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The Agency is recruiting again: First Crackdown 2 trailer
"The city is infected. You are the cure." So begins the first trailer for Crackdown 2. The trailer subsequently showcases one of the Agency's supercops doing what he does best. If you've played the first Crackdown, you'll know that what an Agent does best is basically to be a complete and total badass. The only difference is that this time, it looks like the Agents just might have met their match. We won't spoil it for you, so just go ahead and give it a watch.
Crackdown 2 announced for Xbox 360
Microsoft answered many an open-world action game fan's prayers today by finally confirming Crackdown 2 for Xbox 360. The game -- which has been rumored for some time -- was shown in trailer form during the company's pre-e3 press conference, currently underway in LA. The footage appeared to be an in-game cinematic and showed a monster emerging from a sewer. We noticed that, while the game's art style is reminiscent of the original's, it did appear slightly more realistic. Also as rumored, the game is being developed by Ruffian Games, a studio comprised of many former Realtime Worlds staffers who worked on the first game. No release timeframe was teased. We'll do our best to crack down Microsoft's PR walls and get more info on the game over the next four days.
Ruffian Games expands team by 15, 'itching' to reveal first project
While many other development studios are withering beneath the sweltering heat of the recession, it seems at least one studio is blossoming -- Ruffian Games, founded earlier this year by a number of former Fable II, Crackdown and GTA devs, recently announced that it had bolstered its staff with 15 new recruits. This is great news for the unorthodoxly expanding studio (and for the recently employed developers), but we still don't know what Ruffian is working on. Apparently, this fact bothers them as much as it bothers us -- studio head Gaz Liddon said, "Now we're in full production, we're itching to share the fantastic work these guys have been producing," adding that he hoped said sharing "won't be too far away." We hope so too, as our attention span is pretty limited as far as -- Hey, a butterfly! Neat!
Ruffian Games job ad is decidedly Crackdown-free
Scottish development house Ruffian Games has been the subject of a long-running rumor -- a rumor it is developing a sequel to Realtime Worlds' open-world 360 action title, Crackdown. To date, much of the speculation has centered around the high percentage of former Realtime Worlds staff now employed by Ruffian; staff that previously worked on Crackdown. Now, up pops a Ruffian recruitment ad on Flickr, featuring a piece of artwork that looks wholly un-Crackdown-like. In fact, it's some sort of hideous beast. (In the good sense; no offense to the artist who drew it.) So, is this proof against the studio producing the rumored sequel or just Ruffian trying to throw us off the trail? We'd still wager we're not barking up the wrong developer, er ... tree.
Realtime Worlds in 'discussions' with Microsoft about Crackdown 2
Realtime Worlds honcho Colin MacDonald confirmed the studio is in "ongoing discussions" with Microsoft about the possibility of Crackdown 2. In a statement sent to VG247, MacDonald responded to rumors that a sequel is currently in development by Ruffian games, a new studio that allegedly employs several former Realtime Worlds staffers from the Crackdown development team.The statement from MacDonald relays that about "five or six" ex-Realtime Worlds staff are employed by Ruffian, noting that he doubts whether Microsoft would harm its "otherwise fruitful existing development relationship" by funding a Crackdown sequel with a start-up on RTW's doorstep. We'll have to wait and see what happens, but if Ruffian does develop a potential Crackdown 2, it sounds like Realtime Worlds wouldn't be too happy.[Thanks John. P]
Realtime Worlds: We'd be 'gutted' if MS gave Crackdown 2 to another developer
Talking to videogaming247, Realtime Worlds studio head Colin MacDonald addressed the recent Crackdown 2 rumors, specifically the fact that Ruffian Games was developing the sequel. "Although to date we haven't had an offer from Microsoft for the Crackdown sequel rumoured, we continue to have ongoing discussions with them" admitted MacDonald adding that if Microsoft were to chose another studio to make the sequel, they'd want it done by "by an established, renowned developer that had the track record of delivering the quality gaming experience Crackdown players would demand." MacDonald confirmed that a handful of ex-Realtime employees have gone to Ruffian, but that the majority of the team remains and also made it clear that they doubt MS would chose a "startup on RTW's doorstep" (Ruffian) to develop Crackdown 2. Stil no Crackdown 2 rumor busting or confirmation, but this is turning into a developer soap opera. How entertaining. [Via Game Stooge]
Rumor: New studio working on Crackdown sequel
Juicy rumor news coming from Edge Online is that a sequel to Realtime Worlds' superhuman destructo'fest Crackdown is in development, but not by Realtime. They're busy with All Points Bulletin. As rumor goes, Crackdown 2 is supposedly in development by the newly formed (and unofficially announced) Ruffian Games, a team comprised of a few "key" ex-Realtime Worlds employees. As is the norm, Microsoft isn't saying a darn thing. Though, if true, we hope Crackdown 2's release gets us access to the Halo 4 beta. [Via Joystiq, Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Rumor: Whispers of Crackdown 2 surround new studio
We're not exactly sure how "A leads to B" in this case, but Edge claims a new Crackdown could be in development following the creation of Ruffian Games. The new studio, which has not been officially announced, is allegedly comprised of several members of the Crackdown development team, including "key members" and the game's lead designer. Realtime Worlds, the original developer of Crackdown, is currently working on APB. Of course, all this sequel talk falls snugly in the realm of rumor and speculation. We've contacted Microsoft, which owns the rights to Crackdown, to ask if Crackdown 2 is currently in development. It's a Friday, might as well take one good shot in the dark before the weekend starts. Update: "Microsoft does not comment on rumors or speculation."
Realtime says Crackdown 2 is still a possibility
Chatting with videogaming247, Realtime Worlds' main man Colin Macdonald admitted that "it was a horrible, horrible decision" to not jump right into development of a sequel to their super human sandbox game Crackdown, also confirming that the possibility for sequel love is still there. "I don't think the door's closed," said Macdonald, "obviously, right now we're tied up with APB and everything else, but hopefully in the future we'll have the resource and something can be worked out with Microsoft. We would have loved to have seen it. We poured five years of our lives into that game. You know, we've got guys on the development team that have Crackdown tattoos, permanent tattoos on their arms. We're extremely passionate about it." Wow, permanent Crackdown tattoos, eh? Someone at Realtime or Microsoft needs to green-light a Crackdown sequel just to pay respect to the dev team's tattooing. You can't let someone tattoo Crackdown on their arm and not make a sequel ... that's just blasphemy!
Microsoft: Crackdown 2 still a possibility
Speaking to Wired, Microsoft Game Studios VP Shane Kim mentioned the possibility of a sequel to Crackdown. While Real Time Worlds -- creators of Crackdown -- stated last year that a sequel wasn't in the works (they're focusing on other projects), it seems Kim is still open to the idea. It seems that the folks at the Microsoft gang still "love" Crackdown, as Kim says, "We consider that a pretty successful title for us, high-quality, I think that customers would like to see more in that space. So that's an option for us." What remains unknown is whether Microsoft intends to ask Real Time Worlds to create the sequel or if the project will be given to a different developer. While the prospect of Crackdown 2 is definitely music to our ears, we can only hope the reins wind up in the right hands. The remainder of Kim's Wired interview comes out soon. Here's hoping we can learn more.
Crackdown 2 already in consideration?
CVG interviewed Stephen Iannetta, the senior designer at Real Time Worlds, and Iannetta had some interesting thoughts on the future of the Crackdown franchise. This is intriguing, as the game has only been available in North America for two days, aside from breaches in the street date. He's very open to the idea of a sequel, and would want to keep the game as non-linear as possible. The thing he feels makes the game as entertaining as it is is Pacific City and how the player is able to interact with it as their environment. As such, he wants to build upon it and have future iterations come with a "more believable, functioning city". CVG will evidently have the full interview available later today, and we'll report on any other interesting tidbits found therein. Still, what would you like to see added upon in Crackdown's future? [Via QJ.net]
