It’s April Fool’s Day. While news gags today will be happening everywhere, they’re generally not going to be very funny and I doubt I’d be able to do a good one either. So, I’m not even going to try. What I will do is add one completely fake piece in today’s VGQH. See if you can spot it.
File this under rumor for now, but it appears a site maintenance error has leaked some information about possible Batman: Arkham City villains. Rocksteady accidentally posted what appears to be several new PSN avatars in their official forums, then immediately pulled them down. A few sites, including fan community arkhamcity.co.uk, posted the pictures but were asked to remove them. But, as things go on the internet, the information is still out. The picture I found is low-res, but at least Poison Ivy is clear. The others are tough to make out. It looks like Bane is on the left and Mr. Freeze is #4. The middle picture could be Clayface, Solomon Grundy, Blockbuster, or someone else. The last one is tenuous at best. Knowing the way Rocksteady has redesigned the appearance of Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy, my guess is that’s Penguin.
We’re getting used to seeing games with comic book tie-ins, and even some with traditional novel tie-ins. id Software’s Rage is doing both. While the game itself doesn’t have much attraction for me (I generally don’t care for FPS), the book and comics are appealing. The universe created has potential. The three issue comic is coming in June. The novel will be released August 30th, followed by the game on September 13th. [Side note: There’s a news bit floating around today that this game is being rebranded Fallout: Rage and will be entering the Fallout canon. Despite some story similarities I would be shocked if this proved to be anything other than one of those aforementioned bad April Fool’s jokes.]
You may have heard rumblings about the PlayStation Rewards program over the last few months. The concept was to reward players with avatars, Home content, themes, etc. based on a point system. Players would earn points for loading up a brand new game on their system, buying content from PSN, and in other ways. The beta has been running since October and the full program was expected next month. Sony hasn’t given details, but they have axed the program. Well, delayed it at least, and possibly canceled it. According to the official statement, Sony “remain[s] committed to providing the best overall consumer experience for our users, and we will be refocusing our efforts in the near future to further developing PlayStation Plus and our other network services. We will continue to find innovative ways to thank our loyal and devoted customers.”
The PlayStation 3 has a few new tricks up its sleeve with the recent additions of 3D support and the Move system. Both of these features are being added into Resistance 3. The game has already been scheduled for September 6, 2011 so this seems a little late to be adding these features. Move support probably isn’t that big a stretch to add quickly. On the other hand, the 3D announcement just feels way too much like what happens in the movie industry. If this is a rush job like Hollywood does in post-production, Resistance 3 could be the video game equivalent of Clash of the Titans.
In its latest display of legal thuggery, Activision has announced lawsuits against Nintendo, Microsoft, Sony, Sega, Neo Geo, Atari, and several other companies that have ever released a handheld or console gaming device. This comes after the announcement that Activision, no longer content to publish games on someone else’s platform, is building its own console for mass market release. The lawsuits allege the other console manfuacturers infringe on a patent Activision has issued to itself. The patent regards the use of a video screen or any portion of an individual’s brain or body to have fun. Individual lawsuits against people with an imagination are “being considered and likely pursued at the earliest opportunity.” The first wave of games for the new console is expected this holiday season, with all of their sequels to follow on a bi-weekly basis until cancellation next June.
If that last story sounds like nonsense, I urge you to reread the first paragraph.
I don’t know what it is this week with not so good pictures, but a couple screens of Max Payne 3 have been released with two different looks for the hard-boiled anti-hero. The game has no release date or plot details at this point, but pictures are usually a good indication that it’s on the way.
If you like open world games with lots of destruction there have been two great standouts this generation. Red Faction Guerrilla (2009) has its sequel, Armageddon, coming soon. Just Cause 2 improved on its predecessor in every way, giving players an obscene amount of mayhem. It now appears there will be a new destruction based open world game on the market. Avalanche, who developed Just Cause 2, is working with SEGA on a new IP, Renegade Ops. In addition to the single player mode, the vehicular combat game features two player split screen or four player online co-op. The game will be available this fall on XBLA and PSN. It will be the first entry for Avalanche, and the first new IP from SEGA, in the digital marketplace.
Last week I mentioned Amazon’s early posting of a greatest hits version of Mafia II that includes all of the DLC. Some retailers do have it in stock now, but it’s official release hasn’t happened yet. The greatest hits version is $29.99 and it does include all three DLC episodes and the preorder clothing packs. However, if you’re not interested in the extras, I saw the original packaging version on Amazon for $15.
It pains me to write this, but I feel obligated. If you’re planning to buy Michael Jackson: The Experience when it releases April 12th, you’d do well to preorder it from Wal-Mart. Not only do they have it going for $47, but they’ve wrangled themselves a bonus. Wal-Mart preorders will get his song, “Another Part of Me,” gratis.
If you’re like me, the announcement last July of Mega Man Universe brought a grin to your face. Go ahead and erase that grin. The game, which would have starred a stable of Capcom characters alongside user creations, has been canceled. Keiji Inafune, Mega Man’s creator, recently left the company. It’s a safe bet that was one of the “various circumstances” officially cited as the reason for the cancellation.
If you missed the announcement yesterday, Spider-Man: Edge of Time is coming to consoles in Fall 2011. I don’t have any more details yet, but that is exciting. Here’s a bigger version of the post-pic from yesterday (I love the image of Miguel in Spidey’s eye):
It’s been a few years since I’ve thought about the red-headed vampire known as Rayne. I was under the impression that was a good thing, but apparently she still has her fans. Bloodrayne: Betrayal is being developed by Way Forward and published by Majesco. Rayne is apparently leaving her third person action roots on PS2, opting for a 2D sidescroller coming to PSN and XBLA this summer.
If you’re one of the three people on the planet that still gets excited about SOCOM 4 news, the pre-order bonuses have been revealed. GameStop and Wal-Mart are offering the SU90-S in-game shotgun. But, for the same price, GameStop also has an extra multiplayer map. Unless anything changes between now and April 19th, it seems your decision should already be made.
There’s been a rash of job losses in the games industry over the last week. THQ cut 33 jobs between developers Volition and Kaos, mostly from the teams behind Saints’ Row the 3rd, Red Faction: Armageddon, and Homefront. At the same time, Sony Online Entertainment is shutting down their offices in Denver, Tucson, and Seattle. This eliminates 205 jobs, with those left being reassigned to San Diego. The remaining office is focusing on the Everquest game and PlanetSide Next. The elimination of the other offices means they have canceled The Agency, a spies and mercenaries MMO that had been in development for three years. Sad news for those impacted and we wish them the best in their new pursuits.
That about does it for the news bits I feel I can trust right now. Being April Fool’s day, I don’t necessarily believe all of the information that comes to me. If any of it proves to be true into next week I’ll report on it Tuesday. Check back then for more information.