This week’s late edition has a wide and varied array of topics, so let’s get to it:
Wasn’t Resident Evil 6 just announced in the last month? Capcom isn’t wasting any time. We usually see the first screens from a game when it’s still a year or two out, especially when it’s from a franchise this big. But it looks like Capcom is sticking with their plans to launch it in November. They’ve already announced a demo available in July (for 360, September for PS3), and committed to it by including early access in the box for Dragon’s Dogma, their new RPG. New copies of that game will include a code redeemable for access to the demo when it comes to their console.
Longtime fans of Risen have good reason to be excited for Risen 2: Dark Waters, and now they have even more reason. A DLC chapter for the upcoming sequel is planned that will pick up a plot thread from the first game and finally bring it to close. The “Treasure Isle” expansion will focus on Harlok, a cook from Captain Steelbeard’s ship that steals clues to the hidden location of the captain’s treasure. In exchange for helping him, your hero will be rewarded with new environments and puzzles, as well as a legendary item that gives you a permanent stat boost. The DLC will be free for those who preorder, though it should be available for about $10 at a later date. The game launches on April 24th.
Things are getting shaken up over at Sony, but it looks to be a good thing and only tangentially related to the gaming side of the business. Sir Howard Stringer, President and CEO of Sony Corp., is finally acting on the succession plan the company has been building for three years. He’ll be stepping down March 31, to be succeeded, as expected, by Kazuo Hirai, current head of the company’s consumer electronics (including PlayStation) and Chairman of Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. Hirai originally started with Sony’s music division in 1984 and has been moving up the chain ever since. His contributions to the PlayStation brand since joining that division in 1995 are numerous and he has been an architect for the current state of the gaming industry. This is an exciting and promising change for the entire Sony brand. Sony hasn’t yet announced his replacement in the consumer electronics division, but we should be hearing it soon.
Another leak from Capcom brings us a fresh round of rumors about Street Fighter x Tekken DLC. There’s no official announcement, but Capcom leaks rarely prove to be wrong and this does seem to match their pattern. Eight DLC packs were leaked, with a value of almost $40. The contents appear to be two gem packs of nine gems each ($2.99/ea); a color editing pack (free); a Tekken and/or Street Fighter costume pack giving you new fighter costumes based on stars from the opposite series ($9.99/ea, or $15.99/pair), a New Challengers pack with Guy, Cody, Christie, and Leo ($7.99); and an unlock pack ($4.99) that gives you acces to Akuma, Ogre, and other in-game unlockables without having to actually earn them yourself. On the surface, it looks like Capcom is prepared to support the game heavily after release. What’s really happening is that they’re preparing the Ultimate Hyper Puppies and Kitties Edition which will be announced two weeks after the last expansion hits your online store.
With the Gotham City Impostors beta already running it’s about time we get a release date. How about next week on February 7th? That’s when it should be hitting your console’s online store for $14.99. I’ve had fun in the beta, but didn’t get as much time with it as I would have liked. If I were actually any good at FPS or competitive online this might be the game that drew me into it. Seeing as I suck, I’m just not sure I can justify $15 for frustration.
If you’re not joining the legions of Batman and Joker knock-offs killing each other online there is another title releasing next week you may be interested to play. Or replay if you grew up in the same arcades I did. The Simpsons Arcade Game will be coming to PSN and XBLA next week. The best news out of this is that PS+ members will get the game for free on PSN. Which only seems fair to me. After all, I think I spent enough quarters to buy the full cabinet two or three times over as a kid.
As if The Simpsons aren’t enough free goodies for PS+ members, February is a great month to be a subscriber. In addition to the arcade classic, PS+ also gets the PSOne Classic Final Fantasy V, two free minis (Hungry Giraffe and Gold Medalist), Far Cry 2 for PS3, and six PSN games (Battle Fantasia, Fatal Inertia, Hamsterball, Inferno Pool, Mahjong Tales: Ancient Wisdom, and Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket Powered Battle Cars). All for free. In case you missed the SEGA bundle because you joined too late, or are just joining this month to get these deals, all six of those titles (Altered Beast, Comix Zone, Golden Axe, Sonic 1 & 2, and Streets of Rage 2) will be back for free as well. The usual raft of discounts, free game trials, themes, avatars, and Qore will also be available. Seriously, February looks to be one of PS+’s best months ever.
Even more on the downloadable front, Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc HD has been announced for release on March 21, 2012. I don’t have the pricing yet, but this comes from the same people who did the Beyond Good & Evil HD remake so I expect it will be similar to that price ($10). I’m a little ashamed to say that I didn’t experience Rayman until the recent Rayman: Origins. I have absolutely no idea why that was an origin story, or even if there was an actual story to it, but it was some excellent platforming and I really enjoyed it. I’m definitely going to be diving into this character’s back catalog.
As you probably recall from Tuesday’s edition of VGQH, I went on a bit of a rant about online passes and the way they affect games. In a curious spin on that news, EA has announced that Syndicate will have no online pass. According to Jeff Gamon of EA partners, this decision was made because the game has no competitive multiplayer and contains such a wealth of content that they don’t think anyone will trade it in. EA was one of the pioneers the online pass, and are even requiring it for acces to story missions in Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, which is single player only. [More on that game later.] According to Gamon, “Under normal circumstances it would have had an online pass, but because it didn’t have competitive multiplayer and because we wanted as many people as possible to be playing co-op, we got away with it.” I’m not complaining, but does it seem like EA is feeling a little bipolar about this controversial tool they created?
If you’re planning to pick up UFC Undisputed 3 on February 14th, you’ll want to consider how much of the DLC you’ll want. There’s plenty of it coming, but you’ll be able to pre-purchase it all at a discount via the Season Pass for $17 on release day, a $9 savings. As usual, the Season Pass will get you all of the planned DLC as soon as it hits your store. Plans for the DLC are:
- Fight of the Night Pack – Five new fighters, $5, March 2012
- International Pack – Five new fighters, $5, April 2012
- Ultimate Submissions – Five fights, free, launch day
- Ultimate Rivals – Five fights, free, launch day
- Ultimate Upsets – Five fights, $5, March 2012
- Mixed Bag – Five fights, $5, April 2012
- Alistair Overeem, $1, March 2012 (free at launch if you did the Facebook thing)
- Create-a-Fighter Boost – Extra points for fighter development, $3, launch day
- All Unlockables – Unlock everything without earning it, $2, launch day
On top of THQ’s financial troubles, it was revealed during an investor call this week that Metro: Last Light is being delayed from 3rd quarter 2012 to an unspecified date in 2013, citing the usual need for more polish. This may not be a bad sign. THQ has recently dropped a lot of IPs and refocused on providing top shelf experiences for core gamers. This delay may just be showing their commitment to that goal. In addition to delaying the game, they have also revised the marketing budget, doubling that of the previous game. It’s unfortunate to see a delay, but this game will be our first real chance to see what THQ is doing with their new business plan. A lot is riding on the title and I’m very interested to see how it all turns out.
It’s become kind of a niche franchise, but if you’re one of the many awaiting the console release of Worms: Ultimate Mayhem, combining the best elements of Worms 3D and Worms 4, the release date is nearly here. This week it was confirmed the game will be hitting PSN and XBLA on Valentine’s Day, February 14th. The price hasn’t been confirmed, but it’s $15 on Steam, so plan accordingly.
I’m still not sure what to think of Lollipop Chainsaw, but the pre-order outfit tells me they’ve at least got their inspiration from the right place – depending on where you buy your copy. The highlight for me is the GameStop preorder, which gets you an Ash inspired set of threads straight from the Evil Dead trilogy. [Hot girl dressed as Ash? Is it okay that I like that? In a dirty way?] Power Up Rewards members will also get an outfit inspired by Jimmy Urine of Mindless Self Indulgence (a punk band contributing to the soundtrack). Alternatively, preorders at Amazon will get you the Rockabilly and Pin-Up outfits, or Best Buy scores the Goth Girl and Foxy Funk sets.
Finally, I got a chance to play the demo for Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. RPG demos that just show you the first few minutes of a game are hardly a fair thing from which to judge, but it’s what they provided. Based on my time with the demo, which is available now on PSN and XBLA, I don’t see myself buying this game. The story didn’t make much sense, not that I’d really expect it to in the short amount of time I played. The audio mixing seemed very off, especially the dialogue, and the mute hero was just off-putting. I know the point of a mute hero is so you can “hear” your own voice instead of having one projected on you, but far from making me feel like I was the hero, it actually separated me from him. Furthermore, when choosing his dialogue options (similar to Mass Effect‘s wheel sometimes, and occasionally just a list of topics to discuss), the game suffered awkward camera cuts and and strange responses from the AI. Combine that with some wonky camera controls and combat being a little sloppy and I felt no connection at all. I do appreciate the bonus armor unlocked for Mass Effect 3, but I didn’t even continue the 45 minute free roam the demo allowed after completing the introductory stage. With dozens, or even hundreds, of hours planned for the retail title, I think I’ll have to pass. I was bored and annoyed after a half-hour.