Donkey Kong Jungle Beat is celebrating its 20-year anniversary today, March 14, 2025. Below, we take a look at how the unusual platformer had a spark unlike anything else in the series.When fans think of the Donkey Kong series' platforming games, it's easy to consider the timeline as one that began with Rare and its groundbreaking CG graphics in the SNES era before the baton was eventually picked up by Retro Studios with Donkey Kong Country Returns. In Nintendo's history of wacky and inventive ways to play games, there is perhaps nothing quite as bizarre as Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, released in North America in 2005 for GameCube, which gave the iconic ape a stopgap to remember in between the Rare and Retro eras.The credit can't all go to the Kyoto company though, quite literally so because this was in fact the debut of its newly established EAD (Entertainment, Analysis and Development) Tokyo studio designed to attract new talent from Japan's capital. Even the technology that's front-and-center in Donkey Kong Jungle Beat wasn't created by Nintendo but rather Namco in its 2003 music spin-off Donkey Konga.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

The superb 2024 remake of Silent Hill 2 is on sale for its lowest price yet on PC over at Fanatical. For a limited time, you can save nearly 50% on a Steam code for rebuilt edition of Konami's survival horror classic. The standard edition is up for grabs for $36.39, while the Digital Deluxe Edition is $41.59. Get deal at Fanatical These deals are substantially better than what Steam is offering during its Spring Sale. Directly from Steam, the standard edition is $49 and the Digital Deluxe is $56.Like the original Silent Hill 2, Bloober Team's remake is a dark descent into a world that has an oppressive atmosphere. Full of surreal nightmares, players not only have to survive the terrors stalking Silent Hill but find answers to the questions that have haunted the protagonist James Sunderland for several years.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

The launch of the Nintendo Switch 2 later this year is expected to be a big moment in the video game industry, and many are wondering how the system is going to sell. Nintendo has not published any sales projections for the system, but one analyst has now said the new console will fail to sell as many units right away compared to the original system. Joost Van Dreunen of Aldora said in a report that the Switch 2's backwards compatibility support, along with its "relatively modest technical improvements," will "ensure a slower adoption curve." This will be particularly pronounced for cost-conscious consumers, Van Dreunen said. The analyst said the Switch 2 is projected to sell for about $400 at launch, which is $100 more than the Switch launched at in 2017. Other analysts have suggested similar price points, while one analyst believes it could go as high as $500. Regarding backwards compatibility, Nintendo has confirmed the Switch 2 will play games from the original Switch, but not every title will be supported.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Nintendo Power was a popular staple of '90s gaming culture, offering not just insight into upcoming Nintendo video games, but also various comics based on many of the Big N's franchises. One of its most popular comics was Super Mario Adventures, which ran in the magazine from 1992 through 1993. The comic strip followed Mario and Luigi as they attempt to rescue Princess Toadstool from the clutches of Bowser. If you've ever wanted to revisit the comic, the full Super Mario Adventures series is available as a standalone graphic novel, and right now, it's on sale for one of the best prices we've seen in years. Super Mario Adventures (Paperback) $10.55 (was $17) Super Mario Adventures is a full-color graphic novel inspired by the video game series. This collection includes every installment of the series that ran in Nintendo Power, making it great for nostalgic fans and folks looking to enjoy the comic for the first time. The 112-page paperback collection is rarely discounted this much, and this is its lowest price since late 2022. This discount makes it an easy recommendation if you're looking for a way to enjoy the Mushroom Kingdom from a whole new perspective. See at Amazon Another cool way to dive into the world of Mario is with The Art of Super Mario Odyssey. The hardcover book is currently on sale for $28.49 (was $50), and it gives you a behind-the-scenes look at its development across 368 pages. The hardcover book looks great, making it an excellent centerpiece for your coffee table.The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (Paperback) is on sale too, and it's an excellent companion for Super Mario Adventures. This graphic novel also debuted in Nintendo Power, and since it serves as an adaptation of the iconic NES game, fans are bound to find it a worthwhile purchase at just $16.89 (was $20).Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Silent Hill f Standard Edition $70 | Get $10 Gift Card at Best Buy Preorder at Best Buy Preorder at Amazon Revealed by Konami in 2022, Silent Hill f received a new cinematic trailer this week--though no release date was announced. Showing off a chilling small town in Japan and its lead protagonist, student Shimizu Hinako, it looks like another terrifying entry in the beloved franchise. If you're excited about the chance to finally dive in, preorders are now open at select retailers. Silent Hill f will be available on PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC at launch.Silent Hill f Preorder BonusesNo official preorder bonuses from Konami have been revealed yet, though an announcement is likely arriving at a later date. Keep in mind that most retailers don’t make you pay for your item until it ships--so you're free to preorder now, then swap up your choice if there's a retailer-exclusive bonus that catches your eye. For now, you can get a free $10 gift card for preordering at Best Buy.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

The last decade alone has seen a major shift in how entertainment is produced and consumed, and while the future isn't set in stone, Avengers: Endgame and The Electric State directors Joe and Anthony Russo have predicted that "linear visual storytelling" is in for a big shake-up once Gen Z becomes the dominant consumers of media. In a new interview, the duo explained how the future of entertainment could be dominated by projects that embrace both gaming and traditional formats to tell a story."We are in the biggest transitional moments in the history of linear visual storytelling," Joe Russo said to The Hollywood Reporter. "It's very hard to say in this moment where it’s going because a lot of that is going to be dictated by the taste of Gen Z once they become the dominant consumers. And I don't know that anyone knows what their taste is yet because they have been trained on a completely different model of consumption than we are used to. I expect radical change, I expect immersion, I expect a blending of virtual and linear, gaming and linear."The Russos are already experimenting with a two-pronged approach to their projects, as The Electric State has a companion game scheduled to arrive later this month. The directors have also mentioned how they're "open" to having video games developed based on their next two Marvel movies, Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars. This also lines up with previous comments by Russo about how he believes the future of entertainment will be dominated by gaming.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Avowed's latest update includes quite a bit of content, but in addition to the usual bug-fixes and stability improvements players expect from a post-launch patch, the 1.3.0 update also includes a number of new features and gameplay changes that were specifically requested by players."Your input is key to help us refine and expand Avowed, and we are excited to keep rolling out updates," the game's developers wrote in a recent forum post. "Within the next few weeks, we are going to be releasing a roadmap that will go over some of the plans we have that will be coming to the game over the upcoming year, so keep your eyes peeled!"Although Obsidian hasn't said anything about a potential expansion for the game, Avowed director Carrie Patel says she'd "love to see us do more" with the game, so the sheer number of tweaks and new additions included in the latest patch isn't too surprising.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

The Boy and the Heron 4K Blu-ray Steelbook Edition $25 (was $45) See at Amazon See at Walmart Studio Ghibli's The Boy and the Heron Steelbook Edition is on sale for its lowest price yet at Amazon and Walmart. Released last summer on 4K Blu-ray for $45, The Boy and the Heron Steelbook is up for grabs for only $25.The 4K Steelbook Edition of The Boy and the Heron is actually cheaper than the standard 4K edition ($32) and 1080p Blu-ray ($25.75) at the moment. The Boy and the Heron 4K Blu-ray Steelbook Edition $25 (was $45) The Boy and the Heron became the second Hayao Miyazaki-directed Ghibli film to win the the Oscar for Best Animated Feature. It's widely considered to be one of the storied animation studio's best films, joining classics such My Neighbor Totoro, Ponyo, and Spirited Away--the other Ghibli film that took home the Academy Award.The steelbook matches the aesthetics of previous Studio Ghibli limited-edition releases, but it's the first 4K Blu-ray from the beloved studio. It's actually the second Hayao Miyazaki film to receive a 4K release, as The Castle of Cagliostro, Miyazaki's directorial debut, released on 4K a few years back. It's a great animated comedy, but it initially released in 1979, years before the formation of Studio Ghibli.All three versions of The Boy and the Heron include the following bonus features:Feature-Length StoryboardsInterview with Composer Joe HisaishiInterview with Producer Toshio SuzukiInterview with Supervising Animator Takeshi HondaDrawing with Takeshi Honda"Spinning Globe" Music VideoTeasers and Trailers See at Amazon See at Walmart If you want to add more Studio Ghibli films to your collection, you'll find plenty of great deals on steelbook editions from the Ghibli catalog below:Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Bethesda's 2023 RPG Starfield is not ruled out for PS5, but it also hasn't been announced for Sony's system like some of Bethesda's other games have, including Doom: The Dark Ages and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. Now, a listing on Bethesda's modding website might suggest a PS5 edition of the game is coming. Reddit user Dollar99Man reshared a finding from YouTube user 510deshawn who discovered that the Bethesda Creation Kit website for Starfield was updated with the PlayStation logo, sitting alongside the logos for PC and Xbox. However, the Starfield Creation Kit hub does not allow players to choose "PlayStation" as a platform in the filter, despite the logo appearing on one of the mod's pages.It's possible to tweak the URL to force the filter to show mods listed for PlayStation. For a period of time today, March 14, this displayed one result for the mod listed for PlayStation. However, it has since been removed.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

The God of War franchise is turning 20 years old later this month, and to celebrate, developer Sony Santa Monica has announced a free update to God of War Ragnarok that'll go live on March 20. Inspired by the working title of 2005's God of War, as well as the skin that players could earn in God of War 2 if they finished the game on God Mode difficulty, the Dark Odyssey collection includes several cosmetic skins for Kratos and his weapons, and outfits for Atreus and Freya.Beyond that, fans can also expect the franchise to celebrate its impressive milestone with an art exhibition, game sales, and some retail therapy as there'll be quite a lot of celebratory merchandise available to purchase.First up, the Dark Odyssey collection adds a modern version of the black and gold character skin that can be equipped to Kratos, complementary armor pieces, new armor sets for companions, and new weapon cosmetics. One thing to note here is that the Dark Odyssey cosmetics for weapons and shields are made specifically for the fully upgraded version of each weapon and will only be available for use upon reaching that upgrade level.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

The PC version of Grand Theft Auto 5 has been out for almost a decade, and it's been endlessly modded in the intervening 10 years. However, the recently released Grand Theft Auto 5 Enhanced upgrade isn't compatible with mods from the prior version. But now, it looks like Rockstar is opening the door for those mods to make the leap into the Enhanced era, courtesy of the team behind its FiveM and RedM creator communities.Cfx.re, which was brought into Rockstar in 2023, has revealed that it is developing a new official mod tool that will "assist the modding community in making their assets compatible with the new upgrade."According to the announcement, Cfx.re hasn't set a release date for the mod tool yet. But it notes that that "we're currently focused on completing the final few tasks required to release the tool." The full announcement of the tool, with "comprehensive documentation," will be shared on the day it goes live.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Ubisoft has confirmed that Assassin's Creed Shadows will be playable on Steam Deck when it launches next week.While the original announcement of this support didn't specify where it would fall on Valve's categorization system, it's now been confirmed that Shadows will be Steam Deck Verified. That's the highest level granted, and while it doesn't necessarily guarantee top-notch performance, it does mean you shouldn't encounter any issues with controller support, default resolution, text legibility, and so on.Assassin's Creed Shadows, the Japan-set latest entry in Ubisoft's long-running series, is the first game Ubisoft is bringing to Steam on day one since reversing its Steam release policy last fall. Despite that, Ubisoft had suggested in a previously posted Q&A that Shadows would not support Steam Deck at release because its specs were below the minimum PC requirements to run the game. But we now know that won't be the case after all.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Polish developer People Can Fly has announced that it's making a game for Sony Interactive Entertainment based on an IP that Sony owns, though it remains to be seen what the game is.In a statement, People Can Fly said the new game is in the works under the codename Project Delta. As part of the agreement between People Can Fly and Sony, there will be a milestone process. Details weren't provided, but this is a common practice where development progress is reviewed at certain intervals.People Can Fly did not divulge the specific scope and terms of its milestone agreement with Sony but said it does not differ much from standard work-for-hire projects of this nature. The Polish studio has a lot of experience in this department, as it has worked with big game companies on projects before, including Gears of War: Judgment with Microsoft, Fortnite: Saves the World with Epic, and Outriders with Square Enix. People Can Fly is also working with PUBG company Krafton on a new game codenamed Project Echo and is collaborating with The Coalition on Gears of War: E-Day. Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Although Assassin's Creed Shadows won't be available through Xbox Game Pass, at least at launch, there will be a perk for subscribers. Game Pass Ultimate members who purchase Shadows will have have the ability to play the game through Xbox Cloud Gaming.Microsoft just revealed this feature as part of its “stream your own game” perk for Ultimate tier subscribers. However, this only applies to digital copies of games, not physical ones. "Stream your own game" is different than Xbox’s own Play Anywhere program, which gives players both native Windows PC and Xbox versions of games if they purchase either one.A new addition to the "Stream your own game" library is emerging from the darkness soon.Stay on your toes for @assassinscreed Shadows: https://t.co/6A8eWomFeR pic.twitter.com/eV93KrvpN4 — Xbox (@Xbox) March 14, 2025 Certain games in the Game Pass library can be streamed, but not all of them. If a game leaves Game Pass, it can normally no longer be streamed even if it's been purchased. That makes this feature particularly useful, although it remains unclear how widely it will be supported. Some other games that are part of the "stream your own game" feature are Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, Cyberpunk 2077, and Life is Strange: Double Exposure.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Last year, Zynga debuted Star Wars Hunters, a free-to-play 4v4 shooter that introduced new characters and placed them in deathmatches in familiar locations from across the Star Wars universe. However, less than a year after its launch, launch, Zynga has announced Star Wars Hunters will shut down this fall.On the official Star Wars Hunters site, Zynga shared the news that the game will receive its final update on all platforms on April 15. Following that update, Hunters will remain playable and available for download until October 1. Afterwards, the servers will be shut down, servers will be shut down, rendering it completely unplayable. Zynga also thanked fans for their support and promised to be transparent during the game's final months."We understand this news may be disappointing and want to assure you that this decision was not made lightly. Your passion and dedication to the game and its community have meant the world to us, and we are committed to providing visibility and updates throughout the transition process."Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com