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Mortal Kombat 11 wins back-to-back rounds as the best-selling game of May 2019
Analyst Mat Piscatella came out of hibernation last night to share a look (via Twitter) at The NPD Group’s report on the best-selling games from May 2019. Once again, NetherRealm’s Mortal Kombat 11 landed on the top of the list, and it’s now the best-selling game for all of 2019.
Days Gone managed to hold its position as the runner-up for the month of May, fighting off PC-exclusive Total War: Three Kingdoms (which proved popular enough to slide into the #3 spot) and fellow new release Rage 2 (#4). Perennial favorite Grand Theft Auto V rounded out the Top 5 in the #5 slot.
This year’s most popular titles played musical chairs throughout the remainder of last month’s Top 20. Some went up (Minecraft went from #14 to #9) while some were trending down (Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 dropped from #4 to #12).
The Switch was the best-selling console platform in May and as the PS4 and Xbox One continue to ride off into the sunset, it’s also remained the best-selling for the 2019 calendar year.
Overall, total industry sales were done 11% versus May 2018, but that can probably be chalked up to a paltry selection of new releases last month. You can find a full list of best-selling games from May 2019 after the break. (more…)
Cold Iron’s Aliens: Colonial Marines game is getting a tie-in comic miniseries
We currently know very little about the next game set within the Alien universe from FoxNext and Cold Iron Studios. Even though it was announced all the way back in January of 2018, about all the two companies have revealed so far is that it’s a shooter that’ll involve the Colonial Marines in some capacity.
But today we learned a few more scraps of information about the game thanks to Dark Horse Comics. This morning, the comic publisher unveiled Aliens: Colonial Marines – Rising Threat, a new eight-issue miniseries that’ll connect to the upcoming game, on their official website:
Aliens: Colonial Marines – Rising Threat delves into the formative years of the Colonial Marines. Tying into the events of the upcoming Cold Iron Studios videogame, this new series introduces Olivia Shipp, leader of a squad of battle-weary Marines who have defied orders to rescue the survivors of a refinery under siege.
Rising Threat will be written by Brian Wood, with artwork by Werther Dell’Edera (artist), Michael Atiyeh (colorist), Nate Piekos of Blambot (letterer), and Tristan Jones (cover artist). The first issue will be available through your local comic shop on September 18.
Is that also when Cold Iron’s game will arrive on store shelves? Unfortunately, we still don’t know.
Super Crush KO gets a new trailer at E3 2019
Vertex Pop has unveiled a brand new trailer for their pastel-colored brawler, Super Crush KO, as part of this week’s E3 festivities. Currently in development for the PC and Switch, the short clip aims to give prospective players a peek at the game’s powerups:
Super Crush KO has players take control of Karen, a tough and fashionable brawler in a colorful world overrun by frantic robot enemies. Karen must wipe them out using punches, kicks and long-range combat in fluid combos on the way to save her cat Chubbz and (while she’s at it) humanity.
The trailer demonstrates special ground and aerial moves that players can obtain by visiting various food carts across the city. A pizza slice gives them the “Uppercut Slice”, a salty pretzel grants the “Twister Drill,” while salty sweet popcorn awards players with the “Air Pop” maneuver.
Super Crush KO offers exhilarating fast-paced shoot-and-beat-em-up action, where players mix different moves into various easy-to-execute combos to launch waves of robots into the sky, juggle them and smash them into pieces. Featuring delightful hand-drawn graphics, a pastel color palette and a catchy soundtrack, this is an easy-to-pick-up, feel-good action game complemented with bright and stylish aesthetic.
Super Crush KO is currently on track to be released sometime in 2020.
Konami surprise-launches Contra Anniversary Collection at E3 2019
In addition to unveiling Contra: Rogue Corps during today’s Nintendo Direct presentation, Konami has surprise-launched the Contra Anniversary Collection for the PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
Like Konami’s previous 50th Anniversary Collections, the Contra Anniversary Collection will include a digital book detailing the history of the series, as well as seven games (Contra [Arcade], Contra [NES], Super Contra, Super C, Contra III: The Alien Wars, Contra: Hard Corps, and Operation C). Three regional variants (Contra [Japan], Probotector [Europe], and Super Probotector [Europe]) will also be included.
A post-launch update to the compilation will add six more Japanese variants at a later date.
But for now, be sure to relive some of the greatest action games of the 80s and 90s with Contra Anniversary Collection’s Launch Trailer, which has been embedded above.
Konami brings the Contra franchise back this September with Contra: Rogue Corps
Start flexing those “Up, Up, Down, Down” muscles, because Konami has announced that Contra: Rogue Corps will be available this Fall.
Eschewing the franchise’s traditional side-scrolling view, Contra: Rogue Corps is an overhead twin-stick shooter that takes place in Damned City, a place that was decimated by the alien invasion from the previous games and is now full of monsters and mutants:
Two years after the Alien Wars had ended, a mysterious area called the Damned City arose from the grounds where the final battles took place. Ruthless Fiends roamed the area, bringing a world full of madness. In the midst of chaos, five scoundrels emerge… they are the Rogue Corps.
They do not look anything like heroes of justice, but have they come to save humanity, or maybe they are looking to hit the jackpot by searching the Damned City for treasures… either way, the fate of the world is in their hands.
While the view might be a bit different from what fans are used to, the people behind the project will be the same, as Konami has tapped Nobuya Nakazato (the Director of Contra III: The Alien Wars, Contra: Hard Corps, and Contra: Shattered Soldier) to lead the development team. Rogue Corps will also feature multiple playable characters who can be customized with improved organs and cybernetics in the Operation Room, local and online cooperative multiplayer, and an “irreverent” tone (which is pretty obvious from the first trailer).
Contra: Rogue Corps is currently in development for the PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One, and it’ll be released on September 24.
Spyro Reignited Trilogy comes to Switch and PC on September 3
As expected, Activision has announced that the Spyro Reignited Trilogy will be released for the PC and Switch later this year. Like the earlier PS4 and Xbox One launch, the compilation will include expanded and enhanced versions of Spyro the Dragon, Spyro 2: Ripto’s Rage, and Spyro: Year of the Dragon, the first three games in the franchise:
Immaculately remade from the ground up, Spyro Reignited Trilogy features the exciting and nostalgic gameplay that fans enjoyed years ago with over 100 levels, enhanced reward sequences, as well as the beautiful redesigns of Spyro’s hoard of zany dragons and other goofballs (including Sparx the Dragonfly, Hunter, Sheila, Agent 9, and Sgt. Byrd) and many more.
The trilogy also includes enhanced environments, a remastered soundtrack, updated controls, brand-new lighting and recreated cinematics for added pizzazz in this beloved adventure. Lead developer Toys For Bob is back at it again to bring the Spyro Reignited Trilogy to Nintendo Switch, while the PC version will have the talented developers at Iron Galaxy leading the charge.
The Spyro Reignited Trilogy will be available for the PC and Switch on September 3. The E3 Trailer has been embedded above for your viewing pleasure.
Square Enix will remake third Secret of Mana game as Trials of Mana
After more than 20 years, Square Enix is finally bringing a localized version of the third game in the Secret of Mana franchise to North America as part of the Collection of Mana. But the publisher also used this year’s E3 Expo to announce that a full remake of Seiken Densetsu 3 is also in the works.
Now known as Trials of Mana, Square Enix will rebuild the game with “revamped action-RPG battle, leveling, and skill systems,” as well as “modern 3D graphics”:
Trials of Mana is a full high definition remake of the third entry in the Mana series, previously exclusively released in Japan in 1995 as Seiken Densetsu 3. Trials of Mana tells the story of six heroes as they battle against the monsters of destruction that threaten a world where Mana has been weakened. Players can customize their own party of three, selected from six unique characters, to experience different stories.
The first trailer for Trials of Mana has been embedded above, and the remake will be released for the PC, PS4, and Switch in Early 2020.
Final Fantasy VIII Remastered will land on PC and consoles later this year
Aside from making Final Fantasy VIII available to download for the PS3 through Sony’s PSone Classics banner in 2009, Square Enix has basically kept the RPG under lock and key since its launch more than 20 years ago. But it looks like they’re finally pulling it out of the vault later this year for a new re-release known as Final Fantasy VIII Remastered.
Featuring “newly rendered” visuals, Final Fantasy VIII Remastered will be your first real chance to play the game on modern platforms:
In Final Fantasy VIII, the military nation of Galbadia has declared war on the Dukedom of Dollet, who must hire the mercenary force, SeeD. Squall Leonhart, a new member of SeeD, together with his friends and Rinoa Heartilly, a member of a resistance group, get pulled into the war, unaware of their fated task to save the world.
The E3 Trailer for Final Fantasy VIII Remastered has been embedded above, and you’ll be able to purchase it later this year for the PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.