The Week in Review: Video game movies, Unreal Engine and Tiny Wings is back

Hello fans.

As you have hopefully already worked out This Week in Review is a new weekend feature which casts a gaze over the week which has just been, hoping to point your eyes in the direction of news, features, videos and reviews which I deem to be worthy of your precious time.

The week began with my regular Monday morning chart update (this time brought to you by Tom because I was off solving a murder mystery in a Hertfordshire manor), confirming Warner’s LEGO Batman 2 as the No.1 game for a third week. With The Dark Knight Rises hitting cinemas next week who’s to say when the caped crusader with relinquish his hold on the chart.

Of course Batman doesn’t need LEGO to make a successful game. Warner’s Arkham Asylum and Arkham City have been huge hits for the publisher and it would appear than Rocksteady’s next instalment will be based on DC Comics’ Silver Age series from the 1950s. This means we should expect to play as the super heroes which form the Justice League of America.

Somewhat late to the party we’ve finally got a review of The Amazing Spider-Man, but quite frankly it’s not as good as Batman.

Whilst Batman and the not so amazing Spider-Man have already had many successful outings on the silver screen, Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed looks all set for its first Hollywood outing. Prometheus and X-Men: First Class heartthrob Michael Fassbender will star in and produce an Assassin’s Creed movie headed up by Ubisoft Motion Pictures. And that’s not the only video game franchise heading to Hollywood; it was announced this week that Dreamworks’ adaptation of EA’s Need for Speed will hit cinemas on February 7, 2014. And let’s not forget that CBS announced it has secured the rights to make a film based on Ubisoft’s Deux Ex franchise, with the movie said to be based on last year’s Human Revolution. With so many video games making the transition to Hollywood, at least one of them will end up being worth watching, right?

Epic Games has been hitting the headlines, having announced that its first Unreal Engine 4 game will be PC title Fortnite. Targeted for release in 2013 there remains a possibility that the collaborative defence game will be coming to consoles, but Epic vice president Mark Rein says he’s willing to wait in order to see a “massive leap” in next-gen console performance. Still, let’s hope the Xbox 720 and PS4 aren’t too far away.

And in the world of mobile games two heavy hitters clashed with the launch of Rovio’s Amazing Alex and Tiny Wings 2.0. It turned out the latter was in fact a free game update to the original bird game, which was nice. Those yet to embrace mobile gaming were probably marginally happier when it was confirmed that the first three Angry Birds games will be released for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC, although we can’t help but think Activision is going to be charging more than most will be happy paying.

If you’re a PC gamer much of this will be irrelevant as you’ll be slumped in the street, huddled around a discarded cigarette for warmth, after having your house repossessed for failing to make the latest mortgage repayment. Why asks the console brigade? The Steam sale of course. Martin’s put together a helpful guide on how to rapidly bankrupt yourself.

If you do find yourself struggling to make ends meet and you fancy some cheap thrills you can do no worse than read excerpts from the never to be best-seller 50 Shades of Gray Fox. Be warned that it does contain images conjured up from the mind of Martin Gaston.

It’s not all been about the written word this week, with plenty of new trailers vying for your attention – notably from three of this year’s most highly anticipated shooters.

We’ve got some original video content for you too, in the shape of a wonderful Super Extended Play focussing on Sleeping Dogs. I hope you enjoy it.

And if after all that you still want more, then crank up the volume for Episode 52 of the VideoGamer.com Podcast.

Bye.