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New Post has been published on http://www.batteredjoystick.com/2014/06/01/demo-for-abomination-tower-now-available/

Demo For Abomination Tower Now Available

A demo for the 2D procedurally generated platformer, Abomination Tower, is now available.

“You play as Headless, the rejected creation of a mad scientist. Headless is trapped in the tower with other dangerous abominations. You must journey up the tower to escape! Along the way you unlock heads that can be equipped, each with its own unique ability to aid in your escape.”

Abomination Tower is being developed by Adrian Sugden. Adrian is a one-man-band independent game developer from Australia. The game is currently listed on Steam Greenlight, so check it out if you’re interested.

Additionally, some screenshots for the game were also released. You can check them out down below.

New Post has been published on http://www.batteredjoystick.com/2014/05/26/the-most-underrated-games-of-last-gen-the-bj-show-episode-2/

The Most Underrated Games Of Last Gen - The BJ Show: Episode 2

It’s been a long time coming (for the video version anyway), but in the second episode of “The BJ Show” we count down our favorite underrated games of last generation, discuss an underwhelming start to the new generation of consoles, rank the Star Wars movies, and ask whether Ubisoft’s big franchises share too many similarities, among other TOTALLY EXCITING things…

Let us know what you think of the show, and although its on a hiatus right now – we’d love to pick it up again in some form in the not too distant future. Also, if you feel like subscribing to our YouTube channel – I’d sure appreciate it!

New Post has been published on http://www.batteredjoystick.com/2014/05/23/new-gameplay-footage-of-the-order-1886-revealed/

New Gameplay Footage Of The Order: 1886 Revealed

Earlier today Sony revealed a little more gameplay footage of Ready At Dawn’s upcoming PlayStation 4 exclusive title The Order: 1886, on their official Twitch channel.

You can check out the “sneak peak” of the game yourself below, thanks to GamesHQMedia who captured part of the stream.

The Order: 1886 was officially announced at Sony’s E3 press conference last year, and the alternate history 3rd person shooter will no doubt get some more stage time at their showing this June.

New Post has been published on http://www.batteredjoystick.com/2014/05/23/the-wolf-among-us-episode-4-release-dates-revealed/

The Wolf Among Us Episode 4 Release Dates Revealed

Telltale Games has announced that The Wolf Among Us – Episode 4, titled “In Sheep’s Clothing,” will be released soon.

Episode 4 will be released on May 27 on PC, Mac and PlayStation platforms, while it will be available on the Xbox 360 on May 28. The episode will also hit iOS devices on May 29.

Telltale also released a trailer for the episode. You can check it out down below.

New Post has been published on http://www.batteredjoystick.com/2014/05/22/amplitude-kickstarter-sucessfully-funded/

Amplitude Kickstarter Sucessfully Funded

Developer Harmonix’s first Kickstarter campaign, for a next-gen successor to one of the studio’s first games, Amplitude, has officially been funded. Though the fundraiser looked shaky in the early days, the $775,000 goal was reached with a mere 21 hours to spare.

Since the Amplitude property is owned by Sony, the new game will be exclusive to PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4, and will feature music by artists such as Anamanaguchi, Freezepop, and Jim Guthrie.

Harmonix is most well known as the creators of Rock Band, Guitar Hero, and Dance Central, but released the original Amplitude over ten years ago for the PlayStation 2. The game, and its predecessor Frequency, were well received but under-performed commercially and the action-rhythm franchise has been dormant ever since.

If you want to hop on board the Kickstarter and help Harmonix achieve some of their stretch goals, act quickly, as the crowd-funding ends in about 20 hours!

New Post has been published on http://www.batteredjoystick.com/2014/05/21/new-screenshots-for-the-wolf-among-us-episode-4/

New Screenshots For The Wolf Among Us – Episode 4

Telltale Games has released three new screenshots for “In Sheep’s Clothing,” the fourth episode of The Wolf Among Us. You can check out the full set of screenshots down below.

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New Post has been published on http://www.batteredjoystick.com/2014/05/19/halo-5-guardians-revealed/

Halo 5: Guardians Revealed

343 Industries has revealed that Halo 5: Guardians will be released on Xbox One in the fall of 2015.

The developer made the announcement on a blog post. Bonnie Ross, general manager at 343, detailed further saying “Halo 5: Guardians is a bigger effort than Halo 4. That applies to the content and scope of the game, as well as the technology in what’s now a brand new and more powerful engine. Certainly there are some core elements carried over from prior games, but we’ve invested a huge effort in retooling our tech to take full advantage of the Xbox One’s hardware and ecosystem to create worlds and experiences worthy of next-gen.”

Bonnie Ross confirmed that the game will run at 60 frames per second, have dedicated servers, and will also be powered by a new engine. She also hinted towards a major reveal at the Xbox E3 2014 Media Briefing on June 9 at 9:00 AM PDT. “Many fans noted that I was very deliberate with my phrasing on stage at E3 last year. I spoke about a ‘journey,’ rather than a destination – and that journey definitely begins in 2014 with a giant leap, rather than one small step.”

343 also revealed some teaser art, which you can check out down below. 343 Industries Executive Producer Josh Holmes clarified the confusion on the image tweeting “For everyone speculating about the mysterious Spartan in Halo 5: Guardians, he’s not Palmer (or Cortana!). He’s a NEW character. :)”

New Post has been published on http://www.batteredjoystick.com/2014/05/15/far-cry-4-release-date-announced/

Far Cry 4 Release Date Announced

Ubisoft has announced that Far Cry 4 will be released on November 18 in North America and November 20 in Europe for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC.

Far Cry 4 will be set in the Kyrat, a fictional region in the Himalayas and will include a variety of climates consisting of snowy and sunny regions.

Executive producer at Ubisoft Montreal said they “wanted to take the franchise to the next level and create a game that will surprise and exceed fan expectations.” He didn’t reveal much else, but Ubisoft has mentioned before that the game will remain similar to Far Cry 3 and game features such as hunting and outposts will be returning.

Ubisoft also announced that if you pre-order Far Cry 4, you’ll receive a “free upgrade to the Limited Edition which includes Hurk’s Redemption, a series of three action-packed single-player missions featuring the popular character Hurk from Far Cry 3’s DLC. The Limited Edition also includes Hurk’s signature harpoon gun called ‘The Impaler’.”

New Post has been published on http://www.batteredjoystick.com/2014/05/15/titanfalls-first-dlc-expedition-hits-today/

Titanfall's First DLC, "Expedition" Hits Today

The first of (at least) three DLC map packs for Respawn Entertainment’s Titanfall will be made available later today. The “Expedition” pack will add three new maps to the game: Wargames, Runoff, and Swampland.

The pack is a part of the game’s season pass content, so gamers who purchase (or have already purchased) the bundle will soon have the content unlocked. For those who didn’t, the map pack will cost $10 on its own.

Titanfall has so far done very well for EA, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see a lot more DLC coming down the line.

New Post has been published on http://www.batteredjoystick.com/2014/05/13/kinect-less-xbox-one-coming-this-june-for-399/

Kinect-Less Xbox One Coming This June For $399

Earlier today Microsoft announced that on June 9th they will be releasing a new SKU of the Xbox One which will ship without their Kinect camera. This new bundle will set customers back $399, which importantly puts the system at pricing parity with Sony’s hotly selling PlayStation 4.

Head of Xbox, Phil Spencer, sites fan input for their change of heart regarding the packed-in Kinect, but went on to reassure all Xbox fans that the Kinect is still an integral part of the system’s future:

We’ve heard that you want more choices from Xbox One. You want a wide variety of options in your games and entertainment experiences and you also want options in your hardware selection.

To be clear, as we introduce this new Xbox One console option, Kinect remains an important part of our vision.

It’s interesting to note that when the Xbox One was originally announced last year, Kinect needed to be connected at all times for the system to work – But this attitude change will no doubt be great news for would-be Xbox One gamers who have been waiting for a price drop.

New Post has been published on http://www.batteredjoystick.com/2014/05/11/valves-international-dota-2-championships-prize-pool-eclipses-3000000-in-24-hours/

Valve's International Dota 2 Championships Prize Pool Eclipses $3,000,000 In 24 Hours

Valve’s International Dota 2 Championships are set to break eSports records yet again, as in less than 24 hours since being made available to the public, sales of 2014′s version of The International Interactive Compendium have skyrocketed the tournament’s prize pool from its initial $1,600,000 to a staggering $3,332,345 (as of time of writing).

The International Compendium is an interactive program that fans use to follow the events leading up to and including the big show itself, set to take place July 18th-21st in Seattle Key Arena – part of the proceeds of which go to increasing the event’s overall prize pool.

Similar to last year’s iteration, which ended up giving 2013′s event a total available winning of $2,874,381, depending on just how much the prize pool increases overall, fans who purchase the Compendium will be rewarded with a number of stretch goals, ranging from in-game experience boosts, to special cosmetic items, to a new 1v1 mode for the game itself. The Compendium is also a hub for fans to make predictions about the tournament, help select an All-Star team for a exhibition game during the weekend, and complete challenges to increase its level and unlock greater rewards.

Last summer’s event had the largest prize pool in the history of competitive gaming, and thanks to astonishing day-one sales of the new Compendium, this year’s event has already far exceed even those massive numbers.

New Post has been published on http://www.batteredjoystick.com/2014/05/09/the-walking-dead-season-2-episode-3-release-dates-revealed/

The Walking Dead Season 2 Episode 3 Release Dates Revealed

Telltale Games has announced that The Walking Dead Season Two – Episode 3, titled “In Harm’s Way,” will be released soon.

Episode 3 will be released on May 13  for PC and Mac worldwide, and for the PlayStation 3 in North America.  It will be available on the Xbox 360 worldwide and on PlayStation 3 in Europe the next day on May 14. The episode will also hit iOS devices on May 15.

Telltale also released a trailer for the episode. You can check it out down below.

Last week a set of screenshots appeared for the game. We saw Clementine being surrounded by walker’s and William Carver leading the group of survivors into his compound. You can see the full set of screenshots here.

New Post has been published on http://www.batteredjoystick.com/2014/05/08/the-elder-scrolls-online-delayed-on-consoles/

The Elder Scrolls Online Delayed On Consoles

Bethesda has announced that The Elder Scrolls Online will be delayed by six months on consoles.

The company announced the news in a blog post. They explained further saying ”We continue to work on the console versions of ESO, and game development has been progressing steadily, but we are still working to solve a series of unique problems specific to those platforms. Integrating our systems with each console manufacturer’s networks—which are both different from the PC/Mac system as well as different from each other—has been a challenging process. It has become clear that our planned June release of the console versions isn’t going to be possible. Though we have made great progress, we have concluded that we’ll need about six months to ensure we deliver the experience our fans expect and deserve.”

Despite the bad news, Bethesda announced that anyone who purchases and plays the PC/Mac version of The Elder Scrolls Online by the end of June will have the opportunity to transfer their character(s) to either console version when they are released. You also won’t have to pay twice, those eligible will only pay £12.99 / $20 for the console version.

New Post has been published on http://www.batteredjoystick.com/2014/05/07/driveclub-playstation-plus-edition-details-revealed/

Driveclub PlayStation Plus Edition Details Revealed

Evolution Studios has announced the details for the PlayStation Plus Edition of Driveclub.

Announced on the PlayStation blog, Evolution Studios’ Community Development Manager Jamie Brayshaw revealed that the PlayStation Plus Edition of Driveclub will be scaled-down and will include one location (India), 11 tracks, 10 cars and access to every game mode.

“Driveclub PlayStation Plus Edition is designed to be a quick and easy way for gamers all over the world to join the Driveclub community,” Brayshaw said. “You can take part in all the game modes, set, send and compete in challenges, and race online against others in the Driveclub community.”

PlayStation Plus subscribers can also upgrade to the full version of the game for $50. If you’re not a PlayStation Plus subscriber, you can still purchase Driveclub at the PlayStation Store or your local retailer on Blu-ray for $60

Additionally, a video was released explaining the differences between the PlayStation Plus Edition and blu-ray version of the game. You can check it out down below.

New Post has been published on http://www.batteredjoystick.com/2014/05/07/ps-vita-slim-available-in-north-america/

PS Vita Slim Available In North America

Though we’ve seen it coming for a little while now, Sony’s slim PlayStation Vita is finally available in North America. The system comes in a special Borderlands 2 bundle though, which includes the system, the game, and an 8GB memory card.

The slim Vita is 20 percent slimmer and 15 percent lighter than the original Vita. It has rounded edges to make it more comfortable to hold. The Vita has 1GB of memory, a LCD screen and a better battery.

The Vita still hooks up with the PlayStation 4 with Remote Play. For those of you that don’t know, that’s where your Vita will connect with your PS4 and you can play console games on your portable device.

Sony has plans to release over 100 games this year for the PS Vita to add to the library of over 1,000.

New Post has been published on http://www.batteredjoystick.com/2014/05/07/cover-athlete-for-nba-2k15-revealed/

Cover Athlete For NBA 2K15 Revealed

2K Games has announced that Kevin Durant, who was recently crowned NBA league Most Valuable Player, will be the cover athlete for NBA 2K15.

Kevin Durant, who plays for the Oklahoma City Thunder, responded by saying “It’s something that I’ve been longing for a while, and I’m just grateful for the opportunity.”

Durant is an avid player of the NBA 2K series. “I begged them to put me on the cover,” he said. “I really think nobody plays the game as much as I do. I wanted to be a part of it.”

LeBron James, who plays for the Miami Heat, was the cover athlete for NBA 2K14. The game was released on October 1, 2013 in North America for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. It was also a launch title for both the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The game was praised for its highly detailed graphics and fun gameplay. Despite some server issues, it was still a blast to play.

New Post has been published on http://www.batteredjoystick.com/2014/05/07/full-bore-has-been-set-loose-on-steam/

Full Bore Has Been Set Loose on Steam

Full Bore has officially been released on Steam. When you hear the name Full Bore, you may imagine some sort of battling or bruiser game. In fact, this game is quiet the opposite, as it focuses on puzzles and exploration. Full Bore is set in a civilization located below the surface of the Earth, where there are many crumbling mines, old technological wonders, and arcane ruins.