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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.
F.E.A.R 360 P.R.E.V.I.E.W
EuroGamer has some info on F.E.A.R 360's "instant action" mode: It's not just for kicks though - the better you do, the better your end-of-level or post-death stats, which you're given on an analysis screen afterward. Not only that, but the game computes a final score for you and uploads it to Xbox Live leaderboards, which ought to encourage a bit of competition. Vivendi's also talked about "brand new multiplayer content created to fully utilise Xbox Live" so it's a fair bet Live will be employed for more than boards, too - although whether F.E.A.R. 360 will make use of the content recently added to the PC version, including new Control game-modes, is something Vivendi hasn't got anything to say about right now. More to come, presumably. Those of us with under-powered PCs are counting on this port to deliver what our aging rigs cannot. [Thanks 8BitNinja]
F.E.A.R. confirmed for 360 this fall
We already knew it was coming, but Vivendi finally let us know that they know that we know and officially confirmed Monolith's spooky FPS. The port was originally anticipated due to developer Monolith's other creepy FPS, the Xbox 360's Condemned: Criminal Origins, having a similar code base to F.E.A.R. When Condemned was ported to PCs, the logical assumption was that F.E.A.R. could be ported to the 360. The port is being handled by "Chicago-based Day 1 Studios, who worked on both MechAssault and MechAssault 2: Lone Wolf" and is due out this fall and will be on display at E3 next week. We'll let you know if the graphically demanding title appears to be making the transition smoothly.
Is F.E.A.R. coming to the 360?
The latest Electronic Gaming Monthly floats the rumor that Monolith's eyeball-popping FPS, F.E.A.R., may be headed for the Xbox 360 in 2006. Apparently the title shares more than a passing similarity to Monolith's other creepy FPS Condemned: Criminal Origins, it also shares some underlying technology. So, the logic goes, much of the legwork of a port has been done already, so what do they have to F.E.A.R.? (That was bad... we know.) F.E.A.R.'s graphics engine garnered much praise on its release, so a jump to the 360 should prove the mettle of Microsoft's console. See Also: Joystiq Review: F.E.A.R. (PC
Joystiq hands-on: Condemned (Xbox 360)
The surprise hit of Tuesday's exposé was Sega's Condemned: Criminal Origins. To bring you up to speed, the game pits you as an FBI agent on the hunt for a deranged serial killer that likes to pose his victims with mannequins. Taking a page out of DOOM 3, the game unfolds in darkness. Luckily, you've got a flashlight, which has the habit of fading out now and again, but at least you can wield a weapon while it's in use. I played through the opening level, which teaches you the game's mechanics and sets up the plot (don't worry there won't be any big spoilers in this post). The game has a nice cinematic touch to it, almost like you're playing through a game adaptation of Se7en. In the first sequence you arrive at a crime scene and are greeted by a detective that leads you into an abandoned building. You follow him through a series of dark corridors as he babbles on about this and that-the truth is, it's hard to pay much attention to what the detective is saying since you're distracted by the darkness. At one point the detective turns into a room and just as you are about to follow, you catch some kind of movement in the shadows down the hall. "What the #*$@ was that?!" I asked the rep sitting next to me. "Exactly," he said.
Joystiq hands-on: Xbox 360--the games
I'm slowly recovering from a 10-hour date with the Xbox 360. For an event that offered free non-stop gaming-true, it was invite only-the number of attendees (on Tuesday) was shockingly sparse; but the room did start to fill up once cocktail hour rolled around. Needless to say, I was free to hop from station to station and get down n' dirty with the following titles (listed alphabetically): Call of Duty 2 Condemned: Criminal Origins Dead or Alive 4 The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Kameo: Elements of Power King Kong NBA Live 06 Need for Speed Most Wanted Perfect Dark Zero Project Gotham Racing 3
Sega announces Christmas line-up
Sega's cashing in early on the pre-christmas hype machine with a list of eleven games it hopes will be given as gifts this coming December. The most notable announcements are Virtua Tennis for the PSP (so you can go out and play tennis on a screen whilst sitting ironically close to real tennis courts), Spartan: Total War for PS2, Xbox and GC as well as Condemned for the upcoming Xbox 360. Full Auto, a promising high octane racer from the line-up of Xbox 360 games, unfortunately won't be making the holiday season. It's been pushed back into early 2006. Now remember to be good little children or else Sega will go all Santa on your ass and replace the DVDs with coal! Hohoho! [Thanks, JamesO]
The new *unofficial* Xbox 360 launch lineup
Electronics Boutique (EB) has released a questionable list of 21 launch titles for the Xbox 360-presumably to be released on November 2nd. The list (via IGN) includes: Amped 3 (2K Games) Call of Duty 2 (Activision) Condemned (Sega) Dead Or Alive 4 (Tecmo) Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda) Final Fantasy XI (Microsoft) Full Auto (Sega) Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter Gun (Activision) Kameo: Elements of Power (Microsoft) Madden NFL 06 (EA) NBA 2K6 (2K Games) NHL 2K6 (2K Games) The Outfit (THQ) Perfect Dark LE (Microsoft) Project Gotham Racing 3 (Microsoft) Quake 4 (Activision) Ridge Racer 6 (Namco) Saints Row (THQ) Tony Hawk's American Wasteland (Activision) Top Spin 2 (2K Games) Also included in the initial list released by EB, were three games that will definitely not be ready by launch: The Godfather, Too Human Part 1, and Burnout Revenge. However, Perfect Dark and Kameo have been confirmed as day one launch titles-there is still some question about PGR3. EB expects each game to retail for $59.99, except for Kameo ($49.99), but these prices are not final. One final note, EB has listed Halo 3 for a July 1, 2006 release-can you say, PlayStation 3?
Condemned: Criminal Origins to be delayed past Xbox 360 launch day
The anticipated Xbox 360 horror game Condemned, from Monolith and Sega, has had its release date pushed back past the launch day of the next-gen console. The title was originally speculated to be a launch title but now Xbox Circle is claiming it won't be out in time due to the official release date being announced as the winter of 2006. The game has been billed as having a "heightened level of psychological tension" with the use of the first person to give "maximum visceral effect". This basically means it'll be a scary game with plenty of hacking and slashing. Rather than using your brain, you'll be trying not to get it shot/eaten/smashed by sociopaths that have more in common with zombies than humanity. Sounds like Sega are giving us gamers a break whilst we mentally prepare ourselves for the game over Christmas. [Thanks, Casper] Update: Looks like somebody somewhere slipped up as the Condemned section on the Sega site has been altered. It now shows Condemned as shipping "Holiday 2005". Prepare to be scared! (Thanks to Joe Waters over at Monolith for the correction)
Xbox 2 and PlayStation 3 screenshots revealed in Game Informer
It isn't every day that a mainstream publication comes out and declares some screenshots to be from the next generation of consoles. Sure, you have some hints in Gamespot about Elder Scrolls IV and The Godfather, but there's always this sense that the images could be from the PC version too. Well, not this time. Game Informer is coming right out and saying it. These are next gen console shots. The game is called Condemned, by Sega, and it looks pretty freaky. But a little "current-gen" PC, to be honest. So here they are. What do you think? We may need to see the magazine up close to make the call. [Thanks Josh!]
