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The first mobile game to include Twitch broadcast options within the app is Gameloft's Asphalt 8: Airborne, Twitch announced today. An upcoming update for the iOS racing game will allow players to stream gameplay, their voices and faces using the iPhone and iPad's front-facing cameras and view their channel's chatroom while playing. Asphalt 8 broadcasters will also have the option to archive their streamed gameplay and share them with others.

Twitch unveiled its expansion into the iOS and Android market with its software development kit earlier this month. following the company's official rebrand in February. Asphalt 8, currently free to download on the App Store, will receive its third, broadcast-enabling update "soon." Twitch broadcasting functionality in the game is optimized specifically for iPhone 5S, iPad Air and iPad Mini with Retina Display devices. [Image: Gameloft]

With Opening Day nearly upon us and the NBA Playoffs not too far behind, we’re excited to announce MLB 14 The Show and NBA 2K14 will be available together in PlayStation Sports Pack Vol. 1, launching exclusively for PS3 on April 1st for $89.99. These two titles represent the highest rated Baseball and Basketball franchises in the market over the last several years, and together are the spring’s must-have product for sports gamers.

The pack includes full versions of each game, as well as a bonus of $10 worth of in-game currency: 6000 STUBS for MLB 14 The Show and 20,000 Virtual Currency for NBA 2K14, bringing the total value to $129.99 worth of content for just $89.99.

MLB 14 The Show
MLB 14 The Show returns with new ways to play, more realistic gameplay physics, and the most authentic MLB gameplay experience ever. From the booth to the field, MLB 14 The Show captures the most exciting moments in baseball. Below are just a few of the many new enhancements in MLB 14 The Show:

• Year-to-Year Saves — For the first time in franchise history, saves can be carried over from MLB 14 to future releases of The Show, meaning that gamers won’t have to worry about starting their Franchise or Road to the Show seasons over in years to come.
• Quick Counts — Users will now be able to play a full nine-inning game in less than 30 minutes, half the time it takes in previous iterations of The Show. Despite the shortened game durations, realistic stats will not be compromised.
• STUBS — Playing games in MLB 14 The Show rewards players with Stubs. Stubs can be used to purchase additional in-game content — like Road to the Show training points — or used in our new mode, Community Challenges. Stubs can be earned in any mode, and they are not required to progress through a mode. You can still purchase additional in-game content through the PlayStation Store.

NBA 2K14
Following more than 38 Sports Game of the Year and “Best Of” mentions for 2K13, 2K14 rules the virtual hardwood once again. This year, 2K joins forces with the league’s most dominant force: LeBron James. With a soundtrack hand-picked by the King, refined controls featuring the new Pro Stick, the return of Crews, new Signature Skills, enhanced defense including blocked dunks, and more, NBA 2K14 raises the bar yet again. Below are just a few of the numerous new enhancements in NBA 2K14

• Crews — The single-most requested game mode is back! Face off against opposing crews online using your MyPLAYER. Create your logo and face off in 5v5 battles with other crews featuring leaderboards and stats.
• Pro Stick — Throw down show-stopping moves, pull off intricate shots, and toss flashy no-look passes with deadly accuracy with Pro Stick control. Easily the most intuitive basketball controls ever implemented.
• King James Soundtrack — Featuring artists and tracks hand-picked by LeBron James, including JAY Z, Eminem, The Black Keys, Daft Punk, and many more.
• MyTEAM — Back and better than ever, with new player modes, multi and single player tournaments, and much more.

Idle animation Snake. Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes is keeping players waiting a bit longer in Australia and New Zealand, where the open-world stealth game won't hit retail shelves for another week. Konami confirmed the new release date of March 27 to NZGamer, and the publisher didn't offer a reason for the delay.
It's the second Konami game to receive a downunder delay in a month, after Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 was pushed back by a week in Australia and New Zealand. As NZGamer notes, the downloadable versions of Lords of Shadow 2 weren't affected by what was then a "shipping delay," and while it's not confirmed there's the possibility the same may apply to Ground Zeroes.

In other Ground Zeroes news, series creator Hideo Kojima explained this morning the game doesn't feature a Platinum trophy on PS4 because of Sony regulations. Speaking on Twitter, Kojima said, "They won't allow us to have them for [a] non-full price game." [Image: Konami]

I seriously hope you're not eating breakfast while reading this post. In fact, if you are, I apologize.Read more...

From lowly sprite in 1985, to fearsome beast in 2014. Above is concept art from Chaos Reborn , the reboot of 1985's Chaos: The Battle of Wizards, a turn-based strategy game for the ZX Spectrum. Creator Julian Gollop, who also worked on the original X-Com, recently launched a Kickstarter campaign for Chaos Reborn.Read more...

Magicka developer Arrowhead brings the classic back to life.

When I was first following along with videogames on the internet, there were these things called .plan files. They were essentially blogs, or Twitter before Twitter, but they were updated by game developers like John Carmack, Cliff Bleszinski, Randy Pitchford and more before everyone grew too busy, too old, or too ensconced in the PR machine to speak so openly and frequently.

They were great, because they were a glimpse both into the development process (“Post Q3A, I plan on doing a research engine that is fully dynamically lit and shadowed instead of using lightmaps,” writes Carmack in one 1999 post, marking the moment he worked out how to make Doom 3), but also into the people making those games (I only understand half of everything Carmack writes; he must be very smart).

It’s a good thing that indie development and Kickstarter have brought back regularly updated development blogs, then. It’s a sensible thing, then, that I write this still-not-sure-it’ll-be-a-regular column charting some recent updates from those devlogs.

… [visit site to read more]

New sports! New gestures! And a face mapping thing that does a pretty okay job of mapping your face!

SEGA and Sonic Team have talked about the process of redesigning the popular hedgehog, with the latter apparently finding the process difficult.

Capcom's long-teased fifth new character for Ultra Street Fighter 4 is a real doll - one of M. Bison's Dolls. Decapre is part of the grinning archvillain's Doll guard, and she's essentially a physical clone of former Bison Doll and now MI6 operative Cammy.

Unlike Cammy, Decapre sports a mask that hides a giant burn on her face, and she also uses claw techniques like one Senor Vega. According to the official blurb she offers "quick and elusive scramble moves as well as her psycho power infused attacks," while Capcom's Peter 'Combofiend' Horas describes her moveset as "more offense than defense."

"A lot of her basic attacks are the same [as Cammy's]," Horas explained to IGN, "much like how a lot of Ryu's attacks are the same as Evil Ryu's, and a lot of Oni's attacks are the same as Akuma's. There are a lot of similarities there. But what really differentiates them are the Ultras, the usage of the special moves, and some of their combos."

Decapre joins Rolento, Elena, Hugo, Poison, and the 39 returning combatants, and you'll be able to take them all for a spin in the summer. Capcom is releasing USF4 as an add-on for Super SF4 starting in June on Xbox 360 and PS3 (August on PC), but if you don't have Super SF4 you can join fight via an all-in-one package. That's due on all platforms in August. [Image: Capcom]

Last night, for the second time in my life, I tried to play a MOBA. Infinite Crisis may not be the best choice but I figured the people playing might have spent slightly less time pounding the lanes than the veteran e-thletes of LOL and DOTA 2. Not so. The open beta began this weekend but almost every player seems to be visiting from elsewhere within the genre. There is a tutorial mode of sorts, in which a team of humans fight against bots. If a MOBA were a pair of trousers, I think I’m now at the point where I’d struggle to put them on but I’d be able to explain where the legs are supposed to go. I’d almost certainly fail to zip up the flies though and would inexplicably fill the pockets with termites or blancmange. Launch trailer below.

… [visit site to read more]

The Xbox One saw UK week-on-week sales jump by 96 percent alongside the arrival of Titanfall, with the game's bundle accounting for 70 percent of the hardware shifted. It's no surprise, then, that EA's multiplayer shooter went top of the country's sales charts, despite a valiant effort from Dark Souls 2.

Namco brought Demon's Souls to Europe almost a year after Atlus released it North America, and it debuted sixth in the UK charts back in June 2010. A year later, Dark Souls landed in third, and its sequel went one better with a 20 percent rise in UK sales over its predecessor. Not a bad performance for the action-RPG series, especially since at one stage it looked uncertain to even reach Europe.

Looking down the UK charts, a month that's been packed with new releases meant there wasn't enough space in the top ten for Yoshi's New Island. The 3DS game placed 12th. [Image: EA]

A message from Konami, revealed when registering a copy of Ground Zeroes, suggests Metal Gear Solid 5 proper will arrive early next year.

Braveland is Now Available on Steam!

Braveland is a turn-based game inspired by old-school strategies with hexagonal battlefield. You will start as a humble warrior's son whose village was cruelly raided and will end as talented commander of your army.

The story will take place in a hand-drawn world and cover many interesting places and characters. Various warriors will join your army - archers, scouts, healers, footmen, arbalesters and more.

The Xbox One saw UK week-on-week sales jump by 96 percent alongside the arrival of Titanfall, with the game's bundle accounting for 70 percent of the hardware shifted. It's no surprise, then, that EA's multiplayer shooter went top of the country's sales charts, despite a valiant effort from Dark Souls 2.

Namco brought Demon's Souls to Europe almost a year after Atlus released it North America, and it debuted sixth in the UK charts back in June 2010. A year later, Dark Souls landed in third, and its sequel went one better with a 20 percent rise in UK sales over its predecessor. Not a bad performance for the action-RPG series, especially since at one stage it looked uncertain to even reach Europe.

Looking down the UK charts, a month that's been packed with new releases meant there wasn't enough space in the top ten for Yoshi's New Island. The 3DS game placed 12th. [Image: EA]

Recently a video appeared online across Chinese social media creating a buzz among Chinese gamers. The video, quite possibly an ad for Guild Wars 2, has a Caucasian speaking fluent Mandarin angrily at Chinese gamers. That's right, an angry white man shouting at Chinese gamers in Chinese.Read more...

Internet slang for the most part is, well, meaningless but interesting slang. In China, one phrase from the giant internet lexicon that is Chinese slang has been called out as a phrase that may cause the social apocalypse, at least according to the vice-president of Guangzhou's Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.Read more...

The eyes still have it. Or it still has the eyes, at any rate. The latest iteration of Valve’s Steam Controller has wings its way to GDC, so hopefully one of the RPS attendees will be able to lay hands on it over the next few days. In the meantime, I can bring you a picture, released by Valve, that is in no way exclusive to this site and doesn’t even contain hilariously photoshopped owl ears. Instead, it shows a controller that has lost a couple of its odder features as expected, including the fondlescreen and awkwardly positioned buttons. There are now eight buttons, positioned in patterns and placements that will be familiar to anyone who has ever seen a joypad.

… [visit site to read more]

Last night, a weekend news show hosted by Beat Takeshi covered the dangers of internet addiction. To illustrate that, the program, called Jouhou 7 Days News Caster, showed a clip from the infamous Angry German Kid video.Read more...

Respawn has announced that while anti-cheat measures do exist for Titanfall, they are yet to be activated.

Ubisoft has revealed just how long it'll take the average player to finish the upcoming hack-centric open world adventure.

Like how the famous Pac-Man Google Doodle cost the US economy over $120 million. Yikes.Read more...

An old foe returns in the fourth part of IGN's Dark Souls 2 diary.

There are two trailers seeking to make you desire KinifiGames’ Imagine Me below. The first contains a miniature low budget remake of Koyaanisqatsi with the Philip Glass score replaced by a song that, while pleasant enough, makes me think of achingly twee adverts that are selling floppy-haired lifestyles as well as mobile phones. By the end, you’d have absolutely no clear idea what the game actually involves, unless you’ve noticed the preview screen for the second video below, in which case you’ll be well aware that it’s a lo-fi platformer packed with spikes and trampolines.

… [visit site to read more]

At one point, the current iteration of Sonic and his friends looked even more different compared to their original selves. So much so that it caused quite a few headaches to the series' original creators.Read more...

The front of department store Shibuya Parco in Tokyo is a mass of rubble! One Piece's Luffy threw a massive punch into the pavement. Just wait until Goku unleashes that kamehameha!Read more...

Nintendo eShop (Wii U)

Pure Chess (Ripstone Publishing) - €5.99/£4.99
Download Pure Chess to experience chess the way it's meant to be played, in stunning high definition. Experience one of the oldest known board games on the advanced technology of today. With ultra-realistic HD visuals you can almost reach out and touch the pieces. Pure Chess is a game that can be played by everyone, at any age, but mastered by only a few. The question is... are you a Grandmaster in the making?

Castlevania (Konami, NES VC) - €4.99/£3.49
Castlevania marked the beginning of Konami's acclaimed series which is still going strong today. As vampire hunter Simon Belmont, you must fight your way through Dracula's castle teeming with ghosts, goblins, demons and yet more supernatural creatures; through six challenging levels to finally confront the count. You'll need your wits and weapons to survive; because when you finally meet Dracula, you know he'll be going for the jugular. So keep your courage up and your stake sharp!

Special offers
Nano Assault Neo (Shin'en Multimedia) - €7.49/£6.70 (Ends April 10, regular price €9.99/£8.99)


Nintendo eShop (3DS)

Pure Chess (Ripstone Publishing) - €5.99/£4.99
Download Pure Chess to experience chess the way it's meant to be played, in stunning high definition. Experience one of the oldest known board games on the advanced technology of today. With ultra-realistic HD visuals you can almost reach out and touch the pieces. Pure Chess is a game that can be played by everyone, at any age, but mastered by only a few. The question is... are you a Grandmaster in the making? This is the US version of the game.

Devil World (Nintendo, NES VC) - €3.99/£3.59
In this hidden gem of an action game from Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto, you play heroic dragon Tamagon, who must defeat evil by collecting boa-boa dots inside a maze and destroying enemies with his fire breath. However, keep an eye on the devil at the top of the screen, who instructs his minions to move the maze in random directions, trying to squash Tamagon within its walls!

Special offers
Nano Assault EX (Shin'en Multimedia) - €7.49/£6.35 (Ends April 10, regular price €9.99/£8.49)
Art of Balance TOUCH! (Shin'en Multimedia) - €5.20/£4.70 (Ends April 10, regular price €6.99/£6.29)
Jett Rocket II: The Wrath of Taikai (Shin'en Multimedia) - €6.70/£5.70 (Ends April 10, regular price €8.99/£7.66)
Mutant Mudds (Renegade Kid) - €5.99/£5.39 (Ends April 3, regular price €8.99/£8.09)
Angry Bunnies (Cypronia) - €4.85/£4.49 (Ends April 17, regular price €6.49/£5.99)
Fishdom H20: Hidden Odyssey (Cypronia) - €3.74/£3.35 (Ends April 17, regular price €4.99/£4.49)
My Exotic Farm (Bigben Interactive) - €6.99/£6.29 (Permanent, was €24.99/£19.99)

Source: NoE PR

Before Messhof made Nidhogg and then spent a long time not making Nidhogg, he created a set of great singleplayer and local multiplayer games with tight controls, silly conceits and visuals like visual migraines. I miss those days, so the reminiscent style of Heli Brawl by 2BAM is a welcome addition to my life. It’s a local multiplayer game for 2-4 players in which helicopters brawl, skydivers battle, and character who look a lot like Walter from the Big Lebowski struggle in melee combat. Trailer below. … [visit site to read more]

From the end of May, Japanese budget airline Skymark is rolling out a new Airbus A330-300 addition to its fleet. To mark the occasion, the airline is also introducing new uniforms for its female cabin crew. Very, very short uniforms.Read more...

Chaos Reborn is the next game from Julian Gollop, lead creator of the original X-COM: UFO Defense – the greatest videogame of all time. This is a remake of and sequel to Gollop’s earlier, magical duelling game Chaos: The Battle of Wizards. It It takes to Kickstarter today, but unlike other nostalgia-led projects, it’s been in active development for some time already. I played a prototype recently, and I have this to say about it. … [visit site to read more]