Unreal Engine 4 Will Be Ready When Next-Gen Consoles Ship

So…let’s take a trip Back to the Future… Ha, like how I did that? lol  Anyways….It seems that awesome folks at Epic Games are already at work on the Unreal Engine 4.   Or so says Mike Capps, he confirmed progress on Unreal Engine 4 mentioning that it should be ready for debut “…in the next console generation – our rough guess is 2012 – 2018.”

Another interesting not is that the  UE4 will have “console focus” where “version 4 will exclusively target the next console generation, Microsoft’s successor for the Xbox 360, Sony’s successor for the Playstation 3 – and if Nintendo ships a machine with similar hardware specs, then that also. PCs will follow after that.”

I know one thing, if this next engine looks even half as good as UE3 (see Gears of War 2), then they might as well change the name to Surreal Engine…because that’s what it’s going to seem like.  Living life in a video game, which is what I guess they are striving for.

“New” Spider-Man: Web of Shadows Debuts

I think this trailer is actually an extened version of a trailer that was already released (but don’t quote me on it!).

I love it, can’t wait for it!

Know Your Games: Too Human

I want to take you back in time to give you a little history on Too Human and those Silicon Knights.

Too Human has been in developement for a long, long time.  It was originaly planned as 4 disc Playstation game.  Yes, that’s the original Playstation, not the PS2.  It was briefly shown at E3 1999, but then: enter Nintendo.  Nintendo entered a partnership with Silicon Knights to bring Too Human to the Nintendo Gamecube.  Well, obviously that never happened.  Fast forward a couple of years and you finally get to see a resurfacing of Too Human in the EGM magazine stating that Silicon Knights will bring a 3 part Too Human trilogy to the Xbox 360.  Fast forward a couple more years….now we are pratically about to play the entire game.  1999-2008….that’s a hell of a developmental cycle.  It’s a wonder that the game has lasted this long to even make it to retail, but nevertheless, it’s almost here.

It was originally being made with Epic’s Unreal 3 Engine, but due to “issues” that was terminated.  Silicon Knights is now using their own internal engine.  Personally, I don’t think it looks too bad at all.

So, now you know the history of the Too Human game.

New Skate 2 Details Surface

I’m not a huge skate-boarding fan at all.  But, I played Skate just to say that I did.  I found that I quite enjoyed it.  The realism is completely uncanny and I’ll definately be looking forward to the sequel.   EA has released some new details on the upcoming sequel tentatively titled: Skate 2.

• Takes place five years after the original game, after the city’s been rebuilt after an unknown disaster.

• Allows play as a female character.

• Includes a Tiger Woods-style character editor.

• Allows the player the get off the skateboard and walk.

• Includes teleporting to previously marked locations.

• Camera includes another third-person perspective.

• Allows video uploads using EA hosting.

• Supposedly runs at 60 frames per second.

Skate 2 is expected to release sometime during winter of this year.

Ragnarok DS MMO Still Coming

As posted on IGN.com

For those thinking it might be just another case of vaporware, the DS version of Ragnarok Online is still in development, and it’s reached that magic point where Famitsu was able to give it a huge spread in its latest issue.

Titled Ragnarok Online DS, the PC MMORPG will, as the name suggests, retain online play in the move over to the dual screen. The game supports Wi-Fi Connection cooperative play for up to three players with 50 multi-player dungeons available.

Obviously, this isn’t quite the same online play as the PC original. Much of the DS title is actually new, including the original main character, Ares. The storyline is also original. The game will also have new jobs, including a dark knight and a shaman.

The control scheme appears to attempt to replicate the PC version, though, with the stylus used in place of the mouse. You make use of stylus motions to attack your enemies, use items, and perform skills.

Ragnarok Online DS will arrive in Japan via GungHo Works on December 18, just in time for the series’ 6th anniversary.

Seems like it could be pretty fun.  I’m not sure if it’s coming to stateside or not, but I kinda hope it does.

Game Delays Abound!

We have a couple of updates to fill you in on for games getting pushed back from their original release dates.

First up, Brothers In Arms: Hell’s Highway.  It was originally going to ship in August.  It has now been pushed back to a date in September. It’s said that it will hit stores on Sept. 23rd.

Next we have Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X.  Originally supposed to ship out this September.  It has now been pushed back to sometime in early 2009. 

Lastly, we have Tiberium.  It was supposed to ship out this fall, but has been pushed back to EA’s 2010 fiascal year.  Which means Tiberium will release sometime after March 31st, 2009

New Armored Core Coming For 360 & PS3

From IGN.com

Today Ubisoft announced it will publish Armored Core for Answer, the newest addition to From Software’s mech-based combat franchise, Armored Core. The thirteenth installment in the series, Armored Core for Answer is scheduled for release on the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and the PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system in September 2008.

About Armored Core for Answer

In the distant future, massive urban development and pollution have critically damaged the planet. There is widespread fear that the end of the world is approaching. The League corporations, a military superpower, control the planet’s infrastructure and have forced most of the world’s population to live in huge aerial communities, called Cradles, to avoid the contamination. The ORCA, a rebel resistance still residing on the surface of the polluted planet, have amassed a formidable arsenal and are mobilizing to attack The League’s bases to put an end to their iron grip on the planet. As a mercenary armed with cutting-edge military robot technology, choose your side and defeat the other factions by harnessing the power of the deadliest and most gigantic weapons ever created by mankind. Armored Core for Answer is rated “T” for Teen with Mild Language, Violence.

Game features include:

. EPIC BOSS BATTLES – For the first time in the series, cut your way inside colossal mobile battle stations and destroy them from their very core. Identify and exploit the weaknesses of 10 uniquely designed GIANT mobile battle stations to defeat them.

. PLAY WITH A FRIEND IN SEAMLESS CO-OP MODE OR FACE SEVERAL FRIENDS IN MULTIPLAYER MODES – Cooperate online with a friend in more than 30 missions or face up to 7 other players online in more than 80 different battlefields.

. CUSTOMIZE YOUR MECH WITH HUNDREDS OF PARTS AND WEAPONS – Find the right combination of weapons and armor that will help you take down colossal enemies. With more than 130 new parts and 400 parts total, enhance your mech to take on increasingly deadlier mobile battle stations. Create the perfect mech design to defeat a powerful enemy and share it with your friends online.

. SWITCH FACTIONS AND MAKE DECISIONS THAT CHANGE BOTH THE STORYLINE AND YOUR COMBAT EXPERIENCE – Choose your side among different factions including The League, The ORCA and the independent city states, each one having their own sets of giant mobile battle stations, mechs and characteristics, allowing for unique battle experiences. The decisions you make during your adventures will result in one of 3 different possible endings to the war.

. FIGHT GIGANTIC MILITARY VEHICLES IN BEAUTIFUL, EXPANSIVE ENVIRONMENTS – Experience high-velocity daylight combat or low-visibility night battles as changing weather and time modify the atmosphere of more than 40 battlefields including snow field, desert, ocean, underground and city. Fully destructible environments will bring even more sensational realism to your epic battles.

. 2 DIFFERENT CONTROL SCHEMES FOR BEGINNERS AND VETERAN PLAYERS – New intuitive controls will allow beginners to skilfully operate your mech in no time. If you are a veteran player, enjoy the full range of controls available in previous Armored Core installments.

About Ubisoft

Ubisoft is a leading producer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment products worldwide and has grown considerably through a strong and diversified line-up of products and partnerships. Ubisoft has teams in 27 countries and distributes games in 55 countries around the globe. It is committed to delivering high-quality, cutting-edge video game titles to consumers. For the 2007-08 fiscal year Ubisoft generated sales of 928 million euros. To learn more, please visit http://www.ubisoftgroup.com.

[ACHIEVEMENTS] Zombie Wranglers

Zombie Wranglers [12 Achievements/200 Gamerscore]

 (Achievements Could Contain Spoilers)

Undead Basket (10)
Complete a survival mission only using your wrangler pack.

Zombie Assassin! (13)
Kill 25 Zombies using your ranged weapon in online Ranked Skirmish.

Zombie Horde (20)
Suck up 50 zombies in campaign, co-op, Ranked Multiplayer.

Frank is that YOU? (11)
Defeat a Franken without taking any damage.

You’re Not Brain Dead (4)
Wrangle a Zombie.

Fable 2 Will Not Be The Last Fable

According to Peter Molyneux, Fable 2 will not be the last Fable game  In fact, it’s planned out to expand over 5 games.

Here’s a quote from the man himself: “We’ve got plans for Fable III, IV and IV actually… it’s a big story arc and you can see that if you’ve played Fable II you’ll recognise things from Fable.”

Also (from Gamespot.com):

Molyneux also hinted at what else may be in the pipeline for the Surrey-based outfit. “There is another project at Lionhead that we’ve been working on for quite some time. It’s kind of the result of an experiment that went incredibly well and we thought ‘this has got to be a game’ and I can’t say anything about it at all.”

While the industry heavyweight left details on that particular project rather thin, he hinted that a sports or driving game may also be in the works. “I’ve always be fascinated by challenges and I’ve always said to myself ‘well, one day I really should do a sports game.’ It’s just simply because, you know, it seems such a genre which is just locked in stone…’we know how we do sports games, we don’t do them any other way’ and that is a real challenge to me. Same with things like driving games. I think those sort of games… what I want for a game that I do next is a really big challenge.”

So does this mean that we’ll get a new Fable game every year?  Doubtful, but I’d like to see it.  It’ll probably end up being a new Fable game every 2-3 years.

Gears Of War 2 Gets Linked

As far as I know, Fable 2 is the first game to link up games together.  So, this may end up being the trend with all sequels from now on (or not…).  But I hope it is, I like to see some extra incentive, especially if I took all the time to beat GoW on Insane mode.  Yeah, I get the achievement to prove I did it, but so what?  What good does the achievement do in the game…none, that’s what. 

Here’s a couple of them that have been announced thus far:

• Players who played Gears 1 and completed Act 1 will be able to play as Carmine in Gears 2’s multiplayer.
• If you killed Raam at the end of Gears 1 his character model will be available as well.
• Unlocking the “Time to Remember” achievement in GoW unlocks Minh Young Kim in GoW2 multiplayer.

There will be more “linked achievements” but none of the others have been announced.  Makes me wonder what you get for having the “Seriously …” achievement will do…?  Maybe it’ll give you a t-shirt for your avatar saying “I have no life!!! Seriously!”

Hideo Kojima Hints At A New Metal Gear Game

A brief interview with Hideo Kojima at Variety isn’t so much full of megatons – he hasn’t read much Haruki Murakami but he does enjoy Phillip Dick and Kurt Vonnegut – as it is with some insights into the supposed “end” of his Metal Gear Solid series.

Kojima shares some of his thought process on the creation of “Old Snake” – “I made him this way because of the unique characteristics of the game medium … he represents the players themselves because of the interactive nature of games” – as well as teasing what we may be able to expect from “a new Snake.” Kojima says, “If there ever were to be a new Snake (might have a different name), he will be a Snake for a new era.” No, we’re not sure what that means either, but it gives us great satisfaction in knowing that Kojima probably does.

– As posted on Joystiq.com

Personally, I’d love to see this great franchise expand.  It’s one of a few games that Sony has exclusively (currently) and one of their main system selling games.

XBL Arcade Release Dates

July 30th – Geometry Wars Retro Evolved 2
August 6th – Braid
August 13th – Bionic Commando: Rearmed
August 20th – Galaga Legions
August 27th – Castle Crashers

I don’t know about you guys/gals, but I’m definately looking forward to Castle Crashers.