Mickey Mouse was once a video game celebrity, thanks largely to a handful of beloved platformers starring the Disney mascot. Castle of Illusion was among the most fondly remembered, and in the era of HD remakes, another visit to the castle was inevitable. Judging by hands-on time at E3, Sega is striking a delicate balance between nostalgia and revisionism.
Read more: 'Very true to the original game and very modern' »
Those of you who have been wishing for a comedic morality play to take along with you can celebrate. Double Fine's adventure game The Cave will be headed to iOS devices sometime this summer.
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.
Some E3 demoes are broadcast for the world to watch, some are only for us to write about, and some, well, we wouldn't be allowed to tell you about those for months. How delightful, then, that the Company of Heroes 2 campaign mission shown at E3 is now available for everyone to play. Huzzah!
It is still pretty weird that Bayonetta 2 is a Wii U exclusive but hey, not weirder than a game where a witch fights angels with her gun-heeled shoes and giant legs made of her own hair. It'll launch in 2014, Nintendo confirmed during its E3 briefing today, and a new trailer with gameplay snippets shows it's certainly every bit as delightfully odd as ever.
"An- and every corner has a schoolgirl panty vending machine and samurai are so cool and hundreds of thousands of people adore a synthesised popstar!" that odd otaku acquaintance of yours urges. They're not entirely wrong, factually and morally--just mostly. Soon we'll get to meet Japan's virtual popstar Hatsune Miku, as Sega has announced it's bringing her game Project DIVA F to western PS3s in August.
Total War: Rome 2 is getting a heavy dose of politics. Rather than deal only with diplomacy and foreign conflicts, this one will see you dealing with disagreeing factions within Rome itself.
Read more: Pacifying the House and Senate, and marrying up »
Update: The Open Beta is now live.
Company of Heroes is launching its open beta test later today, developer Relic Entertainment has announced. You'll have roughly two weeks to survive the bitter Russian cold, as the beta is planned to run through June 18.
Sega's remake of Castle of Illusion is definitely banking on its legacy, but it's not stopping with mere homage. A behind-the-scenes trailer from the developer showcases the original game, and a few tweaks made for the new version.
If you love the "clean, lightly floral, with a masculine touch scent of Mega Man" or the "popular apple-cinnamon scent of our Proto Man," then you will be excited to know that the company behind these gaming air fresheners may be adding Sonic the Hedgehog in the near future.
Hot on the heels of yesterday's debut trailer for Sonic Lost World, Sega has released more details about the upcoming Nintendo exclusive. Those include tidbits about the gameplay basics, platform features, and yes for some reason, the story.
If you are planning to purchase a World War 2 FPS in the near future, Sega wants you to hold of for a bit and check out the strategic Company of Heroes 2 first so you can refine your battlefield skills "by foot, by vehicle and by air."
It's time for the Sonic cycle to begin anew. Sega has released the first trailer for its upcoming Sonic Lost World, and it shows off yet a new direction for the company's mascot. This time, it appears the game is taking a Mario Galaxy-inspired route--fitting, considering the game is exclusive to Nintendo platforms.
Fans will probably breathe a sigh of relief that the initial trailer doesn't feature any of Sonic's furry friends. However, given the number of other cuddly critters in the video, perhaps it's best to simply assume that Sonic won't be on this adventure solo.
Does today's new cinematic Company of Heroes 2 trailer in any way inform you of how good the game will be? Not in the least. Does it give you a pleasant two minutes of watching something pretty? Oh absolutely! In that spirit, here, brighten up your morning with a miserable look at the trials and tribulations of a Red Army soldier.
Game Gear emulation on 3DS earned high marks from us when it launched, but its output since launch has been notably low. So low, in fact, that the three initial launch titles are still the only ones available. Nintendo has plans to change that, with a veritable flood of Game Gear titles making their way to the 3DS Virtual Console.
Playing a sport is easy, being good at one is hard, but being great at loads requires levels of speed, strength, and stamina that only portly plumbers and hedgehogs can summon. Next year's Winter Olympics brings another opportunity for Mario, Sonic and friends to show off their sporting prowess and by gum, they're jazzed to do so. (Nintendo and Sega today announced Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games for Wii U, I'm saying.)
Updated with additional details from Sega.
Sega's next Sonic the Hedgehog game, Sonic Lost World, will be exclusive to Nintendo Wii U and 3DS. "The onetime rivalry between Mario and Sonic has grown into a friendship that has never been closer," Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime said in the announcement.
According to Nintendo, this announcement demonstrates "the commitment we have to bringing great games to the Wii U platform." This comes a day after EA officially announced it was not developing games for Nintendo's latest home console.
Read more: Agreement covers 'next three titles' of Sonic franchise »
Aliens: Colonial Marines has been through the wringer for a variety of reasons, but despite all the bad publicity, the game sold 1.31 million units since it released on February 12, according to Sega's year-end financials.
Sega announced today that Total War: Rome 2 will release on September 3, 2013, on both physical and digital formats. With a release date set, pre-orders are open for business, and Sega announced some pre-order bonuses and a Collector's Edition too.
Aliens: Colonial Marines was roundly panned upon release, but many who pre-ordered or bought on the first day might not have realized that. A new lawsuit alleges that since Sega and Gearbox showed demos claiming they were "actual gameplay" and reviews were embargoed until release date, early adopters had no way to know of the game's problems.
Read more: 'Actual gameplay bore little resemblance to retail product' »
The beta for Company of Heroes 2 is rolling on through the end of April. In the meantime, Shacknews got a chance to check out the new Theater of War mode, which offers special challenge missions for anyone looking to take a side turn from the main campaign and get some additional training before heading into the multiplayer arena.
The House of the Dead: Overkill is making its way to iOS devices soon. "The Lost Reels" is a "remixed" version of the original Wii light gun shooter.
The initial $4.99 download includes two "movies," each with four levels and a boss fight: Papa's Palce of Pain and Ballistic Trauma. Additionally movies can be purchased for $1.99 via in-app purchase.
Sega teased a little of Total War: Rome II's Battle of the Teutoburg Forest mission in February, and today came back with a solid 10 minutes of narrated actual gameplay. It's an ambush rather than a straight-up army vs. army battle, so come watch doggies and horsies chasing the Romans.
Now that Sega will be publishing Company of Heroes 2, it has decided to up the ante a bit by offering a new Digital Collector's Edition that will include a few more perks than the one originally announced by THQ back in September.
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