Most Recent: Articles

2017 DICE Awards nominations announced and Uncharted 4 leads the way with ten

Posted on January 12, 2017 by John Scalzo

The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences has announced their nominees for the 2017 DICE Awards.

A Naughty Dog leads this year’s pack, as Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End scored ten nominations including one for “Game of the Year.” The developer’s swan song for Nathan Drake will be competing against Battlefield 1, Inside, Overwatch, and Pokemon Go for the coveted honor. We’ll hear from all of this year’s “Game of the Year” contenders throughout the ceremony as each earned multiple nominations including Inside with nine, Battlefield 1 with eight, Overwatch with six, and Pokemon Go with two.

The AIAS will hand out two new DICE Awards this year for “Immersive Reality Game of the Year” and “Immersive Reality Technical Achievement.” The nominees for both will be announced at a later date.

A total of 56 games received at least one nomination, and hosts Greg Miller and Jessica Chobot will announce the winners on Thursday, February 23, at 10:30 PM (Eastern Time). Viewers at home will be able to livestream the entire ceremony through the AIAS’s official website.

A complete list of this year’s nominees can be found after the break. (more…)

Posted in 3DS, Mobile, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One | Tagged , , , ,

Lego City Undercover’s re-release on the Switch, PC, PS4, Xbox One gets a new trailer

Posted on January 12, 2017 by John Scalzo

Lego City Undercover, the Lego-ized homage to Grand Theft Auto, and cop movie classics like Dirty Harry and Lethal Weapon was originally released for the Wii U in 2013, and has remained exclusive to Nintendo’s console ever since. But the rest of the gaming world will soon get to see what all the fuss is about because WB Games will re-release it for the PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch this Spring.

Today, the publisher unveiled the first trailer for the game’s 2017 reappearance, and it features all the goofy humor and family-friendly action you expect from the Lego series:

Lego City Undercover introduces Chase McCain, a police officer who goes undercover and dons multiple disguises to hunt down the notorious – and recently escaped – criminal, Rex Fury, to put an end to his city-wide crime wave.

This open-world Lego adventure allows fans and newcomers to explore the sprawling metropolis that is Lego City, with more than 20 unique districts to investigate, filled with car thieves to bust, vehicles to navigate, mischievous aliens to capture, hilarious movie references to discover, lost pigs to rescue and of course, hundreds of collectibles. Bringing together witty, original storytelling with signature Lego humor, this open-world Lego adventure creates a fun-filled experience for players of all ages.

Lego City Undercover is in development at TT Games, and we’ll probably hear more about it during tonight’s Nintendo Switch Presentation.

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

Shovel Knight is officially coming to Nintendo Switch; Yacht Club also plans to re-release the expansions as standalone games

Posted on January 11, 2017 by John Scalzo

Followers of the Code of Shovelry have quite a bit to celebrate today as Yacht Club Games uncovered a massive amount of new information about Shovel Knight on the game’s official site… including confirmation that it’ll be released for the Nintendo Switch.

Yes, the side-scrolling masterpiece will make its way to the Nintendo Switch sometime this year, along with each expansion and all the bonus content like Body Swap Mode and Co-Op Mode. Oh, speaking of Body Swap Mode, it’s finished and will be released alongside the Specter Knight expansion this Spring. And in the spirit of sharing, Co-Op Mode will no longer be exclusive to the Wii U (and the Shovel Knight Amiibo). According to the developer, it will soon be available for all consoles and the PC (but not the 3DS or the Vita) as a free update.

Here’s where it gets interesting.

Shovel Knight’s release structure will soon be undergoing some changes, though Kickstarter backers and other current owners won’t notice anything different. Yacht Club has decided to upgrade the game for current owners to the Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove on all platforms. Available this Spring, the Treasure Trove will include free access to all updates and expansions. But because the expansions have grown beyond being simple character swaps, Yacht Club has decided to raise the price of the Treasure Trove for newcomers once its available. The game’s new price has yet to be announced, but the current $14.99 price (and its promise of free updates and expansions) will remain in place until the Treasure Trove is released.

For everyone who has yet to purchase Shovel Knight (or for those who might want to rebuy the game on a new platform), Yacht Club has decided to split each of the expansions off into its own standalone game. So the original Shovel Knight campaign will receive a new subtitle (Shovel of Hope), and the expansions (Plague of Shadows, Specter of Torment, the King Knight campaign, and Battle Mode) will all be available as individual downloads (and for a lower price) on the PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Switch.

Finally, Yacht Club has begun to think about life after Shovel Knight, and will soon begin work on their “second” game (depending on how you count the Shovel Knight expansions). Writing in a new Q&A, the developer said, “[I]f you want something new outside of Shovel Knight… we have vowed to begin work on a new project this year!”

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

Daily Scoop: January 11, 2017 – Check out the Humble Assassin’s Creed Bundle

Posted on January 11, 2017 by Nicole Kline

I have a Game Makers Guild meeting tonight, which means I get to play lots of board games, and also work on some of my own! I have a few we’ve been working on that need tweaking, so here’s hoping some progress is made tonight. Other than that, I’m hoping to play some video games when I get home, but I’ll likely either do laundry and/or pass out instead. Being an adult is a super fun game!

There are some great deals today! Over at Humble, there’s the Assassin’s Creed Bundle. Pay what you want for Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: India, Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: China, Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: Russia, and Assassin’s Creed. Beat the average to unlock Assassin’s Creed Liberation HD, Assassin’s Creed III (with Tyranny of King Washington: The Infamy DLC), and Assassin’s Creed II: Deluxe Edition. Pay $15 or more to unlock Assassin’s Creed Unity and Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood.

Over at Steam, the Midweek Madness is early access to The Forest for $10.04. The Daily Deal is Pandora: First Contact, which is on sale for $7.49.

Just a few shirts today, but they’re good ones! Hit the jump to see them all. (more…)

Posted in Daily Scoop |

Xbox Store Today: Nevermind, Acorn Assault: Rodent Revolution

Posted on January 11, 2017 by John Scalzo

Welcome to the first Xbox Games Store update of 2017. Microsoft is easing their way into the new year with two new releases… an “adventure thriller” from Flying Mollusk and a furry turned-based strategy game from High Tale Studios.

In Nevermind, players will “explore strange worlds and solve puzzles” as they try to solve the mystery lurking within the inner psyche of psychological trauma survivors. Just like in The Cell, this task involves entering the minds of comatose patients and helping them cope. Thankfully, players won’t have to deal with a nearly-naked Vincent D’Onofrio. Nevermind is now available to download for the Xbox One.

Also launching for the Xbox One today is Acorn Assault: Rodent Revolution, a turned-based strategy game where players must overthrow King Louis the Umpteenth with a squirrel army. Oh, and it’s also somehow a retelling of the French Revolution.

More information on both Nevermind and Acorn Assault: Rodent Revolution can be found after the break. (more…)

Posted in News |

The Video Game Canon – Tetris

Posted on January 11, 2017 by John Scalzo

Dig deeper into the Video Game Canon with a look at how moms helped Tetris become the gaming gargantuan it is today. Here’s a teaser…

In 1989, most mothers believed that video games were a childhood distraction that eventually would be brushed aside as their offspring grew into responsible adults. But something happened along the way that prevented this. Perhaps the Nintendo Entertainment System, the most popular console of its day, was just that much better than previous attempts to bring video games into the living room. But I have a different theory. I believe it was Tetris.

Tetris brought mothers and their children together to play video games for the first time. And then something magical happened. Instead of jerkily moonwalking Mario into a pit or being the most unrad racer on the planet, the mothers were good at Tetris. They were so good that brother and sister soon had to compete with mom for control of the television. And mom wasn’t going to be finished until she made the castle take off into the stratosphere.

Visit VideoGameCanon.com to continue reading this article and to explore the complete Top 1000.

Posted in Features, PC, Retro, Top Story, Video Game Canon | Tagged

Latest Horizon: Zero Dawn trailer offers a look at Aloy’s allies and enemies

Posted on January 11, 2017 by John Scalzo

We’re just a month-and-a-half away from the launch of Horizon: Zero Dawn, and developer Guerrilla Games is back with yet another look at the game’s story. We’re still no closer to figuring out the circumstances behind the mixture of primative humans and high technology found in Aloy’s world, but it does introduce us to some the other people that’ll populate it.

In this gameplay trailer, we meet the “Masked Men,” the mysterious force seemingly behind the techno-organic animals that roam the land, along with a few of Aloy’s friends and neighbors.

Horizon: Zero Dawn will be released exclusively for the PS4 on February 28.

Posted in News, PS4 | Tagged

Earthlock: Festival of Magic will be released for PS4 on January 27

Posted on January 11, 2017 by John Scalzo

Snowcastle Games originally released Earthlock: Festival of Magic for the PC and Xbox One last year. Yesterday the Norwegian developer took over the PlayStation Blog and confirmed that their RPG will also be released for the PS4 on January 27.

Lead Artist Fredrik Dahl also shared a few secrets about how Snowcastle tried to “honor and exceed” old-school RPGs with Earthlock:

Strategy is key to survival, not the grind.

“In the traditional turn-based RPG, I don’t think it’s a big secret that there’s a lot of grinding going on — to level up in order to beat a boss, for example. We’ve tried to limit that by focusing more on a tactical experience. Usually you can get through the bosses in Earthlock by choosing the right strategy, getting your talent board set up, and having the right character pairings. Getting wiped out is more often than not a case of having the wrong party setup.”

Earthlock: Festival of Magic is also in development for the Wii U, but it’s currently unknown when, or even if, it’ll reach Nintendo’s console.

Posted in News, PS4 | Tagged