Arkham Origins developer WB Montreal has passed on casting Kevin Conroy, who has voiced Batman in multiple titles since Batman: The Animated Series, as Batman in the upcoming videogame. WB Montreal stated that since Arkham Origins is an origin story featuring Bruce Wayne in his younger years, they’re looking for someone younger to fill the role. While fans of Conroy’s voice work as the caped crusader will be disappointed, it is understandable that they’d cast an actor with a younger sounding voice to portray Batman in his earlier years. No news as to whether or not Mark Hamill will reprise his role as The Joker.
After showcasing their upcoming adventure game Beyond: Two Souls at Tribeca Film Festival, Quantic Dream has prepared a new trailer for eager fans. Beyond: Two Souls would probably be best described as an interactive movie, in line with Quantic Dream’s past games, and stars Ellen Page and Willem Dafoe. It is set to be released this October.
As a fan of the studio’s past work (most notably Heavy Rain and Indigo Prophecy), I’m excited to get my hands on Beyond this fall.
The rumors regarding the rebranding of the XCOM shooter as The Bureau are true. The game is still set in the XCOM universe but is no longer an FPS as it has been repurposed as a “third-person tactical squad-based combat game” with team and tactics “at the forefront of our gameplay experience,” according to The Bureau’s creative director Morgan Gray.
Keeping with the spirit of the franchise, when squadmates die in this tactical shooter, they’re gone for good. While this gameplay element isn’t anything new for the franchise, it’s certainly something that isn’t seen in shooters. In regards to this, Gray continued saying, “Our plotline is always moving forward. The consequences of that loss are immediate and there’s no way to hide from them. The war will not stop for you.”
When it was first announced (simply as XCOM), fans of the original games were upset at its radical departure from its strategy game roots. The game went silent for quite some time before the recent rumors started circulating about its rebranding. It is nice to see that they’re not wholly abandoning the original concept and keeping the game in the XCOM universe, but it would have been interesting to see the original vision of the game fully realized. The Bureau: XCOM Declassified is being developed by Bioshock 2 developer 2K Marin and is scheduled for release August 20, 2013. The press release and trailer for this XCOM spin-off are below:
Set in 1962 at the height of the Cold War, The Bureau tells the origin story of the clandestine XCOM organization’s first encounter with a mysterious and devastating enemy. Originally established as America’s covert defense against the Soviet Union, The Bureau must adapt and overcome a threat unlike anything the world has faced before. As special agent William Carter, players will call the shots and pull the trigger, leading their squad of agents in the high-stakes secret war for humanity’s survival. Paramount to repelling the outside threat is The Bureau’s ability to cover-up the enemy’s existence in order to prevent worldwide panic.
In the spirit of the XCOM franchise, The Bureau’s calculated combat design requires players to think and act tactically. The game’s third-person perspective gives the player a sense of spatial awareness and grants them the freedom to transition in and out Carter’s unique Battle Focus ability seamlessly — heightening the tactical shooter action. The Bureau also fully embraces the concept of permanent consequence. As our last line of defense, every command can mean the difference between life and death for Carter, his squad and mankind.
A computer animated film based on the Ratchet & Clank property is currently in production at Escape From Planet Earth studio Rainmaker Entertainment in association with Blockade Entertainment. Ratchet & Clank as a franchise has been well-received over the years for its imaginative worlds, platforming mechanics, exotic weapons, and its sharp comedic writing. As its writing has been celebrated in the past, it’s encouraging to fans that Insomniac–the developer responsible for the games–screenwriter TJ Fixman is penning the script. Beyond that, Insomniac will be actively involved in the film’s production.
A synopsis of the film was included in the press release announcing its production:
Ratchet and Clank tells the story of two unlikely heroes as they struggle to stop a vile alien named Chairman Drek from destroying every planet in the Solana Galaxy. Ratchet is the last of his kind – a foolhardy ‘lombax’ who has grown up alone on a backwater planet with no family of his own. Clank is a pint-sized robot with more brains than brawn. When the two stumble upon a dangerous weapon capable of destroying entire planets, they must join forces with a team of colorful heroes called The Galactic Rangers in order to save the galaxy. Along the way they’ll learn about heroism, friendship, and the importance of discovering one’s own identity.
Bethesda’s been teasing a new game for a while now and while many speculated that the teases were for a new Fallout title, those rumors were quickly denied and have now been proven wrong. Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami has been working on a new horror game for Bethesda and we now have a teaser trailer (featuring shots from Bethesda’s teaser teasers) for this new game. The Evil Within was originally announced as Zwei and is being developed by Shinji Mikami’s studio Tango Gameworks. The game has been given a vague 2014 release and is headed to current and next gen consoles as well as PC.
The teaser doesn’t reveal much, but it’s twisted, disturbing, and intriguing. Have a look for yourself:
From the official website:
EVIL TAKES HOLD 2014
Shinji Mikami, the father of survival horror, is back to direct The Evil Within™ – a game embodying the meaning of pure survival horror. Highly-crafted environments, horrifying anxiety, and an intricate story weave together to create an immersive world that will bring players to the height of tension. The Evil Within is in development for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, PC and next generation consoles and is slated for release in 2014.
Upcoming downloadable game Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon has a live-action trailer that just oozes 1980s cheesiness. It’s inarguably the best thing you’ll see today.
A 2.5D remake of the classic platformer Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse is headed to consoles and PC this summer. This remake is being developed by Sega Studios Australia and features environments and characters modeled in 3D on a playable 2D plane. Trailer below:
While the filing of an extension to the trademark may not be indicative of any plans to revive the troubled sequel to 2006’s Prey, it does give those of us looking forward to Human Head’s sci-fi shooter hope.
Announced in 2011, Prey 2 promised to put players in the boots of a US Marshal turned bounty hunter with the freedom of an open alien world environment. Since the announcement, there hasn’t been much news regarding the production and many have speculated that the game was canceled; Bethesda has denied these rumors and claims that Prey 2 is still in development at Human Head Studios. The game was confirmed to be delayed, however, as its development wasn’t progressing satisfactorily.
The status of the game is still currently unknown, but perhaps more will be revealed with the filing of the trademark extension and E3 right around the corner.
As speculated before, the upcoming standalone expansion to Far Cry 3 will be releasing this May. A new trailer featuring some excellent Saturday morning styled cutscenes, VHS tracking lines, and gameplay footage has been posted. I’m getting more and more excited for this game with every little tease being released. Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon features the voice of Michael Biehn as protagonist Sergeant Rex Power Colt in an future from the past. The year is 2007 and the nostalgia is cranked to high with references to several classics from the 80s (most notably probably being The Terminator). The new trailer is below:
Upcoming standalone add-on/spin-off to last year’s Far Cry 3 may be released on May 1, 2013–just 3 short weeks away–and will feature the voice talent of 80s movie star Michael Biehn. The game was announced officially earlier this month with a VHS-styled teaser that hints at all of the wonderful 80s-ness of this game. The synopsis that was pulled from the Xbox website (which has since been removed) is equally awesome:
Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon is THE Kick-Ass Cyber Shooter taking place on a bizarre open-world island crawling with evil. Welcome to an 80’s VHS vision of the future. The year is 2007 and you are Sargent Rex Colt, a Mark IV Cyber Commando who’s fighting against a cyborg army gone rogue. Your mission: get the girl, kill the baddies, and save the world. Experience every cliché of a VHS era vision of a nuclear future, where cyborgs, blood dragons, mutants, and Michael Biehn (Terminator, Aliens, Navy Seals) collide.
Someone also dumped glorious 80s awesomeness all over the box art, as well:
I’m more than a little excited about this upcoming retro-inspired open-world experience, so I’ll be sure to post more when new information is available.
Bethesda’s been teasing a new game for a while now and while many speculated that the teases were for a new Fallout title, those rumors were quickly denied and have now been proven wrong. Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami has been working on a new horror game for Bethesda and we now have a teaser trailer (featuring shots from Bethesda’s teaser teasers) for this new game. The Evil Within was originally announced as Zwei and is being developed by Shinji Mikami’s studio Tango Gameworks. The game has been given a vague 2014 release and is headed to current and next gen consoles as well as PC.
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