E3 2013 provided some phenomenal sights, sounds and experiences thanks to the upcoming launch of the PS4 and Xbox One. Yet identifying the best games of E3 can’t really be done on the last day of the show or the following week. With all the big screens and bigger marketing campaigns, it’s too tempting to blindly follow the pretty blinking thing. That’s why, for the second year in a row, we’ve purposefully held our Best of E3 awards for six weeks – long enough to be immune to the multimedia blitz, and far enough away … [Read more...]
Skylanders E3 2013 Limited Edition “Hot Dog” Toy Giveaway
Activision's Skylanders series came out of nowhere to create a "toys to life" genre that took the video game world by storm, invigorated nascent toy collectors everywhere and inspired Disney to create a Disney Infinity game that feels quite similar but uses Disney franchises rather than original characters. It just so happens that at the E3 trade show, Skylanders has taken the video game world by storm as well, creating E3-exclusive Limited Edition toys that are only available to certain attendees. Their Limited Edition … [Read more...]
Need for Speed Rivals PS4 Demo Video Footage from E3
Forza Motorsport 5 and The Crew got a lot of attention at E3, but I couldn't resist the all-out arcade fun of Need for Speed Rivals. I've been a fan of the NFS series for years now, and Rivals looks to put the NFS series on steroids. For 15 minutes of behind-closed-doors time at E3, I got to play the Cops vs. Racers mode, and I did pretty well for the first two-thirds of the demo. By "pretty well," I mean I had the most points on the Racer team, avoiding the Cops with (surprising) skill and racking up points along … [Read more...]
Battlefield 4 “Angry Sea” Single-Player Demo Gameplay Video
Battlefield 4 needs no introduction - unless you're talking to gamers who are more enamored with single-player games than multiplayer ones. In that case, BF4 -- if not the entire Battlefield franchise -- may very well be foreign ground. Much like the Call of Duty series, the Battlefield games have a massive multiplayer following and attract millions of gamers for that reason alone. But contrary to popular opinion, there is a single-player narrative, and a surprisingly large one in the case of Battlefield 4, which we saw … [Read more...]
Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag PS4 E3 Gameplay Demo Video Footage
One of the most impressive games we saw at E3 was Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag. This next chapter in Ubisoft's popular Assassin's Creed franchise follows a completely new character who, as you might guess from the game's title, assumes the role of a pirate. The E3 demo we saw behind closed doors was running on a PS4, although versions are also planned for Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii U. In the video below, you can see for yourself a full-HD video of the Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag PS4 demo, complete … [Read more...]
PS4 E3 Showing and Pre-Orders Help Justify Sony Spin-Off, Says Hedge Fund CEO
Outside of its DRM strategy and price, the Xbox One had a good showing at E3 -- it just wasn’t able to power through the goodwill for Sony’s PS4. That post-E3 momentum has continued for Sony, to the point that PS4 pre-orders sold at such a rapid pace that getting a PS4 launch-day bundle at Amazon now appears to be the only way to guarantee a PS4 on its ship date. Even more encouraging for Sony, at least from an investment standpoint, is a large hedge fund today increasing its ownership in Sony stock and claiming that a … [Read more...]
Official: PS4 Games to Cost $59.99, Same as Xbox One
Sony may have gotten a ton of goodwill from gamers for pricing the PS4 at $399, a full $100 less than Microsoft priced the Xbox One, but when it comes to PS4 games, the two console manufacturers and game publishers are exactly aligned, as Sony has confirmed that first-party PS4 games will cost $59.99. That price point is the same as the current-generation of games, and it's also the same as Xbox One games. What's most interesting about Sony's PS4 game price confirmation to Shacknews is that Sony Computer … [Read more...]
Fable 3 is Now Free for Xbox Live Gold Members
Lionhead Studios' action RPG Fable 3, which first released in 2010, is now a free download on Xbox 360 for all Xbox Live Gold members. Fable 3 is only a free download until June 30, though, so get it while you can. Xbox Live Gold requires a monthly or annual subscription, whereas the Silver level allows DLC downloads and multimedia elements but not access to online multiplayer matches or free games such as the now-gratis Fable 3. Lionhead's seminal RPG has a host of player-determined skills and attributes, but there … [Read more...]
Disney Infinity Cars Play Set Video Preview
In the days following E3, we've been discussing the newest toys-to-life craze in the videogame world: Disney Infinity. Borrowing a page from Activision's Skylanders games, the latest of which (Skylanders Swap Force) we'll be previewing extensively soon, Disney Infinity uses real-life toys that can be placed on a portal so that figure appears in the game itself. Because it's a Disney game, Disney Infinity has a host of franchises from which to pull, giving it infinitely long legs in entertainment potential. Yesterday … [Read more...]
Disney Infinity Davy Jones Figure Toy Unboxing Video
One of the busiest booths at E3 2013 was Disney Interactive, largely because of their t-shirt press but also because of Disney Infinity, a new game a la Skylanders where real-life toys can be placed on a portal to have that figure/character appear in the on-screen game. I’ve long been a fan of the Disney Parks and Pirates of the Caribbean, so I was eager to see what Disney had up its sleeve for those franchises in Disney Infinity. Lucky me, I got to see Captain Barbossa and Davy Jones. I was fortunate enough to walk … [Read more...]