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Crystal Dynamics set to Reveal new I.P. in 2012…

We may have just got into 2012, but many developers are already planning out their reveal schedules for the year. The first seems to be none other than Crystal Dynamics, who are already set to reboot the Tomb Raider series just a few months down the road. Meagan Marie, the studio community manager offered a bit of new insight on a blog post on Square Enix’s Members Website.

“The New Year ushers in more than just fresh calendars and renewed resolutions. 2012 will prove to be a very exciting year for Crystal Dynamics, more so than any in recent memory,”

“Not only will our team be eating, sleeping, and breathing Tomb Raider, but we’ll also be hard at work preparing to reveal exciting new intellectual property to the world.”

I don’t know about you, but when Crystal Dynamics offer any kind of tease, it’s usually something to get excited about. New IPs are always nice to see as it is, and there isn’t much doubt that at E3, all eyes will be on Lara Croft and this new IP reveal. Stay tuned, as if anything else leaks out regarding either, we will be sure to bring you an update.

 

 

Do You Want to Play The Darkness II Early?

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Of cause you do! The Darkness II looks like one damn fine game and if you’re like us then you can’t wait to get your hands on it. Well then good news for you Sydney gamers, The Darkness II will be fully playable at INSERT COIN(S) – a new(ish) event that brings together games, music and art along with geek culture and fashion all in to one venue Sydney’s very own Oxford Art Factory.

The Darkness II will be fully playable across 10 screens along with a bunch of old school retro arcade games such as Pacman, Donkey Kong, Galaga, Frogger, Space Invaders, Tekken 5, Marvel Vs Capcom, Street Fighter 2 and Metal Slug X just to name a few, which are all FREE to play on the night.

This will be Insert Coin(S)’ third appearance, with its first arcade night successfully hitting it off in September last year and its second incarnation held last November, saw gamers getting a preview taste of Assassin’s Creed: Revelations before its release date.

INSERT COIN(S) Presents: The Darkness II is taking place at 6pm at Oxford Art Factory, Thursday January 19. Entry to this all of this gaming goodness cost only $10 – available at the door on the night or online via Moshtix

For more information about Insert Coin(S) check out their Facebook Page

Kenshin and Kurogasa face off in latest live action Rurouni Kenshin images

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After the first few images were released of the live action adaptation of Nobuhiro Watsuki’s Rurouni Kenshin manga, hype for the movie even in the Western world has skyrocketed. As such it is good to see that Japanese website Eiga has continued to release a few more live action images. The images can be seen below and this includes a face-off between Kenshin Himura and Kurogasa.

The images were taken from the movie as it was being filmed on location at the Anraku-Ritsu Temple in Shiga Prefecture’s Otsu City. As you can see only a few of the screenshots only show what the movie may look like when it is finished while the rest are rather obvious that the live action is still in production. As you can see below a trailer was also released quite some time ago that gave us a hint as to how the movie will look in motion. Do you believe that this live-action adaptation will live up to fan’s expectations or will over hype create an unmeetable level of expected quality?

Hyperdimension Neptunia Mk2 is too Mature for Teens

Or at least that is what the ESRB thinks. Last year when Hyperdimension Neptunia was released by NIS America the title was given just a simple Teen rating but this time around when the ESRB rated the sequel, they figured that it would be best to give it a Mature rating instead. Now the full rating can be seen below, and is certainly an interesting read as it has been quite some time since we’ve seen an interesting ESRB rating.

This is a role-playing game in which players control a young goddess on a quest to rescue her sister from an evil organization. As players advance the storyline, they use swords, lances, over-sized syringes, and colorful light attacks to engage in turn-based combat against fantasy creatures (e.g., slime monsters, dragons, robots); damage is indicated by impact sounds and a loss of hit points. Some female characters are dressed in low-cut outfits that expose large amounts of cleavage or buttocks.

A variety of scenes depict a supernatural villain who harasses female characters and makes sexually suggestive comments (e.g., “Come, come and sit on daddy’s lap. We’ll have fun exploring each other,” “You can be a cunning linguist, my dear,” “I’m dying to leer at her longingly,” and “Mmmm, the height of ecstasy, licking a nubile maiden’s wounds!”/“No, hey stop . . . I said stop it!”)—accompanying licking sounds can be heard off screen. In one sequence, a character moans as she is massaged by another woman; suggestive dialogue can be heard throughout (e.g., “Don’t carry any of those impure thoughts,” “Ahh, I’m so sensitive to this . . . Ahhhahahahaha! I can’t take it anymore!”). The words “sh*t” and “b*tch” also appear in dialogue.

Simply reading through this rating description, there doesn’t seem to be too much more naughty content than what was shown in Hyperdimension Neptunia, but the sexually suggestive comments do seem a bit more blatant and not simply referenced unlike the first. Then again, considering the enjoyable experience the first Hyperdimension Neptunia title provided should not be missed simply due to a rating. NIS America is currently set to release Hyperdimension Neptunia Mk2 sometime in Spring this year.

The Advent of the Indie Bundle

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There is a new way to buy games, which has taken the indie gaming market by storm! In May 2010, The Humble Indie Bundle brought us a new way to buy games, with a name-your-price scheme which allows the customer to distribute their money between developers and the project’s supported charities American Red Cross and Child’s Play as they see fit. Through this selling point, and the power of word of mouth in the indie gamer community, they have sold over 400,000 bundles to date for over $2 million, and are into their 4th bundle!

They always seem to have the best indie titles out there, and have recently been adding betas and even game soundtracks to the line-ups.

First, you select your price, or type it in, fiddle with the distribution of finds, and pay via Paypal. You then receive an email including a link back to the site which will list out your purchased games, along with any bonuses which you can download straight from the site. For the moment, the 4th Humble Bundle has ended, but you can subscribe to get an email once they start HB5! Check it out here.

A new site has now sprung up, in the same vein, releasing their first Bundle 2th December 2011 in time for Christmas. They’ve had good success, too, with 40,000 bundles and counting (in under a month!?) sold so far, providing similar pay-what-you-want features, and supporting charities Save the Children italia ONLUS and Child’s Play.

This time, they include a selection of albums, too, giving the lesser known artists out there a bump up in the community. Once you’ve placed your order, you’ll receive a nice long email listing out all the games and albums you’ve bought, including any of the special bonuses you got for donating over a certain amount. Most games are downloadable through Steam using unique codes, and the music can be downloaded through the artist’s sites.

Check it out here –but be quick! The current bundle ends 6th January 2012!

All this is a great thing for indie game developers and the growing games industry, as well as gamers, and of course, the charities. I’m sure sites, projects and initiatives like these will continue to grow and multiply into the future!

The Retrode 2 emulates SNES & Genesis games

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Its release date announced today, the Retrode 2  will allow you to play SNES and Genesis games on your computer, provided you can come up with a cartridge and a downloadable emulator.  Oh and a controller.  After that, just plug the device into your computer and play all your favorite classics.  The Retrode  will allow you to export save files and take screen shots on your computer.   It launches on January 23, 2012 , costs about $85 and is available for preorder.  Check out the website here for full details on every feature that the Retrode  has.  Will you be getting one, or are your old consoles sufficient enough for ya?

Lollipop Chainsaw gameplay footage reveals Sparkle Hunting

Never let it be said that killing zombies in a cheerleader’s skirt was a boring affair. Who am I kidding, no one would say that. But I digress, Microsoft has placed up a video on their YouTube Channel where their Inside Xbox crew takes a deeper look at some of the features that will be available in the title when it is released sometime this year.

In the video we learn that Grasshopper Manufacture’s standard humor and dismemberment has returned, but this time around rather than blood flying everywhere there will be stars, rainbows, hearts and sparkles all over the place. Actually, dismembering multiple zombies at once will even give you a “Sparkle Hunting” bonus. This bonus has not been given much detail besides providing medals and an upskirt shot of Juliet… I mean a cutscene full of sparkles. Watch the video below to check it out for yourself.

Hulk to appear in a new Marvel pinball table this year

The Incredible Hulk is smashing his way to  Pinball FX 2 on XBLA and Marvel Pinball on PSN sometime this year. That is according to Mel Kirk, VP of PR and Marketing for Zen Studios.

He stated: “Everything that comes from Marvel next year will be bigger, not necessarily character specific.  Hulk will be the main character, but it will be based on something in the Marvel storyline.”

Created by Zen Studios, the aforementioned pinball games are some of the most popular downloadable titles and they have each received a plethora of DLC since release.  The Vengeance and Virtue table pack is the newest release.

4 million 3DS sold in US, Mario titles sell 1 million each

Despite having a rather lackluster start, the Nintendo 3DS seems to have made quite a comeback in 2011. This comeback can be attributed to a number of things, whether it be the successful price drop, multiple remakes of fan favorite games and finally the release of two popular Mario titles. In the end, 2011 saw Nintendo selling “more than 4 million” 3DS handhelds in the United States alone with 1 million copies sold of Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7 each.

This is quite a jump for the Nintendo 3DS, as in the middle of the year the company had only reached 80K in July and 1.08 million in November. This means that perhaps in the past month Nintendo managed to get nearly 2.1 million 3DS handhelds into the hands of American consumers. This can be seen as a success no?

No Bastion 2 planned despite Bastion hitting 500k sales

Bastion was quite an amazing title and has just hit a selling point that some full retail titles never obtain despite being out for a few years. Bastion has most recently hit the 500,000 copies sold mark which is quite a feat. But despite being a success on the market it seems that Supergiant Games will not be making a sequel for the title.

In an interview with Eurogamer, Greg Kasavin of Supergiant Games revealed that their “stance around what we want to do in the future hasn’t changed in light of Bastion’s success.” They will take advantage of this success however as it has apparently given the company “the resources to create another game on our own terms, meaning we can self-fund the project and take the time we need to get it right.” While it is disappointing for some that Bastion 2 may never be made, it is good to see that Supergiant Games is still planning on making quality titles in the future.