A dollar will only buy me ice coffee from McDonalds now a days, but starting today at Bundle Stars, you will be able to get 3 great looking shooters for just that price.

Developed by Sigma Games, your hard earned dollar will net you the “Gorefest Bundle” Alien Shooter, Alien Shooter 2 and it’s expansion Conscription. All at 98% off their normal price. In addition to supporting indie developers, you will be helping out the Specialeffect charity that aims to help children and adults enjoy computer games.

While not having played any of these games, I will for sure be checking them out, because I definitely have a dollar for a good time and supporting a good cause, and I encourage all you to do so as well!

Check out Bundle Stars here

As a recurring tradition for Capcom as of late, here comes yet another addition to the collection of bundle nostalgic games that are sure to take you for a trip down memory lane. Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara will be released today for the North American Playstation Network & Steam worldwide, and for XBOX Live Arcade and European Playstation Network by tomorrow, June 19th. The collection will also eventually come out for Nintendo’s eShop to be available for download on the Wii U.

As per usual with these kind of releases from Capcom, the game will be based on the GGPO netcode (which will allow for fluid gameplay for 2-to-4 players online), developed by Iron Galaxy in collaboration with Wizards of the Coast. The collection will include both D&D games developed by Capcom in the 90′s: Dungeons & Dragons – Tower of Doom (1994) and Dungeons & Dragons – Shadow over Mystara (1996).

Capcom’s D&D series involve the traditional Capcom beat-em-up style with RPG elements, including leveling up, magic spells, and several type of classes and races to do battle against several mythical D&D monsters. The game has been characterized for branching roads as the game progresses (which avoids the usual monotony of most beat-em-up games) and multiple endings depending on the path taken and choices made. This game also features the new House Rules option, which allows players to dictate their own gameplay style during the journey (for example, “Vampirism” allows players to gain health from attacking enemies).

As one would expect from Capcom’s vintage rereleases as of late, there are challenges that need to be fulfilled in order to gain points that will later serve to unlock additional features and easter eggs in the Vault. The Character Visualizer feature also allows you to keep track of the characters most used by your friends in an attempt to create more balanced parties when crunch time comes along. Of course, there are also global Leaderboards which allows you to view which character is reigning worldwide.

It is said that the Wii U version will exploit the use of the GamePad touch screen in order to select spells and items more fluidly, allowing for a smoother pace in gameplay.

James Portnow must be smiling from ear to ear right about now, because his fundraiser just reached half of its goal after barely becoming a THING. One of the great minds behind the series Extra Credits (which is about videogames and their design and the industry, SO GO WATCH IT NOW), James started a fundraiser recently to get politicians and the rest of the world to notice that games can be a lot more than just controversies waiting to happen.

Titled the “Games for Good” fundraiser, the project’s purpose is to encourage the creation of games that do good and to improve the public’s perception of games as something other than “murder simulators.” James got the idea to start the project after meeting with legislators to protest the “anti-piracy” legislation of SOPA and PIPA and finding out, SHOCKINGLY, that legislators had rarely ever spoken to people in the game industry unless it was about a controversy. James feels that by raising money for his fundraiser, he can help organizations find good games to sponsor and show politicians and the general public that games can actually benefit people’s lives.

$50,000 was the goal to be reached, and fans have already raised $25,000 for “Games for Good” in less than two weeks since its launch (gamers are AWESOME). There are stretch goals that kick in at $75,000 as well, and you can find “good” games that James recommends at the bottom of the fundraiser page.

For the episode of Extra Credits that got this whole train of “goodness” moving, click here. Will “Games for Good” reach its goal of $50,000 by September 2nd? I’m gonna say yes, without a doubt.

Be sure to subscribe to the site and our social media networks on Facebook and Twitter. Also, I have confirmation that we will be on iTunes soon.

Merge Games is about to ask UK gamers, how awesome they really are. If their UK fan base is as good as the game, then it will be a resounding “Well, really awesome, actually.”

In a retail collaboration with Ronimo games, a loaded collector’s edition will be released June 28th. The collection includes costume pack DLC, the soundtrack, and an awesome (like that?) sticker. Think that’s too much to handle? Well, it also comes with a gift key to give to a friend to give them a taste as to why you have been avoiding them in League of Legends.

Get your fingers stretched and primed for action this Thursday, June 20th, as 2K and Firaxis Games set to launch the popular (and sometimes overlooked) XCOM: Enemy Unknown, the rpg/strategy game, for iOS devices.

“XCOM: Enemy Unknown for iOS takes the complete XCOM experience of the console and PC version of the game and optimizes it for the touch interface of iOS devices.” said 2k/Firaxis in a press release.

The game will come with all of the latest iOS gaming amenities, including game center and cloud supported saves, allowing you to wage your battle at your desk and continue it in bed. Coming in a later update, for free mind you, is the head to head multiplayer mode.

Supported devices include iPad 2, iPad 3, iPad 4, iPad mini, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5 and iPod touch 5^th Generation.

Ah, The Sims expansions. Released like clockwork. As old as time itself, and some other cliche. But seriously folks, as a closet Sims fan, Island Paradise looks awesome.

EA/Maxis today released the newest trailer for their next expansion: The Sims 3: Island Paradise. It looks as deep as the ocean is blue. Alright, too many cliches, I get it.

But (for real this time) seriously, it looks like they squeezed so much stuff into this expansion it’s going to be a tough call for what Simmers do first! In addition to building house boats (read: house on boat) that can jetty you from island to island; there is a whole underwater area for your Sims to explore including all the mainstays of island life. Treasure hunting? Check. Shark (and giant squid) attacks? Check. Underwater woohoo? You betcha. Living on the open seas not your thing? Buy anything from a paddle boat to a speed boat to get yourself island hopping in no time. Still no mention of a millionaire playboy yacht though, although I wouldn’t put it past Maxis, they usually think of everything in these themed expansions. Did I mention you can build, customize, and own your own resort? Players will be tasked with bringing the island amenities to their resort. Other Sims will come and spend money on things like bars, hotel rooms and buffets all while writing reviews about your hot new go to spot.

The Sims 3: Island Paradise will be available on June 28th and is now available for pre order in retail and digital on Origin. Pre orders will receive the “Island Survival” content pack, giving your Sims the tools to survive on a deserted island. Maxis is also giving players the town of Barnacle Bay for free if they reach their goal of 4,000 pre orders.

The Island Paradise team will also be holding a live demo tomorrow morning on their website tomorrow at 10am PDT.

Söderlund made it clear that the team has not abandoned the survival-horror franchise, but has instead shifted its focus to “something else that you and other gamers will be very happy with”.

No other details have been revealed, but we will keep you posted on the latest that comes our way on Visceral’s newest project.

Rising Storm is the next tile in the realistic World-War II Red Orchestra franchise, created by Tripwire Interactive, and takes the series to the Pacific Theater for the first time.

The boxed edition will come at a price of £19.99 in the UK, while the game is already available in digital format through Steam for a price of $19.99.

Battlefield 3 players have until June 18 to download the Close Quarters DLC at no cost in celebration of E3 and as a big “thank you” for collectively playing BF3 for over one billion hours.

You can access the DLC on the in-game store for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 or in the Origin app for PC players by using the redeem code “BF3E3“. Battlefield 3 Premium is also half off on Origin for $14.99, so if you haven’t bought Premium yet, now is a good time. Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 players will pay a bit more at $24.99. DICE has unlocked the “Tombstone Squad” dog tag and will also be sending out invites to Premium members to participate in the exclusive Battlefield 4 Beta.

Xbox Live Arcade announced that they have reached 600 games with the releases of Fireburst and Storm Friday. This newest milestone came close to the anniversary of the 500 game milestone that was reached on June 6, 2012 in the XBLA library achieved with the launch of Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown and Bang Bang Racing.

Xbox Live Arcade was first announced on May 12, 2004, less than ten years ago with a disc that had to be ordered by mail from Microsoft’s website. But, it did include a free version of the popular Ms. Pac-man.  Three years later the service became a part of the Xbox 360 Dashboard allowing gamers to easily download titles.  Uno seemed to be the game of choice when Microsoft claimed it to be the first XBLA game to exceed one million downloads.

Hopefully Microsoft will find a way to make their impressive XBLA library available one the Xbox One as well. But for the moment it looks like Xbox has earned themselves 600G.

Thanks to XBLA Fans for the heads up on this achievement!

Just in case you didn’t get enough Pokemon news during Nintendo’s E3 announcement on Tuesday, here’s a fresh trailer that shows off the first gym in Pokemon X and Y as well as some new Pokemon.

The trailer opens up showing a group of adventurers. That’s because in Pokemon X and Y, players have what amounts to an entourage to hang out with instead of just one or two rivals like in previous games.

The girl with the crazy brown hair is Shauna, who The Pokemon Company describes as outgoing, friendly, and energetic.

The err… husky fellow is Tierno, who is actually more into Pokemon dance moves than Pokemon battles. His goal is to create an awesome Pokemon dance team, but there’s no word yet on if this actually plays into gameplay or not.

The dude with the red mop on his head is Trevor. He’s sort of a Pokemon nerd (aren’t we all), who is a great student and wants to be the first to complete his Pokedex.

The player’s fourth companion will depend on if you’re playing as a boy or a girl. Male players will be joined by Serena and female players will be joined by Calem. This character seems to be the typical “rival” that Pokemon fans are accustomed to. Either Serena or Calem will strive to become a powerful Pokemon trainer.

By the way, you’ll meet all these friends in Vaniville Town, which is the players starting out point in the Kalos region.

After some rollerblading around town (I wonder if this replaces the bike from previous adventures), we’re treated to footage of the first gym, which is headed by Viola in Santalune City. Besides being professional photographer, Viola appears to be a master of Bug Pokemon, as her gym is adorned with a giant spiderweb that players must navigate around.

Now for some new Pokemon!

This little guy is Scatterbug, a (duh) Bug-type Pokemon who will likely be found in some forest early in the player’s adventure. You can see it here unleashing a String Shot attack, which for the uninitiated, is a speed-lowering move that is typical of small Bug Pokemon.

Scatterbug evolves into Spewpa, which has a stronger defense than Scatterbug thanks to its stiff, fur-covered body. The video doesn’t show Spewpa performing any attacks, but we do know that it learns Protect at some point. Protect is a move that renders nearly all attacks useless for one turn in battle. It is purely a defensive move.

Vivillon is the final evolution of this chain and yet another credit to The Pokemon Company’s apparent love of butterflies. When it evovles, Vivillon gains not only a beautiful pair of wings but also the Flying type. One of its attacks is Struggle Bug, which deals damage in addition to lowering the opponent’s special attack.

Finally, here are Litleo (in the background) and Flabebe (in the foreground). Litleo looks like an adorable little lion cub and is both a Fire- and Normal-type Pokemon. It learns Noble Roar, which helps protect Litleo by lowering its opponent’s attack stat.

Flabebe is one of the new Fairy-type Pokemon found in X and Y. It lives on a flower that it will care for its entire life. Such devotion! One of the fun things about Flabebe is that players will see that different Flabebe hold differently colored flowers. We don’t know yet if the flower color affects Flabebe’s stats or attack capabilities yet. What we do know is that Flabebe learns Fairy Wind to attack opponents.

That’s all the Pokemon news for now. We’ll be sure to update you as soon as we hear more about Pokemon X and Y, which is set for a worldwide release on October 12.

This is the closest Vita owner’s will get to experiencing the full game, unfortunately, until the game is out. A playable demo was recently released a short while ago however, for the console versions of the game.

MotoGP 13 will be available for the PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation Vita on June 21st.

In an effort to remind everyone (honestly, did you forget?) they still have a huge AAA game coming out during the madness that is E3, Rockstar took to social media to announce “We’re still here!”

Admittedly, the 9 screenshots don’t show off anything NEW new, but jeez does the game look incredible. It surprises me every time how much that company can squeeze out of consoles. And you have got to love the fact a company as big as Rockstar can opt out of an E3 appearance and still have one of the biggest selling franchises of all time (aside from a little Jack Trenton love during the E3 PlayStation conference #headsetswag).

Image Credit: facebook.com/rockstargames

Cross platform play isn’t new to Square Enix either. Their first foray into the MMO space, Final Fantasy XI was, and still is mind you, playable on the PS2, PS3, Xbox360 and the PC. Despite the PlayOnline registration trouble you have to go through to even play it, it’s still there kicking and still cross platform. It also has been the most profitable Final Fantasy game made to date.

For those of you saying, “Wait a cotton pickin’ minute, I thought they done released FFXIV already?!” First I would commend you on saying cotton-pickin. Secondly, I would inform you that Square Enix (or as I affectionately refer to them as: Squeenix) has been very hard at work on a “2.0″ re-release version of the game. The initial release was not the smash hit they had hoped for, due to lackluster sales and critical nightmares. So the developers decided to get back to the drawing bored, literally, and re-work the game from the ground up, including reworking the UI and combat system.

Let us know what you think about online Final Fantasy games in the comments below, and register for the beta here!

I had a great time though. Saw a lot of great things, played a lot of cool games, but it’s time to wrap this shit up and go home. So, I’m going to BRIEFLY talk about a few games I got to play today, mainly because I’m tired as all hell and I want to go to bed. My full E3 summary article will hopefully make up for the half-ass information this one provides…sorry?

Total War: Rome II

Really fun. If you’re a fan of RTS games or a fan of Total War games, then this game is the game for you. Everything Total War fans (I’m one!) have wanted is finally coming. Better battles, more customization, dynamic diplomacy, and awesome naval battles. This game is now the holder of the coveted 2nd Best Demo At E3 I Played Award.

Company of Heroes 2

Everything I loved from the original Company of Heroes is in this game, but better. The demo I played showed the desperation of the Russians, using conscripts at every turn, infantry units using molotov cocktails instead of grenades, and most units starting off with weak equipment. The battles are as intense as ever, unfortunately the artillery has been dumbed down, but it kind of needed to be; it was SUPER strong. Company of Heroes 2 has the same feel Company of Heroes has, this isn’t a bad thing, in fact it’s a great thing.

Thief

It’s a good game, it has stealth, and you get to steal things.

Goodnight.

In a report yesterday by The Hollywood Reporter, Spielberg and Lucas were interviewed where they said that the movie industry was at a breaking point and an “implosion” was imminent. They’re both thinking that television is the new wave of media entertainment. While a direct quote was not written down, the reporter said something that caused the back of my brain to pop.

“Lucas and Spielberg also spoke of vast differences between filmmaking and video games because the latter hasn’t been able to tell stories and make consumers care about the characters.”

E-fu#%ing-xcuse me? Video games can’t tell stories or make people care about the characters? It seems to me that washouts (one who sold his entire empire to Disney while the other can’t even make Indiana Jones cool anymore) like this pair have gone senile. I believe they have confused video games for their own movies.

George Lucas is responsible for the most hated character of all time. I think the only reason people actually went to watch Star Wars: Episode III is because they were desperately clinging to the hope that Jar-Jar Binks would suffer a horrible and gruesome death. Not to mention that Lucas turned Darth Vader (a character I had multiple nightmares about when I was a child) into a whining little emo bitch.

Steven Spielberg hasn’t directed anything good in over a decade, and in that time frame he has helped produce multiple tumors to the creative mind. Not to mention he has helped groom another director that is on the fast-track to ruining the film industry as a whole. This same groomed director has also ruined Star Trek for me.

If they are of the opinion that video games can’t reach us on an emotional or financial level, it’s because they’re only using their own horrible abortions as the control.

What about Clementine from The Walking Dead? BioShock. BioShock Infinite. Cognition. Heavy Rain. Metal Gear Solid IV. Mass Effect I, II, III. Dishonored. The Longest Journey. Dreamfall. inFamous. inFamous 2. Alan Wake (for some of us). Red Dead Redemption. Fallout 3. Dues Ex. Dark Souls. Chrono Trigger. Metal Gear Solid III. And I’m sorry, did any of you laugh when Sephiroth pierced Aerith right through her back in Final Fantasy VII?

And for one last rant of proof, how about when Beyond: Two Souls was officially asked to the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival? Not only is this media duo disgustingly wrong, Spielberg is the bigger hypocrite. Please correct me if I’m wrong (and I’m not: redacted 06/16/13 because I was wrong!), but isn’t he making the movie with Aaron Paul from the video game, Need for Speed? And isn’t he working with Microsoft to produce the Halo TV…

And there it is. Bam. All of the confusing decisions over the last weeks and the reason Microsoft presented the Xbox One as a media provider first instead of a gaming system might be explained. I may very well be wrong, but I smell smoke and I’m looking for the gun. I thought we had moved on from the sneered noses and the downcast glances at video games, but it seems we still have a little longer to go.

Am I overreacting? Probably. But I’ve spent way more on video games than movies or cable. And when people who have no respect for video games are making my movies, my TV shows, and are controlling my game consoles based on their uneducated and ignorant opinions…I get mad. Tell me what your opinion is! And what games did I not mention change your world?!

Square Enix is so pumped for their new Final Fantasy XV title that they decided to offer gamers MASSIVE SAVINGS for their previous game, Final Fantasy XIII-2. Recently released this week as a Games on Demand title for the 360 and PS3 (meaning you can download it from the comfort of your couch for a measly $20) Final Fantasy XIII-2 tells the expanded story of Lightning, Snow, and Sazh, in their quest to deliver as many weather puns as possible. Square Enix knows players crave DLC, too, which is why all outfits, opponents, and additional side-stories have been bundled together for the adventure. Creatively called the Final Fantasy XIII-2 Bundle Pack, this collection of additional content costs 1360 Microsoft Points on the 360 and $17 on the PS3, and includes the following goodies:

Serah’s Outfit: White Mage
Mog’s Outfits: A Wondrous Wardrobe
Lightning: Requiem of the Goddess
Snow: Perpetual Battlefield
Noel’s Outfit: Black Mage
Noel’s Outfit: Assassin’s Creed
Opponent: Gilgamesh
Opponent: PuPu
Opponent: Ultros & Typhon
Noel’s Outfit: N7 Armor
Serah’s Outfit: N7 Armor
Opponent: Nabaat
Sazh: Heads or Tails?
Serah’s Outfit: Beachwear
Noel’s Outfit: Spacetime Guardian
Opponent: Lightning & Amodar
FFXIII-2 Pack: Fight In Style

The Games on Demand version of FFXIII-2 and its gigantic bundle are available now for the U.S. and Europe. More info on the awkwardly titled sequel to FFXIII can be found here. Anyone picking up these discounted thingees?!

The expansion, Conflict of Heroes: Ghost Divisions, adds two new campaigns as well as full multiplayer support. Players will be able to choose forces from the 7th Panzer Division and the Grossdeutschland Regiment. The expansion is also accompanied with an update of Conflict of Heroes: Awakening the Bear! that includes improved memory management and numerous bug fixes.

To find out more about Conflict of Heroes: Awakening the Bear!, visit http://matrixgames.com/products/424/details/Conflict.of.Heroes:.Awakening.the.Bear!. To find out more about its expansion, Conflict of Heroes: Ghost Divisions, visit http://matrixgames.com/products/488/details/Conflict.of.Heroes:.Ghost.Divisions.

The developers have also announced that access to the alpha version will come at the absurdly high price of $89.99. A member of Uber talked about the… unusual pricing model (to say the least) through a post on Steam, stating that the game will remain at its current price until the end of August, while September will see a drop to a retail price of $60, until the game is actually released.

Alpha tests will commence on June 16th, with this version of the game including combat on one planet, 2-10 players, and a Free-For-All mode. Players will also require a 64-bit operating system to participate.

Intel and Turtle Entertainment announced this morning two dates for Season 8 of its Intel Extreme Masters tournament. Starting July 25th through the 28th, Intel Extreme Masters tournament will open up it’s eighth season at ChinaJoy in Shanghai, China (think E3, but presumably with much more neon). The tournament then lands state side for the Masters event at the 2013 New York Comic-Con.

“New York and Shanghai both really represent what we are creating with the Intel Extreme Masters: diversity and a truly multi continent approach to the eSport phenomenon.” said Michal Blicharz, Director of Pro Gaming at Turtle Entertainment.

While China has been hosting large and illustrious gaming tournaments since their inception, this marks only the 6th Masters event in these United States. This will also be the third time in which such an event takes place at New York Comic-Con, taking place this year on October 10th-13th.

Can’t take a weekend jaunt to Shanghai to see the stars battle it out for the coveted Intel Extreme Masters Trophy? Fear not, they have you covered; Twitch and video-on-demand will be live streaming both events.

No specific titles been announced for the event, but be on the look out for a MOBA title and an RTS. Although nothing is official, my estimate is that they will be the most prominent of the bunch in their respective styles (StarCraft II and League Of Legends).

Do enjoy or even participate in Pro-Gaming tournaments? Sound off in the comments!

I’m pretty damn exhausted, like I said yesterday in my E3 Day 1 Recap article, strong legs are a must and I’ll add another piece of advice right now as well, get a good nights sleep. I decided to go out and drink last night and I got maybe 6 hours of sleep for today. Not the best idea. Enough about my personal issues, lets talk games.

The Evil Within

Today was the day of my Bethesda appointment. I had been looking forward to this chance to get my hands on The Elder Scrolls Online, Wolfenstein: The New Order, and The Evil Within. I got the chance to play every game except for The Evil Within. This was unfortunate, but the demo that was played in front of us was all that I needed to see to get excited. The game is extremely violent, tense, and just plain old scary. The demo we were shown was the same one that has been released to the public, however the demo was extended and showed us more than what has been previously released. One part in particular was extremely tense, after Sebastian, the main character, escaped a chainsaw wielding butcher he hide inside of a locker in a tightly packed room. The chainsaw guy came into the room and started smashing down doors and boxes, swinging the chainsaw every which way. I was waiting for him to chainsaw the locker in half, but it never happened. A later part of the game was also shown to us, it displayed the combat for The Evil Within. The combat is pretty straightforward, you have a gun, you shot bad guys in the head, bad guys die, everyone gets cake. Sebastian could also light dead enemies on fire, it was never explained why, but I’m guessing it had something to do with them coming back to life. The Evil Within looks like a pretty damn good game, I’m a big fan of survival horror and this game looks like it will be able to scratch my survival horror itch when it is released.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2

I put off playing Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 yesterday and decided I’ll get to it another day. This morning I somehow ended up (I have no sense of direction) in front of the doors that led into the hall that had Castlevania. As soon as the doors floodgates opened I made my way right up to the Castlevania demo which was empty at the time. “Why the hell did I put this game off?” is what I kept on asking myself as I played the demo. Besides Ryse and Battlefield 4, this is one of the best demos I have played so far. The combat is face-paced and exciting, and even though Gabriel is now Dracula, you don’t feel that powerful all the time. Gabriel has three types of weapons at his disposal, his main attack is a red whip attack, he can regain his health by using his Void Sword, and if enemies have strong defenses he can break them by using his…I forgot what it was called, we’ll just call it his Fired Hands. The first few groups of enemies I faced were fairly easy, but as soon as I got outside I was greeted by a giant siege golem trying to knock down my castle, an invading army, and some angel-looking guy who kicked my ass several times. The demo ended in spectacular fashion with Gabriel destroying the siege golem and taking out half of the invading army in the process, leaving Gabriel and the angel guy staring each other down. Of course they ended the demo right there; leaving you wanting more. They succeeded in that department.

The Elder Scrolls Online

Disappointed. Disappointed is the adjective I would used to describe my experience with The Elder Scrolls Online today at the Bethesda booth. I’ve been waiting to play this demo or get into the beta for this game forever and now that I have gotten my hands on it, I don’t really want the game anymore. I’d assume this is the same feeling kids get when their parents give them that pony they’ve always wanted, only to find out the pony shits everywhere and won’t let you ride it. The demo dropped us into Daggerfall and let us choose between a few classes, I chose Dragonknight because it was the coolest sounding of all the classes available. Off I was into The Elder Scrolls Online and I had not a fucking clue in the world what I was supposed to do. There were no quest markers, but instead certain NPC’s glowed yellow which indicated that they had some work that needed to be done and they were too lazy to take care of it themselves (Quests). None of these glowing NPC’s showed up on my map so I couldn’t really find any quests easily, however one of the developers got me and the guy next to me to team up and go take on one of the low level dungeons in the area. Let me tell you, this demo had a lot of glitches and not the funny ones either.

When we entered the dungeon we had to collect 4 of something and also burn 4 of something, the good old MMORPG standard. As we started to burn the somethings and collect the somethings, I noticed that my burning somethings counter and my collect somethings counter did not track my teammates contributions to the quest. We had to do the quests on our own…together…in the same dungeon. After completing the stupid quests that we were forced to do (We couldn’t leave the area without completing them) a portal opened to fight the dungeons boss. “Things will get better now.” I said to myself while jumping blindly into a portal to the boss without informing my teammate of my plans…leaving me alone…to fight a dungeon boss…shit. Anticlimactic. Anticlimactic is the adjective I would use to describe that boss fight. It was just some random demon with an axe who died easier than any of the enemies I faced prior to fighting him. This game needs work, a lot of it. I know making an MMORPG ain’t easy, 38 Studios is a good lesson of that, but Bethesda is a videogame powerhouse and I expected better from them. I honestly did not have a fun time playing The Elder Scrolls Online today, and that’s the truth.

With only one more day left, I honestly have no idea which games I should play, Titan Fall and Thief are really the only two left that I want to get my hands on. If you guys have any last minute suggestions for games that I should try out, let me know in the comment section below.

Square Enix has released nearly four minutes of non-linear battle gameplay that will flip the Final Fantasy world on its head. It looks like FFXV will take from certain scenes and style from the Kingdom Hearts series, FFXIII, and perhaps a little bit of a taste from FF: Advent Children. While still in early production–and by early, I mean a mixture of work from almost seven years ago with a new splash of ideas from the past year–it definitely looks like the newest installment of the series is going to be wild.

I, for one, prefer turn-based RPG’s but the footage below absolutely has me intrigued. What do you all think? Does this gameplay look like it will finally breath life into a weakening series? Or are we getting close once more to a real final fantasy?

I got my hands on a lot of videogames infact, but I’ll just mention those that stood out to me.

Ryse: Son of Rome

This game caught my eye from the moment I saw it during the Microsoft press conference. I made a bee-line towards the Microsoft booth as soon as doors floodgates at E3 opened and I thankfully got a good spot in line for Ryse, which still had an hour long wait. The game plays exactly as I thought it would, the character you play as is slow as shit, but powerful as all hell, this is literally the only negative thing I can say about it. The demo was the same as the one they showed at the press conference, but that demo didn’t do this game justice. The environment is beautiful, action is happening all around you, and the combat is surprising fast-paced. You should keep your eye out for more information about Ryse, this might be a Game of the Year contender.

Sonic Lost World

It’s safe to say that Sonic hasn’t been doing good lately, and when I say lately I mean the past decade or so. I kept on hearing that Sonic Lost World isn’t bad, and in fact it was good. Well, they were right, Sonic Lost World is good. The reason people loved Sonic so much is that back in the day it was a simple, straightforward game to play. Collect rings, occasionally attack enemies, run really fast, and save a capsule full of animals was all this game was about. The Sonic franchise started sliding into the gutter as soon as they tried throwing a story into the mix and adding about a billion stupid characters. Sonic Lost World is bringing Sonic back to his roots by keeping it simple and fun, very fun. I was pleasantly surprised by how much fun this game was, it felt like the original Sonic the Hedgehog, but 3D.

Battlefield 4

I ended Day 1 with a bang, Battlefield 4 was the last game I went to go see before they shut the doors floodgates…before they kicked me out. The demo I played was the same as the one they showed at the EA press conference, the Siege of Shanghai. The first thing I noticed is that Battlefield 4 looks a lot like Battlefield 3, but there is two major differences. Battlefield 4 is bigger and better. Everything that I loved from Battlefield 3 (Destruction and vehicles) and Battlefield 2 (Commander Mode) was in the demo I played. After I played the demo the developers asked if any of us would like to try out Commander mode, and without sounding like a 10 year old being asked if he would like to go to Disneyland I said yes HELL YES!!! The best way to describe Commander mode is to say it’s like a chess match against the enemy teams Commander, but none of your chess pieces want to listen to you. Players on your team have some small incentives to follow the Commanders orders (Extra XP, extra abilities), but no one seemed to know or care about the incentives so they kind of did their own thing, which left me sitting their with my thumb up my ass giving pointless orders. It’s a good thing that the Commander has some offensive capabilities, when certain points on the map are captured by your team the Commander will receive new abilities. The Tomahawk Cruise Missile and the Gunship are the Commanders offensive weapons in Battlefield 4, the Cruise Missile can reach out and touch any enemies you want dead and the Gunship is just a mobile death machine that kills everyone and everything FOREVER. This demo was by far the best thing I played so far at E3 and I don’t think there is anything else that can top it…or is there?!?!

Overall, Day 1 was a success, I got to play a lot of games and got to see a lot of cool shit. I’ll be doing my best to keep you guys informed about the games I’ll be playing over the next few days. Check back with ThatVideoGameBlog for more information about game demos at E3 and just E3 stuff in general. If you have any suggestions for games for me to try out at E3 sound off in the comment section below and I’ll do my best to play them.

Side Note: I’ll be doing E3 daily wrap-up videos with some friends from Mind of the Geek, so go check them out over at their website.

In this trailer, you’ll hear Keifer Sutherland’s performance as Punished Snake (Big Boss), see all the future characters in their prime, how MGS V can be Open-World, and the intense quick-response stealth you’ll need in order to survive. And all of this with Mature written all over it. Kojima didn’t exaggerate, Metal Gear Solid V: Phantom Pain is an entirely different expansion to the series, and it will be available on PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.

David Hayter fans have claimed that Kojima’s motivation for getting Keifer Sutherland as the voice of Big Boss is solely because Hideo has always wanted to get into cinema. This trailer is Evidence-A towards that angry claim. I cannot express that this material is rated R in every sense of the word. Enjoy every single breath-taking minute of it!

“Steampunk” is only a recently popularized genre but it has seen a rapid uprising in novels, movies, and games. Ready at Dawn is responsible for developing the project and promises that they have been working hard to ensure that the cinematic scenes match actual gameplay. Release date is TBA.

Visit the PlayStation Blog for the rest of what CEO and Creative Director Ru Weerasuriya has to say! And watch the trailer below to get a good idea of what you’re about to get yourself into!

Ubisoft and Sony announced a partnership today that will see exclusive content hit the PS3 and PS4 versions of two upcoming titles: Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag and Watch Dogs. Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Ubisoft, Tony Key, was quite happy about giving extra value to consumers who opt for Sony’s machines over Microsoft’s, saying: “Expanding our partnership with Sony Computer Entertainment allows us to offer PlayStation gamers even more substance to games that are already rich with content. Regardless of which PlayStation console Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag and Watch Dogs are played on, PlayStation gamers will be treated to exclusives that will add to their gameplay experiences.”

This is great news for people who aren’t ready to upgrade yet or are itching to get a fancy new PS4 (I need a PS4 like, yesterday).

First up for the pie of exclusiveness is Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag, which will see female assassin Aveline (who first appeared on the Vita outing Assassin’s Creed III Liberation) get three unique missions for the pirate adventure on either of the PlayStations. Not to be left out of the delicious chocolate syrup of extra content, Watch Dogs will obtain four additional missions featuring vigilante Aiden Pearce, who seeks non-specific vengeance against a tech mogul that screwed him over (probably somebody over the phone from tech support who kept Aiden on hold for thirty years). After players complete these missions, they will unlock an exclusive suit for Aiden to wear in-game.

The VP of Sony of America’s Publisher and Developer Relations, Adam Boyes, could barely contain his excitement about becoming besties with Ubisoft, exclaiming: “Ubisoft is no stranger to pushing the boundaries of play, and that is why we are expanding our partnership with PlayStation to bring PlayStation fans one-of-a-kind content for two of the year’s most anticipated games, Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag and Watch Dogs. With an hour of exclusive gameplay for each title, yet again we are blazing new trails by providing more unique experiences that can only be found on PlayStation.”

All the data you could ever want on Watch Dogs can be found here, while Black Flag info can be plundered here.

Who else is looking forward to this content?!

So why not FFVersus XIII? It appears that the title’s development expanded and eventually culminated into what developers felt to be the next proper Final Fantasy game. While the main concept, world and story continue to be developed as originally envisioned in FFVersus XIII, improvements were made to the action, gameplay elements and graphic quality to take full advantage of the next-gen consoles’ power.

Square Enix described the story in its official press release: “The armed forces of Niflheim launch a devastating assault upon the Kingdom of Lucis, casting Crown Prince Noctis and his comrades out of their homes and into the fray. The engaging tale to follow draws audiences into an awe-inspiring world steeped in the rich storytelling traditions of SQUARE ENIX’s renowned First Production Development team.”

Check out the thrilling E3 announcement trailer below. For more info, head to http://www.square-enix.com.

It should be noted that apart from Deathstroke, the game will also feature Bane, Black Mask, Deadshot and The Joker. We also get a sneak peak at the all-new Crime Scene system and Remote Claw gadget.

The official story to KHIII will follow a ‘mature’ Sora as he sets out on an adventure with his friends as they search for the seven guardians of light to combat the darkness as part of Master Xehanort’s master plan to cause a Keyblade War. While King Mickey and Riku set off in search of the previous Keyblade wielders, Sora, along with Donald and Goofy, will visit various Disney worlds in search of the “Key to Return Hearts.”

Are you excited about the return of Kingdom Hearts? You must be! You should let us know below in the comments section!

Narrated by Morrigan (yes, Morrigan!), this trailer features cameos by Dragon Age 2 plot-drivers Varric and Cassandra as the world burns from war and dragon hellfire. Here’s to hoping BioWare finishes this trilogy (if it is a trilogy) off right!

As always, you can find more info on the official Dragon Age website.

The gameplay shows some similar elements that have been staples in the Elder Scrolls series with the obvious twists of MMORPGishness (oh ya, I just totally made that up). Check it out below!

The Walking Dead: Season One was one of the largest hits of the past year receiving numerous accolades from publications worldwide. This left gamers craving more and they will get that later on this summer with new downloadable content that is meant to connect Season One with Season Two.

The game will have 5 episodes based around different characters who are coping with life in the first 400 days of the zombie apocalypse. The events will be centered around a small Georgia truck stop and the episodes will be playable in any order. Gamers can expect each episode to test their morality by having them make difficult decisions that will affect how the story plays out. The decisions that you make in Season One and in this new DLC will have an effect on what takes place in Season Two. Also, in order to play this new DLC, you will need to already have Episode 1 from the first season downloaded on your device.

The trailer for the new DLC can be seen below.

They also announced that The Walking Dead: Season One will be available on PS Vita this summer along with the new 400 Days DLC.

The Walking Dead: 400 Days will be available on PS3, PS Vita, Xbox 360, PC, Mac or iOS devices  for $4.99 and while they didn’t release a specific date, we can expect to dive into this game before the end of the summer.

In continuation with Nintendo’s dominance today, the official E3 trailer for The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds has been posted on YouTube. The spiritual successor to the SNES classic The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past will be released later this year on the Nintendo 3DS.

At first glance, Mario Kart 8 seems to be just combining elements from Mario Kart 7 and Mario Kart Wii. There’s the motorcycles from the Wii game as well as the gliders and underwater action from MK7. Everything seems pretty typical until Mario and company start driving up walls.

Yes, Mario Kart 8 will let racers go anti-gravity. It looks like players will be able to race on different surfaces while on the same course, which is pretty cool to say the least. Finding new ways to take on various courses has always been a fun part of the Mario Kart experience, and now Nintendo appears to have taken that part of the game to the next level.

MK8 isn’t coming to the Wii U until 2014, but it will be one of four Nintendo E3 games available to demo at select Best Buy’s this month. We’ll have in-depth coverage of all four games later this week.

We all know that Super Mario 3D Land on the 3DS is way more fun than the two-dimensional New Super Mario Bros. games. Nintendo seems to be on board with that notion as well, as the next Mario game to come out for Wii U will feature a 3D world and be appropriately named Super Mario 3D World.

The big takeaway here is the new power-up being introduced: the cat suit. Mario and friends can climb falls and attack enemies with melee attack while wearing the suit, which looks very fuzzy in the trailer above.

3D World also offers a throwback of sort to Super Mario Bros. 2, as the playable characters in the new game will be the same ones that starred in the 1988 classic. Mario, Luigi, Toad, and Peach will all be playable and all will have unique abilities.

There will be giant bosses to defeat, Yoshi-like sea critters to ride, huge ice skates to frolic in, and probably much more to experience in Super Mario 3D World when it comes out this December on Wii U.

If you want to get your hands on the game before then, note that 3D World is one of four Nintendo titles being made available at select Best Buy stores this month. We’ll have in-depth coverage of the Best Buy games later this week.

As the newest addition to the Just Dance family, Just Dance 2014 is “far more feature-rich and technically advanced than ever before” according to Tony Key, senior vice president of sales and marketing, Ubisoft.

A new update to the series is the first ever online multiplayer mode.  Players compete with an imaginary dance crew made up of real life friends or other Just Dance players online. Another feature is On Stage Mode. In this, players are allowed to take the role of the star and along two back up dancers. The player can also sing along with the track. The Puppet Master Mode on the Wii U allows whoever has the GamePad choose upcoming dance moves, pick new songs and make players do silly challenges.

As always, Just Dance 2014 has a variety of different music genres. Just Dance 2014 offers more than 40 popular tracks. Among them are:

•       Pound The Alarm—Nicki Minaj

•       Starships – Nicki Minaj

•       Kiss You—One Direction

•       She Wolf (Falling to Pieces)—David Guetta ft. Sia

•       Turn Up The Love—Far East Movement ft. Cover Drive

•       Troublemaker—Olly Murs ft. Flo Rida

•       Gentleman—PSY

•       Candy—Robbie Williams

•       I Will Survive—Gloria Gaynor

Just Dance 2014 will be available on October 4^th in the United Kingdom and on October 8^th in the United States for current generation consoles. Just Dance 2014 will be available for next generation consoles (Xbox One, PlayStation 4) upon their launch.

The New Super Smash Bros. game coming to Wii U and 3DS in 2014 will feature at least two new playable characters, Nintendo announced this morning.

While Animal Crossing has been featured as a stage in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, this is the first time that a villager from the game will join the fray. Meanwhile, Mega Man makes a flashy entrance and if the trailer below is any indication, it looks like he’s brought along a bunch of upgrades from his enemies.

Mega Man isn’t a Nintendo creation, but this isn’t the first time an “outsider” has joined in the Smash Bros. fun. Sonic and Solid Snake were playable in Brawl, but it’s unclear if the two will return for the new iterations.

Right now, the only characters we can confirm are Mario, Link, Donkey Kong, Bowser, Fox McCloud, Kirby, Samus, Pit, Pikachu, Mega Man, and the Animal Crossing villager.

The game seems to features a mix of cell-shading and more traditional 3D modeling, which is a nice touch considering the varied game environments from which the fighters of Super Smash Bros. hail.

Check out the video below for your viewing pleasure. Destiny will be released in 2014.

A new type of Pokémon was also announced today bringing the number of Pokémon types up to 18 and it’s the first new type to be introduced in a decade. The new type announced will be the Fairy type and they will be super effective against Dragon-type Pokémon. That is a huge announcement as players could typically only use ice and dragon type moves against Dragon-type Pokémon, but they will have a new way to combat all those people who still use Dragonite (like I do). They also announced that previous Pokémon who would be Fairy-type will be reclassified for the new game. Examples would be Gardevoir, Marill, and Jigglypuff.

They also announced two entirely new Pokémon, Noivern and Vivillon, and they gave more info about Sylveon who they previously revealed. Sylveon is a Fairy-type Pokémon who can lord the move Moonblast, which is a powerful new move debuting in Pokemon X and Y that lowers the Pokémon’s attack stat while dealing a lot of damage. Noivern is a Flying and Dragon-type Pokémon who can learn the move Boomburst which is a new move that that is extremely powerful, but that damages nearby allies as well. Vivillon is a Bug and Flying – type Pokémon who can learn Struggle Bug, an old move that lowers the Special Attack of any Pokémon it hits while damaging them.

They also announced that players can interact with their Pokémon in a new way called the Pokémon-Amie which uses the 3DS touch screen to build a stronger bond with your team.

Will you pick up this new Pokémon adventure on October 12th?

Ubisoft has officially announced the next installment in the Rocksmith franchise: Rocksmith 2014. As a series, Rocksmith has taught over 1.4 million people worldwide how to play guitar. With 95% skill improvement among the games’ players, Rocksmith 2014 is sure to catch new audiences eyes with its’ changes. Players will experience a new redesigned interface with plenty of feature changes. Rocksmith 2014 is designed to provide a simpler, efficient and enjoyable method of learning guitar.

Among the new features of the game, Rocksmith 2014 provides a fully customizable “Riff Repeater”, allowing the player to choose any section of the song while letting them adjust difficulty and speed immediately.  New “Guitarcade” mini-games hone specific guitar skills and “Master Mode” allows the gamer to play by memory faster. Rocksmith 2014 is designed to improve guitar skills and let the player engulf themselves in the music at hand.

During E3, Ubisoft demonstrated Session Mode, allowing the player to jam out with a virtual band at any skill level they choose. Jerry Cantrell from the famous Alice In Chains described Session Mode as “one of the most innovative music technologies in recent history”. In addition to key new features, Rocksmith 2014 Edition brings more than 50 tracks to the table.  Among them, Rocksmith 2014 includes:

-          “Stone” – Alice In Chains

-          “Walk This Way” – Aerosmith

-          “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” – Bob Dylan

-          “The Chimera” – Smashing Pumpkins

-          “Don’t Look Back In Anger” – Oasis

-          “ultra sound” B’z (A famous pop-rock Japanese band)

Plus many more tracks to be announced in the upcoming months.

Rocksmith 2014 has a price set at $79.99. Players who already own the Rocksmith Real Tone Cable can save twenty dollars by pre-ordering the “No Cable Included” version for $59.99. Select U.S. retail stores will offer the track “Cherub Rock” by Smashing Pumpkins as a pre-order incentive.

Rocksmith 2014 will be available this October for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.

Capcom dropped some zombah news at E3 today, announcing the new undead sandbox game, Dead Rising 3, coming exclusively to Xbox One this November.

Set ten years after the events of Chuck Greene’s adventures in Dead Rising 2, Dead Rising 3 opens in a new area called Los Perdidos, which is of course being OVERRUN BY ZOMBIES. Players take on the role of new protagonist Nick Ramos, a mechanic with a mysterious past and tattoo that will surely reveal a dark secret midway through the game. Knowing of an impending military strike on the city to wipe out the infected, Nick must work with others in order to escape unscathed.

This new title in the franchise certainly looks darker than the previous two titles, but it is also bigger and features seamless, quick load times. Smart zombie AI will keep you on your toes, and a better save implementation and a non-existent time limit will help bring in new fans that had trouble getting into Dead Rising and Dead Rising 2 (personally I felt the save system and time limit of the previous games heightened the mood and tension, but the possibility of exploring a whole city without worrying about Otis or Katey has me intrigued!). Thankfully, there is a Nightmare Mode with “classic” rules with a countdown clock for us veteran players; and hopefully not “classic” in the sense of annoying characters (“dammit Otis, someone is literally BITING MY FACE OFF!”).

Dead Rising 3 will also offer a quick “jump in or out” co-op mode and some SmartGlass and Kinect features; SmartGlass allows a friend to turn a compatible tablet or phone into a PDA to call in airstrikes against the zombie horde, receive incoming calls and texts (NOOO, OTIS WILL FOREVER HAUNT ME), or pull up a map and mission checklist, while the Kinect can be used to physically break out of grapples, command your partners, or even taunt zombies (“hey, you don’t even have a LEG to stand on!”).

Check out a gritty, realistic, not humorous trailer below!

Still early in development, the Senior Producer of DICE Sara Jansson says, “We introduced Mirror’s Edge and Faith to gamers five years ago, and we’ve waited for the right moment to reunite them…Thanks to the Frostbite engine and a new generation of platforms, we are now able to deliver a richer world that players will be able to explore with a new level of freedom in both movement and action.”

Mirror’s Edge will be released (no estimated street date has been given yet) on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and also for PC. So what are you all thinking? If this is just a reboot with a new story, is it leaving a slightly sour taste in your mouth? Or is it just so damn cool you don’t care? Visit the official site for Sara Jansson’s declaration letter and more. Teaser trailer below!

Do you not have an Xbox 360 console yet, or looking to upgrade? Well, Microsoft was sure to start rolling out the 360 news with a bang by revealing a newly designed Xbox 360 console inspired by the look of the Xbox One. Want better news? This new design is available today!

To support the announcement of the newest 360 design, Microsoft blew the lid off of World of Tanks for Xbox 360. This acclaimed title from the PC will be arriving as a free-to-play experience only on Xbox 360.

Are tanks not your thing? Well Microsoft also announced Max: The Curse of Brotherhood – a darkly adorable platformer, and the rage-inducing, dungeon-crawler Dark Souls 2. These were just two of the titles Microsoft ensured are coming to the Xbox 360 in an effort to comfort gamers who may have felt that the Xbox One would mean the end of the 360.

While these were all pleasant surprises, Microsoft wasn’t content to stop there. The biggest cheers came when Microsoft announced that Xbox Live Gold will be getting a delightful nip/tuck.

First, they announced they were taking a page out of Sony’s book and launching a free games service for Gold subscribers. The system will launch two free games for Gold members every month, with the first two announced games being Assassin’s Creed II and Halo 3. They also announced the much awaited switch from Microsoft Points to real-world currency in all regions. To wrap-up, Microsoft revealed that your Gold membership will be shareable between all family profiles connected with your Gold profile.

These announcements may not have been the biggest part of Microsoft’s press conference, but they sure stoked the fire to tell 360 players that they aren’t done with the console yet.

Were you impressed by these announcements, or did Microsoft leave you wanting more 360 information? Chat with us in the comments below as E3 rolls on.

The game is being developed by Respawn Entertainment, and will feature multiplayer battles with cinematic set-pieces “traditionally found in campaign mode”.  The game will also allow players to shuffle between being a foot-soldier and piloting a large mech called a ‘Titan”. A gameplay demo was recently showcased during Microsoft’s E3 press conference, and the game has been confirmed to an Xbox exclusive.

Titanfall is set for release sometime in 2014. More information can be found at the official website.

Had enough of Lego games? We didn’t think so. Keeping with the trend of blockbuster Lego titles, TT Games is sending Lego Marvel Super Heroes to the rescue this holiday season.

To give you a glimpse of the amazing roster of heroes and villains, as well as non-stop action, TT Games has released a new trailer featuring a collection of previously unseen characters, such as Mr. Fantastic, Wolverine, Deadpool, and Abomination.

Check it out for yourself below and assemble the Avengers September 30th on PS3, Xbox 360, PS Vita, Wii U, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo DS, and PC.

Have you ever wanted to rock climb against competitors from all over the world? Have a desire to compete in global wave races? Well this holiday, you can become a world champion with Kinect Sports Rivals, exclusively on the Xbox One.

This exclusive title will pack a brand new collection of sports including rock climbing, soccer, target shooting, wave-racing, and more. Rivals also features a brand new collection of minigames that utilize the features of the new Kinect. Ghost data will also be saved in the cloud, so you can challenge players from all over the world at anytime during gameplay.

Rare has announced that Kinect Sports Rivals will release alongside the Xbox One this holiday season, so get your head in the game and challenge the world exclusively on Xbox One.

The demo will feature a 3 lap race at the Gran Premi Aperol de Catalunya circuit, and players will have the chance to race as either Valentio Rossi or Marc Márquez.

The full version of MotoGP 13 is set for release on June 21st for the PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation Vita.

Ubisoft’s conference at E3 kicks off at 3pm P.S.T, so stay tuned for more info on Watch Dogs which will probably be heading your way then.

Watch Dogs is set for release this November for the PC, current-gen consoles, and next-gen consoles.