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Deals with Gold: All Lara Croft, all week
Microsoft's current Deals with Gold lineup spotlights adventurer Lara Croft, offering discounts on many of her recent releases on the Xbox 360 and Xbox One. Xbox One owners get a deal on Tomb Raider Definitive Edition this week, while the non-definitive 2013 Xbox 360 version and all DLC also see a series of steep price drops. Other featured Xbox 360 Games on Demand releases include Tomb Raider Underworld, Tomb Raider Anniversary, Tomb Raider Legend, and Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light. From Software's Armored Core Verdict Day and Ninja Theory's Enslaved round out this week's discounted offerings for Xbox Live Gold subscribers. All listed deals are available through November 24. [Image: Square Enix]
Humble Square Enix Bundle features Hitman, Deus Ex, Anachronox
The Humble Square Enix Bundle launched today, offering multiple games from the Deus Ex and Hitman franchises for a user-determined price with proceeds benefiting GamesAid and Make-A-Wish. All bundle buyers receive Steam-redeemable Windows versions of Hitman, Hitman 2, Daikatana, Thief Gold, Mini Ninjas, and Anachronox. Toss in a few more bucks to beat the average purchase price (currently $6.10), and you'll also get Deus Ex: Invisible War, Deus Ex: The Fall, Hitman Absolution, Battlestations: Midway, and the Nosgoth Veteran Pack, along with additional bonus games to be announced at a later date. A purchase of $14.99 or more will also unlock copies of Deus Ex: Game of the Year Edition, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days, Just Cause 2, and Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light. The Humble Square Enix Bundle will remain available through August 5. [Video: Humble Bundle]
Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris announced, sequel to Guardian of Light
Rise of the Tomb Raider won't be the only upcoming adventure for a certain lady with an affinity for archaeological mysteries; Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris from Crystal Dynamics is coming to PC, PS4 and Xbox One sometime "soon," executive producer Scot Amos revealed on a Spike E3 stream. A sequel to Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, the new game will once again feature a top-down perspective and gameplay focused around puzzles and exploration. New to Temple of Osiris will be four-player co-op, because hey, it's dangerous to go alone. [Image: Crystal Dynamics]
PSA: Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light free now on Xbox Live Gold
Action puzzler Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light is next up in the Games with Gold program, and Xbox Live Gold members can download it for free on their 360s right now. Raid the Joystiq tombs and you'll see we gave LCatGoL (catchy) four and a half stars. In the words of one Mr. Ludwig Kietzmann, "Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light introduces an unexplored social element into a franchise that I've come to adore for its sense of isolation and discovery. A second player, acting as Aztec guardian Totec, necessarily disrupts that atmosphere, but also facilitates unplanned moments of creativity." Developer Crystal Dynamics is hard at work on a new Tomb Raider to follow on from last year's reboot, and a follow-up to Guardian of Light isn't in the works (as far as we know!). That said, the Californian studio made sure it never said never...
January Games with Gold: Sleeping Dogs, Lara Croft guarding the light
Microsoft is kicking off the new year with two more free games for Xbox Live Gold members via the Games with Gold program. First up is the kung fu-heavy crime game, Sleeping Dogs, which will be available from January 1 through January 15. Closing out the month will be the excellent puzzle action game, Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, which will be free from January 15 through January 31.
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light now stationed on Core Online
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light has made the jump to Core Online, Square Enix's recently unveiled cloud gaming platform. It's the third game to find its way there, with Hitman: Blood Money and Mini Ninjas made available at launch. Core Online is accessible via Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Chrome, making Guardian of Light available to Mac users.Lara Croft's 2010 jaunt into isometric puzzling is free-to-play through Core Online, but only if you're okay with having play interrupted by ads. The service's help page indicates ads should generally appear every 20 minutes, as long as you watch a full minute of sponsored messages at each interruption. On our testing we were offered a selection of three ads, each with different running times. 1 minute and 14 seconds of a Mini Ninjas ad gave us 25 minutes playing time.If you prefer raiding tombs without people intermittently trying to sell you stuff, you can remove ads from the full game for $9.99, or from individual missions for $0.99 each.
Coreonline: A new cloud gaming service from Square Enix [update: how to 'earn' play time]
Square Enix has announced a new cloud gaming service called Coreonline, which will bring "high definition" gaming to browsers. Specifically, the service will "allows users to easily play popular, console quality games on the web." Coreonline will be accessible via Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer thanks to "a combination of Google and Square Enix's proprietary technology."Currently there are only two titles available, Mini Ninjas and Hitman: Blood Money. In the case of Mini Ninjas, the Coreonline site merely redirects users to the Chrome Web Store, where a streaming version of Mini Ninjas has already been available for some time. Blood Money, on the other hand, will play directly in the Coreonline store. We loaded the game, at which point we were asked to watch an ad, which "earned" us 10 minutes of play time. Ads can be skipped by purchasing individual levels or entire games, according to Square Enix.Lara Croft: Guardian of Light will be released on the service in October. Gyromancer and Tomb Raider: Underworld are also in development. At present, Mini Ninjas, Blood Money and Lara Croft support Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer 8 on Windows 7. On Mac, Lara Croft and Mini Ninjas will only work in Chrome, while Blood Money does not currently support Mac at all.Update: It turns out that you "earn" minutes of play based on which ads you choose to watch. At the end of our initial ten minutes, we were given a selection of ads, each worth a number of minutes. A 1:17 ad for Kohl's for example, is worth 26 minutes of play time, whereas a 7 second ad for the Samsung Series 9 is worth 5 minutes.
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light gets Chrome'd out this fall
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light continues its long and storied tradition of being ported to unexpected platforms this fall, when the Crystal Dynamics XBLA adventure makes its way to Google's Chrome browser.Previously, LCATGOL has made its way to PSN, Steam, iOS, OnLive and the Blackberry Playbook; a list that makes less sense the longer you read it. The game will be powered by Google's open source Native Client framework and will run in-browser, similar to other XBLA-to-Chrome converts like Bastion and From Dust. No word yet on pricing or availability beyond the fall release window.
BlackBerry gets its game on at BBW, scores Jetpack Joyride and Sonic
One of the things BlackBerry has never really had going for it, is a deep games catalog. Now, that isn't about to change in one fell swoop, but things are about to get a lot better at BlackBerry World 2012. RIM's head of gaming, Anders Jeppsson, took to twitter to let the world know about the impressive pile of titles heading to the PlayBook and BlackBerry 10. The biggest names are certainly Jetpack Joyride, from Halfbrick (the studio behind Fruit Ninja), and Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1. Other games in the pipeline include Galaxy on Fire 2 and Star Marine, while Tomb Raider fans can get down with Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light starting today. Keep an ear out for more to hit during this week's BBW.
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light ported to the BlackBerry PlayBook
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light has been generally recognized as a great downloadable game that should be played by as many people as possible, which is why we're confused about its launch on the BlackBerry PlayBook. Get it? Because no one owns a PlayBook.That's not true, we realize, but all is fair in love and bad comedy. Already a few happy PlayBookers and/or RIM and Square Enix employees have left gushing reviews on Guardian of Light's App World page, suggesting it's a solid experience even two years out and even on PlayBook. Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light is available now for $3.99 via the BlackBerry App World.
Steam weekend sale on Square Enix catalog, Hitman special deal today
The entire catalog of Square Enix titles on Steam is half off for the entire weekend, with daily deals today through Sunday on top of that already ridiculous sale. Today, the complete Hitman franchise is 75 percent off, at $6.25 for Codename 47, Blood Money and Silent Assassin.The Square Enix Hit Collection, which includes Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, Thief: Deadly Shadows and more, is 76 percent off today, for $75 instead of the standard $314.
Big Square Enix Xbox Marketplace sale includes Deus Ex, Lara Croft
Square Enix is holding a sale this week on the Xbox Marketplace, taking half off DLC for Deus Ex: Human Revolution and Just Cause 2, along with discounts on several of Lady Croft's adventures and its associated DLC.The highlights of the sale are certainly the Deus Ex's Missing Link DLC and co-op adventure Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light for 600 MSP ($7.50). There's also some attempted discounts on full downloads of Battlestations: Pacific, Just Cause 2 and Tomb Raider: Underworld; but chances are you can find better in your local bargain bin.Another game worth checking out is updated original Tomb Raider: Legend: Anniversary, available in two chunks at 400 MSP ($5) apiece (caveat is you'll need to own TR: Legend since it's the DLC). So, try the first two levels before you buy the whole thing. Find the full list of discounts after the break.
Reminder: Lara Croft, Prince of Persia 50% off this week on Xbox Live
With all the stress of Christmas shopping, you may have left someone off your gift list: Yourself. This is just a friendly reminder that Microsoft has you covered this week, with 50 percent discounts on Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light and Prince of Persia Classic. You can grab both at $7.50 and $5, respectively, starting tomorrow. Lara Croft is co-op too, so you could even claim that you bought it for someone else (good luck explaining why it only works on your Xbox though). Oh, and if you're looking for a digital lump of coal, Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime will also be 50 percent off at $5.
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light leaping to Xperia Play
Last year, Square Enix snuck Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light onto the iOS App Store. It's following that mobile release this November with a version for Android -- specifically, Sony Ericsson's button-enriched phone, the Xperia Play. This is part of a newly announced partnership between Square Enix and Sony Ericsson, which will bring more of the publisher's "established hits" to the Xperia Play "in the coming months." As of now, only Guardian of Light has been announced. A look at Square Enix's iPhone catalog could at least suggest possibilities. [Image: iPhone version; the Xperia version won't need those virtual buttons.]
Croft, Comic Jumper, TMNT this week's XBL Deal of the Week, Torchlight next week
This week's Xbox Live Deal of the Week deals are organized under the generous umbrella of "Mutants and more!" The soon-to-be-pulled TMNT: Turtles in Time Re-Shelled is available for just $5 / 400 Microsoft Points until July 4. (Note: Ubisoft told us it would be pulled at the end of this month.) That's certainly mutant-themed, so what's next? X-Men Arcade is also 50% off at just $5, so that's another mutant-themed offering. So there's something of a theme here ... ... except the other three games are non-mutant-themed! The excellent Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light is 50% off, dropping the asking price to just $7.50 / 600 Microsoft Points, while both Comic Jumper and Hard Corps: Uprising are 50% off, dropping their sticker prices to $5 / 400 Microsoft points each. While we love those deep discounts, is it too much to ask for a solid theme? Next week's offerings, while more thematically consistent, aren't nearly as delicious. The highlight for "Heatin' Up Summer" is definitely Torchlight for 33% off, at $10 / 800 Microsoft Points. Less enticing offerings include: Dante's Inferno DLC, a Medal of Honor map pack, and a Red Hot Chili Peppers album for Rock Band.
Crystal Dynamics 'not making a second' Lara Croft game, focus is on Tomb Raider [Update: CrystalD responds!]
Last year, we spoke with Crystal Dynamics' global brand director Karl Stewart, about the studio's new three team structure: the "pillar" team was hard at work on the new Tomb Raider reboot, one of the highlights of this year's E3; the experimental team was working on smaller games under the "Lara Croft" banner; and the brand team, which looks after the lucrative Tomb Raider brand and, ostensibly, oversees projects like the upcoming movie. At that time, Stewart told us, "The experimental team is basically just looking at the IP going forward and how we can take Lara to new and exciting places." The first and, as it turns out likely the last, place they took her was last year's Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, an excellent isometric downloadable co-op game. So is Crystal Dynamics still looking to take Lara to new and exciting places? Outside of the reboot, it sounds like the answer to that question is in the negative. "We're not making a second one," Stewart told me. "Not yet, or just not?" I asked. "Oh no, we're not making a second Lara. For us, that Lara Croft was, in a way, it was sort of the furthest possible extension of that iteration of Lara. Once we finished Guardian of Light, obviously we knew we were making this version of Tomb Raider," Stewart told us, referring to the reboot they were showing off during our interview. Stewart was clear that the game performed well financially. "In business terms, it was very successful," he told me. What was less successful was the implementation of its online co-op feature. "In terms of issues, the one issue that plagued us all the way through, which looking back we would've changed our minds to do other things, was definitely the online," Stewart lamented. "I wish if we had the ability and had the information, we could've been a bit more transparent." While the studio isn't pursuing the experimental Lara Croft series, it does recognize it as a successful "creative side endeavor" for the studio. In fact, Stewart told us that Daniel Neuberger, game director on Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, is now the game director of the new Tomb Raider. [Update 6/12 6:20pm: Stewart reached out to Joystiq to say clarify that CrystalD isn't "'Currently' working on a new version of Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light in the near future" and to note that he "didn't use the word 'Never.'" He adds, "We don't currently have plans on the table, but it was an exciting project and you just never know." We've asked Stewart to clarify whether or not the "experimental team" is still in operation in the above-mentioned three group structure.]
PSN Tuesday: Red Faction: Battlegrounds, StarDrone, Angry Birds sale
This week's PSN update adds two very different type of arcade titles: Red Faction: Battlegrounds is the vehicular combat game that somehow ties into the Red Faction universe. Don't think about it too hard, just drive around for $10 and blow stuff up. Meanwhile the Move-supported StarDrone is a hybrid pinball / brick-breaking game. Check out the videos for a better idea. It should also be noted that the excellent Lara Croft: Guardian Of Light is 50 percent off for $7.49. Also, the phenomenon that is Angry Birds has come in step on PSN with its iOS cousins, as the game is available now for $1.99 instead of $3.99 Greedy green pigs can head on past the break and steal a glance at all of this week's DLC. Choose your platform to view the corresponding release list: (Note: Continue past the break to view both release lists.)
XBLM in March: Lara Croft deals, MvC3 and Dragon Age 2 DLC, free Gold weekend
Major Nelson has posted highlights from the Xbox Live Marketplace schedule for March. First up, the Dragon Age 2 "Black Emporium" DLC -- free to those who purchase new copies of the game -- will land on March 8 for 800 points ($10). Second, as promised, bonus characters Jill and Shuma Gorath will be available for Marvel vs. Capcom 3 on March 15 for 400 points ($5) each. In other XBLM happenings, March 7 kicks off a Lara Croft themed "Deal of the Week," which will see Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light knocked down to 600 points ($7.50). Lara Croft DLC will also be discounted by fifty percent. Also, the week of March 14 will see several St. Patrick's Day deals, notably some discounted Green Day DLC (green -- geddit?) and Social Distortion's "Bad Luck" for Rock Band. Finally, Xbox Live Silver members can enjoy free Xbox Live Gold this weekend, beginning Friday, March 4 at 12PM ET through Monday, March 7 at 12PM ET. Head past the break for a more complete schedule of releases.
Best of the Rest: Ludwig's picks of 2010
Vanquish Shinji Mikami is still playing the game of Telephone he started in 2005. With Resident Evil 4, he revitalized Capcom's stagnant survival-horror franchise by turning it into a strictly paced shooter, where standing your ground (you couldn't move and shoot at the same time, remember?) was the only way to advance. The idea made it all the way across the ocean -- mostly intact -- and eventually found its way into Epic's Gears of War. The Mikami-led team at Platinum Games, in turn, heard all the bits about military meatheads and enemies that can be demolished without remorse, but the part about lumbering man-tanks got garbled. Instead, we get a protagonist that can slide across the battlefield in the blink of an eye. At its nuclear-powered core, Vanquish still honors Resident Evil 4's balance of risk and reward. It's an exceptionally hectic shooter where rocketing in and out of critical engagements is key -- but if your suit overheats, you're slow again. And then you're dead. Even Gears of War's train level comes back a little warped. Now there are two trains, and one of them is upside-down.
Best of the Rest: Andrew's picks of 2010
DJ Max Portable 3 I blame myself for not pimping out PM Studio's excellent DJ Max Portable 3 more this year. The Korean music game is quite possibly the only music game you'll ever need on a handheld, thanks to its seemingly endless soundtrack, varied modes, rewarding progression, beautiful graphics, and note charts that will make your fingers cry. Oh, and for the first time in the franchise's history, you actually feel like a DJ. Ludwig makes fun of me for the epileptic fit I get into when playing it, but he just doesn't understand.
