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Gamecock 2008 Lineup Preview March 18, 2008 |
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Summary: After a lackluster 2007, publisher Gamecock has a huge array of games on tap for 2008. John recently attended a Gamecock-sponsored media event in Austin, TX where he was able to gather impressions of 10 different titles currently in differing stages of development. See what Gamecock has in store for the future in this article!
 Introduction | Page:: ( 1 / 8 ) |
However a little over a year ago, a number of the same execs from the original Gathering of Developers announced that they were back with Gamecock Media Group. Like the original G.O.D., Gamecock's main mission was to make the games and the developers the main focus of their efforts. Based in Austin, Texas and funded by a still anonymous group of investors, the company had some highs and lows in its first year. While not an official participant at E3 last July, Gamecock hosted their first EIEIO press event at a Santa Monica hotel where they showed off a number of their upcoming game titles and staged a "funeral" on the Santa Monica beach to lament the passing of the old version of E3. However some people didn't appreciate a Gamecock mascot getting on stage at December's Spike TV Video Game Awards. He interrupted 2K Games' Ken Levine from accepting his award for Best Game of the Year for BioShock (Gamecock quickly apologized for the incident). However, it was clear that the free spirit of the original G.O.D was still with the new Gamecock.
As far as games, the publisher only released two titles in 2007, both in October. One was Dementium: The Ward, an M-rated Nintendo DS first person survival horror game from new game developer Renegade Kid (like Gamecock, Renegade Kid is based in Austin). The game got mostly solid reviews and according to what Gamecock CEO Mike Wilson told FiringSquad, the game also had solid sales despite some retail outlets like Toys R' Us and Wal-Mart refusing to sell the game because they have made a decision not to stock M-rated DS titles. Wilson told FiringSquad that Dementium: The Ward will be released in Japan next month and in Europe later in the year. Wilson also told us that those versions will have a better save system than the original release (a big issue with US reviews of the original version of the title) and that a new version with that improved save system will be released in the US that will replace the older copies on store shelves.
And then there's Fury. This fantasy-themed PvP-oriented MMO was well into its development when Gamecock signed on to be the US publisher for the title, which was developed by Australian-based developer Auran. However despite a massive marketing campaign, mostly orchestrated by Auran themselves (including a beta tournament with lots of prizes from various sponsors before its release), Fury was a massive economic and critical failure when it was officially launched in late October (Wilson told FiringSquad that they had recommended to Auran to wait another six months to get more development time into the game but that recommendation was overruled). Auran went into Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December and laid off most of its team members. Fury itself switched to a free-to-play model and is currently still online, but with the switch to a free-to-play model it's likely Gamecock won't see any more money from that title.
2008, however, already looks much better in terms of Gamecock's line-up. Starting last week with the release of the DS version of the action-adventure game Insecticide, the company plans to release eight titles in the next 12 months or so, some from brand new developers and others from established teams. There's even a couple of other games due out late in 2009 from the publisher that could be even more exciting (more on that later). Earlier this month in Gamecock's hometown of Austin, the day before the South by Southwest Festival started, the company held its second EIEIO press event where we got to see and in some cases play most of Gamecock's announced game line-up at the Stubb's barbecue bar and restaurant. While the weather that day in Austin wasn't all that great (actually it was cold, windy, and had periods of pouring rain) that didn't stop the assembled press from enjoying not just the press event but the after event featuring Austin rollergirls, live music, and a rooster-head version of a mechanical bull.
So what did we see at the 2008 EIEIO event, besides the rollergirls and the mechanical rooster? Quite a lot. Here is the skinny on what was shown and talked about during Gamecock's 2008 party.
| Insecticide and Stronghold Crusader Extreme | Page:: ( 2 / 8 ) |
Insecticide
As we mentioned, last week marked the shipping date for the first title of Gamecock's 2008 game line-up with the release of Insecticide for the Nintendo DS. The game, from new game developer Crackpot Entertainment, has the look and feel of a classic LucasArts adventure game but with some shooter and action elements as well.
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Taking place on an Earth where intelligent insects have replaced humans, the game follows the murder investigation in the incest world. The game mixed up adventure elements with puzzles combined with action and shooting elements that you use to go after suspects.
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This mix of game genres can be tricky, but based on playing a final build of the DS version and a near-final build of the PC port both work together very well. It also helps that the art style of the game, a blend of cartoon mixed with pulp detective magazine covers, is fairly unique.
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As we said the DS version should be on store shelves now. The PC version is scheduled to be released via downloadable episodic format in the near future.
Stronghold Crusader Extreme
One of the original games from G.O.D. was Stronghold, a mix of medieval castle sim with RTS combat elements from developer Firefly. The game spawned three follow-ups that were published by G.O.D. (and later Take Two) and together the series has sold a whopping four million copies worldwide. In fact we were told that the games continue to sell at a rate of 10,000 copies a month.
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Firefly was already working with the new Gamecock on their new game Dungeon Hero (more on that title later) but the studio also wanted to release a revamped version of the second game in the series Stronghold Crusader (first released in 2002). The result is Stronghold Crusader Extreme and as you might expect from the title this new version will have a ton of extras, not the least of which is an increase in the amount of units you can control. According to Firefly, players will be able to control thousands of units on screens at one time...now that's extreme. In addition there will be a new single player campaign, new multiplayer maps, new buildings such as outposts that can create the massive amounts of units, and more.
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We got to see a brief rolling demo of the game at the EIEIO event and its clear that fans of the original title should get a kick of the new Extreme version. While the graphics in the game haven't really changed in six years its still exciting to see a game that basically has been boosted up to 11 (and maybe even 12) with the vast amounts of new units at your command. Look for Stronghold Crusader Extreme to be released later this spring.
| Pirates Vs Ninjas Dodgeball and Hail To The Chimp | Page:: ( 3 / 8 ) |
Pirates Vs Ninjas Dodgeball
With a title like this you can expect some fun and even goofy gameplay and that's exactly what this upcoming Xbox Live Arcade game (the first Gamecock game to use that platform) looks to bring to the table.
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Created in just under a year by the four-man team at the new Blazing Lizard development studio (formed by former members of Volition and based in Austin) the title is actually not quite accurate; in addition to pirates and ninjas, players will be able to pick from robots and zombies as well as playable characters. In addition, Blazing Lizard plans to release a downloadable expansion for the game that will add a fifth playable race that they are not talking about yet (aliens, maybe?).
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We got a chance to briefly play with a finished build of the game, and as you might expect this title isn't a hardcore shoot-em-up but a fun and even addicting all-ages game as your characters run around and throw the dodgeballs around. Each character has special moves that they can use to their advantage such as homing dodgeballs, super powerful throw attacks and more. Characters have their health taken down by each dodgeball hit until they are eliminated from the round, but can also catch the ball in defensive moves as well.
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While there are free form dodgeball games there are team-based modes as well and there will be support for eight players online and four players via Xbox 360's system link.
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Pirates Vs Ninjas Dodgeball has a cartoony art style (that seems to be a pattern in many of Gamecock's upcoming games) with the characters having oversized heads on small bodies. Visually the game looks terrific, with some impressive visual effects for the game's arena.
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While the title of the game may get people interested, it’s the gameplay that's most important, and being able to play as a kid again and fire dodgeballs into someone else's back is just terrific (even if it is a pirate). Look for Pirates Vs Ninjas Dodgeball to be released later this spring
Hail To The Chimp
We don't have much else to say about Wideload's upcoming PS3-Xbox 360 funny animal party game (we posted up some hands-on impressions last month when we played the game at GDC). However we think that the sheer amount of both gameplay and comedic content via the game's "news" breaks will certainly keep players occupied for some time. We were surprised to learn that Hail to the Chimp will actually be priced at $39.99 for both platforms which is considered a "budget" title for the PS3 and Xbox 360. Even with that lower price point we think there's a ton of game time in this title.
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One thing we didn't get to see in our previous time with Hail to the Chimp is the "flair" that you can unlock as you play the game. As you progress you can gain access to extra items that you can put on one of the 10 playable animal characters. Hats, wings, and even lollipops are just some of the items that you can decide to attach to your character as you play the game.
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Other than that, the game looks and plays just like it did last month and that's a good thing with goofy mini-games that cause bears, octopui, monkeys (you gotta have a monkey in this game) and more to battle each other to stay the "front runner", destroying voting booths to get points and even to team up with a normally opposing player to get special, if temporary, power ups. All of this fun gameplay is surrounded by a network news satire that has funny commercials that lampoon the US election process as well as other media properties.
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Hail to the Chimp is Wideload's second major game (the first was the underrated Stubbs the Zombie), and it continues its reputation as a game developer that doesn't make the normal cookie-cutter game titles. Their new game is a perfect match for Gamecock, and we can't wait to play the final version when it is released in May.
| Mushroom Men and Legendary | Page:: ( 4 / 8 ) |
Mushroom Men
Yep, it's yet another Gamecock game with a cartoony art style. In fact Mushroom Men, the first title from yet another new Austin game developer, Red Fly Studio, is in fact two separate games. Mushroom Men: Rise of the Fungi will be released first for the Nintendo DS and sets up the game world; Earth has gone through the tail of a comet which has caused the fungi and plants of the planet to turn sentient.
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The DS game is a 3D side scroller where you can control a, well, mushroom man, through the vast world underneath our feet. Later this fall will come Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars, a full-fledged action platformer for the Wii that continues the storyline that began in Rise of the Fungi.
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At EIEIO last week we got to see the Wii version of the game in action as the demo handler controlled the mushroom man through a series of obstacles. Because the playable character is only a few inches tall the levels were of seemingly giant bottles, chairs, tables and more, as the main character moved up and down and battled spiders and giant rabbits with special moves and abilities such as being able to drop items from above on unsuspecting foes and a grappler that will allow the player to swing and transport himself in the miniature world. In addition your character will be able to use normal everyday human items he finds along the way as special weapons.
The Wii version looks terrific and has more than a hint of the games in the late and lamented Oddworld series. While the game does have a cartoon-like art style there's also definitely a dark side to the game's look; things in the game sometimes look like they have a desolate and ruined look to them. Make no mistake; while it may at first glance look like a kids title, Mushroom Men can definitely appeal to the adult as well.
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Red Fly Studio's first entries in the game world look very promising and for once, a third-party Wii game doesn't look like its going to be the typical "shovelware" that other Wii games tend to be. Look for Mushroom Men: Rise of the Fungi to be released on the DS this summer and the Wii game, Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars, to be released this fall.
Legendary
While developer Spark Unlimited got mediocre reviews for their first 2008 game, Turning Point: Fall of Liberty (published by Codemasters), their second 2008 game looks like it has a lot more promise. Legendary (previously known as Legendary: The Box) takes the Pandora's Box myth and puts it into the modern day setting as an unsuspecting man (your player character in fact) opens up the box and causes mythological creatures to come out and ravage New York City. We got to see live demos of the game at last year's EIEIO event and again at last January's CES but at EIEIO 2008 we got to actually get hands-on with the game itself.
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The level we got to play was basically the same version we saw at CES; we controlled the player character as we fought off werewolves that were attacking and climbing over buildings to get to us. Most of the time we attacked with our trusty machine gun, but the werewolves in this game are extremely tough and take a while to bring down using that method. They will charge at you with only a moment's notice and try to rip you to shreds. Once they are down we extracted their lifeforce from them (a side effect of opening up Pandora's Box at the beginning of the game) to regain our health.
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As in the CES demo, the end of the Legendary demo had us facing the Minotaur, a huge creature from myth that doesn't like you at all; in fact it will run right through stone walls in the boss level to get to you so hiding behind one just doesn't work. The trick is to get behind him to attack his back side where he is vulnerable; a full frontal assault is out. It's easily one of the more interesting boss battles we have seen in a first person shooter in some time.
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Legendary is looking like it will be a solid first person shooter, and its unique take on blending mythological creatures into the modern world will make it stand out from the crowd. We hope to have more info on the game before its release this fall for the PC, Xbox 360 and PS3.
| Velvet Assassin | Page:: ( 5 / 8 ) |
We got to see one of those missions in our hands-off demo; Violet is exploring a Nazi military base and trying to remain unseen. The game, as one might expect, uses light and shadows to great effect. In one portion of the demo, the player moved a cabinet to block the light from a large lamp that was shining directly in the door. With the light covered, that allowed Violent to open the door and enter in the shadows, unseen by her Nazi enemies.
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While you can go into this game with guns a-blazing. Velvet Assassin is definitely designed as a stealth game. Your character can stay hidden and whistle to attack an enemy so she can slit her throat. You can even burn enemies to death. There's also the game's version of Bullet Time; called Morphine Mode, this lets you slow down the action so you can move at normal speed and perhaps hide in a location you couldn't get to before in a normal mode (Violet's clothes also for some reason change in Morphine Mode; normally clad in dark leather outfits, going to Morphine Mode turns your character into wearing nothing but a white slip).
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Visually the game is extremely dark and gritty, unlike other stealth action games like the Metal Gear and Splinter Cell series that can sometimes look too slick and futuristic for their own good. Velvet Assassin is about a dark and troubled female character and the graphics also have this emphasis with locations that looked used and worn out rather than levels that have been built strictly as gameplay locations.
One of the more interesting side features of Velvet Assassin is that the developers at Replay Games may be offering clues in the game itself to a real life prize; they hinted at the event that there is stash of "Nazi gold" that they have hidden in a real location somewhere on the planet. We couldn't get any more info about this deal. The game got some attention last year when it was revealed that controversial movie director Uwe Boll was already working on developing a movie based on the game (back when it was known as Sabotage 1943). When asked about the status of that deal, the Replay Studios rep said that was still in the works but that they were concentrating on finishing the game.
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In terms of the stealth action game genre, Velvet Assassin looks dark and gritty and the EIEIO gameplay demo was impressive. We hope to learn more about the game before its release for the PC and Xbox 360 this fall.
| Dungeon Hero | Page:: ( 6 / 8 ) |
Firefly Studios is known mostly for its strategy titles but in early 2009 the company plans to move into another genre with Dungeon Hero, a fantasy action-RPG that aimed to actually be more realistic and less over-the-top than similar titles. At EIEIO last week we got to see the first ever demo of the game that the developer has ever shown to the gaming press.
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While the game does take place in a fantasy world, Dungeon Hero's main claim to fame is that Firefly is designing not just a game, but an entire living world around the central "hero" of the game. Actually, "hero" is not quite the word for your character. The big brooding hulk of a man is caught up in a goblin war and is manipulated by one particular group of goblins into fighting for them and ultimately to repel Death itself, which a rival goblin faction has awakened. Firefly is emphasizing that you won't just be plowing through the game and killing lots of monsters; they are aiming to give players an entire world to explore. In the brief in-game tech demo we got to see our hero moved through a battle in the game where goblins can be seen eating, making plans, torturing other goblins, and even playing musical instruments.
Combat in Dungeon Hero is all about your character taking on lots of foes at once. Unlike, say, the God of War series of games, you won't be doing massive combos that are unrealistic but you will slowly build up your skills more naturally to take out a number of foes. The in-game demo featured a brief glimpse of combat as your character took out a melee weapon to knock down a series of goblin attacks. As you progress you will move up through a tree of additional skills that you can use and branch out from, making the game have a lot of replay value.
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Visually Dungeon Hero's graphics look solid and appropriately grim, with lots of detail on character models for your main character as well as the goblins. Firefly is even incorporating comic book artwork for the game's cut scenes. While it's still at least a year away from completion, Firefly's new title looks like it will take the action-RPG genre in some interesting new directions.
By the way, Firefly's reps told us that they have also thought about doing an all new Stronghold game as well, but that for the moment the entire team is working on completing Dungeon Hero; hopefully they will be able to release a true next-gen game in the Stronghold series in the near future.
| Section 8 | Page:: ( 7 / 8 ) |
The game that we wanted to see most of all at this year's EIEIO event was Section 8, a new sci-fi first person shooter from Houston-based developer Timegate Studios. Known previously for their RTS work in games like Axis and Allies and their own Kohan series, Timegate's last few games have all been in the FPS genre as they created two PC expansion packs for Sierra's F.E.A.R. game (both expansions were combined and released last year as a stand alone Xbox 360 game called F.E.A.R. Files). Now Timegate is branching out on their own with Section 8 (they are also working on an unannounced MMO that's currently slated for release in 2009).
At the press event last week, we finally got the first real concrete info on the game as well as a live in-game demo of an early build (it's so early that Timegate isn't calling it "pre-alpha yet) running on Epic's Unreal Engine 3. Before the live demo, we got to see a quick movie showing off a multiplayer match that the development team played just a few days beforehand. While it's still 18 months off from release, its clear that the game is playable at least in multiplayer mode.
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So what is Section 8? Timegate's rep said it takes place several hundred years in the future where warring human factions (no aliens in this game) are fighting each other on a number of planets spread across the galaxy. Section 8 refers to one of the fighting factions in the game (the 8th Infantry Division), a part of the EDF that's fighting against the "bad guys" called the Arm of Orion. People familiar with military terms (or maybe just Klinger from the TV show M.A.S.H.) may know the term "Section 8" refers to a member of the military that is sent home because he or she is, well, crazy. In the game's case, the Section 8 team has to go to hot zones that normal military members of the future might not want to head for; hence the nickname "Section 8".
The players are equipped with one-man mech suits and yes, the resemblance to a certain game franchise known as Tribes was not lost on us or on Timegate. In this case, however, you don't respawn in a base on the ground. Rather you fall from orbit and land at any point that your team controls on a map in the game. This pretty much eliminates specific "spawn points" that games like Tribes and the Battlefield series have had over the years. It also makes for one hell of a way to enter a game as you fall through the atmosphere and land with a big thud on the ground.
Section 8's gameplay, at least in multiplayer mode, shares some aspects of the Tribes universe in that there are some points on the maps that you have to take over to win the game. These points, however, are not just for show; when you capture and hold them you also get some bonuses such as added radar protection or lowering the amount of money needed to purchase items and vehicles. One such vehicle is a big battle tank which we got to see in the live demo (Timegate is keeping details on other vehicles a secret for now). Weapons in Section 8 will not be the over-the-top beam weapons that you might see in other sci-fi games but rather more realistic bullet-style weapons (the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica TV series was cited as an inspiration for this move).
The game will take place over a number of different planets, each with their own environments. We got to see two of them in the early tech demo; a desert-like world and a rural forest environment. Some of the maps will be fairly large in terms of their square mile footage. Timegate is not yet revealing how may players will be supported. In addition to multiplayer play and support for offline bots, the game will also have a separate single player campaign; once again Timegate is keeping their info close to the vest on this aspect. Support for clans and community features will also be a part of Section 8 as well.
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It's still very early in the development of Section 8 and there's a lot we don't know about the game yet, but Timegate reps told us that they hope to invite a number of press folks in the coming months to come to their studios to try the game for themselves. We will be first in line when that happens and will give you a first hand report on Section 8 at that time. For the moment, let's just say that the Timegate has some ambitious plans for Section 8 and we can't wait to learn more about them.
| Croteam and Conclusion | Page:: ( 8 / 8 ) |
Untitled Croteam Project
One game we were hoping to see at EIEIO but didn't was the previously announced new title from Serious Sam developers Croteam. Gamecock announced their plans to release the game last year along with some screenshots that depicted a more realistic world than the over-the-top shooter that Croteam created for their Serious Sam games (which were first published by G.O.D). Gamecock's Mike Wilson did tell us at the EIEIO event that Croteam decided to just work on their next-generation game engine exclusively for a year before working on their next game and as a result Wilson said the engine will rival anything that the other major game graphics engines will have.
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Hopefully we will learn more about the engine and the game in the next several months. And what about a new Serious Sam game? Wilson hinted to us that Gamecock could be in the running to publish the next game in the series as well.
Conclusion
After a rocky 2007, Gamecock Media Group's 2008 and 2009 line-up of titles spans genres, platforms, and original titles and looks to be one of the industry's most diverse series of games. With their support for all new developers as well as established teams to create all new titles that are not based on a license and aren't sequels (Stronghold Crusader Extreme is a sort of exception) Gamecock looks like they have fulfilled their mission of delivering games that are not the typical fare that we might see from larger game publishers. Of course the ultimate goal is to sell enough games to continue this mission and we are hopeful that comes true as well; the game industry certainly needs new content and IP to keep itself fresh.