XboxSold.com BLOG

Red 5 Studios announced today a new team-based shooter, FireFall, due to be released some time in 2011. And it has bugs. Nasty, disgusting bugs. I can only assume that they must all die.

The game is being developed by a team made up of designers from the Tribes series and the lead designer of World of Warcraft. Quite appropriately, the game is a mixture of the design philosophies of these two series: take a dude shooting stuff and toss him online shooting at stuff with a ton of other people. While the game is being described as a massively multiplayer game, it will not carry a monthly subscription, instead relying on in-game transactions to keep it going.

There’s a hell of a lot going on in that gameplay video: resource gathering, jetpacking, and even some air travel. If all of this is done right, this could be a damn fine 2011 release. I never could get into the Tribes games, but I’m all in for FireFall. 

Ballistic Publishing, the folks behind The Art of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, have announced its next PlayStation partnership, The Art of God of War III.

Set for release this October, the 272-page book will feature a “visual history tour” of the game, including 100 pieces of art that didn’t appear in the game. The book will feature concept art, character studios, character modeling, and more, giving you a behind-the-scenes look at Sony Santa Monica’s production process.

Ballistic is also offering exclusive character modeling walkthrough videos to anyone who purchases the book through its website. The videos will feature Santa Monica character artist Katon Callaway detailing how the Cerberus and Hephaestus characters were designed.

The Art of God of War III comes in two flavors — paperback for $65, leather-bound for $129.99, and a “Limited Folio Edition” for $300. What does three bills get you? A leather-bound presentation case, a hand-signed an number Certificate of Authenticity, and a hand-carved cover ornament designed to look like the “Blade of Exile.”

Who needs to be at PAX? We’re bringing it to you! Disney is letting PAX Prime goers go hands on with its upcoming title TRON: Evolution, allowing them to get a taste of the game’s free-running, combat, and the light cycle in action.

While this doesn’t quite match playing it, we’ve got a video of the game in action for you to watch in the comfort of your chair. If you’re standing, sit down. I can’t imagine why you’d be standing up and reading this though, unless it’s on your phone, and chances are you can’t watch this video anyhow.

The demo at PAX is the same thing I played pre-E3, and while it showed promise (I had fun with the combat, based on Capoeira) , but need a bit of polishing. If you did attend PAX (or you’re there now — why are you reading this?), then let me know what you think of the game. It’s out for PlayStation3 and Xbox 360 on December 7, a few weeks before the film, TRON: Legacy, hits theaters.

Following the announcement that it would be bringing Swords & Soldiers to PlayStation Network, indie developer Ronimo Games has revealed that it’s coming to PC as well.

The PC version of the game will ship with all of the features you’ll find on PSN, including online leaderboards, crisp “HD” graphics, along with a new soundtrack. Additionally, PC owners will get the benefit of Steam Achievements as well as a cursor-based mechanic. Because, you know, PCs use mice.

Swords & Soldiers was originally released on WiiWare, and took advantage of the Wii’s motion control and pointer mechanics. The PS3 version of the game will feature a dual analog scheme, but Ronimo is mum on PlayStation Move support.

Perhaps trying to steal the show from one Mr. Duke Nukem, Sony has announced a release date for Guerilla’s Killzone 3. It’ll be on shelves February 22 in North America.

If the wait between Killzone and its sequel seemed a bit longer than you had to wait for Killzone 3, you’re not imagining things. Guerilla’s Herman Hulst admitted that the development cycle for Killzone 3 was much shorter than Killzone 2. He points to a more experienced development, having learned many lessons from bringing Killzone 2 to life. But he’s clear that doesn’t mean Killzone 3 is a copy-paste of Killzone 2.

“There’s nothing really in Killzone 3 that’s straight from Killzone 2,” he told me, “everything’s been improved.”

The game’s multiplayer is playable to the public for the first time at PAX this week. If you’re there, check it out, and stop reading stories on the Internet.

Killzone 3 Coming to PS3 February 22, 2011 [PlayStation Blog]

At the conclusion of his keynote at the Penny Arcade Expo today, Junction Point’s Warren Spector revealed the second half of Epic Mickey’s opening cinematic. In it, Mickey finds himself trapped by the Mad Doctor, where he encounters an old foe — Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. You can see the first half of the intro here.

If you weren’t there, you missed the reveal. Sorry about that. But lucky for you, it’s right here. We’ve even got some fancy new screenshots to sweeten the deal a bit. Aren’t you glad you stayed home?

Epic Mickey is out this holiday, and you’ll probably want to spend some extra cash to get the “epic” collector’s edition.

Trying to create noise from the deafening silence following the announcement of Bloody Good Time, Ubisoft has revealed Outland, an upcoming platformer adventure inspired by games like Prince of Persia… and Ikaruga.

Here’s the official line on this one: “Outland puts players in the middle of a world of balance and chaos where their efforts allow them to bridge the ancient divide, or doom the world to destruction. Each player’s adventure will take them between light and darkness and force them to adapt to an ever-changing world. This light versus dark core gameplay is inspired by the arcade classic Ikaruga.”

So it’s a platformer, but it’s like Ikaruga. I think that’s qualifies as “awesome,” and it looks wonderful, too. The title is being developed by Super Stardust HD studio, Housemarque, and will be available for Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network in early 2011.

If you’re in Seattle for PAX, you can stop by Ubisoft’s booth and check it out.

Seven45 Studios has revealed the full soundtrack for its upcoming music title, Power Gig: Rise of the Six String, and I hope you like Eric Clapton, Dave Matthews Band, and Kid Rock.

Those particular artists have exclusively licensed their music for use in Power Gig, and Seven45 studios is taking advantage of the agreements by putting multiple songs from the artists on the disc. Clapton fans can play along with “Layla,” “Lay Down Sally,” and “Let It Rain.” Dave Matthews scores “Tripping Billies,” “Why I Am,” and “Funny the Way It Is.” Kid Rock (who, according to a Seven45 rep during a pre-E3 event, “no one is more authentic than”) gets “Rock N’ Roll Jesus,” “Son of Detroit,” and “All Summer Long” on the disc.

The disc will feature 70 tracks, and they are admittedly pretty diverse, with bands ranging from Queens of the Stone Age to Black Sabbath, The Black Keys to A Perfect Circle. John Mayer also makes his debut in a music game, and he gets a few tracks on the disc, too. Seven45 also promises more tracks to come, with downloadable content already being planned.

How do you think Power Gig’s selections compare to the Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock and Rock Band 3 tracks?

• Eric Clapton – Layla
• Eric Clapton – Lay Down Sally
• Eric Clapton – Let It Rain
• Dave Matthews Band – Funny The Way It Is
• Dave Matthews Band – Tripping Billies
• Dave Matthews Band – Why I Am
• Kid Rock – All Summer Long
• Kid Rock – Rock ‘N’ Roll Jesus
• Kid Rock – Son of Detroit
• John Mayer – No Such Thing
• Jane’s Addiction – Been Caught Stealing
• No Doubt – Platinum Blonde Life   
• Ozzy Osbourne – A.V.H.
• Queens of the Stone Age – You Think I Ain’t Worth a Dollar, But I Feel Like a Millionaire
• Smashing Pumpkins – Cherub Rock
• Disturbed – The Night        
• Rage Against the Machine – Bombtrack
• Stevie Ray Vaughan – Couldn’t Stand The Weather
• Black Sabbath – The Devil Cried
• Stone Temple Pilots – Plush
• Living Colour – Cult of Personality
• John Mayer – Who Do You Think I Was
• Snow Patrol – Hands Open
• Three Days Grace – Break
• Paramore – Ignorance
• Silversun Pickups – Substitution
• The Offspring – You’re Gonna Go Far Kid
• The Black Label Society – Retribution
• Breaking Benjamin – Breath
• The Tragically Hip – New Orleans Is Sinking
• The Used – Blood on My Hands
• Mastodon – Crack the Skye
• A Perfect Circle – The Hollow
• Buckcherry – Tired of You   
• Firewind – Head Up High
• The Black Keys – Strange Times
• Flyleaf – Again
• Godsmack – Awake
• Incubus – Wish You Were Here
• Jet – She’s A Genius
• The Hives – Tick Tick Boom
• John Mayer – Crossroads
• Bad Religion – I Want to Conquer the World
• Korn – Hold On
• The Academy Is… – His Girl Friday
• Lacuna Coil – Spellbound
• MuteMath – Chaos
• New Found Glory – Listen to Your Friends
• P.O.D. – Alive
• Puddle of Mudd – Blurry
• Rise Against – Paper Wings
• Sick Puppies – You’re Going Down
• The Donnas – Fall Behind Me
• The Get Up Kids – Martyr Me
• Idlewild – Reader and Writers
• Surfer Blood – Swim
• Channels – Chivaree
• Superdrag – Aspartame
• Envy on the Coast – Headfirst in the River
• Damiera – Silvertongue
• A Cursive Memory – Everything
• The Hounds Below – She’s Alchemy
• A Love Like PI – Innocent Man
• The Willowz – I Know
• I See Stars – Comfortably Confused
• The Paris Riots – Hotel of Infidels
• School Boy Humor – Camera Shy
• So Many Dynamos – Artifacts of Sound
• Taxpayer – When You When Young
• The Fatal Flaw – Don’t Start Believing

Criterion’s Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit looks gorgeous and super fast. That was expected. It’s the amount of trash-talking that you’re going to end up doing with your friends that’s going to take you by surprise.

The developer has create a unique game hub which it’s calling “Autolog.” This hub not only keeps track of what you’re doing, but what your friends are doing, and how they’re progressing. The game is designed to constantly keep you up to date on player progress — game progression, records being set — and then shove it in your face. The idea is to get you to keep playing, the incentive to always be number one among your friends.

The idea is rather brilliant, and it looks like it’s really well-implemented in Hot Pursuit, but it’s not a new one. I always think of Bizarre’s Geometry Wars as the gold standard for how leaderboards and score-keeping should be done — it’s a game that (unless you look for it) doesn’t shove world leaderboards in your face, instead presenting the scores of people you care about: those on your friends list. It’s making these rivalries and high score goals immediate, tangible, and unavoidable that always kept me wanting to play “just one more game.”

If Hot Pursuit can do for racing what Geometry Wars did for me, I’m expecting some long, long nights ahead of me when the game ships in November. Cue “Eye of the Tiger.”