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Minecraft: Story Mode will be playable at PAX Prime 2015

Posted on August 28, 2015 by John Scalzo

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The 2015 PAX Prime expo begins in just a few hours, and if you’re in Seattle waiting to get in, you might be pleased to learn that Telltale Games will have a playable demo of Minecraft: Story Mode at their booth (#3117) this year. According to the developer, this is the first time the game will be playable by anyone outside their office, so this is quite the opportunity for PAX Prime attendees.

A lucky few will also have the chance to acquire an expo-exclusive Minecraft: Story Mode t-shirt. And actually, there will be four different shirt designs, one for each day. Telltale has also said there’s a chance some could collect all four:

[F]rom Saturday onward we’ll have a limited number of the day’s t-shirts reserved each morning for people who visit us wearing one of the previous day’s designs. No need to play the beta again, just wear the shirt! So if you play on the first day and are quick getting to our booth each morning thereafter, you might just manage to collect all four designs.

Minecraft: Story Mode will follow Jesse (Patton Oswalt) and his friends as they attempt to revive the Order of the Stone and save the world from an Ender Dragon. The first episode (of five) is expected to premiere this Fall on the PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and mobile devices (iOS and Android).

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Square Enix is bringing playable demos of Just Cause 3, Final Fantasy XV, Dragon Quest Heroes, more to PAX Prime 2015

Posted on August 20, 2015 by John Scalzo

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Square Enix has big plans for PAX Prime 2015 including half a dozen panels and playable demos of seven games.

A playable demo of Just Cause 3 will make its North American debut at the Square Enix booth (#3646), where it will share floor space with demos for Final Fantasy XV (Episode Duscae 2.0), Final Fantasy Explorers, Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward, Dragon Qest Heroes: The World Tree’s Woe and the Blight Below, Lara Croft Go, and Life Is Strange.

The publisher also plans to set up a “pop-up barber shop” in their booth to give fans of the Hitman franchise the chance to share Agent 47’s signature look. For every head they shave, Square Enix will donate $47 to the GameChanger Charity, which supports children with cancer. The shavee will even receive a Steam code for Hitman: Absolution. Though anyone who wants to donate their own money (and keep their hair) can do so at 47vsCancer.org.

Finally, Square Enix’s series of panels will fly in developers from all over the world to talk about Hitman, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, Just Cause 3, and more. The publisher even plans to host a “Final Fantasy XV Active Time Report Live” panel with Director Hajime Tabata.

The PAX Prime expo will be held from August 28-31 in Seattle, Washington. More details about all of Square Enix’s panels and playable demos can be found after the break. (more…)

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Activision will launch Skylanders BattleCast mobile card game in 2016

Posted on August 18, 2015 by John Scalzo

Having captured the hearts and minds of mobile gamers everywhere with Hearthstone, Activision is looking to do it again in 2016 with Skylanders BattleCast.

Like Hearthstone, Skylanders BattleCast will be a free-to-play collectible card game for mobile devices. But unlike Hearthstone, Activision plans to print physical cards for Skylanders BattleCast that players will need to scan to add to their digital collection. These physical cards can be collected and traded outside the app, and digital packs can be purchased to further augment your card collection.

Writing on the Activision Games Blog, the publisher also revealed they are consulting pro card players and experts in physical card game design to make sure they get it right:

Alongside the talented development teams behind the Skylanders franchise, we’ve assembled a team of experts across physical card game design, pro card players, and the top card artists to help create an authentic card battle experience with Skylanders BattleCast.

We don’t know exactly how Skylanders BattleCast will work just yet, but this commitment is an encouraging sign. Even though the full game won’t be available until 2016, players will get a chance to try out Skylanders BattleCast beginning September 20 by downloading a special preview app through their iOS or Android device.

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Telltale has released a launch trailer for Tales From the Borderlands: Episode 4

Posted on August 17, 2015 by John Scalzo

If you’ve been following along with Telltale’s Tales From the Borderlands, you’ll definitely want to watch the launch trailer embedded above. And if you haven’t been playing it, you have two options. You can either avoid the trailer like the plague, or you can use it to catch up with what you missed and pretend that you’ve played the first three episodes:

In this penultimate episode of the season, captured by Vallory and her goons, Rhys and Fiona are forced to continue the search for the Vault beacon – at gunpoint. The beacon is on the Hyperion moon base – Helios – while our heroes are on Pandora… so there’s the pesky cold void of death known as “space” to overcome. Even with assistance from a familiar face, and with a worryingly helpful Handsome Jack hitching a ride in Rhys’ head, getting on board the ominous “H” is going to take every drop of guile, and quite possibly all the spunk you’ve got. Sacrifices will be made – can you make the tough choices needed to succeed?

Whatever your choice, Tales From the Borderlands: Escape Plan Bravo will be available to download through all the major digital storefronts this week:

  • Tuesday, August 18: PC, PS3, and PS4
  • Wednesday, August 19: Xbox One and Xbox 360
  • Thursday, August 20: iOS and Android

And don’t forget, developers from Telltale will make the trip to this year’s PAX Prime expo to host a special “Crowd Play” presentation of Tales From the Borderlands: Escape Plan Bravo on Saturday, August 29 at 8:30 PM. There will be plenty of giveaways and the entire crowd is expected to help steer the events of the episode.

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Tales From the Borderlands: Episode 4 will launch on August 18

Posted on August 12, 2015 by John Scalzo

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Telltale Games and Gearbox Software have announced that the fourth episode of Tales From the Borderlands will be available beginning August 18. The penultimate episode will be known as Escape Plan Bravo (screenshots are available at Telltale’s Blog) and it’s sending the game’s pair of anti-heroes to the frickin’ moon:

In this penultimate episode of the season, captured by Vallory and her goons, Rhys and Fiona are forced to continue the search for the Vault beacon – at gunpoint. The beacon is on the Hyperion moon base – Helios – while our heroes are on Pandora… so there’s the pesky cold void of death known as “space” to overcome. Even with assistance from a familiar face, and with a worryingly helpful Handsome Jack hitching a ride in Rhys’ head, getting on board the ominous “H” is going to take every drop of guile, and quite possibly all the spunk you’ve got. Sacrifices will be made – can you make the tough choices needed to succeed?

As with all of Telltale’s other episodic releases, Escape Plan Bravo will receive a staggered release schedule next week:

  • Tuesday, August 18: PC, PS3, and PS4
  • Wednesday, August 19: Xbox One and Xbox 360
  • Thursday, August 20: iOS and Android

Developers from Telltale will make the trip to this year’s PAX Prime expo to host a special “Crowd Play” presentation of Tales From the Borderlands: Escape Plan Bravo on Saturday, August 29 at 8:30 PM. There will be plenty of giveaways and the entire crowd is expected to help steer the events of the episode.

Telltale’s Job Stauffer says, “Come equipped with your shouty voice.”

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Indie Megabooth announces massive PAX Prime 2015 presence

Posted on August 11, 2015 by Nicole Kline

It’s that time gain! Those beautiful, brilliant minds behind the Indie Megabooth have announced the PAX Prime 2015 lineup, and it certainly IS mega! I see a lot of personal favorites in there, including Armello, Death Road to Canada, Hyper Light Drifter, Mushroom 11, Cinelinx: A Card Game For People Who Love Movies, Pleasant Dreams, Skiptrace, and two games I can’t keep my hands off of: Monikers and Mini Metro! And let’s not forget that this might be your best chance to check out Funomena’s Wattam!

If you’re in Seattle the last weekend in August for PAX Prime, trust me: you do not want to miss the Indie Megabooth. These are traditionally some of the best games on the show floor, and I don’t just say that because my own game (Resistor) has been part of the Tabletop Area. OK, maybe that might sway my opinion a little. But the team behind the IMB carefully curates some of the most amazing games, not just for your enjoyment, but as an installation of the best and brightest developers in indie gaming right now.

Enough of my gushing. Watch the trailer and hit the jump for the full list of developers and games (more than 70 in all)! (more…)

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Avoid the “Kill Screen” in the first gameplay trailer for Pac-Man 256

Posted on August 10, 2015 by John Scalzo

Pac-Man‘s infamous “Kill Screen,” an ominous black cloud of symbols and numbers, has become sentient in Pac-Man 256. But gaming’s most famous yellow circle has an escape plan. Pac-Man 256 is actually an “endless runner” developed by Hipster Whale, the same team that released Crossy Road for mobile devices last year.

Hipster Whale was in attendance at this weekend’s Gamescom expo, where they showed off the first gameplay trailer for Pac-Man 256. It features the same isometric style as Crossy Road with plenty of Pac-Man touches and a number of new Ghosts.

Pac-Man 256 will be available for mobile devices this Summer.

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Activision adds 16 songs to Guitar Hero Live to bring its total to 100 (and counting)

Posted on August 8, 2015 by John Scalzo

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Earlier this week, Activision announced another batch of songs that will be included in Guitar Hero Live, bringing the total number of tracks to 100. That triple-digit number means that Guitar Hero Live will have the largest selection of on-disc of any music game when its released this Fall. The previous record holder, Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock, topped out at 93.

And Activision isn’t looking to beat the Babe by a single home run like Roger Maris in 1961. They want to really push the disc capacity of the new-generation systems and the publisher plans to announce even more songs for Guitar Hero Live in the future. But for now, here’s a list of all 16 songs that are part of this announcement:

  • Blink-182 – “The Rock Show”
  • Boston – “More Than a Feeling”
  • Charlie XCX – “Famous”
  • Dream Theater – “The Looking Glass”
  • Echosmith – “Cool Kids”
  • In Flames – “Deliver Us”
  • James Bay – “Hold Back The River”
  • Kasabian – “Club Foot”
  • Kings of Leon – “Sex on Fire”
  • Megadeth – “Hangar 18”
  • MGMT – “Time to Pretend”
  • Panic! At the Disco – “Girls Girls Boys”
  • Passion Pit – “Take a Walk”
  • Royal Blood – “Come on Over”
  • Rush – “Limelight”
  • You Me at Six – “Lived a Lie”

Guitar Hero Live, and its brand new six-button controller, will be released for the PS3, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One on October 20.

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