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Revenge of the Swine! Angry Birds Star Wars II announced

From the secret, frozen, underground laboratory of Rovio, located somewhere in Finland, comes their latest Angry Birds incarnation, a sequel to the super-popular Angry Birds Star Wars of last year. This new game, Angry Birds Star Wars II, will be released on September 19th and will be available for download from all mobile app stores. The game also features a couple new twists in the gameplay.

In addition to new stories, levels, characters, special powers, and “new sides to fight for,” Rovio has proudly announced an interesting gimmick called “Telepods.” Made by Hasbro and available come September wherever toys are sold, Telepods will allow you to teleport your favorite characters directly into the game using, presumably, magic. You can also customize your slingshot lineup as well as choose which characters to include in that launch. There will be 30 collectable Telepods, so start saving up your nickels now, kids.

So many Telepods to play with, of course, means that there are over 30 “never-before-seen” Angry Birds Star Wars characters to play with, AND…OMG, GET THIS: “Another first for the series is that you can choose your side! Players can choose to “Join the Pork Side.”

Since this game sequel will feature the Star Wars prequels, the first two levels in the game appear to be called “Naboo Invasion” and “Escape to Tatooine.” So pull out The Phantom Menace, in the meantime, to prepare yourself. But don’t forget to plug your ears when Jar Jar comes onscreen. (Note: Rovio has not said either way whether Mr. Binks will appear in the game, but we can only pray to our respective gods that the Empire shot him in the face with a blaster and dismembered him into pieces as small as ice cubes with a Lightsaber. Oops, I hope there are no children reading this. He’s fine, younglings! Uncle Jar Jar is just fine!)

Check out the trailer to find out how these Telepods work (I’m being told it’s not “magic”), some screenshots of the game, as well as an interior shot of what looks to be the secret Rovio fortress featuring several English-speaking scientists. I’m starting to think they’re not really Finnish.

And in keeping with a really successful and marketable franchise, there will be ABSWII merchandise coming out the wazoo (which, I gather, must be some rural Finnish village), including but not limited to toys, plushies, books, clothes, pharmaceuticals, and more! Okay, one of those is not real. But I won’t tell you which. All this plus the Telepods will make their debut in September alongside the main event, Angry Birds Star Wars II, the game.

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Saints Row IV voice cast features Daniel Dae Kim, Keith David, NPH, more

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Saint’s Row IV is really shaping up to be quite the epic adventure. The voice cast was announced this week, and some pretty interesting names are included, including the return of Daniel Dae Kim as Johnny Gat. You can view the full list below. Also, Rob Van Dam!

The Cast:  
Daniel Dae Kim Johnny Gat
Keith David As Himself
Danielle Nicolet Shaundi
Jennifer Jules Hart Shaundi #2
Natalie Lander Kinzie Kensington
Terry Crews Benjamin King
JB Blanc Zinyak/Phillipe Loren
Michael Dorn Maero
Neil Patrick Harris DJ Veteran Child
Yuri Lowenthal Matt Miller
Arif Kinchen Pierce Washington
Tim Thomerson Cyrus Temple
Mike Carlucci Zach
Rob Van Dam Bobby
Rebecca Riedy Asha Odekar
Andrew Bowen Josh Birk/NyteBlayde
Michael Yurchak CID
TC Carson Big Tony
Ursula Taherian Tanya
Ogie Banks Warren Williams
   
The President:  
Nolan North The Player
Troy Baker The Player
Laura  Bailey The Player
Robin Atkin Downes The Player
Diane Michelle The Player
Kenn Michael The Player
Sumalee Montano The Player
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360 | Tagged

Sega announces American 3DS eShop release for Sega 3D Classic Series

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Not to be outdone by Nintendo in the “3D re-releases of old-school games” department, Sega revealed their Sega 3D Classic Series line will be coming to North America (and Europe) soon. The titles, which are coming to the 3DS eShop at a yet-to-be-announced time, include:

  • 3D Altered Beast
  • 3D Ecco the Dolphin
  • 3D Galaxy Force II
  • 3D Shinobi III
  • 3D Sonic The Hedgehog
  • 3D Space Harrier
  • 3D Streets of Rage
  • 3D Super Hang-On

For footage of the games, skip to 5:20 in today’s Nintendo Direct Mini presentation:

Posted in 3DS, News |

Capcom announces new Strider game for current, next-gen consoles, PC

Capcom announced today at Comic-Con that they are bringing one of their classic franchises, Strider, back to consoles. The franchise, which hasn’t seen a new entry since Strider 2 released for the original PlayStation in 2000 (unless you count his appearance in Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3, will be released on the PC, PS3, Xbox 360, PS4, and Xbox One in early 2014. This new entry is in development at Double Helix Games, the same company behind Microsoft’s Killer Instinct reboot.

Judging by the trailer, the new Strider appears to retain the classic 2D feel, albeit with a fresh coat of HD paint. Enjoy!

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

The Last of Us is first among June 2013’s best-selling games

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Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us cashed in on years of hype and some of the best reviews for a PS3 game ever (including a 7/7 from our own Andrew Rainnie) to emerge as the best-selling game of June 2013. Last month’s report from The NPD Group featured plenty of other new faces including Animal Crossing: New Leaf (#2), Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition (#3, the first time its been available for retail sale), and Deadpool (#8).

Call of Duty: Black Ops II, NBA 2K13, and Battlefield 3 continue their lengthy runs as they sold enough copies to land at, respectively, #4, #5, and #9. The complete list of June 2013’s top ten best-selling games can be found after the break.

According to the NPD’s monthly report (via Game Informer), total retail sales of games, consoles, and accessories amounted to $593.3 million, a 15% decline from June 2012’s $700.6 million total. (more…)

Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, PSP, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

Firefly Online announced for Summer 2014 release on mobile platforms

Get ready for the shiniest Comic-Con news in the last ten years… Fox is bringing back Firefly!

But now for the inevitable betrayal… the franchise is coming back as Firefly Online, a mobile game in development at QMx Interactive and Spark Plug Games. Of all the ruttin’ luck!

Firefly Online is an online role-playing game that will initially be available for iOS and Android devices in Summer 2014. Players will “assume the role of a ship captain as they hire a crew and seek out adventures, all the while trading with and competing against the millions of other players to try to survive in the Verse: find a crew, find a job, keep flying.”

The mechanics of the game are still a secret and without a reader around, they’re going to stay that way. As a mobile game with “unique social features,” Firefly Online could turn out to be closer in style to “FarmVille in Space” than the epic space opera we want it to be. But maybe QMx and Spark Plug Games will surprise us.

You can get a jump on the competition and register your account at the official site for the game now.

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Nintendo brought 20 playable games to Comic-Con 2013

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This year’s San Diego Comic-Con kicked off today and Nintendo wants you to forget about superheroes and spandex and focus on their massive lineup of playable games.

The Big N will have a playable demo of Pikmin 3 on the show floor at the company’s booth (#235). But they’re saving their big push for the special “Nintendo Gaming Lounge” they’ve erected at the adjacent San Diego Marriott Marquis & Marina hotel. Kiosks within the Lounge will feature 20 playable titles for the Wii U and 3DS:

Wii U

  • The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD (Nintendo)
  • Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (Nintendo)
  • Super Mario 3D World (Nintendo)
  • Pikmin 3 (Nintendo)
  • New Super Luigi U (Nintendo)
  • Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games (Nintendo)
  • Rayman Legends (Ubisoft)
  • Skylanders Swap Force (Activision)
  • Disney Infinity (Disney Interactive)
  • Sonic Lost World (Sega)
  • The Wonderful 101 (Platinum Games)
  • Bayonetta 2 (Platinum Games)
  • Just Dance 2014 (Ubisoft)

3DS

  • Yoshi’s New Island (Nintendo)
  • The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (Nintendo)
  • Mario & Luigi: Dream Team (Nintendo)
  • Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D (Nintendo)
  • Sonic Lost World (Sega)
  • Shin Megami Tensei IV (Atlus)
  • Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate (Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment)

The last day of this year’s San Diego Comic-Con is Sunday, July 21.

Posted in 3DS, News, Wii U | Tagged ,

Daily Scoop: July 18, 2013 – I hate heat indexes

Yeah, so, it’s a million degrees everywhere, and I am really tired of it. That’s the bad news. The good news it that I went to the dentist this morning and I don’t have any cavities! Huzzah! So, all in all, a pretty great day, in spite of the melting part of it.

Anyway, it’s a new day, which means there are new sales going on over at Steam. What did you spend your money on today? Was it Torchlight 2 for $4.99? Garry’s Mod for $2.49? Or maybe that little game you might have heard of, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, for $19.99? Oh, and you can still get XCOM: Enemy Unknown for $9.99.

As always, I’ve got some shirts for you! (more…)

Posted in Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News |