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‘Serial’ podcast subject Adnan Syed is granted a retrial
When last we heard about Adnan Syed, subject of the breakout hit podcast Serial's first season, a judge ruled he should be given a new trial based on his previous attorney's failings. Today, Maryland's court of special appeals has affirmed it will grant him one.
'Battleborn' beta launches April 8th on PlayStation 4
If you haven't noticed, episodic gaming is all the rage these days. The developers at Gearbox have taken notice and are structuring Battleborn's story mode in such a fashion. A press release says that the game's prologue and eight episodes work as a season that tell a collectively bigger narrative, while each episode will focus on a self-contained story about the game's 25 characters.
Serial adds new episodes as the season 1 case continues
Still wondering what happened to Adnan Syed after the first season of Serial wrapped? Well, we're about to get an update. Syed is back in court this week as his lawyers present new evidence in an attempt to get his conviction overturned. To keep us informed on the latest happenings, host Sarah Koenig and producer Dana Chivvis are set to discuss this week's proceedings in three new episodes. The first update is already posted as the Syed's first appearance was yesterday.
You don't have to know 'Borderlands' to play 'Tales from the Borderlands'
The final trailer for Tales from the Borderlands, the narrative-driven point-and-click adventure game from Telltale, is full of action, guns, humor, drama, raw emotion and a catchy chiptune-inspired soundtrack. It's a bit like the game itself (which is good, since it's a trailer for exactly that). If you're worried about diving into this game blind, Engadget's former sister site Joystiq reviewed the premiere episode back in November 2014 and had the following to say: "Regardless of your level of Borderlands experience, Tales from the Borderlands is a witty, well-written adventure with broad appeal. And yeah, there's a dick joke or two." The fifth and final installment of Tales from the Borderlands drops on October 20th for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, PC and Mac; October 21st for Xbox One and Xbox 360; and October 22nd for iOS and Android.
The Wolf Among Us down to $20 on Amazon
The first season of The Wolf Among Us can live among your gaming library at a discount today, as the episodic adventure game is currently $19.99 on Amazon. The 33 percent off sale is good for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game, while Vita players can pick up The Wolf Among Us for $24.49 on the retailer's site. Developed by The Walking Dead creator Telltale Games, The Wolf Among Us stars Fabletown's Sheriff Bigby Wolf, formerly known as The Big Bad Wolf. Based on Bill Willingham's Fables comic book series, the game's five episodes follows Bigby as he maintains order in the small New York City community. Our review of the final episode, "Cry Wolf," noted that the game's first season "lays the groundwork for the series that is (hopefully) to come, getting us invested in these pigs, these trolls, these witches, these toads, these people." [Image: Telltale Games]
Super Game Jam's final episode now on Steam
The fifth and final episode of Devolver Digital's Super Game Jam is now available on Steam. Super Game Jam tells the stories of five pairs of developers that craft games during a 48-hour game jam. The final episode follows London-based developers Tom Francis (Gunpoint) and Liselore Goedhart (Remembering, Nott Won't Sleep) as they quickly concoct the game SimAntics under the game jam theme "simulation." The five-episode documentary series is currently 25 percent off ($14.99) on Steam through the end of the weekend, and includes copies of the five games created by the development duos. Announced in March, the series was directed by filmmakers Bram Ruiter and Daniel Oliveira Carneiro in five cities over the course of six months and features designers such as Vlambeer's Jan Willem Nijman (Ridiculous Fishing, Luftrausers) and Jonatan Söderström (Hotline Miami). Nijman appeared in the first episode, which launched in May. Head past the break for a teaser trailer of Super Game Jam's final installment. [Image: Devolver Digital]
Alternate 1980s RPG Majestic Nights is one big conspiracy
Some choose to believe the Apollo 11 moon landing of 1969 was a hoax, or that the United States government is keeping extraterrestrials in a hidden building somewhere in the Nevada desert. Epiphany Games is playing off these types of conspiracies with its freshly-announced episodic game, Majestic Nights, which will debut in September. In the alternate 1980s game, these sorts of conspiracies aren't just theories, but are "truths." Players guide an intelligence operative known as Cardholder and a private investigator named Cal in the isometric RPG, uncovering clues to the criminal cover-ups and world-breaking facts about events like alien abductions. The first season of Majestic Nights includes six episodes and kicks off with a "Chapter Zero" prologue for free in September, which dives into the aforementioned moon landing. Majestic Nights' subsequent chapters will come at a cost; the first is expected to arrive in October, with the season's conclusive sixth episode currently slated for April 2015. The game is in development for PC, Mac, iOS and Android, and while Epiphany didn't put a price to each chapter, season passes will be available for players to guarantee access to the whole shebang. [Image: Epiphany Games]
Muramasa Rebirth cursed with third DLC chapter, is pretty sickle of it
The third piece of story DLC for Muramasa Rebirth is now available to download for $4.99. Titled "A Spirited Seven Nights' Haunting," the chapter stars the ninja Arashimaru, who is on a quest to survive after receiving a curse that limits his life to seven days. Armed with a sickle and kunai, players can tackle both new and old enemies as Arashimaru and also summon the snake-like spirit threatening to kill him in order to overwhelm enemies. The Genroku Legends series of four downloadable episodes for Muramasa Rebirth was announced in November and features new characters and stories with each entry. The first chapter, "Fishy Tales of the Nekomata" arrived in January followed by the second episode, "A Cause to Daikon For," in February. Muramasa Rebirth launched in June 2013 as the Vita port of Vanillaware's original Wii game, Muramasa: The Demon Blade. The game is free for PlayStation Plus subscribers to download this month. [Image: Aksys Games]
Vudu makes it a little easier to buy your TV shows by the episode
If you're really dedicated to a la carte TV, then maybe separating by channel isn't enough and it's time to buy only the shows or episodes of shows you really want. The only problem with that? On some services, if you buy a few episodes and then decide to grab the entire season later, that means paying twice for the same shows, but Vudu has added a fix, which it's pitching directly towards cord-cutters. In addition to the Season Pass that lets users buy shows as they're airing on TV, now there are options for Season Complete and Season Upgrade. Complete means just paying the price for the season, minus the price of the episodes you've already purchased, while Upgrade lets you jump from a low-res standard definition copy to HD (720p) or HDX (1080p) by again just paying the difference in price. The iTunes store added a "Complete My Season" option to its TV store back in 2011, but it still isn't there for stores like Amazon and Google Play. Vudu is available on many more devices than Apple's digital store, so if you're building out your TV library episode by episode and season by season, now there's one more option.
Watch Star Citizen teams design the next great starship
Star Citizen's Next Great Starship contest is down to 16 teams battling it out to get their designs into the upcoming space sim. Cloud Imperium has released the fifth episode of the contest in which the judges and participants talk about the various concept art that has been submitted. If you've got an hour and a desire to see some of the possibilities for the game's starships, hit the jump and give it a watch!
The wolf is among iOS today
Telltale's The Wolf Among Us is set to launch today on iOS. The game's first episode, titled "Faith," will cost $4.99, while a pass for the game's entire season will be priced at $14.99, Touch Arcade reported. The latest trailer for the game notes that it will also arrive "soon" on PlayStation Vita. The Wolf Among Us' first episode launched in mid-October on Xbox 360 and PC. The series is based on Bill Willingham's Fables comic series, guiding the werewolf-like Sheriff Bigby through a section of New York City known as Fabletown. Our review of the episode found the game to be a "perfect beginning" to Telltale's new series, and it made us "invested in protecting these curious creatures from our storybooks."
PBS' Game/Show delves into video game violence
The latest episode of PBS' webseries, Game/Show, dives into the often-controversial topic of violence in video games. The episode briefly explores the history of violence within sports and other types of games, helping to explain why violent acts are depicted as often as they are in video games. Hosted by Kill Screen's Jamin Warren and produced by Kornhaber Brown, the series has just two other episodes. The first is devoted to analyzing the success of characters like Mario, Sonic and Link, while the other looks closer at the rise of "Let's Play" videos on YouTube.
Final Cognition episode hits September 19, series coming to Steam and GOG
Cognition: An Erica Reed Thriller began in October 2012 as a four-episode series in which players investigate the murder of Scott Reed, the clairvoyant protagonist's brother. The game's final episode, called The Cain Killer, will launch September 19 for PC and Mac, Phoenix Online Studios announced. Additionally, once the fourth episode arrives, the whole series will finally launch on Steam and GOG.com. Cognition was Greenlit on Steam in June, thanks to over 25,000 votes by the community, according to the developer.
Payday 2 web series continues in 'The Vault'
This second episode of the live-action Payday 2 web series picks up where the first one left off: the crew is in the middle of robbing a bank and is about to make its escape from the vault. Payday 2 will launch on PS3, Xbox 360 and PC in August.
Netflix rolls out new 'post-play experience' on web player, PS3 (video)
If you've been marathoning a new favorite TV show on Netflix recently you may have noticed that on the PlayStation 3 (above) and browser-based (after the break, along with a quick demo video) players it's got a new tweak. At the end of each episode as the credits roll it pops up a quick (and very basic cable TV post movie-like) prompt with info about the next episode and, unless you select a particular viewing option, search or go back to browsing, keeps right on playing. For movies, it pops up three similar recommendations instead. This "post-play" experience takes a couple of remote presses out of long viewing sessions, and on Netflix's end probably makes it easier for folks to choose to sit through "one more episode" and keep those viewing hours boosted. On the other hand, not every one likes the automation, either here or on the Xbox 360 app. Whether that's because viewers need an emotional pause after a particularly gripping episode of Lost or they -- and by they, we mean this blogger in particular -- tend to doze off mid-episode, the good news is that every other episode it prompts the user if they want to keep playing before moving on. Like every other tweak or announcement even this move will probably be debated amongst viewers, feel free to dive into the lone season of Terriers in the name of research before letting us know if you're a fan.
Sonic 4 Episode 2 rolling into place in 2012
Sega has apparently joined the effort forged by Valve to change the rules of how long you can go between episodic releases, while still being allowed to call said releases "episodes." In a recent interview with Eurogamer, Sonic Team's Takashi Iikuza talked about Sonic 4, explaining, "This year, 2011, is the anniversary, so we're focusing on the celebration title." He later added, "But moving forward to 2012, Sonic will still be going, so I'd hope to provide Episode 2 then." In other news, have you guys seen this new show, Best Buds Living It Up In New York? It's this great new NBC sitcom. The first episode aired last night, and the next episode is going to air in about eighteen months.
Star Trek Online: Season Two to revive some 'Ancient Enemies'
We weren't exactly sure what qualified as an "Ancient Enemy" in the Star Trek universe -- haven't most of them been around since, like, the 60s, anyway? The debut trailer for the second season of content updates (which carries the "Ancient Enemies" subtitle) for Star Trek Online reveals the true identity of these time-tested foes: Big, scaly dudes with tusks. Oh, and floating, demonic torsos. Oh, and floating, demonic torsos that can fly around in space without a ship. So, in short, not only are these enemies older than the game's traditional fare, but they're jumpsuit-spoilingly scarier as well. You can catch a glimpse of these second season baddies in the trailer posted after the jump.
Sam & Max Episode 3: They Stole Max's Brain! (find it on June 22)
The deadpan detective has never been so dogged! With his partner's brain missing (physically), Sam loses his cool and goes on the warpath in the third episode of Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse, out on on PC, Mac and PSN on June 22.
Invasion of Deep Space Nine invades Star Trek Online
The next mission from "Season One" of Star Trek Online's free content updates will soon be added to the game. Titled "DS9 Under Siege," the new episode will bring about a massive invasion upon the typically peaceful space station Deep Space Nine. You might know it from the show Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Remember? It was right there in the title. Check out the trailer above to see what players will be up against when the new episode launches. (Spoiler alert: It's lasers. You're going up against lasers. So many lasers.)
This week on The MMO Report
This week, G4TV's The MMO Report explores Lord of the Rings Online's newest upcoming Book update, World of Warcraft's new Season 8 fall fashions and The Secret World's newest in-game footage trailer. As an added bonus, host Casey Schreiner blames us all for the closure of CitiesXL's multiplayer feature. It's good times all around! Check out the complete video embedded just after the jump below, or every Thursday night on G4TV's The Feed.
