Battlefield 4 Achievements revealed

The full list of Achievements for DICE's upcoming Battlefield 4 have been posted online.

Light spoilers for Battlefield 4 follow.

Listed by Xbox 360 Achievements, the game will launch with 42 Achievements, with 5 allocated towards multiplayer and the rest associated with the Battlefield 4 single-player campaign.

The Achievement listing also shows that the single-player campaign has three endings, alongside awards related to completing objectives in certain missions, alongside finding all of the 28 collectibles throughout the campaign.

Over on the multiplayer side, Battlefield 4 has Achievements for winning a match on each game mode, reaching rank 25, delivering five bombs in the game's Obliteration mode, obtaining 45 kills with the M1911, and performing five dog tag kills.

Battlefield 4 will be released for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC on October 29. Xbox One and PlayStation 4 versions will follow at launch.

The full list of Achievements for Battlefield 4:

• Storm bringer (25G) - Obtain 20,000 points in the Singapore mission in the Campaign
• A one-man riot (25G) - Obtain 11,000 points in the Shanghai mission in the Campaign
• Terror of the deep (25G) - Obtain 11,000 points in the South China Sea mission in the Campaign
• Gladiator (25G) - Obtain 12,000 points in the Kunlun Mountains mission in the Campaign
• Above and beyond the call (25G) - Complete all Assignments in the Campaign
• Demolition man (25G) - Obtain 15,000 points in the Tashgar mission in the Campaign
• Guardian of the fleet (25G) - Obtain 6,000 points in the Suez mission in the Campaign
• Full arsenal (65G) - Unlock all assignments and collectibles in the Campaign
• Fish (20G) - Complete the Campaign on Easy
• Dunn's pride (25G) - Obtain 7,000 points in the Baku mission in the Campaign
• Braving the storm (20G) - Complete the Singapore mission in the Campaign
• Wolves in sheep's clothing (20G) - Complete the Shanghai mission in the Campaign
• The fall of a Titan (20G) - Complete the South China Sea mission in the Campaign
• Dead by dawn (20G) - Complete the Kunlun Mountains mission in the Campaign
• Guns at dawn (20G) - Complete the Suez mission in the Campaign
• Fishing in Baku (20G) - Complete the Baku mission in the Campaign
• Antediluvian (20G) - Complete the Tashgar mission in the Campaign
• It was on the way… (20G) - Find 6 collectibles in the Campaign
• Took a casual look around (20G) - Find 9 collectibles in the Campaign
• Methodical search (20G) - Find 15 collectibles in the Campaign
• Done some searching (20G) - Find 12 collectibles in the Campaign
• No stone left unturned (20G) - Find 18 collectibles in the Campaign
• Every nook and cranny (20G) - Find 21 collectibles in the Campaign
• Stumbled over it (20G) - Find 3 collectibles in the Campaign
• Wolf (25G) - Complete the Campaign on Normal
• Tombstone (25G) - Complete the Campaign on Hard
• Recon (65G) - Find 28 collectibles in the Campaign
• Well placed (20G) - Get 10 kills with C4 in the Baku mission in the Campaign
• Wrecker (20G) - Get 10 multi-kills in the Shanghai mission in the Campaign
• Blood wake (20G) - Get 30 headshots in the South China Sea mission in the Campaign
• War turtle (20G) - Get 15 kills with RPG in the Singapore mission in the Campaign
• Infiltrator (20G) - Get 10 adrenaline kills in the Tashgar mission in the Campaign
• Shawshank (20G) - Get 5 kills with Shank in the Kunlun Mountains mission in the Campaign
• For tombstone (20G) - Let the Valkyrie be destroyed in the Campaign
• For the people (20G) - Sacrifice Irish to save the Valkyrie in the Campaign
• For the cause (20G) - Sacrifice Hannah to save the Valkyrie in the Campaign
• Patience is a virtue (20G) - Experience all 3 endings in the Campaign
• Turn around… (10G) - Perform 5 dog tag kills in Multiplayer
• Won them all (10G) - Win a round of each game mode
• .45 old school (25G) - Perform 45 kills with the M1911 Handgun in Multiplayer
• Bomb squad (25G) - Deliver 5 bombs in Obliteration
• Call me "Sir" (50G) - Reach rank 25

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WB Games Montreal adding 100 jobs

The Quebec government continues to support local developers.

As reported by CTV, the government has announced an investment of $1.5 million into Batman: Arkham Origins developer WB Games Montreal to expand the studio in terms of headcount and technology.

The initial $1.5 million grant is part of a larger $63 million initiative promised to WB Games Montreal for the company to add 100 jobs and buy new equipment by 2018.

The jobs at WB Games Montreal will pay a yearly salary of about $70,000 to employees who are around 30 years old. WB Games Montreal currently employs 325 full-time staff.

"By the end of five years, it'll be 2018, there should be 500 people here and I think we'll be one of the best-known studios in the world," Warner Brothers Interactive president Martin Tremblay said.

Quebec premier Pauline Marois said the video game industry in Montreal is one of the most important markets in the world for production, and the most acclaimed in Canada.

Last week, Ubisoft announced plans to add 500 jobs to its Montreal studio network by 2020, thanks in part to a $9.9 million grant from the Quebec government.

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All foliage in Xbox One, PS4 ACIV: Black Flag has physics

All foliage in the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 versions of Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag will have physics assigned to them, game director Ashraf Ismail told GameSpot in a new interview. Various plants and leaves in the game will dynamically react to weather systems and player interaction.

"One thing that's very important to the brand of Assassin's Creed is credibility; having a world that you believe in. And on next-gen, as a quick example, we have physics on all the foliage in the world," Ismail said.

This technical achievement--highlighted in a recent trailer for the game--will go unnoticed by the masses, Ismail said.

"I guarantee 99.9 percent of the people won't even notice, but there's going to be a few people that pick up on certain details and it's this stuff that I think will show that we truly love this experience," he said.

Foliage effects aren't the only feature the next-generation versions of Assassin's Creed: Black Flag will make use of in an attempt to become the "most immersive Assassin's Creed yet." The game also features a "sea engine" that aims to replicate genuine movements of waves and colors of the water.

The game also features a weather system that includes independently lit rain drops, as well as dynamic puddles and volumetric fog.

Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag launches October 29 for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, November 19 for PC, and as launch titles for the PS4 (November 15) and Xbox One (November 22).

The free-roaming action game set during the Golden Age of Pirates stars a young captain Edward Kenway, the grandfather of Assassin's Creed III's Connor and descendant of Desmond Miles. Players will meet up with legendary pirates including Blackbeard and Charles Vane as they journey through the West indies.

For more on Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, check out GameSpot's recent hands-on preview of the game.

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Microsoft on Xbox One's advertising potential

One of Microsoft's Xbox marketing leaders Yusuf Mehdi has opened up on the advertising potential for the soon-to-be-released Xbox One console. Speaking during the recent Association of National Advertisers Masters of Marketing Conference, as reported by AdAge, Mehdi hinted at the possibility of making Xbox data available to advertisers.

"We are trying to bridge some of the world between online and offline," he said. "That's a little bit of a holy grail in terms of how you understand the consumer in that 360 degrees of their life."

"We have a pretty unique position at Microsoft because of what we do with digital, as well as more and more with television because of Xbox," he added. "It's early days, but we're starting to put that together in more of a unifying way, and hopefully at some point we can start to offer that to advertisers broadly."

Through its Kinect camera, the Xbox One will have a window into players' living rooms. This opens up a "huge new trove of data" about how people are interacting with TV ads, according to one marketer who spoke under the condition of anonymity.

"It could have a big impact on [advertising pricing]," he said, given the Xbox One's ability to determine if people are paying attention to advertisements or how their bodies respond to promotional material.

Last week, Xbox director of product planning Albert Penello said this kind of biometric data does not leave the local Xbox One console unless people allow it to and that Kinect was not designed with advertising in mind. Still, the advertising potential for Xbox One, should consumers allow this data to be shared, would be unprecedented, AdAge writes.

"If even a fraction of likely Xbox One users could be persuaded to share data, the technology could create the world's largest panel for measuring biometric responses to advertising."

The Xbox One launches on November 22 for $500.

→ More coverage of XBOXONE on GameSpot.com

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The Future Is 4K and It's the PC Not Next-Gen Leading the Charge

The Xbox One and PS4 are set to support 4K, but as Mark Walton discovers, only the PC has the power to do it justice.

There was a time, back in the late nineties and early noughties, when console graphics were king. While the PC industry and the likes of the now-defunct Silicon Graphics poured most of their efforts into making specialist chips for specialist 3D workstations, it was Sony and Nintendo that led the charge on 3D graphics for the consumer. By the time the PlayStation 2 launched in early 2000, console graphics had far surpassed anything available on the humble PC, much to the chagrin of dedicated PC players.

Fast-forward a few years, and huge investments into R&D, tighter fabrication processes, and a freedom from the tighter power constraints of the console--not to mention a much-improved DirectX from Microsoft--saw the PC steadily claw back the performance crown. Even the last bastion of console overkill, the PlayStation 3 and its Cell processor, was backed up by what was essentially a standard 7000-series Nvidia graphics card, with a performance to match.

Nowadays, it's tough to imagine even a company as large as Sony putting as much time and money into developing something as esoteric as the Cell processor, which is probably why it and Microsoft have eschewed such tech for off-the-shelf (or thereabouts) chips from a company that makes them for a living. That certainly has its benefits (it's simpler for developers for one), but they aren't challenging the best the PC has to offer in the same way that the PS3 and Xbox 360 did.

Where those consoles ushered in the HD generation, such a sea change isn't in the cards this time around, at least in terms of whizzy visuals. Instead, the PS4 and Xbox One peak at a nice but hardly cutting-edge 1080p at 60fps for games. That's the standard for now, but if big tech trade shows like CES and IFA are anything to go by, it certainly won't be for long.

"…they aren't challenging the best the PC has to offer in the same way that the PS3 and Xbox 360 did."

4K, or Ultra HD as it's otherwise known, has been around for a while in cinemas and video production houses, but it's only in the last year or so that the technology has switched from completely absurd pricing to something that's a little more accessible for the average Joe. A decent 60Hz 4K TV or monitor still runs you a couple of thousand dollars, but as the technology matures over the course of the next few years, prices will fall. And if you're willing to take a punt on a cheap Chinese import, a 50-inch 4K TV can be yours for less than $1,000 right now.

So why would you want 4K? Think of it like the first time you saw the iPhone 4's retina display: the crispness of the text, the pin-sharp pictures, and the horrible realisation that from that point on, anything less would look like garbage. It's a wonderful thing to see with your own eyes. And, unlike the 3D technology heavily pushed to get us all to buy new TVs, it's unlikely to be a fad. After all, it's an easier up sell. 4K is more--more pixels, more sharpness, more definition--and it's easily demoed in stores. If there's one thing people love, it's more.

Like in the transition from SD to HD, there's not a whole lot of native 4K content out there at the moment, but if you're a well-heeled PC gamer who doesn't mind a little bit of fiddling, you can get in on the action right now. Monitors like ASUS' PQ321 31-inch display are slowly hitting the market, and while it's hardly cheap at $3,499, it's far better than the $20,000 such monitors once cost.

Rendering the 8 million pixels of a 4K set in real time is a tough challenge, even for the most powerful of PCs. And it's made all the more difficult by how 4K monitors currently work. Rather than one giant monitor, they are actually two 1920 x 2160 panels stitched together, so clever software from the likes of Nvidia and ATI is needed to prevent any noticeable vertical tearing or artefacts between the two panels. There were some problems in the very early days of 4K, but the latest set of drivers from both companies seem to have ironed out most of the issues.

Indeed, we didn't spot any of those issues as we gawked in amazement at Metro: Last Light and Battlefield 3 being run in 4K. The benefits of cramming so many pixels into a display are open to debate (and be sure to watch Reality Check for an insight into that), but when you're sitting just a few feet away like the typical PC user does, everything looks crisp and clear, and the 31-inch size of the monitor does wonders for sucking you right into the action.

"You need a very powerful PC to drive the display."

But it's worth reiterating that you need a very powerful PC to drive the display. Our test rig--despite sporting an Intel i7, Samsung Evo SSD, 16GB of RAM, and a killer graphics card in the form of Nvidia's Titan--struggled during some of the more demanding games. The opening of Crysis slowed to a crawl, forcing us to knock down from ultra to mere high settings, while busier sections of BioShock Infinite suffered from some mild chugging.

There are also some games, such as Skyrim, that don't have particularly high-resolution textures, meaning they look a little worse in 4K, thanks to the blurring effect of stretching the textures out. More games are poised to adopt higher-resolution textures, though, and it wouldn't be a surprise to see next year's PC games adopt 4K assets as standard over the 2K ones currently used. But the fact is, most games work fine at decent frame rates and look spectacular. There's not even a need to use antialiasing, thanks to those tightly packed pixels taking the place of blending colours to smooth edges. And it all works on technology, albeit high-end technology, that you can buy right now.

The beauty of the PC is that today's high-end tech is tomorrow's mid-range. In as little as a year's time, playing 4K games on the PC is going to be much cheaper, and they'll perform even better too. That leaves the next-gen consoles in something of a predicament. If a $3,000 PC equipped with the most powerful GPU around can only just cope with 4K, what chance does the PS4 or Xbox One have? A deeper access to hardware and a lighter OS gets you only so far.

Raw power and eye-popping visuals certainly aren't a requisite for making a great game. Indeed, as the late, great godfather of Nintendo, Hiroshi Yamauchi, once said, "We cannot guarantee interesting video games through the use of better technology." But as living rooms across the land begin to move to 4K, the next-gen consoles won't be able to deliver that content. Sure, Sony has confirmed that the PS4 will support 4K films and photos, and Microsoft has said that the Xbox One will too. They may even support lighter 2D games in 4K further down the line.

But the big blockbuster AAA experiences in 4K? That will be the domain of the PC. It's a platform that's easily adapted for new technologies, and that's only going to get more powerful as the years roll by. It's even got its sights set on the living room with the likes of Valve's SteamMachines and Steam OS. Honestly, once you've seen what games look like in 4K, those next-gen consoles are far less attractive. You're simply not going to want anything less.

→ More coverage of PS4 on GameSpot.com

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Reality Check - Do we need 4K?

We need 4k, 8k, 16k, 32k, etc. The reason we need these is actually quite simple. Without them, GPU manufacturers such as Nvidia and ATI have no reason to develop high performance hardware that can support say 60fps at ultra settings at such resolutions. Why is that a big deal? Well, because the longer we wait for that tech to become available, the longer we have to wait to experience a truly immersive, indistinguishable from life, Virtual Reality environment. This will also effect the potential of Augmented Reality as we head into the future. Palmer Luckey, the original designer of the Oculus Rift, has stated that even 8k per eye won't be enough for VR. While that might sound ridiculous at first, consider this. If you are in virtual reality, everything may seem wonderful at first glance. However, pick up a book with a really small font, hold it away from your face and try to read it. Without an extremely dense screen, it would be practically impossible. Unfortunately, the pixel density required to achieve that kind of resolution on that size of screen is most likely impossible due to the laws of physics. However, there is already work being done on Virtual Retina Displays, which will basically take low powered lasers and essentially draw images directly onto the retina. Once these displays are available, their will no longer be a need to squeeze higher resolution into smaller screens. That said, the need for hardware capable of rendering the image at such resolutions will still be required.

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Batman: Arkham Origins I Am the Knight and Initiation DLC detailed

Warner Bros. Games Montreal's upcoming Dark Knight adventure Batman: Arkham Origins will feature a permadeath difficulty mode, the studio has revealed, alongside new information about the game's prequel DLC set in Asia.

Speaking to Eurogamer, producer Guillaume Voghel revealed more about the one life and no saves I Am the Knight difficulty, which opens up after players complete the game and then its New Game Plus mode.

"The main narrative arc and side missions last about 12 hours," he said, "and then you have all the collectibles. To get 100 per cent of that will take much, much longer. We have a new difficulty level, New Game Plus is coming back--that's really difficult--and when you're done with that there's I Am The Night mode--which is no saves and one life."

Voghel also confirmed that the game's Initiation DLC will offer a single-player campaign set in Asia, with Bruce Wayne training to become Batman.

"You play as Bruce Wayne learning to be a ninja," said Voghel. "That's a really cool one. Narratively there's some added content that will give players a little more background story."

Initiation will be included in Batman: Arkham Origins' $19.99 season pass, along with four other pieces of downloadable content. Three DLC packs have been confirmed as skins, with the last pack yet to be confirmed. The game will also feature Knightfall DLC exclusive to the PlayStation 3.

Part of the Initiation DLC will feature Batman proving himself to his teacher, Kirigi, who also trained Ra's al Ghul's League of Assassins.

"[But] it's not League of Assassins, it's ninja-related," Voghel added. "It's when he learned to be a ninja and learned those techniques. He goes to a monastery--custom content was created for the DLC. You'll be in Asia in the monastery. The team did a great job on that, it looks really good."

Batman: Arkham Origins will be released for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, and Wii U on October 25.

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Shadow of the Eternals on hold

Shadow of the Eternals, the spiritual successor to Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem on the GameCube, is on hold, developer Precursor Games has said.

Veterans from original Eternal Darkness, Too Human, and X-Men: Destiny developer Silicon Knights formed Precursor Games to work on the proposed survival horror title, including boss Denis Dyack, but the crowdfunding project failed to garner enough interest from the public.

"It is with a heavy heart that we have decided to put the Shadow of the Eternals project on hold," posted Dyack to the Precursor Games forum. "We are very happy with what we have accomplished both as a group and with the community. The community has blown us away and was the one thing that kept us going through it all--we cannot thank you enough.

"Many of us will be taking a break. For those who are not aware, we all worked on this project as a labour of love and self financed 100 percent of everything for a over a year to try to make Shadow of the Eternals a reality. Although we did not succeed on doing this, we succeeded in making many friends and starting something that we hope provided value for those involved."

"We have no regrets," added Dyack.

"Is the project dead? No, but we feel it needs a rest too," he concluded.

"We have all agreed as a group that when and if the time is right we will get together and start it up again. Keep your head high everyone and remember what we have accomplished together."

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UK Chart: GTA V becomes fastest selling game ever in UK

Rockstar's critically acclaimed GTAV has stormed to the top of UK chart this week, becoming the fastest-selling game of all time in the region.

GTAV also becomes the overall 24th biggest selling title of all time in the UK, selling more in its launch week than all other GTA titles combined, and besting previous launch week record holder Call of Duty: Black Ops by almost a quarter of a million units.

On the individual platforms the game is even bigger, becoming the 11th biggest on Xbox 360 and 10th biggest on PlayStation 3 after just five days on sale. The split of sales between platforms is fairly even, with 57 percent on Xbox 360 and 43 percent on PS3.

Despite accounting for almost 89 percent of sales for the week, GTAV wasn't the only new entry to the chart. Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer 2014 made its debut at two, while Aliens: Colonial Marines re-entered the chart at eight thanks to retail discounting and promotion.

Elsewhere, The Last Of Us jumped up to three from 27, Saints Row IV dropped from one to four, and Harvest Moon 3D: A New Beginning makes its chart debut at 22.

The Top 10 UK chart for the week ending September 21:

1. Grand Theft Auto V
2. Pro Evolution Soccer 2014
3. The Last Of Us
4. Saints Row IV
5. Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist
6. Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition
7. Diablo III
8. Disney Infinity
9. Aliens: Colonial Marines
10. Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix

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$2,000,000 League of Legends Season 3 World Championships begin

September 15, 2013 1:28PM PDT

Competition begins, as 14 of the best teams from the world over battle for seven-figure purse.

Today kicks off the League of Legends Season 3 World Championships, where 14 of the best teams from North America, Europe, South Korea, China, and Southeast Asia will compete for $2,000,000 and the title of best League of Legends team in the world.

The Season 3 finals begin with six days of group stage matches, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the Quarterfinals to meet with the first-place finishers of each region. Teams in the group stage include Team SoloMid and Team Vulcun from the United States, Samsung Galaxy Ozone and SK Telecom T1 from South Korea, Fnatic, Gambit Gaming (Russia), Lemondogs (Sweden), GamingGear (Lithuania) from Europe, OMG from China, and Mineski from the Philippines. Cloud 9 from the United States, Gamania Bears from Taiwan, Najin Sword from South Korea, and Royal Club from China await in the Quarterfinals.

Group A begins with North America Season 3 runner-ups Team SoloMid taking on GamingGear who qualified through the wildcard tournament. Group B will start with European Season 3 Champions Fnatic taking on Vulcun.

Professional players whos teams have been eliminated from the playoffs will be analysts for the event, including Counter Logic Gaming's Yiliang "Doublelift" Peng, Evil Geniuses Stephen "Snoopeh" Ellis, and SK Gaming's Carlos "ocelote" Rodríguez Santiago. They will join Riot Games' broadcasters Leigh "Deman" Smith, David "Phreak" Turley, and Joshua "Jatt" Leesman.

Games started at 3 p.m. EST/12 Noon PST and can be watched live on Twitch and YouTube, as well as through the official LoL eSports site.

GameSpot eSports will be providing live coverage and updates every day from the Season 3 Championships.

→ More coverage of ESPORTS on GameSpot.com

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