Underground-Development
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Canned Call of Duty: Devil's Brigade was like Inglourious Basterds on steroids
In 2007, while Infinity Ward was building the first Modern Warfare, Underground Development began working on a top-secret, third-person shooter in the Call of Duty franchise, titled Devil's Brigade, Vox Games reports. Based on a real-life group of ruthless, almost superhuman American and Canadian soldiers in World War II, Devil's Brigade was Activision's fallback if fans didn't get the switch to a contemporary setting with Modern Warfare.Devil's Brigade focused on tactical strategy, stealth missions and super-athletic Special Forces combat. The real Devil's Brigade scaled a mountain carrying more than 50 pounds of supplies and weapons to defeat the camp below in two hours, and they were known for infiltrating German trenches and slitting soldiers' throats, slapping stickers that read "The worst is yet to come," in German, on the dead men's helmets. Underground Development wanted to capture this essence for the game version of Devil's Brigade.But, as history shows, players did understand Modern Warfare. When Devil's Brigade was ready for its final green light, it got lost in the shuffle of Infinity Ward's success and the Blizzard/Vivendi merger. Activision closed Underground Development in 2008 with nary a whisper about Devil's Brigade. For now, we have some screenshots of the game and the memories of throat-slitting action that could have been.
Heroic sacrifices: The companies behind Guitar Hero
The Guitar Hero series touched many people, and not just by strapping plastic guitars to them. As the series reached its absurd heights of success, it caused more game developers to enter into the service of note charts and extreme rocker-dude 3D models. And now that Activision has stopped production on the Guitar Hero series and closed that business unit, we can look back at how it affected the people who made it -- the companies who either moved on or were chewed up and spat out by the Guitar Hero monster.
Activision shuts down RedOctane, Underground Development
Activision wasn't done after yesterday's round of layoffs. Kotaku reports that RedOctane, the former music game peripheral company that originally published Guitar Hero before being purchased by Activision in 2006, has been shut down, with only the staff directly involved with instrument development remaining at Activision. In addition, Underground Development (once called Z-Axis), who worked on Guitar Hero Van Halen and the Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX series, has been shut down completely, the site reports. An Activision rep confirmed the news, telling Joystiq that "As part of our overall strategy to release fewer SKUs for Guitar Hero in 2010 we are closing the Underground studios and relocating RedOctane to our Santa Monica headquarters under the leadership of David Haddad." We didn't realize there would be such an immediate and drastic downside to Activision's plan to tone down its music game releases.
A sad and scarce Sunday deals roundup
ZOMG! There's deals to be dealt with, money to be saved, so why waste precious time, let's just get to it! This week, over at Best Buy, they're offering RSV2 for $40, UT3, Quake Wars, Deadliest Catch (w00t!) and CoD4 GOTY for $50. And that's about it. Sadly, Circuit City doesn't have a darn thing to offer Xbox 360 fanboys either which is, uhh ... sad? Now that we look at it, Target stores don't even have any 360 deals, not a single copy of a game on sale. Another major bummer. You know, this has to be one of the worst Sunday deal roundups, like, EVAR! Who would have thought that getting RSV2 for $40 would be a deal highlight? Stupid retail conglomerates, don't you know that all we want is money savings on 360 games and don't care that you have popcorn makers on sale?
Last chance to win Enemy Territory: Quake Wars
This is it, your very last shot at winning Enemy Territory: Quake Wars. If you haven't entered yet (or if you have yet to place your final entry), now is the time. Hurry, seize the moment, mosey on over to the official giveaway post and place your entry. You know you want to. Heck, we want you do. Do it not only for yourself, but because it will make us happy. The giveaway closes at noon Eastern Time, so get to it.
Don't forget: win Enemy Territory: Quake Wars
Hey, fanboys, don't forget that we still have a copy of Enemy Territory: Quake Wars up for grabs this week. Take on class-based team gameplay in the struggle between the human race and the Strogg ... for free! If that sounds like fun to you, head over to the official giveaway post and place your entry. Remember, you can enter once a day, so you should enter every day to maximize your chances. Go, do it and cure your projectile dysfunction.
Fanswag Weekly: Enemy Territory: Quake Wars
Looky here, it's another edition of Fanswag Weekly! This week, we have a copy of Enemy Territory: Quake Wars up for grabs. We're not sure what this war is all about, but we do know that we have a powerful urge to play team based objective games. We also love doing what the man in the game tells us, so it all works out pretty well. For your shot at a free copy, follow these simple steps. We're going to make this one easy. Leave a comment on this post telling us which team you prefer and why. Which is it, humans or Strogg? You can leave one comment per calendar day (Eastern time). posters of multiple comments during the same day will be disqualified. We'll accept entries until Friday, June 13 at 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 one winner via a random drawing One winner will receive a copy of Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, worth $60. Complete giveaway rules can be found here
Quake Wars demo wages war on the XBLM
Freshly making its way to the Xbox Live Marketplace just as we expected, is a super new Enemy Territory: Quake Wars demo for most everyone (except Japanese Live subscribers) to enjoy. Clocking in at a very manageable 849MB, this Quake Wars demo is said to satisfy your strongest Strogg killing desires and even promises to cure the very worst cases of Projectile Dysfunction ... no joke! Give 'er a download, giver 'er a play and report back here to give us your thumbs up or thumbs down. It's your fanboy duty, now go!
Demorama: Battlefield: Bad Company, Quake Wars demos on Xbox Live
It's a great day to be a first-person shooter fan. ... Well, more specifically, it's a great day to be a first-person shooter fan who's also totally broke. Not only did (as we previously warned you) the Battlefield: Bad Company demo go up over the weekend, but today we get the Xbox Live demo for Enemy Territory: Quake Wars. So, how is Quake Wars? Well, we haven't taken it for a spin yet, but the reviews say it's at least better than the PS3 version, even if that's not saying a lot. Give both of them a spin for yourself and let us know.
Deals: Cheap MS points and get Mass Effect free
This week we're all business, because we have an overly long list of retail deals to ramble off. So, we'll forgo the fluffy intro and just get to it. Starting with Best Buy, all this week they're giving away a copy of Call of Duty 3 with the purchase of Enemy Territory: Quake Wars and a free $10 gift card with purchase of The Incredible Hulk. Best Buy also discounted a few accessories, offering the Messenger Kit for $20, Wireless Headset for $50 and Vision Camera for $30. Heading over to Circuit City, you can snag a free $10 gift card with the purchase of either NASCAR 09 or Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit, get the Rock Band bundle for $155 and BioShock or Mass Effect for $32. They're also offering Burnout Paradise for $40, Frontlines: FoW or MX vs. ATV for $48, Need for Speed Carbon for $24 and our favorite CC deal of the week, 1600 Microsoft points for $15. Next up is Target, where they're giving away a FREE copy of Mass Effect with the purchase two of the listed Xbox 360 titles including Ninja Gaiden II ($60), RSV2 ($40), Scene It? ($50), Gears of War ($40), NASCAR 09 ($60) or Assassin's Creed ($40). And finally, because we love our Canadian readers so much, we hopped on over to Best Buy Canada and discovered they're offering two free games with any Xbox 360 console purchase (selection based on one of four game bundles) and a 12 Month Xbox Live subscription card for $50. Now run along and have a spectacular time shopping.
Quake Wars demo headed to XBLM any day now
Thanks to an online advertisement that is in rotation over on Gamespot, we're thinking an Enemy Territory: Quake Wars demo will be hitting the Xbox Live Marketplace any day now. We say this not because we love XBLM demos and would actually enjoy playing some Quake Wars, but because the advertisement says that you can "download the demo now from Xbox Live Marketplace". Don't hurt yourself though, we already checked the XBLM and there is not Quake Wars demo to be found. But we say it'll be up soon, because we have faith in online advertisements and their validity. We are trusting fanboys. [Thanks, VIP0R]
Strogg unite! Quake Wars Live Weekend
To celebrate the release of Enemy Territory: Quake Wars to the Xbox 360, the Xbox Live gods are sponsoring a Quake Wars Live Weekend where prizes can be won, developers can be fragged and competition will be encouraged. As part of the Live Weekend fun that starts next Friday, June 6th, there will be a special Quake Wars Play & Win where hourly prizes will be awarded and Xbox 360 Elites will be given away. Also, a few of the id developers will be online Friday evening to participate in a Game with Developers event and show Quake Wars fans how to really play the game. Finally, there will be a weekend long Leaderboard Tournament where even more prizes will be awarded including an all expense paid trip to QUAKECON this July. Now go sign up and be prepared for the Quake funnery that'll be going down next weekend.
Metareview -- Quake Wars vs. Quake Wars
"A Tale of Two (different) Ports" has reached its (anti-) climactic conclusion, as Enemy Territory: Quake Wars was released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 this week. Development of the console ports was fractured between two different studios, and when we checked in on the games six weeks ago, Underground Development's PS3 version was lagging behind -- yet refused to be delayed. And so, broken and stuttering, the port pushed on, crossing the finish line (into the retail market) hand in hand with its Xbox 360 counterpart. A tie then? Clearly not:
Shipping this week: Stroggbad & Akrid
First we should get this out of the way, I'm not Richard. As our American readers know it's Memorial Day and our fearless leader is spending time with his family so he asked Dustin or myself to take care of his weekly "Shipping This Week" post. Considering how well received it was the last time Dustin did one of Richard's regular features, I took the reigns. As a Canadian I'm not entirely sure what Memorial Day is. Okay, you can pretty much guess what it is based on what it's called. According to Dustin it's a day when American's memorialize stuff, but that just makes it sound like there's a lot of scrapbooking involved. Either way, Happy Memorial Day! This week brings us two new, yet old, games. id Software and Splash Damage's class-based PC shooter, Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, hits the Xbox 360 in a port by Nerve Software. While the PC version landed at retail around heavy-hitters like The Orange Box and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Quake Wars finds itself on the Xbox during a gaming release lull and hopes to catch a wider audience the second time around. Also hitting the Xbox 360 is Capcom's definitive version of Lost Planet with all new content including the ability to play as the evil Akrid. Lost Planet Extreme Condition: Colonies Edition, a game with a name so long I had to eat a sandwich in the middle of typing it for fear of losing strength, lands tomorrow for the price of a platinum release. So there you go, two new/old titles hit the Xbox. Planning on picking up either? And yes, we promise Richard will be back to tell you about the games of the week next time.
Enemy Territory achievements rescued
Achievement fans rest easy. Thanks to the crack team of soldiers (pictured above) we've found the full list of Enemy Territory: Quake Wars achievements. The elusive achievement list was hiding out at Xbox360Achievements.org and have since been rescued from danger. Promising to soon line your Gamerscore pockets, these points cover everything from completing the multiple campaign modes (North America, Europe, Africa and Pacific) to online ranking achievements that most of us will never get. As for these guys? If you have a problem. If no one else can help, and if you can find them ... maybe you can hire, the Quake-Team.
Video: Quake Wars cures 'Projectile Dysfunction'
Did you know 32.6% of Americans and 39.4% of Europeans suffer from a condition doctors now refer to as Projectile Dysfunction? It's a problem that, if not treated, can cause inner turmoil, relationship issues and a loss of interest in the shooter genre. If you know or are one of the millions who suffer from Projectile Dysfunction, we urge you to talk to your doctor about Stroyent. Stroyent is a topical cream that can only be obtained through any Enemy Territory: Quake Wars purchase and promises to cure your disorder by offering up a shootlicious shooter experience. Please, don't be embarrassed, get the help YOU need today. Also, if you're in the market for a new Human Juicifier, then check out the amazing offer after the break!
Video: Quake Wars goes cinematic
There are quite a few different types of video game trailers. You have teaser trailers which usually try to tease viewers without actually showing anything of importance. Then you have gameplay trailers where (you guessed it) actual gameplay is shown, giving gamers a nice sampling of what the game has to offer. Finally, you have cinematic trailers. A trailer that presents the game as if it were an epic six week television mini-series or Summer blockbuster movie. Cinematic video game trailers try to balance mood, visuals and story just enough to get gamers excited and captivated. So, now that you've been informed, here you go. A new Quake Wars cinematic trailer for you to love and enjoy.
Quake Wars: Four new screens, screens, SCREENS!
Upcoming multiplayer focused shooter, Enemy Territory: Quake Wars is closing in on release and we have a few fresh screens of the Xbox 360 version. In development from Nerve Software, the team behind the Return to Wolfenstein Xbox port, Enemy Territory: Quake Wars is a class based first person shooter in the Quake universe. While the original PC release from Fall '07 was marketed as a serious shooter, the console version's marketing has taken a slightly different approach, hence our silly headline. The Xbox 360 and PS3 version of Enemy Territory: Quake Wars lands at retail on May 27. %Gallery-21370%
Activision closes Underground Development studio
It appears that one member of the Activision family has been disowned. GamesIndustry.biz reports that Activision will be closing Underground Development, its development studio in Foster City, California. The studio currently holds 45 employees, whom Activision is currently trying to relocate to other studios.Underground -- formerly known as Z-Axis -- was acquired by Activision back in 2002, and was renamed to Underground just last month. The studio worked on the Dave Mirra BMX series, the Aggressive Inline series, and was notably the developer of the shudder-inducing BMX XXX. Most recently, the studio completed work on X-Men 3: The Last Stand, and the port of Enemy Territories: Quake Wars for the Playstation 3, due out in May.
Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, a tale of two (different) ports
Huh. Well, this is surprising. Instead of pushing for platform parity in their upcoming console ports of Enemy Territory: Quake Wars – like several other recent multi-platform releases have strived for – id Software has created two relatively unique versions. The practice of using two different developers to handle the ports – Nerve for the Xbox 360 port and Activision's Underground Development (formerly Z-Axis) on the PS3 port – accounts for some of the disparity, but certainly other dual-developed ports have been relatively similar, at least in feature-set if not quality (take Orange Box, for example). In this case, as revealed to MTV Multiplayer, the Xbox 360 version of Quake Wars has a robust Achievement system that actually includes an entirely separate single-player campaign mode, as well as a training mode and all the Xbox Live integration you would expect from a team-based shooter. Meanwhile, Underground Development "was focusing in on other things like ... making the game look as good as it could on the PS3" and "creating systems that do what Xbox Live [already] does like matchmaking [and] server migration." Unfortunately, as relayed by PlayStation fansite PSU, the "near complete" PS3 port suffers from a hefty 4.1GB mandatory installation and "falls short of expectations, showcasing the same broke visuals we have become accustomed to in deprived PS3 ports, delivering an unpolished experience." With the title's May 27 release rapidly approaching, it's unlikely the PS3 release will look radically different than it does now. And to think, we thought the era of gimped PS3 ports was at an end.
