A noteworthy announcement just came in from Codemasters. Together with developer Blue Omega Entertainment, they offer the first details and screenshots for a third-person action-shooter called Damnation (apparently based on a former UT 2004 total convertion mod of the same name). It will be the first in a planned franchise that will make its debut on the PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in late 2008.

They are billing it as a "shooter gone vertical", seemingly due to its huge, open environments, each covering miles of distance and thousands of vertical feet. "These massive streaming landscapes will form the battlegrounds for a post-industrial conflict between humanity and an unstoppable arms dealer hell-bent on total world domination", the story goes. Visually inspired by iconic elements of American history (not America again!), Damnation also promises to feature frenetic combat, daredevil acrobatics and high-octane vehicle-based stunts ("from motorbikes capable of launching across seemingly infinite chasms, to huge, armour-piercing marvels that will induce mayhem with every huge shell"), with up to 3 hours of actual gameplay... per level! But no, I have no idea how many levels there will be.

More details after the screenshots.

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 Continue reading 'Damnation 'Shooter Gone Vertical' Announced'...

You have to just love the guys and gals at Gamasutra. All the info they provide comes in such huge detail, that I seldomly forget to read some piece of news from top to bottom, either because I am in a middle of a wanking session, either because I get bored reading quotes from the developers.

Anyway, here is some interesting stuff. Dudes behind titles such as Fallout or Medal of Honor have teamed up in an attempt to show recent crappy developers ze finger, forming WhiteMoon Dreams, a new and, hopefully, stupendous studio, which focuses its interest on Wii, PS3, and X360. For starters, they work on a title for a certain Japanese publisher.

Great news, indeed! The guy pulling all the strings will be Jay Kootarappallil (pronounced “koeiwruweoiudiojfsod”), which, at some point, used to be a technical art director for EA. Now why does it seem familiar to me that EA dudes have all the money?

While Loli WhiteMoon Dreams wants to mainly focus on original, in-house, series, they do not bash the possibility of working alongside major publishers, in an attempt to boost some of their francizes. What can I say, good luck to them, and may your titles live long and prosper.

Gamasutra scoop.

When it comes to Fallout 3, there are certain things of notice: first, Bethesda got its hands on a license that virtually kicks ass: second, Bethesda has absolutely no idea how to create a RPG – and don’t make me prove to you that every fucking Elder Scrolls title was actually a FPS; third, there is a BIG Fallout community out there, demanding a game that will be at least as good as the Fallout 3 Beta (ed. - Van Buren), released by the former Black Isle guys so long ago.

Things are really sad when even the lead game designer for the current Bethesda FPS, casually named, I have no idea why, Fallout 3, says that the company itself doesn’t give a shit about the community’s suggestions. Sure, we will get 50% of Morrowind’s big sized world (unlike some other things that the developers have to offer), sure, we will have “open endings”, and other stuff that may actually attract casual players, but, Sir, we will certainly have no Fallout. Here’s what Emil Pagliarulo had to say:

That’s always the toughest question. You listen to the fans and respect their ideas, but once you start designing a game that they want to make specifically, then you can get yourself into trouble.

In other words, “we may get into trouble if we listen to you guys, create a hardcore game for the Fallout community to enjoy, and not listen to what our publishers tell us to do. And what cocks to suck”.

And certainly, the fact that Fallout 3 comes on various platforms, (probably) with optimizations as good as, let’s say, Resident Evil 4, also means that they don’t care at all. Go go, Bethesda, one more reason to hate you. And by that, I mean really hate you, I have a fellow priest that knows some incantations that will make your dicks smaller.

Read the rest of his bullshit here.

There was so much more I wanted to stuff into that title, but basically this is the story: Larry Niven, the sci-fi author best known for his Ringworld series, is working on a completely new game, together with the folks from Alchemic Productions. It's called Free Fall, it plays out in zero-gravity, and it's not based on any of his other books. Dunno about you, but I'm starting to feel the itch, drooling at this very first concept art.


If you're thinking about the old Ringworld adventure games from the early '90s, you can drop that thought right away. Kotaku managed to speak with Alchemic co-founder Rick Ernst about the project, and from what they write, Free Fall sounds like a lot more action-oriented game.

"Desiring more involvement than simply handing over his books as source material, Niven is working with Alchemic to create an entirely new fiction for the game, which will center around a nation of miners and spacers that inhabit Earth's Moon, Mars, and the asteroid belt. You begin the game as newly immigrated Earther looking to get a fresh start as a miner who soon finds himself embroiled in miner revolution."

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 Continue reading 'Larry Niven (Ringworld) Working On Free Fall'...

- 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.

A huge sigh of relief is in order, I believe, now that the prolongued silence has been broken on the PlayStation.Blog. As you can see below, the upcoming SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Confrontation for the PlayStation 3 looks light-years better than the disgusting screenshots which are still lingering on the game's official website. Although, truth be told, it's still not as good looking as we've come to expect from a future PS3 title.


Along with these screenshots, David Seymour (the game's Design Director from developer Slant Six Games) offers a few more info on SOCOM: Confrontation, but leaves the best for EGM magazine's cover story in their May issue. Still, one thing he specifically wants to tell the fans, again and again and again (yeah, he actually wrote it three times), is this: "There is an option to use classic SOCOM camera! It looks and feels like the original classic camera!". Great, now how about a release date, other than that elusive "2008"?

Just a tiny update to show the world of Grand Theft Auto IV in more detail, than all those blurry trailers which keep appearing lately. Some of them are all right, too, I just wish they were at a much higher resolution - like these screenshots here freshly ripped reaped from the game's website. And since there will be no GTA 4 demo, screens and trailers is all we're getting.

Much like the Chains of Olympus teaser ad included in God of War II's retail box (if my memory serves me right), God of War III for the PlayStation 3 is also being hinted as "coming soon" inside the package of the new PSP chapter launching this week. This time, however, there's not even a vague release timeframe like that "2007" initially announced for God of War: Chains of Olympus... which, as it turns out, was completely wrong anyway. My guess is that if they didn't even bother to write "2008" on the GoW3 ad now, they sure won't manage to launch it this year. Or simply put: God of War III coming in 2009. I dare Sony to prove me wrong.

- WiiFreeloader has been released for our region-free gaming pleasure. So no matter the game's country of origin, this baby will take it for a spin, for $19.99 / £9.99. Just in time for Super Smash Bros. Brawl this March 9, which is still missing a European release date.

- There will be no GTA 4 demo. But don't worry, they're not hiding anything. Just a gangload of criminals and whores waiting to be sodomized with broken bottles of vodka. Something the whole family can look forward to this April 29. If you have 100 hours to finish it.

- And by the time the GTA fever cools out, Metal Gear Solid 4 will be coming this June 12 on the PS3, as eventually confirmed - and detailed - by Konami. European date same as US, by the way. But, alas, Blu-ray disc doesn't have enough space for MGS4! Oh well, Metal Gear Online beta begins April 21.

- Why EA rocks (and sucks) in 2008 - five reasons why Electronic Arts 'rocks', and five reasons why it 'sucks'. I could add plenty more to the latter.

- Eidos parent company SCi cancels 14 games and fires 25% of its employees, in a radical attempt to stop (or at least slow) their downfall. Tomb Raider, Deux Ex and Hitman still alive. So is Battlestations, considering last week's announcement of a sequel. Oh and Tomb Raider: Underworld "is now scheduled to launch during the 2008 Christmas season".

- THQ director blames piracy for Iron Lore closure. And hardware vendors. And reviewers. And stupid gamers. Anything but the real problem.

- 38% of gamers are female. That leaves about 60% males, and 2% emo kids?

- And finally, some new games releasing this week, including Army of Two and God of War: Chains of Olympus for the PSP. Oh, speaking of God of War... (cue sequel post).

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?