New trailer details additional features and revamped Battle Mode in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

Posted on March 10, 2017 by John Scalzo

Nintendo has begun preparing fans for the April 28th launch of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe with the release of a brand new “Overview Trailer,” as well as more details about its new Battle Mode.

Every racer and course from the original Mario Kart 8 (including the content from both downloadable expansions) will be carried over to Deluxe, but the racing game’s Switch debut will also include five new characters (Inkling Girl, Inkling Boy, King Boo, Dry Bones, and Bowser Jr.), the ability to hold two items at once, returning items like the item-stealing Boo and jumping Feather, a Smart Steering control option, and five ways to play the revamped Battle Mode:

Battle Modes Available in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

  • Renegade Roundup: Making its debut in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, this new mode has one team trying to capture the other and put them into jail before time runs out. The opposing team must try to escape and can break their own teammates out of prison by pressing a button under the jail cell.
  • Balloon Battle: In this oldie but goodie, players earn points by popping balloons on the back of their opponents’ karts.
  • Bob-Omb Blast: Originally seen in the Mario Kart: Double Dash!! game, this mode finds players throwing a barrage of Bob-Ombs at opponents.
  • Coin Runners: By racing across the Battle course, players try to collect the most coins as possible in this fast and frenetic mode introduced in Mario Kart Wii.
  • Shine Thief: Steal the coveted Shine Sprite and try to hold onto it for a 20 count in this classic multiplayer Battle mode.

And if you’re in Boston for this weekend’s PAX East convention, you’ll be able to try out a demo of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe if you visit Nintendo’s booth.

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The Video Game Canon – Ms. Pac-Man

Posted on March 10, 2017 by John Scalzo

Dig deeper into the Video Game Canon with a look at the accidental creation of Ms. Pac-Man. Here’s a teaser…

It’s easy to forget nowadays, but Ms. Pac-Man was actually created by accident. Like Doc Brown’s invention of time travel after a tumble from the toilet, Ms. Pac-Man was created when a group of game developers from MIT attempted to release an unauthorized sequel to Pac-Man known as “Crazy Otto.”

Before turning their sights on the biggest arcade game of the day, the development team, General Computer, first used their programming skills to create an “enhancement kit” for Atari’s Missile Command. Instead of creating their own game from scratch, the enhancement kit hooked into Atari’s code and altered it to provide a new gameplay experience. Essentially, General Computer created the first expansion pack.

Even though the enhancement kit required an original Missile Command cabinet, Atari later attempted to sue General Computer for copyright infringement. But rather than become mired in a protracted court case, the arcade giant and the enterprising college students reached a settlement. Atari would hire General Computer to design original arcade games so long as they agreed not to create any additional enhancement kits without the permission of the original game publisher. The developers quickly signed on, but first they took a nearly complete version of “Crazy Otto” to Midway, the North American distributor of Pac-Man.

Visit VideoGameCanon.com to continue reading this article and to explore the complete Top 1000.

Posted in Features, PC, PS2, PS3, PS4, Retro, Top Story, Video Game Canon, Wii, Xbox 360, Xbox One | Tagged

Nintendo reveals Super Mario Pez Dispensers for MAR10 Day

Posted on March 10, 2017 by John Scalzo

“World Plumbing Day” is March 11th, but Nintendo has always preferred to celebrate the exploits of their mustachioed pipeslinger a day early.

A few years ago, the consolemaker declared March 10th to be “MAR10 Day,” and the 2017 edition of this special day began with the announcement (via Twitter) of a Super Mario series of Pez Dispensers. Set to be released this May, fans will soon be able to add Mario, Donkey Kong, Princess Peach, and Yoshi to their Pez Dispenser collection.

Sadly, the Super Mario Pez Dispensers won’t be ready in time for “National Hug A Plumber Day,” which takes place on April 25th.

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Telltale reveals first screenshots, plot details, and cast for Guardians of the Galaxy

Posted on March 10, 2017 by John Scalzo

The Boston Convention and Exhibition Center will open the doors to PAX East 2017 in just a few hours, and Telltale Games is using the expo to more fully reveal their episodic series based on Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy.

First, the developer announced a few details about the game’s plot, which won’t tie in to the first Guardians of the Galaxy film or the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2:

Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series is a brand new story of the universe’s unlikeliest heroes: Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket, and Groot. In the wake of an epic battle, the Guardians discover an artifact of unspeakable power. Each of them has a reason to desire this relic, as does a ruthless enemy who is the last of her kind, and who will stop at nothing to tear it from their hands.

From Earth to the Milano to Knowhere and beyond, and set to the beat of awesome music, you wear the rocket-powered boots of Star-Lord in an original Guardians adventure, where your decisions and actions drive the story you experience.

Telltale also confirmed the film franchise’s cast won’t appear in the game, nor will the actors from the Guardians of the Galaxy animated series on Disney XD. Instead, Nolan North… naturally… will replace Bradley Cooper as Rocket, and he’ll be joined by Scott Porter as Star-Lord, Emily O’Brien as Gamora, Brandon Paul Eells as Drax, and Adam Harrington as Groot.

The cast will take the stage at PAX East, alongside several developers from Telltale, as part of the Telltale Games: Interactive Storytelling 2017 panel. The discussion will begin at 6:00 PM (Eastern Time), and if you can’t make it to PAX East, you’ll be able to follow along at home through the convention’s secondary Twitch channel.

Guardians of the Galaxy will also make an appearance at the 2017 SXSW Gaming Expo on Friday, March 17. The game will make its public debut in Austin as Telltale Games plans to host a Crowd Play night for an early version of the first episode. It seems likely that Telltale will release the first trailer for the game shortly after.

In the meantime, you can find the first four screenshots from Guardians of the Galaxy: Episode 1, which will be released this Spring, after the break.

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Nintendo Download: Blaster Master Zero, NeoGeo Games on Switch, Voez, more

Posted on March 9, 2017 by John Scalzo

Week Two of the Switch era begins for Nintendo, and the consolemaker is kicking it off with the launch of eight new games for the console as part of this week’s Nintendo Download.

Inti Creates leads the way with Blaster Master Zero, their retro-styled reboot of the popular NES action game. The side-scroller/overhead hybrid is also available to download for the 3DS.

Also available to download for the Switch today is Voez, a rhythm game that is only playable through the console’s Handheld Mode. But those who decide to tap on the notes in the correct sequence will help six high school students achieve international fame with their band.

Finally, Hamster Corporation will re-release six NeoGeo classics on the Switch this week as part of their Arcade Archives series. Each game is priced at $7.99, and the list of available titles includes The King of Fighters ’98, Metal Slug 3, World Heroes Perfect, Nam-1975, Shock Troopers, and Waku Waku 7.

And don’t think Nintendo forgot about the Wii U. Bomberman 64, which was originally released for the Nintendo 64 in 1997, was added to the Wii U’s Virtual Console service today.

You can learn more about all of these games (and a few other new releases) after the break.

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Posted in 3DS, News, Switch, Wii U | Tagged

Green Lantern and Green Arrow join Injustice 2 in the second “Shattered Alliances” trailer

Posted on March 9, 2017 by John Scalzo

NetherRealm Studios released another “Shattered Alliances” story trailer for Injustice 2 this morning, giving fans a second look at Batman’s attempts to pick up the pieces after the fall of Superman’s Regime.

In this trailer, NetherRealm revealed that Green Lantern and Green Arrow are ready to rejoin the battle as playable characters. Both appeared in the original Injustice: Gods Among Us, and they’ll fight alongside Batman once more in the sequel.

However, eagle-eyed viewers might have noticed that Captain Cold appears in the trailer for a split second, and Bane was momentarily seen fighting Green Arrow. Neither has been confirmed as a playable character, though both are expected to be included in the final roster (Bane even has a Character Profile page on Injustice.com). NetherRealm is likely saved them for another time.

For now, we’ll just continue counting down the days until Injustice 2’s May 16th launch on the PS4 and Xbox One.

Posted in News, PS4, Xbox One | Tagged

Zach Gage will release Typeshift on March 18

Posted on March 9, 2017 by John Scalzo

About a month ago, Zach Gage revealed to fans that he was working with Merriam-Webster to create a brand new word game. That’s right, Merriam Webster, the dictionary people. It makes a certain kind of sense, and it was certainly welcome news for the many fans of Gage’s first word game, SpellTower.

Today, the developer unveiled the fruits of that partnership… Typeshift is a letter-sliding word game, and it’ll be available to download through the iOS App Store on March 18.

Gage has uploaded a trailer to give fans a better look at how Typeshift will work, and he’s added a few sample puzzles to his official website that you can try out right now.

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Uncharted 4 leads all games at the 2017 BAFTA Games Awards with 8 nominations

Posted on March 9, 2017 by John Scalzo

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The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) has announced the nominees for the 2017 Games Awards, which will be handed out in a special ceremony in London on April 6. Viewers at home will be able to watch a livestream of ceremony through BAFTA’s Twitch channel.

This year’s top nominee is Naughty Dog’s Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, which scored eight nominations including “Game of the Year.” Nathan Drake’s final adventure will also compete in the “Artistic Achievement,” “Audio Achievement,” “Music,” and “Narrative” categories, as well as with three separate nominations in the “Performer” category (Troy Baker, Nolan North, and Emily Rose).

Uncharted 4 will fight for BAFTA’s “Game of the Year” honor against five other critically-acclaimed games from 2016 including Campo Santo’s Firewatch, Playdead’s Inside, Blizzard’s Overwatch, Concerned Ape’s Stardew Valley, and Respawn’s Titanfall 2.

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

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