Video Games Coming out This Week [May 09-15, 2010]: Skate 3, Lost Planet 2, Batman: Arkham Asylum GOTY

Mother’s Day

Skate 3, Lost Planet 2, Batman: Arkham Asylum Game of the Year Edition

It’s Mother’s Day today! This week has a few big names arriving. One of them at least brings back memories for me, and that is Skate 3. I used to a big fan of the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater series, before it went downhill, and hit a parked car at 100 kph, before sliding on its face on the road.

The last good game in the series was probably THPS 3 or 4. Some might even say THPS 2. How we laughed years ago when Skate came on the scene as the underdog and threatened the mighty THPS. But all these years later and it seems to have overtaken the birdman’s games, which went from the excellent THPS series to American Wasteland, to the Jackass themed Underground or THUG, and then the latest effort, which was Tony Hawk Ride – an immense disappointment according to many, except Tony.

Anyway, the third Skate game, Skate 3, is out this week for PS3 and Xbox 360, and from what I’ve seen it looks pretty good. It’s sticking with what skating more or less is from my experience: fun.

Other games that are out include Lost Planet 2 – the sequel to Lost Planet: Extreme Condition. From what I’ve seen review wise, it’s a mixed bag, with some saying it’s average or so, and others it’s not so good.

Then there’s the GOTY, or Game of the Year, edition for Batman: Arkham Asylum, for consoles. This game was no doubt one of last year’s best, and most surprising hits – labelled as the best Batman game ever. This week sees the console versions releasing, and the PC version will be along later.

Links go to game detail pages at retail and digital distribution outlets like Amazon and Steam, etc. You can also check out my Amazon aStore for the latest and greatest games released this year.

[PC]

Age of Conan: Rise of the Godslayer Expansion
Heroes of Newerth [S2 Games]
Rocket Knight [Steam]
Sword of the Stars: Complete Collection

[Xbox 360]

Batman: Arkham Asylum Game of the Year Edition
Lost Planet 2
Rocket Knight [XBLA]
Skate 3
Things on Wheels [XBLA]

[PlayStation 3]

3D Dot Game Heroes
Batman: Arkham Asylum Game of the Year Edition
Lost Planet 2
Skate 3

[PSP]

Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Heroes 3

[Nintendo Wii]

Chess Challenge!
Dance Sensation!
Junior League Sports
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trials and Tribulations

[Nintendo DS]

8BallAllstars
Earthworm Jim
Gamehits
Photo Dojo

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Sources:

The Video Game Release List of 5/9 - 5/15 [Shacknews]
New Releases Week of May 09, 2010 [Gamespot]

Video Games Coming out This Week [May 09-15, 2010]: Skate 3, Lost Planet 2, Batman: Arkham Asylum GOTY

Batman: Arkham Asylum 2 out by Christmas, Voice Actors and Characters Revealed

                                         “You better not be joking…”

Kevin Conroy, the voice actor for Batman in Arkham Asylum, revealed details for Arkham Asylum 2 at the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo, saying that the game should be out by Christmas this year.

“We just recorded the primary tracks two weeks ago. But now it goes to the artist. I know we’re doing a second batch of recording in August, so I think probably they are hoping to have it out by Christmas. That’s really… I don’t know, probably closer to spring.”

Rocksteady is working on the sequel to one of 2009’s best games, according to many people, and it was said late last year all ready that a 2010 release date might be in the cards.

Also, two actors have been revealed to be playing characters in the game. Stana Katic will be taking the role of Talia al Ghul,

“Just recorded a character voice on the next Batman video game. Never did that before. Helpful hint: plenty of water and pineapple slices.”

“For those who were asking: I’m voicing Talia al Ghul, the daughter of Ra al Ghul”

These tweets have since been removed, prompting some to think that she wasn’t meant to reveal this information.

And the character Two-Face, or Harvey Dent, will be in the title as well. A possible candidate for this role is Bruce Greenwood, though unconfirmed. Vincent Martella will star as Robin, Batman’s sidekick.

Maurice LaMarche is going to play Mr. Freeze. He revealed this in an interview with Geekcastradio.

“Video games is hard work, I’ll say that. I’ve only done a handful, and I’m very lucky right now, I’m about to go in and do Mr. Freeze for Arkham Asylum 2.”

“To tell you the truth, I think, contractually, I can’t. I’ve got to keep it under wraps. Yeah, he’s out for blood right now because, err… I can’t tell you the situation but he’s actually somewhat a sympathetic character within the framework of the game.”

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Sources:

Arkham Asylum 2 out before Christmas? [TVGB]

Mr. Freeze and Talia Confirmed for Arkham Asylum 2 [1UP]

Batman: Arkham Asylum 2 out by Christmas, Voice Actors and Characters Revealed

Thinking of What Games to get for Christmas

The other day I posted about getting the Operation Flashpoint: Game of the Year Edition for R50. But now I’m thinking about what I can get as far as new games go.

Seeing as I’ve seen headline after headline in my feeds about ‘Best of 2009’ lists, I thought this would be a good place to start. I also came across a thread over at the NAG forums which talked about people’s favourite games of the year. I find this to be more personal opinion than a lot of these lists which are made just to appeal to others.

I’ve narrowed it down, and I think I might run a poll on this too, to these games. These seem to be the best games of this year for PC, and I suppose I might pick up one or two:

Red Faction: Guerrilla – a good game but not brilliant apparently; good physics.

Fallout 3: GOTY (Fallout 3 with all 5 DLC packs: Operation Anchorage, The Pitt, Broken Steel, Point Lookout, Mothership Zeta) – this has been on my mind for quite a while. I haven’t played the last three DLC packs yet.

Star Wars The Force Unleashed: Ultimate Sith Edition – some say it’s good, others say it isn’t. It’s been a while since I’ve played a SW game anyway.

Resident Evil 5 – I haven’t played a RE game in years either.

Batman: Arkham Asylum – This is surprisingly being referred to as one of the best of this year. I’ve never really been a fan of comics and superheroes (not for years anyway), but if they say it’s that damn good, maybe I’ll check it out.

L4D2 – more of a multiplayer fanatic’s game, but from what I’ve seen it might be a bit of fun. I still haven’t the original.

I’ve all ready got these games:

Borderlands – this is one of the breakout hits of this year, and I’ve all ready got it. It’s a bit buggy though, so I haven’t been able to finish it.

Modern Warfare 2 – I was somewhat disappointed with the rather short campaign, but I should expect this from a CoD game anyway.

Thinking of What Games to get for Christmas

Video Games Coming out This Week- August 8/23- 8/29

Pick of the Week: Fallout 3 Game Add-On Pack: Broken Steel and Point Lookout and Batman: Arkham Asylum

This week sees the release of the second Fallout 3 addon retail pack, which includes Broken Steel and Point Lookout.

Now I've played through the first pack, which has Operation Anchorage and The Pitt. I enjoyed The Pitt immensely, and I've heard that Point Lookout is the best out of all the DLC packs, so I will try to get a hold of this pack in the near future. I'm torn between getting this pack, or waiting until October when the Fallout 3 Game of the Year addition comes out, because this will have the original game plus all five DLC packs.

Another game that has gotten a lot of attention is Batman: Arkham Asylum, which was meant to release earlier this year, but was delayed for a bit. It doesn't seem as though the game will come out on PC yet though- only the console versions. The PC release will be out in the middle of next month.

PC

Fallout 3 Game Add-On Pack: Broken Steel and Point Lookout
Nancy Drew Dossier: Resorting to Danger
Raven Squad: Operation Hidden Dagger

PlayStation 2

Mana Khemia 2: Fall of Alchemy

PlayStation 3

Batman: Arkham Asylum - Collector's Edition

Xbox 360

Batman: Arkham Asylum - Collector's Edition
Fallout 3 Game Add-On Pack: Broken Steel and Point Lookout
Raven Squad: Operation Hidden Dagger

Wii

Cursed Mountain - Limited Edition
Harvest Moon: Magical Melody (GameStop Exclusive)
Metroid Prime Trilogy
Reel Fishing: Angler's Dream

Nintendo DS

Emergency Room: Real Life Rescues
Harvest Moon: Frantic Farming
Imagine: Teacher Class Trip
Marker Man Adventures
Princess Lillifee's Magic Fairy
Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box
Sarah: Keeper of the Unicorn
The Clique: Diss and Make Up
Wizards of Waverly Place

PSP

Dissidia Final Fantasy
Warriors Orochi 2

Sources:

Shacknews

Video Games Coming out This Week- August 8/23- 8/29

PC Games Now Available for Preorder- Batman: Arkham Asylum

Batman: Arkham Asylum Collector's Edition

Batman: Arkham Asylum Collector's Edition

Batman: Arkham Asylum Collector's Edition

PC Games Now Available for Preorder- Batman: Arkham Asylum