Welcome to another instalment in our weekly news digest where the team at PSU Towers picks our favourite slices of gaming gossip from the past seven days, before proceeding to offer our two cents on each story for good measure.
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Rumor: New Soul Calibur to be announced in May?
Soul Calibur big cheese Daishi Odashima gave us a sumptuous Christmas treat last December when he teased that the venerable Namco brawler would be making a comeback at some point. Little else has been revealed on the inevitable Soul Calibur V since that Tweet, though Odashima said this week that he hopes to announce something in mid-May. This sound about right to me, given that Soul Calibur IV released back in August 2008, so a new game should be well into development by now. Odashima is directing the project, and the focus this time around won’t be on Siegfried apparently, though that’s about all we know for now. However, with the recent influx of brilliant brawlers in the form of Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds and Mortal Kombat, it might be wise if the chaps at Project Soul give the franchise a shot in the arm in the gameplay department to freshen things up a bit. Here’s hoping it makes E3.
Uncharted 3 E3 showcase to ‘blow you away’ says dev
While there was no doubt in my mind that Naughty Dog would be bringing out the big guns (aka Uncharted 3) at this year’s E3 expo, hearing them tease the game’s appearance at the Los Angeles event still instils me with an overwhelming sense of euphoria. After all, when Naughty Dog says it’s going to “blow you away,” you know you’re for a treat – and unlike most companies, the Dogs always live up to their word. Hopefully they’ll show us a few more single-player stages beyond the now infamous burning chateau, or even better, confirmation of Elena or Chloe’s inclusion in the much-anticipated sequel? Colour me pumped.
Duke Nukem Forever: 200 limited edition prints up for grabs
Hail to the king, baby. What better way for a fellow Duke Nukem aficionado to celebrate the launch of the long-delayed DNF than nabbing one of just 200 signed prints of a portrait of everyone’s favourite alien-blasting, bubble-gum chewing badass? Well, that’s what 2K Games has in mind for hardcore followers, though it’s unknown at the time of writing as to how punters can get their mitts on the masterpiece, cobbled together by artist Frank Frid. For now though, just admire the picture and imagine it decorating your wall with immense pride. Who knows, maybe you’ll be lucky enough to bag the real thing.
George Romero to feature in Black Ops Escalation DLC
Being the zombie fanatic that I am, I was particularly chuffed to hear that Black Ops would not only be featuring another undead offering in its upcoming Escalation map pack, but it’d star George Romero to boot. For zombie followers, that’s about as awesome as it can possibly get. Just in case you’re wondering what all the fuss is about, allow me to elaborate; Romero pioneered the modern zombie flick with Night of the Living Dead back in 1968, and went on to produce a succession of stonking efforts including the acclaimed Dawn of the Dead and grisly Day of the Dead. Kudos for Treyarch doffing its cap to the godfather of zombie flicks, as I imagine most youngsters wouldn’t have even heard of the poor old git. Aside from Romero though, the Call of the Dead mode also features a star-studded line-up of horror heroes and heroines, from Buffy’s Sarah Michelle Gellar to the legendary Robert Englund of Nightmare on Elm Street fame. Does it get any better? Yes, ‘cause Danny Trejo and Michael Rooker’s in it too.
Rumor: Sucker Punch working on new PS3-exclusive?
Sucker Punch has been getting cosy with Sony for some time now, offering up a series of classic PlayStation-exclusive franchises such as the stealth Sly Cooper to the electricity-charged inFamous. With the sequel to the latter out in June, murmurs have already started to rear their heads that the firm’s busy beavering away on a new IP, which will release exclusively on PlayStation 3. Sounds good to me, but what could it be? Well, as you might have guessed, it won’t be related to inFamous or Sly Cooper, but something entirely new altogether. Unfortunately that’s about all we have to go on right now, and that comes from a dodgy machine-based translation too. Nonetheless, it doesn’t sound all that inconceivable to me, though don’t hold your breath – apparently it won’t show up at E3 in June, so it sounds like we’ve got a bit of waiting on our hands.
Valve confirms Portal 2 DLC for this summer
Portal 2 is a stonking sequel – after all, it won our Game of the Month accolade for April. As such, we can’t get enough of it, and it seems Valve can’t either, as it’s announced that it’ll be releasing some DLC for the puzzler this summer. Specifically, the developer confirmed that Portal 2’s post-release pleasures will be free, and includes fresh test chambers, leaderboards and content for the game’s single-player and multiplayer components — not too shabby, eh? More details as they break.
Munch’s Oddysee & Oddbox for PS3, Stranger’s Wrath HD delayed
I’m always a glass half full type of bloke, and in the case of Stranger’s Wrath HD’s delay, at least we can look forward to more Oddworld goodies later down the line. While won’t be able to get hold of the game until summer, developer Just Add Water’s confirmed that it’ll bring Munch’s Oddysee HD to PlayStation 3 this October, alongside the Oddbox. The delay doesn’t sound too bad now, does it? Bizarrely, Microsoft actually turned down JAW’s plans to release Munch & Stranger’s Wrath HD on Xbox 360, and apparently it wasn’t just down to the Xbox LIVE 2GB limit. Go figure. Still, it’s great to see the studio is keen on supporting Sony’s black box extensively in the Oddworld department; after all, the series started out life on PSOne with Abe’s Oddysee back in the late 90s, so it only seems right PS3 owners will finally be able to get their mitts on the rest of the series.
Need for Speed: The Run races to PS3 this November
Electronic Arts pulled the curtain back on its latest outing in the venerable Need for Speed series this weekend, confirming the new racer – dubbed Need for Speed The Run – will release this November. From the sound of things it’s going to be packing some impressive tech under its hood, having been built on the same eye-popping engine as Battlefield 3, namely Frostbite 2.0. Not much else is known at present, though EA has indicated we can expect a compelling narrative and an action-flavoured feel to the proceedings. We’ll be keeping an eye on this one. For now, hit the link in the above heading to have a butcher’s at the trailer and make up your own mind whether or not this might be something worth checking out come November.
The latest on the PSN crisis
With all the chatter on the PlayStation Network outage, we thought it best to condense everything in one block for ease of navigation. Click any of the following links to be taken to the corresponding article.
For starters, a source close to Sony has informed us that the hardware manufacturer will not be offering any form of compensation to PlayStation Plus subscribers. In fact, our source referred us to Sony’s terms and conditions blurb, which reads: “we are not liable for any loss of data, content, function or utility” caused through upgrades or maintenance.” Tuesday evening however, Sony finally piped up with another update, confirming that account holder details have been compromised “as a result of an illegal intrusion on our systems.” The electronics giant has advised PSN users to keep their eyes peeled for malicious attacks via email, phone or post. Later that day, SCEA’s communications boss Patrick Seybold moved to reassure users that the firm is working its socks off to get the service back up and running, and expects PSN to be back up within a week.
Analysts later chimed in on the matter, with Frost & Sullivan chap Satish Lele stating he believes the hardware manufacturer will need to “invest a lot” in repairing the damage done to the firm’s business infrastructure and public image. The crisis also came to the attention of U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, who didn’t mince his words in a letter to SCEA boss Jack Tretton, demanding two years of free credit reporting for PSN users. The headaches didn’t stop there, either. Sony was later sued by 36 year-old Alabama resident Kristopher Johns, who accused the platform holder of failing to “take reasonable care to protect, encrypt, and secure the private and sensitive data of its users.” Also this week, notorious PS3 jailbreaker George “Geohot” Hotz distanced himself from the whole affair, insisting he had nothing to do with it and even had a pop at Sony for being “noobs.” He did, however, also reach out to those responsible, urging them not to sell anyone’s private information.
In other developments, website Gamasutra reported that Sony had begun sending out updated SDKs to developers in an effort to step up its security measures. Elsewhere, reports began circulating that the PSN hack resulted in a substantial drop in the conglomerate’s share prices. Also, speaking to PSU in an email conversation, The Fancy Pants Adventures developer Brad Borne voiced his concerns over the whole fiasco. In a rare moment of good news though, Sony confirmed that all users’ Trophies, friends lists and download history have not been tampered with as a result of the hack. The same goes for PSN Plus’s cloud saves too, and you’ll be able to retrieve them when the service comes back online. Worryingly however, it has been claimed by security expert Kevin Stevens that approximately 2.2 million credit card numbers are being offered for sale by the perpetrators behind the PSN crisis, including users’ addresses, zip codes, phone numbers, email and other sensitive data. Back on the frontline, it has been confirmed that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, as well as the FBI are helping investigate the PSN data breach, while Sunday morning Sony finally confirmed that it is commencing a phased restoration for PSN and Qriocity services. Gaming, music and video will be the first avenues focused on, and while an exact date has yet to be pinned down for when we can expect them back, Sony said it will be sometime this week. And the good news? The company has prepared a dedicated ‘Welcome Back‘ initiative "as an expression of the company’s appreciation for their patience, support and continued loyalty.”
Stay tuned to PSU for all the latest updates regarding the PSN crisis as they become available, and tune in again this time next week for another round-up of the week’s biggest stories.