The Addiction Continues: Local Multiplayer Coming To Peggle 2

Posted on December 11, 2013 by

I’m having a great time with Peggle 2 so far (more on that another day) but if you’re like me, you may have noticed a certain mode missing from the game. Local multiplayer unfortunately did not make release which is interesting because it was there from the start in the first game. Before you go storming off to PopCap HQ with your pitchforks and torches, hang on a second. PopCap is aware of this issue and will have it corrected shortly.

In a post on Facebook, game producer Jared Neuss thanked fans for their support during the launch of the addictive puzzle game and also as a token of their affection, announced that they’re bringing back the popular Duels! mode. Better yet? It’s going to be free to download. Duels mode may be familiar to Peggle veterans as it pits two players (local or online) against each other, head-to-head, on the same board. No release date was given for the mode, but they hope to have it in our hands as soon as possible.

Outside of that, Neuss was pretty cagey about what else they have planned but did confirm that they have a number of surprises and updates coming. If PopCap has their way, you’ll be Peggling for a long time. Just the way they want it, don’t fight the addiction.

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Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes Gets a Release Date

Posted on December 10, 2013 by

Friends, March is shaping up to be another crazy month for games as Konami recently announced that the first part of Metal Gear Solid, Ground Zeroes, will be launching on March 18, 2014. Ground Zeroes will be launching for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.

To go along with this announcement, Konami also released a 15 minute demo of the game running on the Xbox One. In the gameplay video below, you’ll see footage from the first mission along with details on the normal and hard difficulty modes in the game.

In addition to the release date news, Kojima and company have also detailed both exclusive content with the PlayStation versions and Xbox consoles as well. Revealed at Sony’s launch party for the PS4, players will take part in the “Deja Vu” mission with a classic Solid Snake character skin making him look straight out of the very first PlayStation console.

This past weekend, the Xbox One exclusive content was finally revealed and includes a bonus mission called “Jamais Vu” for cyborg ninja Raiden in which he must track down and eliminate identity stealing body snatchers at the U.S. Naval base in Cuba.

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In Case You Missed It: VGX 2013 News and Highlights

Posted on December 9, 2013 by

With it’s 11th year in action, the annual video games award ceremony put on by SpikeTV and Gametrailers changed things up a bit stripping away the celebrities, bright lights, and excess for something much smaller and more intimate. The large audience was cut down to only a handful of people and Joel McHale joined Geoff Keighley this year for hosting duties resulting in what the majority of you would consider extremely uncomfortable moments.  Geoff valiantly tried to hold it together but the conversations seemed to be derailed quite a bit.

I won’t lie, I didn’t watch this year mainly because the event was not televised, only allowing people to stream it from various online sources including your consoles. From what I heard online and through social media, the show was once again a train wreck so don’t feel bad if you didn’t catch it either. Personally, I like Geoff and what he brings to the industry. He does a great job getting the scoops and putting it out there for people so I do hope he’s able to really put together a great awards show because video games certainly deserve it.  This media is only growing in size and popularity so to have a great awards show to go along with it seems like a wonderful fit.

As usual, there were a number of announcements, reveals, and yes, even a few awards handed out. If you missed the show or need a complete recap on all of the activity, head below the jump as I’ve mapped it all out for you.

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Xbox One User Interface Tips and Tricks

Posted on December 8, 2013 by

Hello and happy Sunday everyone. I’ve got a number of things going on around these parts so I’m afraid today’s going to be a shorter update than usual. Still, for you Xbox One owners, I think you’ll find the following pretty fascinating.

Recently, Major Nelson put up a post on his blog detailing some interesting and helpful hints in regards to navigating around the Xbox One’s user interface. There’s some really obscure (well to me anyway) but useful tips for making your life a bit easier for finding information on the system. He covers such concepts as pins, snapping apps, the menu button on the controller, and even the very powerful Kinect command, “Xbox Select.”

Here’s the video and enjoy!

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Saturday Video Round Up: December 1 – 7

Posted on December 7, 2013 by

After a week off from last week’s holiday, the videos have once again come pouring in and as usually, I’ve collected them for you here. It’s kind of nice getting things back into the swing of things so lets dive right into a brand new Round Up.

Peggle 2 is on it’s way from PopCap and promises to never let you go from it’s addictive gameplay. To help demonstrate what you’re in for when it releases on Monday for the Xbox One, PopCap released not one but five videos. Each one of the videos goes over a new Peggle Master you’ll be able to interact with including how their powers will help turn the tables in your favor. The first DLC pack for Batman: Arkham Origins is out featuring a pre-Batman Bruce Wayne as he trains with the League of Assassins. While it’s a challenge map pack, this one looks to have cutscenes and a story which are pretty cool. If you want to see the power of next gen on display, look no further than The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and it’s visually stunning graphics. We should be seeing more later tonight at the annual VGX awards.

I’ve also got new videos for Gran Turismo 6, Battlefield 4, Assassin’s Creed Pirates, and so much more after the break, so come check out this week’s batch of trailers!

The full list of videos await you after the jump…

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Updates on Super Time Force and Below – Finally!

Posted on December 6, 2013 by

It’s (unfortunately) been a while since we’ve heard anything about Capybara Games’ upcoming titles Below and Super Time Force, two titles which I’m eagerly anticipating. Thankfully, we got a little more detail out of them yesterday.

With next generation consoles on the market and many of you making the jump, Capy wanted to make sure you all were represented which is why they’re going to be releasing their time traveling shooter, Super Time Force, on both the Xbox 360 and Xbox One in early 2014. Microsoft will be handling the publishing duties for the Xbox 360 version while Capy will be self publishing on the Xbox One through the ID@Xbox program.

So yes, that does mean that Super Time Force has been delayed a bit, though realistically speaking, Capy was running out of time to hit their 2013 release date. All in all, not a big deal.

“Between Super Time Force and Below, players will get the chance to see two very different games from our studio. Super Time Force is easily the most action-packed and ridiculous game we’ve ever made, while Below is, without much exaggeration, on the complete opposite side of the spectrum. Having these two vastly different games coming from our studio is a huge point of pride for us.”

Below is also looking at a 2014 release date for the Xbox One though nothing has been nailed down in terms of an actual date. To see these games in action on the Xbox One, have a look at their video:

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Microsoft Announces Initial Batch Of ID@Xbox Developers

Posted on December 5, 2013 by

It’s been a long road between smaller independent developers and Microsoft over the years and after a few reversals leading up to the Xbox One launch, things are looking brighter than they ever have. To show off just how good things are, Microsoft yesterday announced the first round of developers that have been accepted into their ID@Xbox program. They’ve got everything from XBLA veterans, large-scale teams, small-scale teams, and completely new to Xbox studios as well. It’s a pretty diverse initial list. We’ve been told that this list isn’t complete and that they’ll be adding more and more studios to the mix.

Announced last August, the Independent Developers @ Xbox program gives accepted developers two Xbox One development kits, access to all of the tools (such as achievements and Xbox Live) and a free license to the Unity Pro engine. This was Microsoft’s way of trying to match the stellar job Sony has been doing in courting popular indie developers to their console like Supergiant Games and 17-bit Studios to name a few. It also represents a huge shift in Microsoft policy who have always previously required a publisher, but now accepted studios can self publish on the Xbox One. For a more detailed rundown of the program, make sure to click here.

I have to admit, the announced list so far is full of popular studios and big name indies. Regardless of what system you’re on however, it’s a great time to not only be an independent developer, but also a gamer. There’s a ton of great selections already out there and seeing the teams that both Microsoft and Sony are now courting for their systems is only a good thing for us, the consumer. There’s never been a better time to play.

The full list can be seen below the break.

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