Most Recent: PS3

WB teases Mr. Freeze story DLC for Batman: Arkham Origins

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As promised, WB Games made a “big announcement” concerning Batman: Arkham Origins. As we were all ringing in the new year with parties and playtime, WB Games had a different kind of party in mind: Gotham City’s Humanitarian of the Year Awards.

The gala event will be held at Wayne Manor and will serve as the setting for a story-based downloadable expansion to Arkham Origins planned for release this year. A post on the Batman: Arkham Facebook page confirms that the party will have an ice theme, which likely means an appearance by Mr. Freeze. Further evidence can be found in Batman: The Animated Series, which set the first battle between Batman and Mr. Freeze at the Humanitarian of the Year Awards.

WB Games has promised that more details will be revealed soon.

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Check out this new Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMix trailer

Square Enix has released a new trailer showcasing some of the high points from their upcoming compilation Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMix.

Scheduled for release in 2014, exclusively for the PS3, the 2.5 ReMix will include the “Final Mix” editions of Kingdom Hearts II and Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep. These special versions of the games were previously only available in Japan, so even if you’ve played through the entire Kingdom Hearts series, there’ll be something new to see in the 2.5 ReMix. Remastered high definition cinematics from Kingdom Hearts: Re:Coded will also be included in the compilation.

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Namco Bandai has released the first Tales of Zestiria trailer

It’s in Japanese, but here’s the first trailer for Tales of Zestiria, which should make its PS3 debut (in all regions) in 2015.

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Nordic Games will release MX vs ATV: Supercross in 2014

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Nordic Games has finally begun to do something with all those franchises they acquired from THQ. The Austrian publisher has announced that they will release MX vs ATV: Supercross in the first half of 2014 for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360. The game will be developed by a dedicated team made up of many former members of original MX vs ATV developer Rainbow Studios/THQ Digital Phoenix.

Ken George, the Executive Producer of MX vs ATV Supercross, is thrilled about his lead role in resurrecting the series: “We’re absolutely thrilled to be working with Nordic Games because they appreciate the team’s passion and dedication to bring the feel of real motocross racing to MX vs ATV fans. Not just the adrenaline rush, but the whole experience from top to bottom. A lot of the original team members have been aching to continue their passion: building the most authentic off-road racing games possible. The hiatus is over, and the team is back to work on MX vs ATV with great new things to come.”

George’s team will also oversee the online maintenance of MX vs ATV Alive and MX vs ATV Reflex and plan to restore online play soon.

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Techland shows off 10 minutes of gameplay from Dying Light

Techland, the company behind the Dead Island series, has released a 10-minute video (well, nine minutes and 29 seconds, to be precise) showcasing its upcoming multiplatform survival horror title, Dying Light. The clip offers an example of night-time gameplay, as the main character Antoine runs a mission for the encampment he is part of, racing against the setting sun to activate various power relays scattered around the city. The character rigs up a number of traps along the way, including an electric fence and a car bomb.

Not straying too far from their zombie roots, Dying Light’s monsters change demeanor between day and night, from stumbling, easy to kill zombies to bloodthirsty, adrenalin-fuelled psycho killers. As the video illustrates, once the sun sets, things go a little bit crazy.

As first impressions go, Dying Light certainly looks to redeem some of Techland’s credibility after the fun, but deeply flawed, Dead Island series. Dying Light will be released for the PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One in 2014.

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EA describes Battlefield 4 lawsuit as “meritless”

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Beleaguered uber-publisher Electronic Arts has hit back against claims contained in a series of lawsuits that are currently being explored by multiple law firms including Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd and Holzer Holzer & Fistel on behalf of the company’s investors. EA’s official response, delivered to Polygon by a spokesperson for the company, is that these lawsuits are frivolous:

“We believe these claims are meritless. We intend to aggressively defend ourselves, and we’re confident the court will dismiss the complaint in due course.”

However, there may be more merit than EA is letting on, especially given the fact that Robbins Geller is the same law firm that took on the Enron class action lawsuit. Their lawsuit accuses EA executives of being able to sell “artificially inflated” shares prior to the release of Battlefield 4 due to releasing “materially false and misleading statements highlighting the purported strength” of the game. In other words, the lawsuit is claiming that EA executives were aware of the defective state of Battlefield 4 and purposely raised expectations surrounding its release to inflate share prices.

The law firm has until February to find someone brave enough to stand as the lead plaintiff in the case. If they do, and the case goes to court, it may set a precedent that prevents developers and publishers from releasing products with game-breaking bugs. But there’s also the long-standing concept of “caveat emptor” (or “buyer beware”) to consider. A ruling against EA in this case would likely make it open season on content creators.

UPDATE: A third law firm, Brower Piven, has announced plans to challenge EA is court over their Battlefield 4 statements.

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Call of Duty: Ghosts getting four map packs and a season pass… surprised?

Activision has just announced that Call of Duty: Ghosts will receive four post-launch map packs (Onslaught, Devastation, Invasion, and Nemesis). Each pack will be priced at $14.99 apiece, with a $49.99 Season Pass also available. None of this should really be news. The last three or four CoD games got the same treatment.

Each map pack will include a new set of multiplayer maps, bonus weapons, and an “Extinction” scenario. Each “Extinction” scenario will build on the one before it to create what Activision is calling “an episodic Extinction experience.”

If you decide to spring for the Season Pass, you’ll receive access to the “Free Fall” multiplayer map as well as unique “Team Leader” in-game content: MP Character Head, Weapon Camo, Reticle, Player Patch, Player Card, and a Player Background.

The first map pack, Onslaught, will be released sometime in 2014 with the rest to follow.

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Skullgirls to be removed from PSN/XBLA; will return as Skullgirls Encore in 2014

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Looks like it’s back to the drawing board (albeit temporarily) for Skullgirls. The gorgeous, hand-drawn 2D fighter is being taken off Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Steam marketplaces in order to make room for a revamped version, titled Skullgirls Encore.

The original title will be erased from existence on December 31st, and re-painted in January 2014. Those of you who purchased the original title, fear not: you will be able to download the the title as a simple update to the current version. But act quickly – those of us who download the enhanced version will be privy to a free character and color pack. These freebies will only be available for a limited time, so I have an “inkling” that you should act fast.

OK, that’s all the drawing puns I can think of. The full details on the delisting/re-release can be at Lab Zero’s website.

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