Ultra Combo News Report 01.25.10: Uncharted 2 Gets Nominated, Sony's Motion Controller Delayed, Assassin's Creed II DLC and More!

Posted by Armando Rodriguez on 01.25.2010

Plus, Half-Life 2 Episode 3, Dead or Alive coming to PSP, The Quick Hits and the weekly gaming babe!



MONDAY MONDAY MONDAY! It's Monday in Prime Time! Well, sort of. Welcome to the Ultra Combo News Report, I am your (and Salmela's) favorite writer Armando Rodriguez, or as Chris Landsell calls me, Arrrrrrrmando. This week I have spent most of my time with God of War Collection, finally beating the first game and it's ridiculously stupid spike room box puzzle. God, I hated that with a passion! Besides that I have played through quite a few worlds in Braid, which is awesome by the way, and the last three days have been spent religiously playing Adam Ryland's Total Extreme Wrestling 2010. It officially comes out today (Go buy it now!) but I had an advanced review copy sent to me on Friday and I have been playing non-stop. If you like text-based management games or if you have ever felt that you can book a promotion better than Vince McMahon this is the game for you. My review should be up on the site as you read this. This week we have a ton of news to cover, so let's get right to it!


Uncharted 2 Nominated for 15 AIAS Awards

Last week Uncharted 2 picked up 7 Developer's Choice Awards Nominations and this week Naughty Dog has added 15 nominations from the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences in 14 different categories, including the overall game of the year. Last year this prestigious award was won by another PS3 exclusive, Little Big Planet from developer Media Molecule. The other nominees for game of the year are Assassin's Creed II, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Dragon Age: Origins and Batman: Arkham Asylum.
[Credit: Gamespot.com]

The Beatdown: Uncharted 2 is the game of the year in my book. I have played all of the contenders besides Dragon Age and Uncharted has better gameplay, better story and better production values. The singe-player is engaging and better than in the original and the graphics are just out of this world. Uncharted 2 is probably the best looking game on the PS3. Then you add a multiplayer component that is so good, it could have been a standalone game. It's just a ton of value for your buck. Assassin's Creed II should be fairly close, I loved that game too. They really fixed the franchise after the spectacular, yet boring and repetitive original. Batman is also an amazing game, but I think it gets a lot more credit for being a good comic book superhero game than for being a good game in its own right and I think that is pretty accurate. The characters and the setting combine to make a fantastic experience, but it is hard to imagine the gameplay being accepted if we replaced Batman, The Joker and Arkham Asylum with Generic Hero #1, Generic Villain #1 and Generic Creepy Setting. However, once you combine all the factors together, it makes for an awesome game and that fact should not be ignored.


First Assassin's Creed II DLC Drops January 28th

The time has finally come as one of the "corrupted" memories from Assassin's Creed II will be unlocked. The Battle of Foril will be available for the Playstation Network and Xbox Live on January 28th for $4/320MSP. The DLC pack sees Ezio teaming up with Niccolo Machiavelli and Caterina Sforza in a n effort to withstand the Templar's siege of Foril. The DLC pack will add 6 new memories, including one where you pilot Leonardo DaVinci's flying machine.
[Credit: Gamespot.com]

The Beatdown: I am eager to play through those new memories. I still have an itch for Assassin's Creed II, even after beating the game and unlocking 92% of the trophies (I just need to collect the 100 feathers) since that game is just pure awesome. I think that at $4 this is one of the best-priced DLC add-ons, although if we are to judge the DLC like any other memory block in the original game, we might be getting a little over 2 hours of gameplay out of it. Still, $4 is cheap enough to entice even the stingiest of Assassin's Creed II fans.


Half-Life II Episode 3 Delayed Until 2011?

According to the Loose Talk section of Game Informer magazine, Half-Life II Episode 3 will not be released until 2011 at the earliest, if ever. This episode was supposed to conclude the Half-Life 2 narrative and be released by December 2007. However, when Valve struck a deal to distribute The Orange Box with EA (a title that was released in October 2007) those plans went down the drain and the episode was pushed back to 2008. Now it has been almost three years and we still don't know if we will ever get an Episode 3. Game Informer claims that the franchise may move to Half-Life 3 in a few years without HF2: Episode 3 ever seeing the light of day.
[Credit: Gamespot.com]

The Beatdown: As an owner of The Orange Box, I have to admit I was anticipating Half-Life 2 Episode 3 in 2008. When no mention was made of it, I just plain forgot about it. Now it looks as if the rumored dead episode is dead indeed. Game Informer claims that the episode will not see the light of day until 2011 at the earliest, but I am starting to believe it will never see the light of day at all. By 2011 the Half-Life 2 engine will be 7 years old. Back in 2007, Half-Life 2 on the PS3 did not look pretty at all, even with the so-called HD upgrade. It was a pretty game, but a clearly outdated one. Outdated in 2007 and now they claim a new episode might come out in 2011? I don't think so. I bet they just quietly move to Half-Life 3, maybe with Half-Life 2 Episode 3 appearing an as Epilogue in that game instead of being released as a stand-alone product or DLC. With the way the Half-Life franchise has been shockingly abandoned, I don't expect to see a new Half-Life until 2012 or so, but it will be with a new engine and a brand new game.


Front Mission Evolved Coming in spring 2010

The Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and PC will see a brand new Front Mission game, titled Front Mission Evolved, in spring of 2010. However, it will not be the Front Mission RPG enthusiast's now and love. Instead it will be a Third-Person Shooter, as far away from the turn-based strategy RPG roots of the franchise. Double Helix will be developing the game.

Once again humanity is gripped by war, with the Wanzer Mechs at the forefront of the conflict. Players will pilot the robots in a single-player campaign that involves a terrorist attack on the government's orbital elevator. The wanzer mechs will be fully customizable and this feature will be extended to the game's multiplayer mode.
[Credit: Gamespot.com]

The Beatdown: Another one bites the dust. What is happening to the world that my beloved strategy RPG's are getting turned into something else? I am sure RPG haters (Mark I'm looking at you!) will be fine with the change, but it has been way too long (Since Disgaea?) that the world has seen a great turn-based strategy title released. I am not saying this will be a bad game (although I have a hunch it will be mediocre) but I don't agree with the change. Especially considering all the competition this game will face in the third-person shooter genre. I hope it turns out all right, but I am not getting my hopes up.


Dead or Alive Coming to PSP

Dead or Alive is coming to the PSP. If you are a fighting game fan, you will be disappointed. The game coming to the PSP is Dead or Alive Paradise and will follow 2006's Dead or Alive Xtreme 2. Yes, there is no fighting, instead you choose between 9 characters and will spend your time socializing with the girls of Dead or Alive. You can play beach volleyball and casino minigames, buy them presents and new costumes and take pictures of them. There is no official release date set.
[Credit: Gamespot.com]

The Beatdown: Well, if you are a pervert that enjoys watching 3D models of anime chicks in compromising positions while wearing little clothing, this is the game for you. Let's face it, the volleyball mechanics are serviceable at best (which is why the "Volleyball" part was removed from the title in 2006) and the minigames and such are an excuse to make money and buy them new, more revealing outfits. I find absolutely no redeeming qualities whatsoever for a game like this, but I bet Mark Salmela will spend quite a few lonely afternoons with his PSP.


Sony Delays Motion-Sensing Controller

In news that shouldn't surprise anyone, Sony has confirmed the delay of its motion-sensing controller. Originally scheduled for a spring launch, the controller has been pushed back until at least the fall of 2010. That would put the motion controller in direct competition with Project Natal, which is expected to see the light of day in the fall. The controller still lacks an official name.
[Credit: Gamespot.com]

The Beatdown: Please, raise your hand if you believe this will be a success. Anyone? Frankly, I could care less about Sony's and Microsoft's attempts at being the Wii. Heck, I could care less about the Wii itself! Give me a reason to play and I will, but on the Wii those reasons were few and far apart. The list of titles scheduled to use the Sony motion controller don't interest me at all, since they all seem gimmicky and more of the same mini-game collections that can be found on Wii. I am more than happy with my regular controller, thank you very much.


Atlus Working on Persona 3 for the PSP

Atlus has confirmed that they are working on a PSP version of one of the PS2's best RPG's, Persona 3. The critically acclaimed Persona 3 will be coming to PSP on July 6. Persona 3 was released for the PS2 in 2007 and followed the story of a group of students, whose actions during the day built up demonic alter-egos called Personas. During the night the students would use their Personas to explore the Tower of Tartarus and battle the shadows lurking within. For the portable version, Atlus is promising improved performance in the form of faster load times and one-button shortcuts, while also adding a brand new female playable character and a wide variety of new social events and romantic opportunities.
[Credit: Gamespot.com]

The Beatdown: I can honestly say that I have never played any of the Persona games. I know they have been acclaimed critically, but I am not as much an RPG gamer as I was before, mainly because RPG's take a lot of time and I don't think I have that kind of time anymore. Still, if you are a fan of the series or looking for a great RPG for your PSP, Persona 3 is on the way.

The Quick Hits:

- Tony Hawk confirmed that a new version of Tony Hawk Ride is being developed and that it is already much better than the original. Honestly, even a rotten tomato is better than a pile of crap, but that doesn't mean it is any good.

- The delay of the Sony Motion Controller will not affect the release of Resident Evil Alternative Edition, according to Capcom.

- Just Cause 2 on the PS3 will feature YouTube integration.

- EA Sports is sticking with Tiger Woods, confirming that Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 will arrive in July of 2010.

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Finish Him!



By Popular Demand, Morrison Wins!
Well, let's get the mandatory Target Terror mention out of the way. I encourage you all to rent the Wii version for a weekend. I bet that by the time you are done, you will know why I sold my Wii. Also there's a bunch of new writers here in the game's section and I encourage you to welcome all of them aboard and please, don't make fun of them. Mark already did enough damage!