We've been making a conscious effort to avoid any news related to Limbo of the Lost, the newly controversial adventure game developed by Majestic Studios (a.k.a. a group of old farts from Kent), and particularly to keep a safe distance from its appalling trailers. Up until now, that is. Because GamePlasma made a tragi-comical observation this week, by pointing out an undeniable resemblance copy-pasting between Limbo of the Lost, and the slightly better known RPG The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.


But it's not just Oblivion - as the above mock-up boxshot suggests. By now, thanks to the NeoGAF forumers and other perceptive gamers, more popular games and movies have been found to be the source of "inspiration" for Limbo of the Lost, which now stands accused of also stealing assets (or just strikingly similar ideas) from the likes of Thief 3, Diablo 2 (the UI as well), Unreal Tournament 2004, The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, Painkiller, the movie Pirates of the Caribbean (cinematics), the movie Spawn (cinematics)... and the list could probably go on and on, after a thorough inspection of the game's full version. Which may not bee too easy, considering this press release we received today from publisher Tri Synergy: (...)

 Continue reading 'Limbo of the Lost, The Rip-off Thickens'...

- The 360+ MB Crysis patch 1.2 is finally up for download. But it has issues. And also some dedicated (albeit beta) nVidia drivers.

- "We have no plans to have in-game advertising in StarCraft II", says Blizzard via Blizzplanet. Well, they have no plans for announcing the next Diablo game today, either. But that doesn't mean it's not there...

- Dark Sector has just gone Gold, and is now ready for releasing in North America this March 25 on the PS3 and Xbox 360.

- Capcom dismisses Resi 5 date rumours, the ones placing the release of Resident Evil 5 in October 2008 (just before Gears of War 2). So it might only come out in early 2009.

- Huxley, that MMOFPS nearly gone vaporware, was featured this week in an IGN preview saying that Webzen plans to release the PC version by the end of 2008, followed about six months later by the Xbox 360 version (which will take place 50 years later, but will still have "cross-platform interaction" with the PC version, oddly enough).

- Each game from the Orange Box package - Portal, Team Fortress 2, and Half-Life 2: Episode One + Two - will be available as separate PC titles at retail on April 9, as confirmed by Valve on Joystick. Too little too late.

- Europa Universalis III: In Nomine announced for this summer (or some time before it). It's like an expansion for another expansion, since it will require the Napoleon's Ambition add-on, and the idea for it was born on Paradox' forums. Sounds... promising...

- Various WiiWare games were announced lately, but the vast majority of them look like pure, double-distilled shit. One exception is LostWinds (which we covered last month), and another one will hopefully be Lit - a 3D horror action-puzzler coming from WayForward (Contra 4, Shantae), which I found out about on Gamasutra.

- The U.S. Air Force wants 300... Spartans? Moonkins? Nope, PlayStation 3 consoles. Awoo! Awoo! Awoo! They're supposedly "conducting a technology assessment of certain cell processors", and the PS3 is perfect for playing while on-duty their top-secret research.

And here are the new Assassin's Creed PC screenshots we mentioned in last night's checkpoint, without any distracting logo. Below them you'll also find a new Q&A about the game's PC version, this time issued directly by Ubisoft.


The game is being released four months after the console versions. How did you use this extra development time?

Based on the feedback we got after the release of the console versions, we decided to add even more variety by developing a total of 4 new investigation types (Archer assassination, rooftop race challenge, merchant stand destruction challenge and escort challenge). The archer assassination requires the player to assassinate the archers in a dedicated zone without being seen. In the rooftop race challenge, the player will meet an informer and will have a set amount of time to reach a second informer. In the merchant stand destruction, some merchants have ties to the assassination target and their activities must be stopped by Altaïr. Finally, in the escort challenge, the player needs to securely escort a fellow Assassin from point A to point B.

Will the game exploit DX9 and DX10? (...)

 Continue reading 'Assassin's Creed PC Screenshots, Details'...

- New Red Alert 3 details have been discussed in the latest BattleCast web-show, including the revelation of the new faction: The Empire of the Rising Sun, "which was produced after a desperate Soviet leadership went back in time to erase Einstein, presumably to stop him creating the atomic bomb". One does not simply erase Einstein.

- Okami finally gets a firm release date on the Wii (or delay, from GameSpot's point of view): April 15. Cool, right on my birthday. But something tells me I'll still be busy air-punching my comrade in Super Smash Bros. Brawl at that time.

- IGN talked to Ubi about the new stuff in Assassin's Creed for the PC, such as four new investigation missions (archer assassination, rooftop race challenge, merchant stand destruction challenge and escort challenge). And they also got some new screens. The PC version is coming in early April, having slipped again.

- Dark Sector is also coming a bit later than expected, in April, with a demo "likely" to precede the final launch.

- A fresh new release schedule we received from cdv USA lists Sacred 2: Fallen Angel as coming in September 2008 on the PC and Xbox 360. Precicely, yet another delay. Also, Stranger releasing this March 17, Sudden Strike 3 on March 24, and Theatre of War on May 12 (it's been out in Europe since last autumn).

- Demigod, at least, is not getting delayed... yet. Gas Powered Games' new strategy game is "completely playable" and "fairly certain" for a 2008 release. Should be worth the wait, "heck [they] have a giant walking castle as a demigod"!

- A Grimm preview is up on GameTap (the very website that will be launching this dark episodic game in July), with quotes from American McGee, who seems rather frustrated by Disney's versions of the classic murderous fairy tales. "Look at Pinocchio, for instance. In the original story he kills Jiminy Cricket, his conscience. Pinocchio was a real jerk in the original story. But nobody knows that because they've only seen the Disney version."

- A game based on the TV show Dexter is in the works, through a partnership between Showtime Networks and Marc Ecko Entertainment. Right, as in Marc Ecko's Getting Up pile-o-crap from a couple of years ago.

- Sony Japan confirms Skype for PSP from March 18, plus new hardware and limited edition Bronze handheld. Any colour you like.

Yes, I admit, I've been shamelessly (though strategically) slacking for the past week, leaving my comrade to face the GDC madness on his own, while I turned my perverted eye to our flat-chested sister-website Animekon (some great new stuff there lately, by the way). But all good things must come to an end, so... back to gaming.

- Chief among our bypassed GDC news was the announcement of Gears of War 2, coupled with this teaser trailer teasing at a november 2008 release. CliffyB proclaimed that it's "going to be bigger, better and far more badass than the first one", with chainsaw duels and stuff. But no Gears of War comic after all.

- More recently, Motorstorm 2 was also revealed in a BBC article. It's "due out in time for Christmas and moves the action away from the desert locale of the original. Gamers will be able to race around a lush island environment, full of interactive vegetation". Interactive... vegetation. That's super. At least it will have 4-player split-screen.

- Still, the hottest topic these days remains EA's $2 billion bid on Take-Two, which was rejected, but will be taken under consideration once again on April 30, right after the release of GTA IV (not by coincidence). Meanwhile - new Take-Two details revealed.

- This year's Leipzig Games Convention might be the last one, as from September 2009 it could effectively be replaced by a new event called GAMESCom, to be held in Cologne, Germany. The Leipzig organizers are not amused, but still hope for a GC 2009.

- Telltale has just sent along the trailer for Sam & Max episode 204: Chariots of the Dogs, which is hereby officially unravelled. But where in the world is Carmen Sandiego Bosco? Find out in mid-March.

- The next Indiana Jones action game has gone into production. Yeah, just now. But you won't see me complain, since LucasArts spent more time with Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, which looks so cool in this GDC 2008 trailer.

- Offset Software, the guys who blew our mind with their Project Offset tech demos a couple of years ago (but kept mostly silent ever since) have been acquired by Intel. Five bucks to whoever can say what this will mean for their potential game. I'm clueless.

- Molyneux despairs at the "tragic" state of PC gaming, because "The Sims and World of Warcraft [are] sucking all the air out of the PC market". And I feel like I'm right in the ventilation duct, what with patch 2.4 coming up and everything... By the way, "Cliff's an idiot!".

- As of tomorrow, February 29, Phil Harrison is no longer the president of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios. This week he resigned from Sony after 15 frustrating years with the company, leaving his warm chair to Kaz “Riiiidge Racer!” Hirai (who also remains President and Group CEO of SCEI). Where to next, Phil boy?

One of the first products tailored for Nintendo's upcoming game download service, WiiWare (which launches on May 12), is a cute little platform adventure going by the name of LostWinds, currently in the works at indie studio Frontier Developments - better known in the '90s for their Elite series. As described in this week's announcement, LostWinds is a high quality, enchanting adventure bursting with new gameplay ideas that embrace the innovative controller of the Wii.

"Built with Frontier's in-house 3D game-engine technology LostWinds puts "the power of the wind in the palm of your hand" as you wield the awesome powers of Enril the wind spirit - from raging tornados to the gentlest breeze - to guide and protect Toku, a young boy who is the only one who can help you release the curse placed upon the world of Mistralis by evil Balasar. Mistralis is a stunningly presented, magical land full of wonder and intrigue that bursts to life with your every action and exploration. The game's novel, playful control mechanism lets you use Enril's elemental powers to help Toku in your quest to overcome Balasar - powering his jumps and glides through Mistralis' different regions, buffeting and smashing enemies, and solving puzzles."

More about this unremarkable good-vs-evil story can be found on the LostWinds website, and here's hoping the gameplay itself will be at least as remarkable as the screenshots below.

One thing that keeps me from hyperventilating at the sight of this new adventure game called Goin' Downtown (other than my WoW addiction), is the discouraging fact that it's being developed by the makers of Simon the Failure Sorcerer 4, Everlight (likewise a sub-par adventure), and that buggy (but otherwise ok) post-apocalyptic RPG, The Fall. Yep, it's ze Germans from Silver Style Entertainment, backed up by their compatriots from TGC - The Games Company.

One thing that would otherwise fill me with hype hope is this first batch of screenshots from Goin' Downtown, that you'll find by goin' a bit down. The mildly cel-shaded graphics look pretty cool, and the game also promises to have a "thrilling story with black humour and fascinating characters" - over 30 of them, throughout more than 40 locations. A "revolutionary puzzle system for newbies and pros" is also listed among its generic features, and if you want to know more about the story, you'll find that, too, by goin' even furhter down. The game should be released this spring in Germany, but I have no idea about the rest of the English-speaking world.

 (...)

 Continue reading 'Goin' Downtown Adventure Comin''...

- 4 years later... Final Fantasy XI product site launched. I bet you didn't see that one coming!

- Jack Keane demo unveils the first four levels of this allegedly funny adventure game by Ankh developer Deck13.

- PlayStation 3 sells 1 million units in UK, after 41 weeks on the market. That's 3 weeks longer that it took the Wii to reach the same figure there, and 9 weeks faster than the Xbox 360. Above average.

- Moroes' Lucky Pocket Watch just dropped for me in Kara. Upon closer inspection, I noticed it's time to call it a night.

- Super Smash Bros. Brawl sales top 1 million in Japan, making it the fastest selling Wii game to reach that sales figure over there. We should start stocking up on booze early, for when it launches over here (next month?). An insane Wii session is sure to ensue.

- Devil May Cry 4 demo hits 1 million downloads on Xbox Live, through some questionable math (25,000 downloads a day since January 24 isn't even remotely close to 1 million). No wonder Capcom's game owns the UK charts.

- Sam & Max Episode 203: Night of the Raving Dead launched on GameTap today. Tomorrow also on Telltale's website, along with a demo.

- Darkeden free vampiric MMORPG launched by Joymax, along with a new Daden Market (the item mall of Darkeden). From the communique, "players can log in today and slay vampires, fight humans, or crush oysters". Oysters?... Oh, I'm sorry, ousters.

- Need for Speed ProStreet has a new Porsche demo on the PC, featuring the Porsche GT2 and GT3RS cars, and Porsche's Leipzig test track. No use, there can be only one NFS: Porsche Unleashed!

- WorldShift beta up on FilePlanet for 5,000 gamers. "Subscribers only". F.U.

- Dynasty Warriors 6, now armed with the Gold status, will invade US retail on February 19.

- Battlefield, Halo veterans form Tyrant Studios in Seattle, setting out to "change the way games are made" with their combined tyranny experience. I don't suppose their motto is "Liberté, égalité, fraternité"?

- "More churches" in Resistance 2! I loled.