Aksys Games has released 999: The Novel on iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad for $4.99. Kotaro Uchikoshi wrote this mind-bending, interactive thriller, based on the hit 2010 Nintendo DS game Zero Escape: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors or 999, where readers can track their chosen path and can actually go back to take a different route if needed.
The Yoshi Edition Nintendo 3DS XL system hatches in stores on March 14 along with the new latest game series installment Yoshi’s New Island, which debuts on the 3DS. In the game, Yoshi throws various eggs that he lays including Mega Eggdozers and helps young Mario save Luigi. The system MSRP is $199.99 and the game MSRP is $39.99.
Today was the day millions of Xbox One owners were waiting for: the release of Titanfall. All this waiting, only to get home to find that the always-reliable Xbox Live has let them down. Although it’s not as big of a deal as some Twitter reactions say, it really brings into question the legitimacy of always-online games.
Bravely Default, a Nintendo 3DS exclusive game, brings a quality Japanese role-playing game (RPG) to North America. A character foursome seeks special crystals to save their land of Luxendarc. Along the way, players can experience several special side quests, augmented reality functionality, extensive job/ability system, unique brave (unleash)/default (store) combat and amazing collaborative capabilities using online and StreetPass networking.
NBA Live 14 brings the basketball game series back to the court with impressive graphics, detailed player controls, and familiar EA Sports enhancements. Players get a wide range of experiences ranging from the extensive Dynasty levels to the special buzzbeater Moments (one is five seconds long).
First and Third Person shooter fans can enjoy a video game paradise with two new downloadable content (DLC) packs. First up, the Call of Duty®: Ghosts Onslaught DLC, already available on Xbox One and Xbox 360, releases for PC, PS4 and PS3. The available Season Pass offers a nice advantage for a price break where players get Onslaught and the upcoming Devastation, Invasion and Nemesis DLC packs.
rePLAY: Symphony of Heroes premieres in North America with a unique video game music concert series, executive produced by Jason Michael Paul. Specially chosen video game musical scores combine with professional theatrics, visuals and orchestral arrangements in this upcoming tour.The first show will take place at St. Petersburg’s Mahaffey Theater on April 19.
Last fall Spiderweb Software released Avadon 2 The Corruption for Mac and PC, and I said that the sequel improved on the original in every way. Now iPad users get the game optimized for the touch interface and with all post-release patches. How has the game transitioned? As with the original, the iPad version is my favorite!
G5 Games continues moving their popular franchises to social platforms – from Virtual City Playground to Secret Society to Stand O’Food Empire, the games add to the original experience while extending the gameplay to many hours. Now another of my favorite franchises – is out as The Island Castaway: Lost World is a free-to-play social game for the iPad!
Free-to-play games are huge money makers, but need to be based on a solid foundation. With Secret Society and Virtual City Playground, G5 set the bar high, then delivered with Letters From Nowhere: A Hidden Object Mystery. Now they’re back with Hidden City Mystery of Shadows, and this latest hidden object game keeps resources tight but delivers a fun mystery.
G5 Games is moving of their popular franchises to social platforms – from Virtual City Playground to Secret Society to Stand O’Food Empire, the games add to the original experience while extending the gameplay to many hours. Now one of my favorite franchises – is out as Letters From Nowhere: A Hidden Object Mystery social game.
Action-RPG Sacred crashed onto the scene in 2004 – literally! It was unstable and buggy, but promising enough and with great support, and it hooked an audience. Sacred 2 continued to advance the genre, but since Deep Silver took over the Sacred license in 2009 little has been heard. Now we have release info – Sacred 3 arrives this summer!
Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games has been out since late 2013 all over the world, but don’t feel bad that you are just getting it now. This game has great all ages fun for any time of the year. Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games helps players warm up their winter with Olympic fever! SEGA Sports Japan teamed up with Nintendo for this only video game version of the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games, which is available exclusively on physical disc or download through the Nintendo eShop on the Nintendo Wii U…
There are a few developers who have driven indie RPG development for the past several years – Spiderweb Software, Soldak Entertainment and Basilisk Games. Basilisk released the stunning Eschalon Book I in 2007, and followed up with Book II. Now they are back with the finale, available on GoG.com, Steam and Basilisk.
Last fall at the Tokyo Game Show Sony introduced the Playstation Vita Slim, featuring a thinner and lighter design, longer battery life, USB charging, 1GB internal storage, and switch from OLED to LCD screen. Released last year in Japan and early this month in Europe, the Playstation Vita Slim is coming to North America this spring in a $199 bundle.
In 1998 I got Thief as a birthday present. It presented a morally ambiguous first-person world with choices and freedom, and the ability to sneak around the world in a way no game had ever done before. The sequels were excellent. Now we get a ‘reboot’ of the series – and a trailer to tell us what to expect.
Tomb Raider Definitive Edition is a definite addition for next-gen console game libraries thanks to a strong narrative, poignant character development, and enhanced connections with Lara Croft’s gear, motivations, and background. A promising start that showcases the original 2013 Tomb Raider game from Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics that hopefully brings many more high quality installments in the near future.
Retro-gaming is alive and well in many different forms, from virtual arcades on consoles to ports on smartphones to emulators to ‘TV games’ and new compatible hardware. But old gaming systems don’t work with HDTV systems. Enter Hyperkin’s Five-in-One Retro Gaming Console the Retron 5. The Retron 5 brings classic consoles to life – and works with HDTV systems! The Retron 5 showed up at CES last month but was largely passed over for more flashy hardware. Now that the dust has settled and the Q1 release date for Retron 5 is approaching, some information has emerged. Here are some…
One of my favorite indie developers is Soldak Entertainment, and perhaps my favorite game (I actually like all four) is Depths of Peril. DoP is a game where your choices have consequences, and the rest of the world continues even if you ignore your quests. This ‘indie classic’ Depths of Peril is now available DRM-Free on GOG.com for only $9.99!
Candy Crush Saga developer King made waves recently by trademarking the word “candy” in Europe. Yes, it’s just as ridiculous as it sounds. Several European game developers have banded together in a protest of sorts called Candy Jam, in which they are writing games involving the word “candy” for two weeks. You can read more about it here.
I’ve loved video game trading site Goozex for more than 7 years since it launched in 2006. Initially it grew quickly as an alternative to paltry trade-ins handed out by GameStop or the cumbersome trade mechanics of early trade-site GameTZ. Goozex acted as middleman on millions of trades, but industry shifts doomed trading and now Goozex appears closed for good.