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Full PlayStation Plus line-up for January revealed [update]
Update: Sony's confirmed North America's PS Plus line-up for January is the same as Europe's. We've updated the post to reflect that and other details. We already knew Infamous: First Light and The Swapper were coming to the Instant Game Collection next month, but now we've got the full January PlayStation Plus line-up. The two PS3 freebies headed to the continent are Prototype 2 and DuckTales: Remastered, while the Vita duo is Whoa Dave and Duke Nukem 3D: Megaton Edition. The line-up hits the PS Store stateside on Tuesday, January 6, 2015. As ever, Europe joins the PS Plus party the day after.
Xbox 360 spring sale discounts Batman games, Saints Row 4
Microsoft is cleaning out its digital shelves with a sizable sale on Xbox 360 games and add-ons this week. Ending April 21, the sale spans 11 games and hundreds of pieces of DLC. Five of the games feature popular DC comics superhero Batman in some capacity, such as 75 percent off both Batman: Arkham Asylum and Arkham City through Games on Demand ($4.99 / £3.74 / 4.99 euros each). Additionally, Injustice: Gods Among us is half-off ($19.99 / £17.49 / 24.99 euros), Lego Batman 2 is 67 percent off ($6.59 / £4.94 / 6.59 euros) and XBLA game Gotham City Imposters is 75 percent off ($3.74 / £2.49 / 3.59 euros). All of the above deals are valid for those with a paid Xbox Live Gold subscription. Among the other games on sale for all Xbox Live users is Saints Row 4, which is half-off this week ($14.99 / £12.49 / 14.99 euros). Three other games are discounted through Games on Demand: Borderlands 2 is 65 percent off ($6.99 / £6.99 / 10.49 euros), Lego Marvel Super Heroes is 33 percent off ($33.49 / £30.14 / 43.54 euros) and Prototype 2 is 75 percent off ($9.99 / £4.99 / 7.49 euros). Lastly, XBLA games Pac-Man Championship Edition DX+ is half-off ($4.99 / £3.37 / 4.74 euros) and Assassin's Creed: Liberation HD is 33 percent off ($13.39 / £10.71 / 13.39 euros) for the week. [Image: Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment]
Tomb Raider, Walking Dead, Brothers in today's Xbox Ultimate sale
Today's Xbox 360 Ultimate sale includes two entries from Joystiq's Top 10 of 2013 in Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons and Tomb Raider. Meanwhile, the first episode of Walking Dead Season 2 can be yours for just a single dollar, and that really is an excellent deal - the first season placed #3 in our 2012 list. All of which reminds us that Oh Come On Telltale Where Is Episode 2 We Need To Know What Happens To Clementine Please Oh God Why. Ahem. In addition to the nine games that are on sale today, there's a whole bunch of On Demand and Arcade discounts running through until February 25. Check out the full list here, and head past the break for today's list of on-sale games and their prices.
Steam weekend deals: Tomb Raider, Rogue Legacy, Activision games
This weekend's frugalfest on Steam is quite tempting. Tomb Raider is down to $12.49 for the standard edition and $14.49 for the Survival edition, which includes select DLC such as ten ditties from the soundtrack, a digital comic, a map, a digital mini art book, an in-game "Guerrilla Skin" outfit for Lara and three weapons plucked from Hitman: Absolution. Punishing retro-inspired roguelike platformer Rogue Legacy is also on the discount block this weekend, down 40% to a mere $9. Finally, there's the Activision publisher sale, which sees discounts for just about every Activision game on Steam: Singularity, Prototype 2, numerous Call of Duty games and Deadpool are all vying for your weekend dollar, so feel free to hop on over and peruse the list. As always, the Steam weekend deals expire on Monday morning at 10am PT.
Steam Holiday Sale, day 9: Assassin's Creed, Prototype, Left 4 Dead franchises and more
The majority of mainstream shopping holidays have now reached a complete stop, but the sales live on – especially in the case of Valve's annual Steam Holiday Sale, which today enters its ninth day of dealing out discounted digital sundries.PC gamers can save 25 to 75 percent on every game in the Assassin's Creed series, 75/50 percent off Prototype and Prototype 2 respectively, get Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Dead 2 for a cold dead $7.49, Limbo for a spooky $2.49, Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion for an astronomically low $13.59 and Just Cause 2 for a justified $3.74.Yesterday's deals also remain active for another 20 hours or so, including LA Noire for $4.99, FTL for $4.99 and 33 percent off XCOM: Enemy Unknown. As always, flash sales and community choice sales change throughout the day.
Prototype series going for $9.99 on PC at Amazon
If you like your carnage big and your savings bigger, you'll have designs on the Prototype Pack on PC, now on sale at Amazon for no more than $9.99. The bundle contains both Prototype and Prototype 2, the latter released earlier this year. Frankly, ten bucks would be a surprisingly low price for the sequel on its own, let alone bundled with the first game.Prototype hasn't been a popular series at retail, with lackluster sales contributing to "significant" layoffs at developer Radical Entertainment. While Richard felt Prototype 2 has far too much inanity in its plot, his review shows he still enjoyed its destructive qualities.
Prototype dev Radical Entertainment's status hasn't changed since downsize
A tweet from downsized Prototype 2 developer Radical Entertainment's twitter account last week may have been interpreted a bit too optimistically."Just a quick note to our great fans and friends," the tweet on September 19 from the company's official account read. "The rumours of our closure have been greatly exaggerated - we're still here! More later..."We reached out to Activision Blizzard, of which Radical is a subsidiary, to get a clearer picture of the studio's status. A representative informed us that nothing had changed since the statement in late June. The staff was reduced, but the studio wasn't closed.Radical Entertainment remains open, supporting other existing Activision projects, but the studio has ceased "development of its own games going forward."
Prototype 2 PC version set to launch as planned, despite Radical layoffs
Prototype 2 will launch as scheduled on July 24 for PC, regardless of the "significant" layoffs and stagnation of Radical Entertainment as a studio. Radical Entertainment writes on its Facebook page:"Hi everyone. Yes, there's some unfortunate news to share today. This morning Radical Entertainment went through a significant reduction in staff. We're very proud of what we achieved with the Prototype franchise, but unfortunately, the Blacklight virus didn't spread as far as it could. For PC gamers, rest assured that the PC version of Prototype 2 is still going to launch on July 24 as planned. And a special 'thanks' to the Prototype Army and all our extremely loyal and passionate fans for supporting Radical Entertainment. We couldn't have come this far without you."Radical's parent company Activision said today's layoffs affect "approximately 89 employees or less than 1.5 percent" of its global workforce. Radical will not be developing any of its own games, and a few employees will continue working for Activision on other projects.
Prototype studio Radical Entertainment facing 'significant' layoffs, potential closure
The studio that created the Prototype franchise, Radical Entertainment, is seeing "significant" layoffs today. Parent company Activision announced the news amid rumors that the company was being altogether shuttered. "[We] have made a difficult conclusion through the consultation process that the only remaining option is a significant reduction in staff," the statement reads. "Approximately 89 employees or less than 1.5% of our global workforce will be impacted," the publisher confirmed to Joystiq.Activision apparently considered an outright sale of the studio, as well as several other, unnamed options, but ended up deciding to lay off the majority of its employees. "Some employees will remain working for Radical Entertainment supporting other existing Activision Publishing projects," according to Activision, "but the studio will cease development of its own games going forward."The decision was made following lackluster sales of both Prototype games. "Although we made a substantial investment in the Prototype IP, it did not find a broad commercial audience," the piece states. Radical Entertainment is based out of Vancouver, Canada and was formed in 1991.Radical is most well-known for creating the Prototype franchise – its first original IP – though the studio worked on a variety of titles throughout its 32-year history, including the much loved The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction.
Prototype 2 'Excessive Force' DLC zombifies Alex Mercer
Prototype 2's "Excessive Force" DLC pack is now available on Xbox Live and should hit PSN after today's update. The pack features a new weapon, three new powers and three new player skins (including a zombified Alex Mercer). The Excessive Force pack will set you back five bucks.
Prototype 2 $30 at Amazon, Gold Box deals all day
The very recent Prototype 2 enjoys a deep discount on Amazon today, as the all-day component to the retailer's Gold Box offers. It's on sale for $29.99, and will be joined by a new, temporary deal every couple of hours.Currently, that deal is the Wii's Cyberbike, which is, yes, an exercise bike that hooks up to the Wii. Thrifty Nerd's Googling of the clues for future sales suggest we'll see discounts on Final Fantasy XIII-2, WoW: Cataclysm, the Disgaea 4 Premium Edition, and even the SoulCalibur V Arcade Fightstick.
Max Payne 3 shoots past Diablo 3 on UK Charts
Max has beaten a lot of personal demons, but last week he took on the Diablo at retail and won. According to Chart-Track, Max Payne 3 outperformed the previous sequel (from 2003) nearly 10 to 1. Chart-Track also noted the third installment in the Payne series bested Diablo 3 by only about 8,000 sales. With Max Payne 3 only available through disc-based sales and Diablo 3 available through digital distribution, it would be fair to guess Diablo actually sold more. That is, if you believe Diablo 3 sold over 8,000 units online in the UK last week. The rest of the top ten are the usual suspects. So, pop some pain killers and shoot past the break for the UK top ten.
PSN Tuesday: PixelJunk 4am, Sonic 4: Episode 2, Rock of Ages
PixelJunk 4am drops its sick beats on PSN today, daring anyone to look cooler or make prettier sounds come out of a TV than mixmaster Baiyon. Seriously, launching this game is a dare in itself – to create something beautiful and share it with the world – so don't be a wuss. Today PSN also gets Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 2, Prototype 2 and Rock of Ages for download on PSN.PlayStation Plus members get Rock of Ages for free, Goldeneye 007 Reloaded for half price ($30) and Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood Complete Edition for 40 percent off ($15). The entire run-down of content, free, discounted and just-launched, is available on the PlayStation Blog.
April NPD: Prototype 2 tops charts, industry-wide sales down 32 percent year-over-year
The results for April are in, and things are looking a little rough out there in consumer video-game electronics land. As a whole, the gaming industry (which for our purposes includes all hardware, software and accessories sales between April 1 and April 28, 2012) brought in $630.4 million, a 32 percent decrease over the same period last year, where its various machinations resulted in collective sales of $930.9 million.Breaking the industry down into its three major components, hardware sales accounted for $189.7 million (down 32 percent year over year), while software sales contributed $292.1 million to the cause – a 42 percent decrease year over year. Accessories, on the other hand, posted a 1 percent increase year-over-year at $148.6 million in 2012, as compared with $147.8 million in 2011.The average amount of money spent on hardware increased year-over-year, however, due in part to the 360 Star Wars Kinect Bundle, according to NPD analyst Anita Frazier. Generally though, the period's lackluster performance is due to the month's release schedule: "Last April, the top seven titles outsold the top-selling title this year, and, simply stated, there were notably fewer new market introductions. I think it's a simple as that because when we see compelling content come into the market, the games are still selling as well as ever – we just saw a lot less this April as compared to last."The list of April's top 10 best-selling titles can be found after the break as per usual, with newcomers Prototype 2 and Kinect Star Wars leading the charge ahead of Modern Warfare 3, Mario Party 9 and Mass Effect 3.Update: According to Microsoft's Major Nelson, the Xbox 360 sold 236K units during April.
Prototype 2 mutates with fresh DLC, iOS and Android companion apps
Causing mass destruction is easily the best part of Prototype 2, and a new batch of DLC should help you do that with a little more panache. The "Colossal Mayhem" pack adds a number of new goodies, including a "Thermobaric Boom-Stick" weapon and a number of new powers and skins for Heller, the game's protagonist. The pack is available now for $5 on PSN and Xbox Live.The next round of DLC, available May 29, has already been announced as well. The "Excessive Force" pack will include a "Viral Infector" grenade launcher and yet more powers and skins. It will also sell for $5.In other Prototype 2 news, a companion app has been released for Android and iOS. The app allows users to keep track of achievements and in-game collectible thanks to some handy maps that have all collectibles marked. The app itself is free, though it only includes one map, the Yellow Zone. The remaining two maps can be purchased for $2.
Prototype 2 successful on UK charts
Prototype 2 launched on Tuesday in the UK (instead of a Friday, per usual) last week and leapt to the top of the charts. Despite the strong premiere, Chart-Track notes the sequel couldn't match the first week sales success of the original game. Chart-Track doesn't share raw sales numbers, but it did point out that the game had stronger sales than previous chart-toppers Kinect Star Wars and The Witcher 2.Speaking of Witcher 2, which held the crown last week, it slipped five spots into sixth place. EA continues to have a winning cluster with FIFA Street, FIFA 12 and Mass Effect 3 holding steady close to the top of the charts, with the group maintaining spots two through four, respectively.Prototype 2 was the only new game to break the top 40 last week. Tap your tentacle past the break to check out the UK top ten.
Prototype 2 review: Stalkin' New York
For the sake of fun, we're willing to put up with a lot a ham-fisted plots, characters, settings and whatever else isn't directly related to gameplay. I'm not exactly sure how much I'm willing to put up with, but it's a line that Prototype 2 crossed very quickly.Like its predecessor, Prototype 2 features some of the best free-form locomotion of this generation. Combat is easy control and allows for a variety of tactical options, so long as you're willing to stick it out long enough to earn them. If only the rest of the experience weren't wrapped up in a mucusy, repugnant membrane of inane plot, forgettable characters and terrible dialogue, Prototype 2 would be much, much better off.%Gallery-147843%
Prototype 2 'Pack Leader' trailer calls up all your rowdy friends
In addition to continuing every Prototype 2 trailer's time-honored tradition of being super, super gross, this latest look at Radical Entertainment's greasy, tendril-based action game demonstrates the "Pack Leader" ability, which allows the player to summon and control meat gorillas.
Live-action Prototype 2 commercial sets a soothingly violent tone
The above commercial for Prototype 2 features a live-action free-fall from the top of a skyscraper, heartstring tugs, infected citizens and two dudes with mutated, menacing arm gadgets. The coolest part? Johnny Cash covering Trent Reznor's "Hurt."
Prototype 2 trailer is awfully direct
Not since 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand has it been so dangerous to be a helicopter pilot.
