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Force yourself to watch this Lego Star Wars: Force Awakens Character Trailer starring Rey
Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens will be released in less than 48 hours, but WB Games and TT Games are still cutting together new Character Trailers for the title, including the newest one starring Rey (with new dialogue from Daisy Ridley).
We still don’t know if her last name is Skywalker or Kenobi or Solo, but we do know that Rey has natural Force abilities, and you can see them all in this trailer. Watch as she uses her staff to disable a foe, blasts away at a few Stormtroopers, and gives Kylo Ren something to cry about.
Lego Star Wars: Force Awakens will be released for the 3DS, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One on June 28.
New Retail Releases: Lego Star Wars: Force Awakens, Star Ocean 5, Grand Kingdom, More
We’re closing out the month of June with a big batch of new releases…
The biggest is most definitely the game with the planet-sized laser gun, Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which will be available this week for the 3DS, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. Players will be able to relive all the action from the 2015 space opera, as well as “New Adventures” that fill in details you may have been wondering about. (Just how did C-3PO get that red arm?).
A pair of RPGs will also be available this week to fans of the genre busy for a long time. Square Enix will launch the fifth game in the Star Ocean franchise, Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness, exclusively for the PS4, while NIS America has strategized a plan to release tactical RPG Grand Kingdom for the PS4 and Vita.
Players looking for something a bit off the beaten path may want to explore Zero Time Dilemma, the third and final entry in the Zero Escape franchise. The adventure game will be released for the 3DS, PC, and Vita, and takes place between the events of Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors and Zero Escape: Virtue’s Last Reward.
Finally this week, Wii U owners will finally get the chance to try out Terraria, the side-scrolling crafting and exploration title from Re-Logic.
A complete list of this week’s new releases can be found after the break. (more…)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan Review: A Kodak Moment
When talking about quality, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise is filled with anomalies. It’s a veritable roller coaster of highs and lows, of amazing stories and embarrassing character designs. It’s kind of a love-hate relationship. Kids of the 80s have fond memories of the original comic, cartoon, and movie. Opinion on the early 2000s cartoon was kind of split, as it is for the current iteration on Nickelodeon. The ongoing IDW comic, which recently released its 50th issue, has been incredible. The 2014 live-action movie resulted in a collective eye roll from the dedicated TMNT fan community, while this Summer’s sequel had many diehards enamored with its representations of favorites Bebop and Rocksteady. And let’s not even talk about The Next Mutation or the Out of Their Shells concert tour.
Yes, the Ninja Turtles actually went on tour back in the day.
Much like the other facets of the franchise, the TMNT video games range in quality from amazing to downright boring. The original arcade game and Turtles in Time are arguably two of the best beat ’em ups ever made. The game based on the 2007 computer-animated feature is also a decent title. On the flipside, the first game based on the 2013 cartoon series was pretty much universally panned, and the first NES game was downright awful. Electric seaweed? Really? Even with the Game Genie, I couldn’t beat that damn game.
Which brings us to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan, the latest game in the ever-popular Turtles universe. Knowing the reputation of the franchise, I started this one up with a bit of understandable trepidation, as history shows that these games have potential to fall anywhere on the TMNT quality bell curve. After giving it my full attention, I can safely say that this one falls right there in the middle. Not quite a Cowabunga, but not a Shell Shock, either. (more…)
Marvel has “quite a few” unannounced console games in the works
Disney Interactive may have turned out the lights for good last month, but the Mouse House’s Marvel Entertainment division is working hard to secure development deals with outside publishers. For proof, you only need to look back to last week’s E3 Expo and the reveal of an Insomniac-developed Spider-Man game exclusively for the PS4. But Marvel has also teamed up with Telltale Games for an episodic adventure game that is scheduled to launch next year.
But rather than immediately look to the future, Polygon was interested in the fate of 2011’s Marvel vs Capcom 3, and they asked Marvel Games Vice President Jay Ong about it at E3.
Ong admitted that Capcom’s license for the game has been expired since 2013, so a balancing update to Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 isn’t currently in the cards. But he also hinted at a possible rekindling of the partnership: “We love our fans and we certainly want to please them. Beyond that we can’t say anything at this time. But who knows what the future holds?”
And in an offhand aside, Ong also revealed that Marvel Games has “quite a few” unannounced games in the works:
Ong said Marvel Games has “lots of things in the works, quite a few in the console space that are unannounced.”
What is Marvel Games up to? Your guess is as good as mine, but I’d be down for a sequel to X-Men Origins: Wolverine, the tie-in game from 2009 was surprisingly fantastic.
Kylo Ren angsts up the latest Character Trailer for Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Exactly a week from today, Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens will be available on store shelves for the 3DS, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. So WB Games has released one last Character Trailer, this time focusing on Kylo Ren’s exploration of “the lighter side of the Dark Side.”
Featuring new dialogue from Adam Driver, be sure to pause Kylo Ren’s vignette after seven seconds to get a great look at his bedroom. It looks like something of a college comedy, but I think the Warhol-inspired Darth Vader portrait is an especially nice touch.
And in case you missed it, a Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens demo is now available to download through the PlayStation Store and Xbox Games Store for the PS4 and Xbox One.
Just Dance 2017 is dancing its way to every platform this October (and the NX next year)
The Just Dance franchise just can’t stop, and Ubisoft announced the next entry in the series will be available this October. Just Dance 2017 will be released for the… deep breath… PS3, PS4, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. But wait, there’s more. Just Dance 2017 will be available for the PC as well, a first for the franchise, and it’ll also be released for Nintendo’s NX console next year.
Just Dance 2017 will feature the brand new Just Dance Machine mode on the PC, PS4, Wii U, and Xbox One, which Ubisoft said is a “fun and frantic dance experience that will have players testing their skills through a variety of dance types including flamenco, ballet, and the cancan.” Returning modes include Sweat + Playlists, Just Dance Quest, Just Dance TV, and World Dance Floor.
But what will players bust a move to this year? The first 11 confirmed songs include:
- Justin Bieber – “Sorry”
- Psy (featuring CL of 2NE1) – “Daddy”
- Sia (featuring Sean Paul) – “Cheap Thrills”
- Major Lazer (featuring MØ & DJ Snake) – “Lean On”
- Fifth Harmony (featuring Kid Ink) – “Worth It”
- Queen – “Don’t Stop Me Now”
- Hatsune Miku – “PoPiPo”
- Dyro & Dannic – “Radical”
- Maluma – “El Tiki”
- Equinox Stars – “September”
- Ultraclub 90 – “What Is Love”
Ubisoft will also release a Gold Edition of Just Dance 2017, which features a three-month subscription to the Just Dance Unlimited streaming service. And the PC, PS4, Wii U, and Xbox One versions of the game will once again be compatible with the Controller App for smartphones.
Gameplay videos for all 11 confirmed tracks can be found after the break. (more…)
Telltale announces the cast for their Batman game and unveils four new screenshots
The first two games in the Arkham saga will get a second life on the PS4 and Xbox One this Summer as part of the Return to Arkham collection, which will debut on store shelves just ahead of the first episode in Telltale’s upcoming Batman series. While we know all about the Arkham games, Telltale has decided to unveil their Batman project during this week’s E3 Expo.
But first, the developer wants to introduce us to the game’s voice cast, which includes Troy Baker as Batman/Bruce Wayne, Travis Willingham as Harvey Dent, Erin Yvette as Vicki Vale, Enn Reitel as Alfred Pennyworth, Murphy Guyer as Lieutenant James Gordon, Richard McGonagle as Carmine Falcone, and Laura Bailey as Catwoman/Selina Kyle.
“We’ve been hard at work at Telltale creating an all-new iteration of the iconic Batman story that puts players in the suit of billionaire Bruce Wayne, just as much as it will put them behind the mask, deciding how to carefully navigate a complex drama, rich with action, crime, corruption, and villainy lurking around every corner of Gotham City,” said Kevin Bruner, the Co-Founder and CEO of Telltale Games. “The complex life and fractured psyche of Bruce Wayne has lent itself to becoming a bold evolution of the signature Telltale role-playing experience, and we couldn’t be more excited as we prepare to debut the series to players across the world this summer.”
Five episodes in Batman: The Telltale Series will be produced, and the first will be released for the PC, consoles, and mobile devices this Summer. You can also spy a look at Batman’s comic-influenced art style after the break in the first four screenshots from the game. (more…)
EA is giving Xbox Live Gold subscribers free access to all EA Access titles until June 22
Earlier this year, Microsoft and EA opened up the EA Access “Vault” to all Xbox Live Gold subscribers for a week of binge gaming. With this year’s E3 Expo set to kick off any minute now, they’re doing it again.
If you’re an Xbox Live Gold subscriber, you’ll have free to all 21 games in the EA Access “Vault” from now until Wednesday, June 22. That includes EA Sports titles such as EA Sports UFC, FIFA 16, FIFA 15, FIFA 14, Madden NFL 16, Madden NFL 25, Madden NFL 14, NBA Live 16, NBA Live 15, NHL 16, NHL 15, and Rory McIlroy PGA Tour, as well as Battlefield Hardline, Battlefield 4, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Titanfall, Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare, Need For Speed Rivals, and Peggle 2. A pair of Xbox 360 games, Dead Space and Plants vs Zombies, will also be available through the “Vault” thanks to the Xbox One’s backwards compatibility options.
Xbox One interested in subscribing to the EA Access service can do so for $4.99 per month, or $29.99 for a full year. A paid subscription to EA Access also includes “Play First” rental access to several of EA’s biggest upcoming games (including Battlefield 1, FIFA 17, Madden NFL 17, and Mass Effect: Andromeda) before they’re released to the public.