Weekly Video Game News and Game Trailers – 02/09/2013
Killzone 4 Arriving with the PlayStation 4
According to an unnamed industry source quoted by Videogamer, the long-awaited sequel to Killzone 3 is planned for a 2013 launch on the PlayStation 4. Scheduled for an unveiling that will likely occur later this month, Killzone 4 is set to make a splash at Sony’s PlayStation Meeting in New York City. Rumored to be in development at Guerrilla Games, this latest franchise entry will follow the recent PlayStation Vita release of Killzone: Mercenary.
Murdered: Soul Suspect Announced
An official announcement from Square Enix reveals their latest effort – the action game Murdered: Soul Suspect, which will reportedly challenge players to solve “possibly the hardest case of all.” A slew of teasing promotional materials can be found at the website murdered.com, including screenshots and mysterious symbols. Though the developer has not yet been announced, it will likely be either Crystal Dynamics or Eidos Montral – both of which have unannounced projects in the works. More information is sure to come.
Star Trek Online – 3-Year Anniversary Video
Obsidian and Star Wars?
In a recent interview with Rock Paper Shotgun, Fallout: New Vegas developer Obsidian Entertainment revealed its intention to pitch a new Star Wars RPG to LucasArts. The pitch, which was made prior to Disney’s groundbreaking acquisition of the Star Wars franchise, was met with a positive response, and has yet to be made official. Set between Episodes III and IV of the film narrative, Obsidian CEO Feargus Urquhart believes their RPG is one of the top three pitches they’ve ever made. “We think that timeframe is super interesting. It’s the fall of the Republic, the extermination of the Jedi; it’s Obi-Wan going off and making sure Luke is OK. You have the Sith, but you have the extermination of all Force users except for very, very few,” said Urquhart. Obsidian plans to approach Disney, according to the CEO, after “waiting for the smoke to clear.”
Xbox 720 Details
Sources speaking with The Verge indicate that the 720, Microsoft’s upcoming next-generation Xbox console, will feature improved voice recognition technology. The console will support “wake on” voice and natural language controls, as well as speech-to-text. Said to be similar to Apple’s Siri service, the users will be able to ask questions and see results in real time. Gamers will be able to walk into a room, say, “Xbox On,” and watch their console boot up, among many other features. As of press time, Microsoft has yet to make any official announcements beyond their work with the Xbox 360.
Injustice: Gods Among Us – The Line Cinematic Gameplay Trailer
The Return of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
A deal between Activision and Nickelodeon has been penned to allow the company behind Call of Duty to develop and publish at least three games based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series. Moreover, Activision has secured the global game rights to the turtles, and is set to release the first of these games across multiple platforms this summer. The content of the games is to be pulled from Nickelodeon’s recent iteration of TMNT, which debuted in September 2012.
There will be Another Assassin’s Creed
Announced during an otherwise-dry post-earnings financial call, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot announced another installment in the Assassin’s Creed franchise, which will feature a new hero and take place in a new time period. Though no additional details or potential consoles were included in the announcement, previous reports have suggested the next game might take place in Brazil, and feature a co-op mode for the first time in the series’ history.
Battlefield 3 – End Game Capture the Flag Gameplay Trailer
Antony Johnston Talks Dead Space 3
Though Antony Johnston, the writer of the original Dead Space, was not hired on to the new game (presumably because of Visceral Games’ desire to shift the games focus more towards action), he recently spoke to NowGamer and called the evolution of the franchise a “necessary evil in order to broaden the fan base.” Calling the shift in content a logical progression for the series, Johnston said, “I know the developers always wanted to go bigger, in terms of scope. And I’ve mentioned before that the universe we created was huge, with lots of elements, which simply didn’t make it into the first game.” Dead Space 3 launched earlier this week, to positive reactions from gamers and critics.
SimCity News and Notes
After running an initial beta period in January, in which SimCity’s developers claim to have learned a “great deal” from gamer involvement, Maxis is holding yet another closed beta for the reimaging of the city-building franchise. Beginning February 16th, gamers will be granted access to a 24-hour beta period for the game if their application is accepted. Applications can be turned in at www.simcity.com/beta up until 6AM PDT on Monday, February 11th.
Army of TWO: The Devil’s Cartel – TWO Unmasked Part 2
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Bonus Game Trailer: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Reveal Trailer
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