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New BlackSite trailer (temporarily) excites us again
We'll be honest, we're going back and forth on BlackSite: Area 51. Sometimes we'll get excited, then something like the recent demo will come along and we'll be convinced that the game is excruciatingly pedestrian. Then, a trailer like the above one gets posted, and we get re-convinced that the thing might be pretty good, if not as Duchovony-rich as its predecessor.Inevitably, these internal tete-a-tetes end with us remembering what other game is being released in September. Then we decide our feelings on the game are probably moot.
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.
Dark Sector removed from 'crowded' holiday season, due early 2008
Digital Extremes' Dark Sector, one of the first games to brandish the unnaturally shiny "next-gen" label, has been shoved out of its proposed holiday season release period and into the first quarter of 2008. A representative from D3Publishing tells FiringSquad, "We've decided to pull Dark Sector out of a very crowded holiday season and it is now slated for release in Q1 2008."Apparently, the publisher believes that releasing a third-person sci-fi title into a throbbing crowd of anticipated games is a mistake. Of course, where D3 sees Dark Sector getting trampled, Midway sees Blacksite: Area 51 being hoisted up by Halo 3 and surfing the crowd. We'll see which decision fares better soon enough.
Halo 3 will boost BlackSite sales, dev prays
According to BlackSite designer Ricardo Bare, there are two "schools of thought" among developers who must release their games alongside Halo. The first, and most obvious, is the understanding that your game is doomed, and therefore you should curse your publisher for scheduling an imbecilic release date and quickly settle into the realization that you won't be receiving a bonus for all those sleepless hours spent smoothing out the buggy corridor in that damned missile silo near the end of level four. But then, there are those, like Midway (who has no publisher to blame), who believe that blockbusters like Halo 3 help to spur sales of like-genred alien shooters. (Note our reaction to this theory in the image above.)"Whenever you go and see a really bad ass action movie like X-Men, it just makes you want to go and see Spider-Man 3, right? You usually want more of the same," Bare told CVG, adding, "when something really huge comes out, it helps the other two or three really good games that also come out, because you want more FPS action." But Bare was also quick to draw a distinction between Halo 3 and his team's Area 51 follow-up, which adds squad-based tactics and political commentary to the alien extermination plot. So whether you want "more of the same" or something a bit different, BlackSite has you covered? Have we got the slogan right? Midway had best launch a stronger marketing campaign than that (and start reaching out to the PC and PS3 crowds) and, even more importantly, beat Halo 3 to store shelves. In other words, stop cannibalizing resources for another demo (this time with multiplayer) and don't waste any more time pondering the BlackSite sequel -- Halo 3 is here September 25th. Guys, maybe it's time to consider a 'strategic' delay?
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
Live Top Ten: It's the demos stupid
This week's Live Top Ten features the same big hitters that have been around for the past few months, but it is also sprinkled with a few demos that hit the Marketplace this past week. Both the Forza 2 and Area 51: Blacksite demos made it on the list at number two and four beating out games like Rainbow Six Vegas and Guitar Hero II. Also spurred into action was Crackdown which jumped to the number three spot probably due to its new content and the Halo 3 beta fanfare. Speaking of the Halo 3 beta, it didn't show up on the Live Top Ten list due to it being released later in the week, but you can nearly guarantee it'll be making an appearance next week. The complete top ten list is posted after the break for your viewing pleasure.
Area 51: BlackSite demo Live, government still denying existence
You don't know, man! I've been living in a trailer in southern Nevada for nigh on 27 years, and I've seen some things. Things that Uncle Sam ain't exactly thrilled to be talking about sort of things. Just last night, I was laying in the back of my El Camino peering through my Advanced Ritchey-Chretien Telescope with UHTC Coatings when I saw it: A brilliant blue light, hovering right above Groom Lake. It was what Area 51 junkies like myself had been waiting for for since Art Bell was in short pants: Real proof.So, I tell my harpy of a wife this morning, what does she do? She says I never even made it outside last night. She says I blacked out on the Davenport after my 13th (possibly 17th) PBR. She says the kids were up all night playing the "new demo for BlackSite: Area 51," whatever the hell that means. Now, I'm not as concerned about another sighting going tits up as I am about the kids playing their AxeBox 360 without their foil hats. How can I protect them if they're not willing to save themselves?%Gallery-1680%
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.
Area 51 being renovated at Hollywood's Paramount Pictures
As far as game-to-film adaptations go, Midway's Area 51 is almost certainly one of the easiest ones to pitch; the equivalent of a limp-wristed grandma flinging a roll of film at an executive producer sitting five inches away. Ticking nearly all of the boxes on Hollywood's quality assurance list, namely "aliens," "guns" and (this one is crucial) "aliens being killed by guns," Area 51 seems like a natural property for Paramount Pictures to abduct and perform hideous experiments on. Variety reports that comic book writer and artist, Grant Morrison, has been handed the task of adapting the 2005 first-person shooter (which was itself loosely based on the 90's light gun game) into a piece of cinema. Morrison's list of published works includes issues of Judge Dredd, New X-Men, Batman, JLA and Fantastic Four. If completed and released (Paramount has reportedly been sitting on the rights since 2004), Area 51 will mark his first produced film project. Hollywood monster guru, Stan Winston, is also attached as producer. Hopefully, the production team will gather some inspiration from forthcoming Area 51 sequel, Blacksite, which is said to be more politically charged and thoughtful than the first. Then again, perhaps Hollywood should concentrate on getting the basics right first.[Via FirstShowing.net]
BlackSite: Midway investigates Area 51 again
Midway has cracked the lid off of its Area 51 sequel, now known as BlackSite: Area 51 (no longer Area 52). As a sequel, BlackSite shares little in common with its predecessor beyond the general setting of hidden military facilities in Nevada and a pervasive alien threat. While Area 51 was deliberately campy, BlackSite is fear driven. It's squad-based too (with online co-op likely); and will utilize Midway's Massive D system, the same technology that drives the fragile environments in Stranglehold.GameSpy wasn't moved by a short BlackSite demo featured during a recent Midway junket in Las Vegas. We don't blame 'em. BlackSite, like Area 51 before it, looks to nail the formula without taking risks. Mediocrity can still drive sales.
A new Area 51 game emerges for certain!
How many of you remember that classic Midway arcade title, Area 51? With that weird 3-D live action characters and the fairly wonky, but cool as hell, aiming system (I swear I missed completely, yet I nailed many a creature more often than not)? If so, get excited, since it seems the rumors of an Area 51 sequel are true -- enter the trailer for Area 51: BlackSite. It's a PS3 game for sure. In the trailer at least, no other platform is mentioned, but there will probably be word on that later on. Not much else to say about this -- check out the trailer on IGN and see for yourself if this brings back memories or if I've gotten some Area 51's mixed up in my distant arcade-rocking past.
