EA-Redwood-Shores
Latest
Dead Space dev diary scares up Scary Moments
Scares are, not surprisingly, a vital part of any survival horror game. The latest developer diary for Dead Space is all about scary moments, and the devs at EA Redwood Shores want to assure us all that the game will be full of 'em. The developers spend time talking about exactly what makes a scary moment scary and furthermore how Dead Space will go about utilizing them. It's kind of hard to be scared by the game when we're not actually playing it, but at least the dev diary gives us an idea of what to expect. It doesn't hurt that the game looks beautiful either.If you still need convincing, check out our hands-on impressions of the game from E3.
Scared stiff: Why should we care about Dead Space?
Looking one part System Shock and another part Event Horizon, Electronic Arts' Dead Space is another of 2008's most eagerly anticipated experiments with freaking us right out. In development by a "renegade" team of devs at EA Redwood Shores, the game represents one of the few truly original offerings from a company that has rightfully earned a dubious reputation for recycling IP. However, if our interest was piqued by the sci-fi survival horror romp through outer space, it completely pales to EA's own enthusiasm for the project, which has seen Dead Space cast in both comics as well as an upcoming animated prequel in the run up to the game's release this Halloween. But EA throwing money at a game to keep it in the news is hardly surprising, so we spoke with executive producer Glen Schofield about the project, asking him point blank why we should care about a game that, as he tells it, is about "a normal guy in a horrible situation." %Gallery-23118%
Dead Space loses limbs thanks to 'Strategic Dismemberment'
Life aboard the Ishimura is rough. The food is lousy, the company's worse, and the endless screams make it just impossible to get a good night's sleep. While some might deal with these issues by writing a letter or turning to pills, spaceship engineer Isaac Clarke, the protagonist in EA's Dead Space, has decided to take care of things his own way -- by cutting anything in his path to ribbons. EA has released this new gameplay video demonstrating Clarke's unique way of getting things done using a method referred to by Dead Space executive producer, Glen Schofield, as "strategic dismemberment." It's a fancy term for taking enemies apart "limb by limb." As Clarke slices and dices the Ishimura's resident nasties, called Necromorphs, Schofield notes that they will continue to fight back in true Ninja Gaiden II style, sometimes requiring more creative weapons like the stasis or telekinesis guns. Dead Space is shaping up to be one of this Fall's more interesting releases -- we're looking forward to gutting our way through Necromorph hordes this Halloween. [Via PS3 Fanboy]
EA boss confirms sequel to The Godfather
We actually weren't that disgusted in The Godfather, to be honest. Sure, the game takes some liberties and it isn't anywhere near the quality of the movies it's based on, but there's a certain bit of evil fun that can be found in beating up a shop owner because they refuse to pay protection money. Now, EA is talking about a sequel.EA boss John Riccitiello talked up the sequel at a William Blair & Company's investor meeting Tuesday, stating that EA's Redwood Shores studio has been working on it. "It's a game that I think we'll be talking a lot about this fall," said Riccitiello. "You can play this game both at the street level, much like a GTA-style game, but you can also play it top-down, almost like you're in an RTS, controlling the strategy of the boroughs so you can see what's going on..." EA's Hunter Smith (he worked on their previous two James Bond games) will serve as the game's producer.
Godfather II has RTS elements
Hmm, that headline was kind of misleading, wasn't it? Let's try again. Godfather II has no RTS elements and an Academy Award-winning performance from Robert DeNiro. Godfather II: The Game will possess at least some RTS elements, in addition to the Grand Theft Vito gameplay you remember from the first game.The tidbit came from EA CEO John Riccitiello who said "it's almost like you're in an RTS, controlling the strategy of the boroughs so you can see what's going on." EA Redwood Shores is apparently working on the game, presumably on their breaks from finishing up Dead Space. Riccitiello says that G II: TG is a title we'll be talking a lot about in the fall, let's hope we don't have to wait until then to hear more.
Dead Space: In space no one can hear you release new screens
The newest action title to be added to Electronic Arts' catalog is the space thriller (sp'riller?), Dead Space. In the third-person action shooter gamers play as Issac, a miner who is decked out in the depressurized space suit dubbed 'The Rig.' Aboard an infested mining ship, Issac battles for survival against an alien species known as the 'Xenomorphs' 'Necromorphs'. The game also features weightless and decompressed environments for all your space Spider-Man, wall-walking desires. Dead Space is expected to release this fall.%Gallery-21371%
Screamshots: Dead Space
Click for bigger scares! Toasterhead and his pals on the Ishimura deathtrap took time out from their busy schedules to pose for a roll of fresh Dead Space screens (trust us, Isaac's smiling underneath all that glowing light). The gang did a fine job keeping the action looking candid. And by golly, all that blood sure looks real! How they do it ... we may never know. %Gallery-25401%
Dead Space Animated Comic: Issue 2
After the break, you'll find the second of six animated "issues" of the Dead Space comic. The hefty backstory to EA's survival horror continues, with the mysterious "marker" potentially causing a colony of miners to all catch a bad case of the crazies. At the rate we're going, it looks like EA will drop one of these a month all the way through September, at which point we'll be treated to the one-two punch of the animated prequel and the game's release this Haloween. In case you're behind, here are the previous issues: Dead Space Animated Comic: Issue 1
Video: Dead Space comic numero dos
EA recently released a new "issue" of their Dead Space comic and just like the first (this being the second), it's a video comic with no reading in sight. You can view all the nearly nine minutes of comic book goodness in the video above. A+ to you EA for blending an interesting backstory with pretty decent voice acting talent and a comic art style into Dead Space video entertainment. Also, for those who missed it, you can view the first issue of the Dead Space comic embedded after the break.
Joystiq hands-on: Dead Space
click to enlarge EA is changing. I want to believe that. First, selling off lucrative but terribly stale license to the competition. Then, a new president who's chanting the mantra of innovation. And then, acquiring renowned developers who (get this!) willingly and enthusiastically partner with the corporate monolith that used to be EA.Bioware president Ray Muzyka thinks EA's changed (he talked his new employer up in his presentation at the EA Spring Break event last Monday); EA's own (formerly unhappy) employees think it's changed. With a lineup of new properties ranging from innovative and well received (like Skate) to ambitious but less successful (think Army of Two) – as well as the extraordinarily successful EA Partners program that sees the publisher's name on everything from Valve's Orange Box to MTV Games' Rock Band – most signs point to change. But EA has yet to match the critical success of rivals like Take-Two, whose BioShock and Grand Theft Auto games have reached a level of praise practically unknown to EA.So when a new survival horror property was announced on the cover of October's Game Informer – proudly proclaiming its development by "a renegade team at Electronic Arts" – our curiosity was piqued. A new IP, a new genre, an impressive (and external) graphics engine? A series of developer diaries, comic books, interviews, and press materials continued to stoke the fires of innovation, encouraging everyone to think of the game as something new for EA: a game where story and atmosphere aren't trimmings wrapped around a stale license but fundamental components of the experience. EA was essentially building a "Shock" game (System Shock, BioShock), only they named it Dead Space and I finally got a chance to play it last week.%Gallery-23119%
Video: Dead Space and all the horror
The GameTrailers crew just posted an exclusive Dead Space trailer interestingly enough called"Exclusive Story Trailer". We're sure the "Exclusive" part of the name is referring to the GameTrailers exclusivity and one would thing the "Story" part of the name refers to some sort of story being told ... yup, that's it. There are story elements being told. Check the latest Dead Space trailer embedded above and wish you were equally cool as Isaac to possess a wicked awesome welder's mask.
Video: Dead Space diary talks story development
We've just been informed that there's a new Dead Space dev diary available (the second thus far) which discusses how the team over at EA has been approaching the game's development. And we quickly learn that Dead Space development building block number one is the game's deep storyline. According executive producer Glen Schofield, the core development strategy for Dead Space was to put focus on the story and characters, then build the actual game and gameplay mechanics around that. And it really shows. As the team talks about the story we can't help but be intrigued by the idea of mining entire planets for scarce resources then accidentally unleashing hell while in the process. We also enjoy the game's eeriness. Heck, we'll even go as far to say that the in-game shots look gorgeous. We think we're falling in love. Watch the dev diary, learn about the dev team's mindset and start to garner an opinion, because Dead Space will be hitting retailers this October. Boo!
Dead Space Animated Comic: Issue 1
In case you didn't get a chance to pick up the first issue of the Dead Space comic (or maybe you can't read ... in which case, what are you doing here?), they've just released an animated version and, we've got to say, it's got our attention. While it's a known fact that the entire staff of Joystiq suffers from a rare disease whose only symptom is intense concentration when presented with a combination of foul language and severed torsos – both present in the first installment tucked away safely after the break – we think we'd be interested regardless, disease be damned.It's got that creepy space horror aesthetic they've been promising, along with a healthy dose of creepy space zealots and creepy space obelisks. We're sure the next five issues will add appropriate amounts of creepy space paranoia and, of course, creepy space monsters. After all that, we'll get the feature-length fully animated Dead Space prequel which picks up right where the comic lets off. After that? We presume the actual video game. EA better hope there's enough meat on these bones.
Exclusive: Dead Space dev blog talks 'the suit'
Thanks to EA and the entire Dead Space development team, we've been given the opportunity to share with you an exclusive Dead Space dev blog prior to its official release later this week. The exclusive blog and concept art can be viewed in their entirety after the break and features Dead Space Art Director Ian Milham talking about the history of the already iconic suit that lead character Isaac wears. And, as always, you can make your way over to the official Dead Space development blog at deadspace.ea.com to see how things have been progressing on the title. Enjoy.
EA, Starz Media partner for Dead Space animated prequel
First comics and now cartoons, Electronic Arts isn't taking any chances that its upcoming space-meets-survival horror title Dead Space will go unnoticed when it drops this Halloween. The latest effort comes by way of a partnership with film company Starz Media for an animated prequel, which according to EA will pick up the story from the last page of the comic book and cover the events up the beginning of the game itself. Starz Media is apparently in talks with unspecified networks to air the animated feature this Halloween, while a DVD release is also planned as well. Showing considerable hope for the project, or perhaps just being blinded by dollar signs, the pair have also cemented plans for further animation projects centered on two other EA franchises, but which ones? Inquiring minds want to know.
Whew, Dead Space will let you pause after all
Players will be able to answer nature's call -- or any call for that matter -- in EA's upcoming survival horror title Dead Space. While an earlier report noted that the devs were considering dropping the ability to pause from the game altogether, EA's Glen Schofield has clarified things, stating that while Dead Space will let you pause the action and take a breather, inventory management will be left to the throes of real-time. The executive producer told Stephen Totilo of MTV's Multiplayer blog that since combat in Dead Space is "happening live and in real time," players won't be able to pause their game to heal, reload, or write home while being gnawed on by whatever nasties the devs have cooked up. Noted Schofield, "You better ammo up before you begin your fight. Because you can't really be safe." Honestly, inventory we can handle; it was the fear of having to visit a urologist after having to hold it for too long that truly kept us awake at night.
Dead Space will allow pausing of death
For everyone who feared that they would have to endure hours upon hours of alien butchering without the ability to pause in EA's upcoming Dead Space, you'll be able to sleep more soundly tonight because that just isn't true. After talking with Dead Space's executive producer Glen Schofield, MTV Multiplayer learned that the whole no pause rumor was taken out of context and that Dead Space will allow the player to pause the game. Otherwise, that'd be against Microsoft and Sony's rules. What the player will not be able to do is pausable actions like in Resident Evil, where players can equip new items or add more ammo from the pause menu. Because really, pausing the game in a third person shooter to do inventory management while in the heat of a murderous alien battle is so 1999. Jeesh.
Official Dead Space website is alive
We just got word that the official website for EA's upcoming space-horror shooter Dead Space is now alive and kicking over at deadspace.ea.com. And once there, you'll not only be treated to a plethora of in-game Dead Space screenshots and a previously released trailer, but you'll also come across other gory goodies. Digging deeper, you'll find a rather intriguing comic book style video that sets up the game's story as well as a downloadable fan kit, a developer blog and some old school forums as well. It's what we in the business would call a Dead Space fanboy's "dream". Make the jump, browse a bit and see what you can find over in the online world of Dead Space. And yes, we'll admit it, our interest has been sparked.
Dead Space to haunt players this Halloween
Electronic Arts has finalized an appropriate release date for its upcoming survival horror title Dead Space, announcing that the game will keep players in both North America and Europe oxygen-deprived starting this Halloween, October 31. If there was ever a reason for cosplayers to pore over the Sears catalog for toasters to affix to their heads this haunting season, this game is it. The game is currently in development for the Xbox 360 and PS3, and promises a "chilling, claustrophobic feeling of being isolated in a dark environment." EA also notes that Dead Space will force players to face down alien horrors not as a hulking superman but rather as a lowly engineer, though if history has taught us one thing, it's to not underestimate the little guy.
Dead Space comic debuts at WonderCon, cover weirds us out
We've known of EA's collaboration with Image for a comic book miniseries based on Dead Space for some time, though like the game itself any news beyond knowledge that something is coming has been scarce. Now EA has confirmed new details surrounding the project, noting that the six-part comic series will be penned by Wasteland's Antony Johnston and feature the unmistakable art of Ben Templesmith, best known for his work on Image Comics' own Fell. As noted earlier, the comics will serve as a prequel to EA's nonstop scare-a-thon, which is expected to keep us playing from beneath the safety of our blankets when it drops this fall for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC. We're unsure if the comics will have a similar effect on our psyche, though the above image taken from a limited edition version of the first issue creeps us right out. Just look at his eyes. He knows something. This special edition of the first issue will be given away at this week's WonderCon in San Francisco, while the series will begin showing up at your comic store of choice this March. In the meantime, if you need us, we'll be under the couch where it's safe.
