Despite a rough start (mostly Episode Two), Telltale is clearly done wasting time with The Walking Dead. Episode Four – Around Every Corner will be available for $4.99, or as part of your $20 season pass, on today’s PlayStation Store update. It will be coming to XBox Marketplace, and PC (via the Telltale Games Store, Steam, Origin, Amazon PC Downloads, GameStop, and GameFly) tomorrow. The full season will be collected on disc in November. The penultimate episode will see Lee, Clementine, and what remains of your party reach Savannah. But what will they find?
Speaking of downloadables, Sony’s intriguing indie charmer, The Unfinished Swan, has also been given an imminent release date. PS Plus subscribers will have early access next Tuesday. Regular subscribers will need to wait until October 23rd. No PS Plus discount was mentioned, so we can all expect to pay $15.
PS3 Shmup fans have a Japanese release to look forward to next month. Under Defeat HD: Deluxe Edition will include digital art book, soundtrack CD, and all of the DLC. Retail on this one will run about $30 and it’s set for physical and downloadable release. Presumably the PSN version will have a downloadable soundtrack instead of the disc. I’m inclined to think the press release was poorly worded and the retail version also won’t have a physical music disc.
This one is just screaming for an Op-Ed piece, but I just don’t have the misplaced presumption or gall to get worked up about it. Activision has temporarily removed the Favela map from Modern Warfare 2‘s multiplayer mode. Apparently, after three years of playing the game, someone has finally noticed some grafitti on a bathroom wall, “Allah is beautiful and He loves beauty.” Apparently quoting Muhammed on a bathroom wall is offensive to Muslims. Activision is now working on a title update that will remove the texture from the map, at which time it will be re-released for play.
The on-disc DLC argument has been reignited again with Resident Evil 6. Much like the Muhammed quote, I’m not going to touch the Op-Ed piece here, but it automatically includes DLC news so it is appropriate to this column. Modders have discovered a “No Hope Left Difficulty” which is expected to be harder than the current “Pro” mode. Extra taunts, costumes, and melee attacks were also discovered. In response to the find, Capcom has clarified what’s been seen. According to a Capcom spokesperson, “We still have unannounced DLC for RE6 that will be revealed in the coming months and while virtually all such content will not be on the disc there will be one piece of content, that for technical reasons, requires the use of a combination of newly downloaded data and data that is included on the retail game disc.” That makes a sort of sense. It’s not unreasonable, or unusual, to have code installed for a game to accept DLC. And, if you know what you’re planning, why not include whatever finished code you have to limit the download size later?
Warner Bros. and Monolith have announced a release date for Guardians of Middle Earth, their Lord of the Rings-themed MOBA. They’ve also got a unique way of providing players multiple options to purchase. When the game releases on December 4th you’ll have the option of downloading it from your console’s store for $15 or buying a retail copy for $30. If you happen to love physical copies (or don’t have a credit card), you aren’t actually being charged double. The game will include the ever-popular season pass for DLC. Digital purchase of the pass will be $15, but it’s included in the retail version. I like the idea of providing these types of options to gamers. Some are okay with buying digital only copies. Others still enjoy the interaction at their retailer.
This is definitely rumor, but worth mentioning anyhow. Recent beta testers of Windows 8 XBox Video Store have reported seeing actual dollar amounts in the purchase price. Because of Microsoft’s commitment to a unified marketplace, this leads to speculation that the MS Points system may be converting to dollars. Earlier betas retained the points system, and prior reports have cited Points being included in the unannounced next-gen console. It will be interesting to see how this pans. Windows 8 is launching October 26th. The Windows 8 addition to the XBox 360 dashboard is expected around the same time.
Capcom’s Devil May Cry reboot is coming January 15, 2013.You may have already pre-ordered, and the bonuses probably aren’t significant enough to change your reservation. But, if you’re still shopping around, three incentives have been announced. Amazon‘s Bone Weapons pack turns your weapons into bones and the Orb Collector perk lets you earn more red orbs for upgrades. GameStop’s Samurai pack puts a Japanese flair on your gear and comes with some free upgrade points immediately. Best Buy is giving you a little James Bond, and a little Indiana Jones. The Golden pack coats your weapons in the precious element, while the Item finder perk aids you in tracking down hidden goodies.
Harmonix, the developers behind Rock Band and Dance Central, have filed a new trademark for a game being called Chroma. No details about the game are included in the filing, but the speculation is that this is their rumored fighting game. Supposedly leaked from a source inside Harmonix, rumors are that they are developing some type of combat game for next-gen systems. This type of filing, from a developer as well-respected as Harmonix, leads me to believe we’ll see the next-gen console announcements relatively soon. It’s not likely to happen before Christmas, but early 2013 is extremely likely. Getting all of their trademarks lined up now puts Harmonix in a position to be a featured developer when the announcements come, with their game in one of the starring roles. Dance Central was great for Kinect at launch. Could Chroma be the equivalent for the neXtBox?