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Insomniac's 'Fuse' likely to be a reworked 'Overstrike'
With Insomniac president and CEO Ted Price obliquely teasing an unknown project called "Fuse" during his PAX Prime 2012 keynote last week, it wasn't too difficult to put together the teaser image he produced and the teaser video released last year (above) for EA Partners project Overstrike. Price wouldn't admit as much to us during a followup interview last week, but he didn't really need to."I'm gonna point you to Fusegame.com," Price answered when asked about Overstrike's long absence from the public eye. Is it still a current-gen game (it was originally announced for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3)? He wouldn't say. When directly asked whether Overstrike and Fuse are the same game: "I'm being cagey here because I want to be consistent with how we're answering these questions," he said, deferring to his PR manager.The PR man offered a bit more than Price would. "We're very deliberate in what we're showing right now, and that's why we're just pointing people to the website and saying, 'Hey, this is a process. We're going to share more information with you, stay tuned.'" That said, why in the world would the two guys be pointing us to a website for Fuse when we're asking about Overstrike? The answer seems pretty clear to us.Price additionally refused to answer whether Fuse is an EA Partners project – Overstrike is an EA Partners-published four player co-op game.Unsurprisingly, Game Informer is also positing that Overstrike is now named Fuse, calling it a "reworking" of the originally announced concept (what that means is up to your own interpretation). We'll presumably find out for sure when the Fuse website's countdown clock runs out in another seven days.And wouldn't you know it, there's an upcoming Insomniac press event offering hands-on time with an unannounced game. Sounds like we'll find out what the mystery is all about soon enough.
Take this code and go play the Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault beta
The next Ratchet & Clank – Full Frontal Assualt – isn't just the usual third-person platforming and shooting affair we're all so used to from Insomniac Games. Well ... it still has all that stuff, it's just also got a thorough base defense aspect the developer is hoping you'll beta test ahead of Full Frontal Assault's "fall" launch.That beta, as it turns out, is going on right now (through next week). We've got some codes for you going out on our Twitter feed, and we've also got a link to this handy site where you can procure your own, should your hands not be speedy enough to catch a code otherwise.Oh, also, the image above is full of codes that totally work (albeit for probably a super limited time). So there's that.
'Fuse' teased by Insomniac CEO
Details are seriously lacking, but Insomniac Games founder Ted Price announced something called Fuse at PAX Prime today.All the info we have right now on the game includes the screenshot above and an 11-day countdown clock.The man in the Fuse image is wearing a similar suit to that of a character from Insomniac's previously announced game Overstrike. We haven't heard anything about that game in over a year. So, this could just be a name change. We should have more details later Pacific time.
Insomniac and EA's Outernauts begin Facebook exploration today
Outernauts, the adventure RPG from developer Insomniac (Ratchet and Clank, Resistance series) and publisher EA, launched today on the solar system's most used social networking site. The game sounds like Facebook Pokémon, as players "capture and train exotic alien beasts for battle.""By bringing the breadth and elements of console gaming to a social game, we hope to give our fans – both old and new – a unique gaming experience on Facebook," said Insomniac founder Ted Price.Go ahead and try out the game now while your teacher or boss is distracted.
Sony: 'No definitive plans' for Resistance series, no games currently in the works
The folks who created the Resistance series, Insomniac Games, are no longer working on it. This much we know. But what of Sony? The Japanese publishing giant owns the intellectual property rights to the Resistance series – as evidenced by the recent release of Resistance: Burning Skies on Vita, developed by Nihilistic – but is it planning on any more series entries? "We have no definitive plans," Sony Computer Entertainment Europe producer Daniel Brooke said in a recent interview.That isn't to say the series is done, of course. Brooke's full answer was, "The Resistance franchise has been exciting to work on, but as for the future we have no definitive plans," which sounds an awful lot more couched to us than straight up saying the series is done with. Considering Sony's five games deep on the franchise and the latest entry was billed as a sell-point for the Vita, we're not counting out Resistance just yet. After all, those Chimera are awfully dexterous.
Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault is Insomniac's next PSN game, arriving this fall
Ratchet & Clank are heading once more into the space breach, this time waging a "Full Frontal Assault" against space crabs with gatling guns, it seems. Insomniac head (and general nice dude) Ted Price took to the US PlayStation Blog this afternoon to announce "Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault" for PlayStation Network, alongside plans to launch the game "this holiday season."Aside from the artwork you see above and the logo we've dropped in the gallery below, Price offered few details on the game. He said it'll be a "fun-sized" R&C title (like Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty before it), and that the game will return to "the series' classic feel, camera, controls, and weapons, while innovating and giving you a whole new way to play." What that means is another question altogether. Price also said that the game will feature online co-op, but kept details similarly slim.%Gallery-156436%
'Resistance: The Trilogy' pops up on Amazon France with May 16 launch
Normally when we report on retail listings outing a game, said retail listing is quickly pulled down to avoid embarrassment. In the case of Resistance: The Trilogy, well, apparently Amazon France isn't too concerned. A listing – one that's still live as of this writing – for just such a game popped up on Amazon France, spotted by UK site CVG.The listing puts a May 16 launch date and a €59.99 ($79.99) price tag on the unannounced bundle, which we're guessing means a May 15 launch here in North America (and a likely $59.99 pricing). You've probably already guessed as much, but the product listing confirms the trilogy as a repackaging of the three Resistance titles already available for the PlayStation 3. With such a revealing product page, we expect to hear something more official from Sony as the day goes on. We've reached out regardless in the meantime.
Insomniac reveals canceled 1080Pinball, 'the most realistic pinball simulation ever'
Insomniac has posted a timeline entry on its Facebook page detailing a pinball game it worked on, but never released. 1080Pinball was the name attached to the project-in-progress, and one of the featured tables was named Captain Starfire, after the handsome chap above. You can see what looks like an in-game screenshot on the official timeline post, along with some concept art.The blurb says the game was designed to be "the most realistic pinball simulation ever," complete with actual material physics and graphics running at in 60fps at 1080p (as you might have guessed from the title). There was also going to be a "Gran Turismo level of progression," designed to build as much replay value as possible.This, says Insomniac, also explains the whole (pin)Ballz phenomenon, and the company's fascination with pinball in general. The developer will discuss the abandoned game on a future podcast. As for whether it'll ever return, Insomniac says, "The Zen Pinball games do a fantastic job anyways."
Ratchet and Clank HD listed on Amazon France
A Ratchet and Clank HD Collection was spotted and pulled from Amazon France. Eurogamer grabbed an image of the listing before the takedown, which had a May 16, 2012, launch date.Since this is the Ratchet and Clank HD Collection, we take it to mean it includes the original game, Going Commando and Up Your Arsenal. It'd be a bonus if Deadlocked -- the Jak X of the series -- were also included.Ratchet and Clank being MIA from all the HD collections that Sony's been pushing out over the years has been a little odd. Anyway, none of this HD collection talk is official until Mr. Zurkon says so. Mr. Zurkon has the last word on everything.
Resistance 3 trailer delivers 'Brutality'
Sneaky Chimeran forces. Don't worry if you were caught off guard by the launch of Resistance 3's "Brutality" DLC -- we were all a little bit surprised a couple days ago. Check out the above trailer for what can be found in the $4 bundle.
Resistance 3 'Brutality' DLC is totally metal, coming today
For the elite cadre of people who have discovered and loved Resistance 3, some new downloadable content is on the way ... today! Revealed just yesterday on X-Play (watch the video here), the co-op "Brutality" DLC includes a new survival-based scenario in a "darker" version of the main game's Wales locale. To help you deal with the "ongoing onslaught of Grims," as Insomniac CEO Ted Price put it, you'll have the assistance of the Sledgehammer. That's not a codename for some kind of missile -- it's an actual sledgehammer. Helping to darken the setting even further is a seven-song soundtrack provided by metal band Mastodon. "But wait," you say. "Isn't metal totally anachronistic for a game set in 1957?" Of course, it would be, if the characters heard it. Also, all metal musicians are actually aliens. Somewhere in the back of your mind, you already knew that. No human can play drums that fast.
Resistance 3 patch adds new maps, tweaks performance and Move functionality
Insomniac Games tweets that it's patching Resistance 3 today with a free update that will bring two new maps to the game. Patch 1.05 will add a sixteen player map called Creek and a four player map called The Granary to the title, both available to players for free after the patch is downloaded and installed. The patch also adds performance updates, improved team balancing, and makes sure that players who have hit level 60 can now unlock any and all equipment and abilities. There's also a tweak to make the Leaper Corpse a little easier, and Move functionality has been tweaked to work better.
Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One dev diaries show off a small team, big game
Insomniac Studios may have some explaining to do for its recent release, Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One -- and they're happy to do it. In a series of three developer diaries, the Insomniac team behind All 4 One explain how being small can still make a big game great, all while having what looks to be a fun time. That's what really matters, anyway -- that someone, either developers or players, have fun with the game. But only one of those groups can enjoy it; after all, that's what it's All 4.
Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One review: All 4 Naught
Compromise. How much is a person willing to compromise their Ratchet and Clank gameplay expectations for a linear "co-op" title? This is the fundamental question anyone familiar with the series must ask themselves before delving into the jejune experience of Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One. Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One had to make several sacrifices for the sake of a multiplayer-focused experience. The first victim is my use of the words "co-op" or "cooperative campaign" in this review: From the outset, All 4 One is all about competition. Players are passively taught to just rampage through the game, blasting every crate of bolts and snatching up every collectible animal they see before the other players get their grubby hands on them. %Gallery-125572%
Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One broadcasts opening cinematic
Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One's opening cinematic is highlighted by the series' trademark humor and polished animation. The clip also conveniently plays over the game's installation process, so that's a nice distraction for those who pick up the game today.
Ratchet and Clank All 4 One trailer pits the team against Octomoth
No, Octomoth is not some kind of Voltronesque union of a dozen robotic moths -- in Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One, it's actually more of a squid than a moth. But hey, on a world where there's practically no gravity, we can't possibly expect the moths to look like Earth Moths.
Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One against a boss
This clip of the Z'Grute boss battle from the upcoming Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One gives a pretty solid idea of the teamwork required to survive. We hope your friends and family can be this coordinated.
Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One trailer is all about the single-player experience
Cooperation is paramount in Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One, seeing as how it's a four-player co-op experience. And in keeping with that theme, we ask that you co-operate with us by watching this latest trailer. Or don't. Either way, all we ask is you follow our every word as law.
Resistance 3's first DLC dubbed 'Survival Pack,' adds Invasion mode to multiplayer
Resistance 3 may be dropping today for PlayStation 3, but it won't be long before Insomniac adds to the multiplayer portion with downloadable content, the "Survival Pack." Arriving on October 4, the Survival Pack injects "Invasion Mode" into R3's multiplayer section, as well as a handful of skins and a "static XMB theme," for $3.99. "Invasion" is said to be a team-based resource management iteration of R3's multiplayer, forcing teams to control various capture points on the map to earn points (or die trying). And if that doesn't get your mid-20th century heart all aflutter, keep in mind that two brand new (and totally free) multiplayer maps will also be released on October 4 alongside a patch.
Interview: Insomniac finds its voice with Resistance 3
Our glowing preview of Resistance 3 in July left many of us at Joystiq wondering how exactly Insomniac evolved its big-budget, if far from best-in-class, shooter from simple spectacle to what our own Justin McElroy dubbed "spectacular." In our review earlier today, Griffin McElroy wrote, "Resistance 3 isn't just a great game full of marked, inspired improvements over its predecessor -- it's a declaration of intent to become the new heir apparent to the sci-fi shooter throne." When I had a chance to talk with lead designer Drew Murray last month, I decided to tackle that issue head-on, and ask if he considers that kind of praise a back-handed compliment. "I'll take those kinds of back-handed compliments any day," Murray enthused. OK, the coast was clear. Five years on from the original Resistance, a PlayStation 3 launch title and the studio's first first-person shooter in a decade, players would be right to expect significant growth from the team and for Insomniac, that meant struggling with what exactly Resistance, as a franchise, is. "I think with Resistance 2 we swayed towards what everyone was doing," Murray explained. "I think with Resistance 3, we said, 'Let's take a look at what works well in Resistance 1 or Resistance 2 and what works well for the Resistance franchise and not worry about what everyone else is doing. We're going to do things that aren't necessarily mainstream decisions, but this is what's right for the Resistance franchise.'"
