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Below – ‘Death’s Door’ Trailer

At last night’s Independent Games Festival Awards, Capy released a brand new trailer for Below, the procedurally-generated, survival-focused dungeon crawler coming to Xbox One and PC this summer.

LEGO Marvel’s Avengers Season Pass Update

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment today announced that the first DLC for LEGO Marvel’s Avengers will be the Classic Captain Marvel Character & Level Pack and The Masters of Evil Character & Level Pack, both available on March 29th. These are the first two offerings in the LEGO Marvel’s Avengers Season Pass, which grants players access to a variety of the game’s add-on content packs, including Marvel characters, brand new levels and additional story-driven content. Here is the complete breakdown of the Season Pass DLC:

Available starting March 29th:

Classic Captain Marvel Character & Level Pack

• After an exploding alien machine grants her amazing super powers, Carol Danvers became the interstellar Super Hero known as Captain Marvel! Now, when arch-enemies reappear in her life, it’s up to Captain Marvel to save the city of New York. This pack features eight playable characters, a new vehicle, and one new level.
• Characters and vehicles included: Captain Marvel, Captain Marvel’s Skycycle, Helen Cobb’s Plane, Kang The Conqueror, Magnitron, Moonstone, Poundcakes, Tic, Warbird, and Wonder Man

Classic The Masters of Evil Character & Level Pack

• Baron Zemo and his Masters of Evil are up to no good when they attempt to lure out the Avengers and defeat them in this re-telling of the classic 1963 comic book adventure. This pack features 11 playable characters and one new level.
• Characters included: Baron Zemo, Black Knight (Dane Whitman), Black Knight (Nathan Garrett), Enchantress, Executioner, Iron Man (Classic), Melter, Radioactive Man, Thor (Classic), Valinor, and Whirlwind

Available later this spring:

Classic Black Panther Character & Level Pack

• In a re-telling of T’Challa’s origin story, Black Panther and his sister Shuri must evade the chaos of an invasion of their home country Wakanda and save their mother from the clutches of the villainous Klaw. This pack features nine playable characters, one new vehicle, and one new level.
• Characters and vehicle included: Aragorn, Black Knight (Augustine du Lac), Black Panther, Black Panther Skybike, Dora Milaje Warrior, Killmonger, Man-Ape (M’Baku), Shuri, Ulysses Klaw (Classic), and White Wolf

All-New, All-Different Doctor Strange Character & Level Pack

• Sorcerer Supreme Doctor Strange and his powerful ally Cleamust travel to the Dark Dimension and fend off the villainous Mordo and Dormammu. This pack features eight playable characters and one new level.
• Characters included: Baron Mordo, Clea, Doctor Strange, Doctor Voodoo, Dormammu, Jennifer Kale, Mindless One Warrior, and Night Nurse

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Character & Level Pack

• The team finds itself in a dangerous position after failing to make peace with the enigmatic Inhumans. The Inhumans have now occupied the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier and it’s up to the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. to neutralize the threat and uncover the secrets of Afterlife. This pack features 13 playable characters, one new vehicle, and one new level.
• Characters and vehicle included: Agent Daisy Johnson, Agent Leo Fitz, Agent Koenig, Agent Melinda May, Agent Bobbi Morse, Agent Jemma Simmons, Cal Johnson/Mr. Hyde, Deathlok, Gordon, Grant Ward, Jiaying, Lincoln, Raina, and The Bus

As an added bonus, Season Pass holders will also now have free access to three additional Character Packs, including:

• The Avengers Explorer Character Pack, featuring Iron Skull, Scuba Iron Man, and Space Iron Man
• The Avengers Adventurer Character Pack, featuring Hyperion, Scuba Captain America, and Space Captain America
• Thunderbolts Character Pack, featuring Atlas, Citizen V, Jolt, Mach V, Meteorite, Songbird, and Techno

The LEGO Marvel’s Avengers Season Pass is available for $9.99 on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Wii U and PC. Players can also purchase each DLC Pack individually for $2.99 each.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Takes Top Honor at 2016 GDC Awards

Last night, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt from developer CD Projekt RED took home the Game of the Year award at the 16th annual Game Developers Choice Awards. In addition to the top honor, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt also received the award for Best Technology. Her Story walked away with the most awards of the night, honored for Best Narrative, Best Handheld/Mobile Game and the Innovation Award. Ori and the Blind Forest by Moon Studios earned two awards for Best Debut and Best Visual Art. Other winners were Crypt of the NecroDancer, winning Best Audio, Rocket League, which won for Best Design, and the Audience Award was given to Life is Strange by DONTNOD Entertainment.

The awards ceremony also celebrated developers who have contributed to the art, science and craft of video games with three special awards. Markus “Notch” Persson received the Pioneer Award for creating Minecraft. The Ambassador Award was presented to Tracy Fullerton, professor and director of the University of Southern California Games program, and leader of the Game Innovation Lab for her contributions in the creation of multiple influential independent games. Finally, the Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Todd Howard, the game director of the Fallout and The Elder Scrolls game series.

Her Story Wins Grand Prize at 2016 IGF Awards

Sam Barlow’s Her Story took home the Seumas McNally Grand Prize for Best Independent Game and $30,000 at the 18th annual Independent Games Festival Awards last night, hosted by the 2016 Game Developers Conference at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco. In addition to the grand prize, Her Story also received the top honor for Excellence in Narrative.

Other top honors include the Excellence in Design award received by Steel Crate Games’ Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes, the Excellence in Visual Art award which went to Night School Studio’s Oxenfree, and the Excellence in Audio award received by Dinosaur Polo Club’s Mini Metro. Additionally, the Nuovo Award for abstract and unconventional games was awarded to Cibele, developed by Star Maid Games. The Best Student Game Award went to Beglitched by Jennifer Jiao Hsia and Alec Thomson. Finally, the community-driven Audience Award was given to Undertale from developer Toby Fox.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan – Gameplay Trailer

Activision and PlatinumGames have released a new trailer from the upcoming third-person action game Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan. This video gets up close with the many bosses facing off against Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo in this new adventure. It showcases popular franchise villains like Shredder, Bebop, Rocksteady, and General Krang, as well as first-time reveals for the ninja Karai, mutant-alien bat Wingnut, and mutant-snapping turtle Slash.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan is expected to launch on May 24th as a retail and digital release on the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3, Xbox One and Xbox 360, and PC via Steam.

Shattered Skies Announced

Free Reign Entertainment today announced Shattered Skies, a new open world survival looter shooter game that has players battle mutated alien monstrosities as well as each other in a world that spans mountains, valleys, cities and towns. Releasing into closed alpha by the end of March, Shattered Skies will be available for a single, one-time purchase without microtransactions, season passes or paid expansions, with all content to be unlocked solely by playing game and depending on your skills. Those interested in battling Shattered Skies’ hellish monsters prior to the summer open beta release can pre-order the game for a discount at shatteredskies.freereign.net to gain access to the closed beta. Shattered Skies is slated for full release before the end of the year.

Shattered Skies is an open world survival looter shooter that pits players against alien monstrosities and other players in a no rules sandbox where people can choose to help others, or hunt them. After a comet crashed into the once quiet mountain getaway, a mysterious alien lifeform within the comet’s fragments began to thrive on Earth’s rich environment, changing the planet and mutating humans into hellish monsters. As one of the few remaining survivors, players will struggle to endure against an enemy unlike any humanity has faced before. Shattered Skies is the first in a triad of games to be set in the Rise of the Bandlands game world.

Total War Battles: Kingdom Launches March 24th

Creative Assembly today announced that the persistent-world, real-time strategy game, Total War Battles: Kingdom, will launch March 24th on PC via Steam.

In Total War Battles: Kingdom, players shape their lands to transform the wilderness into a powerful and productive Kingdom. Manage their Kingdom’s economy, build castles and towns, grow the population and expand their territory. Players can raise powerful armies and go head to head with other players or AI enemies in large scale real-time battles.

Win a Gold Buggy in Dying Light: The Following

Techland today announced its first Community Bounty for Dying Light: The Following. This weekend (March 19th – 20th), players can rally together in the newly released expansion to try collectively to run over 5,000,000 zombies with their in-game buggies. Reaching the group goal within 48 hours will award an exclusive Gold Buggy paint job for use in the game. All participants will also get a special weapon docket just for taking part.

Odin Sphere Leifthrasir Introduces Gwendolyn the Valkyrie Princess

It’s time to reintroduce the ensemble cast of Odin Sphere, because they’ll be reprising their roles in the HD remake, Odin Sphere Leifthrasir, coming to PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita on June 7th.

First up is Gwendolyn, the brave and loyal Valkyrie princess of Ragnanival. Though she is the daughter of the fearsome Demon Lord Odin and a child of the cold north, Gwendolyn is a sweet and compassionate young woman. All she wants is to protect her home and to earn her father’s love, but destiny, as it so often does, decides to interfere with her plans.

Crytek Unveils CryEngine V and “Pay What You Want” Model

As the 2016 Game Developers Conference gets underway, Crytek has announced the arrival of CryEngine V.

CryEngine V launches today with a “Pay What You Want” business model, offering developers total access to the engine’s feature-set and full engine source code for a fee of their choosing, and with no obligation to pay royalties or additional service charges. Users who decide to make a contribution for utilizing CryEngine V can allocate up to 70% of the sum to Crytek’s new Indie Development Fund – a grant program that will see Crytek directly supporting promising indie projects around the world.

The latest evolution of CryEngine also introduce CryEngine Marketplace. The Marketplace will enable developers to access individual assets from Crytek’s own library, as well as thousands of materials, sounds, and 3D objects created by the CryEngine community and other trusted vendors.

In addition, CryEngine V brings expanded support for today’s leading Virtual Reality hardware. Crytek’s engine will now equip users to create VR experiences for PlayStation VR, OSVR, HTC Vive and Oculus Rift.