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GC 2008: Red Alert 3 cast not likely to be taken seriously
The thing about camp, i.e. the utter failure of seriousness, is that it's often difficult to judge whether it's intentional or not. The live-action cutscenes populating EA's (and Westwood's before that) Command & Conquer games have always had an aura of sincere goofiness about them, the source of which can be traced to somewhat respected actors playing all-too-silly roles all too seriously. But is this done on purpose, or did the director read about "tongue-in-cheek storytelling" in a review somewhere and just decide to go with that? Either way, we're more than happy to see EA unveil a "star studded" cast (complete list after the break) for Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3, which includes George Takei, Tim Curry and J.K. Simmons, who plays the "anti-communist U.S. President." Simmons, who doesn't give a wooden nickel about your legacy, thinks video games "are one of the new frontiers for actors" and thought of the role as a "great opportunity for a character actor like me to have some fun." Also allowed to open her mouth in the press release: Jenny McCarthy, who plays Allied commando Tanya. "What I realized is Red Alert 3 is not just a video game, it's absolutely an interactive movie. This is where the people at home get to move the story forward, and where seeing the plot thicken is a reward for a job well done." In case you weren't aware, "that's really cool."Red Alert 3 is out on Xbox 360 and PC this fall in both regular and Premier editions.
GC 2008: The Sims 3 hitting real and virtual shelves on Feb. 20, 2009
EA has announced that February 20, 2009, will mark the rather momentous occasion of stereotypical gamers finally venturing into the brightly lit outside world ... in the game. It's the day The Sims 3, the latest interactive simulation of an annoying, fickle, selfish and lazy race of creatures, will be distributed -- both physically and digitally -- to a bunch of annoying, fickle, selfish and lazy creatures. If you'd like to append "supercilious" to that list of adjectives, you should consider purchasing The Sims 3 Collector's Edition, which will include an exclusive in-game "Italian-style" sports car for you to maneuver through your envious neighborhood (no wonder those floating diamonds are green). Also included in the package will be a Sims Plumbob USB drive, a tips and hints guide, The Sims 3 Plumbob stickers and, oh yes, the game.%Gallery-18710%
GC 2008: Crysis cost $22 million, next Crytek engine due 2012
Speaking at the outset of this year's Leipzig Games Convention, Crytek boss Cevat Yerli revealed that the developer's graphical tour de force, Crysis, cost an estimated $22 million to create. Yerli has previously lamented the effect piracy has had on the title, but reiterated that it's still recouped the development costs, saying, "If it wasn't profitable I wouldn't be able to stand here."Best known for their stunning visuals, Crytek's game engines are also guilty of bringing even the mightiest of gaming PCs to their knees. While the upcoming, heavily-optimized Crysis: Warhead promises a significant performance increase even on mid-range systems, Crytek is already cooking up its next GPU melter, which Yerli says should be ready by 2012. That's when he anticipates GPU tech making the next major leap in its evolution; until then, he expects fellow developers to focus more on what they already have to work with, by means of stylized graphics and hardware accelerated physics.Source – Crysis cost 22 million to make, IGNSource – Crytek: New engine in 2012, IGN
GC 2008: Latest Resident Evil 5 trailer terrorizes Leipzig
We hope you're ready for a face full of freshly, um, zombified zombies on film, because that's exactly what Capcom has delivered at the Leipzig Games Convention. This new, entirely in-game trailer for Resident Evil 5 doesn't show too much that's especially new, but it's worth taking note of the vehicle chase sequence and hey ... is that another mine cart level?Click on the video above and you'll get a peek at playing as Chris Redfield's female sidekick, Sheva Alomar, along with some oh-so-brief snippets of various (we presume) über-important cutscenes. Sure, it may be more RE4, but is that really so awful – especially when it looks this scary-good?
Stargate Worlds will be on display at Leipzig train station
European Stargate fans take note: Stargate Worlds will be making an appearance at the Leipzig Games Convention in -- you guessed it -- Leipzig, Germany. As was the case earlier in the summer at Comic Con, Firesky/Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment have some special stuff planned.The team will be "taking over" the Leipzig Train Station, where they'll be showing "the latest" gameplay trailer (we don't know if it'll be new or not, but presumably, right?) and giving away various stuff, including t-shirts and dog tags. Apparently the prizes will be given out by "Stargate commandos." People in uniform, perhaps? Also, Studio Head Dan Elggren and marketing guy Kevin Balentine will be on site to promote the game and talk to the press.The Stargate franchise has always been popular in Europe -- especially in Germany, so we know there are a few of you out there who'll want in on this. And with that subsidized airfare, getting there might be almost affordable, right?
Wrath of Lich King cinematic debuting at Leipzig
Blizzard announced today that World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King's opening cinematic will premiere at the Leipzig Games Convention. The clip will be shown this Thursday, August 21, at 1PM German standard time (7AM Joystiq time).We'd speculate about what Blizzard has in store for a big reveal at Blizzcon, but with Diablo 3, Starcraft 2 and WoW in play, who knows what the company could announce. We'll see what happens on October 11.[Via WoW Insider]
Nintendo not attending Leipzig, may return for Cologne '09
Nintendo has decided to opt out of the 2008 Games Convention in Leipzig, Germany; a show which attracts over 150,000 attendees. Website Nintendo Revolution translated the German press release which states the big N will instead focus on local events and a national promotional tour during the second half of 2008. Nintendo made sure to note the decision in not attending is not a criticism of the convention.Nintendo has not made any comment on whether it will attend the 2009 Games Convention when it moves to Cologne, Germany, and turns into GAMESCom. We'll have to see if Nintendo's withdrawal will affect attendance numbers when the Games Convention is held for the last time in Leipzig this August.
