Most Recent: Switch

Pokemon Quest is a free-to-play Action RPG that’s now available for the Switch

Posted on May 30, 2018 by John Scalzo

Pokemon are coming for the Nintendo Switch!

Last night, The Pokemon Compnay and the consolemaker announced that Pokemon Quest, a free-to-play Action RPG with touch-based controls, is now available to download for the Switch. Featuring a cube-shaped art style for all Pokemon, players will need to direct the attacks of their Pokemon buddies as they work their way across Tumblecube Island in search of treasure:

Set off on an adventure in the Pokemon Quest game. Venture out with your Pokemon buddies on expeditions across Tumblecube Island in search of loot in this free-to-start action-adventure game for the Nintendo Switch system. Modify your Pokemon buddies with discovered Power Stones to make your expedition team.

With a cube-shaped art style, Pokemon Quest is unlike any Pokemon game you’ve seen before. The simple gameplay makes it easy to hop into expeditions and start exploring Tumblecube Island with the help of your Pokemon buddies. Afterward, head back to your base camp where you can use the loot you found during your adventure to befriend more Pokemon. Attract various Kanto Region Pokemon to your base camp by cooking up dishes made with collected ingredients. You can even decorate your base camp with fun items that provide helpful bonuses that make your expeditions more beneficial.

Pokemon Quest was developed by Game Freak and it’ll also be available for iOS and Android mobile devices beginning in June.

Posted in News, Switch | Tagged

Mega Man 11 will power slide onto the PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One on October 2

Posted on May 29, 2018 by John Scalzo

The Blue Bomber returns! Capcom has announced that Mega Man 11 will make its way to the PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One on October 2.

Fans who pre-order the side-scroller on any platform will receive access to an “Alternative Soundtrack” in the game, but Switch owners will want to make special note of the Amiibo Edition. Mega Man 11’s Amiibo Edition will include a copy of the game, as well as a brand new Mega Man Amiibo figure, a Dr. Wily logo adhesive patch, a set of four stickers, and a Robot Master stage select screen microfiber cloth.

In addition to a launch date, Capcom unveiled a new trailer focusing on Mega Man 11’s Double Gear System. These new special powers will enable the Blue Bomber to slow down time and deliver a more powerful punch with his arm cannon. The publisher talked a bit more about the Double Gear System on the Capcom-Unity blog:

At its core, the Double Gear System has two main functions that empower Mega Man (and players) with brand new abilities. Mega Man speeds up with the aptly-named Speed Gear, causing the world around him move much slower by comparison. If you need a moment to dodge incoming projectiles, make a desperate jump, or simply need a breather to figure out a tricky situation, the Speed Gear is just a button press away to give you a chance to escape and quickly adapt to any situation. It’s great for both newcomers who need a little extra time to figure out enemy and boss patterns, or veterans who can expertly maneuver their way around levels.

The Power Gear pushes Mega Man’s power output beyond maximum, powering up his regular buster shots and allowing him to charge his Mega Buster to an even higher level than before to unleash two charge shots at a time. Special weapons gained from defeated Robot Masters will also power up in various ways when Mega Man has the Power Gear active. Be careful how you use these new skills, though! You can turn each gear on and off at will with a quick button press, but pushing Mega Man to his limit will cause him to overheat, preventing him from using the Double Gear system until he’s cooled off a bit.

If things are looking desperate, Mega Man can also activate both gears at once when his health is critically low to slow time to a crawl and unleash his full potential in one massive, overcharged shot from his Mega Buster! Careful, though – you can’t turn this technique off once it’s active, and Mega Man will be severely weakened afterwards. Make it count!

The trailer also gives us our first glimpse at two of Mega Man’s foes in Mega Man 11. Brick Man can form blocks out of thin air, while Fuse Man moves with electrifying speed.

Mega Man 11 will be playable at this year’s E3 Expo at the Capcom Booth (South Hall, Booth #2223), and a closer look at the Amiibo Edition can be found after the break. (more…)

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

New Retail Releases: Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection, Sega Genesis Classics, Owlboy, More

Posted on May 28, 2018 by John Scalzo

Get ready for another nostalgia-heavy trip to your local game store as this week’s New Retail Releases features a new destination for several big-name titles.

Slapping its way to the top of the pile is Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection, a new compilation for the PS4, Switch, and Xbox One that brings together a dozen games from the franchise. There’s the original Street Fighter, as well as Street Fighter II (and its four updates), Street Fighter III (and its two updates), and all three Street Fighter Alpha games. Fans will get to relive these famous fighting games with online multiplayer, and explore the history of the franchise thanks to a bountiful batch of bonus content.

Also set to launch this week for the PS4 and Xbox One is Sega Genesis Classics, a new compilation that contains more than 50 games that were originally released for the 16-bit machine. That list includes beloved classics like Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Golden Axe, and Altered Beast, as well as more left field fare like Vectorman, Comix Zone, and Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine.

Two games coming to new platforms this week retain the retro aesthetic of Street Fighter and the Sega Classics, but they’re both actually less than a year old. D-Pad Studio’s Owlboy originally made its PS4 and Switch debut earlier this year, but now the innovative platformer is coming to retail shelves. And Natsume’s Harvest Moon: Light of Hope was originally released for the PC in November, but a Special Edition of the farming sim comes to the PS4 and Switch this week.

NIS America has packaged together Fallen Legion: Sins of an Empire (originally released for the PS4) and Fallen Legion: Flames of Rebellion (originally released for the Vita) on the Switch as Fallen Legion: Rise to Glory. Players will finally be able to play both sides of this RPG story on a single platform.

THQ Nordic will also bring the feline ninjitsu of Legend of Kay Anniversary to the Switch this week. Fans first got to play the game on the PS2 in 2005, and since then it’s appeared on the DS, PC, PS3, PS4, Wii U, and Xbox 360.

And finally, if you’re looking for something new this week, Madmind Studio will released Agony for the PS4 and Xbox One. The first-person survival horror game plunges players into the depths of Hell in a story of “horror, eroticism, and damnation” that was inspired by Dante’s Inferno.

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

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

Nintendo is selling the Switch without a Dock in Japan

Posted on May 25, 2018 by John Scalzo

Right now, the only way to purchase a Nintendo Switch in North America or Europe is to buy a bundle containing the console, the Joy-Cons, and a Dock to connect it to your TV. But Nintendo is giving Japanese players a new option to purchase the Switch without a Dock… and at a discount.

Announced earlier this week on their official website, the “2nd Set” package includes a Nintendo Switch console and a pair of Joy-Con Controllers. This version of the console is designed portability in mind, so the “2nd Set” doesn’t include a Dock, Joy-Con Grips, an HDMI Cable, or a Charging Cable. By removing these components, the consolemaker was able to lower the price of the “2nd Set” to ¥24,980 (about $230), so it’s a considerably cheaper option for Nintendo fans who only want to use their Switch as a handheld system.

Nintendo has re-released the 3DS in dozens of different configurations over the years, so it seems likely that the “2nd Set” bundle will eventually make its way to North America and Europe. But as of today, nothing official has been announced.

Posted in News, Switch |

Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection, Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon, Ikaruga, more coming to Nintendo eShop this week

Posted on May 24, 2018 by John Scalzo

It’s another big week for the Nintendo eShop as two of the greatest games of all time come to the Switch alongside a handful of new releases.

Capcom is bundling together a dozen Street Fighter games in this Tuesday’s Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection. The collection features the original Street Fighter, as well as Street Fighter II (plus its four revisions), Street Fighter III (plus its two revisions), and all three games in the Alpha sub-series.

This week’s eShop update is also a big one for fans of 2D shooters, who will have the opportunity to download Treasure’s Ikaruga for their Switch. The beloved polarity-switching shooter regularly appears on “Best Games of All Time” lists, and it’s available to purchase beginning today.

Switch owners who also consider themselves retro gaming fans can also look forward to the ninja platforming of N++, the Castlevania-inspired Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon, and tower defense shenanigans of PixelJunk Monsters 2.

On Tuesday, Switch owners will also be able to download Natsume latest farming sim, Harvest Moon: Light of Hope – Special Edition, and a new RPG from NIS America, Fallen Legion: Rise to Glory.

Finally this week, Dillon the Armadillo makes his 3DS debut in Dillon’s Dead-Heat Breakers, a post-apocalyptic western where players must defend the people from an invasion of transforming rock monsters.

You can learn more about the rest of this week’s additions to the Nintendo eShop (including Knights of Pen and Paper, Legend of Kay Anniversary, Punch Club, and more) after the break. (more…)

Posted in 3DS, News, Switch | Tagged , , , ,

Mega Man X-inspired platformer 20XX will be available for PS4, Switch, and Xbox One in July

Posted on May 23, 2018 by John Scalzo

Capcom is finally bringing the Mega Man franchise back this Fall with Mega Man 11. But PC players who prefer Mega Man X have been able to enjoy Batterystaple Games’s procedurally-generated tribute to that spinoff series, 20XX, since 2014. Earlier today, the developer confirmed that console fans will finally get the chance to play the roguelike platformer this July.

Inspired by classic Mega Man titles, but with modern twists, 20XX remixes retro design with roguelike elements to create an exciting “one more play” experience built around skill growth. In 20XX, players will dash, jump, and blast their way through procedurally-built stages made to test their grasp on controls and situational awareness rather than memorization or trial and error.

This structure ensures every session plays out differently than the last and, along with multiple difficulty settings, daily ranked challenges, and co-operative multiplayer (both online and local), provides a near-endless amount content for players to experience and enjoy while jamming out to the heartwarming tunes of 20XX’s pulsing chiptune-inspired soundtrack.

20XX’s console launch will include the Hawk DLC Pack, which adds a third playable character to the game. Unlike Nina (and her N-Buster) and Ace (and his A-Saber), Hawk uses the whip-like Siphon to steal energy from enemies and “power-up five unique special abilities.”

20XX will be available to download for the PS4 and Switch beginning on Tuesday, July 10. The Xbox One release will follow a day later on Wednesday, July 11.

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

God of War slays all comers and emerges as the best-selling game of April 2018

Posted on May 23, 2018 by John Scalzo

You might say that Kratos returned with a vengeance last month, and that’s because Sony’s God of War reboot climbed to the top of The NPD Group’s list of best-selling games for April 2018. According to the NPD (via GamesIndustry.biz), God of War was also the “best ever launch for a PlayStation exclusive.”

Sony and Kratos weren’t done setting records, and the former “Ghost of Sparta” helped sell a lot of PS4 consoles too. Thanks to a push from the newly-available PS4 Pro 1TB + God of War Limited Edition Bundle, Sony’s console was propelled to the top of the NPD’s Hardware Chart for both “units sold” and “dollar sales.” The PS4 also set a new record for console sales during the month of April, besting the previous mark set in April 2008 by Nintendo’s Wii.

While Nintendo lost out on one record, they almost stole Sony’s thunder by placing six games in the NPD’s Top 20 last month, including the Nintendo Labo: Variety Kit (#4), Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (#5), Mario Kart 8 (#6), Super Mario Odyssey (#9), The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (#13), and Kirby Star Allies (#19).

You can find the full list of The NPD Group’s best-selling titles for April 2018 after the break. (more…)

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

Resident Evil 7 is coming to the Switch… only in Japan… as a cloud-based game

Posted on May 21, 2018 by John Scalzo

What do you do if you’re a publisher and you want to bring your beefy PS4/Xbox One game to the Nintendo’s lower-powered Switch? If you’re Capcom, you throw together a “Cloud Version” and ask players to be always connected to the Internet to play it.

As you may have gathered from the headline, and the creepy trailer embedded above, that’s exactly what Capcom is doing with Resident Evil 7: Biohazard. The horror game will be coming to the Switch… only in Japan… on May 24th. But players will need a constant Internet connection (just like Sony’s PlayStation Now service) to play this streaming-powered “Cloud Version” of the game.

Resident Evil 7’s “Cloud Version” will be available to download through the Switch eShop for ¥2000 (about $18), and players will receive a 45MB download that serves as their “Play Ticket” to access the game’s streaming server. Each “Play Ticket” expires after 180 days, after which players will need to purchase another one to keep playing.

Capcom has yet to announce if this special “Cloud Version” of Resident Evil 7: Biohazard will be released for the Switch in the rest of the world.

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