[Multiplatform] General MINOR gaming related news, rumours and things of not-thread-worthy nature

We have a couple of threads floating about for general Xbox or PlayStation news and discussion, but we have nothing for a general catch-all of gaming related and multiplatform news and stuff: until now that is. I figure we can use this thread to post random news and cross-platform game tidbits that don't quite justify a full thread yet.

And to kick things off, some random news:

Mass Effect 2 announced - now multiplatform

Quote:

In talking about big titles for EA's next fiscal year, CEO John Riccitiello dropped hints about the future of the epic space-themed RPG franchise Mass Effect.

"[In Q4], BioWare will release Mass Effect 2 on multiple platforms," he said during a Tuesday earnings call.

[ source ]

Now enter Skills to bitch and moan about Mass Effect.

Crytek have bought Free Radical Design

Quote:

Free Radical's future has been uncertain in recent weeks, but a new report claims the U.K.-based studio has secured a lease on life with a new owner.

1UP reports that German first-person shooter house Crytek, developer of Crysis, has agreed to purchase Haze developer Free Radical. If true, it would be Crytek's fifth location, and its first in the U.K.

Free Radical writer Rob Yescombe reportedly revealed the news of the Crytek buy, adding, "After seven long weeks of uncertainty, I can confirm that Free Radical is now out of the woods. We've been bought by a really, really good company."

[ source ]

This is hopefully good news for any potential future TimeSplitters, or so I hope. I certainly remember TimeSplitter 2 being a bucket load of fun.

Amazon get in on the 'casual gaming' thing

Quote:

Multi-billion-dollar online retailer Amazon.com is jumping into the digital distribution fray with the launch of a casual game download store.

The service, currently in beta, hosts 600 casual games such as Jewel Quest, Airport Mania and Totem Tribe for under $10.

Amazon is concentrating on the mass casual market for now, although it's possible the download store could offer more core-centric games in the future.

[ source ]

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Yeah, it could well mean just the 360 and PC, but there's always the outside chance it could be making its way to the PS3. As for being a direct sequel, that was always going to be the case, since it's a planned trilogy is it not? Either way, I guess they could either take a chance on people playing it (provided there was some sort of story recap video or something), or they could sneak out a port of the first game for the PS3 (unlikely, but you never know).

I'd also very much imagine, unless they change the character focus of the game, you'd be able to carry your character across (in looks if nothing else).

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Saw a link to this on JoyStiq this morning and it's too awesome not to share:

Spoiler:

[ source ]

Also, interesting news about Hellbent Games doing a Lego Battles game for the DS:

Quote:

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and TT Games' latest LEGO game, coming this summer for DS, is not built around any license. Well, other than the LEGO license. But there's no Batman or Star Wars or anything like that: this is pure LEGO.

LEGO Battles, developed by Hellbent Games, sounds like a kind of LEGO-based strategy game, in which players build and defend bases in the LEGO Castle, Pirates and Space Themes, using units mixed and matched from the sets. The press release promises "pirate swordsmen fighting side-by-side with wizards and aliens; dragons battling ninjas; and pirate ships launching broadsides against spacecraft and knights!" In addition to the single-player mode, local multiplayer battles will also be available.

[ source ]

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

File this under 'unexpected' in the news category, but apparently this summer the XBLA, PSN and PC will be seeing a version of Battlefield, called Battlefield 1943:

Quote:

If you're hoping to hone your Battlefield skills before the Bad Company returns later this year, you'll get your chance this summer when the series goes back to WWII with Battlefield 1943, a multiplayer game coming to XBLA, PSN [updated: and PC!]. Built on the same engine as Bad Company, the downloadable game will offer 24 players the chance to battle it out across Wake Island, Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima.

[ source ]

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

JoyStiq have a hands on with Battlefield 1943, the upcoming XBLA/PSN/PC download title, and it actually sounds like it's shaping up quite nicely. Mark me down as very interested in seeing how this turns out (I only got into Battlefield with BF2 but ended up playing it for ages, and if we get a good few of us together for squad based fun then count me in):

Move to the new thread I've created for the game - http://www.gamingforce.org/forums/vi...ld-1943-a.html

I was speaking idiomatically.

For anyone still waiting on Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix in Europe on the old PS3, tomorrow is the day (a little miss-timed now, perhaps):

Quote:

Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo HD Remix will be released on the Playstation Store this Thursday, Feb 19, a day before the UK release of Street Fighter IV. The game will be priced £11.99 for UK residents.

[ source ]

And for PC gamers who had a (jealous) eye on Jonathan Blow's Braid, the game will be heading to PC at the end of March:

Quote:

Acclaimed indie developer Jonathan Blow has stated that the upcoming PC release of Braid will arrive on March 31 for under $20.

Blow added that the title would be available in a number of ways: “I have signed deals with 3 different online distributors right now but I am letting them announce the details since they tend to care a lot about those announcements,” he said.

Blow confirmed that one of Braid’s vendors will be publisher Stardock, which will release the title over its digital games service Impulse. The other two digital distributors remain unknown for now, though speculation is understandably pinpointing Valve’s Steam platform as a likely choice.

[ source ]

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

New Worms game heading to XBLA and PSN, could be woo-some, might not be:

Quote:

A listing appearing on the Australian Classification Office website has revealed that another Team 17 Worms title, Worms Armageddon Decade, may eventually inch its way to the Xbox Live Arcade.

The Armageddon Decade rating appears to have been applied for by Microsoft, which probably means this Worms edition will be an exclusive XBLA release and is a different project than the PSN's upcoming Worms. If the awesomeness that is Worms Armageddon is anything to go by, the XBLA's special Decades edition should be one of the most enjoyable Worms titles to date. That is, if Team 17 doesn't skimp on the weapon selection.

Update: Team 17 just informed us about the differences between the upcoming Worms games. The PSN edition will be an enhanced version of the XBLA release, including more weapons, additional levels, new audio and 1080p support.

The XBLA release of Worms Armageddon Decade (which we're told is subject to a name change) will be a "vastly expanded edition" of the original XBLA Worms, that will include weapons and features from Worms Armageddon as well as other brand new content. More details to come.

[ source ]

How ya doing, buddy?

Just to clear up some of the Worms nonsense that was discussed in here, Team 17 have seemingly put up images from the upcoming games on Facebook, and it very much appears that the PSN is getting a version of the Worms that has been on XBLA for ages, and XBLA is getting Worms 2: Armageddon.

Quote:

Team 17 has revealed on its Facebook page some images and details about its double-barrel offering of Worms on PSN and XBLA. With the OFLC outing both games last week, the studio didn't see the harm in showing off avatar support and vertical levels for the XBLA version, which is now apparently being called Worms 2: Armageddon.

The PSN edition of Worms -- which is an "expanded" port of the original XBLA game -- features "vastly" improved physics and displays in 1080p. We should have hands-on time with both titles at GDC and hopefully get a release window by then.

[ source ]

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Originally Posted by Tritoch

Wouldn't it be more profitable to work on one game and release it for both XBLA and PSN than developing two seperate games?

I would assume the reasoning might have something to do with Worms being a PC game, the 360 being (by all accounts) fairly easy to port PC source to, and the PS3 not being so easy to code for. I imagine they may well be using the opportunity to port a simpler game (the original Worms) to the PS3 to get a feel for it.

I could be wrong, but that'd be my guess.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Luke, excellent news my boy, there's another trilogy of Layton games in the work.

Quote:

You guys are going to be furious about this. Now, instead of two Professor Layton sequels (and one movie) that have yet to appear outside of Japan, there are three. The latest Famitsu has unveiled Professor Layton and the Devil's Flute, a new puzzle adventure from Level-5 starring Luke and the Professor. It appears to be a new game just like the previous ones, and not a DSiWare calculator or anything.

Oh, and it's the beginning of a new trilogy, so two more are coming. Perhaps this continued support for the series in Japan will influence the decision processes of Nintendo's offices worldwide. Or perhaps we should just get used to feeling despondent every time we see a tall hat.

[ source ]

This is excellent news, though a tad annoying, because I'm desperately waiting for them to get number 2 out in English (come on guys, how long must we wait?).

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Something to perhaps pique Q's interest, it seems Max Payne 3 is on the way for winter time:

Quote:

Take-Two has announced that Max Payne 3 is in development at Rockstar Vancouver and will be released for PS3, Xbox 360 and PC this winter.

The game was originally mooted all the way back in 2004, but things have been quiet since. Original developer Remedy is not involved by the sound of it.

While specific details about MP3 are thin on the ground, we're told that gritty, trenchcoat-loving grumpy-guts Max is now retired but still "embroiled in a world of corruption, turmoil and intense violence".

In fact, Max has left New York behind, and having been double-crossed, is now trapped "in a city full of violence and bloodshed, using his weapons and instincts in a desperate search for the truth and a way out".

[ source ]

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Any fans of Tim Schafer might want to check out this little web-based adventure game he's made: Double Fine Minigames! - Host Master and the Conquest of Humor?

Quote:

Double Fine boss Tim Schafer has made a free browser game that features himself as the main character and the Game Developers Choice Awards as the setting.

Schafer will host the real-life event in San Francisco tonight from 6.30pm PST, which is 2.30am GMT tomorrow morning for us lot.

Dubbed Host Master and The Conquest of Humour, the idea is to use old adventure commands to probe the environment for 22 jokes that Schafer can use while hosting the awards. He's forgotten to prepare anything, you see.

The game can be played on the Double Fine website now, and has been stuffed full of the familiar comedy and deft touches that earned Schafer his graphic adventure crown all those many moons ago.

[ source ]

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

GDC Game Awards time, and it's Fallout 3 that claims the big prize:

Quote:

The ninth annual Game Developers Choice Awards ceremony on Wednesday had seen UK developer Media Molecule collect the most prizes, yet it was Bethesda Softwork’s Fallout 3 which had won the coveted Game of the Year Award.

As Fallout 3 had already lost out to LittleBigPlanet for the Best Game Design award, Bethesda’s chances were not looking particularly bright. Yet the team managed to see off competition from Media Molecule’s award magnet, along with the BAFTA-winning Fable 2, Valve’s Left 4 Dead and Grand Theft Auto 4.

As well as picking up Game of the Year, the Maryland-based outfit was handed the prize for best writing, going up against the likes of Braid, GTA IV and Metal Gear Solid 4.

LittleBigPlanet had been nominated in seven separate categories and had taken four awards including Best Technology, the Innovation Award, along with Best Debut Game (though the term ‘debut game’ was jokingly scrutinised by the Media Molecule team, who professed that they’d been “doing this shit for twenty years”).

Dead Space once again was praised for its superior audio work, while Prince of Persia took the award for Best Visual Art.

Braid and World of Goo were the leading nominees in the Best Downloadable Game category, yet 2D Boy proved the victor this time round, adding the prize to a mantelpiece already housing a number of deserved awards.

In what is surely a testament to the standard of quality that has surfaced in the last year, Rockstar North has again walked away from an awards ceremony empty-handed. Nominated in the categories of Best Writing, Best Technology and GOTY, the latest edition of Rockstar’s seminal series picked up nothing just weeks after doing the same at the 2009 BAFTA Game Awards.

Full list of winning nominees: for the 9th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards:

Game of the Year
Fallout 3 (Bethesda Softworks)

Best Game Design:
LittleBigPlanet (Media Molecule)

Best Writing:
Fallout 3 (Bethesda Softworks)

Best Technology:
LittleBigPlanet (Media Molecule)

Best Visual Arts:
Prince of Persia (Ubisoft Montreal)

Best Debut Game:
LittleBigPlanet (Media Molecule)

Best Handheld Game:
God Of War: Chains Of Olympus (Ready at Dawn)

Innovation Award:
LittleBigPlanet (Media Molecule)

Best Audio:
Dead Space (EA Redwood Shores)

Best Downloadable Game:
World Of Goo (2D Boy)

[ source ]

I was speaking idiomatically.

Rumour time: it looks like there's rumours floating about the Internets suggesting that Marvel vs Capcom 2 could be heading to the XBLA (and one would assume the PSN too). Could turn out to be nothing, but fingers crossed, because that was an awesome game on the Dreamcast and I'd be down for picking it up again with some online multiplayer action.

Quote:

Xbox360Achievements has just given us a bit more reason to believe that an HD Remix of Marvel vs. Capcom 2 is on the way -- or at least some kind of XBLA version. It's not hard to guess what kind of evidence would be found at that particular site: achievements!

The site has a list of twelve achievements for the frantic crossover fighter, worth 200 points total. Some of the challenges seem super fun, like "Berserker Barrage: Perform a 200 hit combo. (Multiplayer)" and achievements based on creating X-Men, Street Fighter, Darkstalkers, and Avengers-only teams. We just hope, then, that these awesome achievements, and the new version of this awesome game, are real. If Capcom is able to get permission from Marvel for a rerelease, we have renewed hope for its ability to deal with all the Tatsunoko license holders. [OP Note: this list appears to have been removed now]

The retailer ShopTo reportedly provided another item of evidence, in the form of listings for a "Marvel Vs. Capcom Tournament Edition Arcade Stick" for Xbox 360 and PS3, to be released in July. The listing has been removed from the site, and Mad Catz hasn't responded to our inquiries about it.

[ source ]

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by Garr

Bethesda's and Obsidian's sites don't have any news relating to this up yet, so for now, I guess it falls under rumor.

Since Bethesda have apparently just announced this at an event in London (source) then I think this moves from being a rumour to actual news.

Quote:

"It's not a sequel to Fallout 3, it's just another game in the universe, and it has no impact whatsoever on whatever Todd Howard and his team are working on," said Pete Hines.

"We approached Obsidian and they were, like, yeah. That was a pretty easy conversation. It's not Fallout Tactics, it's not Brotherhood of Steel; it's another RPG."

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by Garr

While the announcement of a new game is pretty sweet, when the hell is the Broken Steel DLC supposed to be released?

Seems someone heard you Garr, and you now have your answer to that question: May 5th.

Quote:

So, you've taken part in Operation Anchorage and visited The Pitt and you're still hungry for more Fallout 3 content? Luckily you don't have too much longer to wait for Broken Steel, the third -- and largest -- piece of downloadable content for the game, which will be made available on Xbox Live and PC on May 5.

Not only does Broken Steel add a new main quest line which, at four to five hours, is longer than The Pitt, but it also removes a lot of Fallout 3 fans' major qualms with the game -- the ending. Broken Steel takes place after the original ending of the game, allowing you to continue to explore the world after the main quest line is complete. It also increases the level cap from 20 to 30 and introduces some new high-level perks, armor and weapons.

[ source ]

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Originally Posted by Dark Nation

Now this is only unofficially(?) speculation right now, but I've just come across a couple of telling signs that the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 will soon be graced with the presence of a certain fighting game that takes you for rides:

It's almost like I posted this exact rumour a few days back.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Dark Nation

Well damm, my bad.

No worries, though interesting that the rumour is still floating about. Guess we'll see how it plays out, but no official news has hit yet.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

It's been confirmed, Marvel Vs Capcom 2 is heading to the XBLA and PSN this summer:

Quote:

In what will inevitably go down as the worst kept industry secret in recent years, I’m very happy to finally be able to confirm that Marvel vs. Capcom 2 will be coming to Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network this summer.

The deal took a good while but it’s probably our most requested title to bring back, so Marvel and I and a few other people here at Capcom rolled up our sleeves and got it done. I can’t stress enough, if you ask for something loudly enough and long enough, we’ll work very hard to make it happen.

So while you may have been able to surmise that something was going on with MvC2, we do still have a few surprises up our sleeves.

[ source ]

Follow the link for more information on the feature they're bringing.

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by Qwarky

Trailers and some gameplay. Where are my delicious pixel edges though

I've not seen the trailers (at work), but I'm guessing they're showing off the 'smooth' mode for the sprites. You'll be interested in this bit from the Capcom page I linked above Q:

Quote:

HD upscaling options – Given that most people play Xbox 360s and PS3s on HD TVs, it’s important to help make the game look better. We’ve refined our real-time sprite filtering to use even more advanced techniques and we’re providing two upscaling options for the sprites… one we’ve termed “Crisp” the other we’ve termed “Smooth”. It’s a matter of personal preference for which one you’ll enjoy more. For purists, if you’d like you can use the “Classic” setting, which leaves the sprites completely unfiltered. Because the filtering is applied in real-time, you can change these settings on the fly, mid-match if you choose. Our producer will be showing you some comparison screenshots in the coming days to better clarify the differences. The backgrounds in MvC2 are all 3D, and when rendered at higher resolutions look fantastic. The original textures and assets from the Dreamcast were actually much higher quality than the Dreamcast could really display at the time and when shown in HD, the impact is really quite amazing.

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Ouch. Is that entirely necessary Manny? I mean, I personally plan to pick up SFIV again soon, but have been somewhat distracted with life, illness, work and other games (heaven forbid). At the moment I'm not 100% sure I'll be picking this up as it largely depends on what price they pitch it at.

Q: This entry at Capcom Unity has comparison snaps of Classic and Smoothed filters if you're interested: http://www.capcom-unity.com/jimmyrey...ts_mahvel_baby

I was speaking idiomatically.

Not being funny Manny but you can pretty much get the fuck out with that attitude. I quite frankly feel I've put plenty of time in Street Fighter IV (as I have with most every game I've played) and don't need anyone telling me what I am and aren't allowed to have been excited about.

I get excited about games that look like they'll bring me enjoyable experiences, or those that are remakes/re-release of games I know I have enjoyed before (as is the case with MvC2), and if I buy it I can spend 5 minutes or 5 years playing it for all it matters. Perhaps I should give companies who produce games I don't plough endless hours into the finger and just pirate their games or something, is that your alternative plan? Or because I don't spend the Manny-approved amount of hours with a game do I not deserve to play it at all? Fuck you.

Shin: If I buy this, which I probably will provided they don't charge silly money for it, then I'm down for some muck about fighting with you.

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Originally Posted by Garr

I trust I'll be seeing some of you guys on for this.

Yeah, should be grabbing that. I'm interested to see how the controls handle, and most importantly how well the swinging mechanic has been implemented, since those are the bits that make me question whether or not this will get a purchase. I'm pretty sure Skills is planning to get it too, so with a few more we should be able to set up some private matches (provided the demo supports that).

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by Luxray

Then you obviously need a flash cart.

Yes because naturally the solution to "I've completed all the games I own" is "Well then you need to pirate some games" not "Buy some more". -__-

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Since there's probably a bunch of us who will be chatting about this game more over the next few days I've put up a new thread for BC discussion:

http://www.gamingforce.org/forums/vi...-commando.html

Jam it back in, in the dark.