ToeJam and Earl: Back in the Groove’s Kickstarter campaign is fully funded

Posted on March 26, 2015 by John Scalzo

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With a little over a day to go, the Kickstarter campaign for ToeJam and Earl: Back in the Groove has reached its funding goal of $400,000. If all goes according to plan, the game will be released on the PC (Windows, Mac, and Linux) this November.

The developers at HumaNature Studios thanked backers with a message that their funky duo would most definitely approve:

WOOHOO!!!!! This game is going to get made!!!

Thanks to all of you, we have made it! Prepare for the FUNK!!!!

From here, with lightened hearts and much less stress we catch our breathes, and then continue up this mountain towards our stretch goals. Happy Day! We have a few more announcements for you, but we’ll save it for another update.

PHEW!!!!!!! Thank you everybody!!!!!!!!!!

HumaNature has launched a huge number of stretch goals for ToeJam and Earl: Back in the Groove, but if you want to play it on the PS4 ($600,000), Xbox One ($700,000), or Wii U ($800,000), you better crack open your wallet, because it’s going to take a substantial bit of coin.

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Halo Online closed beta will launch this Spring… in Russia

Posted on March 26, 2015 by John Scalzo

Microsoft and 343 Industries will launch a closed beta for a free-to-play version of Halo exclusively for PCs this Spring, but there’s a catch… the game is being designed from the ground up for a Russian audience.

According to the Halo Waypoint blog, Halo Online “is powered by a highly modified version of the Halo 3 engine.” Its use of that aging engine is so the game can smoothly run on “on lower-end PCs.” The multiplayer-only game won’t feature a single-player campaign. Instead, it’s set on “a secret UNSC space installation called Anvil, where Spartan-IV soldiers train together in war exercises to sharpen their battle skills and test experimental technology.”

Microsoft believes Halo Online will serve as an introduction to the Halo franchise for many Russian gamers, and they’re determined to make it a good one. The game is in development at Saber Interactive, the same team that assisted 343 Industries in the creation of Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary and Halo: The Master Chief Collection.

Microsoft currently has no plans to bring Halo Online to the Xbox One and, like Call of Duty Online and Borderlands Online, it’s unlikely that American or European gamers will ever get the chance to play it. But check out the announcement trailer above anyway.

Posted in News, PC |

RBI Baseball 15 will be released for PS4, Xbox One on March 31

Posted on March 26, 2015 by John Scalzo

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Polygon is reporting that MLB Advanced Media’s RBI Baseball 15 will be released for the PS4 and Xbox One on March 31. That means the retro-styled sports game will be going head-to-head with Sony’s MLB 15: The Show, which will also launch on the last day of this month.

Last year’s game, RBI Baseball 14, was a stripped-down sports game that kept things simple. A little too simple, we thought at the time. While still not a modern simulation, RBI 15 will add in several features absent from RBI 14 including full team rosters, stat tracking, and online multiplayer.

RBI Baseball 15 is also in development for the PC and mobile platforms, but MLB Advanced Media wasn’t ready to reveal a release date for those versions just yet.

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20XX Hands-On Preview: A Mega Man Game Minus Mega Man

Posted on March 25, 2015 by John Scalzo

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Let me paint you a picture of two different titles.

When I hear the title Echoes of Eridu, I’m reminded of the late 80s/early 90s and the, let’s say less enlightened, state of sci-fi/fantasy paperbacks. You know the ones. The women have hair teased out in every direction and, whether the setting of the story is outer space or the English countryside, they’re dressed in skintight spandex bodysuits. If we’re lucky, there might be a unicorn or a spaceship to spice up the scene.

Echoes of Eridu was never a sci-fi/fantasy story from my childhood years. It’s actually an in-progress video game that’s now known as 20XX.

20XX should also evoke feelings of the late 80s/early 90s, but for a slightly different reason. According to Capcom, every game in the Mega Man X franchise takes place in the year “20XX,” so any game that carries that title instantly makes me think of side-scrolling platformers, arm cannons, laser swords, robotic baddies, and spikes… so many spikes. Batterystaple Games’ 20XX delivers all of those things and much more. Changing the name of their in-progress platformer was just one of the many great decisions they’ve made so far.

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SteamWorld Dig will shovel its way to the Xbox One in May

Posted on March 25, 2015 by John Scalzo

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Image & Form’s SteamWorld Dig will complete its current-generation rounds with a stop on the Xbox One this May. The well-received platformer originally debuted on the 3DS in 2013 (Warp Zoned’s Mike Ryan was quite the fan) before expanding out to the PC, PS4, Vita, and Wii U in 2014.

For SteamWorld Dig’s Xbox One launch, the developer plans to add an “elaborate” Easter Egg to the game that references “a gaming thing.” Aside from that, only slight tweaks will differentiate the Xbox One port from the game’s previous versions.

A specific release date will be announced at a later date, but for now, Image & Form is saying we should expect to see SteamWorld Dig on the Xbox One in “late” May.

Posted in News, Xbox One | Tagged

Daily Scoop: March 25, 2015 – Happy humpday!

Posted on March 25, 2015 by Nicole Kline

It’s Wednesday, which means we’re halfway through the week! That’s great news. I can’t wait to get to this weekend so I can get at least a tiny amount of relaxing in!

Let’s jump right into what’s on sale. The Midweek Madness deal at Steam is Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes. It’s on sale for just $9.99. The Daily Deal is Agarest: Generations of War 2, which is on sale for $11.99.

There are lots of sales at the Humble Store. You can get Three Fourths Home: Extended Edition for $6.29, Parallax for $8.99, and Deadly 30 for $0.99.

There’s a brand new bundle at Indie Royale – the Venetian Bundle. Beat the average to get Super Chain Crusher Horizon, Chainsaw Warrior, Top Hat, InnerCube, Greyfox, and Camera Obscura.

Finally, let’s talk about t-shirts!

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Posted in Daily Scoop |

Xbox Store Today: Borderlands Collection, Life Is Strange Ep2, Game of Thrones Ep3, more

Posted on March 25, 2015 by John Scalzo

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The Xbox Games Store grew by a few titles today as new Xbox One and Xbox 360 games are now available to download.

On the Xbox One, Gearbox’s Borderlands: The Handsome Collection compiles Borderlands 2 and Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel into a single current-generation package. In addition to enhanced graphics and every piece of downloadable content for both games, the Handsome Collection also includes a brand new four-player couch co-op mode.

The Internet’s favorite boogeyman, Slenderman, will also make his Xbox One debut today as the survival horror title Slender: The Arrival is now available to download.

Finally, two episodic games will receive new entries this week as Telltale’s Game of Thrones: The Sword in the Darkness (Episode 3 of 6) and Dontnod’s Life Is Strange: Out of Time (Episode 2 of 5) are now available on the Xbox One and Xbox 360.

More information on all of these titles can be found after the break. And an overview of this week’s Xbox Live “Deals With Gold” can be found at Major Nelson’s blog.

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Posted in News, Xbox 360, Xbox One | Tagged , , , ,

Broken Age: Act 2 coming on April 28; PS4, Vita version will launch on same day

Posted on March 25, 2015 by John Scalzo

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Double Fine Productions has announced that PC players will be able to download Broken Age: Act 2 on April 28. After their massive Kickstarter success, Double Fine realized that Broken Age was too big and ambitious to make its originally planned 2012 release date, so the game was split into two Acts. So with the release of Act 2, the complete Broken Age saga will finally be available for all to play:

Broken Age tells the story of Vella and Shay, a girl and boy from completely different worlds who seem to be leading strangely parallel lives…

Vella has been chosen by her village to have the honor of being sacrificed to the terrible monster Mog Chothra, but having no interest in being devoured by a horrible beast, must go against ages old tradition and make her escape. Meanwhile somewhere in space, Shay is living a solitary life under the care of a very motherly computer, and whilst his every need is taken care of in every way imaginable, he wishes for nothing more than to break free from the monotonous safety of his daily life, and have some real adventures.

But what if you don’t like to play games on your PC? Don’t worry, Double Fine has you covered. Both halves of Broken Age will also be released for the PS4 and Vita on April 28 as well. The PS4/Vita version of the game will offer Cross-Save functionality and it’s Cross-Buy compatible, so a single purchase will unlock the game on both platforms.

Now that Broken Age is complete, Double Fine has also decided to make the entire behind-the-scenes documentary series created by Two Player Productions available to everyone. You can view the documentary series, for free, at the Double Fine Productions YouTube Channel.

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