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Candy Crush Saga is generally viewed as a highly-addictive, but unoriginal game that survives on microtransactions and rewarding gameplay. With that in mind, it comes as on surprise that the game has dominated the top 4 highest-grossing games of the iOS app store for years. While the creation of the Fallout Shelter mobile game surprised many, it’s not a surprise that the overwhelming popularity of the Fallout franchise has spread to the iOS title, too....

Grand Theft Auto 5 was first released on console back in September 2013, making it 18 months old now. Despite its age, the game continues to top sales charts and make headlines. And with the impending release of GTA Online Heists in a couple weeks, and a PC launch next month, we haven’t seen the last of the game’s domination. In fact, thanks to digital games industry analyst Superdata we’ve learned of another way Grand Theft Auto 5 is beating out other newer video games....

First-person military shooter Homefront, published by the now-defunct THQ, was released in 2011 and received mostly lukewarm reviews that criticized it for its short, bland single player campaign, but praised it for its decent and under-appreciated multiplayer. With Red Dawn screenwriter John Milius onboard as a story consultant, Homefront depicted an invasion and occupation of the USA by Soviets North Koreans in the near-future, with the player cast in the role of helicopter pilot who aids in the attempted re-acquisition of American soil....

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, the long awaited debut game from Curt Schilling’s 38 Studios, is finally upon us. Featuring the combined talents of Ken Rolston (The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion), Todd McFarlane (Spawn) and R.A. Salvatore (Forgotten Realms), Reckoning is a sprawling, expansive open world role-playing game that promises hundreds of hours of playtime. Thanks to the pedigree of those responsible, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning arrives bearing the weight of great expectations....

It’s unfortunate then, that the game’s humor doesn’t quite click so well. SUDA51 has always enjoyed an eccentric sense of humor, but it’s just not conveyed as well in Lollipop Chainsaw. There’s a lot of vulgarity but little of it is grounded with actual purpose or clever delivery. Fans of SUDA51 will easily remember the Big Boner level from Shadows of the Damned - which succeeded in its clever execution. However, when zombies fly at the player saying “I have to poop,” it’s a lot less funny and comes across as though Grasshopper is trying too hard....

Watching a pair of truly skilled fighting game players duke it out is a sight to behold, and professional bouts of Mortal Kombat X are no exception. The Mortal Kombat series has been a mainstay at major fighting game tournaments for a long time, and top-tier competitors’ skills are mind-boggling. Of course, watching people attempt to fumble through a game’s controls - and fail miserably - is also pretty fun. Combine that with how disgusted some elders get while watching Mortal Kombat X, and laughter is sure to follow....

With over 300 changes being made to the existing formula with NHL 12, the latest in EA Sports’ hockey franchise, it’s looking like even long-time fans will have a serious challenge ahead of them. Die-hard fans generally leave their less-seasoned opponents in the dust when it comes to the video game versions of their favorite sport, but if the newest developer diaries for NHL 12 are anything to go by, they’re going to be learning how to play the game all over again....

If I learned anything from PaRappa the Rapper’s eponymous PSOne game (and I’d like to think I did), it’s that kicking and punching are all in the mind. Sadly, despite my dedication to Chop Chop Master Onion’s teachings, it’s going to take more than dexterous mental faculties to succeed in PaRappa’s next game, PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale. Fortunately, SuperBot Entertainment is here to help. For starters, the developer has issued a new PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale strategy video (above) focused on our pal PaRappa....

Since studio movies based on video games seem to be suffering from some kind of ancient curse that makes almost all of them turn out poorly, gamers who are desperate to see their favorite video game characters brought to life often have to turn to fan-made films for a fix. There have been some truly memorable examples of these, including Dan Trachtenberg’s short Portal: No Escape and Half-Life 2 fan film Beyond Black Mesa....

The game that already owns the world record for largest crowdfunded project ever just keeps getting bigger. Star Citizen, the still unreleased game from Cloud Imperium Games, has hit yet another major funding goal and is now above $63 million and counting. The current total unlocks a pair of new ships that will now go into development: the Genesis-class Starliner and the MISC Reliant. The Starliner will give players the option to buy “a next-generation passenger ship at a price that won’t break your budget,” and the Reliant is a starter ship powered by “Xi’An technology”, according to Cloud Imperium....

When Star Wars Battlefront was unveiled at the 2015 Celebration convention last month, fans were excited to see their first real glimpse of what the game will have to offer. Now, we’ve got confirmation that there will be plenty more to see come E3. Gameplay was shown to press behind closed doors at Celebration, but E3 is set to be the first time that in-game footage will be presented for all to see....

With launch trailers tasked with the dual goals of giving one last dose of marketing hype, while beginning to celebrate the game’s reception among fans, this week holds two very different releases. The boasts made in the launch trailer for Splinter Cell: Blacklist are fair, since the game has already received positive reviews prior to launch (read our own review as proof). As such, the team at Ubisoft saw fit to honor Blacklist with one more musically-infused trailer so common for the company these days....

Ubisoft’s new online racing game, or “CaRPG” as The Crew cleverly referred to as, launched this week and yet there are no reviews. Unlike the sketchy embargo date on Assassin’s Creed Unity reviews - without a doubt to hide its issues for as long as possible from the community - the review process for The Crew is being held up justifiably since it really is an MMO in a lot of ways and must be experienced as such....

Publisher Majesco Entertainment and developer 1st Playable Productions has just released a new trailer and several screenshotsfor The Hidden, a 3DS augmented-reality, paranormal adventure that uses the system’s camera to simulate ghost hunting in the real world. Not busting, mind you. Not busting. The game puts players in the role of a member of G.E.I.S.T., Ghostly Entity Investigation and Strike Team, a squad of ghost hunters whose sole mission is to seek out, capture and destroy malicious spirits using a myriad of upgradable weapons and hi-tech gadgetry....

Before becoming President of Nintendo in 2003, Satoru Iwata already had an impressively illustrious career in the industry. Even after obtaining the position, he continued to be hands-on in game development, something few in business positions do. The following ten games he worked on are ranked according to their Metacritic score. Instead of focusing on their quality, we hope to shine a light on all Satoru Iwata did for gaming during his career....

Released on September 9th, 1999, the Dreamcast was Sega’s final console before they turned into a third-party publisher. Even though the console was a dud and only lasted a couple of years before being discontinued, plenty of classic titles made their way to the console. Video games from the late ’90s have a hard time staying relevant, but a handful of Dreamcast games have stood the test of time to become recognized as all time classics....

There are plenty of Pokemon that come out that are reminiscent of past designs, with some being labeled as lazy or uninspired. Sometimes these criticisms are valid, as some new Pokemon essentially come across as copies of older already beloved designs. Some concessions need to be made, of course, with such a large and ever-expanding roster. Pokemon Sword & Shield is the most recent release, and it gifted the fandom with dozens of new Pokemon to fall in love with....

In a genre that’s full of stiff competition, the success achieved by Risk of Rain and its 2019 sequel is incredibly impressive. The team at Hopoo Games has shown not only a willingness to buck trends but also incredible bravery. Many other developers would have been content to simply rest on their laurels, but the decision to make such sweeping changes in Risk of Rain 2 was one that took a lot of guts....

FIFA 21’s highly anticipated release is just around the corner, and there are certainly millions of people around the world eagerly awaiting the chance to play the game. It is always one of the most popular games of the year, and while the core concepts never change, as there’s not much you can do with soccer, there are always elements to be tweaked. FIFA 20 was met with mixed-reviews and therefore it is no surprise that EA is pulling out all the stops this time around....

Although he plays a pretty big role in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Emperor Emhyr var Emreis is only on screen a handful of times in the game. In the first two games, the leader of Nilfgaard was only mentioned and never made an appearance. However, players may be surprised to discover that the Emperor is a major character in the books that the games are based on and that his backstory is one of the most important arcs in the entire series....