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Webzen announces a trio of new titles
Korean publisher Webzen is preparing to blitz MMO players with a slew of new titles in 2011. First up is Archlord X: The Chronicles, a sequel of sorts to the company's popular Archlord. Set 100 years after the first game, Archlord X revolves around a feud between Orcs and Humans. Webzen plans to push the MMO into closed beta in South Korea in the first half of this year. Webzen also announced that it has several brand-new titles that the company is planning to reveal fairly soon, perhaps at G-star. These MMOs include an expansion to MU Online, MU2, and the mysteriously titled Project A. MU2 is being developed using the Unreal Engine 3 and takes place before the events of MU Online. Project A, on the other hand, is all about large-scale battles in the Middle Ages -- perhaps somewhat like Medieval: Total War. We'll be keeping an eye on Webzen as it expands its lineup in the coming months!
Retro reflects on Donkey Kong Country Returns, denies sequel plans
If Nintendo is following up Donkey Kong Country Returns with sequels like it did the original Donkey Kong Country, it's not doing so right now. Nintendo producer Kensuke Tanabe, who works with DKCR developer Retro Studios, told Game Informer, "I wouldn't say we won't do a sequel, but we don't have anything planned at this time." In a postmortem panel at GDC on the development of last year's sucessful DKCR, Retro revealed the difficulties of making the side-scroller. The team attempted to adapt the Metroid Prime morph ball camera to the side-scrolling, but found it unable to handle the quick and complex movements of the DK characters -- especially once Tanabe insisted that two-player simultaneous play be added. There are over 2000 animations for the player character, a number inflated by the second character -- and by the late-stage suggestion from Shigeru Miyamoto that Donkey Kong be able to blow on background items to reveal secrets. Miyamoto was testing the game, running back and forth for about ten minutes, when he declared that Donkey Kong appeared to be exhaling when he turned around. And then, he said that "it might be fun to make Donkey Kong blow on things," causing extensive damage to Retro's metaphorical tea table. And the Super Guide -- "oh, jeez," one of the team exclaimed when that subject came up. It turns out that Retro had to rewrite the engine to make it deterministic -- make it that all the inputs would result in the same output every time, essentially eliminating randomness. This turned out to be a boon, however, as the same mechanic that allowed the team to record playthroughs also made it easy to reproduce bugs in testing. Retro ended its panel by joking that it would like to refresh the Doki Doki Panic (Super Mario Bros. 2) series next, along with making a "Pokemon Prime." "We've been looking at Tingle a lot," as well.
Angry Birds spreading to consoles, sequels, feature films
The whole premise seems pretty simple, right? Evil piggies steal eggs, birds get angry, angry birds attack pigs, gamers struggle with addiction. But not so fast: have you ever wondered what the pigs think of all of this? Speaking at the Virtual Goods Summit in London, Rovio CEO Peter Vesterbacka let it drop that there was, indeed, a sequel to Angry Birds in development, going on to say that it would "surprise people. No one has told the story from the pigs point of view." But that ain't all! The company is apparently planning to milk this franchise for all it's worth, a multiplayer game "like old school Worms games" and a Facebook game taking priority, as well as porting the game to PSN, Wii, and Xbox, and some sort of film or TV show. We have to wonder who's going to play the red bird. Please let it be Alan Thicke. This is the best news since we heard there was a possible Asteroids movie in the works!
Aventurine squelches Darkfall 2 rumors, for now
Darkfall news has been flowing fast and furious of late. Whether it's info on the newly minted Hellfreeze expansion and its patches, upcoming character model upgrades, or new lore, it seems like the little Greek MMO that could is gathering a head of steam. One bit of news that got blown slightly out of proportion was a reported mention of Darkfall 2. Aventurine's Tasos Flambouras briefly mentioned Darkfall 2 at a recent event, and some fans took that to mean the company was already working on a sequel to the sandbox MMORPG. In reality, Flambouras was speaking of reusable assets and the fact that the development firm is "keeping the future of Darkfall in mind while we work on this version of the game. It doesn't mean that we're working on a new game." In a post on the official forums, Flambouras reiterates that Aventurine's devs are not currently making a Darkfall sequel, and even if they were, "it would take years to complete and we would not stop full development of Darkfall 1."
Hyperspace Beacon: Star Wars Galaxies 2
It happens all the time: When a new game is coming out we attempt to compare it to something familiar. "Jumpgate Evolution is like EVE combined with Star Wars Galaxies: Jump to Lightspeed." "Guild Wars 2's battles are scalable like Warhammer's." Even Rich Vogel, the Executive Producer for Star Wars: The Old Republic, couldn't get away from comparing his crafting system to an existing MMO when we interviewed him at E3. "It will be very similar to what WoW has," is what he said. Granted, Blaine Christine later set our minds at ease at PAX: "I think it's a different take on crafting than what people will be expecting. It's not the standard implementation." Unfortunately, the stigma of comparison was already there. One of my favorite features of MMO creation is the fact that there are no real rules regarding gameplay style. Granted, in the early days of MMO design, a creator had to consider the heavy latency of dial-up connections, so most games were designed to be turn-based. However, now there really is no limit to gameplay style, so there are no rules regarding what makes a game an MMO besides its having a persistent online world. There are no rules that say a game must have similar gameplay to other games that came before, even a prequel. Guild Wars 2 is a great example of this, yet people, inevitably, are going to attempt to compare Guild Wars and its sequel -- sometimes to the point of being unfair about it. Current Star Wars fans cannot help but compare SWTOR to Star Wars Galaxies. Follow me after the break as I make an attempt to debunk this stigma.
Ninja Theory hasn't planned Enslaved sequel, but 'would like something to happen'
Following the completion of Enslaved: Odyssey to the West (and its release this week), Ninja Theory has turned to the next project on its plate, DmC: Devil May Cry. However, studio head Tameem Antoniades tells Eurogamer that an Enslaved sequel isn't entirely off the table. In fact, Antoniades says the studio has the "capacity to do two games." "The thinking from the beginning was not to assume there would be a sequel -- just to put everything into this game. It's a new IP, so let's not plan for a sequel because the chances are we'll only disappoint ourselves. So we mentally prepared for that -- we've not planned for a sequel. But if it gains some traction, I'd like to see something happen." Before there's any sequel talk, people will have to buy the game, of course. And Enslaved is going up against some stiff competition as the fall season ramps up; beginning this week with Castlevania: Lords of Shadow. But, hey, even if a sequel's ruled out, at least there will be DLC.
Guild Wars 2 uses iOS apps for 'extended experience'
Guild Wars 2 is going to become the latest big PC game to get a satellite iPhone app. Our friends at Massively have a post up about the "extended experience" that ArenaNet is going to offer in the MMO sequel. You won't be able to play the full game on your iPhone or iPad, but you will be able to chat with friends, browse the world of the game, access character and achievement information, and even wiki information about the game, either from a mobile location or just using the mobile device alongside you as you play. It all sounds really interesting, and actually very forward-thinking; lots of gamers have an extra device around them as they're playing these PC games, so why not use the iPhone or iPad to enable mobile connectivity and add on to the experience as you play. Guild Wars 2 is, of course, the sequel to the very popular first ArenaNet title, and it's expected out sometime in 2010 or 2011. The app will presumably be out sometime close to the game's release, though some of the functionality is mentioned as future plans, so we'll have to see. Meanwhile, there's a growing trend of supplementing PC gaming with iOS apps. Both Blizzard Entertainment and Fallen Earth developer Icarus Studios have released apps designed to work in tandem with their desktop titles. It's an intriguing idea -- most of the viewpoints on the App Store have it replacing traditional desktop computing, but these companies are using Apple's devices to supplement their other products.
Nomura 'definitely' wants to make a The World Ends With You sequel
It seems all of our training exercises to develop our latent mind control abilities are starting to pay off. After months of attempting to bend the will of Square Enix's Tetsuya Nomura to try and get him to create a follow-up to 2008's surprisingly lovable handheld RPG The World Ends With You, the designer recently told Nintendo Power (transcribed by Siliconera) that "I definitely want to make a sequel." See that, Nomura? We're in your mind. Of course, games at Square Enix are developed in a set order, and Nomura explained he's "very busy working on other titles right now, but when the time is right, I would love to make another installment of The World Ends with You." Now we just have to use our psychic powers to convince Nomura to go ahead and skip all those other games. Then we're going to make him do a funny little dance. Because we can.
Sword 2 officially launches
We've been hearing a fair bit out of GamersFirst about Sword 2, existing in an odd conceptual space as both a major update to the existing Sword of the New World and a new game in its own right. For existing players, it functions something like an expansion, and for new players it's being billed as a whole new package. But you don't have to take our word for it, as the beta testing is finished and the game has officially launched now. Several of the key features have remained largely unchanged, such as players controlling three separate characters at once. Other elements have been completely overhauled, many of which we've heard about from GamersFirst themselves. Perhaps most importantly, the game is still free to play, and if you can handle the download over the weekend it could be a pleasant diversion for the holiday. The full list of patch notes for the release can be read here, and feel free to take a look at our recent galleries for the game below. %Gallery-92550% %Gallery-87809%
Jett Rocket ending announces Jett Rocket 2
Jett Rocket was released on WiiWare yesterday, so we're sure you've all seen the ending by now. Even if not, we don't think this constitutes a spoiler: the ending provides a pretty strong hint that developer Shin'en is planning a sequel. How strong? "To be continued in Jett Rocket 2." Shin'en is probably hard at work adding extreme new vehicles and new areas of the planet Yoroppa right now. The developer can't know yet if the game sold well enough to justify a sequel (because it's been out for a day). Pong Toss achieved sufficient sales for a sequel, so it's entirely possible. Actually, if there are two games about throwing ping-pong balls into plastic cups, we're going to go ahead and say that anything is possible.
Rumor: Shogun 2: Total War to be shown at E3
A Turkish site named Oyungezer has reportedly leaked news of a direct sequel to the very first game in the critically acclaimed historical combat Total War series. The site mentioned in a deleted post that Shogun 2: Total War would be on display at E3 in a few weeks. Soon after, Voodoo Extreme posted a leaked fact sheet for the game, which will reportedly be developed by The Creative Assembly and published by Sega. According to the fact sheet, it will contain character progression across nine different Japanese clans, as well as improved war simulation gameplay on both land and sea. The fact sheet sets the release date in 2011. Joystiq contacted Sega to ask about the rumor, and we were told that it "can't comment on news about the next Total War game," so it looks like Sega's lips are sealed, at least until E3. [Via Big Download]
'Plenty' of Dead Space material planned, producer wary of diluting franchise
Speaking at a recent EA showcase in London, Dead Space executive producer Steve Papoutsis explained that while Visceral Games has plenty of ideas for the deep space horror series, the studio doesn't intend to run the franchise into the ground. According to Videogamer.com, Papoutsis told attendees, "we've mapped out plenty of games worth of stuff. But there has to be an interest, right?" He added, "we don't want to cheapen what we're doing. We're really focused on quality with it. Hopefully if people like this one, we get to make another one." Papoutsis then told the crowd, "it would be great to just keep making more and more of them. We're thinking kart racer, a fitness game... joke!" Yeah, we're not sure a Dead Space fitness game would go over so well. You know, considering Isaac Clarke's main technique for weight loss is to forcibly remove excess appendages with the aid of futuristic power tools.
Dante's Inferno dev hiring for 'sequel to major new IP'
In a recent job listing on Gamasutra, EA's Visceral Games studio put out a feeler for "an experienced Environment Artist for an existing action/adventure franchise." We might normally excuse this as a job listing for the currently-in-development Dead Space 2, but the listing further details the project as "a major opportunity to contribute to a bold new franchise, heavily backed by the EA Games Label ... the sequel to a major new IP at the award-winning Visceral Games." The listing concludes with another vaguely suggestive line about creating a sequel that will "set new quality standards and make the franchise the world-leader in the action/melee-combat genre." Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 are mentioned as target consoles. All these clues add up to reasonable speculation that Visceral is recruiting for a sequel to this year's Dante's Inferno. In December, the first game's producer was all for the idea of a sequel, but admitted that continuing to follow the path laid out by the The Divine Comedy source material, which would lead to Purgatory and perhaps on into Heaven, might not make for a great game -- especially in the action/melee-combat genre. Perhaps then, a Dante's Inferno sequel could take a few liberties with the story. [Via Superannuation]
Sega: we can 'sequel-ise' Bayonetta, AvP, Alpha Protocol
In a recent interview with CVG, Sega West president Mike Hayes spoke briefly on the future of the company's portfolio of intellectual properties. Hayes explained, "If you think about it, we can sequel-ise Bayonetta, AvP, Alpha Protocol and we can make a hit of something like Vanquish." Those are some mighty bold plans, considering only two of those games have actually been released. We're fairly unsurprised by Sega's interest in a follow-up to Bayonetta. Not only because it's been a commercial success for the company, but also because the developers need another chance to do all the crazy action sequences they couldn't fit in the first game. Like, for instance, throwing a church at a dragon. Wait, they did that in Bayonetta? How about riding a motorcycle in space? Really, that too? Well, then ... we're stumped.
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: All the community news that's fit to print
In a city marked by constant alien invasions, assaults from an island controlled by a sadistic villain, rampant street crime, and various technological and magical disasters, there's always something to talk about. There's usually more than a few things for players to talk about on top of that, which certainly helps keep our interest in City of Heroes even when we're not right in the thick of things. After all, whatever else you might say about the game and its flaws -- it's fun. It gives you a fun ride of being a superhero or supervillain. If you can't enjoy a conversation about that, really, you're just plain getting jaded. Naturally, having discussions about nothing more than "it's fun" would get a little old, but that's certainly not all of the discussions about the game. Just about half. Today, we're taking a look at some of the other half, spotlighting some of the most interesting, though-provoking, or just plain funny discussions and threads coming out of the City of Heroes community.
Q-Games' Dylan Cuthbert taking aim at more PixelJunk Shooter
There's no doubt about it -- Q-Games head Dylan Cuthbert is very much interested in making more content for the latest in the PixelJunk series of games, PixelJunk Shooter. When he spoke recently to G4TV, Cuthbert said, "for PixelJunk Shooter we still have a ton of ideas on the drawing board and the engine has lots of potential we want to use before moving onto our next idea." He also teased the possibility of a full-on sequel, front-loading his last statement with, "normally sequels are just a re-hashing of the ideas in the original." Given the PixelJunk's all-over-the-place history with DLC and re-releases and Encore versions, we poked Cuthbert for clarification. When we asked which of the aforementioned options we might see for PixelJunk Shooter, Cuthbert told us: "It hasn't been decided yet, as it depends on how much content we end up making. Whatever we end up making, though, it will be even better than the first installment with loads of new stuff. (Obviously I know what some of that stuff is, but I can't say -- all I can say is that fans will be extremely pleased.)" So, there you have it, folks! We're gonna see ... umm ... something else from Shooter.
2K Marin: Console wars 'drown out creative discourse'
The initially Xbox 360-exclusive BioShock was one of the major salvos in the ongoing console wars, waged on message boards and comment sections everywhere (including right here on this very site). Speaking with Destructoid, BioShock 2 producer Jordan Thomas expressed hope that the multi-platform sequel -- which launches today -- doesn't play a similarly divisive role. According to Thomas, "platform partisanship" is just silly and it "seems to flood the critical channels and drown out other creative discourse." Which sounds about right -- whenever a piece of news comes up that swings even close to the differences between the various consoles, the discussion usually degenerates into the same old arguments, and new and more interesting issues get drowned out like Andrew Ryan's old city. 2K Marin didn't ask in so many words, but we will: Would you kindly all just get along?
Rumor: David Cage doesn't want to do a sequel to Heavy Rain
According to a second-hand report from TheLostGamer, the latest issue of Official PlayStation Magazine UK contains a concrete answer from Quantic Dream founder David Cage about the possibility of a sequel to Heavy Rain. "I don't want to do a sequel because I've said what I had to say about these characters and this story," Cage explained, later adding, "honestly, I have nothing else to say." If Quantic Dream wants Heavy Rain to provide a cinematic experience, it certainly makes sense not to drag the proceedings out over the course of a few games. Besides, it would be simply unfeasible for Heavy Rain 2 to import every single decision you made in first game. How's it supposed to remember every time we chose to juggle, watch TV and eat sandwiches instead of searching for our poor, kidnapped child? [Via VG247]
Why You Should Be Playing PlanetSide: It's online war!
War seems to be a hot topic in MMOs today. From MAG to Global Agenda, online war is the place to be. But a few years ago, having an online war with 300 people at once was unheard of until one game pushed the boundaries and made it so -- PlanetSide. Sony Online Entertainment started the concept of having the MMO and the FPS merge together into one being that was above and beyond a persistent online shooter. It had the armor system of Starsiege Tribes, the inventory management of an MMO, the level progression and ability modification of an RPG, and the combat and vehicle control of a FPS, all played to the tune of a persistent war. So why should you choose this game when there are so many newer alternatives available? Follow after the break, and let me outline a few features for ya.
Zen Bound 2 coming soon with beefed-up graphics, smoother interface
The fine gents at Touch Arcade have the first confirmation and screenshot of the sequel to one of our favorite games of 2009, Zen Bound 2. As you can see above, the new version (on the right) is a little more subdued with a cleaner UI, although Secret Exit stresses that this is still a work in progress (and obviously they'll have new objects to wrap up in rope to score points). But the new engine will be upgraded to use the most current version of OpenGL available in the iPhone, and you can see that on the rope above -- there are cleaner textures, and supposedly it'll move more smoothly as you play. Looks awesome to us. There still isn't an official announcement yet (this is actually a teaser picture), but that's expected soon, with a release still a few months out. So if you haven't tried out the first Zen Bound [iTunes link] yet, you've got plenty of time to pick it up and get good before the sequel.
