Monthly Archives: August 2009

Andy Serkis and John Rhys Davies head the cast for Piranha Bytes’ latest RPG, Risen.

Serkis takes the role of The Inquisitor, John Rhys Davies performs as Don Esteban, Lena Headey, (Sarah Connor Chronicles) takes the role of Patty.

Fincher is played by Burn Gorman, Brendan Coyle takes the role of Commandant Carlos, Damian O’Hare plays Olf, Simon Greenall plays Luis, Oscar is played by Donald McCorkindale and Stuart Organ plays Brogar.

The Archers actress, Louiza Patikas represents Sara and Timothy Watson from Eastenders and Casualty takes the role of Romanov.

“The quality of the voice casting reflects the quality of the game” stated Koch Meida’s Paul Nicholls. “With such an amazing lineup of talent from movies and TV, there is a voice everyone will recognize; we will attract a new generation of RPG players to the genre”.

Game’s out for PC and Xbox 360 October 2.

Full press release below.

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Karen Strassman has updated her resume to include StarCraft II, and the voice actress notes that she was hired to play Sarah Kerrigan, Queen of the Blades.

There are voice clips on her official website, and if you click on the videogame link, you can hear a snippet of her version of Kerrigan at the end of it.

Glynnis Talken Campbell, who originally voiced the character, was present in the reveal trailer for the game at BlizzCon 2008, but will not be reprising the role.

According to Campbell, the voice work done in that trailer was considered an audition for the role and Blizzard chose Strassman instead.

We’ve contacted Blizzard for confirmation.

Thanks, Kotaku.

Splash Damage owner Paul Wedgwood has told VG247 that post-release DLC support is a company trait likely to impact Brink.

“Splash Damage have a reputation for always doing post-launch support, and Bethesda are exactly the same,” said the exec.

“If you look at the amount of downloadable content there is for Fallout 3, I think it’s fair to assume that it’s something that would happen.”

Wedgwood remained noncommittal on the subject, though, saying the FPS is still too early to have a definite post-launch plan.

“Right now, because we’re pre-alpha, it’s just too far off in the distance to make any kind of commitments or anything, but absolutely: it’s something we want to stick with,” he added.

Bethesda-funded sci-fi shooter Brink is currently slated for a spring 2010 release. It’ll be shown at GamesCom next week.

GDC Austin takes place September 15-18, and you already know that Blizzard and Sony Online will be there, but so will others.

Here’s a list of the recently announced speakers and what they will be discussing:

• Craig Alexander , VP, Product Development, Turbine: MMOs to Consoles – Challenges, Opportunities and Emerging Trends
• Brandon Barber, VP Marketing, Zynga: What Are The Stickiest Design Models and How Are They Monetized?
• Bill Dalton, Technical Director, BioWare Austin: Come and See the Elephant – Challenges Encountered Growing an MMO
• Raph Koster, President, Metaplace: Games are Math: 10 Core Mechanics That Drive Compelling Gameplay
• Jeffrey Kesselman, Chief Technology Officer, Rebel Monkey: The Monkey Wrench: Design and Architecture of an Online Environment
• Jesse Schell, Faculty, ETC Carnegie Mellon, CEO, Schell Games, Laralyn McWilliams, Creative Director, Sony Online Entertainment, Matthew Schwartz, Senior Designer, Cartoon Network: Reaching A New Demographic: Kids AND Their Parents
• Craig Sherman, CEO, Gaia Online: Next Phase of Casual Games: How to Make the Free-To-Play Model Work for You
• Richard Weil, Director of Community Relations, Cartoon Network, Rebecca Newton, Head of Safety, CrispThinking.com: Kids and Gaming-One Year Later. Still Keeping up with your ABCs?

The full press release is after the break.

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Free Radical’s Karl Hilton has told Develop that Haze “had a lot of development issues which meant it wasn’t the game it should have been,” and admitted that the teams problems getting the game to run on PS3.

“A lot of them were technical issues,” he told the site. “The PS3 is a powerful machine but a difficult one to get the best out of. We spent more time trying get the game running properly and less time to design the game properly.”

After going into administration and being brought into the Crytek fold, Free Radical became Crytek UK and with access to CryEngine 3 the team’s PS3 woes are behind them thanks to the engine’s toolset.

“I don’t think we’ve seen the best out of the PS3 at all,” said Hilton, “and I definitely think one of the best things about Crytek and the CryEngine is that we’re now in the best position to get the most out of the hardware.”

More through the link.

Valve’s recent European press activity is to blame for Left 4 Dead 2 not making an appearance at GamesCom next week, EA’s told VG247.

“They have been in Europe recently and held a European hands on event in London last month,” said a rep.

So there you go. Valve in deserting Germany shock. We didn’t want to see the pretty zombies anyway. Huff.

Meijer has readied its sales flier/mailer/advert for August 30, and inside is the Xbox 360 Elite priced to move at $299.99.

Rumors have been circulating for quite some time that the Pro was on the way out, and that the Elite would take not only its place but its price too in order to compensate for the loss.

This means that should the Pro go the way of the dinosaur, and if you don’t want an Elite 120Gb HDD, your only other choice will be the Arcade version.

Kotaku has more, go check it out.

BioWare and EA announced the preorder incentives and Collector’s Edition contents for Dragon Age: Origins today.

The Collector’s Edition, available in limited quantities, features collectibles including a steel case, a cloth map of the world, a Making-of documentary DVD, a digital version of the soundtrack, game trailers, wallpapers, strategy tips, a concept art video, and three exclusive downloadable items that will provide special advantages in-game.

One’s called the Stone Prisoner download pack, it contains a suit of Dragon Age Armor that can also be used in Mass Effect 2 along access to Shale, the mighty stone golem who can become one of the most powerful party members in the game, and comes with its own personal back-story and unique quests for the player to discover.

It also includes new environments, items and hours of additional gameplay, and available to original purchasers of new copies of the game at no additional cost or can be purchased separately for $15.

In addition, players who purchase a new copy -original or Collector’s Edition – will receive a code to download the Blood Dragon Armor, that gives additional protection in combat for use in both Dragon Age: Origins and Mass Effect 2.

Also, preorders get the Memory Band, which adds +1 percent to all experience points and adds one bonus point that players can use to boost their character’s skill set.

The Collector’s Edition is available for preorder today at the EA Store for $74.99 (console) and $64.99 (PC). Game’s out November 3 and 6 in the US and UK respectively.

More details through the jump.

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MCV’s claiming UK retail channels are being stripped of PS3 hardware in anticipation of a new price point “expected” in “early September”.

“Sourcing PS3 stock has been a challenge for the last two to three weeks,” said a retail source.

“There are obviously lots of rumours flying about as to why that might be. I don’t think it’s to do with demand, though. Sales are low at the moment and have been for a while. We’ve been told not to expect any further hardware deliveries until September.”

This is all starting to look a little obvious. Save the date. Hit through for the full story.

Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising is aiming to be as brutal about dying as it possibly can be, senior producer Sion Lenton, told RPS.

Check this out:

A head shot will be a kill. But it’s more complex than that: you can shoot through a guy’s leg or chest, and he won’t die instantly, even if he goes down. You might reach his position and see him bleeding to death. It’s going to be horrible to see. We didn’t want to make death too light or too easy. The same damage system is true for you, which makes things more challenging. We want to make death as unpleasant as possible, and to make players more careful. You’re not going to run through an open field with your guns blazing. The game will teach you not to do that.

Sounds grim. Hit the link for more. The game’s out for PC, 360 and PS3 on October 9.

Eurogamer Expo 2009 just announced its full publisher line-up, and it’s pretty much “complete,” from the look of it.

Sony, Microsoft, EA, Ubisoft, Eidos, Sega, Capcom, Konami, 2K, Bethesda, Namco and Deep Silver will all have playable games on hand.

This year’s show is split over two UK locations. The Leeds event is being held at The Royal Armouries on October 27-28, followed by a London leg at Old Billingsgate October 30-31.

Games confirmed so far include Assassin’s Creed II, Halo 3: ODST, Borderlands, Tekken 6, Left 4 Dead 2, Dante’s Inferno and Aliens vs. Predator. Expect an awful lot more to be announced as we get closer to the show.

Buy tickets here. PR after the break.

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UK journo Jem Alexander’s confirmed his new role as social media manager for SCEE.

Alexander was previously Joystiq’s man on the ground in Britain.

“I’m going to be managing PlayStation.Blog from here on out,” he said, adding that his first job will be marshalling GamesCom coverage next week in Cologne.

Hit the link for more.

Nelson’s confirmed that the excellent Trials HD is now up on Live.

Blurb:

Fasten your helmet…and unlock the full version of Trials HD. This physics-based motorcycle game has over 50 brilliant tracks and amazing HD graphics, in two unique game modes. Customize your rider, unlock bikes, climb global leaderboards, and compete with new in-game friend-scores. With the level-editor, create and share an unlimited amount of new tracks. Trials HD is an experience you haven’t seen before!

Best 1,200MSP you’ll ever spend. Promise.

SCEE’s just confirmed to VG247 that its GamesCom conference is to last around one hour, not the three hours previously reported.

A rep said on the phone that the presser will last “just over an hour” and the extra time around it is “for people to sit down… before we get started.”

The actual conference is scheduled to start “around 7.00pm,” said the spokesperson.

SCEE had previously said the event was to start at 6.00pm and would last for three hours until 9.00pm.

The publisher sent out a press note this morning detailing the conf’s location, and including the times 6.30-8.30pm.

So. There you go. It’s going to start at 7.00pm and last for about an hour.

Remember: these times are CET. That’s one hour after UK time, and nine hours beyond PST. It’s you’re tuning in from the UK, you’ll need to be here from 6.00pm BST. That’s 10.00am PST and 1.00pm EST.

Here we go! SCEE’s just confirmed it’s going to finally put some details down on the European PS3 Video Store in Cologne next week.

Said PS Store manager Angela Madronero in the comments thread of this FAQ: “We will be making an official announcement regarding our forthcoming Video Store, next week, at GamesCom!”

Sony said at Games Convention in Laipzig last year that the European version of the US Movie Store would launch this year: we’ve heard nothing since.

“At Games Convention in August last year, we announced that we had a long-term plan to launch a video on demand service for some countries in the SCEE region,” Madronero added.

“This is still our plan, and as soon as we have all the details locked down, one of my colleagues who is working on the programme will give you an update on when and what will be available.”

Bring it! Fucking bring it! Over-pump to the 40,000 percent max! There’s no way we’re going to get through any of this without having some sort of collective heart problem.

BioWare’s release a ton of new Dragon Age media today, showing a marked visual improvement.

There’s 40 new screens after the break. We’re pumped.

The epic RPG was pushed off into November last week, unfortunately, but it’s starting to look as though this could be well worth the wait.

Look and see. There’s some great stuff in there.

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EA’s applied for new trademarks for Populous, Theme Park, Wing Commander and Road Rash, as you can see on superannuation.

This has caused “the internet” to have a small paddy, and rightly so. Syndicate’s a little conspicuous by its absence though, isn’t it?

Worth noting that EA mentioned revitalising Bullfrog IP earlier this week.

IGN’s publishing a live video feed from Quakecon in Texas tomorrow, as you can see here.

The main press conference takes place at 1.30pm PST. That’s 9.30pm BST. Nathan will be there, and we’ll be liveblogging it.

We’ll have more detail on this tomorrow.

Chinese mag GameWave has apparently published an image of a PS3 Slim. Maybe. Hit this. And this.

Is it real? God knows. Is the moon blue? Depends how drunk you are.

GamesCom next week? Yes please.

Thanks, GAF.

Update: SCEE just gave us a “no comment”.

EA CFO Eric Brown has said EA is now in the market for smaller buys, speaking at the Pacific Crest Technology Leadership Forum in Vail, Colorado, this week.

Talking of EA’s failed attempt to buy Take-Two this year, Brown said, “That’s a deal whose timeframe has come and long gone. We’re just not interested in a large-scale, traditional packaged-good publishing deal.”

Brown also said EA is “underweighted” in Asia relative to its global sales.

There’s more on Reuters.