Is it really September? The summer has really flown by but I really feel as if I’ve amde the most of it. Not only have I had fantastic trips to Ireland, Moab, and Orlando, but I’ve been very active by competing in my first Spartan race, first triathlon, and first half-marathon. That last one happened this past Saturday at the Bonneville Salt Flats. It was a different kind of race than you’d expect. If you’ve never been to the Salt Flats, think of it as a vast expanse of natural concrete. By vast, I mean this stuff goes on so far that you can actually see the curvature of the earth. And by natural concrete I mean this is not like a dirt road; the salt is packed and dried so hard that 80mph winds and torrential rains didn’t actually soften the surface at all. Instead, there was about half an inch of standing water on the race course. It’s flat, so it can’t run downhill. It’s natural, so there’s no built in drainage. But, even with all that water, the ground was still hard enough to support vehicles without rutting. It’s a very strange phenomenon. As for my results, I wouldn’t say it was impressive but I’m quite pleased with my time.
But, you all came to read gaming news, not my mediocre race results. So let’s get started with a few highlights from PAX Prime:
Ted Price of Insomniac introduced an new IP, Fuse. This is actually a rework of Overstrike that they announced at E3 2011. After three consoles worth of success with Sony exclusives (Spyro, Ratchet, Resistance), this is their first multiplatform title. All we know so far is that this will be a four player online co-op and that the game’s website is set to launch on September 12th. Oh yeah, we’ve also got a screen shot.
The recent trademark filing from Square Enix has proven to be the next Final Fantasy game. Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII was revealed over the weekend, but not as a sequel to Final Fantasy XIII-2. The game begins with 13 days left on the Doomsday Clock and also includes day/night cycles that will affect NPC interaction. Lightning will have transforming weapons and a massive wardrobe. The game will be set on four islands known as Navus Partus and you’ll be using a monorail to get between them. That’s basically all we know for now, but a 2013 release date has been mentioned as well.
Also revealed at PAX Prime were two new characters for PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale. Once again, the announcement of Nariko (Heavenly Sword) and Sir Daniel Fortescue (Medevil) seems to confirm the leaked list seen several weeks ago. The game is still scheduled for November 20, 2012.
In case there is any confusion, Hideo Kojima wants to make it perfectly clear, Project OGRE is not Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes. Also, Big Boss will be the main character in Ground Zeroes and he can now drive vehicles, a requirement for the game’s open world nature. This game also sees Kojima’s return as he is making it himself and it is still planned for current gen hardware. Which probably means it’s coming next year, but no confirmation on that yet.
We’ve been hearing rumors for some time that Brothers in Arms: Furious 4 had evolved. Randy Pitchford of Gearbox confirmed at PAX Prime that it’s actually evolved so much it is now an entirely new IP. According to Pitchford, Gearbox “kind of started to go in a place that started to get a little way from what the core of what the Brothers in Arms brand is all about… it needed to be unshackled.” Now that it won’t be tied to the planned franchise, I’d kind of like to see it tied to its obvious inspiration, Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds. Expect to hear more about this when it’s “reannounced” at Gearbox’s community day, September 15th.
If you were one of the many upset by Gearbox’s decision not to include female protagonists in Aliens: Colonial Marines, your voice has been heard. The franchise has always been associated with strong female leads and the introduction of Jennifer Running means the game will maintain that pedigree. Randy Pitchford wants “everybody to be clear that there are playable females in both the mulitplayer and the campaign.” Good news. The game is set for release February 12, 2013.
343 Industries spent PAX highlighting some of the changes to Grifball and Capture the Flag modes in Halo 4. In the new version of Grifball, attackers will now be able to throw and catch the ball. Defenders, meanwhile, will have swords and hamemrs at their disposal. Killing the ball carrier with the sword will automatically give you possession. Using the hammer pops the ball loose for anyone to grab. A revised Oddball mode also includes the passing mechanic. A new addition to Capture the Flag is the “Flagnum” weapon. Equipping the Flagnum lets you use the game’s flag as a melee weapon once you have it.
From a Capcom press release: “Capcom is currently undertaking a thorough investigation into reports that Resident Evil 6 is being sold ahead of its official October 2 release date. At this time, all we can add is that it would appear this unfortunate incident is limited to a small quantity of stolen copies of the German USK PlayStation 3 version of the game.” That’s really all there is to the story. A few copies of the game were stolen and made it into stores early. You can probably find a copy online if you want it that badly. But, keep in mind that it will be stolen property, in German, and very expensive. You should probably just wait a month.
Remember the recent Ratchet HD collection that didn’t include Ratchet & Clank: Deadlocked? I’m not sure why they waited, but the 2005 game is being remastered for a PSN release. Now word on a date, but “soon” should have you hopeful.
I’ve never been interested in the multiplayer component of the Assassin’s Creed franchise, but Ubisoft has promised that the version coming with Assassin’s Creed III will be the most extensive yet. Leveling up your character, using the new, in-home Animus, will reveal more of the Abstergo storyline. According to Damien Keiken (Director, Ubisoft Annecy), “As you progress in the game and level up your character, you access these files and videos. Every month you’ll have new challenges to unlock new content that will continue the storyline throughout the year.” Changing weather will seriously affect your strategy in the game, but that’s only the beginning. I’m curious to learn why Abstergo would release a home version of the Animus to the public. Isn’t revealing their plan for a world domination a bad thing? This sounds big enough that I’m actually getting more excited for October 30, 2012. I thought the continuation of Desmond’s story and a whole new assassin would be enough. Now I’m getting promises of more Abstergo story too.
The Remote Play function of your Vita will be getting a serious boost very soon. Shuhei Yoshida recently tweeted that he was remote playing ICO HD from his PS3 to his Vita and it’s “beautiful on OLED.” We are told to expect “more info soon.” HD versions of God of War and Shadow of the Colossus are expected to follow soon after.
Finally, for those late to the party on Gotham City Impostors, it’s now free to play on Steam. All prior DLC is also coming free with the latest version. Still looking for confirmation, but it appears this will also be shifting to free to play for PSN and possibly XBLA. Get your Batz or Jokerz ready. This will now be a quite literal “free for all.”
And that does it for the early edition. Check back Friday as I’m sure they’ll be plenty of new announcements, even without PAX feeding the news fires.