New Ideas: Guerilla Games working on something brand new?

Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010

302603_0According to popular blog PS3Hype, Guerrilla Games are in the conceptual stage of a new product for the PS3. It’s not clear whether this will be a continuation of the Killzone series, or a brand new IP created from scratch.

In an interview with a blog, Herman Hulst had this to say about a new IP (or the possibility of one):

We are now fully working. We try to do it very carefully and are now at the point where key players to set up. It is very busy with Killzone 3, but we still have people released this. Very soon we are going upscale. We are now still in the conceptual stage. A very nice time for the studio.Typical of the Guerrilla culture is that the company involved in the project. We have an extensive briefing circulated and invited everyone to pitch concepts. There are so many ideas come from. It gives a good picture of what the studio wants. We had quite a quick idea of what we want to do, but it’s still too early to talk about it.”

We’ll keep an eye on this development as they prepare to release Killzone 3, scheduled to appear on shelves February 2011. It’s probable this is a whole new IP of some kind, but we will keep you abreast, as usual.

Trailer: Mafia II

Monday, August 2nd, 2010

Mafia-II-1Yes, its coming, and yes it will be pretty impressive, from E3 previews and reports filtering in through various blogs and sources. Now can safely bring you a full-on trailer of the game in all its glory (barring any last minute changes and additions, which anyone who follows games or has worked in the industry knows is pretty much standard operating procedure) via GameTrailers.

Here’s the link to the trailer, in various formats: Link

Check it out and we’ll soon be bringing you more of an in-depth preview of the PS3 version when we get a chance.

Coming Soon: Explodemon explodes on the PS3

Saturday, July 31st, 2010

explodemon-PS3.thumbnailPS3 owners will be treated to the release of Explodemon!, which will be hitting PlayStation Network with a bang this early Q4, and it’ll be interesting to see how it performs.

More about via their website:

Explodemon! is a 2.5D platform action game brought kicking and screaming into the HD era. Influenced by classic Japanese games from the golden era of the SNES, players use Explodemon’s self-destructive nature to combat enemies and fly through the air, all the while solving a huge variety of physics-based puzzles (and, naturally, causing incalculable collateral damage).

When the peaceful planet of Nibia is attacked by the malicious Vortex forces, the fate of the star system is thrust into the one pair of hands it shouldn’t be: the malfunctioning Guardian robot Explodemon. His comic quest to repel the onslaught and restore peace will take him across three distinct planets over twelve levels, with new abilities and gameplay mechanics introduced throughout.

We like the description: sort of a Japanese platformer combined with elements of Myst and a dash of Final Fantasy. We’ll update as this story warrants.

Delay Update: SOCOM 4 put off until 2011

Thursday, July 29th, 2010

socom41It appears the new is official: SOCOM 4 for the PS3 and other platforms will be delayed until 2011, according to people in the know in the company and blog pennings on the web. We assumed and surmised this might happen, but still can’t believe it, really.

Here’s Jeremy Dunham, Senior Community Manager at Zipper Interactive with the official scoop:

“While we’re certainly aware that you’ve been looking forward to playing SOCOM 4 this year, we don’t want to take any shortcuts. Instead, we want to deliver the best and most immersive SOCOM game we possibly can and we’re going to use our extra time to do just that.”

We like the idea, even if we’re bummed about the delay. Hopefully, they can do some awesome things with the time and not just delay it for no reason. We’ll see.

Seasons (and Features) Change: inFamous 2 once again changing

Monday, July 26th, 2010

infamous2According to IGN, our beloved protagonist Cole McGrath will be under-going another character transformation, and game feature/art will be changing and being added to (once again), and quite late in the production process. The tale of this game being made has already been a roller-coaster ride in the best and worst sense of the word, as the direction seems sorta wandering as it is now. But hey, some of the best games get made on the seat of the producers pants, we figure.

The PS3 version (according to Gaming Everything blog) will have the following game changes:

  • Comic cut-scenes from the first game are returning
  • New cut-scene was shown at Comic-Con
  • inFamous 2 being made faster because a number of tools from the first game have already been developed
  • inFamous 3 not ruled out, but the team says they are still working on the second game
  • Not set in stone whether or not saves will carry over
  • City in inFamous 2 chosen because they wanted players to recognize the setting easily, and Empire City was mostly destroyed
  • Ideas for powers in the first game that weren’t used haven’t really come into play for the sequel
  • Fan feedback have influenced inFamous 2, including people’s opinions of Cole and his voice
  • Should be able to move about the city more quickly with new abilities
  • On multiplayer: No announcement today, but fans were told to “stay tuned”

Interesting decisions all the way around, we think. We’ll see how it turns out.

First Comment: Assassin’s Creed 3 Details

Tuesday, July 13th, 2010

assassins-creed-2-flight-5-590x442Many have been waiting anxiously for more details (official ones anyway) regarding AC3 for the PS3, and now we finally have word about its direction and general details about where the project is headed:

Production Manager Jean-Francois Boivin spoke for the first time about Assassin’s Creed 3, confirming that it will feature a new setting and a new protagonist.

Unlike Ubi’s approaching Assassin’s Creed entry Brotherhood, the fourth title in the series will wave farewell to Ezio Auditore da Firenze and Renaissance Italy: “Assassin’s Creed 3: new setting, new hero. That’s the way it works. We know what we’re doing; we’ve had a plan for a long time about where this license is going to go.”

The project has had some controversy and turmoil (the departure of Creative Director Patrice Desilets a month ago for example) but is now on track for a early 2012 release, according to reports and rumors. We’ll update you of course, if this changes.

The Color Black: Deep Black title announced by 505 Games

Saturday, July 10th, 2010

deep_black_ps3_1.thumbnailNew game release details are something we always enjoy bringing you, and here is yet another example. 505 Games announced an agreement with Russian developer Biart Studio, to publish Deep Black on the PS3 and Microsoft’s Xbox360 systems. Here are more details from the company press release coverage:

Deep Black lets players experience for the first time the thrills of a third-person action shooter in an underwater setting.

With the release set for Q1 2011, the unique setting of Deep Black combines action-packed battles with an immersive story line, of complex science-fiction mystery, espionage and bio-terror. Offering realistic physics in an underwater environment brings new “depths” to in-game challenges in Deep Black.

Players will take to the murky depths armed with a wrath of underwater equipment from specialized underwater jet packs with integrated harpoons, mini submersibles and other high tech equipment in pursuit of enemies. With the majority of the game play taking place below the water’s surface, action-adventure fans will need to master new skills to fight hostile enemies and infiltrate enemy bases.

Sounds pretty cool to us, we’ll update you as we hear more, as usual. January 2011 is pegged as the early rumored released date.

Progress Report: Need For Speed – Hot Pursuit

Friday, July 2nd, 2010

img_230402_nfshp_3Criterion Games’ Twitter page has definitely been buzzing since Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit was officially unveiled at this year’s E3 Expo, and reports indicate the game is worth waiting for, to be sure.

The British company, who created the highly-successful Burnout series, is on track to restore the Need for Speed franchise to its former glory, and many fans are wanting to find out all they can before the game’s early November PS3 release. Over the last few days, the company’s Tweets have let eager gamers know what could be coming in the near future regarding the game, which is quite awesome.

Here’s a rundown of the some of quick details to be considered noteworthy:

  • Like Burnout Paradise, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit will be an open-world game, just bigger and better! Chases will take place all over the game’s map, not on predetermined routes
  • There will be no options to tune or upgrade the game’s cars. Similarly, visual customisation will be very limited
  • Most if not all cars will be exotic by classification, though unfortunately Ferrari will not be appearing in the manufacturer line-up
  • Hot Pursuit will feature two individual campaigns of almost equal length, one for the police and one for the criminal
  • The custom soundtrack feature will be supported
  • Multiplayer modes will be online-only. There will be no split-screen mode
  • A cockpit viewpoint will not be available
We like many of the features so far (lack of a cockpit viewpoint and lack of upgrades kinda makes us sad a bit), but overall we can’t wait. Bring it on!

No Extra Content: Assassin’s Creed will be as is, according to reports

Tuesday, June 29th, 2010

assassins-creed-brotherhoodFrom what we’ve been reading and recent interviews concerning the project, we’re sorta not shocked, but a little sad to report that it doesn’t look like there is any post-release content in the pipeline for Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, the first game to embrace online multiplayer in the series.

Despite the increasingly important role download addons play these days in adding fresh blood to an existing game, Ubisoft is confident there will be enough in Brotherhood out-of-the-box to keep the community interested for a long time. Odds are, it won’t be enough for very long, but we could be wrong.

In a recent interview with video game blog VG247, developer Mathieu Gagnon was quoted:

“There are absolutely no plans for DLC at this time. By ‘no plans,’ I mean I have no clue of the plans. If we have plans, I’m really not aware.”

No shock here. Probably an act of a company a little short on funds to save some cash, and play on an existing name that already has a fanbase. The game is scheduled to be released for the PS3 in early November or so, but we may have to admit: our enthusiasm for the game has diminished a bit.

The Wonderful World of Patches: Medal of Honor Beta

Monday, June 28th, 2010

Medal-of-Honor-2010-BannerSo you thought the PC was the only place you had to deal with buggy betas and patches? Well think again my friends; its time for the briefly-awaited patch for Medal of Honor, the beta that was released to select PS3 gamers recently.

The patch is fairly big and meant to deal with a variety of bugs and problems, including (according to PSU.com):

* Improved performance in crowded environments
* Improved matchmaking configurations
* Various in-game crashes, including a bug around scoreboard access
* Improved join-friend functionality

We like the fixes, but many are reporting even more issues with the game, including medic issues and respawn pauses after death. Here’s to hoping these get fixed as well before the game is released. We can’t say we’re thrilled about the test-patch-test-thing coming to consoles, but we suppose its better than just a buggy game getting released, with no patches possible.