Bloodborne, Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, Cities: Skylines all sell one million copies

Posted on April 14, 2015 by John Scalzo

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While the weather outside was frightful, gamers across the globe responded by purchasing a trio of games in droves this Winter. In fact, each game has sold more than one million copies worldwide.

Sony Computer Entertainment announced that Bloodborne has sold more than one million copies worldwide since its March 24. According to the PlayStation Blog, From Software is also hard at work on patch 1.03 to “to reduce certain load times” and add in a few “performance optimizations.” They’ll also remove that bug that makes the game easier after you’ve been playing for more than 12 hours.

According to Capcom, they’ve shipped one million copies of Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate to stores across Europe and North America, so they haven’t crossed the seven figure sales figure just yet. But the publisher still plans to celebrate by releasing a free Monster Hunter theme for the 3DS in May.

Finally, Paradox Interactive and Colossal Order have sold one million copies of their city-builder, Cities: Skylines, since March 10. The game has been heartily embraced by sim fans who felt letdown by SimCity, but it looks like its begun to reach gamers of all stripes. I think this Facebook post (which includes a cameo appearance from Dr. Evil) says it all.

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Join the Pony Express in today’s playable Google Doodle

Posted on April 14, 2015 by John Scalzo

Thanks to its ubiquity in pop culture, the Pony Express looms large over the landscape of the American West. And yet, the mail delivery service was only in operation for a scant 18 months.

Never one to let a meaningful anniversary pass by, today’s Google Doodle celebrates the company’s first successful delivery, which occurred 155 years ago today. Best of all, the Pony Express Doodle is a playable side-scrolling game that tasks riders with delivering 100 pieces of mail along a three-town route. But be on the lookout for cacti, avalanches, and bandits as you complete your rounds:

The notion of triumph through adversity is so inspirational. So when William H.Russell, Alexander Majors & William B Waddell founded the Pony Express on April 3rd, 1860, they set in motion a wonderful yet daunting method of communication. What a concept–riders with letters on horseback racing from California to Missouri and vice versa to deliver mail on time! True to their word, the first mail arrived on April 14th. The Pony Express felt like a great game concept to us at Google. We’ve made time-based games in the past so our new idea was simple. Collect letters, avoid obstacles and aim for the ultimate 100 letter delivery! We know everyone is busy these days but the Pony Express needs YOU. And ultimately, whatever happens in life, what’s more important than earning trust and respect from a horse?

It’s a pretty great timewaster and I know I’m going to spend all day trying to top my high score of 59.

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Guitar Hero Live brings back franchise as a first-person live-action experience this Fall

Posted on April 14, 2015 by John Scalzo

Back in February, unnamed insiders said that Activision would relaunch the Guitar Hero franchise this year with “more realistic” graphics. That report has turned out to be accurate… but in the absolute strangest way possible. The next game in the series, Guitar Hero Live, will launch this Fall as a first-person, live-action experience that attempts to put players on stage for real. Shred that perfect solo and the crowd will cheer wildly for you. But if you screw up, you’ll be begging for the fenced-in stage from The Blues Brothers. That’s if your bandmates don’t kill you first.

Guitar Hero Live will also include a constantly changing catalog of songs in GHTV Mode, which overlays a note track on top of hundreds of different music videos. You can get a glimpse at how both modes will work by viewing the game’s debut trailer, which has been embedded above.

Unfortunately, your old guitars will no longer work in Guitar Hero Live. Activision is throwing out the old design and creating a new design featuring two rows of three buttons each. According to Activision, “beginners can feel like a rock star by mastering play with just the bottom three buttons.” Meanwhile, veterans will take on the new challenge of “creating complex chord-like shapes and finger combinations.”

Guitar Hero Live’s tracklist is still being finalized, but a wide variety of bands and singers will make the cut including The Black Keys, Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, Gary Clark, Jr., Green Day, Ed Sheeran, The War on Drugs, The Killers, Skrillex, The Rolling Stones, The Lumineers, Carrie Underwood, and Pierce the Veil and Blitz Kids. More will be announced as we get closer to launch.

Guitar Hero Live is in development for the PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Wii U at FreeStyleGames, the same team behind DJ Hero and DJ Hero 2. Somehow, Guitar Hero Live will also be playable on mobile devices and tablets, but details on that version of the game will be announced at a later date.

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Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness announced by Square Enix

Posted on April 14, 2015 by John Scalzo

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Square Enix is officially bringing back the Star Ocean series as Famitsu (via Kotaku) has revealed Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness is in development for the PS3 and PS4. Tri-Ace, who has been behind every Star Ocean game, will also be in the developer’s chair for Integrity and Faithlessness. An American release has yet to be announced, but I think it’s only a matter of time.

Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness is the fifth game in the series, but it’ll actually take place between Star Ocean: The Second Story and Star Ocean: Till the End of Time. A Square Enix countdown site for the game is expected to expire tomorrow, but for now, we have an English translation of the prologue:

Do the depths of space forbid peace for mankind…

Centuries after leaving Earth, after a multitude of trials, with the creation and spread of the Galactic Federation, humanity was on the verge of unified order and peace.

But the embers of conflict have begun to burn again.

Over 6,000 light years from Earth, on the unsettled planet, Faicreed.

Just as so many times before, the waves of history begin from a remote planet.

Before today’s announcement, the Star Ocean series had laid dormant since 2009, which is when Star Ocean: The Last Hope was released for the PS3 and Xbox 360.

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Knight Squad Hands-On Preview: (Gauntlet + Bomberman) x Knights = Awesome

Posted on April 13, 2015 by John Scalzo

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Cramming eight people around the television set in my living room for a night of gaming seems like the worst idea of all time. For one, I’ve only got enough couch space for about four-and-a-half people, so an unlucky few would be regulated to the floor. I guess they could ask my beast of a dog to share her floor pillow, but she’s a drooler and a licker. That’s bad, though most of my sympathies would lie with the poor sucker who has to wedge himself in the fireplace. But you know what, having a full complement of players for Knight Squad might make it worth it.

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Posted in PC, Previews, Top Story, Xbox One | Tagged ,

Which Faction will you side with in Mortal Kombat X?

Posted on April 13, 2015 by John Scalzo

The launch of Mortal Kombat X is just one day away on the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. Though if you’re planning to camp out at one of the many midnight launch parties, you could be playing it in as little as eight hours.

One of the first things you’ll do after loading up Mortal Kombat X for the first time is pledge your allegiance to one of the game’s five Factions. The Black Dragon, Lin Kuei, Special Force, White Lotus Society, and Brotherhood of Shadow are all fighting for new recruits and each has produced a Recruitment Video to help swell their numbers.

Which Faction will you join? You can preview all the Recruitment Videos after the break. And pay special attention to the Brotherhood of Shadow clip, which features cameos from Zombie Stryker, Zombie Sindel, and Zombie Kabal.

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Daily Scoop: April 13, 2015 – Lots of great deals today!

Posted on April 13, 2015 by Nicole Kline

It’s beautiful outside, which of course means I wish I was at home right now with all the windows open playing video games. And there are tons of great ones to choose from today!

First up, Amazon has a great deal today – Final Fantasy Type-0 is on sale for $39.99 on both PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. There’s a playable demo on the disc for Final Fantasy XV: Episode Duscae, so it might be worth it just for that!

There’s one more day to get the Humble Indie Bundle 14, now with even more games! Pay what you want for Pixel Piracy, UnEpic, and Super Splatters. Pay more than the average to get Outlast, Torchlight II, La-Mulana, 140, MirrorMoon EP, and Contraption Maker. Pay $10 or more to unlock Shadow Warrior Special Edition, and pay $40 or more to unlock the Humble Indie Bundle 14 Travelin’ Pack, which is full of physical rewards.

There are 127 brand new Weeklong Deals at Steam. Pick up Postal 2 for $0.99, BloodRayne for $1.99, and Outland for $2.49. The Daily Deal is Brothers – A Tale of Two Sons is just $3.74, though I wouldn’t recommend spending any amount of money for what I felt was a good game attached to a lot of crying.

There are tons of great shirts today!

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Destiny Expansion II: House of Wolves will be available on May 19

Posted on April 13, 2015 by John Scalzo

Activision and Bungie have announced the second major expansion for Destiny, House of Wolves, will launch on May 19 for the PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. To get gamers in the proper mood, the two companies have released the cinematic prologue, which has been embedded above. What else can players expect from House of Wolves? Well…

Expand your Destiny adventure with House of Wolves. Only the bravest Guardians will hunt down the rising Fallen threat and lay claim to the mysterious treasures of The Reef.

House of Wolves is being promoted as the “final” expansion to Destiny, but Activision executives confirmed that a “major content release” (rumored to be titled “Comet“) which will further expand the original game has been scheduled for release this Fall. Presumably, Destiny 2 will be released sometime after that, possibly as early as next year.

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