Most gamers remember the first time they played a Grand Theft Auto title. It was eye opening as it introduced players to an open world or crime. It's weird to think a game that was on consoles 10 years ago is on a mobile platform, but now gamers can revisit the '80's with Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.

It weird to think it’s been ten years since we were first introduced to the 1980′s style crime haven of Vice City. The guys at Rockstar laid the groundwork with Grand Theft Auto 3, but it was Grand Theft Auto: Vice City that really made people take notice. Back in 2002, we were satisfied with playing through the rise of Tommy Vercetti on our consoles and would have never imagined being able to play it on the go. Thanks to powerful portable devices and Rockstar’s dedication to porting its classics, we can revisit Vice City on iOS and Android.

Reuniting with the game’s protagonist, Tommy Vercetti, is sure to give any gamer that made the climb to crime ring kingpin some nostalgia-filled goose bumps. Hearing the familiar voice of Ray Liotta as Tommy proves that, years later, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City was ahead of its time in storytelling and voice talents. That point is hammered home with other notable actors and stars like Gary Busey, Burt Reynolds, Lawrence Taylor, and Blondie singer Deborah Harry appearing throughout the game. Vice City is in the upper echelon of voice acting for mobile games.

While the voices are the same as the original, you’ll likely notice that Vice City has gotten a little makeover since your last visit. While the graphics stil fall short of some of mobile’s benchmarks, the world is sharper and characters have more detail than the 2002 release on the Playstation 2. The glaring orange hues of the Vice City sunset seem more vibrant than ever on a portable screen, showing us just how far we’ve come in a decade.

Playing this version of Vice City is a little different. There’s no controller anymore. Vice City embraces the touch screen, opting to abandon gamepad support with full touch and tap controls. Thanks to some improvements from the controls first put in place by the Grand Theft Auto 3 iOS port, Vice City controls quite well. Wherever you place your thumb on the left side of the screen, you’ll create a virtual joystick to control movement. Buttons on the right side allow you to run, jump, attack, and get into a vehicle. Some of the buttons are too small by default, especially the one that allows you to activate taxi or ambulance missions. Things like your horn and camera angle, likely deemed to be unimportant, have very small, almost unnoticeable buttons. You can customize the size and location of all the controls in the settings to fit your personal preferences.

While the controls work well and respond properly, the combat still isn’t as good as it could or should be. An auto-lock feature when firing your gun is welcome, but melee combat is pretty bad. You will miss punches, or just punch the wrong person entirely. Technically, this is pretty true to the original Playstation 2 release which also had some combat issues, but it’s one of the things that we wouldn’t mind seeing changed.

This isn’t the only time where things will get a little glitchy, as there are some odd audiovisual blips that will cost you a life or at least some time every now and then. There were multiple oddities I experienced over the course of playing. Once while I was atop a parking garage trying to escape the police, a cop appeared out of thin air right in front of me and arrested me. Another time I got into a police car with a cop in the passenger seat. He did nothing for a good five minutes, then suddenly stepped out of the car while I was driving full speed and arrested me after stopping the car on a dime with what I can only assume was some sort of super strength. These odd moments will happen and will undoubtably set you back over the course of the game.

You’ll probably die a lot during your adventures in Vice City. For example, make sure you remember that this game came out before characters in the Grand Theft Auto universe learned how to swim or you’ll be reminded the hard way. You’ll get arrested a bit, too. Luckily the cops in Vice City have the most lenient rules in the history of law enforcement. Killed ten officers, stole a bus, ran over pedestrians, destroyed public property? Give them a portion of your cash pile and your weapon and you’re right back on the streets. Getting the attention of police is almost impossible unless you actually directly interact with them. They’ll occasionally stop you from stealing a car or beating pedestrians for no apparent reason, but barely tapping a cop car in traffic is the best way to irritate them. 

What won’t irritate you is the detail put into the audio experience. GTA:VC resurrects the perfection of its ’80′s soundtrack with iconic tracks from Foreigner, Flock of Seagulls, Run D.M.C, and Judas Priest and places it over 8 radios stations. Sprinkled in are some hilarious radio programs and parody-style commercials. Things like this round out an welcome retread into the world of Vice City.

Packed into a now-portable package is everything that you remember from Grand Theft Auto: Vice City: the well-executed story, the sheer bliss that comes from speeding down the street with a complete disregard for whatever the next mission might be because you stole an awesome ride and feel the need to take it for a spin, the amazing moments that you create by flying off ramps and over roads to elude your pursuers, and all the great side missions that keep you playing well past the end of the story. Things like this makes forgiving the mistakes and glitches of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City a lot easier to swallow, if not completely unnoticed in your overall experience. Its good to be back.

You can download Grand Theft Auto: Vice City from the iTunes App Store or Google Play Store for $5

Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom has responded to anger over the photo-sharing service's updated terms of service, and has clarified that the company has no plans to sell users' photos, or package them as part of advertisements.

Following a wave of user backlash, Instagram says that it will edit its updated terms of service and privacy policy to better clarify what it will and will not do with users’ photos.

In a blog post, Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom said that interpretations that that the company reserves the right to sell users’ photos are not true. Systrom also says that Instagram does not “have plans” to turn user photos into parts of advertisements, and that it will “remove the language that raised the question” about what its terms of service really meant.

“Our intention in updating the terms was to communicate that we’d like to experiment with innovative advertising that feels appropriate on Instagram,” wrote Systrom. “Instead it was interpreted by many that we were going to sell your photos to others without any compensation. This is not true and it is our mistake that this language is confusing. To be clear: it is not our intention to sell your photos. We are working on updated language in the terms to make sure this is clear.”

The portion of the Instagram terms of service that cause the most confusion currently reads: “To help us deliver interesting paid or sponsored content or promotions, you agree that a business or other entity may pay us to display your username, likeness, photos (along with associated metadata), and/or actions you take, in connection with paid or sponsored content or promotions, without any compensation to you.”

This language, Systrom says, was merely intended to give Instagram the flexibility “to experiment with innovative advertising that feels appropriate on Instagram.” He also says that the company hopes to make it possible for both users and brands to “promote their photos and accounts to increase engagement and to build a more meaningful following.”

“Our main goal is to avoid things likes advertising banners you see in other apps that would hurt the Instagram user experience,” writes Systrom. “Instead, we want to create meaningful ways to help you discover new and interesting accounts and content while building a self-sustaining business at the same time.”

Systrom further reiterates that “Instagram users own their content,” Instagram does not; and the photo-sharing service’s privacy settings have not changed. “If you set your photos to private, Instagram only shares your photos with the people you’ve approved to follow you,” he writes.

While the current drafts of the Instagram terms of service and privacy policy remain, Systrom says that updates to these documents will be “coming soon.”

NECA, a company that specializes in creating gorgeous toys for adults, has announced plans to release a 1:1 scale replica of Half-Life 2's iconic Gravity Gun in the Spring of next year

Statistically speaking, since you’re currently reading text on Digital Trends’ gaming section, it’s almost certain that you’ve played Half-Life 2. In turn, it’s also almost certain that you’re familiar with the Zero Point Energy Field Manipulator — though you likely know it best by its colloquial name: The Gravity Gun. Now, if you’re anything like us, from the moment you picked up this gadget in the junkyard behind Eli Vance’s makeshift, erstwhile laboratory, you adopted the weapon as your default means of destruction. Though Half-Life 2 features a swath of cool guns, including a Dirty Harry-esque hand cannon and a crossbow that flings red-hot chunks of jagged rebar, there’s something very special about a weapon that simply grabs objects from the environment only to then launch them at your foes with deadly velocity.

Unfortunately, here in the real world our best military scientists have yet to develop anything so creatively lethal. We’ve got guns that fire thousands of rounds per second and bombs that can atomize huge chunks of the planet, yet nothing that can instantly turn a broken down toilet into a dangerous, man-portable projectile. However, thanks to the efforts of toy maker NECA, you’ll soon be able to purchase the next best thing.

In an announcement posted to the company’s official website this morning, NECA revealed plans to offer a 1:1 scale replica of the Gravity Gun in the Spring of 2013. Though the notice fails to specify an exact date for this thing’s release, and likewise offers no information on how much a Gravity Gun replica might cost, NECA claims that it will begin accepting pre-orders for the replica very soon. Again, no specific date is offered for when the pre-order campaign might kick off, but if we had to guess we’d assume that NECA will offer up all of the pertinent information alongside the replica’s first public debut at the 2013 New York Toy Fair in February.

That’s an important point, as any prospective purchasers are going to want to put their money down as soon as possible. NECA’s announcement claims that this replica is going to be a limited edition affair, and while it won’t be as rare as the company’s earlier Portal-themed replicas, we doubt you’ll be able to find many Gravity Guns on offer past the first month of its public availability. As this gun would instantly appeal to both toy collectors and Half-Life fans, you’re going to be competing with tens of thousands of other prospective buyers on this replica, so it would behoove you to get your order in as soon as possible. For our part, we’ll bring you word on pricing and availability just as soon as NECA is ready to make that information public.

In the mean time, NECA has tossed up a handful of images from the first prototype replica. You can find our favorite one above this text, but if you’d like more simply click through to NECA’s website. If any of you rabid Half-Life fans can find fault with NECA’s work, we’d love to hear it as we’ve spent all morning drooling over this thing.

Apple has just rolled out an iOS update that will fix issues with Wi-Fi affecting its iPhone 5 and iPad Mini devices.

On Tuesday, Apple released an update exclusively for its iPhone 5 and iPad Mini devices. This iOS 6.0.2 upgrade fixes a bug affecting the speed and connectivity of the devices’ Wi-Fi radios.

Users can opt to download this update either through iTunes or over-the-air (OTA). Earlier today it was reported that the OTA software update tool was encountering an error, but users should check back to see if the issue has been solved. The update doesn’t list any other improvements, but Wi-Fi issues have plagued iPhone 5 and iPad Mini owners for quite some time now.

“I had Wi-Fi issues on the iPhone 5 and couldn’t resolve them,” user Motyoj posted in the Apple Support Communities forum on October when referring to Wi-Fi. “They (Apple) sent me a new unit and it’s no better than the one it replaced.”

“I have an iPad Mini and the Wi-Fi disconnects as soon as I go little far from [the] Wi-Fi router, it always says ‘Unable to connect,” user harshacg posted in Apple’s support forum just today in reference to the iPad Mini.

This isn’t the first time Apple has had to address Wi-Fi problems with its flagship smartphone. Back in September, less than two weeks after iOS was released, Apple rolled out a fix for the iPhone 5’s Wi-Fi network data bug. However, this issue was not directly related to the problems iPhone 5 owners are currently experiencing. This bug appeared to be specific to Verizon Wireless users and caused devices on the carrier’s network to consume cellular data even when a Wi-Fi connection was established.

While these Wi-Fi issues affecting the iPhone 5 have persisted since the device was released for some users, they were largely hindered by the negative reception of Apple Maps following iOS 6’s launch. The company’s self-branded navigation app debuted with its new mobile operating system and was met with widespread criticism due to a lack of public transit directions and inaccurate location labeling. Luckily for iOS 6 users, Google just released its Google Maps app for Apple’s latest mobile platform, although Apple Maps still acts as the default directions app.

Despite Apple releasing its iOS 6.0.2 update today, the company is still reportedly testing its first major update to the software: iOS 6.1.

Though the Kinect peripheral has found little traction among gamers, Microsoft hopes that it might be used to help train our troops and provide physical therapy to the wounded.

If you happen to be one of the millions of Xbox 360 owners who also owns a Kinect, you’re no doubt aware that the motion-sensitive, three-dimensional camera system lacks a solid stable of games that take advantage of its unique capabilities. Further, you’re also likely aware that the Kinect itself is a very cool piece of hardware. While Microsoft continues to struggle in its efforts to find a proper consumer niche for the device, it may have instead discovered an even more important use for the peripheral.

A newly-published DefenseNews report reveals that Microsoft has been in contact with the US military in the hopes that it might be able to utilize the Kinect both as a training tool for our troops and as a rehabilitation aid for those soldiers wounded in combat. DefenseNews claims that Microsoft and the United States Air Force are currently working together to “define requirements for a Kinect therapy system” that would use off the shelf software to rehabilitate injured soldiers without the need for these veterans to visit an actual medical facility, thus saving them and the government huge sums of money.

“Microsoft is committing R&D and marketing resources to ensure that the [military] community is aware of the capabilities of the product, as well as the breadth of our partner community, which includes the system integrators,” said Microsoft Senior Technology Architect Phil West. “The targeted scenarios include therapy-related functions, but they also span training and simulation, interactive user interfaces, and so on.”

As West points out, Microsoft believes the Kinect could have potential not only as a therapy tool, but as a low-level simulator that can aid in a soldier’s training. Given the Kinect’s relatively low cost — Amazon currently lists new Kinect units at a mere $100 — and the fact that you can grab one (or a dozen) by walking into any given electronics retailer, the device is, if nothing else, far more readily available than purpose-built simulators or human trainers. As a result, a number of government branches have expressed interest in the device, including the Air Force, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (more commonly known by its acronym, DARPA), and the Navy’s Bureau of Medicine, as well as many civilian companies with close government ties, such as Lockheed Martin.

Finally, and perhaps most controversially, West believes the Kinect could even aid in the recuperation of soldiers afflicted with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. “They can use avatars, which allows anonymity, but also allows for representatives who are therapists or licensed psychiatrists to connect with them,” West said. “Therapists can say, ‘I know who you are because I have your case file. No one else in the room has to see in your face.’ It gives a way to engage and talk through problems while preserving anonymity.”

Though we applaud Microsoft’s novel attempt to aid our troops with tech initially developed to fight the ongoing war against Nintendo and Sony, we doubt that the Kinect will see widespread use in the near future. Not because the idea is a bad one, but instead because the military requires intensely rigorous testing of all technology prior to unleashing it on the troops. There’s a reason why the M-16 assault rifle remained in service for four-plus decades, despite the introduction of numerous weapons with far more advanced feature sets. Then again, even if the government doesn’t end up deploying Kinect-based therapy tools or training simulators for another half decade at least by then the peripheral should be dirt cheap.

2 Player Productions Kickstarter-backed documentary on Sweden's most famous video game developer finally gets its debut. Minecraft: The Story of Mojang will air on Xbox Live this weekend.

Minecraft: The Story of Mojang, a documentary on the wild rise of Markus “Notch” Persson’s world-building adventure game, will reach its first major audience on Saturday, Dec. 22 when the movie debuts on Xbox Live. Filmmakers 2 Player Productions announced the premiere on its website on Monday.

Unfortunately the movie is only available to Xbox Live Gold subscribers, but at least it isn’t restricted only to the US. Gold subscribers in the UK, Ireland, Portugal, France, Finland, Belgium, Austria, and Mojang’s home country Sweden will also get a chance to check out the picture that night.

Minecraft: The Story of Mojang actually started life over a year ago as a 20-minute short film used to drum up interest in a full-length feature. The proof-of-concept helped fuel a successful fundraising campaign on Kickstarter. After raising more than $210,000, well over the $150,000 goal, the movie was finished this fall.

2 Player Productions’s last feature was the excellent 2008 documentary Reformat the Planet which chronicled the lives of chiptune musicians like the band Anamanaguchi and the rise of the Blip Festival.

For a limited time, if you own an iOS device and have Internet access, you can enjoy the first episode of Telltale Games' The Walking Dead (our 2012 Game of the Year) for free.

At this point, you have no excuse not to know of Telltale Games’ phenomenal adventure game adaptation of Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead. Not only did the episodic game earn Digital Trends’ first ever perfect 10 out of 10 review score, we also recently named it our 2012 Game of the Year, despite stiff competition from massive blockbuster titles like Halo 4, Dishonored and Borderlands 2. In short, we’re big fans of The Walking Dead, so when the first episode of the game’s iOS incarnation suddenly saw a drop from its standard $5 price point to an inarguably enticing “absolutely free,” we just had to let you all know about it.

If you fire up your nearest iOS gadget and pay a visit to Apple’s App Store this very minute, you’ll find Episode 1 of the first season of The Walking Dead available for free download. While you’re there we’d recommend downloading it, as this is a limited time offer. You won’t find specific dates listed anywhere on the app store, but we contacted Telltale and the company told us that this deal will only run from now until the beginning of 2013.

Hopefully we’ve already impressed upon you that this first episode is certainly worth a few moments of your time and a modicum of bandwidth, but perhaps you’re concerned that the game might not run very well on your iOS device. Fortunately, we’ve tested this iOS release on a number of Apple devices: All iPads will run The Walking Dead flawlessly, and both iPhones 4S and 5 have no problems with the game. The iPhone 4 can run it, but it does exhibit a bit of slowdown in particularly hectic, action-packed scenes. We wouldn’t describe these moments as game-breaking, but know that if you’re still using an iPhone 4 you may see periodic technical hiccups. That said, given the game’s slow pace and focus on characters interacting with one another, these action-packed scenes are the exception rather than the rule, so even at its worst The Walking Dead is perfectly enjoyable.

In addition to this very generous offer, Telltale Games is discounting a huge number of its other titles. The company’s adventure game adaptations of Back to the Future, Jurassic Park and Law & Order join Sam & Max, Hector and Tales of Monkey Island at a newly reduced $1 price point. Unlike The Walking Dead however, these discounts apply to every episode of the aforementioned games, meaning that from now until the end of 2012 you can snag the full versions of any of those titles for no more than $6 total. As the adventure game genre is one of the few gameplay styles that perfectly suits the buttonless iOS control scheme, there’s little reason to miss out on this offer.

Speaking of full versions, if you do download the first episode of The Walking Dead and find yourself craving more (and trust us, you will), you can then purchase the other four episodes of the game for a mere $15. Just be sure to ignore the in-app purchase option that has Episodes 2 through 5 listed at $5 a piece and instead grab these episodes bundled from the App Store directly.

With Facebook’s acquisition of Instagram earlier this year, it is well known they have great interest in mobile apps. With that in mind, Facebook is now said to be working on a new app.  This mobile app, set to be released in a couple of weeks,  is supposed to be similar to that of Snapchat.

If you are not familiar with Snapchat, it is an app that allows its user to take a photo and share it for a preset length of time before it is automatically deleted.  This is a good way to share your photos that you don’t want to take up space in your Facebook albums and be able to forget about it, knowing it will be deleted.

This app would be a good way to enhance Facebook’s privacy possibilities.  Already on Facebook you can limit what users see what photos by placing them in groups (not circles).  You can then share certain photos with certain groups.  For instance, you would only share your party pics from your trip to Cancun, with your close friends group, so that your boss doesn’t see that you really weren’t sick that day.  This app will just help Facebook have the ability to lock that down even more.  So keep posted for more information on the upcoming release of this rumored app.

What do you think, is this something you would use?

Want a way to keep your devices charged when you're on the go, far away from an outlet? Enter to win the Powerbag Business Class Pack and you'll never be caught with a dead phone again.

How many times have you been running around town only to realize your cell phone has about 10 percent of its battery life left and you still need it to get you through the night? Instead of trying to find the nearest Starbucks to recharge your phone, why not just plug it into your backpack? For the eighth day of our Better Than Socks Holiday Giveaway, we’re offering the rechargeable Powerbag Business Class Pack, armed with a built-in 6000mAH battery.

When fully charged, the Powerbag  lets you charge your smartphone up to four times. It includes Apple, micro-USB, and mini-USB connectors, and a USB port, making it possible to charge hundreds of different devices, including all versions of the Kindle, the Nook, the Samsung Galaxy Tab, the iPad, iPod touch, iPhone, and iPod nano. The bag can hold up to a 15-inch laptop, and also has a dedicated tablet compartment. 

Pressing the logo button quickly will let you see how much power you have left. When it’s time to recharge the bag, simply plug it into a wall outlet using its water-resistant AC adapter. Made with traveling in mind, the Powerbag has a checkpoint friendly FlyFlat design, so there’s no need to remove your laptop while going through airport security.

Want to travel in style without ever having to worry about being without power? Just leave us a comment below with where you plan on taking the bag if you win.  The contest ends Monday, December 24, and we’ll notify the winner the following day.

If the Powerbag Business Class Pack doesn’t really do it for you, check out the rest of DT’s “Better Than Socks” Holiday Giveaways all month long.

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance won't be out until February but Kojima Productions is already discussing the possibility of collaborating with Platinum Games on a sequel. Meanwhile, the studio shoots down the possibility of Rising for Nintendo Wii U.

Platinum Games had a year of wild ups and downs. Back in December of 2011, Hideki Kamiya and Atsushi Inaba’s studio was surging after news came out that Platinum had taken over development of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. By the middle of 2012, though, it had seen one project cancelled with the Sega-published version of Bayonetta 2 and another delayed indefinitely in Anarchy Reigns.

Now it’s come full circle, with two new games in the works for Nintendo, Anarchy Reigns scheduled for January, and a February release for Metal Gear. The studio’s in good shape for the future too, as Konami is already discussing working with the studio again.

“If people like Metal Gear Rising, if the fans who play this game ask for more, that would be awesome,” producer Yuji Korkado told Eurogamer, “That would be great for us and we would be happy to consider working on another game in Metal Gear Rising. This is a game we definitely couldn’t have created at Kojima Productions.”

Naturally, then, Platinum would have to come back to work on the sequel. But only if it works with Kojima again. “This is a game Platinum Games couldn’t have created on their own. We think of this as a product that came from the collaboration of both. So if we were to create a sequel we definitely want to work in a similar partnership.”

Following the release of Metal Gear Rising, Platinum Games will release its first projects for Nintendo’s Wii U including Bayonetta 2 and The Wonderful 101. Given their experience with the platform, is Konami interested in having Platinum port Rising to Nintendo’s new console? Publishers like Ubisoft, Namco, Tecmo Koei, Electronic Arts, and Activision have all ported PS3/Xbox 360 games like Rising to the platform already. For now, Konami plans to skip Wii U.

“One of the strongest appeals of the Wii U is the GamePad,” explains Korekado,” However, we’ve constructed Metal Gear Rising so you can fully enjoy the game on the controllers whether it’s on the PS3 or Xbox 360. So, currently we aren’t thinking of Metal Gear Rising on the Wii U.”

Digital Trends sat down with both Korekado and Platinum’s Atsushi Inaba during its recent preview of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. You can read that interview right here.

Let it never be said that the distribution of downloadable content can't cause wacky hijinks. The botched release of the Crimson Map Pack DLC for Halo 4 led Microsoft to give away paid content for free and then to accidentally ban players for using it.

Halo 4 has gotten more than a few Xbox Live members banned from Microsoft’s gaming network. Weeks before the game officially came out, retail copies of the game had leaked out to many stores and gamers took to their consoles hoping for early matches only to have their accounts permanently blocked from Xbox Live.

On Dec. 10, Microsoft saw another Halo 4 of sorts when the Crimson Map Pack downloadable content was supposed to be made available for download. Intended for owners of specific versions of the game or those that purchased an online pass, the Crimson Map Pack was freely available to all players. Then Microsoft started banning some of them for playing the downloaded content online.

A brief recap: Access to the Crimson Map Pack was supposed to be available to Halo 4 Limited Edition owners and anyone that purchased the $25 Map Pass via Xbox Live Marketplace. Many people weren’t able to download the content and so Halo 4 creators 343 Industries offered a solution to access it which in turn made it available to all players, even those that didn’t pay for it. Sensing an opportunity for some positive PR, Microsoft in turn said the content was free on purpose.

“As an additional reward to those customers that participated in out ’14 Day, Buy and Play’ program, we are providing complementary access to the Crimson Map Pack for a limited time,” reads Microsoft’s statement, “There were some initial complications with the distribution of the ’14 Day, Buy and Play’ reward tokens, and so we decided to provide the additional reward of complimentary access to the Crimson Map Pack as a ‘thank you’ to our customers that contributed to the success of the Halo 4 launch.”

Trouble struck over the weekend, though, as by Monday morning players were reporting on the official Halo 4 forums that they were receiving permanent bans from playing Halo 4 online because playing the free Crimson Map Pack equated to “violating the terms of use and/or committing a code of conduct violation.” It would seem that no anti-piracy measure is perfect!

According to Microsoft, though, these bannings were accidental and isolated. “There was a situation (on Sunday) in which less than 200 Halo 4 users were being incorrectly banned from accessing certain parts of the game (not banned from Xbox Live as a whole), and we have since resolved the issue,” said a representative, “All player accounts impacted are working as normal.”

The days when playing a game on a video game console made putting in the game, turning the box on, and playing are officially dead.

Star Wars: The Old Republic celebrates its first birthday with Rise of the Hutt Cartel, the first expansion for the MMO. BioWare is bringing a new planet and a new level cap to the game, but will it be enough to lure back lost players?

Star Wars: The Old Republic is just days away from celebrating its one year anniversary. BioWare’s first MMO has survived in the brutally competitive online role-playing market, but only barely. Electronic Arts invested unprecedented sums in the game it made to compete with World of Warcraft, but the world had already moved on to other gaming experiences by the time it released. Following myriad updates and a controversial re-launch as a free-to-play game, Star Wars: The Old Republic is ready to move into its first major expansion. Star Wars: The Old Republic—Rise of the Hutt Cartel will be out on Jan. 7, 2013.

“We know our fans want to keep experiencing the classic Star Wars storylines they love, and that’s what we’re delivering with the Rise of the Hutt Cartel,” said BioWare Austin’s Jeff Hickman, “The planet Makeb is shaping up o be one of our most breathtakingly beautiful settings and the clash with the Hutt Cartel is epic and exciting.”

In addition to the new planet and storyline, BioWare has raised the level cap for Old Republic players to 55, opening up new skills to players amongst the hundreds of thousands that quit playing the game earlier this year. That’s no exaggeration either. Between February and May of 2012, The Old Republic’s player base declined from 1.7 million to 1.3 million, and that was before Electronic Arts made the decision to make the game free-to-play in the middle of summer.

The decline in members was just one of The Old Republic’s troubles in 2012. Daniel Erickson, the game’s creative director, abruptly left BioWare at the beginning of October. He left the company just two weeks after BioWare founders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk resigned from Electronic Arts. Those two were instrumental in establishing BioWare’s relationship with Star Wars license holders Lucasfilm and LucasArts, who experienced their own upheaval this fall when Lucasfilm was acquired by Disney.

To top things off, Star Wars: The Old Republic’s debut as a free-to-play game was so widely reviled by the game’s community that BioWare had to overhaul the new pay structure almost entirely within three weeks of the re-launch.

Rise of the Hutt Cartel is the first expansion for The Old Republic and it may also be the last. Since it’s releasing so soon after his departure, the expansion likely represents the last of creative director Erickson’s vision of the game. Since that vision didn’t connect with players in the first place, it may be for the best that the MMO head in a new direction in the future, but it’s up in the air whether anyone will be left to play by that time.

Gamer Fit Nation's CEO is organizing an event for Friday asking gamers to not play online shooters for 24 hours to show support for those affected by the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

There is no good way to pause and share support with those who lost life and loved ones during the Friday shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary. Everything, whether it’s a moment of silence or a promise of solidarity in the face of violence, is not enough. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try, though. The health and fitness-centric Gamer Fit Nation and its CEO Antwand Pearman are trying to do something for the victims of the massacre with the Day of Cease Fire for Online Shooters event scheduled for Friday. It’s an unusual moment of silence, and a laudable one.

“We ask for gamers to show their support for the families of those who lost their lives in the tragedy that took place in Connecticut’s Sandy Hook Elementary School Friday, December 14, 2012,” reads a statement from Pearman on Facebook, “We are simply making a statement that we as gamers are not going to sit back and ignore the lives that were lost. Instead we will embrace the families with our love and support.”

“So if you are an owner of a website I ask that you post to your readers that you will join us in our Day of Cease Fire for Online Shooters. I ask you all to please share and I thank you for reading. This starts Thursday night, Friday morning at 12am and will end Friday night, Saturday morning at 12am.”

Pearman’s request is a tall order just days before Christmas, a period when online gaming populations spike thanks to students and others going on vacation. It’s also the time of year when the newest online shooters like Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 and Halo 4 see peak saturation. The statement that people stand together and refuse to engage in even an entertaining facsimile of violence in the face of real brutality should be all the more powerful as a result.

Video games have shared an ignoble link with school shootings in the past. The Columbine massacre in 1999 was marked by reports of the shooters’ playing early first-person shooters like Doom. The mainstream press has abstained from blaming games or game communities on the mindless actions of shooter Adam Lanza, though tabloids like Britain’s The Sun have made dubious claims that he was obsessed with Call of Duty.

Please do take Friday off from shooters to show your support, even if that’s all you can do.