Lovers of "Portal" will not be denied! Information culled from the April issue of Game Informer continues to sneak its way into our hearts and minds, and there's definitely some shocking bits of be discovered. If you're looking to play "Portal 2" without any prior knowledge (good luck!) you'll probably want to stop reading here.
For the rest of you, it seems that the events of "Portal 2" will take place hundreds of years after the first game. Basically Aperture Science has been abandoned and left to rot, with test chambers slowly being overtaken by the surrounding environment. It would explain the Game Informer cover, which shows off an outdoor, almost jungle-like world.
Despite the huge jump in time, the game will still star Chell, the heroine from the first game. When we last saw her, she was being blown to smithereens, laying lifeless outside of Aperture Science. And, thanks to a new ending, we heard her being dragged away by some sort of robot. Dragged to suspended animation, perhaps?
Meanwhile, the aforementioned co-op campaign will apparently have players controlling two robots (pictured in ASCII format) as they try to find humanity in their cold, metallic shells. Or something.
And speaking of robots, GlaDOS is back! Apparently the different parts of her psyche (you remember, the ones you tossed in the incinerator?) have taken over different parts of the facility. Familiar faces are always nice, even if they don't have faces.
I'm just wondering how they'll be able to expand the "Portal" concept into a full-fledged game and not a two-hour romp. Thoughts?
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portal,
portal-2,
Valve
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The vault is finally starting to be opened on "Fallout: New Vegas," thanks to an early batch of screenshots released by Bethesda and Obsidian. The screenshots seem to imply that there won't be a dramatic difference between "New Vegas" and "Fallout 3," but they do imply some gameplay improvements, most notably the addition of party members (beyond trusty Dog Meat, of course).
This screenshot is of a radial menu which shows off some of the handy tasks you can set your companion to do. It's much more full-featured than anything Dog Meat ever did, and mimics the variety of companion actions seen in "Fallout 2."
Check out the rest of the "Fallout: New Vegas" screenshots. There are plenty of cool surprises and questions to be answered. Like what the heck is Vault 22?
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bethesda game studios,
fallout,
fallout-new-vegas,
obsidian
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Fans of Zipper Interactive have been getting their online shooter fill with "MAG," but that fanbase was built on the back of another franchise: "SOCOM." When hardly anyone was connecting their PS2's to the internet, it was "SOCOM" that caused the hordes to pick up network adapters. And it appears that Zipper hasn't forgotten where they came from, as "SOCOM 4" has been announced and will release this fall.
Sony offered up a basic rundown of the story on their blog:
"As the Ops Com, your mission is to command an elite five-man squad charged with stopping his aggressive agenda before it’s too late. In only six days, you must lead your team through a hostile jungle and urban environments against an army of well-armed rebel insurgents that completely outnumber you."
They go on to say that "SOCOM 4" will feature 32-person multiplayer, in addition to the single-player campaign.
If you're still dying for additional "SOCOM 4" info, tune in to Gametrailers TV on Spike tonight at 12:30AM, as they'll be airing the first trailer for the game.
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scea,
SOCOM,
Socom 4,
Zipper Interactive
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The two recently-ousted studio heads of Infinity Ward, Jason West and Vince Zampella, have filed a lawsuit against Activision for breach of contract. The pair, who were fired earlier this week after claims of insubordination, are stating that Activision was scheduled to pay them significant royalty payments and terminated them before those payments would go into effect.
In a statement, the attorney for West and Zampella, Robert Schwartz, said the following:
"Instead of thanking, lauding, or just plain paying Jason and Vince for giving Activision the most successful entertainment product ever offered to the public, last month Activision hired lawyers to conduct a pretextual 'investigation' into unstated and unsubstantiated charges of 'insubordination' and 'breach of fiduciary duty,' which then became the grounds for their termination on Monday, March 1st."
Apart from financial restitution, West and Zampella are also suing for control over the "Modern Warfare" brand.
It's highly doubtful that this case will ever get to trial, and Activision isn't giving up one of their most lucrative franchises anytime soon. Likely that the case will settle out of court and Activision will help fund West and Zampella's next development house and project.
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activision,
call-of-duty,
call-of-duty-modern-warfare-2,
Infinity Ward
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The other day, Ubisoft revealed that there was a new "Assassin's Creed" game is on the way and it'll be the first in the series to include a multiplayer mode. Following that announcement, reports were coming out that an Ubisoft representative had given more details to CVG. The rep said that "the game will take place with the same hero, which is Ezio, and will follow-up the story that took place in 'Assassin's Creed 2.'"
Interesting, but considering this is pretty big news I wanted to get a confirmation from our own Ubisoft representative. And with that comes even more interesting news: That the new "Assassin's Creed" is coming this year. Here's the quote from our rep:
"A new 'Assassin's Creed' will come out this year and will feature Ezio as well as a multiplayer component. It is not DLC."
It's starting to sound more and more like this game is not going to be "Assassin's Creed 3," and will instead be more of a spin-off. To release a full "Assassin's Creed" sequel just one year departed from your last major release seems a little ambitious, even for Ubisoft. It also seems to go against the tenets of the franchise, which has been based different ancestors for each sequel. Altair did appear in multiple games, but these were basically spin-offs on different platforms. Expect a similiar release here.
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assassins-creed
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I would — along with everyone else at /empire – like to wish you a Happy New Year and hope whatever you choose as your new year’s resolution will come true. Mine will actually be to play more games. Hopefully 2010 will be more action packed than 2009 — and luckily for all of us, so far it sounds like it just might be.
Picture source: Garlar
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Back in August, former video games newsstand face Electronic Gaming Monthly announced that December 1 would mark it's return to print, but with December nearly halfway over and 2010 almost here, the revelation that their relaunch has been move up to March 2010 shouldn't come as much of a shocker.
"With our new weekly digital format, and the premium enhancement that newsstand purchasers will receive, we're changing the value proposition in a new and meaningful way," EGM founder Steve Harris told GamesIndustry.biz. "Not only does the digital companion allow us to offer additional content that is complementary to the print magazine, but it also gives us a way to communicate with our readers and update the print product in an ongoing manner."
EGM was published for two decades before it closed shop earlier this year, only to be bought back from publisher Ziff-Davies by Harris. A press release from December first explained that former EGM and 1UP.com editors Dan Hsu and Demian Linn will head up the magazine's editorial [Ed note: As part-time freelancers], bringing over a number of writers from Bitmob.com.
In the release, Harris mentions hoping to "build upon our relationship with Bitmob and bring even more synergies to our respective endeavors in the future," which makes sense if they'll be sharing staff members. Exactly how that relationship looks going forward will probably be more clear in March.
Are you looking forward to seeing EGM back on magazine racks? Were you disappointed that the relaunch didn't happen on December 1? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
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electronic-gaming-monthly
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Square Enix wants gamers to hang on to their copies of "Final Fantasy XIII" now that it's on the market in Japan, and its release came with a cryptic prediction that could indicate plans for downloadable content. There are a few different ways to interpret the company's non-committal nudge to consumers, but their hint definitely leaves the DLC doors wide open.
"From the announcement at E3 2006, we've at last reached this day. 'Final Fantasy XIII' is released today!" the 'FFXIII' director Motomu Toriyama said a statement translated on andriasang.com. His exuberance comes as little surprise, but his closing remarks invite lots of speculation. "For the Final Fantasy XIII world, this is the true start. Perhaps if you keep it nearby forever, there will be some additional good things."
The "perhaps" in that last sentence provides a Get Out of Jail Free card if Square Enix never releases anything related to "FFXIII" ever again, but there are only a handful of good things that could satisfy his suggestions. DLC is one of those things. Interactivity with future titles can't be ruled out though. Something in the neighborhood of the "Assassin's Creed" games' PS3/PSP data exchange isn't out of the question.
Then again, he may just be making a soft push against the used games market. Maybe they'll offer more details when the game hits in the U.S. on March 9, 2010.
Would you like to see DLC made available for "FFXIII"? What do you think Toriyama meant by his comments? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
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Final Fantasy XIII,
final-fantasy,
square-enix
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Now that most of the major releases are out, it seems like it's an ideal time for companies to start shouting to the heavens about their upcoming DLC releases. Take "Left 4 Dead 2," for example. The first DLC pack is coming sometime next spring and will highlight a chance meeting between the survivors of of the first game (pictured above) and the survivors of "Left 4 Dead 2."
Set in rural Georgia, "The Passing" is a new campaign for "Left 4 Dead 2." In addition to standard campaign missions, new Scavenge, Versus and Survival maps will be added. Unfortunately it doesn't sound like the original "Left 4 Dead" survivors will be playable characters, but it does open some interesting doors, given that you've never have direct contact with any still-living beings in either game. Instead you're usually communicating through a door and delivering ridiculous bottles of Coke to hermits. The prospect of 8 survivors fighting off the horde together is kinda awesome, even if four of them are AI-controlled.
No specific release date or price to speak of, but Valve's Doug Lombardi did say the DLC will introduce a new "uncommon common" zombie (like the clowns in "Dark Carnival"), as well as a new melee weapon and a new gun.
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Ea,
Left 4 Dead,
Left 4 Dead 2,
Valve
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If you didn't know it -- or aren't already watching -- Spike's Video Game Awards are live right now. The evening promises plenty of announcements, as well as a ton of never before seen footage from a bunch of upcoming games. Here's what's been shown/announced so far...
"Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2," "True Crime," and a bunch of never-before-seen "Prince of Persia" footage from both the movie and the upcoming game tie-in.
If you want to keep your finger on the pulse of the games industry, hit this link to watch the VGAs live right now.
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NEWS,
spike,
vga
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