I don’t know if I’ll be doing my own official top ten list for video games in 2013. But I’ll give you a spoiler. If I do that list, Tomb Raider is at the top. A recent announcement means it may also be qualified for the 2014 list as well. Tomb Raider Definitive Edition will be hitting PlayStation 4 and XBox One on January 28, 2014. This is not just the original game packaged with all of the DLC, a digital mini art book, and the digital comic “The Beginning.” Though it is that as well. The actual game has been rebuilt for next-gen consoles. The devil will be in the details, particularly Lara’s hair, sweat, and dirt. I expect the visual improvements will be nominal, but I’m fine with that. Just a new chance to play the game is a good thing.
You’ve probably already heard the big announcements from Telltale at VGX. But, this is a clearing house column for news, so I’m repeating it. The wonderful folks at Telltale are lavishing us with entertainment. We’re one episode in to The Wolf Among Us (which reminds me, give me episode two immediately dammit); The Walking Dead season two is beginning this month; and they’ve now announced two more games based on popular series: Game of Thrones and Tales from the Borderlands. The Game of Thrones series is based on the HBO series (which I haven’t watched, sadly) which is based on a series of books from George R.R. Martin (of which I’m about halfway through the first volume). This one will focus on “large battles,” which I’m curious to see handled by Telltale. Tales from the Borderlands is based on the popular game series from Gearbox. It will obviously take place on Pandora and appearances from familiar characters are promised. Both new titles are scheduled for 2014, with no other specifics available yet. My only concern about these announcements is that Telltale may be giving us to much of a good thing. Then again, Traveler’s Tales has been releasing two LEGO games a year and I haven’t burned out on those yet.
And if you haven’t visited Pandora in the Borderlands universe yet, this week is a good opportunity. Borderlands 2 will be free on PS Plus starting with today’s update (Zen Pinball 2‘s Star Wars Pinball is on last chance). Today’s update also brings an enticing discount to the aforementioned Tomb Raider, knocking it down to $13.49 for Plus members ($14.99 for non-members). Other discounts abound in the holiday sale.
Now it’s time for me to eat a little crow and warn you all of the dangers of internet rumor. Over the past couple weeks I’ve mentioned thesurvivor2299.com a couple of times along with the reports that this appeared to promise a Fallout 4 reveal at VGX. This site was a hoax, a very good hoax. It was not actually owned by Bethesda as previously reported. The site’s builder explained the situation on Reddit. In summary, he’s a rich douchebag that didn’t care about the money it cost to create the hoax. He wanted to bring the fan community together and was attempting to force Bethesda into a reveal. Instead, he’s been ordered to shut the site down and has received multiple death threats (this seems excessive) from those he duped. As one of those duped, I say the guy’s a dick, but kind of a brilliant one. He got a lot of hits and scored some press. He didn’t accomplish his true goal, but if he enjoyed his laughs and felt it worth $1,000 in hosting fees, good on him.
The Deathmatch and Race creator DLC for Grand Theft Auto V / Online is releasing this week. Along with this confirmation, Rockstar also announced the first story DLC will be coming sometime in 2014. The heists are expected about the same time. We don’t know much about that story DLC, except the Rockstar News Wire says, “For those ready to jump back into the story of Grand Theft Auto V, we have big plans for substantial additions in 2014 continuing Michael, Franklin and Trevor’s action, mayhem and unexpected adventures in Southern San Andreas.” If their past additions for GTA IV and Red Dead Redemption are any indication, expect it to be a significant chunk of game.
Sony has patented a “Flat Joystick Controller” that looks suspiciously like Move 2.0. It looks very similar to the current Move, with the addition of a DualShock 4 style touchpad included. The patent was initially filed in June 2012 and documentation for the device is now surfacing. According to some design documents:
A controller device to interface with a computer gaming system includes a body having a handle and an object disposed at one end of the handle.
A touch surface is disposed on one side of the handle. The touch surface has an indicator that is identified by a surface characteristic on the touch surface. The touch surface provides an area for receiving directionality control in response to interfacing by a finger of a user.
In addition to the touch surface, a plurality of buttons are disposed on the body. A circuitry is disposed in the body of the controller. The circuitry is configured to receive data indicative of a directionality control and transmit the data to a game console for impacting an action by a program executing on the computer gaming system.
Sony hasn’t made an official announcement, but it’s worth noting. We may see more about this at the 2014 trade shows.
That rounds out this week’s early edition. Check back Friday for more news (and hopefully no more hoaxes).