Stillfree's blog

Doom 4

2009-04-16T01:02:00.000-07:00

In late February, id Software launched Quake Live, a browser-based free-to-play remake of Quake III Arena. Currently in open beta, the service will be entirely ad-supported when it goes live later this year--or at least that's the hope of Todd Hollenshead, id's CEO.

Todd Hollenshead.

While turning a shooter from 1999 into a profitable business using 2009 cloud computing is ambitious, it's just one of the many projects on id's plate. The Texan developer is also hard at work on Rage, a postapocalyptic action game that blends racing and shooting with a dash of role-playing. First revealed at QuakeCon 2007, the all-new property will be published by Electronic Arts instead of id's traditional publishing partner, Activision.

Though remarkable for its graphics, Rage is also noteworthy because it will be the first game that id will develop internally for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Mac, and PC. Indeed, Hollenshead told GameSpot that id's technology chief, John Carmack, considers the 360 the game's "primary platform." Such sentiments are surprising, coming from one of the minds that put PC gaming on the map in the 1990s with the original Doom and Quake series.

id's new embrace of multiplatform development is just one part of how it is adjusting to the game industry's rapidly changing landscape. To learn more about the legendary studio's thoughts on its games, the id Tech 5 engine, the Wii's effect on the market, and what surprises id has in store for E3 this year, GameSpot recently sat down with Hollenshead in an upscale San Francisco drinking establishment. Steve Nix, id's director of business development, also popped in for a round.

MULTIPLATFORM AND PC PITFALLS
GS: Now, id was a huge pioneer for PC gaming. But when you announced Rage, it was the first time you guys announced development of a game in-house for the PS3, 360, and PC.

TH: Yeah, multiplatform.

GS: So do you guys still consider yourself first and foremost a PC developer?

TH: Well, actually it's been a fundamental, sort of philosophical shift at the company, is that we really have transitioned from, first and foremost, a PC developer to a multiplatform developer. And so when John [Carmack] developed id Tech 5 (see below), it really was targeted from the initiation as a multiplatform technology solution.

Now, there's no question that our roots are in PC gaming. And when I play a first-person shooter, keyboard and mouse is the configuration that I want to play on. I'm devoting my gaming time right now on the PC to Quake Live. I like a little Rock Band on the console, to be honest about it. But we feel like, in terms of your triple-A, big-budget, big-market title, that you really have to be cross-platform to be successful, unless you're a first party.

So as an independent developer, we feel like we have to be on all the relevant platforms. So we don't really view ourselves as PC first. I think I would say that John says that probably the primary development platform for Rage is actually the 360.

GS: OK. Now, how do you see the PC landscape changing in the next couple of years? Do you see it becoming almost all digital downloads?

id developed its last game, Doom 3, solely for the PC. Vicarious Visions later ported it to the original Xbox.

TH: Well, I think that's an interesting question. I don't know really where it's going to go. But there's a few problems you have in PC gaming right now that cause friction in the marketplace. Piracy is a big problem. And I've gone on and on about that, so I don't think I need to underscore what the issue there is.

The other thing is, is that retailers are more focused on consoles than they are on the PC platform, primarily, I think, because Microsoft is campaigning for the 360, probably to some extent to the expense of Windows-based games. Even though they have their whole Games for Windows initiative today, it's a lot less than it was a year ago. Clearly the 360 is where their big bet is. And, of course, Sony could care less about the PC.

So retailers are devoting less shelf space to PC games than they were in the past, and there's more emphasis on the consoles. And, to get the big huge marketing budgets behind games you need to make them a huge success. If you're on PC, there's World of Warcraft, the Sims--and there's everything else, if you're not multiplatform.

So the question is, what is the solution? If you do an end run around retail, and you deliver it all digitally, is that going to be the solution? Are you going to deliver it through a browser, like Quake Live? Is it going to be a different market? Are you going to do microtransactions? I think the jury's out on all that.

I do believe that for PC games to be successful independently, as our experiment with Quake Live is, I think you have to do something a little bit different. I mean, you have to think about what your market is and where you're going and what you can deliver. Because even though they may have had critical success, games that have been PC-only haven't achieved the same sales success as titles of similar quality in the past would have achieved.

So, yeah, I think that the PC market is in a period of transition. And ultimately what it's going to shake out to be, we're finding out. That's why we're doing things like the grand experiment with Quake Live, to find out if it's going to be viable.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Sequel in the Works

2009-04-16T00:59:00.000-07:00

GSC Game World's first-person shooter S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl is getting a sequel, according to a transcription of a Russian interview with president Sergey Grigorovitch. Blue's cites two different websites that have provided rough English transcripts of the interview, which apparently does confirm that a full sequel to the original game is in development.

Additionally, Grigorovitch goes on to say that there is an add-on for the original game also coming this autumn, which will go by the name of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat.
However, in an online conference* earlier this week, Grigorovitch was asked whether the April 2009 calendar featuring the words 'Call of Pripyat' in Russian was an April Fools' joke.

He replied* that this was not a joke and would be the name of the second expansion. He added* that this new expansion will be released later this year. Furthermore, a full S.T.A.L.K.E.R. title is also in development, although there's currently no information on when we will hear more about this.
While this news has yet to be confirmed by western sources, it is very likely that GSC Game World's plans for these two additions to the series will be unveiled at E3 2009.

Painkiller: Resurrection Revealed

2009-04-14T23:10:00.000-07:00

April 9, 2009 - This weekend marks the fifth anniversary of the original Painkiller's release. The hellish game took a decidedly old school approach to the first-person shooter genre, focusing on the straightforward running and shooting of early shooters like Quake and Doom. But though the gameplay was a definite throwback, the polished graphics and the immense scale of the bosses were firmly rooted in the next generation of gaming. Today JoWood and Homegrown Games are announcing a brand new sequel in the Painkiller series, Painkiller: Resurrection, and we've got the first exclusive details.

If you've ever played a Painkiller game, this setting is no great mystery to you.
The player takes on the role of Wild Bill Sherman, a CIA assassin who works for highly placed members of the government. Though he can claim to be doing some good in the world by ridding it of weapon smugglers and drug lords, his missions to assassinate his employers' political rivals are a bit less morally ambiguous and even a killer-for-hire has to have some principles.

The opening of the game shows Wild Bill in front of a church planting C4 charges on a parked car. After he wires the explosive the car's ignition, he retreats to the other side of the street to wait for his target. He soon spots him, coming down the street in his high-priced suit and followed by his hulking bodyguards. Just as the target approaches the car, Bill notices a school bus slowing down and approaching a stop just beside the car.

Knowing that killing this man will cause the death of several innocent people, Bill suffers a crisis of conscience and begins to race towards the car, screaming out a warning. But it's all too late. His mark turns the key in the ignition and the C4 goes off. The massive explosion throws Bill across the street and he dies there in the road.

Then the game begins.

The Painkiller is a weapon with many different uses.
The player, after a brief moment of tumbled confusion, finds himself standing in a scene eerily similar to the one he just left. The old church is still in front of him, but it's run down now, and oddly out of proportion. In fact, the whole world has a dark and mysterious sort of atmosphere and it's up to the player to figure out where he is and, eventually, how to escape from the world he's in. As he explores the area, he'll come across a few health packs and the eponymous Painkiller.

The Painkiller weapon is one of the stars of the series, so it's no shock that Wild Bill would get his hands on it right away. The main fire mode activates spinning blades that chew through enemies at close range. The secondary fire option sends the blades spinning out from the weapon, damaging enemies in its path. From there the weapon can either fire energy beams in the direction of the blades, or activate the secondary fire again to recall the blades and use them for melee attacks. Soon enough, the Painkiller's unique applications will be put to the test as Wild Bill is set upon by a number of monsters and demons. At first, the player is fighting purely out of an instinct to stay alive but as the game unfolds, the ba

ttles will take on a new purpose and new layers of meaning.

http://media.pc.ign.com/media/143/14339154/imgs_1.html

Fallout MMO are producator

2009-04-12T03:20:00.000-07:00

Interplay Entertainment announced that it signed a deal to fund independent studio Masthead Studios for the development of its massively multiplayer online game code-named Project V13, which is widely speculated to be an MMORPG set in the Fallout world.

Interplay's team has been working on the game's design and development since 2007, and will now work with Bulgarian-based Masthead to complete the project. Project V13 will use proprietary tools and MMOG technology that was originally developed for Masthead's Earthrise MMORPG, due for PCs in the second half of 2009.

Though Fallout 3 developer and publisher Bethesda acquired the Fallout franchise from Interplay in 2004, the latter can still license the rights to the development of an MMO thanks to a clause in their agreement. The Project V13 name seems to reference the Vault 13 starting point in the original Fallout game, and Chris Taylor, the lead designer for the first title, is the lead systems designer for this project.

"We are looking forward to turning the vision of our game designers into a compelling online gaming experience," says Interplay chairman and CEO Herve Caen. "The planning and design completed for Project: V13 thus far, combined with Masthead's resources, tools, and growing team of dedicated MMOG developers, will bring this unique game to reality."

Masthead Studios president Atanas Atanasov adds, "This arrangement is ideal because it leverages the technology our professionals have specifically built for advanced massively multiplayer online games into what we expect will be a groundbreaking Interplay gaming title."
Pentru cei care nu stiu engleza :

De câţiva ani Interplay încearcă să strângă fonduri pentru a pune în practică proiectul V13, numele de cod pentru MMO-ul plasat în universul Fallout, şi acum se pare că au reuşit. Recent Interplay a semnat un acord cu producătorul bulgar Masthead Studios, ce lucrează momentan la MMO-ul Earthrise, pentru a realiza proiectul V13.

Jocul va fi construit pe baza uneltelor create de Masthead, iar printre cei implicaţi la proiect se află oameni precum Chris Taylor, nu cel care a creat Total Anihilation, lead designer al primului titlu din seria Fallout. Informaţii suplimentare despre joc nu există la ora actuală, nici un an aproximativ în care va fi lansat, dar spre sfârşitul acestui an va fi lansat Earthrise, un joc ce probabil va da câteva indicii despre lucruri la care ar trebui să ne aşteptăm să apară în MMO-ul Fallout.

Fast and Furios 4

2009-04-11T05:54:00.001-07:00

Vin Diesel and Paul Walker reteam for the ultimate chapter of the franchise built on speed—Fast and Furious. Heading back to the streets where it all began, they rejoin Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster to blast muscle, tuner and exotic cars across Los Angeles and floor through the Mexican desert in the new high-octane action-thriller.

When a crime brings them back to L.A., fugitive ex-con Dom Toretto (Diesel) reignites his feud with agent Brian O’Conner (Walker). But as they are forced to confront a shared enemy, Dom and Brian must give in to an uncertain new trust if they hope to outmanuever him. And from convoy heists to precision tunnel crawls across international lines, two men will find the best way to get revenge: push the limits of what’s possible behind the wheel.

Shadow of the Colossus Movie in Development

2009-04-11T04:01:00.001-07:00

One of the most beloved games of the PlayStation 2 may be on its way to the big screen, reports Variety. Shadow of the Colossus has been picked up by Sony Pictures with Kevin Misher producing. His name is credited for The Scorpion King, The Interpreter, and the upcoming Dune.

Now for the (potentially) bad news. The script is being written by Justin Marks, who you may remember wrote Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li. That movie was an unfortunate dud, but we can hope that it was just a fluke. Marks has a big task ahead of him, making a feature-length movie out of a game with minimal dialogue and very few speaking characters. The report claims that minor characters from the game may take a larger role. And of course, Variety reminds us that the path from studio to screen is a long one, and anything can happen in-between. We'll keep an eye out for this one and hope for the best.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine (Uncaged Edition)

2009-04-11T03:56:00.000-07:00

Release Date: 01.05.2009

X-Men Origins: Wolverine is an action-adventure featuring a true-to-character Wolverine gameplay experience that takes gamers through and beyond the movie's storyline. Set in a variety of vivid real-world locales, the title challenges players to hone their animal instinct as they uncover hidden dangers, hunt and destroy enemies, and take on seemingly insurmountable situations while discovering the truth about Wolverine's tragic past. With razor-sharp adamantium claws unsheathed, the future X-Man enacts lightning-quick combat, evasive maneuvers, in-depth combo attacks, and an array of brutal finishing moves. Wolverine doesn't just deliver massive damage, either – he also takes it, thanks to his mutant regenerative power that heals him in real time right before the player's eyes.

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/47477.html

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/47734.html
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/47753.html
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/47414.html
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/47762.html

Rockstar announced Max Payne 3

2009-04-11T03:55:00.000-07:00

Six years after the release of Max Payne 2, Rockstar Games, best known for its Grand Theft Auto games, decides it’s time to unleash a new Max Payne on the world — Max Payne 3. Like the previous games, the hard-boiled detective story will focus on former NYPD gumshoe Max Payne, who’s a poster child for Prozac — he’s got major internal demons and a penchant for violence. Sam Houser, Rockstar Games’ founder, says that the new Max will be “older, more world-weary and more cynical than before.”

It’s hard to imagine what a “more cynical” version of Max Payne will be like — he’s already plenty cynical, but we’re sure that will somehow translate into more violence, bloodshed and dialogue that sounds like it was ripped from a Dashiell Hammett novel. The first two Max Payne games (released 2001 and 2003) are often credited with starting the trend of using slow-mo “bullet time” in games — then used in hundreds of games after — were some of the few games in the early aughts to successfully blend an interesting storyline and a sympathetic character with high-octane action. We just hope this Max Payne — out for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC later this year — will make us forget about all about the game’s abominable film adaptation starring Mark Walburg that stunk up box offices last year. What do you think, are you looking forward to this sequel?

NFS Shift : Release in September

2009-04-11T03:54:00.000-07:00

Electronic Arts' legendary racing video game Need For Speed's next installment - Need for Speed SHIFT - has finally got a release date. EA has officially announced that NFS SHIFT will be released in North America on Sept. 22 and in Europe on Sept. 17. The game is expected to hit Indian stores within a month after its release. EA had announced three new NFS series games back in January.

NFS SHIFT is touted to be a simulation based racer game and boasts of pumping "hyper reality" with a cockpit view backed by physics based driving tactics. The game has been developed by Slightly Mad Studios, the folks behind games like GT Legend and GTR 2 with Black Box Studios and Patrick Soderlund. The PSP version of Need For Speed SHIFT is being developed by EA's Bright Light Studio.

The trailer for NFS SHIFT is already available on Xbox Live as per Major Nelson's blog.

EA is also expected to release Need For Speed Nitro for Nintendo Wii and DS platforms. Also, a Massive Multiplayer Online game Need For Speed World is expected for the PC platform.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHiPaI8LMfk

Firefox up to 35% market share in Europe

2009-04-11T03:52:00.001-07:00

Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 8 has been available for 18 days and remains the company’s weakest web browser at launch since version 3. While the software now seems to be close to 4% market share, it appears to be unable to stop the bleeding of other IE versions. Since the beginning of the year, Mozilla’s Firefox has picked up more than half of the users IE lost; the other half went to Apple’s Safari and Google’s Chrome. This trend is evident in new market share numbers published by Net Applications and StatCounter, which show that Firefox hit a new record market share in March. On an average basis, IE remains the dominant browser globally, according to Net Applications. However, the market share was 66.82%, the lowest level for IE in about a decade. Firefox marches on and came in at 22.05%, the highest number published by the market research firm so far.

Safari climbed back up to 8.23%, after having dropped to 8.05% in February, and Google’s Chrome continued to gain slightly to 1.23%. For the month, IE was down 0.62 percentage points, Firefox up 0.28 points, Safari up by 0.21 points and Chrome up by 0.08 points. We will leave the Opera browser out of consideration in this article, as its share has always remained between 0.69% and 0.75% over the past year and has not shown substantial gains or losses. Its current share is estimated at 0.71%. We also know that IE is much more popular in the U.S. than it is in the rest of the world – and that IE8 has been adapted much quicker in the U.S. than it has in other geographies (which can be seen, for example, through hourly market share numbers posted by Net Applications.) Also, StatCounter recently reported that Firefox 3 has become the most popular browser with a share of 35.05%, exceeding Internet Explorer 7 (34.54%) for the first time.

China completely banned YouTube

2009-04-11T03:51:00.005-07:00

China appears to be blocking all access to YouTube. Now, why in the world would it do something like that? I’ve got some theories. First, though, the facts: YouTube use from China started dropping off the map sometime Monday night, with traffic nearly reaching a standstill by Tuesday morning. Google (which owns YouTube) has confirmed the apparent ban, though its staff is not certain of the cause. “We do not know the reason for the blockage, and we’re working as quickly as possible to restore access to our users in China,” a spokesperson says. Google does believe the Chinese government knowingly cut the access. The spokesperson, however, questions why officials wouldn’t have just blocked a specific video, as they’ve done before, rather than nixing the entire site.

YouTube has been banned by other countries as well for allowing users to upload and share videos which foreign governments in Bangladesh, Thailand, Pakistan and Turkey found embarrassing to their political regimes. Google is working to restore access to the site for Chinese citizens. This is not the first instance in which Chinese users have been unable to access the video sharing site. China blocked YouTube during the Tibet riots in March 2008. During that time protesters were burning shops and vehicles in an attempt to protest the Han Chinese influence. The riots left 19 dead.

Google improves search with semantics

2009-04-11T03:51:00.001-07:00

Google Inc. made two changes to its search results pages Tuesday that it said would help more effectively direct users to the information they were seeking. The search engine giant said it was launching a technology to better understand what people were looking for online. It also will give longer lines of text, or snippets, after the search title, with relevant words in bold. “We’re constantly looking for ways to get you to the Web page you want as quickly as possible,” company executives said in a post on the corporate blog. The technology, from Google’s acquisition of search company Orion in 2006, essentially tries to recognize the broader idea of what someone is searching for, rather than the specific words. Someone who types “principles of physics,” for instance, will see a related search bar listing topics such as “special relativity,” “big bang” and “quantum mechanics.”

“It’s based on the better understanding of pages in real time, and the ability to relate those pages to the query,” said Greg Sterling, an editor at the industry website Search Engine Land. The addition of snippets pertains only to queries longer than three words. The words of a search typed into Google will be listed in boldface in the snippets. The point is to help searchers know whether the results are relevant so they can decide whether to click over to the pages. It’s a goal many search engines have been trying to perfect: For example, on its results pages, RedZee Search shows images of websites that users can scroll through, rather than a list of websites.

Zeebo: new supercheap game console

2009-04-11T03:50:00.001-07:00

Early Monday morning, Zeebo CEO John Rizzo and Qualcomm games and services senior director Mike Yuen today announced the launch of the Zeebo console, intended for emerging markets worldwide, specifically BRIC – Brazil, Russia, India, and China, which represents 800 million people. “In 2000 Bill Gates introduced the original Microsoft Xbox at GDC,” said Mike Yuen. “We’re honored here to release what we believe will be the fourth big console.” Zeebo is based on Qualcomm mobile technology, from the graphics chipset to the 3G wireless network, and has positioned itself as a piracy-free alternative to the larger, more expensive consoles. In Brazil, for instance, where the console is launching first, a PS3 costs the equivalent of US$1,100 new, and the Wii costs US$1,000, because neither console has officially launched there — the only alternative for those consoles is piracy.

The Zeebo is launching at the equivalent of $199 USD, with games costing in the range of $5 to $15. Games are download-only across a 3G wireless network, which can also be used as a connectivity point for laptops in those homes without internet. Yuen compared the video game market to the Matterhorn, in that many have died trying to climb it. “Lots of companies have tried to conquer the big three, and died doing it. So, within Qualcomm we’ve been thinking about how we can do this differently, and with cellular technology.” Qualcomm and Zeebo did a number of market tests and research in various regions, and found that most middle class families had not been exposed to much marketing about games, but had used cell phones to download ringtones or simple games.

Rumours: new, better iPhone this summer?

2009-04-11T03:49:00.001-07:00

Last week Apple unveiled its 3.0 software for iPhone but had nothing to say about the possibility of a new device this summer. Rumours are heating up and according to one story by The boy genius report we can expect a new iPhone announcement mid-June.

The blog confirms the following:

* New iPhone will be faster and have a more seamless experience unmatched by any device
* U-Verse iPhone application; will allow control of your home DVR (play, pause, rewind, etc.)
* The annual iPhone launch is “becoming a tradition.”
* Nothing official is being confirmed, but they said that people should prep for an exciting time this summer.
* AT&T is said to be working with Apple to create a unified product with an unparalleled experience across all their products and services.

If the rumours are true then expect to see a few blurry photos and some specs leaking in the next couple of months.

Internet Explorer 8 already loses market share

2009-04-11T03:48:00.000-07:00

Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 8 appears to be losing market share, even though the browser has been on the market for less than a week. As of 8:00 am Monday, IE8—released Thursday–held 1.86% of the browser market, down from a high of 2.59% on Sunday, according to market watcher Net Applications. The most likely reason for the decline is that early adopters of IE8 are switching back to the more familiar, and–at this point—reliable Explorer 7 browser. Explorer 8 includes a number of new tools, like a feature called Web slices that lets users grab dynamic content such as stock quotes or auction results from third party sites, that, while potentially useful, may take some time getting used to.

Additionally, Explorer 8 uses default support for some new Web publishing standards that are not supported by a number of major Web publishers. As a result, some IE8 users have reported problems viewing some sites. “After downloading IE8 I cannot print any card from American Greetings. The message I get is, ‘An error occurred during the operation,’” a user named Bob complained last week on Microsoft’s IE8 forum. Some IE8 adopters reported that even pages built with Microsoft’s own Web publishing software, Microsoft Publisher, failed to render properly in the new browser. “I created my company’s Web site using the MS Publisher 2007 template. After upgrading IE7 to IE8 my menu tabs and many important images no longer show,” wrote a user named Phil Wheeler.

Google improves Chrome, new faster beta

2009-04-11T03:47:00.000-07:00

Google has begun work on one much-requested feature of its Chrome browser, the ability to detect when a Web page offers a subscription service through RSS or Atom technology. Google programmer Finnur Thorarinsson formally marked the RSS support issue as “started” on Wednesday, though the feature is disabled for now. “The first part of this has been implemented and checked in,” Thorarinsson said, referring to the part that discovers when RSS feeds are available on a Web site. The feature is disabled for now, though, because the second part, which will produce a page that lets people actually subscribe to the feed, isn’t yet available, he said in his comment about Chrome’s RSS support. When Chrome debuted in September, many often basic features available in rival browsers were missing. Google has been working feverishly to add them, though. A total of 250 people flagged RSS support as being an issue of interest, second only to the Chrome extensions, which 725 people flagged.

Google is working on extensions, too, which will let people customize the browser with features such as ad blocking. Extensions are a popular selling point with Firefox, the second most popular browser after Microsoft’s Internet Explorer. The new Chrome beta is designated 2.0.169.1. “The best thing about this new beta is speed — it’s 25% faster on our V8 benchmark and 35% faster on the Sunspider benchmark than the current stable channel version and almost twice as fast when compared to our original beta version,” says Google Chrome product manager Brian Rakowski.

Assassin's Creed 2

2009-04-11T03:38:00.000-07:00

Delve deeper into the secret society of assassins with the sequel to the blockbuster action-adventure game.

Genre: Action/Adventure
Release Date: December 31, 2009

Zvonurile spun ca acţiunea se va desfăşura în secolele XV-XVI şi o parte a jocului va avea loc în Veneţia.

Vor exista arme de foc şi costumele vor juca un rol important.

Eroul nu se va mai numi altair ci Ezio.

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/47677.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_J9trmTwDxc&feature=related

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/47788.html

Bioshock 2

2009-04-11T03:33:00.001-07:00

Publisher Take-Two Interactive today officially confirmed that a sequel to 2K Boston's underwater shooter BioShock will arrive in the company's fiscal fourth-quarter in 2009.

Take-Two's fourth quarter runs from August through the end of October.

BioShock 2 is under development by the Novato, California-based studio 2K Marin. The new development house is rumored to consist of several former 2K Boston and 2K Australia employees.
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Five job listings for BioShock 2 have appeared on Gamasutra, offering new tidbits on the possible platforms and story of the narrative-driven shooter sequel. Revealed earlier this year and due out at some point between August and October 2009, BioShock 2 is currently under development at 2K Marin with the involvement of series creator Ken Levine. No platforms have been announced, though the original released simultaneously on PC and Xbox 360.
While all five roles--senior designer, lead designer, character rigger/animator, senior animator, and FX artist--generically list PlayStation 3, Xbox and Wii under platforms, nothing else within the job descriptions implies a Wii edition is underway.
However, the text for the role of senior designer specifically notes that PlayStation 3 experience is required, strongly suggesting that a PlayStation 3 version of BioShock 2 is being developed alongside the possible PC and Xbox 360 editions.
Additionally, the job listing for character rigger/animator reveals that the game will take place within the fictional underwater city of Rapture.
"You will assist in creating the thousands of animations required to make the world of Rapture compelling and richly layered," it reads. "Come and embrace your inner Frankenstein."
While a return to the setting of the first game is not all that surprising, given the conclusion of BioShock and the persistent rumors of a prequel, it suggests that BioShock 2 could detail the events that led to the original game, including the rise and fall of Rapture.
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PsP 2

2009-04-11T03:29:00.000-07:00

Se pare că PSP 2 chiar se află în lucru şi va fi lansat în următorul an, în ciuda faptului că Sony continuă să nu comenteze asupra acestui subiect, alţi indivizi din industria jocurilor nu se pot abţine să vorbească despre acest dispozitiv. Conform unei declaraţii a lui David Perry, chief creative officer Acclaim, care a aflat de existenţa aparatului de la cineva care lucrează la proiect, noul PSP va aduce cateva schimbări majore faţă de predecesorul său.

Spre exemplu, consola nu va mai folosi formatul UMD, urmand ca toate jocurile pentru PSP 2 să fie achiziţionate prin metode digitale direct pe consolă sau prin conectarea sa la un PC. PSP 2 se pare că va mai avea compatibilitate cu toate titlurile generaţiei precedente şi s-ar putea să fie lansat pe piaţa chiar la toamnă

The secret world

2009-04-11T03:17:00.000-07:00

Embargoul a expirat, misterul a fost ridicat, conspiraţia a fost dezvăluită, lumea secretă este adevărată. La GDC Funcom a prezentat pentru prima oară MMO-ul The Secret World, dar pentru a putea pregăti bine terenul a fost cerută o linişte totală despre subiect până astăzi la ora 16. Acum că nu mai există nici un impediment vă putem prezenta informaţiile disponibile despre The Secret World.

Jocul aparţine genului action-adventure-MMORPG, ceea ce înseamnă că va include elemente clasice pe care le ştim din alte MMO-uri, dar cu o sumedenie de lucruri mai rar întâlnite. Obiectivul este cel de a crea o lume în care jucătorul poate fi ceea ce vrea el, tradus în termeni de gameplay, asta înseamnă că nu vor exista clase şi nu vor exista nici nivele. Vor exista în schimb abilităţi speciale ce vin sub forma unor cărţi ce pot fi colectate pe parcursul jocului dintr-un număr mare de activităţi. Vor exista atât abilităţi de luptă cât şi unele care vor ajuta jucătorul în alte îndeletniciri precum exploratul sau rezolvarea de puzzle-uri. Sistemul de luptă al jocului nu a fost dezvăluit încă, s-a menţionat că nu va fi la fel ca cel al lui Age of Conan, dar că va fi dinamic şi rapid.

Consecinţa principală al acestui design este scăderea grind-ului ca o tactică viabilă de joc. Inamicii nu vor da experienţă şi aparent nu vor lăsa în urmă comori, cel puţin nu în sensul clasic. Se va pune un accent mare pe abilitate de a personaliza avatarul, chiar se doreşte eliminarea nevoii de a crea un personaj secundar. Continuând pe drumul început de Anarchy Online, personajele vor putea fi îmbrăcate în fel şi chip până ce vor începe să semen cu ceea ce vor jucătorii. Nu vor exista armuri de luptă în joc, echipamentul de acest tip va veni aparent sub alte forme. Arsenalul jocului va cuprinde atât arme de foc din epoca modernă cât şi arme mai arhaice, precum săbii, topoare şi multe alte instrumente ale morţii. Lor li se vor alătura desigur abilităţile magice de luptă, arte marţiale cu tot cu lucruri mai puţin ortodoxe, cum ar fi păpuşi de voodoo, vrăjitorie şi artele întunecate. The Secret World va avea un sistem de crafting despre care nu s-a spus nimic încă, va avea ghilde numite Cabals şi va avea o formă de PvP despre care nu s-a elaborat.

Jocul va fi plasat în prezent, într-o lume similară cu cea reală în care legendele, miturile şi poveştile de adormit copii nu sunt plăsmuiri ale imaginaţiei. Povestea din The Secret World are la bază în masă ieşirea la suprafaţă a răului care se ascunde în adâncurile pământului de veacuri şi care până atunci a coexistat cu lumea omului. Jucătorul va lua rolul unui individ simplu care va căpăta puterea de a lupta împotriva acestui rău. Locaţiile anunţate până acum ce vor fi lansate odată cu jocul sunt Londra, New York, Seul, Noua Anglie şi Egipt. S-a specificat clar că oraşele nu vor fi masive ca la GTA, se vor crea cartiere detaliate, regiunile masive vor fi rezevate pentru spaţiile deschise din Egipt şi Noua Anglie. The Secret World nu are deocamdată o dată de lansare stabilită, va avea un beta test şi urmează ca în viitor să fie anunţate mai multe detalii despre joc.

Prototype

2009-04-11T02:35:00.001-07:00

Release Date: 2009-06-16
Platform: PC
Publisher: Sierra
Developer: Radical Entertainment
Genre: Action

PROTOTYPE tells the story of Alex Mercer - a man haunted by his past, fighting a secret war in New York City. As the action spirals out of control, a conspiracy tied to his origins threatens the future of mankind itself. Mercer’s amazing shapeshifting powers allow him to become an exact replica and steal the skills or powers of anyone who crosses his path.

Prototype ne va permite să jucăm în postura lui Alex Mercer, un om cu mutaţii genetice interesante ce îi permit să îşi schimbe forma. Jocul se desfăşoară într-un New York contemporan. Jocul va fi disponibil pentru PC, Xbox 360 şi PlayStation 3.