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'Halo' developer hints it could revive a scrapped Mega Bloks game
Lately, there's been a lot of buzz around footage PtoPOnline posted of a scrapped, Mega Bloks-themed Halo action game. Why did it get the axe when its mix of shooting and construction looks like a blast to play? You're not about to get that exact title, but you might see something like it in the future. In a news update acknowledging the leaked game (known internally as Project Haggar), current Halo developer 343 Industries has said that there may be a game "along these lines" as a result of all the "positive support and feedback" from fans watching the Mega Bloks clip.
Skylanders: Swap Force swaps next-gen release date, out tomorrow
Skylanders: Swap Force will launch tomorrow on PS4 and Xbox One. The Activision-published action game was initially expected to arrive at each console's launch, November 15 for PS4 and November 22 for Xbox One, respectively. We were impressed with the current-generation version of the game, as our review noted that the game's "main quest is straightforward but challenging on the higher difficulty levels, and its optional content will keep older fans hunting for secrets long after the credits roll." It's a safe bet that the toy-wrangling game will operate similarly on PS4 and Xbox One.
Skylanders: Swap Force tags in four new characters, trailers
Activision has released a quartet of new trailers featuring the latest playable additions to the cast of Skylanders: Swap Force, giving an early look at some of the game's figure-swapping possibilities. Above, you'll get an early look at Boom Jet, an engine-propelled Air character capable of firing volleys of rockets at enemies. Like other Swap Force Skylanders, Boom Jet's base can be removed and attached to other swap-capable figures, giving their in-game counterparts the ability to hover over rough terrain. A trailer for fellow Swap Force initiate Grilla Drilla can be seen below, along with preview videos for the new core (non-swappable) Skylanders Slobber Tooth and Zoo Lou.
Skylanders Swap Force debuts worldwide this October
Activision announced that its kid-friendly action-adventure sequel Skylanders Swap Force will launch worldwide in October. As part of today's announcement, the company also added PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions of Swap Force to its multiplatform lineup, joining previously announced ports for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U, Wii, and Nintendo 3DS. The Skylanders series allows players to summon playable characters via collectible toy figures. Skylanders Swap Force introduces a new series of toys that can be split in half and reassembled for unique mix-and-match ability combinations. Figures released for previous Skylanders games are also compatible with Swap Force. Series creator Toys for Bob is taking a break for this year's Skylanders release. The console versions of Swap Force are helmed by Vicarious Visions, who previously tackled the 3DS port of 2011's Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure. The Nintendo 3DS version of Swap Force is being developed by Heroes of Ruin creator n-Space, while developer Beenox is working on the Nintendo Wii version. Skylanders Swap Force will launch in North America on October 13, Australia on October 16, and Europe on October 18.%Gallery-190681%
Skylanders Swap Force assembles this fall, developed by Vicarious Visions
Skylanders proprietors Toys for Bob will step aside for the latest franchise installment, Skylanders Swap Force. Vicarious Visions is handling development this time, which Activision says will allow Toys for Bob the space and freedom to come up with their next thing.The main toy gimmick of Skylanders Swap Force is simple: 16 new special figures have inter-connecting torsos and bottom halves. Once you've combined two pieces, you place the resulting amalgam on the portal to realize your creation within the game. I replaced the tentacle-laden bottom half of a squid with the electricity wheel of a robotic Skylander, making my new squid-machine hybrid much more agile. Tentacle feet aren't an ideal form of transportation on land.Skylanders Swap Force is still early in development, so I wasn't able to see much in the way of gameplay – there was only one small area and a miniboss encounter, and it was a hands-off demo. Vicarious Visions has added jumping, though, one of the most requested features missing from the last two games.Of course, Skylanders Swap Force is compatible with all the previously released Skylanders figures. Swap Force will also present 32 new core Skylanders figures – 16 are new and the rest are updated versions of older figures. Considering the potential of lost halves, Activision tells me its customer support team will be ready to help replace or otherwise assist with any issues the new figures incur. The Skylanders Swap Force starter pack will come with a copy of Skylanders Swap Force, the new portal, two Swap characters and one standard Skylander. Old portals from Skylanders and Skylanders Giants will be incompatible with Swap Force.Skylanders Swap Force will launch on the Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U, Wii and 3DS. The Wii version is being developed by Beenox, while the 3DS version is coming from n-Space.%Gallery-177993%
Skylanders franchise up to $500 million retail sales in the US alone
The United States loves Skylanders to the tune of a whopping $500 million of retail sales, as announced by Activision this morning. Based on recently released NPD data, US boys and girls (and US older boys and girls) can't get enough of the action-RPG games and those oh-so-lucrative accessory packs and figures.$195 million of those retail sales come from Skylanders Giants and its associated retail products alone; the game only arrived on retail shelves just under three months ago. Maybe that figure isn't so startling when you consider the game brought with it an estimated $500 worth of new figures to collect. While Giants certainly did respectably in December's NPDs, coming in 8th on the month's best-sellers chart, it's clearly the accessory packs and figures which have brought in the big bucks.
n-Space co-founder: Heroes of Ruin sales disappoint
Developer n-Space was hoping to bring a dungeon-crawling audience to the 3DS with its ambitious Heroes of Ruin, released earlier this year on June 26. But that audience never showed up, according to co-founder Dan O'Leary. "We're not satisfied with the sales," he says in a recent interview. "The 3DS attach rate is... challenging at best and it seems that, for all its promise, Heroes of Ruin did not appeal to enough of the installed base."O'Leary says the team is proud of its work and wouldn't mind returning to the genre, but also that sales likely won't justify a sequel anytime soon. Meanwhile n-Space is still hard at work, putting together the portable version of Skylanders Giants for Activision, as well as the 3DS version of RollerCoaster Tycoon 3D. And O'Leary says the company has had Wii U development kits for a while, so there may be something brewing along that front in the future.
Rollercoaster Tycoon 3DS admits thrillseekers on Oct. 16
Rollercoaster Tycoon 3DS has finally gotten its release date. Starting October 16, Atari will put roller coasters all up in your face and allow you to build and trade parks via StreetPass. Europe and Australasia will get their turn on October 26.The 3DS Rollercoaster Tycoon game has been something of a mystery. Initially announced as a 2012 release, it was quiet for most of the year, with developer n-Space offering no indication of an official launch date as recently as July.The 3DS game features first-person coaster rides, of course, as well as a new "Coaster Story" mode that takes players through both tutorials and challenges wrapped up into a narrative.
Heroes of Ruin wrecking shop on June 26
Heroes of Ruin will bring co-op dungeon crawling to 3DS on June 26, Square Enix announced today. If you want a chance to play it before then, Square will exhibit the game at PAX East this weekend.If you want a less hands-on preview, the above video introduces the "Alchitect" character class, whose name is not a typo.
Heroes of Ruin strikes a pose
The latest trailer for Heroes of Ruin does some slow pans over the environments and characters of the 3DS dungeon game. But after those moments of fantasy cold lampin', stuff gets pretty chaotic.
Rollercoaster Tycoon takes a thrill ride to 3DS in 2012
The latest Rollercoaster Tycoon game will let you manage an amusement park, build the craziest coaster you can imagine, and then get super sick while riding it virtually. That's because it's for 3DS, and thus has the ability to immerse you in a stereoscopic 3D roller coaster experience. Developed by n-Space, the 3DS version of the classic PC franchise includes Coaster Creator as well as a "compressed" form of the traditional amusement park operation simulation. The "Coaster Story" mode delivers a series of park challenges as part of a storyline. "Park Sandbox" allows you to just build the park however you want, and share your creations with the system's "advanced networking capabilities." StreetPass park trading, perhaps? Atari will release Rollercoaster Tycoon 3D sometime next year. Stock up on Dramamine.
Heroes of Ruin in heroic motion
In time for Gamescom, Square Enix has finally shown the first footage of n-Space's 3DS co-op action RPG Heroes of Ruin. The trailer is loaded with gameplay footage, revealing a slightly exaggerated aesthetic and a slightly unfortunate framerate -- which, we should note, could quite possibly change between now and the release next year. In the current landscape, this game is notable for being a third-party 3DS game, period. It's a nice bonus that it looks like it could be fun with some friends.
Modern Warfare 3: Defiance heading to DS from mobile CoD vets, n-Space
The scrappy contractors at indie dev N-Space are once again creating the Nintendo DS version of the latest Call of Duty, this time titled Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3: Defiance. The DS game -- which we will never again refer to by its full, double-coloned name -- was discussed by Activision Social Media Manager Dan Amrich on his One of Swords site. This marks the fifth CoD-branded project being completed by the stuidio for Activision. Meanwhile, IGN discovered the "Defiance" subtitle, and spotted an especially interesting note on N-Space's Facebook page that offered a bit of explanation as to why Defiance isn't being made for Nintendo's newest handheld. "You guys all need to understand that we make the games we are hired to make," a company representative said. "It is not our call to decide which platforms to support. Obviously we are big 3DS fans and supporters as we have three titles in development." Defiance will likely arrive around the same time as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, on November 8.
Heroes of Ruin officially announced for early 2012 release
We got a slight heads-up about Heroes of Ruin a couple of days ago thanks to developer n-Space. Now, Square Enix has decided to spill the full complement of beans regarding the co-op action RPG for 3DS. Starring "four unlikely heroes" (presumably the four hero-looking people seen in the artwork), Heroes of Ruin features drop-in, drop-out co-op for up to four players locally, and connectivity for both StreetPass (which builds a shop out of items found by other players) and SpotPass (which provides "rare items or unique challenges" through discovered wi-fi hotspots). Players discover " new layouts and routes each time they play," suggesting the presence of randomly generated dungeons. Descend into our gallery to find the first screenshots. Heroes of Ruin is scheduled for an early 2012 release.%Gallery-124874%
Square Enix and n-Space tease 'Heroes of Ruin' for 3DS
Developer n-Space (Geist, the Call of Duty DS games) posted some art to Facebook related to a 3DS game called Heroes of Ruin, which it's evidently making for Square Enix -- and then pulled the image. The developer didn't offer any additional info, but the artwork suggests a fantasy setting with some modern-ish technology (like handguns!) It also suggests giant cat-men. A picture of four fantasy-type characters fighting makes us think of Gauntlet or other co-op dungeon adventures, but that's just speculation. For real information -- like what exactly a "Hero of Ruin" could possibly be -- we must wait, either until E3 comes or Square Enix decides to tell us. In the meantime, find the full image past the break.
GoldenEye 007 vignette totally wrecks St. Petersburg
Our favorite part of Goldeneye 007 -- the movie and N64 game -- was when James Bond, tired of his usual stealthy modus operandi, hopped into a tank and just went to town on St. Petersburg. In the video below, we get a look at this (somewhat more explosive) sequence in the game's spiritual Wiimake.
GoldenEye 007 dev diary introduces the new Bond's stuntman
Back in our day, the mo-cap process for GoldenEye 007 required a single shot of a dude chopping his hand in a 90 degree arc. Apparently, the remake requires a bit more work than that. Get to know the new Bond's stuntman in the developer's diary posted just below.
N-Space 'down, but definitely not out,' announces layoffs
Developer N-Space, perhaps best known for the GameCube title Geist, is working on DS versions of both Call of Duty: Black Ops and GoldenEye 007. A company working on high-profile names like those doesn't seem like a likely candidate for financial troubles. That's exactly what CEO Dan O'Leary announced on the developer's blog this weekend, though he declined to offer a significant number. The reason for the layoffs (which left N-space "down, but definitely not out"): a deal with an (unspecified) licensor fell through, and no other publishers were found to help support the company's ongoing projects, which include "7 titles this year (plus an iOS game we'll be announcing next week), 5 of which were approved in September." O'Leary lamented the changing state of the games industry in his message. "Huge budget titles have to sell massive numbers to return a profit and the App Store has disrupted our industry in the same way iTunes changed consumer expectations for music. People that use to buy many games every year now buy a few AAA titles, supplementing their need with games that are free or cost less than a pack of gum. Anything in the 'middle' is struggling." That "middle" includes the Wii and DS, where N-Space releases the majority of its products. The 3DS, he said, is "a brave new world the publishers are excited about but also very cautious to enter."
GoldenEye 007 DS preview: 'A thinking man's FPS'
Developer n-Space has been responsible for the DS installments of Activision's biggest FPS franchise, Call of Duty. With handheld versions of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, World at War and Modern Warfare: Mobilized under its belt, the studio is readying for its next release, the DS version of GoldenEye 007, which will launch alongside the Wii remake on November 2. Last week, I chatted with creative director Ted Newman and played a bit of GoldenEye 007 on the DS.%Gallery-102043%
Goldeneye multiplayer trailer and screens take us back
"A new Goldeneye has arrived," the trailer below matter-of-factly states, "so what are you going to do?" That, Mr. Trailer, is an awfully open-ended question. We imagine we'll stick to our usual routine of waking up at noon, then turning on whatever television station is currently running an America's Next Top Model marathon, but -- oh, we see. That's one of those rhetorical questions. We're supposed to say "multiplayer, of course," and then you show a bunch of clips from Goldeneye 007's multiplayer component. Sorry for the confusion. Check out some new-but-familiar maps (hey, it's the Facility!), guns (hey, it's the RCP90!) and features (hey, it's Paintball Mode!) in the trailer posted after the jump. Or, if you're interested in the game's single player campaign for some reason, you can check that out in the nifty galleries posted even further after the jump.
