According to videogaming247's interview with Tim Bennison Radical Entertainment executive producer, the developer is “evaluating” Prototype’s multiplayer: it may make the game after all.
Benninson said in March that multiplay had been cut from the Vivendi action game, thank God they seem to be going back and second guessing this decision and Tim Bennison has said “We’re trying to create the best possible single player experience,” the producer told us this week. “It’s an origin story and if we are successful, we’re hoping it’s the start of a franchise.
“But to do this, you’ve got to establish a great core single player experience. Having said that, we are still evaluating multiplayer to see if we can make it work in our development schedule.”
Prototype had been set for a year-end release but was pushed back into 2009 at the beginning of May hopefully an indication of a passable multiplayer option being added.
To my dismay i found a report by IGN that states Prototype will be delayed and the new release date is in the air at this point.
IGN reports that the game will be pushed back to April 1st 2009 but that date is not 100% and went on to say: "Sierra Entertainment and Radical Entertainment have made the decision to shift Prototype to launch in 2009," a company spokesperson said. "Since its announcement, Prototype has been regarded by many as groundbreaking and taking the open-world genre in new directions, and in the simplest explanation possible, we need more time to deliver the game the team initially set out to create."
One can only hope this delay will bring the online play to the game that the public is asking for but Sierra Entertainment is still on the fence about it and leaving us hanging with comments like: "As we've stated previously, Prototype's multiplayer development was never 'off the table' but rather under evaluation and on hold," a spokesperson said. "Now, with the updated 2009 timing, Prototype multiplayer is still on the table for evaluation, and further details will be revealed down the line."
Lets just hope what ever was so impotent that the game had to be delayed is well worth the wait.
In an interview with videogaming247.com Prototype producer Max Belanger made a few statements that just might have GTA fans in a state of disbelief.
Videogaming247 asked Max if he thought Prototype could stand up to the opposition he said:
“I think so. I think in terms of scale the world is going to be a big bigger [than GTA IV]. However, they’ll have some weather systems that we won’t have.
“However our world will change over time. It won’t stay the same. It’ll go from pristine, to run-down, to infected. That’s very unique to our game. We also have a full cycle of night and day that I’m not sure our competitors do.”
I must say i knew this was going to be a killer game and that it was big but thats a bould statment.
I been going on about Prototype for some time now and I finally got what I need to show you just how cool this is going to be.
If you take a little bit of DarkSector and a little bit of GTA and smash them in to a ball with a huge pile of cool you can only end up with one thing, Prototype.
SYNOPSIS
You are Alex Mercer, a shape-shifter with absolute mastery over your genetic structure, stalking the streets of New York City, searching for your past. Delve into a web of lies and rip the truth from those who've hidden it from the public for forty years. Learn that you are not alone in your amazing abilities; that other killers stalk the city.
A secret war is brewing in New York. First, battle below the media radar, then, watch as a deadly infection spirals out of control and the government seizes the media to stop the spread of information. Finally, experience New York under quarantine as martial law is instated; igniting a firestorm of combat, carnage and death.
Face an ever-growing army of infected — creatures warped and changed by the virus. As it spreads, more and more of New York falls under its control. The virus overwrites a creature's existing genetics; warping and changing their form into something else, something planned. As the virus gathers its army, rush to discover the secret behind it all; the one thing that can stop it all before the city falls into ruin.
Against you is Project BLACKWATCH – an elite force of Army specialists ready to stop the spread of the virus at any cost. These operatives have seen it all before, and are eager to track you down and bring you in, dead or alive. Their mandate is complete containment; even if it means everyone in New York must die.
Struggle to define what you will be. Do you assist BLACKWATCH in its hunt, or join forces with the virus and subjugate humanity? Push your powers to the limit, and unlock the genetic shackles that hold you in check.
Discover what lies beyond the edge of evolution.
Due out around Christmas of 08 so I know what I'm asking the fat man for this year, do you?
If you haven't had a look at Prototype and don't know what this game is all about you might want to take a little time to check out this video.
The Prototype game is described as so: No Memory. No Mercy. No Equal.
You are Alex Mercer. You are the Prototype™... a shapeshifter with amazing powers of combat, destruction, and deception. Consume targets for their form and memories to assume a perfect disguise, or instantly transform your body into an array of deadly biological weapons, cutting your way to the heart of the conspiracy forty years in the making.
Stalk the streets of New York City, searching for the life you lead before. Take the form of anyone in your path, using an arsenal of identities to confound, exploit or annihilate your enemies. Mankind is your mask.
Wage a secret war against factions with complex agendas of their own, out to capture or kill you. They are your greatest threat and the key to the secrets of your past. Confront them, find those responsible and make them pay.
Unprecedented Abilities and Control - Play as the most powerful and dynamic character ever created with innovative shapeshifting powers and over the top parkour locomotion movement.
Shapeshifting - Attack with brutal and devastating powers; instantly triggering hundreds of power combinations (Attack, Defensive and Sensory).
Disguise - Assume the perfect disguise by transforming into any character and assuming the victim's powers, skills and abilities.
Open-World Action Thriller - New York City is your hunting ground! Jam-packed, vibrant, fully interactive city filled with thousands of people and enemies out to destroy you.
Conspiracy Based Storyline - Delve to the bottom of a conspiracy that has haunted the American government for decades. Who is responsible for your condition? Only you can find out!
Multiplayer - 2-Person Co-Op Online Multiplayer
Now lets get to the point of this post, if you been watching this game develop then one of the features you most likely been interested in is the multiplayer side of the game and i hate to be the bearer of bad news but a new report has said that the mutiplayer feature has been dropped from the game.
But on a good note here is why: Tim Bennison said: "PROTOTYPE was concepted as a single player open-world/action title and it’s always been our goal to ship the game in 2008. So while the prospect of adding a multiplayer component to PROTOTYPE has definitely been something we’ve been entertaining, we’ve made the decision that we can’t fit it into our original plans delivered with the same level of quality/polish as the rest of the game this time around. Keep in mind we envision PROTOTYPE as a franchise, so hopefully it will do well enough at retail, enabling us to make a sequel and if/when we get to that point multiplayer will definitely be on the table from the start."
If you ask me this still looks like one bad ass game.
New details about World in Conflict: Soviet Assault have emerged, this game was postponed last year and now play.com is stating it will be set to release in October.
Newly released details for this game are as follows:
Brand new campaign with obligatory switching of sides and, for the first time, playing on the Soviet side.
New units include a chronoplane, some sort of a boat-ship mix based on an actual prototype model from the ’80s.
Camera controls mapped onto both analog sticks (as in a first-person shooter) with the possibility to zoom or pause the game completely.
Reinforcements or new units can be called to the battlefield either by using the context menu, or - at this point still a bit tricky - voice communication using the headset, same as in Tom Clancy’s EndWar.
The same multiplayer maps & mods as in the PC version, plus some new ones. With the maximum number of connected players lowered from 16 to 10 and lacking cross-platform play.
The actual conversion (such as fitting the controls onto a joypad) being handled by Swordfish Studios, with Massive Entertainment supplying only new content.
NAMCO BANDAI Games Reveals New Ace Combat® 6: Fires of Liberation™ Downloadable Content
NAMCO BANDAI Games today revealed information and assets for the six new plane variants for Ace Combat® 6: Fires of Liberation™ that will be available for download from the Xbox LIVE® Marketplace on Thursday, January 31. Featuring classic squadron themes from previous entries in the Ace Combat series and several original designs, these new plane updates let players experience their favorite aircraft online and in the game’s single player campaign with a new look and enhanced capabilities.
Typhoon – UPEO Emblem (Free): Charged with quelling military uprisings around the world, the members of the legendary UPEO Squadron were the heroes of Ace Combat 3. Outstanding turning and stability help this plane weave through the battlefield and pick off enemies, making up for its slightly diminished arsenal.
CFA-44 Nosferatu – Prototype (200 Microsoft Points): Armed with an Electromagnetic Launcher (EML), this variation of the Nosferatu places great emphasis on aircraft stability to ensure a high rate of accuracy at all distances. The raw combat power and enhanced accuracy of the EML helps make up for the plane’s dogfighting shortcomings.
Tornado GR4 – Raging Shark (200 Microsoft Points): One of the most recognizable and feared designs in the sky, the Raging Shark version of the Tornado GR4 is a powerhouse in battle, with huge increases in firepower and defense coming at the expense of speed.
F-14D Super Tomcat – Razgriz (200 Microsoft Points): Known as both champions and demons, the Razgriz Squadron possessed an incredible drive to achieve victory, making them the unquestioned heroes of Ace Combat 5. Like the original Razgriz, this plane has extremely high durability ratings to ensure that all squad members survive each operation.
Su-33 Flanker – Yellow Squadron (200 Microsoft Points): One of the most iconic opponents from Ace Combat 4, the Yellow Squadron stood as the pride of Erusea, with the charismatic Yellow 13 leading five hand-picked wingmen. This plane stands as a tribute to their fearless nature, with incredible maneuverability at the cost of limited armor.
Su-47 Berkut – The Idolmaster Miki-EX (400 Microsoft Points): Customized by Miki Hoshi of the hit Idolmaster series, hundreds of hours of tuning have transformed this plane into a superstar. While its stability is less than ideal, Miki’s careful touch has helped this plane realize its hidden potential in battle.
For more information on Ace Combat 6 including achievements, screenshots, trailers, news and forum discussions please check out the Xbox 360 Games Database from the link below.
In line with policy, Microsoft has declined to comment on rumors of a motion-sensing Xbox 360 controller add-on.
Microsoft has contracted an outside firm that will be producing a first-party motion-control peripheral by the end of next year, according to a news post this week at XboxFamily.com.
The young website said that motion control experts at Saratoga, Calif.-based Gyration are currently working on a prototype for a motion-sensing add-on for existing Xbox 360 controllers. XboxFamily.com did not name the source of the information.
A Microsoft rep offered Next-Gen the expected response, “Microsoft does not comment on rumors or speculation. And I have nothing further to share.”
Gyration is the same company that pitched motion-sensing controller prototypes to Nintendo back in 2001. Nintendo didn’t go with Gyration’s design, but Gyration does hold multiple motion-sensing and remote control patents.
As far as motion-sensing capabilities are concerned, the Xbox 360 is the odd man out. The Sixaxis and Wii Remote offer the feature to varying effect. Microsoft’s Bill Gates has in the past downplayed the PlayStation 3 and Wii’s motion controllers.
"There's room for innovation here, but moving that controller around — it's something that's not mainstream for most games," he told MTV News back in May 2006. “…There's a lot to be learned about these controllers."
I should not have been talking about this until next year, but a story of a motion sensing add-on for the Xbox 360 controller forced me to interrupt my holiday break. First, let me tell you that the image floating around with supposed prototypes of a motion sensing Xbox 360 controller is FAKE.
The image in question, which you can see below, was taken from a Gizmodo article that showed the many prototypes Gyration and Bridge Design pitched to Nintendo in 2001; prototypes that eventually gave birth to the Wii controller.
TeamXbox.com can confirm that Microsoft has been researching alternative input technologies for the last two years, including vision-based recognition such as the one used on Xbox Live Vision, as well as motion sensing technologies similar to those seen in the Microsoft Freestyle Pro and the PlayStation 3 SIXAXIS.
Particularly, Microsoft has looked at ways to improve the right analog stick input and you’ll hear more about those efforts soon.
In the long run, there’s more than a first-party tilt mod in the works and TeamXbox.com will bring you a real list of next-generation Xbox controller prototypes soon.
Bungie studio manager Harold Ryan says the newly independent developer is “actively engaged” in creating new IPs, as well as new Halo titles.
"We're actively engaged with the senior staff here on a couple of new IPs right now, but the team that can generate cool Halo games is still running full-speed as well," Ryan revealed in an interview with Develop.
Bungie had wanted to pusue new projects while under the arm of Microsoft, Ryan said, only to have to ditch them because of the crunch involved in getting Halo titles completed. However, a project begun during Halo 3’s development has been kept alive, and is currently being worked on following the split from Microsoft.
"During the development of Halo and Halo 2, we had other, non-Halo IPs in development and we killed those projects both times. Both teams were swallowed whole by the Halo team. With Halo 3, that was the first time we knew that we couldn’t let that happen – it’s not an acceptable way out to add 20 people to the project by killing that prototype.
"We kept that prototype running throughout the development of Halo 3 and now we have a creative team which feels like they own that.”
Not that Halo projects won’t still be taking up a fair deal of Bungie’s resources, Ryan added.
“We also have Halo DLC on the way, and a new IP prototype that we are very excited about. Then we have other Halo games that are cranking along also. So the end result so far has been exactly as it should have been – we’re happy, excited, and doing our best work on a path that lets us grow."
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The young website said that motion control experts at Saratoga, Calif.-based Gyration are currently working on a prototype for a motion-sensing add-on for existing Xbox 360 controllers. XboxFamily.com did not name the source of the information.
