Most Recent: PS3

Hatsune Miku appears on Letterman to awkward applause

Sega’s “virtual idol,” Hatsune Miku, appeared on The Late Show With David Letterman last night to promote an art show featuring the character and the upcoming release of Hatsune Miku: Project Diva F 2nd. After her performance concluded, Letterman engaged in a short conversation with the computer-generated character and he… wasn’t happy. Letterman looks ready to start screaming about how stupid the whole thing is and clearly just wants it to be over. See it for yourself in the video above.

“Hatsune Miku Expo 2014” will be held at the Wallplay art gallery in New York City beginning today and running through October 19. The exhibit will culminate in a two-night live concert at the Hammerstein Ballroom on October 17 and October 18. Hatsune Miku: Project Diva F 2nd will be released for the PS3 and Vita on November 18.

Posted in News, PS3, Vita |

PS Store Today: Alien: Isolation, NBA 2K15, DriveClub, Vib-Ribbon, more

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The Fall gaming avalanche comes to the PlayStation Store this week. Some of the biggest games of the season are now available to download on the PS3, PS4, and Vita as well as a bona-fide classic, and a handful of smaller titles as well.

A trio of AAA release are now available as of today. Alien: Isolation (PS3, PS4) is Sega and Creative Assembly’s attempt to bring the “haunted house in space” atmosphere of 1979’s Alien to the video game realm. It’s joined by DriveClub, Evolution’s ambitious PS4 racer, and NBA 2K15 (PS3, PS4), the latest game in 2K’s long-running sports simulation series.

Even though all these new titles are now available to download, today’s real surprise if the release of Vib-Ribbon, a PSone Classic that was originally only available in Japan and Europe. Vib-Ribbon is a rhythm game from the creator of PaRappa the Rapper that uses a unique line-drawing art style. It has appeared on multiple “Best of” lists and is considered by many to be one of the best games never to come to America. Thankfully, that changes today.

Finally this week, a few indie games that are definitely worth a look have popped up on the PlayStation Store. Dust: An Elysian Tail, a side-scrolling action-RPG that was originally released for the Xbox 360 in 2012, is now available on the PS4. Dust’s hand-drawn artwork would serve as a nice complement to Spelunky, which has also been released for the PS4 today. Divekick, a rather unique fighting game (“First You Dive, Then You Kick!”), rounds out this week’s batch of indie PS4 ports.

A complete look at all of this week’s new releases (including a few additional titles) can be found after the break. And a full rundown of this week’s new game add-ons can be found at the PlayStation Blog. (more…)

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Hear yourself scream after watching the Alien: Isolation launch trailer

Today is a great day for space exploration, both real and fictional. In the real world, NASA is exploring the use of stasis tubes (better known as “torpor”) for a possible manned mission to Mars. And in the fictional realm, Sega has released the launch trailer for Alien: Isolation, their deep space survival horror game that is in stores tomorrow.

Developed by Creative Assembly, Alien: Isolation uses the same “lo-fi sci-fi” aesthetic seen in 1979’s Alien and sticks to a single Xenomorph instead of the hordes of alien monsters typically found in games based on the 1986 sequel, Aliens.

Alien: Isolation will be available for the PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. The first run of copies have been given a “Nostromo Edition” tag and will include a bonus mission that will allow players to take control Sigourney Weaver’s Ellen Ripley and other characters from the original film.

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New Releases: Alien: Isolation, NBA 2K15, DriveClub, More

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After a relatively quiet September, the Fall gaming rush has begun to kick into high gear now that we’ve reached October.

Sega plans to take another crack at the Alien universe with the Creative Assembly-developed survival horror game Alien: Isolation (PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One). Players will attempt to help Amanda Ripley search for her missing mother while she’s stalked by a singular Xenomorph. After nearly a dozen games starring the Colonial Marines, it’s definitely a new take (on an old idea) for the franchise.

Also new this week is…

  • NBA 2K15 (PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One), 2K’s latest basketball sim.
  • DriveClub (PS4), Evolution’s long-in-development racing game.
  • Skylanders: Trap Team (3DS, PS3, PS4, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One), the latest toy/game hybrid from Activision.
  • Project Spark (Xbox One), Microsoft’s game-building game.

Finally, Microsoft is reliving the Xbox One launch with newly expanded and updated versions of Dead Rising 3: Apocalypse Edition, Forza Motorsport 5: Game of the Year Edition, and Ryse: Son of Rome – Legendary Edition.

A complete list of this week’s new releases can be found after the break. (more…)

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Insert Quarter: “Playing A Game” Versus “Grinding Through Content”

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Insert Quarter is our showcase for some of the best and most interesting writing about video games on the Internet.

In this installment, Kotaku’s Yannick LeJacq examines the difference between “playing a game” and “grinding through content” added by the developer to increase the hours required to reach the end in games like Dying Light and The Sims 4.

Earlier this week, Techland announced that its new zombie-killing adventure Dying Light will have “50+ hours of gameplay.” Some might considering this good news. I don’t—at least at face value.

Why? Because 50 hours is a long [*******] time to spend in any video game, and I don’t trust Techland enough as a developer to believe they know how to guide me through such a slog gracefully. I took me roughly half that time to play their last zombie game, Dead Island Riptide. I loved the first few hours, and couldn’t stand the rest.

You can read the rest at Kotaku.

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EGX 2014 Report: Assassin’s Creed Unity, Arkham Knight, The Order 1886, and More

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EGX London, formerly known as the Eurogamer Expo, finally gives UK players a chance to their hand at unreleased games after all the other big Summer shows: E3, PAX Prime, Gamescom, and TGS. It sits at the right time of year too! I always tend to get a bit down on games over the Summer when my consoles sit mostly unused.After playing a dozen of the biggest games scheduled to release over the next nine months, I’m excited to finally charge a DualShock 4 again.On top of that, talking to so many gamers in one place really gives you a nice vertical slice of where the industry sits at the moment. But first… the games! (more…)

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Quan Chi will bring his sorcerer’s ways to Mortal Kombat X

After playing a huge role in 2011’s Mortal Kombat, NetherRealm has confirmed that the evil sorcerer Quan Chi will once again play a big part in Mortal Kombat X. Described by Executive Producer Shaun Himmerick as a “trickster,” Quan Chi’s three variations will rely heavily on his magical abilities.

The “Sorcerer” variation includes a series of projectile attacks as well as buff spells that strengthen his other attacks. The “Warlock” variations allows Quan Chi to create Dark Portals that allow him to toss characters around the screen in ways that are similar to Scorpion’s Teleport and Rain’s Roundhouse Kick. Finally, the “Summoner” variation will also be projectile-based, but the projectile is actually a demon that Quan Chi summons and controls.

Also, be sure to stick around for a quick look at one of Quan Chi’s Fatalities, it’s pretty great. Mortal Kombat X will be released for the PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One on April 14.

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Kevin Smith will play himself in Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham

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Professional fanboy Kevin Smith will get a chance to act alongside some of his favorite comic book characters next month when he gets Lego-ized for Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham. Smith will play himself alongside several other new characters announced by WB Games including Bruce Wayne (who is separate from Batman but still voiced by Tory Baker), Green Arrow (voiced by Arrow star Stephen Amell), and DC Entertainment Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns (voiced by the actual Geoff Johns). All four characters will be playable, so if you’ve ever wanted to recreate the “Fly, fatass, fly!” scene from Mallrats, now’s your chance.

Smith, Johns, Baker, and Amell will team-up to host a Lego Batman 3 panel at the New York Comic-Con on Saturday, October 11. The quartet (along with TT Games developers Arthur Parsons and Stephen Sharples) will reveal new characters and introduce brand-new gameplay videos of the game during their talk. And in case you miss the panel, WB Games will have a playable demo of Lego Batman 3 available at the DC Entertainment booth.

Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham will be released for the 3DS, PC, PS3 PS4, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One on November 11.

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