Peter Moore leaves Electronic Arts to run Liverpool FC

Posted on February 28, 2017 by John Scalzo

Only a small handful of video game executives can be considered “household names,” but I think it’s safe to say that Peter Moore belongs in that club.

Moore’s working life began with almost two decades of service at Reebok before he joined Sega in 1999. Though he didn’t have a video game background, Moore helped launch Sega’s Dreamcast, and eventually moved the company out of the console business altogether. He became a fixture at the E3 Expo after signing with Microsoft in 2003, and his colorful antics (including getting a tattoo of the Halo logo to promote Halo 2‘s release date) endeared him to the public.

Moore moved on again in 2007 and took over EA Sports as its President. Ultimately, he would ascend the corporate ladder and become the company’s Chief Operating Officer, as well as the “Chief Competition Officer” for EA’s eSports efforts. But now, the video game industry has to say goodbye to Peter Moore because he’s leaving Electronic Arts to become the CEO of the Liverpool Football Club.

Andrew Wilson, EA’s CEO, shared a few thoughts on EA.com about Moore’s departure:

Peter has been with us here at EA for nearly 10 years, and I consider myself privileged to have had the opportunity to work alongside him for that entire journey. If you’ve seen him on stage, or follow him on Twitter, or have ever read an interview with him, you will have a sense of Peter’s wit and charisma. What you should also know is that he is an unbelievable teammate, a tireless leader for our people, and his deep appreciation for great games and the passionate players in our communities is unwavering.

Above all, through his time at EA, Microsoft and Sega, Peter has been a statesman and advocate for our industry.

Moore was pretty busy during his last few weeks at EA, announcing Madden NFL 18, FIFA 18, NHL 18, NBA Live 18, and EA Sports UFC 3 earlier this month.

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Double Dragon IV Review: Still Cyclone Kicking After All These Years

Posted on February 27, 2017 by John Scalzo

It’s 2017… How do you review a game like Double Dragon IV?

Designed by Arc System Works as a direct sequel to Double Dragon II: The Revenge (the events of the third game chronologically take place after the first), Double Dragon IV recreates the franchise’s NES-era look down to the last pixel. Even after playing it, if you had told me that Technos (the original developer behind the series) found an unfinished Double Dragon sequel from 1991 and released it last month as a brand new game, I would have believed you. But in a way, that’s exactly what they did.

Though it was only announced in December 2016, Arc System Works recruited a good portion of the original Technos team to help bring their vision for Double Dragon IV to life. Director Yoshihisa Kishimoto, Producer Takaomi Kaneko, Character Designer Koji Ogata, Programmer Kei Oyama, and Composer Kazunaka Yamane all signed on to help bring the sequel to life.

But is it a good game in these early months of 2017? Umm…

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Posted in PC, PS4, Reviews, Top Story | Tagged

Daily Scoop: February 27, 2017 – Space Sale at Humble

Posted on February 27, 2017 by Nicole Kline

I didn’t get a chance to do much video gaming this weekend, but I did do eight hours of playtesting my board games yesterday, which was super exciting! And I got to play some Dungeons and Dragons. I mean, most of the weekend was homework, but still – I got to have some fun at least!

Let’s talk about today’s deals! There are some great sales happening at the Humble Store, including Northgard for $17.99, Stories Untold for $8.49, and Golf with Your Friends for $4.49. They’re also having a big Space Sale! Get Starbound for $9.89, Space Engineers for $7.49, and FTL Advanced Edition for $2.49.

There are 318 new Weeklong Deals at Steam! Marvel: Ultimate Alliance Bundle is $29.99, Stranger of Sword City is $19.99, House of the Dying Sun is $11.99, and Alpha Protocol is $3.74, among many others. On top of that is today’s Daily Deal, which is Spec Ops: The Line for $5.99.

Hit the jump to see today’s t-shirts!

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Posted in Daily Scoop |

Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition gets serious in this new Story Trailer

Posted on February 27, 2017 by John Scalzo

Bulletstorm was something of a goofy romp when it was originally released back in 2011, but you’d never know it from the brand new Story Trailer that Gearbox and People Can Fly unveiled today for Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition. Even the official plot description from the publisher sounds oh so serious now:

In Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition, players step into the boots of Grayson Hunt after a crash landing on an abandoned resort planet forces him to make a hard choice: survival or revenge. An exiled member of the elite assassin group Dead Echo, Grayson’s blind desire for vengeance finds his crew stranded on Stygia where he can finally confront the commander behind his betrayal — or get his team off the planet alive. Decimate throngs of Stygia’s mutated inhabitants, performing masterful kills throughout the single-player campaign — or one of 30 competitive score-challenge and 12 co-operative multiplayer maps — using the game’s unique “Skillshot” system, which rewards players for executing the most creative and deadly kills imaginable.

In development for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One, the remaster will include “hi-res textures, increased polygon counts, sterling audio, smoother framerates,” and an option for 4K resolutions on the PC and PS4 Pro. The Full Clip Edition edition will also include all of Bulletstorm’s previously-released downloadable content.

Players looking for Bulletstorm’s goofy sense of humor will still get it if they pre-order the Full Clip Edition and activate the Duke Nukem’s Bulletstorm Tour expansion. The special mode will replace Grayson Hunt with Duke Nukem, and feature a new script voiced by the legendary Jon St. John.

Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition will be released on April 7.

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

Rive is officially coming to the Nintendo Switch this year

Posted on February 27, 2017 by John Scalzo

Rive, a twin-stick shooter/platformer hybrid from Two Tribes, was originally released for the PC and PS4 last year. The game was also in the works for the Wii U, but development difficulties forced the team to consider moving the game to the Switch.

Today, Two Tribes confirmed that Rive will indeed launch on the Switch sometime this year.

Co-Founder Martijn Reuvers confirmed the Switch version of Rive will be playable at an “ultra-fast” 60FPS, and he said the developer is also working on a Switch-exclusive expansion:

Rive is a great fit for Nintendo Switch. It was always intended as an explosive ode to the action games of the early nineties. Nostalgic, yet thoroughly modern. And we feel that Nintendo Switch, too, is all about bringing the experience from our youth, playing deep and skill-based games together, to the current day.

A launch date for Rive’s Nintendo Switch debut will be announced soon.

Posted in News, Switch | Tagged

Horizon: Zero Dawn’s Launch Trailer puts the game’s huge locations on display

Posted on February 27, 2017 by John Scalzo

Horizon: Zero Dawn‘s PS4 launch is upon us, so now’s a great time for Sony and Guerrilla Games to upload a Launch Trailer for the game.

According to Guerrilla’s Hermen Hulst, it was an honor to create Horizon: Zero Dawn’s expansive world, and he delivered this message to fans through the PlayStation Blog:

When we began our journey over five years ago, we wanted to have the creative freedom to imagine something fresh. As soon as we saw the enthusiasm from the team for the concept, and our lead Aloy, we knew we were on the right path.

The result of our voyage is Horizon: Zero Dawn – a game set in a lush post-apocalyptic world, in which Machines are the dominant species and mankind is propelled back to the stone ages. It is a game of exploration, not just of the perilous new world but also of Aloy’s identity.

Published by Sony, Horizon: Zero Dawn will be exclusively available for the PS4 on February 28.

Posted in News, PS4 | Tagged

CoD: Infinite Warfare’s Sabotage DLC Pack launches for PC, Xbox One on March 2

Posted on February 27, 2017 by John Scalzo

“Oh my God, it’s a mirage… I’m tellin’ y’all it’s a sabotage”

This is no mirage, Activision and Infinity Ward announced this morning that Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare’s first expansion, the Sabotage DLC Pack, will be available to download for the PC and Xbox One on March 2.

The Sabotage DLC Pack will be available to download for $15 (or $49.99, if you opt for Infinite Warfare’s Season Pass), and it’ll include four new multiplayer maps and a new addition to the Zombies canon, “Rave in the Redwoods”:

“Rave in the Redwoods,” the next thrilling chapter of the Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare zombies experience, continues the macabre narrative while transporting players into a new decade: the 1990s. Willard Wyler, the enigmatic movie director villain, returns and has trapped the protagonists inside another one of his twisted horror films. The four playable characters from the original story also return, but with fresh, over-the-top roles, as they learn more about Wyler’s evil plot while fighting all-new varieties of the undead in an abandoned, lakeside summer camp where zombie ravers have taken over and turned the grounds into a techno-fueled illusion. “Rave in the Redwoods” is a tense, spooky thrill ride with shocking twists, surprises, and a slew of new Easter eggs for players to discover.

Multiplayer Maps in Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare’s Sabotage DLC Pack

  • Noir – A dark, grimy city map inspired by futuristic Brooklyn at night, Noir is a classic three-lane map set against a backdrop of a dystopian future, filled with cafes and parks surrounding a brutal downtown warzone.
  • Neon – A virtual training center designed for urban warfare, Neon is a unique, digitized battle arena where cars and other structures spawn out of thin air and enemies dissolve into hundreds of pixels when defeated. Middle lane sightlines will cater to long-range players while the outsides of the map allow for quick counter-attacks in close-quarter action.
  • Renaissance – Set in Northern Italy, Renaissance pits players against each other on the narrow streets of Venice surrounded by classic architecture and buildings that promote continuous action through the canals and neighborhoods of this iconic city.
  • Dominion – A re-imagining of the classic Afghan map from Modern Warfare 2, now set on Mars, Dominion retains all the memorable landmarks and gameplay of the original, anchored by the crashed ship in the center, with a few enhancements designed to take advantage of the new movement system.

A trailer for “Rave in the Redwoods” has been embedded above, and another trailer highlighting Sabotage’s multiplayer maps is also available.

Posted in News, PC, Xbox One | Tagged

Middle-Earth: Shadow of War will be available as an Xbox Play Anywhere game and for PS4 on August 22

Posted on February 27, 2017 by John Scalzo

After that retailer leak this weekend, WB Games has confirmed that Middle-Earth: Shadow of War will be available for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One this year. The sequel to Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor will be released on August 22, and on Xbox One/Windows 10 will be able to access both versions of the game with a single purchase thanks to the Xbox Play Anywhere program. And in a post on the Xbox Wire, the publisher confirmed an enhanced edition of Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor will be available for Microsoft’s Project Scorpio this Fall.

Players will wield a new Ring of Power and confront the deadliest of enemies, including Sauron and his Nazgul, in a monumental battle for Middle-earth. With an original story featuring our two heroes from the first game, Middle-Earth: Shadow of War will have you going deep behind enemy lines to forge an army in the hopes of turning all of Mordor against the Dark Lord himself.

Like its predecessor, Shadow of War will be developed by Monolith Productions, who want to implement an “expanded version of the Nemesis System” in the open world action game. According to the developer, “the robust personalization from the first game [will now be] applied to the entire world where environments and characters [will be] shaped by player actions and decisions, creating a personal world unique to every gameplay experience.”

An Announcement Trailer for Middle-Earth: Shadow of War has been embedded above, and stay tuned for the first gameplay trailer, which will be released on March 8.

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