July is at an end. While San Diego Comic-Con is over, convention season is still in full swing. We still have Germany’s Gamescom, Star Wars Celebration VI (where I hope to get a little more information on Star Wars 1313), and Dragon*Con. The NFL preseason starts next week, the end of August will also see the beginning of the NCAA football season. Of course, NCAA Football 13 is available now, and Madden NFL 13 can be pre-ordered (August 28th). All of that just means we’re getting awfully close to the annual holiday game glut. With all the great games coming this Fall, what are your priorities? Assassin’s Creed III is definitely at the top of my list. LEGO Lord of the Rings isn’t far behind. But, until then, we’ll have to stick to news. Even if there isn’t a whole lot of it.
007 Legends is shaping up to be the epitome of Bond games, covering portions of six films in the franchise. Activision is holding back on the voice talent either. Daniel Craig is the obvious choice for the titular hero. But other, not so recent, cast members will also be chiming in. Rory Kinnear will be back as Bill Tanner. Naomie Harris from the upcoming Skyfall will be voicing her character. Hugo Drax and Jaws will be voiced Michael Lonsdale and Richard Kiel in the Moonraker portions. Which means Kiel will be at least doubling his quotable 007 lines; he only had one in two movies. This is another one of the hot Fall games, scheduled for October 16th.
Love it or hate it, Kinect doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. The familiar “Better with Kinect” banner has most recently been spotted on the cover of Need for Speed: Most Wanted. What that Kinect functionality will be hasn’t been addressed by Criterion and EA, but previous attempts at camer based steering have been a complete flop. It’s doubtful they’ll be trying it such an anticipated game. There may be a use for voice commands, and the Forza 4 head tracking could be nice addition. don’t be shocked, but this one’s also set for Fall, October 30th.
Capcom started talking about Dragon’s Dogma 2 recently, mostly because the first game had “exceeded expectations” in Japan. It’s still struggling in the west, but it’s been well-reviewed. After crossing the one million copy mark in Japan, it definitely seems well-suited for a sequel. Especially when compared to another Capcom franchise; Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City sold only 450,000 in Japan. According to the game’s creator, Hideaki Itsuno, there’s already enough content to begin work. Itsuno says the first game is only 60-70% of what he had envisioned, and much of what was cut will be incorporated into the follow-up. Of things left on the cutting room floor, you may see a quest creation feature and the ability to run on top of enemies. Depending on how much of the existing framework can be utilized, a sequel could possibly be seen in the next 12-24 months.
This should technically be filed under rumor until we get official confirmation, but the roster and stage leak for PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale has all the right air of legitimacy. For the most part, nothing is surprising. I do think it’s a little strange that Evil Cole McGrath is a separate character from Good Cole Mcgrath rather than a skin, but the power sets are pretty different. Also, the announcement of Toro was kind of implied when they announced Kuro. The leak apparently springs from files discovered in a beta for the game, so none of it is set in stone and the list isn’t necessarily complete. While Sony doesn’t “comment on rumors or speculation,” I wouldn’t be surprised to see an official announcement soon that just happens to corroborate this reveal. The game is scheduled for October 23, 2012 and here’s the full list from the leaked files:
- Characters
- Big Daddy
- Colonel Radec (Killzone)
- Dante (DMC)
- Evil Cole
- Fat Princess
- Good Cole
- Heihachi (Tekken)
- Jak
- Kratos
- Nariko (Heavenly Sword)
- Nathan Drake
- Parappa the Rapper
- Raiden (Metal Gear Solid)
- Ratchet
- Sackboy
- Sir Daniel Fortesque (MediEvil)
- Sly Cooper
- Spike (Ape Escape)
- Sweet Tooth
- Toro (Sony Mascot)
- …
- Stages
- Aiden’s Tower (inFamous)
- Black Rock Stadium (Twisted Metal)
- Columbia (BioShock Infinite)
- Dojo (Parappa the Rapper)
- Dreamscape (LittleBigPlanet)
- Franzea (LocoRoco)
- Hades (God of War)
- Invasion (Killzone)
- Metropolis (Ratchet and Clank)
- Paris (Sly Cooper)
- Sandover (Jak & Daxter)
- San Francisco (Resistance)
- Stowaways (Uncharted)
- Time Station (Ape Escape)
I also spotted some power-up items and “minion” characters that can be summoned with special moves, but I couldn’t really corroborate enough of it to publish. Suffice to say, ancillary characters like Athena (God of War), Zeke (inFamous), and Captain Qwark (Ratchet & Clank) will have limited roles. Power-ups included things like Sackbot (LittleBigPlanet), Sonic Rift (ModNation Racers), and Murder of Crows (Bioshock Infinite).
As you probably suspected, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD‘s launch was successful by Activision’s standards (120,000 downloads). Also as you may have suspected, its very existence had ulterior motives. Josh Tsui, CEO of Robomodo, has explained the “lower risk” of a downloadable game “allowed [them] to take some chances, which benefits both developer and publisher.” He went on to state “the prospect of a fuller game is definitely on the table — it’s just a matter of when and how.” Reviews on the game are mixed. Praise comes for the title sticking so closely to its roots, while the criticism reads almost identically. For what it’s worth, Tsui recognized they would have detractors because the game relied so much on subjective nostalgia, but “had we changed it up and modernized it, we would have gotten the same criticism from the other side.” Sounds like a new retail entry is just what the franchise may need. Regrounding the series in its origins, while incorporating more of the later entries’ exploration elements could be the billion point combo they’ve been after all these years.
The August update to PlayStation Plus’s Instant Game Collection is right up Big Shiny Robot’s alley. The first two episodes of Telltale’s The Walking Dead will be free for subscribers beginning August 7th. This is on top of the ten other games currently in the rotation. I’ve been a little ashamed to admit I haven’t gotten on board with this adventure title yet. I’ve been busy, but not so busy I couldn’t make the time. I just had a feeling my patience would pay off with a promotion like this one. Other updates for PS+ include 20% off The Expendables 2 with today’s release, and 20% off SoundShapes next week (pre-orders open today). Next week also opens pre-orders for 20% off Papo & Yo, releasing on August 14th.
There’s another nice update to XBox Marketplace and PSN Store today, especially if you like big shiny robots. Big shiny shapeshifting robots! The demo for Transformers: Fall of Cybertron is ready for your download queue, three weeks ahead of the retail release on August 21st. The demo includes two single player missions, multiplayer character customizing, Team Deathmatch, and the online Conquest mode. The first mission sees Bumblebee holding off Megatron’s Decepticons while evacuating the planet. The second mission puts you in the role of Vortex, a Combaticon that allows shifting from helicopter to jet to giant robot. I haven’t always beena big fan of Transformers games but descriptions like that are bound to set your heart a flutter.
That’s it for July and this week’s early edition. Looks like I’ll be playing up that Transformers demo and some LittleBigPlanet Karting beta while I wait for The Walking Dead next week. What are you playing this week?