Command and Conquer: Tiberium Alliances headed to browsers, mobile

EA continues the expansion of its "play4free" portfolio with the announcement of Command and Conquer: Tiberium Alliances, developed by Phenomic. The browser- and mobile-based strategy MMO will begin a closed beta on December 15. Interested generals can sign up at the game's official site.

The mobile Command and Conquer comes hot on the heels of last weekend's announcement of Command and Conquer: Generals 2, currently in production at BioWare Victory for launch on PC in 2013.

Command & Conquer: Tiberium Alliances

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The Last Of Us: Third-Person Confirmed And Story Details

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Yeah, we know. You want to have every last detail concerning Naughty Dog's new project, The Last Of Us.
Well, you'll probably have to wait a bit for full disclosure, but at least we have some baseline information from the developers, which is a start.
According to USA Today, the two characters you see in the trailer - Joel and Ellie - meet at the start of the adventure and team up. Naughty Dog creative director Neil Druckmann says Joel sees Ellie as "his one chance at redemption." This comes from an idea for a graphic novel Druckmann had back in 2008; it involved a father and daughter in a zombie tale. The idea had potential, after all.
But just to be clear, Naughty Dog has confirmed to other sources that The Last Of Us is definitely not a "zombie game." As for how the studio approached the new project, Naughty dog co-presidents Evan Wells and Christophe Balestra said they had guys who "wanted to be challenged." After Uncharted 2: Among Thieves shipped, a few members moved over to work on The Last Of Us while others stuck around to work on Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception.
Lastly, we learn that their new project will be played in the third-person perspective, like the Uncharted series. And in regards to the progressive nature of the project... Said Balestra:
"We're trying to move the medium of video games into an area elevated in the same manner of respect of film. We want to redefine what our medium is even called. 'Video game' is not an accurate name anymore. It is not necessarily a game with rules and a winner and a loser. It's an experience."
Man, we can't wait to hear and see more.

PSA: Battlefield 3's 'Back to Karkand' now on PC, Xbox 360

Battlefield 3's "Back to Karkand" has been deployed on PC and Xbox 360. The maps for the expansion were buried in a recent PC update, so the mouse and keyboard crew should be good to go. Xbox 360 users have a 2.07 gigglebyte update ahead of them, so that's something to get going on ASAP. The PS3 version was updated last week.

"Back to Karkand" is free for those who picked up the "Limited Edition" version of BF3 at launch -- otherwise it's $15 (the standard for FPS map packs).

The mega Xbox 360 download doesn't just add Karkand maps, however, as there's also a ginormous list of changes made to single player, multiplayer andBattlefield 3's general balance. Check it out after the break.

Get in touch with Vita launch titles with ten new trailers

Sony sent out a bunch of trailers for first-party launch Vita games, focusing on the Vita-specific features each game uses. The good news: we see clever combinations of controls here, like Escape Plan's "pinch" of both the front and back touch panels. And Gravity Rush looks really neat regardless of how it's controlled.

The bad news: we're not nearly mature enough to see ten references to "front touch" and "rear touch" without giggling. If that's how Sony is going to refer to those features permanently, we're going to have a problem at press events.

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Review: The Adventures of Tintin is a Master Class in Failure

The Adventures of Tintin: The Game is meant for kids; just make sure those kids are rabble-rousing hellspawn who deserve to be punished in cruel and unusual ways. Of course, this was to be expected -- no release of a high-profile adventure film is complete without a quick cash-grab of a video game. This turns out to be one of the few situations where Tintin completely delivers on exactly what you expected. The main story mode claims to follow the plot of the film, but the cut-scenes are so incomprehensible that it fails to spoil the plot whatsoever. From what I could piece together, you play as the titular journalist and his nautical comrade Captain Haddock. You spend time journeying through exotic locals and engaging in hijinks fit for a Eurasian buddy comedy. Think of it as a childish Indiana Jones with slightly fewer Nazis.The game puts players through a handful of scenarios that repeat themselves over the course of the longest two and a half hours you'll ever spend. Discovering each of the five game types feels akin to Dante Alighieri experiencing new circles of suffering. The opening chapter gets billed as an "adventure" segment where you wander down the static corridors of a bazaar until the game seems to arbitrarily cut to a cinematic that signals your completion. The game's loose definition of the word "adventure" becomes indicative of the other surprises it has in store for the player throughout the duration.

Click the image above to check out all The Adventures of Tintin: The Game screens.

The levels where you're placed behind the wings of a Beechcraft unfold with a spectacular lack of sophistication. Poor collision detection and zero sense of speed make these brief sections feel like the game is actively punishing you for playing it. If Star Wars: Rogue Squadron could pull off fun and responsive aerial combat in 1998, it's hard to comprehend how Tintin could possibly fail to vault over that bar some 13 years later. The game also features a handful of motorcycle sequences that excel as a "hold the gas button until you reach your destination" simulator. While these vehicular challenges are pandering in their simplicity, they're never outright insulting. Lucky for you, the developers pepper the game with a sword fighting minigame that manages to offend the player in ways I never knew possible. The complete lack of cinematic blocking, combined with how you and your enemies look pretty similar in these segments, ultimately left me continually confused as to which character I was in control of. Well, maybe control isn't the right word -- the complete lack of onscreen response to your controller inputs forced me to complete these challenges by sporadically jamming on the analog sticks without the slightest hint of finesse.
The game shows a brief glimmer of promise when it shifts to a 2D perspective and tasks you with navigating a series of puzzle chambers. These levels resemble a stripped down version of Kemco'sThe Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle for the NES. You have to clear a room of its enemies using secret passages, a variety of weapons, and destructible landscapes. Popping in and out of vents while performing sneak attacks on unsuspecting guards lend some rare moments of fun in an otherwise woeful landscape. Of course, any enjoyment received from these moments gets quickly marred by another trip to swashbuckling purgatory. The rest of package is fleshed out with a Challenge Mode that seems to exist for the sole purpose of filling up some space on the disc, and a cooperative mode that allows you to slosh through the experience alongside an equally masochistic friend.
I cannot, in good conscience, recommend this game to anyone. Even the most avid Hergé aficionados -- assuming they exist within the U.S. -- would be hard-pressed to squeeze any palpable enjoyment out of The Adventures of Tintin. I understand that the game is meant for a younger audience, but there are quite literally hundreds of other titles out there that provide a far more enjoyable experience. I have no ethical qualms with this game's existence, but the fact that Ubisoft charges money for it comes dangerously close to breaking a handful of agreements in the Geneva Conventions.

Dislike Metal Gear Rising? Then wait for 'stealth MGS' sequel, says Kojima

Hideo Kojima has suggested that gamers who aren’t too fussed about upcoming action romp Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance should simply wait until the next stealth-based entry in the franchise comes along.

Rising was re-revealed at the Spike Video Game Awards on Saturday, with Bayonetta developer Platinum Games now at the helm after taking over from Kojima Productions.

However, the new trailer showcased a decidedly action-oriented flavour to the proceedings, which hasn’t sat too well with the hardcore Metal Gear aficionado. 

Kojima has a solution, however – "patiently wait" until a true MGS sequel emerges.

“Had same kind of questions @today’s conf. Our ex-RISING also were aiming at feel good action w/ protagonist, Raiden as a Spin-off, not MGS & such concept was shared w/ New RISING by P*,” he write on Twitter.

“For those of you desire for authentic stealth MGS, I want you to patiently wait for the sequel coming in future.”

Metal Gear Rising is due out on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2012. 

Metal Gear Rising Incurs MGS Fan's Vengeful Wrath

 Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

Be careful, Konami. For the love of God...be careful.
We're not about to accuse you of becoming another Square Enix. No, it's far too early for that and after all, Platinum Games is the primary developer for the newly renamed Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. Kojima Productions is still part of the project (apparently), but it's not like Hideo Kojima is making this game.
And with the "Solid" part of the title gone and the rumor that Kojima might be working on MGS5 or even Zone of the Enders 3, Konami isn't in a terrible position. Not yet. But they should be wary about the wrath of the hardcore fan; this new game does have "Metal Gear" in the title and if you check around the Internet, those die-hard fans feel a little betrayed. It's important that you listen and respond to those fans who have adored the iconic Metal Gear Solid franchise.
I'm not saying they should cancel Revengeance because contrary to the popular opinion, I think the game showed promise (strictly from an action-oriented standpoint), and Platinum knows what they're doing in this genre. But storytelling isn't their forte, and with zero stealth and virtually no resemblance to MGS (besides Raiden's presence), Revengeance is going to ruffle some feathers. No, don't cancel the game; just be warned: you're treading on eggshells, Konami. A few followers are a trifle concerned.
Your saving grace right now is Kojima himself. No way MGS5 will be anything like Platinum's game, and if anyone knows his fans, it's this guy. We're convinced MGS won't suddenly become a series the long-time lovers hate ('cough' Final Fantasy 'cough') but this can turn into a slippery slope very fast. So just take this as a PSA, Konami. Keep it in the back of your mind, okay?