The Walking Dead game not available to AU/NZ on Console

Since we posted the annoucement of the Walking Dead game earlier on the blog we have been eagerly awaiting it's release on the XBOX 360 and hungry to start slashing some zombies, however we have learnt that this won't be happening.

Confirmed on the Telltale Games forum, a Telltale team member has stated they have no plans on releasing the game for XBOX 360 or PlayStation 3 to Australia or New Zealand due to the game rating restrictions.

Mike states in the forum post...

Sorry, but due to the OFLC ratings laws in Australia and New Zealand, and the fact that this is a mature game, we do not currently have plans to release the game there on consoles.

This game is available however on PC via Steam, and other outlets. Oddly, while Australia still does not have a R18+ rating for games, New Zealand does. We continue to monitor this and report more if it gets released.

Diablo 3: d3-0-9558-Win-Final.MPQ Corrupt

So amungst all the problems facing Diablo 3 at the moment from login issue to server times, I experienced this issue during my first attempt to play the game.

This is a simple error and just as easily fixed. The error:

ERROR: The file "C:\Program Files (x86)\Diablo III\Updates\d3-0-9558-Win-final.MPQ" appears to be corrupt. You may need to download the file again"

Solution:

1. Exit the Diablo III launcher


2. Use Explorer to browse to the mentioned location C:\Program Files (x86)\Diablo III\Updates\


3. Remove the file d3-0-9558-Win-final.MPQ


4. Start Diablo III

Once you start the launcher again, this will initiate a re-download of the corrupt file, then once the file has been downloaded you will be able to play the game.

If you found this tip helpful, please leave us a comment!

Skyrim: Top 10 Tips

Skyrim is vast and open game and the possiblities in this game are endless it seems. However BSE have come up with some basic tips that we believe to be important when playing the game.

1. Saving

Saving is your friend. Save once, save twice... hang on did I just save? I’d better save again...just in case. Because automatic doesn't occur as frequent or reliably as we like, saving frequently “saves” you from having to do lengthy run through a dungeon or a path if you die in a boss battle.  And it'll save your LCD screen from having your controller/mouse thrown through it.

2. Level up your stamina

More stamina means you can carry more things. And things are great! You can make stuff with them like weapons and armour, sell them to merchants for coin, even display them in your house!  Also, pickpocket in the skill tree also gives you the “extra pockets” option which will allow you to have more storage in your inventory.

3. Career

Decide where you want to go in your Skill tree and stick to it.
For example,

• Melee Combat focused: For maximum hit points concentrate
  on smithing and enchanting (selling enchanted smithed weapons also
  gives you well deserved extra coin);


• Decide on a armour type - heavy or light and stick to it then level it up


• Choose one handed or two handed combat and stick to those weapons and level them.


• Block is also handy for close combat.

Only level up the skills relevant to the type of combat you are focusing on and which direction you want to take your character.

4. Potions

Stock up on health and stamina potions. They really come in handy!

5. Trainers

Use the trainers. You can level up your training in skills 5 times
per level for an amount of gold. Very efficient and no effort required
what so ever!  Also, Speech can be levelled up by simply
selling things. Sneaking can be levelled up by well...sneaking.

6. Companions

You can always take someone with you. There are mercenaries for
hire in taverns for a price.  If you get on the good side of a faction, they will offer to accompany you on your adventure to help you in battle.  Handy for those harder boss fights. (They are also handy to use to carry things as well - just remember to
take the things back!)

7. Books

See a book?  Read it! It might give you a spell, or a level up in
an attribute.  Also, there are some amusing stories out there in
Skyrim.

8. Food

Don't be afraid to eat or drink something you pick up.
Your character can learn from them and it will reveal one of
the effects for alchemy.

9. Currency

If you find yourself short of cash, go into a store where you
have made friends with the owner. They let you take items from the
shelves and sell it back to them. They will restock after a few days too,
so rinse and repeat. For example, in a potions shop, take all the ingredients, make them into potions and then sell the potions back to the merchant. Quick cash! (This also will increase your alchemy skill).

10. Giants

And last but not least.....Don't mess with the giants until you are ready!  Giants, as well as mammoths.  Try to defeat them after quite a few levels :)

Picture reference: http://bit.ly/JL3Bbs 

Skyrim: How to get married

Skyrim allows for a wide range of options and it is one of the reason the game is so popular. However there is one thing you can do in the game that most people avoid; Marriage.

In Skyrim, yo are able to marry certain characters within the game. There are some benefits from this, while not getting in the way of the game play. Some advantages are having your spouse taking care of your house, providing an income of money, and making food.

How to get married

So when I tried to get married, there wasn't a straight forward article on how to do this. Here is how you get married.

1. Speak to Maramal about marriage


2. Obtain and equip an Amulet of Mara (Either though looting, or buy it from the priest in Riften)


3. Speak to another character who would like to marry. If the option is available, you will ask them if they are interested in you. They are and you are interested in them, you will be engaged.


4. You will receive a Miscellaneous quest for "Speak to Maramal about arranging your wedding"


5. Go to Temple of Mara in Riften and speak with Maramal (Priest)


6. After speaking with the priest, the marriage will be arranged


7. Return to the temple between dusk and dawn, and your wedding will commence.


8. During the ceremony you will be asked for the "I Do's". Here you can either say yes or no.


9. After saying I do. Job Done!


10. Exit the dialogue with the priest and immediately talk to your spouse before they leave the temple to discuss living arrangements. Choose whether to live in your house, or your spouse's.


11. 10) Once you have decided on a place to live, your spouse will return there after 24-hours.

To buy a Amulet of Mara is 200 Gold from Maramal, or you can find one out in the world in chests or places.

My Disappearing Wife

So in writing this article I stepped through the process by marrying Camilla Valerius (from Riverwood). Once the wedding was over, before I had a chance to leave the dialogue, my spouse had turned and left the temple. Nowhere to be found. I searched for her at the shop, the temple and even my home in Whiterun. Nothing.

After reading some article I found this little gem in a list of software bugs.

In most cases the NPC spouse disappears after exiting the Temple of Mara, unless you exit dialogue with Maramal and rush after them before they reach the door. If this happens, you may find your new spouse in the spot where you first met; you can then talk to the person to decide where you'll both live. In some cases, the spouse seems to disappear from the game completely. This is easily solved by using the console command player.moveto (NPC RefID), which will move you to the spouse position.

• When the spouse disappears, the game still treats a spouse as "alive" even when they have disappeared forever.


• It is also possible for NPCs who attend your wedding to vanish forever in the aftermath, however this is considerably more rare and seems to only affect Camilla Valerius.

Just my luck. Marry a bitch and then they leave me forever alone. For PC there are some commands to reset the marriage, see here.

Shit! I missed the Wedding! She gonna be pissed!

Damn right they're gonna be pissed. Better punker up!

With my attempt at marrying Camilla, I sat in the temple and decided to wait for a few hours. Apparently in this short time I had missed the wedding. The people that were in the temple for the wedding suddenly didn't like me and I had to leave.

I returned to riverwood to find her again. The Riverwood Traders (where she lives) was locked, even though it was the middle of the day. I immediately knew it was locked because of me. I waited until it was night, and then picked the lock. She was in the room. I spoke to her and she mentioned to me how she "couldn't believe I was speaking with her after what I had done."  I asked if she would give me another chance, and she did. Again I was given the quest to talk to the priest in Riften.

Apparently, you can do this repeatedly, until you either actually get married or you you say No and call the whole thing off.

References

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Marriage

Tribes: Ascend - Classes

Tribes is unique in the FPS landscape in that it there is no purchase price and is free to play . The three basic classes I have already covered, the Pathfinder, Soldier and Juggernaut are all unlocked at the start of the game (See Here). The rest of the classes can be unlocked with "Gold" purchased through the store or XP, accrued in game, ala League of Legends. A lot of the alternate weapons of classes are very expensive if using XP but are not game-breakingly over powered. In this post I will cover the basic gameplay of the vanilla unlockable classes and basic strategies.

Sentinel

The Sentinel class is a light suit that focuses on sniping. The BXT1 Rifle is the primary weapon and requires charging up to deal full damage. At full charge it will only do 500 damage, has a slow firing rate and at base level a 4 round clip. Combined with weapon falloff, sniping is much harder in this game than others. The secondary weapon available is the Nova Blaster. This revolver fires a fast moving laser beam that ricochets once off a surface, effectively dealing with most enemies that get close. The Claymore is a brilliant grenade item, acting much the same as most other games. The utility item for this class is the extremely useful Drop Jammer. When deployed this will make everyone in the radius fade and eventually turn invisible. It will also reveal any Infiltrators trying to sneak their way past your defences. This class is one of the harder to play and doesn't contribute as obviously to most game types unless practised.



Infiltrator

As alluded to above the Infiltrator is the sneaky class of the game. This class is brilliant at sneaking into the base of the enemy to destroy and disrupt defences. The opening weapons are the Rhino SMG and SN7 Silenced Pistol. These are both basic ballistic weapons and are fairly lethal from stealth. One of the major weapons the Infiltrator fields is the sticky grenade. Sticking them to your enemies and watching them run is a joy. The utility item is obviously the ability to stealth, which will drain energy but fade you out of sight shortly after taking damage or firing. Going over 173km/h will also remove this effect. This is a fairly basic class to play and, with enough guile, very effective.

Technician

The second medium suit is the Technician. This defensive class is at its most effective in Capture the Flag for a number of reasons. The first weapon is a basic SMG, the TCN4. The secondary "weapon" is an enhanced repair gun with increased repair rate. This limits the offensive capabilities of the technician a fair bit but makes them ideal for base defence. The belt item they carry is a basic fragmentation grenade, with decent damage and range. The utility item of the technician is one of the strong points of the class in its vanilla state. The turret is an automated defensive placement that can be used to defend choke-points and flag points. Although only able to take a couple of hits from a spinfusor this item is superb when used in conjunction with other defensive measures. Due to the static defensive nature and important repairs needed in CTF this class will excel in that game type more than any other.

Raider

The last medium suit is the aptly named Raider. This quick moving attack class is designed to ravage the various defences of the enemies base. The primary weapon, the Arx Buster, has a 3 round clip of sticky explosives. These can be stuck to both enemies and defensive emplacements, although it takes practice to be accurate while moving at high speed. The secondary weapon is another SMG, which proves useful for longer-range fire-fights as the buster has an arced firing line. The grenade weapon for this class is the useful EMP Grenade which can kill a light suit on a direct hit and will also drain energy, useful for slowing/immobilising enemies. The utility item for this class is the Shield Pack which, when activated, will slowly drain energy and remove any damage taken from the energy pool instead of health. This is especially helpful when trying to create a breach into generator rooms or on flag points. This class is a bit more difficult to master than the soldier or pathfinder but devastatingly effective when refined.

Doombringer

The Doombringer is the second heavy suit and has a fairly misleading name. This largely defensive class is effectively a flak cannon, designed to down quick moving and/or flying enemies. The main weapon is the Chaingun, a gatling gun with 280 rounds in the vanilla version. Although requiring a short spin-up this weapon needs no reloading, has decent range and will destroy an approaching pathfinder easily. The secondary weapon, the Saber missile launcher, fires a homing missile and is great for destroying enemy vehicles and any flying enemies. This weapon requires a 3 second line-of-sight lock on which will only activate if the enemy is in the air or in a vehicle. The missile can be shot down or avoided but does 1000 damage on suits and 1400 to vehicles, destroying grav bikes in a single blast. The grenade item is a basic frag, useful for doing any aoe damage with no ability to lock on. One of the major features of the class is the utility item, the force field. This placement will block enemy fire and, more importantly, damage enemies that go through. The faster the enemy is going the more damage they take, leading to pathfinders splattering like bugs on a windshield if the force field is placed near the flag. This class is fairly noob friendly and extremely effective in CTF but can be trumped by other class combinations relatively easily.



Brute

The final heavy suit, the Brute, is a fairly basic class to play with lots of health and very powerful weapons. The primary weapon is the Heavy Spinfusor, a beefed up variant which fires the same but packs a much stronger punch. The secondary weapon is an automatic shotgun, giving the Brute much needed close combat capabilities as the spinfusor is impractical in close quarters. The grenade item of the Brute, the Fractal Grenade or "disco ball", epitomises the Brute. Throwing one of these will clear the area fairly quickly as the grenade fires out multiple random lasers and slaughters any light suits nearby. This is a fantastic weapon for clearing areas and is a great revenge weapon, thrown just prior to death in a small room. The utility item of this class is a basic Energy Pack, allowing the Brute a bit more mobility, in line with its offensive disposition.

The general consensus with unlocking/upgrading classes for free is to choose one of the three basic classes, upgrade the starting gear and practice with that one till competence. At this point you should be able to rake in enough xp in a couple of games to unlock other classes. The more defensive classes, the Technician and Doombringer, may be less suited for modes of play other than the classic CTF as their utilities are somewhat neutered with minimal chokepoints and tunneling. The Sentinel is also difficult to get used to if you are accustomed to sniping in other games. My personal preference is the pathfinder as Tribes has always been about going mind numbingly fast for myself.

Walking Dead - The Game Announcement

It was only a matter of time but I was hoping it was going to be better than this.

Soon to released, The Walking Dead is coming to PC and game consoles in a series of games.

In a five part series, The Walking Dead - The Game will allow you to play characters which DO NOT appear in the comics. The story portrayed in the game progress parallel to the comics. For example, the start of the game series occurs while Rick is still in hospital. From the small amount of information I can find about the game, the comics and game never seem to cross paths.

Once we get our hands on the game we will give out more details.

Reference:
http://au.xbox360.ign.com/articles/122/1223560p1.html 

Block ads on XBOX 360 dashboard

Increasingly with the XBOX 360 dashboard, we are seeing more spaces for ads not only for games, but real-world products. For most of us, this is actually really annoying. Especially those paying for the XBOX Live Gold Membership.

So we have come with a way for you to block those ads on the XBOX.

Firstly, sign up for an OpenDNS account. It's free and comes with other benefits.

Next, add a Network to the OpenDNS. This will require you to provide you internet connections IP Address. You can find this by going to whatismyip.com

While logged in to OpenDNS, go to Advanced Settings and check the box 'Enable typo correction'. If this is already selected, go to the next step.

Now we block the ads. Got to Web Content Filtering settings and set the filtering level to 'None'. Then under 'Manage individual domains', add rad.msn.com and select 'Always block' and then click 'Add domain'.

Next we need to configure your XBOX. On your Xbox, go to System Settings > Network Settings > (your connection) > Configure Network > DNS settings > Manual. Enter the OpenDNS IP addresses for the primary and secondary DNS servers: 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220.

You may need to clear the current system cache for this to take affect. To do this, go to System Settings > Storage > Hard Drive > press Y > Clear System Cache
Note: that you'll have to re-download any title updates for any games you play after doing this.

Once you have done this, you should no longer see ads displayed on the XBOX dashboard.

Tribes: Ascend Beginners Guide

After its fairly extended "beta" the fourth (PC) installation of the fast paced,jetpacking shooter Tribes has finally been released. To have even a chance of survival you will need to master a number of skills fairly specific to the series. With the separate classes these skills can vary to a certain extent but the unifying skill is "Skiing".



A coding error in the original game allowed players to slide down slopes with no friction, giving players enhanced speed but limited control over direction. This has been replicated in the following games and has become symbolic for the brand.The basic concept in skiing is to try and hit as many downward slopes as possible while using your anti-friction capabilities (spacebar). All upward slopes should be avoided by either jetpacking over (right click) or seeking other paths.

Energy will recharge at different rates for different classes, so the availability of the jetpack varies. In Tribes: Ascend the varying classes are divided into light, medium and heavy, all differing in both mass and energy for the jetpack. The light classes, especially the always available pathfinder, are the most agile but have the least health and generally lighter weaponry.The outcome of all this is that light suits are great flag runners and chasers while heavy suits are better optimised for a more stationary bombardment or defensive style of play.

The second skill that is fairly unique to this game is the necessity to predict enemy movement. Due to rapid movement in all directions it takes a lot of practice to hit other players midair and it is far easier to fire at the ground where the enemy will land. Depending on which class you use the tactics will vary slightly.

The Pathfinder can use the light spinfusor to fire a moderate speed explosive disc, the shotgun to shoot others up close and the impact nitron, a grenade that sends enemies veering off, dropping any flags they may be carrying. They are designed primarily to attack face to face, catching up to other targets and using their speed as protection.

The Soldier is the vanilla medium suit, a fairly basic starter class, is versatile in either defense or offense. The main weapon is a basic assault rifle with falloff that needs to be managed at longer ranges. The secondary weapon is a basic grenade launcher with an arched launch. Their grenade weapon is a very powerful fragmentation grenade which can devastate light suits. This class is a great start for anyone with any experience in fps games.

The starting Heavy, the Juggernaut, is an immensely powerful, long range combatant. The fusion mortar fires high yield grenades that will destroy a light suit with a single direct hit. As a mortar the projectile is lobbed unless fired directly at the ground. This can be used to bombard groups of enemies from literally halfway across the map. The juggernaught also fields an enhanced spinfusor and frag grenade, making sure this class packs a powerful punch. This power comes at the cost of mobility although this is mitigated by a much higher health pool.

Mastering these basic skills will see you on your way to victory and the unlockable classes and goodies that come with the accrued points.

Skyrim: 5 ways to increase your carrying weight

All players of Skyrim find often that they are restricted with the amount of items that they can carry at any given time. This is refered to as Encumbrance.



By default, a character has an Emcumbrance (Carry) limit of 300 [units].

Here are five ways that you can increase the amount of item you can have in your inventory enabling you to carry more.

1. Leveling your Stamina increases your carrying capacity by 5 units


2. You are able to give items to your spouses or companions to elevate your own weight


3. Taking potions like Fortify Carry Weight can temporarily increase you carrying ability


4. The Seed Stone (located north of the Statue to Meridia and west of Solitude) will increase your carrying ability by 100 units


5. Enchant an item with the Fortify Carry Weight enchantment (this involves finding an item already with the enchantment and learning that enchantment)

If  you have any further tips on increasing your carrying limit, please leave a comment.

Image by http://lookandlistenentertainment.wordpress.com

QWERTY Keyboard on XBOX 360

Found an excellent video showing how to turn on a QWERTY keyboard for when writing messages to other gamers.

1. Press the XBOX button your controller.


2. Go to Settings tab > System settings


3. Select Console Settings then Language


4. Then Select "English (QWERTY Keyboard)"

You will now have a QWERTY.

Video by decadentgamer (YouTube)

Top 10 First Person Shooter Tips of the Web

I won't be affraid to admit it but I love the Call of Duty games and most first person shooters. But when I was starting out I had a hard time in advancing as I was unsure what I was to do, or how to develop skills.

That got me thinking what would be the best advise I could give to anyone else when it comes to play most first person shooters online with multiplayer.

So what I have done is gone out on to the web and tallied up the top 10 tips that others believe are important when it comes to playing First Person Shooters (FPS) online/mulitplayer.

(Please note here that I am assuming that you have SOME First Person Shooter experience.)

Number 1: Learn your maps

It's agreed upon all over the web that it's important that you know your maps. Understanding and knowing your maps like the back of your hand will give you a huge advantage when playing. Knowing where the places to not only hide and killing your enemies, but to also collect and regain your health during tence moment can help save your life, and prevent yet another notch against your death tally.


Number 2: Weapons

In at a close second was tips regarding your weapon(s). First, like your maps, make sure you know what you can do with you weapons (more than just point and shoot). Know they're range and accuracy and it will help you with you kills. Pick the best weapon for the job. For example, leave shotguns for close range and sniper rifles to long, accurate shots.
Also, make sure you have plenty ammo at the ready. Reload when you can while, also, not wasting your shots.

Number 3: Don't stand still

Best advise ever. Keep moving. Never stand in the same place for too otherwise players will soon learn your location and hunt you down. Again. KEEP MOVING.

Number 4: Check your back

While you may have a nice, juicy target in your sights, you might be in someone elses. Always check you back, before you find a knife in it. Be aware of your environment.

Number 5: Keep cover

Nothing better for keeping you alive than hiding behind something that bullets and explosive can't penertrate. When reloading or waiting for the shooting to ease, crouch down behind a wall, car or some sort of solid object that might just protect you. Very important.

Number 6: Learn your controls

This one might seem a little obvious. I mean, how else will you play the game? No. Learn every corner of you controls. Learn combos, learn how you can manover in the game, learn where your controller buttons are by feel along. The better your are at controlling, the better you will be overall in the game.

Number 7: Practice in Single Player

This tip was surprisingly common while at the same time overlooked. The best way to become good at Multiplayer FPS, is to become really good in the Single-Player mode of the game you're playing. If you can finish the game at least once on a hardened level, then you will be well prepared for Multiplayer. However, this is not a Rule. If you want to just get straight to the online mulitplayer, just go for it. It's a game, just have fun.

Also, some games offer an Offline mode where you can learn you weapons and maps against the CPU (or A.K.A. Bots) before taking it online against friends and the world.

Number 8: Keep cool

Doesn't mean turn on the air con. No. In the great words of Douglas Adams, Don't Panic. Stay calm. If you are getting hammered or somehow just getting into a panic, just find a dark corner and chill out for a moment.
Like in real life, you make more mistakes when you panic and not thinking. Stop, collect your mind and then, unleash hell.

Number 9: Learn from you mistakes

One of the best ways for you to improve is to correct your mistakes. Often games will give you a replay of how you died. Watch that footage and watch and learn what went wrong and how you can not make that mistake again. Maybe you thought you were hiding, where in fact you were standing in the open. Maybe you for Tip Number 4 and you got shot in the back. Watch and learn.

And Finally...

Number 10: Headshots

There is nothing more rewarding in a FPS. A headshot is the title give to a single bullet to a players head killing them instantly. These shots will often reward more points as they require more skill incomparison to standard body shots. Sniper rifles will help make these shots at long distances but it is possible with other guns. The more headshots you get will not only get you points, but respect with other players as it proves your skill with you gun.

Again these tips were taken from a variety of site across the web. These are all important in becoming a true player. Good luck.

SimCity Announced

For those who have been big fans of the City simulation game you will be welcoming this news.

Maxis are currently working on the next instalment of the SimCity game. The below trailer gives us a glimpse of what to come but at the same time not much details. Some people are worried about the quality of the game as the creator of SimCity, Will Wright, will not be involved in the development of the game.

The game is set to be release some time in 2013 which is a long way off you are like me and CANNOT WAIT for this! Espcially after the Societies monstrosity.

Plans for the site

Over the coming weeks I am aiming to build and improve this template into what will hopefully be a successful website for new and improving gamers everywhere.

Site Goal

I am for this site to be a friendly and reliable site where gamers of ALL experiences can come and gain help and advise from  others regarding their favourite games.

Starting with myself, I will aim to write article and guides for the games I play, and later invite some other to come and help write with me to build the ORIGINAL content on this site.

ORIGINAL Content

Any site and watch YouTube clips and repost, but how many sites take the effort to go and get the tips first hand? With Bloodshot Eyes [BSE], my goal is to create content that can be found no where else on the net. While sharing is encouraged, all content here will be original.

Audience participation

In a world where everything is increasingly becoming more and more social, it will be bad for any new website to ignore that. BSE will encourage those to make suggestions, ask for help and also to provide answers for other players.

An email, twitter and facebook account will be created in the name of this website and through these networks, we aim to share ideas and help others with their gaming experience.

We will also have a forum to allow gamers to ask and answer questions in a friendly, open environment.

Mobile Access

Since gaming is taking on the mobile device is more and more it would be a mistake to ignore these platforms. We aim to have a form of this site available for mobile browsers as well as content regarding the games on these devices also.

Keep you eye out for the coming changes to this website!

Get Gamin'!

Nothing better than gaming so hard that your eyes hurts, covered in bed sores and surviving from you favorite energy drink, and playing until you have Bloodshot eyes.

Bloodshot eyes is all about getting the most from your game. Play hard, play soft, or just playing with your self, we're here to help.

Video, articles and tutorials to help you get the very last squeeze from you controller before you are rushed to the hospital by your parents or concerned neighbour.

Bloodshot eyes, getting you from n00b to 1337!

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