Uncharted 2 unearthing Game of the Year Edition Oct. 12

$50 special-edition rerelease of Naughty Dog's award-winning action adventure includes $35 worth of DLC; 3.8 million sales milestone surpassed.

 

Naughty Dog's Uncharted 2: Among Thieves was widely regarded as one of the best games of 2009, securing accolades that ranged from GameSpot's Best Action Adventure to Game of the Year at the 10th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards. It comes as no surprise, then, that Sony and Naughty Dog will be teaming up to rerelease the top-rated PlayStation 3-exclusive, announcing today that the Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Game of the Year Edition will be available October 12.

The Uncharted 2: GOTY Edition will cost $49.99, but it will include more than just the award-winning game. Gamers will also be given a "super voucher," which allows them to download $35 worth of add-on content from the PlayStation Network.

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PSP2 dev kits widely released - Report

Sony prepping for "significant launch window lineup" for second portable, according to online reports. 

 

Each month since the NPD Group ceased tracking PlayStation 2 figures, the PSP has been dead last in the industry-research group's monthly hardware rankings. However, the platform's life-to-date sales of 62 million units have convinced Sony to make grand plans for its successor, according to an article in Develop.

The UK-based magazine today reported that Sony has distributed software development kits to "key studios." Further details on the scope of the release were not outlined, other than to say it was in preparation of a "significant launch window lineup" for the platform. When exactly that launch window would be was not made public, and Sony reps declined to comment on what they consider "rumor and speculation."

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Borderlands Claptrap DLC, EA Sports MMA demo slam XBLA

Xbox Live Update: Virtual marketplace adds latest expansion pack to shoot-and-loot sci-fi game, sampler for mixed martial arts fighting game.

 

Robots and pugilism are this week’s Xbox Live marketplace themes. Gamers can download and play though a robot revolution in the latest content expansion pack for Borderlands and try their hand at EA Sports’ hand-to-hand fighting game with new content added to Xbox Live today.

Announced in early August, Borderlands' Claptrap’s New Robot Revolution (800 Microsoft points; $10) content adds multiple new missions and enemies--including Claptrap-ified monsters--to shoot and loot, as well as new boss battles. Additionally, the content lets gamers earn an additional two skill points (for a total of 61 possible points) and three supplementary backpack slots for holstering more weapons.

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Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Priced, Dated

At long last, SEGA's newest 2D Sonic title coming next month.

Everyone's favorite blue hedgehog will be ready to go next month as SEGA announced the release date for several versions of Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Epsode I. 

The game will be available for download on the iTunes App Store starting Oct. 7, the Wii Shop Channel on Oct. 11 (15th Oct in EMEA territories), the PlayStation Network on Oct. 12 in America (Oct 13th in EMEA territories), and Xbox Live Arcade on Oct. 13 across all territories.

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Medal of Honor Open Beta Starting Up

Multiplayer beta beginning on October 4.

EA announced the PC open multiplayer beta for Medal of Honor will begin on October 4 worldwide.

The beta includes two modes and two maps. The Kunar Base map includes the Sector Control multiplayer mode where the two sides fight to control sector points. Shahikot Mountains map includes the Combat Mission mode where players battle through a series of objectives against the enemy.

Both maps feature 12 vs. 12 player limits for a total of 24.

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Wii Remote getting built-in Motion Plus?

Since-pulled GameStop listing for FlingSmash indicates Nintendo will update console's defining controller with precision-enhancing tech.

 

What we heard: With the PlayStation Move's launch last week and Kinect's November 4 release creeping ever closer, Nintendo finally has real competition in the motion-sensing console wars. One of the steps toward keeping itself competitive appears to be an update to the Wii Remote, one in which the precision-enhancing Motion Plus add-on loses its add-on status.

Today, Nintendo Life claims to have spotted just that, courtesy of a GameStop listing for Nintendo's FlingSmash. As exhibited in box art (pictured) for the $50 title, Nintendo will be packing in a "Wii Remote Plus" with copies of the game when it goes on sale in November. 

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Little Big Planet 2 delayed until January 18

Media Molecule confirms its PS3 platformer sequel has been pushed back until the first month of next year.

 

As part of the 2010 Electronic Entertainment Expo, Sony announced a host of PlayStation Move-compatible titles that would be available by the end of the year. Included on that list was Media Molecule's Little Big Planet 2, the unexpected follow-up to the studio's hit PlayStation 3-exclusive platformer and user-generated content platform.

Since that time, Media Molecule has opened up the closed beta-testing window for the game. Despite that progress, though, the game won't be hitting its projected November release. In a statement on its official site, Media Molecule says it has "taken the hard decision to delay the worldwide release," pushing the release date back to January 18, 2011. The studio says it needs the extra time to make sure fans get "the best experience imaginable."

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Atari unveils indie partnership plan

Atari GO will assist outside creators with original games and remakes of publisher's retro arcade lineup; casual and online-focused endeavor will also see vintage games embedded into Web sites.

 

Last year, Atari's then-CEO David Gardner revealed plans to have outside developers remake some of the company's retro hits. While Gardner's tenure as CEO ended months later, that particular goal is alive and well at the company, as evidenced by today's announcement of the new Atari GO initiative.

Atari GO comprises a number of programs advancing the publisher's interests in the online and mobile gaming worlds, starting with outreach to indie creators. As the name suggests, the independent developer program will see Atari work with outside studios to create original games or new titles based on the company's retro intellectual properties. 


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10 Fresh Ideas Saving Gaming

A counterpoint to our 'Stale Ideas' feature. Sunshine, lollipops and rainbows!

 

It's not all doom and gloom, you know – there's a lot to love and be proud of within our favoured pastime. As something of a counterpoint to our '10 Stale Ideas Holding Back Gaming' feature, we're taking a look at 10 concepts and techniques that are pushing the industry forward – both from a creative standpoint and an economic one. Hopefully, when viewed in tandem, these features will help paint a fuller picture of the wider industry and your place as a gamer within it.

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TGS: Date Set for Tokyo Game Show 2011

Following biggest event in TGS history, CESA plans similar time frame for next year.

Have you been enjoying all our Tokyo Game Show coverage over the past week? Well here's how you can experience it all again.

As the show closed its doors earlier today (actually yesterday in Japan), organizer CESA announced the holding dates for next year's event. Your next epic flood of Japanese gaming news will come around the same time next year. CESA plans to hold Tokyo Game Show 2011 from either 9/15 through 9/18 or 9/16 through 9/18.

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TGS: How Far Has Kinect Come in One Year?

Reflections after a year of Kinect demos.

 

It was at E3, mid-year of 2009, that Microsoft formally unveiled Kinect. It wasn't until the Tokyo Game Show a few months later that I got my first opportunity to try out Kinect. A year has passed since that event and I'm now back in Tokyo for the 2010 version of that show, once again stepping up to the camera for more controller-free gaming. A lot has happened since then with major announcements coming at every press show. Perhaps more importantly, it appears the game designers have learned a lot and improved a lot in that time. What started as a promise is now very close to being a reality...


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TGS: Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Takes You to Vietnam

A sneak peek of the upcoming downloadable expansion.

 

 Battlefield is going back to Vietnam, this time for a downloadable expansion to the well-received first-person shooter Bad Company 2. The add-on, due out this Winter for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC, delivers four new maps, a rematch of sorts between the North Vietnamese army and the United States, and a change in the weapon and vehicle options to match the setting. I got my first taste of this huge expansion at an EA press event on the eve of the Tokyo Game Show.

If you've played Battlefield: Bad Company 2 before, then you know exactly what to expect out of the Vietnam expansion. The base game remains unchanged. Sure, you get different tools of destruction and new achievements or trophies to unlock, but the modes and basic approach to a shooter follow the guidebook laid out by Bad Company 2's multiplayer. That means a focus on team play, some objective based gaming, and wide open maps filled with destructible buildings and plenty of vehicles. Squint your eyes a bit while playing the Vietnam expansion and you can imagine you're still playing the original base game.

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PSN Store UK Update: Get Your Move On

FIFA and PES demos battle it out whilst the Store goes Move mental.

This week's pilgrimage to the PSN Store is a heady experience - like a fat kid going into a sweet shop with a pocket full of loose change.

Want something to try out you newly bought Move controller? You're in luck because the Store has gone Move crazy with Heavy Rain, Start The Party!, and Sports Champions demos to name but a few.

This week a couple of football heavyweights will be going head to head in living rooms across the land – no we're not talking about Man United v Liverpool – we're talking FIFA v PES, which are both available to download as playable demos right now, so give them a go and pick your side.

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Dead Rising 2: Inafune Speaks

The undead rise again, but where does Inafune see the series going? 

 

If there's anyone that knows zombies it's Capcom, and through association it means that head of R&D Keiji Inafune knows them pretty well too. While he's best known for his creating Mega Man, he's also overlooked much of the Osaka-based companies output, and most recently is on production duties for Dead Rising 2, a game that sees the undead hordes swaggering onto the Xbox 360 and, for the first time, PlayStation 3.

It's already impressed us with its ever-inventive ways to decapitate, eviscerate or just plain duff up entire crowds of zombies. Here's Inafune's take on Dead Rising 2, and where he sees the series going next.

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Borderlands Claptrap DLC Dated, Level Cap Increases

Players can now level grind to 69.

 

During the Gearbox panel at the Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle this weekend, studio president Randy Pitchford announced Borderlands: Claptrap's New Robot Revolution, the fourth downloadable add-on pack for the game, will be released on Sept. 28, 2010.

Pitchford also had another surprise up his sleeve for fans by saying a new patch for Borderlands will be released that increases players' level cap by eight. The patch will be available to everyone for free, even if you did not purchase the The Secret Armory of General Knoxx DLC, which increased the level cap from 50 to 61. The new cap limit is now level 69.

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Halo: Reach PAX Panel Report

Bungie shares the origins of Reach, and reveals a few bits from the cutting room floor. 

PAX: This morning Bungie had what is likely to be their final public discussion of a Halo title prior to its release, as we're now just 10 day away from the release of their Microsoft exclusive swan-song, Halo: Reach. With that in mind, their panel this morning at this year's PAX started off with the bittersweet reminded that the music the audience was hearing was a taste of the last music composer Marty O'Donnell would be contributing to a series to which he contributed quite a bit of identity. After these reminders though, Bungie dove headfirst into discussing the development and pre-production of Reach, and they hit on a few important points in particular.

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Portal 2 Multiplayer Preview

Robotic love and cooperation. 

 

Leave it to Valve to give us a pair of robots with more personality than most human characters you'll see in games. The Seattle based developer finally gave the public a view of the cooperative mode for Portal 2 this week at PAX, and I was one of the first to have a sit down and see what Valve has in store for co-op hungry first-person-puzzle-platform-humor fans when the game releases next February.


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Dragon Age Origins: Witch Hunt Preview

The witch of the wilds returns for a last romp in Ferelden. 

 

After getting my hands on Dragon Age 2, there was really only one thing BioWare could've done to get me back into Dragon Age: Origins – make a DLC pack focused on Morrigan. Luckily for me and anybody else who was a fan of the witch, that's exactly what BioWare has planned as the very last piece of downloadable content for Origins.

Occurring around a year after the ending of Dragon Age: Origins, Witch Hunt will give players some perspective on why Morrigan left the party on such a mysterious note. You can either import your hero from Origins or start up a completely new character, but in this case importing a character that had any kind of relationship (friendly, antagonistic or romantic) with her makes the most sense. Dalish Elf Grey Wardens will also experience a slightly unique segment as this story fills in some of the lore surrounding that race.

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Walking Up Fable III's Road to Rule

Five hours in Albion ain't enough.

After playing Fable III for five hours, I get one distinct impression: this is not a role-playing game for folks that dislike them, but is instead for gamers that truly want to like them but are turned off or overwhelmed by the minutiae. This is precisely why my lengthy demo session was so favorable. After multiple attempts over the last two or three years to dive deep into so-called hardcore RPGs and being put off by incessant battles for incremental character improvements, Fable III's urgent narrative and multiple accessible systems – combat, item management, and questing – seemingly cut through the weeds.

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What does Move Bring to Traditional Games?

 Ubisoft's Ruse shows what Move can do.

The key difference between Move and Kinect – at the moment at least – is that Move is far more obviously suited to existing game genres; it's got buttons and an analogue stick. Create a Kinect game and you've got to design it from the ground up for body-control, but Move can be used as an optional accompaniment to a DualShock rather than a forced alternative.

As Move inventors and evangelists Dr Richard Marks and Beautiful Anton have demonstrated it's perfect for the RTS – a genre that traditionally doesn't do so well on consoles without the speed and precision of mouse control. Ubisoft's Ruse is the first game to try it out, offering a Move-aided point-and-click control option as well as plain old pad control. But does it work?

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