It’s always troubling when a game everyone’s excited about falls off the radar. It could be that it’s just taking a while, or that it’s hit a few snags. Sometimes it might even get canceled. This is the icy grip of fear we’re all familiar with when the development of a game made by a company that isn’t Blizzard suddenly goes dark. Thankfully Michel Ancel has confirmed that the eagerly anticipated Beyond Good & Evil 2 is still in the works. It’s just being handled by a very tiny team.
The last of today’s pre-E3 pressers will be starting up in just a little while. And the lucky publisher we’ll be held captive to for the next hour and a half or so (assuming they don’t let James Cameron take the stage for 20 minutes this year too) is? Why, that would be Ubisoft!
The event kicks off at 5pm Pacific/8pm Eastern. We’ll once again be firing up the liveblog about 15 minutes early to give everybody a chance to get settled in. We’re almost done for today, folks. We thank you for joining us for the last two. Hopefully we’ll make it through this one without screaming or punching too many babies.
Another Summer is upon us and along with the customary triple shot of shorts, suntan lotion and stifling heat comes yet another alliterative hat-trick in the form of the video game industry’s biggest trade show: the Electronic Entertainment Expo – E3 2010 is here.
And even though CFD! can’t be in Los Angeles this year, we’re going to do our best again to cover things from afar (while silently assembling our master plan to dominate the show floor next year). What does that mean to all of you, our loyal readers? We’re going to run down all of the details just under the jump. See you there.
Back from a tumultuous slumber, the stealthy panther that is Sam Fisher has risen from the ashes for Splinter Cell: Conviction. Originally announced in 2007 as a hobo simulator, Sam’s new adventure disembarks from the classic “sneak-and-evade” gameplay of old and boasts a “sneak-and-destroy” focus.
My constant struggle with Conviction’s new style has hampered my ability to adequately enjoy the game as others have. When SC:C opens, it’s quite apparent that the series’ constant option to exclusively use stealth doesn’t apply anymore. Within the first 30 seconds of player-controlled action you’re tasked with gunning down a couple of unaware guards. Conviction isn’t the traditional stealth-action game: it’s a sneaky third-person shooter and it doesn’t hide it. +Continue Reading
Interested in some Splinter Cell: Conviction? How about some $34.99 Splinter Cell: Conviction? Okay, now what if a $34.99 price tag were attached to the Collector’s Edition? Yeah, I thought so.
Those expecting a bit of stealthy, tactical, team-based shooting this fall are out of luck. Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot noted during yesterday’s investor’s briefing that Ghost Recon: Future Soldierwould miss its original holiday 2010 release window.
In a “shocking development,” Ubisoft’s much maligned attempt at punishing their loyal customers was, supposedly, a waste of time and energy.
CNET has reported that a group known as Skid Row has claimed to have created a replacement .exe that completely circumvents the whole shebang. Whether or not this turns out to be true remains to be seen, but the files have already been uploaded to numerous file-sharing sites for anyone looking to play their Ubisoft games without the threat of data loss.
The lead-up to Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory‘s release was, personally, a frantic one. I distinctly remember having finished Pandora Tomorrow and being disappointed, earnestly pining for Ubisoft Montreal (the creator of the Splinter Cell franchise) to return to the series.
Late one night, news broke of an off-screen ‘Splinter Cell 3′ gameplay video and I spent the evening desperately hunting for a glimpse of the game. I did everything from registering at Ubisoft’s forums to refreshing my Google search every 5 seconds. Finally, my eyes met the shaky-cam footage of the best-looking game I had ever seen. I showed my friends, my enemies, and my parents. My excitement simply couldn’t be contained; after all, who wouldn’t want to grab an enemy while hanging upside-down or yank him from the edge of a building?
Unfortunately, the title’s November 2004 release date was postponed. My heart sank. I had no desire to play any other game that year, not Halo 2 nor Half-Life 2; not even the impressive Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. I didn’t buy any game that year, nor did I receive any for Christmas. My soul was set on Sam Fisher’s newest exploits.
Thanks to a leak that occurred earlier this week, Ubisoft has apparently opted to officially release the new trailer of April 13’s Splinter Cell: Conviction.
A Tea Party member’s wet dream is brought to visual form as Sam walks, grumbles, and shoots his way through government buildings, the White House, and the Washington Monument. It’s all very dramatic and even topical, given all the hullabaloo going on in the ‘actual’ news.
The demo is currently available on Xbox Live with a solid release date of April 13, 2010 with the DRM-infested PC version coming April 29th. For more details and shenanigans on Ubisoft’s take on PC Digital Rights Management, check out CFD!’s Team Deathchat: Episode 2.
UPDATE: Seems there was an issue with the direct download link not working. Should be fine now – was simply a misnamed file issue. If you couldn’t get it before, try again. Thanks!
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Two weeks! Two weeks in a row! There are celebrity marriages that have lasted less time than our podcast track record, people…
But seriously, we’re actually getting this one up on time this week. Hopefully nobody’s confused too badly, having only listened to the first episode a couple of days ago. We’re going to try to keep this regular schedule thing going. It’s kinda crazy.
Also, more good news! Team DeathChat is finally listed on iTunes, so subscribe, rate us, leave a review – hell, all of the above would be nice! We’ll drop a subscription link in the sidebar eventually, but for now you can find it in our show notes, which are under the jump.
According to a story posted on CVG, Valve may have allegedly made the (wise) decision to (wisely) remove all games incorporating Ubisoft’s infamous DRM from their UK Steam service. Ubisoft, of course, denies this, claiming the reason for two of their newest titles, Assassin’s Creed II and Silent Hunter V (incidentally both with the DRM in question), not being available on the service is due to “a local business discussion between Ubisoft and Steam in UK.”
Personally, I think that sounds like a load of PR bull.
Well, even though it’s been less than 24hrs since we uploaded the first episode of Team DeathChat, we’re about to dive into the fray again.
Tomorrow morning we’ll be recording the second episode and assuming you didn’t already die laughing at our first attempt, (which you’ve doubtlessly listened to by now, right?) we want your questions, topic suggestions, comments and more.
Currently, our plans are to talk on the issues surrounding Ubisoft and EA’s PC DRM woes – partially related to last week’s aborted discussion on PR disasters (which we had to skip for time). Beyond that, we’re open to public feedback.
Leave a comment below, a message on Twitter (@CrushFragDstroy), on Facebook, or an email – and make it interesting! We need you to help us look good, after all.
The Midwest snows may have melted away, but the weather forecast in Hades is looking a wee bit chilly today.
That’s right – the long-delayed Crush! Frag! Destroy! podcast is finally about to be recorded! There’s just one problem, though… We need a name!
Yes, we have yet to decide on a proper name for this beast and we’re taking suggestions from you, our (potential) listeners. So drop us a comment below with your suggestions and make them good (FYI: FragCast and CrushCast are both already existing shows elsewhere, plus they’re not terribly creative). Give us your best, your weirdest, your most inventive!
Also, if you have any comments, questions or other contributions for us, leave us a comment below, drop us a Twitter message (@CrushFragDstroy) or post on the Facebook page and we’ll try to work them into the show.
Hit the jump for a quick rundown of what we’re going to be covering on our inaugural broadcast.
Details on the previously announced follow-up to 2009’s smash hit Assassin’s Creed II have popped up in Ubisoft’s third quarter financial conference call. Confirming my suspicions that such a game would star protagonist Ezio, Ubisoft revealed that the hero will romp about Rome subduing the Templar opposition.
What do Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, and Ubisoft’s own Splinter Cell: Conviction all have in common? If you said third-person perspective… well, yes, but that’s not what I meant.
Seriously, every game under the sun is using colons in the title, and today’s announcement of Ghost Recon: Future Soldier wasn’t going to miss out on that trend. Previously mentioned in an avalanche of Ubisoft news, GR:FS will offer “cutting-edge technology, prototype high-tech weaponry, and state-of-the-art single-player and multiplayer modes.”
Join the CFD! editorial staff as they bicker incessantly and vent their collective neuroses on air... and somewhere along the way they talk about games too.
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UPDATE: Seems there was an issue with the direct download link not working. Should be fine now – was simply a misnamed file issue. If you couldn’t get it before, try again. Thanks!
Well, even though it’s been less than 24hrs since we uploaded the first episode of Team DeathChat, we’re about to dive into the fray again.
Rob Thomas
Rob Rich
Sage Knox
Beki Sutcliffe
Dustin Stevens
Jason Smith
Scott Thompson
Aubrey Klanecky
Zuri Grimm
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