By Anonymous on May 05, 2015 11:44 pm
Blizzard Entertainment's free-to-play collectible card game Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft has reached a new user milestone. The game has now seen 30 million players, according to a tweet from the game's official Twitter channel on Tuesday. The user milestone was achieved following two major Hearthstone developments in April: the release of the Blackrock Mountain expansion and the game's arrival for phones. Being a free-to-play game, Blizzard doesn't make money from installs alone. Importantly, the company did not specify how many of those 30 million players have actually spent any money on the game. But Blizzard is no doubt happy that Hearthtone, which reached 20 million players in September, continues to grow. Activision Blizzard will report earnings for its latest financial period tomorrow, May 6, when the company is expected to talk more about Hearthstone's business performance. Ahead of the earnings report, industry analyst Doug Creutz of Cowen & Company writes in a note to investors that Hearthstone has been a significant money-maker for Activision Blizzard. Citing App Annie data, Creutz writes that Hearthstone has regularly found itself near the front of the top-grossing charts on iTunes and Google Play. The game is also performing well on PC, he said, noting that Hearthstone has driven an estimate $250 million in revenue across all platforms in the past year. "The game's recent performance is being buoyed by the release of the Blackrock Mountain expansion pack, which began rolling out content in early April," he said. "Additionally, we do not know to what extent the smartphone spending is incremental to or cannibalizing the existing PC/tablet base. Still, we view the performance as a very positive indicator for the trajectory of the game." For more on Hearthstone, check out all 31 cards featured in the new Blackrock Mountain expansion.
By Anonymous on May 05, 2015 11:29 pm
Even with a lack of support from Rockstar--and official patches even temporarily breaking them--mods continue to pour in for the PC version of Grand Theft Auto V. The latest mod of note is one that introduces a gravity gun to the open-world game. Much the like the tool of the same name in Half-Life 2, the gravity gun allows you to pick up and fling objects throughout the world. Those objects can be everything from street signs to people to vehicles; in the latter case, they can be launched with enough force that they explode upon running into something. The mod adds this functionality to the stun gun--unfortunately, it doesn't also include a model resembling Half-Life 2's weapon or anything of the sort. The E key is used to pick objects up, while hitting the fire button launches them. Based on the videos showing off its use online (you can see one above), the mod looks to be a bit janky at times, but it still looks like great fun. You can download it here. But be wary--using mods, especially if you connect to GTA Online, runs the risk of getting you banned. We're trying to find out from Rockstar exactly what warrants a ban. As noted above, a recent GTA V patch broke support for Script Hook V, which is used for enabling mods in the game (which offers no official support of any kind). Script Hook has fortunately already been updated to get it working again with GTA V, meaning players don't have to avoid updating in order to use mods.
By Anonymous on May 05, 2015 10:45 pm
When Disney bought Lucasfilm back in 2012 for $4 billion, the House of Mouse not only acquired the rights to George Lucas' mammoth Star Wars series, but also the Indiana Jones franchise. Disney has made its plans known for Star Wars (at least three more movies and spinoffs), but what of the Indiana Jones series?  Now we have a better idea, as Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy confirms in a new interview with Vanity Fair that she's confident a new Indiana Jones movie will be made, but probably not soon. A follow-up to 2008's Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull "will one day be made inside this company," she told the magazine. "When it will happen, I'm not quite sure. We haven't started working on a script yet, but we are talking about it." Kennedy's comments are far more positive than what Disney chairman Alan Horn said in December 2013. At the time, he bluntly explained to Variety: "We haven't done anything." Vanity Fair also points out that Kennedy worked as executive producer alongside Lucas on every Indiana Jones movie--and in fact, every Lucas project from 1982-2012. That is to say, she obviously has the kind of experience and passion for the series fans would want from someone tasked with carrying it forward. It's unclear if Harrison Ford, who has portrayed Dr. Henry "Indiana" Jones in every movie so far, would reprise his role for the next film. Ford is 72 years old, and with the new film clearly not anywhere near release, him picking up the whip and fedora for another go-around seems quite unlikely. Who would you like to see take on the role of Indiana Jones in the next movie? I'd like to see Bradley Cooper play the part. Let us know who you think would be a good fit in the comments below.
By Anonymous on May 05, 2015 10:43 pm
Disney Infinity 3.0 will introduce the Star Wars universe to the toys-to-life title when it is released this fall, publisher Disney has announced. Revealed by Game Informer as its next cover title, the latest entry will feature "Luke, Leia, Anakin, and more" joining the growing stable of Disney Infinity properties. Avalanche Software, a subsidiary of Disney Interactive, is once again leading development, with DmC: Devil May Cry and Heavenly Sword studio Ninja Theory returning to create the Twilight of the Republic playset, which follows Anakin and Ahsoka as they fight to uncover who is behind the creation of a new droid army. The studio will also tweak the combat gameplay. Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing developer Sumo Digital, meanwhile, will handle the development of the driving gameplay. Disney Infinity 3.0's Star Wars story is set after the events of Star Wars: Episode II. The game will feature land and space battles, along with a focus on melee combat. Darth Maul, Obi-Wan, Chewbacca, Han Solo, Darth Vader, and Yoda will be available as additional characters and figures. Star Wars characters will be able to merge playsets, allowing for canon-breaking in-game scenarios. Disney Infinity 3.0's Rise Against the Empire playset has been crafted by Studio Gobo, which previously worked on the Pirates of the Caribbean set. It follows Luke and Leia through memorable sequences in which they come to blows with Darth Vader and his forces. The battle of Yavin, Hoth, and Tatooine have been mentioned as events and locations that will be included. A second Star Wars playset, based on The Force Awakens, has also been announced for this winter, along with sets based on Pixar's Inside Out. Sleeping Dogs developer United Front Games is working on new Marvel characters, including the Hulkbuster Iron Man, Ultron, and more. Finally, it has also been confirmed that additional Disney Infinity 3.0 figures include Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Tron: Legacy's Sam Flynn and Quorra, Mulan, Olaf, "and more" will be available. Disney Infinity 3.0 will ship on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, Wii U, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, iOS, and Android. Images of the new Disney Infinity 3.0 figures as well as its packaging were previously leaked by a German retailer. Nintendo recently announced a new wave of its own toys-to-life Amiibo figures for Splatoon and Yoshi's Wooly World. The Japanese company has also said that Skylanders and Disney Infinity contributed to the success of its own Amiibo figures.
By Anonymous on May 05, 2015 10:29 pm
Tony Hawk is returning to the video game skateboard scene later this year with Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5--the first original Pro Skater game since 2002's THPS4--it was revealed today. After a long stretch during which we were provided with a number of hints that a new Tony Hawk was in the works, publisher Activision outright confirmed that such a game was in development for 2015 last November. After Hawk described the game as a new Pro Skater later that month, we now finally have the first official details (and name), courtesy of Game Informer.  Developed by Robomodo, the studio responsible for Tony Hawk Ride, Shred, and Pro Skater HD, the game takes the style the Tony Hawk franchise was initially known for--hence the return to the Pro Skater name--and introduces some new wrinkles. These include power-ups and at least one mission-specific ability that allows you to shoot some kind of projectile. You'll be able to play through those missions either on your own or online, both competitively and cooperatively. Your character and progress can be moved back and forth between the online and offline portions of the game, with Game Informer describing the transition as "seamless." Players will also be able to design skate parks that can be shared online. Skaters from past games will return alongside newer members of the scene; Hawk, Nyjah Huston, Aaron Homoki, Ishod Wair, Riley Hawk (Tony Hawk's son), Lizzie Armanto, Chris Cole, David Gonzalez, Leticia Bufoni, and Andrew Reynolds are all confirmed to be included. Pro Skater 5 will be released on PS4 and Xbox One before the end of the year, with PS3 and Xbox 360 versions coming at some point after that. More details are available in the June issue of Game Informer.
By Anonymous on May 05, 2015 06:30 pm
 Pinball FX 2 is back with an all new Portal themed table.
By Anonymous on May 05, 2015 06:03 am
If you were born after the NES was in its heyday, the sparkly throwbacks now being released every couple of weeks might give you the impression that the era was just all killer, no filler for 10 beautiful years. In this dream world, Super Mario Bros. 3 was the only game anyone ever needed, a new Mega Man rained down upon us from the heavens on a regular basis, and Capcom and Konami were revered as gods and their every offering was like delicious, life-sustaining manna. In that regard, JumpJet Rex is a blessing, in that it reminds us that the 8-bit era wasn't all sunshine, lollipops, and rainbows. It was also a lot of screaming, nerve-destroying, controller-chucking aggravation, and none were immune from its sudden onset. Ask anyone who bought the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game, expecting a fun, breezy time for the whole family, and watch the thousand-yard stare wash over them like the evening tide. JumpJet Rex brings back that delightful concept of a cutesy setup being used as a vessel for diabolical evil. In it, the dinosaurs were advanced enough to master space travel, sending up a lone, rocket boot-wearing T-rex to go explore the galaxy. While he's up there, mission control finds out that an asteroid--the asteroid--is on its way, and sends Rex to the outer reaches to go destroy it. Oh, and to explore a couple dozen random planetoids along the way. One small step for dinosaurs, one giant leap to probably get shot by lasers.Do you wanna fight a snowman? C'mon, let's make him pay...The planets are perfect tile-based approximations of 8-bit pixels, albeit with huge, widescreen playing fields. The environments, sadly, are limited, recycling the same four space base/ice level/plant world/stone temples throughout. Though the enemies get annoyingly diverse later--more on that soon--the levels lose their luster by the end. They are, undoubtedly, on the appealingly colorful side; the ice levels beautifully depict Hoth-like conditions in which to zoom around, and a lightning effect on the later space stages make them look particularly animated and dangerous. The accompanying chiptune soundtrack doesn't take full advantage of the NES's jerry-rigged range of instrumentation, but it's fun, catchy stuff to putter around the galaxy to. Movement is pleasantly free-flowing. Having rocket boots means that you have an infinite jump, the ability to blast yourself left and right, and lift off vertically, and a tiny blast is given off in your wake that can actually do damage to enemies. Using these abilities, your mission in each stage is to pass through a specified number of gates to open up the finish line, where you earn a star. Like in Super Mario 64, you need a certain number of stars to open up each stage, but you can earn additional stars per stage by getting through without dying and by beating the stage time record. Sounds easy. It is decidedly not. Early stages are a delight, with Rex blasting through coins, squeezing through tight corridors, and making split-second maneuvers to dodge lasers or avoid the walls. You're dead in one hit, so that old tension is here, keeping your reflexes sharp; It's challenging, but fun all the same. After the first boss, however, the difficulty spikes hard and fast. The game gets projectile-happy in a hurry, where tracking lasers and fire-spewing plants line every surface or are set up just past the outer limits of the screen where you can't see them, seemingly just begging you to try using your rockets. Tight squeezes are now less a matter of having a few tiles to move around but a scant few pixels. Boss fights aren't necessarily hard but tedious, with every hit doing minor chip damage at best. Around halfway through, the game ceases to be fun. It becomes a chore. Difficulty isn't a negative in and of itself, but its merits can be measured in a simple question: "Is it my fault I'm dying?" "Is there a flaw in my own skills that could prevent this?" If you only have 3 fingers, is this a peace sign, or "Live long and prosper"?Increasingly, the game sits on the bad side of that question, where obstacles are surmountable seemingly by sheer luck more than skill. The game puts import on being able to nab more than one star from a stage to advance, but the time trial records are ludicrous, and dying becomes more and more a certainty; it is a recipe for seething hate. Your rewards for success often come down to little more than the money you've collected, which can be traded for insanely overpriced cosmetic items. In one of the stores you open early on, every item costs $100,000 coins. By the time I reached the final boss, I had $78,000. Troublesome economy aside, technical hitches are common, even on fairly straightforward stages and bosses, with the frame rate tanking and button presses ceasing to register when things get too busy. Just like the most aggravating NES games, it's frustrating because there's fun to be had, and had often, in JumpJet Rex. It feels great to play, the aerial trickery is gratifying, and it's got a lot of goofy charm, but all of this is unfortunately buried under an inexplicable need to test players beyond what should be necessary in a galaxy where you tool around as a T-rex wearing sunglasses.
By Anonymous on May 05, 2015 04:30 am
 Microsoft reveal four Star Wars-inspired Xbox One controllers, new stills from Star Wars Ep 7 are released, and we get more info on Battlefront Maps!
By Anonymous on May 05, 2015 02:39 am
 Today on the Kombat Kast Predator was teased and revealed for 5 seconds by Ed Boon, Tyler Lansdown, and Derek Kirtzic. Captured on Kombat Kast stream.
By Anonymous on May 05, 2015 02:00 am
 Watch as Derek, Tyler, and Evan from NetherRealm studios breakdown Jason's variations in Mortal Kombat X including slasher, relentless, and unstoppable. Recorded from the Kombat Kast.
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