SOCOM 4 deploys April 19

GameSpot's PlayStation 3 News | PS3 News, Video Game Blog, Xbox 360 News | January 27, 2011

Zipper Interactive's tactical shooter will arrive in under three months with full PlayStation Move support.

At the 2010 Game Developers Conference, Sony showed off how the PlayStation Move would work with core games. One core game, specifically--SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy SEALs, the latest iteration of the popular tactical shooter series. The Zipper Interactive-developed game can be played normally with a DualShock 3 controller or with the Move controller and subcontroller for full motion control.

SOCOM 4 is gunning for an April 19 release date.

Now SOCOM 4 finally has a release date. Sony announced today that the game will ship on April 19 in North America, just over a year after it was first shown to the public. The game has been rated M for Mature by the ESRB, and is exclusive to the PlayStation 3.

SOCOM 4 will be set in Southeast Asia after a revolution endangers a vital shipping lane similar to the Strait of Malacca. Players assume the role of the commander of a five-man squad of NATO commandos dispatched to prevent international trade from being disrupted. Their mission will only last six days, a time limit that Sony says will add urgency into the campaign.

As is a staple for the series, SOCOM 4 will have an extensive multiplayer component, allowing for teams of players to shoot it out in 32-player matches. Terrain types will include a hostile jungle and half-ruined cities.

For more on SOCOM 4, check out GameSpot's brand-new hands on preview.

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Sony Bend-ing Uncharted on NGP

GameSpot's PlayStation 3 News | PS3 News, Video Game Blog, Xbox 360 News | January 27, 2011

Syphon Filter and Resistance: Retribution developer will craft Nathan Drake's first handheld adventure under Naughty Dog's direction.

One of the highlights of Sony's Next Generation Portable (NGP) presentation last night was an extended demo of a new Uncharted game for the system (see below). The series' first portable outing was put through its paces on the new handheld, including a variety of climbing moves controlled by the portable's front touch screen and rear touch pad.

Sony Bend will be in charge of Nathan Drake's first handheld adventure.

When the Uncharted game was being demonstrated by Sony Computer Entertainment senior vice president of product development Shuhei Yoshida, he said it was an original title being developed under the supervision of Naughty Dog. Today, Game Informer confirmed that the studio developing the title is Sony Bend, a Sony Worldwide Studios shop located in Bend, Oregon.

Developing a portable version of a major Sony franchise will be nothing new for Sony Bend. The studio was behind 2009's Resistance: Retribution, a critically acclaimed third-person spin-off of Insomniac's popular first-person sci-fi shooter series. The operation is also known for bringing another high-profile franchise to the PSP in the form of 2006's Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror and 2007's Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow. Sony Bend also developed the PlayStation 2 editions of both games, as well Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain (2004) and Syphon Filter 3 (2001).

For more on Sony's NGP, check out GameSpot's comprehensive coverage of the new device.

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Anarchy Reigns over 360, PS3 this fall

GameSpot's PlayStation 3 News | PS3 News, Video Game Blog, Xbox 360 News | January 27, 2011

Platinum Games' online brawler gets a new name for Western releases, first screens released.

Earlier this week, an article in Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu tipped the world off to Max Anarchy, the next game from the Platinum Games-Sega union that produced titles like Bayonetta and Vanquish. Today Sega officially confirmed the title for release in North America and Europe, albeit under a different name.

MadWorld's Jack never cared for authority anyway.

When Max Anarchy sees a Western release on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 this fall, it will be called Anarchy Reigns. The third-person brawler will place an emphasis on multiplayer action, with online modes allowing for players to pummel opponents near and far in a variety of modes, including tag team tilts and battle royal matches.

The publisher also released the first screens from the new game, including one confirming a tidbit from the Famitsu report. Among the roughnecks and ruffians featured in Anarchy Reigns will be Jack, star of Platinum's first game, the 2009 beat-'em-up MadWorld. But where that title saw Jack depicted in black and white (and occasionally red all over, thanks to over-the-top gore), Anarchy Reigns portrays the goggles-and-chainsaw-wielding fighter in living color.

For more on Jack's debut, check out GameSpot's review of MadWorld.

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Deadwood creator penning Heavy Rain movie – Report

GameSpot's PlayStation 3 News | PS3 News, Video Game Blog, Xbox 360 News | January 27, 2011

Hollywood insider site Variety reports HBO Western creator David Milch adapting Quantic Dream's PS3 exclusive for silver screen.

When Quantic Dream's Heavy Rain makes the jump from the small screen to the big screen with a feature film adaptation, it will do so with the help of a writer making a similar transition.

Heavy Rain will fall from the mind of Milch.

According to Hollywood trade site Variety, TV writer and producer David Milch--creator of HBO's Deadwood and cocreator of NYPD Blue--will pen the film adaptation for Heavy Rain, simply titled Rain. As was noted in May, Unique Features will produce the film led by Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne. Milch will begin writing for the Heavy Rain flick once he finishes work on the first season of HBO's Luck.

"David Milch's incredible ability to transform intense and complex storylines into gripping popular drama makes him the perfect partner for us to have on Heavy Rain," Shaye said.

Heavy Rain was developed by Quantic Dream, the Paris-based shop behind 2005's Indigo Prophecy (aka Fahrenheit) for the PC, PlayStation 2, and Xbox. Like that critically acclaimed title, Heavy Rain eschews normal game genres for a more cinematic approach, focusing on complex storytelling and emotion via realistic graphics. Heavy Rain involves the pursuit of a mysterious serial murderer, with players controlling several characters who must collect clues in a film-noir-style setting to crack the case.

Since being released nearly a year ago, Quantic Dream's Heavy Rain has won critical praise, reportedly sold more than 1.5 million units, and welcomed the Taxidermist downloadable content.

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Brink falls into stores May 17

GameSpot's PlayStation 3 News | PS3 News, Video Game Blog, Xbox 360 News | January 27, 2011

Splash Damage's class-based, parkour-inspired first-person shooter gets dated; European launch set for May 20.

Bethesda is rapidly approaching the Brink, as the publisher today confirmed that the Splash Damage-developed first-person shooter will debut in North America May 17. The Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC game's European launch is set for May 20.

Brink places an emphasis on character customization.

Brink takes place in the year 2035 in a floating city called The Ark following the Earth's near-total destruction. Two warring factions, the Security and the Resistance, are going head-to-head for control of the city. After choosing sides in the fight, players will have to pick from a variety of classes (engineer, medic, and so on) and complete specific mission objectives related to those roles. The game will also place an emphasis on parkour-style movement through its dynamically changing maps, as well as character customization options.

Originally a Quake III mod team, Splash Damage gained notoriety with the 2003 release of Return to Castle Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory. The multiplayer expansion to Return to Castle Wolfenstein focused on class-based and mission-based action, themes the developer would continue to explore with 2007's Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, as well as Brink.

For more on the game, check out GameSpot's previous coverage of Brink.

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Bethesda stokes Hunted: The Demon’s Forge June 1

GameSpot's PlayStation 3 News | PS3 News, Video Game Blog, Xbox 360 News | January 27, 2011

Violent co-op fantasy action game from inXile Entertainment dated; European launch to follow on June 3.

Bethesda Softworks' Demon's Forge is heating up. The publisher today announced its fantasy action game Hunted: The Demon's Forge would arrive in North America on June 1 and in Europe two days later.

The Demon's Forge is presumably where unholy smithys ply their trade. Or a nightclub.

Originally announced last year, Hunted places a heavy emphasis on cooperative play. Players will take on the role of either the master swordsman Caddoc or the ranged weapon expert E'lara, as they work together to figure out what's behind a rash of disappearing townsfolk. Gameplay will focus on cover-based combat and puzzle-solving, coupled with exploration of dungeons, ruins, and urban areas.

Hunted is in development at inXile Entertainment, best known for the Line Rider franchise of physics-based puzzle games, as well as its 2004 PlayStation 2, Xbox, and PC revamp of The Bard's Tale role-playing game franchise. The studio also worked on Codemasters' crime-action game Hei$t, although that project was cancelled after several years in development.

For more on Hunted: The Demon's Forge, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.

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Single-player Killzone 3 demo hits Feb. 15

GameSpot's PlayStation 3 News | PS3 News, Video Game Blog, Xbox 360 News | January 26, 2011

Solo sample of Sony's upcoming shooter will arrive in 3D, 2D versions; PlayStation Plus subscribers get early access Feb. 8; EU gamers receive entree one day later.

Last week, Sony Computer Entertainment announced that the open multiplayer beta for Killzone 3 would run from February 2-14. For those craving more human-vs.-Helghast action before the game's February 22 debut, Sony and Dutch developer Guerrilla Games have a solution.

Players can fly the not-so-friendly skies in the new Killzone 3 demo.

Starting February 15 in North America and February 16 in Europe, PlayStation 3 owners will be able to download a single-player demo of Killzone 3. The demo will be available one week earlier to PlayStation Plus subscribers and will be released in 3D and 2D versions, both of which will be PlayStation Move compatible.

The demo will feature a single level, Icy Incursion, which sees players return to the conflict between the human Interplanetary Strategic Alliance and the Nazi-like Helghast. As the title implies, the level will feature a wintry landscape on the planet Helghan, which players must negotiate with the help of jetpacks. Melee combat will also play a major role in the level.

Killzone 3 is a sequel to 2009's critically lauded Killzone 2. In the previous title, the ISA took the fight to the Helghan homeworld, where it achieved a measure of success against the future-fascist civilization that invaded the human colony of Vekta in the 2004 original. Now gamers will get the chance to pick back up with Sev, Rico, and the rest of their surviving squad, outgunned and outmanned by the Helghast as usual.

Killzone 3 will be available in two versions, a standard $60 release and a $130 limited-edition package with a replica mask and helmet of the series' signature Helghast armies. While the headgear is the centerpiece of the extra goodies, the collector's edition will also include a 6.5-inch articulated Cloaking Helghast Marksman action figure, an art book, and a voucher to download multiplayer maps, the game's soundtrack, and more.

For more on Killzone 3, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.

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Black Ops shipped 20+ million, Cataclysm 6+ million – Analyst

GameSpot's PlayStation 3 News | PS3 News, Video Game Blog, Xbox 360 News | January 26, 2011

Janco's Mike Hickey lays out estimates for Activision Blizzard earnings, predicts Diablo III, next Starcraft II, Modern Warfare 3 due in 2011.

Activision Blizzard doesn't announce its October-December quarterly earnings until Wednesday, February 9. However, that hasn't stopped the professional prognosticators known as financial analysts from laying out their predictions for the company's holiday quarter. In his latest note to investors, Janco Partners' Mike Hickey predicted net revenues of $2.468 billion for the fourth calendar quarter of 2010, when not adhering to generally accepted accounting principles.

Analyst Mike Hickey thinks Black Ops shipped over 20 million units last year.

A big reason for the mammoth figure was Call of Duty: Black Ops, which Hickey believes shipped 20.6 million units during the quarter, generating $1.025 billion in sell-in to retailers. Activision confirmed the game had minted as much coin back in December of last year. By comparison, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 didn't sell through 20 million until June 2010, nearly eight months after its release.

Another factor was sales of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, which the analyst predicts shipped over 6 million copies for $189 million in sales to stores. Two weeks ago, developer-publisher Blizzard confirmed the game had sold through 4.7 million units in its first month on the market following its December 7 release.

For the full year, Hickey believes Activision Blizzard had $4.722 billion in revenue, down slightly from the $4.775 billion for the year prior. For the fiscal year 2011, he predicts revenue of $4.612 billion. He expects Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3--which is reportedly being codeveloped by Infinity Ward, Sledgehammer, and Raven Software--to be released during the year but sell less than Black Ops.

Hickey also predicts Diablo III to arrive this year, as well as the first Starcraft II expansion, Heart of the Swarm. A reportedly leaked Blizzard schedule had the latter not arriving until early 2012.

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MotoGP 10/11 takes starting line March 15

GameSpot's PlayStation 3 News | PS3 News, Video Game Blog, Xbox 360 News | January 26, 2011

Monumental-developed Capcom cycle racer arrives for PS3 days before start of 2011 Championship Season; Xbox 360 release date unknown.

The 2011 MotoGP championship season begins in Qatar on March 20, and Capcom today confirmed that racing enthusiasts will be able to play along at home from the very start. The publisher has announced a March 15 North American release date for the PlayStation 3 edition of the game.

Unbeknownst to Speed, Racer 99 is of absolutely no relation to him.

Capcom made no mention of the Xbox 360 edition of the game, which had previously been given a March release window. As of press time, the publisher hadn't responded to GameSpot's request for comment.

For this year's MotoGP installment, developer Monumental has implemented a new handling system, as well as targeted the game's physics system. The studio has also added a new player-assist feature, which can be customized to allow for a more simulation or arcade riding experience. Capcom emphasized that the player-assist function can be tweaked in a variety of ways or completely shut off to provide the most realistic riding.

Many of the same modes from MotoGP 09/10 are being carried over to the new game, but Monumental is implementing a handful of new features. Namely, Career mode now features co-op play, allowing for local split-screen. The game also features Championship and Time Trial modes, as well as a suite of online racing features that accommodate up to 20, and Capcom will begin providing current updates for MotoGP 10/11 shortly after the championship season kicks off.

For more on MotoGP 10/11, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.

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Dead Space: Extraction, Bulletstorm demo fire up PSN

GameSpot's PlayStation 3 News | PS3 News, Video Game Blog, Xbox 360 News | January 26, 2011

PlayStation Store Update: Prequel to original Dead Space hits download hub; sampler for first-person shooter/kicker also now out; PSP storefront adds Lord of Arcana.

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