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Can you smell the plot description The Rock is cooking up for the Rampage movie…

Rampage is the beloved arcade classic about giant monsters destroying city after city as they crisscross the globe, though we haven’t seen a new entry in the franchise since 2006’s Rampage: Total Destruction. That’ll all change in a year from now, when Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson returns to the big screen as the star of a Rampage film adaptation.

Brad Peyton, who previously teamed with Johnson on San Andreas will direct Rampage, and filming began earlier this week in Georgia. But rather than issue a bland press release, Warner Bros. let Johnson deliver a plot description to fans through his Instagram account.

It sounds absolutely bonkers (just like the game) and it looks like the special effects will be handled by WETA (The Lord of the Rings, King Kong). Also, you don’t see the phrase “I will not lick them” in enough plot descriptions:

Goin’ primal.

Good to finally have boots on the ground here in Georgia for production of #RAMPAGE.

I head up an anti poaching unit out of Rwanda. My best friend is a rare albino gorilla named, George. Very bad people infect George, an alligator and a wolf with a serum. All three animals grow at an unprecedented rate. Their size, speed, agility and violent aggression is off the charts. They go on a deadly rampage and want to destroy the world.

George not happy. Me not happy. When animals like you, they lick you. When they don’t like you, they kill you. I will hunt down the bad people who did this to my best friend. And when I find them, I will not lick them.

We have the best VFX monster making team (WETA) on the planet. Our actors and crew have been working very hard to raise the monster genre bar.

As always, let’s have some fun. Let’s shoot. #PrimalDNA #George #Lizzy #Ralph #RAMPAGE

Rampage will open in theaters on April 20, 2018.

Posted in Etcetera, News, Retro |

Nintendo offers up a few details about Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s first DLC expansion

With The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild continuing to burn up sales charts around the world, Nintendo is also hard at work on two downloadable expansions for the massive open world adventure. Late last night, the consolemaker revealed more information about the first of these add-ons, The Master Trials, which will be available this Summer.

The expansion will add a handful of new features to the game, including a horde mode (“Trial of the Sword”), a more challenging Hard Mode, a new map tracker (“Hero’s Path Mode”), costumes and equipment inspired by earlier games in the series (including the snazzy “Tingle’s Outfit” seen above), and more:

New Features in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – The Master Trials
Trial of the Sword: By accessing this location, players can challenge the new Trial of the Sword (previously known as “Cave of Trials Challenge”), where enemies appear one after another. Link starts without any armor or weapons, and if he defeats all of the enemies in the room he can proceed to the next area. Trial of the Sword will include around 45 total rooms for players to complete. When Link clears all of the trials, the true power of the Master Sword will awaken and always be in its glowing powered-up state.

Hard Mode: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is already considered one of the most thrilling games in The Legend of Zelda series, and fans looking for a challenge are in for a treat with the new Hard Mode. In Hard Mode, the “ranks” of enemies in the game are increased (i.e. Red Bokoblins change to Blue), and players might even encounter higher-ranking enemies they wouldn’t find through normal play. Enemies will also slowly recover health in battle, forcing you to defeat them more quickly. They will also more easily spot Link as he approaches them, making these enemies tougher to sneak up on. In addition, floating planks held aloft by balloons will be scattered around Hyrule. By successfully reaching these planks, players can battle enemies and collect treasure.

Hero’s Path Mode: Exploring Hyrule is exciting, but with such a large world it’s sometimes hard for players to remember where they’ve been. To help with tracking progress, the new Hero’s Path Mode will document every step players take, and mark their path in green on the map. The route taken will be tracked for the player’s last 200 hours of play time, with an included slider to track footsteps on a timeline. This even works retroactively, so players that have already put many hours into the game will be able to see where they have traveled. This feature will help in identifying the locations they haven’t visited in this vast world, and may help players find those Shrines they haven’t encountered yet.

Travel Medallion: There will be a new treasure chest somewhere in the game world which contains the Travel Medallion. With the Travel Medallion, players can create a temporary new travel point on the map where they are currently standing. Link can then transport himself to that point at any time. Only one travel point can be registered on the map at a time.

Korok Mask: By finding the new Korok Mask, players will have a much easier time finding Korok locations in the game. When equipped, the mask will shake, indicating that a Korok is hidden somewhere nearby.

New Equipment: Eight new pieces of equipment inspired by previous characters and games in the series will be added to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild after downloading the first DLC pack. Once discovered by the player, they will yield equipment themed after fan-favorite games and characters such as Midna, Tingle, Phantom, and Majora’s Mask.

Nintendo has bundled together both expansions to Breath of the Wild as the Expansion Pass, which is now available through the Nintendo eShop for $19.99 on the Switch and the Wii U. Unfortunately, there’s no way for players to purchase each expansion separately.

We’ll learn more about the untitled second expansion, which will be available this Fall, at a later date.

Posted in News, Switch, Wii U | Tagged

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe becomes the fastest-selling game in franchise history

The Nintendo Switch continues to be a source of success for the consolemaker, as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe became the fastest-selling game in franchise history.

Fans in the US purchased more than 459,000 copies of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on its first day of availability (April 28), smashing the previous record set by Mario Kart Wii nearly a decade ago. These sales figures include both retail copies and Nintendo eShop downloads, and according to Nintendo, “nearly one in two Nintendo Switch owners in the US purchased a copy of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on the first day it was available.”

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is an updated and expanded re-release of 2014’s Mario Kart 8, and Nintendo considers it the “definitive” version of the game. These additions include both downloadable expansions that were originally available to download for the Wii U, as well as Switch-exclusive content including new characters, new weapons, the ability to carry two items at the same time, and a brand new Battle Mode.

Nintendo has announced plans to launch nearly a dozen Switch-exclusive games in 2017, so it seems likely they’ll be setting even more sales records before the year is out.

Posted in News, Switch | Tagged

Retro-styled Breath of the Wild fangame will remove Zelda characters after takedown notice from Nintendo

As expected, Nintendo has dropped the hammer on The Legend of Zelda: Breath of a NES, a retro-styled reimagining of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The takedown notice was issued to developer Winter Drake by Nintendo’s lawyers over the weekend, and it’s available for public viewing on Twitter.

Even though this is a huge setback for Winter Drake, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of a NES will continue in an altered form. The developer has vowed to remove every reference to Nintendo’s franchise, and replace them with original characters and designs. Winter Drake even posted this encouraging message on the game’s Itch.io this morning: “Nintendo has asked me to take stop hosting the game. The project will live on, just not with Zelda characters.”

And speaking to Kotaku, Winter Drake revealed that the new vision for Breath of the NES will include “32-bit sprites” and “a rich soundtrack”:

As for what Breath of the NES’s spiritual successor will look like, Winter is planning on 32-bit sprites working with musicians to put together a rich soundtrack. Substituting improved gameplay and originality for the 8-bit nostalgia powering the original project won’t be easy though, meaning we probably won’t see a new trailer or playable demo for some time. “Ideally I’d like to make the final game a big cross-platform release on Steam,” Winter said. “I may even start a Kickstarter once I can show off what the new game will have to offer.”

As before, Winter Drake will be providing additional updates on the progress of Breath of the NES’s successor on Twitter.

Posted in News, PC, Switch, Wii U | Tagged

Square Enix offers a quick look at new features in Secret of Mana Collection

Square Enix’s Seiken Densetsu Collection (also known as the Secret of Mana Collection) will be available exclusively for the Switch on June 1st. Unfortunately, the publisher has yet to announce if the compilation will launch outside of Japan, and as of right now, it seems unlikely that English-speaking audiences will never get a chance to play it.

However, with just one month before its Japanese launch, Square Enix has released a trio of short videos showcasing some of the Seiken Densetsu Collection’s new features.

With “Screen Change Mode,” players will be able to customize the screen setting to their liking, as well as add Super Game Boy color palettes to the first game in the series, Final Fantasy Adventure. Players will also have a “Quick Save” option to pause the action and return to the game at a later date. Finally, a “Music Mode” will let players listen to each game’s soundtrack right from the title screen.

You can view all three videos after the break, and don’t forget to let Square Enix and Square Enix Europe know if you want to see the Secret of Mana Collection released outside of Japan. (more…)

Posted in News, Switch | Tagged

Shovel Knight: Official Design Works officially announced by Udon Entertainment

It looks like the rumors are true… Udon Entertainment will release a Shovel Knight artbook this August.

Shovel Knight: Official Design Works will include an in-depth look at the early concept art that allowed Shovel Knight to become a Kickstarter darling and indie sensation, as well an exclusive interview with the development team:

Udon has worked very closely with developer Yacht Club Games to ensure that Shovel Knight: Official Design Works is every bit the definitive Shovel Knight art book that fans deserve. Within its pages you’ll find character art, developer commentary, rough illustrations and concept art, background development images, comprehensive sprite sheets, full-page promotional illustrations, and more – including an exclusive interview with the game’s development team!

The 184-page book will also include content from the game’s first expansion, Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows.

If you can’t wait until August, you can view a selection of preview pages at the the publishing company’s official website right now.

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

New Retail Releases: Prey, Guardians of the Galaxy Season Pass Disc, FlatOut 4

We’ve got three new games for the last Retail Release Report in April 2017…

Even though the new Prey has nothing to do with Human Head’s bizarre first person shooter from 2006 or its canceled sequel, Bethesda will release a new entry in the franchise this week for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. Players will assume the role of Morgan Yu, a crew member on the Talo I space station. The the aliens show up and humanity becomes the “prey” of the title.

Also also available on store shelves this week is the Season Pass Disc for Telltale’s Guardians of the Galaxy adaptation. Just in time for the theatrical opening of Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2, the PS4 and Xbox One disc will include the game’s first episode, Tangled Up In Blue, and downloadable access to all four upcoming episodes.

Finally this week, developer Kylotonn will bring back the destruction-heavy FlatOut franchise with FlatOut 4: Total Insanity for the PS4 and Xbox One.

That’s all for now, but we’ll be back soon with a look at this week’s new additions to the PlayStation Store, Xbox Games Store, and Nintendo eShop.

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

Xbox Store Today: Little Nightmares, Alpha Mission II, Lost Grimoires

It’s almost quitting time on this nifty Friday afternoon, and Microsoft has updated the Xbox Games Store ahead of the weekend.

Little Nightmares, Bandai Namco’s spooky puzzle platformer about “corrupted souls looking for their next meal” aboard a mysterious vessel, leads things off on the Xbox One today. Xbox One owners will also be able to download Alpha Mission II, an overhead shooter originally released for the NeoGeo in 1991; and Lost Grimoires: Stolen Kingdom, another hidden object game from Artifex Mundi.

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

Posted in News, Xbox One | Tagged