Monthly Archives: October 2014

Destiny was destined to be the best-selling game of September 2014

Posted on October 16, 2014 by John Scalzo

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After selling more than five million copies in its first week of availability, Bungie’s Destiny easily took the top spot as the best-selling game of September 2014. New releases ruled last month as The NPD Group’s latest report revealed that seven games cracked the top ten.

At #3, EA’s FIFA 15 challenged Destiny for the crown, but came up short. It was followed by Super Smash Bros. For 3DS (#4), Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor (#5), NHL 15 (#6), The Sims 4 (#8), and Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes (#9). The only holdovers were Madden NFL 15 (#2), Minecraft (#7), and Diablo III: Reaper of Souls (#10).

According to Joystiq, despite Destiny’s massive success, game industry sales only grew by 2% over September 2013. Of course, September 2013 featured the release of Grand Theft Auto V, a singularly special event, and downloadable titles are constantly eating into retail’s market share. But good luck getting The NPD Group to admit to that.

This months top ten can be found in a handy list format after the break. (more…)

Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One | Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

Guilty Gear Xrd Sign comes to PS4, PS3 in December

Posted on October 16, 2014 by John Scalzo

Aksys Games has announced that the Arc System Works-developed Guilty Gear Xrd Sign will be released for the PS4 and PS3 on December 16.

The publisher’s Director of Production, Frank “Bo” DeWindt II, signed onto the PlayStation Blog today to talk a bit about the game’s roster and the upcoming Limited Edition. I have to admit, Bedman sounds absolutely demented in the best possible way:

The character roster also has a lot of familiar faces, from the widely known Sol Badguy and Ky Kiske, two beacons of the Guilty Gear franchise, all the way to someone as cute and adorable as the Jellyfish pirate, May!

Some of the newer characters include the unique and cunning, Bedman, who, like his namesake, is attached to and fights using nothing else but… A BED! And of course the monotone and lovely Ramlethal Valentine, whose swords, if used correctly, can really dish out some punishment on your opponent.

The Guilty Gear Xrd Sign Limited Edition will include a variety of goodies, all housed in a box depicting the game’s “Backyard” locale. Inside the box, players will find the Vocal Collection soundtrack CD, the Guilty Gear Codex art book, and a keychain modeled after Sol Badguy’s “Free” belt buckle.

The PS3 version of the Limited Edition will be priced at $69.99, while the PS4 Limited Edition will set you back $79.99.

Posted in News, PS3, PS4 | Tagged

Nintendo Download: Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance, Ballpoint Universe: Infinite, more

Posted on October 16, 2014 by John Scalzo

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The Castlevania series continues its slow takeover of the Wii U eShop with today’s addition of Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance to Nintendo’s digital storefront. Harmony of Dissonance was the second game in the series released for the Game Boy Advance and is one of the few where the player doesn’t confront a resurrected Dracula.

Also available on the Wii U eShop today are two titles that take their inspiration from pen-and-paper drawing. Ballpoint Universe: Infinite is a shooter derived from “ballpoint-pen sketches,” while Paper Monsters Recut features a “living world made out of paper.”

Over on the 3DS eShop, players will be able to download the Game Boy Color classic Harvest Moon 2 GBC for the first time. More than a dozen titles have been released in the franchise since Harvest Moon 2 GBC’s release, so this one is truly a blast from the past.

More details on all of these games, as well as a few more new releases, can be found after the break. (more…)

Posted in 3DS, News, Wii U |

Daily Scoop: October 16, 2014 – You guessed it: Still no Borderlands

Posted on October 16, 2014 by Nicole Kline

Someone really dropped the ball over at Gearbox. It’s two days since it came out, and there are still people – myself included – who haven’t received their “customer appreciation” codes for Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel. If this is how 2K shows “appreciation,” I’m not sure I want to be “appreciated” by them!

Enough about disappointment! Let’s talk about some good stuff. This week’s Humble Weekly Bundle is the Vancouver Edition! Pay what you want for Shank, Penny Arcade: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, Episodes One and Two, The Baconing, and early access to Boximals Bounce. Pay $6 or more to unlock Shank 2 and Plants vs. Zombies: Game of the Year Edition.

Over at Steam, they’re offering Payday 2 for free all weekend – play all you want until October 19th. The Daily Deal is Strike Vector for just $2.99. Scoop ’em up!

I’ve got just one great shirt for you today!

(more…)

Posted in Daily Scoop |

Pure Pool Review: It Is Definitely A Video Game About Pool

Posted on October 16, 2014 by Dan Hobbs

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Every time I sit down to play a game based on some sort of real life sport, the same dilemma runs through my head… why am I playing the virtual version of something I can do out in the real world? I may not be able to putt like Woods, score like Beckham, or run absurdly fast like Bolt, but I can head down to the nearest playing field and make a decent go at it. However, those games allow a form of wish fulfillment to take place on the part of the player, giving them the chance for the sport to be recreated at its highest level. Pool, on the other hand, is a more two-dimensional sport. There is only so much you can do standing around some green felt, holding a stick, and smacking around some balls. There is no management simulation, no on-the-fly formation changes and tactics, no real pop culture icons of the sport. On top of that, pool has that ease of access that American football and the like do not. When you can head down to a local drinking hole, pop a few coins into a table, and play, why does virtual pool need to exist? That’s the question VooFoo Studio attempts to answer with Pure Pool.

And you know what? It’s answered startlingly well. (more…)

Posted in PC, PS4, Reviews, Top Story | Tagged

Saints Row: Gat Out of Hell moved up a week; “7 Deadly Weapons” revealed in new trailer

Posted on October 15, 2014 by John Scalzo

The Saints Row franchise has never been afraid to get a little crazy. After an alien invasion in Saints Row IV, even developers at Volition were asking, “Where do we go from here?” I think that’s why the idea behind Saints Row: Gat Out of Hell seems so inspired. Fighting the Devil is a total cliche, but it’s also the perfect playground for Volition and the Third Street Saints. Case in point… in this new trailer, Johnny Gat headbutts the devil in the face.

The trailer also includes a first look at the “Seven Deadly Weapons,” an angelic arsenal of guns that can be used to battle Satan’s minions:

  • Armchair-A-Geddon (The embodiment of Sloth in the rifle slot) – Take a seat and watch the mayhem explode with dual-miniguns and heat-seeking missiles.
  • Gallows Dodger (The embodiment of Pride in the pistol slot) – Hurl arcane balls of energy from this mysterious embodiment of murder, which doesn’t hesitate to boast of his murderous history.
  • Last Supper (The embodiment of Gluttony in the special weapons slot) – Cover your enemies with hell-ish frosting and watch how hunger takes over the masses!
  • Uriels Edge (The embodiment of Envy in the melee slot) – Slash, blast, and disintegrate your enemies in a deadly ball of fire.
  • Ark of the Covenant (The embodiment of Wrath in the explosive slot) – Suck in the souls from your enemies and then launch them at the rest. It’s a win-win.
  • Boom Chicka (The embodiment of Lust in the shotgun slot) – Nothing says come hither more than Boom Chicka, the sexiest gun in existence.
  • Diamond Sting (The embodiment of Greed in the SMG slot) – This weapon propels wages at an incredible rate of fire, turning victims into a shower of wealth.

More Hell-themed weapons will be available to those who pre-order Gat Out of Hell or the PC/next-gen exclusive Saints Row IV: Re-Elected. The “Devil’s Workshop Pack,” available with Gat Out of Hell, will include angel wings for flight and Yorick, the Flaming Skull. Meanwhile, those who pre-order Re-Elected will receive the “Devil’s Workshop Pack” along with the “Plague of Frogs Pack,” which contains the frog-firing Lil’ Croaker gun and the Infernal Guard/Hellish Princess armor.

Saints Row: Gat Out of Hell (PC, PS3, Xbox 360) and Saints Row IV: Re-Elected (PC, PS4, Xbox One), which includes Gat Out of Hell, will be released on January 20, a full week earlier than expected.

Posted in News, PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One | Tagged ,

Groove to this debut trailer of the Wii U version of Beatbuddy

Posted on October 15, 2014 by John Scalzo

German developer Threaks has always said they wanted to bring Beatbuddy, their side-scrolling underwater music game, to consoles. And last week, Nintendo confirmed that Beatbuddy would indeed debut on the Wii U sometime in the near future. Today, we got our first of Beatbuddy in action on the Wii U and I think the side-scrolling underwater music game has never looked better.

The Wii U version of Beatbuddy doesn’t have a release date as of yet, but it’ll be available to download through the Wii U eShop “soon.”

Posted in News, Wii U | Tagged

Xbox Store Today: Borderlands: Pre-Sequel, The Evil Within, Walking Dead S1, more

Posted on October 15, 2014 by John Scalzo

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Everyone that perused yesterday’s PlayStation Store update should be very familiar to all the titles added to the Xbox Games Store today. Games like…

  • Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel (Xbox 360) – Gearbox handed the development of this interquel off to 2K Australia, and they took it all the way to Pandora’s Moon… and made Claptrap a playable character.
  • The Evil Within (Xbox One, Xbox 360) – Shinji Mikami’s return to the survival horror genre promises plenty of scares and lots of gore.
  • Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition (Xbox One) – A remastered version of United Front’s gangland tale… now complete with every DLC add-on.
  • The Walking Dead: Season 1 (Xbox One) – Telltale’s heartbreaking zombie drama is now available on the Xbox One.
  • Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures 2 (Xbox 360) – The second game based on Pac-Man’s latest animated adaptation.
  • Duck Dynasty (Xbox 360, Xbox One) – A game adaptation of everyone’s favorite show about duck-calling multi-millionaires.

More details on all of these games can be found after the break. (more…)

Posted in News, Xbox 360, Xbox One | Tagged , , , ,