Persona 4 remake coming to Vita, Arc System Works handling Persona 4 fighter

Persona fans, you're going to want to sit down for this awesome bit of news. Atlus not only has a Persona 4 remake in the works for Vita and starting work on Persona 5, they're also collaborating with BlazBlue developer Arc System Works to release a Persona 4 fighting game. Persona 4 Vita includes more voice acting and cutscenes than the PS2 version, various fan-requested features, and a new character named Mary who introduces herself to the main cast at some point in the game. A unique feature in the remake allows players who are in trouble to call for help by using an internet connection through Wi-Fi or 3G. Persona 4: The Ultimate in Mayonaka Arena takes place two months after the events in Persona 4 with the main cast and a few folks from Persona 3 participating in a fighting program hosted by Teddie. Mayonaka Arena will have Arcade, Versus, and Score Attack modes available while the home release features a Story Mode that goes more in-depth with the Arcade Mode story. Mayonaka Arena hits arcades in Spring 2012 then later ships out to Japanese retailers in summer for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. As for Persona 5, some basic preparations have completed. Katsuhara Hashino reprises his role as game director and Shigenori Soejima returns as character designer. Shouji Meguro is also on board for composing the soundtrack.

Guild Wars 2 will allow players to host PvP servers

Well, here's a bit of interesting Guild Wars 2 news, especially for the PvP fanatics.  ArenaNet's upcoming MMO will actually allows players to create and host their own PvP servers. Yeah, you read that correctly.  In addition to ArenaNet's own servers, players can also make their own and host games with specific rule sets.  This revelation came from PAX over the weekend, during an interview with Guild Wars 2 game designers Colin Johanson and Eric Flannum.

GameStop Handing Out $50 Gift Cards For Deus Ex Fiasco

Earlier this week, GameStop drew the ire of gamers everywhere when they decided to open boxed PC copies of Deus Ex: Human Revolution and removed the OnLive coupon before selling it to customers as "new". Apparently GameStop is working on their own streaming service and didn't want to promote the competition. They eventually pulled the entire game from their shelves, but the damage was already done. To make up for this whole fiasco, GameStop is now offering $50 gift cards and a Buy 2 Get 1 Free pre-owned purchase to those affected. JoyStiq managed to get a hold of the official email. So be sure to check it out before heading to the store!

Xbox 360 scores timed exclusivity on first two Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim DLC

If you're planning to pick up Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim on Xbox 360, then we've got some good news -- kind of.  The first two downloadable content packs for Skyrim will be released to Xbox 360 first and remain exclusive to the platform for 30 days before being made available for PS3 and PC. The news comes by way of Microsoft, though neither the Xbox 360 manufacturer nor Bethesda are giving away the nature of the DLC.  Bethesda's Tom Howard, game director for Skyrim, has stated before that the studio aims to release fewer but "more substantial" DLC for the new Elder Scrolls. 

Red Hot Chili Peppers 8-pack coming soon to Rock Band 3

Rock Band 3 is bringing back the Red Hot Chili Peppers with a big track pack including eight songs made by the alternative rock group. Those of you looking for a bit of RHCP's latest material will find three singles from their upcoming I'm With You album. Additional tracks from By the Way and Californication let players enjoy some of RHCP's popular tracks. Here are the eight tracks debuting on August 30; tracks marked in blue have Pro Guitar and Pro Bass upgrades available: By the Way Californication Look Around Monarchy of Roses Otherside Parallel Universe Scar Tissue The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie The "I'm With the Chili Peppers Pack" can be bought for 1,080 Microsoft Points, 1,350 Nintendo Points, or $13.49 US / £6.69 UK / €9.99 EU from the PlayStation Store. Single track downloads are worth 160 MS Points, 200 Nintendo Points, or $1.99 / £0.99 / €1.49 from the PS Store. Pro upgrades cost 80 MS Points, 100 Nintendo Points, or $0.99 / £0.59 / €0.79 from the PS Store.

Bad Company 2 PC beta patch removes DRM, improves stability

Nearly all signs had pointed to the end of Battlefield: Bad Company 2 patches, but in a surprise move, DICE has just released a new one for PC, albeit in beta form. In all likelihood, this is to keep as much QA on Battlefield 3 as possible before its beta and subsequent launch. The update improves performance a little, increases stability under a variety of circumstances, fixes the clan tag issue (it's not clear if the 'remember password' issue is affected), adds the option to tweak the chat window, and removes SecuROM from non-Steam versions. Juicy, no? If you don't mind playing only on a select ~10 servers, hit the source to install it manually and help test. Note it won't work with Steam versions, and naturally, you're expected to offer feedback. We'll let you know when the public release is available (it will be at least a week).

Warspire Announced

Wrapping things up tonight, Silverlode Interactive has announced the development of a new free-to-player RTS called "Warspire". Word is the game will use collectible units and heroes from their previous title (SAGA) for massive head-to-head battles. Here's the scoop:

Orem, UT, August 22, 2011 – Silverlode Interactive today announced Warspire, the follow-up to its flagship MMORTS, SAGA. Warspire is a collectible fantasy RTS featuring massive head-to-head realtime strategy action with units and heroes available from all six factions in the SAGA universe.

“With SAGA, the focus is on nation-building and completing quests,” stated Silverlode president Jason Faller. “We wanted the follow-up to be centered on players competing against one another in an intense strategy setting while maintaining the persistency that made SAGA such an innovative game.”

In keeping with this persistency theme, players can select heroes for their army which can level up, gaining greater power and new abilities. This progress is maintained from match to match. In addition, players can purchase new troops with in-game or real life currency to bolster the forces of their armies. This dynamic will allow Warspire to be released free to play.

Silverlode is developing Warspire for release on Windows, Macintosh and Linux platforms. An invitational, limited Alpha is slated for release before Fall.

About Silverlode Interactive

Silverlode Interactive is an independent game studio outside Salt Lake City, Utah, founded by movie industry professionals. Silverlode’s flagship title SAGA is the world’s first collectible MMO RTS, a title which revolutionized RTS gaming.

Thanks for the tip Blue's News!

Serious Sam: Double D Hits Stores Next Week

Moving right along, the Croteam and Mommy’s Best Games have announced that their upcoming side-scrolling shooter, Serious Sam: Double D, will be available through all major digital distribution outlets on August 30th. As you'd expect, the developers are really excited to get the game in to your hands:

"It’s been amazing to work with the Serious Sam franchise and I think fans of the series will absolutely love our unique take on a Serious Sam game," said Nathan Fouts, founder and lead designer at developer Mommy’s Best Games. "The Gunstacker is something we’re all very proud of and with 80,640 different gun combinations gamers will have plenty of weaponry options in Serious Sam Double D!"

Here's a new teaser trailer to help whet your appetite:

Modders recreate Pokémon Red in Minecraft

Many of us grew up with fond memories of Pokémon Red, Blue, and/or Yellow.  You know, back when there were only 151 Pokémon, and they were all adorable?  Well, Minecraft players "seagoingmanatee" and "Pwootage" also really misses the primary colors, so they decided to create an actual Pokémon Red mod in Minecraft.  The mod actually scatters the original 151 'Mons all over the blocky in-game universe, and the frequency with which they appear corresponds to their rarity in Red.  As this video shows, Pidgey and Caterpie are the most common Pokémon, seen running around the grassy areas.  The modders also added the three starter Pokémon -- Charmander, Bulbasaur and Squirtle -- into the world, so you can actually catch them as well.  How?  With Poké Balls, obviously.  Yeah, the mod has those for capturing and holding your Pokémon, in addition to a Pokédex for naming your creatures and Rare Candy for evolving them.  Check out the video, narrated by a "Captain Sparklez."  It's nearly 10 minutes in length but very cute. Section: PC Games

Na`Vi Win Dota 2 International Championships

For those of you who missed it, Na`Vi took home the $1 million dollar prize at the Dota 2 International Championships in Cologne, Germany today. Na`Vi squared off against EHOME in an action-packed best of five series. You can watch replays of the finals right here. And don't forget to signup for the beta at Dota2.com.

This tournament offered us our first look at the game in action and I have to say...it looks awesome! :D

Dragon Nest open beta gets new PvP content

Nexon announced today the first PvP content update for Dragon Nest, currently in open beta in North America.  The update unlocks two PvP modes and five maps, though you'll have to be level 10 or higher to participate. The first mode, Rounds, is basically a team deathmatch, where "a given team wins by eliminating all opposing players."  Respawn, the second PvP mode, is a score-based match, in which teams are awarded points for every kill.  First team to reach the designated score wins.  In both modes, teams can consist of one to eight players. You can form teams in the Arena or utilize the game's drop-in function to join existing matches.  You'll gain Arena EXP and rank for participating in PvP, and medals earned can be traded at special vendors for specific rewards.  Nexon is also working on a PvP ladder system for Dragon Nest, though that remains a work in progress.  More PvP modes will also be added in future updates. Check out the Dragon Nest launch trailer below, released shortly before gamescom. Image Gallery Section: PC Games

Tribes: Ascend Screenshots

Treating us to a little eyecandy this afternoon, Hi-Rez Studios have released three new screenshots from their upcoming multiplayer shooter, Tribes: Ascend. These latest screenies feature some rolling hills, massive weapons and a rabbit battle. Check 'em out:

 

 

Tribes: Ascend is scheduled for release later this year.

Guild Wars 2 'Epic Struggle' Trailer

Spicing things up today, ArenaNet has released a new trailer for their highly anticipated massively multiplayer online RPG, Guild Wars 2. Clocking in at just under five and a half minutes long, this video shows off the game's various races, monsters, environments, the combat system and much, much more! Check it out:

Thanks to GameTrailers for the above stream. Mirrors are also available at GamersHell and FilePlanet.

Guild Wars 2's release date is still TBA.

Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim To Utilize Steamworks

Spilling the beans via Twitter tonight, Bethesda Softworks has confirmed that their highly anticipated Fantasy-RPG, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, will feature Steamworks support. They don't offer any details, but I'm sure we'll see the usual cloud saves, achievements and all those other goodies. At least I hope so! :)

 

 

Zelda: Skyward Sword takes flight Nov. 20

Nintendo is looking to regain momentum at retail by having all its stars realign this holiday shopping season, and one of those will be the long awaited The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword for the Wii.  The console giant at last confirms today that Skyward Sword will begin shipping in North America this November 20th, which is just was as well considering the game was pretty much completed development-wise for a while now. Skyward Sword arrives just in time to make the series' 25th Anniversary, which Nintendo is celebrating with one big retrospective on the official Zelda website, and two orchestra concerts in Los Angeles and London this October.

Dota 2 Beta Sign-ups!

Keeping the good news coming today, Valve Software is now accepting applications to beta test their highly anticipated Strategy/RPG, Dota 2. No word on when the beta will begin, but if you're interested in helping test the game, just fill in your Steam details here and click the sign-up button. Good luck!

Leaked Dota 2 Screenshots

Keeping things interesting this weekend, a Dota 2 fansite claims to have some leaked screenshots from Valve Software's highly anticipated Strategy/RPG. It sounds like these shots are legit, but may be several months old and are using an outdated UI ect. Anyways, here's a taste:

 

 

You can find more screenies right here.

Thanks for the tip Jube!

Guild Wars 2 'Sylvari' Trailer

Keeping things rollin' today, the fine folks over at ArenaNet have released a new teaser trailer for their upcoming massively multiplayer online RPG, Guild Wars 2. Clocking in at just over two minutes long, this video gives us a sneak peek at the Sylvari race and their homeland. Enjoy:

The above stream is courtesy of GameTrailers. Mirrors are also available at GamersHell and the FileShack.

Guild Wars 2's release date is still TBA.

Steam Weekend Deal: 50% Off Frozen Synapse

Getting us geared up for the weekend, Valve has announced that Mode 7's popular turn-based strategy title, Frozen Synapse, is currently on sale through Steam for just $12.49 USD (a 50% savings). The deal runs from now until 10AM PST on Monday, August 15th. Still on the fence? Then be sure to check out the new demo! :D

 

 

The Witcher 2 Patch v1.35 Released

Finally tonight, CD Projekt RED has released a small patch (v1.35) for their critically acclaimed Action-RPG, The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings. This latest update addresses a slew of bugs, including shadows not being displayed correctly in 3D Vision mode, Steam achievements not being registered and certain exe files being recognized as threads by popular antivirus software. You can find the full changelog and a list of download mirrors right here.

Note: If you purchased the game through a digital distribution outlet, check their website for the patch.

Kyotokei blasts away at this week's Nintendo Downloads

Quite a few interesting download titles available for Nintendo fans this week. For Wii users, there's Hudson's Super Adventure Island II for Virtual Console and "bullet hell" shooter Kyotokei for WiiWare. 3DS and DSi owners might want to look into Avenging Spirit and Go! Go! Kokopolo, the latter of which is being touted as a "chase 'em up". 3DS users, don't forget to connect to the eShop by the end of the day today or you'll miss out on 20 free games from Nintendo. Kyotokei is a "bullet hell" side-scrolling shooter featuring the polarity shifting mechanic seen in Ikaruga. By changing either into a black or white polarity, you are able to harm enemies opposite your color and safely pass through shots that are like-colored. Bravely navigate through huge salvos of bullets for 500 Wii Points. Master Higgins returns in Super Adventure Island II to save his newfound love from the evil king of Waku-Waku Island. In this 2D platformer, Master Higgins must make use of items and friendly prehistoric animals to find the evil king and rescue his wife. Help out Master Higgins on his mission for 800 Wii Points. The hero of Avenging Spirit begins the game being gunned down by mobsters and his girlfriend kidnapped at the same time. How will the hero save his loved one when he's dead? He comes back as a ghost who can possess other people and use their unique skills. Add this classic Game Boy title to your Virtual Console collection for $2.99. In Go! Go! Kokopolo, a bobcat who has been rudely awakened from his daily siesta decides to have revenge on the no-gooders that interrupted his nap. Provoke enemies into chasing you then lead foes in a race through mazelike levels to bait the pranksters into getting eaten by Snap Snap plants. Get sweet revenge on bullies for $7.99 / 800 DSi Points. Crazy Hamster stars a cute hamster who's rounding up lost supplies before hibernating for winter. Players don't have direct control of the hamster so you must lay down tools in the hamster's path to avoid danger. Worth $1.99 / 200 DSi Points to purchase. My Asian Farm is the latest entry in the My Farm series of farming sims. Like previous games, your job in My Asian Farm is to successfully run a farm and raise animals native to Asia. You can also trade with DSi and 3DS users who own My Australian Farm, My Exotic Farm, and My Farm to get animals exclusive to their version. Pick up My Asian Farm for $1.99 / 200 DSi Points.

Dead Island Goes Gold!

Spreading the good news today, Techland has announced that their upcoming open-world action title, Dead Island, has officially gone gold and will begin shipping to stores across North America on September 6th and everywhere else on September 9th. To celebrate this news, the developers have released a new trailer showing off the game's co-op mode. Enjoy:

The above stream is courtesy of GameTrailers. Mirrors are also available at the following websites:

GamersHell FileShack FilePlanet WorthPlaying

Let the countdown begin! :D

Prey 2 screenshots offer gorgeous visual tour of Exodus

Say what you want about the crime rates on Exodus, but you can't dispute the unique charm of this alien cesspool.  New Prey 2 screenshots give another detailed tour of the planet poor Killian Samuels finds himself stranded on, featuring alien faces (new and old) and wide vistas of this futuristic dystopia. Making a reappearance is that Attling again, the Twi'lek-esque alien who we've seen in previous screenshots before.  Hard to tell if that is her actual name or just the name of her species -- sounds a bit more like the latter, but you can never tell with aliens. If you've been keeping up with new screenshots as they come, some of these images released for QuakeCon will look familiar -- notably the ones featuring Ceros.  Prey 2 will be out early next year.

Might & Magic Heroes VI Slips To October

Also feeling the push this afternoon, Ubisoft has confirmed that their upcoming turn-based strategy title, Might & Magic Heroes VI, has been delayed a few weeks in order to incorporate feedback from a recent beta. The game was previously scheduled for release on September 8th, but they are now targeting a October 13th launch. Click here to learn more!

Brink Free Weekend Kicks Off!

To celebrate the release of Brink: Agents of Change, Splash Damage has announced that they'll be holding a "free weekend" on Steam from August 4th-7th. During this event, you can download and play the entire game free of charge. They are also offering a 50% discount on the game until 10AM PST on Monday. So if you enjoy your time with the free trial, be sure to grab the full game while it's cheap!

Click here to get started! :D

Guild Wars 2 Video Dev Diary

Giving us a peek behind the scenes tonight, ArenaNet has thrown together a new video developer diary for their upcoming massively multiplayer online RPG, Guild Wars 2. Clocking in at just over three minutes long, this video focuses on the game's sound design process. Very interesting stuff! Check it out:

The above stream is courtesy of YouTube.

Guild Wars 2's release date is still TBA.

Blizzard VP surprised over response to Diablo III online requirements

It's up to you whether or not you want to drop real money into Diablo III for rare items, but one thing no one will have a say in thus far is the mandatory online requirement in order the play the game, even if you're not doing online multiplayer in the first place.  As you may have guessed, the persistent internet connection requirement has riled some feathers in the community, and that's left folks like Robert Bridenbecker, VP of Online Technologies at Blizzard, scratching their own heads in turn. Speaking to MTV Multiplayer, Bridenbecker expressed surprise over how anyone should be surprised that Diablo III would be online-only (even for singleplayer) these days.  Bridenbecker further insisted that the measure wasn't implemented as a clever means to toss in some form of online DRM: "Internally I don't think [DRM] ever actually came up when we talked about how we want connections to operate. Things that came up were always around the feature-set, the sanctity of the actual game systems like your characters. You're guaranteeing that there are no hacks, no dupes. All of these things were points of discussion, but the whole copy protection, piracy thing, that's not really entering into why we want to do it." Bridenbecker reassures that the constant internet connection requirement doesn't mean you'll be forced to be part of some Diablo III social network.  He explains that Blizzard wants to make it more convenient for offline players to join online multiplayer if they choose.  Looking at this another way though, it seems Blizzard wasn't so keen in seeing a portion of the potential Diablo III userbase not bother with connecting to their servers out of choice.

World of Warcraft decline continues, loses 300k subscriptions

Blizzard's highly-successful World of Warcraft MMO continues on a steady decline, losing roughly 300,000 subscriptions between May and July 2011.  As of now, the MMO juggernaut's worldwide subscription count sits at 11.1 million, reflecting a continuous pattern for two successive quarters. Prior to May, Blizzard reported that their initial quote of 12 million players had dropped to 11.4 million since October 2010.  At the time, CEO Mike Morhaime suggested that the decline in subscriptions could be attributed to player experience, stating that the WoW community had "become much faster at consuming content."  The company predicted that subscriptions would start picking up again once the Cataclysm expansion hit China, but that obviously hasn't been the case, given the latest report. Just as before, Morhaime provided an explanation for the wilting player base, and it mirrors his response from May practically word for word. "As our players have become more experienced playing World of Warcraft over many years, they have become much better and much faster at consuming content," he stated. "And so I think with Cataclysm they were able to consume the content faster than with previous expansions, but that's why we're working on developing more content." Blizzard's solution to the issue also remains the same.  The studio is hoping to pour more content into World of Warcraft at an even faster rate.  In June, they removed the time limit on the trial version and renamed it "World of Warcraft Starter Edition," allowing players to play for free up until level 20.

Blackfire's Mod 2 pushes Crysis 2 graphics further

The DirectX 11 upgrade for Crysis 2 satisfied some PC enthusiasts, but certainly not all. In either case, you'll want to check out Blackfire's Mod 2, a significant graphics upgrade to Crytek's shooter sequel, packing much higher resolution textures, improved shadows, redesigned lighting, and more. Note some tessellation will be removed if you're on DirectX 11 (it's compatible with 9 as well), and some users have complained about shadows, so you may want to play through without this mod first if you haven't already. When you do, be sure to start a new game. A 1GB card is recommended, though 512MB should do fine, too. Hit the source for installation instructions, comparison screens, and all needed downloads.

Port Royale 3 Announced

Hot off the presses, Kalypso Media and Gaming Minds have officially announced the development of Port Royale 3, the next installment in their popular pirate-themed economic sim series. Due out in Q2 2012, the game promises an epic new singleplayer campaign with two different paths to follow, head-to-head multiplayer, real-world locations and a deep economy system. Here's the scoop:

Bracknell, UK – 2nd August 2011 – Kalypso Media is inviting gamers to take to the high seas for an exciting journey of discovery, trading and piracy with the announcement of Port Royale 3, the next in the series of hugely successful economic simulation games. Port Royale 3, will take players on a grand adventure where they can play as a heroic captain, villainous brigand or savvy merchantman. The game is currently in development by Kalypso Media’s own internal studio, Gaming Minds, and is scheduled for release in Q2 2012 for Windows PC and next generation consoles.

In Port Royale 3, players will embark upon an epic adventure through the Caribbean during the turbulent 17th century where the naval powers of Spain, England, France and the Netherlands all fight for supremacy in the colonies. Players take on the role of a young captain trying to build his fortune and reputation in the new world colonies. The campaign consists of two different paths for the young protagonist to follow: adventurer and trader.

Following the path of the adventurer will lead the player on a naval conquest where they must gain notoriety through raids, piracy, bounty hunting, plundering and conquering cities as they strive to build their new Caribbean empire.

The route of the trader sees the player using their economic know-how to become the most powerful trading tycoon in the New World by setting up trade routes, building production facilities and developing cites.

In free-play mode, the player crafts a combination of the two paths, creating a unique and challenging scenario on the path to increase wealth and power.

In addition to the single-player campaign there will be robust multiplayer modes where players can go head-to-head using commercial, economic and conquest simulations to allow for fast-paced gameplay.

Features of Port Royale 3:

Three paths to glory and fame – choose the role of adventurer/pirate, merchant or a combination of both Exciting naval battles, coastal city sieges, raids and plunder await the adventurous player, while untold riches, power and glory await the more mercantile-oriented player Multiplayer competitive play A deep economic simulation engine ensures a realistic trading experience Real-world locations will immerse the player in the 17th century Caribbean

The first playable version of Port Royale 3 will be available on the Kalypso Media stand at Gamescom Hall 6 A19.

Sounds like fun!