Daily Scoop: April 21, 2014 – Small hiatus

Posted on April 21, 2014 by Nicole Kline

Hello, my faithful Scoopers! I’m going to be at the East Coast Game Conference down in North Carolina this week, so I’m not sure how much Internet access I’m going to have. There may be a small hiatus on the Scoop! But fear not – I will let you know all about ECGC as soon as I get back.

In the meantime, I want to remind you that you should definitely pick up the Video Game Bundle 3.0 at Story Bundle, as well as Game Music Bundle 7 at the Game Music Bundle page. All of what you see can be yours for just $22. Scoop ’em up!

Other than that, there are a few new deals happening over at Steam. They’ve got some brand new Weeklong Deals, including Thomas Was Alone for $4.99, Beatbuddy: Tale of the Guardians for $2.49, and Arena Wars 2 for 99 cents. The Daily Deal is Dawn of Fantasy: Kingdom Wars for $5.09.

Just a few t-shirts today…

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Posted in Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News |

Microsoft and Sony trademark a plethora of possible game titles

Posted on April 21, 2014 by John Scalzo

uspto-logoDo you smell that? The air is filled with the scent of trademark applications and secret meetings and teasing hints. That’s the smell of speculation… and an imminent E3 Expo.

Sony and Microsoft have been busy little beavers over the last few weeks, trademarking five new game titles between them. As with all issues regarding trademarks, it’s important to remember that these applications do not represent confirmation of a game in development, merely a title that Sony or Microsoft may turn into a game someday. That said, let’s get to speculating.

Back in March, Microsoft registered a trademark application with the US Patent and Trademark Office for “Secrets and Treasure.” No additional information was revealed in the filing, but “Secrets and Treasure” has the feel of an Xbox Live Arcade game, doesn’t it? More recently, the consolemaker filed applications for “Screamride” and “Eden Falls.” If I had to guess, I would peg “Screamride” as some kind of racing game and “Eden Falls” as a horror title.

Over at Sony Computer Entertainment, the publisher has filed trademark applications for “Entwined” and “Kill Strain.” While “Kill Strain” sounds like the type of shoot ’em up that people typically equate with Microsoft, “Entwined” definitely has that artsy-but-not-too-artsy vibe of a game published by Sony.

Hopefully we’ll learn more about all of these games at this year’s E3 Expo. And, one more time, it’s important to remember that these applications do not represent confirmation of a game in development, merely a title that Sony or Microsoft may turn into a game someday. And my speculation should just be viewed as guesswork, and does not represent how these games may develop in the future.

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

Rumor: Resident Evil 7 set to unnerve PS4 players with E3 2014 unveiling

Posted on April 21, 2014 by Andrew Rainnie

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While the always-in-trouble horror genre has undergone a resurgence in recent months thanks to titles such as Outlast and Daylight, as well as upcoming games like Sony’s free-to-play H1Z1 and The Creative Assembly’s Alien: Isolation, few horror titles carry such weight as Capcom’s Resident Evil series. Since its debut back in 1996, each sequel has followed the law of diminishing returns, with the exception of Resident Evil 4, which was nothing short of brilliant.

As the 2014 E3 Expo lingers near, rumours have started to swirl that Capcom is hoping to turn the crimson tide with the next iteration of the series. According to Push Square, it is believed that Resident Evil 7 will make an appearance for Sony’s PlayStation 4 during the big event.

The rumour’s source can be traced back to a report on Capcom in Japanese economic journal Sankei Shimbun, which alludes to the company preparing to unveil an “important game” in a scary series of games. While the report only refers to the PS4 version, this does not rule out the game being on other consoles.

This isn’t the first time Capcom has teased Resident Evil 7 in recent weeks. A recently completed contest on Capcom’s Facebook page subtly hinted at the unannounced horror sequel as well.

Posted in News, PS4, Xbox One | Tagged ,

Rumor: Side-scrolling Prince of Persia game in development

Posted on April 21, 2014 by Andrew Rainnie

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While Ubisoft has been busy of late with its flagship Assassin’s Creed franchise, not to mention trying to launch several others with the likes of Watch Dogs, The Crew, and Tom Clancy’s The Division, one of the company’s oldest franchises may be returning. The last time the Prince was seen was in 2010’s Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands, the same year the forgettable film version, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time managed to remind us all of generally how awful game adaptations are.

Yet the video game series, which stretches back all the way to 1989, may be returning to its roots, if the latest rumours are to be believed. French gaming site Le Portail du Jeu Video (thanks VideoGamer) claims that development on a new Prince of Persia game is well under way at Ubisoft Montpellier. Unlike the most recent attempts, the game will be a 2.5D side-scroller using the same UbiArt Framework engine that powered Rayman Legends, as well as the upcoming JRPG-esque Child of Light. The engine allows for different body parts to be animated independently of one another, to lend the character more realistic movement animations. Other Prince of Persia (running, wall-jumping, swordfighting) will be also be included.

Ubisoft has yet to comment on the rumor.

Posted in News |

Hyper Light Drifter “probably” won’t be released until early 2015

Posted on April 21, 2014 by Andrew Rainnie

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Those of you who were hoping to get you hands on Heart Machine’s much-anticipated action RPG Hyper Light Drifter may have to wait at least another few months. During this year’s PAX East, studio head Alex Preston revealed to Destructoid that, while the game was progressing, an early 2015 release date is “probably […] more realistic” than the current late 2014 target.

Speaking about how the company had managed to raise $600,000 for the game on Kickstarter, Preston said, “We’ve seen a lot of backers come out [to PAX East], and it’s been fantastic to meet them, and the reception from everyone else has been pretty damn good.”

Hyper Light Drifter, an homage to 16-bit RPG classics but with modern mechanics, has been described as a fusion of the best bits of franchises like Zelda and Diablo. To find out more about the game, you should check out our own PAX East preview right here.

Posted in Mobile, News, PC, PS4, Vita, Wii U, Xbox One | Tagged , , , , , , ,

Weekly Warp-Up: Post-PAX East 2014 Edition

Posted on April 20, 2014 by John Scalzo

No, that’s not a typo. Welcome to the Weekly Warp-Up, your weekly wrap-up of the biggest and the best articles posted at Warp Zoned this week…

The 2014 edition of PAX East is in the books and while the show was smaller this year, there was still plenty of announcements and surprises that emerged from the show floor.

For example, did you know that “Expedition” will be the first expansion to TitanFall? Or that Firaxis is hard at work on a spiritual successor to Alpha Centauri known as Civilization: Beyond Earth? Or how about whatever is going on in this first piece of concept art from The Behemoth’s Game 4? If you knew all that, you might also like to know that Super Time Force is just a few weeks away from release and that Soda Drinker Pro (with full Kinect support) will soon be available for the Xbox One.

Our PAX East coverage wouldn’t be complete without our annual PAXpocalypse List honoring “The Best of PAX East 2014.” The Warp Zoned staff picked 11 great games including two we recently previewed: Evolve and Hyper Liht Drifter.

The rest of the Weekly Warp-Up can be found after the break.

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Posted in News |

New Releases: Dark Souls II PC, Lego The Hobbit Wii U, Trials Fusion PC, More

Posted on April 20, 2014 by John Scalzo

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It’s delayed gratification day in this week’s new release roundup as most of the titles listed below were already previously released on other platforms.

For example, Dark Souls II is now available for the PC, Lego The Hobbit journeys onto the Wii U, and Trials Fusion flips onto the PC. Finally, Putty Squad makes the jump from the PS4 to the Vita.

If you’re looking for something absolutely brand new this week, there’s NIS America’s latest dungeon-crawling RPG Demon Gaze. It’s available for the Vita and it features some prettu stunning artwork.

Posted in News, PC, Vita, Wii U |

Daily Scoop: April 18, 2014 – South Jersey Geek Fest

Posted on April 18, 2014 by Nicole Kline

For those of you who are local, I really hope you can make it to the South Jersey Geek Fest tomorrow! Anthony Amato and I will have a table to show off RESISTOR_ and Kobolds. Stop by, play our games, high five us!

There’s not too much going on in the way of deals that I haven’t already mentioned at some point this week. You’ve got a few new sales over at the Humble Store, like Tesla Effect: A Tex Murphy Adventure for $17.99, Toki Tori 2+ for $7.49, and Professional Farmer 2014 for $6.66. And there’s a new Daily Deal over at Steam – it’s Next Car Game for $20.09.

That’s all for deals! But of course, I’ve still got some t-shirts for you…

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Posted in Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News |