Following up on the bizarre promo shot we had recently, three DLC packs have been announced for Asura’s Wrath. The first two will fill some gaps between chapters in the main game. The third will feature Asura fighting the stars of the Street Fighter universe, including Ryu as seen in that promo. No release date for the DLC has been announced, but there shouldn’t be any hurry considering the main game was only released on Tuesday this week.
The Vita hype continues as Capcom has announced they’ll be bringing Street Fighter x Tekken to the new handheld. In typical Capcom fashion, the game hasn’t even released on consoles yet and it’s already got an expanded version planned. The Vita version will include an additional 12 fighters, on top of the PS3 exclusives (Cole McGrath, Kuro, Toru, Pac-Man and 80s cover Mega Man) already on the roster. From the Street Fighter side they’ll be adding Blanka, Cody, Dudley, Elena, Guy and Sakura. Alisa Bosconovitch, Bryan Fury, Christie Monteiro, Jack, Lars Alexandersson, and Lei Wulong join the Tekken side of the crew. These fighters could also be coming to consoles via DLC an/or an expanded retail version. The console version is heading to stores on March 6th. The Vita version is scheduled for Fall 2012.
Speaking of March 6th, Mass Effect 3 is coming. The N7 Collector’s Edition seems to be sold out virtually everywhere so if you didn’t preorder it already you’re probably out of luck. But it’s okay. The bonus character and other add-on content that comes with collector’s edition will be available as day one DLC for $10 in the “From Ashes” add-on. This works well for me as I only recently tried to upgrade my preorder to no avail. I had initially passed on the N7 edition thinking all of the stuff I wanted would eventually be available for about $10 and I didn’t want to spend the extra $10 on an art book and fancy case that I didn’t need. I started second-guessing myself when I realized most of my purchase was being paid for by trade-ins. As it turns out, not only was I right initially, but I don’t even have to wait for the release of the extras. Now if only someone wanted to give me their N7 patch….
Do you want to get your copy of Mass Effect 3 early? Do you live in Las Vegas, New York, London, Paris, or Berlin? Starting yesterday in San Francisco, copies of the game will be sent into the upper atmosphere on a weather balloon then dropping back to the surface for a lucky fan to find. Today’s Las Vegas launch is happening between 7-10AM. Additional locations and their release dates are New York (2/25), London (2/27), Paris (2/28), and Berlin (2/29). These copies will also include a special fan package for the lucky hunter. If you’re looking to be one of the two fans that will score a copy (360 or PS3) you’ll want to create an EA online account and follow the GPS data. Then lace up your running shoes.
Borderlands 2 has finally been given a release date, September 18, 2012. Not only does a release date mean you can start preordering, but Gearbox already wants to encourage it. Preorders get a bump to the “Premiere Club.” This nets you a whole collection of additional weapons in the Gearbox Gun Pack, a Golden Key to unlock a rare item in the Golden Sanctuary Loot Chest, and access to the Vault Hunter’s Relic to boost your fortune. If you loved the first game, like so many others, go put your five dollars down now.
In case you missed it, the first DLC for Neverdead hit the download services earlier this week for $3.99. The second pack is scheduled for next week, presumably at the same price. While the first add-on gave you Nikki Summerfield as a playable character, the next pack brings NADA Chief Sullivan. The new pack will also include three new modes: Egg Hunt, Fragile Alliance, and Onslaught.
Another game I’ve been eyeballing since it’s announcement, solely because of the descriptive title, is Shoot Many Robots. Gameplay doesn’t look exceptional, but it does look good. P. Walter Tugnut is on a mission to shoot many robots. He’ll have lots of weapon customization and frantic destruction. Anyway, I mention it again only because it’s been given an official release date, March 13, 2012. Pricing looks to be about $10. As always, members of the Big Shiny Robot! team do not condone, and will usually discourage, the actual shooting of robots.
The next Medal of Honor game has finalyl been announced. Tier 1 fans should be dancing right now, but you may want to slow down just a bit. I realize it’s just a subtitle, but could they pick anything more bland than Medal of Honor: Warfighter? [Cue the franchise bashing for CoD.] For fans of the series there is one important development to watch. As with the last game, Danger Close is developing using DICE’s Frostbite 2.0 engine. Unlike the last game, Danger Close is also developing their own multiplayer, not DICE. This may not mean much, but multiplayer is a key feature for any military shooter and a change in developer will likely bring a significant change to the feel of it. Could be good, bad, or negligible, but it’s definitely something to watch. We’ll know more when it releases in October, but you can get a good look at it next month in OXM.
It’s been a while since EA released an NBA game, following the cancellation on NBA Elite 11 some time ago. The goal has always been to return to the franchise when they felt the innovation and development had reached an acceptable level. It seems that time has come. According to an announcement on EA.com, “We have a new studio and a new development team, and this fall we’ll launch an all-new experience that captures the future of basketball with NBA Live 13.” They’ve promised more details on Monday. Frankly, I hope this does well. Not because EA needs yet another blockbuster sprots franchise, but because I think it’s a model that should be used in more sports games. I would probably buy a football game more often than every seven years if they were only released every two or three. Why not release Madden every three years at $60 with annual roster updates for $20 via DLC? You may not see as much net profit, but it would go further in innovating and creating better games in the long run. You’d lose annual buyers, but you’d be getting more buyers like me to counter.
Knowing there’s a Spidey film reboot upcoming means knowing there’s a game to coincide. Actually, that doesn’t take brilliant deductive work, we’ve already covered the announcement The Amazing Spider-Man weeks ago. But if you were curious when it was releasing, besides very close to the same time as the movie, know that it will be June 26th. The film is coming on . In case you want some details on the game, too bad. Nothing substantial is announced yet, but it does have Rhino.
If you’re the kind of gamer that enjoys competitive multiplayer but could care less about single player campaigns, then Sony has a deal for you. The Killzone 3 multiplayer modes and maps will be coming as a standaone product to PSN next week. The package will come in two versions. The free to play option will let you play all of the maps, but will stick you with an XP limit and level cap. To remove the limit and access the skill tree beyond the level cap will be $15.
Personally, I’m not much of one for art books with my games. Maybe I’m just not classy enough, or perhaps my attention span is such that I’d rather play with the pretty thing than look at it. Which probably explains why I keep getting stomped by the bouncers at strip clubs. Regardless, if art books are your thing, but you don’t want to spend the extra $10-20 for a Collector’s Edition, take a look at preordering the upcoming Game of Thrones RPG. Supplies are limited, and they’re only available at select retailers, but the 64 page, full color, hard bound books will be free of charge with your preorder. The game is out May 15th, but if you want the art book I’d get that preorder in now.
