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Report: Captain Toad's release date brought forward in UK
Captain Toad's UK adventure may be starting early, after his game began showing up on British doorsteps ahead of its January 2, 2015 due date. While Nintendo's yet to comment, multiple reports indicate the publisher's given retailers the green light to release Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker early - or less late compared to the North American release date. MCV reports it's "been told" all UK online retailers can start shipping the game ahead of a new launch date of Monday, December 22. Similarly, Nintendo Life sources indicate GAME has begun shipping the game out, while VideoGamer.com went to its local GAME store and bought a copy this morning. In other words, if you're a Brit waiting patiently for the Wii U puzzle-platformer, you might want to track down some early treasure on the high street. While you're doing that, we've reached out to Nintendo for official clarification.
Far Cry 4 plans a prison break for January 13
Far Cry 4's "Escape from Durgesh Prison" DLC will be available to download on January 13, Ubisoft announced today. The DLC will have players racing across Kyrat to finish challenges and recover lost weapons, upgrading their gear and skills along the way. Escape from Durgesh Prison will be playable in both single player and cooperative multiplayer modes, but should they die in the DLC, players will have to start the mission over from the beginning. Escape from Durgesh Prison was revealed as part of Far Cry 4's season pass in October, which gives buyers access to multiple add-on missions including the season pass-exclusive DLC, The Syringe. Those without the $30 season pass can still pick up Escape from Durgesh Prison separately for $10. Far Cry 4 launched in November and received praise for its "interesting and absorbing" world in our review. [Image: Ubisoft]
Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes zips onto Steam today
"Steam, are you okay? Steam? Steaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaam!" Calm down, Colonel. Steam is still safe and secure ahead of Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes' arrival later today. The Windows PC port of the prologue to MGS 5: Phantom Pain is cleared for landing at 10AM PT/1PM ET, and with a price tag of $20.
Danganronpa Unlimited Battle brings tap-heavy havoc to iOS
The latest game to join the violently dysfunctional Danganronpa family is Unlimited Battle, a co-op action affair coming to iOS next month in Japan. As Gematsu reports, it's a free-to-play game starring the protagonists of visual novel Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, and in it players slingshot the chibi cast across the screen to attack enemies. Unlike other Danganronpas, Unlimited Battle supports four-player co-op as well as single-player. If you're aware of Trigger Happy Havoc's story of entrapment and murder mystery, you may share our confusion as to how Unlimited Battle fits within the series' narrative. Then again, maybe that's misplaced worry. After all, we are talking about games starring a sociopathic robotic bear who masquerades as the principal of a high school...
Lords of the Fallen 'will be released' on iOS, Android [update]
Action-RPG Lords of the Fallen is bringing its dark, fantastical challenges to iOS and Android next year, CI Games announced. The publisher's wording in a tweet published last night would seem to indicate a port of the PS4, Xbox One and PC game, though that's not stated explicitly. We've reached out to CI Games for clarification. The news arrives hot on the heels of confirmation that a Lords of the Fallen sequel is in the early stages of development. Executive Producer Tomasz Gop revealed conceptual work on what he dubbed "Lords of the Fallen 2" has already begun. Update: CI Games says the Lords of the Fallen mobile game isn't a port of this years' console and PC action-RPG. More details here.
Time-bending teen drama Life is Strange debuts next month
The debut episode of the DONTNOD-developed Life is Strange arrives on January 30, 2015, Square Enix announced today. The publisher commemorated the news with a new trailer showing the game in action. To see how Remember Me studio DONTNOD is mixing emotional teenage drama with supernatural time manipulation, check out the video below the break. Life is Strange caught our eye at Gamescom this year, particularly in the way it presented a convincing glimpse of modern teenage life. As Joystiq's Jess Conditt put it, "Life is Strange presents two fully realized, genuine young women navigating adolescence, betrayal, love and loss. Chloe's pot-smoking and profanity-laced room feel honest to her character, as does her reception of Max. Anyone who's drifted apart from a teenage best friend can relate to the guarded, chilly reunion between these two girls, as well as the spark of envy that Max can display when she learns about Rachel, the new best – and perhaps better – friend."
Disgaea 5 wings West in 2015
The now-dubbed Disgaea 5: Alliance of Vengeance is coming to North America and Europe in fall 2015, NIS America announced this week. The newly revealed subtitle is tied to the game's Alliance Attack battle system. According to NIS, it lets main characters - and main characters only - use special moves when their "relationships are appropriately aligned." NIS' announcement also reveals the PS4 tactics RPG features more than 40 races and jobs, as well as a new stats-boosting system called Revenge Mode. It's just a hunch, but we're guessing that's a shot of it above. As NIS puts it, "Revenge Mode empowers your characters with bonus stats when they've become fed up of their allies being beat on."
PSN Store Update: Damn it Otacon, Get a Grip
Some six years after it hit retail shelves, you can now download Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots from the PlayStation Store. As such, you can now sort of ruin one of the game's most memorable moments. We're of course talking about that tongue-in-cheek bit about the PS3's Blu-Ray capabilities, which arguably loses its edge when you're not playing from a disc. So, it's another Metal Gear Solid moment that only really works when playing the game in its original form. Not that that's a bad thing. If you don't fancy shelling out $20 on a 30GB-ish download, there is other, fresher stuff on the PS Store. Guilty Gear Xrd Sign is the major new release of the week, and you can grab the fighter for $60 on PS4 and $50 on PS3. Also new on PS4 this week are free-to-play shooter Loadout, Tetris Ultimate ($10), and Super Mega Baseball ($20, cross-buy with PS3)
Shadow of Mordor rings in Lord of the Hunt DLC today
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor today welcomes into its fellowship the "Lord of the Hunt," Warner Bros. informs Joystiq. The DLC will be available to purchase on its own for $10, or you can acquire it through the $25 you-shall-not season pass. Lord of the Hunt is already available on Xbox One, and should hit PS4 and PC in North America later today. As previously detailed, the DLC offers new story content courtesy of Dwarven Hunter Torvin, as well a bunch of extras. There are Uruk Beastmaster Warchiefs to fight, new beast-hunting challenges to take on, an Ultimate Beastmaster skin for Talion, five new epic runes for mounts, and more. But, most importantly of all, you get a toxin-puking Wretched Graug to mount and make your friends sick with jealousy. Or sick with something, at least. Hunt down the DLC's rather bloody, perhaps NSFW launch trailer below the break.
Hearthstone begins Android rollout
Blizzard is rolling stones out, specifically of the Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft variety. The free-to-play collectible card game is available now for Android in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and Blizzard says a full worldwide rollout is due "in the coming days." If you're in one of the early bird regions, wing your way to Google Play or Amazon Appstore to get started. In terms of requirements, you'll need a tablet with at least a 6 inch screen, 1GB of RAM, and Android 4.0 or higher installed. As for phone owners hoping to be dealt in - that's both iPhone and Android devices - Blizzard says it'll have "more news" early next year.
Warhammer Quest announced for Steam, arrives in January
Warhammer Quest will receive a PC, Mac and Linux version early next year, Rodeo Games announced. The strategy game based on Game Workshop's original 1995 board game will launch on Steam on January 7, 2015. The video game adaptation of Warhammer Quest was introduced in May 2013 on iPhone and iPad, where it is still available for $5. Set in the popular Warhammer universe the game features turn-based tactical RPG action with dungeon exploration. The Steam version will be available at two different pricing tiers: The standard edition begins at $15 (£11 / €15) and features three areas in the game as well as the "Vampire and Zombie" content pack. Players can also opt for the Deluxe edition for $30 (£20 / €28), which includes all the goodies from the standard edition plus "more than $27 (£19 / €25) of additional extras." Those that purchase Warhammer Quest on Steam before January 7 will get a 20 percent discount ($12, $24 for the Deluxe edition). [Image: Rodeo Games]
Naruto whips up Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 on PS4, Xbox One, PC
Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 is heading West next year for Xbox One, PS4 and Steam. Bandai Namco Europe described the coming Storm as a "final massive strike" from the cel-shaded brawler series, following last year's two million-selling entry. "The Storm series continues to be one of our most popular franchises and its leap to the new generation of hardware ensures that it won't stop now," said VP of IP Strategy Herve Hoerdt.
iPads, Please: Paper-pushing game hits iOS sans nudity
Immigration inspection game Papers, Please will reach iPad tomorrow, the game's creator Lucas Pope revealed on Twitter. The game, which has players accepting and rejecting immigrants attempting to enter the fictional state of Arstotzka, first launched in August 2013 on PC and Mac and reached 500,000 copies sold as of March. The iOS version of the game is slightly different than its PC sibling, however. Pope noted that the search scanner photos in the game no longer have the full nudity option, as Apple "rejected that build for containing 'pornographic content.'" Papers, Please will receive a PlayStation Vita port, though Pope expressed uncertainty in February on how that version would work, given that the handheld system presents a lot of "interesting UI challenges." The developer also tweeted today that he handled the iPad version on his own, but that there's no estimated launch date for the Vita version, adding he "probably announced it too early." [Image: 3909]
PlayStation 4, Vita launch in China next month
Sony is bringing the PlayStation 4 and Vita to the Chinese market on January 11, 2015, the company said today. Sony's console retails at 2,899 RMB (around $469), undercutting the Kinect-less Xbox One which launched in September 2014 at 3,699 RMB ($598). As for the Vita, the region's "Slim" PCH-2000 is priced at 1,299 RMB ($210). After China lifted its 14-year ban on consoles earlier this year, Sony partnered with the Shanghai Oriental Pearl Group to bring PlayStation hardware and software to the country. Like Microsoft, Sony is following rules dictating it works with local businesses to produce the systems in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone.
Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster officially confirmed for PS4
Update: Square Enix confirms stateside prices for its two JRPG PS4 ports: Final Fantasy VII gets a tag of $16, while X/X-2 HD Remaster is priced at $50. Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster blitzballs onto PlayStation 4 next spring, after Square Enix confirmed the news following this week's leak. The publisher said this morning it's porting the re-release, already out on PS3 and Vita, to Sony's latest console with "system-exclusive features." By the way, that note about system-exclusive features goes for Final Fantasy VII too. As for what those features are, we'll have to wait and see. We're also waiting for word from Square Enix America, but the company's European branch revealed regional prices for the two ports. The remaster of the two Xs comes in at £40/50 euros, and it's on its way to store shelves as well as PSN. Final Fantasy VII, meanwhile, is downloadable-only (not cloud-based but Cloud-based), and its Euro-price is £13/16 euros. [Image: Square Enix]
iPhone, iPad tell Tales from the Borderlands, out now
Telltale's games can take their time to reach iOS, but the smartphones and tablets haven't had too long to wait this winter. Game of Thrones hit the App Store in the game's launch week, and now the first episode of Tales from the Borderlands is available for iPhone and iPad, priced at $5. As for Android, last we heard both games are due later this month. The adventure adaptation of Gearbox's series takes place after the events of Borderlands 2, with players starring as Hyperion hopeful Rhys and Pandoran pretender Fiona. The first episode, "Zer0 Sum," is one of five comprising the series. If it tickles your fancy on iOS you can pre-purchase the remaining four parts at 25 percent off ($15) via the Episodes menu.
Theatrhythm Dragon Quest announced
When Square Enix mused about Theatrhythm crossing to properties other than Final Fantasy, we all knew where that train of thought was headed. Sure enough, Theatrhythm Dragon Quest is now officially a thing, and it's coming to 3DS in Japan on March 26, 2015. Details are sparse for now and there's no confirmation of a Western release, though both Theatrhythm Final Fantasy games have made their way to our shores. Square Enix is set to share more on the game at the Jump Festa event later this month, including a debut trailer.
Heroes of Might and Magic 3 to return in HD, debut on tablets
Heroes of Might and Magic 3 is charging back into gaming with a surprise pincer attack. Not only is the 1999 turn-based strategy returning to Windows PC with widescreen-friendly HD visuals, but it's also coming to iOS and Android, albeit for tablets only. If that has strategists of a certain age fidgeting at the thought of more all-nighters, the good news is they've barely more than a month to wait. Both the PC and tablet games are already scheduled for release on January 29, 2015.
Bravely Default sequel lights up Japan in April 2015
Bravely Second is flying fairly to Japan on April 23, 2015, though there still isn't word on a Western release. The Bravely Default sequel was due on Japan's retail shelves this winter, but perhaps the publisher thought releasing it prematurely was unacceptable. So, while Japan has to wait a little longer, it can look forward to a shiny-looking collector's pack at launch. The package is on offer for 14,800 yen ($123), and its extras include the "200 years later" companion art book and novel, a "mini soundtrack" on CD, a notebook, a Pope Agnes mini-figure (yes, Pope Agnes), a strap detailed with new character Magnolia, and a code that adds unspecified in-game content.
Square Enix lists Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster for PS4
"This is my story now," whispered the PlayStation 4. Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster is making the pilgrimage to PS4, at least if a now pulled Square Enix listing is anything to go by. As spotted by a NeoGAF user, the publisher's online store for France said the polished-up PS2 RPGs are coming to Sony's latest system in spring 2015. The listing is no longer on the site, but Google Cache verifies it wasn't just a dream. The listing even had box art, which you can view for yourself in hi-def glory below the break.
