Far Cry 4 has been accidentally outed by an unexpected source. Cliff Martinez, composer of the Drive soundtrack, casually mentioned he is composing the score for the game. Ubisoft has not officially announced the game yet, though they did mention that a follow-up to last year’s smash-hit was “clearly going to happen.” Not being a developer, I’m not sure when the scoring phase starts, but I’d venture they are pretty far along in the cycle and we should expect an official reveal soon. Dollars to donuts, this is coming to next-gen in late 2014 or early 2015.
Rockstar has released a few patches recently for Grand Theft Auto Online and there’s at least one more coming. This one brings an extra benefit, $500,000 (in GTA money, unfortunately). Rockstar is looking to balance the in-game economy for GTA Online as well as offer a “monetary” compensation for those who have lost characters and progress in the troubled launch over the past few weeks. Everyone who has played online during the month of October will receive two in-game cash deposits of GTA$250,000. Here are the rules:
- You must play, or have played, Grand Theft Auto Online during October 2013.
- You will need to install the 1.04 title update which is expected to fix the remaining issues (target: next week).
- The first deposit should happen automatically soon after your update. The timing on the second deposit is still unclear, but should come soon.
This is a nice reward for those who’ve dealt with the issues or a nice bonus to those who have waited patiently for them to be fixed, though I question the term “balance” in this contect. Half a million GTA$ is quite a bit – enough for a decent residence and fancy car, if you’ve got the rep points for it. Check out the last paragraph in today’s column if you’d like to read about some of my experiences in the game so far.
Zombie THQ has risen from the dead to eat the UFC brains of EA and Zuffa. This is only tangentially gaming news, but THQ is suing EA and Zuffa over alleged collusion to take the UFC license away from the financially troubled THQ and transfer it to EA. The suit is reportedly asking for $10 million in damages and to restore the UFC license to them, as well as having EA’s profits from the license turned over to them. I’m not sure why they want the license back, as the company is basically dead and had its parts auctioned off earlier this year. Could THQ be looking to return to glory, starting with a new UFC Undisputed? IS this license just sour grapes? Possibly a negotiable point they threw in to increase the cash settlement? I don’t know, but it does make a case that’s all wound up in arcane US financial law into something a little bit interesting to a layman gamer.
Zen Studios has finally revealed the details on the third table in the Star Wars Pinball: Balance of the Force pack, Darth Vader. As you’d expect it’s full of black and red shades. Zen’s description says it will be “packed with his most memorable quotes and scenes from the beloved Star Wars films,” which makes me curious. Will this just be the life of helmeted Darth Vader in the original trilogy? Or will it cover his earlier life in the prequels as (spoiler alert) Anakin Skywalker? I’ll be happy as long as he doesn’t scream “NOOOOO” every time I lose a ball (which will happen a lot). All of Zen’s tables are fantastic and I expect these three to be just as great in the quality department. This three-pack is releasing next week for $9.99. As usual, one purchase can net you the tables in either Zen Pinball 2 or Star Wars Pinball. It is also cross-buy on PS Vita and PS3. Zen is still saying they have plans for PS4, but are not giving details at this time. Hopefully they’ll still honor cross-buy on next-gen.
If you’ve followed the creation of Saint’s Row IV then you’ll know that it started as the “Enter the Dominatrix” DLC for Saints’ Row The Third, then expanded to a full game. Oddly, that same DLC has now been confirmed for release as add-on content for Saints’ Row IV, coming October 22nd. I’m not sure how it can still be DLC, when the DLC is what became the game. But, doesn’t make much difference to the fans of the series, they’re just happy to have more content. The add-on can purchased separately or you can get it as part of the Season Pass. That pass will also include “How the Saints Saved Christmas,” presumably releasing sometime around Christmas.
Bluetooth and USB chat headsets, even those made by Sony (like the PULSE) will not work on the PS4 day one.
When Microsoft announced that current headsets wouldn’t work with the XBox One, but you don’t need them because of Kinect, there was a total outcry. This was par for the course for basically everything Microsoft announced at the time. They later said they were working on an adapter and the console may still include a headset. Now Sony has made a similar announcement but the shouting hasn’t started. Bluetooth and USB chat headsets, even those made by Sony (like the PULSE) will not work on the PS4 day one. They did mention that those options will become available at a later time via patch. So, at least it’s not a hardware issue, and Sony’s console is confirmed to include a headset that plugs into the controller. Audio-only headsets should work when plugged into the digital optical output. So where is outrage that Microsoft got? Are fans tempered by the inclusion of a headset in the box? Are Sony fans just more temperate in general? Or did the ill will generated by Microsoft at E3 just break everyone’s spirit?
Killer Instinct is coming for XBox One and it’s got a lot of fans twisted in anticipation. It will be free for one character (Jago). You can purchase additional fighters individually, the entire roster for $20, or the entire roster with all of their accessories and other weirdness for $40. It’s a slightly new direction on the free to play model that will probably work well. What throws me off is the $200 controller coming from Mad Catz. The Killer Instinct Arcade FightStick Tournament Edition will have a lot of fans among hardcore fighting gamers. It’s just a shame it will take longer to say the name than to beat someone’s ass with it. I haven’t handled it in person so my impressions are based solely on the pictures, but I have some immediate concerns. One, I’ve had things with plastic latches and I don’t trust them long term. Two, being able to open it and store your lunch inside is a nice benefit, but I’ll be surprised if a hollow controller will have the right weight to size ratio. Three, that art work sucks. It is cool that it comes with the tools customize your buttons. My complaints are irrelevant though, as I’m not the target market. What about all of you die-hard fighters? Does this look like a good pickup for $200?
Now for my impresisons of GTA Online. The game has come a long way as a result of the patches, but there are still some hiccups. If you’ve been holding out because of the problems, go ahead and start now. Not only is it more stable, but you’ll be getting a nice in0game cash bonus from Rockstar as mentioned above. I played for several hours earlier this week and had quite a bit of fun racing with some guys from Kalispell, “Way. Up. North!” Racing is fun for a core experience. The optional GTA variation adds weapons, boosts, and other nonsense which creates an enjoyable arcade experience. Downhill bike racing on Mount Chiliad with weapons is sheer, giddy chaos. We also found some parachute racing, which was pretty fantastic even if it was completely out of control. Airplane, jet ski, and helicopter racing are also great variations. Be warned though, those jet ski checkpoints can be a bit fickle and it cost me a solid first all the way down to last place in a close run. I still find deathmatch to be obnoxious and boring. Am I weird for not finding entertainment in virtually shooting strangers in such a chaotic environment? I also did a few co-op missions (one by myself), which is where I had the most fun. I’d like to see those missions be easier to access and run continuously, rather than shoving me to deathmatch or forcing me to the game world to find a new mission (with a quick stop at an ATM to avoid being killed and robbed by random players who don’t believe in letting others have fun). I had planned to sell this game next week, but the improvements to online and my decision to pursue 100% completion means I’ll keep it around a little longer. I’ll probably still seek out a little credit from it when I pick up my first PS4 titles, but there’s a good chance I won’t be getting to anything else this generation because of it.
That’s all for me this week. Come back next week for Tuesday’s early edition. I’m off to start my weekend. Go Utes!