Grave Gamer News & Views — rumor

Did Keifer Sutherland Just Konfirm a New Mortal Kombat?

Hollywood actor Keifer Sutherland, Son of Donald, famous for such films as Young Guns and Young Guns II – and nothing else… I SAID NOTHING ELSE – let slip that production on a brand new Mortal Kombat game may be well underway.

Equipped with the stunning ability to convey pretend emotion better than you convey actual emotion, Keifer is no stranger to video game voice work, having already laid down his signature gruff vocals for 2008’s Call of Duty: World at War.

More recently, he’s taken over the role of Big Boss (aka Naked Snake, aka Punished Snake, aka Faintly Reminiscent of Snake Plisken Snake) in Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. In discussing his latest gaming gig with IGN, Keifer nonchalantly mentions his involvement in a new Mortal Kombat.

“I did Mortal Kombat, and that’s such a huge game, but it’s so not like [MGSV],” said the Son of Donald. The Mirrors star also said working on MK was a breeze compared to over a year of effort on The Phantom Pain (as well as its prelude Ground Zeroes).

Warner Bros. and NetherRealm were unavailable for comment – did you expect anything less? The general assumption was that NetherRealm would return to their brutally beautiful fighter given the positive reception 2010’s Mortal Kombat reboot garnered. Whether its next-gen, cross-gen, or even a direct followup – remember, the series is prone to more spin-off’s than fucking CSI – is up in the air.

What’s series co-creator, er, “ko-kreator” Ed Boon got to say on the matter?

I’m so glad I have friends who will Stand By Me.

— Ed Boon (@noobde)

February 22, 2014

That’s better than a konfirmation.

Xbox One Rumors Go Critical This Week

Plus: Halo Anthology Coming to X1?

We have been positively slammed by Xbox rumors. If not slammed, then definitely shaken about. We’re used to leaks. Some of us inter-tube journalists are expert at making articles sail on leaks. But this is no mere leak. This is a goddamn deluge.

The leaker in question is one ntkrnl, a NeoGAF knight and supposed legitimate insider (Bish-verified… if that means more to you than it does to me) unafraid of ripping open the pinata of Microsoft secrets because “talking about it ahead of time isn’t going to hurt anything.” Here be ntkrnl’s harmless truths which Microsoft is looking to take legal action over:

• Halo 2 Anniversary is arriving Nov. 11th. Saber Interactive and Certain Affinity, 343’s wingmen on the first Halo Anniversary, are once again remaking the Chief’s past. The game will have two SKU’s: a Collector’s Edition featuring beta access to Halo 5 and episodes of a Halo-based “real-time” show not related to the Spielberg/Bloomkamp project; and a War Collection with all of the above plus Halo 3 and 4 ported (not remade) for the Xbox One.
• Halo 5 drops Fall 2015. Yeah.
• Forza Horizon 2, Forza’s open-world cousin, is heading to X1 “probably September.” Said to feature 1080p resolution and loads of social integration (which is the tread on every modern day racer).
• Crackdown 3 is in development… but won’t come out until the distant future of 2016. Ruffian Games isn’t developing, however.
• Sunset Overdrive hits Fall 2014, Quantum Break lands Holiday 2014, and Fable Legends drops Summer 2015.
• Titanfall DLC will be made available a month and a half after release with more incoming after that. Plus, a fancy bundle with game and custom console/controller is on cards. Here, lookit.
• The previously “Dev Team Only” white Xbox One will be made available to the public later this year.
• A cheaper Xbox One unit will launch with a Bluetooth adapter and possibly without an optical disc drive. And, for a limited time, a 1TB model will go on the market.

Now, that last rumor has an addendum. A “well-respected source” has confirmed to VG247 that Microsoft has already reached out to publishing partners about a newer model of Xbox One. This Bluetooth-ful, disc-less business, however, remains unconfirmed, but the source did say the new unit would retail for a lower price than the current model.

The fact that, amongst this barrage of rumor mongering, an outside source was able to confirm one of ntkrnl’s bigger bombshells lends some weight to the rest of their bullet-points. This individual is beyond fired if the Big M ever finds him or her out, of course, but they’ll have gone down swinging.

Check out the user’s hull of leaks hereabouts.

Sega’s Next Alien Game to Star Ripley’s Daughter?

We’ve been aware of an Alien project being kicked around Creative Assembly’s offices for a decent while now.

The Sega owned studio is most renown for its long-standing RTS franchise Total War, but they have, on occasion, stepped outside their genre comfort zone on certain titles. If Kotaku’s report checks out, they’re leaping way outside of that zone. Enter the very recently trademarked Alien: Isolation, a first-person horror title for both current and next-gen that’s massively informed by games the likes of Bioshock and Dishonored.

Creative Assembly’s take on the mythos draws inspiration from Ridley Scott’s original Alien, placing a greater emphasis on stealth over direct combat. In fact, one studio insider says, besides a multitude of “clones and soldiers” to tackle, the majority of the game has you tangling with a single xenomorph.

Isolation is said to isolate your ass aboard a space station and, interestingly, has you assume the role of Amanda Ripley, the daughter of Ellen Ripley – the heroine at the forefront of every Alien film that doesn’t include a Predator or a Fassbender. Before you call shenanigans, yes, Amanda is a canonical character; though she’s only briefly mentioned in a scene found in the extended version of Aliens (the company file didn’t list off run-in’s with galactic space monsters, however)… Okay, fine, I’ll nerd out all over you: That means Isolation is set in the fifty-seven years between the events of Alien and Aliens, with Ellen Ripley still drifting through space in cryo-sleep.

Apparently, Isolation was intended for a public unveiling at E3, but Sega wished to give the team an extension for quality assurance. As in, they want to be assured the quality of the game is nowhere as cavernously low as Aliens: Colonial Marines (aka The Most Disappointed I’ve Ever Been in My Adult Life).

Aliens is my favorite film of all time. Video games are my favorite hobby. Why the two can’t get along is anyone’s guess. I’m loving CA’s direction for the game. Sprinkle on all the atmosphere you want, but mowing down a hundred aliens doesn’t quite land near “horror.” Yet… Colonial Marines left acid burns on my expectations. I want to love you, Isolation. I do. For now, let’s just keep it all business.

Bethesda: “We Showed Three Games at E3” and None of Them Were Fallout 4

Skyrim had itself a long reign but the team behind the lauded, fantasy RPG time sink have officially ended DLC support for it and have moved on to their next project.

Given their great success in reintroducing the world to the post-apocalyptic wastelands of the Fallout universe (and reusing a Ron Pearlman soundbite that is just positively burned into gamers’ skulls), it’s no leap in logic for fans to expect Fallout 4 is next up off the bench…

However, Kotaku insists you’re stretching reason extremely thin if you believe Bethesda had a closed doors presentation for the game at last week’s E3.  The rumor began its life in the words of one journalist claiming he saw one surprise Bethesda failed to announce at the most publicized industry event of the year.  Microseconds later, Fallout 4 was name dropped hard enough to break the floor.

As they invariably do, the rumor grew bigger and bolder until certain sites were reporting specific details about the game including which consoles it was coming to (basically everything without a Nintendo logo on it), when it was coming out (October…of 2015), and a completion estimate of 55%.  A teaser trailer clocking in at nearly over half a minute was also purported to be shown; gravelly Pearlman voice-over and all.

If members of the press really got see a forty-five minute presentation on one of the biggest franchises in gaming…Where were all the headlines?  Well, whether Fallout 4 is in production or not, this “Easter egg” E3 presentation probably didn’t happen.  Skeptical?  Here’s what Bethesda shot Kotaku’s way:

“We showed three games at E3 - Wolfenstein: The New Order, The Elder Scrolls Online and The Evil Within. We did not show any of our games behind closed doors.”

I know what you’re thinking.  “We live in a world where they swore to us Steve Carrell wouldn’t be back for The Office finale."  I know.  I know.  But food for thought: for all intents and purposes, E3 serves as a monolithic, flashing billboard meant to advertise to gamers the world over and permeate in consumers’ heads until buyin’ season kicks off.  Why wouldn’t Bethesda want to take advantage of that platform to stir Fallout fans into a frenzy?

[If Fallout 4 is announced next week, the correct answer to that question is, "Because they’re goddamned liars.  When can I pre-order?”]

#PS4NoDRM: Xbox One Backlash Might’ve Changed Sony’s Mind on Used Games “Solution”

#PS4NoDRM and #PS4USEDGAMES may be two hashtags you’ve come across recently if you happen to follow a huge group of, specifically, pro-Sony, avid gaming Twitter activists.  If not, hunker on down — I’ve a tale to weave.

Sony’s been experiencing a heightened amount of positive press lately, and their ace-in-the-sleeve tactic has been to simply kick back and allow rival Microsoft to fire round after round into their own foot.  Microsoft’s new console is catching flack and it’s not just because the Xbox One burst onto the scene with barely any games to show and an unhealthy fixation on TV.

The gaming community at large is pretty miffed about rumors and confusing, alarm-raising statements regarding Xbox One’s used game contingencies — namely, the one that tethers purchased titles to a single profile, forcing others to buy a sort of license to unlock a disc’s content.

Sony, on the other hand, has stated the PS4 will be able to play used games…but it’s important to pay attention to the fact that that’s all they’ve said.  As Bonus Round’s Geoff Keighley puts it, Sony is being painted as the “white knight,” when really, we may being giving them a smidge too much credit for what’s been said instead of focusing on the details they haven’t been open about.  The perception is that Sony is not restricting used games in any way, but Keighley doesn’t figure that to be the whole picture.  “Based on some of the things I’m hearing, I don’t think that’s entirely true.”

We’re going to dip into rumor-y waters right about here, but the source in question — a NeoGaf user, of course, and potential insider — hit the nail on the head with predictions made about February’s PS4 reveal.  The user now claims Sony has had a used games “solution” in mind for months now and have held their hand over a big, red DRM-shaped button, wondering if they should push it.

“The past week’s PR nightmare for MS has not been lost on Sony,” says the NeoGaf user, adding, “They are basing decisions off of this…

“This past week is pushing them strongly into ‘Yeah, let’s not use that.’”

The user — FamousMortimer if you were wondering — also cautions a guess that Microsoft is likely asking themselves the same hard questions given the — let’s be honest — terrible goddamn reception the Xbox One has received.  When it comes to used games, the publisher-retailer-consumer ladder is lousy with slippery rungs and people haphazardly hanging off the side, shouting, “Where’s my cut?!”  But in answering the next generation’s used game question, Sony and Microsoft need to assert whether or not the consumer is at the top of that ladder or all the way at the bottom.