Welcome to Getting Some Play– the spiritual successor to Sarah Warn‘s excellent Good Game column – where we’ll take a look at the latest releases, news and developments in the world of videogames.
Late breaking
Just after last week’s column was written, the news came that Mass Effect 3 — Bioware’s long awaited third installment of the Mass Effect series that I simply cannot seem to stop writing about — will have choices for same sex romances of both genders.
News came from on high — series producer Casey Hudson tweeted the following:
Hooray for inclusion!
Incoming
Finally, the mid-spring doldrums are done with, and the release calendar is starting to hop again. There are several highly anticipated games slated for early-to-mid June release, on practically every platform, and spanning several genres. Even swimming. Yes, swimming.
Red Faction Armageddon lands on June 7 (for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360), the day that E3 begins in LA and every other game writer will be madly scrambling on a show floor instead of reviewing this highly anticipated shooter. It comes from an excellent pedigree (no Red Faction game has disappointed thus far) and previews have looked hot. Just don’t expect any early reviews.
Also on June 7 is big name PlayStation 3 exclusive InFamous 2, a third person action title that promises crazy superpowers, an interesting world, and a story steeped in moral decisions. The first game was incredibly ambitious — if flawed — so it’ll be interesting to see if number two can live up to its own hype.
Long the butt of many an industry joke, the crude humor and cheesy machismo of Duke Nukem Forever (a game that’s been in development for 15 years — an eternity in this industry) is finally coming out on June 14. Targeting the dudebro demographic so hard that it might accidentally fall squarely into our own camp, I’m not sure exactly what to expect, other than big boobs, lots of dick jokes, and nasty looking aliens to shoot.
Also landing on June 14 is the “spiritual successor” to legendarily tripped out shooter Rez — Child of Eden for the Xbox 360. It has Kinect support, and it looks absolutely gorgeous, although spazzing out in front of your TV almost never does.
Speaking of Kinect, there’s actually a swimming title out on June 7. Michael Phelps: Push the Limit may just be the very first (and possibly last?) of its kind.
I think I speak for all former lacrosse players out there when I ask — no, demand — that if a company can make a swimming game, based on a largely solitary activity, I’d like to see my exciting, sweaty, violent team sport represented in a game. One of these days, I hope.
E3!
By the time you read the next installment of Getting Some Play, E3 2011 will be history, and there will be about a metric ton of news to share with you all. The show runs from June 7-9, so stay tuned for all of the big announcements, exciting new games, and bizarre happenings from the LA Convention Center. E3 is many, many things — but it is never boring.
