Off-Duty Game News Roundup 12/30/13

Report: Battlefield 4 Banned in China

"Battlefield 4's" single-player campaign features a near-future where a Chinese admiral is attempting to overthrow his own country. That hasn't rankled any international feathers, but the latest expansion, "China Rising," was not well-received by the Chinese government. In reaction to the expansion featuring new maps set on the Chinese mainland, China has banned sales of "Battlefield 4" for "national security reasons." Joystiq and the Wall Street Journal have reached out to EA for comment, but have received no word. Developers often have to make changes to cater to different markets, but considering the subject material in "Battlefield 4," it seems like appeasing the Chinese government wouldn't be worth the work required.

Call of Duty: Ghosts Update Adds Heavy Duty Mode

Fans of "Call of Duty: Ghosts" are receiving a new list of gametypes with the newly launched Heavy Duty mode. Heavy Duty matches add extra health to each player in order to provide more strategic game-play and deemphasize reliance on reflexes. This comes with a host of other tweaks including de-buffing the Focus perk, new loadouts are available for Infected mode, and the unlimited perks glitch has been fixed. Although not an MMO, it's great to see "Call of Duty"

9 Reasons Why We're Excited for Destiny

Bungie's "Destiny" has been steadily gaining popularity since it was revealed.  Although many, if not all, of the game's elements aren't entirely original, the way Bungie has packaged them is very promising and is getting fans increasingly excited. IGN recently put out a video showing various staff members gushing about their favorite aspects of the upcoming game. The nine chosen are:

• Mythic lore
• Breadth of environment, depth of world building
• Random events
• Exploration of the MMOFPS genre
• Aesthetics of weaponry
• Character creation
• Loot
• Dynamic tactics and engagements
• Adding to Bungie's legacy

If you don't know much about "Destiny," the video is definitely worth checking out; it covers the highlights of what players can expect to see. Personally, I'm excited about number four on the list: exploring the MMOFPS genre. With only one other game currently filling this slot, I'd love to see how Bungie will evolve "Destiny" over time, and innovate what it means to play a first-person shooter and how players engage with one another.

Kojima Explains Which Version of Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes You Should Buy

To prepare players for "Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain," Konami is releasing a relatively cheap prologue called "Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes" across current and next-gen consoles. The question is, which version should you get? Gamespot kept a close watch on Kojima's twitter account and found the legendary designer's own take on this question:

"I've been asked which ver u should buy. The feel of play & impression's similar as it's been made multiplatform/multigen this time. Sense of realism & graphics looks much better in next gen. So I'd say current-gen for those who can't buy next gen just yet & upgrade later."

"FYI, the world ranking of mission result/trial grade in GZ differs to each platform. The feel of play/difficulty levels are the same as we consider slight difference parts found in each hardware, controls or frame rate."

Blacklight Retribution Gets PS4 Post-Beta Details

If you're looking for a solid shooter on the Playstation 4, you might not have to go any farther than "Blacklight: Retribution." Although it's currently in the Beta stage of development, Zombie Studios is letting players try out this free to play game on consoles and is making some strides, considering the history of open beta development. Players will be able to keep everything they unlocked in the beta once the game goes live. Free to play games often use unlockable items as an incentive for players to spend money, and Zombie Studios will make sure that players' hard-won gear isn't zapped in the transition from beta to live.