Most Recent: PC

Pyre Hands-On Preview: Supergiant Hits Their Stride With This Upcoming Arena Action RPG

Posted on April 25, 2017 by Nicole Kline

Supergiant Games is known for its unique audio work, gameplay, narrative design, and possibly above all, its vivid art direction and worldbuilding. Pyre is no exception to this, but I would argue that it’s the game where Supergiant is finally hitting their stride. With a combination of stylized art design, innovative and intuitive gameplay, and intriguing characters, it feels like they’ve gone to a whole new level of game design. Not that Bastion and Transistor weren’t excellent in their own right, but Pyre feels like a natural evolution from those games to something wholly different – and yet utterly Supergiant. (more…)

Posted in PC, Previews, PS4, Top Story | Tagged ,

Story Mode, 8 new characters, Collector’s Edition revealed for Marvel Vs Capcom: Infinite, which is launching on September 19

Posted on April 25, 2017 by John Scalzo

“Worlds Collide” in the latest trailer for Marvel Vs Capcom: Infinite. To celebrate the announcement of the game’s Cinematic Story Mode, Capcom has revealed the circumstances behind the fourth crossover between Marvel’s stable of characters, and their own. It seems that Ultron and Sigma have realized they share the same murderous philosophy, and their mutual dislike for mankind has lead them to form a deadly new alliance:

For the first time in franchise history, the Marvel and Capcom universes collide in a visually stunning and immersive cinematic Story Mode, as heroes and villains battle together to save their merged worlds from a sinister new threat, Ultron Sigma. A combination of the robotic foes known as Ultron from the Marvel Universe and Sigma from the Capcom Universe, this psychotic villain is obsessed with infecting all organic life with a cybernetic virus. History’s greatest gathering of warriors must now unite to fight back against Ultron Sigma and save their newly formed world.

Capcom and Marvel had quite a bit more to announce today, including eight additional playable characters (Ultron, Hulk, Thor, Hawkeye, Rocket Raccoon, Chun-Li, Strider Hiryu, and Chris Redfield) and a 2017 Character Pass that’ll include access to six post-launch characters, starting with Mega Man X‘s Sigma. The 2017 Character Pass will be available as a standalone download (for $30), but it’ll also be bundled with the PS4/Xbox One-exclusive Deluxe Edition (for $89.99) if you want to purchase everything up front.

The publisher plans to sweeten the pot with two bonus costumes (Warrior Thor and Evil Ryu) for anyone who pre-orders the Standard Edition. Two more costumes (Gladiator Hulk and Command Mission Mega Man X) will be added to the package if you pre-order the Deluxe Edition.

But wait, they’re not done. A Collector’s Edition, produced by TriForce, will also be released this Fall for the PS4 and Xbox One. Priced at $199.99, it’ll include four “Premium Character Dioramas” of Iron Man, Captain Marvel, Mega Man X, and Chun-Li, a Display Box filled with six Infinity Stone Replicas, and a copy of the Deluxe Edition in SteelBook packaging.

Finally, Capcom confirmed that Marvel Vs Capcom: Infinite will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on September 19.

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The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the NES fangame transforms Breath of the Wild into an 8-bit adventure

Posted on April 24, 2017 by John Scalzo

Nintendo famously created an 8-bit prototype of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild to help the development team get acclimated to working with its many interlocking systems. Fans have been clamoring for a chance to play this prototype since its reveal, but Nintendo doesn’t appear to be in any rush to make it available for public use.

Naturally, a dedicated Nintendo fan, Winter Drake, has decided to create a playable version of the prototype in his spare time.

The fangame is known as The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the NES, and a demo is currently available as a free download through Itch.io. Nintendo is usually quick to ask their lawyers to issue a “Cease and Desist” order when their characters are used in a fan-created game, but the developer of Breath of the NES has vowed to finish at any costs. Specifically, they told Kotaku that he plans to swap out Link and his Hyrulian enemies with original characters when the time comes:

“When a lot of people hear about this project, they jump to worrying about a cease and desist from Nintendo,” Winter Drake told Kotaku. “While I’m going to stay hardworking on Breath of the NES for as long as I can, if Nintendo asks me to stop using their IP, I do plan to continue development with my own original characters. I’m having way too much fun creating this world to just give up.”

Winter Drake also said they’re not creating a direct conversion of Breath of the Wild, but want to “capture the spirit” of the game:

“This project is still in its early stages… I’ll be adding more areas with distinct elements and atmospheres, puzzle elements for dungeons, and lots of ways to creatively kill enemies,” Winter Drake, the developer behind Breath of the NES, told Kotaku.

“I have a lot of plans for original features in the game, and although I’d like to capture the spirit of BotW and NES Zelda, I’m not restricting myself to be perfectly faithful.”

Winter Drake will be providing additional updates on Breath of the NES’s development on Twitter.

Posted in News, PC, Retro, Switch, Wii U | Tagged

New Retail Releases: Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Puyo Puyo Tetris, Dragon Quest Heroes II, More

Posted on April 23, 2017 by John Scalzo

Spring has sprung, flowers are in bloom, and a huge batch of new releases will be sprouting on the shelves at your local game store this week.

Nintendo Switch owners have the biggest reasons to celebrate this week as Nintendo will bring Mario Kart 8 Deluxe to the console, while Sega will release Puyo Puyo Tetris. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe includes all of the downloadable content from Mario Kart 8’s original release, as well as several new racers, a brand new Battle Mode, and improved graphics. Meanwhile, Puyo Puyo Tetris mashes together the two puzzle game franchises to create a multiplayer title that features nearly a dozen different ways to play.

Also available this week is a pair of terrifying new titles, including Red Barrels’s first-person horror compilation, Outlast Trinity (which contains Outlast, its expansion, and the brand new Outlast II) for the PS4 and Xbox One. Bandai Namco will also release their creepy puzzle platformer, Little Nightmares, for the PS4 and Xbox One.

Elsewhere on store shelves, fans of big swords and big guns will be able to get your fix with the Square Enix/Koei Tecmo collaboration, Dragon Quest Heroes II (PS4), and CI Games’s shooter sequel, Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3 (PC, PS4, and Xbox One).

Finally this week, the Syberia franchise comes in from the cold with Syberia 3, which will launch for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

You can find a complete list of this week’s new retail releases after the break. (more…)

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N++ Ultimate Edition upgrade is now available for PC and coming soon to PS4

Posted on April 22, 2017 by John Scalzo

Metanet Software has announced they’re expanding N++ with 2,170 new levels (bringing the total number of levels to 4,340), 60 new color schemes, and an ultra-challenging Hardcore Mode. These new features will be added to the side-scrolling platformer as part of a free “Ultimate Edition” upgrade, which is available now for PC players.

To celebrate the release of the N++ Ultimate Edition, Metanet is slashing the price of the game on Steam this weekend. From now until Sunday, April 23, at 1:00 PM, you can purchase the game for 50% off the regular price. And to further entice you, the developer has released a new trailer for the game, which has been embedded above.

The N++ Ultimate Edition is also in the works for the PS4, and it’ll be available for Sony’s console “soon.”

Posted in News, PC, PS4 | Tagged

Gun Media and Illfonic will release Friday the 13th: The Game on May 26

Posted on April 21, 2017 by John Scalzo

Fans were rather upset when Friday the 13th: The Game missed its original “Early 2017” launch date. But don’t worry, the first video game starring Jason Voorhees in nearly 30 years will be available just in time for Summer Camp season… Gun Media and Illfonic have announced it’ll be available to download for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on May 26.

Unlike the earlier Friday the 13th games, Friday the 13th: The Game is a multiplayer contest pitting four counselors against one player who takes control of Jason. If this seems a little unfair, well, that’s the point.

With the base game on its way to completion, Gun Media and Illfonic have begun work on the boxed retail release and a free single-player expansion, both of which are scheduled to be released later this Summer.

Though we haven’t received a new Friday the 13th film since the 2009 reboot, Jason Voorhees has kept himself busy with video game work. In addition to Friday the 13th: The Game, the slasher also appeared as a downloadable character in 2015’s Mortal Kombat X.

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

The Video Game Canon – Final Fantasy VII

Posted on April 21, 2017 by John Scalzo

Dig deeper into the Video Game Canon with a look back at Final Fantasy VII and Square’s desire to bring cinematic storytelling to the early days of Sony’s PlayStation. Here’s a teaser…

Since the beginning, every new console cycle has existed as its own separate era that video game players speak of with as much reverence as comic fans who use “Golden Age” and “Silver Age” as a shorthand to represent the different decades of comic production. Ralph Baer’s Odyssey (1st Generation) directly lead to Nolan Bushnell’s Atari 2600 (2nd Generation). Atari’s machine gave way to the rise of Nintendo’s NES (3rd Generation), which in turn lead to the “16-Bit Wars” of the Super NES and the Genesis (4th Generation).

Up to this point, Square had only released three Final Fantasy games in America: 1990’s Final Fantasy, 1991’s Final Fantasy II (released in Japan as Final Fantasy IV), and 1994’s Final Fantasy III (released in Japan as Final Fantasy VI). Even though the remaining three games had yet to make their way across the Pacific, the publisher was determined to unify the franchise’s numbering across all regions with the next sequel. But they still had to find the right home for their game.

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

Posted in Features, PC, PS4, Retro, Top Story, Video Game Canon | Tagged

Activision officially announces Call of Duty: WWII; Reveal Livestream scheduled for April 26

Posted on April 21, 2017 by John Scalzo

The rumors have been swirling about Call of Duty’s re-engagement with the Second World War for some time now. And after the success of Battlefield 1 (and the relative failure of Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare), it’s reasonable to think that Activision might want to try something “new.”

That reasonable assumption turned into an official announcement today, as Activision and Sledgehammer Games confirmed that Call of Duty: WWII will be released this November for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. The original Call of Duty helped popularize the World War II setting for shooters back in 2003, but the franchise hasn’t returned to the conflict since 2008’s Call of Duty: World at War.

But thankfully, we won’t have to wait very long to discover more Call of Duty: WWII intel. The publisher and developer also announced plans to host a “Worldwide Reveal Livestream” for the game on the official website on April 26 at 1:00 PM (Eastern Time).

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