Most Recent: Xbox 360

Sonic 4 Episode 2 speeds into 2012

Posted on August 25, 2011 by Chris Urie

It seems like it has been forever since Sonic The Hedgehog 4: Episode I was released back in October 2010. But after Sega West CEO Mike Hayes confirmed that Episode II is still in production, it looks like we’ll all have to wait a little bit longer before we can play as our favorite blue hedgehog with a turbocharger. Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II actually isn’t slated to be released until sometime in 2012.

“This year, 2011, is the anniversary, so we’re focusing on the celebration title,” Sonic Team’s Takashi Iikuza said to Eurogamer, “But moving forward to 2012, Sonic will still be going, so I’d hope to provide Episode 2 then.”

Excuse me Sega, isn’t the whole idea of episodic gaming supposed to be to release multiple small games with shorter development times? Looks like Sega has been palling around with Valve a little too much lately. Has anyone seen Gordon Freeman?

Posted in News, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360 | Tagged

XBLA Today: Street Fighter III, Hole in the Wall, Crazy Machines Elements

Posted on August 24, 2011 by John Scalzo

The Summer of Arcade may be over, but Microsoft still has plenty of games in the cooler to make the Xbox Live Arcade the place to be in the last few weeks of August.

Capcom’s Street Fighter III: Third Strike Online Edition leads this week’s trio of new games. Including online play (of course), leaderboards and high definition graphics, the third Street Fighter game is ready for its XBLA debut. Fight!

Also available this week is Hole in the Wall, a Kinect-ified rendition of the physical game show and Crazy Machines Elements, an HD-entry in the popular puzzle series.

Street Fighter III has been priced at 1200 Microsoft Points ($15) while Hole in the Wall and Crazy Machines can be both be had for 800 Microsoft Points ($10).

More information on all three games can be found at Major Nelson’s blog.

Posted in News, Xbox 360 | Tagged

This is not the release date you’re looking for: Kinect Star Wars, R2-D2 360 bundle delayed

Posted on August 24, 2011 by John Scalzo

A Microsoft spokesman has told OXM UK that Kinect Star Wars and the R2-D2 Xbox 360 bundle will no longer be released by the end of the year. No new release date was revealed, but presumably the game will be jump to lightspeed store shelves in 2012.

No Bothans died to bring us this information, but the spokesman did say that the delay is necessary to make sure Kinect Star Wars lives up to its full potential:

“Microsoft and LucasArts have elected to move the launch of Kinect Star Wars beyond holiday 2011 to ensure the full potential of this title is realized. This move applies to both the Kinect Star Wars stand-alone game and the Kinect Star Wars Limited Edition Console. We will communicate additional timing information at a later date.”

This is disappointing news for Star Wars fans everywhere, so please remember, no disintegrations.

Posted in News, Xbox 360 | Tagged

Kanye West headlining Call of Duty XP

Posted on August 24, 2011 by John Scalzo

Kanye West, whose duet with Jay-Z (Watch the Throne) is this week’s #1 album, will also perform the closing concert at next month’s Call of Duty XP event.

“We’re pulling out all the stops,” said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing. “We promised our attendees and fans around the world a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the first Call of Duty XP, so we’re thrilled to have Kanye on board. Everything about XP will be as epic as the games themselves. Whether you’re competing for one of the open slots in the $1 million [Black Ops] tournament, playing Modern Warfare 3 for the first time, dodging paintballs in a spectacular life-size recreation of Modern Warfare 2‘s Scrapyard level or just mingling with developers and fellow gamers, Call of Duty XP is a celebration of one of the greatest games in the world. So what better way to top it off with one of the greatest artists in the world?”

Is it too late to drop an “I’mma let you finish” in the middle of Hirshberg’s comments? Call of Duty XP will held on September 2nd and 3rd in Los Angeles. Tickets are still available at CallofDuty.com/xp/tickets.

Posted in Etcetera, News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360 | Tagged , ,

Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection koming to PC, PSN, XBLA on August 31

Posted on August 23, 2011 by John Scalzo

Take a trip back to the 90s next week as WB Games has announced Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection will be available on on August 31. The PC, PSN and Xbox 360 download will kompile the original Mortal Kombat trilogy (Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat II and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3) into a single package for the first time.

The Kollection was ported to the current crop of consoles by Other Ocean. It promises to be the most komplete Mortal Kombat experience including online play, leaderboards and Achievements/Trophies all based on the original arcade games.

Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection has been priced at a very wallet-friendly price of 25 quarters AKA $9.99 on the PC/PSN AKA 800 Microsoft Points.

Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360 | Tagged

Clever girl… Jurassic Park sneaks into stores on November 15

Posted on August 22, 2011 by John Scalzo

Did that headline conjur images of a pack of Raptors silently circling Muldoon in the aisles of your local game store? I hope it did.

Anyway, Telltale Games has told the tale of Jurassic Park‘s release date to IGN. The game will be released on November 15 as a retail game disc for the Xbox 360 and as downloadable episodes on the PC and PS3. The entire game will be on the Xbox 360 disc and all episodes will be able to be downloaded at once on the PC and PS3. That means it’s not really an “episodic” game, but whatever.

An iPad version is also in the works, but Telltale was not ready to discuss a release date for it just yet.

Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360 | Tagged

Microsoft showing Sonic CD at PAX Prime

Posted on August 22, 2011 by John Scalzo

Now this is an awesome surprise. Microsoft’s Major Nelson laid out the company’s PAX Prime lineup in a post on his blog. Mixed in among other Xbox Live Arcade titles like Trials Evolution, Crimson Alliance and Orcs Must Die is an XBLA port of Sonic CD.

Sonic’s Sega CD adventure was last made available through the GameCube-exclusive Sonic Gems Collection (OK, it was on the PS2 too if you lived in Europe). It’s inclusion on the Xbox Live Arcade is a bit of a no-brainder as Sonic 1, Sonic 2, Sonic 3, Sonic 4: Episode 1, Sonic & Knuckles and Sonic Adventure are all already downloadable from the service.

Sega has yet to formally announce Sonic CD for the XBLA, so this could be a mistake, but it sounds pretty legit to me.

Posted in News, Xbox 360 | Tagged ,

Duke Nukem Begins, Fable IV rumored, even though both have already been announced

Posted on August 22, 2011 by John Scalzo

Who wants some?

The October 2011 issue of Official Xbox Magazine (via CVG) is spreading the rumor that Fable IV and Duke Nukem Begins are in the works at, respectively, Lionhead and Gearbox. Awesome news for fans of those franchises, but neither game is actually rumored to be in development, they’ve already been confirmed by the creators themselves.

According to OXM, Fable IV will appear in 2013 with a “proper, controller-based” game. But series creator Peter Molyneux already confirmed a “proper” Fable sequel back in March. Another Fable title, the Kinect-powered Fable: The Journey was announced at E3 and will be released in 2012.

Duke Nukem Begins has an even stranger saga. OXM relays the rumor that Gearbox will reboot the Duke Nukem franchise after they complete Aliens: Colonial Marines. But the game, then known as Duke Begins, was first revealed in a court filing when Duke Nukem Forever developer 3D Realms sued Take-Two. According to the court filing, the game was canceled, but Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick and Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford have both confirmed more Duke Nukem games are on the way. So why not start with the already begun Duke Nukem Begins?

Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360 | Tagged ,