Monthly Archives: December 2016

Kickstart This! Super Red-Hot Hero

In what will be the final Kickstart This of 2016, a year many of us would like to forget, I thought it would be prudent to end the year on a “Red-Hot” high. For this edition, I have chosen Super Red-Hot Hero, a game from an exciting team of developers based in Barcelona. (more…)

Posted in Features, PC, PS4, Top Story, Xbox One |

Daily Scoop: December 21, 2016 – Resident Evil franchise sale at Steam

The holidays are nearly upon us, and we’re about to get super busy! Which is a bummer, because I was just getting into the swing of playing a lot of video games and doing whatever I wanted. Hopefully I’ll still have some time here and there, because Dishonored really got its hooks into me fast! I’m having such a great time with it.

Speaking of having a great time, there are some awesome games on sale at the Humble Store. Get Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes for $7.49, Owlboy for $19.99, This War of Mine: Humble Deluxe Edition for $3.99, and Day of the Tentacle Remastered for $5.09, among others.

The Midweek Madness at Steam is all about the Resident Evil franchise. Grab the collector’s pack for $49, which contains 34 items! Or pick up individual games and lots and lots of DLC on the cheap. The Daily Deal is early access to the VR game The Nest, which is on sale for $4.99.

There are so many amazing shirts today. Hit the jump to see them all! (more…)

Posted in Daily Scoop |

Xbox Store Today: Walking Dead New Frontier, Shantae Half-Genie Hero, Wick, more

The dead still walk! Telltale Games has launched the opening chapters of their latest Walking Dead adaptation, The Walking Dead: A New Frontier. Available to download now for the Xbox One, the two-part premiere, Ties That Bind, reintroduces fans to a teenage Clementine.

Also available to download today on the Xbox One is Shantae: Half-Genie Hero, the latest game in WayForward’s retro-styled series. Shantae may have made the move to high definition, but players will still get to whip out her “devastating Hair-Whip Attack” as they take on the minions of “bodacious buccaneer” Risky Boots.

Finally, Wick brings ghost stories to life on the Xbox One. Players will explore a local legend about “the long lost children in the woods who can still be seen,” but be careful, they’re only visible by candlelight.

More information on all of these games (and a few other new releases) can be found after the break. (more…)

Posted in News, Xbox One | Tagged

Super Mario Run tallies 40 million downloads in 4 days; Friendly Run mode launches

While fans still don’t know exactly what to make of the it, Super Mario Run was destined to become a financial success from the second it was announced. And this morning, Nintendo made it official, announcing that the iOS-exclusive game was downloaded 40 million times in its first four days of availability.

According to Apple’s Phil Schiller, Super Mario Run’s launch weekend performance set an iOS App Store record for most downloads in a four-day period.

However, the publisher didn’t reveal exactly how many of those curious iOS owners purchased the $9.99 “Full Upgrade” option to unlock all of Super Mario Run’s content. And for those that haven’t taken the plunge yet, perhaps a new mode will do the trick.

This morning, Nintendo pushed out an update for Super Mario Run that adds a Friendly Run mode to the game. Similar to Toad Rally, Friendly Run mode is an asynchronous multiplayer race that lets players challenge their friends without using their limited supply of Rally Tickets (but the mode also makes it impossible to win more Toads). Even without any stakes, players are still limited in the number of Friendly Run races they can compete in per day (up to five if you’ve completed World 2).

Super Mario Run was added to the iOS App Store on December 15 and it’ll be available to download for Android devices sometime in 2017.

UPDATE: Nintendo announced (via Twitter) that Super Mario Run just passed 50 million downloads. And as a thank you, all players will receive 10 free Rally Tickets.

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The Walking Dead: A New Frontier, Shantae: Half-Genie Hero, Fruit Ninja VR, more added to PS Store

After more than a year of teasing, Clementine will return to our screens this week in Telltale’s The Walking Dead: A New Frontier, which is now available to download for the PS4 through the PlayStation Store. The special two-part premiere, Ties That Bind, will also introduce us to Javier, the co-protagonist of this post-apocalyptic tale.

It’s not all doom and gloom in this week’s PlayStation Store update, as WayForward plans to reintroduce gamers to Shantae’s side-scrolling adventures in Shantae: Half-Genie Hero. Available to download now for the PS4 and PS Vita, Half-Genie Hero brings back the character’s “devastating Hair-Whip Attack” in another bid to save Sequin-Land.

Finally this week, a handful of PlayStation VR games are now available to download including Fruit Ninja VR, which gives players a virtual samurai sword and asks them to slice and dice a wide variety of oranges, melons, and grapefruits “without all the mess.”

More information on all of these games (and a few other new releases) can be found after the break. And, as always, a complete listing of this week’s new add-ons and discounts is available at the PlayStation Blog. (more…)

Posted in News, PS4, Vita | Tagged

CoD: Infinite Warfare’s Sabotage DLC Pack will be available for PS4 on January 31

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare will receive its first downloadable expansion from Activision and Infinity Ward on January 31. The Sabotage DLC Pack will be available first for PS4 players, and as expected, it’ll include four new multiplayer maps and a new Zombies chapter.

For Zombies fans, “Rave in the Redwoods” will give players the chance to dance with the dead in an “abandoned lakeside summer camp”:

“Rave in the Redwoods,” the next thrilling chapter of the Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare zombies experience, continues the macabre narrative while transporting players into a new decade: the 1990s. Willard Wyler, the enigmatic movie director villain, returns and has trapped the protagonists inside another one of his twisted horror films. The four playable characters from the original story also return, but with fresh, over-the-top roles, as they learn more about Wyler’s evil plot while fighting all-new varieties of the undead in an abandoned, lakeside summer camp where zombie ravers have taken over and turned the grounds into a techno-fueled illusion. “Rave in the Redwoods” is a tense, spooky thrill ride with shocking twists, surprises, and a slew of new Easter eggs for players to discover.

And the new multiplayer maps will include several futuristic options, including a re-imagining of the “Afghan” map from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2:

Multiplayer Maps in Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare’s Sabotage DLC Pack

  • Noir – A dark, grimy city map inspired by futuristic Brooklyn at night, Noir is a classic three-lane map set against a backdrop of a dystopian future, filled with cafes and parks surrounding a brutal downtown warzone.
  • Neon – A virtual training center designed for urban warfare, Neon is a unique, digitized battle arena where cars and other structures spawn out of thin air and enemies dissolve into hundreds of pixels when defeated. Middle lane sightlines will cater to long-range players while the outsides of the map allow for quick counter-attacks in close-quarter action.
  • Renaissance – Set in Northern Italy, Renaissance pits players against each other on the narrow streets of Venice surrounded by classic architecture and buildings that promote continuous action through the canals and neighborhoods of this iconic city.
  • Dominion – A re-imagining of the classic Afghan map from Modern Warfare 2, now set on Mars, Dominion retains all the memorable landmarks and gameplay of the original, anchored by the crashed ship in the center, with a few enhancements designed to take advantage of the new movement system.

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare’s Sabotage DLC Pack is priced at $49.99, though PS4 players will also have the option to purchase each expansion as a standalone download for $15 apiece. If history repeats itself, PC and Xbox One players will likely be able to download the Sabotage DLC Pack sometime in early March.

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

Finalists for The Steam Awards announced; Voting begins on December 22

The bean counters at Steam have tabulated your nominations and announced the finalists for the first-ever Steam Awards. We don’t know if this is something the game retailer plans to do every year, but we’ll all be able to cast our votes later this week.

Voting for the Steam Awards will begin on Thursday, December 22, at 1:00 PM (Eastern Time) with “The ‘Villain Most In Need Of A Hug’ Award.” Fans will have 24 hours to choose between Borderlands 2, Dead by Daylight, Far Cry 3, Far Cry 4, and Portal 2. Voting for a new category will open up once a day until Friday, December 30, which is when Steam will open up voting for the fan-created categories.

The winners will be announced on New Year’s Eve, and the complete list of finalists can be found after the break. (more…)

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Daily Scoop: December 20, 2016 – Humble Sierra Bundle Strikes Back now available!

So last night, in adventures in video gaming, I decided to start Dishonored, because my friend Ryan Littlefield was awesome enough to give me a code for the Definitive Edition for the PlayStation 4. I am really loving it so far! The art is amazing, and I’m enjoying the gameplay, even though I don’t have any powers yet. I’m excited!

Speaking of excited, there’s a great bundle over at Humble right now – the Humble Sierra Bundle Strikes Back! Pay $1 or more for Space Quest Collection, Phantasmagoria 1-2, Police Quest Collection, and Shiftlings. Beat the average to unlock Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura, TimeShift, Quest for Glory 1-5, and Gabriel Knight 1-3. Pay $15 or more to unlock Caesar 3-4, Geometry Wars 3: Dimension Evolved, King’s Quest Collection (which includes seven games!), and Velocity 2X. The last level is for $20 or more, and you unlock King’s Quest: The Complete Collection.

The Midweek Madness at Steam is Deus Ex: Mankind Divided. Get the regular version for $19.79 (or add the Steam controller and pay $49.78), or get the Digital Deluxe Edition for $49.78 (or add the Steam controller for $79.77). The Daily Deal is Men of War: Assault Squad 2, which is $7.49 for the regular version, $8.74 for the Deluxe Edition, or $9.99 for the Complete Edition.

Just a few shirts today, but there are some good ones! (more…)

Posted in Daily Scoop |