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Electronic Arts' GDC game lineup
Among other things, EA is bringing some pretty big guns to GDC in March. They'll be speaking about Sims on the Wii, seeking new IPs and other stuff. Aside from those, though, the following are listed as confirmed to show up: Crysis Hellgate: London Mercenaries 2: World in Flames The Orange Box (this has Half-Life 2: Episode 2, Portal and Team Fortress 2 in it) Oh, did we mention? These won't be on the show floor. Seems they're only for super-secret, special people. Oh well. We're sure stuff will get leaked about them no matter who is or isn't allowed.
Mercenaries 2 co-op and grappling hook revealed!
The other week, we wrote up a little ditty on Mercenaries 2: World in Flames and we talked about what you could expect when the game hits shelves later this year. What we couldn't tell you were the online plans for the title and certain gameplay elements that were being kept mum. Well, apparently there's been a leak in the system and we've learned a bit about both.As far as online gaming goes, there will be an online co-op mode similar to Gears of War where one player invites another into an existing game and they tackle campaign missions together. You can still recruit NPC's for extra support, so don't feel like it's a two-man mission... even though that would make it more exciting.A new gameplay element, the grappling hook, has been revealed also. This little puppy has a multitude of uses: flooring enemies, scaling buildings, hijacking cars, commandeer helicopters, shoot it on a speeding boat and go skiing... you name it.That's all else we've learned for now. We'll keep bringing you more information as it surfaces. Oh, wait... there are pirates. They sell you stuff. Pirates are always welcome in any game. Along with ninjas... but never together.
Mercenaries 2: some questions, some answers
So, we're aware that Mercenaries 2 has found a publisher in Electronic Arts, moving away from their original publisher, LucasArts. At least they're staying "Arts"-y. Yeah, that one was bad... apologies. Anyway, a recent Q&A was put into action about the new title. Here's what's worth knowing: A completely new next-gen engine was built for this sequel. Also, as Pandemic Studios President Josh Resnick gracefully put it: "Aside from dealing with the scale and detail of next generation games, the engine has a fundamentally different architecture to deliver a much bigger open-world experience. The sheer number of things that you can grab, shoot, drive, fly and blow-the-crap-out-of is astonishing." The original "deck of 52" device used in the first game has been set aside, opting for a new story and mission progression system. Pandemic Studios is remaining mum on online multiplayer! It hurts! Pandemic plans to have a more challenging title this go around and will keep actual gameplay time up to snuff with competing "open-world" titles. The setting? Venezuela. That's it for now. This seems like it'll be a pretty fun title, so long as it doesn't become a generic Grand Theft Auto meets Burnout meets Crackdown meets that atrocious Domino movie. Absolutely awful.
EA to publish Mercenaries 2, still PS3-only
How long was Pandemic's Mercenaries 2 to press on without a publisher? After LucasArts tapped out following a promising first round, it looked as if the BioWare-Pandemic conglomerate might go it alone, but then, from above, a bulging mass cast its thick shadow over the bustling Los Angeles studio. Megapublisher EA had arrived. It was time.Pandemic has announced that EA will publish Mercenaries 2 through its EA Partners program. The game has been tossed into a tentative holiday 2007 release window and remains confirmed for PlayStation 3 only -- despite a growing archive of evidence that suggests otherwise.
Mercenaries 2 on Xbox 360? IGN thought so, but changed mind
Pandemic won't come out and say it -- but the tape displayed it. And now IGN has inflated it. "It" being the rumor that Mercenaries 2 is also being developed for Xbox 360 (the game's already confirmed for PlayStation 3). Are we still calling this a rumor?At the end of its roundtable discussion with Pandemic, IGN posted the obligatory plug for the developer's forthcoming game, originally writing (as captured by Xbox 360 Fanboy), "Keep an eye out for their next release, Mercenaries 2, coming to Xbox 360 and PS3, as well as some cool announcements in the coming months." IGN has since revised that sentence to read: "Keep an eye out for their next release, Mercenaries 2, as well as some cool announcements in the coming months." So was the original posting a typo? Or had IGN accidentally blown the lid off one of those "cool announcements"?
Mercenaries 2 for 360, more from Pandemic [update 2]
Update 2: IGN has revised the paragraph again, and has reinserted the phrase claiming the title is coming to both PS3 and Xbox 360. What's going on over there?Update 1: Looks like someone at IGN spoke a little too soon. The paragraph claiming that Mercenaries 2 is coming to the Xbox 360 has been removed.After noticing some 360 peripherals in the latest Pandemic developer video, many were led to believe that Mercenaries 2 was headed to the Xbox 360. Pandemic hasn't been shy about the possibility, but as yet no official announcements have been made. We're not sure if this is official, but IGN has now stated that the game is definitely headed to the Xbox 360. The remark is located at the tail end of an interview with Pandemic: "Keep an eye out for [Pandemic's] next release, Mercenaries 2, coming to Xbox 360 and PS3, as well as some cool announcements in the coming months." IGN may have made a mistake there, but we doubt it. So there you have it, it looks like Mercenaries 2 is definitely headed to our favorite curvy, white box.The interview itself is actually pretty interesting, too. The subject is the importance -- or lack thereof -- of graphics in new gen games. 360 fanboys will quickly zero in on a quote concerning the PS3 vs. the Xbox 360. Coming from Pandemic's Morgan Jaffit, "If you look at the on-paper specs, the PS3 doesn't have this mythical, untapped reservoir of power. There's been a lot of talk about that, but it doesn't seem to be there." He does, however, go on to say that it's possible that the PS3 may eventually have an advantage (apparently he didn't talk to Mr. Gates)But let's not dwell on fanboy bickering. The important thing is that Mercenaries 2 is coming to 360. It's Mercenaries 2! Hooray, Mercenaries 2![Thanks, Ricardo]
Mercenaries 2 devs spotted with 360 gear
Back in July, there was a rumor going around that Mercenaries 2 (only announced for PS3) would be heading to the Xbox 360. Via our friends at Xboxygen, we have uncovered more fuel for that particular fire. In Pandemic's latest Mercenaries 2 developer blog video, there are clear shots of both an Xbox 360 dev kit -- look for the 360 with a huge hard drive in the background -- and a developer holding a 360 controller. Of course, it's possible that the developers are working on some other secret project for the 360. However, given their previous open minded statements, we think it's fairly safe to assume Mercenaries 2 is going multiplatform. Hit the "read" link to watch the video, and remember to keep your eyes peeled.[Via Xboxygen]
Mercenaries 2 on Xbox 360: a tale of the tape
Either the developers of Mercenaries 2 play a lot of Xbox 360 in their downtime, or Pandemic is bringing its sandbox sequel to Microsoft's console. The chances are strong, even by admission, but Mercs 2 remains exclusively tied to PlayStation 3 -- for now. So guys, care to explain all the 360 equipment cluttering the office in your latest video blog? Perhaps it's time for the official announcement...[Via GamersReports]
Mercenaries 2 uses 30% of PS3, but is that a surprise?
The official Mercenaries 2 board has been hopping lately and the lead designer, Scott Warner, has addressed many question, a few of which are interesting. The first to strike a "hmm, neat" chord was this tidbit: " There will be an initial load when you pop the Mercs 2 disc in but there will be no loading in the game world itself." Hooray! Loading sucks. Especially when trying to cross to a different side of the city in, say, the Grand Theft Auto games. No load times is good news. While unrelated, the only other game boasting little or no load times is the PS2 RPG, Rogue Galaxy. Looks neat for those Skies of Arcadia lovers (imagine... pirates, but this time, in space!).Now to address the subject line. Scott has admitted, "We estimate that we are currently only tapping around 30% of the PS3's potential power." But... Mercenaries 2 looks pretty nice already! Is this really news, though? Look at the first titles on most any system and compare them to titles a year later. There's a huge difference. Heck, just compare Final Fantasy 7 to Final Fantasy 8. Or... Halo to Halo 2? Not as good an example... whatever. The point is -- Sony's initial titles are already on par with competition graphically and a year behind. Granted the 360 isn't at optimum potential (usually happens at the end of a console's life), but with so much room to improve, we're all in for a treat! And a war! Look for Mercenaries 2 sometime in 2007.
Pandemic "definitely considering" Mercenaries 2 for Xbox 360
In a recent conversation with IGN, Pandemic spoke about the possibility of Mercenaries 2: World in Flames coming to Xbox 360. "Right now, we have PS3 development kits and it's on PS3, and there is no announcement, but we're definitely considering Xbox 360. There is still a lot of time and we haven't ruled the Xbox 360 out," a representative told IGN.Interestingly, Pandemic still has not secured a publisher for its sandbox sequel. Perhaps the asking price (for publishing rights) is too high for an IP that Pandemic will continue to own and a game that -- for the time being -- is only destined for one platform. Expect an official announcement in the coming months.
