Tag Archives: DC Comics

Train2Game News: Games Industry News – 23.08.13

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Batman Arkham OriginsIt’s the end of the week which means it’s time for the industry news round up!

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC Entertainment unveiled a new trailer for Batman: Arkham Origins titled “Nowhere to Run.” The trailer showcases the indomitable super villains hell-bent on taking down the Bat and gives a first look at Firefly, one of the eight assassins featured in Batman: Arkham Origins, capable of raining fire from above. You can watch the Batman: Arkham Origins – Nowhere to Run – gameplay trailer here: http://youtu.be/gTQQaZm5Mzc

Continuing the superhero game theme, LEGO® Marvel™ Super Heroes are back, this time revealing the brick-building plot of the game, with an all-new new trailerAm! Do you have what it takes to destroy Dr. Doom and his Dr. Doom Doomray of Doom? Check out the awesome trailer (with a huge villain reveal) here: http://youtu.be/Nvpug0_-xAQ

It’s time to step back into the darkness. Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs, the follow-up to the genre-defining horror game, Amnesia: The Dark Descent, is now available for pre-order with a 20-percent discount. From the creators of Amnesia: The Dark Descent and Dear Esther comes a new first-person horror game that will drag you to the depths of greed, power and madness. It will bury its snout into your ribs and it will eat your heart. Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs is survival–horror at its most unsettling; helpless and alone, no weapons to soothe your nerves, and the dim light of your lantern to offer any comfort.

Broken Sword: The Serpent’s Curse is the fifth instalment in the adventure game franchise. It was kickstarted to give Revolution Software full control, giving them total freedom over the games look and feel. It is also the first Kickstarter project to be picked up by Sony to put on the Vita. The Serpent’s Curse will also be available on iOS, PC, Mac, Android and Linux and you can see an early trailer for the game, here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=3jQu1riTcYg

After years of Comic Book Movies, Publishers are really making a play for videogames to muscle in. EA have a Need for Speed movie starring Aaron Paul of Breaking Bad, and Ubsioft already have Michael Fassbender attached to Assassin’s Creed and Splinter Cell with Tom Hardy. Now they’re taking upcoming Watch_Dogs onto the big screen too, forming a partnership with Sony Pictures and New Regency. Video Games have a very hit and miss track record with going to movies and some are only good because they are so bad. With all these games going to Hollywood though, it shows games are being accepted more and more.

Train2Game News: Games Industry news – 15.08.13

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Jason HoltmanIt’s the end of the week which means it is time for the industry news round up!

Jason Holtman, who spearheaded Valve’s Steam business for eight years before leaving the company in February, has a new job at Microsoft with a focus on PC gaming and entertainment strategy. At Valve, Holtman was the primary point of contact for developers that distributed games on Steam – and, to many in the gaming world, was the service’s driving force. While he certainly wasn’t the sole reason for its success, he was its biggest cheerleader and an even bigger proponent of digital distribution. What this means for Microsoft is yet to be seen.

The Call of Duty: Ghosts multiplayer trailer was revealed yesterday and the franchise has finally introduced female characters to play as! You can enjoy the trailer on YouTube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2lJcbeBerQ

Dishonored: The Brigmore Witches, the final add-on pack for Arkane Studios’ critically-acclaimed first-person action game, is now available worldwide via Xbox LIVE (800 Microsoft Points), Steam (£7.99 / €9.99 / AU$14.45) and on PlayStation Store. Additionally, a new gameplay trailer for the add-on was released which you can watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLEfvTkYHeE

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment announced it has released Zatanna, the latest downloadable content (DLC) character to be added to the DC Comics fighting game Injustice: Gods Among Us. Based on NetherRealm Studios’ interpretation of the famed DC Comics character, Zatanna is available now on Xbox LIVE Marketplace for 400 Microsoft Points and will be available on the PlayStation Network at a price of £3.99 soon. A second generation magician and a master of trickery known for her clever escapes and summons executed by speaking backwards, Zatanna is certainly a force to be reckoned with in the futuristic world of Injustice: Gods Among Us. If my geek memory serves me well I believe her and her father helped teach a young Bruce Wayne that art of escape in one of the Batman story lines.

Finally Little Orbit, a worldwide video game publisher, today announced a partnership with TNT to bring the epic alien-invasion television series Falling Skies to multiple video game consoles. Depicting a world gone mad after an alien invasion, the Falling Skies video games will grab a foothold in the gaming world with a mobile game due out this holiday and multiple consoles launching in 2014. Falling Skies is based on the popular TNT show of the same name and will tie directly into the television series, with a scenario that will weave itself into the existing universe and feature voice work by the show’s actors. This has worked incredibly well for The Walking Dead but time will tell how this one will do!

Train2Game News: Games Industry News – 02.08.13

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Batman It’s the end of the week so is is time for the Train2Game news round up.

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC Entertainment today confirmed that Batman: Arkham Origins will ship with a mode that allows players to take the franchise’s award-winning gameplay online to play with friends and foes.  The online component blends the traditional Arkham gameplay with third-person shooter mechanics and is in development by Splash Damage. The multiplayer will be available on all platforms except the Wii U. You can enjoy the trailer for it here: http://youtu.be/CFx82wX3NE8

Continuing the hero game theme, Deadpool has had it’s first DLC announced. The “Merc with a map pack” will introduce two new challenge maps; GRT Plaza and Inside the Tower. You will also get two new costumes for Infinite Mode: a D-Pooly and Uncanny X-Force suit. The DLC is available now for 240 Microsoft points. You can also now purchase the game from the On Demand market.

In celebration of the highly anticipated launch of Pokémon X and Pokémon Y for the Nintendo 3DS family of systems, the first of three legendary character distribution events begins August 30 at participating Game stores across the UK. Players can get their hands on Shiny versions of the Legendary Pokémon —Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina—starting with, Dialga, which was featured on the cover of the Pokémon Diamond video game. What makes this event extraordinary is that each of the distributed Legendary Pokémon, which are already difficult to get during gameplay, will be Shiny, meaning they have unusual colouring that is extremely rare. Each Shiny Pokémon will be available, one at a time, for only two weeks each, so Trainers will need to plan accordingly and head to a participating Game store if they want to add these extremely rare Legendary Pokémon to their Pokémon Black, Pokémon White, Pokémon Black 2, or Pokémon White 2 game.

A new character has been announced for the hit mobile game, Temple Run 2. You can now pay for and download Gold medal olympian, Usain Bolt to run from the dangerous in the game. As the first branded character in Temple Run history, Usain Bolt’s worldwide recognition demonstrates the global and cultural reach of the original endless runner game. “I am a big fan of Temple Run. I travel all over the world and travel time gives me lots of opportunity to play Temple Run at airports or on car journeys,” said Usain Bolt. “It’s exciting to see myself represented within a game I already play.”  The Usain Bolt character is available now as an in-app purchase in Temple Run 2 for $0.99, for a limited time only.

Finally in the lead up to the realease of The Elder Scrolls Online, Bethesda have announced The Elder Scrolls Anthology for PC.  The game arrives on retail shelves in Europe on September 13, 2013 for £49.99/€59.99, The Elder Scrolls Anthology features all five critically-acclaimed games, plus official add-ons – packaged together in an exclusive premium collector’s set.

 

Train2Game News: Batman Arkham Origins full trailer

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Batman Arkham OriginsThe full trailer has been released for Batman Arkham Origins following the little tease we received last week.

As regular readers probably know, I am a big Bat Fan so when I heard of the move to Warner Bros from Rocksteady I was cautious but hopeful. After watching this trailer, story wise, it seems my hope was well placed.

The trailer depicts the Cowled hero and his universe, from what I can tell, as good as the previous Arkham Games.

There is also a nice little nod to another DC character in the trailer that has got me wondering if the character will be in the game in any way.

The trailer also reveals that if you pre-order the game you will get to play as Deathstroke in the challenge mode for the game.

You can enjoy the gorgeously crafted trailer below:

Train2Game News: Games Industry News – 17.05.13

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Batman and DeathstrokeIt’s the end of the week so it is time for the Train2Game round up of Games Industry news from across the week!

First of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC Entertainment released a teaser trailer for Batman Arkham Origins. This most certainly is a tease! The full trailer is scheduled to be released on May 20, the day before the big Xbox reveal. You can enjoy your teaser here, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvQXipKxrCE&feature=youtu.be

To continue our trailer theme, a trailer for Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag was also released earlier this week. This is following comments made by CEO Yves Guillemot who stated that they don’t expect AC4 to do as well as it’s predecessors. This cautious approach is a refreshing change. You can enjoy the PEGI 18 trailer here, http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Iys4wq7O_fQ

2K and Gearbox Software today announced that the sixth playable character for Borderlands 2, Krieg the Psycho, is now available via digital download across all available platforms for $9.99 or 800 Microsoft Points. The Psycho Pack offers fans a chance to play with one of the most iconic personalities in the Borderlands universe. The sixth playable character for Borderlands 2, Krieg the Psycho, harnesses his psychotic multiple personalities to give the bandits and baddies of Pandora a taste of their own medicine. Vault Hunters can use the new character class to shoot and loot their way to new heights in Borderlands 2 with the recently released Ultimate Vault Hunter Upgrade Pack. The pack raises the level cap to 61 for all six characters, unlocks a third play through called Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode, and is available now for $4.99 or 400 Microsoft Points as a standalone purchase. It is also included as part of the Borderlands 2 Season Pass.

Valve has announced the Steam Trading Card beta is available for sign up now. Fans participating in the beta can unlock virtual trading cards by playing selected titles including CS: GO, Portal 2,  Dota 2 and more to come. The cards can be turned into game badges and trade-able Steam community items, according to info on the Steam site. Full sets of cards can be combined to earn Steam badges, all of which will contribute to your overall Steam level. “Up to half the card set is dropped through game play, the other half is earned through your collecting prowess,” says the blurb. Collecting prowess means that you can get more cards by interacting and trading with fellow Steam community members. Images on the Steam Trading Cards page indicate that these could entitle you to money off purchases on the Steam store. If you’d like to sign up for the beta, you can do it here.

Tech website The Verge is reporting that Microsoft is about to kill off its points system, the method by which we use to buy products off Xbox live, and is moving instead towards using real world prices, and allowing gift cards to pay for its services. These gift cards will supposedly work in the same way as Apple iTunes vouchers do, and the change will also allow users to buy with normal credit or debit cards. This comes after Windows 8 was changed late last year to reflect real-world prices rather than points. This should be confirmed to be true or not at this years E3.

Train2Game News: Games Industry News – 10.05.13

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WolfensteinIt is the end of the week so it is the time for the Train2Game industry news round up.

Bethesda Softworks announced a new title, Wolfenstein: The New Order, an action-adventure shooter slated for release in Q4 2013. The game is being developed by MachineGames, a studio comprised of seasoned developers known for creating compelling, critically-acclaimed story-driven games. Wolfenstein has been widely credited for helping establish and popularise the first-person shooter genre, and Wolfenstein: The New Order is a reimagining of this franchise – offering players a gripping and dramatic experience. The official announcement trailer can be seen at GameSpot.com. The game will be released on PlayStation 3, Xbox360 and next generation consoles.

Another new game release, Maxis and Electronic Arts have announced that The Sims 4 is currently in development at The Sims Studio for release on PC and Mac in 2014. The Sims 4 celebrates the heart and soul of the Sims themselves, giving players a deeper connection with the most expressive, surprising and charming Sims ever in this single-player offline experience. The Sims 4 encourages players to personalize their world with new and intuitive tools while offering them the ability to effortlessly share their creativity with friends and fans. To stay up to date with the latest information you can visit www.thesims.com/thesims4

The Closed Beta phase for Infinite Crisis began on Wednesday. Select players chosen from the pool of registrants will get their first chance to dive into the multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) PC game from Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and developed by Turbine. You can still sign-up for the beta if you want to be part of the fun.

Until May 31, Pokémon Trainers across the country can look to the sky as not one, but two strains of the Mythical DNA Pokémon Deoxys make a rare return trip from outer space to players of both the Pokémon video games and official Trading Card Game (TCG). Players of Pokémon Black 2 or Pokémon White 2 can add Deoxys to their Pokédex in a special distribution event via the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service, while TCG players and collectors can find the new Pokémon TCG: Black & White — Plasma Freeze expansion, which includes the powerful Deoxys-EX card, at retail stores nationwide.

Finally, Warner Bros. and NetherRealm have unleashed a trailer showing Batgirl pummeling the Joker. This is for the announcement that Batgirl will be the next DLC character for Injustice: Gods Among Us. While there are a lot of Batman characters in Injustice already, if they’re going to include another “Bat” character, it’s only fitting they include Batgirl. Batgirl is available to buy as a standalone character for 400 MS points and £3.99 on PSN. No release date has been announced yet. You can view Batgirls beating on the Man that crippled her in the following trailer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cq719Rp17B8

Train2Game News: Batman: Arkham Origins details and screenshots

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Batman Arkham OriginsIn the new issue of Games Master magazine speak to WB Montreal, the studio behind the Arkham prequel. They discuss the approach to crafting a different Dark Knight and offers some insight into features that didn’t make the cut.

Warner has confirmed the Batman: Arkham Origins release date as October 25 for consoles and PC. There is also a few new screens from the game which can be seen in the gallery at the bottom of this article.

According to a recent report, Arkham Origins will have a multiplayer mode, making it the first in the series to include it.

Here are the new details as reported in Games Master:

  • Batman: Arkham Origins is the story behind “how the unrefined, rough-around-the-edges, early career Batman” becomes Dark Knight
  • Batman and Captain Gordon meet for the first time during the events of Arkham Origins
  • Senior producer Ben Mattes says there are elements to the story that they will never discuss before the game has shipped
  • Batman in Arkham Origins has the moves and the abilities, but hasn’t faced the challenges that shape him into the Batman we know. Arkham City Batman is described as Batman 5.0, while Arkham Origins Batman is 0.9.
  • It’s “year two” of Batman’s career, roughly speaking
  • WB Montreal has been given everything Rocksteady had, from engine tweaks to concept art.
  • It plays exactly like Arkham City
  • At one point the HUD included a storm indicator. Since Origins takes place during a snowstorm, it provided warning of incoming wind blasts. However, it negatively impacted the freeflow combat as “enemies stand around waiting for you to punch them” and “you’re swinging wildly because you don’t know where they are.” The feature was cut.
  • Another cut feature is the enemy quad-rotor drone which would patrol rooms in search of Bats. The drone “broke the richness of the predator room, which is in giving the player the power to play the way they want.”
  • Detective mode has been overhauled, as has the gadget upgrade progression tree.
  • Goons will be able to “take advantage of the verticality” of New Gotham
  • Legends of the Dark Knight was the “single most inspirational piece of media”
  • “Making Batman scary again is important”
  • WB Montreal believes it has made “the coolest version of Deathstroke. He’s a wonderful counterpart to Batman”
  • Northern Gotham is the area that became Arkham City, it is a mix of low-rent residential and industrial buildings. Referred to as the Brooklyn of Gotham.
  • New Gotham is described as the ‘Soho’ or ‘East Village’ of the city. It is a brand new, upmarket area, borderline financial zone of the city. Focus is tall buildings, catwalks and walkways here.
  • The GCPD is corrupt, so Gotham’s swat teams are out to get Batman too
  • No mention of Joker yet.
  • A ‘Most Wanted’ mechanic offers a selection of mini-campaign side-stories centered around other major villains.

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Train2Game News: UK Top 20 Games – 22.04.13

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AquamanThis week in the games charts BioShock has been knocked off of the number one spot! The game that punched it down to second place is the DC Comics fighter, Injustice: Gods Among Us. The new Fire Emblem game on Nintendo 3DS is the other new entry this week coming in at number three.

All formats

Week ending 20 April 2013

POS.  TITLE  PUBLISHER  LAST
WEEK 
1 INJUSTICE: GODS AMONG US WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE –
2 BIOSHOCK INFINITE 2K GAMES 1
3 FIRE EMBLEM: AWAKENING NINTENDO –
4 TOMB RAIDER SQUARE ENIX 2
5 DEFIANCE TRION WORLDS 4
6 FIFA 13 EA SPORTS 3
7 CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS II ACTIVISION 6
8 LUIGI’S MANSION 2 NINTENDO 5
9 TIGER WOODS PGA TOUR 14 EA SPORTS 12
10 – FAR CRY 3 UBISOFT 10
11 THE ELDER SCROLLS V: SKYRIM XBOX 360 CLASSICS 14
12 LEGO BATMAN 2: DC SUPER HEROES WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 9
13 ASSASSIN’S CREED III UBISOFT 7
14 SKYLANDERS GIANTS SKYLANDERS 15
15 GEARS OF WAR: JUDGMENT MICROSOFT 8
16 SNIPER: GHOST WARRIOR 2 CITY INTERACTIVE 20
17 NEED FOR SPEED MOST WANTED EA GAMES 11
18 GOD OF WAR: ASCENSION SONY COMPUTER ENT. –
19 SONIC & ALL STARS RACING TRANSFORMED SEGA 17
20 SLEEPING DOGS XBOX 360 CLASSICS –
Leisure software charts compiled by Chart Track, (C)2013 UKIE Ltd

These charts cannot be reproduced either in print or online without obtaining permission from Ukie. If you wish to reproduce the charts in print or online, please contact david.smith@ukie.org.uk for the appropriate license.

Train2Game News: Games Industry News – 19.04.13

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Connor AdamsIt is the end of the week so it is time for the Train2Game end of week round up!

The first bit of news this weeks come with the release of Injustice: Gods Among Us, the new DC Universe fighting game. Train2Game student Connor Adams did some of the concept art for the game at the company he works at Atomhawk in Newcastle. Congratulations Connor! You can view some of his art work, which I highly suggest, in the following link: http://crayonmechanic.deviantart.com/

The Pokémon Company International recently revealed a mysterious new Pokémon that looks strangely familiar to Legendary Pokémon Mewtwo. Nintendo have now confirmed that this new Pokémon is connect to Mewtwo! How this connection will play out when Pokémon X and Pokémon Y launch in October is still to be confirmed. You can enjoy a short clip, that makes the connection clear, here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tSVBVQzNMg&feature=player_embedded

Bethesda have recently uploaded a couple of six second long clips to the video sharing site, Vine. These little teaser clips had the internet buzzing about what could be coming. It has now been announced that it is the new game from Resident Evil creator, Shinji Mikami. Mikami’s studio Tango Gameworks will reveal ‘project Zwei’ via a debut trailer set for release at 5:00 a.m. Pacific / 8:00 a.m Eastern. Mikami has previously described Zwei as “a true survival horror” in which the player “confronts and overcomes fear”. Mikami has also said this will be his last game as director.

Activision social media manager Dan Amrich has said he expects 2013’s entry in the Call of Duty series, which is most likely going to be Modern Warfare 4, to be revealed no later than E3 in early June. Amrich noted that the last two Call of Duty games were revealed in May 2011 and May 2012. It has been rumoured that Microsoft are revealing their next Xbox on May 21 so it is likely the new COD will be announced around the same time.

Finally, Microsoft reports that Xbox Live now has around 46 million members worldwide. This, is according to the firm’s Earnings Release for FY13 Q3. It represents an 18 per cent increase from the prior year period. Microsoft’s Entertainment and Devices Division posted revenue of $2.53 billion, an increase of 56 per cent from the prior year period. Microsoft sold 1.3 million Xbox 360s during the quarter, which is down 9 percent from the same period but it is still impressive that so many consoles are still being sold, even at the end of this generations cycle.