News::'Rocket League' reaches your Xbox One on February 17th

PC and PS4 owners have been playing Rocket League's unique take on sports gaming since last July, leaving Xbox One owners on the virtual sidelines. Don't worry, though -- you won't have to twiddle your thumbs for much longer if you prefer Microsoft's console. Psyonix has revealed that the Xbox One version of Rocket League will arrive on February 17th for a fairly reasonable $20. You'll get three past downloadable content packs for free in exchange for the wait, and there will be two Xbox-exclusive vehicles, including the Gears of War-based Armadillo and a variant on Halo's Warthog.

Source: Xbox Wire

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News::Atari Lynx: A romance of high scores and low batteries

Like most tween crushes, the attraction was instant and overwhelming. I remember the first time I set eyes on the Atari Lynx as if it were yesterday. It was perched on a shelf, center stage, behind a huge pane of glass -- a window display in a branch of Dixons on Park Street, Bristol. There it sat, so near, yet (at about about £85/$100) so financially far. The Lynx didn't know I existed, even though I was just a few feet away. In my pre-teen mind it just felt unfair. My situation felt hopeless, which of course only fanned the flames of my forbidden desire even more.

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News::'The Division' is getting an open beta next week

If you didn't participate in The Division's recent closed beta, don't worry -- you're going to have another chance to play the game soon. Ubisoft has announced open beta dates for its new Tom Clancy title, which will be available on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC. Interestingly enough, gamers with a Microsoft console can start playing February 18th, with PS4 and PC support to come the following day. The open beta runs through February 21st, so you better enjoy it while it lasts. As a refresher, The Division launches March 8th, assuming there aren't any more unexpected delays.

Source: Ubisoft

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News::Pre-order Oculus Rift-ready PCs starting on February 16th

If you want an Oculus Rift virtual reality headset but realize that your existing PC just won't cut it, don't panic -- you can get a guaranteed-ready system very shortly. Oculus has announced that pre-orders for both Oculus Ready PCs and those with Rift bundles will start on February 16th at 11AM Eastern, or 8AM Pacific. Amazon, Best Buy and the Microsoft Store will offer a handful of certified systems from Alienware, its parent company Dell and ASUS. Should you pull the trigger, you should get your rig sometime in April.

Source: Oculus

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News::Fighting games to fairy tales: The unlikely story of 'Unravel'

Unravel is a thoughtful, heartwarming game that feels like mix of LittleBigPlanet, Limbo and Hans Christian Andersen's Thumbelina, all wrapped up in a cozy sweater your grandmother just finished knitting. If it weren't a digital-only title, its disc would probably smell like freshly baked gingerbread cookies and sunshine.

The game stars Yarny, a tiny creature made of red yarn who voyages into the Swedish wilderness to collect an old woman's memories. Yarny uses his body's thread to solve platforming puzzles, allowing him to cross rivers, leap over gulfs and fight off beastly bugs. More importantly, though, Unravel tells this grandmother's story, offering snapshots of a life filled with family, love and heartache.

Unravel is a departure for developer Coldwood Interactive, whose releases include Ski-Doo Snow X Racing, Freakout, Move Fitness and The Fight: Lights Out. This shift didn't happen by accident, according to creator Martin Sahlin: "Unravel was basically a reaction to those previous games, an effort to do something completely different."

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News::iPhone puzzle games are no match for this robot

Puzzle & Dragons is a ridiculously popular mobile game in Japan that tasks players with matching coloured orbs in order to take down enemy monsters. If you've played Pokemon Shuffle before, it's just like that. To help with the trickier stages, YouTube user Junya Sakamoto has developed a robot that can play the game for him. Oh, and it's unbelievably good. As Kotaku reports, a connected laptop is able to analyse the board and pick out the optimum combos, triggering a flurry of moves that would be almost impossible to replicate with your pinkie. Color us impressed, although we suspect developer GungHo won't share our enthusiasm.

Via: Kotaku

Source: Junya Sakamoto (YouTube)

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News::Amazon's new gaming engine comes with Twitch baked in

Amazon might be known for selling you things, but its cloud services now have just as much of an impact. It already powers many of the most popular apps and websites on the planet, but it's easy to forget that the company has an impressive online gaming presence thanks to Twitch. With its latest announcement, Amazon has decided to combine all of its strengths and unveiled Lumberyard, a new free gaming engine designed to let developers build A+ games and integrate all of its online services at the same time.

Via: Amazon (Businesswire)

Source: Amazon Lumberyard

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