It's been an eerily quiet week for news this week, perhaps the quiet before the storm of the Games Developers Conference next week in sunny San Francisco, where announcements aplenty are expected. Either that, or the world really has turned into Silent Hill, as we wondered on Thursday. Either way, there's still plenty of news to sink your teeth into - so on with the round-up!
Super Smash Bros gets a Pokemon Stage
While it may not be the most obvious of choices, it's recently been revealed that the upcoming Nintendo brawler, Super Smash Bros, will be featuring a special Pokemon stage on the 3DS, themed around Pokemon X and Y's Lumiose City. Gathering together a load of Nintendo characters, from Mario and Zelda to Peach and Pikachu in an accessible, same-console-multiplayer friendly brawl, the first screen of the brand new stage is pictured above, although it does raise more than a few questions - not least where the fights will actually take place. Without anywhere obvious to have a bit of a punch up, according to the game's producer, the action will take place on top of the tower, which certainly raises the potential for some hair raising finishes. Either way, with a release date still yet to be announced, we're hoping for some more concrete announcements about Super Smash Bros soon.
Costume Quest 2 announced
Filed under the "back from the dead" category, we thought we'd seen the last of Costume Quest, the humour filled, Halloween themed role playing game when its publisher, THQ, took on water last year. Not so, as a sequel, the snazzily titled Costume Quest 2 has recently been announced, with developer Tim Schafer once again at the helm. Taking place in the fictional town of Auburn Pines, it's up to you to defend Halloween, which has come under attack by monsters and - gasp! - grown ups! As befitting of a game about Halloween, you mostly do this by equipping various costumes, which grant you special powers for use in the game's turn-based battles. It's all very tongue in cheek, and the original was warmly received by our reviewer. You can find the equally tongue in cheek announcement trailer here.
Witcher 3 delayed
A bit of bad news now, as the incredible looking "next-gen" Viking beard simulator, the Witcher 3, has been delayed until 2015. Originally set for a launch some time this year, the incredibly impressive role playing game has been pushed back to give the developers extra time to polish their Nordic-themed world. We saw this at German games festival Gamescom last year, and were blown away by what we saw. Promising a gripping story, and decisions that actually matter, this is going to be a long and painful wait for a game we were dying to play. For more on the decisions behind the delay, check out the developer's open letter, here.
Playstation Now rears its head
While the Playstation 4 itself may not be backwards compatible with older games - meaning you can't play your PS3 games on your PS4 - Sony had promised that a form of backwards compatibility would soon be coming. That "form" was apparently the ability to stream PS3, PS2 and PS1 games to your PS4 over the internet, via some fancy technical jiggery-pokery that meant the games would actually be playable. While little has been heard since the original announcement of the service, dubbed "Playstation Now", a new image has been revealed which shows a potential pricing scheme, and initially available. Offering a time limited rental of Uncharted 3, or the disappointing Far Cry 3 for $5-$6 each, rather than the all-in subscription service many had hoped for, we'll be keeping our fingers crossed this is just one of many options available, rather than all the service will offer. As a rental-only service, we think we'll keep our PS3 out for a little while longer...
The Last Tinker: City of Colours
And last, but certainly not least, comes the announcement of a brand new platformer that will be making its way to "console platforms" and PC this summer. Offering a refreshing change of shade from the brown shooters, The Last Tinker is a game all about colour, with a plot that seems to bear a passing resemblance to the equally colourful De Blob. Playing as strange monkey-boy-thing Koru (who has some very impressive sideburns), it's up to you to fight back against the "bleakness", and harness the power of colour to make the town vibrant again. With plenty of platforming goodness, and the CEO of the studio touting comparisons to big names like Banjo Kazooie and Jak and Daxter, we'll be keeping a close eye on this one. Look for a preview, and more news on which "console platforms" we can expect a release on soon.
