Today on TGR…
Wishing on a Game: Shenmue III
Just in case Shenmue III’s absence from your life didn’t sting enough already, feel free to read our feature detailing the history of the series, and what we’d like to see in another iteration of this venerated game series.
The Good, The Bad, and The Shipping April 12 – 19
Just because it’s a slow week doesn’t mean that you can’t find something to waste your money on. Demigod? Dokapon Journey? The choice is yours!
Why OnLive Will Fail
Just because OnLive sounds like a good idea doesn’t mean it is. TGR Writer Patrick Mulhern brings everyone down to Earth for a bit.
Namco: Tekken 6 possible on Nintendo Wii
After years of hearing developers dismiss the Nintendo Wii for their franchises, Namco Bandai sees opportunity where others only see technical impossibility.
TGR Reviews / Previews:
Red Faction: Guerilla preview – "…nearly everything that you see can be obliterated."
Wheelman review – "…this game could have been so much more."
The Godfather II review – "…not anything close to its potential, but it still succeeds in its own right."
And on a very special note, we’d like to wish a very happy birthday to TGR’s #1 intern, Heath Hooker. Have a great day Heath!
And, on the rest of the internet:
Ghostbusters III in the works?
In a video interview with IGN, Ghostbusters writer / actor Dan Aykroyd discusses how the upcoming Ghostbusters video game will tie in to the third movie, as opposed to being the third movie, as originally reported.
Could this new tidbit indicate that Aykroyd is now keen on making another full Ghostbusters flick? Perhaps working with the property again has ignited an old passion that will manifest itself in a new feature film. Children of the 80s can but cross their fingers and hold their breath.
Activision-Blizzard is not Blizzard
Former Blizzard employee Michael Sacco posts an informative Q&A describing the merger between Vivendi and Activision, and how it affects game developer Blizzard.
I particularly liked the reasoning behind releasing Starcraft II as three separate games:
Devs explained to me that they had three choices once they realized the depth of the Terran campaign:
– Shorten and pare down each campaign, resulting in campaigns about as long as Warcraft III, and release it as one game.
– Make the campaigns as robust as possible and release the Protoss and Zerg campaigns in expansions.
– Put everything in on game exactly how they want it and have Starcraft II come out in 2014.
On that topic…
Starcraft II battle report leaks early
Some enterprising nerds were able to worm their way into a now-pulled battle report for Starcraft II. The video, which features two developers commentating a match of Starcraft II, reveals several new details about the game.
Those that watched the match before it was pulled transcribed the commentary, which reveals new information. It may be a hoax, but if it is, someone spent a very long time typing all that stuff up.
STALKER expansion, full sequel on the way
GSC Game World president Sergey Grigorovitch discussed the developer’s plans for a new stand alone expansion to S.T.A.L.K.E.R. subtitled Call of Pripyat in this interview, which you may want to avoid if your Russian is a tad rusty.
Though the expansion is expected later this year, the game will also receive a full blown sequel at a later, but unspecified, date.
id’s Todd Hollenshead discusses multiplatform development, Wii conundrums
id Software CEO Todd Hollenshead discussed a number of topics with Gamespot recently, admitting that id – who once was a PC centric developer – now focuses on consoles as well due to profitability concerns.
Additionally, Hollenshead also elegantly summarized the predicament of Wii development. According to him, there just isn’t a strong case for third party development on the system currently due to past performance metrics.
Demigod releases early for pre-purchasers
Players that beta tested Gas Powered Games’ Demigod, or simply pre-purchased the game, can now download the full release a day early. Kick on Impulse and clear the pipes, because the full game weighs in at 2.8GB.
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