The winter continues to pound much of the United States with snow and ice this weekend along with some pretty frigid temperatures over almost all 48 states in the continental US. This means that aside from watching the Super Bowl in a snowy and icey Texas (whaaaa?!!?) we'll also be staying in and playing more and more games. Here's what's on tap.
Joystiq.com shed a little light on the worst kept secret in the gaming industry today. Halo: Combat Evolved, the "killer app" for the original Xbox, is getting a remake. Sources confirmed to Joystiq.com, "...the re-release is not Bungie's 2001 Xbox game simply running at a higher resolution -- it's being remade with new art assets." It appears Halo is getting more than just a high-def polishing:
Fatshark Games, makers of Lead and Gold: Gangs of the Wild West, have announced a brand new puzzle/platformer named Hamilton's Great Adventure. As you can clearly see from the screenshot above, the game's main character Hamilton takes a lot of visual cues from Indiana Jones. The gameplay should borrow from that sense of adventure and mix in a healthy dose of puzzle solving as well.
Lets face it, the whole zombie survival thing is starting to head the way of the World War 2 game. It's being done...to death. So when a new zombie survival game gets announced, there is usually a collective groan. But the newest game from Undead Labs code named Class3, might be one to actually watch out for as it aims to do things a little different.
Just yesterday I set forth a condition that DICE's "best Battlefield game ever" would have to satisfy in order to make such a claim. Your crossed fingers have done the trick, my friends. EA has announced today that Battlefield 3 will be released this fall, and will see the return of a single-player campaign, award-winning multiplayer...and the addition of a cooperative campaign.
It's looking like a good year for co-op as another great co-op franchise is producing its final sequel set for release in the fourth quarter of this year. Saints Row 3 has officially been slated for an "Autumn 2011" release, but no specifics have been nailed down just yet. For those unfamiliar with the insane, over-the-top gangster action of the series, the first two games on Xbox 360 are available in a $30 double pack to catch up on the chronological story - no combo pack is listed for the PS3 or PC, sorry guys. Sure, Saints Row 1 isn't a co-op game - but developer Volition caught on by Saints Row 2 adding the ability to customize your character and play in a posse (of two).
Someone's gotta do the dirty work. On Tuesday it's taking out the garbage. On Wednesday it's picking up the kids. On Thursday it's playing that backlogged single-player campaign. Where does that leave your partner? Hopefully on the couch next to you with a glass of iced tea.
So you logged onto the PlayStation Store and you're ready to buy Bionic Commando: Rearmed 2. You're all excited about playing some couch co-op with your friend/sibling/parent/child/significant other/pet. Now you just hope your crappy cable connection can hold on long enough to get the game downloaded. Not only that, you're getting it a full day before those Xbox jerks. Huzzah. Then something catches your eye.
Being a fan of all things that take place in giant, customizable war robots, I've more or less kept up with the majority of From Software's Armored Core series, which has been primarily single-player through its franchise. A few years ago we saw an attempt at co-op through a few missions in Armored Core: For Answer where players teamed up on a select number of missions to square off against a foe. After an announcement early last year followed by a whole lot of silence, Armored Core V is looking to bring us the real deal in co-op - not just a mode.
A few weeks ago we brought you a video explaining the "divergent co-op" in F.E.A.R. 3. In that video we could plainly see some split screen co-op love. Today we have some dark and dreary new screens. I don't think the Care Bears will be making a cameo in this game.
Remember back in December when Epic's Cliff Bleszinski tweeted there would be special unlocks in Gears of War 3 "for those of you who have played other Epic games such as Shadow Complex, UT3, Gears, and Bulletstorm." No? Same here. Bad news for gamers who do remember that 140 character nugget of unlockable expectation. The good folks over at TrueAchievements.com spotted this tweet from Gears 3 lead programmer, Joe Graf:
Shazbot. Battlefield: Bad Company 2's co-op afterthought mode, Onslaught, will not be coming to PC, after all. Althought DICE has claimed that they are working too hard on making Battlefield 3 "the biggest launch in DICE's history", I wouldn't be surprised if Onslaught's somewhat low profitability was a major factor. The download-only title Battlefield 1943 has also been canceled on PC, which is no surprise; the hype for it is pretty much dead in the water now that Bad Company 2 has been on shelves for nearly a year.
