XboxSold.com BLOG

The Batman is very pleased this day. His next adventure, Batman: Arkham City, is “complete,” playable from start to finish and in need only of some tender polishing. 

The information was discovered on a recent OPM podcast (#11 for those who want to hear for themselves), which revealed some exciting new details about the sequel. For one, there’s a new grapple system that propels you into the air, which should make for some extended bat flight and some harsh punishment from above. 

There was also a discussion of co-op play (which would make sense considering there were previous hints of multiplayer), but nothing is confirmed yet. There’s definitely something brewing in the land of multiplayer, but we’ll have to wait and see just what it is. I’m sure it involves punching. 

It’s important to remember that “complete” doesn’t mean that the game’s going to be in our hands tomorrow, but, you know, I don’t even care. Just knowing that all the parts are in place makes my fists ready for bashing. In the best way possible.

Batman: Arkham City is “Complete” [CVG]

Because you can’t get enough collections of Namco Bandai classics, the publisher has announced another one — Namco Museum Megamix for Wii. The disc will feature 18 arcade ports, along with six “remixes” versions of games that feature 3D updates and Wii motion controls.

Expect to find the usual suspects on in Megamix, including Pac-Man, Galaga, Mappy, and Rally-X. It’s the updates that should have you interested, though. Pac-Motos will let you control your own Pac-Man, tilting the Wii Remote in an attempt to knock other players out of an arena. GROBDA Remix has players controlling Pac-Man through arenas taking out tanks. “Get ready!”

Namco Museum Megamix is out November.

Ballistic Publishing, the folks behind The Art of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, have announced its next PlayStation partnership, The Art of God of War III.

Set for release this October, the 272-page book will feature a “visual history tour” of the game, including 100 pieces of art that didn’t appear in the game. The book will feature concept art, character studios, character modeling, and more, giving you a behind-the-scenes look at Sony Santa Monica’s production process.

Ballistic is also offering exclusive character modeling walkthrough videos to anyone who purchases the book through its website. The videos will feature Santa Monica character artist Katon Callaway detailing how the Cerberus and Hephaestus characters were designed.

The Art of God of War III comes in two flavors — paperback for $65, leather-bound for $129.99, and a “Limited Folio Edition” for $300. What does three bills get you? A leather-bound presentation case, a hand-signed an number Certificate of Authenticity, and a hand-carved cover ornament designed to look like the “Blade of Exile.”

Who needs to be at PAX? We’re bringing it to you! Disney is letting PAX Prime goers go hands on with its upcoming title TRON: Evolution, allowing them to get a taste of the game’s free-running, combat, and the light cycle in action.

While this doesn’t quite match playing it, we’ve got a video of the game in action for you to watch in the comfort of your chair. If you’re standing, sit down. I can’t imagine why you’d be standing up and reading this though, unless it’s on your phone, and chances are you can’t watch this video anyhow.

The demo at PAX is the same thing I played pre-E3, and while it showed promise (I had fun with the combat, based on Capoeira) , but need a bit of polishing. If you did attend PAX (or you’re there now — why are you reading this?), then let me know what you think of the game. It’s out for PlayStation3 and Xbox 360 on December 7, a few weeks before the film, TRON: Legacy, hits theaters.

Following the announcement that it would be bringing Swords & Soldiers to PlayStation Network, indie developer Ronimo Games has revealed that it’s coming to PC as well.

The PC version of the game will ship with all of the features you’ll find on PSN, including online leaderboards, crisp “HD” graphics, along with a new soundtrack. Additionally, PC owners will get the benefit of Steam Achievements as well as a cursor-based mechanic. Because, you know, PCs use mice.

Swords & Soldiers was originally released on WiiWare, and took advantage of the Wii’s motion control and pointer mechanics. The PS3 version of the game will feature a dual analog scheme, but Ronimo is mum on PlayStation Move support.

Hey everyone, Ninja Theory’s Enslaved: Odyssey to the West has gone gold. That’s right, it’s done, which means it’ll be good to go for its previously announced October 5 release.

Enslaved is Ninja Theory’s multi-platform (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3) follow-up to the PS3-exclusive Heavenly Sword. Our gamescom team loved it. Like, would not stop talking about it “loved it.” I’m playing it now, and I’m not allowed to say anything until next week. But, I completely and totally… wait, nevermind. I’ll save it for my preview next week; embargoes and such.

Now that Enslaved is done, Ninja Theory can really get to cracking on Devil May Cry 5, right? Right?

Perhaps trying to steal the show from one Mr. Duke Nukem, Sony has announced a release date for Guerilla’s Killzone 3. It’ll be on shelves February 22 in North America.

If the wait between Killzone and its sequel seemed a bit longer than you had to wait for Killzone 3, you’re not imagining things. Guerilla’s Herman Hulst admitted that the development cycle for Killzone 3 was much shorter than Killzone 2. He points to a more experienced development, having learned many lessons from bringing Killzone 2 to life. But he’s clear that doesn’t mean Killzone 3 is a copy-paste of Killzone 2.

“There’s nothing really in Killzone 3 that’s straight from Killzone 2,” he told me, “everything’s been improved.”

The game’s multiplayer is playable to the public for the first time at PAX this week. If you’re there, check it out, and stop reading stories on the Internet.

Killzone 3 Coming to PS3 February 22, 2011 [PlayStation Blog]

At the conclusion of his keynote at the Penny Arcade Expo today, Junction Point’s Warren Spector revealed the second half of Epic Mickey’s opening cinematic. In it, Mickey finds himself trapped by the Mad Doctor, where he encounters an old foe — Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. You can see the first half of the intro here.

If you weren’t there, you missed the reveal. Sorry about that. But lucky for you, it’s right here. We’ve even got some fancy new screenshots to sweeten the deal a bit. Aren’t you glad you stayed home?

Epic Mickey is out this holiday, and you’ll probably want to spend some extra cash to get the “epic” collector’s edition.

Trying to create noise from the deafening silence following the announcement of Bloody Good Time, Ubisoft has revealed Outland, an upcoming platformer adventure inspired by games like Prince of Persia… and Ikaruga.

Here’s the official line on this one: “Outland puts players in the middle of a world of balance and chaos where their efforts allow them to bridge the ancient divide, or doom the world to destruction. Each player’s adventure will take them between light and darkness and force them to adapt to an ever-changing world. This light versus dark core gameplay is inspired by the arcade classic Ikaruga.”

So it’s a platformer, but it’s like Ikaruga. I think that’s qualifies as “awesome,” and it looks wonderful, too. The title is being developed by Super Stardust HD studio, Housemarque, and will be available for Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network in early 2011.

If you’re in Seattle for PAX, you can stop by Ubisoft’s booth and check it out.