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GRAW developer: PS3 not harder to code for than 360
Despite the steady hiss of internet pundits that suggests otherwise, Ubisoft's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter development team doesn't believe that it's harder to code games for the PlayStation 3 compared to the Xbox 360. Yann Le Tensorer, who co-created the graphics engine powering GRAW and the upcoming Beowulf, re-ckons that any uphill development battles are to blame on the learning curve associated with newer hardware. "It's wrong to say it's harder to code on the PlayStation 3, it's just something that needs to be learnt," he told GamesIndustry.Biz. He goes on to stun the less observant by pointing out that "it's just a different console." Le Tensorer isn't the first to comment on the hardware's perceived difficulty. In June, Team Ninja's Yosuke Hayashi engaged in less subtle commentary by simply telling complaining PS3 developers to "get out of the ring." The GRAW developer goes on to state, "Developers might says [sic] it's harder because it just takes time to understand the technology, we're still early in the lifecycle." In other words, it is tougher to program for the system, but only while you're still learning the technological ropes. It seems a fair explanation for the publisher's poorly received Splinter Cell: Double Agent port and EA's lack of frames in Madden NFL 08 -- at least from a developer's point of view. Consumers may feel otherwise as they await the PS3 arrival of Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2.
Ghost Recon creative director moves to Bungie
Christian Allen, former creative director at Red Storm, which creates the Ghost Recon games, has taken a new job at Bungie as "design lead." Allen doesn't say what game he'll be working on, but having been a Marine and working on one of the top military-themed franchises in existence, we're going to guess it involves guns -- which he seems well-versed in. So, super speculation time. Now that Bungie has Halo 3 almost in the bag and they've brought this guy on board, what could they be working on? A Halo-themed squad game? A Halo-themed squad game? Or, a Halo-themed squad game? What, you don't think it'll be a squad game? Ohhh, you don't think it'll be Halo-themed. OK, in other news, Nintendo isn't making Mario games anymore either.
GRAW 2 demo coming to the EU PSN this week
According to the French site Play3-Live, a Community Manager (aka Blog/Forum liason) at SCEE gave them a sneak peak at some of the upcoming updates to the EU PlayStation Store. Headlining the list is a demo for the heavily delayed PlayStation 3 version of Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 as well as a couple of PSX titles. Here's the full list: August 2nd: Demo: GRAW 2 Video: Lair Video: Ratchet and Clank: FToD Video: Juiced 2: Hot Nights August 9th: PSX: Ridge Racer 1 PSX: Tekken 2 [Via N4G] *Updated* Changed title to point out the demo is coming out this week -- not next.
Splinter Cell: Double Agent gets lady spy, new maps on 360
Splinter Cell fans took it on the chin yesterday, finding out that the next iteration of the series, Conviction, wasn't due out until early 2008. It's sad, really. They're just sitting around now, sweating in their stealth wet suits, with their goggles down so we can't see the tears. Now it's time to perk up, guys and (specifically) gals, as new, free content for Splinter Cell: Double Agent has just been dropped on Xbox Live. It was talked about in February, but is finally here, just in time for nigh irrelevance. You can pick up two new multiplayer maps ("Kinshasa" and "Secret base"), but the real draw here is lady spy, who (as the blade description proudly touts) comes with three outfits. Who says women's liberation is over?
GamerTV reveals foggy footage of GRAW 2
The N64 was home to a ton of brilliant classics, but it was notorious for one crucial flaw ... fog, and lots of it. Having just watched footage of the PSP version of Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2, we'll admit we haven't seen fog this bad since the days of Superman 64. Of course, we jest (somewhat). Let's hope the graphics are indicative of the way this game plays. [Via PlayStation]
GRAW2 on PS3 delayed until August 31st
Despite their best efforts, Ubisoft announced that Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 wouldn't be making its way to PS3 audiences this June. The new projected release date is August 31st. Initially, Ubisoft (who prefers the Xbox 360) intended the PS3 release to coincide with its Xbox 360 cousin this past March. When that didn't happen, the June release date was given, and now, we're being told a late August release. Judging from the last two delays, we won't hold our breath for this release date either Lets hope the additional time spent in the developer incubator produces some stellar goodies upon its release.
GRAW 2 gets some extra features on the PS3
Tom Clancy's GRAW2 is about to hit the PlayStation 3 and we've all been wondering a few things: any noticeable differences between this and the 360 version? Additional content? Will multiplayer function execute adequately, or fall short in matchmaking skills compared to Live? While we don't have all the answers to these questions, we can at least address some of them -- what's new for the PS3 version and what's been added. Let's list it up! SixAxis features: Controller features used for Mitchell and Cross-com control SP: Drive the supports (drone, M.U.L.E.) with the SixAxis SP/MP: Change Mitchell stances with the SixAxis SP: change the Rules of Engagement with the SixAxis Consistency increased between SP & MP: Scope, Movement, Aiming PS3 specific adaptation of controls: Menus, Shoot button 14 additional maps resulting in a total of 32 multiplayer maps 32 new adversarial multiplayer maps of up to 16 players, an expanded arsenal of multinational weapons, character customization options, new optimizing re-spawn system, new female operatives and hundreds of new game mode options are available. 2 new coop modes, "Evasion" and "Exfiltration", to vary the game experience in multiplayer. 6 missions co-op campaign with a fully immersive experience and storyline. Featuring open-ended play that rewards teamwork as you play with up to sixteen players. So it seems there have been quite a few delicious changes to the basic frame of the title between then and its release on the PS3. Still a mystery, however, is if all will pan out and operate smoothly. Ports aren't kind to the PS3, but if they've put so much effort into adding stuff to the game, they should put the effort to make it work well, too.
GRAW 2 Throwback Pack up for download
Today, you'll get to try out the new and improved Marketplace by downloading a new map pack for GRAW 2 called the Throwback Pack. This map pack costs 800 Microsoft points and includes seven remakes of multiplayer maps from not only GRAW, but Ghost Recon 2 and Ghost Recon 2: Summit Strike. Maps included are Bonfires, Desert Gulch, Fishing Village, Jungle Mines, Mountain Base, Mountain Falls, and Peninsula. And if you need a little more information about the new maps before you commit to a purchase, head over to IGN as they have a nice preview of each map. If you've already downloaded the new maps, what do you think about the value you get for your 800 Microsoft points? [Thanks, Raymond Dubisky]
EndWar screens dazzle the senses
Okay, so these new EndWar screens don't dazzle all the senses. They dazzle every sense except sound, smell, taste, and touch. So, um, when you come right down to it, all they dazzle is the eyes (unless you find licking your monitor a dazzling experience). Anyway, regardless of what particular sense is dazzled, the screens themselves are, in fact, dazzling. If this is the kind of quality we can expect from EndWar, the first RTS in the Tom Clancy franchise, color us impressed. The screens are just loaded with highly detailed objects and effects. We're particularly fond of the explosion seen above. Visit Xboxygen to see the screens in high resolution glory.
GRAW 2 gets 'Throwback Pack' for $10
We imagine it's not uncommon for soldiers to long for the battlefields of their youth, the place where they grew up and became part of a tightly-knit fighting force. Despite the adage, Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 players feeling those pangs can actually go home again, thanks to the 800-point ($10) "Throwback Pack" which whisks them from their modern battleground of Mexico on a nostalgic trip to Kazakhstan, the Korean Peninsula and ... well, other parts of Mexico. There are seven "remastered" Ghost Recon maps in the pack, which is available now. That's all the information we get from the blade description but IGN says that they're drawn from Ghost Recon 2, GR 2: Summit Strike and GRAW 1. So, how about it GRAW fans? Is a trip down Memory Lane and a fresh hit of tactical action worth a ten spot?
EndWar controls nothing like BFMEII
Now that we've taken a look at the first shots of EndWar, we can start to ask the serious questions. Being a console RTS, one question rises above all others: how does it control? According to EGM and Michael de Plater, who is leading the EndWar project, it controls nothing like Battle for Middle Earth II. 360 fanboys will recall that BFMEII, and now Command & Conquer 3, were Electronic Arts' attempts at streamlining console RTS controls. That's not good enough for Plater, who says that BFMEII "was a test case for exactly what we didn't want to do." A note for console RTS developers: watch out for flying mud.CVG reports on the EGM information, clarifying that the main factions of EndWar will be the U.S. Joint Strike Force, Russian Spetsnaz, and the European Enforcers. Furthermore, combat will be limited to 12 squads at a time. Limiting combat numbers sounds like a great idea, as managing giant armies (as in BFMEII or C&C3) can be difficult on a console. Also mentioned in the article, the battlefield will be fully destructible.Now we have a new question: will EndWar set the new standard for console RTS games, or will we have to wait for Halo Wars?[Via Joystiq]
EndWar viral footage is the shakiest ever
We brought word yesterday that the EndWar viral site password had been discovered, revealing a pair of video clips. Our friends at The Xbox Domain have uncovered the viral footage in handy YouTube form. As a public service to our readers, we have posted it here. We have to say though, even for viral footage, this stuff is pretty tame. The camera shaking and constant static effect nearly nullifies the whole experience. Honestly, if we didn't know from where the footage came, we'd have no idea what it was (which is sort of the point of viral marketing, we suppose). Still, if you've got a hankering for some Tom Clancy flavored World War III action, you might as well check it out. Hopefully it won't be too long before we see some actual gameplay.
Tom Clancy's EndWar announced, set in WWIII
It looks like the recent Tom Clancy viral campaign is no longer a mystery. Ubisoft officially announced the next entry in the Tom Clancy franchise today. Titled EndWar, the game is being built from the ground up for new generation consoles. While specific platforms have not yet been named, it's a fairly safe bet the game will end up on the Xbox 360. EndWar is set in World War III and "will allow gamers to lead their own armies against hundreds of others online." The game is being headed by Michael de Plater who has worked on the PC Total War series for some time now. EndWar is described as a "war strategy game," and considering the talent behind it, it seems like we're in for a brand new RTS. The game is being developed by Ubisoft Shanghai, the team behind Splinter Cell: Double Agent. It's expected to debut sometime this fiscal year (which began this month, so it could easily be 2008).A new gen RTS with Tom Clancy flavor? Where do we sign up?[Thanks, Mike]
GRAW2 vs. the real world: GRAW2 wins
There's a very interesting article at Popular Mechanics exploring the differences between the technology of GRAW 2 and its real world counterparts. Of course, we already know that GRAW 2 is the most realistic game ever produced, but how realistic is it really? Popular Mechanics compares the Cross-Com of GRAW 2 with the American Army's Land Warrior system. So, how does GRAW 2's system compare? First of all, both systems allow for the tracking of friendly units. In Ghost Recon, these are indicated by blue diamonds that move in real time. The Land Warrior system has a similar system that uses blue circles on a GPS map. The only difference here is that the tracking is far from real time. In fact, it takes a full minute to register new movement. The article notes that the GPS system is useful for large, conventional battles, but that it proves far less useful for the smaller, faster battles of modern day warfare.
GRAW 2 border security: MEGA 64 style
We love us some MEGA64. That really goes without saying (which kind of nullifies the first sentence ... never mind). The latest video from the group is actually an advertisement for GRAW 2 but, as usual, it's pretty damned funny. Given the reaction from the Mexican government concerning GRAW 2, the video is also surprisingly relevant (in addition to the obvious hilarity). We won't spoil the video, so let's just say that it's worth watching. Click play, give it a watch, and tell us what you think. [Via Joystiq]
Mega64 parodies GRAW 2, border security
Even if you're not crazy about living Tetris blocks or Mario and Luigi meeting their maker, we think your chuckle bone could be tickled by the latest video from the gentlemen of Mega64 called "Local Leaders." Yes, it's technically an ad for Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2, but it's also technically really entertaining. A bit of forewarning: The video does feature some explicit language. However, it has been replaced by high-pitched beeps, so it should be work-safe. Unless, of course, your boss is a bat and doesn't appreciate his employees toying with his echolocation, then you might want to wait until you get home. Also, find a new job.
Original GRAW goodness for only $20
This week Circuit City is hastily clearancing out a few popular video game titles, selling the original Xbox 360 version of GRAW for $19.99. Yes sir, $20 will get you one of the prettiest looking advanced war fighting games this side of the moon. Even if you're not a huge fan of war-style games, GRAW at $20 is a great "try me" price for anyone sitting on the fence. And if you are sitting on the fence ... why? Fence sitting results in 280 deaths a year, just get down and go buy GRAW already.
Mexico is all up in arms over GRAW2
We're going write about this because it's really quite humorous. In a post we slapped up a few days ago, we mentioned how activists are trying to enlist the help of U2 frontman Bono to pull Mercenaries 2 from shelves. Someone in the comments sections said something like this: "RatBoy: Ohhh, ohhh, I got an Idea... Why don't we boycott GRAW 2 because it's set in Mexico. I know that after playing it I develop an intense urge to write my congressperson and ask them to break sanction millitary action in Mexico City." Well, you've got a gift, my friend. The governer of Mexican state Chihuahua (we wonder if it's very small and frail, shakes a lot?) has ordered the seizure of all copies of GRAW2. The mayor calls the game "a crime against the intellectual capacity of Juarez residents" and offered a similar condemnation of video games as a whole: "Violent video games instill values which are upside down, and these actions are despicable because they attempt to divide the good will of the residents of American and Mexican cities." Hmm, well RatBoy, do you think England is going to boycott the alternate timeline in Resistance next? You seem to be on top of these things!
GRAW 2 to be seized by Mexican state gov't
Chihuahua Governor Jose Reyes Baeza Terraces has ordered the seizure of all copies of Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 that are in regional distribution, according to a report in Juárez newspaper El Diario. The governor's order follows Juárez Mayor Héctor Murguía Lardizábal's harsh criticism of the game, which proposes a not-so-distant future in which the citizens of the Chihuahua border city have apparently fled, replaced by sparsely populated pockets of resistance, known as insurgents (not to be confused with terr'ists). "Violent video games ... attempt to divide the good will of the residents of American and Mexican cities," declared the mayor in a carelessly worded blanket statement. So who's behind this divisive propaganda...? France?! But how do the French stand to benefit from the eruption of the fragile border issue across the Atlantic? Why, Ubisoft Paris? Why rub open centuries-old wounds? Don't you know that the only suitable wargame villains are Nazis and Cold War commies? Best watch yourself lest Chihuahua sic Bono on your ass. Source: El Dario [Google translation]
GRAW 2 being pulled from Mexican retailers
According to a Spanish newspaper called El Diario, the Governor of the Mexican state of Chihuahua is demanding all copies of GRAW 2 be pulled from retailer's shelves. The Governor's knee jerk reaction to the game seems to be coming from the city of Juarez's mayor who has openly criticized GRAW 2's content calling it "a crime against the intellectual capacity of Juarez residents". And if you don't know, GRAW 2's storyline does deal with Mexican rebels and US forces duking it out on the US / Mexican border ... something the Mexican government obviously doesn't like. What do you think, silly government officials on their soap box or something to be really concerned about? [Via GamePolitics]
