As if you’re not disappointed enough by the snowy spring weather (at least in my part of the multiverse), now there’s nothing good to do indoors either. This may be the weakest week for games I’ve seen since I started trying to report on it. I honestly think a week with no games might have been better.

Multi-platform:
Karaoke Glee Volume 2

XBox 360:
Carnival Games: Moneky See, Monkey Do

Nintendo Wii:
Remington Super Slam Hunting: Alaska

Since the games will suck, but one of them is about hunting, enjoy a picture of a goat instead.

It’s April Fool’s Day. While news gags today will be happening everywhere, they’re generally not going to be very funny and I doubt I’d be able to do a good one either. So, I’m not even going to try. What I will do is add one completely fake piece in today’s VGQH. See if you can spot it.

File this under rumor for now, but it appears a site maintenance error has leaked some information about possible Batman: Arkham City villains. Rocksteady accidentally posted what appears to be several new PSN avatars in their official forums, then immediately pulled them down. A few sites, including fan community arkhamcity.co.uk, posted the pictures but were asked to remove them. But, as things go on the internet, the information is still out. The picture I found is low-res, but at least Poison Ivy is clear. The others are tough to make out. It looks like Bane is on the left and Mr. Freeze is #4. The middle picture could be Clayface, Solomon Grundy, Blockbuster, or someone else. The last one is tenuous at best. Knowing the way Rocksteady has redesigned the appearance of Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy, my guess is that’s Penguin.

We’re getting used to seeing games with comic book tie-ins, and even some with traditional novel tie-ins. id Software’s Rage is doing both. While the game itself doesn’t have much attraction for me (I generally don’t care for FPS), the book and comics are appealing. The universe created has potential. The three issue comic is coming in June. The novel will be released August 30th, followed by the game on September 13th. [Side note: There’s a news bit floating around today that this game is being rebranded Fallout: Rage and will be entering the Fallout canon. Despite some story similarities I would be shocked if this proved to be anything other than one of those aforementioned bad April Fool’s jokes.]

You may have heard rumblings about the PlayStation Rewards program over the last few months. The concept was to reward players with avatars, Home content, themes, etc. based on a point system. Players would earn points for loading up a brand new game on their system, buying content from PSN, and in other ways. The beta has been running since October and the full program was expected next month. Sony hasn’t given details, but they have axed the program. Well, delayed it at least, and possibly canceled it. According to the official statement, Sony “remain[s] committed to providing the best overall consumer experience for our users, and we will be refocusing our efforts in the near future to further developing PlayStation Plus and our other network services. We will continue to find innovative ways to thank our loyal and devoted customers.”

The PlayStation 3 has a few new tricks up its sleeve with the recent additions of 3D support and the Move system. Both of these features are being added into Resistance 3. The game has already been scheduled for September 6, 2011 so this seems a little late to be adding these features. Move support probably isn’t that big a stretch to add quickly. On the other hand, the 3D announcement just feels way too much like what happens in the movie industry. If this is a rush job like Hollywood does in post-production, Resistance 3 could be the video game equivalent of Clash of the Titans.

In its latest display of legal thuggery, Activision has announced lawsuits against Nintendo, Microsoft, Sony, Sega, Neo Geo, Atari, and several other companies that have ever released a handheld or console gaming device. This comes after the announcement that Activision, no longer content to publish games on someone else’s platform, is building its own console for mass market release. The lawsuits allege the other console manfuacturers infringe on a patent Activision has issued to itself. The patent regards the use of a video screen or any portion of an individual’s brain or body to have fun. Individual lawsuits against people with an imagination are “being considered and likely pursued at the earliest opportunity.” The first wave of games for the new console is expected this holiday season, with all of their sequels to follow on a bi-weekly basis until cancellation next June.

If that last story sounds like nonsense, I urge you to reread the first paragraph.

I don’t know what it is this week with not so good pictures, but a couple screens of Max Payne 3 have been released with two different looks for the hard-boiled anti-hero. The game has no release date or plot details at this point, but pictures are usually a good indication that it’s on the way.

If you like open world games with lots of destruction there have been two great standouts this generation. Red Faction Guerrilla (2009) has its sequel, Armageddon, coming soon. Just Cause 2 improved on its predecessor in every way, giving players an obscene amount of mayhem. It now appears there will be a new destruction based open world game on the market. Avalanche, who developed Just Cause 2, is working with SEGA on a new IP, Renegade Ops. In addition to the single player mode, the vehicular combat game features two player split screen or four player online co-op. The game will be available this fall on XBLA and PSN. It will be the first entry for Avalanche, and the first new IP from SEGA, in the digital marketplace.

Last week I mentioned Amazon’s early posting of a greatest hits version of Mafia II that includes all of the DLC. Some retailers do have it in stock now, but it’s official release hasn’t happened yet. The greatest hits version is $29.99 and it does include all three DLC episodes and the preorder clothing packs. However, if you’re not interested in the extras, I saw the original packaging version on Amazon for $15.

It pains me to write this, but I feel obligated. If you’re planning to buy Michael Jackson: The Experience when it releases April 12th, you’d do well to preorder it from Wal-Mart. Not only do they have it going for $47, but they’ve wrangled themselves a bonus. Wal-Mart preorders will get his song, “Another Part of Me,” gratis.

If you’re like me, the announcement last July of Mega Man Universe brought a grin to your face. Go ahead and erase that grin. The game, which would have starred a stable of Capcom characters alongside user creations, has been canceled. Keiji Inafune, Mega Man’s creator, recently left the company. It’s a safe bet that was one of the “various circumstances” officially cited as the reason for the cancellation.

If you missed the announcement yesterday, Spider-Man: Edge of Time is coming to consoles in Fall 2011. I don’t have any more details yet, but that is exciting. Here’s a bigger version of the post-pic from yesterday (I love the image of Miguel in Spidey’s eye):

It’s been a few years since I’ve thought about the red-headed vampire known as Rayne. I was under the impression that was a good thing, but apparently she still has her fans. Bloodrayne: Betrayal is being developed by Way Forward and published by Majesco. Rayne is apparently leaving her third person action roots on PS2, opting for a 2D sidescroller coming to PSN and XBLA this summer.

If you’re one of the three people on the planet that still gets excited about SOCOM 4 news, the pre-order bonuses have been revealed. GameStop and Wal-Mart are offering the SU90-S in-game shotgun. But, for the same price, GameStop also has an extra multiplayer map. Unless anything changes between now and April 19th, it seems your decision should already be made.

There’s been a rash of job losses in the games industry over the last week. THQ cut 33 jobs between developers Volition and Kaos, mostly from the teams behind Saints’ Row the 3rd, Red Faction: Armageddon, and Homefront. At the same time, Sony Online Entertainment is shutting down their offices in Denver, Tucson, and Seattle. This eliminates 205 jobs, with those left being reassigned to San Diego. The remaining office is focusing on the Everquest game and PlanetSide Next. The elimination of the other offices means they have canceled The Agency, a spies and mercenaries MMO that had been in development for three years. Sad news for those impacted and we wish them the best in their new pursuits.

That about does it for the news bits I feel I can trust right now. Being April Fool’s day, I don’t necessarily believe all of the information that comes to me. If any of it proves to be true into next week I’ll report on it Tuesday. Check back then for more information.

Hi, my name is Doctor Cyborg and I started playing this video game because I have an unhealthy addiction to playing games featuring the Final Fantasy characters. Dissidia Duodecim is a fighting game with RPG elements that I would not play if it weren’t for a prior affinity for the characters in the game. There comes a point in every gamers life that they have to admit that they are only playing a video game because of a gimmick. Thankfully it doesn’t take very much rationalizing to continue playing. And while it does sound like a bad thing, this game sits in the good graces of Super Mario Kart, Super Puzzle Fighter II, Smash Bros. and Final Fantasy Tactics. But also it sits in the graces of, Mario’s Time Machine, Sonic’s Schoolhouse and basically any football game ever made. So we can see that there are two different sides that these games can fall on, either they will be done well, or they are just using familiar characters to get you to buy a product. The point of this review will be to discover where Dissidia Duodecim falls.

Dissidia Duodecim is the prequel to Final Fantasy Dissidia, which came out about two years ago… As far as game play goes they are essentially the same, but Duodecim is like a stellar expansion pack, working out a few of the kinks, adding more characters, and slightly changing the dynamic of story mode.

Although it is a prequel, I don’t think it’s necessary to have played the first one to get into this one. They have an option at the beginning to ease you into the controls if you need, and the story is simple enough that you can’t possibly be confused. What I like about the simple story telling is that you can skip a scene here and there if you want and you aren’t likely to miss anything. I don’t think that the story is really that important anyway, as I don’t think it’s the reason you should be playing this game. Not to say that the story is bad, it’s just all about the gameplay to me. But I will give the story credit for getting some of the characters right… for example, Kain the traitor from Final Fantasy IV also acts as a traitor at the beginning of this game.

If the graphics were any better than from the previous game, I couldn’t tell… which isn’t a bad thing, I think the game looks great, and the battles run swell. I’ve said it before about the PSP, but I’m constantly impressed by what they can pull off on a hand held system, and I think this has about the best graphics that I’ve seen… the one downside is that if the game isn’t installed it takes a long time to load every battle, and if it is installed, than you were installing it for a long time. (I really recommend installing it)

The stuff that they added to the battle system just worked and therefore isn’t worth mentioning. The change that is worth talking about is how the single player mode works… It is basically the same as before, where there is a grid map to navigate your character on, but for Duodecim they’ve made it a lot more dynamic in a few ways. For one, they made it so it didn’t feel so much like a chess board, and for two they added a bunch of abilities so that you can attack enemies in a wider radius, and while it might sound lame, it actually changes the entire strategy, and makes the game less repetitious… Oh, and they also gave the story mode a world map… kind of like the one from Final Fantasy 7, and so you actually traverse a world map to enter different battle arenas. Which is probably my favorite feature that was added, aside from being able to play new characters, which is just a cheap way to appeal to nerds, but it works. The characters added were, Kain, Tifa, Laguna, Yuna, Vaan, and Lightning.

My largest complaint about this game is that it is so easy to turn your brain off while playing that you can waste hours and hours and not realize it… This game has so many items to get, and characters to level up, and stories to play through, and different modes… it’s the type of game that you would want to have around if you were stuck in a hospital bed for a month… Or another way to put it, this video game probably causes Munchhausen syndrome. Which is a great compliment.

As stated towards the beginning, this is like an awesome expansion to the first game, and I liked the first game… So I don’t really know why this post began like an AA meeting. This game clearly falls on the well done side of ensemble gaming. 4 out of 5 magic gaming trophies.
Buy Dissidia 012 [duodecim] Final Fantasy from Amazon!

Peter David, co-creator of Spider-Man 2099, is lead writer on a new wall crawler game from Marvel, Activision, and Beenox. Beenox developed Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, one of the best Spidey titles to date.

The new game, Spider-Man: Edge of Time, is scheduled for multi-console release this fall. It will feature the Amazing and 2099 versions of your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. The player will be fighting against time to prevent the death of Peter Parker. Actions taken in one timeline will affect the world and gameplay in the other. Sounds like a great mechanic. My pre-order finger is itching already.

It’s been a long first quarter this year with vast, desolate weeks of emptiness between major releases like DC Universe Online, Marvel Vs. Capcom 3, and Dead Space 2. This quarter should be more consistent, but most of us will still have a few empty weeks.

And that emptiness begins the first week of April. How I wish this was an April Fool’s joke, but it’s not. Seriously, the biggest title releasing is Karaoke Glee Volume 2. Frankly, if you’re preordering that game, you are not allowed to even finish reading. Really. Go away. Now.

Still with me? Okay. Now the gleeks are out of the way, you’re still stuck in a gaming wasteland for another week. Unless you’re one of those strange folk like me that still plays games on their PSP. The week of April 12th still doesn’t have much going for it, but it does have Patapon 3. I don’t see any pre-order bonuses for it, and you shouldn’t expect it for a $20 game, so just buy wherever’s easiest for you. If you have no idea what this game is, you’re missing out. Basically you are the god of a race of eyeball creatures and you command them to fight battles by playing your drums (on the face buttons) to certain beats. Honestly, I’m terrible at the games because I have no rhythm but the abstract, sort of Japanese art (and weirdness level) just make it too charming to ignore. The first in the series came out in 2008 and the digital download only follow-up is about two years old. If you absolutely must buy a game this week, get this one even if it means buying a PSP. It’s bound to be better than Michael Jackson: The Experience.

The following week changes things for “core” gamers. Even if you’re ignoring SOCOM 4 and the Prince of Persia HD Trilogy, you could very easily find yourself dropping a lot of cash on April 19th. First, it’s the Mortal Kombat reboot. Superfans of the series will want to drop the extra $40 for the Kollector’s Edition, but either way you’ll want to preorder this one. Getting it from Amazon nets you their typical $10 credit and the Klassic Reptile skin with original fatality. Going the GameStop route gives you the Klassic Scorpion skin and original fatality but skips a $10 credit in favor of the Mortal Kombat widget to keep you up to date on all the news until launch. Finally, Best Buy will give you the same treatment for Sub-Zero. So it really just matters which ninja you prefer.

The other game from April 19th you need is Portal 2. Full disclosure: I play almost exclusively on PS3, but I still highly recommend that platform for good reasons. Valve and Sony have worked some magic deal where you get a free Steam copy for PC or Mac by buying it on PS3, plus your progress in the game on your PS3 can transfer to your PC/Mac version and vice versa. So, platform-wise, PS3 seems to be the best value. What about where to buy? It looks like everyone is taking $5 off MSRP for buying in advance, so definitely preorder. Store bonuses also exist. Amazon’s doubling their usual offer, which matches Wal-Mart’s e-gift card worth $20. GameStop has custom skins for Atlus and P-Body to use in co-op. Normally I’m a big fan of Gamestop’s preorders, but I can’t convince myself that those two skins are basically worth $20 out of my pocket.

Thankfully, the market lets up for a few weeks so you can play those games. Unless you still have fond memories of the Driver series. Driver: San Francisco drops on April 30th to little fanfare. Things do pick up again, albeit slowly on May 3rd. Not because there are any good games coming out, but because Thor: God of Thunder is releasing. If it follows the pattern it will be a crappy game that you still just want to play because the movie is so awesome. Do yourself a favor and rent this one before buying. I’ve got it in my Q on GameFly.

Following the release of LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars on March 22nd, Traveller’s Tales isn’t slowing down. They’re releasing LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean on May 10th. Preordering pretty much anywhere can get you a Jack Sparrow mini-fig but there’s more to consider. Amazon and Wal-Mart are offering up the usual $10 credit/gift card. Or, if you’re looking to pick up any of the preceding movies in the blu-ray/dvd combo pack, you’ll get $5 off the bundle at Best Buy.

Possibly my most anticipated game this year (for now) is L.A. Noire, and they aren’t skimping on preorders. You’ve got some thinking to do. Wal-Mart and Amazon are offering the $10 credit, of course. But there’s more. Wal-Mart gives you an additional in-game case to solve from the traffic desk. With Amazon or Best Buy it’s another set of clothes, the Broderick or Sharpshooter, respectively. GameStop also gives you another suit (but you have to work for it by collecting 20 police badges as an in-game sidequest) and an extra case to solve from the vice desk. As much as I hate to admit, Wal-Mart’s looking like the best value with the $10 credit and an extra mission.

It looks like the gaming world recognizes the awesome power of Rockstar, because nothing major follows up L.A. Noire for a few weeks. F.E.A.R. 3 comes on May 24th. A lot of people like this series but it’s not as well-known as some of its competitors.

Another series that doesn’t necessarily get the acclaim it deserves is getting a new entry on May 31st, Red Faction Armageddon. Best Buy is giving a clothing and weapon pack for preordering, GameStop has a different one, and Amazon’s got the standard $10 credit. However, GameStop and Amazon will get you a code to download Red Faction Battlegrounds, a $10 value.

June 7th brings another game I’ve been itching to play since completing the first one. inFAMOUS 2 should be awesome. I am really torn on the preorders though. Amazon’s seems pretty weak, just a new color for an in-game weapon and not even their normal credit. Wal-Mart and GameStop are both offering additional in-game weapons/abilities, the electrocution grenade and electro-kinetic tether, respectively. Without playing the game first, how am I supposed to know which one will be better? I vaguely recall a grenade type power from the first game, so Wal-Mart’s might not be that useful. Also, all of the items will probably be DLC eventually so it may not make much difference.

inFAMOUS 2 will be competing with a more traditional hero when it releases though. Of course, Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters will probably have all the same problems as Thor and should just be rented.

Please feel free to ignore this listing as it will probably be delayed from June 14, 2011 to January 3, 2022. Wal-Mart and Amazon are giving the $10 deal on Duke Nukem Forever. Duke’s Big Package from GameStop provides a health boost, big head mode, and bonus clothing for multiplayer.

The end of the quarter looks a little bit weak for now, but I would expect more announcements between now and then. You may be interested in Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Classic Trilogy HD on June 21st. I get the feeling those games won’t age well even in HD. Otherwise, on June 28th, you’ll find Call of Juarez: The Cartel. Moving this franchise into the 21st century may be a mistake. We’ll just have to wait and see. If you’re preordering now, Gamestop is offering a single player weapon. I expect more will become available from other retailers before release.

That sums up second quarter. I may have skipped one of your favorites, so please add it in the comments.

Small update today, which usually translates into a bigger update on Friday. Hopefully there’s something here you’re happy to see.

I’m fairly certain the Mortal Kombat reboot has been in every issue of VGQH since it was announced and probably will stay that away until it releases on April 19th. It might even go on longer considering this week’s update about DLC. The first two DLC characters have been announced. Kenshi and his unlicensed red lightsaber will be joining the new crew as well as Scarlet, the fabled glitch character from Mortal Kombat II. Ed Boon teased both of these characters via Twitter back in January. In that same tweet he also mentioned Rain, Shinnok, and Robo-Smoke. It’s probably safe to assume those three characters also make an appearance eventually.

1. Scorpion
2. Liu Kang
3. Kung Lao
4. Sub-Zero
5. Sindel
6. Ermac
7. Reptile
8. Kitana
9. Johnny Cage
10. Jade
11. Mileena
12. Nightwolf
13. Cyrax
14. Noob Saibot
15. Smoke
16. Sektor
17. Sonya
18. Jax
19. Kano
20. Stryker
21. Shang Tsung
22. Baraka
23. Kabal
24. Raiden
25. Sheeva
26. Quan Chi

That’s actually a leaked screenshot, probably legitimate, showing the character select screen followed by their names in order, left to right and top to bottom, except for the two robot guys on the left and right sides at the bottom. Is that for random choosing, DLC, alternate costumes? I don’t know. Then again, the character model for Sub-Zero as the 1st player selected looks like a robot or Predator version. Maybe those bottom two are the cyborg ninjas?

Does anyone remember Katamari Damacy? The ball rolling mechanic and excellent music score made this series a hit for Sony several years ago. The last entry in the series was 2009’s Katamari Forever. If you’ve been wanting another one, you may be in luck. Namco Bandai has registered trademarks in Europe for Katamari Amore and Katamari Amore Rolling Whopper. Included in the registration were “Time Trip” and “Have a nice trip.” Speculate away, but this looks like game title and slogan stuff to me.

1. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock – Activision
2. Call of Duty: Black Ops – Activision
3. Wii Fit – Nintendo
4. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 – Activision
5. Rock Band – MTV Games
6. Wii Play – Nintendo
7. Guitar Hero World Tour – Activision
8. Wii Fit Plus – Nintendo
9. Mario Kart Wii – Nintendo
10. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare – Nintendo

Now what exactly is that list? It’s from a recent report from the NPD Group and lists the top ten money making titles of this console generation, including the publisher. I’m not really surprised by any of this, but there are some intriguing facts involved. GH3 actually ran about $100 for most consumers, whereas Black Ops was only $60. Considering the extra cost, the margin was actually very slim. In fact, most of those games either required or had the option to include, additional hardware (including everything from Nintendo). Also to be noted, MTV Games no longer exists, and the GH franchise is no more. On a related note, while Activision makes up half the list, it clearly comes from milking their beasts dry. How much further can they whore out Call of Duty before it becomes loose and tired? Please take a grain of salt with this list. This reflects only sales dollars generated, which doesn’t necessarily translate to copies sold or net profitability.

More evidence has been found to indicate Rockstar and Take Two are putting work into the next Grand Theft Auto. A casting call recently went out for voice actors on a Take Two project, and all of the characters have GTA personality. In particular, James Pedeaston, the man-boy love enthusiast from WCTR in GTA IV is apparently being recast. It’s certainly possible that dropping his name is a red herring, but that seems like a lot of effort to try hiding some other franchise.

Sony Santa Monica has posted a job listing for a Senior Online Programmer. Needing an online programmer is nothing special in today’s gaming job market, but it’s worth noting that the studio has built itself around the God of War franchise. I really don’t see any way to effectively build an online component around Kratos’ mythology, so I’m thinking Sony has either given the studio the reins on an existing property that needs multiplayer, or they’ve got a new IP. My hope is that it’s the next iteration of the Play. Create. Share. campaign.

The various preorder incentives for Red Faction: Armageddon have been announced. The Commando Pack from GameStop includes the Plasma Thrower and dual laser pistols as in-game weapons, and a code for free download of Red Faction: Battlegrounds. Going through Best Buy will get the Recon Pack, including the recon armor, as well as the Arc Welder and XNG-5000 weapons. If in-game weapons aren’t your thing, you may want a comic book and strategy guide instead. You’ll get those by pre-ordering at Wal-Mart. If you’re in the UK, you’ll probably want to use Play.com, as they get you both the Recon and Commando packs, but not the comic book. PlayStation Plus members who signed up in time can probably scratch GameStop off their list as they already get Battlegrounds for free anyway.

If you didn’t spend all of your money on a 3DS and accompanying games over the weekend, then you probably want something to satisfy your itch this week. There doesn’t seem to be much happening though. Probably because nobody wants to compete with Nintendo’s new handheld.

Multiplatform:
Dynasty Warriors 7
WWE All Stars
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters
Shift 2 – Unleashed
NASCAR The Game 2011

Nintendo Wii:
Country Dance

Nintendo DS:
HOP
Johnny Test
Pinkalicious
Zhu Zhu Puppies

Sony PSP:
Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky
The 3rd Birthday

Only two games worth highlighting, one of them a niche, NBA Jam style wrestling title? And you’re probably looking at the other one and wondering what it is. Square Enix has been trying to promote this, but it just hasn’t gotten a lot of attention. The 3rd Birthday is actually the next game in the Parasite Eve series. As much as I love my PSP, it just seems like a dying platform, which is probably why a game with such great pedigree is getting ignored.

The video game marketplace is changing at such a rapid rate. With all of the digital platforms, there are so many opportunities to broaden our audience with compelling, high quality, cost-efficient, video game entertainment.

Bob Weinstein

That’s right, the Weinsten brothers have formed TWC Games. According to their press release, they’ll be working with “external partners to develop and publish video games for mobile, social, and console platforms” based on their properties.

The Weinsteins have a pretty extensive catalog, meaning we could be seeing horror games based on Scream, Hellraiser, Halloween, and Children of the Corn. And that’s just the scary stuff. Other movie properties they’ve released include Spy Kids, Grindhouse, and Inglourious Basterds. They also have their fingers in the television pie with Project Runway and myriad scripted series including one about Marco Polo that could be perfect for the gaming world.

TWC Games is working with production company, Beefy Media, “to foster strategic partnerships and oversee all production aspects of the games.” Beefy Media is a relative newcomer on the gaming scene but has an impressive pedigree. Founder Adam Boyes was formerly director of product development for Capcom USA. Team members from Beefy Media have been involved with Dark Void, Bionic Commando, Age of Booty, the 1942 reboot, and the HD remix of Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo (an all-time favorite of at least two ‘bots here, including myself).

When we start seeing games from TWC remains to be seen. There is definitely a lot of potential with their various intellectual properties and I’m excited to see what spawns from this company.

It’s time to wrap up your week with a smile. I’ve got plenty of snapshots from the week’s video gaming news and it covers a lot of topics. If you’re into games at all, at least one of the stories should pique your interest.

According to Jeremy Atkins of Dark Horse at C2E2, they “are going to publish another Mass Effect series later this year.” EA and Bioware have said nothing, but you can safely assume this will tie in to the release of Mass Effect 3 at year’s end. In related news, Tricia Helfer (Battlestar Galactica) recently tweeted that she had finished her first recording session for the game. She voices EDI, the Normandy’s AI.

Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds recently received the 1.02 patch on March 22nd. It looks like mostly minor bug fixes and tweaks but there are a couple of big changes. Apparently the patch sets up the game for Event mode, which should be available today. The other major piece is removing about 30% of Sentinel’s health to create more balance. Several glitches that unbalanced game play have also been addressed.

MotorStorm: Apocalypse, despite being recently delayed worldwide due to “the parallels between these events [in Japan] and the underlying theme in MotorStorm” is actually getting released in the UK next week. Apparently the game is already in distribution but Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has ceased continued shipments and most of the marketing materials are being pulled. This sounds like they know some retailers have copies and rather than try to block them it will just be a soft launch until things settle down with Japan. I commend them for their sensitivity, as well as their realistic grasp of the situation. Further worldwide release information is not available at this time.

THQ apparently has had some sort of application on Facebook involving WWE All Stars (demo available now, launch on March 29th). Since they reached their sharing goal through the Fantasy Warfare app they are rewarding buyers of the game with some free DLC. I’m just not really sure I would consider the Honky Tonk Man a reward….

F.E.A.R. 3 has been rumored but unconfirmed for release on May 24th in the US for some time. That still hasn’t been officially confirmed, but a recent tweet from Warner Bros. Games says “F.E.A.R. 3 release date confirmed for UK as 27 May 2011.” Considering the UK usually gets their games on Friday, while the US gets them the Tuesday before, I’d say the rumored US launch is basically confirmed.

THQ’s Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine was announced some time ago with a vague date for release as Summer 2011. They still haven’t given an exact date, but it has been narrowed down to August. I imagine you’ll see something more specific in the next few weeks.

Dead Island, the game that baffled the internet with its ultra-artistic trailer a few weeks ago has been getting more information out lately. Starting with demonstrations at GDC and on site visits with other outlets, it has become clear the trailer does not capture the tone of the game at all. The first-person-action-RPG-zombie-killing-frenzy seems to be more of a cross between Left 4 Dead and Dead Rising, including multiple characters and classes as well as weapon customization (electric machetes!!!). Regardless which character the player uses, it appears they all are immune to the zombie virus for one reason or another. One of the main characters that has been profiled by Deep Silver, Sam B, is apparently a one hit wonder rapper that gets roaring drunk only to wake with a hangover and a zombie apocalypse to handle. While the game certainly doesn’t seem to have the artistic appeal indicated by the trailer, it still seems like it could be an awesome experience for the blood and brains crowd.

Silicon Knights and Activision are doing something that will either be brilliant or terrible and I’m not sure which. Despite 50 years of roster building, giving countless characters from which to choose, they are introducing a new character in X-Men Destiny. Aimi Yoshida is a Japanese school girl with wicked martial arts skill and a “mental focus” mutant ability that helps her agility. That doesn’t mean much to me right now but hopefully it makes sense to the story. I’m envisioning something along the lines of bullet time abilities for a brawler. Check the picture below to get a feel for her look, and yes, that’s Colossus smashing the ground. The game is planned for release this year.

All I can do is laugh at this next bit. After years of delays and being trapped in development hell, Duke Nukem Forever has been postponed yet again. Supposedly it’s only a month this time. Instead of buying it in May, the game should be releasing in the US on June 14th. Zombietron has more in-depth coverage of the story, including a humorous video announcement from Gear Box.

If you passed on Mafia II when it released last summer and are now thinking of picking it up, you might want to wait a bit. Briefly noticed on Amazon recently, then quickly pulled down, is a Director’s Cut version. Pretty safe to say this will include the three DLC packs released so far as well as the preorder bonuses (clothes and cars) from the original release. I’m not sure why these early postings and retraction happen, probably just Amazon’s QA process, but I’ve never seen one be wrong. Expect to see official announcements for this sooner rather than later.

Apparently next in line for an HD remastering is Capcom’s zombie series. I originally heard the story as Resident Evil 4 HD and Resident Evil: Code Veronica X being announced for Japan only as the Revival Selection. Turns out the two games are also releasing in the US, but apparently not as a collection disc. Instead, the two titles, both with upgraded visuals and trophy/achievement support, will be released separately via PSN and XBLA this fall. Price has not been announced but $10-15 seems typical; though RE4 might be a little higher since it includes all of the DLC as well.

Is that not enough news about the evil Umbrella Corporation for you? Alright, how about Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City, being developed by Slant Six Games? It’s a four player, team shooter based in the original outbreak of 1998. There will be four new characters with their own assets and responsibilities to help the whole team survive. Does this sound like a Left 4 Dead clone with a better zombie mythology and universe? Next month’s issue of Official XBox Magazine will have more details.

And that’s all I’ve currently got for the week. Check back Tuesday for another edition to cover whatever pops up over the weekend.

In a shocking…well… unexpected… well.. let’s say odd move for Gear Box software, Duke Nukem forever’s date was changed from May 3rd U.S. and May 6th international to June 10th international, and June 14th U.S.  Granted it’s only a slight delay and I can imagine the sweat and tears at the office when whatever reason came down to push back the release hit.  However game fans have no fear, we’re still getting our Duke, and to help the sting a bit Gear Box did release a video apologizing, and even showed the staff “hard at work” which honestly is more than we ever got from 3D Realms who just seemed to “work on it tirelessly” and never was able to get it done.  Still, seeing the delay broke my heart but pleased my wallet, there are a few other titles close to that launch I was looking forward to so maybe I can work this out for the better.  Gear Box’s video is below, thoughts?