Super Impossible Road brings racing without a net to the PS4

Posted on July 8, 2015 by John Scalzo

I have put a ridiculous amount of time into the mobile version of Impossible Road. Its procedurally-generated track stretches on forever and hurtling your little marble off the edge to skip a huge portion of track is hold-your-breath exciting.

But Impossible Road is about to get even more impossible as developer Wonderful Lasers has announced the game will be released on the PS4 as Super Impossible Road. The console version will add a four-player splitscreen mode and a futuristic new presentation as the the leaderboard competition found in the mobile version has been dropped in favor of a multi-marble race down the roller coaster-like track. But developer Kevin Ng told the PlayStation Blog that players will still be able to jump ahead of their opponents by going over the edge:

The shortcut rule is simple. When you leave the track, you have around five seconds to touch down again, otherwise the screen will white out and you will re-spawn. And you’ll be re-spawned back at the last gate you went through, so you’d better make sure to roll through a gate here and there on the way down. It’s a simple system to understand, but it adds a lot of depth and strategy to race management.

Think of it as “Rainbow Road: The Game” and you’ll have a pretty good idea how Super Impossible Road works.

Posted in News, PS4 | Tagged

Dark Edition of Skylanders SuperChargers will make its debut at San Diego Comic-Con 2015

Posted on July 8, 2015 by John Scalzo

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The 2015 San Diego Comic-Con kicks off tomorrow (with a Preview Night tonight), and Activision has announced the Dark Edition of Skylanders SuperChargers will make its debut during the show.

The Skylanders SuperChargers Dark Edition will include special variant figures with a “Dark” twist. Priced at $99.99, players who opt for the Dark Edition on the PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, or Xbox One will receive figures figures (Dark Spitfire, Dark Hot Streak, Dark Super Shot Stealth Elf, Dark Sea Shadow), a two-sided collector’s poster, and the Kaos Trophy (which unlocks exclusive Kaos content).

But if you’re an Amiibo hunter, you’ll definitely want to keep an eye out for the Wii U’s Dark Edition. Also priced at $99.99, it’ll also include the Dark Spitfire and Dark Hot Streak figures, but the other two will be replaced by Dark Turbo Charge Donkey Kong and Dark Barrel Blaster. And that’s not all… the Dark Edition for the Wii-exclusive Skylanders SuperChargers Racing will come packed with Dark Hammer Slam Bowser and Dark Clown Cruiser. Because of a Skylanders/Amiibo switch in the base, both Dark Turbo Charge Donkey Kong and Dark Hammer Slam Bowser are considered official Amiibo figures by Nintendo.

Gamers who will be attending this week’s San Diego Comic-Con will get a chance to test out the Dark Edition characters on a Skylanders SuperChargers demo station at Activision’s booth (#121), the Xbox Lounge at the Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel, or at the Nintendo Game Lounge at the Marriott Marquis and Marina. Everyone else will have to make do with scoping out a few Dark Edition screenshots at the Activision Games Blog.

Posted in News, PS3, PS4, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One | Tagged , ,

PS Store Today: Rocket League, Geometry Wars 3 Vita, Skullgirls 2nd Encore, more

Posted on July 7, 2015 by John Scalzo

The PS3 is being left behind in this week’s PlayStation Store update. But if you own a PS4 or a Vita, you’ll have a handful of new titles to play… especially if you’re a PlayStation Plus subscriber.

PS4 players will get to go for the goooooaaaaaalllllll this week in Rocket League, a car combat game that adds a giant soccer ball to the arena. If you prefer to do your gaming on the go, one of 2014’s best games, Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions Evolved, is now available for the Vita. Best of all, both these games are free for PlayStation Plus subscribers.

Also available this week is Skullgirls 2nd Encore, the second update (and first to appear on the PS4) to the popular fighting game from Lab Zero Games. It’s joined by another updated re-release today, Ar Nosurge Plus: Ode to an Unborn Star, which expands Koei Tecmo’s RPG for the Vita.

More information on these games (and a few other new releases) can be found after the break. And, as always, a full rundown of this week’s new game add-ons and discounts is available at the PlayStation Blog

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Game Critics Awards panel declares Fallout 4 the “Best of Show” at E3 2015

Posted on July 7, 2015 by John Scalzo

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The Game Critics Awards, a panel comprised of journalists from 38 different publications, have handed out their 2015 “Best of E3” honors and Bethesda’s Fallout 4 took home the big prize… which should come as a surprise to pretty much no one. In addition to being named “Best of Show,” Fallout 4 was also awarded “Best PC Game” and “Best Role Playing Game.”

However, Fallout 4 couldn’t win all the awards, and its quantity was actually matched by Naughty Dog’s Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, which collected three awards of its own. Among the traditional awards, Nathan Drake’s next adventure won “Best Console Game” and “Best Action/Adventure Game.” But it was also selected for a “Special Commendation For Graphics” award by the Game Critics Awards panel.

Star Wars: Battlefront was the only other multi-award winner, taking home “Best Action Game” and “Best Online Multiplayer.” More interestingly, this year’s Best of E3 awards included two repeat winners… Super Mario Maker for “Best Family/Social Game” and No Man’s Sky for “Best Independent Game.”

A full list of this year’s winners can be found after the break.

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Lucid’s followup to Geometry Wars 3 is an “exciting” arcade action game

Posted on July 7, 2015 by John Scalzo

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Liverpool’s Lucid Games has been very busy in the last three years. Since their founding in 2011, the studio has produced a wide variety of mobile titles (including Grand Theft Auto V‘s iFruit companion app), as well as the Xbox One/Xbox 360 port of Goat Simulator. But they’re perhaps best known as one of the many studios to emerge from the closure of Bizarre Creations. In 2014, Lucid tapped the mathematical knowledge of their founders to create Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions, the third entry in the wildly beloved twin-stick shooter series.

On the eve of Geometry Wars 3’s Vita launch, I got the chance to talk with Lucid’s Creative Director, Craig Howard, about the game. In addition to discussing Dimensions, Howard was also eager to talk about the team’s next game. If you’re a fan of the “arcade action” found in Geometry Wars 3, you’ll want to pay close attention to what he said: “Our core console/PC teams are working on a very exciting action game at the moment which will really appeal to a lot of our arcade action fan base. I hope we can announce more details of that game very soon as it’s really exciting.”

Be sure to read the rest of the interview to learn more about the development of Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions. And don’t forget, it’s available to download today from the PlayStation Store for the Vita. The Evolved update is also now available for iOS and Android devices.

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

Interview: Looking at Geometry Wars 3 From All the Angles With Creative Director Craig Howard

Posted on July 7, 2015 by John Scalzo

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I thought the Geometry Wars series had gone dark forever after Bizarre Creations closed its doors in 2011. It was a surprising end for the developer that had created Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved, a simple twin-stick shooter that many people consider the first great Xbox 360 game. Retro Evolved was followed by a well-received sequel in 2008, which lead Bizarre’s Craig Howard to admit to the MTV Multiplayer Blog that a third game in the series was already in the works.

Howard moved on after Bizarre’s closure and he’s now the Creative Director at Lucid Games, which teamed up with Activision’s Sierra Games imprint to finally release Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions last year. The game was an instant smash hit was fans of the series, as it expanded the playing field into the third dimension and added a wide variety of new weapons and modes to the franchise’s standard formula. But rather than jump right into Geometry Wars 4, Lucid doubled the size of Dimensions earlier this year with the Evolved expansion. The developer also wanted to take Geometry Wars 3 on the road with portable ports for iOS, Android, and the Vita.

I recently got the chance to talk with Howard about Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions, which will be available for the Vita beginning today, and Lucid’s journey to bring the franchise back.

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Posted in Features, Interviews, Mobile, PC, PS3, PS4, Top Story, Xbox 360, Xbox One | Tagged

Daily Scoop: July 7, 2015 – New Humble Bundle!

Posted on July 7, 2015 by Nicole Kline

The Humble Game Making Bundle is now live! Pay what you want for Game Dev Starter Pack, a 1-year license to Stencyl: Indie Edition, 90% off coupons for RPG Maker, the Humble Bundle Starter DLC Pack, Indie Game Maker Contest ’14 Finalist Pack, and Labyrinthine Dreams.

Beat the average to get RPG Maker VX Deluxe Edition, Game Character Hub, Humble Bundle Sci-Fi DLC Pack, Humble Bundle New DLC Pack (with a $10 Game Dev Fort store credit), Aveyond: Lord of Twilight, and Crimson Clover World Ignition.

Not enough??? How about paying $12 to unlock App Game Kit 2, Spriter Pro, Sprite Lamp, Humble Bundle Fantasy DLC Pack, and Goats on a Bridge? If that doesn’t prepare you to make your own games, nothing will.

The Midweek Madness at Steam is Lisa, which is on sale for just $4.99. You can also get the deluxe edition for $7.49. The Daily Deal for today is Void Expanse, which is on sale for $11.24, or you can get a four pack for $33.74.

Not a lot of t-shirt options again…

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Posted in Daily Scoop |

Capcom promises “exclusive reveals” for 2015 San Diego Comic-Con… and they’re selling a wearable Mega Man helmet

Posted on July 7, 2015 by John Scalzo

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The San Diego Comic-Con kicks off this weekend and Capcom plans to be in attendance with playable demos of several upcoming games at their booth.

The publisher will give players the chance to try out Resident Evil 0, a remastered version of the franchise’s origin story; Mega Man Legacy Collection, a remastered collection of the Blue Bomber’s 8-bit history; and Street Fighter V, the next entry in the seminal fighting series. Kiosks for a few currently available titles will also line the Capcom booth including Resident Evil Revelations 2, Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition, and Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate.

Capcom will also host a pair of panels this weekend, including their semi-annual “World of Capcom” panel, which will include an overview of the publisher’s upcoming game schedule. In addition to updates on Street Fighter V and Resident Evil 0, fans should be on the lookout for “exclusive first-looks, reveals, and special surprises.”

Panel: Street Fighter V
Thursday, July 9 at 11:45 AM – 12:45 PM (Room 6BCF)
Capcom’s Street Fighter experts will share the latest news on Street Fighter V, which will include a special guest appearance from Yoshinori Ono (Executive Producer, Street Fighter franchise). Learn how you can earn big money and everlasting fame by competing in the Capcom Pro Tour culminating in the Capcom Cup Finals later this year. Plus, get a first look at all the must-have Street Fighter licensed goods in store for the rest of the year.

Panel: World of Capcom
Thursday, July 9 at 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM (Room 7AB)
The Capcom team will share the latest updates on all the new and upcoming Capcom games including Street Fighter V, Resident Evil 0 and more, plus sneak peeks at all the latest Capcom merchandise and licensing products coming your way soon. There will also be some exclusive first-looks and reveals just for SDCC.

Finally, Capcom will erect a portable version of their Capcom Store, which will be packed the Capcom-iest merchandise around including two differnt light-up Ryu statues, a Street Fighter-branded PS3/PS4 fight stick, Monster Hunter clothing and pillows, and a Mega Man mini-helmet collection. Capcom’s Comic-Con store will give fans the chance to pre-order a life-size Mega Man helmet with working LED lights. And in case you were wondering, yes, you can wear it. Be sure to visit the Capcom-Unity blog for a few pictures of the Mega Man helmet in action.

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