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Sniper Elite 3 devs talk multiplayer, co-op, custom guns
What the above Sniper Elite 3 trailer lacks in gory, X-ray killcam footage of exploding Teutonic skulls, it makes up for in clear, concise discussion of the joys of stalking Hitler's goons with the aid of a friend. [Image: 505 Games]
Sniper Elite 3 primed for some sharpshooting in the summer
Sniper Elite 3 is coming to North America in a few months' time, starting June 27 on PC, and July 1 on PS4, Xbox One, Xbox 360, and PS3. Rebellion's summer of sniping kicks off outside of North America on June 27, and that date is for all platforms. The game's summer release aligns with the baking hot sands of its North African setting, where OSS Agent Karl Fairburne is searching for secret German tech that could help the Allies win World War 2. Sniper Elite 3 is Rebellion's first game for the new consoles, so that means it's aiming to include plenty of technical improvements, including even more bone-shattering gruesomeness in the X-ray Kill Cam. If you're interested in a pre-order, you may be swayed by a bonus mission that speculates on the death of one Adolf Hitler. Fairburne is sent to investigate the Libyan town of Tobruk with orders to take down the Fuhrer - but is it Hitler, or just a double? That's the question posed by the pre-order "Hunt the Grey Wolf" content, but whatever happens, we'd prefer not to have the murder of Charlie Chaplin on our conscience.
Sniper Elite: Nazi Zombie Army games coming to consoles
UK-based developer Rebellion announced that its Sniper Elite V2 spin-off Nazi Zombie Army are coming to consoles after a successful debut last year on PC platforms. "We can't say much yet but it won't just be a re-package of the first two games - there will be plenty of new content to get stuck into," Rebellion CEO Jason Kingsley said. "We're not at the stage where we can confirm the platforms right now, but we're fortunate to have experience already from self-publishing on Steam and mobile, so we're confident it'll go smoothly." Rebellion notes that Sniper Elite: Nazi Zombie Army and its sequel Nazi Zombie Army 2 collectively sold more than 500,000 units worldwide over the last year. Both Nazi Zombie Army games are on sale for 75 percent off until March 3 on Steam and through March 7 via Rebellion's Gamestore. [Image: Rebellion]
Steam to Ground Control: MoonBase Commander has landed
Just because NASA doesn't go to the moon anymore doesn't mean you can't. MoonBase Commander, the 2002 turn-based strategy game from Humongous Entertainment, is now available on Steam. Even better news, it costs significantly less than a real-life NASA-sponsored space ride: $6 gets you your very own moon base to command. Humongous Entertainment still exists today, but no longer owns the rights to MoonBase Commander; that honor now belongs to Aliens Vs. Predator developer Rebellion. Now you know who to thank for allowing you to launch probes and combat rival factions via turn-based gameplay. We think we'll call our base "Moon Unit Zappa." [Image: Rebellion]
Sniper Elite: Nazi Zombie Army 2 crawls from the grave later this year
Sniper Elite: Nazi Zombie Army was released in February as an entertaining off-shoot of the staid Sniper Elite V2, but the idea of re-killing fascist corpses from afar proved such a hit with fans that developer Rebellion has announced a sequel. "We really wanted to heighten the demonic, nightmarish tones of the first game," said Rebellion's head of creative, Tim Jones. "The environments, the levels, the soundtrack all give a strong feeling of descent - each encounter, each level becoming progressively more hellish. Most importantly though, we've expanded the legions of Nazi undead with some really intimidating new enemies which we'll reveal soon." The game is currently slated for release on the PC "later this year." A console port is possible, but without a publisher backing the project Rebellion's best hope lies in the promised self-publishing initiatives of the Xbox One and PlayStation 4. "We have to admit, we underestimated the demand for the original game. All of sudden we had console gamers desperate for us to port the game to 360 and PS3, but without a publisher this just wasn't feasible. We left a lot of Sniper Elite fans disappointed," stated Jones. "They didn't want to hear excuses from us, they just wanted to play it". "As an independent, we're obviously really excited about what we're hearing from Sony and Microsoft when it comes to self publishing on PS4 and Xbox One. We think the series could be a great fit for them."
Report: Sniper Elite V2 Wii U missing online co-op
Citing Miiverse player reactions, Nintendo Life reports that the recently released Wii U version of Rebellion's sniping sim Sniper Elite V2 lacks online cooperative play. The Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC versions of Sniper Elite V2 allowed players to team up with partners online in order to take on the game's campaign missions. Previously released ports also included cooperative Kill Tally, Bombing Run, and Overwatch modes, all of which are reportedly absent from the recent Wii U release. Sniper Elite V2's Wii U port additionally lacks downloadable content released for older ports. Rebellion CEO Jason Kingsley previously confirmed that the Wii U version of Sniper Elite V2 would not ship with DLC bundled on-disc, though the company has not announced plans to release Wii U add-on content at a later date.
Sniper Elite V2 scopes out Wii U tomorrow
An enhanced Wii U version of Rebellion's sniping sim, Sniper Elite V2, is headed to retailers tomorrow, offering up a collection of platform-exclusive tactical options. Announced back in February, the Wii U edition of Sniper Elite V2 uses the console's GamePad by giving players an in-game map and quicker access to weapons and equipment. Players can additionally use the GamePad to tag and track enemies, mark traps, and predict the blast radius of planted explosives. The Wii U port also features off-TV GamePad mirroring, in case the rest of your family doesn't want to watch you shatter skulls.%Gallery-188866%
Sniper Elite 3 'expected in 2014' on PS3, Xbox and next-gen platforms
A third entry in the Sniper Elite series is coming to Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and next-gen platforms. That's according to a financial press release released in January by the parent company of 505 Games, the Milan-based Digital Bros. We asked 505 Games why everyone missed the fanfare for its new shooter."We were hoping the news would remain quiet within the Italian financial community until we could formally announce the game which we plan to do soon," a company representative told Joystiq. Sniper Elite 3 is "expected in 2014" from independent developer Rebellion, which owns the Sniper Elite franchise.According to the original financial release [PDF], Sniper Elite 3 "will have an impact on the Group's revenues for FY 2013-2013 of 28.6 million Euros (approximately $37M USD)." The release states that Sniper Elite V2 – which launched in 2012 for the PC, Xbox 360, and PS3 – "gained worldwide success around 1.1 million copies and 28.6 million revenues sold since the April 2012 launch to the end of December."Update: 505 Games has confirmed to Joystiq that Sniper Elite 3 is also in development for PC. [Sniper Elite V2 pictured]
Sniper Elite: Nazi Zombie Army breaks out Feb. 28
Sniper Elite: Nazi Zombie Army is filling that world-war-undead void when it comes to Steam on February 28. Rebellion's self-published standalone shooter is designed for single-player or co-op for up to four players. It introduces new close-quarters weapons to Sniper Elite, like shotguns, but also falls back on the series' trademark long-distance mechanics. On the zombified side, would-be soldiers can expect to face enemies which include "roof-jumping snipers" and "Nazi suicide squads."Nazi Zombie Army is priced at $14.99/£9.99/€10.99, but you can lop 20 percent off that if you pre-purchase it on Steam. %Gallery-178841%
Sniper Elite V2 takes aim at the Wii U for a spring release
Wii U owners can steady their aim because Sniper Elite V2 is definitely coming to the console. Rebellion's World War II-based stealth marksmanship game, which took out PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 last year, is coming to Nintendo's new console this spring. The GamePad screen will be used to tag and track enemies, mark booby-traps, and scrutinize explosives' blast radii.Developer Rebellion is scheduled to reveal even more news this month, with a teaser pointing to the possibility of an undead horde coming to the Sniper Elite franchise. The trailer promises more details on February 14.
Rebellion teases new project, looks like Sniper Elite with zombies
Rebellion, developer of Aliens vs. Predator, NeverDead and Sniper Elite V2, is announcing a new project next month. The studio has offered a few details about the project, including the above trailer. The trailer info offers an apt description: "Footsteps quicken in the fog. Although the lone gunman's pace is swift the growing echoes of shuffling never slacken. They come.""One man is utterly alone amidst the chaos of war," it adds, "but there are worse things to fear than bombs and bullets here." The project will be fully revealed on Valentine's Day (appropriate!), with Rebellion promising that PC players will soon see "just what is in store for those brave enough to venture into the 'Totraum'. Heil Gotterdammerung!" A quick search reveals that totraum is German for "dead space." Gotterdammerung, meanwhile, is the German translation of Ragnarok, the end of the world.We'd speculate further, but the logo shown at the end of the trailer pretty much seals the deal. It's the Sniper Elite V2 logo, with the "V2" replaced by an inverted pentagram. So, wild guess, it's a Sniper Elite game with zombies.
Fanmade mod combines Sins of a Solar Empire chocolate with Mass Effect peanut butter
Sins of a Solar Empire is an award-winning RTS space battle game, and Mass Effect is an epic action RPG universe with enough lore to fill a library. What happens when you smash the two together in the particle accelerator chamber that is a fan-created mod? You get Mass Effect: Dawn of the Reapers, a full conversion for Sins that lets you command ships like the Normandy against various Mass Effect-inspired units, including those of the Geth, Volus, and Cerberus' ships as well.There's lots more planned for the mod, including even more races and ships designed straight from Bioware's epic series. Unfortunately, the mod itself isn't available to the public just yet, and the release of Mass Effect 3 pushed it back for some more lore and spec tweaks. Still, when it's available it will work with both Sins' Diplomacy expansion and the standalone Rebellion version as well.
Rebellion sues Stardock for its use of the word 'Rebellion'
It's a strange day for Stardock when we say this is the second-weirdest lawsuit involving the company that we've seen today, but it's true. UK developer Rebellion (makers of the 2010 Aliens vs. Predator game) has decided to sue developer Stardock (publisher of Sins of a Solar Empire) because of the name of the latest Sins of the Solar Empire expansion, Rebellion. The court documents say that Rebellion (the studio) has a trademark on that word, and accuse Rebellion (the game), of causing customers "to mistakenly believe that the developer of the game Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion is in fact plaintiff Rebellion."The developer of the expansion is actually Ironclad Games. But the lawsuit claims that from the logo and game name to a YouTube description for the game (mentioning "the developers over at 'Rebellion'"), Stardock knowingly profited off of the "Rebellion" trademark.The litigation asks for Stardock to be enjoined from selling the game any further, to turn over any infringing materials, and for both damages in the case as well as the court and attorney's fees. Presumably, the complaint will next go in front of a Michigan judge, who will then decide on whether or not the issue can move forward.
Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion sells 100K, breaks Stardock records
Stardock has announced that Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion, the latest stand-alone expansion of the acclaimed RTS hit, has broken company records and become its fastest-selling release to date. The game has sold over 100,000 units since its launch last month, which is not only a solid number for any indie game but also beats the first 30 days of the original Sins of a Solar Empire.Though the original Sins was also released at retail, Rebellion was not, and the digital plan ended up working better than any of the company's PC retail releases. Stardock's CEO, Brad Wardell, said he believed that selling the game on Steam would take sales away from other channels, but Steam sales of the expansion "didn't cannibalize its GameStop or direct sales."Releasing digitally had other benefits as well, like letting Stardock announce the release at the last minute. Wardell says both of Stardock's other games this year, Elemental: Fallen Enchantress and Political Machine 2012, will follow the same launch plan.
Mass Effect 3 'Rebellion Pack' DLC live on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC 'soon'
Xbox 360 owners will find the Rebellion DLC pack available for download in Mass Effect 3 right now. The Rebellion pack is free to those who have activated their Online Pass and adds a new objective type, two new maps, and three new playable characters to the multiplayer side of BioWare's latest RPG.PC and PS3 owners will have to wait for Rebellion. Chris Priestly, BioWare's community guy, says that it'll be available on those platforms "soon." We'll be sure to update as soon as BioWare reveals new details.
Sniper Elite V2 demo coming next month
Sniper Elite V2 publisher 505 Games has told Joystiq that a demo for Rebellion's upcoming reboot is scheduled to arrive in April, one month ahead of the game's May release. The demo will be made available on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, though "the final date is not yet scheduled," the publisher told us.A PC version of Sniper Elite V2 is also in the works, which will be self-published by Rebellion. Reps for the game tell Joystiq a demo for the PC is also planned for "sometime next month."There's no telling what the demo will include, but Joystiq's recent preview should give you a good idea of what's in store. Sniper Elite V2 -- and its Kill Hitler pre-order bonus -- launches on the PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 on May 4.When asked if the bonus would be made available as premium DLC in the future, a rep told Joystiq the developer has yet to determine the content's fate following launch. Our guess is Rebellion will give everyone a shot at the world's most hated man at some point -- it's just a question of cost.%Gallery-151767%
Targeting the Axis powers in Sniper Elite V2
I walk into a large conference room late, having dealt with a parking lot maze. As I enter, I spot a television well into a demo -- a bullet ejects from a Springfield rifle, time slows following it to an enemy, and cuts through a Nazi soldier like a chainsaw through a stick of butter.Reps from developer Rebellion and publisher 505 Games are huddled over the monitors, showing off Sniper Elite V2, a reboot of Rebellion's 2005 Sniper Elite for PC, PS2, Wii, and Xbox. The demo, I'm told, had only just started. "We get right into the action," a PR spokesperson tells me. But the action in Sniper Elite V2 isn't about quick progression through its Battle of Berlin setting -- it is methodical.%Gallery-151767%
Sega's Shogun 2 expansion leads the charge on Origin
Sega's PC games have been available on Steam and other internet portals for some time, and are now on the way to EA's Origin service.Starting today, folks can pre-order the upcoming Total War Shogun 2 expansion, "Fall of the Samurai," and more content will follow in the coming weeks. Beyond the Japanese publisher, Origin added Team 17, Rebellion, Kalypso, "and more" to Origin today, and their games will start showing up "in the coming months."
Zynga welcoming Konami, Rebellion, and Playdemic to Zynga.com
Zynga is expanding the reach of its newly launched Zynga.com platform, with VP of platform partners Rob Dyer telling attendees of a GDC 2012 talk this afternoon that Konami, Rebellion, and Playdemic will all be contributing titles to Zynga's recently launched web portal. Moreover, Dyer teased Konami's game as a "stealth project" that will "debut soon."No word was given on the other projects from Rebellion and Playdemic, but we're following up for more info. Like, right now.Update: This piece originally speculated that the title was Metal Gear related, due to its "stealth" wording; however, Zynga PR tells us what the wording really means is that Konami is working on the project "quietly." With the project coming "soon," it shouldn't take too long to find out exactly what Dyer's carefully worded speech was referring to.
DmC art and screens show what happens when you're raised by demons
Capcom's latest batch of DmC assets and info provides insight to the past of this mysterious brunet Dante -- he grew up alone, shuffled between various institutions, orphanages, youth-correction facilities and foster homes, most of which were operated by demons who took pleasure in torturing their young ward. Unsurprisingly, Dante hates demons and authority and he uses his hybrid human-demon abilities to fight for the "little guy," as Capcom puts it.The photos -- which you can peruse below -- display design concepts for Dante and his weapons, Ebony & Ivory and Rebellion, and show them in use against a few demons in a shadowy Las Vegas-esque setting. We don't want to jump on the "Dante looks like a girl" bandwagon (because he totally doesn't... most of the time), but wearing a tank top, from behind, those curves can be deceiving. Just like he wants it.%Gallery-149211%
