Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment announced today the release dates for the PlayStation 3, PC and Xbox 360 versions of the Watchmen beat ‘em up, which span two retail releases—Watchmen: The End is Nigh The Complete Experience for the PS3 and Watchmen: The End is Nigh Parts 1 and 2 for the Xbox 360—plus three digitally distributed episodes for the PS3, Xbox 360 and PC.

The second episode will be available to you in a number of formats, included with one of the Blu-ray edition of the movie, in PlayStation 3-style packaging and on a Xbox 360-only DVD. It can also be downloaded, for everyone that enjoyed the first Watchmen: The End is Nigh so much.

Maybe this official list will clear it up.

Watchmen: The End is Nigh The Complete Experience is an innovative, retail Blu-ray Hi-Def game and film hybrid which will include Watchmen: The End is Nigh Parts 1 and 2 and the Watchmen: Director’s Cut on Blu-ray. This new cut of the action-packed blockbuster includes an additional 25 minutes of footage not seen in theatres, available only on Blu-ray and DVD. The two-disc collectible set will also feature exclusive artwork in a premium package. The game will be playable on the PLAYSTATION 3 which can also play the Blu-ray disc of Watchmen: Director’s Cut. The Watchmen: The End is Nigh The Complete Experience will be available on July 21 for a suggested retail price of $US49.99.

Watchmen: The End is Nigh Parts 1 and 2 will be released as a single game available for the Xbox 360 on July 21 for a suggested retail price of $US29.99.

Watchmen: The End is Nigh Part 2 will be available for download on PC on July 29 and PlayStation Network on July 30 for a suggested retail price of $US14.99 and on Xbox LIVE Arcade for the Xbox 360 on August 26 for 1200 Microsoft Points.

Deadline Games director Søren Lund has told 1UP that both “The End is Nigh” and the second title will be released together on the same disc, and that it should be shipping at the same time the movie is out on DVD and Blu-Ray (due in the US on July 21).

Does this mean the second game won’t be released digitally? No idea, but it wouldn’t surprise us.

Watchmen Retail Disc Confirmed [1UP]

Watchmen (the movie) is out. Seen it yet? Going to see it? If you find yourself nodding “yes”, then you’re just the kind of person Watchmen (the game) is targeted at.

But are you the type of person who is going to enjoy Watchmen (the game)? Well now, that depends. On a number of things, namely what happens when you get past the game’s surprisingly attractive visuals.

Hated
Recycling – The levels in this game are one long, confusing parade of the same basic building blocks. The bad guys are, depending on the level, one long parade of the same 2-3 character models. Same goes for the “puzzles”. Basically, each of the game’s six levels consists of the same room and the same bad guys recycled 15-20 times in a row. Which ruins the good work done by implementing a solid, combo-based fight mechanic, as the simple joy of combat soon gives way to crushing boredom.

Lowest Bidder – Imitating the comics with poorly-animated 2D cutscenes looks, and sounds, cheap and nasty. While Rorshach and Nite Owl are voiced by their motion picture actors, the jobs are some of the worst in recent memory, maybe even worse than Robert Downey Jnr’s in Iron Man. The game smacks of cut costs and a deadline only barely met, and it shows most in the presentation.

No Bang For Buck – So what, it’s only $20, right? Wrong. Even with each level strung out to pad proceedings, the game is short. And very easy. Oh, and you can only choose from two players, who in everything bar special attacks are almost identical, Worst of all, though, multiplayer is relegated to offline split-screen only. No online play. At all. Even though you need to be online to buy the game in the first place.

Warner Bros – the publishers backing this game – may have thought that pushing a $20 price tag on the game and releasing it as a downloadable title would help us overlook the game’s many, fundamental flaws. It doesn’t, as the one area you’d expect such a title to skimp on – the graphics – is about the only thing they got right. Even $20 is too steep for a game that’s so depressingly repetitive, and which does so little to distinguish itself as either a Watchmen product or even as a run-of-the-mill brawler.

Watchmen: The End Is Nigh was developed by Deadline Games, and published by Warner Bros. Interactive. Released March 4 on Xbox Live Arcade, March 5 on the PlayStation Network. Retails for US$20. Played single-player to completion on Xbox 360, tested co-op mode.

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UPDATE - Apologies for the error regarding the voice acting.

The US$20 Steam pricing for Watchmen: The End is Nigh carries over to the Xbox Live Arcade version of the game, due out this Wednesday.

Definitely not a case of PC taxing, Deadline Games’ Watchmen: The End is Nigh carries the same $20 price tag as the version going up on Steam, which translates into 1600 Microsoft points. A hefty price tag, to be sure, but other games priced at such a level have generally had the content to back it up. Watchmen features six chapters of action as Rorschach and Nite Owl battle to take down Underboss, recently escaped from prison and now “ruling with vicious darkness”, whatever the hell that means.

With the Xbox Live Arcade version sharing the same price as the PC, expect to see the PlayStation Network version follow suit. Is it worth it? The game basically needs to be a good Batman game without Batman in it. Don’t think I’m gonna chance it.

Grammatically improper, we know, but we’re big fans. Couldn’t resist. And as big fans, we can’t help but look at these screens and furrow our brows. Just a little.

Prequel to the events of the comic’s main story arc or not, it’s tough to see the characters and universe of Alan Moore’s masterpiece broken down into simple beat-em-up characters, complete with health and “rage” bars.

Then again, that’s probably our inner (well…outer) comic book nerds over-thinking the whole thing! The world needs more cheap, simple beat-em-ups, and if developers Deadline Games can provide us with one, we’ll overlook the strip-mining of the canon and characters and happily mash our buttons to within an inch of their miserable lives.

Or at least try to.

First announced early last year, Deadline Games’ Faith And A .45 looked promising! It had biplanes, tommy guns and a sexy, ginger-haired lady. Basically, it made the Great Depression look fun!

So it’s with a heavy heart that we hear tonight the game’s been put on pause. Why? Because despite featuring biplanes, tommy guns and a sexy, ginger-haired lady (not to mention it’s basically Gears of War with kissing), the game is still without a publisher.

Shame on you, Activision. And EA. And Ubisoft, THQ, Midway, Take-Two and Atari. Shame on all of you.

As for developers Deadline Games, don’t worry too much. While the shelving of Faith is a sad tale, their bank balances should be well catered for when the Watchmen games they’re working on are released later this year.

Faith and a .45 is officially on hold [PS3 Attitude, via VG247]

If so, you’d do well to check out the newest issue of EGM, which features a cover story on Watchmen: The End Is Nigh including first screens, interviews with all involved and probably a heavy dose of disappointment for some of you.

EGM Watches the Watchmen in Our December Issue [1UP]

Previews: Watchmen [1UP]