Happy Friday the Thirteenth everyone! Is that even a thing anymore? Are people still suspicious about it? Were they ever suspicious about it, or was that just me being a kid? Regardless, there’s news to be read:

SEGA has finally announced a release date for Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II. It’ll be coming to PSN / XBLA on May 15th / 16th for $14.99 / 1200 points. Good news if you already own Episode I, you’ll be getting an extra mode, Episode Metal Lock-On. Just ignore the stupid name, this is SEGA after all. It’s an unlockable chapter (four acts) that you play as Metal Sonic and bridge the story gap between Sonic CD and Sonic 4. Yes, the idea of “story” in Sonic games is kind of ludicrous, but you will learn more about Metal Sonic’s origins.

So you have your PlayStation Vita. You’re planning to pick up Street Fighter x Tekken this Fall. But all of your friends are playing it on PS3. Sucks right? Not to worry. You can still fight each other. Capcom is definitely embracing the PS Vita in a way rarely seen by a third party. Not only will PS3 and Vita have cross-platform play, but buying the Vita version will unlock the additional 12 fighters on your PS3 for free using a saved data link. Considering Capcom has already made the Vita a functional controller for the PS3 version of Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, I’d expect to see similar functionality with this title as well. If you are playing against friends on the Vita, you’ll be able to go online via Wi-Fi or locally with 3G. Kudos to Capcom for pushing the envelope with the handheld’s many functions instead of shoehorning touch screen controls and calling it a day. If other third parties put in this much effort the Vita could very well be an integral part of this next generation of gaming.

With Capcom’s annual Captivate event happening earlier in the week, you’d think there would be a whole lot more news from them. Unfortunately, their event this year was a bit lackluster, just showing off some trailers and screen shots from upcoming titles. There are two impoprtant bits though. Resident Evil 6 has bucked video game convention and had its released date moved up instead of delayed. Rather than face the stiff competition of November in a heads up battle, the title has been moved to October 2nd. And really, isn’t October a better month for zombies anyway? In a conversation about the game, Eiichiro Sasaki (Director) stated “In terms of length, each character’s story is a little bit less than RE5 but when you combine them together you’re getting something that is much longer. While each character’s story stands alone, all of the characters wind up in the same area of the game, in China, so there is a certain level of overlap. They stand on their own but they do overlap in certain areas. You don’t have to play them all, of course.” He’s referring Leon Kennedy, Chris Redfield, and Wesker, Jr., the three playable characters in the game. All told then, it looks like you should be spending about 30 hours on this one. But how much money are you willing to spend on it? The standard version should the standard $60, while the special edition looks to be running about $1,300! It’s a pretty unique version though, with four cases (one for each character and a mysterious fourth) and real-life replica of Leon’s leather jacket. It’s a sweet jacket, but I don’t see myself spending $1,300 on it, even if it does come with a game.

Even if you don’t want a ridiculously expensive version, preordering the game will be a good idea if you’re looking forward to the Mercenary mode in multiplayer. GameStop, Amazon, and Best Buy will each be featuring a bonus map when you order from them – The Catacombs, High Seas Fortress, and Rail Yard, respectively.

The other notable Captivate announcement was the reveal of Lost Planet 3. It’s being developed by Spark Unlimited (Legendary, Turning Point: Fall of Liberty) and is set for release in 2013.

Crysis 3 is coming. That should go without saying. Which is why I’m a little confused that EA and Crytek aren’t saying anything. Instead we’re forced to rely on internet posting errors to confirm what we all know to be true. This time, instead of Amazon or some obscure European retailer accidentally putting the game up to soon, it’s EA themselves. The Crysis 3 Limited Edition was briefly seen on EA’s Origin service for XBox 360, PC, and Digital Download. A PS3 release is presumed, but was not actually seen on the listing. With a leak of this magnitude, I’d expect a full announcement next week.

Based on the popularity of the TV show and books I imagine many of you are eagerly awaiting the upcoming Game of Thrones RPG. Sorry, but it looks like you’ll be waiting just a little longer. The game has been pushed back about a month and is now set for release in early June.

As you’d expect, Hitman: Absolution has a special edition announced. The Professional Edition is fairly standard as these things go. It will come in a slightly nicer cover, include a hardbound art book, a making of DVD, and some DLC weapons. The weapons included are the Agency Jagd P22G (silenced pistol), Agency HX UMP SMG, and Agency SPS 12 semi-automatic shotgun. I didn’t see a price announced, but this just screams $70 instead of the regular $60. The standard and Professional editions are both scheduled for later this year.

You know the fighting renaissance is in full swing when you finally get an announcement for a sequel to a game that launched with the PS2. Namco Bandai has confirmed that Tekken Tag Tournament 2 will be coming to PS3 and 360 this September. The game is expected to feature at least 50 fighters! In addition to the tag team fights, expect solo battles and one-vs-two match-ups.

Atlus introduced some interesting “multiplayer” concepts to the gaming world with Demon’s Souls – many of which were improved in its spiritual successor, Dark Souls. Unfortunately, the hidden catch of online games is that servers can’t be maintained forever with no profit motive. According to Atlus, they’ve maintained the servers for the game long past the time when they could expect additional sales to benefit. As such, they are shutting the game’s multiplayer down on May 31st in North America. They will be running two World Tendency promotions (May 1-15, May 16-31) immediately prior to the shutdown. They’re also encouraging players to sign in one last time on May 31st “before saying goodbye.” I’m sure it will be a little sad for players who’ve enjoyed these features over the last few years, but it also raises again the questions we’ve seen this entire generation. Do modern games, with their heavy multiplayer components, have the sort of longevity of their earlier counterparts? I still go back to my SNES on a regular basis for my fix of JRPGs and Super Mario All-Stars. Will I be able to say the same thing about my PS3 in 20 years?

Sony has released a tease for an announcement next Thursday with a simple image:

So what’s it going to be? Obviously we have to wait until next week. But, if it’s a Sony exclusive focusing on vengeance and redemption it’s a pretty short list. Another inFAMOUS is a possibility, but does that banner look like something from Cole’s world? For my money, I’d expect Kratos and an announcement for God of War IV.

With EA rebooting the SSX franchise last month current gamers finally have an extreme snowboarding title again. The new additions are interesting and the death defying runs down the Earth’s most awesome mountains is certainly a rush. Unfortunately, for many of us it just didn’t scratch that itch we’ve had for snowboarding lunacy since we first played SSX Tricky so many years ago. What could they possibly do to fix that? Oh yeah, this is EA, and we have online stores. Enter the puzzle pieces the SSX community have been receiving in their email boxes recently. The puzzle is not yet complete, but there are enough clues for the eagle eyed Tricky addicts to tell you this is probably a DLC announcement that will take the game that much farther over the top in terms of physics-breaking maneuvers. If this really is a Tricky addition, and it makes it so I quit falling down all those holes, I might be ready to call this the best one in the franchise.

The next legacy game to be re-released onto PS3/PSP via PSN is Legend of Dragoon. This JRPG from 2000 is one of the most beloved of the PSOne era. As soon as classic games started releasing on PSN this one was at the top of many fan lists and it’s finally. Look for the game with the May 1st store update. No price is announced yet but I’d expect it at the higher end of the $6-10 spectrum for PSOne Classics.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has apparently not taken over your life enough yet. A free update to the game is set for later this month that will add the long-awaited Kinect compatibility. Over 200 commands can be handled by voice, including the dragon shouts as well as hotkeys and menu commands. But that’s not all. According to a Bethesdsa press release, “Bethesda Game Studios has been hard at work on creating the first set of game add-ons that will be exclusive to the Xbox 360…. This additional content will add new quests, locations, features, and much more to the world of Skyrim…. Stay tuned, we hope to officially announce what it is soon.” Early indication is that the “exclusive to XBox 360” part is actually a timed exclusive, meaning the contect will be available for PC and PS3 at a later date. We’ll need to wait for confirmation from Bethesda to be certain.

Looks like that’s it for this week. Check back on Tuesday for all the news drops from the weekend.

Big column today so let’s jump right in:

If you’ve seen the cartoon at all, or the shadowed promo image, the main playable characters in Young Justice: Legacy should come as no surprise. [By the way, if you haven’t seen the show, what’s wrong with you? It’s awesome!] The upcoming action-RPG from Little Orbit will feature the whole regular cast of Kid Flash, Artemis, Superboy, Robin, Miss Martian, and Aqualad. Six additional characters will be rounding out your upgradeable squad when the game launches in February 2013 (PS3, 360, Wii, DS). Before you start guessing though, remember that the game i set to take place between seasons one and two. You may have to think back and try to remember when Zatanna and Captain Marvel first started hanging with the team. Red Arrow (Speedy) is probably a safe bet regardless. The developers have also announced the first six villains you’ll be facing. This is a pretty heavy duty line up for the youngsters, including Lex Luthor, Sportsmaster, Cheshire, Icicle Jr., Killer Frost, and Black Manta. Six more baddies are also on the way.

Codemasters isn’t exactly a developer at the top of watch list, but they do have a pretty solid record for racing games (like DiRT and F1). Not being as flashy or sexy as some of the iterative FPS or franchise tie-ins it’s easy to write them off. Which I almost did since their only story right now is the expansion of two more facilities Warwickshire and Birmingham, creating 125 more jobs in the UK. Then I remembered how many sudio closures and job losses I’ve written up lately. In light of so many studios having financial troubles, it’s nice to be able to mention a good story as well. So congratulations to Codemasters for succeeding in a business that tends to only favor the Activisions and EAs of the world.

Did you just look at your calendar and realize you forgot to pre-order the special edition of Max Payne 3 by the April 2nd deadline? Whoops, now what? Pay a fortune to a reseller on eBay? Nah. Rockstar has extended the special edition orders until the May 15th release date. What changed their mind? It apparently comes from “unfortunate recent retail issues in the UK and elsewhere in Europe which have affected preorder availability.” They aren’t calling out GAME, a high-profile UK retailer that recently came under administration (British for bankruptcy), but it’s pretty clearly related. Those still seeking the special edition are encouraged to order from the Rockstar Warehouse, though it’s also available at GameStop.

Did you think the music gaming fad was dead? You’re probably right, but not totally. Harmonix has got a new game in the pipe for PSN and XBLA, Rock Band Blitz. Despite the name, this won’t feature a full plastic instrument band. It’s actually played with a standard controller and is more of a throwback to Harmonix’s original rhythm games, Amplitude and Frequency. Comparisons to Rock Band Unplugged on PSP are also reasonable. The game will come with 25 songs, but could have a library of nearly 3,700 (over that byt the time the game launches this summer) depending on how much DLC you’ve bought for the Rock Band franchise. Not only will all of your previously downloaded content work in the new game, the 25 it includes will also be playable in Rock Band 3. The first five of the 25 songs have been announced:

Grasshopper Manufacture has had some great, if not completely successful, games over the years. This is mostly due to Suda51’s brilliant concepts, that sometimes just don’t make enough sense. Still Killer 7 was one of the games that really put Suda51 and Grasshopper Manufacture on the map and it’s a little odd for the industry that it’s been idle so long. Their newest game announced, Killer is Dead – 2013, may make you think that’s changing. But, despite the similarity in the title, the new game is an all new IP. The player is a prisoner, sentenced to death, who must kill his own assassin before the execution takes place. Suda 51 promises this will be in the spirit of Killer 7 and No More Heroes, a “dark side 007” with sexy ladies. The No More Heroes style swordplay also returns with some new elements in the mix. As always with Grasshopper, I’m looking forward to seeing more, even though I’ll never understand what I’m seeing.

The Sony version of Super Smash Bros. looks to finally have an official name. Previously going by the temporary moniker Title Fight, PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale will get its official reveal and preview at E3 in June. wow, that name is a mouthful! Title Fight is a little too generic, but friendlier. While we still have to wait until June for official announcements, there are a few tidbits already known about the game. For instance, Kratos, Sweet Tooth, Sly Cooper, Nathan Drake, Colonel Radec, Fat Princess, and PaRappa are al expected in the melee. Expect to be brawling in levels based on Buzz!, LittleBigPlanet, Hot Shots Golf, and Sandstorm Village. BSR! will have a few ‘bots on the ground at E3, so expect to see more about this one the first week of June.

Still playing Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning? Want to be playing it, but you’ve done it all? Good news, more DLC is dropping this month. “Teeth of Naros” will feature an all new city, new enemies, new dungeons, new etc. Expect plenty of additional armor, weapons, and cards. The floating city, Idylla, is named for an ancient Troll god. The add-on will be available April 17th for 800 points ($10).

With the future of media consumption in constant flux, Netflix has had one solid advantage over Amazon Instant Video, availability on gaming consoles. That’s all changed this week with the service now available on PlayStation 3. It’s currently the only console running this service but I wouldn’t expect that exclusivity to last. Installing the app is simple to do directly from the XMB under “TV/Video Services.” The service currently boasts over 120,000 movies and TV episodes for rental or purchase. The real boon, of course, comes from Amazon Prime membership, allowing free access to over 17,000 videos. Prime membership is $79 per year and comes with a free 30 day trial. Signing up for Prime, full year or trial, can also be done directly from your PS3. One of may favorite parts of Amazon’s service is that buying many of their DVDs and Blu-Rays gives you temporary access to stream that same content immediately. So if you buy a new release, you can usually watch it streaming while you wait for your disc to arrive.

In addition to Epic Mickey: The Power of Two making its way to home consoles, the franchise is also going portable with Epic Mickey: The Power of Illusion for Nintendo’s 3DS. Zombietron’s got full coverage with the press release. While the game does take place in Wasteland, it also harkens back to Mickey’s Genesis days as he’ll be squaring once more with Mizrabel in the Castle of Illusion (which has fallen into Wasteland). Gameplay seems to be equal parts sidescrolling platform (a la Castle of Illusion), paint and thinner mechanics (a la Epic Mickey), and incorporating player drawings (a la Drawn to Life?). Is it weird that I might be more excited for this one than its console brother?

Few things can make an old fart like me grin as much as this one. It probably doesn’t hurt that I’m listening to The Muppets Soundtrack as I’m doing this column. Anyway, Wayforward Technologies and Majesco have announced a reboot of their Double Dragon franchise from 1980’s. Thankfully the reboot isn’t an update in the same way GRIN attempted with Bionic Commando. Instead, Double Dragon: Neon is an old school, side-scrolling, beat ’em up. Just how retro are they going to go? Neon health bars with synth and guitar solos for the soundtrack. Billy and Jimmy Lee will be brawling down Adobos on PSN and XBLA this July. Pricing is not yet announced. I guess we’ll find out at the end if you still have to fight your brother or not.

It’s no secret that the ‘bots around here have been huge fans of Marvel [Zen] Pinball. We’ve been eating up every table on release day since the game launched. The next table to hit is going to be no different. World War Hulk will be the first table released in the Avengers Chronicles set. When the Gamma Giant returns from involuntary exile, it’s a bad time to be Illuminati, X-Men, or the Fantastic Four. This table will be dropping sometime this spring, with the remaining tables in the set (The Avengers, Infinity Gauntlet, and Fear Itself) soon to follow.

Amidst the uproar about the ending, Ray Muzyka (Bioware, co-founder) has unveiled the plans for their tweaks to the ending of Mass Effect 3. The Extended Cut DLC will be free and releasing this summer. In what seems to be a case of severely missing the point, it appears the only extension will be additional epilogue scenes, rather than addressing the most vocal concern: that the choices that supposedly mattered really didn’t. According to Muzyka, “Since launch, we have had time to listen to the feedback from our most passionate fans and we are responding. With the Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut we think we have struck a good balance in delivering the answers players are looking for while maintaining the team’s artistic vision for the end of this story arc in the Mass Effect universe.” I still haven’t decided exactly how I feel about the whole controversy, but I’m already inclined to think this won’t actually satisfy (or silence) the critics. I’ll still wait and give it a fair shake this summer, which is probably about the time I’ll be finishing my Insanity run, if I can even make it that far. Arse-bot has covered this a little more extensively. I think we disagree on a few key points, but I can’t really explain why.

The media releases for Aliens: Colonial Marines have been releasing at a steady clip. It’s about time too. Hasn’t this game been in development for at least a decade? Then again, who cares when it looks this aweseome? Check out the videos Zombietron’s posted.

Are you still having trouble with glitches in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim? Bethesda is rolling out patch 1.5 to help. There’s the obvious glut of fixes for stability and abnormalities that, generally, have seemed to improve the way the game runs. But, for those that haven’t actually had any problems, there adding a few things for you as well. For the full list of bug fixes, check out Bethesda’s blog. For the short list of other tweaks:

As revealed a few issues ago, four new maps for Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception are coming soon. Two of the four, Graveyard and Old Quarter, were revealed at that time. The other two are London Streets and Oasis. London Streets is a bar brawl at the Pelican Inn. Oasis is a Bedouin camp. All four maps will have dynamic events that Naughty Dog is keeping under wraps for now. The pack will be available for $9.99 on April 11th. It does come free with the Fortune Hunter’s Club. Speaking of which, if you want to join that club you’ll need to do so by April 17th. If you’re still planning to get all of the DLC for this one, you’ll want to join the club by that date in order to get the best deal.

Finally, that seems to be it for the week. Check back Tuesday for all of the weekend’s updates.

We all know the Mass Effect 3 ending has been somewhat controversial. It’s been a little troublesome to discuss while avoiding spoilers as the game is still new. Late last week Arse-bot decided it was time to blow this wide open, and spoilers be damned. If you’re ready to hear the ending (his version at least, which was very similar to mine) and discuss the controversy he’s got two great articles. The first simply describes the ending as he saw it and will let you in on the questions he had as it happened. The second is a little more in-depth about why so many people are disappointed with the ending and includes a few theories about what’s really happening. Remember though, both of these are chock full of spoilers. If you’re not done yet and you don’t want to how it ends, don’t read them.

Other than that, this weekend’s news was solid, if not prolific:

If you dig the fantasy genre, reading or gaming, you’ll want to check out Mistborn: Birthright late next year on PS3, 360, PC, and Mac. Little Orbit, who is also working on a Young Justice game, is developing this prequel to Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn saga of books. Sanderson is writing the story, which takes place four hundred years before the first novel about metal eating wizards. Yeah, it sounds a little bizarre, but it’s a very creative world and one of the reasons Sanderson has been called “one of the most popular new fantasy writers to emerge in the last ten years.” In addition to Mistborn, he’s also written the successful Stormlight novels, handled story development on Infinity Blade II, and is finishing the final novel in Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time.

Battlefield 3 will be getting a stout patch on PS3 today. Patches for PC and 360 will be detailed soon. For the full rundown, check Battlefield’s site as this thing is far too massive to cover completely in this space. If you don’t need all the details, suffice to say I counted 21 general gameplay fixes, 67 vehicle fixes, 71 weapon tweaks, 11 scope adjustments, three bipod, five heavy barrel, four IRNV, two foregrip, two laser sight, four suppressor, three flash suppressor, 21 gadgets, seven team deathmatch, and four on squad death match. In addition, you’ll now be able to turn off anti-aliasing on the PS3 to reduce lag, and the minimap will now be more clear. This update will also include the “rent-a-server- program mentioned a few weeks ago, which allows PS3 players to host their own servers with their own rules, similar to the PC options that have been around for years.

At least three different editions seem to be coming for Assassins’ Creed III this October. The “Freedom Edition” looks to be top dog with a 24cm Connor figurine, steelbook case, George Washington’s notebook about the Templar/Assassin war, lithograph, two single player missions with additional weapons (Lost Mayan Ruins that unlocks Captain Kidd’s sword, and Ghost of War that unlocks the Pontiac’s War Club), and the multiplayer Sharpshooter package (new character, one relic, one emblem, special picture, and the title of “The Jester”).

The “Join or Die Edition” has a little less of the good stuff, but still looks great. This one includes Connor’s medallion, George Washington’s notebook, the Ghost of War mission, and the Sharpshooter package.

Finally, there’s the “Special Edition.” This one is fairly basic, coming with a special package and a bonus mission, “A Dangerous Secret,” that scores you a Flintlock Musket. It’s worth noting, as you’ll see the PEGI 18 rating logo in the pics, that I got the assets from a UK announcement. Ubisoft didn’t bring the specials from Revelations to the US, but this game is set in colonial America so I’m expecting some form of each of these will be available in the US as well. If not, serious collectors may want to import. Also, while pricing was not announced I’d like to make my predictions (in US dollars). The “Special Edition” will likely be a free upgrade for preorders, meaning the bonus mission and Sharpshooter stuff is actually going to be unlockable with the online pass. The “Join or Die Edition” strikes me as a typical $80 package. That 24cm figurine is what’s going to boost the cost on the “Freedom Edition.” I’d expect $120.

If you’re a Call of Duty fan (despite internet bitching, the sales numbers would indicate you probably are), you might be interested to know that the Robert Bowling announced he’s moving on yesterday. Bowling was the Creative Strategist for Infinity Ward and was generally the public face of Modern Warfare. Making the announcement on Twitter, Bowling said “Today, I resign from my position as Creative Strategist of Call of Duty, as a lead of Infinity Ward, and as an employee of Activision.” He didn’t mention where he’s headed or what’s next in his career. Activision responded in a positive manner, stating “We sincerely thank Robert for his many years of service. He’s been a trusted and valued member of the Infinity Ward team. We wish him all the best on his decision to pursue future opportunities.” Seems like an amicable departure. It will be interesting to see where this move takes Bowling and the franchise that’s benefited from his contributions.

Cover art for the film tie-in of The Amazing Spider-Man has been revealed. That little graphic in the top corner quietly announced something Beenox hadn’t mentioned yet, Move compatibility. I can’t confirm Kinect compatibility, but it stands to reason. Right? If we don’t get details first, we’ll find out exactly what the compatibility means (punching, swinging, silly dance numbers with Gwen Stacy?) when the game launches on June 26th.

Don’t forget, it’s time again to vote for the cover athlete on this year’s Madden NFL 13. Voting is going on now at ESPN.com. Ticelli Bot has more details on the process, who’s in the running, and a clever mock-up of what the cover would be if ALL of the finalists made it.

Finally, with April just around the corner, Sony has announced the month’s PlayStation Plus bonuses. It’s not the best month I’ve seen, but it’s still a good offering. First, you’ll get a demo for House of the Dead 4 and early access to the closed beta on Ghost Recon Future Soldier. There’s also Shank 2 (PSN), Shift 2 Unleashed (PS3), Silent Hill (PSOne), and Frogger Returns (PSN) for free. In the minis department, Canabalt, Farm Frenzy, and Mystic Garden will be available. As usual, there will be a pile of avatars, themes, discounted DLC, and several full game trials – including Saints’ Row: The Third and Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition.

Another year, another Madden, another cover athlete to be cursed. (My thoughts are in italics.)

-The information from the Official Press Release is dated 3/21/2012-

Electronic Arts Inc. and ESPN announced today the 32 fan-selected NFL players who will advance in the EA SPORTS™ Madden NFL 13 Cover Vote.  The announcement follows a two week play-in round, during which time fans voted between two teammates in matchups for each NFL team on the SportsNation Facebook page.  Today, winners from each matchup moved on to the official cover vote bracket.  Fans can vote for their favorite cover athlete candidate from their computer or mobile phones at ESPN.com/MaddenVote through April 25.

To kick off the Madden NFL 13 Cover Vote bracket debate, a SportsNation “Madden Cover Vote Special” will air tonight on ESPN 2 from 6-7 p.m. ET.  Every Wednesday throughout the campaign, fans can tune in to SportsNation at 5 p.m. ET for an in-depth discussion about the latest voting results and to see which players have advanced to the next round. The tournament will culminate with the reveal of the Madden NFL 13 cover athlete on SportsNation on April 25, the night before the 2012 NFL Draft.

The results of the Madden NFL 13 Cover Vote play-in round are:

*Entered the Madden NFL 13 Cover Vote play-in round representing the St. Louis Rams.

So, The Rams don’t get any representation here and the Patriots get two players. The same now has to be done with Tebow moving to the Jets and Denver getting no athlete in the polling. Polamalu, Fitzgerald, and Brees have all already been on the cover guys, they’re not going to be on there again. Way to waste your votes. Personally, I’d like to see Jared Allen, The Gronk, Ray Rice, or Megatron on there.   However, if that curse is real, I’d really like to see anyone from the Jets or Giants. Frickin’ Giants.

We’ve already had a cover with more than one athlete, why don’t we just have all of them on the cover?

Contact me, EA.

Among the 32 players are past Super Bowl winners including Victor Cruz and Aaron Rodgers; perennial Pro Bowl players Larry Fitzgerald and Drew Brees; and some of the most dominant players in the NFL such as Troy Polamalu and Jared Allen.  During the first ever play-in round, fan voting resulted in upsets like LeSean McCoy surpassing Michael Vick who was a finalist in last year’s award-winning Madden NFL 12 Cover Vote competition.

“Every football fan has an opinion on who should be on the Madden NFL cover, which was highly visible given the overwhelming response and debate that ensued during last year’s campaign. We’re proud to once again put the fate of the game’s cover in our fans’ hands and let them decide who is worthy of becoming the Madden NFL 13 cover athlete,” said director of marketing Anthony Stevenson. “Our collaboration with ESPN and SportsNation helped elevate the campaign to new heights last year and we’re thrilled to team up again on this award-winning program.”

“Sports fans are embracing the new structure of the Madden NFL 13 cover vote and the response has been tremendous for the play-in round, which gives each team’s fans an increased voice in the player selected for the vote,” said Jamie Horowitz, Vice President, Original Programming and Production, ESPN.  “SportsNation has the most engaged social audience across the ESPN network, and enabling them to share their votes across Facebook was an ideal way to tap into some of football’s most passionate fans.”

The Madden NFL 13 cover vote marks the third-consecutive year that EA SPORTS has asked fans to help shape the face of the Madden NFL franchise through a cover athlete voting campaign.  It also marks the second year of its collaboration with ESPN and SportsNation.  Last year, nearly 13 million votes were logged through ESPNSportsNation.com online and via the mobile web, the most ever for an ESPN cross-platform activation, which witnessed 10^th seeded Peyton Hillis (Browns, RB) winning the honor to grace the cover of Madden NFL 12.

To ensure their favorite player advances to the next round of this year’s competition, fans are encouraged to vote daily and tweet their picks using #MyMaddenCoverVote on Twitter. Beginning March 22 at 9:00 a.m. ET, fans can also visit the Madden NFL Facebook page to fill out their own Madden NFL 13 cover athlete bracket to compete against their friends for the chance to win Super Bowl tickets and copies of Madden NFL 13. Visit www.facebook.com/EASPORTSMaddenNFL for Official Rules.

There’s been quite a bit of buzz for I Am Alive from Ubisoft. The game was announced ages ago and disappeared for a while, leading many to believe it had been canceled. After the long wait, it was released on XBLA earlier this month, leading PS3 owners to wonder when they’d get their chance. Ubisoft has announced it will be coming to PSN on April 3, 2012. PS Plus subscribers will get a 20% discount for the first two weeks of release on PSN. This game is a slightly different take on the “survival horror” genre as it doesn’t feature zombies or monsters. Well, maybe monsters, but only in that the other survivors have become monstrous in the post-apocalyptic world. The XBLA release currently has an “average” score (in the 70s out of 100) on Metacritic. GameSpot and Eurogamer both seemed to have enjoyed the title, giving it an 8 out of 10. IGN seemingly had a different experience, rating it only 4.5 out of 10.

Another PSN title recently given a release date is Wheels of Destruction: World Tour. This one’s coming next week on Tuesday, March 27th. If you’re not sure what this is and want to know if it’s for you, think of it like Twisted Metal without all the seriously twisted violence. Basically, if you love car combat and over the top destructiveness, but get nightmares from Sweet Tooth and Dollface, grab this title. Also, it’s only $10, so it’s probably worth the risk if you’ve never played a car combat title.

The first episode in Telltale Games’ The Walking Dead is also coming to PSN, XBLA, PC, and Mac next month for just $4.99. This first episode is planned for “late April” and features a separate cast from the TV and comic series. Robert Kirkman is involved in the game version, but you won’t be helping Rick Grimes’ group survive. Instead you’ll be handling an entirely different group of survivors in similar circumstances after the zombocalypse. The remaining four episodes are expected to release monthly through August at $4.99 each. A “Season Pass” is available for PC and Mac from Telltale’s online store. That’ll get you the entire series for $22.49, a savings of $2.46. Buying the Season Pass also enters you into a contest to have your likeness appear in episode 4 as a killable character. Zombietron’s got the trailer.

A couple of idiot Representatives in the House are trying to get legislate gaming again. It didn’t work for California, and this is nowhere near as far-reaching or stupid, but it shouldn’t work again. Tricuit of Doom brings you the full story about a bill that would regulate what the ESRB already does incredibly well. Keep an eye on Big Shiny Robot! for more information. If this gets any bigger or becomes cause for concern we’ll have it well-covered.

Then again, if the US government gets a little overzealous regulating video games, we could always move to the UK. Chancellor George Osborne revealed the 2012 budget on Wednesday, including plans to provide tax relief to their local game developers. This is good news for the UK’s local gaming scene, which will translate to good news for all of us. Fewer taxes mean lower development costs. On the other hand, they’re raising the price of a pint of beer by 10p. Maybe I’ll hold off emigrating.

And now for the first of what will surely be too much of me talking about Mass Effect 3…. Sort of kidding, actually. Square Enix has announced a pair of downloadable costumes for Final Fantasy XIII-2‘s Noel and Serah based on Bioware’s recently ended trilogy. Does anyone even care? Both games are good, but is this really the DLC people want from Square Enix? Of course not, they want story-based stuff. But at least it’s N7 armor, not some kind of sexy Asari garb like the bikinis they released earlier.

When Epic Mickey was announced I had extremely high hopes. Bringing back Oswald, Warren Spector developing, restoring Mickey’s mischievous personality? All good things in my book. Unfortunately, this Wii-exclusive fell a little short. It was still a good game, but not the great game I was hoping they’d deliver. But it looks like Spector is taking another shot with Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two. This next attempt will have full voice acting, even making it a musical in the best Disney tradition. As the title suggests, there will be two playable characters. Mickey with his paintbrush and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit will be traveling together in drop-in/out co-op through the Cartoon Wasteland, a home for forgotten characters and theme park rides. In single-player you’ll only be controlling Mickey, but Oswald will be tagging along as a helper character. And, yes, they’re fixing the camera! Though no date or further details are available, what has piqued my interest the most is that this sequel will be multi-platform, coming to PS3, 360, and Wii. More curious, why hasn’t it been announced for WiiU.

Ubisoft has revealed at least two pre-order incentives for Far Cry 3, coming in September. North American pre-orders will get the Monkey Business Pack, four single player missions “hosted by Hurk and his bomb-carrying monkeys” with “two bonus ways to humiliate your friends” in the multiplayer mode. UK buyers will get a free upgrade to the The Lost Expeditions Edition featuring two bonus missions, The Forgotten Experiment and Ignition in the Deep. It’s probably safe to say both additions will probably be crossing the Atlantic as paid DLC soon after release.

You didn’t really think you were going to get away with DLC costumes in a different game as your only piece of Mass Effect 3 news did you? It saddens me to report that Bioware has let the bullying get to them and will be providing additional content to appease those who hated the ending. While it doesn’t appear that they have any intention of actually changing the ending, Casey Hudson (Executive Producer) and his team are “hard at work on a number of game content initiatives that will help answer the questions, providing more clarity for those seeking further closure to their journey,” says Ray Muzyka (Bioware co-founder). On the one hand, it’s reassuring that a business is listening to, and taking to heart, the feedback of their fans. On the other hand, I’ve long held the belief that video games are an art form just as much as film, music, or novels. You know what we call musicians who alter their sound for mainstream acceptance? Sellouts! Is Bioware really ready to sell out to make angry internet people happy? Bioshock‘s creator, Ken Levine, has thrust his opinion on the matter into the public eye. Normally this guy irritates me with his presence on things that don’t concern him, but he’s got the right idea. He’s called this “an important moment” for the industry and believes fans will be disappointed if the ending is changed. In all fairness, what may or may not be changed, and what it will become is still unknown. If Bioware only looks to provide more clarity about threads left open, (for instance, what are the consequences for curing or not curing the genophage, what actually comes from combined DNA, etc.) then maybe it’s not so bad. But if they actually change the Shepard’s fate, or the ultimate fate of the galaxy just to make whining gamers feel like they’ve “won” then they’re committing as serious a mistake as Greedo shooting first.

Beta for World of Warcraft: The Mists of Pandaria is starting. Triscuit of Doom has details. Sounds like it may be the shot in the arm he needs to get playing again. Will it be enough for Blizzard to retain subscriptions and save their sagging numbers?

Suda 51 and Grasshopper Manufacture are lookgin to make more dick innuendos, and EA is seemingly supportive. A Shadows of the Damned sequel was seemingly confirmed by, of all people, the composer, Akira Yamaoka. At the London launch of Sine Mora for XBLA, Yamaoka mentioned the sequel, then cut himself short with “I can’t tell you here, but clearly I’d like to.” When asked if EA would be involved again through the EA Partners program, his response was “probably, well yes.” EA Partners is a good way for non-blockbusters to get released, but they tend to not get much advertising support. That’s probably why the first game is considered one of the most underrated titles of 2011 and didn’t do particularly well at retail.

I mentioned the possibility of Little Big Karting in VGQH some time ago based on a rumor. Sony has now confirmed the game is underway, but is not being produced by the franchise’s creators, Media Molecule. Instead, development is being done at United Front Games, whom you’ll recognize as the creators of ModNation Racers. I guess that sort of answers my question about why the game was even being made when Sony already had a successful play. create. share. karting game where you can play as Sackboy. I loved ModNation Racers and was hoping to see more of it in the future. Unfortunately, it would seem that series is probably being shelved in favor of this one, likely because of Sackboy’s name recognition.

Anarchy Reigns is coming from SEGA on July 3rd. But we already knew that. What we know now is that Bayonetta, the world’s hairiest witch, will be a playable character with your pre-order. Further, more information has come about the multiplayer modes. There will be eleven of them, including the standard Death Match and Survival modes. Modes will generally feature two, four, or eight players. Online arena melee combat will allow up to 16.

Leave it to Rockstar to take gangs from the streets and into our game consoles. A new feature for Max Payne 3 (May 15th)is “Gang Wars,” a multiplayer mode that will see you forming “crews” online for matches. These will be persistent groups of players, small or large, that you’ll join and will eventually form alliances or feuds with other crews. Think of it like e-Bloods and e-Crips. Through the use of Rockstar’s Social Club, that analogy is even more apt. Because you’re not just forming a friend group for one match, it’s fuh life Yo. Your crew will be persistent each time you enter multiplayer, in ALL Rockstar games. So if you join the Sharks in Max Payne 3, you better watch for the Jets when you jump into Grand Theft Auto V (supposedly later this year). It’s an interesting concept that I think fans have sort of done on their own over the years, but Rockstar’s now officially integrating it for all future titles.

I don’t know if this goes for everyone, but drinking and video games are sort of companion hobbies for me. Having a couple beers and starting a plastic instrument band rum-fueled rounds of Buzz Quiz were my version of going to the club for a long time. Not that I’m a shut-in. I had friends over, I just don’t like going to clubs. Despite these connected hobbies, I just don’t understand the need to make interactive versions of traditional bar games. You know what I mean. Virtual pool? A darts video game? It’s just silly. Which is why I very likely won’t be downloading Foosball 2012 when it release on PSN this spring. Grip Games is developing, and it will have cross play between your PS3 (Move enabled) and Vita. Having the Move controls and touch screen seems like it will actually be playable, something I think would be incredibly difficult with a Dualshock, though that will also work. Considering my disdain for the game in a physical setting, I really don’t see the point. But hey, there’s clearly got to be some market for it. Right? Two on two co-op competitive multiplayer has to be a niche that needs to filled.

Am I really going to end this one on virtual foosball? You bet I am. See you next Tuesday.

Due to some email problems last week I missed an item that I probably should have included in Friday’s VGQH. To make up for it, it’s the lead item today. Peter Molyneux has left Lionhead Studios for “something really amazing, scary and brave a new company called 22 Cans.” Molyneux is the renowned creator of the Fable series as well as Black and White. This move effectively takes him out of Microsoft publishing leading to the question of whether he’ll be going multi-platform with 22 Cans. News of his departure came just one day after Fable Heroes, a hack and slash spin-off, was announced for XBLA, to be released later this year.

Releasing today is another chunk of Uncharted 3 DLC, the Shade Survivor Mode. This is a co-op mode consisting of eight waves of Djinn who can catch fire and teleport. Later waves give them extra armor and firepower so cooperation is key. Completing all eight rounds gives a nice cash and experience bonus. Price for the add-on is $5.99 but it’s included with the Fortune Hunters Club. The 14th and final add-on promised for FHC is coming next month. Look for more details here when they are announced.

Deadly Premonition, the 2010 360 exclusive (in North America), is finally making its way to western PS3s in a director’s cut of sorts. The game is a pretty out-there murder mystery that sees Francis York trying to solve a ritual murder of a young girl. In addition to following clues, leading you to supernatural creatures and weird locals, you also need to take care of York’s daily hygiene like shaving and showering. Other secondary activities including playing darts and fishing. The new PS3 version will have full Move support and other additional content. A release date hasn’t been confirmed but it looks to be coming later this year.

A UK retailer recently published a list of upcoming titles that comes with a few surprises. First, they’ve mentioned a movie tie-in with The Dark Knight Rises. The success of the Arkham games probably encouraged this release, something they didn’t do for the last film. We all love playing as Batman, but could a licensed release like this one possibly be as good? Shouldn’t they be concerned with diluting the brand loyalty created by Rocksteady? Second, is Battlefield Evolved from EA. This raises its own questions because it looked like Medal of Honor would be the publishers major FPS this year. Some rumors are indicating this might be a GotY version of Battlefield 3, or an arcade spin-off. I can’t help but notice the title’s not-so-subtle jab at the original Halo. Finally, this retailer’s list still shows Grand Theft Auto V as coming in fall. That’s been the line since Rockstar announced it, but the entire inductry is expecting it delayed to Spring 2013. It can’t come soon enough in my book, but I still think a 2012 release is doubtful considering Rockstar’s track record and the imminent release of Max Payne 3. I would like to point out that I received the information from a trusted source, but I could not confirm which “major UK retailer” had this list. That makes it unconfirmed rumor in my book, but still believable.

I’m generally a fan of Mixed Martial Arts, but I’ve always avoided the video games. I just can’t wrap my brain around it being any good. How can they port the constantly changing styles from each match into a game? How can they the technical grappling of jiujitsu fun? I’m sure it’s possible, as the games sell and review quite well, but I can’t talk myself into spending money on them. That’s why I’m happy to see the announcement of Bellator: MMA Onslaught. The “arcade style” game is being developed by Kung Fu Factory and published by 345 Games specifically for XBLA and PSN, suggesting a significantly lower cost of entry than its retail brethren. In addition to some of the sports’ top names, players will be able to create and customize their own fighter. Online and couch multiplayer is included, as well it should be for a game of this style. Other online functions planned are leaderboards and the like. Describing it as “arcade style” tells me this won’t be the most realistic MMA fighter available, but it also hints that the learning curve and barrier to entry will be a lot lower for gamers like me. Release is currently scheduled for Summer 2012.

How do you know when a game is actually getting close to get excited? When the preorder incentives start dropping. Sure, some get shown way too far in advance, but most of the come when there’s about three months left. Prototype 2 has waited just a little longer for their Amazon and Best Buy bonuses. Prototype 2: The Anchor is the comic you can download from Amazon. The comic details story of Alex Mercer’s decline from protagonist in the first game to antagonist in the second. Best Buy will net you a steelbook case and Hardened Steel Vehicle Armor Upgrade. If that upgrade is anything like the worthless armor and guns GameStop gave me for Mass Effect 3 they can keep it; I’d rather have the comic. Of course, all preorders mean you’ll get the RADNEt Edition which includes 55 pieces of extra DLC. The game releases on April 24, 2012.

Ghost Recon: Future Soldier is also going the Signature Edition route. The free upgrade with pre-order gets you the MK-14 rifle, AK-47, tiger stripe and winter digital custom weapons skins, custom headgear and additional co-op content, including the Moscow Suburbs map. Pre-orders are available now and the game is set for release on May 22nd.

Coincidentally, that’s also the new release date for Risen 2: Dark Waters. Sorry to disappoint the pirate fans. Deep Silver and Piranha Bytes haven’t given a reason for moving it from April 24th to May 22nd, but go ahead and assume it’s the standard “final polish.”

So how big is DLC in the current gaming market? This is a question Fade LLC tried to answer with their “Download Dominance” presentation at GDC. I’m not privy to all the details of their research, but they certainly brought loads of data. According to Benjamin Schlichter, after tracking data on 350 different pieces of DLC (mainly “macro” content as opposed to alternate outfits or weapons) and 7million users, Call of Duty: Black Ops, Fallout 3, GTA IV, Halo 3, and Red Dead Redemption have done the best in terms of add-on content in this generation. Each of these games averaged $7-11 revenue per copy of the game sold! What does that mean exactly? Fallout 3, for example, had five additional chapters at $10 each, meaning a total of $50 extra income potential. If we assume that anyone who bought one piece must have bought them all (a stupid assumption but I’m simplifying here), then 20% of all copies sold also resulted in DLC sales. That’s actually pretty incredible considering Bethesda shipped (not sold) 4.7million copies in its first week. On average, 12.2% of physical copies sold results in a DLC sale as well. The king of DLC according to their data? Call of Duty: Black Ops, of course, with an estimated $250million in map packs and a 29.7% attach rate. Bulletstorm was one of the worst performers in 2011, averaging only one dollar of DLC revenue per copy sold. Two other interesting facts came out of the presentation. First, not surprisingly, better Metacritic scores means better DLC sales ($9million for scores of 90% or higher versus one million or less for 60-70% ratings). Second, good for developers/publishers but bad for consumers, was Schlichter suggesting DLC costs should be increased. Apparently price and popularity are not connected as content sold equally well regardless of price point. Interesting figures to say the least, I’d like to see more of their research.

As if that bit of information hasn’t convinced you the CoD franchise is making money hand over fist, Sony will be putting a large chunk of the property on sale for its PSN Spring Fever 2012 promotion. CoD 4: Modern Warfare, CoD Classic, Modern Warfare 2, World at War, and Black Ops are all 30% off (50% for PS+) this week. Many of them have additional DLC discounted as well. Games in the Final Fantasy and Tom Clancy franchises will also be getting sale prices in the coming weeks for the promotion. New titles to watch for are thatgamecompany’s Journey (available to PS+ last week, everyone starting today), Rayman 3 HD, and Closure.

Zombietron’s got the full story, but it looks like Blizzard is planning to release part of Diablo III instead of delaying the whole game. In a nuthsell, the single player and co-op are coming soon, but PvP will have to wait for a patch as they aren’t satisfied with it yet. This tactic has been tried before, to mixed results. If anyone can make it work it’s Blizzard, I guess.

Mass Effect 3 has now been dominating all of my free time since it released last week. I still haven’t beat the game but I did manage to get 100% readiness for a day in the Galaxy at War mode. I’ve been primarily using a Turian Sentinel, but that could be changing soon as it appears multiplayer DLC is on the way. The only image I’ve seen so far is a leaked screen shot from a tester, but it clearly shows additional races and classes as a playable option. The unlocks apparently happened by purchasing an “unknown pack” from the in-game store, just as your would a Spectre or Veteran pack. This item unlocked “everything” according to the leak. I’m assuming that means all of the current races, classes, and weapons in addition to the extras from the leaked image. Geth Engineers and Infiltrators, Batarian Soldiers and Sentinels, a Krogan Battlemaster, and an Asari Justicar all look like good bonuses. Now if we can just get official confirmation with a release date and expected price.

If/when these characters come to Mass Effect 3, which race and class are you most excited to play? Comment below.

First, if you haven’t read Ticelli Bot’s Journey review you definitely should. This is the latest from thatgamecompany and it’s getting high praise. As I mentioned in my comment, I want to play the game but it’s timing is poor and it will have to wait.

I say the timing is poor because it released, for PS+, the same day as Mass Effect 3. Why is that a problem? Because that game is consuming all of my time. Read my incomplete review, my experiences in the first three days but not having completed the game, for more information.

In other news, GDC 2012 has been happening this week, but nothing huge in the way of announcements has made it across my desk. It seems everyone is saving the big reveals for E3. However, David Cage of Quantic Dream did show off Kara. It’s not a game yet, more of a way to make them, but it’s pretty amazing. Check out the video running on PS3 hardware.

Namco Bandai has announced a street date for the recently delayed third-person shooter, Inversion. It was scheduled for February and obviously missed that goal. The new release date is June 5th. If you like gravity defying shooters, mark your calendars.

It seems Valve’s plan from last August over-stepped their technical capabilities a little. Many PSN users were thrilled to hear that Counter-Strike: Global Offensive would have cross-platform multiplayer with PC and Mac users on Steam. Thanks to their experience with the beta, this plan has been scrapped. It’s disappointing, but that’s why they have betas. According to Valve’s Chet Faliszek, “the beta has proved we want to update not just the beta, but the game itself post-launch frequently on the PC. To do that we need to separate the platforms so one doesn’t hamstring the other. So for that, we have removed the idea of cross-platform play – essentially make all platforms stronger by not mixing them.” I’m wondering which one was the real limiting factor, but it doesn’t really matter. If they feel all versions will be better through separation then I’m trusting them. This is Valve after all.

Medal of Honor: Warfighter has slowly been building up press power. While there’s nothing major to report today as far as gameplay or other surprises there is a release date. This one is coming October 23, 2012.

If you love EA FPS you probably want to get a little more action before MoH in fall. That’s why they’ve announced three new Battlefield 3 expansions, starting in June. The “Close Quarters” pack will bring new weapons, assignments and dog tags for an infantry-only mode. “Armored Kill” goes the opposite direction, bringing new driveable tanks, ATVs, mobile artillery and more to huge battlefields, making for an outrageous vehicle assault. This pack will also include the biggest map in Battlefield history. Finally, “End Game” is scheduled for this winter, but no details are yet available.

Dead or Alive 5 has also gotten a release window, though not an exact date. Your jiggly fighting action begins this September. It was recently announced that Akira of the Tekken franchise would be making a guest appearance. He may not be the only one though, as Yousuke Hayashi has hinted that his pestering of SEGA may result in more Tekken appearances.

I don’t know how many of you will remember Linger in Shadows. It was a strange sort of interactive video that released very cheaply on PSN several years ago. I’m not even sure I’d call it a proper video game but it was very interesting. (It’s still there, of course. You should try it if you haven’t already.) Well, the minds behind that one have been working for two years on a project to utilize the Move controller. Datura will be coming later this year, but no firm date is available yet. It sounds like it might also be as bizarre as their last outing but will have more “gaming” elements. Players will use the Move to controller the hand in the game, touching trees. faces, and other objects. There will also be some sort of narrative where the player will need to make choices. The choices are designed with the intention of creating anxiety and having to deal with the consequences. It sounds interesting and I’m looking forward to hearing more about it.

While we’re on the subject of Move, Sony has announced that they’ve sold over 10 million of the things. I had no idea it was that successful, as I barely use mine. They’ve also finally announced a release date, May 22nd, for Sorcery. This was one of the earliest titles announced for the peripheral and by far the most interesting. Players take control of Finn, a sorceror’s apprentice, and cast spells with his wand through controlling the Move. Unfortunately, the art style has evolved since it was first announced at E3 many moons ago. The visuals have taken on a more realistic flair and embedded it a little further into the fantasy, medieval world you would expect.

Play.com, an online games retailer may have let the cat out of the bag on four upcoming Vita titles. Four new games were listed for a few minutes before being hastily taken down. The four titles were Final Fantasy Type-O HD, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Nights, Monster Hunter Portable 3, and Tales of Innocence R. None of these are confirmed by their developers or publishers so they’re all just rumor for now. However, leaks of this kind happen often and they’re rarely false. In the meantime, GTA on Vita? Just so you know, Sony, if that happens I guarantee you at least one more Vita sold.

How did you feel about the endings of Final Fantasy XIII-2? Would you like to know the “hidden truth?” It looks like you’ll be finding that truth in the story DLC based on Lightning that’s coming in May. Still waiting on pricing and an exact date. In the meantime, the Jihl Nabaat DLC has confirmed for release on March 13th for $2.99.

“Don’t Stop Believing” and  “Wheel in the Sky” are probably some of the greatest rock songs that have ever been created but of course, everyone knows Journey for these songs. In this review, I aim to bring light to some of their lesser known musical creations that are just as good. With founding vocalist Gregg Rolie,  the band was on its way to…..nah….just messin’ with ya.

Journey is the latest game to be released from those artistic fellows over at thatgamecompany. It’s slated to release next Tuesday but us Playstation Plus-ers get it a week early. I knew it was worth it. Thatgamecompany brought us such games as “Cloud,” “How Flower Petals Saved the World” and “That Cell Stage from Spore.” I honestly really enjoyed these games, for their artistic aspirations and wonderfully composed music, mostly that of their latest game, “Flower.” The beauty of the environment and the ability to get lost in the colors and music was a very engaging idea and even now I show it to new people all the time. I have been anxiously waiting for the next game in their catalog to be released so I could have this experience again.

I would like to share my experience of the game with you as I played it:

The game opens with the most impressive looking sand I have ever seen. I mean, sand in real life doesn’t look this good. I rotate the camera, my character stands up and then I’m free to do whatever I want. There are dunes as far as I can see and a mountain, maybe Sauron, off in the distance. I started running in the opposite direction the game obviously wanted me to go and quickly decided I was about to get very lost in this expansive wasteland of nothingness and it would probably be a good idea to turn around. I came over the crest a hill with posts sticking out of it and I am presented with the title screen. Very nice presentation, thatgamecompany. I SSX my way down some hills (which is actually really fun) and into this graveyard looking area where I find some floating pieces of cloth that bestow upon me the greatest video game power of all; jumping. Yadda yadda yadda, three hours pass and I beat the game. Woot!

Now my thoughts:

I would like to first point out that the graphics and ambient music are top notch.  More than a couple times I just had my character sit down and look at the environment for a couple minutes. I never once thought that getting lost in a desert would be this soothing…

The game itself seems to be driven by nothing other than the curiosity of the player. I feel that people who want fast-paced action or an intensive plot might not find this game very appealing. However,  I absolutely love playing games that aren’t the same thing I’ve experience hundreds of time so I welcome thatgamecompany’s creations.

As you progress through “levels,” you come across new obstacles and environments to traverse which keeps things interesting. Later in the game, there are a few moments that were truly breathtaking (especially the end) but I really don’t want to give anything away. Not long after starting the game you will inevitably run into another wayward traveler. If I’m not mistaken, you can progress through the entire game with this other player if you choose to. If not, you’ll find another person shortly after separating from the previous one. From my experience, there is pretty much always someone else running around with you, whether you notice them or not. You can only communicate with them through making your character shout at different volumes which really adds to the anonymity.

The biggest downside to these games they put out is usually the length. I beat the entire game in about three hours and I know, that’s pretty damn short. The experience itself makes up for it though. The $14.99 price tag might scare some people away but if it’s any consolation, the game definitely has re-playability. I missed some of the collectibles and secrets and I actually like the idea of going through the game again. Then ending sequence was also pretty damn cool and had me yelling at my in-game partner.

If you can get past the price tag and the how short the game is, this is definitely a game worth getting.

I give “Journey” 4/5 current members of the band Journey

Also, I’d like to leave you with one of my favorite music cross-overs involving the aforementioned band:

Just in case you missed Zombietron’s story from Sunday, or haven’t checked your email, Sony is renaming their PlayStation Network for PS3 to be more in line with their other electronic services. Beginning on Wednesday, the PSN will now be known as the Sony Entertainment Network. Usernames, passwords, subscriptions, etc. will not be affected, other than to have a new icon. While you’ll also notice the change on PS Vita when it releases later this month, they are not currently doing anything to PSN on PSP. Ultimately, most consumers will not be affected by this in any way (except for a firmware update I’m sure). But you should still expect an explosion of looneys on the internet Wednesday afternoon when the folks that were too busy to check their email think Sony’s trying to pull one over on them.

One of the later stories in Friday’s edition of VGQH was THQ’s delay of Metro: Last Light, reportedly for more polish. We’ll have to wait and see the merits of this and what it means for THQ’s new brand focus. In the meantime, one of their other franchises is getting here a little quicker than I expected. I had thought to see Darksiders II in fall, but it has now been announced for a June release. This sequel sees the horseman Death attempt to clear War’s name, who stands accused of accidentally triggering an early apocalypse. The first game was rated very highly and was often described as a mash-up between God of War and Legend of Zelda.

Another release date was recently announced, and it’s also coming up very quick. Then again, when you’re cross marketing through different mediums, it’s nearly always a good idea to have products releasing in similar time frames. Game of Thrones, the RPG from Cyanide Studios, is set to release May 15th. That puts it about halfway through the course of the television show’s second season on HBO. (The first season will be available on DVD and Blu-ray March 6th.)

If you’ve been playing Mass Effect since the first game on PC or XBox 360 you’ve already grown accustomed to keeping your save games to import into the next game. For PS3 users, who had a choose-your-own-adventure motion comic to set up decisions from the first game, we’re still looking forward to sending our various Shepards into Mass Effect 3 on March 6th. Despite repeated assurances that this will end Commander Shepard’s story, BioWare suggests you keep your files from this trilogy-ender as well. Obviously this doesn’t have to mean Mass Effect 4, but other events in the same universe will obviously be affected Shepard’s activities (Rachni destruction, Krogan genetic engineering, etc.). While this is obviously not an announcement for anything, it does give hope that we haven’t seen the last of this impressive universe. But, with rumors abound concering next-gen hardware, what could saving that file mean? Should we expect a use for it in the next year to insure we’re sitll playing it on our PS3s or 360s? Do they have a plan for moving it to PS4 or neXtBox? Are any other franchises using this forward-thinking save utility that may need to answer the same questions?

Just in case there was any doubt about all of the other leaks we’ve heard about Capcom’s Street Fighter x Tekken, we’ve now some visual evidence of the four unconfirmed fighters: M. Bison, Akuma, Jin, and Ogre. A pair of move list graphics clearly show the four, along with instructions for performing some of their special attacks. In addition to these four, and the myriad other fighters on the roster, PS3 players will have exclusive access to Kuro, Toro, Cole McGrath, Mega Man (of sorts), and mecha Pac-Man.

EA has made no secret of their plans for another Medal of Honor sequel, and they’re getting set to reveal even more of those plans. Invites have started going out to various press outlets to attend an event on March 6th, the same week as the Game Developers Conference. The invites are quite clear that this will be the big reveal of the next Medal of Honor. Considering we all know it’s coming, this will be the first chance to see just what it will be.

Tim Schafer is a development celebrity. It probably seems strange to outsiders that gamers have behind the scenes favorites, but it seems strange to me that Jeff and Jimmy of the Big Movie Mouth Off have such an encyclopedic knowledge of directors, producers, and effects artists that I think of as obscure. Regardless, Schafer and his team at Double Fine have made some of the best-loved games around – including Stacking, Costume Quest, Brutal Legend, and most importantly, Psychonauts. The high praise and enduring fan loyalty to Psychonauts continually brings up the question of Psychonauts 2, a project Schafer has publicly declared he would like to do. It came up again recently in an interview, with Schafer lamenting that he hasn’t been able to get a publisher interested. This piqued the interest of another development celebrity, Markus “Notch” Persson. Notch is the founder of Mojang who recently completed Minecraft, a cult smash. Utilizing the millions he’s earned from Minecraft, Notch recently opened a publishing branch of Mojang, which factors in heavily to the messages he’s sent to Schafer via Twitter. When Schafer mentioned that he needs a few million dollars from a publisher to make Psychonauts 2 happen after all these years, Notch responded with “How many millions exactly?” He followed up with telling Schafer he wants to “make Psychonauts 2 happen,” and that he’s “serious.” This doesn’t actually mean anything will come of it, but this could certainly be the beginning of a beautiful friendship. And the fans will be reaping all the benefits.

With Twisted Metal making its return to consoles on Valentine’s Day, this should be a triumphant time for David Jaffe and Eat Sleep Play. But that doesn’t seem to be the case. Jaffe is apparently leaving the company, reportedly of his own accord, while they’ve just released 8 employees through layoffs. Eat Sleep Play was founded in 2007 “to provide gamers with small-to-medium sized games that look great, run fast, and — most importantly — are fun and commercial.” A high profile release like Twisted Metal doesn’t seem to fit that description very well, but we haven’t really seen it in action yet. With the loss of Jaffe, who created the car combat series and the bestselling action-platformer God of War, and the recent layoffs, Eat Sleep Play is down to 26 employees. The new plan is to focus on iOS games for the iPhone and iPad. But what does this mean for the three game contract they had with Sony?

Speaking of Twisted Metal, you didn’t think a simple release on Valentine’s Day was going to end its glory did you? Three additional vehicle skins will be available by drinking NOS energy drinks and entering the promo code online. That will get you a download code to pick up a specialized Dollface truck, gore-dripping hearse, or bright pink ice cream truck complete with a grinning clown. While these skins are advertised as exclusives, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them become available as paid DLC at a later date.

In the world of special editions, Starhawk has the latest reveal. This Limited Edition is not a paid upgrade, you’ll need to preorder at GameStop for free access to these bonuses when the game launches on May 8th. It’s a fairly robust package too, one I’d normally expect to see an extra $10-20 charge to upgrade. It comes with a PS3 theme, the official soundtrack, a free download of the original Warhawk from PSOne, and two DLC add-ons (a $20 value). What do those add-ons include? Here’s the summary from the PlayStation Blog:

• Maw of Despair Outcast Pack – Includes the Maw of Despair Co-op Map and Shade Warrior MP Skin. This challenging co-op mission takes place deep beneath the planet’s surface in a particularly dangerous Rift mine. The Maw of Despair is home to the oldest Outcast tribe, the Shade Warriors. The heart of each Shade Warrior blazes with pure Rift energy, granting them extra toughness and combat ability. The firefights you’ll encounter in the Maw of Despair co-op mission will push your shooting skills to the edge!
• Echo Scrapyard Rifter Pack – Includes the Scrapyard Homeworld and Huxley Ardin MP Skin. An exclusive player Homeworld, the Echo Scrapyard features Huxley’s mechanics shop and junkyard — known throughout the Frontier as the best place in the Frontier for Rifters to get spare parts for their Razorbacks and Sidewinders. And in the canyon basin below, Huxley’s shop is a network of roads and trails for players to hone their own Razorback 4×4 and Sidewinder Jetbike driving skills.

It looks like that settles it for another early edition of Video Game Quick Hits. Come back again on Friday for more short bites of the top news.

This week’s late edition has a wide and varied array of topics, so let’s get to it:

Wasn’t Resident Evil 6 just announced in the last month? Capcom isn’t wasting any time. We usually see the first screens from a game when it’s still a year or two out, especially when it’s from a franchise this big. But it looks like Capcom is sticking with their plans to launch it in November. They’ve already announced a demo available in July (for 360, September for PS3), and committed to it by including early access in the box for Dragon’s Dogma, their new RPG. New copies of that game will include a code redeemable for access to the demo when it comes to their console.

Longtime fans of Risen have good reason to be excited for Risen 2: Dark Waters, and now they have even more reason. A DLC chapter for the upcoming sequel is planned that will pick up a plot thread from the first game and finally bring it to close. The “Treasure Isle” expansion will focus on Harlok, a cook from Captain Steelbeard’s ship that steals clues to the hidden location of the captain’s treasure. In exchange for helping him, your hero will be rewarded with new environments and puzzles, as well as a legendary item that gives you a permanent stat boost. The DLC will be free for those who preorder, though it should be available for about $10 at a later date. The game launches on April 24th.

Things are getting shaken up over at Sony, but it looks to be a good thing and only tangentially related to the gaming side of the business. Sir Howard Stringer, President and CEO of Sony Corp., is finally acting on the succession plan the company has been building for three years. He’ll be stepping down March 31, to be succeeded, as expected, by Kazuo Hirai, current head of the company’s consumer electronics (including PlayStation) and Chairman of Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. Hirai originally started with Sony’s music division in 1984 and has been moving up the chain ever since. His contributions to the PlayStation brand since joining that division in 1995 are numerous and he has been an architect for the current state of the gaming industry. This is an exciting and promising change for the entire Sony brand. Sony hasn’t yet announced his replacement in the consumer electronics division, but we should be hearing it soon.

Another leak from Capcom brings us a fresh round of rumors about Street Fighter x Tekken DLC. There’s no official announcement, but Capcom leaks rarely prove to be wrong and this does seem to match their pattern. Eight DLC packs were leaked, with a value of almost $40. The contents appear to be two gem packs of nine gems each ($2.99/ea); a color editing pack (free); a Tekken and/or Street Fighter costume pack giving you new fighter costumes based on stars from the opposite series ($9.99/ea, or $15.99/pair), a New Challengers pack with Guy, Cody, Christie, and Leo ($7.99); and an unlock pack ($4.99) that gives you acces to Akuma, Ogre, and other in-game unlockables without having to actually earn them yourself. On the surface, it looks like Capcom is prepared to support the game heavily after release. What’s really happening is that they’re preparing the Ultimate Hyper Puppies and Kitties Edition which will be announced two weeks after the last expansion hits your online store.

With the Gotham City Impostors beta already running it’s about time we get a release date. How about next week on February 7th? That’s when it should be hitting your console’s online store for $14.99. I’ve had fun in the beta, but didn’t get as much time with it as I would have liked. If I were actually any good at FPS or competitive online this might be the game that drew me into it. Seeing as I suck, I’m just not sure I can justify $15 for frustration.

If you’re not joining the legions of Batman and Joker knock-offs killing each other online there is another title releasing next week you may be interested to play. Or replay if you grew up in the same arcades I did. The Simpsons Arcade Game will be coming to PSN and XBLA next week. The best news out of this is that PS+ members will get the game for free on PSN. Which only seems fair to me. After all, I think I spent enough quarters to buy the full cabinet two or three times over as a kid.

As if The Simpsons aren’t enough free goodies for PS+ members, February is a great month to be a subscriber. In addition to the arcade classic, PS+ also gets the PSOne Classic Final Fantasy V, two free minis (Hungry Giraffe and Gold Medalist), Far Cry 2 for PS3, and six PSN games (Battle Fantasia, Fatal Inertia, Hamsterball, Inferno Pool, Mahjong Tales: Ancient Wisdom, and Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket Powered Battle Cars). All for free. In case you missed the SEGA bundle because you joined too late, or are just joining this month to get these deals, all six of those titles (Altered Beast, Comix Zone, Golden Axe, Sonic 1 & 2, and Streets of Rage 2) will be back for free as well. The usual raft of discounts, free game trials, themes, avatars, and Qore will also be available. Seriously, February looks to be one of PS+’s best months ever.

Even more on the downloadable front, Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc HD has been announced for release on March 21, 2012. I don’t have the pricing yet, but this comes from the same people who did the Beyond Good & Evil HD remake so I expect it will be similar to that price ($10). I’m a little ashamed to say that I didn’t experience Rayman until the recent Rayman: Origins. I have absolutely no idea why that was an origin story, or even if there was an actual story to it, but it was some excellent platforming and I really enjoyed it. I’m definitely going to be diving into this character’s back catalog.

As you probably recall from Tuesday’s edition of VGQH, I went on a bit of a rant about online passes and the way they affect games. In a curious spin on that news, EA has announced that Syndicate will have no online pass. According to Jeff Gamon of EA partners, this decision was made because the game has no competitive multiplayer and contains such a wealth of content that they don’t think anyone will trade it in. EA was one of the pioneers the online pass, and are even requiring it for acces to story missions in Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, which is single player only. [More on that game later.] According to Gamon, “Under normal circumstances it would have had an online pass, but because it didn’t have competitive multiplayer and because we wanted as many people as possible to be playing co-op, we got away with it.” I’m not complaining, but does it seem like EA is feeling a little bipolar about this controversial tool they created?

If you’re planning to pick up UFC Undisputed 3 on February 14th, you’ll want to consider how much of the DLC you’ll want. There’s plenty of it coming, but you’ll be able to pre-purchase it all at a discount via the Season Pass for $17 on release day, a $9 savings. As usual, the Season Pass will get you all of the planned DLC as soon as it hits your store. Plans for the DLC are:

• Fight of the Night Pack – Five new fighters, $5, March 2012
• International Pack – Five new fighters, $5, April 2012
• Ultimate Submissions – Five fights, free, launch day
• Ultimate Rivals – Five fights, free, launch day
• Ultimate Upsets – Five fights, $5, March 2012
• Mixed Bag – Five fights, $5, April 2012
• Alistair Overeem, $1, March 2012 (free at launch if you did the Facebook thing)
• Create-a-Fighter Boost – Extra points for fighter development, $3, launch day
• All Unlockables – Unlock everything without earning it, $2, launch day

On top of THQ’s financial troubles, it was revealed during an investor call this week that Metro: Last Light is being delayed from 3rd quarter 2012 to an unspecified date in 2013, citing the usual need for more polish. This may not be a bad sign. THQ has recently dropped a lot of IPs and refocused on providing top shelf experiences for core gamers. This delay may just be showing their commitment to that goal. In addition to delaying the game, they have also revised the marketing budget, doubling that of the previous game. It’s unfortunate to see a delay, but this game will be our first real chance to see what THQ is doing with their new business plan. A lot is riding on the title and I’m very interested to see how it all turns out.

It’s become kind of a niche franchise, but if you’re one of the many awaiting the console release of Worms: Ultimate Mayhem, combining the best elements of Worms 3D and Worms 4, the release date is nearly here. This week it was confirmed the game will be hitting PSN and XBLA on Valentine’s Day, February 14th. The price hasn’t been confirmed, but it’s $15 on Steam, so plan accordingly.

I’m still not sure what to think of Lollipop Chainsaw, but the pre-order outfit tells me they’ve at least got their inspiration from the right place – depending on where you buy your copy. The highlight for me is the GameStop preorder, which gets you an Ash inspired set of threads straight from the Evil Dead trilogy. [Hot girl dressed as Ash? Is it okay that I like that? In a dirty way?] Power Up Rewards members will also get an outfit inspired by Jimmy Urine of Mindless Self Indulgence (a punk band contributing to the soundtrack). Alternatively, preorders at Amazon will get you the Rockabilly and Pin-Up outfits, or Best Buy scores the Goth Girl and Foxy Funk sets.

Finally, I got a chance to play the demo for Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. RPG demos that just show you the first few minutes of a game are hardly a fair thing from which to judge, but it’s what they provided. Based on my time with the demo, which is available now on PSN and XBLA, I don’t see myself buying this game. The story didn’t make much sense, not that I’d really expect it to in the short amount of time I played. The audio mixing seemed very off, especially the dialogue, and the mute hero was just off-putting. I know the point of a mute hero is so you can “hear” your own voice instead of having one projected on you, but far from making me feel like I was the hero, it actually separated me from him. Furthermore, when choosing his dialogue options (similar to Mass Effect‘s wheel sometimes, and occasionally just a list of topics to discuss), the game suffered awkward camera cuts and and strange responses from the AI. Combine that with some wonky camera controls and combat being a little sloppy and I felt no connection at all. I do appreciate the bonus armor unlocked for Mass Effect 3, but I didn’t even continue the 45 minute free roam the demo allowed after completing the introductory stage. With dozens, or even hundreds, of hours planned for the retail title, I think I’ll have to pass. I was bored and annoyed after a half-hour.