‘Severed’ trailer shows that the PS Vita is full of life
If you need proof that the PlayStation Vita is a haven for creative games, Drinkbox Studios just delivered it in spades. The Guacamelee developer has posted a fresh gameplay trailer for Severed, its surreal dungeon crawler for Sony’s handheld, and it’s clear that this isn’t your usual slash-em-up. The blend of a nightmarish art style with touchscreen swordplay looks exciting, and more than a little trippy — think Mexican folk art with a horror vibe. There’s still no firm release date for Severed, but the title is definitely shaping up nicely.
Source: PlayStation Blog
Make sweet, sci-fi music with ‘Amplitude’ on PS4 in January
Amplitude blends rhythm gaming with sci-fi spaceship action, and it’s heading to PlayStation 4 on January 5th, for $20 via the PlayStation Store. This is the new, Kickstarted version of Harmonix’s beloved 2002 PlayStation 2 franchise — Amplitude raised $844,127 on Kickstarter in 2014, partially because the crowdfunding cards were stacked in its favor.
Source: Harmonix
Beloved ‘Super Smash Bros’ mod Project M is finished
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U is a staggering game packed with imaginative characters, stages and modes, but some players still prefer older instalments in the franchise. Super Smash Bros. Melee for Gamecube is one of the most popular, especially in the competitive scene, and for years a mod known as “Project M” has been retooling the Wii version, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, to play more like its predecessor. It’s been worked on for years by a community group called the Project M Development Team (PMDT), which, to many fans’ dismay, has now decided to stop and move on.
Source: Project M
The next phase of Engadget’s evolution
A year and a half ago, I told you that Engadget’s editorial mission was going to change. Since then, we’ve delivered on that promise, telling stories about how and why technology is affecting the world we live in. Our editorial evolution continued, but the site remained largely untouched. It’s time our visuals caught up with our vision. And unlike Darwin, we didn’t need any birds to show us the way.
Welcome to Engadget 5.0.
Apple game of the year ‘Monument Valley’ is now free on iOS
If you’re looking for a free iOS game, an interesting new option has just opened up. Puzzle-adventure game Monument Valley managed to pull off the hat trick of being fun, zen and beautiful all at the same time — which helped garner it Apple’s Game of the Year and Design awards for 2014. The title, normally $4, is now showing as “free,” though there’s no word on how long that offer will last. After launching in May last year, it had earned $5.8 million by January 2015, mostly from sales to iOS gamers (creator Ustwo said that only 5 percent of Android sales were paid).
Via: @Wario64 (Twitter)
Source: iTunes
Hololens (briefly) shown streaming ‘Halo 5’ and Netflix
We’ve known for awhile that you can beam practically anything to Microsoft’s augmented reality headset, Hololens, but seeing someone playing Halo 5 on a TV that seemingly appears out of thin air is still pretty damned neat. And it’s not just Microsoft’s disappointing first-person shooter that’s getting the augmented-reality treatment: Candy Crush and a Netflix stream by way of an Edge browser window are on display as well. The clips below are brief and look pretty impressive, but based on firsthand experience with the device, these videos don’t quite line up with the actual user experience.
Via: Thurrott
Source: Varun Mani (YouTube)
‘Dead or Alive’ maker denies restricting game launch due to sexism
You know that Koei Tecmo staffer who claimed that Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 wasn’t shipping to Europe or the US due to concerns about sexism? Apparently, he was speaking out of line. The developer has posted a statement saying that the rep doesn’t reflect its “opinion or business strategy.” In other words, it wants you to take those sexism claims with a grain of salt.
Source: Koei Tecmo Europe (Twitter)
Samsung made a web browser for the Gear VR
Yes, there are already plenty of great games for Gear VR, but Samsung wants to keep enriching the platform with content. That’s why it is introducing Internet for Gear VR, a web browser for people who own its smartphone-powered virtual reality headset. The company says you can use this new app, which is currently in beta, to enjoy the internet in a more immersive way. Along with offering support for 360-degree and 3D video streaming, Internet for Gear VR also handles HTML5 media playback. Naturally, you’ll need to type web addresses along the way, so Samsung has added voice recognition to the application.
Source: Samsung
Playdate: Exploring a new world in ‘Xenoblade Chronicles X’
So you want a big, open-world adventure with stunningly huge maps and a plot that revolves around the extinction of the human race, but Fallout 4 isn’t available for the Wii U? Monolith Soft has you covered. Sort of. Xenoblade Chronicles X takes those same themes and applies them in a wildly different manner — putting the last of humanity on a gorgeous, lush planet somewhere in the depths of space. Join Tim Sepala and me as we look at Nintendo’s take on open world gaming and, quite honestly, marvel at how gorgeous this game is despite the Wii U’s less powerful hardware. The fun starts at 6PM Eastern / 3PM Pacific right here in this post, on the Engadget Gaming homepage and, if you want to join us in chat, at Twitch.tv/Joystiq.
Kinect sensors could lead to safer X-rays
You don’t want to stand in front of an X-ray machine for any longer than necessary, and scientists have found a clever way to make that happen: the Kinect sensor you might have picked up with your Xbox. Their technique has the depth-sensing camera measuring both motion and the thickness of your body to make sure that doctors get a high-quality shot using as little radiation as possible. That’s particularly important for kids, who can be sensitive to strong X-ray blasts.
Via: EurekAlert
