I don’t keep any records of these things, but I get the feeling today might be the biggest edition of VGQH so far. So I’ll just leave it at that and let the news bites speak for themselves. Enjoy:
From Software is offering a great contest for artists on Facebook to promote Dark Souls. Log on to www.facebook.com/darksouls to download the three templates for shield designs you’ll find. Create your own herald for each template. You can submit one of each template before July 13th. The top ten designs in the three categories will be judged by the developers. If your design makes it to this stage you’ll win a copy of the game signed by the director, Hidetaka Miyazaki. One winner from each category will get a signed Limited Edition of the game, their name in the credits, and their design as DLC for the game. Winners will be announced on Facebook July 28th. So if you’ve been wanting your artwork in a video game, make it happen. You could see success as early as October 4th when the game launches.
Media Molecule has begun talking up the July wave of Sackboy costumes for Little Big Planet 2 and there appears to be some great stuff. Up first are two Cole McGrath costumes from inFamous 2 available this week. The good and bad karma versions of Cole are bundled with a new sticker pack for $2.99. Next week’s batch is great news for Final Fantasy VII fans. Aeris, Cloud, Tifa, and Sephiroth will be available for $1.99 each. Or you can bundle them with a bonus Vincent costume for $5.99. The following week will see another $2.99 costume and sticker bundle pack featuring Rico and Hazmat from Killzone 3. Finally, three packs of Toy Story 3 costumes, levels, and stickers are planned. All of this leads up to the Move pack coming at the end of summer.
Multiplayer fans got good news about Battlefield 3 from DICE this week. Lars Gustavsson, Lead Multiplayer Designer, made it clear they’re thinking about multiplayer in a whole new way. “The mindset at DICE during the development of Battlefield 2 was pretty much: ‘Play the game our way, or play something else.’ Now, we have made a conscious effort to reverse that mentality.” This means there will be more modes, including the return of Team Deathmatch, and Rush and Conquest. He also confirmed Battlelog, an adapted version of Need for Speed’s stat-tracking social network, Autolog. Look for the game October 25th.
Ubisoft made a few remarks this week on the scale of Far Cry 3. While the plan is for the environment to be just as dense as the first two games, the size will be about ten times larger. That’s a lot of game! While large scales are great, density is the real key to any open-world game. Look at the difference between Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas. While both very enjoyable, the constant presence of “dungeons” and extra areas with special weapons and rewards in the former make it seem so much more populated than the large desert vistas of the latter. In addition to the scale, Ubisoft is also talking up the variety of decisions to be made, going beyond just good or evil choices to create more “interesting” options. We’ll see exactly what that means when the game releases next year.
Speaking of Fallout: New Vegas, there’s nothing really new to say about the up coming Old World Blues DLC, but there are some new screenshots. This one is my favorite, mostly because the hat is so stylin’ and 1990s comics didn’t sate my love for pouches.
Here’s one more, just because I love that universe so much. It’s also kind of a hint. Clearly mugs are not the worthless wasteland trash you’ve always thought them to be. Might be a good idea to hang onto these instead of dropping them to clear inventory weight. Who knows what bonuses this little guy will provide?
A couple of Environment Artists from Bioware, Don Arceta and Nick Lukasewich, recently spoke with XBox World 360 about integrated cover in Mass Effect 3. Essentially, they’re trying to create environments that can surprise you. According to Arceta, they “have a lot more integrated cover, so you don’t walk into a room and immediately know there’s going to be a combat there. It’s about making these spaces feel natural and not forced. It shouldn’t ever feel forced, by gameplay or art – it really should be this perfect marriage.” Lukasewich agrees, “Yeah, you don’t want to walk through a room and go, ‘okay nothing’s going to happen here. There’s no cover for me here,’ and then you walk around the next corner and you just see a sea of these chest-high things – you basically see the fight ahead.” The new emphasis will be on functional spaces, areas that actually look like they’re in use for something other than a video game level. Really, how many hallways have you seen that have crates set up in a zig zag pattern leading to a doorway surrounded by explosive barrels? While we don’t have any specific art as an example, I do have some of the alternate costumes for a few companions, that’s good enough isn’t it?
In somewhat related news, Legendary pictures is promising a big reveal at Comic-Con this year, the Mass Effect movie. The reveal will happen in a panel on July 22nd. Members of the panel will include Screenwriter Mark Protosevich and BioWare’s Casey Hudson, Executive Producer of the film, alongside Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk. Legendary has rights to film versions of several other video game franchises. They’re convinced game films are the future of cinema. I’m not convinced game films can be good. I’m hoping they’ll prove me wrong.
Another gaming company out to prove me wrong on the movie-game front is a minor surprise. Rockstar Films was recently approved as a trademark for Take Two. Off the top of my head, I can’t think of a single franchise from them that I wouldn’t want to see on film. Red Dead Redemption, Grand Theft Auto, Bully, L.A. Noire. Well, Manhunt with Marky Mark already sucked. But I think it’s possible to make a good one too. Here’s the official trademark description (yes, the “children’s” themes is a scary concept):
Animated motion picture films featuring entertainment, namely, action, adventure, dramatic, comedic, children’s and documentary themes; pre-recorded video discs and other pre-recorded digital and electronic media in the field of live action programs, motion pictures, or animation featuring entertainment, namely, action, adventure, dramatic, comedic, children’s and documentary themes.
The latest in special edition and preorder bonuses comes from Lord of the Rings: War in the North. Currently scheduled for release this fall, preorders will get you the Orc Champion sword and early access to the digital back story comic from Amazon; the Elf theme pack (sword, armor, helmet, and Lothlorien Challenge map from Best Buy; Human theme pack and Osgiliath Challenge map from GameStop; a signed poster and digital comic access from Toys R Us; three songs from the soundtrack at Target; and the Dwarf theme pack from Wal-Mart. There is also a special edition in the works for $130. That edition includes a Ranger of the North Quiver Case; prerequisite art book; bonus disc with interviews, behind the scenes footage, sound recordings at Abbey Road, and three songs from the soundtrack; and a bonus theme (PS3 only) including fonts, wallpapers, etc. This is mostly standard fare, except for that awesome quiver case. This is possibly the most apt bonus for a game I’ve seen yet. While the game is almost at zero on my interest scale, I kind of want it just for the case.
Earlier this week, Daishi Odashima, Game Director for Soul Calibur IV, dropped a teaser via Twitter. Two silhouettes of characters set to appear in the game were released. The names of the characters have not been announced. I won’t pretend I’m a big enough fan of the series to even guess. If you have a theory, post it in the comments. The full reveal on these two will come at Comic-Con.
On their community forums, Kan Muftic, Senior Concept Artist for Batman: Arkham City, spoke a little about the genesis of Robin’s look in the Best Buy exclusive add-on for the game. His description definitely doesn’t sound like the Dick Grayson I know, but he also doesn’t specify which Robin they’re using. The concept art looks okay for the visual style of the game, but it does have a little too much Smallville flair in the costume for my tastes.
“We wanted to create a Robin that players would identify as a contemporary character and move away from the traditional ‘Boy Wonder’ image that most people know. Our vision of Robin is the one of a troubled young individual that is calm and introverted at times but very dangerous and aggressive if provoked. The shaved head is inspired by cage fighters, because we thought that Robin might be doing that in his spare time to keep him on his toes. Still, we kept all the classic trademarks of Robin’s appearance, such as the red and yellow colors of his outfit, the cape and the mask. We really hope that people will discover our Robin as one of their new favorite characters in the Batman universe. He is back and he means business.”
[edit: Thanks to “You’re no journalist” in the comments for pointing out that this Robin has been confirmed as Tim Drake. Which is obviously why his description doesn’t match my vision of Dick Grayson. I had actually assumed they were using Drake, or possibly Jason Todd, maybe even Damian. But when you say the name Robin to me, it will always be Dick that comes to mind.]
Harmonix, the developers behind the Rock Band and Dance Central franchises, has recently filed for a new title trademark, Vidrhythm. They’ve been quiet on the subject, other than to confirm it is a project they’re working on. Far too early to tell, obviously, but I trust these guys to make to fun games and I’d get my wager in early that this will be no exception.
Sony is now jumping on the “online pass” bandwagon with its first party titles, starting with Resistance 3. Sony’s PSN Pass will work much like EA’s “ten dollar initiative” as well as many other similar programs. The games will come with a one time use code to be redeemed for full online access. Renters and pre-owned buyers will be able to purchase the pass from the Playstation Store for an additional fee, likely around $10. This is obviously a response to the growing used game market and the growing popularity of Gamefly. I’m not necessarily a fan of this program, but I understand their desire to get some additional proceeds from the secondary games market. As long as it doesn’t affect game quality, you won’t see me complaining. What does everyone else think?
Really not sure how I feel about this one. Criterion Games is going back to basics, but also really meddling with the formula, for their next car smashing extravaganza. Burnout CRASH! will be available this fall on XBLA and PSN. Crash mode has always been a favorite part of the series, especially the big crash junctions where you can rack up combo destruction for high dollar demolitions. But, they’re making it top down. It’s Criterion and car crashing, so I have to assume it will be fun. But I’m not thrilled with the perspective or the art style. Right now it’s a coin flip in my book. I look forward to seeing more of this, but I’m not convinced I’ll spend any money on it.
Can’t get enough Dragon Age 2? Good, there’s more coming. EA recently confirmed the “Legacy” DLC will hit July 26th. The add-on will take you to a Grey Warden prison where you’ll meet new types of Darkspawn and a powerful new foe, Corypheus. The new mission line will be available at any point in the story and will actually have you leaving Kirkwall to face a cabal seeking the “blood of the Hawke.” You’ll learn much more about your character’s lineage and gain a powerful new weapon.
Wow, for a feature called Video Game Quick Hits, this one wasn’t very quick. Lots of news though. And I like to think it’s formatted well enough to let you skip the stuff you don’t want to read and get right to your top games. Now, it’s the weekend. Quit reading, grab your PSP or DS and go find a nice shade tree to get some fresh air while you get your game on.