Armed Robbers Snatch 100 Copies Of Black Ops In GameStop Heist

Two guys with semiautomatic firearms were hellbent on breaking street for Call of Duty: Black Ops, sticking up a Baltimore-area GameStop and looting it of 100 copies of the game, due out Tuesday.

The Harford County, Md. sheriff's office said the heist happened Saturday evening, and the robbers waited until closing time to hold up the GameStop in the Festival at Bel Air shopping center in Bel Air, about 30 miles northeast of Baltimore.

Deputies said two customers stopped by the store mid-robbery and were forced at gunpoint into a storage area. Neither they nor employees were hurt. The robbers might also be behind an Oct. 21 holdup at GameStop's nearby Aberdeen, Md. location.

A sheriff's office spokesman asked locals to call them if they're offered a copy of the game before Tuesday's release date. A quick scour of Craigslist in that area turned up no such offers.

Harford robbers steal more than 100 ‘Call of Duty: Black Ops' video games [Baltimore Sun via Hot Blooded Gaming

A Look At The Old Republic's Player-Versus-Player Warzones

Republic and Imperial forces clash on the world of Alderaan over control of the planet's massive planetary defense cannon in this first detailed look at organized player-versus-player in BioWare's Star Wars: The Old Republic.

We've seen plenty of cooperative multiplayer footage from The Old Republic, but the core of the story is the conflict between the Republic and Imperial forces, and that conflict comes to a head in the game's PVP Warzones.

Warzones are objective-based arena battlegrounds where both sides struggle to complete goals and win a particular scenario. In the case of Alderaan, the two forces struggle to take control of a weapon capable of wiping out an enemy fleet. Players attempt to deplete the shields of their enemies' transport ship, forcing a retreat. Teams need to work together to control the defense system's artillery in order to get the job done and emerge victorious.

Bioware will reveal more about the Warzone experience in the near future. For now, study this video and start formulating strategies.

Warzone Video [Knights of the Old Republic]

Kinect has problems recognizing dark-skinned users?

Source: In testing the Kinect, two dark-skinned GameSpot employees had problems getting the system's facial recognition features to work.

What we heard: Part of Microsoft's $500 million marketing push for Kinect includes positioning it as an accessible entertainment device for all audiences. However, it may be more accessible to some than others.

While testing out the Kinect, two dark-skinned GameSpot employees experienced problems with the system's facial recognition abilities. The system recognized one employee inconsistently, while it was never able to properly identify the other despite repeated calibration attempts. However, Kinect had no problems identifying a third dark-skinned GameSpot employee, recognizing his face after a single calibration. Lighter-skinned employees were also consistently picked up on the first try.

Not all games make much use of Kinect's facial recognition features.

It's important to note that the problems were only experienced with the system's facial recognition feature and don't prevent users from playing Kinect games. Skeletal tracking, a primary means of controlling games with Kinect, appeared to work the same for all GameSpot employees.

The system's inability to recognize a user only means that he or she would need to sign in manually and some games' features may not work properly as a result. For example, when a second player joins in to Kinect Adventures during the title's drop-in, drop-out multiplayer, the system can't bring up that player's proper in-game avatar automatically if it can't identify the new user first.

If Kinect does have some technical issues related to users' pigmentation, it wouldn't be a first for recognition technology. Last holiday season, users of Hewlett-Packard computers with built-in webcams reported problems with a face-tracking feature.

HP blamed the problem on the webcam's technology, "standard algorithms that measure the difference in intensity of contrast between the eyes and the upper cheek and nose." It said the system could have problems "seeing" that contrast if there is insufficient foreground lighting.

[UPDATE 11/4] GameSpot continued its testing of Kinect today with more users in different rooms and different clothing. At first, the two employees who originally would not be recognized by the camera were correctly identified on the first try. However, when one changed from a light blue shirt to a black shirt (but stayed in the same room with the same lighting), the camera again failed to recognize him after multiple calibration tests. It also failed to recognize another darker-skinned GameSpot employee after four calibration attempts.

Somehow, those issues may not completely undermine the camera's ability to use facial recognition features. Despite the Xbox 360's insistence that it could not recognize some of the GameSpot employees immediately after calibration, the system was able to recognize them and sign them in properly when they waved at the camera, regardless of their clothing.

The official story: "The goal of Kinect is to break down the barriers for everyone to play, and it will work with people of all shapes and ethnicities at launch."--A Microsoft representative, who added that Kinect owners having calibration or recognition problems can call 1-800-4-MY-XBOX.

[UPDATE 2]: After the additional testing, Microsoft provided further comment, saying, "Kinect works with people of all skin tones. And just like a camera, optimal lighting is best. Anyone experiencing issues with facial recognition should adjust their lighting settings, as instructed in the Kinect Tuner."

Bogus or not bogus: Not bogus that Kinect has problems identifying some users. Abstain on how widespread those problems are, or whether they're due to skin color at all. With the system launching tonight and Microsoft expecting to sell 5 million by year's end, it shouldn't be long before the scope and cause of such problems are identified.

Dragon Age Legends to be recounted on Facebook

Though Dragon Age is firmly ensconced in a medieval fantasy world, the series is in some ways more forward looking than BioWare's futuristic sci-fi role-playing game series, Mass Effect. Last year, the Electronic Arts-owned developer used Dragon Age to explore browser-based gaming with the Dragon Age Journeys spin-off. Next February, the swords-and-sorcery series will expand into more uncharted territory with a new Facebook game called Dragon Age Legends.

Not even Farmville features a world this grim and bloody.

Although Dragon Age was rated M for Mature on account of "intense violence" and "sexual content," EA is developing Legends for "Facebook users of all ages." The game will also be built around casual and social play styles commonly seen on the networking site. Players will enlist the aid of their Facebook friends to work through a storyline's worth of quests, upgrade characters, build their kingdoms, and earn exclusive unlockable items for use in Dragon Age II, which launches March 8.

While BioWare may be new to the world of Facebook gaming, EA has considerable expertise in the subject, thanks to its $275 million acquisition of Playfish last year. Playfish is best known for running Facebook hits like Pet Society, Restaurant City, and Country Story.

In other EA-Facebook news, the publisher has announced a five-year exclusive deal with the social network to streamline the microtransaction experience for customers playing EA games. As part of the deal, EA games on Facebook will only use Facebook Credits as their virtual currency of choice.

EA Announces Battlefield Play4Free

EA is launching another Battlefield-themed play-for-free service, however this one has a hard-core tone.

Friday Electronic Arts updated its Battlefield franchise portfolio with the announcement of Battlefield Play4Free, slated to hit the PC in Spring 2011. As the name indicates, the game will offer the free-to-play model while combining most of the popular maps found in Battlefield 2 with the classes and weapons of Battlefield: Bad Company 2.

But unlike EA's other free-to-play online

shooter Battlefield Heroes--which offers cartoonish characters and arcade gameplay--Battlefield Play4Free will render a more realistic experience offering 32-player online battles, signature Battlefield vehicular warfare and sandbox gameplay. The game also boasts advanced graphics and polished production values.

"We broke new ground in 2009 with the launch of Battlefield Heroes; a game that has 6M registered players worldwide. Now we are complementing that arcade shooter with a core, realistic Battlefield shooter experience that fans have been clamoring for," said James Salt, Senior Producer, Battlefield Play4Free. "Battlefield Play4Free is for serious shooter fans who are looking for a premium--but free--experience that rivals top console titles."

According to EA, players will learn new combat skills and earn in-game money to spend on weapons and equipment. They'll also have access to 16 vehicles including the Mil Mi-28 attack helicopter, the F35 VTOL jet fighter, the Russian T-90 main battle tank, and the LSV light strike vehicle.

Those who want to gain early access can register for the closed beta by heading to the official site. The closed beta officially launches on November 30, just in time for the holiday break.

Battlefield Play4Free

FBI watching Oracle-SAP trial

IDG News Service - An FBI agent has been in the courtroom each day this week watching the Oracle-SAP trial, suggesting U.S. law enforcement continues to take an interest in the case.

SAP said in 2007, when Oracle filed its civil lawsuit against the company, that the Department of Justice had requested documents related to the matter from SAP and its TomorrowNow subsidiary. SAP said at the time that it would "fully cooperate."

In a court filing in August, SAP said there was an "ongoing investigation" by the DOJ and the Federal Bureau of Investigation into "some facts and circumstances that are involved in this matter."

Oracle originally filed 10 complaints against SAP, including copyright infringement, violation of the federal computer fraud and abuse act, breach of contract and unfair competition. It agreed to pursue only the copyright claim at trial after SAP accepted some liability.

It's not unusual for representatives from the DOJ or the FBI to listen in at civil proceedings to learn more about a case or help them determine if they wish to file criminal charges.

"We have an interest in the case," the FBI agent said in court Thursday. He declined to comment further or provide his name. A spokesman with the FBI office in San Francisco would not confirm or deny it is watching the case.

Kyle Waldinger, an assistant U.S. attorney in San Francisco, was also in court observing the case this week, Bloomberg reported.

SAP spokesman Bill Wohl declined to comment beyond reiterating that his company would cooperate with any requests. A spokeswoman for Oracle declined to comment.

SAP has admitted that its now-closed TomorrowNow subsidiary stole support materials from an Oracle website, and the trial is to determine how much damages SAP should pay.

Charles Phillips, a former Oracle president, testified for Oracle in the case this week, and Oracle Chairman and CEO Larry Ellison is due to take the stand Monday. SAP will begin to present its defense in about 10 days, and the trial is expected to wrap up before the end of the month.

Call of Duty: Black Ops - Your questions answered

With only a few days left until the release of Call of Duty: Black Ops we sat down and answered all of your most frequently asked questions.

Here they are.

Modern Warfare 2's multiplayer was so nearly ruined by its insane number of unbalanced killstreaks and perks. What steps are Treyarch taking to ensure history doesn't repeat itself?

The most important change is that killstreak kills no longer count towards your killstreak total.

That's a lot of 'kills' in one sentence, but the gist is that if you require seven kills to unlock an attack helicopter, you'll need to rack them up on the field.

There are plenty of perks both new and old, we notice. Any key omissions this time?

Yup - perks which alter the player's statistics, such as 'Stopping Power' and 'Painkiller', have gone out the window.

Let's draft in Multiplayer designer David Vonderhaar to explain: "We want our players to fight on an even keel as much as possible.

We don't want newcomers coming away from the game wondering why the enemy can withstand more hits than they can."

Interrrrrrresting. So they're pushing Black Ops as a 'My First Multiplayer' experience, are they?

That's right. Activision's research bods have deduced that as many as 40% of people who bought Modern Warfare 2 have never even touched its online components.

In Activision's eyes, that's a hell of a lot of players who could be splashing out on slightly overpriced DLC, but aren't.

That's why they've cooked up a new offline mode designed to steer them online: Combat Training.

Combat training? Just a wild guess, but is that Deathmatch with 'bots?

DING! That's exactly what it is. Treyarch believe that the reason many fail to enlist online is because they find the idea a wee bit intimidating.

With Combat Training, lily-livered soldiers can experience the entire glorious multiplayer package in a 'safe' online environment.

Is there any point playing Combat Training if you're an experienced answerer to the Call of Duty?

We shouldn't think so. Although it shares the same levelling-up system as the multiplayer game, the XP earned in Combat Training doesn't transfer over to multiplayer, meaning you can't grind away at it to gain an advantage online.

It also doesn't look like the 'bots will put up much of a challenge from what we've seen, but there will be three levels of difficulty to choose from, so we shall just have to see.

Right. Now tell me all about this new 'CoD Points' currency, and how it works alongside the existing XP system...

That's more of a demand than a question, but we'll answer anyway, as there's been a bit of confusion about it all.

XP still unlocks new weapons, perks and attachments as before, but you now have to manually purchase each item with your CoD Points (CP) before they become available for selection.

That sounds like a bit of an itchy ball-ache. Why do you have to do that then?

It allows Treyarch to fit a lot more content into the game than they otherwise might - if it ran with the old XP system on its jack, levelling-up would have to go up to something obscene, like level 200.

So how do I get myself some of the 'good stuff'? I'm talking CoD Points, of course.

Two different ways. You can take out a contract before a round - these are challenges that require you to play a certain way or achieve a set goal during play (finish on top of your team's leaderboard, get three kills during a Search & Destroy round, etc).

After you've got yourself some moolah, you can gamble it away in one of four Wager Matches.

You mean Wager Matches such as the 'Gun Game', where your weapon ranks up with every kill. Where do these Treyarch types get the ideas from, eh?

Er, Counter-strike mods.

Oh. But moving on: why are Wager Matches free-for-all only? And why can I only play randoms? Man, I hate random people. They're so random.

Treyarch toyed with the idea of team-based Wager Matches during development, but found that there was far too much potential for collusion between teammates.

Same deal with friends playing against each other. You only have to look at Modern Warfare 2's 'booster' phenomenon (where two players squirrel themselves away on a hard-to reach spot of a map and chalk up huge score chains between them) to see how pointlessly easy it would be for scammers to muck things up for everyone.

Cheeky eleventh question coming at you! But it's an important one. Is it possible to draw a great big penis and set it as your emblem?

It'd be a bit weird, but yes you can. The emblem editor lets you flip, scale and combine numerous different preset shapes, so with a lot of time and effort it would indeed be possible to craft yourself the penis emblem of your dreams.

It probably wouldn't last long before the online community flagged it up and you ended up on the sex register, though.

Cheeky twelfth question! Will I be able to carve the word 'KNOB' into my gun?

(Sigh) Yes. Should you wish to, you can carve your clan tag into the side of your gun, no matter how rubbish or puerile it may be.