The PC Spotlight 10.23.08
Posted by Chris Vicari on 10.23.2008
KOTOR MMO info has arrived, two cut WAR classes inbound, new Alan Wake trailer, and a whole of bunch of other bits.
Welcome to yet another issue of The PC Spotlight. Times have been very nice for the PC gaming scheme with the recent release of Far Cry 2, so I'm sure everybody is getting sassy with that. For next week we're gearing up for twin-trilogy releases with Red Alert 3 on the 27th and Fallout 3 just a day later. What's with everything being released in 3s? Oh well, can't wait one way or another.
Star Wars: The Old Republic info now available! Woot!
After years of absolutely nothing and a myriad of rumors later, the info on Bioware's ambitious KOTOR MMO called The Old Republic is finally here. While there is no official launch date as of yet, a beta will of course eventually hit the scene, but again, nothing is set in stone. Currently, the game is slotted for PC only, but that may change in the near future, which I go into further detail in the next article.
The new Star Wars game is set 300 years after the first two games. The war between Jedi and Sith is still being waged, but players will have the option of choosing which side they would like to fight for. Thankfully, Old Republic will have the moral dilemma scenarios on both sides of the war, so you can be an evil Jedi or a well-behaved Sith Lord.
"There's a lot more people than Sith and Jedi in the Empire and Republic, so one of the things that became important to us is that we separate the idea of faction and good and evil," said head writer Daniel Erickson. According to IGN, the story will be enhanced by your companions, who will aid you in battle and comment on your decisions.
Both factions will have their own unique classes. You'll be able to play as an Elite Trooper and even Assassin Droids. Each class will have its own overarching storyline and as previously mentioned, the choice aspect will be the focal point. As for locales, expect to explore Star Wars famous areas such as Coruscant, Tython, and Korriban.
Ironically, this game won't be replacing Star Wars Galaxies and will continue to see Dev support, but who plays that anymore anyway? Expect more info in the future.
New Star Wars MMO and Warhammer may wind up on consoles
Although Bioware has said Old Republic will not be making an appearance on consoles, EA's Frank Gibeau is telling a different story. According to him, EA is considering a console version of the new TOR MMO as well as a port of Warhammer Online.
"We're definitely looking at the opportunity to bring the MMO experience to console, without question," Gibeau said when speaking to Eurogamer. "We've got this product, and we've got Warhammer at play. So we're trying to look at the primary research required to understand how would you deploy it, what the client size looks like, how big is the back-end, what the play experience looks like... Once we've got some of those questions answered, we'll be able to decide which is the right play to go after."
"They're both under consideration," he added.
I know FFXI was designed from the ground up to be on consoles, but these games, especially Warhammer, most certainly weren't. I'm not too concerned or surprised by this news though.
Two of four cut classes make a return in Warhammer's fall patch and a new class on the way
With the coming fall patch 1.1, two of the previously cut classes will be able to make their return. The two heavy fighter classes, mirroring the other playable variations, are the Dark Elf Black Guard and the Empire Knight of the Blazing Sun. Thankfully there's more to the patch than that so expect some changes to RvR warfare, better and more-frequent item drops, and an "influence system" similar to what is currently seen in their public quest system.
Using the previous paragraph as a springboard, Mythic is also working on a new class for the game. In an interview with Eurogamer on Oct. 21, Mark Jacobs, CEO of Mythic Entertainment, confirmed that one of the two classes still waiting for implementation will make a return in the not-too-distant future, but the other one will not. The two leftover classes are the Dwarven Hammerer and Greenskin Choppa.
"Well, one of them we hope to put back in," said Jacobs. "I can't tell you which yet, that's a surprise. We're probably going to be replacing one and putting in another class in its place. But we'll be talking about that in a few months."
I guess we'll see what happens in the coming months.
New Alan Wake trailer!
Due to popular demand in Finland, Remedy has decided to release the new Alan Wake trailer to the world. The last bit of info we had on this game was damn near two years ago. Thank you kindly!
In an interview with Gamasutra this past Monday, Randy Stude talked about the ins and outs of piracy and how it is not having as much of an impact on the PC platform as game developers lead us to believe. He also slams LucasArts for their decision to avoid the platform entirely.
The [online game] revenues being generated [in China and Korea] just blow the mind. You're talking almost 5 billion dollars. Almost half the world's PC software revenues are coming from marketplaces that have almost no retail at all…
You look at a game like Spore… despite the fact it's pirated out there on torrent networks, its selling great by any standard... it sort of bucks the notion that all games are going to be destroyed because of piracy. That's not the case...
I'm not saying that the [PC gaming] industry needs to accept piracy. I'm saying that if there's nothing that can be done, the assumption that gaming will die on a platform is ridiculous.
Stude also commented on LucasArts' decision to not port Force Unleashed over to the PC due to the challenge of developing for a wide range of PC configurations. To which Stude responded with,
That's not an educated answer. In the last several years there have been at least 100 million PCs sold that have the capabilities or better of an Xbox 360. It's ridiculous to say that there's not enough audience for that game potentially and that it falls into this enthusiast extreme category when ported over to the PC. That's an uneducated response...
LucasArts hasn't made a good PC game in a long time. That's my opinion... I think the last good PC game they made was probably Jedi Knight 2... So I can understand why they would make that call.
I can't say I disagree with the man, and I don't like how developers fail to mention all the console games getting pirated even before they come out. Fallout 3, Far Cry 2 and Fable 2 being definitive examples.
EA uses Obama Girl to make video for Red Alert 3.
Hot off the heels of Obama ads appearing in Burnout, we now have an Obama Girl video rooting for President Ackerman, the fictional U.S. president in the RA3 game. Is this another ad paid for by the Obama camp? Or did Obama Girl do this of her own volition, receiving a nice paycheck from EA? Who knows.
Can the election happen already? *sigh* To be honest though, I was too busy looking at her than listening to the song. Have a listen if you must.
And here is one of (there are three) President Ackerman's political ads. Pretty funny.
Producer of original Max Payne game not a fan of the film
Despite Max Payne's top spot as the #1 movie in the box office this week, it has been slammed by the vast majority of critics out there. One such critic is Scott Miller, CEO of 3DRealms, who was also the producer of the original game and he didn't have very nice things to say. In an interview with Edge Online, Miller illustrated the myriad of issues he had with the film.
If you haven't seen the film yet, there are spoilers below.
First off, Miller heavily criticized how the film began, "A big problem with the film is that we do not really know what is driving Max until we see the flashback scene showing him coming home and finding his family murdered. In the game, we put this scene right at the front of the story for a reason!" Miller explained. "Saving this scene until mid-film is a narrative blunder, because the audience needs to empathize with Max in order to like him and understand what drives him."
Miller also took issue with the way specific characters were portrayed. In the original Max Payne game, Jack Lupino was a drug kingpin who Max eventually kills near the end of the game. In the film, Lupino is nothing more than a drug pusher, but Miller takes fault with how he was killed, by a "non-action character". "The entire time we're told that this drug makes 1-in-100 people super-human, yet Lupino doesn't demonstrate this in the least. It should have taken a hail storm of bullets to bring him down, plus it should have been Max that kills him," he said.
Miller went on and on, but you get the gist of it. It's not like you need anymore evidence that video game movies have a ways to go. It makes you wonder though, why don't the writers and directors consult with the developers who made the game? I know Sam Lake, who helped write Max Payne 1 and 2, was in on it, but why not anyone else? Shame.
Yet another film based on a video game
Just a day before the U.S. release of the Max Payne film, another video game to movie adaptation was confirmed to be on the drawing board. A World of Warcraft film, yes a film based on the gargantuan MMO, was confirmed by Blizzard President Mike Morhaime that a script is currently in the works. I don't know about you, but I'm tired of WoW at this point. While the film probably will win out in the revenue department, thanks to the game's eight million plus subscribers, I wouldn't expect the film to receive any stellar reviews. I am old enough to remember when Double Dragon, Street Fighter and Super Mario Bros. hit the scene and I've yet to see a remotely good video game film. No thanks.
Unreal Tournament 3 inline for "major expansion"
Last week, Midway announced that two of their licenses were no longer in production, but the public was kept in the dark as to which two games were getting the axe. Thankfully on the 20th, we learned of one game not slotted for the guillotine: Unreal Tournament 3.
In an interview with Gamespot, Epic Games vice president Mark Rein explained that Midway will continue to distribute the Unreal Tournament series. "Our arrangement with Midway isn't a license but rather a straight publishing agreement and Midway is still very much the publisher of Unreal Tournament 3," he said. "In fact, we're working together on a major expansion that we expect will excite and grow our UT3 customer base."
While Rein wasn't too keen on releasing much, if any, information on the upcoming product, it's the first major add-on for the game since it first came out.
Most of Diablo 3's Barbarian skill tree revealed
For those gung ho about playing the only class survivng Diablo 2, you'll be happy to know that most of the skill tree has been revealed. While the Tier 5 skills aren't there yet, you can have a firm idea about what you want to do. Get to it.
No new TF2 updates until 2009, all support shifted to Left 4 Dead
TF2 players will be forced to remain content with the current class updates for the Heavy, Medic and Pyro as most of Valve's support has shifted to the Left 4 Dead release. In an interview with Valve marketing vice president Doug Lombardi said new updates "…won't be this year, but we're going to keep evolving TF2. Once Left 4 Dead wraps, you'll hear us clamoring more about [the next TF2 update]." Valve has yet to release which class will receive the update treatment.
I won't fault Valve for this decision as it was a smart move on their part. They don't make money for class updates and since most TF2 players are waiting for Left 4 Dead anyway, I'm sure they'll be happy knowing Valve is doing everything they can to ensure the game is as good as it can be. I'm in this boat as well. *Hopes Spy or Soldier is next for an update*
Blizzard talks about their next MMO
Last Thursday Blizzard CEO and co-founder Mike Morhaime confirmed the existence of a non-WoW MMO. So how different is this game going to be? According to Morhaime, it will be exceedingly different and when he was pressed for further information, he responded with, "…let's just say it's going to be different and it's not going to be a sequel to World of Warcraft. It will be different."
Of course, Blizzard isn't very talkative about the whole thing, but they have posted job listings for their secret project on their Web site. Below are some of the requirements needed for positions ranging from 3D level designers and character artists to 3D environment artists.
• The ideal candidate has extensive experience modeling and texturing a diverse visual range of characters and creatures at a senior or lead level.
• The ideal candidate has experience concept drawing and illustrating a diverse visual range of characters, creatures, weapons, architecture, and environments. An exceptional understanding of form, structure, color, and light is essential, as is a creative imagination.
• An exceptional understanding of human and creature anatomy and a keen eye towards form, shape, structure, and silhouette in regards to illustration and design.
• Understanding of the distinctive Blizzard Entertainment visual style and a passion to push it to the next level.
• Have shipped AAA PC or console titles as a concept artist.
Bioshock prequel teased with PS3 release
If this news hasn't already been crammed down your throat enough, here it is again!
With the release of Bioshock on the PS3, players were given the teaser trailer for Bioshock 2 as a gift for their purchase. While nothing is really divulged by watching it, we are given the sequel's surname: Sea of Dreams. Rumors abound claim the game to be a prequel to the story since the name points to Andrew Ryan's dream of building Rapture or a sequel since it shows a grown up "little" sister, but I'll let you be the judge of that. The video is below.
Spotlight Briefs
MK vs. DC or bust
Not only is Midway dropping two of its unnamed franchises from production, but they are running into some dire financial straights as well. Due to the decision, Midway's third-quarter losses rose to 40%, lowering share worth to 70 cents. Not soon after this news broke, a recent Forbes.com article revealed that Midway Games shed 12 percent of its value Monday -- and noted that the company's lost an estimated $580 million since 1999.
Basically, MK vs. DC game is now their ace in the hole. The company is putting a huge amount of pressure on the game and if it fails, Midway may go under.
Mad Money's Cramer adds Take Two's CEO to wall of shame
You might remember a few months back when EA was offering to buyout Take Two Interactive and you may also remember Take Two's CEO, Strauss Zelnick, denying the buyout at every turn. EA was prepared to pay $25.74 for each individual Take Two share. And now due to the current economic situation, Take Two's stock value has plummeted, earning the harsh criticism of Mad Money's Cramer. On Tuesday, Take Two (TTWO) opened with the day at $13.15.
[EA's offer was] an offer no sane man can refuse. But Strauss Zelnick, Take-two's chairman did just that...
Welcome to the Wall of Shame, Strauss Zelnick. You managed to take a sure thing, a $25 stock and turn it into a $13 one. That takes talent.
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At first I was all "Heck no, I don't want a KoTOR MMO, I want KoTOR 3!" but then I watched the interview, and they talked about being evil, but playing on the side of the good guys. Heck yeah, I know what I'm doing when that game comes out...
Posted By: Drew Robbins (Registered) on October 23, 2008 at 07:54 AM
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