More info on Spielberg’s console video games revealed

Spielberg meets Miyamoto.

For those not in the know, Steven Spielberg has made a deal with EA to create lots of alphabets three video games. More details have finally come up on them, and they seem to be as interesting as they were before I found out. Right, whatever. Let’s see what Steve has in store for us now.

The first game is being developed for the Nintendo Wii and is codenamed “PQRS” which will “blend the creativity of the building-blocks game Jenga with the charm of a Saturday-morning cartoon.” With a description as wacky as that, you know the game can’t go wrong. The game will supposedly allow you manipulate blocks with your hand. Yes, how cool is that – a puzzle game with hands. Mental exhaustion meets its physical cousin.

Of the game, Spielberg said, “it just seemed like a great thing for the entire family to play together over Christmas. Although you don’t need the excuse of a holiday to enjoy it.”

The second game is for the Xbox 360 and PS3, which is thankfully more interesting. It is codenamed “LMNO” and is described as “a combination of the movies North by Northwest and E.T.” I just hope that by E.T., they meant the movie and not the video game. Of course, the good thing is that the E.T. in this case is going to be female, grown-up and really hot.

Before you pretend to dump Samus, note that you will not play as the girl in the game.

You’re an ex-secret agent, and the bond that you forge while on the run with the computer-controlled woman—good, bad, indifferent—determines the nature of her special abilities and the ways in which she’ll assist you.

And now, from Spielberg’s mouth:

“The challenge is, can the game have an emotional impact on players while they are actively manipulating the world?”

I hate it when anyone uses the term “emotional impact” in gaming these days. Ever since the adventure games stopped, gamers lost their last shred of emotion. But emotion aside, EA is going to go full on to turn on your natural instincts by making our hot E.T. as sexy as possible with “eyes that widen, lips that curl and translucent skin that lights up in different colors to express her quicksilver moods” Rawr. And no, that line wasn’t taken from a Barbie commercial.

The third game (which is most likely to have more mundane letters) has not been revealed yet. EA might be saving it for E3, who knows?

[Via Newsweek]

This is Next-Gen Gameplay

Alone in the Dark 4

THIS IS NEXT-GEN GAMEPLAY

You know what, screw Gears of War – I want Alone in the Dark 4! Yes I’ve said it! I want an Atari game…

Don’t believe – good you shouldn’t cause I lie all the time. ALL THE TIME. but not this time. Watch this video now! A special thanks to the German guys at Computer Spiele. Thankfully they only talk for the first 30 seconds, the rest is pure gaming Godliness.

To End All Wars, World War I shooter coming for Xbox 360 and PS3

I have a feeling the headline has left you befuddled. Allow me to be clearer: UK Video game publisher Ghostlight will  be publishing a game developed by Chemistry, based on the First World War titled To End All Wars. As you can see, journalists, bloggers and general pun-makers are going to have a field day everytime this game makes headlines.

This is one of those few games (if not the first) to be based on World War One, which is often described as a more tragic war than World War 2 (that’s where all the Nazis and Call of Duties came up). Chemistry is committed to replicate the horror and pain of World War One, rather than dumb it down to something fun you play on a console one rainy afternoon. Aiding Chemistry in its quest will be the Unreal Engine 3 (my personal favourite) which was previously used in Gears of War and will be used in Unreal Tournament 3.

To End All Wars will be releasing in Summer 2008 for the XBOX 360 and the PS3. No rifle-shooting and trench crawling for your Wiimote, sorry. The game will reportedly feature weapons, equipment and other material as authentic as possible, which could be a tough job considering the number of WWI games out there. Right now, we know that you’ll find yourself on night patrols, trenches and running out in the open like the helpless dog you really are.

Ghostlight is not a very famous publisher, yet, since they’ve only made their start with a PS2 game, a DS game and a PSP game. But Ghostlight’s director Khaled Lababedi says:

“Alongside other products to be announced in the coming months, To End All Wars will propel Ghostlight towards its stated objective of becoming a major global publisher.”

Chemistry is owned by Kuju Entertainment and are known for their titles Buzz! (PS2) and Sensible Soccer (PS2). On a side note, I’ve never heard of either title. Let’s hope End Of All Wars turns out to be good game and show us what the horrors of the First World War were. In a very fun game that you play on a console in a rainy afternoon.

[Via Shacknews]

New T. Hawk sprite for SSF2T HD Remix

thawksprite1.JPG

Another week, another trickle of Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix (just when you thought the qualifiers had ended) sprites. This week Brian Dunn brings us a single sprite of T. Hawk, everyone’s least favorite SF II character ever. Poor stereotyped guy. Maybe his totally radical revamp will change some of that, though. It certainly makes me want to give him another shot. Maybe it’s his super-trendy belt buckle.

Dunn’s blog over at Capcom USA also gives us a little more insight into the rendering process for the new game. If you’ve scoured Stuff We Like from top to bottom and still have time to kill, you should head over there and check it out. It’s a pretty cool read. Otherwise, just click on the thumbnail, and fall in love with this game all over again.

thawksprite.jpg

[Feldman is the MAN!]

New ‘groundbreaking’ PS3 Exclusive to be made by Indigo Prophecy devs

Indigo Prophecy

You might have heard of a game developer called Quantic Dream, if you’ve ever heard of a highly-acclaimed game known as Indigo Prophecy (or Fahrenheit). If you haven’t, Indigo Prophecy is a fairly recent adventure game that won accolades for its breathtaking storyline, freshness and the semi-cinematic experience it delivered. You can tell just by looking at those adjectives that this was one hell of a game.

Quantic Dream has signed a deal with Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios to make a PS3 exclusive title, which will “set a new benchmark in delivering emotionally compelling experiences to gamers.” Considering Quantic Dream’s record, they may not be bluffing. The game will reportedly be using the Cell Broadband Engine™, but no other important details have been announced.

You can find the whole press release at the source, but the interesting parts of the same are as follows:

Michael Denny, Vice President, SCE Worldwide Studios, said: “We’re really excited to be working with Quantic Dream for the first time and to have this opportunity to once again push the gaming experience to realise a new level of interactivity and, in particular, to engage players at an emotional level never experienced before. We’re looking forward to revealing more news on this special title later this year.”

I’d be really glad if I get to play a game that actually touches me. No game has come close to doing that since LucasArts’ masterpiece Grim Fandango.

David Cage, Founder, President and CEO of Quantic Dream, said, “We always believed that “next generation” meant more meaningful content based on players’ emotional involvement. To us, PS3 is the only platform that can truly deliver on this promise, and SCE WWS is a group that is both inspiring and pleasant to work with.”

Finally, somebody realizes that next-gen doesn’t necessarily mean bigger and better graphics and sound.

This is one project I am really looking forward to. More details are expected to be released “soon”. Hit the source for the full press release.

[Via Kotaku]