New Agents of Mayhem trailer introduces the showboating “Franchise Force”

Posted on May 9, 2017 by John Scalzo

Volition wants to bring back the sugary goodness of Saturday Morning Cartoons this Summer with Agents of Mayhem. That mentality is definitely on display in this new trailer for the game, which introduces viewers to the “Franchise Force,” a trio of agents with big guns and bigger personalities:

As the “Face of MAYHEM,” Hollywood thinks of the agency as a franchise which needs to be marketed. With Fortune and Hardtack making up some of the first recruited agents, it only seemed natural the three of them should be the driving “force” behind that “franchise.” Thus Franchise Force was born! Of course, it also helps their combat capabilities complement each other well since Fortune is swift and damaging, Hardtack is tough and deadly at close range, and Hollywood combines both of the previous two traits with precision skill.

Volition wants to give players plenty of options for superheroics in Agents of Mayhem, and that includes the ability to create three-member Squads with instantaneous swapping, “allowing the best agent for a particular fight or task in your squad of three to replace the currently active one.” Sounds very similar to another “Saturday Morning” game from the NES era… 1989’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Agents of Mayhem will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on August 15.

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

Forza Horizon 3: Hot Wheels expansion is now available

Posted on May 9, 2017 by John Scalzo

If you’re a Hot Wheels fan, you’re likely very familiar with the massive orange tracks and loop-the-loops that have become the brand’s signature accessory over the years. Starting today, you can transport that same style of racing into Forza Horizon 3 with the brand new Hot Wheels expansion.

Available as part of Forza Horizon 3’s Season Pass (or as a standalone download for $19.99), the Hot Wheels expansion includes a very unique new locale to explore:

The Horizon Festival and Hot Wheels have teamed up to create the ultimate playground for cars! Located off the coast of Australia, this chain of islands is here to make your Hot Wheels fantasies come to life with loops, corkscrews, boost pads, high bank turns, half-pipes, insane jumps – and even mechanical dinosaurs! Use the new Stunt Swap feature to modify stunt track sections and dare your friends to try them. Race ten new cars including Hot Wheels icons like the Twin Mill and Boneshaker. Discover a new hidden barn find car, earn new Xbox Live achievements, and more.

To celebrate its launch, developers from Playground Games will showcase Forza Horizon 3’s Hot Wheels expansion during a special livestream scheduled to begin at 1:00 PM (Eastern Time) today. Tune in to watch it on Beam or Twitch.

Posted in News, PC, Xbox One | Tagged

Learn “Everything You Need to Know” about Injustice 2 in this trailer

Posted on May 9, 2017 by John Scalzo

NetherRealm Studios has been bombarding the Internet with a near-constant barrage of Injustice 2 trailers over the last few months. In that time, the developer has uploaded more than a dozen new trailers focusing on the game’s story, characters, and unique Gear System. But even if you’ve watched every second of video so far, you should still press Play on the new “Everything You Need to Know” trailer.

Once you do, you’ll become privy to more than five minutes of new gameplay footage, which also includes a first look at Injustice 2’s ladder-style Multiverse, team-based Guilds, and the mobile version. As Batman would say, are you prepared?

Injustice 2 will be released for the PS4 and Xbox One on May 16, and the mobile version will be available for Android and iOS devices sometime this month.

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

Open Beta for Quake Champions begins on May 12

Posted on May 8, 2017 by John Scalzo

Bethesda Softworks and id Software have announced that everyone will get the chance to try out a pre-release version of Quake Champions beginning this Friday, May 12. Officially known as the “Large Scale Technical Test” (a fancy-smancy term for an Open Beta), you can sign up to receive your key at Quake.com now.

The Large Scale Tech Test will remain open continuously until Sunday, May 21, so PC players will get ten full days in the Arena. They’ll also have access to a brand new game type, Sacrifice Mode. Unlike a typical Free-For-All match, Sacrifice Mode is a 4v4, team-based competitive mode.

Finally, Bethesda confirmed that they’re dropping the non-disclosure agreement that beta participants had to agree to on May 12. So you’ll soon get to hear what everyone thinks of Quake Champions so far.

A full release for Quake Champions is still planned for later this year.

Posted in News, PC | Tagged

Daily Scoop: May 8, 2017 – Very Positive Bundle now available at Humble Bundle

Posted on May 8, 2017 by Holly Scalzo

Hey Scoopers! Hope your weekend was awesome! It keeps raining here like some tropical jungle, except instead of tropical it’s like 40 degrees. So fun. Speaking of tropical jungles, we received a telegram from Nicole!

In case you missed any Scoops, she has been on assignment in the Amazon and some odd occurrences have taken place whilst she has been down there. Not to mention the fact that we still don’t know who sent her on this expedition and to what end. But this telegram is the first piece of news from her since her weird postcard! I, for one, am thrilled she has not been torn apart by piranhas. The telegram reads:

DURING FIELD WORK FOUND TREE FROGS STOP
THEY SEEM TO BE WISE BEYOND THEIR YEARS AS IF THEY ARE EONS OLD STOP
HAVING LOVELY TIME SINCE IT STOPPED RAINING BLOOD DO NOT WORRY STOP
SEND OOLONG STOP

Lots to deal with today, so let’s sail on! Ha, get it? Sorry.

There’s some Amazon sales today, with ReCore for $14.70 and Mass Effect: Andromeda for $39.99. Amazon Prime subscribers will also be able to pick up The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Special Edition for $29.99.

There’s a new Humble Bundle this week, the “Very Positive Bundle,” which includes a bunch of colorful games: Super Mega Baseball: Extra Innings, The Deadly Tower of Monsters, They Bleed Pixels, Hacknet, Crashlands, UnderRail, Stephen’s Sausage Roll, and Curious Expedition. There’s also a couple bonuses including the soundtracks to Deadly Tower of Monsters and UnderRail. So check out your options and grab some games!

Steam has some great Weeklong Deals starting today. They have a bunch of Red Faction games on sale, including Red Faction, Read Faction II, Red Faction: Guerrilla, Red Faction: Armageddon, and Armageddon’s Path to War expansion for 75% off of each. Also 75% off each are the Armageddon and Guerilla Soundtracks. And the Red Faction Complete Bundle is 80% off!

Steam also has Rogue Stormers for $3.49, Mutant Mudds Deluxe for $0.99, Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions Evolved for $7.49, Homefront: The Revolution for $9.99, and the award-winning Quadrilateral Cowboy for 20% off.

Just a few shirts today, so let’s go!

Press Start to Continue →

Posted in Daily Scoop |

Capcom unveils a trailer for Ed, Street Fighter V’s next downloadable fighter

Posted on May 8, 2017 by John Scalzo

Street Fighter V‘s 2017 Season Pass continues to roll on with the reveal of Ed, the young commander of Bison’s Shadaloo forces. Raised by Balrog, Ed’s boxing prowess is augmented by Bison’s Psycho Power, which you can see in his embedded debut trailer.

Introduced to the franchise in Street Fighter IV, Ed is a rather unique character in that his special moves are performed with “simultaneous button presses, repeatedly pressing a button, or holding down a button.” A lengthy rundown of Ed’s fighting style was posted on the Capcom-Unity blog this morning:

Character Overview
At a young age, Ed was kidnapped and experimented on by S.I.N., a division of Shadaloo, in order to become a replacement body for M. Bison. Many of you might remember a young Ed appearing in Rose’s Street Fighter IV story and Balrog’s story in Super Street Fighter IV. Due to the experiments, Ed’s body ages faster than normal humans until they are old enough to be suited for battle. Since Balrog raised Ed, his fighting is centered on boxing but since he carries M. Bison’s genes, his fighting style is enhanced by Psycho Power.

Night after night he is troubled by Bison’s ghost, and struggles desperately to prevent M. Bison from possessing his body.

V-Skill: Psycho Snatcher
Ed releases Psycho Power from his palm, pulling himself or opponents depending on how long he charges it up.

V-Trigger: Psycho Cannon
With a full V-meter, Ed releases an enormous amount of Psycho Power. He can follow alongside it, allowing him to pepper in shots when it connects with the opponent.

Critical Art: Psycho Barrage
Ed lunges forward with a series of punches. If at any point he connects, he’ll continue weaving around the opponent, slipping in quick combinations of Psycho-punches ending with a powerful uppercut.

Street Fighter V fans will get their first chance to go toe-to-toe with Ed this weekend during the next Capcom Fighters Network beta test. The test includes access to all previously-released characters, and it’ll run from Thursday, May 11, through Sunday, May 14, on the PC and PS4.

A final release date for Ed will be announced “in the coming weeks.”

Posted in News, PC, PS4 | Tagged

Zombies Chronicles DLC will bring classic Zombies maps to CoD: Black Ops III on May 16

Posted on May 8, 2017 by John Scalzo

Activision and Treyarch have announced plans to bring even more Zombies action to Call of Duty: Black Ops III later this month. The Zombies Chronicles expansion will include eight classic Zombies maps, all of which have been “completely remastered from the ground-up” by Treyarch with “vibrant current-generation visuals, enhanced lighting, revamped character models and environments, and updated AI and audio systems”:

Maps Originally Included in Call of Duty: World at War
“Nacht der Untoten” (Abandoned Bunker), “Verruckt” (Wittenau Sanitorium), and “Shi No Numa” (Jungle Swamp)

Maps Originally Included in Call of Duty: Black Ops
“Kino Der Toten” (Theater of the Dead), “Ascension” (Soviet Cosmodrome), “Shangri-La” (Exotic Jungle Shrine), and “Moon” (Lunar Base)

Maps Originally Included in Call of Duty: Black Ops II
“Origins” (WWI France)

Zombies Chronicles Bonus Content

  • 20 Vials of Liquid Divinium
  • 2 All-New Whimsical GobbleGums
  • Exclusive Zombies Pack-A-Punch Weapon Camo
  • Call of Duty: Black Ops III – Zombies Chronicles Dynamic System Theme (PS4 Only)

“Zombies Chronicles is really about the community that made Zombies what it has become today,” said Jason Blundell, the Co-Studio Head at Treyarch. “Together, we’ve been slaying the undead for nearly ten years, across different game consoles, and Zombies Chronicles is really about bringing all of those fans together. If you played these maps before on previous consoles, you’re getting a new, stunning and challenging experience – if it’s your first time, this is eight definitive experiences of our Zombies storyline, all in one place.”

As usual, PS4 players will get first crack at Zombies Chronicles, and it’ll be available to purchase through the PlayStation Store on May 16 for $29.99. PC and Xbox One owners will likely have to wait at least a month for their chance to download Zombies Chronicles.

Finally, Activision and Treyarch will celebrate the launch of the Zombies Chronicles expansion with “8 Days of the Undead,” an in-game event that offers players the chance to earn double XP rewards and engage in community challenges.

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

Dead Island 2 is still in development at Deep Silver and Sumo Digital

Posted on May 8, 2017 by John Scalzo

It’s been more than a year since Deep Silver provided an update on Dead Island 2, and Eurogamer was worried the game had shambled off this mortal coil. But according to a new statement from the publisher, it looks like the zombie sequel is still very much alive:

“Dead Island 2 is in development at Sumo Digital, and we are excited by the progress the team are making with Deep Silver’s most successful IP. When we are ready to share more information, we will.”

Dead Island 2 made its public debut at E3 2014, and was expected to launch in Spring 2015. Things seemed to be going fine, but after its release was delayed several times, Deep Silver took Dead Island 2 away from Yager and handed it over to Sumo Digital.

But that’s about all we know. As of now, we still have no idea when Dead Island 2 will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

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