Blackrock-Studios
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ShortRound Games established by former Black Rock staffers
ShortRound Games is the latest studio to pop up from the discarded talent at Split/Second developer Black Rock Studios. GI.biz reports the team consists of game director Andrew Hubbard, technical director Kim Burrows, technical art director Stuart Pharoah and creative and art director Steve Uphill. The studio currently has two demos in production and expects to reveal some footage in the coming weeks. Hubbard says they are currently in talks with various publishers and are "keen" to work on iPad or Sony's Vita. The official announcement of ShortRound's formation comes a few weeks after two of Black Rock's heavies formed RoundCube Entertainment. That studio was created by Split/Second game director Nick Baynes and senior producer Ian Monaghan.
Split/Second releases May 18; renamed 'Split/Second: Velocity' in Europe
Click to gigantisize. While Nintendo threw a release date party in San Francisco today, Disney Interactive rev-ealed the scheduled arrival of Split/Second on May 18 to Joystiq in an email today. "The Split/Second release date is May 18 in the US and the name in the US is still Split/Second ... Split/Second: Velocity is only for Europe and will be released on May 21," the publisher clarified. Now Gamer recently reported the UK release date exclusively alongside the reveal of a new moniker in the EU. Along with a more specific release date (previously known as "May 2010"), Disney sent along some new box art (as seen above). Unfortunately, we were told no new details are yet available on a demo for the upcoming Michael Bay-esque racer. %Gallery-47488%
Beware of falling buildings in Split/Second's first gameplay
Of the many trailers shown on tonight's GameTrailers TV, Split/Second stands out as the only one where gameplay involves avoiding a plane landing in front of you at high speed. And that makes it all the more exciting! From Blackrock Studios, the company whose prez said this game would refresh the 'dying' racing genre, we were already wondering if the next racer after Pure could be even better. Though the premise given through voice over in the trailer (after the break) comes off a bit hammy, we'll forgive it for the range of spectacle drizzled throughout the gameplay. Unfortunately it looks like we won't be playing Split/Second until 2010 according to the trailer, but hopefully we'll get to check it out next week at E3!%Gallery-47488%
Metareview - Pure
We're been excited for Pure since E3, when we first got our hands on the ATV racer. Built by Blackrock Studios (formerly known as Climax Racing) Pure is gorgeous, with a Burnout-esque structure and a "why has no one thought of this" boosting risk/reward system that's just brilliant. Here's what the rest of the internet thought: GameDaily (90/100): "When it comes right down to it, though, Pure has some of the best racing action we've seen all year. The throttling gameplay, gorgeous presentation and sweet multiplayer options make it a ride you cannot miss." IGN (86/100): "Pure delivers an outrageous, arcadey off-road racing experience with style and slickness. The controls are intuitive, the tracks are pure eye candy and the tricks are so crazy and over-the-top that you'll find yourself gasping with glee when you land your first Lazy Girl." 1UP (83/100): "Thrilling on the ground, downright heart-stopping in the air, and beautiful throughout, Pure's a blast from start to finish. A career mode would've gone further than the game's 'World Tour' in fully eliminating repetitiveness, but Black Rock has otherwise built a real winner here." Gameplanet (85/100): "This is a great example of what can be achieved if fun is the primary aim. Massive tricks, amazing scenery, hugely modifiable bikes - what more do you want?"
Disney announces Pure, plans to "redefine" off-road racing
Motorstorm, DiRT, that game with Ivan "Ironman" Stewart -- these are among the elite of off-road racing titles, having set the bar ridiculously high for other games to follow. Disney, however, has its dirt-encrusted sights set higher by announcing Pure, an upcoming off-road racer that it claims will "redefine the off-road racing genre." In development for the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC, the game is currently being dragged through the mud at Disney's Brighton, England studio Black Rock, formerly known as Climax Racing, a studio known for such racing franchises as Moto GP and ATV Offroad Fury. Even with this experience, however, we're not exactly sure how Disney's plans reshape how we think about off-road racing, though it might have something to do with what it calls "breakneck racing" and "jaw-dropping aerial tricks," all of which are apparently being overseen by stunt guru and ATV filmmaker Wes Miller. Still, we've read these sorts of claims before, and while the initial bath of media looks interesting it's a good bet our jaws are in no danger of hitting the floor just yet.%Gallery-16063%
