SEGA has confirmed September 3rd as the release date for the HD remake of Disney’s Castle of Illusion on PSN and XBLA (14.99 / 1200MSP). Older gamers may remember this classic platformer from the SEGA Genesis and GameGear; it stars Mickey Mouse in the quest to rescue Minnie from the evil witch, Mizrabel.
Payday 2 released last week and seems to be charting well. The next question is always “what about DLC?” According to Game Director David Goldfarb (Overkill Software), “Payday 2 – just like its predecessor Payday: The Heist – is a living thing. We have five DLCs planned together with 505 Games for the coming year.” The game will also be updated with free content, “just like the first game.”No word yet on when the packs are coming or for how much but I’d expect an update relatively soon.
Ubisoft has been discussing the officially unannounced Child of Light at GDC Europe. Far Cry 3‘s creative director, Patrick Plourde, is helming the the project and has described the game as a “playable painting.” Inspiration comes from classic JRPGs, specifically Final Fanstasy VI. Then again, that is arguably the best JRPG ever made, meaning every game made since has been inspired by it in some form.Other inspiration comes from artists Hayao Miyazaki, Yoshitaka Amano and John Bauer. Miyazaki has a strong following, but his involvement in Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch resulted in a mediocre-at-best title. So I’m intrigued but skeptical on this one. A full announcement of what they are calling a AAA indie title is expected in September, with the game releasing digitally this winter.
Artwork from Konami has confirmed a long-rumored HD release of Castlevania: Lords of the Sahdow- Mirror of Fate is coming to consoles. The official announcement will likely come at Gamescom, but the expectation is that this version will include the first Lords of Shadow, its DLC, and the formerly 3DS exclusive sequel, Mirror of Fate. Even without the announcement, it is already rumored for release at the end of October.
With the PS4 coming in a matter of months, Sony clearly believes there is still a market for a cheap version of the PS3. Released without fanfare, a 12 GB PS3 Super Slim (previously only available in a 500GB model) is now available for $200. To many this may seem an odd move, but I think it’s great. Plenty of families either haven’t hopped on to the current generation or did it only with the Wii and/or 360. With new consoles out (WiiU) or coming soon (PS4, XB1) they may not be ready to drop $500-600 for new hardware, accessories, and games. But a $200 PS3, with hundreds of cheap, used games is a hell of a bargain for Christmas. You can also expect many games to release cross-generation for the next year or so. The small hard drive doesn’t make this ideal for PS+ membership, but the back catalog of games is still plenty to keep you entertained.
Gamescom doesn’t officially start until tomorrow, but Microsoft has already presented a big chunk of announcements:
The XBox One has been confirmed to be bundled with FIFA 2014 in Europe. No word yet on whether the US version will have a game bundled.
The recent policy changes at Microsoft to encourage indie development has taken another step forward this week. Microsoft has announced Independent Developers @ Xbox. This program allows indie developers access to all of the Xbox One’s features, including cloud services, Kinect, SmartGlass, multiplayer, Achievements, Challenges, Game DVR, and Upload. Dev kits will also be much more accessible, as well as the possibility of turning any XB1 into a dev kit. According to Phil Spencer, Corporate Vice President at Microsoft, “I am really looking forward to the diversity and creativity of games that will come to Xbox One through the ID@Xbox program. “We’ve worked with the community of developers to craft a platform that helps creators self-publish on Xbox One – irrespective of their size or location.” Interested in joining the ID@XBOX program? Applications are open now.
Microsoft has announced Fable Legends at Gamescom. This was expected as they had registered two domains, FableLegends.com and .net, just before the event began. The XBox One game will be an always-online prequel taking place in Albion 400 years before the first Fable. It will feature four player co-op and SmartGlass functionality. The series has always allowed your player character to be a rotten person, but this latest iteration takes it a step further, allowing you to play as the villain. That mode appears to be a more strategic version, allowing you to place enemies, traps, etc. in a top down perspective. It’s an interesting concept, I’m hoping it holds up in actual practice.
This is the “targeted” launch line-up for The XBox One. Obviously “targeted” is hedging their bets. It should also be noted that these are “launch window” and not necessarily release day titles.
- Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag (Ubisoft, Ubisoft)
- Battlefield 4 (DICE, Electronic Arts)
- Call of Duty: Ghosts (Infinity Ward, Activision)
- Crimson Dragon (Grounding/Land Ho!, Microsoft Studios)
- Dead Rising 3 (Capcom Vancouver, Microsoft)
- FIFA 14 (EA Sports, Electronic Arts)
- Fighter Within (AMA Ltd., Ubisoft)
- Forza Motorsport 5 (Turn 10 Studios, Microsoft Studios)
- Just Dance 2014 (Ubisoft Paris, Ubisoft)
- Killer Instinct (Double Helix, Microsoft Studios)
- LEGO Marvel Super Heroes (TT Games, Warner Bros. Interactive)
- Lococycle (Twisted Pixel, Microsoft Studios)
- Madden NFL 25 (EA Sports, Electronic Arts)
- NBA 2K14 (Visual Concepts, 2K Sports)
- NBA LIVE 14 (EA Sports, Electronic Arts)
- Need for Speed: Rivals (Ghost Games, Electronic Arts)
- Peggle 2 (Popcap, Electronic Arts)
- Powerstar Golf (Zoe Mode, Microsoft Studios)
- Ryse: Son of Rome (Crytek, Microsoft Studios)
- Skylanders: Swap Force (Vicarious Visions, Activision)
- Watch Dogs (Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft)
- Zoo Tycoon (Frontier Developments Ltd., Microsoft Studios)
- Zumba Fitness: World Party (Zoë Mode, Majesco)
Sony’s press conference starts about two hours from when this column gets published. Stay tuned to Big Shiny Robot! for any major stories to come from that conference and check back on Friday for a similar recap. Actually, depending on what news drops, there may be a special edition of VGQH later today or tomorrow. Sony has been a step ahead of Microsoft on announcements for the next-gen consoles so I’m still expecting a release date being confirmed.