Most Recent: Vita

Ubisoft, Hasbro strike deal to bring Monopoly and other board games to next-gen consoles

Posted on August 7, 2013 by John Scalzo

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Get up and go to your game closet. Chances are you’ll have a well-worn copy of at least one of the following board games in there: Monopoly, Scrablle, Trivial Pursuit, Risk, Battleship, and Cranium. What do they all have in common? First of all, they’re all published by Hasbro.

Also, new versions of each game are coming to current-generation and next-generation consoles courtesy of Ubisoft.

“Hasbro makes games that we all know and love, and we’re thrilled to be able to work with them to create video game experiences based on some of their most popular brands,” said Tony Key, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Ubisoft.

Electronic Arts previously held the Hasbro board game license for console games. They will still be able to publish and develop apps based on Hasbro board games for mobile devices.

Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One |

Dragon’s Crown, Tales of Xillia, Ibb & Obb, and more added to PS Store

Posted on August 7, 2013 by John Scalzo

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This week’s big PS3 retail releases, Dragon’s Crown and Tales of Xillia, have also found their way to the PlayStation Store. Tales of Xillia, Namco Bandai’s action RPG, has been priced at $54.99 and Dragon’s Crown, a hand-drawn beat ’em up from Atlus, has been priced at $49.99. Dragon’s Crown is also available for the Vita for $39.99 (sorry folks, it’s not a Cross-Buy title).

Also available this week is the latest addition to Sony’s Play promotion, the gravity-based puzzle platformer Ibb & Obb. And this week’s PS2 Classic is The Red Star, a great overhead shooter that takes place in an alternate Russia with robots and giant walking talks. Finally, Superfrog HD is a side-scrolling platformer from the creator of the Worms series. It’s also a PS3/Vita Cross-Buy title.

More information on all of these titles can be found after the break and a complete list of this week’s new game add-ons can be found at the PlayStation Blog. (more…)

Posted in News, PS3, Vita | Tagged ,

New Releases: Pikmin 3, Dragon’s Crown, Tales of Xillia, More

Posted on August 4, 2013 by John Scalzo

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Nintendo is back in a big way this week with Pikmin 3. The latest game in one of Shigeru Miyamoto’s favorite franchises is in stores today and is sure to please Wii U owners who have been waiting for a big new title since Lego City Undercover‘s release this Spring. The PS3 is also back in a big way this week after a slow Summer. Namco Bandai’s action RPG, Tales of Xillia, and Atlus’ artful beat ’em up, Dragon’s Crown (available on the PS3 and Vita), will be available in stores on Tuesday.

What else is available this week? Well…

A game adaptation of Disney’s Cars spinoff, Planes, touches down on all Nintendo platforms (3DS, DS, Wii, and Wii U) this week. And EA has put out another Sims 3 expansion, The Sims 3: Dragon Valley. Finally, a boxed version of Mortal Kombat: Komplete Edition for the PC is available this week, alongside Air Conflicts: Pacific Carriers, a budget dogfighter for the PS3 and PC.

Posted in 3DS, DS, News, PC, PS3, Vita, Wii, Wii U | Tagged , , ,

Dragon’s Crown Review: Not Your Dad’s Beat ‘Em Up

Posted on July 31, 2013 by Nicole Kline

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Dragon’s Crown is a beautiful new side-scrolling beat ‘em up from developer Vanillaware and publisher Atlus. It’s garnered a lot of bad publicity due to some of the art design choices, specifically the outrageous, over-the-top character models for some of the females. While the art style does take some stereotypes to the extreme, there’s no arguing that what the developers have done here is created something gorgeous and immersive and completely original. On top of this, Vanillaware has delivered a copious amount of entertainment in a tried-and-true genre, and they’ve done it on not just the PlayStation 3 but on the Vita as well, giving you the chance to continue the experience on the go. Does the gameplay make up for what many consider to be a questionable art style? Absolutely. (more…)

Posted in PS3, Reviews, Top Story, Vita | Tagged

PSN Today: Cloudberry Kingdom, PixelJunk Monsters: Ultimate HD, Narco Terror, more

Posted on July 30, 2013 by John Scalzo

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Welcome to another week of PlayStation Store releases, this time starring Cloudberry Kingdom, the ultra-hard procedural platformer developed by Pwnee Studios. It’s available on the PSN today alongside twin-stick shooter Narco Terror, live action lightgun game The Last Bounty Hunter, and PS2 Classic P.T.O. IV. A fixed version of another PS2 Classic, Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly, is also available today.

And if you own Sony’s handheld system, you’ll be happy to know that a pair of new downloadable Vita games were added to the PS Store today. There’s the tower defense favorite, PixelJunk Monsters: Ultimate HD, and another puzzle game from Nikoli, Puzzle by Nikoli V: Slitherlink.

You want more information on each of these titles? You can find that after the break. You want a list of this week’s new game add-ons? That’s at the PlayStation Blog. (more…)

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Tearaway release date tears away into November

Posted on July 29, 2013 by John Scalzo

tearaway-boxesMedia Molecule has announced that Tearaway, their Vita-exclusive platformer, won’t be available on October 22. The game, set in a world created in a papercraft sty;e, will now be released on November 22.

According to Rex Crowle, Media Molecule’s Creative Lead (via the PlayStation Blog), the Tearaway team just needs a little more time to polish the game up and to “tie all of the mechanics, story and amazing visuals together into the adventure that we want you to play.”

But Crowle is confirdent that they can do it and also said: “Here at Media Molecule we love to make new things on new platforms. To us, making games is a real labor of love. Our very blood, sweat and tears are poured into every pixel, every line of code, every note in every song, and every little post it note we use to plan our lives.”

We’ll find out for sure on November 22.

Posted in News, Vita | Tagged

Stealth Inc, Zeno Clash II, Z.O.E. 1 and 2 HD, Do Not Fall, more added to PS Store

Posted on July 24, 2013 by John Scalzo

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Sony is kicking off their 2013 Play promotion with Stealth Inc: A Clone in the Dark (available for the PS3 and Vita). The “fast-paced stealth platformer” has been priced at $9.99 and features “brutal hazards, ruthless enemies, fiendish puzzles and red pixels galore.” Sounds like a good time (even without its original title: “Stealth Bastard”).

Also available this week is Zeno Clash II, a sequel to ACE Team’s first-person melee game; the HD remakes of Zone of the Enders and Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner (which are sold separately); Do Not Fall, a platformer that asks, “What if an entire game was made up of disappearing platforms?”; and a PS3 version of Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational.

Finally, The Smurfs 2 is now available in the PS3 Full Games store.

More details about all of these games can be found after the break and a full list of this week’s new game add-ons can be found at the PlayStation Blog. (more…)

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Angry Birds Star Wars flies onto consoles, handhelds this October

Posted on July 18, 2013 by John Scalzo

Activision and Rovio are teaming up again to bring Angry Birds Star Wars to consoles and handhelds this Fall (hmm… which one is the Emperor and which one is Darth Vader?). The “saga” of birds batting pigs continues on the 3DS, PS3, Vita, Wii, Wii U, and Xbox 360 this October.

In addition to high definition graphics, the console/handheld version of Angry Birds Star Wars will add 20 new levels to the game as well as new new competitive and cooperative multiplayer modes.

Angry Birds Star Wars will be released for consoles and handhelds on October 29.

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