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Bionic Commando developer GRIN closes
Recent reports of layoffs revealed that Swedish developer GRIN was in financial trouble. Today, in a statement on the GRIN website, founders Bo and Ulf Andersson announced that the company was officially closing, citing an "unbearable cashflow situation" due to delayed payments from unnamed publishers.In the statement, the founders mentioned "our unreleased masterpiece that we weren't allowed to finish" and thanked many of the companies they worked with, including Ubisoft and Capcom -- but not Warner Bros., for whom GRIN made Wanted: Weapons of Fate and Terminator: Salvation. As reported earlier today, several GRIN staffers who had previously been laid off have gone on to form Outbreak Studios.[Via Kotaku]
Rumor: Nobody's smiling about more GRIN layoffs
It appears that the rumors of layoffs at Stockholm-based developer GRIN are getting worse, with the company itself allegedly on the brink of collapse. Gamasutra has been informed by reliable sources that the studio has had another round of layoffs and that some employees have been told not to show up for work. Two of the company's studios have already shut down, with the main Stockholm office being the next domino. Despite critical acclaim for Bionic Commando Rearmed, the studio saw sluggish sales and tepid reviews from big-budget titles like Terminator Salvation, Wanted: Weapons of Fate and -- the game that could really have given it a boost -- Bionic Commando. We'll update as we hear more.
Joystiq interview: Wanted producer Nick Torchia
Besides being a video game producer who has worked on titles like The Matrix, Bruce Lee, and ER (woah now!), Universal Games' Nick Torchia is also a self-proclaimed, extremely fervent fan of Joystiq. In fact, during the Wanted press event we attended, he excused himself to go refresh the site and read up on whatever he'd missed. He even has Ludwig's highly-collectible rookie card -- in mint condition. That's street cred right there.We spoke with Nick about Wanted: Weapons of Fate, and he spilled the beans on a possible sequel, in addition to talking movie-based development and bullet curving (an essential survival technique). Check out the full interview after the break, but please note: there's a spoiler or two lurking near the end. Don't worry, we'll give you fair warning.%Gallery-38585%
Joystiq interview: Wanted executive producer Pete Wanat
Unconfirmed: Pete Wanat in his work clothes. Pete Wanat has worked on games ranging from All-Star Baseball to the upcoming Wanted: Weapons of Fate, and it was his groundbreaking work on The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay that's made him the go-to guy when a movie studio wants to launch a movie-based game. He's worked on Scarface, The Thing, and both Riddick titles, and he's working at Universal Pictures Digital Platforms Group (or Universal Games, if you will) overseeing development of its movie-based titles. We spoke to Pete recently about Wanted: Weapons of Fate, which releases on March 24. Read on for Pete's thoughts on the Wanted franchise, video game development, NBA Jam (greatest sports title ever?), multiplayer and GTA IV.%Gallery-38585%
Wanted: Weapons of Fate demo on March 5
According to a F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin promo insert (Xbox 360 version pictured), a demo for Wanted: Weapons of Fate is set to hit the Xbox Live Marketplace and the PlayStation Store on March 5.Developed by GRIN (of Bionic Commando Rearmed fame), Wanted: Weapons of Fate takes place five hours after the events of the 2008 action flick based on the same comic book property. Like a list of games as long as our arm, Wanted will feature bullet-time and (more creatively) the ability to curve bullets around the environment. Basically, it's the most realistic game ever.Check out Joystiq's hands-on feature with Wanted: Weapons of Fate.
Movie stars contribute voice work to Wanted: Weapons of Fate
Wanted is a pretty sweet comic. It's also kind of a lousy movie. You'd think the same pejorative would apply to the upcoming video game, but we're actually looking forward to that. Go figure! Less surprising is the news that some of the film's actors will reprise their roles for the game, with additional Hollywood talent coming on board to fill out new roles made specifically for the GRIN-developed title. Among those from the film are Common (he played the Gunsmith in the film, but will voice Brummel, a new character for the game), Thomas Kretschmann (Cross), and Terence Stamp (Pekwarsky). Joining them will be Paz Vega, who will play "a seductive Spanish assassin known as Araña," and Peter Stormare, who will play The Immortal, leader of the French Fraternity. Just so you know, he'll "stop at nothing to follow the film's notable Code of Weavers." Wanted: Weapons of Fate will be available in March for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360. Head past the break for an interview with Common about his role in the game.%Gallery-38585%
Hands-on with Wanted: Weapons of Fate
Click to see more images. Do you remember Enter the Matrix? How about last year's Iron Man? Quantum of Solace, anyone? Gamers have good reason to distrust movie licensed games. However, Wanted: Weapons of Fate finds itself in a rather unique predicament -- it's based on a franchise people aren't passionate about. Do Batman injustice, and gamers will cry bloody murder. Mess up Wanted, and no one will notice.Perhaps it's because of the original film's clout, but there simply isn't much hype surrounding GRIN's upcoming game. If strong franchises lead to terrible games, what faith can we place in a game based on a mediocre one? We'll admit that our expectations were quite low going into the demo. However, lo and behold, we were surprised to find not only a competent game, but a unique one, featuring an inventive and refreshing new take on traditional third-person cover mechanics.%Gallery-43589%
BigDownload previews PC's 2009 Action-FPS lineup
With less than a week until 2008 is officially history, our overclocking hombres at BigDownload have put together a preview of next year's PC lineup of action / first-person shooter titles. From the likely (F.E.A.R. 2, Mirror's Edge) to the not-so-likely (Duke Nukem Forever), the list highlights 20 or so games you can look forward to clicking through (in a good way) next year, including some exclusive screenshots from Darkest of Days, Wanted: Weapons of Fate and Wolfenstein. Care to take a guess on how many of these games won't make it to our New Year's Eve 2009 party?
Wanted: Weapons of Fate. Found: New in-game video
If Wanted: Weapons of Fate – the direct video game sequel to the Angelina Jolie action flick – looks a little like the love child of Dark Sector, Gears of War, and Stranglehold to you, it's not a coincidence. Developer GRIN (the same folks making Capcom's new Bionic Commando) studied all three of these games (and more) when drafting Wanted: WOF's design document.This first gameplay video is hugely self-explanatory. Cover is a big deal in the game (the camera pulls in closely to force you to stick your neck out) and, as anyone who's seen the movie could anticipate, the "curving" of shots is a central gameplay mechanic. As you can see in the footage, there's a curved line that switches from red to white; pressing shoulder button on the controller displays this when you've gained enough adrenaline. Moving the left stick changes the arc, and when you have a clear shot, it turns white. This is used frequently.The character animation and lighting are real stand-outs so far, although we're not exactly sure how keen we are on the quick-time-event style slo-mo sequences.%Gallery-38585%
Debut Wanted trailer curves its way into our hearts
Those among you who saw Wanted in theaters probably spent most of the 110-minute bullet-fest wondering how well the game would hold up when it made its seemingly inevitable journey to the Land of Licensed Video Games. Your inquisitive mind may have been eased by reading our glowing write-up of our time with the game at E3 earlier this year -- then again, you've never been much of a reader, have you? You're probably not even reading this right now, meaning we can call you a stupid jerk without fear of repercussion. Here goes -- you're a stupid jerk.If you are still with us, we apologize for needlessly insulting you, and offer you the debut trailer for Wanted: Weapons of Fate (posted after the jump) as a humble peace offering. It is proudly NSFW, and chock-full of awesome -- though it is sorely lacking in Morgan Freeman appearances. Looks like we'll have to wait for Bungie's upcoming adaptation of The Bucket List to fulfill that particular fancy.
