In the wake of THQ’s auction which saw their properties and studios sold off, one glaring party left out was the WWE name. Some have said that EA was in the market to pick up the sports entertainment brand but they have denied those rumors because we know how EA doesn’t like to buy franchises and ruin them.
Now it seems that Take Two, the parent company of 2K, has stepped up to the plate and purchased the rights to Vince McMahon’s multi-million dollar name in games. It is sad to see the THQ era of wrestling games come to an end, especially with WWE 13 being such a great game last year. At least the team at Yuke’s and THQ went out with the best WWE game ever. Now we get to look forward to the future.
One of the saddest episodes in gaming is now done. THQ sold off their assets to other developers and publishers and anyone who did not work for one of the companies sold are being laid off. For the past year THQ has been limping along and filed for bankruptcy last month. A few weeks ago it was announced that an auction would be held to sell off THQ’s studios and intellectual properties. Here is the rundown of what we know so far.
Koch Media (Deep Silver) has purchased Volition, developers of the Saint’s Row franchise. They have also gotten the rights to the Metro franchise. Metro: Last Light was due for release this year.
Sega is getting Relic who developed Warhammer 40K and Company of Heroes.
Take Two has purchased Evolve, a codename project from Turtle Rock Studios.
Crytek purchaed the rights to the Homefront series.
Ubisoft will get the rights to South Park: The Stick of Truth and the THQ Montreal studio who are making the game 1666 from the creator of Assassin’s Creed.
Some properties like Darksiders (and studio Vigil) and the WWE franchise are still up in the air as of this writing. We will update as more is known.
At this morning’s Nintendo Direct Stream, the company revealed their plans for the Wii U leading into 2013. Games for the system are slowly trickling out and people were wondering just what Nintendo had up their sleeve to get Wii U’s into as many homes as possible before Microsoft and Sony take the spotlight and it turns out they have quite a lot. The video conference this morning should give Wii U early adopters and ones thinking of taking the plunge (raises hand) a better feeling about the future of the console, at least for the rest of the year. Let’s take a look at what Nintendo announced this morning and see if it will sway you into buying a Wii U.
1. Look at all the pretty games!! Smash Bros., Mario Kart, a new 3D Mario and so much more!!
-We knew about Smash Bros. already but the fact it will be playable at this year’s E3 is a huge deal. Mario Kart is always a staple on any Nintendo system and is always a insta-buy for me. The biggest news of the games is that a new 3D Mario is not only coming, but will be shown and played at E3. Whether this is a sequel to Super Mario Galaxy is unknown. I would hope for a new direction for Mario on the Wii U but won’t complain as long as we are getting a true 3D Mario game.
-The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker is getting a full-HD re-release on the Wii U this fall complete with off-screen Gamepad play. It’s Zelda, so we’ll call that a win.
-Along with those biggies, it was also announced that Yoshi Yarn would be making its way onto the Wii U. It is being developed by the team that handled Kirby’s Epic Yarn on the Wii.
-Shin Megami Tensei and Fire Emblem are joining together for a crossover game. Atlus and Intelligent Systems are working together on the Wii U project and had a short trailer to show off.
-The Wonderful 101 showed off a new trailer including more unique Gamepad play and aerial gameplay. It will be released by June, 2013.
-The latest game from Monolith (Xenoblade) was shown. No name was given for the title. A red X was shown at the end of the preview.
-Bayonetta 2 had a behind the scenes trailer but no gameplay was shown which says to me that this game is still a way off.
2. Nintendo Virtual Console coming to Wii U this spring.
Starting this spring you will be able to download original Nintendo and Super Nintendo games onto your Wii U and will be able to play on the Gamepad as well. People that already own the same games on their Wii Virtual Console can get the games for reduced amounts ($1-NES, $1.50- SNES).
3. Miiverse app coming to smartphones.
This will also launch in the spring and allow you to look at and make changes on you Miivers via your smartphone.
4. Updates are coming to improve Wii U’s load times.
A spring update and another in the summer will boost the Wii U’s load times which have been described as too long.
Despite garnering great reviews (currently it is an 86 on Metacritic), the new [amazon_link id=”B007UM59AC” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Devil May Cry[/amazon_link] still has its detractors in the form of fans who apparently refuse to play the game because hero Dante underwent a makeover and lost his white locks of hair and appeared more goth than previous entries in the series.
Capcom has decided to placate these fans by releasing a Costume Pack DLC which will offer three new outfits for Dante including one that makes him appear as he did in previous Devil May Cry’s. The developers did not give people the full monty because the character will only switch to “classic” Dante while he is in “Devil Trigger” mode. So take it and be happy (at least that’s how I imagine Ninja Theory saying it).
The Costume Pack DLC will cost $4 (320 MS Points).
This may sound incredible weird. Maybe it is just because I am a Nintendo fanboy and I am looking for a reason, but the more I see of [amazon_link id=”B002I0K3PM” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Lego City: Undercover[/amazon_link], the more I try to justify breaking down and getting a [amazon_link id=”B009AGXH64″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Wii U[/amazon_link]. I don’t what it is about an open-world GTA type Lego game but it gets me. The fact that it is trying to emulate an 80’s cop movie only makes me want it more.
The new trailer showcases the hero, Chase McCain, and all of the various outfits he will don to complete his clean up of Lego City.
A story up on Kotaku is claiming that a source has revealed the specs list (for the development kit at least) for Sony’s new Playstation and that the new controller will be much different from the existing Dualshock. The new controller would have a touch pad much like what comes on the back of the Vita. This may also come on the back of the controller. Along with the new touch tech, the controller may also come with some type of biometric feature and have a share button which may be used for the multiple account user feature that the report also mentions.
I love my Vita, but will go on record saying that I do not like the back touch pad. I don’t mind games that use it properly (Little Deviants) but it is a pain when it is shoehorned into a game. If the reports are true I hope that some new Playstation launch titles won’t have to be forced to utilize this (like Lair for the PS3 Sixaxis).
Go take a look at the complete story over on Kotaku.
Why do I always want expensive things? Why must game companies feed my obsession?
[amazon_link id=”B007CM0K86″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]The Last of Us[/amazon_link], Naughty Dog’s newest title, is set for release on May 7th and today we got a look at the two collector’s editions that will be available for the game.
The Survival Edition will come with a steelbook version of the game, 170 page hardcover art book, a copy of The Last of Us: American Dreams #1 comic book, a Naughty Dog sticker sheet and the Sights and Sounds DLC pack (game soundtrack, PS3 theme and PSN avatars). It will retail for $79.99 and is available for pre-order now.
The more elaborate Post Pandemic Edition has a 12-inch statue of Joel & Ellie, steelbook version of the game, a copy of The Last of Us: American Dreams #1 comic book, Naughty Dog sticker sheet, Sights and Sounds DLC pack and the Survival DLC pack (multiplayer bonuses and Joel & Ellie skins). It will retail for $159.99 and be in very limited quality. It is also up for pre-order now.
[amazon_link id=”B0050SVLI2″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Resident Evil: Revelations[/amazon_link] is making the jump from 3DS to consoles. The handheld adventure released last year for Nintendo’s 3DS and sold well enough (or bad enough) to warrant a port over to home consoles. The game will release on May 21st for Xbox 360, PS3, Wii and PC.
The game will receive an HD upgrade (duh) as well as new playable characters, new weapons and difficulty level not found in the handheld version.
A list of achievements for the reboot of [amazon_link id=”B004FS8LYK” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Tomb Raider[/amazon_link] has been uncovered. Let’s hope you plan on playing some of the game’s multiplayer because almost 25% of the achievements are based on it. So if you are looking to 100% the game be ready to spend some time playing with others.
Tomb Raider releases on March 5th.
Bookworm – 25% of all documents found. (10)
Historian – 75% of all documents found. (15)
Relic Hunter – 25% of all relics collected. (10)
Archaeologist – 75% of all relics collected. (15)
Looking for Trouble – 25% of all GPS caches found. (10)
Bag Full O’ Cache – 75% of all GPS caches found. (15)
No Stone Left Unturned – All documents, relics, and GPS caches found. (50)
Scrounger – 5000 pieces of salvage collected. (20)
Picky – 200 enemies looted. (15)
Clever Girl – Purchased all skills in one category. (25)
Lethal – Purchased all skills in all categories. (50)
Now We’re Getting Serious – One weapon fully modded and completely upgraded. (25)
The Professional – All weapons fully modded and completely upgraded. (50)
Big Game Hunter – 10 large animals killed and looted. (15)
Tastes Like Chicken! – 10 small animals killed and looted. (15)
Feather Duster – 10 flying animals killed and looted. (15)
Sharp Shooter – 50 headshot kills performed in the single player campaign. (15)
Predator – 50 enemies killed with the bow. (10)
Equalizer – 75 enemies killed with the rifle. (10)
Widowmaker – 40 enemies killed with the shotgun. (10)
Gunslinger – 35 enemies killed with the pistol. (10)
Epic Fumble – Forced an enemy to drop dynamite that killed two people. (15)
Get Over Here! – 5 enemies rope pulled off edges. (20)
Opportunist – 25 unaware enemies killed. (15)
Down and Dirty – 15 finishers performed. (15)
Deadeye – 10 enemies shot off zip lines. (20)
Former Adventurer – 25 enemies incapacitated with dodge counter. (20)
One Smart Cookie – One optional tomb completed. (20)
Intellectually Superior – All optional tombs completed. (50)
Unfinished Business – One challenge completed. (20)
Inconceivable! – All challenges complete. (50)
A Survivor Is Born – Game completed. (75)
Adventurer – Played a match to completion in all multiplayer modes. (20)
Artilleryman – 20 enemy players killed with a turret in multiplayer. (20)
Down Boy! – Zip-lining enemy killed in multiplayer. (10)
Entrapment – Trapped an enemy in multiplayer. (10)
Escapist – Survived 10 explosions in multiplayer. (20)
Good Samaritan – Revived a teammate in a multiplayer match. (10)
I’m all that! – Won a ranked match in every multiplayer mode. (25)
Sole Survivor – Sole survivor on your multiplayer team. (15)
Lights Out – 10 multiplayer enemies killed with the melee attack. (15)
Master Blaster – Two multiplayer enemies killed with one explosive. (20)
Monkey Around – Survived 3 times in multiplayer by using the rope ascender. (15)
Narcissistic – New character purchased. (10)
On My Way Up – Multiplayer level 10 attained. (10)
Shopaholic – Purchased all upgrades and characters in multiplayer. (20)
Epic Games has a new trailer for [amazon_link id=”B002I0H2AG” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Gears of War: Judgment[/amazon_link] entitled “The Guts of Gears”. In it protagonist and general smart-ass Damon Baird tells of all the new games features that the newest Gears title will have including new weapons, the Smart Spawn System (S3) and the declassified missions that are unlocked in the game where Baird and Kilo Squad’s back story will be played. A whole new three star ranking system will be implemented on each mission as well.
