All Articles: Need For Speed
New Releases: Pokken Tournament, EA Sports UFC 2, Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, More
Put your dukes up, this week’s new release report is looking for a fight…
Nintendo and Bandai Namco kick things off with Pokken Tournament, a Wii U adaptation of the relatively recent arcade game. If you’ve ever wanted to take control of your favorite Pokemon as they battle it out, now’s your chance.
A bit more down to Earth, but featuring fighters who are equally bizarre (cough Mike Tyson cough), is EA Sports UFC 2. EA’s second trip inside “The Octagon” for the PS4 and Xbox One promises a more realistic fighting experience and deeper Career options.
Also available this week is Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games for the 3DS. While the two mascots won’t be trading blows, the Olympics always bring out a strong sense of competition for the whole world. And Mario versus Sonic is a fight that’ll probably never be settled.
Finally this week, Terraria is now available as a retail release for the 3DS, and Need For Speed will race onto the PC.
A full list of this week’s new releases can be found after the break. (more…)
CoD: Black Ops III, Fallout 4, SW: Battlefront lead November 2015’s best-selling games
Not surprisingly, a trio of shooters took the top three spots in the NPD Group’s recounting of November 2015’s best-selling games.
Call of Duty: Black Ops III scored another big win for Activision (and the Black Ops sub-series) with its claim on the top spot. It was followed by Fallout 4 at #2 and Star Wars: Battlefront at #3. With shooters holding on to the top of the list, sports games looked in for the next four places… Madden NFL 16 (#4), NBA 2K16 (#5), FIFA 16 (#6), and Need For Speed (#7). What? I’m sure someone, somewhere, thinks of illegal street racing as a sport.
The final three spots in the NPD’s November 2015 list include repeat appearances from Halo 5: Guardians (#8) and Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate (#9), along with a strong Black Firday-assisted performance from Just Dance 2016 (#10).
Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, NPD’s Liam Callahan confirmed that the PS4 and Xbox One are having a monster Fall: “After 25 months, the combined sales for the PS4 and the Xbox One are 47% higher than the combined sales for 25 months of PS3 and Xbox 360 hardware sales.”
You can find the NPD’s November 2015 top ten in handy list format after the break. (more…)
Xbox Store Today: Need For Speed, Snoopy’s Grand Adventure, Barbie: Puppy Rescue
Three new games are now available through the Xbox Games Store…
- Need For Speed (Xbox One) is EA’s latest reboot of the long-running racing series. “Become the ultimate icon of today’s urban car culture” as you drive fast and look good doing it.
- Snoopy’s Grand Adventure (Xbox One, Xbox 360) is a side-scrolling game based on the beloved Peanuts character. Players will go on a journey in search of Charlie Brown and all his friends… and the Flying Ace just might make an appearance.
- Barbie and Her Sisters: Puppy Rescue (Xbox 360) is a game starring Barbie and all her sisters as they help a pound full of puppies find their “fur-ever” homes. I’m sure little girls everywhere will love it.
More information on all of these games can be found after the break. (more…)
CoD Black Ops III (Friday), Need For Speed, Dragon Fin Soup, more added to PS Store
It’s that time again as Sony has updated the PlayStation Store with most of this week’s new releases.
I say “most of” as the biggest game of the week is clearly Call of Duty: Black Ops III, which won’t be available for the PS4 and PS3 until Friday. Players on the PS4 will be able to take part in a near-future Campaign involving augmented soldiers and other high-tech weaponry, while players on both platforms will have access to Competitive Multiplayer and the co-op Zombies Mode.
Also available this week is EA’s Need For Speed reboot on the PS4, which will attempt to reinvent the long-running racing franchise once again. This time out, developer Ghost Games is touting their “Five Ways to Play” system, which will reward players for driving fast and looking good.
If you’re looking for something a little less modern and a little more mature, I want to direct you towards the Cross-Buy (PS4 + PS3 + PS Vita) compatible Dragon Fin Soup, a roguelike RPG that pits an alcoholic Red Riding Hood against hordes of monsters.
Mature is not the word I would to describe Snoopy’s Grand Adventure, a PS4 game meant to tie-in to the upcoming movie. Players will take control of Snoopy in a side-scrolling adventure where he does his Snoopy thing, including an appearance from the Flying Ace and his nemesis, the Red Baron.
Finally this week, Lab Zero Games has released a “Prototype Beta” for their side-scrolling RPG, Indivisible. I don’t quite know what separates this beta release from an early demo, but Indivisible shares a similar art style with Lab Zero’s Skullgirls and should interest retro-minded players with its “Free” price tag.
More information on all of these games (and a few other new releases) can be found after the break. And a complete rundown of this week’s new game add-ons and discounts can be found, as always, at the PlayStation Blog. (more…)
New Releases: Call of Duty Black Ops III, Need For Speed, Yo-Kai Watch, More
Are you ready to answer the call of duty? Right on schedule, Activision and Treyarch will release Call of Duty: Black Ops III for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One this week. Taking place in a near future where technologically-augmented soldiers form the backbone of modern war, the game will also be available for the PS3 and Xbox 360, though it won’t include the single-player Campaign Mode. Players in the market for a PS4 will also be able to pick up a 1 TB PS4 + Call of Duty: Black Ops III Bundle this week.
This week’s other major new release is Need For Speed, the latest entry in the long-running racing franchise. Developer Ghost Games considers the PS4 and Xbox One game a complete reboot of the series and has packed Need For Speed with five overlapping storylines and dozens of cars.
The kids will get their chance to play as well as Nintendo and Level-5 will release the Pokemon-like Yo-Kai Watch for the 3DS, while Little Orbit will launch Snoopy’s Grand Adventure for the 3DS, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.
Finally, a number of games are getting special edition re-releases including Evolve: Ultimate Edition (PS4, Xbox One), Lords of the Fallen: Complete Edition (PS4, Xbox One), and Shovel Knight (3DS, PS4, Wii U).
A complete list of this week’s new releases can be found after the break. (more…)
Game Critics Awards panel declares Fallout 4 the “Best of Show” at E3 2015
The Game Critics Awards, a panel comprised of journalists from 38 different publications, have handed out their 2015 “Best of E3” honors and Bethesda’s Fallout 4 took home the big prize… which should come as a surprise to pretty much no one. In addition to being named “Best of Show,” Fallout 4 was also awarded “Best PC Game” and “Best Role Playing Game.”
However, Fallout 4 couldn’t win all the awards, and its quantity was actually matched by Naughty Dog’s Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, which collected three awards of its own. Among the traditional awards, Nathan Drake’s next adventure won “Best Console Game” and “Best Action/Adventure Game.” But it was also selected for a “Special Commendation For Graphics” award by the Game Critics Awards panel.
Star Wars: Battlefront was the only other multi-award winner, taking home “Best Action Game” and “Best Online Multiplayer.” More interestingly, this year’s Best of E3 awards included two repeat winners… Super Mario Maker for “Best Family/Social Game” and No Man’s Sky for “Best Independent Game.”
A full list of this year’s winners can be found after the break. (more…)
Electronic Arts will display a dozen games during E3 2015 Press Conference
Sports! Sports! Sports!
When you think of sports video games, you think of Electronic Arts (or, more specifically, EA Sports). The powerhouse publisher loves sports so much that they plan to feature five athletic adaptations (FIFA 16, Madden NFL 16, NBA Live 16, NHL 16, and Rory Mcllroy PGA Tour) at the 2015 E3 Expo. However, the company’s E3 Press Conference will have plenty of other non-sports games on display, including Star Wars: Battlefront, Need For Speed, Star Wars: The Old Republic, and the world premiere of Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst. But wait… there’s still more. The publisher plans to showcase “a dozen” games during their Press Conference, which means an additional three games will be have to be announced on stage. That said, we have a pretty good idea what EA’s internal studios are working on…
- Visceral is developing another Star Wars game, possibly starring Han Solo.
- Criterion is experimenting with some kind of wild transportation game.
- PopCap is making a “bigger and bolder” Plants vs Zombies game for consoles.
- BioWare is developing a Mass Effect game with a “MASSIVE” single-player campaign.
- And DICE is hard at work on Battlefield 5, which will launch in Fall 2016.
It’s likely that all of these titles will get at least a cursory mention during EA’s E3 Press Conference. And you can watch the presentation in the comfort of your own home as EA plans to broadcast the Press Conference live at LiveToPlay.EA.com on Monday, June 15 at 4:00 PM (Eastern Time). More details about all of this year’s previously-announced titles can be found after the break. (more…)
EA will reboot Need For Speed franchise this Fall on PC, PS4, Xbox One
EA has announced that the Need For Speed franchise will most definitely return this Fall. Specifically in the form of a “full reboot” that will simply be known as Need For Speed. Developed by the same team who produced Need For Speed Rivals, Sweden-based Ghost Games, Need For Speed will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
According to the developer, Need For Speed will include “deep customization, authentic urban car culture, a nocturnal open world, and an immersive narrative that pulls you through the game.” A teaser trailer is available for your perusal above with a more in-depth trailer scheduled to debut during EA’s E3 Press Conference on June 15.
In addition to Ghost Games, EA has also recruited the team from Speedhunters, the publisher’s “car culture community,” to assist with the development of Need For Speed. EA hopes that this collaboration will result in an even more authentic racing game:
Need For Speed will deliver an experience that’s grounded in authentic car culture by diving into the rich world of past, present and emergent trends of the urban car scene. This collaboration with Speedhunters in the research and development of the game means the level of detail and real-world authenticity will envelop gamers in an exciting world to discover and enjoy in a way that only Need for Speed can deliver.
Finally, Executive Producer Marcus Nilsson reassured fans that Ghost Games wants to bring the series back in a big way: “Need For Speed is one of the most iconic names in gaming, and we’re returning it to greatness in this reboot.”