The Last of Us delayed to June 14
Updated your calendars because Naughty Dog needs more time to polish The Last of Us. Originally planned for a May 7 release, this PS3 exclusive is now coming out on June 14.
The Uncharted developers made the announcement on Playstation's official blog:
"As we entered the final phase of development for The Last of Us, we came to realise just how massive Joel and Ellie's journey is. But instead of cutting corners or compromising our vision, we came to the tough decision that the game deserved a few extra weeks to ensure every detail of The Last of Us was up to Naughty Dog's internal high standards.
"As a team we pride ourselves on setting a very high quality bar for every aspect of our games - gameplay, story, art, design, technology and more. We want to make sure The Last of Us raises that bar even further - for ourselves, and most importantly, our fans.
"The extra wait will be very short and your patience will be rewarded. Update your calendars. You won't even have to change seasons. The Last of Us will be available June 14, 2013. Until then, know that we will be working extremely hard to deliver an experience that matches your high expectations."
The Last of Us is the only PS3 exclusive I'm excited for this year. Take all the time you need to polish the game, but hopefully this is the last delay we will see for Naughty Dog's latest.
[source: PS Blog US]
Pick 5: Remembering THQ's Best
Just in case you don't know, the video game publisher THQ has gone bankrupt recently and has auctioned all their studios and franchises to the highest bidder. It's sad to see a great publisher go out like this, but the game industry is still a business. To pay tribute to the now bankrupt publisher, here are a couple of great games that came out of the company.
Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War II
There were tons of Warhammer 40k games, but the one title that really stood out from the rest was Dawn of War II. A game that I've played for hours online thanks to it's addicting gameplay. It didn't have base building, but has a squad system that makes each unit crucial for your success. It can get intense even in the campaign and I considered it one of my personal favorite RTS games. In a span of two years after it's release in 2009, it earned two expansions. The developer, Relic Entertainment, was bought by SEGA during the THQ auction.
Metro 2033
Ha! I started playing Metro 2033 last weekend and was able to finish it before writing this, and I can now say that from start to finish - It's a great game. It has a lot of interesting mechanics behind this fairly new franchise, and together with an appealing post-apocalyptic setting, I just can't wait for Metro: Last Light. Thankfully the property was purchase and is now under the Koch Media banner A.K.A Deep Silver (Dead Island). Development for the sequel is still underway, but no other details were given after the sale.
Saint's Row: The Third
I'd like to call this as THQ's Grand Theft Auto with a sense of humor. I wasn't too keen on previous Saint's Row titles, but the third was so over the top that It kept me entertained for hours. The story was so ridiculous that I was eager to start the next mission. It's even a great coop game that also scratches that sandbox itch. The developers, Volition Games, was also bought by Koch Media and they even bought the property rights to the Saint's Row franchise.
Red Faction: Armageddon
Also developed by Volition, Red Faction: Armageddon is the fourth Red Faction game and retained the unique feature of destructible environments. They took it a bit farther in Armageddon by not only giving players the ability to destroy everything around you, but also the ability to rebuild. Still set in Mars, Armageddon is a more linear affair compared to the open world Red Faction before it. With the ability to destroy and rebuilt, packed with the addicting magnet gun, Armageddon was a great sequel to move the Red Faction series forward. Sadly, the Red Faction series was not picked up during the THQ auction sale. Volition was saved but so far no publisher has no interest of owning this franchise.
Darksiders 1 and 2
Darksiders, developed by Vigil Games, is a rare gem. An action adventure series that tried to be different. In the first game, they added so many elements to the gameplay, bringing a lot of variety to the game. It also incorporated the hardly used lock-on system mostly used in The Legend of Zelda games. It was considered one of the best new IP's to come out of 2010, and that's saying a lot considering that this is the first ever game for the developers. Sequel came and they continue to bring something new to the table by adding a leveling system and loot system on top of everything else. During the THQ auction sale, the Darksiders property and Vigil Games did not receive a single bid, destroying any possibility of having a third Darksiders game. Hopefully, a company would see the potential in the Darksiders series (Platinum Games is considering it) but so far no dice.
R.I.P THQ. If you'd like to read more about the bankruptcy case, you can check out this Forbes article. And if you want to see the final results of the THQ auction sale, have a look at Kotaku's article.
Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen New Enemies Trailer
Capcom released a new trailer for Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen, an expansion to the 2012 Shadow of Colossus-ish open world RPG. The trailer gives us a good look at the added monsters you get to face in Dark Arisen. Check it out below.
Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen will be available on April 23 and will include the original game together with the expansion. I considered Dragon's Dogma as one of the best games of 2012, so I can't wait for Dark Arisen to hit the stores. It's priced at $40 instead of the regular $60 for new titles, so expect a good deal when it hit's the Philippines.
Recent Buys: Episode 20 - Square Enix Sale on PSN
It has barely been a week since the last Recent Buys post but I think this deserves documentation.
Simply put, Square Enix made select Final Fantasy games 50% off as a small way of celebrating the series' 25th anniversary. I did not know this as I went off to buy another $20 PSN card. The original purpose of the PSN card purchase was to top off my copy of The Walking Dead game by getting episodes 3-5 with each episode going for $5. From what I learned in grade school, 20 minus 15 leaves me with 5. I started to look around the PS Store to see what I can get with my remaining virtual cash. Headed over to the PS1 Classics section and sorted everything by price with the lowest being shown first. Lo and behold, 3 of my favorite PlayStation Final Fantasy games were going for 5 bucks a pop.
Being ecstatic, I took a picture of my tv screen showing that I just finished installing Final Fantasy IX and posted it on the Facebooks where someone (thanks, Edward) posted an article about the Square Enix sale. The very next day I went back to Datablitz and got myself a $10 card for Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VIII.
PSN card weren't the only things I got though. Before I decided on buying the $20 card, I started looking up reviews of the Final Fantasy Trading Arts Kai Mini figures. I came across a review of the whole first wave (Cloud, Squall and Yuna). Initially, the Cloud figure did not appeal to me but the more I looked at the pictures of Cloud in the review, the I started liking the look of it. I guess because in the promo images, the Buster Sword looked dinky and small which makes sense in a chibi style but the Buster Sword is iconic for being stupid large. I'm not much of a scale nut but I do like it when things are in proportion of each other. I also realized that one of the reasons why the Cloud figure looked a bit off was because I wasn't diggin the small pupil default angry eyes on him but those are just my own personal gripes.
Oh and I got this awesome Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance shirt.
Slender: The Arrival dated, pre-orders include beta access
Slender: The Arrival now has a release date. The sequel to the short but sweet indie horror title Slender: The Eight pages will be available on March 26 for the PC. Pre-orders are now live and by ordering early grants beta access to the game and extra goodies.
There are five pre-order options to choose from. The game will cost $10 on release, but if you choose at least the cheapest pre-order option, you get a 50% discount plus beta access to the game. If you are feeling generous and wish to give back, you will get extra goodies like a downloadable copy of the game's soundtrack, or even get your name in the game's credits.
The beta content is actually a revamped version of the creepy forest found in the original game, letting you relive that game all over again with a new look.
If you have no idea what Slender is, but love to challenge yourself with a game that could potentially make you shit your pants, I highly suggest you check out the first game which is free to download over at their site. Try it, I double dare you.
[source: Slender: The Arrival website]