It’s time to wrap up your week with a smile. I’ve got plenty of snapshots from the week’s video gaming news and it covers a lot of topics. If you’re into games at all, at least one of the stories should pique your interest.
According to Jeremy Atkins of Dark Horse at C2E2, they “are going to publish another Mass Effect series later this year.” EA and Bioware have said nothing, but you can safely assume this will tie in to the release of Mass Effect 3 at year’s end. In related news, Tricia Helfer (Battlestar Galactica) recently tweeted that she had finished her first recording session for the game. She voices EDI, the Normandy’s AI.
Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds recently received the 1.02 patch on March 22nd. It looks like mostly minor bug fixes and tweaks but there are a couple of big changes. Apparently the patch sets up the game for Event mode, which should be available today. The other major piece is removing about 30% of Sentinel’s health to create more balance. Several glitches that unbalanced game play have also been addressed.
MotorStorm: Apocalypse, despite being recently delayed worldwide due to “the parallels between these events [in Japan] and the underlying theme in MotorStorm” is actually getting released in the UK next week. Apparently the game is already in distribution but Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has ceased continued shipments and most of the marketing materials are being pulled. This sounds like they know some retailers have copies and rather than try to block them it will just be a soft launch until things settle down with Japan. I commend them for their sensitivity, as well as their realistic grasp of the situation. Further worldwide release information is not available at this time.
THQ apparently has had some sort of application on Facebook involving WWE All Stars (demo available now, launch on March 29th). Since they reached their sharing goal through the Fantasy Warfare app they are rewarding buyers of the game with some free DLC. I’m just not really sure I would consider the Honky Tonk Man a reward….
F.E.A.R. 3 has been rumored but unconfirmed for release on May 24th in the US for some time. That still hasn’t been officially confirmed, but a recent tweet from Warner Bros. Games says “F.E.A.R. 3 release date confirmed for UK as 27 May 2011.” Considering the UK usually gets their games on Friday, while the US gets them the Tuesday before, I’d say the rumored US launch is basically confirmed.
THQ’s Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine was announced some time ago with a vague date for release as Summer 2011. They still haven’t given an exact date, but it has been narrowed down to August. I imagine you’ll see something more specific in the next few weeks.
Dead Island, the game that baffled the internet with its ultra-artistic trailer a few weeks ago has been getting more information out lately. Starting with demonstrations at GDC and on site visits with other outlets, it has become clear the trailer does not capture the tone of the game at all. The first-person-action-RPG-zombie-killing-frenzy seems to be more of a cross between Left 4 Dead and Dead Rising, including multiple characters and classes as well as weapon customization (electric machetes!!!). Regardless which character the player uses, it appears they all are immune to the zombie virus for one reason or another. One of the main characters that has been profiled by Deep Silver, Sam B, is apparently a one hit wonder rapper that gets roaring drunk only to wake with a hangover and a zombie apocalypse to handle. While the game certainly doesn’t seem to have the artistic appeal indicated by the trailer, it still seems like it could be an awesome experience for the blood and brains crowd.
Silicon Knights and Activision are doing something that will either be brilliant or terrible and I’m not sure which. Despite 50 years of roster building, giving countless characters from which to choose, they are introducing a new character in X-Men Destiny. Aimi Yoshida is a Japanese school girl with wicked martial arts skill and a “mental focus” mutant ability that helps her agility. That doesn’t mean much to me right now but hopefully it makes sense to the story. I’m envisioning something along the lines of bullet time abilities for a brawler. Check the picture below to get a feel for her look, and yes, that’s Colossus smashing the ground. The game is planned for release this year.
All I can do is laugh at this next bit. After years of delays and being trapped in development hell, Duke Nukem Forever has been postponed yet again. Supposedly it’s only a month this time. Instead of buying it in May, the game should be releasing in the US on June 14th. Zombietron has more in-depth coverage of the story, including a humorous video announcement from Gear Box.
If you passed on Mafia II when it released last summer and are now thinking of picking it up, you might want to wait a bit. Briefly noticed on Amazon recently, then quickly pulled down, is a Director’s Cut version. Pretty safe to say this will include the three DLC packs released so far as well as the preorder bonuses (clothes and cars) from the original release. I’m not sure why these early postings and retraction happen, probably just Amazon’s QA process, but I’ve never seen one be wrong. Expect to see official announcements for this sooner rather than later.
Apparently next in line for an HD remastering is Capcom’s zombie series. I originally heard the story as Resident Evil 4 HD and Resident Evil: Code Veronica X being announced for Japan only as the Revival Selection. Turns out the two games are also releasing in the US, but apparently not as a collection disc. Instead, the two titles, both with upgraded visuals and trophy/achievement support, will be released separately via PSN and XBLA this fall. Price has not been announced but $10-15 seems typical; though RE4 might be a little higher since it includes all of the DLC as well.
Is that not enough news about the evil Umbrella Corporation for you? Alright, how about Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City, being developed by Slant Six Games? It’s a four player, team shooter based in the original outbreak of 1998. There will be four new characters with their own assets and responsibilities to help the whole team survive. Does this sound like a Left 4 Dead clone with a better zombie mythology and universe? Next month’s issue of Official XBox Magazine will have more details.
And that’s all I’ve currently got for the week. Check back Tuesday for another edition to cover whatever pops up over the weekend.