Overstrike, overlooked?

One particular title that was nowhere to be seen at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), and about which little has been heard, was Overstrike, Insomniac Games’ forthcoming and first multi-platform cooperative action title.

According to an interview with CVG.com, the game’s publishers revealed that the game was being refined and given an extra coat of polish.

In the interview, EA Labels president Frank Gibeau elaborated that as the game was a new intellectual property, the company wanted to “make it the right game”, which meant that Insomniac Games had been given additional time to “nail the gameplay and the quality."  

The site goes on to quote Gibeau as saying that the additional time would help ensure that the game makes a better first impression when it does come to light.

"It felt like we would stand out better later in the summer once we've hit some key milestones and we're able to show off more," he continued.

We can’t say this particularly perturbs us, considering the fact that Insomniac are the same developers behind the excellent and high quality Resistance and Ratchet and Clank franchises. Furthermore, given the madhouse of release trailers that is E3, it is all too easy for some gems to get overlooked.

From what we have seen of Overstrike at last year’s E3, the game appears to deserve better than that fate. To refresh your memory of the game characters’ ‘enthusiasm’, hit the trailer below.

 

 

Nintendo not revising 3DS hardware anytime soon

It would appear that Japanese gaming firm Nintendo is charting a different course with the Nintendo 3DS than it did with the DS handheld. Where the company developed new additions for the DS to rejuvenate sales for this handheld such as the DS Lite, DSi as well as the DSi XL, the company now seems content with the current hardware of the 3DS.

Speaking to IGN, Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto stated that he is satisfied with the 3DS hardware as it is, adding that it is the best for this generation of portable gaming devices. The legendary game developer and Nintendo executive further noted that the Japanese company on always looking to the future when it comes to gaming hardware. “What we’re thinking about right now is probably going to be for a future generation of handheld.”

He did however, emphasize that the 3DS still has plenty more to offer gamers via its current hardware configuration and so did 3D gaming in general for that matter. So no new handheld announcement in the near future then we take it.

 

Dark Knight set to swoop in on iOS and Android

This week, it was announced that Brave is not the only movie that is being paid some mobile tie-in attention.

As well as being a much anticipated movie coming to the large screen, The Dark Knight Rises will apparently also be the title of an open world game on both Android and iOS devices in the months ahead. Little is known about the title at this point, barring from the release of a teaser trailer, which looks fantastic.

You may want to keep your eyes on the respective app markets though for the next six weeks; given that it is a Batman game, we expected it to silently and suddenly make an appearance when it is least expected.

No pricing details have been announced as yet. However, you can watch the trailer below.    

 

 

Max Payne now available on smartphones and tablets

Max Payne has performed a bullet-time duck-and-roll onto Android-powered smartphones. Rockstar Games stated that Max Payne Mobile for Android is fully optimised for Nvidia’s Tegra 3 quad-core application processor, enabling graphical features such as improved lighting effects for a more immersive visual experience. 

In addition, this game also features gamepad support, allowing players to use select USB controllers instead of the on-screen touch controls and full stats tracking via Rockstar Social Club. Max Payne Mobile is available on Google’s Play Store for R25 and iOS users can also find it on Apple’s App Store for $2.99 (around R25).  

Android smartphones that can play this game include the Motorola Razr, HTC One X and Sensation, Samsung Galaxy Note,Galaxy SII, as well as the Sony Xperia Play and Xperia S. Tablets that support this game include HTC’s Flyer, Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime Motorola Xoom, Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. 

 

 

 Ratchet and Clank collection goes gold, new trailer released

The imminent and very welcome PS2 collection to join the likes of Jak and Daxter, God of War and Sly Cooper, namely the Ratchet and Clank collection, has already gone gold.

The trilogy, which includes the original title, Ratchet and Clank 2: Going Commando and Ratchet and Clank: Up your Arsenal, have all been remastered in high definition and are set to become available by the end of this month. In celebration of this fact, Sony has released a new trailer that shows combined gameplay footage of the three titles, presumably to wet fans’ appetites.

The games, which are fondly remembered by many PS2 players (including us) as being classics in their own right, are also a good way for players new to the series to get some first hand experience of what they may have missed out on on the previous generation of consoles.

For a hint of the blasting and platforming action, not to mention the series’ trademark sense of humour, hit the video below.    

 

Voice talent behind the forthcoming Transformers game announced

Activision has revealed the voice cast behind its upcoming Transformers: Fall of Cybertron game, which will be released for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Windows PC during August 2012. It’s good news for old-school fans, since Peter Cullen and Gregg Berger, who provided the respective robotic voices for Optimus Prime and Grimlock for the original Transformers animated TV series, will reprise their roles within Fall of Cybertron.

Joining Cullen and Berger is video gaming veteran Nolan North, who gamers may recognise as Nathan Drake from Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception (as well as all the other games within the Uncharted franchise), and Desmond Miles from Assassin’s Creed franchise. North will be breathing vocal life into Bruticus, Cliffjumper and Brawl.

The voice of Megatron (as well as Ratchet and Metroplex) will be provided by Fred Tatasciore, who some players may recognise as Balak from Mass Effect 3 or Po’s dad in Kung Fu Panda 2.

Within Transformers: Fall of Cybertron players will get to play through the final, darkest hours of the war between the Autobots and Decepticons as these factions vie for control of their dying home planet (Cybertron).