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NBA Live 18 will include WNBA players in WNBA Play Now mode

Posted on August 5, 2017 by John Scalzo

EA Sports has announced they’re following up the inclusion of women’s national teams in FIFA 16 with the addition of WNBA teams and players in this Fall’s NBA Live 18.

This is the first time that WNBA players and teams will be included in a video game, and WNBA matchups will be available through the WNBA Play Now mode. EA Sports is looking to recreate the league’s signature style, and they’ve promised that “player skills have been specifically balanced to reflect the unique playstyle of the league.” The publisher also “fine-tuned player ratings” to ensure the most authentic recreation of the players is included in NBA Live 18.

“We are extremely proud to partner with the WNBA and the Women’s National Basketball Players Association on this groundbreaking occasion,” said Sean O’Brien, the Executive Producer of NBA Live 18. “The WNBA is home to some of the most incredible athletes on the planet, and we’ve been working hard to integrate them into our game in an authentic and meaningful way. This is only a taste of what we have in store, and look forward to working with the league on more great integrations in the franchise in the future.”

EA Sports recruited several WNBA players, including Kelsey Plum, the first overall pick in the 2017 WNBA Draft, to provide motion capture for the WNBA Play Now mode.

NBA Live 18 will be available for the PS4 and Xbox One this September.

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Gun Media and Illfonic have sold 1.8 million copies of Friday the 13th: The Game

Posted on August 5, 2017 by John Scalzo

Though it got off to a bit of a rocky start, Gun Media and Illfonic might need to replace Friday the 13th‘s famous “Ch Ch, Ch, Chhh, Ah, Ah, Ah, Ahhh” audio cue with a nice “Cha-Ching.” Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, the developers revealed that Friday the 13th: The Game has sold 1.8 million copies since its launch in May.

Gun Media’s founder, Wes Keltner, spoke at less about the server issues that have plagued the game since its release, as well as plans for future updates:

“Our number one priority right now is stability and squashing bugs,” Keltner says. “That’s what all of our engineers are focusing on. We’ve also nearly doubled our team size to help with this issue. But our content/art teams are free to work on new content, and that’s what we’ve been doing. Players can expect new maps, characters, Easter eggs and other great updates in the near future. I think fans are really going to enjoy what we have planned, as some of this content comes directly from player feedback/requests, while some others are surprises we’ve had up our sleeves for several months now.”

The developers are also hard at work on a single-player expansion and a physical release for Friday the 13th: The Game, but it’s currently unknown when either will be ready.

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Xbox Store Today: Mr. Shifty, Oh Sir! The Insult Simulator, Aero Fighters 2, more

Posted on August 4, 2017 by John Scalzo

It’s time to close out the week with a look at today’s Xbox Games Store update. Here’s a few new games that are now available to download for the Xbox One…

Mr. Shifty is a top-down heist game from TinyBuild and Team Shifty… with the added twist that the burglar can teleport at will. According to the developer, players will be able to “shift through walls, through bullets, cover huge distances, and be everywhere at once.”

Also available this week is Oh Sir! The Insult Simulator, a verbal sparring contest from developer Vile Monarch.

And finally, Hamster Corporation is bringing another NeoGeo classic to the Xbox One with the release of Aero Fighters 2, a vertically-scrolling shooter that was originally released in 1994.

You can learn more about all of these games after the break. (more…)

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Nintendo Download: Retro City Rampage DX, Infinite Minigolf, Strikers 1945, more

Posted on August 3, 2017 by John Scalzo

The Nintendo Switch is getting a dose of retro nostalgia in this week’s Nintendo Download… specifically the release of Vblank’s Retro City Rampage DX. Retro City Rampage DX is a dual parody of top-down open world games and ridiculously elaborate crime movies from the 80s that features a full Story Mode and Arcade Challenges for “quick pick-up-and-play action.”

Seven other games are also available to download for the Switch this week including Infinite Minigolf, a neverending game of miniature golf from Zen Studios; Strikers 1945, a vertically-scrolling shooter from Psikyo set in World War II; Gunbarich, a puzzle shooter also by Psikyo; Use Your Words, a comedic party game for unfunny people; Slime-San, a side-scroller that takes place within the belly of a giant worm; and Puzzle Adventure Blockle, a puzzle game that asks players to rotate the world.

You can learn more about all of these games (and a few other new releases for the 3DS and Wii U) after the break. (more…)

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Here’s the first official trailer for Telltale’s Batman: The Enemy Within

Posted on August 3, 2017 by John Scalzo

Telltale Games will return to Gotham City next week, but first, the developer has given us a brand new look at Batman: The Enemy Within.

The Riddler is terrorizing Gotham… Amanda Waller is terrorizing Jim Gordon… The Joker is terrorizing Bruce Wayne… And all three are causing trouble for Batman. Decisions must be made in Episode 1: The Enigma…

In this latest chapter, both Bruce Wayne and Batman will be forced into precarious new roles. The Riddler has returned to terrorize Gotham City, but his gruesome puzzles merely foreshadow an even greater crisis. With the arrival of a ruthless federal agent and the return of a still nascent Joker, Batman must navigate uneasy alliances while Bruce Wayne undertakes a perilous series of deceptions. Which of Batman’s new allies will you choose to trust? And how deep into the darkness will you let Bruce descend?

Batman: The Enemy Within – Episode 1: The Enigma will be available to download for the PC, PS4, Xbox One, and mobile devices on August 8.

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Xbox Store Today: Tacoma, Slime Rancher, The Long Dark, more

Posted on August 2, 2017 by John Scalzo

The Xbox Games Store became a more indie-friendly place today with the launch of Fullbright’s Tacoma, Monomi Park’s Slime Rancher, and Hinterland Studio’s The Long Dark.

Tacoma is a first-person exploration game for the Xbox One that takes place aboard a high-tech space station in the year 2088. Players will come through surveillance logs to explore the “pivotal moments” in the crew’s life on the station as they recreate the game’s “multi-layered” narrative.

A second adventure that takes place far away from Earth is also newly available for the Xbox One today. Slime Rancher asks players to guide Beatrix LeBeau as she tries her hand at making a living wrangling slimes. If you’re an Xbox Live Gold subscriber, Slime Rancher is a free download this month thanks to the Games With Gold program.

Finally today, The Long Dark is very concerned with the Earth, and it asks players to survive for as long as they can in a harsh and frozen wilderness.

You can learn more about all of these games after the break. (more…)

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Overwatch’s Summer Games will return on August 8

Posted on August 2, 2017 by John Scalzo

Blizzard is bringing back Overwatch‘s Summer Games this month, and players will be able to take part in the festivities on the PC, PS4, and Xbox One from August 8 through the 29th.

The Lucioball game mode will once again be on the menu, and a new “Sydney” map (alongside last year’s “Rio” map) will be available for the duration of the event. Players will also be able to unlock Summer Games 2017 Loot Boxes, complete with brand new Skins and other in-game content. Last year’s Summer Games Loot Boxes will also be available at a reduced cost.

Jeff Kaplan, Overwatch’s Game Director, discussed more about Summer Games 2017 in the latest “Developer Update” video, which has been embedded above.

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Minecraft: Story Mode Season 2 Episode 2 will be available on August 15; Season 1 comes to Switch on August 22

Posted on August 2, 2017 by John Scalzo

Telltale Games has announced that Minecraft: Story Mode Season 2‘s second episode, Giant Consequences, will be released for the PC, PS4, Xbox One, and mobile devices on August 15. This time, Jesse and friends are bound for a new adventure in the “icy unknown”:

Jesse and the gang survived the Sea Temple, but they brought home a little more than they bargained for: a lost adventurer, a powerful device, and a colossal enemy capable of grinding Beacontown to dust. There may be more to this fearsome foe than meets the eye, but to find out, Jesse — together with a few trusty friends — must embark on another adventure, this time into the icy unknown…

Fans of Nintendo’s newest console will also be happy to learn that the Complete Adventure collection for the original Minecraft: Story Mode will be released for the Switch on August 22. The eight-episode series will be available in stores as a retail release and as a digital download through the Nintendo eShop.

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