Living LIVE News Report 08.22.11
Posted by Trace Aber on 08.22.2011
News and thoughts on what's coming in Borderlands 2, details on Dance Central 2, Silent Hill HD coming to Xbox 360, new fighters in Soul Calber V, Sonic staying silent in Generations, a release date for Kinect: Disneyland Adventures and more!
Welcome everyone to the one hundred and thirty-fifth issue of the Living LIVE News Report, and as always, I'm your host for the evening, Trace Aber.
Borderlands 2 is Your Ticket to a New Pandora
The original Borderlands took me by surprise. Up until thirty minutes or so right before I actually purchased the game, I had no interest in the game's art style, gameplay or the fact it boasted awesome multiplayer with a whole bunch of guns. I don't know why, but it didn't appeal to me. Then I played a short demo at my local Best Buy and realized I was a complete idiot and that the game did nothing but appeal to me. Hell, I even reviewed the Game of the Year edition and gave it a 9.0!
And I almost made the same mistake this year when they announced Borderlands 2 was coming out. Just two weeks ago I reduced the announcement of Borderlands 2 release to a single sentence, but in my defense there wasn't much news to go on. But now there is, and now I'm excited, and now I'm going to share that information with all of you.
Publisher 2K Games promise the game will feature "all-new characters, skills, environments, enemies, weapons and equipment, which come together in an ambitiously crafted story." The game still takes place in Pandora, though they are "unexplored areas" that you will uncover secrets from. Environments should be more diverse, and if the trailer below is anything to go off of, the new Pandora looks beautiful. The same art style from the first game will be employed, though it has clearly been tweaked quite a bit. Plus, the game looks a lot more colorful this time around!
One of the new weapons announced is the Tediore brand guns, which are comparable to disposable razors. When you run out of ammo, you toss the gun at the enemies and it'll blow up. What's even better though is you won't have to find a new game to replace it you'll get a new one in your hand as soon as the explosion's over. There's also some bandit-branded weapons now that look cheaply made, but have some clever designs that sometime help out. Even better, they finally added a mini-map to the game's display, making it a lot easier to navigate this time around.
And don't worry about the original Borderland characters, they'll be NPCs in the second game. No word if they'll join you or give you quests, but it's nice to see they aren't forgotten. Besides, the new guy looks pretty badass. Actually, he looks like Brodus Clay, but he's known as the Gunzerker. Enemy AI is supposed to be improved as well as their interactions, hopefully meaning some of them will be more than just moving targets.
No official release date has been given, but 2K Games is aiming for some time around April of 2012. It seems a long way away, but I have Skyrim and Mass Effect 3 to keep me busy until then. Man, now I feel like playing the original Borderlands, even if it has been a while.
Dance Central 2 Details Released
Microsoft unveiled more details about the follow-up to the popular Dance Central at Gamescom, including full body dances, new crews, and improved limb tracking.
In the "epic full body dance" battles, two players go head to head and engage in "spotlight sections" where all eyes are put on one of the dancers. Though, if you're playing single player with friends, isn't that the same thing? The four new dance crews are RipTide, Hi-Def, Flash4ward and Lu$h Crew and "all bring fierce personalities, amazing moves and unique looks to the world of "Dance Central."
Voice integration is found all throughout the game, allowing dancers to speak the mode, difficulty and song. Controllers are just too damn difficult, I guess. Thirteen of the over forty songs to be included have been announced, including Akon, Lady Gaga and Bruno. Songs include:
Flo Rida feat David Guetta Club Can't Handle Me
David Guetta feat Akon Sexy Chick
Daddy Yankee feat Fergie Impacto
Darude Sandstorm
Daft Punk Technologic
O-Zone Dragostea Din Tei
Bruno Mars Grenade
Donna Summer Hot Stuff
Gnarls Barkley Run
Lena Satellite
Enrique Iglesias I Like It
Lady Gaga Born This Way
Exile I Wish for You
You'll be able to get your groove on Oct. 21 in Europe and Asia, Oct. 25 in North America, and Oct. 27 in Japan.
Silent Hill Collection to Xbox 360
Last month it was announced that PS3 owners would be able to get their hands on a pair of HD remakes from one of the more popular horror-genre franchises, Silent Hill. There was no word on a 360 version being released, which understandably upset some fans. Fear not, as Konami heard the pleas and announced last Wednesday morning that, due to fan demand, there will actually be a 360 version, and it's coming out at the same time as the PS3 version (September/October)!
Honesty time: I never played a Silent Hill game. I watched my friend play the first one, and saw Shattered Memories a little bit, but never really knew what the game was all about. I was more into Resident Evil at the time, and when you're nine years old there are only so many scary video games you can take. I feel as though I may not be the only one in this boat though, so let's take a look at the collection itself.
The collection contains HD remakes of Silent Hill 2 and 3. I believe the first one, which also happens to be one of the more popular ones, is available on the PSN in North America, but not Europe for whatever reason. Both games are considered above average, reaching the mid-80s on Gamerankings. Graphically, the game will be upscaled from PSX to 720p HD and include all-new voiceover work, which is actually really impressive for a collection like this. Silent Hill was known for its eerie soundtrack, and we've been told that Akira Yamoka's haunting score has been left as is. And, of course, there will be achievements.
The release coincides with the release of the 8th Silent Hill game, Downpour, which is scheduled for release sometime in the fall as well. I do find it odd that we're in August and they're not sure if the collection is coming out in September or October, but maybe Konami likes cutting it down to the wire.
For those of you who have played the originals, are you planning on picking up the remastered version or would you rather leave the memories alone? Like I said, I never played them but plan on picking them up, if just to catch up on some classic gaming.
Four New Fighters Join the Stage of History
Soulcalibur has always been one of my favorite fighting games and it looks like Soulcalibur V is going to continue the trend. The story of Soulcalibur V takes place 17 years after Soulcalibur IV, and thus all of the characters have aged appropriately.
At Gamescom four new characters were announced. Maxi, Tira, Voldo and Hilde join the already announced Pyrrha, Patroklos, Zwei, Natsu, Ivy, Mitsurugi, and Seigfried as they battle in what is being called a "lighter, faster, more elegant" battle of souls. It is said to be heavily influenced by Street Fighter IV and Mortal Kombat, oddly enough. Street Fighter gave them the idea for "big, dramatic moves" and a focused single-player campaign is due to Mortal Kombat's influence.
The game is looking pretty good for being such an early build, and it should be available on 360 and PS3 come March.
Random Notes Kinect: Disneyland Adventures has finally got a release date November 15, 2011. The game allows you to walk around a virtual Disneyland, hug characters and play mini-games based on rides. Most surprising? The game is apparently somewhat fun. Leave it to Disney to make use of the Kinect.
The new SSX looks to be paving the way for socially-networked console games. The game will feature three types of networked modes, two of which allow you to compare scores and compete with friends you know. The third option are called "global events" and it would appear as though you'll be able to track your score real-time with up to 100,000 players simultaneously. More details as they come.
The unofficial spokesman of LulzSec, the big hacking group of the summer, may have been ousted thanks to his rampant Xbox LIVE playing. His information was constantly "doxed" on some of the forms he frequently visited (where he was apparently a very outspoken member), where somebody made the connection between the gamer and the hacker. The spokesman is 18 year old Scottish kid Jake Davis, for those wondering. Makes sense that he would be an avid gamer, since they mostly went after gaming companies.
In the upcoming Sonic Generations, classic Sonic will not speak. Instead, classic Tails will do the talking for him. Modern Sonic, however, will speak. There's also rumors that classic Sonic will pick up a couple of modern Sonic's powers, such as a sword. I really hope he doesn't.
Three new games have been announced for Xbox LIVE, including Hole in the Wall, a Kinect game based off the TV show on August 24th, Skulls of the Shotgun, where you guide an army of phantom Samurai in ghost-combat and the already-announced Trials Evolution, which I will be getting on day one.
Game Trailers
Need for Speed: The Run Buried Alive Trailer
Ultimate Marvel Vs Capcom 3: Doctor Strange Vs Nemesis
The Digital Downloads Arcade Games
Toy Soldiers: Cold War (1200MP) Games on Demand
Megamind: Ultimate Showdown ($29.99)
CSI: Fatal Conspiracy ($29.99) Demos
Bodycount DLC
Brink Agents of Change (800MP)
Dead Block More Dead to Block (240MP)
Signing Out
That does it for me this week. Be sure to check back next week as we discuss all of the latest Xbox 360 news, including releases, rumors and reviews! Also, don't forget to bookmark 411Mania! And a note to all of the Indie Game developers out there if you have an upcoming title that's going to be released soon drop me a line at traceaber@gmail.com and let me know. I'll write a full review of your game to be posted on 411Mania.com, which is a great way to get your game promoted!
