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.
See below for the past week’s top stories.
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UK Charts: GT5 takes pole position
Believe it or not, there was a modicum of doubt here at PSU Towers as to whether or not Kazunori Yamauchi’s latest effort would be able to slay the mighty beast that is Call of Duty: Black Ops – not that we’re questioning the pedigree of the series, but well, you never know when Call of Duty’s concerned. However, one quick glance at the UK Charts and it’s blatantly obvious Gran Turismo still has the power to pull in the punters, with the racer cruising in to first place. Exact sales figures weren’t divulge, but we imagine they must have been pretty substantial to topple a hugely popular brand such as CoD, not to mention the fact gamers have been waiting half a decade for the game to arrive. Admittedly, review scores haven’t been quite as high as we expected them to be, though as you can see from our own dissection of the racer, GT5 is a superb game but not quite the flawless masterpiece Yamauchi-san may have been gunning for. Regardless, the game’s an absolute must-have title, and will very likely prove Sony’s biggest selling PS3 title this holiday season, not to mention deliver a shot in the arm to sales of hardware to boot.
PS3 Mass Effect 2 to look “as good, if not better” than 360 release
As we’ve said before, the days of shoddy PS3 ports of Xbox 360 games are finally starting to become a distant memory, with BioWare the latest in a long line of developers who have moved to reassure gamers that their latest output on Sony’s black box won’t cut any corners on the technical front. Credit where it’s due, the Xbox 360 version of Mass Effect 2 is nothing short of a sumptuous affair in the visual department, so we’d certainly expect no less on PS3 – and according to BioWare, it might even look a little better. Graphics aside, it genuinely does sound like the developers are going through the PS3 iteration with a fine tooth comb, throwing in an assortment of patches and engine updates to ensure optimum performance, not to mention including all the game’s juicy DLC. Add that to the recent news that the game will include an interactive digital comic to bring users up to speed with Mass Effect’s meaty storyline, and we have absolute confidence that BioWare will deliver the definitive version of this gripping sci-fi extravaganza come January. We can’t wait.
SCEA files new patents, backs up PSP2 rumors
Sony must be bloody livid by now. After all, everyone and his dog pretty much knows that a successor to the PSP is on the cards, and has already found its way in to the hands of numerous big name developers, such as Electronic Arts, who outright confirmed the portable’s existence. A PSP2 announcement would be show-stopping stuff, but at this rate, there won’t be anything to get overly excited about when Sony finally decides to lift the cloth on its new handheld effort, especially if we have to wait until E3 in June 2011. That doesn’t mean we’re not eagerly anticipating the unveiling of PSP2 – far from it. We can’t wait to see what Sony has up its sleeves, but if details are going to keep trickling on to the web before we catch an official glimpse at the device, it’ll take the wind out of Sony’s sails to some extent.
Sony UK expects GT5 to drive new hardware sales
We have a sneaky suspicion the pun was very much intended there. Still, we’re inclined to agree, if not for the fact GT5 is such a landmark release, then simply because so many games have been shoved in to 2011 that the racer is pretty much the biggest PS3 game out this holiday season. Traditionally, Gran Turismo is one of those franchises that a select number of gamers usually wait for to show up before parting with their hard-earned cash on a new Sony box, so we suspect many punters have been waiting for Polyphony Digital’s latest racer to cruise in to shops before making the transition to PS3. Of course, given the game has come out during the platform’s fourth year on the market, the sales increase won’t be quite as significant as it would have been if the game had come out during the console’s first or second year on the market. Nonetheless, if there’s one title set to seduce folk on the fence to investing in the platform that “only does everything,” it’s GT5. Vroom Vroom.
Rumor: Uncharted 3 to take place in the desert
With less than a fortnight to go until the rumored unveiling of Nathan Drake’s latest outing at Spike’s VGAs on December 11, we expected some juicy gossip to crawl out of the woodwork to wet our appetites – and we haven’t been disappointed. Apparently, a desert setting has been a long-time fan request for Uncharted 3 location-wise, and we have to admit it sounds like fine fit for Nate’s treasure-hunting exploits. After all, deserts are pretty much synonymous with tombs, treasures and – in the case of an Egyptian backdrop – mummies. Furthermore, Drake’s already battled an assortment of supernatural creeps, so it isn’t entirely inconceivable that he could be up against some undead, bandage-wearing foes third time around. Also, desert locations have become something of a popular resort in numerous entertainment mediums, with the likes of Lara Croft and Indiana Jones having both got sand between their toes during their numerous exploits over the years – adding cheeky chappie Nathan Drake to the mix sounds like a perfectly logical step. Needless to say, we don’t expect the whole game to be set in this one location, what with Uncharted 2 providing the full quintessential Indy globetrotting spectacle, so we can’t see any reason why Naughty Dog would want to take a step backwards with the sequel. We’re stoked.
Guerrilla Games confirms two Euro Killzone 3 Collector’s Edition packs
We almost did a double take when we first clocked eyes on this story on Killzone 3’s official website. Not content with giving us PAL plebs access to the sumptuous Helghast Edition release of the hotly anticipated shooter, the chaps at Guerrilla Games are also shipping a special steelbook case edition to Europe for the game’s February launch, as well as an ample chunk of pre-order goodies thrown in for good measure. Of course, you could just plump for the Helghast set and bag the whole lot, but it’s nice to have a choice, especially for those who end up being a little more strapped for cash than others in early the post-Christmas months. Besides, the steelbook edition still packs in a heap of juicy content making it an ideal companion for the more discerning Killzone fanatic. Decisions, decisions – don’t you just love being spoilt?
Dead Space 2 “scarier” than original, says Riccitiello
We mentioned in the live article that Riccitiello’s claims that Dead Space 2 is scarier than its predecessor would no doubt come as a relief for those who were worried the game’s more action-orientated focus would nullify potential pant-wetting moments. We include ourselves in that group, as we were admittedly a little concerned. After all, Dead Space 2 wouldn’t be the first survival horror game to trade shocks for blood-splattering battles – just look at Resident Evil – but we’re hopeful Isaac Clarke’s latest outing will still retain some quintessential sofa-soiling moments rather than make the transition to a full-blown action fest. Still, Riccitiello’s completed the game so should have a fair idea of what he’s talking about, although then again, he might just be a big girl’s blouse and find even the most innocuous sights and sounds terrifying – us hardcore gamers are made of pretty strong stuff after all, right folks? Regardless, Dead Space 2 looks the absolute business and we’re confident, scares notwithstanding, we’ll lap it up all the same.
Spike VGAs to host first Resistance 3 gameplay footage
We said it last week and we’ll reiterate again now – love them or loathe them, this year’s Spike VGAs is not to be missed. If that wasn’t clear before, it should be now, with Insomniac’s Resistance 3 the latest in a long line of triple-A offerings to be showcased at the event. In this case, Geoff Keighley has revealed we can expect the first gameplay footage of the hotly anticipated shooter at the event, which gives us a warm and cuddly feeling aside as all we’ve seen thus far is some dodgy screens and a slightly ambiguous teaser trailer. Boy, 2011 sure is looking pretty rosy now, isn’t it?
Zelnick says Take-Two won’t “annualise” GTA, Red Dead Redemption
We don’t know about you, but we’re somewhat relieved to hear this. Don’t get us wrong; we can understand why fans of both GTA and Red Dead would revel at the chance to indulge in yearly instalments of each franchise, but for how long? The Call of Duty conveyer belt has already demonstrated that punters are starting to get a little fed up with the same scripted antics year after year (although admittedly, we’re still huge fans of the series), so there’s every chance Zelnick is on to something when he says consumers could be equally burnt out on annual releases of Take-Two’s triumphant duo. Furthermore, we’re not even sure it’d be possible to churn out a half decent GTA game every year considering how substantial they are in terms of content, compared to the likes of CoD, which at least in terms of single-player is a decidedly thin affair. As the Take-Two boss says, there can be no question it’d mar the overall quality of the product – and that’s not something we’d ever want to see. Still, while Red Dead Redemption only came out earlier this year, it’s still high time we got word of a fifth GTA outing, considering the excellent GTA IV has been out for over two years now. E3 announcement perhaps? Fingers crossed.
Ubisoft survey hints at plans for new Assassin’s Creed
Ubisoft has already teased that we’ll be getting another ‘big Assassin’s Creed’ title at some point in 2011, so we’re not surprised to see this survey pop up asking punters what they’d like to see from the next game. Some of the new additions do seem rather meaty it has to be said, especially the likes of online/offline co-op, a brand new protagonist & setting (sorry, Ezio, but it’s time for someone else to have their time in the spotlight) and expanded multiplayer component. Still, we just hope the folks at Ubisoft Montreal don’t rush the game to market — we’d happily wait until 2012 if it meant getting another triple-A offering on par with the sumptuous Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood.