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Avast! Disney milking Pirates of the Caribbean again
Disney Interactive has announced Pirates of the Caribbean: Armada of the Damned, a new open-world action RPG in development at Turok dev, Propaganda Games. According to Disney, the game will take place before the events in the films, with "moral and character choices" promised that shape both the player's character and the game's world. Beyond this, not much is known, though Armada of the Damned isn't scheduled to set sail until fall 2010 on both the PC and "next-generation" consoles. Still, after posting a considerable $45 million loss earlier this year, who can blame the company for diving back into its treasure chest for the few remaining doubloons left at the bottom.%Gallery-64282%
Disney Interactive revenue down citing lack of console games
Disney Interactive has been having a pretty rough year. The company kicked off 2009 with a handful of layoffs, and now, according to reports at Gamasutra, it's also facing a near 20 percent drop in year-over-year revenue. Big surprise? Not exactly, considering the publisher only internally published a handful of games last year (including critically acclaimed Pure and not so critically acclaimed Turok). Also not a big surprise, Disney Interactive prez and CEO Bob Iger cites "the weak economy and other factors" when explaining his company's less than fantastic financial situation. Let's just hope Warren Spector's "epic" Mickey Mouse game can help to bolster Disney's 2009 lineup.
Rumor: Turok 2 shelved, Disney Interactive lays off over 200
Joystiq has learned from multiple sources that an as yet unannounced Turok sequel has been shelved due to sweeping layoffs at Disney. According to one source, Turok 2 had been in development for "over a year and a half," before the team was notified the project would be put aside on Thursday, January 29. Turok 2 was set to continue the story of the recently revamped series, which debuted on the Xbox 360, PS3 and the PC in 2008. One source told Joystiq that Propaganda was working hard to produce a quality title, with hopes of bringing some familiar weaponry to fans of the original series, including the infamous Cerebral Bore from Turok 2: Seeds of Evil. While Turok 2 may return to development, sources say, "A lot of the core people are no longer there," meaning a future Turok would likely be significantly different from the team's original vision.It was also indicated that Propaganda Games may be the studio behind the recently rumored Tron title. The layoffs were reportedly first announced internally via a conference call by Steve Wadsworth, president of the Disney Interactive Media Group on Wednesday, January 28, hours before the news broke online. After the call it was revealed that 204 employees throughout the Disney Interactive Media Group had been laid off. The groups hit include Disney Online (DOL) Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Online (WDPRO), Mobile Japan. At least 75 employees have been shed from Propaganda Games and the now defunct Fall Line Studios. Alleged Turok 2 concept art can be viewed in the gallery below. Know anything more? You know where to find us. %Gallery-43764%
Best Buy's $10 sale: Ninja Gaiden II, Turok & more
Holy Hannah! We aren't exactly sure how we missed the money savings event going on at Best Buy stores (we blame the unnatural alignment of the moon and sun), but we have to share even if we're a bit late on reporting. Online at BestBuy.com or in-store you can take advantage of their $10 Xbox 360 game sale. For just one Hamilton ($9.99 to be exact), you can own a new and guaranteed to be shrink wrapped copy of Ninja Gaiden II, Facebreaker, Condemned 2, MLB 2K8 or Turok. How can you say no to those deals? If you're okay with dropping $20 on a new game, Best Buy has a few 360 titles in that price range including (but not limited to) Bad Company, UT3 and Quake Wars. Happy shopping!
Grab your bow and grab Turok from Amazon for $20
Today's Amazon.com Gold Box deal is none other than the Disturbed approved game from Touchstone, Turok. And the Gold Box deal is actually pretty good, they're chopping off 50% from the price and offering the game for a rather cheap $19.99 with free shipping IF you spend over $25 on the same order. So, if you like killing dinosaurs and being all stealthy, add Turok to your shopping cart and maybe a copy of Dinosaur Hunter as well. You know, for the sake of free shipping.
Kill dinos in Turok with rock band Distrubed
Heads up to those looking to Game with rock band Fame today, because later this evening the band Disturbed will be connected to Xbox Live playing some Turok.From 6-8:00PM eastern (3-5:00PM pacific) Disturbed will be participating in Xbox.com's Game With Fame, playing a few games of Turok multiplayer under the Gamertag Disturbed GWF. Sounds fun and all, it's just ... well, why play Turok? Couldn't Disturbed pick up a game like ... say, Halo 3? If they did, then we'd be super excited to play.[Thanks, NUCK1N FUTS]
Father's Day in Azeroth: A salute to the fathers of Warcraft lore
So it's Father's Day, the time when we all pay homage to the fathers or father figures in our lives, and thank them for all that they do. While we can't say for sure if they celebrate Father's Day in Azeroth, too, there's a lot of people in Azeroth and Outland who have reason to think back on their dads today. Many dads of Azeroth have affected their children's lives or been affected by them. The ramifications of the interactions of these fathers and children have then in turn affected the lore and story of Warcraft in ways great and small. Therefore, in honor of the holiday, let's look at 10 famous and not-so-famous dads of Warcraft lore (listed in no particular order).
Classic Media developing Turok film, not Disney
Variety reports that the live-action Turok movie is not being handled by Disney, which publishes the video game series through its Touchstone Pictures label. Instead, the film rights are being handled by Classic Media, the same IP management firm that handled the direct-to-DVD Turok animated film.What does this mean for the dinosaur hunter's big-screen debut? Variety's Ben Fritz warns us that without the backing of a major studio like Disney, it's likely that Turok won't be on par with major film adaptations like the upcoming Prince of Persia and BioShock flicks. Let's just keep it out of the hands of Uwe Boll, shall we?
Live-action Turok movie in the works
Turok didn't make so much a splash as a dull thud when it landed on consoles earlier this year, but that doesn't mean we don't still all love the idea of a Native American warrior killing dinosaurs. In fact, it's one of our all-time favorite premises, right after immortal guys trying to cut one another's heads off and Arnold Schwarzenegger being pregnant. That's why we're happy to hear that actor Adam Beach (who played the Son of Stone in the animated version previewed above) says that a live action version of the story is in the works."We just finished the animated movie and now we're going into the feature film movie [which should lens] hopefully in a couple years. We're about to set up meetings to develop a script and put it out there," Beach told MTV. Sounds great, but we just want to go on record: If the Cerebral Bore doesn't make an appearance, we're getting our tickets refunded.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in.]
Last chance: Win Turok
This is it. Your final opportunity to snag some sweet, sweet Turok. The giveaway ends in a mere hour and a half as of this posting, so get to it, lest the opportunity pass passes by forever. What's that you say? You already have Turok? Maybe it's not your cup of tea? Well, never fear, because we'll have yet another Fanswag giveaway next week. As for the rest of you, head over to the official giveaway post and enter already.
Turok Multiplayer Map Pack now on Marketplace
Announced yesterday, the new Turok Multiplayer Map Pack is now available on the Xbox Live Marketplace at the nice price of 400 Microsoft points. This 307.7MB download features five multiplayer maps including Break Out, Desolation, Sentinel, Inconclusive Tests and A Rivalry Continues each breaking down to around $1 per map. The pricing isn't too shabby, but we have a feeling that if it were priced any higher this DLC would only be downloaded by a few dozen fanboys. We're just being honest ... sorry.
Don't forget: win some Turok
Hey kids, don't forget that we're giving away two copies of Turok this week. That's the same Turok that has brand new (and super cheap) DLC. The same Turok that features a mohowked hero that kills dinosaurs with using nothing but a knife and a steroid-fueled grin. Yeah, that Turok. For your shot at winning a free copy, head over to the official giveaway post and enter. Do it now or turn in your man card (unless, of course, you're a lady, in which case you should enter anyway).
Turok ships 1 million, cheap 5 map DLC tomorrow
At this point, it's pretty much a given. When publishers release new downloadable maps for their shooters, they sell them for 800 MS Points. At least, that's the case when they know that they can. Sure, COD4 and Halo 3 players will pay 800 MS Points for a handful of maps. Both games have so many players that the publishers are bound to sell enough content to make money (it doesn't hurt that gamers have to download maps if they plan on playing with their map owning friends). When your title doesn't even crack the Live top ten, some more strategic planning is required. Thus, the Turok Velociraptor Pack, which contains 5 new maps (more than either of the upcoming packs for COD4 or Halo 3), will debut tomorrow for a mere 400 MS Points.Touchstone also announced that Turok has shipped over 1 million units worldwide. No easy feat given the competition mentioned above. If you'd like to get your hands on one of those copies, don't forget to enter our Turok giveaway, which runs until Friday afternoon.
Turok to get five new multiplayer maps tomorrow
Sometimes we get so obsessed with Call of Duty 4 or new Halo 3 maps that we forget there are other games people like to play online. Take, for instance, Turok, which we just learned will get five new multiplayer maps (the "Velociraptor Pack") via Xbox Live and PSN tomorrow. The DLC will run you $5 (400 points) on both systems.Well, by "five" maps, we really should say "two," because one is a new co-op map and two are re-lit versions of already available maps. But three maps for $10 seems to be the standard now, so we're not complaining. No, what puzzles us is this: We know it's not one of the big guns, but is anybody playing Turok online? Is this a gem we missed out on?Side note from that same release: Expect the PC version of the game to arrive on April 22 for $50.
Fanswag Weekly: Turok
Now that our Mass Effect Xbox is headed to its new home, it's time to get back into the regular Fanswag swing of things. This week, we've got not one, but two copies of Turok to give away. For your shot at dino hunting glory, simply follow the incredibly easy instructions below. Featuring dinosaurs, guns, bows, knives, and some of the most gravelly voices ever, Turok is one of the manliest games ever made. Leave a comment detailing the manly way in which you will play it if you win. You can enter once per calendar day (Eastern Time). Be sure you only leave one comment per day. Posters of multiple comments during the same day will be disqualified. We'll accept entries until Friday, March 28, 12:00pm Noon, Eastern Time. You must be at least 18 years old to enter. This giveaway is open only to residents of the U.S. and Canada (excluding Quebec). On Friday, we'll pick two winners via a random drawing Two winners will each receive a copy of Turok for Xbox 360, worth $60 each. The complete rules can be found here.
Zero Punctuation attacks Turok and FPS problems
It would be fair to say that Zero Punctuation attacks each of his subjects in the same manner in which Family Guy executes flashback sequences, with ridiculous comparison. This week is no different as Yahtzee tackles the latest in the Turok series ... uh, Turok. However, possibly to save his own sanity, Yahtzee decides to call out Turok by way of juxtaposition and list off all the elements developers have used to death in every other generic first-person shooter. Things like, zooming into the back of a characters head to show we're controlling them. This week's very NSFW video can be found after the jump, and we do this so you can heed our warning. Halo fans, you might want to grab a brown paper lunchbag and breathe because Yahtzee doesn't look favorably on your favorite franchise. But hey, it's all in good fun right? Right? Run Yahtzee, run!!!
Zero Punctuation hunts Turok and other FPSs
Zero Punctuation tries to be helpful this week by beating Turok with blunt vocabulary and attempting to help other first person shooter developers not make the same mistakes. The six minor points Yahtzee lays out ask shooters not to be cheap imitations of Halo, which itself is a cheap knock-off of ... oh, let's avoid finishing that sentence for the sake of being able to turn on the car tomorrow morning with reasonable knowledge it won't explode.This week's NSFW review of that game with dinosaurs, Turok, is embedded all cozy-like after the break.
'Deal' of the Day: Turok for $40
Well, this one comes as a surprise ... okay, not really. Amazon has the abysmal Turok listed on sale for US$39.99. If you order now, you'll get a free copy of the game's strategy guide. While a guide sounds like a nice incentive, it would take much more than that scant extra to entice a purchase from us.You know, doesn't this really makes you wonder how bad this game really is? Think about it, the game gets a third of the price slashed off within only a sliver over a month into the game's release. Our review sums it up: "Unfortunately, as it stands right now, this is a rather flawed game that hides the truly clever mechanics the team was attempting." Any brave souls willing to take this offer up?[Thanks, Trevor!]
Turok dinosaur murder with the dev team
Tonight, from 5:00PM - 9:00PM eastern, a few guys (and possibly gals) from Propaganda Games will be online playing Turok as part of Xbox.com's Game With Developers program. Twenty or so members from the dev team including engineers, artists and designers will be stabbing dinosaurs and discussing all things Turok with anyone willing to challenge them. You may even get the chance to question someone on the dev team about the game's (now no longer) team kill achievement. Complete list of Turok developer gamertags listed after the jump.
Achievements, a double-edged sword
You might remember our old pal David Dreger (aka Knuckles Dawson) from such articles as Achievements 101 and as the newest blogger for Rooster Teeth Productions. Well, it seems that talking Points on X3F wasn't enough for KD as a recent interview he conducted with Turok game designer Paul Parsons has just hit the internets.In the interview Knuckles and Parsons tear down the curtain and reveal the mysteries and drama of Achievement points. According to Parsons, Microsoft issues a guideline of best practices to developers when creating an Xbox 360 title. Included is an Achievement guide that is used to help developers make the most of Microsoft's mandatory stat system.Parsons also discusses how some achievements had to be removed because they broke the pace of the game during testing, including multiplayer points that balance the modes, the four types of gamers according to the guideline (Killers, Socializers, Explorers and Achievers) and much more. As an added bonus, Rooster Teeth is holding a dino-themed contest for some Turok swag. We suggest you check it out.[Thanks, Knuckles]
