Energy Hook is now available through Steam Early Access

Posted on August 13, 2015 by John Scalzo

Do you ever wish Spider-Man had a jetpack and competed in a futuristic sport based entirely around webswinging? Jamie Fristrom of Happion Labs has had that dream, and he’s using it as the basis of his next game, Energy Hook. However, Fristrom has a little more experience with this idea than most, as he was the original designer behind the webswinging mechanic in 2004’s Spider-Man 2.

After a variety of delays, we won’t have to wait much longer to play it as the developer announced that Energy Hook will be available through Steam Early Access beginning today.

Happion Labs expects to keep Energy Hook in Early Access for about four months and is also developing a version of the game for the PS4 and Vita. Presumably, we’ll learn more about Energy Hook’s full version (and its console launch) at a later date.

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Nintendo Download: Pandora’s Tower, Wind-Up Knight 2, more

Posted on August 13, 2015 by John Scalzo

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One of the last major games released for the Wii, Pandora’s Tower, is now available to download through the Wii U eShop. Developed by Ganbarion, and originally released in April 2013, Pandora’s Tower tells the “haunting tale [of] a cursed young woman’s slow transformation into a hideous beast, and the lengths to which the man she loves will go in order to save her.” Best of all, it’s priced at $20, well below the price tag most online retailers are currently seeking for a new copy.

Over on the 3DS eShop, there’s a pair of new licensed that should keep all the kids out there entertained. Paddington: Adventures in London asks players to guide the titular bear through the streets of London as he does good deeds for its citizens. And in Garfield Kart, players get behind the wheel in a kart racing game that stars the lasagna-eating cat and all his friends. I’ll let someone else make the Toonces joke…

Actually, I might be the only one that still remembers Toonces.

Anyway, more information on all of this week’s new eShop releases can be found after the break.

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Posted in 3DS, News, Wii U | Tagged

Final Fantasy XV will be released in every territory on the same date

Posted on August 13, 2015 by John Scalzo

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Final Fantasy XV is expected to be released sometime in 2016. We don’t yet know the exact date, but we now know that the game will receive a simultaneous global launch… a first for the series. Director Hajime Tabata confirmed the good news to to GameSpot during last week’s Gamescom expo:

“This may be something that we are little bit embarrassed to talk about, but really, this is the first time that we’ve done a packaged, standalone Final Fantasy game with a simultaneous global launch, so we didn’t have the setup to deal with that, really. The first thing we had to do was rearrange our internal structure to create something that could do that. That was the first important work on the project.”

Typically, it takes three-to-six months after its Japanese launch for a game in the Final Fantasy series to make its English-language debut. Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII is the most recent game in the series (not counting Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn and its expansion) and it made it across the Pacific in a relatively quick two months and 21 days.

Final Fantasy XV is in development for the PS4 and Xbox One.

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Daily Scoop: August 13, 2015 – New Humble Weekly Bundle!

Posted on August 13, 2015 by Nicole Kline

It’s Thursday, and you know what that means: it’s Philly Dev Night! Stop by, hang out, play games, talk shop. It’s fun!

There’s a brand new Humble Weekly Bundle: The Return of Space Boy! Pay what you want for Steam Marines, ROCKETSROCKETSROCKETS, and early access to StarMade. Beat the average to get Interplanetary, Starwhal, and early access to Edge of Space. Pay $10 or more to unlock Reassembly.

There’s a Kalypso Anniversary Sale right now over at Steam. Pick up classics like Tropico 5 for $9.99, Omerta – City of Gangsters is $4.99, and Rise of Venice is $6.24. The Daily Deal is Microsoft Flight Simulator X: Steam Edition for $4.99.

Just a few shirts today…

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Posted in Daily Scoop |

Super Mario Maker “Overview Trailer” tells us everything we need to know about the game

Posted on August 13, 2015 by John Scalzo

If you speak Japanese, there’s a very good chance you saw this Super Mario Maker “Overview Trailer” a few weeks ago when it was uploaded by Nintendo Japan. But the newly-released English translation now gives the rest of the world a chance to learn all about one of this Fall’s biggest games.

First things first, Nintendo has confirmed that would-be course creators won’t be overwhelmed with hundreds of options right out of the gate. Super Mario Maker will start players off with “the essentials” (bricks, Question Blocks, Goombas, Super Mushrooms, etc) and unlock new items over a span of nine days.

Super Mario Maker will also double as a music maker as players will be able to drop sound effects on any course they create and even record their own. The new Music Block will even allow players to “compose” their own songs that can be triggered by Mario as he runs past.

Finally, gave us a glimpse at more Amiibo-powered guest characters as Nintendo confirmed that “more than 50” figures will be compatible with Super Mario Maker. Mario, Luigi, Peach, Toad, Yoshi, and Bowser aren’t much of a surprise. But the list also includes Mega Man, Pac-Man, Sonic, Star Fox, Splatoon‘s Inklings, Little Mac, Samus Aran, Pikachu, and many others.

Super Mario Maker will be released exclusively for the Wii U on September 11.

Posted in News, Wii U | Tagged

Capcom confirms that a Resident Evil 2 remake is in development

Posted on August 13, 2015 by John Scalzo

Because the fans asked for it, Capcom is finally ready to announce that a remake of Resident Evil 2 is in development at Capcom R&D Division 1.

Shouting the words, “We Do It!” (and wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with the same), Producer Yoshiaki Hirabayashi has promised to deliver the gameplay experience fans have been waiting for. However, the project is very early in development and we don’t yet know what platforms it’s coming to or even when it’ll be released. Hirabayashi also said it may be long time before we hear anything else about it.

In the meantime, the developer wants everyone to remember that a remaster of Resident Evil 0 is still on track for an early 2016 release for the PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.

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Daily Scoop: August 12, 2015 – Halfway through the week

Posted on August 12, 2015 by Nicole Kline

We’re halfway through the week already, which is great news! We’re having a Game Makers Guild meeting tonight, which is usually a blast. We play prototypes of people’s games and give them feedback. I’ve got a little something I’m hoping to show off tonight. I’m really excited about it!

Anyway, let’s talk about game sales! There are some sales at the Humble Store. Beyond Eyes is $13.49, Olli Olli 2: Welcome to Olliwood is $11.24, and one of my personal favorites, Sentris, is $13.49. You should absolutely check it out!

The Midweek Madness over at Steam is everyone’s favorite Left 4 Dead 2. If, for whatever reason, you somehow don’t own it already, you can get this for $4.99. The Daily Deal is Forward to the Sky, which is on sale for $5.59.

Not many t-shirts today…

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Posted in Daily Scoop |

Xbox Store Today: Toy Soldiers: War Chest, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, Prototype 1+2

Posted on August 12, 2015 by John Scalzo

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Four new Xbox One games are available to download through the Xbox Games Store today. Though, to be more accurate, only one of this week’s new releases is brand new. One is actually an Xbox One port of an Xbox 360 game, while the final pair of games are newly standalone titles that were originally part of a bundle that has been available for a few weeks.

Today’s lone new release is Toy Soldiers: War Chest for Signal Studios. The third game in the strategic series includes four original toy armies, which can do battle with forces from G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (G.I. Joe and Cobra), He-Man: Masters of the Universe, and Assassin’s Creed II. These bonus armies are available from the start in the Hall of Fame Edition, and can be purchased as DLC if you opt for the standard edition.

Also available today is Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons from Starbreeze. Originally released in 2013, the co-op puzzle platformer is now available on the Xbox One.

Finally this week, Prototype and Prototype 2 have been decoupled from the “Biohazard Bundle” and can be purchased individually on the Xbox One for the first time.

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

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