Last Updated on Saturday, 4 August 2012 06:35 Written by PunchDrunkGamer Saturday, 4 August 2012 12:50

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Weekly Video Game News and Trailers – 08/04/2012

By Patrick Newman

 

 

 
NBA 2K13 Executive Producer – Jay-Z

 

 

The ever-diversifying Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter will serve as executive producer for the upcoming NBA 2K13. In addition to supervising the soundtrack, Jay-Z will lend his “artistic vision” to the project, and influence everything from the gameplay to the menus. Take-Two’s basketball simulator arrives this year on October 2nd for North America, and October 5th internationally on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PSP, Wii and PC. Six of the game’s 24 songs were penned by Jay-Z.

 

 

 

 

 

Paul Dini Won’t Return

 

 

In an unfortunate bit of news, Batman guru Paul Dini won’t be returning to the beloved Arkham Asylum series he’s been writing since 2009. A July 27th tweet reads: “Kinda hoped I’d be doing another Arkham game in London during the Olympics. Esp, as I had a good source for tx. Ah, well.” Dini, whose greatest claim to fame is still the Batman: The Animated Series show of the 90′s, is still awaiting a replacement.

 

 

 

 

 

Blood Knights – Announcement Trailer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Final Dates for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Season of Content

 

 

The final DLC pack for Infinity Ward’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has finally been dated and detailed. Appropriately called The Final Assault, the September 6th release comes hot on the heels of the Chaos Pack’s debut August 9th. Call of Duty: Elite premium members will have access to the add-ons even earlier. The DLC will first be available on Xbox Live for $15 (1,200 MS points), with PC and PlayStation releases to follow in an unspecified amount of time. The Final Assault, which has been constructed with “hardcore multiplayer fans” in mind, comes with the new maps Parish, Offshore, Decommission, and Boardwalk.

 

 

 

 

 

Leviathan – Mass Effect 3 DLC

 

 

After experiencing the cool salve of BioWare’s Mass Effect 3 Extended Cut, gamers can now look forward to new DLC for the sci-fi RPG, in a pack titled “Leviathan.” Though no release date is available yet, EA’s Summer Showcase event revealed that the DLC will be coming to the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC. Leviathan reportedly expands on the Reapers’ history, changes the Extended Cut’s ending, and introduces unspecified new characters to the Mass Effect universe.

 

 

 

 

 

NASCAR The Game: Inside the Line – Exclusive First Gameplay Trailer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Christoph Hartmann Talks Photorealism

 

 

Christoph Hartmann, the head of development at 2K Games, reveals in a fascinating interview with Games Industry International that photorealism is the logical “endpoint” all developers should be striving towards. He cites cinema as his medium’s natural competitor, since more nuanced emotions can be communicated through human performances than through today’s crude-by-comparison game CGI. He continues, “Until games are photorealistic, it’ll be very hard to open up to new genres,” adding that, “To dramatically change the industry to where we can insert a whole range of emotions, I feel it will only happen when we reach the point that games are photorealistic.”

 

 

 

 

 

Rise of the Triad Remake Announced

 

 

Cult first-person shooter Rise of the Triad, which hails from the simpler days of 1994, has been remade by developer Interceptor Entertainment. It is set for imminent release on Steam. Announced recently at QuakeCon, The Rise of the Triad remake utilizes the Unreal Engine 3 and retains many of the quirks that made the original game so special, including the ability to choose between five characters. It has also been integrated seamlessly into Steamworks, allowing for user-created levels and mods to amplify the playing experience.

 

 

 

 

 

Orcs Must Die 2 – Launch Trailer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Warfighter and Linkin Park Team-up

 

 

Medal of Honor Warfighter will feature the music of Mike Shinoda, the Linkin Park frontman who recently re-scored The Raid: Redemption to rapturous reviews. In an announcement from EA, the company said Shinoda was recruited to “add depth and emotion” to the game’s events. Linkin Park will also be including Warfighter material in their upcoming “Castle of Glass” music video, which is being made with the help of Warfighter developer Danger Close and effects house Digital Domain.

 

 

 

 

 

Skyrim DLC Update

 

 

The expansion packs for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, have been making their way to gaming platforms slowly, as the first – Dawnguard – has only just arrived on the PC. This was announced at QuakeCon recently, with the information that it is live on Steam, but not yet available for the PlayStation 3. According to Bethesda’s official blog, the performance of the PS3 version is not yet satisfactory.

 

 

 

 

 

The Expendables 2 – Official Launch Trailer

 

 

 

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