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Minecraft coming to PS4, Vita, Xbox One in August; upgrade from current-gen for only $5

Posted on May 22, 2014 by John Scalzo

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Microsoft has announced that the Minecraft: Xbox One Edition will be available in August with a special offer for Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition owners. If you currently own either version of the Xbox 360 Edition (the downloadable XBLA version or the retail disc), you’ll be able to upgrade to the Xbox One Edition for the low, low price of $4.99. If you don’t already own the Xbox 360 Edition, it’ll cost $19.99 to purchase the Minecraft: Xbox One Edition.

According to a post on Xbox Wire, players who upgrade will be able to transfer their worlds into the Xbox One Edition as well as “most (but not all) of [their] downloadable skins and texture packs.”

Sony has yet to announce a release date for Minecraft: PlayStation 4 Edition, but I have a creeping suspicion that it’ll launch sometime this Summer too.

UPDATE: That was fast. Mojang has confirmed that Minecraft will also be available for the PS4 and Vita in August. PS4 owners will be able to take advantage of the same $4.99 upgrade while the PS3 and Vita editions will be bundled together as part of the Cross-Buy program. So if you already own the PS3 version, you’ll be able to download Minecraft: PlayStation Vita Edition for free.

Minecraft for everybody (except Wii U owners)!

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Evolve tracks down an October 21 release date

Posted on May 22, 2014 by John Scalzo

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2K Games has announced that Turtle Rock’s “4v1” shooter, Evolve, will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on October 21. Evolve will also be on display at this year’s E3 Expo, so we’ll surely hear more about Turtle Rock’s Left 4 Dead followup next month. But if you’d rather not wait that long, Polygon has published a new report four more characters who will challenge the Monsters this October.

Evolve’s previously released promotional material (including the PAX East demo) always featured the same four Hunters: Markov (Assault), Hank (Support), Griffin (Trapper), and Val (Medic). The new set of characters will slot into the same classes, but with different weaponry and personalities…

  • Hyde is an Assault character with a minigun, a flamethrower, and an eye patch.
  • Bucket is a robotic Support character who can remove his own head and use it as a drone to pinpoint the Monster’s position.
  • Maggie is a Trapper who hunts with Daisy, an alien beast that Maggie has tamed as a pet. Daisy can sniff out the Monster and even heal other players like a rescue dog (little barrel not included).
  • Finally, Lazarus is a Medic with a sniper rifle and an invisibility cloak.

It’s unknown how many different characters will make the final cut for Evolve, but Turtle Rock has promised that more will be revealed soon.

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

Here’s a gameplay trailer for the PS4 version of Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition

Posted on May 21, 2014 by John Scalzo

Hey, wanna take a look at the PS4 version of Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition? Specifically content from the Reaper of Souls expansion? If you said, “It probably looks like every other gameplay video of Diablo III we’ve seen over the last three years,” you would be correct. Still, there are worse ways to spend a minute and 41 seconds, as actiony Diablo III trailers are usually pretty fun.

Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition will be released for the PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One on August 19.

Posted in News, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One | Tagged

Daily Scoop: May 21, 2014 – GameLoop this weekend

Posted on May 21, 2014 by Nicole Kline

I’ve been a super busy lady the last few months, and this month is no exception. On Saturday, my friend Ray Merkler and I will be at University of the Arts for an event we co-organize, called GameLoop Philly. It’s an all-day unconference for game developers, and it’s an amazing time. If you’re local and interested, you should absolutely come!

It’s a new day, which means it’s a new Humble Daily Bundle! This one is simply called “Flying.” Pay what you want for Race the Sun; pay more than the average to unlock Guns of Icarus Online. You can get the final unlock, Strike Vector, if you pay $10 or more.

If you’re into platforming, you better hurry up and jump on the Humble Weekly Bundle! You’ve got one more day to pay what you want for Shank 2, Blocks that Matter, and Bit.Trip Runner. Pay more than $6 to unlock Bit.Trip Presents… Runner 2, Megabyte Punch, and Fly’n. And pay $10 or more to unlock King Arthur’s Gold and Mark of the Ninja: Special Edition.

As always, Steam has a few good deals as well. Their Midweek Madness sale is $14.99 for The Banner Saga (or $3 more for the deluxe). Agarest: Generations of War is their Daily Deal, on sale for $5.09.

And now, some midweek t-shirts! (more…)

Posted in Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News |

SingStar coming to PS4 soon; “Smartphone Microphone” app also in the works

Posted on May 21, 2014 by John Scalzo

singstar-logoSony has announced (via the PlayStation Blog) that SingStar will soon be available for the PS4. The next-generation entry in the popular karaoke series will include full support for PS3 microphones, an improved scoring system, online multiplayer, and Facebook and Twitter integration so players can share all those high notes. SingStar for the PS4 will launch with its own online store, but if you already own a song in the PS3 version of the game, you can download it from the PS4 store for free.

And if you don’t want another peripheral hanging around your house, Sony is working on a SingStar companion app that will allow players to use their iOS or Android device as a microphone.

SingStar for the PS4 will be available later this year. More details will be revealed “over the coming months” and a debut trailer can be found after the break. (more…)

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XBL Store Today: Wolfenstein: The New Order, Max: The Curse of Brotherhood

Posted on May 21, 2014 by John Scalzo

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Today’s update to the Xbox Live Game Store features two games that couldn’t be more different.

Wolfenstein: The New Order is a continuation of the popular first person shooter series for the Xbox One that takes place in an alternate 1960 where Germany won World War II. They control everything… even the moon. Thankfully, B.J. Blazkowicz is back to kill a new generation of Nazis.

Max: The Curse of Brotherhood is a puzzle platformer for the Xbox 360 that was originally released for the Xbox One in December.

Expanded descriptions of both games can be found right here:

Xbox One Games

Wolfenstein: The New Order ($59.99)
Europe, 1960. The tide of World War II has been turned using a new kind of mysterious, advanced technology. Using unrelenting force and intimidation, a ruthless world power has brought even the most powerful of nations to their knees. The regime now dominates the globe with an iron fist. You are the only man capable of rewriting history. In Wolfenstein: The New Order, assume the role of super soldier B.J. Blazkowicz as he uses elite combat tactics and an arsenal of uber advanced weaponry to take down the most powerful empire the world has ever known. Join forces with a band of dedicated resistance fighters and launch an offensive battle that spans the globe and beyond, as you seek to uncover the truth behind how this regime conquered the world so quickly. Take on massive mechs, super soldiers, and an army of seemingly unstoppable might as you fight to free the planet from a nightmare of unimaginable tyranny.

Xbox 360 Games

Max: The Curse of Brotherhood ($14.99)
Max: The Curse of Brotherhood is a cinematic adventure filled with action-packed platforming and creative puzzle-solving. Armed with only a Magic Marker, Max must confront evil at every turn in a hostile and fantastical world in order to save his kid brother, Felix. Join Max on his great adventure!

Posted in News, Xbox 360, Xbox One | Tagged ,

New Batman: Arkham Knight trailer lives in fear of Scarecrow

Posted on May 21, 2014 by John Scalzo

WB Games has released a new trailer for Batman: Arkham Knight, which lays out the game’s storyline in a way that I don’t think we’ve heard before. Scarecrow is using a new version of his fear toxin to blackmail the people of Gotham into leaving. As further incentive, he has recruited some of Batman’s greatest enemies (including The Penguin and Two-Face) to overrun the city with criminals. Batman, naturally, doesn’t take too kindly to this threat…

And that’s when Arkham Knight, a villain created specifically for this game by Rocksteady, shows up. Any bets on his “real” identity… A somehow still-alive Joker? Jason Todd? Azrael? Someone else entirely?

We’ll find out later this year when Batman: Arkham Knight is released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

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

Next 33 1/3 book will focus on Super Mario Bros. soundtrack

Posted on May 20, 2014 by Nicole Kline

supermariobros33 1/3 is a book series by Bloomsbury Publishing that focuses on albums by all manner of artists, including The Beastie Boys, Sonic Youth, The Who, and more. There are 96 books in the series so far, and they’re about to announce 14 more, to be released in 2015 and 2016.

Today, they made an exciting announcement: they’ll be releasing a book in the series about Koji Kondo’s Super Mario Bros. score!

Author Andrew Schartmann takes us through the various external factors (e.g., advances in technology, Nintendo’s marketing tactics) that coalesced into a ripe environment in which Kondo’s musical experiments could thrive. He then delves into the music itself, searching for reasons why our hearts still dance to the “primitive” 8-bit tunes of a bygone era.

Schartmann is no stranger to writing about Nintendo’s famous 8-bit scores – he’s the author of last year’s Maestro Mario: How Nintendo Transformed Videogame Music into an Art. His 33 1/3 title will be out in May 2015.

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