Sony’s annual Holiday Sale is usually awaited with baited breath by the PlayStation community. It is in these final few weeks leading up the holidays that we can sometimes find some fantastic deals on digital games. This week marks the beginning of multi-week sale on all currently active PlayStation platforms – for a full list of deals check out the official PlayStation Blog but listed below are some of my favorites.
Nippon Ichi Software America has released a brand new trailer as well as a whole set of screenshots for the upcoming The Witch and the Hundred Knight: Revival Edition for the PlayStation 4.
The Witch and the Hundred Knight: Revival Edition is an action-RPG where players take the role of the titular The Hundred Knight – the strongest creature in this game’s universe. By completing the bidding of your master, Metalia, you’ll help spread her influence beyond the small swamp that she currently inhabits.
NIS originally released The Witch and The Hundred Knight on PlayStation 3, so you might be wondering what makes this brand new version worth a look? Here’s a list of new features exclusive to the Revival Edition:
60 Frames Per Second blistering action.
Updated graphics – with new textures, lighting and models.
A brand new area – The Tower of Illusion – enables players to score even more powerful loot.
Play as Metalia – Exclusive to the PS4 version!
Check out the brand new trailer and screenshots embedded at the bottom of this article. The Witch and The Hundred Knight: Revival Edition will be available in North America in March 2016 for $39.99 USD.
Last week we brought you some news via a translated interview that CD Projekt’s ambitious role-playing game Cyberpunk 2077 was going to be even more ambitious than this year’s The Witcher III. The game is in the news once again thanks to an interview the CEO of the CD Projekt RED gave to the Polish show Money.
It is not a surprise to anyone that The Witcher III has been an absolute success for the company – reaching sales of over 6 million units since the game’s launch this past May. It is so successful that the company’s CEO says that CD Projekt RED will focus on The Witcher brand for the next year.
Regarding their plans for The Witcher III Adam Kicinski said:
“This and the next year will be devoted to The Witcher. Apart from the second expansion we have some additional ideas. They should help us animate sales in 2016. The game is selling so well, that we are convinced there are still many people who will buy it if we promote it further.”
So where does this leave the ambitious Cyberpunk 2077, which the public hasn’t seen – aside from the off executive or producer quote – since the game’s initial reveal trailer? In terms of marketing material and official demos we won’t be seeing things for quite some time. No doubt CD Projeckt RED has an entire internal team working hard on the game but it looks like they will be going radio silent until the game’s marketing machine is ready to rev-up to full speed.
Here’s exactly what Mr.Kicinski said about the company’s plans for Cyberpunk:
“We already have the release date forCyberpunk 2077 planned, but we won’t announce it until we are ready to start the marketing campaign. At the moment we’re concentrating on The Witcher and don’t want to distract users from that product, which we are still monetizing.”
Cyberpunk 2077 was originally revealed back in January 2013 – in fact we covered the game’s initial reveal trailer over two years ago. The game will allow players to customize their own avatar for use in game and will have a heavy emphasis on non-linear choice driven story.
Valve has released the Winter Update for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. This update brings with it a brand new type of weapons case, new unlockable skins, a “Killer Replay” feature for Casual play and some other minor adjustments.
A brand new weapon has been added to the load-out screen, called the “R8” revolver, it replaces the Dessert Eagle. Are you eager to check this new piece of hardware out?
The new “Killer Replay” features allows you to view the game through your killer’s eyes beyond the initial Kill Cam. This feature only works in Demolition and Casual play as of the release of the Winter Update.
In addition to the R8 Revolver Valve has added a number of new skins, not just for the new hardware. According to the official website some of these new skins include:
The HTC Vive – a new virtual reality headset spearheaded by hardware manufacturer HTC and software behemoth Valve won’t see a limited release this year as expected. Instead of getting a “limited number” of headsets into the hands of consumers this winter HTC will launch the commercial version of the headset next April the company announced via their Facebook page today.
Over 7000 additional development kits for the HTC Vive are expected to be in the hands of developers by the beginning of next year.
Will this additional time give HTC & Valve enough breathing room to best the folks at Oculus? Expect to hear a lot more about VR as the commercial release of both products inches ever closer. It might not seem like it now but it’s starting to feel like Virtual Reality is going to make a huge wave in 2016 – here’s hoping you can see it coming.
Part of the statement HTC issued is as follows:
“In collaboration with Valve, we have been distributing the HTC Vive Developer Kits to developers and content creators, and are continuing to work with many other innovative companies to create content that spans gaming, entertainment, medical, education and retail.”
Arc System work’s latest entry in the long running Guilty Gear franchise, Guilty Gear Xrd –Sign-, will be brawling its way on to steam starting tomorrow. To celebrate the impending release of this 2014 fighting game on to Windows PC the developer has released a brand new trailer alongside a fact sheet that gives readers a rundown of some of the new features on display in Guilty Gear Xrd –Sign-.
Here are just a few of the highlights of Xrd –Sign-:
17 Total Characters – 12 returning from previous versions of Guilty Gear and 5 brand new characters. 3 additional characters – Leo, Sin and Elephant can either be purchased using real-world money or in-game currency as DLC.
Expanded Online Modes – Go online and face the world in Ranked Matched, practise casually against other opponents in Player Matches or learn through observation with the Spectator Mode.
Plenty of Game Modes – Arcade Mode is pretty self explanatory; it plays just like the arcade cabinet! Story Mode lets you experience the in-game narrative for your self, M.O.M Mode (Medal of Millionaires) is an endless gauntlet of A.I opponents that you must defeat to rank up your favorite fighter. There’s also a Gallery Mode that will let you sample all of the games background music and a training mode to help you get started.
Want to know if your PC will be able to run Guilty Gear Xrd –Sign-? Here’s the full System Specs as released by Arc System Works:
OS: Windows 7 / 8 / 8.1 Processor: Intel Core i5, 2.0 GHz Memory: 2 GB RAM Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 560 / Radeon HD 7770 DirectX: Version 9.0c Network: Broadband Internet connection Hard Drive: 10 GB available space Sound Card: Direct X Sound
If you’re interested in pre-purchasing Guilty Gear Xrd –Sign- it’s Steam Store page is already live.
Yacht Club Game’s Shovel Knight will make his amiibo debut on January 8th in North America and December 11th in Europe the developers have announced via their blog. The reason for the almost month long gap between launches in the two territories stems from an issue with the figure’s production. Rather than only ship a limited supply to North America for Christmas Nintendo & Yacht Club Games have decided to post-pone the figures release.
Once you get your hands on the blue digging hero what can he be used for? Here’s a rundown of everything you can do with your new blue friend once you have him:
Deep Customization with Custom Knight! (Wii U / 3DS Ver of Shovel Knight)
Level up to a max level of 50 by finding treasure!
Earn relics in an all new way while uncovering all-new relics, abilities, and powers you never thought possible!
Customize the look of your Shovel Knight with cool and crazy cosmetic options!
Use your Custom Knight seamlessly between Nintendo 3DS and Wii U!
Cooperative Multiplayer (exclusive to Wii U)
Join a friend’s Shovel Knight campaign and shovel together!
Use your cooperative skills to help each other out along the way!
Compete against each other collecting gold and defeating enemies to prove who is the true hero of Shovelry!
Play with any combination: two Custom Knights, one Custom Knight/one Classic Knight, or 2 Classic Knights.
Will compatibility for the Shovel Knight Amiibo go beyond the 3DS ports of the game that bears his name sake? Right now we don’t have a definite answer to that question – rumors surfaced last August before the official reveal of the figure suggesting that Shovel Knight may in fact appear in Smash. Nintendo has made no official announcement of Shovel Knight as a playable character in Smash Bros – the last officially announced character was Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy VII during last month’s Nintendo Direct.
After collecting driver feedback through the Steam Early Access program Codemaster’s next racer, DIRT Rally has given the full release treatment on Valve’s digital distribution platform. A physical release for current-gen consoles (Xbox One & PS4) as well as a Windows PC DVD release is expected to hit store shelves on April 5th 2016.
Dirt Rally entered Early Access this past March with 36 stages and 14 cars. In contrast the full version of Rally features an increased number of vehicles and tracks to test your handling skills on. In the latest update – titled Winter Wonderland – three new tracks from Sweden make their way into the game just in time for launch.
Version 1.0 of Dirt Rally also add support for the SteamWorks service meaning that users can share their Car Setup & Force Feedback settings.
As of press time Dirt Rally is currently 15% off on steam to celebrate it’s launch, priced at $46.74 Canadian.
Starting today guardians who visit the universe of Bungie’s Destiny can participate in a six-person death race on a brand new Sparrow. The next major patch – which goes live today – Destiny 2.1 – will add two new NPCs to the tower. By speaking to Tess Everis Guardians will have the option to purchase new in-game emotes, similar to the one’s that were made available during the Halloween event. By speaking to the second NPC, Amanda Holliday, players will be able to earn their Sparrow Racing League License and complete bounty for new gear.
The Sparrow Racing League will go live on all platforms starting today and will run until December 29th. Fans got their first chance to check out this brand new, time limited mode, at the PlayStation Experience this past weekend in San Francisco.
According to Bungie here’s everything you do when speaking to Amanda Holliday:
Obtain your SRL Licence Quest and SRL Bounties
Earn a new Sparrow as part of the SRL Quest
Upgrade your reputation by completing SRL Bounties
Each Race is a chance to earn SRL gear and Shaders
The higher your reputation, the better the post-game drops
Helmets and Class Items can drop with up to 320 Light
Helmets and Class Items with Light can be used for Infusion
All other SRL gear has no Light, but features racing perks
Here’s everything Tess has to offer:
New emotes to celebrate the thrill of speed and competition
ToolKits that include stylish (but equally fast) Sparrows
ToolKits that include Horns to let you signal your approach
A new Record Book to provide more challenge and reward
It’s important to note that a copy of The Taken King is required to participate in The Sparrow League.
Sony has brought limited backwards compatibility to PS4 owners by listing eight PlayStation 2 titles available for purchase on the PlayStation Store. Available in both North America and Europe these eight games feature three games from one franchise (Grand Theft Auto) and those looking to delve into the PS2’s vast catalogue of roleplaying games might be disappointed.
Here’s the full list of games available as of current:
Dark Cloud — $14.99
Grand Theft Auto III — $14.99
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City — $14.99
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas — $14.99
Rogue Galaxy — $14.99
The Mark of Kri — $14.99
Twisted Metal: Black — $9.99
War of the Monsters — $9.99
As you can see they are priced between $9.99 USD and $14.99 USD depending on the game. To be honest I feel like this is a little too much for older titles – even with the added upscaling, remote play and trophy support.
Sony’s largest competitor, Microsoft, unveiled their backwards compatible solution at this past June’s E3. With the latest dashboard update Microsoft made over 100 games from the previous generation playable simply by inserting the game disc and downloading a free version of your favorite game, as long as the disc is in the tray your game will play.
Sony also offers PlayStation Now, a cloud based streaming service that enables players to stream older titles to their televisions, PS Vitas, PlayStation TVs and PlayStation 4. Those looking to utilize their collection of physical PlayStation 2 software appear to be out of luck for the time being.
How do you feel about Sony’s decision to charge upwards of $15 USD for older titles?
Earlier this week I got the chance to attend Idea Factory International’s second annual press-event in San Francisco California where the publisher announced a very robust line-up for the first quarter of 2016. Not only will the long running Hyperdimension Neptunia franchise make its first leap to the 8th generation of consoles with the North American release of Hyper Dimension Neptunia V. II (pronounced “Vee two” .. it’s not a seven) but also brand new titles for the PlayStation Vita and a whole slew of games making the jump from PS Vita to Windows PC.
If you weren’t some of the lucky few able to attend the event, don’t worry, Broken Joysticks has you covered not only with a rundown of all of the major announcements from this past Thursday but also a breakdown of what attending the event was like and some exclusive video – showcasing exactly how IFI announced their brand new titles.Read More
At the opening press conference from the PlayStation Experience Square Enix gave fans another taste of the still undated Final Fantasy 7 remake for the PlayStation 4.
In this brand new gameplay trailer we get a brief look at the game’s combat system, which from the small glimpse we’ve been given looks to borrow a lot from Final Fantasy XV and Kingdom Hearts. Gone is the overhead “world map” and transition screens that launch players into battle. In their place is a more streamlined action-RPG approach with real-time combat, abilities mapped to single buttons on the controller, and enemies appearing within the world.
Considering both of the above mentioned games are currently in development it wouldn’t be much of stretch to assume that the different development teams at Square Enix are sharing technologies to expedite progress.
Some fans have expected that Square Enix may release the Final Fantasy 7 remake sometime in 2017 to line-up with the original PlayStation game’s 20th anniversary.
What do you think of the trailer? Check it out below.
It wouldn’t be time for the PlayStation Experience without a brand new character reveal & trailer from Capcom’s Street Fighter V. Unveiled during this weekend’s expo F.A.N.G – a slender and tall man in an oversized robe and hat. If you think his look is absolutely out of the norm for the series his move set might interest, you even more – he specializes in the use of counters and misdirection. He also has several moves that can afflict damage over time (DOT) effects to his opponents as long as he hasn’t taken any damage him.
Remember a few months back when it was teased that a series of mystery characters would be coming to Street Fighter V as downloadable content? At the time all we were given was a brief sillouette shot of these characters but we now know the initial roster of post-launch characters will include the follow:
Balrog
Guile
Ibuki
Juri,
Urien
The mystery characters as teased this past October.
Check out F.A.N.G’s reveal trailer and debut screenshots in the media gallery below. If you pre-order Street Fighter V on Windows PC or PlayStation 4 you can get access to any additional betas that Capcom may run between now and the game’s Feb 16th 2016 release date.
Fans of the undead can rejoice in the fact that they’ll be getting the chance to take on the hordes, parkour style, with the release of Dying Light: The Following – Enhanced Edition on February 9th 2016.
This brand new retail release includes the enhanced version of the base game, originally released earlier this year, as well as the upcoming expansion The Following. Also included in this new Enhanced Edition are the previously released add-ons: Bozak Horde Mode, Be A Zombie Mode, Cuisine & Cargo Challenge Maps and The Ultimate Survival Bundle.
Players who already own the base game on all platforms will receive The Enhanced Edition of the original game for free (minus any of the bundled DLCs or Expansion Pack) with an upcoming title update. According to the Dying Light official website these changes include:
ENHANCEMENTS LIST
Legend System
Nightmare Difficulty
Bounties System
New Parkour Moves
New Enemy Attacks & Behaviors
#DrinkForDLC Content
New NPC Models
Enhanced Facial Expressions
Improved Human Enemy AI
Improved Volatile AI
Greater Firearm Variety
HUD and Video Filter Customizations
Audio Upgrades
Dying Light’s first official expansion The Following will be released as part of the game’s season pass as well as part of the Enhanced Edition and finally as an optional add-on for owners of the base game without a season pass.
Here’s the Enhanced Edition‘s launch trailer:
[youtube id=”BQwLi21ZHK0″]
We originally reviewed the launch version of Techland’s Dying Light back in January on Xbox One. You can read our full review here.
Will you be picking up Dying Light: The Following – Enhanced Edition? Do you own the base game? Let us know in the comments section!
Videogames and alcohol can sometimes be great partners together – I spent many nights hanging out with friends drinking vodka coolers and playing Halo 3 back in University. San Francisco’s Brewcade takes this synergy of videogames and booze and adds an arcade twist. With an plethora of different brews and a whole lot of older coin-operated machines it certainly had the allure of reliving childhood days putting quarters into a machine with the added charisma bonus only a small drink can provide.Read More
