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The Division shoots for realistic weapons from Tom Clancy studio
Rainbow Six studio Red Storm is helping Ubisoft's Swedish house Massive Entertainment and UK studio Ubisoft Reflections with development of The Division, the open-world Tom Clancy game due out in 2014. Mainly, Red Storm's help comes in the form of realistic weaponry. "I, personally, have been doing it for about six years now," Red Storm Lead Weapons Designer JD Cragg says in an Ubisoft blog post. "One of the guys on my team has been doing it for almost nine. This is pretty much all I do – authentic military weapons, vehicles and that sort of thing." Red Storm is focusing on the weapons artwork, and it has an in-house authenticity department and connections with the local military. The studio has "tens of thousands of photos" of broken-down firearms. "We've had manufacturers come in and literally disassemble the entire weapon all the way down to the nuts and bolts, and our guys are taking hi-res photos of those things," Red Storm Producer Tony Sturtzel says. "We probably have unparalleled access to these types of things because of our authenticity department and their focus on relationships. We're not ever gonna let the cat out of the bag on some of the relationships we have." The Division is due out in 2014 for PC, PS4 and Xbox One, though that release window is reported to be "laughable," according to a Massive Entertainment team member. [Image: Ubisoft]
Tom Clancy passes away at 66
Best-selling author Tom Clancy passed away last night in a Baltimore hospital at age 66, The New York Times confirmed via Twitter. No cause of death has been reported at this time. Clancy penned many military-themed novels, several adapted to video games including the popular Rainbow Six, Ghost Recon and Splinter Cell series. He co-founded Red Storm Entertainment in 1996, which was later purchased by Ubisoft in August 2000. The latest game to feature the author's name is Tom Clancy's: The Division, which is slated to launch in late 2014.
The darker gray of Rainbow 6: Patriots
As I'm sitting down in Ubisoft's San Francisco office for a two hour presentation on the recently announced Rainbow 6: Patriots, there's one thought running through my mind before it even starts: What the hell is Ubisoft thinking?%Gallery-140401%
Former Kaos Studios boss becomes senior creative director at Ubisoft Red Storm
Following the recent closure of Kaos Studios, it seems that the former studio's creative lead won't be making the jump to THQ Montreal alongside his colleagues. Homefront creative lead David Votypka is now officially senior creative director at Ubisoft's North Carolina-based Red Storm studio. His LinkedIn profile confirms the move. The studio is known for its work on Tom Clancy games, having most recently worked on Ghost Recon: Future Soldier and now rumored to be involved with an unannounced Rainbow Six title. It's unclear what Votypka's next project will be, but we've reached out to Ubisoft for more information. And as he's just moved from New York City to Cary, North Carolina, it's highly likely he will miss Shake Shack, but fully embrace delicious North Carolina BBQ. (That's unconfirmed, of course.)
Ghost Recon dev's 'authenticity program' explained
Have you ever noticed how firearms in Red Storm's Ghost Recon games don't look and sound like tiny little baby cap guns? There's a reason for that -- the team has its own "authenticity program," which is the subject of this recent University of North Carolina news report.
Ubisoft lets 38 go from Red Storm
Kotaku reports that Ubisoft has handed walking papers to 38 individuals at Red Storm Entertainment, the studio mostly responsible for handling the Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon games. The studio made a name for itself with the Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six series, starting in the late '90s. An Ubisoft representative told Kotaku that "these team members have the opportunity to consider positions in other Ubisoft studios," citing the layoffs were a result of "a realignment of production priorities." Red Storm is currently working on the multiplayer component of Ghost Recon: Future Soldier. An Ubisoft rep noted the layoffs were "part of a plan to allow the studio to focus on its core expertise: developing innovative multiplayer experiences."
GRAW and Splinter Cell: Double Agent infiltrate Games on Demand
Grab your night-vision goggles and strap on your Kevlar, Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter and Splinter Cell: Double Agent have been added to Xbox Live's Games on Demand service. While GRAW is available in nearly all Xbox Live regions, Splinter Cell: Double Agent is only available to (most) European Xbox Live users. Prices vary by region, but we're confident in saying that no matter where you live, the asking price is probably too high for games that launched in 2006.
Steamy Ghost Recon savings, 50% off the Complete Pack
This is not a drill. Keep your head low, your wallets open and your Steam account information at the ready, because this is an official weekend deal alert: The Ghost Recon Complete Pack is 50% off through Steam. For only $19.99 or roughly the cost of Tom Clancy's Fighter Wing guide, you can be the proud owner of all five PC versions of the Ghost Recon series including the original, Island Thunder, Desert Siege, GRAW and the latest installment, GRAW2. The money savings will expire prior to Monday, so make your "should I buy?" or "should I pass" decision in a timely manner. Please, try to keep an orderly line so the cashier can smoothly operate the checkout lane.
Ghost Recon's smoking file teases us
One of our eagle-eyed readers tipped us off to an interesting development on the official Ghost Recon site. Users are treated to a large smoking file flash overlay when the site is loaded up. It appears that some information still marks the burning folder but as it stands the entire thing is a mystery. With the recent release of Rainbow Six Vegas 2, the ownership agreement with Tom Clancy and the continued domination of Activision's Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare on Xbox Live (proving gamers want more than just Halo 3) is it possible this new smoking file could contain a gun? A gun called Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 3? [Thanks, Jbarnum]
Europe to get GRAW2 Legacy Edition in April
Yesterday, Ubisoft announced that a newly new and jam packed edition of Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 would be hitting European territories this April called the GRAW2 Legacy Edition. This new Legacy Edition will feature all of the previously released GRAW2 downloadable content adding an additional 32 multiplayer maps, new game modes and new weapons to the classic (see: older) GRAW2 experience. Ubi didn't mention anything about pricing for the Legacy Edition, so one should expect it to fall in line with pricing for new releases. That said, is there really a point to releasing this Legacy Edition seeing that most of the die hard military shooter fanboys already moved on from GRAW2 to the oh so popular CoD4? Just saying ...
GRAW 2 co-op pack numero dos hits LIVE, doesn't [Update]
Update: The GRAW 2 Co-Op Collection 2 downloadable content is now available on Xbox Live Marketplace for 400MS Points weighing in at 976MB. Original Story: Time for your confusing story of the day kids. Today, Ubisoft's London office sent out a media alert letting the press know that the second anticipated GRAW 2 Co-op Collection pack has been released onto Xbox LIVE for 400 MS Points. The only thing is, it hasn't. Scouring Xbox Live Markeplace, at the time of this article, there is no sign of any downloadable co-op pack for the Tom Clancy-based hit -- other than the original co-op collection package. Loyal X3F Army soldiers will remember this isn't the first time Ubisoft's UK office jumped the gun on a GRAW 2 announcement. It looks like the release was premature, but it does answer some of the questions we had regarding the latest DLC for the critically acclaimed title. After releasing the first co-op collection for the hefty asking price of 800MS Points, Ubisoft throws out the latest expansion installment for half-price but doesn't skimp on the content. Adding five co-op missions that continue the story of the original DLC, 9 adversarial maps -- 7 remade from other games in the series and 2 new creations, and 8 brand new achievements to pad your gamerscore. We're waiting anxiously in the wings for Ubisoft to remind us that the shooter-war isn't just a two pony race. As soon as we learn the content has hit LIVE we'll let you know.
GRAW2 Co-op Collection 2 gets fully revealed
The achievements didn't lie, because today TeamXbox exclusively revealed yet another piece of GRAW2 downloadable content called Co-op Collection 2. Just like the Co-op Collection before it, this second set of DLC will feature five new missions (Bridges, Stronghold, Depot, Riverbed and Ghost Town), nine new adversarial maps (Bridges, Stronghold, Depot, Riverbed, Ghost Town, Roadblock, Island, Treatment Plant and Mining Camp) as well as eight additional achievements worth 125 Gamerscore. TeamXbox posted a pretty solid video preview of the Co-op Collection 2 which also tells us that the DLC can be downloaded right now off the XBLM. But after doing a quick XBLM look, no Co-op Collection 2 could be found. So, we'll just say release date and pricing are "pending".
New GRAW2 achievements means more DLC
For those of you who are still supporting the Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter then you'll be glad to know that a set of eight new achievements totaling an additional 125 Gamerscore have been added to GRAW2. Funny thing about that is can't unlock them yet. The list of eight new achievements come straight from the bowels of Xbox.com and correspond to various GRAW2 co-op mission completions as well as killing tasks on any "GRAW 2: CC map". But know that these achievements are not the same ones released with last year's GRAW2 Co-Op Collection DLC, these are freshly new and totally unannounced co-op missions. So, that means only one thing to us: more DLC. We expect these new achievements to correspond to another round of paid (or free) GRAW2 DLC that will be making its way to the XBLM soon'ish. You are on alert. [Thanks, Brad]
Video: GRAW 2 co-op DLC
Hey, kids! Still playing that Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2 game? Do you feel like you need something new? Maybe you saw the fancy, newfangled Co-op Collection content pack that was released yesterday, and maybe you found yourself wondering if it was worth 800 MS Points. You thought to yourself, "that's a lot of scratch," perhaps. Well, as usual, we're here to help. Ubisoft released a little teaser video that shows off all the levels available in the new content pack. The co-op campaign is comprised of 5 missions from previous Ghost Recon titles (3 from Ghost Recon, 2 from Ghost Recon: Island Thunder). The pack also includes four new adversarial maps, two of which are remakes of old favorites (Castle and Prison). Check out the video and see if it's worth opening your wallet.
Joystiq interview: America's Army's Marsha Berry
America's Army is without question the most widely recognized name in serious games. The game, which started off as a tool for Army recruitment, has become something of a marvel, bridging the emerging serious games market and the larger mainstream video game industry. According to those helming the project, since America's Army's initial launch for the PC in 2002, players have taken part in more than 212 million hours representing some 3.6 billion rounds of online gameplay. In addition, the game, which now has players in over 60 different countries, has been downloaded more than 40 million times, and has received more than 24 different releases, including new missions and gameplay additions. There's strong, and then there's America's Army strong. Later this month Ubisoft and developer Red Storm will release the latest game in the America's Army franchise, America's Army: True Soldiers, developed in collaboration with the U.S. Army exclusively for the Xbox 360. We recently sat down to speak with America's Army software manager Marsha Berry to discuss this game, as well as America's Army's possible console future, and who exactly is being targeted with this and future games in the series. %Gallery-9943%
Big GRAW 2 pack coming next month
It appears that Ubisoft's going to be ringing in Thanksgiving and the beginning of the holiday shopping season with a cornucopia (pilgrims FTW!) of content for tactical shooter Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2. Sometime in late November, fans will be able to add five new missions that continue the story line and nine new multiplayer maps, seven of which are rehashed from old Ghost Recon games. Oh, and those who get the pack through Xbox Live will also have 125 more Gamerscore points available. The one big question that we don't have an answer for yet is price. But Ubisoft is supposed to put some new details out today, so we'll likely soon know if this Thanksgiving treat is the equivalent of delicious pumpkin pie or ... Jello salad.
GRAW 2 getting Co-Op Collection expansion
Ubisoft has plans to make GRAW 2 fresh again by releasing a new campaign / multiplayer expansion sometime later this month or early November. The GRAW 2 Co-Op Collection expansion includes five new campaign missions and nine new multiplayer maps while adding an additional 125 Gamerscore to the mix with nine achievements. Complete details on all the new campaign missions, maps and achievements can be viewed over at IGN, but after giving the expansion content a look over we still have one question on our mind. We wonder if the Co-Op Collection is going to be enough to draw us away from our current FPS gaming rotation and bring us back to GRAW 2.
Second GRAW 2 Throwback Pack is now free
Piggybacking the free release of the original Throwback Pack, Ubisoft has just made the Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 Throwback Pack 2 a free XBLM download! This second Throwback Pack features an additional seven remade multiplayer maps including Ghost Town, Aral Sea and Rocky Cove among others and features an additional gametype called Co-op Exfiltration. This multiplayer expansion was previously listed at 800 Microsoft points, so with a 100% discount making it free, we think you should give it a download. Free GRAW 2 Throwback Pack and Throwback Pack 2 ... life is good.
GRAW 2 gets free content pack
If you haven't loaded up Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2 in a while, we think you'll be pleasantly surprised if you dig the disc out. Last week, the first "Throwback Pack" (originally 800 points in May) went free on the Marketplace. Today, there's a brand new throwback pack, the appropriately titled "Throwback Pack 2", that's absolutely free. The main draws here are seven levels that have been remastered from previous Ghost Recon games. But you'll also find a new mode to play around with, Co-op Exfiltration. Wow, from $15 for eight re-lit maps and 4 co-op missions to seven missions for free -- what a difference a year makes.
Deal of the Day: GRAW 2 for $45 at Fry's
With the incredible amount of games coming out over the next couple months, PlayStation 3 owners' wallets are going to get a bit stressed. Luckily the game deals keep rolling in letting gamers on a budget pick up the hot titles AND still be able to eat. Today we have a nice tip from Cheap Ass Gamer that Fry's is selling Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 for $45 dollars, a tasty 25% discount from the retail price. The game has been getting good reviews and even though the game is 6 months late, Ubisoft appears to have done a good job at porting it from the 360 and have added quite a bit of additional content to help compensate for the delay. The cheap price just makes it all the more attractive.
