Because we’re not [Publisher’s Note: This was an early-access article from our subscription program, now released for free as Overwatch is out. Leaky benefits! Thanks to our patrons. -Niero] I have never been a hero in a video game. Ever. I’ve beentoldI’m a hero, though. Literally hundreds of times. I have accomplished heroic feats — putting oneself in significant personal danger for the sake of reducing harm to others — exactly zero times....

Yeeehawww! I can feel the excitement already! On June 14th, you’ll be able to download the 3DS iteration ofMad Dog McCreefor $7.99. For all you youngins out there,Mad Dog McCreewas an old 1990 light-gun arcade game — at the time it was pretty awesome, but to be perfectly blunt, it hasn’t aged all that well (although Old Prospector characters are timeless!). As the mysterious stranger, your mission was to eliminate the titular Mad Dog, an evil outlaw hell bent on death and destruction, with your trusty light-gun compliant six shooter....

Maaaaaaario!? Mario? What a great little gameLuigi’s Mansionwas. It was short, but it was lovely and weird, and I’d play the hell out of a sequel. The Wii Remote as the vacuum cleaner hose? Awesome. I’m not getting my hopes up, though. A new Nintendo of AmericatrademarkforLuigi’s Mansiondoes not state that the name has been used before. Maybe it was a slip up. Maybe a rogue vacuum cleaner mixed up the documents in the Nintendo office....

Hamster’s back catalogue continues to grow There’s no stoppingHamster Corporation, as the retro-loving publisher continues to pump out hits ‘n’ misses of the golden era of arcades onto modern platforms. The next month will be no exception, as Hamster has revealed the names of some of its upcoming weekly releases. Among the games headed to the Nintendo Switch are Konami shmupsLife Force/Salamander(1986) – which is available to purchase right now – andFlak Attack(1987)....

Do you rate Agent 8? This Summer, Nintendo launch a huge expansion for their popular arena-shooterSplatoon 2. Alongside a slew of new gear, music, maps and the like, the colourful title will receive asingle player story modeof sorts, which Nintendo have previewed in a new video. It’s pretty short, to be fair, but we at least get an idea of what the single-player content will entail, as players guide the amnesiac Agent 8 through a hazardous environment, helped out by her pal Cap’n Cuttlefish, and music superstars Off the Hook....

Here’s the full list of deals for each platform We kicked things off with a surprisingly packedNintendo Switch eShop sale, but that’s just the beginning. In celebration of The Game Awards, Sony, Microsoft, and Valve are also hosting sales. You’ll find deals on mostly big-name, big-budget releases — the sort of stuff you’d expect to find on aGame Awardsnominee list — but there are indie discounts, too. Also, while they’re largely similar to one another, the PS4, Xbox One, and Steam sales do vary a bit in terms of price and selection....

Backwards compatibility, that is Get it? Praise the moon? I am good at memes, right guys? In otherSoulsnews, Namco Bandai has just unveiled that the originalDark Soulsis going to be backward compatible on Xbox One by way of a bonus. As listed on Microsoft’s UK site, if you pre-orderDark Souls III(due in April), you’ll net a free code for the original game on Xbox One in “seven to ten days.” In all likelihood it will be widely released for those of you who own it digitally (or on-disc) in the coming weeks....

More than just a pun When the co-founder of Ragtag Studio, Chris Cobb, told me thatRay’s the DeadwasPikminwith zombies, I was just about ready to hand over my wallet. I’m not even a huge fan ofPikmin, but for whatever reason this idea perked my ears up. What if instead of commanding cute little plants to fix a spaceship I was working with zombies to understand why and when I became a zombie?...

Since Sega released the firstSonic the Hedgehoggame in 1991, the lovable blue speedster remained a permanent fixture in pop culture. Though it has plenty of nostalgic value, Sonic Team will not be returning to 2017’sSonic Mania. In arecent interview with Game Informer, Sega explained why this is the case. What happened toSonic Mania 2? Sonic Maniawas a success that soldover a million copiesin its first year of release. This might have indicated a sequel could happen, but that hasn’t panned out....

Hmmmm Not to be confused with the microtransaction-stuffedSonic Runners,Sonic Dashwas actually a decent littleTemple Runnerclone released in 2013. Now it’s seeing its second release in the form ofSonic Dash 2: Sonic Boom. Yes, the new iteration features the polarizingSonic Boomseries, complete with everyone’s “favorite” new pal, Sticks the Badger. It will be rolling out across all regions this week, so if it’s available in your area, you might as well try it out....

Sons of the Forest, Endpoint Games’ cannibal island survival sequel toThe Forest, gets its full launch on February 21 and as with most Steam games, it comes with a long list of achievements to tackle while you survive. For those who have been playing the game during its year-long early access period, a lot of these achievements will be fairly familiar, but even those who would now consider themselves experts in the game can have a hard time reaching some of the newer milestones....

Back at E3, EA announcedSpare Parts, a cooperative downloadable title coming to PSN and Xbox Live Arcade later this year for $10. Nothing outrageous, it’s a beat-em-up that stars a couple of cute robots who have come upon a space ship and discover that if they collect enough parts, it’s theirs to keep. Strong narrative it does not have, it’s enough of a plot for the robots to journey off and collect some supplies....

No word on western release It’s official:Seiken Densetsu 3will be on the Nintendo Switch, included in theSeiken Densetsu Collectionalong withSeiken Densetsu 1(Final Fantasy Adventure) andSeiken Densetsu 2(Secret of Mana).The collection will be 4,800 yen in Japan (~$43). There is no word yet on a localization, but since the Switch is region-free you could play it if you can read Japanese or use a translation guide. For a pack of three ancient games without any significant visual upgrades, the price is a bit much, but for those waiting for the third game this package perhaps provides some hope....