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It's beginning to look a lot like Festivus
The list of games to be released this week isn't half shabby, but that's to be expected in the weeks between now and the end of the year, when businesses live or die by their ability to coax consumers out of money they never had to spend in the first place. This is a hefty list of solid titles (compiled by GameTab): PC: F.E.A.R. (10/17) Shattered Union (10/17) X3: Reunion (10/17) Age of Empires III (10/18) Quake 4 (10/18)
Atari loses more money than analysts thought probable
Atari seems to have misplaced approximately $33 million ($.27 per share) in the three-month period ended June 30th. Analysts had expected the company to lose about a third of that amount ($.11 per share), so the loss comes as a suprise to investors, who have been dumping company stock in after-hours trading in response. Atari's parent company Infogrames Entertainment reiterated its intent to provide the company with financial support, according to Marketwatch, but that company's shares have taken a hit too as a result of the Atari bombshell. Really, it's all about the hits. Atari just hasn't sold enough games lately. Will Atari's future lineup of games reverse the company's slide? On tap for release in the next six months from Atari: Matrix: Path of Neo, Mark Ecko's Getting Up, Test Drive Unlimited, Dragon Ball Z Budokai: Tenkaichi, and Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach (if it ever launches). Will any of these games be hits?
Driv3r heading to GBA
Driver 3, or Driv3r as the hip young cats are calling it, was a bit of a debacle. The scandal over reviews being biased so exclusives could be claimed. The mediocre quality of the game. In short, it was a bit of a dogs breakfast. Not content to leave a rotting lemon where it lay, Infograme... Sorry, Atari, are now seeing fit to release Driv3r for the dear old Gameboy Advance. Needless to say, hardcore 3D graphics are not on the menu. The game could work well, though. Hope the put the multiplayer modes in. Could be fun. You can check the official site, if you're really bored, though a cursory glance reveals no GBA content.
DRIV3R head jumps ship
After the critical failure and review scandal surrounding Reflections Interactive's blockbuster-bust DRIV3R, Martin Edmondson, the company's founder and creative director, is calling it quits. What this means for the future of Reflections Interactive is unclear. But with a series of duds, next-gen prospects are doubtful.
Infogrames sells Civilization franchise
In the "Hmm..." department, Infogrames has sold it's rights to the Civilization franchise. The video game behemoth seems to have a few financial problems at the moment and sold off the rights. See? This is what happens when you anger the ghost of Atari. The news is early in the article. The rest is all tedious financial stuff. Well worth reading if you can't sleep. You'll be out like a light. So, with the Civilization franchise having split in recent years, and now this, I guess we'll be seeing yet another company put out a Civilization game. If this goes on much longer, every company in the business will have put one out by the year 2020.
Atari gets a tongue-lashing
Worthplaying has posted an editorial that blasts Atari for some questionable business practices. Apparently, word has gotten out that DRIV3R is about as fun as a papercut; and Atari has been working overtime to keep the word on the street from reaching consumers' ears. The opinion piece claims that Atari has placed a review embargo on the game, hoping they can fool a few more people into buying their bug-ridden product. It seems to us that they could have done a better job gagging the press, since there's already been a flood of bad reviews. The whole thing sounds like a real mess. Atari promised that DRIV3R would be a milestone game. They may be right, after all. But instead of being a great example of good unsavory fun, it will stand for the corrupt practices of the videogame cartel.
DRIV3R hits like a wet paper towel
That sure didn't take long. The game came out yesterday to high hopes and higher ad buys. Today DRIV3R is torn a new one. Gamepsot gives the title a mediocre (at best) score and proceeds to dissect the experience until it's just bloody pieces on the floor. The review attacks the AI, the bugs and the overall polish of the game. It must be so uncomfortable for a news/marketing venue like Gamespot to tout a game for a year, and then deliver a verdict like this. It must be even worse to work on a game for two years, and have it get a verdict like this. Well, the game looks good, for what it's worth.
DRIV3R is here. Hide your car.
Since Driv3r has been released to the masses you get one last chance to revel in the previews. The game certainly has the kind of voice talent that would make a great film, but how much that can add to the game's fun is questionable. You can have all the high-quality cutscenes and B-list actors you want, but if the joystick doesn't provide joy, then what's the point? The preview whets the appetite for well-rendered landscapes like Nice and Istanbul, which were studied by the design team in detail (90,000 pics shot during their research). Also of interest are the 70 vehicles available for your destruction. The last game in the series was a little too difficult for casual gamers (who were expecting a British Grand Theft Auto). It looks like the code word that those same gamers should look out for in this preview is "realistic." Who the hell wants realistic in a game? Reality is too hard. Soon everyone and their six year old cousin will have an opinion on the title. Relish in the joy of thinking that this could well be the best game ever made. Before the reviews go and ruin everything.
DRIV3R goes for a third spin around the block
If you liked Grand Theft Auto 3 and GTA: Vice City then you might want to give this one a look. The last Driver game was a bit on the tough side and apparently Atari isn't going to let up in the sequel. With realistic physics and a bunch of mini-games thrown in, DRIV3R might be just the game to tide you over until GTA: San Andreas Fault arrives this holiday season.
