Monthly Archives: October 2018

Call of Cthulhu, Lego Harry Potter Collection, more coming to Xbox Store this week

Posted on October 31, 2018 by John Scalzo

“If I say that my somewhat extravagant imagination yielded simultaneous pictures of an octopus, a dragon, and a human caricature, I shall not be unfaithful to the spirit of the thing. A pulpy, tentacled head surmounted a grotesque and scaly body with rudimentary wings; but it was the general outline of the whole which made it most shockingly frightful.”

Xbox One owners will be able to answer the Call of Cthulhu this week, as Cyanide Studio will bring an adaptation of Chaosism’s tabletop RPG to Microsoft’s console. Players will be subjected to “creeping madness and cosmic horror” as they attempt to solve an “otherworldly mystery” on a mysterious island.

Thankfully, the whimsical Lego Harry Potter Collection is also now available to download for the Xbox One. The new package includes enhanced re-releases of both Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4 and Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7

You can learn more about the rest of this week’s additions to the Xbox Games Store after the break. (more…)

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Call of Cthulhu, The Quiet Man, Taiko No Tatsujin: Drum Session, more coming to PS Store this week

Posted on October 31, 2018 by John Scalzo

“If I say that my somewhat extravagant imagination yielded simultaneous pictures of an octopus, a dragon, and a human caricature, I shall not be unfaithful to the spirit of the thing. A pulpy, tentacled head surmounted a grotesque and scaly body with rudimentary wings; but it was the general outline of the whole which made it most shockingly frightful.”

H.P. Lovecraft’s Call of Cthulhu is now available to download for the PS4, and this adaptation of Chaosism’s tabletop RPG might make a nicely spooky companion for tonight’s Halloween festivities.

For more seasonally-appropriate thrills, Square Enix and Human Head’s The Quiet Man will be available to download for the PS4 beginning tomorrow. Taking place over the course of a single night, players will take control of a deaf man named Dane as he attempts to figure out why a singer was kidnapped by a “mysterious masked man.”

Other new PS4 launches of note this week are Taiko No Tatsujin: Drum Session, the next entry in Bandai Namco’s unique rhythm franchise, and Dream Daddy: Dadrector’s Cut, the dad-dating simulator that took the indie community by storm in 2017.

You can learn more about the rest of this week’s additions to the PlayStation Store after the break. (more…)

Posted in News, PS4, Vita | Tagged ,

Switch surpasses GameCube in total sales as Zelda: Breath of the Wild pushes past 10 million copies sold

Posted on October 30, 2018 by John Scalzo

After just ten months on the market, the Nintendo Switch obliterated the lifetime sales of the Wii U. Today, the consolemaker confirmed that the Switch has left another Nintendo platform in the dust.

Nintendo sold 21.74 million GameCube consoles between 2001 and 2007, but it’s been surpassed by the Switch, which can now lay claim to a worldwide tally of 22.86 million consoles sold. Next on the hit list is the Nintendo 64, which sold 32.93 million consoles between 1996 and 2002.

The Switch’s userbase will surely grow larger as new games become available (including the highly-anticipated launch of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate on December 7), but Nintendo is also celebrating the continued success of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild today. After a strong sales surge during the last quarter, the critically-acclaimed Action RPG has now sold more than 10.28 million copies.

That means The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is the third game to join the “Ten Million Club” on the Switch, though it currently sits behind Super Mario Odyssey (12.17 million copies sold) and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (11.71 million copies sold).

Posted in News, Switch | Tagged

EA will launch Command & Conquer: Rivals for mobile platforms on December 4

Posted on October 30, 2018 by John Scalzo

Aside from a browser-based spinoff from 2012, the Command & Conquer franchise has been silent since the release of Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight way back in 2010. But that all changes this December with the launch of Command & Conquer: Rivals for mobile devices.

Available to download for iOS and Android devices on December 4, Command & Conquer: Rivals is a 1v1 strategy game that, according to EA, will be “true to [the] RTS classics”:

In Command & Conquer: Rivals, a real-time player versus player (PVP) game, players lead their faction to victory in the war for Tiberium. True to RTS classics, preparation and planning are as pivotal to matches as tactical execution. Unlike games with “drop-and-watch” mechanics, players in Rivals maintain 100% control of their units at all times, adding immense strategy and depth to a fun, frenetic and fair gameplay experience.

“We set out to build an RTS game for mobile players that thrives on head-to-head competition and where strategy and skill matter. With continuous unit control and intense battles where comebacks are possible, Command & Conquer: Rivals delivers this and more,” said Michael Martinez, Redwood Studios GM. “We’ve been thrilled to see the early response from players during soft launch. Player feedback has made the game stronger for our launch in December and we’ll continue to work with the community as we accelerate into esports next year.”

Players who sign up through the game’s official website before December 4 will receive a special Early Bird Bundle after Command & Conquer: Rivals is released.

Posted in Mobile, News |

Nintendo will publish Dragon Quest Builders 2 for the Switch in 2019

Posted on October 30, 2018 by John Scalzo

Nintendo has confirmed that they’ve signed on to publish Square Enix’s Dragon Quest Builders 2 for the Switch in 2019. The news was quietly delivered to fans as part of their most-recent quarterly financial report, which was released this morning.

Dragon Quest Builders combined the crafting mechanic popularized by Minecraft with the core gameplay of an Action RPG (and a plotline that echoed the original Dragon Quest). Launching for the PS4 and Vita in 2016, it eventually found its way to the Switch (and big sales success) earlier this year. The sequel will continue this kitchen sink approach, while taking its plot cues from Dragon Quest II.

Dragon Quest Builders 2 will be released by Square Enix in Japan this December. The game is also in development for the PS4, and it’ll presumably make its worldwide debut in 2019 as well, though it obviously won’t be published by Nintendo.

Posted in News, Switch | Tagged

Nier: Automata’s 2B will soon join Soul Calibur VI as a playable character

Posted on October 29, 2018 by John Scalzo

Bandai Namco has announced that Nier: Automata‘s black-clad android, 2B, will soon join Soul Calibur VI as a playable character. We don’t know exactly when she’ll be added to the game, but the new trailer embedded above gives us a good look at her fighting style:

2B wields two swords, Virtuous Contract and Virtuous Treaty. Both have been carefully tuned for maximum efficiency in the hands of a YoRHa android. Her fighting technique is specially designed for combat against machine lifeforms, employing acrobatic leaps and mid-air slashes, lightning-fast evasions and perfectly coordinated strikes.

2B will be a playable fighter in Versus mode, Arcade mode, and Online matches. 2B will also come with her own stage and background music.

Once Bandai Namco adds 2B to Soul Calibur VI, she’ll also come with an alternate costume, alternate weapons, and “Extra Parts & Stickers” to further customize the character’s appearance.

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

Full PlayStation Classic lineup includes a lot of the platform’s earliest hits

Posted on October 29, 2018 by John Scalzo

When Sony first unveiled the PlayStation Classic, they said their microconsole would feature a total of 20 games, including Final Fantasy VII, Jumping Flash, R4: Ridge Racer Type 4, Tekken 3, and Wild Arms. Today, the consolemaker confirmed the identities of the remaining 15 titles.

Culled mostly from the early days of the console (likely due to the lack of analog sticks on the included controller), the PlayStation Classic will include another early 3D fighter (Battle Arena Toshinden), a pair of car combat games (Destruction Derby and Twisted Metal), and a few 3D action games (Syphon Filter, Metal Gear Solid, and Resident Evil: Director’s Cut), all of which helped define the PlayStation’s style in its fight against the Nintendo 64. But Sony will also reach way back and resurrect Take-Two’s Grand Theft Auto and Atlus’s Revelations: Persona for the PlayStation Classic as well.

The microconsole’s lineup is so heavily skewed towards the PlayStation’s 1995-1997 era, that I wouldn’t be surprised if Sony is planning to release an updated edition of the PlayStation Classic for fans in the future. But that’s just speculation on my part, so for now, here’s a look at all 20 titles set to be included on the microconsole:

PlayStation Classic’s Full Lineup of Games

  • Battle Arena Toshinden
  • Cool Boarders 2
  • Destruction Derby
  • Final Fantasy VII
  • Grand Theft Auto
  • Intelligent Qube
  • Jumping Flash
  • Metal Gear Solid
  • Mr. Driller
  • Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee
  • Rayman
  • Resident Evil: Director’s Cut
  • Revelations: Persona
  • Ridge Racer Type 4
  • Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo
  • Syphon Filter
  • Tekken 3
  • Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six
  • Twisted Metal
  • Wild Arms

The PlayStation Classic will be priced at $99.99 when it launches on December 3, and will comes packed with two controllers. A new trailer for the microconsole, showcasing all 20 games, has been embedded above.

Posted in News, Retro | Tagged

New Retail Releases: Call of Cthulhu, Diablo III: Eternal Collection, Lego Harry Potter Collection, More

Posted on October 29, 2018 by John Scalzo

It’s All Hallows Eve Eve Eve, and while you might assume that that’s the perfect time to unleash a terrifying new survival horror game on the populace, you’d be (mostly) wrong. Instead, game publishers are following up last week’s launch of Red Dead Redemption 2 with a slew of re-releases and a smattering of smaller games.

But don’t worry fright fans, a monstrous entity from beyond our human comprehension will also make an appearance on store shelves this week…

H.P. Lovecraft’s greatest creation, the elder god Cthulhu, will return to video games this week with the release of Call of Cthulhu from Cynaide Studio. The PS4 and Xbox One game is based on the popular tabletop RPG, players must infiltrate an island of “unfriendly locals” and thread the needle between “sanity and psychosis” to uncover the truth. Call of Cthulhu will also be available to download for the PC.

Another fictional godlike being drives the story behind Blizzard’s Diablo III: Eternal Collection, which makes its way to the Switch for the first time this week. The Eternal Collection includes the original Action RPG, as well as the Reaper of Souls expansion, the Rise of the Necromancer Pack, and an exclusive Ganondorf Armor Set.

A very different set of magical spells will be cast in the Lego Harry Potter Collection, which will be released for the Switch and Xbox One this week. The compilation includes both Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4 and Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7.

And speaking of compilations, Square Enix will package together the entire Kingdom Hearts saga this week for the PS4 with Kingdom Hearts: The Story So Far.

Finally this week, we loop back around to a scary sight with Digital Dreams Entertainment’s Mutant Football League: Dynasty Edition, a retail release of the supernatural sports sim for the PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.

A complete look at all of this week’s new retail releases can be found after the break. (more…)

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