Mario Kart 8 August update includes Mercedes DLC, on-screen map, more

Posted on August 6, 2014 by John Scalzo

That bizarre Mercedes-Benz DLC will soon be available for Mario Kart 8. Nintendo of Japan has announced that an August 27 update for Mario Kart 8 will include three Mercedes-Benz karts and a comprehensive set of gameplay tweaks… including the return of the course map!

Aside from putting the course map back on your television where it belongs, Mario Kart 8’s August update will include a “Last Used Configuration” for each character and kart combination as well as a Scoreboard screen for each user that lists their total number of coins collected and online win-loss records. The update will also include an increase in the stability of online races and the ability for opponents to copy and edit the Mario Kart TV highlight videos.

As for the Mercedes-Benz DLC, the free kart has now become a trio as the car manufacturer has provided players with the GLA, the W25 Silver Arrow, and the 300 SL Roadster. You can see them all in action in the trailer above.

Nintendo of America has yet to confirm when Mario Kart 8’s first update will be available on our side of the Pacific, but it’s likely we’ll receive it around the end of August as well.

[Source: Nintendo Life]

UPDATE: Nintendo of America has announced that the Mario Kart 8 update will be available on August 27.

Posted in News, Wii U | Tagged

2K pushes Evolve’s release into February 2015

Posted on August 6, 2014 by John Scalzo

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The Fall 2014 game calendar lost another one last night when 2K Games announced that Turtle Rock’s “4v1” shooter, Evolve, will miss its October 21 release date. The game, which was a huge hit at both PAX East and the E3 Expo, will now be released on February 10, 2015.

Posting on Turtle Rock’s official forums, co-founder Chris Ashton revealed that the team is “painfully close” to matching their vision for Evolve and asked for the extra time to polish the game:

As we got closer to the October date, we were able to look at where the game was going to be, and compare that to where we all dreamed it would be. In a meeting with the top brass I described it as “painfully close.”

Fortunately 2K feels the same way and is willing to put extra time into the game so that we can make our dream a reality. That’s huge for us, and for the future of Evolve. We want to be proud of every aspect of the game on release day.

The public will next get a chance to play Evolve during next week’s Gamescom convention in Cologne, Germany.

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

Killzone: Shadow Fall Intercept, Ultra Street Fighter IV, Swapper, more added to PS Store

Posted on August 6, 2014 by John Scalzo

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Sony has dropped eight new games onto the PlayStation Store, so get for another punching, platforming, and shooting good time. This week’s big new releases include…

  • Killzone: Shadow Fall Intercept (PS4), a standalone shooter based on the “Intercept” co-op mode from Killzone: Shadow Fall.
  • Ultra Street Fighter IV (PS3), is the fourth (and presumably final) update for Street Fighter IV. It adds five new fighters to the game as well as a variety of balance tweaks.
  • The Swapper (PS3/PS4/Vita Cross-Buy), is this week’s “PlayStation Store Play” selection and it tasks players with navigating a sci-fi world by cloning themselves into new locations.
  • Metrico (Vita), is another puzzle platformer, but this one is set in a world of charts and graphs.
  • Sacred 3 (PS3), the latest entry in the hack and slash franchise, which has shifted over to a new developer in Keen Games.

More information on all of these games can be found after the break and a full rundown of this week’s new game add-ons is available at the PlayStation Blog.

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Posted in News, PS3, PS4, Vita | Tagged , ,

Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag Review: Any Good? Arrr!

Posted on August 5, 2014 by Dan Hobbs

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The Assassin’s Creed franchise stumbled a bit with Assassin’s Creed III and Revelations. Thankfully, Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag is a return to form for the series. It is a swashbuckling, rum-drinking, sword-slashing good time that works on many levels. However, it’s also very scatterbrained in that half of the game works while the other half doesn’t. The water combat is great, while the undersea portions aren’t. Some story missions are really awesome, while some are tedium defined. And the plot itself is compelling, except when it isn’t. Yet, somehow, Ubisoft has managed to pull it all together to make a really enjoyable title.

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Posted in PC, PS3, PS4, Reviews, Top Story, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One | Tagged

The Expendabros, a free Broforce/Expendables 3 crossover is now available on Steam

Posted on August 5, 2014 by John Scalzo

The Expendables is a testosterone-laden film franchise that gathers together an all-star lineup of 80s action stars for all new adventures, such as this month’s The Expendables 3. Spearheaded by Sylvester Stallone, the film trilogy has roped in Jason Statham, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Dolph Lundgren, Jean Claude Van Damme, and many others in its pursuit of creating the ultimate 80s movie.

Free Lives’ Broforce is a Contra-like side-scrolling shooter that has won over gamers with its insane run-and-gun action. Dripping with flag-waving patriotism and featuring bro-tastic parodies of those same 80s action stars, it already feels like a game adaptation of the Expendables formula.

So a Broforce/The Expendables 3 crossover seems like the natural fit, doesn’t it?

Enter The Expendabros, a ten-level crossover game that “combines the shock of Broforce with the awe of The Expendables 3 into an all-new ten-mission tour-de-force.” Now available as a free download through Steam, publisher Devolver Digital has taken to calling it “the best thing ever made.”

It’s hard to argue with them.

Posted in News, PC |

Daily Scoop: August 5, 2014 – Brand new Humble Bundle

Posted on August 5, 2014 by Nicole Kline

Humble Bundle has launched a brand new bundle today – the Humble Mobile Bundle 6! Pay what you want for Eliss Infinity, Duet Premium, and Combo Crew Special Edition. Pay more than the average to unlock Threes!, Mines of Mars, and Joe Dever’s Lone Wolf: Full Game.

The Humble Store has some pretty good sales today – you can get Binary Domain for $3.74, Road Not Taken for $11.99, and early access to Warp Zoned-favorite, Secret Ponchos, for $8.99. Over at Steam, the Midweek Madness deal is State of Decay for $6.79, and the Daily Deal is discounted DLC for DC Universe Online.

Hit the jump for today’s t-shirts!

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Posted in Daily Scoop |

Ubisoft announces Assassin’s Creed: Rogue exclusively for PS3, Xbox 360

Posted on August 5, 2014 by John Scalzo

Today, Ubisoft officially announced the first details of this Fall’s PS3/Xbox 360-exclusive Assassin’s Creed title, Assassin’s Creed: Rogue. Previously known as “Comet,” practically every rumor we’ve been hearing about the game over the last six months has turned out to be true.

In Rogue, players will take control of Shay Patrick Cormac, a former Assassin who sides with the Templars after a brutal betrayal by his brotherhood. The game will be take place during the middle of the 18th century, specifically the time period covered by the Seven Years War (1756–1763) and the first predicted appearance of Halley’s Comet (1759). Shay will visit “the frozen North Atlantic, the Appalachian River Valley and New York” during his hunt for Assassins in the concluding chapter of the franchise’s “North American saga.” Shay is a sailor and his preferred method of transportation is his ship, the Morrigan. According to Ubisoft, the naval component in Rogue will be better than ever and add “new weapons to use on both land and sea” to the combat.

Assassin’s Creed: Rogue is in development at Ubisoft Sofia (with assistance from Ubisoft’s Singapore, Montreal, Quebec, Chengdu, Milan, and Bucharest studios) and will be released for the PS3 and Xbox 360 on November 11.

Posted in News, PS3, Xbox 360 | Tagged

Hulkamania runs wild on WWE 2K15 Special Edition

Posted on August 5, 2014 by John Scalzo

wwe2k15-hulkamaniaListen up, Hulkamaniacs! You’re going to want to pay attention to what 2K has planned for the special Hulkamania Edition of WWE 2K15. Retailing for $99.99, and available only for the PS4 and Xbox One, the Hulkamania Edition includes everything you could ever want in a Hulk Hogan-themed limited edition:

  • Premium packaging.
  • Collectible art card personally autographed by Hulk Hogan.
  • Funko “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan vinyl figure.
  • A piece of authentic ring canvas from Hulk Hogan’s Monday Night Raw appearance on March 10, 2014 in Memphis, Tennessea.
  • Two exclusive playable characters: Hulk Hogan and “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan.
  • Access to the pre-order exclusive playable characters: Sting and “Monday Night War” Sting.

“Twenty-five years ago, I appeared in my very first WWE video game, and I’ve never been more excited than I am now to be part of this year’s game,” Hogan said. “I’ve got one thing left to say: whatcha gonna do when the WWE 2K15 Hulkamania Edition, featuring the greatest of all time, runs wild on you, brother?”

So say your prays, take your vitamins, and remember that WWE 2K15 will be released on October 28.

Posted in News, PS4, Xbox One | Tagged