TitanFall beta is now open to all on Xbox One, PC

After previously limiting the TitanFall Xbox One beta to a small pool of applicants and code giveaway winners, Respawn Entertainment has decided to open the flood gates today. Around midnight, the developer switched the beta’s status from “closed” to “open,” allowing everyone to jump in and give the next-generation shooter a shot ahead of its March 11 release.

The TitanFall beta is available in the “New Game Demos” section of the XBL Store and will remain available until 9:00 PM (Eastern Time) on Tuesday, February 18. So you’ve got two more days. Use them wisely… it’s probably best if you call in sick now instead of Monday morning.

UPDATE: Speaking of Monday morning, the TitanFall beta is now open to all on PC as well. To make sure everyone gets a chance to experience TitanFall to the fullest, Respawn has also extended the beta through Wednesday, February 19.

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Gearbox: Borderlands 3 IS NOT in development

gearbox-logoRandy Pitchford, the President and CEO of Gearbox Software, recently sat down with Polygon and confirmed every gamer’s worst fear: Borderlands 3 is not currently in development…

“We are not working on Borderlands 3,” he said during an interview last week. “That is unqualified. We have more to do in the franchise, but no there isn’t a Borderlands 3.”

So what is Gearbox working on? Pitchford fell back on the same speech he gave at last year’s PAX Prime show and reconfirmed that his company is working on the Homeworld 1 + 2 HD remakes, Homeworld: Shipbreakers, Furious 4, a new Brothers in Arms game, and two original games for next-generation systems.

Pitchford (and Gearbox) always have a big presence at PAX East, perhaps we’ll learn something new about their future plans in a few weeks.

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MLB 14: The Show for PS3, Vita out on April 1; PS4 version slides into May

Sony has released a new trailer for MLB 14: The Show, the latest entry in their venerable baseball simulation series, as well as an April 1 release date for the PS3 and Vita versions of the game. Those of you holding out for the PS4 version will have to wait a little longer, as Sony has optioned the next-generation edition to extended Spring Training… um… I mean a May 2014 launch.

You also might want to slide over to the PlayStation Blog for a few details on some of MLB 14: The Show’s revamped modes as well as a look at the impressive beards that the PS4 version of the game can output.

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Level-5’s Weapon Shop De Omasse will be available for 3DS next week

Level-5’s “Guild01” and “Guild02” collections have produced six quirky (and quirkily entertaining) 3DS titles that have helped make the 3DS eShop a very interesting place. On Thursday, Nintendo announced, finally, that the seventh “Guild” game, Weapon Shop De Omasse, would be released in America and Europe.

Like its predecessors, Weapon Shop De Omasse is a wacky new take on a familiar gaming trope. In this case, the weaponsmiths that populate every RPG produced in the last 25 years. In Omasse, this duty falls to an apprentice armorer that has to create a wide variety of monster-killing implements. Manning the shop counter, the apprentice also has to decide which heroes are worthy of the legendary weapons he creates. Always staying in his shop, the young apprentice proves that the hero of your favorite RPG didn’t slay the dragon on his own… he or she had lots of help. Weapon Shop De Omasse will be available to download from the 3DS eShop on February 20 for $7.99.

To prepare yourself for all the rhythm-based weaponsmithing it includes, you can watch the debut trailer above or you can avail yourself of a huge sale on the rest of the “Guild” series. From now through February 23, all six “Guild” games (Aero Porter, Crimson Shroud, Liberation Maiden, The Starship Damrey, Bugs vs Tanks!, and Attack of the Friday Monsters) are available to download for $2.99 apiece.

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Nintendo will add GBA games to Wii U Virtual Console in April

gameboyadvanceWith the Super Game Boy, Nintendo pioneered the concept of playing handheld games on a home console. Beginning in April, they’ll take the Super Game Boy concept to the next level.

During yesterday’s Nintendo Direct presentation, President Satoru Iwata confirmed that the first Game Boy Advance games will be added to the Virtual Console section of the Wii U eShop. April’s first wave of titles will include “fan favorites” such as Metroid Fusion, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, and Yoshi’s Island: Super Mario Advance 3. More Game Boy Advance games will be added to the Wii U eShop every month thereafter.

So what’s on your Game Boy Advance-on-Wii U wish list?

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XBL Store Today: LocoCycle for Xbox 360

twistedpixellogoLove is in the air, ladies and gentlemen. And if you are an Xbox Live Arcade connoisseur, that means the love between a sentient motorcycle out and her bewildered mechanic. I refer, of course, to Twisted Pixel’s LocoCycle. LocoCycle didn’t have the warmest reception when it was first released during the Xbox One’s launch, but the game will get a second chance now that Xbox 360 owners have a chance to download it:

Newly self-aware, I.R.I.S. the martial-arts wielding assassin motorcycle, has begun a cross-continent escape to freedom. I.R.I.S.’s only ally is her engineer Pablo, who gets conscripted into the quest after his pant leg gets caught in her chassis. Hunted by the psychopathic motorcycle S.P.I.K.E. and a multinational weapons cartel, I.R.I.S. and Pablo face long odds, but they are riding for ‘Murica and freedom – so how can they lose?

LocoCycle has been priced at $9.99 on the XBLA. And in the spirit of second chances, Microsoft has also permanently slashed the price of the Xbox One edition. Previously priced at $14.99, the next-gen version of LocoCycle is also now available to download for $9.99.

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Gonna Fly Now! Little Mac joins Super Smash Bros. 4

After taking out Mike Tyson, putting Mr. Dream to sleep, bashing Nick Bruiser, and saying night-night to Mr. Sandman, Little Mac has made quite the name for himself in the World Video Boxing Association. Naturally, he needs a new challenge, so he’s gonna fly now to Super Smash Bros. 4 for the 3DS and Wii U.

Super Smash Bros. 4 still doesn’t have a release date, but with the inclusion of Little Mac (and Mega Man), it now has my pre-order money.

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The Evil Within will scare you silly on August 26

theevilwithin-logoBethesda has announced that Shinji Mikami’s return to horror, The Evil Within, will be released on August 26. Not only does The Evil Within mark Mikami’s return to the survival horror genre, but it also echoes the haunted house shenanigans of his first hit, Resident Evil:

While investigating the scene of a gruesome mass murder, Detective Sebastian Castellanos and his partners encounter a mysterious and powerful force. After seeing the slaughter of fellow officers, Sebastian is ambushed and knocked unconscious. When he awakens, he finds himself in a deranged world where hideous creatures wander among the dead. Facing unimaginable terror, and fighting for survival, Sebastian embarks on a frightening journey to unravel what’s behind this evil force.

The Evil Within is in development at Mikami’s new studio, Tango Gameworks, for the PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.

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