New Releases: Saints Row IV: Re-Elected, Saints Row: Gat Out of Hell, Grey Goo, More

Posted on January 18, 2015 by John Scalzo

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O when the Saints go marching in
When the Saints go marching in
O Lord I want to be in that number
When the Saints go marching in

The Third Street Saints are back and on the PS4 and Xbox One for the first time this week in Saints Row IV: Re-Elected, an expanded and enhanced version of the PS3/Xbox 360 hit from 2013. Re-Elected includes all of the downloadable content produced by Volition for Saints Row IV as well as Saints Row: Gat Out of Hell, a standalone expansion where players are asked to “shoot The Devil in the face.” Gat Out of Hell will also be available on its own for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.

Also available this week is Grey Goo, a real-time strategy game for the PC from Petroglyph Games, and Motorcycle Club, a budget racer for the PS3 and PS4.

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Ascension: Deckbuilding Game Review: Docking at the Port of Sadness

Posted on January 16, 2015 by Nicole Kline

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Let me just get this out of the way: Ascension is my favorite deckbuilding game of all time. There are lots of fun deckbuilders out there, but nothing compares to Ascension. I’ve played the original tabletop version and I’ve also played it on my iPad. And now that it’s available on the PC, I’ve played that version as well. Sadly, I have to say that the PC version, titled Ascension: Deckbuilding Game, is my least favorite way to play the game. However, despite the performance issues I had with the game, playing it on your PC might be the easiest way to gain access to the world of Ascension. Short of spending tons of money on the tabletop version or playing it on your mobile device, that is.

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Daily Scoop: January 16, 2015 – Three-day weekend

Posted on January 16, 2015 by Nicole Kline

The three-day weekend is about to start, and I’ve got tons planned. Well, by “tons,” I mean I have a super long to-do list, lots of homework, and at least one social outing. I’m hoping to squeeze some video games in there, but we’ll see how much I can possibly get done!

There are a couple of good deals today. Over at the Humble Store, you can pick up Kerbal Space Program for $17.99, Eldritch for $2.24, and Dynetzzle Extended for $0.89.

At Steam, you can play Saints Row IV for free until January 19, and pay just $4.99 if you want to own it. Not interested? Maybe you’d be more into the Daily Deal, which is Warlock 2: The Exiled for $4.99.

The Mystery 3 Bundle is the latest at Indie Royale. Beat the average to get Skyborn, Depth Hunter 2: Deep Dive, and Depth Hunter 2: Ocean Mysteries, with more to be announced soon.

I’ve got lots of shirts for you today!

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Resident Evil Revelations 2 has been pushed back a week to February 24

Posted on January 16, 2015 by John Scalzo

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It looks like the episodic release schedule that Capcom announced for Resident Evil Revelations 2 has hit a snag. The first episode was originally scheduled to launch on February 17, but the publisher has been forced to delay it by a week to “fine-tune the final product.” This means that every episode in the game’s weekly schedule will also suffer a one-week delay:

  • Episode 1: February 24 (PS3, PS4), February 25 (PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One)
  • Episode 2: March 3 (PS3, PS4), March 4 (PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One)
  • Episode 3: March 10 (PS3, PS4), March 11 (PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One)
  • Episode 4: March 17 (PS3, PS4), March 18 (PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One)

As you might have guessed, this means that the retail disc version has also been delayed by a week. It’ll be available in stores for all five platforms (PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One) on March 17.

To make the wait feel a little bit shorter, Capcom has released a pair of videos showcasing some new enemies that will appear in Resident Evil Revelations 2 through the Capcom-Unity blog.

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Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor leads the way among 2015 DICE Awards nominees

Posted on January 16, 2015 by John Scalzo

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The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences have announced the nominees for this year’s DICE Awards and, just like the GDC Awards, Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor is leading the pack. Monolith’s expansion of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings garnered nine nominations including “Outstanding Achievement in Animation,” “Outstanding Achievement in Game Design,” “Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction,” “Outstanding Achievement in Story,” “Outstanding Innovation in Gaming,” “Outstanding Technical Achievement,” “Outstanding Character,” “Adventure Game of the Year,” and “Game of the Year.”

Shadow of Mordor will be competing against four games for the top prize. Rounding out the category are Bungie’s Destiny, BioWare’s Dragon Age: Inquisition, Ubisoft’s Far Cry 4, and Blizzard’s Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft. All told, 56 games received a nomination in at least one category.

This year’s DICE Awards have added a new category to the festivities, the DICE Sprite Award, in an attempt to recognize work done by smaller studios. The Banner Saga, Hohokum, Monument Valley, Threes!, and Transistor will be competing for the inaugural DICE Sprite Award, which honors “innovative gameplay and experiences.”

The full list of nominees can be found after the break and don’t forget to tune in to Twitch.TV on Thursday, February 5 at 7:00 PM (Eastern Time) to find out the winners.

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CoD: Advanced Warfare goes 2-for-2 as the best-selling game of December 2014

Posted on January 16, 2015 by John Scalzo

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Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare is on a roll. After being named the best-selling game for all of last year, the NPD Group also confirmed that it was the best-selling game of December as well. Activision’s latest military shooter also took the top spot in November, during its first month of release.

With the holiday shopping season in full swing, December’s sales chart was dominated by big-name franchises including Grand Theft Auto V (#2), Madden NFL 15 (#3), Super Smash Bros. For Wii U / Super Smash Bros. For 3DS, Minecraft (#6).. really, just the entire top ten.

On the hardware side of things, the Xbox One once again was the best-selling console, besting the PS4 for a second month in a row. The console’s $50 price cut is really working for Microsoft and the company has decided to reinstate the discount beginning today, possibly on a permanent basis.

The full top ten for December 2014 can be found after the break.

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Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare is the best-selling game of 2014

Posted on January 15, 2015 by John Scalzo

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The NPD Group has finished calculating the 2014 game sales in the United States and they’re ready to declare a winner. In 2014, gamers bought more copies of Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare than any other game. The franchise actually bookended both ends of the list as Call of Duty: Ghosts tabulated enough 2014 sales to check in at #10. In between those two extremes, the list actually features plenty of familiar faces.

Last year’s best-selling game, Grand Theft Auto V, managed to heist the #4 spot thanks to good sales in the early half of the year and a PS4/Xbox One re-release in the Fall. Sports games occupied three spots in the top ten as Madden NFL 15 (#2), NBA 2K15 (#7), and FIFA 15 (#9) were all popular with players.

Gamers voted with their wallets and both of 2014’s budding megafranchises-in-the-making cracked the top ten. Destiny came in at #3 while Watch Dogs had to settle for the #8 spot.

All told, game software sales were down 13% in 2014 to $5.3 billion. That’s still an impressive chunk of change, but players are increasingly moving over to digital storefronts for the majority of their game purchases. The complete top ten from 2014 can be found after the break.

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Microsoft cuts price of the Xbox One console to $349 again… perhaps permanently

Posted on January 15, 2015 by John Scalzo

Microsoft has just announced that the retail price of the Xbox One will once again be dropping back down to $349. The new price will go into effect tomorrow, January 16, and there’s currently no end date in sight. While this means that the price cut is officially a temporary one, Microsoft has made no indication that gamers should hurry if they want to pick up an Xbox One for $349.

The previous Xbox One discount was put in place on November 2, 2014 and expired on January 3, 2015. The lower price helped Microsoft as the Xbox One triumphed over the PS4 on the sales charts in both November and December.

“Building off a record-setting holiday, we are excited to announce a new promotion in which fans in the U.S. can buy an Xbox One at a special price of $349, starting tomorrow, January 16, from their preferred retailer,” Mike Nichols, Corporate Vice President of Marketing for Xbox, wrote on the Xbox Wire. “We are thankful for all the excitement for Xbox One this holiday and proud to offer more fans the amazing games lineup, Xbox Live gaming community, and continual innovation that Xbox One fans have come to enjoy.”

Microsoft is pretty excited about what the Xbox One will offer in 2015 and they’ve put together the montage-heavy trailer above, which features Rise of the Tomb Raider, Halo 5: Guardians, Evolve, Tom Clancy’s The Division, Ori and the Blind Forest, Fable Legends, and more.

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