Batman: Arkham Origins Collector’s Edition: All You Need Is A Room To Store It All In…


(thanks, BatmanArkhamVideos!)

image001Holy WOW, Batfans! I suppose a limited edition wooden shelf or build it yourself bookcase would be out of the question, huh? Actually, at $119.99 for all that stuff you’re getting, this isn’t a bad deal at all AND it’s packing more than what’s in the European version announced last week. Um, “Don’t mess with Texas? Everything’s BIGGER in…” oh, never mind. The sheer scope of all this swag automatically nets this limited edition an automatic entry into this year’s Holiday Gift Guide and given that word on the street is the gameplay’s stellar… this one’s a total no-brainer if you can only afford the standard edition.

Anyway, here are photos of the massive set (one each of the PS3 and 360 SKUs) and below the jump, a listing of what’s in the box. Add a cape and you’re practically Batman, folks!

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Batman: Arkham Origins will be available for PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U, and Windows PC. Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate, the handheld version (developed by Armature Studio), will be available for PlayStation Vita handheld and Nintendo 3DS. The game will release on all platforms worldwide on Oct. 25, 2013. I don’t think there’s a collector’s edition for the portable versions, as it sort of looks silly carrying a shelf or small bookcase with you when you’re out and about (ha ha)…

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The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt “Killing Monsters” Trailer: And The Moral of This Story Is…

Even though this isn’t in-game footage, it’s more than clear to me that CD Projekt Red is making their upcoming open world RPG The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt one for the ages. This team truly knows how to make games that continually impress and if the final product is as great as the earlier work in progress videos have shown, it’ll be a title that’s going to be a mandatory gaming experience for genre fans. Only what, a year or so to go before this is out? I can wait… it’ll be like mooning away at that obscure object of desire, but I can wait…

GTA V Update: You Have To Love Rockstar’s Marketing Department…

GTA V Official Website

They have quite possibly the easiest gig in the gaming business AND they know the game they’re representing is going to blow people away based on the insanely high quality of the work. I’ve been sold on Grand Theft Auto V as soon as I heard it was in development, but these new gallery and very funny Los Santos Visitor’s Guide (aka the game’s official site), the ridiculously packed screenshot gallery and desktop ready wallpapers plus all the other stuff the community is up to means I really don’t need to do much except post something on the game and let you all run out to the store or drop a pre-order in online.

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Hey, I’m NOT lazy! Well, not THAT lazy. I’m merely saving up my energy for the inevitable long “vacation” I’ll be taking in Los Santos myself. Playing a new GTA game is very much like stepping off a plane into the biggest and most exceptionally special amusement park ever created. Of course, the best thing is being able to explore at will and do stuff outside the guided tour (i.e, raise all sorts of hell or just poke around for secrets and in-jokes), so I need to be tanned rested and ready because I’m sure not seeing any REAL sunlight for some time. Rockstar is dropping more cool news about the game on Thursday – I’ll be back with a quick post on that (of course)…

DuckTales Remastered Now Available: It’s Time to get Quackin’!

OK, it’s finally here and it’s a really rainy day outside (well, at least it is here, bleh!). So… you know what to do, folks. PROTIP: Play on Easy first. This way, you get to learn the levels and be prepared, as the game gets pretty darn old-school tough on the harder difficulties. That’s not my review, though – that will go up around the weekend. Shutting up now, as I have some piles of gold to collect for my bank vault/swimming pool…

Hands-On With Pac-Man Championship DX: Dot’s Entertainment (And How!)

Pac_Man_Championship_DXAs an old fogey, I can’t recall a year not going by since 1980 without playing a Pac-Man game. Granted, I’m sure a lot of other people can say that, but it’s pretty incredible that the dot-munching, ghost avoiding/chasing character has held up for over 30 years. Of course, next to the arcade classic, the best ways to play a good game of Pac-Man these days is by hopping online and getting in some quality time with the excellently addictive Pac-Man Championship Edition on the Xbox 360, which is finally getting a content upgrade soon in the form of Pac-Man Championship Edition DX. The original game was an Xbox 360 exclusive, while DX made its Windows 8 debut earlier this year. Pac-fans old and new will LOVE this one for its spin on the classic game, the funky HD neon visuals and the lighting fast pace of the game that’s bound to keep you playing ’til the wee hours…

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The Wonderful 101 Demo Out Now: FINALLY (But Not A System Seller This Year)…

My biggest complaint about the Wii U is the lack of demos on the eShop (and yeah, yeah, I do KNOW many developers hate making demos). Anyway, The Wonderful 101 demo is now live and ready to play, so if you’ve a Wii U at home, this one’s a MUST play. Um, that is all (as I’m in the middle of downloading it myself). I can very safely say that my Wii U is VERY happy right about now… maybe I’ll post some impressions over the weekend or later. As for that title above, while I know the game will do well at retail, I don’t think it’s going to sell systems to very many people unless it’s to a handful who were waiting until the game dropped to buy in. Platinum makes some VERY excellent niche titles, but not games you want to run over old ladies to pick up a console for. Just stating the truth, kids.

That said, Nintendo has always carved its own path out in this industry, so other than some woes they’ve noted about being surprised at how difficult and expensive making the move to creating HD content has been, they’re pretty much set in their ways as to what they want to see in the future.

Memo to D3Publisher of America: GET Oneechanbara Z: Kagura With NoNoNo! Localized ASAP (Please!)

OZ_Nonono

OZ_nonono_galsOh, this is just TOO insane to pass up, people. Sure, the west never got the original Xbox 360 version of Oneechanbara Z: Kaugura (boo!), but this enhanced PS3 version is ab-so-lu-te-ly screaming for a decent localization and US release. At least in my book as a longtime fan of this crazy niche series of games. I’ll import if I must before Japan melts into the sea, but man, this needs to come out here. And yeah, on a damn DISC at that. I bet if D3PoA were to take a poll on its facebook page and a few other places, they’d find enough people willing to buy this as either a one minimum print run disc or (yuk) a PSN-only download. In other words, I’m betting they’d say a hearty “YesYesYes!” to NoNoNo!

I’m going to bug D3 about this here and if YOU want to see this, you should too. Not D3Publisher in Japan, by the way – you want to annoy the US branch and you UK gamers need to bug the crap out of Namco Bandai Games there, as they’re the ones who handle publishing D3 stuff out your way. I’d rather give my ducats to D3PoA than Play-Asia, but if my hand is forced, it’s going down hard… er, take that as you will.

Random Indie Game of the Week: Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (XBLA)

Since I’m sitting here with a couple of RROD’d Xbox 360’s (shakes fist at busted consoles) and no willingness to throw more money away at Microsoft to fix them or buy a replacement (shakes fist in the direction of Redmond HQ for producing such faulty junk of a console), I’ll need to wait for this to pop up on PSN or Steam. On the other hand, I think a friend is picking this up over the weekend, so I’ll probably boogie on over to his place and play this after he’s done with it. Given that Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is designed to be played in a single sitting, I don’t mind at all and I can get a perspective from someone else about the story’s impact and how he liked the unique control scheme. As noted in my earlier hands-on preview, this is one of those special games that’s worth a buy despite the relatively short length because you get to see a great developer stretch its wings with a fine new IP from a film director trying his hand at game development (and succeeding quite well). Back with a review probably around Monday.

BandFuse: Rock Legends Reboots the Music Game Genre Big Time

bandfuse artCalling Realta Entertainment’s upcoming PS3 and Xbox 360 title BandFuse: Rock Legends a mere video game is actually doing it a huge injustice. When you discover just how in depth this game is going to be, even the most jaded fan of the former kings of plastic and actual guitar games should be bowing down and paying their respects to what’s going to be an incredibly comprehensive class in guitar and bass for all skill levels. There’s a vocal element as well for you singers, however drummers don’t get some here at all. Still, you skin thumpers out there will want this one for the sheer amount of stuff you can learn and try out if you’ve got a guitar tucked away in your closet somewhere.

MH_BFMeeting up with Reverb’s Doug Perry and Realta’s super enthusiastic Marcus Henderson (the game’s designer) for a demonstration of the game made for an hour so packed with information that it seemed as if we were discussing three or four entirely different games and a couple of expansion packs.

BandFuse packs in actual guitar use (yours or one you can buy in an excellently priced bundle kit), no-fail gameplay, a ton of lessons from some guitar greats, a built in studio full of all sorts of goodies and more to the point where I was left shaking my head in awe and respect whenever Henderson pointed out a new feature. There’s a serious amount of content here, ALL of it high quality, unlocked from the start and any of it ready to be studied in depth and practiced at one’s leisure making this an essential tool for budding to expert players.

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Beatbuddy Now Available- The Only Rhythmic Platformer You’ll Need This Month!

Wow. Super catchy tunes, classic platforming action, awesome retro/modern visuals and more, all now ready to snap up in Beatbuddy: Tales of the Guardians. The game’s developer, THREAKS has cooked up a really cool treasure that’s part throwback and part modern classic that’s going to bring grins to anyone who remembers the glory days of popping in 16-bit carts on a rainy weekend and tap-tap-tapping the hours away. Now, if only this was on a cartridge (or the PS Vita!). OK, time for the not so gory details, folks. Beatbuddy: Tale of the Guardians is available now on Steam for $14.99 on PC, Mac, and Linux and even better, there’s a nice 10% off sale, meaning you probably should take advantage of this deal while it lasts if this game happens to float your boat…