Welcome back to another edition of Hot Topics! If any of you are a Battle.net user, or have been in the past, please check out the PC section of this column as Blizzard has reported a security breach in its Battle.net service.
Gamescom is coming up next week, so not much happened this week as developers and publishers are saving the big news for the expo. Expect a lot of exciting new news and details to be revealed in the next few days. In the meantime, check out the hot new trailers that hit the internet this past week.
General Gaming News
OUYA, the Android-based console that has been generating a ton of buzz, is now available for pre-order. The console, which will ship in April of next year, comes in three different bundles: for $110 you get the console and one controller (shipping is $10); for $139 you get two controllers; and $199 gets you four controllers.
It’s trailer time! A new gameplay trailer for Sega’s upcoming Aliens: Colonial Marines has been released. The game will hit store shelves February 12, 2013. Just in time for Valentine’s Day fellas…
Here’s another trailer for your viewing pleasure: a hilarious new trailer for Worms: Revolution, launching October of this year.
And another: check out the latest Sleeping Dogs trailer.
One more: the new multiplayer trailer for Black Ops II.
Continue reading after the jump…
The Art of Video Games, an exhibit currently on display at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C., will be on display at the Boca Raton Museum of Art in Boca Raton, Florida from October 24 through January 13, 2013.
XCOM: Enemy Unknown doesn’t arrive until October 9, but the turn-based game is shaping up to be a sleeper hit.
Video game sales continued to drop in the month of July compared to a year ago.
Developer Gearbox has revealed what bonus itemsyou will get if you pre-order Borderlands 2. Activision has done the same for 007 Legends, due out on October 16.
Here’s something interesting: Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson, recovering from a torn ACL suffered last December, has been using Wii Fit and other specially-designed video games to help with his rehab.
The HD remake of Jet Set Radio will cost $9.99/800 MS Points and be released next month. PlayStation Plus members will get first shot at the game on September 11, all other PSN members gain access a week later on the 18th, and Xbox Live and Steam users can download the game on the 19th. Vita owners get the short end of the stick and have to wait until October 16.
Here are Five Things You Need to Know before starting Darksiders II.
F1 2012 will be released on September 18, 2012.
Microsoft — Xbox 360
343 Industries has released a new video diary covering its audio design for Halo 4, meaning guns. Lots of guns. They certainly sound different than in previous games, but the SAW and Rail Gun look sweet.
Adrian Chmielarz, creative lead for Gears of War: Judgment, has left Polish studio People Can Fly along with two other members of management.
The last title in this year’s Summer of Arcade is Dust: An Elysian Tail, and you can watch the launch trailer here.
Sony — PS3 & Vita
Sounds Shapes has finally arrived, and it’s well worth the wait.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Declassified has been announced, but not much is known about the game. That will soon change as Activision has declared that more details will be revealed next week at Gamescom.
According to reports, the trademark for The Last Guardian has been “abandoned’’.
Sony Computer Entertainment head Jack Tretton recently sat down with Games Industry International for a short interview where he discussed the Vita, social games, and alternative business models.
Nintendo — Wii U, Wii, & 3DS
IGN offers you a sneak peek at New Super Mario Bros. 2.
PC
Blizzard Entertainment has revealed that it suffered a security breach. Unknown attackers were able to infiltrate Battle.net and gain access to some user data. No financial data was accessed, but email addresses for users outside of China, scrambled versions of passwords, and other information such as answers to security questions may have been compromised. The company suggests users change their passwords and update their security questions as a precaution.
Max Payne 3 PC players will be pleased to hear that some new DLC is headed their way. The Local Justice pack is now available in the in-game store.
Legends of Pegasus–a turn-based, real-time strategy spaceship simulator–is now available on the PC.
Game Releases for the Week of August 12-18
- Darksiders II (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
- Sleeping Dogs (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
- The Last Story (Wii)
- Cooking Mama 2-Pack (Wii)
- Legends of Pegasus (PC)
