After Capcom’s Captivate event earlier this week the gaming news desk has been pretty slow. I’ll give you what I’ve got, but it’s not exactly sexy stuff.
Well, some of it is pretty sexy, like this new screenshot from EA’s upcoming SSX. You may recall this game recently being announced as more of an action-oriented snowboarding sim with the generic subtitle of Deadly Descents. Apparently they’ve dropped the subtitle, which I prefer. This makes it much more clear it’s a reboot and not really tied to the original PS2 era games anymore. EA has also announced a release window, though not a date. The game is planned to hit shelves in January 2012.
The new Mortal Kombat is coming a lot sooner. Next week, in fact. A new mode for the game, King of the Hill, may have you curious. For a game that really only allows two players at a time, how do you have a King of the Hill match? I know how it worked in arcades, as I was always the loser that had to keep pumping quarters to stay in the game, but on consoles I didn’t think it made sense. Some new details have emerged explaining how those in line will stay entertained. Spectators will have their own avatars able to gesture at the action in positive or negative ways. I imagine this will be like watching a UFC fight. Sometimes the fight is awesome and everyone’s cheering. Sometimes a couple of heavyweights dance around one another, or even lightweights have match that’s very technical but not entertaining. That’s when fans start booing. Of course, this is Mortal Kombat, and NetherRealm isn’t going to leave you with just cheering or booing. If the fight really stinks, throw a skunk at the fighters. Tomatoes and cheese are also options. At the conclusion of the fight, spectators will rank the bout on a 1-10 scale. The votes will affect the player’s online reputation through respect points. It still sounds odd to me, but I’ll give it a try.
Let’s not forget there is yet another classic franchise getting the reboot/remake treatment, but this one’s a PS3 exclusive. David Jaffe’s return to Twisted Metal is definitely a good thing. It will be interesting to see how the game’s concept has aged when it releases this October. If you want to start your preordering now, the first promo has been announced. One of the classic characters, Axel, will be free when you preorder from participating retailers.
Also coming out next week is Portal 2. But you know that. If you’ve been following along here you also know that PS3 is the console for this game. Considering you get a free Steam copy for your PC or Mac when you buy it on PS3 you’re already ahead of the game. Valve has now announced some of the cross-platform features you can expect to see next week when the first Steam-enabled PS3 game launches. The first step will be to link your PSN account with your Steam account, which you can do from the game’s menu. You don’t have a Steam account? You can easily sign up in-game as well. Now that’s done, simply enter the code from your game box and you’ll find Portal 2 in your library on the PC or Mac. And, as if that isn’t good enough, you’ll be able to chat and play with your cross-platform friends. Your PS3 trophies and Steam achievements are also earned at the same time. Now, you may be wondering why you need a copy for console and PC. Despite the obvious benefits being able to play from your laptop while traveling or when your kids want the TV, you don’t need to have separate games going and repeat levels every time you switch devices. Using the Steam cloud, your save can transfer back and forth between PC and PS3 (which looks to mean cloud saves, for this game at least, are no longer the privileged territory of PS+ subscribers).
Can we go ahead and give the PS3 a little more love? How about an exclusive case for Rockstar’s upcoming L.A. Noire? Console-exclusive content at launch, even small stuff, seems to be Sony’s way of striking back at Microsoft’s exclusivity deals on DLC through Activision and other publishers. This game was originally a PS3 exclusive, so it may be a contractual obligation. Either way, the bonus content is a case entitled Consul’s Car, which the player can pick up from the in-game Traffic Desk.
Ultimately it’s a slow week for news, but a strong week for Sony. Check back next week for more news in shot form.