Once again, it’s time to get some all-in-one analysis with our second-hand panel of experts!

Surprise! Microsoft’s launching a new hardware console … who knew? And inside a giant circus tent full of magic and dreams, we got our first look at the best fee-charging-for-used-games, not-backwards-compatible, Internet-mandatory, groovy-retro-design game console ever made: the Xbox One!

It won’t be long before this hardware masterpiece matches up against Sony’s PlayStation 4, but why wait to make crucial judgments? A 60-minute event with no Q&A session is plenty of time! What say you, panel of experts? The Xbox One: bringer of world peace or red ring of death?

Launch the gallery below to learn the language of love!

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GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

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Once again, it’s time for some bouncy commentary from our socially engineered panel of experts!

BEWBS! In an video game industry increasingly sensitive to gender issues, it’s just lucky we have a developer like Vanillaware to come along and remind us that we’re really all just pretending to be grown-ups. To wit: George Kamitani’s character designs in Dragon’s Crown, Vanillaware’s side-scrolling fantasy elf-em-up, which skip merrily past “exaggerated” and go straight to “daaaaammn.”

It’s not uncommon to see female video game characters with breasts larger than their heads, but Kamitani’s art style — along with Crown’s hyper-jiggling animations — still gave a jaded gaming community pause. Then, when Jason Schreier at Kotaku called it juvenile in a slightly juvenile way, Kamitani doubled down, lightly suggesting that anyone not sexually aroused by his ladies’ physics-defying anatomy was probably gay, and that was probably bad. He’s apologized since.

All that leaves us feeling confused, angry, and possibly a little horny. So what say you, panel of experts? Artistic license or license revoked?

Launch the gallery below for wisdom!

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GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

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Some people really don’t like the art in the upcoming beat-em-up Dragon’s Crown. The new title from developer Vanillaware, due out Aug. 6 for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita, features characters of extreme proportions wearing little clothing as they fight monsters.

Dragon’s Crown designer George Kamitani spoke out recently about his art, but that did little to quell the swirling controversy. Now, other game developers are weighing in, as Destructoid first reported.

“[This is] actually something that made its way into a basically finished video game?” Gearbox artist Shaylyn Hamm wrote on the message board for website The Escapist. Hamm was referencing Dragon’s Crown’s Sorceress character that has large breasts, long legs, a tiny head, and a revealing outfit.

“Some juvenile delinquent kid in my fifth grade class used to draw girls that looked like that — only without the creepy, blank featureless samefaces and wizards hats,” Hamm continued. “I think he was actually better at it [than Kamitani]. I also think he’s in jail now.”

This isn’t the first time that someone suggested that Kamitani’s art is juvenile, although it is the first time a developer compared him to a criminal delinquent.

“I want to see more women getting interested in games and game development,” wrote Hamm. “But stuff like this only serves to further cement the idea that you’re stepping into a male hobby rather than something that is more inclusive.”

Hamm’s employer, Gearbox, produces games like Borderlands and Duke Nukem — the latter features busty women in schoolgirl uniforms making oral-sex jokes.

We’ve reached out to Gearbox to see if Hamm wishes to expand on her remarks. We will update this story with her comments.

That’s not to say Dragon’s Crown doesn’t turn off female gamers. Based on the reaction, it obviously does with some. It is weird, however, to read a developer criticize another developer for not making an inclusive game when many feel their company is guilty of the same thing.

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GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

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This sponsored post is produced by Dealzon.

Strategy gamers! Allocate your resources toward these two titles: SimCity and Europa Universalis III Chronicles. Both games boast in-depth gameplay, long-running franchises, and have numerous fans – but only one will go down in RTS infamy as an online-only single player game. Setting aside server stumbles, SimCity may actually be worthy of positive attention this week. The PC download is almost half off, and Europa Universalis III is free at GameFly.

Today SimCity dropped to $32 for the PC download with Origin activation (flame away). This is a solid price for a recently released Triple-A game, server snafus and DRM controversies aside. We suspect the game will soon reach the $30 price point, but don’t expect it to break the $20 barrier until closer to year’s end.

Europa Universalis III Chronicles can be yours for the unbeatable price of FREE today through April 11 at GameFly. You’ll still have to check out with a PayPal account or furnish your credit card info. But if you’re a fan of grand strategy games, you can’t go wrong with this bundle, as it includes all four Europa 3 expansions.

Note: We update our GamesBeat weekly deal post every Tuesday with the latest deals. For last week’s deals, check below the “Last Thursday” headline.

Tuesday New Deals

SimCity (PC Download) — $31.99 at GameFly after coupon. Yes, it’s Origin activated. Yes, you still need to be connected to the Internet. But hey, you’re not paying full price.
 

Europa Universalis 3 Chronicles (PC Download) — FREE at GameFly. The bundle comes with all four Europa 3 expansions. This same bundle runs $30 at Steam. Between $30 and free, we’ll take free.
 

Ni no Kuni: Wrath Of The White Witch (PS3) — $39.99 at Amazon. First big price drop on this beautifully crafted JRPG.
 

June 14 release: The Last of Us (PS3) — $49.99 at NewEgg after coupon. One of the first solid deals we’ve seen on the upcoming and highly anticipated PS3 exclusive.
 

June 25 release: Company of Heroes 2 (PC Download) — $45 at Green Man Gaming after coupon. Comes with beta access. Thankfully the title’s still being released, even after THQ’s liquidation.
 

Sep 17 release: Grand Theft Auto V (Xbox 360) — $59.99 at Microsoft. Xbox 360 owners get a better preorder incentive than their PS3 counterparts with an offer of 1600 Xbox Live points.
 

Last Thursday

In a move to bolster sales on titles published by 2K Games, GameFly is bundling up a few fan favorites and selling them at wallet-opening prices. This is a trend we’ve noticed lately for PC game sales, where retailers are happy to cheaply bundle last year’s hit releases to increase sales volume.

For the week, GameFly is offering four solid game bundles priced from $5 to $40. If you preordered BioShock Infinite, you’re probably familiar with some of these titles – they’re the same ones given away as bonuses during Infinite’s preorder sales push. Our top pick would be the BioShock dual pack bundle, containing the first two installment of the series for only $4.

If you see something you fancy, you might want to act fast, since all four bundle deals will be gone tomorrow.

On the console front, we’re spotting the first real discounts on recent releases like BioShock Infinite and Army of Two: Devil’s Cartel. While the savings are less substantial compared to their PC counterparts, kudos to GameStop for actually slashing prices on the 360/PS3 versions. Not bad for everyone’s favorite-game-store-to-hate.

2k Games PC bundles

BioShock Dual Pack (PC Download) — $3.99 at GameFly after coupon and includes BioShock 1&2. If you haven’t played the well-reviewed BioShock series, this is a cheap way to start. The cheapest we’ve seen this combo in the past is $10, and each game normally costs $20 apiece. Note the GameFly coupon code can only be used once per account, though it can apply to multiple games at once.

Spec Ops: The Line and The Darkness II Bundle (PC Download) — $3.99 at GameFly after one-use coupon. Four bucks makes a great price on two 2012 releases with Metascores of 76+. Buying each separately sets you back $60.

BioShock, BioShock 2, and Spec Ops: The Line Bundle (PC Download) — $7.99 at GameFly after coupon. On the surface, this is a good value since each game separately totals up to $70. That said, it’s actually a better move to buy both the BioShock bundle and the Spec Ops: The Line/The Darkness II bundle in the same transaction and use the once-per account coupon code because you’ll get 4 games instead of 3 for the same price ($8).

Borderlands 2 and XCOM: Enemy Unknown Bundle (PC Download) — $31.99 at GameFly after one-use coupon. Two very popular 2012 games are discounted $78 off their normal combined $110 price. If you buy each separately elsewhere at their lowest prices online, you’ll pay $80.

Hot deals & recent releases

Dead Island Game of the Year Edition + $8 preorder credit towards Dead Island Riptide (PC Download) — $4.99 at Amazon. This ties the lowest price ever seen on Dead Island GOTY, which includes the base Dead Island game and 3 DLC packs. Once the game is purchased, Amazon will email you instructions on how to get $8 off the upcoming Dead Island Riptide release (April 23rd).

Last Tuesday’s release: Defiance (PC Download) — $48 at Green Man Gaming after coupon. Elsewhere $60. The PS3 and Xbox 360 versions are down to $50.99 at GameStop after coupon. This week, the Magic 8 Ball says an 8+ rating from IGN and Metacritic users, although there aren’t many reviews out yet.

Bioshock Infinite (Xbox 360, PS3) — $50.99 at GameStop after coupon. Next best is $58 at Overstock.com. German retailer GamesRocket still has the PC download for $46.49, and Green Man Gaming still has it for £23.99.

Army of Two: The Devil’s Cartel (Xbox 360) — $50.99 at GameStop after coupon. List is $60. Like BioShock Infinite this game released last Tuesday, March 26th but received much less attention. Reviewers say it lacks originality, but gameplay appears to be fine. GameStop has the only discount thus far.

PC download deals

Tropico 4 Collectors Bundle (PC Download) — $8 at Green Man Gaming after coupon. List is $40. The bundle includes the Tropico 4 game with 7 DLCs. Think Sim City with a sense of humor, more islands, and fewer server problems.

Kung Fu Strike: The Warrior’s Rise (PC Download) — $1.99 at GameFly after coupon. GameFly discounted this July 2012 retro-style beat-em-up from $9.99 to $2.50. Use their once-per-account coupon code and drop the price further to $1.99.

A Game of Dwarves Sale: Game and DLCs (PC Download) — 66% off at GamersGate. The game alone normally costs $10, and after the 66% discount, you can get the game plus 3 DLCs for only $7.12.

360 & PS3 deals

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (Xbox 360, PS3) — $39.99 at NewEgg. Until recently, the February 19th release Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance hasn’t strayed far from its list price, making NewEgg’s $20 discount the best ever by $10. Next best price online is $50 at Amazon, which prior to this week was charging the full $60 list price.

Dishonored (Xbox 360, PS3) — $25.49 at GameStop after coupon. While Dishonored has been around for almost 6 months, this is only the second time it’s hit the $25 price point. (The only other time was Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend.) Elsewhere this week, most retailers dropped their prices from $40 to $30, but GameStop’s coupon code makes this the best deal around.

Hardware

Alienware M17x r4 Ivy Bridge Core i7-3740QM, 2GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675M, 1080p, 8GB RAM — $1,999 at Dell Home after coupon. Although this Alienware laptop commands a premium price, this is the lowest we’ve seen on this 17-inch behemoth by $100 and cuts $300 off this config’s $2,299 list price.

Dell XPS 8500 Ivy Bridge Quad Core i7-3770, Radeon HD 7570, 8GB RAM, Windows 8 — $659.99 at Dell Home after coupon. Dell’s cheapest gaming-capable desktop just got cheaper. At $660, the desktop is a new low by $20 and now costs the same as the base XPS 8500 config – but with a more powerful processor and video card. List price is $875.

PS3 Slim 320GB Console (Refurbished) — $171.96 plus $10.44 shipping at TigerDirect. Next best is $300 at Best Buy. While most PlayStation gamers are saving up for a PS4, the PS3 console prices are starting to drop. This 320GB console costs $300 in new condition, so the buyer saves $118.

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GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

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This sponsored post is produced by Dealzon.

Hot on the heels of the Battlefield 4 gameplay trailer (and all the glorious screenshots from the Frostbite 3 engine), DICE/EA has announced all preorders of BF4 will receive the Premium Expansion Pack, making it a juicy incentive for fans of the franchise.

To whet your appetite even more, GameFly is offering a 20% off coupon for Battlefield 4, making the game only $48 for PC download. No fuss or mess – just enter the coupon and get $12 off. (Note: You can only use the coupon once per account, so pick your poison wisely).

Android gamers will want to look into this week’s Humble Mobile Bundle, which includes excellent titles such as Plant vs. Zombies and Anomaly Korea. Pay more than the current average of $5.51 and you’ll also get the classic arcade game Metal Slug 3.

Hot deals & recent releases

Q4 2013 release Battlefield 4 (PC Download) — $47.99 at GameFly after coupon. Includes Premium Expansion Pack. U.S. only, sorry everyone else. Console gamers can probably expect a deal from NewEgg in the near future.
 

Last Sunday’s release: Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon (Nintendo 3DS) — $33.24 plus $0.99 shipping at Kmart. Great sequel to the “classic” GameCube game Luigi’s Mansion. Can you believe that was a decade ago? #oldfart
 

Last Tuesday’s release: BioShock Infinite (PC Download) — $46.49 at GamesRocket. Straight up discount from this Germany-based retailer. UK/Euro residents should get from GMG which is at £23.99.
 

April 2: Defiance (PC Download) — $45 at Green Man Gaming after coupon. Defiance is promising a “groundbreaking” interactive experience by blending the SyFy show with the shooter MMO. Magic 8 Ball says: Cannot predict now, ask again later.
 

April 26: Star Trek (PC Download) — $40 at Green Man Gaming after coupon. A Star Trek game based on the movie? Given the paucity of good Star Trek games (Bridge Commander, perhaps?), we’re not holding our breath.
 

PC download deals

Borderlands 2 (PC Download) — $20.38 at GamersGate. Not the lowest ever for BL2, but it’s close at a few dollars more. Good price for the Steam-activated version.
 

Saints Row: The Third The Full Package (PC Download) — $13.60 at Green Man Gaming after coupon. Sigh. Every time we spot a THQ game, we get a little bit sad inside.
 

Prototype 2 (PC Download) — $10.49 at GamesRocket. Another decent deal from GamesRocket, making the lowest price we’ve seen so far. The Steam activation code is sent via email.
 

Darksiders + Red Faction: Armageddon (PC Download) — $1 at HumbleBundle. The dollar’s looking pretty strong when you can buy two games for a buck. This week’s HumbleBundle is an appealing “pay-what-you-want” system with a minimum of $1. If you beat the average price ($6.73 at the time of writing), you’ll also get two other games: Darksiders II and Red Faction: Guerilla. Just buying Darksiders and Red Faction: Armageddon separately at their lowest prices elsewhere would cost $37.
 

360, PS3, and Wii U deals

Dishonored (Xbox 360, PS3) — $29.99 at Amazon. Not best ever, but a good price for this excellent Steampunk-themed stealth-ish FPS.
 

Tekken Tag Tournament 2 (Wii U) — $29.99 at NewEgg. The 360 and PS3 versions are also on sale for $19.99 and $24.99, respectively. Metacritic scores of 80%+ for all platforms.
 

Assassin’s Creed: Ezio Trilogy (PS3) — $22.99 at Groupon. Yes, your eyes have not deceived you – Groupon sells video games in addition to their yet-another-spa-treatment offers. The trilogy includes Assassin’s Creed II, Assassin’s Creed Revelations, and Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood. Next best is $40 at Best Buy.
 

Kane and Lynch 2: Dog Days (Xbox 360, PS3) — $5.99 at NewEgg. Hard to believe a popular Xbox 360/PS3 title is only six bucks with free shipping. Reviews are mixed, but one of the main complaints about this FPS is the shaky-cam, which can be turned off in the Options menu. Next best price online is $13 at Amazon, but most retailers are $20+.
 

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GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

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“I enjoyed almost all of your questions,” Gearbox Software president Randy Pitchford says with a smile as we conclude our hour-long interview.

Those words from the outspoken Borderlands developer (who is apparently big on magic tricks) have left me wondering which question(s) didn’t go over so well. I always aim to take a tough but fair conversational approach, and Pitchford is particularly hard to read because, as he explains below, he’s almost always happy — to the point where he wonders if he’s “broken” and envies fellow developers who experience more dramatic emotional ups and downs during game development.

But Pitchford does have a lot to be happy about. Publisher 2K Games recently announced that Borderlands 2 has sold over six million copies worldwide, and Gearbox’s next title, Aliens: Colonial Marines, is now out. So I wanted to get Pitchford’s thoughts on a number of topics, most notably the state of triple-A game development and whether the role of publisher has become to help or hinder the creative teams.

GamesBeat: A discussion appeared on Twitter recently about whether the Borderlands 2 character of Tiny Tina was potentially racist. Someone asked lead writer Anthony Burch that if he felt it was inappropriate, would he go back and change his dialogue in the original game? Burch basically replied that it was technically impossible.

Randy Pitchford: You can, but the difficulty of that is –

GamesBeat: Maybe “improbable” is more like it? [Laughs]

Pitchford: And there are some people you’ll never be able to reach, because there’s physical media that’s in a box. It’s not connected to the Internet. There are people playing offline. We care about that guy. There’s nothing we could do there.

GamesBeat: My question is, if there was something larger — in any game, not just Borderlands — like an entire character that was instrumental to the story, do you think it’s worth a studio actually going back and changing it?

Pitchford: If you want to imagine infinite hypothetical scenarios, I bet we can. I’m a reasonably creative person. I’m sure you are, too. I bet we can imagine a scenario where everything should be on the table. I bet we can create a scenario where … “Who cares what is going on? Let’s change this!” Because the scenario we’ve created makes that the right decision. But we’re inventing a scenario. The reality is that it’s unlikely that we can create anything where some outside force would be so significant as to move that immovable object. Everything is on the table.

GamesBeat: I think Mass Effect 3 kind of proves that there are those scenarios, and gamers have — hopefully — started to feel that if they voice their opinions and band together intelligently, they may be able to make a difference.

Pitchford: I thought the Mass Effect 3 thing was really awesome and interesting. In one respect — I will confess, I didn’t finish Mass Effect 3, so I didn’t experience the ending myself. And I didn’t play the DLC. I’m not even sure if it came out yet. But I watched a bit of what was unfolding there. I thought, “Here’s a situation where, clearly, there’s a lot of love for this game. There’s a lot of love for this property, or else there would be no comments about it.

Here’s a situation where customers are saying, “I wanted something and I didn’t get it.” I think that’s a great position to be in if you’re a creator. Customers are saying, “I WANT SOMETHING FROM YOU AND YOU HAVEN’T GIVEN IT TO ME.” Well, fuck, that’s great! I can just give you something, and I already know you want it! Sweet! This is easy! I’ll just create that. Here, you can buy it. The hardest thing in the world is to try to imagine the thing that doesn’t exist yet that we can bet that customers will wish they had. If we can know in advance that they wish to have something, and all we have to do is manifest it, it makes it really easy to commit to manifesting it.

GamesBeat: It’s kind of like how dogs and cats can’t talk, so you never know when they’re sick or where it hurts. They can’t tell you how to fix them.

Pitchford: The fact that we’re increasingly in a world where creators and consumers of what we create can interact and entertain premises that we throw at one another, without necessarily accepting them — they can throw a premise out there and entertain what that would mean for a property or a brand or an experience or whatever. Customers and creators are doing this simultaneously. That’s really neat. The fact that, when we create something and put it into the world. It’s kind of not ours anymore. It becomes the world’s. The world’s position on what it is and what it should be almost becomes more important than whatever the creator imagined.

GamesBeat: Not everyone feels that way.

Pitchford: The old way, you couldn’t have that interaction. That’s why George Lucas happened. He grew up in a time when we didn’t have all these tools and these methods of interacting, but he created something we all passionately loved. It became ours. It was mine. Star Wars is mine, you know? But the creator feels that it’s his. We’re in this world now where because we’re having these interactions and we’re feeling that it works. It’s creating better results sometimes, when we’re interacting and we’re listening to each other. We’re offering stuff, and we’re hearing each other, and we’re letting that affect us. That creates better results than when we keep ourselves in the tunnel. The guy that stays in the tunnel gets punished for that.

GamesBeat: That perfectly segues into my question about the Borderlands 2’s level cap. I maxed out my Commando at 50 about halfway through my second playthrough.

Pitchford: You’re hardcore.

GamesBeat: That was before the game even came out. I didn’t sleep, I had a deadline! [Laughs]

Pitchford: Dude, that’s awesome. I like to hear that.

GamesBeat: And so I completed a quest right after that.

Pitchford: See, you did that before the game came out. Wow. That’s crazy. I don’t want to interrupt you, but I looked at it in December, and in December about 16.5 percent of all people who’ve ever played Borderlands 2 had a single character achieve level 50. I have some new questions from our data mining stuff that I’m going to get an answer to soon. The data is so much. We’re moving in this world where we have to start doing “big data” management. Sometimes we have so much data that to just answer a simple question, we have to dedicate a machine to processing the data and it doesn’t spit out an answer for days.

GamesBeat: Because there’s so much information?

Pitchford: There’s just so much data to parse. We’re collecting everything, but we’re not … it’s just stored as raw chunks of stuff. Google is fast because it can know exactly … it’s not fast because it can look at everything and find the right thing. It’s fast because it’s indexed itself and it knows exactly where to go for any given query. We have everything. We don’t know where the stuff is that we want. We have to look at everything and add up little bits along the way.

GamesBeat: Do you plan to make one of those infographics where it’s like 700 million Bullymongs run over … ?

Pitchford: That would be cool. Maybe we should. Would that be interesting?

GamesBeat: Of course! I love those. It’s good insight.

Pitchford: OK, cool. I’ll toss that up as something we should do. We’ve redone and re-architected the way we’re managing our data. We’re in a big data world, and we never anticipated that we would be. What we kind of did, but we didn’t architect for it, because our Shift stuff, which is the way that … it doesn’t matter which platform you play it on. There’s an interaction between us and the software. That’s a whole new infrastructure. Most people don’t have anything like that. Even the ones that do, they’re like in 1 or 1.5. This is our 1.0. Anyway, I totally derailed. You were going somewhere?

GamesBeat: Right, so I hit level 50, and I completed one quest after that. I got a ton of experience and it just bounced off, because if you hit the cap XP becomes useless. I was like, “Oh, my God. I don’t want to play anymore.” [Laughs] I felt like I’d be wasting my time or wasting that precious XP. I just stopped. I have the season pass, so I’ve downloaded everything, but I haven’t played any of it.

Pitchford: Experience drives toward leveling up. You want that to also be in the loop when you’re experiencing the new campaign content, so you’re holding off on the campaign content until you have that. That makes a lot of sense.

GamesBeat: Partially because I know it’s coming, but I don’t know when. It even says in the achievement, “Capped out … for now.”

Pitchford: Yeah, “for now,” right. That’s a good indicator. We did it in Borderlands one.

GamesBeat: Especially with my Commando, there’s all these skill tree combinations that I want to do that I just need a few more skill points to get to.

Pitchford: That’s by design. Some of those things start to become game-breaking. This has actually created a huge problem for us. We designed the skills really well this time, but we did, for better or for worse, make a lot of the decisions with the knowledge that there will be no more skill points available to put into any trees after you reach level 50. We knew the impossible configurations. Some of the design exploits that. Some of the impossible configurations, if they were possible, would break the game. Sometimes very literally. “Oh, that’s gonna blow memory. Your Xbox will crash.”

We, as customers and gamers ourselves, hear the fans. People want to level up more. It makes sense. We totally get it. We did it in Borderlands 1, so we have the precedent. And we’re gonna break our fucking game if we change the math. If we change it up, who knows what the balance will do? People don’t want to just level up. They also want the game to level up with them. If I’m level 55 and everybody else is level 50, it’s a walkover. I want to get level 55 gear if I’m level 55. I want to fight level 55 enemies. Then we have to make the whole game over again.

It becomes this really “Oh, shit, have we painted ourselves into a corner here?” Yes, the Achievement indicates that some of us, somewhere, wrote that Achievement and anticipated it, just as many customers do, because of the last game. But we’re now in this world where we’re confronting the reality of what it means to do that work, and it’s terrifying and challenging. It’s easy to imagine, when we’re playing the game, “We could just change the number, and everything would be fine.” No, dude, there’s a lot. This is the most fundamental thing about the game. It’s a big deal.

GamesBeat: Are you saying that you used the word “anticipated.” But you didn’t map it out much ahead of time?

Pitchford: No. When we finished Borderlands 2, everything that we imagined was in Borderlands 2. Once that was finished, OK, now what do we do? We had just started asking ourselves, “OK, do we want to level up some more?” All of us do. A lot of us have level 50s as well. It’s time to tackle that. We dug in, and we were like, “Oh, shit. This is really hard. This is going to take a lot of time. It’s going to be really expensive. Oh, my God.” And we’ve got all these other priorities and all these other things to do. So we’re in the middle of that. That’s the world we’re living in right now. We’re excited about the goal, both as gamers and as creators. But … I mean, I’m not gonna lie. It’s a big challenge. It’s a big undertaking. It’s not going to just turn on. It’s a thing we have to work ourselves through.

GamesBeat: How do you feel about–

Pitchford: By the way, I don’t know where the story ends, either. We’re in the middle of it. There might be things that aren’t going to work the same way. We might have to radically change the game. We have to think, “What’s more important? Do you we maintain these skills, or do we let people level up? What if we have to change skills?” We shipped the game with this shield that was totally broken.

GamesBeat: The Bee?

Pitchford: Yeah, the Bee. A player that’s spec’d right can just melt the hardest boss in the game solo in like four to five seconds. That’s obviously not by design, right? If you go in, and you can melt Terramorphous in five seconds because you’re using a Conference Call and a Bee shield and you’re spec’d with a Gunzerker for throughput, that’s clearly not any designer’s intent. That’s a bug. That’s the one nerf we’ve ever done, and we got so much rage.

GamesBeat: You nerfed Amp Shields in general, right?

Pitchford: It was a number of related things. The way we had divided up certain effects across weapons … . The shotgun, for example, we did the math wrong. Every single pellet was being affected instead of just the shot. Then, when we fixed it, we did the math wrong again. We did it wrong differently. It’s really complicated stuff, so I forgive us. [Laughter] The intent was beautiful. The intent and the commitment to improve was there. That’s really important. But I’m grateful. We were going fast, too. We do this thing, and we know people want it. It looks right, and it feels right, and we test it, and we deliver it. Then suddenly we’ve got 6 million beta testers. “Oh, we found something.” “Oh, shit, we didn’t see that.” We did a lot of testing, thousands of hours. But we didn’t notice that because the fans have done millions of hours in one day.

GamesBeat: I feel like a lot of people expected the DLC to raise the level cap. That was what they were waiting for, and then it would also help them get more out of the DLC and their season pass.

Pitchford: I think that’s a fair expectation because we did offer a level cap increase in Borderlands 1 in line with the third DLC.

GamesBeat: And then another one after that.

Pitchford: Actually, that one was just detached. We felt like we made a mistake when we attached the level cap increase to the DLC. The second level cap increase in Borderlands 1 was completely detached. You didn’t have to buy a DLC to get it. That was a different kind of mistake. We learned lessons from that step as well. We did fix the earlier mistake, but there are others.

GamesBeat: It’s a Jenga tower.

Pitchford: You try it differently. “Oh, there’s some things with that too.” So we learn. We don’t want to make … . We are taking risks, and we are in uncharted territory very often, especially with this game. It’s a wild game. We haven’t done it before. No one’s done this kind of game before. We will make big mistakes, and we’ll make them often. But I’ll be damned if we want to make the same mistake twice. Our approach on this one is to try not to repeat mistakes we’ve already been aware of, that we’ve already experienced.

At the same time, we don’t want to make new mistakes. They’re inevitable when you do things you haven’t done before. Sometimes you stumble when you push yourself harder and you’re trying to run faster or whatever. We forgive ourselves, pick ourselves up, and keep running. We don’t cry and stop running because we skinned our knee. We definitely do not want to repeat mistakes we made before. Sometimes we trap ourselves. We get painted into corners on things. It’s tricky. But we’re committed to it. But yeah, I think that’s a fair expectation, given Borderlands 1.

[In response to the controversy surrounding Pitchford’s above comments, he confirmed that a level cap increase for Borderlands 2 will be released “this year.”]

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LAS VEGAS – Gearbox Software chief executive Randy Pitchford runs one of the most successful studios in video games, with hits such as Borderlands 2 dominating sales charts. But Pitchford practices magic of the literal kind. He paid his way through college as a magician and even got married in the Magic Castle magician’s theater in Hollywood.

In a talk at the DICE Summit, Pitchford tapped his background as a magician to talk about lessons for game developers. Magicians have a relationship with their audience that is similar to game developers. They invite you to trust them, Pitchford said, “Same deal [with games]. Come with me into my world, follow my line of logic, understand and follow my rules, and trust me — and there will be a payoff.”

“With magic, the impossible happens,” he said. “In a game, it is a sense of gratification. We are purveyors of pleasure. Follow me, and you will be rewarded.”

Game developers have to establish their credibility to justify why someone, in the case of console games, should pay $60 for the experience.

“We have to do this with integrity, delivering more value than we get back,” he said. “If we don’t establish credibility quickly, we will lose the audience. They might not trust us again. “

Borderlands 2 opens with blasting music, a funny video, and then it starts. The game offers the player a “false choice.” After a first kill, you can choose between a gun that is more accurate, with a scope. Or a gun that has a faster rate of fire. It’s a false choice, because the outcome in the game is neutral. The advantages and disadvantages of the guns cancel each other out. It makes no difference. But the player gets to feel like an agent, making an important choice.

He noted that the day before, Valve’s Gabe Newell said choice makes games better than movies. But filmmaker J.J. Abrams said players screw up the choices, and the choices are fake, since most games end the same way.

“J.J.’s argument was interesting, but it’s wrong,” Pitchford said. “It does not matter the choice is real. It matters there was a choice at all. I offered a magician’s choice, a false choice,” referring to a card trick he performed on stage.

In a psychology journal, a study showed that one store that offered a sale with 24 choices drew 60 percent of shoppers. Another with six choices drew 40 percent of shoppers. But choice complexity mattered. With 24 choices, only 3 percent of shoppers bought something. With 6 choices, 31 percent bought something.

“With no choice, there was no reason to shop,” he said. “With 24 choices, the decision was difficult. With six, the decision was easier.”

Borderlands 2 has “87 bazillion guns” to choose from, he said. But the very first choice, the one that sucks the player into the game, was a simple one and a false one.

That’s one simple lesson. Another one is that you should never give a gamer a choice in a purchase decision, where they choose your game or somebody elses. You have to offer something that no one else does. If someone has to choose between your game and a similar game, you could be the loser. But if you create unique games, like Borderlands, which blended sci-fi and Western style shooting, then you could be the only choice.

“There was nothing to compare against us,” he said. “That’s what you need to do.”

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GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

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Update: Randy Pitchford has addressed the controversy and confusion created by the response to this interview on his personal Twitter:

@guggerbunk can you please tell them to calm the fuck down. Take-away: it’s hard and expensive, but we’re committed.

— Randy Pitchford (@DuvalMagic) February 9, 2013

@guggerbunk I’ll say: 100% chance of a level cap increase this year, but 50\50 on unforeseen consequences that some people will rage about.

— Randy Pitchford (@DuvalMagic) February 9, 2013

As part of a larger discussion with Gearbox Software president Randy Pitchford, I wanted to get the outspoken and enthusiastic developer’s thoughts on the Borderlands 2 level cap. The original Borderlands received two level cap increases, eventually raising the maximum character level from 50 to 69. But with Borderlands 2, even after three downloadable-content (DLC) expansions, the cap remains at 50, where it started.

Pitchford explains the approach the team is taking to increasing the Borderlands 2 level cap, as well as some very forthcoming and insightful challenges in what raising the cap means for both player and developer. As a bit of context, Pitchford mentioned that as of December, only an estimated 16 percent of Borderlands 2’s player base has obtained at least one level 50 character.

GamesBeat: So, after I hit level 50, I completed one more quest, and I got a bunch of [experience points], but it didn’t go anywhere because I was maxed already. And I thought, “Crap. I don’t want to play anymore!” [Laughs] And I’ve seen a lot of similar comments from people waiting to do the DLC because they’re already at level 50.

Randy Pitchford: You’re one of the guys who’s in this spot where you kind of want to wait until you have an opportunity to get the … . Experience drives toward leveling up. You want that to also be in the loop when you’re experiencing the new campaign content, so you’re holding off on the campaign content until you have that.

GamesBeat: It even says in the Achievement, “Capped out … for now.”

Pitchford: Yeah, for now, right. That’s a good indicator. We did it in Borderlands 1.

GamesBeat: Especially with my Commando, there’s all these skill tree combinations that I want to do that I just need a few more skill points to get to.

Pitchford: That’s by design. Some of those things start to become game-breaking. This has actually created a huge problem for us. We designed the skills really well this time, but we did, for better or for worse, make a lot of the decisions with the knowledge that there will be no more skill points available to put into any trees after you reach level 50. We knew the impossible configurations. Some of the design exploits that. Some of the impossible configurations, if they were possible, would break the game. Sometimes very literally. “Oh, that’s gonna blow memory. Your Xbox will crash.”

So now we’re in a world where … . We, as customers and gamers ourselves, hear the fans. People want to level up more. It makes sense. We totally get it. We did it in Borderlands 1, so we have the precedent. And we’re gonna break our fucking game if we change the math. If we change it up, who knows what the balance will do? People don’t want to just level up. They also want the game to level up with them. If I’m level 55 and everybody else is level 50, it’s a walkover. I want to get level 55 gear if I’m level 55. I want to fight level 55 enemies. Then we have to make the whole game over again.

It becomes this really … “oh, shit, have we painted ourselves into a corner here?” Yes, the Achievement indicates that some of us, somewhere, wrote that Achievement and anticipated it, just as many customers do, because of the last game. But we’re now in this world where we’re confronting the reality of what it means to do that work, and it’s terrifying and challenging. It’s easy to imagine, when we’re playing the game, “We could just change the number, and everything would be fine.” No, dude, there’s a lot … . This is the most fundamental thing about the game. It’s a big deal.

GamesBeat: Are you saying that … you used the word “anticipated.” But you didn’t map it out much ahead of time?

Pitchford: No. When we finished Borderlands 2, everything that we imagined was in Borderlands 2. Once that was finished, OK, now what do we do? We had just started asking ourselves, “OK, do we want to level up some more?” All of us do. A lot of us have level 50s as well. It’s time to tackle that. We dug in, and we were like, “Oh, shit. This is really hard. This is going to take a lot of time. It’s going to be really expensive. Oh, my God.” And we’ve got all these other priorities and all these other things to do. So we’re in the middle of that. That’s the world we’re living in right now. We’re excited about the goal, both as gamers and as creators. But … I mean, I’m not gonna lie. It’s a big challenge. It’s a big undertaking. It’s not going to just turn on. It’s a thing we have to work ourselves through.

GamesBeat: How do you feel about …

Pitchford: By the way, I don’t know where the story ends, either. We’re in the middle of it. There might be things that aren’t going to work the same way. We might have to radically change the game. We have to think, “What’s more important? Do you we maintain these skills, or do we let people level up? What if we have to change skills?” We shipped the game with this shield that was totally broken.

GamesBeat: The Bee?

Pitchford: Yeah, the Bee. A player that’s spec’d right can just melt the hardest boss in the game solo in like four to five seconds. That’s obviously not by design, right? If you go in, and you can melt Terramorphous in five seconds because you’re using a Conference Call and a Bee shield and you’re spec’d with a Gunzerker for throughput, that’s clearly not any designer’s intent. That’s a bug. That’s the one nerf we’ve ever done, and we got so much rage.

GamesBeat: You nerfed Amp Shields in general, right? 

Pitchford: It was a number of related things. The way we had divided up certain effects across weapons … . The shotgun, for example, we did the math wrong. Every single pellet was being affected instead of just the shot. Then, when we fixed it, we did the math wrong again. We did it wrong differently. It’s really complicated stuff, so I forgive us. [Laughter] The intent was beautiful. The intent and the commitment to improve was there. That’s really important. But I’m grateful. We were going fast, too. We do this thing, and we know people want it. It looks right, and it feels right, and we test it, and we deliver it. Then suddenly we’ve got 6 million beta testers. “Oh, we found something.” “Oh, shit, we didn’t see that.” We did a lot of testing, thousands of hours. But we didn’t notice that because the fans have done millions of hours in one day.

GamesBeat: I feel like a lot of people expected the DLC to raise the level cap. That was what they were waiting for, and then it would also help them get more out of the DLC and their season pass.

Pitchford: I think that’s a fair expectation because we did offer a level cap increase in Borderlands 1 in line with the third DLC.

GamesBeat: And then another one after that.

Pitchford: Yeah, we did another one that wasn’t … . Actually, that one was just detached. We felt like we made a mistake when we attached the level cap increase to the DLC. The second level cap increase in Borderlands 1 was completely detached. You didn’t have to buy a DLC to get it. That was a different kind of mistake. We learned lessons from that step as well. We did fix the earlier mistake, but there are others.

GamesBeat: It’s a Jenga tower.

Pitchford: You try it differently. “Oh, there’s some things with that too.” So we learn. We don’t want to make … . We are taking risks, and we are in uncharted territory very often, especially with this game. It’s a wild game. We haven’t done it before. No one’s done this kind of game before. We will make big mistakes, and we’ll make them often. But I’ll be damned if we want to make the same mistake twice. Our approach on this one is to try not to repeat mistakes we’ve already been aware of, that we’ve already experienced.

At the same time, we don’t want to make new mistakes. They’re inevitable when you do things you haven’t done before. Sometimes you stumble when you push yourself harder and you’re trying to run faster or whatever. We forgive ourselves, pick ourselves up, and keep running. We don’t cry and stop running because we skinned our knee. We definitely do not want to repeat mistakes we made before. Sometimes we trap ourselves. We get painted into corners on things. It’s tricky. But we’re committed to it. But yeah, I think that’s a fair expectation, given Borderlands 1.

Check back to read the full interview with Mr. Pitchford next week.

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GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

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I can, at any given moment, tell you how long before BioShock Infinite releases in months, hours, and minutes. I keep that figure in my head at all times.

No lie, people in the gaming industry get to see and play some of the coolest, most anticipated games long before anyone else does, but generally speaking, that really only applies to the games they’re working on. Unless their desk is in the same building as the development team — and sometimes not even then — they have to sit around and wait just like everybody else.

So we polled a few famous names in the game industry and asked what they were waiting for. Specifically, we asked this: Aside from any project you’re involved in, what game are you looking forward to the most in 2013 and why?

Edmund McMillen, Team Meat (Super Meat Boy, Mew-Genics)

I’m most looking forward to playing The Witness. I was part of beta testing early on and actually asked to no longer be a part because I really wanted to experience the game how it was meant to be played.

Andy Gavin, author (Untimed) and retired cofounder, Naughty Dog (Jak and Daxter)

The Last of Us. I’m not personally involved, but call me twisted — the idea of a teen girl in a postapocalyptic world is pretty cool. And I’m not just talking sticking a girl in there gratuitously; Naughty Dog can be counted on to write a good story and actually deal with the visceral/emotional experience.

Dan “Shoe” Hsu, editor-in-chief, GamesBeat

BioShock Infinite, no doubt. Anyone who picks anything else for 2013 is simply crazy — don’t listen to any of the nonsense coming out of their mouths, ever. The original BioShock is one of the best games of all time, and I can’t wait to be immersed in another imaginative, dreamy (or nightmarish) world by the same developers.

Randy Pitchford, CEO, Gearbox Software (Borderlands 2, Aliens: Colonial Marines)

In just a few days, Ni no Kuni comes out, and I can’t wait! [Hey, Randy, it's out! --Ed.]

Jenova Chen, cofounder, Thatgamecompany (Journey)

I’m mostly looking forward to Grand Theft Auto V. I’ve seen some online in-game footage that really makes me fantasize about the things you can do in the game. I hope it delivers the fantasy.

Yoshinori Ono, producer, Capcom (Street Fighter IV)

I would have to go with Pikmin 3 for the Wii U! There hasn’t been a new release for this series in a while, so even if there aren’t many changes since the previous iteration, I am definitely looking forward to playing it. Nintendo must have some innovative ways to utilize the Wii U GamePad up their sleeves as well, so that is another thing I will be watching out for.

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Publisher Take-Two Interactive held a conference call today to discuss its third-quarter earnings for fiscal 2013 with investors. During the question-and-answer session, and when the company’s executives weren’t talking about Grand Theft Auto, they faced a lot of inquiries about next-gen systems and the future of the gaming industry.

Take-Two chief executive officer Strauss Zelnick and chief financial officer Karl Slatoff talked confidently about gaming as a whole and their company in particular.

“The retail landscape is interesting,” said Zelnick. “The industry has its disappointments. We’ve had disappointments. It’s a hit-driven business. But there’s a huge install base. If you give people what they want, they will come out for it.”

The CEO then pointed to its big third-quarter numbers as an example of giving people what they want. Take-Two released XCOM: Enemy Unknown and NBA 2K13 during the quarter and saw continued success with its Borderlands 2 first-person shooter. As a result, the publisher generated more than $415 million in revenue in Q3.

An investor asked if Take-Two was worried about the multiple nongaming features of next-gen consoles taking a focus away from gaming.

“It doesn’t really influence us, ” said Zelnick, who said he would debate that the consoles are becoming set-top boxes. “People have access to a full array of media choices as it is, and we’re thrilled by that because the launch of new platforms is great for a company positioned the way we are positioned.”

The executive went on to say that it’s Take-Two’s job to make high-quality entertainment and to meet consumers wherever they are playing games.

“[Expanded features] also gives the consoles the opportunity to penetrate deeper than they have before,” said Slatoff. “Folks might pick it up not as a gaming machine, but they might begin using it as a gaming machine.”

Alternatives to consoles

“We’re not rule based. We’ll try anything that works,” Zelnick told an investor who asked about the Android-based Ouya gaming system and Valve’s Steam Box. “We go with the audience, but we don’t spend resources unless there’s a demonstrated audience. [At the same time,] we’ve always been willing to support meaningful initiatives without a large install base.”

The executive used smartphones and tablets as an example of going with the audience. Take-Two has released many of its high-profile properties on iOS and Android, including Civilization, Grand Theft Auto, and Borderlands.

Further outside the box, Zelnick commented on Facebook, calling it a great platform. The publisher didn’t talk about any new initiatives involving the social-media website, but the CEO didn’t rule anything out.

In 2012, Take-Two developer Visual Studios worked with Tencent Games to release NBA 2K Online in China. It’s a massively multiplayer online game based on the full NBA 2K games but designed as free-to-play. Take-Two wouldn’t talk about rolling out this to any other regions but assured investors that it was happy with its performance in the emerging Chinese market.

The generational shift

As the next gen pulls closer, the transition to new hardware presents a challenge for publishers. Many investors asked the Take-Two leadership if they planned on releasing Grand Theft Auto V as a cross-gen game, or a title that works on current consoles and on the next systems with some improvements. The publisher poured cold water on that idea while stating that they are prepared for the generational shift.

“Navigating this part of the cycle is a challenge,” said Zelnick. “We released our major release schedule for the year, but we can’t talk about next-gen. I’m confident We’ll navigate the transition.”

The executive pointed to four elements that he believes will push the publisher through to the next gen. The company’s strong franchises, experienced developers, cutting-edge technology, and a strong balance sheet.

Take-Two currently has more than $450 million in cash on hand.

Finally, Zelnick said he doesn’t expect the new hardware to inflate budgets, at least not at Take-Two. The CEO said his teams have developed a lot of knowledge that should keep costs within reason.

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GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

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Once again, it’s time for our panel of video-game characters to get some skin in the game!

Super Bowl Sunday! That glorious national holiday where America shuts down to watch the best commercials of the year and some sports that happens between them! And this year, we get the Cain and Abel goodness of brothers John and Jim Harbaugh coaching the rival teams. Thanksgiving is going to suck at their house.

But enough trivialities! What say you, panel of experts? In the epic clash between the San Francisco 49ers versus the Baltimore Ravens, who shall reign supreme?

Launch the gallery to see the future!

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GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

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Gearbox Software’s Borderlands 2 has seen a plethora of impressive cosplay, but what about cosplay combined with a haunting cover of the opening track? Thanks to indie band Rexon, we can all scratch that off the list as well.

Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford shared the link out from his personal Twitter account today. In the video, Rexon frontwoman Kelly Jean appears as Lilith, a Siren character from the Borderlands series (Maya gets no love!), and performs a cover of The Heavy’s “Short Change Hero,” the song that plays over the opening cinematic in Borderlands 2. It’s pretty damn good:

The band also shared their Xbox 360 gamertags in the YouTube video’s description for anyone looking to help Kelly get her level 32 Commando to 50 in time for the next DLC. Though something tells me Rexon’s going to be a little bit busier than usual once this hits the front page of Reddit. …

Top image via Rexon’s Facebook page

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GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

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A recent article on Destructoid brought up a good point about developers who don’t plan to port multiplatform titles to Nintendo’s Wii U console because they can’t figure out ways to make the games special enough for the GamePad controller. Consider it recommended reading for the new Wii U owners wondering what the hell is up with most of the spring releases apparently skipping the system, but the article’s main thrust is that the GamePad, despite its attention-grabbing touch screen, is still just a controller.

Two developers now — Gearbox Software and Crystal Dynamics — have explained that they didn’t move forward with Wii U versions of Borderlands 2 and the reboot of Tomb Raider, respectively, because they couldn’t work in some kind of “wowza” factor with the GamePad. This is particularly strange in Gearbox’s case because it did find that hook for the Wii U version of the upcoming Aliens: Colonial Marines.

I find the “Wii U’s GamePad is just so special that we couldn’t find a worthy use for it” argument not only condescending but also intellectually dishonest. No one bought a Wii U last November because the only way people want to play video games is with shoehorned-in touch controls. I think Wii U owners would be psyched about getting Tomb Raider on the console, not bummed that they couldn’t use the touch pad to tickle Lara Croft onscreen.

Honestly, all it would take to sell me on a Wii U version of a game is to make it fully playable on the GamePad. That way, when my wife turns on a three-hour block of Say Yes to the Dress, I can pick up and play on the other side of the couch.

So what’s really up?

I don’t expect an answer from the PR machines on this, but any Wii U owner with a healthy amount of skepticism knows we’re not being told the full story here. My question is, when are gamers going to get mad and organized enough to start demanding some answers or, better yet, ports of these missing games?

An online petition for Tomb Raider on Wii U is live and, as of this writing, has 23 signatures. I also found at least one forum with rumblings about a petition for Borderlands 2 on the Nintendo platform. It doesn’t seem like anything too serious is coming together yet — nothing on the level of an Operation Rainfall, which successfully petitioned imports for three Japanese role-playing games on the Wii.

Maybe the majority of Wii U owners just don’t care. Nintendo is following its own trajectory in the industry. While that may not bear fruit with every multiplatform game on the market, it will generate some unique titles over the course of the console’s life span.

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GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

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Video game designer Cliff Bleszinski always speaks his mind — except for this one time. A few years ago, when I asked the creator of Gears of War and Unreal Tournament to give his thoughts on his competition — other shooters like Halo or Call of Duty — he declined.

It was a business decision. His former employer, Epic, makes the Unreal Engine software toolset that developers use to make games, so some of his competitors in retail might also be potential clients on the development side. It’s not a good idea to talk shit about them.

Bleszinski recently left Epic after a 20-year stint, however, which now frees him up to say what he really thinks of other shooters. I took advantage and got a full download in the final part of our exclusive interview. Enjoy this blast of Bleszinski. Who knows if we’ll ever get him to open up this much in the future.

• Part one: Bleszinski’s past
• Part two: Bleszinski’s present and future

GamesBeat: A long time ago, I wanted to have this frank talk with you about all the shooters on the market. At the time, you were wary about that because some of these developers were potential or active clients with your company’s Unreal engine. Maybe …

Bleszinski: It’s possible to say anything about any franchise that you don’t like as long as you mention what you do like because then it comes from an honest place. It’s the same thing as, “Oh, hey, I like your hair, but I’m not so big on the boots,” and then she’s like, “Oh, man, he doesn’t like my boots, but he likes my hair.” It’s just basic communication, right? As opposed to just saying, “Your guns are shit!” and then people are like, “Wow, you’re an asshole.”

GamesBeat: Let’s do that, then. Let’s run through a few shooters and get your thoughts about what you liked and didn’t like. Not from Cliff Bleszinski the gamer but Cliff Bleszinski the game designer. Let’s start with any recent Call of Duty.

Bleszinski: I’ve always said that shooting your friends in the face at 60 frames per second through iron sights will always be fun, no matter what. One of the things that franchise has always nailed is the smoothness.

I have this little game design trick I’m going to give you. I only learned this in the last year. Fire up any shooter — a twin-stick shooter. Start turning and looking up and down. If you can easily control the shape of the parabolas that you’re doing — if you can say, “OK, I want to make a really tight parabola” or “I want to make a really wide one” — that’s basically balancing the “patting your head and rubbing your belly” of twin-stick shooters. You can do a very good job of that, always, in Call of Duty and in Halo as well.

The single-player [in Call of Duty: Black Ops II] … I started getting into it, and I heard that they made a lot of effort to get rid of the linearity, but I just couldn’t get past it. It still felt like there’s an infinite amount of enemies spawning at me, and I’m just trying to race to a checkpoint as opposed to clearing out the room. It’s not my thing. I can’t do those campaigns, especially when I have a campaign like Far Cry 3′s, where it’s really open and so many crazy emergent things happen.

The multiplayer in Call of Duty — it’s that great grind of unlocking all the perks and gizmos. I found a lot of multiplayer maps this time around to be extra small in the first batch. The one on the aircraft carrier, the one on the boat. Anytime you’re on something that’s on the water, most of the time it’s going to be too confined.

There are these kids who have an infinite amount of time to play, and if one or two bullets take you out, it comes down to who shoots first. When you introduce latency, a lot of the times it’s a roll of the dice in regards to who wins.

If I want to play a game that has a more back-and-forth cadence, that’s when I want to play Halo. When I play Halo multiplayer, I don’t feel that whoever acquires the other guy first is going to win. In Call of Duty, the guy who acquires the other guy first wins. In Halo, you have your shields. The guy may miss with the grenades. You may jump. You may have a chance to recharge. Your friends may show up. It feels like there’s a lot more trading paint back and forth.

It’s like boxing. You get two boxers who are trading back and forth, [and] it winds up being an entertaining match as opposed to when Mike Tyson used to box, and he’d knock a guy out with one shot. Halo feels like the former. Call of Duty feels like the latter. I guess it’s a matter of what you want as far as lethality and twitch gameplay.

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Once again, we turn to our expert group of video game characters to bring peace to the land!

Guns! Guns! Guns! If you aren’t clinging to them and your religion, you’re beating them into plowshares. But the recent spate of mass shootings has everyone looking for a simple, understandable root cause. Spoiler: It’s video games. Duh! Regardless, Vice President “Joltin’” Joe Biden told Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello that the game industry has “not been singled out” for blame … because they’re nailing everybody to the wall! Just days later, President Obama asked Congress for $10 million to fund research into the long-term effects of violent television, movies, and games on young, impressionable minds.

Well, we’re here to help. And because Mr. TV gave us short attention spans, we’re going to skip the research and go straight to the answers. What say you, panel of experts? What can we do about violence in video games?

Launch the gallery and be enlightened!

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GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

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Video game programmers have been hiding secret messages, inside jokes, and general wackiness in their titles for decades. Finding these “Easter eggs” keeps gamers busy, and it shows that you can’t take yourself too seriously even when facing certain death in the midst of a zombie outbreak, alien invasion, or demonic possession.

Check out the gallery below to see 15 of the coolest, funniest, and kookiest Easter eggs of games released in 2012.

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GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

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Video game trailers are a big deal. Where once big budgets were the exception, they are increasingly becoming the norm. Deep pockets are not always key to creating a stand-out trailer, though. Ingenuity, innovation, and a healthy sense of humor can also go a long way to help sell a game.

Here we present the best game trailers to grace our screens during 2012. They represent a cross-section of the gaming world and feature a variety of styles and budgets. The one thing they have in common? They’re done right.

If you think we’ve missed any trailers of note, feel free to drop a comment below.

Borderlands 2

Gearbox Software gave its first-person role-playing shooter Borderlands 2 (PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360) a sing-a-long soundtrack that just shouldn’t have worked. The genius is that “Wimoweh” has never sounded as gloriously out of place since its original 1939 release. Even better than Tight Fit.

Watch Dogs

Eschewing both gameplay and prerendered footage, this trailer for Ubisoft’s open-world action-shooter Watch Dogs (PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360) brilliantly sets up the game’s premise with a starkly delivered blurring of fact and fiction that sounds eminently believable. Watch Dogs is certainly a title to look out for next year.

ZombieU

Zombies. Are we sick of them yet? Ubisoft doesn’t think so, having created one of the year’s most atmospheric trailers for its Wii U-exclusive survival-horror game. The film succeeds in making ordinary environments look extraordinary by subtly twisting our perspective on the dark streets of London.

Dyad

Independent developer Shawn McGrath unleashed his psychadelic musical shooter, Dyad, on the PlayStation 3 this summer. Its original trailer received an unkindly greeting in some quarters, with PlayStation Blog user Mattsta009 saying of its star: “It doesn’t look like that girl is even playing Dyad, she is kind of just holding a controller, acting badly and smiling vacuously at the screen.” In a stroke of genius, McGrath recast himself in the lead role. Watch from 20 seconds in to see him in action. The original trailer is underneath for a neat “compare and contrast” opportunity.

The Last of Us

Proof of the power of soundtrack, developer Naughty Dog used the Hank Williams song “Alone and Forsaken” to great effect in this trailer for upcoming PlayStation 3 action game The Last of Us. The atmosphere seems even more bleak and unforgiving with Williams’ raspy vocals layering on the tension.

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This was an outstanding year for video game music. Professional musicians from various genres all contributed pieces to very unusual places, and many up-and-coming indie composers stole our hearts with their emotional scores. In fact, it’s pretty difficult to find a game with a bad soundtrack these days.

Below is GamesBeat’s choices for the best soundtracks of 2012. It’s an eclectic mix of indie, dubstep, and classical composition that aptly reflects this year’s dynamic music scene.

But because this was such a big year for soundtracks, we also have a few honorable mentions, so be sure to check those out, too.

The Best Video Game Soundtracks of 2012

10. Max Payne 3
Composer: Health

Few songs are quite as lingering as “Tears” on the Max Payne 3 soundtrack. “Tears” lingered in the background of numerous commercials for the game, often playing while the down-and-out protagonist walked away from explosions. It’s an apt summation of the game’s sound and inspires thoughts of edgy spy dramas and sweaty action flicks.

Pairing “Tears” with other tracks from the album like 9 Circulos and Combat Drugs, the Max Payne 3 soundtrack expertly sets the scene of a scumbag ex-cop doing bad things in South America.

9. Mass Effect 3
Composers: Cris Velasco, Sascha Dikiciyan, Clint Mansell, Sam Hulick, Christopher Lennertz, Faunts

Mass Effect has always had a clean, space-age feel to its music, and Mass Effect 3 takes that to a new level. None of its music is overly bombastic, but you do feel a sense of urgency throughout. Melodic, determined pieces inspire us to take in-game decisions very seriously, and you can definitely feel the weight of your choices hanging in the air around you while listening to this score.

8. Skylanders Giants
Composer: Lorne Balfe

Lorne Balfe’s most notable compositions feature prominently in splashy action films like Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest and Inception, but his transition to video games is where he really shines. Balfe scored both Skylanders games, but Giants is where his whimsical style really comes to life. Skylanders Giants owes its jaunty atmosphere to Balfe’s music, and it feels like a proper epic adventure because of it.

7) FTL: Faster Than Light
Composer: Ben Prunty

Is it possible to feel space? FTL is about exploration and space combat that’s also fiendishly difficult. Ben Prunty’s soundtrack amplifies the vastness and danger of space with spangly synth sounds that make you feel like you’re floating among the stars.

It’s also fantastic listening to both the exploration and battle variants of each song in the game. Afterward, you can also feel the expert sound mixing as you play FTL.

6. Borderlands 2
Composers: Cris Velasco, Sascha Dikiciyan, Jesper Kyd, Raison Varner

Borderlands 2 is a space Western, and its mix of airy, sometimes-mechanical tones bring that concept alive. While you scour Pandora for crazier weapons and combat ruthless enemies, the soundtrack is always there, sending out tension tendrils every time you trigger a fight or find a cool location.

Borderlands 2 actually shares two composers with Mass Effect 3, something that isn’t too surprising when you listen to the game’s more action-oriented songs. Velasco and Dikiciyan are masters of incidental tension.

5. Lone Survivor
Composer: Jasper Byrne

Silent Hill composer and creator Akira Yamaoka was on to something when he joined swirling, dreamy guitar sounds with metallic clangs. Lone Survivor’s soundtrack flirts with harsh, chaotic tones while wrapping the game in a melancholy melody. Listening to this soundtrack brings back very powerful Silent Hill memories, and it’s nice to hear that sound live on. The spooky score will unnerve you as you explore Lone Survivor’s gloomy environment.

4. Halo 4
Composers: Neil Davidge, Kazuma Jinnouchi

Few games have soundtracks as passionate as the Halo series. I liken them to Disney films such as The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast for the emotional depth in the music alone. Halo doesn’t have discernible lyrics, but it inspires a wide spectrum of feelings. Halo 4 does this more competently than Halo 3 while sprinkling in a fair amount of easily dubstepped beats.

You should feel elated during some scenes in Halo 4, as well as very tense. This isn’t just because of the gameplay, but because the soundtrack plays well with the scenery to deepen your experience.

3. Fez
Composer: Disasterpiece

Fez’s soundtrack is a twinkly adventure all on its own, but pairing this with its sometime mind-bending gameplay creates a nostalgic feeling. Disasterpiece’s sound is best described as 8-bit epic and manipulates a similar electronic sound as Angelo Badalamenti’s work for the early ’90s TV cult hit Twin Peaks.

Fez’s score is inexplicably haunting at times, and many tracks would be just as effective if you played them over stock footage from an old lumber mill and a massive water fall.

2. Sound Shapes
Composers: I Am A Robot and Proud, Beck, Deadmau5, Jim Guthrie

Sound Shapes hit the pinnacle for interactive music. As you guide your musical blob through increasingly treacherous landscapes, your actions build the various parts of the song playing in the background. Building music as you play is an addictive holdover from rhythm games like Rez that works as you leap from precarious ledge to precarious ledge while avoiding baddies that want nothing more than to stop the music.

1. Journey
Composer: Austin Wintory

Game soundtracks exist to heighten emotion in any given scene. In Journey, Wintory’s music is often our only companion, a score drifting delicately on the breeze waving the character’s scarf. While sometimes mournful, Journey’s score urges us to embark on an epic quest fraught with danger and sometimes crushing loneliness.

Journey’s soundtrack is absolutely the most emotional and beautifully composed score for any game in 2012, and Austin Wintory definitely deserved the Grammy nomination he earned.

Next page: Honorable Mentions

Honorable Mentions

4. Silent Hill: Downpour
Can Silent Hill ever be the same without Akira Yamaoka’s soundtracks? Downpour does an excellent job standing apart from Yamaoka’s signature style while still invoking the disjointed musical universe surrounding the Silent Hill series. The only thing it’s missing is a song with Mary Elizabeth McGlynn on vocals.

3. Gravity Rush
If you’ve ever wondered what anime soundtracks influenced by French street music sprinkled with a dash of Star Wars composer John Williams sounds like, look no further than Gravity Rush. Each track amplifies its sometimes manic flying and world-bending platforming.

2. Persona 4 Arena
Most of the music in Persona 4 Arena first appeared in the PlayStation 2 role-playing game Persona 4, but that doesn’t make it any less awesome in 2012. Shoji Meguro’s score is incredibly energetic, lending itself perfectly to a fighting title.

1. Syndicate
Cyberpunk was once completely composed by Greek electronic and ambient musician Vangelis in my mind, but dubstep is taking over. Dubstep pioneer Skrillex’s contribution to Syndicate’s soundtrack is probably one of the most face-smashing sounds in 2012, but the rest of the music feels very inspired by it. If you want to feel like ripping out someone’s neural implant, I suggest taking Syndicate for a spin.

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GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

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What do I like most about video games? They always strive to do more, to be better.

Games we judged as the best of the best a few years ago might seem dated now. Some feature such tight, timeless designs that they do hold up over the long term, but these fall into a very small category. Otherwise, and in every way, this is the industry status quo: Nearly every game competes not only to outdo past iterations but to also completely dwarf every other title on the market. They don’t always succeed. But one way or another, gamers always benefit from the effort.

The industry moves forward, always forward. So we look back to applaud the new directions it took in 2012 and how they might influence what comes next.

Integrating the GamePad

Most Wii U launch titles relegate the GamePad’s spectacular functionality to stolid maps or inventory screens. Ubisoft’s ZombiU does that, too, but in ways that feed directly into — and significantly enhance — its gameplay. Your best tool to survive the undead hordes is the “Prepper Pad” — in fact, the GamePad itself re-created in the game. It scans and tags items, enemies, and exits, but narrowing your attention to the pad’s small screen leaves you vulnerable to attack and permanent character death. Picking through your items makes you feel completely exposed. When a survival-horror game makes inventory management into a completely nerve-wracking experience, you know it’s smarter than the average bear.

Honestly, I haven’t seen game controls so deeply symbiotic with their game since Dance Dance Revolution. ZombiU simply couldn’t exist on a different system, and it’s a beacon to other developers on how to take full advantage of Nintendo’s new hardware.

Silent storytelling

Minimalism isn’t exactly a new thing in games — see N+ and Limbo for details — but minimalism with depth of design and storytelling threads a fine needle with mountaineering rope. Journey, from Jenova Chen and thatgamecompany, did just that, building an epic story without any words, written or spoken. It didn’t need any, either. A deft combination of imagery, music, and interaction made us feel the joy of discovery, the struggle against adversity, the elation of flight. Journey created great complexity out of relative simplicity.

Not everybody stripped down that far, but more than a few games this year dialed back the interactivity to dial up a player’s personal interaction. “Don’t look or it takes you” set the tone for Slender in just six terrifying words. Antichamber’s tests only said enough to make you question every reflex you’ve learned as a gamer. Dear Esther gave you an island and a mystery, but nothing to jump over, no puzzles to solve, or even any items to touch. Like Journey, those approaches all left the explanations open to interpretation … effectively turning the stories themselves into interactive features. Those journeys became our journeys, full of sweeping emotions and buoyed by the indomitable urge to press onward.

Deconstructing our heroes

Sure, games offer a huge slice of power fantasy with a side of personal awesomeness, but I can’t remember ever playing so many out-of-their-depth characters as I did this year. We’ve never been more fragile. We played as children in Unfinished Swan and Papo y Yo. Postapocalyptic survivors in games like I Am Alive, ZombiU, and The Walking Dead always felt like they were mere inches away from disaster. A world of death quickly unraveled protagonists in Far Cry 3 and Spec Ops: The Line.

But that’s nothing compared to what we did to a lot of our old friends. Commander Shepard suffered from survivor’s guilt all through Mass Effect 3. Max Payne’s self-loathing never ran out of downward spirals to charge through (in slo-mo, of course) until he finally reached for the light again. Even the implacable, emotionless masks of Hitman’s Agent 47 and Halo 4′s Master Chief took serious hits as each found something deeply personal to fight for … fights that frequently came with devastating turns. When the Master Chief suddenly refuses a direct order, it’s time to re-evaluate everything he is.

Gamers have become an older, more sophisticated audience. The industry’s responded by adding vulnerability and depth to the people we play as, making us more sympathetic to their goals and more invested in their safety. And with games like The Last of Us and the Tomb Raider reboot scheduled to pound us mercilessly in 2013, you can expect this trend to extend well into the future.

Adventure games are still relevant

I was done with point-and-click adventure games back in the ’90s. I’m back on them now. The team at Telltale Games didn’t just keep the flame alive with The Walking Dead, their superlative five-part series based on Robert Kirkland’s graphic novel (and its television counterpart) … they brought modern game designs into what many considered an outdated genre.

And they did it with an elegantly simple device: the quick-time event. Turns out the same gameplay cliché that annoys me in God of War (and its many clones) instantly turns the usually static point-and-click exercise into a tense, action-packed struggle for survival. It’s panic-inducing to suddenly find yourself zeroing a shaky cursor on a shambling zombie before it takes a chunk out of protagonist Lee or, even more upsetting, to rescue darling Clementine, his young charge, from a grisly fate. That lends real danger to the rest of the story — survival feels tenuous indeed — and the split-second decisions you must make become even more agonizing.

I actually had to step away from The Walking Dead for a while after its devastating third episode. No other game this year did that to me. That little tick-tick-tick countdown behind every choice made Telltale’s simple point-and-click drama as intense … no, more intense … than any high-octane shooter or jump-scare horror game. More, please.

Games are growing up (maybe)

Two years ago, a trailer showing callous killer Agent 47 eliminating a squad of PVC-clad gun nuns wouldn’t have raised much more than a few eyebrows. Hey, we’re the medium where all the ladies in Dead or Alive get a dedicated physics engine for the boob-jiggle. It’s just a game, after all, so who cares?

Except that’s an argument you can make when you’re 12. The average age in the gaming community hovers in the mid-30s.

2012 saw a heightened awareness of and direct confrontation against the sexism that’s long been a part of this industry’s DNA, both in and out of the games themselves. Halo 4′s multiplayer shipped with a zero-tolerance policy toward racist or sexist language — fittingly announced by executive producer Kiki Wolfkill and Microsoft executive Bonnie Ross — and lifetime Xbox Live bans for violators. Gearbox Software tried to include a special character class in Borderlands 2 for less-experienced players before lead designer John Hemmingway self-sabotaged by calling it “girlfriend mode.” Despite that gaffe, it still presented a serious attempt at inclusiveness … which is the opposite of sexism.

We’ve got a long way to go, baby. But at last it seems like we’re moving in the right direction.

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GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

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If 2012 has shown us one thing, it’s that video game development is truly in the “crossover era.” GamesBeat’s 2012 Game of the Year, The Walking Dead, was first available as a downloadable title, not a retail release. Other downloadables, such as indie-developed darlings Journey and Faster Than Light, garnered plenty of votes as well. And in our staff’s and contributor’s top games of the year lists, we even see mobile releases — like Fieldrunners 2.

Gaming has changed, and it’s nice to see that it’s more than just big-budget console and PC titles that have earned Game of the Year attention. Here are the top games as chosen by GamesBeat staffers and contributors. Let us know what you think about our picks in the comments — especially if you feel we’ve left something off our lists!

Editor-in-chief Dan “Shoe” Hsu

XCOM: Enemy Unknown
Platforms: PC, Xbox 360, PS3
Publisher: 2K Games
Developer: Firaxis Games

Little green men — yesteryear’s poster boys for mysterious invaders from outer space — are about as menacing as Oompa Loompas armed with toy guns. XCOM’s little gray men, however, are scary as hell. It’s not the ashen skin, bulbous eyes, or creepy-crawly walk. It’s what these Sectoids represent: a greater threat that we are simply not equipped to handle.

In the strategy game XCOM: Enemy Unknown, we mere humans bring dull knives to plasma gunfights. And just when we start to catch up in weapon technology, the bug-eyed bastards bring bigger guns and meaner friends. These jerks even cheat with mysterious mind-control powers. Meanwhile, we’re barely keeping the checkbook balanced between research, manufacturing, facility construction, aircraft, and an ever-decreasing budget due to world nations pulling out of the program if you can’t keep them safe (and you can never keep them all safe).

It all adds up to an incredibly exciting and stressful experience. Each decision — whether it’s which tree to hide your assault trooper behind or which whiny country gets your last airspace-monitoring satellite — feels monumental and permanent. Humanity’s existence is at stake, and we just want to make it to the next month, when a few more pennies come rolling in and a few more traumatized soldiers get out of sick bay.

It’s a desperate fight. And boy will we celebrate when those little gray men are dead.

Shoe’s other picks for best games of 2012: Fieldrunners 2, Dishonored, Journey, Fez

Lead writer Dean Takahasi

The Unfinished Swan
Platform: PlayStation 3 (PlayStation Network)
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America
Developer: Giant Sparrow

The Unfinished Swan is one of the most creative titles yet for the PlayStation Network. It’s an interactive fairy tale where you lob blobs of black paint at a white screen. As you do so, you uncover part of a 3D space hidden within the white scene. Uncovering each scene is a mind-bending task, as you have to navigate perplexing puzzles. You explore the unknown, and as you do so, you uncover a new segment in a fairy tale about a boy who loses his mother. It is a touching story that will remind of you of the zany Alice in Wonderland. Ian Dallas, the game creator, feels that a child who is abandoned is like an unfinished work of art. But just when you think that the game has become predictable, it changes. In some ways, the story seems unfinished. But the title is a wonderful first effort for Giant Sparrow, a new studio bankrolled by Sony.

Dean’s other picks for the best games of 2012: Halo 4, Far Cry 3, Journey, Call of Duty: Black Ops II

Culture editor Sebastian Haley

Hotline Miami
Platform: PC
Publisher: Developer Digital
Developer: Dennaton Games

Indie sensation Hotline Miami is best described as the film Drive, but in a retro, pixelated and somehow even more violent form, with subtle hints of Rockstar’s Manhunt sprinkled on top. The short-but-sickeningly sweet levels allow you to carefully orchestrate your symphony of murder and mayhem, filling the floors with maimed corpses and spraying the walls with crimson, all while its surreal, Miami Vice-inspired soundtrack beats in the back of your mind. Basically, if you own a Wii or like looking at livestreams of kittens, this is not your kind of game.

Sebastian’s other picks for best games of 2012: Trials Evolution, Far Cry 3, The Darkness II, Final Fantasy XIII-2

Staff writer Jeff Grubb

Mark of the Ninja
Platform: Xbox 360 (Xbox Live Arcade), PC
Publisher: Microsoft Studios
Developer: Klei Entertainment

For these Game of the Year summaries, we’re supposed to look above and beyond the individual parts of a game. We’re supposed to write about why it is important, but in the case of Mark of the Ninja, it’s those parts that make it so special. Developer Klei’s 2D stealth action game for Xbox Live Arcade and PC is a master class in well-executed gameplay mechanics. Whether it’s a soundwave that ripples off your ninja’s feet to indicate how much noise he’s making or a vision cone that indicates where an enemy is looking, Mark of the Ninja is constantly communicating with the player. It then provides the player with a great controlling character to poke and prod the world with.

It’s not rare that a game makes you feel like a badass, but with Klei’s game it’s not about how powerful you are — it’s about how in tune with the environment your character is. You have so much visual and aural information that every moment is an opportunity for experimentation. You can spend 10 minutes laying out a detailed plan that involves deadly traps, or you can play the entire game without a sword.

In video games, we don’t usually get a lot of new ideas, we just get different takes on old ideas. Stealth is an old idea at this point, but Mark of the Ninja distinguishes itself by executing the concept better than any other game before it.

Jeff’s other picks for best games of 2012: The Walking Dead, XCOM: Enemy Unknown, Trials Evolution, FTL: Faster Than Light

Copy editor Jason Wilson

FTL: Faster Than Light
Platform: PC, Mac, Linux
Publisher: Subset Games
Developer: Subset Games

I’m low on fuel. My crew raced around my starship like a colony of ants, hastily putting out fires as doors opened to the cold vacuum of space. The Rebels are closing in on me. Do I take a chance and see if I can gain more fuel in the next nebular cloud, or do I make a mad dash for the next sector and hope to find friendly forces instead of angry adversaries? These are just some of the choices the player faces in FTL: Faster Than Light, the indie roguelike that’s swept upon a number of Game of the Year lists in 2012 (including ours!). What makes FTL so compelling to players is that a take on Civilization’s “one more turn” addictive nature — but instead of furthering your game, you’re driven to see if your next attempt takes you closer to escaping the pursuing Rebel forces. And it’s this that makes FTL one of the most interesting, fascinating, and, yes, best games of 2012.

Jason’s other picks for best games of 2012: The Walking Dead, Crusader Kings II, Torchlight II, Dragon’s Dogma

Contributor Rus McLaughlin

Far Cry 3
Platforms: Xbox 360, PS3, PC
Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal

Something visceral. Something primal. Most shooters don’t have these. They settle you into a safe, comfortable role. Veteran soldier. Seasoned cop. Career criminal. A hero … or an antihero. But Far Cry 3 makes you run blind through the jungle while murderous pirates hunt you like a piece of prey. You’re just a terrified kid. Never held a gun before. Never seen anyone die before. Now you’re covered in your own brother’s blood and getting high off the giddy thrill of mere survival. Then you’re turned lose to roam two amazingly rich, open-world islands where you can really start enjoying yourself, slowly and cautiously picking your tormentors apart. Before you know it, the elation you get from destroying a criminal empire hardens into a different kind of drug: revenge.

That’s when Far Cry 3 surpasses the standard shooter fare. An aimless twentysomething becomes a killer of killers, as feared as the insane warlords he wants dead. Between coolly tense stealth play and straight-up gunfights, you become the predator, stalking intruders in your jungle and murdering them at will. It all culminates in a moment where you must decide just how much you enjoy that particular power fantasy. Enough to abandon your humanity? Maybe.

Far Cry 3 goes there. Solid gameplay — minus a weak-tea multiplayer — and incredibly detailed environments lift it far enough, but its secret weapon lies in how it takes you into that dark, primal place. And then it dares you to ignore your basic animal instincts.

Rus’s other picks for best games of 2012: The Walking Dead, Fez, Halo 4, Journey

Contributing editor Rob Savillo

Contributor Rob LeFebvre

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GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

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Guest appearances and surprise crossovers in video games usually distract the player and end immersion. But well-placed cameos are amusing — especially if you have to dig around to find them.

Check out the gallery below to see the cool (and bizarre) cameos we gathered from 13 recent games.

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GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

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Game networking service Raptr released its annual Raptr Report detailing the most played games of 2012, and it carries a few surprises about how gamers spent their time in the last 12 months. The data is based on Raptr’s gameplay tracking feature and a user base in the 15 million range. Games on the Wii U and PlayStation 3 didn’t factor into these numbers due to data-capture restrictions.

The overall most played new intellectual property? That goes to Dishonored. Developer Arkane Studios’ stealthy, steampunk actioner narrowly edged out Sleeping Dogs’ kung-fu treachery by a slender 6 percent. But split the numbers out to total playtime per player, and massively multiplayer games still led the charge. Korean heroic fantasy The Exiled Realm of Arborea (aka TERA) commanded a strong 14 percent lead over its nearest competitor, Dragon’s Dogma, with the average player logging 40 hours in the first month alone.

Meanwhile, Xbox Live Arcade’s biggest hit turned out to be a PC game. Minecraft drew 350 percent more playtime than the second-place finisher, Trials: Evolution. According to Raptr, XBLA games tend to max out at roughly 10 hours of use in the first month. Minecraft players averaged just over 20 hours.

Raptr also notes that 27 percent of Minecraft players have tried to ride a flying pig.

The most played game of 2012, however, won’t come as any shock. It’s Call of Duty: Black Ops II with a comfortable 11-point margin, followed by Borderlands 2, Halo 4, and Minecraft.

But it turns out gamers are far more devoted to something other than Black Ops II.

Breaking the data into individual playtimes handily negates Black Ops II’s vast sales advantage. More people bought the latest Call of Duty, but on a person-by-person basis, gamers spent far more time trolling through Borderlands 2′s Wasteland. A lot more.

The average player spent 49 hours in the Wasteland … nearly 50 more than the average Black Ops II player in their respective opening months.

Possibly, the 11 percent of players who completed every side quest added to those numbers. Raptr also reports that players spent an average 80 hours to reach the level 50 cap. Borderlands 2 also topped the list of nonannualized game sequels with double the overall time that was spent on Diablo III. In that same category, Guild Wars 2 took honors for the most individual playtime.

On the MMO front, switching to a free-to-play model worked out well for a pair of high-profile titles. Star Wars: The Old Republic saw a 136 percent increase in overall playtime in just two weeks while Star Trek Online bumped its population a whopping 266 percent in playtime per day.

And the numbers clearly solve the age-old argument between those hardcore followings. Star Wars beats out Star Trek’s playtime numbers by 168 percent. The top three The Old Republic players have shown serious devotion, each logging over 250 hours in the game.

But for Raptr’s coveted No Bathroom Break award, which honors the longest average play sessions, a few new fighters entered the ring. Mass Effect 3 just barely missed toppling Borderlands 2, with XCOM: Enemy Unknown following not far behind. Halo 4, Black Ops II, and Dragon’s Dogma rounded out the list.

Raptr’s methodology  uses a proprietary formula based on key statistics that include total hours, average session length, and average playtime per person. To create equal footing for comparison, all games are compared based on the same time frames, typically defined as the first month after release.

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GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

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Between Borderlands 2, Torchlight II, and Diablo III, 2012 is a fantastic year for games that require you to hunt down precious items and gear to toughen up your character. But if you’re still itching to grab more loot, the free-to-play social game Legends: Rise of a Hero launches today on Zynga.com.

In Legends, players must rescue a princess from the goblin horde that kidnapped her. Generic premise aside, Legends doesn’t take itself very seriously: Dialogue and descriptions are rife with tongue-in-cheek humor. After choosing your class (ranger, warrior, or wizard), you go on quests, earn loot, craft weapons, and gradually build a kingdom of your own. It’s like a lighthearted version of Diablo, publisher Activision Blizzard’s series of loot-based RPGs.

It also uses some familiar social game mechanics, such as an energy bar that determines how many actions you can take per session, as well as a chance to buy premium currency to speed up your progress. Any friends you recruit in the game become A.I.-controlled members of your party.

Legends: Rise of a Hero caters specifically to the “midcore” market, a segment of players who don’t fit under the casual or hardcore definitions. Midcore titles balance accessibility and wide appeal with deeper mechanics than the usual social games, but they are not as complex as those found on consoles and PCs. Those who play them tend to stick around a lot longer, and spend more money, than the casual crowd.

“With the launch of Legends, we are breaking new ground in the midcore social gaming space,” said Michael Witz, the founder and CEO of developer Mob Science, in a press release sent to GamesBeat. “Our goal was to create an immersive, imaginative world that would appeal to many different types of players, but more importantly, one that would draw people into the story. We couldn’t be more proud to partner with Zynga to make it available to their network of players, adding to and complementing their existing portfolio of games.”

The San Diego-based Mob Science is just one of the 24 third-party developers under the Zynga Platform, where the mobile gaming giant provides marketing, distribution, and technical support for its partners’ games. Earlier this year, Mob Science raised $1 million in seed funding for the development of Legends. Its previous social games on Facebook include inFamous Anarchy (a spinoff of the PlayStation 3-exclusive superhero series), Coffee Bar, and Snowball Fight.

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GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

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Looks like there are no borders when it comes to enthusiasm for Borderlands 2. Take-Two Interactive announced today that the game has sold more than 5 million units worldwide.

Developed by Gearbox Software and published by Take-Two’s 2K Games label, Borderlands 2 is one of the most popular games of the year. To keep it going, Gearbox is working on three new add-on campaigns for release in the coming months. The company has already released its new downloadable content: the Captain Scarlett and her Pirate’s Booty add-on campaign. And it has released an all-new Mechromancer character class that gamers can play in the title.

Borderlands 2, a sequel to the 2009 hit, is outselling the original title. The new game came out Sept. 18 and has an average Metacritic score (based on aggregated game reviews) of 90 out of 100.

“We’re thrilled with the momentum of Borderlands 2, and it’s really a testament to all the hard work that the team at 2K and Gearbox put in to make this a must play game,” said Christoph Hartmann, president of 2K. “The Borderlands series has never been more popular, and with continued support through substantial add-on campaigns, Borderlands 2 has cemented itself as one of the industry’s mega franchises.”

2K is selling add-on downloadable content (DLC) for $9.99 and is selling a season pass for content for $39.96.

“The overwhelmingly positive response to Borderlands 2 from our fans has been incredible,” said Randy Pitchford, President of Gearbox Software. “Players have embraced Borderlands 2 as their next hobby, with over 50 million interactions with Claptrap in the central town of Sanctuary and 12,000 real world years’ worth of time spent shooting and looting their way through Pandora! We are just getting started and have incredible momentum to improve and add to the game all the way through the holiday season and beyond. We can’t wait to show everyone what more we have in store for Borderlands 2.”

“The Borderlands franchise has redefined cooperative online gaming, and the original game’s ability to engage users years after its 2009 launch has been a guiding light for the rest of the industry,” said Jesse Divnich, VP of Insights & Analysis at research firm EEDAR. “Borderlands, has been able to achieve attach rates north of 25% when the industry average is 14%, and we anticipate that downloadable expansion packs for Borderlands 2 will generate similar attachment rates.”

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GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

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Video game publisher Take-Two Interactive had a strong quarter on the back of its first-person action game Borderlands 2, but the company reduced its outlook for fiscal year 2013 (which ends March 31, 2013) due Grand Theft Auto V slipping into fiscal year 2014.

Take-Two produced $288 million in second quarter revenues which is up 169 percent from the same period fiscal year 2012. It reported a GAAP net loss of $12.4 million, which is also better than last year when the publisher reported a loss of $47.3 million.

“Take-Two’s second quarter revenue and earnings exceeded our outlook, driven by the breakout success of 2K’s Borderlands 2 and robust demand for our catalog and digitally delivered offerings,” said Strauss Zelnick, Take-Two’s chief executive officer. “Our business continues to fire on all cylinders, led by terrific early results from 2K’s NBA 2K13, and the outlook for our upcoming releases such as BioShock Infinite is stronger than ever. As a result, we continue to expect to deliver revenue growth and Non-GAAP profits in fiscal year 2013. Moreover, with Grand Theft Auto V slated for spring 2013, we are poised to generate substantial revenue and earnings growth in fiscal year 2014.”

The publisher revised its fiscal year 2013 earnings down to $1.1 to $1.2 billion down from $1.7 to $1.8 billion. This is clearly the result of moving Grand Theft Auto V into spring 2013. That pushes the potential blockbuster into the corporation’s next fiscal year.

Take-Two’s strongest gains in its second quarter came from Borderlands 2, which sold 5 million units, and catalog sales of Grand Theft Auto IV and Red Dead Redemption. Previously released games like those accounted for 28 percent of net revenues. It hopes to continue to capitalize on its strong back catalog with its Rockstar Games Collection: Edition 1 bundle which comprises Red Dead Redemption, L.A. Noire, Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City, and Midnight Club: Los Angeles Complete Edition.

Digital sales were up 108 percent compared to fiscal 2012. Downloadable versions of Borderlands 2 and Max Payne 3 as well as the Grand Theft Auto and Civilization franchises composed 20 percent of Take-Two’s quarterly revenues. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is headed to Android and iOS devices soon. A spinoff of the Borderlands franchise called Borderlands Legends just hit Apple’s iOS yesterday.

Other highlights of Take-Two’s quarter included the 2K Sports release NBA 2K13 which sold 49 percent more units than the franchise’s previous best seller, NBA 2K11.

Take-Two provided no solid performance numbers for strategy action game XCOM: Enemy Unknown, but Take-Two claimed that it is a ”commercial success with strong digital sales.” Two new downloadable add-ons are due out for the game before the end of the year with more scheduled for calendar 2013.

Take-Two also pointed at its success in working with social and mobile developers in Asian markets. NBA 2K All Stars from developer Gree attracted more than 300,000 users in less than two months according to the company’s internal estimates. It also plans to release a massively multiplayer online version of Civilization developed by South Korean studio XLGames.

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GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

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The effects of the gigantic storm that devastated many areas in the Northeast is rippling through the game industry. Take-Two Interactive originally planned on reporting its fiscal earnings for second quarter of fiscal 2013 this afternoon, but the video-game publisher is postponing this announcement and related events due to Hurricane Sandy.

This natural disaster is a legitimate tragedy. Many people are still in danger or without power because of the storm. Our first thoughts are with the people in harm’s way and the people trying to save them. But other news is happening in our trivial corner of the world, and we have to cover it.

If anything, Take-Two cancelling its earnings report indicates just how wide-reaching the effects of Sandy are. Corporations almost never delay a scheduled investors event like this.

Take-Two is the parent publisher of developers like Grand Theft Auto studio Rockstar Games and Borderlands 2 studio Gearbox Software.

The New York Stock Exchange is closed today for the second day in a row. This is the first time since 1888 that the NYSE shut its doors on consecutive days for a weather-related event. On that occasion, a blizzard left 40-feet high snowbanks in the streets of Manhattan. The NYSE should reopen on Wednesday.

Take-Two Interactive plans to reschedule its earnings report but provided no suggested date.

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GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

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If you’re a Borderlands 2 player, you’ve likely encountered the Golden Chest in Sanctuary. The Golden Chest contains the rarest of items, scaled to your level, but requires a Golden Key to open. And Golden Keys are hard to come by, as they’re only given out by members of developer Gearbox Software on Twitter.

To make Golden Key acquisitions a little easier this weekend, Gearbox has laid out its schedule for the next five sets of codes.

• Friday, October 26: 4 p.m. PST (What time is that for me?)
• Friday, October 26: 9 p.m. PST (What time is that for me?)
• Saturday, October 27: 3 a.m. PST (What time is that for me?)
• Saturday, October 27: 9 a.m. PST (What time is that for me?)
• Saturday, October 27: 1 p.m. PST (What time is that for me?)

Gearbox provides a code for all three platforms (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC), which you must enter on your SHiFT profile in-game. You also get an extra Golden Key for signing up for a SHiFT account through the Borderlands 2 main menu.

Codes are valid for three hours and can be redeemed once per account. Now that all those infinite Golden Key exploits have been patched, this is your best bet to pumping that chest for all of its goodies!

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GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

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The original Borderlands is going portable on Apple’s iOS devices by the end of this month.

That’s according to an advertisement in the back of the Borderlands 2 digital strategy guide. Developer Gearbox is porting the original Borderlands first-person-shooter role-playing game to iPhone and iPad. The studio designed the Legends variation specifically for touchscreen devices.

Players will reprise their role as one of the original Borderlands’ four characters: Mordecai, Lilith, Brick, or Roland. The game will vary from the classic Borderlands by providing randomized missions and a “strategic cover system.” Borderlands Legends will still feature the franchise’s signature “zillions” of weapons and character-specific skill trees.

The ad, which a Gearbox forum user found, reveals that the game is “coming in October,” but publisher 2K Games site has no information about the title.

GamesBeat contacted Gearbox about Borderlands Legends, and we’ll update when it responds.

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GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

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Do you know the three Cs of comic cons? Comics (obviously), celebrities (buy their expensive autographs so that they pretend to acknowledged your existence for five seconds), and cosplay (nerd talk for costumes).

I’m partial to the cosplay. Sometimes stunning, often hilarious, the gallery below features some of the best costumed attendees at the recent New York Comic Con, with a couple of other odds and ends thrown in. Thanks to our good friend Rich McGrath for taking these pictures for us!

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GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

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The first story-based downloadable-content pack for Borderlands 2 is here, and it brings plenty of new loot, new areas to loot, new enemies to kill for loot, and, most important, new loot.

Sending you and your fellow Vault Hunters to Pandora’s sprawling deserts, the Captain Scarlett and her Pirate’s Booty DLC tasks you with uncovering the lost treasure of the fearsome Captain Blade (who may or may not actually be fearsome at all) by killing sandworms, riding Return of the Jedi-esque sand skiffs, and assembling a magic compass. It all sounds thrilling, but is it enough to justify going back to Pandora?

Of course it is, as if you weren’t tipped off by “new loot.”

WHAT YOU’LL LIKE

Two great settings in one

Pirate’s Booty officially begins when you visit Oasis, a picturesque beachfront resort town where absolutely no one has died of dehydration (I swear). Well, at least that’s what the only living resident, a man named Shade, wants you to think. It turns out that everyone else was either killed by pirates or lack of water when the vast ocean that used to cover the area dried up.

This is actually one of the most clever conceits of the whole DLC adventure. The campaign and sidequests are pirate-related, asking you to explore shipwrecks and kill bandits that swap their traditional white masks and machine guns for Jolly Rogers and cutlasses, but it all takes place in an area with barely a drop of actual water. This allows the developers at Gearbox to kill multiple tropes at once and tell story that’s part Jack Sparrow and part Jabba the Hutt.

Take, one of my favorite areas in the game: The ship owned by the titular Captain Scarlett (and her titular booty). It’s a massive base housing a handful of unsavory sailor-types, a fair amount of cash and ammo-filled treasure chests, and various other things you’d expect to find on a high-seas vessel … except this one is hidden in a cave and hovers above the sand.

It also has a lighthouse built on top of a giant mountain (that used to be an island), which is almost as omnipresent as Pandora’s moon or the dozens of ocean liners suspended in the air. It’s all impressive, and I never got tired of taking a step back and marveling at how well Gearbox managed to create a world that tells so many stories without needing to say a word.

It’s funny (obviously)

It feels like a given to say that something related to the Borderlands series is funny and well-written, but the two primary characters in the DLC, Shade and Scarlett, are consistently just that. When you first meet Shade, his assurances that everyone in Oasis is still alive is fairly funny. But as you do more and more quests for him and you meet more of his “friends,” you realize it’s less funny than it is super-creepy. And also very funny. A particularly highlight is when he sends you to find an engagement ring and then propose to a long-dead woman on his behalf. Her “response” goes pretty far in arguing in favor of Shade being the craziest inhabitant of a planet where everyone is crazy.

Scarlett is one of the more competent denizens of Pandora’s desert. She manages to maintain control of her pirate crew, her weirdo stalker, and the Sand Pirate’s Union all while keeping a straight face when she repeatedly reminds you that at no point will she stab you in the back. With her and Shade, plus a bratty teenager who hates her grandmother and a porn-obsessed robot, Pirate’s Booty features some of the funniest characters in all of Borderlands 2.

Then you’ve got the ending, which I won’t spoil here, but I will say it’s a delightfully “screw you” of an anticlimax that has a considerable amount of fun at the player’s expense.

It’s more Borderlands

This is just as obvious as saying it’s funny, but Pirate’s Booty provides the one thing every Borderlands fan is looking for: more Borderlands. You get loads of new content in this pack, in addition to the main and sidequests, that help toward making this all feel new. You’ll see a handful of familiar monsters (hopefully you like Stalkers and Crystalisks), and a few obvious reskins of normal humans. But the DLC’s pirate theme is thankfully not ignored when it comes to most of them. You’ll be killing a lot of generic guys with guns, sure, but when you run into new enemies like the Cursed Pirate (a skull-faced adversary that drains your hit points) or the Anchorman (unfortunately not of the “Stay classy, San Diego” variety), you’ll have to change up your usual tactics in order to survive long enough to see some of that hot new loot.

Speaking of which, this, of course, has tons of it. One of the recurring sidequests that pops up in Pirate’s Booty involves you finding hidden treasure maps that lead to some of Captain Blade’s lost equipment and diary entries. All of it is pretty powerful, but each item also has some kind of negative drawback that, if not exactly welcome, does at least reflect the way the game characterizes Blade as a bloodthirsty pirate that isn’t actually bloodthirsty at all. See that? Telling a story through loot stats. Crazy.

The new Sand Skiff is also a lot of fun. It comes in three varieties (rocket, harpoon, and buzz saw), two of which are already common in the vanilla Borderlands 2 content. The harpoon variant, however, launches an explosive spike into enemies that takes a bit of time to fire off but tends to kill things in one shot. It’s a great weapon, and it makes mowing down hordes of sandworms a lot more fun than it should be.

WHAT YOU WON’T LIKE

It’s more Borderlands

Borderlands 2 was released about a month ago, and it’s last DLC pack (containing the new Mechromancer class) came out only a week ago. It’s reasonable to assume that not everyone has finished the game proper at this point, and even those who have may have done so too recently to be sufficiently impressed by what Pirate’s Booty is offering. It’s not that anything here is bad — it’s that when you get right down to it, it really is just more Borderlands 2. Nothing less, but little more. It introduces new items, vehicles, and enemies, but few of which are going to make veteran Vault Hunters feel like they’re experiencing something that is really new.

The other part of this is that the problems that Borderlands 2 has are still problems here.  Namely, it asks you to revisit the same locations multiple times far too often. This only happens a few times in Pirate’s Booty, but since the DLC covers a smaller amount of ground as it is, the likelihood of you having just been to the place you need to go next is frustratingly high. Fortunately, this usually only crops up during the treasure-hunting sidequests. But those are sometimes irritatingly vague on their own, so it makes them considerably more unappealing when you need to fight through an area you’ve already cleared once in order to get to them.

It doesn’t raise the level cap

Of course, if you are the sort of person that has already seen everything Borderlands 2 has to offer, you’re probably hoping for something that goes beyond new loot and new monsters. Something like, say, a higher level cap. Unfortunately, at least for this DLC pack, you won’t be able to break past the existing limit. That means if you’ve already maxed out your character, you might want to hold off on Pirate’s Booty until Gearbox does raise the cap (or rather, if they raise it).

CONCLUSION

Captain Scarlett and her Pirate’s Booty offers almost everything a Borderlands 2 fan might want in their DLC, but it all ends up being a little too expected to truly achieve ground-breaking status. Thankfully, some hilarious new characters and an impressive setting hoist the add-on content up to a level that makes it hard not to recommend to anyone looking for a little bit more of that sweet, sweet loot.

Score: 85/100

Captain Scarlett and her Pirate’s Booty, a DLC pack for Borderlands 2, was released Oct. 15, 2012, for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. The publisher provided GamesBeat with an Xbox 360 download code for the purpose of this review.

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GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

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