Spore releases on Sep and Mass Effect in May
First, Electronic Arts (EA) and Maxis have announced that “Spore”, that highly anticipated game from the creators of ‘The Sims’ will be available with retailers across the globe the weekend of September 7, 2008.
“Spore” will ship for the PC, Mac, Nintendo DS, and mobile phones.
A jubilant Will Wright, chief designer of Maxis, said “The wait is almost over. We’re in our final stages of testing and polish with ‘Spore’, and the team at Maxis can’t wait to see the cosmos of content created by the community later this year.”
Among the most ambitious simulation games ever planned, “Spore” sees the evolution of life from single-celled organisms through the birth of tribes and the beginnings of civilization to the creation of whole new worlds including Space exploration and colonization of other planets.
Described by Maxis as a “massively single-player” game, “Spore” offers players their very own universe plus a wealth of creative tools to modify it in the way they want to.
Incidentally, Wright began work on the game way back in 2005 but due to development problems, it got delayed beyond last year when it was originally expected to hit stores.
While “Spore” hasn’t been officially rated or priced yet, online retailers are pegging it at around $50.
An EA company, has announced that the popular Space epic, “Mass Effect” is headed for the PC in May of 2008.
A futuristic game set in the 22nd century, “Mass Effect” sees humans stumbling upon objects that help them travel faster than light so that they are suddenly propelled into the Milky Way.
The PC version of the game invites players to don the hat of ‘Commander Shepard’, who’s assigned the honorable task of nabbing the villain, in this case ‘Saren’, and saving the galaxy from imminent destruction.
“Mass Effect” for the PC is fraught with conspiracy, treachery, courage, and heroism, not to mention all the alien monsters and interstellar mercenaries who spell doom for the galaxy. To make the game even more exciting, the PC version allows for a ‘Run and Gun’ style of game play — complete with graphics and all that jazz!
The list of features of “Mass Effect”, the PC version reads: optimized controls designed specifically for the PC, high resolution visuals, ‘Run and Gun’ control, new decryption mini-game, and new inventory screen GUI (Graphics User Interface) and functionality.
The game hasn’t yet got a rating from the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB).
source:techtree
Halo Wars Coming to the PC?
Remember Halo Wars, Microsoft’s upcoming Real Time Strategy game set in the Halo universe and developed by the same dudes who made Age of Empires? As you all know it was poised to be an Xbox360 exclusive, but just today I stumbled on this article at The Angry Pixel who claim (from inside sources obviously) that Ensemble Studios are working on a PC port of the game.
If that wasn’t enough, Halo Wars will even offer cross-platform play, which means both PC as well as Xbox360 owners will be able to play against each other. Do head here for the rest of the story.
source:tech2
FaceBreaker to Arrive Soon
For some reason I keep finding myself glued to EA’s Fight Night Round 3 (Xbox360) from time to time.
While a part of me keeps wondering how awesome a Fight Night Street would be, EA Chicago, the studio behind this series is apparently working on a brand new boxing game; only this time it won’t concentrate on realism and photo-realistic visuals.
They’ve gone the Team Fortress 2 way and come up with a first of its kind, cel shaded boxing game called FaceBreaker that (as the name suggests) will allow you to “rearrange your opponent’s face” in a multitude of hilarious ways.
Created by the same team that developed the award-winning Fight Night Round 3, FaceBreaker offers irreverent fun, immersive gameplay and eye-popping stylized graphics. In this in-your-face, arcade world full of ego-wielding characters, each boxer comes to life with unique attributes and distinct personal style, including Romeo, a Latin lover known for his pelvic thrusts, and Molotov, an oversized Russian demolitions expert with a penchant for fighting dirty. Add a little personal motivation to your fight by uploading a photo of your face to create a realistic likeness using Photo Game Face, and go toe-to-toe with a real-life friend or foe.
Laugh out loud as you pummel your opponent with a barrage of blows to the face and watch in satisfaction as your progress is illustrated by real-time facial deformation. With haymakers, face shots and body blows, wait for the right moment to drop a super punch to make your presence known. Taunt your adversaries and flaunt your talent, by tying one hand behind your back to add ultimate humiliation to your bout. In FaceBreaker, it just feels good to rearrange your opponent’s face.
FaceBreaker will be released for the Xbox360, PS3, and Wii in 2008.
source:tech2
Lost Odyssey Comes to Xbox 360
Microsoft in partnership with Hironobu Sakaguchi, the famed producer of Mistwalker game studio and feelplus, has brought to the Xbox 360 a new exclusive game called “Lost Odyssey”.
Touted as a next generation role-playing game (RPG), “Lost Odyssey” blends massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) elements with the game’s traditional RPG system, enabling players to make strategic decisions for a more immersive game play experience.
“Lost Odyssey” is the story of ‘Kaim’, an immortal character, who has lived more than 1,000 years and doesn’t remember his past and doesn’t know where his future lies. Players will witness Kaim’s life as he lives through many generations, becomes part of numerous families, falls in and out of love, and confronts all of the conflicts that arise.
The struggles are set in a world that is on the brink of a mystical industrial revolution, where mankind has attained dark powers.
Through Kaim’s journey, a handful of characters join him on an odyssey to discover their intricate past and their destiny — all leading players in a drama of massive proportions.
According to Microsoft, the massively scoped worlds, the memorable characters, and the epic story line of the game — all play out like an intense and unsettling blockbuster action film.
The game is powered by Unreal Engine 3 technology that brings out the smallest details in the largest battles, including facial expressions of emotionally distressed characters in the world of the “Lost Odyssey”.
