A selection of links, hand-picked by the Guardian games writers.

Microsoft not ready to respond to Xbox One 720p complaints

Yesterday, Call of Duty: Ghosts developer Infinity Ward explained to Eurogamer why the new title runs in 1080p HD on PS4 but only 720p on Xbox One. The issue has caused a 'gripping' resolution war among enlightened video game commentators online, all of them in full possession of the technical specs, development kits, extensive programming experience and knowledge of modern industry production techniques needed to make simultaneously informed and enraged proclamations.

Anyway... Microsoft is not yet ready to talk about what's happened:

Microsoft has said that it is not yet ready to respond to criticism leveled at Xbox One over the revelation that two of its major launch titles will only output natively at 720p.

Responding to a NeoGaf user asking about the chances Albert Penello, Xbox director of product planning, "will presence us with an apology or concession," Penello responded: "Pretty good, I'd say."

"I'll be back," he added moments later. "You're right, I should talk about it. But right now, still lots of info to come out. Once the dust settles, and all the information is out there, I'll address my comments."

This won't go down well with the online graphics war intelligentsia – because it involves waiting a bit and considering the evidence.

Gran Turismo 6 to feature over 1200 cars and 100 track layouts | CVG UK

That's pretty much the story in the title – Polyphony Digital is putting seemingly every car on the planet into its next real driving simulator. However, here's an intriguing new feature:

A post-launch update will introduce a new GPS Logger feature. This will use the player's phone or tablet GPS functionality in order to recreate tracks based on daily commutes in the game's Course Maker.

In the words of Sony's press release:

"Drivers will be able to record real GPS data from their own car and then recreate the route as a track in the game. The 'GPS Visualizer' also utilises GPS coordinate data from a real car on the real-life versions of the GT6 circuits. The data can then be imported into GT6 to create a 'virtual' replay image of your laps in the game."

That's the sound of a thousand Top Gear fans loosening their shirt collars in flustered excitement.

Steam Machine prototype unveiled | MCV

Ooh, what will the working version of the new Valve console look like?

Valve has revealed the prototype design of its upcoming Steam Machine hardware.

In an article by the Seattle Times showing off images of the official prototype, Valve designer Greg Coomer reiterated the company's intent to take over the living room with its new hardware -- adding that the PC space's transition to the television set should have taken place years ago.

"We think the PC space ought to have been doing this for quite some time," Coomer said.

Hey look, it's a big black box!

Too ​Many Choices Of The Past Gaming Era Weren't Choices At All | Kotaku

Here's a though-provoking piece from Kotaku's Kirk Hamilton, who argues that most of the current-gen games that appeared to offer moral choices were in fact always manipulating us toward certain outcomes, or not providing us with the tools and systems of a functioning moral universe. He cites Mass Effect:

Imagine: At the end of Return of the Jedi, Darth Vader decides to surprise us all. He stands up behind the Emperor, ready to kill him and save his son Luke Skywalker. Oh, but nope, sorry! He actually can't do that. After a lifetime of evil, Mr. Vader doesn't have the paragon points necessary to do such a thing. He's been evil so long that he can only let his son die, then do whiskey shots with Palpatine while kicking the smoldering corpse.

That's how the ending of Jedi would've played out in the Mass Effect universe.

I wonder if this will all change in the next generation or if are there inherent game design conventions that limit true moral agency?

To Hell And Back In Spelunky | Tom Francis

To Satre, hell was other people, to Spelunky players, hell is a near-mythical location at the base of this fiendish procedurally generated cavern complex. And games-journalist-turned-developer Tom Francis has found it:

Last night I accomplished probably the hardest thing I've ever managed in a video game: going to hell and back in Spelunky. It only took 41 minutes, but it took me hundreds of hours of play – and about 3,000 deaths – to learn how to do those 41 minutes.

This is a great little blogpost (and video) about a wonderfully rich game and the obsession it has inspired in devotees.

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