A report on Deadline Hollywood today reveals that BioShock creator and Irrational Games creative director Ken Levine will be writing a screenplay for the long-awaited Logan’s Run remake. Let’s hope he sneaks a bunch of “Big Daddy” references in there just so all us vidya game nerds can laugh knowingly.

As the post notes, Levine actually started his career in entertainment as a screenwriter and playwright before trading in his FANCY WRITIN’ QUILL for a keyboard. You know, for writing video games. This is not the best metaphor. Moving on.

Anyway, the Logan’s Run reboot project has been kicking around for quite a while, with various directors, writers, and actors attached to help it move forward, with all of them bowing out for one reason or another. So the news that Levine is going to write a screenplay for this project means, well, that he’s been hired to write a screenplay. Chances are very good that he’s going to do it, and turn it in. After that—it’s anybody’s guess.

The producers may say it’s the bee’s knees—or they may commission yet another screenwriter to take a pass. This movie may never, ever get made. Then again, maybe Levine’s streak of entertainment successes with the BioShock franchise is just the kind of juice he needs to make the script work. You  never know…

[Via Deadline Hollywood]

The Cave, the Ron Gilbert-designed game from Double Fine, is headed to iOS devices. The news comes by way of a post on Joystiq, which reports that it’ll be coming to the mobile platform sometime this summer, though when, and for how much, isn’t totally clear.

In addition, the game will feature touch-optimized controls, meaning that players will tap and drag their characters around the environment rather than giving them “virtual” buttons or control pads. That’s probably a good move, since those are typically THE WORST.

It’s possible that if you weren’t super excited by the prospect of playing this game on consoles, a mobile version might be more up your alley. Our own Lawrence decided that the console version left a lot to be desired, but it’s conceivable that you’re more amenable to playing the game while commuting on the bus, or dropping a deuce, or whenever it is that you play mobile games. In my case, sometimes it’s a combination of those first two things.

I think this post took a weird turn just there. Let’s end it now.

[Via Joystiq]

Development on the artificial intelligence for this November’s Call of Duty: Ghosts is taking longer than it should, due to Infinity Ward lacking final versions of PS4 and XBO hardware. At least, that’s how executive producer Mark Rubin put it to Official PlayStation Magazine.

He said that work on AI is “slower than some of the graphics” because they don’t have actual final hardware on hand. He notes that the ambitions and scope of the game have to be handled with caution in times like these.

“Obviously we are in crazy early development and we will have to see how the consoles play out,” Rubin said. Enemies are being designed to behave more dynamically to in-game events, such as your dog attacking them or a flippin’ building falling on their head.

“They might behave differently to the dog, or behave a little differently compared to the events that are happening in the level.They take some of the environment cues and pay attention to them. A lot of times they just kind of ignore the environment, they are just like, ‘OK this guy is supposed to be here I’m shooting, but the building is falling all over me… No, I’m still shooting you.’

So sort of doing stuff like that. It is subtle, really subtle. AI in general is one of those things [where] the subtle things are often easy to notice when it is bad.”

Rubin clarified that they’re making “big strides” in development (even though the phrase “early development” used earlier is concerning), but can’t push the AI further until they know more of what they’re working with from a tech perspective.

But let’s get to what really matters here…

Does this mean that the fish might not be able to swim away from you in the final version as Infinity Ward has greatly prophesied? See the above video for more breaking information.

[Source: OPM]

As with most games without official modding support on the PC, the Saints Row community has had to rely on tools generated from within to get their ideas into the game. However, franchise developer Volition is changing that with their preparation of official mod tools to share with the community for use with Saints Row: The Third and, potentially later on, Saints Row IV.

Jeff Thompson, Volition’s studio director of programming, is currently prepping the proper engine tools to make available to modders soon. A community modder assisting in this process by the name of IdolNinja says that these tools will help in the creation and editing of guns, vehicles, clothing, NPC a.i., missions and geometry – helping to “enhance the Saints Row games in ways we never even dared to dream of.”

There’s no sort of time window for when these tools will arrive, but with Saints Row IV from Deep Silver (rest in peace, THQ) right around the corner, we can’t imagine you’ll be without them for much longer.

In fact, we anticipate a substantial increase in the release of purple dildo-based weaponry soon.

[Source: Idol Ninja]

One of last year’s Kickstarter successes, Shadowrun Returns from Harebrained Schemes, is set to come out for PC, Mac, iPad, and Android tablets on July 25. A little over a year after the campaign managed to quadruple its goal with $1.8 million in pledged funding, the game is finally going to launch as a single-player tactical RPG.

A post on GameInformer about the forthcoming launch reports that Shadowrun Returns will feature a campaign editor for the Steam version, meaning that players who want to get their hands dirty and make interesting new versions of the game for their friends can do so. How cool is that?

And even if you didn’t jump in the Kickstarter funding to guarantee you a copy of the game, that’s still okay: you can pre-order the game through Steam for $17.99 (or the deluxe version for $31.49). That ain’t bad. I’m considering doing that myself, having missed the Kickstarter period myself.

What do you think? Are you stoked to see what a Kickstarted game can do? This, to my knowledge, is one of the first high-profile Kickstarted projects from last year’s game-funding surge to actually come out and hit the market. I’m sure there are others I’m not thinking of, but Shadowrun Returns was definitely one of the titles to ride the wave started by Double Fine’s enormous success. I’m eager to see what a successfully Kickstarted game actually turns out to be like. And now that I know when it’s coming out? Kind of hard to resist…

[Via GameInformer and Kickstarter]

During all of the usual hustle and bustle of E3 last week, Nintendo quietly announced that they’re working on a free-to-play game(s) strategy for their consoles, the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS. Now, we have a few more details on it, specifically that The Big N has plans to avoid an “unbalanced” setup of players dishing out “extremely large amounts of money.”

President of Nintendo of Japan Satoru Iwata mentioned all of this during an E3 investor meeting last week.

“Free-to-play games, if unbalanced, could result in some consumers paying extremely large amounts of money, and we can certainly not expect to build a good relationship with our consumers in this fashion.

In order to have a favorable long-term relationship, we would like to offer free-to-play games that are balanced and reasonable.”

Iwata was also quick to clarify that this game will not revolve around Mario, Pokemon, or the universes those franchises inhabit, because Nintendo tends to hold those IPs to a very high standard, and also might not like the idea of dishing those out for chump change or less.

“With games like Mario and Pokémon, we already have a sufficient degree of trust with our consumers who are willing to pay a certain sum of money to purchase our products as packaged software,” Iwata said.

“On the other hand, what are we to do when we want to offer a completely new product whose value consumers are yet to understand? Consumers are not sure if it is worth outlaying a certain sum of money for such a product.

In such circumstances, our current platforms (Nintendo 3DS and Wii U), which give us various monetization options that would not have been possible on past Nintendo platforms, enable us to make propositions in a free-to-play format.”

And if free-to-play isn’t your jam, there’s always the certainly-not-free Mario Kart 8, Super Mario 3D World, Super Smash Bros Wii U/3DS, and Donkey Kong: Tropical Breeze coming in the next year.

[via Nintendo]

It’s pretty clear at this point that Ubisoft’s favorite franchise is Assassin’s Creed. There’s a new installment every year and a big budget movie in the works. The publisher may own a whole host of IPs, but Assassin’s Creed is clearly the one the company loves more than any other.

That said, that doesn’t mean that Ubisoft doesn’t want to spread the love. A post on CVG reports that at E3 last week Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag director Ash Ismail teased a hidden Easter Egg in the upcoming game.

What kind of Easter Egg, you ask? Ismail isn’t telling, but the post speculates that it could relate back to the publisher’s Far Cry franchise, an assertion that’s backed up with an Assassin’s Creed Easter Egg that was found in Far Cry 3. Since Far Cry 3 is set on a tropical island, and Black Flag will see players cruising the Caribbean Sea, well…it’s not that much of a leap to see those kinds of possibilities.

Any thoughts on what you might like to find in Black Flag? Think there might be narrative connections to Ubisoft’s upcoming new franchise, Watch_Dogs? I could see that…a vigilante type dude who goes out and tries to right wrongs through violence and mayhem…sounds a lot like a modern-day Assassin’s Creed to me. Though, that game’s setting of Chicago might make a narrative connection difficult to insert.

[Via CVG]

The virtual reality revolution, also known as the Oculus Rift, has received its first round of investor funding today, totaling at just over $16 million from Spark Capital, Matrix Partners, Founders Fund and Formation 8, the Oculus team announced this morning.

This $16 million is in addition to the $2.4 million raised by the device’s Kickstarter campaign last September, a campaign that only asked for $250,000.

Spark Capital founder Santo Politi and Matrix general partner Antonio Rodriguez are now on the Oculus Rift’s board of directors.

“In this business, there are only a few rare companies that can so perfectly embody the future you read about in science fiction novels,” Rodriguez says in a press release.

“What Palmer, Brendan and the team are building at Oculus so closely matches the Metaverse, we had to be part of it. Working with them to get this platform to market at scale will be enormously exciting.”

Now… when can I buy the consumer version so I can play Portal 2 and Team Fortress 2 with it? I’m waaaaaiting.

[via Joystiq]

Remember Gears of War: Judgment? Well, that’s good: because there’s some new DLC called “Lost Relics” that’s available today for VIP members, while all the non-VIPs can get it on Tuesday, June 25.

So what kinds of things are in the new DLC? Maps! Lots of maps. There’s Checkout, which is “the carcass of an abandoned superstore.” So expect lots of bombed out shelves and aisles and places to hide in close quarters. There’s also “Lost City,” “Museum,” and “Ward,” all with their own variations on the “Lost Relics” theme. Epic Games was kind enough to provide video walkthroughs of each map, so be sure to check those out below.

And don’t forget, of course, to take a look at the new screenshots in the slideshow at the top of this post. The add-on content will cost 1,000 Microsoft Points, or $12.50 in United States currency. Interested?

[Via Epic Games]

In the continuing saga of reorganization at publisher Square Enix, it seems that they’ve laid off nearly half the staff working at Hitman studio IO Interactive. Not only has the staff been severely reduced, but the studios projects have all been shelved except for the next installment in the Hitman series. That means that if there was any future planned for the Kane & Lynch franchise, it’s now been put on hold indefinitely.

Here’s a statement Square Enix provided that explains the situation:

“We are making significant changes at IO Interactive as we align our business against a changing and challenging market. Hannes Seifert, formerly Production Director for 3 years at the studio, will take over the position of Studio Head at IO. The studio will focus resolutely on the future vision for the Hitman franchise and is in pre-production on a new AAA Hitman project. However we have taken the difficult decision to cancel other studio projects and initiatives at IO and reduce the workforce in this studio, which will impact almost half of the employees currently at IO, as we make internal adjustments to face the challenges of today’s market.

For those affected, we are extremely grateful for the hard work which they have contributed, and where it’s possible and appropriate to relocate staff to open positions at other studios within the group, we will try to do so. We are also reaching out to other companies for outplacement opportunities. We sincerely wish them well in their future careers.”

It’s not completely terrible, as the statement also asks readers that might be “looking for additional development talent” to get in touch with them, presumably to help try and find new jobs for those who’ve been laid off. That said, well, laying off half your staff is still extremely terrible. So forget I said anything.

It’s not too surprising that IO will only focus on Hitman going forward, even if Hitman Absolution didn’t quite live up to expectations. That franchise is more recognizable than any of their others, not to mention the fact that it had a movie from a few years ago. That doesn’t mean it’s actually any more deserving to get attention, but there it is.

Our sympathies go out to everyone affected by the layoffs.

[Via GameInformer]

Developer Eidos Montreal has uploaded a full half-hour’s worth of a gameplay video presentation for its upcoming next-generation title, Thief, to YouTube. The gameplay is allegedly running on the PS4 hardware, which is to say, probably a PC built to PS4 specs.

Presented by the game’s producer Stefane Roy, the footage showcases levels placed in the new city environment introduced in the game’s reveal. Roy emphasizes the role of shadows in the game’s stealth mechanics, which is represented in the game’s UI through a jewel. The game also greatly uses sound to alert guards of your presence, so do try to avoid stepping on those pesky, squeaky footboards.

Focus, a new ability for protagonist Garrett, increases his aiming ability when taking out guards and enemies. You’ll also see Garrett using his environment more effectively to not only sneak, but to kill.

It’s pretty gruesome when I put it that way, isn’t it?

Thief is slated for launch on PS4, PC and Xbox One next year. Be sure to check out our E3 preview from last week to learn more about all the thievin’ your heart desires.

The long awaited final release of DOTA 2 from Valve has been announced—mostly. According to a post on PC Gamer, DOTA 2 will be finished and “free for everyone” sometime this summer.

For a while it’s been free to Steam users in beta, but according to Valve itself, it’s not really even in beta anymore:

“At this point we don’t really think of Dota 2 as a beta, but we also aren’t ready for everyone to show up and start playing just yet. We are constantly updating the game with new heroes, bug fixes, and new features. We’ve still got work to do before we can support the number of players who’ve shown interest in Dota 2. Right now we’re working on expanding our server infrastructure, which is the primary bottleneck.”

If you want to shell out thirty bucks, you’ll get early access to the game plus a whole bunch of in-game items. But otherwise, the free-to-play game will launch this summer, and you can see if you want to put your hard-earned money into this thing.

[Via PC Gamer]

Microsoft has had it kind of tough in the PR department since unveiling the Xbox One last month. Reports about what you could or couldn’t do with the games you bought conflicted depending on who you talked to. Could you lend a game or sell it without hassle? Yes…and no.

The same sort of mixed message seems to be coming regarding account bans. On Friday, the Twitter account for Xbox Support—which is usually extremely helpful, in my personal experience—responded to a user’s question regarding what would happen to all your game licenses if your Xbox LIVE account gets banned. After all, if your account is banned, how can you get online? Here was the response:

@dohertymark If your account is banned, you also forfeit the licenses to any games that have licenses tied to it as listed in the ToU. ^AC

— Xbox Support (@XboxSupport1) June 14, 2013

Not a nice thought, especially considering that, well, sometimes mistakes are made at Xbox central, and people who don’t deserve it could have their accounts banned. Furthermore, even having an account banned shouldn’t invalidate the money spent on games that aren’t multiplayer anyway, right?

But complicating the situation further is this tweet a day later:

@amigocesar We have no info on the Xbox One ban situation. The Tweet that is being referenced was a mistake, it was about Xbox 360. ^CW

— Xbox Support (@XboxSupport1) June 15, 2013

This was backed up by Major Nelson during an E3 interview with RedditGames, so if nothing else, it seems relatively certain that, no, banned accounts will still be able to play games.

At the end of the day, though, this is still pretty frustrating. I understand that Microsoft is trying to bring a new model for console gaming to life, and that’s a laudable goal. But while we’re trying to understand what that means, the people who work for that company should probably have some answers to give us. Don’t you guys anticipate these questions? Isn’t that basically your whole job?

Sheesh.

[Via DigitalSpy and Destructoid]

We’ve hit the price ceiling, it seems. According to a post on GameSpot, Microsoft has confirmed that Xbox One games will only cost $60, keeping the next-gen cost of games firmly where it’s been for the last generation. Before the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3-generation of consoles, games cost roughly $50 new, and many thought that the next-generation of games would bring the price up another ten bucks to account for inflation, higher development costs for top-tier games, and all the rest.

This is great news for console and PC gamers alike: shortly after the PlayStation 4 reveal, Sony’s Jack Tretton said he didn’t think PS4 games would go above sixty dollars. While that’s not quite a confirmation, it’s close enough for now. And considering that Sony has the edge on Microsoft in terms of public perception among hardcore gamers as well as having a cheaper console at launch (PS4’s $399 to XbOne’s $499), it stands to reason that pricing games at $60 is going to ensure a lack of sticker shock from among game fans.

Let’s all remember, for a moment, the fact that the Nintendo 64’s cartridges cost seventy goddamn dollars way back in the day. The fact that the console managed to move any games at all is pretty much a miracle when you think about it.

[Via GameSpot]

One of the best games from last year was Firaxis’s turn-based strategy remake, XCOM: Enemy Unknown. It’s so, so good, and I try to recommend it to everyone. So if, somehow, you haven’t had the chance to play it, and you happen to be one of the folks who have an iPhone or an iPad laying around the house, pay attention: there’s a port coming to the App Store on Thursday, and it’s going to cost only twenty bucks.

That’s great! In the weeks and months leading up to the release, we’ve learned that the port is more or less the full deal—the full game, but touch-enabled, and optimized for the iOS devices. The game will also support iCloud functionality, meaning that if you start a game on  your iPad, you can keep it going on your iPhone on the bus, then finish it up back on the iPad when you get back home. Overall, it’s a great deal—especially for twenty bones—and I heartily recommend it.

The only thing missing, apparently, will be the multiplayer mode, though it’s said that it’ll be added on later. It’s okay, though, since the single-player campaign is highly rewarding and engrossing its own right. Sure, multiplayer is pretty fun, but the solo campaign is really where it’s at.

I love this game so much, that if a version of it comes out for Android devices, I will probably buy it. XCOM is the real deal, y’all. Do yourselves a favor and grab it once it’s out.

[Via GameSpot]

Back in March, we’d heard rumors that EA had canceled the Dead Space franchise due to lower-than-expected sales of Dead Space 3 earlier this year. While team members at Visceral denied those reports at the time, it was recently confirmed during E3 that there is no work being done on Dead Space 4 at Visceral.

The news comes by way of a Eurogamer interview with EA Games Label’s Patrick Söderlund , who took care to explain that, no, the franchise isn’t canceled—it’s just not being worked on at the moment:

“I wouldn’t say it’s cancelled at all. Dead Space remains a brand that is close to Electronic Arts’ heart. It’s been a great brand for us done by a very passionate team.

Is that team working on a Dead Space game today? No they’re not. They’re working on something else very exciting. You have to think of it from that perspective. Is it better to put them on the fourth version of a game they’ve done three previous versions of before? Or is it better to put them on something new that they want to build, that they have passion for?

I am of the utmost opinion that we have to put the best possible games in the hands of our fans. How you get to a great game, the first thing you need is a great development team that have a passion for building what they’re building. That’s a simple parameter. Everything else follows. Money, time, everything else follows. It’s less relevant. That’s ultimately how you get success. It’s as simple as that.

Will there be another Dead Space game? Who knows? Have we killed it? No, of course not. But right now that dev team is focused on something else that you and other gamers will be very happy with.”

It’s not heartening to hear that the team isn’t working on a new entry into the franchise, though taking time to tackle another project isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I suppose that the franchise not being outright canceled is good enough news, but at the end of the day, a series doesn’t have to be canceled in order for it to not get any more titles.

But let’s also think for a moment: Dead Space has three games already. Most franchises that go beyond that tend to simply recycle old ideas…would we really even want a fourth game in a franchise already? Or is it cool that Visceral is moving onto another kind of project that might be the exciting franchise of tomorrow? I was complaining in the Smash Bros. post about how Nintendo really ought to start creating new IPs, rather than just creating new versions of old games all the time. Even Kid Icarus Uprising for the 3DS was a sequel to an old franchise, albeit one that was decades in the making.

At this point, let’s just count our blessings that the team at Visceral is working on something new and different, which might mean something exciting and fresh to come out of EA. There’s nothing wrong with a franchise getting a breather. After all, it’s not like the old games are going anywhere.

[Via Eurogamer]

So my colleagues and I have been discussing some of the good stuff and not as good stuff from E3 last week, and one of the games I’m most excited about is Super Smash Bros. for the Wii U. Now, don’t get me wrong—this isn’t because Smash Bros. is set to be some revolutionary new take on what is, by now, one of the oldest franchises around.

What I’m excited about is that it looks really, really fun, plain and simple. Moreover, the fact that the Wii U is a hell of a lot easier to do online play with is a great benefit over the previous version of Smash Bros, Brawl, which came out for the Wii. I played one match of that game online, since only one of the people who’d I exchanged friend codes with had a copy. This time around, I’m happy to report, I have more pals with a Wii U, and I suspect that the online play will go a lot more smoothly. That, and my girlfriend said she likes Smash Bros., so maybe I’ll get her to play a few rounds before she throws her controller on the floor in disgust.

Anyway, here, now, are over a hundred screens from the upcoming Wii U version of Super Smash Bros. I think this game looks like a ton of fun, even though it definitely looks like, well, every other game in the franchise. My one real wish? That Nintendo would start making some new IPs already. It’s great seeing characters from Animal Crossing and even Wii Fit get included, but Nintendo needs to start flexing its game making muscles to bring us something fresh and new.

Your thoughts?

This fall will see the release of Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, only a year after the last numbered installment, Assassin’s Creed III, hit the shelves in October 2012. Despite the relatively low numbers, ACIV will be the sixth full-game home console installment in the franchise, and the seventh if we count the beefy and majorly fun Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation, which was exclusive to the handheld PlayStation Vita.

The reason I bring up those numbers is because, according to a conversation between Kotaku and Ubisoft’s CEO Yves Guillemot, the publisher has another three games in the franchise currently in development (well, two if one of those three is Assassin’s Creed IV). Needless to say, that’s a buttload of Assassin’s Creed titles. And somehow, Ubisoft doesn’t expect to bore its customers with a new installment every year.

Guillemot says the secret is in making sure the publisher’s studios have ample time to make each game new and different, despite the familiar trappings:

“We are making sure the teams who are creating the different iterations have enough time—two years, three years, so that they can take risk and they can change the concept enough so that it can be appealing and fresh.

Really, what we see is that we can have the capacity to regularly come with innovation. That is, for me, the formula: if you can really change the game on a regular basis and bring in innovation your fans want a product very regularly. Our job is to make sure the teams have enough power, enough energy and enough time to take the necessary steps to create a high quality game.”

So there you go: more games in development already. It’s no secret that Ubisoft’s going to milk this cash cow until it keels over dead. And you can’t really blame the publisher—each new game makes more money than the last, so why not have a new installment every year?

By that same token…man. Assassin’s climbing things, killing dudes…it’s all pretty samey, isn’t it? As much as I loved Liberation on the Vita, I just couldn’t get into the main version of Assassin’s Creed III. Too similar to what I’d experienced before, a bit too boring in terms of location. Really, colonial Boston can’t hold a candle to Renaissance Italy. And Liberation actually changed things up with its persona system. Could Black Flag have what it takes to shake the series up and keep folks coming back for more? And will the next two games, whatever they are, keep the innovation coming?

[Via Kotaku]

While many of the details regarding Microsoft’s new console, the Xbox One, have left a lot of gamers kind of cold, there’s one thing that most folks will perk up at hearing about: achievements. I’m not sure why anyone really cares about cheevos and Gamerscore, but there it is: they do. Here, then, is some information about the way achievements are going to be different this time around.

First and foremost, you’ll be able to get Achievements from more than just playing games. According to a post on Major Nelson’s blog from yesterday, you can earn achievements by using video and music apps, which could reward you with “awesome sneak peek content, early access, or subscription extensions.” An important point in that regard though: you’ll only earn points in your Gamerscore from games—those other achievements won’t do squat.

However, this time around, it seems like earning achievements may actually have a tangible benefit in the games you’re playing. The post says that earning in-game achievements “can now unlock digital artwork, new maps, unlockable characters, and temporary stat boosts.” Now we’re talking. Finally: a reason to go for achievements.

The post also adds that there’s a new type of achievement coming to the Xbox One called “challenges,” which are kind of limited-time achievements. Apparently “challenges are time-bound […] that means you can only unlock during its eligible time window.” These, too, however, won’t add to your Gamerscore.

Interesting developments, no? People sure do love the cheevos…

[Via Major Nelson]