Most Recent: Switch

Pac-Man CE 2 Plus, Payday 2, SteamWorld Dig 2, more coming to Nintendo eShop this week

Posted on February 22, 2018 by John Scalzo

I feel like I say this every week, but it’s another big week for the Nintendo eShop. Over the next seven days, 18 new games will be available to download for the Switch, including a few big games that have found a new home on Nintendo’s console/handheld hybrid.

Pac-Man Championship Edition 2 Plus is one of those games, and Bandai Namco will bring the wild technicolor visuals of the Pac-Man Championship Edition sub-series to the Switch for the first time, while also adding an exclusive two-player co-op mode. Nearly five years after it was first released, Overkill’s co-op shooter, Payday 2, will also be released for the Switch this week

Switch owners interested in puzzle-solving will also have a few new games to choose from this week including Typoman, a wordy platformer, and Bridge Constructor Portal, a bridge construction game that takes place within the Portal/Half-Life universe.

Over on the 3DS side of the Nintendo eShop, Image & Form has launched SteamWorld Dig 2, their acclaimed MetroidVania, on Nintendo’s handheld current device.

You can learn more about all of this week’s additions to the Nintendo eShop after the break. (more…)

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

Monster Hunter: World is king of the jungle… and the bestselling game of January 2018

Posted on February 22, 2018 by John Scalzo

The Monster Hunter franchise is an absolute phenomenon in Japan, and Capcom has been trying to replicate its success in North America since since Monster Hunter was released for the PS2 in 2004.

It might have taken more than a decade, but it looks like the series finally broke through with Monster Hunter: World, which was the best-selling game of January 2018. According to The NPD Group (via GamesIndustry.biz), Capcom’s unique Action RPG helped push the industry to its best performance in January since 2011.

However, Capcom wasn’t the only publisher to post a monster-sized debut in January. Bandai Namco’s Dragon Ball Fighter Z fought its way to the #2 slot, beating out some of 2017’s biggest titles, including Call of Duty: WWII (#3) and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (#5).

All told, video game fans purchased more than $517 million in software, as well as $278 million in hardware. Microsoft’s Xbox One, Nintendo’s Switch, and Sony’s PS4 were neck-and-neck-and-neck, and total hardware sales crossed one million units during the month.

You can find the NPD’s recounting of January 2018’s top ten best-selling titles after the break. (more…)

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

Free Luigi’s Balloon World expansion is now available for Super Mario Odyssey

Posted on February 22, 2018 by John Scalzo

Are you ready to play hide-and-seek across the world of Super Mario Odyssey? I hope so, because according to Nintendo’s official website, the Luigi’s Balloon World expansion is now available to download through the Nintendo eShop:

Luigi’s Balloon World
After downloading the update and beating the main story, Luigi will now show up in different kingdoms to give Mario a new challenge. To start Balloon World, seek out the green-clad bro and have a nice chat with him. There are two modes in Balloon World: “Hide It” mode lets you hide a balloon somewhere in that kingdom, while “Find It” mode challenges you to find balloons hidden by other players from around the world. If you get good at hiding and finding balloons, you’ll also move up the online rankings!

Luigi’s Balloon World is a free update for Super Mario Odyssey, and it also includes new Outfits for Mario and new Filters for Snapshot Mode.

Posted in News, Switch | Tagged

Sega will bring Shining Resonance: Refrain to US this Summer

Posted on February 21, 2018 by John Scalzo

The Shining series got its start all the way back in 1991, which is when Sega released Shining in the Darkness for its Genesis console. The publisher has since added more than a dozen new games to the franchise, but American audiences haven’t had a chance to play a new Shining game since 2007’s Shining Force EXA.

But that’ll all change this Summer, as Sega has announced that Shining Resonance: Refrain will be released in the US for the PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One this Summer.

Shining Resonance: Refrain is a real-time action game with music-based attacks that Sega punningly refers to as the B.A.N.D. System. Players will also need to help their team socialize during events and dates to attain “Resonance” on the battlefield for even more powerful attacks.

Yuma has the soul of the Shining Dragon within him, transforming into the ancient beast by unleashing the power conducted through his sword. Dragons, long thought to be extinct, make Yuma a target for the Empire. To use him against the kingdom of Astoria, The Empire captures Yuma. Sonia, princess of Astoria, launches a rescue mission with the help of the Dragoneers. Hearing about the plight of Astoria and their fight to save their land, Yuma decides to aid them. Typically timid, will he find the courage to realize the strength he has within him?

Shining Resonance was originally released for the PS3 in Japan in 2014, and Refrain will add a number of remastered options to the game, including English and Japanese voices, all previously-released DLC, and a Refrain Mode that adds new characters to the game.

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

Mega Man Legacy Collection 1 + 2 will be released for Switch on May 22

Posted on February 19, 2018 by John Scalzo

Capcom has announced that Mega Man Legacy Collection and Mega Man Legacy Collection 2 will make their way to the Nintendo Switch on May 22.

The two compilations will be available to download separately through the Nintendo eShop ($14.99 for MMLC and $19.99 for MMLC2), but a retail release with the same launch date is also in the works. Unfortunately, only the six NES games from Mega Man Legacy Collection will be included on the Game Card. Players who purchase the retail edition will have to redeem a download code to receive the four games and bonus features from Mega Man Legacy Collection 2.

Capcom didn’t explain their rationale for this baffling release strategy on the Capcom-Unity blog, but they did unveil a new trailer for both compilations, and its been embedded above.

The publisher also said that that the first Legacy Collection will include a Rewind option to turn back time on a poorly-executed jump and access to a batch of 3DS-exclusive Challenges with a Mega Man Amiibo figure. Legacy Collection 2 will also include a batch of Amiibo-locked Challenges that weren’t available on the PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

Posted in News, Switch | Tagged ,

Hideki Kamiya is already thinking about Bayonetta 4

Posted on February 16, 2018 by John Scalzo

Bayonetta 3 was officially announced during this year’s Game Awards ceremony, but we don’t know much about it, and Platinum Games hasn’t even hinted at possible a release date. But that hasn’t stopped Hideki Kamiya, the game’s Director, from thinking about where to take the series in Bayonetta 4.

Writing on Twitter this morning, Kamiya mused that he already “has a plan” for the fourth game in the franchise:

Obviously, any talk about Bayonetta 4 (even from the game’s director) is pure speculation when we hardly know anything about Bayonetta 3. But it’s nice to know that Platinum has a road map for where the franchise will go in the future.

Posted in News, Switch |

Bayonetta 1 + 2, Fe, Xeodrifter, more coming to Nintendo eShop this week

Posted on February 15, 2018 by John Scalzo

Nintendo and its third-party publishing partners will add 17 new Switch games to the Nintendo eShop over the next seven days. While the sheer quantity is impressive, the list also includes some of this Winter’s most highly-anticipated games.

Nintendo themselves lead the way with the Switch re-release of Bayonetta and Bayonetta 2. Starting this Friday, players will be able to take Platinum’s pair of action games on the go for the first time. Also available to download tomorrow is Fe, a “wordless platformer” from Zoink and Electronic Arts.

Elsewhere on the Switch storefront, Atooi will make a return to the platform with the launch of Xeodrifter, a retro-styled side-scroller that was originally released for the 3DS in 2014. And Bloober Team will bring the horrific Layers of Fear: Legacy to the Switch on Wednesday. Layers of Fear: Legacy is being touted as the definitive version of the game with its inclusion of the Inheritance expansion, touchscreen controls, and HD Rumble support.

You can learn more about all of this week’s additions to the Nintendo eShop after the break. (more…)

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

Capcom is splitting the games from the Mega Man X franchise across two Legacy Collections

Posted on February 15, 2018 by John Scalzo

Back in December, Capcom said that “multiple” games in the Mega Man X franchise would be released for modern platforms in 2018, leading many fans to assume that more than one compilation was in the works.

Today, the Australian Classification Board confirmed the publisher will indeed bundle the games from the Mega Man X franchise into two different packages known as the Mega Man X Legacy Collection [Source] and the Mega Man X Legacy Collection 2 [Source].

It’s unknown how Capcom will split the franchise between the two Collections, or if the RPG spinoff, Mega Man X: Command Mission, will make the cut. But hopefully we’ll find out more soon.

Mega Man X Legacy Collection and Mega Man X Legacy Collection 2 are both in development for the PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One, and will be released sometime in 2018.

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