Mass Effect 3: Citadel DLC now available

Posted on March 6, 2013 by John Scalzo

The final downloadable expansion for Mass Effect 3, “Citadel,” is now available to download on the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360. The “emotionally driven” farewell to Commander Shepard and the crew of the Normandy has been priced at $14.99 (or 1200 Microsoft Points) on all platforms.

This emotionally driven piece of single player DLC expands on the events of Mass Effect 3 by inviting players to return to the capital of the Citadel Council in an effort to eliminate a startling threat. This new content will also feature Commander Shepard’s long-time friends and romance interests from the entire Mass Effect trilogy, as Mass Effect 3: Citadel offers one more chance for fans to reconnect with their favorite characters and even rekindle past romances.

In addition to new story content, Mass Effect 3: Citadel will also give players the opportunity to use squad members from the entire Mass Effect series in a brand-new training facility on the Citadel. The Armax Combat Arena offers ten scenarios and will challenge players by dropping them in the middle of battle to fight off wave-after-wave of enemy forces. When the adventure is over, players can blow off some steam by trying their luck at the Citadel’s Silver Coast Casino or discover and furnish Commander Shepard’s living quarters on the station.

BioWare will put a cap on the career of Commander Shepard during this year’s PAX East convention. Executive Producer Casey Hudson, Lead Designer Preston Watamaniuk, Lead Cinematics Director Parrish Ley, Writer John Dobmrow and Level Designer Dusty Everman will take the stage on Saturday, March 23 at 2:00 PM to present “The Mass Effect Trilogy: A Retrospective.”

If at all possible, I suggest getting in line now.

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Capcom confirms June 25 release date for Lost Planet 3

Posted on March 6, 2013 by John Scalzo

Capcom has announced that Lost Planet 3 will be released for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 on June 25 (June 28 in Europe). The publisher has also released a new trailer for Lost Planet 3, highlighting the Snow Pirates that populate E.D.N. III:

The trailer continues the story of Jim Peyton’s time on E.D.N. III as a NEVEC employee seeking out further sources of the planet’s energy supply T-Eng. During one of these missions, Jim comes under attack from E.D.N. III’s indigenous Akrid, causing his Utility Rig to fall down an icy fissure, leaving him unconscious and injured. Jim wakes to find himself in what appears to be a secret base, hidden beneath the planet’s frozen surface. On discovering he was rescued by one of the base’s inhabitants, Mira, the daughter of Snow Pirate leader, So’ichi, Jim realizes that NEVEC are not the only human inhabitants of E.D.N. III.

And if you’ve got tickets to this year’s PAX East show (March 22-24), you could swing by the Capcom booth to give a demo of Lost Planet 3 a try.

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Journey Executive Producer: “Don’t expect a sequel”

Posted on March 6, 2013 by Bret Morace

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Despite critical acclaim (including five BAFTA Award wins last night), do not expect to see a sequel to Journey. Robin Hunicke, the game’s Executive Producer, told IGN that due to thatgamecompany’s recent mass exodus (including Hunicke herself), no one is ready for a sequel.

“I think we all put a lot of heart and soul into Journey, so we’d like to leave it where it is,” she explained. “It’s pretty much perfect the way it is, we don’t want to mess with that so I would imagine there would be no Journey 2.”

Thatgamecompany has recently stated the studio is no longer exclusive to Sony and many employees have moved on to new companies and begun development on a variety of unannounced projects.

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New studio Yacht Club Games sails away with a crew from WayForward

Posted on March 6, 2013 by John Scalzo

yachtclubgames-logoWayForward is responsible for some of this generation’s most retro-tastic games including Double Dragon: Neon, BloodRayne: Betrayal, A Boy and His Blob, and Contra 4. But as WayForward moves forward with a Mighty Switch Force sequel, a large part of the team has sidestepped into a new studio, Yacht Club Games.

Sean Velasco, the former Director at WayForward (and voice of Skullmageddon in Double Dragon: Neon), will captain this new venture with an additional crew of developers marooned from his former studio.

Velasco wants to continue WayForward’s retro tradition at Yacht Club, saying, “Our serious and solemn goal is to make really awesome games that fuse modern and retro game philosophies.”

Velasco continued, “We want to create fun and challenging gameplay with concise and polished mechanics. We want to both tug at your heartstrings and delight you with levity and charm. We want to make games that you play together with friends and family.”

Yacht Club plans to announce their first project in the next few days, and they’ll be attending this year’s PAX East (March 22-24) to greet the public.

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Tomb Raider, MLB 13: The Show, Runner 2, a lot more added to PS Store

Posted on March 6, 2013 by John Scalzo

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Welcome to this week’s PlayStation Store as Sony has once again flooded their digital marketplace with a wide variety of new games.

This week’s three biggest PS3 releases, Tomb Raider, MLB 13: The Show, and Atelier Ayesha: The Alchemist of Dusk, were all released today as digital downloads as well. MLB 13: The Show is also available for the Vita and Tomb Raider is being sold in a special “Digital Edition” that includes bonus DLC content and a free Quantum Conundrum download. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, Platinum’s swordfightin’ new entry in the Metal Gear saga is also available in the PS3 Full Games section today.

The wild platformer Bit.Trip Presents Runner 2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien and the match-3 puzzler Germinator have been added to the PSN Games section along with the “1985-1 Pack” for the Capcom Arcade Cabinet. Germinator is available in two other packages including a separate Vita download and as a PS3/Vita bundle.

Finally, Rockstar has added two more PS2 Classics to the store, Midnight Club and Midnight Club II.

Find out more about this week’s new releases after the break and visit the PlayStation Blog for a complete list of this week’s new game add-ons.

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Dishonored declared Best Game at 2013 BAFTA Awards

Posted on March 5, 2013 by John Scalzo

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The 2013 BAFTA Awards have just been handed out in merry old England and Dishonored has been named the “Best Game of 2012” by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.

However, the most impressive awards haul came courtesy of thatgamecompany’s Journey, which collected five awards (“Artistic Achievement,” “Audio Achievement,” “Game Design,” “Online Multiplayer,” and “Original Music”). The Unfinished Swan (“Best Debut” and “Game Innovation”) and The Walking Dead (“Mobile & Handheld” and “Story”) also took home multiple awards.

You can find the rest of the winners after the break.

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2D action RPG Delver’s Drop will be playable at PAX East

Posted on March 5, 2013 by John Scalzo

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Pixelscopic has announced that their Zelda-like 2D action RPG Delver’s Drop has reached its Kickstarter goal of $75,000. Seven days remain on the pledge clock, but since reaching their goal, the people at Pixelscopic have plenty of exciting announcements to make.

First, they want everyone to know that Delver’s Drop will be playable at this year’s PAX East show (March 22-24). Second, they’re banging away at the PC/Mac version of the game and expect to have it available in October 2013. A release on iOS, Android, Ouya, and Linux will follow sometime in 2014.

So what exactly is Delver’s Drop? Here’s a more in-depth description and you can find a fantastic trailer after the break:

When indefinitely imprisoned high atop a towering castle complex, escape is the only option for survival and redemption. But few scoundrels will survive the Drop and live to tell the tale. The dungeons are rife with traps, monsters, and sinister secrets, awaiting the next unlucky Delver.

Delver’s Drop is a 2D Action RPG with fluid physics-based movement, snappy combat, shifting dungeons, and a rogue’s gallery of individually leveled character classes. With an emphasis on mystery and dynamic gameplay experiences, the game features randomization for infinite replay, enigmatic puzzle permutations to unravel, multiple narrative paths, customizable character growth, and layers of secrets to unearth.

Now then… onward to the trailer!

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Rumor: Dead Space 4 canceled due to poor Dead Space 3 sales; EA denies it

Posted on March 5, 2013 by John Scalzo

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Dead Space 3 has been available for exactly a month but, according to a source within EA that has spoken to VideoGamer.com, the game has sold so poorly that it may spell the end of the franchise.

The anonymous tipster states that because Dead Space 3 “failed to meet its sales targets,” Electronic Arts has dropped the axe on the already-in-development Dead Space 4. Furthermore, the report states that EA used the cancellation as a reason to close Visceral Montreal, which was doing pre-production work on Dead Space 4.

EA has yet to release official sales numbers for Dead Space 3, and likely won’t until their next quarterly financial report in May. For what it’s worth, a sequel to Dead Space 3 was probably part of the plan at some point due to the game’s cliffhanger ending.

When contacted by GameSpot, the publisher went one step beyond the usual “no comment” reply and officially denied the abandonment of the franchise and the cancellation of Dead Space 4. An EA spokesman said, “[The VideoGamer report is] patently false. While we have not released sales data for Dead Space 3, we are proud of the game and it continues to be an important IP to EA.”

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