Hello and welcome to the first Video Game Quick Hits of December.
We start this edition off with a confirmed date for “Lightning Strikes,” the second DLC pack for DC Universe Online, which recently went free to play. This add-on brings you The Flash, along with his stable of additional characters, and electricity based powers for your hero or villain. The official date is December 6th. That’s this Tuesday for those of you don’t own a calendar. The expansion is $9.99, which will automatically bump you up to Premium status. If you’re currently a Legendary subscriber ($15/month) you’ll receive the extra content free. So, boot up on Tuesday and head on over to Central City, Flash’s hometown and the new environment in the game with the expansion.
While it may not be putting up the 67 bajillion dollar numbers of its competitor, Battlefield 3 has become EA’s biggest launch in the publisher’s history. The title sold 5 million units in the first week, with an additional 3 million since. Those are pretty impressive figures, even if they don’t topple Modern Warfare 3.
You may have noticed a required firmware update for your PS3 this week. If you’re wondering what it is, don’t worry about it. Unless you’re in Japan. The update to 4.00 adds a bunch of cross-platform functionality with the PS Vita. It’s basically the same stuff the console already did with the PSP (data transfers, updates, etc.) but now it works on the new handheld as well. So, that’s something you can look forward to in February. In the meantime, a handful of small tweaks with more immediate use is included in the new firmware. Filters are now available for friend requests and messages, as well as new controls for the auto update feature on PS+ accounts.
Not content to sit on their laurels or let a valuable franchise die, EA is discussing major changes to future releases in the Dead Space universe. Dead Space 3 is still on its way and will finish Isaac Clarke’s story arc. The third entry will still feature the third person, over the shoulder viewpoint and play much like the first two entries. But, there’s more to that universe than one insane engineer. The publisher plans to continue the property with new games in new styles. Some of the ideas tossed around so far are an FPS (yawn), a flight-based spin-off (interesting), and an “Uncharted-like game” (potential). I suppose it’s only a matter of time before they do a creepy kart racer? Yeah, I’m being sarcastic, but I actually like this idea. Dead Space has its share of fans, but with the second entry only moving 2 million units, it’s not exactly a best seller. Opening this solid concept into a wider gaming audience seems like a great idea. I can think of a few franchises that might want to consider it. Case in point, adding lackluster gameplay updates (the boring bomb crafting and awful tower defense sections) to an amazing series like Assassin’s Creed doesn’t make up for the fact that the plan was never to make the series 12 games long. I’d like to see Ubisoft get the core games back on the stealthy path of a secret war that’s lasted hundreds (maybe thousands) of years. But I wouldn’t mind seeing an Assassin general (Lee) facing off against a Templar (Grant) in an RTS. I also wouldn’t mind seeing a rogue Templar go on an Indiana Jones style adventure to gain one of the Apples of Eden. But please, for the love of gods, don’t lose your narrative path like Lost or Battlestar Galactica.
Bioware also has a couple of huge franchises that may or may not need some overhauling. In addition to the multiplayer component coming with Mass Effect 3, there is now a rumor of massive arena battles for Dragon Age 3. The battle arenas are rumored to be playable against AI-controlled bots or human players. But the best part of this news? You may be able to play as a dragon. I’m no fan of adding multiplayer just for the sake of adding multiplayer, but if it means I get to wreck fools as a dragon…? Yeah, go ahead and add it!
Speaking of dragons, what’s cooler than a flying dragon? How about one that flies backwards? Bethesda’s recent release of the v1.2 patch for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim brings exactly that, but it wasn’t intentional. Bethesda games are notorious for launching with a plethora of bizarre glitches, only to be patched a short time later. Those patches usually improve most of the problems. That’s not the case this time around. If anything, v1.2 actually makes the game worse. While some of the worst offending glitches have been repaired, it’s brought a whole new level of problems to the game, including dragons with a reverse gear. While that’s just weird, it’s not game breaking. On the other hand, removing all in-game resistances, for the player and NPCs, is terrible. Flame Atronachs are no longer immune to fire. Any special resistance provided by your armor you fought so hard to acquire is now gone. And it’s not just yours. If you’ve been struggling with defeating an enemy because of his frost shield, might as well go at him now when you can use your freeze magic. An update is likely coming next week (early for the PC, later for the consoles). In the meantime, you can skip the update if you haven’t already patched it. But you may want to run it for a little while, just to watch those kooky dragons.
While we have no official confirmation, you’ve got to know Capcom is hard at work on Resident Evil 6. Any news we get before it’s confirmed should only be treated as rumor. So, get the rumor mill rolling because we have two potential leaks. The first is pretty weak. Joe Cappelletti, a known video game voice actor briefly had RE6 on his resume. That just tells us that it’s being made, which is obvious. The second is a little more revealing. Another voice actor, Wendy Mok, had the game listed on her resume as well, but with a little more detail. Hers said she played a “Chinese villager/zombie.” This might give us a clue to the game’s location. Could we be seeing the effects of Umbrella’s experiments in rural China? Maybe, and it could be a great locale. In the meantime, both actors’ resumes have had this update removed. Leaks like this usually lead to announcements soon after. It’s possible the actors were even told they’d be able to update by now but Capcom has delayed the announcement for some reason.
Konami has put a release date on NeverDead. If this one sounds unfamiliar it’s because it’s been slightly under the radar. I’ve been seeing hints of it for a while now and I like the hook. Bryce Boltzmann and his partner, Arcadia, are demon hunters. But Bryce is immortal. So you can have your limbs blown off, only to reattach them. Or you could rip your arm off and throw it – while it’s still shooting the gun in your hand. Even having your torso removed just means you get to roll around as a head. I’m looking for a Monty Python joke here, but I’ll just let you fill in the blanks. In addition to the January 31st release date, Konami also says the game will receive future DLC after release.
If there has to be a South Park video game (and really, there doesn’t), THQ & Obsidian have the right idea with South Park : The Game. That’s right, go back and read it again, I said Obsidian. But don’t they just make RPGs? Yes, and that’s what they’re making. According to Game Informer’s latest cover story, Trey Parker and Matt Stone have written the script for what will be a complete RPG based in the South Park universe. Being called an “ambitious project” and a “full blown RPG,” players will take control of a new kid in town in order to make friends and defend the place from threats. Maybe if I can look past all of the annoying voices, childish repetition, poop jokes, and making fun of celebrities who really don’t need any more attention, this could turn out to be a fun game. It will be available in 2012 for PS3 and XBox 360.
That pretty much sums up this week. Nothing terribly exciting, but at least a few bits to keep us going as we trudge on towards Christmas and the New Year game drought. Check back Tuesday for all the updates from the weekend.