Category: News

While the major news in the Skullgirls world these days is the upcoming release of downloadable character Beowulf, Lab Zero Games’ Peter Bartholow took the time to drop some brand new details on the upcoming PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita ports earlier this morning.

These versions, now dubbed Skullgirls 2nd Encore, will apparently feature a number of improvements to the base game along with new features and modes. One new bit of functionality will allow the fighter to be played between all of Sony’s consoles thanks to cross-play functionality, and those who purchase one will be treated to a free download for the other platform.

As the developers feel the upgrades being made are pretty substantial, however, owners of the original PlayStation 3 release will not be able to take advantage of cross-buy without first buying the game on PlayStation 4 or PlayStation Vita.

More details, including some information on when players will be able to get their hands on these releases, are planned for the near future.

Source: PlayStation Blog, tip via JJK

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS has received its first downloadable character today, flinging classic cast member Mewtwo back into the fray. The powerful psychic Pokémon infiltrated the roster early this morning by way of download codes provided by Nintendo to folks who bought both versions of the title.

But that’s not all; Super Smash Bros. has also been updated to ver.1.0.6, bringing balance adjustments to the table to accommodate developing techniques and the inclusion of a returning fighter. While concrete details as to exactly what was changed are scarce due to lack of official word from Nintendo themselves, the dedicated members of SmashBoards are quickly working their way through the new build for information.

At this point in time, there appear to be some damage reductions for Diddy Kong in an effort to knock him off his throne as well as smaller tweaks for folks like Sonic, Kirby, and Pac-Man. More discussion on this matter can be found here.

Mewtwo will be available for purchase through the Nintendo eShop on April 28.

Sources: Nintendo, SmashBoards

While they’re opening round of Mortal Kombat X competition was between eight specially-invited participants, ESL is ready to begin their free-to-enter series of tournaments across the globe this weekend. The first preseason cups will be held online for folks in North America, Europe, and the Commonwealth of Independent States, allowing players to compete for a $500 first-place prize.

Since they are scheduled to take place on Xbox One and PC, not to mention entirely through netplay, it would only be natural to assume they wouldn’t have the highest attendance rates, but that’s far from the case. Across all three regions, over 500 participants have signed up, with 433 alone from North America. This number is comprised of both unknown and experienced competitors, the latter of which includes folks like EG|Justin Wong, CDjr, fLoE, Happy Medicine, KH|Cat, Noobe, cR|SonicFox, and more.

Even then, how it all will go down is anyone’s guess. Will this early success continue on through the preseason and into regular competition? In any case, much like the Fatal 8 invitational, it’s sure to provide a good look at Mortal Kombat X’s early tactics and the techniques being discovered by strong players.

More details on this event can be found through ESL’s official website.

Source: ESL Pro League

Here’s some fun news for those Skullgirls Encore players who have been patiently waiting for newcomer Beowulf. Our friends over at Lab Zero Games have confirmed that the hype-powered wrestler will be coming to PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC on April 17.

The consistent release timing is great, especially for players on Xbox 360, who generally lag behind their counterparts on other platforms. That said, those on Microsoft’s console will still need to redownload the Required Compatibility Update once Beowulf is released to make him playable.

Similar to previous character additions, Beowulf will be free to download for three months.

This patch will also contain more than a few balance changes for the game’s existing cast, so stay tuned for official word on these adjustments from Lab Zero Games.

To say Mortal Kombat X’s arrival on Steam has been bumpy would be a bit of an understatement.

The port, which is being developed by third-party studio High Voltage Software, launched on PC last night, taking advantage of a brand new system that would allow players to download a small portion of the core content and play earlier than normal while the full game streamed and installed in the background. According to numerous reports, however, the additional packages didn’t show up until hours after Mortal Kombat X officially launched, leaving many unable to move past the main menu.

These additional packages–which by some estimates weigh in at over 30 GB–made the scene sometime later, but have still not corrected the initial problems encountered by players, even after a complete reinstall. At this time, full characters such as Scorpion and Sub-Zero, story mode, online play, and numerous other features are reportedly unavailable, leaving folks who purchased the PC version scratching their heads.

Though not involved heavily with this port, lead developer NetherRealm Studios has released as statement on the matter, saying that they are in touch with Steam and working on a solution. Updates are expected to drop through Mortal Kombat X’s official hub, so stay tuned for more details.

Sources: Kotaku, NeoGAF, Steam

We’ve all been there: you spend hours trying to beat your buddy in a game of Mortal Kombat, finally see their character helplessly dazed before you, and feel an immense desire to seal the deal by ripping them limb from limb.

But, oh no! You forgot the fatality inputs!

Rushing to the pause screen, you leave yourself with scant few seconds to pull off the motions necessary to complete the nasty finisher, allowing your opponent’s body to unceremoniously flop to the ground as a testament to your failure. You may have won the match, yes, but the embarrassment of this missed opportunity will haunt you forever.

If you recently picked up Mortal Kombat X and found yourself experiencing flashbacks to those dark periods of adolescence, never fear, because NetherRealm Studios has including an option for easier fatality inputs in their latest title that’s sure to do just the trick.

Of course, you can access them through the game’s Krypt by collecting currency during your time training up your skills, but why do that when you can drop some extra cash into your PlayStation Network or Xbox Live account and receive them immediately? Both online platforms are currently offering downloadable content that unlocks easy Fatalities in increments of five for a measly dollar or thirty for the reasonable price of five bucks. What a steal!

Oh and, fun fact, if you still can’t quite get the hang of Fatality inputs when these easy methods run out, you can always buy more. Yes, you read that right…they’re disposable.

All joking aside, this isn’t the worst use of microtransactions we’ve seen in the video game world or even in the fighting game genre (don’t worry Street Fighter x Tekken, we’re not gonna go there), but it’s still a little weird to see tactics like this make their way to the console market. I’m eagerly awaiting what they will think up next.

Special thanks to Jeff Gerstmann for bringing this to our attention.

If you’ve played or watched Ultra Street Fighter IV in the past few months, there’s a pretty good chance you’ve experienced this scenario:

This particular issue has come to be known simply as the sound bug: the game begins to make an extremely loud buzzing sound, the framerate slows to an absolute crawl, and the match is rendered unplayable. The bug will continue to occur until Ultra is closed entirely and relaunched.

To our knowledge, this glitch only affects the Xbox 360 version of the game and it can be triggered seemingly at random. Since there is no real way to prevent the sound bug, it has started to make appearances at events worldwide, and it’s causing problems. Entire tournament matches are having to be thrown away and replayed, which has the potential to alter results and affect a player’s momentum mid-set, especially when accounting for the time it takes to reboot the game. During the TOPANGA World League 2 this past weekend, this scenario occurred no less than five times, showing its frequency and ability to derail important matches.

With Capcom Cup bringing the entire competitive scene into the spotlight and allowing players to compete for more money than ever before, it is extremely unfortunate to have this type of bug coming into play during important tournament matches. Nobody wants to lose a chance at winning in one of the fiercest competitions around due to a bug that is entirely out of their control.

“We’re completely aware of this issue and are currently looking into it,” Capcom’s Peter “Combofiend” Rosas said when we reached him for comment. “We’ll definitely provide an update to the community when we have more information to share on this issue.”

We’ll be sure to keep you updated as more details become available.

Anime Expo has begun to announce the special guests for their 2015 event, and the first is none other than the legendary Daisuke Ishiwatari. A veteran of developer Arc System Works, he is perhaps best known for fathering the Guilty Gear series as well as composing themes for it and the BlazBlue franchise.

After a six-year hiatus, Ishiwatari has returned to the event in the wake of his most recent project, Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN-. His appearance will include a Q&A panel along with a free autograph session.

Anime Expo 2015 is scheduled for July 2-5 in Los Angeles, California. Be sure to follow them on Twitter for more updates and a complete schedule closer to those dates.

Source: Anime Expo