PixelJunk has released some incredible games on PSN and the brand carries a lot of name power. But I’m still a little confused about their next release, PixelJunk 4am. A beta is opening soon and it’s set for launch next month. But what is it? At the most basic level, this is a music visualizer. The second generation of PSOne had one built in, so does Windows Media Player. But it’s also a Move compatible “game(?)”. There will be four different “instruments” – bass, drum, rhythm, and synth – that you can manipulate, DJ-style. According to Lead Designer Rowan Parker, “Each track then has 4 different looping samples and four one-shot sounds in space around you that you can use. All of the loops and samples are different for each song as well, meaning events can have up to (4 loops + 4 one-shots) x 4 tracks x 5 songs = 160 different sound samples to pull from and mix however you like.” And it’s not just Move-compatible, it’s two Move-compatible. Meaning you and a friend can mix up the music together. Or you can get really fancy and ambidextrous by yourself. You can also just turn it on and leave it alone. That’s for people who like to watch. I’m intrigued enough that I may take a shot with the beta. If not, I’ll want a demo before I drop any money on something this vague.
The next Call of Duty is scheduled for announcement next week. Over on the official website there’s a countdown timer for the announcement. There’s an indication that the site won’t be the place to be watching, it will actually be the NBA playoffs. If you’ve been following along with us for the last few weeks you know this is going to be Black Ops 2.
“The Revenge of Harley Quinn” DLC for Batman: Arkham City that’s been speculated for a while has now been confirmed for release on May 29th. The game’s been out long enough that I shouldn’t be spoiling anything but I’ll try to be vague anyway. Only in her crazy head could she have the need to take “revenge” on Batman. It’s not like he made a choice, the Joker prevented him from taking the action she wanted him to take. Releasing on the same day will be the Game of the Year edition. This one will include all of the Robin, Nightwing, and Catwoman DLC, plus a download code for the Harley episode as well. It also comes with a copy of the very good Batman Year One animated film.
Capcom has announced the pre-order incentives for their upcoming mech-battler on XBox 360, Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor. GameStop will have the “Iron Guardian Armory” with the Rock and Jaguar armors. You’ll get the “Chrome Blitzer Armory” at Best Buy, with the Impact and Tiger armors. Finally, Amazon has the Carbon Assassin Armory, with the Savannah and Storm armors. Each different armor will provide a different boost to your Vertical Tank (VT). You’ll need all the boosts you can get when you jump into 2082 retake the United States from China in bipedal tank. The action starts on June 19th.
This is the worst kind of rumor, but Rayman: Origins was a fantastic sleeper hit from last year and any hint to a sequel is worth investigating. I say it’s the worst kind because it comes from a source’s source’s source, but it has the ring of truth. A recent marketing survey reportedly went out from Arkenford, a group with previous ties to Ubisoft. One of the recipients of this survey apparently snagged a possible screen shot of the game, featuring a purple dragon and a creature on stilts. You can clearly see Rayman running up the dragon’s back. And it’s been a few years since I’ve seen the movie, but does that dragon’s face look a little like Pete’s Dragon? Also mentioned in the marketing survey is the possibility of fantastical creatures like dragons (obviously), vampires, and creatures from Greek mythology. The return of four-player DI/DO co-op was also mentioned. This could be amazing, but it could also be a terrible hoax so I’m not getting my hopes up yet.
Robert Bowling, former community manager for Call of Duty, has announced his new studio. Robotoki is currently hiring and expects to announce its first title within the year. The philosophy is to create “a universe first, experiences second, and game mechanics last.” With the ultimate goal to create “experiences that transcend platforms and genres and allow our players to connect to our world, their characters, and gameplay via any medium.” Elaborating on the plan to develop for PC, console, and mobile devices, Bowling says “However, how they experience the world is unique to their device. The mobile / tablet experience should not mimic the console or PC experience, it should be additive to it, not supplemental. Allowing them to support their console and PC experience, continue their progression, but by experiencing the world in a meaningful and unique way.” Right now it’s pretty talk, but Bowling is an exciting personality with a lot of vision. It remains to be seen if he can deliver the experience, but it certainly sounds like has something awesome in the works.
That wraps up the news for now. It’s a slower time of year as the devs and publishers are keeping things quiet leading up to E3. Don’t forget, today sees the release of the first episode, A New Day, in Telltale’s The Walking Dead adventure. Individual episodes will be $5 or you can pre-order the entire run for $20.