Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood 'Codex Edition' unboxed

Ubisoft released a short video presentation for the Codex Edition of the next installment in the Assassin's Creed series entitled Brotherhood.
I believe this game it's not going to be Assassin's Creed 3 but more like an AC v2.5, hopefully a very polished product which continues Ezio's adventures, brings the multiplayer layer (quite promising if you ask me) but will not offer a final ending to the story and series. Ubisoft will milk this IP a little bit more before giving up on it. :)
Anyway, let's not get too far from the main subject, the Codex Edition.


Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood - Limited Codex Edition


Includes:

• Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood game
• Renaissance Collector Chest
• Exclusive Codex
• Map of Rome
• Multiplayer characters cards
• Lineage DVD
• Bonus DVD and game soundtrack
• 2 Exclusive single player maps: Aqua Gear & Trajan Market
• 2 Multiplayer characters: Harlequin & Officer
• Additional bonus content yet to be revealed

Below is an image showing the contents of this game release:

Looks pretty good, isn't it? :D

Online Degrees Gaining in Acceptance Among Employers – But Concerns Remain : eLearners.com

Here's an interesting article and infographic regarding the online degrees subject.

"How do potential employers view online courses and degrees? How are job candidates viewed based on their academic credentials, online or traditional? Under what circumstances are online degrees viewed as a “non-issue” or an asset for job applicants?

These were some of the questions posed in Hiring Practices and Attitudes: Traditional vs. Online Degree Credentials, research undertaken by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and commissioned by eLearners.com, a web resource of EducationDynamics, which connects prospective students with online degrees. And as with a number of similar studies undertaken over the past ten years, the results reflect an interesting and transitioning set of assumptions among hiring managers about the value of online degrees and degree-holders."

You can read the rest of the article here.

How are the TOP 100 Companies using Social Media ? [Infographic]

An infographic showing how Fortune Top 100 companies are using social media. Check it out. Graph provided by Vistature.

Team Fortress 2 Community Members Earn Up To $47,000 from Custom Items Sale

Valve hits the jackpot with its Mann-conomy store for Team Fortress 2.
Check out the coverage of Dustin Quillen from 1UP on this subject:

"When Valve rolled out its "Mann-conomy" update for Team Fortress 2 back in September, the developer included a handful of community-made items for sale on the new in-game store. Now, less than a month after the debut of microtransactions in the cartoonish shooter, those community members have already raked in tens of thousands of dollars apiece from Team Fortress 2's Mann Co. Store.

Team Fortress fans Steven Skidmore, Spencer Kern, Shawn Spetch, Rob Laro, and Shaylyn Hamm all contributed custom equipment to the game's Polycount Pack, which was among the first content available for purchase on the Mann Co. Store. Their 25 percent revenue share resulted in royalty payments of between $39,000 and $47,000 each."

You can read the rest of the story here.

A shorter and funnier approach from Joystiq's Richard Mitchell is just a click away.

"And your mother told you video games were a waste of time! Valve has announced that user-created items in the new Team Fortress 2 Mann Co. Store have brought in positively massive royalties for five contest-winning Steam community members. The five community members included in the initial run of the Mann Co. Store -- Rob Laro, Shawn Spetch, Steven Skidmore, Spencer Kern, and Shaylyn Hamm -- all received royalties ranging from $39,000 to $47,000 after the first two weeks of sales."

Well...if you ain't buying Team Fortress 2 right now, it means I have a little less competition on the market! :) Would love to stay and chat with you all but I've got some work to do. I'll keep you posted on the progress. :D

Title image taken from Kotaku.

God of War Collection Conquers PSN Nov. 2

Kratos strikes again with vengeance! God Of War 1 and God Of War 2 will be both available to download on the Playstation Store on Nov 2!
Any gamer out there should play this remastered epic adventure and experience one of the best game combat systems in gorgeous 720p High Definition, 60 FPS.
Both games are Trophy enabled so this is a good opportunity to show off your gamer skills by earning some platinum trophies and complete the series.
The main difference between the disc version and the downloadable one is the missing bonus content which was featured on the Blu-Ray edition.
Sony is listing the GoW Collection PSN pack at 29.99 EUR / 23.99 GBP (both games) and 17.99 EUR / 13.99 GBP for a single edition.
News provided by EpicBattleAxe.

How Many Hours Does The Human Race Spend Playing Facebook Games Every Month?

AllFacebook.com provided an impressive graph showing some very interesting game statistics for the Facebook platform. The source of this article can be found here.

Get Commandos Complete for only 2 pounds!

Commandos Complete for only 2 quids @ GetGamesGo?

Sounds too good to be true!

This is not a good budget deal, this is a must buy deal!

A tribute for all the WW2 theme fans out there and not only because any gamer should play this excellent series.
The pack consists of Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines, expansion pack Beyond the Call of Duty, and sequels Commandos 2: Men of Courage, Commandos 3: Destination Berlin and Commandos: Strike Force.

"Okay guys! This group of allied soldiers has been isolated from their squad. Let's see if we can offer them a hand... Or, a knife!" Jack O'Hara

You can buy the pack from GetGamesGo.com 

An Illustrated Guide To World Of Warcraft's Scammers

Kotaku brings some interesting stats regarding common scams from World Of Warcraft. As always, nice graphs and insightful information. Read the rest of the article here. Click on image to enlarge.

Scared to open the package: adventures in game writer bribery

Pre Dexter-Morgan-with-Photoshop
brass knuckle photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

Those who write about games often get their copies of the game directly from the publisher, but many times the package containing said game contains all manner of other things.

We explore some of the odder things sent to the gaming press to promote games, and show some of the coverage that resulted.


You can read the full article here.

How Video Games Reorganize Your Brain

Kotaku found some interesting info on how video games are affecting our brain:
"It is no secret that video games aid players with their hand-eye coordination.
A new study shows that playing video games extensively reorganizes how the brain handles difficult visuomotor tasks.
Gaming pundits have been pulling out the eye-hand coordination card for as long there have been video games. Seeing things is easy. Manipulating things with one's hands is simple. Watching one thing while manipulating something else with one's hands is the tricky bit. Since gamers spend a great deal of time watching a screen while manipulating a controller, their eye-hand coordination improves"
You can read the rest of the article here.

Video Game Industry Statistics (ESRB)

Video Game Industry Statistics (ESRB): "Video Game Industry Statistics from ESRB"

Here's an interesting compilation of video game statistics provided by ESRB.

Enjoy,

Raoul

Super Mario 25th Birthday!

Looks like we have another celebration today!
Happy Birthday Super Mario!
25 years have passed since the most known plumber made his first video game appearance!
Luke Plunkett from Kotaku made the perfect description of this iconic character:

"It seems almost pointless marking the occasion with a round-up, or a few paragraphs outlining his importance to video games - and video gamers - because it's Mario. He isn't important to video games. He is video games."

Dear Mario, if you're throwing a party tonight with Luigi, Donkey Kong and the rest of the gang, just be careful and enjoy those mushrooms moderately. Is Bowser invited after all? :)
You can check the rest of the article here.

Hey PlayStation! Happy 15th Anniversary!

Growing up PlayStation infographic,
originally uploaded by PlayStation.Blog.

Happy birthday PlayStation!
Oh, and thanks for all the good times we've spent together starting with PSOne, PS2 and now PS3. Thanks to you I've experienced types of entertainment which drove me to make the step and join this industry.
Sony challenged the console market and alongside Nintendo it started this revolution.
Microsoft joined the party later on and thanks to that, now we're looking at this mature industry.
Let's continue to enjoy the entertainment provided by these folks and everybody else involved.
I know that all of them contributed with some incredible steps forward or big mistakes in the past, but as a consumer, I believe they did a great job until now. All my Kudos for the Big Three.
Read some more regarding PlayStation's anniversary on the official PlayStation Blog.

Cheers,
Raoul

"The Witness" showed up @ PAX 2010

Jonathan Blow, the designer behind the indie success "Braid" has revealed his latest creation at PAX 2010 (Penny Arcade Expo).

According to Gamasutra, Jonathan launched the playtest session in a stealthy way at SpyParty/Monaco's booth, without any announcements or hype.

Kotaku captured about three minutes of in-game footage which you can check it out here.

For more information you can visit the official website of "The Witness" or you can read the rest of the article on Gamasutra.

Duke Nukem Forever is Officially in Development at Gearbox - EpicBattleAxe

But for real, Gearbox Software, just ahead of the opening of PAX 2010, announced to the world that the game-that-will-not-die is finally on the home stretch after more than a decade in development. Duke Nukem Forever, the sequel to 1996’s Duke Nukem 3D has been “close to release” countless times since it was originally announced in 1997. Since then, DNF has spawned a string of release dates that never panned out, some of the most effortless humor that’s ever existed, and a fierce legal battle between publisher Take-Two and original-developer 3D Realms.

After hitting financial trouble in 2009, 3D Realms closed its doors and entered legal proceedings with Take-Two over the game they should have delivered more than ten years earlier. Though we still don’t know the exact details, we know now that Gearbox got involved shortly thereafter, taking over development of Duke Nukem Forever in late ‘09; presumably after a settlement was reached between 3D Realms and Take-Two.
You can read more here.

Source

Company Of Heroes Developer Killed In Car Accident

Well, here's an unfortunate event... 

"Brian R. Wood, lead designer of Company of Heroes Online and a key player in the development of the series as a whole, was tragically killed on Friday night in an automobile accident north of Seattle.

Wood was behind the wheel of his Subaru Outback, with his wife Erin a passenger, when they were struck head-on by a Chevy Blazer driven by 21 year-old Jordyn B. Weichert. Two passengers in Weichert's car were killed, while it's alleged that the young driver was also under the influence of drugs at the time of the accident.

The Washington State Patrol say Weichert could be charged with vehicular homicide and vehicular assault once she is released from hospital, while another passenger in her car, 22 year-old Samantha R. Bowling, may also be charged with vehicular homicide.

Wood was 33. His wife, six months pregnant, is "hospitalized but in improving condition".

Rest in peace B!

News and photograph entirely acquired from Kotaku.com, All rights reserved.