Dying Light Lighting Tech Demo: Enjoy It Now – You’ll Be Running Like Hell Later…

 
Veteran developer Techland has been making some phenomenal-looking games for a number of years for consoles and PC, but Dying Light looks to be their best work to date. This mere 40 seconds of a recent tech demo shows off some pretty stellar lighting effects, a bit of a zombie problem and hopefully some nice hiding spots as I understand that when the sun drops from the sky, those undead get fierce and harder to put down. Which is why I’ll prefer to stay home and play the game as opposed to popping my head and body out the door to pick up a quart of 2% and some cat food, only to get jumped by some undead in the process. Heck, I don’t even own a cat! “Good Night Good Luck”, indeed… MY slogan would be “Hide and Sleep”…

Batman: Arkham Origins Launch Trailer: Your “Personal Mission” Is To Buy This Game.

To quote the Joker (not verbatim, of course):“Ha ha heee hooo haa.” So, not only is the console and PC version solid, even the portable version is doing well. So, haters be damned. On the other hand, no one listens to the ranters and ravers who bile it up over games they haven’t played, so let them rant and complain. WB Games sure doesn’t need them for this game to be a hit, that’s for sure. Go get it or he’ll come and get you. The Batman, that is. The Joker is a bit tied up right now…

Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate Gameplay: Out For A Scroll In The City Jail…

Amazingly, some really whiny “fans” are griping that this isn’t the same game as the console versions and that’s it looks like a tablet game or whatever. *Yawn*, I say to those folks, most of whom I gather haven’t played some of those old side-scrolling Batman games from back in the day. Blackgate looks good to me, not every Vita (or 3DS) game is going to be blowing the doors off of the last great one and finally, forming judgments without getting one’s grubby to non-grubby paws on the game makes you a typing monkey with an opinion and not liable to be listened to by developers, publishers or anyone else who you’re trying to soapbox out of a purchase. Now, go slip on a banana peel and get comfortable with those cranky comments elsewhere. I’ve got me some bad guys to catch and henchmen to hurt. Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate comes out to-morrow (10/25) on the PlayStation Vita and Nintendo 3DS.

Batman Arkham Origins TV Spot: Every Story Has A Beginning…

It’s almost here, so hopefully it’ll follow in the footsteps of the previous installments when it comes to delivering the goods. Of course, my take is even if it’s not quite as stellar as the two Rocksteady-developed Batman games it’ll still be the best Batman game you’ll play this year and one of the better licensed superhero titles to date. Naturally, Lego Marvel Super Heroes will have something to say about that, but to me, those Lego games are quite different in tone and content than what’s here. On the other hand… if TT Games ever got to making a serious game in the vein of the Arkham titles, they’d be a force to be reckoned with if they nailed everything they aimed at.

And yes, if you’re a tablet user you can grab Batman Arkham Origins – Mobile for your iOS and Android devices this holiday season.

Gallery: Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure

SNDC_Wii U_2D_E10p5th Cell’s latest game features the return of Maxwell and plenty of fun user-created content… but with a nice twist as you’ll see in that rather fun-looking trailer above. But wait, there’s MORE! Act now and every single Wii U, 3DS and PC copy of Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure also features a rather robust character edit function that allows you to create and play as any character you can come up with (with a DC Comics focus, obviously). I’m planning to scour that selection of classic to current heroes just to see if 5th Cell has stuck some of DC’s more oddball heroes and anti-heroes into the mix, so I’m hoping to see a Swamp Thing, Deadman and maybe Etrigan in there somewhere but mot likely there will be no Ally Babble or Madame Xanadu unless I can cobble them together myself. We’ll see. I do love little surprises like a smart development team that sticks in some really obscure characters into a game this flexible. Having a Bat-Mite to play around with would be quite cool, that’s for sure.

It also has (or at least HAD until I shrunk them down with Picture Resizer) some HUGE honkin’ screenshots in its press kit, which is quite amusing for a game that relies on a simple and effective art style. I had to shrink them to a more manageable size just so they’d upload faster (OK, well that and no one needs an 8000 x 4500 screen cap to scroll around like it’s a map to some lost Inca gold! Anyway, enjoy!

Assorted Heroes (Custom) Batcomputer_Dex-Starr (Custom) Dancin in the Streets (Custom) Omega Beams (Custom) Riddle (Custom) Superboy Prime (Custom) MarvelFamily_TrinityofSin (Custom) Mask-Erade (Custom) Meeting (Custom) MindGames (Custom) GettinTheGang (Custom)

Batman Arkham Origins Blackgate Is “Under New Management” (So Watch Your Step!)

In other words, the inmates have taken over the asylum and yes, Bats needs to do some darknight detecting and with due diligence at that or he’s not getting out in one piece. This 3DS/2DS and Vita game (set to launch with the console and PC versions on October 25, 2013) brings things down to size in “2.5D” form, but manages to look pretty cool and should feel like a classic side-scroller with a nice Arkham twist. Sure, you can get cranky and say the Vita game should be closer to the PS3 version, but here’s a case where I’ll defer to the dev team over at Armature because they’ve done a really good job with the visuals on both handhelds.

BIFF! POW! Scribblenauts Unmasked Gets a Cool Digital Comic Bonus

Scribblenauts Store Front Cover FinalScribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comic Adventure is shaping up to be a weird little game indeed in a good way, with Maxwell meeting the DC Universe and playing hero with his heroes against some classic villains. The Wii U, 3DS/2DS and PC exclusive should be in stores and online September 24, 2013 and for a limited time, will come with a free digital comic, Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure – “A Battle Most Bizarre.”

Here, I have to get clippy with the press release below the jump (and there are some new screens to ogle as well), as stupid me forgot my power brick for the laptop and my time is bleeding away by the second (eek!)…

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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!

CE_Layout_PS3 CE_Layout_360

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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Scribblenauts Unmasked Will Keep Your Superman Fix Going Into the Fall…

scribblenauts_unmasked_superman

Yeah, Warner Bros. Interactive and 5th Cell have got your Superman right here. Pick one from that list above and you’d best believe he’s going to be in action in the upcoming Scribblenauts Unmasked – A DC Comics Adventure,set to launch itself onto Wii U, Nintendo 3DS and PC in September.

To the press release, Robin! (Hey, Batman is in the game too, so I’m just representin’ here!):

Scribblenauts Unmasked – A DC Comics Adventure is a new game that melds the boundless creativity of the award-winning video game franchise with thousands of DC Comics characters and objects across DC Comics worlds – all drawn in the classic Scribblenauts art style.

The game features a story where players embark as protagonist Maxwell on an imaginative and comical quest, taking them through Gotham City, Metropolis, Atlantis and other iconic locales from the DC Comics universe. Fueled by the player’s imagination, Maxwell must use his magic notebook to put a stop to the villains’ evil schemes and save the day! Scribblenauts Unmasked – A DC Comics Adventure will be available on Sept. 24, 2013 for Wii U, Nintendo 3DS and PC.

Batman Arkham Origins TV Spot #1: Good (And Slightly Unbalanced) Guys Wear Black…

I’d say by now that the older 60’s era campy Batman is no longer the “ideal” version of the character (and hey, I’m old enough to have been around for that original series), so it’s good to see the darker Dark Knight get so fully embraced by the bulk of the fans out there. OK, mostly embraced, as I know there are some REALLY stubborn die-hards who refuse to submit to “gritty” being the new black for their favorite hero. Granted, there IS that exclusive Adam West skin for the PS3 version that’s going to be fun to dink around with (although, I’d also want DLC that adds a ton of those campy full screen sound effects for the combat and you KNOW you want those as well), but I’m going to stick to the cranky newer guy I’m more used to these days. Sometimes, nostalgia needs to have a seat in that comfy chair with its feet up and sleep for a bit in front of whatever old stuff it used to watch on TV…