q4 2011
Latest
Soldner-X dev announces PSN strategy RPG 'Rainbow Moon'
Known for developing the tongue-twistingly titled shooter Söldner-X: Himmelsstürmer, SideQuest Studios is hard at work on its next IP for release on PlayStation Network. Rainbow Moon is an isometric view strategy RPG in a fantasy setting, currently scheduled to hit in Q4 2011 according to publisher eastasiasoft. Early imagery shows a vibrant hand-drawn visual style, and the game's developer is shooting (no pun intended) for a silky smooth 60 frames per second. Details released so far mention six playable characters and a roughly 25 hour adventure. Our favorite feature so far: we can actually pronounce its name.
Batman: Arkham City opens up for tourism October 18
Update: Warner Bros. just officially announced the North American release date: October 18. The publisher also confirmed the previously reported release date of October 21 for "Europe and other global territories." The game arrives October 19 in Australia. Eurogamer is reporting that Warner Bros. has announced an October 21 release date for Batman: Arkham City. Given the site of origin (Eurogamer), and without any official news releases from Warner Bros. that we can see, we can only conclude that said release date applies to Europe. We're following up with WB now to try to get more information about when we can expect Batman to come out where. Though if it were that easy to get that information, the Riddler's plans wouldn't have needed to be so convoluted.%Gallery-118892%
First Dark Souls trailer and screens are appropriately dark [update: now with release date]
The lid has officially been blown off of Dark Souls, with developer From Software releasing a dark, moody flood of media. First and foremost is the reveal trailer, which should comfort fans hoping that the multiplatform game would look an awful lot like its predecessor Demon's Souls (a PS3 exclusive) -- it does! (Oh, and don't tell the new Xbox players -- they have no idea what they're in for!) The trailer is replete with gloomy environments, armor-clad knights, terrifying monsters and oppressive music. Sharp-eyed observers will also notice what appear to be player spirit forms, another Demon's Souls staple. The first Dark Souls screenshots and concept art are equally grim, including even more gloomy environments and this ... thing. Check out the screens in the gallery below and find the trailer and concept after the break. Update: At a press event in San Francisco today, Namco Bandai announced that Dark Souls would launch worldwide on PS3 and Xbox 360 this holiday (2011). %Gallery-115583%
Iwata: Zelda Skyward Sword expected to launch after Ocarina of Time 3D
It seems that the hero of Hyrule will remain bound to Nintendo's forthcoming 3D handheld in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time before turning his sword skyward at some point after, the company's third quarter financial report indicates. "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time has been in the process of being remade for Nintendo 3DS, and this Nintendo 3DS version is expected to hit the market earlier [than Skyward Sword]," Nintendo head Satoru Iwata states in the piece. Though Skyward Sword apparently won't launch until sometime after OoT (which is expected sometime after June's E3, outside of Nintendo's "launch window"), the report also reveals that Miyamoto's team is currently "entering into the final completion stage" of the Wii title. That being the case, we'll expect a much more impressive demonstration of the game at Nintendo's E3 presser later this year.
Kinect Star Wars not due until holiday 2011
No matter how many times you call up LucasArts and suggest in your best Jedi voice, "You will release Kinect Star Wars soon," the game apparently won't be out until holiday 2011. Kinect evangelist and creative lead Kudo Tsunoda told the BBC as much in a recent interview, calling it and an upcoming Forza project the two Kinect-enabled games he's most excited for next year. "We have a Kinect Star Wars game coming out for next holiday," Tsunoda said. "I've seen a bunch of the game and it's super compelling." Presumably he's seen more than what we saw at E3 this year, clumsily demonstrated in this video. "Another one next year is Forza," he added, alluding to vague plans to integrate Kinect into the racing franchise, before boasting that it was "the best racing game of this generation of consoles." "Those are the two games I'm most excited about," Tsunoda concluded. As far as 2011's current Kinect prospects go, those would seem like safe picks, but we're wondering if developers aren't thinking outside the box enough -- just imagine if you were to somehow combine the two concepts ... perhaps mounting light sabers on high-end race cars? Now that would be something exciting enough to get us off the couch.
