Enter the Najarala,  Monster Hunter ‘s first snake-like monster!

Najarala concept art

If there’s anything Monster Hunter was missing, it had to be a giant snake. Imagine hunting a monster that can paralyze you with its fangs and then coil around you for a devastating combo. Now imagine that same monster can shoot out some of its scales that get stuck on the ground and explode as they resonate with specific sound. That’s the Najarala in a nutshell!

I don’t want to spoil too much of this fight, but I will say this is a very smart monster that will often target stunned hunters; so if you’re hunting in a group, keep an eye out for stunned teammates; and if you’re alone, make sure you have some armor skills or items to prevent yourself from falling victim to Najarala’s deadly combos.

But to keep you motivated, here’s the rad gear you can get from this monster:

Sword and Shield

Long Sword

Gunner armor

Blademaster armor

You can hunt the Najarala and craft its awesome gear early 2015 when  Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate hits the Nintendo 3DS.

As someone who used to plug his NES into a stereo and manually record music onto cassettes, it’s pretty cool to announce the Mega Man “Rockcan” collection coming to all kinds of digital stores. From iTunes to Amazon and beyond, you can now grab MM1~4 with the rest of the classic lineup on the way.

And yeah, I  know  you can listen to this stuff in a nearly infinite number of ways. I’ve gone through all kinds of hurdles and hoops to obtain game music over the years, so anytime there’s a legit release, I am 100% buying it. That’s just me, but I hope my fellow VGM lovers agree.

But yeah! 1~4 are up now, with 5~10 coming through the end of the year.

We’re finally back to the usual grind after a hectic stint in San Diego for the geektastic mayhem that is Comic Con, and that means it’s time to get back to doing Throwback Thursday streams! Tune into our Twitch channel today at 4pm PT for a rousing session of the GBA isometric classic,  Mega Man Battle Network,  which of course just launched today on the Wii U eShop Virtual Console! 

Watch as we JACK IN and unload dozens of bullets into a single Met-All in this colorfully decadent dose of retro-futurism. Oh yes.

As of today, PlayStation 4 owners are free to try out the eagerly-awaited  PlayStation Now service in Open Beta, which offers a vast and rapidly expanding library of games for users to rent and stream at various durations and price points. 

According to the PlayStation blog , the Open Beta will feature 100+ titles to begin with, and that number will grow quickly over time. Users will be able to rent games for durations of 4 hours, 7 days, 30 days, or 60 days, with the shortest duration starting at $1.99 per title. They have also acknowledged the demand for a subscription option, offering the following quote in response:

“In addition, we’ve heard you loud and clear for an update on a PS Now subscription option and want to reassure you that we are working on it. We think PS Now represents the next step toward the future of gaming and we’re excited to have the PlayStation Nation come along with us on the beginning of this journey.”

Fire up your PS4 today and check it out! Naturally, there are some Capcom titles there right off the bat like Mega Man 9,  Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles, Capcom Arcade Cabinet, and Dead Rising 2 Off the Record. 

I also recommend checking out PlayStation’s introductory video on the service below.

As mentioned in our big E3 post, there are a whole lotta great games coming to the NA Wii U (and 3DS!) eShop this year. Today, we enter the GBA/Wii U marketplace with the classic Mega Man Battle Network. If you missed out in the 2000s, this is a great chance to play it not just on a big screen, but also anywhere around the house thanks to Wii U’s Gamepad!

BUT that’s not all. Much like Mega May, August 2014 will see a Mega Man title released on the eShop each Thursday. I’ll even go one further say these are the titles:

Mega Man 5 (NES)

Mega Man 6 (NES)

Mega Man X3 (SNES)

Mega Man Battle Chip Challenge (GBA)

However, the release order will be a mystery… so you’ll have to fire up your Wii U each Thursday to see which one came out!

EU players, don’t worry – there are MM titles on the way too. In fact, you got MMBN on July 24th!

Not sure what we should call this month… Mega May made sense, but Mega August? Megust? Megaugust?

3 days ago we revealed the North American box art of the upcoming  Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate on our  tumblr and  Instagram pages (which you should totally follow for awesome moving pictures: videos and GIFs)…

Today I’m here to share the full image and some other cool info on multiplayer!

As you know, multiplayer is at the core of the  Monster Hunter  experience. And since it’s the first time we see a  MH with online on a portable system, we wanted to show that on the main piece of art for the title, that is, the box art.

You can also see a number of new in-game features in this piece, such as the hunter on the Gore Magala’s back and the more subtle idea of terrain differences affecting gameplay manifesting itself in the archer on the right.

But let’s talk about the main focus again: multiplayer! I’m proud to confirm that multiplayer in  Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate  will work amongst both North American and European versions,  online  AND  locally !

So whether you have friends on the other side of the pond or you’re traveling abroad, you can still join your fellow hunter and take on majestic beasts!

Exciting, right? Let us know what you think of the news. 😉

Catch more blood and gore with  Dead Rising 3   Apocalypse Edition this afternoon at 4pm PT! You know the drill–the game comes out September 5th, but you can tune into our Twitch channel for a glorious early look. Remember, the game also includes the four “Untold Stories of Los Perdidos” add-on chapters at no additional cost. Pre-order   today!

Over 100 costumes! That’s what you get when you pick up the retail version of USFIV. If you haven’t seen trailers one and two , hurry and check those out. After you finish watching all three, be sure to preorder so that you can all get the new challengers pack as well. With the full release coming out on consoles 8/5 and Steam on 8/7, the time to get truly get Ultra is right around the corner. 

Hey everyone, as you may know Japan Expo 2014 happened a few weeks ago in Paris, France and Monster Hunter Executive Producer Ryozo Tsujimoto was there to talk about some of the new monsters in  MH4U . Our European community guy, Jake, managed to take Tsujimoto-san aside for a short community-driven interview. Check out the full video below:

You’ll also notice they have Paul from our Germany branch as well as Lynyster, who is winner of the weapon design contest on the European side . Definitely worth a watch if you want to know more about how she came up with that lovely weapon.

The Yian Kut-Ku is back in  Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate , and it is ready to teach some new tricks to newcomers once again!

Hunting students, I present you one of your main hunting teachers: Yian Kut-Ku. This monster may not appear to be much of threat, with its goofy personality and relatively short stature, but it actually plays a big role in teaching key hunting skills to any aspiring hunter.

You see, up until you get to the Yian Kut-Ku, the monsters you hunt aren’t very dangerous. You can almost get away with focusing all your energy on attacking and not worry about defense. But the Yian Kut-Ku demands more from you, thereby teaching us one of the most important lessons in series: respect the monster.

Those fighting the Yian Kut-Ku for the first time will notice it will often ignore some of your attacks… and its response is usually an attack that deals more damage than you’re ready to receive.

This monster will also teach you about fatigue and weakened states. In  MH4U , monsters get exhausted after a while and will seek food to regain stamina. Using its large beak, the Yian Kut-Ku can scoop out chunks of dirt searching for delicious insects called Konchu . And when it is weakened (AKA almost dead and ready to be captured ), Yian Kut-Ku will not only try to limp away, but it will also lower its ears, making it super obvious of its condition.

Click the GIFs to see more GIFs 😉

The reward for learning these valuable lessons? Well, you’re now equipped to hunt pretty much any other monster in the game. And you can craft some of this gear:

Blademaster armor

Gunner armor

Dual Blades

Light Bowgun

Look out for the Yian Kut-Ku and many other monsters (that should be respected) in  Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate as it arrives on the Nintendo 3DS early next year.

Capo Toys has created a Kickstarter for production of their Ryu figure. This figure, amongst others within the series, were awarded “Best New Toy Line 2014″ at the Toy Fair International. These 7”, articulated action figures are like no other. Check out their kickstarter for more information on how to support!

What happens when Deadpool bumps into fellow superheroes, the Gore Magala and Ono-san? Sadly, it’s not an amazing all-out brawl that spans the entirety of SDCC’s showfloor, but it IS at least an amusing romp that shows Wade’s less murderous side.

For more costumed play, check out our SDCC roundup .