Deep Silver and Techland announced today that the follow-up to Dead Island — Dead Island: Riptide — is now available for PC, Xbox 360, and Playstation 3. Details on the zombie kill-fest can be found below:

With invigorating new elements infused into a proven mix, Dead Island Riptide will reanimate the zombie terror in the original game. A monsoon has hit the once beautiful archipelago and heavy rainstorms have laid waste to large areas of the islands. The city of Henderson and jungle areas on the island of Palanai were flooded leaving boats as the only remaining way of transportation. Dynamic weather conditions will force the team members to adapt to changing visibility conditions.

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In case you missed it, Warner Bros. and WB Montreal have announced “Batman: Arkham Origins” set for release October 25, 2013 on PC, Xbox 360, and Playstation 3, along with a companion 2.5D game, Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate (3DS, Vita). The other item of interest for fans of Batman’s Arkham games is that development of his upcoming adventure is being handled by WB Montreal, not Rocksteady. (more…)

In what it likely to be Kratos’ swan song (on Playstation 3 at least), SCEA has announced the latest God of War, subtitled “Ascension,” has landed at retail ($59.99) with a head-busting smack. In case you missed any of the coverage leading up to the release check out Syd’s primer for collecting God of War and Tazman’s early look at the multiplayer — that’s right, mulitplayer in a God of War game!

Here’s a little more from the official press release:

A tale of tragedy and retribution deeply grounded in Greek mythology, God of War: Ascension is the origin story of Kratos, one of PlayStation’s most recognizable characters. Following the tragic loss of his wife and daughter, Kratos embarks on a path of brutal revenge—armed with his legendary Blades of Chaos—in which he will face mythology’s darkest creatures and overcome harrowing obstacles through a merciless quest for revenge and deliverance.
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It’s a neat idea on the face of it — intertwining a TV show and a video game — so it’ll be very interesting to see how Trion and Syfy pull it together with “Defiance” an MMO shooter and television show, set to debut April 15, 2013.

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Mark your calendars! Sequel to Metro 2013, Metro: Last Light will be available “May 14, 2013 in North and Latin America and May 17, 2013 across Europe for PlayStation 3, the Xbox 360, and Windows PC.”

Some additional details from the official announcement: (more…)

On the heels of the Playstation Meeting 2013 in New York, SCEA released a good summation of what happened during the two-hour reveal of Playstation 4, which will offer integrated PS Vita support, Diablo III, a game from Jonathan Blow (The Witness), and, my favorite, “emotions that you have never felt in real life.” (That quote from Quantic Dream’s David Cage.) No mention of a release date or price, though I guess SCEA needs to save something for E3 in a few months.

Any meaningful analysis of what happened will likely come in the days ahead as more interviews and information roll out, but overall, the “Meeting” was enough to get a lot of people excited, me included. If you don’t have a couple of hours to watch the whole “Meeting” here’s a relatively quick summation from SCEA:

New York, February 20, 2013 – Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCE) today introduced PlayStation®4 (PS4™), its next-generation gaming platform for the home, alongside the videogame industry’s brightest and most creative minds at PlayStation®Meeting 2013. With unprecedented power, deep social capabilities, and instant accessibility, PS4 allows game creators to unleash their imaginations and deliver new play experiences to gamers that were never before possible. The live audience at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York, along with millions of fans streaming the event around the world, were also provided with a sneak peek of some of the games that will ultimately define the PS4 experience. (more…)

It’s not very often that I get a weird vibe from a press release. The one in question is the official announcement of “Destiny” coming from Bungie and Activision. I’ll let you read it in a minute, but there are a few things you might want watch for, besides the fact it’s a sci-fi shooter.

There’s an explicit mention of the game being shipped on a physical disc. This is no download-only title. Hell, in the very next paragraph there’s a quote from a GameStop exec about how excited they are for Destiny.

Also, the release goes to great lengths to avoid the use of the term, “MMO,” which has all manner of connotations, including “monthly subscription,” but not to worry, Destiny will be “a living social universe filled with other players” and “a world with wide boundaries that allows you to roam and explore. It is a world where, even in story mode, you could encounter other players on their own adventures.” But apparently not an MMO.

See what other hidden messages you can find in the official press release:

Santa Monica, CA – February 18, 2013 – A new generation of gaming is upon us. Today, Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI), together with critically-acclaimed developer Bungie, revealed the first sneak peak of their partnership. The game, called Destiny, is an ambitious evolution of the first-person action genre that brings gamers together in a shared, persistent world. The result of a large-scale collaboration between Activision, the publisher of such mega franchises as Call of Duty, Skylanders Spyro’s AdventureTM and Skylanders GiantsTM, and Bungie, the creators of Halo®, Destiny is poised to become the next advancement in interactive entertainment by melding first-person action gaming with a persistent, dynamic online world. (more…)

This writer really wants to just cut and paste the entire press release announcing The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt because it sounds kind of bad-ass. Coming to all “high-end platforms” in 2014, The Wild Hunt will mark the last of the Witcher games from CD Projekt Red. Check our review of the original Witcher: Enhanced Edition then read the rest of the release:

CD Projekt RED has officially announced the title of their next upcoming game: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Further, they’ve announced that this, the ultimate game in the series, will also be the final Witcher game from the studio. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt combines CD Projekt RED’s trademark decision-based storytelling flair with a living open world larger than any other in modern RPG history. (more…)

What some have described as Disney’s grab for “Skylanders money” is actually called “Disney Infinity” and is scheduled to launch June 2013. A full preview isn’t the goal of this News post so let’s just get the short of it right here:

• Disney Infinity Interactive Pieces: Initially a line of 40 collectible interactive pieces will be introduced that allow players to expand and customize their play experiences.
• Disney Infinity Interactive Character Figures: Seventeen character figures will allow players to experience a variety of their favorite characters in true to property experiences and in Toy Box mode.
• Disney Infinity Base: When figures are placed on the Infinity base, they unlock the world and play experiences of Disney Infinity.
• Disney Infinity Power Discs: Interactive discs can be placed on the Infinity base to power up characters and Toy Box with unique powers, customizations and gadgets.

See if you can take in all the details of this recent announcement from Warner Bros. regarding “Injustice: Gods Among Us” which is pegged to launch April 16, 2013:

The Injustice: Gods Among Us Battle Edition (for Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 only) will retail for $149.99 and includes the game disc, exclusive Injustice: Gods Among Us Fight Stick featuring official artwork from the game and three exclusive skins based on Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman from DC COMICS – THE NEW 52. The Fight Stick is a lightweight controller that boasts a non-skid foam underside, a lockout feature for the Start, Select and Guide buttons, as well as adjustable illumination for the buttons and joystick.

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Konami has announced that a demo for Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance for Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 will be available January 22, 2013 in advance of the game’s full retail launch on February 19, 2013.

“The free demo will showcase Chapter 1 of the game and introduce Raiden as the central character – a child soldier transformed into a cyborg ninja killing machine, equipped with a high-frequency katana blade and a soul fueled by revenge.“

Sega of America, in association with Double Fine Productions, has announced the release date for Ron Gilbert’s upcoming “The Cave.” Coming to Xbox 360, Playstation 3, PC, and Wii “The Cave” will be available January 23, 2013 for $14.99 (and  1200 MS Points).

For fans of Saints Row, Company of Heroes, and Darksiders I’m not sure how you’ll take the recent new that THQ has filed for bankruptcy. It’s not all bad news. Apparently someone has already picked up the pieces, somewhat. Read on from the official release!

AGOURA HILLS, Calif., Dec 19, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) — THQ Inc. THQI -73.88% , a leading worldwide developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software, today announced that it entered into an Asset Purchase Agreement with a “stalking horse bidder,” affiliates of Clearlake Capital Group, L.P., to acquire substantially all of the assets of THQ’s operating business, including THQ’s four owned studios and games in development. The sale will allow THQ to shed certain legacy obligations and emerge with the strong financial backing of a new owner with substantial experience in software and technology.

To facilitate the sale, THQ and its domestic business units have filed voluntary petitions under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The company’s foreign operations, including Canada, are not included in the filings. The company has obtained commitments from Wells Fargo and Clearlake for debtor-in possession (DIP) financing of approximately $37.5 million, subject to Court approval.

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Activision has announced “according to Chart-Track retail customer sell-through information and internal company estimates” that Call of Duty: Black Ops II has topped $1 billion in retail sales in the last 15 days.

In the same paragraph the press release is quick to point out that the “box office record set for feature films in 2009 by “Avatar” was $1 billion in 17 days,” which is kind of a weird comparison. It’s a better comparison that Black Ops II crossed the billion dollar mark a full day faster than last year’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.

One more stat is thrown into the release: Since the game’s launch, more than 150 million hours (or 17,112 years if it makes that number more understandabl) have been logged online playing Call of Duty: Black Ops II on Xbox® LIVE® and PlayStation Network.

Though I wish they talked about “hard numbers” or even percentages when announcements like this are made, it’s interesting to note that “PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system is now the primary development platform for Netflix and is the world’s most popular device for viewing movies and TV shows from Netflix on a television.”

Almost with exaggeration, Netflix is available on just about every electronic device on the market today and has “more than 30 million streaming members globally” so the fact a gaming console can attain “most popular” status is quite an accomplishment.

More from the official release:

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