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Watch Dogs sets May 27 release date
After a delay that pulled its newest open world title from the roster of two console launches, Ubisoft has set a new release date for Watch Dogs: May 27, 2014. The new release date targets versions in development on PC, Xbox One, PS4, Xbox 360 and PS3. During a financial call in February, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot announced that the Wii U release of Watch Dogs would see its own separate delay, pushing the version's release beyond other platforms in order to "focus the team's resources where they could have the broadest possible benefit for both our customers and Ubisoft." No firm date for the Wii U version has been established. Speaking with Joystiq, Watch Dogs Senior Producer Dominic Guay could only say the Wii U version would arrive "a few months" after the game's release on counterpart platforms. [Image: Ubisoft]
Rumor: Watch Dogs see all May 27
Watch Dogs, prepare to get voyeuristic on May 27. For the second time this week, UK retailer GAME has leaked a big announcement, as VideoGamer captured the social media spread of the release date. NeoGAF also has a link to the game's trailer with the image above at its conclusion. [Image: Ubisoft]
Sniper Elite 3 primed for some sharpshooting in the summer
Sniper Elite 3 is coming to North America in a few months' time, starting June 27 on PC, and July 1 on PS4, Xbox One, Xbox 360, and PS3. Rebellion's summer of sniping kicks off outside of North America on June 27, and that date is for all platforms. The game's summer release aligns with the baking hot sands of its North African setting, where OSS Agent Karl Fairburne is searching for secret German tech that could help the Allies win World War 2. Sniper Elite 3 is Rebellion's first game for the new consoles, so that means it's aiming to include plenty of technical improvements, including even more bone-shattering gruesomeness in the X-ray Kill Cam. If you're interested in a pre-order, you may be swayed by a bonus mission that speculates on the death of one Adolf Hitler. Fairburne is sent to investigate the Libyan town of Tobruk with orders to take down the Fuhrer - but is it Hitler, or just a double? That's the question posed by the pre-order "Hunt the Grey Wolf" content, but whatever happens, we'd prefer not to have the murder of Charlie Chaplin on our conscience.
Killzone Shadow Fall drops new weapons and modes in April DLC
Killzone: Shadow Fall's first multiplayer expansion will launch in April with new weapons, abilities and game modes for the PS4 launch game. Titled "The Insurgent Pack," the expansion is headlined by the addition of the insurgent character class, which features hack and steal abilities. The assault, scout and support classes will also receive new abilities: Assault characters will gain access to a guard drone, scout players get an e-pulse emitter and support characters can send out a tactical echo emitter to stall infiltrating enemies. Insurgent Pack owners will also receive a single-player "elite mode," limiting them to three lives on hard difficulty in the Shadow Fall campaign, in addition to collectible crates that will spawn once per online match for a limited time. The DLC also includes the M82 assault rifle from Killzone 2 and Killzone 3, as well as the L512 SMG Pistol and Sta14 sniper rifle. Lastly, Sony announced that two of the free multiplayer maps for the game are now available to play on PSN. They arrive just as the game's multiplayer mode becomes free this week. [Image: Sony Computer Entertainment America]
Guacamelee: Super Turbo CE hitting PS4, Xbox One, 360, Wii U 'soon'
An upgraded version of Drinkbox Studios' luchador action-platformer Guacamelee! is coming soon to the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox 360, and Wii U, IGN reports. Guacamelee: Super Turbo Championship Edition collects all DLC from the game's previously released PSN and Steam editions, including a selection of add-on costumes and the "Diablo's Domain" level pack. The campaign has been reworked and extended with new areas and boss fights, and characters now boast new abilities not featured in Guacamelee's original release. A release date has not been announced, though developer Drinkbox notes that Super Turbo Championship Edition will hit digital platforms "soon." [Image: Drinkbox Studios / IGN]
Call of Duty: Ghosts update brings Free Fall to the masses
Activision has released updates for every version of Call of Duty: Ghosts, and alongside reams of bug fixes, the big news here is the public debut of Free Fall. As we reported in October, Free Fall is a multiplayer map that drops soldiers into a skyscraper on the verge of collapse. If you didn't already guess from the map's name, chunks of the level periodically fall away, exposing new routes through Free Fall and killing anyone too close to the destruction. Free Fall was originally available exclusively to those who pre-ordered Call of Duty: Ghosts, but this new update makes the map available to everyone, regardless of platform. Wii U owners looking for more information on the update earmarked specifically for their version of Call of Duty: Ghosts can find a detailed list on the game's forums, while this similar entry outlines the changes found in all other versions of the military shooter. [Image: Activision]
Batman Arkham Knight set one year later, 'five times larger' than Arkham City
The recently-revealed final game from Rocksteady in the Arkham series, Batman Arkham Knight, will feature "traffic-friendly streets" in a map that's said to be "roughly five times the size" of Batman Arkham City. Lead AI and combat programmer Tim Hanagan told Game Informer that "at any given time, there are between three and four times the number of thugs active in Gotham City than there were in Arkham City," and that larger riots in the game will have up to 50 characters wreaking havoc. Arkham Knight is set one year after Arkham City, in which Batman's foes have banded together to tear the Dark Knight's attention away from a crumbling Gotham City. The single player-only game will also include an arch-villain created from scratch by Rocksteady and DC Entertainment CCO Geoff Johns. Rocksteady's initial announcement focused on another big addition to the Arkham series: Players will get plenty of time in the driver's seat of the Batmobile, which can be fetched at the press of a button, can handle the jumps and boosts expected of the more reckless drivers among us and will eject Batman out of his seat at times. Kevin Conroy will return to voice Batman after Roger Craig Smith lent his voice to the character in Arkham Origins. Additionally, Nolan North will voice Penguin, Wally Wingert will voice Riddler, Tara Strong will continue as Harley Quinn and Troy Baker will voice Two-Face again. Speaking of Harley Quinn, Joker's popular sidekick will be playable via pre-order bonus content that includes four challenge maps. [Image: Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment]
Ubisoft details European exclusive Child of Light Deluxe Edition
When Child of Light, a game that Ubisoft boldly describes as a "poetic turn-based RPG," debuts on April 30 it will be available in two flavors: a digital standard edition and, for those in select regions, the newly-revealed, retail Deluxe Edition. Included in the Deluxe Edition of Child of Light is a poster designed by former Final Fantasy artist Yoshitaka Amano, a 24-page art book featuring imagery from the development of Child of Light and a key ring modelled after Igniculus, the game's adorable support character. On the digital side of things, the Deluxe Edition also offers players a new in-game character, an additional quest and "a pack of collectibles." Unfortunately, this attractive promotion includes a number of caveats. First, not all incarnations of Child of Light will receive the Deluxe Edition treatment. Though the digital version of the game will appear on the PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Wii U, Xbox 360 and Xbox One, the Deluxe Edition is only available in PC, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 incarnations. Further, the Deluxe Edition will not be released globally, and instead will be available exclusively in European territories. If you're located elsewhere, don't feel too bad. Alongside this announcement, Ubisoft also included the cooperative gameplay trailer you see above as consolation. [Image: Ubisoft]
Fat Chocobo dashing out of Weight Watchers and into Final Fantasy XIV
Face it: You have gone far too long without seeing a giant chicken's giant butt. Happily, Square Enix has your well-being in mind, for the studio has posted a preview of an upcoming Final Fantasy XIV mount that is brimming with chunky avian posterior visuals. A brief and bizarre post on the official site introduces "Fat Chocobo," a special mount that would rather not move unless it has food comically dangled in front of its beefy face. The chocobo mount is confirmed as a special goodie for those who order the PlayStation 4 collector's edition of FFXIV as well as those who have purchased one of the other CEs. No word as of yet what the studio will do to compensate players if said mount collapses after taking six rapid steps in succession.
PSN Europe: Tomb Raider, Brothers, PixelJunk Monsters free for Plus members
PlayStation Plus subscribers in Europe can access a smorgasbord of free content starting this week, including downloadable copies of Tomb Raider, PixelJunk Monsters Ultimate HD, and Dead Nation: Apocalypse Edition. PlayStation 3 owners with an active Plus subscription receive Tomb Raider and Starbreeze's Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons for free this week. Brain-training puzzler Smart As... and tower defense game PixelJunk Monsters Ultimate HD arrive as free PlayStation Plus offerings on the PS Vita, while the upgraded PlayStation 4 version of Housemarque's co-op zombie shooter Dead Nation is also available as a free download in its debut week. Other PSN games premiering in Europe this week include Gust's Atelier Escha & Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky, Wales Interactive's Master Reboot, and Obsidian's South Park: The Stick of Truth. [Image: Sony]
PixelJunk Shooter Ultimate heading to PS4, Vita this summer
Q Games' twin-stick, element-battling action game PixelJunk Shooter and its sequel are coming to the PlayStation 4 and PS Vita this summer in an upgraded compilation release developed by PixelJunk Monsters Ultimate HD creator Double Eleven. PixelJunk Shooter Ultimate combines the campaigns of 2009's PixelJunk Shooter and 2011's direct sequel PixelJunk Shooter 2, presenting both as a seamless, complete package. The game boasts a visual overhaul and 60 frames-per-second gameplay on the PS4, while the Vita edition has been similarly tweaked and optimized during its transition to Sony's portable platform. PixelJunk Shooter Ultimate also features Cross-Save and Cross-Play functionality, allowing players to team up for co-op missions across both available platforms. A release date has not been announced. [Image: Sony / Double Eleven]
New creepy environment video for SOMA-hhhhhhhhhh
Frictional Games' Soma, the sci-fi horror fest from the developers behind Amnesia: The Dark Descent, has a new environmental trailer out today featuring some ominous voiceover work. The suspense still has plenty of time to build. Soma won't launch on PC and PS4 until 2015.
Pier Solar HD trailer lights up PS4 and Xbox One with Genesis style
WaterMelon's Pier Solar was always noble but limited. Making a modern Sega Genesis RPG, exhaustively crafted as both a game and a physical cartridge to capture the ineffable spirit of gaming in 1993? That's lordly work right there. Problem one: Not many people actually have a Sega Genesis plugged in and ready to rock. Problem two: Even with a Genesis in tow, the game won't look just right on a modern HD television screen. Hence why Pier Solar HD, the remastered version of the game WaterMelon funded through Kickstarter back in 2012, is a such a welcome addition to the Spring 2014 release schedule. Most every platform under the sun will play Pier Solar HD when it releases during the second quarter. Based on this new trailer showing off the game's shiny redrawn sprites and backgrounds, it should be a treat for the retro obsessed. WaterMelon is aiming for an April release on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Wii U, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Ouya, Android, PC, Mac, and Linux. Just to honor the game's Sega roots, there will also be a Sega Dreamcast edition of the game. For those hankering for more portable options, WaterMelon president Tulio Gonclaves hinted that a Nintendo 3DS version may be in the cards as well. [Images: WaterMelon]
Uncharted writer Amy Hennig no longer at Naughty Dog
Uncharted writer and creative director Amy Hennig parted ways with Naughty Dog this week, and the circumstances surrounding her departure aren't clear. Following an IGN report claiming Hennig left her post on March 3, Sony confirmed with the site that she's no longer employed at the studio. "We can confirm that Amy Hennig has left Naughty Dog," A Sony representative told IGN. "Amy has made significant contributions to the game industry and we appreciate all she has done for Naughty Dog. The development timeline of Uncharted will not be impacted." Hennig served as the creative director for Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, and Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception, and she also penned the script for the three games. She was understood to be reprising her role for the Uncharted PS4 game. Neither Hennig nor Naughty Dog have commented, but IGN sources claim the writer, a Naughty Dog veteran of more than ten years, was "forced out" by The Last of Us directors Neil Druckman and Bruce Straley, and the pair may take over the Uncharted series. Hennig worked with Druckman and Straley on the first two Uncharted games, before the two men switched to developing The Last of Us. [Image: @amy_hennig]
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PSN Tuesday: Awesomenauts, Dead Nation on PS4, South Park on PS3
The PSN update this fine Tuesday includes Awesomenauts Assemble and Dead Nation: Apocalypse Edition for PS4, as well as South Park: The Stick of Truth, Master Reboot and NASCAR '14 for PS3. Vita gets Hatsune Miku Project Diva F, and PS3 owners can now enjoy dragons, prohibition-era crime and the ultimate pessimistic detective with the HBO GO app. We learned about Awesomenauts Assemble late in January, and it includes seven new characters, a new map and "improved" controls, Ronimo Designer Fabian Akker said. It goes for $10 on PS4. For PS3, Master Reboot is a neon-covered, sci-fi horror game dealing with death and computer viruses, and it's $15. South Park is $60, and it speaks for itself.
Thief developer Eidos Montreal lays off 27 employees
Thief developer Eidos Montreal laid off 27 employees today, the developer confirmed. The studio just launched its reboot of the the Thief series in late February, and opted to make cuts after turning its attention to future projects. "Yes it is true we've let 27 people go today, unfortunately it's something that every major studio has to do sometimes in order to ensure you have the right set up for current and future projects," Eidos Montreal said in a statement to IGN. "It's never a nice thing to do but we are genuinely trying to offer as much support as much as we can." The developer said it is "trying to re-locate as many people as possible into other roles here or at our other studios" in order to soften the blow to its employees. Additionally, it is looking to arrange a career day with other studios on Montreal. "We're very thankful for all their hard work and we sincerely wish them well," the developer added. Whether initial commercial reception for the developer's latest game has anything to do with its decision to carry on with fewer employees is unclear. We can say that while reviews for Thief varied considerably, we found the game to be worthy of four stars in our review. [Image: Eidos Montreal]
HBO Go joins PlayStation 3 media roster
Nearly a year after its debut on the Xbox 360, the HBO Go app will finally make its PlayStation 3 debut later today. Like the other existing iterations of the app, HBO Go on PlayStation 3 allows HBO subscribers to watch the premium channel's programs without the aid of a cable box, including standout hits like Game of Thrones, True Detective and Girls. While HBO subscriptions are only available by paying additional fees to your cable provider, the HBO Go app can be downloaded from the PlayStation Network Store at no charge. As we reported previously, HBO CEO Richard Plepler has also stated plans to launch HBO Go on the PlayStation 4, though there's still no word on when that might happen. [Image: PlayStation.blog]
Murdered: Soul Suspect arriving June 3, three days later in Europe
Square Enix's haunting detective game Murdered: Soul Suspect will launch June 3 in North America, and will arrive in Europe and other PAL regions on June 6. The game will launch simultaneously on five platforms: PS4, Xbox One, PS3, Xbox 360 and PC. Murdered: Soul Suspect was originally planned to launch earlier this year before being pushed past March. Developed by Airtight Games, the studio behind Dark Void and Quantum Conundrum as well as funky Ouya roguelike Soul Fjord, the game places players in the gumshoes of Ronan O'Connor, a detective that sets out to find his own killer. The sort-of-dead O'Connor has the ability to possess others, reading their minds and looking through their eyes without being noticed. [Image: Square Enix]
Batman: Arkham Knight headed to Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC in 2014
In a move that won't surprise Batfanatics, a new Batman game is headed to Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC at some point this year. The latest caped crusader game entry is titled Batman: Arkham Knight, and it's set to complete the trilogy that Rocksteady Games started back in 2009 (which includes Arkham Asylum and Arkham City, and doesn't include Arkham Origins). We've dropped the first teaser video below the break, which heavily features both very serious sad talking and a totally sweet Batmobile. We'll let you decide which is more exciting.
Batman: Arkham Knight leaked on GAME listing [Update: 10/14 list date]
A listing for Batman: Arkham Knight appeared on the GAME retailer site. While no longer available to view, the game was listed for PS4, Xbox One and PC. A Google search limited to GAME's site shows the listing existed in some capacity before being pulled by the retailer. Update: Game Informer revealed that Batman: Arkham Knight will be the cover of its April magazine. The game will be the final one in the Arkham series from Rocksteady, and is set after the events of Batman: Arkham City. The game will feature the Batmobile and a new area of Gotham City reportedly "far larger" than that of Arkham City. Batman will spend his time in the game hunting down familiar foes: Scarecrow, Two-Face, Penguin and Harley Quinn in particular. Update 2: WBIE issued a trailer for the game and a press release, the latter found after the break. The publisher noted that the game will launch this year. Update 3: The game's website lists Harley Quinn as a playable character via a pre-order bonus. The add-on content will include four challenge maps and give players the opportunity to use Harley's "unique weapons, gadgets, and abilities first-hand." Update 4: An image on GameStop promoting Batman: Arkham Knight's Harley Quinn pre-order bonus lists an October 14 release date for the game. Given that GameStop is the only retailer with that listed date at the moment, we wouldn't mark our calendars just yet. We've added the image after the break and reached out to Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment to confirm the date. Update 5: A Warner Bros. representative told Joystiq, "Batman: Arkham Knight is scheduled for release worldwide in 2014. " [Image: WBIE]
