Final Borderlands 2 DLC, Sir Hammerlock Versus the Son of Crawmerax, out on April 15

Posted on February 19, 2014 by Nicole Kline

Gearbox is wrapping up the Headhunter Packs with their final DLC for Borderlands 2. This one is Easter-themed – or at least, Easter-colored – and is called Sir Hammerlock Versus the Son of Crawmerax.

The Vault Hunters are setting out to take a nice vacation when Sir Hammerlock gets unceremoniously kidnapped. Spend some time with Brick, Mordecai, Lilith, and Crazy Earl as you try to find Hammerlock and destroy Crawmerax Jr. in the process. (He’s just a little peeved about his dad getting killed back in The Secret Armory of General Knoxx DLC from Borderlands, and wants some revenge.)

Of course, you’ll get a great head for your troubles, and there are some new skins for the Vault Hunters as well. This final Headhunter Pack will cost $2.99 and will be out on April 15 for PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360.

My only question is… if Gearbox isn’t working on Borderlands 3, and this is the final DLC for Borderlands 2, what exactly are they working on?

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Hitman’s mobile debut is a strategy game titled Hitman Go

Posted on February 18, 2014 by Nicole Kline

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The team over at Square Enix Montréal has announced that they are making a mobile game in the Hitman franchise. The new game is called Hitman Go, and they have described it as “a turn-based strategy game with beautifully rendered diorama-style set pieces.” You will be able to avoid your foes by “strategically navigat[ing] fixed spaces on a grid,” and all of your favorite toys will be available to you: “disguises, distractions, sniper rifles and even 47’s iconic Silverballers.”

The developers at Square Enix Montréal were given the chance to come up with a game that “still retained the essence of what a Hitman game is” and make it separate and yet in tandem with IO Interactive’s AAA Hitman game. They used a small team, pitched the idea to IOI, and voila! It’s nearly ready. “This was a lot of fun and we decided to develop something quite different and, we hope, totally unexpected.”

Well, I know I wasn’t expecting a Hitman mobile game, of all things. They don’t have a date yet, but their “next update may be sooner than you think as we’ve been working on something else here at Square Enix Montréal that fits perfectly within the Hitman fantasy.” My, they have been busy!

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Bound by Flame trailer warns “there’s no turning back”

Posted on February 18, 2014 by Nicole Kline

The new Bound by Flame trailer is absolutely gorgeous. Spider Studios goes into more detail about the game, including the main character’s demon side, as well as the mechanics of the game, the combat system, the bestiary, and the crafting system.

But that’s not all. We also get a glimpse at some of the other characters the hero will come into contact with – some of them sexy ladies with whom he can make out – as well as some fantastic creatures.

Bound by Flame is due to come out in Q2 2014 for the PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and Xbox 360.

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

PS Store Today: Strider, EDF 2025, Assassin’s Creed: Freedom Cry, a lot more

Posted on February 18, 2014 by John Scalzo

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Sony has just uploaded another big update for the PlayStation Store and while it doesn’t have something as tantalizing as the TitanFall open beta, it’s still chock full of impressive downloads. But speaking of betas, an open beta for the PS4 edition of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn was included in today’s update.

As for this week’s new games, current-gen and next-gen gamers will be able to download a rebooted version of Capcom’s beloved side-scroller Strider, which was developed by the now Amazon-owned Double Helix. PS3 and PS4 owners will also get a chance to try out Assassin’s Creed: Freedom Cry, a standalone expansion to Assassin’s Creed IV that doesn’t require players to own its parent game. In addition to Freedom Cry, Ubisoft released a PS4 edition of Rayman Legends.

Finally, the PS2 Classics section is now home to Neo Contra, an odd entry in Konami’s Contra franchise, but one worth checking out all the same.

More information on all of these titles (and a few others) can be found after the break. A complete rundown of this week’s new game add-ons can be found at PlayStation Blog.

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

Daily Scoop: February 18, 2014 – And more snow

Posted on February 18, 2014 by Nicole Kline

Surprising no one, it snowed again last night, and no one plowed. That is to say, no one plowed near anywhere I had to be this morning! So it was a fun trudge to work in the snow. But I can’t complain, really – I love my new boots, which have failed to stop the snow, but are great to wear! Also, most of my trudging was from being tired due to playing Titanfall all night, so again… it’s my own fault.

Anyway, there are loads of deals happening right now! The current Gold Box Deal over at Amazon is the Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on sale for $39.99. This is a great deal if you’re looking to pick up this title on the most recent generation of consoles.

Speaking of “shut up and take my money,” there’s a brand new Humble Bundle that you should all buy right now. Pay what you want for Guacamelee! Gold Edition, Dust: An Elysian Tale, Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams, and The Swapper. Pay more than the average to also receive Antichamber and Monaco: What’s Yours Is Mine. I own almost all of these, but will gladly pay that little for just The Swapper.

There are also some deals happening at Steam. The Daily Deal is Farming Simulator 2013 Titanium Edition, which is 70% off at $8.39. The Midweek Deal is Space Engineers, which is 33% off at $10.04.

Finally, time for the t-shirts!

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Posted in Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News |

Outlast Review: House on Haunted Thrill

Posted on February 18, 2014 by Mike Ryan

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For a few years, I worked at a haunted house during the Halloween season. My job was, as one would expect, to scare the patrons. It was a great gig, and I have some fond memories of really freaking people out. But it wasn’t all about standing in a corner and jumping out at the most opportune time. There’s a real science behind the perfect scare. You need to be meticulous in your planning by first creating a sense of uneasiness, then instilling dread and fear, and finally, delivering the scare.

Horror games follow a similar process. For example, the dog jumping through the window in Resident Evil is one of the most famous video game scares. Things were already very spooky when you first stepped into that mansion. As you continued, fear crept in, as you knew that something was waiting for you around that corner. Then, when that zombified doberman finally crashes through the glass, it really hits you hard. Some of the better survival horror games follow this formula pretty religiously, creating some pretty intense experiences.

Outlast already has a pretty faithful following among the PC crowd. As a console-specific gamer (my PC can barely run The 7th Guest), I’ve only heard a few things about the game on various gaming forums. The sentiment was almost universal – this is one of the scariest games ever made. Now that I finally got a chance to play through the console version, I can say that I definitely agree with those sentiments.

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Posted in PC, PS4, Reviews, Top Story | Tagged

Supergiant’s Transistor will be playable at PAX East 2014

Posted on February 18, 2014 by John Scalzo

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Supergiant Games has confirmed that Transistor will be playable at this year’s PAX East expo:

Transistor made its public debut during last year’s PAX East show. In addition to touting one of the longest lines of the entire expo, the game’s booth featured visits from Logan Cunningham (the voice behind the titular Transistor), Darren Korb (Supergiant’s in-house music man), and lead developer Greg Kasavin during the weekend. In June, Sony revealed that Transistor would exclusively launch on the PC and PS4 in early 2014.

While we know that Transistor will be playable at PAX East 2014, whoever is behind Supergiant’s Twitter feed has so far ignored tweets asking if the game will be released before or after April 11, the first day of the convention.

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Irrational Games will close as Ken Levine wants to focus on a smaller studio

Posted on February 18, 2014 by John Scalzo

irrationalgames-logoKen Levine, the Creative Director of Irrational Games, has announced that he has begun “winding down” operations at the studio “as [we] know it.” Since completing work on the BioShock trilogy, Levine has begun writing the screenplay for a Logan’s Run remake for Warner Bros. He has also thought long and hard about the games he wants to make in the future:

While I’m deeply proud of what we’ve accomplished together, my passion has turned to making a different kind of game than we’ve done before. To meet the challenge ahead, I need to refocus my energy on a smaller team with a flatter structure and a more direct relationship with gamers. In many ways, it will be a return to how we started: a small team making games for the core gaming audience.

In time we will announce a new endeavor with a new goal: To make narrative-driven games for the core gamer that are highly replayable. To foster the most direct relationship with our fans possible, we will focus exclusively on content delivered digitally.

So what does this mean for Irrational Games? First, the majority of the studio’s staff will be laid off in the coming weeks. Many will move to different teams within Take-Two’s corporate structure and Irrational will hold a recruiting day for developers interested in catching on with an outside studio. According to Levine, about 15 members of the Irrational team will remain with the studio after the layoffs are complete. As for the BioShock series, Levine has revealed that it is now fully in the hands of Take-Two. What this means for the currently-in-limbo BioShock Vita or the eventual BioShock 4 is unknown as this time.

There’s no timetable on when Levine will announce what he’s up to next. But hopefully it’s sooner rather than later. Levine’s complete letter can be found at Irrational’s homepage.

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