When it comes to Batman: Arkham City, I’ve had one big question burning for some time now and that question has been answered, October 18th.
If you’re like me, one of your favorite parts of Portal was Jonathan Coulton’s Still Alive during the game credits. For Portal 2, Valve wants to keep that same spirit. To that end, they’ve hired indie-rockers The National to do music for the game. Not being familiar with The National, I can’t really comment. I do trust Valve to treat the property right and if they think it’s a good follow-up to Coulton I believe them. We’ll find out for sure when the game releases on April 19th.
Did you love Lemmings? Are you wishing someone would make a sequel? Well, too bad, that’s not happening. Instead, maybe you should pick up Swarm on the PSN or XBLA next week. Developed by Hothead Games and published by Ignition Entertainment, the platform puzzler looks like it could really satisfy that Lemmings itch, while still being something unique. The player controls (individually and collectively) up to 50 “swarmites,” little blue blob creatures, to obtain DNA strands. The swarmites can be told to work together for speed boosts, stacking up to a higher goal, sacrificing for the greater good, etc. The price point hasn’t been set yet, but I’m predicting $9.99, with future DLC at added cost.
The growing relationship between video games and comic books has been fantastic for nerds like me (and painful to my wallet). The latest creation to marry the two is id Software’s Rage. Bethesda and Dark Horse are teaming up to bring you a three part miniseries, beginning June 22nd, to serve as a prologue for the game’s release on September 13th. Tim Willits, creative director for the game, has had a hand in the comic to insure proper fit. The rest of the creative team is Arvid Nelson, writer; Andrea Mutti, art; and Glenn Fabry, cover art.
Sony Online Entertainment is looking to shake up the world MMOs yet again. Free Realms is scheduled to release March 29th on PSN. After the successful release of DC Universe Online they feel the time is right for a free to play, family friendly MMO on their console. [Family friendly translates to E10+ for Crude Humor and Fantasy Violence.] The game has been available on PC since 2009 and Mac since 2010, with a combined 17 million players registered. The game’s boast is a huge variety of playable content for players of all flavors. As with most free to play MMOs, microtransactions are available for items and outfits. Free Realms also has a membership option for higher level content. No word on whether this will be Move compatible, but it seems perfectly suited for it.
If you’ve been following VGQH for any amount of time you’ve probably noticed my growing interest in WWE All Stars, scheduled for March 29th. In one of the few instances where it could be a make or break demo, we’re going to get a shot at the game a week ahead of time, including the local multiplayer. I’ve been really on the fence about how this game will turn out. I’ll definitely be picking up the demo from PSN on March 23rd.
If you remember 2006’s Prey from Human Head Studios and 3D Realms, you may be glad to know a sequel is in the works. ZeniMax Media gained the rights back in 2009 and has now announced that subsidiary Bethesda (Fallout, Elder Scrolls) will be publishing Prey 2 for PC, 360, and PS3 in 2012. Human Head Studios is developing the sequel using the id Tech Engine (id Software is also owned by ZeniMax). However, this will not be using the still-in-development id Tech 5. An interesting side note for this, ZeniMax actually filed a trademark application for a television program based on the property when they got the game rights.
The disaster in Japan is, naturally, affecting the gaming world – mostly in the form of delays for one reason or another. [Please note, this is in no way a complaint or anything editorial. The nature of the story, however, does reflect on how technology has spread the effects of what previously would have been a localized disaster into something with global effects in large and small ways.] Disaster Report 4 has been canceled ouright for sensitivity reasons. Similarly, Yakuza: Of the End, featuring a zombie war in Japan has been delayed, as well as Motorstorm: Apocalypse. The Jill Valentine/Shuma Gorath DLC for Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is also delayed, likely for reasons more practical than sensitive. It’s unclear how these delays are related to the world outside of Japan, but you can bet these are just the first of many. Japan’s gaming influence has been waning over the last several years, but they are still an important part of the scene. Sony also temporarily closed a PlayStation information and repair center in the Miyagi Prefecture, an area hit extremely hard by the devastation. Square Enix has also temporarily shut down servers for Final Fantasy XI and XIV to conserve power, and may continue the outages as needed.
The “Reverie” DLC for Castlevania: Lords of Shadow has been given a date and price. For $10 on March 30th you’ll be stepping back into the shoes of Gabriel Belmont and helping the vampire girl, Laura. With three additional stages after the main game’s climax, the expansion promises a huge twist in the plot and a segue into “Resurrection,” coming soon.
Bioware has released a teaser photo for the upcoming “Arrival” DLC for Mass Effect 2. Good luck trying to interpret anything from it though. If you want more, Bioware suggests you hit up their Facebook. They’ve promised another image if they get 750,000 impressions (I hope you Facebook people know what that means, because I don’t).
In a suprise attempt to save the music game genre, Ubisoft has announced Rocksmith. Intended to be a “pure music experience” instead of a “party game” according to Tony Key (Ubisoft senior VP), Rocksmith will not use plastic guitar controllers. Instead, you’ll be plugging real guitars in using the standard jack and playing on a 45 song track list, including The Rolling Stones, The Animals, David Bowie, and Nirvana. Considering the game is scheduled for September, maybe Ubisoft is right. The genre may just need a break and a shot of real electric guitar to bring it back.
If you want to get in on the user-generated content beta for inFamous 2 I suggest you head over to the PlayStation Blog to find out how. Sign-ups opened yesterday and will be open until March 21st. Selected registrants will receive a voucher for the beta that begins April 12th. During the beta you’ll be able to create levels and submit them to Sucker Punch. The best user levels will be included on disc when the game ships this June.