Blur Beta hits Next Week for 360 Owners
Bizarre Creations’ upcoming racer/RPG hybrid has been garnering some interesting previews, and the Blur Multiplayer Beta will be hitting next week. In a suprising move, BC has decided to unlock the Beta for all gold members.
“We basically ran out of code, so next week we are going to go live with the whole thing publically so anyone can download it,” Wilson said. “We’ve been sneaking on to see what people think of it and people are really getting into it…”- Gareth Wilson, Bizarre Creations Lead Designer
Sorry Sony fans, but there isn’t going to be a PS3 Beta.
“For our selfish needs, we only needed it on one platform because all we wanted to do was gather data about how people are using the cars, the power ups, the tracks, and to be honest we can get that data from one platform.
“We just chose Xbox really because it’s the platform that, to be straight, has more online users than the PS3.”
Well, you heard the man: more of you need to get online! It’s free, after all.
The Beta will hit as a free XBL download on April 6th. [Kotaku]
Ghost Recon Details Uncloak
Official Xbox Magazine will be running a Future Soldier reveal in their May issue- but a few juicy details have slipped out into the public domain.
As the (awesome) live action trailer demonstrates, Future Soldier will throw gamers into a worldwide conflict with a Russian Warlord (since Ivan appears to be cliched game bad guy du jour) . Good thing too, because we were all getting bored of Mexico- there’s only so much Tequila a warfighter can handle.
According to Ubisoft, the Future Soldier is “an F-15 on legs.” The four distinct classes pack a wide range of nifty new toys including homing missiles, UAV drones, cloaking cloaks (think Harry Potter) and long range targeting systems. A new exoskeleton allows Future Soldiers to take a whole bunch more punishment while carrying a huge amount of equipment.
Other new features include Krav Maga training for lethal takedowns, F.E.A.R.-style sliding tackles and the ability to snuggle up to teammates to take advantage of their equipment. Four player co-op will round up a fairly impressive package. Look out for Future Soldier this holiday season! [OXM via 1UP]
Facebook Gangsta Pets nets 50K Grant
Love ‘em or hate ‘em, you can’t deny that Facebook games are becoming Britain’s thief of time. Even Richard Garriot wants a piece of the action! Further demonstrating the financial viability of these casual diversions, former Free Radical head honchos David Doak and Steve Ellis have been granted fifty grand to develop Gangsta Pets. This frankly horrible-sounding game will combine Mafia Wars style gameplay with customisable pets. It sounds pathetic, but I fully expect thousands of complete idiots flash aficionados to lap this one up. This grant is courtesy of the East Midlands Development Agency.
However, remember that Free Radical developed Timesplitters… and that Doak and Ellis used to work for Rare. Gangsta Pets may sound ridiculous, but then again a time travelling adventure involving monkeys and the wild west sounded pretty ridiculous too…[Gamesindustry.biz]
What do you think about Facebook gaming? Are they bona fide games or just distractions for weak minded fools? Drop us a line in the comments!
April Fools Roundup
Without further ado, we’d like to share our favourite Gaming pranks from around the internet.
IGN’s masterful Halo movie reveal is easily the “best gaming howler of 2010.” Bungie’s seemly official acknowledgement of the “leaked picture” further helped cement the lie… and I’m forced to admit that it even got me. Check it out.
PopCap are well known for being good sports, and their press release for “Celebrity Bejewled” had us in stitches. Featuring a cubic zirconia case and actual genetic samples of favourite celebrities make this a collectors edition to remember!
Sure, Tali was mysterious and Jack was…horrifying… but Mass Effect fans were crushed that we couldn’t chat up an Elcor: the sexiest of aliens (after the Hanar, of course). Luckily, GameTrailers were on hand to give us some short-lived hope.
Renowned designer Nathan Fouts of Mommy’s Best Games dropped us a line about his new indie shooter. Featuring bleeding-edge graphics and the ability to wreck up the smarmiest of acting douchebags, we’re excited for its immanent release.
