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The Lego games are usually quite good for a laugh. There’s just something about seeing a tongue-in-cheek representation of well known licenses in (virtual) plastic that just… works.
The third Lego Batman should hopefully not break that streak, but the news that it’s getting DLC from release day, and that fairly substantial parts of the game are contained within these packs… well, it suddenly makes you wonder a bit. Then there’s the ‘season pass’ which is being offered as well.
The DLC packs will number 6 for this game and each will allow the unlock of other characters and missions to be played. For example, the Batman 75th Pack will allow play as Joker and Harley as they get up to mischief and will contain costume from all periods of Batman’s run. And then there’s the Dark Knight Pack which will allow for the playing of a mission based off a car chase sequence from the second Nolanverse Batman film.
It’s not all bad news though; the prices are at least not extortionate. Each individual DLC pack will cost £2.55/$2.99, while the season pass will be priced at £12.79/$14.99.
The people working on the Sims are currently working to implement a small update to remove something that has already gotten a few fans annoyed about their latest game. Quite simply, the real-life people simulator known for its acceptance of all types of relationships currently considers any reference to homosexuality “forbidden words”.
The issue was highlighted in a recent video from Youtuber ‘WhyStuffIsGreat’ entitled “The Sims 4 – What’s up with the “Gay Filter”?” in which it is demonstrated that using words such as ‘lesbian’, ‘gay’ or ‘queer’ in a Sim’s description or name brings up the warning “contains a forbidden word”.
EA have been made aware of the problem and are now working on the fix blaming an automated word filter that was still set to its default list. (More evidence of the game being somewhat incomplete upon release?)
The published said about the issue “The Sims has a long history of supporting stories that players want to tell, irrespective of gender preference… We are aware of [and] have been working on a fix, which will be out soon.”
The Indie Game Show with DJs Digmbot and PredictedCyborg Sunday night, 6pm til 9pm GMT, 1pm til 4pm EST.
On the Indie Game Show this Sunday…
Crystalline Green Ltd!
Our first Indie developer showing off a game on the Wii U, Colour Park is a rhythm game that makes use of turning the controller to twist a wheel and match the colours on the track in front of your character. And since it comes with a colour-blind mode built in, anyone can play!
Remember to tune in so you can join in our Q and A session in the IRC!
Following on from the DMCA filed against CraftBukkit and Bukkit that took down the popular mod from the Internet and set the community asking questions about just what was happening, the situation surrounding Bukkit’s future seems to be growing ever grimmer.
Yesterday and tomorrow saw many of the prominent contributors and forum staff quit the project, some citing Mojang as being the chief reason for them no longer wishing to be involved with the project. In other news VuBui of Mojang posted a few days ago to attempt to calm the uproar on the Bukkit forum in which he explained that finding themselves having to take more charge of the project meant that they were trying to figure out how to fit it into their current work schedule.
“Deciding how we can best help Bukkit and the community is going to take time, patience and some further investigation into the Bukkit project as a whole. We are only just starting to get our heads around all of this but we are committed to doing so and ultimately we anticipate that the result will benefit all those involved.” he wrote in a topic on the Bukkit forum.
As of writing CraftBukkit has not yet been restored for download, nor has Mojang confirmed that the project is completely dead. Currently though, it isn’t looking good for its future.
eSports. Its blown up in the past few years as games, players and teams become ever more popular and high profile. Tournament attendance, online stream views and prize pools have exploded with I5 recently packing out a massive arena, drawing millions of online views and paying out $10 MILLION in prize money. Despite all that, ESPN says eSports isn’t a sport. Its a competition. Nevermind the fact that the word sports is right in the name: e”SPORTS”.
At Re/codes Code/Media Series: New York conference, ESPN president John Skipper was asked to comment on the recent Amazon acquisition of Twitch. His response was as follows:
“It’s not a sport—it’s a competition. Chess is a competition. Checkers is a competition. Mostly, I’m interested in doing real sports.”
While there is clearly a lot of room for this quote to be taken out of context, the overall tone is pretty dismissive when you consider the fact that The International Dota 2 world championship tournament was carried on ESPN 3, ESPN’s online channel. Of course, ESPN probably won’t have a huge impact on the growth of eSports, as recent estimates report that 2.4 billion hours of eSports were viewed during 2013, and the eSports market is estimated to be worth #300 million annually by 2018.
And, on a more interesting note, the United States Government officially recognized League of Legends players as professional athletes last year, thereby facilitating their ability to obtain visas.
So, while the definition of sports currently states that it is a physical competition, maybe its time it was changed to just “competition.”
What do you think? Are eSports “real” sports? Sound off in the comments below!
