BioWare are unveiling a mysterious new game at the Spike Video Game Awards on December 10th.

The below video shows a teaser for the announcement and features a shocking 3 seconds of footage of the new game. Those blessed with the eyes of a Ninja will see that if features tanks and APC vehicles. Looks like it’ll be action-focused, then.

UPDATE: Watch the GTA 5  Trailer World Premiere to work out if you think this rumor is true.

Thanks to an anonymous tipster we’ve got our hands on what could prove to be detailed information on Grand Theft Auto 5 (GTA 5, GTA V). Whether it is true or not we’ll have to wait and see, so take this as a rumor, but so far the information provided doesn’t seem to be all that far out there.

According to the person behind this information they have an NDA with Rockstar which they have obviously decided to violate. Again this is rumor although could prove to be true in the future. Some of these bullet points might be considered to be spoilers. The quote below is SIC.

  • The protagonist is Hispanic and his name is Adrian
  • It takes place in San Andreas in the year 2012. The Mayan end of the world thing is parodied a lot because of this.
  • You start out in Los Santos and are in your rivals turf. Varrios Los Aztecas after getting beat up and robbed
  • The game revolves around money in a big deal. I’d reveal the big idea but I don’t want to ruin it.
  • Multiplayer is in again. There are a couple of new game modes, co-op story and 32 player game modes for consoles and 64 player for PC, PC also includes dedicated servers
  • Pc comes out on launch and is being ported by Leeds. From what they’ve shown us it is optimized much better than GTA 4
  • San Andreas includes all the same cities from GTA SA and this time they have all become a bit bigger as well as much more detailed.
  • Gang turk wars are back. This time not only the general gang are in charge but different sets such as 57th Ballas or the Eastside Azteca. The have their own graffiti. You can tag up stuff with custom sprays too.
  • In the end your protag dies once again just like in RDR. Afterwards you play as his brother who inherits the money.
  • “The Money” I refer to comes from a massive drug trade that shits to San Andreas. It is fought over a lot throughout the story and it comes with lots of money. It has ties to your family so it becomes a bigger deal.
  • The timeline continues off of GTA 4. It is reference a lot. I’m not really sure whether Niko dies but he’s mentioned at least twice.
  • Car modding is back so is lowriding of course.
  • There are 9 radio stations. It features a range of music. Some of the rap is new, some is old. There’s a better selection than GTA4 though IMO.
  • Military has returned in the 5 star wanted level except they are referred to as the National Guard.
  • Cover system is upgraded and players more smoothly
  • The moral decisions you saw in GTA 4 have more effect on the story now. There are a total of 4 unique endings 2 bad, 2 good. Whether protag dies in all of them you’ll just have to figure out since the endings are actually pretty cool.
  • More girlfriends
  • Parachutes
  • Fun cheats are back!
Here is the full image where these details come from so that you can decide for yourself if these GTA V facts are true or not.

Console gamers everywhere are looking forward to Batman: Arkham City’s imminent release this week, but it looks like PC gamers will have a little bit longer to wait.

Warner Bros. announced in a press release today that the PC version of the game will be launching in exactly a month’s time on November 18th. Hopefully, the wait will be worth it as the game will have significantly improved visuals, with crisper textures and higher resolutions and whatnot.

So it looks like you’ll be able to brag about the PCs superiority over consoles once again. You just have to wait one long, agonising month to play one of the best games of the year on your totally awesome rig!

Do you think DICE’s Battlefield 3 beta was a success? If their recently revealed numbers are to be believed, then why yes it was!

In a post in the Official Battlefield Blog, a handy-dandy graph shows off some of the beta’s most impressive stats – chief among them is the fact that over eight million players filled the Battlefield 3 beta servers in its ten day span.

Enough of that, we know you want to know more stats and here are a few:

  • 19 million dog tags were collected and as the graph says, “That’s just more than enough for every single person in Shanghai, the world’s most populated city.”
  • 47 BILLION shots were fired
  • 1.5 Billion kills were registered – equal to 1/2 the liters of beer consumed across the world in 2011.
  • 8,125,310 – the exact number of people who played in the beta.

To read more stats, go to the Battlefield Blog.

Were you one of the millions who participated? Not a bad showing, no? Add in the fact that a lot of people had trouble accessing the beta client and that it only ran for ten days should further bolster EA and DICE’s confidence in the game.

So you want to win a copy of Battlefield 3? Well then, you’ve definitely come to the right place!

What do I have to do to win?
Simply sign up to our forums and make a minimum of 10 non-spam posts to help contribute to our growing community. Once you have made your 10 posts, head on over to this thread and let us know that you want to be considered for the draw! We will be giving away 1 copy per 500 entries. If you want even more reasons to get involved; we’ll be giving away more games and accessories in the near future, and you’ll become part of an awesome community.

Terms and Conditions

  • Entrants must be 13+.
  • Staff Cannot Enter.
  • All eligible users must be signed up to and have a minimum of 10 posts on our forums and have posted in the entry thread.
  • Competition closes 22nd October at 00:00 (GMT), a winner will be announced shortly thereafter.
  • All countries can enter.
  • Prizes will be given on winners preferred platform.

Winners will be selected at random from users who meet the entry requirements as of the closing date of the competition. Battlefield 3 is scheduled for release on October 25, 2011. Details will be taken from the winners as soon as possible, and we will endeavour to get the game to arrive on the date of release, however, in some cases this may not be possible due to local postal services as opposed to our efforts. This is obviously providing the title is not delayed by EA in which case we will provide the title when it becomes available.

So there you have it. Everything you need to do to win a free copy of Battlefield 3.

For those of you who are eagerly awaiting Activision‘s latest “step forward” in the Call of Duty franchise. Here’s a little more to wet your appetite.

Check out the full list of all the achievements you can earn in Modern Warfare 3 listed below:

  • Back in the Fight (5) – Start the Single Player Campaign on any difficulty.
  • Too Big to Fail (10) – Destroy the Jamming Tower. Complete “Black Tuesday” on any difficulty.
  • Wet Work (10) – Take back New York Harbor. Complete “Hunter Killer” on any difficulty.
  • Carpe Diem (10) – Escape the mountain safe house. Complete “Persona Non Grata” on any difficulty.
  • Frequent Flyer (10) – Defend the Russian President. Complete “Turbulence” on any difficulty.
  • Up to No Good (10) – Infiltrate the village. Complete “Back on the Grid” on any difficulty.
  • One Way Ticket (10) – Make it to Westminster. Complete “Mind the Gap” on any difficulty.
  • Welcome to WW3 (10) – Save the US Vice President. Complete “Goalpost” on any difficulty.
  • Sandstorm! (10) – Assault the shipping company. Complete “Return to Sender” on any difficulty.
  • Back Seat Driver (10) – Track down Volk. Complete “Bag and Drag” on any difficulty.
  • We’ll Always Have Paris (10) – Escape Paris with Volk. Complete “Iron Lady” on any difficulty.
  • Vive la Révolution! (10) – Reach the church. Complete “Eye of the Storm” on any difficulty.
  • Requiem (10) – Escape the city. Complete “Blood Brothers” on any difficulty.
  • Storm the Castle (10) – Discover Makarov’s next move. Complete “Stronghold” on any difficulty.
  • Bad First Date (10) – Find the girl. Complete “Scorched Earth” on any difficulty.
  • Diamond in the Rough (10) – Rescue the Russian President. Complete “Down the Rabbit Hole” on any difficulty.
  • The Big Apple (25) – Complete “Black Tuesday” and “Hunter Killer” on Veteran difficulty.
  • Out of the Frying Pan… (25) – Complete “Persona Non Grata”, “Turbulence”, and “Back on the Grid” on Veteran difficulty.
  • Payback (25) – Complete “Mind the Gap”, “Goalpost”, and “Return to Sender” on Veteran difficulty.
  • City of Lights (25) – Complete “Bag and Drag” and “Iron Lady” on Veteran difficulty.
  • The Darkest Hour (25) – Complete “Eye of the Storm”, “Blood Brothers”, and “Stronghold” on Veteran difficulty.
  • This is the End (25) – Complete “Scorched Earth”, “Down the Rabbit Hole”, and “Dust to Dust” on Veteran difficulty.
  • Who Dares Wins (40) – Complete the campaign on any difficulty.
  • The Best of the Best (100) – Complete the campaign on Hardened or Veteran difficulty.
  • Strike! (20) – Kill 5 enemies with a single grenade in Single Player or Special Ops.
  • Jack the Ripper (20) – Melee 5 enemies in a row in Single Player or Special Ops.
  • Informant (20) – Collect 22 Intel Items.
  • Scout Leader (35) – Collect 46 Intel Items.
  • This Is My Boomstick (20) – Kill 30 enemies with the XM25 in “Black Tuesday.”
  • What Goes Up… (20) – Destroy all the choppers with only the UGV’s grenade launcher in “Persona Non Grata.”
  • For Whom the Shell Tolls (20) – Destroy all targets during the mortar sequence with only 4 shells in “Back on the Grid.”
  • Kill Box (20) – Kill 20 enemies with the Chopper Gunner in a single run in “Return to Sender.”
  • Danger Close (20) – Take down a chopper with an AC-130 smoke grenade in “Bag and Drag.”
  • Ménage à Trois (20) – Destroy 3 tanks with a single 105mm shot in “Iron Lady.”
  • Nein (20) – Kill 9 enemies with A-10 strafing runs in “Scorched Earth.”
  • 50/50 (20) – Complete a Special Ops Mission Mode game with the same number of kills as your partner.
  • Birdie (20) – Kill 2 enemy helicopters without getting hit in a Special Ops Survival game.
  • Serrated Edge (15) – Finish a Juggernaut with a knife in Special Ops.
  • Arms Dealer (20) – Buy all items from the Survival Weapon Armory.
  • Danger Zone (20) – Buy all items from the Survival Air Support Armory.
  • Defense Spending (20) – Buy all items from the Survival Equipment Armory.
  • Get Rich or Die Trying (25) – Have $50,000 current balance in a Special Ops Survival game.
  • I Live (10) – Survive 1 wave in a Special Ops Survival game.
  • Survivor (20) – Reach Wave 10 in each mission of Special Ops Survival mode.
  • Unstoppable (40) – Reach Wave 15 in each mission of Special Ops Survival mode.
  • No Assistance Required (20) – Complete a Special Ops Mission Mode game on Hardened or Veteran with no player getting downed.
  • Brag Rags (10) – Earn 1 star in Special Ops Mission Mode.
  • Tactician (20) – Earn 1 star in each mission of Special Ops Mission Mode.
  • Overachiever (40) – Earn 48 stars in Special Ops Mission Mode.
  • Secret Achievement (20) – Continue playing to unlock this secret achievement.

Yesterday, Valve began offering their class-based multiplayer shooter Team Fortress 2 for free after four years of offering it as a paid product. At the time, Valve promised that free players would receive exactly the same gaming experience, with the exception of a few technical limitations on free accounts related to the games item system.

However, in less than a day, a user-made server plugin has been created to restrict free players from joining servers altogether. The mod, when installed by a server owner, automatically kicks anyone playing the free version of Team Fortress 2. The only way to play on servers with this plugin installed is to own a premium copy of Team Fortress 2.

Players who paid for the full version of the game have premium access, as well as those who have spent money on items at the in-game store.

While it is a bit disappointing that Valve wont be able to deliver on their promise that free players will have the same access that paid players do, it is in some ways a relief to server owners and community managers that this server plugin is available. After all, permanently banning cheaters or griefers doesnt do much good when they can come back right away with a free account, and limiting the playing field to those players who have paid money into the system makes it harder for banned users to return with alt accounts.

It is of course important to note that this is a user-made plugin and entirely optional for server owners. Although some operators are bound to install and run this plugin to keep away free players, it is likely that the vast majority of servers will run without it, meaning that even if they are barred from a few servers, free players will still have no shortage of free servers to turn to. And even if server owners do overwhelmingly choose to bar free players from joining, free players will still be able to play on Valves official Team Fortress 2 servers.

The creator of the plugin also says that he had considered adding an option to only allow players who had bought the full version of Team Fortress 2 to play, meaning that rather than simply purchasing a 50 cent item from the in-game store, players would actually have to pay $10 for a full copy of Team Fortress 2 in order to access servers with the plugin, at the discretion of the server owner. He decided against implementing this feature, as this would prevent new players from joining due to the fact that paid copies of Team Fortress 2 are no longer available through Steam, but the fact remains that it would be technically possible for someone to create a plugin with this feature.

Time for another installment of Minecraft Creations, where we show off the latest and greatest from the Minecraft community, and make ourselves feel inferior and inadequate as Minecraft players in the process. Today we have this awe inspiring recreation of Hogwarts Castle brought to us by user yhnu5967 on the Minecraft forums (the original thread is here). I’m not a massive fan of Harry Potter; I’ve read the books and seen most of the films but I’m hardly a fan boy. That said this recreation of Hogwarts Castle is simply amazing due to its size and its attention to detail, with both the interior and exterior looking top notch (see what I did there?). Check out the video tour here:

You may have read on a few sites that the Support EA twitter (who are they?) “announced” that the Battlefield 3 beta should be coming in October. While we are all excited to hear about the game in any way, many seem to have lost sight of some inconsistencies in the arrival of this news.

As he has rightly pointed out and in our excitement we all forgot, if there was going to be an announcement about a beta they wouldn’t release it through a twitter account that isn’t even the first result in a search for an EA support twitter on Google!

Other than that, it is also very rare that official news like this that would no doubt be accompanied by some form of press release, is release over the weekend. Outside of office hours. To little fanfare.

I am really interested in this game and really excited to play it. Odds are I will be in some form or other around October time if the release schedule, conflict with the yearly Call of Duty release and general Christmas games flood are adhered to. But this is not the announcement we are looking for…