Mario Kart 8 DLC packs add 16 new courses, Link, Animal Crossing Villager, and more

Posted on August 26, 2014 by John Scalzo

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A word of advice, if you ever find yourself playing poker with the Director of Mario Kart 8, Kosuke Yabuki, just walk away. The man will take all of your money and probably bash you over the head with a Blue Shell for good measure.

Back in May, Yabuki hinted that a Super Smash Bros.-like expansion of the Mario Kart character roster was something that he “wouldn’t rule out” for the future. Apparently, the future is now as Nintendo UK has announced two DLC packs for Mario Kart 8 that will add The Legend of Zelda‘s Link and a pair of Animal Crossing characters.

“The Legend of Zelda X Mario Kart 8 Pack” will be available in November. It will include four new courses (including at least one that takes place within Hyrule), four retro courses (including Wario’s Gold Mine from Mario Kart Wii), four vehicles (including a Blue Falcon kart from F-Zero), and three new characters (Tanooki Mario, Cat Peach, and Link).

Meanwhile, the “Animal Crossing X Mario Kart 8 Pack” will be available in May 2015 with the same variety of add-on content: four new courses (including at least one that takes place within the world of Animal Crossing), four retro courses, four vehicles, and three new characters (Villager, Isabelle, and Dry Bowser).

Each pack will be priced at £7.00 (about $11.60). And if you purchase both packs, you’ll receive eight rainbow-colored Yohsis and eight rainbow-colored Shy Guys as well.

“Super Smash Kart” is coming and it looks glorious. Lets-a-go!

UPDATE: Nintendo of America has confirmed that each pack will be priced at $7.99 on this side of the Atlantic and a special $11.99 bundle including both packs will also be available.

Posted in News, Wii U | Tagged

Daily Scoop: August 26, 2014 – Last Scoop for a little while!

Posted on August 26, 2014 by Nicole Kline

As you all already know, Anthony Amato and I will be in the Indie MEGABOOTH at PAX Prime this year! If you’re there, please stop by and say hello, try out RESISTOR_, and nab yourself a button. We leave super early Thursday morning, and tomorrow will be super prep time, so this will be my last post before I return next week. I’m sure your backlogs will thank me!

In the meantime, stock up on some games! The Midweek Madness deal at Steam is on The Walking Dead: Season 2, which is on sale for $9.99. The Daily Deal is also $9.99 – it’s the EVE Online starter pack. Those should keep you busy for at least a week!

There are tons of great t-shirts today. Hit the jump to check them out!

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Posted in Daily Scoop |

Platinum will release their Legend of Korra game in October

Posted on August 26, 2014 by John Scalzo

In an interview with IGN, Activision’s Robert Conkey has confirmed that the Platinum-developed game based on Nickelodeon’s The Legend of Korra will be available to download in October.

The Legend of Korra will be available for the PC (via Steam) and the PlayStation Network (for the PS3 and PS4) on October 21. Xbox 360 and Xbox One owners will have to wait an extra day as it will be released through the Xbox Live Marketplace on October 22.

The announcement was part of a series of Korra-related interviews published by IGN yesterday. So if you love the show, you might want to check them out. As a bonus, you’ll find out that David Faustino (the former Bud Bundy and the current voice of Mako) has been slowly morphing into an American-accented Jean Claude Van Damme over the past few years.

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

Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham will touch down in stores on November 11

Posted on August 26, 2014 by John Scalzo

legobatman3-boxWarner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has announced that Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham will be released for the 3DS, PC PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One on November 11.

In addition to the release date, the publisher has unveiled the game’s final cover design. Feel free to click on the image to your right to get a closer look at the very snazzy box art.

Finally, a new trailer focusing on the evil Brainiac’s scheme for intergalactic domination can be found after the break. Batman will definitely need the assistance of his super-powered Justice League friends (including Superman, Wonder Woman, and the Green Lantern) to stop him.

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Pokemon Company announces Pokken Tournament, an arcade-only fighting game

Posted on August 26, 2014 by John Scalzo

Last week, The Pokemon Company promised a “shocking” announcement related to the long-running franchise. This morning, we got our first glimpse at their new project and, I have to admit, I’m pretty shocked.

The Pokemon Company is teaming up with Bandai Namco to produce a Tekken-like 3D fighter known as Pokken Tournament. Katsuhiro Harada, the Producer behind the Tekken series, will oversee the game, which will be available in Japanese arcades beginning next year. A Wii U launch wasn’t announced, but it’s certainly a possibility, especially since Nintendo and Bandai Namco are already working together on this year’s Super Smash Bros. 4.

You can find the teaser trailer for Pokken Tournament embedded above.

[Source: Siliconera]

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Amazon purchases Twitch for nearly $1 billion

Posted on August 26, 2014 by John Scalzo

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After weeks of wailing and worrying, Twitch has finally been acquired by one of the Internet giants. Except, it wasn’t Google. Instead, Amazon has agreed to purchase the live streaming destination for $970 million in cash. The deal will be officially completed sometime before the end of the year.

“Amazon and Twitch optimize for our customers first and are both believers in the future of gaming,” said Twitch CEO Emmett Shear. “Being part of Amazon will let us do even more for our community. We will be able to create tools and services faster than we could have independently. This change will mean great things for our community, and will let us bring Twitch to even more people around the world.”

“Broadcasting and watching gameplay is a global phenomenon and Twitch has built a platform that brings together tens of millions of people who watch billions of minutes of games each month – from The International, to breaking the world record for Mario, to gaming conferences like E3. And, amazingly, Twitch is only three years old,” said Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com. “Like Twitch, we obsess over customers and like to think differently, and we look forward to learning from them and helping them move even faster to build new services for the gaming community.”

Last month, more than 55 million unique visitors passed through Twitch while viewing more than 15 billion minutes of content from the company’s more than one million broadcasters. Now, I think we all need to take a minute and let this news sink in.

Posted in News |

Scram Kitty and His Buddy On Rails Review: Scram Kitty Purrs

Posted on August 25, 2014 by Andrew Rainnie

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Ah, mice: those lovely little rodents that humanity loves to experiment with. Unfortunately, when the Council of Great Scientists starts researching and tinkering with mice on its space station, they take it a step too far. Like Pinky and the Brain, the mice are transformed into a super-intelligent, power hungry menace with mechanical upgrades, and just like the Brain, they want to take over the world. The first part of their goal is to remove their immediate threat: cats. When your pet, Scram Kitty, is kidnapped along with all the other cats, you grab your anti-grav spin board and head to the space station to save all the imprisoned felines.

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Posted in Reviews, Top Story, Wii U | Tagged

EA Sports selects Trails Blazers’ Damian Lillard as NBA Live 15 cover athlete

Posted on August 25, 2014 by John Scalzo

2K Games picked NBA MVP Kevin Durant to appear on the cover of their NBA 2K15. Today, EA Sports chose a slightly more unorthodox pick, Damian Lillard of the Portland Trails Blazers, to headline NBA Live 15.

Lillard will begin his third season in the NBA this Fall. Last year, he was selected to the All-Star team and lead the Trail Blazers to the playoffs. During All-Star Weekend, he partnered with Trey Burke of the Utah Jazz to win the Skills Challenge and lead “Team Hill” to victory in the Rising Stars Challenge. He also competed in the Slam Dunk Contest and the Three-Point Shootout.

Lilliard had another busy weekend recently when he traveled to EA Canada’s studio for a photo shoot and a mo-cap session. NBA Live 15 will be available for the PS4 and Xbox One on October 7.

Posted in News, PS4, Xbox One | Tagged