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Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark will be released this Summer

The continuity snarl that is the Transformers franchise makes the last half-century of Marvel and DC storytelling look neat and ordered by comparison. The series is rife with alternate universes and the executives in charge of this narrative morass have attempted to merge, split, and remerge the storyline since the 1980s.

The latest attempt at building an all-purpose Transformers universe is Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark, the latest game adaptation of the long-running series from Activision. According to GameSpot, Rise of the Dark Spark will merge High Moon’s War For Cybertron/Fall of Cybertron continuity with Michael Bay’s Transformers films to tie-in with this Summer’s Age of Extinction. Sadly, High Moon won’t be developing the game. Instead, Activision has enlisted Edge of Reality to create the PC, PS3, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One game. WayForward Technologies will develop a handheld version of the game for the 3DS.

Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark will be released this Summer to coincide with the theatrical opening of Transformers: Age of Extinction.

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The Evil Within will scare you silly on August 26

theevilwithin-logoBethesda has announced that Shinji Mikami’s return to horror, The Evil Within, will be released on August 26. Not only does The Evil Within mark Mikami’s return to the survival horror genre, but it also echoes the haunted house shenanigans of his first hit, Resident Evil:

While investigating the scene of a gruesome mass murder, Detective Sebastian Castellanos and his partners encounter a mysterious and powerful force. After seeing the slaughter of fellow officers, Sebastian is ambushed and knocked unconscious. When he awakens, he finds himself in a deranged world where hideous creatures wander among the dead. Facing unimaginable terror, and fighting for survival, Sebastian embarks on a frightening journey to unravel what’s behind this evil force.

The Evil Within is in development at Mikami’s new studio, Tango Gameworks, for the PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.

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GOG.com and EA are giving away the original Dungeon Keeper for free

EAlogoTo put it charitably, EA’s launch of the mobile version of Dungeon Keeper has been a bit of a disaster. But it looks like the company is ready to make amends. This weekend, they’re teaming up with GOG.com to give away free copies of the original PC game, Dungeon Keeper Gold. Whether this is their mea culpa for tarnishing a beloved franchise with excessive in-app purchases or just a canny way to promote the mobile game, I can’t say. But hey, free game!

Beginning today, all you have to do is visit GOG’s homepage and click the “Get It Now!” button on the “Dungeon Keeper For Free” banner. That’s it. But don’t dawdle, the offer expires on Sunday, February 16 at 6:00 AM.

The Dungeon Keeper giveaway is part of GOG’s Valentine’s Day promotion that focuses on “titles that can be played with-or against-a gamer’s favorite Player 2.” The Valentine’s Day sale slashes the price on 29 games including Dungeon Keeper 2 ($1.49), the rebooted Rise of the Triad ($2.99), Duke Nukem 3D: Atomic Edition ($1.19), System Shock 2 ($1.49), and many more.

So go get your sweetheart some games this weekend… they’re definitely better than Candy Hearts.

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CoD: Ghosts is the best-selling game of the month for the third straight month

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The results are in and, according to The NPD Group, Call of Duty: Ghosts is once again the best-selling game of the preceding four weeks. After reigning supreme during November and December, the military shooter has emerged victorious against a particularly weak January release slate.

In fact, the only other new release in this month’s top ten is the “Definitive Edition” of Tomb Raider, which, along with sales of the “Game of the Year Edition” on the PS3/Xbox 360, helped Lara Croft’s latest adventure take the #10 spot.

Post-Christmas gift cards likely played a role in determining January’s biggest moneymakers as many of 2013’s biggest games staked out the remaining eight spots. NBA 2K14, lead by a strong performance on the PS4, landed at #2 and Battlefield 4, despite its continued online woes, was the #3 best-selling game of the month. And what about the next-generation consoles? Well, the NPD revealed that the PS4 is currently the #1 next-generation console in the US with the Xbox One close behind.

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

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The Last of Us, GTA5 lead 2014 BAFTA nominees

baftagameThe nominees for the 2014 BAFTA Awards have been announced and… drumroll please… The Last of Us and Grand Theft Auto V both racked up a ton of nominations.

Both games will be competing for the coveted “Best Game” award against Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, Tearaway, Super Mario 3D World, and Papers Please. Due to its British origins, GTA5 is also competing in the “British Game” category against Tearaway, The Room Two, Lego Marvel Super Heroes, Gunpoint, and DMC: Devil May Cry.

In addition to “Best Game,” The Last of Us was nominated for nine awards including “Artistic Achievement,” “Audio Achievement,” “Game Design,” “Original Music,” “Story,” “Action and Adventure,” and “Multiplayer.” Two “Performer” nominations (one each for Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson) round out the game’s honors. As for GTA5, it received seven additional nominations including “Audio Achievement,” “Game Design,” “Game Innovation,” “Story,” “Action and Adventure,” “Multiplayer,” and “Performer” (for Steven Ogg as Trevor Phillips).

The 2014 BAFTA Awards will be awarded on Wednesday, March 12. The complete list of nominees can be found after the break. (more…)

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Broken Age Review: A Point-And-Click Game For A New Era

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Since the introduction of crowdfunding sites such as Kickstarter and Indiegogo, there have been a number of high-profile successes that have managed to capture the collective imagination of the public and skyrocket beyond their original goals. Double Fine Productions’ Broken Age is one such title, dwarfing its initial target of $400,000 by raising $3.3 million, one of the highest amounts ever raised for a game. The reason for the excitement was simple; industry veteran Tim Schafer, designer on classic point-and-click games such as LucasArts’ Full Throttle, Grim Fandango, and co-designer on the incredibly funny Monkey Island series, was returning to the genre. But how does his latest endeavour stand up against these unforgettable games? (more…)

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Xbox 360 version of Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate spotted on Xbox Live Store

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A placeholder page for a Deluxe Edition of Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate was recently added to the Xbox Games Store, along with the announcement of a March 25 release date. The page has since been taken down, but here’s what the product description looked like:

Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate – Deluxe Edition amplifies the 2.5-D game with new maps, enemy encounters, difficulty levels, batsuits, and enhanced visuals. A companion game to Batman: Arkham Origins, players can continue the storyline of the console version and discover more details of the Dark Knight’s past. Featuring stealth gameplay, free-flow combat, and Batman’s famed arsenal of gadgets, the genuine Arkham experience is reproduced in a deep, action packed side-scrolling adventure.

Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate was originally released for the 3DS and Vita last October. Now that the Xbox 360 version has been leaked, hopefully there will also be PC and PlayStation 3 versions announced soon. More than likely they will be.

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Techland introduces you to the humans of Dying Light in new trailer

In the latest Dying Light trailer, “Humanity,” we’re given a glimpse into the humans of the game – the humans who are now trapped in a quarantine zone teeming with infected. These human beings view the zombies not as just a slew of monsters to tear through, but rather, as something else entirely: people. Or, at least, they were people, before all of this happened. The survivors were all “doctors… teachers… fathers… sons,” as the narrator tells us. But so were the zombies, once.

The PlayStation Blog gives us an ever deeper look, with some comments from the game’s producer, Tymon Smektala. Smektala talks about the difficult choices the game gives you:

When traversing the city of Harran, the player will encounter survivors in a variety of situations. You may find them hidden, trapped or surrounded by the infected in the most unlikely places, calling hopelessly for help. Your help. It’s up to you whether you’ll decide to come to their aid or not. Lending a helping hand, be it out of kind heart or want for reward, is always a risk, though. The grim reality of Harran doesn’t allow any safe choices.

Dying Light’s gritty realism will grace store shelves sometime this year on the PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.

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