Syndicate
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City of Heroes explores crime and punishment, Praetoria style
We're getting closer and closer to the launch of the second major expansion to City of Heroes, Going Rogue. While the official site has been a bit silent of late, no doubt in focusing on the game's six-year anniversary, it's just updated again with another look inside the utopia of Tyrant. The most recent update focuses on both a group and an individual, as has become the norm, with players getting a clearer look inside the head of Marauder and the ruthless criminal organizations that form the Syndicate. When Tyrant made his push to eliminate all crime, he succeeded in driving the crime families and organizations nearly to ruin -- but they've banded together to form the Syndicate, to continue their illicit trades while striking out against Cole's government. Marauder, meanwhile, is the perversion of the jovial Back Alley Brawler. Also known as Praetor White, he leads the Powers Division, the team of super-powered individuals that take on threats Praetoria's police force cannot. Take a look at the official site for more information on both of these potential allies and enemies, and keep your eyes peeled for more information as City of Heroes rockets toward the Going Rogue launch date.
OFLC rates 'Project Red' for EA [update]
Australia's OFLC has rated "Project Red" for EA, classifying it with an MA 15+ label. If the classification is related to "Project RedLime," it would likely be the rating for the alleged Syndicate game in production by Starbreeze Studios and EA. Of course, without the direct RedLime connection, this could be a rating for ... well, anything. Also, if you find it strange (like we do) that the OFLC is rating games by using code names, this is just the most recent example. Last year, The Beatles: Rock Band was titled Rock Band Project 9. EA has apparently figured out how to get its paperwork into the OFLC without accidentally revealing a forthcoming game announcement. Update: AustralianGamer got hold of the documents. It's Bulletstorm. %Gallery-92124%
Starbreeze and EA partnership revealed by Syndicate copyright docs
Given the years of back and forth we've seen over the possibility of an updated Syndicate for current-gen consoles, we're looking at the handful of recently discovered copyright documents -- that seemingly reveal a collaboration between Starbreeze Studios and EA -- with a fair amount of skepticism. Internet supersleuth Supererogatory spotted the three filings on the US Copyright Office website (confirmed by Joystiq this morning, though not linkable), each for the title "Syndicate" and one of which is co-filed by EA and Starbreeze. Back in 2008, the two companies officially announced that they were working together on revisiting one of EA's "most acclaimed classic franchises," dubbing the collaboration "Project RedLime" (and leaving us to speculate on what that classic franchise might be). We've reached out to both EA and Starbreeze for comment on the filings and will let you know if we hear anything back. (What next, an XCom revival? Oh.)
Starbreeze confirms one EA collaboration is kaput
Starbreeze Studios, developer of The Chronicles of Riddick games and The Darkness, has confirmed that one of its EA projects has ceased production. GI.biz translates that the ax has fallen on either the Jason Bourne game or Project RedLime, which is believed to be a revival of the classic Syndicate series. Starbreeze CEO Johan Kristiansson has stated that the company's relationship with EA remains strong and all resources are being put toward the game that "demonstrated the greatest potential." We'll have to wait and see if the super spy or the cyborgs won out.
15 Minutes of Fame: The Syndicate's 14 years of gaming
15 Minutes of Fame is WoW.com's look at World of Warcraft personalities of all shapes and sizes -- from the renowned to the relatively anonymous, from the remarkable to the player next door. Tip us off to players you'd like to hear more about. The Syndicate first came to our attention a couple of weeks ago, when we noted the meta-guild's 14th anniversary in The Classifieds. Its 600+ members (across both World of Warcraft and Ultima Online) enjoy ties to all sorts of intriguing gaming and charitable projects: writing strategy guides, beta testing, games consulting, raising support for military troops through gaming. A visit to their web site yields pages and pages on the group's history and projects. Considering such massive numbers inside such a sprawling organization, you might be tempted to conclude that these gamers must be very, very "hardcore." Not so fast. In fact, The Syndicate's in-game philosophy uplifts long-standing, person-to-person relationships and group fun above all else. Outside projects such as games consulting and strategy guides focus on material for the typical gamer – that's right, not the bleeding edge. We dug up what's going on inside this gargantuan guild in an interview with Dragons, its founding GM, president and CEO.
EA studio boss would love to revisit Bullfrog IP; EA renews Bullfrog trademarks
In an interview with Kikizo, EA's Bright Light Studio head, Harvey Elliot, mentioned that he would "love" to work on old Bullfrog Productions properties like Populous and Theme Park. Elliot cautiously noted that Bullfrog's classics were "right for their time, and the trick with those games is coming up with what's right for the time now." In other words, he's not entirely keen on "just a 'remake' or something." With a new edition of Bullfrog's Syndicate rumored to be in production at Starbreeze Studios, one might conclude that Harvey isn't the only one at EA looking for "what's right for the time now." And one might conclude even harder when database digger Superannuation finds that Electronic Arts has filed new trademarks for Populous, Theme Park, Wing Commander and Road Rash. Pure speculation? Yes. Highly desirable? Also yes. Source -- Why there's hope for Bullfrog IP returning [Kikizo] Source -- Superannuation
Earthrise spotlights the Industrial Area in recent dev diary
Of the upcoming post-apocalyptic MMOs, Earthrise boasts a feature that sets it apart from the others: more technology. This is evident in the screenshots we've seen and the interviews we've done regarding this Masthead Studios title. In a recent dev journal at MMORPG.com, the team explains the rise and fall the great nanofactories in the game's lore, and sets the stage for your heroic character to step in and help reclaim the Industrial Area."Sadly, Coordinator Jared and his men were great scientists, but poor diplomats. They found the worst kind of economical ally in the face of the Syndicate, who forced them into signing a beguiling contract relinquishing control over the industrial production and the operation of the installations of the Collective. In a matter of weeks, the shady elements of the Syndicate teemed in the Industrial Area, taking "temporary control due to terms of agreement" over the immense industrial plants. The Tech Collective was forced to watch helplessly while the bandits overstretched the production capabilities of the Industrial Area, ending in fiery destruction."Check out the complete dev diary for more of the intriguing story.
Syndicate creator skeptical of a series revival
Syndicate creator Sean Cooper says he remains skeptical any revival of his 1993 cult-classic title will be able to capture the "essence" of the original. "Every time I've seen a prototype of a new Syndicate it's just been misguided," Cooper told IncGamers.In October 2008, rumors swirled about the possibility of Riddick dev Starbreeze reviving the Electronic Arts property. Last March, GI.biz stated that "sources confirmed" the rumor was true. No official announcement has ever been made.According to Cooper, Electronic Arts has attempted to revisit the real-time tactics title many times in the past, citing memories of failed prototypes brought to his attention. However, Cooper fears EA won't be able to capture what made the original so popular: "The essence of the game was killing people - and that was it," Cooper said. "If I have to kill everyone, I will. That to me was the essence of the gameplay."Syndicate was developed by Bullfrog Productions, a company co-founded by Microsoft Game Studios Europe creative director Peter Molyneux. In 2006, Syndicate was included in the PSP-exclusive compilation EA Replay -- unfortunately, it was a terrible version.
Rumorang: Riddick dev helming new Syndicate game
A new report suggests that Starbreeze Studios is working on a new Syndicate game, with Electronic Arts set to publish. Word of the Riddick and The Darkness dev's involvement with the title first made the rounds last October. Possibly related is a new casting call posted on superannuation for actors in an upcoming "futuristic" Starbreeze/EA title called "DART," which according to the post will be set in a "high tech city."Though nothing has been formally announced, sources tell GI.biz that the Syndicate series is behind EA and Starbreeze's mysterious Project RedLime, which was originally referred to as a "classic franchise" for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC. While that project was said to be "already deep in development" in February 2008, don't expect to revisit the classic cyberpunk series anytime soon. According to the report, the new Syndicate title won't be released until Starbreeze finishes up its current project based on Robert Ludlum's Jason Bourne. Until then, the four gentlemen in the corner giving us the crazy eyes will just have to wait.
All the World's a Stage: So you want to be an Alliance Rogue
This installment of All the World's a Stage is the twenty-fourth in a series of roleplaying guides in which we find out all the background information you need to roleplay a particular race or class well, without embarrassing yourself. Many of the most famous rogues outside of the Warcraft setting have been nuanced and exciting characters. Bilbo Baggins, the Prince of Persia, and James Bond, could all be reimagined as rogues if they had existed in Azeroth instead of their own settings. As an Alliance rogue, you have a certain amount of freedom to borrow from other settings, or from the real world, since the Alliance races tend to be more similar to heroes of other stories we've heard before. To a certain extent, Blizzard has already based its Alliance rogue guilds on stories from other settings, and left some aspects of these institutions rather vague. There is certainly enough room for roleplayers to fill in a bit of the blanks with their own creative inspiration. The only danger is that it could be easy to overdo it and descending into Mary-Sueism: one ought to feel free to reach for a bit of the flavor of James Bond, for instance, without ever believing your character is the single best secret agent Stormwind could ever have.
Rumor: EA has Starbreeze working on new Syndicate
CVG claims that EA has Starbreeze Studios working on a new entry in the Syndicate franchise. Starbreeze is best known for creating the Chronicles of Riddick and The Darkness. The original Syndicate was created by Peter Molyneux's old studio, Bullfrog.Starbreeze doesn't note that a new Syndicate game is currently in production on its website and this information isn't official. A return to the Syndicate universe does sound like a nice idea, so hopefully CVG's source isn't the same one that told it about the Starcraft MMO last year.[Via Big Download]
Ask a Lore Nerd: Only a little broken
Welcome to Ask a Lore Nerd, the column that answers your questions about the story and lore of the Warcraft universe. Click the Comments link below, ask your question, and blogger/columnist Alex Ziebart will answer you in a future installment!skoll asks...Whats your speculation about the Burning Legion in the new expansion, since Kil'jaeden has been killed/defeated? IF he is dead.. will it that be the end of Burning Legion? If not, what you think their role will be?Answer: Well, Kil'jaeden isn't dead. Not at all. In the Sunwell Plateau, Kil'jaeden is being summoned but never fully makes it through the portal. We bop him on the head and he just falls back in. What presence will they have in Wrath? Well, it will probably be minimal. I am sure they'll have some presence, the Legion doesn't really have any love for the Scourge, but it won't be anything like what we've seen in The Burning Crusade. Kil'jaeden is alive and well, but I think they'll scale way back on demons just because we've seen so many lately. They will probably want to step away from thrusting the same thing on us for another entire expansion.
The Expendables: Guns blazing, everything exploding
Following Most Wanted Entertainment's unveiling of Mechanic Master, IGN investigated the Hungarian studio's site and dug up an interesting squad-based shooter in development -- The Expendables. Using the touchscreen, players guide "the world's lamest international private army" through 35 missions, blowing up almost everything in sight. As you can see in the trailer and screenshots, this doesn't look like the most polished game, but the character sprites (and the buzz-saw tractor) definitely have some charm to them. The Expendables actually reminds us of a faster-paced Syndicate. You remember Bullfrog's Syndicate, right? That series was tight. MWE hasn't yet announced whether it has managed to pick up a publisher for the title. We have a feeling that if the studio ever does find one, it will have to find a more useful implementation for the top screen. Not that skulls laughing and machine guns spitting out bullet casings aren't totally awesome.%Gallery-27212%[Via IGN]
Lionhead's Molyneux open to revisiting his past catalog
Though his vision usually outstrips his games' technical prowess, super developer Peter Molyneux is still responsible for some the most unique gaming experiences ever put to code. He's let us soar through the air on an enchanted rug, mow down civilians in a near-future dystopia, and has even let us play god once or twice. Unfortunately, after having the distinct 'pleasure' of being absorbed by larger studios on two separate occasions, many of his most memorable creations have since been left to the pages of history. Even so, while Molyneux is currently courting players with his canine-friendly Fable 2, he recently told Shacknews that he's open to revisiting his earlier games, particularly Syndicate. "I really would love to redo a version of Syndicate," he commented, adding that while he has not been given the go ahead to knock the dust off his past achievements, "one day, I'm sure that opportunity is going to come up and I'd love to do it." Of course, he's said this all before, but we continue to hold out hope. In a world filled with one mundane first-person shooter after the next, we could really use another Magic Carpet.
Custom PC's ten hardest games ever
Pictured: games that might be hard to buy, not play. Are these really the ten hardest PC games ever? We cast a somewhat doubtful eye on Custom PC's list (replete with handy guides, walkthroughs, and cheat codes), but there are a ton of hard games that didn't make it on here. Is Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas really one of the hardest games in existence?We remember playing Wing Commander III until our eyes bled, restarting level after level after level, and smacking our stupid sound card around until it made some sort of noise. Maybe there should be a "Hardest To Get Up And Running Smoothly" games list. But as far as hardest ... that's a tough list to make, and a lot of source material to draw from. Heck, some of those Infocom text games were pretty freakin' hard. Who else pulled their hair out during Zork II when the Wizard of Frobozz would suddenly appear and screw you over?Anyhow, check out the list and see if you agree. They get some uber-bonus points for putting Syndicate: American Revolt on there, but c'mon ... Far Cry? 10: Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas 9: System Shock 2 8: Homeworld 2 7: Final Doom 6: Syndicate: American Revolt 5: Grand Prix Legends 4: Far Cry 3: IL-2 Sturmovik and add-ons 2: Armed Assault 1: Aliens vs. Predator
Syndicate EA Replay video revealed
myFlash = new FlashObject('http://www.gametrailers.com/umremote312.swf', 'swffile', 480, 409, 8); myFlash.altTxt = ''; myFlash.addVariable('mid', 13812); myFlash.write(); I never got the chance to play Peter Molyneux's Syndicate back in the early 90s, even though it was released on nearly every platform imaginable. However, thanks to EA Replay, I'll be able to finally do so anywhere I want, even if it's nearly 13 years after its release. If you had any questions about Syndicate, this video will show you pretty much everything and then some. The game combines several different genres like real-time tactics, shooting and simulator into something that was pretty ahead of its time when it was released.You'll be able to get your hands on Syndicate and 13 other classic EA titles when EA Replay ships Oct. 31.
Molyneux interested in revisiting old franchises
Speaking to Gamespot UK, the ever-enthusiastic and monochromatically inclined Peter Molyneux expressed interest in revisiting some of his old franchises. Licensing complications aside, he asserts that "some sort of next-gen online version of Syndicate would certainly be popular with gamers," and that new versions of Dungeon Keeper and Populous would be equally exciting to him. Having been purchased by Microsoft certainly makes the prospect of these sequels appearing at Lionhead (and not EA) less likely, but not impossible.In fact, we're already swooning over the idea of a sprawling Syndicate sequel -- perhaps a next-gen variant might even give us that real ending we were so rudely cheated out of years ago. Then again, sprawling development costs might say otherwise. "But it should be remembered that there is a law of diminishing return here, so if you spend $5 million and double that to $10 million, you don't get double the quality. This trend really can't continue, and the industry must face the fact we need to stabilize our costs. This will mean that reuse of technology and assets needs to be much better managed." For further Molyneux insight, check out Joystiq's "But you said that about Fable 1!" interview conducted at last month's Develop Conference.[Via GamersReports]
Yet another classics compilation, this time from EA
If the upcoming Capcom Classics Reloaded or the insanely awesome Sega Genesis Collection aren't enough retro games for you, then you might want to check out EA's offering. Gamespot recently spotted a Gamestop listing (these names always confuse me) called EA Replay, and it should feature the following games:B.O.B.--1993--SNES and Genesis Budokan--1990--Genesis Desert Strike--1993--SNES and Genesis Jungle Strike--1993--SNES and Genesis Haunting Starring Polterguy--1993--Genesis Mutant League Football--1993--Genesis Road Rash--1992--Genesis, later on 3DO Road Rash II--1993--Genesis Road Rash III--1995--Genesis Syndicate--1995--SNES, 3DO, Jaguar Ultima: The Black Gate--1994--SNES Virtual Pinball--1993--Genesis Wing Commander--1993--SNES Wing Commander: The Secret Missions--1993--SNESWhile these may franchises may not be as famous as Sonic or Street Fighter, there are still some heavy-hitters there. Personally, I can't wait to get back into Road Rash, while many should get excited about Wing Commander. But, compared to Sega's 30 game offering, will EA's less than blockbuster lineup be able to compete?
