Borderlands 2 Release Date and Trailer!

2kGames have revealed that Borderlands 2 will be released on 18th September in North America, and on the 21st for everyone else.  They’ve also released a three-minute official trailer for the game:

Borderlands 2 is a sequel to Borderlands, with players returning to Pandora to take down tyrant Handsome Jack and his corrupt Hyperion Corporation.  The story can be played solo or with up to four co-operative players, and a split-screen option which will even allow those playing in split-screened to connect to other players online!

The game retains the fantastic cel-shaded art style from the previous game, but comes with new characters, skills and weapons (870 gazillion more guns, apparently), and new diverse environments with new enemies to confront.

Those who pre-order Borderlands 2 from participating retailers will gain access to the Borderlands 2 Premiere Club: this will give them access to the Gearbox Gun Pack, a Golden Key and the Vault Hunter’s Relic.. a collection of unique guns and special items.

THQ Japan Shutting Down

THQ Japan is shutting down on February 29th, with all staff leaving the company.  This is said to be due to the recent financial problems of the parent US company.  Via VG247.

This closure was rumoured a fortnight ago, when THQ made employees in their Australian office redundant.  These offices were said to be involved in distribution, rather than game development.

THQ have just announced a release date and pre-order details for Darksiders II, and the latest installation in their MMA franchise, UFC Undisputed 3, releases on Friday in the UK for PS3 and Xbox 360.

Darksiders II – Release Date Announced

THQ have announced that Vigil‘s action-adventure Darksiders II will be released for the PS3, 360 and PC on the 29th June 2012.

Exclusive pre-order bonuses have been announced too: the ‘Death Rides’ pack from GAME contains extra side-quests, the ‘Deadly Despair’ pack is available via Amazon and adds a speed boost for Death’s steed, Despair, and the  ‘Angel of Death’ pack will provide enhanced armour and weapons.. the shop this preorder will be available through has not yet been announced.

The Witcher 2 – Xbox 360 Info

CD Projekt have revealed that the Xbox 360 version of third-person RPG The Witcher 2: Enhanced Edition will be released on 17th April.

The console version of the game will include new cinematics, four additional hours of gameplay, new characters and locations and more.  A PC version of the Enhanced Edition will also be available for sale, whilst existing owners will receive the new content via a free download.

An exclusive Dark Edition, including some extras for hardcore fans and collectors, will also be made available on the same date.

The Witcher II has also been announced as one of the upcoming additions EA’s digital distribution service Origin, along with Trion Worlds’ RIFT.

Rayman Origins announced for PC

Ubisoft has announced a release date of 30th March for the PC version of Rayman Origins, the platform game previously released in November for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii.  Releases for the Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation Vita are yet to be announced.

The game can be pre-ordered now on the UbiShop, for £19.99.

Rayman Origins will have a one time activation for digital download versions, with no DRM for boxed copies (via RockPaperShotgun).

Diablo III Release Rumours

Best Buy have posted a release date of February 1st for Diablo III, with the date listed on the website as well as in a shop display in Rochester, Minnesota.

Although we’d love to see the game out sooner, Blizzard haven’t actually announced a release date beyond “early 2012″, and we’re still waiting for the news from the official Diablo III site itself!

Update: Bashiok, Community Manager at Blizzard, has confirmed that Diablo III does not yet have a release date.

Portal 2 ARG and Defense Grid: The Awakening

Portal 2 was supposed to be released on the 19th April.. however, an earlier release date was suggested over the last week, as a pile of clues have been discovered by fans dedicated enough to go looking for them.

I am not one of those people; while I love the fact they’ve done it, I don’t have the time or knowledge required to root around with codes, convert random numbers to images and access encrypted files.  Seriously.. even if I had the time I wouldn’t even know where to start, nor whether I was even going in the right direction.  Instead, I’m content to keep an eye on the Valve ARG wiki..

The Potato Sack Pack appeared on Steam last week, and I just took it as an opportunity to grab a few more cheap games, but it was another part of this rather clever play by Valve!  The info gathered so far points to Portal 2 being unlocked when an unspecified amount of play-time has been reached on the various games in the pack.

There is also a potato-collecting mechanic involved, with collectible potatoes hidden in the games and elsewhere: one can be collected simply by joining the ‘nelipot’ Steam group.  The ARG Wiki people have discovered that more potatoes increase the rate that the GLaDOS@Home bars fill up.. so really, the aim of this game is now: collect potatoes and play indie games :)

I won’t be idling in any games overnight, though.. while it’s mentioned on the Wiki as a way of adding the the cause, I consider it to be too close to cheating when the ‘aim’ is to play.  I have similar reservations about using the login details posted for collection of potatoes as well..  I’m just going to play the games.

I was gifted Defense Grid: The Awakening on Friday: a tower defense game with a twist.. when the invading aliens reach your base that’s not it.. they steal a power core and attempt to leave the base with it.

Killing the alien results in the core being dropped.. it will try to make its way back to base but can be grabbed by another alien en-route.

The Meteor tower is my current favourite.. long-range, great damage when it hits.. though I like the laser too, especially when upgraded. :)