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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Sledgehammer staffing up for new Call of Duty
Sledgehammer Games’ Glen Schofield has always remained positive on the prospect of working on the Call of Duty franchise again, specifically regarding the firm’s collaboration with Infinity Ward. And, if a recent job posting on the company’s official website is anything to go by, the studio isn’t quite finished with the mammoth-selling first-person shooter franchise. Yep, Sledgehammer’s job confirms the studio is staffing up for its next CoD game, and while no platforms were mentioned, the successful candidate must have experience in the limitations and performance of current-generation machines. While we’re not a fan of guessing, we’d wager this must be the 2013 Call of Duty game for PS3 and 360. The question is, will it be a perpetuation of the Modern Warfare brand or an all-new offering? We’re hoping it’ll be the latter, and hopefully with a brand new engine to boot – the MW engine is rapidly running out of steam these days.
FIFA coming to next-gen systems is a total no-brainer, and fans of the series will be happy to know that developer EA Sports is already ‘working diligently’ on preparing the franchise for the transition to the next-Xbox and PlayStation 4. Just as well too, since Konami has let slip that it’s also beavering away on its next-gen Pro Evolution Soccer. While EA is understandably keeping mum on much of the details, it did let slip that the company is reading to go toe-to-toe with its leading rival, and indicated that social media will play a large part in the game. For example, it mentioned about allowing players to influence events on the pitch through Facebook and tablet by interacting with your friends, such as getting together a bunch of mates for a match. FIFA has really come into its own the past few years, supplanting Pro Evo as the dominate football series of choice among consumers. No doubt we can expect a slew of new gameplay tweaks for the next-gen leap, as well as top-notch player animation and lush visuals. Next-gen grass effects anyone? We’re foaming at the mouth.
PSA: Metal Gear Online is going offline, this is your last chance to play
By the time you read this MG Online would have been shuttered, though at the time of writing there’s still just enough time to get a few more sneaky (no pun intended) rounds in before Konami pulls the plug. Personally I never indulged in the online side of Metal Gear, but I know the game had its fans, and from what I’ve seen the gameplay translated very well into the online space. To be honest, it’s difficult for me to even comprehend that it’s been four years since the game launch alongside Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, but then again, that’s life. Time flies, and all that. Konami did do a pretty good job of supporting MG Online it has to be said, with numerous DLC offered to supplement the action. Anyone remember the bikini pack? Of course you do. Regardless, it’s a sad time for MGS fans and I for one hope that Konami doesn’t abandon the idea of MG Online for future iterations in the series. Perhaps we’ll see MG Online 2 at some point? We can only hope.
Don’t get your hopes up for TimeSplitters 4
TimeSplitters 4 is one of those things that never seems to die, despite the fact the game doesn’t even exist. Well, at least not past the concept stage. Indeed, the project has been plagued by misfortune ever since original developer Free Radical attempted to pitch the sequel unsuccessfully to publishers back in 2008. Once Crytek UK snapped them up, the game has been stuck in limbo ever since, though it’s not as if it hasn’t been praying on minds. Nope, Crytek overlord Cevat Yerli would love to do the game, and in fact wishes it was in development. Sadly, he doesn’t feel TimeSplitters 4 would ultimately work, suggesting the series’ fan base may not be substantial enough to warrant a sequel. Apart from that, he thinks the fans are the only people are will likely care about such a game, echoing Free Radical’s view that unless you’re a triple-A shooter along the lines of Call of Duty, you haven’t a hope in hell of selling. Sad news indeed, but sadly this is the state of the industry today, where ‘quirky’ ideas such as TimeSplitters fail to set tills alight anymore, and blockbuster, annualized sequels remain the order of the day. And, while Yerli feels that the franchise would be well suited to Crytek’s new love with free-to-play titles, I personally wouldn’t want to see such a beloved franchise diluted beyond the full-on console experience that I along with other fans so fondly remember it for. Come guys, make it happen; if it’s good, people will buy.
Learn to play Queen in new song pack for Rocksmith
Let’s face it, what budding musician doesn’t want to be Brian May? Fortunately, Rocksmith has got you covered with a new Queen track pack, allowing you to unleash those iconic licks from tunes such as Killer Queen and Bohemian Rhapsody. Queen is no stranger to the world of music games, but Rocksmith is slightly more unique due to the fact it’s about as close to the real thing as possible. Therefore, you’re likely to get more out of strumming along to your favourite tracks in Rocksmith than you are tinkering away with a cruddy plastic guitar in Rock Band or Guitar Hero. PSU’s Adam Dolge was pretty impressed with the game when it hit U.S. shelves last year, and recommends that anyone who has a penchant for the guitar should snap it up. And now you can play Queen – what are you waiting for?
Peter Molyneux worried about Sony’s hardware efforts
Peter Molyneux may have jump ship from Microsoft, but that hasn’t stopped him from mulling over his once competitors, namely Sony. The celebrated British games designer had some pretty positive things to say about the PlayStation brand however, heaping praise over Sony’s first-party efforts in regards to software development. I think we can all agree on that front, though it’s hardware that has seemingly got Molyneux slightly concerned for Kaz Hirai and co. Apparently, he’s a little unsure as to where they’re going in regards to hardware, and was particularly critical about PlayStation Move. According to the Fable creator, PS Move was too early to get the jump on Wii (obviously, since Wii had a four-year head start), but lacked the innovative qualities of Kinect (I’ll have to admit PS Move was more of a Wii-mote rip-off than Kinect, which at least tried to do something different). Unfortunately, Molyneux is spot on with his analysis, since you’d be hard pressed to find someone who wouldn’t admit Sony is in third place (no pun intended if you catch my drift) in regards to motion gaming. Wii rules the roost, while Kinect has seemingly got the upper hand on Sony’s wand-waggling device. Sadly, it seems the content for PS Move is drying up too, which doesn’t bode well for those of us that, despite its flaws, have enjoyed using the peripheral for games such as House of the Dead 4 and Datura.
Ubisoft is excited for the future of Vita
There’s been quite a bit of negativity surrounding PS Vita after Sony’s admittedly underwhelming performance at E3, so it’s refreshing to hear one of the industry’s biggest publishers big up the new handheld, in this case Ubisoft. The company is backing Sony’s high-tech pocket brick with a brand new Assassin’s Creed III spin-off titled Liberation, describing PS Vita as a ‘beautiful piece of hardware.’ While the support of something like AC is certainly a major coup for Sony it apparently doesn’t stop there either. Ubisoft said that Liberation isn’t the only major PS Vita title from the French publisher coming this holiday season, so presumably we can expect more announcements in the not-too-distant future. Overall the company seems incredibly optimistic about Sony’s new handheld, and that can only be a good thing for Vita owners after the slightly sluggish start the platform has endured.
David Jaffe thinks consoles are going the way of the Dodo
The topic of whether or not traditional home consoles will exist in the next decade or so isn’t going to go away anytime soon. After all, with the industry moving inexorably towards a more digital-oriented future, not to mention the introduction of SmartTVs, it’s not out of the question to imagine that one day we’ll be streaming the likes of Resident Evil or Uncharted to our screens. David Jaffe certainly believes this is the way forward, and like many people before him, reckons the next-generation of consoles will be the last. Quite how accurate this is remains to be seen, though the uptake of high-speed broadband in areas such as the U.K. and Europe will have to be significantly higher than it is now in order to facilitate those massive downloads. I personally love physical products and have no desire whatsoever to move beyond my trusty PlayStation consoles, but I’ll concede it’s the way things are going. For now though, i’m very much embracing the inevitable PS4, and firmly believe a dedicated games machine has a place in our industry for the foreseeable future.
ThatGameCompany, developers of Journey, no longer PlayStation-exclusive
Thatgamecompany has just come out of a three-game exclusively contract with Sony, so it’s little surprise that the firm – responsible for idiosyncratic gems such as Journey and Flower – are moving into multiplatform development. Console exclusives are quickly become a rarity these days thanks to the cost of game development, but it goes without saying that they’ll be missed. After all, TGC have been responsible for some of PS3’s most compelling titles to date, offering unique gaming experiences not available anywhere else – to lose that is a bit of a blow no matter how you slice it. Nonetheless, we can’t wait to see what the studio is going to churn out next, and if more people get to experience it than before, then well, who are we to complain? More importantly however, the transition to multi-format development has meant the studio has a bigger budget to play with. As such, we can’t wait to see what they come up with next and how far the company’s creativity is going to stretch with more financial backing.
BBFC outs BioShock: Ultimate Rapture Edition
With BioShock: Infinite delayed until early 2013, publisher 2K has taken the initiative and decided to repackage the original two games and all DLC in one neat bundle, aptly titled the BioShock: Ultimate Rapture Edition. That’s at least according to the BBFC, which lists the 18-rated pack for launch later this year, presumably on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. At the right price, this bundle could be just the ticket for those looking to hop on board the BioShock bandwagon after all this time, and a fine way to drum up hype for the aforementioned Infinite. No release date has been given yet, and it’s unknown whether or not it’ll be released stateside, though we can’t imagine why. Stay tuned to PSU.com for more details as we get them.
The Best of the Rest…..
Could Sony release an even slimmer PS3?
Final Fantasy XIV isn’t dead, beta due this winter
Sony bigwigs happy with PS Vita’s performance so far
Sony survey mentions Gran Turismo for PS Vita
Samuel L. Jackson to host this year’s VGAs
Sony: The Last Guardian will ship ‘when it’s ready’