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Google takes you inside Anne Frank's childhood home with Street View
June 12th is the 90th birthday of Anne Frank, and to mark the occasion, Google is letting you step inside the childhood home of the diarist. A virtual exhibit in the Arts & Culture app and website takes you inside Merwedeplein 37-2 in Amsterdam. You can also explore the space through an indoor version of Street View. All the 1930s-styled rooms of the home, which is now a temporary home and work space for refugee writers that's closed to the public, are viewable.
Netflix orders World War II series with first-of-its-kind animation
Netflix announced today that it has ordered the production of a war drama series call The Liberator. The four-part show, set during World War II, will be the first ever to be produced in Trioscope Enhanced Hybrid Animation. The production technology combines CGI effects and live-action performances to create a realistic graphic novel-style look.
EA delays 'Battlefield V' to November 20th
DICE knows a thing or two about the perils of shipping a game before it's ready. That's why it and Electronic Arts are pushing the release date for Battlefield V back by almost a month. The World War II shooter will now be released on November 20th instead of October 19th. That puts it out of spitting distance of Red Dead Redemption 2 (out October 26th), the game seemingly every other publisher is trying to avoid on calendar.
Respawn teases realistic VR warfare on Oculus Rift
Respawn Entertainment might be going back to its historic stomping grounds. In virtual reality. A quick tease from the Oculus Connect stage revealed that the team that made Call of Duty is working on what very well may be a VR take on wars of the past. Studio director Peter Hirschmann writes that it isn't Titanfall in VR, nor is it related to Star Wars, the game Respawn is working on for EA. "We really want to depict being a soldier in combat in a more fully fleshed-out and realistic way," CEO Vince Zampella says in the video below. No other details are available (not even a name) but the clip ends with a big "2019." Respawn has had a Rift development kit since at least 2013, so that could very well be a realistic release window.
'Call of Duty: WWII' takes you back to Omaha Beach November 3rd
Call of Duty: WWII will launch November 3rd on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. As you might expect, the game takes place largely in Europe between 1944 and 1945, ultimately pushing toward Germany after fighting through Nazi reinforcements on Normandy Beach and through the grimy streets of France and Belgium. As for the story, there's a big focus on the brotherhood of your squad -- something captured in HBO's Band of Brothers and Steven Spielberg's epic Saving Private Ryan. The latter, Sledgehammer says, was a huge influence on the game. Just like it was for Electronic Arts' Medal of Honor: Allied Assault and its console counterpart Frontline in 2002.
The rumors are true: 'Call of Duty' is going back to World War II
The next Call of Duty returns to the series' roots with a storyline set in World War II. Sledgehammer Games is working on the new title, dubbed Call of Duty: WWII, and the studio is expected to drop details in a livestream on Wednesday, April 26th at 1PM ET.
Anne Frank's story to be told in VR
You can already tour Anne Frank's hideaway in virtual reality if you can't make it to Amsterdam, but producer Jonah Hirsch is taking that one step further. He's creating a VR experience, Anne, that will tell the Holocaust symbol's tale in 360 degrees. Details of how it will work aren't available, but you'll get to at least get to wander around the secret annex where Frank and others hid from the Nazis for two years. The project is still young (you're looking at a rough version above), so it may be a while before you're trying Anne for yourself.
World's first radar station gets life-saving grant
A radar site considered by some to be as historically important as Bletchley Park will be preserved, thanks to a £1.4 million ($2 million) grant from the UK government. The Bawdsey facility in eastern England, established in 1938, was the world's first operational radar station. The then-brand new technology helped the allied forces win the Battle of Britain, and some historians think it may have shortened World War II by as much as two years. The facility was closed in 1991, and is on Britain's "at-risk" heritage list because of structural issues and water damage.
Drones help find World War II's missing soldiers
The BentProp Project has spent years finding American soldiers who went missing in the Pacific during World War II, but available technology has limited its success. Team members have frequently had to scan wide areas themselves, slowing down their efforts to find downed aircraft and unexploded bombs that might hide human remains. However, the outfit's searches have just taken a big step forward after it got cutting-edge drones from both the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the University of Delaware. BentProp can now automate much of its scanning, and CNET notes that the organization's latest expedition found two Navy airplanes. That's a breakthrough for a group that only occasionally makes a big discovery.
2D screenshots aren't good enough for Call of Duty 4
Nay, the traditional adherence to a mere two dimensions simply isn't modern enough to convey the frenetic excitement and danger found in Call of Duty 4: Modern Combat Warfare. Frequent publisher of mass destruction, Activision, has blasted out this 3D screenshot depicting the upcoming shooter in all its gritty glory. If the above video leaves you unsatisfied, you'll also find a series of stills and the original 50MB Quicktime file at Xboxyde.Perhaps this dimensional expansion should be interpreted as a statement of sorts, further highlighting Infinity Ward's movement away from thematically flat World War II shooters. Check back with us when we hit the point where modern war games are considered passé as well. Oh, hello. That was quick.[Via Xbox 360 Fanboy]
Pandemic unveils Saboteur, a 'different' WWII shooter
The April issue of Game Informer is bringing word of the latest project from Pandemic Studios (Destroy All Humans, Mercenaries). It turns out it will be a World War II shooter entitled Saboteur.Another World War II shooter, eh? Before you join us in a collective sigh, Pandemic asserts that this is different than other shooters out there. How so? There will be action, stealth, an open-ended world, and -- here's the differentiator -- a black-and-white color scheme to indicate which areas are controlled by Nazis.It certainly is artistic, but we can't stop thinking about the film Pleasantville. We like the concept, but we'll reserve judgment until we see, in video, how well they pull off the effect. No word on which "secret project" -- B, Q, X, Y or Z -- this was, but they are all good choices in Scrabble. There's a 2008 release date mentioned but no console specified. Given the developer's history, they might end up playing coy for a good while.
Metareview: Call of Duty [Update 1]
Just like the other WWII FPS game on the PSP, Call of Duty has been getting some spectacularly mixed reviews. Who to believe? Are the controls really that great? Are they really that terrible? Message boards across the internet have been producing quite a variety of responses. For once, the critics reviews may not actually inform anyone on the "correct" purchasing decision for this game. UGO (87/100) loves the incredibly generous auto-aim: "Call of Duty: Roads to Victory is one of the few must-own titles for the handheld. If you've ever gotten a kick out of picking up a gun and killing evil people in a video game, look no further." IGN (66/100) hated the controls and the gameplay: "The sluggish and somewhat delayed controls wouldn't be so bad if the gameplay accounted for it, but it doesn't." Gamespot (62/100) thinks the game feels more like a free mod than an actual game: "The poor AI, combined with frequent respawning of soldiers, makes it feel as if you're playing some sort of WWII-themed shooting gallery at times." Do any of our PSP Fanboy readers have this game? What do you think about this game?[Update 1: Added Gamespot's review.]
Hour of Victory screens and box art
Midway's upcoming World War II themed shooter Hour of Victory has the UK box art, first screenshots and some concept art and renders available for your viewing. The game will be an Xbox 360 exclusive and at the very least doesn't look ugly. We'll have to wait an see from a gameplay standpoint and how it looks when in motion if it's really worth your time. So far it seems to be taking steps in the right direction from a visual standpoint. Some of the commenters at the source were giving it the "meh" treatment since we have our Call of Duty and Brothers in Arms. We're going to wait and see before we pass judgement, though. That being said, do you think we're getting swamped with World War II titles, or is this right up your alley for the setting of a first person shooter?
Medal of Honor Vanguard announced for Wii, PS2
Just announced Medal of Honor Vanguard looks to replace Airborne in Wii and PlayStation 2's early 2007 lineups. Rest assured, Vanguard is not a poorly disguised rehash; that's not to say it will offer much beyond WWII shooter standards -- unless you're a sucker for motion controls (on Wii, not PS2).It appears that there will be some loose correlation between the Vanguard and Airborne plotlines, as both games focus on characters in the 82nd Airborne Division and share common mission locales, like Sicily. The "Vanguard" name implies players will be engaging in operations at the very front of the frontline (even behind enemy lines). It's unclear when EA decided to nix development of Airborne for Wii and PS2 and go for a wholly different tie-in -- perhaps it was the top-secret plan all along. In any event, it's for the best, as Wii and PS2 versions of Airborne wouldn't hold up against their Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC counterparts. Here's to hoping Vanguard gets the deserved attention it needs, earning its place as co-heir to the Medal of Honor franchise.
Brothers in Arms' uncompromising move to PSP
It looks like IGN's PSP team is on a roll. They had a chance to play the upcoming Brothers in Arms game on PSP. Just like Medal of Honor, this WWII franchise is attempting to make the jump to PSP without losing anything in the transition. According to IGN, the game features maps from previous entries in the series: Road to Hill 30 and Earned in Blood, plus four new levels exclusive for the PSP. There will, thankfully, be a lot more checkpoints in the handheld version, to make it easier for gamers-on-the-go. It's also nice to know that the PSP version won't skimp on any features: it'll still feature the series-defining overhead view, which allows players to see the battle from above, and make strategic decisions. The game also features suppression gauges, which will allow you to see places to get cover much more easily. And finally, the game will also have a co-op mode and many of the multiplayer features found in Medal of Honor. Overall, it seems like Brothers in Arms will be an impressive package. The real question is: will PSP gamers care?According to amazon.com, the game is coming out December 5th for a nice budget price of $30.
Californians can celebrate Veteran's Day with Medal of Honor
If you live near Alameda, CA, you may want to check out GamePro's Medal of Honor: Heroes tournament. You don't need to have a copy of this well-reviewed PSP-exclusive WWII FPS, but you do need to bring your system. All participants will get a free copy of the game and a t-shirt, making this event totally worth your time. If you're able to survive the 32-player multiplayer matches, and make it to the end of the tournament, you'll find yourself winning a subscription to GamePro (boo!), Shure E2-cn earphones (yay!), and more. If you're interested, head over to the registration page.
More Nazis to kill in Call of Duty
World War II shooters are like cockroaches. You see one, but there's another one (or two) lurking somewhere not too far behind it. Call of Duty: Roads to Victory is sure to satiate WWII afficiandos, once they're done with Medal of Honor Heroes. IGN has some new images from the game. Is it me, or does this game look worse than Medal of Honors graphically?Roads to Victory will also feature multiplayer of some sort, but will it be able to compete against EA's terrific offering? We'll find out more later; the game's not due until spring 2007 anyways.
Medal of Honor video overload
Gamespot has gone absolutely bonkers with video coverage of the upcoming PSP-exclusive Medal of Honor Heroes. There is impressive gameplay footage of multiplayer battles (which will support up to 32 players!), and a video interview. The Gamespot preview is absolutely glowing for the game, which gets me pretty excited: "Heroes is shaping up to be as fully featured a Medal of Honor game as you could want on the PSP, with visuals that come close to the PlayStation 2 installments in the series."
Next Call of Duty answered, previewed
If the mention of World War II still compels you to go about shooting things (typically Nazis) from a first-person perspective, you'd best check out 1Up's weeklong feature that promises to detail every pixel, polygon and private that constitutes the upcoming Call of Duty 3. Taking over from Infinity Ward, developer Treyarch is keen on capitalizing on next-gen technology and the creative freedoms it provides -- with any luck, that means we'll actually be able to open doors in this one. Oh well, we suppose loads of on-screen enemies and trampled blades of grass are just as useful.The screenshots and video provided are enough to convince us of the game's technical gravitas, but we're quite interested in the Wii version and how it looks to take advantage of the unique control system. A small blurb in the first part of the preview suggests how, while at the same time suggesting that the other two versions of the game are the main focus here. "The Wii version, in development outside Treyarch, shows some potential to bring the player into the game during the Battle Actions in a way the PS3 and 360 won't be able to. Actually wrestling with a German for his gun or actually disarming that explosive are things only the Wii will let you do this gen."Battle actions are Call of Duty's answer to Shenmue's Quick Timer Events. At certain points during the game, you're required to press certain buttons in order to escape a cinematic struggle or situation. Failure is likely to result in far more unpleasantness than getting smacked in the head by some Japanese kid's soccerball. These sound particularly intriguing if done correctly for the Wii and should make up for some of its inevitable graphical shortcomings. Even then, we have to wonder how long it'll take before we grow tired of crawling through trenches and taking out tanks. Is World War II the new Hoth?[Thanks to everyone that sent this in!]
First Call of Duty 3 image [update 1]
The first image of Call of Duty 3 has begun making rounds on the web. As expected, the shot features some stunning details, from the rendered water, to the billowing smoke, to the debris flying from the exploding building. Of course, it's difficult to know what the final game will look like, considering it's being developed for a variety of different platforms. Interestingly, there are no plans to release this next Call of Duty installment on the PC.(Update: Activision has requested that we remove their image, writing that it was "not approved for online use" and that they're in the "process of asking all sites to pull it down." They do offer a conciliatory note: "We'll have plenty of screens to share soon enough." Until then, check out the trailer for 24 screenshots per second. All real-time, right fellas?)
