Is everyone recovered from the St. Patrick’s Day ruckus? Good, then let’s talk gaming. Or Spring! Spring, spring, spring! If you’re (un)lucky enough to live in the Northeast, you’re absolutely ready for Spring. Demonstrating her twisted sense of humor, Mother Nature decided to play another sick joke and stick the Northeast with several more inches of snow less than 12 hours into spring. Enough!!! Anyways… New releases this week feature the current trend in next generation gaming: Remasters! Claptrap, Tiny Tina and Mad Moxxi in 1080p running at 60fps? Yes, please! Sneaking around, hunting Sligs and flatulating on command as our favorite Mudokon Abe? You’re damn right!!! Hurling controllers and spitting vitriol at From Software’s latest maddening creation? Wouldn’t have it any other way...
Bloodborne
Release Date: March 24th, 2015
Platform: PS4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PofO32sS8s[width=650,height=366]
Featuring many of the same action RPG elements of Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls, From Software’s Bloodborne immerses the player in Yharnam fighting its’ bestial denizens while searching for an elusive medical cure all. New features include the addition of guns and melee weapons capable of transforming into a weapon appropriate for your specific combat situation: a short bladed weapon effective in close quarter combat can be transformed into a long bladed weapon for appropriate longer range melee combat. Players can also dual wield-using their gun in one hand while carrying a bladed weapon with the other.
Borderlands: The Handsome Collection
Release Date: March 24th, 2015
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FP6wtkSfbFM[width=650,height=366]
Borderlands on next generation systems!!! Borderlands: The Handsome Collection includes both Borderlands 2, Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel and ALL associated content. Skins, additional playable characters and DLC are all included in this handsome new collection. The collection runs at 1080p and 60fps and includes a new four player couch co-op mode. Four player couch co-op drops the framerate to 30fps. I played couch co-op at Gearbox’s Borderlands Couch Party at PaxEast and the drop in framerate wasn’t noticeable. Additionally, previous generation save files are transferrable platform family to platform family so uploading your maxed out Mechromancer shouldn’t be a problem. All this content should easily satiate Gearbox fans until Battleborn releases!
Infinite Crisis
Release Date: March 26th, 2015
Platform: PC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8haj2oLTKA[width=650,height=366]
Turbine’s MOBA, based on the DC comic of the same name, gets its long awaited PC release. Battle your friends in this free to play game (read microtransactions!) as your favorite Superhero or villain across Infinite Crisis’ many destructive environments. Teams battle as squads to destroy enemy turrets and drones and complete in game objectives all in an effort to capture or destroy the opposing teams power core. Control or destroy the opposing teams power core to lead your squad to victory.
Lego Ninjago: Shadow of Ronin
Release Date: March 27th, 2015
Platforms: 3DS, PS Vita
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErplrSivBNs[width=650,height=366]
Kai, Zane, Cole, Jay, and Lloyd must defend Ninjago from Ronin and his army of dark samurai in the sequel to Lego Ninjago: Nindroids. After Ronin steals their memories with the Obsidian Glaive, the five ninjas forget how to use their elemental powers. Our heroes must race to find their Obsidian weapons, regain their memories and their powers before Ronin finishes his plan and unleashes evil upon Ninjago.
Life is Strange: Episode 2-Out of Time
Release Date: March 24th, 2015
Platforms: PC, PS4, PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WevGdVy8J8Q[width=650,height=366]
Follow the adventures of Maxine Caulfield in Square Enix’s episodic graphic adventure. Maxine discovers her unique ability to rewind time and alter future events. Altering future events, however, is not without its peril. Changes made by Maxine in the present, no matter how small, may lead to big and scary consequences in the future. Life is Strange features five episodes in total with a new episode delivered every seven weeks.
Metal Slug 3
Release Date: March 24th, 2015
Platforms: PS4, PS Vita
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Lw1ZJYRaO4[width=650,height=366]
Metal Slug 3 is a PSN port from the original Metal Slug 3 (2000). Run and gun your way through endless enemies making your way to the final boss battle that awaits. Along the way you’ll find weapon upgrades, Metal Slug tanks and POWs, who when freed, provide random items and weapons. POW’s also provide you with a score bonus when you complete the level. Metal Slug 3 was the first in the Metal Slug series to feature branching paths. Each path leads to the same boss battle, but they’ll differ in terms of difficulty, length, weapon availability and POW numbers.
Oddworld: New ‘n’ Tasty!
Release Date: March 27th, 2015
Platform: Xbox One
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbxRlPZXWss[width=650,height=366]
Oddworld: New ‘n’ Tasty! was developed by Just Add Water as a “ground up remake” of Oddworld Inhabitants classic Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee. Gameplay is still centered around 2D side scrolling puzzle-platforming rendered with a 3D physics engine. The result is 2.5D gameplay-2D gameplay with 3D visuals. Follow Abe in his quest to free his enslaved Mudokon friends from the zulags of RuptureFarms and the evil Sligs and Glukkons that control them. Abe has a trick or two up his sleeve, either directing his Mudokon friends to do his bidding or possessing and controlling Sligs. Oddworld: New ‘n’ Tasty! is a remake of one of the the classic puzzle platformers in gaming history. If you missed the Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee original release, this is your chance to play a true classic updated for the next generation.
Pillars of Eternity
Release Date: March 26th, 2015
Platforms: PC, OS X, Linux
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKoDTzea79Y[width=650,height=366]
Pillars of Eternity is an entirely crowd funded fantasy RPG developed by Obsidian Entertainment. Similar to Baldur’s Gate, the game will feature party based tactical gameplay, a fixed isometric view and 2D pre-rendered backgrounds. Main characters will be customizable based on class, race, sub-race, sex, culture, traits, skills and appearance. Your party can consist of up to six players-all of which are recruited during your adventures through the world. Obsidian revealed that both the plot and setting of the Pillars of Eternity to be original IP.
Slender: The Arrival
Release Date: March 24th (PS4) & 25th (XBox One), 2015
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVFPzyVxuOU[width=650,height=366]
Slender: The Arrival, a survival horror game based on The Slender Man from the Something Awful forums and developed by Blue Isle Studios, is the sequel to Slender: The Eight Pages. Follow Lauren as she seeks to solve her friend Kate’s disappearance. Armed with only a flashlight, she uses clues found in the environment to piece together Kate’s trail all while being followed and tormented by the Slender Man. Blue Isle Studios included several neat game mechanics: the Slender Man’s behavior changes chapter to chapter: an interesting mechanic to keep players uncomfortable and on edge,and looking directly at the Slender Man results in in both audio and video distortion further ramping up the scare.
