Disney Infinity's first 20 Power Discs come in blind packs of two at launch

Disney Infinity features two kinds of real-world Power Discs that offer in-game boons to characters: Circular discs provide power-ups for Play Set and Toy Box modes, while hexagonal discs unlock items, vehicles and themes. When Disney Infinity launches on August 18, 20 Power Discs will also hit store shelves in blind packs of two for $5 - you won't know which Power Discs you're buying, but they'll come from an initial list of four circular and 16 hexagonal discs.

The circular discs are Bolt's Super Strength, Fix It Felix's Repair Power, CHROME's Armor Shield and Pieces of Eight. That's a 10 percent damage boost, 20 percent more health, 10 percent less damage taken, and 10 percent more loot, respectively.

Hexagonal discs include Mickey's Car and Cinderella's Coach for Toy Box mode, alongside Alice in Wonderland, Finding Nemo and Tangled texture and sky sets for Toy Box. Three hexagonal discs are "rare," designated with a lenticular design. They are the Dumbo Disneyland ride, the elephant version of Abu from Aladdin and the Astro Blaster vehicle from Buzz Lightyear's theme park attraction.

Start saving those quarters, kids.

Gallery: Disney Infinity (Power Discs)

Continue reading Disney Infinity's first 20 Power Discs come in blind packs of two at launch

Disney Infinity's first 20 Power Discs come in blind packs of two at launch originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 30 Jul 2013 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Super Chibi Knight, a 2D adventure game from dad and daughter

Nick Pasto and daughter Bella have set out to create a video game together in Super Chibi Knight, a sequel to Pasto's original Flash game, Chibi Knight. He most recently programmed the excellent Abobo's Big Adventure.

With Super Chibi Knight, Pasto is not only interested in offering his daughter a taste of his childhood gaming through a retro-inspired side-scroller, but also wants to teach her (and us) a bit about gender equality in games.

"The idea for the original Chibi Knight kind of sprang from having a daughter and seeing a world where girls are slightly pigeon-holed into what they're supposed to like and not like," Pasto tells Joystiq. "I wanted to make a game that would be accessible to kids (but still fun for adults) but that would be slightly subversive about gender roles and make the player wonder whether the hero is a boy or a girl (the gender in Chibi Knight 1 is obscured by a knight's helmet, but the voice is feminine) and then hopefully ask themselves if it really matters."

Pasto says people still ask him whether Chibi Knight is a boy or girl.

Gallery: Super Chibi Knight

Continue reading Super Chibi Knight, a 2D adventure game from dad and daughter

Super Chibi Knight, a 2D adventure game from dad and daughter originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 01 Jul 2013 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Razer's 2013 line of Blade laptops include 14" model, upgraded internals

Razer has unveiled the 2013 models of its ongoing Blade series of high-performance gaming laptops. In addition to upgrading and renaming the existing 17-inch model to the "Razer Blade Pro," the peripheral/PC manufacturer has also introduced a new 14-inch variant. Pre-orders for both rigs begin on June 3.

Starting at $1,799.99, the 14-inch Blade is powered by a "future 4th-gen Intel Core" processor - otherwise known as a Haswell - eight gigs of RAM, and a GeForce GTX 765M. Its screen outputs at a resolution of 1600 x 900, and its data is stored on a SATA III SSD drive that comes in 128, 256 and 512 gigabyte flavors. Razer says the battery will last "up to six hours," and that its wireless interweb adaptor is "up to five times" faster than other wireless-N devices on the market.

The new 17-inch Razer Blade Pro looks pretty much the same as last year's second-generation Razer Blade, though its internal bits have been upgraded to the 14-inch model's hot new digs and its starting price has been lowered by $200, down to $2,300. The Pro also includes an Ethernet port and Razer's proprietary capacitive multitouch LCD display/trackpad, two features that have been omitted from the 14-inch Blade.

Gallery: Razer Blade (14-inch)

Continue reading Razer's 2013 line of Blade laptops include 14" model, upgraded internals

Razer's 2013 line of Blade laptops include 14" model, upgraded internals originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 30 May 2013 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Killer Instinct to launch alongside Xbox One

Microsoft's revival of Rare's fighting series, Killer Instinct, will be a launch game for the Xbox One. Microsoft Studios head Phil Spencer told me Killer Instinct is "being overseen by people who are really core to that franchise," and suggested the developer, Double Helix Games, was getting a "bad rap" for its recent history of movie-licensed games.

"I think the developer is getting a little bad rap around this game," Spencer said. "We found a developer who really cares about the game. They're building a great game at 60 frames per second."

Though it seems to have coalesced into a real product made purely from recurring internet wishes, Killer Instinct is practically seen as an ambassador for Xbox One's improvements to online matchmaking. "Obviously, multiplayer is pretty core to what the game is right now, but when you think about asynchronous matchmaking, and I don't know if it really came across [during Microsoft's media briefing], but while you're playing your match, your next fight is being set up. So, you're literally just carousel-ing from fight to fight. A fighting game, given its round-based nature and how long the rounds are, is a great opportunity to showcase the asynchronous matchmaking."

Of course, that isn't to say Twitter had no participation in the matter. "And then, yes, my Twitter feed is always lit up with, you know, there are a few games - Crackdown being one, Killer Instinct being another. When are you going to do this game? Everyone thought there was going to be a Kameo 2, or ... I don't get a lot of Brute Force 2."

Gallery: Killer Instinct

Killer Instinct to launch alongside Xbox One originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 11 Jun 2013 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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FEAR Online, a multiplayer shooter that fancies free frights

Fear is free. We're not talking about the emotional state but rather FEAR Online, a free-to-play online shooter being crafted for the PC by Korean outfit Inplay Interactive.

FEAR Online will continue the story of the world's creepiest child, Alma Wade, and will include several competitive team modes. FEAR 3's Soul King mode returns, tasking players, floating about as spirits, with possessing AI enemies and using their guns to kill other AI-possessed players for points. If you've ever played GameCube scare-em-up Geist, it's kinda like that.

Up to four players will be able to band together in a separate co-op mode in FEAR Online, which will run parallel to the events of FEAR 2: Project Origin. No mention of other modes is present in the announcement embedded past the break.

FEAR Online will be published through Aeria games, an online games publisher who specializes in licensing established games for distribution. The publisher is ramping up a closed beta and currently accepting applicants, if you're into that sort of thing.

Gallery: FEAR Online

Continue reading FEAR Online, a multiplayer shooter that fancies free frights

FEAR Online, a multiplayer shooter that fancies free frights originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 25 Jul 2013 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Joe Flacco is the only new clutch player in Madden 25

EA Tiburon introduced its "clutch trait" for in-game athletes in Madden 12 as a means of providing a boost in players' ratings when the right circumstances were in place, namely when the game is on the line in the 4th quarter or overtime. That trait will carry over to Madden 25, and oddly enough, the list of players that will start the game out with the clutch trait is nearly identical to the one announced for Madden 13 last year.

One name is new to the list: Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco. Flacco certainly earned the trait, given his stellar playoff performance and Super Bowl win. Only two other names are missing from last year's list, Ray Lewis and Brian Urlacher, and that's because those linebackers retired during the offseason.

EA Tiburon's Donny Moore, the "Ratings Czar" for the Madden series, tells Joystiq the team "decided when we added these traits that we wanted it to be a special thing, very unique, there wouldn't be a clutch player on every team necessarily, so we sort of stuck to that mantra when we assigned the traits."

Gallery: Madden NFL 25 (4/25/13)

Continue reading Joe Flacco is the only new clutch player in Madden 25

Joe Flacco is the only new clutch player in Madden 25 originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 25 Jul 2013 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft investing $1 billion into games on Xbox One

Microsoft is investing $1 billion into games on the Xbox One, financing not only new studios but also securing exclusives for Microsoft's next-generation console. This is an unprecedented investment for Microsoft, much more than its most expensive game yet, Halo 4.

Xbox One is planned to have 15 exclusives from Microsoft in its first year at retail, including eight new intellectual properties - the product of two years that has seen the formation of new studios in London, Washington and Victoria, British Columbia. Phil Harrison, former Sony exec, was brought on to oversee internal projects; Lionhead's new boss is John Needham, a guy with a heavy MMO background.

Microsoft Studios boss Phil Spencer told OXM Rare is returning to one of its older franchises (Killer Instinct, anyone?) and Black Tusk Studios is hard at work on Microsoft's next big franchise. Lift London is working on smaller cloud-based games, while Microsoft Studios Osaka has a project under way - something Don Mattrick says will illustrate how Microsoft is "committed" to Japan. Finally, Press Play and Twisted Pixel are in Microsoft's bullpen, working on "weird, unique" games for Xbox Live.

And that's not counting the continuing Call of Duty exclusivity deal and games Microsoft did talk about during its Xbox reveal event: Turn 10's Forza Motorsport 5; Remedy Entertainment's Quantum Break; and four games from EA Sports in UFC, Madden 25, FIFA 14 and NBA Live 14. Later, Crytek confirmed its Kinect-powered brawler Ryse is coming to Xbox One.

Xbox One is due later this year, with more to be shown at E3 between June 9 and June 11 in Los Angeles, California.

Microsoft investing $1 billion into games on Xbox One originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 29 May 2013 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Teams duke it out in Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate

Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate is preparing to enter the retail arena on September 3, with a smattering of new offline modes and costumes on top of the new characters announced previously. Team Fight is one such addition: You select a team of up to seven fighters and take on another team of scrappers, either controlled by another player or the AI.

Survival mode adds item drops in Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate, which should be familiar to those who've spent time with Dead or Alive 4's variant. Beginners can benefit from an expanded Tutorial mode and a Combo Challenge mode, the latter aimed at teaching players how to chain together succinct strikes and power moves.

Coughing up the entry fee to the latest DOA Tournament early either through Amazon or GameStop will secure some "pop idol" costumes for the female fighters. Finally, Team Ninja confirms all costumes acquired in Dead or Alive 5 are transferable to Ultimate, because playing as a near-naked Brad Wong is clearly the only way to go.

Gallery: Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate - Pop Idol Costumes

Continue reading Teams duke it out in Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate

Teams duke it out in Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 23 Jul 2013 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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