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Metroid Prime 1-3: A Visual Retrospective Has Clothbound Cover With Metallic Art

by admin September 25, 2025

Ahead of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond’s release this December, fans of the iconic Nintendo series can revisit the original Prime Trilogy in written form. On October 28, an official Metroid Prime Trilogy retrospective will be published by Piggyback, the strategy guide publisher best known for its excellent Legend of Zelda guidebooks. Preorders for Metroid Prime 1-3: A Visual Retrospective are available now at Amazon for $46.49 (was $50).

With Amazon’s preorder price guarantee, you’ll automatically get any price cuts offered between the time you order and launch.

$46.49 (was $50) | Releases October 28

The book’s full title is Metroid Prime 1-3: A Visual Retrospective: The Official Art and Making of Metroid Prime 1-3.

The 212-page clothbound hardcover with a stitched binding and etched metallic foil cover art featuring Samus Aran wearing the Varia Suit. Piggyback is using high-quality, sheet-fed art paper to showcase the concept art and sketches from the development of the original Metroid Prime (2002), Prime 2: Echoes (2004), Prime 3: Corruption (2007), and Metroid Prime Remastered (2023).

Along with the artwork, the book contains commentary from Retro Studios developers. The foreword was written by Metroid Prime series producer Kensuke Tanabe, and each of the four sections are introduced by a developer from Retro Studios.

Preorder Metroid Prime 4: Beyond + Amiibo

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond launches December 4 on Nintendo Switch 2 and Switch. The Switch 2 version is available to preorder at Amazon, Walmart, and other major retailers for $70. The original Switch version is up for preorder for $60. If you want to upgrade to Switch 2 to play Metroid Prime 4 in 4K resolution, Amazon finally has Nintendo’s new console in stock. The upcoming Pokemon Legends: Z-A Bundle has sold out a couple of times, but the Mario Kart World Switch 2 Bundle is available for $499.

Nintendo is also releasing three new Amiibo for Metroid Prime 4. Two different Samus Amiibo figures launch November 6, while Sylux releases December 4. Amazon is sold out of two of the Amiibo, while Walmart is sold out of the one Amiibo Amazon has in stock. You can also still get the Metroid Dread Amiibo 2-Pack featuring Samus and E.M.M.I. for $28.73 at Amazon.

More Metroid Games

Metroid Prime Remastered

If you haven’t played Metroid Prime Remastered, we’d highly recommend checking it out ahead of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond. It’s one of the very best games for Nintendo Switch and will serve as a good primer (sorry) for Beyond. For classic side-scrolling Metroid, check out Metroid Dread for Switch and Metroid: Samus Returns on 3DS. The latter is a great remake of Metroid II that flew a bit under the radar because it launched in 2017 after the Switch hit the market. Dread and Samus Returns were developed by MercurySteam.

Nintendo Switch Online members can play the first five Metroid games on Nintendo Switch and Switch 2. Metroid, Metroid II, and Super Metroid are available with the Switch Online Individual membership ($20/year). To get the Game Boy Advance games–Metroid Fusion and Zero Mission–you need the Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership ($50/year).

And if you want to play all of these Metroid games with a controller themed around the franchise, PowerA recently launched an officially licensed wireless controller featuring Samus Aran and a galactic background. You can also grab a pair of wired Metroid-themed earbuds packaged in a drawstring bag with Metroid artwork.

More Nintendo Guide & Art Books

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom / Breath of the Wild Official Strategy Guides

Amazon has deals on the hardcover editions of Piggyback’s other recent Nintendo books. We’ve included a list of those below. And if you’re looking for more official Nintendo art and lore books, you should check out Dark Horse’s series of Zelda and Super Mario books.

Piggyback’s Zelda Guides:

Nintendo Art & Lore Books:

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September 25, 2025 0 comments

Game Updates

New Art Book Explores Mortal Kombat’s Bloody 30-Year Visual History

by admin September 10, 2025

More than 30 years ago, Mortal Kombat hit arcades, kicking off the hyper-violent franchise that now spans numerous video games, big-budget movies, comic books, and even an animated series. Soon, fans can get an inside look at the franchise’s gore-spattered history thanks to the upcoming art book, Mortal Kombat: Flawless Victory, written by Ian Flynn–the lead writer of IDW Publishing’s Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and Sonic Frontiers. The $50 hardcover book will be released on October 21, 2025, and is available for preorder at Amazon.

$50 (was $60) | Releases October 21

According to the book’s Amazon store page, Mortal Kombat: Flawless Victory will feature over 300 pages of concept sketches, renders, and illustrations. The art will be presented alongside exclusive interviews with the development team at NetherRealm Studios, commentary from Flynn, and an in-depth look at fan-favorite characters like Scorpion, Raiden, and Liu Kang.

While August 2025 is a bit of a long wait, the silver lining here is that you won’t be charged until the book ships, and thanks to Amazon’s preorder price guarantee, you’ll get it for the best price.

Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection is a blast from the past

The best way to experience Mortal Kombat history is through the original games, and fortunately, they’re all coming to PC and console later this year. Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection from retro specialists Digital Eclipse launches on December 12, and this bundle includes the original trilogy of arcade games, Mortal Kombat 4, Game Boy ports, several spin-offs, and a look behind the scenes with archival materials and newly filmed interviews.

Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection will be available in three editions: Standard, Deluxe, and Kollector’s. The Deluxe Edition comes with the game, a steelbook case, magnet, poster, and more, while the Kollector’s Edition offers all of those extras and a controller-holder shaped like Goro, an arcade token, and several other extras. Preorders for all editions are now live.

While the 2021 Mortal Kombat movie isn’t something you’d consider for a historical tour of the franchise yet, it’s still a ton of fun to watch. With its sequel delayed to May 2026, now is a great time to revisit the movie since it’s getting a new 4K steelbook release. The new edition launches October 7, and the cover features Scorpion’s mask on the front and his deadly kunai on the back. This version also comes with a voucher to claim the digital version of Mortal Kombat, giving you the option to download or stream the film on a wide variety of apps and devices.

If you’re a fan of gaming history, you can check out several other books right now covering various consoles and games. Game Boy enthusiasts will want to check out The Game Boy Encyclopedia–a book that explores the hundreds of games released for the handheld–by veteran video game journalist Chris Scullion, who has also authored several other books on the topic,

The Video Game Encyclopedia Series

There are also deep dives into Nintendo written by Florent Gorge, as the long-awaited translations of the third and fourth volumes in The History of Nintendo series are also up for preorder. If you ever wanted to read up on the secret history of the iconic video game company, then books like The History Of the Famicom/NES and The History Of The Game Boy are essential reading. Lastly, you can also check out the superb hardcovers produced by Bitmap Books. These cover a wide range of topics, from box art to horror games, and they’re some of the best coffee table books around if you’re looking for something that’s easy on the eyes.

More gaming history books

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September 10, 2025 0 comments

Gaming Gear

Overwatch 2 will overhaul its progression systems to show more visual flair in matches

by admin August 26, 2025

The next season of Overwatch 2 will bring more than the usual new hero and battle pass to the team shooter. Blizzard announced that Season 18 will introduce a new take on the progression system. As they currently stand, the progression numbers feel pretty divorced from the gameplay; this revamp introduces new ways to display your prowess to teammates and foes in matches as well as some welcome changes to how you see and equip your rewards.

The new Progression 2.0 system has overhauled the visual side. For starters, there will be new portrait frames that increase in fanciness every 20 levels, capping at level 60. These Ascended borders will be displayed when you pick your hero for a match. Between the different Ascended frames, players will unlock five tiers of hero badges that also display in Hero Select under your portrait.

Overwatch 2 Hero Badges

(Blizzard)

In addition to the new flash, the Hero Select screen will show your allies a card with your top heroes on it. I doubt anyone will pay too much attention to cards in the Open Queue matches, so this seems like a Competitive-angled addition. It could help make it easy to build a team composition based on the whole group’s strengths, creating a test of your crew’s cooperation ability before the game even starts. Blizzard clarified that in Competitive, opponents won’t be able to see your portrait borders until 10-15 seconds after a match begins, and hero cards won’t be displayed to an enemy until one of you eliminates each other. That means nobody should be able to use your hero card against you in the ban phase.

I’ve almost never thought about the rewards I get for progression stats because it’s unclear when I’ve gotten a new item and I rarely bother searching for them in my cosmetics collections, so having a dedicated progression menu added should place a new focus on tracking how far you’ve gotten with a particular character. The hero-specific rewards on the horizon will be displayed on that page, and already-unlocked items can be equipped directly from that menu. Blizzard is also offering occasional Epic and Legendary loot box freebies as you rise through the ranks for each hero, which is always welcome.

The progression levels will be rewarded retroactively when the season starts. For long-time fans, that means you can expect to see a whole bunch of rewards to browse through when you first log in during Season 18. For new players, there will be more credits and cosmetics available to unlock in the first 20 levels. That first set of 20 levels will also be scaled to be quicker to complete, while later levels will require more time.

The new season kicks off tomorrow, on August 26. Season 18 will also bring a new option for keyboard and mouse controls on console and the permanent addition of watery support hero Wuyang.

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August 26, 2025 0 comments