Most Recent: PC

Gearbox to publish Hardware: Shipbreakers as third Homeworld game

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Gearbox picked up the the rights to the Homeworld series during THQ’s franchise fire sale earlier this year. After the acquisition, they quickly announced that high definition re-releases of Homeworld and Homeworld 2 were in the works. And now they can add a third Homeworld game to their development slate… sort of.

At PAX Prime this weekend, Gearbox announced that they’ve partnered with Blackbird Interactive, a small developer that was founded by several members of the original Homeworld team at Relic Entertainment. As part of the deal, their current project, Hardware: Shipbreakers, will be folded into the Homeworld franchise. The game will now be known as Homeworld: Shipbreakers and it will serve as a prequel to the entire Homeworld series.

Gearbox will provide financial support to Blackbird as, in the words of CEO Randy Pitchford, they are not the best team to develop a sci-fi RTS. Pitchford also commented on the production support they plan to offer to Blackbird: “We’ve become expert at production and that’s where we can help. I mean, we shipped Duke Nukem Forever, we didn’t build it but we made sure it came out. And that’s a ****ing miracle.”

[Source: Polygon]

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New Releases: Diablo III, Rayman Legends, Total War: Rome II, More

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The Fall is here! The drought is over! Let’s talk about new releases!

This week, Blizzard’s Diablo III has finally been released for the PS3 and Xbox 360. It feels the console of their hack and slash game has been in development for ages, but it was only announced this past February at the Sony’s PS4 reveal.

Also available this week is Rayman Legends. The game was originally scheduled to be released this Spring exclusively for the Wii U, but Ubisoft sent it back to the development team and asked them to also push out additional editions of the game for the PC, PS3, Xbox 360, and Vita.

Finally, we’ve got the PC-exclusive release of Total War: Rome II from Creative Assembly. The developers have claimed the war simulation is their best yet, but you can try it for yourself if you’re attending this weekend’s PAX Prime in Seattle. In fact, all of these games are playable on the show floor today and tomorrow. How ’bout that?

You can find more new releases after the break. (more…)

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

Zeboyd’s Cosmic Star Heroine coming to PS4, Vita

Back in March, the developers at Zeboyd Games told us they were getting “very friendly” with Sony and hinted that their next project might appear on one or more Sony systems. Yesterday, at PAX Prime, the duo of Robert Boyd and Bill Stiernberg confirmed that their 90s-inspired RPG, Cosmic Star Heroine, will be released for the PS4 and Vita.

The titular Cosmic Star Heroine is Alyssa L’Salle, a famous spy in the Samus Aran mold. She has saved the galaxy more than once and the people in charge have asked her to do it again. But this time, “her own government outs her as a legendary spy and the people’s champion!” So keep that in mind as you watch the game’s opening cinematic above and shelve your Jem and the Holograms: Space Spies fan-fic, because Cosmic Star Heroine got their first.

In addition to 80s/90s cartoons, Cosmic Star Heroine has said to have been inspired by one of the greatest RPGs ever, Chrono Trigger. It’ll be available for the PS4 and Vita as a Cross-Buy title soon, but not until Zeboyd completes a Kickstarter campaign to ensure they have enough funding to finish it.

Cosmic Star Heroine is also in development for the PC.

[Source: PlayStation Blog]

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Sega @ PAX Prime 2013: Sonic Lost World, Total War Rome II, more

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PAX Prime 2013 opens in a few hours and Sega has revealed the four games they’ve brought to the Washington State Convention Center. If you’re going to be wandering the show floor today, you’ll get a chance to play Sega’s entire Fall lineup including Sonic: Lost World, which will be released this October exclusively for the 3DS/Wii U; Total War: Rome II, which will be available next week; Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse, which will also be available next week; Hatsune Miku: Project Diva F, which was added to store shelves and the PSN this week; and Heroki, a mobile game that will be released later this year. You’ll be able to find all of these games at Sega’s booth: #142/#242.

If you’re interested in the inner workings of Total War: Rome II, the development team at Creative Assembly is hosting a panel on Sunday, September 1 titled “History vs. Gameplay – Hey Creative Assembly, Where’s the Accuracy in My Pew Pew Shooter?” Sounds like a good time.

More details on all of Sega’s PAX Prime lineup is available after the break. (more…)

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Majesco launches Midnight City, an indie game publishing label

Majesco has always existed on the fringes of the video game industry. Normally a publisher of budget games, the company has dabbled in AAA development in the past (BloodRayne, for example), but mostly sticks with Zumba-branded exercise games these days. But while out there on the fringe, the Majesco brass has discovered that the kids love them indie games. So they started their own indie publishing label, Midnight City.

Midnight City will make its debut at this weekend’s PAX Prime, where the publisher will present ten very unique games to the public including a “lost” Game Boy game, a space age riff on Marble Madness, a “12-bit adventure,” a new game featuring Slenderman, and more. The label’s initial slate of games will be released for digital download services such as Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, and PC downloadable sites.

You can read all about Midnight City’s lineup after the break and, if you’re attending PAX Prime, you can check them out this weekend in their booth. (more…)

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DuckTales Remastered Review: Blessed Bagpipes or Cursed Kilts?

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The original DuckTales game for the NES was one of my favorite games. I remember receiving the game as a Christmas gift when I was ten years old, and getting to the last level that very same day, only to have my older brother turn off the system during the final boss fight, because, as he put it, I “shouldn’t finish a game the same day I got it.” So I beat it the next day. And the day after that. For months, DuckTales was the only game that inhabited my NES. The gameplay, the controls, the music – it was in every way a perfect game. Fast-forward twenty-five years, and I am sitting at my desk at work when I see the announcement of DuckTales Remastered. Pulling up that announcement trailer, I was in a state of shock. One of my favorite childhood games, being remade by one of my favorite developers, WayForward – this was just too good to be true. After playing the new title, I can say that while it’s a great game, DuckTales Remastered is not all it’s quacked up to be. (more…)

Posted in PC, PS3, Reviews, Top Story, Wii U, Xbox 360 | Tagged

New Releases: Madden NFL 25, Final Fantasy XIV, Lost Planet 3, More

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Are you ready for some football? EA Sports’ annual gridiron game, Madden NFL 25, is in stores for the PS3 and Xbox 360 this week. A next generation version for the PS4 and Xbox One will be available in November.

“Made in Japan” is the theme for the rest of this week’s releases as Square Enix will bring their rebuilt MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn to the PC and, for the first time, the PS3. The psychotically-minded Suda 51 also has a new game this week as XSEED Games will publish his Killer Is Dead for the PS3 and Xbox 360. Finally, Capcom is bringing back the Lost Planet series in Lost Planet 3 for the PS3 and Xbox 360.

More new releases can be found after the break. (more…)

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Diablo III: Reaper of Souls announced

The defeat of Diablo, Lord of Terror, should have given rise to an age of hope. Instead, it has drawn out a shadowy being of immense power, whose malevolent purpose is yet to be revealed.

And so Blizzard is ready to announce the first expansion to Diablo IIIDiablo III: Reaper of Souls. As with all expansions, Reaper of Souls promises to make Diablo III a bigger and better game due to the addition of new monsters, new quests, new spells and abilities, and “substantial updates to the loot experience.”

Reaper of Souls will also add a new character class, the Crusader, and increase the Level Cap to 70. According to Blizzard, the Crusader is a “warrior of righteousness” and a “natural walking tank.” In other words, he kicks ass for the lord. Finally, the expansion will add two Challenge Modes to Diablo III: Loot Runs and Nephalem Trials.

Reaper of Souls’ story links back to the defeat of Malthael in Diablo II: Lord of Destruction. The fallen angel has obtained the essence of Prime Evil and it’s up to you to stop him. For now, he will bring his brand of evil exclusively to the PC in 2014 as Blizzard isn’t ready to bring Reaper of Souls to consoles just yet.

Blizzard will reveal more about Reaper of Souls at BlizzCon and in the coming months. For now, be sure to check out the gameplay trailer above and the opening cinematic after the break. (more…)

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