New Doom 3 For Xbox 360 And PlayStation 3 Supports Head-Mounted Displays 
Far Cry 3 And The Stranger In A Strange Land 
Why Robin Makes Batman Better 
Resistance: Burning Skies: The Kotaku Review 
Harley Quinn's Revenge Is Batman: Arkham City's Bad New Ending 
High Scores And Egos: There's Always A Bigger Doodle If you are a gamer, living in a PAL territory can be heartbreakingly hard at times. There are so many languages, and it really takes forever for games to get released. But, chin up! Sony Computer Entertainment of Europe David Reeves is here, and he is ready to make you feel all warm and fuzzy about getting stuff last. According to Reeves:
“People say, ‘Well, why do we always get things last? Why can’t we say things?’ Well, I’ve said this many times before: sometimes it’s an advantage to be last in Europe, you know, when everything’s ironed out.
…This time [at the 2008 Games Convention] , we do have things to say in the European [market] . We have the music service, and we’re doing great things on SingStar and there’s more to come. These are global announcements.
He’s said this last is the best spiel before, and he’ll say it again. It’s like David Reeves favourite thing to say. He loves it.
Reeves: “Sometimes it’s an advantage to be last in Europe” [VG247]
We’re not normally in the business of keeping you up to date on a company’s routine paperwork, but since so damn many of you were bugging us about this, here you go: the replacement Okami Wii covers are, according to Capcom, shipping. Right now. And actually shipping, too, as opposed to the not-actually-shipping from a few months back. To compensate for the delay, everyone on their list will be getting all three covers. Got one? Let us know. Okami Wii special covers – Final Update! [Capcom]
It seems like we’ve been talking about LittleBigPlanet for ages now. Same seems true for Home. Both look like they’re going to really push the PSN and show exactly what the network is capable of. But here’s the million dollar question: Are they somehow connected? Like, do they work together? Like Alex Evans from LBP developer Media Molecule tells game site Eurogamer: I know that team really well — actually, it was interesting, there was a presentation done within Home, back at GDC I think, and they built a LittleBigPlanet space. Sony built that for us. It was fantastic, the collaboration worked really well. We went back and forth with them, sent them some assets — and they produced this room which was incredible.
The thing about Home is, they’re a team that’s just down the road from us. There is loads of scope for us to work with them, and I’m looking forward to getting the LittleBigPlanet space in there, working on it and making it cool.
The short answer, though, is that I can’t announce anything right now — but I’ve already seen great LittleBigPlanet content in Home, which was at that conference and which was public, and I think it’s a great sign that that was possible with a very small amount of time and a small amount of effort. I think we could do something really cool with it, but at this stage, I can’t say what the plan is.
LittleBigPlanet doing stuff with Home? Big stuff? Makes sense. Sure, why not.
Media Molecule’s Alex Evans [Eurogamer]
Left 4 Dead was coming out on November 4. Was! Not is. Because it’s had a slight change. In an interview with Gamekings, Valve’s Gabe Newell has announced that the game will now be out on November 20. Doesn’t have the “4″ tie-in they were originally shooting for, but it is the tenth anniversary of Half-Life’s release, so those hoping for some degree of sentimentality are still being catered for.
[Gamekings, thanks Ben!]
Want to give the latest game in the Midnight Club series a whirl? Rockstar has let us know that it’s taking an exclusive pre-release demo around Australia (well, Sydney and Melbourne so far) to give fans and curious gamers a look-see. It’ll feature the Saleen 302E, which I believe is a car.
Here are the dates:
30th August: Shadow Wars – Manning Bar Sydney University 13th-14th September: Auto Salon – Newcastle entertainment centre 25th-28th September: Royal Melbourne Show – Royal Melbourne Showgrounds Epsom Road, Ascot Vale 4th-5th October: Auto Salon – Melbourne Exhibition Centre Southbank
Limited edition merchandise will also be up for grabs. More info (such as times!) when we get it.
Just like we expect the changing of the seasons, we can expect that each game creator Hideo Kojima finishes a Metal Gear Solid title he’ll say that’s it, no more. It’s been this way since MGS2! And his latest title is no exception. What’s his deal? Can’t he just make up his mind? He tells website Kikizo:
I say frankly, on a private level, that I always intend to stay true to these statements; I do always say what I actually feel at that time, after each Metal Gear, when I say I am going to move on to the next project. But it’s like when Hayao Miyazaki says he is not going to do more, and then always ends up doing it. I think I am kind of in a similar situation; I have ideas other than Metal Gear, and I want to go on to make other new games, but for political, business or technology reasons, there is always a time when I have to return. But I have to say, my feeling hasn’t changed; I would like to pass on the Metal Gear series to younger staff members, and then go on to produce the title, and not be so attached to it.
Metal Gear Solid, Hideo Kojima just can’t quit you. After the jump, Kojima talks about his “strong urges” to create a non-MGS title as well as express his “regret” over putting all the story telling elements in the cutscenes and his ideas about how he can change storytelling in video games.
I didn’t even know a PSP version was in development. Not any more! Along with the latest Ubisoft release schedule came the news that the game has been canned. Not sure why, maybe it didn’t do so well on the Wii and DS.
Heck, if you’re desparate to learn Spanish on your PSP, you could give Talkman a try. Oh, Hell’s Kitchen for Wii has been moved to Q4, though I doubt anyone’s going to lose much sleep over it.
Huh? Since when was Spore set to launch on Sept 11? At least, that’s what the Spore Launch Centre over at AU IGN is reporting. True, it’s not that far ahead of the Sept 4 date given not so long ago, but it’s still a surprise.
Retailers GAME and EB Games still have September 4 entered into their databases, so consider it a rumour for now. EA was contacted earlier for comment, but has yet to reply.
Update: Seems someone at IGN has their wires crossed! EA has confirmed the Sept 4 date is still on for Oz. I’ve also included a press release with the Sept 4th release date after the jump.
Spore Launch Centre [AU IGN, thanks Matt30822]
A year can go by crazy quick. Imagine a rocket strapped to a second, bigger rocket. Now, stick that in an Acme-brand slingshot. That’s how fast years go, if giant cartoon slingshots existed and enormous liquid oxygen-propelled apparati were easy to come by.
Anyway, the point is that come September, I’ll have been at Kotaku AU about a year. The month will also, sadly, mark my departure. From October onwards, I’ll be employed as a game designer at Tantalus. It’s full-time, which leaves no-time for Kotaku. It’s also based in Melbourne, which means bye-bye Sydney.
Cue sad face.
Before I start crying – I’m not going anywhere just yet! I still have a few weeks at the helm of Kotaku AU. After that, well… if the idea of writing for the largest gaming blog in Australia tickles your fancy (or other places), just send a brief note, resume and sample post to jobs@alluremedia.com.au, and the higher-ups will take a look.
Game design won’t stop me from blogging however. If for some reason you like what I write, I’ll be scribing at my shiny new site, Playwrite.
A massive, enduring thanks to every reader, tipster and fanboy that helped make Kotaku AU a force to be reckoned with. You’ve made my stay both pleasant and exciting. These are good, tasty things.
Now, back to your regular viewing…
Simon Cottee once again subjects his better-half to the rigours of Team Fortress 2, this time after the Heavy update. Laughter, silliness and high-pitched girly screams (mostly from me) await.
GF TF2 Heavy Update [Lavalevel]
