In two weeks, on March 20th, we can get our hands on the next Armored Core installment. Let’s take a look at what we have to look forward to. This has been a consistently strong series in my experience, and ArCo5 looks like it won’t disappoint. (more…)

As expected, today’s top story is the Assassin’s Creed III reveals. In addition to the promotional screens leaked last week we also have some story and game play details. The story revolves around Connor (how ’bout that Wrath.o.tron?), a half-English and half-Native American assassin. Connor was apparently raised by the Mohawk, but seeks revenge on the Templars after his village is burned by white colonists. He’ll be interacting with many of the luminaries you’d expect from the American Revolution, George Washington and Benjamin Franklin among others. I’m very curious how such eminent Freemasons will fit into the Templar/Assassin rivalry. Freemasons have, at various times, been linked to the historical Knights Templar as adversaries, allies, and with one group possibly being a subset of the other – though which is the “parent” group depends on which conspiratorial historian you ask. The story apparently covers a 30 year span, 1753-1783, in Boston and New York, as well as outlying areas. The game engine has been completely overhauled, allowing for better facial animations and very large scale battles featuring “thousands” of soldiers fighting at once. As we guessed from the leaked shots, new traversal mechanics will take advantage of cliffs and tree jumping. Hopefully this will still avoid Mutt Williams style vine swinging. A few other highlights that jumped out at me:

• There will be a wilderness area, about 1.5 times the size of Brotherhood’s entire map, called the Frontier. It is not empty. Expect about a third of your game to take place here.
• You can hunt for resources. Better kills equal better rewards. Destroying a bear pelt by stabbing the hell out of it won’t get you much in the way of loot.
• You will have a hidden blade. Why was this ever in doubt?
• Environments will change with time and seasons. Winter traversal is more difficult for NPCs but gives you new options.
• Full synchronization requirements are back, but work more like XP in an RPG. There’s a set amount of XP in the game. Replaying missions to get a better score increases your abilities.
• Don’t expect more den defense. [Yeah!] Expect more puzzles like the Desmond missions from AC:R. [Boo if they’re first-person again.]
• Free running is obviously lower altitude. But expect to jump out windows onto tree limbs then to a church roof, etc. You can also leap over or slide under wagons and other moving objects. Momentum is more vital now, especially in combat.
• Unconfirmed, but a reliable source at Microsoft has indicated the game will have online co-op for the first time. This is probably in addition to the competitive multiplayer we’ve seen in the last two iterations.

I can’t really express how much I edited this down to only cover the really vital points. That’s a long list, but the information Ubisoft has flowing now is even longer. This really looks like a giant leap forward for the franchise. Their emphasis on constant moving, to the extent that you can kill and leap off a body without breaking stride, is going to be a major step. Combat is apparently getting huge upgrades to flow more quickly and be more intuitive. Thankfully, Mass Effect 3 is out today so I’ll have plenty of galaxy-saving to keep me occupied as I start itching for October 30, 2012. Since I get Commander Shepard today, at least I don’t have to try to decide which of the two will be 2012’s most anticipated champion. If you’re as itchy for the game as I am, you can already pre-order it for $5 at Best Buy. Doing so will actually get you the game’s steelbook case now. It’s empty, but it’s so damn pretty. And, really, it will still be empty for a couple of weeks after you get the game since the disc will be in your console.



If that still hasn’t sated your appetite, Zombietron’s posted the first trailer from GDC.

Winding down a little, let’s talk Street Fighter x Tekken. As expected, the special characters announced for the Vita release will also be making their way to PS3 as DLC. The six add-ons from Capcom’s franchise will be Blanka, Cody, Dudley, Elena, Guy and Sakura. Namco Bandai’s additional fighters are Alisa Bosconovitch, Bryan Fury, Christie Monteiro, Jack, Lars Alexandersson and Lei Wulong. The console release is today. No word yet on date or price for the DLC, but the Vita version is expected this Fall. Supposedly there won’t be an expanded release so DLC will be the only way to get these fighters. I’d call bullshit on that, but it could be restricted by the licensing agreement with Namco Bandai. [Not surpisingly, it appears all of this stuff, and the promised costume pack, is actually already on the disc and the DLC will simply be an unlock. YouTube user SoulReaperTTG apparently hacked an early release of the disc and posted videos of the content in action. Naturally, the videos have already been removed. Savvy internet folks with a strong desire could probably still find it.]

In other fighting news, Dead or Alive 5 will also have itself a guest star, Akira from SEGA’s Virtua Fighter. While the release date is still unannounced, Yosuke Hayashi (studio Head, Team Ninja) did say that “Gamers will have an opportunity to enjoy an unforgettable battle with an esteemed competitor in Akira Yuki set in the Dead or Alive environment. This year will prove to be an amazing one for our loyal fighting fans as we are delivering a fantastic fighting game that can only been experienced in Dead or Alive 5.”

Have you got a Vita? Have you been looking forward to MotorStorm RC launching today? Well, if you answered “yesy” to the first question it probably doesn’t matter you answered to the second since you’ll likely be getting it anyway. Now why, you may ask, would you get a game for your Vita if you weren’t even anticipating it? Because it’s free of course! That’s right, for a limited time MotorStorm RC will be free on Vita courtesy of a Scion promotion. Further pushing the partnership, the Scion iq will be an in-game exclusive for the Vita. The game looks great, mashing up the extreme off-road series with the zany goofiness of RC racing, and you just can’t beat that price point. The PS3 version is also available today for $9.99 ($7.49 for PS+).



Speaking of PlayStation Plus, the beginning of a new month marks the announcement of the March benefits to your membership. To start, you’ll get early access to thatgamecompany’s much-anticipated Journey, starting today. The rest of the PSN will be waiting for next week to experience this artistic interaction that puts a whole new spin on the idea of online co-op. This month’s freebies include Bermuda Triangle (mini), Um Jammer Lammy (PSOne Classic), Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus (full game from the Sly collection), and Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix (PSN). This is a little weak for me personally – I’ve already platinumed Sly and that version of SFII was a very early PSN purchase – but it’s still a strong month. If you’re a trophy hunter (whore), you can’t ask much more than the relative simplicity of Sly Cooper for a free platinum. Other benefits this month include 50% off the PSN Gamers’ Choice winners being announced today, and a pile of themes.



I don’t have much to go on with this one, but if you follow the behind the scenes staffing for major games it will certainly mean something to you. Crystal Dynamics, currently working on the Tomb Raider reboot, recently hired Cory Barlog, the former game director for God of War and writer/director for God of War 2. As I said, I don’t have much to go on since they haven’t announced what project(s) will have his involvement, though the press release did mention they’re working on an as-yet unannounced title. Barlog is talented guy and Crystal Dynamics is shaping up to be a real powerhouse on the development side of things. Despite not having any details, this may prove to be a much more exciting announcement thant its unassuming nature implies.

Another interesting behind the scenes announcement is the new development studio, EA Gothenburg. The new studio’s focus will be on the “new generation” of game’s using DICE’s Frostbite 2.0 engine. Does this mean the next set of sequels using the engine, or does it mean games for next-gen systems? Probably both. It’s a powerful engine and it will be interesting to see what comes from it. No games have been announced for the studio, but it sounds like they’ll be starting with a sequel to one of EA’s less-used IPs.



In addition to the retailer-specific bonuses for Darksiders II, THQ has announced that pre-ordering will get you a free upgrade to the Limited Edition of the game. As is usual in cases like this, there’s nothing particularly special about the upgrade. But it will include a download code to score the first DLC, “Argul’s Tomb,” for free. The game is set for release on June 26th, with the DLC to be released soon after.

I’ve been following Lollipop Chainsaw, the latest from Suda 51’s Grasshopper Manufacture, with a little bit of humor and trepidation. The visuals and concept for the game are appealing. But Suda 51’s reputation has me thinking the game will be too bizarre for someone of my ilk to really enjoy. It looks like I’m running out of time to decide, as Warner Bros. Interactive announced at GDC that the game has been scheduled for June 12, 2012. With only a few months to go, I’m thinking I’ll drop this into my GameFly GameQ and go from there. If it turns out too weird for me, I’m only out a few days of play time. If it’s fun, I can always keep it.

Now that embargo has ended, SenadorKooch brings us the first look at Halo 4. Can this be good without Bungie? Looks good so far.

An interesting turn of events is transpiring with Bugbear’s Ridge Racer: Unbounded. The game is still set for a March 30th release in Europe, but has been delayed in North America. Normally these delays go the other way, with rating issues causing release delays in Europe while North America gets it on time. The explanation is that the publisher wants “to pack the disc with features that will truly make the game sing.” What does that mean? Will the NA release have some sort of extra content not planned for Europe? Time will tell, but it wouldn’t surprise me if they’re planning to stow additional “DLC” on the disc that you can unlock later. That method will save some server downloading time. It might also be to include a demo for another game that isn’t planned for European release.

October 31, 2012 folks, mark your calendars and prepare to assassinate the British. Released at GDC, this is one of the first looks into the game we’ve seen thus far. If you haven’t seen the concept art posted by Wrath.O.Tron, you can head there as well. Seeing as Colonial America is one of my favorite historical periods I find myself more excited to be sneaking through the Revolutionary war than I was Italy. Here’s the trailer, thoughts below please!

I’d like to take this moment to welcome our newest bot to the team. Hailing from the middle-southerny parts of Utah, RoboLincoln will be helping us tear apart, and praise games and game news. When he’s not grooming his beard or righting the wrongs of an oppressive America you will find him on his couch analyzing anything and everything he can find.

While The Darkness II has plenty in common with its predecessor, not the least of which is a penchant for intense gore, it’s the differences from the original which make it a game worth playing. The illustrative graphics style of this sequel is much more conducive with a comic based game, though in fairness it’s not hard to compete with the graphics of a five year old game. Though the look may be intriguing most of the character models fall flat on their face. The main villain seemed to get most of the design attention while the main character Jackie bears a terrible resemblance to Tommy from 2006’s Prey. The new look for the game works best where it counts, your demonic tentacles are amazingly animated and are disturbingly entertaining while eviscerating mobsters and dismembering cultists,.

The game-play for this installment has been well streamlined and seems far less rigid. Gone are the weird creeping tentacle sneak attacks of the first game, which is only the second time I’ve praised a game for getting rid of game-play elements. Also missing from this more focused sequel is the more open world aspect and the direct control of the Darklings. Without the minions and with some reworked gun play the controls feel tighter and flow much better. The upgrades also add a taste of personal flare to the game, allowing you to focus on your personal strengths. Though the only one that gives you any real sense of accomplishment is the tentacle upgrades. To keep the game exciting I recommend focusing on tentacle upgrades, without new ways to slaughter enemies you find yourself quickly running on fumes. Creativity is easily coupled with some basic advice, stay out of the light.

Multiplayer for the Darkness II is unnecessary at best. The co-op feels like an afterthought, while attempting to continue playing I found myself striving for games with better built multiplayer. This one will be forgotten in 6 months tops.

The enemies in the game vary from the common cronies (mobsters and cultists with guns) to the slightly creative (cultists with giant mobile spotlights and a man who disarms you with a whip). The bosses while good at taunting the emotionally vulnerable Jackie, are rather simple (most of them can teleport). The developers seem to have a simple idea behind level design, just keep ambushing you. It’s a little overwhelming at first then it quickly becomes tedious, and it begs a simple question about the motivation of some of these inept challengers. Why would you screw with a guy that has demonic snakes coming out of him?

The story for the Darkness II teeters on the border of great and mundane on more than one occasion. You’ve got moments of genius where you see a truly disturbing villain who seems desperate to tear the darkness from you to accomplish his own ends. Then there are the drawn out scenes of Jackie talking to someone is his mansion. Generally the mansion scenes are a complete waste of time because none of the characters (I use the term loosely) have any grasp of the situation you, as the protagonist, find yourself in. It’s all very strange how these mobsters of yours think its business as usual when their boss becomes a demonic demigod. If my boss suddenly morphed into a horrifying demigod the least I could do is scream. While loading levels, Jackie monologues to the player about the love of his life and his childhood, this would have been much better to install into the game itself rather than leave it as loading fodder only. This could have helped turn the story from something average, into something much more special.

While the Darkness II reaches further than its predecessor with regards to game-play it falls short of the gold. With whatever comes next for Jackie, I want to feel more emotionally invested in a terrifying story, and challenged by disturbing enemies. I hope that nest time the developers choose to truly indulge the darkness, some graphics, and not just the gore.

Score: 7.75/10

The good folk over at stabyourself.net have released their full build of Mari0. The name is exactly what it looks like. Super Mario Brothers combined with Portal. The best part is the game actually works, and works well. Playable for Linux, Mac or PC, you can download it HERE. The game comes complete with the Mario levels, and a map editor for you to create your own Mari0 insanity. I played through the first two levels, just to remind myself how bad I am at Mario without a controller, and to see exactly what I could do with the portals. I expect much more creativity from players than I showed, but you can check the quick video of me failing at level 2 below, give it a go and let us know what you think!

There have been many discussions in gaming whether or not the free to play genre will make it. After watching this trailer I’m beginning to think there’s a huge chance. Games such as League of Legends have already reached huge popularity, and have supported themselves through micro transactions. I love me some L.O.L but it is still a niche game, not everyone will dig it. I have yet to find a free to play shooter i’m excited for, until I saw this trailer. This trailer had my heart pumping, and after watching a few times I thought yeah.. I’ll play that, not only will I play that but I’ll download it day one. You can create your own weapon build outs, looks like build your own characters, and I’m assuming there will be ways to purchase additional equipment and supplies. Over the top explosions, gore, and animation style has this game Looking like a blast, check out more media at the Load Out website. Watch the trailer below, we’d love to hear your thoughts.

I don’t know about you, but concept art is one of my favorite things in the world. (more…)

At this point, I am entirely convinced that this has all been carefully planned, timed, and orchestrated by the Ubisoft Marketing team. I’m not complaining. (more…)

February has passed us by and March is marching in, bringing with it the long overdue snow in northern Utah. If we can just keep the roads clear on Tuesday until after I’m home with my copy of Mass Effect 3 then it’s welcome to snow for the next five days. I won’t be leaving my basement as I prepare the galaxy for war against the Reapers.

Meantime, there’s still news from this week to cover. The top story, as far as I’m concerned has already been well covered by Wrath.o.Tron. If you haven’t read his reveal on Assassin’s Creed III yet, do it now. There’s a lot we don’t know, but that art work answers the biggest question of when and where this game will take place. It looks like plenty more will be exposed next week so stay tuned. For now, release is still planned for October 30, 2012.

When it comes to DLC expansions, it’s hard to please everyone. Is an extra two hours of missions worth $10? How about $5 for two new costumes? Someone always thinks there’s too much extra content to buy while someone else thinks they need even more. Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is set for its first major DLC, “The Legend of Dead Kel,” on March 20th and they definitely seem to be erroring on the side of too big. No word yet on pricing (rumored to be $10), but the expansion is a whole new continent, Gallows End! As you’d expect with a new content, you’ll be finding new dungeons, new enemies, and additional options for player housing. According to EA, “‘The Legend of Dead Kel’ is only part of the story of Gallows End. It intertwines with numerous side quests, multiple dungeons to explore and a colorful cast of characters.”

It seems it’s been a while since we’ve heard about an HD collection release of a classic from last generation. Are they tapped out? Of course not, as this week’s reminder of Zone of the Enders HD Collection clearly shows. This was originally announced by Konami alongside Metal Gear Solid HD Collection and Silent Hill HD Collection but has been missing from the news reels ever since. The collection will bundle remastered versions of the two games. A formal release date was not announced, but it has been narrowed down to Fall 2012.

While we’re on the subject, remember when Silent Hill HD Collection got delayed back in January. Supposedly the new release date was going to be given later the same week, but that never happened. Originally scheduled for March 6th, the game is now set for release two weeks later on March 20th. This collection bundles HD remasters of Silent Hill 2 and 3.

Rumors for the next Final Fantasy XIII-2 DLC are springing up. Three new Coliseum battles are reportedly in the cards: Gilgamesh from FF V, Jihl Nabaat from FF XIII, and an unnamed character from FF VI. All three are just rumors, but it also looks like Gilgamesh will be added to your monster party when you win the battle. I’ve played and enjoyed several of the FF titles but I’ve never been a superfan. I’m actually in the midst of playing FF V for the first time as a PSOne Classic on my PSP but I haven’t run into this Gilgamesh character yet. I do remember seeing him in other games though.

Ah, video games cameos. Perfect transition. Guess who’s going to show up in The Amazing Spider-Man video game? Who else, but Smilin’ Stan Lee. Will it be a walk on cameo role like he’ll surely have in the upcoming film? Not according to Lee himself. Speaking to a fan at the London Super Comic Convention, Stan says he’ll be aplayable character in the game. What this means is anybody’s guess, but the prevailing thought is that the super-octogenarian will be a skin-swap for Spidey himself.

Have you heard of Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit, an upcoming PSN title? I have no idea what to make of this game, but the lunatic concept has me sold already. The lead character is Ash, a devil rabbit and prince of Hell. Ash is apparently hunting dow Fat Rabbit, a rival who posted Ash’s sexy pictures on the Hellternet. The game, coming to PSN, XBLA, and PC from SEGA later this year, will apparently have customizable weapons and loads of cartoon gore. An idea this wacky is either going to be brilliant, or incredibly disappointing. I’m hoping for brilliance, obviously.

“Battle for Earth,” the third expansion for DC Universe Online, has been announced for release on March 13th. This latest expansion brings in one of the most deadly foes of DC lore, Brainiac. The add-on also introduces Wonder Woman’s home of Themyscira and new Earth powers. As with the last two DLC packs, Legendary subscribers will have free access. Free or Premium subscribers will be spending $9.99 for the extra content.

Finally, a few quick release updates to finish out the week.

Gravity Rush, one of the most interesting Vita titles overseas has been given a US release date of June 12th. You’ll have the option for a physical, retail card or digital download.

Time Machine: Rogue Pilot is releasing to PSN on March 13th. Price is still unannounced but is said to be “just a few bucks.” The puzzle adventure game will have a demo available and is also coming to PC.

For baseball fans, Sony is showing their hand a bit on promoting games for both PS3 and Vita. The first will be MLB 12 The Show. According to Sony, buying both versions in the same transaction at any retailer will save you $20 (PS3 for $60 + Vita for $40 = $100 – $20 = $80 for both). Why do you need both? “You can transfer your Season, Franchise, or Road to the Show mode save files between your PS3 and PS Vita anywhere at any time through the PlayStation Network.” This seems like a good step forward for releases on both platforms. The weak link looks to be the retailers, will they be savvy enough to understand the promotion? Going forward, how will third parties respond to and continue the concept?

That does it for this week. Remember to come back next week for the big reveal coverage on Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed III. Tuesday’s post will likely be scatter-brained lunacy as my excitement for Mass Effect 3 overhwelms my circuits. But that also means I’ll have my first impressions of the game included in next Friday’s VGQH.

It looks like the art leak from yesterday was the real thing, but the image we saw was not cover art. (more…)