Namco responds to criticism, sends Frame City Killer back to the lab
Despite being the first Japanese-developed game to use the Unreal Engine 3, Frame City Killer has failed to generate much interest from the Xbox 360 crowd. According to a recent interview with Famitsu Xbox 360, Kentaro Kawashima and Masaki Kunimori, the game's producer and director, hope to change that. Currently, Frame City Killer is undergoing a graphical makeover—likely spurred by the thoroughly underwhelmed reaction to an early previewing of the game. Kawashiima admits that the team has had a difficult time because of unfamiliarity with the Unreal Engine 3.
There is also talk of adding side missions to beef up the gameplay, and even the possibility of incorporating some level of online functionality. However, Kunimori was quick to explain that Frame City Killer will not feature online multiplayer. Instead, the game could include some form of player-to-player data exchange.
It's good to see Namco reevaluating this project, but we're still willing to bet that Frame City Killer will be an early victim of Japanese developers' efforts to "Westernize" their games. A release date is expected to be announced soon.
[Thanks, JamesO]
