Archive for May 2nd, 2007
Ip Freely: LucasArts Reveals Fracture
LucasArts formally announced details on their new shooter Fracture today, now in development at Day 1 Studios and scheduled for a summer 2008 release.
The game, which will ship for both the Xbox 360 and PLAYSTATION 3, sets the stage for a futuristic civil war, pitting cybernetically enhanced humans against their genetically engineered rivals in a battle for… something. Something important, I’m sure.
Fracture also features a unique “terrain deformation” feature set, seeing players dynamically reshape the battlefield with futuristic weaponry. Say, this is starting to sound very familiar.
You can check out additional details in the press release or get a perspective on how the game will look in our gallery.
LucasArts and Day 1 Studios Reshape Next-Generation Entertainment With Fracture™
Futuristic Warfare Is Literally “Groundbreaking”
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — May 2, 2007 — LucasArts and development partner Day 1 Studios today announced Fracture™, in which players reshape the battlefields in a futuristic conflict with global implications. This epic war fought on American soil pits cybernetically enhanced soldiers against warriors augmented by the benefits of advanced genetic engineering. The company that brought you Star Wars and Indiana Jones, as well as successful new intellectual properties such as Mercenaries (the No. 1 new IP in 2005) and Thrillville (the No. 1 original children’s IP of 2006), presents a new franchise full of groundbreaking next-generation gameplay, an intriguing storyline and compelling characters.
“Exciting new intellectual properties serve a vital role to the growth of LucasArts,” said Jim Ward, president of LucasArts. “Fracture represents the next step in this company initiative, complete with the intriguing story and compelling characters audiences expect of a LucasArts release.”
Fracture advances players to the year 2161, where ecological and seismological disasters have radically altered the planet’s landscape, and a clash in ideologies places society on the threshold of war. Players set foot on the frontlines of this epic conflict in the role of Mason Briggs, a demolitions expert fighting for the Atlantic Alliance, the side that relies upon cybernetic enhancement. Pitted against the genetically enhanced soldiers of the Pacifican army, players will experience a revolution in 22nd-century warfare. In utilizing the core gameplay mechanic of Fracture, a destructive next-generation technology known as Terrain Deformation, players are equipped with an arsenal of futuristic weaponry to strategically reshape their surroundings on the fly. Every action they perform dynamically reshapes the earth in ways no videogame has ever seen. When Briggs throws a tectonic grenade on a level battlefield, the ground blasts upward to provide access to an otherwise unreachable area. Moving on, when he comes across what appears to be an impenetrable structure, Briggs utilizes the alt-fire functionality on his rocket launcher to create enormous craters to burrow underneath the wall. Surrounded on all sides by enemies, Briggs heaves a vortex grenade, creating a swirling tornado-like mass of boulder, dirt and debris to dispatch his foes. These are just a few samples of the possibilities for Terrain Deformation. Players not only change the battlefield — they change the face of the battle itself.
“LucasArts sees simulation-based gameplay as an essential component of a true next-gen experience, and that’s exactly what Fracture delivers,” said Peter Hirschmann, vice president of product development at LucasArts. “Day 1 Studios has done a phenomenal job of creating true next-gen tech that not only dazzles on a visual level but also serves as a core gameplay mechanic. Unlike many other next-gen games on the market, Fracture simply isn’t possible in the previous generation of consoles.”
“LucasArts’ excitement for Fracture is palpable, and it only inspires us even further to ensure the game lives up to its lofty expectations,” said Denny Thorley, president of Day 1. “The opportunity to work with a company such as LucasArts, that knows not only how to launch large entertainment properties, but also successfully bring new IP to market, is truly a privilege. With Terrain Deformation leading the way, we know we’re creating something special, and we have absolutely no doubts that LucasArts is the only company to make sure Fracture receives its due.”
More information about the game can be found at the official Fracture website, www.terraindeformation.com, which will continue to release details throughout the year.
Witchery: Clip: The Witcher Cinematic
Some gameplay would have been nice, but it’s 2007 - that’s more a forlorn hope than an expectation. Other than that, I’m keen as Dijonnaise for this game - albinos are a sadly under-utiised character class in RPGs, and it’s got a unique look to it as well. Best Polish game ever? Perhaps!
Wallets Wide Open: Halo 3 Gets Cute, Small, Collectable
Japanese toy enthusiasts, take note. Later this year, toy maker MediCom is releasing 1/2 inch tall Halo 3 Master Chief Kubrick figures in red, green, blue and clear Active Camo. This isn’t the first time MediCom has made gaming Kubricks, and mark my words, it won’t be the last! The four pack is available for a limited time only and should set you back about US $20. A small price to pay for some small figurines.
Medicom Toys [Bungie via Arrogantics Thanks, zizzy!]
Wtf.biz: Someone Actually Likes The Postal Movie
Normally respectable film site Twitch, an invaluable resource for underground and international film buffs, has posted something few of us would consider possible: “Uwe Boll has made a good movie.” Woah.
Go ahead and slap yourself firmly in the face. You’re not dreaming. They have high praise for Boll’s film adaptation of the crude first-person shooter Postal. Twitch says of the movie “It is brash, bold, smart when called for and stupid when required and - most importantly - it is frequently and intentionally laugh out loud funny.”
Furthermore, the site lauds Postal’s cast, screenplay, and technical efforts. They even say the film has plotlines. That’s plural! Unbelievable.
You can read the full review below, but don’t turn your back on it. I’ve got a bad feeling about this.
Thanks for the heads up, Raynato.
Todd Eats Crow, Declares Uwe Boll’s Postal A Damn Good Movie. Really. [Twitch]
100 Miles An Runnin: Nintendo Nicked FFIII Remake From Sony
The DS remake of Final Fantasy III wasn’t always going to be a DS remake. Indeed, while the little dual-screen that could seems a natural choice for a retro spit-and-polish job, the remake was originally intended for the PlayStation 2, until Nintendo stepped in and sweet-talked Square Enix. Producer Hiromichi Tanaka:
Originally we were planning to release the game on PlayStation 2 but Nintendo wanted us to release it on this new platform
They must have asked real polite-like. That or he’s neglecting to mention the buckets of money that would also been involved. All signs point to the latter. There’s not much buckets of money can’t do.
Nintendo scooped Final Fantasy III remake from Sony [CVG]
Objection!: Clip: Solve This Gyakuten Saiban Mystery
Capcom aired its super short live action mystery in which TV viewers were asked to solve a murder. The bearded in-game judge even makes an appearance! Above is the case, which involves a man who was stabbed in the back. In the body’s right hand, there’s a clump of hair. In his left hand, there’s blood on his finger tips and part of the woman’s shirt. Before clicking over to the Capcom site and finding out if it was the woman or the bald man who is the killer, feel free to hash it out right here.
Love In The First Degree: Devs Warned Realism Brings Lawsuits
REALISM. Everybody wants realism, right? Course we do! We want to see the sweat on Ray Lewis’ big manly arms, we want our cars to not crash but disintegrate on contact, we want Dead or Alive’s primary art assets to bounce like we think they should be bouncing. Realism’s all the rage.
Pity it can also bring a ton of lawsuits down on the industry. Over at GameDaily.biz, Orrick attorneys Jason S. Angell and Siddhartha Venkatesan have sounded out a warning to the games industry that the more realistic games are becoming, the more likely they are to attract copyright infrigement lawsuits, from both people and institutions.
In modeling the real world in a virtual environment, game developers should always think carefully when including distinctive individuals, landmarks, or locally known businesses or logos. Any such inclusion could ultimately result in an intellectual property lawsuit.
Yes, they can, and the lawyers raise two recent cases involving Sega (Ulala) and Rockstar (the PigPen in San Andreas) as examples. Best part of the story, though? The fact these two lawyers are warning people off hiring them! Unheard of.
Developers Beware: Realism Can Come with a Lawsuit and a Hefty Price Tag [GameDaily.biz]
Lucky Duckys: Japan Getting Ouendan 2 @ Demo Kiosks
Paying for Ouendan 2 is good. Should be a solid investment. Only thing better, really, is paying NOTHING for some Ouendan 2, and playing it a week before the game’s release. Such is life in Japan, where DS demo kiosks will start offering a demo of Ouendan 2 on May 10, a full week before the game’s release on May 17.
Ash, stick a futon on your living room floor. Next week. I’ll be staying for a few days.
DSステーションで『燃えろ！熱血リズム魂 押忍！闘え！応援団2』をプレイ [Famitsu]
Pretty Please: Virtua Fighter Devs “Begged” For Xbox 360 Version
In an interview with Games Radar Christian Nutt, Sega’s AM2 talk Virtua Figher 5 and how they “begged” to make an Xbox 360 incarnation. Their rational? Make money Get the game to the widest audience possible. The developers even hope that the Xbox 360 one will outsell its PS2 prequel! The devs also say it took AM2 the same amount of time to create the PS3 version that it did the Xbox 360 one, and both versions were “equally challenging.” One of the devs, though, added that developing for the Xbox 360 version was easier, and that Microsoft was very supportive and helpful during the process.
Virtua Fighter Feature [Games Radar]
New Kingdom: British Government Urged To Protect Virtual Goods
The British government is being urged to think long and hard about protecting virtual goods with real-world laws. The Fraud Advisory Panel, which is a registered charity backed by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, says it’s the only way to ensure that online communities like WoW’s are protected from crimes like fraud, which they say will only increase as said communities become larger and more lucrative.
The legitimate benefits of virtual communities will prove enormous but people need to be aware that this cutting edge technology has a darker side.
That’s a very good point. Course, if the government is protecting online communities with laws it stands to reason they’ll want a piece of the action. Which means taxes. Hey, don’t cry…after all, paradise don’t come cheap.
Uk gov’t urged to act on ‘virtual goods’ [PC Advisor]
Note: Day Note: The Yard
To: Ash
From: Crecente
I forgot to mention, last weekend I tore out my old grass, tilled the ground, put down (literally) a ton of compost, some fertilizer and then resod the backyard. I also rechipped the strips of the front and back yard that are wood chips. It was a total pain in the ass, but now I have a brand new back yard and it saved me like $700 doing it myself. Today I put together an outside swing for the back so my wife and I can sit out there and stare aimlessly into space… while drinking mojitos. Nice.
What you missed:
Russians love big hair
Splinter Cell, make it stop
Tabula Rasa closed beta starts
Miyamoto caught napping
I won’t have to OBJECT!!!
It’s a sad world we live in
Now that I think about it, I don’t think you will actually be reading this. Aren’t you going to cover some Capcom event or some such? Gah! No one’s at the till, the goodship Kotaku is going to run aground! Night.
Dog Beats Man: Clip: Dog Pwns in Wii Tennis
I’m about 100 percent sure that someone is swinging this poor dog’s arm around, but it doesn’t make it any less funny, especially the ending.
Get out! Get out! Get out!
We at Kotaku Tower particularly love the dog mii.
Pax It Up: Penny Arcade Brings The PAX Info
Bunch of new info up over on Penny Arcade about this year’s PAX. Info including, but not limited to, the following:
Wil might not get your juices flowing, but that all-expenses trip sure should. I’d like to think that if any of you, dear readers, found yourselves in Tokyo with $5k to burn, you’d know exactly what to do with it.
Hit up Penny Arcade below for more info.
PAX 2007 [Penny Arcade]
Uh, Oh: Rockstar: GTAIV limited by 360
The Xbox 360’s lack of a guaranteed harddrive is creating limitations for the Rockstar team developing Grand Theft Auto IV for the Xbox 360, Rockstar Veep Dan Houser said in a recent interview with Official Playstation Magazine.
In the interview Houser was asked:
“On PS3 you’ve got a guarantee that every machine is going to have a hard-drive and, with Blu-ray, you’ve got plenty of storage, whereas on Xbox 360 there’s no guarantee of a hard-drive and you’re working with the DVD format. Does that create limitations?” To which he replied, “Yep.”
He continued, “To be honest with you we haven’t solved all those riddles yet.” The difficulties aren’t limited to working on Microsoft’s box, as Houser explains that “both have enormous challenges” and that “both have their own particular pleasures and pains”.
I sure hope this doesn’t mean that Rockstar would handicap the 360 version of the game. Personally, I’d rather they just say the harddrive is required.
Xbox 360 is limiting GTA IV, says Rockstar [CVG]
Q&A: Catan Q&A
Xbox Community Manager and Europe’s Major Nelson, Graeme Boyd, just posted a Q&A with Catan lead developer Brian Reynolds. (You may know him from Civ II and Rise of Nations)
The interview covers a lot of ground including the original board game’s success, why it works on Live and how best to get started if you’ve never played:
Do you have any tips to help people get started with Catan?
Brian Reynolds: Yes! When the two dice are rolled for resource production each turn, numbers in the middle like 6 and 8 will be rolled a lot more often than numbers at the extremes like 2 and 12. So count the “dots” on each land tile, which show how likely that tile is to be rolled. Settlement spots next to the largest number of dots will usually generate the most total income!
Another good thing to remember at the beginning is to try to get at least one of your settlements next to a good “Brick” tile, because everyone needs a lot of brick at the beginning of the game and you’ll be “in demand” as a trading partner!”
Check out the interview over on Boyd’s blog.
Catan Q&A: Your Introduction to Settling [Spaces]
Rumor: Rumor: LittleBigPlanet Demo Coming
OK, this one comes video GamersReports which gets it via a translation of German game site Gamefront which seems to be getting the news from OPM or some other “American Playstation magazine” so there’s a handy chance that something could have been lost in translation.
Heck, with that many jumps and translations maybe the original story was about Ratchet and Clank. Anyway, according to the accordings-to, a Little Big Planet demo will be hitting the Playstation Network in the US this autumn.
If true, that’s pretty damn cool.
Little Big Planet Demo Coming To PSN In Fall 2007 [GamersReports]
News: Nobody wants 100 hour games, says Too Human developer Denis Dyack
According to noted industry developer Denis Dyack, the era of milking a game for replay value is over, as more and more consumers want shorter, better games.
Cheats: Secret Death Decree Note
Find out how to get your hands on the secret death decree note for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion: Shivering Isles!
Cheats: Achievements
Check out the Xbox Live Achievement list for Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion: Shivering Isles!
News: Rockstar: GTA IV for 360 held back by lack of hard drive
A recent discussion with the developers of Grand Theft Auto IV reveals that the fact that not every Xbox 360 is equipped with a storage medium is putting the studio between a rock[star] and a hard [drive].
