While players wait for some new titles, there are still a number of older titles joining the Nintendo Wii U line-up with some minor additions. One of those is Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes, which released on consoles last year with critical acclaim. It sold around 3.5 million copies across all platforms and received a BAFTA award for best family game.

On Wii U, players will be able to use the GamePad as a helpful map when scouring through the large city of Gotham, but they’ll also assemble a team of heroes from the touchscreen. Additionally, the game performs in off-TV mode and allows for a multiplayer experience that doesn’t clog up each other’s screen. Still, we hope that its price stays on a lower side, as the game is already in budget range for any other platform. There’s a short trailer for its release that lets you see the kooky story behind the game.

Click here to view the embedded video.

A slightly more ambitious game for the Wii U is Sniper Elite V2, which also released this week. Players go back to the World War era to complete a set of deadly missions with a sneaky sniper. It famously includes close captured shots of people having bullets run through them. Most importantly, it allows for testicle kills. We played it on PC and PS3 and it’s quite the processing hog, so it’s nice to see this land on Wii U as well. Added incentives once more include a map and weapon selection. Also, close captured shots are viewable on the pad as well.

It’s a shame that these ports lack resourcefulness to such a degree that they’re all just following a pattern: Select something, use it as a map, and watch stuff on it. We’re always more inclined to developers catering to a platform specifically than to make a homogeneous assimilation of all available formats. Still, it’s a bonus for anyone that missed the games in the first place and needs some Wii U games to tide them over.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Deep Silver has announced a special edition for Saints Row IV. Since its resurrection, after the demise of THQ, the action-packed game will offer gamers a Commander In Chief edition, to protect the world from an alien invasion in style.

Not afraid to ruffle a few feathers, this tongue-in-cheek title will pack the special edition with American apparel, such as an Uncle Sam outfit in red, white and blue colors. A tad racier; it also has a Screaming eagle, which is a jet in the form of an American bald eagle, which shoots missiles from its claws and releases a shrieking Sonic Scream. Oh, but that’s not all: No American is complete without their ‘Merica Gun, which has fire, missiles and bullets all in one red, white and blue package.

Square Enix has announced that preorders for Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn have started, as well as for its collector’s edition. Additionally, the massive online game (MMORPG) will official launch on August 27, 2013 for both PC and Playstation 3 alike.

Select retailers will also grant buyers certain incentives. Most importantly, players can receive Early Access to the game, prior to launch. Characters can don a Mog Cap, because Moogles are cool. Our favorite is a Caith Sith Doll Minion that will follow players around the realm of Eorzea.

Helm of Light

A limited first run of copies will also include the Helm of Light DLC, which features the iconic headwear of early Final Fantasy titles.

The collector’s edition will feature this helm as well, plus several other things, like a Baby Behemoth Minion, a fearsome Coeurl mount and Behemoth Barding for your Chocobo. Physical items include a hardcover art book of 80 pages, a disc called The Waning of the Sixth Sun that catalogs the rebirth, 5 art cards, a security token to protect your account and a Sounds of Eorzea soundtrack. An artistic collector’s box wraps up the whole.

In a post-Guild Wars 2 world, Square Enix feels confident that the MMORPG can still rely on subscriptions starting at €10.99 a month. We’d like to confirm or deny that it is, but our Beta application is so convoluted, Square wouldn’t even allow us to log in to our first account to redeem our Beta voucher. At least, that gives us an indication that it’s secure, probably.

As a classy touch, Final Fantasy XIV is free for anyone that owns the shoddy original. More so, Square Enix is upfront about the game not being compatible with early 12GB Playstation 3 models, as its download file requires more space than the hard drive can handle. Please, act accordingly when considering a purchase.  Added internal hard drives will be needed for these models.

Moogle Cap

Caith Sith Doll Minion

Perfect World Entertainment, publisher of games like the Torchlight series and many an MMO, has launched Star Trek Online: Legend of Romulus. A new chapter commences with this update for the massive multiplayer RPG (MMORPG) on PC.

Since its rather slow launch, Star Trek Online has seen quite a few changes, with the most important one being that it converted its model to a free-to-play MMORPG. Thanks to this, it has survived long enough to finally unveil its first full expansion with Legacy of Romulus. It introduces Romulan and Reman story arcs, plus an update for Klingon factions from level 1 up to 50. Naturally, this content will come with Romulan characters, plenty of ships and a ton of enemies to overcome. Actress Denise Crosby will reprise her role as the Romulan Commander Sela. A launch trailer depicts the story of this theme.

Click here to view the embedded video.

After the destruction of their planet, the Romulan scatter throughout the universe to survive. This is narrated by a dramatic voice, though it does offset somber tones with a few colorful shots of bustling villages. However, there is still plenty of conflict, as players will need to overcome the Tal Shiar regime. We get to see droid battles and space fights with plenty of ships. There’s even a sort of Spartan vibe by the end.

It’s always great to see a struggling MMO eventually find its place and then thrive once more.

One more deal for today, as Bundle Stars launches another crazy deal with 4 Steam releases for just a buck. For just €0.91, you can buy the games shown below:

• Post Apocalyptic Mayhem
• Robin Hood: The Legend of Sherwood
• Pacific Storm
• RIP Trilogy

As expected, the first one is a rather hectic title, set in a Mad Max universe. In Post Apocalyptic Mayhem, player race against others in a vehicular combat system. It features cars and explosions, just how you like it. Things are a little less hectic in the strategy title where players control Robin Hood and his Merry Men and lay waste to the evil armies of Prince John. Sneak, set traps, ambush and overcome the dreadful nights with your cunning. More intricate strategy can be had with Pacific Storm and its extensive, informative menus that allow you to customize to your liking, before jumping into battle yourself. There’s a decent mx of strategy and simulation in this one. Finally, RIP Trilogy is for fans that can’t get enough of top-down shooters. There are event some vehicles in this one, if you’ve ever wanted to see a tank from the top.

Buy this deal called the Outlaws Bundle here.

You know that yours truly is always on the prowl for cougar pussy great deals and we’ve even discussed the Be Mine 8 Bundle before. Still, in this rare case, we’d like to state once more that you should pick up the bundle, as it has added new games to its roster.

Most importantly, the package now includes Guncraft, which isn’t even out right now. That’s right; you’ll get a brand new game in an indie bundle. That hasn’t happened since Botanicula pretty much caused a fit by being attached to a Humble Bundle at launch. As you’d think from the name, Guncraft is a multiplayer oriented game that combines gunplay and Minecraft building element in a series of game modes and maps. If that’s not to your liking, it’s even possible to import your own Minecraft maps with the Substrate XNA engine. Have you ever wondered if your replica of Westeros would fend off an angry army? This is your chance. Guncraft is available from the $5 tier that unlocks all games.

Also present in that tier, Blades of Time offers another must have to the roster. Even if it’s not that great overall, this ambitious title mixes time manipulation in its universe in quite a unique way. That’s why it’s our winner for most overlooked game of 2012. We’d like to say that the madness stops here, but there’s even more, as $1 now also yields the illustrious remake of Karateka, which launched late last year. It’s from the maker of the original Prince of Persia and features music from Grammy award winner, Christopher Tin.

Again: Get the Be Mine 8 Bundle here.

Hurray, the Weekly Sale returns to the Humble website. Without any tricks attached, gamers can now buy none other than the Alan Wake series at a pay-what-you-want level. This includes both the Collector’s Edition for Alan Wake, as well as the spinoff, Alan Wake’s American Nightmare.

While it is nice that Alan Wake bundles all previous downloadable content, such as The Signal and The Writer, the real kicker here is the added content. Anyone that purchases a bundle will receive a plethora of added goodies to their games. Bonus material includes:

• Early Alan Wake builds (our favorite)
• Harry Garrett Show
• Making of videos, movies, episodes
• Concept art
• Sheet music
• Screenplays
• Files
• Wallpapers
• Comic books
• More stuff!

Seriously; that right there is a ton of things that will keep you busy for a while. It seems like everyone is picking at the Xbox One reveal like a vulture. Remedy Games was one of the only ones to show a new and mysterious project during yesterday’s Microsoft reveal. Their making something called Quantum Leap Break.

Buy the Alan Wake Weekly Sale here.

As we’re always prepared to share new deals with you, we’ve taken a look at a new bundle site called PlayInjector. It will work partially as a way to offer deals to consumers and partially to set up funds for developers and entrepreneurs.

Bundles work with a certain dynamic that offers a basic package of 4 games for a pay-what-you-want deal and adds a featured title for a minimum set price above that. Buyers can then choose to distribute their donation between the company, developers or charity. However, developers will automatically be given 30% of the pie, while a noted charity will be given 10%, which understandably leaves 60% of the price to be divided at will. A first edition will go up on May 24, 2013 and feature a core set of the following games, plus a featured title:

• Jack Keane
• Alien Shooter
• Alien Shooter 2
• Into the Dark
• Feature: Vampire Secrets: Eternal Love – $15+

On the other side, the Game Starter platform will help small companies drive funds from the public by featuring their project. Backers that choose to donate to a certain game have a certain advantage towards pledging, as they can be given a full refund when the game releases and sells. However, this refund consists of store credit, which can be later handed towards new projects. Applications can be made to have the store credit refunded to a bank account. Should the project fail, backers will naturally not be charged. It works a little like the crowd funding site IndieGogo on that aspect.

As a whole, PlayInjector has a lot of similarities to the popular Indie Gala work scheme. PlayInjector’s goal is to bring both gamers and developers to one central place with its dual project. The site is up right now, but PayPal transactions aren’t possible just yet, so don’t forget to wait for the deal to go live at the end of the week.

Take a look at PlayInjector here.

Their Toki Tori games are available on that other next gen platform: the Nintendo Wii U. However, Microsoft has a long struggle with indie development. While the platform is very popular among indie developers, the process and obscurity of its existence is always a cause for worry.

Known detractors for the Xbox issues include Team Meat, when they lashed out at the lack of support for the release of Super Meat Boy, which is documented in the documentary Indie Game: The Movie. Also, recently developer Brian Provinciano, known for Retro City Rampage, voiced issues with Xbox development on Twitter. He stated that it cost more than any other platform to perform, while also selling less in return. When we discussed this over mails, Brian mentioned: “At the moment, I only plan to do future projects for Sony/Nintendo/PC platforms. No platform is without weaknesses, but when I provide suggestions, both Sony and Nintendo listen and follow through with improving things based on feedback. My experience with Microsoft was the opposite, and I have lost hope that things will improve on their platforms.” In retrospect, it seems like he’s right on the money.

The latter also urged developers to start developing for the PS Vita, due to Sony’s welcoming of indie games. In addition, Two Tribes is also looking to Sony for their games, as they’ve noted that their PS4 kits have just arrived.

It seems that the Xbox One reveal isn’t sitting right with everyone. For more information about the reveal, you can check our full recap here. Tell us what you like (or don’t like) about the new Xbox One; the new one, the one that we haven’t had in our homes yet. Dammit, Microsoft, couldn’t you have called it the Xbox U or something?

Today was Microsoft’s big reveal of the Xbox One.  The short press conference, however, left many questions unanswered.  Do you have to install games?  Do you have to be connected to the internet at all times?  Will it play used games?  We’ve got the answer to these questions, and many more that weren’t revealed during the press conference.

Do you have to install games?

Yes.  All Xbox One games must be installed to be played.  Unlike the days of the PS3, however, this comes alongside some benefits and conveniences.  Firstly, you can begin playing a game as soon as it starts installing.  No waiting for it to install before you get to play.

Additionally, installed games can be played without putting the disc in the tray.  Once you install a game, you can rest the disc comfortably on the shelf and switch back and forth between all your games as if they were digital.

Will it play used games?

Well now, here’s the tricky one.  We mentioned that you can play games without the disc in the tray.  Clearly that is going to lead to some limitations, otherwise everyone would just install the disc and then pass it to their friends to install on their machine.

After installation, Xbox One games are tied to the account they were installed on.  If you want to install the game on another account, you must pay a fee (no word yet on what that fee will be).  What does this mean for having multiple family members in the same house that want to play the same game?  No word yet on that, though a recently removed Q&A page on Microsoft’s site claims that they will have a means to handle that.

Do you have to be connected to the internet?

Microsoft’s answer to this is very Orwellian.  ”Xbox One isn’t always online, but requires an online connection”.

Disecting this, it would seem that yes, you generally need to be connected to the internet to use your XBox One.  Per Microsoft, the reasoning behind this is that Microsoft is giving developers the option to offload some of the computations in their games to the cloud, even single player games.  Obviously, this wouldn’t work if you’re not connected to the internet.

On the flipside, the previously mentioned removed Q&A page assured that there would be means to play games when an internet connection was unavailable, possibly with degredated performance.

Is it backwards compatible?

No, the Xbox One will not play 360 games or previous gen XBLA games.  Major bummer here, especially on the digital content.

What are some other tidbits?

Alongside these monster items, several small details have leaked out that look promising.  The Xbox friends list was raised to 1000.  More importantly, the Xbox One contains the ability to suspend and resume games.  This means you are no longer stuck looking for a save point when you get a multiplayer invite.  You can now suspend your game, go play a different game, watch Netflix, etc, and then resume your previous game right where you left off as if you’d never stopped playing.  In a time where consoles are designed to make us always accessible to a quick MP invite and hop-over, this feature is long overdo.

Lastly, the XBox One will not function without the Kinect being connected.  All consoles come with a Kinect.