Put the pedal to the metal in today’s Xbox Games Store update…
Descenders is now available to download for the Xbox One through the Xbox Game Preview program. Players interested in “extreme downhill freeriding” will finally have the chance to hop on their bikes and plunge down the side of the mountain RageSquid’s procedurally-generated game.
Also available to download for the Xbox One today is Wizard of Legend, a retro-styled dungeon crawler from Contingent99.
You can learn more about both of these games, and the rest of today’s additions to the Xbox Games Store (including Forgotten Anne and Lily’s Epic Quest For Lost Gems), after the break.
Another batch of brand new PS4 games are coming to the PlayStation Store this week…
Leading the way is Dragon’s Crown Pro, a remastered re-release of Atlus’s PS3/Vita brawler. This new version of the game will feature English and Japanese audio options, as well as a newly recorded soundtrack, support for 4K visuals, and all previously-released downloadable content. Also available to download this week for the PS4 is Contingent99’s roguelike dungeon crawler, Wizard of Legend.
Finally, PS4 owners will be able to download Walden: A Game, an exploratory adventure that transforms Henry David Thoreau’s life at Walden Pond into a video game.
You can learn more about the rest of this week’s additions to the PlayStation Store after the break.
Nintendo has announced that Switch owners will get the chance to try out Mario Tennis Aces a few weeks early with a pre-release demo.
The Mario Tennis Aces demo will be available to download from the Nintendo eShop beginning May 24. The main attraction of the demo is a special online tournament that’ll take place between June 1st and the 3rd, but a single-player offline mode will also be included:
Once you join the tournament between June 1 and June 3, you can select between four main playable characters (Mario, Peach, Yoshi or Bowser) and compete in a series of online multiplayer matches. The winners of each match will earn points based on their performance, with five additional characters to unlock by gaining enough points. (We’ll let you discover who these characters are for yourself as you advance through the demo.)
In addition to the demo, Nintendo also gave fans a quick glimpse at Mario Tennis Aces’s Adventure Mode. The single-player mode will feature an escalating series of challenges that Mario must complete to save Luigi from certain doom.
Mario Tennis Aces will be released exclusively for the Switch on June 22.
As promised, Bethesda has pulled back the curtain on the first Gameplay Trailer for Rage 2. Bringing players back to the wild wasteland of the first game, Bethesda also confirmed that Rage 2 will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One in Spring 2019.
In addition, the publisher unveiled a bevy of gameplay and story details in a new post on Bethesda.net (and slipped in a few Walker: Texas Ranger jokes):
Mankind is in peril. In the decades following an asteroid’s devastation, most of the earth has become an unforgiving wildland where bloodthirsty factions vie for control of precious resources. Pockets of civilization have emerged to claim their space in the world, but the tentative peace they’ve established is being threatened. Rage 2 follows Walker, the last Ranger of Vineland, as he fights to survive the chaos of the dystopian world into which he was born. With a wide array of weapons, vehicles and strange powers, Walker sets off to take down the tyrannical Authority.
It’s the perfect mix: id Software’s first-person shooter pedigree, Avalanche Studios’ mastery of the open world sandbox, with a healthy dose of pedal-to-the-metal vehicle combat. From the swamplands and jungles where enemies lurk among the dense foliage, to the open deserts where a passing car is more likely to mow you down than offer you a ride, the world of Rage 2 is not a gentle, nurturing place. The people who have survived in this landscape have had to learn to protect themselves and keep their heads on a swivel, especially with the reemergence of a familiar menace.
Players will have other opportunities for mayhem in Rage 2’s open world by equipping special Nanotrite abilities:
Among the arrows he can choose from his Nanotrite ability quiver are the power to crush enemies into paste from above in a devastating slam attack or send them flying away from him with a lethal energy push. Walker will also learn to channel these Nanotrites into his weapons, pushing them into an awe-inspiring Overdrive, a unique skill that lets him push his guns beyond their limits and unleash absolute hell on his foes. Chain these abilities together to make Walker a powerhouse of destruction, quickly refilling his Overdrive meter. While in Overdrive, Walker’s guns do more damage, they gain new attributes, enemies drop better rewards and Walker’s health starts to regenerate. When timed correctly, Overdrive is more than enough to tip the scales in a tricky fight.
If you’re still hungry for more information about Rage 2, you’ll have to wait until this year’s E3 Expo to really dig in. Bethesda has said they’ll reveal a second Gameplay Trailer and even more details about Rage 2 during their BE3 Showcase on Sunday, June 10.
Cliff Bleszinski, gaming’s original “DudeBro” and the creator of the Gears of War franchise, has announced (via Twitter) that he is stepping away from game development to spend more time with his family.
The legendary developer got his start in the early 90s at Epic Games, and he would use his time at the company to produce a variety of hits, including Jazz Jackrabbit, Unreal, and Unreal Tournament. “CliffyB” would eventually take the reins to Gears of War, and he served as Lead Designer on the first three games in the franchise before leaving Epic in 2012.
Bleszinski would return as the face of Boss Key Productions in 2014. His team took a stab at the “Hero Shooter” genre in 2017 with LawBreakers, and they followed it up with Radical Heights, a free-to-play “Battle Royale” game, earlier this year. Both games “failed to gain traction” with players, and this likely lead to Bleszinski’s current sabbatical from the industry.
According to his statement, Bleszinski hopes to “someday” return to game development, but Boss Key Productions as an entity is “effectively no more”:
In a final message to his fans, Bleszinski thanked them for all their support over the years and said that the servers for Radical Heights will remain available for the near future.
After a spate of rumors pointed to an impending announcement for Rage 2, Bethesda has thrown up their hands and officially announced that the game is in development at id Software for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. A short Teaser Trailer has been embedded above, and a longer Gameplay Trailer will be unveiled tomorrow. If the Teaser Trailer is any indication, the next Rage will be considerably sillier than its predecessor.
Rage ended on a huge cliffhanger, and while it wasn’t as well-loved as Doom or Quake, fans have been hoping that the developer would return to the game’s post-apocalyptic world in a sequel. Bethesda has also recruited Avalanche Studios, the team responsible for 2015’s Mad Max game, to assist in the creation of Rage 2.
The announcement of Rage 2 also ups the possibility that the rest of the games included in the recent Walmart Canada leak (as reported by Polygon) are real. So don’t be surprised when game publishers start announcing Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell 6, Lego DC Supervillains, Gears of War 5, Assassin’s Creed 2018, and Just Cause 4 over the next few weeks.
A release date for Rage 2 has yet to be announced.
Late last night, Nintendo said that the NES Classic Edition microconsole will once again be available in retail stores on Friday, June 29. This re-release of the NES Classic Edition will still contain 30 NES games (including Super Mario Bros. 3, The Legend of Zelda, Ninja Gaiden, Punch-Out!! Featuring Mr. Dream, and many more) and once again be priced at $59.99:
We’re coming around again on a lot of great new games this week, but first, Microsoft and Undead Labs have teamed up for a second time to bring us State of Decay 2 for the Xbox One. The zombie survival simulation includes cooperative multiplayer for up to four players, and the “Ultimate Edition” comes bundled with its predecessor, State of Decay: Year One Survival Edition.
But if you’re looking to replay an old favorite, or try it out for the first time in a spiffy new edition, there’s plenty of choices to be had…
Nintendo will re-release Hyrule Warriors for the Switch in a special Definitive Edition that includes everything from the action-packed Wii U game (Hyrule Warriors), as well as the bonus contest from the subsequent 3DS re-release (Hyrule Warriors Legends), and a pair of new costumes for Link and Zelda from Breath of the Wild.
Atlus is also upgrading one of their biggest titles from the previous generation, and the publisher will bring Dragon’s Crown Pro to the PS4 this week. The updated side-scrolling brawler will include English and Japanese audio options, as well as a newly recorded soundtrack, support for 4K visuals, and all previously-released downloadable content.
Atlus is also pulling the same trick on the 3DS this week with the launch of Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux. The DS RPG has been upgraded with new story content, additional endings, and a new dungeon to explore.
Other games with new homes this week include THQ Nordic’s Battle Chasers: Nightwar (the RPG moving to the Switch), Red Star’s Hello Kitty Kruisers (the kart racer is also coming to the Switch), and IO Interactive’s Hitman: Definitive Edition (all previously-released content is now available in a single package for the PS4 and Xbox One.