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Divekick devs were almost first to head Killer Instinct reboot
Divekick developer Iron Galaxy Studios will be taking over for Amazon-acquired Double Helix on the Xbox One-exclusive Killer Instinct reboot, but that idea may not be as far-fetched as it sounds. In an interview with USgamer, Iron Galaxy CEO Dave Lang revealed that his studio was one of the original applicants being considered to develop the game. Lang said that, while he doesn't know all the details, he knows that both his company and Double Helix were in the running to develop Killer Instinct, right up to the end. However, Microsoft had already tapped Iron Galaxy for Wreckateer, leaving the studio short-handed. Thus, the contract went to Double Helix. Now that Iron Galaxy is getting another shot at Killer Instinct, Lang calls the situation "sort of like dating someone's ex-girlfriend." Despite losing out on developing the game's first season of content, it might have been for the best. "If you take a look at where we were at that point versus the final game Double Helix was able to make, I firmly believe we would not have made as good of a game as Double Helix did," Lang said. "In terms of available resources, we simply weren't there at that time." [Image: Microsoft]
Wreckateer smashing up XBLA this spring, and it's totally your fault
Ever since you stormed -- and consequently destroyed -- your first sandcastle, you've relished the perverse joy in the destruction of inconsequential structures. And for you, oddly specific sufferer, Iron Galaxy Studios is crafting a great outlet for that particular fetish with Wreckateer. First revealed by various international rating associations, Wreckateer was finally officially announced last week during a San Francisco press event.Heading to Xbox Live Arcade exclusively, Wreckateer employs Kinect as the sole controller and represents players in-game with their XBL Avatar. Players grab rocks of various types in a ballista (read: extra large slingshot), step back to take aim, and let loose to take down castles in as few shots as possible. "When we originally pitched it, we pitched as Angry Birds meets Boom Blox with some Burnout Crash Mode sprinkled in," Iron Galaxy's Dave Lang told us during a recent demo.The latter part of his description plays out in mid-air, as the ball hurtles toward said castle -- players can add English to the ball or alter its trajectory by waving their hands, and some ammo types allow for other effects. One such ball splits into three separate, smaller balls attached by a string, allowing for bigger point chains and higher scores. At its core, Wreckateer is a high score game based around a singular, effective concept: throwing rocks at stuff. Microsoft Studios is publishing the game, and it's expected some time in "Spring 2012." So, like, soon.
