Fallout Online launching in 2012 – Report

Interplay president announces release date for upcoming massively multiplayer online title; project currently has 90 staffers, beta planned.

Microsoft confirms Massive closure

In-game ad division to be gone by year’s end; technology to be used in Microsoft-owned businesses like Xbox Live and MSN Games.

Mafia II embarks on Joe’s Adventures Nov. 23

Latest DLC add-on for Take-Two’s open-world mobster game gets dated, will sell for $10 on Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.

Every time gamers think they’re out of the open-world mobster action game Mafia II, Take-Two Interactive wants to pull them back in. The publisher today detailed its latest effort to do that, announcing a November 23 release date for the Joe’s Adventures downloadable content add-on for the game.

As its name implies, Joe’s Adventures will pick up with Vito Scaletta’s titular paisano, during the years in which the Mafia II protagonist is serving time. The single-player adventure serves as an extension to the events in the full game and delves into the “truth behind Vito’s prison sentence” and other underpinnings of the Clemente crime family.

New locations that can be explored in the game include a train station, a cathouse, and a boatyard, as well as new buildings within Empire Bay. An unspecified number of story-based missions and city-based quests will also be available to Joe’s Adventures purchasers, as well as a host of new clothes, collectibles, and classic ’40s and ’50s tunes.

Bit.Trip Fate shoots up WiiWare

Nintendo Store Update: Aksys Games’ latest side-scrolling adventure hits download hub alongside My Planetarium; DSiWare welcomes Go! Go! Island Rescue!, Spot the Difference, Go Series Defense Wars, and Flashlight

It’s the last week of October, and while many are readying their costumes for this weekend’s festivities, Nintendo has dressed up its virtual storefront with six new titles.

Leading the charge today is Aksys Games’ Bit.Trip Fate (800 Wii points, or $8). The game sees the return of CommanderVideo, the blockish hero of Bit.Trip Runner fame. This time out, CommanderVideo finds himself enmeshed in an on-rails side-scrolling shooter. With the help of his companions Junior Melchkin, CommandgirlVideo, and others, CommanderVideo attempts to save the world from becoming a technological wasteland.

 

In the single-player campaign, gamers control CommanderVideo’s movements with the use of the Wii’s Nunchuk. Shooting is handled in point-and-fire fashion using the Wii Remote. The game also features a co-op mode, where a friend can help control CommanderVideo’s movements.

Also hitting WiiWare today is My Planetarium (500 Wii points, or $5). From Hudson Entertainment, the title lets players turn their living rooms into a celestial body viewing area. The title sports three modes, the first of which is Observation. Here, players can view 20,000 distinct celestial bodies with stars up to the 7th magnitude. In Planetarium mode players can embark on 11 different virtual tours of the galaxy, and enjoy views of stars, nebulae, constellations, and other celestial items. Finally, players can open the Celestial Guidebook to view information and mythology surrounding the celestial objects viewed in the game’s other modes.

Switching to DSiWare, Nintendo unleashed four new titles here today, the first of which is Go! Go! Island Rescue! (500 DSi points, or $5). From Connect2Media, the title thrusts players into the “worst vacation ever.” Players are strapped into the boots of a squad commanding firefighter who must save the island’s inhabitants, the Darwins, from disaster. The title sports 50 levels and a rewind mode, for the occasions when mistakes prove fatal.

Also hitting DSiWare today is Enjoy Gaming’s Spot the Difference (500 DSi points, or $5). As its name suggests, the title sees players attempting to determine the differences between pictures presented on the DS’ two screens. There are over 160 photographs in play in the title, some of which are from “established photographers.”

 

The last two titles hitting DSiWare today are Go Series Defense Wars (200 DSi points, or $2), and Flashlight (200 DSi points, or $2). The former is a tower defense title where players are tasked with defending their base from an onslaught of enemies, and the latter is simply a flashlight. It uses both screens to project light and allows users to adjust the light’s color and intensity. According to its publisher, Flashlight “could also be helpful in other situations, such as using the warning light when your car has broken down.”

 

Diablo III design disassembled

BlizzCon 2010: Blizzard’s dev team goes into the nuts and bolts of crafting its celestial action RPG.

Who was there: Jay Wilson, game director of Diablo III, was joined by Kevin Martens (lead content designer), Josh Tallman (concept artist), Peet Cooper (senior environment artist), Jason Bender (senior systems designer), Jill Harrington (senior technical artist), Steve Shimizu (lead gameplay programmer), Christian Lichtner (art director), and Michael Nicholson (senior user interface artist).

What they said: The BlizzCon 2010 panel served as a breakdown of Blizzard’s methodology in designing all aspects of Diablo III. One of the more interesting topics came from what the development team learned from Diablo II. More specifically, something that bothered Blizzard about Diablo II was the introductory conversation that set the scene for the story. At a little over a minute, it was simply too long and prevented players from getting into the game itself. Ultimately, this went against Blizzard’s policy of action-based story-telling. They want the player to be able to experience aspects of the story without drawn out expository sequences that interrupt the flow of the game.

The end result of this is a game that tries to tell a story in multiple ways, some more direct than others. For example, a level can tell a story based on its finer details whereas interacting with non-player characters during a dungeon sequence creates opportunities for smaller bits of story.

What’s more interesting is the addition of optional story elements in the form of lore books, which players can choose to ignore completely or track down every single one, depending on what they want out of the story. When used, these lore books play an audio file narrated by the character they’re associated with, but the key is that the player can still fight and do other things while it’s playing.

The panel then transitioned into some visual design elements surrounding the siege of Bastion–a fortification being attacked by the forces of hell. The concept team originally thought of a battleship when coming up with a structure capable of defending itself. As such, the outside portions of Bastion look similar to that of a ship, with a lot of sharp angles forged in iron, ballista perched on the walls, and objects that look like anchors but serve as anti-siege weapons.

Conversely, the inside is meant to look a little warmer and lived in, as if soldiers are there prepping for battle. The end result is the use of more wood and less iron for a generally softer but well-worn look. All of these visual elements then combine together to tell a story that players can fill in on their own.

From there, the discussion moved toward game design elements, specifically treasure distribution and environmental interaction. Not surprisingly, Blizzard wants to make sure barrels, chests, and anything else that contains loot are all placed in logical places and given context. For example, a player is more likely to find a treasure chest in something like a library where people store things than in something like a stable.

Treasure is one easy way to interact with the world around the player, but Blizzard knows that people just like being able to smash various things, whether they’re barrels, walls, or some kind of device. But the team also stressed how objects in the environment can tell a story with expressly doing, citing the torture racks in the Hall of Agony as a major example.

Eventually, the subject of loot and customization popped up to the delight of the Diablo fans in the audience. First, the team stressed how important customization is for Diablo III and armor is reflective of that. Players will be able to customize the color of their armor by securing dyes found throughout the world, some of which will be incredibly rare. Likewise, the team revealed that there will be 14 levels of gems (and six types), which can be found in the world, but anything past radiant has to be made by the jeweler.

And speaking of the jeweler, the panel revealed some inspiration for the artisans, which includes the jeweler, the mystic, and the blacksmith. The existence of the jeweler is in direct response to people not willing to part with their gems in Diablo II for fear that they could use them in a better socketed item later. The jeweler can remove gems from any weapon for a small fee. Meanwhile, the mystic can craft wands, identify items, and even enchant some equipment. The previously revealed blacksmith can add sockets to items as well as repair them. All of the artisans level up as a player’s character does, and this is reflected in their respective store fronts.

There was also quite a bit of discussion about Diablo III’s monsters and how they die is ultimately more important than how they live. Members of the team explained that if monsters aren’t fun to fight then the player ultimately isn’t enjoying the game. As such, enemies are designed in such a way that they can be difficult to combat, but that difficulty springs from not making effective use of abilities as opposed to just being completely cheap.

The team also stressed how important death animations are, as they generally deliver a sense of satisfaction for the player. There was a funny moment where a movie revealed how people don’t generally pay attention to various animation states of creatures before engaging them in combat, so Blizzard has to find other means to give enemies personality, such as spawning animations, when they’re not fighting.

Takeaway: It’s really interesting to get some insight into why and how Blizzard approached Diablo III’s design. What’s clear is that the team is trying to make a cohesive world that not only gives context to everything in it, but also makes the game fun to play. The byproduct seems to be a game that focuses on action, but manages to tell an engrossing story through its finer details

 

Diablo III’s demon hunter unmasked at BlizzCon 2010 opening ceremony

BlizzCon 2010: Blizzard Entertainment opens its convention doors with the introduction of the final class of the upcoming role-playing game, which will feature PvP arenas.

ANAHEIM, Calif.–It may be a cool, balmy morning in Anaheim, but the fires of Cataclysm and Diablo have the town’s Convention Center running hot. Twenty thousand of Blizzard Entertainment’s faithful have come to BlizzCon 2010, all waiting to get the latest word on their favorite franchise from the studio, be it World of Warcraft, Starcraft II, or Diablo III.

As is customary, CEO Mike Morhaime will take the stage this morning to greet attendees and offer a state of the union address on his company’s wares. Last year, the studio used the opening ceremony to announce Cataclysm, the latest expansion to the 12-million-player-strong massively multiplayer online role-playing game World of Warcraft.

However, with Blizzard offering a December 7 date for the expansion earlier this month as well as saying that Starcraft II’s second installment would not arrive until 2012, it remains to be seen what, if anything, the studio will announce today.

Could it be word on the final class for Diablo III, or perhaps an even bigger announcement for the infernal franchise? And what about that highly secretive new massively multiplayer online game Blizzard is working on? Those answers may be revealed, shortly…

[10:58] It wasn’t just like a stampede entering the Anaheim Convention Center…it was a stampede, as literally tens of thousands of eager gamers flooded through the doors at 10 a.m. sharp.

[10:59] An hour on, and Blizzard appears to be ready to take the stage, though the lights have yet to come down.

[11:00] Of course, plenty of dry ice is in the air, fogging concert stage lights and providing an eerie glow in the auditorium.

[11:01] The stage itself has been flipped this year, with Blizzard forgoing the long and narrow corridor of the ACC’s main hall in favor of a more horizontal view.

[11:01] And it begins!

[11:01] The lights have dimmed, and a trailer begins to unspool on the main stage. It appears to be for Diablo III.

[11:02] Nope, more than that, a sizzle reel for Blizzard’s entire catalog: Diablo III, Cataclysm, and Starcraft II.

[11:02] And to the stage comes Gary Plattner, a lead artist on the WOW team.

[11:02] Plattner caters to the crowd, promising that everyone here will “make friends that will last a lifetime.”

[11:03] Plattner is taking care of a little housekeeping, warning the crowd that if they leave their seat in this cavernous hall, they may not get their seat back.

[11:03] Plattner is now going over “appropriate audience reactions.”

[11:03] First, the golf clap–”OK, all right.” You give this one when you have no idea what Morhaime has said.

[11:03] The second, he says, is mostly verbal, and goes a bit like, “Whooa, wow, oooh, yeah.”

[11:04] “Awesome, good job everyone, that sounded really weird.”

[11:05] Now, he wants everyone to go crazy. “I want everyone to hear it back in Korea.”

[11:05] On the count of three a chorus of cheers erupts, some whistles, a few yays.

[11:09] Star Jeweled, Aiur Chef, Left 2 Die, and “Blizzard DOTA” are all games that Blizzard made with Starcraft II’s map editor.

[11:09] They will all be released for free over the next few months, but BlizzCon attendees get to try them today.

[11:10] Morhaime is now running through panels that will be hosted during the next two days.

[11:11] The pandaren monk pet charity auction earned more than $1 million for the Make a Wish Foundation, he says.

[11:11] The moonkin hatchling will be the next charity auction.

[11:12] Blizzard will also be auctioning off actual WOW server hardware, with 100 percent donated to charity.

[11:13] This year apparently wasn’t a very good one for the Lich King, Morhaime says. The archvillain has now been slain in excess of 400,000 times.

[11:14] It’s a good year for Blizzard, because it is the first time since 1998 that the company will ship two games: Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty and World of Warcraft: Cataclysm.

[11:14] Starcraft II, he said, is the top PC game of 2010 and the fastest-selling strategy game of all time.

[11:15] Morhaime now introduces a trailer touting the company’s highlights from the past year.

[11:16] It begins with BlizzCon 2009, with footage from the event including intros for the monk in Diablo III, the announcement of Cataclysm, and the ever-popular costume contest.

[11:17] It then transitions to Starcraft II’s global launch, with footage of launch events from around the globe.

[11:17] France, Germany, Africa, and, of course, Korea.

[11:18] Following the game’s release, hundreds of tournaments were held.

[11:19] The Global Starcraft League gets ample playtime, as this year’s grand winner is shown kissing a crystal trophy.

[11:19] And Morhaime is back.

[11:19] The two top Starcraft II players in the world will apparently be playing an exhibition match tonight.

[11:20] More than $200,000 will be handed out in prize money over the next 48 hours.

[11:21] Morhaime is now trumpeting the panels again, as well as noting that comedian Jay Mohr is back to host the community contest.

[11:21] The contests involve cosplay and dance-offs.

[11:22] The crowd reacts favorably to Morhaime’s name-check of Tenacious D, which will be playing tomorrow night.

[11:22] “Some of the content will not be appropriate for most age groups,” he notes.

[11:22] He’s now talking about Cataclysm, saying the beta testing has been “extremely successful” so far.

[11:23] Players will be able to preorder the expansion directly from Blizzard for the first time.

[11:24] You can download all of the content in advance and start playing as soon as the servers come on, at midnight PST on December 7.

[11:24] Preorders will begin soon.

[11:24] And now, a “major update on Diablo III.”

[11:24] Senior VP of creative development Chris Metzen takes the stage.

[11:25] Metzen is rambling, saying he had no idea what he wanted to talk about on the stage today.

[11:25] He wants to roll a number of words out, and he wants people to respond.

[11:25] The first word is: Horde.

[11:26] A low rumble and some whistles come.

[11:26] The second word: Diablo.

[11:26] More rumble.

[11:26] Third word: Alliance.

[11:26] Lots of booing on that one. “Keep it clean, keep it clean.”

[11:26] Fourth word: Starcraft. Some polite clapping.

[11:27] What he hears as people respond is “passion, identity.”

[11:27] The fifth word…apparently requires a preamble.

[11:27] It can be contentious, it can be used in many types of speech.

[11:27] It can be crushing, it can be energizing.

[11:28] And the word is, and he gets out his “roboclicker.” Nope, i guess he’s going to take a drink of water first.

[11:28] This had better be good…

[11:29] The word is “geek,” which is prominently displayed on BlizzCon’s main stage screen.

[11:29] “This word is power, this word is identity, this is our word,” he says.

[11:30] He’s now rolling slides.

[11:30] What was that about Diablo?

[11:31] The first slide is some transformers. The second is a 20-sided dice.

[11:31] The third slide is Conan the Barbarian, as portrayed by Arnold Schwarzenegger.

[11:31] The next slide is of Captain America.

[11:31] All of these slides are accompanied by the chant “Geek is.”

[11:31] Samurai Shodown II slide is next.

[11:32] And then it’s a shot of Lion-O from Thundercats.

[11:32] And now the audience is cheering to a screencap from Star Wars IV.

[11:32] Action figures with a kung fu grip is next.

[11:33] Still nothing on Diablo…

[11:33] And now–Batman! Many attendees appear to begin wondering what the point of this exercise is.

[11:33] The Matrix, Keanu bending a spoon.

[11:34] Hey, now we’re looking at Tobey Maguire looking at his fancy new Spider-Man suit.

[11:34] “Geek is!” a shot of Doom II, apparently.

[11:34] It’s also Sigourney Weaver in Aliens.

[11:35] Thor’s next? Thought we already touched on the comic book geekdom.

[11:35] What else is geek? Battlestar Galactica, of course.

[11:35] And now a name-check of EverQuest. “None of this would be here without EverQuest,” he says.

[11:36] Geek is: the movie 300.

[11:36] Geek is: Avatar.

[11:37] Geek is: Jean-Luc Picard as the Borg.

[11:38] Geek is: the original dungeon master screen for AD&D from back in the day.

[11:38] Lord of the Rings is also geek, didn’t you know.

[11:39] Hey look, more comic book characters, as Superman rips his clothes off on the main stage screen.

[11:39] “There is a hero inside of every one of us waiting to come forward,” says Metzen. Is this BlizzCon or a Tony Robbins seminar?

[11:39] All right, the clicker is gone, and it appears as if Metzen might actually say something about Diablo III now.

[11:40] “The point of this is that our company builds giant video games. We run massive online worlds, and it can feel like big business,” he says.

[11:40] “But despite all the high-tech stuff surrounding us, the truest spirit of BlizzCon is you. It’s about our collective geekiness.”

[11:40] “It’s about having fun. It’s about inspiration.”

[11:41] “On behalf of all my brothers and sisters at Blizzard, I just want to thank you for coming.”

[11:41] “With all of that having been said, we’ve got some business to discuss.”

[11:42] All right! We’re finally taking about Diablo.

[11:42] “In mere seconds, we will show the fifth and final player class in Diablo III.”

[11:42] Looks like that’s the big announcement this year.

[11:42] And a trailer rolls.

[11:42] It begins by showing corpses lined up in a mystical circle.

[11:42] A woman in armor is revealed.

[11:43] Her eyes glow gray as she appears to gain some kind of foresight by touching the bodies of the dead.

[11:43] “You probably ran until you couldn’t take another step,” the woman says to a survivor.

[11:44] On come hordes of demons, and the woman whips out dual crossbows.

[11:44] “No, as long as I’m here, they are the prey, and I am the hunter.”

[11:44] It definitely looks like a Van Helsing-style class.

[11:45] “I stand alone, and if they keep coming, I will never stop killing.”

[11:45] Demon hunter is the official name of the class.

[11:45] Metzen is back.

[11:45] He’s wrapping up, saying that the demon hunter is playable.

[11:46] “Diablo fans, this isn’t the only thing we have for you today.”

[11:46] “We are also pleased to announce PVP battle arenas.”

[11:46] Another video is cued up.

[11:46] It shows arena battles, with class-based combat.

[11:47] The monk, the barbarian, the witch doctor, the demon hunter, and the wizard are all here.

[11:47] PVP also has team-based battles, with three-on-three combat shown.

[11:47] The PVP battles show the same kind of isometric view that the Diablo series is known for, and it appears a good bit of strategy will be involved.

[11:48] Looks like Blizzard will be introducing a new title to its tournament circuit.

[11:49] Looks like that’s it for Diablo III, as Metzen is now talking a bit about the new Cataclysm trailer that debuted earlier this month.

[11:49] Sounds like Blizzard’s audio engineers have remastered it.

[11:50] Looks like an AV spectacle, as the screens go black and the concert stage’s main lights do all the work.

[11:53] If nothing else, it certainly is loud.

[11:53] After the thunderous trailer ends, the opening ceremony concludes.

[11:53] And that’s it!

How to play Starcraft II like a pro

BlizzCon 2010: Sci-fi RTS game director Dustin Browder joined by game balance designers David Kim and Matt Cooper to talk strategy.

Who was there: Starcraft II game director Dustin Browder was joined by Battle.net project director Greg Canessa and associate game balance designers David Kim and Matt Cooper.

What they talked about: Few games are as synonymous with competitive gaming as Blizzard Entertainment’s Starcraft franchise. And while most of the planet isn’t likely to be able to go toe-to-toe with the wunderkinds of South Korea, where Starcraft tournaments are a national pastime, a handful of Blizzard designers were on hand to give a few pro tips to the workaday multiplayer gamer in a BlizzCon 2010 panel titled “Starcraft II: Secrets of the Masters.”

Canessa kicked off the panel by first explaining a bit about how Battle.net’s matchmaking and ladder system for Starcraft II works. First, he noted that the matchmaking system is an adaptive, learning one, where the more matches a player undertakes, the more accurate the matchmaking system becomes. He also noted that a player’s win-loss ratio isn’t particularly important; instead, a player’s skill versus the opponent’s skill is what matters.

Blizzard’s Battle.net chief also noted that skill tracking is per match type, so a one-vs.-one match operates separately from a two-vs.-two game. That way, he said, players of a high skill rank shouldn’t be deterred from playing with their less-skilled friends, as it won’t impact their individual rank.

Canessa also made a couple of announcements, saying that Starcraft II would soon feature a master league, which would be a level above the current top-tier, diamond. The top 1-2 percent of players in any given region will be invited to this league. A second new tier, the grandmaster league, will also be introduced, where only the top 200 players in a region will be invited to compete.

The discussion then turned to just how the top-tier players became as good at Starcraft II as they are. The Blizzard team noted that these players all compete in ladder play like everyone else, but they also spar with one another in custom games. Practice makes perfect, and the team noted that the pro players often spend more than 12 hours a day honing their skills, trying new strategies, and watching film.

The team also noted that psychology is a major element of top-tier play, and they offered a few words from the best Starcraft II competitors. “Don’t stress over losses. Use them to learn your faults. No pain, no gain,” commented Select, with QXC adding, “If you’re not attacking you’re probably losing.”

Watching top players compete is also an excellent way to learn, but the team noted that their strategies are not the be-all and end-all. After all, the average gamer isn’t a pro, and the people they’re competing against aren’t top players either. Therefore, it’s a good idea to gain inspiration from the pros and then adapt the strategies for their level.

As for the nitty-gritty basics of improving, the team noted that it’s important to build lots of workers to grow a substantial economy of resources. With 80 workers, for example, a gamer’s army can be that much bigger, thanks to all of the resources those units are bringing in. Adding to that, poverty is a good thing in Starcraft II, and players shouldn’t horde their resources.

More advanced economy strategy involves figuring out in advance a strategy for attack and then determining how integral vespene gas is to that equation. Expansion is also important. If the strategy involves lots of fast units, spreading out is a good idea. However, if a player builds a slow-moving army, it may be best to keep expansion close to the home base.

Shifting to combat, the team emphasized the importance of terrain. Choke points, walls, and high ground are all integral to success, as they can help a smaller army route a much larger army. Flanking the enemy, whereby a group of units are attacked from multiple sides, can help win a battle.

The team also cautioned against directly controlling units during a battle. If it’s an important battle, the team highly advocated it, noting that it can make all the difference in winning that individual encounter. However, participating in that battle instead of just letting units attack can greatly impact a player’s ability to continue growing their army and producing new units, which can ultimately lose them the war.

Quote: “Poverty is a good thing in Starcraft II.”–David Kim, on resource management.

Takeaway: Not to state the obvious, but Starcraft II strategy runs deep. The easiest way to gain a step on the competition seems to be to pump out resource-gathering units, as well as make sure that battles are undertaken with choke points and other terrain in mind. As for the rest, it’s best to just go online and watch what the pros are doing.

Fallout: New Vegas patches arrive

[UPDATE] Bethesda says it is aware of issues affecting highly rated postapocalyptic role-playing game; patches for quest, scripting, and preorder bonus errors arrive Tuesday afternoon.

So far, reviews for Fallout: New Vegas have been mostly positive, with the game currently boasting an 85/100 score on Metacritic. However, critics are united in one complaint–well, many complaints, actually, since virtually every reviewer says the game suffers from an array of bugs. One player posted a humorous example from the game’s introduction (see below), in which the head of the first character that players meet spins around like a windmill.

 

Now the game’s publisher is assuring the public that fixes are on the way. Speaking with GameSpot, Bethesda Softworks’ vice president of marketing and PR said, “We are currently working on releasing patches and updates as quickly as possible for Fallout: New Vegas for all platforms.” He did not elaborate but did say that “announcements regarding the patches are forthcoming.”

[UPDATE] Late Tuesday afternoon, the first New Vegas patches arrived. According to a Bethesda spokesperson, “We have just released an automatic update for the PC version of Fallout: New Vegas that resolves quest and scripting issues. We’re working hard to make this update available for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game as soon as possible and will let you know as soon as we have the dates they’ll be up.”

She continued, “The issue regarding the PlayStation 3 digital preorder bonuses has also been resolved. Users should attempt to re-enter the codes to download their bonuses. Should the “80023156″ error continue, we ask that players wait 24 hours before entering the code again. The code should then activate the bonus without any issue.” [END UPDATE]

Developed by many veterans of the original Fallout games at Obsidian Entertainment (Alpha Protocol), New Vegas is set in the Mojave Wasteland and casts players in the role of a courier who is shot in the head and left for dead. After recovering, players roam the desert and the titular metropolis, exploring new areas and modifying weapons. They also get wrapped up in the larger conflict between the New California Republic, the slave-trading Caesar’s Legion, and a mysterious New Vegas impresario named Mr. House.

For more information on New Vegas, check out GameSpot’s previous coverage, or check back later today for the full review.

Shippin’ Out Oct. 24-30: Fable III, Force Unleashed II, Rock Band 3

Busy week at retail sees bountiful array of heavy hitters including The Sims 3 for consoles, WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011, The Fight: Lights Out, Shaun White Skateboarding, and Tony Hawk: Shred.

Halloween is just around the corner, but this week’s new release slate is scaring up a jack-o’-lantern full of prominent titles.

 

Leading the virtual charge this week is Fable III, Lionhead’s third entry in the Microsoft-exclusive series. The action role-playing game comes to the Xbox 360 on Tuesday, with a PC version debuting at a much, much later date. The title differs from the original Fable and Fable II in that the hero begins his or her life as a minion and then leads a revolution against the land’s tyrant. The hero will then become a monarch and must face the responsibilities of that hefty position. The title features the voices of comedy hero John Cleese, Sir Ben Kingsley, Stephen Fry, Zoe Wanamaker, and others.

Also dropping on Tuesday is LucasArts’ Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II. The title, due out for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, DS, and PC, is a sequel to the 2008 original, taking place six months after the events of its predecessor. The original was the fastest-selling LucasArts Star Wars game in history and went on to sell more than 7 million units in its lifetime.

 

For music gamers, Harmonix’s Rock Band 3 is out for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, and DS on Tuesday. Rock Band 3 will ship simultaneously globally in North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and “other territories.” The game is the first in the series to employ a piano as a playable instrument and will come with a Pro mode, where those with high-end MadCatz peripherals can literally play along with any given song.

The Sims 3 took the PC and Mac by storm when it was released over a year ago. Electronic Arts will hope for similar success with the console version, due out on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii on Tuesday. A DS version is coming in 2011. Published under the EA Play label, the game will sport many of the same customization and character creation options as the PC edition of the game, as well as some new features. These include karma powers, which players can use to give their in-game incarnations instant luck–be it good or bad.

The PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game will let players create and exchange content with one another, while the Wii version will focus on adventure game elements and is set in a beachfront community. The DS will also foster player creativity, with an emphasis on stylus-driven creation tools for clothes, houses, and furniture, as well as a story mode that follows a family through life.

Those looking for a fight this week can pick up Smackdown vs. Raw 2011. The latest entry in THQ’s fighting series is due out on Tuesday for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, PSP, and Wii. One of the title’s new features is its updated physics system. Objects like chairs, tables, and ladders can be manipulated with greater realism in the 2011 version.

 

Another fighting title due out this week is The Fight: Lights Out. A PlayStation Move exclusive, the title lets players fight in the dark and gritty underground with Sony’s new motion controllers, which have shipped more than a million units thus far.

There’s also a boarder war happening at retail this week. Tony Hawk: Shred and Shaun White Skateboarding are both due out on Tuesday. Shred is the follow-up to Activision’s Tony Hawk: Ride, which also used the much maligned skateboard peripheral. The title is aimed at a younger audience and incorporates a snowboarding component in the iconic skateboarding-only series. Shaun White’s game is the frizzle-haired Olympic hero’s first stab at the skateboarding genre. Previously, the carrot-topped 24-year-old starred in Shaun White Snowboarding for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii.

Finally, those who have yet to experience Rockstar Games’ sandbox crime game, a new Grand Theft Auto: IV SKU is dropping on Tuesday for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Grand Theft Auto: IV Complete Edition bundles the lauded game with its two expansion packs–The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony–for $40.

For further details on the week’s games, visit GameSpot’s New Release page. The full list of downloadable games on the PlayStation Store, Xbox Live Marketplace, and Wii Shop Channel will be revealed later this week. Release dates are based on retailer listings and are subject to change.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 24
Shaun White Skateboarding–WII, X360, PS3–Ubisoft

MONDAY, OCTOBER 25
Art Academy–DS–Nintendo
Bit.Trip Fate–WII–Aksys Games
Dragon Age: Origins – Ultimate Edition–X360, PS3, PC–Electronic Arts
Family Party: 90 Great Games Party Pack–WII–D3Publisher
Go Series: Defence Wars–DS–Gamebridge Robox–WII–DreamBox Games

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 26
Blood Drive–PS3, X360–Activision
Cabela’s Dangerous Hunts 2011–WII–Activision
Crafting Mama–DS–Majesco Games
CSI: Fatal Conspiracy–PC, X360, PS3, WII–Ubisoft
DeathSpank–PC–Hothead Games
Deca Sports 3–WII–Hudson Entertainment
Disney Channel All Star Party–WII–Disney Interactive Studios
Dora’s Big Birthday Adventure–WII, PS2–Take-Two Interactive
Dora’s Cooking Club–DS–Take-Two Interactive
Fable III–X360–Microsoft Game Studios
Go, Diego, Go! Mega Bloks Build & Rescue–DS–Take-Two Interactive
Grand Theft Auto IV: The Complete Edition–PS3, X360–Rockstar Games
Hasbro Family Game Night 3–X360, PS3, WII–Electronic Arts
Hidden Mysteries: Salem Witch Trials–DS–GameMill Publishing
Imagine Fashion Stylist–DS–Ubisoft
Lego Universe–PC, MAC–NetDevil
Monopoly Streets–PS3, WII–Electronic Arts
Monopoly–DS–Electronic Arts
NERF N-Strike Double Blast Bundle–WII–Electronic Arts
Nickelodeon Fit–WII–2K Games
Petz Catz Playground–DS–Ubisoft
Petz Nursery 2–DS–Ubisoft
Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare Pack–X360, PS3–Rockstar Games
Rock Band 3– X360, PS3, WII, DS–MTV Games
SBK X: Superbike World Championship–X360, PS3–SouthPeak Games
Shank–PC–Electronic Arts
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II–X360, WII, PS3, PC, DS–LucasArts
Superstars V8 Racing–PS3–O-Games
The Ball–PC–Tripwire Interactive
The Fight: Lights Out–PS3–SCEA
The Sims 3: Late Night Expansion Pack–PC–Electronic Arts
The Sims 3–X360, PS3, DS–Electronic Arts
Tony Hawk: Shred–X360, PS3, WII–Activision
WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011– X360, PS3, WII, PSP, PS2–THQ
Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s Tag Force 5–PSP–Konami
Z.H.P. Unlosing Ranger vs. Darkdeath Evilman–PSP–NIS America

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 27
Intellivision Lives!–DS–Virtual Play Inc.
Pinball FX 2–X360–Microsoft Game Studios

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 28
Blood Bowl: Legendary Edition–PC–Focus Home Interactive

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 29
Chevrolet Camaro–WII–CokeM Interactive

Assassin’s Creed creative director founding THQ Montreal studio

Patrice Désilets to oversee new Quebecois developer starting next summer; shop’s focus will be on new intellectual property.

THQ has been on a bit of an original intellectual property tear as of late. Earlier this year, the American company announced it would publish Devil’s Third, the new action game from Japanese bad-boy developer Tomonobu Itagaki. Then, this summer, reports surfaced that Hellboy director Guillermo del Toro was developing on a “Lovecraftian” horror role-playing game for the Santa Monica-based publisher, likely due out in 2013.

Today, THQ announced another pillar in its original IP push. The company has hired Patrice Désilets to help it found a new studio in Montreal, site of his former employer Ubisoft Montreal. There, Désilets garnered acclaim for his work as creative director on Prince of Persia: Sands of Time and the wildly successful Assassin’s Creed series. He is also represented by the Creative Artists Agency, a top Hollywood talent agency.

According to THQ, Désilets will begin work next summer at the studio, where his first job will be “the hiring of a new team that will develop new intellectual properties for THQ.” The company’s vision is to have the new Quebecois shop draw on the large game-development talent pool in Montreal, which is also the site of internal studios of Electronic Arts, its BioWare RPG label, and Square Enix’s Eidos label.

For more on Désilets’ last Ubisoft project, Assassin’s Creed 2, read GameSpot’s full review or interview with the man himself.