All Topics older than one year ago

If you're a down-under Dracula-to-be, you'll have to wait an extra week to sink your teeth into a retail copy of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2. A local Konami spokesperson told CVG the vampiric hack-and-slash sequel, originally due in Australia on February 28, will now hit the region's retail shelves on March 6 because of a shipping delay. Presumably the Steam version is still due this week, but that's not been confirmed.

Lords of Shadow 2 resumes where the opening game left off, with hero Gabriel Belmont transformed into the toothy anti-hero Dracula, re-awakened in the present day to face off with Satan once more. We'll have our review up soon, but if you'd like to try before you bite then check out the demo, available to all on PS3, Xbox 360 and PC. [Image: Konami]

And it takes a braver one to walk up to it and buy something.Read more...

In this episode of Tales of the Unexpected, we learn that DayZ creator and lead Dean Hall plans to leave Bohemia by the end of 2014, in order to set up a new studio in New Zealand. The early access version of the multiplayer survival sim passed 1.5 million players this weekend and I don’t think it’s dropped out of the top three sellers on Steam since release, but Hall told Eurogamer that his continued presence would become a hindrance to the project:

…maybe I’ve got the gift of the gab, so I can talk, I can explain something, I can talk people up to the ledge and get them to jump off it. That’s what I did with DayZ; I’ve done it twice now – two new code teams have separately done it. But eventually, that’s the bad person to have. Eventually, you don’t want the guy telling you to go over the top and get through. So at some point I’ll be a disaster for the project, at least in a leadership role.

Bohemia have acknowledged the statement but declined to add comment. More details below.

… [visit site to read more]

Sony has announced all DLC available for Gran Turismo 5 will be removed from sale once the game's online services are shut down.

Angvik is Now Available on Steam!
Angvik is a platform action game set in a joyful but unforgiving land. The castle has been taken over by a barbarian and no one else has the courage to confront him, so take up your fathers gear and set off on a wondrous journey! And youre not alone: youll find many birds and items to aid you along the way, and youll encounter all sorts of creatures to fight as well. But watch your step! You have only one life, so if you die, you stay dead.

Have you ever wondered what happens to a discarded iPhone? Does it crackle in the sun? Does it wallow in the electronic filth until its battery leaks and runs? Maybe it just sits there like a dusty brick. Or maybe, just maybe, it breathes life a new in the land of China.Read more...

The jungle territory of Hossin won’t arrive in Planetside 2 until May but the Amerish region is changing right now. A major revamp was implemented just before the weekend, adding nine new outposts and redesigning those that were already in place. Most significantly, perhaps, the Lattice System is now in play on Amerish, meaning that conquest of outposts must be conducted along supply routes, as on Indar and Esamir. A more strategic first-person space-biff awaits. There are other tweaks as well, including an increase in resource rewards and improved roads. The appearance of the continent has changed as well. Judging by the before and after shots in the video below, the forests and mountains no longer look like they’ve been plucked from Earth. It’s all a bit more sci-fi.

… [visit site to read more]

Japanese actress Rina Takeda stars in a new credit card commercial. In the ad, the 22 year-old uses her head.Read more...

A Pizza Hut in Tokyo looks, well, not quite like the other Pizza Huts in Japan—or anywhere else, for that matter.Read more...

Since Nidhogg is finally out, the world needs a new in-development local multiplayer brawler to obsess over. I suggest that game should be Gang Beasts: a physicsy fighting game that seems to fall somewhere between the awkward shoving of Sumotori Dreams and that thing people do as kids/cool adults where they mash their jelly babies together in mock-fights before eating them.

Trailer and download link below. … [visit site to read more]

February 22nd! Launch day for the PS4 in Japan! What games were people buying? We were dying to know. Of course, nobody in line was really thinking about other consoles. But, we had to ask anyways.Read more...

Nintendo eShop (3DS)

AeternoBlade (Corecell) - €14.99/£13.50
In the region of Awelsia, vengeful Freya travels with an unknown weapon called "AeternoBlade" to take revenge from Beladim, the Lord of the Mist who destroyed her village, Ridgerode, and killed her tribe. Her vengeance is helped by Vernia , who has as much merit as Beladim. Vernia taught Freya about the ability of AeternoBlade. Freya has to venture in many world dimensions to find how to annihilate Beladim. What is AeternoBlade? And how can Freya take revenge from Beladim? Solve tons of mysteries in her adventure!

The Mysterious Cities of Gold: Secret Paths (Ynnis Interactive) - €14.99/£13.49
Play Esteban, Zia and Tao through numerous tricky levels full of puzzles, traps and infiltration phases in a wide variety of diverse gorgeous settings. Explore every nook and cranny of China, and escape Zarès' hostile men, searching for the local City of Gold.

Senran Kagura Burst (MarvelousAQL) - €34.55/£29.99
Enter a world filled with beautiful ninjas destined to break down the barriers between good and evil! Play two different storylines, each with its own perspective. The girls of Hanzai believe they fight on the side of righteousness, but are their methods always right? The girls of Hebijo are mercenaries to the highest bidders, but what if their motives aren't as clear as they seem?

Jewel Quest Mysteries 3 - The Seventh Gate (MSL) - €11.99/£10.79
Join Rupert and Emma in Jewel Quest Mysteries as they traverse the ruins of ancient Egypt! Mystery reigns and only a keen eye can help you.

Biba & Tina - Das Spiel zum Kinofilm (Kiddinx) - €39.99 (German territories only)
Mach dich fit fürs Falkensteiner Rennen! Reite mit Bibi und Tina durch Falkenstein: Rund um den Martinshof löst du mit deinem Pferd spannende Missionen und spielst so die schönsten Fotos aus dem Film frei. Mach mit beim Trainingsrennen, verbessere deine Reitkünste und sei bereit für das große Finale: das alles entscheidende Rennen im Maisfeld!

Super Mario Bros. Deluxe (Nintendo, GBC VC) - €4.99/£4.49
This souped-up version of the all-time classic was a big hit on Game Boy Color. Super Mario Bros. Deluxe features all 32 original levels from the 1985 classic, plus a whole lot more! In Challenge mode, revisit classic levels and collect special red coins and Yoshi eggs to beat the high score. Or race against a familiar foe through eight special courses in You Vs Boo mode! There are even challenging secret levels to be discovered, for a true test of your Super Mario Bros. skills!

Special offers
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow- Mirror of Fate (KONAMI) - €22.49/£19.99 (Ends March 6, regular price €44.99/£39.99)


Nintendo eShop (Wii U)

Evofish (Moving Player) - €3.99/£3.59
Set off to conquer the vast ocean with Evofish! Evolve from prey to predator in the immensity of the seas, and progress to the top of the food chain! Survive against an increasingly dangerous host of enemies and evolve one of the 4 heroes by eating the weaker fish. Become the most fearsome predator in this hostile environment - enjoy hours of gameplay fun as you work your way up to be the master of the ocean. In Party mode, compete against or collaborate with 2 - 5 players in one of the 3 multiplayer modes in long and thrilling gaming sessions with friends!

Wario's Woods (Nintendo, NES VC) - €4.99/£3.49
The Peaceful Woods were once a safe haven for all gentle creatures...until Wario turned up. Now the place is swarming with monsters, and only Toad can clear up the mess! Wario's Woods is a fast-paced puzzle game in which Toad must line up bombs and enemies into rows of matching colours. Clear enough sections of the forest to go up against the mighty Wario himself!

Special offers
Darksiders II (Nordic Games) - €39.99/£31.99 (Ends March 13, normally €49.99/£39.99)
Knytt Underground (Ripstone Publishing) - €4.49/£3.99 (Ends March 6, normally €8.99/£7.99)
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Blacklist (Ubisoft) - €29.99/£19.99 (Permanent, old price €44.99/£36.99)
Just Dance 4 (Ubisoft) - €19.99/£14.99 (Permanent, old price €39.99/£29.99)

Source: NoE PR

Against all common sense and reason (though not necessarily potential quality when taken on its own merits), Nosgoth is a free-to-play online shooter. Previous Legacy of Kain games, rather pertinently, were not that or anything resembling it. It’s uncharted territory for the vampire-ridden universe of noses and goths, but not so much for the gaming industry these days. So you know what’s coming next: microtransactions. And, as ever, they’re a smidgen bit(e) questionable.

… [visit site to read more]

Any time I hear any variation on the word “Niko,” I just hear Roman from Grand Theft Auto IV going, “Niko! My cousin!” And then I get really upset about bowling. It is, as they say in the parlance of our time, A Problem. But perhaps NIKO: Through The Dream can help me get over it. It’s a first person puzzler so minimalist, clean, and free of corners that it looks like the world has been scrubbed clean with an Apple iSoap. The aesthetic is a soothing one, though, and it makes way for some brain-ticklingly Escher-inspired locales. There’s a certain element of aged majesty to them, though. An alluring mystique that hearkens back to the likes of Myst and – more recently – PS3 megahit Journey. Oh, and there’s a little hooded figure in there that may as well have been lifted straight from Journey. So that’s a thing too. Rather beautiful trailer below.

… [visit site to read more]

A portion of an NE interview with Zoink founder Klaus Lyngeled...

NE: Is a sequel to Stick It to the Man something that the team has thought about given the game’s strong reception? Or is it too soon to be thinking about a sequel at this time?

KL: We have so many other stories we want to tell, so we are taking a break from Ray and working on something else at the moment. But you can expect more of the same style and humor!

NE: Zoink has previously expressed some interest in bringing the original WeeWaa to Wii U. Is this something that’s still being considered – perhaps as a reworked eShop download?

KL: I would love that! Still think it’s one of my best ideas, but we need a really strong partner for the plushtoy. Here is a question for the readers… should we run a Kickstarter for WeeWaa?

NE: Does Zoink intend to continue making games for Wii U in the future?

KL: Yes!

NE: Has the company explored/considered 3DS development? Does Zoink have any interest in the platform?

KL: We would like to and we are actually considering it for our new project.

I'm going to be quite honest. Personally, I'm not really into tech specs of systems. I'm just about playing games that are fun. I played NES games that are fantastic as well as Wii U games. That's just me, but I completely understand that people are completely into specs. That's why I wanted to share this with you.

Even with the Wii U being around for awhile, people are still looking into just what makes the system tick. Seeing what's in here is one thing, but figuring out how it all works together is a different story. The feature below takes an in-depth look a the Wii U's guts to find out just what they can pump out.

If you only saw this video - by Japanese voice actor and performer Sumire Uesaka - on YouTube, then boy are you missing out.Read more...

A turn-based game with Indiana Jones-style flair.

Lucasarts classic Grim Fandango is one of the smartest, funniest video games ever made. It's also a drag to play, thanks to its sluggish controls.Read more...

Konami cites a 'shipping delay.'

"I've been a ghost all my life," Thief protagonist Bruce Willis Garrett says in this trailer for his soon-to-be-released game, in which he may or may not literally be a ghost. Where's Haley Joel Osment when you need him? Check out our video preview for more ghost-thief action. [Image: Square-Enix]

We head out of this world to relive some of the most seminal adventure games ever.

It's one of those things you've probably never even bothered to think about, so think about it now: just why is a mouse cursor a slanted arrow and not, say, a straight arrow? Or a pointing fish? Or something? Read more...

The mobile version of Minecraft - AKA: Minecraft: Pocket Edition - is being coded to allow for big changes - literally. Developer Mojang announced on its site that the team is "restructuring a lot of code to allow significantly bigger worlds in future updates," as well as tweaking creature AI and the inventory system.

There's no release date for the Pocket Edition updates, but Mojang wrote that "everything is going to plan." We presume this sentence was written while stroking a fluffy white cat and/or onboard the Death Star.

Mojang is also "pausing" access to the Pocket Realms beta, which allows for persistent worlds stored on private servers. "The Realms team is currently focused on the upcoming release of PC Realms," Mojang wrote. "Once that's done, we'll be in a better place to work on Pocket Realms and make it as good as it possibly can be, which will be later this year." The pause will go into effect on March 1. [Image: Mojang]

As we've seen, 2014's convention calendar is getting started. So expect the quality of cosplay for the next 6 months or to so to be kicking things up a gear.Read more...

Wasteland 2 isn't ready to travel into the arid, post-apocalyptic desert just yet, but a new beta build set to release tomorrow will allow developer inXile Entertainment to progress ever-closer to a full release.

The team has already addressed more than 1,000 bugs and suggestions (out of 2,300), and with the upcoming build, plan to introduce a new inventory, new locations, changes to existing locations, destructible objects, new combat animations and more ambient sounds. As for when to expect that full-fledged release? "When it's done."

"We know better than to give an exact date at this point because in addition to pushing the game in the ways we'd planned, we're going to continue to incorporate player comments that make sense for us to address," the studio wrote in an update on their Kickstarter page. "But we are in the final stretch, and are thankful our backers have consistently agreed we should take the time we need." [Image: inXile Entertainment]

Publisher cracks downs on attempt to “misappropriate and make infringing use of the Duke Nukem trademarks.”