LittleBigPlanet Sweeps Interactive Achievement Awards

The 12th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards ceremony is over and the big winners of this year’s awards were LittleBigPlanet, Fallout 3, Dead Space and Left 4 Dead - but mostly it was Media Molecule’s big night in the spotlight, leaving every other big name franchise released in 2008 eating its dust for most of the night.

Media Molecule’s LittleBigPlanet was the big winner of the night, sweeping the Overall and Console Game of the Year awards, in addition to multiple awards for Outstanding Achievement in art direction, visual engineering, character performance and game direction. The PS3 exclusive also won the Family Game of the Year Award and the Outstanding Innovation in Gaming Award.

The other big winners of the night, (garnering more than one award) were Left 4 Dead, Fallout 3 and Dead Space. Two indie titles, World of Goo and Braid, scored awards as well. A full listing of all the winners can be found after the break.

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The Divine Comedy as a Video Game

Despite the systemic retail failure of original intellectual properties like Mirror’s Edge, Army of Two and most recently EA Redwood Shores developed Dead Space, EA has not given up on creating new and original game properties. The company announced today that the studio is hard at work on a new and original IP based on the epic poem, The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri.

The poem weaves a tale of an incredible journey through the afterlife and serves as an allegorical vision of the Christian afterlife and the punishments of hell. The protagonist Dante travels through the nine circles of hell: limbo, lust, gluttony, greed, wrath, heresy, violence, fraud and treachery. How this masterpiece will be presented as a game is almost as interesting as the source material it is based on, and EA at least deserves some points from trying something that has not been done before. This may also be the game that Paramount won the film rights to in Nov. (read that story for more details).

You can get a first glimpse at what the company has planned to put the fear into a whole new generation by visiting www.dantesinferno.com.

Mirror’s Edge Time Trial Map Pack DLC Details

Electronic Arts and developer DICE revealed that some new downloadable content is in the works for the action platformer, Mirror’s Edge. Set for a late January release, the will be available for $10 USD or 800 Microsoft points. As an added bonus, all PS3 Mirror’s Edge owners will be able to download an additional map for free - in your face 360 owners.. This new Time Trial Map Pack challenges players to achieve the fastest times possible on nine races across seven all-new redesigned Time Trial maps. These environments won’t feature distractions like guns, cops, or even the city: it’s all about aesthetics and the fastest times.

DICE also confirmed today that the PC version of the game will ship to retailers in North America on January 13th and worldwide on January 16th, 2009. Onward and upward, friends. Check out these first screens from the DLC pack:

Mirror’s Edge, 2D Style

If you haven’t taken the time to check out the demo or buy the full retail version of the game, then you may want to check out this nifty little Flash-based web game inspired by Mirror’s Edge. The Flash game, which is apparently in beta, was developed by Brad Borne, creator of Fancy Pants.
The full, finished Flash game (complete with leader boards) will be live in 1-2 weeks on a few select websites. Mirror’s Edge 2D Beta, as it’s called, is only a one level beta, designed to iron out a few bugs before release, and give feedback on the raw gameplay.

For more info on Mirror’s Edge check out Evan Narcisse’s fabulous Mirror’s Edge Xbox 360 review.

Mirror’s Edge Jumps to Retail

EA DICE tries its hand at something new with Mirror’s Edge, an interesting action platformer that see players jumping from rooftop to harrowing rooftop in a future where freedom and liberty are in short supply. Eat your heart out Lara Croft? Maybe, but I’ll reserve judgment until our review rolls in. The game introduces Faith, a ‘runner’ who traverses the cityscape, engaging in hand-to-hand and armed combat, running from the law and solving platform puzzles.

The game is available now for PS3 and Xbox 360, with a PC version to be ready in January 20099. Downloadable content is already in the works for Mirror’s Edge, though a precise release date has not been revealed.

The Week Ahead

This week will see many highly anticipated games, as they like to see in the press releases. Of course, there will also be a lot of highly ignored releases this week that are geared towards casual gamers and tweens - but i’ve omitted most of those from the list below. so what are this week’s big releases. The biggest is the second expansion pack to World of Warcraft - World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King. I suspect our fearless leader will be standing in line at Midnight somewhere in Florida so he can get in the action extra early. My prediction: MIA for the rest of the week beginning Nov 14..

Other big titles this week include Call of Duty: World at War, Banjo Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts, the new Pokémon Ranger DS title, and Mirror’s Edge. Honestly, i’m really only excited about the new Call of Duty but I have my doubts about this non-Infinity ward developed shooter. Animal Crossing and Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe hit at the very tail end of the week (or the beginning of next week depending on how much importance you place on Sunday’s place in your weekly calendar).

While not every game on the list is a huge title there’s some other interesting releases being rolled out. Atlus’ Eternal Poison slides onto the PS2, Ascaron’s Sacred 2 hits the PC, FaceBreaker K.O. Party lands on the Wii, Pro Evolution Soccer hits multiple platforms. Full schedule after the break. For those of you looking for the new SmackDown vs. RAW game - it’s at retail right now.

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Mirror’s Edge Dated, Demo Soon

DICE plans to ship its first-person action adventure title, Mirror’s Edge on November 11th for the PS3 and Xbox 360 - with the PC version shipping later on in the year.

Prior to the game’s official launch, players worldwide will get an early peek at the game when the demo becomes available via Xbox LIVE Marketplace and PLAYSTATION Store. The demo will feature the prologue of the game including the tutorial and a segment of the single-player story mode. Starting September 26th, players who pre-order Mirror’s Edge at selected retailers will get an exclusive code that unlocks the Time Trial mode in the demo as well.

The Time Trial mode challenges players to find the fastest route across the rooftops and through the streets. Players can upload their best time to the Mirror’s Edge leaderboards. Players also can see their friend’s ‘ghost’ run as they race their way through the course to the top of the leaderboards.

For more info on the game check out our Mirror’s Edge Preview.