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Far Cry Instincts Predator marks territory on XBLM
We never could figure out if the lukewarm reception of Ubisoft's Far Cry Instincts Predator on the Xbox 360 was because it was a quick and dirty port of an Xbox title with some graphical flourishes, or the rambling assembly of words they call a title. Far. Cry. Instincts. Predator. ?. Either way, we have a chance to reconsider our initial revulsion by downloading the 345MB demo the Xbox Live keepers have thrown in our cage. Like a wild animal -- with the default inventory of wild animal skills -- we'll lunge at the demo and pin it to the ground in one fluid cat-like motion, before plunging our incisors into its single map and rending all five included gametypes from its mutiplayer skeleton. It goes without saying that we do this instinctually. Predatorily. While crying.
X360F plays FEAR, needs new shorts
I managed to grab a copy of the latest OXM yesterday, containing the long awaited F.E.A.R. demo. Let's get one thing straight. I have never played F.E.A.R. My PC can run Diablo II and that's fine by me. As you can imagine, I was giddy when I found out about the 360 port of F.E.A.R., and, now that I've played the demo, I'm intrigued to say the least. The game will be instantly familiar to anyone who has played Monolith's other title for the 360, Condemned: Criminal Origins. The environments and the overall tension of the games are very similar. The difference here is that the enemies in F.E.A.R. are run of the mill soldiers -- which makes the appearance of The Ring-inspired Alma that much more frightening. The supernatural elements of the game feel immediately out of place, which intensifies the...um...fear of them. The only concern I have is whether or not the gun battles will grow stale. That said, the story and horror elements present in the demo are more than enough to pique my interest. The demo is short and barely offers a taste of the action, but horror fans may just want to plunk down the cash for the latest OXM. We promise you at least one genuine scare.
Mac Halo now with Universal Binary
Inside Mac Games has announced that a Universal Binary edition of Bungie's Halo: Combat Evolved is now available. Intel Mac owners looking for a native performance boost over the original Halo release can download the upgrade for $5. If you're new to the whole Master Chief experience, the complete shrink-wrapped game is $30.See also: Mac Quake 4 now shipping Mac UT2004 Universal Binary released
HL2: Episode Two delayed till 2007
Valve Software has been one of the main proponents in the push for episodic gaming, a fact which quickly comes to mind in light of Half-Life 2: Episode Two getting its own push into the future. Releasing Half-Life 2 expansion episodes in lieu of Half-Life 3 was supposed to curb development time, something which Valve is always struggling to keep on a leash before it wrecks the office and eats all the calendars. Alas, it has run amok once again, causing Episode Two to slip to February 2007. In other words, the release gap between the first and second "episodes" has now grown to 8 months. Valve's Doug Lombardi tells Eurogamer that the delay is simply "classic Valve being overly aggressive on our dates" and that the title will likely end up being a "little longer" than the first title. A further point of consideration is that Episode Two is being developed in conjunction with several other included games (Portal, Team Fortress 2) and console versions. Lombardi also states that the extra games will result in a slightly higher price than that of the single Episode One release ($19.99), with the all-inclusive console releases expected to retail at full price. With any luck, this will be the last delay in store for Valve's upcoming release -- otherwise, we'll have to start questioning just how far the word "episodic" can stretch.
Will Resistance: FoM justify the PS3 pricetag? [update 1]
Insomniac Games, the guys behind the Ratchet and Clank series, were in the Big Apple showing off the latest build of their upcoming PS3 launch title, Resistance: Fall of Man. Kotaku had a Gawker cameraman on the scene to grab some video, and MTV News' Stephen Totilo managed the impossible. He extracted some positive press about the PS3 (Sony must be furious at Insomniac, this goes against their entire pre-launch strategy). Turns out that Blu-ray drive that every armchair analyst is convinced is a giant wooden equine built to penetrate our consumer-weary walls and then attack with an army of HD movies may actually be useful for gaming afterall. The game currently takes up 22GB! That's seven whole gee-bees more than a single layer HD-DVD disc that the Xbox 360 won't (?) be using for gaming. The Dual Shake functionality that was supposedly tacked on at the last minute ... well, it looks like it was still tacked on; nevertheless, it holds some serious promise. Ninety days before this thing has to be on store shelves the developers have still not activated the functionality on the controller, but they have added in some clever gameplay currently triggered with a button press. Shake off a melee attack by shaking the controller, or introduce the end of your rifle to their face with a quick jab of your right hand. Sure, you won't feel the vibration when that blow connects, but it's something. But there's also multiplayer. How will Sony's secretive service compare to the superlative Xbox Live? R: FoM will feature: "40-player online matches at launch; 60 levels of player progression while playing online; two-player offline co-op." 60 levels of player progression ... sounds like another popular online game. According to MTV News, Insomniac even promised "better, deeper support than any Xbox Live title." Has the PS3 buzz finally begun? We've been increasingly anxious that someone at Sony didn't get the memo that their latest and greatest was launching in a few scant months. [Update: Insomniac's Ryan Schneider called MTV News to clarify what exactly is on those 22GBs. "While the music and vocals in Resistance take up only about 1 Gigabyte of disc space, graphics, level data and programming code occupy most of the remaining 21."] Watch - New Resistance: Fall of Man video Read - MTV News on Resistance: Fall of Man
Bungie: Halo 3 "feels" more like Halo
In Bungie's latest weekly update of the Halo 3 development process, we learn that the Halo 3 single player will feel very much like the original Halo. Bungie's Frankie had this to say of the campaign mode: I have been playing through Campaign mode purely for kicks. Exploring, in fact. There's lots of the feel of the original Halo, where you'll find yourself in a huge (dangerous) and intrinsically fascinating environment and just want to go tool around and check things out. At this stage in development, the encounters are very carefully placed. Sometimes that means you're in frantic firefights (on a significantly bigger scale than in Halo 2, although all I will confirm numerically is at least one more Grunt.) but there's also time for exploratory reflection and the, "Oooh, maybe I can climb up there and check that thing out," sort of play. If that sounds like a Grand Theft Auto style in the Halo universe to you, then Frankie dismisses that claim very quickly: Don't get me wrong. It's not GTA -- it's still Halo, but there's a bigger feeling scope to some of these levels that has me reminiscing about the original game. And yet, conversely, I'm super excited about the new stuff. Seems like this thing is getting very fleshed out. We wonder how long until Bungie gives us a taste via a demo on Xbox Live. Wouldn't Nov. 17 just be the perfect date for that?
F.E.A.R. demo scares OXM disc
K1lla (of K1lla's Xbox Domain, natch) just received the October issue of OXM, including a 360 demo of F.E.A.R., just in time for Halloween. At least it would be without arcane magazine lead times. Anyway, the upshot is that everyone gets a chance to try out F.E.A.R. before it hits the shelves -- and without upgrading their PC. Can a Marketplace demo be far behind? The demo is single player only and is reportedly very nice. We don't know if OXM has actually hit newsstands yet, but subscribers should expect the mag any day now. So, who's got a copy? Is it good? Is it super scary? Inquiring minds want to know. [Thanks, Joey]
Halo 2 run makes the record books
Halo 2 player, Cody Miller, has reportedly been entered into the 2007 Guinness Book of World Records. His accomplishment? A speed run of Halo 2 with no deaths -- on Legendary difficulty. There is no mention of his actual clear time, but no deaths is impressive all by itself. Anybody with a copy of the Guinness care to send us a scan? It should be on the only page with Master Chief. And anyway, how the hell does anyone make it off of Cairo Station on Legendary without dying once? Cody explains it himself right here (there's even a video here). [Via Joystiq]
Microsoft planning FPS-centric controller for Xbox 360?
A few juicy hints were dropped by Microsoft's Robert Walker on Monday in regards to a special FPS controller in the works for the Xbox 360. His comments were made at Gamefest in Seattle, and he was quick to clarify that Microsoft has no concrete plans for the device, but that it's more of a long term exploration. Sadly, it's no replacement for the tried-and-true keyboard/mouse combination: Microsoft is merely working on a new right analog stick that would be better with the precise movements required for FPS and game types. The controller wouldn't replace the current, well-praised offering, but would merely be an option for enthusiasts and competitive types. Microsoft is also dropping more hints about some sort of motion sensing technology implementation in a future 360 controller, stating that their experiments with joysticks weren't well promoted to developers, but playing it safe by dissing the sensitivity of the tech for FPS and racing use. The main question seems to be: will it rumble?[Via Xbox 360 Fanboy]
New 360 controller in the works?
Speaking at Gamefest, Microsoft hardware guru, Robert Walker Texas Ranger, spoke of a possible redesign of the 360 controller. This "advanced" -- and optional -- control would be in lieu of keyboard and mouse support -- something Microsoft still has no intention of doing. Thus, the new control would feature a redesigned right analog stick to allow for more precision, mouse-like movements. Naturally this controller would appeal mostly to gamers who prefer first person shooters and possibly RTS games. Also worth mentioning, Walker again brought up the possibility of Mircosoft copying Nintendo designing a motion sensing controller as well, since they seem to be hot stuff these days.So, what should Microsoft do to make their new pad more FPS friendly?[Via Xbox-Scene]
Vivendi's F.E.A.R. coming to PS3 with extra scary extras [Update 1]
F.E.A.R. was pretty cool on the PC. Sure, adding Japanese Horror stereotypes to a FPS may seem awkward to some, but it worked out as a fairly entertaining device. No one wants a pale little girl with long dark hair anymore, that's for sure. It's also getting a release for the 360, with expansion pack Extraction Point. Now the game is also coming to the PS3. Better late than never? Oh, and online multiplayer is free. That aside, PS3 fans, let's get geared up for finally getting to play an interesting game, assuming we missed out on it for the PC or 360. Would this game make a nice launch title? Not really, since it's not the newest kid on the block, but it would still make a good game to be released with the system. At old-gen prices, please. No offense to the game, but paying $60-70 for it, when it'll most likely be cheaper for any other system, isn't exactly enticing. How about we get it free with the system? That'd be nice. Anyone have any thoughts about games that are released right now being ported to the PS3? Should they have a standard pricing, or be a little cheaper than other titles, like Heavenly Sword? [Update: oops! It's not out on the 360? Wonder what the heck I played... changed that line.]
Live member spotted playing F.E.A.R. demo
360 Fanboy reader, Malik, sent us this tip today: "Ok, I decided to make a thread for this whole thing. As I said in the Marketplace thread, I was browsing my Xbox.com friends list when I noticed that controlcommerce from CAG was playing the F.E.A.R. demo. Instantly I open up the 360 forum to see nothing about it mentioned while I sign onto the Marketplace on my 360. After finding nothing in the Marketplace I open his profile on my Xbox 360 Dashboard, and it says that he was playing Street Fighter II HF and not F.E.A.R." Does this portend the imminent arrival of a F.E.A.R. demo? Does a fanboy dare to dream? (Any loose-lipped Microsoft insiders can hit us up with a tip. I won't tell anyone, I promise.)
Medal of Honor: Heroes with 32 player (online) multiplayer
Gamespot's On the Spot recently showcased an exclusive preview of Medal of Honor: Heroes, an upcoming PSP game which Peter Dille accidentally revealed during an interview a few weeks ago. Thankfully, the power of YouTube has given those of us that missed the show a chance to rewatch this amazing trailer. There will be "all new adventures" across "12 new European battlefields." Even more excitingly, there will be 32 player multiplayer, and as -Xenofreak- from the IGN Boards has pointed out, the PSP is capable of only 16-player Ad-Hoc. What does that seem to suggest? Yes, it looks like there might be 32 player ONLINE multiplayer! The game is set to hit in Fall, so the wait won't be too hard.
F.E.A.R. this countdown
Eurogamer posted a story about this a while ago. I meant to post it then, but --as usual -- Eurogamer failed to link it in any way whatsoever(!). Anyway, the point is this: joinfear.com has a countdown running (14 days to go as of this post) with the title "COMBAT IS COMING". What it's counting down to is anybody's guess. A 360 release date? Marketplace demo perhaps? Give us some theories in the comments.
MetaDoom: play Doom inside of Doom 3
Regardless of what it says about the merits of id's latest creepy corridor crawler, it is possible to play Doom 1 inside Doom 3. Why, you ask? It's not because Doom 3 is so dark, you'd rather play Doom 1 in the glow of a terminal screen; rather, the Terminal Doom project is a proof of concept study of "fully interactive surfaces." To that end, the mod creator writes, "In more than one respect, Terminal Doom itself is a dead end." Awww, but that doesn't mean you can't try it out. All you'll need is the retail version of Doom 3, either the shareware or retail version of Doom 1, and some patches and you're set to go. The in game arcade cabinets are pretty great also. [Via Waxy.org]
First trailer of Valve's Portal released
One of the announced games to be featured alongside the upcoming PC and console versions of Half-Life 2: Episode Two is one that promises to obliterate your concepts of traditional level design and generally assault your brain with a large rolling pin. It's called Portal and, should the name not be explanatory enough, it deals primarily with gaping holes in time and space which magically transport you to different locations. Where Human Head's Prey took you for a wacky ride through these portals, Valve's title equips you with a sterile looking gun and urges you to make your own entry and exit points with wild abandon. The trailer (embedded in the second part of the post) aptly demonstrates the powers of the portal gun, the dangers of getting caught in an infinite loop and, of course, how using rampant teleportation can enable you to solve puzzles involving crates of some kind. As they say, hilarity ensues.[Thanks Easy_G!]
Treyarch developing Bond game
Those already picturing the mesmerizing possibilities of an action/adventure set in the world of financial loans will have to face disappointment yet again, as Ultimate Spider-Man developer Treyarch has been tapped by Activision to create a game starring the other and recently less valuable Bond. James Bond. Likely based on the upcoming film franchise reboot, Casino Royale, the game is targeting next-generation platforms and the general consensus that Bond games aren't worth a (Money) penny.Having rescued the Bond license from the metallic hands that programmed Goldeneye: Rogue Agent, Activision will no doubt attempt to do right by Fleming fans if they wish to reap the rewards from their investment. Giving Treyarch the job seems like a good decision, certainly superior to that of placing a permanently disgruntled, blond man into the suave spy's shoes. Indeed, it seems preferable to place the gamer in those rocket-propelled shoes instead. Who wouldn't want to be a man of mystery (like, which STD does he have?) traipsing across the world, bedding foreign beauties and then killing said foreign beauties when they inevitably betray you? Also -- casino minigames!
Half-Life 2 confirmed for Xbox 360, PS3
Speaking at EA's annual summer press event, Valve's Gabe Newell revealed that Half-Life 2 would be headed to the Xbox 360 and PS3, bolstered with extra content and presumably, plenty of opportunities to kill people with high velocity toilets. The full console package will be comprised of Half-Life 2, Episode One, Episode Two, Team Fortress 2 (it still exists!) and an entirely new title, Portal. According to Gamespot, Team Fortress 2 now sports a cartoonish art style and a 60's spy feel akin to that of Monolith's No One Lives Forever -- certainly a description you'd never expect to be about a game from Valve. The developer is also trying new things with Portal, which incorporates a rather imaginative gun and encourages you to blast Prey-like portals into floors and walls for all manner of object shifting, puzzle solving hijinx. The console versions of Half-Life 2 (along with all the extra goodies) are expected to launch alongside the PC game's second episodic expansion. Barring unforeseen code thefts and other delays, that means they'll be out by the end of the year. [Thanks Easy_G and icemorebutts!] Previously: Internet survey lists Half-Life 2 for Xbox 360
Quake Wars pushed back to 2007
The Strogg invasion originally planned for this holiday season has been postponed. Activision has confirmed that Enemy Territory: Quake Wars will not be shipping in 2006, which supports a comment made earlier this week by Splash Damage lead designer Paul Wedgewood. In a GameSpy developer diary, Wedgewood wrote, "Unfortunately, sometimes effort isn't all you need -- sometimes you just need more time. To ensure the quality we want, we've decided to push the release out of 2006 to allow for extended testing, feedback and game balancing." We were impressed with the Quake Wars LAN demo at this year's E3, so it should be pretty solid by the time it ships.
Political FPS puts 360 in the crossfire
,Ann Coulter and Michael Moore finally have a reason to stop bitching and pick up a controller. The people who brought the ambitious failure known as Advent Rising to the original Xbox are developing a new FPS that imagines our current piquant political situation devolving into full blown Civil War. Like Advent, the story of Empire is based on a novel by sci-fi author Orson Scott Card, who apparently watches a lot of cable talk shows. Here's the book description from Amazon:The American Empire has grown too fast, and the fault lines at home are stressed to the breaking point. The war of words between Right and Left has collapsed into a shooting war, though most people just want to be left alone. The battle rages between the high-technology weapons on one side, and militia foot-soldiers on the other, devastating the cities, and overrunning the countryside. But the vast majority, who only want the killing to stop and the nation to return to more peaceful days, have technology, weapons and strategic geniuses of their own.In my fair and balanced view, the console climate is poisonous enough without throwing ideologies in the mix. But then, who hasn't watched The O'Reilly Factor and wanted to frag somebody. Oh yeah, the tanks on the cover of the novel look like they're from Halo. Bring it on!
