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Mighty Switch Force photo
Mighty Switch Force

A new Mighty Switch Force appears...for PC-only...on Early Access


Lame
Aug 26
// Chris Carter
My excitement for the recently teased Mighty Switch Force! game went from a "hnnngh" to a "meh" in one swift blow, as WayForward has announced Academy for PC, currently in Early Access. It's billed as a "part p...
GOG photo
GOG

A ton of classic Bethesda and id games are coming to GOG


Elder Scrolls, DOOM, and Fallout
Aug 26
// Chris Carter
Bethesda is making quite the entrance today into GOG.com, all of which are of course DRM-free. To celebrate, there will be discounts available on bundle packs for the next week. Here are all of the games you'll find on sale t...
Final Fantasy VII remake photo
Final Fantasy VII remake

Final Fantasy VII remake team toying with battle system overhaul


'Command battle system might not work'
Aug 26
// Chris Carter
The Final Fantasy VII remake is kind of a big deal. It absolutely blew up E3 -- heck, it blew up the entire day before it was even announced, as it was leaked hours before Sony's conference. But Square Enix ha...
Call of Duty photo
Call of Duty

The Black Ops 3 Beta on Xbox One is stuck in the trenches


Codes not working for many users
Aug 26
// Laura Kate Dale
So, picture the scene. You've been patiently waiting weeks for the Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 Beta to hit your Xbox One. The day has finally arrived. You input your code for the Beta and get told it's invalid. You are not...

The top five most British games you'll ever lay eyes on

Aug 26 // Joe Parlock
#5: Bloodborne Bloodborne was a sign of great change over at From Software. After its run of massively popular Souls games, it wanted to try something really different. It wanted to move away from the formula that made From the huge success it was, and show the world the average, day-to-day lives of people living in Birmingham. Audiences were cautious of the idea at first: bringing the Midlands to life seemed like an odd choice for a Japanese developer to tackle. Over the course of the development process, we learned just how seriously Miyazaki was taking the project: he’d binge-watched every episode of Crossroads, a task no human being should be able to survive. But it all paid off: when it finally launched, everyone instantly understood how important the game would be. From the Werewolves of Snow Hill Station to the Dog Vicar of the Bullring, Brum really does come to life in videogame form. Treading over the broken cobbles and forcing my way through the rusted gates, it was just like I was there. Some players complained about the difficulty of the game, but frankly if you haven’t been devoured by a giant spider when going to Birmingham’s Selfridges, you’ve not truly experienced the city. #4: Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture Shropshire was an absolutely inspired choice of a location for The Chinese Room’s newest storytelling game Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture. The county is very rarely a setting in games, and it has a rich history thanks to its influence and contribution to the industrial revolution. Shropshire is everything you could think about Britain neatly compressed into a nice, little place full. But that’s not the true reason why it’s such a great setting for Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture. The real reason is it’s the closest thing to a post-apocalypse you’ll find in the Western hemisphere! That’s right, after the AI incursion at Ironbridge in 1886, nobody has lived there! Every single human being you see in Shropshire is just a steam-powered Stepford-esque bio-machinations, who have left the county to go to ruin! Pubs and charity shops have combined into one weird amalgamation that’s not quite as good as either, and you can bet your entire family a new museum is popping up as you read this. Shropshire is an utterly bizarre, yet pretty, place. For the lens to be focused so intently on it in Rapture means we may soon finally find a way to reclaim our land from the androids. #3: Killing Floor Killing Floor might be a slightly controversial inclusion on this list, because it doesn’t paint our glorious isles in quite the best light. However, I think something us Brits have always been good at is introspection. From a National Trust café to a beach in Benidorm, we always act with the utmost class and decorum, but Killing Floor shows a darker side to our nation: British football. Killing Floor is about a world overrun by, and I quote, “bloody Millwall fans”. Set in the streets of London, you must survive against the hordes of football fans being kicked out of the pub. Killing Floor’s recreation of modern day football is so realistic, the attention to detail is simply amazing. I can smell the cheese and onion Walkers crisps and stale beer just thinking about it. In a positive light though, Killing Floor manages to be incredibly inclusive of its image of football fans. The world likes to paint the sport as a load of rowdy old geezers who can’t keep their drinks down in their moth-eaten Aston Villa t-shirts, but it simply isn’t like that in 2015. Men with chainsaws for arms and invisible women have become way more accepted in recent years! Even Spider-hybrids have found their place! Unfortunately, scary fire-shooting people have still been fighting for their place for a while now… but there’s certainly progress. Also, we have a lot of guns. That is some Britain is absolutely known for: how many great big, piss-off guns we all carry around at all times. Sometimes it’s a hassle trying to carry my shopping from Morrison’s with an AK-47 in the way, but that’s Britain for you. Killing Floor’s unblinking view of how many fully-automatic shotguns and flamethrowers even your common Londoner has is something we need to really understand about our culture. Thanks, Tripwire. #2: The Beatles: Rock Band It was twenty years ago today that Sergeant Pepper taught the band to play. They’ve been going in and out of style, but none the less they’ve been marching through the streets of Liverpool, ensuring all of Britain’s children are behaving as they should. If they are not learning the songs of their grandparents, or worshiping the great Lucy in the Sky with their Diamonds, Pepper’s mighty Walrus will take them away to a place nobody knows. This is how it has been for the past fifty years, and it is the way it shall always be. Of course, there have been attempts to destroy the great influence our Lord and Master Ringo Starr has had on us. The Oasis Movement of the '90s was the biggest threat, but problems among management meant it stood no chance against the Lonely Hearts Club Band. And this is why The Beatles: Rock Band is on our list. No one changed the face of Britain as much as Lord Starr did, and the great idea of incorporating the children’s mandatory daily reverence into a video game meant for those wealthy enough to afford the little plastic instruments, life is good. Well not good, but it’s getting better. #1: Sir, You Are Being Hunted You thought Everybody’s Gone to Rapture was our only way of fighting back against the robots? Oh heavens no, we also have Sir, You Are Being Hunted. Not only does Sir helpfully remind the British public to respect the god damn class institution that has been in place for centuries, it also provides handy-dandy training on how to survive should you find yourself in somewhere like Shropshire! Sir is a program to help remind those crawling in the shattered darkness that Britain still exists: with tweed shops, and union jacks plopped onto absolutely every item inconceivable. Digestive biscuits, far too many churches, parish halls, smokestacks, tea, tea, tea. If this doesn’t remind you of home, I don’t know what will. There’s even fox hunting! You remember fox hunting, right? That thing only rich people do because getting away with shooting poor people would be more hassle than it’s worth?  Of course, in this case you’re the fox… but never mind that, developer Big Robot is still working out the kinks. Sir, You Are Being Hunted is more than a game. It’s our message unto the world that no matter what they do to us, we will survive. A nice strawberry trifle here, an 8 out of 10 Cats Does Countdown there, and we will all keep calm and carry on. What is left of us must carry on. Oh god we must.
Blighty photo
God save Ringo and his Robot Army
Britain, Britain, Britain! Over the years we’ve been known for a lot: tea, monocles, the Queen, imperialism, and at one point… video games. We had it all, from the Sinclair ZX Spectrum to Rockstar Games, Britain ...

Until Dawn photo
Until Dawn

Having trouble loading Until Dawn? You're not alone


PS4s are too scared to load it
Aug 26
// Vikki Blake
The PlayStation Network is preventing some early adopters of Until Dawn from playing the game.  According to reports on reddit, most gamers are able to download the game without incident, but on launch, they're info...
Assassin's Creed photo
Assassin's Creed

Ubisoft unveils bonus Assassin's Creed Syndicate missions as pre-order sweetener


Join Dickens and Darwin and fight crime
Aug 26
// Vikki Blake
Ubisoft has revealed bonus Assassin's Creed Syndicate missions will be available for those that pre-order the game. The missions star everyone's favourite crime-solving duo, novelist Dickens and the Theory of Evolution master...
YouTube Gaming photo
YouTube Gaming

Google takes on Twitch today with YouTube Gaming


Will it pay off?
Aug 26
// Joe Parlock
Gaming is kind of a huge deal on YouTube -- it’s second only to music in terms of subscribers. The most subscribed channel on all of YouTube is PewDiePie, and he has been since December 2013. Elsewhere in the top 20 is ...
Dark Souls photo
Dark Souls

Twitch Plays Dark Souls managed to defeat the second boss


Taurus Demon is toast
Aug 26
// Joe Parlock
Twitch Plays Dark Souls had been a bit of a shambles right from the get go. Players spent days and days stuck in the very first section of the game, at which point the creator of the stream changed the rules and made the ent...
 photo
Win one of 3 copies!
The fine folks at tinyBuild were kind enough to give us three Steam copies of the just released Party Hard, so that we could pass them on to you! The game is pretty darn fun imo and for free, how can you complain? To win, all you have to do is leave a comment below containing an awesome gif of party related shenanigans. That's it! Contest ends Sept. 1 @ 11:59pm PST Party on Wayne.

Killing Floor 2 photo
Killing Floor 2

You can play Killing Floor 2's Incinerate 'N Detonate update right now


Go forth, my child
Aug 25
// Zack Furniss
Killing Floor 2's Incinerate 'N Detonate update is playable now via an opt-in beta. The changelog can be found right here. There are two new perks, Firebug and Demolitionist, two new maps, a reworked audio system, and al...
EarthBound vinyl photo
EarthBound vinyl

The EarthBound soundtrack is getting a vinyl release next year


Available for pre-order tomorrow
Aug 25
// Ben Davis
[Disclosure: I backed the Kickstarter for the Mother original arranged soundtrack on vinyl.] Earlier this year, independent record label Ship to Shore PhonoCo. acquired the licensing rights to release the Mother soundtrack on...
CONTEST photo
Courtesy of Xbox and The Coalition
The original Gears of War is back almost nine years to the day on Xbox One with the HD soul-patched Gears of War Ultimate Edition. To celebrate, Xbox and The Coalition are giving away a custom Xbox One designed by The Coaliti...

Clicker Heroes photo
Clicker Heroes

We're doomed: Clicker Heroes hits iOS, Android


Be strong
Aug 25
// Jordan Devore
It's a good thing I swore off Clicker Heroes. It was bad enough playing the game on a desktop computer. Now, the perpetual time-waster is available for iOS and Android. There's no escape. For the uninitiated, this is an idle ...
Shovel Knight photo
Shovel Knight

Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows looks wonderful


Free expansion coming soon
Aug 25
// Jordan Devore
Plague of Shadows looks like the perfect excuse to get back into Shovel Knight. It's a free expansion that remixes the game to tell an alternate story about the Plague Knight. Between his customizable bomb-based moveset and s...
Just Cause 3 photo
Just Cause 3

Just Cause 3 is giving away a goddamn island, and you probably want no part of it


No bueno
Aug 25
// Brett Makedonski
We like to discourage pre-ordering video games. Sometimes games are broken. Sometimes games suck. No one needs to fork over money before they know the final verdict. However, sometimes video games use their pre-order siren s...
Hyper Light Drifter photo
Hyper Light Drifter

Hyper Light Drifter now on track for spring 2016


Still looks superb
Aug 25
// Jordan Devore
Heart Machine has settled on a spring 2016 release for its lovely action-RPG Hyper Light Drifter. Windows and Mac versions will come first, then consoles "as quickly as possible." Certification for the latter takes extra time...

So, how's Gears of War's multiplayer at launch?

Aug 25 // Brett Makedonski
Between last night and this afternoon, I have a fair sample size of matches under my belt. I'm maybe one percent of the way toward the "Seriously..." Achievement, which doesn't sound like much, but it is. The only issue I've encountered was about five seconds of lag at the beginning of one match. Otherwise, everything's been silky smooth. There's one non-performance issue that I have a problem with, however. The War Journal offers multiplayer statistics, but not on how close you are to earning the different Achievements. (If I'm not mistaken, this is a feature that Gears of War 3 implemented quite nicely.) Likewise, Xbox One's "snap an app" feature doesn't track that progress either. The sole indicator is a counter that pops up after a match in which you've hit a milestone toward that Achievement. Hopefully a fix is coming for that. That one insignificant complaint aside, this game holds up its end of the bargain with regard to multiplayer. After the Halo: The Master Chief Collection snafu (that may still be on-going to some degree), it was important for Microsoft to emphatically stick the landing on this one. Fortunately, it lives up to the excellent standard set by the rest of Gears of War Ultimate Edition.
Gears of War photo
Silky smooth so far
I have a novel concept for you: What if a major video game releases and its multiplayer component just works? Like, there isn't a bunch of drama and patches and updates and apologies; instead, you get to play the game immedia...

PSN sale photo
PSN sale

PlayStation Network sale stretches the meaning of 'retro'


Cheap PS4, PS3, and Vita games
Aug 25
// Steven Hansen
The PlayStation Network is having a sudden sale with deals of up to 90% off (with PlayStation Plus) games. This "Retro" sale includes classic titles like Beyond: Two Souls (2013) for $8 and OlliOlli 2: Welcome to Olliwood (20...
Flywrench photo
Flywrench

Test your reflexes with Flywrench on Steam


From Nidhogg developer Messhof
Aug 25
// Jordan Devore
Flywrench is cool but hard to convey. Gifs help. You control a ship by erratically flapping and tumbling through an abstract world. Different maneuvers change your ship to different colors, allowing you to pass through obstac...
Bad breath photo
Bad breath

Have you seen Final Fantasy XV's malboro? Terrifying


Bad breath
Aug 25
// Steven Hansen
Ah, the days when the sight of a drooling malboro brought with it dread. This encounter is looking as if Final Fantasy XV will recapture that worry. With the push towards realism and the large scope of the world, it needs be...
Xbox Games with Gold photo
Xbox Games with Gold

Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition slated for Games with Gold


September lineup announced
Aug 25
// Jordan Devore
The September lineup for Games with Gold should please folks who prefer bows over guns. On Xbox One, there's Tomb Raider, and on Xbox 360, there's Crysis 3. The former is good! With an Xbox Live Gold account, you'll be able t...
Tokyo Twilight Ghost photo
Tokyo Twilight Ghost

Tokyo Twilight Ghost Hunters is getting a major update


New episodes
Aug 25
// Chris Carter
Tokyo Twilight Ghost Hunters is a nice little adventure game, and it's about to get even nicer. Arc System Works has announced that it's bringing a major update over for every platform -- PS3, PS4, and Vita. The update is cal...

Review: Party Hard

Aug 25 // Stephen Turner
Party Hard (PC [Reviewed], iOS) Developer: Pinokl Games Publisher: tinyBuild Games Released: August 25, 2015MSRP: $12.99  Party Hard tells the tongue-in-cheek story of the Party Hard Killer, a man who just wanted to get some sleep at 3AM and eventually went on a murder spree around the US in the early '00s. It’s all played for macabre laughs, though there are flashes of genuine subversion throughout. In the narration, one random victim's identity turns out to be a slap to the face when you're in mid-chuckle, but other twists and turns rarely pay off. Though, in its favour, Party Hard is completely self-aware of its own weaknesses. It’s not trying to be the next Hotline Miami in that regard. Despite the pulsing and rather solid electro soundtrack, Party Hard is actually a slow and methodical game. As the Party Hard Killer (and other unlockable characters), the main aim is to divide and conquer a crowd of people by any means necessary. Of course, stabbing someone in plain sight means someone’s going to call the cops, so it's up to you to manipulate and set off environmental accidents. Dotted around the map are things you can use to flatten, poison, or blow up unsuspecting victims in order to achieve your goal. It's a sandbox game to a point, with a bit of improvisation thrown in for good measure, and watching several timed accidents go off at once is a dark joy to behold. But once all the environmental tricks run out, the game suddenly turns into a fiendish stalk-and-slash. Hiding bodies and killing in secrecy become a must, since the police are relentless in their pursuit of you. You can bump off the cops, but that means the next witness will bring in the more efficient Feds, and the escape routes are eventually boarded up. Finishing off the last 10-15 victims does become a drag, especially after the initial outburst of comical violence. Party Hard lacks the kind of distractions needed to splinter off the remaining survivors, so the last half of every level degrades into a waiting game. Along with the knife, you can bust-a-move that will either get people to dance in place, spurn them away, or give you a good kicking. It’s a little random and mostly useless, considering how everyone wanders around when left to their own devices. To speed things along, there are randomised power-ups to collect; smoke/stun grenades, bottles of poison, and new disguises. Bombs can cause a massive amount of damage, but on the negative side, a fascist SWAT team show up and start attacking everyone, including you. In one particular level, calling in a fumigation crew ends with them gassing out a good third of the party. Party Hard is a genuinely humorous game, crammed as it is with an assortment of “Where’s Wally [Waldo]?” pop culture references. A lot of it is anachronistic for the period, along with the excellent soundtrack, as it self consciously distances itself from the current '80s/'90s aesthetic trend, but it’s still amusing to watch the party unfold, as potential victims get drunk, pass out, or dance with bears that wear gold chains and shades. What Party Hard lacks in complexity, it makes up for with personality. And while it does run out of steam about two thirds of the way in, Party Hard doesn’t outstay its welcome. At only 12 levels long - one being a bonus round and another being a remix - it can be finished in a single evening. Despite owing a lot to Hotline Miami in terms of sight and sound, Party Hard is almost the antithesis of its most obvious influence. On a personal note, it's actually more reminiscent of How to be a Complete Bastard, a similar (and ancient) game involving house parties and a destructive protagonist. It’s not quite a lost weekend, and it’s barely an all-nighter, but Party Hard manages to do its thing before the parents get home. [This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]
Review photo
Scene is dead, but I'm still restless...
“I get wet when I know that you're dying,” sang Andrew W.K. on his debut album closer, I Get Wet. It’s actually a fine anthem for the terrible things you get away with in Party Hard, far more than the p...

FFXIV photo
FFXIV

Final Fantasy XIV getting a 24-man airship raid, Pokemon-like minion battles


And a whole lot more
Aug 25
// Chris Carter
Final Fantasy XIV is already a rather large game thanks to the Heavensward expansion, but it's about to get bigger come patch 3.1. It was announced that in addition to new story quests, a new beast tribe questline is coming, ...
Destiny photo
Destiny

Hear the new Nolan North-voiced Ghost in Destiny


RIP Dinklebot
Aug 25
// Jordan Devore
It's a single line of dialog, but here's what Ghost sounds like in Destiny: The Taken King now that Nolan North is voicing the character instead of Peter Dinklage. Time to get worked up! Or not! Resident Destiny fanatic Vikki Blake says "Northbot sounds just like Dinklebot." I'd tentatively call North's performance an improvement based on, again, just this one line, but we'll have to see.
Vita photo
Vita

Sony Vita settlement emails going out, check yours!


That FTC suit
Aug 25
// Chris Carter
Remember that time Sony got in trouble with the FTC for false advertising in regards to the Vita? Well it settled sometime back, and offered up $25 in restitution or a selection of game bundles. After months of waiting, email...
Phantom Pain photo
Phantom Pain

The Metal Gear Solid V launch trailer is bittersweet


One week to go
Aug 25
// Jordan Devore
The first half of this launch trailer for Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is a short, incomplete reminder of designer Hideo Kojima's legacy. It's sad, knowing what we know. Touching, even. Then a giant-ass mech with a gun on its crotch transforms a fiery whip into a sword and slashes cars.

Very Quick Tips: Mega Man Legacy Collection's Challenge Mode

Aug 25 // Chris Carter
General Challenge Mode tips: When you're playing Challenge Mode, pause the game with the select button instead of start -- the latter will still run the timer. In Mega Man 1, never forget the Magnet Beam -- it can severely cut down on your times, and instantly skip most platforming pit sections. Try to look at what games are featured in a specific playlist, and remember that any entry from 3 on has the slide ability, and 4 on has the charged shot. If you need help remembering what game you're playing, turn on screen borders -- the artwork will clue you in. Memorize the locations of items within the menu. Selecting a subweapon takes time, and you can shave off seconds on a constant basis if you remember where everything is. Make flash cards if you're serious about going for the top spot! Did you die early on in a challenge? Press select and restart -- the timer doesn't reset on its own. In megamixes featuring multiple areas, memorize the last section after completing it once, so you know when you can rush and not worry about losing health that you may need for the next area. Additionally, remember that subweapon energy replenishes after each zone. Sometimes getting hit is okay, and it may even allow for a quicker clear time. If you're looking to not die, getting hit by a bullet is generally less damaging than a collision -- so get hit by a projectile, then use the subsequent invincibility frames to run through enemies. The best times will be posted by players who don't die once. The Mega Man 1 pause glitch still works, you just need to use a different button (L1, LB) to initiate the in-game pause rather than the Mega Man Legacy-specific menu.
Mega Man tips photo
Mega Bustin' makes me feel good
People often cite the Mega Man series as an example of "difficult" retro games, but there's an astounding amount of rhyme and reason to the level design therein. With a few tips you'll be breaking down time trial record walls like it was nothing.

Splatoon photo
Splatoon

Splatoon's soundtrack is two discs, features 61 tracks


'Splatune'
Aug 25
// Chris Carter
Man, the official Splatoon soundtrack sounds amazing! First off it's called "Splatune," which would be reason enough to buy it, but it's 61 whopping tracks. That includes 37 full songs, 14 sound effect tracks, and 10 "ji...

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