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Deals with Gold: Catherine, EA Sports UFC, Fallout
Deals with Gold isn't fooling around, as five Xbox One games and eight Xbox 360 games are discounted this week. Of the bunch, one game is on sale for both Xbox Live Gold and Silver members, as all Xbox One players can download EA Sports UFC for half-off. The other four Xbox One games on sale for Gold subscribers are Stick it to the Man, KickBeat Special Edition, Divekick and CastleStorm's Definitive Edition, each for 30 percent off their respective prices. As for Xbox 360 players with an Xbox Live paid subscription, both Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas are 67 percent off this week through Games on Demand as well as Catherine, which is 60 percent off. Serious Sam Double D XXL and Serious Sam 3: BFE as well as the latter's Jewel of the Nile DLC are 67 percent off on XBLA. Rounding out the group is Foul Play, Pool Nation and How to Survive, each discounted by, you guessed it, 67 percent. The deals are good through Monday, November 17. [Image: EA Sports]
KickBeat Special Edition now fighting to Xbox One's beat
KickBeat Special Edition is now fighting through waves of enemies to the beat of music on Xbox One for $9.99, following its bouts on PS4 and Wii U earlier this month (and January's Steam Edition). Expanding on Pinball FX 2 developer ZEN Studios' departure from flippers and bumpers, KickBeat's "Special Edition" bit comes from extra stages that weren't in its 2013 launch on PS3 and Vita. No worries if you're not big on KickBeat Special Edition's setlist (also listed after the break) though – there's also a tool to generate levels to your own songs. Senior Reporter Jess Conditt fought off KickBeat's menacing crowds of thugs during Gamescom 2012, describing success against its mounting complexity as "extremely satisfying." If a glimpse of gameplay could give you a better sense of what's in store, a trailer for Special Edition is awaiting you after the break. [Image: ZEN Studios]
New Nintendo eShop releases: Adventure Island, Teslagrad
Oh, the NES... simpler times. Blowing into cartridges, power gloves, cheat codes, Minus World, R.O.B. and The Wizard. It was a time when people could make Adventure Island, a game in which a rotund man clad only in tiny green shorts and a white cap went running, jumping and skateboarding around the forests and caves of the South Pacific. And, with the help of a fairy called Honey Girl, he saved a princess from a witch doctor. Time-travelers, take yourselves to the Wii U this week and go skate some clouds. If you want something a bit fresher on Wii U, Teslagrad offers Metroid-like platforming with a dollop of electromagnetism, steampunk and Eastern European art. There's also the kung-fu rhythm of Kickbeat, and on 3DS you've got first-person, old-school dungeon crawler The Keep. Apart from that, Nintendo's pre-Super Smash Bros. sale is also worth a look. Running through until the release of Smash on 3DS, the big N's discounting games starring the fighter's roster. Check out the Smash sale here and all the other discounts, and jump past the break for the full list of new releases.
KickBeat Special Edition hitting PS4, Wii U next week
An upgraded Special Edition of beat-matching rhythm game KickBeat is coming to the PlayStation 4 and Wii U next week, developer Zen Studios announced today. Putting players at the center of a kung-fu brawl, KickBeat's gameplay is driven by the beat of featured tracks like POD's "Boom," Papa Roach's "Last Resort," and Rob Zombie's "Scum of the Earth." The Special Edition release includes additional levels not featured in last year's initial release for the PS3 and PS Vita, along with a music-analyzing feature that generates levels based on user-chosen tracks. KickBeat Special Edition is due to launch for the PlayStation 4 on September 16, while the Wii U version premieres on the 18th. An Xbox One port is also in the works. [Image: Zen Studios]
Zen Studios bringing KickBeat and CastleStorm to next-gen, Pinball FX2 to Xbox One
Zen Studios announced a slate of new releases coming to the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 this year, showcasing upgraded ports of KickBeat and CastleStorm alongside the Xbox One debut of Pinball FX2. KickBeat, originally released for the PlayStation 3 and Vita last year, features beat-matching rhythm gameplay wrapped in an acrobatic kung-fu aesthetic. The updated KickBeat: Special Edition will feature additional levels and a music-analyzing feature that allows players to create playable levels based on tracks from their own library. CastleStorm: Definitive Edition boasts a similar upgrade, offering new battles, modes, and spells not seen in last year's multiplatform release. Pinball FX2 will hit the Xbox One with a collection of previously-released tables based on the Marvel and Star Wars licenses, along with upcoming machines inspired by "new, unannounced IPs." A compilation of Zen's previous pinball efforts premiered for the PlayStation 4 and Wii U last year in Zen Pinball 2, and new tables will debut across all supported platforms. [Image: Zen Studios]
Rhythm fighter Kickbeat listed for Wii U by German ratings board
Martial rhythm game Kickbeat may be ready to lay down some beats on Wii U, if a new listing on German classifier USK is accurate. Dev-pub Zen Studios hasn't announced the port of the original PS3 and Vita game, but it's plausible given the pinball specialist has paddled plenty of its catalog up the Wii U ramp. We've reached out to Zen for more info. Kickbeat is like a traditional rhythm game with notes to tap along to. except in its case the notes are hordes of ninja foes, and your taps punch and kick combos. If you're a PC player who believes German europopper Snap was wrong and that rhythm is in fact a fighter, you'll be pleased to learn that Kickbeat arrives on Steam today for $10. The Windows PC version comes with improved visuals, an expanded soundtrack, keyboard controls, and a host of tweaks guided by player feedback. Update: When approached, a Zen spokesperson told Joystiq, "Leave it to the ratings boards to spoil our surprises! I cannot officially confirm or deny that KickBeat will come to the Wii U, but Zen loves to have all games on all platforms so people can enjoy our games regardless of the device they choose to play on."
KickBeat brings the fight to Steam January 20
In KickBeat, players battle waves of enemies while timing button presses to the beat of a song. Today, Zen Studios has announced the game is being upgraded for Steam. KickBeat Steam Edition is an updated version of the PS3 and PS Vita cross-buy game. The PC port features enhanced visuals, an expanded soundtrack featuring six new tracks from Electronic Super Joy and adjustments to difficulty and player progression through the campaign based on player feedback from the initial release on PS3 and PS Vita. KickBeat Steam Edition also adds fully customizable keyboard controls and support for controllers, Steam achievements, Steam Trading Cards and cloud support. Kickbeat Steam Edition will be available for $10 on January 20.
KickBeat heading to Vita, PS3 with Cross Buy support in September
Zen Studios' music-meets-fighting game KickBeat will launch on Vita and PS3 on September 3. The rhythm game will support PSN's Cross Buy feature, so players that pick up one copy will have access to both versions. KickBeat tasks players with defeating enemies using timed button-presses to the beat of licensed musical artists such as Rob Zombie, Marilyn Manson and Pendulum. The game also features a track generator, which allows players to turn their own music into KickBeat levels. %Gallery-195672%
The Zen of KickBeat
Zen Studios is best known for its prowess in the pinball market, amassing its fame from titles such as Pinball FX, Zen Pinball and Marvel Pinball (Notice a trend?). This success has enabled Zen to expand its creative department and develop a wide range of games for varying platforms.KickBeat, for example, is a music-based crossover action title for Vita that throws a brilliant twist into the tired rhythm genre. It combines the quick dexterity of classic rhythm games with a few of the industry's favorite tropes and trends: fighting and ninjas.The most noticeable fad that Zen Studios doesn't integrate in KickBeat also happens to be the game's best feature: It has absolutely no touchscreen or rear touchpad functions.
KickBeat trailer, partial track list revealed at Gamescom
KickBeat is a PS Vita game announced back in May by the pinball-loving developers at Zen Studios in which you'll lay the smack down on enemies in time to a musical beat. This week during Gamescom, the company released a trailer, as well as a partial track list for the title, which is set to arrive later on this year, exclusively on Sony's newest handheld.You can find the announced track list after the break – it ranges from the gritty Rob Zombie and Marilyn Manson, to the groovy Styles of Beyond and even Mandarin Chinese rapper Shen Yi. That's a positively eclectic selection right there, and Kickbeat will also include a tool for players to create playable tracks from their own music as well. So if that works as planned, there will be no end of tunes to play as you kick a fool's heads in.
KickBeat gameplay trailer is punchy
Zen Studios' upcoming rhythm fighting game KickBeat bursts with action in this new gameplay video, set to the tune of "I Can't Wait" by Cellweller. The downloadable game will launch sometime this year on Vita.
Zen Studios' Kickbeat includes both kicks and beats
Zen Studios' newest game is ... not pinball. Instead, Kickbeat is a Vita music game in which you fight enemies to the beat of background music. Enemies circle you, and you kick in one of four directions to beat them, in time with the licensed music that's playing in the background.Should you happen to get tired of the included soundtrack (Rob Zombie, P.O.D., Papa Roach), you can also import your own music and generate additional levels. We're definitely interested in the included Mandarin-language rap track by Shen Yi, and we look forward to punching people to its beat sometime this year.
