August 2018’s Free Games With Gold for Xbox One/Xbox 360

Next month’s additions to the Games With Gold service are brought to you by the letters F, O, and R. Microsoft announced the monthly freebies on the Xbox Wire blog yesterday, and Xbox Live Gold subscribers will be able to download Forza Horizon 2: 10th Anniversary Edition (Xbox One), For Honor (Xbox One), Dead Space 3 (Xbox 360), and Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two (Xbox 360) during the next 30 days.

Click here for more information about all four selections from the Games With Gold program this month… Continue reading

Blizzard Will Team Up With Titan Comics to Release Diablo Comic Miniseries Later This Year

In case you missed this one during Comic-Con last week, it looks like Blizzard and Titan Comics will team up to produce a brand new miniseries based on the Diablo franchise.

Set to launch this Fall, the four-part comic saga will be written by Marv Wolfman (Crisis on Infinite Earths) and illustrated by Piotr Kowalski (Wolfenstein):

The [Diablo] comics will follow a group of zealous scholars and crusaders as they discover the true origins of humanity. Will their faith survive these shocking revelations?

For those keeping score at home, Titan’s untitled Diablo series will actually be the third comic adaptation of Blizzard’s battle between the angelic Nephalem and the hordes of Hell. The developer worked with Dark Horse to publish Diablo: Tales of Sanctuary in 2001, and partnered with DC Comics ten years later to produce Diablo: Sword of Justice in 2011.

More information about the Diablo miniseries (and presumably, a collected edition) will be announced soon.

Sega Unveils Team Sonic Racing Comic at Comic-Con 2018

Earlier this week, we were promised that Sega had several Sonic-related announcements to make at the mascot’s San Diego Comic-Con panel, “Sonic the Hedgehog’s Way Past Cool Panel.”

In addition to releasing the final mini-episode of Sonic Mania Adventures, Sega and IDW Publishing announced that a special Team Sonic Racing comic will be released this October. According to IDW’s official website, the one-shot story will be written by Caleb Goellner (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), with art by longtime Sonic the Hedgehog artist Adam Bryce Thomas:

Sonic and his teammates Knuckles and Tails journey to a new planet and enter a race unlike any other! With a little help from friends like Amy Rose, Big the Cat, and a few other familiar faces, Sonic must race to prevent an old foe from obtaining a powerful new technology in this story by writer Caleb Goellner (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) and longtime Sonic The Hedgehog artist Adam Bryce Thomas.

“I’m so stoked to write Sonic! It’s been a dream of mine ever since my dad surprised me with my first Sonic comic in ’92, so I can’t wait for fans to take this issue for a Spin Dash,” said Caleb Goellner. “It’s been an honor to be on a team working to deliver an issue that’s as fun to read as Team Sonic Racing is to play.”

The Team Sonic Racing game will be available for the PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One sometime this Fall/Winter. And Sonic Mania Plus is available now for the same four platforms.

Dark Horse Will Publish a Prequel Comic for Call of Duty: Black Ops 4’s Zombies Mode

Last week, Dark Horse announced that they’re working on another Call of Duty Zombies comic series, which will serve as a prequel to the Zombies Mode set to be included in this Fall’s Call of Duty: Black Ops 4.

The new Call of Duty Zombies comic will once again be written by Justin Jordan, with interior artwork by Andres Ponce and Mauro Vargas, cover artwork by E.M. Gist, and colors by Dan Jackson. According to the Dark Horse Newsfeed, we know that Issue #1 will be available in stores on September 5 (with a collected edition sure to follow sometime in the future):

In Call of Duty Zombies, pieces are set in motion that shadowy forces have long been putting into place. They believe what comes next cannot be stopped. Little do they know an unlikely group from around the globe is about to be assembled.

Dark Horse Comics and Activision invite fans to meet the brand-new cast of characters from this year’s game!

Gist will sit down for a signing session at Dark Horse’s Comic-Con booth tomorrow, July 19, at 3:00 PM (Pacific Time). He’ll be joined by Treyarch’s Jason Blundell and Craig Houston.

Register Now for International Games Week 2018 @ Games In Libraries

The ALA’s Games In Libraries blog has announced that registration is now open for International Games Week 2018:

International Games Week 2018 is from November 4th through 10th. Libraries can choose to host one event or several.

Donation information: This year some donations will be available during registration but others will be available through the Games in Libraries blog. In order to receive updates about this year’s donations, resources, and information on running a successful event, subscribe to the blog. You can subscribe to the blog here.

Donations are available while supplies last.

If you’re hosting a gaming event at your library this November, registering for International Games Week is a great idea.

Best of E3 2018 Winners Selected by Game Critics Awards

e3Every year, the Game Critics Awards, a collection of editors from more than 50 major publications that cover the video game industry, get together to choose the best games at the E3 Expo.

While all of these titles are still in development, you should keep them in mind when you add games to your collection this Fall and into 2019.

Capcom’s Resident Evil 2 remake was named “Best of Show,” and the full list of winners and nominees can be found below. Continue reading