Namco Bandai is publishing sequels to some of its biggest franchises in 2011, and two of them have been given release dates in the fall. At its Step Up event in Dubai today, the company said both Dark Souls and Ace Combat Assault Horizon will launch in October.

Dark Souls, the spiritual successor to From Software's notoriously difficult RPG, Demon's Souls, was given a rough release window of early October. Director Hidetaka Miyazaki promises an even more challenging Dark Souls adventure this time out, and the former PS3 exclusive will also ship for the Xbox 360.


Ace Combat Assault Horizon, the latest game in the 15-year-old action flight-sim franchise, is now in development for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 and set to ship on the more solid release date of October 11, Namco announced.

Developer Project Aces says it's taking a game already known for its fast pace and pushing it to breakneck speeds. Pilots that can't hack it will see their aircraft torn apart as an enhanced level of detail is added to the fighter jets as well as the global environments they'll do battle in.

Namco Bandai also announced that the two titles are now available for pre-order, complete with limited editions packing the prerequisite soundtracks, art books, and special cases.


Sharkey says: Two big games from Namco for 2011 that are looking fantastic. Dark Souls, in particular, is looking like an RPG lover's dream. The publisher would be wise to launch as early in October as possible to give Bethesda's Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, set for a November 11 launch, a nice wide berth.