Thursday, November 21, 2013
Deal Alert: Europa Universalis IV
There is a deal this weekend on Europa Universalis IV for Steam users. The game is 50% off throughout the weekend. Get a great deal today!
Deal Alert: Arma II
Today's daily deal on Steam is Arma II for 80% off! Arma II is a military style shooter like Battlefield. If you want a "realistic army game" on the cheap, here's your chance!
Deal Alert: RAGE Free to Play This Weekend
Steam users, id Software says that their shooter "RAGE" will be free to play this weekend. If you haven't given this title a shot, now is the time to do it! Fire up Steam and RAGE into the weekend!
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Games We Hope to See on XB1!
Now that the XBOX ONE is a mere few days away, we've been thinking of what game franchises we hope to get announcements for. Here they are.
- Borderlands
- Grand Theft Auto
- Gears of War
- Bioshock
- Mass Effect
- The Elder Scrolls VI
- Fallout
- Worms
Worms Clan Wars Free to Play
For the next 4 days you can download and play for free Worms Clan Wars on Steam. Have fun battling it out Worms style!
Stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming for more gaming news. Thanks for reading!
Stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming for more gaming news. Thanks for reading!
XBOX ONE Twitch Streaming Delayed
The Twitch.tv functionality for the XBOX ONE has been delayed until 2014. Apparently the app isn't quite ready yet. More on this as it develops.
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
XBOX ONE Screenshots!
We have the screenshots no one else has! They are pulled straight from SmartGlass App available now on Windows Phone and Windows 8.1. The graphics are entirely insane. I don't think people can talk trash on XBOX ONE after they see these.
And here's a another.
More!
And more...
Shall we continue?
And one more...
 |
| Forza 5 |
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| Battlefield 4 |
 |
| FIFA 14 |
 |
| NBA 2K14 |
 |
| Call of Duty Ghosts |
Monday, November 18, 2013
XBOX ONE Game DVR and Live Streaming
The wait for XBOX ONE is nearly over. Today we will take a look at the game DVR and streaming features of the console. We did an article about DVR earlier, but we've found some more info on it.
GAME DVR
It is confirmed that in order to use game DVR at all, you will have to be connected to XBOX LIVE and have an active gold subscription. The console will continuously buffer your last 30 seconds of gameplay so that anytime you say the phrase "XBOX RECORD THAT" it will just dump that rolling set of footage to the rendering program. But what if you want a longer video than that?
You can up the capture time to 5 minutes if you have the "Upload Studio" app snapped in. "Snapping" an app means that you are running it at the same time as another app. In this case, the Upload Studio will be snapped to a little slice of the screen to the right of your main app (again, in this case, the game you're playing). Now you can capture a longer video.
LIVE STREAMING
You can live stream a game at anytime (provided you are connected to XBOX LIVE with a current gold sub) by simply saying *"XBOX STREAM MY GAME". The Twitch.tv app will fire up and confirm with you a few settings before starting your live stream. It is reported that some parts of some games may not allow you to stream them to keep the game spoiler free.
When you stream, your game will display in a main window, and a picture-in-picture of you will display below with your voice enabled for commentary.
I would like to add that I will be live streaming some Forza 5 and possibly some Ryse multiplayer and Powerstar Golf as well shortly after launch.
Let us know what you think about DVR/Streaming features in the comments section below. Stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming for more gaming news. Thanks for reading!
*Voice command subject to variation
GAME DVR
It is confirmed that in order to use game DVR at all, you will have to be connected to XBOX LIVE and have an active gold subscription. The console will continuously buffer your last 30 seconds of gameplay so that anytime you say the phrase "XBOX RECORD THAT" it will just dump that rolling set of footage to the rendering program. But what if you want a longer video than that?
You can up the capture time to 5 minutes if you have the "Upload Studio" app snapped in. "Snapping" an app means that you are running it at the same time as another app. In this case, the Upload Studio will be snapped to a little slice of the screen to the right of your main app (again, in this case, the game you're playing). Now you can capture a longer video.
LIVE STREAMING
You can live stream a game at anytime (provided you are connected to XBOX LIVE with a current gold sub) by simply saying *"XBOX STREAM MY GAME". The Twitch.tv app will fire up and confirm with you a few settings before starting your live stream. It is reported that some parts of some games may not allow you to stream them to keep the game spoiler free.
When you stream, your game will display in a main window, and a picture-in-picture of you will display below with your voice enabled for commentary.
I would like to add that I will be live streaming some Forza 5 and possibly some Ryse multiplayer and Powerstar Golf as well shortly after launch.
Let us know what you think about DVR/Streaming features in the comments section below. Stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming for more gaming news. Thanks for reading!
*Voice command subject to variation
PS4 Blinking Blue Light of Death
So the internets are on fire with the PS4 issue "Blinking Blue Light of Death". We found a video from a guy on youtube that explains why this is happening (not sure that this guy is qualified to diagnose the problem but he overcame the issue himself) and how to fix it.
Here's the video, follow at your own risk. We suggest that you call Sony if you experience this problem.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6N0ktQyI4g
Are you experiencing this problem with your PS4? Let us know in the comments section below. Stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming for more gaming news. Thanks for reading!
Here's the video, follow at your own risk. We suggest that you call Sony if you experience this problem.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6N0ktQyI4g
Are you experiencing this problem with your PS4? Let us know in the comments section below. Stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming for more gaming news. Thanks for reading!
Sunday, November 17, 2013
PS4 Problems After Launch
Apparently there are some problems with the PS4 after launch. One is a problem with bad HDMI ports and the other is a "Blue light" or "Blue Pulse" of death. I've heard a little about these problems and I think they are somewhat isolated. Do some research if you are a Sony fan that hasn't bought a system yet and see if this is a huge problem or just people trying to drum up flak for the console war.
A blue light or pulse will appear when you turn the console on and turn to white if working properly. I guess this isn't happening with some units and it pulses blue and then never turns on. A lot of these problems have stemmed from the Taco Bell give-a-way and I could speculate that units were mishandled. Like I said it seems like small, isolated incidents that are being blown out of proportion by trolls or fan boys or some one just trying to scare up some notoriety. Do your research, don't just buy into the fight and remember to have fun with your consoles and games. If your PS4 or Xbox One is faulty send it back to the company and they will get you set up, most likely.
I will say that this is why I opt out of first year consoles. I like to wait for all the little kinks to be ironed out. I'm sure Sony will jump in and start correcting these issues and making things good for all their fans.
Happy (console war free) Gaming my Friends!
*If anything else develops or this problem gets worse, Matt or I will bring you more news*
A blue light or pulse will appear when you turn the console on and turn to white if working properly. I guess this isn't happening with some units and it pulses blue and then never turns on. A lot of these problems have stemmed from the Taco Bell give-a-way and I could speculate that units were mishandled. Like I said it seems like small, isolated incidents that are being blown out of proportion by trolls or fan boys or some one just trying to scare up some notoriety. Do your research, don't just buy into the fight and remember to have fun with your consoles and games. If your PS4 or Xbox One is faulty send it back to the company and they will get you set up, most likely.
I will say that this is why I opt out of first year consoles. I like to wait for all the little kinks to be ironed out. I'm sure Sony will jump in and start correcting these issues and making things good for all their fans.
Happy (console war free) Gaming my Friends!
*If anything else develops or this problem gets worse, Matt or I will bring you more news*
Indie Reveiw: One Finger Death Punch
I'm not big on indie games and I am not trying to take anything away from them with that statement. But I decided to look into some for fun last night and was in a RPG state of mind. But I saw this game called One Finger Death Punch and I was immediately reminded of those great stickman fighting videos that were popular on the web back in high school. I downloaded the trial from Xbox's indie channel and got hooked by it's simple charms and dished out the hundred pennies to finish the robust campaign.
Death Punch is very simple at its core. You don't have to navigate levels as the game requires you to use one finger to push X to punch left and B to attack right. Waves of stickmen come running at our hero and you push the two buttons in time to defeat the horde. No button mashing here, imagine Batman: Arkham City's combo system where thought out strikes win over just mashing away. Most enemies die in one hit, but multi colored enemies take more hits and with combo presses of X and B. The action is fast and the mindlessness of the game becomes rather addicting as you strive to perfect each encounter.
There's a goofy commentary running while you play and the voice sounds straight out of a 1970's kung-fu movie. The visuals are rather striking for a game spotlighting stickmen and the backgrounds are a nicely detailed throwback to the SNES era. Close ups of the carnage are sprinkled through out the fighting when you decapitate enemies or kill them in a flashy way. There is just a lot to admire as you punch your way through each stage. There's also a ton of weapons, both ranged and melee you can use to your disposal. My favorite is the laser sword stages.
I recommend everyone on Xbox and PC to at least give it a trail run. I had fun and with 250 stages there's a lengthy amount of game for a buck. I give it a 10 out of 10. (Mostly for originality and it's absurdness.)
Happy Gaming my Friends!
Death Punch is very simple at its core. You don't have to navigate levels as the game requires you to use one finger to push X to punch left and B to attack right. Waves of stickmen come running at our hero and you push the two buttons in time to defeat the horde. No button mashing here, imagine Batman: Arkham City's combo system where thought out strikes win over just mashing away. Most enemies die in one hit, but multi colored enemies take more hits and with combo presses of X and B. The action is fast and the mindlessness of the game becomes rather addicting as you strive to perfect each encounter.
There's a goofy commentary running while you play and the voice sounds straight out of a 1970's kung-fu movie. The visuals are rather striking for a game spotlighting stickmen and the backgrounds are a nicely detailed throwback to the SNES era. Close ups of the carnage are sprinkled through out the fighting when you decapitate enemies or kill them in a flashy way. There is just a lot to admire as you punch your way through each stage. There's also a ton of weapons, both ranged and melee you can use to your disposal. My favorite is the laser sword stages.
I recommend everyone on Xbox and PC to at least give it a trail run. I had fun and with 250 stages there's a lengthy amount of game for a buck. I give it a 10 out of 10. (Mostly for originality and it's absurdness.)
Happy Gaming my Friends!
Saturday, November 16, 2013
Free with Xbox Gold
Iron brigade is out free for Gold members this week. Kind of tower defense, kind of shoot aliens with a giant mech. Made by Double Fine, it's funny and wonky and lots of fun in small bursts. Grab it, blast monsters, earn money, buy bigger guns, blast more monsters, have fun.
Happy Gaming my Friends!
Happy Gaming my Friends!
Friday, November 15, 2013
Deal Alert: Kerbal Space Program Weekend Deal
Hey guys and gals, Kerbal Space Program is currently 40% off on the Steam Store. Deal should be going on throughout the weekend. I cannot recommend this game highly enough! It's a great physics based game about space travel. The game is still early on in development and the team at Squad is always working on it. Download this game today and start your space adventures!
Stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming for more deal alerts like this one! Thanks for reading!
Stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming for more deal alerts like this one! Thanks for reading!
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Here Comes The PS4!
The wait is almost over friends! Playstation 4 launches in the USA tomorrow night at midnight! There are several major gaming sites that have been live streaming PS4 games all day today, and we'll probably see the same tomorrow.
Are you getting a PS4? Let us know in the comments section below. Hang in there, it's almost here!
Are you getting a PS4? Let us know in the comments section below. Hang in there, it's almost here!
Saturday, November 9, 2013
Project Spark
Project Spark has been a title we've had our eyes on since E3 this year. For those of you who don't know what Project Spark is, it is an "open world digital canvas that allows you to build your own worlds, games, stories and share it with the world". Basically, Project Spark is a "game" where you can make your own games. Your imagination is the limit as you can create your own levels, stories, voices, animations, etc.
The Team Dakota guys have been live streaming the game for quite some time now. Unfortunately, I never get to catch it when its live, but they have a youtube channel where they upload all their live streams so you can watch them whenever you want.
The team usually picks a different genre or idea for a game for each live stream and then executes the build of that idea on the fly with pretty clear commentary of what is happening as they put these ideas together. From tower defense to survival horror, they have put together some really great experiences with their game. Some of my favorite live streams are where the team combs the alpha community for user generated games and then plays them.
There are many powerful tools at your disposal in Project Spark. You can start by choosing the size of map you want to create in. Then you can terraform the terrain, paint a texture on by hand, use the biome brush to generate textures and objects at the same time, or even randomly generate and populate your map in seconds. The amount of creative flexibility is astounding.
Level customization isn't where this game ends though for that merely scratches the surface of what this game can do. Everything in the game has a "brain" that you can customize with a visual programming code.
Most objects come with a "default brain", meaning if you choose a goblin it will have a default "bad guy" goblin brain so that you can just drop one in and start playing and it'll act in a certain predefined way. If that default brain just isn't doing it for you, you can keep what parts of it you like and then write in what you need, or you can clear out the whole thing and make it completely custom.
If you spend a long time creating a custom brain, you can also share that with the community for use in their games. On top of that, everything you create in this game can be shared across all platforms that the game is supported on. That means you can make something on the XBOX 360, continue to tweak it on Windows 8, and then play through the whole thing on XBOX ONE. That is amazing!
Community members can riff off of each other as well, doing "remixes" of each others ideas. This will be cool because if you have a great idea but maybe can't get it fully realized, another player could grab your idea and help you bring it to full realization. Or maybe you had a great idea to start with and then another player takes it and turns it into something you could have never imagined!
There is so much potential with this game. It really appeals to me because I am a very creative person. I cannot wait to just spend hours and hours expressing myself creatively through this game!
If you haven't seen much about this game I have to suggest that you catch up on the hour long live streams and really get into what this is all about. Not often does something so special come along, but this is one of those times. Project Spark is going to be special.
Let us know what you think in the comments section below. Stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming for more gaming news. Thanks for reading!
The Team Dakota guys have been live streaming the game for quite some time now. Unfortunately, I never get to catch it when its live, but they have a youtube channel where they upload all their live streams so you can watch them whenever you want.
The team usually picks a different genre or idea for a game for each live stream and then executes the build of that idea on the fly with pretty clear commentary of what is happening as they put these ideas together. From tower defense to survival horror, they have put together some really great experiences with their game. Some of my favorite live streams are where the team combs the alpha community for user generated games and then plays them.
There are many powerful tools at your disposal in Project Spark. You can start by choosing the size of map you want to create in. Then you can terraform the terrain, paint a texture on by hand, use the biome brush to generate textures and objects at the same time, or even randomly generate and populate your map in seconds. The amount of creative flexibility is astounding.
Level customization isn't where this game ends though for that merely scratches the surface of what this game can do. Everything in the game has a "brain" that you can customize with a visual programming code.
Most objects come with a "default brain", meaning if you choose a goblin it will have a default "bad guy" goblin brain so that you can just drop one in and start playing and it'll act in a certain predefined way. If that default brain just isn't doing it for you, you can keep what parts of it you like and then write in what you need, or you can clear out the whole thing and make it completely custom.
If you spend a long time creating a custom brain, you can also share that with the community for use in their games. On top of that, everything you create in this game can be shared across all platforms that the game is supported on. That means you can make something on the XBOX 360, continue to tweak it on Windows 8, and then play through the whole thing on XBOX ONE. That is amazing!
Community members can riff off of each other as well, doing "remixes" of each others ideas. This will be cool because if you have a great idea but maybe can't get it fully realized, another player could grab your idea and help you bring it to full realization. Or maybe you had a great idea to start with and then another player takes it and turns it into something you could have never imagined!
There is so much potential with this game. It really appeals to me because I am a very creative person. I cannot wait to just spend hours and hours expressing myself creatively through this game!
If you haven't seen much about this game I have to suggest that you catch up on the hour long live streams and really get into what this is all about. Not often does something so special come along, but this is one of those times. Project Spark is going to be special.
Let us know what you think in the comments section below. Stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming for more gaming news. Thanks for reading!
Post XBOX ONE Launch - What to Expect Here
Just wanted to let everyone know that Daryll and I will be doing some reviews on the XBOX ONE stuff after launch. There will be a review on the console (which will include things like the controller, Kinect 2.0, etc) and we will review Ryse: Son of Rome, Forza Motorsport 5, and Powerstar Golf.
Some of these reviews could start rolling in shortly after release, while others may take a little more time.
Stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming for upcoming next gen gaming news and reviews. Thanks for reading!
Some of these reviews could start rolling in shortly after release, while others may take a little more time.
Stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming for upcoming next gen gaming news and reviews. Thanks for reading!
Friday, November 8, 2013
XBOX All in One Demo
Here is the 12 minute video showing what to expect from the XBOX ONE. Enjoy and please post your thoughts.
XBOX ONE Entertainment Apps
Here is a list of XBOX ONE entertainment apps (video, etc) to give you something to do when you don't want to game or are waiting for a matchmaking session.
You can also Skype chat with a friend, and the XBOX ONE Skype will connect with anyone that has Skype regardless of platform (pc, iphone, etc). Surfing the net with Internet Explorer is also an option and as far as we know you can watch most of these apps on main screen and snap other apps like IE to the right side of the screen to multitask.
Let us know what you think about these features in the comments section below. Stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming for more gaming news. Thanks for reading!
- Amazon Instant Video
- Crackle
- CWTV
- ESPN
- FOX NOW
- FXNOW
- Hulu Plus
- Machinima
- MUZU TV
- Netflix
- NFL on XBOX ONE
- Redbox Instant
- Target Ticket
- TED
- Twitch
- Univision Deportes
- Verizon FiOS TV
- VUDU
You can also Skype chat with a friend, and the XBOX ONE Skype will connect with anyone that has Skype regardless of platform (pc, iphone, etc). Surfing the net with Internet Explorer is also an option and as far as we know you can watch most of these apps on main screen and snap other apps like IE to the right side of the screen to multitask.
Let us know what you think about these features in the comments section below. Stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming for more gaming news. Thanks for reading!
Every XBOX ONE Launch Title
Here are all the confirmed launch titles for the XBOX ONE up to today.
Titles in the "launch window" include:
There were also some games that got delay, among them were Watchdogs and The Crew. There are a few titles that are coming later that include; Destiny, Metal Gear Solid 5, and The Division.
Let us know what games you're looking forward to in the comments section below. Stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming for more gaming news. Thanks for reading!
- Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag
- Battlefield 4
- Call of Duty Ghosts
- Crimson Dragon
- Dead Rising 3
- FIFA 14
- Fighter Within
- Forza 5 (Standard and Limited Edition)
- Just Dance 2014
- Killer Instinct
- LEGO Marvel Superheroes
- LocoCycle
- Madden 25
- NBA 2K14
- NBA LIVE 14
- Need for Speed Rivals
- Powerstar Golf
- Ryse: Son of Rome
- Skylanders: Swap Force
- Zoo Tycoon
- Zumba Fitness: World Party
Titles in the "launch window" include:
- Kinect Sports Rivals
- Minecraft: XBOX ONE Edition
- Peggle 2
- Project Spark (Beta in Jan 2014)
- Titanfall
- Wolfenstein: The New Order
There were also some games that got delay, among them were Watchdogs and The Crew. There are a few titles that are coming later that include; Destiny, Metal Gear Solid 5, and The Division.
Let us know what games you're looking forward to in the comments section below. Stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming for more gaming news. Thanks for reading!
Peggle 2 Delayed Until December
Peggle 2 was originally supposed to be a "day one" title for the XBOX ONE, but has since been pushed back to December.
Popcap had this to say about the delay "Peggle 2 is a 'launch timeframe' title...But [it] will not launch day-and-date with the Xbox One -- instead, it will become available a few weeks later in December".
This is a bummer, but a couple of weeks wait is manageable. At least it didn't get pushed to spring 14.
As always, let us know what you think in the comments section below. Stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming for more gaming news. Thanks for reading!
Popcap had this to say about the delay "Peggle 2 is a 'launch timeframe' title...But [it] will not launch day-and-date with the Xbox One -- instead, it will become available a few weeks later in December".
This is a bummer, but a couple of weeks wait is manageable. At least it didn't get pushed to spring 14.
As always, let us know what you think in the comments section below. Stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming for more gaming news. Thanks for reading!
Metal Gear Solid 5 Spring 2014
It looks like Metal Gear Solid 5 will drop on next gen consoles in the spring of 2014. Very excited for this title. It looked great at E3!
Thursday, November 7, 2013
Phil Spencer Talks About the Future of XBOX ONE
This is just a repost of an interview from Gamespot, but is an interesting Q&A session about what we can expect from XBOX ONE over time.
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
Game Review: Call of Duty Ghosts
Infinity Ward dropped Call of Duty Ghosts for the PS3 and XBOX 360 this week and we got our hands on a copy for the PS3. Lets take a look at what we thought.
My initial thought was one of excitement as I navigated the slick menus of the game. I played about 30 minutes of the campaign and that was about enough for me. The game looks washed out and under polished running on the PS3. The animation was smooth enough and the gameplay felt as familiar as it has come to be from the series, but I was not blown away at all. The space portion was really cool, but was also very short (so I hear the campaign is as well).
What I played before I turned it off seemed to be a series of interactive cutscenes where you had to run/escape from one disaster or another. Then I landed in a part where it was me, one other guy, and the dog Riley. Shortly after this I had seen quite enough.
The graphics were not good, and the story jumped around too much for my tastes. You are thrust into the story with not much introduction as to what is going on, and the whole thing feels very arbitrary.
From a gameplay standpoint it felt pretty refined and slick. I tried to play some multiplayer but spent about 8 minutes searching for a match with no match made. Frustrated, I turned the game off and put it away.
I'm not much of a CoD fan, but people that love the series will no doubt love this game too. There was nothing really jaw dropping about it, but it at least lives up to the standard that the series has set, though it does feel like they tried to make it "too epic" at least in the bits that I played.
There are better shooters out there for sure, but this one is solid. I personally will pass on this one, but don't let one opinion sway you from at least giving it a shot. There weren't any noticeable bugs in it and it was at least presented well.
Overall I give this game a 7/10. I personally didn't enjoy it, but I cannot say that it isn't a well crafted game that plays good.
I'll give it a round to go when the next gen version comes out and see if it feels better.
Stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming for more game reviews and news. Thanks for reading.
My initial thought was one of excitement as I navigated the slick menus of the game. I played about 30 minutes of the campaign and that was about enough for me. The game looks washed out and under polished running on the PS3. The animation was smooth enough and the gameplay felt as familiar as it has come to be from the series, but I was not blown away at all. The space portion was really cool, but was also very short (so I hear the campaign is as well).
What I played before I turned it off seemed to be a series of interactive cutscenes where you had to run/escape from one disaster or another. Then I landed in a part where it was me, one other guy, and the dog Riley. Shortly after this I had seen quite enough.
The graphics were not good, and the story jumped around too much for my tastes. You are thrust into the story with not much introduction as to what is going on, and the whole thing feels very arbitrary.
From a gameplay standpoint it felt pretty refined and slick. I tried to play some multiplayer but spent about 8 minutes searching for a match with no match made. Frustrated, I turned the game off and put it away.
I'm not much of a CoD fan, but people that love the series will no doubt love this game too. There was nothing really jaw dropping about it, but it at least lives up to the standard that the series has set, though it does feel like they tried to make it "too epic" at least in the bits that I played.
There are better shooters out there for sure, but this one is solid. I personally will pass on this one, but don't let one opinion sway you from at least giving it a shot. There weren't any noticeable bugs in it and it was at least presented well.
Overall I give this game a 7/10. I personally didn't enjoy it, but I cannot say that it isn't a well crafted game that plays good.
I'll give it a round to go when the next gen version comes out and see if it feels better.
Stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming for more game reviews and news. Thanks for reading.
Happy Birthday Halo 4
One year ago today, Halo 4 dropped! Happy birthday! Can't wait for Halo on the XBOX ONE!
Call of Duty Ghosts Pulls Motion Capture Scene Straight from Modern Warfare 2
Apparently the team at Infinity Ward reused a mocap scene from near the end of CoD MW2 in the beginning of it's new game, Ghosts. This shouldn't come as a surprise from a studio that has used the same engine in every single game this console generation. Here is the video.
Let us know what you think in the comments section below. Stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming for more gaming news. Thanks for reading!
Let us know what you think in the comments section below. Stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming for more gaming news. Thanks for reading!
Microsoft Giving Away XBOX ONE Consoles & Games
Microsoft is giving away XBOX ONE consoles and/or the game Killer Instinct to select longtime fans. These gifts come in the form of email, and started today. Check your email (and your spam folder) to see if you were a lucky recipient of such a gift!
Visit Big Ups Gaming often for more news like this! Thanks for reading!
Big Ups Gaming Blog Fresh New Look!
We have a great new look for the blog. Same great content. You'll notice as we change backgrounds we'll change colors to fit with the backgrounds!
XBOX ONE Or PS4? New Poll Up!
We want to know what console you are getting! Hit the poll on the side of the blog to let us know! Thanks!
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
Opinion: Next Gen Systems Short On Storage?
Before the consoles were actually announced, my friends and I tried to guess what some of the specs were going to be. Most importantly were "what kind of media will the games come on?" and "how much storage space will be available on the console itself?".
We all guessed that the games would be on Blu Ray, and they are. But for internal HDD, we were guessing 1TB, 2TB, or even 5TB. Nope. 500GB! That isn't going to get the job done at all!
My guess is that both Sony and Microsoft got some great deals on surplus 500GB drives, so they decided to go with that. The problem is, a Blu Ray can hold nearly 1/10 that amount of information. So what is the point here?
Most games will require a mandatory install. Call of Duty Ghosts is rumored to weigh in at 40GB installed. That is 8% of the internal storage. Battlefield 4 install is said to be double what CoD is at a whopping 80GB, or 16% of your drive! That is nearly 1/5 of the entire drive for one game! And that is just the mandatory, that doesn't count extra BF Premium content! By the time you have all the maps, skins, weapons, vehicles, etc. that ship with Premium, we could be talking about 200GB!
Just to put this in perspective, a 360 game installed was at most about 4.6GB (most of the time), for a mere 1.89% of the 250GB drive (based on the 250GB model). To keep this standard, the XBOX ONE console would have to have around a 2.75TB hard drive. But it doesn't.
To make matters worse, both console are offering "Day One Digital", or the means to buy a game from the console's online store the very day it comes out. Here is where things could potentially get sticky; lets say that you bought Battlefield 4 on the console day one. Gotta have 80GB for that download. Then you have to install it, now the original file with the install is 120GB. Now start piling all the premium content on top of that. Wow.
How does either platform push digital with next to no storage on the device at all? Well, all is not lost as there are some options but some of them will cost you some $$. Microsoft has their "Cloud Storage" system (said to be free), but it is unknown at this time if there is a max limit on how much you can store there. The PS4 HDD is removable/replaceable. So you can just pop a larger drive in there and you're solid. USB 3.0 flash memory is rumored to be a storage solution, though the maximum size you can use is unknown at this time. On the XBOX ONE, you cannot remove/replace the HDD, but you can add an external USB3.0 HDD. This feature should be enabled sometime after launch. It will be likely that each company will ship their own branded USB 3.0 flash drive, PS4 should have a HDD available, and it would be no surprise to see an XBOX ONE branded external HDD for sale.
It's kind of annoying that the internal storage directly contradicts the idea of gaming moving towards digital. Take away the games heading towards digital though and you are still left with 2 next gen consoles that don't have enough storage to meet the needs of even the most casual gamer.
Let us know what you think about the storage limitations of the XBOX ONE and PS4 in the comments section below. Stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming for more gaming news. Thanks for reading!
We all guessed that the games would be on Blu Ray, and they are. But for internal HDD, we were guessing 1TB, 2TB, or even 5TB. Nope. 500GB! That isn't going to get the job done at all!
My guess is that both Sony and Microsoft got some great deals on surplus 500GB drives, so they decided to go with that. The problem is, a Blu Ray can hold nearly 1/10 that amount of information. So what is the point here?
Most games will require a mandatory install. Call of Duty Ghosts is rumored to weigh in at 40GB installed. That is 8% of the internal storage. Battlefield 4 install is said to be double what CoD is at a whopping 80GB, or 16% of your drive! That is nearly 1/5 of the entire drive for one game! And that is just the mandatory, that doesn't count extra BF Premium content! By the time you have all the maps, skins, weapons, vehicles, etc. that ship with Premium, we could be talking about 200GB!
Just to put this in perspective, a 360 game installed was at most about 4.6GB (most of the time), for a mere 1.89% of the 250GB drive (based on the 250GB model). To keep this standard, the XBOX ONE console would have to have around a 2.75TB hard drive. But it doesn't.
To make matters worse, both console are offering "Day One Digital", or the means to buy a game from the console's online store the very day it comes out. Here is where things could potentially get sticky; lets say that you bought Battlefield 4 on the console day one. Gotta have 80GB for that download. Then you have to install it, now the original file with the install is 120GB. Now start piling all the premium content on top of that. Wow.
How does either platform push digital with next to no storage on the device at all? Well, all is not lost as there are some options but some of them will cost you some $$. Microsoft has their "Cloud Storage" system (said to be free), but it is unknown at this time if there is a max limit on how much you can store there. The PS4 HDD is removable/replaceable. So you can just pop a larger drive in there and you're solid. USB 3.0 flash memory is rumored to be a storage solution, though the maximum size you can use is unknown at this time. On the XBOX ONE, you cannot remove/replace the HDD, but you can add an external USB3.0 HDD. This feature should be enabled sometime after launch. It will be likely that each company will ship their own branded USB 3.0 flash drive, PS4 should have a HDD available, and it would be no surprise to see an XBOX ONE branded external HDD for sale.
It's kind of annoying that the internal storage directly contradicts the idea of gaming moving towards digital. Take away the games heading towards digital though and you are still left with 2 next gen consoles that don't have enough storage to meet the needs of even the most casual gamer.
Let us know what you think about the storage limitations of the XBOX ONE and PS4 in the comments section below. Stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming for more gaming news. Thanks for reading!
Monday, November 4, 2013
XBOX ONE Resolution Issues. Are They Just Drummed Up Controversy?
There are some youtubers and other fanboys on the internet that are claiming that the XBOX ONE has resolution issues due to the ESRAM. This has all started over the Call of Duty Ghosts statement made about the game running at 720p on the XBOX ONE VS 1080p on the PS4.
Lets be clear about something, the XBOX ONE version is running at 1080p, but the game is being upscaled to 1080p from native 720p instead of running at a native 1080p. This is not due to the fact that the XBOX ONE is incapable of running games in native 1080p (Forza 5 runs at a blistering 60fps at 1080p), it is in fact on the end of Infinity Ward that they can't get it running in 1080p. That isn't to say that they can't patch it in the future to run at 1080p on the XBOX ONE, it's just going to be upscaled from 720p for launch.
The Call of Duty series launches games every single year. How long have they had the XB1 dev kit? Did they start it on the PS4 and then port it over to the XB1? It is more than possible that they just didn't have the time to figure it out before the launch window.
I don't think there is a major issue here. Forza 5 displays at 1080p, so we know that 1080p is more than possible on the XBOX ONE. If Infinity Ward and other devs are having a hard time getting games to run at 1080p it is a problem worth looking into, but to say that it will never run games at 1080p is just a straight lie.
Lets also remember that these are launch titles. Titles at launch for the 360 VS titles that have come out in the last 2 years on the same console look drastically different. This is new tech that devs are still learning how to develop for. Sure, it has similar architecture to that of a PC, but that doesn't mean it is the same as a PC. For example, the PS4 has 8GB of GDDR5 ram VS the XBOX ONE having 8GB of DDR3 ram and 32MB of ESRAM. Call of Duty isn't going to work the same on both consoles, period.
People are trying so hard to call the consoles limitations, expectations, etc. early so that they can say "oh yeah I called that since before it came out". They do it so they appear to be so smart about these things, when all they are really doing it making themselves look stupid and drumming up the hate and controversy about the consoles.
In the end it is all about the games. You won't get Halo, Titanfall, or Gears of War on the PS4, and you won't get Killzone, Little Big Planet, or Uncharted on the XBOX ONE. Why is it such a big deal that one console has to be better than the other? Can't we just be satisfied with the one that plays the games that WE want to play and not worry about what other people do or like?
Let us know how you feel about this in the comments section below. Stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming for more articles like this one. Thanks for reading!
Lets be clear about something, the XBOX ONE version is running at 1080p, but the game is being upscaled to 1080p from native 720p instead of running at a native 1080p. This is not due to the fact that the XBOX ONE is incapable of running games in native 1080p (Forza 5 runs at a blistering 60fps at 1080p), it is in fact on the end of Infinity Ward that they can't get it running in 1080p. That isn't to say that they can't patch it in the future to run at 1080p on the XBOX ONE, it's just going to be upscaled from 720p for launch.
The Call of Duty series launches games every single year. How long have they had the XB1 dev kit? Did they start it on the PS4 and then port it over to the XB1? It is more than possible that they just didn't have the time to figure it out before the launch window.
I don't think there is a major issue here. Forza 5 displays at 1080p, so we know that 1080p is more than possible on the XBOX ONE. If Infinity Ward and other devs are having a hard time getting games to run at 1080p it is a problem worth looking into, but to say that it will never run games at 1080p is just a straight lie.
Lets also remember that these are launch titles. Titles at launch for the 360 VS titles that have come out in the last 2 years on the same console look drastically different. This is new tech that devs are still learning how to develop for. Sure, it has similar architecture to that of a PC, but that doesn't mean it is the same as a PC. For example, the PS4 has 8GB of GDDR5 ram VS the XBOX ONE having 8GB of DDR3 ram and 32MB of ESRAM. Call of Duty isn't going to work the same on both consoles, period.
People are trying so hard to call the consoles limitations, expectations, etc. early so that they can say "oh yeah I called that since before it came out". They do it so they appear to be so smart about these things, when all they are really doing it making themselves look stupid and drumming up the hate and controversy about the consoles.
In the end it is all about the games. You won't get Halo, Titanfall, or Gears of War on the PS4, and you won't get Killzone, Little Big Planet, or Uncharted on the XBOX ONE. Why is it such a big deal that one console has to be better than the other? Can't we just be satisfied with the one that plays the games that WE want to play and not worry about what other people do or like?
Let us know how you feel about this in the comments section below. Stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming for more articles like this one. Thanks for reading!
Friday, November 1, 2013
Games With Gold: A World of Keflings
A World of Keflings is free on XBOX LIVE for Gold Members starting today. Download and enjoy!
PS4 Music Limitations
We've recently found out that there will be only one option for you to listen to music on your PS4. According to IGN, the PS4 will NOT support the playback of CDs, mp3s, etc. This means if you put your favorite music CD into the PS4, it will do nothing. You can't rip the music to your hard drive for playback during your games either, because the PS4 does not support MP3 playback.
You can however use the "Music Unlimited" service as a means to listen to music. PS4 owners can buy a Music Unlimited membership for $59.99 a year, or if they have a PS+ subscription can get a discount to $41.99 a year. So instead of having a CD rip/mp3 playback system, Sony wants you to PAY to listen to music. On top of your PS+ account. Pretty sweet!
Let us know how you feel about this in the comments section below. Keep it locked to Big Ups Gaming for more info like this.
You can however use the "Music Unlimited" service as a means to listen to music. PS4 owners can buy a Music Unlimited membership for $59.99 a year, or if they have a PS+ subscription can get a discount to $41.99 a year. So instead of having a CD rip/mp3 playback system, Sony wants you to PAY to listen to music. On top of your PS+ account. Pretty sweet!
Let us know how you feel about this in the comments section below. Keep it locked to Big Ups Gaming for more info like this.
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