On this week’s edition, Gran Turismo 5 slows to a crawl thanks to a congested internet, and Call of Duty: Black Ops is lauded and loathed in equal measure.
Lawyers Turn on Each Other in Copyright Dispute
A dispute over filesharing has taken a turn for the weird. Lawyers for the U.S. Copyright Group have filed a suit against another lawyer who offered a cheap bundle of legal documents to people who had supposedly downloaded movies like The Hurt Locker and Far Cry to enable them to mount a defense, without having to fork out for a lawyer of their own. The lawyer in question, Graham Syfert, has called the suit “insane,” and has filed a counter suit against his accusers. (Link)
Online Play Slams the Brakes on Gran Turismo 5 Single Player
If your game of Gran Turismo 5 is feeling a little sluggish, your internet connection might be to blame. Polyphony Digital wove connectivity throughout the game, so when GT5’s servers got congested, it sent out ripples that caused the single player game to slow down too. Sony is advising that players disconnect their consoles from the the internet while it seeks a more permanent solution to the problem. (Link)
Petition Calls For Black Ops Refund
An internet petition is calling for PS3 owners to come together and show their dissatisfaction over what it says is a lackluster version of Call of Duty: Black Ops. The petition says that the PS3 version is an inferior product when compared to the 360 version, and that Activision shouldn’t have charged the same price for it. The petition wants a full refund for everyone who bought the game on the PS3. Doesn’t seem likely to work, but it can’t hurt to try, right? (Link)
Black Ops Code Discovered, Cracked
A Call of Duty: Black Ops fan, calling himself “Maverick10” claims to have discovered a secret code hidden in the mission briefing screens in the single player campaign. What’s more, he says he’s cracked the code, and that it contains stunning – and spoiler packed – revelations. The code itself isn’t all that hard to crack, but the real trick seems to have been noticing that it was there in the first place. Hit the link for a video. (Link)
Bryant Bashed for Call of Duty Ad
ESPN commentators have criticised basketball player Kobe Bryant for his recent appearance in a Call of Duty: Black Ops commercial. One called the ad, which features Bryant using an assault rifle and grenade launcher, “one of the most irresponsible messages in the history of advertising,” while another suggested that the game itself was “problematic and destructive.” Despite these criticisms, the ad has been almost universally well received, and the game has sold millions of copies. (Link)
