The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes Preview (3DS)

In The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes, teams of 3 players, each controlling their own Link character, work together to solve puzzles in order to explore dungeons and collect weapons and outfits which are useful in many ways throughout the game.  Players can use different combinations of weapons, form a totem on each others’ shoulders, work together to push blocks around and many other types of teamwork in order to solve the puzzles needed to advance through the dungeons.  

Outfits are also an important aspect of the game.  Each outfit has its own unique ability or impact on your character or characters.  For example, the Legendary Dress, Zelda's iconic pink dress, gives Link extra hearts. Since hearts are shared between players, the dress' powers can be crucial to survival.  Outfits are crafted using materials players find while exploring dungeons.  This gives the game a sort of loot-based grind feel to it, which is actually nice.  While most of the game is cooperative, the grinding for loot can become somewhat competitive as players go for materials in the dungeons.  I am no fashion expert by any means, but this part of the game is actually pretty cool.

Tri Force Heroes features both single player and both local and online multiplayer modes.  In the multiplayer modes, you have to play with 2 other players, you cannot play with just 2 players.  I only played multiplayer with some friends.  There is no voice chat and a few on-screen emotes and actions, therefore local multiplayer seemed easier, since communication is a big factor and it is harder to communicate with players online than in the same room as you.  Voice chat would be a nice improvement for online play for sure.  

The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes releases on this Friday, October 23rd.  I am looking forward to picking it up and trying out the single player mode as well as more online play with friends.

The Gamers Lounge Thoughts and Reactions on Nintendo E3

Nintendo has some big shoes to fill following Microsoft and Sony.  Let’s see what they have up their sleeves this year!

A World Premier of StarFox Zero is shown.  Both air and ground battles are displayed and the game looks great.  The narration in the game is sounds and looks awesome.  The control scheme is discussed.  The Wii U gamepad is used to aim, and as a first person view, and the TV is used as a cinematic view.  The cinematic view on TV is a fresh and unique idea that would be great if incorporated in some other games.  A release of Holiday 2015 is revealed for StarFox Zero.  I’m very impressed with what I’ve seen so far.

Skylanders Super Chargers is featured along with Turbo Charge Donkey Kong and Hammer Slam Bowser figures along with their vehicles.  These figures are playable in Skylanders Super Chargers.  It is shown that the character’s base can be turned, which changes it from a Skylanders character to an Amiibo.  The game looks very interesting and the concept of Amiibo/Skylander figures is unique.

A first look at Zelda Triforce Heroes is shown. It is a multiplayer puzzle type Zelda game with up to 3 players working together to get through levels by solving puzzles and fighting enemies together.  You also find different outfits for your character throughout the game, which gives you different abilities.  Graphics are similar to A Link Between Worlds and the teamwork element looks fantastic.  It is given a Fall 2015 release.  This game looks like a lot of fun and every Legend of Zelda game gets me hyped.

Hyrule Warriors for 3DS is now in development.  It is a reimagining of the Wii U version and will contain all DLC characters.  Additional characters and levels from The Legend of Zelda Windwaker are being added as well.  First quarter 2016 release is given.

Metroid Prime Federation Force for 3DS is revealed in a short video along with Metroid Prime Battle Ball, a 3 on 3 space ball game. The video was short, but looked pretty good so far.

Xenoblade Chronicles X is shown.  Lots of action is shown and graphics look great.  A game to look forward to on December 4th!

A new Animal Crossing game called Animal Crossing Happy Home Designers is shown.  It appears that you design houses for residents in this version of Animal Crossing.  You can use cards similar to the way you use Amiibos to access additional game content.  I would have liked to see a new Animal Crossing game similar to the others, but it will be interesting to see how this game turns out.

Animal Crossing Amiibos are now shown, along with a Mario Party type board game called Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival where it appears the goal is to collect as many coins as possible.  It didn’t appear that there were mini-games to play as you adventure around the game board.  I have mixed feelings about this game and will have to wait and see how things go as more details are released.

Yoshi’s Wooly World is featured next.  The graphic style of the game, which is everything made out of yarn, looks amazing and the gameplay looks fantastic! Enemies and other things swallowed by Yoshi turn into a ball of yarn instead of eggs.  Amiibos can be placed on the gamepad to change Yoshi into a Yoshi of that character.  Multiplayer looks fun and players can decide how they want to play.  October 16th is the release date for this exciting game.

Super Mario Maker is shown and the Amiibo feature is displayed that allows you to change your Mario character into other characters by tapping the Amiibo on the gamepad.  Looks like a very cool feature.  There will also be an 8-bit Mario Amiibo released that makes your Mario character very big.  Super Mario Maker will be released in September.

Nintendo’s E3 conference wraps up with some Mario footage dating from the original NES game to the newest Mario adventure.  The conference was heavily focused on Super Mario Maker and it being Mario’s 30th Anniversary.  Although there weren’t really any huge announcements from Nintendo, the conference was very entertaining.  Yoshi’s Wolly World and Super Mario Maker were the highlights of the show for me.  

Make sure you stay tuned to The Gamers Lounge for all of your E3 updates and news!

The Gamers Lounge Reactions and Thoughts on EA E3 Conference

EA promises more than 12 new experiences to be revealed at their E3 conference.  The Gamer’s Lounge is looking forward to seeing what they have up their sleeve!

EA starts their conference with a brief teaser trailer of Mass Effect Andromeda.  No real details are given, just a short video.

Need for Speed is shown.  It is a combination of the past Need for Speed titles.  The world is twice the size of the world in Need for Speed Rivals.  It features the richest customization ever in a Need for Speed game and has 5 overlapping stories for players to take part in, which are Speed, Style, Build, Crew and Outlaw.  The graphics look great and I am looking forward to trying it out once it is released on November 3rd.

Unravel is a new puzzle/platform game that is demonstrated for the first time.  In Unravel you control a character made of red yarn that unravels as you make your way through the levels.  The yarn you leave behind can be used to help you through levels or can get in your way, depending on the paths you choose.  The graphics in the game look fantastic and the gameplay seems very unique.  This is definitely a game that I am going to keep my eye on as it further develops.

Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2 is shown next.  The Zombies have taken over and the Plants are now on the attack.  It was announced that there will be 6 new character classes and free content updates.  It was also revealed that there will be a single player mode and players of the first game can transfer their characters to the second game for free.  Looks like another great game that I will be looking forward to in the Spring of 2016.

NBA Live 16 is demonstrated.  A cell phone app is shown that is used to scan your face into the game.  The demonstration looked pretty straight forward and the results were great.  It will be interesting to see if that is the case when it is released to the public  New live-motion, physics based movement, revamped passing and a new shot system were also showcased.  I don’t think NBA Live is going to surpass 2K by any means, but it is nice to see some improvement on the recent versions.  I will give the game a shot for sure when it is released on September 29th.

FIFA 16 is shown next.  This is the first time that Women's teams are featured in a FIFA game.  Better defense and physics are boasted, along with the announcement that all FIFA Ultimate Team players will receive Pele and Messi for free today.

One of the most hyped games of E3, Mirror’s Edge Catalyst is shown next.  This iteration takes you to the backstory of Faith, the main character.  This game is truly free-roaming as there are no levels or loading screens.  There are also no weapons, Faith relies on her agility and martial arts abilities to take out her enemies.  The gameplay shown was very fluid and the graphics were outstanding.  The combat system seemed to work great.  This will be a huge release when it comes out February 23rd, 2016.

A new kind of NFL Fantasy Draft game was revealed.  Draft Champion is a unique type of fantasy draft in which the player is given the choice between 3 players each round.  There is a lot of strategy involved because you never know what player or positions will come up each round.  Once you draft your team, you can play with that team online or solo.  Once you finish the short season, you draft again.  Seems like a very interesting concept to me and I will be giving it a try for sure.

Madden 16 was featured next.  Some precision control changes were revealed.  The changes are for the Quarterback, Wide Receiver and Defensive Back positions.  For the Quarterback, three different passes can be made, a low pass, a bullet pass and a high pass.  For the Wide Receiver,  you can make three kinds of catches, a yards after catch, a possession catch and an aggressive catch.  Unfortunately, As EA was getting into the Defensive Back’s controls, the Twitch stream had some technical difficulties.  By the time it came back online, the Madden presentation was finished.

Star Wars Battlefront was the final game shown at EA’s conference.  EA used real sets and props from the movies to create the worlds, weapons and characters in the game.  The game features split screen co-op and one-on-one battles.  The PS4 gameplay footage showed the game being played from all sides in both 1st and 3rd person views.  I am not a big Star Wars fan, but I am really looking forward to playing this game.

Overall EA had a pretty good conference.  There was a lot of excitement for Mirror’s Edge and Battlefront.  There are quite a few games from EA that I am looking forward later this year and into 2016.

Make sure you stay tuned to The Gamer’s Lounge for more coverage of E3 2015!

The Gamers Lounge Reactions and Thoughts on Sony E3 Conference

Sony’s conference has a lot of hype coming into it, with games such as Uncharted 4 and No Man’s Sky rumored to make appearances.  Can Sony keep up with Microsoft when it comes to big announcements?  It’s time to find out!

A gameplay video of The Last Guardian is shown to the excited crowd.  The gameplay is full of intense action and the graphics look great.  Definitely a game to look forward to in 2016.

Hermen Hulst of Guerrilla Games introduces their newest franchise Horizon Zero Dawn.  The gameplay video features the main character as she hides in bushes while hunting robotic dinosaur type enemies.  The gameplay looked smooth and the graphics looked very good.  Looks like a game I will be following as development continues.  No release date announced.

It was announced that a new Hitman game will be available on Beta to Playstation 4 first.

Street Fighter 5 gameplay footage is shown along with characters Birdie and Cammie.  The short video looked great.  It was announced that a beta will be available on PS4 on July 23rd.

A gameplay demo of No Man’s Sky is shown.  The player shows a brief space fight.  The battle is intense and looks great.  He then shows how many different places you can visit, which seems to be endless.  He then travels to a random undiscovered solar system.  He flies to a beacon on a planet and the planet is now discovered.  Each planet is destructible but is protected by robotic machines.  The game looks awesome and I am looking forward to it when it comes out.

Alex Evans of Media Molecule presents Dreams, an art creation type game where players can work together to create unique art.  The short demonstration was very interesting.

A trailer for Firewatch is shown.  The graphics in Firewatch look great and the story seems interesting.  Looking forward to seeing more of Firewatch.

Destiny’s next expansion, The Taken King is shown and has a release date of September 15th.  It contains a new map and much more content.  The trailer was amazing.

Assassin’s Creed Syndicate is shown.  The trailer shows some intense combat along with some new weapons.  You can play some missions exclusively on PS4.

World premier of World of Final Fantasy is shown.  The graphics, story and gameplay look amazing.  It will be released in 2016 exclusively on PS4 and PS Vita.

It was announced that Final Fantasy 7 Remake is coming out on PS4.  The announcement got a huge reaction from the crowd, as expected.  The trailer looked awesome and is a game many gamers will be looking forward to.

Shenmue 3 is announced and is funded by Kickstarter.  It is a sequel to the first and second Shenmue, not a spin off.  Yu Suzuki counts down to the opening of the Kickstarter campaign and the crowd goes crazy.  This is a game I can’t wait for! It has been a long time coming and there is no doubt it will get funded.  I think it will reach it's 2 million dollar goal within 24 hours.

Batman Arkham Knight is shown.  The story looks to be great and graphics are amazing.  The scene shown is from the Scarecrow Nightmare Missions exclusive to the PS4 and takes place in a restaurant that is attacked by zombie-like creatures.

Project Morpheus is talked about.  Many games that are compatible with Morpheus are shown, including RIGS which is a 3 on 3 battleground.  

Playstation Vue is launching in San Francisco and Los Angeles tonight.  Subscribers will be able to choose what channels they want without purchasing packages.  

Sony and Activision have teamed up to bring Call of Duty Black Ops 3 to E3. The campaign can be played with up to four friends online.  Gameplay video looks great and teamwork seems to be the key to success.  The environmental destruction looks tremendous.  Multiplayer is also demoed and it looks very smooth.  I’m not a huge CoD fan, but I am looking forward to this game on November 6th.  Playstation players will be the first to get all map packs and get beta access.

Disney Infinity 3.0 is shown.  Star Wars Twilight of the Republic and Rise Against the Empire playsets are shown and a limited edition starter pack that is exclusive to PS4 is announced.  A trailer for Rise Against the Empire is shown and looks interesting.  It is also announced that a Boba Fett figure is included in the limited edition starter pack that will be released on PS4 before any other consoles.

Star Wars Battlefront is featured and talks about the multiplayer aspect of the game.  Co-op is playable online or split screen.  I have to say the graphics in Battlefront are some of the best I have ever seen.  I am not a huge Star Wars fan, but this is a game I have to play when it is released in November.  

The final game shown is Uncharted 4.  The gameplay shown starts in a crowded area and the graphics look amazing.  NPCs move around fluidly without any hiccups as the characters move through the crowd.  As bullets start flying, everything remains smooth and the environmental destruction is very realistic.  When the action moves to the streets, the environmental damage is just as impressive.  Another game I cannot wait for!

That wraps up Sony’s E3 conference.  Quite a few good announcements and gameplay demos.  Not quite as exciting as Microsoft’s conference, but still good none-the-less.  Make sure you stay tuned to The Gamer’s Lounge for more updates and news from E3!

The Gamers Lounge Reactions and Thoughts on Microsoft E3 Conference

Microsoft had many great announcements and features at their E3 conference this morning.  Many new games were shown, features were announced, and one demonstration that stole the show for a lot of onlookers.  

Gameplay footage of Halo 5 Guardians was shown.  The game was said to be built from the ground up with epic worlds and battles at an epic scale.  The footage shown was a team of 4 spartans hunting for Master Chief.  It appeared that players are able to give commands to team members to help get through battles.  Josh Holmes of 343 Industries also mentioned that Halo 5 features drop in/out multiplayer and the maps are 4 times the size of any other maps from other Halo games.  He also presented a new “Warzone” multiplayer mode.  In this mode it is the player vs. everything; other players and AI enemies.  The graphics in Halo 5 Guardians looked great and I look forward to the game getting closer to launch.

The World Premier of a new Xbox One exclusive franchise called Recore was shown.  The trailer showed a woman and her robotic pet walking through a desert.  Based on the footage, it looks like this could be an interesting game to follow in the coming months.

Phil Spencer, Head of Xbox, made the announcement that Xbox One backwards compatibility is coming.  The backwards compatibility will work with Xbox 360 games that developers allow to be made backwards compatible.  This will work with both physical and digital games and will be available this holiday season.

The Xbox One Elite Wireless Controller was announced.  It features swappable components, button and paddle remapping, sensitivity adjustments and more.  The controller will be released this fall.  No specific date or price was given.

Fallout 4 was shown.  It will feature full character customization and can be played in both 1st and 3rd person views.  An announcement was also made that mods made on the PC version of Fallout 4 can be played on the Xbox One version as well.

Peter Moore of EA made a couple of announcements.  He announced that EA Access will be free this week to all Xbox Live Gold members.  He also announced a couple new games that will be added to the Vault, Titanfall, which will be added this week and Dragon Age: Inquisition, which will be added this fall.  Members of EA Access will now be able to begin playing games before their street dates, such as Madden 16 on August 20th.  He also showed a trailer for Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2.  The game features new characters, worlds and modes and will be released in the Spring of 2016.

A Forza 6 trailer and footage was presented.  The game features 26 destinations, 450 cars, 24 player multiplayer and runs at 60 fps at 1080p resolution.  The game will be released on September 15th and looks amazing.

A World Premier trailer for Dark Souls 3 was shown.  Not much was shown, except an early 2016 release date, but it was pretty exciting none-the-less.

Tom Clancy’s The Division was shown with gameplay footage.  It looks like it is going to be a great Action RPG set in New York.  It was announced that Xbox One players will get the first Beta in December.

Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege was also shown.  It was also announced that Rainbow Six Vegas and Rainbow Six Vegas 2 will come free with Rainbow Six Siege on Xbox One.

Many indie titles were shown, including Beyond Eyes, an adventure game where the main character is blind and Cuphead, a 16-bit style platformer that features 1930’s cartoon style graphics.  It looks like a bright future ahead for indie games on Xbox One.

RARE announced RARE Replay which will feature 30 classic RARE games, such as Perfect Dark, Banjo Kazooie, R.C. Pro Am and Battletoads.  RARE Replay will be released on August 4th for $30.

RARE also revealed their newest Adventure game, Sea of Thieves.  The trailer showed lots of explosive battles on ships and some on land adventuring.  It looks like a game I will be keeping my eyes on as it develops further.

Fable Legends was shown and will be free-to-play on Xbox One and Windows 10.  It was announced that players on both platforms will be able to play together.

Xbox Game Preview was announced, which is a program that allows players to buy and play titles while they are still in development, similar to Steam Early-access titles.  Every game in the program will have a free demo for players to try before committing to buying.  The program starts today.

Gameplay of Rise of the Tomb Raider was shown.  The graphics and lighting in the game looked amazing and the gameplay was very intense.  It is set to be released this Holiday season.

Gears of War Ultimate Edition was announced.  It is a remake of the original Gears of War and will be released on August 25th.  A public beta for the game starts today.

A teaser trailer for Gears of War 4 was also shown with a release date of Holiday 2016.

A demonstration of Minecraft being played using the Microsoft Hololens was shown.  They were able to use a special camera that showed everyone what it looked like through the Hololens.  First, the man using the Hololens put a “screen” on the wall of the stage and played your everyday Minecraft using a controller.  Another player joined his game and the game looked and played just as it would on a PC or console.  The player then turned off the screen on the wall and walked over to a table on stage.  Using a voice command, he turned the table into a 3D view of the Minecraft game.  He was able to walk around and look at the world from all angles.  He was also able to “lift” the Minecraft world up and look below ground to help the other player find materials underground.  He was able to use commands to help guide her to the right spot.  There were many voice commands he used to do different things in the game, such as saying “lightning strike” did just that, sent a bolt of lightning to the world.  This demonstration was amazing and makes you wonder just what else you will be able to do when development is complete and what games other than Minecraft will be like.  This demonstration was the moment of the conference for me, as I’m sure it was for many others.

Make sure you stay tuned at The Gamer’s Lounge for more E3 updates and news!

Nightcap at The Gamer's Lounge - March 12, 2015

Welcome back to The Nightcap at the Gamer’s Lounge!  As always, sit back, relax and enjoy!

Releases This Week

• Assassin’s Creed Rogue (PC) - March 10

• Atelier Shallie: Alchemists of the Dusk Sea (PS3) - March 10

• Cities: Skylines (PC) - March 10

• DmC Devil May Cry: Definitive Edition (Xbox One, PS4) - March 10

• Flame Over (Vita) - March 10

• Hotline Miami 2 (PS4, PS3, Vita, PC) - March 10

• Mushroom Men: Truffle Trouble (PC) - March 10

• Resident Evil Revelations 2 - Episode 3 (Xbox One, 360, PS4, PS3, PC) - March 10 (PSN) and 11 (XBL, PC)

• Sniper Elite 3: Ultimate Edition (Xbox One, 360, PS4, PS3) - March 10

• Tokyo Twilight Ghost Hunters (PS3, Vita) - March 10

• Ori and the Blind Forest (Xbox One, PC) - March 11

• Sid Meier's Starships (PC, Mac, iOS) - March 12

• Trine Enchanted Edition (Wii U) - March 12

• Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. (3DS) - March 13

Next Week’s Releases

• Awakened Fate Ultimatum (PS3) - March 17

• Battlefield Hardline (Xbox One, 360, PS4, PS3, PC) - March 17

• Bladestorm: Nightmare (Xbox One, PS4, PS3) - March 17

• Final Fantasy Type-0 (Xbox One, PS4) - March 17

• Jamestown+ (PS4) - March 17

• Oceanhorn: Monster of Uncharted Seas (PC) - March 17

• Resident Evil Revelations 2 - Episode 4 (Xbox One, 360, PS4, PS3, PC) - March 17 (PSN) and 18 (XBL, PC)

• Tales from the Borderlands: Episode 2 - Atlus Mugged (Xbox One, 360, PS4, PS3, iOS, Android) - Week of March 17

• Woolfe - The Red Hood Diaries (PC) - March 17

• Worlds of Magic (PC) - March 19

• Mario Party 10 (Wii U) - March 20

News of the Week

• New DLC for Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, the Claptastic Voyage and Ultimate Vault Hunter Upgrade Pack 2, are both arriving later this month.  Claptastic Voyage is a campaign add-on and Ultimate Vault Hunter Upgrade Pack 2 raises the level cap to 70.

• Microsoft has announced the Halo: The Master Chief Collection Xbox One Bundle, which comes with the 500GB Xbox One, a wireless controller, headset and Halo: MCC.  The bundle will cost $349 and should be on shelves this month.

• XMPT Games’s has announced that their arena combat game DiscStorm is coming to Vita, PC, Mac, and Linux this summer.

• Grand Theft Auto V's online heists are finally available on all available platforms, and the feature is part of the game's title update 1.21, which also contains other bug fixes, improvements, and features.

• Sony Japan has announced an official release date of March 20 for the launch of the PlayStation 4 and Vita in China.

• A new Hard Mode difficulty is available for Dying Light, and goodies like new costumes, weapons, vehicles, and more are on the way.

• Sony has announced that Uncharted 4: A Thief's End won’t be coming this year.  It is now slated for release in Spring 2016.

• PlayStation Mobile will be ending this summer according to a note in the PlayStation forums.  Content distribution will be stopped as of July 15, 2015. After September 10, you will not be able to re-download purchased content either.

• Titanfall season pass and DLC are currently free in celebration of the game's one-year anniversary.

• Slightly Mad Studios has announced yet another delay for Project Cars, which has been pushed back to sometime in May.

• Update version 2.50 for the PlayStation 4 adds the ability to quickly boot up your game, Facebook integration, the ability to upgrade Sub-accounts to Master accounts, Remote Play & Share Play at 60 fps, expanded accessibility options, and the ability to upload video to Dailymotion.

• Two new free maps, Broken Hill Mine and Broken Hill Foundry, are heading to Evolve soon.  Both maps will be free and will be available first on Xbox One on March 31.  PC and PlayStation 4 versions will be available on April 30.

• Driveclub’s March 1.12 update includes the replay feature (single events and tours), a new driver level 50 award (Ferrari 599XX Evoluzione), support for Twitch and Ustream in multiplayer, as well as refinements to drift mode scoring, bug fixing, etc.

• Microsoft has announced that Xbox Live Gold members will get an advanced screening of Dead Rising: Watchtower. All you’ll need in order to watch is the Crackle app on Xbox One or Xbox 360.

That is your Nightcap at The Gamer's Lounge for this week.  See you next week!

Nightcap at The Gamer's Lounge - March 5, 2015

The Nightcap at the Gamer’s Lounge is back after a short hiatus!  As always, sit back, relax and enjoy!

Releases This Week

• Helldivers (PS4, PS3, PSVita) - 3/3

• La Mulana EX (PSVita) - 3/3

• OlliOlli 2 (PS4, PSVita) - 3/3

• Oreshika: Tainted Bloodlines - 3/3

• Resident Evil Revelations 2 - Episode 2 (XB1, 360, PS4, PS3, PC) - 3/3

• ScreamRide (XB1) - 3/3

• Shiftlings (PS4, PC) - 3/3 (XB1) - 3/4

• Tormentum - Dark Sorrow (PC) - 3/4

• White NIght (PS4, PC) 3/3, (XB1) 3/4

• Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars (Wii U, 3DS) - 3/5

• OlliOlli (Wii U, 3DS) - 3/5, (XB1) - 3/6

• Zombie Army Trilogy (XB1, PS4, PC) - 3/6

Next Week’s Releases

• Assassin’s Creed Rogue (PC) - 3/10

• Atelier Shallie: Alchemists of the Dusk Sea (PS3) - 3/10

• Cities: Skylines (PC) - 3/10

• DmC Devil May Cry: Definitive Edition (XB1, PS4) - 3/10

• Flame Over (PSVita) - 3/10

• Hotline Miami 2 (PS4, PS3, PSVita, PC) - 3/10

• Mushroom Men: Truffle Trouble (PC) - 3/10

• Resident Evil Revelations 2 - Episode 3 (XB1, 360, PS4, PS3, PC) - 3/10 (PSN) and 11 (XBL, PC)

• Sniper Elite 3: Ultimate Edition (XB1, 360, PS4, PS3) - 3/10

• Tokyo Twilight Ghost Hunters (PS3, PSVita) - 3/10

• Ori and the Blind Forest (XB1, PC) - 3/11

• Sid Meier's Starships (PC, Mac, iOS) - 3/12

• Trine Enchanted Edition (Wii U) - 3/12

• Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. (3DS) - 3/13

News of the Week

• The March Games with Gold titles are:

  • Rayman Legends - XB1

  • #IDARB - XB1

  • Tomb Raider - 360 (Until 3/15)

  • BioShock Infinite (On 3/16)

• The March PlayStation Plus titles are:

  • Counterspy (PS4, PS3, Vita)

  • Oddworld: New ’N’ Tasty (PS4)

  • OlliOlli 2 (PS4, Vita)

  • Papo & Yo (PS3)

  • Sherlock Holmes: Crime and Punishments (PS3)

  • Valiant Hearts: The Great War (PS4)

• Sony has announced 5 new titles that will be added to the PlayStation Now streaming service in March:

  • Infamous 2

  • Twisted Metal (2012)

  • R-Type Dimensions (featuring R-Type 1 & 2)

  • Alone in the Dark: Inferno

  • Operation Flashpoint: Red River

• It has been confirmed that players of Smite on PC will have the ability to transfer purchases and progress to the Xbox One version.

• Warner Bros. announced that there will be a moble Mortal Kombat X game that will have unlocks for the console and PC versions.

• EA and Visceral Games have announced a premium program for Battlefield Hardline that gives you four new “super features” and early access to the game’s story-based DLC.  The program will cost $50 and the “super features” include masks that give unique gameplay benefits, a gun bench that tracks weapon kills and visual customization, premium-only tournaments and ladders and legendary status for replayability.

• Blizzard is going to allow WoW players to buy WoW gold with real money.

• Interplay has announced plans to remaster ClayFighter for PC, which is planned to release in 2016.

• Club Nintendo has started sending out Smash Bros. Soundtracks to anyone that managed to register both versions of the new Super Smash Bros on Wii U and 3DS.

• For all of you Amiibo hunters/collectors, Marth Amiibos will be returning to stores in April.

• Players can now reserve their free Xbox One games through the Games with Gold program through their Xbox 360’s dashboard.

• Square Enix has revealed that Final Fantasy X/X-2 Remaster is coming to PS4 on May 12th.

• Hideo Kojima has confirmed a September release for Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, which has also been confirmed as the final game of the series.

• Curve Digital is bringing Ludo Land’s Four Sided Fantasy to Wii U, Xbox One, PC, PS4, PS3 and PS Vita.

• HBO Go is now available on PS4.

• Sony plans to release their PlayStation virtual reality, Project Morpheus in the first half of 2016.

• Halo: MCC received a big update that fixes matchmaking and party issues.

• A new Survivor Mode has been released for Alien: Isolation, which is included in the games fifth DLC pack, The Trigger.

• Wasteland 2 is heading to Xbox One and PS4.

• Hamonix has announced that Rock Band 4 is coming to PS4 and Xbox One.

That is your Nightcap at The Gamer’s Lounge for this week! See you next week!

Nightcap at The Gamer's Lounge - February 12, 2015

Upgrade your PSN Sub Account, check out a new Ghostbusters Board Game and much more at this week’s Nightcap at The Gamer’s Lounge.  Sit back, relax and enjoy!

Releases This Week

• Evolve (XB1, PS4, PC) - 2/10

• Unmechanical: Extended (PS4, PS3) - 2/10

• Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth2 (PSVita) - 2/11

• Decay - The Mare (PC) - 2/13

• The Escapists (XB1) - 2/13

• The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D (3DS) - 2/13

• Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate (3DS) - 2/13

• New 3DS XL (Console) - 2/13

Next Week’s Releases

• Dead or Alive 5: Last Round (XB1, 360, PS4, PS3) - 2/17

• Deadrock (PC) - 2/17

• Hand of Fate (XB1, PS4, PC) - 2/17

• Pillar (PS4) - 2/17

• Resident Evil Revilations 2 - Episode 1 (XB1, 360, PS4, PS3, PC) - 2/17 (PSN), 2/18 (XBL, PC)

• Total War: Attila (PC) - 2/17

• The Book of Unwritten Tales 2 (PC) - 2/20

• Kirby and the Rainbow Curse (Wii U) - 2/20

• The Order: 1886 (PS4) - 2/20

News of the Week

• Resident Evil HD Remake is Capcom’s fastest selling digital title in history.  It also broke the Playstation Network record for opening day sales of a digital game.

• EA and Visceral have announced that over 6 million players have participated in the second beta test of Battlefield Hardline.

• R.B.I. Baseball ‘15 has been announced along with numerous new features and improvements, such as authentic ballparks, online multiplayer and stat tracking.

• EA has confirmed that BioWare’s “Shadow Realms” has been cancelled.

• Major League Gaming is opening the Call of Duty Championships event to the public.  Fans can purchase tickets to attend the event for $50 and $100, which includes some exclusive DLC and other goodies.

• Playtonic Games, a new studio that consists of a programmer from Donkey Kong Country, a designer from Banjo-Kazooie and other former Rare members, have teased their first project titled “Project Ukulele”.
   

• Awesome Games Done Quick had 9.4 million viewers this year.  Awesome Games Done Quick is a speed-gaming event in which competitors complete games as quickly as they can.  The event is broadcasted on Twitch.

• A Ghostbusters Board Game has been listed on Kickstarter and has already almost doubled its $250,000 goal in just 3 days.  It will be the first officially licensed Ghostbusters board game ever produced.

• Ubisoft is releasing the Overrun DLC for Far Cry 4 which contains a new PvP mode and other additions.  This mode tasks players with controlling a designated zone.  This DLC pack also contains four new maps and a dune buggy vehicle.

• Dying LIght’s first DLC, Cuisine & Cargo, has been released.  It is available as part of the Season Pass only and has two hardcore missions that let players investigate buildings sealed off in the very first days of the outbreak.  

• Bethesda has announced that they are having a press conference at E3 for the first time ever.

• Sonic Boom has been the worst selling Sonic game of all time, selling under 500,000 copies.

• Playstation Network Sub Accounts can now be upgraded to Master Accounts.  Once users turn 18 years old, they can log in to their PSN account and upgrade to a Master Account.

Stop back next week for more news and information!

Nightcap at The Gamers Lounge - February 6, 2015

Welcome to Nightcap at The Gamer’s Lounge.  The Nightcap is a new weekly article that I will be writing that recaps the video gaming news of the week.  Sit back, relax and enjoy!

Releases This Week

• #IDARB (XB1) - 2/1

• Apotheon (PS4) - 2/3

• Criminal Girls: Invite Only (PSVita) - 2/3

• Kick & Fennick (PSVita) - 2/3

• SpongeBob HeroPants (360, 3DS, PSVita) - 2/3

• Risk (XB1, PS4) - 2/3

• Deathtrap (PC) - 2/4

Next Week’s Releases

• Evolve (XB1, PS4, PC) - 2/10

• Unmechanical: Extended (PS4, PS3) - 2/10

• Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth2 (PSVita) - 2/11

• Decay - The Mare (PC) - 2/13

• The Escapists (XB1) - 2/13

• The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D (3DS) - 2/13

• Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate (3DS) - 2/13

• New 3DS XL (Console) - 2/13

News of the Week

• A new ToeJam and Earl game is in the making.  A recent posting on the official ToeJam & Earl Facebook fan page reads “We haven't been posting as often lately because we've gotten really busy with the new TJ&E game. We will be making some announcements in a probably 3 or 4 weeks, when we have something we can show, and will be able to share lots of information with you.”

• Activision announced that Treyarch, the developer behind Call of Duty 3, World at War, Black Ops, Black Ops 2 and other Call of Duty games will be developing the 2015’s Call of Duty game.

• Sony’s San Diego Studio announced that they will be releasing a Special Edition package of MLB The Show 15, which includes a steelbook, in-game currency, item packs and dynamic themes.  The price will be $69.99

• Destiny’s House of Wolves expansion has been confirmed to arrive in the second quarter of 2015.  Bungie also announced that they are rebalancing weapons, which includes boosting pulse rifles.  This update is scheduled to drop later this month.

• 343 Industries are making some changes to Halo 5: Guardians after surveying beta testers during the recent beta testing period.  These changes include making the ability to sprint optional in custom games, faster base movement speed, lower top sprint speed, improved strafe acceleration and more.

Halo 5: Guardians Beta Infograph

• Here are the free PSN games for the month of February:

  • Apotheon (PS4)

  • Transistor (PS4)

  • Rogue Legacy (Cross compatible with PS4, PS3 and PSVita)

  • Thief (PS3)

  • Yakuza 4 (PS3)

  • Kick and Fennick (PSVita)

• February’s Game with Gold free games are:

  • #IDARB (XB1)

  • Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (360)

• A new Far Cry 4 patch has been released that adds co-op custom maps along with a collection of fixes.

• Ermac has been officially announced to be in Mortal Kombat X.  2 different Kollector’s Editions of the game have also been announced.

• OlliOlli, a skateboarding game originally released on PS Vita, will be released on Xbox One, 3DS and Wii U in mid-March.

• Multiplayer in the original Borderlands on Playstation 3 is now active again, thanks to 22nd Century Toys.

• Sony has added five new games to the Playstation Now service:

  • Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

  • God of War II HD

  • Red Faction: Armageddon

  • Galaga Legions DX

  • Arcana Heart 3

• Club Nintendo has added a ton of new rewards to their website, including a 2016 desktop calendar, Animal Crossing mini playing cards, poster sets, a Fierce Deity Link jigsaw puzzle, a messenger bag and tons of digital games.  Nintendo recently announced that Club Nintendo will be ending in June.

That is your Nightcap at The Gamer’s Lounge for this week!  I’m always open to suggestions, so feel free to leave comments and feedback.  See you next week!

Arcade Block Unboxing - January 2015

The January 2015 Arcade Block has arrived, containing a cool t-shirt, a Tetris notebook and much more!  Check out my unboxing video! 

Arcade Block Unboxing - December 2014

Welcome to the first entry in my new monthly series "Arcade Block Unboxing".  For those of you not familiar with Arcade Block, it is one of the "Blocks" offered at NerdBlock.com.  It is a monthly subscription service in which the company selects random video game themed items and puts them into a cool, NES themed box and ships it to your doorstep.  NerdBlock offers a few different themed "Blocks" to choose from, such as NerdBlock Classic, Horror Block and of course Arcade Block, each of which cost $19.99 a month.  They also offer a couple Junior themed "Blocks" for the kids at a smaller price.  There is no minimum subscription length, so you can try it out for a month and decide if it is for you or not.  I have had my Arcade Block subscription for 3 months now, and I have been pretty happy with what I have received.

The front of the Arcade Block box

Now let's get to this month's Arcade Block!  I wanted to do a video unboxing for this month, but I was unable to.  For this month I have to post pictures, but next month I will start with video unboxings.

The first item in the box is a Super Smash Bros. T-Shirt.  The only thing you are guaranteed to get every month with any of the higher priced "Blocks" is a T-shirt.  When you sign up for the subscription, you select what size shirt you would like so you will always receive the correct size.  I really like the design on this month's shirt and will definitely keep and wear it.  

The next item in the box is a package of Sonic the Hedgehog fridge magnets.  There are quite a few magnets in the package and I'm sure my kids will have fun creating different "levels" on the fridge.

Next, we have a "Touch Control Joystick for Touch Screens" by Asobu.  The package says it works with all touchscreen devices, including tablets and smartphones.  I have not had the chance to test it out yet, but based on what the package shows, it appears the joystick attaches to touchscreens with a sort of suction-cup type bottom.  You can attach it anywhere that a game or application uses a virtual d-pad or stick and it will input just as if you were using your fingers.  I am looking forward to testing this out and may post a review of it once I get some time with it. 

The next item is a Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass collectible figurine.  I have seen these egg shaped mystery containers at places like GameStop and Walmart before.  My container had Goronbeck and Son.  Since Legend of Zelda is one of my favorite series of all time, this will go pretty nicely with the rest of my collection.  

Next, we have a Halo lanyard with an ID badge holder and charm.  Not really sure what I will use this for, but I'm sure I will find something for it someday.  

And last, but not least, we have a Portal 2 themed scarf with "Aperture Laboratories" on it.  One side is white with black text, the other side is reversed, black with white text.  It is a pretty nice scarf.  I don't wear scarves, but this would even look nice hung up like a banner or something in my game room.  I'm sure I will find some use for this as well.

Well, that is a quick "unboxing" and review of the January 2015 Arcade Block.  As said before, next month I will be changing this series to a video instead of writing and pictures.  

Have any thoughts, suggestions, questions?  Feel free to comment!

Playstation Experience - Keynote Highlights

Over last weekend, Sony held their first annual Playstation Experience event in Las Vegas, Nevada.  The event kicked off with a keynote conference.  Many people had high expectations and many rumors spread around before the event. I was able to watch the conference online on Playstation's Twitch channel and I think the conference was a great success.  The conference lasted about two and a half hours and they shared many announcements about upcoming games, including gameplay footage of many of the top upcoming games.

The first game shown at the conference was Uncharted 4: A Thief's End.  This was a great choice as first game to show because it seemed to get everyone pumped up and excited about what the rest of the show could bring.  The gameplay for Uncharted 4 looked amazing.  The graphics looked great and I can't wait to see what improvements will be made before the game releases next year.  Here is a video of gameplay shown at the conference:

Next, Sony Santa Monica was up to present.  They showed a trailer for MLB The Show 2015 and it looked pretty impressive.  What was most impressive to me was the announcement that you will be able to take your Road to the Show players from MLB The Show 14 and continue your career on MLB The Show 2015.  As a sports game player, this is something I have been waiting on for quite some time.  I hope EA Sports follows suit and makes this happen in the Madden series.

We also got another look at Bloodborne.  They showed some multiplayer gameplay, as well as the trailer that was also shown at the Video Game Awards show the previous night. Bloodborne looks to be a very bloody and gory game, but looks like it will be fun.

Capcom announced that Ultra Street Fighter IV and Street Fighter V are going to be released as PS4 exclusives.  Sony is helping develop Street Fighter V which will also be cross format with the PC version.  I think this is a very interesting feature and am excited to see how it works out.  Hopefully, more developers will make this a feature in more games in the future.  

One thing Sony made clear was that they totally support indie game developers.  They showed trailers for many indie games that will be releasing in the next year.  Many of them looked very impressive and intriguing, such as Severed and Skytorn.

One indie game that stood out to me was The Forest.  I have played The Forest on PC as an early access game and I really enjoy it.  Being an early access game that is not 100% complete, but still very good, has me excited to see how much is improved before completion.  I can't wait to see how the PS4 version turns out, as well. 

It was also announced that Persona 5 and Yakuza 5 are coming to PS4.

Another thing Sony made clear was that the PS Vita is not dead and will continue to have great games released, including Suikoden 1 & 2, Towerfall Acension, Octodad and Banner Saga. It is a good time to be a Vita owner!

A new Tearaway game is coming to PS4 called Tearaway: Unfolded.  The footage of this game looked very good and is a game I am looking forward to.

Square-Enix announced that Final Fantasy VII will be released exclusively on PS4 next spring. It will not be an HD remaster as many people wanted, but will still be a great game to have.

More footage of No Man's Sky was shown.  This is a highly anticipated title that continues to look better and better each time new footage is revealed.  I have to admit, I am not too hyped about this game yet, but maybe in time I will come to realize what all the hype is about and jump on the train.

To wrap up the conference, a new game called Drawn to Death was shown.  This game looks as though it could be a very good game.  It is a 3rd person action/shooter in which the whole setting of the game looks like it was drawn or sketched on paper.  It looks like a crazy game with off-the-wall weapons and characters.  It is definitely something fresh and new, which is always nice.  I think this game will do very well when it is released.  I am excited to see future gameplay and features as the game is developed.

           My winner of the conference!

I think the biggest winner from the conference would have to be Until Dawn.  They showed a gameplay demo of this exclusive survival horror game and it looks amazing!  The graphics look unreal and the gameplay looked great as well.  Until Dawn is not your typical FPS or run-around-and-kill-zombies game.  It seems more like an interactive movie and reminds me of Heavy Rain on the PS3.  I can't wait for this game to be released and I hope it turns out as good as it has looked so far!  From the gameplay demo, it looked like the controls could use some fine tuning, but I'm sure that is something that will be worked out along with any other kinks before release.

Sony's first annual Playstation Experience Keynote Conference was a big hit if you ask me.  I wish I could have been there to see it in person and attend the rest of the conference.  Maybe next year! 

Who else watched the Keynote Conference?  What are your thoughts and impressions?

Glitches, Misprints and Scams (Oh My!)

Over the past couple of weeks, major retailers have had glitches, misprints and scams on each of the major video game consoles.  Best Buy had a misprint in their 11/9-11/16 ad which advertised an Xbox One with Kinect Assassin’s Creed Unity Bundle for $349 instead of $449.  Shortly after the misprint was noticed, many people reported that their local Best Buy posted flyers in their store correcting the misprint and no longer accepted the ad price.  However, many people reported that they were able to price match at other stores, such as Walmart and Target without any problems.  

Sears also recently had a glitch in their online pricing.  For a short time, they had 3DS XL systems and Wii U systems both listed for $59.  This error was noticed fairly quickly and was corrected, but if you were lucky enough to come across this error before they corrected it, Sears honored the price. Some people also reported successfully getting other stores, including Kmart and Walmart, to price match Sears before they changed the price.

Most recently, people have been using Walmart’s price matching policy against them to scam them into selling PS4s for $49.  Walmart had a very broad price matching policy that included price matching Amazon. Someone created a fake Amazon listing for PS4s for $49.99 and people then printed off that listing and took it in to Walmart to price match.  A lot of people reported getting Walmart to price match this “sale”.  Shortly after this scam was reported, Walmart changed their price matching policy to no longer match ads from third party sellers, auction sites and marketplace vendors.  

If I would have come across the Sears deal in time, I probably would have picked up a Wii U for $60.  I’m not sure my conscience would have allowed me to take part in the Walmart PS4 scam, but it would have been tempting for sure.  Did anyone get in on any of these “deals”?  There are even more legitimate deals coming up with Black Friday right around the corner.  Make sure you check out our Black Friday preview article for more details on the best Black Friday deals coming up!