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.
Online multiplayer confirmed for Max Payne 3
While the inclusion of online multiplayer in action shooters is hardly eyebrow-raising news these days, it’s pretty significant in the world of Max Payne – after all, the bullet time blaster has consistently remained a solo-only experience. But that’s all set to change with the release of the third instalment, with a sneak preview in EDGE confirming the sequel’s coming equipped with some form of online component. Details are sketchy, but the fact multiplayer’s been confirmed is sure to appeal to both long-time fans and newcomers alike. Of course, whenever this sort of thing happens one sometimes questions as to whether or not the single-player campaign will suffer as a result of multiplayer being thrown into the equation, but I highly doubt this will be the case. Rockstar’s renowned for delivering a meaty, compelling gameplay experience in both the offline and online space – GTA IV is a fine testament to this – so as far as I’m concerned, Payne’s third stylish shooter is sure to deliver the goods on all fronts.
Burnout Crash outed?
It’s been three years since the last Burnout outing cruised into shops in the form of the stonking Burnout Paradise, so it wouldn’t surprise me in the least if Criterion is busy chiselling away on another entry. However, my money’s on a downloadable effort as opposed to a full-on release, especially as a Crash Mode has been rumored for some time now. That’s not to say a proper sequel isn’t on the cards; a fresh entry is bound to show up sooner or later, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Criterion lift the wraps off its next game by the end of the year. If Crash is indeed the real deal though, expect full details to pop up in the not-too-distant future.
First in-engine shots of Elena in Uncharted 3 emerge
I can’t speak for everyone, but as far as I’m concerned, no Uncharted game would be complete without at least a cameo appearance from Miss Fisher. While these screenshots are by no means an official confirmation of Elena’s inclusion in the sequel – they do, after all, originate from an ‘anonymous tipster’ – I can’t see the chaps at Naughty Dog elbowing her out of the equation. After all, the climax of Uncharted 2 finally established cheeky chappie Nathan Drake and the feisty journalist as an item, so I can’t imagine Drake gallivanting around the globe without his bit of skirt tagging along for the ride. Personally, she forms the nucleus of what I now consider the quintessential Uncharted line-up – namely, Drake, Scully and Elena. Chloe was a welcome addition to the cast, but between her and Miss Fisher, I’d plump for the pint-sized girl-next-door any day of the week. Come on Naughty Dog, put me out of my misery and let the cat out of the bag already. Fingers crossed.
PlayStation UK boss Ray Maguire leaves Sony
Maguire has remained an integral cog in the PlayStation UK machine since its inception in 1995, overseeing the launch of Sony’s inaugural games platform, PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3. As such, while there’s no doubt in my mind the platform holder will keeping on trucking as it’s always done, the loss of Maguire is nothing short of significant. After all, the former executive has proved instrumental in the success of the PlayStation brand across PAL territories, and was largely responsible for turning around the fortunes of PS3 in the UK and Europe following a decidedly iffy start back in March 2007. A marketing maestro, Maguire’s contributions cannot go unnoticed, and his pedigree speaks for itself – he headed SEGA’s marketing efforts back in the early 90s when the former hardware manufacturer was at the height of its game back in the days of the Mega Drive. So, a tearful farewell to Maguire, and best wishes to the future – hopefully he’ll stick around in the industry for a while longer.
Capcom not aiming for ‘just another horror game’ with Operation Raccoon City
I think it was abundantly clear from early screenshots and teaser videos that Operation Raccoon City would be anything but a survival horror game. If that didn’t convince you, then you only have to consider the dev pedigree of Slant Six Games, who have work almost exclusively on the SOCOM franchise. Hardly a surprise that Capcom’s going down the shooter root is it? Nonetheless, Kawata-san’s comments have irked me somewhat. The main bone I have to pick with his statement is the fact he insists that Operation Raccoon City won’t be “just another horror game,” and that traditional RE horror romp may be explored in the numbered series. However, last time I checked, recent major entries such as RE4 & 5 were anything but horror, carrying a distinctly action-packed shooter flavour about them. Frankly, the series hasn’t dipped its toes in the survival horror creativity pool since the Outbreak spin-offs, which offered a quintessentially classic Resi experience with an online twist.
Sure, RE6 may go back to the series’ roots, but if you ask me, Operation Raccoon City could have been the perfect opportunity to offer that old-school RE experience – the fact the game boasts the classic locations and enemies that have become synonymous with RE’s heyday would have provided the ideal launch pad for this. The concept sounds intriguing, but I can’t help but feel cheated out of a potential RE2 remake or even an Outbreak: File #3. Shooters have become ubiquitous in today’s gaming landscape, and quite why Kawata and co. would want to pursue this avenue when the series has been starved of a decent survival horror outing in years boggles the mind. Still, I’m not about to write the game off – but masking my disappointment is something I’m not willing to concede. Interestingly, if anyone reading this happens to be a hardcore fan of RE: Outbreak, then perhaps I should direct you to a dedicated group of followers who have started an online petition in the hopes of getting Capcom to churn out a third game in the horror spin-off. If you want to see Outbreak: File #3, then be sure to sign your name here.
PSN generates over $1 million for Japanese relief fund
The Japanese earthquake and tsunami relief effort has become a mammoth affair, and it’s genuinely heart-warming to see so many people chipping in to do their bit, from gamers to the developers themselves. This week, Sony overlord Kaz Hirai confirmed that PSN-generated donations for the cause have topped $1 million, a meaty milestone by anyone’s standard. A hearty pat on the back to everyone who participated.
Consumers ‘used to spending several hundred dollars on a handheld,’ says Tretton
Having purchased numerous handhelds over the years, I’ll admit that as a consumer I’m using to forking out a couple of hundred quid on a portable device. I don’t necessarily WANT to, but if it’s a quality purchase, I’m more than willing to do so. So, with that in mind, I think Tretton has a fair point – especially when it comes to long term investment. You get what you pay for at the end of the day, and as far as the likes of Game Boy and PSP go, they were more than worth the price. Game Gear? Not so much, especially given the abysmal battery life. With NGP, there’s no doubt in my mind that it’ll be worth every penny just from what I’ve seen of the pint-sized platform thus far. On a side note, the most I’ve ever spent on a console was £400 – Sega Saturn, circa 1995. And in case you wondered, no, I don’t regret it, as I still play it to this day. Now that’s long term investment.
RAGE single-player to last 15 hours?
The Examiner journalist who initially reported this story was somewhat crestfallen at the fact a two-disc, open world game could be completed in less than a day. And to be honest, I’m a little gobsmacked myself. 15 hours doesn’t seem all that long for a game of RAGE’s calibre, although presumably the completion time didn’t include side quests, which are a bread-and-butter component of any half-decent sandbox outing these days. Let’s hope developer id Software will flesh out the proceedings a little more, though I’m sure there’s more to RAGE’s single-player campaign that meets the eye.
Riccitiello says Battlefield 3 is ‘designed to take down Call of Duty’
Publishing behemoth EA’s made it abundantly clear that it’s gunning for Call of Duty’s crown with Battlefield 3, and by the sound of things, we’re shaping up for a an all-out war come late 2011. You can argue till the cows come home about what game will ultimately triumph in the scrap for FPS supremacy, though if there’s one thing reading around the net has taught me, is that folk are getting pretty fed up of CoD. Battlefield 3, on the other hand, is not only looking rather scrumptious from a visual perspective, but may actually bring something fresh to the table. As for me, I’d be perfectly happy with Modern Warfare 3 and a little Battlefield 3 on the side. Still, Activision’s still yet give us the skinny on its latest CoD title, so at present I’m just eager to see what exactly it is that Battlefield 3 will be up against come fall 2011.
Rumor: Sony’s NGP E3 plans hinted, MGS: Peace Walker port coming?
I think most of us could hazard a guess as to what Sony has up its sleeves for E3, and NGP is certainly part of the game plan. Whether or not the Gamekulk rumblings are accurate or not is still up in the air, but taking a peak at them, it does seem logical. The main highlight is, naturally, a full NGP name & price reveal, alongside confirmation of seven first-party games. Frankly, I think we’d all be a little gutted if Sony at the very least didn’t pin a price on its hotly anticipated platform at the Los Angeles-based event this June. As for MGS: Peace Walking sneaking its way on to the PSP successor, well, as great as the game is, I would much prefer an original title, so hopefully Kojima-san is busy hammering away on something a little less obvious. Still, if it is Peace Walker, then how about a few extra bits and pieces thrown in for good measure? Whatever Sony has planned though, this year’s show will prove unequivocally one of the biggest in the company’s history to date. I’m stoked.
Quantic Dream in talks with Sony for E3 reveal, says Cage
While it’s common knowledge that Quantic Dream are busy chiselling away on two new games, we’ve been largely kept in the dark as far as info and a potential release date goes. That all changed this week, with studio boss David Cage confirming the studio won’t release any new projects this year, though said it’s in talks with Sony for a potential E3 reveal. Given how this year’s LaLa Land-based shindig is shaping up to be one of the biggest in recent memory, I can’t think of a better way to supplement the proceedings with a formal announcement for the Heavy Rain developer’s latest title. And let’s face it, whatever the firm has up its sleeves, you can pretty much guarantee it’ll be a jaw-dropper. I personally loved Heavy Rain, and while both games are supposed to be totally disparate to the acclaimed thriller, there’s no doubt in my mind that Cage and co will deliver another landmark release.
Twisted Metal PS3 dated
David Jaffe’s eagerly-anticipated motor mash will finally be barrelling onto PlayStation 3 on October 4, augmenting what is already a stellar software line-up for the console. Oddly enough, we’ve still yet to hear all that much on the game, with Jaffe opting to bail out of a GDC showcase in favour of a more focused event later in the year. Hopefully we’ll hear something at E3, though it’s still a while before release so we’re bound to get an info landslide at some point. Regardless, PS3 users are going to be spoiled for choice come fall 2011 – and you can be sure that PSU will bring you our definitive verdicts of all the major release as they fly through our letter box.
Having only just dipped my toes in Shepard’s sprawling space odyssey with the inaugural Mass Effect (that is, having my best mate all but bound me to a chair and demanding I watch him play the darn thing after all these years to see what all the fuss is about), I’m finally able to grasp just why so many people have been frothing at the mouth for the third sci-fi spectacle. As a relative newbie my knowledge on the franchise is admittedly somewhat limited, though after gawping at this latest batch of Mass Effect 3 info it doesn’t take a genius to work out that it’ll be nothing short of spectacular.
While some folk will no doubt view Sony’s decision to slash the PSP’s price in Europe as a means of ostensibly clearing as much stock as possible to make way for NGP, I think there’s still plenty of reasons to be excited about the original handheld. After all, if you’re a hardcore gamer, Sony’s pint-sized platform offers up more than enough reason to invest in the system, boasting over half a decade’s worth of stonking games to sink your teeth into. This year has been particularly strong so far, with the likes of The 3rd Birthday and Dissidia 012: Final Fantasy offering some of the finest slices of on-the-go gaming you can lay your hands on. Despite NGP looming on the horizon, PSP still has a place in your hardware collection, and with the price now having dropped to an oh-so tempting €129.99, you’d be hard pressed to find a better bargain this side of Christmas. Go for it – you know you want to.