Sega and Nintendo Partner Up Again
It’s still funny to see these former heated rivals now joining forces.  The latest partnership has created a new Sonic title called Sonic Lost World.  Little information was given about the title outside of “3D action adventure” and one promotional shot of Sonic and Tails flying towards a planet made up of hex tiles.  In case you were wondering, the two companies are also bringing Mario & Sonic: Winter Games back to the WiiU with the ”2014″ edition.

New Super Luigi U Hits Retail
In case you’re someone who doesn’t have New Super Mario Bros U, Nintendo is making it easy to grab the expansion pack featuring Luigi.  While gamers can still nab this as DLC if you own New Super Mario Bros U, a standalone retail version of New Super Luigi U will be arriving at stores later this summer.  The DLC will sell for $20 while the retail copy will ring in a bit more at $30.  Here’s the pretty cool box art:

Zelda ‘Oracle’ Games Coming To eShop and Discounted
The original Gameboy Color Legend of Zelda titles (Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages) will be making their return in the eShop on May 30.  Make sure you pick them up the first three weeks however as they’ll be on sale for $4.99.  After that point, the price goes back up to $5.99.  I guess when you look at it, not a huge deal there, but a dollar is a dollar, right?

Pikmin 3 Details and New Main Characters
In its first jump into the WiiU, gamers will step into the intergalactic boots of three new heroes: Alph, Charlie, and Brittany.  Players will only be exploring during the daylight hours and in an interesting change for the series, you’re no longer restricted to a set number of in-game days.  Not only that, the game will have a level select option, won’t make you restart from the beginning if you botch a level and the GamePad will provide an easy way to switch between pikmin and leaders while showing the map as well.

Release Dates!
The Wonderful 101, the brawler from Platinum Games is set to launch in September, while Pikmin 3 has been locked into August 4.

E3 Coming To You! Probably…
In an interesting twist, Nintendo has partnered up with Best Buy to setup kiosks to over 100 stores in the US and Canada which will allow people to play titles demoed for the WiiU at E3.  It’s almost as good as being at the actual show….okay, maybe not, but this is still a cool thing to do.  An official list of locations and games on display should be revealed soon.

The company’s story is an interesting one and is detailed at length on the Journal website for Remember Me.  It’s very interactive and before you know it, you’ll be sucked into that world.  The story itself it very touching and yes, some of you may even get a little emotional.  For those of you that need an extra incentive, you may also unlock some rewards.  Just sayin’.

To go along with the journal is a very inspiring and powerful video featuring the words of Antoine Cartier-Wells being spoken over some just wonderful imagery.  The video was edited together by Devin Graham with music by Stephen Anderson coming together to make a very memorable video.  Even without any ties to Remember Me, the video is definitely still worth a watch.  Here’s your inspirational video of the day.

It’s a double dose of Assassin’s Creed this week as Ubisoft Montreal released two new videos for the upcoming Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag.  The first goes over some of the more infamous pirates during that era, giving you a good look at who you’ll be crossing swords with.  The second is more gamplay oriented, showing off some naval and land battles.  It’s safe to say that the game already looks fantastic.  To the surprise of…well me I guess, Sony has announced a new entry into the very popular car franchise, Gran Turismo which will be hitting stores this holiday season.  Considering how long it took for GT5 to actually release, I’m pretty surprised at how quickly this one came together.  I guess there’s still enough time for that to change though right?  Curious to hear more about how Diablo III will function on consoles?  I have the latest “Conversations with Creators” video below dealing all about everyone’s favorite loot dropping demon.

I’ve also got new videos for Fuse, The Bureau: XCOM Declassified, Rayman Legends, 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…

Yesterday, EA announced a new free to play fantasy MOBA title called Dawngate from a new developer called Waygate Studios.  The page doesn’t give much information on the title outside a block of text which promises to introduce a whole new way to experience MOBA gameplay.  It also makes it seem like players will be able to customize or create characters around roles they’d like to play.  If you have an Origin account, you’re also able to register for a beta sometime this year as well.

For those that don’t know, MOBA’s (Multiplayer online battle arena) are a team based game where players control a single character through a real time strategy style interface.  Working as a team, players try to destroy the other teams structures until they take their base while being assisted by NPC characters periodically.  This genre was made popular first by custom games like Defense of the Ancients and Aeon of Strife created through map editors of Warcraft III and even StarCraft.

We still are not 100% sure who Waygate is exactly but speculation points to this developer being an off shoot of Visceral and their “free to play” group.  So far there’s no information on the studio.  Since we’re now just a few short weeks from E3, my guess is that the big reveal will be coming then.

So what do you think?  Is this MOBA crazy kicked off by League of Legends and DOTA 2 getting a bit out of hand, or is there room for another?

Yesterday, Electronic Arts revealed via GamesBeat that it won’t be continuing its Online Pass policy in future titles.  For those of you who have not had experience with this practice, the Online Pass was originally meant to be included with their sports titles, but soon was included in non-sports titles like Battlefield 3.  This was EA’s way to gain money off used game sales as new games would come packaged with a one-time use code which “unlocked” new features or online components.  Without it, the user would not be able to use those features without spending $10 to buy a new code.  It’s been well documented that this practice was not well received by gamers.

So why the surprising move?  From what was mentioned, apparently this move was done based on feedback the company had received.  First launched in 2010, it’s never been wildly popular so I’m not sure why they’re just now seeing the feedback.  Perhaps this move was done to curb the recent struggles the company has experienced to paint them in a better light?  Could this be the result of former CEO John Riccitiello no longer being with the company?  For you conspiracy theorists out there, maybe this move confirms the rumored online component coming with Microsoft’s next generation console, which would make the online pass redundant.  Chew on that for a while, as we’ll be getting answers on the rumored “Xbox Infinity” next Tuesday.  Time will tell.

Dubbed “Frostbite Go”, the first mention of this mobile engine was posted very recently on Frostbite’s official website.  There appears to be a dedicated team working exclusively on mobile platforms aiming to bring “true Frostbite experiences to all major mobile platforms.”  Frankly, I associate Frostbite with ultra realistic graphics and while some mobile devices are pretty powerful, I’m wondering how a mobile Frostbite powered game will look.

It’s an exciting time to be a fan of this powerful engine as Frostbite 3 is on its way first with Battlefield 4 and then heading to other top franchises like Dragon Age and pretty much every other next-gen offering from EA.  This also extends to the deal that was recently struck between Disney and EA to bring the Frostbite Engine on board to power future Star Wars games.

Anyway you look at it, fans of realism and destruction have a lot to look forward to with Frostbite starting to creep to all platforms.  I am curious to see how this engine will work on mobile devices and here’s hoping that we’ll get a glimpse at E3.

When players first enter Bungie’s new universe, they’ll take up arms as one of three types of Guardians, who come from the last safe city on Earth.  Each of the three Guardian classes appears to fit the typical molds for RPG games, Caster, Tank, Rogue.  The Warlock is the class that has studied “The Traveler”, mastering the user of some of it’s arcane powers.  The Titans were the ones that built the wall and then defended it from enemies of the city.  Finally, Hunters appear to be reformed outlaws who once spent time out in the wastelands taking risks and being rewarded for the trouble.

I’d imagine that these three starting roles will become more fleshed out as you go along, allowing greater customization and becoming more unique from your fellow players outside of cosmetic things like armor.

Additional information has been provided on some of the locations you’ll be visiting as well. For now, the Venus and Mars sections have been left conspicuously and conveniently blank, but details have been divulged about Abandoned Earth and the Moon.  Classified as a “forbidden zone”, the Moon appears to have been at least somewhat colonized before being left completely.  Structures and settlements have been left behind along with what appears to be some terrain deformation.  With The City left as the last remaining safe zone on Earth, Guardians will be able to venture out among the ruins to explore what’s left.  You’ll see nature retaking crumbling cities, fallen aircraft, and some familiar sites left in a state of disrepair.  Looks really interesting.

Finally, two enemy types have been revealed, Cabal and The Fallen.  Based on their description, The Fallen appear to be the ones with the biggest grudge against humanity.  Refered to as a scourge, this group has attacked all planets and moons that humanity has touched.  This group also comes in three flavors: Dreg, Vandal, and Captain.

The Cabal description is a bit more vague but what we do know is that they seem to be centered in or around Mars.  Expect much more at a later date on these guys.

I’d be surprised if we didn’t get more details in a few weeks at E3.  Destiny is due out (most likely) next year for the Xbox 360, PS3, PS4, and (it’s a very safe bet) the next gen Xbox.

The final step in that process hit last week with the demo.  Would it be enough to sway me back in the Fuse camp, or is all hope lost?  Full impressions after the jump.

The demo opens with the Overstrike 9 team ascending a snowy mountain to assault the Raven Mercenary group’s base.  I’m assuming this mission isn’t near the beginning of the game only because there’s no frame of reference to what you’re doing there and why.  There’s also a lack of tutorials during this mission so you’ll need to experiment a little bit with what does what but overall, the controls are simple enough if you’ve played a third person shooter before.

The star of the show here are the Xenotech weapons themselves which gives each character a role to fall into.  Jacob gets the Arcshot, a crossbow that fires molten mercury bolts.  Dalton has the Magshield which lets him absorb pretty much most damage and can also turn it back on enemies.  Izzy has the Shattergun which lifts enemies from cover.  Lastly, Naya has the Warp rifle which paints enemies with mini-black holes which cause a singularity explosion.  Yes, it’s as cool as I described it.  Each character also has a special ability as well such as Naya being able to cloak for a brief time, Izzy being able to place a beacon that heals the team, Dalton being able to place down portable cover, and Jacob being able to remote detonate his Arcshot bolts.  Traditional weapons are here as well but I only used those when I ran out of ammo for the Xenotech guns.

Each character can gain experience, level up, and apply skill points to specific trees gaining bonuses.  It’s no where near as in depth as a game like Borderlands, but I always appreciate RPG like elements which allow me to customize my character a bit.  Players can also spend in game credits to purchase team oriented bonuses, but the demo didn’t actually highlight that so I can’t speak too much about it.

Combat typically breaks down into firefights so cover is a must if you want to survive.  Enemies seemed to move around to get a better position on you which was good to see and they will punish you if you try and go all Rambo on them.  You won’t be able to Call of Duty your way through this title, you’ll need to think a bit creatively and stay in cover.  The cover system is more of a “snap” based style where pressing a button will cause your character to quickly snap to the nearest cover.  There’s plenty of room for tactical and strategic combat opportunities as the game rewards teamwork with additional XP.

To be honest, I wasn’t floored with the teammate AI.  While they do help in fighting and reviving you, it seems like they don’t take the best lines to stay up with where you are.  There were a few times where my team (or a couple of them) were way behind where I was.  I not sure if they got stuck on the geometry of the level or if they were trying to shoot form that far back.  It was a little disappointing but not too severe as it wasn’t a constant problem.

Thankfully, the problem is nullified by the LEAP feature which lets you instantly swap to a different squad member at any time.  It’s a feature that sounds really simple on paper, but it’s seamless, efficient, and really benefits the player.  It also will let you position or set up some squad based moves easily enough during a tense combat situation.  It’s something that lone wolf players will definitely want to use.

The Fuse demo definitely managed to set the tone for the game’s release in a couple weeks and has restored my faith in the product as a whole.  I was initially worried that the game had fallen into “generic” territory as the game shed it’s CGI style look for a more realistic and gritty one.  Thankfully, the demo has removed the majority of that fear for me.  I had a lot more fun than I honestly expected and I can see this being a game that shines even brighter when you throw some friends into the mix for co-op.  The key to enjoying Fuse is forgetting about Overstrike which I know many may have a problem with.  If gamers can get over that aspect, they may just find an entertaining game worth checking out.

This past week, Volition released the full demo from PAX East this year.  The video shows off real-time gameplay from the Virtual Reality streets of Steelport.  It’s very reminiscent of the first footage they released of Saints Row III as it basically shows off a number of gameplay aspects.  One of my favorite new additions is the dubstep gun which I wrote about back in March.  I’m thrilled that you’ll finally get a visual to go along with my description.  In addition to that, Volition also shows off a number of new things like the Inflate-O-ray gun, weapon customization, and new vehicles like the monster truck.

The video will also show you the new enemy for the game, the alien race known as the Zin who has trapped you and your friends in these VR worlds.  Also, replace tank mayhem with a mech and…yeah, well you get the point.  Volition has found a way to fit a mech into the game and gives you the keys to wreck house all over the city.  The biggest addition though?  Superpowers.  At first, they don’t seem to fit, but watching them seems to indicate otherwise.  They look really easy to use and also look like a ton of fun to mess around with.

For a peek at the insanity waiting you, here’s the complete hands off demo from this year’s Penny Arcade Expo in Boston.

If you’re looking for your weekly dose of crazy, look no further as Volition has released a brand new Saints Row IV trailer.  Come witness new gameplay and a trailer that centers around your character as the president in this game world.  Wolfenstein: The New Order was revealed by Bethesda this week and the debut trailer awaits you below.  This new entry offers a different take on the events of World War II, with the Nazi’s being the ones to win the war.  Taking place in 1960, series protagonist B.J. Blazkowicz unleashes a counter-offensive on the regime.  Curious to see how Batgirl is different from Batman in the upcoming DLC for Injustice: Gods Among Us?  Her debut gameplay trailer is below where she lays a beat down on The Joker sporting his “Killing Joke” outfit.  Ironic, no?

I’ve also got new videos for Fuse, Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, Disney Infinity, 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…