A Friday afternoon in the summer should have me much more encouraged to head outside and enjoy the sunshine. Then I look at the mercury and remember that the first half of this year has, on average, been the hottest first half of any year in the United States on record. So, do I go outside, or do I sit in the air conditioning and play video games? Actually, I don’t have air conditioning, just a leaky, ancient evaporative cooler that’s scheduled for replacement next week. So maybe I’ll do a little of both. In the meantime, you’re probably sitting comfortably in the AC at work and slacking, so let’s get to the news.
Am I the only one thinking those goddamn birds need to take a class and smoke some herb? No longer content to be on every portable device and downloadable gadget, they’re now moving to the retail disc space with Angry Birds Trilogy HD for Move, Kinect and 3DS. The “ultimate collector’s edition” has “new cinematics, extras and other entertaining content,” according to Petri Järvilehto, Rovio’s Executive VP of Games. It will compile all of the level content from Angry Birds, Seasons, and Rio. No Angry Birds in Space? I’ve got to hand it to Rovio, all they did was add some animations to a physics engine and somehow created a game more popular than that weird visor thing that almost destroyed the Enterprise before Wesley Crusher stopped it. Now they’re actually making discs and swinging with the top tier of games, still without creating any gameplay beyond a simple physics demo. The high def birds will be assimilating you this holiday season. With no price announced, assume it will be exactly how much makes sense for a stocking stuffer.
How often do you use your Kinect? If using it unlocked achievements and avatar items, would you use it more often? That seems to be the goal with Kinect PlayFit, which lanched earlier this week for all XBox Live members. This is basically a fitness dashboard that tracks the calories you’ve burned using your Kinect throughout the various games available. There are leaderboards to see where you stand, but why you’d use them I’ll never know. Comparing your fitness progress to others is the most surefire way to be disappointed with yourself. I like the idea that you can get some exercise while playing a game, and my wife enjoys Fit in Six for Move, but advertising your productivity to the world doesn’t seem like the best motivator. This looks like a great tool for achievement hunters, and a nice app for helping you track your calorie burning and identifying small step goals. Just do yourself a favor and ignore the online components.
As expected, and outed by code in the Extended Cut, more DLC is on the way for Mass Effect 3. In addition to the “Earth” multiplayer pack coming next week, “Leviathan” has been confirmed by Anthony Skordi, a voice actor who apparently worked on the episode. The “Earth” pack is expected to be similar to prior multiplayer expansions, including being free. “Leviathan” will likely be paid (I expect $9.99) and has not been officially confirmed. According to Skordi, he voices Leviathan, a rogue Reaper considered a traitor to his race. Shepard will apparently meet Leviathan on an expanded mission prior to the assault on the Cerberus base. The episode should explain a bit more of the Reaper origins, as well as provide Shepard with additional galactic support in the form of War Assets. While we await more information about “Leviathan,” check out the extensive list of additions coming next week in the “Earth” pack:
- Class: N7 Fury (Adept): Throw, Annihilation Field, Dark Channel
- Class: N7 Destroyer (Soldier): Multi-Frag Grenade, Missile Launcher, Devastator Mode – includes T5-V Battlesuit
- Class: N7 Demolisher (Engineer): Homing Grenade, Arc Grenade, Supply Pylon
- Class: N7 Paladin (Sentinel): Snap Freeze, Incinerate, Energy Drain – includes omni-shield
- Class: N7 Shadow (Infiltrator): Tactical Cloak, Shadow Strike, Electric Slash – includes katana a la Kai Leng
- Class: N7 Slayer (Vanguard): Phase Disruptor, Biotic Charge, Biotic Slash
- Weapon: N7 Piranha Shotgun
- Weapon: N7 Typhoon Assault Rifle
- Weapon: Acolyte Pistol
- Map: London
- Map: Rio de Janeiro
- Map: Vancouver
- Objective: Escort Mission at Waves 3, 6, and 10 (random)
- 12 Weapon Modifications
- 11 Gear Upgrades
- New, harder, Platinum difficulty level
Apparently last year’s PSN Play promotion was a success, as Sony is doing it again this summer. Beginning on July 24th, you’ll be able to preorder The Expendables 2 (releases 7/31). Three additional titles will be available for preorder one week ahead of their release dates throughout the promotion: Sound Shapes (8/7), Papo & Yo (8/14), and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (8/21). Not only do PS+ members get an additional 20% discount on each game, but buying two or more gets you credit on the PlayStation Store for buying music, movies, more games, DLC, etc. Last year, preordering also netted you some exclusive content, like avatars and wallpaper. That will probably continue again this time.
Rocksteady is rumored to be working on a new Batman game, but it won’t necessarily cash in on the cliffhanger ending from Batman: Arkham City. Instead, it may be going the prequel route. That wouldn’t be too unusual in modern media, except Batman has a long and varied history. Remember that unlockable ’70s era Batman from the last game? What if they did a whole game, focusing on Batman’s first encounter with the Joker, in a Silver Age style? This all completely in the rumor zone, but it’s too awesome of an idea to ignore. Frankly, I don’t see a full production game with a move this risky. I think Rocksteady is working on Arkham 3, but a downloadable episode(s) of Silver Age Batman could be a great way to make the wait more bearable.
More next-gen rumors are being fueled by the recent publication of a December 2010 patent filing from Microsoft. Whether you call it neXtBox, XBox 720, Durango, or some other moniker, the schematics indicate a customizable board, tossing the conventional, structured console format out the window. Instead, this concept would use a base multi-CPU, multi-GPU architecture that allows for hardware upgrades, much like PC gamers have been using for decades. This architecture would certainly contribute to a longer console life span, but it might also create obstacles for newer games to be adopted by those who haven’t upgraded their hardware. The patent filing is 18 months old, so it’s anyone’s guess if it’s even still applicable to Microsoft’s plans. Regardless, it’s interesting to see what their engineers are thinking about the next generation.
In what could be a major coup in the gaming industry, Vivendi is looking to sell its 60% share in Activision Blizzard. There are several companies currently in talks to make the purchase, including Time Warner and a Chinese investment firm. Those would both have an impact, but not nearly as much as a Microsoft purchase. Some of Vivendi’s financial troubles could be solved by the potential sale of part or all of their Activision stock, worth up to $10 billion. With next-gen consoles on the immediate horizon, that’s a lot of dough to put at risk. On the other hand, look at Activision Blizzard’s franchises: World of Warcraft, Diablo, Call of Duty, and Marvel comics. That’s just a few of the bigger ones, they have a lot more you know well. The battle for console exclusives could easily be the deciding factor in who survives the next generation. With that 60% share, would Microsoft claim all those franchises for itself, or would they allow sales on Sony and Nintendo platforms, keeping a cut from their competitors games sales as well as their own? Watch this closely. This may be a reason to start reading the financial section of your paper.
Following in the footsteps of Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead, Spartacus Legends looks to bring the gory glory of the Starz’s TV series to the home console. Coming in early 2013, the game will include online and offline multiplayer battles with “thousands of ruthless weapon combinations.” Liam McIntyre is providing voice and likeness for the playable Spartacus. Players can also choose from Crixus or a created gladiator. Other characters from the series are also expected to be playable. Platforms are not yet announced, but expect it for PS3 and 360 at least. The game is expected to be playable at E3 this weekend and I’m hoping for a report from one of our regulars on location or a “deputized” ‘bot that can give us the rundown.
We’ve had a rash of game-related movie news this week. Not only did we hear about CBS picking up the Deus Ex rights, but we also found out Micahel Fassbender will be starring in and producing the Assassin’s Creed movie with Ubisoft. Both of those have potential. Then we have the Need for Speed movie. You just can’t help but expect this movie is going to be terrible. Without a single frame of footage shot, Disney and Dreamworks clearly have the same expectation, as its been dated for February 7, 2014. That’s right, February. As in the month movies go to die. Do yourselves a favor, make this one straight to DVD.
Another film in the works with slightly more potential, is God of War. Actually… maybe not. Universal has brought in the writers from Saw 4-6 and Saw 3D films to freshen up the script from David Self. That would David Self who wrote the Road to Perdition screenplay. Self is also being billed as an Executive Producer and the guy has a reasonable amount of talent. Why hacks like Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan are being included is a mystery. Do you really need two new writers just to add gore? With no planned release window, this one still has time to potentially be good. But Universal is headed the wrong direction if they want to make the film the Clash of the Titans remake should have been.
The Fassbender movie isn’t the only expansion on the Assassin’s Creed franchise. Starting yesterday, a three part comic, The Fall, is available exclusively for iPad. This expansion focuses on a new Russian assassin, Nikolai Orelov. The comics start at $0.99 and are available now from iTunes.
A new co-op multiplayer mode has been announced for Assassin’s Creed III. “Wolf Pack” looks to be a new take on the ever-present “Horde” mode style of gaming. Up to four players will cooperate to take down targets, with smarter AI and tighter time limits the further you progress. Later sequences (waves) will feature decoys and lookouts to protect your target. The mode works great in Gears of War, and I’ve personally been loving it in Mass Effect 3, but how will it work in a franchise that’s based on stealth and punishes you for open combat? Looks like we’ll find out October 30th.
In addition to the upcoming games for this year’s Summer of Arcade, Microsoft is also celebrating five years of the promotion with some free gifts. There will be five new skins for Minecraft and five tracks for Trials Evolution. Each skin and track will be themed around one of this year’s Summer of Arcade games: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD, Deadlight, Wreckateer, Dust: An Elysian Tail, and Hybrid. Starting on July 18th, all XBox Live members can access the free content by checking out the Summer of Arcade Experience on your XBox dashboard.
Despite my report on Tuesday, it appears we’ve all been misled about Halo 2 Anniversary Edition. 343 Induistries has outright denied they are working on the title. While we did get the standard format, “we do not comment on rumours or speculation,” we also got a firm denial. When asked at an ExpertZone Q&A whether the remake was forthcoming, the answer from 343 was simple: “We are not working on that at this time. We are kind of busy.” This could simply be a calming of the fire. But, until I see official screens or confirmation from 343 and Microsoft, I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt by assuming it’s probably in the plans, but not actively being produced.
This late in the cycle, I’m not sure why Microsoft would do a special bundle with a 360 and Halo 4. Sony’s doing it with Assassin’s Creed III as well and it still makes little sense. But Sony at least has the excuse that gamers have been playing the series on the competitor’s platform and this is a good excuse to add a PS3 to the home. With Microsoft, if you’re a junkie for Halo, you’ve already got an XBox 360. Is the assumption here that there’s an untapped market who haven’t played Halo but want to bad enough to buy a themed console? Or are they marketing to the people who haven’t replaced a broken console because there hasn’t been a new Halo to warrant the purchase? Regardless, they’re doing one. On top of what appears to be a bad decision anyway, they’re making it ugly as hell. The bundle will include two controllers and headset and is out with the game on November 6th.
That does it for this week. If you aren’t in San Diego getting sneak peeks at all the games I wish I were already playing, check back next week when we’re sure to have coverage of them.