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Xbox Store Today: Hitman, Ori and the Blind Forest Definitive Edition, Cel Damage HD, more

Posted on March 11, 2016 by John Scalzo

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Sneak in, take a gander at today’s Xbox Games Store update, and sneak out…

Agent 47 is back in IO Interactive’s brand new episodic Hitman game for the Xbox One. Today’s release of the “Intro Pack” will reintroduce players to everyone’s favorite assassin with two missions, Contracts Mode, Escalation Mode, and a variety of other content. The story will continue in six expansion packs that IO will release more-or-less monthly throughout 2016.

One of last year’s most popular Xbox One games, Ori and the Blind Forest, will receive an expanded re-release today as Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition. Players will be able to explore new areas, discover new secrets, wield new abilities, and dive deeper into the story.

Also available today are a trio of other titles, all for the Xbox One… Cel Damage HD is a re-release of a cartoonish car combat from the turn of the century, and I’m sure some people will find it surprising that it even exists. MagNets: Fully Charged is an arena game where players have to scoop up rogue maintenance bots and restore order to Polarity City. And Blast ‘Em Bunnies is a first person shooter starring a bunch of deranged rabbits.

More information on all of these games can be found after the break. (more…)

Posted in News, Xbox One | Tagged ,

Daily Scoop: March 11, 2016 – So many shirts today!

Posted on March 11, 2016 by Nicole Kline

It’s Friday, and school’s done! There’s just a little more left to do and then I’m officially free until next term starts in two weeks. We’re celebrating my birthday again tonight, so I’m super excited to go home, eat cake, and play games!

Over at the Humble Store, there’s a big sale on 2K Games Packs. Get all three games in the BioShock franchise for $13.99, Borderlands Handsome Bundle for $32.99, or Spec Ops The Line and The Darkness II for $14.99, among others.

The Weekend Deal at Steam is on the Grid Franchise. Get the complete Grid bundle for $34.67, or pick and choose which ones you need to complete your collection at heavily discounted prices. The Daily Deal is The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky, which is on sale for $9.99.

There are tons of t-shirts to choose from today! Hit the jump to see them all. (more…)

Posted in Daily Scoop |

Far Cry: Primal was the best-selling game of February 2016

Posted on March 11, 2016 by John Scalzo

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It’s time to listen to the mastodon roar as Ubisoft’s Far Cry: Primal was declared the best-selling game of February 2016 by The NPD Group. Proving that players might be in the market for more titles that feature pre-modern warfare, Far Cry: Primal beat out Call of Duty: Black Ops III, which took the #2 slot.

Several other new releases broke into the top ten last month, including Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 at #4 and Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright at #9. But the most surprising result might be the less-than-stellar debut of Capcom’s Street Fighter V. Even after a big push from Sony, the much-hyped fighting game was only able to punch its way to #7.

Sales of new PS3 and Xbox 360 games continued to drop last month, and total retail spending on new games slipped 10% from February 2015. Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, NPD’s Liam Callahan said: “New physical software trends suffered due to a sharp decline in seventh generation consoles of 52% despite the 14% (or $28 million growth) in eighth generation software. Portable software also had a drop of 30% due to a poor comparison to the launch of The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D, which coincided with the launch of the New 3DS.”

A complete look at last month’s top ten best-selling titles can be found after the break. (more…)

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

Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture leads with 10 nominations at the 2016 BAFTA Games Awards

Posted on March 11, 2016 by John Scalzo

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The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) bestowed some absolutely rapturous acclaim on Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture yesterday. The game, which was developed by The Chinese Room and released exclusively for the PS4, was nominated in ten categories for this year’s BAFTA Games Awards.

Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture will obviously be competing for “Best Game” at the 2016 BAFTAs, and also for “Best British Game,” “Artistic Achievement,” “Audio Achievement,” “Game Innovation,” “Music,” “Original Property,” and “Story.” Two nominations in the “Performer” category (one for Merle Dandridge and one for Oliver Dimsdale) round out its double digit list of accolades.

However, five other games (Fallout 4, Life Is Strange, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Rocket League, and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt) are also up for “Best Game” and any one of them could easily steal the spotlight from Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture.

We’ll find out who takes the top prize on Thursday, April 7, when comedian Dara O’Briain returns to host the festivities, which will be televised via Twitch and BAFTA.org. The complete list of nominees in all categories can be found after the break. (more…)

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

Nintendo Download: Star Ghost, Mega Man Battle Network 6, Bravely Second demo, more

Posted on March 10, 2016 by John Scalzo

Wii U and 3DS owners will get a chance to try out a procedurally-generated space shooter, a Game Boy Advance classic, and an exclusive bonus adventure that’s part of an upcoming RPG…

Star Ghost is a procedurally-generated space shooter for the Wii U that was developed by Rhys Lewis, a developer that was formerly employed employed by Rare and Retro Studios. Also available this week for the Wii U is Mega Man Battle Network 6: Cybeast Falzar / Cybeast Gregar, which was originally released for the Game Boy Advance in 2005, and is the final game in the Mega Man Battle Network series.

Finally this week, Square Enix will bring a Bravely Second: End Layer demo to the eShop for the 3DS. In “The Ballad of the Three Cavaliers,” players will return to the land of Luxendarc and embark on an exclusive adventure with Yew, Magnolia, Janne, and Nikolai that won’t be available in the full version of the game. Players will even be able to earn bonuses that’ll transfer to Bravely Second when its released on April 15.

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

Posted in 3DS, News, Wii U | Tagged

Aonuma wants to do “something new” with The Legend of Zelda Wii U

Posted on March 10, 2016 by John Scalzo

legendofzeldaFor a game that’s less than nine months away, we certainly don’t know a whole heck of a lot about The Legend of Zelda Wii U. It’s rumored to be an “open world” game, and the art style is certainly beautiful, but that’s about it. Thankfully, Producer Eiji Aonuma recently saw down with Famitsu (via Kotaku) to briefly give fans a window into the development process.

Aonuma revealed that his team is currently in the “end stages of development” and that he’s editing character dialogue and in-game text… just as he did near the end of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword‘s development. He also said that he wants fans to get “something new” out of The Legend of Zelda Wii U:

According to Aonuma, the keyword this time is “something new.” Ocarina of Time was a huge leap for the Zelda series and since then Aonuma explained, “I think the base of our secret sauce has always been Ocarina of Time. But this time, the change in flavor will be like going from Japanese food to Western style food. Perhaps, players will be surprised.”

“Please look forward to it, because I think we’ll be able to make ‘something new’ like Ocarina of Time was,” Aonuma added.

I’ve got to admit, I’m a sucker for a good food analogy and describing the game as “Western style food” will only fuel the “open world” rumors. Whatever happens, we should all be playing The Legend of Zelda Wii U by the end of the year.

Posted in News, Wii U | Tagged

Soon you can cat on the PlayStation 4 with Catlateral Damage

Posted on March 10, 2016 by Nicole Kline

I won’t mince words here: I freaking love Catlateral Damage. It’s a game where you play as a cat, knocking over everything in sight. Chris Chung refers to it as a “first-person destructive cat simulator” in his announcement on the PlayStation Blog. What is that announcement, you ask? That Catlateral Damage is coming to the PlayStation 4 on March 22!

There are two modes to the game… Objective Mode, where you have a set amount of time to cause as much destruction as possible; and Litterbox Mode, where you can cause as much destruction for however long you want – no time limit!

The real magic, of course, is the fact that Chung has become amazing at cat puns. “All levels are procedurally generated, so you can litter-ally be a cat fur-ever,” he says, adding, “Sorry, cat puns are like my thing now.”

Be sure to check out Catlateral Damage on the PS4 on March 22. If you’re a PS Plus member, you’ll even get an extra 20% off. Purr-rific!

Posted in News, PS4 | Tagged

Daily Scoop: March 10, 2016 – Play Awesomenauts free now!

Posted on March 10, 2016 by Nicole Kline

I’m so close to the end of my class! The only thing that stands between me and freedom is a 15-page paper, which I’ve done a lot of work for already. I can do this! I can practically taste the chips and salsa I am going to be eating while sitting on the couch playing video games.

Let’s talk about deals! There’s no new weekly bundle at Humble, but there are plenty of games in the Humble Store that you can pick up on sale. We are the Dwarves is $13.49, The Town of Light is $16.90, and The Interactive Adventures of Dog Mendonça and Pizza Boy is $17.99.

Over at Steam, the Free Weekend is Awesomenauts! Play the game for free for the next three days, and pick it up for just $2.49 if you like what you see. You can also get a pack of three for $4.99, or grab the Awesomenauts Ultimate Overdrive Pack for $8.39. The Daily Deal is Not a Hero, which is on sale for $3.24.

Just a handful of t-shirts today! (more…)

Posted in Daily Scoop |