Welcome to October. Today’s launch of Grand Theft Auto Online (available now with a small title update) may be all the gaming world needs to get us through the next seven weeks, at the end of which we’ll have two new consoles on the market and a whole new generation of gaming. But if you don’t feel like living a second life as a high stakes heist man, there’s a few more games coming to get you through – hopefully you like playing pirates or soldiers.
Two more launch titles have been confirmed for PS4’s November 15th launch. System 3’s Putty Squad and The Pinball Arcade will both be available via PSN. Neither one seems to be a title that will push the hardware’s limits in any way, but they both look highly enjoyable. Putty Squad is an enhanced remake of a platformer originally planned, but never released, on Amiga. A version of it was available on SNES, but it was not the true vision. The PS4 version of The Pinball Arcade will launch with 22 tables, including favorites such as Creature from the Black Lagoon, Twilight Zone, and Star Trek.
For those not buying new systems at launch, Ubisoft has confirmed that the XBox 360 version of Watch Dogs will come on two discs. This is not unexpected. Much like Grand Theft Auto V, one disc will be used for the mandatory install, while the other will be your play disc. Ubisoft has not indicated whether installing the play disc will make your experience glitch, much like Grand Theft Auto V. The 360 version will be available November 19th; XBox One’s releases November 22nd.
The October Instant Game Collection update looks good for US PS Plus members. These might not be at the top of everyone’s wish list, but it’s a good variety of games. First up, from the team of R.A. Salvatore (AKA the man who killed Chewbacca), Todd McFarlane, and Ken Rolston, is Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. Shadow of the Colossus will be joining the IGC as well, not a surprise considering ICO came in September. SotC is one of those gems I’ve been meaning to play for years; it just never seems to happen. No more excuses. Poker Night 2 is also coming, and bringing its bizarre cast of characters (Claptrap, Brock Samson, Ash, Sam [and Max], and GLaDOS) with it. Hotline Miami is an ultra-violent cross-buy title that you can play at home or take on the go with your Vita. Finally, Sine Mora is a Vita-only “shmup” with an actual story mode and scaling difficulty that suits itself to the player’s skill. No word yet on what order these will be included, but Kingdoms of Amalur starts today; it’s kicking out Machinarium.
Microsoft’s Games for Gold has also announced their two free titles for October. Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes is available for free starting today. Halo 3, one of the first titles announced for the program, will be coming on October 16th.
WB Montreal’s Guillaume Voghel, producer for Batman: Arkham Origins (October 25, 2013), has revealed some details for the game and its upcoming DLC. Yet another mode will unlock after you complete New Game Plus. This is not for the faint of heart. I Am The Night Mode does not allow saving (meaning a minimum of 12 hours in one session) and not even a Lazarus Pit will bring your Dark Knight back if you lose your ONE life. Assuming there’s a trophy/achievement for this terrible feat, I can confirm right now that I will not earn platinum on this title. Voghel also detailed the Bruce Wayne “Initiation” DLC that will be included in the Season Pass ($19.99):
You play as Bruce Wayne learning to be a ninja. That’s a really cool one. Narratively there’s some added content that will give players a little more background story [regarding Kirigi, the master who also trained Ra’s al Ghul’s League of Assassins].
It’s not League of Assassins, it’s ninja-related. It’s when he learned to be a ninja and those techniques. He goes to a monastery – custom content was created for the DLC. You’ll be in Asia in the monastery. The team did great job on that, it looks really good.
Microsoft is taking the XBox One on tour. If you want to see it before it’s November 22nd launch, you’d best live in or be willing to visit, one of the 75 stops on the tour. Check here for more details, but I can confirm Philadelphia, Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas, Phoenix, San Francisco, Denver, and Los Angeles in the U.S. There are others, but Salt Lake City is, sadly, not among them at the moment. The events will be free, but space will be limited.
As their jobs on Killzone: Shadow Fall finish, some of the Guerilla Games development team is moving onto a new intellectual property. According to Lead Designer Eric Boltjes, the studio wants “to branch out, and [they] have started work on a new IP, something completely different to Killzone.” He obviously didn’t give any details at this early stage, but it will be nice to see just how far they move from the futuristic, military FPS franchise. The studio is owned by Sony, so it’s safe to assume that whatever their next title becomes, it will be PlayStation exclusive. Killzone: Shadow Fall launches with the PS4 on November 15th.
As mentioned above Grand Theft Auto Online is available now after a small title update. To begin playing, simply select the bottom slot on your character selection wheel. The online component is a prequel, of sorts, to GTA V’s story mode. During character creation you will choose your avatar’s gender and parents (of whom you may recognize some characters). Making lifestyle choices (partying vs. sleep, legal vs. illegal activity, etc.) will affect your appearance and starting stats. Microstransactions can get you some extra cash to buy items, but you still have to unlock the good stuff by earning Reputation Points. A content Creator tool is planned for release later this Fall, but you can start your robbing and killing career now. It’s fair to warn that the servers are swamped and you may want to stick to single player for another day or two. There are also rumblings of corrupted single player saves, but until we hear specific and repeatable data I wouldn’t concern yourself too much with that. It actually appears that after receiving a server error you may be restarted in single player on the first mission. Your save game is still there, just make sure you load it and don’t save over your real data.
Rather play soldier than crook? Beta is starting for specific Battlefield 4 players now. Premium members of Battlefield 3, pre-orders of Battlefield 4 Digital Deluxe Edition, and registered owners of the Limited or Digital Deluxe Edition Medal of Honor Warfighter had access open this morning. The open beta begins Friday morning. Only the Siege of Shanghai map is included in the beta, but two game modes (Conquest and Domination) are playable. The full title is set for October 29, 2013.
Keiji Infaune’s Kickstarter for a spiritual successor to Mega Man, Mighty No. 9, has reached its next-gen stretch goal. This means the game will eventually be released for XB1 and PS4 as well as the current PS3 and X360 consoles. The tentative date for release is April 2015.
That’s all for this week’s early edition check back Friday for more of the week’s gaming news. And stay tuned to Big Shiny Robot! as we’ll get up some sort of review for GTA Online as soon as we can get enough time on the service to provide some coherent thoughts.