Ultra Combo News Report 02.08.10: Splinter Cell Conviction Release Date, UFC Undisputed 2010 Release Date and More!
Posted by Armando Rodriguez on 02.08.2010
Plus, Dark Void DLC, More on Sonic 4 and the weekly gaming babe!
Hey you, now you listen to me! Haha…my name is Arrrrrmando and this is the Ultra Combo News Report! Yes, I did a bad Armando Alejando Estrada imitation to open the column, deal with that! Sometimes I believe I came into this life to witness the weirdest things happen to me. I am sick again, with flu-like symptoms. This time the throat pain has lasted for a few days, so I decided to hit the doctor. I have a throat infection caused by my tonsils and since this is like the third time I get sick in about 5 weeks I might need to get them removed at some point. What is weird about this? Back when I was six years old I had my tonsils removed! Yes, I was a very sick kid back then, suffering from throat infections and colds every few weeks because my tonsils where acting up. I had them removed and after that, for the past 17 years or so, I rarely got sick. Now the sickness cycle has started again and it seems, for some reason that I cannot comprehend, I have tonsils again. The doctor who operated me so many years ago cannot believe that they grew back, he can't explain to me why that happened. But they are back again, obstructing my airway when I sleep and making me sound like a Ford Mustang at night (that's how my girlfriend describes my snoring) and since I spend most of the night with my mouth open they are getting infected a lot and thus, causing me pain, discomfort and flu like symptoms like fever and coughing. Back when I was a kid I spend almost two years on antibiotics trying to find a way to stop my constant tonsillitis without the need for surgery, but nothing worked and they had to cut them out. This time, I won't submit my body to two years of horrible tasting antibiotics; I just want them dealt with as soon as possible. Right now I am taking a shot of tequila or vodka every time the pain gets out of control: pure alcohol seems to do the trick. Of course, this means that this column might end up with more typos than usual….I hope I don't get fired!
Splinter Cell Conviction Gets Final Release Date
After going through many delays, Ubisoft came up with a clever way of letting us know that the new release date for Splinter Cell: Conviction is indeed the final one: They set it in stone, literally. Ubisoft mailed a stone to every major publication with the date 04.13.2010 carved into it. In case you can't read numbers that means that on April 13th, 2010 Splinter Cell: Conviction will be released. The game was originally supposed to come out on October 2007 and kept getting delayed for various reasons, including a complete artistic overhaul. The game is still exclusive for the Xbox 360.
[Credit: Gamespot.com]
The Beatdown: I have to admit that Ubisoft did a really cool thing there with the stone and all. It shows that originality and creativity still flows through development teams everywhere. Finally the showdown everyone is waiting for: Metal Gear Solid 4 vs Splinter Cell: Conviction will happen. Can Splinter Cell top MSG in sales and critical acclaim? I certainly hope so, if only to push the Konami people into making another awesome MSG game. I also want this to be great because the game looks awesome and it might finally turn me into a Splinter Cell fan. I liked the previous games, but I felt they could not match the storyline depth of other titles in the genre, but that seems to be in the past as the new "24" like plot looks like a winner. The third reason is because this is the first of Microsoft's big exclusives this year and might serve as a measuring stick in terms of sales and critical reaction, a measuring stick to see where the PS3 and where the 360 stand in this "war".
UFC Undisputed 2010 Gets Release Date
The sequel to one of last year's best and most surprisingly good games is getting a sequel and we finally have a release date and a cover athlete. UFC Undisputed 2010 will be released on May 25th, 2010 with current UFC Heavyweight Champion and former WWE Superstar Brock Lesnar in the cover. With Fedor Emelianenko on the cover of EA Sports MMA, the fight to sell more console games might be the only fight in which Fedor and Brock go head to head. THQ clearly has a head start after UFC 2009 became a big hit, selling 3.5 million copies to this date and joining the PS3 Greatest Hits and the Xbox 360 Platinum Hits line, with a reduced price tag of $29.99. A PSP version of Undisputed 2010 will follow sometime later this year. UFC Undisputed 2010 is promising better fighter creation options, including new disciplines like Greco-Roman Wrestling, Karate and Sambo, as well as over 100 UFC fighters and commentary by Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg.
[Credit: Gamespot.com]
The Beatdown: I am excited for both MMA games. Undisputed caught me off guard last year as it was 10 times better than I expected and EA Sports MMA looks like a great game as well. I might end up getting both this year! I just hope that the "extreme" difficulty to make someone submit is fixed and that the create-a-fighter has more options. It is nice to see Brock in the cover, after all the crap he has to endure from the so called "Real" MMA fans that hate him simply because he worked for the WWE. In the end I believe that the UFC game will sell better simply because it has the name recognition, but I also believe that this game will be better than EA MMA because THQ already has the experience and has had a full year to improve what was wrong in the first game.
Fallout New Vegas Details
More info has emerged on the next entry of the Fallout series, Fallout New Vegas. First of all, the game will be available for the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC in the fall of 2010. Many of the developers behind Fallout and Fallout 2 are working on New Vegas. As the title suggests, the game will take place in Las Vegas and will use the Fallout 3 engine. Some details that can be pieced together from the trailer is that the city of Las Vegas survived the nuclear war, as a matter of fact, the metropolis is shown fully electrified in the trailer, like nothing ever happened there. There are also some references to the New California Republic, a group that was at the center of the events of Fallout 2 and was absent from Fallout 3. This might indicate that the playable character is a member of this group or that this group will be back as a central presence in the Fallout series.
[Credit: Gamespot.com]
The Beatdown: A combination of the awesome Fallout 3 engine with the development team responsible for the original two games sounds like a mighty combination. The first thing that I noticed is that they are not calling this game Fallout 4….which means it might be a side story of sorts. I agree with this choice….the Fallout world is so huge and the possibilities to extend the franchise into other states and even other areas of the world is so big that they need to be creating more side games. The engine from Fallout 3 worked well and as long as they find a way to deal with the freezing bugs I am going to be a happy gamer indeed. I have definitively added Fallout New Vegas to my list of must-have titles that are coming out this year.
Dark Void DLC Details
Dark Void will be getting a Survivor Missions Pack next week for the PS3 and 360 versions of the game. Described as an "Arcade" take on the game, the Survivor Missions will provide the player with 10 rounds of increasingly heavy enemy onslaughts with the goal of obtaining and posting high scores online. The pack will sell for $5 or 400 MSP. As of this time, there are no plans to release this DLC for the PC version of Dark Void.
[Credit: Gamespot.com]
The Beatdown: Once again, the poor PC is left out. I mean, it is not like Dark Void is an awesome game or anything, but if you are going to release it for the PC at least give it the same support the console versions are getting. As for the DLC itself, $5 is not that expensive for what amounts to a survivor mode and the ability to post scores online. I want to ask a very honest question and I hope I don't get flamed for this, but, does anyone really like Survivor Modes? To me it seems like every developer these days add a survivor mode of some sort to their games and I don't find them fun or interesting at all. It's like they have a meeting and are one mode short and toss this one in there to make ends meet.
Microsoft Ending Xbox Live Support for Original Xbox
It was bound to happen sooner rather than later and now Microsoft has made it official. On April 15th 2010 Microsoft's Xbox Live Service will be dropping support for Xbox original games, including those bought as digital copies for the Xbox 360. Single-player only games and games with single-player components will be unaffected, but the next few weeks will be your last chance to enjoy Xbox Original classics like Halo 2 and Project Gotham 2 online. Microsoft ceased production of the original Xbox in 2006 and many retail stores are no longer carrying new or used games for the system.
[Credit: Gamespot.com]
The Beatdown: It was bound to happen, all old systems are eventually unplugged, but it doesn't make it any less sad. The first online game I became serious about was the original Halo. Yeah, I had played Starcraft and Diablo over battle.net, but I was never a hardcore online gamer until Halo's fragfests lured me into that vast online universe. I encourage all Xbox original players to gather one last time for some Halo 2 and wave goodbye to Xbox Live with a bang….preferably from a well-placed plasma grenade.
More Sonic 4 Details
Well, we now know that Project Needlemouse has been renamed Sonic 4 and that it will be a direct sequel to the Sega Genesis classics Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles. We also know that the game will feature only Sonic as a playable character. But Sega has revealed a few more details. First of all, the first installment will be called Sonic 4: Episode 1, which means that the title will be released in Episodes. The length of these episodes was not revealed. The second bit of news is that the game will be released as a downloadable title for the Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii this summer. The game will also support motion controls on the Wii and on the PS3, although it seems the PS3 will only support the SIXAXXIS and not the upcoming motion controller from Sony.
[Credit: Gamespot.com]
The Beatdown: I know this might come back and bite me in the ass, but I am really excited and supportive of Sega's attempt at remaking Sonic's image with a great game. I loved Sonic, I grew up with Sonic and this game looks like the Sonic I grew up with. If it turns out to be half as good as Sonic 3 was it would be an improvement over the crapfests we have been getting over the last few years. The only thing that worries me is the "episodic" nature of the game. I hope that every episode is of reasonable length and they don't end up selling us a couple of levels for $10. That would destroy the faith I have in this game.
The Quick Hits:
- A version of ModNation Racers using the Wipeout Engine is being developed for the PSP.
- Bayonetta has already sold 1.1 million copies worldwide. If we add the insane 5.67 million copies sold by Mario & Sonic at the Winter Olympic Games, it's no wonder Sega's finances are up.
- A new MMORPG based on Warhammer 40,000 will be making its debut at E3 this year.
- In a bit of news that makes me really happy, the Nintendo DS puzzler Scribblenauts has sold 1 million copies. Scribblenauts is one of the most original and smart games I have ever played and hopefully this numbers guarantee a sequel or a port to another system.
Until next week, when hopefully, I won't be sick or half-drunk again! In the meantime read my decade retrospective in Ranking the Decade and leave your feedback, which is always appreciated.
