Digital Extremes
Latest
Star Trek trailer jumps into space, our hearts
Consider us optimistically intrigued by the debut trailer for Digital Extremes' new, co-op-centric Star Trek title which aired earlier tonight at the Sony E3 press conference. Check out the video after the jump to see all the phaser lasers and spaceship explosions you could possibly require.
Star Trek co-op game sets phasers for 2012
Set mouses to "click" for larger picture Paramount Digital Entertainment has announced a brand new Star Trek title starring Kirk and Spock as envisioned in J. J. Abrams' 2009 Star Trek film. Titled simply Star Trek, the game is under development at Digital Extremes (BioShock 2, Darkness 2) and takes place after the film, tasking Kirk and Spock with taking down "a legendary enemy race bent on conquering the galaxy." The story is being handled by God of War writer Marianne Krawczyk along with the film's writers Bob Orci and Alex Kurtzman. The development team is "working closely" with Abrams' Bad Robot production company and producer Damon Lindelof, with Paramount promising co-op and "AAA production values, a wide variety of gameplay and all the action you would expect from the hit franchise." Star Trek is slated to materialize on PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in 2012. It will also be on display at E3 next week, and you can bet your space boots we'll be beaming down.
Cue up this Darkness 2 gameplay trailer
We're common people, with appetites that are almost embarrassingly easy to sate. At one point in this gameplay trailer for The Darkness 2, the titular Darkness throws a pool cue through a dude. So just know that when we say "this trailer is totally great" that bit was pretty much all it took.
Starbreeze: Giving The Darkness 2 to Digital Extremes was out of our hands
Those anxious for a Starbreeze-developed The Darkness 2 may still be looking for an explanation. Starbreeze CEO Mikael Nermark told CVG that the decision to tap Digital Extremes was all on 2K and out of his studio's hands. "The decision was not up to Starbreeze, and when it was decided to do a sequel we had already started working on a new project," he said. That new project is "RedLime," a new title for EA oft-rumored to be a Syndicate remake. Starbreeze had also previously began work on a Jason Bourne title, though that was canceled last year, so the studio has been admittedly pretty busy. Despite the lack of Starbreeze, The Darkness 2 is shaping up to be a fine title, quad-wielding marketing jargon notwithstanding. In both of our preview sessions, we were impressed with how capable and brutal protagonist Jackie Estacado is in the sequel -- and how his power translated into interesting gameplay.
The Darkness 2 preview: Dancing in the dark
Jackie Estacado is an indestructible demigod. At least that's what the early stages of a recent demo for The Darkness 2 taught me about the game's main character. After unnamed assailants quite literally crash the dinner he had just sat down to eat -- subsequently murdering the erotic dancers he's dining with, of course -- Jackie's hurt pretty badly. His right foot is clearly mangled from the explosion, and soon enough he's being dragged to safety by a fellow mobster, all the while shooting at foes in pursuit. Thankfully for Jackie Estacado, though, he can take a lot of bullets. Like, dozens. From point blank range. At one point during the demo, I stopped firing back for a full 30 seconds to see what would happen. Lo and behold, the mobster dragging me kept right at his task and, aside from the occasional splash of red on the HUD, Jackie was no worse for the wear. Though a 2K Games rep assured me that Jackie could die during the sequence, the dozens of bullets that had already riddled him didn't do much damage. After that worrying intro, however, things improved greatly. Jackie was granted the power of quad-wielding and, soon enough, I was using his two crazy snake arms – the titular Darkness –to impale, assassinate, rip, and a whole host of other verbs, all while firing off bullets with my boring hands. Project lead Sheldon Carter with incoming developer Digital Extremes refers to Jackie's arsenal of arms as a "symphony of death," employing two weapons and two arms all at once to engage multiple enemies in a variety of ways.%Gallery-122546%
Free Comic Book Day brings free The Darkness 2 prequel comic
May 7 is this year's Free Comic Book Day, the annual event when fans all around the country crowd into comic book stores for free promotional minicomics (and agoraphobic readers put off picking up their subscriptions). In observance of this ritual, Top Cow Productions is releasing a free The Darkness comic book that is intended to act as a prequel to the upcoming The Darkness 2 game in the works at Digital Extremes. Although we'd argue that if you really want a prequel to The Darkness 2, you could check out The Darkness -- or the comic book series that ran from 1996 to 2005. But those wouldn't be free!
The Darkness 2 preview: Murderous multi-tasking
Those of you who finished The Darkness will remember the end scene, in which [spoiler alert!] protagonist Jackie Estacado unleashed all of his rage and the full power of The Darkness, murdering a mansion full of goons. The only problem was that we didn't get to play it -- we had to just watch. "At the end, you see Jackie going nuts with the demon arms, but you can't play that," Digital Extremes project director Sheldon Carter lamented about the first game, "and that's what I wanted to play. So that's what we're doing for the second game." Watching a guided demo at GDC, the developer's mission was clear: Jackie is far more aggressive and powerful in the sequel. %Gallery-118443%
The Darkness 2 brings back Mike Patton
Former Faith No More singer Mike Patton will reprise his role as the titular Darkness, a chaos entity inside Jackie Estacado's body, in Digital Extremes' Fall 2011 sequel, The Darkness 2. It's all wife arms and demon arms with this guy, it seems. In making the announcement, 2K Games also revealed that The Darkness 2 will be on-hand at GDC in San Francisco in less than two weeks. We'll be lurking in the shadows, waiting to pounce on any and all news there.
The Darkness 2 uses Digital Extreme's Evolution Engine
The Darkness was developed using Starbreeze's proprietary Starbreeze Engine; however, for the sequel, Starbreeze is out, as is its proprietary tech, in favor of some different proprietary tech. New developer Digital Extremes is using a new version of its own Evolution Engine, seen in the 2008 glaive-em-up Dark Sector. It's evidently well-suited for games with "Dark" in the title. This title marks DI's return to ... its own engine. After Dark Sector, the developer has assisted on Unreal games including the two BioShocks and Homefront. The switch to both a new developer and a new engine suggests that The Darkness 2 could be a very different game than its predecessor. Thankfully, we've already learned that the new engine is capable of rendering "Demon Arms," so it won't be completely foreign.
The Darkness 2 coming fall 2011, Digital Extremes behind the wheel
Today, there's good news and bad news for fans of Starbreeze's underappreciated 2007 comic book-based shooter, The Darkness. First, the good news: A sequel, The Darkness 2, has just been announced for fall 2011, reuniting players with Darkness-packing mobster Jackie Estacado; and the bad news: Original developer Starbreeze is out, rumored to be busy with a Syndicate reboot for EA, and relatively unproven Digital Extremes (Dark Sector, anyone?) is in. The sequel promises more of what made the original such a delight: giant Demon Arms and "stylistic violence." The Darkness 2 marketing team got their hands on the game and came up with "Quad-Wielding," which seems as sellable as any other first-person gimmick. "The Darkness II breaks out of the sea of conventional first-person shooters," the press release reads, "with its fervid Quad-Wielding gameplay, which will allow players to slash, grab, and throw objects and enemies with their Demon Arms while simultaneously firing two weapons." That's all well and good, but how cool is the game? For that, we'll turn to the admittedly biased Marc Silvestri, founder and CEO of Top Cow Productions and co-creator of The Darkness comics. "So often disappointed when a favorite character gives birth to a lame movie or video game, us fans have come to expect the worst," Silvestri said. "And sometimes we get it. But not with The Darkness II. Yeah, call me biased [Ed's note: We did!], but this second installment of Jackie Estacado's epic saga is – in my humble opinion – one of the most brutally cool games I've ever played. 2K Games hammered this one out of the park." As convincing as that sounds, we'll reserve our judgment until we get our hands (and yes, our Demon Arms) on the title. %Gallery-115925%
Digital Extremes developing PC version of Homefront
THQ is showing off the PC version of Homefront for the first time at Gamescom this week, thanks to the efforts of Digital Extremes. The publisher announced that Digital Extremes, best known for Pariah, Dark Sector and for assisting on BioShock 2, is developing the PC release. According to THQ executive producer Frank De Lise, DI won't simply be dropping Kaos Studios' North Korean invasion-themed FPS onto PC. "We're building on the great game that Kaos Studios is making and enhancing it with specific PC relevant features," De Lise said, listing dedicated servers and clan support specifically. "We believe the core PC first-person-shooter fan will really appreciate these features, which are becoming increasingly rare." Who could that statement be directed at?
BioShock 2 on sale for $30 on Amazon today
There are plenty of ways to get to Rapture: You could survive a plane crash in the middle of an ocean; or be abducted by one of its citizens as a child. Heck, if you're a really good swimmer and can hold your breath for a long time, you probably have a decent shot. We're in favor of a safer, more practical alternative: Buy a copy of Bioshock 2. We're also in favor of the most frugal alternative: Amazon's Deal of the Day. Bioshock 2 is half-off today from the online retailer, available for $30 on the Xbox 360 and PS3 -- and the PC version is even cheaper: $26. Now, there's our idea of the perfect summer vacation: babysitting our little sister.
BioShock 2 'Sinclair Solutions Test Pack' coming March 11
Next Thursday, those entrenched in The Great Splicer Uprising of '59 will get a chance to beef up their arsenal in Bioshock 2's multiplayer mode with the Sinclair Solutions Test Pack on March 11. Here's what you'll get for your 400 ($5) on Xbox Live and Games For Windows - Live, and $4.99 on PSN: Rank Increase to level 50 with Rank Rewards New playable characters Louie McGraff and Oscar Calraca 20 new trials (some only available after a player achieves a rank of 41 or higher) A third weapon upgrade for each weapon Five additional masks (some only available after a player achieves a rank of 41 or higher) Happy Splicer hunting! (Splunting?)
Bioshock 2 has shipped over 3 million units
Take-Two has revealed in its latest fiscal earnings report that Bioshock 2 has managed to ship more than three million units worldwide since releasing on February 9. The report also says the first game has now sold over four million copies worldwide across all platforms, "bringing the total sales of the franchise to 7 million units." Of course, the important distinction here is that "shipped" does not equal "sold," as Take-Two infers above. Still, getting three million copies out there into the world is a pretty noteworthy feat. Get yourself a couple more million and you'll be able to finance construction on your own underwater metropolis -- not that any good could possibly come of it.
BioShock 2 special edition posters have hidden messages
[BioshockFan52] Those of us who have played BioShock 2 likely don't see anything out of the ordinary in the above image. Almost all of Rapture's propoganda has been smeared by Sophia Lamb and her followers in-game, so it only makes sense that 2K would do as much with the game's real world promotional items. And according to this thread on the 2K Games site, a black light is all you need to unlock this "hidden" feature in those neat posters you got with your Special Edition. The forums users in the thread aren't yanking The Great Chain here, folks. Our sister site Big Download confirms the Easter egg in its Special Edition poster, as well -- there's even a gallery showing off all of the hidden messages to be found. Remember: a man chooses to display his BioShock 2 posters under a black light, a parasite complains about the increased electric bill. [Thanks, Alex]
Bioshock 2 DLC kicks off with 'Sinclair Solutions Test Pack'
2K Games has announced that expansions for BioShock 2 are "slated to arrive over the coming months," expanding both the single-player and multiplayer facets of the game. The custodians of Rapture have yet to reveal what's in store for the single-player campaign, but have offered details on the first new multiplayer add-on: the Sinclair Solutions Test Pack. Available "soon" for 400 ($5) on Xbox Live and Games For Windows - Live and $4.99 on PSN, the pack will include: Rank Increase to level 50 with Rank Rewards New playable characters Louie McGraff and Oscar Calraca 20 new trials (some only available after a player achieves a rank of 41 or higher) A third weapon upgrade for each weapon Five additional masks (some only available after a player achieves a rank of 41 or higher) We just hope 2K Games takes care of those freezing issues before luring us back to the Circus of Values.
BioShock 2 debuts atop UK charts, drowns out Just Dance
Mass Effect 2's reign in the UK has come to an end, with a return trip to Rapture replacing BioWare's journey across the stars in first place. The latest Chart-Track data shows that Bioshock 2 is now the Big Daddy on the block, besting the hypnotic gyrations of Just Dance, Ubisoft's successful bust-a-mover. With that in second place, FIFA 10 slid into third. Bioshock 2, which bested Mass Effect 2's UK debut numbers, is the first Take-Two title to be in the top spot since 2008, when GTA IV managed to jack its way into first place. Source - Guess Who's The Daddy? [GFK Chart-Track] Source - Latest UK Software Charts [GFK Chart-Track]
BioShock 2 players report multiplayer freezing issues [update]
We've received a number of reports from readers who've been participating in BioShock 2's multiplayer component and succumbing to a variety of game-crashing bugs. The reported causes of the freezing are widespread -- some Xbox 360 players encounter it during the post-game recap, while some have reported freezing up while in their apartment hubs. We've contacted 2K to find out if anything is being done to patch whatever issue might be causing the breakdowns. We were going to make a joke about the freezes being caused by the overzealous use of the Winter Blast plasmid, but that would have been one of the dumbest things we'd ever written. Update: A 2K Games representative responded to our query, and explained, "we are aware that some users are experiencing an issue that could cause the game to freeze during the multiplayer component. We are in direct contact with our first party partners and are working around the clock in order to provide a fix as soon as possible." [Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
BioShock 2 gets midnight release, new launch trailer
If you've been jonesing for your second hit of ADAM, you won't have to wait a moment past 12 a.m. on February 9th; 2K has announced that BioShock 2 will get a midnight launch at Best Buy and GameStop stores. It's great news for us, but bad news for the clerks who have to work until the Witching Hour, just so some dude can fall asleep playing it an hour later, his drool and Cheetoh dust congealing into a loneliness gravy on his Big Daddy PJs. Hoping to pile some extra coal into the hype train's engine, 2K took up the whole first commercial block of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon with a 3-minute-15-second launch trailer. It's a cool clip, but we get the uneasy feeling that the heavy reliance on non-gameplay, first-person action is just a touch misleading. That said, it's just a couple of inches above this sentence, so you can judge for yourself.
Interview: 2K Marin creative director Jordan Thomas on BioShock 2
We doubt you'll find a less forgiving job in video games than the team who has to take the reins from the driving force behind one of the most beloved titles of the last decade and try to make something of their own. As the creative director of 2K Marin, the studio behind BioShock 2, Jordan Thomas is all too familiar with the challenge. With development now behind him, Thomas took a few moments to tell us how the team kept from soiling themselves, and how they hope to make you do just that, except with excitement. Joystiq: When you first learned what you'd be tackling, what was the immediate reaction? Jordan Thomas: It wasn't a big spit-take or anything, I just felt humbled. On the original game, I was a level designer – and believe me, the guys at Irrational hold themselves to such a high creative standard that I can't do it honor in text without sounding like I want to kiss them on the mouth. Some of their games were formative for me, so I was overjoyed to have been involved with BioShock – even in a production role. 2K Marin barely existed at that point, but I told myself that if we were going to carry that legacy with BioShock 2, we'd treat their work with the proper respect. I still find myself thinking, "Gosh, I hope they all have fun" like some addled debutante. %Gallery-50342%
