Media

Saturday night, Xbox Live Gold subscribers the world over will have the opportunity to view the world premiere of Minecraft: The Story of Mojang, a documentary detailing the creation …
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Surviving the end of the world takes skills. Skills developed in the slavering clutches of the undead, shaping wads of helpless victims into chiseled survivors. Everyone has their own strengths: the brawler, the sneak, the deadeye. Understanding your role in the zombie apocalypse could mean the difference between a lukewarm canned meal at the end of a long day and becoming the meal yourself. Undead Labs’ Richard Foge recently delved into the meaning of tactics, strategy, and how to last long enough to become a survivor in State of Decay.

“In State of Decay we put a lot of effort into making sure that players can transition smoothly between different tactical approaches to gameplay so that [you] can adapt quickly and make adjustments to your tactics as the combat situation evolves,” he writes. Foge brings considerable console game design know-how to State of Decay, having honed his craft as a Senior Designer for the SOCOM franchise, in addition to combat and systems design for God of War and Guild Wars, respectively. Now he’s set sights on ensuring your survival’s as organic as possible.

“We want you to easily flow from stealth to melee combat to ranged combat to using items. We know that everyone approaches these challenges differently, and it was important to make sure that as many approaches were accounted for as possible.” There’s a dizzying array of ways to tackle the flesh-eating obstacles infesting State of Decay — for one, literally. Though Foge discourages too much physical contact when interacting with your new neighbors, “It’s a great way to get yourself killed, but it’s also a great way to dispatch a couple of zombies without letting the legions of the damned know your exact position.”

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Weekly Roundup compiles all the biggest news stories, reviews and features from the week into one handy post on the weekends.

We’re well under way in our 12 Days of XBLA giveaway. If you haven’t caught it, ’tis the season for giving and your chance to score dozens of terrific XBLA titles as the holidays approach. In other news, Minecraft gets some video coverage, and delays are discussed across a few games that fell away from the spotlight.

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The first new additions to the already robust Guardians of Middle-earth roster are now available. Joining the ranks are Bilbo Baggins, the titular star of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, who fills the role of a striker with his blade, Sting. Tipping the scales for the forces of darkness, Bert the Troll brings considerable firepower as yet another tactician, using his abilities to secure lanes and push toward enemy installations. Both guardians can be individually purchased for 160 MSP, or as part of the Season Pass, which also secures future downloadable content for 1200 MSP.

Also available for download, The Shire map skin brings 3-lane warfare to the rolling green mounds of Hobbiton. The Shire plays similarly to the existing 3-lane map, though players will notice shrine locations are slightly changed, and bushes scattered throughout the map present new opportunities for potential ambushes. Part of a compatibility update, The Shire map skin is free of charge, joining the random map rotation once downloaded.

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and Monolith Productions plan to release more content over the course of the coming months, including several new guardians and game modes when they become available. For a better look at Bilbo, Bert and The Shire, check out the trailer after the jump. Anyone not yet knee-deep in the battle can see what all the fuss is about in our Guardians of Middle-earth review.

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Skulls of the Shogun developers 17Bit have released a new trailer for their upcoming strategy game showcasing the cross-platform gameplay between …
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Publisher Deep Silver has released a short video detailing the second of three characters from its upcoming side-scrolling brawler Sacred Citadel. This video focuses on Khukuri Shaman, described as …
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• The Xbox Community Ambassadors program is expanding. Ambassadors are regular community members who provide community support in exchange for some cool gifts, the higher end of which includes XBLA games. Are you knowledgeable? Apply today.
• The Verge reports that the ESPN Xbox Live app will be getting SmartGlass support some time this month.
• PlayXBLA revealed one of the new gods in  Ascend: New Gods, the Titan. See a screenshot after the jump.
• SmartGlass is now available for your iPhone or iPad–that is if you’re trendy lucky enough to have one. Pick it up here.
• Xbox Live apps Rhapsody, Blip.TV, LOVEFiLM Deutschland, RTL XL, and TOU.TV recently launched in their respective regions, and the IGN app is now available in Canada. For full descriptions, hit the jump.
• The Blinding of Isaac is coming to consoles. Super Meat Boy‘s Edmund McMillen announced the information via his blog earlier this month. No word yet if that includes the Xbox 360 and XBLA.
• Happy Wars has been updated with additional weapons, including a mailbox and a winged staff. No word on whether these are free or microtransactional.

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Microsoft and Double Fine Productions have announced that Kinect Party will launch for free on Xbox Live Arcade on December 18. You read that right. Double Fine’s successor to …
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Last week, the Minecraft XBLA Team held a Q & A session at MineCon in Paris, France. Among some of the topics discussed at the …
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It’s December 2012, which means we’re rapidly approaching the end of the Mayan calendar and the possible end of the world. While others …
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