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World of Tanks rolls onto Xbox 360 February 12th
Grab your controllers tank drivers, World of Tanks: XBox 360 Edition will launch globally next week on February 12th. Players who currently have an Xbox Live Gold account can download and play the game for free; Xbox Live account holders will get a seven-day timed trial to the game. Developed by Wargaming West (formerly Day 1 Studios), the game will start off with over 100 tanks from the US, Germany, and the UK, and features revamped controls for the console as well as a new user interface. [Source: Wargaming press release]
Kislyi calls for 'second F2P revolution' in DICE speech
Wargaming.net CEO Victor Kislyi took the stage at last week's DICE Summit to talk about the ongoing evolution of free-to-play. He's what you might call an expert on the subject given that the company he founded features 1.2 million peak concurrent users as well as 1,400 employees and 12 offices world-wide. Kislyi's 40-minute speech featured World of Tanks, but it also made mention of the firm's recent acquisition of Day 1 Studios. The move was made with an eye towards cornering the console F2P market, something Kislyi says that traditional console makers would be wise to do as well. "They keep their own prejudice and they keep to their old ways," he said. "If they keep holding to their old way, single-player box ideas they may pretty well drop." You can view Kislyi's DICE speech in its entirety after the cut.
Wargaming.net buys Day 1 Studios, plans 'unannounced console title'
Wargaming.net has has acquired Chicago-based Day 1 Studios for $20 million. The latter firm will be rebranded as Wargaming West according to a blurb on its official website. The new studio will also "focus exclusively on the development of an unannounced console title," according to a Wargaming press release. Day 1 previously worked with Microsoft and Sony on a console port of the original F.E.A.R. shooter before going on to develop F.E.A.R. 3. [Source: Wargaming.net press release]
Wargaming acquires Day 1 Studios for console development
Wargaming, developer of the MMOs World of Tanks and World of Warplanes, has acquired formerly independent developer Day 1 Studios for $20 million, putting the studio to work on an "unannounced console title."Before becoming Wargaming West, Day 1 Studios worked on the MechAssault games, Fracture, and Fear 3. While Wargaming has not specified its console plans other than to say they exist, the company's stock in trade is free-to-play, so a move into consoles very likely means the entry of another free-to-play game into the console world.
Gotham by Gaslight featured beefy London Batman, gameplay vid reveals
It must be terrifying to be a developer on a game that's just barely greenlit, facing down publisher meetings that could make or break all the hard work you've put into a particular project. Come to think of it, the stress and constant panicked feeling would probably be similar to how the prostitutes in London felt every nightfall during Jack the Ripper's heyday. Maybe.F.3.A.R. developer Day 1 Studios knows how both of those things feel, to some extent, having begun work on Gotham by Gaslight, a steampunk-inspired adaptation of a one-shot Batman graphic novel, only to have it canceled shortly after. We previously got a peek at some concept art for the title, and now Siliconera has uncovered an animation test that it says comes from someone at Day 1.Check out the burly Batman's flowing cloak as he strides around a dark London setting right here.
'Reign of Thunder' is F2P mech shooter from MechAssault dev
After a lengthy drought of mech games, it suddenly feels like armored mechanical behemoths are back en vogue, with Day 1 Studios adding Reign of Thunder to the roster. The game is a fast-paced, third-person free-to-play mech combat game. It will feature a new mech IP by the team that created MechAssault."It feels great to return to the Mech genre and community we've played games with and made games with, for almost two decades. Combining the customization and RPG elements of the early MechWarrior PC and board games with the fast paced arcade action of the MechAssault series and making it all Free-to-Play is an exciting opportunity to be part of," said Day 1 Creative Director and Executive Producer TJ Wagner. "I'm dying to get Thunder in the hands of new and old Mech pilots alike and battle it out. The best part is that time is very, very near."Reign of Thunder will launch into the mech arena as MechWarrior Online and MechWarrior Tactics, two titles officially set in the BattleTech Universe, plan to bring back the glory of mega mech combat this year.
MechAssault dev Day 1 Studios teases new mech game
Way back in the early days of Xbox Live, there was no online Halo, no Modern Warfare, no Battlefield. No, what you played back then was Day 1 Studios' MechAssault, which came bundled with Xbox Live, and it was glorious. Day 1 has concentrated mainly on the FEAR series for the last few years, but a new trailer teases a return to its mech roots.Quite literally, actually. Dare we hope for a new MechAssault? An HD re-release? It's anyone's guess at this point but, at the very least, the inclusion of robots seems to be a shoo-in. Whatever the project is, it's slated for 2012.
Report: Layoffs at Day 1 Studios following canned Konami deal
One hundred employees were fired at Day 1 Studios following the loss of a publishing agreement with Konami, according to a report at Gamespot. Those 100 workers made up 95 percent of a team that was developing a new installment of Konami's ancient Silent Scope series; a second, much smaller team working on an unrelated secondary project remains unaffected. So far there has been no indication of what led to the cancellation of the developer's publishing deal, although the fact that the team was primarily fired instead of disolved and reassigned within the company speaks volumes about the importance of this deal, as well as Day 1's overall financial situation. The only way we'll know what actually happened is if either party decides to talk, which hasn't happened yet. Maybe Konami realized that Silent Scope games never worked well outside of the arcade and decided to pull the plug? Maybe Day 1 tried to relaunch the brand as an action-RPG stealth-shmup pixel-art XBLIG title? There's really no way of knowing.
FEAR 3 video shows off some high-powered sound recording
Rarely do hardcore gun enthusiasts and A/V nerds have anything in common, but when they do, they drink Dos Equis it's a beautiful thing. "The Sounds of Combat," a F.E.A.R. 3 behind-the-scenes video, shows how the dudes at Day 1 Studios recorded audio from a range of firearms, including a Smith & Wesson 500 Magnum to a .50 caliber Barrett Machine Gun, all with a set of fancy microphones. If Alma didn't scare you enough, maybe the recoil on some of these beasts will.
FEAR 3 review: Scores, not scares
It must be extremely difficult to truly scare a person who wants to be scared. Sure, at a mechanical level, fear is an involuntary reaction to the perception of threat -- but it's hard to upgrade fear to deep, inexorable terror without the element of surprise. FEAR 3's capacity for terror has been telegraphed by two predecessors, executive credits for acclaimed horror-makers John Carpenter and Steve Niles ... and also, the game has "fear" in the title. With a combination like that, fear shouldn't just be feared -- it should be expected. The most surprising thing about FEAR 3, however, is that those scares never come. For better and for worse, the franchise's latest outing has eschewed the horror classification in favor of a more action-packed, score-centric experience.%Gallery-121180%
Don't face this FEAR 3 launch trailer alone
There really aren't many challenges you can't conquer in this life with the aid of your brother, you know. Even when those challenges involve psychic supersoldiers, and also, your brother is a really mean ghost -- the less-than-ideal situation featured in the FEAR 3 launch trailer posted below.
FEAR 3 trailer gets in the heads of John Carpenter and Steve Niles
Few people on this Earth know more about spooking the meek like director John Carpenter and comic writer Steve Niles. Check out the video below to see them talk about the scares they contributed to FEAR 3 -- don't worry, the video itself isn't too terrifying. Unless you're afraid of mustaches.
FEAR 3 trailer has a lot of soul, survival
Joining the likes of "Soul King" and the imaginatively titled "F***ing Run!" in FEAR 3's array of multiplayer modes is "Soul Survivor," a twist on the last man standing scenario. Players will face an ally turned evil and, if killed, become spectres themselves, tasked with eliminating the living.
Fear 3 'Contractions' co-op mode gives us the mega-creeps
The latest trailer for Fear 3, which shows off the game's "Contractions" co-op multiplayer survival mode, makes us more unsettled than the trailers that preceded it. Maybe it's that eerie fog. Maybe it's the omnipresence of Alma. Maybe it's because of all the totally gross pregnancy contractions.
FEAR 3 trailer becomes the king of soul
Be a soul man in FEAR 3's "soul king" multiplayer mode. As the trailer's Valium-dosed voiceover so intensely describes, the mode is the most competitive in the game. Check out more multiplayer details in our preview.
FEAR 3 trailer aims to choose a favorite son
Whether it's how many Replica Soldiers you can toast or which genocidal anti-hero son is going to get top bunk when this is all over, competition is a core component of the sibling protagonists' relationship in FEAR 3 -- the ultimate prize being, uh, the favored son of a genocidal, creepy blood-soaked psycho mother!
FEAR 3 101: How to survive 'The Wall of Death'
This latest FEAR 3 trailer depicts a rather straightforward survival strategy for the game's unique multiplayer mode: "F***ing Run!"
FEAR 3 delayed to June 24 in the UK, June 21 in the US
Fear and surprise go hand in hand sometimes, so imagine our fearprise (surprear?) when we heard that FEAR 3's release had been pushed back a month in the UK. Originally set to launch on May 27, the game will now debut on June 24 in the UK, Warner Bros. revealed to Videogamer. No exact reason for the latest delay was provided. In January, the game was pushed from March to May, but no specific date was announced. We contacted Warner Bros. and was told the game is now on pace to ship in the US on June 21. FEAR 3 revolves around brothers Point Man and Paxton Fettel, sons of FEAR cover girl and downright creep-o, Alma. The third entry in the series features a "divergent co-op" experience and a plethora of multiplayer modes, which we previewed earlier this month. [Thanks, Tyler C]
FEAR 3 multiplayer preview: Corrupting influence
FEAR 3 will feature four multiplayer gametypes, each an isolated mode largely dissimilar to the others. We already got a look at the aptly named "F**king Run!" scenario during PAX East, and at a recent preview event I got my hands on the three other modes, as well as a second take of F**king Run. What Day 1 Studios has done with the multiplayer component of FEAR 3 is employ an "everything but the kitchen sink" philosophy. The various modes offer widely varying experiences -- including deathmatch-type competition, co-operative play and scenarios that combine the two. This variety would seem to offer alternatives for players that get bored with any one mode, but with the exception of F**king Run, I didn't find any of the gametypes to be particularly unique or exciting. The alternatives, then, seem to be a bit limited. %Gallery-121180%
FEAR 3 trailer is all about family values
"Normal" family values may include stuff like "be polite to your mom" and "care for others," but the siblings in FEAR 3 have to deal with things that are a bit more ... sinister.
