You know how id’s John Carmack said that his company’s upcoming shooter Rage just wasn’t going to work in terms of digital delivery? And how you’d need to buy the game on a disc, like the olden days? Yeah, turns out he was wrong. id’s Tim Willits has corrected his boss, telling 1UP:
John Carmack [id co-founder]made a comment about the media size, which unfortunately wasn’t exactly correct because we haven’t crossed that bridge yet. He said it was going to be too large to download, and I was thinking to myself, “You know, uhhhhh, people can do lots of things.” So I want to correct that and say that… Rage won’t break the Internet.
Won’t break it, but if the thing needs to ship on three 360 discs, it’s certainly going to bend it.
id’s Growing Pains [1UP]
In August, EGM said Max Payne 3 was in development, and it was in development at Rockstar Vancouver. Rockstar Vancouver being a) an internal Rockstar studio and b) the guys behind the pretty-great Warriors game on the PSP. Now, in September, Xbox World 360 are saying the same thing, a report in the latest issue of the mag saying the game’s in development at, yes, Rockstar Vancouver. Provided this is going off new info, it’ll be interesting to see how the series goes in the hands of somebody else (original devs Remedy still toiling away, of course, on never-actually-coming-out Alan Wake).
For Fable II, Lionhead Studios wanted a more mature look. In fact, in the game’s original mission statement, the developer put forth it wanted Fable II to be like Fable done by Ridley Scott. Lionhead technical art director Ian Lovett explains:
The idea behind that is that Microsoft understand Ridley Scott, they understand that this means that we wanted to mature the franchise a little bit. Not losing its charm, but basically trying to grow it up ever so slightly.
Hope Lionhead meant the Blade Runner, Alien, Gladiator Ridley Scott and not the White Squall, Hannibal, 1492 Ridley Scott. Those movies sucked.
Fable 2 art guys wanted “Fable, but done by Ridley Scott” [Eurogamer][Pic]
Square Enix has finally dated Dragon Quest IX. The Level 5 developed DS title will get its Japan release in March 2009. According to Square Enix, the release date is given as “March 2009″, and the title has not yet been priced or rated. This comes as apparently Square Enix president Yoichi Wada recently stated that the game would be going on sale “during the New Year’s period”. Dragon Quest IX was originally announced in late 2006.
The title will not be playable at next week’s Tokyo Game Show.
You know what’s missing with Wii Fit? Nope. It’s maids! That’s right, maids. Over in Akihabara’s Refresh Club, folks can play Wii Fit with maids in frilly dresses. Like most things, Wii Fit maid style comes at a price: 30 minutes will run you ¥2,600. Says the establishment’s owner:
Playing Wii Fit by yourself is lonely. But here, playing along with a maid makes exercising enjoyable.
That’s a good point, and we’re now slightly shocked Nintendo didn’t bundle the game with maids. If Wii Fit is not your thing, Refresh Club runs other services like ear cleaning, foot massages and yoga — make that, maid yoga.
Refresh Club [Candy Fruit via Akiba Keizai via alafista]
Thought we should give a shout out to an Aussie designer putting out some T-shirts with a good gamer and geek bent. James Lillis dropped us a note showing off some of his wares, and I figure they cut enough mustard to share. Along with the three designs above, there’s plenty more clever references to the likes of The Smurfs, Space Invaders, and even Ronald McDonald subbing in for The Joker. All found on RedBubble, which is a local site for designers to sell their prints and T-shirts. So it’s an all local affair, which means faster deliveries and less shipping costs than an overseas alternative.
T-shirts by James Lillis [RedBubble]
Details are important. Really important. When gamers play a title and something looks off, they notice it right away. No wonder Capcom spent so much time recreating realistic guns and clothes. Capcom had to make the guns realistic guns because, as Takeuchi puts it, many Americans probably have held real guns. About the clothes, he adds:
…the footwear and gloves the main character wears are all based on real items. We contacted the makers of those items to find out all the little details that go into making them, that way players don’t have a sense of the game being completely divorced from reality. And that’s how we were able to realistically recreate the proper specs for the items used in the game. When you look at the trailer, you see the main character’s clothing and all the fibers that comprise it.
We really paid attention to the details. We made it so that the fabric of his shirt actually gives the illusion of breathing like its real-life counterpart; it is also decidedly different from the heavier material that hangs down below it.
Finally! Gaming gets BREATHING SHIRTS. It’s about time.
Jun Takeuchi Interview [Capcom IR]
No joke. It’s a Gears of War 2 Zune. And hey, why not, it sure worked wonders for Halo 3′s marketing campaign (didn’t it?), not to mention the Zune’s popularity (did it?). Due to start shipping on, you guessed it, November 7, the 120GB media players will sport a laser-etched Gears logo, will include “244 pieces of media” (think art, screenshots, etc) and will cost you, uh, $280.
Gears of War 2 Zune Coming on Nov 7, Preorders Start in the Morning [Gizmodo]
Last week I got hands on with Act One of Gears of War 2 at Microsoft HQ. Want to know what I think? Yeah, c’mon!
In general terms, there is a solid intensity from the outset to the gameplay. You get a few minutes worth of breathing space to get your groove back before things ramp up very quickly and skills get tested. Act One runs at a pretty fast pace, with a good mix of locations and scenarios to contend with. There’s even a horror-style tunnel sequence that plays to one Delta Squad weakness — no flashlight! “I’d rather have an extra gun than carry a light” is the response… you know, because gun-mounted light technology got left behind on Earth.
There’s also some more personal storyline in the mix. It may ring a bit melodramatic for some, but it isn’t too obtrusive if you just want to bring the pain. And for those eager to get a little more involved with the life and times of Delta Squad, this certainly adds more emotional weight.
Jump for some more thoughts, plus some mildly spoileriffic images. One features a total fucking bad ass you will meet before the end of Act One.
Earlier today, Brett Ratner, director of the barely tolerable Rush Hour series and the miserable X-Men: The Last Stand, confirmed that he’ll be helming the God of War flick if and when the picture gets the greenlight. The reaction online has been, well, yeah.
God of War designer David Jaffe has posted a video of himself addressing the reaction. Hey, Jaffe likes that X-Men movie Ratner made. It was entertaining! And he does remind everyone that Ratner is surrounded by intelligent, talent people so all is not lost. And when not pointing out the difference between Brett Ratner’s X-Men (popcorn!) and Bryan Singer’s X-Men (meaty), he offers a retort to Kotaku commenters who aren’t so thrilled about the Ratner picture.
God of War Director Announced… [David Jaffe Thanks, T.G.!]
