Her cheerful-but-stern face will keep me on course International plush toy brand Build-A-Bear has announced that it is teaming with Nintendo to produce a brand new range based on the latter’s super-cute social simAnimal Crossing. The company made thesuccinct announcement on Twitter, but did not offer any information regarding characters, prices, or release dates – merely offering a mailing list for interested parties. I’m an interested party. Not particularly because I care forAnimal Crossing, but I do appreciate the hard-working, desk-bound attitude of cheerful good girl and staunch office worker, Isabelle....

One of the biggest surprises for me at PAX Prime was Bethesda’sHunted: The Demon’s Forge. The game caught my eye only very recently, sparking an interest thanks to its modern fantasy aesthetic and elven boobs. Gameplay wise it’s been billed as a cross betweenWorld of WarcraftandGears of War, and if that’s not intriguing, I don’t know what is. Seeing an elf snap into cover is kind of absurd, yet it strangely works....

Classic 2D platforming meets roguelike randomness After nearly three years in development, Levels or Lives’ retro-inspired roguelike pixel art platformerCrystal Catacombsis almost ready to make its debut on Steam. Successfully funded onKickstarterin July of 2012, Maxwell Jensen’s title is described by its creator as a “‘Megavanian’ love letter that utilizesRogue-like procedurally generated levels/enemies/items with a heavy emphasis on classic 2D platforming.” Notable features include five “unique and expansive procedurally generated Crystal Realms, each utilizing different layouts and room designs” as well as “random monsters, treasures, weapons and artifact upgrades” and over “40 different unique enemies and bosses to conquer!...

And nothing will ever change The 2K sports franchises used to have a stellar reputation.NFL 2KandNBA 2Klong-served as safe havens from the inconsistency and frustration that EA’s counterparts offered. WhileNFL 2Kwas put aside due to licensing deals,NBA 2Khas been left with basically no competition. With the top basketball spot securely in place, the series has devolved into a microtransaction and story-driven mess. Instead of focusing on its online servers and actual game play issues that plague the title year after year, 2K confirmed today that the concerns of the faithful will continue to be ignored....

Godspeed, LawBreakers Boss Key is hoping to giveLawBreakersamuch-needed pushwith a free weekend event. From now until Monday, October 2 at 10:00am Pacific, the frantic multiplayer shooter isfreely playable on Steam. Going one step further, the studio is incentivizing new and returning players. 100 randomly-selected free users who play 50 matches during the event will win a Steam key forLawBreakers, and 100 existing users who meet that same criteria will win 24 Stash Drops....

Five acts perform in Texas for one night only MAGFest 11 has come and gone, but as James Hetfield once said, thememory remains. Why should we have to wait a whole year for the next event, though? Why can’t MAGFest be every day, or at least every few weeks? MAGFest organizers have begun setting upancillary events— mini-MAGFests, if I may — starting with “Game Over Austin” at 7 PM CST this Sunday, February 3, at thered7in Austin, Texas....

Mojang has embraced tech culture with their newest April Fools’ joke forMinecraft. The “1.RV” update teases “trendy” items that “get with the times,” including wearables, gadgets, and VR glasses out the wazoo. They also note that the gear “might not come off,” and that since you’ll need to constantly charge, all players get a complimentary USB power block. It’s relatively tame as far as April Fools’ jokes go, but it’s not likeMinecrafteven needs more press....

The Behemoth knows what’s up I’m a jerk who totally forgot about The Behemoth’sGame 4despite playing a fun chunk of the tactical role-playing title alongside its narrator, Will Stamper, and loving every minute of it. So to selfishly put it back on my mind — and to give you a swift reminder as well, if you’re in the market — let’s look at some cupcakes. They’re a healing unit type, and you may deck them out with accessories like lemon meringue or a piece of waffle cone....

While the DSi XL hasn’t evenhit store shelves in the U.S., rumors of a succesor to the DS line of gaming systems have been circulating sincelast year, when we learned that the new system could be landing this year. Even more recently, we’ve heardrumors of dev kits for the system being in developer’s handsat this very moment. Where better to get confirmation of this fact than at a conference for game developers that is full of said game developers?...

For those gamers who love simplicity,N+probably seemed like the perfect title — puzzle solving, clean lines and lots of gravitational challenges. It may have faded from your radar a little bit since its Xbox Live debut, but you may find the flame rekindled when you hear the latest news from Metanet Software: 3 downloadable packs have been submitted to Microsoft. More fromtheir blog: We just submitted three downloadable levelpacks for N+ XBLA (one of which is free), we’ll be posting with more details as soon as we get a launch time....

~SPARKLING ANIME EYES~ Namco Bandai passed along some new screenshots of upcoming PS3 role-playing gameTales of Xilliathat aresuperpretty. They’re all anime-y and colorful and sparkle-y, just how I like my RPGs. You know the kind: huge eyes, wispy hair. Of course, the dialogue shots are the prettiest, and most like an anime, but the battle and overworld shots are still really nice. And speaking of anime, we’ve also included some screen grabs from the game’s anime opening....

Nintendo will soon be allowing downloadable content sales on the 3DS via eShop microstransactions, but only to enhance games that are worth their original asking price. American boss Reggie Fils-Aime said his company is concerned about content being held back and sold to consumers at a later date. “When we sell a game, we want the consumer to feel that they’ve had a complete experience,” he said. “We’re unwilling to sell a piece of a game upfront and, if you will, force a consumer to buy more later....

We did get amiibo though! As soon as theZelda: Tears of the Kingdomsegment hit in the June 2023 Nintendo Direct, my whole body froze. Is this it? What a time to announce a DLC tease forTears of the Kingdom, just as the game is riding high. Well, it wasn’t time, and Nintendo’s marketing team is likely plugging away at data to find out when that might be. For now, we got amiibo....