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Konami unveils full game lineup for Contra Anniversary Collection

Posted on May 28, 2019 by John Scalzo

We still aren’t sure when Konami plans to release the Contra Anniversary Collection, but we now know which games made the cut. As revealed on IGN, the compilation will include the first seven games in the series, as well as three regional variants.

Contra on the NES was a completely different game from its earlier arcade incarnation, but the version released in Japan for the Famicom was just as unique, adding between-level cutscenes and updated visuals. Konami will include all three versions as part of the Contra Anniversary Collection.

In Europe, Konami swapped out the Contra name and launched the franchise under the Probotector banner, replacing Bill and Lance with robotic doppelgangers known as RD008 and RC011. Contra III: The Alien Wars is probably the high watermark for the franchise, and it made its European debut as Super Probotector: Alien Rebels. Two years later, Contra: Hard Corps was released across the pond in a much easier version known simply as Probotector. All four games will be included in the Contra Anniversary Collection.

Rounding out the compilation is the arcade-only Super Contra (and it’s NES adaptation, Super C), as well as the portable Operation C:

Games Included in Contra Anniversary Collection

  • Contra (Arcade – North America)
  • Contra (NES – North America)
    • Contra (Famicom – Japan)
  • Super Contra (Arcade – North America)
  • Super C (NES – North America)
  • Contra III: The Alien Wars (Super NES – North America)
    • Super Probotector: Alien Rebels (Super NES – Europe)
  • Contra: Hard Corps (Sega Genesis – North America)
    • Probotector (Sega Mega Drive – Europe)
  • Operation C (Game Boy – North America)

Like the Castlevania Anniversary Collection, Konami will add six Japanese variants to their Contra compilation through a free update. These variants include Contra (Arcade), Super Contra (Arcade), Super C (Famicom), Contra III: The Alien Wars (Super NES), Contra: Hard Corps (Sega Mega Drive), and Operation C (Game Boy).

The Contra Anniversary Collection will be released for the PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One sometime this Summer.

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Mortal Kombat 11 was the best-selling game on all platforms in April 2019

Posted on May 22, 2019 by John Scalzo

The NPD Group’s Mat Piscatella has given us a look (via Twitter) at the best-selling games from April 2019.

Unsurprisingly, Mortal Kombat 11 KOed the competition as the top game during the period. And according to Piscatella, NetherRealm’s fighter also became the first game to sit atop the charts as the best-selling individual game on the PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One in the same the month.

Not far behind was Sony’s Days Gone. The post-apocalyptic action game was developed by Sony Bend, and while it might have been overshadowed by some of the other titles in the consolemaker’s catalog, it landed in the #2 spot for April.

The remainder of April’s best-selling games chart is made up of a lot of titles we’ve seen before, including recent releases MLB 19: The Show (#3), Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 (#4), Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (#7), and perennial mainstays Grand Theft Auto V (#6) and Minecraft (#14).

You can find a full list of best-selling games from April 2019 after the break. (more…)

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New Retail Releases: Team Sonic Racing, More

Posted on May 20, 2019 by John Scalzo

Sonic the Hedgehog is stepping out of his famous red sneakers this week and strapping on a racing helmet in Team Sonic Racing, which will be available for the PS4, Switch, and Xbox One (and as a digital download for the PC).

The Blue Blur’s latest automotive aspirations will be joined on store shelves this week by a slew of pair of less-speedy new releases. Sony and Clap Hanz will tee it up in virtual reality in Everybody’s Golf VR for the PS4. And Koei Tecmo will begin writing the next chapter in the Atelier series with the launch of Atelier Lulua: The Scion of Arland for the PS4 and Switch.

Elsewhere on store shelves, publishers and developers continue to fill out the Switch’s library with seemingly every game ever released. During the next seven days, Ubisoft will bring Assassin’s Creed III Remastered (which contains the original game and the Liberation spinoff) to the Switch, while Capcom will package together a Resident Evil Origins Collection (Resident Evil and Resident Evil 0) for the platform, and 11 Bit Studios will do the same for This War of Mine: Complete Edition.

And speaking of expansions, Bethesda will release The Elder Scrolls Online: Elsweyr for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One (UPDATE: The release of the Elsweyr expansion was delayed to June 4).

Finally this week, Oculus will expand their product line with a pair of standalone VR headsets (the Oculus Quest 64GB and the Oculus Quest 128GB), as well as the PC-powered Oculus Rift S.

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

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Castlevania Anniversary Collection’s Launch Trailer is here to whip your retro gaming memories into shape

Posted on May 16, 2019 by John Scalzo

Konami has released more than 30 titles in the sprawling Castlevania franchise beginning with the Akumajo Dracula in Japan in 1986, and fans will get the chance to relive some of the earliest adventures of the Belmonts (and their allies) in the newly-launched Castlevania Anniversary Collection.

Available to download now for the PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One, the Castlevania Anniversary Collection includes eight games from the first eight years of the franchise. That lineup includes three games that originally appeared on the NES (1987’s Castlevania, 1988’s Castlevania: Simon’s Quest, and 1990’s Castlevania: Dracula’s Curse), two Game Boy spinoffs (1989’s Castlevania: The Adventure and 1991’s Castlevania II: Belmont’s Revenge), the first two 16-bit adventures (1991’s Super Castlevania IV and 1994’s Castlevania: Bloodlines), and Kid Dracula, a comedic reworking of the franchise that had never been released outside of Japan until now.

If those titles are stirring up a few nostalgic memories of pixelated vampire hunting, then you’ll definitely want to take a look at Castlevania Anniversary Collection’s Launch Trailer, which has been embedded above.

The Castlevania Anniversary Collection is part of Konami’s 50th Anniversary Celebration. An Arcade Classics Anniversary Collection was released back in April and the publisher will continue their retro rewind with the Contra Anniversary Collection later this Summer.

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Nintendo will add a Story Mode, Mario 3D World Style, co-op play, and a lot more to Super Mario Maker 2

Posted on May 15, 2019 by John Scalzo

Thanks to the game’s Announcement Trailer, fans already knew all about the addition of slopes and the Angry Sun to Super Mario Maker 2. But today’s new Nintendo Direct has pulled the red curtain back on even more new features coming to the course building game. The entire is definitely a watch (or a rewatch if you’ve already seen it), but let’s look at some of the highlights…

Nintendo included more than 60 pre-built courses in the original Super Mario Maker, and it looks like they’re increasing that number in the sequel. Super Mario Maker 2 will include a brand new Story Mode that contains more than 100 courses crafted by designers at Nintendo:

In the single-player Story Mode, which can be played entirely offline, Mario sets out to help rebuild Princess Peach’s castle. To fund this reconstruction project, he needs to collect Coins, which he can earn by accepting jobs from the bulletin board and completing the associated courses. Story Mode is a great way for makers to get inspired, with more than 100 original Nintendo-crafted courses to play.

Nintendo is encouraging prospective course creators to use Story Mode as a place to find new ideas for their own creations, and to help with that, they’ve added a number of new Course Parts to the game. Slopes and the Angry Sun are just the beginning as players will get to set ON/OFF Switches, change the Water Level, and more:

What’s New in Super Mario Maker 2

  • Slopes – Create angled surfaces by just picking a direction and setting the length. Gentler slopes are an additional option.
  • Angry Sun – Remember the Angry Sun that attacked Mario in the Super Mario Bros. 3 game? It’s back and ready to put the pressure on players in this new game.
  • ON/OFF Switch – Hit an ON/OFF Switch, and all the red and blue blocks in the course will swap! Setting them up wisely will help players create tricky puzzles and obstacles.
  • Water Level – The water level in Super Mario Maker 2 can be adjusted in the Forest theme, so only half the course can be underwater if that’s what the player wants. Water can even be set to rise and fall at different speeds over time.
  • Banzai Bill – The red variations of these classic Super Mario enemies have a homing function, and chase poor Mario wherever he goes.
  • New Course Themes – In addition to all the course themes from the original game, players will be able to create and play courses using the Desert, Snow, Forest and Sky themes. These themes feature new music by veteran Super Mario series composer Koji Kondo. The new Moon course part can be used to unlock night versions of themes. Depending on the theme used, wild things will happen at night, including floating Goombas, dimmed lighting in the Ghost House and sandstorms in the Desert. Some items might even transform in the nighttime…
  • To Be Continued – There are more secrets in Super Mario Maker 2. Players will have a blast experimenting with all the tools and features they can use to create.

With two Joy-Con controllers, two players will be able to edit a course at the same time, and several new multiplayer modes (including Co-Op and Versus) will give players new options in how to tackle those courses.

Course Styles based on Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, and New Super Mario Bros. U will all return in Super Mario Maker 2, but Nintendo also plans to offer players even more Styles this time around, including one based on Super Mario 3D World. The Super Mario 3D World Style will feature several unique parts that evoke some of the best moments from Mario’s 2013 adventure:

Features Unique to Super Mario 3D World Style

  • Cat Mario – Cat Mario can climb walls, scratch, slide and pounce on enemies. Players can even use Cat Mario to climb up the Goal Pole!
  • Clear Pipe – Clear Pipes can be placed in any shape the player wants, but they have to be careful, as enemies can also slide through them.
  • Koopa Troopa Car – Hop in this sweet ride and zoom through the course. Players just have to make sure not to crash!
  • Track Block – The Track Block will follow any path the player draws. The blue one starts moving when the player steps on it.
  • Piranha Creeper – The Piranha Creeper follows the path that the player draws, extending its dangerous spiky stem around the course.
  • Who’s Who in Super Mario 3D World? – A cast of other familiar faces will also make appearances in Super Mario Maker 2, so players are in for a treat!

At least one more Extra Style will be included in Super Mario Maker 2, which is scheduled to launch on June 28.

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Ubisoft has three unannounced games coming in Early 2020 but they’ve delayed Skull and Bones yet again

Posted on May 15, 2019 by John Scalzo

Is Ubisoft hard at work on Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell 7? Nobody’s entirely sure, but the publisher has confirmed that they’ve got three unannounced “AAA” games in the hopper, all set to launch sometime between January 1 and March 31 in 2020.

Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot spoke a bit about these games, calling them “very distinct gaming experiences,” during the company’s most recent quarterly financial report:

We are coming with three very distinct gaming experiences. We wanted to give those games the development they needed because we know they’re long-term sellers, so it’s important that they come with the best opportunity.

We won’t say anything more today. You’ll know more soon.

Sadly, the publisher also said that players hoping to sail the high seas in Skull and Bones will have to wait a bit longer. The pirate-themed multiplayer was penciled in to launch this year, but now it won’t be released until sometime after April 1, 2020. This is the second major delay for the game (it was originally scheduled to be out in 2018), but the development team provided a short update via Twitter, promising that “[their] focus remains on quality”:

Skull and Bones will not be on display during Ubisoft’s presentation at E3 2019, but presumably the three unannounced games will be.

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Konami will add Japanese variants to Castlevania Anniversary Collection in a free update after launch

Posted on May 15, 2019 by John Scalzo

Konami will make the Castlevania Anniversary Collection available to download for the PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One beginning tomorrow, May 16, for $19.99. The compilation will include the North American versions of eight games from the early days of the franchise, as well as The History of Castlevania: Book of the Crescent Moon, a behind-the-scenes look at the franchise in an ebook-styled format.

The publisher famously released different variants of their games in each region during the NES era, and they typically offered different difficulty options (Japanese gamers often got an easier version to play) and graphical styles. Though sometimes the changes were made to comply with Nintendo’s discomfort for religious imagery and references at the time.

Fans hoping to test out these different versions with the Castlevania Anniversary Collection were originally out of luck, but Konami has apparently had a change of heart. Writing on the PlayStation Blog, Brand Manager Benjamin Kinney said that these Japanese will be available in a free update “shortly after launch”:

Lastly, important news: we heard your calls and Konami will add Japanese title variants as a free update shortly after launch. Keep your eyes peeled for more details!

The Castlevania Anniversary Collection will include Castlevania, Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest, Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse, Super Castlevania IV, Castlevania: The Adventure, Castlevania II: Belmont’s Revenge, Castlevania: Bloodlines, and the never-before-released-in-the-US Kid Dracula. It’s currently unknown which games in the compilation will receive Japanese variants in the future.

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Take-Two executives discuss big sales for GTA5 and Red Dead 2 while looking ahead to 2019 lineup

Posted on May 14, 2019 by John Scalzo

Take-Two Interactive delivered another celebratory quarterly financial report last night as the publisher’s latest releases have proven very popular with players.

Leading the charge is Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption 2. More than 24 million copies of the game have been shipped to stores since its launch last October. Take-Two executives also revealed that they’ve shipped more than nine million copies of NBA 2K19 in a similar timeframe.

But the most surprising reveal from yesterday’s report might be the news that Take-Two shipped more than ten million copies of Grand Theft Auto V during the quarter, bringing its lifetime total to 110 million copies after six years on the market.

While the company was happy with their retail performance in 2018, they’re also looking ahead to 2019 with gusto.

According to CEO Strauss Zelnick, 2K Games has already committed to launching NBA 2K20 and WWE 2K20 this Fall:

Also this Fall, 2K will launch new installments of our highly successful annual sports franchises with the releases of NBA 2K20 and WWE 2K20. As always, the development teams behind these games are hard at work to deliver our trademark array of exciting new features and innovations that keep players coming back year after year. 2K will have more to share about these titles in the coming months.

Zelnick later confirmed that Obsidian’s The Outer Worlds and Patrice Desilets’s Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey will be available for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One sometime this year through their Private Division label:

Developed by Obsidian Entertainment, the Outer Worlds marks the reunion of Tim Cain and Leonard Boyarsky, the original creators of Fallout, who are introducing an entirely new single player sci-fi RPG experience. The Outer Worlds will be showcased behind closed doors at E3 to select media and influencers, and more details about the game will be revealed over time. Last month, Private Division hosted press events for Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey, where attendees got to play the game and meet its creators at Panache Digital Games, including the studio’s co-founder, Patrice Desilets, who was the original creative director of Assassin’s Creed.

More information about Take-Two Interactive’s full lineup for 2019 (including the previously-announced Borderlands 3) will be announced at this year’s E3 Expo in June.

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