BitSnark

Former Swedish developer GRIN, coders of the less than stellar movie tie-in Wanted and more recently, Capcom’s Bionic Commando, had apparently been commissioned by Square Enix to develop a Final Fantasy title.

Prior to the demise of the studio, no details were released regarding the previously top secret project. Today however, a few details have emerged about the canned title as well as some tech demo footage.

Codenamed ‘Fortress’, the title was envisioned to be a Final Fantasy XII spin off, and would have been available on PS3, 360 and PC platforms.

A link to the tech demo video can be found below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1U_0EoWkIE&feature=player_embedded

It’s too early to say by just looking at a tech demo whether or not Squeenix’s faith in the defunct Swedish outfit would be warranted or not. At the very least it sets a precedent of sorts, as Square Enix head honcho Yoichi Wada has said in recent weeks that he is quite open to a Final Fantasy title being developed outside of Japan.

The practice of a Japanese developer farming out their prized franchises is not an uncommon practice in itself. Too Human developer Silicon Knights produced an excellent remake of Konami’s Metal Gear Solid back in 2003 and more recently, Canadian Developer Blue Castle Studios, was given the dev duties for Dead Rising 2.

Last year Sega announced a new Sonic title, but one that ditches the 3D perspective that has plagued the series in recent years. Designed to be played in 2D with 3D graphics and backgrounds, Project Needlemouse as it is tentatively known, will hopefully reinvigorate the flagging blue mascot and his beleaguered series of games.

The first thing that they did right was to ditch the 3D perspective, essentially applying a ‘Hi-Def’ upgrade to the 2D gameplay that everyone wanted to start with. Well, the next thing that they did right was to recently announce that there would be no other playable characters in the game. That’s right, no flying foxes with dual tails, big fat cats or a Sonic that change into a werewolf.

Just sonic. In 2D.

Right, that’s two things that they have right. Hopefully, this will lead to good things, but i’m still not going to hold my breath until I get some eyes-on in regards to some in-game footage.

The BBFC has outed the fact that there is a GOTY edition of the best superhero title of all time in the works.

No details at all have been revealed regarding Batman: Arkham Asylum Game Of The Year edition, but one could easily speculate that it would include all of the DLC that has been released to date and maybe one or two items which are due to be released.

More on this as soon as the details become available.

Whoa! Hold your horses! Splinter Cell: Conviction is still coming out this year, but the delay into FY2011 means it could be anytime from April to March 2011. Don’t worry however, as the reason cited for the delay was ‘polish’, which should hopefully mean that the delay is no more than a couple of months at most.

Ubisoft unfortunately have yet to suggest a release window for the highly anticipated stealth title, but most sources are expecting an announcement soon.

Survival thriller I Am Alive however, is less fortunate with its delay. Now expected to release sometime in 2011, the title has been taken back to the drawing board in order to be ‘re-engineered’.

As usual, the ass end of company financial reports prove to be the most interesting with Ubisoft’s newest financials seemingly revealing a new Driver and Rabbids for release this year, as well as a new multiplayer ‘episode’ of Assassins Creed to be released before fiscal 2011 (anytime before March 2011).

No details have been disclosed on the Rabbids or Driver titles, other than the fact that the new Rabbids title will be fairly lonely in the Ubisoft lineup this year, as the French megapublisher is keen to maximise their market share on 360 and PS3 platforms as opposed to the more causally focused Wii and NDS platforms that they have previously heavily supported.

More as and when.

Well, here we are. Development on perhaps the most eagerly awaited RPG of this generation is complete and has now been fully localised into English. Most impressively all of the character models have had their lip-synching routines redone to more accurately reflect the English language.

As far as the game goes itself, we’re told that the Western version is identical to the Japanese version in so far as no extra features have been added (a not uncommon occurence when FF games were previously released (see FFXII)).

360 owners should be happy too, as the 360 version was said to be ‘no different’ visually to the PS3 version when popular gaming site 1UP.com took the opportunity to see the elusive 360 version during the FFXIII tour which got started earlier this week.

The only differences appear to be a slight decrease in audio quality and CG sequences, due in no small part to the compression needed to fit the title on three or four DVD’s, instead of one shiny Blu-Ray disc.

Still, this is milestone at least and just think; it is less than two months until you can get your mitts on Final Fantasy XIII.

Regardless of import reviews and previews bemoaning its supposedly linear gameplay structure and strict adherence to the JRPG template, I am still excited.

Damn excited.

Nintendo this morning have confirmed a date for the European release of their bulked up rendition of their DSi handheld.

The Nintendo DSi XL will hit European territories on March 5th in ‘wine red’ and dark brown colours.

A price has yet to be given for the handheld, but sources are suggesting that it will command a ‘slight premium’ over the existing DSi price point.

The official press release can be seen below:

EUROPEAN LAUNCH DATE OF NINTENDO DSi XL CONFIRMED

14th January 2010 – Get ready to experience your favourite Nintendo DS games like never before – on the big screens and via the wider viewing angle of the Nintendo DSi XL, launching across Europe on 5th March 2010.

Two 4.2 inch screens, which are 93% bigger than the screen on the Nintendo DS Lite, really bring the adventure and action to life. Experience the legendary side scrolling world of New Super Mario Bros or the twists and turns of the Mario Kart circuit in a whole new way. The larger pen-like stylus also makes extended stylus gameplay more comfortable to allow better control; making directing Link around the dungeons of The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, for example, far more natural to play.

MARIO_KART_NINTENDO_D low resThe Nintendo DSi XL’s improved wider viewing angle screen also provides a new way for you to enjoy games together with friends and family, making it easier than ever to watch and join in the fun.

The new member of the Nintendo DS family is launching in two colours – wine red and dark brown, with a glossy sheen on top and matt finish on the underside that provides excellent grip when resting on a table or other surface during gameplay.

The new console also comes pre-loaded with two Nintendo DSiWare software: Dr Kawashima’s: Little Bit of Brain Training: Arts Edition and Dictionary 6 in 1 with Camera Function, as well as the Nintendo DSi Browser, which enables you to easily access the internet via a Wi-Fi connection.

The DSi XL will feature the full capabilities of the original Nintendo DSi which launched in Europe in April 2009 enabling you to download games through the Nintendo DSi Shop,
create, customise and share photos with friends and family and listen to and play with your music and sounds.

Nintendo DSi XL is the fourth member of the Nintendo DS family which are currently enjoyed by over 100 million people around the world. It features the trademark dual screens and the simple-to-use controls that players have come to love, but will take your gaming experience to a new level.

To truly understand the difference Nintendo DSi XL makes to your favourite games, you need to get your hands on it – get ready to do just that on 5th March 2010, when Nintendo DSi XL is available across Europe.

The Zipper Interactive developed 256 player online shooter has at last been given a date bY Sony Computer Entertainment Europe; and it may be sooner than you think.

MAG is due to hit our fair shores in little over two weeks on January 29th.

Promising huge 256 player battles, a large selection of vehicles and weaponry and an in-depth rank and command structure system, MAG could/should do great things for the FPS genre on the PS3 when it comes out at the end of the month.

After the bad news of the Metroid Prime Trilogy discontinuation the other day, Metroid fans are perhaps in need of cheering up. Well, here is just the thing; Nintendo today have confirmed that the Team Ninja developed Metroid title, Metroid-M, will arrive on the Wii before the year is out.

Nintendo told G4TV: “The next highly anticipated offering in the Metroid franchise is Metroid: Other M, which will be available this year,”

Being one of the standouts of what was otherwise a somewhat lacklustre E3 presentation for Nintendo, i’m very interested to see how this collaboration with the Ninja Gaiden developer will turn out.

This is especially true in the light of the fact that it shuns the Prime series’ 3D trappings, instead opting to return to the good ol’ 2D gameplay of yesteryear.

Those of you expecting to get your hands on the next Star Wars MMO this year will be somewhat disappointed as Bioware this morning has confirmed rumours that it is indeed looking to release its Star Wars MMO, Star Wars: The Old Republic, sometime in Spring 2011.

This confirmation coincides with EA big shot John Riccitiello hinting toward the release of a ‘big name’ MMO in Spring 2011.

BioWare’s Sean Dahlberg wrote the following splurge on the official forum:

“While we have not announced a specific date, we can confirm that we are targeting a spring 2011 release for Star Wars: The Old Republic,”

“We’ve got a lot of exciting updates and reveals planned throughout 2010, including the first-ever hands-on testing for the game. It’s not too late to sign up to be a game tester, so go to http://www.swtor.com/tester and sign up today.

“We can’t wait to share more about the game with you as we progress through the year, so make sure you stay tuned to the official website for details.”

I would much rather that they take the time to get this *right*, as this looks like one of the most promising MMORPG’s that we’ve seen in years.

As far as this year goes though, there is of course Square Enix’s forthcoming Final Fantasy XIV as well as the little matter of that pesky World Of Warcraft expansion pack which may shift a couple of units. A potential cult hit you might say.

🙂