Living LIVE News Report 10.17.11
Posted by Trace Aber on 10.17.2011
News and thoughts on Batman: Arkham City and Battlefield 3's online pass details being released, Live accounts getting stolen for soccer, Leisure Suit Larry coming to XBLA, GoldenEye's painball pre-order and more!
REPLY POSTED
Super excited for the UFC addition. They did away with their often buggy online pool and never said why. I guess it was to get it working properly for this.
Posted By: lol (Guest) on October 13, 2011 at 04:07 PM
In all fairness to the UFC channel, there's still a chance this voting thing could still be buggy. Then again, they've been working on this for a few months now and should have all the kinks worked out. I wonder if this is UFC testing the waters for their own actual channel, though?
Welcome everyone to another issue of the Living LIVE News Report, and as always, I'm your host for the evening, Trace Aber.
Holligans Steal LIVE Accounts, Play Soccer
It seems like some damn hacker hooligans are stealing people's Xbox LIVE account information and using it to purchase FIFA 2011 and 2012 DLC. Wait…what?
According to Ars Technica, users are noticing Xbox LIVE charges made to their credit cards that they didn't purchase. And for whatever reason, there's a pattern of those charges being related to DLC for the popular soccer franchise, as well as the game being played on their account. One report listed up to over $100 in charges, FIFA 12 being downloaded, and every point spent on gold premium packs and DLC…all while his Xbox was off.
I'm not sure who is in need of that much FIFA DLC, or why there (might be) a group of hackers who really love them some FIFA. The whole thing is rather confusing, but the problem has become widespread enough for Microsoft to issue their standard blanket statement about security issues;
"We do not have any evidence the Xbox LIVE service has been compromised. We take the security of our service seriously and work on an ongoing basis to improve it against evolving threats. However, a limited number of members have contacted us regarding unauthorized access to their accounts by outside individuals. We are working with our impacted members directly to resolve any unauthorized changes to their accounts. As always, we highly recommend our members follow the Xbox LIVE Account Security guidance provided at www.xbox.com/security to protect your account."
Be sure to keep an eye on your credit card transaction and give Microsoft a call if you notice a whole bunch of FIFA creeping into your life without your consent. Still…this has to be one of the weirdest hacking stories I've read in quite a while.
Battlefield 3 Requiring Online Pass; Nobody Surprised
While it's becoming more and more the norm to require an online pass, some companies still feel the need to make big announcements about them as if we'll be surprised afterwards. Unsurprisingly, one of this year's biggest games, Battlefield 3, will be coming with its very own online pass.
Without this pass, users will be unable to access any of the game's multiplayer content, aka the main reason people purchase Battlefield games. When asked why the popular FPS would be using the pass, DICE Designer Alan Kertz responded ""because servers cost money, and used games don't make developers any money." Of course, the pass is free with new copies of the game, but those buying used will be paying roughly $10.
Batman: Arkham City comes with Online Pass…Actually Contains Cool Stuff
While most companies, such as EA, are content with their online passes doing nothing more than letting you play online, Warner Bros. and Rocksteady feel like gamers should get a little more for purchasing the game new.
The VIP pass, which like all others comes with new copies of the game, will feature a playable Catwoman. What makes this cool is that she isn't just some rinky-dink addition…she's a full blown character with a unique story, set of moves and weapons. It's not on the disk either, but something you actually have to download. It's almost as if there's actual incentive for buying the game new as opposed to it being forced on you.
Well, hell, even if you get it used at Gamestop it seems like you'll still get the code. According to an internal memo that got leaked, and later confirmed by retail locations, it appears as though Warner Bros. set up some sort of deal to make this happen. While it kind of defeats the purpose in the first place, I'm going to assume Gamestop had to cough up some money for this little deal. This isn't a bad middle ground, I suppose – developers still get money from used game sales and the customer doesn't get shafted. It's win-win.
Dayton USA Coming to XBLA
In an announcement I'm sure will make old school racing fans happy, the classic Daytona USA will finally be getting an HD remake, steering wheel support and even online multiplayer! Thankfully, the soundtrack, one of the game's defining features, remains untouched. In addition to the normal arcade mode, there will be Survival and Time Trails, and up to 8 others can race with you online! You can get back behind the wheel come October 26 for 800MP.
Goldeneye's Famed Paintball Pre-Order Only
Fans of the original Goldeneye on the Nintendo 64 likely remember the ridiculously hard method required to unlock Paintball mode. You know, beat Dam on Secret Agent in under 2 minutes and 40 seconds (or a stupid long code)? That mode returns in Goldeneye 007: Reloaded, but only for those who pre-order at Gamestop. Oh, and just to piss people off: the content is already on the disk.
The mode will still be available offline in the game's Mi6 Ops mode, which pits players against multiplayer bots. The good news is if you get hooked up with a host who has the content you'll still be able to see it. So I guess the only benefit is getting to pick the mode when you want?
Though it hasn't been confirmed, it's likely this will get released as DLC within a month or two of the game's release anyways. I'm ok with pre-order bonuses and everything, but this just seems silly.
Leisure Suit Larry to Make Debut on XBLA
Two years ago I had the terrible misfortune of reviewing Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust. It was insulting to my intelligence, looked awful, at times downright offensive and worst of all it wasn't fun in any way, shape or form. It went against everything the original LSL games were about, and a large part of that was due to the fact that Al Lowe, the original creator of the series, had nothing to do with it.
Thankfully, the people at Replay Games realized this and decided that instead of creating another terrible LSL game, why not just remake the classics, and have Al Lowe on board this time? In fact, they plan on doing HD remakes of the first seven games starting with Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards. You can expect to see these released on XBLA, PSN, Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, OnLive and Steam soon.
The Digital Downloads Arcade Games
Real Steel (800MP)
Guardian Heroes (800MP)
Games on Demand
WWE All Stars ($49.99)
Test Drive Unlimited 2 ($19.99)
007: Quantum of Solace ($29.99)
Signing Out
That does it for me this week. Be sure to check back next week as we discuss all of the latest Xbox 360 news, including releases, rumors and reviews! Also, don't forget to bookmark 411Mania! And a note to all of the Indie Game developers out there – if you have an upcoming title that's going to be released soon drop me a line at traceaber@gmail.com and let me know. I'll write a full review of your game to be posted on 411Mania.com, which is a great way to get your game promoted!
It's not really weird at all. FIFA is a huge game with an even bigger moneysink in the Ultimate Team. There are people who spend thousands in that each year, so hackers are targeting it. Sounds like they find someone who used the same info for their Live info as they did in one of the many hacked sites from the last year or so, get access to the account and change the login, then buy the coins EA uses to use or sell to others. A little googling showed people selling 'pre-loaded' accounts with 4,000 or 6,000 points on them and telling people who bought to use them quickly.
Posted By: lol (Guest) on October 20, 2011 at 03:46 PM
"When asked why the popular FPS would be using the pass, DICE Designer Alan Kertz responded ""because servers cost money, and used games don't make developers any money."
So which has higher server costs? If I buy the game brand new and play it for three years. Or if I buy the game brand new and play it for a year then sell it to a friend who then plays it for two years? Total bullshit!
Posted By: mogamer (Guest) on October 26, 2011 at 01:17 PM
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