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Thomas Was Alone, Unit 13 free on PlayStation Plus this week
Sony expands its Instant Game Collection this week with Thomas Was Alone and Unit 13, which will be released as free downloads for PlayStation Plus subscribers starting tomorrow. Mike Bithell's Thomas Was Alone, available for both the PlayStation 3 and PS Vita, takes a gang of quadrilateral shapes through a series of puzzle-platforming levels bridged by clever narration. The PlayStation Vita-exclusive Unit 13 serves up tactical third-person shooter action, debuting in 2012 as SOCOM series developer Zipper Interactive's swan song. Both games will be released as free downloads for Plus members after the PlayStation Store updates tomorrow evening. Thomas Was Alone is a Cross-Buy release, and Plus subscribers will receive both the PS3 and Vita versions with tomorrow's update. [Image: Mike Bithell]
MAG, SOCOM PS3 servers signing off for good
Servers for MAG, SOCOM 4, and SOCOM: Confrontation are shutting down on January 28, 2014, Sony has announced. As it stands, the server shutdowns will essentially make MAG and Confrontation obsolete, due to their reliance on online play. The news follows the closure of MAG and SOCOM studio Zipper Interactive last year. When asked then about future SOCOM entries, Sony Worldwide Studios chief Shuhei Yoshida said his company never retires a franchise. Nonetheless, today's news will sound like a death knell for fans of the long-running shooter series, and certainly as one for MAG, which will go offline two days short of its fourth birthday.
MAG shutting down in January
MAG used to be a thing here at Massively. We wrote about it a fair amount way back in 2010, and some of us played a fair bit of it around that same period. Sadly, Sony has decided to shutter the PlayStation 3 shooter effective January 28, 2014. The news came via the official PlayStation Twitter feed earlier today. MAG development studio Zipper Interactive closed its doors in March of 2012.
SOCOM vets form casual studio, seeking Kickstarter support
A team of vets displaced after Zipper Interactive closed have reformed as Nobodinos (pronounced: nobody knows) and are currently seeking funds through Kickstarter. GI.biz reports the studio launched shortly after Zipper shuttered, and has been at work on Bottom Feeders, a casual multiplatform game."Eventually we may get back to the big console titles, but for now we are focused on creating some casual and mobile games," the studio told GI.biz.Nobodinos is going to have to cast a wide net to reach its goal of $225,000 within a month. More details on their development hopes and caviar dreams can be found on their Kickstarter page.
Yoshida on SOCOM: We 'never retire any franchise'
Shuhei Yoshida, president of Sony Worldwide Studios, wants to quell fears that we'll never see another entry in the SOCOM franchise. Even though series creators Zipper Interactive was shuttered back in March, "never say never," he said."It's not done. We never retire any franchise," Yoshida told Official PlayStation Magazine (via UK) when asked about future entries. Yoshida then pointed to Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time, the recent resurrection of the Sly Cooper series, as a sign. "It's sometimes good to have a fresh look at the franchises we have."The last game in the series, SOCOM 4, was far from the series' best. So while it's hardly confirmation we'll see a new SOCOM game in the future, at least Zipper's closure is not the death knell we feared it was.
PS2 and PSP SOCOM servers shutting down at the end of August
Amazingly, Zipper Interactive servers for SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs have continued to be active since the game's original debut on the PlayStation 2 in 2002, meaning that crazy people dedicated fans with online adapter-equipped PS2s have been able to keep playing for nearly 10 years. Now though, since Zipper Interactive doesn't exist anymore and everything, the servers for four PS2 SOCOM games and four PSP SOCOM titles will be taken offline at the end of August.PlayStation 2 SOCOMs I, II, and III (as well as SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Combined Assault) will be going dark, as will the PSP various SOCOM titles, Fireteam Bravo (I, II and III) and SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Tactical Strke.If this outage affects your regular gaming routine, we offer our most sincere condolences. Also, we'd like to point out that many thousands of games have been released since 2002, some of which you might enjoy. Perhaps this will be a good opportunity to go check some of 'em out?
Sony confirms Zipper Interactive closure
Today has been a rough one for the games industry. Following massive layoffs at Sega today, Sony has confirmed Zipper Interactive's closure after it was rumored last week.In a statement given to Game Informer, a Sony representative stated the move was the "result of a normal cycle of resource re-alignment within SCE WWS." Though the studio has been shuttered, "Zipper titles MAG, SOCOM 4 and Unit 13 will continue to be supported, including the new Daily Challenges in Unit 13."
Rumor: Sony shutting down SOCOM dev Zipper Interactive
Sony may be on the verge of closing down its shooter studio, Zipper Interactive. According to Kotaku sources, there's been "chatter for several days" about an impending closure and the possible cancellation of a current project. Sony has not commented on the situation.Those with short memories may recall Zipper Interactive for it PS Vita shooter, Unit 13. But the company's roots go much deeper -- Zipper Interactive was founded in 1995 and spent the remainder of the '90s making Windows games. In 2002, Zipper created a little PS2 game for Sony called SOCOM: US Navy Seals and, after spending the next few years pumping out sequels, it was acquired by the publisher in 2006. The developer completed work on the large-scale multiplayer shooter, MAG, in 2010.
Unit 13 review: Fired up, feels okay
Developer Zipper Interactive cut its teeth on the PlayStation 2 with the SOCOM series, becoming legend to military shooter fans with a trio of outstanding titles. In the following generation, however, Zipper hasn't been as consistent. Initially, my time with Unit 13, the dev's new military shooter for Vita, was nothing short of a love affair, but after only a few hours the game quickly lost steam.Rather than offer a story, Unit 13 presents itself as a set of over 35 missions, which offer a variety of objectives. Some require covert infiltration and some, for instance, must be accomplished within a specific timeframe.In the beginning, Unit 13 does a great job of pushing its leaderboard mentality, where score is king and it's your runs versus the world, but the entire framework feels meaningless. Orders are barked at you, and you execute them, with little in the way of reasoning other than, "These dudes are bad, so kill them before they do their bad dude things."%Gallery-140087%
Unit 13 launch trailer shoots a lot of bad men
If video games have taught us anything, it's that dudes who cover their face are the bad guys.
Unit 13 trailer shows us how to play
Because pushing all of the buttons at once is a horrible strategy.
Vita shooter Unit 13 deploys on March 6
Unit 13, Zipper Interactive's pocket-purposed over-the-shoulder shooter, will be released for the Vita on March 6, 2012. This is in line with Zipper Interactive president Brian Soderberg's original prediction for a "right around Vita launch" release window; seeing as the Vita hits US shores on February 22, we suppose that's close enough to still count. Zipper Interactive is, of course, best known for creating 1998's Top Gun: Hornet's Nest for Windows PC. It's also the studio responsible for 2010's MAG and the SOCOM series, which we're guessing probably factored into Unit 13's development more than any Tom Cruise-based development experience.
Unit 13's debut trailer introduces the usual operatives
When Unit 13 arrives "near" the PlayStation Vita's February 22 launch date, it'll come with a quartet of selectable, familiar operatives. Can you spot the tank?
Unit 13 is a portable shooter from SOCOM dev, 'right around Vita launch'
After the poor reception of SOCOM 4, and some subsequent post-release downsizing, Redmond-based Zipper Interactive is setting its sights a little smaller for its next outing. And by smaller, we mean PlayStation Vita-sized. Unit 13 isn't the thirteenth title in some entirely unknown and impossibly long-running edutainment series; instead, it's the name of Zipper's dual analog-powered portable shooter. "Fast action, on-the-go gameplay was a key goal for the Unit 13 team," Zipper president Brian Soderberg writes on PlayStation Blog. "Missions come in a variety of sizes and difficulty. Some are smaller bite-sized battles; others are longer, more challenging, multi-objective missions that are a good test for any skilled shooter fan." Bite-sized gameplay isn't the only thing Zipper adopted from the world of mobile games; the Vita's WiFi and 3G functionality keep "players up to date on leaderboard positions, new 'Daily Challenge' content, new unlocks, shared High Value Target missions, and challenges from friends as they move past you on the leaderboards." Unit 13 even features co-op with accompanying voice chat, playing into the Vita's console/portable hybrid approach. Perhaps a tad more worrisome: "it's available right around Vita launch," Soderberg says, and this is the first we're hearing of it. We're trying to stay positive here. %Gallery-140087%
Zipper Interactive staff reduced following SOCOM 4 completion
Sony has confirmed a round of layoffs incurred at Zipper Interactive, its Redmond-based developer of abbreviated squad-based shooters SOCOM and MAG. "This is of normal business practice and a result of cutting back on production resources after the launch of two major franchises," a representative told Joystiq. "The team will continue to support existing properties and its work on future projects." Sony did not say how many positions were terminated at Zipper, though a report on Kotaku suggests that 33 employees were affected. Lead designer Travis Steiner recently parted ways with Zipper to form his own startup. His next project, along with that of his former employer, are both not yet known.
SOCOM 4 lead designer leaves Zipper Interactive
Zipper Interactive community manager Jeremy Dunham has confirmed SOCOM 4 lead designer Travis Steiner has left the development studio to form his own start-up company. Dunham Tweeted yesterday that Steiner wanted to finish his work on SOCOM 4 before leaving to start his own project -- and, other than a very simple flash page, the identity of that project is unknown. Considering Steiner was with Zipper Interactive for about eight years, we're sure that whatever his new excursion is will be worth keeping an eye on. Also, judging by his former studio's lineage, we're going to guess that said project will feature much shooting.
SOCOM 4 launch trailer is going to sneak up and stab you
Sure, there are plenty of guns in the launch trailer for SOCOM 4, but there are just as many (if not more) lethal sneak-up-and-stabs going on. There's also something about a "story" or whatever, but we're much more interested in clandestine assassinations.
Bear McCreary's SOCOM 4 soundtrack now available
If you've ever listened to and, as a result, fallen in love with the soundtracks to Battlestar Galactica, Dark Void or Human Target, you'll probably groove to composer Bear McCreary's latest opus: The musical accompaniment to SOCOM 4. The shooter's soundtrack arrived alongside the game itself today, and is now available through iTunes and the PlayStation Store for $10. You can check out a track from the soundtrack over on PlayStation Blog, but you may first want to strap yourself down to your computer chair. If left unrestrained, listening to the track in question might cause you to lose control of your body, sending you off on a wild and irresponsible terrorist hunt. [Image source: Screencap from Dark Void soundtrack trailer]
SOCOM 4 review: Covert oops
When it arrived on PlayStation 2 nearly a decade ago, SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs was unlike anything console gamers had experienced before. Rather than running and gunning, it focused on strategy, stealth, teamwork and a fair amount of realism. At the time, the idea of a military shooter in which one or two shots would take the player down was more or less unheard of, but it was a great representation of the authenticity the series strove for. True to its namesake, the title drew upon the field tactics and training of the elite U.S. Navy SEALs, putting players in command of two, two-man fire teams as they snuck behind enemy lines, destroyed targets, rescued hostages and generally worked to get their job done like ghosts. Now the first numbered installment in the series since 2005 is finally here, and if it weren't for squad commands and a familiar acronym in the title, you might not give it the time of day -- for good reason.%Gallery-87398%
SOCOM 4 comes with Resistance 3 beta access
It's always healthy to take frequent breaks while playing through a first-person shooter to indulge in other, distinctly different kinds of shooting. If you purchase a specially-marked copy (or Full Deployment Edition) of SOCOM 4, then you should be all set -- Sony has announced that the game will include a voucher that will net you access to the public beta for Resistance 3. The bundle's announcement on PlayStation Blog doesn't mention when said beta will kick off, but mentions that the voucher itself includes further details. We'll make sure we'll let you know when we get our hands on one of these golden tickets! At least, we assume that they're golden. If not ... well, then, what's the point?
