Weekly Video Game News – 08/19/2011
By Patrick Newman
Gears of War 3 Finished
Cliff Bleszinski, the design director of Epic Games’ Gears of War series, has posted on his Twitter account that the third installment of the popular third-person shooter franchise is now complete. This development comes over a month before the game’s scheduled September 20th release date, and was marked on the Twitter post by a picture of a Gears of War-themed cake to celebrate. Gears of War 3, which will be available in Standard, Limited, and Epic versions, revolves around franchise hero Marcus Fenix’s attempts to protect the helpless survivors of the last human city, which is beset by Locust forces.
More Classics coming to Consoles?
In an interview with CVG, EA Labels president Frank Gibeau claims that his company is in the process of bringing several classic game franchises back for the current crop of consoles and graphics technology. With the aim of coaxing compelling stories from these new properties, as opposed to focusing on the superficial, Gibeau stated that “What we did with Medal of Honor when we brought it back; we looked at going after more modern themes…the war that’s happening now as opposed to a historical war,” Gibeau elaborated. “That was the reason we brought Medal of Honor back.” He went on to explain “We can’t just put them on new tech with the same gameplay from 10 years ago; we’ve got to have something new.” Potential contenders for Gibeau’s brand of re-imagining include Syndicate, Road Rash, Strike, and Wing Commander.
inFamous 2 – Festival of Blood GamesCom 2011 Trailer
[hana-flv-player video=”http://videos.punchdrunkgamer.com/videos/inFamous2_FestivalofBlood-GamesCom2011-Announcement.flv”
width=”500″
height=”430″
description=”inFamous 2 – Festival of Blood”
player=”4″
autoload=”true” autoplay=”false”
loop=”false” autorewind=”true”
/]
GameStop to offer Streaming Games
Within the first half of 2012, GameStop plans to offset its recent losses from the last sales quarter by providing streaming games through Spawn Labs. A closed-door beta version of the system, which is said to encompass PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 games, is already ongoing. According to GameStop president Tony Bartel, “The initial results of the test are positive, and we are on track to broaden our testing in Q4 to a national beta and for a nationwide launch in the first half of 2012. We continue to get positive feedback from our publishing partners about the pro-console, low investment model that we have chosen.”
More Rage Details
A recent interview from Gamasutra has revealed some tantalizing details regarding John Carmack’s long-gestating, technically groundbreaking shooter Rage. Asserting that work on the project is all but finished, Carmack said that “We are at the point now where I’m looking back at the things we could do better and the things we will do better with Rage 2.” Championing his own project as well as the technical reach available to those developing games in today’s market, Carmack went on to say that in many ways, we are approaching sort of the biological limits of what betterness we can display.”
Smooth Criminal The Third
A “Smooth Criminal” edition of the upcoming Saints Row: The Third has finally been detailed by EB Games Australia. In addition to the game itself, the set will include collectible packaging, the game’s official soundtrack, sunglasses, a bullet-shaped ice cube tray, and cuff links. It has not been confirmed whether or not this edition will be sold outside of Australia.
Wipeout on Consoles
Wipeout, the ABC reality show that hinges around impossible obstacle course races and the physical humiliation that comes attached, has been anointed a second time by Activision with a video game adaptation. Versions of Wipeout 2 for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii and handhelds will each have unique attributes tailored to that game’s particular console, and Wipeout show hosts John Henson and John Anderson are both returning for voice-over roles. The game’s tentative release date will be during this year’s holiday season.
NHL 12 – Legends Trailer
[hana-flv-player video=”http://videos.punchdrunkgamer.com/videos/NHL_12_Video_Legends_Trailer.flv”
width=”500″
height=”430″
description=”NHL 12 – Legends Trailer”
player=”4″
autoload=”true” autoplay=”false”
loop=”false” autorewind=”true”
/]
Battlefield 3 vs. Call of Duty
The competition between Electronic Arts’ Battlefield 3 and Activision’s Call of Duty franchise has become heated enough to make the most beef-committed rappers envious, with EA publicly wishing Call of Duty to ‘rot from the core.’ Taking the much more politically savvy higher ground, however, is Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg, who recently announced at this year’s Gamescom that “I’ve been asked countless times to respond to this comment, and I’ve generally chosen not to. My job is to help our incredibly talented, passionate teams to make the best games they can, not to throw insults around at others. But I actually feel this kind of rhetoric is bad for our industry.”
Skyward Sword Release Date
Nintendo has finally set a release date for Zelda: Skyward Sword – For Europe on November 18th, and North America on November 20th – a culmination of over two years of rabid fan anticipation. The game, described by Nintendo as “the biggest game in the series yet,” makes use of Nintendo’s Wii Remote Plus accessory, thereby integrating motion control in complex, nuanced ways that haven’t been attempted before in the medium.
