NBA 2K15 smashes to the top of Oct 2014 best-seller list (yes, even over Smash Bros 3DS)

Posted on November 13, 2014 by John Scalzo

nba2k15-boxEven though the month of October saw the release of a new Borderlands game and the first Smash Bros. title for a handheld, NBA 2K15 emerged victorious in The NPD Group’s recounting of the best-selling games of October 2014.

The basketball sim managed to hold off a pair of new releases as well as the continued sales success of Super Smash Bros. For 3DS (which landed at #2). A trio of new releases, The Evil Within (#3), Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel (#4), Skylanders: Trap Team (#6), were close behind.

And believe it or not, but Minecraft continues to hold a spot in the top ten as the retail release of the PlayStation 4 Edition propelled it into #10 on the list. Sunset Overdrive, Microsoft’s big Xbox One exclusive for the Fall, did not make the top ten though Joystiq is reporting that it was the ninth best-selling game among individual titles.

This month’s top ten can be found in a handy list format after the break.

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Posted in 3DS, Mobile, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One | Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

New Tales From the Borderlands trailer promises that the series will debut “soon”

Posted on November 13, 2014 by John Scalzo

Just two days after giving gamers their first taste of Game of Thrones: Iron From Ice, Telltale Games has now gone and announced that Tales From the Borderlands will be available to download in the very near future. A final launch date is still up in the air, but we now know that the first episode of Telltale’s collaboration with Gearbox, “Zer0 Sum,” will be released “soon” for the PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. An Android and iOS release for Tales From the Borderlands is also planned before the end of the year.

Taking place after Borderlands 2, Tales From the Borderlands will be a new way to experience the planet of Pandora:

You’ll play as Rhys, a Hyperion “suit” with dreams of being the next Handsome Jack, and Fiona, a Pandoran con artist looking to score her biggest ever swindle. Thrown together as unwilling partners in an adventure to recover cash they both think is theirs, their journey will take you on a wild ride where gangsters, bandit lords, and Vault Hunters are just some of the obstacles you’ll encounter, in this new take on the award-winning universe created by Gearbox Software.

Tales From the Borderlands will feature an impressive voice cast that includes Troy Baker as Rhys, Laura Bailey as Fiona, Chris “The Nerdist” Hardwick as Vaughn, Erin Yvette as Sasha, Patrick Warburton as Vasquez, and Dameon Clarke as Handsome Jack. You can hear (and see) all of them give it their all in the gameplay trailer above.

Posted in Mobile, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One | Tagged

Nintendo Download: Lego Batman 3, Mario Kart Super Circuit, Sonic Boom, more

Posted on November 13, 2014 by John Scalzo

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It’s Thursday and that means Nintendo is ready to drop another eShop update on a waiting populace. This week, Nintendo fans can look forward to…

  • Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric (Wii U) – A Sonic game based on the upcoming animated series that focuses on exploration and teamwork.
  • Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham (Wii U, 3DS) – The latest game in TT Games’ Lego series takes Batman and the rest of the DCU (and Conan O’Brien and Kevin Smith, for some reason) into outer space.
  • Mario Kart: Super Circuit (Wii U) – The Game Boy Advance classic is now available through the Virtual Console. Seems fitting that Super Circuit is available on the same day as Mario Kart 8‘s Legend of Zelda DLC Pack.
  • A World of Keflings (Wii U) – NinjaBee’s kingdom builder finally makes its way to the Wii U.
  • Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal (3DS) – A side-scrolling Sonic game based on the upcoming animated series.
  • Tetris Ultimate (3DS) – The latest rendition of Tetris, this time courtesy of Ubisoft.
  • Picross E5 – Nintendo’s latest game in their portable “Picture Crossword” series.

More details about all of these games (as well as a few others releasing this week) can be found after the break.

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Posted in 3DS, News, Xbox 360 | Tagged , ,

Daily Scoop: November 13, 2014 – Bundle of Worms!

Posted on November 13, 2014 by Nicole Kline

Hey everyone! I’m not sure where you live, but where I live, it’s gearing up to start snowing. That’s a bit early in the season for us, but I’m still pretty excited about it. I love sitting home snuggled up playing video games while it pours snow outside and covers everything up. It makes me feel like a kid again!

Let’s talk about deals! There’s a brand new Humble Weekly Bundle, and it’s called Team 17 Evolved. Pay what you want for Worms, Worms Armageddon, Worms Ultimate Mayhem Deluxe Edition, Worms Blast, Worms Pinball, Worms Crazy Golf, Superfrog HD, and Alien Breed Trilogy. Pay $6 or more to unlock Worms Revolution Gold, Worms Reloaded GOTY Edition, Overruled!, and Light. And finally, pay $15 or more to unlock Flockers and four copies of Worms Clan Wars. Whew! That’s a ton of games!

There are some new deals at Steam as well. They’re celebrating Far Cry this weekend, with a $10 franchise pack that includes Far Cry 3, Far Cry 3 – Blood Dragon, Far Cry, Far Cry 2: Fortune’s Edition, and the Far Cry 3 Deluxe Bundle DLC. And their current Daily Deal is 25% off Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, marking it down to $37.49.

Let’s check out some t-shirts, shall we?

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Posted in Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News |

Insert Quarter: Everyone Loves Overwatch… But Why?

Posted on November 13, 2014 by John Scalzo

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Insert Quarter is our showcase for some of the best and most interesting writing about video games on the Internet.

Blizzard’s Overwatch unveiling got the game industry and gamers everywhere buzzing like they haven’t in a long time. But what’s the source of all this good will? Kotaku’s Luke Plunkett believes that it’s due to the fact that Overwatch, above all else, looks like fun. When so many other so-called “AAA” games are exploring the darkest recesses of the human mind, Blizzard is running in the opposite direction to deliver a game that evokes the best Saturday morning cartoons without being childish:

Consider the vast majority of blockbuster video game releases. They usually star men. Those men are scowling. They’re involved in bloody violence of the grimmest sort. The lighting is dark, and smoky, and hostile. From Call of Duty to Battlefield, Assassin’s Creed to Far Cry (and most games in between), the big games from big teams share a very similar tone. And that tone isn’t very fun.

Now consider Overwatch’s reveal. Happy kids, a talking ape, a very chirpy British girl. It didn’t really seem like a video game trailer at all, did it? People compared (wrongly, I think) the art design to Pixar, but they’re close: it felt like a Pixar movie, with a youthful sense of joy and excitement.

In this business, that’s pretty rare!

You can read the rest of the article at Kotaku.

Posted in Insert Quarter, PC | Tagged

Atelier Shallie: Alchemists of the Dusk Sea will be released on March 10

Posted on November 12, 2014 by John Scalzo

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Are you still on the fence over which next-generation console to purchase? If so, don’t worry, several third-party publishers still have plans to support the PS3 and Xbox 360 in 2015. Case in point, Koei Tecmo has announced that Atelier Shallie: Alchemists of the Dusk Sea will be released on March 10:

Atelier Shallie: Alchemists of the Dusk Sea is developed by Gust and is the third entry in the “Atelier Dusk” sub-series of RPGs. But believe it or not, it’s actually the 16th game in the main Atelier series, which began all the way back in 1997.

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Check out the first Tekken 7 gameplay trailer right here

Posted on November 12, 2014 by John Scalzo

Bandai Namco is planning a limited location test for Tekken 7 later this month and they’ve decided to celebrate by releasing the arcade fighter’s first gameplay trailer. Unfortunately, the tests will only take place in Japan, and therefore, that means this trailer is entirely in Japanese.

Thankfully, the language of kicks and punches is a universal one and Tekken fans will certainly get an idea how the new game in the series works from the trailer. We even get a fleeting glimpse at two brand new characters, Claudio and Katrina.

Tekken 7 will be available to play in Japanese arcades in early 2015. It is expected to launch on home consoles across the world sometime after that, however, Bandai Namco has yet to make an official announcement concerning Tekken 7’s console release.

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Xbox Store Today: AC: Unity, AC: Rogue, Halo Master Chief Collection, Lego Batman 3, more

Posted on November 12, 2014 by John Scalzo

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After the delay of Halo 5: Guardians earlier this year, Microsoft didn’t have any kind of big shooter on their Fall 2014 schedule. Thankfully, Microsoft put out something else today that will surely make all the little Halo fans out there squeal with delight… an Xbox One-exclusive compilation of the first four games in the series known as Halo: The Master Chief Collection. Improved visuals and a complete “Anniversary” makeover for Halo 2 make this the biggest re-release the series has ever seen.

Elsewhere on the Xbox Games Store today is a pair of new Assassin’s Creed games (the Paris-set Assassin’s Creed: Unity on the Xbox One and the Revolutionary Assassin’s Creed: Rogue on the Xbox 360), Konami’s latest soccer sim (Pro Evolution Soccer 2015 on the Xbox 360 and Xbox One), and WB’s latest whimsical Lego adventure (Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham on the Xbox 360 and Xbox One)

More information about all of these games (and a few other new releases) can be found after the break.

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