I’ll admit it. Even though I thoroughly enjoyed Assassin’s Creed III, I was ready to throw in the towel on the series, figuring they had done everything worth doing, and the unsatisfying cliffhanger it ended on just felt like more evidence of that. It’s not easy to hold people’s interest when you go back to the same well year after year with the release cycle Ubisoft continues to push, but once again with Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, they have done just enough to pique my fancy, and hopefully yours as well, by building upon the most promising elements of the previous edition.

–

Nintendo has launched Mario.ca, a dedicated mobile site that allows fans to check out games for Wii U and Nintendo 3DS. With categories to choose from like New Releases, Great Gifts, The Classics, Family Fun, Starring Mario and Hardcore Gamers, there’s something for everyone!

In addition to information on games, which includes trailers, screen shots, and recommendations on similar titles, Mario.ca includes information on the Nintendo family of consoles: Wii U, Nintendo 2DS, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo 3DS XL, and Wii mini.

Brian Ekberg, Community Manager for Forza Motorsport 5 has sent some cool news for Black Friday!

First up, I’ll say thanks to everyone who has played Forza Motorsport 5. It’s encouraging to see so many having such a great time with our game, and the Forza community rallying around the latest Forza Motorsport experience. It’s also amazing to see all of the feedback coming in about our game. Forza players are among the most passionate fans in the world and it’s awesome to see your passion (be it positive or negative) pour through to us on forums, Tweets, Facebook, and e-mail.

Your Turn 10 team continues to value the input of our Forza community, and we keep a careful eye on in-game data that shows how players progress through our games. Based on the numbers we’ve seen from our first week of FM5, as well as feedback we heard directly from you, we’re in the process of making some changes to the Forza Motorsport 5 economy. But, while we’re putting the final touches on that, we want to make sure everyone continues having a great time with Forza 5. So, the following programs are going into effect this week:

1) Starting this Friday we’re offering a 50 percent discount (credits & tokens) on every car in the game. This discount is available to all players. Every car, from the 1970 Nissan Datsun 510 to the 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO will be 50 percent off, so, if you’ve got your eye on something special on the car list, now’s the time to play and add them to your garage! This discount will be available between 12:01 a.m. Pacific on Friday, Nov. 29 and 11:59 p.m. Pacific on Sunday, Dec. 1.

Read More

Pac-Man is undoubtedly gaming’s first real icon, seizing his place in the public conscience over 30 years ago. While he’s best known for his 2D maze navigating exploits, he’s also tried his hand at 3D before, and even some platforming back in the days of Pac-Land. His latest adventure, Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures, combines the two in what is a pretty standard fare mascot game.

For those who didn’t know (including myself when I first picked it up), the game is based on an animated CGI show which you can catch on Disney XD for those of us in North America. Quite frankly I couldn’t make sense of the story as a result, because not only does assume you know all the characters and are so excited to see them, but the plot advances so quickly that it makes you feel like you have attention deficit disorder. Then again, given the intended audience that’s probably spot on. One second you’re worried about some baddy named Betrayus capturing some gobbledygook named device, the next you find out your friends whom you barely got introduced to were kidnapped while you completed a level, and on top of that you’re supposed to collect enough widgets to power up these globes and really who cares at this point? Just get through the obstacles without dying, really.

Read More

Beyblade is a franchise that’s somehow managed to exist for a little over a decade, and of course there are many a Beyblade videogame. While some might see older titles being better than others, you could hardly tell that this game was supposed to be a successor in any shape or form. This is because Beyblade Evolution is anything but evolved.

Beyblade Evolution is the latest in the games based on the manga, TV, and toy line series. And despite its namesake, the game feels more like an evolutionary dead end. The game is set up as a very basic Bey simulator. Beys are the ridiculous looking Battle Tops that the characters use to battle each other with. But in this game, the story mode is nothing more than a simulator where the ultimate goal is to win the Championship and become a Beyblade Champion. But it’s funny that the game calls it a story mode, as there is no story to speak of outside of a few dialog exchanges between Beybladers from the show. You will do battle with them or play mini-games to earn money that can be spent buying new bey parts. New parts can increase the three stats to take into consideration for battling. Attack increases the damage you can do, defense reduces damage, and stamina increases the health of the Bey. There are also different arenas based on these stats as well. Battling trainers exists basically just for practice, as the game operates on a turn system. After a certain number of turns, the Championship opens up on the map. So depending on your luck, you could beat the game in 15 minutes. If this game didn’t already sound bad or boring to you, it gets worse.

Read More

The next generation of game consoles is here, and Call of Duty®: Ghosts is the must have game. Activision’s blockbuster title is the #1 most played Xbox One multiplayer game worldwide, according to Microsoft, while becoming the #1 top selling Xbox One title in retail sales in North America at retailers Best Buy, GameStop, Target and Walmart. In standalone Xbox One software retail sales*, the game also is #1 in the United Kingdom, according to GfK Charttrack. Additionally, Call of Duty: Ghosts is the #1 most played PlayStation 4 game, according to Sony Computer Entertainment America, and continues to be the #1 top selling PS4 title in retail sales in North America at Best Buy, GameStop, Target and Walmart.

Further reflecting the demand for the newest entry in Activision’s famed franchise, in a recent GameStop holiday survey conducted of 1,000 PowerUp Rewards (PUR) loyalty members and 500 general gift-givers, Call of Duty: Ghosts is the most desired video game this holiday season.

“Around the globe, Call of Duty: Ghosts is leading the next generation. It’s the #1 selling title at key retailers and it’s also the most played game on Xbox One and PS4 globally,” said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing, Inc. “As we’ve said before, we’ve got the best community of fans in the world, and we’re thrilled they’re coming with us to the next generation.”

Read More

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, TT Games and The LEGO Group today announced LEGO The Hobbit, the latest addition to the popular LEGO videogame series that brings to life the enthralling and legendary stories from Oscar-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit Trilogy. The game will be available in 2014 for the Xbox One all-in-one games and entertainment system and Xbox 360 games and entertainment systems from Microsoft, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 computer entertainment systems and PlayStation Vita handheld entertainment system., the Wii U system from Nintendo, the Nintendo 3DS hand-held system, as well as Windows PC and Mac.

LEGO The Hobbit will be based on the first two films of The Hobbit Trilogy, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and the upcoming The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug, a production of New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures (MGM), opening worldwide beginning December 13, 2013. Following the storyline of the first two films, LEGO The Hobbit will take players on quests throughout Middle-earth, joining Bilbo Baggins, Gandalf the Grey, and Thorin Oakenshield and Company in their exciting adventures toward the Dwarven Kingdom of Erebor.

Read More

“A delayed game is eventually good, but a rushed game is forever bad.” These are the words of the Nintendo great, Shigeru Miyamoto, but NBA Live 14 really challenges the truth of that argument. The franchise has been through three years of drama as EA Sports has struggled to put something out in the basketball sim space, their remake of Midway’s NBA Jam in the meantime notwithstanding. Eventually they decided to hold this one out until the next generation, but unless they’ve been rushing to get it out in November after all this time to get their act together, it’s safe to say that NBA Live 14 is a delayed game that is forever bad.

Read More

The next generation has arrived and with it a brand new sports engine for EA, which it hopes will “Ignite” another run of sales dominance. Foremost among the new releases for PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One this launch season (in North America at least), is the new Madden 25. As always a new generation Madden is an opportunity to experiment and a test not only of expanded capabilities of upgraded hardware, but of the developers’ ability to exploit it.

So let’s jump right into what’s changed. First of all, unfortunately for PS4 fans, Madden 25 does not take advantage of the Second Screen feature with your Vita or mobile device the way it does on the Xbox One with SmartGlass, so I’m unable to review that added functionality here. But that’s alright because the main changes to gameplay are right on the field for both systems. For instance, EA Sports has revamped the way players move and control with the aptly named True Step system, which is stocked with hundreds of new animations which account for the way players need to plant their feet and shift their weight. While not quite perfect yet, this has particularly cut down on the feel of gliding along the grass, stuck in a particular angle of attack. This makes both the running game and the defending feel a lot more natural. No longer can you off pull spins and jukes with your plant foot in the air. Players actually have to stutter step to make cuts and pull off moves with accuracy, with the left trigger turning on a precision mode that slows you down a bit in order to charge up and time your stiff arm, truck, etc.

Read More

Today, Ubisoft announced that Fighter Within, the first motion-fighting game designed specifically for the next generation of hardware, is now available for Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft.

Powered by Kinect for Xbox One, Fighter Within provides the excitement of a fun, immersive and straightforward combat experience. Making the most out of the improved local multiplayer capabilities of Kinect, Fighter Within tracks both players’ moves as they challenge their friends and family in one-versus-one opposition, allowing for a greater variety of gameplay and endless fun.

Rated T for Teen and available for a suggested retail price of $59.99, Fighter Within features 12 unique fighters, each with their own special attacks, resulting in a diverse collection of varied combat moves players can choose from. Players can let their inner fighters decide the best strategy to defeat their opponent based on their style of fighting.

Fighter Within invites players to battle against friends and family and engage their fighting skills by throwing punches, kicks, counters and combos in the most immersive, exciting and liberating next-gen fighting experience yet.

Fighter Within Xbox One Screenshots:

For the latest information on Fighter Within, please visit: fighter-within.com