As hinted last week, Gearbox has more DLC coming for Borderlands 2. The “Ultimate Vault Hunter Upgrade Pack 2” will add 11 levels to the current cap and a new Digistruct Peak Challenge. This expansion will be $5 (not included in Season Pass) and will release before the end of October. No additional DLC will be needed to use it. A fifth story expansion is also coming, “T.K Baha’s Bloody Harvest.” This one will be a throwback to the “Zombie Island of Dr. Ned” from the first Borderlands. Without further details, the assumption is that this horror-themed add-on will probably come in October and also won’t be included with the Season Pass. Randy Pitchford of Gearbox added that they have plans for one or two more DLC expansions.
Soul Calibur II HD Online has been announced for XBLA and PSN. No date was revealed but the release will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the game this Fall. Despite Heihachi originally being a PS2 exclusive, he will be in both versions. GameCube exclusive Link is almost definitely out, and the XBox exclusive Spawn is probably out as well (licensing issues). This is good news for the many fans who would argue this was the best game in the series.
Several more characters have been confirmed for LEGO Marvel Super Heroes. The “big” news is about the big figs. We’ve known since the game’s reveal that characters like Hulk would be made to a larger scale than the normal minifigs, but Hulk has been the only one confirmed until now. The recent reveal tells us several more characters we will see in the larger format: Kingpin, Rhino, Lizard, Colossus, Blob, Juggernaut, Thing, and Iron Man’s Hulkbuster. Howard the Duck and a playable Stan Lee were also confirmed at Comic-Con. The game is set for release October 22nd on virtually all consoles.
Despite Microsoft’s reversal of the always online requirement for XBox One, not all of the games will be so disconnect friendly – which is obvious for certain types of games. Forza MotorSport 5 shouldn’t be one of the obvious games. It won’t require you to be “always” online, though it will require DLC to complete it. Initial reports were that the game would require a download before you could start playing, which is incorrect. You’ll need the download in order to complete the game instead. Not all of the tracks, cars, etc. will be included on the disc. Later content in the game will have to be downloaded before you complete it. This can be done in the background while playing, but if you don’t have high speed internet access you’ll find yourself paying full retail price for only part of a game. Oddly, this reminds of people who complain about the exact opposite problem, shipping a disc with “DLC” on it. Which will be more annoying next-gen: buying a physical disc and having to download the retail content, or having to pay extra for “DLC” that’s on the physical disc you already own?
The announcement of Saints’ Row IV left a few fans wondering about the fate of the “Enter the Dominatrix” DLC that was planned for Saints’ Row III. The expansion was nearly complete but then apparently shelved. Volition has confirmed that the add-on still exists and will be releasing for the fourth game, as a documentary-style story, within 45 days of the August 20th retail release. This will actually be more of a “Director’s Cut” (with developer commentary???) of concepts they had when it was planned for the third game. All of the basic elements will be there, just not in the exact way they were initially visualized. The whole thing seems a little bizarre, but what should I expect from a game that features a gangster being elected president and fighting of aliens with dildo-shaped probes.
The Assassin’s Creed franchise has become so successful it’s now branched away from video games in multiple directions and the mythology remains interesting. While we’re still awaiting more news about the upcoming movie and the release of Black Flag this October, the latest foray into comics has actually piqued my interest the most. Assassin’s Creed: Brahman is a graphic novel coming this Autumn. It features a new Assassin, Arbaaz Mir. As the title would suggest, Arbaaz is of the highest caste in 19th century India. The novel will apparently “dive into the rich lore of the Assassin’s Creed universe, unveiling new information and teasing future storylines.” Brendan Fletcher and Karl Kerschl are writing. A preview is available here. This concept page reminded me that the series was actually conceived as a Prince of Persia title that shifted focus and became a new franchise.
There have been a few announcements for various Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles games recently. How many of them are actually happening is a little hard to know, but we can add one more to the mix. Out of the Shadows, based on the current Nickelodeon cartoon, has been confirmed as a downloadable. Meanwhile, Magic Pockets is developing an Activision-published retail title based on the cartoon as well. This is expected to be more closely tied to the show, bridging the gap between seasons one and two. It will, of course, have four player co-op. Other features announced include secondary weapons, an an upgrade system, and multiple modes. It is a side-scroller, like the classic games, and it’s coming to XBox 360 October 22, 2013.
At an SDCC demo of Killer Instinct on XBox One, Ken Lobb (Creative Director, Microsoft Studios) explained a little more of the video storage process. According to Lobb, “The idea is you’re always recording. The last five minutes of any game you’re playing are always being stored on your hard drive. Say you’re playing online and you just did the best thing ever – you can’t pause as you’re playing online. You can say ‘Xbox, record that’ and it’ll grab the last 30 seconds of gameplay for you to play around with later.” Which, frankly, is the first Kinect perk I’ve seen that interests me. PS4, on the other hand, continually records your last 15 minutes. Without the voice activation, the longer recording time will be important. On both consoles, footage can be edited in multiple ways and instantly published as well as streamed by your friends.
The Martian Manhunter character add-on releases for Injustice: Gods Among Us next week, but there’s some content this week as well: 40 new STARS Labs missions, free with your Season Pass. That’s 10 missions each for Lobo, Batgirl, Scorpion and Zod. The missions will be $1.99 if you don’t have a Season Pass.
It’s sad news for Darkstalkers fans, of which there apparently aren’t very many. Because of Resurrection‘s poor sales, Capcom stated they have no future plans for the franchise. Things like this are always subject to change, but that’s where your occult fighting franchise stands for the now. Resurrection was only the latest in Capcom’s string of updated legacy titles, all of which have been slowly declining in sales. The company is not planning to update any other titles for now, leaving Street Fighter as their only viable franchise in the genre.
Following a Facebook poll and a vote at Comic-Con, the newest Tekken Revolution character has been decided. While still unnamed, the Female Vampire was a character conceptualized for Tekken 6 but ultimately dropped because the staff was too lean towards the end of the project. The original plans had her as a martial artist that could also use supernatural powers like fireballs. We’ll have to wait and see how much of that is retained or altered. She should be joining the free-to-play fighter this Fall.
The latest character reveal for Batman: Arkham Origins is the original tea partier, the Mad Hatter. He was a minor character in Arkham City, but looks to have a much larger role in this prequel. The game releases October 25, 2013. I apologize that I don’t have a picture worth including. The reveal is still exclusive to the Official XBox Magazine and the only image floating around the internet is a flash-addled picture of the magazine itself.
MercurySteam has announced that Lords of Shadow 2 will be their last Castlevania title. Producer Dave Cox explains:
I’ve always thought that this was a torch being passed down. Nobody on the team ever felt like we owned Castlevania. We always felt it was our responsibility now but it wouldn’t be ours forever. Let’s do what we’re going to do, tell our story, and move on.
So we’ve told Japan headquarters that this is the last one for us… there’s nothing worse than when somebody’s got something to say, and when they’ve said it, they just keep talking. We’ve got a beginning and end, and it’s a cool ending and a cool story. Once we’ve done that, it’s time to say to somebody else, ‘now it’s your turn.’ Maybe it will be a young producer in the company looking for his first break. I think you’ve got to bring in fresh blood.
The spin-off, which revitalized a series in sore need of freshening up, will conclude in Winter 2013.
Crystal Dynamics’ reboot of Tomb Raider has proven highly successful for them. I know I enjoyed the hell out of it. A sequel is on the way, but that won’t be the next step in Lara’s new universe. Gail Simone is writing a comic, coming in 2014, that will lead directly into the sequel. According to Simone, “I chose to do this series solely because I loved the game so much, so we’re definitely keeping the tone of the game.” “The biggest difference is,” Simone continued, “the game told a claustrophobic story in an isolated setting. We are going globetrotting. We start just a few weeks after the end of the game, and this is all in continuity, it will be Tomb Raider canon, and lead DIRECTLY into the sequel. This is what got me excited; we get to be part of Lara Croft history.” Dark Horse is releasing the book February 26, 2014. Could that be a hint as to when we’ll see the sequel?
Still holding out hope for Rockstar’s Sony-exclusive Agent? After ten years it’s hard to think this could still be a thing, but apparently it is. The game was originally being developed by Rockstar San Diego and slated for PS2 back in 2003; at E3 2009 Rockstar North was in charge and it was heading for PS3. Tt once again seemed to have died on the vine. Now, Rockstar has just renewed the trademarks for both the name and the logo of the Cold War thriller. With Rockstar releasing Grand Theft Auto V in September, could they be resuming work on Agent? Will it still be a PS3 exclusive? Will it be heading for PS4 now? Is it still Sony exclusive at all?
Kind of a robust early edition this week. Let’s keep the hot news rolling, check in Friday for the rest of the week’s news.