Most Recent: PS4

Resident Evil 7: Biohazard shambles to the top of January 2017’s best-selling games report

Posted on February 17, 2017 by John Scalzo

It looks like there’s still some life left in the Resident Evil franchise. The latest game in the series, Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, topped the NPD Group’s report on the best-selling games in January 2017. The only other new release to crack the top ten was Square Enix’s Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8: Final Chapter Prologue, which camein at #6.

“With only five days in the market, Resident Evil 7: Biohazard was the best-selling game in January. The last time Capcom had the best-selling game of the month (in dollar sales) was in March 2009 with Resident Evil 5,” NPD Analyst Sam Naji told GamesIndustry.biz.

Overall spending on game titles was up 14% last month over January 2016, thanks mostly to continued demand for 2016’s biggest releases including Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (#2), Battlfield 1 (#4), and NBA 2K17 (#5). And Grand Theft Auto V (#3) continues to burn up the charts more than four years after it was first released.

The complete list of best-selling games from January 2017 can be found after the break. (more…)

Posted in News, PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One | Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

Farom Studio unveils Lost Region, their upcoming survival action game

Posted on February 17, 2017 by Brittney Williams

What is Lost Region? There’s a good chance you asked yourself that as you read the headline. Am I right? Good, because that’s the whole point of this news update.

Lost Region is currently in development by Ukraine-based Farom Studio, the team behind Bad Day, a mobile title released in 2013.

The game initially started off as a Bad Day sequel running on Unreal Engine 4, however due to the loss of one of the team members, production of any and all additional Bad Day titles had to cease, likely for legal reasons. However, this hurdle didn’t stop the other developers at Farom Studio. Instead they chose to push forward, in the process creating what we now know as Lost Region.

Okay, so now you know some of the backstory. But that still doesn’t really answer the question does it? So, what is Lost Region?

As you’ve probably guessed from some of the screenshots, Lost Region is an action game, a third-person survival action game to be exact. Lost Region features a fully explorable world, spanning a massive 64 sq/km (that’s over six feet of map) Players can visit any building in the game, and travel to any portion of the map, in order to loot tools and additional supplies.

But wait, there’s more. Not only are players capable of explore all of the in-game buildings, but said buildings also differ in size, from tiny houses to large bases. A key component of the game is setting up a base. According to Farom Studio, you absolutely cannot survive in Lost Region as a homeless player. Therefore setting up camp is extremely important, but layers will have the ability to choose the path of a bandit, mechanic, or soldier. Players can opt for none of the aforementioned titles, and simply play as an adventurer.

Lost Region also features multiplayer, sporting the ability to team up with your friends and create clans, becoming a bandit group, mercenary, or research team.

Currently, Lost Region has no definitive release date set, however the game is expected to release on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows platforms. Farom Studio will showcase an alpha version of the game on their social media channels next Monday, February 20.

More screenshots from Lost Region are available after the break. (more…)

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Crash Banidicoot N. Sane Trilogy will be released for PS4 on June 30

Posted on February 16, 2017 by John Scalzo

Activision and Vicarious Visions have announced that the Crash Banidicoot N. Sane Trilogy will be released for the PS4 on June 30.

The publisher, working with Sony, plans to include the first three games from the franchise (Crash Bandicoot, Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, and Crash Bandicoot: Warped) in the compilation, and each game will get a complete makeover with remade graphics and audio:

This is a AAA remaster. We’re giving this the love and attention to detail that we pay to all of our AAA games. We’re building it using the original level geometry so that it plays as close to the original as possible. We’ve also referred to this as a remaster plus, as we are adding new features that we think the fans are going to love!

Members of the Vicarious Visions team also stopped by the PlayStation Blog today to discuss some of the development choices they made with the Crash Banidicoot N. Sane Trilogy.

Posted in News, PS4 | Tagged , ,

Kickstart This! Apocalypse Now

Posted on February 16, 2017 by Andrew Rainnie

I ummed and awwed over whether to cover Apocalypse Now as part of Kickstart This! I try to steer the column towards games that may be overlooked and are desperately seeking funds, but the film, and by close association this game, feel more relevant than ever.

All is fair in love and war, but crowdfunding campaigns are the perfect analogy for Vietnam. And in its day, re-imagining Joseph Conrad’s novel Heart of Darkness served as a masterful allegory for the souls of the men sent to fight in a war that history has shown to be a massive mistake. Though this is not the first time Heart of Darkness has graced the gaming world. 2K’s third person shooter, Spec Ops: The Line, also used the book as a basis for its story, and is worth checking out.

Apocalypse Now seemed to strike a chord with many backers, but with each passing day it looked less and less likely that development studio Erebus was going to reach its lofty target of $900,000. And then what happened? The developer cancelled the Kickstarter campaign after reaching less than 20% of their goal.

This is the message they delivered to fans as the last Update on their now defunct Kickstarter page:

When we launched this campaign, we made a mistake. We forgot that many of you have been disappointed by overreaching games and overreaching promises. We had stopped paying attention to the Kickstarter world, when we put our heads down and went to work on this full-steam about 18 months ago — first with documents and then with prototypes. Because we went upriver, we did not remember that those of you who love games and those of you who love Apocalypse Now would immediately treat the announcement not with excitement, but with concern.

But the men and women behind the game have not given up. No sir. They have relocated the crowdfunding campaign to the official Apocalypse Now website, and issued a rallying call to all those who want to see this game happen. It will be done on their terms… and with a much larger funding target.

Queue Ride of the Valkyries… (more…)

Posted in Features, PC, PS4, Top Story, Xbox One |

Inversus will be released for Xbox One later this year alongside 1.5 Update

Posted on February 16, 2017 by John Scalzo

Hypersect has announced plans to bring their monochromatic shooter, Inversus, to the Xbox One later this year.

In addition to launching the game on a new platform, the developer also announced that an updated version of Inversus with new Maps, Levels, and AI Bots will soon be available for the PC and PS4:

New Features Planned For Inversus 1.5

  • Compete on 12 New Maps in Versus Mode.
  • Master 3 New Levels in Arcade Mode.
  • Collect New Split-Shot Ammo that can fork into multiple bullets.
  • Sharpen your skills against the community’s most requested feature against AI Controlled Bots in Versus Mode.

“Supporting Inversus with regular updates has been a great experience and I really wanted to do something special for the 1.5 Edition.” said Hypersect’s Ryan Juckett. “I think the new Versus Mode Bots are where the value really shines. They are great for training against and add yet another local game mode for solo players to enjoy while in queue for matchmaking.”

A new trailer for Inversus’s upcoming update has been embedded above.

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

For Honor, Sniper Elite 4, Ride 2, more added to PS Store

Posted on February 15, 2017 by John Scalzo

Ubisoft’s epic battle between Knights and Vikings and Samurai, For Honor, is now available to download through the PlayStation Store for the PS4. Players will be able to choose their Faction and compete in the game’s online multiplayer battles or fight through the single-player Campaign to claim ultimate victory.

Also available to download for the PS4 this week is Sniper Elite 4, Rebellion’s latest World War II-era shooter. This time, players will engage in missions on the Italian front and attempt to “liberate wartime Italy from the grip of Fascism.”

If you’d prefer to speed around a racetrack instead of going to war, Milestone will release Ride 2 for download on the PS4 this week. Offering more than 170 bikes, this motorcycle racing sim includes plenty of options.

Finally this week, Nidhogg developer Messhof will release Flywrench for the PS4. In Flywrench, players will need to quickly flip the color of their spacecraft to deftly maneuver around a series of obstacles.

More information on all of these games (and a few other new releases) can be found after the break. (more…)

Posted in News, PS4, Vita | Tagged ,

Here Come the Girls… NetherRealm adds Catwoman, Poison Ivy, Cheetah to Injustice 2

Posted on February 14, 2017 by John Scalzo

One day after digging up Swamp Thing, NetherRealm Studios is back with another batch of character announcements for Injustice 2. But rather than limit themselves to just a single new character, the developer unveiled three fighters of the female persuasion in a brand new gameplay trailer titled “Here Come the Girls.”

“Here Come the Girls” puts the focus on Cheetah (a rival to Wonder Woman) and Catwoman (a master thief and foil to Batman), who will be joining the fight in Injustice 2. In addition to this pair of revealing announcements, the trailer also offers a first look at the previously-confirmed Poison Ivy (another Batman foe) in action.

Injustice 2 will be released for the PS4 and Xbox One on May 16.

Posted in News, PS4, Xbox One | Tagged

Nier: Automata transports us to the future with a new trailer

Posted on February 13, 2017 by Brittney Williams

Androids, swords, mech-suits, and platinum blonde hair abound in the latest Nier: Automata trailer.

The latest trailer for the PlatinumGames-developed RPG takes us to a post-apocalyptic, war-torn setting, in the extremely distant year of 11945 AD. 2B and 9S, members of an elite android squad, are tasked with saving the human race, and they’re fighting against the likes of other androids, titan-sized robots, and a host of other enemies during the 14th Machine War.

Nier: Automata is a sequel to 2010’s Nier, which was itself a somewhat polarizing spinoff of the Drakengard series. But if you’re unfamiliar with the action RPG, Square Enix is here to help with a quick primer of the game’s plot:

Invaders from another world attack without warning, unleashing their secret weapon: the machines. In the face of this insurmountable threat, the human race is driven from the earth and takes refuge on the moon.

The humans develop an army of android soldiers to fight back against the mechanical horde, but succeed only in slowing its advance. To break the deadlock, a new breed of android infantry is sent into the fray: the YoRHa squad.

In the forsaken wasteland below, the war between the machines and the androids rages on. A war that is soon to unveil the long-forgotten truth of this world…

Fans who have been anxiously awaiting Nier: Automata’s North American release for PlayStation 4 and Steam on March 7 can download and play a demo of the game right now. And for those of us who haven’t been eagerly awaiting for the latest arrival in the Nier franchise, the demo is still worth checking out. You never know, you might actually find that you like it.

All that being said, after seeing the above trailer (and a brand new 25-minute walkthrough from the PlayStation Blog, which is available after the break), it’s pretty clear that Nier: Automata is one to add to your wishlist. I mean, who doesn’t love swords and mech-suits? (more…)

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