If the original Call of Juarez proved developer Techland’s ability to mine the Western for its tropes, then its predecessor shows an equivalent ability in the direction of design. What was once a game of rugged stealth and broken platforming, redeemed somewhat by competent action, Bound in Blood has cleansed much of its forebear’s identity for an adherence to Infinity Ward’s formula. Continue »
She reaches out with that slender, delicate hand and evaporates the danger before it takes its usual toll. You seemingly fall to your death, yet she’s right there to pull you up and away from the corrosive depths. The motions are there: rhythmic platforming, daring combat, all the stumbles and spills, too. But death, in the traditional sense, never greets our princely hero. Continue »
If the screen is going to be awash with plenty of blood, guts and gore, it’s going to need context. Otherwise, the flailing ragdoll bodies of Nazis will err on the side of the exploitive; more blood soaked Tarantino than gritty World War II drama. A fine distinction to make, considering Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway is explicitly trying to be the latter. Continue »
At the very end of Ubisoft’s press briefing I Am Alive was given the pun-intended introduction of a brand that’s sure to “shake up the industry”. In what is without a doubt a pre-rendered trailer, we meet Adam; a rather scraggly man running through dust filled halls of rubble.
Six days earlier, Adam was a business sort working in Chicago until an earthquake tore the city to pieces. Noteworthy is ruaumoko.com shown in the background — a URL owned by Ubisoft. In Māori mythology Ruaumoko is the son of Rangi and Papa, a part of their creation myth. The only problem is that the kid has never been born, forever stuck in his mother’s womb and his movements are said to cause earthquakes.
So you heard it here first: Ubisoft’s I Am Alive is about giant unborn babies causing cataclysmic modern day disasters… Probably not, but the reference is interesting nonetheless.
Update: ruaumoko.com now redirects to iamalivegame.com, let the Cloverfield style speculation and advertising begin! Although, hopefully I Am Alive can backup its clever marketing with an equally clever game.
There are going to many exciting titles at this years E3, but few are coming out as soon as Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway. In this latest walkthrough, Gearbox president Randy Pitchford and historical director John Antal play through a level of named ‘Baptism of Fire’. The squad tactics are looking very refined and the ability to blow literal holes straight through Nazi heads is fascinatingly gruesome. Now, just a little over a month to wait.
Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway, where have you been? The game finally makes its way onto store shelves August 26th and Gearbox’s Randy Pitchford has confirmed that a demo for consoles is definite, while for PC owners it is probable:
“There will probably be a demo for the PC. Definitely demos for the consoles. I don’t know about timing – whether they’ll come before or after. We’re putting all of our attention into making sure the game lands as solidly as we can.”
Gearbox has always delivered the goods, but a demo is much needed when you’re asking gamers to jump back into the deja vu that is WWII. Blame it on genre fatigue because, whether it’s outer space or Normandy, Gearbox are well and able to craft a fine shooter.
[Big Download Interview: Gearbox Software CEO Randy Pitchford]
The new Prince of Persia is going to be a different game than what it once was. Fans of the old titles will inevitably whine and complain about the fresh new direction the franchise is taking. However, when gamers complain it’s often a good indication that something called innovation is going on, and a series is being turned on its head.
To the dismay of many, the ability to bend space and time has been stripped from PoP, but Producer Ben Mattes isn’t worried about the preconceptions and fixed notions of what a PoP game is supposed to be:
A lot of people say, “Oh my god, you can’t make a PoP game without the Sands of Time!”, and my answer is, “Oh yeah? Watch me!”
From the illustrative art style, to free form acrobatics and a narrative steeped in Zoroastrian mythology, it’s shaping up very nicely. Check out the two-part interview and some screenshots below.
Click for high-res shots:
