blacksite-area-51
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Smith and Midway split after BlackSite comments
Harvey Smith, who recently made a stink about the "f*cked up" development of Blacksite: Area 51, has parted ways with Midway. According to GameTap, the separation was a mutual decision between Midway and Smith. Word on the street, according to Joystiq, is that Smith actually made the BlackSite comments in order to get fired in the first place. The purely speculative reason he did this: so he could join Eidos to work on the recently announced Deus Ex 3. Smith has worked on previous Deus Ex titles for the now defunct Ion Storm game studio, so it makes sense (speculatively, mind you). We're glad it's Friday because, frankly, all the firings, rants, and ad agency shuffling is getting confusing.[Via Joystiq]
BlackSite designer says low scores "no surprise"
In the financially driven world of the video game industry, honesty can sometimes be hard to come by. From sycophantic game reviewers to gab-gifted PR reps that constantly spin crap into gold (no easy feat), finding a bit of real honesty is refreshing. Kind of like politics. For today's bit of honesty we turn to Harvey Smith, designer of the recently released Midway shooter BlackSite: Area 51. You may recall the game not wowing critics upon release. So, how honest is Smith about BlackSite? Take this quote for a spin: "This project was so f*cked up." Of course, he didn't go to the trouble of injecting an asterisk into his statement. No, he really said it. Smith went on to say that development was hampered with multiple problems, noting that one (unnamed) aspect of the game took eight months to implement. Furthermore, the development team didn't have adequate time to test and polish the game, and Smith said that the project went directly from alpha to final (ouch). He concluded that he was upset that many failed to see the game's subversive and satirical nature -- he would have given the game an 80 -- but said the low scores were "no surprise."[Via Joystiq]
Video: find the BlackSite alien petting zoo
You gotta love Easter eggs. They just make things more fun. They bring extra joy to DVDs, video games, and, well, Easter. The video above contains an easter egg for BlackSite: Area 51 which was released last week to hungry alien hunters everywhere. It's a drawn out process which requires players to find a hidden sequence of numbers in order to unlock ... a petting zoo. Okay, so it's not a petting zoo per se, seeing as it's filled with half decayed alien goats instead of non-decayed normal goats, but it's close. We particularly enjoy the vulture actively eating one of the goats. The goat, for its part, seems completely oblivious.
Video: Blacksite picks on innocent children
We have beef with the aliens of Blacksite: Area 51. In their latest television commercial we see one of them picking on an innocent little girl who's minding her business, singing "Ring Around the Rosy" by here lonesome. Her school bus is broken down, her house is on fire and her yellow dress is a filthy mess. And these insidious Area 51 aliens have nothing better to do then scare the poor girl and get all up in her face, seriously ... what do they want with her? Don't they know messing with a child is universally unacceptable? And to you Midway, do you expect us to reward such blatant commercial wrong doing with a Blacksite pre-order? Well, okay ... maybe this once.
Video: Blacksite trailer is all about being home
There's a new Blacksite: Area 51 trailer in town and it's all about the pretty visuals and those rascally aliens landing on our home turf. Embedded above is Midway's latest Blacksite trailer aptly named "Followed Home" featuring an entire gamut of aliens including tall ones with skinny legs, wormy ones, spider ones and aliens that shoot rockets. Yup, when you're followed home by these aliens we recommend putting on your running shoes and taking off. That is unless you are military trained. Which, luckily for us, we are.
New multiplayer BlackSite demo on the way, sequel rumored
Speaking to Eurogamer, Midway's Harvey Smith, creative director for BlackSite: Area 51, admitted that he's already thinking of ways to expand the next game in the series. While he doesn't officially confirm a sequel is in development, it seems at least that he's hoping for one. More intriguing to those of us who exist in the here and now, Smith intimates that Midway is considering another demo in addition to the one already available on Xbox Live Marketplace. Smith notes that it may be longer than the (very short) demo already available. Also, the new demo should include some multiplayer elements from the game. The retail game is expected to include deathmatch, CTF, and co-op modes, so a multiplayer demo would certainly be welcome. No date for the new demo has been announced
Happy Friday! Area 51 demo on Marketplace
There are few things better than an unexpected Friday demo. We were delighted to see a demo for BlackSite: Area 51 sitting quietly on Marketplace this morning. After a few minutes we had the demo downloaded and took it for a spin. Upon firing up the demo, you will be quickly greeted by some impressive Unreal Engine 3 visuals. The character models are top notch, and the lighting effects (particularly the wet, reflective surfaces) look fantastic. Not only does it look great, but most of the environment is destructible. The gameplay is sort of a streamlined version of Rainbow Six Vegas, with one button squad commands (you start with two team members) and tactical firefights. You won't be issuing any complicated commands, it's all basic things like "go there" or "open that door," so it's not overwhelming. The demo is very short, you basically make your way through three firefights and that's it. The closing screens of the demo promise more tactical gameplay, lots of vehicles, levels based in US cities, and a robust multiplayer component.All in all the demo is sweet but just a little too short. Hopefully, we'll see a multiplayer demo before the game hits retail this year.
They're back, BlackSite: Area 51 is 360 bound [update 1]
Midway Studios just confirmed that their "aliens gone wild" game BlackSite: Area 51 will be coming to the Xbox 360 this summer. Not only did they make that announcement, but they also released a few new screenshots, a trailer, and game details. BlackSite: Area 51 looks to be going with a more realistic and modern approach to the Area 51 series, something we're thinking fans will enjoy. Midway also announced a few gameplay tidbits and revealed the multiplayer modes including Death Match, Team Death Match, Capture the Flag, and Human vs Reborn. Jump into the Hummer and get on the chain-gun soldier ... we're taking back our base! Video and screenshots after the jump.Update 1: Fixed some grammar issues.
