Morning DLC: Video Game News & Rumors 1/20/2016
By Jason Prott
"When kids open Minecraft, Microsoft doesn’t just want them exploring dark caverns, endless plains, and procedurally generated mountains; it wants them exploring places carved out of the real world, like ancient Pompeii, the pyramids of Giza, and Greek temples — places they can learn from. To start making that happen, Microsoft is today announcing Minecraft: Education Edition, a new version of Minecraft that’s customized for schools."
It’s interesting to see another skew on the Minecraft product, especially for PC. But with an target market that seems to be getting ever-younger, it’s not surprising to see Microsoft acquiring, and then marketing the educational tools for the game. Without official lesson plan support, Microsoft is banking on the community to provide content, but that shouldn’t be a problem for a game that lives and breathes by community.
"The Witness, Jonathan Blow’s sprawling puzzle game follow-up to Braid, is now available for preorder on Steam and the Humble Store. The bonus for preordering the game, which will sell for $40, is “the warm fuzzy feeling” that comes from paying for things up front, Blow said, adding, “It’s exactly the same as buying the game at launch, except earlier.”"
It’s refreshing to see a game offering a no-frills preorder that isn’t muddled with exclusive content, but that still doesn’t mean it’s a good idea lay down your money ahead of time. Wait and see on January 26, 2016 when The Witness launches on PlayStation 4 and PC.
"The Tom Clancy Humble Bundle has ended, which means that you might have missed your opportunity to get a bunch of Tom Clancy games (like Rainbow Six, Splinter Cell, and Ghost Recon), as well as a pre-order for The Division (with beta access) and goodies for the upcoming game.The newest Humble Bundle might not be as timely as the Tom Clancy one, but it certainly doesn’t disappoint — if you enjoy Firaxis games that is. A bunch of XCOM games, Civilization games and various other games."
It’s hard to find a Humble Bundle that isn’t a great deal, and this Firaxis bundle is no different. I’m a huge XCOM fan after playing the 2012 reboot and the 2013 expansion that followed. If you’re a fan of turn-based strategy in the slightest, now is the perfect chance to pick up XCOM: Enemy Unknown for just $1. XCOM 2 will be here before you know it, so get to playing!