Exploring Stuff That Makes Life Great
Well, there isn’t much to say today. We have laid our hands on some fresh new screenshots for Far Cry 2 from the ongoing Leipzig Games Conference. Screenies are, as you would expect, looking hot and exotic. Far Cry 2, under development by Ubisoft Montreal, will feature wonderful African savannas like the one you see above and below. Check out the pics below – large resolutions assured.
Yep, it’s me – the Garbled Zombie giving you your near-daily fix of awesome games. Today we shed light on Borderlands, under development at Gearbox, the famed dudes who made the Brothers in Arms series, the Halo: Combat Evolved PC port as well as several Half-Life expansions. All in all, Gearbox is one kickass developer, that I’m sure will not disappoint.
Borderlands was revealed when Game Informer showed off the cover for their September issue, which is where we’ll probably learn more. The game will be published by 2K, another splendid company. It’s going to be a post-apocalyptic sci-fi (deja vu?) and will feature 4-player online co-op, several RPG elements and vehicular action.
What gets the gears rolling, though is the game’s “content generation system” that will make for “near-endless variety in mission, environment, enemy, weapon, item and character customization”. Now that sounds too sexy to be true. A game that reinvents itself over and over?
As you can see, comparisons between this and id’s Rage are rife, with both looking near-identical now. I wonder if after the famed id-Epic rivalry, is id going to lock horns with Gearbox? The gossip keeps building, but till then we’ll wait for Borderlands, which will be coming out in Holiday Season, 2008. As you can probably guess, it’ll be coming out for the usual stock – the PC, PS3 and the Xbox 360.
Check these screenies out, by the way.
To be completely frank, Dungeon Siege wasn’t the best RPG I’ve ever played. And its story wasn’t the richest I’ve seen. But Gas Powered Games aren’t quitting and last month, they announced Space Siege – a sci-fi version of Dungeon Siege. A brand new trailer has also come up which you’ll find at the bottom.
The game boasts a “deep and compelling storyline”, which I’m highly skeptical about and “intense” action. The trailer definitely looks like it is in with the times and even bears a slight resemblance to Mass Effect, which is good. Maybe GPG can save itself after all. The only premise we know of right now is that a colonization ship is under siege by aliens who have annihilated Earth. At least the title “Space Siege” makes more sense than “Dungeon Siege”.
You will play as Seth, a robotics specialist who becomes hero of the day. The story will be fraught with moral dilemmas as you will have to decide whether you want Seth to pick up robotic upgrades and other such useful prosthetics at the sake of your ‘humanity’. The irony the writers wish to express here, is that you are trying to save the human race, but giving up your humanity. I like that.
These cybernetic modifications will actually play a large role in the story, as it may alienate (pun intended) Seth from the people he’s trying to save. NPCs will react differently and quests will differ as you get new modifications for every part of your body (if only Seth were female…).
This interesting new game will make its way to your PC next year, with no other details announced as of yet. Check out the official press release here, and the official site here. The official trailer can be found in The Pipeline (above).
Sierra Entertainment will be releasing a new open-ended, do-anything sort of game next year, under development by the almighty Radical Entertainment, known for games like Scarface: The World is Yours and The Simpsons Hit & Run. The game is titled ‘PROTOTYPE’ (the caps are entirely intentional) and will be set in New York City.
The game will revolve around a man named Alex Mercer, who has had a disturbing past and is currently raging a war. Things go downhill and you find yourself wrapped up in a story full of deception, double-crossing, conspiracy and perhaps more video game clichés.
Mercer will have unique powers that allow him to change shape and morph into anyone who crosses his path, complete with skills and powers. While I wouldn’t the call the ability particularly innovative, I’d like to see it in a video game! This ability will be no doubt connected to Mercer’s shady past which he must uncover while saving the world. C’mon, when are there going to be more original plots?
But good plot or not, Kelly Zmak, president of Radical Entertainment made me happy with the following lines:
Radical Entertainment set out to create the most dynamic video game character ever imagined. From free-form movement to over-the-top combat action; PROTOTYPE can climb or wall-run across any surface, jump 30 stories high, and destroy anything that crosses his path. Our team at Radical has built upon the technology that drove our previous best-selling games and now has the freedom to dream big and imagine a powerful character in a sprawling city like New York, cloaked in a conspiracy and ripped from today’s headlines.
Sounds real sexy, doesn’t it? I just hope these uber abilities aren’t some lame stuff added near the end of the game for an hour. I hate it when they do that.
PROTOTYPE will be coming out for the Xbox 360, the PS3 and your good ol’ PC in the Summer of 2008. Watch for it, but first check out these screenies:
Hot off the presses here is Microsoft official statement:
Microsoft Corp. today kicked off the greatest holiday lineup in video game history by announcing it will reduce the estimated retail price (ERP) of Xbox 360 by $50 (U.S.) beginning Aug. 8. Soon to follow, Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) will release its blockbuster video game title “Madden NFL 08” on Aug. 14. “Madden NFL Football,” one of the most important mass-appeal franchises in video games, was the top-selling game of 2006 and is the top-selling franchise of the past 10 years. Only Xbox 360 offers a console for all interests and budgets.
“The fact that we have been able to keep our launch price longer than any other console while retaining our leadership position demonstrates that consumers believe in the value of Xbox 360,” said Mitch Koch, corporate vice president, Global Retail Sales and Marketing Group, Entertainment and Devices Division at Microsoft. “On the eve of the best holiday games lineup ever and the launch of ‘Madden NFL 08,’ there has never been a better time to jump into Xbox 360.”
Xbox 360 will enhance the value of its entire family of consoles beginning on Aug. 8. At a new ERP of $349.99 (U.S.), Xbox 360 offers an unsurpassed experience right out of the box with a 20GB hard drive, wireless controller, Xbox 360 headset, and more. For those looking for the ultimate value and the freedom to customize their console as they see fit, Xbox 360 Core System now has an ERP of $279.99 (U.S.). Xbox 360 Core System provides everything needed to start gaming while giving consumers the ability to add new features and accessories they want. Dressed in black and equipped with a 120GB hard drive, Xbox 360 Elite will be priced at an ERP of $449.99 (U.S.) for those who want the premium games and entertainment experience. In anticipation of this year’s largest blockbuster game launch, the Xbox 360 Halo 3 Special Edition Console will hit store shelves in September with an ERP of $399.99 (U.S.). Featuring an authentic Spartan green-and-gold finish, this console will include a matching Xbox 360 Wireless Controller, Xbox 360 20GB hard drive, Xbox 360 Headset, an Xbox 360 Play and Charge Kit, and more.
In addition to being a great value, Xbox 360 is the only console on which consumers will be able to play all of this year’s biggest titles: “Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock” (RedOctane/Activision), “Halo 3” (Bungie Studios), “Madden NFL 08” (EA) and “Rock Band” (MTV Games). Xbox 360 is also home to the most exclusive games, such as “BioShock” (2K Games), “Lost Odyssey” (Mistwalker/Feel Plus), “Blue Dragon” (Mistwalker/Artoon Co. Ltd.), “Scene It? Lights, Camera, Action,” (Screenlife), “Project Gotham Racing 4” (Bizarre Creations Ltd.), “Mass Effect” (BioWare Corp.), “Naruto: Rise of a Ninja” (Ubisoft), and “Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation” (NAMCO BANDAI Games). With a record-setting attach rate of 6.1 games per console sold (NPD, Life-to-date, June 2007), a new price and the greatest holiday games lineup ever, Xbox 360 has proved itself as the home of the best games and entertainment at the best value.
BlizzCon is on and Blizzard is throwing at us what they’ve got about the upcoming World of Warcraft movie. While WarCraft III became one of the most popular RTS games ever, WoW was the game that brought MMORPG to the mainstream audience and Blizzard doesn’t want to stop milking it. The movie is being handled by Legendary Pictures, truly legendary for movies like Batman Begins and 300.
No director has been attached to the project yet, but it will certainly be someone of ‘caliber’. Man, I can’t wait for Uwe Boll to hear this. Blizzard and Legendary are intent on “not creating another video game movie”, but an actual “epic movie”. They further commented that they aren’t making this movie for the 9 million WoW fans alone, but for the general audience. When describing the $100 million movie, Legendary Pictures’ Thomas Tull said, “We’re not gonna make some cheesy little.. I don’t even know what a good example is,” when the crowd began crying “Doom!” Tull answered that he’s not giving any examples.
The storyline will not be buried in thousands of years of continuity, but will be more “recent”. The main character is touted to be “bad ass”, and the setting will be some time before World of Warcraft, so that fans can see the races, the places and cleavage spaces from the game. The movie is described as a series of plot points rolled up together in a 2.5 hour long movie, like X-Men. While Legendary saying it sounds good, I’m not entirely so sure myself.
The movie will not be a “quest movie” like Lord of the Rings, but a full-fledged war movie. Well, with War in its title already, I didn’t know what else to expect. It will be set from the perspective of the Alliance, which set all the Horde-fans into “hate mode”. Chris Metzen from Blizzard confirmed that he loves the Horde and that Thrall is an “interesting character”. After saying that a green-skinned guy doesn’t make for a Hollywood protagonist, a fan yelled “Shrek!” The fan, who went missing is rumoured to have been a Pixar employee wanting to create a G-rated film and rake in the moolah.
Metzen says that they want to include the intensity and not compromise on the action in the movie. It will definitely not be a G or a PG-rated movie, thank God. R is extremely unlikely, hinting that the movie will most likely fall in the PG-13 group. According to an answer to a question posed by a fan, Chuck Norris has not been contacted for a cameo (as of now). We can only keep hoping, though.
The movie is slated for a 2009 release and is too early in production to talk more about. No big stars have been confirmed yet, but not denied either. As a parting gift, Blizzard gave us some concept art for the game, which you’ll see at the top (yeah, it’s just that). Click on it to see a super-sized version.
This is shaping up to be more of a kick-ass movie than it was originally thought of. We’ll see how it shapes up in the end in 2009, though.