Rumor: Destiny to Feature Micro-Transactions

April 30, 2013 by Andy in Other, PlayStation, Videogames, Xbox and tagged Activision, Bungie, Destiny, Gaming, Halo, Next Xbox, Nextbox, PlayStation, PS3, PS4, XBOX, Xbox 360, Xbox 720 | 1 Comment

An Activision employee’s LinkedIn profile has been updated to include certain information of his work on Bungie’s upcoming Destiny. Said employee, one Ryan Wener, is listed as “Senior Director, Product Management” with Activision and is “leading marketing activities for the hotly-anticipated new gaming universe Destiny.” Beneath that bullet point, however, is listed his work in “monetization modeling.” This has led to some speculation as to whether Bungie’s upcoming sci-fi shooter will feature micro-transactions in its business model.

Nothing has been announced, but given that micro-transactions in games are more and more common these days, it wouldn’t be a surprise. Activision is publishing Destiny, so an in-game monetization platform would be a shock to no one.

Destiny is currently in development at Bungie for Xbox 360, PS3, and PS4; a version for the next Xbox has not been officially announced, but it would be safe to assume that it’s headed there, too. No release date or window has been given for the game at this time.

Sources: Destructoid, LinkedIn

Rumor: Respawn Entertainment’s First Game to be Xbox-Exclusive

April 29, 2013 by Andy in News Snippets, Videogames, Xbox and tagged Activision, Call of Duty, david and goliath, EA, Gaming, Infinity Ward, Microsoft, Microsoft Studios, next generation xbox, Next Xbox, Nextbox, Respawn Entertainment, XBOX, Xbox 720 | 1 Comment

Respawn Entertainment, the product of a long-winded battle between Infinity Ward creators & staff and Activision, has been rather quiet regarding their debut title since the studio’s founding. Rumors are now circulating that their first game will be an Xbox-exclusive. Sources are stating the next Xbox as the primary system with a focus on online gameplay requiring an always-on connection. An Xbox 360 version is possible, but ports for Nintendo and Sony consoles are not being considered.

The game is said to be set in the future and will have players facing off in David and Goliath battles. “Davids are heavily armed foot soldiers. The Goliaths are giant exoskeletons–Titans–that these soldiers can pilot.” It’s worth noting that Respawn recently filed a trademark for Titan.

According to these sources, Respawn is working on the Xbox 720 version which will utilize a modified Source engine with the developer outsourcing for the Xbox 360 port.

Microsoft will unveil its next-generation Xbox on May 21 with E3 following shortly thereafter, so the legitimacy of this rumor will likely be sorted out in the near future.

Sources: Kotaku, Gamespot

Watch_Dogs Coming to PC and Consoles in November

April 29, 2013 by Andy in Nintendo, PC, PlayStation, Videogames, Xbox and tagged Gaming, next gen consoles, Next Xbox, Nextbox, PS3, PS4, Ubisoft, Watch Dogs, Watchdogs, Watch_Dogs, Wii U, WiiU, Xbox 360, Xbox 720 | Leave a comment

Ubisoft’s upcoming Watch_Dogs has a new trailer and a concrete release date. Announced at last year’s E3, Watch_Dog places gamers in the shoes of the technically-inclined vigilante Aiden Pearce who can hack electronic devices to gain information, wire funds, or trigger traps in an open-world game environment. Watch_Dogs will be available on current and next-gen consoles as well as PC on November 19, 2013.

Quantic Dream Recruiting Veterans of the Film Industry

April 29, 2013 by Andy in Film, PlayStation, Videogames and tagged Beyond, Beyond: Two Souls, David Cage, Ellen Page, Gaming, PS3, PS4, Quantic Dream, Sony, Two Souls, Videogames, Willem Dafoe | 1 Comment

Quantic Dream’s upcoming Beyond: Two Souls was recently featured at Tribeca Film Festival. The games the studio has worked on in the past are best categorized as “interactive movies” with past titles having deeper focus on non-linear storytelling over intricate gameplay. It’s no surprise then that the French developer is hiring film screenwriters and directors to assist David Cage in bringing his visions to life.

Beyond: Two Souls’ script is about 2,000 pages and was written exclusively by David Cage; having a staff of writers assisting in creating these stories could be a welcome addition to the studio. Their next project, a currently untitled PS4 game, has a staff of three writers, Cage included. The stories told in Quantic Dream’s games are still David Cage’s visions and, as such, he will continue to have the final word regarding all future projects.

Source: Destructoid

Kevin Conroy Absent as Batman in “Arkham Origins”

April 29, 2013 by Andy in Comics, News Snippets, PC, PlayStation, Videogames, Xbox and tagged Arkham Origins, Batman, Batman: Arkham Origins, Batman: The Animated Series, Bruce Wayne, caped crusader, Comics, DC, DC Comics, Gaming, Mark Hamill, Rocksteady, Superheroes, The Joker, Videogames, WB, WB Montreal | 4 Comments

Arkham Origins developer WB Montreal has passed on casting Kevin Conroy, who has voiced Batman in multiple titles since Batman: The Animated Series, as Batman in the upcoming videogame. WB Montreal stated that since Arkham Origins is an origin story featuring Bruce Wayne in his younger years, they’re looking for someone younger to fill the role. While fans of Conroy’s voice work as the caped crusader will be disappointed, it is understandable that they’d cast an actor with a younger sounding voice to portray Batman in his earlier years. No news as to whether or not Mark Hamill will reprise his role as The Joker.

Source: Kotaku

Quantic Dream’s “Beyond: Two Souls” Has New Trailer

April 28, 2013 by Andy in Film, PlayStation, Videogames and tagged Adventure Games, Beyond, Beyond: Two Souls, David Cage, Ellen Page, Entertainment, Film, Gaming, indigo prophecy, Interactive Film, Interactive Movie, Quantic Dream, Tribeca, Tribeca Film Festival, Two Souls, Willem Dafoe | Leave a comment

After showcasing their upcoming adventure game Beyond: Two Souls at Tribeca Film Festival, Quantic Dream has prepared a new trailer for eager fans. Beyond: Two Souls would probably be best described as an interactive movie, in line with Quantic Dream’s past games, and stars Ellen Page and Willem Dafoe. It is set to be released this October.

As a fan of the studio’s past work (most notably Heavy Rain and Indigo Prophecy), I’m excited to get my hands on Beyond this fall.

Bethesda Reveals Shinji Mikami’s “The Evil Within”

April 19, 2013 by Andy in News Snippets, PC, PlayStation, Videogames, Xbox and tagged Gaming, horror game, Microsoft, Next Gen, Next Generation Consoles, Nextbox, PC, PlayStation, PS3, PS4, Resident Evil, Shinji Mikami, Sony, Survival Horror, The Evil Within, Windows, XBOX, Xbox 360, Xbox 720 | Leave a comment

Bethesda’s been teasing a new game for a while now and while many speculated that the teases were for a new Fallout title, those rumors were quickly denied and have now been proven wrong. Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami has been working on a new horror game for Bethesda and we now have a teaser trailer (featuring shots from Bethesda’s teaser teasers) for this new game. The Evil Within was originally announced as Zwei and is being developed by Shinji Mikami’s studio Tango Gameworks. The game has been given a vague 2014 release and is headed to current and next gen consoles as well as PC.

The teaser doesn’t reveal much, but it’s twisted, disturbing, and intriguing. Have a look for yourself:

From the official website:

EVIL TAKES HOLD 2014

Shinji Mikami, the father of survival horror, is back to direct The Evil Within™ – a game embodying the meaning of pure survival horror. Highly-crafted environments, horrifying anxiety, and an intricate story weave together to create an immersive world that will bring players to the height of tension. The Evil Within is in development for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, PC and next generation consoles and is slated for release in 2014.

Telltale’s The Wolf Among Us Revealed

March 28, 2013 by Andy in Comics, News Snippets, PC, PlayStation, Videogames, Xbox and tagged Adventure Game, Comics, episodic adventure, Fables, fairytale characters, Gaming, mac source, Tell Tale, Telltale, Telltale Games, The Wolf Among Us | Leave a comment

While it has been known for quite some time that Telltale Games has been working on a game based on the Fables property, little else has been revealed about the upcoming episodic adventure. It is now known that the game will be titled The Wolf Among Us and will feature Bigby Wolf as the lead character. Players will be tasked with keeping other fairytale characters hidden in our world. The story of the game will take place before the comic series.

Telltale’s The Wolf Among Us is planned for a summer 2013 release on current-gen consoles, PC, and Mac.

Source: IGN

Double Fine’s Broken Age Gets Its First Teaser

March 28, 2013 by Andy in Mobile, News Snippets, PC, Phone, Videogames and tagged Adventure Game, Android, art style, Broken Age, Double Fine, Double Fine Adventure, Gaming, gorgeous art, iOS, Kickstarter, PC, Videogames | Leave a comment

The Kickstarter-funded Double Fine adventure game finally has a teaser! Broken Age, the result of over 90,000 contributor’s excited for a true adventure game and the brilliant minds at Double Fine, follows the story of two characters: one a girl who is to be sacrificed to a beast and the other a boy alone in a spacecraft. The game is expected to be released this spring. The trailer below shows of the game’s imaginative environments and gorgeous art style. Have a look:

Cyberpunk 2077 to have “Multiplayer Features”

March 14, 2013 by Andy in News Snippets, PC, PlayStation, Videogames, Xbox and tagged CD Projekt, CD Projekt RED, CDPR, Cyberpunk, Cyberpunk 2077, Gaming, Next Gen, Nextbox, PC, PlayStation 4, PS4, The Witcher, Xbox 720, Xbox Next | Leave a comment

Upcoming CD Projekt Red game Cyberpunk 2077 has been confirmed to have multiplayer features. Speaking with Eurogamer, managing director of Cd Projekt Red stated that the game will have an amazing story-based single player campaign, but the developer will “add multiplayer features.” What those features will be was not stated.

Cyberpunk 2077 will be feature an open world for players to explore with their customizable player characters. As the game will not feature a pre-defined player character as CD Projekt’s other franchise, The Witcher, players will be given more freedom with world exploration and story progression. The game is expected to be released in 2015.