Kirby’s Pinball Land, which as you’ll recall was a Game Boy title from the early 90s, has been given a “General” rating by the Australian Classification Board, which is completely unsurprisingly given the game’s adorable subject matter. What is surprising, however, is the fact that this game was classified at all, considering the fact that it hasn’t really been announced or anything.
It’s possible that Kirby’s Pinball Land is coming to the eShop in the land down under, but it’s also possible that the game could be included in that 20th anniversary collection Nintendo announced last month. Either way, classification is usually a precursor to an official announcement, so we’ll keep out eyes peeled for press releases with fluffy pink letterhead.
XSEED has localized Ys Origin and will release the game on Steam later this month, according to Siliconera. The gane details the back story of the twin Goddesses Reah and Feena and contains three playable characters – each with its own story and gameplay. After the core game is completed, players will be able to try out Time Attack, Boss Rush, and Arena modes. Upon release, the game will contain widescreen support and Steamworks integration.
Time to grab your pick axes, everyone. In today’s episode of The Minecraft Show, the boys learn a valuable lesson in modding your game, and cheating. It’s all very touching. More to the point, they learn the terrible truth that the mod they’ve installed makes it impossible to cheat. Quelle Horror! And other shocked expressions!
Is Microsoft already working on their next console? That’s the claim made by a source speaking to IGN. According to this source, at the Austin branch of Flextronics, manufacturer of the current Xbox 360, production has already begun on the next version of the Xbox, codenamed Durango by Microsoft.
Naturally, this new rumor tracks with news in early 2011 that the company had already begun hiring staffers to work on ‘Next Gen Console Architecture‘, but IGN’s source also provides other very specific details. Apparently, Flextronics started an entirely new testing group, which they made separate from the rest of the company, devoted to the device; this predated production by many months. IGN speculates that it isn’t intended to be the final version of the console, but a dev kit intended for game designers in advance of the new console’s consumer production.
Microsoft, you will recall, straight up ruled out any new console at this year’s E3, so it’s unlikely we’ll see any real news in 2012. A stab in the dark guess says they’ll save the reveal for E3 2013, with a holidays 2013 release window, but obviously this could be completely off base.
Game Informer took to the Internet today to announce that its cover story this month would be about Elder Scrolls Online, the heretofore unannounced MMO based on Bethesda’s extremely popular RPG series. But it looks like that cover story has already hit the Internet, and with it, a trove of information about the game.
The story is contained in a 19-page PDF that details just when the The Elder Scrolls Online will be set and what will be detailed within the story. Three factions are fighting to control Tamriel: the Nords, Argonians and Dunmer form the northern and eastern territories under their Ebonheart Pact; the Aldmeri Dominion contains the Altmer, Bosmer and Khajiit make up the Aldmeri Dominion in the southeast; and the Bretons, Orcs and Redguard make up the Daggerfall Covenant and occupy the northwest. All three factions are resisting the control of the Imperials and trying to expand their own interests, and that means fighting each other.
From the sounds of things, it’ll be much like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, although the story says that character leveling will be deeper and include more abilities. Expect to spend about 120 hours before hitting max level. You’ll also be able to join every guild, with the Thieves, Fighters and Mages all represented, as well as, I’d assume, the Dark Brotherhood.
The Elder Scrolls Online is expected to launch next year.
The original Defender Chronicles [ $ 1.99 ] launched in the summer of 2009 and offered a unique take on tower defense with its vertically designed levels and inclusion of RPG elements. We thought it was great in our review and we even picked it as a top strategy game of 2009. Since that time Defender Chronicles developer Gimka has been hard at work on a sequel, and at long last the game is nearly upon us.
Gimka has recently posted some information about Defender Chronicles 2in our forums, and based on some comments there from beta testers the sequel is even better than the original. It’s set to include 4 new heroes, 32 new abilities, 4 factions and 57 different units. There will also be a whole slew of new items and equipment to play around with, and the maps in Defender Chronicles 2 will be bigger and longer than in the previous game. Finally, it will be a Universal app with Retina Display support.
Click through the following screens provided by Gimka that introduce some of the characters in the game.
Unfortunately, one thing we don’t know about Defender Chronicles 2 just yet is a specific release date, but we’ve been assured that it’s coming relatively soon. Next week some additional information as well as a new trailer will be released, and we’ll be looking to get our hands on the game early to check it out. Keep your eyes peeled for more on Defender Chronicles 2 in the very near future.
Details from Game Informer‘s Elder Scrolls Online cover story have already begun appearing online, it would seem. The game has been in development since 2007 by a team of 250, according to a post on NeoGAF. It will feature full voice acting throughout and will be played from a third-person perspective (generally not the most efficient way to play previous Elder Scrolls titles). As mentioned in yesterday’s announce, The Elder Scrolls Online takes place 1000 years in the past and will span almost all of Tamriel, though certain areas are being saved for the purposes of future expansions.
Zenimax Online is apparently doing its best to strike a balance between the Elder Scrolls series and traditional MMOs, trying to appeal to players of both. In other words, yes, expect to use a traditional MMO hotbar to access your skills. You can also expect epic player-vs-player battles – up to 100-vs-100 in some instances – as factions compete to take over Cyrodil’s Imperial City, with the winning faction installing its greatest champion as emperor. The NeoGAF post has plenty of other details and, of course, July’s issue of Game Informer has even more.
Kirby’s Pinball Land rated in Australia originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 05 May 2012 03:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
