Until Dawn PS4 Issue Gets "Possible" Workaround

PlayStation 4 exclusive horror game Until Dawn launched on Tuesday behind mostly positive reviews. But some players who preordered digital copies of the game were given a bizarre "128 days" error. Now, Sony says it has identified a temporary workaround, though the company can't guarantee that it will work.

Here's a "possible" workaround, as outlined on the PlayStation Support forums.
Navigate to the item on the PlayStation Store
Purchase the free version of Until Dawn (or if you have that already, another free game/item such as Singstar)
Download the file to your system (if the file is already downloaded and installed, please skip this step and move to step 4)
Use the Restore Licenses option by navigating to Settings >> PlayStation Network/Account Management >> Restore Licenses
Attempt to boot the game. If the game still does not boot at this point, delete the file, re-download and repeat step 4.

Sony asked people in the Support forums to let them know if this workaround clears out the issue. For some, it hasn't.

"First off, this doesn't work," one forum member said. "When you attempt to download the Free version it gives an error message stating that Until Dawn is already installed on the system."

To this specific piece of feedback, Sony responded, "We are actively working with the PlayStation Store engineering team to help investigate and troubleshoot the issue. Your feedback on the attempted steps is appreciated."


There are a handful of people in the forums saying the above-mentioned workaround does not fix the issue (some say they want a refund), while others are reporting that it does remedy the situation.

We'll continue to follow this story and will report back with more information as it becomes available.

Initially conceived as a PlayStation 3 game with PlayStation Move functionality, Until Dawn was re-revealed as a PS4 game in 2014. GameSpot's Until Dawn review scored the game an 8/10. Below is an excerpt from critic Alexa Ray Corriea's review of the game.

"The choices you make in Until Dawn have more far-reaching consequences than in most other survival horror games: the butterfly effect feature it so heavily relies on is highly effective, adding weight to seemingly innocuous choices and creating a game that feeds deeply into player paranoia of making the wrong choice. Couple this system with the game's tongue-in-cheek exploitation of slasher film tropes--including over-the-top gore and flirty teenagers--and you have an enjoyable experience controlling your own '80s horror film parody."

Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 Xbox One Beta Suffering From Code Redemption Issues

After its debut on PlayStation 4 last week, the Call of Duty: Black Ops III multiplayer rolled out today, August 26, on Xbox One andPC. However, it's not going entirely to plan.

An Xbox Live service alert acknowledges that some people on Xbox One are experiencing problems redeeming their beta codes. Microsoft is working with Activision to get the problem fixed "ASAP."

"Thank you for being patient while we work," Microsoft said. "We'll post another update when more information becomes available."

Code redemption on PC appears to be unaffected.

The Black Ops III multiplayer beta for Xbox One and PC will run through August 30. Activision has not said if it plans to extend the beta as a result of these issues. On PS4, Activision extended to Black Ops III beta for an extra day, but this was not related to any beta code redemption problems.


Currently, access to the Xbox One and PC Black Ops III multiplayer beta is available only for people who preordered the game. Activision opened up the PS4 beta to everyone in its final days, but the company hasn't said if it will do the same on its new platforms.

There are seven maps and three modes in the beta right now, though if the PS4 beta is anything to go by, more content--maps, modes, Specialists--may be added later.

For more on the Black Ops III beta, check out GameSpot's five tips to help you make the most of the new abilities and mechanics.

Watch Today's Destiny: Taken King Livestream Right Here

Bungie will share new details about Destiny: The Taken King in just a few more hours as part of its second of three planned livestreams for the upcoming expansion. The presentation, which focuses on a new Dreadnaught Strike, will kick off at 11 AM PDT / 2 PM EDT. You can watch the entire event via the embed below.

"What's it like to infiltrate the Dreadnaught? What surprises do the Taken have for us in combat?" reads a line from the show's description. "How are boss battles different in The Taken King? Join us for a new Strike against a rival Cabal invasion force. See the new Guardian sub-classes in action. Witness the action that will begin Year Two."

Bungie community manager David "Deej" Dague will host the stream, while Destiny design lead James Tsai will share his expert insight. Community member Mr. Fruit will also appear during the event.


In other Destiny news, Bungie has released a new teaser trailer that, for the first time, features the voice of Nolan North as the Ghost instead of Game of Thrones actor Peter Dinklage. Bungie also has announced the first new Exotic weapons and armorcoming to The Taken King.

The Taken King launches on September 15 across all platforms. It will make major changes to the overall Destiny experience, including including weapon balance tweaks and lots more.

UK Retailer Game Cancelling Some MGS 5 Pre-Orders

UK retailer Game is cancelling a growing number of pre-orders for the collector's edition of Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain, curiously blaming each one on a payment or delivery address problems.

GameSpot has obtained several emails from customers affected by the cancellations [images of two can be found below] with each person disputing Game's reasoning for the cancellations.

One customer, who wished to remain anonymous, said an address issue instigated the cancellation. He claims to have placed his order in April, and checked on multiple occasions that Game both had the correct address and that a valid order had been logged into the system.

Another customer, who was told a payment problem brought about the cancellation, claimed there was easily enough money in the account to pay for order. The details attached to the Game account also appeared to be correct, he said, because the retailer shipped another product to him just days earlier.

It is unclear whether the pre-order cancellations are part of a wider issue at the retailer, or if a systemic problem has hindered the retailer's online payment processes. GameSpot has contacted the corporation for clarification.

The collector's edition of the game is currently unavailable to purchase at most other retailers.

Pictured above and below: Two emails from Game showing cancellation of orders and reasons cited

The Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain collector's edition is priced at £99.99 at Game, and includes the main game, a 24cm replica of Snake’s bionic arm, special steelbook packaging, and a behind-the-scenes Blu-Ray.

There are also a number of in-game items exclusive to the collector's edition such as weapons, costumes, and XP boosts. A selection of these are tied to Metal Gear Online, which will launch after the main game is available.

In GameSpot's Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain review we awarded it a 10/10.

"When it comes to storytelling, there has never been a Metal Gear game that's so consistent in tone, daring in subject matter, and so captivating in presentation," said our reviewer. "The Phantom Pain may be a contender for one of the best action games ever made, but is undoubtedly the best Metal Gear game there is."

Finally, Cole Train Perfects His Rap in This Gears of War: Ultimate Edition Trailer

Dope beats deserve dope bars, but delivering both is easier said than done. Sometimes, a rapper may feel they didn't to a track justice and come back for a second attempt.

Take Jay Z's Dead Presidents, for example, originally released as a promo track for his Reasonable Doubt album, it is arguably one of Hova's strongest lyrical performances--a superb synergy of beat and flow.

And yet, the Jigga Man wasn't satisfied with it, and went on to reuse the beat for Dead Presidents II, which eclipses the original and could be considered as one of the greatest hip-hop tracks ever.

Which brings us to Microsoft and the creators of Gears of War--who clearly, I'm sure you'll agree, have obvious similarities with one of the most powerful rappers in the world. This is a seamless segue.

Those two have faced a creative struggle similar to S dot Carter's. See, when the original Gears of War's credits rolled, players were treated to the Cole Train Rap, a lyrical tour de forcecomprised entirely of voice clips from Delta Squad member August Cole. The lyrics were snipped from combat gameplay barks and cutscene dialogue, then arranged into one flawless banger.

Except, someone clearly saw room for improvement. Now, with Gears of War: Ultimate Edition days away from release, we've been blessed with a new version of the track, and it is very much the Dead Presidents II version.

Behold: The Cole Train Rap II.


Anyway, video games: In GameSpot's Gears of War: Ultimate Edition review we awarded the remake a 7/10 and said the "1080p and 60fps multiplayer make this nine-year-old game look and feel great," while the "horror-driven campaign creates a dark and personal tone throughout."

ESL One Cologne drug tests come up empty

The ESL One Cologne Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament that wrapped up this weekend with an exciting win for Fnatic was the first event in which competitors were subject to randomized drug testing. And you'll never guess who was caught trying to cheat! Really, you won't, because I'm about to tell you: The answer is nobody.

A bundle of interesting figures came out of the Cologne event courtesy of ESL, including that it was the most-watched CS:GO event of all time. More than 27 million unique viewers spent a combined total of nearly 34 million hours watching the action on Twitch, including a a peak concurrent user count of over 1.3 million. That represents an increase of more than 30 percent over the ESL One Katowice CS:GO tournament in March.

"ESL One Cologne followed in the footsteps of ESL One Frankfurt in that it transformed a mere esports event into an esports festival," ESL said in a statement. "Visitors on-site were able to take part in many festival-like experiences including bullriding, testing their reflexes on a T-Wall, and getting an airbrush tattoo, brought to them by ESL’s sponsors/partners."

That's all very positive news, but what I find more interesting is that the newly-implemented drug testing came up with nothing. "Following up on the earlier announcement of ESL’s partnership with WADA and NADA to create and implement the anti-doping policy, NADA has prepared a prevention program which was presented to players and visitors during the event," it continued. "ESL conducted randomized anti-doping testing among players in the competition, which returned negative results for all tested players."

An ESL rep declined to say how many players were tested, citing the need to maintain confidentiality of its process. ESL said it will continue to implement the new drug testing policy at all future ESL One events.

YouTube Gaming launches tomorrow

YouTube Gaming, Google’s potential twitch rival, is ready to go.



YouTube Gaming launches tomorrow as both an app and a web portal.

ArsTechnica reports the new destination serves as a hub for all recorded gaming content on YouTube as well as providing streaming and community services to rival those of Twitch.

A beta dashboard will also launch tomorrow where users can try out and help test new, easier streaming, without scheduling and via HTML5. On the user end, a built-in DVR mode will allow viewers to rewind anywhere in the last four hours of a livestream, which is pretty cool. YouTube claims the hub will automatically sort content in helpful categories, too.

Twitch is one of the few video portals besides Facebook (really) giving YouTube a run for its money, so Google stepping up to the plate is a pretty big deal – especially since so many Twitch users archive all their content on YouTube anyway.

The web portal should work anywhere YouTube does, while the app will launch in the UK and US tomorrow, with other territories to follow.