411 Games Fact or Fiction 8.10.09: Left 4 Dead DLC, Starcraft II, Arkham Asylum, More

Posted by Drew Robbins on 08.10.2009

Will the Left 4 Dead boycotts become silent with news of DLC coming to the original? Can Blizzard actually release two games in one year? Is Batman Arkham Asylum going to actually be good? Jordan Williams and Armando Rodriguez debate these topics in this week's edition of Games Fact or Fiction.



Welcome to the world of tomorrow 411 Games Fact or Fiction, our weekly look at…hey look, only five days until Madden comes out and wrecks any semblance of a social life I had!

Jordan Williams - The #1 writer on 411 who took forever to appear in my Fact or Fiction. Eight weeks? Come on Eileen Jordan! When he isn't dodging this column, he is writing Working Title, the only column on 411 to come close to House of the Dead: Overkill's F-bomb record.

Armando Rodriguez - Good old ‘Mando, he is the antithesis to Williams over here. Three appearances in eight weeks? Must be trying to suck up to me so he can learn how to be as incredibly good looking as myself. ‘Mando puts together a little news column known as The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. It goes up on the same day as Fact or Fiction, so be sure to find his latest column in the News Report section.

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1.) The newly announced Left 4 Dead DLC will finally quiet the boycotts.

Jordan Williams: FICTION - As much as I would like it to, I think this might anger the boycotters ever more. They have been complaining about a lack of noteworthy DLC and what not for awhile now and Valve's big reveal was a two chapter campaign really late in the games supposed lifespan. I am personally happy about it because I like L4D1 and 2,but I think at this point point the only way Valve could shut the whiners up is to totally convert L4D1 into L4D2. I do hope that Valve has learned from this though. They know how loyal thier fanbase really is and how fickle they are when the are made you actually pay for something. (Yes, I know Crash Course is free for PC, I am referring to L4D2)

Armando Rodriguez: FICTION - I don't think so. Valve has always been loyal to the gamer but with Left 4 Dead 2 they took the Activision/EA route and tossed a sequel out there to cash in while the iron was still hot. A bit of free DLC is not going to help shut people up. I hope Valve learned their lesson, but I am not counting on it. I have a feeling that boycott or not L4D2 will see huge sales (especially considering the amount of quality titles pushed into 2010) and will justify the company's decision. It might look like a bad decision short term, but I believe it will pay off in the long run.

Score: 1 for 1

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2.) As the stacking evidence indicates, a PS3 price drop is imminent.

Jordan Williams: FACT - I honestly cannot see why not. There have been too many rumors running around with the PS3 Slim, Sony is finally hitting its stride when it comes to quality releases, and they just posted another HUGE loss for the fiscal year. They are going to have to do something to get that money back, and now that the console is in its third year, I can't see why they would continue selling it at a full price without SOME sort of a price drop. And purely for selfish reasons, a price drop would actually put it in the realm of "I might finally get one" as well.

Armando Rodriguez: FACT - That price drop is coming alongside the launch of the PS3 Slim. I expect the announcement to be made maybe in October or so, ready for the holiday rush. I hope it is a $100 price drop because a $50 one won't be enough. The question is: what will happen to all the PS3 fats?

Score: 2 for 2

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3.) You believe Blizzard when they say that they will release both Starcraft II and Diablo III next year.

Jordan Williams: FACT - I say Fact ONLY because it's a full year, for all we know it could be released in December of next year and it will still be "Next year". Now if they had already decided on some sort of date or quarter, than I would be a bit wary of it. But since they haven't it gives them an entire year of wiggle room where they can keep delaying it until the last possible moment. It's not like Blizzard NEEDS to rush either of these games out onto the market. But I think if we don't see the games by the end of 2011, the hype and anticipation for the game is going to go even thinner. In fact until this question reminded me I had honestly forgot Diablo 3 was even being made. That's a bad sign.

Armando Rodriguez: FACT - If only because their stocks would take a huge hit if they dont. The effect of StarCraft's delay was felt long before it was "officially" let out of the bag. I imagine they would release them far apart so that they won't compete with each other. I imagine the first part of the StarCraft II trilogy will be released in the first quarter of 2010 alongside the new batle.net, while Diablo III will be released closer to 2010's holiday season.

Score: 3 for 3



Switch!

4.) Arkham Asylum is going to be one of the few great superhero games.

Armando Rodriguez: FACT - Asylum looks like an above average game which is enough to make it a great superhero game. I mean, superhero games tend to suck, especially Batman games (The last good Batman game was back in the Sega CD days and it was a driving game of all things!)but Asylum seems to capture the character of Batman perfectly, not only the action but also his mind, the way he plays with the head of his enemies and uses fear to his advantage. I am excited about this game and I know it will be a good purchase.

Jordan Williams: FACT - Although there have been great superhero games before it (Recently MUA, Hulk:Ultimate Desctrucion, and XO:W come to mind) I do think that with the super nudge the Batman franchise has gotten from Dark Knight, I think they are taking every single property that has anything to do with Batman seriously from now on. No more shovelware games with thin plots, they are putting all the money they can to capitalize on Batman while he is still a hot property. They also are doing the same thing the developers sort of did with XO:W, they are making a superhero game that could have easily stood alone as it's own IP or something like it, which means that they do not have to stick 100% to a movie, or a recent cartoon, or whatever and they can focus on it being a good GAME not a good tie-in. This is a good thing that other devs need to do.

Score: 4 for 4

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5.) Collector Editions of games are getting out of hand.

Armando Rodriguez: FACT - Collector's Editions should be reserved for big franchises or for special occasions (such as Anniversaries) but it seems every game gets a collector's editions nowadays. Most of the things bundled with collector's editions suck as well, which makes spending extra cash on them useless.

Jordan Williams: FACT - I agree 100%. Collectors Editions for things that will actually be worth money sometime down the line are fine. Even when they get crazy like The Prestige Edition of MW2, but I am seeing Collectors Editions for games that we honestly are not going to care about in two years. Did X-Blades really need a collectors edition? How about the recent Prince of Persia? Save them for things that collectors will collect, and not games trying to make an extra buck because they know they are on a limited time on the shelf.

Score: 5 for 5

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6.) Wii Sports Resort will be the best selling game of the year.

Armando Rodriguez: FICTION - It will be the best selling Wii game, but not the best selling game of the year. That title will belong to Modern Warfare 2, which will sell millions on both, the 360 and PS3 (and PC) enough to make it the best selling game of the year.

Jordan Williams: FICTION - If this were any other year, I'd say fact. But as we are learing with this generation you just do not bed against Call of Duty. Wii Sports Resort is going to sell by the assloads and Nintendo will continue to make money hand over fist, but that is an exclusive for only one console. Wii Sports itself to many only sold well due to the fact that it was a pack in bundle with the system, so it would be interested to see how it does alone. But even if it does good, I think MW2 will do better. Just look how afraid it has made everyone else this Holiday season? Sending almost every other big name game into 2010 to stay away from the terror that MW4 will wreack on it's sales figures. It's a good thing Nintendo got this game out early, if it saved it for the Holiday release it would've been eaten alive.

Score: 6 for 6? No!

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Until next time…

It's a sad day, as ‘Mando and Jordan have finished with a perfect 6 for 6. Too much agreement for my blood! Check back next week for more Fact or Fiction, hosted by me provided I haven't died of some sort of Madden overdose. Also, check out B3yond the Report tomorrow, I'm hosting one last time before the torch is passed on, and I promise it will go up on time!