A little slow in the news this week, which is probably connected to the slow release schedule we’re facing for the next few months. But we’ve still got a few key items:
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception has continued to receive good multiplayer DLC support since it’s release in November. The Season Pass has generally been considered a good investment by fans of the game’s multiplayer modes. Unfortunately, the constant release of content was bound to end sometime – and that time is coming very soon. Following the already announced Shade Survival DLC, Naughty Dog has declared one more piece of content is coming in April before boxing this one up. The last add-on includes two maps, Old Quarter and Graveyard. Old Quarter looks to be a Middle-Eastern setting at night. Graveyard consists of rusting cargo ships in the ocean. Anything else coming with those maps is not yet being discussed. While the trophy (whores) hunters have been disappointed that the DLC hasn’t included more virtual bling like the second game, there may yet be hope. Rumor has it a patch for the game coming with, or soon after, the last add-on may include trophies tied to all of the previously released DLC.
Rumors about PlayStation 4 have been circulating. These rumors actually seem to have a little support though. The project is codenamed Orbis at Sony. [From Latin, Orbis Vita translates to “Circle of Life.”] The processing and GPU look to be off the charts. 3D at 1080P. Backwards compatibility is out. Some sort of limitation on used games that would require an additional fee via PSN to unlock the full title. Full exposure early next year, release Holiday 2013. Nothing extravagant is shown, but if you need a little confirmation on the “Orbis” name, try going to orbis.scedev.net/
Did Namco Bandai possibly want Ridge Racer: Unbounded to fail? Some time ago they announced the game was being delayed in North America in order “to pack the disc with features that will truly make the game sing.” This led to many Europeans thinking they wouldn’t be getting the complete version and deciding to skip it. Yet consumers in North America started noticing the game on store shelves this week, right on schedule. Namco Bandai has confirmed the game launched as originally planned and will be available in Europe today. What the hell, Namco? Tell Europe they’re getting a weaker version and tell the US they’re getting late? Then release identical versions in both regions on time without telling anyone? You deserve the lackluster sales this is going to generate.
The schedule for Asura’s Wrath DLC is now available. Each of these add-ons looks to expand on certain elements of the story from the main game. One of them, possibly hinting at the future of Mass Effect, will finally get you the “true” ending through Episodes 19-22.
- Episode 11.5: Forging Ahead is now available for $1.99
- Episode 15.5: Defiance – April 3rd, $1.99
- Round 3 Part IV: Nirvana – April 24th, $6.99
- Round 4: Lost Episode 1: At Last Someone Angrier Than Me – May 8th, $1.99 (Ryu fight)
- Round 5: Lost Episode 2: The Strongest vs. The Angriest – May 15th, $1.99 (Akuma and Evil Ryu)
Transformers: Fall of Cybertron release date? Yes, please. Looks like it’s coming August 28, 2012. Despite Michael Bay’s best efforts, Transformers are still cool. War for Cybertron was probably the best robots in disguise game to date. I have high hopes for the follow-up.
I’m not sure if I’m supposed to have heard of this guy already, but Doc Clock: The Toasted Sandwich of Time is apparently coming soon to PSN. This looks like the kind of wacky game that PSN just does really well, especially with Move support. Doc Clock is either a brilliant inventor or the master of plans gone awry. His invention of the world’s greatest toasted sandwich maker has turned his cat into a cactus. The time machine he invents to go back and fix the problem actually launches him thousands of years into the future. His slipshod inventing techniques will now be put to use as you build flying and driving contraptions out of bathtubs and old gears. Seriously, this looks and sounds just looney enough to be awesome. Apparently it’s been available on Steam for sometime, but this will be the console debut. Price and release date are not confirmed beyond “SOON” and my own speculation that this looks like a $10 title.
This week has been bittersweet for developers thatgamecompany. The company is seeing great critical success with the release of Journey, the third game from the studio that just set the record for the fastest selling PSN title of all time. Unfortunately, it also sees the departure of one of their co-founders, Kellee Santiago. Santiago formed the company alongside Jenova Chen in 2006. After three highly successful PSN release she has to decided to move one. Santaigo, explaining the move, said “I felt like I have done everything I needed to do there, and that [Jenova Chen]’s in a great place now to go on and continue with some of the other people at thatgamecompany to take that to a whole new height.”
SEGA‘s finances haven’t been really solid for a while now. In the face of that, they’re restructuring in much the same way THQ has done recently. With their most recent report indicating a loss of about $72.5million US, they’re closing several studios in Europe and North America as well as cancelling several games. Which studios and titles are on the chopping block is not currently public knowledge but we should be seeing something soon. I can’t help but wonder if they could solve their issues by simply releasing Aliens: Colonial Marines. I think Gearbox has been working on that one for well over five years.
If you don’t read Big Shiny Robot! regularly, here’s some of the stuff you’ve been missing:
Zombietron’s got full coverage on South Park:Tenorman’s Revenge, coming to XBLA today. If you’re big enough fan to be buying Season 15 on DVD or Blu-Ray you may even be getting it free. By the way, this has no connection to the upcoming South Park RPG, which we haven’t seen much about since the big cover story in Game Informer.
We’ve also got the protagonist highlight video for Assassin’s Creed III. Ubisoft is showing off Connor in all his badassery with a breakdown of some of his weapons. On a side note, a rep from Ubisoft has suggested PC gamers pick up a controller before October for this entry. Mouse and keyboard controls will still work, but they’re indicating this will be best played with a dedicated controller. There are lots of low cost options for this, and I know more than a few people who have picked up used 360 controllers just for their PCs.
Robo Lincoln has a full review of I Am Alive. This one caught my interest a while ago, but then fell away over time. Now that it’s out, I’m hearing only good things.