It won’t be long now…T minus 18 hours and counting until Microsoft finally unveils its next generation of gaming. Now eight years since the original Xbox 360 units shipped (the number one selling console in North America for 28 straight months), Microsoft is finally ready to share its “vision for Xbox, and give you a real taste of the future.”

Everybody knows about the rumors on what the next Xbox could come with including those disheartening always online requirements, every next gen Xbox needing a Kinect or a Kinect-like set up to function as well Microsoft’s continuing lack luster treatment of indie developers. Scroll down to check out what a select group of devs and industry professionals feel about this and want they want to see ouf of tomorrow’s Xbox reveal. Sony has also dropped a brand new PS4 teaser trailer (probably hoping to quell excitement on tomorrow’s Xbox event), where we catch a brief and blurry image of what the hardware could actually look like.

Continue reading “Devs Sound Off On What They Want To See From Tomorrow’s Xbox Reveal + New PS4 E3 Trailer” »

Volition’s fourth entry in its over-the-top Saints Row franchise is set to hit stores this summer on August 20th. The highly anticipated open world title will introduce a host of new features this time around while still maintaing what fans have loved over 11 million times since the series was introduced in 2006.

Along with the game’s new alien enemies: Zinyak and his Zin Empire, Saints Row IV will introduce a host of super powers to the player that are split into two different categories, movement powers and combat powers. As you can see in the recent gameplay video below players will be able to leap over buildings soar around the city, run 90mph, freeze cars and slide them around the streets, throw fire projectiles and much more. 

Continue reading “How SAINTS ROW IV Will Bring “A Level of Freedom of Movement Never Before Seen In an Open World Game”” »

KR-17 is a 32-bit action puzzle-platformer developed by Wonderfling, who has recently started a Kickstarter campaign for the game. Unlike many indie titles in this genre, Wonderfling is pushing KR-17 as a highly story driven experience that is a “no gimmicks” affair with “a quirky little robot” main character “to fall in love with.”

This is a game about meaningful characters “you can relate to and love,” something lead designer Gregory McKnight tells us  he feels “modern gaming has come away from.”

So who is that quirky little robot? You will play as KR-17, “sent to defend the galaxy from a terrorist rebellion,” and more specifically “to subdue a rogue agent operating out of a military installation on the planet Valiant.”

Head below to check out some gameplay footage, a link to the free demo and  our exclusive interview for new details on KR-17. You can also check out some of the game’s soundtrack below as well. Continue reading “It’s Time For a New Hero: Action Puzzle-Platformer KR-17 Has a Character “To Fall in Love With” [Exclusive Images]” »

Today we are taking a look at an interesting hack n’ slash adventure title called Hammerwatch. It has a very strong focus on its up to 4 player co-op as well as a streamlined and simplistic combat system.

Recently Greenlit on Steam the development team described the game to us as a “fast paced pixel art hack and slash game which should be simple to pick up but challenging to play and has a strong cooperative experience.”

You can check out some of the latest gameplay footage and our exclusive interview with developer Hipshot along with a link to the free open beta so you can try the game for yourself.

Continue reading “Co-op Fantasy Hack n’ Slash HAMMERWATCH Gets The Greenlight On Steam” »

Originally created for the 7-day FPS challenge and recently Greenlit on Steam, Receiver is much more than your average first person shooter. Developed by Wolfire Games, the experience takes an extremely unique and somewhat realistic approach to gun handling mechanics along with its minimalistic aesthetic and intense difficulty.

Receiver is a rogue-like experience where players are armed with only a gun, a flashlight and a cassette player. The player will have to learn how to reload and maintain their weapon with an intense amount of detail and precision.

Scroll down to check out our exclusive interview with Receiver programmer David Rosen along with gameplay footage from the latest content update and a developer overview video of the game’s mechanics.

Continue reading “Armed With Nothing But a Flashlight, Pistol, and Cassette Tapes, RECEIVER Immerses You Unique Cyberpunk World” »

Jamie Fristrom is the inventor and creator of the popular swing mechanics as the technical director and designer on Spider-Man 2. He has recently come to Kickstarter with a new title that implements this swing mechanic in a brand new IP. This time around we won’t be swinging around NYC as a super hero, stopping crime but rather as Delilah in a brand new take on the extreme sports genre.

Energy Hook is a new fresh take on a lot of the mechanics and gameplay Jamie has been developing for other major franchises over the years. Harkening back to his work on the Tony Hawk series, Fristrom tells us that the game “combines Spider-Man-like grappling-and-swinging-and-wall-running goodness with Tony-Hawk-like extreme sports trick-doing action.”

Scroll down to check out our exclusive interview with Jamie Fristrom, some prototype gameplay footage and the game’s cell shaded art-style in some early-development screenshots.

Continue reading “Spider-Man 2 Swing Mechanic Inventor Jamie Fristrom Talks: ENERGY HOOK” »

Moon Rift is a 2.5D platformer shooter with a “virtually limitless amount of insane guns to collect!” The game is currently in development by sole creator Sam Hutcher and will be releasing for Android and iOS later this year, followed by PC, Linux, OUYA and Mac releases.

Think a 2.5D Borderlands-like experience with random levels and procedurally generated enemies. “I wanted to focus a little more on the old school RPG feel, Hutcher tells us. “I would have to say game draws a lot of inspiration from games like Zelda or the old Final Fantasies, as well as the shoot em up games like Borderlands.”

Continue reading ““A Virtually Limitless Amount of Insane Guns to Collect!” in The Shooter RPG: MOON RIFT” »

Realmforge is in development on its vampiric stealth-action RPG, DARK. Set to be what the developer calls a “true stealth” experience like the early “Thief and Splinter Cell” games and what will be the first serious vampire RPG game in a while, DARK actually reminds us a little bit of Hitman Absolution meets the supernatural powers of something like Dishonored.

“The core gameplay of a good stealth game should be to quietly observe a given situation, plan your approach and then quickly execute without being seen…we are trying to recapture this experience while adding some new and modern gameplay elements.” – Victor Linke, Art Director, Realmforge Studios

You can check out our full interview below along with some gameplay footage in the “Skills Trailer” below.

Continue reading “Artistic Director Talks About The Upcoming Vampiric Stealth-Action RPG: DARK” »

Ray’s the Dead is a new story driven action-puzzler, where players will take on the role of Ray and his army of zombies. The game will feature “a satisfying blend of action, tactics, puzzle, stealth, and adventure.” Having garnered a great reception at PAX East and in development by Chicago based Ragtag Studio, Ray’s the Dead will be releasing on PC, Mac and Linux “at the end of 2013.”

Comprised of former Stubbs the Zombie developers, Ragtag Studio is inspired by both Stubbs and Pikmin: “It has been said that Stubbs the Zombie could be Ray’s dirty old uncle,” and that Ray can control his horde similar to “how Olimar controls his army of Pikmin.”

Continue reading “Control Your Very Own Zombie Army in The Pikmin Inspired Action Puzzler: RAY’S THE DEAD” »

Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag will set sail later this year on October 29 on all major platforms. Although some may be tiring of its yearly installments, at this point it looks as though Ubi has learned from some of it’s mistakes in AC3 and appears to be bringing the best of what it’s developed upon over the years.

“We’re not the legacy of AC3 only but of all previous AC games and we spent a lot of time analysing the best things we could use from all of them.” – Jean Guesdon, AC4 creative director

Continue reading “What We Want To See From Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag” »

Nyu Media is responsible for bringing over some really high quality Japanese indie titles to North America and Europe. The company has already localized and published nine games and has the “highest number of Japanese indie games (seven titles) published on Valve’s Steam.”

Currently, Nyu Media is working on localizing The Tale of ALLTYNEX through Kickstarter. Developed by well respected Japanese indie game devs SITER SKAIN, The Tale of ALLTYNEX is a trilogy of arcade shooting games that have garnered a strong niche following among the hardcore shmup crowd. The trilogy features a beautifully chaotic, action based gameplay, interesting weapons, adaptive difficulty, and awesome set-piece moments all wrapped up in solid game design and a tight control scheme.

Scroll down to check out our exclusive interview with Nyu founder Seon King along with some gameplay footage from the Tale of ALLTYNEX and a link to the free english playable demo. 
Continue reading “Whatever Happend to Awesome Japanese Games? How Nyu Media Is Bringing JAPANESE Games Back to The Gaming World” »

TUG is not your average fantasy, sandbox RPG and the dev team at Nerd Kingdom is not necessarily made up of your average game makers. TUG is a game that weighs heavily on social sciences and what the dev team calls “visual association.” Made up of academic scientists, game developers and modders, Nerd Kingdom attempts to bring an unprecedented level of realistic, visual feedback to the player in TUG. 

The team even tells us that they were inspired and motivated by the Jace Hall Show, “…Watching Jace and Todd, we saw that people could break out of their norm while still staying true to their culture…” More on this below.

Continue reading “Developers, Scientists and Modders Work To Create a Spellbinding Experience In TUG” »

Tom and Tony Cannon are the founders of the popular EVO fighting game tournament and they have recently taken to Kickstarter to help fund their new game: Stonehearth. Although, this may not be the kind of game you are expecting from these two hardcore fighting gamers, the two have created a beautiful art style and a unique take on the sandbox strategy genre.

Essentially “Stonehearth is a city-management game, where you guide a tiny group of settlers to first survive, then hopefully thrive and grow into a flourishing town,” the Cannon brothers told the Jace Hall Show. Players will need to gather resources, craft tools and items, build structures and protect their settlement from encroaching marauders.

Continue reading “EVO Fighting Game Tournament Founders Tom and Tony Cannon Tell Us About Their New Game: STONEHEARTH” »

With the rise of crowd funded-indie games, we have seen a number of excellent titles heavily inspired by games like Mega Man and the Metroidvania-type experience–and we like it.

In many ways these kinds of experiences are something gamers felt was missing from the AAA eco system that has dominated our consoles and PC’s over the last several years. Today we have another exciting title in that vein. Pittsburgh, PA based developers Robert Maher and Tyler Bud have recently launched a Kickstarter campaign for their sci-fi themed, MegaMan/CaveStory inspired, action adventure game: Rex Rocket.

“Set in Earth’s distant future, Rex Rocket references the classic story of Man vs. Machine. You play as Captain Rex Rocket, a former war hero who now spends his days transporting scientists around to the far reaches of the universe in his epic Star Cruiser, the S.S. Montana.” Continue reading “Meet REX ROCKET: 100+ Levels of Deep Character Development and Mega Man Style Combat (Exclusive Screenshots)” »

Currently in development, third person action/adventure game Son of Nor is set in a “dynamic desert world, which can be shaped by the player’s magic.”

Set in a world where humans are being overrun by a desert lizard-looking race called the Sarahul, with an interesting arsenal of abilities, players will take on the role of a Son of Nor: “a human blessed by the moon goddess, you possess the power of telekinesis and the ability to terraform. Your purpose is to protect what’s left of your race and to save it from almost certain extinction,” lead designer Julian Mautner tells the Jace Hall Show.

Continue reading “Shape The Desert & Deal Out Devastating Attacks With Terraforming, Magic And Telekinesis in SON OF NOR” »

The 1960′s biker gang brawler Ride To Hell: Retribution is set to release this summer for Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and Windows PC. It is being developed by in-house personnel at Deep Silver along with Ferrari Challenge developer Eutechnyx.

On a mission of revenge to bring down a rival biker gang called the Devil’s Hand, players will take on the role of Jake Conway in what senior creative producer Isaac Parakhen describes to us as a “bare knuckle” brawler “reminiscent of 80′s action movies.”

Continue reading “RIDE TO HELL: RETRIBUTION: Senior Creative Producer Talks Brutal “Bare Knuckle” Biker Gang Action and Battletoads?!?!” »

Yesterday developer Curve Studio’s announced the results of the re-naming competition for Stealth Bastard:

Stealth Inc: A Clone in the Dark. The new name came from two of the over 3,500 suggestions, that were then put together to form the full title.

Having already been released for PC in the form of Stealth Bastard Deluxe, the game will make its way to the Playstation 3 and PS Vita this summer.

Continue reading “‘Stealth Inc: A Clone in the Dark’ Wants To Change How You Play Stealth Video Games” »

Flashback is the newest game in the long running Jagged Alliance series and will offer much of what long time fans of the genre will expect as well as a host of new and interesting features. Jagged Alliance began as a DOS game in 1994 and went on to crank out two sequels in 1995 and 1999 respectively. It most recently appeared on the DS in 2009 and as a downloadable game on DSIware in 2011.

What sets this turn based strategy action game apart from the rest? CEO of Full Control Thomas Lund tells us its “Gun porn! Mercenaries!” and “Brothels!” Flashback will feature a slightly b-movie like comedy to it, but that’s not to get it confused with some slapped together casual strategy game–this is as serious and hardcore as we want it to be.

Continue reading “Prepare for “Gun porn! Mercenaries!” and “Brothels!” in The Turn Based Strategy Reset: JAGGED ALLIANCE: FLASHBACK” »

The Realm, a beautiful new adventure game, is a joint venture between award winning art studio Atomhawk Design and developer Lantern Interactive, with well-known composer Richard Jacques (Mass Effect, Jet Set Radio, LBP2) contributing the game’s score. Players will take on the role of a young girl and her new friend Toru, the giant stone golem.

Scroll down to check out the Kickstarter campaign video, some dev diary footage and our exclusive interview with technical director Tom Szirtes.

Continue reading “Play As Young Girl & Giant Stone Golem In Gorgeous Adventure Game THE REALM” »

A.N.N.E is Metroidvania space shooter hybrid, set in a beautiful 8/16bit-like open world. The game’s focus is mainly on exploration but it also features a deep combat system that is pretty unique to this style of game. Created by lone developer Moise Breton with some help from friends and scored by well-known composer Miyamo of Conagusuri, A.N.N.E attempts to push the boundaries of exploration “by blending both on foot gameplay and in-air gameplay,” Breton tells us.

Set on the planet Gnomi the story is set in a world where robots live among humans and where the robots are forbidden by law “to love each other.” Players will take on the role of a robot called No. 25 in search of “every part of his missing loved one” while exploring the planet’s “vast” game world both on foot and in your space ship.

Continue reading “Explore On Foot And In The Air With Dual Perspective, Space Shooter Hybrid: A.N.N.E” »