Crackdown may return with 'right team and time'

The Microsoft press conference debuted quite a few games, but it had a distinct lack of Crackdown. That doesn't mean the franchise is dead, though, as Microsoft Studios general manager Phil Spencer says he'd like to see it return when the stars align properly.

Read more: 'Given right team and time' »

DoubleDutch Games and No Time To Explain creator tinyBuild today announced SpeedRunners, a PC platformer where you're a superhero who simply needs to run off the edge of the screen. Only, all the other heroes will do their best to slow you down and pull you back. It's four-player local competitive multiplayer, see.

Watch: Wacky racing in the announcement trailer »

Injustice: Gods Among Us took the top position for a second consecutive month on the NPD charts. While impressive, there was also little competition. In fact, only three new releases made the list this month, and two of them aren't even technically new games. Metro: Last Light debuted at a respectable 6th place, while the new 3DS and Wii U ports of Donkey Kong Country Returns and Lego Batman 2 charted. The lack of new releases caused an 84% decrease in unit sales year-over-year, NPD analyst Liam Callahan points out.

Read more: Xbox 360 dethroned »

While IndieCade's E3 booth may not be as boisterous as others at the show, its impact cannot be denied. IndieCade has been home to games such as Braid, Dear Esther, and Skulls of the Shogun long before they were on anyone's radar and this year looks to continue that trend. Here are some of the more notable games I got to check out.

Read more: IndieCade E3 favorites

There was a common theme amongst game publishers last week at E3: many of them were announcing new racing games. In fact, every E3 press conference highlighted some upcoming racer. I spent time with every big new racing game at the show, and walked away with impressions of each. With so many options available, which E3 racer is right for you?

Read more: Forza, Gran Turismo, DriveClub, Need for Speed, and more »

When we knew we were going to be getting a closer look at the new Thief during E3, we solicited some questions from the community on what you wanted to know about the new game. We got some time with Daniel Windfeld Schmidt, lead level designer on the game at Eidos Montreal, and he offered up some interesting answers.

Read more: Stealth and arrows »

Collegiate-level sport is coming, and you can get a chance to engage in some of the latest virtual footballing starting tomorrow. EA Sports has announced that the demo for NCAA Football 14 will hit PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on Tuesday.

Read more: Full game with a mystery match-up »

While we were distracted gushing over horseback stealth and hair dragons last week during E3, 2K Games quietly released another Civilization V: Brave New World trailer. Now that we've had time to see it, hey, it's a short but interesting look at one of the expansion's big new features: the World Congress and its new diplomatic win.

Watch: Working to build the International Space Station »

Through inflation and increased development costs, the transition to new hardware sometimes signals a higher price tag for the games themselves. Both Microsoft and Sony have assured that their first-party titles will remain at $59.99, the standard price established on current-gen systems. Based on retail listings, it appears third-party publishers plan to follow suit as well.

Read more: Third-party games selling for $60 at retail as well »

Hitman: Absolution developer IO Interactive has suffered layoffs, as publisher Square Enix reshapes the studio to focus squarely on Hitman projects. The studio has lost almost half of its employees in what Square calls "significant changes" to its business structure.

Read more: Studio now focused on 'new triple-A Hitman' »

The debut trailer for The Order: 1886 was intriguing, but vague. The subsequent announcement filled in some gaps, and now Ready at Dawn has gone into more detail about its alternate-history take on Victorian London.

Read more: Mixing anachronistic elements into London »

Interest in PS4 has continue to grow after Sony and Microsoft showed off their wares at E3 last week. Once again, we surveyed GameFly fans about their interest in the two next-gen consoles. We recorded responses before Microsoft's Xbox One reveal, after, and after the conclusion of E3.

While interest in PS4 increased following Xbox One's reveal, it appears that Microsoft lost significant ground during the trade show. Whereas about 38 percent of fans were more interested in Microsoft's new console at the beginning of the year, the figure currently stands at 18 percent. PlayStation 4 currently has 72.2 percent allegiance.

Read more: Interest in Xbox One drops nine points »

Last week's E3 marked two years since Nintendo teased a new Zelda title with a sharp-looking Wii U tech demo. We didn't see hide nor hair of the game at this year's show, but producer Eiji Aonuma has dropped a few more clues about what Nintendo is considering for Link's next adventure.

Read more: 'I didn't necessarily mean multiplayer' »

The upcoming Killer Instinct reboot is a free-to-play game that will include just one character, the ninja Jago, at launch. Additional characters will be available for purchase a la carte. But Double Helix understands that you might want to grab the full roster without paying for each of them piecemeal. It will be offering a season-pass-like option to collect them all in one go--presumably at a discount over buying them individually.

Read more: Prices still unconfirmed »

Retro Studios announced Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze at E3, disappointing fans who were hoping for a sequel to its critically-acclaimed Metroid Prime series. The studio has since opened up about its reasoning, its love for both series, and what a new Metroid game might look like.

Read more: 'We might do another one someday' »

Though many of us have played hundreds and hundreds of hours of Dota 2, it still isn't officially out. It's technically in closed beta, see, though we all surely have enough spare invites by now to invite everyone we've ever known. That should finally change this summer, as Valve has said it'll launch its free-to-play Lords Management game before its big tournament The International 3 begins on August 7.

Read more: Expected to come after two more heroes »

Despite its title, Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z is not really a Ninja Gaiden game. It shares some passing similarities, but even the game's producers shy away from direct comparison to the notoriously difficult action titles. After talking to key team members and getting hands-on time, I understand why.

Read more: Getting to know the anti-Ninja Gaiden »

Given how bizarre Saints Row: The Third already is, mod tools could only result in the game becoming more sensible, more polite. Adding a selection of conservative businesswear, perhaps, or speed cameras to keep you driving safely.

We'll get to find out in a while, as developer Volition is working with Saints Row modders to put together proper mod tools. The mod community has so far been running on tools it worked out and put together itself, and shiny new tools should allow people to add new clothes and missions, and even alter the world.

Read more: Starting with SR3, planning for 2 and 4 too »

Sonic skepticism has become almost routine upon word of a new game announcement. The character platformer has had some decent hits, but on the whole his track record has encouraged what fans have dubbed the Sonic cycle. At risk of falling into that disappointing trap, what I saw so far of Sonic Lost World looks promising.

Read more: Sonic's new variety, control scheme »

We were jolly pleased when we got to play the iOS port of XCOM: Enemy Unknown, and soon you should be too. The proper full game, which we're assured has "no free-to-play aspects to it," will launch this Thursday, June 20, at $19.99.

Read more: The PC version with only a few small cuts »

The promised first update for open-world survive 'em up State of Decay went live over the weekend, or so it seemed. Unfortunately, the fixes it was supposed to bring were clearly not in effect, and after a bit of checking developer Undead Labs has confirmed that "the update was being downloaded, but not applied." It's working on getting this working, but can say when that might be.

Read more: Will be rolled into second update if not »

At Sony's E3 press conference, Square Enix announced that its upcoming relaunched MMO Final Fantasy XIV would be console exclusive to PlayStation. An Xbox version is unlikely because it wouldn't be able to tie into the game's cross-platform servers, which allow PC players to play with PS3 and PS4 players.

"If we published to Xbox One right now, it would essentially be an Xbox only community," director Naoki Yoshida explained. "An MMO is built on its community, and if it's weak, then what is the point?"

Read more: Maybe only 'a few thousand' people would play on Xbox »

Ninja Theory kicked off 2013 with the blockbuster reboot DMC: Devil May Cry. But at E3, they came with a bit of a surprise. Working with EA Mobile and Chillingo, the Cambridge developer is working on their first iOS title. Fightback is a cheesy 1980's-style beat-'em-up, where players take control of a 'roided-up tough guy out for good old-fashioned revenge.

Read more: Fists of fury

One of the potential consequences of Microsoft's decision to require daily online authentication for Xbox One games is the inability to play games after the company decides to sunset support for the console. Many gamers are concerned that once this upcoming generation comes to a close, Microsoft will no longer support the servers necessary to keep games running on Xbox One. With online server closures a regularity in the industry, perhaps that fear is justified.

However, Microsoft spokesperson Larry Hryb (aka "Major Nelson") says that Microsoft will never pull the plug on the One. "That's certainly something we would not do," he emphatically said. "That's not the way the system is designed. It's designed for flexibility."

Read more: Keep your games, even if you get banned »

"You've got Wang." These are the words that greeted me at the start of the closed E3 demo for Shadow Warrior. Right there, I had a feeling that Devolver Digital and Flying Wild Hog's reboot of the 1998 original understood the essence of what made it such a cult classic.

Read more: Old-school shooter, updated Wang »