Before I get to the news, I feel I should point out that there likely won’t be a VGQH on Friday. I’m not a Black Friday shopper, but I do plan to take full advantage of my long weekend and probably won’t even bother to open my computer (unless I’m looking up an FAQ for a game that stumps me). I’ll actually be spending Black Friday at Rice-Eccles Stadium watching the Utes do their part in securing a PAC-12 playoff berth. However, if you’re planning some Black Friday shopping, there are some crazy deals you should attack while you can. Lots of stores are offering a $50 discount on the 160GB PlayStation 3 that also includes several extras. Discounts on 4GB XBox 360s also seem bountiful, but that’s way too small of a hard drive to do anyone any good. Best Buy is offering Battlefield 3, Rage, and Batman: Arkham City, at a doorbuster price of $30. Assassin’s Creed: Revelations will be $35 all day long. If any of these are games you are considering (and why wouldn’t you be), it will be months before you see them at a similar price. But that’s enough of deals. If you plan to go out on Black Friday, you already know what you’re planning to get. Let’s get to some news.
Two weeks ago Arse-bot wrote up a story about the disparity between critic reviews and user reviews for Modern Warfare 3. That led to a pretty extensive conversation in the comments about who was actually leaving the user reviews on Metacritc. While sales figures do not always equate to quality (Twilight movies, anyone), it’s a safe bet that a legitimate ranking of three or less on Metacritic won’t do this well. The game had 6.5 million first day sales – about $400 million. That’s just first day. In the first five days it set a new world record for any entertainment property – over $775 million. Harry Potter doesn’t put up those kinds of numbers in movies or books, not in the first five days anyway. And we’re just talking about one game here. Last year, Black Ops set the five day record with $650 million. In 2009, Modern Warfare 2 did it with $550 million. As a franchise, Call of Duty is now worth over $6 billion. And, if you can somehow ignore those dollars, the game also set a record for PSN, the most simultaneous players online since its inception. Frankly, if I’m Bobby Kotick, I’m saying you can leave me all the negative reviews you please. If an average user rating of 3.1 means my franchise makes more than Star Wars, I want to see what happens if it gets to 1.3.
If you want to hear the latest from Kojima-san on his biggest franchise, try to find a way to get the Christmas issue of the Official PlayStation Magazine UK. It hits stores November 29th. Detailed in that issue are the latest updates for Metal Gear Rising and Metal Gear Solid 5. But don’t get too excited. Hideo Kojima doesn’t say much about the potential fifth game, other than “[w]e’ll probably have to make [it]” and that he wouldn’t be as involved with it as he was for MGS1. Then again, he’s been saying he was backing out of the series for the last three entries. You should definitely pick up a copy if you can as he explains why he continually gets drawn back into the development.
Despite the rush of top shelf games this holiday season, I still can’t get over my excitement for March 6th. Thanks to a ” target=”_blank”>recent video detailing the Collector’s Edition of Mass Effect 3, I’m now even more excited. That’s because some enterprising fan patiently went through the video frame by frame, finding a glimpse of an accidental character reveal. As the video flips through the pages of the art book, the ex-convict turned possible love interest from Mass Effect 2 is quite apparent. Jack has apparently let at least some of her hair grow and has covered up her tattooed flesh just a little more. Jack was my romance option with my male Shepard, and even had a slight, unconsummated flirtation with my raging bitch Shepard – though she didn’t survive. Even if she’s not available as a party member, I’m looking forward to seeing how she gets used in these two scenarios. I’m not sure what her fate will be in my next play. I’m currently planning to run that one as a suicide ending, then reload to finish it a little cleaner.
The latest issue of Edge magazine reached subscribers last week with an announcement that work on “the next Killzone installment” is already underway at Guerilla Games. Steven Ter Heide, the Senior Producer on Killzone 2 and 3 is now the “Game Director on the current Killzone project.” Could this be related to Edge’s rumor that a major Sony-owned studio has moved all development from PS3 to the next generation?
What is it with so many properties announcing sequels when the current game is either pending release, or barely on shelves? The latest franchise I’m hearing about with another new entry on the table is Hitman from Square Enix. Hitman: Absolution is scheduled for release next year. But the recent expansion announcement from Square Enix also included a hint that a new studio planned to open in Montreal (with 150 new jobs, yay) could be working on the next Hitman game. This also coincides with an expansion of IO Interactive (with 100 new jobs), the developer currently working on Thief 4, the next Deus Ex entry, and an unannounced third title. This is good news for lots of folks. Square Enix is obviously doing well to be expanding so heavily. But it’s also good news for gamers who love these IPs and for the good people of Montreal – especially the 250 that fill those jobs.
The special edition release of Max Payne 3 has been announced by Rockstar. The plan is for limited quantities so you’ll want to get your pre-order in before January 15th. The game releases in March. This bonus version will run $100. For that price you’ll get a copy of the game, 10″ Max Payne statue from TriForce, original Still Life art prints inspired by Max’s inner demons, copper and brass bullet shaped keychain with a screw off back, Classic Multiplayer Character Pack (eight characters from past games – including Max, Mona Sax, and Vladimir Lem), Disorderly Conduct Multiplayer Weapons Pack (G9 Grenade Launcher, Hammerhead Auto Shotgun, and Molotov Cocktail), and the official soundtrack. I like the idea of exchanging the standard concept art book for still life pritns inspired by the game. Considering I have no use for a Max Payne statue I’ll be skipping this set, but I do like the way they’ve changed up the standard just a little bit.
Really quick one to finish up: I mentioned a possibility for the Jak & Daxter HD Collection recently. That has been officially confirmed. All three PS2 games will be coming to PS3 in February 2012 in 720p and stereoscopic 3D, with crisper visuals, smoother animations, and full trophy support.
That’s it for the week. I’ll be back next Tuesday with another edition. Please safely enjoy your holiday weekend. Eat a lot, drink some more, go see the new Muppets movie, and cheer on our Utes. Even after we beat Colorado on Friday, we still need UCLA and Arizona State to lose. So feel free to cheer on USC and Cal, respectively.