Lorenzo Carcaterra Scripts Alone in the Dark

Atari today announced that New York Times best-selling author Lorenzo Carcaterra has teamed up with the company as scriptwriter on Alone in the Dark. Poised to redefine action gaming, Alone in the Dark will deliver blockbuster-action on a cataclysmic scale set in New York City’s iconic Central Park. Alone in the Dark is being developed by Eden Games for Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system and Windows platform.

With more than twenty years of writing experience, Carcaterra lends his creative pen to provide the most authentic NYC experience yet in a video game. Born and raised in New York’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood, Carcaterra has covered the city in both fact and fiction, beginning as a reporter for the NY Daily News in 1976, becoming a successful television consultant and writer for shows including Law and Order and achieving success as the best selling author of such books as Apaches, Gangster and Sleepers, the latter of which became the hit film starring Robert De Niro and Brad Pitt.

Carcaterra delivers riveting stories filled with graphic narrative that have earned him international acclaim,” said David Nadal, Studio Head, Eden Games. “Gripping, compelling storylines are the basis of what differentiates a good game from a blockbuster. With Alone in the Dark, Carcaterra has crafted a meticulously engaging storyline that will grab the player from the start and send them on a journey through Central Park they will never forget.”

“Alone in the Dark was a challenge which allowed me to bring a realistic feel to an apocalyptic situation facing New York City and really dig into the Central Park conspiracy idea,” said Lorenzo Carcaterra. “It also allowed me to write for hard-edged characters, some good, some bad, all forced to confront a force whose power they could never imagine. The story never stalls, always moves in overdrive and the characters zoom right along at warp speed, stopping long enough along the way to say a few lines that keep driving the plot forward. The end result is, I hope, a roller-coaster of a thrill ride that should be tons of fun to play.”

Taking inspiration from today’s globally popular TV action dramas, Alone in the Dark delivers a new level of gripping narrative intensity, presented as a complete season format of episodes each containing action, plot twists and cliff-hangers. With a script written by best-selling author Carcaterra, players take the role of Edward Carnby as over the course of one apocalyptic night he must uncover the earth-shattering secret behind Central Park.

With a dramatic, graphic and fast-paced storyline, unprecedented levels of real-world interaction and physics, advanced artificial intelligence, stunning visuals and uniquely immersive interface, all set in a meticulously detailed, wide-open environment, Alone in the Dark is set to break gaming clichés, fulfill the next gen-promise, and deliver a new kind of entertainment experience.

The Simpsons Game

The Simpsons

As if the world hasn’t had enough movie licensed games, here we go with The Simpsons movie! Hopefully this game will bring back the great gameplay that the original arcade game had back in the day.The Simpsons Game features a hilarious, sprawling, and mind-busting storyline crafted by the TV show’s Emmy Award-winning writers. The action-comedy will also feature the full cast of voice actors from the TV show who will reprise their roles for the game.

In The Simpsons Game, Homer, Marge, Bart, and Lisa use exciting, all-new powers to save the world from rising chaos. To help the Simpsons, gamers at home must journey through all of Springfield (as well as vast worlds beyond!), vanquish an amazing array of villains, and fight their way through parodies of multiple popular games.

“Our goal in developing The Simpsons Game is to create the most original game ever, which is a lofty goal and only possible given the close collaboration with The Simpsons creative team,” said Scot Amos, Executive Producer of the project. “We’re also especially proud of the game’s warm visual feel, which captures for the first time ever in a game the look of the TV show.” Added Amos, “As Comic Book Guy says, Best. Simpsons Game. Ever!”

“The EA group was so enormously talented and beyond belief energetic that I am thinking of suing for second hand exhaustion,” said James L. Brooks, Executive Producer of The Simpsons.

Under development by EA’s Redwood Shores Studio, The Simpsons Game is scheduled for release in Fall 2007 for the PLAYSTATION 3, PlayStation 2, PSP, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS.

Transformers: The Game trailer

Transformers: The Movie

We’re now airing the upcoming trailer for the game based on the movie based on the TV show and toys. Yes it’s another video game that probably will suck due to its being rushed, but will still sell a million copies anyway… Don’t movie-licensed games make you feel all joyful inside?

Enjoy this trailer from Transformers: The Game!

Activision dropped the ball

Okay when it comes to games based on movies the consensus is generally that they suck. The rare exception is the Chronicles of Riddick and Spiderman 2 the game. Now Spiderman 3 has come out, and so did the game. It took the same brilliant swinging system from last Spiderman movie game, and put it on numerous platforms making the area you can swing around much larger. Well they screwed it up.

Spiderman 3 is a horrible excuse for a sequel. The camera controls suck, you can’t climb a wall without it going utterly bonkers giving you a headache. The graphics look like ASS, even on a 360. The combat is decent, but nothing to write home about. Sure, swinging is fun, but swinging around for hours on end gets quite tedious.

From what I’ve seen of the Wii version it’s the same deal. Poor controls, bad graphics, and an almost worthless experience. If you want a superhero Sandbox game pick up either Spiderman 2, Crackdown, or Hulk Ultimate Destruction, but avoid Spiderman 3 at all costs.