The Drop: Week of February 6th 2012 New Releases

Sports! Apparently there’s a huge sporting event happening today? I’m not sure, something about Giants from New York? Anywho, I’m rooting for Mecha Godzilla.

The Drop this week is nearly as big as Super Bowl XLVI, with a massive blow-out of PS3 Blu-rays, PSN digital releases and a PS2 classic. Speaking of classics, the Jak and Daxter Collection arrives this week on Blu-ray as a full packaged HD triple-combo, or single jabs as individual purchases on PSN.

Also, it was a pleasure joining the stage with David Jaffe and members of Eat Sleep Play last Thursday at the Twisted Metal community event, where we raffled tons of prizes and booed each winner onto the stage. A big thank you to PlayStation fans that made it out and turned it into an amazing experience!

Hit the jump and bask in the glory of over ten PlayStation games on this week’s The Drop.

PlayStation 3

The Jak and Daxter Collection — The Jak and Daxter Collection features all three best-selling PlayStation 2 classic hits — Jak and Daxter, Jak II and Jak 3 — fully remastered in high definition and stereoscopic 3D. This collection follows fan-favorite Jak and his sidekick Daxter through a series of action-packed adventures. The Jak and Daxter Collection blends action, shooting, driving, and platforming into one complete PS3 package.

• JAK AND DAXTER: (Available on PSN) While exploring some ancient ruins on a forbidden island off the coast, Jak’s best friend, Daxter, is knocked into a vat of Dark Eco–a terrifying and deadly substance that could corrupt the world forever — transforming him into a weasel-like rodent. The village sage, Samos Hagai, tells Jak that there’s only one person who holds the secrets to transforming Daxter back. Now the pair must set out on a quest in search of a wise old sage who has the power to restore Daxter to his former self.
• JAK II: (Available on PSN) In this darker themed follow-up to Jak and Daxter, hero Jak tries to control the dark eco injected into his system and, with his sidekick Daxter, attempts to thwart the tyrannical powers ruining Haven City. Players earn the chance to wield four heavy-duty weapons, they can jack any vehicle in the massive open city, and they have a chance to use a jetboard to navigate special platform levels.
• JAK III: (Available on PSN) Jak and his faithful companion Daxter are exiled to the unforgiving wasteland, where survival of the fittest is the law of the land. But deadly lands and dangerous creatures are only the beginning. Soon, the worst nightmare imaginable finds Jak’s world, threatening to annihilate all life with eternal darkness… This third chapter offers an exciting new open world that stretches from the farthest reaches of the wasteland to the strife-torn heart of the city.

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning — An open-world action RPG, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is set in Amalur, a rich and deeply immersive world underpinned by 10,000 years history, created by 22 time New York Times bestselling author, R.A. Salvatore. Immersing players in a rich, living, breathing open-world dripping with magic and rife with danger, underpinned by strong storytelling, Reckoning lets players define their destiny as they engage in intense action combat while exploring the huge, vibrant and varied world of Amalur as envisioned by the visionary creator of Spawn and acclaimed artist, Todd McFarlane.

Designed by open-world RPG legend Ken Rolston, Reckoning offers players unparalleled choice in a world of infinite possibility. Together, the visionaries and development team behind Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning are creating a game that aims to forever change the RPG genre.

The Darkness II — The Darkness II takes players down a brutal and personal path as Jackie Estacado, wielder of The Darkness — an ancient and ruthless force of chaos and destruction. Based on the supernatural horror comic book series created by Top Cow Productions, Inc., The Darkness II breaks out of the sea of conventional first-person shooters with its fervid Quad-Wielding gameplay, which will allow players to slash, grab, and throw objects and enemies with their Demon Arms while simultaneously firing two weapons. The game is layered with the use of dark versus light, steeped in deep and twisted storytelling, and engulfed in stylistic violence that is visualized through a hand-painted graphic noir technique that stays true to its comic book origins.

It’s been two years since Jackie Estacado, now the Don of the Franchetti crime family, used The Darkness to kill the men responsible for his girlfriend’s murder. He’s been unable to shake the memory of Jenny’s death since bottling up his supernatural power, and now The Darkness wants out. A sudden, unprovoked attack on Jackie’s life heralds the start of a full-scale mob war, which has clearly been orchestrated by some outside force. The botched attempt opens the door for The Darkness to reemerge, and sets Jackie on a journey to hell and worse, as he unravels the mystery behind the attack and the motivations of The Darkness itself.

PlayStation Network

Shank 2 — The avenging assassin Shank returns in this violent, action-packed sequel. With those closest to ex-mob hit man Shank under attack, Shank is once again forced on the offensive. Now he must put to use his trusty arsenal of dual handguns, chainsaws, machetes, plus all-new weapons and a brand new set of moves to protect those close to him. Shank 2 expands on the original game’s amazing visuals and combat system to redefine the 2D side-scrolling brawler.

Gotham City Impostors (Demo Available) — Gotham City Impostors is a multiplayer game unlike any other, giving players the opportunity to rebel against conformity as they customise their own characters. Posing as amateur vigilantes or villains, gamers will create their very own Bats and Jokerz characters using unprecedented customisation options including insane costumes, homebrewed gadgets and a wide range of traditional and imagined weapons. The game features maps and modes inspired by DC Comics’ Batman license.

Catherine (Full PS3 Game) — Vincent likes his girlfriend. Katherine’s pretty, smart, and successful. Trouble is, she’s starting to talk about long-term commitment, something Vincent’s spent his entire life avoiding. Since romantic complications are the last thing he wants to deal with, Vincent meets his friends for their regular night of drinks. Little does he know that he’s about to be blindsided by a beautiful, seductive, irresistible freight train named Catherine. Suddenly, he’s hung over in bed next to the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen, unsure about the previous night’s events. Was it just making out, he wonders, or did something more serious happen between them? Should he tell Katherine? Will he ever see Catherine again? Vincent’s about to find that a stumble on the staircase of love can turn into a horrific, fatal plummet…

Top Spin 4 (Full PS3 Game) — Top Spin 4 redefines the way you experience the game of tennis. Intuitive controls make gameplay immediately accessible yet deep and rewarding for the tennis experts who want to plan their strategy, target their opponent’s weaknesses and become an unstoppable force on the court. The most feature-rich title of the Top Spin franchise, Top Spin 4, puts you front and center of the professional tennis experience with the deepest player roster to date complete with 2K’s Signature Style, an enhanced Player Creator with new Coaching and Development systems, an incredibly immersive Career mode, all-new visually stunning TV Broadcast presentation elements, and a fully online World Tour Mode. Do you have what it takes to rise above the competition and become #1 in the world?

LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean (Full PS3 Game) — LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game re-creates the action, adventure and memorable moments of the Pirates of the Caribbean mythology in LEGO form, incorporating the humor of LEGO minifigures and fantastic worlds built from LEGO bricks and elements for players to explore.

The Simpsons: Arcade Game (Demo Available) — Bringing home the classic arcade brawler, Bart, Lisa, Marge and Homer smack their way through Springfield in this 2D beat ’em up game based on the hilarity of The Simpsons TV series. Play through 8 levels of original arcade gameplay and join up to three of your friends in a journey to help the Simpsons on their quest to save Maggie! Chase down Smithers and Mr. Burns as you battle through classic Springfield locations in this memorable blast from the past!

This downloadable incarnation finally brings the coin-op excitement home, plus packs in an HD graphic remastering and four player online/local co-op.

Demos

• Jimme Johnson’s Anything With Engine
• Cubixx HD

PlayStation 2 Classics

The SpongeBob SquarePants: Movie — An all-new adventure for SpongeBob SquarePants, based on the animated feature film. There’s trouble in Bikini Bottom — again! Someone has stolen King Neptune’s crown and it appears as though Mr. Krabs is the culprit. Despite being passed over for a promotion by Mt. Krabs, SpongeBob and his faithful but dimwitted friend Patrick volunteer to make the perilous journey to Shell City (a place no one has ever returned from) to retrieve the crown and save Mr. Krabs’ life. Join our heroes on an epic and comedic quest to unexplored territory and see SpongeBob and Patrick as you’ve never seen them before.

[Editor’s Note: The following dates are subject to change. Game details are gathered from Press Releases from their individual publishers and/or ESRB rating descriptions.]