All Articles: Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back

New Retail Releases: The Crew 2, Crash Bandicoot Trilogy, Wolfenstein II, More

Ubisoft is racing for the horizon this week as The Crew 2 brings its cross-country race to the PS4 and Xbox One this week. This time around, the franchise’s vehicular options have expanded to include “exotic cars, bikes, planes, and boats,” and players will be able to travel where their heart takes them all across the United States.

But it’s possible that the open world racing game will be overshadowed by a big batch of re-releases this week, including the Switch and Xbox One debut for Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy. In addition to giving players the chance to relive Crash Bandicoot, Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, and Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped on modern platforms, the N. Sane Trilogy now includes two never-before-seen bonus levels (“Stormy Ascent” and “Future Tense”).

Three other games will also be making their Switch debut this week including Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, Bethesda’s alternate history shooter sequel; Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana, the newest entry in Falcom’s long-running Action RPG series; and Brawlout, a Smash-like party fighter from Angry Mob Games.

And finally this week, Aksys Games will bring Psychedelica of the Ashen Hawk, a “suspense-filled” visual novel about a mysterious young woman, to the Vita.

That’s all for now, but we’ll be back later this week with a look at all the new additions to the PlayStation Store, Xbox Games Store, and Nintendo eShop.

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Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy will leap onto the PC, Xbox One, and Switch on July 10

A man in a Crash Bandicoot costume once stood outside Nintendo of America’s headquarters with a bullhorn to promote the release of Crash Bandicoot on the PSone (and gloat that it wasn’t available for the Nintendo 64). But it looks like Crash’s original adventure will finally make its way to a Nintendo platform this year, as Activision has announced that the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy will be released for the Switch on July 10.

First unveiled during today’s Nintendo Direct presentation, Activision later confirmed that the N. Sane Trilogy will also be available for the PC and Xbox One on the same date. In addition to the original Crash Bandicoot, the compilation will also include Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back and Crash Bandicoot: Warped.

A new trailer for the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy has been embedded above.

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The 1-2 punch of Tekken 7 and Injustice 2 sit atop the best-selling games list for June 2017

Fighting game fans have proven, once again, that the genre is alive and well. According to the NPD Group’s recounting of the best-selling games in June, Tekken 7 (#1) and Injustice 2 (#2) took the top two spots. Nintendo’s bizarro take on the genre, Arms, also made a strong debut in the #5 spot.

Speaking of the Switch, Nintendo’s newest console continued to push the game industry to new heights in June, as The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (#6) and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (#7) stayed in the top ten.

Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, NPD Analyst Mat Piscatella said: “The Nintendo Switch has been the catalyst for year-to-date growth. Year-to-date, hardware spending has grown 19% versus 2016 to $1.4 billion.”

However, older titles also performed well in June, including Grand Theft Auto V (#3), Overwatch (#9), and Minecraft (#17). 2015’s Call of Duty: Black Ops III (#12) even managed to outsell 2016’s Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (#15).

A complete look at the Top 20 for June 2017 can be found after the break. (more…)

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PS Store This Week: Crash Bandicoot Trilogy, Valkyria Revolution, CoD Modern Warfare Remastered, more

It’s another big week for the PlayStation Store as a pair of highly-anticipated remakes are now available to download, along with a spinoff to Sega’s Valkyria strategy series, and more.

Leading the way this Friday is the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy for the PS4. Developed by Vicarious Visions, the compilation features rebuilt and remade versions of Crash’s first three adventures… Crash Bandicoot, Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, and Crash Bandicoot: Warped. These three platformers helped put the PlayStation on the map, so it might be interesting to revisit them 20 years later.

Also available to download for the PS4 this week is the standalone edition of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered. Previously bundled with Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare’s Legacy Edition,” the remaster includes the original single-player campaign, as well as most of the game’s multiplayer maps.

If you’re looking for something new, Sega has launched Valkyria Revolution for the PS4 and PS Vita. The latest Valkyria game is actually a spinoff to the strategy-centered series, and focuses on real-time combat for the first time.

Finally this week, developers from the United Kingdom have resurrected two franchises that have been out of the limelight for some time. Micro Machines: World Series will race onto the PS4 courtesy of Codemasters, while Frontier Developments and David Braben have brought back the Elite series with Elite: Dangerous.

You can learn more about all of these games (and a few other new releases) after the break. (more…)

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New Retail Releases: Call of Duty Modern Warfare Remastered, Crash Bandicoot Trilogy, Valkyria Revolution, More

This week’s New Retail Releases report is packed full of remakes, sequels, and spinoffs, which is perfect for the start to a likely lazy Summer…

Let’s start things off with Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, a compilation of the first three games in the series, now remade for the PS4. Crash Bandicoot, Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, and Crash Bandicoot: Warped helped put the original PlayStation on the map, and now’s a great time to play them again.

And Activision is striking back again this week with the upcoming standalone re-release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered on the PS4. You might already own it if you purchased the Legacy Edition of Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare last year, but if not, here’s your chance.

Also available this week is a pair of spinoffs to two very Japanese franchises. First up is Sega, who will launch Valkyria Revolution on the PS4 and Xbox One, and add real-time combat to the franchise for the first time. Meanwhile, NIS America will deliver a side-story in the sprawling Danganronpa saga with Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls on the PS4.

NIS America will also bring RPG Maker Fes to the 3DS this week. Players won’t be required to have any programming skills, but they’ll be able to create (and share) their own RPG all the same.

Finally this week, two long-forgotten franchises will return to store shelves. Codemasters will zip around the house with the diminutive automobiles from Micro Machines World Series for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. And the famed Elite series will fly again thanks to Elite Dangerous: Legendary Edition on the PS4 and Xbox One.

You can read up on all of this week’s new releases after the break. (more…)

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Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy got a new trailer at PAX East 2017

The Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy was available to play during this weekend’s PAX East at the PlayStation booth, but publisher Activision also released a new trailer for those who couldn’t attend the Boston-based convention.

The trailer is actually a full playthrough of the “Hang Eight” level from Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, the second game in the N. Sane Trilogy. The package will also include the original Crash Bandicoot and the third game, Crash Bandicoot: Warped.

Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy will be released exclusively for the PS4 on June 30.

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Sony will bring 26 playable PS4 games to PAX East 2017

Sony has announced (via the PlayStation Blog, naturally) that they’re bringing 26 PS4 games to this year’s PAX East convention.

By giving attendees more than two dozen demo options, Sony will be able to showcase a wide variety of titles at their booth including AAA blockbusters (Gran Turismo Sport and Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy), highly-anticipated indie offerings (Cosmic Star Heroine, Tooth & Tail, and What Remains of Edith Finch), and a few PlayStation VR curiosities (Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin and Farpoint).

Here’s a full look at the 26 PS4 games Sony will bring to PAX East 2017 (though a few of them are also in development for the Vita):

PlayStation at PAX East 2017
  • Boundless
  • Cosmic Star Heroine
  • Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy
  • Cryptark
  • Dino Frontier
  • Disc Jam
  • Eitr
  • Everything
  • Farpoint
  • Full Throttle Remastered
  • Gang Beasts
  • Gnog
  • Gran Turismo Sport
  • Loot Rascals
  • MLB The Show 17
  • Nex Machina
  • Nidhogg 2
  • Pox Nora
  • Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin
  • Rain World
  • Rime
  • Sundered
  • Tooth & Tail
  • What Remains of Edith Finch
  • Windjammers
  • Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles

The 2017 PAX East convention will open its doors this Friday, March 10, at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.

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Crash Banidicoot N. Sane Trilogy will be released for PS4 on June 30

Activision and Vicarious Visions have announced that the Crash Banidicoot N. Sane Trilogy will be released for the PS4 on June 30.

The publisher, working with Sony, plans to include the first three games from the franchise (Crash Bandicoot, Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, and Crash Bandicoot: Warped) in the compilation, and each game will get a complete makeover with remade graphics and audio:

This is a AAA remaster. We’re giving this the love and attention to detail that we pay to all of our AAA games. We’re building it using the original level geometry so that it plays as close to the original as possible. We’ve also referred to this as a remaster plus, as we are adding new features that we think the fans are going to love!

Members of the Vicarious Visions team also stopped by the PlayStation Blog today to discuss some of the development choices they made with the Crash Banidicoot N. Sane Trilogy.

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