Over $200,000 Raised!

Muse Games’ Guns of Icarus Online has completed its Kickstarter project to create Adventure Mode, which expands the original co-op airship combat game to include full co-op player vs. environment (PvE) settings. This monumental step will take Guns of Icarus Online to the next level, allowing for player progression, questing, and an immersive setting within the Guns of Icarus world. More information at www.GunsofIcarus.com.

CEO Howard Tsao had this to say about where the funds will go and what features to expect, “First I would like to thank all of our supporters, including those that purchased our current game as well as those that are helping fund the next phase. We’re absolutely certain we can deliver a PvE experience that will live up to everyone’s expectations and be a blast to play and explore. On top of that we’re going to strive to deliver the Econo-Political structure discussed in the Kickstarter event, adding dynamic quest and political relations to the PvE framework. While we fell a little short of the funding goal for that addition, we believe it is still within our grasp.

Guns of Icarus Online is the premier airship combat game where up to 4 players man a single ship in their attempt to coordinate with their team to bring down the enemies in a variety of game modes. Adventure Mode expands on this format, creating a living online world with true player, town, and meta progression.

 ABOUT MUSE GAMES
Muse Games is an independent game development studio in New York City that creates original 3D games using the Unity engine. Their flagship products, CreaVures and Guns of Icarus Online, are available on Steam.  Find out more at www.musegames.com

The next generation of Microsoft’s Xbox has been revealed and named.

Details after the jump.

** Update **

Xbox One to be released later this year with no backward compatability and games installed on the hard drive. Each disc will be locked in to one XBL Account to prevent sharing of discs.

Microsft has revealed their next gen Xbox, but gave it a rather confusing name. The number after a console’s name usually denotes where it lies in the lifecycle for the brand. Calling it an XBox One makes it seem like it belongs in the PS One lifecycle, which was three generations ago.

Regardless of its name, the console is being marketed as more of a media hub than a gaming console, with voice commands, Skype integration and a Blu-ray drive (no HD-DVD here)

Microsoft’s Marc Whitten just lifted the hood on the Xbox One’s technical specifications. In short: 8 gigs of RAM, USB 3.0, Wi-Fi Direct, a Blu-Ray disc drive, 64-bit architecture and “practically silent operation.”

Kinect 2.0 also gets a substantial upgrade. Whitten promised the integrated camera will have a wider field of view, and the sensor will be able to detect more joints, to include rotation of wrists and shoulders. “When you are exercising it can read your heartbeat.”

No solid release date has been set. It is coming “later this year”

Keep an eye on this post as more info is released.

Sony’s flagship MLB baseball title takes another step in the right direction.

Details after the jump.

As Sony and San Diego Studios strives to keep their game glitch free and the best on the market, they have released patcheds for both the PS3 and the PS Vita versions of the game.

Game Update 1.23 was deployed on Monday, 5/20 at 3am. See The list of changes below…

• - Updated Player Mugs/Photos now showing up in-game vs just the Frontend menus.
• - Play Now Rated online to look at season logic and system date and use the team’s uniform they should be using for that day of the week.
• - Addressed file write hangs related to universal profile that would happen in vaious places in the Frontend, often when entering into games.
• - SWING/PITCH Disappearance Exploit. Swing Analysis would permanently disappear when opening and closing Pitcher/Batter Status window too many times or closing it when the window wasn’t completely transitioned in.
• - File system hang in most game modes following extended play. This should make the HDD PSN downloadable version of the game stable.
• - Uniform change to USA Futures.

If you are having any issues with either game, be sure to report your problems over at http://theshownation.com/bug_reports

MLB 13: The Show pits the West against the Mid-west in this weeks challenge.

Details after the jump.

This Week’s Challenge

Midwest versus West in throwback fashion, as Carlos Beltran faces the hot hand of Clayton Kershaw in this week’s Challenge of the Week. Get as many hits and points as possible. No prize will be awarded this week.

Gateway Arch

Throughout the session, smash five home runs out of the park.
Bonus: 1234 points | X 5 multiplier
Bonus Details: Valid for one Session
Hits Required: Home Run (5)

Grand Boulevard

Hit three line drives in an out.
Bonus: 2911 points | X 3 multiplier
Bonus Details: Valid for one Out
Hits Required: Line Drive (3)

Home of the Blues

Foul off five pitches in a single out.
Bonus: 2000 points | X 5 multiplier
Bonus Details: Valid for one Out
Hits Required: Foul (5)

Ten Mississippi

Receive a bonus for every ten hits in play.
Bonus: 1010 points | X 5 multiplier
Bonus Details: Valid for one Session
Hits Required: Put In Play (10)

Hauppauge let us take their HD PVR 2 Gaming Edition Plus unit for a test spin. Is it worth its price tag or is it best left on the store shelf?

Read our review to find out.

The video game  industry is beyond huge and gaming websites and fansites have long looked for the best and least expensive way to capture their favorite game in both videos and screen shots. YouTube has countless hours of footage from just about every game under the sun with quality ranging from Full HD all the way down to a fuzzy mess.

Capturing devices range in design and price and the price is generally equal to the quality of the device and the video in which it can capture. Console capturing, like for the PS3 and Xbox 360, have been a bit harder to work with in the past and used to require passing your video signal through a PC and back out to your TV, with a definite lag that would make you look like a noob when trying to play a game. Enter the HD PVR 2 Gaming Edition Plus with HDMI pass through and digital optical with an Amazon price tag of $179.65.

The unit is clearly top of the line and state of the art. It’s small size allows it to fit nicely in most entertainment centers or sitting on top of your desk. The connections are pretty straightforward and seems simplistic by design. If you can utilize the HDMI pass through, all you need is to plug in the two HDMI cables, a USB cable into your PC, and you are ready to set up the software.

HDMI doesn’t work with the PS3, sadly, due to HDCP compliance (there is a work around that requires more hardware but we won’t get into that) but HDMI pass through works great with the Xbox 360 and a PC.

Video recording formats supported

	Xbox 360	PS3	PC
Connection	HDMI	Component	HDMI
1080p50/60	*	*	*
1080i
720p
576p
480p
480i
Notes	* Passthrough to 1080p60, records at 1080p30

The PS3 hooks up VIA component cables that ship with the unit, so there’s no need in buying anything other than this unit. That is very smart thinking and will save you a trip back to your local electronic store. Everything you need is in the box and ready to go, with the exception of the latest capture application. The unit does ship with a CD containing your system drivers and software for capturing and streaming, but we found that the newest software (available online and currently in Beta) was considerably better.

The HD PVR gives you several options in using the device. It can be used as a video capture device, a screen shot capture device, or as an online streaming device for Twitch or UStream. We played Dead Island Riptide online with some friends and ended up with a decent audience. The quality of the broadcast can be set from within the application, so even if your internet connection is on the low side, you can still broadcast, albeit at a lower bit rate and quality. You can also adjust the in-game chat settings with a built in mixer so that you can better understand the speaker. This is a great feature for anyone that likes doing video walk throughs and guides.

Another great feature for the device is the ability to record, edit and then upload directly to YouTube, without ever leaving the application. If all you want is just basic broadcasts, the app works OK, but there is a better application for producing videos on the CD, and that is ArcSoft ShowBiz. It gives a simple to use interface for adding still images to your video, and in turn puts out a much more professional looking finished product. YouTube uploading is also included in ShowBiz so right now we would recommend sticking with that until the new app, which is still in Beta, gets more features added.

ShowBiz

We made a couple of test videos, one using ShowBiz and another using the basic capture and upload of the new application.

ShowBiz: Metro Last Light Introduction Movie

Hauppauge Capture: Metro: Last Light – Dead City gameplay

Both applications do an adequate job, with ShowBiz giving you much better production value. Once Hauppauge is finished with their own application, we are hoping it will be comparable to ShowBiz.

When streaming or capturing video, you have the option of watermarking your own logo on top of the video being displayed. We created our own custom logo in a photo program and then used Hauppauge’s program to set the insertion values. You can adjust the size, location, and transparency for your image giving each video a branded feel that can also promote your website, group, or organization.

For those that were wanting MAC support, you will be happy to know that MAC OS 10.7 and 10.8 are now supported with HDPVRCapture. We haven’t tried with a MAC, but from what we’ve seen, it’s just as easy to use as the PC version of their software.

Video game capture devices and software has grown almost as much as the video games themselves. With video driven sites like YouTube, Twitch and UStream, using substandard devices won’t do you any favors and won’t help you grow your audience. If you are serious about gaming, and serious about sharing gaming videos, no other device on the market can compare with Hauppauge’s latest addition to their family.

Their HD PVR 2 Gaming Edition Plus is a must have for any gaming related website and any gamer serious about sharing their skills.

Nicely done Hauppauge.

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