Nintendo Download: Wii U Virtual Console

Posted on April 26, 2013 by John Scalzo

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Virtual Console titles are now available to download from the Wii U eShop. After a few months of preview games, the “full” Wii U Virtual Console is ready to go with the following eight games:

  • Balloon Fight ($4.99)
  • Donkey Kong Jr. ($4.99)
  • Excitebike ($4.99)
  • F-Zero ($7.99)
  • Ice Climber ($4.99)
  • Kirby’s Adventure (SALE: $0.30, REGULAR PRICE: $4.99)
  • Punch Out!! ($4.99)
  • Super Mario World ($7.99)

If you’ve previously purchased any of the NES games on this list, Nintendo will upgrade them to the Wii U version (with Off-TV Play, Miiverse Support, and Customizable Controls) for $1.00 apiece. It’ll set you back $1.50 to upgrade a Super NES game.

Posted in News, Wii U |

Daily Scoop: April 26, 2013 – Back from North Carolina

Posted on April 26, 2013 by Nicole Kline

I have returned from the East Coast Game Conference, which was a great time! I met some amazing people, attended some informative talks, and got to check out a new city – Raleigh, North Carolina. The conference opened my eyes to a lot of great things happening in the video game industry, and made me realize more than ever how grateful I am to be a part of it!

But I know why you’re really here… it’s for deals and t-shirts. So I will let you in on a little deals secret! Amazon is having a sale on some great games, including half off Assassin’s Creed III and Dishonored, both marked down to $29.99. You can also save $20 on Gears of War: Judgment, which is just $39.99. Oh, and don’t forget – Monaco is out! So go buy it :)

And now, a plethora of awesome t-shirts, including one made by a friend of mine!

Press Start to Continue →

Posted in Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News |

PC, PS3 getting Call of Duty: Black Ops II Uprising DLC on May 16

Posted on April 26, 2013 by John Scalzo

As expected, the Call of Duty: Black Ops II “Uprising” pack will be available for the PC and PS3 on May 16, exactly one month after its release on the Xbox Live Marketplace. Activision didn’t announce a price for the PC and PS3 version, but I’m sure it’ll match the $15 price tag the pack carried on the XBLM.

In case you missed it the first time around, here’s a quick rundown of the four multiplayer maps the pack will contain, as well as the new “Mob of the Dead” mode:

  • “Magma” is a modern Japanese village with volcanic eruptions carving multiple paths throughout the town.
  • “Encore” takes place in the aftermath of a deserted London music festival and leaves numerous opportunities for run-and-gun, close quarters combat.
  • “Vertigo” is a futuristic high rise in India housing a high-tech lab featuring dizzying vistas and multi-tiered pathways.
  • “Studio” is a Hollywood movie back lot with a variety of cinematic themes that range from Sci-Fi to the Old West. It’s also a contemporary remake of “Firing Range,” a fan-favorite multiplayer map from Call of Duty: Black Ops.
  • “Mob of the Dead” (Zombies Mode) – With plans to break out of Alcatraz foiled by the rise of the undead, the quartet of inmates will have to lean on their mob-derived skills with firearms, blunt instruments and improvised weaponry as they battle the zombies infesting and overrunning the island.
Posted in News, PC, PS3 | Tagged

XCOM FPS becomes third-person tactical shooter The Bureau: XCOM Declassified

Posted on April 26, 2013 by John Scalzo

After seven years in development, the XCOM FPS is dead… and now say hello to its replacement, the third-person tactical shooter The Bureau: XCOM Declassified.

Set in 1962, The Bureau goes back to the beginnings of the alien-hunting organization and their efforts to keep humanity in the dark about the extraterrestrial threat. And without a Men In Black-style neuralizer, that’s going to require a bit more effort:

The Bureau tells the origin story of the clandestine XCOM organisation’s first encounter with a mysterious and devastating enemy. Originally established as America’s covert defense against the Soviet Union, The Bureau must adapt and overcome a threat unlike anything the world has faced before. As special agent William Carter, players will call the shots and pull the trigger, leading their squad of agents in the high-stakes secret war for humanity’s survival. Paramount to repelling the outside threat is The Bureau’s ability to cover-up the enemy’s existence in order to prevent worldwide panic.

Like the XCOM FPS before it, The Bureau is in development at 2K Marin (the same team behind BioShock 2). According to Creative Director Morgan Gray, the team at 2K Marin wants to respect the XCOM tradition in their third-person world: “The team has been working hard to leverage core XCOM elements like tactical decision-making and permanent death of squad mates in a purposeful way that makes this a unique tactical shooter. To that end, The Bureau will challenge players unlike any other third-person tactical shooter.”

The Bureau: XCOM Declassified will be released for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 on August 20. Players who pre-order the game will receive access to the “Codebreakers” DLC mission.

Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360 | Tagged

Nintendo Download: Rayman Legends Challenges App, Mega Man IV, More

Posted on April 25, 2013 by John Scalzo

Rayman Legends may have been delayed until August to put it on the PS3 and Xbox 360, but Ubisoft has made good on their promise and added the Wii U-exclusive Rayman Legends Challenges App to the Wii U eShop. It’s a free download that includes access to four of the game’s levels: Land of the Livid Dead, Neverending Pit, Infinite Tower, and the GamePad-controlled Murfy’s Dungeon. If that weren’t enough, weekly online challenges are also included in the Challenges App.

Also available this week, on the 3DS eShop, is Mega Man IV, the Blue Bomber’s 1992 NES adventure.

Hit the jump for more details on both of these titles as well as three other new games released as part of this week’s Nintendo Download.

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

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Legendary Edition to be available on June 4

Posted on April 25, 2013 by John Scalzo

skyrim-legendaryWere you holding off on purchasing The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim until Bethesda collected all of the game’s DLC expansions in one package? Well, you won’t have to wait much longer as the publisher officially announced the “Legendary Edition” of the game today.

Available for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 on June 4, the “Legendary Edition” includes the original game, all three DLC expansions (Dawnguard, Hearthfire, and Dragonborn), and a variety of additional features (combat cameras, mounted combat, Legendary difficulty mode, and Legendary skills) Bethesda has added to the game since its release in 2011.

All of this can be yours for the suggested retail price of $59.99.

Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360 | Tagged

Nintendo won’t hold a traditional E3 Press Conference this year

Posted on April 25, 2013 by John Scalzo

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The times they are a-changin’. Commentators have questioned the “need” for E3 as game makers and game players have grown more connected thanks to the Internet. Nintendo, owing to the existence of their already ridiculously popular Nintendo Direct presentations, has slammed one more nail into the idea of E3 as we know it by deciding to not hold a traditional E3 Press Conference this year.

Instead, the House of Mario will host a series of mini-meetings during E3 week, including a huge Nintendo Direct presentation that will be focused on their software lineup for the U.S. market. Smaller events for distributors and the press will also be held.

Nintendo has already confirmed that a handful of major Wii U and 3DS will be on display at this year’s E3 Expo including the next 3D Mario game, Mario Kart Wii U, Super Smash Bros. 4, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD, and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past 2.

Posted in 3DS, News, Wii U | Tagged

Star Wars, Marvel characters may be added to Disney Infinity in the future

Posted on April 25, 2013 by John Scalzo

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“Series 1” of Disney Infinity is very focused focus on the studio’s animated efforts. Most of the figures announced so far have been pulled from the worlds of Toy Story, Monsters Inc., The Incredibles, and Cars. But the Skylanders-like game also has a “real world” side represented by characters from Pirates of the Caribbean. And much like Jack Sparrow’s search for rum, many Disney fans have asked of Infinity… “Where’s Marvel and Star Wars?”

According a GamesIndustry International interview with Bill Roper, General Manager at Disney Interactive, there’s a chance that the Marvel universe and a galaxy far, far away could find their way into Infinity:

“”I think the beauty of something like Infinity is that it’s a platform that we’re building. So we don’t try to be coy about it – we’ve done a lot of work about identifying the properties that we felt would really make the platform sing at launch, but I never discount any possibilities with the vast array of characters and worlds that we can tap into across the company,” Roper said. He later singled out Star Wars as a possibility: “[The Star Wars acquisition] was definitely exciting when that [news] came down from within the company. We love the potential for Infinity – we always joke, well, ‘the possibilities are infinite’.”

While that’s far from confirmation, the Disney brass are clearly thinking about it. And with the extensive film schedule the company has planned for the Star Wars saga and the Avengers: Phase Two initiative, I think it makes perfect business sense to add characters from Marvel and Star Wars to Infinity sometime down the road (perhaps Summer 2015… when both The Avengers 2 and Star Wars: Episode VII hit theaters).

The Disney Infinity “Starter Pack” will be available for the 3DS, PS3, Wii, Wii U, and Xbox 360 on August 18.

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