Is Rare making Killer Instinct 3?
Rare, why tease us so? I can’t count on one hand the amount of times Rare have teased the gaming world with a possible third installment in the much-loved fighting series Killer Instinct. Actually, make that two hands, but either way, they keep doing it, this time with the help of another Rare franchise, Banjo-Kazooie.
A picture arose on the web that shows a merchant from Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts trying to sell Banjo something from his suitcase, and that something just happened to be an Xbox 360 game with the name Killer Instinct 3 written all over it. DAMN YOU RARE!!!!! How many times have we seen Killer Instinct 3 rumors around the web or hints to that effect? This is not the first time Killer Instinct 3 has been hinted at with Banjo involved. L.O.G., the game master from Nuts and Bolts, hints at games that are possibly in the pipeline at Rare during the game and one of them just happened to be Killer Instinct. What did Rare have to say on this?
“We are Rare, we do have a sense of humour," said Rare’s community manager, George Kelion. When asked if that was a denial, he responded, “We don’t comment on rumour and speculation." They love doing this don’t they? They hint and hint then come out with a denial. To add more fuel to the already huge fire, a music sheet was allegedly leaked onto the web, which happened to be for Killer Instinct 3. Again, this was shot down, but there are too many rumours and hints for this game to NOT be in development.
Rare studio manager Mark Betteridge was once quoted saying, “If we did Killer Instinct (Live Arcade), it would look like and play like Killer Instinct coin-op. If there were a new Killer Instinct, it would be completely new." Gregg Mayles of Rare added, “If someone came up with some revolutionary idea for a new fighting game, yeah, we might think of resurrecting Killer Instinct”
All in all, we at TGR think there is too much talk around Killer Instinct for Rare to be doing nothing about it. Microsoft could use a big franchise for next year, so what better than this legendary fighter? With the power of the 360 and its online capabilities there is much potential for Killer Instinct 3 to be incredible.
TGR Rating: Highly Likely
Is Crackdown 2 in development?
In my opinion, Crackdown is probably the most underrated game on the Xbox 360 to date. Realtime Worlds created a gem of a free-roamer with drop-in/drop-out co-op and an entire city as your playground. Sadly, the game was overshadowed by the Halo 3 beta, and what a shame that was. This game didn’t need the beta to sell copies; the fact that it was fun, original, and pleasing to play should have been enough. Given the fact that people who bought it just for the beta actually ended up really enjoying the game is a testament to how good Crackdown actually was. So with all this, it’s hardly surprising that I’m jumping with excitement that there could actually be a sequel in the works.
A while back, there were whispers of a possible sequel in the making, but that was shot down by Phil Wilson, who stated that the team was “heartbroken” and that “Microsoft were a little late in stepping up to the plate to ask for Crackdown 2, and by then we had already started working on bigger, better things.” That, of course, ended up being the promising MMO APB, which is slated for a PC and Xbox 360 release next year. Nothing has been heard since, but recently these whispers have started to come back and are now getting louder and louder.
Xbox 360’s Major Nelson stated in a podcast involving Microsoft Game Studio’s boss Phil Spencer, “I’m here to tell you on behalf of the community, I want — we need — another Crackdown.” He carries on, “That’s all I’m going to say, so you don’t have to confirm for deny anything. I’m just saying we want it.” Spencer replied,“Yes, Crackdown’s one of my favorites, I’ll leave it at that.”
Realtime Worlds stated recently that they “were open for negotiations” and that “I don’t think the door’s closed. Obviously, right now we’re tied up with APB and everything else, but hopefully in the future we’ll have the resources and something can be worked out with Microsoft.” Well, so far, so good. A sequel is in the cards and all it needs is backing from Microsoft, but things are now looking better than ever.
Gaming blogs Kotaku and VG247 are both stating that developers on the original game have left Realtime Worlds, have formed their own studio, and are in fact developing Crackdown 2. The new studio is named Ruffian Games, and VG247 have gone a step further by stating they have a source that has told them that Microsoft are funding the startup of the studio specifically for the development of Crackdown 2.
With Xbox executives repeatedly stating they want a Crackdown 2 and with now Ruffian Games formed and reportedly working on Crackdown 2, the sequel may come sooner than we think. TGR think it’s a certainty, we just wait it anticipation of a confirmation from MS.
TGR Rating: Very Likely
Will we ever see Black 2?
Black, developed by Criterion Games of Burnout fame, was a first-person shooter for the Playstation 2 and original Xbox. Published by EA, it became a popular shooter with its impressive graphics, explosive nature, and its cinema-inspired action. Criterion Games stated they wanted to “do for shooting what Burnout did for racing — tear it apart.” The destructible environments and the emphasis on the guns themselves — each with incredible detail and accuracy — the developers did just that.
Becuase Black was one of EA’s original games, got positive reviews, and sold well, it’s hard to see why there hasn’t been a sequel alread…but there hasn’t. Criterion Games have repeatedly stated there won’t be a sequel to the 2006 hit, saying, “Sorry to disappoint you, but as we’ve mentioned many times on our podcast we’re not looking at making another Black game any time soon," and carrying on with, “Although the rumours never seem to go away and we still get a lot of letters from fans, we’re honestly not working on that game at the moment. I doubt the rumours will go away though”
That was way back in February and nothing has been heard since…until now. Xbox 360 Play Diaries recently spotted a listing of Black: Second Mission with a release date of 2009 for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC on Criterion’s official website. With no source and the listing removed from website, TGR wouldn’t have really thought anything of this, but it was also reported by the more credible Eurogamer Portugal.
No Denial or confirmation has been given as of yet, but it looks like someone on the website team over at Criterion Games has jumped the gun and let cat out of the bag too soon. It would be good to see a sequel to this game, and knowing EA, it might come sooner rather than later.
TGR Rating: Likely
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