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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U.K. Charts: Final Fantasy XIII-2 steals the show
Footie favourite FIFA 12’s reign at the summit of the U.K. Charts has finally come to an end this week, with Final Fantasy XIII-2 booting it off the top spot following its launch last Friday. Marking what is easily the biggest post-Christmas release so far, Square-Enix’s sequel – much like its predecessor – has divided fan opinion, with some insisting it as the better game while others lamenting some unfavourable gameplay decisions. Regardless, the Final Fantasy brand has plenty of clout, and in name alone probably would have topped the charts regardless of some pretty positive scores. The other major new entry, Soul Calibur V, didn’t fare as well, making five in the charts but still placing it above the ubiquitous Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. Impressively, Battlefield 3 has managed to cling on to a higher chart position than its leading rival, making third place behind the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection. I’m pretty chuffed about the latter putting in such a solid performance (geddit?), as the game has taken its sweet time to arrive over here and I can’t remember the last time a HD Collection has resonated so well with consumers.
The Last of Us gets massive info burst
Unless Final Fantasy Versus XIII decides to put in a miraculous appearance in stores at any point this year, Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us is undoubtedly the next killer exclusive for PS3 everyone is waiting for. Game Informer has gotten the scoop on an in-game demo of the survival horror adventure, revealing a boatload of new details on the game in the process – including the presence of an online mode. All in all the game is looking particularly scrumptious, and having seen what the Dogs have done with Uncharted, there’s no doubt this is going to be a right corker. Hit the link for the full skinny.
Twisted Metal European release date revealed
David Jaffe’s latest baby has been in the works for around three years now believe it or not, and despite launching in the U.S. on Valentine’s Day, is still feeling the pinch of European delays. Apparently the game is receiving a few snips here and there in regards to content for the game’s German release, and since we’re all under the same banner, has pushed back the PAL launch to March 7. Fortunately Jaffe has assured us that the cuts aren’t too bad, though it’s still a shame considering the title was originally due out in mid-February. While the delay will obviously irk consumers having to wait a little longer, it also likely won’t do the game’s sales any favours, considering it’s now launching almost day and date with Mass Effect 3. Had it been released on its original February 17 release, there wouldn’t be anywhere near as much competition. This is compounded by the fact Twisted Metal – by Jaffe’s own admission – has never been that popular outside of the U.S., so we’ll just have to see how well it fares with the Great British Public and the rest of the EU.
Medal of Honor 2 reveal for GDC?
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past year or so, chatter on a follow-up to 2010’s Medal of Honor shouldn’t be a surprise. After all, aside from teasing the game in retail copies of Battlefield 3, developer Danger Close outright confirmed the shooter’s development in January of last year, alongside news that it was hiring for an ‘unannounced triple-A shooter.’ And, with a Medal of Honor-related presser due for early March (the same week as GDC), it doesn’t take a mathematical genius to work out that EA’s sure to drop the bomb early next month.
UMD passport system not coming to North America
One of the earliest concerns surrounding PlayStation Vita boiled down to what gamers were going to do with their extensive backlog of PSP software. Fortunately for Japan at least, Sony confirmed that it had put in place a UMD passport system, allowing gamers to download a digital copy of a particular title by registering the UMD with their PSN account. However, much to our surprise this week, Sony said that the service will NOT be making the jump to the U.S. As pointed out in our article however, the passport system did have one particular snag – no pricing system was set in place, meaning publishers could charge an arm and a leg for an old PSP game if they saw fit. With this in mind, it’s certainly food for thought as to how often North America gamers would make use of this feature.
Sleeping Dogs was trademarked last month, leading many to believe the mysterious project was in fact another Kane & Lynch title. Square flattened those rumors this week however, confirming the game is in fact True Crime: Hong Kong with a new name in place. Not much is known on the game at present, though the live-action trailer certainly leaves a lasting impression. If anything, the fact the game has come back from the dead is as good of a reason to celebrate as anything, so let’s just hope it measures up to expectations. Fortunately we won’t have too long to wait, with Sleeping Dogs due out in the second half of the year.
Get your hands on PS Vita early
PS Vita’s February 22 launch is less than a fortnight away, but if you still find the prospect of waiting too much to bear, Sony’s got you covered. The hardware manufacturer is giving salivating consumers a chance to get their grubby paws on the swanky new handheld early, with special events scheduled for major cities across the U.S. In fact, things kick off today, with Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 playable in the likes of Boston, Los Angeles, Miami and Atlanta. The events continue for the next two weeks or so, giving punters access to other highlights including Mortal Kombat, ModNation Racers and Reality Fighters. Going to any of these events? Be sure to let us know in the comments section!
Batman: Arkham City ships six million
Batman: Arkham City was among 2011’s most polished titles, and a fine example of how sequels aren’t always necessarily quick cash-in copy & paste jobs. Brimming with things to see and do, plus not to mention a gripping narrative, Arkham City is probably the best superhero game ever made, surpassing the already excellent original in just about every conceivable way. Unsurprisingly, the game contributed to a successful Q4 fiscal for publisher Warner Bros., shipping a massive six million copies worldwide. Obviously this doesn’t translate into exact units sold at retail, but the game’s chart performance speaks for itself. If you’ve yet to make the jump to the Caped Crusader’s latest outing having loved the original, then be sure to pick up a copy; in fact, it may just convert you even if you aren’t particularly keen on comic book superhero types in general. I can certainly attest to the latter.
These 275 PSP games are ready to play at PS Vita’s launch
Sony has confirmed it’s supplementing the launch of PS Vita in North America with a meaty line-up of PSP and mini classics available for your downloading pleasure. To be precise, there will be 275 titles up for grabs, ranging from the likes of Assassin’s Creed: Bloodlines, Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness, Dissidia: Final Fantasy, God of War: Chains of Olympus, Patapon 2 and Tekken 6 among others. All in all it seems to be a pretty good mishmash of titles, though on a personal level I’ve seen a few titles that are conspicuously by their absence, such as Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Silent Hill: Origins and a couple of others. Be sure to hit the link for the full list.
The Last Guardian is making slow progress
Will The Last Guardian make it out this year? We bloody hope so, but one thing’s for sure, it’s certainly in no rush. That much was made clear by Sony’s Shuhei Yoshida this week, when he confirmed that development on the game is continuing, albeit at a slow pace. Interestingly, he also touched base with creator Fumito Ueda’s status with Team ICO, confirming that his shift from full-time employee to contractual worker was arranged in order to allow Ueda-san to focus more on the creative side of things. Either way, he’s still very much involved in the project, and apparently comes puts in more time than anyone else working on the ambitious griffin-meets-boy romp. Of course, it’s worrying that things are going so slowly, especially as we’ve seen nothing on the game in quite some time. I wouldn’t be surprised if this slipped into 2013, but fingers crossed for a holiday 2012 launch.
The Best of the Rest…
PSN will be known as Sony Entertainment Network from tomorrow
Journey development is now complete
David Jaffe to leave Eat Sleep Play
LittleBigPlanet Karting unveiled
Double Fine Raises $950,000 in 24 hours for Crowdfunded Video Game Project