I must have missed my coffee Tuesday, because I just noticed I never hit publish on 7/16’s VGQH. Some of this may be old news to you, since I’ve pulled the biggest stuff from earlier this week. Sorry.
A Collector’s Edition version of Batman: Arkham Origins has been revealed by the German Amazon site. I can’t locate the details now, but PS3Gen was able to capture a picture highlighting the edition’s details. Keep in mind, this is not confirmed and may only be available in the EU, but it’s likely the US version will be something similar. This particular pack includes an “holographic” box, art book, metal 3D case, 23cm (9″) Batman and Joker figurine, and two DLC add-ons (Batman skin, Deathstroke character challenges). It was listed for €100. For what it’s worth,the Deathstroke DLC seems to be a pre-order incentive on the US Amazon, as well as a $10 gift card. The game launches October 25, 2013.
Also worth noting, the new 52 version of Copperhead has been confirmed as one of the eight bounty hunters looking to kill the Caped Crusader in Arkham Origins. This female version of the long-time Bat-villain may not be familiar to those who haven’t read an new 52, but I have no doubts she’ll be a great character for the game. This makes six of the eight high profile enemies confirmed (Deathstroke, Deadshot, Bane, Joker, Black Mask, and Copperhead). Who’s missing?
Going to Comic-Con this weekend? This will be the first chance for the public to get hands-on with the PlayStation 4. Be sure to head to the PlayStation booth (#301) for your chance to try the new DualShock 4 on games like Knack, Driveclub, and Octodad. More interested in Vita and PS3 games? Try out Tearaway, Spelunky, Arkham Origins (and Blackgate), and Beyond: Two Souls. They’re going to be giving away Vitas daily so it’s definitely worth a stop if you have the time in your busy Con schedule.
Speaking of PlayStation, the PSN Play 2013 promotion has been announced. Two of the four titles are PlayStation exclusives. As in years past, pre-ordering any of the titles gets you XMB and there’s cash back if you buy more thane one of them. The promotion starts July 23rd with the cross-buy Stealth Inc: A Clone in the Dark (formerly Stealth Bastard in its PC release). The releases continue July 30th with Cloudberry Kingdom and August 6th with ibb & obb. Those three are $10 each. The final game, Duck Tales: Remastered will be $15 on August 13th. PS+ members get extra 20% off. Check the PS Blog for details on each game and how the promotion works.
Microsoft may have turned around some policies for the XBox One post-E3, but it seems they are far from decided on exactly what features will be nixed and which will be kept. When they dropped the DRM and “always” online requirements, they also dropped the family sharing features that were mentioned but never clarified. Now, there has been an online petition (because those are so relevant to anything) to restore family sharing that may or may not have had an impact on the latest statement from Microsoft. According to Marc Whitten, Chief Product Officer, “If it’s something that people are really excited about and want, we’re going to make sure that we find the right way to bring it back.” Which is great that they’re still listening to customers. But how can they be excited about a feature you never fully explained? If you think family sharing means that nine of your friends will get a copy of any game you buy that you can all play together then please skip this entire paragraph. None of it will make sense to your misconstrued notions. By most reports, the sharing would actually have been a limited demo of the game and you could carry any progress you made into the full release if you decided to buy it yourself. At its most liberal, you may have been able to load a purchased game onto ten different consoles, but only one device would be able to run it at a time, which would be verified by an internet connection. Regardless, if it returns at all it will be in a post-launch update. Whitten also explained the stripping this feature was not directly connected to altering the DRM policy. It was more a problem of quickly devoting resources to the DRM change, and poaching those resources from the project to implement family sharing. Despite any confusion or bad press, Whitten still believes in the product and believes they are on the right track: “I think it’s pretty simple. We’ve got to just talk more, get people understanding what our system is. The thing that’s really gratifying is that people are excited about the types of features that are possible, and it’s sort of shame on us that we haven’t done as good of a job as we can to make people feel like that’s where we’re headed.” Frankly, I agree with him. I’ve made my next-gen decision, and I have my doubts about both systems. But, long run, I think both will be just fine and will make many customers happy. Unfortunately, having both do well means the damn fanboys still won’t shut up.
Here’s one that perplexes me a bit, Sony is auctioning off items from it’s Bid for Greatness campaign, but you’ll bid with your Gold trophies on PSN. I’m a little sketchy on how this is going to work, but I do know you won’t actually sacrifice your trophies. Apparently you’ll log in to the Bid for Greatness site and basically be issued credit for each gold trophy you’ve earned on PS3 and Vita. Bid with your trophies, and if you bid the most, you’ll win the item. Once you’ve spent a trophy on an item, you won’t be able to use it again on another auction. Auctions will run 24 hours. There’s some seriously cool stuff (the Black Hand costume from Killzone: Shadow Fall and Clicker costume from The Last of Us are already gone) and it’s free so you may as well go for it. I doubt I have enough gold trophies to win anything (the Clicker costume was at 709 when I checked yesterday), but I may as well try. Here’s what’s still up for grabs:
- 7/19 Dragonborn Dagger from The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim
- 7/20 Witch Doctor Mojo from Diablo 3
- 7/21 Crane Scene Concept Art by PlayStation
- 7/22 Witch Doctor Cursed Skull from Diablo 3
- 7/23 Delsin Rowe’s Outfit from InFamous: Second Son
- 7/24 Dragonborn Shield from The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim
- 7/25 Captain Kenway’s Cutlass from Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag
- 7/26 Dragonborn Sword from The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim
- 7/27 Dragonborn Stalhrim Mace from The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim
- 7/28 Witch Doctor Ceremonial Garb from Diablo 3
- 7/29 Helghast Sniper Outfit from Killzone: Shadow Fall
- 7/30 Captain Kenway’s Outfit from Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag
Sony announced via Twitter this week that they will be shutting down servers for several games near the end of January: “Advisory: Online multiplayer services for MAG, SOCOM Confrontation, and SOCOM 4 will be ending on 01/28/14.” Online multiplayer is a major part of the two SOCOM games, but the single player experience should unaffected. MAG, however, is online only. This happening is something you likely knew and accepted when you spent your $60 on it in January 2010, but it once again raises some discussion points about games. It’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately. How much art has been destroyed or allowed to decay over the years simply because we didn’t recognize what the value would be at a future date? Much of early film history was lost simply because no one thought it would have any value now. We now have all sorts of museums, societies, and paid professionals that restore and catalog that history, along with maintaining archives when possible. Video games could suffer the same fate, simply because not enough people recognized them art in time. Ultimately, because of emulators and other technology, we could still be experiencing the original Super Mario Bros. in 100 years, just like we can still watch MGM’s The Wizard of Oz. But will we still be able to experience MAG, a 256 player online shooter? What about World of Warcraft? Even if we can modify code so the game will run without connecting to a server, what experience will you have without the other players? Big questions, and this probably is not the place for them – but thanks for indulging me.
Although, speaking of old games, the original 1992 Genesis version of Flashback is going to be included in VectorCell’s HD reimagining. This is one of those cult games that don’t necessarily have the name recognition or sales numbers, but does have a loyal following. The core team from the original game are also the ones behind the remake, which is coming to PSN and XBLA on Agusut 21st ($10).
WiiU owners may still be a bit sore about the delay of Rayman Legends while it gets ported to other consoles, but at least it’s getting some more content. Forty levels from Rayman Origins are being revamped and included, in the new art style. These levels won’t need to be unlocked, they’re available from the start, and they aren’t required for the story if you don’t want to play them. Michel Ancel also mentioned there’s a football-ish mini game included, Kung Foot. I’m assuming he means soccer, not American football, but I could be wrong. We’ll know for sure September 3, 2013.
With the decision not to renew the license, NCAA ’14 (which launched last week) will be the last EA Sports football game to bear the collegiate organization’s logo. The licensing agreement between EA and the NCAA will officially expire in June 2014. Andrew Wilson, EA Sports’ Executive VP, says “EA Sports will continue to develop and publish college football games, but we will no longer include the NCAA names and marks. Our relationship with the Collegiate Licensing Company is strong and we are already working on a new game for next generation consoles which will launch next year and feature the college teams, leagues and all the innovation fans expect from EA Sports.” So, it looks like nothing is changing from a gameplay or franchise perspective. My understanding is that their games will still feature the same schools, teams, logos, stadiums, etc. but won’t carry the governing body’s blessing or corporate image. Does this mean another developer can sign with the NCAA and use all of those assets as well, or did EA get exclusive individual licenses from the Collegiate Licensing Company? I’m curious to see how this plays out, as the football genre sorely needs some competition.
Angry Birds Star Wars has over 100 million downloads according to Rovio, which isn’t really a surprise. Obviously inspired by such success, they are now working to port the game to consoles. This HD version will include 20 brand new levels, two player co-op, and a four player competitive mode. It’s scheduled for October 29th on 360, PS3, and Vita.
Another separation between XBox One and PS4 has surfaced. While Microsoft is still exploring the option of adapters to use your 360 headset on the next-gen console, Sony has confirmed that your PS3 wireless headset will work on PS4. The new console will come with a wired headset anyway. Microsoft asserts that enough improvement has been made to the microphone on the new Kinect that headsets won’t be needed.
Ubisoft has confirmed the limited edition bundle for Watch Dogs. It looks like a pretty decent, though fairly standard, set. It will include a 9″ Aiden Pearce figurine, steelbook case, collector’s box, vigilante mask, artbook, and soundtrack. This does look a bit pricey though, ringing in at $130. The PS3 and 360 versions of the game are scheduled for release November 19th. XBox One and PS4 versions are expected sometime in November along with the consoles.
Double Helix and Capcom are updating another classic game franchise. Strider, first released in arcades in 1989, is coming to next-gen consoles. The newest version will take place in alternate universe where Strider Hiryu will use his ultimate ninja skills in what appears to be an open world with combat mechanics similar to Devil May Cry or God of War. As a ninja, Strider is an expert with throwing daggers, acrobatics, and a plasma sword. No confirmed date yet, but it’s slated as “early 2014.” Zombietron has the trailer.
Randy Pitchford of Gearbox was recently asked on Twitter if there would be more Borderlands 2 DLC, a thing he had already hinted. What’s surprising is that he didn’t issue the normally cagey response a question like that normally earns. His answer was “Saturday, yes.” This will likely not be included in your Season Pass, and could follow up on the tease at the end of “Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep.” I guess we’ll find out tomorrow.
Michael Angeli is best known for being a screen writer for Battlestar Galactica. But his current project is actually a video game. Speaking at Sand Diego Comic-Con, he mentioned that he’s been working with Sony Santa Monica, most famous for the God of War series, on a new project. I think this amounts to good news. BSG was good until the last season, and God of War was good until Ascension. Something new and fresh for both should be great. I’ll just have to remember to not get attached.
That should do it for this week. I’ll be sure get both editions up next week. Enjoy the weekend and keep your eyes on Comic-Con, I expect at least one major announcement coming this weekend but I won’t say what it is in case I’m wrong. Don’t want to get any hopes up.