Missed out all the big news from the week? Fret not! I have you covered with the weekly recap of all the big and not so big news!
DOTA 2 Winners and Record Prize Pool
Humble Square Enix Bundle Now Live
Halo Nightfall Images Revealed
Bandai Namco Partners with Marvel
Sims 2 Ultimate Collection For Free
Cartnoon Network Launches New iOS Game
Firefly Online – Gameplay Trailer
New Sunset Overdrive Feature Video
Bioware Releases Live Action Trailer
Hyrule Warriors Trailer
Maisie Williams up for Last of Us Role
Lara Croft And The Temple Of Osiris gets a release date
Developer Crystal Dynamics really have their hands full as of late with two Tomb Raider projects in development at the same time, one being the sequel to the recent reboot of Tomb Raider, Rise of the Tomb Raider and the the other being a sequel to a lesser known title in the series, Lara Croft and the Temple of Light with Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris. While Rise of the Tomb Raider is quite far off in terms of a release date, Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris will release 9th of December 2014. The title will be similar to the original game, being an isometric action adventure but will now include 4 player co-op.
Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris will release for PS4, Xbox One and PC on 9th of December.
The Steam controller will have analog sticks after all
Recently a Steam update revealed a new version of the Steam controller, with the most notable change being the addition of an analog stick. The Steam controller’s original design was to feature no analog sticks at all, instead opting for haptic feedback face buttons. This new design was found on the FacePunch forums who found it via Steam’s update. The controller has been changed quite a lot since the original design, from the touch screen being replaced with buttons and now with this analog stick, the controller is looking more and more conventional, which isn’t a bad thing by any means. Only time will tell what the final design will look like.
You can read the original forum post here.
EA pushes Battlefield: Hardline back to 2015
This week we learned that the latest installment in the yearly shooter series Battlefield will be stopping the trend of yearly releases for the franchise, as Battlefield Hardline has been pushed back to 2015. The news came from Karl Magnus Troedsson (DICE vice president) on a column via the Battlefield blog. He explained that the decision was made from the feedback they received from the public beta.
Karl Troedosson spoke out about the feedback on the forum, stating “This feedback spurred us to start thinking about other possibilities and ways we could push Hardline innovation further and make the game even better. The more we thought about these ideas, the more we knew we had to get them into the game you will all be playing. However, there was only one problem. We would need more time. Time that we didn’t have if we decided to move forward with launching in just a couple of months.”
This really needed to happen, actually it needed to happen sooner, but I am glad its happening at all. The Battlefield series has declined greatly in terms of quality and stability over the last few titles, with Battlefield 4 still being completely broken for some players. Visceral needs to take the time and work out the problems this time around as they can’t have another situation like Battlefield 4 again. With player feedback from the betas being very poor, lets hope EA and Visceral games can get the game back on track with this added time.
You can read the full column post here.
2K UK teases something Bioshock related
In a unexpected turn of events, this week we may of gotten some news on what exactly is going on with the Bioshock series. The picture above came from the official 2K Games UK twitter with the statement “Oooo, what COULD this mean?!”
After Ken Levine disbanded Irrational Games to make his own smaller titles, the Bioshock series went to 2K and was not going to just disappear, not by a long shot. Recently we learned that the series will be taken up by the same team who made Bioshock 2, 2K Marin, so why is 2K UK tweeting about Bioshock? Only time will tell if this even has anything to do with a Bioshock game in development or not, but its still interesting to see 2K acknowledge it exists.
Dragon Age: Inquisition delayed by a month
If you’re a huge fan of the Dragon Age series then you’re no doubt incredibly hyped up for the latest installment in the series, Dragon Age: Inquisition. Well turns out you may have to wait just a little longer than before, as the game has been pushed from its October 7th release date to November 18th.
Executive producer Mark Darrah spoke out about the delay stating “We appreciate the enormous support we’ve received from all of you to get to this point, and while this extra few weeks may not seem like a lot, I know the game you’ll play will be all the better for it.”
Sonic Boom Wii U and 3DS get a release date
Sega’s latest attempt to reboot the blue blur has caused quite the uproar with fans, some hating it with other loving it. But with Sega planning a cartoon series, a comic series, a movie and two new video games, its clear they has a lot of faith in this new reboot. Speaking of video games, Sega has announced the release date for those two titles this week, with Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal for the 3DS coming November 11th and Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric for the Wii U coming November 18th. The interesting thing for me is that neither titles are being developed by Sonic Team, instead having a new company, Big Red Button, taking helm of the Wii U version, and Sanzaru Games taking the 3DS version.
Crytek finally addresses Financial Problems
Crytek has been in the news recently regarding their questionable actions with their employees and financial position. With the departure of numerous employees and reports of staff not receiving their pay checks, many people were speculating if this was the end for Crytek as we know it. Crytek has finally spoken out on the matter, as a representative provided this statement:
“In recent weeks, there have been repeated reports and rumors relating to financial problems at Crytek. Having already given an update to staff across all our studios, we are now in a position to share more details with members of the press and public.
Internally, we have acknowledged that the flow of information to employees has not been as good as it should have, however we hope you understand that communicating details of our plans publicly has not always been possible.
Like the games industry as a whole, Crytek has been in a transitional phase. Our evolution from a development studio to an Online-Publisher has required us to refocus our strategies. These challenges go along with an increased demand for capital which we have secured.
We can now concentrate on the long term strategic direction of Crytek and our core competencies. We kindly ask for your understanding, that we won’t be communicating further details about our developments and progress.
Ultimately, with our organization, capitalization, portfolio and technologies we have now laid the foundations for securing Crytek’s future – not just in the short term, but also long term.
Through this period of speculation, we are thankful for the support and encouragement we’ve received from our community and our partners, and for the contribution all of our staff have made. We remain committed to doing what we are best known for and trying to develop the best interactive experiences and technology possible for everyone who loves gaming.
We are confident that we will be able to share more positive news on Crytek’s progress soon.”
While this statement does acknowledge that their employees were not receiving their pay checks, it doesn’t really give anything in regards to why this happened. We know something is going on at Crytek, just no specific details on what. Crytek currently has two projects in development, Hunt: Horrors of the Gilded Age and Homefront: Revolution, whether these two titles are going to be affected by this recent debacle is currently unknown.
The Uncharted film to release in 2016
Last week we reported that the film adaptation of the Uncharted series was to begin filming in early 2015. Now this week we learned that the film already has a release date for the 10th of June, 2016. This date was originally scheduled for The Amazing Spider-Man 3, which was pushed back 2 years. So not only has the Uncharted movie not began filming ,we also have no leading man, and yet we have a release date? My hopes aren’t exactly what you would call high for this adaptation, especially seeing just how long the project has been in production limbo.
Telltale confirms The Walking Dead Season Three at Comic Con
In a surprising turn of events, Telltale announced yet another project this week, but its not a new property. Instead we learned that there will indeed be a third season of The Walking Dead. The news came from Telltale co-founder, Kevin Bruner, during the Skybound Entertainment panel at Comic Con. Obviously we know nothing about a release date or the story, but it does change my expectations for the finale of Season Two.
