Monthly Archives: March 2016
Gears’ General Raam Spotted In Killer Instinct Stream
Gears of War’s General Raam is the next guest character coming to Killer Instinct Season 3.
The ruthless leader of the Theron Guard’s nameplate was seen in a preview stream by Iron Galaxy Studio’s Adam “Keits” Heart. Raam joins Season 3 as the third guest character from another universe - the other two being Halo’s Arbiter, and Battletoads' Rash.
Also revealed on the stream was Mira, Maya’s late twin sister. As Shoryuken points out, the circumstances surrounding Mira’s death remains a mystery, but the few details we do have indicate Mira sacrificed herself to save her sister.
London Games Festival Fringe: First Events Announced
The first wave of events taking place during the London Games Festival Fringe - taking place from April 1-10 - have been announced, and include everything from real-life choose your own adventures to "open mic" coding.
The Fringe, a set of events to complement the new London Games Festival, will take place across London and are chosen to "demonstrate the extraordinary reach and diversity of video games culture."
The London Games Festival, apart from being a hugely exciting event, is notable for being announced by London mayor, Boris Johnson, inside Minecraft.
Rocket League Is Getting a Basketball Mode
A Twitter tease from developer Psyonix has revealed a new Basketball-themed mode for Rocket League, possibly called Hoops.
March Madness is just around the corner. Great time to tease the mode we're working on next #RocketLeagueHoops pic.twitter.com/rrlEnnFhby
— Rocket League (@RocketLeague) March 11, 2016
There's a hint that the new mode - which, going by that screenshot, will require high-level aerial skills to nudge that giant ball into a half-pipe style hoop - could arrive in time for March Madness, the college basketball tournament.
Vikings: Why The Seer’s Hand Lick Means so Much to Floki
It's been a rough year for Floki. After his faith in the gods was tested by the defeat in Paris, invalidating his murder of Athelstan, his best friend and king, Ragnar, punished him by Viking water torture in a cave for an indefinite period of days.
When he finally was released, Gustaf Skarsgard's character found himself lacking purpose in the world -- that is, until he went to see the Seer. In a surprising turn of events, the Seer licked Floki's hand, bestowing a sign of respect back on the troubled Viking.
Gustaf Skarsgard as Floki on Vikings
Nintendo’s Miitomo Coming to Japan March 17
Nintendo has announced that its social messaging mobile app Miitomo will launch in Japan March 17.
We've known that that the first of Nintendo's projects with Japanese mobile gaming company DeNA was due to launch sometime this month, but this is the first word of a firm date in any territory. Nintendo plans to launch the app in other territories later this month, although no other specific dates have been announced. The final day for Miitomo pre-registration in Japan is the 16th.
Miitomo was described by Nintendo last year as "a free-to-start communication application that helps friends share fun personal facts and interests. Consumers create and use their own Mii characters to engage friends in a welcoming social environment, answering questions and sharing information to discover more about each other and what they have in common. Miitomo is designed to appeal to a wide range of global smart device users and introduce them to uniquely Nintendo experiences beginning with Miitomo and carried through future applications."
The Tick: Amazon Orders Pilot; Original Cast Not Returning
Amazon is finally moving ahead with its revival of The Tick.
Deadline reports that Amazon has ordered a pilot for Ben Edlund's comic book character, with Edlund aboard to write and produce.
It's still unclear who will fill the title character's shoes. Interestingly, Patrick Warburton, a longtime campaigner of the revival and The Tick in the original Fox show, will not return. This may be due to his commitments on NBC's Crowded; he is instead "expected" to serve as executive producer. Vinyl's Griffin Newman has been cast as The Tick's sidekick Arthur Everest, while The Following's Valorie Curry will play Arthur's sister Dot.
Battleborn’s Incursion Mode Blends Strategy and Shooters
Balancing ranged and melee characters in a first-person arena is a difficult task to achieve, and with a few tweaks, Battleborn’s Incursion mode might just get there. Balance aside, wrecking others in this MOBA mode is a ton of fun.
Incursion has a similar setup to most MOBAs; two teams of five barrel down the map with weak AI teammates, or minions, to destroy the enemy team’s base. Incursion, however, adapts that formula for quicker matches by limiting every game to 30 minutes and replacing defensive towers with powerful spider-like mechs called Sentries. To win, a team needs to destroy both Sentries.
I played on the map Overgrowth, a jungle filled with neutral enemies, turret spots, and dead-end side paths. It features one long, winding lane with five main open areas — two being the team bases. While each team is guaranteed two areas by its Sentries, the one open area in the middle is where the war really happens.
Astronaut Captures Image of Thunderstorms from ISS
Living on the International Space Station is undoubtedly difficult, but at least it has a killer view.
From his position in Earth's orbit, astronaut Tim Peake took this image of the planet, capturing the lightning flash of three large thunderstorms taking place inside the atmosphere.
"Sometimes looking down at Earth at night can be kinda spooky," he wrote on Twitter.
Sometimes looking down on Earth at night can be kinda spooky. #Principia https://t.co/8Iu8oIYEoG pic.twitter.com/8dTv6ATPbk
The Top Selling Games for February Announced
According to numbers from the NPD Group, Far Cry Primal was the top selling game for the month of February.
However, according to a statement from the NPD Group, "decreases in hardware spending," as well a decrease in sales of new, physical hardware, "led to an overall decrease in physical spending of 12 percent."
Far Cry Primal wasn't the only new release in the top 10. Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4, Street Fighter V and Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright, also appeared on the list.
If all three versions of Fire Emblem fates were combined into one, the NPD Group said it "would have ranked third for new physical software sales" for the month.
The top 10 games for the month of February are listed in order.
Unreal Tournament: Classic Map Gets Next-Gen Facelift
Epic Games has released a new build of Unreal Tournament, including a "visually polished" version of the popular 'DM-Chill' map.
DM-Chill is an arena set in a frozen Nordic castle on a snowy mountain range, and is going to be used to test out a new multiplayer game mode known as "Showdown."
In Showdown, players are given one life and 200 health at the start of each match. Additionally, they can choose their spawn points to strategically determine the weapon locations they'd prefer to start near.