Well, there we go. Normality has descended upon the videogames industry once more, following yet another (almost) stellar E3 showcase over in LaLa Land. The dust has settled, radioactivity has subsided and we’re back to the humdrum of daily videogame reporting, hoping and prying that one company has at least a few more tricks up their sleeves to see us through the rest of the year. The wounds are still fresh from a distinct lack of Elder Scrolls V and Resistance 3 at last week’s show, but at the end of the day, we’re games journalists – it’s our god given right to whinge and moan to our hearts content.
Without further ado, see below for the past week’s top stories.
– – – – – – – –
Jaffe reveals why he lied about Twisted Metal PS3
You gotta love David Jaffe. Despite feeding us a load of old cobblers the past few months regarding the status of new Twisted Metal game for PS3, you have to admire his reasoning for doing so – and that’s because E3 is all about surprises. And how right he is. In fact, Jaffe’s comments highlight one of the main gripes we had with this year’s show in Los Angeles; there just wasn’t enough shockers. Ironically enough, Jaffe’s decision to tell porkies about Twisted Metal in an effort to surprise fans at the climax of Sony’s press conference didn’t exactly pan out for many of us, as we never believed his lies in the first place. As such, while the game’s appearance was well received, we all knew it was coming.
Mortal Kombat 2011 has 26 characters and DLC
Checklist for what makes a great Mortal Kombat game: Copious amounts of blood and gore? Check. Outlandish moves? Check. Varied battlegrounds? Check. Bone-crunching fatalities? Check. Heaps of characters? Check. Indeed, this week’s news that MK will sport a mighty 26 playable fighters has convinced us that this could be the best entry in the venerable beat ‘em up franchise in years. We’ve already got word that a number of classic combatants are returning (Scorpion, Night Wolf, Reptile, Sector just to name but a few) so toss in a few newcomers, and you’ve got a match made in heaven. We’re also pleased to see that Warner Bros intends on supporting the game post-release via DLC, as this opens up a plethora of opportunities.
Capcom wants DMC 5 to be ‘tailored to what fans want’
Tailored to what fans what, eh? Well, we can’t speak for everyone, but as big followers of the Devil May Cry series here at PSU, we’ve got one word: Dante. As much as we liked Nero, we’d much rather play all of DMC 5 as the legendary son of sparda and not some fresh-faced demon slayer. Still, DMC 4 excelled in just about every other aspect, and the team got the difficulty setting bang on (unlike DMC 3) so we’d like to see a continuation of this philosophy for a potential sequel. That just leaves one thing – when are you going to get cracking and actually make it, Capcom? Eh?
Guitar Hero Queen coming
Don’t misunderstand us – we’re aware that the majority of gamers are most probably sick to the back teeth of music sims by now. However, this couldn’t go unmentioned. Queen are unequivocally one of the greatest bands to have walked the earth, and any chance to get up their and simulate Brian May’s intricate guitar work is an opportunity that can’t possibly be missed.
UK retailer slashes price of PlayStation Move
PSU staff made it abundantly clear during our E3 retrospective last week that we were less than impressed with Sony’s pricing strategy for the PlayStation Move. This week’s news that UK retail giant GAME have decided to slash five pounds off the price of both the wand and sub-controller has certainly helped alleviate some of our frustration, as forking out for a Move set (wand + sub-controller) will now cost just under £60, saving punters a healthy £10 for their purchase. Still, that’s only for a single player experience, so expect to shell out nearly £120 for a two player set. That’s still a hefty price, but better than the RRP all the same.
Takeuchi not working on Resident Evil 6, has other plans
Mr. Takeuchi has reiterated the fact he won’t be involved at all in the development of Resident Evil 6 many times now – and each time, we breathe a sigh of relief. Don’t get us wrong; RE5 was an enjoyable enough action fest with some lush visuals and terrific multiplayer (mostly down to the Mercenaries sub-game), but to us old school fans, it wasn’t Resident Evil. In fact, Resident Evil hasn’t been Resident Evil for quite some time. Takeuchi is a talented enough chap, sure, but we wouldn’t want him involved with another entry in Capcom’s long-running survival horror (or is that action-horror?) franchise. Instead, we at PSU Towers want someone to take then helm who can make RE6 what it should be – an authentic survival horror experience, filled with brain-frying puzzles, claustrophobic surroundings, pant-wetting scares and most of all, Zombies. For the love of god, Capcom, bring back our shambling, rotting friends. Meanwhile, we’ll be keeping an eye out for Takeuchi’s future works, as we were pretty impressed with Lost Planet 2.