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Ultron takes charge in the newest Marvel Vs Capcom: Infinite gameplay trailer

Posted on April 27, 2017 by John Scalzo

To go along with Tuesday’s Story Trailer, Capcom has unveiled a brand new gameplay trailer for Marvel Vs Capcom: Infinite. The real star of the show is the villainous Ultron, but we also get appearances from Chun-Li, Hulk, Strider Hiryu, Thor, Chris Redfield, and Hawkeye:

Ultron makes his first appearance in the Marvel vs. Capcom series and brings with him a sinister set of attacks to dispatch his foes. Most notable, is the ability to summon an endless army of drone reinforcements to aid him in battle. He can summon these both on the ground and in the air. The drones also come in two flavors, one stays back assisting Ultron with a beam to cover him with the second version charging forward and smashing his opponent with a powerful blast of energy.

You can learn more about the trailer, and view a few new screenshots, over at the Capcom-Unity blog.

Marvel Vs Capcom: Infinite will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on September 19.

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

Nintendo’s 2016-2017 Annual Report: Big sales for Switch, Zelda BotW, Pokemon + Fall release dates for Xenoblade 2, Mario Odyssey, more

Posted on April 27, 2017 by John Scalzo

Nintendo published their annual financial report this morning, and the company gave us our best look yet at the Switch’s retail prospects, as well as reconfirmed several 2017 releases.

The big announcement today is that Nintendo has sold 2.74 million Switch consoles around the world as of March 31. Nintendo originally predicted that they’d sell two million around Switch consoles in March, so it’s safe to say they surpassed their goal. The consolemaker expects to sell ten million more Switch consoles before the start of their next fiscal year. If this prediction proves accurate, the Switch will have matched the total sales of the Wii U in a single year.

Moving on to games, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has proven to be fairly popular, with total sales of 3.84 million copies sold (2.76 on the Switch and 1.08 on the Wii U). And don’t count out the 3DS just yet. According to Nintendo, Pokemon Sun and Moon combined to sell 15.44 million copies since they were released in November.

Nintendo closed out their report with the promise of a bright future, reiterating that all of their upcoming Switch and 3DS game are still on track to be released in 2017. Super Mario Odyssey and Fire Emblem Warriors are both still set for the Fall, and Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is still penciled in for a “TBA 2017” launch date.

Other titles scheduled to be released this Fall include Monster Hunter Stories, Yo-Kai Watch 2: Psychic Specters, Kirby‘s next 3DS game, and Miitopia. Ever Oasis (June 23), Hey Pikmin (July 28), Splatoon 2 (July 21), and Arms (June 16) are set for this Summer.

Nintendo will most likely reveal a lot more about all of these games at this year’s E3 Expo… unless they get delayed, of course.

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Insert Quarter: Some Devs Aren’t Happy With How Nintendo is Handling the Switch eShop

Posted on April 27, 2017 by John Scalzo

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Insert Quarter is our showcase for some of the best and most interesting writing about video games on the Internet.

It’s no secret that the PlayStation Store and Xbox Games Store are more “curated” than the Nintendo eShop. In between absolute gems like Axiom Verge and Shovel Knight, the digital storefront for the 3DS and Wii U is absolutely cluttered with a wide variety of shovelware.

Nintendo doesn’t want to make this same mistake with the Switch, and their Publisher and Developer Relations department is working with indie developers to create an impressive portfolio of downloadable titles for the Switch… and possibly find the next big thing. Best of all, this mission has already borne fruit. Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment, Snipperclips, and FAST RMX were Switch exclusives that made the console feel like more than a “Zelda Machine” in its first few weeks.

But Thomas Whitehead of Nintendo Life has heard from some indie developers (even longstanding “Nindie” teams) that working with Nintendo is much harder than it used to be. After conducting a wide-ranging series of interviews, he delved into some of their frustrations with Nintendo’s (possibly flawed) new process for acquiring indie games:

Not long ago, however, we were contacted by and followed up with multiple respected and established ‘Nindie’ developers unhappy with aspects of Nintendo’s approach to the Switch eShop. Issues related to curation and communication have been at the core, and we were painted a picture of an arrangement and set of policies that undoubtedly pleases those in the door, but has left those on the outside at times frustrated, ignored and in some respects embittered. Some were hesitant to be quoted even anonymously due to upcoming business with Nintendo, while others were happy to share their perspectives – directly and indirectly quoted – while being un-named.

Whitehead’s report can be read in full at Nintendo Life.

Posted in News, Switch |

Three Fields announces their Burnout spiritual successor… Danger Zone

Posted on April 27, 2017 by John Scalzo

The developers at Three Fields Entertainment are all veterans of Criterion Games, and they helped turn Burnout‘s brand of “crash racing” into a blockbuster more than a decade ago. Since breaking out on their own, they’ve delivered a similarly calamitous take on mini golf, and teased a spiritual successor to Burnout.

With the open roads of Summer ahead of us, Three Fields is finally ready to return to destructive driving with Danger Zone. Finding inspiration in Burnout’s “Crash Mode,” Danger Zone is all about creating the biggest traffic jam imaginable:

Powered by Epic’s Unreal Engine 4 and set in a virtual Crash Testing Facility, Danger Zone combines realistic physics with explosive gameplay and features 20 exciting single player crash testing scenarios, each with their own unique road layout, traffic and pickups.

In Danger Zone, players are challenged to drive into the junction and create the biggest First Impact that causes enough vehicles to crash to earn a “SmashBreaker,” turning their car into a bomb that can explode on command. Players score for how many cars they crash, with bonus points awarded for exploding cars by hitting them while in “SmashBreaker” or for pushing them off the road entirely. If the player’s car falls off the road, it’s game over. Connected leaderboards allows comparison of player scores for the friends you play against and the rest of the community.

Danger Zone will be available to download for the PC and PS4 this May. You can find the first five explosive screenshots of the game after the break. (more…)

Posted in News, PC, PS4 | Tagged

Xbox Store Today: Outlast II, Romance of Three Kingdoms XIII, Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3, more

Posted on April 26, 2017 by John Scalzo

Prepare to terrify yourself with today’s Xbox Games Store update, as Red Barrels has released Outlast II for the Xbox One. The sequel to the first-person horror adventure introduces a new set of characters for players to meet and a weird cult for them to explore. Will Blake Langermann and his wife, Lynn, make it out alive? Or will the disappearance of these investigative journalists become the story?

A nice variety of sequels are also be available to download today for the Xbox One including Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3, Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIII, and Syberia 3.

If none of those games interest you, you might be interested to learn that Telltale Games will continue The Walking Dead: A New Frontier on the Xbox One today with Episode 4: Thicker Than Water.

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

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Activision officially unveils Call of Duty: WWII with an hour-long livestream and the first trailer

Posted on April 26, 2017 by John Scalzo

After giving fans a quick tease of the game late last week, Activision and Sledgehammer Games have returned with their “Worldwide Reveal” for Call of Duty: WWII. According to the developer, the new Call of Duty will deliver “gritty realism, authenticity, and cinematic intensity on an epic scale” as players embark on an important mission in the European Theater:

Call of Duty: WWII takes the franchise back to its roots in a bold cinematic experience that captures the unforgettable heroism of the soldiers who fought together in a war that changed the world forever. Activision’s gripping new title is an honest portrayal of World War II from the perspective of the famed 1st Infantry Division, with an ensemble cast of global and diverse characters. Through stunning visuals and intense audio, players storm the beaches of Normandy on D-Day, march across France to liberate Paris and ultimately push forward into Germany in some of the most monumental battles of all-time.

Not to be outdone by its single-player campaign, Call of Duty: WWII will also include a full complement of multiplayer modes. Competitive deathmatch will be available, of course, but Sledgehammer is also adding a new cooperative narrative mode to the franchise. Known as “War,” Activision has promised to reveal more information about this facet of the game at this year’s E3 Expo. And don’t worry, the undead hordes will rise again as part of CoD: WWII’s Nazi Zombies cooperative campaign.

“The story we’re telling is unlike anything that we’ve tackled before,” said Glen Schofield, the Studio Head and Co-Founder of Sledgehammer Games. It’s such an amazing journey of common everyday people who became heroes. We want to respect this great generation of soldiers, tell a realistic story set in a true inflection point in human history, and deliver the best experience of our careers.”

Call of Duty: WWII will be released in three different configurations including a Base Edition ($59.99), a Digital Deluxe Edition ($99.99, includes Season Pass), and the Pro Edition ($99.99, includes Steelbook packaging and Season Pass). Fans who pre-order any version of the game will receive access to the pre-release Private Beta, which will be available on the PS4 first.

Call of Duty: WWII will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on November 3. The first trailer has been embedded above, and the full “Worldwide Reveal” livestream, hosted by developers from Sledgehammer, can be found after the break. (more…)

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

Xbox Achievements from Injustice 2 confirm The Joker will appear in the game

Posted on April 26, 2017 by John Scalzo

Injustice: Gods Among Us opened with The Joker detonating a bomb in Metropolis. Superman flew into a rage after learning that Lois Lane (and their unborn child) was killed in the blast… ultimately murdering The Joker and taking control of the world with the help of his Regime. Years later, The Joker from the original DC Universe was pulled into the Injustice universe and caused a bit of havoc, but he was sent back to where he came from at the conclusion of the story.

But you didn’t think The Joker was really dead, did you? According to Xbox Achievements, two Achievements in the upcoming Injustice 2 point to a resurrection for the Clown Prince of Crime:

I Love You, I Hate You (15)
Harley must defeat Joker with the final hit coming from Go Night Night

Why Aren’t You Laughing? (15)
Joker must defeat Batman with the final hit coming from Not So Funny Is It?

NetherRealm Studios will unveil another new character from Injustice 2’s roster this Friday, April 28, and there’s a chance it could be The Joker. But even if it’s not, we won’t have to wait much longer to find out if he’s in the game, because Injustice 2 will be released for the PS4 and Xbox One on May 16.

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What Remains of Edith Finch, Dragon Quest Heroes II, Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment, more added to PS Store

Posted on April 26, 2017 by John Scalzo

The PlayStation Store is bursting with new releases this week, so let’s not waste any time…

We start things off with What Remains of Edith Finch, a first-person narrative adventure for the PS4 from Giant Sparrow, the development team behind The Unfinished Swan. Giant Sparrow thinks of the game as a “collection of strange tales,” and players will need to explore a colossal mansion to learn the secrets of the Finch family.

If you’d rather whack things with a giant sword, PS4 owners will also get the chance to go medieval this week with the release of Square Enix/Koei Tecmo’s Dragon Quest Heroes II and Yacht Club’s Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment. More modern weaponry is available in Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3, a new combat simulation for the PS4 that offers an open world and gives players the ability to tackle missions in any way they choose.

A terrifying trio of new games will also be available to download for the PS4 this week. Deathstate is a “single-stick shooter” with retro-styled Lovecraftian monsters; Little Nightmares is a moody platformer from Bandai Namco; and Outlast II is a followup to Red Barrels’s first-person frightener. And speaking of horrors, The Walking Dead: A New Frontier – Episode 4: Thicker Than Water is also available to download for the PS4.

Finally this week, the Syberia series returns for the first time in more than a decade with a PS4 release for Syberia 3.

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

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