All Articles: Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag
Microsoft will reduce price of all Xbox One consoles by $50 until January 3, 2015
Were you thinking of adding an Xbox One to your Christmas List this year? If so, it’s going to be $50 cheaper thanks to a temporary price cut by Microsoft. Beginning November 2 and running through January 3, 2015, all Xbox One consoles will see their retail price slashed by $50. This offer even applies to all of this Fall’s limited editions, including:
- Xbox One Console – $349
- Xbox One Sunset Overdrive Bundle (Includes Sunset Overdrive and White Xbox One Console/Controller) – $349
- Xbox One Assassin’s Creed Bundle (Includes Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag and Assassin’s Creed: Unity) – $349
- Xbox One Assassin’s Creed Kinect Bundle (Includes Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, Assassin’s Creed: Unity, and Dance Central Spotlight) – $449
- Xbox One Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Bundle (Includes Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, CoD-Styled Xbox One Console With 1TB Hard Drive and CoD-Styled Controller) – $449
Both Assassin’s Creed bundles will be available on November 2, followed by the Advanced Warfare Bundle a day later on November 3. The Sunset Overdrive Bundle is available now.
Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag Review: Any Good? Arrr!
The Assassin’s Creed franchise stumbled a bit with Assassin’s Creed III and Revelations. Thankfully, Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag is a return to form for the series. It is a swashbuckling, rum-drinking, sword-slashing good time that works on many levels. However, it’s also very scatterbrained in that half of the game works while the other half doesn’t. The water combat is great, while the undersea portions aren’t. Some story missions are really awesome, while some are tedium defined. And the plot itself is compelling, except when it isn’t. Yet, somehow, Ubisoft has managed to pull it all together to make a really enjoyable title. (more…)
TitanFall stomps the competition yet again as the best-selling game of April 2014
After selling 925,000 copies in March, TitanFall continued to roll over the competition at retail as the NPD Group crowned it the best-selling game of April 2014 as well.
The remainder of the top ten was made up almost entirely of games released last Fall including Call of Duty: Ghosts (#2), NBA 2K14 (#3), and Lego The Hobbit (#5). Amazingly, Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition continues to hang out in the top five, landing at #4 for the month of April. That ranking may improve next month now that the retail version of Minecraft: PlayStation 3 Edition is available. And speaking of things that are amazing, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was the only other April release to crack the top ten (it was #8).
Finally, according to Joystiq, Sony’s PlayStation 4 can lay claim to the next-generation consoles sales title for another month. That makes four in a row for the PS4.
The complete top ten list for April 2014 can be found after the break. (more…)
Call of Duty: Ghosts is the best-selling game of February 2014
Call of Duty: Ghosts was the best-selling game of the month in November, December, and January. Today, the NPD Group released their list of the best-selling games in February and, once again, Ghosts has taken the top spot. Ghosts has had an impressive run, but I have a strong feeling that major new releases like TitanFall and Dark Souls II will prevent Infinity Ward’s military shooter from winning one for the thumb next month.
Amongst new releases, the game adaptation of The Lego Movie and a trio of games from Square Enix (the Thief reboot, Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII, and Bravely Default) all broke into the top ten. Amazingly, the boxed version of Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition is still hanging on at #9.
The battle of the next-generation consoles continues to be almost a wash as the PS4 slightly squeaked ahead of the Xbox One in February. According to Microsoft, 258,000 Xbox One systems were sold during the month with the NPD Group reporting that Sony sold 10% more PS4 systems. Due to the Xbox One’s premium price tag, it technically brought in more sales dollars in February. As I said, the whole thing is almost a wash.
A complete look at last month’s top ten best-selling games can be found after the break. (more…)
CoD: Ghosts is the best-selling game of the month for the third straight month
The results are in and, according to The NPD Group, Call of Duty: Ghosts is once again the best-selling game of the preceding four weeks. After reigning supreme during November and December, the military shooter has emerged victorious against a particularly weak January release slate.
In fact, the only other new release in this month’s top ten is the “Definitive Edition” of Tomb Raider, which, along with sales of the “Game of the Year Edition” on the PS3/Xbox 360, helped Lara Croft’s latest adventure take the #10 spot.
Post-Christmas gift cards likely played a role in determining January’s biggest moneymakers as many of 2013’s biggest games staked out the remaining eight spots. NBA 2K14, lead by a strong performance on the PS4, landed at #2 and Battlefield 4, despite its continued online woes, was the #3 best-selling game of the month. And what about the next-generation consoles? Well, the NPD revealed that the PS4 is currently the #1 next-generation console in the US with the Xbox One close behind.
A complete look at last month’s top ten best-selling games can be found after the break. (more…)
The Last of Us, GTA5 lead 2014 BAFTA nominees
The nominees for the 2014 BAFTA Awards have been announced and… drumroll please… The Last of Us and Grand Theft Auto V both racked up a ton of nominations.
Both games will be competing for the coveted “Best Game” award against Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, Tearaway, Super Mario 3D World, and Papers Please. Due to its British origins, GTA5 is also competing in the “British Game” category against Tearaway, The Room Two, Lego Marvel Super Heroes, Gunpoint, and DMC: Devil May Cry.
In addition to “Best Game,” The Last of Us was nominated for nine awards including “Artistic Achievement,” “Audio Achievement,” “Game Design,” “Original Music,” “Story,” “Action and Adventure,” and “Multiplayer.” Two “Performer” nominations (one each for Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson) round out the game’s honors. As for GTA5, it received seven additional nominations including “Audio Achievement,” “Game Design,” “Game Innovation,” “Story,” “Action and Adventure,” “Multiplayer,” and “Performer” (for Steven Ogg as Trevor Phillips).
The 2014 BAFTA Awards will be awarded on Wednesday, March 12. The complete list of nominees can be found after the break. (more…)
Standalone edition of Assassin’s Creed: Freedom Cry coming to PC, PS3, PS4
Assassin’s Creed: Freedom Cry, originally an add-on for Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, will be available later this month as a standalone game. It will be available for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 on February 18, and on PC starting February 25. Both versions will cost $14.99, and neither one will require that the player own Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag. Though Ubisoft was unclear on whether the standalone game would be available as a retail disc, a digital download, or both.
Tony Key, the senior vice president of sales and marketing at Ubisoft, said, “We decided to release Assassin’s Creed: Freedom Cry as a stand-alone game for both fans and newcomers to the Assassin’s Creed universe. Assassin’s Creed: Freedom Cry delivers key elements of an Assassin’s Creed game, including a new hero, new environments and new weapons.”
In Assassin’s Creed: Freedom Cry, you play as Adewale, a former slave who is now a trained Assassin. He must face his past when he is shipwrecked in 18th century Haiti, however, and he kills enemies while freeing slaves. Once he’s done on land, he’ll take to sea, fighting the slave owners and bringing them to justice.
Grand Theft Auto V is the best-selling (and most wanted) game of 2013
The NPD Group previously declared Call of Duty: Ghosts the best-selling game of December 2013, but Activision’s military shooter fell a bit short in the full-year competition. With Ghosts in second place, you might have guessed that Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto V was the best-selling retail game of 2013… and you’d be right.
Sequels and sports games dominate the list, but the universal appeal of Disney allowed Disney Infinity to crack the top ten at #10. At #9, the retail version of the mighty Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition also made the list.
Here’s the complete top ten of 2013’s best-selling retail games:
Best-Selling Retail Games of 2013
1. Grand Theft Auto V (Xbox 360, PS3)
2. Call Of Duty: Ghosts (Xbox 360, PS3, Xbox One, PS4, PC, Wii U)
3. Madden NFL 25 (Xbox 360, PS3, PS4, Xbox One)
4. Battlefield 4 (Xbox 360, PS3, Xbox One, PS4, PC)
5. Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag (Xbox 360, PS3, PS4, Xbox One, Wii U, PC)
6. NBA 2K14 (Xbox 360, PS3, PS4, Xbox One, PC)
7. Call of Duty: Black Ops II (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U, PC)
8. Just Dance 2014 (Wii, Xbox 360, Wii U, Xbox One, PS3, PS4)
9. Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition (Xbox 360)
10. Disney Infinity (Xbox 360, Wii, PS3, Wii U, 3DS)
[Source: Joystiq]