Adam91

The Destiny Beta has been confirmed to kick off in July according the Activsion/Blizzard first quarter report. The Beta for Destiny is coming in July, two months before the official release date as the report shows but no full date for the beta release has been given yet. There are speculations that it could launch on Bungie Day (July 7th) which is pretty safe to assume as it is Bungie's own annual festivity and what better way to celebrate it than launching the Beta on that day. But whatever the date is Playstation fans will be first to play it as Bungie announced last year that the Playstation will get early access to it. It is not yet confirmed how long Xbox fans will have to wait for it to come to the Xbox 360 and the Xbox One after it releases on the PS3 and PS4, it could possibly be something along the lines of a week or so. To gain access to the beta you have to pre-order the game to receive a code at participating retailers where you then enter it over at bungie.net. So are you going to be participating in the beta? Are you getting the game at all? Source: files.shareholder.com

Tomorrow is a new month and that means another two free games are coming with the Games With Gold program. The first game Xbox Live Gold Subscribers can get for free in May is Dust: An Elysian Tail (normally £9.99/$14.99). Dust: An Elysian Tail is a 2012 action role-playing game developed by Humble Hearts and it is free to download from May 1st - 15th. The second game that is free to download for May is Saints Row: The Third (normally £14.99/$19.99). Saints Row: The Third is a 2011 open world action game developed by Volition and it is free to download from May 16th - 31st. So there you have it, those are the next two free titles you can get for free in May. Source: majornelson.com

Bungie presented us with a new video of gameplay from Destiny yesterday. The video didn't really stand out all that much from what Bungie has shown us before over the last number of months in terms of gameplay. But there are some things that may be worth pointing out and discuss about, certain things that could raise a few questions regarding the lore. So while we wait or hope for something new to see at E3 let's see what interesting we can divulge from the latest video that could be of interest. So first up after the opening with the Bungie and Destiny logos the video quickly snapped to a cutscene of a squadron of Guardians in their personal ships, racing through the sky to commence a strike mission against the Fallen and Hive in Old Russia. As you can see from the picture we can get a good idea of how much detail and options are available for customizing our personal ships. The three ships are very different from each other, they are completely different in shape and have quite a difference in size and colour from each other. This image seems to tell us that we will be to choose from a variety of types or models of ships and of course, as expected, give them our own coat of paint. The video then fades to a map of a part of the Solar System showing the Earth, the Moon, Mars, another planet that appears to be Venus and The Traveler. The words that are placed between the planets may raise some questions. We can see the word "Tower" beside The Traveler and just before the screen shot was taken as the video was fading from the three ships to the planets the word "Reef" was above The Traveler and between the two other planets and a word that spelled "Crucible" to the right of the Earth. Now the "l" and "e" of the word are not seen in the shot as the video was blared at that moment as the video was changing scenes. So why are these words placed on the map? Could they be names of the controlled area's in space that the Guardians still have in their power? Here we have another map but it is only of the Earth this time. If you look at the shape of the land and the way it borders with the oceans, you will see that it is completely different from how it is today in the real world. Has the sea level risen? Has the continental plates shifted that much in as little as seven hundred years? That one is doubtful but who knows, it is a video game after all anything is possible. It will most likely be a big question fans will discover the answer to when they play the game. Again we have another map of different locations that border one another and makes up the place or a part of a plce called "Old Russia". The locations that surrounds The Devils' Lair are called King's Watch, Rocket Yard, Gateway, Blind Steepes, Delta South (I think), Moth Yard, Sky Watch, Dry Sea and along there is Forgotten Shore. These will possibly be all explorable locations in the game. So has any of this got you thinking about what you will discover in the game?

Bungie has just released a new Destiny gameplay video titled "The Devils' Lair" as it follows a team of guardians fighting their way through the depths of Old Russia. In this seven minute long video we see a Fireteam of Guardians on a strike mission beneath the ruins of the Cosmodrome in a location called "The House of The Devils' Lair" in Old Russia as they take on the Fallen and the Hive, two of five enemy races Humanity will battle against to save Earth and their colonies. Destiny is a completely online game that encourages team play with co-operative modes that involves raids and strike missions as it is shown in the video. This has been the first proper video of solid full length gameplay since Bungie's presentation at last years E3. Fans itching to see more Destiny content will surely be tied over until more of it returns in just less than two months at this years E3. What did you think of the new gameplay, are you looking forward to the game?

Another price cut has been made on the Xbox One. On Amazon UK the Xbox One bundled with a digital copy of Titanfall is now down to £349, the same price as the PS4. The price has dropped a huge £50 in just over a month when Microsoft originally cut the cost from its original price of £429 down to £399 for the launch of Titanfall. But customers can now get their hands on an Xbox One with the game for £30 cheaper which now works out at £80 cheaper than what it was for the console alone at launch back in November. This may leave some Xbox One users a bit unhappy since they have paid more for a console at launch when it would then go down in price dramatically only within months. This is the very reason why it's better to wait rather than buying at launch if you don't want miss out on cheaper deals. So what do you think about the latest price cut, would you pick up the Xbox One for £349 if you haven't already? Source: Amazon

Yesterday Marty O'Donnell the composer and audio director at Bungie made a post on his twitter account announcing that he has been fired from the company. He states that his duties at Bungie had been terminated without cause on April 11th. No reason has yet been announced why he had to step down from his roles and departured from Bungie. Although something about this does seem suspicious, could this be a late April fools joke? Marty O'Donnell is a veteran employee at Bungie and has created a huge fan base due to his music for the Halo series. If this is indeed true and not a sick and twisted prank then this will no doubt come as a blow to many in the Bungie community especially with their new series Destiny is in the works. What do you think about this news? Do you think it may be a prank or is this the end of Marty at Bungie? Source: Twitter UPDATE Bungie has not yet commented directly on the matter or if they even but they have left a farewell message to Marty O'Donnell on the news page of their site. The messages reads; "For more than a decade, Marty O’Donnell filled our worlds with unforgettable sounds and soundtracks, and left an indelible mark on our fans. Today, as friends, we say goodbye. We know that wherever his journey takes him, he will always have a bright and hopeful future. We wish him luck in all his future endeavors." That is all Bungie has officially commented on the matter but according to a reddit user claiming to be a Bungie employee he or she says that the reason for the termination of Marty's position at Bungie was a dispute over pay. "Okay. So I can't give out too much detail here, but I will let you know what I know. Marty was a contracted employee, he didn't just get a fee for each game he produced. Marty had received a significant raise in the last few years, but was now asking for another. This created tension between him and the board (some of whom already felt he was overpaid). A verbal argument ensued recently between Marty and a member of the board. Shortly there after he was let go. So there was certainly 'cause' but one that a lot of us felt could be worked through. But money talks. The board feels they can get someone for cheaper, and without the drama, that will have a better ROI." I highly doubt this person is genuine, the thread this anonymous source created on reddit has been deleted for failing to privately identify his or herself to the moderators after claiming he or she would do so. I wouldn't advise anyone to believe this and be wary of any other statements that may arise . Here is a link to the reddit thread just to show it has been removed. http://343i.org/1rz

Xbox One users will be able to upload content from their Xbox One console directly to Youtube starting tomorrow. There will be an update coming to the Xbox One tomorrow that will allow users to upload recorded content from the Game DVR and edited content from Studio Upload directly to Youtube, Microsoft announced. "Now, use Game DVR to capture epic gaming moments, edit them in Upload Studio, and, with the simple click of a button inside the YouTube app (look for My Uploads**), share them instantly to your YouTube channel." No doubt this feature will get many Xbox fans who upload or would like to upload gaming content to Youtube excited for this new update. The update will also include media achievements, watch Youtube videos in Snap Mode and also allows you to add Youtube channels to the Xbox One guide for quick access. The Xbox team also confirmed a GoPro channel will be coming to the Xbox 360 tomorrow for Gold subscribers and sometime in the summer for the Xbox One for Gold subscribers as they originally announced it earlier this year. GoPro allows users to stream curated content to the channel for anyone to see and to celebrate the launch of the app Microsoft said they will be releasing two videos that will be temporarily exclusive to the Xbox community. "On Tuesday, Xbox Live Gold subscribers around the world* can immerse themselves in wild adventures with the GoPro app on Xbox 360. Now you’ll be able to stream and curate GoPro video content from the largest screen in the house and to kick off the launch, GoPro is offering two exclusive (read: AWESOME) videos that the Xbox community will get one week before they’re available elsewhere." So some pretty cool features are en route to the Xbox One and Xbox 360 tomorrow. What do you think about the new updates, does having the ability to upload your gaming content directly to your Youtube channel make you look forward to the new features? Source: news.xbox.com

Halo: Combat Evolved for the PC and many other games that are hosted by Gamespy are set to be shut down on May 31st. Gamespy issued an announcement on their site confirming that their online servers for all games that they host will soon cease to be in service. "Effective May 31, 2014, GameSpy will cease providing all hosted services for all games still using GameSpy. If you have any questions about how this impacts your favorite title please contact the game’s publisher for more information. Thanks for a great ride! - See more" This action gamespy has taken will effect hundreds of games and thousands of gamers who use their services as it will all come to an end next month. After this news broke out many are hoping their Gamespy hosted games will then move to steam in the future. What do you think about this news, does this effect your gaming life? Do you play Halo: Combat Evolved on PC? Source: Gamespy

Wow these months sure are flying by aren't they? As we approach April tomorrow we are given another two free games to download with the "Games With Gold" program. You know the score the first free game will be available April 1st and the second will be April 16th. Right so first up for the month of April will be Hitman: Absolution. The game was developed by IO Interactive, it is the fifth installment of the Hitman series and it is set mainly in the city of Chicago. It is normally $19.99/£14.99 to download but starting tomorrow through to April 16th it will be free to download for Gold Members. The next free game for April is Deadlight. Deadlight is a side scrolling survival horror game developed by Tequila Works, it first came to Xbox Live Arcade before being released on Steam for Windows. The current price for the game is $14.99/£11.99 but it will be available to download for free from April 16th - April 30th. What do you think of the free games for April, have you played them before or will it be your first time? Source: majornelson.com