Archive for October, 2007
Command & Conquer 3: Kane’s Wrath live action videos to feature Alien and Alias stars
Great news for campy cut scene fans. Electronic Arts today announced that Command & Conquer 3: Kane’s Wrath, the expansion pack to the critically acclaimed and fan favorite, Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars, will feature Natasha Henstridge (Species trilogy) and Carl Lumbly (Alias) in its all-new, high-definition, live action video sequences. Henstridge and Lumbly will be joined by veteran Command & Conquer actor Joe Kucan, who originated the role of Kane, the megalomaniacal leader of the Brotherhood of Nod. All three actors are so awesome in the sci-fi/action parts they play! 
They are at the epicentre of the Command & Conquer 3: Kane’s Wrath story which will span 20 years - from the rebirth of the Brotherhood after the Second Tiberium War through the dramatic events of the Third Tiberium War and beyond. The game is set for a spring 2008 release on PC & Xbox 360.
“Natasha and Carl are a perfect fit for the live-action video sequences that will bring our epic story to life,” said Mike Verdu, General Manager of EALA and Executive Producer on Command & Conquer 3: Kane’s Wrath. “We had great success with the cast and story for Command & Conquer 3, and I’m very excited to be working with such talented actors on the expansion pack. We’re doing something really unique with the campaign this time around - and I think fans will be thrilled to see how the story unfolds.”
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The TimeShift chronicles making-of-videos go behind-the-scenes of this extraordinary time-altering shooter
TimeShift comes out today for Xbox 360 and PC in the U.S. and in Europe & Australia on November 2nd, with the PS3 version releasing on November 19th in the US and December 15th in Australia (no Euro date yet).
The game is a first-person shooter that looks to fundamentally change, challenge and reinvent one of the most widely played-out conventions in modern action media . . . . altering time. Yes, just as in The Matrix and a trillion other movies, TV shows and video games.
But you have NEVER seen it been done like this before. The TimeShift Chronicles is a series of 3 behind-the-scenes making-of featurettes that take you inside the development studio and show you exactly how labor-intensive it was to create the incredible piece of gaming awesomeness that is TimeShift, a game that saw delay-upon-delay, true to it’s name, and yet came out looking better and cooler than ever could’ve been imagined when the developers first thought of the game and showed it off years ago.
In part one get introduced to the team behind the game and it’s extensive history as TimeShift was remade and improved over and over again.
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Dead Space (Xbox 360, PS3) creepy first video
You may recall Dead Space from our previous coverage, when the game was revealed exclusively on the cover of Game Informer. It won’t be hitting until 2008 and is being developed on the Unreal Engine 3.
The game is an all-new 3rd-person single-player survival-horror shooter being developed by EA Redwood Shores as an all-new IP for giant Electronic Arts. The game seeks to be an epic and draws influence from a wide array of media, including the films Event Horizon, Alien, and The Thing; video games Resident Evil and Silent Hill; and the dark visual style of music video and film director David Fincher.
The first video footage, including gameplay, of Dead Space.
I must say that although the game looks interesting, and the trailer gets more impressive towards the end, I don’t particularly like the animation . . . or the way the guy walks . . . . Petty? Maybe. I’ll definitely be keeping my eye on this one though. If anything it looks like it could be a cool mix of Resident Evil 4/Gears of War/Doom 3 . . . A darn good mix by anyone’s standards.
Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn Wii preview and video interview
Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn has a release date of November 5th in North America and is the 10th game in the Fire Emblem series (no date for anywhere else yet, cross your fingers). The game is developed by Intelligent Systems, the same developer that made the last game, Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance for GameCube (they also made Super Paper Mario for Wii and many other Nintendo games throughout the years).
The game is a direct sequel to Path of Radiance and features the same cel-shaded FMV cut-scenes and an upgraded game engine.
Check out this amazing video interview to see the game in action. Looks impressive!
Storyline:
Three years have passed since the Daein-Crimea war, where the mercenary Ike led the Crimean army to defeat Daein’s mad King Ashnard. Both Daein and Crimea are still stabilizing after that war. Daein is ruled by the Begnion occupation forces, after Crimea relinquished rule over their defeated country, and they are oppressed by the imperial soldiers. In the first of the game’s four parts, a group of chivalrous thieves, which includes “the silver-haired maiden,” Micaiah, fight Begnion’s oppression and attempt to liberate Daein and bring back power to the royal family.
The efforts of the Dawn Brigade are the beginning of a much larger conflict. In the next part, Crimea’s Queen Elincia fights against conspiring nobles, who plot to overthrow her. The following part sees the Greil mercenaries assist the united Laguz army as they go to war with the Begnion Empire. The consequences of this war can be seen in the fourth and final part, where the Dawn Brigade and the Greil mercenaries join forces to defeat the Begnion senate and the goddess high above at the Guiding Tower.
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What in Manhunt 2 has changed to make it go from an Adults Only to Mature rating?
Manhunt 2 has an American release date of October 31st, Halloween, on the PS2, Wii and PSP. But what has been changed in Manhunt 2 to make it go from an unacceptable (or rather, un-sell-able) Adults Only to a mainstream Mature rating? It turns out the major change that took place is the brutality in the killings (obviously). To be specific, changed are the scenes that play during the successful execution of an enemy. While they still show the horrific infliction of pistols, plastic bags, shovels, pens (shown below) and other items on enemy body parts, they have been put through visual filters. This means the scenes now look blurred and have different colors and thus are somewhat less violent.
Also, MTV News notes that the preview version they had earlier in the year still had a scoring system that has now been dropped in the final version. The scoring system gave incentives to performing the most extreme version of a kill. Such brutal kills were the most nerve-racking and challenging activities in the game, since performing one required waiting longer behind a more powerful enemy before pouncing.
Rockstar Games developer Jeronimo Barrera said: “The scoring was a hold-over from the first game, and when we had the opportunity to make edits because of the rating, we decided to remove it. We felt it flowed better without a score screen between levels.” Watch how one of those killings look with a pen:
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Lucasarts and Bioware developing “Ground-Breaking” game
LucasArts and BioWare today announced that they have entered into an agreement to create an interactive entertainment product. Us gamers call this thing a “game” and you’re out of luck if you were hoping for some details, because none were given, except that it will be “Ground-Breaking” and “will push the boundaries of the gaming market by utilizing the strengths of both companies to deliver an innovative, high-quality experience.” In other words Bioware will be developing and Lucasarts publishing and likely (our guess) providing them with an IP (Intellectual Property) they own.
“LucasArts has a deep commitment to developing compelling stories and characters for the unique medium of interactive entertainment, and we have been searching for a developer that shares this value. We found this in BioWare,” said Jim Ward, president of LucasArts. “Through our previous collaborations, we know that BioWare has an impressive ability to blend gripping stories with technological advancements, and we believe that our upcoming product will deliver an experience that will span the traditional boundaries of video game entertainment.”
“BioWare’s mission is to deliver the best story and character-driven games in the world, delivering powerful emotional experiences to our fans.” said Ray Muzyka, chief executive officer, BioWare Corp. Added Greg Zeschuk, president of BioWare Corp., “The collaboration with LucasArts allows us to combine our passion for creating high quality and innovative experiences with those of a company dedicated to bringing only the finest games to market.
Bet you didn’t expect to hear a new game announcement so soon after the take-over of Bioware by Electronic Arts. I wonder what Lucasarts franchise they might use, maybe a Star Wars MMOG (Massive Multiplayer Online Game) or Monkey Island adventure-RPG?
Guitar Hero 3 video review
Rock out to the third entry in in Red Octane’s music series for guitar gods! Songs for Guitar Hero 3 (full title Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock) on Wii, Xbox 360, PS2, PS3, PC & Mac include Barracuda by Heart, One by Metallica, Sabotage by Beastie Boys, Rock And Roll All Nite by Kiss, and much more! In addition, players can experience an incredible number of added features and explosive content including a new multiplayer action-inspired battle mode, grueling boss battles, a bevy of exclusive unlockable content and authentic rock venues. Expanded online multiplayer game modes also allow axe-shredders worldwide to compete head-to-head for true legendary rock status.
Also for the first time ever, Guitar Hero fans can thrash and burn with new wireless guitar controllers available for each platform. The exclusive Gibson guitars include innovative features such as removable faceplates that will allow fans to personalize their guitars and make it their own, and a new button color design that is integrated for an even greater authentic feel and rock experience.
Does Guitar Hero still have the chops to be worth the ticket price? See in this Guitar Hero 3 video review:
Here’s the full setlist of 74 Guitar Hero 3 songs!
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Culdcept DS confirmed for 2008 release in Japan. Culdcept Saga coming to Xbox 360 in 2008
Culdcept DS has been confirmed for Japan and will be hitting sometime in 2008, developed as always by OmiyaSoft. Western fans will probably have to wait until mid or late 2008 before it sees release here . . . if it does, but hopefully it will due to the release of Culdcept previously on Playstation 2 in the States. Which even though it didn’t receive strong sales it has regardless built-up a strong fanbase here, which includes one of my friends who raves about the game.
Another entry in the series, called Culdcept Saga, is also set for U.S. release (it’s already out in Japan) on January 15, 2008 at the “budget” price of $39.99 (so far Culdcept Saga does not have a European or Australian release date). That game is published both in Japan and the US by Namco, who hopefully will pick up Culdcept DS for US release since they have taken an interest in the franchise.
If you’ve never heard of Culdcept, it’s an intriguing mishmash of a Monopoly-style board game, Magic the Gathering-style card game (i.e. TCG which stands for Trading Card Game) and the look of Japanese-style RPGs like Disgaea: Hour of Darkness on PS2. The game is extremely popular in Japan where Culdcept games have also been released on the PS1, Sega Saturn and Dreamcast in addition to PS2 and now Xbox 360.
The game itself is played like Monopoly, where you roll dice and move around a game board, attempting to claim spaces and assess fees against other Cepters who land there. Unlike in Monopoly, squares are claimed by summoning creatures (using cards in the deck you build) to guard them, and players who land on them can opt to challenge this creature with one of their own cards from their deck rather than pay the toll. If successful, the challenger claims ownership of the square. The winner of the game is the first player to return to the starting location after amassing a sufficient quantity of magic/mana.
Creatures are summoned from customized decks (”books”) of cards which players design ahead of time from an available pool of cards. Other cards in these decks bestow items to enhance creature abilities, or represent spells which can influence movement on the game board as you’d expect. Although there are nearly 500 different cards in total, players must earn many of these through skillful play and story mode progression before they can be used.
The Xbox 360 version, Culdcept Saga, adds support for online multiplayer play against up to three other players via Xbox Live, complete with leaderboards and rankings, in addition to card and rule tweaks and upgraded high-resolution (partially 3D) graphics. Also new in the Xbox 360 version is the ability to unlock various items that players can use to customize their in-game avatars.
Here’s a developer walkthrough of Culdcept Saga from E3 ‘07. For the DS version you can likely expect to have the same basic gameplay with stylus controls tacked on. But hopefully there will be some unique DS features as well as online play via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection.
Valve locks out PC gamers who purchased The Orange Box from a territory not of their own
Did you buy The Orange Box for PC from a territory not of your own? If you did, you may find yourself unable to play the recently-released and packed-to-the-gills smash-hit (lots of dashes, yah).
Most of these people bought the game to save a few bucks from a Thailand online shop, and along with the game they of course got the serial numbers. Activation of the purchased games went off without incident, but Valve took issue with these games bought in other territories and has begun locking out accounts of people living in North America who owned one of these serial numbers from Thailand. They’ll get the message that the game was purchased in an “incorrect territory”.
What’s worse off is that people who did do this and tried to fix it by buying a legit copy (for example on Valve’s Steam download service) have found themselves out of luck. Some users were having problems getting the legit copy to play after they have had their international key locked . . .
And now after some very steamed fans (pardon the pun) protested loudly, Valve’s Doug Lombardi said this to Shacknews:
“Valve uses Steam for territory control to make sure products authorized for use in certain territories are not being distributed and used outside of those territories. In this case, a Thai website was selling retail box product keys for Thailand to people outside of Thailand. Since those keys are only for use in Thailand, people who purchased product keys from the Thai website are not able to use those product keys in other territories. Some of these users have subsequently purchased a legal copy after realizing the issue and were having difficulty removing the illegitimate keys from their Steam accounts. Anyone having this problem should contact Steam Support to have the Thai key removed from their Steam account.”
So if you want to have any hope of playing the Orange Box and you are one of these people, then you’re only choice is to pick up a legit copy and if you can’t get it to work then contact Valve and cross your fingers. There is one good thing learned from this though . . . you may think twice about buying PC games from another country! — Via Opposable Thumbs and Shacknews
Command & Conquer 3 patch 1.09 released
EA has released another big patch edition for Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars.
Command & Conquer 3 Patch 1.09 adds these highly requested features (check out the official site in the link to the left for a full and complete list):
* Unit balancing.
* Map fixes.
* General Gameplay Tweaking.
* New 4-player map “Wrecktropolis”.
* Behind-the-Code preparations for the Command & Conquer 3 BattleCast Viewer. This long-talked-about feature is like youtube for C&C3 game replays. Even people who don’t own C&C3 can watch game replays via the Viewer program. The web-site is live now, although like previous web-site launched, such as Command & Conquer TV, you may wanna wait a bit for all the kinks to get ironed out.
