Well, we’ve made it through the first month of another year. It’s been a slow month for gaming news. It’s actually been a pretty slow month for game releases too. The two biggest releases I’ve noticed are DMC (which Zombietron quite liked) and Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, which is pretty niche but has reviewed well. The slow release schedule is typical for this time of the year, after the holidays but before the Spring glut. The slow news I’m blaming on Microsoft and Sony’s refusal to discuss their next-gen systems. The last wave of games for the current consoles have already been announced, showcased, and hype-built. Now it’s just the fine details of working on the games, not releasing more information. This time of year should see us getting announcements about holiday games and breaking features for those titles. But those are all looking to be next-gen releases, which the developers can’t discuss because it might out more information about the consoles than Sony and Microsoft want revealed. That said, we do have a few tidbits:
First up is a PS3 exclusive. The two biggest exclusives left for Sony are teaming up a bit. God of War: Ascension (March 12, 2013) will provide the first hands-on player experience for The Last of Us (May 7, 2013). As if Kratos’ latest adventures and the franchise’s first foray into multiplayer aren’t enough of a draw, Naughty Dog’s newest IP getting an on-disc playable demo should get your pre-order in place at least ten minutes ago.
Before Assassin’s Creed III released we were already teased with an intriguing alt-history DLC, “The Tyranny of King Washington.” As it turns out, this will be a three episode story arc, starting with “The Infamy of King Washington” on February 19th (800MSP, or included in the 2400MSP season pass). The story will take place after the main story missions, with Connor set to depose the newly-crowned King George Washington, a nasty tyrant that doesn’t much resemble the beneficent president we learned about in school. This kind of story is right up my alley, but I think he needs a goatee if he’s supposed to be our Washington’s evil twin from another dimension.
The recent auction of THQ‘s properties has brought with it more questions than answers. Many of their high profile IPs were purchased (check our rundown) but Vigil Games and the Darksiders franchise are left in an odd limbo along with many less active titles from the company’s history. CEO Jason Rubin states “There will be a separate process to sell off the back catalogue and IP. That process will take place in the coming weeks.” He also called the lack of bids for Vigil “a travesty” and attributes the lack of interest to the team being so far from releasing Crawler, their next project. According to Quinn Duffy, director for Company of Heroes 2, Relic has “some gaps on [the] team in the short term” but work on the game hasn’t stopped and is expected to continue under SEGA. Crytek, who was already developing Homefront 2 for THQ prior to acquiring the IP in the auction is still hard at work, with no interruption.
Konami has confirmed the final package for Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance Limited Edition. The packaging is sort of a nice bonus in its own way, but this version will also include a steelbook case, soundtrack, and a plasma lamp containing Raiden’s blade. Pre-orders will also get the Cyborg Ninja skin add-on. The Limited Edition will run $150 and the game releases February 19th.
Sony has finally taken the right kind of cue from Microsoft, adding a web-version of the PlayStation Store. I’ve long wanted this type of feature, and had just about given up on the PS3’s store since its latest update. The newest version on the console sometimes won’t even start. When it does start it will constantly get hung up loading new menus and requires the user to know what they’re looking for and using the search menu, rather than shopping around. I couldn’t even find DLC for Sleeping Dogs in the add-ons section on Monday. I had to search for the game manually, then look for related content. If this web-version works I’ll use it exclusively. To use the web-store:
- Sign in to https://store.sonyentertainmentnetwork.com/ with your Sony Entertainment Network or PlayStation Network username and password.
- Browse or search for PlayStation Network games, add-ons, movies, TV shows, or whatever else you’re looking for.
- As soon as you buy what you want in the online store, it will be added to the “My Downloads” section in the PlayStation Store on your PS3, PSP, or PS Vita for you to download and enjoy!
Speaking of the PlayStation Store, the robots here at BSR! haven’t exactly made it a secret that we love our PlayStation Plus memberships. We’ve played or replayed a lot of great games on that subscription. Ninja Gaiden Sigma Plus for Vita is being added to the Instant Game Collection this month, along with several new discounts. If you’ve been wanting to try PS+ for yourself but leery of the price, now is a great time to join. From now until March 4th you’ll get three months free when you buy a year’s subscription. you can also take advantage of the discount by adding on to your current subscription. Personally, I just renewed in October. If I do this deal I’ll be good until 2015. Of course, with next-gen hardware on the horizon, I’m not sure that’s great deal for me.
Junction Point Studios, developers of Epic Mickey, has been closed by their parent company, Disney. This was part of an overall shift in the media giant’s gaming division, but certainly is also related to the incredibly poor reviews and sales of Epic Mickey 2. According to Disney’s official statement, “These changes are part of our ongoing effort to address the fast-evolving gaming platforms and marketplace and to align resources against our key priorities. We’re extremely grateful to Warren Spector and the Junction Point team for their creative contributions.” This does seem to line up with other statements from Disney regarding the recent acquisition of Star Wars. When asked about the future of gaming for that franchise, Disney indicated that they will be focusing on smaller, casual titles and leaving major console gaming to third parties.
While no official announcement has been made, a trophy/achievement list is making the rounds that indicates Sleeping Dogs is apparently getting more story-based DLC. Titled “Year of the Snake,” this addition will apparently see Wei Shen disarming bombs and stopping cultists. No word on price (expect $6.99 like the game’s other add-ons) or release date. Educated guesses would indicate it should drop sometime around February 10th, the Chinese New Year – which just happens to be Snake.
There have been plenty of game of the year awards handed out recently. The Game Developers Choice Awards are arguably one of the most prestigious, and they’re just announcing their nominees. These awards are chosen by others in the industry. So, they may not always reflect the “best” from a players standpoint, but they are the most respected among their peers. Of the nominees, thatgamecompany’s PS3-exclusive Journey leads the pack (six nominations). Here’s the full list of categories (winners will be announced in March at the Game Developers Conference):
- Best Audio
- Journey (Thatgamecompany/Sony Computer Entertainment)
- Hotline Miami (Dennaton Games/Devolver Digital)
- Sound Shapes (Queasy Games/Sony Computer Entertainment)
- Assassin’s Creed III (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)
- Halo 4 (343 Industries/Microsoft Studios)
- Best Debut
- Humble Hearts (Dust: An Elysian Tail)
- Polytron Corporation (Fez)
- Giant Sparrow (The Unfinished Swan)
- Subset Games (FTL: Faster Than Light)
- Fireproof Games (The Room)
- Best Game Design
- Dishonored (Arkane Studios/Bethesda Softworks)
- Mark Of The Ninja (Klei Entertainment/Microsoft Studios)
- Spelunky (Derek Yu/Andy Hull)
- Journey (Thatgamecompany/Sony Computer Entertainment)
- XCOM: Enemy Unknown (Firaxis Games/2K Games)
- Best Downloadable Game
- The Walking Dead (Telltale Games)
- Spelunky (Derek Yu/Andy Hull)
- Trials: Evolution (RedLynx/Microsoft Studios)
- Mark Of The Ninja (Klei Entertainment/Microsoft Studios)
- Journey (Thatgamecompany/Sony Computer Entertainment)
- Best Technology
- Far Cry 3 (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)
- PlanetSide 2 (Sony Online Entertainment)
- Halo 4 (343 Industries/Microsoft Studios)
- Call of Duty: Black Ops II (Treyarch/Activision)
- Assassin’s Creed III (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)
- Best Handheld/Mobile Game
- Gravity Rush (SCE Japan Studio/Sony Computer Entertainment)
- Hero Academy (Robot Entertainment)
- Sound Shapes (Queasy Games/Sony Computer Entertainment)
- The Room (Fireproof Games)
- Kid Icarus: Uprising (Sora/Nintendo)
- Best Narrative
- Spec Ops: The Line (Yager Entertainment/2K Games)
- Mass Effect 3 (BioWare/Electronic Arts)
- Dishonored (Arkane Studios/Bethesda Softworks)
- The Walking Dead (Telltale Games)
- Virtue’s Last Reward (Chunsoft/Aksys Games)
- Best Visual Arts
- Borderlands 2 (Gearbox Software/2K Games)
- Journey (Thatgamecompany/Sony Computer Entertainment)
- Far Cry 3 (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)
- Dishonored (Arkane Studios/Bethesda Softworks)
- Halo 4 (343 Industries/Microsoft Studios)
- Innovation
- Mark of the Ninja (Klei Entertainment/Microsoft Studios)
- Journey (Thatgamecompany/Sony Computer Entertainment)
- FTL: Faster Than Light (Subset Games)
- The Unfinished Swan (Giant Sparrow/Sony Computer Entertainment)
- ZombiU (Ubisoft Montpellier/Ubisoft)
- Game of the Year
- Dishonored (Arkane Studios/Bethesda Softworks)
- The Walking Dead (Telltale Games)
- Mass Effect 3 (BioWare/Electronic Arts)
- XCOM: Enemy Unknown (Firaxis Games/2K Games)
- Journey (Thatgamecompany/Sony Computer Entertainment)