The Living Story system in Guild Wars 2 is a great way to keep high level players engaged by providing them with new story content on a regular basis. Now, that content gets even more value as Guild Wars 2 is adding a system that will allow players to unlock each episode to play again at a later date…or on another character. Each episode will be live for two weeks, and during that time all you have to do is log in and that episode of Season 2 of the Living Story will be added to a new Living World Journal. After that, you can play through episodes again just by accessing your journal.

A blog post about the overhaul stated that:

“With this addition to the story Journal, content from Living World episodes will be a mix of new story steps and open world content. Story steps will work just like existing story steps in the game today by taking you on a journey specific to your selected episode, which ties into a broader narrative from the season’s continual story progress.  Open world content additions to Living World updates will permanently expand or change the world of Tyria and will tie to the theme and story of the episode.”

The system isn’t totally open ended though, as only level 80 characters will be able to choose between playing their Personal Story and the Living Story. Characters below level 80 will be able to see the unlocked Living Story content, but not play it through the journal until reaching level 80. And, of course if you miss an episode’s window, you can unlock them in the store for 200 gems. In addition, Season 1 is not included in the new Journal yet. ArenaNet is working on that and hopes to add it to the system at a future date.

A  few other tweaks are coming in Season 2 as well. Rewards will now come at the end of each episode’s storyline along with a variety of rewards available in the open world content that comes with each episode.  Achievements are going to be much harder than those found in Season 1 and are intended to challenge even skilled players. Of course, with the new system, you can replay each episode until you get the achievement and unlock those tasty achievement points and loot. And if you have more than one character, fear not – once on character on your account has finished an episode in the journal every other character on that account will have access to those achievement challenges.

Season 2 is shaping up to be rather exciting when it kicks off on July 1st. Let us know how many times you plan on playing through each episode in the comments section below!

We all know that Microsoft has big plans for its consoles. Specifically, they want the 360 and Xbox One to be the center of your living room- not just as gaming devices, but media players. To that end, the Xbox One and Xbox 360 are about to get a whole boatload (warthog-load?) of new entertainment apps. Its a hefty list, and the entirety will be listed below, but the standouts (at least for the Xbox One) are Comedy Central, Vevo, NBA, NHL, MLG and iHeartRadio. Apparently, MTV and VH1 still exist and are also going to be available as well. Who knew?

Full list, including country and system availability:

Antena 3. Xbox One: ES
ChiliTV. Xbox One: IT
Comedy Central. Xbox One: US
Crunchyroll. Xbox One: AU, AT, BR, CA, DE, ES, FR, IE, IT, MX, NZ, UK, US
ENCORE Play. Xbox One: US
EPIX. Xbox One: US
Filmbox Live. Xbox 360: AR, AU, AT, BE, BR, CA, CL, CO, CZ, DK, FI, FR, DE, GR, HK, HU, IN, IE, IL, IT, JP, MX, NL, NZ, NO, PL, PT, RU, SA, SG, SK, ZA, KR, ES, SE, CH, TW, TR, AE, UK, US
Fox Play. Xbox One: MX, BR. Xbox 360: MX, BR, AR, CO, CH
Frightflix. Xbox One: US
FXNOW. Xbox 360: US
Gol TV. Xbox One: ES
GoPro. Xbox One: US, CA, MX, UK, FR, DE, IT, ES, AU, BR, AT, NZ, IR
HBO GO. Xbox One: US: Xbox 360: MX, BR, AR, CO, CH
iHeartRadio. Xbox One: US
Infinity. Xbox One: IT
IVI. Xbox 360: RU
KDrama. Xbox One: AU, AT, BR, CA, DE, ES, FR, IE, IT, MX, NZ, UK, US. Xbox 360: AR, AU, AT, BE, BR, CA, CL, CO, CZ, DK, FI, FR, DE, GR, HK, HU, IN, IE, IL, IT, MX, NL, NZ, NO, PL, PT, RU, SA, SG, SK, ZA, ES, SE, CH, TW, TR, AE, UK, US
maxdome. Xbox One: AT, DE
MLG. Xbox One: US, UK, CA, AU
MOVIEPLEX Play. Xbox One: US
MTV. Xbox One: US
NBA. Xbox One: AT, AU, BR, CA, FR, DE, IE, IT, MX, ES, NZ, UK, US
NHL. Xbox One: US, CA, MX, UK, FR, DE, IT, ES, AU, BR, AT, NZ, IR. Xbox 360: US, CA, MX, UK, FR, DE, IT, ES, JP, AU, BR, NL, SE, RU, TW, PL, IN, HK, TR, BE, AT, NZ, SA, AR, NO, CH, SG, ZA, IR, DK, CO, CL, FI, CZ, HU, IL, GR, PT, SK
Now TV. Xbox One: UK
Picturebox. Xbox 360: UK
Popcornflix. Xbox One: US
ShowTime Anytime. Xbox 360: US
Sky News. Xbox One: UK, IE, US, CA. Xbox 360: UK, IE, US, CA
Sky Online. Xbox One: IT
STARZ Play. Xbox One: US
STV. Xbox 360: UK
Syfy Now. Xbox One: US
Target Ticket. Xbox One: US
TuneIn. Xbox One: US, CA, MX, UK, FR, DE, IT, ES, AU, BR, AT, NZ, IR
TV2. Xbox 360: DK
Twitter. Xbox One: US
USA Now. Xbox One: US
VEO. Xbox One: MX. Xbox 360: MX
Vevo. Xbox One: CA, US, AU, FR, DE, IR, BR,ES, IT, UK, NZ
VH1. Xbox One: US
Vine. Xbox One: US
WATCH ABC. Xbox 360: US
WATCH Disney Channel. Xbox 360: US
WATCH Disney Junior. Xbox 360: US
WATCH Disney XD. Xbox 360: US
Watchever. Xbox One: DE

Planning on using any of these apps? Lets us know in the comments below!

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…

Smudged Cat Games!

Recently having released their previously Xbox 360-based game Growing Pains onto Steam, we’re joined by them to discuss it, their other games and other topics of interest for the Indie Game Show.

Remember to tune in so you can join in our Q and A session in the IRC!

Smudged Cat Games Website: [x]

The Game: [x]

Click the link for your player to tune in:

Join us both on the website and in IRC @ irc.sanitarium.fm 6667 for indie gaming discussion and your chance to ask our guests questions!

Even though Steam has put a dampener on Steam Machine plans by announcing that SteamOS will be delayed to at least 2015 “to fix issues with the Steam Controller”, partners to the project are still continuing to design, prototype and demonstrate their own Steam Boxes ready for sale as soon as SteamOS officially launches. Taking the stage again to kick off today’s action for day two of COMPUTEX Taiwan, ASUS announced two new Steam Machines under it’s gaming-orientated brand, ASUS ROG.

While both machines may run SteamOS, the two ASUS ROG Steam Machines share very little in common when it comes to either size or features. We’ll start with the smaller machine first – the ASUS ROG GR8 (ten bucks says you’ll pronounce that like “great”) comes equipped with a Core i7 processor and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 Ti graphics card inside, but is incredibly slim – ASUS wouldn’t give the exact dimensions, but did state it took no more than “2.5 litres” of space on a desk. The device is also capable of supporting 4K HD output – though you’ll have to supply your own screen – and also supports Miracast, making it a plausible console alternative. ASUS claim the device’s size-to-power ratio is the best it’s ever made.

Meanwhile, the ROG G20 is not only bigger, but more powerful as well. While it keeps the Core i7 Processor of its smaller sibling, the G20 swaps the graphical chippery for the GeForce GTX 780 – truly a gaming machine. ASUS claims that because it uses a hidden airflow tunnel for cooling, it’s capable of “near silent” operation; and has supposedly measured it to emit just 25dB of noise while idle. We at Sanitarium.FM point out that an idling machine is always quieter than one actually being used for gaming, which is what SteamOS is primarily about, and the real test for how “quiet” a machine may be is in measuring its loudness during a hardcore gaming session. The hidden airflow tunnel does, however, result in a machine that has no visible exhaust system whatsoever, which is unusual for gaming-orientated computers. For that added touch of class, the G20 also has built-in lighting – and even here ASUS feel the need to show off, claiming that the lighting is capable of cycling through millions of colour shades. Really, ASUS? Millions?

ASUS have decided to withhold further details of both Steam Machines until Valve reveal their own Roadmap for Steam OS’ eventual launch, which as stated at the top of this article has suffered some delays. Additionally, as is typical of Computex reveals, ASUS are currently keeping mum on expected retail prices for the machines as well. We expect more details to appear alongside Valve’s next announcement.