Overkill Software has announced Payday 2 for release this summer on PSN and XBLA. The sequel to the acclaimed Payday: The Heist returns the player to the roles of Dallas, Hoxton, Wolf and Chain as they head to Washington, D.C. for an “epic crime spree.” Featuring single-player and four-player co-op, the sequel will also have randomly generated dynamic events, insuring fresh takes on multiple playthroughs. The first game received high praise and the sequel should be an event release for fans.
The second episode of the “Tyranny of King Washington” DLC for Assassin’s Creed III is releasing next week. Called “The Betrayal,” this episode adds a new animal spirit to Connor’s arsenal, the eagle. The new Eagle Flight power lets Connor travel long distances in a blink (as in you just aim the power and it works like Blink from Dishonored). This chapter is releasing on March 19th for $10, or free with the season pass.
It’s been a long time, but older gamers may remember a classic called Road Rash. It sounds a little simplistic in the modern age, but a game about racing motorcycles and beating competitors off their bikes was actually a big hit at the time. The 1991 original game was a SEGA Genesis title and the only featured weapon was a club. Later iterations added chains, bottles, and other tools of mayhem. The most recent release was a port of Road Rash: Jail Break on Gameboy Advanced in 2003, but the original creator, Dan Geisler, hadn’t been involved since 1993’s Road Rash 3: Tour de Force. Geisler recently resurfaced on Reddit where he expressed an interest in renewing the series via Kickstarter “if there is enough interest.” An actual sequel or reboot may not be possible through that avenue, as EA currently holds the IP. With enough Kickstarter money, Geisler may be able to convince EA of the validity of his project. More likely we’ll see a “spiritual successor” without the name. Regardless, count me in.
The upcoming Disney Infinity has been delayed into August. Oddly, the delay doesn’t come from the developer, or even the publisher, but from requests by retailers. The title is an obvious competitor to the successful Skylanders franchise and will likely do very well with Disney’s juggernaut media machine and well-known IPs. According to John Pleasants, Co-President of Disney Interactive, “The date became an issue in terms of them [retailers] asking, ‘is there a better opportunity here?’” Retailers explain that the August window is a time when game consumers are more actively buying content, leading them to believe they’ll get better sales on the game and its figurine expansions. I might contend that consumers spend their money when good titles are released and good titles come in waves, but they make more money than me so they’re clearly more intelligent. I might also contend that cloning an Activision game is a pretty lame move by Disney, especially while they are in the midst of cancelling Star Wars 1313 and Star Wars: First Assault.
The survival horror genre seems to be reviving slowly, though not necessarily in the ways you would expect. When the indie-developed Lone Survivor released on PC in March 2012 it received great critical acclaim. But you still may not have heard of it. It’s now set for greater exposure with a cross-buy release on PS3 and Vita in July. The unnamed hero is working his way through a “psychological-survivor-adventure” in a city filled with diseased monsters. A system of “meaningful” choices will determine your ending, including the newly added “yellow” ending. This looks intriguing and I’m anxious to hear more about it before its summertime release.
If you’re a fan of Bethesda classics like The Elder Scrolls and Fallout, you may want to check out their updated web store. There’s some pretty cool stuff, like Vault 101 sneakers, a sick Dragonborn statue (for a sick price as well), and even a Mark of the outsider (Dishonored) pendant. The obvious item missing though is the complete set of New Vegas snowglobes or DC Wasteland bobbleheads. Which I’m actually kind of glad to see. The whole set probably wouldn’t be cheap and I don’t think I could stop myself from buying it.
The Phantom Pain is still fooling no one by pretending to be anything other than Metal Gear Solid V. Unfortunately Konami and Kojima still want to maintain the farce. That hasn’t stopped them from sharing more information though. According to “Joakim Mogren” of Moby Dick Studios, the game will be running on Kojima’s new FOX engine. At about the same time this was revealed, Kojima announced that he is expanding their presentation at GDC in a few weeks. Expect more details about the engine and Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes, and likely an end to this silly prank when they do the full reveal.
You may remember that Ubisoft picked up THQ Montreal in the fire sale resulting from the developers financial collapse. At the time there was all sorts of speculation about Patrice Desilets‘ return to the company where he helped create the Assassin’s Creed franchise. Of course, at the time, neither Ubisoft nor Desilets had anything to public to say about their relationship. Happily, Ubisoft has now announced that he plans to stay with the company. His first expected task with the company is to finish 1666, a game he was already working on but which we know very little about. Personally, I see this as good news.
But that’s not the only phoenix rising from the ashes of THQ. Volition was snatched up by Deep Silver in the auction and it was only a matter of time before we saw the return of their biggest franchise with Saints’ Row IV, which has just been announced for release on August 20, 2013. Look for this iteration to top the third game in every way, including super heroes and a dubstep gun.
Fans of pinball certainly already know about The Pinball Arcade which realistically recreates classic tables in digital format on PS3 and Vita (as opposed to Zen Pinball, which makes unrealistic “video game” versions). Fans of that franchise should be very excited for Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s debut in the game next week. Table Pack 10 will be coming a week later and bringing classics like Gottlieb’s Genie and Bally’s Attack from Mars. As if that’s not enough, FarSight Studios has also announced that this gem will be making its way to PS4. They haven’t mentioned timing, whether it’s launch window or later, but I’d expect this very soon after the console’s retail release, if not day of.
That looks to be it for this week. Come back Tuesday for all the news from the weekend. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go see what’s so great about this Dishonored thing everyone’s been talking about for months.