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NPD: Darksiders 2 sold 247K copies in August
Darksiders 2 brought Death to top of the NPD charts for the month of August, having launched on August 14 in North America. In close to two weeks – the cut-off for NPD's August period was August 25 – the Vigil Games sequel managed to move 247,000 copies at retail, GI.biz reports. This figure doesn't account for international sales or Steam, and is perhaps a muted victory in a month that saw software sales go down year-over-year.A lot is riding on Darksiders 2, the first major release under newly appointed THQ president Jason Rubin. It's undoubtedly setting the tone for his THQ, which he hopes will get back to prosperity by focusing on games with the highest potential for success. This move has seen THQ drop Guillermo Del Toro's Insane and roll Saints Row 3's Dominatrix DLC into a full sequel.
Metareview: Darksiders 2
Darksiders 2 is a patchwork of the best in the third-person beat-em-up action genre and that's what makes it comforting. We said in our review that "you're not required to forgive the game's faults," but it does spend more time on the good side than bad. Here's what others thought about their trip with Death. Game Informer (90/100): "One of the most polished aspects of the game is environment traversal. Death can run along walls and leap between pillars much like the Prince of Persia. These platforming-like sequences add an element of verticality to exploration, and are used extensively to unearth hidden areas. The overworld is filled with them (including numerous bonus areas and bosses). A handy fast travel ability makes backtracking painless affair." Gamespot (85/100): "Bigger doesn't mean better, of course, but this isn't a "more of the same, just bigger" kind of sequel. The game uses its expansive geography to cultivate a poetic tempo in which your intellectual triumphs are rewarded with the immediate pleasures of fleet-footed platforming and demonic brutality. In Darksiders 2, Death is not an end, but rather, a portal to a memorable saga of snarling brutes and stolen souls. " GiantBomb (4/5): "The adventure has its rough spots and the technical issues are disappointing, but these are relatively small issues in the grand scheme of things. Darksiders 2 is an exciting and lengthy adventure with interesting characters and a host of items and features that make its mix of combat and puzzle-solving very attractive. It's better if you also played the original game, but even if you didn't, Darksiders 2 is definitely worth looking at." IGN (75/100): "Despite its problems, I was compelled onward in my quest with Death because Darksiders 2 is simply a fun game. The RPG elements and to-the-point action all make for some solid gaming, glitches and all. It's a shame so many glaring issues hold such an ambitious endeavor back from the greatness its developers were clearly aiming for. Still, if you love action adventure games, it's certainly worth checking out - but don't expect it to rival the masterpieces it will inevitably call to mind."%Gallery-162548%
WWE '13 runs down its roster of wrasslers
The last time we watched Monday Night Raw, John Cena was only enrolled in Thuganomics 101. According to WWE '13, he now has his doctorate in Thuganomics. Good for him to pursue higher education! And they say these guys are all brawn and no brains ...
THQ cuts marketing jobs, boosting development side [update]
An internal memo attributed to THQ president Jason Rubin sent yesterday to staff outlines plans for layoffs in the publisher's marketing team and desire to boost development. The letter, published by 3D Realms founder George Broussard, notes the marketing and production staff will be cut by "20 individuals.""It is worth pointing out that none of the development teams are effected, and we do not anticipate the reduction to have any impact whatsoever on the titles in production or the future scale of our output," wrote Rubin. "It is also quite likely that in the long run the company will hire new individuals with different skill sets in their stead. To put this in perspective, Volition alone anticipates growing by about 20 individuals in the next 12 months."Rubin says the change represents a resource shift from oversight to production, and from centralization out to the development studios. He also notes that the two departments affected by the cuts were "largely unaffected" by the January layoffs.We've reached out to THQ for a statement on the memo.Update: THQ statement found after the break.
Death comes for many bosses in Darksiders 2
Big and small, fat and skinny – it doesn't matter who you are, Death eventually comes for us all. Even if you're an 80-foot tall demon thing with a tentacle mouth and biceps that would put Hulk Hogan to shame, Death will soon come knocking in Darksiders 2.THQ sent out a bunch of videos showing just that, giving us a taste of a few of the boss encounters awaiting in Vigil's latest. Above is a quick primer on combat; after the break, five different videos providing a sneak peek at different boss battles.
Darksiders 2 review: Scythe quest
Darksiders 2 elicits forgiveness in its weakest moments. There's a lingering sting to every stumble, and a constant yearning for just a bit more polish here and there, but the game's tremendous vision and heartening sense of adventure give it an unbreakable foundation.The tone of Darksiders 2 is captured best in its opening shot, of a lone horseman carving through snow and inhospitable cliffs toward an immense fortress. His destination seems to teeter impossibly on a sliver of mountain, and the elegant score (care of Assassin's Creed composer Jesper Kyd) suggests this peak is but the beginning of a long, taxing ascent. Darksiders 2 is utterly devoted to the quest.Astride the horse is capital-D Death, depicted here as a pale bruiser rocking raven hair, a spooky mask, and other skull-based attire that should guarantee him a secondary career in someone's theatrical heavy metal band. Death vows to dabble in irony and resurrect humanity, thereby aiding brother (and fellow equine enthusiast) War, who is unjustly blamed for triggering the apocalypse just a wee bit early. And like War did in Darksiders, Death completes his task by invading dungeons, slaying beasts, solving puzzles and running epic errands.%Gallery-162548%
Darksiders 2 'The Crucible' mode footage is a test of courage
This video for Darksiders 2 shows off the game's flashy combat in its arena mode. Known as "The Crucible," the mode has players beating down waves of enemies until offered a random prize. Darksiders 2 arrives at retail, ready for battle on August 14 for PS3, Xbox 360, and PC.
PSA: Nexuiz both on sale and free-to-play this weekend via Steam
From now until 4 p.m. Eastern time tomorrow afternoon, the CryEngine 3-powered, IllFonic-developed FPS Nexuiz will be free to play for anyone with Steam and a Windows machine capable of running things powered by CryEngine 3. If the game tickles your fancy during that brief period of care/money-free play time, it can be permanently purchased for $2.50 during the next 40 or so hours.Look, just because we found Nexuiz a little bland doesn't mean we're going to stop you from getting a good deal on it. We're not monsters. Well, Gorthax in accounting is a monster, but he doesn't bring it up and neither do we and everyone gets along fine and no one gets eaten.
Darksiders 2 wants you to know Death
Getting to know Death, getting to know all about Death. Getting to like Death, getting to hope Death likes me.
Darksiders 2 New Game+ and arena mode 'The Crucible' revealed
"Continue your life after death," THQ has promised, with the reveal of an arena mode in Darksiders 2 from developer Vigil Games. Dubbed 'The Crucible' in the game, the mode pits the lovable goofball Death against wave after wave of incorrigible baddies.After wrapping up five waves, players can take a prize or continue to fight for an additional five. The greater the wave, the greater the prize until the mode reaches its 100-wave ceiling. "Only the most skilled players will have what it takes to conquer all 100 waves and claim the greatest prizes," a THQ press release says, challenging our video game skills.Your summer of Death-based fun doesn't end there, though, as Darksiders 2 will also feature a New Game+ mode, where players will retain all skills and equipment for subsequent playthroughs. See, death is a giver and a taker.%Gallery-161874%
Guillermo del Toro's 'Insane' franchise also out at THQ
THQ president Jason Rubin just announced that THQ game Insane is no longer in production. "We have decided not to pursue further pre-production on Insane, and have returned all of our IP rights to Guillermo del Toro," Rubin said. It is a project the embattled publisher is no longer pursuing, and was cited alongside Facebook, mobile, and social as "outside of our core business."Director del Toro could take the rights and produce the game elsewhere. He's retained film rights since the project was first announced.Insane was announced during the 2010 Spike Video Game Awards, but never showed up during various gaming events across the past two years. Aside from it being a project developed in tandem with film director Guillermo del Toro, little is known. Saints Row developer Volition was working on the first game in the planned trilogy, and is now known to be developing a full sequel to last year's Saints Row: The Third.Update: THQ says the game "was in very early development," and that "no teams/staff are affected by this decision." When asked whether del Toro also retains any code/assets created for the project thus far, we were told, "The rights for the property have been returned to Guillermo for his future use/exploration."
THQ lives to fight another day following Q1 results
THQ walked away from its first quarter, ending June 30, with $133.7 million in sales and income of $15.4 million. Of course, a lot of blood had to be shed to get there.Beyond that, the company's financial release reiterated a lot of the key points the company has been trying to make regarding its turnaround."We have made significant progress reshaping the company," said CEO Brian Farrell. "With the changes implemented over the last several months, we are in a much better position today to deliver on our pipeline of games, beginning with Darksiders 2, which launches next week in North America."That reshaping included new executives, layoffs, closures, the UFC rights sale, the Saints Row product shuffle and...um, we think that's about it? Oh wait, the reverse stock split. Okay, now we think that's it.
Darksiders 2 comes a knockin' with TV ad
"Beyond Earth, beyond Hell, Death is our final salvation." What does that even mean? Can we get a theology professor in here to explain that?
Vigil: Darksiders 3 depends on Darksiders 2 sales, could be smaller in scope
Haydn Dalton, lead designer on Darksiders 2 at developer Vigil Games, has some interesting ideas for Darksiders 3 – if THQ decides to greenlight a sequel. If Darksiders 2 is successful, Dalton told VideoGamer, it's unlikely THQ would have Vigil shift development to another franchise.Specifically, if Darksiders 2 manages to sell "4 or 5 million units," he said, THQ president Jason Rubin would likely want a sequel, though he might expect Vigil to "reduce the scope so that we can make it even higher polished." Doing so would give the game more focus, said Dalton.Building a smaller open world with more detail isn't necessarily a bad thing – it worked wonders in Rocksteady's Batman games. A smaller world certainly wouldn't hurt THQ's unstable bottom line. It's also worth noting that 4 million units of any game is no small feat. To put things in perspective, Saints Row: The Third, one of THQ's most successful games, managed to ship 4.25 million units in roughly seven months.Darksiders 2 launches August 14.
Darksiders studio hiring devs with FPS experience
Vigil Games, the THQ-owned developer of the Darksiders games and the now single-player Warhammer 40,000 Dark Millennium, is hiring a "senior gameplay programmer," "senior or principal designer," and other positions with an eye toward FPS experience.The gameplay programmer position seeks someone who "Has previously held a senior programming position on at least one shipped AAA console or PC title (preferably an FPS)," and the principal designer listing looks for "An avid FPS gamer with strong interest in pushing the genre forward creatively." The same listing looks for "Experience designing fighting and/or action adventure games for PS3 or Xbox 360 with at least 2 shipped AAA titles."The primary takeaway from these job listings is that Vigil is likely working on an unnannounced first-person shooter – probably on consoles, and with adventure elements. But we'd also like to point out that this is an opportunity for some of our game developer readers to come live in lovely Austin, Texas.
Darksiders 2 rides in with two-minute in-engine trailer
Death's arrival is only a few weeks away on August 14. Putting live-action trailers aside, here's what the game will look like when it rides into retail.
Freeze to death in Company of Heroes 2
Company of Heroes 2 will feature death by brutal Soviet winter. Relic's upcoming strategy game for 2013 will utilize a "ColdTech" system, exposing infantry units to extreme cold, where they can "gradually freeze to death unless the player keeps them warm." This can be done by building fires and garrisoning troops in buildings with Soviet snuggies.The winter maps will also blast blizzards and snow that can accumulate on buildings and vehicles, but can also be melted or removed. The depth of snow will impact troop movement and reveal vehicle tracks.If you're an awfully cruel commander, remember to triple-dog dare troops to lick a frozen pole.%Gallery-161004%
NASDAQ tells THQ they cool for now
THQ received notification from stock exchange NASDAQ that the company is back in compliance, having maintained a closing stock price of over $1 for 10 consecutive business days.The publisher accomplished the feat through a 10-to-one reverse stock split, consolidating THQ's 70 million shares to 7 million and inflating the price by moving the decimal point one space to the right. THQ's market capitalization now stands at $35.4 million, and its stock is trading at $5.16/share this morning.THQ has done the executive shuffle the past few months to get things back on track, adding new president Jason Rubin and announcing yesterday the addition of Relic founder Ron Moravek as "Executive Vice President, Production." THQ's next game is Darksiders 2, due on August 14.
THQ hires Relic co-founder, former EA COO as new Exec. VP of Production
THQ announced this morning that Ron Moravek will return to the homeworld as "Executive Vice President, Production" at the company and will report directly to new president Jason Rubin."Ron is an exceptional development executive with unique perspective on the industry from both a creative and business point of view," Rubin said in the company's announcement. "His entrepreneurial experience as well as his ability to drive dynamic teams is a great fit for our strategic objectives. Additionally, Ron's experience building high-quality products will help us continue to deliver great games and build upon our foundation to innovate digitally in the future."Moravek was previously the co-founder and chief operating officer at Relic Entertainment, before selling the studio to THQ in 2004. He also had a one-year stint as COO of Electronic Arts in Canada.THQ is currently in-process of its latest reimagining, consolidating where possible and trying to keep the ship afloat.
Darksiders 2 presents Death's soundtrack, pre-order now
The Darksiders 2 soundtrack, a two-disc extravaganza featuring beats by Assassin's Creed composer Jesper Kyd, will be available the same day as the game, on August 14. The soundtrack is available now for pre-order and will hit retail and download sites via Sumthing Digital, Amazon MP3, iTunes and others.The entire track listing can be found beyond the break, which is a lot like the beyond, but with fewer horsemen of the Apocalypse and, you know, death in general.
