Most Recent: Xbox 360

Call of Duty: Black Ops III on PS3 and Xbox 360 won’t include the Campaign

Posted on September 26, 2015 by John Scalzo

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Cross-generation releases are becoming increasingly rare, but the planned PS3/Xbox 360 launch for this November’s Call of Duty: Black Ops III was expected to keep the practice alive for at least one more year. However, yesterday, Activision announced that the game PS3 and Xbox 360 owners will receive will be considerably different from the one in development for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

Just how different is it? According to an update on the official Call of Duty website, the PS3/Xbox 360 version of the game won’t include the Campaign.

“The ambitious scope of the 1-4 player coop Campaign design of the PS4, Xbox One and PC versions could not be faithfully recreated on old generation hardware,” wrote a spokesman from Acitivision, which likely means the Campaign story mode was axed due to the complicated nature of its four-player co-op option. This means that Call of Duty: Black Ops III on the PS3 and Xbox 360 will only include the competitive multiplayer mode and “Shadows of Evil,” its noir-inspired Zombies Mode. The Weapon Paint Shop and Black Ops III’s new suite of eSports tools will also only be included in the game on the PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

In development at Beenox and Mercenary Technology, the PS3 and Xbox 360 version of Call of Duty: Black Ops III is still expected to be released on November 6 in spite of this setback. Activision has also decided to discount the game’s regular price to $49.99 and include a download code for a digital copy of Call of Duty: Black Ops to make up for the missing features.

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Explore the extensive timeline of the Call of Duty: Black Ops franchise in this video

Posted on September 24, 2015 by John Scalzo

Beginning with the birth of Victor Reznov in 1913, the Black Ops saga spans more than 100 years of history… most of which has been redacted. Thankfully, developer Treyarch has compiled this primer to help players read through the lines before the upcoming release of Call of Duty: Black Ops III. If you’ve got ten minutes to spare, I highly recommend you spend it reacquainting yourself with the events behind Black Ops and Black Ops II.

And if you skip to the end, you’ll even find out which of Black Ops II’s multiple endings is considered the true ending by Treyarch.

Call of Duty: Black Ops III will be released for the PC, PS4, Xbox One, PS3, and Xbox 360 on November 6.

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Xbox Store Today: Skylanders SuperChargers, FIFA 16, Blood Bowl II, more

Posted on September 23, 2015 by John Scalzo

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Today is the first day of Fall and that means that Activision and Vicarious Visions are back with another entry in the popular Skylanders franchise. This time, the Skylanders will hop into a variety of different vehicles in Skylanders SuperChargers, which is now available to download through the Xbox Games Store on the Xbox One and Xbox 360. “Epic adventures over land, under sea, and through the sky” are promised, but you’ll need to own a Portal of Power from a previous Skylanders game to experience it all.

Also available to download this week is a pair of sports titles that use a football field in two very different ways. EA’s FIFA 16 (Xbox One, Xbox 360) is a traditional soccer simulation that features hundreds of teams from across the world. And in a first for the franchise, it also features 16 women’s teams that were part of this year’s World Cup. However, the other side of the pitch is occupied by Blood Bowl II, a turn-based strategy game that melds American football with the fantastic characters found in the Warhammer universe.

Finally this week, two arena fighters will battle it out for your gaming dollar. In this corner, Golden Ruby Games will release Extreme Exorcism, a supernatural single-screen arena fighter, for the Xbox One. And in this other corner, Self Made Miracle will release Penarium, an arena game set in a sinister circus, for the Xbox One.

More information on all of these games can be found after the break. (more…)

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Dontnod will release the final episode of Life Is Strange on October 20

Posted on September 21, 2015 by John Scalzo

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The world of Life Is Strange will come to a close on October 20. Dontnod Entertainment announced the release date for the finale of their episodic game series on Twitter today, which hints at an apocalyptic end for Max, Chloe, and the rest of Arcadia Bay:

In keeping with the game’s photographic theme, the final episode has been titled Polarized by Dontnod. Once again, if all goes well, it’ll be available to download for the PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One on October 20.

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A launch trailer for Lego Dimensions jumps into view ahead of next week’s launch

Posted on September 21, 2015 by John Scalzo

Lego Dimensions is just a week away and WB Games has given us one final look at it in the launch trailer embedded above. It features a lot of the same stuff we’ve seen from the game before including various scenes of Batman, Gandalf, and Scooby-Doo being awesome. But we also get two seconds of Bart Simpson on a Hoverboard… so that’s definitely something new!

Lego Dimensions will be available this Sunday, September 27, on the PS3, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.

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New Releases: Lego Dimensions, FIFA 16, NBA 2K16, More

Posted on September 20, 2015 by John Scalzo

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Sport fans should gather up their foam fingers and beer hats once more as the soccer shenanigans of FIFA 16 and the raucous roundball of NBA 2K16 will both arrive on store shelves this week for the PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. Blood Bowl II, and its fantastical version of football, will be available for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

But if you’re a Lego fan, the release of Lego Dimensions is likely a much bigger deal this week. Mashing together more than a dozen media franchises, Lego Dimensions could very well be the ultimate Lego game. Developer TT Games has clearly come a long way since 2005’s Lego Star Wars. Sadly, Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker won’t be part of the magic, but characters from DC Comics, The Lord of the Rings, Scooby-Doo, The Simpsons, Back to the Future, Ghostbusters, Doctor Who, and many, many others will appear in the PS3, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One game.

Finally this week, 3DS owners will get to play decorator as Nintendo will release Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer for the handheld system. It will launch alongside a new range of Amiibo-powered cards and a New 3DS + Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer Bundle.

All of this week’s new releases are available in a handy list format after the break. (more…)

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Xbox Store Today: Plague Inc: Evolved, Inside My Radio, Book of Unwritten Tales 2, more

Posted on September 18, 2015 by John Scalzo

Ndemic Creations unleashed a “viral” sensation on the world in 2012 with their mobile hit, Plague Inc. Today, the developer is bringing their disease simulator to the Xbox One through the Xbox Games Store. PS4 and Wii U owners are no doubt green with envy… of course, that could also be the result of the game’s signature pathogens infecting another host. It’s a wild premise for a strategy game, but if Plague Inc: Evolved is half as good as its mobile forebear, then killing billions of people with a horrible disease will be the most fun you have on your Xbox One in a long time.

Three other games are also available to download for the Xbox One today including Inside My Radio, a musical side-scroller; The Book of Unwritten Tales 2, a fantasy spoof that promises hours of point-and-click fun; and Pumped BMX +, a BMX stunt racer. And if you haven’t upgraded to an Xbox One just yet, The Book of Unwritten Tales 2 is also available for the Xbox 360.

More information on all of these games can be found after the break. (more…)

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Xbox Store Today: Forza Motorsport 6, Destiny: The Taken King, NHL 16, more

Posted on September 16, 2015 by John Scalzo

Microsoft has been dominating the automotive simulation scene for the last few years, and that streak looks to continue this week with the release of Forza Motorsport 6 for the Xbox One. This new entry in the franchise includes over 450 Forzavista cars with “working cockpits and full damage.” Even if you limited yourself to eating, sleeping, and playing Forza 6, it would still take you a long, long time to see everything the game has to offer.

Also available to download this week through the Xbox Games Store is Destiny: The Taken King, the final chapter in Destiny’s “Year One” storyline. Players who have defeated Crota will now find themselves face-to-face with Oryx, his very mad dad, and a rampaging army of alien zombies. Yikes. Destiny: The Taken King is now available to download on the Xbox One and Xbox 360.

Finally this week, sports gamers will get a double dose of new sports simulations with EA Sports’s NHL 16 (Xbox One) and Konami’s Pro Evolution Soccer 2016 (Xbox One, Xbox 360). Whether you prefer the pitch or the ice, there’s something new for you this week.

More information on all of these games (and a few other new releases) can be found after the break. (more…)

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