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Vampire Rain goes gold, hits stores on July 3rd
Microsoft has announced that the Xbox 360 will soon be assaulted by moist plasma dependents in the form of Vampire Rain, which has gone gold and will commence its unrestrained display of sucking on July 3rd. Developed by Japan's Artoon (you'll see more of their work in Blue Dragon this August), the game has been summarized by internet pundits in much the same way it was originally pitched in a board meeting: Splinter Cell with vampires and, err, somewhat lower production values. Those hoping to judge the game for themselves and play the demo can call on any of their Xbox Live friends who happen to have accounts in Japan, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Mexico, New Zealand or Singapore. The absence of a US demo at this stage seems a little suspicious, if only because international impressions indicate that Vampire Rain falls mainly on the plain side of things. That's not something you want people to know when you dangle a $60 game in front of them, now is it?[Via Microsoft press release]
Vampire Rain demo sucks Japanese Xbox Live dry
If Sam Fisher ever had to fight vampires, he would probably be really confused. Perhaps he would even cry a little bit. But he would also unwittingly be starring in the Vampire Rain demo, which just hit the Xbox Live Marketplace for those with Japanese accounts. Oh, also, he had much lower production values and was named Lloyd.If only you had a Japanese friend who didn't mind you using his account, you could see worlds collide as not-Sam-Fisher battles hides from the children of the night. Actually, it's probably best that you don't have a friend like that, because the fan fiction storyline you're coming up with in your head right now is probably better than the demo. But hey, don't take our word for it ... go, you know, make some Japanese friends.
Ubisoft defends Splinter Cell series changes
All Ubisoft wants is for Splinter Cell fans to give emo-Fisher a chance. It seems reaction has been quite strong to Sam Fisher's new look and the departure from the light-and-shadow gameplay. 'Cause, you know, Splinter Cell without light and shadow is basically that other famous stealth action game (except you'd need to add a healthy dash of eccentric characters -- really eccentric characters). Speaking with GI.biz, Splinter Cell producer Mathieu Ferland says, "We've been working very closely with the fans from the beginning ... Their first reaction was, 'What's going on? Where's Sam?' And then they discovered these new possibilities, this new mechanic and they said, 'That looks awesome. I want to play it."Ferland goes on to say that if the game doesn't do well that they'll go back to the darkness and shadows that Fisher called home for so many years. It looks like Conviction is trying to do for Splinter Cell what Blood Money did for Hitman, by making the controls less complex and more intuitive. The game is still expected to release later this year and we don't expect Sam Fisher to release a book of poetry before then.
Ubisoft: Conviction is a risk, but we believe in it
Talking with GameIndustry.biz, Splinter Cell Conviction producer Mathieu Ferland talks about the game revealing that he and the Ubisoft team truly believe in the new direction they are taking their stealth based franchise. In Conviction Ubisoft is switching it up by allowing players to play a different Sam Fisher who's running from the law, blending in with crowds in broad daylight, and using distraction techniques to complete missions. This ultimately changes up gameplay and strays a little bit from the proven successful Splinter Cell formula. Ferland says that they've "been working very closely with the fans from the beginning" and thinks that Conviction will be a welcomed changed to the franchise. But Ferland also let it be known that that Ubisoft is not afraid to go back to its old stealth formula if Conviction were to flop. But for now, they're confident.As fans of the Splinter Cell franchise, do you think Conviction is a creative step in the right direction to expand the storyline and freshen up gameplay? Or are you dead set on being a shadows assassin and reject Sam Fisher's new hobo look?
A Splinter Cell: Conviction trailer and apology to Sam
Dear Mr. Fisher, Hey, it's Joystiq. Sorry to bother you, we just needed to get something off of our chests. Do you remember when we made fun of you for going totally emo? We just wanted to say we're sorry. It was short-sighted and just plain mean and we sincerely hope we can still be friends.You're probably wondering what prompted our change of heart, but if we're being honest, it started with the above trailer for Splinter Cell: Conviction. See, in our rush to make fun of your long hair and hoodie, we kind of forgot about your tendency to throw tables at people. Oh, and your access to high-power firearms, that totally slipped our minds. And, perhaps worst of all, we neglected to consider your ability to beat a man so badly that his brain throws up. We hope there are no hard feelings, and look forward to hiding from you working with you in the future.Sincerely, Joystiq
Splinter Cell Conviction trailer Bournes it up
Hot on the heels of a new Assassin's Creed trailer comes this new Splinter Cell Conviction trailer from Ubisoft's Ubidays event. The trailer shows off the new social stealth system that will be employed in Conviction, as well as Sam Fisher's new combat capabilities. We've noted before that Sam Fisher now possesses some kick ass maneuvers akin to those seen in the Bourne films and this trailer confirms it. In fact, the whole atmosphere of the trailer seems to take a page from the modern spy franchise, which isn't a bad thing at all. After all, how many times can you play as a guy in a rubber suit? Check out an extended look at the game after the break. Be warned though, the video is a little dark.
Playing easily, shooting happily
Unlike other "zapper" products like Joytech's Blaster, the Pega pistol doesn't have a cavity for you to dock the Wii's nunchuck. Instead, you connect the nunchuck's cord under the butt of the $15 gun while the remote slides and locks into its top half. We're not sure yet if this is a more cumbersome or convenient implementation, but given our experiences with cheap, third-party accessories from Chinese manufacturers, you can easily guess which side we're leaning towards. If you're wondering why we're even bothering to bring up this lackluster peripheral, it's because we love to scrutinize the packaging of these products! What's up with Splinter Cell graphics? And why is it branded with that same inapplicable Wii Sports logo we saw on Fire Bird's rechargeable controller grip? Does Pega actually expect people to play tennis with this clunky plastic attached?[Via DCEmu]
Sam Fisher shows his softer side
For his latest adventure in Splinter Cell: Conviction (which appears to have dropped the capital "V"), Sam Fisher has gone positively emo. His face is capable of a wider range of emotions, he's kicking it in the Mediterranean and he's even ... grown his hair out. Mary De Marle, "narrative designer" for the game, told IGN that Sam has always been this way; he's just been waiting for the chance to let his softie flag fly. "Somehow, we are presenting the 'original' Sam, as we have been thinking him since the first days of the first Splinter Cell," De Marle said.To help compliment this new "make love, not war" ethos, Sam has forsaken the tech supplied to him by Third Echelon in favor of the hottest new SC gadget: The hoodie. No, seriously. Sam will be able to pull it up in crowds to make himself less noticeable or to hide the single tear he's crying for his lost innocence. But mainly just the first one. When you combine some of the latest revelations with what we learned earlier this month, the new Splinter Cell sounds like a major departure from the norm -- and that sounds just fine to us.
Ubisoft says: Splinter Cell Conviction couldn't be on PS3?
Someone's cooking up some flamebait, right? Wrong. This is just an interesting, confusing interview with Ubisoft about the newest Splinter Cell (which seems to have turned into a yearly franchise). The game, subtitled Conviction, is headed exclusively to the XBox 360. That's all well and good, but why did they need to talk about the PS3? What did they say, actually? They claimed that since they're an exclusive now, they can work a lot harder on the 360's hardware and pull out some tricks they wouldn't have been able to do otherwise. They said regardless, they wouldn't have been able to do these things even if they were exclusive to the PlayStation 3. Well... maybe, but they did a pretty crappy port of Double Agent, so we're not about to agree. Just because you don't understand the tools available doesn't mean it isn't possible to build a masterpiece. Thoughts?
Ubisoft says Conviction can't be done on PS3
There's been some more sleuthing (Ha! Legitimately unintentional pun, we swear) on the Finnish magazine that had the Splinter Cell: Conviction screenshot scans from Friday. Apparently the interview has some spiffy details about the enemy AI, Sam Fisher's ability to interact with his environment, and most deliciously, Ubisoft giving the PS3 some flack. First, they say that Conviction being exclusive allows them to accomplish things on the 360 that couldn't be done if the title was multiplatform. They even go so far to say that if the title was a PS3 exclusive, they still would not be able to achieve some of these feats. Ouch ... coming from a well respected developer like Ubisoft, that's gotta hurt.
Splinter Cell Conviction scans are purdy
Revealed earlier this week, scans of the upcoming Splinter Cell Conviction have been uncovered by our friends at Xboxygen. It looks like Sam Fisher has forgone his typical bald-headed, grizzled appearance for that of a shaggy hobo. You can see him above sporting some ratty hair, a full beard, and an oh-so-trendy man-purse. Metrosexual flavor aside, the scans show off some impressive visuals. There are civilians everywhere and the environments are incredibly detailed. Splinter Cell has always had top notch visuals, but these shots are damned impressive. One shot in particular shows off the level of detail, as coffee cups go flying when Sam knocks a police officer into a nearby cafe. There are also some sequential shots of Sam's new Bourne-tastic maneuvers.If the gameplay lives up to the graphics, we could be in for a real (Xbox 360 exclusive) treat. Hit the "read" link to check out the scans.
Splinter Cell: Conviction deets revealed
Hey, remember how Peter Moore said the next Splinter Cell would be Xbox 360 exclusive? Remember how it dropped off the face of the earth after that? Well, Splinter Cell Conviction is back in the news again. Finnish gaming magazine, Pelaaja (Player) reveals new details on the game (translated by Gamers Reports).
Splinter Cell conViction featured in Finnish gaming mag
See what they've done with the "V"? Clever ... sorta. Finnish gaming mag Pelaaja ("Player") has the scoop on Xbox 360's console-exclusive, Splinter Cell V -- er, Splinter Cell Conviction (the title remains unchanged since it was leaked last September).GamersReports has compiled the first Conviction gameplay details, allegedly translated from the Pelaaja article. Apparently, dear old Sam will be forced out into daylight and, taking a cue from his Ubi-cousin Altaïr, will stick to the crowd instead of the shadows. An internal threat within Third Echelon has supposedly forced Sam to defect from the agency (like, for realz this time) as he attempts to save coworker Anna Grímsdóttir. Two HUD gimmicks will form the backbone of the gameplay: the "hero instinct" gives Sam the ability to track his enemies Predator-style (in infrared); while the "danger meter" acts sorta like Spidey-sense, minus the tingle (then again, Ubisoft could utilize rumble).Close quarters combat is said to be a lot more "Bourne" this time around, as Sam has apparently shaken off his stiffness through yoga (Downward Dog FTW!), in addition to the training he's received from the alien peacekeeper and pesky webslinger. Coupled with an upgraded physics engine that lets Sam use numerous environmental objects (not just soda cans) to his advantage, Fisher oughtta make short work of that "dynamic" AI. No mention of what's in store for multiplayer -- but we sorta have this hunch...
Ubisoft viral site hints at new Tom Clancy game
Nowadays, "viral" is more or less the term used to describe any website that is overly cryptic, edgy or, thanks to an abundance of Flash, somewhat annoying. Enter the recently erected, cryptic, edgy and somewhat annoying Ubisoft website, jsf28555833-80604722.com. Upon visiting the page, you'll be faced with all manner of military gibberish, false newscaster mutterings and a man who appears to be in a permanent state of discomfort. The Tom Clancy logo at the bottom provides the biggest clue, seeming to suggest that marketing for a new terrorist foiling sim is already in stealth swing. Splinter Cell and Rainbow Six are fair targets, but a glance at the infamous (and quite reliable) leaked list of Ubisoft games shows one of the few remaining titles to be Tom Clancy's Firehawk for PS3 and Xbox 360. Further intrepid internet investigation (read: Google search) highlights the website's initial letters "jsf" -- Joint Strike Fighter. Is Tom Clancy taking to the skies?[Via Eurogamer]
Viral website features Tom Clancy game
Ubisoft is uncharacteristically up to some viral marketing antics, hosting some teaser for an unannounced game over at www.rev64.com. The website features the face of a man who winces and grimaces and a news stream heard in the background talking about OPEC and its affect on the US. There's a whole bunch of text flanking the right side of the page with clickable links that either play news clips, make the man's face cringe, or play weird sounds. Again, we're not professionals at figuring this viral stuff out, so we'll leave it up to you guys. But we do know that all of Ubisoft's fingerprints are on the site (that's the easy part) and it also showcases the Tom Clancy logo at the bottom of the page (even though IGN reports it as a Rainbow Six logo ... tisk, tisk). Is it a new Rainbow Six game or maybe it's the next Splinter Cell installment, we just can't tell. We'll just have to wait this one out, unless someone wants to spend hours analyzing the website and report back to us. Please?[Via IGN]
Ubisoft opens animation studio
Ubisoft is rich. Now they're richer, because the Canadian government is giving them money to make CG movies to be consumed by the "general public". While $8 million (about US $6.8 million) may not seem like much... it'll at least help Ubisoft open an animation studio of their very own. Now, whether this studio will make feature-length films is unsure, although a Canadian newspaper quoted the projects as "short films for the general public."So, what sort of short films would you like to see come out of Ubisoft's new studio? Since it is animation, we'd like to steer clear of Splinter Cell or Prince of Persia films -- those ought to be live-action. As some people at GameSpot surmised, a Rayman animated film would be cute. Leave your ideas and thoughts!
Splinter Cell Double Agent getting the females
Fans and community members of the Splinter Cell series have been worried for a while about the upcoming content for Splinter Cell Double Agent. There has been a nasty rumor floating around that only the PS3 version of the game will include female multiplayer skins. Bummer right? But fret not, because that evil rumor has been debunked! On the Ubisoft forums Rhoulette, Ubisoft community manager, confirmed that the new female skins will indeed be available on the Xbox 360 version too. It'll come in the form of downloadable content, but they'll be available none the less. So stop worrying about the female skins and get back to playing, you know, the reason you bought the game.[Thanks, j10jep2]
Prince of Persia's Wii Waggle-Tech Demonstrated
Ubisoft, intent on continuing their new tradition of shoehorning just about every intellectual property they can muster onto the Wii, has created a video demonstrating Prince of Persia: Rival Swords' use of the Wii controls. In an interview with Ubisoft concerning the project ("intuitive" word count: 2), producer Ben Mattes gushed with excitement, saying "I've spent a lot of time playing [Prince of Persia] games over the last few years, and Rival Swords for the Wii is by far my favorite."The demonstration itself is a montage of in-game clips, accompanied by haunted Wii controllers jiggling about the footage. I suppose we'll just have to wait until the games release in March to get a sense of just how well it plays as waggling the controller in place of the Two Thrones control scheme (the game in which this is based on) doesn't exactly instill us with confidence. Ben seems fairly stoked about it, but Splinter Cell and Far Cry has us a bit more cautious towards Ubisoft's non-original offerings for the Wii.
South Korea loosens game censorship
Game censorship is a big news item in the past few months. Political types of all walks of life enjoy trying to stifle the medium by passing laws that don't hold up in court in the US and even get through without much of a hitch in Europe. On the other side of the world, one nation is going the opposite direction. South Korea, which recently proposed an anti-gold farming bill, has pulled censorship on games depicting military action against their northern neighbor. Under the ban, any game that was negative toward North Korea was not permitted for sale in the South, citing they would only inflame the existing tension. However, wiser South Korean lawmakers finally realized video games have little impact on the real world, cut the rule and games like Ghost Recon 2 can now be sold. Lawmakers from the West take note; South Korea has the right idea. When they're sitting right next to an unstable tin-pot dictator and decide that games aren't going to cause a mass invasion, we should start reassessing this whole "games make people violent" kick. Our only hope is wiser people end up in leadership positions who actually try to solve problems instead of deflecting the responsibility on an unrelated party.
Double Agent patch is hiding
According to the official Splinter Cell: Double Agent website, a patch for the game was released yesterday, but we're receiving reports that it is not yet available. The patch was set to fix multiple issues with the game, including lag issues, connection issues, and a few miscellaneous issues. We aren't familiar with these issues (I still haven't played the game) but we can only assume the fixes would be welcome. In fact, reading through the fix list makes it look like there are quite a few problems with the lobby system.Has anyone spotted the update yet, or is it still MIA?[Thanks, Bountyhunterinc]
