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The 'Narcos' game is coming to PC and consoles in November
If you've liked Narcos enough to wish you could step into its (frankly terrifying) world of drug lords and DEA agents, you'll soon have your chance. Curve Digital and Kuju are releasing their long-in-the-making Narcos: Rise of the Cartels game on November 19th for PC and PS4, November 21st for the Switch and November 22nd for Xbox One. The tactical, turn-based title revolves around the first season of Netflix's show and has you siding with either Pablo Escobar as he builds the Medellin Cartel or the DEA agents (and Colombian government) trying to take him down.
A 'Narcos' video game is on the way for PC and consoles
A video game version of Pablo Escobar could grace your monitors, asking a poor guy whether he prefers "plata o plomo" (silver or lead), as soon as next year. Narcos producer Gaumont has forged a deal with British game publisher Curve Digital to develop a video game adaptation of the hit Netflix series. Curve's sister company Kuju -- some of its better-known titles include Art Academy and Marvel: Ultimate Alliance -- will be doing the actual development, but it's still unclear what kind of game the adaptation would be.
Silent Hill: Downpour studio Vatra Games 'under review' for closure, 'no decisions have yet been made'
Silent Hill: Downpour's Czech Republic-based developer Vatra Games is "under review," according to a statement from UK-based parent company Kuju Entertainment. The statement comes after a damning tweet from former 2K Czech employee David Semik stated, "Vatra Games RIP," though Kuju contends that "at this stage, no decisions have yet been made."Vatra is said to be working on a non-Silent Hill game following this year's Downpour. Eurogamer Czech was told the project is akin to Darksiders or God of War-style action games. It's unclear if that project will continue, or how long Vatra has before hearing of its fate. Downpour received mixed reactions from critics. The studio's only other game thus far has been Rush 'n Attack: Ex-Patriot. It was formed by several ex-2K Czech employees in 2009.
Kuju closes Manila branch, integrates kid-focused studio
UK-based Kuju Entertainment has confirmed to Develop the closure of its Manila studio and the integration of another studio into its Zoë Mode brand. The studio in the Philippines had developed Circus Games for the Wii, but it appears the big top wasn't expected to make big money, as the publisher concluded that "prospects for further titles of this type are limited." Kuju's kid-friendly studio, Nik Nak, which opened in late 2007, has been "integrated" into Zoë Mode, which has offices in Brighton, London and San Francisco. The Nik Nak studio had produced Dragonology, originally intended as a Wii title, which was then "remade as a DS title." Mega break-out studios these were not. Source -- Kuju confirms Nik Nak studio merger [Develop] Source -- Kuju to close Manila studio [Develop]
Burn Zombie Burn! now available on Amazon
Are you looking for a way to give your PS3-owning friends the gift of zombie immolation, but desire to do so on a tight budget? Look no more, dearest reader: Doublesix's undead-roasting twin-stick shooter Burn Zombie Burn! is now available on Amazon for $9.99. We imagine the game's sales will increase exponentially once Amazon starts recommending it to people shopping for Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Or people shopping for the soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever.
Burn Zombie Burn! gets custom soundtracks, YouTube sharing
Rock Player Rock! Kuju and doublesix have released a patch for the PSN-exclusive Burn Zombie Burn! enabling in-game custom soundtracks via music stored on the PS3's hard disk. This update also draws on Sony's development libraries to integrate video recording and uploading to YouTube into the game. (We're still scratching our braaaaains over why more developers haven't done this.)Boot up the game and the patch will automagically install itself, along with a trailer for the game's upcoming expansion, Burn Zombie Burn! In Space. We're guessing the action takes place inside of spaceships or space stations, since, despite decades of movies and TV shows teaching us otherwise, fire doesn't exactly do so well in a vacuum.
Zoe Mode expands to US, takes along two Sony vets
From Brighton, to London, and now San Francisco, Kuju Entertainment's Zoë Mode studio (developer of You're in the Movies, Crush and Rock Revolution) is ever-expanding. All this, despite initial foreboding that hovered over its parent company earlier this year.At the helm of the new US Zoë Mode office in San Francisco are two former SCEA employees: US SingStar Senior Producer Sarah Stocker and former EA/SCEA employee Mark Danks. With a team like this, it seems likely that this new ZM studio will have a strong focus on music games, although ZM worldwide general manager, Ed Daly, told GamesIndustry.biz: "In addition to the increasingly crowded singing and dancing, peripheral-based music games, we are interested in exploring some new territory." Aw, and we were so looking forward to Rock Revolution 2.
Burn Zombie Burn dev praises PSN for allowing closer consumer communication
Open for nearly two years at this point, Kuju-owned, digital distribution-focused doublesix studios has begun to get a foothold in the burgeoning digital landscape. Speaking with GamesIndustry.biz this week, studio head James Brooksby said he and his studio prefer the direct consumer communication offered when working with the PlayStation Network over Microsoft's Xbox Live."We listened to what people were saying and ... it will have features that people have asked for ... [when] we do our first expansion pack [it'll be] actually tailored according to what people are looking for," Brooksby said, noting, in his work with XBLA on the upcoming Southpark game, that Microsoft handles the community communication all by it's lonesome. "We're developing it for them and it's their relationship to take to the consumer and carry on," Brooksby says of the company. Though considering the recent closing of Microsoft's Gamerscore Blog, we're betting that relationship will fall more into the hands of the developer/publisher as time moves forward.
Get ready to scream 'Burn Zombie Burn!' March 26 on PSN
March 26 will be the day when Burn Zombie Burn! unleashes total carnage and lets us smash zombies in yet another training simulator preparing us for the imminent apocalypse. The arcade shooter is the latest game from British-based Kuju's downloadable game studio, doublesix. BZB is set "across six classic American-horror movie inspired levels," with gameplay that'll instantly remind folks of classic arcade quarter guzzlers like Total Carnage and Smash TV. Get a better idea of the zombie hoard you'll be facing off against by checking out the video after the break.
Economy Wars: Galaxies
We fear that this deal will sell out in the time it takes for us to get the post up, but it's a risk we're going to have to take! Geometry Wars: Galaxies is Amazon's Deal of the Day, dropping for today only to ten damn dollars. In these harsh times, we understand that some of us can't drop even ten dollars on unexpected impulse purchases. If you are safely in possession of enough disposable income to bring some awesome shooty action home -- and if you've got plenty saved up -- you could do a lot worse than to throw a little bit of money towards some awesome portable shooty action! Our post image is an encore from a previous Geo Wars sale post. Eric's image was just so perfect that we wanted to highlight it once again! %Gallery-11043%
Rumor: Kuju zombie shooter 'Redwood Falls' shelved
Infected monkeys not withstanding, games about the undead are all the rage, which is why we're puzzled at UK-based Kuju Entertainment's apparent decision to shelve Redwood Falls. According to PlayStation Universe, the Battalion Wars dev has taken a shotgun to the upcoming PS3-exclusive zombie shooter, a representative from the company reportedly telling the site that "the game itself is on hold."First demoed during the Japanese Play UK event in 2006, Redwood Fall's chief gimmick was the ability to rip opponents to shreds with gunfire, with bodies reacting in a believable manner to being torn apart. Honestly, we'd like to be more broken up over this news, had the game not completely fallen off of our radar like a dismembered limb. Even so, we're following up with Kuju, and will update if we find out more.
Gaming to Go: Geometry Wars: Galaxies
Who knew Bizarre Creations had a hit on its hands when it created the original Geometry Wars so many moons ago? I certainly didn't, though that might be due in part to my complete lack of one of those other consoles. Since its original inception on Microsoft soil, the Geometry Wars series has seen a number of different incarnations, a particularly enjoyable one of which is available for everyone's favorite handheld. Geometry Wars: Galaxies also saw a release on Nintendo's white waggle box, though the infinitely more portable version is what I'll be covering in this week's edition of Gaming to Go. Haven't experienced the geometrical madness yet? Come along and see why playing with shapes on a two-dimensional grid is far more entertaining than it sounds. %Gallery-11043%
Kuju impressed with Battalion Wars' progress in Japan
If you keep up with Japanese hardware and software sales, you may have noticed an unexpected game in the top ten these past two weeks. Said game is none other than Battalion Wars 2, the tactical action title that's one of our favorites here at Wii Fanboy. Normally, software that's considered "western" doesn't fare too well in the East, but Kuju London's creative director Tancred Dyke-Wells thinks differently about BWii (called Famicom Wars VS in Japan). "I have the impression that a certain western exoticism plays a part in attracting attention to the title," Dyke-Wells told GamesIndustry.biz. Yet, if you've ever played or seen BWii, you'll know that it has more charm and softer aesthetic than most of the games from the West that Japan is used to seeing. It's this combination that Dyke-Wells thinks Japanese gamers found most appealing.Since we love it so much, we're definitely happy to see Battalion Wars 2 do well in Japan. In total it has only sold 40,000 copies as of the end of May, but that's probably indicative of stock more than anything. Hopefully the game sees more weeks of success, as it's certainly deserving.
Geometry Wars: Galaxies price's volume decreases by a third
We've gone over why Geometry Wars: Galaxies was worth its full $30 price several times already despite its cheaper Xbox Live Arcade predecessor -- portability, a robust campaign, a cooperative mode, touchscreen support, drones, etc. Now that the game has seen a universal price drop, bringing its retail price to $19.99, right in that budget-title range, you'll have a tougher time arguing that the added features aren't worth the price. Basically, if you're a fan of multi-directional shooters and if you have twenty bucks just laying around, pick this up! %Gallery-11043% See also: DS Fanboy Review: Geometry Wars: Galaxies [Via CAG] Read - Geometry Wars: Galaxies at GameStop Read - Geometry Wars: Galaxies at Amazon
Battalion Wars 2 drops to even lower price
The price for Battalion Wars 2 keeps on dropping on Amazon -- first it fell to $32.99, and now you can pick it up for $25.83. Not that we're complaining. Any chance to pick up a good game cheaply is okay by us. We're especially glad that this price qualifies BWii for Amazon's free shipping (by eighty-three cents).This isn't Amazon's "Deal of the Day," so we don't know how long this pricing will last; make sure you take that into consideration when you debate whether or not to jump on this sale.%Gallery-4966%[Via GoNintendo]
Kuju goes west, opens casual studio in America
Developer Kuju opens new studios like most of us open Twinkies, though with less tearing of cellophane and swallowing of delicious creme filling. Since March 2007 the UK-based company has opened up three new specialized branches, including kid-friendly Nik Nak, online-focused doublesix, and Sheffield-based Chemistry, which looks to Epic's popular Unreal Engine as its tool of choice. Now Kuju has added yet another studio to its collection with Kuju America, a new San Francisco office focused on the casual games space. Kuju's North American face is already pounding out code for its first title, which it describes on its website as a "high profile IP," something that doesn't mesh all that well in our brains when thinking of games with a casual flair -- though the company teases that more information is "due to be announced soon." It's worth noting that Kuju America is a licensed dev for the PS3, PS2, Xbox 360, Wii, and DS. On the one hand, it's hard to get too excited about anything with so little to go on. On the other hand, however, we sure could go for a Twinkie.
Geometry Wars: Galaxies drops to $20
Even with its new multiplayer mode, single-player campaign, and game-changing features (e.g. customizable drone), Geometry Wars: Galaxies is a hard sell for the people comparing the DS's $30 update to the original $5 download on XBLA. Meijer's $19.99 online sale for Galaxies is still a lot more expensive than five bucks, but when you consider all the extra content Kuju Entertainment threw in, that price doesn't sound bad at all. Besides, the DS version has a huge advantage over the old and crusty XBLA release that you shouldn't forget: portability! [Via CAG]
Children-focused dev Nik Nak creating Ology games for Wii
Since announcing plans to re-imagine Templar Publishing's popular Ology series of children's books as video games last October, Codemasters has kept mum on the project, stating only that the first title in the series, Dragonology, will ship for the Wii and Nintendo DS during the second half of this year. Now Kuju's recently formed studio Nik Nak has confirmed that it is handling not only the development of Dragonology, but the follow up Wizardology as well. Nik Nak's efforts only extend to the Wii versions of the games, which are expected to take a more action-oriented approach to the material, so we're left to guess on whose lap the DS versions will fall.Details remain scarce on the titles, though Nik Nak notes that the games will "tap into children's insatiable appetite for all things magical and mythical," and that the Wii remote will make them accessible to both new and seasoned gamers alike. Accessible, sure, but will the waggle-enhanced gameplay make learning about dragons or casting magical spells more fun?
War! Huh! Yeah! What is it good for? $32.99!
This isn't as enormous a deal as last Friday's Brawl preorder but at least you can make this purchase without worrying about Wal-Mart sending you a confirmation email for an order cancellation you never requested.For today only, Amazon has Battalion Wars 2 on sale for $32.99 (free Super Saver Shipping). If you've been putting off buying the online-enabled shooter/strategy title, why not pick it up now while it's cheap? These bargains for first-party-published games don't last long, though, so grab it now before Amazon kicks it back up to $49.99.[Via CAG]
Possibly the most impressive Geometry Wars video you'll ever see
Bill Tangeman clearly has a pretty high tolerance of cramp, if his highest score on Geometry Wars: Galaxies is anything to go by. But what really gets us about the above video is that he could have gone on and on and on and on and Ariston, until he developed Carpal tunnel syndrome reached whatever score he damn well pleased. As it happened, he was happy to settle for a piffling 5,000,000,000, a total that saw Bill top the regional Galaxies leaderboard. We're slightly dismayed to learn there's a difficulty ceiling in the game, but it's safe to say that we're quite a distance from breaking it. [Via Aeropause]
