It’s good to see that EA’s Madden franchise is getting more than a simple roster update. Today the company announced that:
“With players opening over 16 million player packs and spending nearly 8 million online hours playing games, Madden Ultimate Team – a fan-favorite mode – marries player profile collection with authentic Madden NFL gameplay. Players earn, buy, auction, and trade players to build an ultimate team of NFL legends past and present and make a run for an NFL title. Draft Duels offers a unique flavor, allowing fans to engage in a competitive drafting experience – using special Draft Duels packs – to create the supreme dream team. Big rewards await those who accept the challenge and prove themselves the ultimate draft experts. Over 1.3 million teams have already been created in Madden NFL 13, nearly double the number made in Madden NFL 12 over the same time period, and these numbers will only get bigger as Draft Duels brings a fun new wrinkle into one of the most beloved modes in Madden NFL.”
The important part of the press release announcing Playstation Plus for Vita is right here:
“PlayStation®Plus (PS Plus), the premium membership from PlayStation®Network (PSN), will expand its Instant Game Collection to include support for PlayStation Vita (PS Vita) in North America beginning on November 19, 2012. PS Plus members will receive six titles to play on PS Vita in addition to the 12 games currently available for the PlayStation 3 (PS3) system, all for less than $5/month (based on a 12 month membership). PS Plus is expanding as part of the PS Vita System Software Update (version2.00), which will add other new features that enhance the overall gaming and entertainment experience on the PS Vita system.”
If you want to read some more details on the firmware update (fixes, enhanced performance), please keep reading:
Electronic Arts and Visceral Games (Montreal) have announced the ship date for the third Army of Two game, The Devil’s Cartel: March 26, 2013 (March 29, 2013 in Europe) for Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. Check your local retailer for pre-order incentives!
The Entertainment Software Ratings Board has announced a new “Digital Rating Service” which looks to streamline some of the aspects of being rated by the ESRB. Parallel to this, the non-profit self-regulatory body for the video game industry has introduced some new information symbols. Pay attention, there’s a test later!
“Consumers have grown accustomed to using ESRB ratings when making decisions about the appropriateness of the games their families play. With the explosion of devices from which consumers can access games today, our goal is to ensure that those same tools are available everywhere games can be found,” said ESRB president Patricia Vance. “More recently, parents’ concerns have begun to extend beyond just content to include the sharing of their kids’ personal information or location and interactions with other players. ESRB’s Digital Rating Service now offers all digital platforms, storefronts and networks the opportunity to empower their customers with consistent, credible, familiar and useful upfront guidance no matter where their family chooses to play games.”
Today, Electronic Arts and Danger Close Games announced that the latest instalment of the Medal of Honor series, Warfighter, is now available for PC, Playstation 3, and Xbox 360. (Europe should be on the lookout on October 26, 2012.)
Using the Frostbyte 2.0 engine, Warfighter is “set to deliver this year’s only true modern military shooter experience. Introducing 12 Tier 1 units from 10 different nations including the Polish GROM, German KSK, Canadian JTF-2 and U.S. Navy SEAL, Medal of Honor Warfighter will deliver one of the premier multiplayer experiences of the year.”
To support Sleeping Dogs with additional content, United Front Games and Square-Enix have announced some new DLC available right now on Xbox Live, PSN, and Steam, including some free stuff. Here’s the rundown:
Sleeping Dogs DLC continues with the release of three new content packs for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC. Available to download from today, the Street Racer pack (320MSP, $3.99), Tactical Soldier pack (160MSP, $1.99) and the FREE Community Gift pack offer players more ways to enjoy the incredible open world gameplay which has been so well received in the months since release.
Some news that will be sure to please a handful of hardcore players and aficionados of weirdly cultish electronic entertainment, Rising Star Games has announced a “Director’s Cut” of Deadly Premonition set for release Q1 2013.
Here’s the full release:
Playing as special agent Francis York Morgan (just call him York — everyone else does), players must investigate the brutal murder of a young local beauty. Amidst the backdrop of soaring mountains and a small American town, York must solve the mystery of the Red Seed Murders and stay alive in a place where supernatural creatures and a killer seek to end his investigation.
This news might be a couple days old — making it ancient by Internet standards — but it’s worth noting it here.
On Tuesday, Capcom released the “Street Fighter 25th Anniversary Collectors Set” is priced at $149.99US but this limited edition run is squarely aimed at fans with a long list of cool extras, not the least of which is a 8″ Ryu action figure “in mid-Shoryuken, with flames lit from below.”
It’s not watch-sized yet but given a dozen more years, I’m certain Sony will have the Playstation 3 down to the size where it will fit comfortably on your wrist or be easily lost in couch crevices.
“Completely redesigning the internal design architecture, the internal volume and weight of the new PS3 is reduced by more than half compared to the very first PS3 model with a 60GB HDD, and by 20% and 25% respectively compared to the current PS3. By adopting a sliding disk cover, the new PS3 continues with the characteristic sleek curved simple body design, which fits various places in the home [but not couch crevices] and enables users to enjoy an array of entertainment content.”
Doesn’t everyone enjoy a good sizzle clip on a Monday morning? What about when it’s set to Puff Daddy & The Family’s “Victory? and features basketball? Courtesy of 2K Sports, welcome to this week!
At a recent event to mark the 25th Anniversary of the Metal Gear series, Konami revealed the next game: Ground Zeroes.
There’s not much to tell about the game at this point, but it would appear to be a return “classic” Metal Gear sneaking and hiding without the use of fancy optical camouflage. In an open world setting, which boggles my mind. With a series so designed and crafted from level to level, I fail to see how cracking open the environment will be anything but maddening for the development team. Even with an open world environment as restricted as Batman: Arkham City, creating a game that rides on stealth and set pieces no doubt present some challenges for the team.
On August 2, 2012, Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) announced Army of TWO™ The Devil’s Cartel, the gritty third installment to the blockbuster action franchise celebrated for its intense, two player co-operative gameplay.
Developed by Visceral Games™, the award-winning creators of Dead Space™, Army of TWO The Devil’s Cartel re-sets the series that pioneered the co-op experience with a more intense, mature and grittier tone. Players will find themselves on the deadly streets of Mexico as Alpha and Bravo, two operatives working for Tactical Worldwide Operations (T.W.O.), a PMC outfit that drops them in the middle of a drug war conflict for an assignment full of corruption and deceit. With the ability to unleash the power of ultimate destruction, players will need to work together as their objectives unravel, allegiances begin to blur and they face off against a ruthless opposition.
“Kaiju Combat” is being described as the spiritual successor of the Godzilla fighting games from the ‘oughts — Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee amoung them — by those behind the project, is behind the eight ball at the moment. With 187 backers and only $23,967 of their $350,000 goal (really, $450,000 because it’ll take that much to secure the TOHO licence), Sunstone Games announced that with 13 days left for the Kickstarter campaign they have a “a tentative plan to launch a new, better, Kickstarter campaign in October [2012]” with plans in place as a stop-gap to ensure they’re able to get that far.
