concerning arguments from the economic contribution study for Scotland's creative industries, claiming that the games industry adds no value. This is a concerning news is particularly alarming due to the fact that many policy decisions, and funding allocations are made based on this type of data. And finally, the news of NC Softs closure of City of Heros was also announced earlier this week. Though it would appear that the CoH community has banded together and started a petition in hopes of keeping the game alive. If you care about City of Heroes you should take a moment to go and make your voice heard. But amidst all this sadness there are still a few things to look forward to. For example Humble Indie Bundle 6 has been announced and will include Rochard, Shatter, S.P.A.Z., Torchlight, and Vessel.
Geeky Gimmies
It's been a while since we checked the internet for some amazing must have geek swag, so this week we're showing off a long list of some amazing new finds. Borderlands 2 ULTIMATE LOOT CHEST EDITION This bad boy includes a replica Marcus Bobble head figure, a poster of all the enemies you’ll find in Pandora, a copy of Sir Hammerlock’s Field Journal, art book, 4 BL2 Decals, 4 art postcards, exclusive DLC, a map of Pandora, and of course the game all can be yours for the low low cost of 300$, or 65 pieces of Iridium. Want a package with a little more punch? Then the Street Fighter 25th Anniversary Collectors Set might be just the thing for you! Included in this set you'll find an 8" Light-up Ryu Statue, 11 discs of Street Fighter music spanning the decades, a 64 page art book, Blu-Ray video set including a documentary which highlights from the past 25 years and of course Streetfighter 2, 3, and 4. Next up we have some amazing 8-bit customized Munny Dunnies from BluGhost featuring classics like Mario and Link, but also sporting hits from Ghosts N Goblins for the NES. And finally, we have some amazing wall art inspired by famous video games, currently they are not for sale but they do make for some amazing wall papers for your desktop. Are you able to name them the games in all the illustrations? Post your answers in the comments below for bonus 200 profile points.
Making Mischief
- Bark Ops - A Black Ops short film
- EA may be building Death Star
- 151 Penny-sized Pokemon
- You monster: A Portal 2 Movie
WARNING: Contains Spoilers
- Life is a Game and pandas ruin EVERYTHING! WARNING:Rated M for Mature
Free to Play: Super Happy Fun Time!
First up in our Free to Play portion of the Social Share, we have the Atari Arcade which has gaming classics such as Centipede, Combat, Lunar Lander, Super Breakout and of course PONG! Next we have a sneak peek at an early little Halloween goodie. The good folks at Popcap have teamed up with the American Dental Association and have decided to initiate the "Stop Zombie Mouth" campaign by giving out free copies of Plants vs Zombies for PC and Mac, the codes can't be activated until the 30th of October but it's still pretty nifty none the less! Last but not least we have this cute little top down dungeon crawler by the name of bit Dungeon the tale of a scorned night and his hopes to save his beloved from demons and monstrous creatures after a thousand years of imprisonment.
Link Lotto
Sometimes they're funny, some times cool, sometimes their just plain weird, its Link Lotto!
- Twitter’s new profile page look: Yay or Nay?
- Caines Arcade 2: If you thought the first story was inspiring have to check this out!
- Connecting to the World With Kinect: A charming story of helpful the Kinect can be.
- Project Holodeck: With support from Razer we could get a real-life "Holodeck".
- How artificial intelligence is changing our lives: The AI revolution is here, are the humble meatbags ready?
That's HOT!
That's Hot is a new feature to the Social Share where we'll be showcasing some popular cosplay from the corners of the internet. This weeks featured cosplay is the Lone Traveler of Journey ~ Photo by Natalia Farhadmotamed.
Bonus Item
A banging good time, Ocarina of Time medley.
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Check-In: Spotlights & Borderlands 2 Giveaway
Live Stream Schedule & Game Giveaway
For the most part the editors seem to be staying fairly tight lipped about what they have up their sleeves this week for live streaming. On Tuesday at 1pm Pacific Time we'll have our Borderlands 2 live stream and give away the game on multiple platforms! There has been a fair amount of saucey talk around the water cooler about doing some other games like Torchlight II and Black Mesa but those aren't set in stone. To make sure you don’t miss out on any of the awesome streams on GameSpot you can subscribe to our channel on Twitch.TV
User Reward Challenge
This weeks activities! As always, in addition to the automatic points you’ll get to your profile when you use the site you can earn some bonus points this week by participating in the following activities:
- 100 XP - Comment on Chalk Talk: In Perfect Harmony
- 200 XP - Create an editorial blog for Chalk Talk: Rated M for Murder
- 200 XP - Show off each of your anniversary blogs
- 300 XP - Sign up for the Spirit of Competition Mailing List
- 3000 XP - Join the GameSpot Players Network!You’ll have until Monday, September 24 to complete these challenges to eligible for your profile boost.
Member Spotlights
We’ve been missing out on featuring other members in the community so here’s your chance to be in the spotlight every week!
Forum Poster: Vari3ty was the first to post about our official review of Borderlands 2 in the System Wars forum. Nice first post moves, there!
User Review: vengefulwilberg has an insighful review of Tekken Tag Tournament 2. Well, not many games are a 10, but he sure brings up some points in the review.
Fuse Poster: Gamer_4_Fun was once well known on Fuse for his funny and engaging Fuse Cast, now it would appear he is finally considering to bring it back!
Comment Poster: alenth We liked how he kept it real in his post involving the Killer Instict news. “Nostalgia Attacks!! the game was fun but it doesn't have the competitive standards for a good competitive game for today.”
Player of the Week: CHOASXIII has been hard at work with in the world of Skyrim, most recent achievement unlocked was “Architect”. With an impressive 1,367 trophies CHOASXIII clearly loves her action and role playing games.This Week on Chalk Talk…
Chalk Talk has been gaining quite a bit of steam over the past few weeks, and the amount of GameSpot talent that has began to surface is nothing short of amazing. Last week we talked about music in video games, be in their emotional impact on the player, the importance a proper melody bring to the experience, or even just a compilation of various composers as a way to say thanks. You can check out the top five featured blogs we picked here. Interested in being featured on this Fridays Chalk Talk? This weeks topic is “Rated M for Murder”, where we asked what opinion GameSpotters had on the subject of violence in games.
Tip of the Week: Anniversary Blog
Did you know that if you posted an anniversary blog about how long you’ve been a member, you can receive an emblem? Roll call with a link to your anniversary blog for your 1, 3, 5, 7 or 10 year anniversary on GameSpot and get this nifty emblem awarded to your profile!
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Field Trip: Locked and Loaded
We’re lock and loaded with another edition of the Field Trip, where the gaming industry struts their stuff and gets heavily involved with their fans
Events & Attractions
First, we'll relive the past. PAX Prime and Dragoncon is pretty much the thing everyone has been talking about but not everyone could attend these events! For those who want to virtually go back in time, check out our coverage of PAX Prime. Epic Games also has some photos of Dragoncon.
Fast forward to the future, these days, getting to meet gamers in person happens much more frequently, and one of the upoming events open to the public is SOE Live, formerly known as SOE Fan Faire. If you plan to be in the Las Vegas area from October 18-2, Planetside 2 will be there! Speaking of Planetside 2, the game development team have a newer show called Command Center on SOE’s official Youtube channel
Moving on to online game events, the creators of Guns of Icarus are hosting an online beta tournament on Saturday, September 15, 2pm EST. The winners will receive a Collector’s Edition of the game and in-game costumes and accessories. But, if you’re not too competitive, how good are you at naming things? Auto Club Revolution Free to Play Online Racing game is asking their fans to name a race track.
FreePlay
Justin Calvert is at it again, handing out even more beta codes, games, and in-game gear in the latest Free Play Friday feature This week he mentioned a game that has portals, Tryst beta, and more.
If you’re looking for something else to play, how about checking out C&C Tiberium Alliance, a free to play RTS game. They recently released a new European World and unveiled unit upgrades.
And, while we all know that not everyone likes browser based games, maybe Gearbox’s recommendation, The Border Lands will be your one exception!
Seeing is Believing
The third episode of Affinity third episode of Affinity, a Firefall comic was released this week, and we have to include a mention to Epic Games’ featured Onyx Guard cosplay.
To Loot or Not to Loot
We’ve scoured the game industry websites to find loot you can get for free or stuff you may want to splurge on. First, let’s remind everyone about the free gear that has GameSpot on it! Perfect World has given us some Blacklight Retribution in-game content so you’ll want to grab your GamesSpot themed gear before we run out
Keeping up with the freebies, Sega is giving away more free stuff this Friday, September 7th, and it looks like all you have to do to get a Ford Mistang RTR-X in Need for Speed World is Tweet!
Now on to some bargains. If you buy books, the Capcom store is offering 30% off books, and as always you can find the latest Steam sales by checking the ads on their page. At the moment Crysis 2 Maximum Edition is 75% off.
Now, we can’t leave without sharing something you may want to splurge on, but there is good news, you have a couple of months to save up for it! Capcom announced that the Street Fighter X Tekken Minimates coming in February.
The more you know…
The PlayStation Blog sure knows how to spotlight their fans! They’ve started to showcase Sound Shapes fanmade levels and this week’s featured user shares his history with Counter-strike, in light of Counter-strike: Global Offensive being released a couple of weeks ago.
Do you know what a Thousands Papercuts means? A forum user in the official Star Wars The Old Republic Forum shares background about this term. Speaking of Bioware games, they’ve jumped on the Pinterest bandwagon and appear to be having a good ole’ time showcasing cosplayers and other visual content.
That’s your look at the latest official game industry community news. If you have a tip, give us a holler by PM'nig JodyR or Synthia. Until next time!
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Bonus Profile Points!
With the recent announcement about how you can achieve points towards your profile level we took your feedback into consideration about user reviews and page visits. Now, if you visit 10 pages on GameSpot, you'll achieve 50 experience points. If you write a review , you'll receive 90 experience points. If you have any questions about this process, feel free to post them on the updated Changes to the GameSpot User Leveling System announcement.