None
The Week in Review news piece summarizes and highlights the most important gaming related news and rumors over the past week. This weekly article will keep you plugged in and in-tune. Rumors abounded this week. The first, backed by suspect source-code supposedly “taken” from the PC version, said that Mass Effect 2 is coming to PS3. While we would all like to see the sci-fi RPG come to Sony’s console, the fact that Microsoft Game Studios published the original makes this a tough one to swallow. A rumor that’s in the same vein, but that’s far more believable, says that Rockstar Game’s L.A. Noire, in development in Australia at Team Bondi, is making its way to Xbox 360 – no longer will it be a PS3 exclusive. According to the rumor-mongers, the next issue of GameInformer magazine, which will feature a 10-page special feature on the game, will make the announcement official. Bungie, developers of the Halo franchise, made a bunch of headlines this week. They started out by debunking a few rumors that have been floating around the Internet about Halo: Reach. Most importantly, Halo: Reach will not use Project Natal controls. The folks at Bungie want to make Halo: Reach a true swansong for the series with which the core player will feel comfortable. Bungie also released the sad news that Halo 2 will no longer have its online multiplayer supported. This development arose not because of anything Bungie wanted to have happen, but because of changes Microsoft is making to the LIVE service. On that note, Microsoft announced that they are discontinuing online service for the Original Xbox, Xbox retail software, and Xbox Originals on April 15, 2010. While important last-gen games such as Halo 2 will be affected by the move, the 23 million Xbox 360 LIVE users will get some much-needed changes to the service that were previously impossible due to compatibility issues. The most likely change will be that the friend request cap of 100 will be done away with. Speaking of Xbox LIVE, the Arcade side of the online business had a banner year in 2010. According to a FADE report on XBLA, the digital download platform sold $103.4 million (USD) in 2009 – that’s more than a 10% percent increase. The analysis agency sees the trend continuing in 2010. We also got a couple software updates. Project Needlemouse, the secret SEGA 2-D Sonic project, is actually Sonic the Hedgehog 4. The game will be released in episodes starting this summer via digital download on the Wii, Xbox 360, and PS3. It will feature only Sonic (no friends), continues the story from the third iteration in the series, and features sharp, 2-D graphics developed on a 3-D engine. Finally, Fallout: New Vegas, the latest entry in the Fallout franchise from Bethesda Softworks and Obsidian Entertainment, received a release window of Fall 2010 and got a its first teaser trailer. Click HERE to check out the post-apocalyptic Strip in all its glory in our video section. Thanks so much everyone and we will see you next week! |