Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII Release Date June 6, 2013

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII is the third entry in the Final Fantasy XIII series, and today, we’ve got the game’s release date along with their E3 2013 trailer!

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII is coming Feb 11th, 2013 to Xbox 360 and PS3.

Konami Pre-E3 2013 Show June 6, 2013

E3 is less than a week away and Konami is jumping ahead to show what their plans are for this year’s show.  If you couldn’t wait to see who will be the newest voice of Snake for Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, by the end of this video, you will know!

E3 is June 11th-13th at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, CA.

Halo: Spartan Assault Announced June 4, 2013

Today, Microsoft and 343 Industries has announced the next game in the Halo franchise, Halo: Spartan Assault.  Set between the events of Halo 3 and Halo 4, Halo: Spartan Assault looks to focus on the SPARTAN-4 program, who made their first appearance in Halo 4, but without any backstory or explanation to accompany their existence.

This looks to be more of a casual game release than a major one, as it looks to be directed primarily at players interested in free-to-play games with the option to buy premium in-game content.  This is completely unlike any Halo game that has come before it.

Halo: Spartan Assault is coming exclusive to Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8.

Legend of Zelda Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons Rereleased May 30, 2013

For those of you who may have missed out on two classic portable entries in the Legend of Zelda series, you now have a second chance to experience them.  The Legend of Zelda Oracle of Ages and The Legend of Zelda Oracle of Seasons are out now for download on the Nintendo 3DS through the Nintendo eShop.

I first became aware of these games during The Angry Video Game Nerd’s exploration of the Zelda timeline.  While James Rolfe admits he wasn’t that angry in the video, it was a great video on the history of Zelda video games.  What interested me about these games was that they made use of a special Link System, which enabled extra sequences for gamers who played both games.  Nintendo has announced all of the Link System features are intact in this rerelease.

Legend of Zelda Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages are out now for download on the Nintendo 3DS through the Nintendo eShop.  You can download these games for $4.99 US each until June 20th, 2013.  After that they’ll be at their normal price of $5.99 US.

Resident Evil Restaurant May 30, 2013

What we call Resident Evil in the United States, Japan refers to as Biohazard, and boy did Capcom decide to go all out.  They opened up their own Biohazard Grill and Café in Japan!  While the cafe’s designers admit that seeing zombies is not analogous to a pleasant eating experience, they were able to recreate the look and feel of the game’s environments.  Designed to take place after the events of Raccoon City has passed, the restaurant recreates areas like the S.T.A.R.S. headquarters, with props, replicas, newspaper clippings, and more!

So take a trip back to 1997 and take a look at it for yourselves!

Why can’t we have nice things like this in the states?

rain Story Trailer May 30, 2013

I’m really excited about rain.  It was announced some time last year as a Playstation 3 exclusive downloadable game.  In most cases, I don’t write too much on this site about a downloadable game’s development, but in this case I just can’t resist.

rain tells the story of a young boy chasing after an invisible girl.  When he goes after her, he becomes invisible as well, and only the raindrops can make his form visible.  He’ll have to traverse the very Parisian-looking rainy night to seek out the invisible girl, all the while avoiding dangers as a beautiful soundtrack plays.

Nothing I write here about the game can be as impressive as seeing it for yourselves.  Here’s a look at rain’s latest trailer.

rain is coming Fall 2013 exclusive to the PS3.

Destiny – The Law of the Jungle Trailer May 23, 2013

Bungie Studios made a name for themselves over ten years ago for creating Halo, and with it, the video game blockbuster.  Now, Bungie’s latest title is an entirely new breath of fresh air, and now we have the first official trailer for the game in anticipation for its unveiling at this year’s E3.

While this trailer is clearly pre-rendered, Bungie promises they will unveil the first official gameplay footage for Destiny will be shown on June 10th, 2013 at Sony’s E3 Playstation press event.

Destiny is coming to the PS4, PS3, Xbox 360 and possibly further platforms.  Exclusive content will be included with the PS3 and PS4 versions.

Alan Wake Deals This Week May 23, 2013

Following yesterday’s announcement from Remedy about the future of Alan Wake, Remedy is heavily discounting the Alan Wake series on both the PC and the Xbox 360 this week.

For you PC users with an internet connection, Remedy has partnered with Humble Bundle to make the PC versions of Alan Wake and Alan Wake’s American Nightmare available through the service.  You can pay any amount you wish, and distribute it however you decide between Remedy, Humble Bundle, or charity.  They are offering downloadable versions of the two Alan Wake games, in either a DRM-free download or STEAM version if you prefer.  Remedy is also including exclusive content with the purchase.  Some of the bonus content was previously only available with the Collector’s Editions of the game, but they’re also including tons of bonus content that has never been made available before.  You can check out the Humble Bundle Sale here.

For those of you who may prefer to play the Xbox 360 versions of the series, Xbox Live has you covered.  Alan Wake, Alan Wake’s American Nightmare, and all the downloadable episodes for Alan Wake are available to download at a heavy discount for this week only.  You can purchase the full version of Alan Wake on the Xbox 360 for just $5 US.  The two Alan Wake downloadable episodes have also been discounted to around $3 US a piece.  Alan Wake’s American Nightmare, which is 1200 MS Points normally, has been heavily discounted to around $4 US a piece.

If you’ve never played this cult classic, regardless of your platform of choice, now is the best chance to take a look at it.  Just remember, this deal is only valid for this week.  Xbox Live’s discount will go until the 27th of May, and as of the time of writing the Humble Bundle offer is only valid for six more days.

Alan Wake and Alan Wake’s American Nightmare are out now for the Xbox 360 and PC.

Halo Television Series Announced May 22, 2013

In a very surprising move, yesterday at the Xbox One Reveal Event, 343 Industries made a very interesting announcement.  A Halo TV series is in development, with help from the very famous director Steven Spielberg (Jurassic Park, Jaws).  I think this is a great move, as Steven has worked on some very gritty war-related projects in the past included Band of Brothers, and The Pacific, and a realistic war style could work perfectly in a live-action Halo series.

Details were scarce on story, however the promotional image shown during the event featured the tagline “Wake up, John”, which is a very clear reference to the Master Chief at the beginning of Halo 4.

From the looks of it, while produced for TV, this series will likely be broadcast exclusively through Xbox Live, and not cable or satellite.  This looks to be a similar distribution system to what shows like Arrested Development are doing, which is produce new episodes exclusively to air on streaming services like Netflix.  This will probably be a perfect fit for Halo, and the Xbox One, as Xbox One has greatly expanded on the Xbox 360’s streaming television functionality, and will likely offer an internal cable or satellite box for digital cable/sat subscribers.

Remedy’s Message to Alan Wake Fans May 22, 2013

For those of you who missed the news yesterday, Remedy officially announced their next game at the Xbox One reveal event, and while it looks amazing it is not Alan Wake 2, as many fans (myself included) hoped it would be.

Sam Lake, the creative director of Remedy has posted this video up with an explanation as to why they’re not working on Alan Wake 2 next.  It’s a very somber video, which details the ins and outs of game development, as well as production.  Any people interested in video game development should give it a watch.

Quantum Break is coming exclusive to the Xbox One.