Help Connor Decide His Next Platinum

#PlatinumPledge for March you decide!

Hey readers, I need your help.

I've just finished my #PlatinumPledge for February on Uncharted: Golden Abyss on PSVita. I also managed to catch up on my January #PlatinumPledge on Uncharted3: Drake's Deception earlier in the month.

Now I'm stuck on what to play for my March #PlatinumPledge. I've already decided that this years is going to be the year of "Prequels & Threequels." So as I have some time off during March I thought I'd challenge myself a little further by going from zero to Platinum on one of two games in my pile of shame.

This is where you all come in. I'd like you to vote in the comments on whether it should be Farcry3 or Saint's Row: The Third.

I know they're both supposed to be great games but for very different reasons. Should I take to the Island and face the madness of first person survival or should I just have a laugh and beat people with elephant dildos and fly ViTOLs.

I'm gonna go with whatever you guys decide. Would love you to give a reason as to why I should play that specific game too. I'll leave it to Rich & Dexter to inform me of the final decision on this weekends podcast.

Cheers, @vdjomb

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Total War: Rome II Trailer & Screenshots

Total War: Rome II is an upcoming strategy game under development by The Creative Assembly to be released in October 2013 for PC. The eighth standalone game in the Total War series of video games, Rome II is a successor to the 2004 game Rome: Total War.

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Ubisoft Will Release 2 Assassin's Creed Games in 2013

Ubisoft has already officially confirmed Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag for consoles and PC earlier today, and now Yves Guillemot has said, "this year we'll see two AC games, that's for sure", adding, "bet for a Vita one in 2013."

Ubisoft is working on an unannounced Vita game with Guillemot saying, "I cannot announce anything, but it's coming. The Vita is not dead for us."

This could tie in to ACIV or begin a new tale set during WWII perhaps?

VGleaks

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Deadfall Adventures Officially Announced

Press Release:

Vienna, Austria (February 28 2013) - The traditional summer blockbuster is making the leap from picture house to home cinema this July, as Nordic Games and The Farm 51 announce Deadfall Adventures – a thrilling and immersive action adventure which seamlessly combines the first person shooter experience with puzzle-solving and exploration, taking players across the globe in Nordic Games’ most ambitious game to date.

Watch the announcement trailer here

The year is 1938. James Lee Quatermain is a man of many talents, yet holding on to money isn't one of them. Quatermain isn't all too keen on escorting Jennifer Goodwin, a US agent and former colleague of his, to an Egyptian temple complex in order to retrieve an ancient artifact - The Heart of Atlantis. Neither does he believe in the reputed invigorating qualities of this artifact, nor does he care that a division of the Ahnenerbe, the National Socialist department specialized in the occult, is after The Heart as well.

But life has its ways of changing one's perspective. Quatermain soon finds himself part of a hunt across the globe - from the stormy deserts of Egypt to the icy depths of the Arctic and all the way to the steaming jungles of Guatemala.

In the long-forgotten temple complex, the thrill of the chase awakens the true adventurer in Quatermain, as he and Agent Goodwin strive to be one step ahead of the National Socialists and the Russians, one step closer to obtaining the Heart of Atlantis. And deep in these temples, where age-old guardians awake from their eternal slumber, James soon learns that his great-grandfather's stories are not as crazy as he had always believed. For all things live forever, though at times they sleep and are forgotten.

The game uses Unreal Engine 3 to produce one of the most jaw-dropping spectacles this generation has enjoyed, as players battle natural and not-so-natural enemies. Along the way, fiendish puzzles, deadly traps and stunning set pieces will make this one of the greatest adventures ever told – let alone played.

“Deadfall Adventures marries the ethos of the Saturday morning matinee with the Summer blockbuster to create an original adventure which will grip players from start to finish,” says Klemens Kreuzer, Managing Director at Nordic Games. “We’re putting players into the heart of the action, just as they’d dreamed as children, staring at their heroes on the silver screen. It’s fantastic to be working on Deadfall Adventures with The Farm 51 from the roots up; it’s going to be an exciting summer.”

“We’re thrilled to be working on our second project alongside Nordic Games,” says Wojciech Pazdur, Development Director at The Farm 51. “We’re putting everything into the games’ stunning graphics to create a unique experience that will be both challenging and engaging. The great thing about Deadfall Adventures, it makes us discover the little Indiana Jones in all of us.”

Deadfall Adventures will be released on July 30th 2013 for Windows PC and Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft.

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PS4 vs. Xbox 720

With an engaging but ultimately rather uninformative PlayStation 4 event on February 20th, many gamers, including myself, are bracing their wallets and trying to determine which next generation console they should invest in.

I’ve always been an Xbox man, so it’s weird for me to even be considering something other than Microsoft's new console. But, with the limited information that we have about next generation's games, one thing has become crystal clear - being online will be a massive (and in some games, entirely essential) part of the experience.

Traveler's Rest

Destiny, Bungie’s new release has gotten me very excited - the Guild Wars meets Halo look is simply irresistible. However, no online, no dice - you simply can't play it. And this is where my hesitation is to immediately jump in the 720 line - what is the online functionality going to be? Am I going to be expected to pay for Xbox Live Gold on Microsoft’s next console?

Andrew House introduces the PlayStation 4. 

The best part of the PlayStation 4's press conference was that they attacked head on all the problems that people had with the PS3 without mentioning them. Everything was fast - playing with your friends, playing games, everything. It couldn't be farther from the image of the PlayStation 3, with its players dreading system updates and popping in a game for the first time to download the Day 1 patch.

Currently, Microsoft has a subsidized pricing model for their Xbox 360 where you pay $99 for the console and commit to paying $14.99 for Xbox Live Gold for 2 years. I'm imagining that Microsoft is testing that pay model in order to see if it would be viable for the release of their next console.

Some might see that as a scam, but with the move towards online become increasingly prevalent, you're probably going to be using Xbox Live Gold - a lot. And that $15 a month might seem like a pretty good investment for right now.

Right now, Microsoft would need to pull some pretty drastic changes with Xbox Live in order to sway me back to their side. Because the truth is, XBL Gold is incredibly featureless for something that they're expecting players to pay for; with no clan/guild support, the large price tag, and extensive advertisements.

Unfortunately, most of what we know about the next generation of consoles is still in the dark. Hell, we didn't even get to see what the PS4 looked like after sitting through an hour and a half press conference.

One thing about the next few months is absolutely apparent though - whoever provides the best online service will be the more attractive video game console.

News Editor
John Schwartz

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[CoolStuff] Prankster USB Flash Drive

April Fools is just around the corner and nothing tells your friends and family just how much you love them than creating chaos in their lives.

Made in the innocent likeness of a flash drive, the PC Prankster plugs into any USB port and, based on its toggle switch setting, drives the next person to use the receiving computer down one of three different roads to insanity. Instigate a friend's, relative's, or co-worker's meltdown with one of the following options:

Caps Lock.
Randomly enables and disables the Caps Lock key.

Keyboard.
Splatters garbled text all over open documents and spreadsheets.

Mouse.
Prompts erratic, uncontrollable cursor movements.

Buy it now on Amazon for $24.99

Here is the best part; if you buy this product and record the hilariousness that ensues we want to watch it. Send any and all April Fools pranks that involve tech, games, or movies and we'll post them on the site.
Send all your submissions to daniel@thetechfixation.com

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PS4 Social Features Screens

Sony have released screenshots today of the social features they showed at the PS4 event last week (I've embedded the images below).  Now we have the chance to view them in more detail it's still tricky to say how much new functionality the updated PSN will offer for PS4, simply because we can't see them in motion.

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Pandora Limiting Free Users to 40 Hours/Month

I use Pandora every day. I have more than 30 stations and an orgy of bands I please my ears with. I mainly listen to Baroness, Chillstep Station that includes goodies from Blackmill, Zeppelin, Tool, Gojira, the Indie Rock station, and many many more. (I've included my stations if you're interested in listening to some great music.) I love music and this news actually irritates me but I understand the legal and financial reasons behind such a move.

This is the email sent out to Pandora users.

Hi, it's Tim –
I hope this email finds you enjoying a favorite Pandora station.

I'm writing to give you an important heads up. In an effort to balance the reality of increasing royalty costs with our desire to maximize access to free listening on Pandora, we are implementing a 40-hour per month limit on free mobile listening.
Pandora's per-track royalty rates have increased more than 25% over the last three years, including 9% in 2013 alone and are scheduled to increase an additional 16% over the next two years. After a close look at our overall listening, a 40-hour per month mobile listening limit allows us to manage our costs with minimal listener disruption.

Less than 4% of listeners will ever hit this limit, but based on your listening it seems that you might. To keep the music you love flowing we have a variety of easy options for you to consider if you reach the 40-hour limit: listen for free as much as you'd like on desktop and laptop computers; pay $0.99 for unlimited, ad-supported listening for the remainder of that month; or become a Pandora One subscriber to get unlimited listening with no advertising.

We'll be implementing this change starting in March and will be sure to let you know if you're approaching the limit. As always, your feedback and suggestions are welcome, so don't hesitate to shoot us an email. For more details on this change, please click here.

Thanks for listening,
Tim
Founder

What do you think of this? Do you use online radio daily, weekly, or not at all. We want your opinions on this.

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CONFIRMED: Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag

Ubisoft has just confirmed that Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag will release for current generation consoles; Xbox360, PS3, PC, and Wii U. No word yet on next-gen versions.

More will be revealed next week as the promotional materials are set to hit stores on Monday. What we know now is that the PS3 version of ACIV will include 60 minutes of exclusive content.

No release date is mentioned but keep your Eagle sense aware because we'll be posting more on this as we learn it.
You ready for some swashbuckling?!

Have yourself a peek at the map of Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag.

MCV

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The Last of Us Development Series Episode 1: Hush

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Over 15 New Hi-Res Images from Dead Man Down

Here’s the official synopsis for Dead Man Down:

DEAD MAN DOWN is an action thriller that stars Colin Farrell and Noomi Rapace as two strangers whose mutual desire for revenge draws them together and triggers an escalating trail of mayhem. The film, which also stars Academy Award nominee Terrence Howard and Dominic Cooper, marks the American theatrical debut of director Niels Arden Oplev (the original The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo).

Dead Man Down releases March 8, 2013

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