Quote:
Achievements and Amazon.com listings appeared for Hitman Trilogy HD this week, the US retailer detailing release dates of January 29, 2013 for both Xbox 360 and PS3. Amazon also lists a price of $39.99, along with some snazzy box art, although publisher Square Enix has yet to officially announce the collection.
According to the listing, Trilogy HD includes high-def versions of Hitman 2: Silent Assassin, Hitman: Contracts and Hitman: Blood Money. The compilation first popped up in the summer, when it was listed by European retailers as a PS3 game called Hitman HD Collection. The achievements list courtesy of Xbox360Achievements, along with the trophy list uncovered by Exophase back in October, suggest that for whatever reason HD Collection may be the compilation's European name.
When approached, a Square Enix representative said the company cannot comment on rumor or speculation.
Quote:
As soon as it was revealed, commenters on popular gaming websites and communities around the internet called the Fuse box art out, citing its odd aesthetic of cutting off the four main characters' faces and intense use of the color orange.
"I'm very clear on what the reaction has been from some of our critics to the cover, but we wanted to pull attention to the Fuse weapons: the Xenotech. That's why they're featured prominently," Insomniac CEO Ted Price told Joystiq during a Fuse preview event showcasing the multiplayer mode Echelon.
"Fuse is – the game revolves around 'Fuse,' storywise and gameplaywise. I think that we wanted to do something that was different. Cutting off characters' heads is not something you see in other game covers. The standard approach is to have the full character, front and center, right in the middle of the box – and we took some creative risks with that. I think some people have spoken out about the fact that we took a creative risk. Some people liked it, some people didn't."
The cover itself was created in collaboration with Petrol Advertising, an LA-based outfit whose clients include Activision, Capcom, Konami, Nintendo and numerous other gaming entities. "We worked with them and came up with a whole bunch of different approaches," Price admits. Eventually both parties decided on the image above.
"Our goal was to very clearly indicate that this is a four-player game, a four-character game. We also didn't want to do something that looked like Charlie's Angels," Price joked. "I think the temptation with four characters sometimes is to have a very high-action shot where they're posing. And we would've been raked over the coals for that."