Most Recent: Xbox 360

WWE ’13 enters the retail ring on October 30

WWE Champion CM Punk officially announced WWE ’13 on Monday Night Raw last night and confirmed that he’ll be appearing on the cover of the game. The game, which will be available in stores on October 30, will once again be published by THQ for the PS3, Wii, and Xbox 360.

More “official” details will be released later today, but you can check out the game’s debut trailer (in “leaked” form) after the break right now.

The trailer features the first gameplay footage of WWE ’13 and gives us a rundown of the initial batch of playable wrestlers including CM Punk, Chris Jericho, Big Show, Mark Henry, The Undertaker, and Sheamus. There’s also a quick look at a pair of WWE Legends: “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and Mankind. (more…)

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Square Enix won’t let Sleeping Dogs lie with this new trailer

Square Enix and United Front Games have released an extensive new trailer detailing the ins and outs of their Hong Kong-based sandbox thriller, Sleeping Dogs. While the game, formerly know as True Crime: Hong Kong, has undergone a name change due to being dropped by its initial publisher, Activision, it is in every way a spiritual successor to the True Crime franchise. The game promises a blend of open-world sandbox missions mixed with RPG elements, with a heavy focus on a deep, involving storyline and the emotional choices the main character must face.

“You get to play as undercover cop Wei Shen. His mission: infiltrate the Sun on Yee and bring them down. Wei’s loyalties will be tested to the limit, torn by the Triad’s code of honour and his duty to the badge. He is trapped in a spiral of deceit and paranoia.”

Featuring the most advanced combat system in an open-world game that may supersede Batman: Arkham Asylum, as well as a free running element akin to the Assassin’s Creed games, Sleeping Dogs is currently due for release in North America on August 14th, Australia on August 16th, and in Europe on August 17th.

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Western release date for Anarchy Reigns in limbo

Platinum Games, the developers behind Bayonetta and Vanquish, have released a statement on their blog about the North American and European release of their anticipated online multiplayer brawler, Anarchy Reigns.

“Sega has decided to change the date to TBC. While our work on the game is finished, localized, and ready to go, as publisher, Sega gets to make the final decision as to when it is released. The Japanese release date, however, remains unchanged for July 5, 2012.”

Reading between the lines, it feels as if there are many at Platinum who are not too happy with this decision. On a video blog, a representative from the developer expanded on the original post:

“That means ‘to be confirmed’, not ‘to be cancelled’. We worked really hard to make sure everybody could get the game on time. The game is fully localized. If you buy the Japanese version or any version, it’s going to have all the languages in it. We really wanted everybody online around the world to play together at the same time, but unfortunately that’s not going to happen… We’re still 100 percent behind the game and we still want to connect with you and play with you and have a good time. So let’s make sure that happens no matter what bad news we get.”

With Platinum essentially pushing people to buy an imported version, and the admission of impending bad news from their own blog, could mean that they fully expect TBC to mean “to be cancelled” after all. This, coupled with those pesky rumours that Sega has already cancelled Bayonetta 2, will undoubtedly lead to speculation that the partnership between Platinum and Sega is also about to be terminated.

[Source: Platinum Games]

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Sega monkeying around in Ron Gilbert’s The Cave

Sega has announced they will be publishing Double Fine’s The Cave, an adventure game from the mind of Monkey Island creator Ron Gilbert, for digital download on consoles and PC in early 2013.

With the usual brand of humour associated with Gilbert and Double Fine’s Tim Schafer, the game has been described as “an adventure game so odd and compelling that it can only be described as odd and compelling.”

“The concept of The Cave has been bouncing around in my head for many, many years, and then the little voices that tell me to do things said it was time to make the game,” explained Ron Gilbert. The game itself is said to utilise concepts from Gilbert’s own 1987 classic, Maniac Mansion, with the player able to select three of seven playable characters, including a knight, a monk, a pair of street urchins, a time traveller and a hillbilly, to enter the magical talking titular Cave. Each character will have their own personality and traits used to solve the puzzles found within.

A playable version of The Cave will more than likely make an appearance at next month’s E3 Expo.

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Temporary Resident Evil 6 box art becomes official

When Capcom first announced Resident Evil 6, they also revealed some temporary box art featuring the game’s logo. On Friday, that temporary art (which you can see to your left) officially became the game’s official box art.

It’s a little plain, but umm, sure, why not? After all, anything is better than the absolutely terrible GameCube box art for Resident Evil 4.

Resident Evil 6 will be available for the PS3 and Xbox 360 on October 2 with a PC version to follow soon after.

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New Releases: Resistance Burning Skies, Max Payne 3, Batman Arkham City GOTY, More

We close out the month of May with a trio of big new releases and the re-release of one of 2011’s best games.

This week, Sony brings the fight against the Chimera to the Vita in Resistance: Burning Skies. Also this week, Rockstar brings Max Payne 3 to the PC after a successful PS3/Xbox 360 debut. Finally, NIS America will be releasing the latest Atelier game on the PS3, Atelier Meruru: The Apprentice of Arland.

And that re-release is none other than Batman: Arkham City Game of the Year Edition, which includes all of the released DLC, including “Harley Quinn’s Revenge.”

More new releases can be found after the break. (more…)

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Jet Set Radio skates to Vita and E3 2012

Sega confirmed today that an updated version of Jet Set Radio, the rollerblading Dreamcast classic, will be available on th Vita, as well as the Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, and PC this summer. Also, it will be playable at E3 2012.

This version of Jet Set Radio will feature upgraded HD visuals, but keep the original soundtrack, which will come as a relief to fans of the series. The Vita version promises enhanced interaction with the environments in the game, making use of the system’s touch functionality and camera for activities like spraying graffiti.

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38 Studios, Big Huge Games shutting down

38 Studios (and their subsidiary, Big Huge Games) have laid off their entire staff and are effectively shutting down, just a week after declaring that Project Copernicus, their Amalur MMO, would ship in June 2013.

The company sent the following email to all 379 members of the staff, informing them of the lay off:

The Company is experiencing an economic downturn. To avoid further losses and possibility of retrenchment, the Company has decided that a companywide lay off is absolutely necessary. These layoffs are non-voluntary and non-disciplinary.

This is your official notice of lay off, effective today, Thursday, May 24th, 2012.

The death of 38 is being laid at the feet of a $75 million loan the company received from the state of Rhode Island to develop Copernicus. As of last week, 38 was up-to-date on their loan payments, but they reportedly haven’t made payroll since May 1. The underperformance of their most recent (and only) game, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, also aggravated the situation. The developer sold about 1.2 million copies of Amalur, an astonishing number for a brand-new franchise, but it needed three million in sales to break even.

Company founder, and former Major League pitcher, Curt Schilling later told his followers on Facebook, “38 isn’t dead yet.”

[Source: WPRI]

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