Most Recent: Xbox One

Volition’s Agents of Mayhem gets a new trailer and an August 15 release date

Posted on April 4, 2017 by John Scalzo

Volition’s Agents of Mayhem roared back into your line of sight yesterday, with a new trailer that cribs heavily from The A-Team, Knight Rider, and today’s superhero-driven cinema.

The world first heard about Agents of Mayhem last year, when the Saints Row-adjacent project was unveiled at the E3 Expo. But now we know when it’ll be released (August 15), and a bit more about the game’s fame-hungry heroes:

After the horrors of Devil’s Night, the world was left in ruins from the devastation that the shadowy supervillain organization LEGION (League of Evil Gentlemen Intent on Obliterating Nations) had left in its wake.

They needed heroes.

They got the Agents of MAYHEM (Multinational AgencY for Hunting Evil Masterminds).

In a case of bad versus evil this elite band of often unstable misfits, armed with a variety of crazy weapons, work under the watchful eye of Persephone Brimstone, ex-LEGION lieutenant, and her assistant Friday, to bring down LEGION and its mysterious leader, the Morningstar.

Explore the city of Seoul with a diverse cast of twelve interchangeable agents that you can assemble into squads of three, each with their own distinct look, sense of humor, weapons, and skillset. Players can build and customize their squads however they choose, switching from Daisy, a mini-gun wielding, beer-swigging, foul-mouthed roller derby girl, to Rama, an immunologist with a futuristic bow firing energy arrows, to Red Card, a loveable but psychotic German soccer hooligan with a temper that can literally clear a crowd.

With a toy box of twelve unique agents to choose from, players can jump between reality TV star/pretty boy Hollywood, to sky pirate and internationally infamous thief Fortune, as the open-world missions demand.

Agents of Mayhem is an open-world action game currently in development for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One… and I cannot stress enough how 80s-tastic the new trailer is.

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

The purr-fect way to start the week… a new Injustice 2 trailer featuring Catwoman

Posted on April 3, 2017 by John Scalzo

Harley Quinn is looking to recruit Catwoman for the “Gotham City Sirens” in the latest Injustice 2 trailer, but things don’t end well for the reformed supervillain.

Consistently walking the line between hero and villain, Selina Kyle’s pilfering past as Catwoman prevents Batman from ever placing his full trust in her. As the ashes of the Regime give rise to the sinister Society, the Caped Crusader must once again speculate where this thieving feline’s loyalties lie.

Catwoman first appeared in Injustice: Gods Among Us, and like her previous appearance in the franchise, her Injustice 2 incarnation is an acrobatic martial artist who’s quick as a whip.

Injustice 2 will be released for the PS4 and Xbox One on May 16.

Posted in News, PS4, Xbox One | Tagged

New Retail Releases: Persona 5, Lego City Undercover, Bulletstorm Full Clip Edition, More

Posted on April 2, 2017 by John Scalzo

Persona 4 became one of the last major launches for the PS2 when it was released in 2008 by Atlus. It’s long-in-the-works sequel, Persona 5, will do the same when it launches this week for the PS3. Thankfully, the RPG will also be released for the PS4, so all PlayStation players will get the chance to save the world as a member of the Phantom Thieves.

A pair of re-releases will also make their way to store shelves this week, giving players a second chance to try out two unsung titles from the PS3/Xbox 360/Wii U era. First up, the family-friendly open-world action game Lego City Undercover will make its debut on the PS4, Switch, and Xbox One. Also this week, Gearbox and People Can Fly will bring Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition to the PS4 and Xbox One with an extra does of Duke Nukem.

Finally this week, an aerial combat sim (Air Conflicts: Secret Wars) and a deckbuilding RPG (ArmaGallant: Decks of Destiny) will be released for the PS4.

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

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

4/1: NetherRealm is NOT adding the Wonder Twins to Injustice 2

Posted on April 1, 2017 by John Scalzo

It’s April 1st, which means you shouldn’t believe everything anything you read on the Internet today. For example, I think it is extremely unlikely that NetherRealm Studios will add the Wonder Twins, Zan and Jayna, to Injustice 2.

The dual addition to Injustice 2’s character roster was teased earlier today on Twitter by Ed Boon, NetherRealm’s Creative Director. Boon is a lover of all things purple (Mortal Kombat‘s Rain is an homage to Prince), but I think this is a step too far:

The Wonder Twins were first introduced to audiences in 1977 as part of DC’s Super Friends cartoon. They were later given an “extreme” makeover (because, of course they were) and added to the DC Comics Universe in 1996.

I’m reasonably sure that Boon is joking about including the Wonder Twins in Injustice 2, but I could also see the developer using this prank to gauge interest in adding the characters to the game later as downloadable content.

Posted in News, PS4, Xbox One | Tagged

4/1: AMC and the creators of Breaking Bad are NOT working on a Grand Theft Auto TV show

Posted on April 1, 2017 by John Scalzo

It’s April 1st, which means you shouldn’t believe everything anything you read on the Internet today. For example… AMC did not hire the creators of Breaking Bad to develop a television adaptation of Grand Theft Auto V.

The trailer making the rounds today was actually created by IGN, but the narration from Steven Ogg (he played Trevor Phillips in GTA5) gives it that extra jolt of authenticity and might help fool a few people.

While this trailer is just an April Fool’s Day prank, Take-Two Interactive might actually be working on a film adaptation of the Grand Theft Auto franchise. Earlier this year, CEO Strauss Zelnick told MCV that his company has “licensed a couple of titles for motion picture production.” The executive didn’t name Grand Theft Auto as one of the titles, but prolific film director Roger Corman has repeatedly claimed that a settlement he signed with Take-Two more than a decade ago prevents the publisher from adapting Grand Theft Auto for the silver screen.

Corman produced Ron Howard’s directorial debut, 1977’s Grand Theft Auto, and he’s been trying to remake it for years. But instead of a gangland drama like The Godfather or Scarface, Howard’s film is a road comedy more closely related to something like The Blues Brothers. But if Corman is holding up the creation of a Grand Theft Auto film, it’s never been publicly acknowledged by Take-Two.

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

The Video Game Canon – Pac-Man

Posted on March 31, 2017 by John Scalzo

Dig deeper into the Video Game Canon with a look back at the true stories behind some of gaming’s greatest urban legends, most of which seem to revolve around Pac-Man. Here’s a teaser…

With more than 40 years of history behind it, it’s not surprising the video game community has developed its own catalog of urban legends that have been passed from player to player over the years. Everyone who played it desperately tried to resurrect Aerith after her tragic demise in Final Fantasy VII, and we all heard stories about the “nude codes” that supposedly existed in games like Tomb Raider, Mortal Kombat II, and The Sims.

Unfortunately, every one of those rumors has more in common with the hook man at lover’s lane than they do with the unvarnished truth. But some of the legends are true. And nearly all of them revolve around Pac-Man in some way.

Pac-Man is a simple creature. Just a yellow circle with a triangular wedge removed to represent his mouth. Some will say his design was simplistic because the designers at Namco were working within the hardware limitations of the day. Those people would be wrong. The inspiration for Pac-Man overcame Namco’s Toru Iwatani after he snatched the first slice at a company pizza party and noticed that it looked like a circle with a mouth.

But it gets weirder from there.

Visit VideoGameCanon.com to continue reading this article and to explore the complete Top 1000.

Posted in Features, PC, PS3, PS4, Retro, Top Story, Video Game Canon, Xbox 360, Xbox One | Tagged

Xbox Store Today: Thimbleweed Park, Punch Club, King of Fighters 95, more

Posted on March 31, 2017 by John Scalzo

Ron Gilbert, the mad genius behind The Secret of Monkey Island and Maniac Mansion is back with his first new adventure game since 2013’s The Cave. Gilbert’s latest offering to gamers is Thimbleweed Park, which is now available to download for the Xbox One. Players will explore a haunted hotel, an abandoned circus, and a burnt-out pillow factory as they attempt to solve the mystery of the titular town. And don’t worry, “A dead body is the least of your problems.”

Also available to download through the Xbox Games Store today is Punch Club, a boxing management sim from Lazy Bear Games and TinyBuild. Players will “train hard, eat chicken, and punch dudes in the face” as they climb the ranks in this Xbox One game.

Finally today, Xbox One owners will get the chance to engage in a different kind of fisticuffs in SNK’s King of Fighters 95. The classic fighting game was originally released in 1995 and allowed players to create a custom team for the first time.

You can learn more about today’s additions to the Xbox Games Store after the break. (more…)

Posted in News, Xbox One | Tagged

Cities: Skylines will break new ground on the Xbox One on April 21

Posted on March 31, 2017 by John Scalzo

Paradox Interactive has announced that Cities: Skylines will be released for the Xbox One on April 21.

The console edition was developed by Tantalus Media, who rebuilt and optimized the city management sim with full controller support. In addition to adding a new control scheme to Cities: Skylines, the developer also bundled in After Dark, the game’s nightlife-focused expansion.

Cities: Skylines will be available for $39.99 as a retail disc release and as a digital download through the Xbox Games Store.

Posted in News, Xbox One | Tagged