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.
– – – – – – – – – –
Rumor: Syphon Filter 4 in development?
Rumblings of a fourth numbered entry in the Syphon Filter franchise have been doing the rounds for some time now. Originally pegged for an E3 reveal, the game made a quick appearance on Sony’s official U.S. PlayStation website before the firm quickly pulling the curtain down – that didn’t stop folk from pinching a few details before it was pulled, though. An official unveiling looks imminent though, with OPM Italy citing a 2012 launch for the game, which is supposedly being developed by SCE London Studio. To be honest, I’m a little surprised that the game hasn’t already been shown off, and certainly don’t find the notion of a Syphon Filter 4 all that shocking – the series is long overdue for a console outing, after all. Expect Sony to pull the wraps off this stealthy sequel before the year’s up for sure.
Post-hack PSN activity has ‘surprised’ Sony
There’s no doubt the PSN hack was a colossal calamity for Sony whichever way you slice it, but in retrospect, things could have been worse. Granted, not much, but definitely worse. For one, it’s obvious by Sony’s recent revelations on user activity that the console maker could have lost a heap of loyal PSN customers following the cyber attacks in April, and the fact the firm has managed to rake in another three million accounts since then is pretty impressive. Furthermore, Sony Europe overlord Jim Ryan said this week that user activity in the post-hack environment has surpassed even Sony’s expectations, which pretty much reaffirms my belief that the firm should be counting its lucky stars that it wasn’t dealing with something much more severe. After all, many onlookers around the time of the hack were anticipating consumers’ confidence in Sony would be irrevocably damaged, and while I’m sure that is the case for some, it seems the majority of punters were more than happy to place their faith in the hardware manufacturer once again.
All Battlefield 3 unlocks will take ‘something like 100 hours,’ says DICE
First-person shooters typically aren’t renowned for their length when it comes to the genre’s single-player offering, hence why gamers find plenty to distract themselves with various unlockables on offer. From the look of it, Battlefield 3 won’t deviate considerably from this concept, though we do know the campaign will be a little meatier than the average Call of Duty gun fest, clocking in at 12 hours. More pertinently, however, is that DICE has said that if you were to unlock every single nugget in the hotly-anticipated military shooter, it’d take you around the 100 hour mark. Value for money or what, eh chaps? I’m chuffed to hear the campaign will be a little lengthier than CoD, since Modern Warfare 2 and Black Ops (but particularly MW2) were way too short for my liking. From the sound of it, DICE are going to be competing with CoD on almost every level, from mammoth set-pieces, comprehensive online multiplayer to the sheer amount of content under the hood. How many of us spent countless hours in the early morning trying to snap up ‘just one more perk’ or weapon upgrade? A pretty substantial chunk by all accounts, and one gamer ritual that Battlefield 3 looks to replicate.
Blimey, Resistance 3 has barely started its invasion of store shelves and Sony has already lifted the wraps off the Chimeric blaster’s first chunk of DLC. Specifically, the Insomniac-developed FPS will be receiving a Survival pack, which augments Resistance 3’s already meaty multiplayer component. We won’t have too long to wait either, with the content arriving in just under a month’s time on October 4. That date pertains to the U.S. market, so we assume PAL gamers will be able to tuck into it the next day. Either way, it’s great to see that Sony is rolling out its post-launch pleasures for Resistance 3 so sharpish. Be sure to check out our review of the Insomniac shooter here.
Activision ‘wrapping up’ story in Modern Warfare 3, franchise not ending
PSU was lucky enough to bag a cheeky interview with Sledgehammer’s Glen Schofield whilst at Call of Duty XP last weekend, who revealed a few juicy tidbits on the Modern Warfare saga. The gist of it? Modern Warfare’s not ending anytime soon, though Schofield said the developers are ‘wrapping up’ the story, presumably meaning it’s the end of the road Soap and Captain Price – whether they survive or not is another thing altogether, though. I’ve never been shy of admitting I’ve enjoyed Modern Warfare’s single-player offering, and have grown to appreciate its lovable bunch of grunts (although that probably has something to do with the fact I have a bit of a man crush on Craig Fairbrass and Billy Murray, who voice Ghost and Price, respectively). As for the fact the franchise itself won’t be coming to a conclusion with MW3, I’m hardly surprised; the Modern Warfare brand has sold like hot cakes, and remains publisher Activision’s biggest cash cow. Nonetheless, even I will admit that it’s high time the military blaster received a firm kick up the backside and was given some sort of significant overhaul, both aesthetically and gameplay-wise.
Third-person Call of Duty had Dead Space-like atmosphere, says dev
The more I hear about this game, the more I lament its cancellation. After teasing a bit of info on Sledgehammer’s canned TPS Call of Duty title last week, studio head Glen Schofield has dropped a few more scraps of info, this time revealing the shelved project would have boasted an atmosphere similar to that of sci-fi horror Dead Space. That’s not to say player would have gone around slicing and dicing space zombies though; rather, Schofield was illustrating the fact the game would have played on the raw, gut-wrenching terror of warfare. Apparently, it would have also taken place in an era that was unrelated to Modern Warfare, which has me wondering if they may have gone back to WWII, or perhaps even visited the sadly forgotten battles of WWI. I can’t imagine anything more terrifying than slogging through a muddy trench in the dead of night, rounds zipping past your head as you try desperately to stay alive. The realist in me tends to doubt it, however. Still, regardless of what time zone it was set in, I think this project could have potentially stimulated interest in the CoD series for those who have long since abandoned it, and would have become a welcoming change of pace for the franchise.
Microsoft has ‘massive lead’ in hardware sales, admits Sony
Did you know that the Big M on average flogs 1.6 Xbox 360 consoles for every PS3 sold? No? Well, how about that despite this fact, Sony’s black beast is actually leading the pack in terms of overall software sold. That was the revelation dropped this week by Sony America’s senior vice president VP of publish relations (try saying that five times fast) Rob Dyer, who had no qualms conceding that Microsoft’s machine has the edge on PS3 in terms of hardware units sold in the U.S. Interestingly however, it appears all isn’t so grim on the software front; Mortal Kombat, for example, outsold the 360 version nearly 1 to 1, while other titles such as Medal of Honor and L.A. Noire also performed better on PS3 than their 360 counterparts. This perhaps isn’t unsurprising given the fact all versions of these games on Sony’s console have additional content, so it just goes to show that a few extra bits and bobs thrown into the mix is enough to convince punters to set up a tent in camp Sony when it comes to multiplatform games.
Sony confirms TGS presser for September 14
The Tokyo Game show marks the last major event of the gaming calendar, and if you’ve been following all the gossip for the past few months, you should be pretty stoked by now. Just to refresh your memory, Sony will be bringing no fewer than 18 new PlayStation Vita games to the Tokyo-based bash, plus on the third-party front they’ll be ample PS3/PSP triple-A treats to tuck into to boot. Sony’s scheduled its pre-TGS press conference for next Wednesday (September 14), so expect plenty of Vita goodness to drop during the presser. The platform holder’s offering a live stream of the event, and PSU – while sadly not in attendance – will be on the ball for all the latest news as it breaks. Don’t miss it.
Max Payne 3’s been keeping a relatively low profile since its unveiling two years ago, so it’s refreshing to finally hear when we can get our grubby mitts on the game. And March 2012 can’t come soon enough. Indeed, the bald badass is looking a little rough around the edges this time (you would be too if you’ve been through the hell that Payne has endured), though fortunately his game is looking proper mint. We’re also promised a multiplayer component this time around, which should prove a welcome and compelling addition to the Max Payne formula. Not surprising though, considering the company has been injecting online gaming into most of its output lately, such as GTA IV and Red Dead Redemption. Needless to say, Payne’s stylish bullet-time blasting should prove for quite the mental online matches, and I’m looking forward to seeing what Rockstar will offer to differentiate the sequel from the rest of the pack.
NPD: Deus Ex claims top spot in U.S. August software sales
Deus Ex: Human Revolution’s arrival at the tail end of August was the kick up the backside the industry so desperately needed. After all, for the past few months up until that point, quality games had sadly been few and far between. But anyway, the pertinent point is, the summer draught ended with Adam Jenson’s stylish action-RPG, and it seems punters were only too happy to snap it up. The game’s sold incredibly well, shipping two million copies worldwide, topping the charts in the U.K., and now according to the NPD, took the crown for August’s highest-selling title in the U.S. last month. That’s pretty impressive considering it released only a week or so before the month ended, too. Great stuff Square – now let’s have a follow-up that doesn’t take four years to get out the door.
The Last Guardian will not be at TGS 2011
Frankly, these days you’d have more chance of spotting the Loch Ness Monster than The Last Guardian. Team ICO’s hotly-anticipated boy-meets-griffin beast adventure has been conspicuously absent from major trade shows since last year, sparking concerns among some onlookers as to whether Fumito Ueda’s latest endeavour is coming along as smoothly as we’d like to believe. I think many of us expected at least a teaser at TGS next week, and now that Sony’s confirmed it won’t be there, it makes you wonder just how far the game has progressed since its last public showing. Fortunately, Sony has assured us that the team are working hard at delivering the best experience possible, though for me personally (and I expect a few others too) it doesn’t certainly nullify any disappointment over the whole affair. Here’s hoping we get a butcher’s at the game before the year’s out.
Crysis coming to PS3 and Xbox 360 next month
Rumblings of the original Crysis turning up on home consoles date back to early 2011, though this week Crytek and EA finally sealed the deal by confirming the sci-fi blaster will be hitting PS3 and 360 as early as next month. This is a bit of a no-brainer as far as I’m concerned; Crysis 2 is already on home consoles, and to be honest I’m surprised Crytek didn’t offer the original game back in March when the sequel hit shelves, either as a pre-order incentive or standard digital download. Still, better late than never. For those out of the loop, Crysis hit PC back in 2007 and remains one of the most celebrated shooters of the past decade, fusing flashy visuals with immensely gratifying first-person combat. Indeed, anyone with a penchant for first-person shooters in general regardless whether you’ve played the sequel or not would do well to pick this up.