Terminal Gamer » Lewis Packwood

Batman: Arkham Asylum 2 Slips To 2011

Lewis Packwood — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 18:35:47 +0000

News has emerged that the sequel to Batman: Arkham Asylum is likely to be pushed back to the first quarter of 2011.

The game was originally expected to ship for Christmas this year, but UK retail sources have revealed that game’s publisher, Warner, wants to “dominate the first quarter of 2011 instead, when it can get maximum retail space and mind share amongst gamers.”

Apparently there just isn’t enough ‘mind share’ to go around at Christmas nowadays, and last year saw the beginning of a trend where big-name titles are released in January or February to avoid getting lost in the Christmas rush.

Of course, there have always been one or two big games that get released in January, but historically these games have always been the ones that missed their Christmas shipping deadlines. However, Christmas 2009 saw publishers actively moving the release dates of their games to Q1 2010 to avoid going head to head with the mighty retail juggernaut that is Modern Warfare 2.

The strategy seems to have paid off, with console and game sales reaching record numbers for the Q1 period this year, and gamers had something of a New Year bonanza, snapping up quality titles such as Mass Effect 2, Bioshock 2 and Bayonetta.

This latest news seems to indicate we’re in for another bumper crop of gaming goodness for the first quarter of next year. Arkham Asylum 2will be in good company in the early weeks of 2011: other games confirmed for the period include big hitters such as Marvel vs. Capcom 3,Gears of War 3, Bodycount and possibly Killzone 3 and Star Wars: The Old Republic.

This has to be good news for gamers – releasing triple-A games gradually over the course of the year surely makes more sense than releasing a tidal wave of them at Christmas. However, with all these great games scheduled for next year, it does leave one big question: what are we going to play at Christmas?

Source: CVG

Every Old Game Ever To Be Redeveloped As An FPS

Lewis Packwood — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 11:31:13 +0000

Following the exciting news that X-COM and possibly Silent Hill are to be ‘re-imagined’ as first-person shooters, the gaming industry announced today that every game ever will be remade as an FPS.

Speaking exclusively to Terminal Gamer, EA’s Head of Marketing, Chet Bandersnatch, said: “We’re delighted to bring gamers the opportunity to resample the delights of older games in the form of the only gaming genre they seem capable of understanding – the first-person shooter. Take a look at the Xbox 360 or PS3 charts nowadays, and you’ll see that they’re completely dominated by FPS’ – so if that’s what the global gaming community wants, that’s what it’s gonna get. Currently, we’re in the process of remaking FIFA 96 in the form of a gritty urban shooter set in Afghanistan.”

Ruby Lube of Ubisoft expressed a similar sentiment: “The FPS is obviously winning the war of the gaming genres, and if this growth continues, we predict that by 2017 every single game released will be a first-person shooter. We’re planning to get ahead of the curve by ensuring that every game we release from now on will be an FPS, regardless of how wildly inappropriate this is for the content of the game. We’d like to assure our investors that we will do our utmost to milk this cash cow until her teats fall off.”

So what can gamers look forward to over the next few months? Here’s a preview of a few golden oldies that are set to get the FPS treatment:

Lemmings 3: The Revenge

Those lovable green-haired lemmings are back, and this time it’s personal! Take control of a crack squad of battle-hardened lemming marines as you seek to overthrow the military might of the evil weasel empire. The 2D landscapes of the original have been wonderfully re-imagined as a gritty urban shooter set in Afghanistan, and there’ll be no shortage of small-furry-animal carnage as you plow through the enemy with all new lemming classes, including ‘Flamethrower Lemming’ and ‘Apache Gunship Lemming’. And of course, just like in the original, if it all goes wrong you can turn your entire squad into maniacal suicide bombers. Oh no!

The first screen of Lemmings 3: The Revenge.

Tetris: Tetrageddon

The Russian puzzler is back, but this time all is not well in the land of the Cossacks. The Russian mafia king Dimitri Tetradon has been smuggling illegal firearms inside Tetrads, and it’s your job stop him in this abstract shooter! Break open Tetris blocks packed to the gunwales with AK-47s and RPGs, then turn them against the ranked forces of the Russian mafia. Gritty urban shooter set quite near to Afghanistan.

Tetris: Tetrageddon will be set in Afghanistan.

Pokémon Blood Red/Napalm Yellow

The Pokémon franchise evolves to a new level of mayhem as you tear through the gritty urban streets of war-torn Afghanistan in this no-nonsense shooter. Take on the might of the evil Team Rocket communists with your squad of beefed-up Pokébuddies, who now have the ability to evolve rocket launchers and submachine guns as arms and legs. Watch in dumbfounded horror as Squirtle ‘does a Private Pyle’, gunning down Sergeant Pikachu before turning the gun on himself. Rated 18.

Pokemon Blood Red/Napalm Yellow is a gritty and ultra-violent update to the Pokemon series.

Pong: Balls Out For Glory

Gritty urban shooter, Afghanistan, blah, blah, blah…

Do You Care Where Your Games Come From?

Lewis Packwood — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 13:47:21 +0000

I’m sure you’ve been following the unfolding events at Infinity Ward with the same horrified fascination as the rest of us. Last month it was revealed that studio heads Vince Zampella and Jason West were forced to leave IW following an investigation by parent company Activision that found “breaches of contract and insubordination by two senior employees”. The pair promptly sued Activision, claiming that they were unfairly dismissed just weeks before they were due to receive considerable royalty payments.

In the aftermath staff have been leaving IW in droves – around 10% of the workforce are believed to have resigned – and West and Zampella have formed a new studio, Respawn Entertainment. Rumors keep emerging that staff at IW have not received royalty fees for their work, although Activision continue to claim that they treat their staff ‘extremely well’. In an interview with the LA Times, chief financial officer, Thomas Tippl said:

“We treat our developers extremely well. We have an independent studio model that provides them a lot of creative freedom while we take care of the back office stuff so they can focus on making games.

“If their games are successful, they are compensated better here than anywhere else. We’ve been paying our talent millions of dollars for their work. Our setup provides a win-win opportunity. We ensure your work will reach a wide audience. Therefore, we have attracted, and we will continue to attract, the top talent in this industry.”

It’s hard to know what to make of all of these claims and counter-claims. It’s difficult to tally Activision’s claims of a well-treated workforce with the mass exodus that’s occurring at Infinity Ward, but equally it’s difficult to know whether the walkouts are due to personal grievances or genuine mistreatment by the company. For now, all we can do is speculate on the sidelines as the tawdry details are revealed, press release after press release.

But the media circus currently surrounding Activision does raise an important question – if games companies are genuinely mistreating their employees, should we exercise our consumer rights to boycott their products? Should we down control pads onModern Warfare 2 in protest? I must add at this point that no mistreatment has been proven in the case of Activision, but perhaps the situation does highlight a general trend in the games industry of developers being pressured into working extremely long hours, often with little overtime payment.

Interestingly, another story emerged today of the possible mistreatment of workers in a Chinese factory that produces mice, keyboards and Xbox controllers for Microsoft. It’s obviously a very different case to what’s happening at IW, but it does raise the general question – Do you care where your games and hardware come from? And would you boycott a game or console if it was produced under harsh conditions?

Answers on a postcard please…

PS3 3D Is Coming

Lewis Packwood — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 20:17:19 +0000

We still don’t have exact details on which PS3 3D games we can expect in the near future – all we know is that “a lot” of developers are working on them.

Earlier this month we reported that the PS3 is likely to receive a firmware update in June that will allow it to play compatible 3D games, but speculation over what exactly those games will be remains rife.

Sony are tight-lipped regarding the move to 3D – could this be linked to the recent reveal of the PlayStation Move? It would make sense for the company to keep quiet about 3D for the time being to maximize the exposure of the new Move technology.

Whatever the reason for the secrecy, a tantalising glimpse into the future has been revealed by Ian Bickerstaff, Sony Computer Entertainment UK’s senior stereoscopic 3D engineer. When asked how many developers are currently working on 3D games, he replied: “It’s all a bit confidential, but a lot, let’s put it that way. We’ve been amazed by the enthusiasm from the developers.”

So is this it? Is the 3D revolution around the corner? From June, will every new FPS be emblazoned with a proud “Now In 3D!” sticker? Perhaps not. “I think the uptake is going to depend on the uptake of 3D televisions,” says Ian.

“We’re not going to spend crazy, crazy amounts of money on 3D games expecting everyone tomorrow to have 3D TVs, clearly. But, we believe this is the future, and three or four years from now, you won’t be able to buy a television that doesn’t have a 3D capability.”

Certainly, this writer isn’t in a hurry to splash out several thousand on a new 3D TV, but the thought of Modern Warfare 2 in 3D is a tantalising one. And with all these developers getting in on the 3D action, surely it’s a matter of “when”, not “if”.

[Gamasutra]

Nintendo America Boss “Flattered” By PlayStation Move

Lewis Packwood — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 17:13:09 +0000

Reggie Fils-Aime, the head of Nintendo America, has said he is “flattered” by Sony’s reveal of the PlayStation Move, the new PS3 controller that bears undeniable similarities to Nintendo’s Wii Remote and Nunchuk.

“I think we would have been embarrassed to do what our competitors are currently doing,” said Fils-Aime. He added: “…if imitation is the most sincere form of flattery then I’m blushing I’m so flattered.”

The PlayStation Move and it’s ‘sub-controller’ (which connects wirelessly to the main controller and acts like the Wii Nunchuk) bears an uncanny resemblance to Nintendo’s earlier efforts, although with a few clear distinctions. In place of the Wii Remote’s infrared sensor, the end of the Move is graced with a ‘color-changing sphere’ that reacts to actions in the games. Sony suggests that the sphere could light up “when you cast the correct spell or mix the perfect paint color.”

The Move will also work in connection with the PlayStation Eye camera to provide accurate motion sensing.

However, Fils-Aime remains unimpressed: “You know, I didn’t see the announcement. I did spend some time at the booth and saw some of what they were demonstrating and I think the question isn’t how will we react — I think the question is, so what is it that’s going to be compelling to the consumer in what they’re doing?”

“From our standpoint, motion control is core to what we do. We believe that we’ve brought a range of different experiences that utilize the motion controller and we pride ourselves on being innovators in the space and we’re going to continue to innovate. I think the key question is, how will they respond when we continue to innovate if this is their best effort?”

Source: Kotaku, IGN