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PS4, Vita versions of Skullgirls delayed to 2015
The PlayStation 4 and PS Vita versions of indie 2D fighter Skullgirls have been delayed to 2015, developer Lab Zero Games announced this week. Lab Zero's Peter Bartholow notes that the delay comes as a result of the ports' newly expanded scope, which will introduce several new features not found in the game's initial PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC releases. "Unfortunately, these awesome new additions have necessitated a delay until early 2015, but I'm confident that everyone will find the additions worthwhile," Bartholow said. The announcement follows up on this week's launch of Eliza, a new character funded by Lab Zero's successful Indiegogo campaign. Eliza is currently available as a free download for all Skullgirls players, and will be released as paid DLC starting next year. [Image: Lab Zero Games]
PSN Store Update: Soul Sacrifice Delta, Borderlands 2 Vita
It's a quieter week on PSN, with just two new games each for PS3 and Vita. Starting with the portable, Borderlands 2 gets a standalone release ($40) after featuring in last week's Vita 2000 bundle, and Soul Sacrifice Delta has a few freebies in a limited edition bundle ($36). As for the PS3 new releases, there's Episode 3 of The Walking Dead Season 2 ($5, or part of $20 season pass) and the slightly belated Serious Sam 3: BFE ($20, or $15 with Plus). Also, JRPG fans may be tempted by a new Tales bundle that combines Graces f with Xillia ($60). Finally, some bits and bobs to round up: Skullgirls Encore on PS3 is the latest Plus freebie, Dishonored is permanently price reduced to $20, and the PS Blog has all the latest sales and Plus discounts. [Image: Sony Computer Entertainment]
PlayStation Plus in May: Puppeteer, Skullgirls and more
In May, PS Plus members get six games free across PS4, PS3 and Vita. On PS4, it's the wacky-waving flailing-spaghetti-arm adventure game, Stick it to the Man, which hits US PS4s on May 6. On PS3, Plus members can look forward to Puppeteer, Pro Evolution Soccer 2014 and Skullgirls Encore. Vita gets Surge Deluxe and Limbo. That's a lot of men, women and puppets on PlayStation devices (plus quite a few Ps). In Europe, PlayStation Plus members get Stick it to the Man, Puppeteer, Payday 2, Muramasa Rebirth and Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational in May.
Big Band, Skullgirls' first male character, joins the fight next week
Though Skullgirls Encore has always been defined by its distaff roster of pugilists, the 2D fighter is about to get a shot of gender equality in the form of Big Band. As his name makes plainly clear, Big Band is an oversized character who relies on musical instruments to beat down his opponents. Developer Lab Zero Games describes Big Band as a "high risk, high reward" character capable of dealing out massive damage, just as long as his attacks don't miss. Alternately, if you prefer a defensive playstyle, Big Band is the first Skullgirls character with the ability to parry incoming attacks. Most notably, Big Band's Blockbuster attack allows players to perform wildly damaging custom trumpet solos, such as the surprisingly well-orchestrated tune in the above video. As Big Band's development was funded by the massively successful Skullgirls Kickstarter, the character will debut at the attractive price of "totally free." Simply download the addition once it appears on your platform of choice and Big Band's musical fisticuffs are yours to command. [Image: Lab Zero Games]
Indie fighter Skullsgirls Encore re-debuts on PSN come February 11
Having finally sorted its issues with original Skullgirls publisher Konami, developer Lab Zero Games has revealed the date the game will return to the PlayStation Network: February 11. Instead of simply re-releasing the fighter, Lab Zero is offering players an upgraded version of the game dubbed Skullgirls Encore. While very similar to its predecessor, Skullgirls Encore technically qualifies as an entirely new game. As a result, none of the DLC released to date for the original Skullgirls will be compatible with Encore, according to Lab Zero Games. To offset this inconvenience, Skullgirls Encore brings a host of gameplay tweaks as well as a new character, a meek opera singer named Squigly who attacks foes via an erudite, dragon-like parasite. Further, Lab Zero is offering Skullgirls Encore at no charge to those who previously purchased the original incarnation of Skullgirls on PSN. So far there is no word on when Skullgirls Encore will see an Xbox Live Marketplace release, but Lab Zero has issued two trailers for the fighter. You'll find a launch trailer above, while below the break lies footage focused on newcomer Squigly. [Image: Lab Zero Games]
Skullgirls Encore to include 'The Typing of the Skullgirls Encore'
Skullgirls Encore, the re-release of Skullgirls to address the parting of ways between Lab Zero Games and Konami, will include a new mode called "The Typing of the Skullgirls Encore." While demonstrating it on EightySix's Twitch account, Skullgirls Design Director Mike Zaimont explained that the mode is planned for Xbox 360, PS3 and the PC release of Skullgirls Encore. In "Typing of the Skullgirls," each player's gauge for super moves fills automatically. Once a player uses a super, a timed typing exercise appears, which awards damage based on a player's typing accuracy and swiftness. Zaimont explained that perfectly typed words do 1.5x damage, "right but not perfect" phrases award standard damage, and totally botched attempts cut dealt damage to 10 percent. The totals are reversed when an AI opponent uses a super move on a player, meaning that players are spared damage according to their ability to type phrases associated with incoming attacks. "Typing of the Skullgirls" will be available in Story, Arcade and Versus modes, but not in Tournament or Online modes.
Skullgirls to be reborn in January as Skullgirls Encore
Following a licensing battle with publisher Konami, Skullgirls will be delisted from both the Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network Store on December 31. That's the bad news. The good news? Skullgirls Encore makes its debut in January. Instead of forcing players to buy the game yet again, the console versions of Skullgirls Encore will be available for free to anyone who currently owns Skullgirls. The Steam version of the game is unaffected by Konami's IP wrangling, and will remain largely unaffected. The biggest (and arguably only) addition to Skullgirls Encore is the DLC "Squigly" character. As a mea culpa to the community for having to put up with all of this hassle, Squigly will be available as a free addition to the game for a period of three months, regardless of which console you're using to play the fighter. Unfortunately, the DLC character color packs so far released for Skullgirls are not compatible with the new version, but developer Lab Zero Games doesn't want to have to charge people twice for simple palette swaps and is instead rolling each character's color scheme options into one big polychromatic DLC offering which is also going to be available to players totally gratis. Full details on the change can be found on Lab Zero's website, just don't go in hoping for reams of Steam changes. The lack of Konami involvement in that version of the game means it's merely receiving a new Skullgirls Encore title screen.
