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Here's your Crackdown 2 weapon loadout, agent!
Doling out only a handful of fresh screens for Crackdown 2 with a smattering of in-game renders, Ruffian Games has done little to supply us with more information on its upcoming game in today's media release. Everything from various character designs to about two dozen weapon types can be found in the gallery below, showcasing the visually gussied-up artwork from the sequel to 2007's surprise hit. It appears as though the few screenshots included are of areas we've seen in the past, though (as you can see in the image above) we're now treated to many more explosions. Now if only we could get some sort of a release date, we could start getting properly excited for Crackdown 2. The thrill just ain't there without an end in sight, ya know? %Gallery-78857%
Get your graffiti in Crackdown 2
Why waste your graffiti on something as temporary as the rear wall of the nearby Rio Grande or Ronald's Cheese Corner when you could have it enshrined forever, digitally? That's the opportunity being offered by Ruffian Games, which is looking for graffiti submissions from fans who'll have a chance to get their art in the game and their name in the credits, if their work is among the best, that is. If you're having trouble deciding what exactly, the theme – the jumping off point, if you will – of your e-vandalism should be, may we suggest ... Mighty Horse?
Interview: Crackdown 2 lead designer Steve Iannetta
In 2010, the agents are returning to action, this time with a new development team at the helm. Following a demo of Crackdown 2's single-player in action and a multiplayer deathmatch session, Ruffian Games' lead designer Steve Iannetta took time to discuss everything from new concepts and features in the sequel, the media's reaction to the RealTime Worlds "controversy" and evolving the co-operative world of Pacific City. %Gallery-74365%
Interview: Microsoft Game Studios' Phil Spencer
If given the choice of becoming a (presumably) anthropomorphic vegetable, Phil Spencer would opt for an eggplant. Sure, we spoke to the confident head of Microsoft Game Studios about other things -- Halo, Project Natal, Fable, Crackdown, the Xbox 360's successor, blah blah blah -- but with that profound scoop out of the way, there's barely any reason to read this interview. Mind you, the part where Spencer suggests that alternate forms of input (whether in addition to or in substitute of traditional controllers) might become a common expectation is pretty interesting. You should definitely read that. Joystiq: We just came out of the Tokyo Game Show panel discussion for Project Natal ... Phil Spencer: The creators panel. Yes, the creators panel. Hideo Kojima was there; they brainstormed about all these games. How much focus is Microsoft Game Studios placing on Natal development internally in comparison to other projects? It's a big focus for us in first party. As a first party, I think it's our duty, it's our responsibility to look at the new technologies that we bring to our platform. We did this with Live. We did at launch of 360. When we look at Project Natal as an opportunity for first party to truly innovate on our platform, creating new experiences, new intellectual property, we're very focused. A large percentage of the studio right now is thinking about Natal as part of what they're doing.
TGS 2009: The Recap Post
Last week, the Tokyo Game Show brought in over 100 posts worth of news, previews, interviews, galleries, and videos. Clearly, a lot happened. If you're looking for a comprehensive list of all the goings-on during TGS 2009, Joystiq has you covered -- and organized! Click on a platform below to scan the highlights: (On the far right: that's "News" and "Culture" on the top and bottom, respectively)
Preview: Crackdown 2
A hands-on preview of Crackdown 2 at TGS last week came with a catch: deathmatch only. No matter how much potential for greatness a game might possess, it's hard to gauge its true character when limited to a boring multiplayer mode. That's not to say that my time with Crackdown 2 was entirely boring -- it wasn't -- but simply playing the most generic mode of all didn't raise my enthusiasm beyond a mild passing interest. While I wasn't able to play the game's single-player campaign, I was shown a rough portion of it in action. Ruffian lead designer Steve Iannetta and producer James Cope showcased the game's new weapons and enemies (the mutated citizens of Pacific City that were simply referred to as "The Freaks"). Unlike the deathmatch portion of the preview session, this part was interesting. %Gallery-74365%
TGS 2009: Watch a Crackdown 2 deathmatch
One of the biggest surprises to come out of TGS 2009 is the presence of Crackdown 2 -- and it's playable! While the Ruffian Games developed sequel was only just announced at E3, Microsoft decided to let press in Tokyo step into an early build of the new Pacific City. Some textures were missing, and a few glitches popped up, but it was to be expected in what we were told was a game "roughly at 60 percent" complete. Stay tuned, we'll post our impressions soon, along with an interview with Ruffian lead designer Steve Iannetta. (Oh, and just in case you were wondering: we mopped the floor with the competition.) %Gallery-74365%
Overheard@TGS: Putting the 'crack' in Crackdown 2
During a behind-closed-doors presentation of Crackdown 2, Ruffian Games lead designer Steve Iannetta broke it down like this: "The orbs are the 'crack,' in Crackdown." It's true, and Iannetta says that orb fiends will not be disappointed when they go hunting for the returning collectible in Crackdown 2. Stay tuned for gameplay footage and our hands-on impressions of the upcoming sandbox title. %Gallery-74365%
New Crackdown 2 screens -- zombies included [updated]
Click to embiggen Is it still kosher to assume zombies are what's being featured in these Crackdown 2 screens? We saw a glimpse of the ... let's call them "mutated" enemies in the trailer released back at E3, but we'd yet to see them being punched, kicked, and exploded so vociferously before. With any luck, we'll nab some new gameplay video -- or maybe just impressions of new gameplay video -- when we check out the game this week at the Tokyo Game Show. Update: After spotting 10 unlisted Crackdown 2 images on Ruffian's Flickr page, we were asked by Microsoft to remove the screens due to an exclusivity agreement with Game Informer magazine. In the interest of playing nice, we've complied with the request. We'll have the images back on Joystiq as soon as possible, we assure you ... though a Google Images search might net you results a bit sooner. %Gallery-74365%
Crackdown 2 Zune HD (and other styles) available at Zune Store
Microsoft's John Noonan, who is currently working on Crackdown 2 and is co-host of Microsoft Game Studios' Platform Biased podcast, got folks in a tizzy when he tweeted about the Crackdown 2 Zune HD. We got in touch with Noonan, who let us know that this laser-etched model -- along with many others sporting Xbox-exclusive brands -- are available as part of the Zune Original Program at the Zune Store. The "Xbox Series" features Halo ODST, Gears of War 2 and Forza 3, along with a few others. There doesn't appear to be an extra charge for the advertising fan appreciation, so the only thing you'll pay for is the Zune -- which, we're told is like an iPod.
Game Informer drops Crackdown 2 details
If the debut trailer for Crackdown 2 (which was revealed at E3 earlier this year) left you completely befuddled, don't fret -- you're not in the minority. However, Game Informer's recent write-up on Ruffian Games' open-world sequel explains the supernatural beasties hinted at in the teaser -- apparently, during a mission in Crackdown, your character unknowingly unleashed a virus into the city that caused portions of the population to mutate into hulking, violent brutes. Good going, stupid.The GI article also explains that the five upgradable stats in the first game will reappear in Crackdown 2, but will unlock new abilities as they're powered up. There are also some new armaments in the mix -- including something called a "magnetic grenade," which is capable of sticking enemies to moving vehicles. Oh, Ruffian Games. You are too good to us.[Via IGN]
Microsoft explains why Ruffian is the right choice for Crackdown 2
Before Microsoft revealed that Ruffian Games would be developing the upcoming Crackdown sequel, the original game's developer, Realtime Worlds, expressed some skepticism towards the idea. "I very much doubt that Microsoft would harm an otherwise fruitful existing development relationship by gambling on funding Crackdown 2 with a startup on RTW's doorstep, for obvious reasons," RTW's Colin MacDonald said last year. Things weren't so cut and dry for self-accused Crackdown fanboy (and Microsoft exec) Phil Spencer, who recently told Develop, "When Billy Thomson, the lead designer of the game [Crackdown 1], left Realtime Worlds, there was an opportunity." Apparently, it would seem Mr. Spencer believes Realtime Worlds is simply too busy developing APB to give a Crackdown sequel the attention it deserves. "I wanted to make sure that anything we work on is correctly nurtured ... we had to find the right team who really understood what game it is – and that was Billy [Thompson] and the team at Ruffian." Crackdown 2 will be the first game developed by Ruffian Games since the studio's inception late last year.
Ex-Midway Newcastle dev spills the beans on the studio's closure
GUI artist Steven Pick has detailed on his blog the last five or so months of working at Wheelman developer Midway Newcastle (with heartbreaking detail, might we add). In doing so he reveals the various happenings at the developer while things at Midway HQ were falling apart. "The company was still operating as normal, but the Chapter 11 thing was like a silent dread-spectre hovering over all of us," Pick says of the February bankruptcy filings. And as for Necessary Force, the IP from Midway Newcastle that was revealed not too long ago? "We got to a point where the game could be pitched - at the same time, we had a 60 day notice through from the London office," Pick says. Unfortunately, the pitches fell through and the game disappeared -- aside from a handful of Edge Magazine writers who saw it, that is.Though he notes that a group of employees were picked up prior to the studio's closure by Crackdown 2 dev Ruffian Games, the remaining employees in Newcastle were caught off guard by a surprise early studio closure -- a surprise that brought with it the news that they wouldn't be receiving their final paychecks. In all honesty, it would be impossible to do Mr. Pick's entire story justice in a concise blog post, so do yourself a favor and give the whole thing a read at his site.[Via GamesIndustry.biz]
Microsoft Game Studios licenses GFx tech for Crackdown 2, all titles
Microsoft has signed a deal with Scaleform to utilize its GFx user interface middleware across all Microsoft Game Studios titles, officially beginning with Ruffian's upcoming Crackdown 2. Scaleform's GFx is a vector graphics rendering engine that allows artists to design user interfaces -- such as menus and in-game heads-up displays (HUDs) -- and animated textures using Adobe Flash. Scaleform's middleware has already been used in an assortment of games, including The Conduit, Resistance 2 and Crysis. According to Scaleform's site, using its middleware will allow game developers to focus on building gameplay, "rather than coding interface elements or developing custom tools." We hope that means Crackdown 2's menus won't run abnormally slow, like the original game in the series. Brendan Iribe, president and CEO of Scaleform, was elated at the news (and probably holding a giant novelty check), claiming Microsoft's new "master agreement" for use of the Scaleform GFx middleware will streamline the process for all future MGS development teams. [Via Develop]
1.5 million copies of Crackdown sold is 'breaking even' for Realtime Worlds
During a recent interview with Gamasutra, Realtime Worlds CEO David Jones talked about the success of the first Crackdown. Well, okay, maybe it wasn't a really huge success or anything, even though 1.5 million copies of the Halo 3 beta Crackdown were snatched up by consumers. It turns out that Realtime Worlds only broke even, which it partially blames on GameStop's used game sales. "With Crackdown we sold about 1.5 million copies, but even at that we pretty much only managed to break even," Jones said. "It was due to the amount of factors that were out of our control as the developer, influences such as GameStop's amazing used-game sales; we know 1.5 million new copies were sold, but it's likely there were 2.5, three million sold when you include used." Hey, that sounds like another game we've heard about recently! Hopefully this whole game downloading thing will help with some of those trade-ins. Not that it's Realtime Worlds' problem to worry about any more.
Crackdown 2 spotted on iPhone
Get it? It's not an iPhone version of Crackdown 2. It's literally an iPhone with Crackdown 2 emblazoned across its shiny, shiny surface. It's a joke, see? The offending iPhone was spotted on the Ruffian blog, which noted it belonged to an unnamed executive producer at Microsoft. Certainly, it's not quite as cool as a portable version of Crackdown 2 -- assuming it was a good portable version, anyway -- but it's cool nonetheless. At any rate, with the complete absence of any concrete Crackdown 2 details, we suppose it wil have to do for now.
Close to half of Crackdown team working on Crackdown 2
Close to half of Ruffian Games' Crackdown 2 team is made up of developers from the original group from Realtime Worlds. So says Ruffian Creative Director Bill Thompson in an interview with Edge, where he explains that the developer has "core members from every discipline who worked on [Crackdown], the majority of the design team," along with the coders and artists. That talent drain from Realtime Worlds might explain why its creative director, David Jones, was a "bit miffed at Microsoft" for giving the sequel to Ruffian Games.Producer Jim Cope states that the company still maintains a "really strong working relationship" with Realtime, noting that they are neighbors in both "personal and professional relationships." Cope says the team firmly believe they're "the right people" to make the sequel and that they know what to fix and enhance in the second outing.
Crackdown 2 situation one of those 'awkward moments' for Realtime creative director
Imagine: Your company makes a hit game (and gets bundled with a hit beta). The publisher won't green light a sequel, so your team begins work on another franchise. Then the sequel is awarded to a developer ... in your own town, who permanently borrows your talent. With all that said, it's understandable that Realtime Worlds Creative Director David Jones was a "bit miffed at Microsoft" for giving the Crackdown sequel to start-up Ruffian Games.Speaking with GI.biz, Jones explains that Realtime Worlds was all set to do a sequel before Crackdown's release. When the company didn't receive the go-ahead from Microsoft, it moved on to create APB. Jones wishes that Microsoft had chosen one of its shuttered internal studios to make the game instead of going with Ruffian Games, a company that's in the same town and takes from the same talent pool. He notes it's "challenging to get enough developers in one region as it is." Maybe Realtime can get the third title in the series? Trade off like Infinity Ward and Treyarch did with Call of Duty.
E3 2009 highlights: The Xbox roundup
E3 was brütal! If you blinked, for a split/second, you missed something. Even if you were trine to keep up, it was a blur -- staying a.wake like that, you only pushed yourself to the brink of your own dark void. That's where Joystiq comes in; to crackdown on the madness; to reach out ... with conviction -- phew! Crysis averted. We've scoured the dark corners and survived the inferno to piece together this roundup of all things Xbox at E3. Why? Just 'cause we love you. So, draw nier and shift your eyes past the break.
Crackdown 2 features 4-player co-op, 16-player online
Details posted to Xbox.com reveal that Ruffian Games' sequel to Crackdown -- the sleeper open-world, super-powered crime fighting game -- will feature cooperative four-player gameplay. The original game featured two-player, drop-in, drop-out co-op. Also noted: 16-player online multiplayer -- though not confirmed, this is presumably competitive and team-based. If you haven't done it yet, watch the official reveal trailer. [Thanks, Erluti!]
