Hello again, Parents and Gamers!
First off, before we begin, allow me to apologize for our absence yesterday. While we had not intended on being tardy, but instead upholding our plan to provide up to the date information reliably every day, I'm very sad to say that a friend of mine (sadly, the original owner of this site) suffered a medical emergency that landed him in the hospital last night. While he is alright and resting comfortably, I was unable to work on The News and have not yet had time to prepare back-ups of other information/articles/etc. in order to post it on a day such as yesterday. I'm very sorry and will be taking steps to insure you never have a break in service.
So, with that behind us for the moment, we have a big day in The News! We will be covering 5 different things. First off, the mega-popular creative hit Minecraft has announced their release dates for the Xbox One with relevant prices. Next, we have an addendum to the information that was provided regarding the New models of the Nintendo 3DS Handheld Systems. Following that, we're going Global with a look at the "Destiny: Planet View". Lastly, we will tell you how you have a chance to get behind the wheel of a super-fast sports car for Free in Forza 5 this weekend. Let's take a look!
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I've always found Minecraft best described as "Virtual Legos". When a player creates a new world to play in, it is randomly generated planet made up entirely of blocks that players are able to pick up, move around, place, manipulate, create tools with, and more. Each world is unique, so no game will ever be one and the same. The world generates different biomes, environments, and geographical structure even down to the core of the planet. The purpose of the game is.......Anything! Play. Create. Adventure. Whatever comes to mind.
The game has already been released on PC/Computer as well as the Xbox 360 and, more recently the PlayStation 3. Today, the release dates for the highly anticipated Xbox One version of the game was announced...AND IT'S IN TWO DAYS!
The Xbox One version of Minecraft is set to release digitally this Friday, September 5th, and will cost $20 to download to your Xbox One console. Please note, that because this is a digital version, there is no physical copy that can be purchased. You must have an Xbox Live Gold account, aka, a paid Xbox subscription with an internet connection in order to access and download the game.
However, because the game has already been around on Xbox 360, Microsoft has offered a very generous discount for anyone who already owns the game. So long as you own either the disc or the download version of Minecraft for the Xbox 360, players will be able to "upgrade" their version and pay only $5 dollars for the Xbox One version. On top of this, any content that you already own and any worlds that you have created in the Xbox 360 version can be accessed free of charge on the Xbox One version.
Finally, last but not least, in honor of this news as well as the requests of our readers, I have decided that the first game we will be reviewing will be Minecraft! The review we have currently is dated, back from the Beta version of the game (aka, they were still BUILDING it). Given the popularity of this title and the new upcoming version for Xbox One, I find it only fitting to put out a fresh new version of the review to show newcomers what the game is really like.
References:
Minecraft on Xbox One gets a Release Date - IGN.com
Minecraft Xbox One Release Date and Price Confirmed - GameSpot.com
Minecraft gets Bigger on Xbox One this Week at Budget Price for 360 Owners - GameInformer.com
Minecraft on Xbox One this week, PS4 'soon, maybe sooner' [update] - Joystiq.com
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Several days ago, we announced that Nintendo will be releasing new versions of the Nintendo 3DS and 3DS XL Handheld Video Game Systems. However sadly, they had only announced the release for Japan at this time.
Well, to anyone who was thinking about trying to import the new version of the system, we have bad news. Nintendo has announced that the units are going to be "Region Locked".
Region Locking an item makes it so that you are unable to play 'foreign' games in your system. This means that, should you own a video game system from Japan and attempt to play a version from the U.S., the system will not work. Japan, Europe, and North America are the primary regions and, sadly again, their games will not be interchangeable with the systems.
At this time, no release date has been given for a North American release. Only informing us that they will not be coming this calendar year.
References:
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With the highly anticipated shooter Destiny coming out on Tuesday, the developers have put out a rather cool it of Marketing to help build hype for the game. Destiny: Planet View
Utilizing a mix of Google Street View with graphics and narration from the game, players have the ability to virtually explore three locations: Mars, Venus, and the Moon. While exploring these planets (and moon), players will receive more background on the game's story and what they can expect going into the game this coming Tuesday. On top of that, players will be able to unlock special in game items for using in the actual retail release of the title.
But, don't take my word for it, check it out for yourself. Whether you want to walk on the chalky surface of the moon or through the red sands of Mars it's very well put together and kind of fun.
References:
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Allow us to make this is short and sweet as you please. Xbox has announced that they are going to be releasing Forza 5 to play for Free this Weekend only (i.e. From September 4 to midnight September 7).
All players will need is to own the Xbox One console as well as have a valid Xbox Live Gold account with a connection to the internet. From there, according to Microsoft, the entire game will be available for free this weekend only.
So, if you have been meaning to play the game, but just haven't had a chance. Give it a shot! Have a gamer in your house who's been asking for it but haven't quite had the cash or the interest in going to the game store? Try it out! Just want to see a pretty darned good racing game? Go download it. You've got the whole weekend.
References:
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And that's it for today! As always, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns about our article today
or just Video Games in general, feel free to reach out to us at our
e-mail at theparentsguidetovideogames@gmail.com or simply by clicking on
my name below. Make sure to follow us at Facebook and Twitter to get up to the moment updates! See you soon!
Very nice and creative Minecraft!
ReplyDeletei had not heard about destiny...intrigued...and off to chase down more info...
ReplyDeletewe love minecraft...and my boys have taken to building games in games...
for instance my oldest was fascinated with Hunger Games and so he
built a Hunger Games map and we played in Survival...