As Christmas winds away and we start finishing our glut of Fall games it slowly becomes time to hear more about all of those games promised for “early 2012” or “Spring 2012.” The first of these is Devil May Cry HD Collection. Collecting Devil May Cry, Devil May Cry 2, and Devil May Cry 3: Dante’s Awakening Special Edition with bonus content for only $40, this bundle has finally gotten a street date. Capcom has announced this collection will be available April 3, 2012. My only response to that is Dante’s going to have to wait. Mass Effect 3 will still be permanently jammed into my console at that time.
Speaking of Capcom, they’ve decided not to sit back and watch all of the digital sales happening for the end of the year and get in on it themselves. Now through January 10th you should definitely be taking advantage of the Capcom PSN Holiday Super Sale. There are some serious gems in here for up to 50% off. Check the Capcom blog for the full listing, but here’s a few I highly recommend: Bionic Commando: Rearmed for $4.99 (Rearmed 2 is also good and on sale, but the first is better), and Super Puzzle Fighter II HD for $4.99. Seriously, Puzzle Fighter. Buy that game!!! This is probably the best jewel/brick dropping puzze game ever made. Yeah, I said it. It’s better than Tetris and Dr. Mario. Buy that one and hit me up on PSN; I’ll re-teach you the definition of n00b.
Despite Australia’s newest game rating, allowing a category for an 18+ age group, they’re still busy banning games. Actually, Syndicate is the first ban I’ve seen since legislation for the new rating passed. The rating is not actually available yet, leaving the highest rating as MA15+. However, reading their decision on the game, I would speculate the title may be unavailable even with the higher rating possibilities. According to the classification board:
“The game contains violence that is high in impact and is therefore unsuitable for persons aged 18 years to play. Combatants take locational damage and can be explicitly dismembered, decapitated, or bisected by the force of the gunfire. The depictions are accompanied by copious bloodspray and injuries are shown realistically and with detail. Flesh and bone are often exposed while arterial sprays of blood continue to spirt [sic] from wounds at regular intervals.”
I think the key line here is “unsuitable for persons aged 18 years to play.” They’re essentially saying the game is so violent that it would be detrimental to the psyche of a responsible adult to play the game. Frankly, the game sounds a bit disgusting and probably isn’t something I would even be interested in playing. Despite that, I’m glad I live in the United States where an outright ban by the government isn’t likely to happen. Whether consumers refuse to buy it, or retailers refuse to carry it, at least the game would be available to those who are willing to seek it out.
We all knew Modern Warfare 3 would be getting ample DLC, and we also knew the Elite subscribers would be getting it first (and free). What we finally have now is a date for the first add-on, January 24th, 2012. That date is only for XBox 360 players, of course. Microsoft has the timed exclusive on the DLC, meaning PS3 owners won’t be downloading the extra content until the end of February at least. And, while we don’t know exactly what is coming, they have released one teaser shot they’re calling “Park.” I’m assuming this is part of a new map set in an urban area with an open park segment.
When I first heard EA was rebooting the SSX franchise I cringed. As I’ve heard more about it I’ve gotten a little more excited. It became obvious to me just how much my optimism for the game has changed when I saw it was delayed and felt disappointed. I expect delays for most games, so it’s rare for me to let out a little moan and a frown when I hear that one is getting pushed back for two weeks for a “final bit of polish.” Getting shifted from Febraury 14th to February 28th isn’t bad. And, to hear Todd Batty (Creative Director) tell it, it will be worth the wait. According to Batty, they “recently decided to take a couple of extra weeks to give our game the final bit of polish we think it deserves. Over the course of more than 10 years of making games I have not worked on a single project where our team did not wish, coming down the home stretch, that we could have just a bit more time. Time to do all the little things that may not be noticeable during the first hour or two playing the game, but are appreciated over the course of days, weeks, months and beyond…. SSX was one of the games that always took the time to do exactly that. There is a reason why Tricky and SSX3 are still among the highest rated games of all time, and it is because even playing them today they still stand the test of time. Our goal from Day 1 was to re-launch this amazing franchise with a new SSX game that could live up to that legacy.” Since I tend to agree with him about Tricky and SSX3 I’m willing to sit out the extra two weeks. But can they at least tease me with some of the soundtrack (one of the highlights of the series) while I wait.
At long last Square Enix has announced Kingdom Hearts 3D [Dream Drop Distance], the next entry in the popular franchise. As you’d expect with the title, the game is exclusive to the Nintendo 3DS. Players will take on the roles of both Riku and Sora as Yen Sid and King Mickey send them to the Sleeping Worlds for their final exam. Completing this task will make them Keyblade Masters, setting up the franchise’s story for its final battle. Square Enix promises new Disney worlds we haven’t seen in the franchise, including La Cité des Cloches (The Hunchback of Notre Dame). The title is scheduled for 2012, with a final date yet to be announced.
Square Enix has also announced an extra piece of planned DLC for Final Fantasy XIII-2. Azrael is a bow weapon exclusive to XBox 360 and usable in-game only by Serah. The weapon will be 80 Microsoft points on January 31st and will still need to be bought in game from Chocolina the Merchant in Episode 2. When equipped, your Chain Bonus will be enhanced.
Sony has officially announced the North American launch lineup for the Playstation Vita in February. Here’s the list (games marked with a * are PSN only, if no publisher is listed the game is first-party):
- Army Corps of Hell (Square Enix)
- Asphalt Injection (Ubisoft)
- Ben 10 Galactic Racing (D3)
- Blazblue: Continuum Shift EXTEND (Aksys)
- Dungeon Hunter Alliance (Ubisoft)
- Dynasty Warriors Next (Tecmo Koei)
- Escape Plan*
- F1 2011 (Codemasters)
- FIFA Soccer (EA)
- Hot Shots Golf:World Invitational*
- Hustle Kings
- Little Deviants
- Lumines Electronic Symphony (Ubisoft)
- The Michael Jackson Experience (Ubisoft)
- ModNation Racers: Road Trip
- Plants vs. Zombies* (SOE)
- Rayman Origins (Ubisoft)
- Shinobido 2: Revenge of Zen (Namco Bandai)
- Super StarDust Delta*
- Tales of Space: Mutant Blobs Only* (Drinkbox)
- Touch My Katamari (Namco Bandai)
- Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (Capcom)
- Uncharted: Golden Abyss
- Virtua Tennis 4 World Tour Edition (SEGA)
- Wipeout 2048
Included with this announcement were four “launch window” games as well. Gravity Rush, MLB 12 The Show, Reality Fighters, and Unit 13. Games for the system are currently listed at $9.99 to $49.99. John Koller, Director of Hardware Marketing for Sony, calls this “the biggest and best lineup we’ve ever launched across the history of PlayStation platforms.” With over 20 games at launch and more than 100 in development, he’s probably right. But will it be enough? The portable market is suffering, the unit’s cost is higher than expected, proprietary memory cards are expensive, and with games running up to $50 for top shelf titles the system has a few hurdles ahead of it. Personally, I’m not buying day one. I’ll wait six months or a year for the newer model to release and drop in price about 25%. That’ll also be about the right time to start picking up used games for a reasonable price, as well as having a quick turnaround on them through Gamefly.
Since that’s the end of the news, allow me to wish you all a Merry Christmas (or other holiday of your choosing). Please be safe and enjoy your holiday. Here’s hoping you get all of the games you desire, and give as much joy as you’ll feel.