Activision Coming Out With Men In Black Game

To coincide with the new Men In Black movie that you either didn't know about or didn't care about, Activision has announced that they plan on releasing a game with it. The game will be developed by Fun Labs, a company whose resume includes many Cabela's hunting game. By the looks of it, the game will be a FPS.

What do you think of a Men In Black game? What about movie game adaptations in general? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

Full Press Release

NEW YORK, Oct. 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Activision Publishing, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI), in partnership with Columbia Pictures, today announced an all-new Men In Black™ video game, launching as a standalone title to coincide with the global theatrical release of Men In Black III in Spring 2012. True to the spirit of the franchise, the original title will feature action-packed, yet light-hearted gameplay mixed with edge-of-your-seat shooting excitement from the universe's most elite peacekeeping force.

"The Men In Black franchise is an unbeatable starting point to deliver a genre-bending gaming experience with a level of production value on par with Hollywood," said David Oxford, Executive Vice President of Activision Publishing, Inc. Mark Caplan, Vice President of Licensing at Sony Pictures Entertainment, stated, "With Activision bringing the Men In Black universe to life on next gen consoles for the first time, the Men In Black video game will be both familiar to fans, an exciting beginning for the uninitiated, and revolutionary for the franchise."

The films' unique blend of action, humor, and eye-popping special effects will fuel the Men In Black's gameplay experience. Utilizing the rich mythology of the Men In Black universe, the game's original story will build on the history of the series to bring back familiar faces, while also introducing new foes. More details on gameplay features and characters will be revealed soon!

The all-new Men In Black video game is planned to launch Spring 2012 for consoles and handhelds, and is rated "RP" (Rating Pending) by the ESRB. For more information, please visit www.activision.com.

About Sony Pictures
Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, a subsidiary of Tokyo based Sony Corporation. SPE's global operations encompass motion picture production and distribution; television production and distribution; home entertainment acquisition and distribution; a global channel network; digital content creation and distribution; operation of studio facilities; development of new entertainment products, services and technologies; and distribution of entertainment in more than 140 countries. Sony Pictures Entertainment can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.sonypictures.com/.
About Activision Publishing, Inc.

Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Publishing, Inc. is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and leisure products.

Activision maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Spain, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Australia, South Korea, China and the region of Taiwan. More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company's website, www.activision.com.

Source: Joystiq

Black Ops Somehow Sells 23 Million In Its First Nine Months

Castrum - Somehow, Call of Duty: Black Ops has managed to sell 23 million copies in its first nine months on store shelves, numbers generally unheard-of outside of Nintendo games.

As well, Black Ops' DLC map packs have collectively sold 18 million at this point in time.

Expect those $15-for-3-maps "deals", as well as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 176 - Warfare Harder, to continue on into the future.

Source: Joystiq

Hard Reset Release Date/Specs Announced

Castrum - Hard Reset, the indie FPS-RPG that looks like a AAA game, will be out on Steam on September 13th for $30.

Here's the Specs your PC will need to run it:

MINIMUM:
OS: Windows XP/Vista/7
Processor: 2.5 GHz Intel Pentium 4 / AMD Athlon 64
RAM: 2 GB
Graphics card: 512 MB NVIDIA GeForce 8800GS / ATI Radeon HD 3870 or better
Sound Card: DirectX Compatible
DirectX: DirectX 9.0c
Hard Drive: 4 GB free hard drive space

RECOMMENDED:
OS: Windows XP/Vista/7
Processor: Intel Quad Core 2.3 GHz / AMD Phenom II x4 2.5 GHz
RAM: 3 GB
Graphics card: 512 MB NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT / ATI Radeon HD 4870 or better
Sound Card: DirectX Compatible
DirectX: DirectX 9.0c
Hard Drive: 4 GB free hard drive space

Source: Kotaku

Serious Sam 3 Coming To PC October 18th

Castrum - Not sure if I'll like this one. Serious Sam 2 was a bit of a dud:

The Good Book tells us that thou shalt not suffer a GIANT SCORPION MAN THING to live -- and fortunately for us all, we won't have to suffer for much longer. Croteam and Devolver Digital have announced that their upcoming arcadey shooter, Serious Sam 3: BFE, will arrive on PC on October 18, meaning we're a little under two months from fulfilling the mandate of the aforementioned, completely made-up scripture.

http://www.joystiq.com/2011/08/23/serious-sam-3-bfe-headlessly-heads-to-pc-on-oct-18/

Borderlands 2 Preview

Castrum - Kotaku's done a preview of some of the things that are different in Borderlands 2, probably most notably that those shitty Tediore guns are now basically grenades:

Gearbox Software showed off an early version of Borderlands 2 at Gamescom, quickly getting to one of the better weapon innovations in the gun-centric role-playing shooter. Tediore brand guns, as demonstrated by Gearbox's Steve Gibson, are as disposable as clips. Rather than reload, players will simply toss the entire gun. They'll toss it like a grenade at enemies when the clip runs out. They'll do so because those guns behave like grenades, exploding when thrown.

http://kotaku.com/5832501/the-ultra-disposable-gun-is-just-one-of-the-great-big-little-improvements-in-borderlands-2

Borderlands 2 Improving Split-Screen

Castrum - Good news for people who like couch co-op:

Borderlands 2 will allow you to take your couch co-op companion online. Gearbox's Steve Gibson told Joystiq at the Gamescom reveal of the game that those playing split-screen will be able to go online and connect with two other players. 

"The only situation you can not do is split-screen plus split-screen because you need a host," Gibson said. "And a split-screen guy uses a lot of CPU, so he can not be the host." 

Another improvement for the sequel concerns the user interface, which has been reworked for split-screen. Now you can easily manage the upgrades menu without all that awkward scrolling around.

http://www.joystiq.com/2011/08/19/borderlands-2-improves-ui-for-split-screen-now-with-online/

RAGE On iPhone Free For One Week

Castrum - Owing up to his promise that RAGE would be free if it got 100,000 Likes on Facebook, John Carmack has announced that the iPhone/iPad version of RAGE will be free for one week:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/rage-hd/id400707675?mt=8

Borderlands 2 Screenshots

Castrum - Some Borderlands 2 screens:

http://kotaku.com/5831685/borderlands-2-from-the-angle-youll-be-playing-it/gallery/1

Activision Planning For Call Of Duty: Black Ops 6

Castrum - Yes, you read that right:

The folks at website Fusible believe Activision has registered the following websites: CODBlackOps3.com, CODBlackOps4.com,CODBlackOps5.com, CODBlackOps6.com,BlackOps4.com, BlackOps5.com,BlackOps6.com, CallOfDutyBlackOps3.com,CallOfDutyBlackOps4.com,CallOfDutyBlackOps5.com, CallOfDutyBlackOps6.com, CallofDutyMW5.com, and CallofDutyMW6.com.

Guess Bobby Kotick is planning to exploit the fuck out of this one.

http://kotaku.com/5831662/brace-yourself-for-so-many-more-call-of-duty-websites

Aliens: Colonial Marines Screens

Castrum - Some screenshots for you guys:

http://kotaku.com/5831706/the-latest-aliens-colonial-marines-screens-are-a-study-in-sticky-situations/gallery/1

I'm not too into the Aliens universe, but if the game's fun, I might give it a spin.

Bodycount Demo Available Now (On 360)

Castrum - I might try this out:

Codemasters has announced a new demo for Bodycount. The Xbox Live demo of the unabashed shooter is available now and clocks in at a hefty 1.45GB, so you'll have to count the minutes before you even get to the bodies. A PS3 demo "will follow" at some point in the future.

http://www.joystiq.com/2011/08/16/bodycount-demo-shoots-xbox-live-ps3-version-forthcoming/

New Resistance Game Coming To Vita

Castrum - I'm something of a fan of Resistance, so we'll see how this goes:

Sony will be launching an entirely new Resistance game on the Vita titled Resistance: Burning Skies. Developed by Nihilistic Games, the studio behind PlayStation Move: Heroes and Starcraft: Ghost, Resistance: Burning Skies will head back in time a ways, taking place as the Chimera invade Earth.

http://kotaku.com/5831403/resistance-coming-to-vita-as-resistance-burning-skies

UPDATE

Gameplay:

Planetside 2 Sounds Like It Might Be Fun

Castrum - I tried the original Planetside way back in the day, when my Internet connection was garbage and everything looked and played like a 2001 FPS. It was decent enough, but not worth a subscription. With any luck, SOE might convince me to play the sequel (provided it's Free-To-Play):

FPSGuru.com spoke to Sony Online Entertainment's John Smedley and Matt Higby, who described Planetside 2's dynamic, gameplay-affecting warfare, multiple planets, skills that can be trained online or offline (not unlike EVE Online), as well as—and it warms the cockles of my gun's heart to hear it—friendly fire.

http://kotaku.com/5830955/planetside-2-keeping-friendly-fire-adding-offline-skill-training

Hard Reset Gameplay

Castrum - This is what happens when you don't show your game in its Alpha stage:

Sheer awesomeness. 

RAGE's "Online Pass" Doesn't Block Multiplayer

Castrum - So RAGE's pass thing that you get when you buy the game New is not like the typical "Online Pass" incentive devs are tossing out in their games nowadays.

Multiplayer will still be enabled for Used buyers, but if you want the full experience, you have to buy RAGE new. A certain section of the game, termed the "Underground", will be walled-off if you haven't unlocked it with your pass. This area apparently won't involve major story elements.

Personally, though I couldn't care less about RAGE's multiplayer, I like this. I doubt it will deter many Used sales from occurring, but it's nice to see a developer vary this method of douchebaggery.

http://kotaku.com/5830553/youre-gonna-have-to-buy-rage-new-if-you-want-to-crawl-through-a-sewer

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Is Real

Castrum - So, a new CS. Ho-hum:

The Counter-Strike: Global Offensive rumors were true. Valve Software announced the game today and already added a listing for it to Steam.

In a press release, Valve said that "CS: GO" features new maps, characters, and weapons and delivers updated versions of the classic CS content (de_dust, etc.). In addition, CS: GO will introduce new gameplay modes, matchmaking, leader boards, and more."

The team-based shooter game is "targeted" for an early 2012 release on the Xbox 360's Xbox Live Arcade, the PlayStation 3's PlayStation Network, Mac and PC in early 2012.

I enjoyed CS back in its early days at a local LAN gaming store called FRAGS, as well as the enjoyable port to Xbox, but my days as a multiplayer gamer are long over. It all just feels the same now.

http://kotaku.com/5830377/new-counter+strike-is-real-hits-ps3-xbox-360-and-pc-in-early-2012

Portal 2 Now $30, The Price It Should Always Have Been

Castrum - So Portal 2 is now $30 on Steam, which quite honestly should have been its launch price. Hell, it should be the launch price of any FPS these days with a 4 - 10-hour storyline (which, admittedly, would be most of them). I may pick this up now, though chances are I'll be waiting for Steam's annual Christmas Sale before I partake:

http://kotaku.com/5828879/portal-2-is-now-cheaper

Looks Like RAGE Isn't Just Another FPS

Castrum - Kotaku's done a preview of this likely-to-be-awesome FPS that certainly intrigues me.

If you like Fallout games and what sounds like a decent story, check it out:

http://kotaku.com/5826646/rage-is-the-id-software-comeback-ive-been-waiting-for

Borderlands 2 OFFICIALLY Confirmed

MjolnirX - Gearbox Software and 2K Games have OFFICIALLY announced the sequel to the Xbox 360 hit Borderlands. While the news broke early yesterday that the game is being worked on (which I think we all kind of expected, considering its 3 million in sales), Gearbox's boss Randy Pitchford was quick to point out that it was not official, and accused the people who leaked the news to the world of "shoddy journalism". So, not wanting to be the last to the party, Gearbox and 2K Games officially announced the game via their websites.

I'm excited as hell to play this. Having played well over 100 hours of this game with my friends, I'm anxious to see what improvements can and will be made. The promise of new characters, weapons, enemies, missions, and storyline are more than welcome.

Below is the announcement from Gearbox website:

---

2K Games and Gearbox Software Announce Borderlands™ 2 in Development


Fans can get their first glimpse of the bold evolution of the Role-Playing Shooter at Gamescom and PAX Prime 2011 this month


New York, NY – August 3, 2011 – 2K Games and Gearbox Software announced today that the sequel to the extravasplosive breakout hit, Borderlands™, is currently in development at world-renowned developer Gearbox Software. Coming to the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and Windows PC during Take-Two's fiscal year 2013 beginning on April 1, 2012, Borderlands 2 is the epic sequel to the ultimate four-player Role-Playing Shooter loot fest. Combining invention and evolution, Borderlands 2 features all new characters, skills, environments, enemies, weapons and equipment, which come together in an ambitiously crafted story. Players will reveal secrets, and escalate mysteries of the Borderlands universe as they adventure across the unexplored new areas of Pandora.


2K Games and Gearbox Software are taking this show on the road, and fans and media will be able to get their first look at the game at Gamescom 2011 from August 17 – August 21, and at PAX Prime (Booth #3417) from August 26 – August 28. Eager gamers can learn more about Borderlands 2 right now by picking up the latest issue of Game Informer Magazine, which has the worldwide exclusive cover story on the title. Readers will find many game details inside the issue, including the first reveal of one of the several new character classes being introduced in Borderlands 2.


About Borderlands


Taking the gaming world by storm, Borderlands delivered its unique flavor of humorous and lovable characters and addictive non-stop collaborative loot-hunting gameplay on an unsuspecting populace. The critically acclaimed and best-selling Role-Playing-Shooter, as well as its four downloadable expansion packs, captured the imagination and attention of single-player and cooperative gamers around the world.


Borderlands 2 is not yet rated by the ESRB.