Another week, another onslaught of gaming news for your consumption. Check out our top picks of the past week’s stories below.
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Dead Rising 2 ‘Zombrex’ edition heading to Europe
When Capcom divulged they had something in mind for U.S. gamers to compensate for the European-exclusive Outbreak pack, we didn’t expect it to make the transition to PAL regions a few weeks later. Well, ok, at least part of it. While the Zombrex edition that’s heading to Europe is pretty much an abbreviated version of what our friends across the pond are getting, it’s still rare to find us PAL plebs receiving such a half decent treatment as far as special edition releases go for triple-A software. That now makes three versions available come October – standard, Outbreak and Zombrex. Not too shabby. Which one will you likely plump for, Euro readers? Let us know in the comments section below this article.
God of War Ghost of Sparta nabs a release date
Another date to pin on the wall folks – November 2, 2010. That’s the day you’ll finally be able to get your hands on God of War Ghost of Sparta for PSP. While this alone got us excited enough, the fact that participating retailers are offering a massive pre-order incentive – plus the fact Sony’s also confirmed a Ghost of Sparta Entertainment Pack – got us really hot under the collar. The former allows punters to get their hands on a heap of goodies including but not limited to the game’s soundtrack, PSP theme, PSN avatar, director’s commentary and more. Meanwhile, the latter offers an ideal purchase for new adopters, throwing in a Black & Red Two-Toned PSP-3000, a copy of Kratos’ latest adventure, downloadable games voucher plus some other goodies for the sum of $199.99 USD. All in all, we can confidently say there’s never been a better time to be a PSP owner or indeed no better time to make the transition to Sony’s slab. Bloody marvellous.
Crysis 2 falls back to early 2011
Gordon Bennett. Sonic 4, Dead Rising 2, SOCOM 4 and now Crysis 2? Give us a break up there already. Still, as disappointing as this setback is, delays are always a bit of a double-edged sword; after all, with the Crytek shooter now missing a holiday 2010 release, punters can now look forward to a triple-A filled early 2011 onslaught, with the likes of Dead Space 2, the aforementioned SOCOM 4, Bulletstorm (and of course Crysis 2) all battling it out for your hard-earned cash. Not all bad now is it? Having said that, fingers crossed we don’t bare witness to yet another soul-crushing delay any time soon.
LittleBigPlanet 2 story mode in trailer form
Check out the latest trailer for SackBoy’s hotly anticipated sequel below.
Gran Turismo 5 Signature & Collector’s Edition packs unveiled
Merely clocking eyes on the price point for the GT5 Signature Edition is enough to make our wallets feel 10lbs lighter, but nonetheless, we’re absolutely stoked. Indeed, the times when PAL gamers seemed perpetually doomed to receive the short end of the retail stick now appear long gone, with Europe getting not one, but two sumptuous GT5 special edition releases. If you’ve got cash to splash, then the aforementioned Signature Edition should be right up your street, packing in a plethora of goodies ranging from a GT branded SLS AMG 1:43 model car to an exclusive coffee table book featuring all the glorious motors and locations you’ll come across in the game. Meanwhile, those of you who don’t fancy forking out £150 can plump for the Collector’s Edition, which features (among other things) a swanky packaging design and APEX driver’s magazine. Better start saving those pennies, eh folks?
Uncharted film loses possible director
By tradition film adaptations of videogames tend to turn out like a dogs dinner – that much anyone knows. Still, given how bloody brilliant Uncharted is, we’ll admit that just a small part of us couldn’t help but feel secretly optimistic that Nathan Drake’s big screen debut would turn out ok. After all, an action-packed extravaganza staring a wisecracking, gun-toting Indiana Jones-esque treasure seeker would make for the perfect recipe for mass-market consumption, let alone the fact it’s based on one of the most successful game series of the past few years. And let’s face it; even if it turned out to be as abysmal as Street Fighter, we’ll watch it anyway. As such, we’re rather gutted to hear that the film’s potential director has decided to pack his bags and jump ship, effectively putting the project back to the drawing board. We’ve heard rumblings on the net Sony was hoping to shove the film out the door by summer 2011, though at this rate we’d be surprised if it even saw the light of day before Uncharted 3 comes knocking. And let’s face it; we all know that’s just a matter of time.
3rd Birthday sequel would be in HD, Parasite Eve 1 & 2 may come to PSN
Square’s Parasite Eve franchise remains one of the most underrated and overlooked gems to date. Essentially an amalgamation of Final Fantasy’s turn-based battles and Resident Evil’s pant-wetting sensibilities, both titles offered a compelling narrative and excruciatingly challenging gameplay, though remained very much under the radar. Indeed, the inaugural title didn’t even make the transition to western shores. As such, we’re definitely holding out for a chance to replay them on PSN. Likewise, a follow-up to the 3rd Birthday sounds equally tempting, even more so that Square would want to go for the HD treatment, pointing to an obvious PlayStation 3 iteration. Make it happen, boys.
Batman: Arkham City coming in 2011
In our humble opinion Arkham Asylum represents unequivocally one of greatest super-hero videogame outings of all time. When news reached our ears that a sequel was in the works over at Rocksteady, we could hardly contain our excitement. Unfortunately, it’ll be a long wait before players will be stepping back in to the shoes of the legendary Dark Knight, with the follow-up – now known as Arkham City – not due out until autumn 2011. Nonetheless, it’s shaping up to be nothing short of spectacular, with reappearances confirmed for the likes of The Joker and Harley Quinn, who will also be joined this time around by Two-Face and Catwoman. Potential contender for Game of the Year 2011? You can bet you Bat Mobile it will be. Bring it on.