For the few out there that have ever stopped and wounder what ever happened to F.E.A.R. and will there ever be a part two it looks like the answer is yes, the catch is the title had to change and I'm willing to bet you would like to know why and this piece by IGN.com has the answers you need.
The IGN report reads as follows: "It's a bit funny how the corporate world works. In 2005, Sierra and Monolith put out an acclaimed first-person shooter called F.E.A.R. that blended elements of Japanese-style horror with kinetic gunplay. But prior to that, in 2004, Monolith was acquired by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, which meant that things would get complicated for any follow-up. Sierra owned the name F.E.A.R., but Monolith was the company responsible for actually making it. So what happened next was a bit comical. Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment announced Project Origin, a game that would effectively be the spiritual successor to F.E.A.R., while Sierra would make F.E.A.R. 2 with another developer."
"And then came 2008. Vivendi Universal Games, the parent organization of Sierra, merged with Activision to become the largest third-party publisher in the world. VUG's crown jewel, of course, is Blizzard, the studio responsible for World of Warcraft, StarCraft II, and Diablo. Sierra's lineup was examined, and most of its games were recently dropped. Indeed, Sierra's future is in doubt."
"Senseing an opportunity, Warner Bros. and Monolith struck, and they are announcing today that they have acuired the F.E.A.R. name, meaning that the creator of F.E.A.R. once again has access to the name. To that effect, Project Origin is being renamed to F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin. To learn more, check out the video interview above."
"Why not drop the Project Origin name altogether? Well, for one, there has already been quite a bit of branding associated with that name, but more importantly, when Monolith lost the F.E.A.R. name it asked its community for suggestions to replace it. In a contest, Project Origin was chosen, and thus, the name has ties to the F.E.A.R. community."
"Warner Bros. and Monolith have also announced a launch date. F.E.A.R. 2 is coming to the PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 on February 10, 2009, and the game picks up directly during the events of F.E.A.R. and following. We'll have more information on F.E.A.R. 2 tomorrow, including brand-new direct feed footage, so keep an eye out."
Bungie's latest Weekly Update confirms the arrival of some new Halo 3 Achievements but these aren’t the only achievements they will be adding.
Inevitably, this will be blown out of context, misread and misunderstood, but let’s do it anyway.
For a number of reasons ranging from obvious to sublime, Title Update 2 (which is the new, hip, Xbox 360-version way of saying “Auto Update” or “Patch”), introduces new Achievements to Halo 3. Last weekend at Penny-Arcade Expo we played Assembly on the TU2, which meant that folks would see and buzz about the new achievements. These will be made live when TU2 turns on later this month - the previously announced date may slip a bit closer to the Halo 3 one-year anniversary.
Here’s a look at these achievements which can be earned via the Legendary Maps and Halo 3 Campaign:
Vidmaster Challenge: Lightswitch (0 points) – Get to the rank of Lieutenant in any playlist in the new EXP progression system.
Vidmaster Challenge: 7 on 7 (0 points) – Enter into any ranked or social playlist with 7 EXP on the 7th of the month.
Vidmaster Challenge: Annual (0 points) – After 9/25/08, complete Halo on 4-player Legendary LIVE co-op, with Iron, and everyone in Ghosts.
Double Double (25 points) – On a Legendary map, get two Double Kills during any ranked or social match.
Poor Yorick (25 points) – On a Legendary map, get 3 Oddball melee kills during any ranked or social match.
Came…From…Behind (50 points) – On a Legendary map, get 3 assassinations during any ranked or social match.
Defend This (50 points) – On a Legendary map, get a flag melee kill during any ranked or social match.
Flag Dropped (25 points) – On a Legendary map, get 2 flag carrier kills during any ranked or social match.
Road Rage (25 points) – On a Legendary map, get 5 Warthog chaingun kills during any ranked or social match.
Look Both Ways (50 points) – On a Legendary map, get a Splatter Spree during any ranked or social match.
As folks have seen, these aren’t the only achievements we’re adding. But without proper context, there’s not a whole lot else we’re going to say. Stay tuned.
The guys from xbox360fanboy.com have received word from a source close to Microsoft's marketing department that a new $199 360 SKU with motion controller bundle is about to be announced shortly.
The rumoured motion controller will work with all 360 consoles and will even be sold separately, bundled with an even more expansive list of mini motion controlled games
According to the source, Microsoft will be positioning the Arcade bundle to be in direct competition with the Wii, meaning that the marketing push behind it will focus on family friendly entertainment. With family oriented games on the packaging, the Arcade console will come packaged with the traditional Arcade goodies (512MB memory card, etc.), the new Fall update pre-loaded as well as a motion controller and a few motion controlled mini games developed by Rare. That's right, a motion controller! This new $199 Xbox 360 Arcade bundle is said to release Holiday 2008.
File this all under rumors'ville for now, but don't totally discredit the information. $199 Arcade's are sounding very likely and, with Microsoft's push to undercut the Wii, matching the Wii's motion controls sounds like a total possibility. We'll just have to wait and see.
A new Google Tech Talks presentation is now online which involves "The Xbox 360 Security System and its Weaknesses". The tech talk also covers the Xbox 1 Console and many other facets of hardware and software security.
After the disaster of the original Xbox, Microsoft put a lot of effort in designing what is probably the most sophisticated consumer hardware security system to date. We present its design, its implementation, its weaknesses, how it was hacked, and how to do it better next time.
Speaker: Michael Steil
Michael Steil has been involved with various embedded systems hacking projects, like the Xbox, the Xbox 360 and the GameCube. In 2006, he has spoken at Google about the flaws in the security system of the original Xbox.
Speaker: Felix Domke
Felix Domke is the principal author of the Xbox 360 hack and the Linux port. He has also significantly contributed to hacking the dbox2, the GameCube and the Wii, and porting Linux to the respective platforms.
With Ubisoft Confirming an October 24th Release Date for Far Cry 2 i was thinking we should have a peek at what all the guys will be getting if they decide to spend the extra cash for the collectors edition of this game, i must admit that this is not a bad looking set considering some games are just including the DLC and calling it the collectors edition.
The following information is the press release from Ubisoft: Ubisoft announced that Far Cry® 2 will be released on October 24th throughout all EMEA territories on the 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and Windows® PC.
“Far Cry® 2 is an amazing journey that will take you to the darkest places of Africa where each player will choose how they play. This will provide gamers with an unprecedented experience in the FPS genre”. John Parkes, EMEA Marketing Director.
To celebrate the release of Far Cry® 2, Ubisoft is happy to unveil the Far Cry® 2 Collectors’ Edition that will include:
Exclusive wooden box
Original Far Cry® 2 Game
Limited edition Far Cry® 2 t-shirt
“The Art of Far Cry® 2” Art book
Collector 50km˛ map
Making-of DVD
Far Cry 2 Collectors’ Edition is now available for pre-order at GameStop and game.co.uk
Robert Bowling is the Director of Communications / Community Manager for the award winning video game development studio Infinity Ward; the team behind the 2007 Game of the Year Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare has posted a blog on fourzerotwo.com about an upcoming double XP weekend and we got the low down on all this for you right here.
Robert Bowlings post reads as follows: "Back from PAX means back to work, and while it’s a short week thanks to Labor Day it’s the one time I wish it wasn’t because I have a lot of stuff to get done. I’m currently working on getting everything organized and together for an upcoming Xbox Live / PSN promotion we have coming up the weekend of Sept. 12th - 14th. Which isn’t this weekend, but next weekend. I will have exact details on what it is in the near future but I have a gut feeling it’ll have Double XP attached to it for all those hungry for some power-leveling on Call of Duty 4.
Currently working on designing some Xbox Live banners to promote it on the marketplace and attempting to get everything together for it on our end. This promotion is technically unrelated to the new Playlists, but I won’t lie that my hope is to finish them up in time so that we can make it all one big promotion. How epic would that be? Our awesome QA team and producers are helping me push hard to make it happen by the weekend of the big promotion, no promises, but as always I’ll keep you updated on the progress."
So there you have it guys and girls, oil up your guns and lace your boots tight for some major damage.
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According to the source, Microsoft will be positioning the Arcade bundle to be in direct competition with the Wii, meaning that the marketing push behind it will focus on family friendly entertainment. With family oriented games on the packaging, the Arcade console will come packaged with the traditional Arcade goodies (512MB memory card, etc.), the new Fall update pre-loaded as well as a motion controller and a few motion controlled mini games developed by Rare. That's right, a motion controller! This new $199 Xbox 360 Arcade bundle is said to release Holiday 2008.
