All Articles: Xbox One

Roundguard is a Peggle-inspired roguelike that’s launching on March 13

Posted on March 8, 2020 by John Scalzo

Players will get a chance to flex their Peggle muscles next week as they explore the procedurally-generated dungeons of Roundguard, which will be released for the PC, Switch, and Xbox One on March 13 (a PS4 launch will follow “shortly after” that date).

The three members of the Roundguard (a Warrior, a Rogue, and a Wizard) will hurl themselves into the game’s dungeons (and off the walls) to complete quests and collect gold. But rather than crawl their way through torchlit hallways, players will use Peggle’s pinball-like gameplay mechanics to find the exit and return with the loot:

About Roundguard
Roundguard is a bouncy dungeon crawler with pinball physics, lots of loot, and a randomized castle full of oddballs. Press your luck against hordes of dangerously cute monsters and challenging roguelike elements in this all-round bouncy adventure!

Features

  • Bouncy Fun: Intuitive pinball physics-based gameplay like no other dungeon crawler.
  • Multiple Classes: Play as the Warrior, the Rogue, or the Wizard, each with their own unique skills, items, and cheeky sense of humor.
  • Randomized Dungeon: Each time you play, levels are procedurally generated, and quest events and elite monsters are randomly placed.
  • Permadeath with Benefits: When you die, you’ll have a chance to bring a special trinket with you on your next run. The more gold you grab, the more powerful the trinket!
  • A Cast of Oddballs: Chat with the castle’s colorful cast to pick up quests. You’ll meet a goblin poet, a smarmy teenage skeleton, a dark elf master chef, and tons more.
  • Lots of Loot: Over 100 items and trinkets, each with effects that present strategic choices and combo possibilities.
  • Show Off Your Skills: Compete on the leaderboards and try to master all the challenging, rule-bending relics.

A new trailer for Roundguard, which was developed by Wonderbelly Games and will be published by The Quantum Astrophysicists Guild, has been embedded above.

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Dunk Lords is the NBA Jam/Mortal Kombat mashup you never knew you wanted… and it’s out March 18

Posted on March 6, 2020 by John Scalzo

Story Fort has announced (via their Twitter) that Dunk Lords will be available for the PC on March 18. Are you unfamiliar with Dunk Lords? I was too until this Gameplay Trailer crossed my desk… and I’m honestly not sure how it passed me by until now.

In case you skipped the video, Dunk Lords is a “2v2 Basketball Beat ‘Em Up” that mixes together an NBA Jam-like basketball game with the “over-the-top special moves” and “game-changing equipment” of a one-on-one fighter like Mortal Kombat:

Dunk Lords is a two-on-two basketball beat ’em up featuring over-the-top special moves, devastating dunks, and game-changing equipment. Choose from 16 of the baddest ballers around, each with unique special attacks and abilities, and do battle on a variety of hazard-filled courts.

Dunk Lords is also in development for the Xbox One, and a launch date for the game’s console debut will hopefully be announced soon.

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Supermassive Games teases The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope in new trailer

Posted on February 29, 2020 by John Scalzo

When Supermassive Games kicked off The Dark Pictures Anthology in 2019, they promised that a new entry in the budget-priced horror series would be available each year.

For the first game in the series, players explored the Man of Medan, a ghost ship that harbored each character’s worst nightmare. But this Summer, The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope will trade a jaunt aboard a haunted boat for a stroll through a haunted small town:

Trapped and isolated in the abandoned town of Little Hope, four college students and their professor must escape the nightmarish visions that relentlessly pursue them through an impenetrable fog. As they journey through the town looking for a means of escape, they must understand the meaning of these events, the root of evil, and how it is directly connected to them!

“We’ve been delighted by the reaction from players and the success of Man of Medan as the first installment of The Dark Pictures Anthology,” said Pete Samuels, the CEO of Supermassive Games. “We really appreciate feedback from the community and the team remains committed to the goal of making each new installment deliver further thrilling horror experiences, with the next chapter, Little Hope, bringing an all new and disturbing horror story to the anthology.”

The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope is in development for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One, and you can get your first look at it in the Announcement Trailer embedded above.

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See the first Gameplay Trailer for Alien Hominid Invasion

Posted on February 27, 2020 by John Scalzo

PAX East kicked off this morning, and The Behemoth has used the annual game expo to give fans a chance to try out their next project, Alien Hominid Invasion. But for those of us who couldn’t make the trek to Boston, they also uploaded a brand new Gameplay Trailer for the game, which has been embedded above.

The short clip gives us a nice peak at the developer’s commitment to “reimagine” Alien Hominid for a new generation of players. In addition to showcasing a variety of new ways to beat the dreaded Agents, Alien Hominid Invasion will include four-player cooperative play, a non-linear world map, procedurally-generated levels, and customizable alien mutations that grant superpowers such as speed, healing, and flight:

Alien Hominid Invasion is packed with chaos, mayhem, and a whole lot of explosions. Unlock and equip an arsenal of weapons and boosts, level up, then beam down to invade Earth with up to three other friends. Abduct intel from your enemies to sabotage their plans, observe the oddities of human life, blow up bosses, and mutate into a variety of powerful Alien forms in order to take down the not-so-secret Agents that are dead set on ruining your day.

Alien Hominid Invasion doesn’t have a release date, but it’s currently in development for the PC, Switch, and Xbox One.

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Sumo Digital will bring arcade-inspired Hotshot Racing to PC and consoles this Spring

Posted on February 26, 2020 by John Scalzo

From 2004’s OutRun 2 all the way up to last year’s Team Sonic Racing, developer Sumo Digital has spent the majority of their long history producing some of the best arcade-style racing games in existence. And today, the UK-based studio announced their next major project… the retro-inspired Hotshot Racing.

Previously known as “Racing Apex,” Hotshot Racing will be co-developed by Lucky Mountain Games and published by Curve Digital. The game will feature multiple racers, as well as online multiplayer for up to eight players, four-player local splitscreen, and an amazing polygonal style that’ll pop off the screen at 60 frames per second:

Curve Digital is delighted to unveil the colourful retro-inspired racing game, Hotshot Racing, from Lucky Mountain Games and experienced racing genre stalwarts, Sumo Digital. Hotshot Racing channels classic arcade racers sporting colorful polygonal visuals, boost-fueled drift gameplay and a silky smooth 60 frames per second in the game’s single-player modes regardless of platform.

Hotshot Racing is set to emulate and expand upon the classic ‘90s arcade racing game formula featuring eight different hotshot drivers to choose from (each with their own personality and multiple varied four-wheeled rides), 16 personality-filled sun-baked tracks from across the globe, and multiple game modes for players to prove their driving prowess.

Hotshot Racing will be released this Spring for the PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One. And be sure to peek a glimpse at the Announcement Trailer embedded above.

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Shovel Knight’s King of Cards and Showdown expansions will be released on December 10

Posted on November 13, 2019 by John Scalzo

Yacht Club Games has announced that the first chapter of the Shovel Knight saga is finally coming to a close after four expansions and five glorious years (though you’ll need to tack on an additional year if you want to go all the way back to the Kickstarter campaign). Yesterday, the developer confirmed that Shovel Knight: King of Cards and Shovel Knight Showdown will both be released on December 10.

King of Cards is a followup to Plague of Shadows and Specter of Torment, and it’ll be the final side-story starring a member of the villainous Order of No Quarter. Meanwhile, Showdown breaks from tradition and isn’t a platformer at all. Instead, it’s a multiplayer fighting game that features the franchise’s entire cast, along with a huge single-player adventure.

Fans who originally backed the Kickstarter campaign for Shovel Knight, or who own the Treasure Trove bundle, will receive both expansions for free. The King of Cards expansion will be available for the 3DS, PC, PS3, PS4, Switch, Vita, Wii U, and Xbox One, while Showdown will be available for the PC, PS3, PS4, Switch, Wii U, and Xbox One.

Yacht Club will also release King of Cards and Showdown as standalone downloads for fans who are digging into the franchise for the first for the PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.

Finally, the developer will try to also take over your favorite game store on December 10th with the release of a pair of Amiibo sets (a Treasure Trove 3-Pack and a Gold Edition Shovel Knight), as well as a Physical Edition of Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove (which includes the original game and all four expansions) for the Switch and Xbox One. A PS4 version of the Physical Edition will follow in 2020.

Whew, that’s a lot of Shovel Knight. But don’t forget, Yacht Club is also hard at work on a 16-bit-styled sequel/spin-off known as Shovel Knight Dig.

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EA Sports cancels NBA Live 20

Posted on October 30, 2019 by John Scalzo

Executives from Electronic Arts delivered a pretty hefty amount of announcements during the company’s most recent quarterly financial report yesterday. But they also (once again) put the kibosh on this year’s entry in the NBA Live franchise.

NBA Live 20 was expected to launch during the NBA’s All-Star Weekend in February, but now EA Sports has confirmed the basketball sim was canceled. The publisher shared a few more details about the cancellation on their official website:

For the past few years we’ve been making real progress with NBA Live, but we’re still not where we want to be. So with continued support from the NBA and the NBPA, we’ve been working on something new and meaningfully different – an experience that operates at the pace of culture, and will change the way you can play, connect and create in basketball.

We’re excited by what we’ve built so far, and yet we know the world is changing. New platforms are coming that will bring social connection, accessibility and player creativity to the fore. In a future of new possibilities, players shouldn’t be content with a game built for today’s realities and based on what we know to be possible, we feel we can go so much further with the new design.

That mention of “new platforms” is telling, as EA Sports plans to bring their next NBA experience (which may or may not be released as NBA Live 21) to “leading edge platforms” like the PS5 and Xbox Scarlett. A release date for this new project wasn’t announced, but we should learn more about it sometime next year.

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EA: Multiple unannounced games coming in 2020, next Battlefield scheduled for 2021, and Dragon Age 4 is in the works for 2022 (or later)

Posted on October 30, 2019 by John Scalzo

Executives from Electronic Arts had a lot to talk about yesterday during their latest quarterly financial report. So let’s dive right in…

CEO Andrew Wilson kicked things off by confirming that the next game in the Battlfield franchise is being prepped to launch sometime during the company’s 2022 Fiscal Year (which runs from April 1, 2021 – March 30, 2022) for the PS5 and Xbox Scarlett. In the meantime, developer DICE will spend 2020 creating updates and new content for Battlefield V:

Our Battlefield franchise and its community are also a major focus for us, and we’ll add new content and new ways to play Battlefield V in FY ’21. Targeting new innovation that will be enabled by next-gen platforms and a growing install base on the new consoles, our next Battlefield game is set for FY ’22.

With one of the company’s strongest developers taking an extra year to polish their next game, you might be wondering what EA has on tap for 2020. Thankfully, COO Blake Jorgensen used his portion of the presentation to fill in the gaps.

Jorgensen said that EA has multiple unannounced titles scheduled for release in 2020, including a pair of games from the publisher’s EA Partners program, and possibly at least one remaster (which would release alongside the already-announced Command & Conquer Remastered). He also talked quite a bit about Apex Legends, and confirmed that EA’s shooter will be coming to “new platforms and mobile” in the near future. While it’s possible he’s referencing the Switch in that quote, he’s more likely referring to the PS5 and Xbox Scarlett.

Looking further out, Jorgensen even mused about the status of Dragon Age 4. According to the executive, fans shouldn’t expect the next entry in BioWare’s acclaimed RPG franchise to arrive before EA’s 2023 Fiscal Year (which begins on April 1, 2022).

Finally, Andrew Wilson came back around to comment on the recent decision by the NCAA to allow college athletes to receive monetary compensation for their name or likeness. While many fans are hoping this means that EA will resume production on the NCAA Football franchise, Wilson would only say that the company is watching the situation closely:

With respect to NCAA Sports in general, yes, we have been in that business before as well. We saw the news today as did you, said by the NCAA Working Group. That news today was new to us. We’re still digesting it. We would anticipate that there is still a number of things that would have to happen over the coming years before we will be able to get back into that business, but certainly we’re watching closely.

EA’s next major releases, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and Need For Speed Heat, will both be released in November.

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