Timed in such a way that it’s almost going head-to-head with Microsoft’s upcoming Forza Motorsport 4, Polyphony Digital is set to deliver a major update and new DLC for the newly-discounted Gran Turismo 5.
As of this week, the PlayStation 3’s signature racing sim can be had for $39.99. That $20 in savings will come in handy quite soon — new downloadable content is expected out in the “coming week” which adds new vehicles, tracks, and more.
Also coming in the next few weeks is a free, major update for GT5. It adds and changes a number of things, including the introduction of 11 new NASCAR vehicles from the 2011 season, reduced load times when entering a race, more responsive menus, and new AI settings for Arcade mode.
Perhaps From Software’s devilishly dark fantasy role-playing game Demon’s Souls caught your eye back in 2009. It received nothing short of unanimous critical acclaim, after all. But one crucial caveat kept you at bay: its fiendish and unforgiving difficulty level. Here was a game that dared to brazenly buck modern-day accessibility trends, testing its audience’s patience and self-control in ways that made even the good ol’ 8-bit era look downright tame. Demon’s Souls never held your hand; it lopped your hand right off, beat you to death with it, took all your stuff, and forced you to get right back to work (sans said hand).
Two years later, spiritual successor Dark Souls remixes its forebear’s merciless mechanics, enticing you to eat that same saucer of crow once again. This time, you give in; you’ve steeled yourself for the inevitable torment, determined to prove your mettle against this game that dares to flaunt its unforgiving reputation front-and-center, with a foreboding “Prepare to die” tagline. Conquer this, and you can conquer anything, right? Well, welcome to the most hellish fun you could possibly have with a video game. You’re going to earn those bragging rights.
Dark Souls might not be for you. Of course, that’s not saying much; thanks to the universal rule of, “there’s no accounting for taste,” even the most lauded games have their detractors — and on the same note, altogether crummy productions often earn a devoted cult following. In this wild and wooly world of game reviews, scores don’t necessarily apply equally to everyone; one man’s “A” for something like Fifa 12 could be an “F” for those who find soccer a terrible waste of time. That said, I have a few questions: Are you patient? Can you devote dozens upon dozens of hours to a single game? Does the thought of unbridled independence fill you with elation rather than abject terror?
If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, it’s very likely that you’ll agree with this review of Dark Souls. If not, you’ll be happy to know that there are literally hundreds of games you’ll undoubtedly enjoy much more — and there’s nothing wrong with that.
Sega appears to be on the verge of announcing a new Daytona USA game. It launched a contest today where people can guess what new game the publisher will soon reveal, only the provided hint is terribly obvious.
After getting over how cute the bunny is, fans of Daytona USA will immediately recognize the dragged-out “rolling start” clip in the video above. (See here for a comparison.) The full instructions for how to enter the contest can be found on the official Sega blog. Those who win will get a free copy of the soon-to-be-announced game on PlayStation 3.
This isn’t the first we’ve heard of a new Daytona USA. As often happens, its existence was revealed by a listing on the Australian classification board’s website (via Edge) last month. Although the free copies for contest winners will be available on PS3, that listing mentioned the game as being multiplatform, so presumably we’ll also see the game come to Xbox 360.
Sega appears to be on the verge of announcing a new Daytona USA game. It launched a contest today where people can guess what new game the publisher will soon reveal, only the provided hint is terribly obvious.
After getting over how cute the bunny is, fans of Daytona USA will immediately recognize the dragged-out “rolling start” clip in the video above. (See here for a comparison.) The full instructions for how to enter the contest can be found on the official Sega blog. Those who win will get a free copy of the soon-to-be-announced game on PlayStation 3.
This isn’t the first we’ve heard of a new Daytona USA. As often happens, its existence was revealed by a listing on the Australian classification board’s website (via Edge) last month. Although the free copies for contest winners will be available on PS3, that listing mentioned the game as being multiplatform, so presumably we’ll also see the game come to Xbox 360.
Just because it doesn’t contain any new games doesn’t mean the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection can’t get its own special edition bundle.
The Metal Gear Solid HD Collection Limited Edition was announced by Konami today and is fairly modest in terms of its contents. In addition to the games themselves, you’ll get specialized packaging created by Yoji Shinkawa, the series’ lead artist, and an exclusive, 248-page art book titled The Art of Metal Gear Solid. Unfortunately today’s announcement didn’t include any pictures of the book’s contents, though based on its title and length it sounds like it could be a must-have item for fans of the franchise.
The two day head-start for those who opted for the Limited Edition of Medal of Honor or pre-ordered is now over, and everyone is now free to experience the Battlefield 3 beta for themselves.
Xbox 360 owners can find the 1.3GB beta download here (courtesy of Major Nelson) and get downloading.
PlayStation 3 owners will have to wait a bit longer to download the beta from the PlayStation Store; trying right now will yield an error about not having access. That’s just as well, as Sony announced on Twitter that PSN will be undergoing maintenance for a few hours from 9am to 11am Pacific. That means you’ll likely be waiting until this afternoon at the earliest before being able to get the download going. On the bright side, PS3 will get all of Battlefield 3’s expansion packs a week before other platforms.
It was fairly puzzling when L.A. Noire was released only on consoles. Given that it amounts to an adventure game, it would be right at home on PC, and with the exception of Red Dead Redemption, many of Rockstar’s games have made it onto PC. Luckily Rockstar confirmed Noire would come to PCs this fall, and we now have an exact date for when that will be happening.
The Rockstar Leeds-developed PC port will be out on November 8 in North America and November 11 in Europe. Subtitled The Complete Edition, it’ll come with a code to download all of the downloadable content that’s been released on consoles — that includes the Nicholson Electroplating, Reefer Madness, Consul’s Car, Naked City, and A Slip of the Tongue cases.
An OnLive version will be out at the same time as physical and digital versions, meaning that even Mac gamers can get in on the action without needing to boot up Windows. Alternatively, owners of computers that don’t meet the below specs can resort to an OnLive copy to be able to play the game, provided they have a capable Internet connection.
The Witness is looking like a very interesting game, as is to be expected given that it’s being developed by Thekla and Jonathan Blow, the man behind Braid. Unfortunately it sounds as if console gamers might not have the opportunity to play it. Blow has stated the aging technology of Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 would make it a real hassle to get the game running on either of them.
When 1UP got to check out the game over the summer, Blow expressed interest in releasing The Witness on multiple platforms — Steam, Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, and, in particular, iPad. He now seems to be less interested in getting the game on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 as a result of the challenge doing so would pose.
“We like 360 and PS3, but their specifications are over five years old now, and that’s a lot in computer years,” he told Edge. “The kind of tricks we’d have to perform to get this game working on those platforms are such a lot of work that to port it over at this point is just not worth it for us. The budget of this game we would hope to make back through Steam and iOS, plus I would like to make a profit. But breaking even is most important as it allows me to keep making games, and I can do that without consoles.”
Quantic Dream boss David Cage has made quite the name for himself by working on games like Heavy Rain and Indigo Prophecy. While many fans might be clamoring for a sequel to Heavy Rain — a project that Cage admits could make a lot of money — Cage isn’t interested in becoming a sequel factory. And he thinks Indigo Prophecy had a stupid name.
In an extensive interview with Develop, Cage explained that he isn’t motivated by money, and that’s a big part of the reason why he hasn’t jumped at the opportunity of doing Heavy Rain 2.
“Let me be stupid for one second; I’m not in this business to make money,” he explained. “I wrote Heavy Rain because I was excited about it, because there was something to say. Yeah I could make Heavy Rain 2, but I’ve said what I’ve had to say about it. That’s the strength of Quantic Dream, to have the capacity to create new ideas, to make something that breaks ground.”
