The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is “Video Game of the Year” at 2018 SXSW Gaming Awards

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild took home another trophy last night when the “open-air” adventure was named “Video Game of the Year” at the 2018 SXSW Gaming Awards. The Nintendo Switch launch title also scooped up awards for “Excellence in Design” and “Excellence in Gameplay”

PUBG Corporation’s PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds also picked up three awards last night (“Esports Game of the Year,” “Trending Game of the Year,” and “Excellence in Multiplayer”), and a handful of other games (Cuphead, Horizon: Zero Dawn, and Nier: Automata) were two-time winners.

You can find the complete list of winners from the 2018 SXSW Gaming Awards at Video Game Canon.

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Sonic Mania Plus will be available on store shelves (with bonus content) this Summer

Sega is planning a retail re-release for Sonic Mania, and players who have yet to purchase the side-scrolling platformer will be able to purchase the upgraded Sonic Mania Plus package this Summer for the PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.

Announced at the SXSW Gaming Expo (and via Twitter), Sonic Mania Plus will include an artbook and a Genesis-themed reversible cover, as well as new in-game content including remixed levels in an Encore Mode, a four-player Competition Mode, and two additional playable characters (Mighty the Armadillo and Ray the Flying Squirrel). All these extra goodies will push the game’s price to $29.99, a $10 premium over the currently-available downloadable edition.

But fans who already own Sonic Mania will be able to purchase all the new in-game content as a downloadable expansion.

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Sega teased a new Sonic R racing game at the SXSW Gaming Expo

A darkened room is illuminated by the quick flash of a headlight and the sound of a revving engine in a new “Top Secret” trailer from Sega. But the appearance of a familiar “R” logo definitively pegs this mystery project as a sequel to 1997’s Sonic R.

The trailer made its debut last night at the SXSW Gaming Expo during Sega’s “Gotta Go Fast: The Official Sonic the Hedgehog Panel,” but Sega didn’t provide any further details about the game.

Hopefully we’ll learn more about Sonic’s return to racing soon.

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Burnout Paradise Remastered, Tesla Vs Lovecraft, Surviving Mars, more added to Xbox Store

Twisted wreckage and meticulous city-building highlight today’s Xbox Games Store update…

Electronic Arts and Criterion made a return trip to Paradise City today with the Xbox One launch of Burnout Paradise Remastered. The racer will include all previously-released downloadable content, as well as enhanced visuals (1080p on Xbox One and up to 4K on Xbox One X).

Also available to download for the Xbox One today is Tesla Vs Lovecraft, an overhead shooter that pits the famed inventor against the creator of the Cthulhu Mythos. But the tales of the Old Ones aren’t fiction in this game, as Tesla will need to suit up in a giant mech and do battle against “massive amounts of eldritch abominations.”

Finally today, Paradox Interactive and Haemimont Games have released their sci-fi city-builder, Surviving Mars, for the Xbox One.

You can learn more about the rest of today’s additions to the Xbox Games Store (including Aero Fighters 3 and Vicious Attack Llama Apocalypse) after the break.

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EA announces revamped Progression System for Star Wars: Battlefront II will be available on March 21

Electronic Arts has announced that Star Wars: Battlefront II‘s revamped Progression System will “begin rolling out” on March 21. In a complete reversal from the pre-release Beta, the new Progression System ensures that any item impacting gameplay can only be earned through gameplay, and “will not be available for purchase.”

The developers provided more details about the update on the game’s official website:

With this update, progression is now linear. Star Cards, or any other item impacting gameplay, will only be earned through gameplay and will not be available for purchase. Instead, you’ll earn experience points for the classes, hero characters, and ships that you choose to play in multiplayer. If you earn enough experience points to gain a level for that unit, you’ll receive one Skill Point that can be used to unlock or upgrade the eligible Star Card you’d like to equip.

You’ll keep everything you’ve already earned and unlocked. You will keep all of the Star Cards, heroes, weapons, or anything else you have already earned. What you have earned will still be available to use with this update regardless of how much or little progress you have already made.

Crates no longer include Star Cards and cannot be purchased. Crates are earned by logging in daily, completing Milestones, and through timed challenges. Inside of these crates, you’ll find Credits or cosmetic items, such as emotes or victory poses, but nothing that impacts gameplay.

A secondary update to the Progression System will appear in April, allowing Star Wars: Battlefront II players to purchase cosmetic items with real money. But an earnable in-game currency, Credits, can also be used to unlock these customization items.

Star Wars: Battlefront II is now available for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

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Telltale’s latest Batman: The Enemy Within trailer offers a season recap ahead of the final episode’s March 27 launch

Telltale Games will close the book on Batman: The Enemy Within in a few weeks, but first they wanted to give their fans a look back at the season so far in a new trailer. Naturally, this trailer is chock full of spoilers, so don’t watch it if you’re not completely caught up with Batman: The Enemy Within.

Since the complete second season will soon be available for download, we’re excited to share the official full season trailer for Batman: The Enemy Within, the five-part episodic game series that continues Telltale’s unique take on the World’s Greatest Detective. This trailer recaps the events of the entire season but focuses primarily on the relationship players built with former Arkham Asylum inmate John Doe, a relationship that will soon culminate in the birth of The Joker.

Batman: The Enemy Within – Episode 5: Same Stitch will be available to download for the PC, PS4, Xbox One, and mobile devices on March 27.

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Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse, Clustertruck, Kirby Star Allies, more coming to Nintendo eShop this week

The virtual stockers who help run the 3DS eShop are getting the week off, but Nintendo still plans to add 17 new titles to the Switch eShop over the next seven days.

This week’s biggest new release is definitely Kirby Star Allies, which will be available to download beginning tomorrow. Kirby Star Allies is a side-scrolling platformer that includes a drop-in/drop-out multiplayer option and new Friend Abilities to use against enemies. Also available to download on Friday is Tesla Vs Lovecraft, an overhead shooter where players will have to fight H.P. Lovecraft’s nightmarish monsters in a mech suit piloted by Nikola Tesla.

Horrible monstrosities are also at the center of Koei Tecmo’s Attack On Titan 2, and Switch owners will be able to do battle against the Titans for the first time on Tuesday, March 20. WayForward will also bring the third game in the Shantae series, Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse, to the Switch on the same day.

Finally, if you’re looking to download something today, the truck-to-truck jumping of Clustertruck is now available through the Switch eShop, as is a re-release of Bad Dudes, a classic beat ’em up from the 1980s.

You can learn more about all of this week’s additions to the Nintendo eShop after the break.

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UK-developed Hellblade leads the way at 2018 BAFTA Games Awards with 9 nominations

Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice was developed in the United Kingdom at Ninja Theory, and this hometown advantage helped it lead the way with nine nominations at the 2018 BAFTA Games Awards.

With so many nominations, it’s no surprise that Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is up for “Best Game,” and it’ll be competing against Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed Origins, Guerrilla’s Horizon: Zero Dawn, Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Nintendo’s Super Mario Odyssey, and Giant Sparrow’s What Remains of Edith Finch.

The BAFTA Games Awards ceremony will be held on Thursday, April 12, and hosting duties will once again be handled by comedian Dara O’Briain. If you weren’t able to score a ticket to the big show, you’ll still be able to livestream the entire ceremony through BAFTA.org and several other streaming platforms.

The complete list of nominees in all categories can be found after the break.

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