Square Enix is bringing playable demos of Just Cause 3, Final Fantasy XV, Dragon Quest Heroes, more to PAX Prime 2015

Posted on August 20, 2015 by John Scalzo

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Square Enix has big plans for PAX Prime 2015 including half a dozen panels and playable demos of seven games.

A playable demo of Just Cause 3 will make its North American debut at the Square Enix booth (#3646), where it will share floor space with demos for Final Fantasy XV (Episode Duscae 2.0), Final Fantasy Explorers, Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward, Dragon Qest Heroes: The World Tree’s Woe and the Blight Below, Lara Croft Go, and Life Is Strange.

The publisher also plans to set up a “pop-up barber shop” in their booth to give fans of the Hitman franchise the chance to share Agent 47’s signature look. For every head they shave, Square Enix will donate $47 to the GameChanger Charity, which supports children with cancer. The shavee will even receive a Steam code for Hitman: Absolution. Though anyone who wants to donate their own money (and keep their hair) can do so at 47vsCancer.org.

Finally, Square Enix’s series of panels will fly in developers from all over the world to talk about Hitman, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, Just Cause 3, and more. The publisher even plans to host a “Final Fantasy XV Active Time Report Live” panel with Director Hajime Tabata.

The PAX Prime expo will be held from August 28-31 in Seattle, Washington. More details about all of Square Enix’s panels and playable demos can be found after the break.

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Nintendo Download: The Bridge, LBX Little Battlers Experience, 3D Gunstar Heroes, more

Posted on August 20, 2015 by John Scalzo

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It’s a big day for the Nintendo eShop as the publisher’s tiniest new heroes will make their digital debut.

LBX: Little Battlers Experience, a 3DS game developed by Level-5, follows a group of kids who pit “customizable palm-sized robots” against each other in a small-scale war. The 3DS is now also home to 3D Gunstar Heroes, a 3D-enabled version of Treasure’s famed side-scrolling shooter.

If you’d prefer to do your gaming on the Wii U, a number of new titles were released for Nintendo’s living room console today including The Bridge, a puzzle platformer inspired by M.C. Escher; Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising, a Virtual Console re-release of the strategy favorite; and Woah Dave!, a crazy platformer from the makers of the Bit.Trip series.

More information on all of these games (and a few other new releases) can be found after the break.

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Nintendo’s 2DS handheld will be permanently discounted to $99.99 on August 30

Posted on August 20, 2015 by John Scalzo

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Nintendo has announced that their 2DS handheld will receive a price drop very soon. Currently available at a retail price of $129.99, the portable system will be permanently discounted to $99.99 on August 30. Even at this lower price, every 2DS box will still contain a download code for Mario Kart 7.

“At a suggested retail price of $99.99, [the] 2DS is an even more attractive introductory option for first-time gamers,” said Scott Moffitt, Nintendo of America’s Executive Vice President of Sales & Marketing. “The new lower-priced hardware combined with the strong lineup of new games launching this year and arguably the best library of games in this generation makes it a great time to be a Nintendo fan.”

While Nintendo doesn’t talk about the 2DS much, it is an interesting alternative in their handheld lineup. It doesn’t have the clamshell design or 3D display options of the 3DS, but the 2DS is compatible with nearly every 3DS game.

This price drop is Nintendo’s first salvo in a major Fall push, which includes a ton of semi-large 3DS releases (which are all playable on the 2DS) including Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer, Chibi-Robo! Zip Lash, Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon, The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes, and Yo-Kai Watch.

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Ubisoft will bring AC: Syndicate, The Division, For Honor, Rainbow Six: Siege to PAX 2015

Posted on August 20, 2015 by John Scalzo

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As always, Ubisoft will have a commanding presence at this year’s PAX Prime expo. The publisher will ask players to take command of four demos on the show floor including Assassin’s Creed Syndicate, For Honor, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege, and Tom Clancy’s The Division.

More details on all four demos, courtesy of the UbiBlog, can be found right here:

Assassin’s Creed Syndicate
Head back to 19th century London during the Industrial Revolution, and explore the city as Master Assassin Evie Frye. Make your way through the Tower of London and forge your own path in a nonlinear Blackbox mission. Get the Assassin’s Creed Syndicate Rooks Initiation Kit by pre-ordering the game at booth #1040.

For Honor
Carve a bloody path across the battlefield in For Honor, the epic melee combat game revealed at this year’s E3. Check out booth #1040 to get your hands on the valiant Legion knights and face off against other worthy foes in the 4v4 Dominion mode. While you’re at the booth, take a picture in the faction gear of your choice (Knight, Viking, or Samurai) and pre-order a copy of the game to get a PAX exclusive shirt featuring one of the factions. Attendees will also be able to check out the skinned For Honor consoles.

Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege
The next leg of the Siege Games kicks off at booth #632. Come play Rainbow Six Siege for the chance to join us at the star-studded Siege Day launch event. Those who stop by the booth will receive the limited edition Rainbow Six Pinny Arcade pins.

Tom Clancy’s The Division
Try your luck in The Division’s Dark Zone at booth #612. Form a group and see if you can extract the legendary loot before another team takes you down. Pre-order The Division at booth #1040 for an exclusive t-shirt.

PAX Prime is less than two weeks away and will be held on August 28-August 31 in Seattle, Washington. I hope you’ve already got your tickets because they’re currently all sold out.

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Xbox Store Today: Zombi, Smite, Tales From the Borderlands: Episode 4, Velocity 2X, more

Posted on August 19, 2015 by John Scalzo

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Microsoft’s Summer Spotlight continues to chug along with five new games, though many of them will look familiar to at least a few of you in the audience.

First up is Zombi, Ubisoft’s Xbox One adaptation of the Wii U launch title ZombiU. With the shift to Microsoft’s console, inventory management through the Wii U GamePad has obviously been removed, but the publisher has attempted to keep the first-person survival game as authentic to the original as possible. Also available this week is Smite, a free-to-play MOBA which has been available in beta for the Xbox One for some time. As the first MOBA on the Xbox One, players will compete in five-on-five battles between a “diverse cast of deities.”

Rounding this week’s new releases are a pair of side-scrollers. Velocity 2X is a sci-fi-styled action game that includes aliens and teleporters and laser pistols… not necessarily in that order. Meanwhile, Giana Sisters: Dream Runners is a speedrunning side-scroller for one-to-four players.

Finally this week, Telltale will release the fourth episode of Tales From the Borderlands, which takes our heroes to the moon.

More information on all of these games can be found after the break.

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Daily Scoop: August 19, 2015 – Mike Bithell’s new game, Volume, is out!

Posted on August 19, 2015 by Nicole Kline

We’re halfway through the week! But, unfortunately, I’m not halfway through my homework. I’m really looking forward to this class to end so I can play all the games I want! That is, until the next term starts…

But hey, let’s talk about something more cheerful, like game deals! There are lots of great sales at the Humble Store. Mike Bithell’s latest, Volume, is $17.99, Tales from the Borderlands is $16.74, and Dead in Bermuda is $12.74.

Steam’s Midweek Madness is early access to an amazing game: Darkest Dungeon! Pick it up now for just $13.39, or get the soundtrack edition for $18.41. The Daily Deal is early access to Gnomoria for just $2.71.

We have a few more t-shirts today than yesterday! Hit the jump to check them out.

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Nintendo announces Yo-Kai Watch will be released on November 6

Posted on August 19, 2015 by John Scalzo

yo-kaiwatch-posterNintendo has announced that Level-5’s Yo-Kai Watch will be released for the 3DS on November 6. The game, which is a certified phenomenon in Japan, follows a group of children who find and befriend invisible spirits known as Yo-Kai thanks to a special watch:

But what is a Yo-Kai anyway? Is it a spirit? A monster? A ghost? Nope – a Yo-kai is … well, it’s just a Yo-Kai! You might not see them because they’re invisible, but they’re all around you every day. And they’re often mischievous, mysterious pranksters who like to make trouble for you. Lose your homework, can’t keep a secret or find yourself running late to everything? Yo-Kai probably made you do it. The Yo-Kai are based on common concerns kids have. By confronting those concerns, kids can learn to overcome them.

Even more Yo-Kai Watch madness will travel across the Pacific by the end of the year including the manga series (Volume 1 will be available from Viz Media on November 3) and the anime series (which will air on Disney XD this Fall). Hasbro also plans to produce a series of Yo-Kai Watch toys, which will be released throughout 2016.

And after that, we can probably look forward to even more Yo-Kai Watch games.

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Freedom Planet won’t be released for the Wii U this week

Posted on August 19, 2015 by John Scalzo

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Freedom Planet, a Sonic-like side-scroller from Galaxy Trail, was originally scheduled to be released on the Wii U eShop this week. But a game-breaking bug has forced the developer to postpone Freedom Planet’s Wii U debut. The game’s Director, Stephen DiDuro, explained the problem in a post on the company’s official forum:

We received some sad news today: Our patch for the Wii U version of Freedom Planet didn’t fix all of the freezing issues. In light of this, we are cancelling our launch for the time being. We’re only going to announce a release date after the game is fixed and free of all issues not present in the PC version.

I understand that some fans out there were already upset at the last delay and that further delays would be the last straw, and to them I can only say that I’m sorry. I do not intend to deliver anything less than a 100% faithful and clean port, regardless of how long it takes.

Hopefully, a new release date for Freedom Planet is announced soon.

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