Bethesda unveils Elder Scrolls Online Imperial Edition, new cinematic trailer

Posted on January 29, 2014 by John Scalzo

elderscrollsonline-imperialeditionA few days ago, Bethesda announced an impressive voice cast for The Elder Scrolls Online. Today, they’ve unveiled an equally impressive special edition for the game.

The “Imperial Edition” will be available in both digital and physical formats. The $79.99 Digital Edition will feature a variety of in-game gear including:

  • Play as an Imperial: Become an Imperial and play in any Alliance. Gain unique bonuses, crafting styles, gear, and more.
  • White Imperial Horse: Summon this Imperial mount and journey through Tamriel with speed.
  • Mudcrab Vanity Pet: Explore Tamriel with a mudcrab pet scuttling along by your side.
  • Rings of Mara: Complete the Ritual of Mara with a friend and receive an experience bonus when you play together.

The Physical Edition has been priced slightly higher, $99.99, but it will include all the Digital Edition content as well as several goodies you can touch and feel:

  • Molag Bal Statue: A 12” statue featuring Molag Bal, Daedric Prince of domination and enslavement.
  • The Improved Emperor’s Guide to Tamriel: A 224-page illustrated guide annotated by the Imperial scholar, Flaccus Terentius.
  • Physical Map of Tamriel: A 21” x 26” printed map detailing Alliance-controlled zones and the ultimate conquest: Cyrodiil.
  • Steelbook Packaging: A limited edition steel case decorated in the color of the Imperials.

Players who pre-order either edition (or the $59.99 Standard Edition) will also receive the Explorer’s Pack, a special bit of DLC that includes a Scuttler vanity pet, four bonus treasure maps, the ability to play as any of the nine races in any Alliance, and five days of Early Access ahead of the game’s April 4 launch. The Elders Scrolls Online will also be available for the PS4 and Xbox One in June.

And if you’re desperate for more ESO, we’ve got a brand new cinematic trailer, “The Arrival,” after the break.

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

Tomb Raider PS4, Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z, more added to PS Store

Posted on January 29, 2014 by John Scalzo

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Two big games were added to the PlayStation Store yesterday, perfect for fans of big fighting and big adventure.

Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition brings Lara Croft’s latest adventure to the PS4, enhanced with all the latest technology that the next-generation system can muster. And Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z for the PS3 and Vita is a multiplayer brawler and the latest game in the Dragon Ball series of game adaptations. But sorry, there’s no Cross-Buy option.

Also available this week are a trio of PSone/PS2 Classics: Mark Davis Pro Bass Challenge, a PS2 fishing game; Cyber Sled, a futuristic vehicle fighter originally for the PSone, and The Firemen 2: Pete & Danny, a PSone firefighter sim that was previously only available in Japan.

More on all of these titles can be found after the break and a full list of this week’s new game add-ons can be found at the PlayStation Blog.

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

Daily Scoop: January 28, 2014 – Pre-order-palooza

Posted on January 28, 2014 by Nicole Kline

There are so many great games coming out in the next few months, and so many amazing pre-order bonuses! Pre-ordering Conception II: Children of the Seven Stars gets you a soundtrack and special case, while pre-ordering Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster upgrades you to the limited edition automatically. Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII has the Cloud outfit and Buster Sword, as well as the Amazon-exclusive Yuna outfit, and TitanFall has a mini Prima guide. And that’s just what’s on Amazon!

Steam has a bunch of new Weeklong Deals, including A Valley Without Wind 1 and 2 for $2.99. And today’s deal is Sang-Froid – Tales of Werewolves for $3.74. Scoop ’em up!

Just two shirts for you today:

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Gears of War acquisition may have killed Black Tusk’s current project

Posted on January 28, 2014 by John Scalzo

Yesterday, Marcus Fenix and the rest of the Gears of War gang moved from Epic Games to Black Tusk Studios as Microsoft acquired the publishing rights to the long-running Xbox-exclusive series. But it’s beginning to look like this acquisition will kill Black Tusk’s in-development “AAAA” project, which was first revealed at last year’s E3 Expo.

According to the official “XboxJobs” Twitter account, Black Tusk and Microsoft executives are currently determining if the project will continue:

Also yesterday, Microsoft’s Phil Spencer told reporters, “I wouldn’t say things have been shelved,” implying that development on Black Tusk’s “AAAA” game would continue. Hopefully, the status of Black Tusk’s future projects will be announced soon.

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The first million is the hardest, but Minecraft: PS3 Edition did it

Posted on January 28, 2014 by John Scalzo

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Hey, did you know that Mojang has sold a ton of copies of Minecraft? Hard to believe, I know, but it’s true. Minecraft on the PC is approaching 14 million copies sold and the Xbox 360 Edition has sold more than 10 million copies since its introduction in May 2012. Now it’s the PS3 Edition‘s turn to join the million-seller club.

Minecraft: PS3 Edition was first made available to download through the PlayStation Store on December 17 and, according to Mojang, it has sold more than a million copies in a little over a month. That’s pretty impressive for a game that was initially released for the PC in 2011.

Minecraft will make the jump to three additional platforms this year as an Xbox One Edition, a PS4 Edition, and a Vita Edition are all in development at 4J Studios under Mojang’s supervision.

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New Earth Defense Force 2025 trailer shows off new enemies

Posted on January 28, 2014 by John Scalzo

The Earth Defense Force will make their long-awaited next month in Earth Defense Force 2025. After Vicious Cycle Software handled the previous entry, 2011’s Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon, the series has returned to its original developer, Sandlot.

Sandlot is expanding the EDF world to include multiple character classes, more enemy types, more vehicles, and more missions. They’ve even managed to shoe-horn a dragon into the game. You can check out all the additions to EDF 2025 for yourself in the brand new trailer above.

Earth Defense Force 2025 will be released for the PS3 and Xbox 360 on February 18. EDF! EDF! EDF!

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Minecraft: The Unlikely Tale of Marcus “Notch” Persson and the Game that Changed Everything Review: The Awesome Story of the Indie Sensation and the Man Behind it

Posted on January 27, 2014 by Nicole Kline

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I’m a sucker for books about the video game industry. Big games, small games, gaming personalities – I love them all. Which is why when I heard about Minecraft: The Unlikely Tale of Marcus “Notch” Persson and the Game that Changed Everything, I wanted to read it, in spite of my minimal experience with the game itself. Written by Daniel Goldberg and Linus Larsson, a pair of technology journalists from Sweden, Minecraft: The Unlikely Tale… is their first book to receive an English translation. Once I got my hands on their little green book, I could not put it down.

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Posted in Etcetera, Reviews, Top Story | Tagged

Daily Scoop: January 27, 2014 – In the aftermath of the Global Game Jam

Posted on January 27, 2014 by Nicole Kline

This weekend was really exciting! The Global Game Jam ran from Friday to Sunday, and while the theme was generally disliked across the board, some great brainstorming was had, and some even greater ideas were born. I haven’t had a chance to play any of the games yet, but I worked on a game of my own with Inform7, and it’s going great so far! I didn’t get it done in time for the jam, but I’m still proud that I got the ball rolling. Making games is awesome!

There are some good deals happening at Amazon right now. Physical deals include Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag for $29.99 and Rocksmith 2014 Edition for $49.99. Digital deals include the Legacy of Kain Pack for $7.49 and the Max Payne 3 and Grand Theft Auto IV Bundle for $7.99. Scoop ’em up!

Steam has Duke Nukem Forever on sale for $4.99. Um, yay? And there’s only one sale at the Humble Store – it’s Delve Deeper for $1.24

But hey, at least there are lots of t-shirts!

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