The more we learn about The Elder Scrolls Online, the more it seems like the MMORPG belongs in this series.

If you’re anything like us, your typical activity in the previous Elder Scrolls games mostly consisted of sneaking and stealing. It isn’t that we don’t want to work hard for our loot, it’s just that it’s a lot easier to get that special piece of armour or sword if the locksmith in question has his back turned.

Thankfully it seems The Elder Scrolls Online will offer similar windows of opportunity as the latest developer diary shows that the game world is full of items to plunder and utilise for new gear and items, as well as diaries and books to pad out the game’s bulky fiction.

Take a look…

Bethesda still hasn’t confirmed whether The Elder Scrolls Online will be a subscription-only release or free-to-play, but the MMORPG is expected to launch later this year. Players can still register to be part of TESO’s on-going beta by following this link.

Expect every character class in Diablo III to handle a lot differently with a controller.

Sony and Blizzard have released a new seven minute trailer discussing the exciting gameplay possibilities associated with bringing Diablo III from the PC to the PlayStation 3 and 4.

Various developers from the team talk about changes heading to the loot-driven RPG, including the inclusion of a dodge button to make combat feel more kinetic, the interface possibilities of the PlayStation 4 controller’s trackpad, local co-op, and how the new radial-style inventory and skills menu works.

Watch the trailer below:

Electronic Arts has confirmed to tech website VentureBeat, that they’re going to scrap their Online Pass system for all games going forward.

The system was designed to discourage players from purchasing games pre-owned, with one time use online activation codes only available with brand new games. Those who bought pre-owned could access these systems, but only if they were willing to pay a fee.

Pre-owned games for publishers and developers are a problem as they don’t get any slice of the sale value, instead that only goes to the retailer the product is purchased from, with pre-owned games usually only a few pounds cheaper than their brand new counterparts. EA hasn’t thrown in the towel in trying to fight against this trend, they’re just reconsidering their strategy.

Battlefield 3 was one of the last EA games to feature Online Pass functionality.

“Yes, we’re discontinuing Online Pass,” EA senior director of corporate communications John Reseburg confirmed to GamesBeat via email. “None of our new EA titles will include that feature.”

“Initially launched as an effort to package a full menu of online content and services, many players didn’t respond to the format,” Reseburg said. “We’ve listened to the feedback and decided to do away with it moving forward.”

“We’re still committed to creating content and services that enhance the game experience well beyond the day you first start playing,” he added.

What Reseburg is most likely referring to is Season Pass and DLC content, which encourages both new and used game purchasers to spend more money on a single product.

As far as publishers are concerned used games are still an issue which needs to be explored, even though much of the time the credit for trade-ins is used to purchase more titles, be they used or brand new.

The revenue mechanism which completely sidesteps this issue are digital and free-to-play releases, which we suspect EA in particular will utilise more readily sooner rather than later.

Click on cover to download FirstLook issue 5.

The fifth issue of First Look Magazine is absolutely bursting with the biggest games and we aren’t just talking about strategy titles. Yes, we have an exclusive Company of Heroes 2 hands-on preview, as well as an exclusive interview with Relic Entertainment, but we also have the latest word on Beyond: Two Souls, Watch Dogs and an understated little project known as Grand Theft Auto V – maybe you’ve heard of it?

On the feature front we also bring news of what’s next for the recently launched free-to-play racer Auto Club Revolution and we investigate how much XCOM makes its way into in 2K Marin’s off again, on again, third-person shooter, The Bureau. All this and more in this latest issue of First Look Magazine which, as always, offers something for every gaming taste.

Download PDF Now »

Auto Club Revolution has been live for over a year, but now Eutechnyx are ready to officially take the game out of beta.

To celebrate Auto Club Revolution‘s launch and its inclusion in issue five of First Look Magazine, we’ve teamed up with Eutechnyx to offer GamerZines readers a very special opportunity to get the perfect start in the celebrated free-to-play online.

We have one hundred Starter Pack codes to give away to existing Auto Club Revolution drivers and those that are new to the game.

The starter pack includes the following contents:

• Dodge Challenger SRT8
• Volvo C30 TF
• 10,000 free credits

The game's been rebranded and there's plenty more improvements being lined up down the road.

To get one of these codes simply fill out the ‘Giveaway’ form located on the right side-bar of this page, you may need to scroll down to find it.

If you’ve never heard of Auto Club Revolution, be sure to read this month’s issue of First Look Magazine where we break down the past twelve months of the free-to-play racer’s evolution and look towards its promising future.

GamerZines has plenty more giveaways, competitions and more scheduled for the next month, so be sure to keep us bookmarked for more exciting opportunities. Now if you excuse us, the humble call of the tarmac awaits…

Update: …And that’s all of the codes gone, thanks for taking part everyone. We’ll try and get some more codes from Eutechnyx for another giveaway in the future.

Tech site iAfrica has announced and detailed the existence of Gran Turismo 6 mere hours before Sony were about to do the same at the home of UK motorsport, Silverstone.

Red Bull's prototype F1 racer will make it into Gran Turismo 6.

Technically we have to file the aforementioned story as a rumour for the moment, but with CVG, Polygon, and EL33TOnline posting the story it appears the info within is genuine.

According to the premature announcement, Gran Turismo 6 will be released exclusively on PlayStation 3 this holiday season and will feature 1200 cars at launch, including thousands of customisable body parts. GamerZines understands Gran Turismo 6 will utilise all of the cars included in Gran Turismo 5 and will expand the existing roster with more historic cars, recent motorsport creations and road vehicles.

The home of the British Grand Prix Silverstone will also make its debut in Gran Turismo 6, with six other new locations also featuring. Again every track from the previous entry in the series will appear raising the total of number of layouts to 71.

To add further credibility to this announcement, a quote from series creator Kazunori Yamauchi has also been obtained and is as follows:

This series has come a long way and it's about to go a lot further if Kazunori has his way...

“It is amazing to think that it is 15 years since we first released Gran Turismo,” said Polyphony Digital’s president. “Things have changed a lot since then and now Gran Turismo 6 is a further evolution of my dream. We’re pleased to deliver Gran Turismo 6 to PlayStation 3 as we have a very loyal community on that platform.”

“However, we have refactored the game to make it very flexible and expandable, with a view to making many future developments,” he added. “I am very pleased with everything about the new game and the new additions, but the launch will be only the beginning for Gran Turismo 6. The game will continue to develop throughout its life. I already have many ideas for things I want to achieve in the next 15 years of Gran Turismo.”

We’ll update this story with more information, pictures and video when Gran Turismo 6′s official press unveiling takes place at 3pm (GMT+1) today.

So there we have it folks. Are you excited about Gran Turismo 6 or are you worried that not enough time has passed since the last version of Sony’s driving simulator? Let us know in the comments below…

Update 1: And…it’s official Gran Turismo 6 will be released towards the end of 2013, exclusively for PlayStation. We’ve got a trailer and everything!

Codemasters has released a new video for GRID 2 showcasing the sequel’s Asian car clubs and Drift events.

The trailer functions as an introduction to Japan and Dubai as the fictional World Series Racing event heads East, and the narrator is eccentric billionaire Patrick Callaghan who funds the cross-discipline championship.

GRID 2 is set to be released on Friday, 31st May for Xbox 360, PC and PlayStation 3.

To find out more about GRID 2 check out last month’s issue of First Look Magazine, where you’ll find a detailed multiplayer hands-on preview.

Trion Worlds has announced that the formerly subscription-only MMORPG RIFT is set to go free-to-play on Wednesday, 12th June. That’s less than a month away if for some reason or another you don’t know what date it is!

RIFT's first expansion Storm Legion only launched last year, but it seems that well regarded content pack wasn't successful enough to prevent this shift to free-to-play.

Players will be able to experience every level and the entire entire game world, including dungeons and zones for no money down. Where the option to pay comes in is via the expanded in-game RIFT store which will sell mounts, experience boosters, wardrobe items and other optional content. In addition there will still be an option to pay a monthly fee to support RIFT which will grant a host of bonuses and free cash to be spent via the in-game store.

“We have been listening to feedback from our players and watching the continuously developing MMO community, and are now ready to launch RIFT as a premium free-to-play experience,” said RIFT’s creative director Bill Fisher. “After taking our time and planning a careful transition; we are very excited to bring an enhanced game experience to everyone, without barriers.”

“As a gamer’s game, a super fun and fair experience is of the utmost importance to us. Players will have the opportunity to buy customizations and boosts to heighten their play experience; however the best gear in the game will always have to be earned through playing RIFT,” he added.

RIFT launched back March 2011, staying subscription-only longer than most MMORPGs including BioWare’s Star Wars: The Old Republic. Many will herald its transition as the final nail in the coffin of traditional subscription-based funding for online games, but with games like of World of Warcraft, EVE Online and iRacing still using that model such talk is premature.

RIFT free-to-play kicks off with massive content update dubbed ‘Empyreal Assault’ which will open up a new zone, world event, chronicle and much more. Expect servers to get a lot busier come June 12th.

Stay away from the 'noob-tubers'.

Treyarch has announced that Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 is getting the double XP treatment this weekend.

Starting Friday, May 17th at 10am PDT/6pm GMT+1 players will earn double weapon XP during multiplayer matches, with preceedings running until Monday, 20th May.

MP1st has more details about this announcement, but all you really need to know is that if you log-on to servers this weekend you’ll reach Prestige at double the usual rate of progression. Not too shabby!

The next entry in the acclaimed Call of Duty series, titled Ghosts, is only around the corner so this weekend represents a good opportunity to jump back into Black Ops 2 before the game’s community migrates to this year’s release.

Capcom has announced that the next game in the acclaimed Phoenix Wright series is heading to both Europe and North America this autumn, via Nintendo’s eShop only.

In addition to this announcement the Japanese publisher also confirmed that they’ve re-dubbed Ace Attorney 5 as Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies for some mysterious reason. Maybe they are going for 2013′s dubious ‘Longest Game Name’ award with an impressive 40 characters!

Dual Destinies sees the esteemed lawyers Apollo Justice and Phoenix Wright teaming up and the sequel’s first case involves both protagonists teaming up to investigate a courtroom explosion. The plot is set eight years after the previous Phoenix Wright game.

The Nintendo 3DS has been growing in prominence in recent months with great releases such as Luigi’s Mansion 2 and Fire Emblem Awakening both appearing on the celebrated handheld. We have high hopes that Dual Destinies will prove just as entertaining as those titles when it’s released later this year.