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Rockstar vets enlisted for GTA IV
According to IMDb, Rockstar President Dan Houser and GTA/Manhunt veteran James Worrall are the principal writers for Grand Theft Auto IV. Lazlow Jones, who wrote for GTA III & Vice City and did voice work for Liberty City Stories & San Andreas, is listed as a cast member, along with Navid Khonsari who has voiced characters in almost all of Rockstar's titles, including his role as Porn Host in Max Payne 2.Grand Theft Auto IV will debut October 16, 2007 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. In addition, Rockstar will create downloadable episodic content for the Xbox 360 version.
Wanna try a MMO? The first hit's free
We know that MMOs can be a little addictive. So do developers and publishers. That's why some of NCsoft's new offerings are at once a stroke of brilliance and absolutely terrifying. Aimed at new MMO players as well as existing ones, the PlayNC portal invites players to try its games by putting them at an irresistible price -- $0.The money, of course, lies in areas like micropayments -- while a great portion of each game is free, features like new items or character slots will come at a price. Some games may only offer lower-level gameplay for free, meaning that players are enticed into purchasing the game once they have become invested in a character. Two games from the PlayNC portal were playable at E3: Dungeon Runners and Exteel.
PC impressions: Tabula Rasa
Tabula Rasa is a sci-fi themed MMO from NCsoft. Among its arsenal of features are: party-based voice chat, instances and open battlegrounds, a range of weaponry and an interesting cloning system. The class system is branching, and players can clone their character at any time -- change your mind about a class, and you can just dust off the clone and try again, rather than re-roll at level one. Playing the game, it comes across as the crazy lovechild of a MMORPG and MMOFPS. Combat is fast-paced and loud, with a big focus on guns and special abilities. Aiming isn't the FPS-style twitch-based shooting, though, and players progress through levels and missions much like in other MMOs. Being able to zoom into first-person view makes Tabula Rasa play almost like a straight-up FPS at times, but without the response and accuracy that FPS games are used to.
Valve planning something for Xbox 360...episodic?
Valve announced today development of future game releases for Microsoft's Xbox 360 console, with the first (unnamed) title "coming soon." Valve's Gabe Newell said, "The combination of Source and the 360 provides game designers the chance to create powerful entertainment experiences...Whether developing a traditional FPS, RTS, RPG or delving into new genres, the Xbox 360 is a great platform for expanding Source and our game experiences.”Of course there is no mention of what this mystery title is, as they're undoubtedly saving the big reveal for E3. But what could it be? We know Microsoft is interested in episodic distribution (Peter Moore told me so himself) and that Ritual is interested in bringing their Source-based SiN Episodes to the 360 (they've said so), so it seems a reasonable assumption that Valve could be bringing the episodic efforts of SiN and Half-Life 2 to the 360 platform, with Microsoft making the big announcement at E3. What say you Joystiqers?[Thanks, Nate, Jeremy, and Crimson]
Half-Life 2 storyline cheat sheet
Once Half-Life 2: Episode One rolls around this June, there may be plenty of gamers scratching their heads, getting their Citadels confused with their City 17s; their Black Mesas confused with their Wallace Breens; and don't forget about the G-Man. Who the eff is that guy?If you've been unfortunate enough to play neither Half-Life nor Half-Life 2, you may want to avoid Chan Karunamuni's thorough timeline of the Half-Life epic thus far. If you have played them, you'll want to freshen up before Episode One drops, which is sure to bring levels of Lost-like confusion to each installment. Pop quiz: Who "unknowingly helped the Combine campaign by launching a Lambda satellite into space?"[Via digg]
Episode 2 of Bone series available now
The second installment of Telltale's episodic Bone series is available for download, starting today, for the newly reduced price of $12.99. There is also a packaged version available for $17.99, a combo pack with Episodes 1 and 2 for $24.99, and the download includes a free trial mode so you can try before you buy. The story: It's Spring Fair time as The Great Cow Race begins - with games, goodies and challenges. Gran'Ma Ben is preparing to compete in the Great Cow Race (yes, she'll be running) and Phoney Bone hatches a devious plan to profit from the competition. Meanwhile dark forces are at work in the mountains.An early review from Eurogamer gives the title a 7/10, praising the improved puzzles, while lamenting the short four hour play time. Apparently their major beef is the title's juvenile sensibilities which haven't changed since the first episode. "If there's one area Bone could improve on, it's the killer lines - and, selfishly, it needs to stop pandering to the kids so much." Thankfully the Sam & Max demographic is a little older!
HL2: Episode One site is up, with plot details
Following in the footsteps of fellow Source-based, Steam-distributed episodic title SiN's announcement earlier this week, the website for Half-Life 2: Episode One is now live. Featuring the obligatory media page, the obligatory overview, and the obligatory release information. The site details a June 1st retail and Steam release; the Steam version will be available for pre-load on May 1st with a 10% discount for pre-purchases.What is interesting here is the plot synopsis, a sort of "previously on Half-Life 2" refresher course on the twists and turns of the story. As episodic games accrue the same complicated (or convoluted, if you're the cynical type) narratives that define television shows like Lost or 24, you can expect to see more of these updates, whether in-game or online. The "Story So Far" describes the aftermath of HL2, and the setting for Episode One, this way: Consciousness returns. Gordon and Alyx discover they've somehow escaped both the reactor explosion and the G-Man's malevolent grasp. Before they can ponder their miraculous survival, the crippled Citadel lurches back to life just long enough to initiate a self-destruct sequence. With Alyx at his side, Gordon must flee a city in chaos before the Citadel's final detonation turns City 17 into a toxic, mutant-infested crater.[Thanks, AndrewNeo]
SiN preloading on Steam; retail drops 5/9
The first installment of SiN Episodes, Emergence, is now available for pre-loading now on Valve's digital distribution network, Steam. Though the official May 9th release date is still over a month away, you'll be able to save 10% off of the $19.95 purchase price, and get instant access to the original SiN via Steam for a grand total of $17.95. Don't have broadband and/or think Steam is the debil's bidness? Similar to their arrangement to distribute Valve's Half-Life 2, EA will be handling the retail distribution of SiN Episodes: Emergence. Both the retail version and the downloadable version will be available on May 9th.If you're nervous about the episodic playing length and the gameplay-to-hard-earned-money ratio, you'll have to wait to read the reviews ... then again, you'll miss out on the discount and the freebie. Sneaky buggers.[Thanks to everyone that tipped us off]
A SiN-terview with Ritual Entertainment
FiringSquad has an interview with some members of Ritual Entertainment, the team bringing us the Steam-distributed SiN Episodes any day now...Following the big Sony announcement at GDC, Nintendo's plans to offer downloadable games on the Revolution, and Microsoft's own prospering Xbox Live Marketplace, it's now crystal clear that digital distribution is the biggest thing since sliced bread 4x anti-aliasing. The guys from Ritual make a couple really cogent points; their Dickens analogy is particularly apt, discussing how the 19th century benefits of serial distribution are no different than many of the benefits the model aims to offer today's gaming audience. Some choice quotes: "I believe we are going to see more and more high-quality game content being released digitally via services like Steam and the Xbox Live Marketplace. That is not to say that the traditional retail channel is going away, digital distribution is merely another avenue for developers to get their games out there...." "As a developer, making a game under the episodic model has been MUCH easier. This paradigm forces us to encapsulate our efforts into more manageable pieces, and to compartmentalize our development cycles." "We’re in talks with Microsoft about getting SiN Episodes on Xbox Live Marketplace, which is a really great outlet for the game. We’ll have more on that at a later time." But what about the hard drive, man?
Rumor: game based on TV's Lost this fall for consoles
EGM's April 2006 issue sports a short entry under its monthly Rumor Mill section telling readers to expect a Lost video game this fall for unspecified consoles.The Q also claims that the playable adaptation will "even feature an online multiplayer mode called something like 'Passengers versus The Others.'" Predicting possible genres is sketchy at this point, but one could imagine modes such as Capture the Hatch, Pregnant Woman Rescue, and Team Freak-out popping up like a season or two's stranded passenger hallucinations. (Then again, maybe not...)
Bone: The Great Cow Race drops in April
Telltale's first foray into episodic distribution was last year's Bone: Out from Boneville, based on Jeff Smith's epic comic of the same name. While nostalgic gamers were ecstatic that classic point-and-click adventure gaming lived on (in the capable hands of the ex-LucasArts crew at Telltale no less), they were disappointed with the title's short length and beginner's difficulty. Luckily, the whole idea of episodic gaming allows for this sort of thing: in their press release CEO Dan Connors says, "We identified a number of things we wanted to improve upon–such as the length of the experience, the nature of the mini-games and nuances in a number of areas–and the team is doing an outstanding job exceeding our expectations."We're watching to see how the second installment of the first major episodic series goes, if episodic content lives up to the promise of adapting to user's demands. More importantly perhaps, this is what we can expect with their their handling of the Sam & Max franchise... don't let us down Telltale!
SiN Episodes: Emergence trailer
Ritual has posted the official trailer for their upcoming title, SiN Episodes: Emergence. The Source engine looks great, as is to be expected, and while the characters and setting are typical FPS-generic, the distribution method is what distinguishes this puppy from the litter. Six hours of gameplay for $20 is what we're hearing; not a bad deal considering there are plenty of games that last only marginally longer for the full $50. The trailer is available in both HD (1280x720) and itty-bitty (640x360). More on SiN Episodes: EmergenceSiN Episodes coming "early-ish March"SiN Episodes Xbox 360 bound?New Year's resolution: SiNRitual reveals episode based SiN sequel[Via CVG]
