rebellion
Latest
Rumor: Star Wars Battlefront III goes home to Pandemic [update]
Update: According to Pandemic community manager Mathew Everett, the studio is not currently working on Star Wars Battlefront III. Star Wars Battlefront III has been jumping developers like a frog on a hotplate. First under development at Free Radical, the title was then supposedly moved to Rebellion. Now that Rebellion is hard at work on Aliens Vs. Predator, the latest rumor has the game right back at square one: Pandemic. The rumor comes from website DarkZero, which claims that it received the news directly from a Rebellion employee.It would make sense, given that Pandemic was responsible for the first two games. Considering the studio also just pushed Lord of the Rings: Conquest out the door, its Batman title was canceled and the only other project we know about is Saboteur, Pandemic doesn't exactly have a full plate.
Sega pits Aliens vs Predator on 360, PS3 in 'early 2010'
Announced at a Sega event in London today, the "all-new" Aliens vs. Predator (that's a working title, folks) will mark the return of Rebellion, developers of the 1999 game of the same name that Sega calls a "legendary title that went on to define an entire generation of multiplayer gaming." But all this excitement doesn't come cheap: "With the opportunity to publish what promises to be a landmark game, SEGA has strategically updated the release of the other upcoming Aliens titles currently in development within its portfolio." We'll translate that for you: you won't be seeing Gearbox's Aliens: Colonial Marines FPS and Obsidian's is-that-still-in-development Aliens RPG anytime soon. CEO of Sega West, Naoya Tsurumi, explains, "By adjusting the release of our other Aliens titles to accommodate [Aliens vs. Predator], SEGA will ensure that every title lives up to the high expectations of Aliens and AvP fans." We've asked Sega to clarify the delay (it's just a delay, right?) of both previously announced titles. Is Aliens vs. Predator "the first to launch in a series" of AvP games, or "the first to launch in a series" of Aliens games, including the previously announced two?[Update: Sega got back to us, and said simply, "We'll have more news on the other games in the future. Today we are concentrating on the Rebellion partnership announcement." Anyone out there have any details on either game they'd be willing to share, we're all ears!]
Former Free Radical employee leaks original Star Wars: Battlefront III renders
Former Free Radical employee Richard Smith has uploaded original renders created for the company in 2007 as part of the production for Star Wars: Battlefront III to his personal blog. The very early renders include images of Han Solo and Sahra The Bounty Hunter. Smith, along with over 75% of his coworkers, was recently laid off from as the developer attempts to sell its studio. Free Radical had previously developed the TimeSplitters series and the poorly received PS3-exclusive Haze.According to a report on Videogamer.com, an unnamed inside source has told the site production of Star Wars: Battlefront III has been taken from Free Radical Design and placed in the hands of Oxford-based Call of Duty: World at War (PS2) developer Rebellion who also developed the 1999 sensation, Alien vs. Predator.%Gallery-40253%
Shellshock 2 goes all gritty in Vietnam ... with zombies!
There are a few times the use of Lynyrd Skynyrd's classic track "Free Bird" are not cool to use. Showcasing a violent first-person shooter with zombie-like creatures in a Vietnam setting should be in the top three. However, Eidos have released a trailer for its upcoming shooter Shellshock 2: Blood Trails using that very tune. The Vietnam War is a difficult war to engage in the videogame world as it traditionally does poorly due to, at least in part, the blurry lines of good and evil. How do you combat those blurry lines? Infect people with some crazy disease that turns them nuttier than Mr. Peanut hence making it a monster shooter instead of a realistic one, of course!. Shellshock 2: Blood Trails hits the Xbox 360 this November.
Shellshock 2 experiments with drug lore of 'Nam, just in time for holidaze
Shellshock 2: Blood Trails is Rebellion's sequel to the Killzone gang's Shellshock: Nam '67 (shucks, we must've missed that one). This second tour of doodie, brought to you by Eidos, is presented with this thumb-tingling pitch: "a brutal and twisted psychological first person shooter, coming to disturb your Christmas." (We prefer our holidays quite undisturbed, thank you.)What we're dealing with appears to be a rehash of Jacob's Ladder, replacing the film's "The Ladder" drug (loosely based on BZ) with "Whiteknight" ("an enemy that ultimately has no side") -- oh, and scantly clad babe-soldiers. Or is that just one of the frightening hallucinations...? Dah-dah-dumb.%Gallery-33094%
Rebellion CTO: PSP 'kicking arse,' just in the shadow of DS
Rebellion CTO Chris Kingsley sat down with GamesIndustry.biz in an interview and he had quite a few positive things to say about the PSP. However, he claims that publishing games on the PSP "wasn't a deliberate choice, it just happened. We were very keen on it as a platform and it took off for us." Earlier during the the week, Rebellion CEO Jason Kingsley echoed similar sentiments.The CTO went on further to say that Sony's handheld has a good few years left in it, thanks to its versatility, but admits that publishers are not as keen as they once were about software on the PSP. Why? It isn't piracy, according to Kingsley, but rather developers want "to work on the flashy, high-end stuff." He cites the PS2 as a "less glamorous platform" that has remained economically viable for publishers because the software matches the right platform -- Kingsley feels the reason why the PSP has been "kicking the arse of pretty much every other system out there" in Japan is precisely because it has the right games. His illation on the PSP is that Sony has "done a great job," with "tens of millions of PSPs ... worldwide." but that its "incredible" success has been overshadowed by the DS.
Rogue Trooper serves a cold dish of revenge on the Wii
Reef Entertainment recently announced that a Rogue Trooper game will be headed to the Wii, subtitled The Quartz Massacre. If you haven't heard of Rogue Trooper before, it features a bad-ass, blue-skinned soldier who likes to take revenge on people that mess with him and his comrades. He can also assign himself the skills and "personalities" of fallen friends, thanks to a spiffy futuristic biochip.The plot for The Quartz Massacre is the same for that of the 2006 Rogue Trooper releases (available for the original Xbox, the PS2, and PCs), leading many to reasonably speculate that this Wii version will be a port. Reef promises that the Wii's controller will add more immersion to the third-person shooter, though (à la Resident Evil 4, we assume), and Rebellion is also reported to have added tweaks and polish its last-gen endeavors.We have mixed feelings about this game: on the one hand, the console could use more shooters of this nature, but on the other hand, it already has a full plate of ports. Since we didn't play the well-reviewed, last-gen iteration of Rogue Trooper, however, we're willing to be open-minded. If Rebellion can pull off a fun and polished game, we'll have no qualms.[Via Destructoid]
Rebellion to develop Shellshock sequel for sure
UK developer Rebellion has declared its intention to take a break from the PSP and instead focus on those newfangled home consoles it keeps hearing so much about. After churning out several portable games based on licenses such as Star Wars, The Simpsons and Alien vs. Predator, Rebellion plans to dip into more original properties, as well as those found in its 2000AD comic book business. Before that happens though, the developer will be piecing together a PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 sequel to Shellshock, Eidos' critically panned third-person Vietnam shooter. (Hey, it could be worse!)Rebellion CEO Jason Kingsley told GamesIndustry.biz that the end result would be a "mature product" and "a bit like Jacob's Ladder or Apocalypse Now in movie terms." Despite "challenging the nature of war, the horror and why people do these horrific things to each other," Kingsley assured all that Shellshock 2 is "looking absolutely lovely." Expect to learn more about people doing horrific things to each other in 2008.
Rebellion announces Shellshock 2 for the 360
In news that's somewhat of a shocker (ha ha!), Rebellion studios announced plans to jump from their PSP developing pedigree over to next-gen waters with their first project being a sequel to Shellshock. Rebellion CEO Jason Kingsley confirmed with GamesIndustry.biz that Shellshock 2 will eventually release to both the PS3 and Xbox 360 with development already underway. "It's [Shellshock 2] troubling – deliberately so – it's meant to be challenging the nature of war, the horror and why people do these horrific things to each other". Sounds fun.It'll be interesting to see if Rebellion's first next-gen attempt will work out and if they can bring something new to the war genre. Our fingers are crossed.
Playing as the Predator in upcoming AvP game
With Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron behind them, Rebellion must now finish their next why-is-it-exclusive-to-PSP game, Alien vs. Predator. Yes, AvP holds a dear place to most PC gamer's hearts. Although Rebellion worked on the original, it appears the new PSP game will be quite different.Speaking to IGN UK, the team reveals that the game is based off the upcoming Aliens vs. Predator film, entitled Requiem. Strange that the franchise has come full circle: it's a game based on a movie based on the game. Unlike the FPS originals, this third person shooter focuses solely on the Predators, and their desire to rid the Alien infestation on Earth. "As bad guys they do have some kind of code of honor that dictates who they think is worth fighting and who deserves sparing, and that is key to the game."This honor is crucial to how the game plays: you must be ruthless against the Aliens, but killing innocent humans will lower your honor significantly. Predators must manage their energy, which can be used to heal ailments, and power weapons. They'll have access to different kind of vision modes, a la Syphon Filter. As with all movie tie-in games, we should still be skeptical of Alien vs. Predator, but at least we can see there's a lot of effort, and heart, being placed into this PSP exclusive.%Gallery-5892%
Rebellion making PSP Aliens vs. Predator game, screens inside
After some speculation last week, Sierra has finally let us in on some of the details behind their upcoming PSP game based on this winter's Aliens vs. Predator movie. Most importantly, the new game is being developed by Rebellion, best known for their well received 1995 Jaguar game, Aliens vs. Predator, and its similarly named (and even better received) PC successor.Unlike those outings, this PSP release will be a "third-person action-adventure" (that's okay, since we know how FPSs on the PSP invariably turn out), putting you in the giant slimy boots of a lone Predator, with all the accompanying goodies. These, of course, include Super Heat Vision™, Invisi-Cloak Tech™, and Ultra Wrist Triangle Red Lasers™, always good for a chuckle ... oh, and for killing Aliens and future governors. Though the press release doesn't say, we'll presume the target for this game is this holiday, alongside the movie. %Gallery-5907%
Aliens vs Predator screenshots surface
The Magic Box recently stumbled upon new images of the upcoming PSP Aliens vs Predator game. It's coming from Rebellion, the same team behind the PSP-exclusive Star Wars Battlefront. It's hard to discern the quality of the game's visuals from these shots, but it's clear that Rebellion has some kind of love affair with PSP.Supposedly, the game will be ready for for a December release in North America. [Update: Direct-feed screenshots from Sierra have arrived. Check them out in our gallery. And yes, this game is a PSP exclusive. Press release with more details, after the break!]%Gallery-5892%
New Aliens vs Predator title coming to the PSP?
CVG has a juicy rumor that the developers of the original Aliens vs Predator for the PC are working on a new AvP title to coincide with the upcoming movie. The original title was an incredibly entertaining FPS with fun multiplayer gameplay and an atmospheric single-player line, though the PSP version will be a third-person shooter.When contacted for confirmation, the development company, Rebellion declined to comment other than, "We're happy to be working with Sierra, but can't comment just yet in any more detail." CVG seems to think we'll get official word of the game soon though, so check back here soon for more info on hot Alien on other-type-of-alien combat.[Thanks Joe!]
Star Wars Battlefront needs more juice
We're concerned about the progress Star Wars Battlefront is doing on the PSP. It's an exclusive for Sony's handheld, but it appears it might be too ambitious for its own good. Although graphics aren't the only thing a gamer should look for in a game, when the framerate appears to be as choppy as it is, we get worried. Maybe Rebellion can add some more detail and smoothness to the game with the new 333MHz option that was recently unlocked? This game can use all the help it can get. Check out all the videos at IGN.
Rebellion on PSP development: "it just happened"
Rebellion Studios, the team behind the PSP versions of Dead to Rights: Reckoning, James Bond: From Russia with Love, Miami Vice, GUN Showdown, and Free Running, has been nominated for a Develop award for being the best handheld developer. Their prolific catalog of games certainly deserves some recognition (even if many of these titles aren't of the utmost quality).Speaking with Pocket Gamer, CEO Jason Kingsley explains the somewhat serendipidous relationship the team has had with PSP: "It's weird because we're down for this Develop award for being best handheld studio, but we're not a handheld developer. We're a developer who's happened to made a lot of PSP games, which is something we didn't really plan on doing. It's just happened [sic]," Kingsley explained. "We've done something like a dozen titles, and people keep coming to us with more. We're having to turn a lot of it down" (And certainly, they want to be focused primarily on their upcoming project, Star Wars Battlefront, a PSP exclusive.)It appears that the team is comfortable with the immense power that PSP has to offer, which is the main reason why they've focused on the platform. "DS has been difficult because our engine is floating point and DS is a fixed point platform."
Free Running, where are you?
The team at Rebellion have released Free Running, based loosely on the principles of a French alternasport "Parkour," that Wikipedia defines as, "movement from point A to point B, as efficiently and quickly as possible, using principally the abilities of the human body." For local advocates, community fan sites like Urbanfreeflow.com are great resources for finding the latest, up-to-date Parkour activities in your hometown.Free Running garnered a decent review, but a release date is now strangely absent for fellow gamers across the pond in North America. Attempts to locate a U.S. release date on major retailers like GameStop, Amazon and GameFly, all bring up blank pages, whereas earlier reports showed a similar March release date. With a lack of alternative sports tittles currently available on the system, PSP owners in North America may feel the sting of drought for awhile longer.Japanese fan site PSP GadgetZ has been obsessing over the title, capturing more than half a dozen videos of the game. Watch for yourself and tell us if you think this violence-free Prince of Persia-styled game sparks your fancy.
New GUN Showdown trailer
In the last GUN Showdown Feature trailer, I complained that the game didn't seemed to look more like a PS1 title than a PS2. In the newest feature trailer, I have to admit the game's character model do seem to look a bit better. However, I just can't get over the fact developers Rebellion/Neversoft Entertainment seem to be putting too much focus on the character models and the surrounding infrastructure is getting the short end of the stick. The same low-res textures still seem to be present. But if Showdown can capture the same great gameplay that was present in GUN, I'm sure publisher Activision will have a hit on its hands. Showdown is set to ship Oct. 10.
New trailer for GUN Showdown (PSP)
GameTrailers has a new preview vid for Gun Showdown, the PSP extension of last year's multi-platform romp through the Wild West. Short-lived as the original adventure was, developer Neversoft was praised for the game's compelling narrative and addictive gunplay. Showdown retains the familiar free-roaming style, but UK-based Rebellion has added new story missions, quickplay modes, and a variety of wireless multiplayer content (including Texas hold 'em) to GUN's portable cousin. Get back in the saddle at the end of Q3.See also: Metareview - GUN (Xbox)
