There's something to look forward to before this week ends from Rockstar Games as it gears up for a gameplay video and preview of Grand Theft Auto Online on Thursday, August 15.

This will be the first preview in weeks, albeit a longer one of the multiplayer component for Grand Theft Auto 5.

Rockstar Games has also recently announced on its web site the availability of avatars and gamerpics of some of GTA 5's assets, including Michael, Trevor, Franklin, Chop the Rottweiler, and a beach goer.

These are all available as a set on Xbox LIVE Gamerpics for only 80 MS points or at PlayStore as individual PSN Avatars for $0.49 each.

The update continues with an Xbox-exclusive collection of GTA 5 outfits and items for Xbox 360 Avatars, priced at 320 MS points for the outfits and 80 MS points for the tees. Chop the Rottweiler and the parachute come at a higher price of 240 MS points.

Hype up the team player in you with Battlefield 4

DICE, the developer for Battlefield 4, has revealed in the game's official blog online the details of just how the upcoming FPS game's multiplayer will make teamwork the common and biggest ground of the game.

"The way we're going about it in Battlefield 4 is to highly encourage team play--but never force it," said Thomas Andersson, lead multiplayer. "We want to promote team play by creating great gameplay mechanics such as Field Upgrades, Commander Mode, and a new range of gadgets specifically designed to expand co-operation in the field."

According to the developers, the expanded tools and added gameplay not only accounts for a more solid team play, but also has a hand in creating a very deep and rewarding gaming experience for the latest installment of the game.

Of the mentioned features, what is interesting to note is the Field Upgrades, which have been tweaked from its previous versions. This time, you will be given individual rewards for a squad-based team play performance.

This way, you can easily pick three different upgrade methods with four specializations each, and as long as your squad remains intact and alive, you can easily accumulate and upgrade.

Of course, losing your squad also has equal demerits, and DICE developers note that this could be as much as losing some of your progress.

Battlefield 4 is slated for release on October 29 for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC, as well as next-gen consoles PS4 and Xbox One when they release during the holiday season.

Borderlands 2 hot fixes detailed

A new blog post on Gearbox Software's web site revealed that hot fixes for the game has been rolling out for the PC and Mac, Xbox 360, and PS3.

In particular, there are three hot fixes to watch out for, as detailed in the blog:

  1. Correction of the alignment of holographic sights on pistols
  2. Fixing of the Turtle shield's health penalties applied twice, every time the Summoning Deathtrap with Sharing is Caring is enabled.
  3. Adjusted drop rates of unique items from Doc Mercy, Mad Dog, Savage Lee, and McNally for consistence in all modes.

Borderlands 2 is also making some noise at PAX Australia, where it had an exclusive interview with AusGamers. Here, the developers revealed some of its DLC plans and the fact that it might be impossible for them to expand the intimacy of the world.

According to Ausgamers, Gearbox will be releasing two more DLC expansions, which are planned for release come Halloween this year and another that's bound to increase the level cap by 11.

For now, the game allows for four players at a time, and even with the next-gen consoles coming in, it seems that the developers are not too keen on expanding the number any time soon.

"We think that if we go too much more than four, the experience will actually start to break down; that four is kind of a nice sweet spot, in terms of enough craziness, and all of these different personalities and character classes and everything, but you can still keep track of what's happening," said Paul Hellquist to Ausgamers.

While the balance may have capped the number of players, there's still a lot of room for expansion when the next-gen consoles hit.

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