Most Recent: Xbox 360

Dean Dodrill (very vaguely) hints at new Dust announcement

Posted on January 14, 2013 by John Scalzo

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The whole world missed this one last week, but even the vaguest hint about the future prospects of Dust: An Elysian Tail is something you want to follow up on.

Dean Dodrill, the one-man-band behind the Xbox Live Arcade hit, took to Twitter and revealed that he actually has two projects in the works, one of which is related to Dust in some way:

First announced in 2009, Dust: An Elysian Tail wasn’t added to the XBLA until this past August, so Dodrill might have a different definition of “soon” than you or I. That said, any announcement will probably be worth the wait.

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Journey lands 11 nominations at 2013 DICE Awards

Posted on January 14, 2013 by John Scalzo

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The Interactive Achievement Awards will be sporting a new look in 2013, but they’ve managed to recognize the great games all the same. Now known as the DICE Awards, Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences revealed their picks for the best games of the year this morning, nominating thatgamecompany’s Journey for an astonishing 11 awards.

The game is up for… deep breath… Game of the Year, Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction, Outstanding Innovation in Gaming, Downloadable Game of the Year, Casual Game of the Year, Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction, Outstanding Achievement in Gameplay Engineering, Outstanding Achievement in Online Gameplay, Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition, Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design, and Outstanding Achievement in Story.

Other Game of the Year contenders include Borderlands 2, Far Cry 3, The Walking Dead, and XCOM: Enemy Unknown. All four of those games are up for multiple awards, along with other big hitters like Halo 4 (six nominations) and Dishonored (five nominations).

The 2013 DICE Awards will be given out on February 7 during the 2013 DICE Summit. Our host for the evening will be Chris Hardwick, best known as the host of The Nerdist and Telltale’s Talking Dead (hmmm…).

The complete list of nominees can be found after the break. (more…)

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New Releases: DMC Devil May Cry, BioShock Ultimate Rapture Edition

Posted on January 13, 2013 by John Scalzo

dmcdevilmaycry-box2013’s slim release schedule continues this week as only two new titles will make their way into stores. And only one of them can technically be called “new.”

That game is Ninja Theory’s new take on the Devil May Cry franchise, DMC: Devil May Cry. It’ll be available for the PS3 and Xbox 360. A PC release is planned for later in the month.

Also available this week is BioShock: Ultimate Rapture Edition, which includes the original BioShock, BioShock 2, and every piece of downloadable content. It too will be released for the PS3 and Xbox 360.

That’s it! See you next week.

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Call of Duty: Black Ops II was the best-selling game in all of 2012 too

Posted on January 11, 2013 by John Scalzo

As the best-selling game of the month in November and December, Call of Duty: Black Ops II has consistently blown away the competition since its November 13th launch. But seven weeks was all it needed to stand tall as the best-selling game of all of 2012.

The complete list doesn’t include many surprises. Like the list of bestsellers from December 2012, no original games are included in the full-year list. Microsoft’s Halo 4 was the only platform-exclusive title to make the list and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 was the only 2011 release able to retain its spot in the top ten.

In terms of retail sales, 2012 was a down year for the game industry. Retail sales of games, accessories, and consoles (not counting used games/hardware or downloadable games/content) totaled $13.26 billion, which was off 20% from 2011’s $16.99 billion total. perhaps this Fall’s expected launch of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox 720 will kickstart the industry in 2013.

The complete 2012 top ten can be found after the break. (more…)

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Serious Sam Double D XXL blows up XBLA on February 20

Posted on January 11, 2013 by John Scalzo

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“Serious” Sam Stone is back! Mommy’s Best Games, Devolver Digital, and Mastertronic have announced that Serious Sam Double D XXL, the first 2D side-scroller in the series, will be added to the Xbox Live Arcade on February 20.

Originally released for the PC, Serious Sam Double D has been supersized with “new features, missions, and weapons” as well as a brand-new co-op mode co-starring Sam’s brother-in-arms, Dan “Huff” Huffington.

“The Devolver Digital team has admired Mommy’s Best Games’ games since their releases on the Xbox Live Indie Games channel,” said Fork Parker, CFO of Devolver Digital. “It’s pretty magical to see their first release on Xbox Live Arcade and we’re proud to be a part of it all.”

Serious Sam Double D XXL can be yours for 800 Microsoft Points ($10).

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CoD Black Ops II was the best-selling game of December 2012

Posted on January 10, 2013 by John Scalzo

For the second straight month, Activision’s Call of Duty: Black Ops II stands tall as the best-selling game of the month, per The NPD Group’s December 2012 report.

The first person shooter fended off a bevy of sequels including the rest of the top five: Just Dance 4, Halo 4, Assassin’s Creed III, and Madden NFL 13. In fact, not a single non-sequel cracked the top ten last month.

Once again, The NPD Group is reporting (via Game Informer) that game sales and console sales are down relative to 2011 (which was itself down from 2010). Of course, the NPD Group’s inability to track sales of downloadable games makes this statistic less than helpful.

The full top ten from last month can be found after the break. (more…)

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Omerta: City of Gangsters announced for Mac; PC, Xbox 360 versions set for February 12

Posted on January 10, 2013 by John Scalzo

Kalypso Media and Haemimont Games have announced that Omerta: City of Gangsters will be available for the PC and Xbox 360 on February 12. I’m sure the publisher plans to make your local game store an offer it can’t refuse to carry it.

The two companies have also confirmed that the turn-based strategy game will be available for the Mac (on the Apple Mac Store and the Steam Mac Store) sometime in early 2013.

Finally, a new gameplay trailer is available for your viewing pleasure. Unless you’ve been prohibited from watching it.

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The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct coming to Wii U too; March release confirmed

Posted on January 10, 2013 by John Scalzo

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Glenn Gamble, a Producer at Terminal Reality, has revealed that The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct, Activision’s first person shooter based on the popular AMC show, will be available for the Wii U in addition to the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.

So what will the Wii U version bring to Survival Instinct? A more streamlined inventory system, according to Gamble:

“We didn’t want to change the game, because the game had already been established, so we tried to say, ‘What can we augment with the Wii U version?’ That’s where it’s basically a more elegant inventory management system. With the Wii U you have access to your backpack at all times, so you can tap what weapons you want, you can drop stuff. It’s a lot more streamlined.”

Finally, Gamble confirmed that the game will be released in Europe on March 29, just two days before the third season finale. Because of the close tie-in with the TV show, a North American release date is likely to be very similar.

UPDATE: As expected, Activision has announced The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct will be released in North America on March 26.

[Source: Digital Spy]

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