The summer break didn’t really kick off in the gaming domain this season. At least that is what appears as developers and publishers have been toiling to serve a delightful month. While Sony hastened its efforts to fix the damage caused by illegal intrusions into the PSN, Microsoft courted a few minor troubles around its Xbox 360. Activision and Rockstar Games unveiled new iterations in their popular franchises as Ubisoft and Splitfish made their presence felt. In this edition of the Hottest Gaming News, we give you a quick rundown of all that happened across this part of the world under the May sky.
The folks at Epic Games have been beaming with joy as Gears of War 3 swayed in for a gala time. Early last month, the company introduced buddy tokens for participants of the title’s beta with the Never Fight Alone phase. As players stomped into the demo with a friend, the developer disclosed Limited and Epic GoW 3 Editions. And even before one could take eyes off the Octus Award Box and Octus Service Medal bundled into these packs, the pre-order figure of the title earmarked a new milestone for the series. Microsoft and Epic Games have received over one million pre-orders and that’s certainly a reason to rejoice.
First, there were murmurs and then, a string of rumors before it finally emerged. We are talking about the next installment in the Call of Duty series. As Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 teasers leaked onto the web, Activision made a premature announcement about the game’s premiere. Finally, it was confirmed for a November 8, 2011 release while Activision Blizzard revealed that the Black Ops First Strike DLC pack has accomplished a new landmark with more than 1.4 million downloads on the XBLA. Not one to let unofficial publicity grab eyeballs, Ubisoft confirmed Assassin’s Creed Revelations, next chapter to Brotherhood. Developed by Ubisoft Montreal in collaboration with Ubisoft Studios Annecy and Massive Entertainment, its launch should fall in November 2011. Ezio’s life is expected to come to a conclusion in this installment which will stick with multiplayer features, intricate modes and interesting maps. Players can look forward to manipulating Desmond’s memories and the Animus in order to glean information about their past and future.
Care to take a stroll down the streets of L.A. Noire? Those who did, may have found it getting too hot for their liking, in the literal sense. There were reports of some PS3 systems overheating while playing the title. Though Rockstar Games hinted at firmware update v3.61 being the reason for this, the company was soon swallowing those words and saying it was nobody’s fault. The last we picked up, an update for Xbox 360 and PS3 was being rolled out to users. Amongst other news, Duke Nukem Forever and inFamous 2 went gold, confirming their June release. Ubisoft announced Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Online for the PC and the Gotham City Impostors, unveiling invoked customization dreams for Dark Knight’s fans.
If this called for some off-road action, THQ had our backs with MX vs. ATV Alive. Priced at 39.99 USD (approx. Rs. 1,800), the title has over 50 professional riders, track reformation and the Rider Reflection control system. Last month also saw us lending an ear to rumors of a new Alan Wake game for XBLA that is not a sequel. It may be called Alan Wake: Night Springs and the news is yet to receive an official nod from Remedy Entertainment. All of this gaming cannot happen without some solid hardware for company, of course. Splitfish obliged us slipping in the FragFX Shark 360 controller for players who’re into FPS titles. It’s arriving this August for Xbox 360, PC and Mac users.
Continuing the battle which was unleashed a few weeks ago, Sony remained on its heels for resolving the PSN and SOE crisis. Subsequent to illegal intrusions into its systems, the company adopted a variety of measures to fend off mounting troubles. The scene got chaotic with the company’s admissions about data theft which left many fuming. As the first phase of restoration was launched across the US, the gaming giant disabled PSN Logins within the next few weeks citing vague reasons. PS3 gamers can now heave a sigh of relief as all PSN services are expected to be restored by the end of this week.
May wasn’t a quiet month for Microsoft as the company got its feet sticky with stories of another Xbox console lined up for E3 2011. EA’s Jeff Brown tried and failed to burst our happy bubble by nixing the queries, but everyone may agree that it’s high time we got new hardware. So who says Microsoft cannot be thinking along the same lines. The company was also seen clearing their shelves of 4GB and 250GB Xbox 360 consoles, in a manner of speaking. These were heading for students who bought a new Windows 7 PC and people who couldn’t get certain retail discs to work with their consoles, correspondingly. By the end of the month, whispers about the next PlayStation device emerged but no official word has been revealed yet.
With the variety of titles lined up for release this month, it’s highly unlikely that our thumbs will be complaining about lack of exercise. Watch this space for more on news which grab our fancy through the weeks to follow.