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Atari Vault collection brings 100 classic games to Steam
It's been a long time since Atari was a dominant force in video games. The company rarely makes an impression on the industry these days, but there's no questioning the impact it had on the medium's formative years. Soon, players will be able to relive its glory days from the 1970s and 80s through the Atari Vault, a collection of 100 retro games available via Steam. It's being developed by Code Mystics and will feature titles such as Asteroids, Centipede, Missile Command, Tempest and Warlords. They won't be simple ports though, thanks to the addition of online and local multiplayer, Steam controller support and Steam leaderboards.
Double Fine is making 'Psychonauts 2' but it needs $3.3 million
Psychonauts 2 is happening. It's a sequel to Double Fine's first-ever game, a quirky, beloved, 2005 platformer about a team of psychic spies-in-training. Most of the pieces are in order -- the concept art is in, the characters are rendered, the narrative is prepped and Double Fine founder Tim Schafer is ready to roll. The studio needs just one more thing before diving into development: $3.3 million from investors and fans.
Cyberpunk PC classic 'System Shock' is getting a proper remake
While System Shock might have only just received a facelift when it launched on GOG.com earlier this year, an entire remake of the legendary PC game is now in the works — and perhaps even System Shock 3. And if you've never heard of System Shock? You should have: both the creators of BioShock and Deus Ex were involved in the game, which is a 1994 classic in its own right. Night Dive, the same company that was tasked with this year's digital renovation, will handle the remake. It's picked up full rights to the franchise.
'Sensible Soccer' is getting a modern remake
For kids growing up in the early 90s, the Commodore Amiga was the pinnacle of gaming hardware. It was no doubt helped by classic titles like Sensible Soccer and Cannon Fodder, which were the brainchild of Sensible Software founder Jon Hare. It's been eight years since the last Sensible Soccer game hit the Xbox 360, but with Codemasters still holding on to the licence, Hare's decided it's about time for a reboot: Sociable Soccer.
Battlezone's PSVR reboot is the ultimate fan service
It could be argued that Atari's 1980 arcade classic Battlezone was the first virtual reality game. In a simple duel of tanks, players looked through a small opening in the cabinet to maneuver their lumbering vehicle, firing at a single enemy and avoiding being struck by projectiles. The game's wireframe design was graphically simplistic, but stenciled in thin green lines on the horizon was a single object that drew the attention of fans: an erupting volcano. Rumors swirled of a secret route that would lead players to the volcano's crater where a castle lay awaiting brave explorers. "Of course, none of this was true," Atari engineer Lyle Rains pointed out in Van Burnham's 2001 book Supercade. But that didn't stop the dreamers. In one case, a fan even wrote to Atari to tell the company he'd reached the mythical castle. After decades of speculation, developer Rebellion, best known for the Sniper Elite series, is rebooting Battlezone for Sony's PlayStation VR and taking players into the heart of the volcano.
'Shenmue III' will come to PC and PS4 with your help
Apparently, the running theme of Sony's E3 event is "long-sought follow-ups to classic games." Famed developer Yu Suzuki has revealed that he's crowdfunding Shenmue III, the sequel to a much-admired action role-playing series that many thought had ended back in 2001 -- or 2002, if you got the Xbox version of Shenmue II. The open-world title will pick up Ryo's adventure where it left off, with a visit to China to hunt down his father's murderer. It'll be available on both the PC and PlayStation 4 if all goes well, and there are promises of new fighting mechanics in addition to familiar elements.
Help these 30-year-old Intellivision games live again on PC
One of the biggest problems facing video games as an artistic medium is one of preservation. Thanks to HD remasters, digital distribution and the Internet Archive that's becoming less of an issue. But we still need to do more to keep a record and constant catalog of gaming's past moments. That's the idea behind the awkwardly named "Intellivision Gen2 Video Games for PC & Mac" on Kickstarter. As you might imagine, it's modernized versions of Intellivision titles. Astrosmash, Nightstalker and Shark! Shark! will get the new pixel art, expanded levels and scope should the project reach its $100,000 goal.
Watch the story of how 'Hotline Miami' came to be
Hotline Miami is one of the most memorable indie games of the decade. It was made by just two people: Dennis Wedin and Jonatan Söderström, collectively known as Dennaton Games. A new documentary from Complex explores how the ultra-violent game took the world by storm, coming from seemingly nowhere to gain critical acclaim, sell over half a million copies and spawn a successful sequel. Featuring footage of early prototypes alongside candid interviews with the developers, artists, musicians and publisher Devolver Digital, it's a fascinating look into the minds behind a truly unique experience.
The man who left behind $78 million to revamp a classic space shooter
Eric Peterson has dedicated 20 years of his life to the video game industry, handling development and production in startups and large studios alike. He has a passion for space games, and in April 2012, he helped found Cloud Imperium Games, the studio building Chris Roberts' massive interstellar simulator Star Citizen. Cloud Imperium has since raised $78.6 million from nearly 900,000 dedicated fans, with more adding to the pot every day; it's the largest and most ridiculous crowdfunding campaign in gaming history. Late last year, Peterson walked away from Cloud Imperium, Star Citizen and that pile of cash. Not because he wasn't into the game anymore; he just didn't want to leave his home in Austin, Texas. "I loved working on the project; I just didn't want to move to Los Angeles," Peterson says. "They're my friends. Look, I built that company with them. ... It's just that, I've made sacrifices before in this industry for games that almost cost me personally with my family. So I'm just not willing to do that anymore. The priorities for me are family first."
The adventure game classic 'Grim Fandango' is coming to PS4 and PS Vita
Just because LucasArts as an active game studio is no more doesn't mean that some of its original franchises are going the way of the dodo -- far from it. Double Fine's Tim Schafer has revealed at Sony's E3 event that the classic 1998 adventure game Grim Fandango will be re-released on the PlayStation 4 and PS Vita. Details of the remake aren't available just yet, but it's safe to presume that some visual upgrades are coming to Manny's journey through the Mexican Land of the Dead. Update: Double Fine has confirmed via Twitter that the remake is also coming to PC, Mac and Linux platforms.
Doom 4 re-revealed as 'Doom,' beta access coming with new Wolfenstein
Remember Doom, the classic first-person shooter that invented a gaming genre? Though the franchise has taken some (considerable) time off in the past decade, the latest iteration is apparently not far from prime time. Originally named Doom 4, (the somewhat confusingly named) "Doom" is headed into beta at some point this year; access keys will ship with boxed copies of Wolfenstein: The New Order this May. As of right now, the only way to get into said beta will be to pick up a copy of Wolfenstein on one of its many platforms (PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One and PC). As for where the Doom beta will actually be playable is another question altogether: there are no announced platforms for Doom, though we suspect it'll be on next-gen and PC at very least. It's also not clear if the game will still be a showcase for id Software's latest version of id Tech, the engine that powers id games. One thing is for certain: Doom co-creator John Carmack won't have a hand in this one, as he's moved on to the wiles of virtual reality at Oculus VR.
Atari and Zynga team up to reboot Breakout in 'Super Bunny Breakout' on iOS
Atari may be little more than a vestige of its former self, but that isn't stopping the publisher from crafting new versions of its classic games. "Super Bunny Breakout," for example, is a project created with Ville-crafter Zynga, and it's a new spin on Atari classic Breakout. Not to be outdone, Zynga's added its own Zynga-esque flavor to the game, which means ... in-app purchases. Yes indeed, rather than a regular ol' ball bouncing around a stage, Super Bunny Breakout has players bouncing "a daredevil rabbit with an appetite for revenge -- sadly, that rabbit (and his friends) have seasonal affective disorder (or something) and can't help but lose energy. How to replenish that energy? You'll "collect or purchase coins via in-app purchase," apparently. Despite the stink of in-game purchases, Super Bunny Breakout costs $0.99 and is currently available on iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch through iTunes.
