20XX, Lumines Remastered, Shining Resonance: Refrain, more coming to PS Store this week

Posted on July 11, 2018 by John Scalzo

A platforming roguelike, another battle royale game, a new online shooter, and a pair of re-releases lead the way in this week’s PlayStation Store update.

Capcom is bringing back Mega Man in a big way in 2018, but first, Batterystaple Games is here to deliver a roguelike take on the platforming legend with 20XX. Available to download now for the PS4, 20XX includes two-player co-op (local and online) and a neverending stream of stages to scratch that Mega Man itch.

Also available to download for the PS4 this week are a pair of re-releases. Puzzle fans will get to experience the minimalist design (and fantastic music) of Lumines once again in Lumines Remastered. And Sega is bringing the Shining series back to North America with Shining Resonance: Refrain, a remaster of a PS3 game that was never released outside of Japan.

Finally this week, The Culling 2 is another entry in the growing battle royale genre. And Defiance 2050 is an online shooter based on the SyFy series. Both games are available for the PS4 and both are free-to-play.

You can learn more about the rest of this week’s additions to the PlayStation Store after the break.

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20XX Review – Batterystaple Games Has Perfected the Ability to Generate a Great Mega Man Game

Posted on July 10, 2018 by John Scalzo

Back in 2015, we all got to relive the instantly recognizable beats of the first six games in the Mega Man series thanks to the Mega Man Legacy Collection. It was surprisingly easy to slip back into the familiar patterns of the franchise, but at the time I wondered if we’d ever get the chance to apply that muscle memory to something new. So while we continue to wait for this Fall’s Mega Man 11, the newly-released 20XX is here to fill the gap… and to prove that games inspired by the Blue Bomber can feed your nostalgia needs just as well.

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Slam Land will be available for the PC, PS4, Switch on August 7

Posted on July 10, 2018 by John Scalzo

Bread Machine Games has announced that Slam Land, their wildly surreal hybridization of Smash Bros. and basketball, will be released for the PC, PS4, and Switch on August 7. Up to four players will be able to compete each other in the game’s three modes, as they all try to amaze the Giant Blue Man:

Dunk your friends to amaze a giant blue man in Slam Land, a magnificent new 4-player couch fighting/party game by Bread Machine Games.

Select your fighter and punch, grab and DOUNK! your way through five modes, ten levels, and a surreal world overseen by a benevolent (?) giant whose only amusement in life is to witness sporting and majestic slams.

You can prepare yourself for Slam Land’s launch next month by watching the new trailer embedded above.

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Chasm will be released for PC, PS4, Vita on July 31

Posted on July 10, 2018 by John Scalzo

After more than five years in development, Bit Kid has announced that Chasm, their medieval-styled MetroidVania, will be released for the PC, PS4, and Vita on July 31.

In addition to the release date news, Chasm received a new trailer yesterday (embedded above), and Game Director James Petruzzi stopped by the PlayStation Blog to discuss the game’s lengthy development process:

One distinctive feature of Chasm is that the world map is procedurally generated when you start up a new campaign. That feature has led to a lot of questions and confusion, so I’d like to address exactly how it works and why we designed it that way. The latter part is easy to answer. Our entire team is composed of Metroidvania fans. Whether it’s Castlevania: Symphony of the Night or Axiom Verge, we’ve played through our favorite games so often that we’ve long since memorized the maps. We love how those games play but wish we could wipe our memories so we could get that experience of exploration all over again. It’s our hope that people who love Chasm the way we love our favorite games can play it over and over and still have it feel fresh. But at the same time, people who only play the game once should have no idea that there’s anything procedural about it.

But that’s not to say that everything’s completely random; there is a fundamental structure to the game that never changes. If you’re familiar with Castlevania: Symphony of the Night you may recall that first you get the Jewel of Open, then the Leap Stone, then the Soul of Bat – in that order. As you get these upgrades, new areas of the map become accessible. Chasm, like most titles in this vein, follows this structure. When you start up a campaign, the game always has these key upgrades and plot points in the same place.

What’s different is how you get from one key point to the other. Chasm has a bunch of pre-designed rooms that are slotted in modularly in different combinations. So you won’t have any rooms that feel like they were designed by a computer. Instead, you’ll encounter rooms in a different order and even encounter new rooms you never saw the first time, and your path will be different each time you start up a new campaign.

Chasm will be priced at $19.99 when it launches later this month.

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The end is nigh… Darksiders III will launch on November 27

Posted on July 9, 2018 by John Scalzo

The end is almost nigh. Six long years after the release of Darksiders II, THQ Nordic has announced that the franchise’s apocalyptic story will finally continue on November 27 with the launch of Darksiders III.

Darksiders III is currently in the final stages of development for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One at Gunfire Games, and this time around, players will be able to take control of Fury (known as Famine in biblical literature) as she does battle with the Seven Deadly Sins:

Return to an apocalyptic Earth in Darksiders III, a hack-n-slash action-adventure where players assume the role of Fury in her quest to hunt down and dispose of the Seven Deadly Sins. The most unpredictable and enigmatic of the Four Horsemen, Fury must succeed where many have failed… to bring balance to the forces that now ravage Earth.

Players interested in spending a few extra dollars on their Darksiders III experience will also get the chance to purchase one of two limited editions. The publisher will pack the Collector’s Edition ($149.99) with a copy of the game, a Figurine of Fury, an Artbook, a Soundtrack, an Exclusive Armor DLC pack, and a Steelbook case. According to THQ Nordic, all of these items will be housed in a Premium Box.

But those with deep pockets might want to consider the Apocalypse Edition ($399.99), which will include everything from the Collector’s Edition, as well as a Wall Scroll, an Amulet (with necklace), and three additional Figurines (Vulgrim, War, and Death).

A pair of trailers highlighting the contents of the Collector’s Edition and the Apocalypse Edition can be found after the break.

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NASCAR Heat 3’s launch gets the green light on September 7

Posted on July 9, 2018 by John Scalzo

704 Games has announced that NASCAR Heat 3 is coming back for another lap on the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. The stock car racing sequel will once again be developed by Monster Games, and it’ll be released on September 7.

In NASCAR Heat 3, players will be able to put the pedal to the metal on eight dirt road tracks in the brand new Xtreme Dirt Tour mode. Other new features set to be included in the game are “a deeper career mode, additional race tracks, and expanded online multiplayer including online tournaments.” Players will also be able to manage their own race teams as an owner in the game for the first time.

The drivers from Hendrick Motorsports (Chase Elliott, William Byron, Jimmie Johnson and Alex Bowman) have been picked as NASCAR Heat 3’s cover athletes, and a debut trailer for the game has been embedded above.

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Digital Extremes is bringing Warframe to the Switch

Posted on July 8, 2018 by John Scalzo

Yesterday, Digital Extremes announced that they’re bringing their popular online shooter, Warframe, to the Switch sometime in the not-too-distant future. The developer is partnering with Panic Button (the team behind the Switch conversions of Doom, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, and Rocket League) to Nintendo’s newest console.

Like many other online shooters, Warframe will be free-to-play on the Switch, but here’s a refresher course on the game in case it slipped under your radar until now…

With more than 38 million registered players worldwide, the cooperative, free-to-play hit Warframe is a third-person online action game set in an evolving sci-fi world soon to be available on Nintendo Switch. Warframe gives players the chance to master the Warframe armor as the enigmatic Tenno, a race of ancient warriors wielding blade and gun, who are awakened from centuries of cryo-sleep by the mysterious guide, Lotus, to restore order throughout the Solar System.

Warframe features more than 35 unique Warframes, hundreds of weapons and thousands of customization options, the ability to upgrade weapons armor and items using a flexible mod system, and the ability to join clans, nurture pets, and explore massive new open worlds.

Warframe’s Switch debut doesn’t have a release date as of yet, but you can view the Announcement Trailer embedded above.

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Pocket Rumble, 20XX, Shining Resonance: Refrain, more coming to Nintendo eShop this week

Posted on July 5, 2018 by John Scalzo

It’s another big week for the Switch eShop, as more than two dozen games will be added to the digital storefront over the next seven days. But three of those games stand out above all the rest.

Available to download today is Pocket Rumble, a 2D fighter from Cardboard Robot Games that was heavily inspired by the Neo Geo Pocket Color.

But Switch owners who wait until next Tuesday, July 10, will have to chance to download Shining Resonance: Refrain, the latest entry in the Shining saga from Sega, or 20XX, a roguelike homage to Capcom’s Mega Man franchise.

You can learn more about the rest of this week’s additions to the Nintendo eShop (including Another World, Pato Box, Super Rock Blasters!, and more) after the break.

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