Wednesday 6 February 2008
EA won't "gimp" 360 Dead Space despite tough PS3 dev
EA Redwood Shores will "optimise the crap" out of the PS3 version of upcoming sci-fi survival horror game to make it great.
The executive producer of EA's new sci-fi horror game Dead Space has told VideoGamer.com that the development team won't "gimp" the 360 version because the "PS3 can't do it".
Speaking at an event in London today, where we got some hands-on time with what's looking like one of 2008's most interesting new IPs, Glen Schofield said that currently the development team is leading on the 360, but will switch to the PS3 in a "month or two".
He stressed that both the PS3 and the Xbox 360 versions of the game will "be the same" when it's eventually released, planned for late 2008.
Dead Space, set for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC, is a gory sci-fi survival horror game which sees engineer Isaac Clarke battling against a horde of mysterious aliens who have infested a huge ship. It is one of a number of brand new games from EA planned for 2008 and beyond.
Numerous EA Sports games have faced criticism from PS3 owners who have suffered poor quality ports of games like Madden, with frame rate issues the chief culprit.
When asked how the Dead Space team was finding multi-platform development, Schofield responded: "Difficult."
He added: "Right now we're leading and building and doing everything on the 360. Pretty soon in a month or two we will switch and lead on the PS3. That is so that you're not downgrading the PS3 later. We're putting all our engineering muscle into making the PS3 great, and then we'll know that the 360 will be great."
However, when asked if there will be any differences between the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions, Schofield said: "The plan has to be, and it will be, on parity with the 360."
He said: "Sony has seen the game so they know that that's what they want out of us. But I can absolutely assure you that the PS3 and the 360 will be the same. We're not going to gimp the 360 because the PS3 can't do it. We're going to optimise the crap out of it and make the PS3 really good, sort of like Burnout."
On the issues surrounding PS3 development, Schofield said: "I'm from an artist background. But from a developer point of view it's called the Fill Rate. It (the PS3) can't handle the physics as well. I mean it can, you just have to get at it. Just more and more engineering. Special effects are tough. It's a beautiful machine and it is very powerful. It's just it's not as easy to develop for right now.
"What happened was the 360 came out a year ahead, so we started developing early on it. Then all of a sudden it was the lead SKU. So it won for two years. For two years it was the one we were just working on. And so our knowledge base is around that. Now you see the tide is starting to turn especially in Europe. So it's really just engineering catching up with it."
Expect a hands-on preview of Dead Space right here at VideoGamer.com very soon.
Do you think developers "gimp" Xbox 360 versions of multi-platform games because of the PS3? Let us know in the comments section below.
Red Faction 3 Announced for Xbox 360
Brian Farrell, CEO of THQ, has revealed that Red Faction 3 is now in development for the Xbox 360
Duke Nukem Forever and 3D Confirmed for Xbox 360
3D Realms has confirmed a release date for Duke Nukem Forever and at the same time confirmed Duke Nukem 3D for the Xbox Live Arcade. …
"We haven't formally announced any platforms for DNF," said 3D Realms President Scott. "But, of course hitting the big three makes the most sense (PC, PS3, 360)."
Miller added a note of caution on the 12-years-coming sequel and its release window, claiming, "we may miss the mark by a month or two, but I feel very confident that we're on target this time."
Duke Nukem Forever is not the only 3D Realms title coming to home video game consoles in 2008. Miller also confirmed the existence of a downloadable Xbox Live Arcade version of Duke Nukem 3D, which will feature on-line multiplayer support, Xbox Live achievements, on-line score boards, and a co-op mode.
"We're really excited about bringing classic Duke to the 360," said Miller during an interview. "We're talking to Microsoft about getting a release slot sometime this year."
For more about Duke Nukem Forever and developer 3D Realms, visit the official website at www.3DRealms.com.
HD DVD add-on Sells Out on Amazon.com
Todays "Gold Box" deal of the day on Amazon.com included the Xbox 360 HD DVD Player for $79.99. It is now currently sold out!
February 06, 2008
Early this morning Amazon.com sold out of their stock of the HD DVD add-on for the Xbox 360 after being highlighted in today's Gold Box deal of the day with $100 off of the list price.
At $79.99, and after only a few hours, the intial stock sold out. A few additional stock have been added to their inventory sporadically throughout the morning, but currently it looks like the stock is COMPLETELY sold out.
Mass Effect Downloadable Content Announced
The Bring Down the Sky downloadable content pack will be released to Xbox LIVE Marketplace on Monday, March 10 at 2 a.m. PST, and will be available for 400 MS points.
by: Evan Fecko
February 06, 2008
To date, over 1.6 million gamers have explored the engaging sci-fi universe of Mass Effect. Beginning on March 10, fans everywhere will be able to expand the “Mass Effect” experience with the release of the first ever downloadable content for the award-winning saga.
The Bring Down the Sky downloadable content pack will be released to Xbox LIVE Marketplace on Monday, March 10 at 2 a.m. PST, and will be available for 400 MS points. This is the first in a series of planned downloadable content that further expands the Mass Effect universe and continues the adventures of Commander Shepard and the Normandy crew.
Bring Down the Sky includes a new uncharted world that introduces the notorious and feared alien race of the Batarians. A Batarian extremist group has hijacked a mobile asteroid station in the Asgard system, setting it on a collision course with the nearby colony world of Terra Nova. Only Commander Shepard can save the millions of innocent civilians before the asteroid completes its deadly descent.
Bring Down the Sky contains approximately 90 minutes of heart-pounding action and a new Achievement worth 50 Gamerscore points.
Mass Effect is exclusively available on Xbox 360 and is rated M for Mature by the ESRB.
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Tuesday 5 February 2008
Halo 3 DLC: "Purple Reign" Map Falls to "Moonlight Sonata" Map
by: David Oxford
In Bungie's latest Weekly Update, one of the items of note was in regards to the upcoming Spring DLC lineup, specifically the "Purple Reign" multiplayer map, which has been revealed to not be ready in time.
Fortunately, the good folk at Bungie won't be leaving their Spartans high and dry, instead replacing it with another "universally adored" multiplayer map codenamed "Moonlight Sonata," which was initially behind the others in development, but seems to have picked up the pace significantly. And now, they're passing the savings on to you... or something.
Bungie also promises to go into specifics about the update soon, including the biggest change, a new and improved melee combat system.
In Bungie's latest Weekly Update, one of the items of note was in regards to the upcoming Spring DLC lineup, specifically the "Purple Reign" multiplayer map, which has been revealed to not be ready in time.
Fortunately, the good folk at Bungie won't be leaving their Spartans high and dry, instead replacing it with another "universally adored" multiplayer map codenamed "Moonlight Sonata," which was initially behind the others in development, but seems to have picked up the pace significantly. And now, they're passing the savings on to you... or something.
Bungie also promises to go into specifics about the update soon, including the biggest change, a new and improved melee combat system.
A Closer Look at the Console War: Why Xbox 360 Won 2007
Who's winning the console war right now? If you answered "Wii", then guess again.
Although the Wii has indisputably made its way into more homes than the Xbox 360 or the PlayStation 3, it should not be considered the most successful console of this generation so far. No, I'm not trying to trip you up, either: Nintendo DS is not the answer. Despite falling a few million units behind in terms of console sales, the Xbox 360 is actually winning this generation. Let me explain why.
There's more to winning the console race than simply selling more units than your competitors. This has always been a fact, but was more difficult to see in the two-competitor, Sega/Nintendo or Sony/Nintendo eras, because the winner in both cases just so happened to sell more units. Indeed, there is obviously a strong correlation between overall success and the number of consoles sold. A more fair system in today's environment, though, would be to look at five different metrics.
TOTAL PLATFORM SPENDING
First, let's take a look at total console revenue for 2007. Worldwide data for this particular category is difficult to find, so we'll stick with the NPD data for the United States. During 2007, the Xbox 360 controlled $4,800,000,000 ($4.8 billion, if that's too many zeroes for you) of total consumer revenue. Let's compare this to its competition: the Wii earned $3.5 billion and the PS3 won $2.2 billion of sales, with all other platforms accounting for another $3.2 billion.
How could the Xbox 360 control so much more of the market? First, recall that this is total revenue, so the fact that the 360 costs more on average than the Wii certainly takes effect here. But this also suggests that the 360 platform persuades more customers to invest in accessories and services. Indeed, Xbox Live now has over 10 million members, although that includes non-paying silver members. Games are also an important part of this number, but that leads us into the next
ATTACHMENT RATE
One of the most important numbers one can use to determine whether a console's success is based on lasting value or fad power is by looking at the "attachment rate." This measures how many games have been sold, divided by the number of consoles sold. In other words, it's the average number of games each console owner has for that system. The Xbox 360 has an attach rate of 7, while the Wii has a rate of about 5 and the PS3 trails with slightly less than the Wii.
The PS3 presents an interesting case here as the counter-argument to this particular gauge of success. Obviously, the PS3 is trailing in third place so far this generation, so remember that the PS3 is able to attain that attach rate with a much smaller number of both hardware and software sold than the Wii. The key to success here is to have a high attach rate while also maintaining strong platform sales. Few would argue that the Xbox 360's sales have been lackluster, so having a high attach rate is a sign that customers aren't simply buying their 360s for one game (say, Halo 3) and then putting them away.
On the other hand, this is exactly what the Wii is facing. A worryingly large number of consumers are buying Wiis purely for Wii Sports, which is included in the box. These consumers are great for Nintendo's bottom line but do not provide any lasting value to the company. Furthermore, having a large contingent of one-game consumers makes it difficult for Nintendo to woo third parties that otherwise would be dazzled by the Wii's sales numbers.
THIRD PART SUPPORT
Three issues keep the Wii from hosting the very best third party content. First, the console's gimpy power precludes it from running truly next-gen titles like Call of Duty 4, Mass Effect or Uncharted. Second, third parties have difficulty jumping into bed with Nintendo because they know from past experience that Nintendo's own franchises will always be the star of the show on Nintendo platforms. Third, the hype effect from point two plays directly into sales. Look at the numbers for Zack and Wiki, for example, and compare those to the sales of Mario and Sonic's 2008 Olympics game. It's enough to make grown men cry.
The 360 wins in this bout as well. While the PS3 is powerful enough, for sure, it's also the most difficult platform of this generation for development. The 360 combines a balance of development efficiency and raw power. Further, the Live Arcade system, while under assault from both Nintendo and Sony, continues to offer the widest range of downloadable games and the lowest barriers to entry by smaller developers
RETURN ON INVESTMENT
This is a category that is being won by all three consoles, and in different ways. Nintendo obviously has enjoyed a meteoric resurrection from the cusp of destruction at the end of the GameCube era to once again sitting in the driver's seat of the industry with the Wii. Nintendo's stock value has shot up over the past few years, and although it has cooled as of late, it still sits many times higher than where it was even in the best days of the GameCube era. Profits in the Mushroom Kingdom are also huge, as the Wii appears to all but print money for the company. Due to the system's basic architecture, development costs were not as high as the competition (Sony, for example, spent over a billion dollars developing the Cell processor, according to some reports). Although this is certainly good news for them, the perspectives of the other two players make clear that "winning" doesn't have to mean selling the most systems.
Microsoft has successfully made the Xbox line a permanent part of the gaming industry. If the 360 had flopped, the original Xbox could have been looked back upon as a mere flash in the pan. Rather, the 360 is more dominant than its predecessor and plays a pivotal role in Microsoft's larger strategy moving forward. With the era of Windows-monopolized computing drawing to a close and its venerable Office suite under constant attack by competitors, Microsoft desperately needs to establish itself as the number one entity in a new industry.
We saw the signs of this again with their acquisition announcement of Yahoo last week. Microsoft needs to succeed in the console space because that is their way of moving from the desktop into the consumer electronics area. The Zune has been a dud, but the 360 shows promise. Even if the 360 continues to be a loss leader (although it seems to have finally begin showing signs of profit potential), it's an important investment in Microsoft's future.
Sony is in a similar boat. The company had already bet the farm on the PlayStation brand long before the launch of their most recent console. Yet even more important this time around was that they made the Blu-ray spec the gold standard of HD content. By including the drive in the PS3, they quite literally put all of their eggs in one basket. Although the PS3 has not performed exceptionally well since launch, it appears to have sold enough to seal the fate of the HD war.
Even if the PlayStation 3 does not reach the same success the PS2 enjoyed, the fact that the system allowed Sony to control what may be the last major optical media format is a big deal and earns them residuals on every disc and player sold, even if they're made by other companies. Indeed, especially if the PS3 does not sell terribly well, this new source of income will be vital to the company
FUTURE POSITIONING
This really should be the year of the PlayStation 3, with a variety of very important exclusive titles only months away. Nintendo will continue to reap rewards from their first party games, and the Wii should continue to sell well. Microsoft has a relatively strong lineup, but it will be difficult to replicate the truly outstanding library additions of 2007. It's really a tossup, here. The PS3 has the least momentum but the most left in the tank. The Wii has already leapt ahead but may have difficulty sustaining that growth in the months ahead. The 360 has followed the most stable pattern of growth, but may get truly overtaken if one of its competitors does as well as they hope.
So Who Won?
In my book, the Xbox 360 wins in terms of revenue, third party support and attachment rate. It's in a close race with the others in terms of Return on Investment, which the Wii wins and Future Positioning, where Sony shows an edge. The idea here is not to cause a massive outrage among the fanboys, but to simply point out an important fact: the console race is not as clear cut as it looks. In a three-console environment, it's important to look past the simple "units sold" number, and dig deeper for the facts. Let's hope that 2008 provides just as interesting an environment for gaming as 2007 did.
Casey Ayers.
Although the Wii has indisputably made its way into more homes than the Xbox 360 or the PlayStation 3, it should not be considered the most successful console of this generation so far. No, I'm not trying to trip you up, either: Nintendo DS is not the answer. Despite falling a few million units behind in terms of console sales, the Xbox 360 is actually winning this generation. Let me explain why.
There's more to winning the console race than simply selling more units than your competitors. This has always been a fact, but was more difficult to see in the two-competitor, Sega/Nintendo or Sony/Nintendo eras, because the winner in both cases just so happened to sell more units. Indeed, there is obviously a strong correlation between overall success and the number of consoles sold. A more fair system in today's environment, though, would be to look at five different metrics.
TOTAL PLATFORM SPENDING
First, let's take a look at total console revenue for 2007. Worldwide data for this particular category is difficult to find, so we'll stick with the NPD data for the United States. During 2007, the Xbox 360 controlled $4,800,000,000 ($4.8 billion, if that's too many zeroes for you) of total consumer revenue. Let's compare this to its competition: the Wii earned $3.5 billion and the PS3 won $2.2 billion of sales, with all other platforms accounting for another $3.2 billion.
How could the Xbox 360 control so much more of the market? First, recall that this is total revenue, so the fact that the 360 costs more on average than the Wii certainly takes effect here. But this also suggests that the 360 platform persuades more customers to invest in accessories and services. Indeed, Xbox Live now has over 10 million members, although that includes non-paying silver members. Games are also an important part of this number, but that leads us into the next
ATTACHMENT RATE
One of the most important numbers one can use to determine whether a console's success is based on lasting value or fad power is by looking at the "attachment rate." This measures how many games have been sold, divided by the number of consoles sold. In other words, it's the average number of games each console owner has for that system. The Xbox 360 has an attach rate of 7, while the Wii has a rate of about 5 and the PS3 trails with slightly less than the Wii.
The PS3 presents an interesting case here as the counter-argument to this particular gauge of success. Obviously, the PS3 is trailing in third place so far this generation, so remember that the PS3 is able to attain that attach rate with a much smaller number of both hardware and software sold than the Wii. The key to success here is to have a high attach rate while also maintaining strong platform sales. Few would argue that the Xbox 360's sales have been lackluster, so having a high attach rate is a sign that customers aren't simply buying their 360s for one game (say, Halo 3) and then putting them away.
On the other hand, this is exactly what the Wii is facing. A worryingly large number of consumers are buying Wiis purely for Wii Sports, which is included in the box. These consumers are great for Nintendo's bottom line but do not provide any lasting value to the company. Furthermore, having a large contingent of one-game consumers makes it difficult for Nintendo to woo third parties that otherwise would be dazzled by the Wii's sales numbers.
THIRD PART SUPPORT
Three issues keep the Wii from hosting the very best third party content. First, the console's gimpy power precludes it from running truly next-gen titles like Call of Duty 4, Mass Effect or Uncharted. Second, third parties have difficulty jumping into bed with Nintendo because they know from past experience that Nintendo's own franchises will always be the star of the show on Nintendo platforms. Third, the hype effect from point two plays directly into sales. Look at the numbers for Zack and Wiki, for example, and compare those to the sales of Mario and Sonic's 2008 Olympics game. It's enough to make grown men cry.
The 360 wins in this bout as well. While the PS3 is powerful enough, for sure, it's also the most difficult platform of this generation for development. The 360 combines a balance of development efficiency and raw power. Further, the Live Arcade system, while under assault from both Nintendo and Sony, continues to offer the widest range of downloadable games and the lowest barriers to entry by smaller developers
RETURN ON INVESTMENT
This is a category that is being won by all three consoles, and in different ways. Nintendo obviously has enjoyed a meteoric resurrection from the cusp of destruction at the end of the GameCube era to once again sitting in the driver's seat of the industry with the Wii. Nintendo's stock value has shot up over the past few years, and although it has cooled as of late, it still sits many times higher than where it was even in the best days of the GameCube era. Profits in the Mushroom Kingdom are also huge, as the Wii appears to all but print money for the company. Due to the system's basic architecture, development costs were not as high as the competition (Sony, for example, spent over a billion dollars developing the Cell processor, according to some reports). Although this is certainly good news for them, the perspectives of the other two players make clear that "winning" doesn't have to mean selling the most systems.
Microsoft has successfully made the Xbox line a permanent part of the gaming industry. If the 360 had flopped, the original Xbox could have been looked back upon as a mere flash in the pan. Rather, the 360 is more dominant than its predecessor and plays a pivotal role in Microsoft's larger strategy moving forward. With the era of Windows-monopolized computing drawing to a close and its venerable Office suite under constant attack by competitors, Microsoft desperately needs to establish itself as the number one entity in a new industry.
We saw the signs of this again with their acquisition announcement of Yahoo last week. Microsoft needs to succeed in the console space because that is their way of moving from the desktop into the consumer electronics area. The Zune has been a dud, but the 360 shows promise. Even if the 360 continues to be a loss leader (although it seems to have finally begin showing signs of profit potential), it's an important investment in Microsoft's future.
Sony is in a similar boat. The company had already bet the farm on the PlayStation brand long before the launch of their most recent console. Yet even more important this time around was that they made the Blu-ray spec the gold standard of HD content. By including the drive in the PS3, they quite literally put all of their eggs in one basket. Although the PS3 has not performed exceptionally well since launch, it appears to have sold enough to seal the fate of the HD war.
Even if the PlayStation 3 does not reach the same success the PS2 enjoyed, the fact that the system allowed Sony to control what may be the last major optical media format is a big deal and earns them residuals on every disc and player sold, even if they're made by other companies. Indeed, especially if the PS3 does not sell terribly well, this new source of income will be vital to the company
FUTURE POSITIONING
This really should be the year of the PlayStation 3, with a variety of very important exclusive titles only months away. Nintendo will continue to reap rewards from their first party games, and the Wii should continue to sell well. Microsoft has a relatively strong lineup, but it will be difficult to replicate the truly outstanding library additions of 2007. It's really a tossup, here. The PS3 has the least momentum but the most left in the tank. The Wii has already leapt ahead but may have difficulty sustaining that growth in the months ahead. The 360 has followed the most stable pattern of growth, but may get truly overtaken if one of its competitors does as well as they hope.
So Who Won?
In my book, the Xbox 360 wins in terms of revenue, third party support and attachment rate. It's in a close race with the others in terms of Return on Investment, which the Wii wins and Future Positioning, where Sony shows an edge. The idea here is not to cause a massive outrage among the fanboys, but to simply point out an important fact: the console race is not as clear cut as it looks. In a three-console environment, it's important to look past the simple "units sold" number, and dig deeper for the facts. Let's hope that 2008 provides just as interesting an environment for gaming as 2007 did.
Casey Ayers.
DMC4 is 720p on PS3 & Xbox 360 Despite Blog’s “Press Release”
A certain Gaming Blog got a tad worked up over a supposed Capcom Press Release, which states that the console versions of Devil May Cry 4 run at a sub-HD resolution. This press release was fake.
The press release reads thus:
PC version will supports DX9 and DX10 versions.The PC version support higher resolution (In order to maintain stability in the game at 60 FPS, XBOX360, PS3 supports only 1024 * 640 resolution).
Apart form the questionable English, which could be explained by being a poor translation, the “press release” is wrong. Both console demos of DMC4 have been confirmed by Beyond3d’s pixel counters to run natively at 720p. That is, 1280 by 720 pixels.
Although the blogger asks for confirmation from the retail game and not the demo, his fears should be put to rest. In my experience there has yet to be a game that has reduced its resolution from the demo to the full retail release release.
Furthermore, games are designed with a particular resolution in mind and a decision to lower the resolution would not be made at the
The press release reads thus:
PC version will supports DX9 and DX10 versions.The PC version support higher resolution (In order to maintain stability in the game at 60 FPS, XBOX360, PS3 supports only 1024 * 640 resolution).
Apart form the questionable English, which could be explained by being a poor translation, the “press release” is wrong. Both console demos of DMC4 have been confirmed by Beyond3d’s pixel counters to run natively at 720p. That is, 1280 by 720 pixels.
Although the blogger asks for confirmation from the retail game and not the demo, his fears should be put to rest. In my experience there has yet to be a game that has reduced its resolution from the demo to the full retail release release.
Furthermore, games are designed with a particular resolution in mind and a decision to lower the resolution would not be made at the
Devil May Compare: The DMC4 Demo Head-To-Head On Both Systems
Fortuitous circumstance gave me the opportunity to play the (you should pardon the pun) devil out of both demo versions of DMC4, on a gigantic 60″ 1080p Plasma HDTV with superb overall picture quality. Impressions follow. Please let me make one thing very clear. I am, with sincere regret, going to declare a visual favorite, but will clarify that impression as best as possible. That subjective choice on my part is also not intended as any sort of sweeping endorsement of one system over another, or a criticism of the second-place choice. The game looks splendid on both systems and, if the final product lives up to the demo’s promise, should not disappoint.
So? Let’s get started.
First, loading times. These are quite brief in both versions, both in the pre-mission screens and transitioning between areas. No clear favorite can be chosen here as (thus far, for the demo) load times are inconsequential enough to be a non-issue. Bravo Capcom! Further, the PS3 version will reportedly have HDD-installation as an option, almost certainly giving it the overall load-time advantage.
Second, sound. It’s a dead tie, as should be expected really. Gunfire, sword slashes, items breaking, and impact sounds are all suitably meaty and well-suited to the game. If there’s a negative aspect here, it’s Nero’s rather lame hyper-American sounding voice samples. Some of the word choices are, to put it mildly, rather silly. “Get lost?” Why, gentlemen? Why? I think at least the option to hear original Japanese voice samples, at least for the fight sequences, would really be welcome. I’m sure players will get used to the English samples, they’re just a bit weak.
Third, visuals. Here the difference is most stark between the two systems. The PS3 version has a visible blur/softening filter overlaying everything, even cutscenes. The significant benefit is that there is almost no aliasing visible on angled lines, even at very close viewpoints; the negative is that textures on the PS3 version are so softened as to lose visual depth and clarity. The filter appears also to affect overall brightness and black-depth. Darker hues look slightly faded on the PS3 version, and brighter areas may look very mildly washed-out. This said, the lighting is remarkable and manages to be evocative in a pastel-like, almost Thomas Kincaid influenced style. Also, in one particular scene, Nero’s face looks much more humanlike (if stylized) on the PS3 than the 360, due to smoothing.
The 360’s visuals are, in a word, starker. Blacks are blacker, brights cleaner and higher-contrast for the most part. Diminution of texture depth is nowhere to be found here. Ridged textures look ridged; you expect to run your hand down them and feel the grain of the fabric, or whatnot. Enemies look mostly the same but Nero himself shows detail more clearly, especially in a particular cutscene, and the background surfaces have more visual impact overall. The negative, predictably, is a general lack of smoothing and anti-aliasing. In the aforementioned later cutscene, when Nero looks up towards a falling object, his face on 360 looks very much like a computer-generated image, losing some of its clarity of form in the polygon edges. Lighting still manages to be impressive, in a starker way with slightly less (sometimes, mostly in two outdoor wide-angle camera pans) of an ambient feel.
I don’t like the fact that I have a visual preference here at all, as I would have preferred both presentations be a dead tie with no clear victor. I have to say, despite the aliasing, that I do like the 360’s visually sharper presentation better, but the difference is thoroughly minor. The DMC4 demo is gorgeous on both systems, with plenty of impressive light-effects on Nero, enemies, and background objects (force fields and such). Assuming the final product holds interest as well as the demo, no-one should feel bad about buying DMC4, regardless of platform. That is an important assumption, however.
Good news for the gameplay (for those who haven’t sampled it) is that DMC4 feels rather more like earlier DMC games, in that the emphasis is more on having fun being creatively sadistic than worrying about hair-fine dodging tolerances and extreme difficulty. The first few enemies, if anything, are rather too easy, only occasionally flailing out with a single melee attack. Ice-based enemies in the later part of the demo have defensive, healing, and area-attack animations which make them more interesting, but (encouragingly) the game per demo doesn’t fall victim to one of God of War’s very few flaws - specifically, giving the player a ton of cool moves and combos, then making them mostly useless against certain enemies and bosses. In fact, the single boss available in the demo requires use of a special ability the player has gained en route to the fight. The demo is overall fun and replayable, and should nicely serve the purpose of getting players interested in the final game. Try it if you haven’t!
Epic Games reply to Gears of War 2 rumours
By Neil Vaughan - 05 Feb 08
Epic Games have moved quickly to shoot down rumours of an announcement about Gears of War 2.
As we reported on Friday, GamePro magazine had claimed to have an exclusive about a possible sequel, but Mark Rein at Epic was on hand to shoot down the rumour.
He said in reply to the news of a sequel: "It is complete nonsense. We have not announced a sequel to Gears of War to Gamepro or anyone else for that matter."
Well at least that's that one cleared up
Epic Games have moved quickly to shoot down rumours of an announcement about Gears of War 2.
As we reported on Friday, GamePro magazine had claimed to have an exclusive about a possible sequel, but Mark Rein at Epic was on hand to shoot down the rumour.
He said in reply to the news of a sequel: "It is complete nonsense. We have not announced a sequel to Gears of War to Gamepro or anyone else for that matter."
Well at least that's that one cleared up
Dead Rising 2 in Development for Xbox 360 and PS3
According to reports, Dead Rising 2, the sequel to the Xbox 360 exclusive developed by Capcom, is in development for the Sony PS3 and Xbox 360. …
For those unfamiliar with the game, Dead Rising was an extremely popular game during Xbox 360’s first year after launch. The game threw you in a mall filled with thousands of zombies, with hundreds on the screen at once in some instances. The fun (and novelty) came by way of you be able to use anything around you, whether it be a traffic cones, shovels, bench, plant, etc. to kill these zombies.
The game was a huge seller and according to reports from EGM and other sources, is now heading to multiple consoles as Dead Rising 2 will not be an Xbox 360 exclusive.
According to reports the game is going to be developed by a developer in Los Angeles who will do all of the actual coding for the game.
According to EGM this is still a rumor, but one with some weight.
Microsoft Game Studios Inks New Deal with IDV Inc
COLUMBIA, SC– Interactive Data Visualization recently inked a major agreement with Microsoft Game Studios for use of the SpeedTree®RT foliage software into 2008.
Best selling Microsoft racing game Project Gotham Racing® 3 and the newly-released Project Gotham Racing® 4 feature extensive use of SpeedTree.
IDV’s award-winning technology will also be appearing in a number of Microsoft projects yet to be announced. These new titles will be published on Games for Windows® and Xbox 360™.
“Our partnership with Microsoft ensures that their customers will continue to experience richer, more enjoyable gaming worlds,” said IDV President Michael Sechrest.“We are very grateful that our technology will be included with Microsoft’s offerings.”
SpeedTreeRT, winner of the 2005 Front Line Award for middleware, delivers highly realistic trees and plants, with adjustable wind effects, user-configurable and seamless LOD transitions, and an included library of hundreds of tree, plant and marine models representing more than 200 core species. SpeedTreeRT includes SpeedTreeCAD, a Windows application used to create and edit animated trees in real-time.
Interactive Data Visualization, Inc. (IDV) develops software products with a focus on real-time three dimensional applications for the game development, visual simulation, engineering visualization, and animation industries. IDV, a privately held corporation, was founded in 1999 in Columbia, South Carolina. For more information about IDV, visit www.idvinc.com.
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Downloadable Maps on the Way!
New multiplayer maps are coming this Spring! No word yet on the number of maps or their pricing.
by: Evan Fecko
Fresh intel from Activision headquarters reports that new global conflicts are planned in the form of downloadable multiplayer maps for the award-winning Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. In development for both Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PlayStation3 computer entertainment system, the upcoming downloadable content will thrust gamers into a hot zone of added combat across a variety of intense multiplayer locales.
“We’ve demonstrated our commitment to delivering the best multiplayer experience in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and that continues with our plans for new downloadable content,” explains Infinity Ward’s Community Manager, Robert Bowling. “We’re excited about the new maps, and the added gameplay variety, and we can’t wait to wrap things up and get online with everyone.”
The new downloadable content is scheduled for release this spring, and will be available on Xbox LIVE and PlayStation Network.
Sunday 3 February 2008
4 big secret games ?
Xbox 360's Four Secret Games: Gears of War 2, DOA5, Forza 3 and Halo: Chronicles. UK's best selling independent 360 magazine XboxWorld 360 has a scoop on what could be four big unannounced exclusive 360 games in their March issue.
Please take note that XboxWorld 360 is part of online gaming news website CVG.
The article is called "The secret is out"
The games in question are:
Gears of War 2
Dead or Alive 5
Forza 3
Halo: Chronicles
Of course these are only rumors but could these be the games Microsoft is going to announce at GDC 2008, XboxWorld 360 Certainly do.
Please take note that XboxWorld 360 is part of online gaming news website CVG.
The article is called "The secret is out"
The games in question are:
Gears of War 2
Dead or Alive 5
Forza 3
Halo: Chronicles
Of course these are only rumors but could these be the games Microsoft is going to announce at GDC 2008, XboxWorld 360 Certainly do.
Eidos confirm Just Cause 2 is in development
Eidos have today officially announced that they will be releasing Just Cause 2.
The game will once again be developed by Avalanche Studios and will see players reprise the role of Rico Rodriquez, but this time he will be in the South East Asian islands of Panau.
With more stunts, vehicles and weapons than ever before and an incredible overhauled grappling hook, Rico returns to action in Panau, an incredibly detailed and vast 1000 sq km game world of different climates and ultra-realistic weather effects. Leap from your plane and skydive from 10,000 feet down into a tropical jungle, tear across an arid desert in a dune buggy or climb your way up a snowy mountain in a 4x4. The vast open-ended, unique gameplay is back, allowing you full freedom once again to free roam and explore the massive world of Panau and tackle your assignments however you want.
With a new and improved air, land and sea stunt system featuring Rico’s notorious parachute and grappling hook, taken to incredible new extremes and a massive array of new vehicles featuring an advanced driving model, players can now pull off some of the finest action stunts ever seen in a video game in a truly massive and beautifully rendered environment.
“Remember everything you loved about Just Cause, then take it to the next level: vehicles, stunts, weapons, freedom, grappling hook, action, everything,” said Alex Price, Brand Manager. “The game world is even more incredible in Just Cause 2 and Rico has done a bit of growing up, so expect quite a few new surprises up his sleeves.”
Just Cause 2 will be released on the Xbox 360, PC and PlayStation 3 sometime this year.
The game will once again be developed by Avalanche Studios and will see players reprise the role of Rico Rodriquez, but this time he will be in the South East Asian islands of Panau.
With more stunts, vehicles and weapons than ever before and an incredible overhauled grappling hook, Rico returns to action in Panau, an incredibly detailed and vast 1000 sq km game world of different climates and ultra-realistic weather effects. Leap from your plane and skydive from 10,000 feet down into a tropical jungle, tear across an arid desert in a dune buggy or climb your way up a snowy mountain in a 4x4. The vast open-ended, unique gameplay is back, allowing you full freedom once again to free roam and explore the massive world of Panau and tackle your assignments however you want.
With a new and improved air, land and sea stunt system featuring Rico’s notorious parachute and grappling hook, taken to incredible new extremes and a massive array of new vehicles featuring an advanced driving model, players can now pull off some of the finest action stunts ever seen in a video game in a truly massive and beautifully rendered environment.
“Remember everything you loved about Just Cause, then take it to the next level: vehicles, stunts, weapons, freedom, grappling hook, action, everything,” said Alex Price, Brand Manager. “The game world is even more incredible in Just Cause 2 and Rico has done a bit of growing up, so expect quite a few new surprises up his sleeves.”
Just Cause 2 will be released on the Xbox 360, PC and PlayStation 3 sometime this year.
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