Hello and welcome to September 2011’s first edition of VGQH. To start, we’ve got two releases to please cross media fans.
First, the free Dead Island digital comic is now available. The comic, published through Marvel Custom Solutions, is a short (6 pages) prelude to the events you’ll play when the game releases on Tuesdays (9-6-11). Check it out here.
Second, the Rage novel by Matthew Costello is now available. The novel sets the stage for the game you’ll be playing on October 4th. The basics: An asteroid has all but destroyed life on Earth. Humanity’s “best” have been saved in Arks. Matthew Raine leaves his Ark to discover some humans have survived and modern society is a post-apocalyptic hell. The game is is from id Software, the folks who made Doom and Quake. It’s a good pedigree, but this book actually sounds moe up my alley than the game. You can get the novel from Amazon here and preorder the game here.
Have you been cursing SEGA and all of their sub-par games development recently, wishing they were devoting some resources to Yakuza 5? Good news. It’s coming. Not only is there another game in development, SEGA has also formed Yakuza Studios, headed by Toshihiro Nagoshi, one of the series’ co-creators. The next installment in the franchise is still early in development so no release date is even being hinted. It will go back to the main line of the series, not following up the recent Japanese zombie spin-off. The new studio won’t only be producing Yakuza titles either. The upcoming Binary Domain also comes under the umbrella of the new studio.
As if Call of Duty fans don’t spend enough on their games as it is, Activision ahs announced the Hardened Edition of Modern Warfare 3. The extras included are unique disc art, one year membership to CoD Elite, “Founder Status” on Elite (in-game emblem, player card, camo, extra clan XP, and more), steelbook case, and a “field journal” (read, standard limited edition art book). You also get an extra bonus depending on your console of choice. PS3 users get an exclusive theme. Those buying on XBox 360 get a Juggernaut Avatar. This is coming from a leak, not the official announcement that’s coming at the XP event this weekend. So none of this is totally confirmed. But the snapshot of the marketing materials is very convincing. The game, including the Hardened Edition, releases November 8th.
You may remember when Burnout CRASH! was announced a while back that it was tentatively scheduled for an August release. Obviously that didn’t happen. EA has responded with a release date of September 20th. So you’ll be hitting those crash junctions in less than three weeks. They’ve also confirmed a price tag of $9.99 (or equivalent points). I’m still just as skeptical of the game’s shift in tone and perspective as I was before, but at least I know when I’ll find out if it was justified.
There’s been plenty of talk about the fate of Team Bondi, developers of L.A. Noire. And it appears the worst has happened. Despite positive sales andd reviews of the detective game that set a new bar for motion capture in games, the company has entered into bankruptcy administration in Australia. The rumored merger with KMM isn’t happening, but many of Team Bondi’s staff were offered positions at the film company rather than severance pay. As for L.A. Noire, Rockstar still holds publishing rights, which means additional DLC or a sequel could be coming from a different developer. The more worrying prospect is that a game that sells 4 million copies may not be enough to keep the developer above water. Certainly the additional cost of all that motion capture put Team Bondi at additional risk, but 4 million is considered very good sales. Does this mean smaller developers won’t be able to push the technology in the future? That could be bad for the industry, as it’s clear the major developers and publishers are more interested in canned sequels than pushing the technology envelope. Time will tell.
Hmm. Kind of a downer note to end the week. Ah well. Things aren’t always cherries and roses. Have a safe and happy Labot Day weekend. Remember to step away from your Call of Duty Double XP experience occasionally and enjoy the oudoors. Besides playing inFAMOUS 2 all day today, my plans are a 10k on the Bonneville Salt Flats tomorrow, followed by spending the day and night in Wendover losing money and imbibing adult beverages. Sunday will most likely see me at Brewvies for the Big Movie Mouth Off’s one year anniversary party. If you want some free movies in an air-conditioned theater (combined with great food and even better beer), come see The Professional (aka Leon) and Hot Fuzz. Jeff and Jimmy tell us they have a ridiculous amount of prizes, including DVDs and Blu-Rays, to give away. We’ll see you there?