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Gamescom 2012 - The Highlights
Gaming expo Gamescom in Cologne, Germany, is over for another year. It’s one of the biggest events in the gaming calendar after E3 in June, and it’s where publishers and developers fall over themselves to show off new wares.
This time round, we’ve already seen shedloads of new games and trailers from the likes of Sony, EA and Ubisoft. To make sure you’ve missed nothing, we’ve rounded up all the need to know headlines for you in one place.
See the best video games of summer 2012 on video here
Dead Space 3 incoming
Thought Prometheus was pretentious nonsense? The super spooky Dead Space series picks up with the extra terrestrial frights where the first Alien left off, and it’s coming back once again with Dead Space 3: yesterday, EA announced it would be released in the UK and Europe on 8 February next year. Boo!
Call of Duty: Blacks Ops 3 gets massive multiplayer upheaval
Treyarch is hard at work on the next installment in the now yearly Call of Duty first person shooter series, and this time, it’s breaking the mould. The venerated multiplayer mode is undergoing a huge change, with new options for building your character, new gameplay modes and even the ability to livestream your battles to spectators.
Origin expands as SimCity builds upwards
EA also revealed that Origin, its PC game download service, and rival to Steam, is coming to Apple Mac computers later this year. And one of the first games that will be available for it? The new look SimCity, which is now available to try on beta for PC gamers as well. Not only that, but companion Origin apps will be debuting on smart TVs, Facebook and Android, so you can keep abreast of your achievements wherever you are.
Final Fantasy 7 returns to PC
We knew that Square Enix’s classic 1997 roleplaying game was returning to PCs as a digital download, and last night it finally went live. You can now replay the game in all its glory with a few extra features thrown in – save your game in the cloud, and even boost your stats if you’re finding it just too darn hard.
FIFA 13 kicks off
We got lots more juicy details about FIFA 13, the footie fan’s sim of choice for next year. On the PlayStation 3, it’s going to feature Move support, so you can use the motion sensing wand to guide players around. Meanwhile, a new online feature called Match Day will provide up to date stats from real world leagues, which commentators in games will even make reference to.
Sony’s sweeping PS Vita plans
Sony’s PS Vita handheld hasn’t had the best of starts, and we were starting to wonder if Sony was neglecting it. But at Sony’s press conference, the company outlined ambitious plans to give the Vita an adrenaline boost.
Sony services we take for granted on the PS3 are now headed to the Vita: from 28 August you’ll be able to download and play PS One classic games on it, while the PlayStation Plus subscription service, which offers free games and other goodies, is also on the way. A new “Cross Buy” service is also being introduced with PlayStation All-Stars: buy it once,and you get the title on PS3 and PS Vita. Baraagin.
Several new handheld titles were announced too, including Killzone Mercenary, and perhaps most excitingly, Tearaway, an adorable looking 3D adventure game from MediaMolecule, the studio behind the charming LittleBigPlanet franchise.
See the PS Vita in action here
Mobile gaming is go
Speaking of gaming on the go, Sony outlined some more plans for its PlayStation Mobile service for Xperia Android phones and Sony tablets. The service will launch properly later this year – after a full two years of teasing – and launch games will include classics like Lemmings. It’s not just Sony owners who can get in on the action however: Sony also revealed that owners of Asus and Wikipad Android devices will also be able to get in on the PlayStation Mobile action.
Want to see more from Gamescom? Head over to our hub page for all the action.
