It’s the first of May. According to Jonathan Coulton, “outdoor” f***in’ starts today.” Which may be true for some people in certain parts of the world. I’m not adventurous enough for it in broad daylight and it’s still just a bit chilly at night for such activities. Not to mention the bugs. On second thought, let’s just leave that to Coulton, I’m more of an inside kid I think. And you know what else you can do indoors? Play video games.
As I mentioned last week, Activision had a major announcement upcoming. As expected, it’s Call of Duty: Black Ops 2. Release date is scheduled for November 13th. The first trailer will run in the NBA playoffs tonight, but the official website has already been updated with some extra information: “Pushing the boundaries of what fans have come to expect from the record-setting entertainment franchise, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 propels players into a near future, 21st Century Cold War, where technology and weapons have converged to create a new generation of warfare.” Highlighting that future warfare are a few sceen shots released showing the new Quadrotor drones (flying RC machine guns) and a dude with fancy helmet and large gun. Is the near-future just what this series needed? Or is it just the same, iterative franchise with a new coat of (very brown) paint?
Ambitious fans have been digging around in the code for version 1.5.26 of Skyrim. I’m not even sure how one goes about doing this, but I’ve seen a lot of good, secondhand information from the technique. Files related to “DLC01” were discovered with references to snow elves, crossbows, new vampire animations, a Snow Elf prince, and RFsomething. According to Elder Scrolls lore, the snow elves inhabited Skyrim until they were forced underground by the Nords. There they survived on some sort fungi that made them blind and they eventually became the Falmer. They were also made slaves by the Dwemer dwarves. It looks like the first expansion will take you into the depths of Skyrim. But will these elves be friends or enemies? And who is RF? Rumor is that it’s a new companion. Could that be the same reference as the Snow Elf Prince? We should know more very soon, as Pete Hines (VP Marketing and PR, Bethesda) has indicated the plan is to release DLC details this week.
Speaking of Skyrim, the Kinect patch goes live today. There are 200 voice commands now available! Holding the right bumper activates the voice options, which you can issue in English or Dragonese. But really, if you’re yelling at your TV, are you shouting “Dismay” or “Faas Ru Maar”? Either way you sound like a damn fool, so you might as well go full tilt and yell it in Dragon. However, shouts are just the beginning. Voice commands will also help you to use magic, issue commands, barter, use the map, and more. There’s a full manual for the new functionality and you’ll need it if you plan to fully utilize the new options. It’s pretty lengthy though, so I’ve included the pages at the bottom to keep this looking a little bit clean.
Ubisoft has confirmed the plan for Rayman Legends, a follow-up to the well-received Rayman Origins. I mentioned this last week as part of the rumor mill, but that was soon followed with a promotional video about the Wii-U that contained elements from the game, forcing Ubisoft to confirm the game is in development, under Michal Ancel’s direction once again. But, just because the video is real, doesn’t mean it contains anything we’ll see in the game. As Ubisoft elaborated that “This video was intended as a purely internal demonstrative video, and in NO way represents the final game, the final console or their features. This video was destined for internal production teams who often create game prototypes with work in progress development kits.” Which is actually a legitimate statement, despite it sounding like a disclaimer.
Kinect Joy Ride from Big Park was a decent game with a limited audience. It’s now set for a sequel, Joy Ride Turbo, and it’s looking to open up the audience by dropping the Kinect and becoming fully controller-functional. With 42 vehicles, plenty of collectibles, three game modes, anf four player split screen, it looks like XBox 360 owners may finally be getting a kart racer they can be proud to play. A solid release date was not announced, but it is expected in “just a few weeks.”
Of course, there is Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing available for 360 players. But it’s not a console-exclusive. If that doesn’t bother you, and you really enjoyed the first game, you’ll be glad to know the sequel is on its way. Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing Transformed is scheduled for Holiday 2012. The returning cast includes AiAi of Super Monkey Ball, and the favorites from the Blue Hedgeverse Tails, Knuckles, and Dr. Eggman. Gilius Thunderhead of Golden Axe and Vyse from Skies of Arcadia will be joining the group as well. Track levels will come from Super Monkey Ball, Panzer Dragoon, and many other SEGA classics. Also, you won’t be limited to karts. Planes and boats will be appearing as well. Though I have to wonder if those will be separate vehicles, or if the “Transformed” in the title means you could be shifting from one type to another throughout the race.
You may have been seeing some growing press lately on a PS Move exclusive downloadable called Datura. This one’s hard to explain. It seems to be a mystery, adventure sort of game played through a pseudo-first person viewpoint. Basically, you can only see your hand, which you’ll control with 1:1 accuracy using your Move. A standard controller option is available, but this is clearly designed with the Move in mind. The latest news on the title is that it has been confirmed for release next week, on May 8th. If you’re into sterescopic 3D, that comes with it as well. Maybe that means I should keep the 3D glasses I get when I watch The Avengers on Friday.
If you aren’t at least in your late twenties you probably don’t remember a little thing called Dragon’s Lair. If you do remember it, and you’re not Swankmotron, you no longer have a Laserdisc player and this one is likely lost to the etheric past for you. Not for much longer. you’ll actually be able to play this again beginning May 18th when it releases on XBLA. The release will support, but not require, Kinect. Also featured will be two player, offline co-op, online leaderboards, Avatar items, Gamerpics, and view only mode that doesn’t require you to play along. That last bit may seem silly, but Don Bluth’s animations are completely worthy of watching as a straight cartoon. This should be a cause of joy for us old timers, and real opportunity for the younger crowd.
I remember a time when I never talked about behind the scenes staffing changes for developers. Now it’s almost as big of a deal to me as the change in directors is for fans of The Hunger Games. Richard Lemarchand has been a designer with Naughty Dog, working on the Uncharted series, almost since the beginning. He came to Naughty Dog from Crystal Dynamics in 2004 and has worked on three of the most successful games in Sony’s first-party portfolio of this generation. His time at the developer has now come to an end. His next endeavor will be in educating the next generation of game designers at University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts in the Interactive Media Division. But that doesn’t mean he’ll be out of game design completely. Lemarchand says, “I’ve always loved the experimental and avant-garde. I wanted to try to make a game in that sphere for the best part of a decade, now.” In addition to his educating duties, he’ll now also be working on an experimental game as part of a research project. I will definitely be interested in seeing what he creates.
Video games and live action stuff have a sketchy reputation in my book. The live action trailers for games tend to be awful, but the Mortal Kombat web series was pretty good. Here’s hoping the web series for Halo 4 keeps up that pace. It’s set to run during the lead up to the November launch of the game. Halo 4: Foward Unto Dawn will be five 15 minute episodes releasing weekly on Machinima and Halo Waypoint. The central figure is a UNSC cadet that will also be featured in the game. The series is expected to provide some additional background for the game and the war with the Covenant. This is Microsoft’s most expensive live action project to date. Their last endeavor of this kind, a Halo short by Neill Blomkamp, was nearly made into a full length movie. Ultimately, it was scrapped and the project became District 9 – a film that has a much better reputation than I felt it deserved.
Details are now releasing about the multiplayer modes in God of War: Ascension. Online multiplayer is making its series debut and Sony Santa Monica is making an effort to be unique. In Execution mode, two teams square off to change the color of several gears (red vs. blue), which summons the Spear of Olympus. This super-weapon will allow you to lay waste to your opponents, opening a path to their several traps. Getting by the spike and fire traps will lead you to an encounter with a giant mythological beast. In the example shown, that beast was Poseidon’s Cyclopic son, Polyphemus. You’ll choose to ally your multiplayer character with one of the gods. Which of the gods you choose (Zeus, Poseidon, Ares, or Hades) will determine abilities, perks, and unlocks. Higher levels mean new perks, weapons, and armor. With only seven maps, two small arenas and five large environments, the team seems to be going for a quality experience rather than varied backgrounds. Two things we know it will be missing are drop-in drop-out co-op and female combatants. Apparently Sony Santa Monica didn’t like the looks of their armored female brutes and decided to cut the feature altogether.
Digital copies of Marvel’s first issue of the Max Payne mini-series, After the Fall, launches for free on the Rockstar News Wire this Thursday. The series is written by Rockstar’s Dan Houser and Remedy’s Sam Lake, pencils and ink by Fernando Blanco. The series covers more of Max’s dark past and sets the stage for the third game in the series, launching May 15. Here’s the first cover, by Greg Horn:
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Kinect Voice Manual
The first thing you need to know about the Walking Dead game, is that it’s less of a game and more of an interactive narrative experience. This isn’t a bad thing, necessarily, but if you’re looking for a new Left 4 Dead you’re in the wrong place. 
