Wednesday, January 11, 2017

News:: The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth finally lands on iOS

The latest expansion for The Binding of Isaac, Afterbirth+, may have just released on PC, but that doesn't mean mobile users are going to be left in the cold. The original remake, Rebirth, is now available for purchase on the App Store. While it may be a little sad that the first expansion isn't included, it's not like Rebirth is starved for content.

This release has support for Bluetooth controllers and cloud saves, which should be nice for people who have the entire family of Apple products. Getting to play this at work, then going home and transferring the save to an Apple TV before picking it back up on the iPad in bed sounds like some space-age kind of thing, but thus is the world we live in.

I'm not sure the game is going to sell well on mobile devices, seeing as how it is priced at $14.99. I like that Nicalis isn't devaluing the other versions, but Nintendo had a tough sell with an original Mario game on iOS at $9.99. The Binding of Isaac has been out for a little over two years now, so most people who were interested have played it in some form.

The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth is out now on iOS [Eurogamer]

The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth finally lands on iOS screenshot



via destructoid http://ift.tt/2jxABMt

News:: 'Shovel Knight' is coming to the Nintendo Switch

If you still can't get enough of Shovel Knight, don't fret because even more is on its way. And for a new platform -- the Nintendo Switch. There's a bunch of other news from Yacht Club Games as well.

Source: Yacht Club Games (1), (2)



via Engadget RSS Feedhttp://ift.tt/2jFWo8P

News:: Story-heavy roguelike Sunless Sea headed to iPad

The crew-eating descent into madness that is Sunless Sea is coming to iPad.

BlitWorks is handling the port for Failbetter Games, and they're targeting a spring 2017 release. The studio has worked on other notable mobile adaptations like Don't Starve and Bastion, so it should be in good hands. Aside from the Zubmariner expansion, this will be up to date with the PC version.

In his review, Ben left off with a helpful note on who probably will and won't dig this writing-heavy, horror-tinted exploration game in which death is an inevitability. "If you expect fast-paced action, despise multitasking, or can't handle defeat, then this game probably isn't for you. However, if you are patient, enjoy strategy and planning, and are ready to spend hours upon hours sailing the cold, dark oceans, then you will most likely find Sunless Sea to be a very compelling and satisfying adventure."

Sunless Sea has sold over 500,000 copies to date. That's a not-insignificant audience.

Story-heavy roguelike Sunless Sea headed to iPad screenshot



via destructoid http://ift.tt/2iieDMp

News:: Special little places: Mississippi memories

[Manasteel88 has stories about some down-home memories in Mississippi with grandma, casinos, and The Wizard of Oz from last month's bloggers wanted. Don't forget about this month's prompt, New Year's evil ~Strider]

I grew up as an only child to two hard working parents. My mother and father started a business in the rockin' '80s, but the savings and loan crisis crippled my city for years and made my parents constantly pivot to try and keep afloat. They didn't last long together as a couple, but they were able to work alongside each other for a number of years after. Eventually, though, they went their separate ways as my father left to go back to work as a sales rep across the state.

Special little places: Mississippi memories screenshot

Read more...

via destructoid http://ift.tt/2iib6gR

News:: Your first crack at the Nintendo Switch comes this Friday

We're all eagerly awaiting Nintendo's Switch Event on Thursday, which will reveal a lot of details about the system. It's kind of incredible that the system is less than three months away, yet we still don't know the price, release date, or launch titles for the upcoming console.

One thing we do know is that you'll be able to submit a preorder starting this Friday. Nintendo's flagship store in New York City tweeted this earlier today:

Presumably, most other North American retailers will be opening their preorders at the same time. 

If you have any interest in getting a Switch, you may want to preorder sooner rather than later. I find it suspicious that no specific numbers are being mentioned. If the NES Classic edition is any indication, it may be a while before supply catches up with demand. 

While you're waiting for preorders to open, you could always play Switch reaction Bingo during the Nintendo direct. We'll have live coverage when the event starts on Thursday.

Nintendo NYC [Twitter]
pbs.twimg.com via Chris Kohler [Twitter] 

Your first crack at the Nintendo Switch comes this Friday screenshot

Read more...

via destructoid http://ift.tt/2ilyLAq

News:: Quirky adventure game 'Night in the Woods' lands in February

Kickstarter success Night in the Woods has a new release date, after missing its previous mark of January 10th. The studio behind it, Infinite Fall, revealed today that the indie title will be ready for Linux, Mac, Windows and PlayStation 4 on February 21st. That's exciting for backers (and others) who have been waiting months to play this game, which focuses on the adventures of a cat as she drops out of college and returns to her hometown. Let's hope it is worth the wait.

Via: Polygon

Source: Kickstarter



via Engadget RSS Feedhttp://ift.tt/2jFC07Q

News:: Divide reminds me of watching sci-fi '90s games over my dad's shoulder

Though we've covered the isometric sci-fi Divide in the past, I was unfamiliar with how it looked and played until I got my hands on it. If I had seen it last year and known that it was going to remind me of watching my dad play games that I probably shouldn't have been watching, it would have been one of my most anticipated games for 2017.

Playing as David, a normie from our normie world, you and your daughter are on a train when you black out and wake up in a dystopian future. This helped me jump into the hard sci-fi world, since David and I both couldn't tell jack from shit. Instead of drowning in science jargon explaining why everything in the world can be hacked and why soldiers wanted to kill me, David was as confused as I was. It's an old narrative trick, but it felt welcome here.

Divide reminds me of watching sci-fi '90s games over my dad's shoulder screenshot

Read more...

via destructoid http://ift.tt/2ihWkXA

News:: You can try to pre-order the Nintendo Switch in NYC on Friday

Nintendo will open up pre-orders for its next console, the Switch, at its New York City store on Friday, January 13th, starting at 9AM ET. However, things aren't that cut-and-dry. Nintendo notes that there will be a "limited quantity" of pre-orders available "while supplies last" at the store.



via Engadget RSS Feedhttp://ift.tt/2jwQnqH

News:: Phil Spencer apologizes for Scalebound's cancellation, but he shouldn't have to

On Monday, publisher Microsoft Studios ceased production on Platinum's Scalebound. It wasn't a wholly unexpected move. Scalebound was revealed at E3 2014, but between then and now Microsoft never did anything to make it seem like the game was any closer to being a finished product. It made a handful of appearances in press conferences but it always felt far off, at least a year away at any given time.

Scalebound's cancellation hit hard for a lot of people. Since that E3 reveal, this was the Xbox One exclusive that really stuck out -- the one that was weird enough and different enough and cool-looking enough to be really special. It also wasn't Halo or Gears of War though, which means that no sales threshold was guaranteed.

Platinum has already expressed sadness over the situation. The developer's official statement mixed remorse about the game being canceled with an enthusiastic commitment to making all its other games great. Director Hideki Kamiya also apologized on Twitter to everyone who was looking forward to Scalebound. It's easy to understand how disappointed Scalebound's creators must have been, dedicating four years to making something that will never get finished.

Xbox head Phil Spencer also took to Twitter today to apologize for Scalebound's cancellation. "It hurt me as well and to the community I apologize. I want everything we start to turn out great, to take risks, create diversity," he said in one tweet. "I know we have to take risks, I realize right now [that] probably sounds hollow," he said in another.

Spencer has always been very good at this. Ever since he took over for former Xbox president Don Mattrick, Spencer has interfaced directly with the Xbox community, openly answering their questions and assuaging their concerns. He rarely misspeaks. He has an air of honesty about him that people quickly came to respect.

So when Spencer says that canceling Scalebound hurt him, it's probably truthful. He likely had a hand in signing and greenlighting that project. He certainly played a part in publishing matters over the past three years. Nobody wants to admit that they made a bad gamble, especially when it's as forward-facing as this.

But Spencer has two groups of people he has to answer to. There are the Xbox fans who chide him on Twitter and there are the Microsoft shareholders. One group wants the best gaming experiences on the planet; the other wants whatever's profitable and nothing else. Sometimes the two have similar interests, but a lot of times those interests are at odds -- at least in the short-term.

Scalebound is a clear example of those interests conflicting. This is pure conjecture, but it seems as if the game was at a crossroads where it would require significant additional funding to release in an acceptable state. You have to imagine that if it were near-finished, Microsoft would've seen it through in order to recoup some money even if it still would've been a net loss.

At some point, that was obviously no longer feasible. The graph that charted additional investment and projected sales had become too divergent. It no longer made sense to continue production on Scalebound. From a financial perspective, cancellation was presumably smart.

Spencer appears semi-emotional about it on Twitter, but that sort of belies the spirit of this decision. Scalebound was canceled because that was the cold and calculated business-prudent move. Reason prevailed. Apologizing for disappointing people is a nice gesture, one that's in line from what we've come to expect from Spencer. But he doesn't need to apologize because he did what he deemed was best for the company and for the Xbox division.

Phil Spencer apologizes for Scalebound's cancellation, but he shouldn't have to screenshot



via destructoid http://ift.tt/2iljaRe

News:: Super Mega Baseball 2 makes me feel like a kid playing Slugfest

I've never been a huge sports gamer. I was in real-life Little League and played high school football, but I just couldn't get into digital sports. That changed when I went to my friend Travis's house when I was 14, and he showed me MLB Slugfest. It was a more arcadey take on sports, where you could throw fireballs instead of fastballs and play as Mortal Kombat's Scorpion. The little nerd in me was hooked. While Metalhead Software's Super Mega Baseball 2 isn't quite so outlandish, it scratches an itch I had forgotten I possessed.

Playing at PSX 2016, I was immediately struck by two things: one, it's been a long time since I've played a baseball game and this is much snappier than I remember, and two, oh God I am awful at this and there is a line of people watching behind me. I started off at bat, enjoying that everything had a distinct feel to it (aiming your swing, timing it, hoping for the best), and then I swung out three times in a row. I'm pretty sure the dude behind me was stepping an inch closer each time I missed a swing, until his hot breath was going down my shirt. Urgh.

When it was my turn to pitch, I was similarly excited by how enjoyable trying to strike out the batters is from the get-go. Curveballs and fastballs were all easy to at least throw, though aiming them and faking out my opponent was decidedly more difficult. After striking out two batters and walking one, I caught a fly ball out and had another chance to bat.

Over an uncomfortably exasperating few minutes, I started getting a feel for it and swung for the fences. Of course, the pop fly was immediately caught and the guy behind me snickered loudly. I don't know what his name was, so I'm going to call him Jeff. Fuck you, Jeff. I hope you're proud of your digital baseball skills.

Super Mega Baseball 2 makes me feel like a kid playing Slugfest screenshot

Read more...

via destructoid http://ift.tt/2iHTFaD

News:: Steam's most-played games of 2016 weren't released in 2016

Atop Steam's daily most-played list sits an unimpeachable handful of games. There are newcomers on occasion and that temporarily shakes things up. But, if you go back day after day and year after year, the same popular games never fall out of favor.

Now that 2016 is in the books, stat-tracking tool Githyp posted Steam's most-played games of the year based on average number of players per hour. The top five is a triumvirate of Valve titles and two other heavy hitters. In order, they are: Dota 2 (636,607 average players per hour), Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (360,600), Team Fortress 2 (50,802), Grand Theft Auto V (40,258), and Civilization V (37,885).

There are two fascinating things about this list. One is the sharp decline between Counter-Strike and Team Fortress 2. Second place has more than seven times the average players than third place. The other interesting thing is that none of these games are particularly new. None of the top five released in 2016, indicating that the titles with the most staying power are really cemented there for now.

When you shift the focus to most concurrent players, then last year makes itself known. Here's that top five in order: Dota 2 (1,286,617 peak players), Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (845,806), No Man's Sky (212,321), XCOM 2 (132,834), and Dark Souls III (129,922).

These high-performers from 2016 burned hot and fizzled out quick, though. At time of writing, XCOM 2 and Dark Souls III are somewhere around the midpoint of Steam's daily chart, both in that 8,000 to 10,000 concurrents range; No Man's Sky doesn't even crack the top 100.

The new year just started and 2017 holds endless possibilities. A bunch of games could release that turn this list on its head. But that's not the smart money. The smart money says 2017's most-played games will look awfully similar to 2016's.

Steam's Most Played Games of 2017 [Githyp via Kotaku]

Steam's most-played games of 2016 weren't released in 2016 screenshot



via destructoid http://ift.tt/2iHNO5d

News:: Shovel Knight is getting a Nintendo Switch port and much more

Yacht Club Games is bringing its beloved platformer Shovel Knight to Nintendo Switch, which, hell yeah. That and that alone could've been the only news item on a day like today and I would've been thrilled. But there's far more, including updates to the existing versions and a planned price change.

Running down the list, Yacht Club has finished the Body Swap Mode for Shovel Knight's campaign and is also working on a two-player co-op update for "all console and PC platforms (3DS/Vita not included)." I never did get the amiibo, so, cool. I'm looking forward to trying co-op at last.

Here's where things get slightly confusing. Shovel Knight is going to become Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove, and with that alteration, players will "have new options to purchase each campaign as separate, standalone games on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC/Mac/Linux, and Nintendo Switch."

Put simply, if you own Shovel Knight in its current form, you're good to go. "All owners of Shovel Knight on all platforms will automatically own Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove instead and will continue to get each of the planned free campaigns and features via updates. It will work exactly like how Shovel Knight was updated to include its first campaign addition, Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows."

Once the Treasure Trove shift happens, though, players will be able to buy the various campaigns as standalone experiences. That list will include: Shovel of Hope (the original campaign), Plague of Shadows, Specter of Torment, and eventually King Knight's campaign and the four-player Shovel Knight: Battle Mode (but not on 3DS or Vita). Still with me? If not, there's a rather necessary Q&A.

The studio says this new approach is a way to "provide better entry points for different types of players and allow more people to continue enjoying each adventure on their next favorite platform."

Shovel Knight is getting a Nintendo Switch port and much more screenshot

Read more...

via destructoid http://ift.tt/2j2p0G2

News:: Nintendo leads into the Switch event with a huge eShop sale

Nintendo has a stranglehold on gaming news right now. We're one day away from its highly-anticipated Switch presentation and speculation is abound. Third-party accessories are leaking, retailers are prematurely confirming future games -- it's all just a muddled mess of mostly-believable but still-unconfirmed Nintendo news.

While it's dominating the public consciousness, Nintendo is throwing a big eShop sale. There are 122 games discounted between Wii U and 3DS. Savings are mostly in that 20-30 percent range that's still good because Nintendo games never really get huge sales. A few standouts are Splatoon for $46.79, Yo-Kai Watch for $31.19, Pocket Card Jockey for $5.45, River City: Tokyo Rumble for $23.99, and Shantae: Risky's Revenge - Director's Cut for $6.99.

There are a few details to go along with the sale. This runs through the morning of January 25, so exactly two weeks. Also, My Nintendo members can get an additional 10 percent off certain titles, but it's not stated upfront which games apply.

Now Nintendo fans have a tough choice to make. Do you spend money on discounted games or do you squirrel your cash away to put toward a Switch? We're little more than 24 hours away from (presumably) finding out when it releases and how much it'll cost. Choose wisely.

Game Store [Nintendo]

Nintendo leads into the Switch event with a huge eShop sale screenshot



via destructoid http://ift.tt/2j8VssA

News:: Kingdom Hearts 3D translates well from portable to console

This week I put a preview build of Kingdom Hearts 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue to the test, and so far, I'm happy with how well at least one of the three games that comprises this compilation has translated -- Kingdom Hearts 3D, or, Drop Dream Distance -- one of the least silly bits of nomenclature in a franchise that likes to put fractions in their titles.

It's a four year old portable game, sure, but it looked colorful then on the 3DS, and it looks great now when blown up on a TV in 1080p at 60FPS (a framerate that's smooth, by the way). And just like any old Kingdom Hearts game you'll need to get used to a weird camera (bring out that claw hand) and some lock-on issues, but everything else is there. That includes the pet/companion system, which doesn't accommodate AR cards anymore, and is probably for the best.

With fantastic new worlds that haven't been explored ever before in the series like Hunchback, Fantasia, and Three Musketeers, as well as a meaningful connection to the previous games as a lead-in to Kingdom Hearts 3, it feels more like a mainline entry than a half-hearted spinoff. Get a look at some screens in the gallery below before it hits its worldwide release date of January 24.

I'm really limited in what I can say about the Kingdom Hearts χ extended cinematic retelling and the all-new Fragmentary Passage portion of this triple-pack, so just stick around for the full review later this month.

Kingdom Hearts 3D translates well from portable to console screenshot

Read more...

via destructoid http://ift.tt/2jwymZv

News:: Death Mark is the latest PS Vita horror adventure

That teaser video for Shiin, a PlayStation Vita game from Stranger of Sword City developer Experience Inc., piqued my interest. It's a treat to see new Vita games rolling out, and this is a horror title, at that. Win-win! In the days since the initial tease, details and screenshots have come out from Famitsu.

Shiin, or Death Mark, isn't a dungeon-crawler like the studio's prior work. Instead, it's a horror adventure in which folks are mysteriously marked, "literally like a birthmark," and "those who possess the 'mark' will die," according to Gematsu. These poor souls are invited to a mansion with a talking doll (sure, why not?), and as a middle-aged amnesiac with the mark, you'll seek answers and salvation.

Death Mark is the latest PS Vita horror adventure screenshot

Read more...

via destructoid http://ift.tt/2jkncIf

News:: January 19 is a big day for Battleborn

I'll admit: I've slowed down on Battleborn lately. I still think it's a great game that got a raw deal, but after 200 hours and a Platinum Trophy, I was ready to take a break. It was in my New Year's resolution to play more short games, after all.

But in just a little over a week on January 19, there will be several good reasons to load up Gearbox's FPS; hobby-grade coop campaign; genre-blended, multi-mode competitive e-sports; meta-growth, choice + epic Battleborn Heroes!

Namely, the big winter update will drop on that date, free for all users. It includes a ton of new user interface and quality of life additions, like a draft mode, a fully unlocked hero roster, and more easily navigable menus, among other things.

In addition to that, the 30th (and likely final) Battleborn hero Beatrix will release for season pass holders. She's a debuffing Jennerit sniper who appears to be inspired by BioShock's Little Sisters. As with the other DLC characters, she will unlock a week later for everybody else, and will be available for purchase using 47,500 Credits, an in-game currency that represents 30-50 hours of play.

Finally, the third DLC story mission, Oscar Mike vs. The Battle School is also coming out on January 19. This is included in the season pass or costs about five bucks for those without it. The first two Story Operations (Attikus and the Thrall Rebellion and Toby's Friendship Raid) were pretty good, so I'm expecting this one to be worthwhile too.

So there's a lot going on in Battleborn next week. Hopefully it bumps the population up a bit so matchmaking times are low.

Winter update arrives January 19 [Battleborn.com]

January 19 is a big day for Battleborn screenshot



via destructoid http://ift.tt/2jwfIku

News:: Ever wondered how Gravity Rush's Kat gets dressed? You're in luck!

Do you have black cloth, scissors, and some ornate golden bands to wrap around both your legs and torso? Then you can follow these ten easy steps to dress like Gravity Rush hero Kat. You might need red contact lenses to complete the look, just don't meet me in the middle of the night, thanks.

The image was posted to Twitter by Gravity Rush character designer Shunsuke Saito, who wrote in Japanese, "Once in a while, I'll hear fans ask 'What's going on with Kat's clothes?' so I drew out how she wears them. The gold frame has a spring-like elasticity, and holds down and fixates the black cloth. If she moves around too intensely…it may slip off."

I was concerned that the gold bands that wrap around her torso and legs were metal and potentially constricted blood flow, but no need to worry about that thankfully (be careful ye who cosplay). Instead I'll just have to worry about her clothes flying off. I haven't started the game but it should be fine so long as she doesn't perform any complicated acrobatics or fly around in the sky. 

Ever wondered how Gravity Rush's Kat gets dressed? You're in luck! screenshot

Read more...

via destructoid http://ift.tt/2jwampo

News:: Horizon Zero Dawn gets a gorgeous cinematic story trailer

I just can't get over how gorgeous Horizon Zero Dawn is. Whether or not it's going to be a great experience overall is still up in the air, but I'm glad it's so, so pretty. Sony released a new trailer showing off some of the game's story cinematics and, naturally, it raises more questions than it answers. 

We get a look at the Zero Dawn's villain group (a bunch of masked individuals looking to rile up the joint), more of Aloy's tribe, and the player's going to fight a bunch of corrupted robot animals (still one of coolest ideas ever). It's going to take me a bit to get used to the title's mo-cap, as the faces look a bit too good at times, but I'm hoping it'll be less weird when actually playing it. 

Horizon Zero Dawn releases on February 28, 2017 in North America, March 1, 2017 in Europe, and March 3, 2017 in the UK for PlayStation 4. 

Horizon Zero Dawn gets a gorgeous cinematic story trailer screenshot



via destructoid http://ift.tt/2ikzdyM

News:: Brilliantly colored Night in the Woods gets new release date

Artful platforming adventure game Night in the Woods was apparently supposed to release yesterday on January 10, but was delayed several weeks ago to an unknown fate. But as of today, it's slated to release on February 21, 2017 for PS4, PC, Mac, and Linux according to indie developer Infinite Fall.

This is one of the games on my to-play list for 2017, but I didn't realize it was supposed to release so early. I'm not sure how well a platforming/adventure hybrid will turn out, but I'm going to give it go next month. I'm just a sucker for this kind of cute animation and colorful art direction.

Brilliantly colored Night in the Woods gets new release date screenshot

Read more...

via destructoid http://ift.tt/2idFH3Z

News:: This Kingdom Hearts stained glass memorial in Japan is awesome

Pop-up advertisements run the gamut of lame to mesmerizing, and I think this new one from Square Enix is definitely in that latter category here.

To promote the upcoming release of Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue (which is out in Japan tomorrow, and the rest of the world later this month), the company put up a stained glass memorial clock at the Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line in Shinjuku. It's also a perfect way to coax people into visiting Tokyo Disney!

For those of you who can't get out there and check it out themselves, here's a few YouTube videos of the entire setup below. The memorial (and all the other wall mounted advertisements involved) is up until January 15. 

This Kingdom Hearts stained glass memorial in Japan is awesome screenshot

Read more...

via destructoid http://ift.tt/2ikjX5a

News:: Super Mario Maker for 3DS tops Sun & Moon in weekly sales

Without any new releases or major events, the sales charts in Japan haven't moved much the past two weeks. The one interesting note is that Pokémon Sun & Moon have finally been dethroned in weekly sales by a game that isn't new: Super Mario Maker for 3DS. Also interesting in that Grand Theft Auto V has moved back up into the top 15 the past two weeks in the form of its "4990 yen version" which is roughly 42 USD. 

I was surprised in the past few years how popular games like Grand Theft Auto are even in Japan. Even a special education student one of the schools I taught at loved it: he didn't want to study English, but he liked Trevor and could say "Martin Madrazo. Green light! Green light! Fuck you." You know, important English terminology.

PS4 and 3DS XL remain atop hardware sales, with 78,927 and 54,645 respectfully. Xbox One sold 180 boxes.

Super Mario Maker for 3DS tops Sun & Moon in weekly sales screenshot

Read more...

via destructoid http://ift.tt/2idp0FQ

News:: Hacker's unofficial 'Watch Dogs 2' app is incredibly appropriate

After successfully linking GTA V to an iPhone, the same Hungarian hacker has now developed software that allows users to manipulate Watch Dogs 2 from their smartphone. Using the programming language, Python, YouTuber Planetleak DIY Projects has managed to recreate the game's Dedsec app on his iPhone -- and the irony of creating an iPhone hack for a game about hacking probably wasn't lost on him.

Thanks to clever keypress emulation and screenshots mimicking the look of the game's smartphone, the custom app instantly navigates a convincing replica of Watch Dogs 2's in-game menu via the iPhone's touchscreen. Hopefully the irony of creating an iPhone hack for a game about hacking wasn't lost on him.

Source: Planetleak DIY Projects



via Engadget RSS Feedhttp://ift.tt/2jjI3LC

News:: That King of Fighters XIV graphical overhaul is here

I'm still very happy with King of Fighters XIV, and although I can't find that many people that actually play it, it's still getting plenty of love from SNK and the community at large. Part of that passion from the former group has taken form in a 1.10 update, mostly developed to address one of the chief concerns of XIV -- it's off-putting look.

Now every single character has been touched-up graphically, two new color variations for each fighter have been added, and other bugs have been squashed. In other news you can still pick up a free Athena throwback costume on the PSN until January 22.

I hope we keep seeing reactive patches for KOF, and when XV rolls around, that it'll gain a bigger following. It's one of my favorite fighters at the moment despite the huge downgrade from the classic spritework.

That King of Fighters XIV graphical overhaul is here screenshot



via destructoid http://ift.tt/2jEairX

News:: Glitching out of bounds in Final Fantasy XV takes you to unused areas

Did you ever use the tank or dodo plane in Grand Theft Auto 3 to fly to the ghost town that was used in the opening cutscene? How about glitching out of any map in Halo 2 and exploring? Much like the latter case, a player has found a way to break out of bounds on the train section and explore. The catch is, there appears to be a fair amount of unused assets laying out in the wild.

Three ideas have come up regarding this discovery: it's unfinished assets whose completion was abandoned before launch, it's just background construction you see from a distance while on the train, or that its related somehow to future DLC. 

Whatever it is, I always find it both fun and terrifying exploring out of bounds on games. It's when truly anything can happen.

Glitching out of bounds in Final Fantasy XV takes you to unused areas screenshot

Read more...

via destructoid http://ift.tt/2jvJmqf

News:: Danganronpa V3 is out this week in Japan

Danganronpa might be niche, but it's a big enough hit in Japan and western regions to warrant spinoffs, an anime, a VR game, and now, a third proper iteration. That actually launches in Japan tomorrow on January 12 as Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony, for both PS4 and Vita.

A "2017" window has been confirmed for other territories, but for now, those folks will be able to partake in some of the signature wackiness that you can see in the launch trailer below. You really have to give it to Spike Chunsoft, as they really do it all -- visual novels, fighting games, dungeon crawlers -- they're a versatile company, and between both developers (which merged four years ago), they have a combined 58 years of experience.

Danganronpa V3 is out this week in Japan screenshot

Read more...

via destructoid http://ift.tt/2j6IGuq

News:: Madman creates his own AI, trains it how to play Mario Kart

Only using an open source program that computes data, software developer Kevin Hughes set out to create an AI for Mario Kart 64. In a fascinating rundown on his blog he explains how he did just that, slowly training a Mario to competently drive Luigi's raceway like a player would.

Although he shares the whole process he claims it "wasn't easy," and the gist is that he created a program to take screenshots of the game, which were synced with controller input. Then he had to train the AI with some mathematical wizardry, and somehow transfer it into an emulator. After that, he had to compensate for Mario Kart's rough controls and adjust accordingly.

It amazes me what people can accomplish. You can acquire his open source here on GitHub.

TensorKart: self-driving MarioKart with TensorFlow [Kevin Hughes]

Madman creates his own AI, trains it how to play Mario Kart screenshot

Read more...

via destructoid http://ift.tt/2jj4sbQ

News:: The best 'Battlefield' is finally playable on Xbox One

The pinnacle of the Battlefield series is at long last backward compatible on Xbox One. Of course, I'm talking about Battlefield Bad Company 2, which came out way back in 2010. There have been four games in the franchise since (Battlefield 3, 4, Hardline and last year's Battlefield 1), but the developers at DICE still haven't gone back to the Bad Company well.

Via: Eurogamer

Source: Major Nelson



via Engadget RSS Feedhttp://ift.tt/2icUMTo