The Wolf Among Us: Episode 2 Release Date Announced

Our nearly four month wait to continue Bigby Wolf's adventure will end tomorrow. Telltale has announced that The Wolf Among Us: Episode 2 -- Smoke and Mirrors is set for release on Tuesday, February 4.

After teasing us with a "coming soon" trailer last week, Telltale made the formal announcement on Twitter:

#TheWolfAmongUs Ep 2 2/4 - PC/Mac, @PlayStation NA 2/5 - @Xbox 360, @PlayStationEU Also next week on iOS @AppStore! pic.twitter.com/tLBlEE6kZQ

— Telltale Games (@telltalegames) January 31, 2014

We had a blast in The Wolf Among Us: Episode 1 -- Faith, giving it a 9.0 score and calling it "funny, brutal, and mysterious in the best possible ways." Stay tuned for IGN's review of Smoke and Mirrors.

Mike Sharkey is a former GameSpy (RIP!) editor. He’s currently contributing to IGN and Game Front while crossing his fingers there isn’t another character wipe in Starbound. Follow @mjsharkey on Twitter.

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Pebble Appstore Launches with EPSN, Yelp, and More

The Pebble smartwatch is making a huge leap forward today with the introduction of the Pebble Appstore, which adds new functionality to the wrist-bound device, including over 1,000 apps and custom watchfaces. Showcased last month at CES, the Appstore brings services like ESPN, Yelp, FourSquare, and more to the Pebble, allowing you to check scores, find nearby restaurants, and check-in right from your Pebble.

The Appstore is now available on iOS and shipping preinstalled on the new Pebble Steel — check out our hands-on impressions from CES. An Android update is also on the way, but the company hasn't provided a definitive timeline.

Scott Lowe is IGN's resident tech expert and first-person shooter fanatic. You can follow him on Twitter at @ScottLowe.

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Ubisoft Originally Pitched Splinter Cell as a James Bond Game

Before Splinter Cell became the renowned stealth franchise it is today, Ubisoft Montreal pitched it as a James Bond game.

In an interview for IGN's upcoming feature series, House of Dreams: The Ubisoft Montreal Story, an ex-Ubisoft developer explained that its troubled action game, The Drift, was on thin ice, nearing cancelation. In a desperate try to keep The Drift alive, according to the developer, the team "made an attempt to impress the [007] license holder." It featured vertical traversal, vision modes, and remote-controlled surveillance cameras, all of which eventually became Sam Fisher staples.

When the pitch demo didn't yield success, Ubisoft eventually applied its Tom Clancy license to its troubled spy game, and considered basing it on Clancy's Jack Ryan novel, The Sum of All Fears. Seven years and 11 games later, Splinter Cell has carved out a definitive corner in the video game industry.

For more on the secret origins of Splinter Cell, including The Drift's original concept, Sam Fisher's original character design, and how Splinter Cell: Conviction evolved over its many years, read part one of House of Dreams: The Ubisoft Montreal Story on IGN today at 12pm Pacific / 3pm Eastern.

Mitch Dyer is an associate editor at IGN. He's trying to read 50 books in 2014. These are the 50. Talk to Mitch about books and other stuff on Twitter at @MitchyD.

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Kinect Put to Clever Use in Puzzle-Platformer Fru

Game Jams are often the precursor for things to come, and Fru, a product of Global Game Jam 2014, just might be the start of something for Microsoft's Kinect.

The platform-puzzler by Mattia Traverso and his team of six developers was created in 48 hours and it puts Kinect's camera and motion controller to clever use. See how it works in the demo trailer below:

Fru wound up winning both the judge and audience awards in its district at this year's Global Game Jam, and if you've got a PC with Kinect for Windows, you can download and play Fru now for free.

Mike Sharkey is a former GameSpy (RIP!) editor. He’s currently contributing to IGN and Game Front while crossing his fingers there isn’t another character wipe in Starbound. Follow @mjsharkey on Twitter.

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Titanfall Beta Access Won't Require a Pre-Order

Titanfall's upcoming beta won't require you to pre-order the game in order to participate, according to developer Respawn Entertainment.

The news comes courtesy of studio founder Vince Zampella, who took to Twitter to confirm that no pre-purchase would be necessary, and promised we'd find out more soon.

@x_Ramone will not require a pre-order, but no more details than that yet... =/

— Vince Zampella (@VinceZampella) February 2, 2014

Though it was officially announced last week, we still don't know how you'll get access to the Titanfall beta or when it'll kick off. Posters spotted in a French retailer suggested it'd start on February 14, though this has yet to be confirmed. Respawn has publicly said that sign-ups for the beta are currently not available, and advised any interested parties to be wary of phising scams.

Hopefully we'll have more to share on this, including how you can get yourself into the beta, very soon.

Luke Karmali is IGN's UK Junior Editor. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on Twitter.

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Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor Won't Have Multiplayer

Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor is a single-player only experience, and so won't feature any form of co-op or multiplayer.

The news comes courtesy of developer Monolith's Twitter account, which also confirmed the game is currently not in development for Wii U.

@TobiasKarlsson_ Alas, no co-op. Shadow of Mordor is being crafted wholly as a single-player experience.

— Shadow of Mordor (@middleearthgame) January 23, 2014

Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor is expected on PS4, PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360 and PC later this year. Monolith revealed the first screenshots of the title towards the end of last year, before showing us the game in action, and in particularly the procedurally generated nemesis system that, in theory, allows any orc you encounter on your adventures to become your arch-enemy.

We'll have more from Monolith on how the game came into being, Peter Jackson's involvement and more later this week.

Luke Karmali is IGN's UK Junior Editor. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on Twitter.

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PS4 Update 1.60, $99 Wireless Headset Announced

Today, Sony announced that the PS4 will receive software update 1.60, adding 7.1 surround headset support, and finally allowing the Pulse and Pulse Elite Edition headsets to work with the console. According to the press release, the update is scheduled to arrive "late tonight."

Also officially announced was a new wireless headset, the Gold Wireless Headset that appeared on retail sites late last week. It's slated to release early this month at a price point of $99 USD.

The Gold Wireless headset is compatible with the PS4, PS3 and PC wirelessly, and thanks to an included 3.5mm audio cable, it will work with the PlayStation Vita and most other mobile devices. The battery is reported to last for "eight hours of straight gameplay."

Along with the new headset comes a free companion app that will allow users to download different audio modes tailored by developers to their games. The app will be available on the PlayStation store later this month, and will be compatible with the Pulse Elite model as well. Sony has confirmed that Infamous: Second Son will be one of the first games to support the app.

Jimmy Champane is a freelance writer who is downright addicted to Rust. Follow him on Twitter and on IGN.

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