Remember all the uproar back in March when Mass Effect 3 released and people didn’t like the ending? Of course you do. We covered it extensively (here, here, here, and here). Just as it seemed the topic was dying down, Bioware is releasing the free “Extended Cut” DLC today. The DLC is said to provide “deeper insight to Commander Shepard’s journey based on player choices during the war against the Reapers.” It’s also expected to give players “a sense of what the future holds as a result of the decisions made throughout the series. And it shows greater detail in the successes or failures based on how players achieved their endings.” The file itself is fairly large for DLC, 1.85GB. It makes sense then that Bioware is suggesting you reload a save file from before the attack on the Cerberus to play through the DLC. Apparently the changes start that far back at least, not just in the finale on Earth. The real question now is, regardless of what changes are made, can Bioware possibly satisfy everyone who complained? Personally, considering I’m halfway through the second act of the game with my second Shepard (been going really slow and gave up on Insanity towards the end of the first act), do I just finish with him, or reload that pre-Cerberus save with Betch Shepard and just see what’s changed? Either way, count on someone from Big Shiny Robot! to review the changes as soon as possible.
That’s not the only DLC coming for a major RPG franchise this week though. “Dawnguard” for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim will be launching on XBox 360 today as well. PS3 players are going to have to wait a bit; no date has been announced but Bethesda has confirmed it is coming.
On to lighter subject matter, Dreamworks has acquired the rights and is set to begin production next year on a Need for Speed movie. Release is planned for 2014. Scott Waugh (Act of Valor) is directing. What should you expect, besides fast cars? Probably not much. According to the press sheet, the film will be “rooted in tradition of the great car culture films of the 70s while being extremely faithful to the spirit of the video game franchise.” Haven’t they already made a whole series of these movies with Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, and The Rock?
Capcom’s newest RPG IP, Dragon’s Dogma, released last month to generally favorable reviews. The general indication from critics is the game has a few flaws, but is quite good overall. This is actually one I expected to review well, but not necessarily sell many copies. Capcom seems to think it’s selling well enough though, as they have now confirmed that it’s getting a sequel. Obviously no details on that are available yet, but at least we know it’s coming. Honestly, this was probably going to get lost in queue of games I’ll play eventually, but the feedback has been high enough I think I might make it a priority.
Wouldn’t you know it? I’ve been slowly working on the 3rd Quarter Preorder Breakdown over the last few days and had just finished the entry on Far Cry 3 when I got the news that it’s no longer releasing in third quarter. I guess it’s better to knownow than to have already published it. The new release date is now November 30th, nearly three months later than its previous September 4th.
As they did back in January, Grand Theft Auto III and Vice City have appeared once again on the ESRB listings for upcoming games. Nothing was announced at the beginning of the year when they appeared briefly then disappeared again. No official announcement has been made this time either, but it definitely looks like they could be releasing as downloadable games. It’s curious that San Andreas isn’t appearing as well. If they’re HD remakes, which is doubtful, you’d expect the trilogy as a collection. If it’s just PS2 versions coming on PS3, I can see why they’d skip the massive scope of CJ’s California. Or they’re holding that one to release closer to GTA V which is set to take place in the same region. Regardless, even if it’s a mistake at teh ESRB, it’s probably past time for Rockstar to comment.
Top tier voice actors can be a serious “make or break” point for many gamers. There was a time when such a thing didn’t even exist, and we did well with our voiceless characters. But as voice acting has spread across the gamescape, we’ve seen how great it is when they’re good (Mass Effect series) and how terrible it is when they’re bad (most JRPG ports). Which is why the announcement of Camilla Luddington (Californication, True Blood) as the voice of Lara Croft in the upcoming Tomb Raider is such good news. Luddington is a British-born actress with “emotional depth and the youthful tone needed for Lara Croft,” according to Darrell Gallagher of Crystal Dynamics. The game releases in March 2013, but you can see Camilla at San Diego Comic-Con where she’ll be joining panels with other members of the team to discuss the new direction of the franchise.
The Journey Collector’s Edition mentioned in a recent VGQH has finally been confirmed by thatgamecompany. As previously reported, it will included flOw, Flower, and Journey on one disc. Three mini games, built within 24 hours during an internal Game Jam, will also be included. The “mini-games [Gravediggers, Duke War!! and Nostril Shot] showcase thatgamecompany’s lighter side with madcap competitive multiplayer action.” Expected release date is August 28th, with MSRP at $29.99. Full contents of the pack are:
- 30-minute behind-the-scenes documentary about making Journey
- Creator Commentary play-throughs of flOw, Flower, and Journey
- Three exclusive mini-games
- Concept art and screenshot galleries
- All three original soundtracks
- PS3 dynamic themes and wallpapers
- PSN avatars including 8 new, exclusive Journey avatars
- Game trailers and developer diary videos
- Reversible cover art
The latest update for PlayStation 3’s firmware is rolling out worldwide. Version 4.20 doesn’t seem to add a whole lot, so it’s safe to assume it’s mostly anti-hacking stuff. Apparently there will now be an option for deleting save data in batches instead of one at a time. Also, the power save functionality will now default to one hour of idle time before shutting off your system. You can still change this manually, they’re just changing the default. This update will also provide more audio options if you’re using a headset, hopefully eliminating the side tone feedback problems that were introduced with the 4.10 update. As always, you’ll need to update before getting online with your system. PS Plus members should have theirs updated automatically.
Speaking of Sony, they’ve set one of their most successful franchises, Resistance, into idle mode. According to Daniel Brooke (producer, SCEE), “The Resistance franchise has been exciting to work on but as for the future we have no definitive plans.” It was announced earlier this year that Insomniac was finished working on the series, but it was assumed another studio would be taking over the IP, much like Microsoft’s Halo. Now it appears the franchise will simply stagnate, at least for now. No current plans doesn’t mean they won’t come back to that well eventually.
It looks like that covers all the major stuff for this week’s early edition. Now I have to get to revising the 3rd Quarter article to replace Far Cry 3, possibly using the Journey collection??? But then what do I do with the theme…? Keep an eye open for that post later this week, and come back Friday for more Quick Hits.