News Snatch: Destiny, Mordor, Sunset Overdrive and GTA V

Greetings ladies and gents, it’s time once again for all the bits and pieces of news that slip through the cracks – sometimes accidentally, sometimes intentionally – all in one handy place, which we affectionately call the news snatch. Tuffcub is out this week continuing his conquest of the world so you’ll have to put up with an American version of news snatch. Don’t worry, I don’t bite… not since the lawsuit, anyway.

We start today with a mock documentary for anyone who can’t be bothered to watch one that might actually teach you something. This comes from the YouTube channel ‘8-Bit Bastard’ and is something they put together while exploring the waters surrounding San Andreas in a yellow submarine (where we all should live, amirate?).

A video for World of Speed is up next, an MMO racer coming soon to PC that’s sure to win some kind of an award for the most boring title for a racing game. Specifically, the video focuses on the rivalry between the Ford Mustang GT and the Chevy Camaro SS, a rivalry I hear about all too often among my ‘yank’ friends (am I doing this right?). If you’re interested in signing up for the World of Speed beta, you can do so here.

Our next bit of news may concern the YouTube gaming community, as it appears the Advertising Standards Authority is cracking down on YouTube channels that are being paid to promote a product, yet don’t clearly state that the video is an advertisement. This case started with Mondelez, a brand of biscuits from which several YouTubers were being paid to say positive things about in videos, but it’s easy to see this spreading across all genres of YouTube videos, which would certainly include video games.

We’ve got a bit of a trailer/developer diary hybrid for Heat Signature, an upcoming PC game that currently lacks a release date, which has you flying around in space and… doing some stuff. In space. With a ship. Or something. Just watch it and decide for yourself if it looks cool (teflon says it does but we rarely trust his judgement).

It appears Limbo will be making its way to the Xbox One soon, with early adopters of the console being rewarded with the title for free. According to Microsoft, if you played an Xbox One in the first weekend of its release, you’ll soon be receiving the child death simulator at no cost. Everyone else will be able to purchase the game from the store, but we’re uncertain at this time when it will be coming out or how much it will cost.

This video never made it to the site because, let’s face it, Destiny only sold like nine copies and no one cares about it. Right? Last week Bungie released a montage of guardians pulling off some mad stunts with the new EV-30 Sparrow. If you’re interested in trying out this dope ride for yourself and hurtling toward your own death as you attempt to pull off stunts you have no business trying, just pick up the first expansion, or the season pass, as both get you access to this tricked out ride.

Good news for Ubisoft (and boy can they use some good news these days), as gamesindustry.biz is reporting that Child of Light has turned a profit. Happy times for them and happy times for anyone who wants to see a sequel.

Interested in picking up Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris next week? Then be sure to check out this developer diary regarding some of the puzzles you’ll come across on your quest for… well, the temple of Osiris, we assume.

Remember that game from Sony Santa Monica that was cancelled awhile back?  A Linkedin profile for someone who apparently worked on the game has surfaced, and the profile below tells you pretty much exactly what the game was about, who the protagonist was, what your objective was going to be, and the projected metecritic score.

Position: Lead Level Designer – Unannounced IP – (2010 – 2014)
– One of four hand-picked seasoned developers to lead a new IP from conception
– High-level design documentation, prototyped and developed gameplay systems
– Created greenlight presentation, two playable demos with a small team and limited resources
– Managed 15+ designers with daily reviews, feedback, problem solving and strategic planning
– Developed best practices for modular world building, tool creation and code requests
– Open-world, scripted linear content and system design
– Conducted analytical playtests for all gameplay sections
– Narrative/Mission design, tools, dialog and script feedback
– Schedule creation and management with production
– Mentored, trained junior designers and new team members
– Recruited, reviewed resumes, design test and conducted interviews

Right, so I made up pretty much all that stuff above the profile info, but the real info does tell us that two demos existed for the game, and that it was apparently going to be open world. Interesting.

Next up is a weapons add-on for Sunset Overdrive which is available now and comes with a slew of new weapons, most of which cause some kind of bodily harm to your enemies, such as the plague, vomiting, exploding, and other fun stuff that only weird people don’t think is hilarious. Don’t be weird.

If you’ve played Shadow of Mordor on current-gen consoles or PC recently you may have noticed a few new things that weren’t previously available. Last week a free update was made available that added a few new toys, all of which can be seen below.

• Play as Lithariel, daughter of Lady Marwen, Queen of Nurn
• Test of Defiance Challenge Mode – Players face the ultimate test to their warrior prowess as they defeat Sauron’s Warchiefs without cheating death or relying on the power of the Wraith.
• Epic Rune – Defiant to the End: Players gain an additional Last Chance to return to the fray in combat.

We’ll leave you with this, a playlist of videos from Final Fantasy VII re-created in LittleBigPlanet. That’s right, the entirety of what many consider to be the greatest of the Final Fantasy games can now be played Sackboy-style in any of the three LittleBigPlanet games. Pretty impressive stuff.

Now if we can just get someone to grab LittleBigPlanet and create working versions of Driveclub, Assassin’s Creed Unity, and Halo: MCC we’ll be set.

That’s right, I went there.

Hopefully I didn’t sour all of you on news snatch with my feeble attempt at filling in for Tuffcub. In my defense, he has some pretty big shoes to fill. Literally. He’s a monster.