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Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons shows how to push your sibling's buttons
Sure, it's nice and all to see brothers work together to solve their problems in Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, but which button lets me give the younger brother a noogie? What move lets me embarrass big bro while he's asking the head cheerleader to the Soph Hop?
Double Dragon 2 remake achievements suggest upcoming, belated release
Achievements emerged today for Gravity's 3D XBLA remake of Double Dragon 2, subtitled Wander of the Dragons, a bit surprising really since we haven't heard anything about the game in 18 months. The remake, based on the arcade version of Double Dragon 2: The Revenge, was originally earmarked for a September 2011 release, a window it missed somewhat. However, today's listing on Xbox360Achievements doesn't just suggest there's still life in the game, but also that it's due for release soon.Wander of the Dragon, developed by the Gravity-owned Barunson Interactive of MMO Dragonica fame, doesn't much resemble the original game, mixing up a more modern-looking style of beat-em-up with different character designs, as you can see for yourself in the video above - bear in mind that footage is of what was shown back in 2011.
Capcom Arcade Cabinet adds Ghosts 'n Goblins, Gun.Smoke, Section Z
You can now stock your Capcom Arcade Cabinet with three more games. The 1985-I pack launched yesterday on PSN and XBLA in North America and today on PSN in Europe, with frustration engine Ghosts 'n' Goblins, vertically scrolling Old West shmup Gun.Smoke and 8-way shooter Section Z. We still don't know why there's a period in "Gun.Smoke" – well, beyond avoiding copyright issues with the TV show.The pack costs $9.99 or 800 Microsoft Points. Concurrent with its release, the games from last week's pack (1943 and Avengers [not those Avengers]) are available as individual purchases, for $3.99 each. Check Capcom-Unity for a chance to win a FightStick with custom art for this week's games.
Zeno Clash 2 slugs plenty of skulls in this gameplay trailer
This trailer, which features PC beta footage, shows the sequel to Zeno Clash is sticking hard and true (and painful-looking) to its first-person brawler roots. It also marks the opening of the game's new website. The game itself pummels Xbox Live, PSN, and Steam this spring.
Sega fighters tussle it out in this week's XBLA deals
This week's wave of Gold-exclusive Xbox Live Arcade deals rustles up four Sega fighters, including the AM2 trio re-released a few months back. Sonic the Fighters, Fighting Vipers, and Virtua Fighter 2 are knocked down from 400 MSP to 160 MSP each, while Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown is a steal at 400 MSP, just a third of its regular price.If you're after something a bit less punchy, why not book a half-price ticket to Nightopia - NiGHTS into Dreams is down to 400 MSP. There are two more 50 percenters to finish us off: the Karateka remake kicks in at 400 MSP, while JoJo's Bizarre Adventure HD is at 800 MSP.
Serious Sam 3 and DLC prices permanently reduced on XBLA
Serious Sam 3's Xbox Live Arcade port has received a permanent price reduction, down from 1200 MS Points ($15) to 800 MS Points ($10), a savings of $5. The Jewel of the Nile DLC has also been reduced to the same price.Serious Sam 3 originally launched on the PC in late 2011, a game our own Ludwig Kietzmann says "is like a dam filled with cookies." Last year, Serious Sam 3 was ported to Mac and Linux before its Xbox Live Arcade debut in October.
Phantom Breaker spins off an XBLA brawler, available today
Phantom Breaker Battle Grounds, a new retro-style brawler, arrives on Xbox Live Arcade today, bringing cooperative side-scrolling gameplay for four players, and light RPG elements. It looks very Scott Pilgrim-esque.Like the Scott Pilgrim game, Battle Grounds is an adaptation based on another work, in this case the 2D fighting game Phantom Breaker. While this spinoff is coming today, that source game's status is something of a mystery. Originally announced for release early next year, the downloadable fighter is nowhere to be found.A status update on the game's Facebook page says that "The current boxed game business model and shifting digital gaming trends have made it difficult to bring this game to market as originally planned." Publisher 7sixty says the game has not been canceled, but offers "a heads-up that it is at a point where it is difficult to release the game as planned."
Battleblock Theater's opening night is in spring 2013
We might have assumed this from the timing of the beta (starting this week), but Battleblock Theater has officially received a spring 2013 release window. The long, long wait for the game – we first heard about it as "Game 3" in 2009 – is almost over, probably. Depending on the beta, we suppose.The news comes on The Behemoth's blog in poem form, which ends, "Mayhaps someone will Spring my friends... Mayhaps they near Release!" We think we see some hidden messages to that effect elsewhere, as well.
Spelunky DLC adds 8 new characters, 24 multiplayer arenas for them to die in
You thought you knew what today's most exciting news was. You were wrong. Mossmouth has quietly sneaked two items of downloadable Spelunky content onto the Xbox Live Marketplace. The 160-point "Explorers DLC" gives you eight more characters to choose from, including the Eskimo, Viking, Round Girl, Round Boy, Cyclops, Ninja, and the Golden Monk.The "Arenas DLC" adds 24 new multiplayer deathmatch arenas. "These chaotic death traps offer up all kinds of devious ways to kill or be killed, from sacrificial altars to perilous bee hives," reads the XBLM description. "Will anyone survive?" It'll also set you back 160 points ($2).And no, no one will survive.
PSA: First set of classics for Capcom Arcade Cabinet out on XBLA/PSN today
The first pack of games for the Capcom Arcade Cabinet app is out today on PSN and XBLA. 1943: The Battle of Midway, Avengers and Black Tiger launched on the app, which will see the release of four other game packs through May 21.This first game pack is available now for $5 (400 MSP), and every subsequent game pack will cost $10 (800 MSP). Each individual game will launch for $4 (320 MSP). The second pack is scheduled to arrive March 5, and includes Ghosts n Goblins, Gun.Smoke and Section Z.%Gallery-179251%
Darkstalkers Resurrection comes alive on PSN Mar. 12, XBLA Mar. 13
Darkstalkers Resurrection gnaws on the neck of North America's PSN on March 12, before moving on to XBLA worldwide and Europe's PSN for seconds on March 13, Capcom tells us. The all-in-one re-release of fighters Darkstalkers 3 and Night Warriors: Darkstalkers Revenge is priced $14.99/£11.99/€14.99 on PSN, and 1200 MSP on XBLA.Shortly after Resurrection was announced, Capcom talked about the potential for another Darkstalkers game based on the success of this re-release, with company producer Yoshinori Ono very much behind the idea of a fourth entry in the series. If Resurrection proves a hit, we can probably expect Darkstalkers 4 in the not-too-distant future.%Gallery-178782%
Zombie stuff on sale this week on XBLM
This week, you'll save on undead content on Xbox Live. Well, the content is inanimate, but it's about undead things. That includes Zombie Apocalypse, Zombie Driver HD, All Zombies Must Die, avatar and Gamerpic sets from Black Ops Zombies, and, for some reason, the Dead Rising 2 Ninja Skills Pack. They're all half off until the 18th. NBA 2K13 and its extras are also half off, unrelated to the zombie thing.There's also a bunch of stuff on Games on Demand today, including everything from the high profile Kinect Disneyland Adventures to the all but forgotten Quantum Theory.
Terraria aims to unearth console ports in March
Last we heard, Terraria was targeting a late February or early March release on Xbox 360 and PS3. It looks like it'll be the latter at best now, according to publisher 505 Games."Our aim is to launch both [versions in] March," a 505 Games representative told Joystiq.If you've been twitchin' for some console-based shovelin', you'll probably have to wait just a bit longer than expected. In the meantime, you can dig in to our recent hands-on preview.
Obscure series spun off into co-op brawler
Do you remember ObsCure? The survival horror game series by Hydravision has become somewhat self-referential, as it has become rather obscure itself in the years since its multiplatform release.Now this game you may not remember is becoming into a sidescrolling action game, one "drenched in the blood and caustic humor inspired by the teen and horror movie genres," according to publisher Focus Home Interactive. The new Obscure is coming to PSN, PC, and Xbox in the spring.Developer Mighty Rocket Studios includes staff from Hydravision, adapting its old franchise into a brawler with non-linear levels and RPG elements. Players control a group of students, each with their own abilities that compliment each other in local or online co-op.%Gallery-178237%
CastleStorm makes a run at Xbox Live Arcade, Windows 8 in April
Zen Studios has been working on its tower-defense game CastleStorm for well over a year now. During an appointment with the developer, Joystiq has learned the game is currently set for launch on Xbox Live Arcade and Windows 8 sometime in April.CastleStorm is essentially a 2D, physics-based destruction game with tower-defense elements tossed in. As the Knights, you defend your castle from waves of attacking Vikings; players can defend with ranged weapons such as ballistas, or choose to put their boots on the ground and get right into the conflict as a hero.There will also be a host of other modes to play outside of the campaign's 12 different environments, including online multiplayer and co-op, plus a castle editor – you can set up your own look and weapon loadouts for your castle, and test weapons within the editor to see how they'd bring it down.Zen Studios hasn't announced a price for CastleStorm yet, but with only around a month left until launch, we're sure the developer will lob a price point over toward us soon.
Zen Studios launching Star Wars Pinball this month
Whether you're playing Pinball FX 2 on Xbox Live Arcade or Windows 8, Zen Pinball 2 on PlayStation Network or Mac, or Zen Pinball on iOS or Zen Pinball HD on Google Play, you'll be able to supplement your virtual table collection with a trio of new Star Wars-themed tables later this month. These three tables will be available standalone on iOS and Google Play, or in the aforementioned games as DLC.The first three tables offered are themed around Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, Boba Fett and the animated Clone Wars series, each with their own unique missions and layout – and in the case of Episode V, even has footage taken directly from the film that will display in the dot matrix window prior to every mission.A total of 10 different Star Wars Pinball tables are planned. Zen Studios has yet to finalize pricing, but we'll be sure to pass along that info as soon as it's announced.%Gallery-178043%
Scott Pilgrim DLC delayed again
We had such a good feeling about the prospects for the Scott Pilgrim vs. the World online multiplayer DLC. It was due to be released on XBLA and PSN this week, but Ubisoft has delayed it once again – one day before release.In a statement sent to Destructoid, Ubisoft says it is "addressing feedback from the community on the best ways to honor retro games in the Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game DLC in an accurate and respectful manner."That likely translates to removing the elements that appear to be cribbed from Sonic Battle. This is the weirdest DLC ever. Sorry, Soulcalibur 5.
XBLM sale: Alan Wake's American Nightmare, Orcs Must Die!, Hybrid, and more
This isn't a fever, people, it's another round of Xbox Live Marketplace sales. The week of February 5 to 11 sees Alan Wake's American Nightmare and Orcs Must Die! go half-price at 600 MSP each, as do Hybrid, Zeno Clash UE, Earthworm Jim HD, and Kinect Central's Mini Ninjas Adventures, all at 400 MSP. Lastly, Hydrophobia goes 67 percent off at 160 MSP.In the meantime, EA's chunky XBLM sale is ongoing until February 4, featuring the likes of Dragon Age 2 at $9.99, Battlefield 3 Premium at 3200 MSP, SSX at $14.99, PGA Tour 13 at $19.99, and Madden NFL 13 at $39.99. The Street Fighter X Tekken deals also run through to the same date, as do the discounts on Mega Man 9 and 10.
Sleeping Dogs 'Year of the Snake' DLC confirmed for Q1
The DLC train for Sleeping Dogs chugs on with Year of the Snake, a story expansion due sometime in February or March. Publisher Square Enix outlined the DLC, which had a trailer leaked earlier this week, and as suggested it sees Wei Shen hook up with the Hong Kong police to take down the Cult of the Snake. The DLC features new abilities, outfits, and weapons, including tear-gas guns and electroshock pistols.Square Enix also confirmed two more upcoming DLC packs for its Far Eastern felony-fest, also due in Q1. The Law Enforcer pack features crime-fighting outfits, weaponry, and vehicles, while the Wheels of Fury pack features the "weaponized supercar" DZS-90. Meanwhile, this week saw the releases of the Monkey King and Movie Masters packs. If you can only say one thing for Sleeping Dogs, it's that Square Enix has absolutely kept to its promise of six months of DLC. %Gallery-177820%
Runner 2 bounds onto all platforms late February
Gaijin Games's Runner 2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien began cantering towards a late February launch this week, with the Bit.Trip Runner sequel "just" submitted for PSN, XBLA, and Wii U eShop approval. Gaijin says its retro-styled platformer jogs onto all of PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U, PC, Mac, and Linux towards the end of the month, while the game's Steam page lists a February 26 release date.On the game's dev blog, Gaijin founder Alex Neuse detailed the strenuous-sounding final stages of the submission process, which included discovering a bug and making a last-minute fix on Wii U, having to repackage the game for XBLA, and cutting out a very minor leaderboards feature from the PSN version. The toil isn't over for the Californian indie studio, with Linux, Mac, and PC submissions still to come.
