Namco Bandai recently explained why Bottlerocket had the development ofSplatterhouseyanked from their hands and given to an in-house team, citing “performance issues” and claiming that the studio wasn’t meeting requirements. Bottlerocket had todayreturned fire, claiming that theywerein fact meeting targets, and did all that was asked of them. “We too have to be careful of what we say, since publishers have to worry about their ‘image’ and will sue small, independent studios who bark back at them too loudly,” stated the developer, quite savagely....

If you don’t know who Grandmaster Flash is, you need to take some kind of modern music history class. Or play Activision’sDJ Herowhen it ships this fall… because he’s in it. Grandmaster Flash contributed both his likeness and exclusive mixes to the game — “DJ Kool & DJ Demo ‘Here Comes My DJ’ vs Gary Numan ‘Cars’” and “Herbie Hancock ‘Rockit’ vs N.E.R.D. ‘Lapdance’.” Additionally, you’ll hear his voice during the game’s tutorial mode, and developer Freestyle Games created an exclusive mix for the game using two of “Grandmaster Flash’s original creations” (whatever that means), “Boom” and “Tap....

You’ll find them quite operational Thanks to a dedicated dataminer, we now know thatStar Wars: Battlefrontwill sport three additional heroes —Princess Leia,Han Solo, andthe Emperor. Files have been located similar to the other announced heroes so far (such as Darth Vader), and SoundCloud clips have been unearthed. Speaking of Darth Sidious (Emperor Palpatine), I got stuck in aStar Warswiki wormhole the other day for two hours looking up Plagueis and various bits of the expanded universe....

HnnnnnNNNNGGGGGGGGAfterburner!Ah. got that out. I grew up as a Sega kid and an arcade freak (and a Yu Suzuki fanboy), soAfter Burnerwas one of those games that always…uh, got me going. The arcade gameAfter Burner Climaxis a revival of the 1980’s classic, and it is now headed our way in console form. Previously only announced for Japan, the US will now seeAfter Burner Climaxon the Xbox 360 and PS3, according to anew ESRB listing....

Both playable at E3 this year Waking up to all of this morning’s Nintendo announcements was like its own mini-E3; the scroll wheel on my mouse simply couldn’t move fast enough. One of the bigger news items to come fromNintendo Directwas the announcement of a new 3DMarioaction game for Wii U from the team behindSuper Mario Galaxy 1and2as well asSuper Mario 3D Land. In other words, the folks we want to be working on moreMario....

What do you choose between an Xbox One, a Wii U, and a PS4? A 3DS Since I tend to play a lot of games on a lot of different platforms, people sometimes turn to me and ask what console to buy. “Should I get a PS4? I heard that the Xbox One has this thing called ‘DRM’ that’s bad.” Or, “is the Wii U good? Should I get that over a next-gen system?...

I knew this game would be exciting to run After getting off the tutorial island forZelda: Breath of the Wild, as I was running toward the final dungeon at the start of the game, I started to smile. The speedrun potential is strong with this new iteration, and with tons of collaborating before and after its launch, folks are already discovering new ways to approach the game. In addition to some sick “floating off cliffs onto horses” action, there’s also a new mechanic called “whistle sprinting....

Atlus’ portable version of one of their most popular games of all time is coming to the PSP very soon: July 6th. You don’t have to ask me twice to play the game I’ve already played a couple of times again — I lovePersona 3. But if you were on the fence for this PSP port, maybe this list of changes in this new version will help you decide. I had the privilege of seeing more ofPersona 3 Portablein action again this week....

Not content with selling a game without some sort of DLC on offer, Capcom has revealed some info on three extraResident Evil 6Mercenaries maps, which are retail pre-order specific. The three extra maps on offer are Rail Yard [Best Buy], Catacombs [GameStop], and the High Sea Fortress [Amazon]. In situations like this, regarding series I have a passion for, I literally have no idea what to do. If the retail specific DLC is something as inconsequential as an “XP boost”, or aesthetic bonuses, ultimately it’s not a big deal....

Tons of items Rocket Leaguekeeps the free DLC train rolling with its “Rumble” mode, coming this September across all platforms. In short, it’s bringing a bit of car combat action to the proceedings, with wacky items like “The Boot,” which kicks enemy cars, and the “Grappling Hook,” which pulls players towards the ball. See the below list for a full rundown on everything. As I’ve said many times in the past, I was sad to see the car combat genre pretty much die out, but having little tidbits like this keep the spirit alive is enough of a consolation....

It still can’t touch handhelds, though The Japanese market certainly loves its handheld devices, but for at least one week, a console game is king.Super Smash Bros.for Wii U was the top selling title in Japan this week, moving 227,527 units in the first few days since its release. Rounding out the top five were four 3DS games —Pokemon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire,Derby Stallion Gold,Aikatsu! 365-Hi no Idol Days, andSuper Smash Bros....

You guys may remember a movie calledThe Golden Compass.While out searching for games to play on a show Spencer and I came across the game based on this movie. This movie had bears wearing armor…BEARS IN ARMOR. So naturally we picked it up and wanted to share it with you guys. That was a year ago, now we are here, preparing to play a game that is presumably about bears in armor....

Spoilers inside Frog Fractionswas a breath of fresh air when it launched in 2012. (Has it really been that long?) Theunconventional gamewas full of surprises and left a lasting impression on pretty much everyone who stuck with it. The developer, Jim Crawford, successfully launched aKickstarter for a sequelin 2014, andFrog Fractions 2could have been hidden in plain sight ever since. There’s beenlotsofspeculation, but no one had discovered the true sequel toFrog Fractionsuntil now....