Bungie App Updated for Destiny Beta July 16, 2014

In anticipation of the start of the Destiny Beta Test tomorrow, the Official Bungie App has been updated and is now the Official Destiny Companion.

Originally released as a way for players to track their progress in Halo Reach and unlock some exclusive multiplayer content, the Bungie app has been a constant companion for me since it was released. Since Bungie split from Microsoft, the app has been a tool for browsing Bungie.net on a mobile device, but we have expected for some time that the app would be updated to an essential game companion once Destiny was close to release. In fact, one of the first preview videos for the game showed the developers using their mobile app to communicate in the game when not playing it.

You can download the Destiny Companion App from your SmartPhone’s App Store right now or if you already have the Bungie App installed, it will become the Destiny Companion after updating it to its latest version.

The Destiny Companion app is free of charge. You do not need to be a part of the Destiny Beta Test to use the app.

The Destiny Beta Test starts tomorrow on the PS3 and PS4. It is coming to the Xbox 360 and Xbox One on the 23rd.

Pokémon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire Gym Leader Trailer July 14, 2014

I can’t remember a generation that Pokémon Trainers have been looking forward to Nintendo remaking more than Generation 3, and at E3 this year, Nintendo gave players a brief look at how this generation will look on the Nintendo 3DS. Today, the guys at Nintendo have just released a first look at not only the game’s Gym Leaders but also a look at the game’s Elite Four.

Included in the list of trainers you will be facing in this game you’ll see a brief look at what the Pokémon Gym environments will look like. There’s also a first look at Secret Bases, little areas you’ll be able to customize and share with your friends. I can’t believe how great they look on Nintendo’s latest handhelds.

Oh and Pikachu likes to cosplay.

Pokémon Omega Ruby and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire will be coming November 2014 exclusively to the Nintendo 3DS/2DS.

Halo: The Master Chief Collection RTX 2014 Panel July 9, 2014

Couldn’t make it to RTX this year?  No worries, we got you covered.  343 Industries did a one hour panel on their upcoming Halo compilation for the Xbox One, Halo: The Master Chief Collection.  Here’s the entire panel, unedited, for the RTX presentation.  The panel not only shows off some never before seen footage of the game’s interface, the developers go into some pretty detailed stories about Halo 2’s development that I have never heard before.  Give it a watch, trust me, it’s worth the hour.

Halo: The Master Chief Collection is coming November 11th, 2014 exclusive to the Xbox One.

The Wolf Among Us Episode 5 Released on PC July 8, 2014

Telltale Games has announced the fifth and final episode of their hit adventure game series The Wolf Among Us has been released on PC. To celebrate, here’s the game’s launch trailer. If you haven’t been playing the series up to this point I would advice you not to watch as it does contain spoilers for earlier episodes.

The fifth episode will be coming to other platforms this week. PS3 players can expect it very soon. Xbox 360 players should be able to download it tomorrow. It will be coming to iOS later this week.

The Wolf Among Us is available now on the PC, PS3, Xbox 360 and iOS.

Destiny Beta Release Date July 7, 2014

The folks over at Bungie have officially announced the release window for the highly-anticipated Destiny Multiplayer Beta Test.  As stated at the PS4’s launch, the Beta will open to PS3 and PS4 players first on July 17th.  There will be a short period between July 21st and July 22nd when the Beta will be offline for maintenance.  When it goes back online on July 23rd, Xbox 360 and Xbox One players will have access as well.

The Destiny Beta Test is open to all players who have preordered the game and registered their unique preorder code on Bungie’s Website.  If you haven’t preordered the game yet or registered your Beta Code, now will be a good time to do that.  Unlike the Destiny Alpha Test, anyone who participates in the Beta during its testing phase will receive an exclusive reward.

The Destiny Beta will end on all platforms, July 27th.

Destiny is coming September 9th, 2014 to Xbox One, Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and Playstation 4.

Halo: The Master Chief Collection Terminal Trailer July 6, 2014

343 Industries gave the first live playable demo of Halo: The Master Chief Collection at this year’s RTX Convention.  To celebrate that showing, Microsoft has officially released the newest trailer for the game.  At first glance, it seems to focus on The Arbiter, one of the heroes of Halo 2, but to me it seems like this trailer includes footage for all new terminal cutscenes that 343 plans to include with The Master Chief Collection’s updated version of Halo 2

Four single-player games.  All multiplayer maps.  4000 Gamerscore.  An all new updated version of Halo 2 with entirely new cinematics all on one disc.  Can you seriously believe this game is only going to cost $59.99 US?

Halo: The Master Chief Collection is coming November, 2014 exclusively to the Xbox One.

PokemonCenter.com Counting Down to Launch July 3, 2014

I have to admit I have been jealous of Japan for quite a while. It is really difficult to find merchandise for Japanese made video games here in the United States. Because of that, merchandise for some of my favorite games from the Land of the Rising Sun like Catherine, Metal Gear Solid or the Silent Hill series can be very hard to come by.

One thing you might know about Japan is it is the home of Pokémon. What you might not know is that Japan has Pokemon Centers located all throughout the country, just like in the games. Unlike the games, where the Centers serve as communal areas for Pokémon Trainers on their Pokémon journey, real-life Pokémon Centers are retail stores where you can find all sorts of exclusive merchandise there, games, movies and other collectibles.

When I first found out about the Pokémon Center stores, I thought they were pretty cool. Some of the content sold in Pokémon Centers have never been made available anywhere else. If you want to hear about how much non-Japanese Pokémon players have missed just in the past few years, I recommend checking out JWittz’s YouTube Channel and watching a video he posted produced by fellow YouTuber TamashiiHiroka.

Well, have I got a big announcement to make today. Continuing with today’s Pokémon news, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company have announced the imminent launch of PokemonCenter.com, a one stop website for Pokémon fans in the US to purchase the latest exclusive Pokémon merchandise.

Currently the site is only offering a few items including a Pikachu Plush toy, but there is a countdown clock indicating that the full site should be launching within the next 35 days! Can’t wait to see what they have in store for us.