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All Articles: PAX East 2015
Shovel Knight will dig into the Xbox One in April with the Battletoads
Shovel Knight won’t just be debuting on PlayStation platforms this April. The paladin who wields a gardening instrument of justice will also make his way to the Xbox One next month. And he’s not coming alone.
Microsoft and Yacht Club Games have confirmed that the Xbox One (and Windows 10) version of Shovel Knight will include a cameo appearance from the Battletoads. Zitz, Pimple, and Rash have taken a hiatus from the game world for too long, and it’s great to see them back in the spotlight. It’s unknown how they’ll feature in the game, but if it’s anything like Kratos’ planned cameo, they’ll likely challenge Shovel Knight to a miniboss fight.
The new-generation version of Shovel Knight is currently playable at this week’s Game Developers Conference in San Francisco and will also be available at this weekend’s PAX East expo in Boston.
Posted in News, Xbox One
Tagged GDC 2015, PAX East 2015, Shovel Knight
Wolfenstein: The Old Blood is a standalone prequel to New Order and it’ll be out this May
Wolfenstein: The New Order was one of 2014’s most interesting surprises. MachineGames brought the franchise back from the brink of obscurity and completely knocked it out of the park. So I’m quite pleased that the developer (and publisher Bethesda Softworks) have announced a standalone prequel known as Wolfenstein: The Old Blood.
The Old Blood will take players back to the waning days of World War II and one of B.J. Blazkowicz’s final missions. The famed Nazi fighter will have to venture back to Castle Wolfenstein in search of a missing map in this digital download for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One (which has been priced at $19.99). You can read more about Blazkowicz’s mission here or watch the debut trailer above, which excellently apes the style used by movie trailers in the post-war period.
The year is 1946 and the Nazis are on the brink of winning World War II. In an effort to turn the tide in the Allies’ favor, B.J. Blazkowicz must embark on an epic, two-part mission deep within Bavaria. Part one of Wolfenstein: The Old Blood – “Rudi Jäger and the Den of Wolves” – pits B.J. Blazkowicz against a maniacal prison warden as he breaks into Castle Wolfenstein in an attempt to steal the coordinates to General Deathshead’s compound. In part two – “The Dark Secrets of Helga Von Schabbs” – our hero’s search for the coordinates leads him to the city of Wulfburg where an obsessed Nazi archaeologist is exhuming mysterious artifacts that threaten to unleash a dark and ancient power.
Wolfenstein: The Old Blood will be available on May 5, but if you’re attending PAX East this weekend, Bethesda’s Pete Hines and Matt Grandstaff will host a gameplay walkthrough at the Twitch booth. If you’re not attenting PAX East, you can still view a livestream of the event at Twitch.TV/twitch on both Friday, March 6 and Saturday, March 7 at 10:30 AM (Eastern Time).
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged PAX East 2015, Wolfenstein: The Old Blood
Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows add-on will be available this Spring
Now that we know when it’ll launch on the PS3, PS4, and Vita, Yacht Club Games has announced that Shovel Knight‘s first expansion, Plague of Shadows, will be available this Spring. Plague of Shadows will be a free update when its released and it’ll place the spotlight on the diminutive Plague Knight as he searches for the Ultimate Potion:
You play as Plague Knight, the villainous master of alchemy, in a quest all his own. Using his maniacal scientific mind, Plague Knight is seeking to concoct Serum Supernus, the Ultimate Potion. However, to retrieve these ingredients, he must extract them from his former allies… the villainous knights of the Order of No Quarter! World class platforming, music, storytelling, and art all return in Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows; an explosive quest with a new play style, new story, new bosses, and more!
Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows will make its public debut at this weekend’s PAX East expo. If you’re heading out to the Boston convention, the expansion will be playable on the show floor at Yacht Club’s booth, where they’ll also be selling a never-before-seen Shovel Knight plush toy with a magnetized shovel.
Plague of Shadows is the first of three planned expansions for Shovel Knight on the 3DS, PC, Wii U, and PlayStation platforms. Eventually, those who dispense shovel justice will also be able to play as the swanky King Knight and the wealthy Mole Knight.
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U
Tagged PAX East 2015, Shovel Knight, Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows
Harmonix adds Team Play to Amplitude and shows off first gameplay trailer
Harmonix will bring a playable demo of their “recharged” Amplitude reboot to the PAX East expo this weekend. And if you’re one of the lucky few in attendance, you’ll be able to give the game’s new Team Play mode a try. Ryan Lesser, Amplitude’s Creative Lead, debuted the feature on the PlayStation Blog and tried to convey how the mode works in their musical shooter:
Team play is something we’d never done in Amplitude before, and allowing players to team up 2v2 or even 3v1 sounded like an amazing way to even the playing field without disrupting the current design. We decided to give it a shot, and after some iteration and tweaking, we are proud to say that it’s already super fun.
In addition to introducing Team Play, Harmonix also revealed the first gameplay trailer for Amplitude, which will be released for the PS3 and PS4 sometime this year.
Posted in News, PS3, PS4
Tagged Amplitude, PAX East 2015
Nintendo will bring Splatoon, Xenoblade 3DS, Puzzle & Dragons: Mario, more to PAX East
Nintendo has announced their PAX East 2015 lineup and I hope you like handheld gaming, because it is very 3DS heavy. Attendees will get a chance to play the already available The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D, Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, and Super Smash Bros. For 3DS. But for players looking for something a little more unreleased, Nintendo will also decorate their booth with demo units containing Code Name: STEAM, Xenoblade Chronicles 3D, and Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition. GungHo Online will also have a booth at PAX East with a playable demo of the other half of the Puzzle & Dragons package, Puzzle & Dragons Z.
A single Wii U game, Splatoon, will also be available to play at the expo. Nintendo’s colorful first person shooter will launch in May and its PAX East appearance will be the last chance gamers get to try it out before its release.
“We love giving our fans an opportunity to check out our latest products at PAX events,” said Scott Moffitt, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “The newly released New Nintendo 3DS XL is sure to be popular with the many show-goers looking for StreetPass tags, and Splatoon will let attendees get their first hands-on experience with one of the year’s most creative games.”
The 2015 PAX East expo will take place next weekend, March 6th through the 8th, at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.
PAX East 2015 Indie Megabooth lineup has been announced
The people behind the Indie Megabooth have announced this year’s PAX East 2015 lineup, which includes 79 games from 76 developers. The mazelike network of booths and carpet will feature a variety of eclectic games including previous PAXpocalypse selections such as Broforce (East 2014), Catlateral Damage (East 2014), Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime (Prime 2013), Tumblestone (East 2014), and We Are Doomed (Prime 2013).
Trailers for every game are viewable at the Indie Megabooth official site and after taking in the short teasers, I’m sure a few other games will catch your fancy. I know I’m already planning to line up for Black Ice, a neon-coated beat ’em up/first person shooter; One More Line, a mobile game that feels like a Spider-Man simulator; and Titan Souls, a “Zeldalike” from Acidnerve.
In the interests of journalistic integrity, I’d also like to mention that Warp Zoned’s own Nicole Kline and Anthony Amato have earned a spot in this year’s Indie Megabooth Tabletop Area with their game, Resistor. I know I’m biased, but you should check it out.
You should also check out the complete list of games you’ll find within the Indie Megabooth at PAX East 2015, which is available after the break. (more…)
Posted in Mobile, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Broforce, Catlateral Damage, Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime, PAX East 2015, Tabletop Games, Tumblestone, We Are Doomed
Microsoft bringing Halo 5, Fable Legends, Battlefield Hardline, more to PAX East 2015
Microsoft will bring more than half-a-dozen games, including many of this Fall’s most anticipated Xbox One releases, to this year’s PAX East expo.
Playable demos of Halo 5: Guardians, Fable Legends, and Battlefield Hardline will feature prominently in Microsoft’s booth (#5044) alongside smaller titles like Ori and the Blind Forest, Pneuma: Breath of Life, and Swordy. Evolve, which was released last week, and ScreamRide, which will launch a few days before the expo opens, will also be playable on the show floor. Finally, Mirosoft will host a playable demo of State of Decay: Year-One Survival Edition, which will have a larger presence at the Undead Labs booth (#3092).
The 2015 PAX East expo will open its doors on Friday, March 6 and will run through Sunday, March 8. More information on all of the games that will be included in Microsoft’s booth can be found after the break (and at the Xbox Wire). (more…)
Posted in News, Xbox One
Tagged Battlefield Hardline, Fable Legends, Halo 5: Guardians, Ori and the Blind Forest, PAX East 2015, ScreamRide, State of Decay
The Behemoth will have a demo of “Game 4” at PAX East 2015
The Behemoth has announced that their upcoming strategy RPG, the tentatively titled “Game 4,” will be playable on the PAX East 2015 show floor. Game 4 appears to be an amalgamation of everything that The Behemoth is known for including a hand-drawn art style, wild narration, and an even wilder sense of humor. For a better sense of what to expect, I recommend viewing this Game 4 gameplay trailer from PAX Prime 2014.
The developer will also have a huge amount of new merchandise available for purchase at their PAX East booth and you can peruse their wares before your trip to Boston by visiting their News Blog.
This year’s PAX East convention will be held at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center beginning March 6 and running through March 8.
Posted in News, Xbox One
Tagged PAX East 2015, Pit People