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XBL Store Today: Need For Speed: Rivals, Adventure Time 2

Posted on November 27, 2013 by John Scalzo

needforspeedrivals-boxThere’s no new additions to the Xbox Live Arcade today. Nor is there any new Xbox One games. But two new games have been added to the Xbox 360 Games On Demand storefront. And they are…

Need For Speed: Rivals ($59.99)
Welcome to Redview County, where a street-racing rivalry between cops and racers never stops as both sides compete in an all-out war featuring the fastest cars, mods and technology in a gritty open road environment. Play as either a cop or racer, where each side of the law has its own set of high stakes challenges, rewards and consequences. Risk everything in the ultimate high stakes rivalry.

Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I DON’T KNOW! ($39.99)
Princess Bubblegum summons Finn and Jake to investigate a rash of thefts and kidnappings that have plagued the Candy Kingdom. She thinks the cause lies within her Secret Royal Dungeon, where only the nastiest monsters and criminals are locked up. If they’ve found a way to escape, the Land of Ooo will be in danger! Show creator Pendleton Ward teams up again with developer WayForward in an all-new action game! Select from fan favorite characters from the show, including Finn, Jake, and many more, and team up with your friends in four-player co-operative multiplayer as the Adventure Time world comes to life through beautiful pixel animations, and voiceover from the original cast.

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Daily Scoop: November 27, 2013 – Get ready to get thankful

Posted on November 27, 2013 by Nicole Kline

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and everyone’s been posting on social media networks the last few days about what they’re most thankful for. This morning I realized that one of the things I’m most thankful for has to be when I actually get on the bus and there aren’t crazy people on it. Last night and this morning I sat down near crazy people who just sat and said insanely hostile things loud enough for everyone around them to hear them, for the entire bus ride. I’m thankful for every time that doesn’t happen. What are you thankful for, friendly readers? Fantastic Achievements? Brutal gameplay? Games that lack QTEs?

Speaking of thankfulness, there are tons of sales about to drop in the next few days, and I’m not sure what to look at first. I’m interested in picking up the Zelda 3DS XL special edition at Target for $150, but I don’t really need the game or the system. I would love to have an XL, but I don’t, you know, need it. And, as always, there are more deals at Amazon. Is it bad that I’m amused that no one is picking up Remember Me at $19.99?

And now, the t-shirts! (more…)

Posted in Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News |

Nintendo’s interactive Louvre musuem guide is coming to 3DS eShop

Posted on November 27, 2013 by John Scalzo

3dslouvreNintendo has announced that the interactive museum guide they created for The Louvre (and which was designed by Shigeru Miyamoto himself) will soon be added to the 3DS eShop. The downloadable app, known as Nintendo 3DS Guide: Louvre, will be released on December 2 with a $19.99 price tag.

The Louvre app includes “more than 600 images of artwork from the famed French museum” as well as 400 3D pictures of famous sculptures. Each images can be zoomed in so users can closely examine works of art that are actually located thousands of miles away. More than 30 hours of commentary will complement the images for a complete learning experience.

An “artwork slide show,” which isn’t available through the 3DS app provided at The Louvre, has been added to the 3DS eShop version. And as the museum’s exhibits change, Nintendo plans to make updates to Nintendo 3DS Guide: Louvre app available to the app’s users.

Posted in 3DS, News | Tagged

PS Store Today: Ys Vita, MGS: VR Missions, Painkiller PS3, more

Posted on November 26, 2013 by John Scalzo

playstationstorelogoHere’s your PlayStation Store update for today. We got some Painkiller: Hell & Damnation and some Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory on the PS3 as well as the Metal Gear Solid: VR Missions expansion in the PSone Classics section. Vita owners will even get a chance to play Ys: Memories of Celceta.

There’s more information on all of this week’s releases down below and a list of this week’s new game add-ons at the PlayStation Blog…

PS3 Games

Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory ($39.99)
Join Neptune as she is thrust out of the peaceful Gamindustri she loves to be lazy in and finds herself in an alternate dimension—the Gamindustri of the 80′s! Fast-paced combat, several dozen dungeons to explore, and improved battle mechanics, oh my! Complete unique Challenges to boost stats, or call on Scouts to seek out new dungeons for you! Help Neptune get home in this over-the-top comedy RPG!

Painkiller: Hell & Damnation ($29.99)
Heaven’s Hitman is back… With a Vengeance! Demonic powers are manifesting, fighting over the fates of imprisoned souls caught in Purgatory. Once again, Daniel Garner, the Curse of Darkness and the Toy of Light, has to fight his way past hordes of demons. Can he stop the powerful creatures that stand in his way?

Saint Seiya: Brave Soldiers ($59.99)
The ultimate Saint Seiya fighting game! Battle your way through 3 famous Chapters (Sanctuary, Poseidon and Hades) with over 50 playable fighters. Discover the most complete Saints experience with character customization, new battle systems and 3 online modes to fight against players all over the world. Save Athena, Save the World!

Super Motherload ($14.99)
Set on Mars in an alternate Cold-War era, Super Motherload is a 1 to 4-player couch co-op digging adventure with branching storyline choices, a fully voiced cast of Soviet and American characters, and a procedurally-generated world that changes each time you play. (Includes PS4 Version Download)

PS3 – PSone Classics

Metal Gear Solid: VR Missions ($5.99)
Metal Gear Solid is one of the most successful, and maybe one of the best, PlayStation games ever. These virtual reality missions expand on the training of the special forces unit your character in MGS came from.

Oddworld: Abe Boxx ($9.99)
Hey, remember that quirky demo that came with your original PlayStation®, something about an alien escaping a factory? Did you never get the chance to finish that tough-as-nails game or its sequel? Now’s your chance to play Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee and continue the story in Oddworld: Abe’s Exoddus.

Run, jump and possess your way across seven levels of legendary platforming action in the first Oddworld game, freeing 99 of your fellow Mudokons. Then join Abe again in taking down SoulStorm Brewery across eight even bigger levels, and free another 300 Mudokons from a life of gruelling “employment”.

PS Vita Games

Ys: Memories of Celceta ($39.99)
World-famous adventurer Adol Christin awakens in the land of Celceta, remembering only his own name. Eager to unravel the mystery of his past and the cause of his predicament, he sets off to map the uncharted wilderness that claimed his memories in this latest action RPG offering from Nihon Falcom. Join Adol as he traverses the largest overworld in the series with many new friends at his side!

Posted in News, PS3, Vita | Tagged ,

Xbox One TV input has no love for British framerate, workaround found

Posted on November 26, 2013 by Andrew Rainnie

xboxone-logoIt looks like the much lauded live TV integration feature of the Xbox One has hit a tiny snag in the UK.As reported by numerous sources (including The Escapist, VideoGamer, and OXM UK), Xbox One owners have said that when watching their Freeview or Sky feeds through the system, the image was “juddering” so much that it was unwatchable.

The issue has since been identified by HDTVtest to be the small, yet significant, difference between American and British television framerates. Just like the spelling of certain words differs between the two countries, US TVs refresh at a rate of 60Hz, while in Britain, the standard rate is 50Hz. The Xbox One has been set to the American standard, even those units being sold in the UK, making the signals almost incompatible.

Not content with pinpointing the kink in Microsoft’s new multimedia-focused box, HDTVtest has since come up with a solution.

“First, set your Xbox One to auto-detect HDMI (under Display settings). Then, toggle the resolution from 1080p to 720p (or vice versa), which should trigger a prompt window asking if the screen is displaying correctly, and if you want to keep the new resolution. Select “No” before the 15 seconds is up. This seems to trick the Xbox One into thinking that the TV is not compatible with 60Hz signal, and voila! 50Hz output. Depending on your television set, you may need several attempts to succeed.”

Alas, while this solves the issue when watching television, it screws up the console’s primary function… playing games. Xbox One games are designed to be played at 60Hz, which means that users will have to switch between 50Hz and 60Hz depending on what they want to do. This seems like a far cry from the “All In One” experience Microsoft had promised. In fact, rather than having to mess about with the framerate settings, players may find it easier to bypass the Xbox One altogether, and have their TV feed piped into, gasp, the TV itself.

Posted in News, Xbox One |

Daily Scoop: November 26, 2013 – Don’t Starve Chester Plush

Posted on November 26, 2013 by Nicole Kline

I’m not sure if you’ve checked out Kickstarter lately, but one just launched that you might have some interest in. There’s an adorable Chester Plush from the indie game Don’t Starve. It is so, so adorable, and it’s already been completely funded – unsurprisingly! If you loved this game, you should definitely think about funding this project.

Poking around for early Black Friday sales? Well, check out Amazon’s Gold Box deals (filter by Video Games!) and see if there’s anything you like today. I’m hoping against hope that someone will have the Wii U Wind Waker Bundle on sale, but I’m not sure if that will happen! It was Black Friday a few years ago when I got my special edition red Wii, after all… this would be a great tradition!

Let’s talk t-shirts, people! (more…)

Posted in Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News |

Microsoft publishes 2013 Black Friday/Cyber Monday XBL Game Store deals

Posted on November 26, 2013 by John Scalzo

xboxbigsaleThe deals are upon us and Microsoft has gotten in on the act with their annual Black Friday/Cyber Monday deal-travaganza on the Xbox Live Game Store. You can find the complete list of deals at Major Nelson’s blog, but here’s a few highlights:

The “Week-long Offers” begin today and include big discounts on downloadable versions of The Bureau: XCOM Declassified (67% off), The Cave (75% off), Wolfenstein 3D (75% off), Tomb Raider (50% off), and Motocross Madness (75% off). All “Week-long Offers” are good until December 2.

Black Friday deals are limited to November 29 only, but if you’re looking for a Spider-Man game, you can pick up the following four at 67% off: Edge of Time, Friend or Foe, Shattered Dimensions, and Web of Shadows. Another comic book adaptation from Activision, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, will also have its price slashed by 67% on Friday.

Finally, Microsoft’s Cyber Monday deals will only be offered on December 2, but if you can keep your wallet full until next Monday, you can grab a few bonafide classics for 75% off including Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, Red Dead Redemption, The Witcher 2, Dark Souls, and L.A. Noire. The ridiculously good BattleBlock Theater will also get a price cut (sadly, just 67% off) on December 2.

Once again, be sure to head over to Major Nelson’s blog for the complete list of Black Friday/Cyber Monday discounts on the XBL Game Store.

Posted in News, Xbox 360 |

GTA: San Andreas comes to mobile devices this December

Posted on November 26, 2013 by John Scalzo

grandtheftautosanandreas-logoGrand Theft Auto III received a mobile re-release in 2011 and it was followed by Vice City last year. Today, Rockstar Games collected the the hat trick by confirming that Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas will also be made available for mobile platforms in December.

The mobile edition of GTA: San Andreas has been completely reworked to create the best-looking version of the game yet with “newly remastered graphics including dynamic and detailed shadows, greater draw distance, an enriched color palette, plus enhanced character and car models.” This enhanced graphical presentation means that the game will only be released for “select” iOS, Android, Amazon Kindle, and Windows Mobile devices. Rockstar has said that they will confirm exactly which devices will be able to handle the San Andreas re-release at a later date.

However, they were able to announce that in addition to the touchscreen controls, GTA: San Andreas on iOS 7 devices will include support for all “Made For iOS” controllers. Wow, that’s just awesome… you know, maybe there is something to this notion that gamers will abandon consoles for mobile devices.

Posted in Mobile, News | Tagged