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Posted by Bob Muir on Aug 28, 2014 in Videogames 
One of the reasons why the Xbox One faltered after launch was that many consumers just didn’t want to be forced to buy the new Kinect camera, bundled with every console for $500. Microsoft has since made a Kinect-less version for only $400, which has brought in more gamers (though still not as many as Microsoft wanted, since many have already purchased a PS4). But what about those who bought the system and soon wanted the Kinect after all, perhaps after realizing the confusing UI is best navigated with relatively-reliable voice commands? They will soon be able to purchase a stand-alone Kinect on October 7. Read more…
Tags: Kinect, Microsoft, Xbox One
Posted by Bob Muir on Aug 28, 2014 in Videogames 
Nintendo has been slowly releasing more DLC in its games, which would normally be reason to be concerned about getting nickel and dimed. Opinions were split on the three free Mercedes cars (well, karts) that just got released in Mario Kart 8; while getting more content for free was a good thing, the sponsorship had many wary. But the latest Mario Kart 8 DLC announcement should put concerns to rest. There will be two upcoming DLC packs, one in November 2014 and one in May 2015. Each pack will come with three new characters (including Link from Zelda and the Villager & Isabelle from Animal Crossing), eight new courses, and four new vehicles. The courses will be partially based on other Nintendo games like Excitebike, F-Zero, and more. As a bonus, if both packs are purchased, you’ll get eight color variations for both Yoshi and Shy Guy — and you can use them right now if you preorder the packs on Nintendo’s eShop. Read more…
Tags: Mario Kart, Nintendo, Wii U
Posted by Bob Muir on Aug 27, 2014 in Videogames 
The last weird Pokémon crossover we saw was Pokémon Conquest, which mixed the ever-popular critter collector with Nobunaga’s Ambition, a strategy RPG set in feudal Japan. It’s about time for another unexpected mash-up, and this time it’s Pokkén Tournament, a fighting game made by Namco Bandai and overseen by Tekken producer Katsuhiro Harada and Soulcalibur producer Masaaki Hoshino. The debut trailer showed Machamp and Lucario (both fighting-type pokémon) fighting each other, with Lucario evolving into Mega Lucario at the end. The announcement confirms hints and leaks from last year’s Tokyo Game Show. Read more…
Tags: Namco Bandai, Nintendo, Pokémon, Tekken
Posted by Bob Muir on Aug 26, 2014 in Videogames 
Twitch is a rising star of the internet, allowing gamers to stream their games for everyone to watch. While there were rumors earlier this year that Google was in the process of buying the company, it turns out that they were false. Amazon has officially purchased Twitch for $970 million, which is quite a nice sum. I had a feeling something like this was happening, as Twitch recently attempted to not only change how past streams were stored on the site, but also implement a music copyright system to regulate archived broadcasts. What this means for the average streamer or viewer remains to be seen, but it sounds like business as usual. It seems that Twitch will continue operating independent of Amazon, but I’m sure they’ll have access to more of Amazon’s resources. Hopefully things continue running smoothly! Read more…
Tags: Amazon, Twitch
Posted by Ben Huber on Aug 23, 2014 in Videogames 
The latest update from Masahiro Sakurai in regards to Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS has introduced some music! The music section of the site has opened up and features several songs from the game available for streaming. Sakurai has also released a list of musicians that will be composing music for the game, which features such talent as Noriyuki Iwadare (Phoenix Wright), Yasunori Mitsuda (Chrono Trigger), Motoi Sakuraba (Dark Souls), Yoko Shimomura (Kingdom Hearts), and Hirokazu Tanaka (Metroid). Check out the three new music tracks below! Read more…
Tags: 3DS, Super Smash Bros., Wii U
Posted by Bob Muir on Aug 21, 2014 in Videogames 
It’s always good to see fighting games, which usually only get arcade-to-console ports, come to PC. So it’s a pleasant surprise to hear that Kiss Ltd. and Funbox announce that Guilty Gear X2 #Reload is coming to Steam on Friday, September 5. But while it’s a great version of a fun fighting game, it’s also a strange choice. The latest Guilty Gear release in arcades and on other consoles is Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus R, with many more updates over #Reload. It’s the current standard in the fighting game scene, so it’s not entirely clear why Kiss and Funbox chose to rerelease this version instead of a more relevant version still played in tournaments. Maybe if there’s enough interest, there will be a more recent port in the future? Read more…
Tags: Guilty Gear, Steam
Posted by Bob Muir on Aug 21, 2014 in Videogames 
Keiji Inafune is well-known as the creator of Mega Man, but he no longer works at Capcom. So what is he making now? Two indie games, Mighty No. 9 and Azure Striker Gunvolt, which are basically Mega Man and Mega Man X, respectively. Inti Creates, the developers of Mega Man 9, 10, Mega Man Zero 1-4, and more are working on both games, so a crossover game isn’t that crazy of an idea. That’s what Mighty Gunvolt is, with another Inti Creates game called Gal Gun added in (but you don’t have to pay attention to that). And apparently, anyone who buys Azure Striker Gunvolt when it releases on 3DS within the first three months will get a download code for Mighty Gunvolt for free. What a sweet promotion! Read more…
Tags: Azure Striker Gunvolt, Keiji Inafune, Mighty No. 9
Posted by Bob Muir on Aug 20, 2014 in Videogames 
For those who were disappointed by Dark Souls II, Bloodborne looks to make everything right. The PS4 exclusive — developer From Software is collaborating with Sony’s Japan Studio — is what Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls director Hidetaka Miyazaki has been working on, which explains why he only supervised Dark Souls II instead of directing. The trailers have been hype-tastic enough, but they’re obviously cut together from various parts, not really showing the flow of regular gameplay. The latest Bloodborne video shows six minutes of a level (cutting out what is presumably back-tracking or fighting some random mooks), and for fans of punishing gameplay, it looks wonderful. The boss at the end is pretty terrifying too. Read more…
Tags: Bloodborne, PS4
Posted by Ben Huber on Aug 18, 2014 in Videogames 
If you’ve been aching to take your Pokemon game on the road without all the hassle, it looks like the Pokemon Company has your back. At the Pokemon World Championships a display has popped up showing an iPad running the game. It appears to be based on the current free-to-play game available on PC and Mac, ported to iPad. With the popularity of Hearthstone, it definitely seems like card games are enjoying a digital renaissance, so it’d be cool to see Pokemon ride that wave as well. No news yet on when it’ll release, but hopefully it’s not too far away. Read more…
Tags: iOS, Pokémon
Posted by Ben Huber on Aug 17, 2014 in Animation, Videogames 
Fox Animation Domination Hi-Def is a recent programming block that air late-night on Fox, featuring cartoons from a variety of creators. It lets them be a bit more loose and wild with their cartoons, and giving animators a chance to shine on smaller projects. Their latest video features “Songs You Didn’t Know Had Lyrics,” in which they examine the long-standing distrust between Mario and Yoshi — mostly the fact that Mario is just using Yosh to get ahead in the game. It’s not very long but it’s an adorable short, mainly just for Yoshi’s expressions. Check it out below! Read more…
Tags: Fox, Mario Brothers, yoshi
Posted by Ben Huber on Aug 15, 2014 in Videogames 
Blizzard just wants to show you what they’re up to. And that’s the next expansion for World of Warcraft! The next addition to the sprawling MMO will be arriving November 13th, they’ve announced, and to celebrate they’ve released the opening cinematic for the expansion. It’s pretty impressive work as always, even if I have no idea who these characters are (sorry folks, not really a Warcraft guy). I am slightly interested in Duncan Jones’ upcoming Warcraft film though, mainly because I want to see if he can make it work even for me, not just hardcore fans. Read more…
Tags: World of Warcraft
Posted by Bob Muir on Aug 14, 2014 in Videogames 
BioWare has been focusing pretty heavily on Mass Effect and Dragon Age lately, but they’ve had a new IP in the works that has now been revealed. Shadow Realms is an episodic online action-RPG set in a modern world with fantasy elements. Four players can play co-op, or they can also play 4-vs-1 against a player controlled Shadowlord who controls enemies and sets traps to stop the players. It’s PC-only, and you can sign up for the alpha now. It’s interesting, but I wonder if this will match the story and dialogue-driven games that BioWare is known for. Read more…
Tags: BioWare, Shadow Realms
Posted by Bob Muir on Aug 13, 2014 in Videogames 
Sony just released an interactive teaser on PlayStation 4’s digital store called P.T., made by unknown developer 7780s Studio. But just like Moby Dick Studios’ The Phantom Pain was a front for Konami’s Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, P.T. is really Silent Hills, a new entry in Konami’s Silent Hill series. While conventional wisdom states that only Silent Hill 1-4, the games made by Team Silent, are really worth playing — or even less, depending on your opinion — this may be one to watch for based solely on the people who are making it. Metal Gear Solid boss Hideo Kojima has teamed up with filmmaker Guillermo del Toro to make the game, and the main character is played by The Walking Dead‘s Norman Reedus. That sounds actually sounds pretty cool! Maybe if we’re lucky, we’ll get to see more at the upcoming Tokyo Game Show. Read more…
Tags: guillermo del toro, Konami, PS4, Silent Hill
Posted by Bob Muir on Aug 13, 2014 in Videogames 
Remedy has been very hesitant to show much of Quantum Break, their ambitious game/TV show hybrid for Xbox One. But it seems the floodgates have opened, because now we have eight minutes of semi-interrupted gameplay. I say “semi” because while the gameplay is uninterrupted, main character Jack has the power to mess with time in all sorts of fun ways. He can stop time to run past enemies, stop an enemy’s time to do extra damage, or even stop an entire moment. But judging from the end of the clip, it seems some enemies have their own time-warping powers that you’ll have to contend with. There’s still quite a lot we don’t know about Quantum Break, but it looks very promising, so I’d keep an ear out for any additional information. Read more…
Tags: Quantum Break, Xbox One
Posted by Bob Muir on Aug 12, 2014 in Videogames 
As one of the oldest characters in the series, it was a safe bet that Kano would return in Mortal Kombat X. In the latest video, Creative Director Ed Boon breaks down the new changes to the character. Besides the usual visual overhaul, take note of the glowing circle on his chest. Players can change it to one of three colors, each representing a customized style of combat with different movesets. While I’d imagine the character is mostly the same between versions, each one gives him certain toys to play with. Cutthroat Kano uses knife combos, Cybernetic Kano uses laser eyes and weapons, and Commando Kano is a grappler. I hope each character in the game gets several customization options, since it’s a good way to add variety to the cast. Read more…
Tags: Mortal Kombat, PS4, Xbox One
Posted by Ben Huber on Aug 11, 2014 in Videogames 
Looks like some more Mega-Evolved Pokemon have been revealed: Mega Altaria, Mega Salamence, and Mega Lopunny. All three will be in the upcoming Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire games, which are coming out November 21st. I’m way behind on my Pokemon, but I’ve been liking these more recent designs better than before. Horde battles are also confirmed to be in Alpha and Omega, and you can now have those horde battles with Trainers too, so a whole gang of kids can team up and fight you. There’s also a cosplaying Pikachu you can get. Why? I don’t know. It just looks cute. Read more…
Tags: 3DS, Pokémon
Posted by Ben Huber on Aug 11, 2014 in Videogames 
Games publisher Sierra was well known for their extensive catalog and popular titles like King’s Quest and Space Quest. In addition to those, they also created games like Leisure Suit Larry and published Half-Life 1 for Valve. They were swallowed up by Activision in 2008, but now a teaser video has shown up on Sierra.com, whispering that more will be announced at Gamescom. Geoff Keighley reported than upon looking into it, he discovered that The Odd Gentleman, the developer behind the P.B. Winterbottom series, is developing a new King’s Quest game! It appears that for now the Sierra name is returning… as a publishing label? We’ll find out more at Gamescom. Read more…
Tags: adventure games
Posted by Ben Huber on Aug 10, 2014 in Videogames 
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies was one of my favorite games last year. It combined great characters with an engaging story that keeps you hooked, trying to figure out the true culprit in each murder mystery. Now, it’ll have an even wider audience! The game has already come out on iOS in Japan, but Capcom has now confirmed that the iOS version will see a release in the US as well – in gorgeous HD. Huzzah! WE’re also getting the Ace Attorney Trilogy HD release on the 3DS this fall, so it’s a good time to jump into the series if you’ve never played it before! Read more…
Tags: Ace Attorney, iOS, Phoenix Wright
Posted by Bob Muir on Aug 7, 2014 in Videogames 
There’s really no reason to ever play the original PlayStation version of the first Resident Evil game, since the 2002 GameCube remake completely blew the previous versions out of the water. Next to gorgeous pre-rendered backgrounds, the PS1 version just looks laughable. But there’s the rub: it’s hard to update the game in high-definition when all your backgrounds were made for 4:3 480i screens. Capcom has announced an HD remake, with better models and upressed backgrounds.
Read more…
Tags: Capcom, Resident Evil
Posted by Bob Muir on Aug 6, 2014 in Videogames 
Previously rumored as Comet, Ubisoft has announced Assassin’s Creed: Rogue for a PS3 and Xbox 360 release on November 11. Since Assassin’s Creed: Unity is only for current-gen consoles, Rogue will be exclusive to last-gen systems. The story follows Shay Patrick Cormac, a former Assassin who is betrayed and joins the Templars to hunt his former allies. The game is set during The Seven Years War, with locations in the northeastern US. Naval combat should also be returning, which should delight anyone who played Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, a game that added much depth to sailing compared to its predecessor. The only downside is that this isn’t on newer systems; while Black Flag was available on both old and new systems, it had some nice bells and whistles on PS4 and Xbox One, including a higher resolution. With 2014 release trends on these newer systems, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Assassin’s Creed: Rogue: Remastered released in 2015. Read more…
Tags: Assassin's Creed, PS3, Ubisoft, Xbox 360
Posted by Bob Muir on Aug 5, 2014 in Videogames 
There are Monopoly variants of pretty much every other thing in existence, so why not The Legend of Zelda? Nintendo’s mainstay fantasy series is lending its branding to this new version of Monopoly, despite the economic system of Hyrule likely being incompatible with the fanciful capitalism of this Depression-era game. But whatever, everyone knows how to play Monopoly, even if finishing a game (and doing it without burning bridges) is much harder. You can get Zelda Monopoly on September 15 for $39.99, but be sure to buy it from Gamestop; like videogames, Gamestop really wants you buy from them, so their version will offer a Hyrule map lithograph and an exclusive Ocarina game piece. Read more…
Tags: Board Games, Legend of Zelda
Posted by Bob Muir on Jul 31, 2014 in Videogames 
Modern videogame covers are always hampered by tons of logos, ratings, and various other text designed to help you buy a product. But for collectors who want a nice-looking product with a bit of thought behind it, the cover is a wasted opportunity. So I’m liking this recent trend of alternate box art printed on the reverse of the regular cover; more games should have this small bonus. Bethesda has a poll up right now to pick an alternate cover for The Evil Within. “Asylum” (pictured above) is currently winning, but I think “Piercing Eye” looks striking as well. Consider giving it a vote? Read more…
Tags: Bethesda, Horror, The Evil Within
Posted by Bob Muir on Jul 31, 2014 in Videogames 
When THQ exploded, its various gaming franchises, studios, and other assets were bought up by various other developers (except for Vigil Games, sadly). Crytek bought the rights to make a sequel to Homefront, the game about North Korea invading the US that got mixed reviews. I’m guessing they thought that they could do something with the property and make a good game, but after some recent financial difficulties, it seems that plan is no more. Deep Silver has announced their purchase of the Homefront IP, with development of Homefront: The Revolution continuing at a new Nottingham-based studio called Deep Silver Dambuster Studios. It seems that most of the team will be moving to the new studio from Crytek UK, including director Hasit Zala. Glad to see things are still continuing, especially if the game is supposedly still on track for a 2015 release on PC, PS4, and Xbox One. And the new studio will be right at home with fellow ex-THQ studio Volition. Read more…
Tags: Crytek, Deep Silver, Homefront
Posted by Bob Muir on Jul 30, 2014 in Videogames 
Though I’m a firm proponent of physical media, I can’t deny some of the potential benefits of a digital future, especially for rentals. While GameFly offers disc rentals similar to Netflix’s mail service, there currently isn’t a similar service for digital rentals — until now. EA has announced EA Access, a subscription service for Xbox One that allows gamers to play multiple EA games for a monthly rate. You won’t own the games, but you’ll have access as long as you keep paying, like a mix of Netflix and PlayStation Plus. The service has launched its beta with FIFA 14, Madden NFL 25, Peggle 2, and Battlefield 4, with more games on the way (likely before the full launch). Read more…
Tags: Electronic Arts, Xbox One
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