The Shantae series has been a pleasant surprise from the start, a Metroidvania style platformer which features a quite whimsical and visually appealing universe along with some very original powers as well level as level and boss designs. While not one of the major properties out there, it has enough of a cult following that Wayforward has been able to parlay its support into a massively successful kickstarter for the upcoming Half-Genie Hero, which will take greater advantage of what the current consoles have to offer. Until that comes out though, there’s Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse, a sequel to the last DS title does more than whet our appetite.
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SEGA announced today that 3D After Burner II, the first release in the second series of 3D re-masterings exclusively for the Nintendo 3DS is now available in the Americas and Europe to download in the Nintendo eShop.

3D After Burner II is the 1987 flight game masterpiece first released on SEGA’s X Board arcade hardware. Delivering a true vintage arcade experience, the re-mastered version features eye-popping stereoscopic 3D visuals and offers a host of options and settings, including the ability to adjust the difficulty settings and other visual enhancements, such as smoke transparency that were not present in the original version. Players are able to choose from a number of real-life arcade cabinets wherein everything from the appearance to the environmental sounds of the specific cabinet are recreated, providing a true and authentic arcade experience.

3D After Burner II Screenshots:

The highlight of 3D After Burner II is the addition of the ’special mode’ which can be unlocked once the player completes the game. The ’special mode,’ while maintaining the basics of the ’arcade mode,’ provides the player with a completely new gaming experience and allows the players to control time by utilizing the ‘burst’ which makes avoiding incoming attacks easier and increases the number of lock-on targets.
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Gametactics gets an early look at the New 3DS XL that is coming out in Canada and the United States on February 13th 2015. Your Host Justin Lee unboxes and even gets out the screw driver to get to the Micro SD card slot that is under the battery cover.

We will have a full review of the new Nintendo 3DS shortly!

Last year I reviewed EA’s return to the basketball court with NBA Live 14. While that game was stillborn and ultimately not much of a contender to 2K’s reign, it still interrupted their brief monopoly on the virtual sport. Given another year or two, the NBA 2K series might have an actual competitor on the other side of the court, so it’s important to see if they’ve stepped up their game this year with NBA 2K15
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During a Nintendo Direct presentation, Nintendo announced that the New Nintendo 3DS XL system will launch in the U.S. and Canada on Feb. 13 at a suggested retail price of $199.99 USD ($229.99 CAD). New Nintendo 3DS XL offers a number of new enhancements designed to offer the smoothest and most engrossing portable gaming possible. New Nintendo 3DS XL features a wider range of controls with the addition of a C Stick and ZL/ZR buttons, super-stable 3D via face-tracking technology and built-in NFC functionality that allows for communication with amiibo figures.

All of the new features of New Nintendo 3DS XL make it the ideal way to experience upcoming portable games like The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D, Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate and Code Name: S.T.E.A.M., as well as all other existing Nintendo 3DS software. The system also enhances certain games like Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS with amiibo functionality, faster processing speeds and more control options when compared to the Nintendo 3DS system. In addition to the standard hardware in New Red and New Black, two other New Nintendo 3DS XL designs will be available at launch: a system featuring artwork inspired by The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D and one based on Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate available exclusively at GameStop with the game pre-installed. The three stand-alone New Nintendo 3DS XL models and the Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate bundle* will all be available on Feb. 13 at suggested retail prices of $199.99 ($229.99 CAD) and $229.99 USD ($249.99 CAD), respectively. *Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate New Nintendo 3DS XL bundle will be available exclusively at EB Games in Canada.

Nintendo 3DS XL Box and Product Shots:

In addition to the New Nintendo 3DS XL news, Nintendo also revealed the Feb. 13 launch date of The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D, a new game in the Fire Emblem series, a line of amiibo featuring classic characters from the Super Mario series, the arrival of amiibo compatibility in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and many details about upcoming Wii U and Nintendo 3DS games, including Code Name: S.T.E.A.M., Splatoon, Kirby and the Rainbow Curse and Mario Party 10.

To view the Nintendo Direct video in its entirety, visit http://www.nintendo.com/nintendo-direct.

“We are only a couple of weeks into 2015, and Nintendo is already starting the year off with a bang,” said Scott Moffitt, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “With New Nintendo 3DS XL coming very soon and an enormous library of exclusive Wii U and Nintendo 3DS games launching throughout the coming months, it has never been a better time to be a Nintendo fan.”

With DRAGON BALL XENOVERSE, BANDAI NAMCO Games is striving to create one of the most ambitious Dragon Ball video game experiences ever; with an expansive online multiplayer world, a multitude of game modes, and for the first time ever… players can create their own fully customizable characters and actually play a part in rewriting the classic franchise’s history.

In order to ensure the highest possible gameplay experience for our fans; BANDAI NAMCO Games America will be moving the DRAGON BALL XENOVERSE launch date from February 17, 2015 to February 24, 2015.

DRAGON BALL XENOVERSE is rated T for Teen by the ESRB and will be available in the Americas on February 24, 2015 for the PlayStation 4 computer entertainment system, Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system, the Xbox 360 games and entertainment system from Microsoft. The STEAM for PC version of DRAGON BALL XENOVERSE will be available on February 27, 2015.

Today, Ubisoft announced that Assassin’s Creed Unity – Dead Kings, the downloadable campaign that continues Arno’s story after the events of Assassin’s Creed Unity, will be available for free to all purchasers of Assassin’s Creed Unity on next-gen consoles and Windows PC on January 13, 2015.

Assassin’s Creed Unity Dead Kings DLC Screenshots:

Assassin’s Creed Unity Dead Kings DLC Cinematic Trailer:

After the events of Assassin’s Creed Unity, Arno leaves Paris for Saint Denis, a mysterious city that holds the crypts of deceased French kings. Sent on a mission to the extensive underground of the Basilica, Arno will face a faction of new foes, the Raiders, populating its catacombs. Equipped with a lantern and a new powerful weapon, the Guillotine gun, Arno will have to navigate the dangerous passageways to uncover the darkest secrets of the city.
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Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCE) today announced that the PlayStation 4 (PS4) computer entertainment system has cumulatively sold through more than 18.5 million units*1 worldwide as of January 4, 2015, and that the holiday season*2 retail sales exceeded 4.1 million units*3 globally. PS4 continues to demonstrate the fastest and strongest growth in PlayStation hardware history.

In addition, over 10.9 million users have been taking advantage of the features and benefits of the PlayStation®Plus (PS Plus) membership service, as of January 2, 2015. Subscribers have access to a wide variety of features such as “Instant Game Collection,” which allows members to play full versions of popular titles from third party developers and publishers, as well as from SCE Worldwide Studios, with no time limits or extra costs. PS4 owners have also been enjoying online multiplayer with PS Plus.
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While Sekai Project is no stranger to working on Visual Novels, this is the first one that actually has two versions. Namely an M rated version, and an adult 18+ version. The steam version is the ‘all-ages’ version, with all the sex scenes removed. I feel that this is important to let people know, as they may want to get that version instead. On its own though, the edited version is still a cute little harem story, for those into that sort of thing.
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Sekai Project has been making quite some headway this year, with more and more visual novels cropping up on Valve’s Steam, whether they need the help to do Kickstarters or not. Fault – Milestone One is such a project; and the fruits of that labor are promising, if the first episode is anything to go by. There are some minor issues that hopefully will get ironed out in the next two installments.
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