Kickstart This! Gigabuster

Posted on November 20, 2018 by Andrew Rainnie

After several months, Kickstart This! returns refreshed and rejuvenated. Those following this column likely saw that I recently had a rather sour experience with the Pelda Pro, a battery expansion and dock for the Nintendo Switch. It is still sitting in its box and will probably stay there for all eternity.

However, one bad experience in over five years of crowdfunding various projects is a great statistic, and one that I think only serves to illustrate how well this model of funding has been embraced both by creators and consumers. I very nearly bought an automated cat toilet last week, but I narrowly missed all the early bird tiers.

Anyway, I digress. I’ve been eagerly awaiting a video game project I could rally behind after months in the wilderness of non-crowdfunding. I started writing about Omno, a pretty puzzle game from Jonas Manke that has smashed its funding target, but I prefer to shine a light on games that need your funding.

Games like Gigabuster (though Omno is definitely worth checking out).

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Posted in Features, PC, Top Story |

Development on The Walking Dead: The Final Season resumes at Skybound Games

Posted on November 19, 2018 by John Scalzo

The reverberations from the closure of Telltale Games back in September are still being felt throughout the game industry. In one corner, you had discussions about a company’s responsibility to its employees after former Telltalers confirmed that they received little to no warning about the studio closure ahead of the announcement. And on the other hand, you had conversations about a company’s responsibility to its fans after the apparent cancellation of The Walking Dead: The Final Season.

Earlier today, one of those questions was publicly answered by Skybound Games, the interactive division of The Walking Dead comic creator Robert Kirkman’s Skybound Entertainment.

According to a new post on Skybound’s official website, development on The Walking Dead: The Final Season has resumed thanks to the efforts of part of the original team from Telltale:

After Telltale shut its doors, the game was, unfortunately, unable to be worked on and hence the release dates of Episodes 3 and 4 have been delayed. But, we’re excited to let you know that many of the talented, passionate team members who originally worked on the game are resuming development efforts today!

The first two episodes of The Walking Dead: The Final Season were released this Summer for the PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One. Release dates for Episode 3: Broken Toys and Episode 4: Take Us Back will be announced “soon.”

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New Retail Releases: Battlefield V, Farming Simulator 19, More

Posted on November 19, 2018 by John Scalzo

The number of new releases has slowed to a trickle as we approach Black Friday, but there’s still a few big titles to look to this week.

Electronic Arts and DICE return to the battlefields of World War II this week in Battlefield V for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. It’s a little hard to keep up with the numbering that DICE uses for their multiplayer-focused franchise, but it’s interesting that Battlefield V doubles as the fifth numbered entry in the series and as a sly reference to the WWII-era slogan “V For Victory.”

You’ll find considerably less fighting in Farming Simulator 19 from Focus Home Interactive and Giants Software. According to the publisher, the PC, PS4, and Xbox One game will feature “the most striking and immersive graphics ever,” and players will also be able to pilot John Deere tractors for the first time.

A complete look at the rest of this week’s new retail releases can be found after the break.

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Sunset Overdrive is now available to download for PC

Posted on November 16, 2018 by John Scalzo

Insomniac’s Sunset Overdrive, along with Halo: The Master Chief Collection and Forza Horizon 2, was one of the Xbox One’s marquee exclusives during the 2014 holiday shopping season… and four years later it’s finally available to download for the PC on Steam and the Microsoft Store.

The re-release will be published this time around by THQ Nordic, but it’ll include the same bonkers action and profane humor as the Xbox One original:

In Sunset Overdrive, the year is 2027 and Sunset City is under siege. A contaminated energy drink has transformed most of the population into toxic mutants. For many it’s the end of the world, but for you it’s a dream come true. Your old boss? Dead. Your boring job? Gone. Transform the open-world into your tactical playground by grinding, vaulting and wall-running across the city while using a devastating, unconventional arsenal. With hyper-agility, unique weapons, and customizable special abilities, Sunset Overdrive rewrites the rules of traditional shooters and delivers an explosive, irreverent, stylish, and totally unique adventure finally on PC.

Sunset Overdrive’s PC debut will be priced at $19.99 and it’ll come packaged with both of the game’s expansions, Mystery of the Mooli Rig and Dawn of the Rise of the Fallen Machines. Limited quantities of a physical version (which includes a game disc, a poster, and a soundtrack CD) will also be available.

A Launch Trailer for Sunset Overdrive’s second launch has been embedded above.

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The Textorcist combines a typing game with an overhead bullet hell shooter

Posted on November 15, 2018 by John Scalzo

The power of AWESOME compels you to watch the first trailer for The Textorcist, a new game from Morbidware that combines an overhead bullet hell shooter with a typing game.

Players will take control of Priest Ray Bibbia, “certified exorcist and badass,” as he does battle with ten different demonic entities. To clean these spirits, Bibbia will need to scramble around the screen dodging their attacks while also typing out the necessary incantations one letter at a time. Also, some of the incantations are in Latin. Sanctus stercus!

Get ready for an electrifying mix between a bullet hell and a typing game! Dodge bullets while typing exorcisms and jump into the adventure of Ray Bibbia, a private exorcist who’s going to face the threats of a demonic outbreak and deal with his sinful past at the same time! A city in decay, streets filled with thugs and only one man to stop it all. Groundbreaking gameplay, exorcists, demons, the Pope, and tons of hardcore action-filled boss battles for the first type em up game ever realized.

The Textorcist will be released for the PC in the first half of 2019.

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EA and Petroglyph will team up to remaster Command & Conquer and C&C: Red Alert

Posted on November 15, 2018 by John Scalzo

Electronic Arts is bringing back the Command & Conquer franchise next month with the mobile launch of Command & Conquer: Rivals. But fans looking for a full-sized RTS experience have something to look forward to as well, as the publisher announced today (on their official website) that they’ve teamed up with Petroglyph to remaster Command & Conquer: Tiberian Dawn and Command & Conquer: Red Alert for the PC:

We have decided to remaster Command & Conquer: Tiberian Dawn. And while this is incredibly exciting on its own, we’re also aware of how passionate the community is about the Red Alert universe. So, we will also remaster the original Command & Conquer: Red Alert.

In addition to the excitement and support of this remaster initiative over the past month, there has also been a healthy skepticism that we can pull this off. How are we possibly going to remaster these titles while maintaining the authenticity of the original experiences? Bottom line, there is no better way to achieve this than to partner with some of the talented developers who brought these original games to life.

So, after years of the fans asking for their involvement, I am humbled to announce that EA is going to partner with Petroglyph Games to develop the C&C remastered collection.

The remasters will be playable in 4K resolution, and fans can also expect to revisit the original expansions for both titles. Tiberian Dawn will come bundled with The Covert Operations, while the Red Alert package will also include Counterstrike and The Aftermath.

However, it might be quite a while before we get the chance to play them. According to EA’s Jim Vessella, “The exciting part is that we haven’t started development yet.” But he added, “The community is literally getting in on the ground floor of this project and have every opportunity to help influence how we build this remastered experience.”

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PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds will parachute onto the PS4 on December 7

Posted on November 14, 2018 by John Scalzo

PUBG Corporation has announced that PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds will be released for the PS4 on December 7, nearly a year after the battle royale shooter first made its way to the Xbox One.

PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds will be available for the PS4 as a digital download through the PlayStation Store, with a Disc Edition also slated to appear on retail shelves. A Survivor’s Digital Edition ($59.99) will add the Vikendi Survival Pass, a 2,300 G-Coin Pack, and 20,000 Battle Points to the package, while the Champion’s Digital Edition ups the G-Coin Pack to 6,000.

Whichever version you buy, all three maps (Erangel, Miramar, and Sanhok) will be available and PS4 players will also receive a pair of in-game bonus items from Uncharted and The Last of Us… a Nathan Drake Desert Outfit and Ellie’s Backpack.

The first trailer for PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds’s PS4 debut has been embedded above.

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Blazing Chrome will be released for PC, PS4, Switch in Early 2019

Posted on November 14, 2018 by John Scalzo

There was big news for retro gaming fans this morning as developer JoyMasher confirmed that Blazing Chrome, their Contra-like side-scrolling shooter, will be released for the PC, PS4, and Switch in Early 2019. The team celebrated this milestone with the release of a new Environments Trailer, which showcases some of the futuristic locales that players will visit as they repel a robotic uprising:

A new gameplay clip debuted with the announcement, sharing a fresh glimpse of the devastated environments awaiting action fans eager to fight for a brighter, less mechanically-dominated future. Players will need a steady aim as they plow through a warzone, utilizing tide-changing power-ups, powerful exosuits, and an arsenal of futuristic weaponry to stay alive on the battlefield.

Blazing Chrome is a throwback to the golden days of side-scrolling shooters with modern touches ensuring its gameplay feels as precise as it does authentic to the era it channels. Players can tear through six highly-varied stages filled with deadly, bullet-spewing AI as Mavra, a lone human resistance fighter, or the rebellious robotic insurgent Doyle.

Konami might be done with the Contra franchise, but it’s great to see that it’s style of run-and-gun mayhem will live on through games like Blazing Chrome.

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