Continued speculation over Battlefield 3’s rumoured premium service suggests it will provide early access to remaining BF3 DLC for a single fee – just like Call of Duty Elite.

Battlefield 3’s Premium Service is set to launch on 4 June – and will provide players early access to all future DLC for a one off fee, according to a story by Battlefieldo.

The service will also feature exclusive content such as a Premium knife and black dog tag, soldier camos, weapon camos, dog tags and Assignments according to previous rumours.

Sounds like how Activision has approached Call of Duty Elite which has provided access first to a season of new DLC maps and other content for the price of a premium retail game.

EA’s E3 press event also takes place on 4 June, so watch this space for a confirmation.

• Battlefield: Bad Company 3, Mirror’s Edge 2 In Development – CVs
• Battlefield 3: EA Planning Call Of Duty Elite-Type Subscription Service, New DLC – Rumour

Microsoft has revealed the first screen and art for Forza Horizon, the first Forza spin-off for Xbox 360.

Forza Horizon has been revealed with a first screen on the Forza website. Playground Games’s collaboration with Turn 10 Studios is expected to launch on Xbox 360 in the Autumn.

Playground Games includes a number of former Codemasters racing devs, with experience on games such as TOCA, Colin McRae, GRID and DiRT – no details have been revealed for Forza Horizon, but the game is thought to be a cross-country racer in the vein of the last couple of Need For Speed games.

More Forza on NowGamer:

• Forza 4: Top Gear Car Pack DLC Hitting Xbox 360 Next Week
• X12: Halo 4, Forza Horizon, Fable, CS: GO, Minecraft Round-Up
• Forza Horizon: A New Alternate Franchise To Motorsport

The TUAW TV Live chat room regulars are a rowdy bunch. Whether it’s urikelman, drallgood, harumph, benroethig, docrock, lvreefkpr, macmommy, verso, ericasadun or any of a constantly changing group of participants who is chatting, there’s always a lot of back and forth talk about whatever the topic happens to be. The discussion often goes off the show topic, which is great — it keeps me on my toes.

Well, today I’ve got a few topics to chat about, but most of the discussion is going to be directed by the IRC chat. If you’re watching the show on Ustream you can use the Ustream chat tool that’s embedded just below. If you’re watching on Justin.tv, you’ll want to use an IRC client like Colloquy, LimeChat, or Textual to participate.

Below, you’ll find a Ustream livestream viewer and a chat tool. The chat tool allows you to participate by asking questions or making comments. You can also choose to watch the show on Justin.tv if you wish, by visiting our portal at http://justin.tv/tuawtvlive. In either case, you’ll be watching the show in glorious HD!

If you’re driving somewhere and would like to watch TUAW TV Live while you’re stuck in traffic, please don’t — keep your eyes on the road! However, if someone else is doing the driving, you can watch the show on your iPhone and join the chat by downloading the free Ustream App. It’s a universal app and is wonderful on an iPad, both for viewing and participating in the chat.

We’ll start at about 5 PM ET, so if you’re seeing a prerecorded show, be sure to refresh your browser until you see the live stream. For those of you who are not able to join us for the live edition, you’ll be able to view it later this evening on our TUAW Video YouTube channel and as part of the TUAW TV Live podcast viewable in iTunes or on any of your Apple devices.

TUAW TV Live: The chat room speaketh originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 16 May 2012 16:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft studio Lionhead is developing a new IP for a future-gen console.

Lionhead is making a single and four-player co-op MMO-style game for “next generation consoles,” according to a agency recruitment post on LinkedIn (via Superannuation).

Described as an “opportunity to work on an MMO like title for next generation consoles. AAA game and budget” the post refers to a “a major developer in the South East UK,” which is looking to “add a number of key team members to a very large scale game development group in this studio.”

The studio is developing a “major brand new IP that is being targeted for the future generation of platforms and will be an RPG based game with a radical new take on how co-operative and multiplayer gameplay feeds into the experience, while blending online and single player into one complete experience,” according to the recruiter.

Other things mentioned about the game include:

- a complex progression system
- multiple routes through the campaign
- an MMO like multiplayer experience that will affect the outcome of the player experience
- many other attributes surrounding their profile (such as the environment and the outcome of certain actions).
- 4 player co-op
- A development team with over 150 members

Lionhead didn’t deny the report, saying in a statement that it is “in the business of making great games,” and regularly looks “to hire great individuals to help in this cause.”

Lionhead were previously rumoured to be developing an MMO back in December.

More Lionhead on NowGamer:

• Fable Studio Lionhead Developing MMO?
• Fable Creator Peter Molyneux Quits Lionhead, Microsoft – Forms 22 Cans
• Fable Heroes Review
  

Ozgood is an interesting little iPhone game from a few developers who’ve worked for bigger game companies, and have recently gone independent. Most iPhone games deal with the platform’s hardware by either just going with 2D graphics or trying relatively simple 3D — it’s usually only bigger developers like Epic Games that can really use an engine like Unreal to wring really colorful graphics out of the iPhone. But RunWilder, the developers of Ozgood, took an entirely different tack: They took video of a real life puppet, and then put it together with 2D backgrounds and 3D items to make this virtual pet game.

The result is a very unique kind of wonderful. Ozgood is a crazy little guy full of personality, and the app (which is free right now) is full of content. There’s a “story” you can play through by feeding Ozgood certain things and interacting with him in certain ways, there’s a “studio mode” where you can use him to make messages to send along to friends, and there’s an ongoing metagame as well, where you can feed Ozgood a fake soda called Chugg and even share six packs of it with your friends online.

The app is silly — it’s very kid friendly, and Ozgood can sometimes be crass with his burps and various bodily functions. But even for adults, it’s wild to see how these developers used a puppet to make this app, and there’s clearly a lot of skill in how it’s all put together. Ozgood is a free universal download that’s definitely worth checking out.

Daily iPhone App: Ozgood is a lovable piece of puppet tech originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 15 May 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The launch trailer Ghost Recon Future Soldier reveals what Ubisoft’s tech-heavy shooter might have in common with Call of Duty: Black Ops 2.

Ghost Recon Future Soldier will have flying drones almost identical to those in Treyarch’s Black Ops 2 when it launches on PS3 and Xbox 360 next week, judging by the shooter’s launch trailer.

Ghost Recon Future Soldier features a near-future setting, as well as all the high-tech weaponry and equipment to go with it – something Treyarch willalso attempt with Black Ops 2 whenit hits on 13 November.

Check out the Ghost Recon Future Soldier launch trailer above.

Ars Technica posts about the cautionary tale of how vengeful exes and others can use your iPhone to stalk your movements, then offers a great guide to getting your privacy back.

The case in point comes from Reddit where someone admitted to using his girlfriend’s iCloud account to track her via Find My iPhone, then changed her contacts information so she was sending text messages to him instead of her friends. While the original poster has since altered the post to remove most of information and admitted that what he did was wrong, commenters have chimed in on doing similar things or having the same sort of access.

Ars uses this as a springboard to write an anti-stalking guide for the iPhone, which contains a lot of common sense ideas and how-tos on changing your Apple ID, iTunes password and more. If you’re looking to protect your mobile privacy, it’s a terrific place to start. Ars gets kudos for going the extra step and providing information on where to get help if you are being stalked, whether it’s by a former loved one or a stranger.

Protect your iPhone from prying eyes originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 14 May 2012 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Max Payne 3 reviews have hit the internet, with most proclaiming Rockstar’s game a triumph.

Max Payne 3 hits Xbox 360 and PS3 this week, but the review embargo has lifted today, revealing a slightly mixed, but overall positive reaction to Rockstar’s long-awaited return to bullet-time.

“Brilliant in places, utterly frustrating in others,” reads NowGamer’s PS3 review, while our Xbox 360 review states: “Max Payne 3 is very much a modern refinement of an old formula, and if you’re looking for something brand new or revelatory it just isn’t here.”

Other scores range from 7/10 to top marks (5/5), with The Verge claiming that Max Payne 3 “is the best game Rockstar has ever made.”

Check out the other scores below:

Edge – 7/10
G4TV – 5/5
GameTrailers – 7.6/10
IncGamers – 9/10
OXM (US) – 8/10
Strategy Informer – 9.0/10
Telegraph – 4.5/5
The Verge – 9/10
VideoGamer – 8/10

Grand Theft Auto 5 gets another release prediction – but is this one just a placeholder?

GTA 5’s listings on Amazon.co.uk features an attached December 2012 release date – the first retailer to suggest a launch window since Take Two delayed BioShock Infinite to February 2013 and Wedbush Securities predicted an ‘optimal’ release window of October 2012 for GTA 5.

Amazon could simply have it as a placeholder, but evidence appears to be mounting for a GTA 5 release this side of Christmas.

Rockstar releases Max Payne 3 next week, while publisher Take Two is expected to at least hint at GTA 5 details during a financial results call on 22 May.

More GTA 5 on NowGamer:

• GTA 5 October Release Date ‘Preferred’ By Rockstar, Will Hit Sales Of 18m – Report
• Rockstar Social Club Gears Up For Max Payne 3, GTA 5 Crews
• BioShock Infinite Delayed To 2013 To Make It ‘Even More Extraordinary’
  

Swordigo is a really impressive venture on iOS. It’s a 2D-action platformer with a lot of nice RPG elements. In other words, it’s a 2D Legend of Zelda title, and it lives up to that comparison quite well.

There are a few weak points. The graphics aren’t exactly impressive though they do get the job done, and the story is barely there and hamstrung by some translation issues, I think. But neither of those things matters much, because the game is well designed. Every swing of your sword pops up XP into a meter, which feels very rewarding and makes the whole affair a lot of fun.

Plus, Swordigo is free today, so you should probably just go download it. It’s a quality game anyway, but for zero dollars, it’s a must-get.

Daily iPhone App: Swordigo hacks and slashes in 2D originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 11 May 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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