Most Recent: PS4

The Walking Dead: A New Frontier’s third episode will be released on March 28

Posted on March 12, 2017 by John Scalzo

In addition to discussing their upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy game, Telltale Games used this year’s PAX East convention to confirm The Walking Dead: A New Frontier‘s third episode will be released on March 28.

The episode will be known as “Above the Law,” and it’ll be available to download on the PC, PS4, Xbox One, and mobile devices. Telltale also premiered a new trailer for “Above the Law,” and it’s embedded above.

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PAX East 2017 gives us our first look at Tom Savini’s “Custom Jason” and a new trailer for Friday the 13th: The Game

Posted on March 12, 2017 by John Scalzo

Friday the 13th: The Game made an encore appearance at this weekend’s PAX East convention during Gun Media and Illfonic’s panel “From Film to Video Games: A Night with Friday the 13th: The Game.” As part of the panel, the developers unveiled a horrific new trailer that shows Jason dispatching another cohort of camp counselors in increasingly brutal fashion.

Gun Media didn’t announce an official launch date for Friday the 13th: The Game at PAX East, but with less than three weeks remaining in their current “Early 2017” release window, another delay for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One game seems likely.

Finally, the developer fully unmasked Tom Savini’s “Custom Jason,” which depicts the character’s damned fate after the end of Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday. You can get a closer look at Savini’s work after the break. (more…)

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Square Enix released a trailer for Final Fantasy XV: Episode Gladiolus at PAX East 2017

Posted on March 12, 2017 by John Scalzo

Square Enix unveiled the first trailer for Final Fantasy XV: Episode Gladiolus this morning as part of their “Nier: Automata X Final Fantasy XV” panel.

Episode Gladiolus will be the first character-driven expansion for Final Fantasy XV, and its set to launch later this month, March 28, for the PS4 and Xbox One. Players will get to undertake the “Trial of Gilgamesh” as they take control of Gladio in his quest for more power:

Final Fantasy XV: Episode Gladiolus is the first character-driven episode of DLC for Final Fantasy XV, the latest installment in the landmark Final Fantasy franchise. Players will experience brand-new gameplay, content, environments, enemies and more as they follow Noctis’s comrade, Gladiolus, on a journey away from his brothers in arms. Gilgamesh, one of the franchise’s fan-favorite characters, will also be making an appearance in the episode.

If you weren’t able to attend the “Nier: Automata X Final Fantasy XV” panel with Producer Haruyoshi Sawatari and Global Brand Manager Raio Mitsuno, you can catch a replay of it in the Twitch Videos for the PAX2 channel.

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New Retail Releases: Danganronpa 1-2 Reload, Styx Shards of Darkness, Binding of Isaac Afterbirth+

Posted on March 12, 2017 by John Scalzo

Here’s what your local game retailer will be stocking their shelves with this week…

After making its North American debut on the Vita in 2014, NIS America will bring the Danganronpa franchise to the PS4 for the first time this week thanks to Danganronpa 1-2 Reload. The package will include the first two games in the series (Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc and Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair), and fans both new and old will get to experience the murderous machinations of Monokuma, the evil robotic bear at the center of the story.

If a murderous robotic bear isn’t bizarre enough for you, Nicalis will also launch The Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth+ for the Nintendo Switch this week. Developed by Edmund McMillen, one of the co-creators of Super Meat Boy, The Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth+ is a procedurally-generated shooter (with RPG elements) that forces Isaac to fight back against the monsters in his basement.

Finally this week, Focus Home Interactive and Cyanide Studio will bring Styx: Shards of Darkness to the PS4 and Xbox One. The medieval stealth sequel asks Styx to infiltrate the city of Korrangar to steal a scepter of “immense and indomitable power.”

That’s all for now, but we’ll be back later this week with an expanded look at the latest additions to the PlayStation Store, Xbox Games Store, and Nintendo eShop.

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Sonic Mania gets new gameplay footage at PAX East 2017

Posted on March 11, 2017 by Brittney Williams

Sega just dropped some new gameplay footage for the highly anticipated Sonic Mania at PAX East and it looks great.

If you were “Team Sega” during the great console wars of the 1990s, then you’re likely pretty familiar with the original Sonic games. Sonic Mania captures the charm of those games, and puts a high definition spin on them, bumping the graphics from their original 30 FPS to a whopping 60 FPS.

But that’s not the only new thing Sonic Mania has going for it. The game also introduces new enemies, new levels, new game mechanics, new item boxes, alternate routes, and much more. And in Sonic Mania, players are now immediately transitioned to the brand new “Green Hill Zone Act 2” after “Act 1,” trading in the fade-to-black for uninterrupted gameplay and speedy traversal across the playfield via zip-line.

Sonic Mania is not a remake of any of the original Sonic games from the Sega Genesis era. Instead, it’s an entirely new game that uses prettier, high definition visuals to create a reimagining of the originals. The reimagining attempts to encapsulate all of the things that made the 16-bit versions great, while also refitting them for new and old audiences alike.

Sonic Mania will be available for the PlayStation 4, PC, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch in Spring 2017. In the meantime, check out the above trailer and some awesome new screenshots after the break. (more…)

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Square Enix unveils a $200 Collector’s Edition for Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age

Posted on March 10, 2017 by John Scalzo

If you’re at PAX East, you can swing by the Square Enix booth this weekend to try out a playable demo of Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age, which will be available for the PS4 on July 11. But the publisher also used the Boston-based convention to announce a Collector’s Edition for the upcoming remaster.

Priced at $199.99, and available exclusively through the Square Enix Online Store, the Collector’s Edition will include several interesting bonus items:

Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age Collector’s Edition

  • Exclusive “Judge Magisters” Mini Bust Set – Featuring busts of Judges Bergan, Drace, Gabranth, Ghis, and Zargabaath
  • Official Soundtrack CD – Selection of soundtrack music from famed composer Hitoshi Sakimoto
  • Set of Six Art Cards – Featuring Vaan, Ashe, Basch, Fran & Balthier, Penelo, and World of Ivalice
  • Steelbook Packaging – Featuring exclusive art to the Collector’s Edition
  • In-Game Digital Code – Unlocks the option to use the Official Soundtrack as background music

If the Collector’s Edition seems a bit too pricey, don’t worry, Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age will also be available in a Limited Edition ($49.99) that includes an exclusive Steelbook featuring artwork by Akihiko Yoshida and the in-game digital code to unlock the background music option for the Official Soundtrack. And the first printing of the Standard Edition (also $49.99) will include reversible cover artwork by Yoshida.

Finally, fans who pre-order the Digital Edition of Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age through the PlayStation Store will receive a PS4 Theme and four music tracks by Hitoshi Sakimoto.

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The Video Game Canon – Ms. Pac-Man

Posted on March 10, 2017 by John Scalzo

Dig deeper into the Video Game Canon with a look at the accidental creation of Ms. Pac-Man. Here’s a teaser…

It’s easy to forget nowadays, but Ms. Pac-Man was actually created by accident. Like Doc Brown’s invention of time travel after a tumble from the toilet, Ms. Pac-Man was created when a group of game developers from MIT attempted to release an unauthorized sequel to Pac-Man known as “Crazy Otto.”

Before turning their sights on the biggest arcade game of the day, the development team, General Computer, first used their programming skills to create an “enhancement kit” for Atari’s Missile Command. Instead of creating their own game from scratch, the enhancement kit hooked into Atari’s code and altered it to provide a new gameplay experience. Essentially, General Computer created the first expansion pack.

Even though the enhancement kit required an original Missile Command cabinet, Atari later attempted to sue General Computer for copyright infringement. But rather than become mired in a protracted court case, the arcade giant and the enterprising college students reached a settlement. Atari would hire General Computer to design original arcade games so long as they agreed not to create any additional enhancement kits without the permission of the original game publisher. The developers quickly signed on, but first they took a nearly complete version of “Crazy Otto” to Midway, the North American distributor of Pac-Man.

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

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Telltale reveals first screenshots, plot details, and cast for Guardians of the Galaxy

Posted on March 10, 2017 by John Scalzo

The Boston Convention and Exhibition Center will open the doors to PAX East 2017 in just a few hours, and Telltale Games is using the expo to more fully reveal their episodic series based on Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy.

First, the developer announced a few details about the game’s plot, which won’t tie in to the first Guardians of the Galaxy film or the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2:

Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series is a brand new story of the universe’s unlikeliest heroes: Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket, and Groot. In the wake of an epic battle, the Guardians discover an artifact of unspeakable power. Each of them has a reason to desire this relic, as does a ruthless enemy who is the last of her kind, and who will stop at nothing to tear it from their hands.

From Earth to the Milano to Knowhere and beyond, and set to the beat of awesome music, you wear the rocket-powered boots of Star-Lord in an original Guardians adventure, where your decisions and actions drive the story you experience.

Telltale also confirmed the film franchise’s cast won’t appear in the game, nor will the actors from the Guardians of the Galaxy animated series on Disney XD. Instead, Nolan North… naturally… will replace Bradley Cooper as Rocket, and he’ll be joined by Scott Porter as Star-Lord, Emily O’Brien as Gamora, Brandon Paul Eells as Drax, and Adam Harrington as Groot.

The cast will take the stage at PAX East, alongside several developers from Telltale, as part of the Telltale Games: Interactive Storytelling 2017 panel. The discussion will begin at 6:00 PM (Eastern Time), and if you can’t make it to PAX East, you’ll be able to follow along at home through the convention’s secondary Twitch channel.

Guardians of the Galaxy will also make an appearance at the 2017 SXSW Gaming Expo on Friday, March 17. The game will make its public debut in Austin as Telltale Games plans to host a Crowd Play night for an early version of the first episode. It seems likely that Telltale will release the first trailer for the game shortly after.

In the meantime, you can find the first four screenshots from Guardians of the Galaxy: Episode 1, which will be released this Spring, after the break. (more…)

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