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Sometimes the good April Fools Day jokes have a slightly longer setup time than average.
A few days ago, Killzone.com had an article uploaded with pictures of what looked like posters for a supposed Killzone movie that was due to be made and released at the end of the year: Killzone: A Helghasty Adventure. With a trailer to release on April the 1st.
The announcement of the movie lists the story as being set after the Helghast settle on the planet Vekta and follows “the adventures of Ghoran – an Insurgent who has to prevent Kellan from stopping the war, and Halla his rogue Vektan accomplice.” It also lists the two main stars as “Johnny Dep and Helena Bonam Carter” with the director being “Tim Burtun”. Parts of the article also suggest that it would be an animated or claymotion feature, similar to the real Burton’s films in the past.
Comments on the site show that most people have realised this isn’t a real thing but the fact that it was announced on the 29th of March seems to have caught a few people out, with one or two in the middle about whether this is or isn’t a joke. Some have even begun to discuss who they would like to see direct and star in a Killzone movie, which I suppose Guerilla Games could take as some sort of feedback in case they were ever planning on making a real one.
Either way, that poster is well-done. Kudos to the artist for capturing that Burton-esque feel.
Wait a minute… GAME is still alive and well?!? Seems like it, since The Pokémon Company International has once again announced it’s teaming up with the UK-based specialist retailer to once again offer a distribution event promoting Pokémon X and Y and the new XY Trading Card Game Expansion. Colour me surprised.
From Friday 4th April, anyone who brings their 3DS into any GAME store across the United Kingdom, with a copy of Pokémon X or Y inside, can claim a free Pokémon for their game. Players with Pokémon X can receive Magmar free upon request, whilst those with Pokémon Y copies can claim Electabuzz. Additionally, both will be holding their respective Trade Evolution item – the Magmarizer and Electirizer respectively – meaning these free Pokémon can be traded to a trusted friend to obtain their evolved forms – Magmortar and Electivire!
As if that wasn’t enough, there’s a bonus for fans of the Trading Card game too. At each store while stocks last, you’ll be able to get a Pokémon TCG: XY special sampling pack containing a card from the new expansion along with a special “holographic” Pikachu card. Who doesn’t love free stuff?
A trailer for the new Carmageddon game is public now, although from the beginning you wouldn’t know it.
The trailer is cartoony, and features a school bus full of young children, bright sunny colours, a sing-along to the tune of ‘The Wheels on the Bus’… and one very out-of-place bus driver. The blurb on the video reads “Why Max Damage should never be a school bus driver.”
Mike Bithell took to the stage at EGX Rezzed earlier today to demonstrate his new indie game, a stealth-based little number called Volume.
Volume is going to be a simple game. The point of the levels is to sneak around each one, collecting all the gems to make the exit open up without getting spotted and caught by the patrolling guards (as the demo levels let us see that game over doesn’t trigger upon being simply spotted). To do this your character can press themselves against wall to take cover (ala Splinter Cell), disable forcefields that the guard NPCs can pass through but the player cannot, slide under some walls, whistle and use a number of items to aid their passage around without getting caught. Bithell has said that because he wanted it to be a true stealth game, none of the ‘gadgets’ you can find will kill, only distract and in the case of the blackjack render the enemy unconscious for about 5 seconds. This forces players to think of ways to use what they have to continuously avoid the guards who could be static or patrolling. And although the demo levels played during the presentation only showed one enemy type, Bithell confirmed that there will be at least 5 in the game when it’s finished.
Volume is to be a game that will both have an overarching story (although we only got a few hints on it – Volume is a military training tool and you are someone stealing from the rich then broadcasting it to the poor to watch) and thanks to the level editor Bithall hopes that the community will build for the game, manifesting in ‘community challenge’ levels being widely distributed and shared online to keep the game interesting for much longer than a single playthrough could do.
In the Q and A afterwards Bithell said that he felt indie was the better way for stealth games, as stealth he felt was a more ‘niche’ genre that AAA studios might have trouble handling because of their need to appeal to more people to make their money back on a game. Indie games with their smaller budgets could overcome this hurdle and sell it to the smaller number who are really interested in the game and the stealth mechanic of the game.
It’ll be interesting to see how this game develops and what it’ll look like closer to completion with the finished product containing the other enemy types as well as whatever else the game has that wasn’t shown off today.
For all things EGX 2014, stay tuned to Sanitarium.FM!
