Here are the official PC requirements to play Firefall

Red 5 Studio's upcoming game Firefall has completed the first stage of its exclusive beta test, amassing more than 500,000 registered members who anxious to play the highly-anticipated, free-to-play shooter. While the 500,000 mark represents Red 5's "commitment to nurturing a flourishing community which stands behind its innovative approach to online gaming," the developer isn't looking to slow down anytime soon. In fact, to prepare for a new wave of players, Red 5 has revealed the official system requirements to play Firefall.

Minimum

Recommended

"The feedback and support from our community has been an integral part of the development process," said Red 5 CEO Mark Kern. “We’re treating Firefall as a service, which means it’s critical that we’re continually adding value and fun for players. Having a large and growing community lets us know that we’re on the right track. But more importantly, their feedback helps us stay on the right track.”

How serious is Kern about user and community feedback? Red 5 is getting ready to roll out The Tribe, a massive update based on community input that will affect everything from progression to core gameplay mechanics.

As Firefall moves into stage two of its exclusive beta, Red 5 will be increasing the number of invites sent out to meet the growing demand. If you want to participate and meet the minimum requirements needed to run Firefall, then head over to the official game page and sign up for a chance. If you haven't heard of Firefall, you can check out our preview of the game for more information.

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Mass Effect 3 releases NEW refusal ending

Ha, so you thought BioWare was only revamping the already existing endings?  For shame.  Out today, June 6th 2012 for XBLA, there was an update for the last game in the Mass Effect trilogy.  This update takes the original concepts for the endings and extends them with more footage and explanations.  The theory here is that after the fan outcry from disappointment, that BioWare could fix the tears from their fan base.

On top of all that, there has been a completely new ending added.  When I played through ME3, this ending actually crossed my mind – what if I don’t choose any of the three endings?  What if you trusted all your war efforts to beat the Reapers?  This is now an option for Shepard.

There are new dialogue options where you basically tell the little boy to go stuff himself and that you aren’t anyone’s monkey.  This ends poorly for Shepard since now that all three options are removed you are stuck with the repercussions of your inaction.  If you thought all your running around playing Paul Revere would have stopped the Reapers… you were wrong.  The little boy says “The cycle continues” indicating that the Reapers will destroy / harvest all developed life so the fledgling species can evolve; rinse and repeat.   

While it isn’t showed, your efforts are all for nothing in this ending.  The next scene shows Liara’s capsule broadcasting to the universe about everything they know, how to beat the Reapers, and about their war with the Reapers.  She uses this capsule to represent hope for the next powerful species in the universe. 

At the very end there is a different scene with the child and Stargazer.  First off, the Stargazer is a woman and the dialogue is slightly different.  Even though Shepard didn’t make a decision back in his / her day, Shepard is still viewed as a great hero still. 

One thing that stood out to me in this ending is when you make your decision to do nothing, the child responds in a metallic and deep voice similar to Harbinger – saying, “So be it.”  So while BioWare has basically debunked all the “indoctrination ending” theory crafting, this one pitch change opens some new possibilities about his origin.  Check out the ending above if you haven’t seen it or want to spoil it for yourself.  

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Google Australia puts the power of Legos into Chrome

With all the Lego craze going around, it's no wonder that Google has put together something totally awesome for Chrome browsers. Google Australia has launched Lego Build, which allows users to log on using their Google Chrome browsers, pick a plot of land on the continent of Australia, and build to their heart's content. Luckily you don't have to be in Australia to enjoy this as it seems to work no matter where you're located.

The diversity of bricks is rather low, as it seems like Build would prefer it if you built houses than anything else, but you can still get pretty creative.

If you're not the most creative type or you just want to check out what others have been creating, you can freely browse through anyone's completed creations by clicking around the Lego Australia map.

It's quite a unique take on Lego's and the community aspect is pretty awesome too. Make sure to check it out HERE

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The Walking Dead Episode 2 'Starving for Help' coming this week

Episode 2, "Starving for Help", of The Walking Dead: The Game is set to release this week. According to reports, it will arrive on Xbox 360 via Xbox LIVE tomorrow, June 27. PC and PS3 versions of the second episode will release on Friday, June 29. A new date will be announced at a later time for PS3 owners in Europe.

Telltale reportedly had to wait "until all of their platform partners confirmed their publishing schedules."

The Walking Dead: The Game - Episode 2: Starving for Help - is the 2nd of five planned episodes for the game. It picks up the tale of Lee Everett, a convicted murderer, living in the first few days of the zombie apocalypse. It takes place three months after the events of the first episode, beginning with some dialogue between Lee and another central character, depending on who you saved/interacted with. Episode two will focus around survival as your camp is now out of food.

According to our recent preview of the episode, your decisions from episode one will play a "vital role" in the entire Starving for Help story.

Telltale Games' video game adaptation of the graphic novel has been a smash hit, selling over one million copies in just the first two weeks of its release. It has become the fastest-selling game series to date for Telltale Games. The first episode, titled 'A New Day' topped the sales charts as the #1 best-selling title on Xbox LIVE Arcade for two weeks straight.  It also secured a top spot at the top of the sales charts in its launch week Steam as well as on PlayStation Network.

Be sure to check back for our preview of The Walking Dead: The Game - Episode 2: Starving for Help.

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Make IO Interactive happy, finish Hitman: Absolution

As great as Hitman: Absolution looks history tells us, and IO Interactive, that only one in five players will finish their upcoming game. As discussed in an interview with Official PlayStation Magazine, Hitman: Absolution developer IO Interactive arrived at the figure thorugh various internal metrics to track player behavior.

"20 percent of the players will see the last level of the game. It's horrible to know. It makes the people working on it really really sad," admitted director Tore Blystad.

"We are using metrics a lot more now than we did, for good and for bad. The general player will probably never even finish the game, which is very sad. Or they might only play through it once," he added, "but the game is built for the people who want to go back through every single level and get all the stuff out of it. It's built to last, rather than be a one-off experience."

While acknowledging that it's disheartening to know that their hard work and time spent on Hitman: Absolution will likely not be enjoyed in completion by many, they are using the numbers as a challenge to create a game that will incentivize replayability.

"A battle we have is that we want to put all this stuff in, but we also know that because the game is up to the player there's a lot of people that will never ever see it. The only thing we can do is incentivize replayability in different ways," Blystad said.

"In the user tests we have they actually tell us that the replayability factor in itself, it's the situation or the humor that's the reason people actually go back through the levels," he explained. "They want to see more, they want to find these things, which makes us very happy, because it takes a lot of time and effort to get these things in."

Hitman: Absolution is due out on November 20 and I think we owe it to IO Interactive to finish the game! With that being said, I can definitely see their emphasis on replayability. For instance, in my preview of Hitman: Absolution they showcased two opposite, but completely feasible ways to play the game: stealth or action. Each form is 100% possible, it just depends on your preference, and I'm sure there will be separate Achievements or Trophies relating to each path.

[OPM]

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Second Tomb Raider game could be in pre-production

Tomb Raider is still nine months away from release, but Crystal Dynamics' global brand director Karl Stewart is hinting at the franchise's future, including a sequel that could already be in pre-production.

"You have to look at the future, you have to look at where ... It's not just one game," he told VideoGamer.com.

"At the end of this game we want her to be that strong female character that is willing to go and seek out mysteries and seek out tombs," he said. "She's going to be going to plenty of tombs in this game, but we're going to have somebody who wants to go on that adventure, who wants to be the person that she now is. That's the goal."

Stewart declined to reveal any more details this early on.

Crystal Dynamics is supposedly working on two more games: one an original IP for next-gen systems, and the other led by ex-God of War director Cory Barlog.

The brand director called the recent Tomb Raider rape controversy "unfortunate," arguing that "90 percent of people who reported on it didn't actually see the game."

Tomb Raider launches on March 5, 2013.

Follow @wita on Twitter for tales of superheroes, plumbers in overalls, and literary adventures.

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Square Enix CEO says a Final Fantasy VII remake would 'destroy' the franchise

Today during a shareholder Q&A, Square Enix CEO Yoichi Wada spoke about the possibility of a Final Fantasy VII remake, and his comments were less than hopeful.

Wada said a remake would happen once they have made games that have "exceeded the quality of Final Fantasy VII," adding "that the current games were not up to that standard."

According to the CEO, releasing a remake right now would "destroy the Final Fantasy franchise."

Is Wada being dramatic, or does he have a point? Final Fantasy as a franchise has certainly weakened in recent years, no thanks to the troubled FFXIV MMO. Perhaps Square Enix is tired of hearing about Final Fantasy VII, or maybe they're concerned that if they focus on a remake instead of a new game, they'd only be contributing to the problem. What do you think?

Follow @wita on Twitter for tales of superheroes, plumbers in overalls, and literary adventures.

[Duel Analogs]

Via: Square Enix CEO says a Final Fantasy VII remake would 'destroy' the franchise