We’re back with the Top Five Stories of the Week. We have some great stories for you below. There you will find articles about Dragon Quest Heroes, Hotline Miami 2, The Order: 1886 and much more. As always, for the full article, simple click on the hyperlink. Get in, sit down and hold on because here we go!
Number 5
Dragon Quest Heroes Western Release
Dragon Quest Heroes is they first full scale RPG in the Dragon Quest series and it will be released outside Japan sometime in 2015. PlayStation’s Blog made the announcement today regarding the North American release. Heroes will be a PS4 exclusive. The release day will have both boxed and digital versions of Dragon Quest Heroes available. The blog explains some of these story:
“In Dragon Quest Heroes, the protagonists must rise up against insurmountable odds, challenging swarms of enemies and conquering gigantic monsters in an exhilarating action game. Filled with characters and monsters designed by world-renowned artist Akira Toriyama, Dragon Quest Heroes is brought to PS4 in beautiful HD.”
Number 4
Hotline Miami 2 Has a Release Date
Hotline Miami 2, the sequel to 2012’s bloody indie hit, will finally be seeing the light of day this coming March.
Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number will close out the series, according to earlier reports from Dennaton Games when the title was announced. This time out, players will follow different factions as the story unwinds.
A standard version of the blood-soaked shooter will sell for $15 (£11) and those who preordered it via Steam or GOG.com will land themselves a 10 percent discount.
The game will be out this March 10th for PlayStation 4 and 3, Vita, and PC – the last of which will see a special digital edition including a six-track remix EP with music from MOON, Scattle, and Carpenter Brut. Hotline Miami 2 is notably banned from a general release in Australia.
Number 3
DuckTales is Returning! WooHoo!
Life is like a hurricane, here in Duckberg… Disney is going to make 80s and 90s kids very happy. Deadline reported the Disney XD network announced the famed DuckTales will be returning with a new series! The new DuckTales series is should be launched in 2017 and will run on Disney XD.
Beloved characters like Duckwork, the clumsy Launchpad, the Beagle Boys and the dreaded Magica DeSpell and her dark raven Poe. Based on the comics by Carl Barks, DuckTales follows the adventures of Scrooge McDuck and his nephews Huey, Duey and Louie.
Number 2
Batman: Arkham Knight Rated ‘M For Mature’
Batman’s final chapter in the Arkham franchise is a darker one, but according to the latest update from developer Rocksteady Studios, it’ll be a more mature one too.
Talking with IGN in a lengthy interview, Rocksteady founder Sefton Hill that the Batman: Arkham Knight has already been rated “M for mature” by the ESRB. The game, which Rocksteady has promised to be their darkest entry in the series, will reportedly avoid “gratuitous blood or swearing” though what amount there might be the studio wouldn’t say.
“This isn’t the case of stripped back Batman. In the case of Arkham Knight, Batman is at his peak and most powerful,” Hill said. That’s why they also have to push him harder than before. You still get the power fantasy of being the Batman. But to counter that strength, the super villains are going to fight dirty and take him to dark places.”
The studio elaborated that Arkham Knight’s development process didn’t include any compromises on their part. Rocksteady claims that while publisher Warner Bros. Interactive did point to several scenes that could cause “issues” with the ESRB ratings board, they chose instead to keep them. Speaking with the VP of production at DC Comics, Hill reportedly informed him an M rating was what the studio wanted and simply put, that was that.
“I’m not blind to the fact that [the M rating] does mean some fans will miss out… I don’t want to be oblivious to that fact,” he continued. “It would have been wrong to water down the game and deliver a story we didn’t believe in to keep the game “mass market” or enable it for more people.”
Batman: Arkham Knight will be the very first in Rocksteady’s trilogy to an “M” rating, as the three previous games in the series – i.e. Batman Arkham Asylum, Arkham City, and their prequel of Arkham: Origins – were all rated “T.”
Years after the events of Arkham City and the demise of his arch-nemesis, Arkham Knight sees Batman fighting nearly everyone in is rogues gallery in a Gotham City under siege from the fear-inducing Scarecrow. Whether the mature themes spring from the villain in question remains to be seen.
Number 1
Sony Announces PlayStation Vita Birthday Sale
Sony has announced today that a special sale is taking place this week for the PlayStation Vita.
February marks the three-year anniversary since the PS Vita’s launch in North America and Europe in 2012.
In addition to the sale being confirmed, Sony’s Andrew Kelly revealed on the PlayStation Blog that Vita owners would receive three free items: Toro and Friends PS Vita Theme, Fat Princess: Piece of Cake 8 Gold Coin Pack and Destiny of Spirits.
For a full list of titles and prices, check the original post.
Honorable Mentions
This week had a lot of big news and the news staff and I found it hard to narrow it down to the usual five stories:
- The Order: 1886’s Officially Licensed Merchandise Available for Pre-Order
- Fable Legends is Now Free-to-Play
If you have suggestions for future entries, feel free to email me at jeremy.tyler@bagogames.com