Category: Video Games

Two downloadable Watchmen games confirmed

Nite OwlMovie video game tie-ins aren’t news, but what Warner Bros. is trying to go with them is. Warner has announced that they will be experimenting with downloadable tie-in games for Watchmen and two are already in the works!

The first will be around the release of the movie (i.e. March 2009), while the second will arrive shortly after the DVD release. What’s more, if these two games end up successful, Warner will go ahead with further episodes.

Seeing the sorry fate of movie-based video games was probably what spurred Warner into action. The downloadable format means that the game will be shorter and more appealing to the fans. According to Warner, this model will end up better at pleasing fans and critics, which is definitely going to be a tough task.

Interestingly, the source article at Variety also says that if the series ends up successfull, there might even be future pics tie-ins with the games. We’re not sure if a downloadable series can get that successful, so we’re just gonna go with a “Yeah, right” for now.

Right now we know that the first game will be released for the PC, Xbox 360 and PS3. It will be developed by Danish developer Deadline Games. I checked out their Wikipedia entry and I don’t see any titles ringing any bells. The game will feature Rorshach and Nite Owl battling crime.

This would mean that the game is something of a prequel to Watchmen, where a close friendship between Rorshach and Nite Owl as crimefighting buddies is hinted at. Would be great to see this in the form of a video game, but again, we’re totally not sure if this is gonna work.

id’s Quake Live

Quake Live

It’s nice to see that the major PC developers are taking some steps to actually evolve the PC Gaming scene rather than bitch about piracy and low sales. While Valve has announced their revolutionary Steam Cloud and experimented with episodic gaming, id will be doing some experiments of their own.

At last year’s QuakeCon, id announced Quake Zero: a concept wherein they will take their excellent Quake III: Arena, make it ad-supported and completely free, and then make it browser-based. And you thought the only thing you can play on your Firefox was that silly Flash game.

Quake Zero has become Quake Live and gone into Beta testing, but we haven’t had much headway other than that. Sure, it may not sound as exciting as id’s other projects, Rage and Doom 4, but it is still an interesting idea that could encourage dozens more.

The promise of free gameplay means that pretty much anyone can play, and without piracy, too, so the developers won’t be affected. And since it’s browser-based, it brings relief to our lazy asses that would rather mull over whatever’s on Firefox rather than start the game. Hmm, or maybe it’s just me.

Regardless, if id ends up successful, we could see a completely new form of gaming, with MMORPGs diving for it (and hopefully ending those monthly subscription fees). Imagine if you will, competition and tournament games like Quake Live: racing games, sport games, it’ll be phenomenal!

I’d like to see Epic do something similar with their Unreal Tournament series. Epic and id have been fierce rivals since Quake III and Unreal Tournament came out almost simultaneously. But their paths somewhat diverged. With Epic’s Unreal Tournament III ending up bombing at the charts, they have no option but to blame piracy for a game that didn’t have much in it anyways. Will Epic (or some other developer) try a competitor to Quake Live?

QuakeCon 2008 starts at the end of this month and there’s still a good week to go before it, but let’s just expect something to happen then. You can also ogle over the recently released trailer that shows some footage, especially the community and score charts on the big website. Also notice the billboards splashed over the maps.

No idea on when Quake Live will be coming out, but we’d expect early next year at the latest, and a month after QuakeCon at the earliest! 😉

E3 2008 Show Floor Highlights

E3 wouldn’t be one of the best video game conventions around if it wasn’t for the show floor. The show floor allows attendees to experience the video games they had only once heard about.

So how did this year’s show floor stack up?

Not that well. If I actually rated it, I would say F. Yes I FAILED the show floor. Most game companies had their own private showings with exclusive demos, which made the actual show floor pointless. That’s not to say there weren’t interesting games.

Nintendo E3 Announcements

At the E3 Media & Business Summit today, Nintendo unveiled an enhancement for its iconic Wii Remote controller and new games that promise to further enrich and engage players around the world. These offerings build on Nintendo’s ongoing efforts to remove the barriers between expert and novice video game players, an approach that has been instrumental in creating a paradigm shift for the industry since the advent of the Nintendo DS portable system and the Wii home console.

“Much has been reported about the ‘expanded audience’ for games, but what’s really at play is an expanded experience,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “People of all ages having fun together—whether in the same room or from remote locations—puts smiles on faces and drives millions of new players into video game entertainment.”

Wii Sports Resort is not just a simple sequel to one of the world’s most popular console games, Wii Sports. It is the first title to make use of another Nintendo advance, the Wii MotionPlus accessory, which plugs into the base of the Wii Remote controller to provide an incredibly realistic motion experience. Scheduled for release in spring 2009, Wii Sports Resort includes new game experiences such as Sword Play, Power Cruising on a water scooter and Disc Dog, along with the new Wii MotionPlus accessory and Wii Remote Jacket at no additional cost. The Wii MotionPlus enhances precision and player immersion for the Nintendo-pioneered motion-controlled gaming trend that has drawn millions of new people to the world of video games.

This holiday season, Animal Crossing: City Folk lets players move into a fun community populated by quirky animals. Players can improve their community, chat with the locals or just spend the day fishing and collecting fossils. There is also the opportunity to catch a bus into the new urban city area. Though you’ll never see other players in the city, you can connect with them in new ways using WiiConnect24, such as bidding on your friends’ items at the auction house or visiting the Happy Room Academy headquarters to see the top-rated player house. Another new feature in Animal Crossing: City Folk is the ability to visit friends’ towns and chat with one another using the new WiiSpeak microphone. The WiiSpeak microphone is sold separately at an MSRP of $29.99 and allows Internet voice chat among Wii Friends – not just from person to person but from room to room.

Wii Music makes it easy for people to jam to tunes, even if they don’t know anything about music. Wii Music transforms the Wii Remote and Nunchuk controllers into more than 60 different instruments, including a violin, steel drums, electric guitar – even a cowbell. Players strum, shake, tap and drum along to the music in a pressure-free musical playground where there are no mistakes. They can improvise on their arrangements by skipping a note – or adding 10. The music always sounds great, but it’s up to players to come up with creative arrangements that they can then send to friends and family who have Wii Music. Those Wii Friends can then put their own spin on the arrangement and send it back and forth over WiiConnect24. Wii Music will be available in the United States for the holidays.

In the portable category, Nintendo DS remains on top. Nintendo DS has sold more than 20 million units in the United States and more than 70 million worldwide. Third-party publishers continue to take advantage of that installed base. Coming this winter exclusively to the Nintendo DS is Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, a new entry in Rockstar Games’ award-winning and hugely successful Grand Theft Auto franchise. Activision’s exclusive Guitar Hero On Tour: Decades makes its anticipated debut this fall, as does a collection of wild and wonderful critters from Electronic Arts’ Spore Creatures.

Universal Announces Wanted Video Game

Bullet bending

Universal Pictures Digital Platforms Group (UPDPG) is creating a video game based on Universal Pictures’ blockbuster action-thriller Wanted, starring James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman and Angelina Jolie. The game will be published worldwide by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and is being developed by renowned game developer GRIN, best known for its work on the Tom Clancy: Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter series and the upcoming Bionic Commando. The film, which was released on June 27, 2008, has earned $192 million in worldwide box office to date.

Based upon Mark Millar’s graphic novel series and helmed by stunning visualist director Timur Bekmambetov — creator of the most successful Russian film franchise in history — Wanted tells the tale of one apathetic nobody’s transformation as he is introduced to a new life and new powers that he never knew existed. With the film’s successful release, the world has been introduced to a hero for a new generation: Wesley Gibson.

“Wanted is a film with a fantastic visual style, an in-your-face attitude and edge-of-your-seat action sequences, and moviegoers around the world have resoundingly embraced it,” said Bill Kispert, Vice President and General Manager, Interactive, Universal Pictures Digital Platforms Group. “From the time we read the script and saw the film’s pre-visual material, it was clear that Wanted was a powerful property – one that was well poised to deliver an engaging gaming experience. We look forward to working closely with the film’s creative team to extend Wanted’s mythology and to expand the story behind the Fraternity of Assassins.”

The Wanted video game will feature intense third-person action, taking combat to a new level with iconic moves — such as “curving bullets” and “Assassin Time” — drawn directly from the film, as well as an innovative, multi-layered cover mechanic. The storyline of the game will pick up where the movie leaves off, providing fans with another chapter to explore both Wesley’s journey into becoming an überassassin and the epic fiction of the Fraternity.

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment will publish the Wanted video game, utilizing its premiere sales, marketing and distribution capabilities to deliver the title to gamers worldwide.

“Wanted is a striking property with gripping action, which presents strong gaming possibilities,” said Martin Tremblay, President, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. “Publishing the Wanted game is an excellent opportunity for Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment to team with Universal on a global property with terrific cross-platform potential. Players will get to immerse themselves in the Wanted universe with a stunning visual experience and engaging gameplay.”

The project also re-teams UPDPG with executive game producer Pete Wanat, who has previously collaborated with the film studio on critically acclaimed movie-based games The Thing, The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay, and Scarface: The World is Yours.

“The team at GRIN has a proven track record of creating action games that push the envelope in terms of gameplay and combat,” said Mr. Wanat. “With the Wanted video game, GRIN is creating entirely new gameplay mechanics and an experience that pulls no punches. Gamers and fans of the film alike will be blown away by the ability to curve bullets, pull off amazing combat sequences and literally conduct a symphony orchestra of action with the arsenal available to the most powerful assassins in the world.”

The Wanted game, in development since early 2007, will be available later this year for consoles and personal computer. For more information on the film and franchise, please visit www.wantedmovie.com.