Blog

Despite winning over the critics, Ninja Theory’s reboot of the Devil May Cry series has taken a solid drubbing on its Metacritic user score page.

The Xbox 360 version of the game is currently sitting on an 86 Metascore at time of writing, but the user score is a significantly lower 3.0 after 288 reviews.

Many of the complaints are aimed squarely at Ninja Theory’s characters and narrative, with many criticising some of the late game (and spoiler-filled) actions of Dante and his acquaintances.

Another common criticism is the level of difficulty, with many accusing it of being too simple for their tastes even on its more challenging modes.

Ninja Theory’s take on the series has divided fans since its announcement but most critics have embraced the game. The new combat approach alongside its attempts to engage with themes of capitalism and corporation in particular have been praised in reviews. “Sure, you may baulk at Dante’s trendy new haircut, or maybe even miss a little of that B-movie Devil May Cry insanity,” said GameSpot’s Mark Walton in his 8.0 review of DmC, “but the heart of what makes the series so enticing and so much fun to play holds true here.”

“DmC pulls off that unlikely reboot trick of feeling fresh and inviting while still holding onto what made the original series so appealing and so special. There’s no point in looking back: Dante has got a brand-new future in front of him, and if DmC: Devil May Cry is anything to go by, it’s going to be a great one.”

The Need for Speed movie has landed another high-profile actor. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi has signed on to DreamWorks’ racing movie, joining Breaking Bad star Aaron Paul.

Other actors recently confirmed for roles in the Need for Speed flick include Ramon Rodriguez (Battle Los Angeles, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen), Rami Malek (Night at the Museum, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part II), and Harrison Gilberstson (Beneath Hill 60, Accidents Happen).

In addition, English actor Dominic Cooper (Captain America, Band of Brothers) will play a leading role in the film. He has been cast as Dino, an ex-Nascar driver who uses his wealthy connections to establish a car-modifying business.

Rounding out the announced cast members thus far is Imogen Poots (28 Weeks Later, Fright Night) who will reportedly play the role of an “exotic car dealer” for the film.

Directing the Need for Speed film will be Scott Waugh, who’s best known for helming Act of Valor, a military movie starring active-duty US Navy SEALs. Possibly more relevant to the Need for Speed project will be Waugh’s experience on stunt crews for dozens of films, including Torque, The Italian Job, and Biker Boyz.

Waugh will be filming a screenplay penned by George Gatins, the executive producer of DreamWorks’ 2010 comedy She’s Out of My League. Gatins developed the Need for Speed film’s story with his brother John, who is producing the film and also wrote the scripts for Real Steel and Flight

The Need for Speed movie is in production at DreamWorks (Shrek, Kung Fu Panda) and is due to theaters on February 7, 2014.

Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two came up well short of the sales milestone set by the 2010 original, according to a new Los Angeles Times report. Citing NPD data provided by a person not authorized to share the information publicly, the paper states Epic Mickey 2 sold 270,000 units in North America by the end of 2012. Over a comparable period of time, the original Epic Mickey sold 1.3 million copies in the region, the report states.

Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two scored generally fair reviews upon release in November. GameSpot’s review praised the game’s story and surprises, but lamented its jumping mechanics and cooperative partner Oswald, among other things.

Series developer Junction Point Studios founder Warren Spector said in May 2012 that Epic Mickey was planned as a four-game series, though no future games from the studio have been announced yet.

Disney just yesterday announced its new Disney Infinity game/platform that will span consoles, PC, and mobile devices. The game will make use of real-world toys, much in the same way that Activision’s Skylanders series does, and ship during June 2013.

Activision is not afraid of the competition, saying it is confident Skylanders will remain the top-seller in the market.

Warner Bros has confirmed that it will submit Mortal Kombat Komplete Edition–released in the US in February last year–to the Australian Classification Board for classification under the newly introduced R18+ rating.

The publisher’s 2011 Mortal Kombat reboot was originally banned by the Classification Board for “explicit” violence, blood spray, and limb dismemberment during fatalities, which made it unable to be accommodated within the maximum MA15+ guidelines in place at the time the game was submitted for classification.

Warner Bros later launched an appeal against the ban, claiming that the violence in the game is on par with other games already available for sale in Australia. The appeal was unsuccessful, and thus Mortal Kombat has remained banned in Australia to this day.

However, the recently introduced R18+ classification for video games now makes it possible for video games with high-impact violence to be sold in Australia.

“Warner Bros Entertainment Australia will be submitting the Mortal Kombat Komplete Edition for classification under the new R18+ classification category,” the publisher told GameSpot AU today.

The publisher declined to comment further on when the game will be submitted. The game is currently available in other territories on the Xbox 360 and PS3.

Earlier this month, the Classification Board confirmed that the first title to receive the new R18+ rating in Australia will be Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge for the Wii U. The game will be published by Nintendo, but currently has no release date in Australia.

FIFA 13 has retained the top spot in the UK games charts for the second week of 2013, making it the sixth time EA’s immensely popular football (or “soccer” for those in the US) has snatched No. 1 since its release last September.

The rest of the top 5 remains the same as last week: Far Cry 3, Call of Duty: Black Ops II, Hitman: Absolution and Need for Speed: Most Wanted.

There’s a new entry in the charts this week courtesy of Platinum Games’ Anarchy Reigns, which entered the charts in sixteenth place. Sega released the game at a budget price in the UK, with retailers selling the game for £19.99 or less.

The Top 10 UK All-Format Ukie Games Charts, compiled by GfK Chart-Track for the week ending January 5, 2013:

1. FIFA 13
2. Far Cry 3
3. Call of Duty: Black Ops II
4. Hitman: Absolution
5. Need for Speed: Most Wanted
6. Halo 4
7. Just Dance 4
8. Forza Horizon
9. LEGO The Lord of the Rings
10. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

A number of newly registered domain names related to the Batman franchise have raised speculation about Warner Bros’ plans in regards to the future of its Arkham video game franchise.

Originally spotted by Fusible, the domain names range from titles such as “Arkham Universe” to “Batman Arkham Arises” and “Batman Arkham Origins”.

According to the report, there is no way to tell whether the domains pertain to films or video games, or even if Warner Bros was the company that registered the titles, since the domain holder is protected by a privacy service.

However, Fusible reports that Warner Bros is a client of internet brand protection company MarkMonitor, which is behind the domain registrations.

The registered domains are:

arkhamuniverse.com (Arkham Universe)
batmanarkahmuniverse.com (Batman Arkham Universe)
batmanarkhamarises.com (Batman Arkham Arises)
batmanarkhambegins.com (Batman Arkham Begins)
batmanarkhamdarkknight.com (Batman Arkham Dark Knight)
batmanarkhamknight.com (Batman Arkham Knight)
batmanarkhamlegend.com (Batman Arkham Legend)
batmanarkhamlegends.com (Batman Arkham Legends)
batmanarkhamnight.com (Batman Arkham Night)
batmanarkhamorigins.com (Batman Arkham Origins)
batmanarkhamstories.com (Batman Arkham Stories)
darkknightarkham.com (Dark Knight Arkham)
dcarkhamuniverse.com (DC Arkham Universe)
dcarkhamverse.com (DC Arkhamverse)
thearkhamuniverse.com (The Arkham Universe)

In July last year, it was reported that the next game in Rocksteady Studios’ Batman series will be a prequel detailing Batman’s first encounter with the Joker, and based on the Silver Age of DC comics from the 1950s. Reports stated that the game is not expected to arrive until 2014.

The last entry in Warner Bros’ Batman game franchise–Batman: Arkham City–was developed by Rocksteady Studios, and shipped for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on October 18, with a PC version following on November 22. The game received a strong critical reception and shipped 6 million units.

Activision’s Skylanders toy and game franchise has generated $500 million in the United States alone since the series launched in 2011, Activision announced today, citing data from NPD Group. According to Activision, the Skylanders series reached the sales milestone faster than any other children’s game property and even outsold action figure lines like Beyblades, WWE, and Stars Wars.

Skylanders Giants, the sequel to 2011’s Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure, generated more than $195 million in 2012 US sales. This figure represents sales of accessory packs, action figures, and the games themselves. In addition, Activision claimed that Skylanders Giants revenue surpassed the US box office sales for Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph and DreamWorks’ Rise of the Guardians.

Toys “R” Us executive vice president and chief merchandising officer Richard Berry had high praise to give for the Skylanders series, saying in a statement that it is “one of the most innovative and exciting toy properties to hit the market.”

The Skylanders series is developed by Activision subsidiary Toys For Bob, which is based in Novato, California. For more on the franchise, check out GameSpot’s review of Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure and previous coverage of Skylanders Giants.