Followers of VGQH have may have noticed the last two regular updates haven’t been posted. A combination of slow news and life outside of writing have teamed up to turn this feature, temporarily at least, into a once a week column that we’ll target for Wednesdays. In conjunction, more individual gaming stories will hopefully be coming as well. For instance, today’s huge news about LEGO Marvel Super Heroes being announced. I’ve never been shy about my ridiculous love for these “kids” games and I’m a total Marvel zombie. This is a match I’ve been pining for but figured would never happen with WBIE being involved in the franchise’s publishing and Disney owning Marvel. Seriously, my favorite bit of gaming news this year. And that might continue to be true beyond the first ten days of 2013.
In the meantime though, there is other news to report. Some of this may be a little old hat considering the delay since the last issue of VGQH, but here goes:
There’s been no official announcement, but news of a new DLC pack for Black Ops II has been leaked. “Revolution” will include four multiplayer maps (Hyrdo, Downhill, Grind and Mirage), a zombie map (Die Rise), and a Peacekeeper SMG. The leak included a January 29th release date, with the usual timed exclusivity on XBox 360.
Speaking of XBox exclusivity, Phil Fish’s Fez may no longer be stuck to that platform. Writing on his blog, Fish says “2013 is going to be an interesting [year]. For one, Fez will finally be ported to other platforms.” Those “other” platforms haven’t been formally announced, but PSN seems like a reasonable bet. Possibly PS3 and Vita? Maybe WiiU?
Going in the opposite direction, Retro City Rampage, formerly a Sony-exclusive is now available on XBLA. If you have options, the cross-buy feature for PS3 and Vita still makes the better deal, especially if you can get it free through PS+. But, there are plenty of 360-only players that should be thrilled with this news.
Ubisoft is apparently going movie crazy. The video game company apparently has a lot of faith in their interactive properties as films. We’ve known about the Assassin’s Creed and Splinter Cell projects for some time, though we haven’t heard a lot about them. The latest project announcement is another of Tom Clancy’s brain children, Ghost Recon. This is still the early phase, as Ubisoft Motion Pictures’ Jean-Julien Baronnet is currently working on the pitch. That’s a long way from an actual film but having two other projects underway could easily net them an agreement that hinges on those successes.
Time for another list of server shutdowns on EA Sports titles. Sure they’re a couple of years old, but if you don’t constantly get the latest iterations then this could affect your online play:
- FIFA Soccer 11 – PC, PS3, Wii & Xbox 360
- FIFA Soccer 11 Ultimate Team – PS3 & Xbox 360
- Madden NFL 11 – PS3, Wii & Xbox 360
- Madden NFL 11 Ultimate Team – PS3 & Xbox 360
- NBA JAM – PS3 & Xbox 360
- NBA LIVE 10 – PS3 & Xbox 360
- NCAA Football 11 – PS3 & Xbox 360
- NHL 11 – PS3 & Xbox 360
- NHL 11 Ultimate Team – PS3 & Xbox 360
Guillermo del Toro fans have been waiting since Augsut, when inSANE was shelved by THQ to learn the fate of the game. The final ruling the “Lovecraftian sandbox” title is not set in stone, but del Toro has reportedly been in “talks with a very, very big company. [He] can’t say who, but it’s one of the big ones.” So, no promises yet, but it looks like it could be happening after all. Stay tuned.
Speaking of THQ, their last ditch efforts to remain a functional company by selling to Clearlake Capital for $60 million have failed. As a result, Distressed Debt Investing has announced the company’s assets will be auctioned on January 22nd. The auction will allow for piecemeal purchase of assets, meaning no one will have to buy the whole bag. Instead, interested parties like EA, Warner Bros., and Ubisoft will be able to buy individual titles, like Red Faction and Saints’ Row. That’s definitely a date I’ve got markedin my calendar and we should have a full report on any data that comes from the auction as it becomes publicly available.
The PS Plus update this week has at least one thing to be excited about scoring. MegaMan 9/10 for free is good but not great. A free DLC pack for NCAA Football 13 is pretty lame, unless you’re a Tebow fan. But beta access to God of War Ascension‘s multiplayer is a nice bonus. I’m skeptical of the concept, but the last time I downloaded a multiplayer beta with some skepticism I got hooked on Mass Effect 3‘s multiplayer. Count me in. Hesitantly.
Most of the ‘bots here are excited for Injustice: Gods Among Us, and even more so with two more confirmed characters on the roster. Lex Luthor’s style will be all about the gadgets and projectiles, keeping his distance from some of the more super-powered foes. Bane, on the other hand, will be a wrestling/grappling type character with no projectile attack. He will have a Venom pump that offers a temporary power boost.
That’s going to cover it for this week. Thanks for reading.