Year: 2009

Return to Rapture This November

Nabeel Burney 1 Comment

A release date for BioShock 2 has been announced: October 30th for international territories and November 3rd for North America. During Take-Two’s second-quarter results call yesterday the platforms were still not confirmed, however community site Cult of Rapture lists the PC, 360 and PS3.

A plethora of previews of the game have been going up online in the past month, most of which have been listed at the community site. Tom Francis of PC Gamer UK summarises the press demonstration best in his article which originally appeared in the magazine.

However we finally have the chance to see the very same presentation described in the previews for ourselves. One of the first major trailers for the original BioShock was Hunting the Big Daddy, and it was the first time the game was truly represented and demonstrated in terms of its gameplay mechanics and environments. True to tradition, 2K Marin have presented the full demo of BioShock 2, entitled Hunting the Big Sister. The video demonstration includes all the footage made available earlier during the first unveiling of the game, as well as some scenes previously unseen. The various magazine and online previews referred to a scene at the end of the demo where the Big Sister interrupted the player’s endeavours and attacked, and only now do we get to see this first-hand.

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Blackwell Cartoon Shorts

Martyn Zachary Leave a comment

Wadjet Eye Games, having fiendishly teased its fans for a good while now, have just published their first cartoon short for the Blackwell game series:

This might be completely uncalled for, but the way poor Rosangela is played for comic relief in the first episode feels slightly off-register. Not to complain about free laughs, obviously, but in my very generic understanding of the series, the depth of the cast goes far beyond what is on display here, and in that sense, Blackwell newcomers might be somewhat confused as to where the ‘true’ register of the game series lies.

While the assemblage of characters in the series does seem to contain some influence of the American sitcom tradition, I’m not so sure that situational comedy, at this point in time, is the best way to deepen the characters, especially since we are – forgive the worn-out turn of phrase – not laughing with Rosangela, but at her.

I’d love to hear what others think of the cartoon short, though (for all I know I might be wrong about this) and obviously for now I’ll have to hold my judgement in anticipation of the subsequent episodes. In any case, I believe the cartoon is a first for indie adventure gaming, and it’s always delightful to see an ‘extended’ universe at work!

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Modern Warfare 2 Full Trailer

Nabeel Burney 1 Comment

Finally, after teasers and teasers of teasers, we have a full trailer for Infinity Ward’s Modern Warfare 2. The 2-minute cinematic montage features a voice-over by Imran Zakhaev, one of the main villains of the first game. A number of different scenes flash by, some of which were previously glimpsed in the earlier snippets like the snowmobile chase and underwater diving. But new scenarios have been revealed such as an urban terrorist assault and a breathtaking escape sequence from a castle. The game looks to be as dramatic and thrillsome as the previous game, and I’m probably going to stop watching video trailers so as to avoid visual spoilers. There are some things you just want to experience, and Infinity Ward proved that with every single high point of the first Modern Warfare.

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Downfall Demo Review

Martyn Zachary 1 Comment

At this point, most of you have probably had the chance to familiarize yourselves with Remigiusz Michalski’s odd-one-out horror adventure Downfall, so instead of simply laying down our impressions in anticipation of a full review, I’m jotting down my two cents on both the new and the old Downfall demo.

I’d also like to attempt to propose the answer to two questions: First, do either manage to capture your interest? Second, do the demos succeed in their utilization of demonstrative methodology? Difficult questions that I hope to address in my post. Read on, and check out some more comparative screenshots after the jump!

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Zeno Clash 2 Announced

Martyn Zachary Leave a comment

Straight from the horse’s mouth, ACE Team have just revealed a post-launch Zeno Clash trailer to “celebrate the announcement of ACE Team’s next project; Zeno Clash 2”.

The sequel is to continue directly where its predecessor left off, with both Father Mother and the mysterious Golem making a return alongside an extended cast of characters. Glorious! It’s certainly uplifting, from our perspective, to hear that Zeno Clash has done well enough to warrant itself a sequel. If only ACE Team’s apparent success at capitalizing on the small-scale format did not rather vividly remind us of earlier failures of the similar kind, with the likes of Sin Episodes failing to grow into a full-fledged franchise.

In relation to Michael Russell’s post on Sin Episodes above, one might surmise that a fair portion of the success should be owed to the collective goodwill and support ACE Team managed to accumulate over a relatively short period of time, with developer Carlos Bordeu going so far as to reach out to torrenters in the comment section of a torrent for the game, and with project leader Andres talking often and directly to the likes of ModDB. The game’s unique look must have also contributed to the game standing out from the crowd.

Ultimately, what propelled the game upwards in the sales ranks was the company’s decision to aggressively utilize various guerilla discounts to produce interest and word-of-mouth. Finally, the team never overreached, even choosing to scrap an earlier project of much larger scope in favour of a more concise experience that prudently focused on doing one thing – FPS melee – well.

In retrospect, it’s quite fantastic how Andres’ earlier remarks, that “the unconventional has been the safe thing to do” 1)http://www.moddb.com/games/zeno-clash/features/zeno-clash-interview-part-1, came to be sagacious instead of inauspicious.

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