 | The Surprising Splinter Cell: Blacklist Jan 30th 2013, 17:00 Why Sam Fisher's latest adventure is a far more interesting game than early demos might suggest. 
I thought I had Splinter Cell: Blacklist pegged. Watching last year's E3 demo, I saw a new-look Sam Fisher who appeared far more agile and bloodthirsty than ever before. Dashing up buildings, planting knives in people's throats without hesitation--it was as though Ubisoft had dropped Sam Fisher into an Assassin's Creed game and forgot to change the title. OK, so maybe I was wrong. Having spent a couple of hours playing the game at a Ubisoft event last week, it's clear that last year's E3 demo might not have painted the most accurate picture of what this Splinter Cell reboot is all about. Blacklist is a much broader game, one that draws influences from Assassin's Creed and doesn't stop there. At various points during the demo, I was reminded of Mass Effect, Metal Gear Solid, and--bear with me here--XCOM: Enemy Unknown. The story is that Sam Fisher has become the leader of Fourth Echelon, a newly formed government organization with a focus on clandestine operations. It's a nice little promotion, but one that comes with some serious responsibility. In taking the reins of Fourth Echelon, Sam has assembled his own small intelligence team. It's a unit that operates not in an office park in Langley, Virginia, but in a flying spy plane. Said spy plane is called the Paladin, and it essentially functions as the mission hub. On a basic level, it's where you peruse intel reports before launching the next ground operation. You can see which missions are available, what they entail, and what sort of threat to your existence they pose. That sort of thing. But there's more to the Paladin than simply launching the next mission. For one, you can walk around the plane and start up conversations with your team. There's Grim, the redhead who shares a complicated history with Sam; Briggs, the guy who tags along with Sam on missions to act as ground support; and Charlie, the tech whiz who doubles as comic relief. What's impressive about the game's presentation is that you really get the sense that this is a team, complete with all the tension and occasional attempts at lightening the mood that you'd expect from such a high-stakes operation. Taking the time to talk with your crew presents a few different options for Sam. Each member of your team will occasionally suggest a side mission that you're free to accept or turn down at your leisure. Beyond that, you can also talk to your teammates to upgrade your operation with all the cash you've earned from your latest mission. Talking to Grim allows you to upgrade various parts of your plane, from radar technology that will improve the information displayed on your HUD during missions, to cushy holding cells that will induce your captives to inform you of black-market weapons dealers. Then there's Charlie, who will upgrade the gear you bring on your mission, such as new weapons and gadgets, as well as various outfits tailor-made for stealthy or aggressive approaches. That whole economy of upgrades and enhancements is heavily influenced by your play style. The game tracks your style according to three classifications: ghost, panther, and assault. Ghost is the quiet, nonlethal approach that favors knocking people unconscious if a fight must occur; panther is similarly silent, but in a lethal, silenced-handgun kind of way; and the assault approach has you going in with guns blazing, setting off every alarm in the mission. Simply completing a mission in a sloppy, haphazard way will get you some cash (see: assault), but sticking to the ghost or panther play style will net you far more extra rewards and cash. Curious to see how far I could distance myself from last year's blood-soaked E3 demo, I spent my time taking the ghost approach. It's a far more challenging route to take than the other two, but Sam has plenty of equipment to tilt the odds in his favor, from sleeping-gas grenades to a silent crossbow equipped with several different types of bolts. The latter was especially fun to use, whether I was firing an electrically charged bolt that zapped enemies to sleep or luring enemies out of my path by firing a noise-making bolt into some distant corner.  In my attempts to no-kill my way through the demo, I was a little disappointed to see that there was at least one story-driven sequence that forced me to kill people when a rescue operation went sideways. Though, to be fair, in the two missions I played (one in daytime Benghazi and the other in dark, rainy London), those moments of forced lethality made up a very tiny portion of the demo. Overall, it was reassuring to see that the stealth system in Blacklist remains open to different play styles--and being rewarded in cash to upgrade my flying spy bird for focusing on one of the more challenging approaches is a nice touch. Perhaps I was a bit quick to write off Splinter Cell: Blacklist as another example of Ubisoft blurring the lines between its major franchises. Sure, there's something initially jarring about just how easily Sam Fisher can dash up walls and scurry along ledges. But this isn't simply Splinter Cell meets Assassin's Creed. It's a bigger, far more interesting game than that. Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
| | Warren Spector: I don't know what's next Jan 30th 2013, 16:59 Cofounder of now-shuttered Epic Mickey studio says he takes pride in Junction Point achievements, has no idea what he's doing next. 
Yesterday, Disney closed Epic Mickey developer Junction Point Studios, putting all employees--including cofounder Warren Spector--out of a job. So what is next for the longtime designer? He has no idea. In a farewell post on Facebook, Spector praised his colleagues at Junction Point for their work and said he has many fond memories of the past eight years. "Now it's time to move on to the next adventure. I honestly don't know what that will be yet, so don't ask," he said. "Anyway, whatever you think of me, or Junction Point, or Disney or the Disney Epic Mickey games--yes, I know we polarized people!--I'll always look back on the last eight years with nothing but pride." Spector recalled that when Junction Point was just getting started, he thought that in the worst scenario, the studio would be a footnote in Disney history. Looking back, Spector said the studio achieved much more than this. "With Mickey Mouse as our hero, we introduced a mainstream audience to some cool 'core game' concepts… and, most especially, we restored Oswald the Lucky Rabbit to a place of prominence," he said. "We did that. Junction Point." It was confirmed yesterday that Spector will not remain a part of the Disney family following the closure of Junction Point. Spector has been in the game business for 30 years. Arguably his most famous work was 2000's original Deus Ex, which he served as producer on at Ion Studios. Not only did Disney close Junction Point yesterday, but the House of Mouse's game division also cut 50 jobs across several studios as part of an effort to meet "market demands." The company is currently focusing on Disney Infinity, a new toy-based gaming initiative that will compete directly with Activision's Skylanders series. Activision is unfazed. Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
| | Tera going free-to-play February 5 Jan 30th 2013, 15:53 New "Rising" version of MMORPG to be available without subscription fee next month with no level cap or content restrictions for new players. 
En Masse Entertainment's massively multiplayer online role-playing game Tera will be free-to-play when it relaunches at Tera: Rising February 5, it was announced today. Previously, the free-to-play switch was scheduled to take place sometime in February. The new version of the game will not require a subscription fee and new players will not face any content restrictions or a level cap. Though Tera: Rising will be available to play for free, players can use real-world money to purchase various items on an a la carte basis from the in-game marketplace. Past and current Tera subscribers will be awarded permanent "founder" status, which carries numerous exclusive privileges. Those who pay $15 per month for "Elite" status will be granted extra dungeon rewards, 10 bonus quests per day, a daily delivery of items and boosts, an elite mount, in-game store discounts, and waived brokerage registration taxes. A detailed breakdown of Free-versus-Founder-versus-Elite status benefits can be found at the official Tera website. To coincide with the free-to-play business model switch for Tera, new in-game content will be made available. This includes a wave-based dungeon called the Crucible of Flame and a PvP battleground map called Champions' Skyring that "introduces a new way for players to test their skills against each other." Tera is the latest MMO to drop its subscription fee, following Lord of the Rings Online, Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures, EverQuest II, Aion, and Star Wars: The Old Republic. Bethesda has not said if its upcoming MMO The Elder Scrolls Online will carry a subscription fee, though consultant Nicholas Lovell believes the game will launch with a subscription before going free-to-play. Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
| | God of War: Ascension Super Bowl ad teased Jan 30th 2013, 15:28 Sony reportedly set to air trailer for upcoming action game during this weekend's momentous football game; ad rates are $3.8M for 30 seconds. 
Kratos may be at the Super Bowl this weekend. Sony has released a live-action teaser for a God of War: Ascension Super Bowl XLVII advertisement that will reportedly run during Sunday's big game. This follows a previous teaser from earlier this week, which includes the same imagery. According to a Bloomberg report, the price for a 30-second advertisement during Super Bowl XLVII is a record $3.8 million, up 7.1 percent from last year. More than 110 million viewers are expected to tune in to Super Bowl XLVII, which airs Sunday night on GameSpot parent company CBS and online. If Sony is indeed planning a Super Bowl ad, it will not be the first game company to shell out big bucks for the big game. In 2010, Electronic Arts purchased a 30-second ad for Dante's Inferno. Ad rates that year ranged from $2.5 million to $2.8 million. God of War: Ascension is a prequel to the original trilogy that will tell Kratos' origin story. It is due out March 12, 2013 exclusively for PlayStation 3, and includes a series-first multiplayer mode. For more on God of War: Ascension, check out GameSpot's previous coverage. [ Watch Video ] Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
| | Volition had six interested buyers - Report Jan 30th 2013, 15:07 Saints Row studio manager says WB, EA, Take-Two, and Ubisoft all showed interest in company; no layoffs after sale, though name may change. 
Six different companies entertained the possibility of buying Saints Row studio Volition Inc. before it was eventually sold to Deep Silver parent company Koch Media last week, general manager Dan Cermak told The News Gazette. Warner Bros., Electronic Arts, Take-Two, Ubisoft, Koch Media, and an unnamed group from Chicago all completed site visits in the weeks preceding the sale, he said. However, only two companies--Koch Media and Ubisoft--submitted bids for Volition, with Koch Media's $22.3 million offer well ahead of the French publisher's $5.4 million bid. Koch Media had 390 employees prior to the purchase and will take on all 185 Volition staffers. There will not be any layoffs and compensation packages are consistent, Cermak said. What may change, though, is Volition's name. "Deep Silver Volition" is reportedly among the names being considered, Cermak said. Cermak also confirmed that Koch Media did not acquire the Red Faction franchise, the fate of which lies in limbo. Cermak said the sale to Koch Media is a "very positive situation for us." He noted that because Koch Media is a private company, it does not face many of the pressures THQ did as a publicly traded entity, like meeting quarterly financial benchmarks. Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
| | Defiance release date set for April 2 Jan 30th 2013, 15:01 Trion's open-world MMO shooter will release ahead of accompanying TV series debut. 
Experimental third-person transmedia-stuffed shooter Defiance will release worldwide on April 2, publisher Trion has announced. The open-world online title will launch on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC, The accompanying Defiance TV show, which pledges to change its storyline based on what people get up to in the game, will kick off April 15 on US network Syfy. To accompany the announcement Trion also released its full-length Join the Fight live action trailer, which shows the game's Ark Hunters fighting some enormous antagonistic crustaceans, known as Hellbugs, in Defiance's slightly-apocalyptic universe. Defiance is set in the San Francisco Bay Area in a futuristic time period where Earth been dramatically changed by alien terraforming, whereas the TV series will take place in St. Louis. Trion announced a series of layoffs in December 2012, but said that its 2013 titles-- Defiance, End of Nations and Crytek's Warface-- would be unaffected. Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
| | Black Ops II adds Twitch support Jan 30th 2013, 14:00 Streaming video company partners with Activision to allow Call of Duty players to stream their multiplayer games worldwide; compatible only with Xbox 360 for now. 
Streaming video company Twitch today announced a partnership with Activision that will allow Call of Duty: Black Ops II players to stream their multiplayer games to viewers worldwide. The feature is supported on the Xbox 360 version today, with compatibility for PlayStation 3 and PC versions of the game coming "soon." No mention was made of the Wii U version in today's announcement. Black Ops II players with a Twitch account can begin streaming their games today and can share their stream through Twitter and Facebook. In addition, Black Ops II streams can be viewed on Twitch through Web browsers, mobile, and tablets via Call of Duty: Elite. What's more, Elite members can also see the player card of the user who is streaming, allowing them to examine their class loadout, recent match data, and other career statistics. Twitch is not the only live-streaming option available to Black Ops II gamers. Since launch in November, players have been able to stream their League Play games directly to YouTube. Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
| | Disney games unit lays off 50 more Jan 30th 2013, 13:24 House of Mouse's games division lets about 50 staffers go from several locations on same day it closed Junction Point, says source. 
Disney yesterday closed Epic Mickey developer Junction Point Studios, ending all positions at the Austin, Texas company. The Los Angeles Times reports that those weren't the only layoffs that day, as about 50 staffers from several locations were let go Tuesday, according to a source. The paper obtained an email sent to staffers yesterday from Disney Interactive co-president John Pleasants. It comments on the closure of Junction Point, as well as the challenges associated with operating in the games industry, but does not specifically call out other job cullings. "Our division operates in a rapidly evolving industry and as a result we must sometimes make difficult decisions to ensure we…re meeting market demands. Unfortunately, today this meant announcing changes within Disney Interactive Games, including the closure of Junction Point Studios in Austin," the statement reads. "These decisions are never easy, or taken without serious thought and consideration, but they are essential in order for Disney Interactive to remain competitive and win." Separately, Joystiq reports Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two has sold 529,000 copies over November and December 2012 in the United States. In addition, the site states combined sales of Epic Mickey 2 and Nintendo 3DS game Epic Mickey: The Power of Ilusion in the region have reached 695,000 units over the same period. This means the 3DS game sold roughly 166,000 copies. Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
| | Nintendo slices Wii U sales forecast but expects to return to profit Jan 30th 2013, 11:41 Overall sales expectations down for hardware and software, but Nintendo expects weak yen to be advantageous for the company. 
Lower than expected sales of the Wii U has caused Nintendo to cut sales forecasts of the fledgling console by 27 percent for its current financial year, down to 4 million units sold from its initial expectation of 5.5 million. The gaming giant expects to make a net profit of ¥14 billion ($2.2 billion) for its current financial year--which ends in March 2013--as opposed to the ¥43 billion ($6.9 billion) loss it suffered last year. Nintendo also revised its sales forecasts for the Wii, 3DS and DS, with the 3DS sales expected to reach 15 million by the end of March. The company also expects to suffer a loss on its operating income, but expects an overall profit thanks to an advantageous exchange rate due to the currently weak yen. 3.06 million Wii U consoles and 11.69 million Wii U games have been sold worldwide since since the hardware's launch last November, with 1.32 million going to North America, 900,000 to Europe and 830,000 to Japan. The most popular Wii U games, perhaps unsurprisingly, were Nintendo Land and New Super Mario Bros. U, with 2.33 million and 2.01 million sold respectively. Pokemon Black and White 2 managed to notch up 7.63 million sales worldwide since its Japanese launch in June, so the publisher be likely be particularly keen to see how the new, 3DS-exclusive Pokemon X and Y fares when it's launched globally in October 2013. Last week Nintendo announced a new Zelda title and a new 3D Mario to bolster the Wii U's lineup. Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
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