The Last of Us: Left Behind DLC due February 14, according to Sony store art

The Last of Us: Left Behind DLC is currently without an official release date, but an update to the PS3 store suggests it's coming sooner than you think.

It follows the Last of Us: Left Behind story trailer that emerged this week. Hit the link to watch it.

The new date comes from Sony's own SEN store, which lists the DLC for a February 14 launch, priced $14.99.

Here's a grab from the store itself:

We've asked Sony for comment. This could be an error, so stay your excitement until we get this one confirmed.

The Last of Us: Left Behind DLC is currently without an official release date, but an update to the PS3 store suggests it's coming sooner than you think.

It follows the Last of Us: Left Behind story trailer that emerged this week. Hit the link to watch it.

The new date comes from Sony's own SEN store, which lists the DLC for a February 14 launch, priced $14.99.

Here's a grab from the store itself:

We've asked Sony for comment. This could be an error, so stay your excitement until we get this

Valve launches SteamVR beta for Oculus Rift

Something to goggle at.

Steam now has an experimental mode for use with virtual reality headset Oculus Rift, Valve has announced.

Users report that the mode shows the client projected as if on a giant floating screen in front of you, and that head tracking works well.

"As of the most recent Steam Client Beta, Steam now supports an experimental VR mode," Valve's Joe Pudwig reported (thanks, Road to VR).

"If you own an Oculus Rift dev kit you can try it out by starting Steam with '-vr' on the command line. Then press the Big Picture button to enter Big Picture + VR mode."

Valve's announcement comes just a day ahead of the company's Steam Dev Days, scheduled to take place on 15-16th January. It is here that Valve is expected to show off its own VR hardware.

The first time you run you may need to do the following:

• Run Steam in the desktop client without the -vr option
• Find "SteamVR" under "Tools" in your library. (If you don't have it installed, install it.)
• Bring up properties on SteamVR and opt-in to the "Beta Update" beta. Let the update download.
• Quit the Steam Client again and start it with -vr

SimCity reversal: EA finally adding offline mode

Nearly a year after a disastrous launch, SimCity will be receiving a free update to install an offline mode as an option

In a blog post on the official website today, Maxis Emeryville general manager Patrick Buechner announced that with the soon-to-be-launched Update 10 for SimCity "all of your previously downloaded content will be available to you anytime, anywhere, without the need for an internet connection."

Bringing the game offline also means that SimCity will be opened up to the community of modders. "They can now make modifications to the game and its components without compromising the integrity of the Online game. Modding is a big part of our studio's legacy and we're excited to see what you guys create," Buechner added.

SimCity's launch last year was plagued with server issues. Many users were unable to download the game, and for those who did have a copy, it took 30 minutes sometimes just to be able to connect to a server if it happened at all. Because the game was online only, it left many users frustrated, unable to play a title they spent hard-earned money on. EA defended the game's online only nature, noting that an offline mode would be difficult to engineer, and that it didn't fit with the developer's "vision" for SimCity.

Despite the troubled launch, SimCity sales in the first two weeks were brisk, totaling 1.1 million. From March to May, the game's sales climbed to 1.6 million. By July, EA managed to sell 2 million copies of the game.

"In retrospect, our biggest takeaway is that we are lucky that SimCity has an enormous number of loyal fans," EA exec Frank Gibeau said. "That first week after launch was really rough - an experience nobody wants to live through again."

James Brightman, Eurogamer

The last of us wiinning over 200GOTY awards

The annual Game of the Year Awards are finally settling down, and there is a clear winner: The Last of Us. Naughty Dog literally wiped the floor with the competition, figuratively speaking, by winning over 200 GOTY Awards, 163 of which bestowed by the critics and 40 by reader votes.

Here's the humongous list of the awards won all over the press:

• IBTimes (US) : The Last of Us
• Contactmusic.com (US) : The Last of Us
• Gamereactor Sverige (SE) : The Last of Us
• IT News Africa (ZA) : The Last of Us
• ABC Good Game (AU) : The Last of Us
• Examiner.com (US) : Grand Theft Auto V and The Last of Us
• eGamer (ZA) : The Last of Us
• eGamer Community Choice (ZA) : The Last of Us
• GuySpeed (US) : The Last of Us
• Cheat Code Central (US) : The Last of Us
• Redactia 4 fun (RO) : The Last of Us
• The Inquisitr (US) : The Last of Us
• entertainment.ie (IE) : The Last of Us
• The Daily Mirror (UK) : The Last of Us
• Leviathyn (US) : The Last of Us
• Kotaku Australia Readers' Choice (AU) : The Last of Us
• ALT1040 (ES) : The Last of Us
• G3AR (ZA) : The Last of Us
• Tom's Hardware Readers' Choice (IT) : The Last of Us
• Arcade Sushi (US) : The Last of Us
• Tom's Guide (US) : The Last of Us
• GamesRadar (US) : The Last of Us
• GamesRadar Readers' Choice (US) : The Last of Us
• TechCentral (ZA) : The Last of Us
• IMPACTO (MX) : The Last of Us
• KSalue (KW) : The Last of Us
• Fyens.dk (DK) : The Last of Us
• AskMen (AU) : The Last of Us
• Freakin' Awesome Network Readers' Choice (US) : The Last of Us
• Game Revolution (US) : The Last of Us
• BT (UK) : The Last of Us
• Amazon (US) : The Last of Us
• The FAT Website (AU) : The Last of Us
• TechTudo (BR) : The Last of Us
• Mashable (US) : The Last of Us
• Gamekult Readers' Choice (FR) : The Last of Us
• The Ledger (US) : The Last of Us
• VG Nett (NO) : The Last of Us
• The New Zealand Herald (NZ) : The Last of Us
• The Midland Reporter-Telegram (US) : The Last of Us
• Canada.com (CA) : The Last of Us
• Yahoo Games (US) : The Last of Us
• GameSpot Readers' Choice (US) : The Last of Us
• SPACE – InnerSpace (CA) : The Last of Us
• Contra Costa Times (US) : The Last of Us
• Gamereactor GRTV (UK) : The Last of Us
• SquabbleBox.co.uk (UK) : The Last of Us
• 3 News (NZ) : The Last of Us
• MTV (US) : The Last of Us
• UPROXX (US) : The Last of Us
• WhatCulture (US) : The Last of Us
• Meristation Readers' Choice (ES) : The Last of Us
• Chunk.ie (IE) : The Last of Us
• E! Online (US) : The Last of Us
• VGU.TV (US) : The Last of Us
• VGU.TV Readers' Choice (US) : The Last of Us
• New York Daily News (US) : The Last of Us
• Bn DeStem (NL) : The Last of Us
• Reviews on the Run – Rocket & Raygun Awards (US) : The Last of Us
• LevelUp (MX) : The Last of Us
• IGN Australia (AU) : The Last of Us
• Guardian Liberty Voice (US) : The Last of Us
• Gameswelt (DE) : The Last of Us
• New England Gamer (US) : The Last of Us
• Gearburn (ZA) : The Last of Us
• De Morgen (BE) : The Last of Us
• YourTechReport.com (US) : The Last of Us
• Gami

Mario Party: Island Tour review

The last 12 months haven't exactly been easy on Nintendo's portly plumber and between donning cat suits and invading his brother's dreams inception-style, planning another one of his board game-based bashes should be the last thing on his mind.

Luck has played a party favour and a mysterious invitation finds Mario and a familiar guest list aboard the Party Islands for a 3DS soiree in Mario Party: Island Tour.

Seven new game boards make up the main attraction with courses specifically designed with your play time in mind. Some courses such Banzai Bill's Perilous Path and Rocket Road are aimed at short bursts of gameplay lasting little over 15 minutes each, while others unfurl over an hour in typical Mario Party fashion.

Whether you're inching closer to the Whomp King that guards the Perilous Palace Path, gathering fuel to rocket your way across rainbow road, or narrowly avoiding Banzai Bill, it's the usual traps, trumps, bonuses, and mini-games in between that make each roll of the dice risky.

Play video

With an assortment of 80 new mini-games, Island Tour's offering is inventive using almost every the 3DS hardware can throw it. Some games require the most rudimentary controls while others will have you taping, swiping and waving your 3DS around. You'll even want to dig out those augmented reality cards you'd forgotten about for some additional party tricks.

Yet numerous and creative in their approach, Island Tour's mini-games are rarely the highlights of the game as they have been in the past. It's a feeling that really comes to a head when you approach Island Tour's single-player offering and all-round party pooper, Bowser's Tower.

A floor-by-floor mini-game assaults spanning over 30 levels, Bowser's Tower is just a bore to climb with bosses awaiting you every fifth floor and tedious conversations seemingly round every bend.

Despite a concerted effort to make Mario Party a viable purchase for lone players with the aforementioned mode and a vast amount of collectibles that'll require a serious effort to unlock, Island Tour fails to provide such an experience

To no one's surprise, Island Tour's strengths lie in its multiplayer frolics and the rather generous addition of four-player Download Play, giving all players access to all seven boards and 80 mini-games, is enough of a reason for die-hard fans to consider this portable bash worthwhile.

Maybe he's been just too busy for 1party planning this year but with 15 years of experience under his belt, we'd expect a little better from Mario Party: Island Tour. Consider this further proof that Mario Party continues to be a game enjoyed with friends or simply not at all.

The lineup of PS Plus games for PS4, PS3 and PS Vita in February has been leaked online.

The lineup of PS Plus games for PS4, PS3 and PS Vita in February has been leaked online.

The lineup for February's PS Plus for PS4, PS3 and PS Vita in Europe is yet to be officially announced by Sony, but if a list leaked to GamePointsNow can be trusted, that PS Plus looks set to have another strong month.

According to the leak, PS4 owners will be getting survival horror title Outlast, courtesy of PS Plus. While Outlast is yet to release on PS4, the game is available on PC, so if your curious you can check out our PC review to see if it's worth picking up for PS4.

PS Plus subscribers with a PS3 could also be getting a treat in the form of Irrational's Bioshock: Infinite and post-apocalyptic shooter Metro: Last Light.

Finally, there's the PS Vita, which, according to the leak, will be getting Dynasty Warriors: Next and Modnation Racers: Roadtrip for February's PS Plus.

Xbox One without optical drives

 The thinking by Microsoft, but rejected the idea .

The shots of Microsoft for the Xbox One was quite different compared to the finished product . As you will remember , was decided not to allow the resale of used games, you should have connected the console to the Internet constantly and use the Kinect was needed to operate the device . Eventually all that changed after the negative feedback used by the company for the policy was to follow and the information above is not valid anymore.

Another feature that was in the mind of Microsoft was a version of the Xbox One without a Blu-ray drive, the games be available in digital form. According to statements by the head of Microsoft Phil Spencer, until the middle of 2013, the American giant was considering releasing the Xbox One without the ability to read optical discs . After last year's E3 , however , revised their plans after the one people would see this move positively and the other would be no problem regarding the bandwidth, since the games have very large size in some cases reaches 40GB.

Unsurprisingly , there would be problems for several countries , where not only the internet connections is low speed , but there may be a limit to and download. This just thought Microsoft and ultimately rejected the idea of ​​a Xbox One that will not accept games in retail form.

Halo for Xbox One is Halo 5, Xbox Australia says [UPDATE]

The all-new Halo game Microsoft announced for Xbox One at E3 2013 in June is Halo 5, not a spinoff, according to a Facebook post today from Xbox Australia.

As part of an ongoing series of reasons to buy an Xbox One in 2014, Microsoft said, "Reason #14 - The Prometheans and Covenant just won't give John-117 a break! Master Chief returns for the thrilling continuation of the Reclaimer Saga in Halo 5."

In June, former Xbox boss Don Mattrick referred to the new Halo game as Halo 5.

However, Microsoft Game Studios corporate vice president Phil Spencer declined to say if this game was Halo 5 when approached by GameSpot earlier this year. He only described the game as "legitimate."

We've reached out to Microsoft for comment on today's report, but were unable to reach a company representative at press time.

Microsoft has released only one trailer for the next Halo game, showing off Master Chief in the desert. The all-new Halo game launches in 2014 on Xbox One, following Halo: Spartan Assault, which launched for the new system just this week.

Users report Xbox One leaking liquid, Microsoft responds [UPDATE]

 Multiple users have reported that their Xbox One consoles are leaking "some kind of oil" as a result of what appears to be a bizarre and obscure hardware issue.

Writing on the Xbox Support forums (viaSpawn First), one member says the issue only crops up when he plays for multiple hours, suggesting the system's thermal compound could be the problem. He said he contacted Microsoft about the issue, but didn't explain what he was told.

A second user reported the same issue for his Day One console, explaining that the milky-white residue "kind of dried up" and then the problem fixed itself.

So far, just two instances of the Xbox One leaking oil issue have been reported publicly out of 2 million consoles sold, meaning the problem is likely nowhere near as widespread or damaging as the Xbox 360's infamous Red Ring of Death. Most major product launches experience some level of problems.

We've reached out to Microsoft for comment and will update this story with anything we hear back.

Immediately following the Xbox One launch in late November, some users reported various disc drive issues with the system that resulted in loud grinding noises. Microsoft responded by giving away free games to affected users.