News::Upcoming 'Zelda' amiibo unlocks a challenge dungeon

There have been a few rumblings regarding what was going on with March 4th's Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess HD amiibo, but now Nintendo's made the rumors official. With the Wolf Link amiibo that's packed into every physical copy of the game, you'll unlock "The Cave of Shadows," which is a challenge arena of sorts. The kicker is that you're playing as the Hero of Time's wolf form (naturally) the entire way through. From there the amount of health you use is saved onto the amiibo itself and acts like a sort of personal leaderboard to compete against.

Source: Nintendo

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News::'Journey Live' blends video games with the symphony stage

Journey is going on tour. No, not the band -- the innovative PlayStation 3 game, Journey, and Chicago's Fifth House Ensemble are embarking on a tour that blends gaming with live, reactive music. Journey Live is an interactive event where selected people will play the game and the ensemble will respond to their actions on-stage. Grammy-nominated Journey composer Austin Wintory and fellow musician Patrick O'Malley drew up a special, interactive version of the game's score that allows the ensemble to mirror a live playthrough.

Source: Journey Live on Kickstarter

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News::Xbox One adds backwards compatibility for 'Witcher 2' and more

Microsoft is keen to make its Xbox One Backward Compatibility as robust as possible. The feature, which lets users play Xbox 360 titles on Microsoft's latest console, continues to grow thanks to help from developers. A testament to this is a slew of new backwards-compatible games arriving today, including Soulcalibur, The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings (free right now) and Counter-Strike: GO, plus a few others.

What's most interesting here, though, is that Microsoft says it will now start releasing titles as they become available, instead of setting a launch date for them every month. That's a good move, if you ask us -- the sooner we can reminisce over old games, the better.

Source: Microsoft

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News::Vote for Microsoft's trio of HoloLens app finalists

After some 5,000 entries, Microsoft has narrowed down the field by picking the finalists for its HoloLens app pitch-off. Voting opens at noon Pacific today and your choices include the following: "Airquarium," "Grab the Idol" and "Galaxy Explorer." The winner will be open-sourced and Redmond says it doesn't care if people make their own versions once it's done. Each is "inspired by" an amalgam of your ideas from the myriad submissions. So, even if your exact app wasn't picked, chances are it might've influenced the final three.

Via: VRFocus

Source: Microsoft

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News::Traveling through time with 'Braid' creator Jonathan Blow

In the world of independent games, there is "before Braid" and "after Braid." Before this game hit Xbox Live Arcade in 2008, "indies" were barely a blip on the industry's radar -- but Braid landed in players' living rooms like an atomic bomb. It helped shake up the status quo and proved that one game made by one person could change the industry. Braid also changed its creator, Jonathan Blow, into a millionaire and a living legend.

Blow hasn't released a game since Braid. But, he's about to: The Witness is a mysterious exploration and puzzle experience coming to PlayStation 4 and PC on Jan. 26. Once again, Blow has invested everything -- years of energy and millions of dollars -- into his new project. Unlike last time, he now has a small studio, 84,000 followers on Twitter, he's a documentary-film star, and speculation about his next game has been swirling for nearly seven years.

"I don't feel accountable to the world to make things for them," Blow says. "I look out there at the games that are really popular and they're not really usually the games that I'm excited about. It's fine if it's somebody's job to make the biggest hits, and apparently that job is for Rockstar or Ubisoft or something. ... I'm doing something different."

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News::'Prison Architect' is coming to consoles this spring

Incarceration simulator Prison Architect is coming to PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Xbox 360. The game, developed by Introversion Software, was independently crowdfunded a few years back and has been a hit on PC, selling over 1.5 million copies to date. The console version is being handled by Double 11, which previously ported Limbo, Goat Simulator and several Pixel Junk titles.

Source: Double11

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News::'Prison Architect' is coming to consoles this spring

Incarceration simulator Prison Architect is coming to PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Xbox 360. The game, developed by Introversion Software, was independently crowdfunded a few years back and has been a hit on PC, selling over 1.5 million copies to date. The console version is being handled by Double 11, which previously ported Limbo, Goat Simulator and several Pixel Junk titles.

Source: Double11

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News::'Exploding Kittens' comes to iOS with local multiplayer

The Exploding Kittens card game became an overnight sensation thanks to Kickstarter, and now it's on your smartphone. Available on iOS now, and Android "soon," the multiplayer-only game has you doing everything in your power to avoid the titular exploding kittens and be the last person standing. Much like the hit mobile game Space Team, Exploding Kittens doesn't require an internet connection for multiplayer. Instead it creates an ad-hoc network between up to six gamers using Bluetooth in WiFi.

Source: Exploding Kittens, (App Store)

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