Welcome to the last edition of VGQH for July. This month has seen a lot of news come and go. Fans at Comic-Con finally got their hands on some video games that were shown only to the press last month at E3. Games have been delayed, games have moved, Bobby Kotick made an ass of himself again. Well, those last three are typical of any month. But Comic-Con was cool, right?

Anyway, I’ve been passively following the story about Australia’s possible R18+ rating since I first heard it had a chance several months ago. The latest update is that the Standing Council of Attorneys-General have reached an “in-principle” agreement. New South Wales is the only Australian state abstaining from the agreement, as they are awaiting consultation with their cabinet. The state of South Australia had plans to introduce its own R18+ rating but has since delayed those plans in hopes the rest of the country would be on board as well. This additional rating classification would mean fewer banned (Mortal Kombat) or censored (Fallout 3) titles while still providing parents with the information necessary to insure children are not exposed to games with inappropriate themes or excessive violence. I’m thrilled to see this progression in Australian law even though it affects me in no personal way.

If you’ve played the long-awaited Duke Nukem Forever, you’ve seen how much it relies on parody. Making that just a little more obvious is the first batch of DLC for the game, the “Hail to the Icons Parody Pack.” This multiplayer pack is scheduled for this fall and will be free to First Access Club members who joined before the game’s release. The pack includes three new modes (Freeze Tag, Hot Potato, and Hail to the King) and four spoofy maps: Call of Duke, Sandbox (Halo), Inferno (Doom), and 2Forts1Bridge (Team Fortress 2). Duke has never been truly known for its originality and this game serves to highlight that more than any other. I wonder if this parody pack takes it a little too far though. All it’s really highlighting is that Gearbox can’t be bothered to make original content.

Next up in media crossover world is a novel tie-in to Dead Island, coming from Bantam in September. The novel, written by Mark Morris, will release September 6th, the same day as the game. A full synopsis is not yet available, but it would appear the novel will give a deeper understanding of the zombie outbreak as well as follow the main characters into their survival ordeal after the zombocalypse.

For all of those Worms lovers, good news. Worms Ultimate Mayhem will be coming to XBLA, PSN, and PC later this year. The new release combines HD overhauls of Worms 3D and Worms 4: Mayhem into one package. All of the original content will be included, along with new content and four player online.

After hearing about the Resident Evil 4 and Code Veronica X HD remakes headed our way, fans have been waiting for the price announcement. It’s here, and it’s about what you expected. They’ll be $20 each, retail or download, when they release on September 20th and 27th, respectively. Both games will have all their extras, with RE4 including the Ada Wong “Separate Ways” epilogue and Code Veronica X being based the definitive PS2 version.

Remember that announcement from Rockstar last month about upcoming DLC for Red Dead Redemption? I haven’t forgotten and my curiosity’s been piqued. We now have more details. The “Myths and Mavericks” pack is coming in September and it will be free! Doesn’t look to include any new single-player content, but it will have some new multiplayer skins (including Landon Ricketts), and new locations for Death Match, Grab Bag, and more. This is a great bonus if you’re still using the game’s multiplayer. If not, maybe it’s a reason to come back to an old favorite.

THQ recently announced the end of the Red Faction franchise. Poor sales (and mediocre reviews) of the latest title, Armageddon, means this IP has run its course for the publisher. Trying to boost hype for Armageddon, THQ released the downloadable Battlegrounds, which also sold poorly. Unlike otehr publishers, THQ does not appear to be shutting down the developer, Volition. This is certainly due to Volition’s other top franchise, Saints’ Row, whose third title is coming in November. The Red Faction team has been reassigned to work on Guillermo Del Toro’s upcoming inSANE.

Doublesix Games has announced All Zombies Must Die!, the spiritual succesor to Burn Zombie Burn! will be coming in late 2011. Bucking the typical downloadable game trend, it will come to PSN and PC first, following up on XBLA at a later date. Featuring four player co-op arena combat (and some light RPG elements), you’ll play as an Alien, Gamer, Girl, or Mad Scientist while you destroy zombies in al their forms – including dogs, rabbits, and other things you would normally deem too cute to blast with a homemade Magma rifle. Sounds like an excellent drinking game.

While it is starting to look like NFL fans will actually get a season this year, EA’s got a way for you to ignore the negotiations and get focused on the game, starting August 9th. That’s when the Madden 12 demo will hit your online service. That means three weeks to experience the game before it launches on August 30th. The rosters for the two playable teams, Green Bay and Chicago, will be a little outdated because of the lockout’s recent resolution. EA is promising a launch day update to address the roster issues.

Insomniac is talking dates for the Resistance 3 multiplayer beta. When you get access depends on how special you are. Not exactly, but it does have a phasing rollout. If you have one of the “specially marked packages” of SOCOM 4, you can redeem your beta code starting August 4th. The next phase goes to European PS+ subscribers on August 10th. PS+ subscribers from the US will get in on the action starting August 23rd. The beta is capped at level 20 but you’ll get two major maps, the Glamorgan Seaside in Wales and Bogota Trainyard. Team Deathmatch and Chain Reaction will be your beta modes. The full game also includes Breach, Capture the Flag, and Deathmatch. You won’t get all of the unlockables in only twenty levels, but you will be able to customize your loadout and character appearance. If it doesn’t look like you’re getting invited to the beta, don’t worry. The game is scheduled for full release September 6th.

That’s the last of the general gaming news. If you’ve been considering a 3DS but are undecided, Arse-Bot may be able to convince you. Other than that, enjoy your weekend. I’ll be helping a friend move then hopping a fun bus to Wendover. If we have time after my niece’s borthday party I’m planning to stop by Brewvies on Sunday for Geek Show Movie Night. Shannon and Jeff of Geek Show Podcast are hosting Godzilla 2000 and Jurassic Park. If you’re looking for some good beer and a couple of free monster/dinosaur movies, there’s your plan. See you next Tuesday.

Since one of our “video game” robots Zombietron, the guy who loves his 3DS, seems to still be asleep like the lazy ass he is, I will go ahead and give you all the good news!

Starting on August 12, Nintendo will be dropping the price of the 3DS from $250 to $170!

“For anyone who was on the fence about buying a Nintendo 3DS, this is a huge motivation to buy now,”
– Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime

This may come as a surprise to some of you, to others, it may have been expected – I’m in the latter group. From the initial announcement of the 3DS I thought it was a pretty cool and immersive concept that they wanted to do with it, but felt that a $250 price tag was quite steep for a handheld gaming device. Couple that with a lackluster game line up and it’s not surprising Nintendo has seen less than impressive sales numbers from the 3DS (yes, I know “Ocarina of Time” was released on the platform, but one game can’t carry a pricey handheld gaming device such as this).

Between the launch of the 3DS in February and the end of their fiscal year on March 31, Nintendo had expected to see sales exceed 4 million, but reported in April that actual sales were at 3.61 million units. In the first fiscal quarter of this year (April-June) Nintendo saw 710,000 more units moved worldwide – only 110,000 of which could be attributed to US sales.

Prior to and after its launch, Nintendo reps remained adiment that $250 was a “bargain” for the 3DS and that once consumers realized the value of all that the device could do they would not have a problem shelling out this kind of money for a handheld gaming device.

In my usually-not-so-humble opinion (and Zombietron may jump in here later today and disagree with me) I believe that $250 has always been too steep of a price for a handheld gaming device – regardless of all the bells and whistles that Nintendo may have added to it. There is no doubt that the 3DS is a fantastic gaming platform with a lot of perks and interactivity to go along with it, but consumers are used to paying a bit less than $250 to get their gaming on the go. There was also the issue of a lack of quality gaming options released with the 3DS that seemed to keep many potential customers away. It’s hard to justify spending that kind of money on a gaming device if Nintendo hasn’t released enough titles to make it worth the cost.

This seems to be just the first step in Nintendo trying to boost sales of the 3DS. With the dropping of the price to a more reasonable $169.99 I think it is now more in the price-range of what handheld gaming consumers are willing to spend. Along with this price drop, gamers will also be happy to see that Nintendo has some big titles coming out for the 3DS over the course of the rest of the year including Star Fox 64 3D, Super Mario 3D Land, Mario Kart 7 and Kid Icarus.

With a better price-point for the 3DS, more big titles headed its way, and accounting for the fact that the holiday season is fast approaching I wouldn’t be surprised to see Nintendo see a big jump in 3DS sales like they are hoping. Prior to this price-drop I wasn’t even considering picking one up, but now I might be able to justify $170 to get my mobile gaming on.

Source: MSNBC

If you noticed yesterday that there was no In Stores This Week for video games it’s because I couldn’t bring myself to write it up for just one game. If you’re unaware of that game, Catherine was released today. Seriously, if you’ve heard about this game but haven’t been following it well enough to know it was coming today, it probably isn’t for you. You play as leading man Vincent, trying to decide his fate between the beautiful blonde (Catherine) he wakes up next to and his long time, possibly pregnant, brunette girlfriend (Katherine). Much of the gameplay is full of bizarre dream sequences where real people appear to be sheep. Ummm, yeah. I’m confused too, but it’s like watching a David Lynch movie. Who cares if it doesn’t make sense, I’ll be playing it anyway.

Anyway, on to the news. Considering Comic-Con happened over the weekend, there’s suprisingly little that didn’t get covered on Friday.

First of all, if you’ve been starving for Star Wars: The Old Republic, you can’t do better than Citizen-Bot’s hands-on time.

Bobby Kotick of Activision recently spoke to Forbes magazine about Innovation and what it means for the … Hero franchise. Kotick explained that there was no actual audience for DJ Hero, considering it’s pretty easy to become a DJ on your computer if that’s your thing. That’s why it failed. Guitar Hero, on the other hand, failed because it didn’t get appropriate “nourishment and care.” He did that to a video game? Never trust this guy with a puppy. If you’re a fan of Buzz Word Bingo, here’s some great calls for you:

“critically acclaimed”
“extraordinarily well-received game”
hiatus was “exactly the right decision” to “regain audience interest”
“deliver inspired innovation”
“use new studios and reinvent Guitar Hero“

I know, I know. all those quotes out of context is irresponsible journalism. But it’s Bobby Kotick spouting industry BS about why it’s okay that his company continues to kill successful IPs with over saturation. And he then continues by saying that he plans to resurrect and kill this franchise all over again. But, at least you can get your rumor mill started based on a few thins he said toward the end. After admitting that “people didn’t want more 80s heavy metal music” he explained what they did want. “The number one thing that our audiences wanted in Guitar Hero was Led Zeppelin. But we couldn’t get Led Zeppelin to consent to give us the rights. And there were a lot of instances of that, a whole host of artists who just didn’t want to give rights to Guitar Hero, and it was hard to get around that.” My theory? He killed the franchise, then found out he could sign Led Zeppelin and decided to bring it back for Guitar Hero: Led Zeppelin. Because fistfuls of cash for little to no effort just speaks to Bobby as an artist.

You may remember when Mortal Kombat launched back in April that there was a web series called Mortal Kombat: Legacy that started alongside it. The limited run (starring Tahmoh Penikett, Jeri Ryan, Darren Shahlavi, and Michael Jai White) is now over. If, like me, you watched thie first episode and decided to wait until it was all done so you could watch it in a straight run, now’s the time. The series was done through Machinima but they just link you straight to YouTube.

Are you looking forward to Dead Rising 2: Off the Record? Do you still have a Dead Rising 2 save game? If so, keep it. The save game will unlock a bonus for you in the new title. Sure it’s only Chuck Greene’s jacket. And that’s just one item of clothing in a game known for its variety of bizarre outfits. But free stuff is free stuff. Right? There’s also a free outfit available for pre-ordering from GameStop that includes some in-game bonuses. The Cosplay Warrior Outfit gives you special attacks and a 25% increase in Prestige Points per kill.

Resident Evil fans will be looking forward to a new date, September 15, 2011. No, that’s not the date a new game will be releasing. It’s actually the date of the Tokyo Game Show (TGS). A fan took a snapshot behind closed doors at Comic-Con that shows the Resident Evil 6 logo with the aforementioned date. Expectations are that the game will be officially revealed at this year’s TGS. What will they show? We’ll have to wait a few weeks to see what new changes are being made to the franchise that basically started the survival horror genre.

On a related note, you’ll be playing more Resident Evil soon after TGS on September 20th and 27th. That’s when the Resident Evil 4 and Code Veronica HD remakes are available. You’ll have the option of digital download or retail disc on the same date.

Tekken fans have reason to be excited about the recent announcement of Tekken Hybrid – but only if they own a PS3. Thanks to the massive data size on Blu-Ray discs this offering is going to contain a lot. First, there’s the feature length CG movie (in 3D) – Tekken: Blood Vengeance. Also on disc will be Tekken Tag Tournament HD. This PS2 exclusive has been upgraded into full HD, complete with trophy support (yes, Tekken Bowl is included). Finally, the disc will also have a preview, of sorts, for a game currently only playable in Japanese arcades. Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Prologue will include designs and models on its four playable characters (Alisa, Devil, Ling, and a mystery character) that aren’t even available in the arcade version. Look for Tekken Hybrid this fall.

The biggest, and most surprising, addition to inFamous 2 over its predecessor was clearly the User-Generated Content. I’ve only recently picked up this game and have played a handful of the UGC missions. They have varying levels of quality and frustration that had me quit out of several of them. Maybe it’s because I’m still using a low level character and they’re designed for end game use. Either way, there’s a big update coming to the UGC with today’s PSN update. The free add-on opens up vehicles for missions and includes a handy new search feature to let you find the exact missions you want, including a search for missions created by specific PSN IDs. The vehicles available include Bertrand’s Limo and Semi-Truck, New Marais Police Car, Ambulance, and bicycle. Sucker Punch says this is only the first such update and that more are on the way.

That looks to be it for today. Check back Friday for this week’s late edition of VGQH where I give more highlights and less clicking to keep you up to date on all the gaming news.

To say I’m excited for Star Wars: The Old Republic is an understatement on the level of saying Comic-Con is a little crowded.

So it was with great glee I attended both their panel on Thursday the 22^nd and a special VIP opportunity to play through some of the game.  First, in case you haven’t heard, the game is available for pre-order NOW, and as a special pre-order bonus, Bioware will give you both an exclusive lightsaber crystal and they promise that as soon as it launches people will be invited to play the game in the order they pre-ordered. Oh, they also announced a “launch window” of “Holiday 2011”- not a firm date, but as close as we’re going to get for now.

In preparation for launch, they also announced expanded beta testing on weekends starting in September. So, if you haven’t yet signed up for their beta, you really ought to. You’re “much more likely” to get a chance to play according to Bioware as they move into this final beta phase.

I also got a chance to sit down and play this bad boy for almost 40 minutes, engaging in a PvP “flashpoint” battle on Alderaan, the point of which is to capture three separate cannons, which then fire on orbital spaceships. The more cannons you control, the quicker you deplete the other side’s fleet, and you win. This PvP was not only beautifully conceived and perfectly balanced but incredibly fun. I got stuck playing a Republic Smuggler in the Gunslinger build. Let me tell you, I had 0 interest in playing a smuggler, gunslinger or otherwise. But I had  A BLAST. I had no idea how much fun that could be, and I even got pretty good at it. My favorite move was to get in close to an unsuspecting Sith Lord and kick them square in the groin, pistol whip them, then move to a safe distance and toss in a thermal detonator.  Often, the Sith would be concentrating more on their Jedi opponents, so I could come in and do this repeatedly, pwning these huge armored Sith Lords.  Imagine if Han Solo came in and kicked Vader in the groin, or Cad Bane kicking Anakin or Obi-Wan.  It’s FUN. This is what really surprised me was how fun it could be to play even those who I was less interested in.
Meanwhile, I liked following around Jedi Consulars and see them throwing huge rocks, rocking that double bladed lightsaber, and generally kicking ass. And as for the Empire, those guys were formidable.  I hated the bounty hunter who kept lighting me on fire.  Bastard. And it made me want to play as a bounty hunter and a Sith Juggernaut.

During the panel yesterday, someone during the Q&A asked how PvP would work, to which they answered “Very well.”  I can testify to that, and that’s coming from someone who doesn’t enjoy pvp all that much, who didn’t even get to choose what class he wanted. This game is EPIC in all sense of the word. Do you know how great it is? It’s so amazing, that I have zero desire to play World of Warcraft any more. Zero. As in the “once you’ve seen the city lights you can never go back to the farm” sense, because frankly, all other MMORPGs seem dumb by comparison. I want to pull and Eric Cartman and freeze myself until the game comes out, that’s how little I can wait.

Well, what else did we learn from the Bioware panel?  First, the scale of the game.  They have promised dozens of worlds, each of which is big in itself. According to the developers, if you started running at one end of Tatooine, it would take you a half hour to run to the other end of the world. And that is one of dozens.  So, yes, EPIC scale.

Other than that, we didn’t get too much else revealed. Except that you really need to pre-order this now. Lucky for me, as an attendee of the panel I got a ticket to redeem for a pre-order. I still have to pay, but since several outlets ran out of their pre-sale allotment yesterday (including Amazon), just having a guaranteed pre-order is pretty sweet in my opinion. I mean, of course I was going to buy this game. Get ready. The holidays can’t come soon enough for this robot.

What about the rest of you robots?

We all know Comic-Con and Captain America are the big news this week, but there’s still been some slowly breaking video game news. I imagine Tuesday’s update will have more information from Comic-Con itself. Then again, the ‘bots on the ground in San Diego could have it covered already by then. But that’s the future talking, what do you need to know right now?

As mentioned on Tuesday, the Batman: Arkham City Collector’s Edition has been announced. But you may recall that I didn’t have a pitcure at the time. Now I do. As a refresher, this edition will be $100 and comes with a Kotobukiya Batman statue, art book, early access to the Iceberg Lounge challenge map, a Dark Knight Returns character skin, game soundtrack, and the Batman: Gotham Knight animated film. It’s all available October 18th.

Clearly not enough Arkham City am I right? How about the announcement of two more characters? Talia al Ghul and Solomon Grundy (“born on a Monday”) have both been revealed. Not much more to say than that other than Talia is being voiced by Stana Katic, so just take look at the pictures. Sorry they don’t really match.

Yet another game mentioned on Tuesday that gets more new today. The SSX reboot has been making a splash with character announcements, getting long time fans excited to see some familiar faces. In that vein, Griff Simmons of SSX3 has just been revealed with an updated look. But there will be new faces as well and the first one has been revealed. Tane Mumea is a surfer type with a thing for tie-dye. As excited as I’ve been getting for this game, seeing him as the first new character announced is pretty disappointing. Mostly just looks like a douche. Oh well, hopefully we see something better before the game comes out in January.

With new games coming out in two of their top franchises, Marvel is slowly amping up excitement. Activision recently announced the voice cast for Spider-Man: Edge of Time and X-Men Destiny, both of which have a mixed pedigree for game quality but have improved in recent outings – especially in the quality of voice work. [Both of these games are playable at Comic-Con, by the way. I’m sure we’ll have some coverage, but please let us know your experiences with them as well.] In Spider-Man, you’ll hear Val Kilmer as Walker Sloan, Laura Vandervoort as Mary Jane, and Katee Sackhoff as Black Cat. Looks like Katee is keeping busy with voice work. Milo Ventimiglia, Jamie Chung, Scott Porter will be the three playable mutants in X-Men Destiny (Grant Alexander, Aimi Yoshida, and Adrian Luca, respectively). You’ll be playing as the new X-Men September 27th, and taking on the role of two Spider-Men October 4th.

A little extra Spider-Man news for you: Pre-order incentives are popping up for Edge of Time. Pick up the game from Amazon for an early unlock of Spidey’s new Future Foundation costume. GameStop is offering the Identity Crisis pack which includes four new suits: Hornet, Dusk, Ricochet, and Prodigy. Only Prodigy is listed as a GameStop exclusive, so I’d expect you can get the rest through other retailers. Or it could mean that the FF suit and Identity Crisis packs will be future DLC but won’t include Prodigy without using GameStop. I’ll update with more information when I get it. [If you don’t know the Identity Crisis thing, don’t worry. They’re just alternate personas Peter created for a while to escape the pressure of the Daily Bugle. And because he was wanted for murder.]

More on the voice talent front, but on a game I’m far less excited about, Saints’ Row: The Third. Daniel Dae Kim of Lost will be reprising his role from the first two games as Johnny Gat. Additionally, former porn star Sasha Grey will be voicing Violet DeWynter, and wrestling legend Hulk Hogan takes on the voice of Angel de la Muerte, leader of a luchadore gang. As if my feelings on this game weren’t mediocre enough as it was, now they’ve got this gang of misfits as their “celebrity” voice talent? Whatever. If you still care, the game is set for release on November 15th.

While I’m a little surprised both of those games are still meeting their planned release windows, I’m not at all surprised The Darkness II has been pushed back. That’s just the way it goes in game development. While it was announced for October 2011, the game is now slated for February 7, 2012.

Activision has finally made an official announcement about GoldenEye 007: Reloaded. It’s coming to 360 and PS3 in fall 2011, an already crowded time for top shelf games. Temper your excitement a little though. It’s actually an HD upgrade of the 2010 Wii game, not the 1997 N64 title. There is a difference, but for fans it’s not going to matter much. If you didn’t waste way too much time playing this game’s pioneering multiplayer when it was first released, you probably didn’t know how to hold a controller. Actually, you may not even have that excuse this time as it will support the Sharpshooter and Move on PS3. Multiplayer will be a part of the “reload” as well, but now it will be online.

Do you remember a little game that came out earlier this year called Homefront? The concept was brilliant, but it was widely panned for its ridiculously short single player campaign. But the multiplayer got decent reviews and it looks like there will now be more of it. “The Rock” Map Pack is coming soon on XBox 360, with a PS3 release to follow soon after. For $4.99 you’ll get two brand new maps (including Alcatraz, hence the name) and two new Team Deathmatch areas. Mostly I just have to wonder why THQ is releasing DLC for a game whose development studio, Kaos, was shut down almost immediately after the game shipped.

Back to Marvel, for the announcement of Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3. Not content to release 37 versions of Street Fighter, they’ve taken the practice to their crossover fighting game as well. The new version ($39.99, possibly with a DLC enhancement option for existing owners) will include the pre-existing DLC fighters, Jill Valentine and Shuma Gorath, plus 12 new combatants. From the Marvel side, Ghost Rider and Hawkeye have been announced, while Capcom’s new fighters will be Firebrand from Ghosts n’ Goblins (awesome) and Strider Hiryu. More from each brand will be announced soon, possibly at Comic-Con. A new spectator mode has been included as well as some rebalancing. Look for it in November. [Actually, a leaked list of the new fighters is already available, but file it under rumor for now – Marvel: Iron Fist, Doctor Strange, Nova, and Rocket Racoon; Capcom: Vergil (DMC), Nemesis (RE3), Phoenix Wright, and Frank West (Dead Rising).]

If you’re looking for Frank West news that isn’t rumor-milled, look no further than October 11th. That’s the day Dead Rising: Off the Record is announced for release. Bringing back the washed up, photographer hero of the first game and depositing him straight into the seedy underbelly of Fortune City from the second could be a homerun for Capcom. Or it could be just a little too much milking of the franchise (and fan goodwill).

Yet another game getting a recently confirmed release date is Prototype 2. Shockingly, it’s not coming this fall/winter. The game is actually scheduled for April 24, 2012. But you won’t be taking the tendrils as Alex Mercer again. Instead you’ll be out for revenge against Mercer as Sergeant James Heller. Heller blames Alex for the death of his family in New York City. The first game has been in my GameQ for a while, but I keep pushing it below all the other great stuff that’s been coming out, and I just don’t play games that fast anymore. Sounds like I’ve got a few months to move it up and get up to speed, because the second one is looking very good.

Have you been playing Shadows of the Damned? Have you played anything else by Suda-51? Do you want to see what he’d do with the zombie genre? Then keep your eyes on Lollipop Chainsaw. This is the next game being developed by Grasshopper Manufacture and it looks just as bizarre as everything else Suda-51 has touched. Characters will take the role of Juliet, a cheerleader turned hero, after zombies invade her high school. No dates have been announced and it’s currently only announced for Japan.

Sonic fans are surely waiting for a little more information about the upcoming Sonic Generations. I don’t have much, but I do have something. The Chemical Plant Zone from StH 2 will be making a comeback. For the 2D levels it’s pretty much just converted to HD. But it’s also been completely reimagined for the 3D perspective. The other piece of news regarding this game is that the loved and hated Metal Sonic will be coming back as well.

If you’ve been eagerly awaiting the ICO and Shadow of the Colossus Collection and have been disappointed that a release date has not been forthcoming, rest easy. Come September 27th you’ll get two PS2 classics in 1080P with 7.1 surround and sterescopic 3D. Sony has also announced some bonuses for the release. There will be additional video content for both titles and some exclusive footage of The Last Guardian. You’ll also get download codes to score an XMB theme for each game.

Do you remember when the DLC character announcements came for Mortal Kombat they said there would be a fourth mystery character? Mystery solved. Freddy Krueger (yeah, that Freddy Krueger) will be hitting Outworld on August 9th for $4.99. I still feel the prices for these characters is a tad high, but if you don’t think this is awesome then you have no concept of joy. This is definitely the coolest character addition to any video game since they announced the Kratos exclusive.

This is running long and more stuff is coming in faster than I type. I’ll sort the wheat from the chaff over the weekend and you can find the highlights in Tuesday’s edition. Meantime, keep your browser here at Big Shiny Robot! as Swank and Citizen-bot keep you up to speed on all the biggest goings-on at Comic-Con 2011.

3DS owners got a lovely surprise last Thursday.  Along with the 2 uninteresting looking Game Boy Advance games, owners of the system were treated to a Netflix application.  I have spent the last 5 days doing 2 things with my 3DS, playing Links Awakening DX, and watching anything Netflix while I work on various projects, and here is my final decision on the app.

The app itself runs beautifully but is hindered by the power of the 3DS.  Load times are a bit longer than I’d like to see while pulling up your recently watched, instant queue, recommendations, and other channels that Netflix tries to entice your senses with.

Once your film begins streaming the resolution is crystal clear. It never once stopped to buffer, and the audio came in perfectly.  I also found it noteworthy that the more I used the app the faster my load times and search times became.  I’m assuming that the device was caching important files to help alleviate the painful load times.

In the 5 days I watched a good 30 hours of media on the app and only had to reboot the system once.  The reboot didn’t happen during normal app operation either. I was trying to fumble between Links Awakening DX and the app, and I’m pretty sure the system stopped caring what I wanted and decided to take a break.  The app itself is beautifully, If you need a great way to watch Netflix while your wife is assaulting you with desperate housewives, or haven’t been driven off by the recent Netflix price change you can rejoice!  Put in your headphones and escape the horrors of programming you tell your wife you like only to get laid.

Another weekend has come and gone. I’m still playing LEGO Star Wars III, still crying my way through Mass Effect 2 on Insanity, and I’ve somehow decided it’s a good idea to start yet another game, inFAMOUS 2. All three are fantastic by the way. But Gamefly just sent me Portal 2 as well. That will probably have to wait until I finish at least one of the others. But it’s so pretty and tempting. Can I reasonably be playing four games at once (not counting downloadables) and still enjoy all of them? Especially during summer when I usually only get an hour or two a day and maybe four hours all weekend? Not to mention still keep a biweekly column about gaming news running? Speaking of which:

Is it not enough that new game releases all seem to need a collector’s edition, sometimes two or three? Now it seems game of the year editions are coming out for more games than can reasonably be called “game of the year.” Seriously, has a single publication actually given top honors to Two Worlds II? Not that it’s necessarily a bad game. I’m just wondering why we can’t call it like it is, the “we didn’t sell as much as we think we could so we’re packaging it again with more pretty stuff” edition. And please, don’t get me wrong, there is plenty of pretty stuff. The Velvet Game of the Year Edition (yes, that’s the name) includes the Pirates of the Flying Fortress Expansion pack, two PvP maps, real world double-sided map, real and in-game pirate head pins that boost attributes (no guarantees of real world attribute boosting), and the standard bonus disc with wallpapers, art, music, etc. All of it comes packaged in a fancy red or black velvet box on PC or consoles, respectively. Hence the name. If you’re interested in picking up this version, it goes on sale October 18.

Speaking of Collector’s Editions, Batman: Arkham City‘s has been revealed. The premium edition will retail for $100 and includes a Kotobukiya statue (worth it already), standard fare artbook, early access to DLC (possibly even the Best Buy “exclusive” Robin add-on), Gotham Knight animated content, “and more.” Normally these announcements come with pictures, but this one didn’t. So, how about an awesome new picture of Two-Face instead. He’s reportedly building an army in Arkham City. Batman will be swooping in to stop him, in collector’s or standard editions, October 18.

In recent editions of VGQH we’ve seen more of the SSX roster being revealed for the game’s January reboot. The more I’ve seen, the more I’ve had to admit I’m actually a little intrigued by a game I wrote off the day it was announced. It appears EA is confident they can change my mind, as they have plans for releasing a demo before the game’s release. For a title with this much trepidation, this is either brilliant or foolish. If the demo is good, they’ll win over plenty of people like me. If it’s bad, all of your questionable sales get answered with a resounding “NO!” No word on what or when the demo will be, but the game is scheduled for January 2012.

Last week the rumors started flying about Ubisoft’s pending release of Uplay Passport, their attempt to recoup some of the loss from sale of used games. Ubisoft has since confirmed that this new offering goes into effect with the August 30th release of Driver: San Francisco. All of Ubisoft’s core titles bearing the Uplay logo in the future will utilize the plan. The Passport will provide access to any exclusive content and online play. New copies will use a one-time use code to download the Passport for free. If you don’t buy the game new, you’ll be paying $9.99 to get it from your device’s online service. For good or ill, it appears these online passes are here to stay. Any major publishers who haven’t announced one will certainly be getting it out there soon.

In the cross-media world, the latest announcement is a book based on the upcoming Battlefield 3. The novel, written by Andy McNab, will hit shelves the same day as the game, October 25th.

I’m not sure how much this qualifies as news, but any excuse to talk about Mass Effect 3 is good enough for me. This picture of James Vega was tweeted by Casey Hudson of Bioware to celebrate getting 10,000 followers. Vega is a new character to the series. Like the new players who will just be jumping into the franchise with this game, Vega doesn’t know much about galactic politics. He appears to be the champion of the new player, and that’s a good thing. Veterans may not use him much, not if Garrus, Jacob, or other long time characters are available, but he’ll definitely have his place. But, like Jacob was in ME2, he also strikes me as the sort of new character that could be available for romance.

If you’re one of the many die hard fans of the series, you want any news you can find about when you’ll be playing Final Fantasy XIII-2. An exact date is still pending, but the North American release has been narrowed down to January 2012 (formerly “early 2012”).

I’m trying to decide if this is the first I’ve heard of this one, or if I just filed it under bad “1980s rehash” and forgot about it. Voltron: Defender of the Universe is coming to PSN and XBLA this October. The game will weave clips from the ’80s cartoon into the game as cutscenes, putting players right into the conflict with King Zarkon of Arus they remember from their youth. You can choose any of the five lions, or team with up to four other players online (two player offline) to control them all. I’m not sure how you work five player co-op once you turn into Voltron and start swinging that blazing sword, but for gamers of a certain age that’s not going to matter. Being Voltron has been a lifelong goal for millions of ’80s children. Of course, now we’ll all be reminded of whether Voltron was actually a good show, or we were just too young to realize it sucked and have been blinded by nostalgia for 25 years.

And now that I’ve just angered every reader of a similar age to myself, I’ll just end the news here. Actually, it’s because I don’t have any more at the moment. But I will for Friday’s edition, so check back then.

Multiplatform:
Call of Juarez: The Cartel (360, PS3)
Captain America: Super Soldier (everything)

Nintendo:
The Smurfs (DS)
The Smurfs Dance Party (Wii)
Just Dance Summer Party (Wii)

Hello and welcome to this week’s Friday edition of VGQH. Not really newsworthy, but I started LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars this week. I’m just finishing up the story missions and I’m very impressed. I love all the LEGO games but this may be the best one yet. It’s huge, I can’t even guess how many characters I’ve unlocked and I’ve only got about a third of them. Minikits you find in levels build characters, but I’ve yet to complete one because I haven’t started Freeplay mode. You earn gold bricks for completing levels, getting True Jedi, etc. Collecting gold bricks allows you to build more doors in the hub world (the ships, Resolute and Invisible Hand) to find more red “cheat” bricks and buy more characters. The addition of the very light RTS ground battles can be a little confusing but is still fun. I absolutely love it.

But this is no place for a review, this is a place for news. So let’s get to it:

Release dates for games change all the time. But it’s rare that one moves up, not back. Burnout CRASH! has done just that. Originally announced for Fall 2011, EA has since stated it will be releasing in August. The specific day hasn’t been announced yet, but you can now look forward to this game hitting your download service a little sooner. This is pure speculation, but the reason for the move may be related to the next item, in that EA could probably use a little cash.

Following the recent rumors, EA officially bought PopCap Games earlier this week. The deal is worth about one billion dollars. According to EA’s CEO, John Riccitiello, “PopCap’s great studio talent and powerful IP add to EA’s momentum and accelerate our drive towards a $1 billion digital business. EA’s global studio and publishing network will help PopCap rapidly expand their business to more digital devices, more countries, and more channels.” I’m curious to see where this goes. PopCap is great at casual games, and I’ll be interested in what they can do with the financial backing of a megacorp like EA. I’m also curious how much creative interference they’ll get from EA.

EA also happens to be the developer and publisher on the upcoming SSX reboot. They’ve recently begun announcing the roster of snowboarders you’ll be using and the newest addition is Zoe Payne. Doesn’t look like she’s changed much. As weird as this game sounded at first, I’m slowly getting excited for January. This is starting to look more and more fun.

I’ve recently found myself picking up more and more PSN games and Sony has apparently noticed. They’re now planning to invest $20million into the development of exclusive PSN games. This is part of their three year plan for PSN and looks to bring more “unique, fun, innovative, edgy and higher quality game experiences.” Considering their track record with the PixelJunk series, Flower, and others, this should be a great investment.

PSN can definitely benefit from more exlcusive games, considering how many titles tend to hit XBLA first, only to follow up on Sony’s console a few months later. One of those games is Section 8: Prejudice. It’s been available for PC and 360 since Spring, but it’s now coming to PSN on July 26th. According to the developer, TimeGate Studios, they’re making up for the delay with two new multiplayer modes for this version. They’re also offering some special deals for this release. If you pick it up in the first week you’ll get the Blitz Armor Pack and Overdrive Map Pack free. If you’re on PS+, and some of you may still be in your free trial period, you’ll want to hurry to buy. The first one thousand Plus subscribers to buy the game will get the Hunter Armor and a free copy of the original Section 8.

Special Editions, Collectors Editions, Super Special Awesome Editions. They’re all the rage in this generation of games. Some of them are pretty cool. Others are ridiculous. Perhaps it’s no surprise that the UberPlatinum Pack for Saints’ Row: The Third is in the ridiculous category. But it’s not ridiculous in the over the top, dildo sword way the game is ridiculous. Instead, it just seems like a waste of forty extra dollars on top of the sixty you’ll spend for the game. This edition comes with the standard soundtrack CD and the game. But it also comes with the Professor Genki Hyper-Ordinary Pre-Order pack and a headset. But, if you’re preording the game, why do you need the preorder pack included in the box as well? Second, the headset is not for gaming. It’s not compatible with PSN or Live. It’s just a basic headset with a mic that you can use with any 3.5mm jack, but it seems mostly geared for smartphones. It does have a voice-changer, but why? It’s also designed to look like DJ headphones, something that strikes me as incredibly stupid if you’re using it as a hands-free device for your phone. Isn’t that why they make earbuds? Frankly, I’d be more interested if it included a life sized dildo sword. I won’t say why.

Are you one of the few waiting for Bloodrayne: Betrayal? If you aren’t, let’s recap. The franchise so far has consisted of a couple so-so third person action games featuring a red-haired vampire chick looking sexy and kicking ass. Uwe Boll ruined what credibility it had by making an Uwe Boll quality movie in 2005. This new game will hopefully change its fortune by turning it into a 2D side-scroller, not unlike another vampire game featuring the Belmont family which had the opposite evolution. The game had previously been announced for Summer 2011. That has now been confirmed as August 30. So, still summer, but fairly late in the season. The game will be available on XBLA and PSN. Pricing has not been confirmed, but I’d wager it’s around $10. Possibly $15, but that’s probably too steep for a franchise with such shaky history.

Ubisoft is reportedly joining the ranks of EA, THQ, Warner, and Sony with its own online pass initiative, UPlay Passport. The first game to feature the Passport is likely Driver: San Francisco. Following that, all Ubisoft multiplayer games will have this built in, including Ghost Recon and Assassin’s Creed titles. If you’re unfamiliar with the concept, a new, retail purchase of the game will include a one-time use code for access to online multiplayer features. If you purchase a used copy without the code you’ll be able to buy a pass (typically $10) from your console’s store to access the online service. For those that don’t play online, this could be a good thing, potentially lowering the used game cost in the long run (currently about $55 on a fairly new release).

Since that’s the end of the news today I’d like to spend a little of your time with an editorial, as usual. Regarding the online pass, I’m not convinced that this is such a powerful plan for the publishers or developers. As I mentioned above, long run economics means the used game market won’t go away, it will just settle out at a slightly lower cost. Lowering a used game price to $52, for instance, still makes it an attractive option for thrifty consumers who don’t play online. Multiplayer fans won’t buy used at that price because the additional ten dollars means they’re shorting themselves two bucks buying used. I can see how that helps the publishers and developers. But what if the used price went to $48? Offline players are getting a great benefit, and ten dollar passes mean online players are now saving two bucks. Sure, it gives the publisher ten dollars on some of the used sales, which is more than they’ve traditionally received. But how much are they still losing by not getting first run retail sales? Also, how many retail buyers won’t get as many games because they’ll get less in trade? Publishers may be forgetting that the used game market means retail buyers can afford more games by trading in or selling on eBay.

I don’t expect there to be a perfect solution to this problem, but I would propose an alternative. How about you make the passes $20 for everyone, but lower the retail cost to $40? Offline players would then be getting a price cheaper than they’re currently paying for used games, and online players will get similar value to current prices. True, the used game market would still adapt by lowering their used prices to $35 or so. But if you make this change while still sending a message about first party sales contributing to the development of better games, you might convince the used buyers to make the switch. You also guarantee $20 instead of $10 from online players. Just a thought. Maybe I’m wrong. What do you think about the ten dollar initiatives? Does my plan make more or less sense? What ideas do you have? Let us know in the comments.

If you’ve been following us at BSR you’ll know we’re big fans of Pinball FX2. If this is your first time, Pinball FX2 is a realistic pinball gaming system for the XBOX marketplace. You can download tables on the system and play them much like normal pinball tables. Each table is between 200 and 250 points so they’re quite affordable.

But now we have here the newest table Captain America, and this one may be my highest recommend for first timers. This table is probably the best mix of difficulty and challenge I’ve seen on any of the tables so far. It’s a smaller table but it’s more compact then others, there are so many different missions and side quests to do that you’re always busy and everything gives you decent scores. Probably my favorite feature is that nothing is lost when you lose a ball, if you got kickbacks they’re still there, and also the game rewards you for how much of a mission you did. For instance if a mission ends up giving you 14 million points in total and you happen to lose the mission halfway through, you’ll gain 7 million points and then when you reenter the mission you’ll start from where you last left off. On other tables I would feel major pressure right when I was at the end of a mission cause if I failed then I would have to start all over, but this table is helping me keep my cool the whole time. This is the major reason why I think this is a good table for beginners. It’s also a pretty high scoring tables which will make you feel awesome and thus be able to play better as well. My other favorite thing is The Cosmic Cube. The Cosmic Cube is located in the middle of table and when you’re able to hit it, it helps you with whatever current quest you are on as well as giving you a decent amount of points. So if you find yourself really stuck, get the Cosmic Cube out and it’ll help you on your way.

The story line elements are pretty good too. You’ve got a bunch of sidekicks to choose from including Bucky and the Howling Commandos like Dum Dum Dugan. There’s a way in which you can play as each character and they each give you special abilities. The villains are Red Skull and my personal favorite Baron Zemo. The whole of the story takes place during World War 2.

I highly recommend this table, I became good at the game recently and went back and bought all the tables I didn’t have previously, and though this isn’t my highest scoring table it’s near the top and it’s one in which I feel more accomplished in getting a high score then any other. Within about half an hour I had gotten up to about 50 Million and finally ended up getting to 95 Million points. So it’s a very fun table and I highly recommend it, especially to those who have yet to check out Pinball FX2 because it really is a good starting level.