Most Recent: News

Insomniac reveals Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault for PSN

Posted on May 31, 2012 by Andrew Rainnie

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Lombax mechanic Ratchet and his sentient robot sidekick Clank later this year, Insomniac Games are currently retooling three PS2 games from the series for an HD re-release. The Ratchet & Clank Collection (or Ratchet & Clank Trilogy as it is known in PAL territories) will feature, the original Ratchet & Clank, as well as its two sequels, Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando and Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal.

In addition to all this though, Insomniac have heeded their fans’ wishes and created a brand new adventure featuring the galaxy-saving duo, Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault, exclusive to the PlayStation Network.

“Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault is a fun-sized Ratchet adventure which will be available for download exclusively on the PlayStation Store. We’ve returned to the series’ classic feel, camera, controls and weapons, while innovating and giving you a whole new way to play,” said Ted Price, CEO of Insomniac Games.

Since Insomniac likes to rename everything for the European market, the game will be known there as the rather more trite and non-suggestive Ratchet & Clank: Q-Force. While discussing the announcement, Insomniac Community Manager James Stevenson stated that the new title would be “closer to Quest for Booty than A Crack in Time,” and also that there would be a region-free physical edition release in Europe as well as the digital download.

[Source: PlayStation Blog]

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Guardians of Middle-Earth coming to PSN, XBLA this Fall

Posted on May 31, 2012 by Andrew Rainnie

To tie-in with Peter Jackson’s upcoming film The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment has announced plans for a new multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game set within the Tolkien universe. In development at Monolith Productions, Guardians of Middle-Earth will be available this Fall, ahead of the film’s December 14, 2012 opening.

According to Samantha Ryan, Senior Vice President of Production and Development at WBIE, the company hopes that the downloadable title for both Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network will recreate the success of MOBAs on PC, such as DOTA and League of Legends, in the console market: “The MOBA genre is wildly popular with PC players and we are excited to bring it to consoles through the lore of Middle-Earth. The heroes and villains of Middle-Earth are crafted in a way that perfectly intersects with MOBA game features, allowing the development team to create guardians with deep skills and abilities for gamers to master.”

The game will feature five versus five engagements, either with 10 live players or with AI combatants, as well as standard MOBA traits such as voice-chat and in-game currency. Although there will initially be 20 characters to choose from, including Gandalf the Grey, Sauron, Gollum and Thrain II, father to Thorin, more will be added as the release date of the film draws nearer.

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Outgoing THQ President talks Insane, Saints Row 4, more

Posted on May 31, 2012 by John Scalzo

Danny Bilson, THQ’s (now former) Executive Vice President of Core Games, has always been a little too talkative with the media. He admits as much in a recent interview with Eurogamer, his final one as a representative of THQ. Bilson also talked extensively about the company’s plans for 2013 (and beyond) and what the future holds for games like Insane, Saints Row 4, Devil’s Third, their unnamed shooter from Turtle Rock, and more.

Hit the jump for some of the highlights. (more…)

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Troubled THQ calls in ex-Naughty Dog Jason Rubin for President

Posted on May 30, 2012 by Andrew Rainnie

Despite rumours of game cancellations and fighting off a potential NASDAQ delisting, Darksiders-developer THQ appears defiant as they continue to shift their focus away from licensed games towards wholly-owned AAA core titles. While there was a collective intake of breath when it was recently announced Danny Bilson, Executive Vice President of Core Games, would be leaving along with Core Studios Senior Vice President David Davis, THQ has temporarily silenced critics by hiring Jason Rubin, co-founder of Naughty Dog, as their new President.

Brian Farrell, who will remain as THQ Chairman and CEO during the reshuffle, sang Rubin’s praises: “Jason’s proven track record in the industry speaks for itself, and he is one of the brightest minds in the business. We believe he can be a game changer and can contribute immensely to executing on our strategy of delivering quality connected core game experiences.”

Rubin, co-creator and director of PlayStation titles such as Crash Bandicoot and Jax & Daxter, left Naughty Dog in 2004, three years after the developer was acquired by Sony. He then went on to co-create media mash-up tool Flektor along with Jason Kay, who has also been snapped up by THQ. Kay, having worked for Activision and HBO in an advisory capacity, has been appointed to the role of Chief Strategy Officer.

While these key appointments are unlikely to help solve THQ’s immediate problems on the stock exchange, it does signal that the company will continue its shift into a core games market. Coupled with Rubin’s expertise in creating and maintaining new IPs, THQ’s releases from 2013 onwards will hopefully have some of the magic that sparkled in Naughty Dog’s early hits.

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NBA 2K13 slams it home on October 2; tips off at Wii U launch too

Posted on May 30, 2012 by John Scalzo

It’s bad luck to change anything in the middle of a hot streak. Your favorite headband, your driving route to the court, even your underwear. It all has to stay the same. Every athlete knows this.

It looks like the people at 2K Sports are a superstitious bunch as well. Just as they’ve done every year since 2007, the publisher plans to release NBA 2K13 for the PC, PS3, PSP, Wii, and Xbox 360 during the first week of October (October 2 to be exact). A Wii U version is also in development and will ship during the “holiday season.”

NBA 2K13 is, as always, in development at Visual Concepts. This year, the developer plans to include a new downloadable NBA All-Star content package with every pre-order of the game. Buying early on the PS3 and Xbox 360 will net fans a trio of star-studded bonuses:

[The NBA All-Star] add-on content will be set in Houston, the site of the 2013 NBA All-Star Game and will allow fans to stage their own NBA All-Star Game, including three NBA All-Star events – the Foot Locker Three Point Shootout, BBVA Rising Stars Challenge, and the Sprite Slam Dunk Contest featuring all-new intuitive, pick-up-and-play controls.

Gamers can pit the NBA’s current superstars against classic players in both the Foot Locker Three Point Shootout and Sprite Slam Dunk Contest. Rosters for both the BBVA Rising Stars Challenge and 2013 NBA All-Star Game will feature the 2012 All-Stars, with dynamic updates to the 2013 rosters once the participants are announced.

“The NBA All-Star package is our way saying ‘thank you’ to fans for their ongoing love of the NBA 2K series,” said Jason Argent, Vice President of Marketing for 2K Sports. “This content provides a ton of depth and value to our fans, and it’s just the beginning of a lot of big news about NBA 2K13.”

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Square Enix’s E3 2012 lineup features Tomb Raider, Hitman, Sleeping Dogs, a lot more

Posted on May 30, 2012 by John Scalzo

Square Enix is using this year’s E3 Expo to show off all the shiny new toys it acquired from Eidos and Activision over the last few years.

Those toys include the rebooted Tomb Raider; Hitman: Absolution, Agent 47’s next mission; and Sleeping Dogs, the Activision open-world game that was previously known as True Crime: Hong Kong.

Also on hand will be a slew of handheld titles (correction… 3DS titles) including Theatrhythm Final Fantasy, Heroes of Ruin, and Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance. A new Final Fantasy game for iOS and Android, Final Fantasy Dimensions, will also make its debut at this year’s big show.

Finally, the publisher plans to showcase Quantum Conundrum, one of my favorite games from PAX East.

Hit the jump for Square Enix’s complete E3 lineup. (more…)

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XBLA Today: Mad Riders, Golden Axe, Streets of Rage

Posted on May 30, 2012 by John Scalzo

It’s Wednesday and three new games have been added to the Xbox Live Arcade today. The lone new title this week is Mad Riders, an off-road racer from Dead Island developer Techland. It’s been priced at 800 Microsoft Points ($10) and promises 45 “stunning” tracks:

Mad Riders is an adrenaline-fueled off-road arcade racing game, that will let you perform amazing aerial stunts and race on over 45 stunning tracks from all over the world, at breathtaking speeds.

Also available this week are two Sega collections from the Genesis era: the Golden Axe Collection and the Streets of Rage Collection. Both compilations also carry a price of 800 Microsoft Points ($10) each.

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Doom 3: BFG Edition coming to PC, PS3, Xbox 360

Posted on May 30, 2012 by John Scalzo

While the development of Doom 4 continues to be ignored by Bethesda, the publisher has announced that id Software plans to go backward before they go forward with Doom 3: BFG Edition. The remastered game will be available for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 this Fall.

The BFG Edition brings together almost every piece of Doom content every released by id including Doom 3, the Resurrection of Evil expansion, and a new set of levels known as “The Lost Mission.” The collection also includes Doom and Doom II: Hell on Earth in their original hellish glory.

You could easily call the BFG Edition the ultimate edition of Doom 3 as it’ll also include “support for 3D TVs, 5.1 surround sound, improved rendering and lighting, Achievements, Trophies, and a new check point save system.” According to Bethesda, the controls have been fine-tuned to make Doom 3 a better experience on consoles. And for PC gamers, Carmack is promising that the DFG Edition will be compatible with “head-mounted displays.”

As part of that fine-tuning process, id is also adding an “armor-mounted flashlight” so players can wield a gun and shine a flashlight at the same time. It only took about a decade.

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