News:: If you play the Kirby Battle Royale demo now, you can unlock Meta Knight in the full version

Kirby Battle Royale is kind of squeaking by without much fanfare, but that's kind of the case for all of the Kirby spinoffs on 3DS. As of today in Europe you can grab a demo for it though, which will provide an instant unlock for Meta Knight (who is unlocked anyway when you complete the campaign) when you spring for the full version -- the demo will sport three of the game's 10 modes.

For those who aren't aware, this spinoff is a top-down arena battle game that supports up to four players, and a handful of copy abilities. Think of it like a series of Mario Party battle games with various modes and a handful of characters (which are mostly just versions of Kirby).

Battle Royale is out next month in Europe and Japan, and in January in North America.

Kirby Battle Royale Demo With Data Transfer Meta Knight Bonus Goes Live Today [Siliconera]

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News:: Review: Life is Strange: Before the Storm: Brave New World

They call it burning bridges because fire brings about complete and unrelenting destruction. Fire doesn't discriminate. It ruthlessly eradicates everything in its path, bridges included. And, when it's all razed to the ground, there's fertile earth for life to start anew. It doesn't erase the memories of the damage, though.

Everything's on fire. Chloe's relationship with her mom. Chloe's enrollment status at school. Rachel's life at home. Arcadia Bay. The literal flames that backdrop so much of Brave New World are a blatant metaphor for the unavoidable emotional destruction in everyone's lives. Fire does what fire will do. We can only hope something positive will grow in its wake.

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News:: Raze the dead in For Honor's Halloween event

Vikings, knights, samurai, and... skeletons? Yes, skeletons!

For Honor is celebrating Halloween early with a limited-time Feast of the Otherworld event running from today to Thursday, November 2. The main draw is a rework of 4v4 Dominion, dubbed Endless March, in which soldiers are replaced by skeletons capable of dealing far more damage than normal troops. Another wrinkle: the points you earn from holding zones are only temporary, and the only way to secure permanent points for your team is by killing the undead and other players.

The event will also introduce Halloween cosmetics ranging from masks to emotes to new outfits.

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News:: Destiny 2 pre-load live as pre-order deals knock up to 15% off

PC gamers have often had to endure delayed release dates (i.e. Grand Theft Auto V), but thankfully Destiny 2's delay was only behind by 47 days (yeah, we counted). For PC gamers interested in Bungie's second installment of the popular multiplayer FPS, digital deals are available as of writing as we near the release date on October 24.

The imminent release means that pre-load went live earlier this morning. If you've already purchased your copy at Battle.net (or elsewhere), the download size clocks in at 38GB. Anyone with a slow connection might want to get started now.

All offers listed below are valid at least through Friday -- but given Activision may decide to hold back discounts on release day, your mileage may vary come this weekend. The deals from both GMG and GamesPlanet are authorized Battle.net keys straight from Activision-Blizzard and includes the Coldheart pre-order bonus weapon.

Destiny 2 PC Pre-Order Deals

US Deals at Green Man Gaming

Use code: SUCHWOW10

• Destiny 2 (Battle.net) -- $51.29 (list price $60)
• Destiny 2 Digital Deluxe Edition (Battle.net) -- $85.49 (list price $100)

UK/EU Deals at GamesPlanet

• Destiny 2 (Battle.net) -- £42.79  (list price £45)
• Destiny 2 Digital Deluxe Edition (Battle.net) -- £75.79  (list price £80)

Note: Keys are sent immediately after purchase and you can add them to your Battle.net client to get started on pre-load. Make sure you have 68GB of space available because that's what the game will require in space once unpacked on your hard drive.

Can't find Destiny 2 on your Steam client? That's because the game is running exclusively on Activision-Blizzard's Battle.net platform. If you spot other deals available online from legit sources, let us know and we'll add it to the list above.

Game deals from Dealzon. Sales help support Destructoid.

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News:: Japan getting funky fresh Splatoon 2 art book

As tweeted out by GaijinHunter, it seems that Nintendo Japan are to release an art book this November featuring the stars of their competitive shooter Splatoon 2.

There is little information on the publication in the way of images, or the possibility of a localisation in the West, but we do get to see the cover in the migraine-inducing advert, which featured in Famitsu magazine.

Funnily enough, I think all the best Splatoon art is generally fan-art, there's some brilliant pieces out there and I'd like to see some of that collected in a volume. I'd post some, but twitter might shout at me again, so you'll have to go and take a look yourself.

The Splatoon 2 art book launches in Japan on November 29

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News:: Guide: Here's how you can translate that Shin Megami Tensei Jack Frost game

If you're a fan of Shin Megami Tensei but you are far from fluent in Japanese, you're probably pretty bummed out that you can't partake in that Jack Frost Metroidvania game that Atlus put out. 

Well, good news! Good old Bento_Brento was kind enough to release a translation for us. He tweeted out some simple instructions for installing the patch if you aren't comfortable blindly foraging through those files.

Translation of Synchronicity Prologue: done! Some text couldn't be edited, so consider this V1 for now. Enjoy! https://t.co/VAd4d3ZVOc http://pic.twitter.com/Ti89mVFyT4

— Brent (@Brento_Bento) October 17, 2017

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News:: Cities: Skylines' Green Cities makes my town the prettiest flower in a sea of weeds

My fledgling city had been laid out in neat little rows; everything in its place. While I had yet to rid myself of my toxic coal plant, wind turbines were being raised to supplement it. My citizens were happily recycling one-hundred percent of their garbage, and my economy mostly consisted of a firmly-managed lumber industry. Sure, I received angry tweets from environmentalists, but you can't please everyone.

Then I saw it. "Self-sufficient residences." A massive savings in energy and waste consumption, at the cost of tax-income. My lovely little town of budding craft beer makers would finally get off the grid! I clicked it.

I had failed to realize that doing so would demolish every last residence in my city for failing to be "up to code." I had just evicted everyone. Tax income be damned; I didn't have residents to tax!

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News:: The Nintendo Switch has sold over 2 million in the US

The Nintendo Switch has been dominating console sales ever since its release back in March. Last month, the Switch was the top-selling current generation console for the third month in a row, beating out both the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One. According to a press release from Nintendo, the Switch has surpassed two million sales in the United States.

This is great news for Nintendo, but that success isn't limited to just the Switch. It's also getting significant support from the 3DS and the SNES Classic. These three devices have accounted for more than two-thirds of all video game hardware sales in September. It looks like Nintendo's decision to continue supporting the 3DS with titles like Metroid: Samus Returns is paying off, as is the choice to re-release some of the best video games of all-time on the SNES Classic. 

It doesn't look like this momentum is going to stop anytime soon either. With Super Mario Odyssey arriving next week and titles like Doom hitting the Switch next month, Nintendo has the market's attention. It's likely that the Switch will outsell both the PS4 and Xbox One this holiday season, and with such a great variety of titles, is it really hard to see why? I know I'll be picking up a Switch around Christmas when I've got some time (and cash) to spend.

Nintendo News: Nintendo Systems Claim Two-Thirds of September Video Game Hardware Sales [Business Wire]

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News:: Pokemon Ultra Sun and Moon are the 'culmination' of Game Freak's work on 3DS

You can go ahead and file this one under "Well yeah!" but here goes anyway: Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon are said to be Game Freak's final mainline Pokémon entries developed for Nintendo 3DS.

Director Shigeru Ohmori elaborated in an interview with IGN. "When we were making Pokémon X and Y, we really were trying to push the 3DS system to its absolute limits - which is what we thought we'd done. But when Sun and Moon came around, we completely redesigned the system, and actually ended up pushing the 3DS even further to what we thought was the most we could draw out of it."

"With Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, we've tried to eke that out more and really, really push the system to its absolute limits, and we’re now feeling that perhaps this is the maximum of what we can get out. So we're really treating Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon as the culmination of our work with the 3DS system."

Although next month's Ultra titles are shaping up to be more interesting than I initially expected, yeah, I am so ready for Game Freak to shift over to Nintendo Switch. Let's do this thing already.

Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon Will Be the Last Pokemon RPGs for 3DS [IGN]

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News:: The Punisher gives Justice League giant middle finger, releases same day

Because Netflix is the UN of media creators and publishers (i.e. masters of diplomacy, not subtle, and not-so-subtle jabs), it has revealed The Punisher's release date and it just so happens to be the same day Justice League and Ben Affleck's nipple-Batman II bow in theaters.

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News:: EA celebrates Halloween by decorating offices with tombstones of developers it's eliminated (Fauxclusive)

Calling it one of the most frightening displays they’ve ever seen, EA employees confirmed this week that the company has gone all out this Halloween by filling company offices with jack o’lanterns, witches cauldrons, toilet paper ghosts, and the tombstones of the many developers it’s killed over the years.

People with Chillingo, DICE, and BioWare Austin say they haven’t been able to walk down a hallway without seeing the grave marker of a developer EA purchased and drained of all its life and talent before slaughtering. With such epitaphs as 'Here lies Pandemic. They tried to Destroy All Humans, but instead we destroyed them' and 'R.I.P. EA Black Box, permanently renamed to EA Pine Box,' staff members say the decor isn't exactly getting them in the spirit of the season.

“I’ll be honest this whole thing is pretty damn chilling,” said 3D artist Fred Baxter. “On the wall of one of the stalls in the men’s room is one that reads ‘Maxis: The only kind of creature you couldn't create in Spore is one that liked the game.’ And it’s not just the tombstones. There’s also this dummy by the break room hanging by a noose with the word 'Visceral' written on its chest, but I guess that’s what you get when you try and make a linear, story-heavy game for EA in 2017.”

Not every office is getting the same festive treatment. Employees at PopCap say their desks and cubicles are free of any Halloween decorations. However, they did confirm every television in the building has been playing the horror film You’re Next nonstop since last Tuesday.

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News:: Warner Bros. reportedly dismantles LEGO Dimensions

Although yet to be officially confirmed, it has fast become common knowledge that Warner Bros. Interactive is canning the LEGO Dimensions series of games, which combined LEGO toys based on popular franchises with video games to create digital worlds and adventures.

The toys-to-life trend, which raked in a fortune mere years back, as slowly died a death in recent years. Disney Infinity called it a day after their new Star Wars wave failed to take off, and Skylanders, once a absolute behemoth, has retreated somewhat since their last game, Imaginators, failed to match number from earlier releases.

TT Games' LEGO Dimensions was originally envisioned as a three-year project, but appears to be closing up shop after two. The news leaked out through a studio-wide email sent to TT Games staff from studio head David Dootson. "Thanks so much to everyone for making Dimensions possible," wrote Dootson. "As difficult as it has been, it is worth celebrating the incredible achievement it represents in the quality of the game, the amazing blend of IPs and the challenging technical demands it presented. It stands as a real testament to the talent within TT"

Sad news as another team closes up shop on a labour-of-love project. This leaves Nintendo's amiibo range as the only major toys-to-life product still standing, in what was once a ridiculously lucrative, money-printing market.

LEGO Dimensions sad, slow death [Eurogamer]

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News:: If you want, you can transfer your Minecraft Wii U data to Switch now

The Wii U version of Minecraft was basically put out to pasture when it wasn't included in the "Better Together" cross-play update. In summation, any version of the game that retains the "Edition" moniker will be limited to its own platform, while everything else can play together. Notable exceptions include PS4, Vita, and of course, Wii U.

This led to a lot of people naturally upgrading on Switch (where Better Together works), but they had to leave their save files behind. Well, that changes this week, as Nintendo has implemented a cross-save transfer from Wii U to the newest Nintendo generation. Just load the game up on Wii U, select your save, select transfer, then import it on Switch.

I never really got into the Wii U version (I kept playing Xbox One and only dabbled in the new Mario sandbox), but if I did, this would be a nice concession. Provided that you're okay with eating the cost to upgrade of course.

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News:: Select Best Buy stores will be holding a Super Mario Odyssey event on October 21

On October 21, various Best Buy stores across North America will allow you to play a demo of Super Mario Odyssey, ahead of its official release on the Switch next week.

Fans will be able to have a blast on the highly-anticipated adventure, as well as bag themselves a free sticker book, while stocks last. I love stickers. The event will only be held between 12pm and 3pm on the day. I hope they have a shit ton of units, because that seems a worryingly short time-frame to ensure a throng of people get to play a ten-minute demo.

So, if you fancy trying out the new game (or at least attempting to) and, more importantly, getting your hands on that sweet sticker book. Then be at one of the the Best Buy stores listed here on October 21.

Super Mario Odyssey launches on Nintendo Switch on October 27.

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News:: Pokemon Go gets its first batch of Gen 3 Pokemon this week

Dataminers gave us the heads up already, but now we have a better sense of Pokemon Go's plans for Halloween and Generation 3. There's some good news and bad news here.

The good? Pikachu is wearing a witch hat tilted juuust so. Gosh is that cute. The bad? While the first of the third-generation Pokemon (including Sableye and Duskull) will be available once the Halloween event starts on October 20 at 12:00pm Pacific, the rest of the Hoenn-region creatures won't begin showing up until December. And even then, Niantic describes their introduction as "gradual."

As for the rest of the spooky event:

"Dress up your avatar for the occasion by wearing Mimikyu's Disguise Hat. You'll also earn extra Candy while you're out trick-or-treating with your Buddy Pokémon: Candy rewards from catching, hatching, and transferring Pokémon will be doubled, and your buddy will find Candy twice as fast during the Halloween celebration! Last but not least, you’ll have the opportunity to stock up for your upcoming adventures with special boxes from the in-game shop, featuring items such as Raid Passes and Super Incubators."

The Halloween celebration runs until Thursday, November 2 at 1:00pm Pacific.

Halloween treats coming to Pokémon GO! [Pokemon Go]

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News:: Tapion and Android 13 are coming to Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 as DLC

Hot off of yesterday's news that Nappa and Captain Ginyu are coming to next year's Dragon Ball FighterZ, it was also announced in Japanese publication V-Jump that Bandai Namco's Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 is receiving its own roster boost.

Both Android 13 and Tapion are coming to the fighter as paid DLC characters. Tapion is the star of the 1995 movie Dragon Ball Z: Wrath of the Dragon, whereas Android 13 is renown as the antagonist of 1992's Dragon Ball Z: Super Android 13, where he punched Goku in the balls. Although no release date or price was announced, it is to be expected that these dudes will show up to collect skulls soon.

Also coming to Xenoverse 2 is the new "Hero Colosseum", a free update for all players that will update the game with new story concept and allow for figure-based battles.

Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 is available now on PC, PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch.

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News:: 'Aztez': The bloody indie brawler that should've been big

Imagine: It's 2012 and Matthew Wegner is sitting at his desk in the back of a one-bedroom apartment in Tempe, Arizona, pounding away at a keyboard. It's night but thick black drapes are pulled over the window; the room is suffused with dim yellow light, casting sickly shadows over the papers tacked to the walls. Most of them are emblazoned with the name Aztez, depicting bloody battles among ancient Aztec warriors. Wegner's fingers fall still as he closes a line of code and reviews his work. His computer hums, hot.

A ball of blinding white light suddenly explodes in the middle of the room, shooting sparks to the ceiling and singeing the carpet -- Wegner jumps up and stares, wide-eyed, at the intrusion. As the glare fades, a familiar shape emerges. Wegner is looking at himself: a little older, a little more weathered, but definitely himself.

"Don't do Aztez!" the second Wegner says, frantic. "I'm you from five years in the future. Trust me, stop working on this game. It doesn't go well."

The original Wegner finds his voice. "But everyone says it's going to be great! We already have a lot of buzz."

"It's a trap. Quit Aztez. Now!" The light returns and swiftly envelops the second Wegner before popping out of existence entirely. His final words reverberate around the tiny, smoking room. Wegner blinks and shakes away his shock. He pulls out his chair and sits down. Moments later, his fingers are flying over the keyboard again, coding combat combos into Aztez.

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News:: Fire Emblem Warriors' DLC gets outlined, includes Tharja

It was only a scant few days ago that we figured out how many new characters would be coming to Fire Emblem Warriors via DLC; now we know exactly which characters will be included. Everyone clamoring for Tharja will have their wishes come true! The obsessive Dark Mage headlines a list of characters that I don't really know too much about, but will probably be exciting for series fans.

Each pack will contain the following:

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News:: Super Mario Odyssey will be the fifth game to support Switch video capture

As of the 4.0 Switch update, only four games (Splatoon 2, ARMS, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Breath of the Wild) support video capture. It's a small concession in that it only provides 30 seconds of capture time, but it's there, and you should probably have all of the information when it comes to which games support it so you don't haphazardly mash the share button.

There will be a fifth game though, as of next week. Nintendo has announced by way of the official Mario Odyssey Twitter account that Odyssey will have capture capabilities at launch -- which, along with Zelda, will probably be one of the best uses you could ask for.

I wish video sharing was in at launch though, as we'd probably have so many more entertaining Breath of the Wild gifs to laugh at.

Mario Odyssey [Twitter] Thanks Ken!

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News:: Review in Progress: Gran Turismo Sport

Once upon a time, Gran Turismo was the undisputed champion of console racing simulators. It paved the way for many of the features we take for granted in modern racing games and developer Polyphony Digital has always striven to be at the top of its class. Gran Turismo has such a striking sense of realism that just watching the games in motion was a pure joy.

Somewhere along the line, Gran Turismo stopped being so relevant. Competitors (chiefly Forza Motorsport) stole the crown and Sony’s relaxed development cycles and constant releases of what amounted to demos confused players about what the next entry even was. It’s been quite a confusing mess since the release of Gran Turismo 3.

While the intentions behind Gran Turismo Sport, PlayStation 4’s first entry in this storied series, are noble, this really feels like a full-priced demo more so than the next best thing in racing. That GT Sport also features some pretty anti-consumer practices with its always-online requirement makes it even harder to swallow.

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News:: Review: Hob

I very much enjoyed Runic Games' past Torchlight titles and was excited when I heard they were going to tackle another genre. Good developers can make good games, regardless of their perceived "niche." The action-adventure genre could always use some sprucing up and I feel as if there's still a lot of room for the genre to grow.

And then there's Hob.

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News:: A better look at Star Wars Battlefront II's story

With a month before launch, DICE is opening up about the Star Wars Battlefront II story campaign.

Today's trailer is our best look at it yet, highlighting both the broad strokes ("What do we do now that our Emperor is dead?") and the appearance of certain established characters and locations. It's worth reiterating that this is meant to fall between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens.

The timing here is unfortunate in light of EA's recent closure of Visceral Games (which was, up until now, making an action-adventure Star Wars title), but I'm liking the story premise for Battlefront II. Granted, this trailer doesn't give us much of anything in terms of how these missions will actually play.

No matter how the single-player turns out, it'll automatically be an improvement over the last game.

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News:: Opus Magnum is the new game from the creator of SpaceChem

Zachtronics makes a certain type of puzzle game for a certain type of player to experiment with, learn, and strive to eventually master. The developer's new title, Opus Magnum, certainly follows in the footsteps of SpaceChem and Infinifactory in that regard. It's out today on Steam Early Access.

As a talented alchemist, you'll piece together the "transmutation engine— the alchemical engineer's most advanced tool— and use it to create vital remedies, precious gemstones, deadly weapons, and more." So, it's another game of automation and efficiency, one in which "dark plots swirl around the city's ancient Houses." There's also an alchemy-based solitaire mini-game included!

How far along is development? "I was actually tempted to skip Early Access for Opus Magnum, as this is by far the most polished game we've ever released as an Early Access title," says Zachtronics. "The game features a fully realized story-driven campaign, and includes a puzzle editor, Steam Workshop integration, and localization into six languages from day one of Early Access."

If you'd still rather wait for the final version, though, know that the price won't go up post-Early Access.

Opus Magnum [Steam]

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News:: ‘Star Wars Battlefront II’ turns the Empire into an unlikely protagonist

Star Wars: Battlefront did a lot of things right, but it was criticized for not having a lot of depth, primarily due to the utter lack of a story-driven single player campaign. That's a shame, because the Star Wars universe is rich enough that fans are genuinely interested in stories that go far beyond what's presented in the main film series. Fortunately, for Star Wars: Battlefront II, EA developer Motive was tasked with making a compelling story mode. Having completed a 90-minute playthrough of the game's prologue and first two chapters, it's safe to say that Battlefront II should have something to lure Star Wars fans who aren't necessarily interested in multiplayer adventures.

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News:: Nintendo Download: Fire Emblem Warriors

It's one of the most packed months for the Switch since launch!

Not only is it getting Fire Emblem Warriors today, but it's also seeing the release of Spelunker Party, The Count Lucanor, Party Golf, JYDGE, Elliot Quest, Super Ping Pong Trick Shot, Revenant Saga, Retro City Rampage DX, NeoGeo: Robo Army, and Putty Pals. Just Dance 2018, Mummy Demastered, This is the Police, Syberia, Violett, and Knight Terrors arrive in October 24. Damn!

Fire Emblem Warriors also hits the 3DS as well as Galaxy Blaster Code Red, and the Wii (yep) has Let's Sing 2018.

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News:: Wrap up for these Horizon: Zero Dawn - The Frozen Wilds screens

Some new screenshots have surfaced for the upcoming expansion for Guerilla Games' popular open-world adventure Horizon: Zero Dawn, that turned quite a few heads upon release, to say the very least. The screens star huntress Aloy traversing The Frozen Wilds.

The expansion will see Aloy head North, beyond the mountains, to the borderlands of the Banuk tribe, where new machines, characters, quests and an overarching mystery await our intrepid hero.

The Frozen Wilds is due out on November 7. For those who are yet to journey with Aloy, Horizon: Zero Dawn - Complete Edition, featuring the original game and its expansion will launch on PS4 a month later on December 6.

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