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   | Feb 20, 2007 Right after posting the previous story about Epic's plans to show (off) their Unreal Engine 3 technology at GDC 2007, I noticed that Gamasutra also has a report about another major graphics engine that will be demonstrated at next month's Games Developer Conference. And if it's not one of id Software's doings, it must be Crytek's. The German developers that brought us the exotic shooter Far Cry, and are currently working on Crysis for the PC, announced that their latest engine iteration - CryEngine 2 - will be presented to the public for the first time ever at GDC. Gamasutra writes that the presentation will actually be a hands-on demonstration of the features and capabilities of CryEngine 2, which means that not only interested developers, but also the general public will be able to toy around with some of Crytek's tools and editors, as detailed below:
Other features, such as the middleware's new asset creation pipeline (used for creating realistic, interactive and breakable objects and vegetation) will only be demoed to developers interested in licensing the technology and tools for their own use. So if you happen to be in San Francisco between March 5-9, you might want to visit Booth 848 at the 2007 Game Developers Conference for a demonstration. Last we heard, Crytek was in the planning stages for a future Crysis beta testing phase, which they recently began talking about (as in, talking about the plans, not the actual beta). We'll see how things develop, after, of course, we get some new jaw-dropping tech-trailers from GDC. (N.B. Archive text, links removed) Feb 20, 2007 With all the ramblings about a new N-Gage and Killzone 2 (not) being shown at this year's GDC, we nearly lost sight of the thing that truly matters in today's gaming industry: In their latest press release, Epic Games announce that they will host "an Exposuite for meetings and technology demonstrations, a Career Pavilion booth for prospective employees, a pre-GDC Unreal Engine 3 seminar for licensees, two media events and multiple GDC speaker sessions". Not too shabby! And here are some details about their schedule:
Needless to say, we expect some juicy trailers to come out of this year's GDC. And maybe we'll find out what all those Unreal Engine 3 license agreements from the past year are being used for... (N.B. Archive text, links removed) Feb 20, 2007 Actually, just six of the maps will be brand spanking "new", but let's not get into details straight away. First things first: Capcom announced (or rather confirmed) that their Xbox 360 exclusive action game, Lost Planet: Extreme Condition will receive several downloadable map packs over the coming months, and that the first such pack should be released via Xbox Live Marketplace on (or around) March 9. Users wishing to download it will have to surrender 400 Microsoft Points, or in some real-life currencies, $5 / €4.65 / £3.40. That's $2.50 for one single map - not a bad deal at all... for Capcom. The first pack will contain two new multiplayer levels, called "Radar Field" and "Island 902". Radar Field is described as a "close quarters facility which is under construction and has a giant radar that provides an excellent vantage point", while "Island 902" is more like "a sprawling Pacific-themed battlefield with several islands connected by bridges as well as vast underwater areas". Afterwards, at some point, they will also release the "Battleground" map that was originally offered exclusively to those who purchased the Limited Edition. This, however, will be a free release for all Lost Planet players, regardless of how much (extra) money they spent on the original version. Capcom has yet to set the pricing and release schedule for the following packs, but assuming that all of them will have the same price (400 Microsoft Points / pack of 2 maps), minus the free "Battleground" map, players can expect to pay a total of 1200 Microsoft Points - or $15 - for six new multiplayer maps. If that sounds reasonable to you, than by all means, go for it! Micro-payments are really great and everything, when the core product is free. Ask the Koreans. (N.B. Archive text, links removed) Feb 20, 2007 War Front And Blitzkrieg 2: Fall of the Reich Invade America CDV's US detachment launched a double invasion in North America this week, with the release of two noteworthy strategy titles, both of them themed around the second World War. These are War Front: Turning Point, and Blitzkrieg 2: Fall of the Reich - the latter being a standalone expansion pack for Nival's Blitzkrieg 2 RTS, obviously enough. What strikes us as odd, however, is that CDV decided to release both games at the same time in America, practically coinciding with Supreme Commander's retail debut in the territory (bad idea?), but they adopted a completely different tactic for the European market. On the old continent, Fall of the Reich has been available since November 2006, while War Front is still another month away from its release planned for March 23. Someone care to explain us this kamikaze marketing maneuver? Even though both of CDV's games basically have a WWII "theme", War Front: Turning Point actually follows a "what if..." scenario, arming players with unique super weapons and placing them on the most exciting battlefields of an alternate WWII, where things didn't turn out quite like we learned in school.
Fall of the Reich, on the other hand, treads the same old path laid down by the Blitzkrieg series, only with new campaigns and stuff. The expansion takes players through the final days of WWII, in three major offensives: the "Siege of Budapest", "Fortress Kurland", and the Soviet "Operation Bagration". The rest, as they say, is history. P.S. Here are some new War Front screenshots. (N.B. Archive text, links removed) Feb 19, 2007 I don't think I have enough fingers on one hand to count all the times I wasted my enthusiasm on the idea of a UFO / X-COM sequel. And not just any kind of sequel, because there were plenty of mediocre ones, but one that would do justice to the classic UFO: Enemy Unknown (X-COM: UFO Defense), X-COM: Terror from the Deep and, let's say, X-COM: Apocalypse (although I didn't enjoy this as much). I remember getting my first false hope from Project Dreamland: Freedom Ridge, which was being developed by Mythos Games, creators of the first two games in the series. However this was cancelled not long after it was announced and, even though the project was continued by another studio (Altar Interactive), they mutilated it to such a degree, that in the end all we got was... UFO: Aftermath. And later Aftershock and Afterlight, hardly the most faithful games to the UFO spirit. And as for the others - X-COM: Interceptor, X-COM: Enforcer - I don't even want to think about it! There were also a couple of indie attempts at making UFO games, but let's just skip to the point. So, after running out of hope and fingers I could count on, here we are with a rumour seemingly dropped out of nowhere, according to which Irrational Games are working on a new X-COM title. Irrational Games?... X-COM?... "Since when?", you might ask. Well, there are more connections between these two names than you might think, and Shacknews has done a great job at piecing them together. Two notable aspects are that, on one hand, the X-COM franchise was bought in 2005 by Take-Two (who are also publishing Irrational's upcoming game Bioshock); and on the other hand, Irrational boss Ken Levine is known to be a diehard fan of X-COM, which influenced two of their games - Freedom Force and (somewhat) Bioshock. The piece of resistance from Shacknews' report, however, is a completely different one: a document found on the official website of law firm Fierst, Pucci & Kane, last modified on February 6, 2007. In its current form, there's nothing fishy about it, but the previous version (as cached by Google) includes the following fragment, among the firm's list of clients:
Well, are you starting to see the flicker of hope at the end of the tunnel yet? The devs have obviously refused to comment on these speculations, and we can't expect anything more from publisher Take-Two / 2K Games either. But at least we now have a reason to look forward to something else beyond the summer of 2007, when Bioshock is supposed to come out. (N.B. Archive text, links removed) Feb 19, 2007 When you see a primitive cart with oxes side by side with some futuristic aircraft and naval vessels in one single screenshot, there's clearly something rotten. The explanation for such a contradictory scene will be given to us by Empire Earth III - the sequel to the sequel to the strategy game initially created by Stainless Steel and, after its closure, inherited by Mad Doc Software. Despite the latter's recently completed Star Trek: Legacy, a mediocre game at best, Mad Doc still has enough self-esteem to proudly reveal its new project, through a PC Gamer preview also published on CVG - along with the first images from the game (including the contradictory screenshot mentioned above). If I were allowed a purely subjective opinion, I'd say that the scenes from the other images looks absolutely horrible, and with all of Mad Doc's attempts to change things in this third Empire Earth, I fear for the worst. But let's see what this change - or rather changes are all about. First of all, the devs peeked around and decided to add a strategic component at the global level, similar to what we see in the Total War series (or the Dune series, just so you see how "original" of a concept this is). The main difference is that, instead of being confined to a single period of time, you will once again go through the entire history, from primitive tribes all the way to the future. Another novelty is that, once you discover a technology, you won't have to reinvent the wheel in every mission, and the units that survive after a battle will carry over to the global map. The same goes for the buildings, in case the A.I. decides to invade a province you had already conquered, you'll have the means to protect it from the very beginning. Aside from mindless fighting for world domination, sometimes you will also receive sub-missions, both during the real-time battles, and at the global level. The examples offered by PC Gamer were rescuing a tribe's princess to gain their allegiance, and conquering three of a faction's provinces on the strategic map. And speaking of factions, it looks like there will only be three generic civilizations: Western, Middle-Eastern and Far-Eastern. Just how well all this will turn out... guess we'll have to wait and see. (N.B. Archive text, links removed) Feb 19, 2007 Eidos Montreal Development Studio To Open Soon // UPDATE Late last week, Eidos announced their intention to open a new development studio, over the sea and far away, right in Canada. Québec. Montreal, more precisely. But don't ask us for the street address, because they guys are barely starting to form a new team there for now. Over the next three years, Eidos hopes to recruit 350 people, who will work on some unannounced next-gen projects. At least intially, setting up the studio and hiring new people will be Stéphane D'Astous' job, who thus becomes the General Manager of Eidos Montreal, after previously working for Ubisoft (poor things, first EA, now Eidos...). Eidos Montreal will join an expanding group of internal studios held by Eidos / SCi Games, which so far encompasses Crystal Dynamics, IO Interactive, Pivotal Games and Beautiful Game Studios, as well as their two new studios founded in Europe last year: Eidos Sweden and Eidos Studios Hungary (Mithis Games). This last one recently completed Battlestations: Midway, a game that's still holding its ground on the first place in the UK sales charts. Like a certain Eidos exec named Bill Ennis says below, Montreal has become a perfect incubator for the gaming industry, thanks to favourable economic conditions in the area granted by the government to gaming companies, but also thanks to some early investments made by the likes of Ubisoft - whose Montreal studio needs no more introduction (by the way, this month it received another $19 million investment, for expanding with a new digital design and animation studio).
We're patiently waiting to see what they're up to. UPDATE: Gamasutra has just published an interview with Stéphane D'Astous about Eidos Montreal's next-gen plans. (N.B. Archive text, links removed) Feb 19, 2007 LotR Online European Release Date, Public Beta Begins The Brits from Codemasters sent word that the European release date for The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar has been set to coincide with Turbine's MMORPG release in North America - on April 24 - and that the public beta testing phase has now begun in Europe. This news comes just as Codemasters are recouping after a new stress test, in which thousands of fans took part, putting the game and the hardware to the test (which they're greatly thanked for). At the same time, Codies have also announced a pre-order promotion that will grant players a ten-day head start in the game, before the full launch on April 24. So, by pre-ordering LotR Online from "specific participating retailers", you'll be able to start grinding as soon as April 14. And not only that, but you'll also receive an in-game item, six Lord of the Rings Online stickers, a window sticker, the option to become a Founder Member of the game, and a DVD containing the pre-order game client. You can also pre-order it online, but that will only grant you the ten-day head start, the in-game item and the Founder Member offer. To get more detail on this (limited) promotion, check the Pre-order Program page from the official website. The big news, however, is that the Lord of the Rings Online: Shadow of Angmar European public Beta Program has now officially begun, giving players the opportunity to discover Middle-earth before the game is officially released. If you haven't yet signed up for the Beta Program, you can do so by visiting Codies' sign-up page. And finally, some of you might like to know that the NDA has been lifted. So if you've already been adventuring through Turbine's Middle-earth, you're now urged to "go forth and spread the good word with [Codies'] blessings". And may Sauron watch over you, or something. (N.B. Archive text, links removed) Feb 19, 2007 Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Details And New Tech Trailers We kept on waiting for some official press release about Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, but since LucasArts didn't issue one last week, we now return to their game with what details we managed to find, after it was exclusively revealed by the Game Informer magazine (story). As we said then, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed takes place between the Star Wars: Episode III (Revenge of the Sith) and Episode IV (A New Hope) movies, a period of time that hasn't been properly explored / exploited until now, making it a great fit for such an ambitious next-gen game. As Darth Vader's "secret apprentice", you'll set out to hunt Jedis throughout the galaxy and face decisions that, according to the devs, could change your destiny, the story, and even its ending:
Although we said that LucasArts didn't announce the game through the usual PR channels, they did however open a Star Wars: The Force Unleashed page on their official website, where they began to point out some of the game's features and the exotic technologies behind it. We won't be listing here all of the Force powers, enemies and locations revealed so far, but you should certainly check them out on this page. Much more remarkable are the two new technologies employed by LucasArts for this game - namely "Digital Molecular Matter" (DMM) and "euphoria". These have also received a more detailed description on the game's website, once again worth reading. But, since a picture is worth a thousand words, and a trailer is worth a thousand pictures, you'll get a lot better idea about each of these technologies by watching them in action, in a couple of new Star Wars: The Force Unleashed trailers. They are available for download locally - DMM tech trailer and Euphoria tech trailer - or you can also watch them online on the official website. Shortly put, DMM will allow objects in the game to break / shatter / crack in a highly realistic way, based on their physical properties and the forces / Forces acting upon them. At the same time, euphoria will give characters a more complex intelligence which, combined with the DMM technology (and the Havok physics system), will radically change the gameplay. Here's a written example offered by Lucas, while you download the trailers:
Starting with this week, the developers will also publish a series of diaries on the official website. And meanwhile, all that's left to say is that Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is set for release in November 2007, on "next-generation platforms" (at least PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360), PlayStation 2, PSP and Nintendo DS. The PC version remains unconfirmed, and so does the Wii version. (N.B. Archive text, links removed) Feb 19, 2007 Over the weekend, we have finally closed our "Best of 2006" polls, so it's now time to count the votes and announce the winners in each category. Once again, we focused heavily on PC games, with just a sole category dedicated to the very best of console games, however next year we'll most likely have dedicated polls for each of the major platforms (ed. - I just wonder if the Xbox will still be a "major platform" by then). So, without further ado, here are what you people voted as the most playful games of 2006:
For the full list, you can still check our "Best of 2006" section. It's interesting to note that, even though Oblivion took the crown as best PC game of 2006 overall (and best looking), it was Gothic 3 who prevailed as last year's best RPG (by a single extra vote). But at the same time, Gothic 3 was also one of the most disappointing PC games, right after NFS Carbon, who was barely passed by FlatOut 2 as the best driving game. In fact, most of the genre-specific battles were fiercely disputed, and most winners were decided by a margin of only 1-4 votes. As for the best console games of 2006, Wii Sports had a great start, but it was ultimately defeated by Gears of War for the Xbox 360. Better luck next time, Nintendo. And of course Sony, who's PlayStation 3 games are just now starting to make a difference. Look forward to another playful year! (N.B. Archive text, links removed) |
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