Monthly Archives: October 2011

Little drops can turn into a flood. Julie Horup explains why the industry’s growing acceptance of queer themes is more than niche appeal.

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SEGA has announced it’s partnered with Arkedo Studio, best known for Nervous Brickdown and Big Bang Mini, on Project Hell Yeah! which has been in development at the Paris-based studio for nine months. Starting today, the Arkedo blog will be updated regularly with information about the game’s development, and stories from the studio. Not much is known at present regarding the title, other than it will contain a dead rabbit of sorts, and all sizes of monsters “you will beat the shit out.” Color us interested. Follow along with the development through the link. Platforms were not mentioned in the press release, but if past releases from the firm are any indication, it could be an XBLA title or even for DS. We’ll find out soon enough, we reckon.

Activision has released the launch trailer for GoldenEye 007: Reloaded. The game, originally released on Wii and revamped for 360 and PS3, will include separate Mi6 Ops Missions spanning the varied environments from the story. Each will also contain challenges for players to complete suing Assault, Elimination, Stealth and Defense objectives. The game also includes four-player split-screen and 16-player online matches with more maps, weapons, characters and game modes than the previous outing. The game lands in stores next week.

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It’s Halloween weekend, and some spooky and not so spooky shorts are posted below.

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During EA’s Q2 call to investors last night, games label boss Frank Gibeau assured investors that while Battlefield 3 had seen “unprecedented and historic peaks” which causes a few issues on its game servers, the same thing won’t happen when Star Wars: The Old Republic is released in December.

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Bethesda has released the first podcast for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and in it, Todd Howard discusses with concept artists Ray Lederer and Adam Adamowicz the details surrounding the process of creating game from concept art to in-game rendering.

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2K has released some really brutal shots from The Darkness II, which you can view below alongside a new video which is equally brutal. If you happen to lose your lunch over the assets, blame Gematsu. Game’s out for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 in February 2012.

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EA has sent over screenshots for Back to Karkand for Battlefield 3. The DLC contains remasters of four maps from the franchise: Strike at Karkand, Wake Island, Gulf of Oman and Sharqi Peninsula. It also includes five new dog tags and achievements/trophies, and three new vehicles: the DPV, BTR-90, and F-35B STOVL jet fighter. Also included are 10 “iconic Battlefield weapons,” and a new persistence system where players complete assignments to earn their rewards.

The DLC will be made available in December, for free to those who pre-ordered and £11.99 for those who didn’t.

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This month’s issue of Official PlayStation Magazine UK is carrying a teaser page which hints at a Metal Gear Solid related announcement for next month.

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Activision is on the look out for those holding a pirated copy of Modern Warfare 3 after partial copies of the PC version started popping up online.

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John Koller, SCEA’s director of hardware marketing John Koller, has said demand for Vita has been “substantial” and Sony has increased production materially since E3.

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Blizzard has released a fact sheet for StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm, which continues the  story from Wings of Liberty with a campaign that focuses on Kerrigan, the former Queen of Blades.

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Square Enix and DeNA are developing the first social game based on the Final Fantasy IP in Japan. The game, which was initially revealed via a teaser yesterday,  will be released via DeNA’s Mobage platform, and while there isn’t a date set, pre-registrations are being accepted. Those in Japan who own Fantasy Type-0 on PSP will receive an exclusive in-game reward. This will be the third social game from Square, with Facebook games Knights of the Crystals and Chocobo’s Crystal Tower released previously.

Still no word on a western localization. Thanks, GI.biz.

Samsung has overtaken Apple as the global top smartphone manufacturer. According to data complied by research firm Strategy Analytics published by Bloomberg, shipments from Samsung were up 44% for the July-September period, with a total of 27.8 million smartphones shipped. Sales for Samsung’s telecommunications division doubled year-on-year to $2.2 billion, or 60% of it’s total revenue. In comparison, iPhone sales fell by 16% to 17.1 million units during the quarter, which provided Samsung with a 23.8% share of the market. Thanks, GI.biz.

Nintendo detailed hardware units sales for the European and US markets in its first-half investor briefing this week, noting that PS3 has been the best-selling console in Europe for most of 2011. In the US, 360 is still king.

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You remember the huge eagle chaps Gandalf flew around on in Lord of the Rings? No? Remind yourself with the launch trailer for War in the North, which features a brief look at one of the goggle-eyed feathery bastards in between a bunch of magic and shouting. It’s developed by Snowblind, and looks about as “adult” Lord of the Rings games are ever going to be without the elven lady pants coming off.

It’s out on November 25 for PS3, 360 and PC.

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You’re an Ottoman assassin. You’ve got a den. You need to freaking well defend it, son. You’re going to need some crossbows on the rooves and some instantly appearable barricades. What the Sam Hell’s going to happen if you haven’t? Not much point being an Ottoman assassin if you’re dead, is there?

Check out this stuff in action in the latest Assassin’s Creed: Revelations trailer after the break. The game’s out for PS3 and 360 on November 15 in the US and November 18 in Europe.

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As promised earlier this week, Sony has announced a European release date for PAYDAY: The Heist. Already available in the US and worldwide on PC, the game will launch on PS3 November 2 for the UK and Europe. Those who ordered all the titles offered through Sony’s PS Play incentive, will receive the game for free upon release. Also, according to a post on the game’s forums, upcoming DLC for the game will include the oft-requested Nixon mask, along with new heists, equipment, characters and skills.

A date for the DLC has yet to be announced.

EA has made a statement regarding the ongoing issue of Xbox 360 Battlefield codes not working, saying it’s “aware” of the problem.

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In a video interview with CVG, BioWare Edmonton studio GM Aaryn Flynn has sought to allay fears that there’s any kind of compulsory element to Mass Effect 3′s multiplayer component.

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