Living LIVE News Report 08.29.11
Posted by Trace Aber on 08.29.2011
News and thoughts on new maps for Halo: Anniversary, EA Sport's Season Tickets service, the Halo 4 Warthog making an apparance in Forza 4, the update for Castle Crashers, new DLC for Skyrim, Dead Rising 2 heading to the sandbox and more!
REPLY POSTED
Last week I reported on the latest Dance Central 2 news, including some of the songs announced for the sequel. Uppity didn't like one song in particular.
They really want me to dance to "Grenade" by Bruno Mars? Seriously?
Posted By: Uppity (Guest) on August 22, 2011 at 08:46 PM
Even worse, they want you to pay for the right to dance to that song. But, honestly, just about all of those songs are horrible. Except Sandstorm, which is fucking awesome.
Welcome everyone to another issue of the Living LIVE News Report, and as always, I'm your host for the evening, Trace Aber.
EA Sports "Season Ticket" Debuts, Mildly Successful
EA Sports newest money-making venture, the Season Ticket, debuted last week and didn't show exactly impressive numbers. While I'm assuming EA is making near-pure profit on the idea, they can't be happy with the number of people who logged on for the chance to play Madden 12 three days in advance.
The Season Ticket allows consumers to spend $25 (or 2000MP) of their hard-earned money for the privilege to play certain EA Sports franchises up to three days in advance, as well as 20% discounts on DLC. The other titles besides Madden 12 includes NCAA, FIFA and Tiger Woods PGA Tour. Those three day "previews" are full versions of the games, but once the game hits retail (which would be Tuesday for Madden), the previews are over and consumers must go out and purchase a physical copy of the game.
There is clearly a litany of problems with the service and seems to be one of the most blatant cash-in attempts in recent memory. I get that this is for diehards of the franchises, but to me it's really just nickel and diming people to a whole new level. I just don't see the logic of spending $25 for something that is practically worthless. Even if you buy every piece of DLC it seems unlikely that your savings would be over $25, and these glorified demos are insulting to have to pay for.
But, that doesn't mean there won't be some people who still feel like it's worth purchasing. Thankfully, it's not nearly as many people as I first expected. As of the first night of the service opening, there were less than 5,000 subscribers: 3,559 on the 360 and 1,115 on the PS3. Online it appears to be even more sad: only 466 Xbox players online and an even sadder 115 players on PS3.
Even with those low numbers, I don't see EA giving up on the idea. Like the 4,600 diehard Madden fans, there are going to be diehard Tiger Woods, FIFA and NCAA fans who will purchase the 3-day preview and may only do it for that single game. And as I mentioned earlier, it's likely that it costs EA very little to "provide" the service to the masses.
All of it just seems like a big waste, though. It's a waste of time, since you have to wait for the entire game to download, and then go out to the store and buy a physical copy once it releases. Secondly, it's a waste of money. Don't get me wrong, sometimes I really, REALLY want to play a game, but I can't think of an instance where I couldn't wait three days. I could maybe, MAYBE see if they gave players 10 days early access or something, but that would apparently be asking for too much. And, once again, on top of the $25 subscription fee you have to spend another $60 on the game itself, and if you plan to add DLC to your game you're going to end up spending a pretty penny, even with the discount.
Season Ticket has been compared to the Call of Duty Elite service set to debut later this year. It's a fair comparison, but at the very least Elite is providing players with detailed stat tracking, which is actually a pretty important thing to some players (my roommate included). Though, to be fair, Elite is going to be a monthly fee, which only raises the price of an already outrageous price for the "complete" Call of Duty experience.
So what can Season Ticket do in the future to make it worth the asking price? Besides the previously-mentioned 10-day early access, I think a 50% discount on DLC would really increase the appeal of the service as well. And if EA is already hosting these games on servers, why can't people purchase the full game through the digital download, making the downloading process less of a time-waster. Furthermore, why not give a $5 discount for downloading the game? With these kind of features, I could actually see the Season Ticket being successful, and, this is what really matters to EA more than anything, they could probably charge $30 for it and get away with it. Right now they're offering bare-bones for a meaty price, at least this way it would be equal.
Are any of the readers one of the 4,600 who gave the program a shot? What do you think about it, and do you agree with the pricing? If not, what do you think could be done to alleviate some of the more obvious weakness of the program?
New Maps Announced for Halo: Anniversary
Coming off the heels of Halo Fest, which took place across the street from PAX, Xbox's own Major Nelson announced the three newest maps available on the upcoming Anniversary edition of the first game in the Halo franchise. Descriptions of the map can be found below, along with more detail involving the other two previously announced maps. Oh, and you'll be able to play this one in 3D!
• TIMBERLAND –Timberland is "Halo: Anniversary's" beautifully reimagined multiplayer map from "Halo PC," set in the classically alpine environment so familiar to "Halo." Once serving as a watch point for the immense relay complex below, the monitoring outposts nestled atop this ridge became a staging ground for human forces during their time on Installation 04. Toward the end of the conflict, a Covenant assault brought the marines here to a tragic end. Timberland is a tree-covered valley, sporting undulating hills, surging rivers, and a terrain perfect for large-scale vehicle mayhem. (8 – 16 players)
• PRISONER –The return of "Halo: Combat Evolved's" Prisoner delivers a claustrophobic and frenetic multiplayer experience now elaborately recreated for "Halo: Anniversary." These spinning confinement platforms are a testament to the technological prowess of the Forerunners. In the event of a security breach, the facility's suborbital location and frigid temperature were thought to be able to keep any threat at bay, but it appears those plans were… optimistic. Prisoner is a multi-level facility, with tightly-woven corridors and many bridges and ramps, perfect for the chaos of close-range combat. (2 – 8 players)
• INSTALLATION 04 – Installation 04 brings fans back to one of the most iconic environments in "Halo's" history, the base of an enormous Forerunner spire from "Halo: Combat Evolved's" campaign mission "Halo," now stunningly returning in "Halo: Anniversary's" Firefight mode. Set on one of the many cliff sides of Alpha Halo, this beacon served as a rendezvous point for survivors of the Covenant attack on the UNSC Pillar of Autumn. These survivors, including the legendary Orbital Drop Shock Troopers, were forced to stave off numerous Covenant attacks until rescue finally came. Installation 04 is a familiar precipice studded with ancient Forerunner structures which make a perfect defensive position against an invading alien enemy and marks the first Firefight experience to include ally AI players who will defend the installation alongside you. (1 – 4 players)
Previously announced, playable fan favorite maps also made their US debut at Halo Fest including:
• DAMNATION –A fan favorite multiplayer battleground from "Halo: Combat Evolved," Damnation is impressively brought back to life with amazing detail. As the primary satellite of the Unggoy home world, Buwan provides the perfect environment for this massive Covenant hydro-facility used to power and refuel a variety of capital ships. Though still operational via automated subsystems, the station was abandoned shortly after the breaking of the Covenant. Damnation is an asymmetrical, multi-tiered complex, replete with long lines of sight and tightly-crafted choke points. (2 – 8 players)
• BEAVER CREEK – The classic "Halo 2" multiplayer map Beaver Creek returns, tracing its roots back all the way to "Halo: Combat Evolved's" legendary Battle Creek. The rocky warrens of this part of Halo provide the ideal environment for an array of impressive telemetry clusters. These spires' synchronization conduits ensure that the ring's translocation grid is always fully operational. Beaver Creek's symmetrical bases in a small, creek-fed canyon are excellent for both free-for-all and team-based game types. (2 – 8 players)
Each of the competitive multiplayer maps that ship with "Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary" will include two variants which let players experience maps in both their classic layout as well as a modified, reimagined version with changes that account for the dynamic gameplay created by "Halo: Reach's" Armor Abilities. For a sneak peek at the explosive multiplayer action that awaits, fire up Halo Waypoint or visit HaloWaypoint.com to see a new behind-the-scenes feature from 343 showcasing five of the seven beautifully reimagined maps included in "Halo: Anniversary."
News and Notes
It was announced that the Halo 4 Warthog will be an interactive vehicle in the upcoming Forza 4, but you won't be able to drive it. Unfortunately, it looks as though the warthog will only appear in the garage mode. It won't be unlocked from the start, though nobody is saying how to unlock it other than it will only be unlocked by "dedicated players."
Castle Crashers, one of the arcade's best titles, received its second major title update this week. It adds a Team Vs Team mode to Player Match arena and fixes various glitches. They're also doing a free charity promotion where players can download the Pink Knight, which is absolutely free and features new weapons. The Behemoth will donate a dollar for every download to the Keep a Breast Foundation, up to $50,000. Finally, they've also released the Blacksmith pack for 160, which features an all new character, presumably with weapons to boot.
Fed up with how many of Bethesda's great games happen to have a greater number of bugs? It looks like they're going to try to fix that with Skyrim. They plan on adopting a direct connection to their game on all platforms that will allow them to fix any bugs or glitches on the fly without the need for a full title update. According to the team, they can even change stats on weapons that turn out to be unbalanced and every player will be able to experience that change within a few hours. Interestingly, the team is running automated versions of the game pre-release to catch any of the bigger bugs, which seems like a pretty cool idea.
In other Skyrim news, the first two DLC packages will be 30-day exclusives to the Xbox 360. No idea what that content will be, but hopefully it's a full expansion and not some horse armor.
In something that should have happened in the first game, we can now finally play sandbox mode in the upcoming Dead Rising 2 Off the Record. No time limit, no missions, just running around and killing the brain dead. I have no idea why it took Capcom this long to implement this feature, but it's almost enough to justify purchasing the updated DR2. Oh, wait, Frank West is also in it. Alright, I'm buying it when it comes out on October 11 as the reduced price of $40. Be sure to check out the new mode's trailer in the Theater.
It looks like one of the best Sonic the Hedgehog games of all time, Sonic CD, will be coming to just about every platform there is known to man later this year. I'm expecting the price to be around 800MP, and it would be worth every penny (or point, I guess). It'll be released on XBLA, PSN, PC, iPhone/iPad, and Android. You can check out the game's trailer in the Theater section below.
The last set of DLC for Fallout: New Vegas has been announced, dated and priced. Lonesome Road, the last mission-pack for the game, comes out on September 20 for 800MP. The next pack, Courier's Stash, gives players access to four pre-order bonuses for 160MP. Gun Runner's Arsenal will set you back 320MP and increase the amount of unique weapons, mods, ammo types and recipes. Both Courier's Stash and Gun Runner's will be released on September 27.
The Digital Downloads Arcade Games
Hole in the Wall (800MP)
Street Fighter III 3rd Strike (1200MP)
Crazy Machine Elements (800MP)
Mortal Kombat Arcade Collection [August 31] (800MP)
The Baconing [August 31] (1200MP)
Ugly Americans: Apocalypsegeddon [August 31] (800MP)
Games on Demand
WWE Smackdown Vs Raw 2011 ($39.99)
MySims SkyHeroes ($29.99)
de Blob 2 ($39.99)
Wheelman [August 30]
Sniper: Ghost Warrior [August 30)
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!
