Playtonic’s Project Ukulele becomes Yooka-Laylee as Kickstarter launches tomorrow

Posted on April 30, 2015 by John Scalzo

Back in February, Playtonic Games announced they were developing Project Ukulele, a spiritual successor to Banjo-Kazooie. The developer might just have the chops to back up its boast as many former members of Rare, including Steve Mayles, the Character Artist behind the bird-and-bear duo, now call Playtonic home.

Today, Playtonic revealed that Project Ukulele will officially be known as Yooka-Laylee. As expected, the ridiculously great pun hiding in the title is also proof that Yooka-Laylee will also star a pair of animal friends. Yooka is a chameleon with a grapple tongue, while Laylee is a bat with a sonar blast. Both characters will have to work together to traverse their massive world, which you can get a taste of in the gameplay trailer embedded above.

Playtonic wants to bring Yooka-Laylee to “your platform of choice,” but we don’t know yet where the duo will take their platforming act. However, Playtonic plans to launch a Kickstarter campaign for the game tomorrow, and presumably, it’ll reveal quite a bit more about the game.

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Daily Scoop: April 30, 2015 – Tons of Saints Row

Posted on April 30, 2015 by Nicole Kline

I’m exhausted today, partially because I spent a good portion of my night doing motion capture for my friend’s video game. My death animation is a little weak, but hopefully with practice I’ll get better!

There’s a brand new Weekly Bundle at Humble, and this one’s all about Indie Game Magazine. Pay what you want for FarSky, Race the Sun, and early access to Arena: Cyler Evolution – Founder’s Pack. Beat the average to unlock Fenix Rage and Wrack. And finally, pay $13 or more to unlock early access to Brawlhalla – Founder’s Pack and Freedom Planet.

The Weekend Deal over at Steam is the Saints Row sale. Saints Row: Gat out of Hell is $13.39, and Saints Row IV: Game of the Century Edition is $7.49. You can also get the Saints Row Ultimate Franchise Pack, which includes 49 items. That’s a lot of Saints Row! The Daily Deal at Steam is Volharr the Viking, which is just $1.99.

Let’s check out today’s batch of t-shirts!

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Posted in Daily Scoop |

Nintendo Download: Amiibo Tap, Paper Mario, Karous: The Beast of ReEden, more

Posted on April 30, 2015 by John Scalzo

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It’s another mix of new and old on the Nintendo eShop this week.

Paper Mario was originally released for the N64 in 2001, so it officially qualifies as “old.” But the RPG is still well-loved by fans and will surely be well-loved again as it makes its way to the Wii U eShop today. But if you’re looking for something “new,” Circle Entertainment has added Karous: The Beast of ReEden to the 3DS eShop this week. A vertically-scrolling shooter, The Beast of ReEden is a sequel to Karous, the final game officially released for the Dreamcast.

On the third hand, Amiibo Tap: Nintendo’s Greatest Bits encompasses the best bits of new and old. It’s “old” in that its a randomized collection of scenes from a variety of Nintendo-published NES and Super NES games currently available on the Wii U eShop. The “new” bit comes into play in how you access these scenes. Tapping any Amiibo figure to the Wii U GamePad will unlock a random scene from a game, and tapping a second time will spin the wheel again for a different random scene. Repeat until you’ve gorged on a ton of classic 8-bit and 16-bit games. Best of all, Amiibo Tap is available as a free download.

Also available this week is Heart Beaten. A minigame collection that asks players to literally destroy the heart of an unwanted paramour through a series of retro-styled levels. If you’ve ever wanted to punch a heart right in its heart, now’s your chance.

More information on all of these games (and a few others) can be found after the break.

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Posted in 3DS, News, Wii U |

N++ will kill you dead with Rockets and Deathballs in these new trailers

Posted on April 30, 2015 by John Scalzo

Metanet Software is nearing completion on N++, but first they’d like to introduce the game’s enemies to prospective players through a series of trailers. This week, the Rocket takes center stage as the obstacle between N++’s ninja and the gold he seeks. Oh little ninja man, is your side-scrolling pursuit of gold really worth the Rocket-aided obliteration that will surely follow?

In last week’s video, our ninja took on a devilish machine known as a Deathball… and didn’t fare much better. It’s been embedded after the break if you need another dose of brutal stick figure death. And be on the lookout for N++, which will be released for the PS4 sometime this Spring/Summer.

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Posted in News, PS4 | Tagged

Overkill’s The Walking Dead is coming to the PC, PS4, Xbox One

Posted on April 30, 2015 by John Scalzo

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Overkill’s The Walking Dead, a cooperative shooter based on the popular comic series, was announced last year from the developers of Payday and Payday 2. Today, Overkill announced they’re partnering with 505 Games to publish the title for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

Bo Andersson Klint, the CEO of Overkill’s parent company, Starbreeze Studios, said: “Partnering with 505 Games on the console publishing for Overkill’’s The Walking Dead will streamline the distribution and marketing of the title in the traditional space and on the digital console marketplace. Having worked together before on the successful Payday franchise, we are certain this will be a fruitful collaboration.”

Overkill’s The Walking Dead will be released sometime in 2016.

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Motiga is collecting names for a Gigantic playtest on Xbox One

Posted on April 29, 2015 by John Scalzo

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Motiga will bring Gigantic to the Xbox One later this year alongside the PC/Windows 10 version, which is currently in Alpha. But releasing a massive online multiplayer game like Gigantic requires testing, which the developer will launch sometime soon.

To that end, Motiga has launched a survey to gauge interest in a Gigantic playtest on the Xbox One. If you’d like to add your name to the waiting list, visit the survey link and answer two very short questions about your interest in Gigantic and the status of your Xbox Live Gold subscription. However, bear in mind that Motiga has stressed that signing up for the waiting list will not guarantee you a spot in the upcoming playtest.

We were big fans of Motiga’s team-based action game at this year’s PAX East expo. In fact, we liked Gigantic so much that it earned a spot on this year’s PAX East PAXpocalypse List.

Posted in News, Xbox One | Tagged

Daily Scoop: April 29, 2015 – Halfway through the week

Posted on April 29, 2015 by Nicole Kline

I try not to be that person who pines for Friday to come faster, but for some reason, I just can’t get it together this week. No amount of coffee, hugs, or cat videos can help. Maybe I just need more sleep and a good video gaming session. Yeah, I’ll go with that.

Anyway, let’s talk about deals. The Humble Store is having an Indie Showcase Sale full of some great games! Retro City Rampage DX is $2.99, Eletronic Super Joy: Groove City is $3.34, and Lumino City is $13.39, among others.

The Midweek Madness deal over at Steam is early access to Dungeon Defenders II for just $16.74. You can also get a pack of four for just $50.24. The Daily Deal is AR-K, which is on sale for $3.39.

And now it’s your favorite part: t-shirts!

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Posted in Daily Scoop |

Xbox Store Today: Shovel Knight, State of Decay: Year-One Edition, Project Root, more

Posted on April 29, 2015 by John Scalzo

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Steel thy Shovel, gentle knave, for Shovel Knight is now available to download on the Xbox One. Yacht Club’s retro-inspired platformer will also include an appearance by the long-lost Battletoads, who will challenge Shovel Knight in a special boss battle hidden somewhere on the game’s map. And here’s something else you’ll dig… the game will receive a free expansion, Plague of Shadows, in the coming weeks, as well as two more updates before the end of the year.

Also available for the Xbox One this week is State of Decay: Year-One Survival Edition, an updated and enhanced version of Undead Labs’ zombie survival simulation. In addition to a fancy new graphical presentation, the package also includes both of the game’s downloadable expansions.

One last Xbox One release this week is Project Root, a shoot ’em up developed by OPQAM.

Finally, Ubisoft has added a video game adaptation of Risk on the Xbox 360 side of the Xbox Games Store. Players will be able to use the 2010 rules as they attempt to crush their opponents in the game of “Global Domination.”

More information about all of these new releases can be found after the break.

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