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Litter-bomb warning! Theme Hospital is free on Origin
Theme Park may be the Bullfrog game that led to many a follow-up, but for my money Theme Hospital is just as good if not better. It's not just the amusing illnesses - such as Slack Tongue, Bloaty Head and Baldness - or its proficiency at filling up your hospitals with patient barf. The 1997 classic is also an excellently balanced management sim, and it still stands out as unique. How many other hospital management games are there? Luckily, my money isn't on the line, nor is anyone else's. For a limited time Theme Hospital is free to download and keep via EA's PC portal Origin, as part of its On the House program. If you've never tried the game, we'd recommend checking in with this page - doctor's orders. [Image: EA]
17-year-old secret message found in Dungeon Keeper code
Just prior to the July 1997 launch of EA's classic labyrinth-building simulation Dungeon Keeper, a designer slipped a secret message into the game's executable code. That message remained secret until now. "I am writing this at 4AM on Keeper's last day," reads the all-caps text. "I look around the office and all I see are the tired, pale faces of the Keeper team. This project has destroyed the health and social lives of each member, so I hope you like the game. Amazingly, after sixteen hours a day, 7 days a week, for nearly 5 months, we still do. This game has been written with a passion I am proud to be part of ... I do not just hope you like it, I also hope you are aware of the huge amount of work we have all done." The hidden text then goes on to offer greetings to numerous people before the author grows too sleepy to continue. This discovery is especially timely, as the author of that text is none other than Jonty Barnes, current director of production at Bungie and one of the driving forces behind Destiny. "It's funny, I'm feeling similar with Destiny," Barnes told Polygon following the discovery. "Both games have taken absolutely everything I have to give. Both I'm very proud to be part of. Both have changed my life." [Image: EA]
Peter Molyneux leaves Lionhead and Microsoft to found 22 Cans
Peter Molyneux will leave Microsoft Game / Lionhead Studios once he's finished developing Fable: The Journey for Kinect. He'll be replaced by co-founder Mark Webley at the studio, with Redmond yet to name his successor at corporate level. Molyneux will partner with (Lionhead's) former CTO Tim Rance and Director Peter Murphy on 22 Cans, developing games under their own flag as he did when founding Lionhead and Bullfrog before that. The new company is based in Farnborough, 12 miles west of Lionhead's Guildford location and was registered on February 20th of this year. Given our childhood love of both Bullfrog and Lionhead's games, we wish both parties the very best -- you can check out when he visited The Engadget Show here.
Classic Syndicate infiltrates GOG on Jan. 19, asks how to conquer world first
Syndicate, the original title of twisted corporate greed and cyberpunk inhumanity, is hitting GOG on Thursday, Jan. 19 for $5.99. GOG's Syndicate will come with the game manual, artwork and avatars, but until it's officially released GOG is having a little dystopian fun. Ten players can win a copy of Syndicate by forming the best team of four people -- yourself and three others, real or imaginary, dead, alive or not born yet -- to lead the DRM-free revolution as the world's largest Syndicate. Just drop a description of your team in the GOG comments before 7 a.m. EST on Jan. 19 for a chance to prove yourself in the corrupt corporate world.
Populous and Ultima IV hit GOG -- and Ultima's free
Interested in being the master of a whole world -- or being a total slave to the rules of one? Two games newly added to GOG's DRM-free lineup will let you experience both. Populous lets you build a world and a civilization, and then ... you know, unleash natural disasters upon it. Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar puts you in the role of a hero who must save the land of Britannia while adhering strictly to eight virtues. Thrift isn't one of those virtues, but it's still something you can practice with this game, as GOG is giving it away for free! If you want to pay for some Ultimas, the first three are also up.
Magic Carpet rides to Good Old Games
As a contrast to the disappointing recent news about an EA game disappearing from an online store, here's a story about one being added. The last of the six EA games announced for addition to Good Old Games is now available: Bullfrog's 1994 first-person upholstery flight game Magic Carpet. The others include Wing Commander: Privateer, Dungeon Keeper, Ultima Underworld 1+2, Crusader: No Remorse, and Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri. More unannounced EA games are expected, for a total of "more than 25." If you wanted to spend your weekend sitting on a carpet tossing fire around, for the sake of your family and neighbors spend the $6 to do so in this game.
Peter Molyneux's 'FeedMe' is a 256-player Populous pet project
After taking a trip back through the development of his first game, Populous, at GDC today, Lionhead's Peter Molyneux revealed that he's actually still working on the game. Programmed by Molyneux in his spare time, "FeedMe" is a 256-player version of the original Commodore Amiga title -- and the audience for his presentation got a rare look at it. Showing if off wasn't easy. Molyneux had to compile the Visual C++ code, encountered a fatal error and sucessfully debugged it. The result: a very basic, high-res Populous world map with almost no user interface. In the course of watching this, we realized that the famed designer has only one game in the taskbar on his computer: Minecraft -- which, when you think about it, does draw inspiration from Molyneux's world-manipulation-based classic.
ESRB: Magic Carpet, Sorcerer's Maze materializing on PS3 and PSP
Last week, Xbox 360 owners got the first look at Fable 3, the newest Peter Molyneux game. Don't feel left out, members of the PlayStation Family -- you've got your own Molyneux game on the way! An old one! The ESRB has rated the PlayStation version of Magic Carpet for release on PS3 and PSP, meaning it'll join last week's release of Populous: The Beginning as PSOne Classics at some point in the future. Why settle for being a king when, for the low price of $5.99, you could be a wizard on a flying carpet! If that doesn't grab you, you'll also be able to pick up Sorcerer's Maze at some point. While not a Molyneux game (it's a low-budget Arkanoid-style game published by XS Games) it is also about a sorcerer (not sure about the "maze" part). And how can you refuse that box art, even in a digital version with no box?
EA studio boss would love to revisit Bullfrog IP; EA renews Bullfrog trademarks
In an interview with Kikizo, EA's Bright Light Studio head, Harvey Elliot, mentioned that he would "love" to work on old Bullfrog Productions properties like Populous and Theme Park. Elliot cautiously noted that Bullfrog's classics were "right for their time, and the trick with those games is coming up with what's right for the time now." In other words, he's not entirely keen on "just a 'remake' or something." With a new edition of Bullfrog's Syndicate rumored to be in production at Starbreeze Studios, one might conclude that Harvey isn't the only one at EA looking for "what's right for the time now." And one might conclude even harder when database digger Superannuation finds that Electronic Arts has filed new trademarks for Populous, Theme Park, Wing Commander and Road Rash. Pure speculation? Yes. Highly desirable? Also yes. Source -- Why there's hope for Bullfrog IP returning [Kikizo] Source -- Superannuation
Rumorang: Riddick dev helming new Syndicate game
A new report suggests that Starbreeze Studios is working on a new Syndicate game, with Electronic Arts set to publish. Word of the Riddick and The Darkness dev's involvement with the title first made the rounds last October. Possibly related is a new casting call posted on superannuation for actors in an upcoming "futuristic" Starbreeze/EA title called "DART," which according to the post will be set in a "high tech city."Though nothing has been formally announced, sources tell GI.biz that the Syndicate series is behind EA and Starbreeze's mysterious Project RedLime, which was originally referred to as a "classic franchise" for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC. While that project was said to be "already deep in development" in February 2008, don't expect to revisit the classic cyberpunk series anytime soon. According to the report, the new Syndicate title won't be released until Starbreeze finishes up its current project based on Robert Ludlum's Jason Bourne. Until then, the four gentlemen in the corner giving us the crazy eyes will just have to wait.
Rumor: EA has Starbreeze working on new Syndicate
CVG claims that EA has Starbreeze Studios working on a new entry in the Syndicate franchise. Starbreeze is best known for creating the Chronicles of Riddick and The Darkness. The original Syndicate was created by Peter Molyneux's old studio, Bullfrog.Starbreeze doesn't note that a new Syndicate game is currently in production on its website and this information isn't official. A return to the Syndicate universe does sound like a nice idea, so hopefully CVG's source isn't the same one that told it about the Starcraft MMO last year.[Via Big Download]
The Expendables: Guns blazing, everything exploding
Following Most Wanted Entertainment's unveiling of Mechanic Master, IGN investigated the Hungarian studio's site and dug up an interesting squad-based shooter in development -- The Expendables. Using the touchscreen, players guide "the world's lamest international private army" through 35 missions, blowing up almost everything in sight. As you can see in the trailer and screenshots, this doesn't look like the most polished game, but the character sprites (and the buzz-saw tractor) definitely have some charm to them. The Expendables actually reminds us of a faster-paced Syndicate. You remember Bullfrog's Syndicate, right? That series was tight. MWE hasn't yet announced whether it has managed to pick up a publisher for the title. We have a feeling that if the studio ever does find one, it will have to find a more useful implementation for the top screen. Not that skulls laughing and machine guns spitting out bullet casings aren't totally awesome.%Gallery-27212%[Via IGN]
Lionhead's Molyneux open to revisiting his past catalog
Though his vision usually outstrips his games' technical prowess, super developer Peter Molyneux is still responsible for some the most unique gaming experiences ever put to code. He's let us soar through the air on an enchanted rug, mow down civilians in a near-future dystopia, and has even let us play god once or twice. Unfortunately, after having the distinct 'pleasure' of being absorbed by larger studios on two separate occasions, many of his most memorable creations have since been left to the pages of history. Even so, while Molyneux is currently courting players with his canine-friendly Fable 2, he recently told Shacknews that he's open to revisiting his earlier games, particularly Syndicate. "I really would love to redo a version of Syndicate," he commented, adding that while he has not been given the go ahead to knock the dust off his past achievements, "one day, I'm sure that opportunity is going to come up and I'd love to do it." Of course, he's said this all before, but we continue to hold out hope. In a world filled with one mundane first-person shooter after the next, we could really use another Magic Carpet.
Build a fanboy paradise in Populous DS
The civilizations you build in Populous DS can grow in different areas of the Populous world, developing wildly different cultures. Famitsu has revealed these cultures and the warriors produced by each. By far the most interesting area you can build is the Nintendo-themed land of Bitplane, in which buildings are gigantic Nintendo consoles and the inhabitants are made of pixel-like cubes. Basically, it's just like our minds, except that we assume useful work gets done within its confines.Our other favorite new location is Mars -- not because we hate liquid water (apparently the denizens are grateful for tsunamis), but because it is protected by caped superheroes. And also because we're just going to assume that the cities are full of circa-1990 Spike Lees.%Gallery-11987%
Populous: Demon days
In Populous DS, you do your society-building stuff as one of five elemental gods. Each god has a counterpart demon who comes by and gets all up in your business (which is civilization). These demons look similar to the player's god characters, but all evil and such. For example, the plant goddess looks like she's dressed in greenery, while the plant demon has all kinds of twisted tendrils and stuff coming out of her arms. The rest of the demons, similarly, look fit for inclusion on a Dio album cover.To combat these celestial jerks, and to help shape your land, your character has access to special elemental "miracles." These include earthquakes, gusts of wind, and even a mass growth of mushrooms that can be used to cure viruses.GAME Watch has character art of all the demons, along with screens that show the effects of the miracles. It's still Populous, so think more "the grid looking just like it always does, but some squares turn a different color" and less "amazing graphical effects."%Gallery-11987%
First clear look at Populous DS
Hey, awesome! A Marble Madness level generator for the DS! ... Oh, wait, no, it's just Populous DS. That's okay too, we suppose. It's just ... it looks a lot like Marble Madness, and we like Marble Madness in general better than strategy-type sim games where you build OH HEY look at that guy! He's pretty impressive!Does anyone else find it interesting that Japanese publications get the scoops on this game? It's a remake of a very Western game from a very Western developer, published by EA! But so far, the only release date the game has is the Japanese date of December 31st. It could be that a Japanese EA team is porting it -- or maybe EA wants to give us plenty of time with EA Playground before announcing another big game.
First blurry look at Populous DS
Almost two months since its game was announced, Electronic Arts has finally published tangible details and the first screenshots for Populous DS in this week's issue of Famitsu.Due next February 21st, this remake of the god game will feature both touchscreen and classic controls, though these isometric sims seem to lend themselves to the former. In addition to four different modes -- Challenge, Free Play, VS (up to four players, and Gallery -- Populous DS will come packed with popular maps from its many, many previous editions on PCs and consoles. Peek past the post break for a camera-phone shot of the Famitsu page.
