The latter half of the week has been a little more active in video gaming news than the early part. Thanks in big part to Activision. Here we go.
Do you still have a Dragon Age: Origins game save? Are you planning on playing Dragon Age II? Don’t delete your save game. BioWare hasn’t disclosed much about the save import feature in their upcoming sequel, but it will have one. If you already deleted your save, don’t sweat it. None of changes are game-breaking, but they will add an extra level of satisfaction for long-time players.
Batman: Arkham City apparently takes place one year after the events of Arkham Asylum. So what happened in the intervening year? Series writer Paul Dini is going to tell you, with a little help from concept artist Carlos D’Anda. Starting with issues 1 and 2 in May, DC will be publishing a six-issue mini-series leading up to the game’s launch in Fall 2011. Issues will be available for $2.99. I’m a little unclear on whether these will be print or digital only at the moment. I’ll update once it’s clarified (or perhaps one of our comic shop regulars can chime in). Between issues you can get eight-page digital interludes highlighting the villains’ power struggles in Quincy Sharp’s Arkham City for $0.99. The interludes will be available in printed form in the Collector’s Edition.
If you’re a Kinect or MOVE owner you may have heard about Yoostar 2, a movie karaoke game where you replace characters in iconic scenes. Sounds like a great party – if you have no shame. The full movie list has been released but you don’t want to read all 80 of them here so I’ll just highlight a few the BSR! readers will love: 300, Frankenstein, The Godfather, The Hangover, Kick Ass, Shaun of the Dead, Star Trek: TNG (Locutus) and TOS (Tribbles), and Superman Returns. There are also classics like Casablanca and, my favorite, The Wizard of Oz. I’m sure the wife will tell me we’re buying this once she hears about The Blues Brothers and Grease.Yoostar Entertainment Group promises hundreds more scenes as DLC. With the music genre’s death, this could be the next big thing.
On to the promised Activision news. Boy have these guys been busy. Apparently spending your life in court doesn’t mean you can’t wreak havoc on the video game world. By now you know that they’ve decided to end the Guitar Hero franchise. They are also ending the DLC for that game along with the DJ Hero franchise. What else is on the chopping block? True Crime: Hong Kong has been canceled despite a planned 2011 release. They’ve also revealed there will be “no new… skating [Tony Hawk] franchise in 2011.”
So what is Activision actually doing? Making money hand over fist on Call of Duty and World of Warcraft. These are the two titles where they will be focusing the majority of their efforts in the future. They also still have a Bungie property and “an innovative new universe.” This new universe is supposed to “bring the world of toys, video games and the Internet together in an unprecedented way.” Sounds like fun if it weren’t Activision doing it. They also still have sole gaming custody of your favorite franchises: X-Men, Spider-Man, Transformers, and Family Guy.
In further Call of Duty news, Activision has announced a new internal studio, Beachhead, devoted solely to a new digital platform for the franchise. Intended to “super charge the online gaming experience like never before,” Beachhead is apparently working on something new and grand for CoD. I don’t get it, but it sounds suspiciously like an MMO.
By the way, speaking of Call of Duty, Black Ops’ First Strike DLC is coming to PSN March 3rd. Apparently console exclusive deals are getting shorter and shorter. It’s only been exclusive to XBox 360 for about a month. This also comes on the heels of news the Dead Money DLC for Fallout: New Vegas will be on PS3 shortly. Further DLC for New Vegas is planned to hit both consoles simultaneously.
Have you seen the previews for Rango, the new animated film from Paramount? Looks cute to me, if not very original. As you can imagine, there will be a video game tie-in. Behaviour (aka Artifical Mind and Movement) is developing. Not good news since they also made Wet and Naughty Bear, two tragically bad games with awesome concepts. You could play it March 1st, if you cared.
I’ve personally never been a huge fan of Duke Nukem, but plenty of you are. The loooooooooooong-awaited Duke Nukem Forever is finally coming May 3, 2011. And, of course, there’s a Balls of Steel edition. It’s a bit pricey at $100 but it’s one of the better collector packages I’ve seen: collectible bust, numbered C of A, 100 page hardcover art book, postcards, emblem sticker, comic book, origami, poker chips, deck of cards and logo dice.Check it:
With the upcoming Mortal Kombat reboot I’ve been wondering why NetherRealm has been so quiet about Liu Kang. Obviously the Shaolin star of the series would be making a comeback. And I’m not disappointed. A new trailer has been released (looking for an embed, hopefully update later) that not only shows his classic bicycle kick and a fatality, it also reveals two other characters, Kano and Shang Tsung. Tsung should have been obvious, but Kano is a welcome surprise.
Wow, that’s a lot of news. And looking back through it I can see a lot wallet pain on the horizon. Which part will have you smashing the piggybank?