After the critical success ofBurnout Paradise, gamers should only have to hear two words to grab their attention: “Criterion Games.” The developer is back this fall withNeed for Speed: Hot Pursuit, it’s arcade-style take on the popular franchise, bringing wild police car chases back to the series for another go. But it’s not just the fast-paced action that you should be interesting, Criterion also has a key social component called “Autolog” where players can issue challenges and keep up with friend’s game progress....

I’m surprised it wasn’t there to begin with Arkane and Bethesda have passed along word that new custom difficulty settings and a New Game Plus mode are in the works forDishonored 2next month. They’ll arrive in an update, with the exact date TBA. Not exactly a lot to go on here, but clearly these will be some much-appreciated features for an emergent game like this. And to not just leave it off at that, let’s take this as an opportunity to watch some of the wildDishonored 2clips coming out ofGunpointdesignerTom Francis‘ Twitter feed:...

Namco Bandai has released the first trailer for Ninja Theory’sEnslaved: Oddyssey to the West, and here it is. So I’ll come out and say it — visually, the trailer doesn’t make the game look quite as impressive as Ninja Theory’s PlayStation 3-exclusive effort,Heavenly Sword. Not sure what it is yet.Heavenly Swordhad some beautiful art design, and it translated really well to both cinematics and gameplay. Not sure I’m feeling the lush, urban-jungle stuff inEnslaved… but it’s still one of my “most wanted” games of the year....

Also, Overcooked: All You Can Eat It’s re-release day again on the eShop! Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborvilleis one of the big headliners, as the little online shooter that could is finally arriving on Switch. It’s technically the “Complete Edition,” and hits the eShop tomorrow. Overcooked: All You Can Eatis huge too, as it rebrands both games into one package, and either of them is worth the price of entry that theAll You Can Eatbundle includes....

Rematchcould well become one of the biggest releases of this summer, and the launch date isn’t far. Made by the creators ofSifu, the upcoming title is a different experience as it belongs to the sports game genre. The game attracted plenty of interest for its beta test, and the developers are now preparing for the full launch. This guide will provide you with all the important information regarding the upcoming launch, including its launch date and prices....

The idea of an “XL” DS alternative has always sounded a bit silly to me. It’s just like the system I already have, but bigger? What’s the point of that? Of course, like gaming PCs and iPads, it’s always easy to besmirch a system that you don’t own — and like gaming PCs and iPads, having actually gotten my hands on the 3DS XL, I have to say that I can now see the appeal more clearly....

The best racer of its generation When we look back at the launch of the Nintendo Wii, there are a few titles that immediately come to mind. They’re the ones that would go on to define the console throughout its lifespan. There’sWii Sports, obviously, the pack-in that your grandmother probably still plays today. Then there isThe Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Nintendo’s first cross-gen hit that was saved from the Wii’s poorly performing predecessor to find massive success in the new generation....

WoW and RuneScape are still around: what a world My first MMO wasUltima Online. But for a lot of people, it wasEverQuestorRuneScape. Several years beforeWorld of Warcraftwould assert its dominance, folks gathered from around the world to partake in Jagex’s 2001 odyssey, all through the use of a browser. It was extremely popular in schools due to the fact that you could basically circumvent any permissions that prevented application installs; and really took off....

If you’re looking for the equivalent of the Thieves Guild inStarfield, Ryujin Industries is it. The faction blends the Thieves Guild and Assassin’s Guild together, all with a healthy dash of corporate espionage. As an agent of Ryujin, you sneak, manipulate, extort, and infiltrate, and hopefully gain access to the executive toilet in the end. But will you? Here are the Ryujin Industries questline and rewards inStarfield. Joining Ryujin is effortless....

Square Enix’s Play Arts Kai line has produced some fascinating pieces from various game series likeMetal Gear Solidand of course SE’s ownFinal Fantasy. Not braking for anyone, the company is marching right along with a fresh batch of hot buns straight from the oven. During SDCC, Square Enix showed off some unpainted models of Kazuya Mishima and Jun Kazama fromTekkenas well as a different version of Master Chief fromHalo. On the painted front, there are figures of Lara Croft from theTomb Raiderreboot, Agent 47 fromHitman, and a blue Spartan soldier again fromHalo....

Xbox One version coming You wanna talk next-gen? The next generation of games isn’t about graphics or motion control or laser beams or whatever. It’s about soda. Sweet, sweet b-b-b-b-bonus soda. And that soda is coming to Xbox One later this year. Soda Drinker Prois coming to Xbox One with new features, achievements, and more. And I lied: the next-gen is about motion control asSoda Drinker Prowill get Kinect support with this release....

‘It’s a very multi-dimensional feature’ Earlier this week, Sony relented and began testing across-play program for PlayStation 4. Right now the beta is limited toFortniteso that there are less variables in play, but according to Worldwide Studios Chairman Shawn Layden, more games will support the feature (as you would hope and expect). “I think that certainly once we can prove that this is all holding together, sturdy, and well, I would anticipate seeing other games in the [cross-play] service over time,” he said on thePlayStation Blogcast....

It’s less than a month away now! I can’t believe that the PS4 is approximately a month away, and a few of you canget your hands on the systemright now. Sony has announced that at select retailers nationwide (US), PS4 demo kiosks have been put in place. Those retailers are Sony Stores, GameStop, Best Buy, Target, and Walmart, with more to come down the line. The games on offer includeKnack,Octodad: Dadliest Catch(nice!...