Watch_Dogs Is About Hacking, But This New Trailer Shows Off Combat

Here’s a look at the latest trailer for Watch_Dogs, Ubisoft’s upcoming futuristic action game set in Chicago, where you play as a hacker named Aiden Pearce, who has the ability to access the city’s central operating system:

Watch_Dogs is being developed by Ubisoft Montreal, with support from other Ubisoft studios. The game is scheduled for release on November 19th in North America and November 21st in Europe. Watch_Dogs is headed to PC, Xbox 360, Wii U, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4, but Ubisoft mention “next-gen consoles,” so that likely means more than just the PS4.

Read more stories about PC & PlayStation 3 & PlayStation 4 & Videos & Watch Dogs & Wii U & Xbox 360 on Siliconera.

Call of Duty Ghosts Will Feature a Form of Co-Op

Call of Duty: Ghosts news has been buzzing around since its announcement at the Xbox One reveal and E3.

Infinity Ward’s Candice Capen (@candyslexia) revealed via Twitter on July 3rd that Ghosts will “have a cooperative mode of sort, but we’re not announcing it yet and I’ve no clue when/if we will”

Call of Duty: Ghosts is confirmed to be released on November 5 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC. Launch dates for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One has not been announced yet.

call of duty ghosts, coop

BlazBlue Chrono Phantasma Limited Edition Comes With Rachel Figurine, Visual Book

As reported last night, as part of their ongoing 25th anniversary celebration, Arc System Works will debut a new arcade stick alongside the launch of BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma in Japan. Retailer Ebten is taking pre-orders for the stick now.

Additionally, Ebten are also offering an exclusive limited edition of BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma, which will come with a Nendoroid Puchi figurine of Rachel Alucard (above), a B2-sized tapestry (below), a BlazBlue visual book featuring art by guest artists, and a special soundtrack by Daisuke Ishiwatari.

The entire package will come in a special box designed by BlazBlue series producer Toshimichi Mori, and will cost 10,290 yen. That’s the box below, and it will be available on October 24th—the same day that BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma launches.

Read more stories about BlazBlue: Chronophantasma & PlayStation 3 on Siliconera.

Black Ops II Title Update Results in Tweaks, Death Threats

The latest title update for Call of Duty: Black Ops II now live on the Xbox 360 has resulted in violent threats on Twitter by frustrated gamers against the game's design director, David 'Vahn' Vonderhaar.

The July 23 update introduced the Personalization Pack, as well as balancing tweaks for several weapons. The focus of the ire stems from changes made to reduce the power, or 'nerfing,' of the most popular sniper rifles. The tweaks are small, only tweaking fire and rechamber times by fractions of seconds.

However, these changes angered some gamers, who have taken to Twitter to vent their irritation at Vonderhaar.

Activision's Dan Amrich has taken to his personal blog, One of Swords, to argue against threats toward game developers

'One of Vahn’s many responsibilities is to keep the game as balanced as possible,' Amrich said. 'Weapons are designed with pros and cons; they perform in specific ways for specific reasons. But if, in the course of millions of hours of gameplay and the data to go with it, weapons are found to be more effective or less effective than they should be to keep that performance balanced, they are adjusted.'

According to Amrich, the threats pointed toward Vonderhaar from the Call of Duty community have become too common, and too violent.

'Vahn often gets told he should die in a fire or kill himself or is a horrible person,' Amrich continued. 'If anybody thinks for a second that this is okay, it is not. But if the loudest voices in the Call of Duty 'community' act like an angry mob instead, guess how the entire world views Call of Duty? Now consider that these Internet Tough Guy rants and demands are not unique to COD, but exist everywhere, in many gaming communities. This is why the world often does not take gaming seriously; this is why gamers are assumed to be immature, whiny assholes. Because the immature, whiny assholes are louder.'

Amrich points out that Vonderhaar has responded to these threats with calm and restraint, asking only for ideas and suggestions regarding the update. Amrich asks that the community take responsibility for their words, and show a better attitude when communicating with developers who are in control of their favorite games.

Amrich concluded, saying, 'If you enjoy your games, have a little respect for the people who make them — and stop threatening them with bodily harm every time they do their job.'

Here are some of the details behind the latest update:

New Features

6 new Personalization Packs are now available as downloadable content. Each pack comes loaded with 1 camo, 1 themed calling card and 3 unique reticles.Season Pass holders will now be reminded to download Season Pass content which they haven’t previously downloaded.

Multiplayer Issues Addressed

Improved stability when pressing buttons during a Theater mode screenshot.Screenshots taken during Theater mode from a match on Uplink will no longer become corrupt.

Multiplayer Game Balancing

AN-94: Damage slightly reduced.DSR 50: Rate of fire reduced.Ballista: Rate of fire slightly reduced.

The game has also received an extensive update to its Zombie game mode. For the entire list, follow this link.

And, finally, some good news

According to the Treyarch Twitter feed, Black Ops II will have a double XP weekend starting Friday at 10 a.m. PST.

Check out the Personalization Pack trailer below:

Call of Duty: Black Ops II, death threats, News, Title Update, Xbox 360

Mortal Kombat Creator And Jim Lee Discuss Bringing Scorpion To Injustice

In a new developer diary video, Mortal Kombat co-creator Ed Boon and DC Comics’ Jim Lee explain why they felt bringing Scorpion to Injustice: Gods Among Us was a good idea. Boon says it’s mainly because Mortal Kombat itself was inspired by comics in the first place. Meanwhile, Lee feels Scorpion fits into the DC Universe and fills a gap.

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Scorpion will be available for download on January 11th in the game. DLC for the Wii U version will be available later this Summer.

Read more stories about Injustice: Gods Among Us & PlayStation 3 & Videos & Wii U & Xbox 360 on Siliconera.

Namco Bandai rsquo;s Next Title Is A 3DS Game Based On The Film SPEC Heaven

It has been revealed in the latest issue of Famitsu, that Namco Bandai are currently developing a 3DS game based on the 2012 hit thriller comedy film, SPEC: Heaven. The movie is about a duo of a high IQ detective and her distinguished partner who solve cases by postulating the “SPEC” of criminals in order to arrest them.

The 3DS game will alternate between visual novel parts and command-based adventure parts with pixelated character sprites. SPEC: Heaven’s story will also be supervised by the original writer of the film Yumie Nishiogi, producers Hiroki Ueda and Natsuki Imai. The magazine issue also reveals the game will feature automatic feed for texts, backlog, glossary and tips

Erika Toda and Ryo Kase, the two starring actors from the film are said to have appeared in a photo op for the game, however, it has yet to be revealed whether they’ll be part of it or if the 3DS game will follow the same storyline.

SPEC: Heaven is slated for release in October 3rd for Nintendo 3DS.

Read more stories about Nintendo 3DS & SPEC: Heaven on Siliconera.

PlayRoom, The Adorable PlayStation 4 Augmented Reality Tech Demo

Tucked away in a corner at E3 was a hands-on demo for The PlayRoom, a PlayStation 4 augmented reality tech demo that shows what's inside a DualShock 4. I thought the controller was made out of motors and circuit boards, but in The PlayRoom the controller is filled with little tiny robots.

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You can fire a robot called Asobi (Japanese for 'play') out of the controller and it will fly around your room. The PlayStation Eye shows the player and your living room on screen with Asobi super imposed on it. You can interact with Asobi by hitting it, but Asobi will get upset and retaliate by freezing your head or electrocuting you. Not in real life, of course, but on the screen. You can remove the ice by shaking your head.

The PlayRoom has another tech demo called AR Bots, which lets players flick robots out of the DualShock 4 by swiping the touchpad. Bots will run around and play in your living room. You can create toys for them to play with by using a tablet. The tech demo had preset items like a beach ball that you can add to the screen. I also drew items by making shapes on the tablet, which transformed my 2D drawings into 3D objects.

AR Bots also demoed the DualShock 4's motion controls when you vacuum the little robots up by moving the controller around the screen.

The robots dance when they’re inside your controller, but you have to hold the controller still. Shaking it moves the robots around. Turn the controller upside down, and you can hear the robots make shout 'whoaaaa' through the DualShock 4's microphone. You can also 'feel' the robots moving up and down since the DualShock 4 activates motors at different times to give players the illusion that the robots are living inside.

The PlayRoom was a neat experiment, but it isn’t a game. Perhaps, Sony Computer Entertainment will use some of this tech for a future title like a next-gen LittleBigPlanet or a game that utilizes the PlayStation Eye, because The PlayRoom was the only game at E3 that really utilizes the accessory.

Read more stories about PlayRoom & PlayStation 4 & Playstation Eye on Siliconera.