Pokémon Bank Launched February 5, 2014

It’s over a month late, but Nintendo and The Pokémon Company have finally launched Pokémon Bank in North America.  Now, all 3DS owners who wish to bring their Pokémon from the fifth generation Pokémon games to the latest games in the Pokémon franchise can finally do it!

The Pokémon Bank service costs $4.99 US a year.  Anyone who downloads and activates the service before March 14th, will receive a thirty day free trial.  The Pokémon Bank app takes up 239 Blocks.  Pokémon X or Pokémon Y required.

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII Lara Croft Costume DLC Trailer February 5, 2014

You’ll be able to modify Lightning’s abilities in real-time in the third entry of the Final Fantasy XIII series by changing her costumes on the fly.  Each costume gives Lightning new attacks with their own strengths and weaknesses, and you will need to cycle through them constantly in order to remain on the offensive.

Square Enix has already announced they plan to release several exclusive costumes for Lightning as DLC, and some of them have already been released, either through preorders or bonuses for playing the demo.  Today, Square Enix has announced they’re bringing the costume of the iconic star of Tomb Raider, Lara Croft, to Lightning Returns.  Let’s see it in action.

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII is coming February 11th, 2014 to Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.

Bioshock: Infinite – Burial at Sea Episode 2 Release Date February 5, 2014

The developers over at Irrational Games have announced today that the second and final episode of the Burial at Sea downloadable expansion for Bioshock: Infinite will be launching on March 25th.  If that is too much of a wait for you, take a look at this brand new preview for the game.  From the looks of it, we’ll be taking control of a new playable character.

Bioshock: Infinite is out now on the Xbox 360, PC and Playstation 3.  Season Pass holders will be able to download Episode 2 at no extra charge.

LocoCycle Price Dropped February 4, 2014

Major Nelson is reporting that LocoCycle, a downloadable launch title for the Xbox One developed by Twisted Pixel Games, has been dropped in price by 40-50% depending on what region you live in.  I loved the previous games made by Twisted Pixel, and because of that LocoCycle was the first game that I downloaded after setting up my Xbox One, and was the first Xbox One title I completed.  If you were on the fence about giving it a look, now would be a great time to check it out.  You can watch our review of it below.

And here’s our Let’s Play of the game’s opening.

LocoCycle is out now exclusive to Xbox One.  It is coming to the Xbox 360 and PC.

Inside the Square – Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII Director’s Cut February 4, 2014

The Director’s Cut of the Behind the Scenes documentary series for Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII, dubbed Inside the Square, has been released today.  It combines all three parts of the Inside the Square web series into one thirty minute video.  If you had any questions about the development process for the third installment in the Final Fantasy XIII series, take a look at this.

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII is coming February 11th, 2014 to the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Anniversary Edition Free on 3DS January 31, 2014

I could not be happier with Nintendo right now.  Just as soon as I completed all the actions in the Bravely Default demo, I checked the Nintendo eShop and found Nintendo had once again taken my advice.  The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Anniversary Edition is back on the 3DS’s eShop and you can download it for free right now up until February 2nd, 2014.

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Anniversary Edition is a special promotional port of The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords, originally released bundled with the game The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past for the Game Boy Advance.  It is redesigned to take full advantage of the features of the 3DS, including wireless multiplayer.  The game was originally created as a special promotion for The Legend of Zelda’s Anniversary, and was released for free only for a short time.  As this period of release took place before the release of the 3DS XL, I was not lucky enough to be able to download this game, and seeing the game’s listing in the official Hyrule Historia only served to put salt on that wound.  Now that it’s back out, I couldn’t hit the download button faster.

As far as I know, Nintendo has not widely reported on this.  Their website makes a small mention of the event, but I cannot recall a single message on their Twitter Feed or YouTube Channel.  Regardless, if you have a 3DS or plan to pick one up before the 2nd of February, you have no reason not to give this game a download.  Nintendo said it may be a very long time before they bring it back.

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Anniversary Edition is free right now exclusively to the Nintendo 3DS.

Bravely Default Gameplay Trailer January 30, 2014

Yesterday, Nintendo released the  latest gameplay trailer for Square Enix’s newest RPG franchise, Bravely Default.  Inspired heavily by the gameplay of earlier Final Fantasy games, Bravely Default takes full advantage of the 3DS’s features (including StreetPass), while still offering a ton of options you will recognize from earlier Final Fantasy games, like a great jobs system.  I’ve put several hours into the Bravely Default demo, and I hope to be lucky enough to complete it and unlock all of the demo’s extra bonuses before the full version of the game gets released, because the demo’s unlocked bonuses carry over into the main game.  So check out this latest gameplay trailer.  If anything, it should be something fun to watch while you wait for Norende to finish rebuilding.

Bravely Default is coming February 7th, 2014 exclusive to the Nintendo 3DS.  You can download the demo right now off the Nintendo eShop.

Final Fantasy XIII RETRO-spective January 30, 2014

The third entry in the Final Fantasy XIII series, Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII, is coming in just a few weeks.  To help prepare anyone interested in picking it up who may not have played any of the previous Final Fantasy XIII games, Square Enix has produced a FANTASTIC retrospective on the series story, with a little twist.  Instead of cutting together gameplay footage from the game’s CGI cutscenes, this new video is done very much in the style of the classic 16-bit RPGs like Final Fantasy VI (Final Fantasy III is the US SNES version’s name) and Chrono Trigger.  This could have been done because that era is considered by many to be the finest era in the history of Console RPGs.  Well, check out the video below to see for yourself.  It really puts the RETRO in retrospective.

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII is coming February 11th, 2014 to the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.  A Collector’s Edition for the game is for sale exclusively through the Square Enix Online Store.  Anyone who preorders any version of the game from a participating retailer will get an exclusive Lightning costume based on Cloud’s outfit and Buster Sword from Final Fantasy VII.

Microsoft Buys Gears of War IP January 27, 2014

Hot off the presses, Microsoft has announced the purchase of the Gears of War franchise from Epic Games.  Next to Halo, Gears of War is one of the biggest exclusive franchises that the Xbox 360 held over Sony platforms since the Playstation 3 launch.  However, up to today, the Gears of War property was owned by developer Epic Games, and if they chose, they could have released it on other platforms like the PS3.  With Microsoft buying the property, there is no chance of a Gears of War game coming to a non-Microsoft platform any more.

This is highly unusual for Microsoft, as they typically acquire IPs by purchasing the companies that developed them outright.  My guess is that Epic either wished to stay independent, or Microsoft had no interest in acquiring extra companies right now.  The details of the deal are still pretty secret, so we don’t know how much Microsoft paid for the franchise yet, but Microsoft did acquire Epic team member Rod Fergusson (seen here) as part of the deal.

Microsoft says they plan to announce their future plans with the IP later this year.  My bet is they may announce something at this year’s E3.

inFAMOUS: Second Son Behind the Scenes – Make it Rain January 27, 2014

The latest release in the inFAMOUS series, inFAMOUS: Second Son, is going to take place in the city of Seattle.  If you’re going to reproduce Seattle for a gaming environment, you’re going to want to go all out, and that means also recreating Seattle’s signature weather patterns.  Thanks to the power of the Playstation 4, the game’s developers plan to do exactly that, and here’s how they are doing it.

inFAMOUS: Second Son is coming March 2014 exclusive to the Playstation 4.