Two Books Join the New 52 in February

Last month we reported that DC was canceling four of its lower selling titles in January - Frankenstein, Grifter, Blue Beetle, and Legion Lost. That means the company will need to launch four new books in February to keep the overall number of ongoing DC books at 52.

Geoff Johns and David Finch's Justice League of America has already announced. Today, two more of these new titles were revealed by MTV Geek - Katana and Justice League of America's Vibe.

Katana spins out of Duane Swiercynski's Birds of Prey series and features the assassin who wields a sword she believes houses her late husband's soul. The series will be written by Ann Nocenti (Catwoman) and drawn by Alex Sanchez (JSA Classified).

As the title suggests, Justice League of America's Vibe is tied to Johns' new team book and focuses on the former gang leader-turned-superhero. The series will be written by Andrew Kreisberg (creator of the TV series Arrow) and illustrated by Pete Woods (Legion Lost). Additionally, Johns will serve as co-plotter for the first issue.

"We've done a lot of great things with the 'New 52," co-publisher Dan DiDio told MTV Geek, "and now we're putting the focus back on Justice League, with the launch of Justice League of America. We want to make people realize that this is one of our key franchises, and we plan to build it out not just with the main Justice League titles, but other books that tie into them as well."

Speaking of Arrow, DC also revealed a new creative team for Green Arrow starting with February's issue #17. Jeff Lemire (Justice League Dark) will begin writing the series, while Andrea Sorrentino (I, Vampire) will be the new penciller. Presumably the series will begin incorporating elements from the TV series. No word yet on whether we'll see any issues devoted to a shirtless Ollie Queen doing pull-ups on a salmon ladder.

Those worried what this new assignment means for Lemire's other DC books can rest easy. Lemire tweeted today, "Thanks for all the kind words about Green Arrow. Still writing Animal Man and Justice League Dark for a long haul too!" It was revealed at NYCC last month that Ray Fawkes will be co-writing Justice League Dark with him.

Finally, DC revealed that they'll be publishing 52 variant covers for Justice League of America #1. Each will feature a background flag from a different US state or territory.

There's still (presumably) one new title left to be revealed for February. We'll update you when that news hits, as well as when we have more information on Vibe and Katana.

Jesse is a writer for various IGN channels. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter, or Kicksplode on MyIGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

Two Books Join the New 52 in February

Last month we reported that DC was canceling four of its lower selling titles in January - Frankenstein, Grifter, Blue Beetle, and Legion Lost. That means the company will need to launch four new books in February to keep the overall number of ongoing DC books at 52.

Geoff Johns and David Finch's Justice League of America has already announced. Today, two more of these new titles were revealed by MTV Geek - Katana and Justice League of America's Vibe.

Katana spins out of Duane Swiercynski's Birds of Prey series and features the assassin who wields a sword she believes houses her late husband's soul. The series will be written by Ann Nocenti (Catwoman) and drawn by Alex Sanchez (JSA Classified).

As the title suggests, Justice League of America's Vibe is tied to Johns' new team book and focuses on the former gang leader-turned-superhero. The series will be written by Andrew Kreisberg (creator of the TV series Arrow) and illustrated by Pete Woods (Legion Lost). Additionally, Johns will serve as co-plotter for the first issue.

"We've done a lot of great things with the 'New 52," co-publisher Dan DiDio told MTV Geek, "and now we're putting the focus back on Justice League, with the launch of Justice League of America. We want to make people realize that this is one of our key franchises, and we plan to build it out not just with the main Justice League titles, but other books that tie into them as well."

Speaking of Arrow, DC also revealed a new creative team for Green Arrow starting with February's issue #17. Jeff Lemire (Justice League Dark) will begin writing the series, while Andrea Sorrentino (I, Vampire) will be the new penciller. Presumably the series will begin incorporating elements from the TV series. No word yet on whether we'll see any issues devoted to a shirtless Ollie Queen doing pull-ups on a salmon ladder.

Those worried what this new assignment means for Lemire's other DC books can rest easy. Lemire tweeted today, "Thanks for all the kind words about Green Arrow. Still writing Animal Man and Justice League Dark for a long haul too!" It was revealed at NYCC last month that Ray Fawkes will be co-writing Justice League Dark with him.

Finally, DC revealed that they'll be publishing 52 variant covers for Justice League of America #1. Each will feature a background flag from a different US state or territory.

There's still (presumably) one new title left to be revealed for February. We'll update you when that news hits, as well as when we have more information on Vibe and Katana.

Jesse is a writer for various IGN channels. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter, or Kicksplode on MyIGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

Anarchy Reigns Release Date Announced

Anarchy Reigns will launch on January 8, 2013 in the US and January 11, 2013 in Europe, SEGA has announced.

The multiplayer brawler will support up to 16 players and has a suggested retail cost of £19.99/€29.99/$29.99.

We heard rumours earlier this week that the game would release on these dates, and it appears they were correct. It's a relief, as for a time the game's future looked uncertain following its sudden delay in the West back in May.

Speaking about the new release date, Platinum Games' executive director Atsushi Inaba said, "Focusing on online play with Anarchy Reigns presented a new challenge for us here at PlatinumGames. Very few games fall under its genre of a melee-based online multiplayer brawler, so I think we’ve been able to supply a new kind of excitement that you can’t find anywhere else. While some time has passed since its Japan release, I look forward to having gamers in North American and Europe enjoy the Anarchy."

Anarchy Reigns will release simultaneously on PS3 and Xbox 360.

Luke Karmali is IGN's UK Editorial Assistant and quite the Platinum Games fan. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on IGN and on Twitter.

Source : ign[dot]com

Australia's iGEA Cautiously Welcomes New R18+ Guidelines

The Interactive Games and Entertainment Association (iGEA) has cautiously welcomed the final Guidelines for the Classification of Computer Games, which come into effect January 1, 2013.

“We, along with many other stakeholders, have worked for many years to have the classification scheme acknowledge that adults play and enjoy video games and are due the respect of a classification category that reflects ‘age appropriate’ content for adults," reads a statement released by the iGEA. "The new guidelines released today show that they have been crafted to try to balance the concerns of those who have resisted an R18+ classification and adults who want to play video games designed specifically for mature audiences and that are readily available in other developed democracies."

The statement, however, does goes on to criticise the new guidelines for holding games to stricter criteria compared to film and maintaining the interactive nature of video games increases the impact of various classifiable elements.

“Given the opposition to the introduction of an R18+ category from a vocal yet unrepresentative section of the community, along with a largely conservative group of Attorneys-General, it is no surprise the new guidelines hold video games to a higher standard across a number of categories compared to film and what originally existed for video games," continued the statement.

“As we have previously stated, we are concerned with the acknowledgment in the guidelines that interactivity has greater impact on players, despite the Federal Attorney-General’s office publishing a literature review in September 2010 that found no evidence to support these claims. There will be continued debate about whether the interactivity of video games has a greater impact than other forms of media, and we will continue to refer to the lack of the evidence to support these claims."

The iGEA expressed these same concerns on the release of the amended draft guidelines in November last year.

The iGEA will now "wait to see" how the Classification Board will go on to interpret and apply the newly revised guidelines and "trust that they will reflect the standards of morality, decency and propriety accepted by reasonable adults, not just the vocal ones."

Source : ign[dot]com

Grand Theft Auto III’s Release Date on PlayStation Network

Back in January, we reported the good news that both Grand Theft Auto III and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City were PlayStation Network-bound. And now we know, thanks to the Official PlayStation Blogcast, that Grand Theft Auto III will be coming to the PSN in North America this Tuesday, July 31st.

Grand Theft Auto III will be released in its PS2 Classic form, indicating that it will cost $9.99 and exist as a straight port without any upgrades or Trophies. While its release date of Tuesday, July 31st is confirmed for North America, its release date in other territories is still unknown.

Grand Theft Auto III was first released on PlayStation 2 in 2001 and is considered a seminal release of immense importance in the gaming industry. It’s the fifth best-selling PS2 game of all-time, and was re-released on a variety of platforms, most recently on iOS.

Colin Moriarty is an IGN PlayStation editor. You can follow him on Twitter and IGN and learn just how sad the life of a New York Islanders and New York Jets fan can be.

Source : ign[dot]com

Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2 Delayed Until 2013

Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2 has been delayed until January 15 2013.

According to VideoGamer, City Interactive's sniper sequel has been pushed back in order to give the team more time to polish the title.

“

The engine is fantastic and the level of polish is also key to the title's success.

Namco Bandai PR director Lee Kirton told the site, "I can confirm that this is true, we will provide a full announcement with City Interactive soon.

"It's key we all want this title to be fantastic in the genre and the leading Sniper game for sure. The engine is fantastic and the level of polish is also key to the title's success. As soon as the official announcement through distributors is available I will provide it."

We reported a couple of weeks ago that the game had slipped from August to October, but now it seems the game won't be out this year at all. While an October release would have meant the game going head to head with titles like Halo 4, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 and Medal of Honor: Warfighter, the first few months of 2013 are getting increasingly crowded after a number of high profile delays. The Last of Us, Anarchy Reigns, Beyond: Two Souls, Metro: Last Light and Crysis 3 are all targeting that window for launch.

Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2 will release on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.

Luke Karmali is IGN's UK Editorial Assistant, and can't wait to go bankrupt thanks to game purchases in January 2013. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on IGN and on Twitter.

Source : ign[dot]com

Studio Moves Gangster Squad to January

Warner Bros. has shifted Gangster Squad from its original September 7 slot to January 11, 2013 in order to re-shoot and re-edit a key set-piece in the wake of last week's theater massacre in Aurora, Colorado.

The period film -- which stars Sean Penn, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone and Josh Brolin -- featured a bloody gangland shootout in a movie theater in which several patrons are gunned down. The filmmakers will now re-conceive and re-shoot the sequence, a move that could not have been done with just six weeks until its original release.

Warner Bros. pulled the movie's trailers from domestic theaters following Friday's tragedy.

Source : ign[dot]com