Last week, I got the amazing opportunity to sit down with some developers and testers of Guild Wars 2 and participate in a live, hands-on demonstration of the long awaited sequel to Guild Wars. I played a lot of Guild Wars: Factions back in the day, and it has been the only MMORPG I have ever really invested a lot of time in.  Therefore, I was really excited to see what they were going to bring with the next installment of the franchise. They did not disappoint.

“5 years ago, we were working on Guild Wars 1 and we wanted to do some really cool innovations to make the next campaign more exciting. We wanted to do a persistent world, branching story lines, we wanted the world to really be alive so its state was changing based on players decisions and….we couldn’t do it in Guild Wars 1. Fancy that.”

And fancy that I did.

No longer do you have to stand still to cast everything. You can shoot a fireball as you are running! There are dynamic quests that happen at random times, of which you can choose to take part in…or just walk on by. You can overhear NPC’s running around shouting about things that are happening and you can see groups of enemies actually ransacking villages – it’s not just an exclamation point over a head followed by a wall of text. Characters will actually run up to you and ask for help, instead of vice versa. They have continued to utilize personalized stories for each character, but have added substantially to this feature, making it feel even more unique and personal. I’m going to tell you about the progression of my demonstration as it happened, rather than just point out all the cool things I saw.

At launch, some of the familiar races are back: the Humans, Asura, and the Norn. We also now have the Charr as a playable race as well as a new race known as the Sylvari. Even though the Charr were the primary antagonists in the last game, the races have all come together in this game to take on a greater evil known as the Elder Dragons. This foe has awoken to wreak havoc and… you know the drill. The Sylvari seem like a really interesting race, too, as they’ve only been on Tyria for about twenty-five years. They are basically born from seed pods from a giant tree and while developing, they have a shared dream (assimilated) that kind of teaches them about how to survive. Things such fire burns and swords are pointy and they hurt, are among what they learn during incubation. However, they are a little naive about the world around them once they get out there, not knowing the concept of death and learning as they progress in their lives.

After informing me about the different professions that can be used, many of which return, they started up the game with an Asura, “because they’re awesome,” they informed me. One of the things that I immediately thought was really cool is that every race starts in its own area and stays there as they progress through early levels. There is also a storyline unique to each race. This really gives some replay-ability to the game and I’m already curious as to how each race’s starting areas progress. Especially that of the Charr and Sylvari. Plus, the dynamic branching plots makes me want to play through as multiple characters.

I really liked how GW2 seemed to feel when I was observing them walk around the Asura compound. There where NPCs running everywhere, talking to each other and speaking to the players. Also, the main story quests being presented with zoom-ins of characters while they actually use spoken dialog. The idea that random dynamic events can happen at any time while you are running around doing things, such as a boss fight that 100 people could join in if they chose to which will scale depending on how many people you have joining in the event. It felt more immersive and made me feel like I was part of something that was important, alive, and engaging.

The death system is a little different here too, which I like. If you lose all your health, you just go into a downed state where you can be revived by a teammate, giving them experience (nice little incentive), or if you kill something while downed you’ll get back up. Going down repeatedly in a short time causes you to start with less and less health. If you do completely ‘die’, you go to one of the near spawn points and can go back to where you were. Before, when everyone resurrected at a crystal (?) and then having to try the same fight with reduced health…until everyone gave up and returned to base…got a little tiresome. “Defeat in Guild Wars 2 is intended to be an experience, not a punishment.”

Basically, now there are different kinds of ‘currency’ as well. Apart from the standard gold, there is also Karma and Skill Points that can be spent on multitudes of other things. Karma being gained by participating events, and Skill Points being gained through quests and leveling up. These can be used to learn new skills but there are many more Skill Points in the game than you will need to learn all the skills. Thus, you spend the extra elsewhere on different items and whatnot. There are also Traits, however, that you can put points into to focus your character’s abilities to more of a tank, healer, etc.

One of the coolest new features, in my opinion, was the addition of the platforming elements. I grew up with platformers and they persist in being my favorite genre of video games, since I first picked up Sonic the Hedgehog till now. To make map exploration more entertaining, there exists new special Vistas to find in every map. These require little mini jumping puzzles to get to and are required to reach map completion. I was even told that there are special areas off to the side that players can get to that involve wind gusts and more difficult platforming/exploration where they can find secret chests to pilfer. So awesome.

I don’t think I’ve mentioned how the game even looks yet…

Crisp and beautiful.

After I saw the basics of the game and they showed me around the world a little, they then decided it was time to summon a giant Swamp Monster Shadow Behemoth with their magical Dev Powers. Here is when I learned that I sucked  I learned that there is now an evade move! When full, you can evade two times in a row to negate any incoming damage. Definitely a welcome feature. Right about this time, I was running a little long on my lunch break but they offered me the chance to jump in with a higher level character and try fighting the boss with them. I had to try but I was not ready for what I was getting myself into.

As far as I knew, this was a later level boss fight that required a lot of steps just to get him appear. Here I was, haven’t played an MMO since Guild Wars: Factions, struggling with turning around correctly while the boss killed me over and over again, spawning minions and shooting out that damn purple gas, one hit KOing me every time. I was eventually getting the hang of it and after a lot of fighting and turmoil, we got it down to half health. Although a lot of the moves were telegraphed by giant red circles, I went down at least 30 times and even had the pleasure of dying once. My compatriot never fell. Kind of embarrassing…

All in all, I really think that Guild Wars 2 brings a lot more to the table than its predecessors and even some of its competitors, including voice over work by the wonderful Felicia Day. I am definitely looking forward to playing it some more in the near future and I encourage others pick it up on August 28th as well!

-Special thanks to Mike Zadorojny (Designer), Allie Murdock (QA Team/Driver), Emil Rodriguez (PR Manager) and Shelcie Takenouchi for setting this up and giving me this demonstration-

It’s still summer, but not near a major event like E3 or SDCC, so the news is a little thin this week. I spent a good part of the weekend finishing up my Bub Shepard (Paragon) play of Mass Effect 3. I can’t believe I’m still playing that game. For Bub, I took the synthesis ending. In my mind, I feel like this is the true ending to the game. I really enjoyed EDI’s voiceover narrative, and Steve Cortez’s ending sequences were heartwrenching. Steve was Bub’s lover. The painful scream Shepard lets out as Steve’s shuttle is shot down was awkwardly inserted, but very powerful. When Betch Shepard’s story ended, it was Garrus Vakarian that hung her name on the memorial wall. For Bub, it was his final lover, Steve Cortez. I never did get to see how Bub’s story would have concluded with Bioware’s original ending, but I’m definitely pleased with what I got. Anyway, enough editorializing about a four month old game, let’s talk news.

Despite a record setting revenue for the fiscal fourth quarter, over $18 billion, Microsoft has actually reported their first quarterly loss, $492 million. It’s odd that the quarterly revenue is their highest ever, yet their profits show a net loss. A piece of the puzzle is likely their one-time “good will impairment charge” of $6.2 billion after the acquisition of aQuantive went bad. This isn’t specifically game news, as we’re talking the entire Microsoft company, not just the XBox unit, but it is relevant in that Microsoft makes the top-selling console in the United States for the last 18 months. They maintain that top spot, despite shipping only 1.1 million consoles last quarter, down from 1.7 million in the same quarter of 2011. Their Devices Division (which includes XBox) saw a 20% increase in revenue, rising by $292 million. Integration of Skype, as well as new WP7 releases, likely accounts for much of that growth.

Sticking with the financials a little longer (don’t worry, if it bores you just skip to the next paragraph), Markus “Notch” Persson announced via Twitter last week that Minecraft: XBox 360 Edition has passed the three million sold mark. Despite being one of the most expensive XBLA titles, at about $20, it’s also now one of the highest selling. It reportedly hit 400,000 sales in its first day and had over a million by the end of its first week. The game was launched May 9, 2012. A pack of additional skins was also released last week, surely adding a large chunk of change to the $60 million it’s already earned.

Are you one of the many fans upset that Dead Space 3 includes co-op and seems more action-based than horror? It’s understandable, but EA’s head of marketing, Laura Miele, makes a good case for it. Apparently their market research after the first two games showed a decent number of fans enjoyed it as is, but a much larger group wanted to play and found it too scary. Sure, it’s a burn to the hardcore fans that they’d tone it down for the having nightmares crowd, but EA won’t argue with money.However, according to Miele, “the horror of Dead Space is still all there. It’s still true to its roots and no less scary, but people felt far more comfortable playing it with someone else than they did doing it on their own.” She also made a very good point about scary experiences, they aren’t as enjoyable alone: “Personally, I would rather go to scary movie with my husband rather than sit at home with the lights out watching one on my own. We’re looking for that to reach out to consumers that perhaps were not open to Dead Space 1 and 2.” So maybe a co-op experience can be scary. It’s just going to be awkward when you’re friend laughs at you for still being terrified.

A memo to GameStop employees has been leaked that alludes to a Season Pass for “post-launch episodic content” for Assassin’s Creed III. The memo apparently encourages employees to upsell the game’s Season Pass during pre0orders to get the customer better value. I don’t see this leak being a major issue, considering we’d have found out about it from the employees themselves if they do their jobs as described. There were a few missions added on for Ezio’s series, but the real meat of the DLC has been in multiplayer. It looks like Ubisoft plans to support further chapters in single player this time around.

On a related note, Alex Hutchinson (creative lead for the series) mentioned the end of Desmond Miles’ story at a recent Ubisoft press conference. Specifically, Hutchinson stated that he thinks “Desmond needs to end.” Personally, I agree with him. Desmond’s story has been interesting, and it’s certainly what encouraged me to play Assassin’s Creed II after the repetitivess of the first game. But his story has begun to stagnate and it’s past time they move his character forward to some sort of conclusion. Recent entries into the franchise have made it clear that other stories could continue in the same universe without this central protagonist. I also really liked Hutchinson’s analogy “to think of it almost like Star Trek. Each game is a season… each big number is a sub-title. We’re not changing the universe, but we’re being given the reigns to the equivalent of The Next Generation. Yes, it’s the Star Trek universe, and that has certain immutable laws and there’s a base kind of tone to it, but within that you can do whatever you want.” So, if we consider Desmond’s three titles as the original series, I’m certainly excited to see what we’d get from a new assassin as a next generation. Actually, does it even need to be an Assassin. Abstergo has the Animus and we know it works on their employees. Could Assassin’s Creed IV begin the story of a Templar instead?

I can’t say I’m the biggest fan of Beck, or any kind of fan at all for that matter, but I know there is a loyal following. For those fans, you may want to check out Sound Shapes when it releases to PSN on August 7th ($14.99, 20% PS+ discount). In addition to the previously announced music from Deadmau5 and Jim Guthrie, three new tracks from Beck will also be included. “Cities,” “Touch the People,” and “Spiral Staircase” will each showcase a different facet of Beck’s creativity. You can also play around with the tracks using the the in-game editor. So, not only do you get new Beck music, but you can tweak it as you like. Nothing like a Beck/You track for the hardcore fans.

Time again for the announcement of server shutdowns. While online play has been a huge addition to this generation of consoles, it does have theflaw that the game you purchased won’t always have all of its features available. The latest run of casualties come directly Sony for a few first-party titles. MotorStorm: Arctic Edge and SOCOM: Fireteam Bravo 3 for the PSP should come as no surprise. With the release of the Vita, any support for the older handheld is going to die quickly. Not that it ever had a ton of support anyway. Also losing its multiplayer component is MotorStorm: Pacific Rift for PS3. Releasing in 2008, it’s no surprise to see this one dropped as well. However, trophy whores/hunters should take notice. If you’re still behind on those 12 online trophies, you only have until September 30th to earn them. Beginning October 1st, any trophy for the game requiring online play will be completely unattainable.

Namco Bandai has an interesting take on pre-order incentives for Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch. The intriguing collaboration of Studio Ghibli and Level-5 will have its incentives determined by “Ninostarter.” This is like a Kickstarter, but ignores the web-based service in favor of building incentives based on the number of copies order before August 31, 2012. While they haven’t revealed what the bonuses will be, Namco Bandai has said that more pre-orders means more bonuses. The game releases January 22, 2013.

Microsoft has announced the release date for Dance Central 3, October 16, 2012. Harmonix’s third entry in the Kinect-powered dancing game is planned for 40 new songs upon release, 11 of which were announced along with the release date. I’m not sure which is less surprising, LMFAO or the Village People.

• 2NE1 – “I Am The Best (Original Version)”
• Alice Deejay – “Better Off Alone”
• Backstreet Boys – “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)”
• J.J. Fad – “Supersonic”
• Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz ft. Ying Yang Twins – “Get Low”
• LMFAO – “Sexy And I Know It”
• Los Del Rio – “Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix)”
• Maroon 5 ft. Christina Aguilera – “Moves Like Jagger”
• Vanilla Ice – “Ice Ice Baby”
• Vicki Sue Robinson – “Turn The Beat Around”
• Village People – “Y.M.C.A.”

You may have been seeing a rumor in the last week or so (reportedly started by Kotaku) that Final Fantasy Versus XIII has been cancelled. I nearly included in Friday’s edition but decided it didn’t have enough traction or relevance to warrant a story. But, if you were worried about the game, relax. Square Enix has announced that the rumor is false and the game is still in development. Yoichi jokingly said the regular meeting the for the game had just ended and “If you saw the presentation of the city, it’d knock you off your feet.” The denial doesn’t change the fact that we haven’t seen anything from the game in ages, and it was announced at the same time as the main Final Fantasy XIII which released in March 2010. So it’s not cancelled, but I wouldn’t hold your breath for release either.

As I said at the start, a mediocre week. I really hope we don’t have to wait for Gamescom and TGS to finally start getting more news. It’s going to be a long summer if I’m left staring at the same old Assassin’s Creed III artwork and watching a GTA V teaser, especially since I’m still not convinced that one is coming this year.

Looks like a relatively slow news week. Which isn’t surprising considering SDCC was last weekend. Big events tend to see game companies blowing their wad with everything they have then falling silent for a while after. That doesn’t mean we don’t have a few gems. Most of the news is sort of niche, like for voice over enthusiasts:

Square Enix has revealed some of the voice cast for their upcoming Sleeping Dogs. This open world crime thriller based in Hong Kong is the phoenix that rose from the ashes of True Crime. As befits the pedigree of game, the cast is a mix of top talent from the west and the east. The game’s lead character, Wei Shen, will be voiced by Will Yun Lee. Lee is a name you should get to know real quick if you don’t already. His recent video game credits include The Amazing Spider-Man and Saints’ Row: The Third. You may recognize him from 2002’s Die Another Day or recent episodes of Hawaii Five-O. But you’ll definitely be seeing more of him soon. His upcoming films include Total Recall (August 3, 2012), Red Dawn (November 21, 2012), and The Wolverine (2013). Oh yeah, he’s just the main character. There’s plenty of other Asian and Hollywood actors with names you should recognize from many other geeky sources. For instance, Kelly Hu has done voice work for Young Justice, Green Lantern: Emerald Knights, Batman: Under the Red Hood, The Spectacular Spider-Man, Robot Chicken, and Knights of the Old Republic II. She was also Lady Deathstrike in X2. How about a few more notables? Tom Wilkinson (Batman Begins), Jackie Mah (The Dark Knight), Parry Shen (The New Guy), Emma Stone (The Amazing Spider-Man, Zombieland, my every fantasy), James Hong (Blade Runner), Yunjin Kim (Lost), and Lucy Liu (Kill Bill). I can’t say anything for more the game, but at least the voice acting will be top notch. It hits shelves August 14, 2012.

Sticking with the Asian theme for the moment, the recent rumors of Yakuza 1 & 2 HD are apparently true. First appearing (then disappearing) in a SEGA release list for December 1st, the bundle has now been spotted in the weekly Famitsu magazine. According to that publication, this should be releasing in Japan on November 1st for PS3. A Japanese trailer was also released, but its authenticity hasn’t been confirmed by SEGA. Supposedly the HD graphics are not the only improvements, as there should be reduced load times and the ability to manage your item box from phone booths. Still no word on a US release, but it seems likely.

Paramount has recently filed a trademark for a video game version of World War Z. The studio is currently working on a film adaptation (starring Brad Pitt and Matthew Fox) of Max Brooks’ 2006 novel.The trademark is classified as “downloadable electronic game program, electronic game software, and video game cartridges/discs.” Paramount has already released War of the Worlds as a downloadable, and a retail game based on their next Star Trek film is currently underway. Zombies make for popular video games, so this seems like a no brainer. I’ll be sure to report more details as they come in, but for now I’d expect this game sometime near the release of the film, June 21, 2013.

Harmonix recently announced a release date for Rock Band Blitz, August 28, 2012. For the first time since the PSP’s Rock Band Unplugged, you won’t need any plastic instruments to enjoy the game. Fifteen tracks were announced for the game back in May. But that certainly isn’t all you’ll get. Along with the release date, four new songs were revealed: Avenged Sevenfold’s “So Far Away,” “We Are Young” by Fun. ft. Janelle Monáe, Kool & The Gang’s “Jungle Boogie,” and “Sing” from My Chemical Romance. All other songs currently in your Rock Band library will also be playable; the opposite is also true, allowing Blitz‘s library to be played in Rock Band 3. Release price is expected to be $15, making the 25 planned songs significantly cheaper than standard Rock Band 3 DLC, assuming you want all of them.

Another sure-fire hit for the downloadable space has also gotten a scheduled release date. Double Dragon: Neon will be taking you back to the bygone days of side-scrolling beat ’em ups on September 11, 2012. For the older crowd, this is your super bright, 3D return to the tale of Billy and Jimmy Lee as they trash punks left and right on their way to rescue Marion from Skullmageddon. For you kids, shut up and push the punch button. This is what games were all about before they turned into a string of generic screens seen through your gun’s iron sights as you shoot Nazis, zombies, Nazi zombies, and miscellaneous space creatures. I’m looking forward to this solely to find out if I still have to kick Billy’s ass to get the girl after we just teamed up through so many thugs to get to her. The best parts of this one? I’ll only need one roll of quarters to finish it as many times as I’d like, my brother will be by my side like he was 20 years ago, and none of my controllers have had gallons of soda spilled on them or are too slick from pizza grease to use.

If you were one of the few who had your game file corrupted due to Fez‘s patch, bad news. It’s not getting fixed. The patch was released on XBLA recently, then quickly pulled after a complaints came in about the broken save files. Polytron Studios has looked at their options and the number of players affected and decided to reissue the broken patch instead of fixing it. According to Polytron’s blog, their options were to “either pay a ton of money to re-certify the game and issue a new patch (which for all we know could introduce new issues, for which we’d need yet another costly patch), or simply put the patch back online. [Microsoft] looked into it, and the issue happens so rarely that they still consider the patch to be ‘good enough’.” That “ton of money” equates to roughly $40,000 according to Double Fine’s Tim Schafer. Polytron went on to explain that exclusivity to XBLA actually costs them money to publish, rather than Microsoft paying them to exclude the competition. As they’ve explained it, releasing “on Steam instead of XBLA, the game would have been fixed two weeks after release, at no cost to us. And if there was an issue with that patch, we could have fixed that right away too.” It’s interesting to see what trials and tribulations can occur depending on platform. More interesting is that Polytron is basically berating Microsoft in a public forum. Unless they’ve got a stiff contract, I wouldn’t expect to see more Polytron games on XBLA anytime soon.

With EA recently acquiring the exclusive rights from THQ (beginning April 1, 2013) to publish UFC games, they’ve now announced their first creative team for the franchise. EA Sports UFC will be developed by EA Canada, including the team behind Fight Night. Creative Director Brian Hayes will be leading the team alongside Dean Richards, EA’s Team and Action Sports general manager. Past credits for teh two include Fight Night, NHL, and SSX; all three of those titles have elements that could translate well to MMA fighting. THQ has put out a few solid UFC titles, and EA has reaped plenty of ill will amongst gamers, but it should still be interesting to see a new take on the franchise.

If there’s one thing you can say about this console generation it’s that it’s the first time the utility has gone beyond video games in a major way. Sure, your PS2 was also a DVD player. But the PS3 and XBox 360 have built in Netflix, their own online video stores, sports updates, and more. The latest new app coming exclusively to PS3 now adds live stand-up comedy to its bag of tricks. The Laugh Factory LIVE app is coming September 1st. According to the PlayStation Blog, the app will allow you watch past performances from the Hollywood comedy club, as well as live shows. To whet your appetite for comedy, all shows on the app will be free for the first three months. Beginning in December there will be a $3 monthly fee for access. I’m a huge fan of stand-up comedy, especially if you can get it uncensored (sorry Comedy Central, anything you broadcast in primetime is completely unwatchable). I’m looking forward to the free period to see what kind of content I can expect. If it’s good quality, $3 a month is a steal. This seems like another small step in the future of a la carte viewing options. Get me a comedy station for $3, a couple sports stations at $5 a piece, one or two movie channels for $10, and something to play the top drama series for another $10. That makes it about half the price of my current Dish subscription, and I watch less than a third of the stations I’m forced to buy from them.

Like I said, slow news week. But, you’ve got the Dark Knight Rises this weekend. I’m hitting up a showing this afternoon. Swank-mo-tron didn’t give it the most enthusiastic review, but it doesn’t sound horrible. If I agree with him I’ll probably only see it the one time. If I like it more than he did I’ll likely drag the wife to it Sunday morning.

If you’re living in a cave, San Diego Comic-Con happened this past weekend. Since that event has long since evolved into covering all pop culture, not just comics, there was plenty of gaming excitement as well. While there were a few announcemetns and breaking news, the real meat of the gaming presence were the demos available on the show floor. Many of these showings were the public’s first access to things shown to the press last month at E3. I wasn’t able to go the show this year, but I think I’ve got the major newsbreakers covered:

The much-anticipated Gears of War Judgment has been rumored for a February 2013 release for sometime. Turns out that rumor wasn’t exactly correct, but it was damn close. The official date of March 19, 2013 was unveiled over the weekend at San Diego Comic-Con.

It appears EA is looking to hype their Origin service a little more with exclusive beta access. According to a recent advertisement on the service (that apparently went up early because it’s since been pulled), pre-ordering Medal of Honor Warfighter for $69.99 will get you a code for access to the Battlefield 4 beta when it begins, probably mid to late 2013. Obviously Origin is PC only, so it’s unclear if the beta offer will extend to consoles. The beta offer isn’t a surprise, and seems like EA is simply fulfill ing expectation. What really seems shocking is the $70 price tag on a PC game. Warfighter is available October 23, 2012. Battlefield 4 is expected in October 2013.

Apparently the re-skinning of last-gen games in HD is a lucrative business, because we haven’t reached the end. SEGA recently had two items listed for December 2012 on their schedule, Yakuza 1 & 2 HD. Both games have now been removed from the schedule. Yakuza 5 is planned for December in Japan, so an HD re-release of the original games would not be unusual. It’s a safe bet this is happening, but apparently SEGA didn’t actually want us to know yet. Just in case, the list price was slightly over 5,000 yen, presumably for the two game combo.

It appears the rumors about a Hit Monkey game from High Moon (Transformers: Fall of Cybertron) were false. In fact, they may have been an elaborate ruse to lend weight to the announcement of their actual next game. Revealed in San Diego over the weekend at a small event for comics and other pop culture, the developer is actually working on a Deadpool game for Marvel, starring Nolan North. Vital details, like date, platforms, etc. have not been announced. I’m definitely watching for more information on this one and I’ll pass it along when I get it. I get the feeling Arse-bot will be all over this one instantly.

I recently had a small bit about a new PS3 model being rumored for Gamescom, but I didn’t give it much credit. Now there are apparently leaked images surfacing. Supposedly these images come from a Sony filing with a Brazilian telecom regulator. Until I hear confirmation from Sony, probably at Gamescom, I’m keeping this as rumor. Though a very cool-looking rumor. The new “super slim” will have a flip top disc tray, a la PS2 Slim. There are apparently three SKUs: 160GB, 250GB, and 500GB. [The actual leak said 16GB, but that’s got to be wrong. 160GB just makes more sense.] I wouldn’t be surprised if these include a free PS+ membership, possbily for a year but probably only three months. Seeing a few retailers recently offering gift cards with purchase of a new PS3 does add a little weight to the rumor, as those offers usually indicate an impending price drop. Then again, PS4 is rumored for 2013; does a redesign of PS3 make sense in light of that upcoming milestone? Would this sleek new design convince you to spend $199 on a 160GB PS3?

How upset were you that you North America didn’t get Ratchet & Clank HD Collection on June 27th along with Europe? Doesn’t matter. You’re getting August 28, 2012. That’s right, only six more weeks and you’ll get your HD release of the three of the best platformers from the PS2 era. Ratchet & Clank, Going Commando, and Up Your Arsenal will be available on blu-ray or digital download for $29.99. In addition to 1080p resolution, you’ll also have the option of 720p sterescopic 3D. Yes, Up Your Arsenal does include online play. As a bonus to the North American audience who had to wait an extra two months, you’ll also get a special 10th anniversary avatar for PSN, and a playable demo of the upcoming Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time.

Remember that Kinect: Fun Labs you found recently? Like most things for Kinect, it was cool for about ten minutes and you’ve since forgotten about it. Want ten more minutes of fun? What about 8 achievements? Available for free now through Fun Labs, Kinect: Mars Rover lets you control NASA’s Curiosity Rover on the surface of Mars. It doesn’t look like a very robust addition, but it is free and has neat concept. If I were 20 years younger I’d think this was amazing. I still love the ideas of space exploration, I’m just not as fascinated with it as I was then.

Just in case you’ve been seeing the image “leaked” from Comic-Con over the weekend, allow me to ruin your day. Hideo Kojima’s secret “Project OGRE” is NOT Metal Gear Solid 5. Yes, Kojima was at Comic-Con. Yes, he was showing something secret behind closed doors. Yes, Cliffy B was one of the lucky few to see it. No, the images floating aorund on the internet are not real and were not secretly taken from whatever Kojima was showing. At least, that’s the line from Konami and Hideo Kojima. According to Kojima, “that title logo is completely fake. I apologize to those who were looking forward to it.” This wouldn’t be the first time a game company denied a leak, then revealed the same information a few weeks later. However, an outright denial is different from the standard industry line about not commenting on rumors. Kojima has always been secretive about his projects, and he doesn’t always make sense even when he explains it. I don’t know if the images are really fake or not, but I’m going to trust Kojima.

Here’s a surprise announcement that surprised absolutely no one: Jak (with Daxter) and Cole McGrath will be in PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale. I honestly don’t know why these weren’t included in the original announcement. You don’t have a Sony mascot mash-up without some of the top titles in the PS2 and PS3 generations. By withholding them this long, they’ve basically wasted a hyped-up announcement that could have been used for something shocking, like Sonic (no, he hasn’t been announced). Regardless, if you’re interested in the game at all, both of these characters look to be strong additions. Daxter joins Jak in melee attacks, plus he has a variety of trademarked weapons (Gyro Burster, Mass Inverter, etc.), and he’ll have both Light and Dark Jak forms. Cole also has plenty of powers from which to choose. In addition to his standard lightning and amp attacks, you’ll also be able to utilize the crykinesis abilities he gained from Kuo in inFamous 2. I’m a little disappointed to not see Nix’s abilities incorporated, but maybe they’ll surprise me with it later. The game is scheduled for October 23, 2012.

Movies based on video games have had a strong presence in VGQH these past few issues and today we get to finish with Silent Hill: Revelation 3D. Apparently this is a sequel to Silent Hill, a movie I don’t remember being made. Even with the press release I don’t much about the film, coming October 26, 2012. This is one of those classic franchises that I’ve missed completely over the last two (or is it three) generations. I’ve always been a little intrigued, but never enough to actually jump into the series. I somehow doubt the movie will be the best way to start, but it does have Malcolm McDowell (A Clockwork Orange), and I can’t help but like that guy. Here’s the presser and a screen shot:

Based on the groundbreaking video game franchise, SILENT HILL: REVELATION 3D is the sequel to the hit film SILENT HILL, which opened to number one at the U.S. box office and took in nearly $100 million at the worldwide box office. Featuring an unparalleled horror experience, Konami’s Silent Hill franchise has captivated fans for more than a decade and has spawned a hit comic book series, graphic novels, collectible action figures and numerous soundtracks from rock bands.

In SILENT HILL: REVELATION 3D, Heather Mason (Clemens) and her father (Bean) have been on the run, always one step ahead of dangerous forces that she doesn’t fully understand. On the eve of her 18th birthday, plagued by horrific nightmares and the disappearance of her father, Heather discovers she’s not who she thinks she is. The revelation leads her deeper into a demonic world that threatens to trap her forever.

CAST: SEAN BEAN (HBO’s Game Of Thrones, Lord Of The Rings), DEBORAH KARA UNGER (The Game, 88 minutes, The Samaritan), RADHA MITCHELL (Man On Fire, The Crazies, upcoming The Frozen Ground), ADELAIDE CLEMENS (X-Men Origins, upcoming The Great Gatsby, No One Lives), KIT HARINGTON (HBO’s Game Of Thrones), CARRIE-ANNE MOSS (The Matrix, Disturbia, NBC’s Chuck), MALCOLM MCDOWELL (A Clockwork Orange, The Artist)

DIRECTOR: Michael J. Bassett (Solomon Kane, Deathwatch),
PRODUCERS: Samuel Hadida, Don Carmody

It’s Here

That’s right folks, Steams annual cyphoning of their customer’s wallets began yesterday and will continue until July 22. Offering anyone gaming on PC 25-75% off of piles of titles, hide your children and lock up that credit card. My wife has been looking at me with concern for 2 days already as I dig and plan my purchases, refreshing every 8 hours to see where I can spend my mortgage payment next. Thus far I’ve picked up Legend of Grimrock for $5.99, and Borderlands: Game of the Year for $14.99.

What are you folks buying?

A Friday afternoon in the summer should have me much more encouraged to head outside and enjoy the sunshine. Then I look at the mercury and remember that the first half of this year has, on average, been the hottest first half of any year in the United States on record. So, do I go outside, or do I sit in the air conditioning and play video games? Actually, I don’t have air conditioning, just a leaky, ancient evaporative cooler that’s scheduled for replacement next week. So maybe I’ll do a little of both. In the meantime, you’re probably sitting comfortably in the AC at work and slacking, so let’s get to the news.

Am I the only one thinking those goddamn birds need to take a class and smoke some herb? No longer content to be on every portable device and downloadable gadget, they’re now moving to the retail disc space with Angry Birds Trilogy HD for Move, Kinect and 3DS. The “ultimate collector’s edition” has “new cinematics, extras and other entertaining content,” according to Petri Järvilehto, Rovio’s Executive VP of Games. It will compile all of the level content from Angry Birds, Seasons, and Rio. No Angry Birds in Space? I’ve got to hand it to Rovio, all they did was add some animations to a physics engine and somehow created a game more popular than that weird visor thing that almost destroyed the Enterprise before Wesley Crusher stopped it. Now they’re actually making discs and swinging with the top tier of games, still without creating any gameplay beyond a simple physics demo. The high def birds will be assimilating you this holiday season. With no price announced, assume it will be exactly how much makes sense for a stocking stuffer.

How often do you use your Kinect? If using it unlocked achievements and avatar items, would you use it more often? That seems to be the goal with Kinect PlayFit, which lanched earlier this week for all XBox Live members. This is basically a fitness dashboard that tracks the calories you’ve burned using your Kinect throughout the various games available. There are leaderboards to see where you stand, but why you’d use them I’ll never know. Comparing your fitness progress to others is the most surefire way to be disappointed with yourself. I like the idea that you can get some exercise while playing a game, and my wife enjoys Fit in Six for Move, but advertising your productivity to the world doesn’t seem like the best motivator. This looks like a great tool for achievement hunters, and a nice app for helping you track your calorie burning and identifying small step goals. Just do yourself a favor and ignore the online components.

As expected, and outed by code in the Extended Cut, more DLC is on the way for Mass Effect 3. In addition to the “Earth” multiplayer pack coming next week, “Leviathan” has been confirmed by Anthony Skordi, a voice actor who apparently worked on the episode. The “Earth” pack is expected to be similar to prior multiplayer expansions, including being free. “Leviathan” will likely be paid (I expect $9.99) and has not been officially confirmed. According to Skordi, he voices Leviathan, a rogue Reaper considered a traitor to his race. Shepard will apparently meet Leviathan on an expanded mission prior to the assault on the Cerberus base. The episode should explain a bit more of the Reaper origins, as well as provide Shepard with additional galactic support in the form of War Assets. While we await more information about “Leviathan,” check out the extensive list of additions coming next week in the “Earth” pack:

• Class: N7 Fury (Adept): Throw, Annihilation Field, Dark Channel
• Class: N7 Destroyer (Soldier): Multi-Frag Grenade, Missile Launcher, Devastator Mode – includes T5-V Battlesuit
• Class: N7 Demolisher (Engineer): Homing Grenade, Arc Grenade, Supply Pylon
• Class: N7 Paladin (Sentinel): Snap Freeze, Incinerate, Energy Drain – includes omni-shield
• Class: N7 Shadow (Infiltrator): Tactical Cloak, Shadow Strike, Electric Slash – includes katana a la Kai Leng
• Class: N7 Slayer (Vanguard): Phase Disruptor, Biotic Charge, Biotic Slash
• Weapon: N7 Piranha Shotgun
• Weapon: N7 Typhoon Assault Rifle
• Weapon: Acolyte Pistol
• Map: London
• Map: Rio de Janeiro
• Map: Vancouver
• Objective: Escort Mission at Waves 3, 6, and 10 (random)
• 12 Weapon Modifications
• 11 Gear Upgrades
• New, harder, Platinum difficulty level

Apparently last year’s PSN Play promotion was a success, as Sony is doing it again this summer. Beginning on July 24th, you’ll be able to preorder The Expendables 2 (releases 7/31). Three additional titles will be available for preorder one week ahead of their release dates throughout the promotion: Sound Shapes (8/7), Papo & Yo (8/14), and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (8/21). Not only do PS+ members get an additional 20% discount on each game, but buying two or more gets you credit on the PlayStation Store for buying music, movies, more games, DLC, etc. Last year, preordering also netted you some exclusive content, like avatars and wallpaper. That will probably continue again this time.

Rocksteady is rumored to be working on a new Batman game, but it won’t necessarily cash in on the cliffhanger ending from Batman: Arkham City. Instead, it may be going the prequel route. That wouldn’t be too unusual in modern media, except Batman has a long and varied history. Remember that unlockable ’70s era Batman from the last game? What if they did a whole game, focusing on Batman’s first encounter with the Joker, in a Silver Age style? This all completely in the rumor zone, but it’s too awesome of an idea to ignore. Frankly, I don’t see a full production game with a move this risky. I think Rocksteady is working on Arkham 3, but a downloadable episode(s) of Silver Age Batman could be a great way to make the wait more bearable.

More next-gen rumors are being fueled by the recent publication of a December 2010 patent filing from Microsoft. Whether you call it neXtBox, XBox 720, Durango, or some other moniker, the schematics indicate a customizable board, tossing the conventional, structured console format out the window. Instead, this concept would use a base multi-CPU, multi-GPU architecture that allows for hardware upgrades, much like PC gamers have been using for decades. This architecture would certainly contribute to a longer console life span, but it might also create obstacles for newer games to be adopted by those who haven’t upgraded their hardware. The patent filing is 18 months old, so it’s anyone’s guess if it’s even still applicable to Microsoft’s plans. Regardless, it’s interesting to see what their engineers are thinking about the next generation.

In what could be a major coup in the gaming industry, Vivendi is looking to sell its 60% share in Activision Blizzard. There are several companies currently in talks to make the purchase, including Time Warner and a Chinese investment firm. Those would both have an impact, but not nearly as much as a Microsoft purchase. Some of Vivendi’s financial troubles could be solved by the potential sale of part or all of their Activision stock, worth up to $10 billion. With next-gen consoles on the immediate horizon, that’s a lot of dough to put at risk. On the other hand, look at Activision Blizzard’s franchises: World of Warcraft, Diablo, Call of Duty, and Marvel comics. That’s just a few of the bigger ones, they have a lot more you know well. The battle for console exclusives could easily be the deciding factor in who survives the next generation. With that 60% share, would Microsoft claim all those franchises for itself, or would they allow sales on Sony and Nintendo platforms, keeping a cut from their competitors games sales as well as their own? Watch this closely. This may be a reason to start reading the financial section of your paper.

Following in the footsteps of Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead, Spartacus Legends looks to bring the gory glory of the Starz’s TV series to the home console. Coming in early 2013, the game will include online and offline multiplayer battles with “thousands of ruthless weapon combinations.” Liam McIntyre is providing voice and likeness for the playable Spartacus. Players can also choose from Crixus or a created gladiator. Other characters from the series are also expected to be playable. Platforms are not yet announced, but expect it for PS3 and 360 at least. The game is expected to be playable at E3 this weekend and I’m hoping for a report from one of our regulars on location or a “deputized” ‘bot that can give us the rundown.

We’ve had a rash of game-related movie news this week. Not only did we hear about CBS picking up the Deus Ex rights, but we also found out Micahel Fassbender will be starring in and producing the Assassin’s Creed movie with Ubisoft. Both of those have potential. Then we have the Need for Speed movie. You just can’t help but expect this movie is going to be terrible. Without a single frame of footage shot, Disney and Dreamworks clearly have the same expectation, as its been dated for February 7, 2014. That’s right, February. As in the month movies go to die. Do yourselves a favor, make this one straight to DVD.

Another film in the works with slightly more potential, is God of War. Actually… maybe not. Universal has brought in the writers from Saw 4-6 and Saw 3D films to freshen up the script from David Self. That would David Self who wrote the Road to Perdition screenplay. Self is also being billed as an Executive Producer and the guy has a reasonable amount of talent. Why hacks like Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan are being included is a mystery. Do you really need two new writers just to add gore? With no planned release window, this one still has time to potentially be good. But Universal is headed the wrong direction if they want to make the film the Clash of the Titans remake should have been.

The Fassbender movie isn’t the only expansion on the Assassin’s Creed franchise. Starting yesterday, a three part comic, The Fall, is available exclusively for iPad. This expansion focuses on a new Russian assassin, Nikolai Orelov. The comics start at $0.99 and are available now from iTunes.

A new co-op multiplayer mode has been announced for Assassin’s Creed III. “Wolf Pack” looks to be a new take on the ever-present “Horde” mode style of gaming. Up to four players will cooperate to take down targets, with smarter AI and tighter time limits the further you progress. Later sequences (waves) will feature decoys and lookouts to protect your target. The mode works great in Gears of War, and I’ve personally been loving it in Mass Effect 3, but how will it work in a franchise that’s based on stealth and punishes you for open combat? Looks like we’ll find out October 30th.

In addition to the upcoming games for this year’s Summer of Arcade, Microsoft is also celebrating five years of the promotion with some free gifts. There will be five new skins for Minecraft and five tracks for Trials Evolution. Each skin and track will be themed around one of this year’s Summer of Arcade games: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD, Deadlight, Wreckateer, Dust: An Elysian Tail, and Hybrid. Starting on July 18th, all XBox Live members can access the free content by checking out the Summer of Arcade Experience on your XBox dashboard.

Despite my report on Tuesday, it appears we’ve all been misled about Halo 2 Anniversary Edition. 343 Induistries has outright denied they are working on the title. While we did get the standard format, “we do not comment on rumours or speculation,” we also got a firm denial. When asked at an ExpertZone Q&A whether the remake was forthcoming, the answer from 343 was simple: “We are not working on that at this time. We are kind of busy.” This could simply be a calming of the fire. But, until I see official screens or confirmation from 343 and Microsoft, I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt by assuming it’s probably in the plans, but not actively being produced.

This late in the cycle, I’m not sure why Microsoft would do a special bundle with a 360 and Halo 4. Sony’s doing it with Assassin’s Creed III as well and it still makes little sense. But Sony at least has the excuse that gamers have been playing the series on the competitor’s platform and this is a good excuse to add a PS3 to the home. With Microsoft, if you’re a junkie for Halo, you’ve already got an XBox 360. Is the assumption here that there’s an untapped market who haven’t played Halo but want to bad enough to buy a themed console? Or are they marketing to the people who haven’t replaced a broken console because there hasn’t been a new Halo to warrant the purchase? Regardless, they’re doing one. On top of what appears to be a bad decision anyway, they’re making it ugly as hell. The bundle will include two controllers and headset and is out with the game on November 6th.

That does it for this week. If you aren’t in San Diego getting sneak peeks at all the games I wish I were already playing, check back next week when we’re sure to have coverage of them.

Last night Warner Bros. entertainment, along with Nether Realm studios released screen shots for Injustice: Gods Among Us. I’ve been pretty pumped, since seeing this at E3, and now I’m even more on board. The best part about these screen shots is it’s the first time we’re seeing Wonder Woman, who we knew would be a character, even with her minimal exposure. If anything the game is a testament to what modern technology can do for gaming. The backgrounds and characters are absolutely phenomenal, if the combat system matches Mortal Kombat, I will find myself playing for days.

Oh, Gearbox. You so cray. Let’s let the trailer do the talking–erm, singing–for now.

It’s great to get a look at the new vault hunters all working together, but overall there isn’t a ton of new going on in this trailer. It’s mostly just another tantalizing look at stuff we’ve already heard about. Interesting to note that Axton dropped not one, but two sentry guns. At one point our new Assassin Zer0 jumps into camouflage-mode but leaves behind a decoy copy of himself, which is pretty rad, and later on he seems to stun an enemy with his melee attack. Less obvious, but the trailer also shows off a lot more environment types, proving again that BL2 is going to be a lot more visually interesting than the nearly monochrome brown world we last visited.

Also: were those flying skags? As if skags weren’t annoying enough already, right?

Other new stuff: What’s up with Lilith going all X-Men Phoenix-y? She looks possessed or something, and like she’s about to bring the hurt down on the hunters. Did you catch the psycho midget riding the heavy-armored bandit bruiser? How much you wanna bet the bruiser chucks the little one at you? We also see a couple of the new NPC’s we’ll be meeting, each of which appear to be either borderline or full-on psychotic, but I’d expect nothing less. And of course, what would a Borderlands video be without a Claptrap cameo? Crap, probably.

I should mention that I did get my hands on the playable Borderlands 2 demo at E3 this year, and it felt fantastic. The controls were precise and responsive, the skill trees looked interesting (unfortunately we were on a pretty short time limit so I couldn’t pore over the skill list as long as I would have liked), and the enemy AI definitely showed more intelligence than the original’s. At this point I’m thinking of trying to track down a Futurama-style cryogenic tube so I can wait out the two months to the game’s release.

A few hours ago on Twitter, Ed Boon announced that two new characters will be announced for the new DC themed fighting game, being developed my the Mortal Kombat team. If you don’t know too much about Injustice, you can read our E3 preview coverage here. Nightwing and Cyborg will be playable at SDCC this week, and will also be part of the final game. No artwork has been seen online yet, but we will hunt down in game shots as soon as possible.

Kickstarter has really been giving some projects a lot of momentum lately, but I’ve never seen anything like this fundraiser for OUYA, an open source console that could change the way we play video games on our televisions forever. The project was fully funded within 24 hours, but contributors didn’t stop anywhere near the original $950,000 goal – last I checked at 9 PM, Pacific Standard time, the total had already surpassed $1,900,000!

The idea to create an open source console may appear to be quite simple on the surface, but with the right planning, functionality and execution this could bring massive changes to the way games are made and distributed. All in all, this could be absolutely brilliant for small developers and indie game creators all over the world.

So, if you’re a gamer, should you support this project? Watch the video and hear some of the details:

I only have a few reservations about this Kickstarter. Once the OUYA is up and running, will there be folks ready and standing by to work on updates/patches/etc. to correct any missing functionality or errors that are discovered post-launch? Games are ever changing and the console will need to be adaptable to keep up with those improvements and alterations. Furthermore, how would they deal with transactions for games that have stuff you can purchase? If they’ve got substantial plans for these potential snags in the future, then I think this console could be pretty damn awesome!

As for the controversy – not only are they supporting international players with completely open region settings, but they’re also letting hackers and mod-ers have free reign with the console… this could definitely get interesting!

So, what do you think? The future of gaming? Highly controversial? Sound off in the comments below!