Big Heavy Rain, Shadow of the Colossus, and Timesplitters 4 announcements at E3?
E3 is just around the corner now, and with that comes tons and tons of rumors surrounding what new software and hardware the big three are going to announce in LA. It seems that Sony has been the busiest, with Sony execs stating that this will be Sony’s biggest E3 in 11 years as well as the internet rumor mill spinning full throttle day in and day out about Sony’s plans. As previously stated on Rumor Killers, we expect to hear news on the supposed PSP2 as well as a slew of game announcements, but it seems the staff at ps3addiction.com knows more than anyone else, or do they?
They are saying that we can expect announcements that the following games are in development. First up is Heavy Rain, which the website predicts will finally have a firm release date. Hopefully there will be a playable demo at the show, too. Next up they have listed a new Shadow of the Colossus game rumored to be in development. Now we know Team ICO has something up their sleeves, but we just don’t know what it is. In the past they have stated that they do not like developing sequels but instead prefer to create new games with new stories, which makes SOC 2 a little less likely. There have been hints around the net that back up a SOC 2 title, though, so you never know.
The next PS3 announcement they have down is TimeSplitters 4, they are claiming that a new developer has taken over the reigns of this franchise from Free Radical. Now we do not doubt that TimeSplitters 4 will be announced at E3, we just doubt that it will be one of Sony’s major PS3 announcements, considering it CryTek will most likely publish the game as a multiplatform release.
PlayStation 3 fans can look forward to a great E3 from Sony, with games such as God of War III and Uncharted 2 leading the line. There will be big announcements regarding new games, no doubt about it, but we don’t think it will be the three listed above.
TGR Rating: Unlikely
Front Mission making its way to the 360 soon?
Last generation, you could never have put Microsoft and Square Enix in the same sentence; Square Enix was showing Sony their full support while Microsoft was on a bit of a back burner. With the Xbox 360 and PS3 the tables seemed to have turned; Square Enix and Microsoft are now best of friends, and that means more RPGs for Xbox owners, with games such as Infinite Undiscovery, Last Remnant, Star Ocean IV, and Final Fantasy XIII all making the transition to Xbox 360. Well it seems Square Enix hasn’t stopped there. According to the rumor page of the latest OXM magazine, a new Square Enix game will be getting announced shortly for the Xbox 360.
This is what was said in OXM:
“All they’ll tell us is that this new game is based on one of their existing IPs, so a little research narrows the candidates considerably. Mechs? A futuristic city? Well at the risk of being taken out by the Sueenix lawyer ninjas, we’d have to guess that the mystery title rhymes with “Brunt Fission.” If this ends up being true, then can we expect more of the tactical brand of role-playing strategy that the mech series is well known for? Of do the creators have something different in mind for the shooting loving xbox crowd? Apparently, all will be revealed at E3 in June. Check back next issue and we’ll have all the answers.”
For the people who couldn’t figure it out, Brunt Fission rhymes with Front Mission. Front Mission is a turned-based tactical role-playing game that has spanned many platforms over the years, including the original PlayStation, PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS, and so on. The game is known for its giant mecha with the storyline centering on military conflicts in the future. Apparently this title will be released outside of Japan, so we can expect online multiplayer to feature in the title. The series has been around for a while now, and has seen little activity other than a DS version released in 2007, so injecting some seventh-gen power into the old series may very well pay dividends for this aging franchise. No word as of yet if a PlayStation 3 version is in the works, but as OXM said, expect an announcement on the game at this years E3.
TGR Rating: Highly Likely
A new "V.I.P" service coming to Xbox Live?
We all know that Xbox Live is a great online service and the central hub for all things Xbox. We can chat to our friends while playing other games, we can have a party of up to 8 people, we can buy online movies, we can download demos, etc. What can Microsoft do to improve the already great service that is Xbox Live? Introduce Xbox Live V.I.P! What the %^&*?! That’s right, according to hiphopgamershow.com, a customer survey was done in France that suggests a new service from Microsoft called Xbox Live V.I.P.
According the website this upgraded service will allow users store their content online, it will add a brand new matchmaking option, it will give users the ability to send free invites to sliver members, and it will provide better connectivity. Now after reading over and over again I can’t help but wonder, "what a load of bull&^%$." Ok, I am relaxed now. The hiphopgamershow has had a history of making things up with these “sources” so the legitimacy of this rumor already questionable. Not only that, but it seems analoghype.com agrees with me that these features just wouldn’t benefit Microsoft at all; in fact it would cost MS more money just to do something that Live does already.
Analoghype didn’t debunk the rumor via any particular source, but with good old common sense — something that seems to be lacking in the game journalist industry as of late. They go on to say that that online storage is a waste of time since you can re-download anything already acquired from the marketplace for free. I agree with them on that point. Regarding a new matchmaking option, matchmaking is done on a game to game basis, so that would mean changing the Xbox Live infrastructure. Again I agree with this, changing Xbox Live for this feature would not only be costly but you would get tons of backlash from gamers not willing to pay the extra money. Third, sending free game invites to silver members: There are way too many ways this can be exploited, and I agree with analoghype again. Live users are willing to pay for Live but if this feature is even considered they could loose a crapload of money with people exploiting this feature with their friends. Now the last one, better connectivity, would require dedicated servers. That would mean Live would change, as well as every game requiring a new patch to support it. Again this would cost too much just to do for a small population and backlash would be immense as well.
So with a bit of common sense, we can kill this rumor. There isn’t a chance in hell Microsoft would implement any of these features. You would have a better chance of dating Jessica Alba than seeing any of these. This rumor is…
TGR Rating: Rumor Killed
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