Monthly Archives: April 2015

Interview: Crossing Swords in Knight Squad with Chainsawesome’s Jean Simon Otis

Posted on April 24, 2015 by John Scalzo

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We played a ton of Knight Squad at PAX East. Read our Hands-On Preview here.

Every year at PAX East, there’s always one game that attendees begin to whisper about as they’re chatting with strangers while waiting in one of the many lines. This year, that game was Knight Squad from Chainsawesome Games. All weekend long, crowds were pushed towards their little booth to play their eight-player game that very closely resembles the love child of Gauntlet and Bomberman. This left the developers, including Lead Programmer Jean Simon Otis, completely exhausted, but also excited.

Both feelings were very present when we sat down to talk with Otis at the show. (more…)

Posted in Features, Interviews, PC, Previews, Top Story, Xbox One | Tagged ,

Rumor: Call of Duty: Black Ops III gets a pre-order beta and a November 6 release date

Posted on April 24, 2015 by John Scalzo

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Stop the presses! Kotaku has acquired a picture of a pre-order poster for Call of Duty: Black Ops III that lists the game’s release date as November 6. This would be big news if it weren’t for the fact that nearly every Call of Duty game, stretching all the way back to Call of Duty 3, is released in early November. The only weird thing about the date is that it’s a Friday, but skipping Tuesday as a launch date has become increasingly common in recent years.

But still, we can glean one bit of useful information from this poster. According to the image, everyone who pre-orders the game will receive an invite to a closed beta on the PC, PS4, or Xbox One. Confirmation of those three platforms isn’t surprising, but it does hint at Activision moving on from previous-gen consoles for the Call of Duty franchise. Black Ops III’s source code leak did refer to the game as “the first [Call of Duty] title for next-gen hardware,” so the PS3 and Xbox 360 may not be in the cards at Treyarch. However, this isn’t proof that a previous-gen version isn’t happening, either.

On the other hand, this could be some kind of hoax. That kind of thing isn’t unprecedented. But even if it a fake, the information is still likely to be accurate. Wrap your head around that!

All that said, we’ll learn a lot more about Call of Duty: Black Ops III this Sunday, April 26, when Activision pulls the curtain back on the game’s “World Reveal.”

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

Xbox Store Today: Happy Wars

Posted on April 24, 2015 by John Scalzo

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Just one new game was added to the Xbox Games Store today and its Toylogic’s multiplayer brawler, Happy Wars. The game is now available for the Xbox One after previously having been released for the Xbox 360 in 2012 and the PC in 2014. More information about the free-to-play game can be found right here:

Xbox One Games

Happy Wars (Free)
Happy Wars is a large-scale online multiplayer action game, involving up to 20 players per match. Go wild in over-the-top melees in a fantasy setting featuring comical characters! Assign any of the six unique character classes to your player character, personalize it by adding customization parts from a wide variety of choices, and engage in heated sieges and cast spells in grand magical battles with players all over the world!

Posted in News, Xbox One | Tagged

Daily Scoop: April 24, 2015 – After Hours at the Franklin Institute!

Posted on April 24, 2015 by Nicole Kline

Anthony Amato and I will be showing RESISTOR_ off at yet another exciting event tonight! We’ll be at the Science After Hours event at the Franklin Institute. Stop by and say hi if you’re going!

The Humble Store is having a Racing Weekend Sale. You can pick up Dirt 3 Complete Edition for $22.49, Carmageddon Reincarnation for $14.99, and early access to Road Redemption for $13.99, among others. The Daily Deal at Steam is Infested Planet, which you can pick up for $4.94.

The Debut 26 Bundle is the brand new one over at Indie Royale. Beat the average to get Treeker: The Lost Glasses, Lilly and Sasha: Nexus of Souls, Andoran Skye XD, Al Emmo’s Postcards from Anozira, Zombie Zoid, Twin Robots, and Butsbal.

And now for the last t-shirts of the week! (more…)

Posted in Daily Scoop |

Director of Smash Bros. Wii U/3DS wants to create as many DLC characters as possible

Posted on April 24, 2015 by John Scalzo

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Masahiro Sakurai, the Director of Super Smash Bros. For 3DS and Super Smash Bros. For Wii U, has had a massive change of heart about downloadable characters. At first, Nintendo’s DLC plan was going to be a one-off special offer for fans who purchased both versions of the game. That’s right, there were originally no plans to sell Mewtwo as a separate download.

That all changes next week when Mewtwo will be offered up to every owner of Super Smash Bros. For 3DS/Wii U. Not only that, but Sakurai told Famitsu (via Nintendo Everything) that he wants to offer as many downloadable characters as he can:

It’s a huge undertaking to create a fighter, so I think we can’t make them in large quantities. I’d also like to feel refreshed when the project is over. However, since we have decided to tackle [DLC] once, I’d like to offer as much fun [content] as possible. It will take a while from now, but please look forward to it.

The final decision on which characters will be added to the game still sits with Nintendo, but the consolemaker is listening to fans. They’ve set up the Smash Bros. Fighter Ballot and will continue to tally our votes until October.

Posted in 3DS, News, Wii U | Tagged ,

NBA 2K15 says the Golden State Warriors will win this year’s NBA Championship

Posted on April 24, 2015 by John Scalzo

nba2k15-boxSportswriters across the country are getting ready to anoint Stephen Curry as the best basketball player in the NBA. NBA 2K15 publisher 2K Games won’t argue with their, as the publisher predicts Curry’s Golden State Warriors will win the 2015 NBA Championship.

Using an NBA 2K15 simulation, 2K Games believes that Golden State will emerge victorious over the Cleveland Cavaliers in a six-game series. Their path through the playoffs will take them past the New Orleans Pelicans, Portland Trailblazers, and the San Antonio Spurs (in a series that will go the full seven games). If the Cavaliers play their part, they’ll defeat the Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, and Atlanta Hawks to reach the Finals. Real-life is currently cooperating as both Golden State and Cleveland each enjoy 3-0 leads in their respective first round matchups.

According to 2K’s simulation, Stephen Curry and Lebron James will clash in the Finals, with each putting up multiple 30-point games. In the end, the Golden State Warriors will hoist the trophy with Curry also walking away with the Finals MVP.

If you’ve yet to play NBA 2K15 and you’re an Xbox Live Gold subscriber, you’ll be able to try out the game for free all weekend on your Xbox One. According to Xbox Wire, the free download will be available beginning today at 3:00 PM (Eastern Time) and will be operational through Monday, April 27 at 3:00 AM (also Eastern Time).

UPDATE: It got lost in the E3 shuffle, but 2K’s prediction turned out to be incredibly accurate as the Golden State Warriors did indeed win this year’s NBA Championship over the Cleveland Cavaliers in six games. Stephen Curry wasn’t able to claim the MVP award (that went to Andre Iguodala), but he did lead the Warriors in scoring in five of the six games.

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

WWE 2K15 will bodyslam Steam next week

Posted on April 24, 2015 by John Scalzo

wwe2k15-box2K Games and the WWE have announced WWE 2K15 will be available for the PC (through Steam) on April 28.

The PC version of WWE 2K15 is described as a “mirror” of the PS4/Xbox One edition of the game that launched back in November. But it’ll also come packed with all the previously released downloadable content as well. Here, let me turn it over to WWE wrestler (and coverboy) John Cena to tell you all about it.

“One of the great bonuses of getting the game on PC is that you get nearly all of the downloadable content that was released after WWE 2K15 launched in [November] free, as part of the package,” Cena said. “That’s an incredible amount of content… 36 extra characters, four new managers, 26 matches, 46 entire single-player stories and cutscenes in 2K Showcase, and a whole lot more. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that that’s a pretty awesome deal.”

Believe it or not, but Cena apparently played a lot of PC games back in the day: “Texas Instruments, Commodore 64… I was a huge PC gamer growing up, so this is big. Not only for our fans, but for me personally as well.”

WWE 2K15 will be regularly priced at $49.99, but players who pre-purchase it before before the launch date will receive a 10% discount.

Posted in News, PC | Tagged

Jason Voorhees will join Mortal Kombat X (for Kombat Pack owners) on May 5

Posted on April 23, 2015 by John Scalzo

mortalkombat10-dragonlogoNetherRealm Studios used the latest Kombat Kast to announce that owners of the Mortal Kombat X Kombat Pack will be able to download Jason Voorhees on May 5. The rest of us mere mortals (though, isn’t everyone “mortal” in Mortal Kombat?) will have to wait until May 12 to purchase the character as part of the Ultimate Horror Pack, which will also include scary skins for Mileena (Vampiress), Reptile (Kraken), and Ermac (Pharaoh).

The developer plans to stream a special Kombat Kast this Monday, May 4, to celebrate Jason’s introduction to the world of Mortal Kombat X. If you’re not sure Jason is worth the money, don’t worry, NetherRealm’s Ed Boon said you’ll be able to try out the horror icon (for free) in a Jason-themed Living Tower.

Three other characters will eventually be added to Mortal Kombat X as part of the Kombat Pack including The Predator, Tanya, and fan-favorite Tremor.

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