New 3DS XL Release Date, New Fire Emblem, and All the Other Nintendo News Today

The biggest news from today's Nintendo Direct was the February 13 release date for the New Nintendo 3DS both in North America and the EU. If you want a recap, you can rewatch the entire presentation here.

Here are key the New 3DS stats:

• MSRP: $200
• The EU will get both the regular and XL New 3DS, but North America will only get the XL version
• North America colors: Red or black
• EU Colors: Black or white for the regular model, black or blue for the XL
• 12 faceplates for the smaller EU model
• The system does not come packaged with a charger

While it wasn't part of the Direct, GameStop is offering up a way to get a new 3DS for $100 by trading in an older system.

Also launching on February 13:

Check out the special edition Majora's Mask 3DS here. However, be warned, the system is already sold out both at GameStop and Best Buy.

Select Wii games will be made available in the Wii U eShop, and more games will be added every week. The titles will work like regular eShop downloadable games, and titles that previously supported the Pro Controller will include support for the Wii U Game Pad.

• Super Mario Galaxy 2 -- available now
• Donkey Kong Country Returns (EU only) -- January 22
• Punch-Out!! (North America only) -- January 22
• Metroid Prime Trilogy -- January 29

Each title will retail for $20 (£18), but they'll be reduced to $10 (£9) on the week of their release.

We're getting a new Fire Emblem for 3DS.

Tekken's director is Making a Wii U-exclusive free-to-play game. It will involve gathering treasure, disarming traps, and it's codenamed Project Treasure.

Next details on the next wave of Amiibo and the new Super Mario Amiibo series. New characters coming sometime in the spring include:

• Robin
• Lucina
• Pac-Man
• Wario
• Ness
• Charizard
• Toad (as part of the new Super Mario series)

There's a new Pokemon game on the way, but it might not be what you expect. Pokemon Shuffle is a free-to-play game on 3DS. It bears strong gameplay similarties to other match-3 games on Facebook and mobile.

If you're having trouble finding the Marth Amiibo, Nintendo says more are coming. The reason for the re-release: Marth and other Fire Emblem characters will be compatible with the upcoming strategy game from the Fire Emblem developer: Code Name STEAM. Now word on whether we'll be getting more Wii Fit Trainer or villager Amiibo.

Watch the amazing new trailer for Xenoblade Chronicles X

Cross-buy has a future on Nintendo's system. One of the first games to (kind of) support the feature. Mario vs. Donkey Kong is coming to Wii U and 3DS, but if you buy the game on one console, you'll get a download code for the other version free.

A few other notes that didn't get turned into full stories:

• Hyrule Warriors is getting a Majora's Mask pack that includes playable Tingle, playable Young Link, and a few unannounced skins for current characters.
• Puzzles and Dragon Z will come to the West as a dual-packaged on 3DS. It'll also include the Super Mario Bros. version.

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15.07 | 0 komentar | Read More

Hotline Miami 2 Banned in Australia [UPDATE]

[UPDATE] Warning: The described scene may disturb some readers.

A report sent to Kotaku Australia detailed the scene featured in the game which resulted in a refusal of classification for Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number. According to the Kotaku, the report describes a part of the game in which "the protagonist character bursts into what appears to be a movie set and explicitly kills 4 people, who collapse to the floor in a pool of copious blood, often accompanied by blood splatter. After stomping on the head of a fifth male character, he strikes a female character wearing red underwear. She is knocked to the floor and is viewed lying face down in a pool of copious blood. The male character is viewed with his pants halfway down, partially exposing his buttocks. He is viewed pinning the female down by the arms and lying on top of her thrusting, implicitly raping her (either rear entry or anally) while her legs are viewed kicking as she struggles beneath him. This visual depiction of implied sexual violence is emphasised by it being mid-screen, with a red backdrop pulsating and the remainder of the screen being surrounded by black."

The original story follows below.

Top-down 2D action game Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number has been refused classification in Australia, effectively banning it from sale in the country.

The Australian Classification Board (via Player Attack) has written that the game was refused classification under the National Classification Code, Computer Games Table, as computer games that "depict, express or otherwise deal with matters of sex, drug misuse or addiction, crime, cruelty, violence or revolting or abhorrent phenomena in such a way that they offend against the standards of morality, decency and propriety generally accepted by reasonable adults to the extent that they should not be classified."

Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number joins Saints Row IV, State of Decay, and South Park: Stick of Truth in being initially refused classification by the Australian Classification Board. Modified versions of the latter games were subsequently submitted to the board and granted ratings, the highest of which is the R18+ adult rating for video games. It is not known if developer Devolver Digital will resubmit a modified version of the game to appeal the rating.

The first Hotline Miami game was granted a MA15+ rating by the ACB, which allegedly "took forever," resulting in a delayed release in New Zealand. GameSpot has reached out to the Australian Classification Board for comment.

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Assassin's Creed Unity: Dead Kings Review

Whether it's a sequel from an annualized racing series or an expansion pack to a well-received game, there's comfort in the familiar--and, potentially, boredom as well. Dead Kings, the first downloadable content for Assassin's Creed Unity, is an unfortunate example of the perils of taking the beaten path and the design bugs that go with it. So it's a minor blessing that protagonist Arno Dorian returns without a thirst for vengeance or a love interest to protect, his two motivations from the main game. All he wants to do is leave late 18th century Paris...almost as much as I do.

It is from a "one last heist" premise that Dead Kings springs forth. Without the need for money or emotional attachments to complicate the situation, Arno comes into the job as a brooding ex-assassin who just wants to get away from all the dark memories of his time in the city. This is also why Dead Kings is set in the Parisian suburb of Saint-Denis rather than in Paris proper. Safe passage to Egypt is Arno's reward; all he has to do is find a manuscript and solve several tomb puzzles. One would think that a ticket from Paris to Egypt would be less complicated, but it wouldn't be much of a game if Arno just spent a day pickpocketing for boat fare, now would it?

The Marquis de Sade, one of the highlights of Assassin's Creed Unity, makes a welcome return.

The sight of a new set of vertical bars in the Progress Tracker provides an initial (and irrational) hope that Dead Kings might aspire to more than the usual half dozen story missions expected from Ubisoft's post-release add-ons. Suppress your enthusiasm early: aside from one bar devoted to tracking the six main assignments, the other columns represent an unremarkable swath of optional missions and collectable trackers.

Dead Kings is a wholly unsurprising sampler pack of many of the mission types from Assassin's Creed Unity, right down to the easy-to-solve environmental puzzles. Tailing objectives are painless, as are the foot chases, which both benefit from thick urban designs. As one who was indifferent to the much flaunted crowd densities of Assassin's Creed Unity, I greatly preferred maintaining pursuits from rooftop to rooftop even if my target was on the street. A combination of patience, guard patrol observations, and an ample supply of stealth gear ensures that you can clear a few missions completely undetected, if that's your preference.

Of all the Parisian characters sporting inexplicable English accents, these Raiders have some of the strongest cockney accents.

If you guessed that the title "Dead Kings" implies that tombs are to be raided, then you are absolutely correct. Much as in the search for the Well of the Souls in Raiders of the Lost Ark, you have an advantage over the looters desecrating catacombs for treasure. Dr. Jones had better information than the Nazis; Arno has wall climbing skills, which is all he needs to get ahead of the Raiders, the new faction of this DLC. They're not an especially bright bunch. In fact, compared to elite guards, alley gangs, and other factions from prior Assassin's Creeds, the Raiders are no more than annoying thugs with longer lifebars.

As if to recognize that we may not have patience for these bullies, Ubisoft included one of the most useful and potent weapons in franchise history: the Guillotine Gun. If you can buy into the absurdity of the Animus, then you won't laugh when I tell you that I assumed that this weapon would fire wide guillotine-inspired blades, like a primitive version of the plasma cutter from Dead Space. The reality is less novel, more practical, and resoundingly brutal. The Guillotine Gun is a bayonet on steroids; two blade swings can take down brutes and the firing mechanism functions as either a grenade or mortar launcher, depending on the distance. As with any high damage weapon in the series, dealing death is utterly satisfying, provided you don't get caught in the blast of your own gunfire.

The completion of a campaign should leave you with the sensation of a job well done. It should not leave you with the relief of knowing that you won't have to endure another second of a mediocre game. I experienced the latter during my playthrough of Assassin's Creed Unity and had similar impressions of Dead Kings, albeit in a slightly more tolerable bite-sized package. This new content is best experienced by those who have yet to complete the main story, since the Guillotine Gun is a sufficient stress relief tool for coping with Unity's glitches (although you will experience the story out of sequence). As much as I appreciated the shift away from the crime investigation premise of Assassin's Creed Unity, sending Arno on a mere fetch quest turns Dead Kings into the blandest kind of open-world adventure, in which a man who used to be a hero is reduced to a mere errand boy.

15.07 | 0 komentar | Read More

GS News Update: Hotline Miami 2 Banned in Australia

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The Best Games on PlayStation Now!

There are a few interesting games, the first Uncharted, Shadow of Colossus, InFamous 2, but they are lacking the rest of the Uncharted games, only has 1 God of War game, lots of incomplete series like Mass Effect and Dead Space. It would be nice to be able to play through an entire series, like you can with say Gamefly.

15.06 | 0 komentar | Read More

Shadowrun: Hong Kong Fully Funded In Just A Few Hours

Independent developer Harebrained Schemes today launched a Kickstarter funding campaign for a brand new PC Shadowrun game called Shadowrun: Hong Kong. The project didn't take long to find success, as the crowdfunding campaign blew past its $100,000 target in just a couple hours.

At press time (5:30 PM EDT), funding stood at $182,242 from more than 4,500 backers.

Shadowrun: Hong Kong, a follow-up to Shadowrun Returns and Shadowrun Returns: Dragonfall, is described as a "full-length standalone cyberpunk tactical cRPG" set in a "magically awakened" Hong Kong of 2056.

"Shadowrun: Hong Kong has everything you expect from a Harebrained Schemes Shadowrun game," Harebrained Schemes says. "Strong storytelling and sharp writing, lots of morally gray choices, a crew of memorable characters with distinct personalities, challenging tactical turn-based combat, a robust character creation system, and a one of a kind cyberpunk-meets-magic game setting that's endured for over 25 years."

Harebrained Schemes adds that Shadowrun: Hong Kong should offer around 12 hours of gameplay, though this could grow further if extra money pours in--and that's definitely the case right now. Backing the project will increase its production budget, which will in turn lead to additional features, improvements, and more, the developer says. For example, now that the project has exceeded $150,000, that means Harebrained Schemes will add animatic scene transitions to the game.

Shadowrun: Hong Kong is in development for Windows, Mac, and Linux only. There was no mention of a console or tablet release, and it doesn't sound like that's going to change.

"We have elected to focus all our efforts on PC in order to deliver the best game we can without the current processing and memory limitations of tablets," the studio said. "This focus allows us to have higher-fidelity visuals, larger map sizes, and more stuff on screen."

To learn more about Shadowrun: Hong Kong, and to contribute to its crowdfunding campaign, visit the game's Kickstarter page. Harebrained Schemes has not announced a release date yet.

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GameStop Holiday Sales Hit $2.94 Billion, Down Compared to Last Year

How did video game retailer GameStop fare this holiday? We now have a better idea, as the company on Tuesday reported sales performance for the nine-week holiday period ended January 3.

Total global sales fell 6.7 percent to $2.94 billion. Overall comparable store sales fell 3.1 percent, the result of a 3.3 percent decrease in the US and a 2.7 percent decrease internationally. Looking at just November, GameStop reports that sales declined 12 percent, though the company points out it had a tough time comparing to November 2013 when the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 launched.

GameStop attributed the overall downturn, in part, to foreign currency exchange rates.

In terms of new software, this category grew 5.8 percent, led by a 94.4 percent increase in Xbox One and PS4 game sales. Top titles were Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Grand Theft Auto V, and Far Cry 4, GameStop said.

New hardware sales dropped 32 percent year-over-year, due in part to the aforementioned tough comparisons to the last year and the Xbox One's lower price point in 2014 compared to 2013. Though sales might have fallen off compared to last year, GameStop reports that demand for the Xbox One and PS4 "continues to be strong," as evidenced in a 31.3 percent increase in units sold in December 2014 compared to December 2013.

GameStop's pre-owned/value business unit dropped 1.3 percent, while the company's burgeoning mobile and consumer electronics category rose 28 percent, led by a 75.8 percent jump in Technology Brands revenue.

The retailer's digital business was a bright spot during the holiday period, with digital receipts rising 42.8 percent to $296.6 million for the period. GameStop attributed the uptick in sales to its console digital business, which grew more than 50 percent compared to last year.

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Total War: Warhammer Leaked Ahead of Announcement

A new Total War game has been accidentally revealed via a copy of "The Art of Total War" book. The artbook, which is scheduled for release on January 23, was shipped early to a fan who posted the information onto the Total War forums (via Kotaku.) An interview with The Creative Assembly's creative director Mike Simpson published in the book reveals that the developer is working on a game titled Total War: Warhammer.

Credit: StormOfRazors

Not much is known about the game, but given the attachment of the Total War name, it will feature similar elements of grand strategy and military tactics. GameSpot has reached out to a SEGA representative for comment.

It shouldn't come as a surprise that The Creative Assembly is working on a Warhammer game, given that the developer signed a deal with Warhammer creator Games Workshop in December 2012. Total War: Warhammer will be the first Warhammer game Creative Assembly has worked on.

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15.06 | 0 komentar | Read More

Vergil's Downfall DLC Included - DmC: Definitive Edition Gameplay

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Forza Motorsport 6 Announced Exclusively For Xbox One

Turn 10 Studios and Microsoft today announced Forza Motorsport 6 at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS). The game will launch exclusively on the Xbox One with the new Ford GT featured as the cover car, thanks to a partnership between Microsoft and Turn 10 Studios with Ford Motor Company.

Ford's performance cars will also appear in the upcoming Forza Motorsport 6, including the GT, Shelby GT350 Mustang, and F-150 Raptor. Turn 10 Studios creative director Dan Greenawalt confirmed that gameplay footage will be revealed at E3 this June. This year marks the ten-year anniversary of the Forza Motorsport series, which debuted on Xbox in May, 2005.

The most recent entry in the series, Forza Motorsport 5, was released in 2013 for the Xbox One. Forza Horizon 2, which focuses more on open-road driving, was released last year for the Xbox One and Xbox 360.

What features would you like to see in Forza Motorsport 6? Let us know in the comments below.

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