Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions Evolved Coming This Month
Sierra has announced Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions Evolved - an updated version of the arcade shooter coming free to owners of Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions later this month.
The update includes 40 additional Adventure mode stages, including boss battles, grid shapes and gameplay types, along with the Sweeper drone and Detonator super ability. It also revises the previous level gating system in a bid to make progression easier. A Hardcore mode is also being added, tasking players with completing 20 levels without a drone or super. These will have individual leaderboards.
A trailer showing off these additions alongside the original content can be seen below:
Anyone owning the current version of Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions will get upgraded to the Evolved version on PS4, Xbox One, PS3, Xbox 360 and PC on March 31. It can otherwise be purchased on that date for $14.99.
Sling TV App Hits North American Xbox One Consoles Today
North America Xbox One owners can now try out the new Sling TV app.
The live TV service is available for a 30-day free trial right now, and incorporates many of the features we've come to expect from apps on the console, including the ability to Snap, Pin the app on the Home screen or use it with Kinect's voice and gesture controls.
Sling enables you to watch live TV without the cable company, offering access to the NFL, NBA and X Games on ESPN and ESPN2, plus shows like The Walking Dead from AMC, Adult Swim, TNT, TBS, and others. It also offers access to select Video-on-Demand services like Polaris+.
Though a 30-day trial is included, this normally costs $20 a month for the core package with additional sports, kids, news and film packages available for $5 each.
Dragon Ball Xenoverse Ships 1.5 Million Copies
Bandai Namco has revealed Dragon Ball Universe has shipped 1.5 million copies worldwide.
This figure covers its release globally, though it's important to note "shipped" refers to the number of units sent to retailers, rather than the number actually bought by consumers.
IGN's review of the latest gaming instalment in the Dragon Ball franchise found this offering lets you customize your own fighter, but combat's sadly dull and a little unfair.
For more on Dragon Ball Xenoverse, including tips on how to find all the Dragon Balls and how to go Super Saiyan, check out IGN's wiki.
Parent Wants to Sue Microsoft Over FIFA Microtransactions
An annoyed parent is seeking a lawyer to start a class-action lawsuit against Microsoft after his child spent $4,500 on microtransations in FIFA.
In Ultimate Team mode you can buy packs of players with either in-game money, or actual money. One parent found thousands of dollars worth of charges on his credit card and is angered that Microsoft has denied compensation.
Writing in a post on Medium, he says that he and his wife take the blame for not paying more attention, however he wants Microsoft to supply better parental controls. "If Microsoft wanted to spare thousands of parents from frustration, anger and sometimes, serious financial consequences then it could find a hundred ways to do it. It has just chosen not to."
NX is Nintendo’s New Next-Generation Hardware System
Nintendo President Satoru Iwata today mentioned the company is creating a new next-generation hardware concept called NX during a media event today.
Iwata revealed sparse details of the new "dedicated game system" during a joint announcement of its partnership with Japanese mobile gaming company DeNA. The partnership will result in the development of smartphone games starring Nintendo characters along with a new multi-platform platform software service.
"Nintendo, together with DeNA, will jointly develop a new membership service which encompasses the existing Nintendo 3DS and Wii U systems, the new hardware system with a brand-new concept, NX, and smart devices and PCs, and Nintendo will be the primary party to operate this new membership service," Iwata said via official translation.
Nintendo to Develop Smartphone Games Featuring Nintendo Characters
Nintendo is teaming up Japanese mobile gaming company DeNA to develop and operate new games specifically for smartphones starring Nintendo IP, along with a new multi-device online membership service.
According to the announcement today, the partnership will only develop new original games for smart devices rather than porting Nintendo Wii U and 3DS games to smartphones.
"There are significant differences in the controls, strengths and weaknesses between the controllers for dedicated game systems and the touchscreens of smart devices," Nintendo President Satoru said during the press briefing. "We have no intention at all to port existing game titles for dedicated game platforms to smart devices because if we cannot provide our consumers with the best possible play experiences, it would just ruin the value of Nintendo’s IP."
Resident Evil: Revelations 2 – Episode Four Review
Resident Evil: Revelations 2's tale is coming to an end, and with it, your stint on an island overrun with biological monstrosities. You've watched the crew escape a prison, clear a village of monsters, and infiltrate a tower filled with evil over the course of three episodes, and it's been a good ride overall, even if it's fallen off of the rails from time to time.
Episode Four begins as Claire and Moira finally close in on the person who's responsible for their horrible predicament, a meeting that's been building up since you awoke in a jail cell at the beginning of Episode One. It doesn't take long to find the so called Overseer, whom you meet just a few minutes after Episode Four starts. "We meet at last," she says, but no sooner does your meeting come to an end. Quickly, you have to sprint your way to safety as the tower collapses around you during a self-destruct sequence. Concrete and metal fall dangerously close as you race to the bottom, and apart from a few enemies--the tiresome invisible mutants from Episodes Two and Three--there's isn't much standing in your way except fate, as it turns out.
You arrive at a crossroads of sorts as the clock ticks down to its final seconds, but it's a false intersection with only one direction to take that won't result in a game over. This bait and switch is unfortunate, because it seems like the fate of the protagonists lies in your hands, but you don't actually have control over the outcome unless you're happy to call a "game over" screen an ending. The path that you're forced to take leads you to the inevitable conclusion of the first half of Episode Four, and though you still feel the sting of this deception as Claire and Moira's chapter comes to a close, another part of you is engrossed in the event that does play out. It's a somber moment that carries weight, especially after everything the pair have been through. More than ever, Revelations 2 commands your attention in this moment, taking an emotional toll that you won't soon forget.
When you retake the wheel as Barry, he's waking up from a dream, flashing back to the events immediately following Claire and Moira's dramatic conclusion. From here, Barry and Natalia continue their trek, and with Barry's finger on the trigger and Natalia's finger on hidden objects, it's back to business as usual. Before diving into the underground mine where your target's supposedly hiding, you need to cross a span of scaffolding, but gaps in the framework prevent you from simply waltzing across. To get to the other side, you alternate between Barry and Natalia, moving a platform from one spot to the next. It can be a tricky puzzle if you go through it on your own rather than with a partner, simply because of your limited perspective. You're always standing on the lower level whenever you pull a switch to move the platform, and this angle makes it easy to miss the movement of the platform overhead, which also shifts with every pull of a switch. Recognizing this behavior is the key to solving the puzzle, and while it's simple in theory, you may miss it in practice.
When you eventually make it across and into the depths of the mine, you're up against a thick layer of poisonous mist, in addition to the usual parade of zombies, who crawl and emerge from the surrounding dankness in an eerie fashion. You need to actively contend with both threats as you work your way towards the bottom of the mine, occasionally taking to higher ground in order to clear your lungs. Fail to do so in time, and you'll perish. You don't have much choice but to face this danger since you need to flip an array of switches across the mine in order to proceed. It's a hurdle that you've crossed numerous times throughout Revelations 2, but managing your timing and proximity to safety has never been as important as it is here, which makes it more interesting, at least, than other similar switch-based progression puzzles. The stop-and-go nature (looking for an objective, catching your breath, executing an action, and catching your breath) nearly overstays its welcome by the time you move on, but while it lasts, it instills an appropriate mix of suspense and mild confusion as you sprint for safety while attempting to simultaneously keeping track of your goals and surroundings.
Beyond the mine lies a surprise, and without saying too much, it's one that will resonate best with Resident Evil fans who've been with the series since the beginning. Unlike most of Revelations 2's locations, this place feels overrun by evil, rather than the product of it. Its claustrophobic architecture and array of creature comforts are equally cozy and haunting, a mix of emotions that has worked well for the series in the past. Unfortunately, this nod to the Resident Evil of old doesn't last long. A key here, some backtracking there, and you're on your way to the final showdown.
Revelations 2 hasn't had many boss fights over the course of four episodes, but at least they've been memorable, either for the action therein or the narrative that surrounds them. The final battle falls into both camps as you face your ultimate foe, a slinky boss who runs around on all fours, spouting hate for the person Natalia has become. Get too close to its body and it will strike you, knocking off a significant amount of health, or, wander too close to any of the poison-filled ducts that it's busted open and you may suffocate to death. With a boss that runs away frequently, and plenty of gas obscuring your vision, you have to keep your ears open for its vile speech every time it goes into hiding to guess where it will appear next. It's good that you can survive the fight without having to pray for the right kind of ammunition. Most weapons will do the trick so long as you have a few explosives and your aim is steady enough to hit the boss's weak point with every shot.
With the final boss down, there are two potential endings to behold. In one ending, you learn almost nothing new and the credits roll abruptly. It has value, but only in so much as it's a depressing turn of events. The second ending, however, introduces surprises and hope for your troubled crew, in addition to a second half of the boss fight where you get to attack both on foot and from the relative comfort of a moving helicopter.
The second ending is definitely the preferred one, but if you don't see it the first time through, be prepared to jump back to Episode Three, as it's an event there that determines how the ending plays out in Episode Four. Apart from the game telling you that you've earned the "worst" possible outcome, you might not realize that there's another ending, and frankly, it took crowdsourcing opinions to discover how to go about triggering it. What's frustrating is that, in that pivotal moment during Episode Three, you're expected to do something that you've been taught a particular character is incapable of doing. If you follow the rules, you'll know that you're missing out on the real ending when the game tells you, but it would have been so much better if the real ending were the only one.
The final episode of Revelations 2 has its problems, especially when it pretends that you can decide Claire and Moira's fate. However, Barry's portion offers just enough excellent gunplay and tense exploration to distract you from that misstep, all before sending you to a great final boss fight, and hopefully the good ending. Revelations 2 doesn't get a pass for obscuring the path to its most satisfying conclusion, but it gets credit for the excitement it ultimately delivers in the true end of this journey and the flicker of the next one creeping in its shadow.
Tales from the Borderlands: Episode Two — Atlas Mugged Review
There’s a moment in Tales from the Borderlands’ second episode, Atlas Mugged, where a ghostly Handsome Jack sticks his arm through Vaughn’s crotch and then talks to Rhys using his obscene new hand puppet. It’s absurd, lewd, and hilarious. This one small moment is the best example of Tales from the Borderlands’ humor, which seems to bubble up from a never-ending spring of inventive, crass comedy.
Episode One, Zer0 Sum, lets you know early on that the Borderlands series’ flavor of blunt and sometimes childish humor continues to play a central role. It’s still going strong in Episode Two, and in fact, may be stronger. The series began on a high point and continues to ride that wave, and although Atlas Mugged has a few lulls to allow for some environmental exploration, it’s still a blitz from one high-energy scene to another.
Rhys and Fiona have an ever-growing list of enemies. Two episodes in, with the keys to a mysterious abandoned Atlas project in hand, they try to outrun assassins, Hyperion’s murderous boss, and a vengeful ex-boyfriend, all the while looking for a little cash. Hungry for more information on the Vault they discovered in the previous episode, Rhys and Fiona are doubly desperate to stay out of trouble, with very little success.
After an entertaining, beautifully choreographed opening sequence--another hallmark of the Borderlands shooter franchise--our four main characters are split up. The separation is not by choice, and most of the episode revolves around the girls and guys trying to find each other. Now that we know more about Rhys, Vaughn, Fiona, and Sasha and the story set up is over, we get more insight into their personalities. Depending on choices you made at the end of Episode One, Fiona, a normally confident con artist, becomes emotional as she and her sister explore their adoptive father’s home. Rhys and Vaughn have a relationship hiccup, after which you can choose whether to keep Vaughn as your best bro or watch him a little more warily. The dialogue among these four and the people they encounter feels almost unscripted, like people who know each other well bantering off the cuff.
On the subject of hilarious dialogue, Dameon Clarke’s performance as the digital ghost of Handsome Jack is incredible. It’s one of the greatest elements of Atlas Mugged. Rhys is the only one who can see and talk to Jack, and watching Rhys’s struggle to balance his interactions with Jack and the real world leads, again, to some awkward and gut-busting situations. Jack, one of the most charismatic characters in the Borderlands universe, isn't just a shoehorned-in, a forced entry that brings no weight to the plot. On the contrary, his presence is a major plot point. His role feels organic. It’s like Jack was always meant to come back for Tales, and he is the exact same Jack we know and love/fear from the main series.
Jack isn’t the only canon Borderlands character to appear in Atlas Mugged. The bounty on Fiona’s head brings one of the series’ deadliest assassins out to play: Athena. Athena appears briefly, but her starring scene is a high-speed chase through the slums that requires some quick trigger fingers and button presses. Fiona and Sasha end up taking their broken vehicle to Scooter’s garage. While Scooter’s scene isn’t terribly engaging, it’s a smart way to connect Tales back to the main Borderlands universe via one of its most mundane and non-fantastical elements, a repair shop.
Rhys, Fiona, and their friends, however, still remain the stars. Under the stress of being hunted, they are slowly cracking; they are interesting, well-rounded characters, and following their emotional state is one of the series’ high points. The supporting cast has also been given more time to shine; the villainous Vasquez is further fleshed out, and August's tenderer side is revealed.
Tales from the Borderlands is at its best when it’s letting you be ordinary, talking among your companions, but it still does a good job of incorporating the series' hallmark shoot-and-loot mechanics, both within the game's tense quick-time sequences, and during missions that require you to steal from your adversaries. You do a lot of that in Episode Two, stealing from safes, conning mechanics into giving you money as well as fixing your car, and shooting dudes in the chest.
This episode also frequently uses Rhys’ Echo Eye, an implant that allows him to scan and hack into anything with a power supply. With a little power-up from Jack, Rhys’ Echo Eye is now one of the most powerful tools in your arsenal. You still have Fiona’s tendency to amass large quantities of money, the amount of which will determine just how badass Scooter’s upgrades to your car will be. Both the money-handling and Echo Eye mechanics are major elements in Episode Two, building on what was briefly introduced in episode one and incorporated well into the evolving plot.
Atlas Mugged has the same level of tension that closed out Zer0 Sum. The ending is more than a little nerve-rattling. If you’ve come to care about this ragtag band of jerks, you’ll be both satisfied and possibly angry at the final emotional payoff. This is a Telltale Games production after all. It continues to be a crazy ride through a story that successfully employs the most beloved elements of the Borderlands franchise.
Mortal Kombat X Achievement List Reveals a New Character
The Mortal Kombat Xbox achievement list has been leaked and with it comes confirmation of a rumored playable character and the possibility of another returning character.
According to Test Your Might, images for the Brutal End and Can’t Stop This achievements confirm the rumored gun-toting Erron Black, who made his first appearance in the Mortal Kombat X comic book, as a playable character. A complete list of the achievements and images can be found on Xbox Achievements.
Podcast: The Digigods get beamed up with Guardians of the Galaxy
From their secluded home-theater compound, film critics Wade Major and Mark Keizer mix insightful commentary with irreverent banter, covering the latest DVD and Blu-ray news and new releases of the week, including studio, independent, television and special-interest titles.
Digigods Podcast, 03/17/15 (MP3) -- 34.9 MB
right click to save